Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 14, April 7, 2017 by Atlanta Jewish Times

Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 14

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APRIL 7, 2017 | 11 NISAN 5777

Chag Sameach Happy Passover

APRIL 7 â&#x2013;ª 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INSIDE THE AJT Supporters of Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta share a couple of feasts. Page 8

OUR BIAS OK, it’s not an April Fools’ joke: The Atlanta Jewish Times is ready to embrace a lack of objectivity. Page 10

WOMEN WHO DARE NCJW honors a Muslim who uplifts refugees, a defeated presidential candidate and a crusading judge. Page 14

RACE AND RELIGION Jews of color say they often face discrimination and misunderstanding in multiple directions. Page 19

MIND THE GAP Philanthropists have a role to play in helping Israel improve the status of Arab citizens. Page 20

HERE AND THERE Federation leaders are seeking creative ways to develop a sense of Jewish place in Atlanta. Page 25

COME TOGETHER The Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism’s first step gets over 150 groups in one room. Page 28

ISIS GENOCIDE A Holocaust expert turns to the plight of the Yazidis at the hands of Islamic State. Page 33

SOUTHERN LIGHT An Atlantan helps deliver a Torah from her closed hometown synagogue to Guatemala City. Page 36

Corrections & Clarifications

PRAYING FOR LEADERS The lay leaders at three major Jewish nonprofits got their communal starts at OVS. Page 40

STILL GROWING The Daffodil Project gets its annual boost from the Daffodil Dash in Dunwoody. Page 44

THIRST-QUENCHING Kosher-for-Passover wines offer enough variety and quality to create perfect seder pairings. Page 56

BACK IN THE USSR Atlanta Jewish Academy conducts a second matzah mission to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Page 60 On the cover: Pharaoh’s army comes to a sad but inevitable end, freeing the Hebrews to escape into the wilderness, in this woodcut from the Ma’aleh Bet Horin Haggadah, crafted by Anton Shmid in 1794. Based on the Amsterdam text, the haggadah adds instructions for the seder between major sections of the ritual in a western Judeo-German dialect, which is different than the Yiddish of Eastern European Jews. (Courtesy of the Pitts Theology Library)

INDEX Calendar �� 4 Candle Lighting �� 4 Ma Tovu �� 5 Israel News �� 6 Local News �� 8 Opinion �� 10 Business ��13 Politics ��46 Passover ��49 Education �� 67 Sports �� 69 Obituaries �� 70 Marketplace �� 72 Cartoon �� 72 Crossword �� 74

The website address for Masa Israel Journey, a clearinghouse for gap-year programs, was incorrect in Mark Fisher’s column “Want a Break Before Starting College?” in the March 31 issue. The correct URL is www.masaisrael.org.

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HIGH ON NO INTEREST

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CALENDAR Atlanta

THROUGH JUNE 11

PUBLISHER

MICHAEL A. MORRIS

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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER KAYLENE LADINSKY

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ADVERTISING

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

“Atlanta Collects.” The second part of the exhibit of privately held art, covering contemporary work, is at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Museum admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and educators, and $4 for children 3 to 6; thebreman.org or 678-222-3700.

Tzav Friday, April 7, light candles at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, April 8, Shabbat ends at 8:42 p.m. Start of Pesach Monday, April 10, light candles at 7:47 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, light candles after 8:44 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, holiday ends at 8:45 p.m. Intermediate Shabbat of Pesach Friday, April 14, light candles at 7:50 p.m. Saturday, April 15, Shabbat ends at 8:47 p.m. End of Pesach Sunday, April 16, light candles at 7:52 p.m. Monday, April 17, light candles after 8:49 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, holiday ends at 8:50 p.m.

