Daniel Reuben Ventura, of Silver Spring, passed away on Oct 15. He was 50. Daniel is survived by his devoted parents, Jack and Stephanie Ventura; and his loving siblings, Jerome Ventura of Concord, Calif., and Marcia Ventura (Wendy Hueners) of Seattle, Wash. Dear uncle of Atticus Ventura; and adored nephew of Lorraine Leavitt, Frank and Margie Ventura, Lenore Ventura and Violet Ventura. Arrangements by Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home.

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Lisa Kirstein Sapperstein, M.D., died on Oct. 24 after an 18-year-long battle with Parkinson’s. A Washington native, Lisa attended Sheperd Elementary School, Pyle Junior High and Walt Whitman High School. She was a member of the first bat mitzvah class at Adas Israel Hebrew Congregation.

With a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree in special education from American University, Lisa graduated from George Washington University Medical School and joined the medical practice of her father, Stanley W. Kirstein and Saul Zukerman.

She was deeply loved by her husband, Richard Sapperstein, Ph.D., D.D.S.; was a devoted wife, daughter of the late Stanley W. Kirstein, M.D. and the late Selma “Bebe” Kirstein, sister to Mila Kirstein Baturin (Jimmie) and Rory Kirstein Zuckerman (Shelton), beloved aunt and dear cousin. Contributions may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation of the National Capital Area.

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Robert Lewis Rubenstein, of Williamsburg, passed away on Oct. 13. He was 78. He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Leah. He is survived by his son, Adam Rubenstein (Robin); daughters, Lisa Gerstenfeld (Philip) and Allison Rome (Bryan); loving grandchildren, Seth and Saul Gerstenfeld, Hallie and Brad Rubenstein, and Elyssa and Jack Rome; and brother, Dr. Carl Rubenstein (Debby). Donations may be made to Riverside Hospital Foundation (Riverside Doctors Hospital Make a Difference fund or Dr. Mark Ellis Cancer Care Endowment Fund).

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Carol Ruffner Korotkin, passed away on Oct. 22. She was 81. Carol was born in Washington to Anne and Robert Ruffner. After living most of her life in the Washington area, Carol moved to Connecticut two years ago to be with her sister and best friend. She is survived by her children; Rabbi Audrey Korotkin, Debra Elefant, Joel Korotkin, Sharon Lee, Susie Rehr and David Korotkin; as well as eight grandchildren. Preceded in death by her husband, Arthur. Donations can be sent to Special Strides, 118 Federal Road, Monroe, NJ 08831.

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Julian B. Kline, of Silver Spring, died on Oct. 21. Beloved husband of Doris Abelman Kline. Devoted father of Richard (Phyliss) and William (Miriam) Kline, Lori (Bill) Garner, Karen (Doug) Porter and Robert (Beth) Abelman. Loving grandfather of Aliza, Taylor, Josh (Jessica) and Annie Kline, Mitchell and Andi Garnher, Sean and Jeff Porter and Jared and Julia Abelman. Great-grandfather of Eliana, Eva Taylor, Charlie, Noa and Jameson. Contributions may be made to the Grace United Methodist Church, Women’s Dept., 7001 New Hampshire Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912. Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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David Harrison, passed away on Oct. 10. He was 88. Growing up in Bryn Mawr, Pa., David graduated from Haverford and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School. David served as a proud member of the Army before being admitted to the D.C. Bar in 1960. Spending 60 years in private practice, David was decorated by the Italian and Brazilian governments. He is survived by his son, H. Jason (Dana) Harrison; his three grandchildren, Hope, Eli and Ben; and his sister, Sybil (Marvin) Asnis of Merion Station, Pa.

