Savoring Jewish Traditions: A Culinary Journey

Shalom, dear members of our vibrant synagogue community!

Today, we are thrilled to share with you a delectable project that has been simmering with love and tradition within our midst—the BCRC Community Cookbook! This amazing collection was put together by Lydia Shields as a B Mitzvah project.

In the heart of our close-knit community lies a treasure trove of culinary expertise and family recipes that have been passed down through generations. Recognizing the wealth of flavors and stories that unite us, Lydia decided to embark on a journey to compile these cherished recipes into a cookbook that celebrates our shared heritage and diverse tastes.

We present to you: The BCRC Community Cookbook! Simply click the link below to download your copy and embark on a culinary journey that spans generations:

Download the BCRC Community Cookbook

Feel free to share this link with friends and family, both within and beyond our community. Let's spread the joy of our shared heritage through the universal language of food. L'Chaim!

With gratitude,

Beth Chaim

Why Judicial Elections Matter

There are basically two methods by which an individual becomes a Judge, governmental appointment or direct public election.

Many states, including those surrounding Pennsylvania, use the governmental appointment method. In those states the legislature and/or governor appoint Judges. Pennsylvania, however, uses direct public election, so each of us vote to select our Judges.

This can be a complex and somewhat frustrating process for the voter, as ethical considerations dictate that judicial candidates cannot offer specific opinions on the types of cases that may come before them. So, for example, a judicial candidate could not say what rulings they might make or sentences they might impose in cases of marijuana use under the Controlled Substance Act. Instead, we look at a candidate’s character, background, experience, and broad statements of philosophy.

This Fall on the local level we will be electing Magisterial District Judges (MDJ) and Common Pleas Judges. We will also be voting on whether to retain Common Pleas Judges, whose ten-year terms of service will end, for an additional term. We will also be voting for, and for retention of, Judges and Justices of the appeals courts, the Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, and Supreme Court. I will focus primarily on MDJ election and Common Pleas election and retention.

Magisterial District Judges are classified as Minor Judiciary. To be an MDJ one does not have to be a lawyer or even have a legal background, although recently in Chester County more elected MDJs are attorneys.

In the criminal justice system, MDJs serve a critical function. Criminal cases are initiated in their courts. They are the judicial officers who approve warrants of arrest and related documents assuring that proper procedural rules have been followed. They hold evidentiary hearings, called Preliminary Hearings, to determine if and what charges will proceed to Common Pleas (trial court). While these are not dispositive hearings requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the MDJ must determine if there is credible evidence that a criminal act may have been committed, and the person charged may have committed it.

Among the most important and regularly performed functions of an MDJ is to inform the charged individual of the charges against them, inform them of their basic rights, and determine bail. These occur at the Preliminary Arraignment, where they are the first judicial officer with whom a charged and arrested individual will come into contact.

It is in the act of determining bail where the MDJ has the most influence. They, in most instances, retain the authority to determine bail amounts and conditions from when a person is arrested through the conclusion of the Preliminary Hearing. The Pennsylvania bail rules set out criteria to be considered in determining bail amounts and/or conditions. Many of the criteria are subjective and MDJs have very broad discretion in considering and applying them. The bail criteria, when properly applied, can serve the goals of bail … assuring future court appearances of the person charged, avoiding further criminal conduct, and supporting public safety. However, if not properly applied, bail amounts and/or conditions can result in unnecessary and unfair pre-trial incarceration. Where this occurs, the person charged can be disadvantaged in participating in their representation and defense. Their daily lives can also be dramatically impacted in areas like employment, housing, family relations and treatment, to name a few.

MDJs also preside over traffic matters and civil matters, including small civil actions and landlord tenant disputes, including evictions. In these areas, their judgement and temperament can have a dramatic impact on the person before their courts.