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SARAH MOOSAZADEH sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Contributors This Week JASON ADLER • SKYE ESTROFF RABBI DAVID GEFFEN GEDALIA GENIN • YONI GLATT JORDAN GORFINKEL RACHEL FAYNE GRUSKIN LEAH R. HARRISON JAN JABEN-EILON • LOIS JACOBS MARCIA CALLER JAFFE RABBI PAUL KERBEL BENJAMIN KWESKIN BEVERLY LEVITT • KEVIN MADIGAN TED ROBERTS • EUGEN SCHOENFELD DENA SCHUSTERMAN CHANA SHAPIRO • ELI SPERLING RACHEL STEIN RABBI MARC HOWARD WILSON PATRICE WORTHY

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CONTACT INFORMATION GENERAL OFFICE 404.883.2130 KAYLENE@ATLJEWISHTIMES.COM The Atlanta Jewish Times is printed in Georgia and is an equal opportunity employer. The opinions expressed in the Atlanta Jewish Times do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Periodicals Postage Paid at Atlanta, Ga.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES (ISSN# 0892-33451) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SOUTHERN ISRAELITE, LLC 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 © 2017 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES Printed by Walton Press Inc. MEMBER Conexx: America Israel Business Connector American Jewish Press Association Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce Please send all photos, stories and editorial content to: submissions@atljewishtimes.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 6

Comedy show. Jerry Farber performs standup for the Edgewise group at 10:30 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for all; www.atlantajcc.org.

FRIDAY, APRIL 7

Pre-Passover dip. MACoM, 700A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, is open for immersions before the holiday today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., and Monday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. By appointment only; immerse@ atlantamikvah.org or 404-549-9679.

SUNDAY, APRIL 9

Exodus run. Congregation Ner Tamid, 1349 Old Highway 41, Suite 220, Marietta, holds a 5K and a 1-mile fun run, including an Exodus costume contest, at 8 a.m. Registration is $25 for adults and $15 for children; bit.ly/2nvi9sE. Afikomen scavenger hunt. Temple Sinai holds its family Passover adventure at 10 a.m. at East Cobb Park, 3322 Roswell Road, East Cobb. Free; templesinaiatlanta.org/worship/passover.

MONDAY, APRIL 10

First seder. Chabad of Cobb, 4450 Lower Roswell Road, East Cobb, holds a seder at 7:30 p.m. after a 6:30 service. Tickets are $56 for adults and $8 for children ages 4 to 12; www.chabadofcobb.com. First seder. Chabad Intown, 928 Ponce

de Leon Ave., Midtown, holds a seder at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children; chabadintown.org/ community-passover-seder.

TUESDAY, APRIL 11

Second seder. Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, holds a family-friendly seder at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children for members, $5 more for others; templesinaiatlanta.org/worship/passover. Second seder. The Sixth Point holds its community seder at Heritage Sandy Springs, 6110 Bluestone Road, Sandy Springs, at 6 p.m. RSVP by April 7. Tickets are $50 each or, subsidized by the Sixth Point, $30 for adults and $20 for children; thesixthpoint.org. Second seder. Congregation Ner Tamid, 1349 Old Highway 41, Suite 220, Marietta, holds a home-cooked community seder at 6:30 p.m. Registration is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers; www.mynertamid.info/getting-involved/event-registration.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19

Jewish Breakfast Club. Federation

CEO Eric Robbins talks about the market study of Jewish Atlanta at 11:30 a.m. at Greenberg Traurig, 3333 Piedmont Road, Suite 2500, Buckhead. Admission is $18; bit.ly/2nBlvqF. Temple at 150. Cellist Matt Haimovitz is the featured performer at an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert to celebrate The Temple’s sesquicentennial at 6:30 p.m. at Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St., Midtown. Tickets are $25; aso.org.

FRIDAY, APRIL 21

IDF presentation. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Southeast Executive Director Seth Baron speaks about Israel and support for the IDF after a brief service at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Israel, 1633 Highway 54, Jonesboro. Free; bnai-israel.net.

SUNDAY, APRIL 23

Fighting hate and bias. The Anti-Defamation League and the Islamic Speakers Bureau co-sponsor a program at Northside Drive Baptist Church, 3100 Northside Drive, Buckhead, on “Becoming an Upstander” at 2 p.m. Free; RSVP required at atlanta.adl.org/upstander.

Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.

Remember When

25 Years Ago April 3, 1992 ■ At a time when many say tensions between blacks and Jews are soaring, 30 teenagers from the two communities gathered for the third annual Black-Jewish Coalition Youth Retreat at the Timber Ridge Conference Center in Mableton. The high school juniors were recommended by black and Jewish leaders after exhibiting leadership characteristics and a desire to learn about the other group. One of the more heated discussions involved affirmative action. ■ The bat mitzvah of Melissa Ann Wallet of Dunwoody, daughter of Bill and Trish Wallet, will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 11, at Temple Emanu-El. ■ Beth and Gregg Paradies of Atlanta announce the birth of a daughter, Dorrie Lauren, on Jan. 16.

50 Years Ago April 7, 1967 ■ Atlanta’s Temple, one of the nation’s oldest Reform Jewish congregations, will celebrate its 100th anniversary with visitors and dignitaries from throughout the nation April 21 to 23. The sermon Friday night will be given by Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath, the president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The chairmen for the centennial weekend are Elliott Goldstein, Alex Dittler and Joseph Haas. ■ After two days of quiet, Syria twice in two days fired on an Israeli tractor team working in a field belonging to Kibbutz Haon on the southeastern shore of Lake Tiberias. An Israeli patrol returned fire after the second attack. There were no Israeli casualties. ■ Dorothy Florence Freedman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adalbert Freedman of Atlanta, became the bride of Leland Bernard Cohen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Abe Cohen of Gadsden, Ala., on Saturday evening, March 25, at The Temple.

MA TOVU

The Whole Truth An Authentic Story

I’d like to respond to your dilemma with a recent true story. Our oven died. Yes, I know there are worse things. But I do a lot of baking. I make my own challah, potato kugel and desserts every week, not to mention nightly suppers. You get the picture: My oven and I share an intimate relationship. It was an ordinary day when my world upended. After the initial shock when my oven’s breath remained cold, I checked some references for an appliance repairman who had recently moved into the neighborhood. “Daniel’s terrific; he can fix anything!” one friend emailed. “Quick, reliable, cost-effective.” “We had a great experience!” I dialed Daniel. “No problem,” he said. “I’ll be there tomorrow, first thing in the morning.” The morning came and went. I called and got his voicemail. The next day he texted that he was backlogged and asked whether I would mind if he came a few days later. Somehow Shabbos happened, but the store-bought challahs and desserts just weren’t the same. A week into my plight, Daniel showed up. He examined my oven, tsktsked, and said he would need $100 for the part and $100 for the service. I wrote out a check. After all, Daniel was Jewish and highly recommended. What could go wrong? Reliable, cost-effective, quick Daniel procrastinated another week. We were up to 14 days of being ovenless. I dialed Daniel and got voicemail. He’s avoiding me, I realized. “Listen, Daniel,” I told his voicemail, trying to keep my voice even, “we need our oven fixed. If you can’t be here today, please give me my money back so I can find someone else. We need you here today.” “I am so embarrassed,” he replied via text. “There is a truck blocking my driveway, and I can’t get out.” He sent me a photo of a large truck across his driveway. Mountains of dirt were piled up on both sides. What time are you coming? I texted, waving goodbye to my $200. This guy was unquestionably a ganif.

“Home Depot doesn’t have the part for your model,” he wrote an hour later. “Have to go to another store.” “Stop telling me stories!” I yelled. “WHAT TIME ARE YOU COMING???” Two more hours ticked by, and I texted: “First thing in the morning or please give my money back.” “I’ll be there,” he said. “The truth.” He seemed wounded by my skep-