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Geraldine S. “Jerrie” Gittleson, of Rockville, passed away on Oct. 16. Beloved wife of the late Bernard Gittleson. Devoted mother of Richard (Nancy) Gittleson, Joanne (Frank) Crantz, Robin (Bruce) Bortnick and Michael (Lynn) Gittleson. Loving grandmother of Matthew (Laura) Gittleson, Sarah Michnick, Lisa (Patrick) Collins, Robert (Ashley) Gittleson, Michelle (David) Marquardt, David Bortnick and Adam Bortnick, Julia Crantz, Emily (David) Silberstein and Benjamin (Rachel) Gittleson, Amanda Gittleson and Becca Gittleson. Cherished great-grandmother of Shana, Theo, Sophia, Zachary, Riley, Jacob, Alexis, Jack, Harper, Olivia, Brian, Lily, Emma, Beau and Reagan. Contributions may be made to The Hebrew Home of Greater Washington. Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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Adele Buckhantz, of Rockville, died Oct. 18. She was 92. Raised in Arlington and educated at George Washington University, Adele was an integral part of the family business, Town and Country Developers, where she led the design and decoration of different real estate projects. She also created Dell and Daughters, a separate building venture. Outside of her negotiating skills, Adele was a fine antique collector and founded Del’s Antiques.

Adele is predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Richard, and her sister, Geraldine. She is survived by her children, Terri (Tom) Powell, Nancy (Gary) Kolker and Steven (Shelley) Buckhantz; grandchildren, Kim, Michael (Angela), Stacey and Brian Powell and Thomas, Courtney and Kelly Kolker; and great-grandchild, Keaton. Arrangements entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.

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Carole A. Potash, of Bethesda, died on Oct. 26. Beloved wife of the late Louis Potash; devoted mother of Moira (Potash) Larsen, Stuart Potash and Neil Potash; beloved sister of the late Reva Silverman; cherished grandmother of Erin (Potash) Fig, Ethan Larsen and Zachary Larsen; and great-grandmother of Levi and Isla Fig. Contributions may be made to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger (mazon.org) or Temple Isaiah, 12200 Scaggsville Road, Fulton, MD 20759. Arrangements by Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home.

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Barbara Jean Lewis, of Washington, passed away on Oct. 21. Beloved wife of the late Daniel E. Lewis for 71 years; devoted mother of George Lewis of Washington and Richard Lewis of Encino, Calif. Cherished grandmother of Andrew, Samantha and Brandon Lewis; dear aunt of Meg Wiggins. Contributions may be made to Healthy Babies Project, healthybabiesproject.org. Arrangements by Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home.

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Rabbi Michael Bloom died Nov. 14, 2019. He was 60. Founder of the Washington Nationals’ Ballpark minyan, he was a docent and historian at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington and chairperson of the General Orde Wingate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Having served as director of budget planning at the Treasury Department, Bloom was also a Torah reader at the Pentagon Chapel and national deputy chaplain of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA and chaplain at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.

He was ordained in his mid-50s by Rabbi Aharon Ziegler, a talmid of Rav Soloveitchik and rosh kollel of Kollel Agudath Achim. Rabbi Mike had earlier begun serving as chaplain at senior citizen facilities in greater Washington. He taught and led services at multiple facilities, in addition to his presentations on Jewish foods, history, ethics, comedy, writing and Judaism at academic and cultural programs in the Washington area.

Son of the late Albert W. and Evelyn G. Bloom of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Michael Bloom will be remembered by friends, siblings, Shanen Bloom Werber, Dov Bloom and Elana Bloom; and nieces and nephews on Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. on Zoom and in person at Garden of Remembrance Cemetery, in Clarksburg. For more information: werberfamily@gmail.com

Donations may be made to Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington or to Hillel Academy.

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Sandra Balsam, of Rockville, died on Oct. 30. She was the beloved wife of the late Everett Balsam; loving mother of Jessica, Samuel and Seth (Kimberly Brooks) Balsam; and dear grandmother to Vivienne Balsam. Contributions may be made to the Montgomery County Stroke Association, P.O. Box 9343, Silver Spring, MD 20916. Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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Estelle G. Balfour, of Silver Spring, passed away on Oct. 30. Devoted mother of Bradley (Ellen) and Neil (Orly) Balfour, and Marla (Randy) Werber. Dear sister of Harvey (Ronna) Rosenberg. Loving grandmother of Matthew and Jacob Balfour, Daniella (Duncan) Burdette, Maya Balfour and Erica and Jason Werber. Contributions may be made to Na’amat USA, naamat.org, or to For 3 Sisters, f3s.org. Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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By Cnaan Liphshiz

When Abraham Grossman was a teenager, he fled his native Germany on what came to be known as the kindertransport, a rescue effort that brought about 10,000 Jewish children fleeing the Nazis to England.

