High school hallway project highlights contributions of Jewish Americans

By Susie Davidson
Special to the Advocate
　
Inside the main foyer of Medford High School, Louis Brandeis, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Dylan and Barbara Walters take their place next to displays of athletic trophies, school clubs and graduating seniors.

The board featuring large-size photos of Jewish notables is courtesy of a substitute teacher who goes by the unlikely – but legal – name of Joyce The Voice.

The photos come from the PBS book and film series “The Jewish Americans.” The display also includes tributes The Voice designed with the help of school Web designer Ginny Borkowski.

“This is the fifth year the exhibit has been up,” said The Voice. “It begins on the first week of April and remains up all summer.” Every year, she adds to the gallery.

Others featured include Albert Einstein, Gloria Steinem, Robert and Myra Kraft, Senator Joe Lieberman, vaccine pioneers Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, Mel Brooks, Alan Dershowitz and, of course, New York City Mayor (and Medford native) Michael Bloomberg.

The Voice, a Utica, N.Y. native who now lives in Medford resident, has served as a substitute at the school for 11 years. Since 1990, she has produced and hosted “TheVoicemobile,” a variety show that airs　on Tufts’ radio station WMFO (91.5 FM) 　on Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. (She refers to herself as “The Rebbe of the Radio.”)　For the last two years, she has taught Sunday school and Hebrew classes at Temple Tifereth Israel in Malden.

“My family name is Rokeach,” she explained. Joyce The Voice came to the former Joyce Gail Rokeach in a conversation with a friend in London, where she lived from 1970 to 1973. “My friend said it was perfect and that I had to use it,” she recalled. At that time, she was writing for various music publications, including Melody Maker, as well as managing musicians and artists. “When I returned to the States, another friend suggested that I make it my legal name, which I did,” she said.

The Voice comes from a Chassidic dynasty (the Belz on her father’s side, and the Bach on his mother’s), and as an adult, became a follower of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. “The more I have studied with various teachers and Rabbis,” she said, “the more I realize the beauty and depth of our tradition.”

The Voice said she was inspired to launch the project, “Jewish Contributions to America,” by Jewish American Heritage Month, which was instituted nationally in May 2006. May was selected because it falls around the time of the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Israeli Independence Day, and the Days of Remembrance of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust.

When The Voice proposed the project, she quickly received the support of Headmaster Paul Krueger, Superintendant Roy E. Belson, faculty and students.

“The kids study the Holocaust here, but that’s all they get for Judaic education,” The Voice said. “That’s all they know about us as a people.”

To The Voice, there is indeed so much more. “If our fellow Jews only knew what a treasure we have in the Torah and our great sages, they would flock to our teachers and drink from their knowledge,” she said. “The whole world is in turmoil looking for answers. Why not go to the source?”

Foreign language coordinator Rita DiCarlo agreed. “It’s good for the students to see familiar names that they can relate to,” she said.
As he passed by the display, student Trent Sullivan said, “I’m Christian, but I greatly support the cause of the Jewish people and of Israel.”

Debora Stadfeld, who teaches 9th grade history, agreed, “Today, with so many countries ganging up on Israel, it’s more important than ever to teach who the Jewish people are and what they contribute to the world."
Besides setting up the board, The Voice arranges for students and faculty to make announcements about Jewish-American personalities over the school public address system during the first week of April. “My dad’s Jewish, but even though I’m not, it felt good to pay　him respect and to honor him by participating in this,” said sophomore Jake Liberty, who gave a talk about Bob Dylan.

In conjunction with the photo exhibit, the library sets up a display of Jewish-related books, including some from The Voice’s own collection, and the high school Web sites posts a video.

The Voice hopes to obtain grants to incorporate the project into the school’s curriculum.

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Inside the main foyer of Medford High School, Justice Louis Brandeis, comic Jerry Seinfeld, newswoman Susan Wornick, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, musician Bob Dylan, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and television journalist Barbara Walters take their place beside displays of varsity achievement, school clubs, and graduating seniors.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of MHS substitute teacher Joyce the Voice (actual legal name), passersby will see, amid the offices, library, mingling students and bustling teachers, a large annual display celebrating the contributions of Jewish Americans to the country. The board contains large color blow-ups from the 2007-2008 PBS book and film series “The Jewish Americans,” which Voice discovered and purchased at Israel Books, as well as original tributes she designed with the assistance of school web designer Ginny Borkowski. Those heralded on the board also include Albert Einstein, Gloria Steinem, Robert Kraft, Myra Kraft, Sen. Joe Lieberman, vaccine pioneers Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, comic actor and producer Mel Brooks, Alan Dershowitz, Adam Sandler, and, of course, New York City Mayor and Medford native Michael Bloomberg.

“This is the fifth year the exhibit has been up,” said Voice, “It begins on the first week of April and remains up all summer.” Every year, she adds to the featured Judaic subjects.

Voice, a Utica, New York native and a Medford resident, has substitute taught at the school for 11 years. Since 1990, she has produced and hosted the Wednesday afternoon “Voicemobile” show on Tufts’ radio station, WMFO. Two years ago, she also began teaching Sunday school and Hebrew classes at Temple Tifereth Israel in Malden.

She was inspired to launch the project, which she calls “Jewish Contributions to America,” and to create the annual Jewish American display in 2006, when following the efforts by the Jewish Museum of Florida and the South Florida Jewish community, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) introduced resolutions to establish a Jewish American Heritage Month. President George W. Bush signed the resolution on April 20 of that year. The month of May correlated with the May, 2004 observance by the Commission　to Commemorate 350 Years of American Jewish History, a collaborative project between The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, The American Jewish Historical Society, The Library of Congress, and the National Archives and Records Administration.　

Presidential Proclamation 8379, issued by President Obama on May 12, 2009, stated that the Jewish American story exemplified the diversity in American history that has been a source of strength and enrichment for the nation. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the premiere White House reception for Jewish American Heritage Month in 2010; guests included Vice President Joe Biden and Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax.

Although Jewish American Heritage Month is observed in May, it originated in the context of a designated week in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter issued Presidential Proclamation 4752 in April 1980, which called for a week in April or May to be Jewish Heritage Week. Carter noted the significance of the April, 1980 date in the Jewish calendar, as it was the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Israeli Independence Day, and the Days of Remembrance of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust. The annual stipulation of a week in April or May continued between 1981 and 1990, when Congress passed annual public laws for a certain week, with Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush issuing yearly proclamations that highlighted important Jewish historical events. Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush continued to issue proclamations for a week in April or May as well, leading up to Bush’s 2006 resolution for Jewish History Month.

When Voice proposed the project, she quickly received the support of Headmaster Dr. Paul Krueger, Superintendant Roy E. Belson, faculty and students. She opted to mount the board right at the start of April, then go through Jewish History Month, and have the display remain throughout the summer months. She feels it is an important and necessary educational adjunct for the students that provides an uplifting and recognizable educational opportunity. “The kids study the Holocaust here, but that’s all they get for Judaic education,” she said. “That’s all they know about us as a people.”

Foreign Language Coordinator Rita DiCarlo stopped by, and agreed. “It’s good for the students to see familiar names that the they can relate to,” she said.

Sophomore Trent Sullivan passed by the display as well, “I’m Christian,” he said, “but I greatly support the cause of the Jewish people and of Israel.” He expressed appreciation for the progress made by Israel in many fields, which he feels is unmatched by that of many other countries. “I believe that everyone should have an intricate understanding of the Jewish people, as well as what’s happening in the Middle East,” he said.

During the first week of April, Voice arranges for students and faculty to make announcements each morning about different Jewish-American personalities over the school P.A. system. A display of relevant books on Jewish subjects from the library collection is also displayed each year, along with books from Voice’s own collection.

Photos and a video about the project are also posted on the MHS website. “Follow-up video interviews were made to assess the effectiveness of the project, and to elicit ideas to grow the effort,” she said, remarking that she hopes that this project becomes part of the high school curriculum.