Shared Spirit Moderated By Rachel Stein rachels83@gmail.com

ticism and anger; I was beyond caring. Daniel did show. Although he assured us he would have the oven humming in two hours, six hours elapsed before it whirred to life. When he was ready to leave, he looked me straight in the eye. “I’m sorry about all this,” he said. Relieved that my oven was back, I said, “Well, two weeks is a long time.” “I don’t like to tell customers this,” he said, “but I have a sick little boy. That’s the real reason for all the delays. We were in the hospital. But I don’t want people feeling bad for me.” My heart flip-flopped. “You should have told me,” I said. “I wasn’t comfortable, so I lied.” He then said the parts cost more than expected: I owed him $200 more. “Show me the receipts,” I said. “I don’t have them,” he replied. “I left them at home.” Eventually, for the sake of peace, I gave him $100 more. I wanted him out. He had a good reason for resorting to white (or gray) lies. But I need a person I can trust. Now I must end this letter: I have to check on my challah.

Whom Would You Trust? I have two friends. One runs back to the store when undercharged to pay the difference, leaving a smiling cashier behind. He has also been known to place a note on a windshield after accidentally scratching a car, even though no one saw what happened. My other friend has a habit of fudging the small stuff. Whom would you entrust with your valuables, be it possessions or confidences? Need I say more? You never lose out by doing the right thing. Best of luck in your court case. ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Recap: Is it OK to tell the occasional white lie, especially when relatively unimportant issues are involved?

ISRAEL NEWS

Waving the Flag for Israel Photo by Shahar Azran

Israeli pride fills the U.N. General Assembly hall during a summit convened by Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, to respond to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement Wednesday, March 29. More than 2,000 pro-Israel people participated in the summit, intentionally held in a place that Danon said is “being infiltrated by the boycott movement,” which he vowed to fight with the United States until BDS is eliminated. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, was the main speaker. “The effort to delegitimize the state of Israel being waged on college campuses and the anti-Israel obsession at the U.N. are one and the same,” Haley said. “And how tragic is it that, of all the countries in the world to condemn for human rights violations, these voices choose to single out Israel? Iran, Syria, North Korea and other barbaric regimes are excused by the BDS movement. It makes no sense.”

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Cancer breakthrough. Teams of Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University and Sheba and Hadassah medical centers have triggered cell death in tumors. Derivatives of the compound phenanthridine caused cells of the most resistant and difficult-to-treat cancers, such as pancreatic, to self-destruct. ALS treatment for ex-Titan. Former Tennessee Titans linebacker Tim Shaw has just returned from Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital after a stem cell transplant to treat ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Cells collected from him in January were purified, replicated and injected back into his spine.

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Bone marrow for bubble baby. Thanks to health charity Ezer Mizion, an Israeli infant with immunodeficiency syndrome SCID no longer needs to live in a bacteria-free bubble. A DNA match was found on Ezer Mizion’s bone marrow database, and a transplant has transformed the little boy’s life.

Program to curb food waste. Israel’s Agriculture Ministry has developed a program to stem the estimated 18 billion shekels ($5 billion) of food wasted annually. It includes funding the harvesting of crops that farmers cannot sell and their distribution to needy families. It will also promote packaging to extend shelf life.

Where not to fly a kite. Border police rushed to a Palestinian boy who fell off a roof in Hebron while flying his kite. Other children directed a paramedic to the youngster, who had suffered head injuries. An Israel Defense Forces ambulance took the boy to a hospital. High scores for human development. The latest United Nations Human Development Report, which analyzes life expectancy, education, gender equality and financial wealth, ranks Israel 19th out of 195 countries. Israel is ahead of Luxembourg, France, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Italy and Spain. Israel’s tallest building. Tel Aviv has given the go-ahead for a 100-floor skyscraper in the vicinity of the central railway station. Mexico’s No. 4 investor. Israel is Mexico’s biggest investor after the United States, Spain and Germany. Direct investment in 2016 from Israeli ventures rose from $900 million to over $2 billion — beating Canada and Japan. The plane from Spain. The number of passengers flying with Air Europa between Madrid and Tel Aviv has soared 47 percent since January. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com and other sources.