He returned just a few years later, but by then he was as a proud fighter in the British Army’s Jewish Brigade. One of his postings was to the former prison in Bavaria where Hitler had written his infamous book “Mein Kampf.”

Grossman, who died from the coronavirus in Israel last month at the age of 95, described his pride in participating in the fight against Nazism in his memoir.

“Two thousand years after Bar Kochba commanded a Jewish army, another army of Jewish soldiers arose, founded by the British and serving as an independent fighting force,” Grossman wrote, according to an obituary published in Haaretz. “On their sleeves was the Jewish flag in blue and white, with a Magen David symbol sewn in golden thread in the middle. The uniforms carried Hebrew insignia indicating that they were part of a
Jewish combat unit.”

Grossman had thought of himself as an ordinary German before the rise of the Nazis, though he had suffered anti-Semitic harassment and got into fights because he was Jewish. But as he and his brother left Germany on the eve of the war, Grossman shouted out the window “let Germany die,” Haaretz reported.

When Grossman’s unit arrived at the Landsberg prison in Bavaria, it had already been converted into a displaced persons camp for Jewish Holocaust survivors.

He is survived by two sons, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

—JTA News and Features

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By Ben Harris, Cnaan Liphshiz and Gabe Friedman

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom whose extensive writings and frequent media appearances commanded a global following among Jews and non-Jews alike, has died.

Sacks died Saturday morning at age 72, his Twitter account announced. He was in the midst of a third bout of cancer, which he had announced in October.

Sacks was among the world’s leading exponents of Orthodox Judaism for a global audience. In his 22 years as chief rabbi, he emerged as the most visible Jewish leader in the United Kingdom and one of the European continent’s leading Jewish voices, offering Jewish wisdom to the masses through a regular segment he produced for the BBC. He had a close relationship with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called Sacks “an intellectual giant” and presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2018.

Sacks was also an immensely prolific author, addressing pressing social and political issues in a succession of well received books. His popular commentary on the prayer book, published by Koren, helped to dethrone the more traditionalist Artscroll Siddur as the preeminent prayer book in American Modern Orthodox synagogues.

Sacks was normally averse to mixing religion and politics, something he discussed, along with his latest book, “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times,” and an array of other hot-button topics with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in August.

“When anger erupts in a body politic, there is quite often a justified cause. But then the political domain has got to take that anger and deal with it very fast,” he said in an interview. “Because anger exposes the problem but never delivers the solution.”

But he did take public stances on two topics that were often ensnared with European politics: Israel and anti-Semitism.

Sacks spoke out publicly as Britain’s Labour Party was engulfed in an anti-Semitism scandal under its previous leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling Corbyn an anti-Semite.

“We have an anti-Semite as the leader of the Labour Party and her majesty’s opposition. That is why Jews feel so threatened by Mr. Corbyn and those who support him,” Sacks said in 2018 during an interview with the New Statesman.

That judgement paved the way for the current British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to harshly condemn the Labour Party, a precedent-setting event in British Jewish life.

Corbyn was replaced in April by centrist Keir Starmer, who has apologized for how anti-Semitism was allowed to flourish in Labour’s ranks under Corbyn. Starmer, who is married to a Jewish woman, expressed his condolences to “the entire Jewish world” in a tweet on Saturday.

“He was a towering intellect whose eloquence, insights and kindness reached well beyond the Jewish community. I have no doubt that his legacy will live on for many generations,” Starmer wrote.

Sacks was also vocal in his opposition to the forces that lead to anti-Semitism on the far left and the far right, as he wrote in an op-ed in January.

