Ezra Solway

Ellen and Steven Zinn are hosting an October 7 themed Passover Seder to pay homage to Jewish communities from around the world. Every year, Ellen and Steven Zinn host a Passover Seder that features a distinct theme. The tradition began during the Gulf War, when the couple used yellow ribbons on their Passover table as a token of hope for American soldiers in the middle of Operation Desert Storm to return home unscathed.

When Cherry Hill resident Jason Cohen, 44, got an email in February that he was selected to be a contestant on the popular gameshow, “Wheel of Fortune,” he was in the middle of watching the show with his son, Hunter.

Founders of Chabad of Camden & Burlington Counties, Rabbi Mendy and Dinie Mangel (center) with their eight children, two children-in-law, and two of their four grandchildren. On Wednesday May 22 at 6 p.m., Chabad of Camden & Burlington Counties will host its 30th anniversary in Southern New Jersey at their annual gala celebration. The event will take place at The Chabad Center on 1925 Kresson Road in Cherry Hill

With the goal of studying health care services for older adults who need long term care in other cultures, local elder care attorneys Jerold Rothkoff and Bryan Adler recently embarked on a “transformative” cross-cultural trip to Colombia.

Instrumental in the planning of the Yom HaZikaron event were (from left), Tal Shahar; Rinat Morad, Yom HaZikaron chair; Gil Zilberman, JCRC of SNJ ShinShinim; Zohar Lechyani, JCRC of SNJ ShinShinim; and Dorin Mendelby, director of Advocacy & Relations, JCRC of SNJ. Dressed in customary white or shirts that read “Bring Them Home Now,” invoking the hostages who remain in captivity by Hamas in Gaza, 250 South Jersey residents came together in the Katz JCC Lahn Social Hall on May 12 to pay tribute to Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror on Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s day of remembrance).

Celebrating BookMates’ 25th anniversary were (front, from left), Co-founder of BookMates Dr. Judith Nadell; BookMates Steering Committee Co-chair Debbie Hochberg; BookMates Director Rhonda Shevrin; Evesham Detective Sierra Gates; Evesham Sergeant Laura Brown; Camden City Metro Officer Lisandra Sime; and Cherry Hill Officer John Domingo; with (rear, from left), Cherry Hill Chief of Police Robert Kempf; Evesham Chief of Police Walt Miller; Camden County Metro Lieutenant Luis Gonzalez; Cherry Hill Officer Anthony Amato; Cherry Hill Officer Jerry Gares; Evesham Officer Richard Worst; Cherry Hill Lieutenant Andy Spell; Evesham Officer David Trivers; and Camden County Metro Officer Sherrod Patterson. Photos by Marc Shenker. “Twenty-five years ago, we were a fledgling initiative with a handful of volunteers reading to a smattering of kids in a single school,” BookMates founding member Dr. Judith Nadell told 200 guests in the Katz JCC Lahn Social Hall on June 5. The event celebrated the significant milestone for the interfaith literacy program. Now, a quarter of a century later, BookMates matches over 200 volunteers with 450 children in 30 schools in Burlington and Camden counties.

On May 9, JBAR President Joe Lemkin gave a podium address alongside the board at the office of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. The Jewish Bar Association of New Jersey (JBAR), a newly established organization, aims to be a source of mentorship, advocacy, and education for the state’s Jewish legal community amid rising antisemitism.

Emerging Cherry Hill actress Jessica Gollin,19, is using the power of performance to remind people of what could happen when Jewish hatred is left unchecked. Gollin, who’s been acting since she got cast in a local “Wizard of Oz” show at six years old, just finished her portrayal of Anne Frank in the play “The Diary of Anne Frank” at the Players Club of Swarthmore, based on the famous book “The Diary of a Young Girl.” For Gollin, the role was a dream come true six years in the making.

Chabad’s first Jewish student center on the campus at Rowan University is officially in the works. The three-story, 21,000-square foot building was approved by the town of Glassboro for 69 Mick Drive, according to Co-director Rabbi Hersh Loschak. The new facility will be more than four times the size of the current Chabad on Hamilton Road just outside of Rowan’s campus, where Rabbi Loschak and Rebbetzin Fraidy Loschak have grown their presence significantly over the last 10 years.

FAMILY: Parents Daniela & Avi; siblings Yehuda, Hannah & Nava