East Midwood Jewish Center mourns the passing of our beloved past President and legal counsel, Zevie Schizer. His intelligence, erudition, calmness, good judgment, warmth and compassion were always present in his thoughts and actions. He will be very much missed. We offer our condolences to his dear wife Hazel, his children, their spouses, and his six grandchildren.

Zevie passed away at the end of October, at age 79, after a long and valiant battle with ALS. To many at EMJC, Zevie was a special member and leader. He and Hazel joined EMJC in the 1960s. Zevie served on the Board of Trustees since 1991. He was a Vice-President and Counsel for the Center from 1994-2003. As chairman of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, Zevie led the preparation during 1998-1999 of the new “egalitarian” by-laws for the Center. Zevie was also a past president of the Kaddish Club. He and Hazel were honored at the Journal Dinner Dance in 2005, at the time Zevie stepped down from the EMJC Presidency.

Zevie was also a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Metropolitan Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. He served as a trustee
for 37 years to the Brooklyn Public Library, and was also a past President. He was
also a past President of Young Democrats of Brooklyn and of New York. Zevie was listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who in American Law and Who’s Who in Finance and Industry.

Zevie was a lifelong Brooklyn resident. He was a graduate of New York University (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa), and Yale Law School. He was a practicing lawyer. Zevie and Hazel’s children, Dr. Deborah G. Scott, Dr. Miriam A. Landau and David M. Schizer, are graduates of the Rabbi Harry Halpern Day School (now East Midwood Hebrew Day School). Deborah is a professor at Temple University, and is married to Larry Scott. Miriam, a pediatrician, is married to Dr. Steven Landau.
David is the Dean of Columbia Law School. His spouse is Meredith Schizer. Zevie
and Hazel’s grandchildren are Rachel, Hannah, Josephine, Jacob, Eve and Judah.

Thanks for ten wonderful years of your support and patronage of emjc.org. -josh

The February 17 Sisterhood meeting featured a very informative presentation about EMJC’s library. Sharon Resen and Toby Sanchez, two members of the library committee, encouraged participants to borrow from the newly created 4th floor collection. They also shared book recommendations which drew from a variety of genres. Thank you for reminding us that reading is FUNdamental!

Sisterhood also announced that it looks forward to collaborating on this year’s Purim celebration. Details are in the works, but be sure to join us.

Plan now to attend this spring’s Sisterhood Twilight Dinner on Thursday, May 14. Former Sisterhood co-presidents Frances Fischer and Marsha Shlefstein will be honored. Journal ad blanks will be mailed shortly, or pick one up in the office. Mail your ads to the synagogue, to the attention of Hannah Levine.

Do you need cards for all occasions? Contact Sylvia Klein via the Center Office.

Don’t forget that our showcase in the lobby has beautiful gift items. The EMJC office staff will gladly assist you with your purchases.

Hannah Levine

Rabbi Mike Pertain and Toby Sanchez facilitated an informative workshop on February 15th. It was a well-received follow-up to our interfaith trip to Ellis Island on Columbus Day last fall. Through a fascinating PowerPoint presentation, Rabbi Pertain showed us how he was able to research the life of a cousin he only recently discovered when he made a cemetery visit and read the name and age of death from a tombstone. Through census records, New York Times archives, internet search engines, court records, and a death certificate, Rabbi Pertain discovered that his cousin was a boxer who lived in New York almost 100 years ago; he grew up in a reformatory, and was shot to death when he was 18 years old. He even found out who shot him and what happened to his murderer.

Toby Sanchez then shared how she has organized her research by creating an information folder for each relative she tracks. She told us about Family Tree Maker, a software program that can be an excellent tool for organizing and sharing information. It is also possible to get information from the NY Public Library's to Ancestry.com, another invaluable resource. Toby talked to us about interviewing our own relatives as a genealogy resource that we often overlook. She prepared a wonderful handout that included ways we can conduct our own interviews. Many who attended the workshop shared their own fascinating family discoveries, including Father Michael Perry from Our Lady of Refuge, who told us his father's name was not listed correctly on the ship's manifest leaving from Hamburg, Germany. Through a persistent search Father Perry was finally able to find his father's name—listed quite differently—on the manifest.

All who attended agreed that the workshop was extremely helpful for people who had no idea how to begin or for people who have already begun some research. Special thanks to Rabbi Mike Pertain and Toby Sanchez.

Sally Hipscher