Dear Miriam,

I love giving recommendations based on a job well done! Whether it’s painters, barbers, caterers, etc, I am always happy to share my positive experiences in my neighborhood/online communities. But what is your opinion on sharing negative experiences? If someone asks for a recommendation of a contractor, and I have a company they should avoid, should I tell them? Is this lashon hara?

Signed,

Rate and Review

Dear Review,

The following statement applies to any online comment thread: What will your comment accomplish? If you can answer, sincerely, that it will help someone, you’ve passed the first hurdle. Beyond that, you still need to consider how enmeshed you want to get in an online conversation, how strongly you want to defend your position if someone else disagrees with you, and whether you want your comment to be in writing on the internet for posterity.

If an online group is well-moderated and is confined in some way (people you know, people who live in a certain radius, people who have answered a certain set of questions before joining the group), your risk level is probably fairly low. But what if you post about your favorite coffee shop and then someone else comments that the owner is actually a terrible person and you shouldn’t support it? Or what if you post about a handyman who put a hole through your wall and didn’t come back to fix it, and then you find out he’s your co-worker’s brother? In short: Entering a conversation you don’t have to be in can cause unintended consequences, or at least unnecessary awkwardness.

And yet, giving recommendations is a great way to engage with friends and neighbors, a way that businesses build their customer base, and usually an overall feel-good thing to do, the above circumstances notwithstanding. So by all means, give the positive recommendations despite everything I’ve said so far. In my own experience, the best hires have come from recommendations, and I do enjoy the opportunity to pay it forward both to the people hiring and those being hired. 

If you have an anti-recommendation and you’re in an in-person conversation, go ahead and tell the person who not to hire. Almost any kind of information is easier and safer to share that way. Online, consider sending a private message saying that you didn’t have a good experience with so and so and encouraging the person to find another option. I especially encourage this course of action if you know the person seeking the recommendation. If you don’t know them, consider sticking to positive comments only, both so as to avoid entanglements and to avoid spreading negative feedback further than it needs to go.

Which brings us to your final questions. Lashon hara (literally wicked tongue, often translated as gossip) implies spreading rumors with no reason, telling tales for fun, or sharing negative information that’s none of your business. If you’ve been ripped off by a company and you want to prevent someone else from that fate, it’s not quite in the category of lashan hara, at least according to my standards. And, at the same time, unless there are very extreme circumstances, you don’t want to be responsible for tanking someone’s business or harming their reputation. Keeping your comments as private as possible allows you to share relevant information without being unnecessarily public about it.

Be well,

Miriam

P.S. If you are receiving recommendations for babysitters or other caregivers, the onus is on you to do the necessary reference background checks!

The post Is Sharing Negative Experiences Lashon Hara? appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

“My family and I came here in the hopes of freedom, civil rights, democracy, and it became very clear to me, even as a little kid, that the work of maintaining those underlying values and principles is something that is very active,” she said. “Like this event title speaks to, that it doesn’t just exist in the ether. You have to do the work every day to maintain it, to improve it.”

More than 130 people were at the annual breakfast, which honored volunteers for their work with the organization. Vaynerman and retiring State Sen. Sandy Pappas were panelists in a discussion with NCJW-MN board member Sami Saltzman Savin on how each of them interacts with democracy.

Pappas, whose last session is the legislature is scheduled to wrap up May 18, had been active in her St. Paul community and a DFL volunteer where her husband nudged her to run for office. 

“To quote him, ‘You’re pregnant with our third child and laid off from your job; why don’t you run for the legislature? You have nothing to do,’” Pappas said to laughs from the crowd. “My campaign slogan was ‘She will deliver.’” 

Pappas talked about how she was influenced by Reform Judaism and its stance on social justice.

“It was a perfect fit with my own personal values,” she said. “There’s a wrong, and you see that, and you want to right it, and that’s basically what we do in the legislature. We fight for justice, against injustice, and it can take a long time.”

Vaynerman said that her Jewish identity shows up all the time in her work.

“Whether it’s through litigation or policy work or a mixture of everything, or helping to support local and state government to do the right thing, that innate sense of what is right, what is just, what is fair, is instrumental in every decision we make,” she said. “About which case to bring, how to best represent a client, how to move any type of movement forward thoughtfully, especially because I know this work can’t be done alone.”