Common Pleas Judges must be licensed attorneys. They preside in trial courts and their role may be more familiar than that of Magisterial District Judges. They hear cases involving areas such as domestic relations, civil litigation, estates, and criminal charges. From a social justice perspective, I will discuss the criminal court’s function, but, certainly, all matters before a Common Pleas Judge may have social justice implications.

In criminal matters in the Court of Common Pleas, Judges primarily preside over Motions, Pleas, Trials, and Sentencings.

Once a case has passed the Preliminary Hearing stage in the MDJ Court, a Common Pleas Judge has the responsibility of all legal decisions that must be made. A Common Pleas Judge has the authority to modify bail amounts and conditions and to address all pre-trial motions, including, but not limited to, disputes regarding Constitutional rights, production of evidence, and admissibility of evidence. Where a matter results in a guilty plea, which, according to the US Supreme Court, happens approximately 95% of the time, a Common Pleas Judge must determine if the agreement is fair and reasonable, is factually supported, and if the person charged is making a knowing and voluntary plea. Only if the Court finds that these factors exist can they approve the plea and any agreed sentence.

Where a case goes to trial, the person charged may opt for a non-jury or jury disposition. In a non-jury trial, the Judge hears the evidence and decides both the legal issues and whether the Commonwealth has met the factual burden of proof. Where a case is presented to a jury, the jury is the finder of fact, but the judge decides all legal issues arising during the trial. The judge directs how the trial proceeds in the courtroom. Among other functions, the Judge instructs the jury in proper procedure, the definitions of the charges, and the relevant legal principles they will employ in making factual determinations.

A critical role of a Common Pleas Judge is determining appropriate sentences. The Court determines the sentence in some guilty pleas and in all jury or non-jury trials where there is a finding of guilt. The Constitution requires that most sentences be individualized, and the Judge must consider many factors, including, the charge and facts, victim impact, and the history, background, and circumstances of the person convicted. The exception to this process is the few areas where the legislature has created mandatory sentences for specific criminal offenses. In those cases, the Judge has no discretion and must impose the prescribed mandatory sentence. In all other instances advisory sentencing guidelines suggest the parameters of appropriate sentences. Judges have substantial discretion in structuring sentences. Sentences can include not only periods of incarceration or probation but also conditions such as counseling, treatment, and restitution. From a social justice standpoint, the impact of sentencing is paramount. Is balance achieved between punitive aspects and the rehabilitation of the defendant?

Briefly, the appellate courts address matters of law and policy on a higher level than can occur in Common Pleas court. The appellate court Judges and Justices have the discretion to broadly interpret and to make changes in law and precedent.

The question for us as citizens concerned for social justice is, how do we decide to best use our vote in the election of an MDJ, Common Pleas Judge or an appellate judge, or for the retention of a Common Pleas Judge or appellate Judge or Justice?

Many individuals who do not fully understand the broad impact of Judges will simply vote by political party or name recognition.

It is suggested that we need to be more discerning.

Some areas to explore are:

What is the candidate’s background and experience?

What is the candidate’s reputation for fairness and civility?

What is the candidate’s judicial philosophy in a broad sense? For example, do they have a stated position on the purpose of bail or sentencing and rehabilitation?

For a Judge facing retention, what trends can be seen in their judicial performance thus far?

For appellate Judges and Justices what are their expressed judicial philosophies in social justice areas? If they are currently serving, what have been their rulings in social justice related cases?

Some sources to obtain answers to these questions are, candidate events, social media, election websites, and endorsements.

To summarize, we need to be good consumers when considering judicial elections. We should use whatever resources are available to us to get the information needed to make informed choices.

Nathan M. Schenker, Esq.

Read Banned Books!

