WESA Hosting "Good Question! Live"
WESA is hosting a live version of its popular Good Question! series. 

Katie Blackley and a panel of experts from the Senator John Heinz History Center and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum will answer some of Pittsburgh's most pressing questions over the course of an hour. 
Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives Director Eric Lidji will join Italian American Program Director Melissa E. Marinaro and Senior Curator Leslie Przybylek to discuss one of Pittsburgh's most persistent questions: Why won’t residents cross a bridge or go through a tunnel outside of their neighborhood? 

Good Question! Live will be at Hamburg Studio Theatre at City Theatre on the South Side on Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 7:30 - 9 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and kids. For more information, please contact the WESA special events manager at  events@wesa.fm .
Congregation Beth Shalom Presents: Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer's novel "The Flight Portfolio" tells the real-life story of Varian Fry, an American journalist who secretly helped thousands of Jewish refugees, including many artists and intellectuals, escape from Nazi Germany. Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Less," called it " bighearted, gorgeous, historical, suspenseful, everything you want a novel to be."

Orringer will speak about her novel on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m., as part of Congregation Beth Shalom's Speaker's Series, made possible through the Jewish Book Council and sponsored by Seth Glick and Carolyn Slayton. The RJHPA is co-sponsoring the event along with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, Classic Lines Bookstore, and Pigeon Bagels.

For more information, visit Beth Shalom online or call 412-421-2288.
Feb. 10 is Tu B'Shvat
Feb. 10 is Tu B'Shvat, a Jewish holiday popularly known as the New Year for Trees.

The 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat marks the start of an agricultural cycle used to determine the proper times for certain tithes mandated in the Torah. 

Crucial in ancient Israel, the day declined in importance in Europe and North America. The religious laws of tithing are different outside Israel, as are the growing seasons.
Tu B'Shvat, also known as Chamisha Asar B'Shvat, was revived in the early 20th century as a way to connect to Zionist ideals and Israeli culture. It is often celebrated with fruits such as figs, dates, and carob, sometimes in a meal meant to echo the Passover Seder. In recent years, the holiday has become associated with social causes such as environmentalism and food justice.

Above is a postcard from the Meyer Fogel Papers [2016.0049] announcing a "Chomisho Osor B’Shvat" party in 1939, hosted by the Zionist Youth Council. 
Featured Cookbook: TBI Sisterhood Cook Book
This well-worn cookbook was published by the Sisterhood of Temple B'nai Israel in McKeesport, Pa. in 1941, and it reveals a lot about the time it was created.

Temple B'nai Israel is a Reform congregation founded in an era when some members were trending away from Jewish ritual law. And yet, members also valued certain Jewish cultural traditions.

The cookbook reflects that tension. On many pages, classic Jewish cuisine shares space with non-kosher fare: a pair of recipes for gefilte fish can be found across from a recipe for shrimp creole. 

The realities of the Depression prompted the Sisterhood to include a section of meatless meal suggestions. A handwritten recipe on the back cover appears to be for vinegar pie, one of the classic "make-do pies" currently making a comeback among home cooks.

Assorted advertisements provide a wonderful glimpse into Jewish business life in McKeesport, such as David Rubinstein's shoes and Feldman Electric Shop.

We are placing a special focus on cookbooks in 2020. If you have a cookbook published by a Jewish person or group in Western Pennsylvania, please contact Eric Lidji at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.
The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded in 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa.
Plan a Visit

Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA,15222
412-454-6000

A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the  Senator John Heinz History Center  is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.