Vaynerman had been the deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights before starting Groundwork Legal, a public interest law firm.

“My parents immigrated – when they were in their 20s with two little kids and $20 in their pocket – to a country where they didn’t know what would happen,” Vaynerman said. “So when I’m tired, it helps me level-set what’s possible. I think the generational trauma that is very real and true for many of us, [it] can either break us or it helps to build this resilient sense at the cellular level.”

Honoring volunteer work

Lenore Blank Kelner and Lori Weissman were honored with L’Dor V’Dor Awards at the breakfast. Kelner joked that being named an “Emerging Leader” is usually for someone in their 20s or 30s. Margie Solomon, who introduced Kelner, said it shows that people can get engaged at any age.

“I’m really grateful to be at my stage of life and still be emerging,” Kelner said. 

Kelner is a long-time arts educator who was instrumental in launching the NCJW-MN Social Action Film series, which merges film and social action, focusing on women’s roles and issues and often featuring lesser-known films. 

Weissman was awarded for her more than 25 years of gun violence prevention work in Minnesota, including her co-chairing of the organization’s gun safety committee. 

“I joined NCJWMinnesota 26 years ago because its Jewish values resonated with striving for social justice, improving quality of life for women, children and families, in safeguarding individual rights and freedoms through action, advocacy and community service,” Weissman said.

The post NCJW Minnesota Celebrates Democracy, Local Leaders at Annual Breakfast appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Meet the Emcee

Jordana Green is an award-winning journalist, speaker, cancer survivor, and mom. Jordana started her career as a beat news reporter, then medical reporter, and over a couple of decades and many markets worked to become an Emmy award winning television news anchor. In 2012 she joined WCCO radio and is the co-host of the Adam and Jordana Show. You can hear her Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-noon. Learn more about Jordana at jordanagreen.com.

Meet the Producer

Galit Breen is the Director of Engagement for Jewfolk, Inc. Galit was the original Minnesota Mammaleh columnist for TC Jewfolk when it first launched over a dozen years ago. Galit is also the Co-Producer of Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities, the bestselling author of Kindness Wins, a guide to teaching your child to be kind online and the TEDx Talk, “Raising a digital kid without having been one.” Her writing has been featured on The Huffington Post; The Washington Post; Buzzfeed; TIME; and more. She lives in Eagan with her husband, three children, and two puppies.

Meet The Cast

Laura Abrams is a Minnesota native and lover of all four seasons. In a previous chapter, she was a corporate event planner. She now uses those same skills to manage all of the logistics for her three kids. She loves planning family road trips, reading three books at a time, and trying new coffee shops on her travels with her husband. Each year, she challenges herself to do something scary or uncomfortable. This year, it was submitting her story to “Stories from the Tribe.” She challenges you to do the same. You might just find something new you love!

Robyn Awend is an energetic advocate for the arts, curating and leading exhibitions and programs that explore the intersection of creativity, collaboration, and connection. A practicing visual and literary artist, she works with words and fragmented text as a source of inspiration and expression. Her storytelling has been featured on the Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities stage as well as the inaugural Stories From the Tribe event. Robyn lives with her witty husband and their three children, who inspire her every day.

Naomi Dean grew up on a farm in Minnesota. She has taught English and Spanish in Brooklyn, New York, and Palo Alto, California, and she currently teaches ESL at Cedar Island Elementary, a public school in Maple Grove. Naomi lives with her husband Ethan, son Noah, and daughter Elsie in Plymouth. You can find her gardening, reading, writing, or walking, as well as spending time with family, including her brother, Erik, who took over the family farm. You can check out her poems in publications such as Poetica, Sylvia, The Madrigal, Collateral, Plainsongs and JAMA.

Stacey Dinner-Levin is the mother of four boys — now adults — the eldest of whom has autism. For more than 25 years, she’s worked with children with disabilities including PACER Center’s “Count Me In” program where she wrote several scripts. Her play Autistic License was named one of 2007’s Ten Best Plays by St. Paul Pioneer Press and was featured in American Theater Magazine. Autistic License was remounted for film and won “Best Educational” at the IFFF in 2010. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband Michael, her son Geordy, and the world’s strangest dog, her Chinese Crested, Birdie. 