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ISRAEL NEWS Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. April 7, 1977: Maccabi Tel Aviv defeats Italian team Mobilgirgi Varese 78-77 to win its first Euro League basketball championship. The victory follows a stunning upset in the semifinals over Soviet champions CSKA Moscow, played on a neutral court in Belgium because the Soviet Union has no diplomatic ties with Israel. April 8, 2006: More than 3,000 spectators attend the Ten Dance European Cup, the first international dance sports competition to be held in Israel. Fifty dancers from 25 countries compete in the ballroom dancing competition, won by a couple from Russia. The Israeli team finishes seventh. April 9, 1921: Yitzhak Navon, elected as Israel’s fifth president in 1978, is born in Jerusalem into a Jewish family that has lived in the holy city for more than three centuries. April 10, 2005: Forty-nine participants from 11 countries gather in Haifa for a five-day NATO conference on mass-casualty medical preparedness. The conference is NATO’s first event held in Israel. April 11, 1961: The trial of Adolf Eichmann, architect of the Nazi Final Solution, begins in front of a special panel of three judges at the Government Press Beit Ha’am comOffice photo munity center in Adolf Eichmann Jerusalem. The stands trial in 1961. trial lasts 14 weeks and results in 15 guilty verdicts and the death sentence, which is carried out May 31, 1962. April 12, 1984: Egged Bus 300, traveling from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon, is attacked by four Palestinian terrorists, who take 40 passengers hostage. One of the 40 is killed in a rescue mission, as are two of the terrorists. The other two are captured, then executed in a nearby field. April 13, 1948: Arab forces ambush a medical convoy en route to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem a month before Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Seventy-nine people, mostly doctors and nurses, are killed.

Defining Judaism in the Jewish State By Eli Sperling American Jews may express our religiosity how we choose to do so. That is not necessarily the case in Israel. In a February letter, the leadership of the Israel Movement for Reform & Progressive Judaism reached out to “Friends and Partners in the United States.” The letter opened: “For many years, you have stood by our side. In the struggle to have the State of Israel recognize our Reform rabbis, in the struggle over equal recognition of nonOrthodox conversation, in the struggle to establish an egalitarian platform at the Kotel, in the struggle for freedom of

religion and conscience, in the struggle for the basic idea that there is more than one way to be Jewish.” In Israel, religiosity and religious practice are largely based on Orthodox interpretations, legally sanctioned by Israel’s High Rabbinic Council. For example, Reform marriage ceremonies are not considered legally binding, so they must occur outside Israel and are considered “civil marriages.” Accordingly, the definition of “progressive Judaism” differs significantly in Israel and in the United States. As American Jews, we tend to associate progressive Judaism with liberal politics and activism. By contrast, while

progressive Judaism in Israel shares certain aspects of this political agenda, it is more about redefining religiosity. While many U.S. progressive Jews’ key concerns involve their interactions with the outside world and Israeli governmental policies, progressive Jews in Israel are working to change the rules of engagement about Judaism itself. It seems unlikely that progressive Judaism can gain enough traction to overturn the legal hold the Rabbinic Council has on civil procedure and religious practice. What is certain is that Israelis are finding ways to express their own definitions of Judaism in ritual and prayer outside Orthodox streams. ■

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Today in Israeli History

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LOCAL NEWS

Dual Dinners Highlight Good Work of JIFLA By Chana Shapiro cshapiro@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

The large group at the home of Jay and Judy Kessler in Toco Hills was treated to dinner, a sing-along and moving anecdotes illustrating the impact of Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta. A parallel fun-filled progressive dinner took place in Dunwoody, with appetizers at the home of Karen and Stuart Adler, dinner at the home of Robyn and Alan Regenbaum, and dessert at the home of Adrien Litt Bishko. The event co-chairs were Amanda Bunder in Dunwoody and Lisa Marks in Toco Hills. The event Sunday night, March 26, was a celebration of this special Jewish organization and a tribute to the donors and loan guarantors in attendance. As supporters Mark and Marsha Strazynski said: “We Jews have a mandate to lend money to other Jews without charging interest. It’s grassroots, anonymous and never demeaning.” During the evening, we heard many stirring JIFLA stories.