With Banned Book Week (October 1-7) upon us, we at Beth Chaim want to make sure those quieted voices are heard. Our own Nicole Scherer recently spoke in the synagogue about her experience with books and we wanted to share her words and love of books with anyone who missed it:

I’ve been a book lover my entire life. I was that kid whose parents took away my books because I was staying up too late reading and wouldn’t get up for school. I love everything about books: picking them up and turning them over in my hands, looking at the cover art, reading the synopsis and reviews on the jacket, looking through the pages to see how many chapters there are, the font choice. There are TikTok videos of people on timed runs through bookstores filling up baskets with as many books as they can in three minutes because their birthday gift is that they can buy whatever they can find and carry themselves in that time. That’s my dream come true! 

But my favorite thing about books is the gifts they give me. So many gifts. Most importantly, books give me the gift of learning and feeling what it’s like to live a totally different life than mine. They give me the gift of escaping my own life, which often feels boring or filled with problems I don’t particularly want to deal with. And somehow, in escaping into someone else’s world and life, books give me the gift of finding a piece of myself, something I can relate to, in a story that may seem so different than my own.  I would like to share a few of the priceless gifts given to me by some favorite books I’ve read.  

Surprisingly, I didn’t grow up having magical powers. I never learned that I was secretly a wizard, but Harry Potter’s years of adventures gave me a first-class ticket on the Hogwarts Express. While I could never wave a wand, say “Wingardium Leviosa” to make something float, I felt his worry about fitting in at school, the angst over whether to ask someone to the school dance and the pressure he was under to not give in to evil. Now, I was never actually faced with saving the world, but it often feels like every decision we make has life-or-death consequences- especially when we are growing up. Harry gave me the gift of wonder. 

Fortunately, I have never lost someone I love to gun violence. When I opened up Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Will had just learned his brother was shot. He had a gun and had just stepped onto the elevator in his building to do…something. Through Will’s eyes, I felt what it might be like to be so angry and to want revenge for his brother’s death. To understand the pressures of growing up in a neighborhood where there are unspoken rules about what it means to be a man. As I rode that elevator down with Will, the 67 seconds it took to reach the ground had me filled with anxiety, fear, anger, and grief. I thought about how so many people experience this loss and trauma every day in our country, and that I am so fortunate to not have been through the same thing. Will gave me the gift of empathy through his pain.  

One of the books I’m most grateful for having in my life is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Sáenz. If you and I have ever had a conversation about books, you already know my love of this novel. I am not a Mexican-American teenage boy, growing up in the Southwest US in the 1980s. I didn’t have a brother in prison who my family never talked about or a father who was living with the trauma of fighting in the Vietnam War. I haven’t ever had to think much about my own sexual identity, and whether it would be accepted in my world. I did bond with my kindergarten best friend over our names. They weren’t exotic philosophers like Aristotle and Dante. Instead, we were just so excited because we were both named Nicole. I do know what it’s like to know your family has secrets or things that “we just don’t talk about.” And like many of us, I know what it’s like to be a teenager desperately trying to figure out your identity, and where your place is in the world. Just wanting to belong because of who you are instead of always trying to figure out how to fit in. When on the first page Ari said, “One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke.” I mean, haven’t we all felt that at some point in our lives? Ari taught me that one true friend can truly change your life. 

If you can’t tell, I could literally talk for hours about the books that I love and my connection to them. I feel so lucky to have the privilege to have read the books I mentioned and so many more. The reality is that many people can’t access these books at school or in their local libraries because they’ve all been banned in parts of this country. Those people have lost the chance to relate to people who may be different than them, to give them a chance to feel what it is like to struggle with something so different than their lives. They have also lost the possibility of feeling seen for exactly who they are. Books help us develop connection to and empathy for people whom we may never meet in our real lives, and allow people who may feel all alone in their struggle to see themselves in a story that looks similar to their own. 

You may not love the same books that I do, but that is the beauty of having the freedom to choose for ourselves what we want to read. With 2,571 books challenged just last year, I’m sure we can all find at least one on that list that’s a favorite of ours, our kids, our grandchildren. By standing up to book challenges and bans, and by reading, buying, and gifting challenged books, we can make sure that the books we all love can continue to be read and treasured by generations to come.

-Nicole Scherer