“Anti-Semitism has little to do with Jews — they are its object, not its cause — and everything to do with dysfunction in the communities that harbor it,” he wrote.

In 2017, in a widely circulated YouTube video, Sacks called anti-Zionism a new form of anti-Semitism, arguing that it denies Jews the “right to exist collectively with the same rights as everyone else.”

The video was based on a 2016 speech Sacks delivered in Brussels, which is widely seen as having paved the way to Britain’s adoption later that year of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

But the video went far beyond political and academic circles, and became symbolic of Sacks’ ability to reach mainstream audiences. Rachel Riley, a famous British Jewish game show television host, last year shared the video, telling her over 600,000 Twitter followers that it is “the best explanation of antisemitism I’ve seen.”

Sacks branched out beyond religious and Jewish cultural thought as well. In 2017 he delivered a Ted Talk about “facing the future without fear” and what he called a “fateful moment” in Western history after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, citing Thomas Paine and anthropologists to make an argument about returning a culture of togetherness.

Born in London in 1948, Sacks studied at Cambridge University. While a student there in the ’60s, he visited Rabbi Menachem Schneerson — the spiritual leader who is credited with turning the Chasidic Chabad-Lubatvitch movement into a powerful organizing force of Jewry around the world — in New York City. Sacks credits that meeting with inspiring him to get involved with Jewish studies, as he detailed in a series of videos for Chabad.org in 2011.

He became the rabbi of the Golders Green synagogue in London’s most Orthodox neighborhood in the late ’70s and then rabbi of the Marble Arch synagogue in central London.

The U.K. Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl also released a statement on Saturday.

“Rabbi Sacks was a giant of both the Jewish community and wider society. His astounding intellect and courageous moral voice were a blessing to all who encountered him in person, in writing or in broadcast,” van der Zyl said.

Sacks is survived by his wife, Elaine, three children and several grandchildren.

jta.org

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Patricia Sagon, of Washington, passed away on Nov. 3. She was 70. Beloved partner of Charles Miller and predeceased by her parents, Philip and Martha Sagon. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.

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Harriet Abramson Reines, of Chevy Chase, passed away on Nov. 5. Beloved wife of the late Stanley S. Reines; devoted mother of Cary (Ellen) and Jody (Dr. David Topolsky) Reines; loving grandmother of Sloane, Luke and Jack Howell and Maya and Olivia Zygielbaum. Contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or Parkinson.org. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.

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Monroe Jon “Momo” Mizel, of Kensington, passed away on Oct. 28. He was 80. Born to Bernard and Mariam Mizel in 1940, Monroe earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in 1961 and a law degree from Georgetown University in 1964. He married the love of his life, Diane Cohen, in 1963.

A talented attorney, Monroe incorporated his interests in fly fishing and environmental activism into his legal work. Monroe provided pro bono services to Trout Unlimited and, in one case, forced the State of Maryland to stop using chlorine in streams.

Monroe is survived by his wife, Diane, and his children, Melina (Jon) Goldfarb, Tara Lieber and Ari (Yocheved) Mizel. Donations may be made to Trout Unlimited or to MDS Foundation. Services entrusted to Shomrei Neshama of Greater Washington.

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Matthew David Loudon, of Olney, died on Nov. 3. Beloved son of David and Deena Goldberg Loudon. Dear brother of Ryan and Gillian Loudon. Loving grandson of Leonard and Phyllis Shankman Goldberg and John and Katherine Herbold Loudon; and great-grandson of Lola Herbold. Loving nephew of Tom and Sarah Loudon and Bret and Paula Goldberg Butler. Cherished cousin of Megan and Michael. Contributions may be made to Angels at Risk (www.angelsatrisk.org) or to Relay for Life (www.secure.acservents.org). Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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Jerry Dunietz, of Rockville, passed away on Nov. 4. Father of Samuel (Simi) Dunietz; life partner of Penelope Fisher; son of the late Sol and Genia; brother of Doris Shapiro. Arrangements entrusted to Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home.

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