At the Dunwoody progressive dinner are (from left) Ray Rothman, Stuart Adler, Karen Adler and Robyn Regenbaum.

Event co-chair Lisa Marks (left), Adina Jagoda and Sam Marks attend the Toco Hills dinner.

Atlanta Scholars Kollel Rabbi Michoel Lipschutz dines with Malcolm and Betty Minsk in Toco Hills.

A man suddenly lost his job and had house and car payments to make. The money he borrowed sustained him until he got another job. His guarantors assumed responsibility in case he could not fulfill the loan agreement, but he completed the repayment in less than six months. After insurance, an elderly woman needed an additional $350 to pay for hearing aids. She borrowed the money from JIFLA and repaid the loan monthly from her Social Security checks. A young man borrowed money toward college tuition and gradually paid it back from his part-time job.

A woman needed $1,000 for medicine and repaid the loan with $50 each month. Laura Kahn, the group’s volunteer president, gave impressive statistics. JIFLA’s maximum individual loan is $5,000; the average loan is $3,400. Borrowers have up to 36 months to repay. “Every dollar we lend,” she said, “is totally recycled. JIFLA gets a repayment, and we lend it again. We’re the alternative to a bank or high-interest credit card, and it’s often hard to go to your family for financial help. That’s why we’re here.” Donors come from all segments of

Jewish Atlanta; a typical donation to JIFLA is $500. Jay Kessler wants synagogues to use JIFLA. “Rabbis can use charity and discretionary funds for people who cannot repay the money and encourage the others to go to JIFLA,” he said. “It’s not charity. It’s a loan.” The free-loan program in Atlanta was started by the late Malka Rosenbaum and grew under the management of Mort Barr, who now lives in Israel. Nancy Weissman is the present executive director, taking the organization to an ever-expanding group of donors, guarantors and users. ■

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LOCAL NEWS Ga. House Honors Feldmans

Rabbi Ilan Feldman and wife Miriam Feldman are being honored at Congregation Beth Jacob’s annual dinner in May for a quarter-century as the Toco Hills shul’s leaders, but first Georgia legislators offered their praise. The state House passed House Resolution 701 on Friday, March 24, to recognize Rabbi Feldman’s 25th anniversary as Beth Jacob’s rabbi. Democratic Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver, Pat Gardner, Michele Henson, Karla Drenner and Stacey Abrams sponsored H.R. 701, which recognizes the Feldmans’ separate and joint accomplishments. For Rabbi Feldman, the resolution cites the inspiration he has given thousands of Jews to live Torah-filled lives; his work as a counselor, educator and lecturer; his vision in helping Beth Jacob and the Toco Hills Orthodox community grow; and his role in the founding of Torah Day School, the Atlanta Scholars Kollel, the Atlanta Kosher Commission and the Florence & Seymour Gerson Mikvah. For Mrs. Feldman, the resolution notes her impact on youth education, her inspiration for women, and her leadership of Temima High School, “a paragon of Jewish values and an educational model as a Jewish girls’ high school.” The resolution says the Feldmans offer unmatched spiritual assistance and serve as “enduring examples of Gd’s message of peace and love.” The congregation’s annual dinner, at which the Feldmans will be honored, Michael Cenker will be recognized as Man of the Year and Jodi Wittenberg will be recognized as Woman of the Year, is set for Sunday, May 14, which is Lag B’Omer and Mother’s Day. The dinner includes a lavish buffet, an open bar and a dessert reception. Tickets are $100. Visit www.bethjacobatlanta.org/dinner for details and reservations, or call 404-633-0551.

That doesn’t mean LGBTQ rights activists had a peaceful session. There was a late effort to attach religious liberty language to unrelated legislation, and a proposal to update Georgia’s adoption laws to make it easier to place foster children in permanent homes foundered in the Senate over an amendment to let adoption agencies refuse to work with same-sex couples.

