Prizes in HERCRI art and writing contest come with a story

Betty Jaffe offers a little background

Betty JaffeBetty Jaffe met Alfred Jaffe by chance. She had agreed to go on a blind date, only to discover that she “towered over the man.” Luckily, the circumstance ended up working in her favor when the gentleman decided to introduce her to his friend Alfred, whose height was more compatible. Little did the matchmaker know that the two would end spending 54 years together as husband and wife.

Married in 1953, the Jaffes had much more in common than height. Mrs. Jaffe talks about frequenting theater and going out to dinners. They also enjoyed concerts, seeing the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Boston Symphony orchestras on a regular basis. The husband and wife also loved jazz. They didn’t appreciate rock ‘n’ roll too much (“It’s foreign to me”) and preferred plays to movies; the former benefit from an intermission during which you can discuss the performance.

Mrs. Jaffe explains that her husband became an orthodontist because he truly loved children. She recollects, “He related to children well. It was an effortless kind of thing.” May-Ronny Zeidman, the executive director of The Holocaust Education and Resource Center of Rhode Island (HERCRI), has similar memories of Dr. Jaffe. Two of her children were his patients, so Zeidman had a chance to observe the doctor in action. She says that he was aware of how painful it was to put on braces and did his best to help the kids through the ordeal. Dr. Jaffe left an impression on the family: “He was a very kind, gentle, always-smiling man,” she says.

Mrs. Jaffe says that, after he retired, her husband “spent a tremendous amount of his leisure time reading biographies and histories.” That’s another interest the two shared, considering Mrs. Jaffe’s master’s degree in modern European history from Brown University. His fascination with the past and his love of children made it easy for his wife to select a cause for contributions after his death. Dr. Jaffe was already in the hospital when HERCRI solicited sponsors for an exhibition of pictures the Terezin children created. The two of them thought it a worthy cause, wanting to participate. A month later, after consulting their three children, Mrs. Jaffe suggested in her husband’s obituary that donations in Dr. Jaffe’s memory may be sent to the Holocaust Center.

That was eight years ago. Zeidman remembers that there were many donations. She proposed to Mrs. Jaffe that, rather than using the sum for general expenses, the center should start an endowment in Dr. Jaffe’s name. Later, it would be used to pay for books, which Mrs. Jaffe presents to the winners of the annual Art and Writing Contest. The family approved.

HERCRI reaches about 6,000 children a year. R.I. and southern Massachusetts students, ranging from middle school through college, appreciate its programs, which aim to teach about the Holocaust. Zeidman says that the Holocaust for the Arts program uses theater exhibits to teach the history and engage kids, who spend a day learning outside the classroom and seeing films such as “Miracle at Midnight,” a docudrama about the Danish resistance movement that helped save Jews during WWII.

The center’s annual Art and Writing Contest, supported by the Dr. Jaffe Endowment Fund, receives around 300 submissions. The center awards 80-100 winners with Holocaust-themed age-appropriate books such as Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” Alice Goldstein’s “Ordinary People, Turbulent Times” and Gerda Weissmann Klein’s “All But My Life.” Every child also receives a certificate that states the category in which he won.

Zeidman estimates that the contest has been around for at least 15 years. Recently, they added some new categories to old standbys – paintings, poems, short stories and essays – that include videos and sculpture. The entries that stand out receive special prizes of $100 – those are given to Best in Show, as well as to Best Art and Best Writing (through the Singer Art Endowment and the Morris Gastfreund Endowment for writing, both of which honor Holocaust survivors).

Last year, the writing winner read his entry during the ceremony. Zeidman found the reading powerful and plans to ask this year’s winner to do the same. Together with the art, which is displayed in the Dwares JCC Social Hall on the day of the event, the writing creates a certain atmosphere, allowing the attendees to witness how much thought the children put into their submissions.

Members of the HERCRI Board of Directors judge the entries using a score sheet containing six categories, such as creativity and theme, by which they rate every entry, assigning it an overall score. Zeidman says that two people evaluate each submission. She estimates that most of the students are from parochial schools; many are first-generation Americans. “For their parents, it’s the American dream. Their child has won something in education!” Zeidman loves that the parents feel enormous pride. She remembers the time when one family invited their child’s entire Little League team to the ice cream social that takes place on the same night as the awards ceremony.

The center also acknowledges two teachers, who receive cash awards of $250 from Joyce and Bob Starr. Zeidman says, “Certain teachers just end up rising to the top each year.” Paula Olivieri, the center’s education coordinator, works with teachers to arrange school visits of Holocaust survivors and collaborates with the Education Committee to create programs and teacher workshops. Mrs. Jaffe commends the “dedication of teachers who come to workshops on their own time.” She says that it is because of their devotion that the children who submit their entries demonstrate “sophistication and a real depth of understanding.”

Mrs. Jaffe enjoys handing out the books to the winners during the ceremony. “It is a joy to see these kids who come with their families. It’s an honor for them to receive these prizes. Parents come with such pleasure and pride. They’re all dressed up – it obviously means a lot. They have no idea how deeply moved I am by this.”

She is thankful to Zeidman and Olivieri for all of their hard work. This is the first year Mrs. Jaffe is on the Board of Directors, and she is feeling “rather impressed with the programs we create. Members are singularly dedicated. Some have a great interest in doing something very substantive.” Mrs. Jaffe says Judith Jamieson, HERCRI president, is “an unusually able and confident person. There is a humor and humanity in her bearing.” Overall, she sees the board as “a very dedicated group composed of Jews and non-Jews who work well together.”

Along with the teachers, the members strive to impart the message of empathy and sensitivity. Mrs. Jaffe’s hope is that the students take the lessons they learn about treating people equally and respectfully to heart. Because these children are at a formative age, she believes that it’s a crucial time for them to absorb these facts and come to an understanding that the messages of social justice must be carried on. “If the Holocaust can happen in a highly cultured country, it can happen anywhere.”

Editor’s Note: The Art and Writing Contest awards ceremony  is May 31 at 5 p.m. The winning entries will be on display in the Dwares JCC Social Hall.

IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.