Tamar Fenton grew up in her town’s only identifiable Jewish family. This inspired Tamar’s life-path, including her deep commitment to Jewish community. A long-time JCC professional, Tamar also loves volunteering, writing, decoupage dabbling, and is a “Care Activist” for The Patient Revolution, a non-profit working to bring careful and kind healthcare to all. Her family with David is her greatest passion – Aiden and daughter-in-law Aniko, Asher and daughter-in-law Shira, amazing grandson, Levi, Ronen, and Liel (z”l). Liel often told Tamar that she was a bad-ass, so she tries to be one every day. Learn more about Tamar here: tamarfenton.wixsite.com/lielslegacy.

Linda Fiterman is a wife, mom, Amma to 9 and Great Amma to 2. These grandchildren and great-grandchildren all just happen to be the most brilliant kids in the world; baffling statisticians for years. She volunteers for any organization that includes the word Jewish. She walks her neighborhood every day with Lester Holt as she listens to Dateline podcasts. She’s an avid reader, mahjong player, and blesses the day that texting was invented. You will never see her without wearing pearls, red lipstick, and barrettes. Her goal is to hit age 100. Only 23 years to go!

Robin Gale is in Act 3 of her life. Act 1: Surviving childhood and adolescence. Act 2: Surviving marriage, children, and work. Now in Act 3, she focuses on simply flourishing. Being a mother to her three adult children, two bonus children by marriage, and a Mimah to her seven grandchildren, fills her with nachas. When she’s not busy with family, she can be found writing, hiking, or on a new adventure.

Shalva Gale is a voracious reader, amateur gardener, and mother to three miraculous young children. She lives in Minneapolis and is just hitting her stride running around the city lakes. Along with her husband, she manages their business Blending For Good. When her kids tell people what she does for work, they say that she makes YouTube videos teaching people how to make healthy (but still delicious) recipes. She’s a big fundraiser for the Down Syndrome Association of MN on behalf of her middle kiddo. She was motivated to audition for this show after watching her mother-in-law perform in the last two performances. This is her first time storytelling on stage.

Cathy Gasiorowicz is a former mime, dancer, and marketing writer. As a storyteller, she’s performed at The Moth, Listen To Your Mother Twin Cities, Patrick’s Cabaret, TedX Fridley, Minnesota Fringe Festival, History Theater, Island of Discarded Women podcast, Comedy Through the Chaos, Truth Be Told, and WTF: Love, Loss, and Why I Swore. Since “rewiring” in 2025, Cathy has loved having more time to volunteer, travel, visit family, and plan adventures with her lovely husband, Bob.

Julie Jacobs is a 65-year-old Jewish lesbian mother of four and grandmother of eight. She is a former Marathon runner and triathlete. She once completed a Half Ironman Triathlon and won in her age group. She currently swims a half mile 4-6 times a week. Julie lives within 6 miles of all her children and grandchildren. After participating in a 12-step program for the past 43 years and studying/practicing Mussar for the past 10, Julie has realized that her purpose on the planet is to foment LOVE!

Debbie Rosen Lieberman grew up in Bismarck, ND, until she moved to Minneapolis at age 15. She has a business degree from the U of M and an MBA from Chicago’s Loyola University. Debbie worked for many years as a compensation analyst in the corporate sector, later switching to work for several nonprofits. After marrying Bruce, the couple moved to Chicago’s northwest suburbs where their three boys were born. When the boys were 7, 9, and 11, they moved back to Minneapolis for Bruce’s job. Now retired and a Grami to two granddaughters, Debbie continues to enjoy family, volunteering, swimming, walking, and reading.

Barb Weil is a mom to three boys, Matthew, Andrew and Evan. She has been a single parent for many years. She taught Preschool for 40+ years in Minnesota, California, Ohio and Wisconsin. The last 16 years she has taught at Beth El Aleph Preschool. She actually retired two years ago, but  flunked retirement and now is a sub at Aleph school for two days per week. She is also a volunteer for PJ Library.

