Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 16, 2020 Page: 6 of 16
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AROUND THE TOWN
TEXAS JEWISH POST $ SINCE 1947
6 I July 16,2020
COVID-19 doesn't sideline Ikrrant County simchas
By Hannah Simon
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Jonas Evans celebrated the first virtual
bar mitzvah at Beth-EI Congregation
in Fort Worth in May. From left,
Robert Brinkman, Jonas Evans, Sarah
Brinkman and Chava Rousch-Carlisle.
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Jonas Evans, son of Robert
and Sarah Brinkman and James
Evans, had his bar mitzvah May
16 over Zoom conducted by
Rabbi Brian Zimmerman. This
was the first Zoom bar mitzvah
Beth-EI Congregation had ever
done. Jonas had been working so
hard, and did not want to push it
out until a later date. His Torah
portion was Behar-Bechukotai.
Jonas’s aliyot were chanted over
Zoom by Daniel and Christy
Rousch, in person by Chava
Rousch-Carlisle and lastly, by
Jonas. Chava also presented
Jonas with his grandfather’s
tallit. When asked why he was
so determined to stick to his
original date, he replied, “I
wanted to get it over with. It
was less pressure because not
everyone was looking at me.” He
will go down in Beth-El’s history
as the first virtual bar mitzvah.
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Photos: Submitted
Dylan Finkelstein, center, on his bar mitzvah with his family, from left, Jason,
Zachary, Ashton and Alice Finkelstein.
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At the Schneiders' Lag B'Omer wedding day are clockwise, from left, the bride
and groom Drs. Charwynneand Barry Schneider, chuppah holder Jeff Rothschild,
Hazzan Jeffrey Weber and Rabbi Andrew Bloom.
Alice Finkelstein, and lastly, by
Dylan. The Finkelsteins hope to
be in Israel next summer.
Rabbi Zimmerman explained
the ins and outs of a virtual
ceremony. “Both Zoom and
livestream offer benefits but
also challenges. Our first virtual
bar mitzvah was on Zoom
and allowed family members
to participate from remote
locations. However, we made a
decision to move forward with
livestreaming whenever possible.
While a private sanctuary
livestream with only the rabbi
and the immediate family present
limited the interpersonal give-
and-take of a Zoom call, it also
allowed us to bring the family
and virtually, extended family,
into a larger sacred space. While
not every temple has this option,
we felt that the high definition
streaming allowed the family to
escape the physical confines of
this home quarantine and hold
this liminal event in a sacred and
also different physical location.”
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The benefit of a Zoom bar
mitzvah is that people who were
not physically present were able
to interact with Jonas, so it was a
very different experience. Jonas’
family in New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Texas, who might
not have been able to attend, got
to watch and interact with him,
while he led his bar mitzvah
service, from the comfort of
their own homes.
Dylan Finkelstein, son of
Jason and Alice Finkelstein,
had his bar mitzvah July 2
over a livestream conducted by
Rabbi Zimmerman as well. He
was supposed to have his bar
mitzvah in Israel at the Western
Wall, but due to COVID-19, he
had to change his plans. Dylan
said, “It felt weird at first, but I
got to put my own touch on it.”
He read his late grandfather’s
original bar mitzvah speech
from 1955. Dylan’s aliyot were
performed over the phone,
traveling in an RV, by the
Menkes family (Jason’s sister),
over the phone by Kurt and Ilana
Knust, in person by Jason and
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Drs. Barry and Charwynne Schneider
and, from left, Maggie and Teddy.
Dr. Barry and Dr. Charwynne
Schneider were married outside
of Ahavath Sholom May 12, Fag
B’Omer. Dr. Barry Schneider
explained, “The only day a couple
can get married between Pesach
and Shavuot is on Lag B’Omer.
We had been planning it for a
while, and with the pandemic,
we did not want to wait until
the world started to spin again.”
Although the Schneiders do not
have another official wedding
celebration planned, they plan to
celebrate with their family when
it is safe to gather. They did have
an Italian cruise planned, but it
was canceled due to COVID-19.
Barry and Charwynne met
when they were both working
in the Fort Worth Independent
School District in the ‘80s. They
have been family friends for
years. He ran into her at shul,
and the rest was history.
Rabbi Bloom said, “One of
the foundations in all of Judaism
is celebrating lifecycle events as
they bring Joy to an entirety of
a community. Nothing could be
more true about this statement
than a wedding during a
pandemic. The chuppah is open
on all sides, and it was as if the
pandemic was blowing outward
and flying away while God’s
presence and the best wishes of
thousands of years of Judaism
was filling up the holy space.”
Barry served as the national
commander of the Jewish War
Veterans last year. He has been
an active member of the Fort
Worth Jewish community for
years. Charwynne sits on the
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Wisch-Ray, Sharon. Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 16, 2020, newspaper, July 16, 2020; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1305751/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .