TSTI’s Women’s Connection enjoys a ‘Bronx Tale’ with cultural and culinary tour

Photo Courtesy of TSTI
Front row, from left, are Sue Brand, Andrea Baum, Roberta Probber, Jen Strugger, Amy Block and Jane Gomez; and back row, from left, are Debra Liguori, Hilda Silverman, Janet Schwamm, Ellen Blake, Pam Riesenberg, Sunny Seglin, Rona Kahn, Peggy Barnett, Samuel Goodman, Susan Present, Debbie Arons, Alison Oxman, Amy Giles and Alice Hirsch.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Members of the Women’s Connection of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange enjoyed a walking and food tour in the Bronx on May 11. The all-day program, “A Bronx Tale – History, Art, and Food,” was planned by TSTI and Women’s Connection member Ellen Blake, who has been organizing an annual city trip for the group for many years.

Local historian, urban planner and lifelong Bronx resident Samuel Goodman began the day with a walk that highlighted major issues affecting the borough, particularly social issues that impact the neighborhoods around the Grand Concourse. They stopped at the famed Heinrich Heine Fountain in Joyce Kilmer Park, which depicts the German mythical figure Lorelei and honors the German poet, writer and social dissident who wrote the poem “Die Lorelei.” Participants saw the Bronx Museum of the Arts and enjoyed exploring historic Arthur Avenue, where they had lunch, sampled delicacies, shopped at a variety of boutiques and visited an Italian food shop that has been owned by a Jewish family since 1915.

The Women’s Connection is TSTI’s multi-generational women’s group that gathers throughout the year to share social, educational and cultural programs. Members and guests who enjoyed the Bronx tour are from South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn, Short Hills, West Orange, Summit and Montville.