Get your tickets today

Tickets are available right now! Get your tickets today by clicking right here.

About the show

An event by TC Jewfolk produced by Galit Breen, the original Minnesota Mammaleh and co-producer of Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities for the last decade+.

Stories from the Tribe features 12 women on the bima telling their true Jewish stories that have a thread to being a Mammaleh – whether that’s about their own Mammaleh or about being a Mammaleh – and includes all of the ups and downs, highs and lows, laughs and tears that come with the real-life experience of mammalehs in the Twin Cities.

During this time it’s even more important for us Jews to gather + tell our stories, loud and proud!

So this, is that!

The third annual show will once again be emceed by the incredible Jordana Green, co-host of The Adam & Jordana Show on WCCO Radio, and promises to be a stunning night of storytelling!

This show will be at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, and the show date is Monday, June 22, at 7 p.m. Seating is General Admission, and the doors will open at 6 p.m.

Get your tickets today!

The post Meet The Storytellers Bringing TC Jewfolk’s Third Annual Storytelling Show to Life appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Every week during our Sabbath services, we Jews offer a “Prayer for Our Country.” In part, it reads: “…may citizens of all races and creeds forge a common bond in true harmony, to banish hatred and bigotry, and to safeguard the ideals and free institutions that are the pride and glory of our country.” We expect that when our congregants walk out of our synagogues, they are living out their Jewish beliefs with love, not hate. That is why I am deeply disturbed and concerned by the lack of or minimal response from leaders in Minnesota to blatant antisemitism against Jewish community members seeking political engagement. 

Hate crimes are on the rise, and our political parties are overrun with targeted hatred disguised as purity tests – so much so that a Pennsylvania judge left the Democratic Party over antisemitism. The time to address antisemitism is now, not when it becomes physically violent or even deadly. 

This is a failure of leadership – from Democrats and Republicans – for not condemning antisemitic attacks as they do for individuals or groups of other religions and identities experiencing equally disturbing acts of hatred. 

On several occasions recently, during the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party endorsement process, a process that already attracts individuals with some of the most fringe political positions, delegates have spewed antisemitic slurs against Jewish candidates and those supportive of Jewish Minnesotans. Too many party leaders and statewide candidates have chosen to remain shamefully silent and refused to call out these individuals for hateful comments. I applaud those candidates who have set an example and called out these antisemitic actions.

Speaking out should be the bare minimum – but it’s a necessary first step. Now is the time for party leadership to take real action and Democrats and Republicans seeking elected office – especially the office of U.S. Senate, Congress or Governor – to forcefully condemn all incidents of antisemitism and hate in any form. Hate that is overlooked and neglected will only elevate into bolder action that will be greater and more detrimental. Silence is simply complicity.

Any person vying to serve our state and our country should be held to a high standard of morality. What I am seeing and hearing is a political system without a backbone to stand up to the most extreme individuals who use hateful speech to discredit the voices of people who have a different opinion from them or who are simply different from them.

The example our leaders are setting for the next generation of leaders is unacceptable and downright shameful. It is telling our future leaders that it is okay to ostracize a group of people based on their identity or their religion – if it serves you in your aspirations for higher office.

We are so deeply divided as a country, but we’ve seen some of the most beautiful illustrations of unity from Minnesotans coming together in community. That love and that community should bring us all together.

We all must do better to come together, and we deserve elected leaders who hold themselves and their parties to as high a standard as they hold their opponents or anyone else. It’s on them to show us the way, to lead in ways that are inclusive and welcoming for all who wish to live and grow their families in our state. While we keep setting the example for our congregations to love one another, I strongly encourage our leaders to have a change of heart and show real leadership by firmly addressing the antisemitic actions targeting Jews inside the electoral process.

Rabbi Morris Allen served as the first rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights from 1986-2019 and is currently Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Allen was a strong advocate on behalf of immigrants’ rights and was recognized by national publications such as Newsweek and The Forward.

The post Elected Officials Must Say No to Antisemitism appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Listen to “Howie Milstein” on Spreaker.

Please subscribe to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more, and don’t forget to rate and review. Check out the show page where you can catch up on previous episodes. And of course, if you have suggestions for others who would be great subjects, let us know!

The post Who The Folk?! Howie Milstein appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Also: there were no playbills. Just notebooks and pens that were handed out at the doors.

My friend and I exchanged a look. Oh no. We’re going to have homework, aren’t we?

We were right.

Throughout the night, Mel (and her daughter Sawyer, who joined her onstage and clearly inherited the family gift for connection) had us writing and reflecting. At one point, she asked us to answer a simple-but-not-simple question: What would you do with your life if money were no object?

We wrote. Then we tore out the page. Folded it. Passed it around the room like some kind of emotional hot potato. Eventually, we each ended up holding someone else’s dream.

The note I opened was written in careful, beautiful script. It said:

“I would be a philanthropist.”

And my heart sank a little.

Not because it wasn’t a lovely answer – it was. But because it carried a quiet assumption I’ve spent more than 25 years bumping up against in my work: that “philanthropist” is something you become later. When you have more. When you’ve made it. When the timing is right.

But here’s the thing I wish I could have said to that woman, right there in the theater:

You don’t have to wait.

Philanthropy isn’t a title reserved for the ultra-wealthy or the someday version of yourself. It’s a practice. And it’s already within reach.

There are three gifts each of us can give: time, talent, and treasure. Not all at once. Not in equal measure. In whatever way makes sense for your life right now.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

You show up. You give what you can. You care enough to act.

That’s a philanthropist.

So let me turn the question outward, because this is where it gets real. Think about the organizations that matter to you—your synagogue, a school, a nonprofit you love, maybe even us here at Jewfolk. The places that make your world feel more connected, more meaningful, more human.

What would it look like to show up for them?

Maybe it’s volunteering an hour here and there. Maybe it’s sharing a skill you don’t even think of as “special” (trust me, it is). Maybe it’s a donation, large or small, that says: this matters, and I’m part of it.

Right now, many organizations are feeling it—a real shortage of volunteers, of hands and hearts. And the truth is, they don’t just need “philanthropists.”

They need you.

Being a philanthropist, in the truest sense, is wildly accessible. It’s also deeply Jewish. A Mitzvah. Showing up for one another, sustaining community, doing what we can with what we have. In good times, in hard times, and in all the in-between moments.

And yes – there’s something in it for you, too. Giving back doesn’t just strengthen community; it lifts something in us. It pushes back against that low hum of blah and replaces it with purpose, connection, even a little joy.

So to the woman whose note I held for just a moment: I’m still thinking about you.

And to everyone reading this: join her. Join me.

Be a philanthropist.

Don’t wait.

The post A Philanthropist? Who, Me? appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Dear Miriam, 

My mother loves fresh flowers, and she expects them for every birthday and Mother’s Day. I fundamentally think they’re a waste of money. Do I need to buy them for her anyway? 

Signed, 

Buying the Bouquet 

Dear Buying,

In the scheme of things, how much money are you really spending on flowers? And how does that expense compare to the lifetime costs your mother invested in raising you? Buy your mother the flowers, and do so graciously and non-begrudgingly, and without sharing your opinion of this gift. 

That said, you don’t have to buy her the most expensive arrangements the florist has to offer. Consider getting her a smaller bouquet and putting some additional money towards flower donations. There are organizations, for example, that give Mother’s Day flowers to victims of domestic violence who are living in shelters. There are ways to donate flowers to hospital patients, nursing homes, and others who may not receive regular gifts of any sort who could benefit from knowing someone out there is offering support. Maybe this would make you feel better about the expense and would also be meaningful to both you and your mother. 

You could also consider giving your mother live plants. This might be more of an investment of time than she’s looking for, but a flowering plant that blooms year after year could be an ongoing reminder of how much she is loved. Depending on her living arrangements, perhaps something that could be planted in the yard as an enduring gift would also be meaningful and could check off the right boxes for her while also feeling better for you. Unless she is an avid gardener, though, a gift like this should include someone (maybe even you) to do the manual labor of planting. 

Of course, there are also other options: fake flowers, crochet flowers, Lego flowers. But would she like these? You may want to consider asking her before going in this direction. You could also consider a flower arranging class, perhaps that the two of you go to together. Or, think about whether a flower subscription service of some kind would appeal to you, where you make the decision (and pay the cost) up front rather than having to think about this for every occasion. 

But all these ideas aside, Mother’s Day is about her, not about you, and it’s not your place to convince her that the thing she wants doesn’t meet your standards. Think about all the toys she bought you that you’re not playing with anymore, or the clothes that no longer fit you. Then buy the flowers.

Be well, 

Miriam

The post Flowers For Mother’s Day Again? appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

“The Wizard of Oz was the first little show where I stepped up and said, ‘Hey, can I help build sets for this?’” said Koch of his junior high school theatrical work. “Twenty-some years later, doing it again, but professionally on this huge scale, with all the effects and all the magic. It’s been a nice, like, full circle moment.”

The Wizard of Oz is about as familiar a piece of intellectual property as a theatrical designer can have. The movie came out in 1939, based on a book from 1900, and his been performed on stage globally for decades. Like so many people, Koch was introduced to the story from a young age.

“And now we’re living The Wizard of Oz/Wicked multiverse, and The Wiz,” said Koch. “The easy part is you’ve got a lot of your own childhood memories to bring to the table, and so it’s easy to want to do it justice.

“But in my experience, the secret is finding a combination of familiar, landmark touchstone moments that let the audience know that you love the material just as much as they do, and then if you hit a couple of those key points, then you’re free to do whatever else you want.”

For example, if Dorothy isn’t in a blue dress with ruby-red slippers, people may revolt. Once they see that, he said, the audience is more at ease. 

“Working with [director] Rick [Dildine] and the costume designer (Lex Liang) and everybody else, I think we just identified all the things,” Koch said. “If you hit those familiar landmarks, then as far as the set design, it’s completely free to be surprising and new.”

Which doesn’t mean that his job any easier.

(Top) Becca Claire Hart. (Bottom) Aniya Bostick, Dean Holt, Reed Sigmund, and Regina Marie Williams in Children’s Theatre Company’s 2026 production of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ (Photo by Glen Stubbe Photography)

“For shows that are rarely produced, there’s almost no cultural memory so you can do whatever you want,” he said. “Part of the magic, I hope, is that when the curtain goes up, what would 12-year-old Adam be excited to see? It’s about not second-guessing things that are the things that people love to see. So it’s not a hindrance; it’s more about just being realistic about what is going to disappoint and what’s going to delight.”

This show is Koch’s first experience with CTC, although he had worked with Dildine at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He flew to town to see CTC’s production of Frozen last year, which changed his perception of what “children’s theater” can do.

“It was a giant Broadway show. I was like ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have poo-pooed this,’ Koch said. “I’m glad I came to see this, because here I was just thinking, ‘Oh, we’ll simplify [the set]. Then I went there, and the house is packed; it’s a huge production. And it kind of lights a fire under your butt that this has to be amazing.”

Koch said the caliber of builders and artists constructing his designs are as talented as he’s worked with anywhere in the world.

“They have one of the best scene shops in the whole world,” he said. “The painters, the welders, the builders; it’s one of the most beautiful sets I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of. They’re at the top of my list for quality craftsmanship and stuff, which, of course, is a big deal behind the scenes. You can dream of anything, but if they don’t have the enthusiasm to figure it out how to do it, then it’s a bigger challenge.”

The post Meet the Scenic Designer Behind CTC’s <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

Listen to “Abbe Blacker” on Spreaker.

Please subscribe to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more, and don’t forget to rate and review. Check out the show page where you can catch up on previous episodes. And of course, if you have suggestions for others who would be great subjects, let us know!

The post Who The Folk?! Abbe Blacker appeared first on TC Jewfolk.

These instruments will not only appear on display as static witnesses to the atrocities of the Holocaust; in a testament to Jewish resilience and the power of music, musicians will play the meticulously refurbished violins in concerts across the Twin Cities.

The origins of violins can be traced to 16th-century Italy. Still, it became a quintessential part of Jewish culture, owing to its portability and relative low cost (convenient for the persecuted), and musical versatility (allowing for the expression of tremendous joy and sorrow). 

Amnon Weinstein died in 2024, and his legacy lives on. He documented and helped the world to remember the poignant soundtrack of the Holocaust.

One day an older man entered Weinstein’s Tel Aviv shop with a violin in terrible condition that had not been played for years, explaining that he wanted it repaired so that his grandson could start lessons. Weinstein opened the instrument to see what he was dealing with – and discovered black powder inside.

The customer and his violin were survivors of Auschwitz, where ashes had accumulated as the man played music near the crematorium to comfort people as they were led into the gas chambers.

“They couldn’t pray,” Weinstein said in the documentary Amnon Weinstein & the Violins of Hope. “The violin prayed for them.”

Restoring violins owned by Jews and making their stories known became a life mission, one with poignant personal meaning.

Weinstein was born in Tel Aviv in 1939 and first apprenticed with his father, Moshe, before studying for years with master luthiers in Italy. Moshe was from Vilnius, then part of Poland, and left before the Holocaust. Most of his family perished in the Ponary forest, a mass murder site where Nazis and local collaborators killed 100,000 people, mostly Jews, in three years. 

“My father, when he learned what happened to his family – how he lost about 400 people – he never spoke again about the Holocaust,” said Weinstein. “Never. When the war ended, my father was the head of the Vilna [Vilnius] Association in Israel, so many, many, of the new immigrants who survived and escaped, came to our house for their first day in Israel.”

These refugees brought their violins to Moshe, insisting that if he didn’t buy them, they would burn or destroy them. Moshe purchased them, viewing their destruction as sacrilege. Even so, they sat in storage. No one would buy these German- or Polish-made instruments, objects tainted with suffering. 

The Nazis forced prisoners to play at the death camps for crowd control purposes, a macabre and eerie spectacle that prolonged and thus saved some musicians’ lives but left many too traumatized to perform again.

For decades, their violins were hidden away, silenced and in disrepair.

With reverence, dedication, and expertise, Amnon eventually began revitalizing the instruments, making sure that their last notes weren’t played under the most horrible of circumstances. Instead, these violins now travel the world to make beautiful music celebrated in freedom in Jewish and non-Jewish spaces.

Weinstein’s Minnesota Connection

Andy Fein is a local luthier who enjoyed a decades-long friendship with Amnon Weinstein. Sharing professions and sharp humor, the two connected at various conferences and contests around the world.

They kept in touch about their respective families, Jewish and world news – and collaborated professionally. Fein’s shop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul has featured instruments made by Weinstein.

“I visited Amnon in Tel Aviv and was able to hold some of the instruments,” Fein said, referring to the Violins of Hope. “One that meant a lot to me belonged to someone who was able to preserve it by pushing it through the bars of a train car window on the way to the camps.”

With the utmost respect for Weinstein as a person and violinmaker, Fein said it’s very meaningful for the Violins of Hope to come to Minnesota. “Amnon would love this, too,” he added.

Fein keeps in touch with Amnon’s son, Avshalom (Avshi) Weinstein, now an esteemed third-generation luthier in his own right, who worked with his father on the Violins of Hope and now manages the program. He will travel to the Twin Cities for the exhibition.

“I hope that people will come to more than one event because each one is going to be different – and that they enjoy and learn something,” Avshi said from his home in Istanbul.

The endeavor has special meaning to Avshi in this period of increasing hostility towards Jews worldwide.

“I wish for people not to forget, and that they talk to kids and make sure they understand what happened in the past and what should go on in the future.” What should go on? “A bit more tolerance. We have to start somewhere.”

Interviewed together in a video call, Fein and Avshi exchanged quips about whether they were looking forward to seeing each other again.

“Not so sure,” Avshi said dryly.

“Same irreverent humor as his father,” Fein observed.

They both agree that Amnon’s spirit will be felt when the Violins of Hope come to Minnesota, and about the critical importance of the project.

Fein remembered: “Amnon said more than once, ‘The Nazis tried to silence us. This is a way to show that we won’t be silenced.’”

The post A Minnesotan Remembers Amnon Weinstein, Violins of Hope Philanthropist appeared first on TC Jewfolk.