Post 112 Visits Benning U.S. Army Capt. Moshe Lans, a rabbi and the installation chaplain at Fort Benning, leads a Shacharit service, followed by an oneg, every Sunday at 8 a.m. in the Regimental Chapel. More than 400 soldiers attend each week. Most are between ages 18

and 22 and are at Fort Benning for basic training of the Basic Officer Leader Course. Volunteers from the Jewish Federation of nearby Columbus and Jewish War Veterans Post 112 in Atlanta sponsor the oneg each week. JWV Post 112 members, led by post Commander Robert Max, make the two-hour drive to the Sunday service and oneg once a quarter to thank the soldiers for their service and to assure them that Jewish War Veterans, the oldest of the nation’s veterans service organizations, is there for them today and tomorrow. The most recent quarterly visit was March 5. The post signed up 36 (double chai) active-duty soldiers to join the Atlanta JWV post.

Richard Chastain speaks to new soldiers about their military experiences and his as a submariner while retired Lt. Col. George Heart signs up active-duty soldiers for JWV.

Photo by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Lans Capt. Moshe Lans, the Fort Benning rabbi, accepts a contribution from JWV Post 112 Commander Robert Max in the Lans quarters. Joining them are (from left) Henry Levine, George Heart and his children, Marc Urbach, Murray Berger and Richard Chastain.

The Georgia General Assembly closed its 2017 session early Friday, March 31, without going through another months-long fight over legislation that supporters say would protect their religious freedom and opponents say would legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people and perhaps others. Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed such a bill last year, and even though sponsors such as Sen. Josh McKoon had talked about trying again, no stand-alone legislation got as far as the floor of either legislative chamber.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Religious Liberty Update

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OPINION

Our View

It’s Debatable

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

The Republican Jewish Coalition held a candidate forum for the 6th Congressional District on Sunday, April 2. It’s a shame that the one Jewish Republican on the April 18 ballot wasn’t part of the show. The blame for the absence of David Abroms lies not with the RJC, but with its partner in the forum, the 6th District Republican Party, which has decided it doesn’t have time for all 11 Republican candidates if it is to stave off Democrat Jon Ossoff. “This is not a social experiment in inclusiveness. This is not about fairness,” said Michael Fitzgerald, the GOP chairman for the 6th District. Selecting a candidate is “damned serious business.” But it’s funny how the Republicans are going about that serious business. As soon as 18 candidates qualified for the special election to replace Tom Price in mid-February, the GOP announced that it would hold three events and only five of the 11 Republicans would be invited. We think it’s a mistake to throw out more than half the field when voters know so little about most of the candidates. It wouldn’t take much for a political newcomer to grab voters’ attention if given a forum, but the Republican Party is running scared. Super-PAC-financed ads attacking Ossoff had the predictable effect of solidifying Democratic and anti-Trump support behind the Jewish former congressional aide and thus all but guaranteeing that a Democrat will make the June 20 runoff, to be held if no one wins a majority April 18. But voters aren’t getting enough information. Hundreds of people attended the April 2 forum, and about half identified themselves as RJC members. They were treated to job interviews: Each candidate took the stage alone and answered the same series of questions while the others waited outside. The format was better than the traditional debate of the first GOP event March 26. But there were no questions about Israel, and there was that annoying absence of Abroms, Keith Grawert, Bruce Levell, William Llop, Amy Kremer and Mohammad Ali Bhuiyan. We don’t get: • The lack of transparency. The party says it is using the most recent reliable polls, and Fitzgerald said two impartial statisticians are working as consultants. But the party has not been public about the polls and numbers involved. • The fixation with five. The party could have set a poll threshold to make the debates. Instead, it has insisted on five candidates. We’ve seen only one poll with all 18 candidates named. In it, four Republicans — Karen Handel, Bob Gray, Dan Moody and Judson Hill — were clustered near the top, and Kurt Wilson and Abroms were close for fifth. So four candidates or six would make sense; five is just arbitrary. • The establishment myopia. Voters across the spectrum are frustrated with being told how to vote and with perceptions of party bias for or against a candidate. The GOP is feeding that frustration. The Republicans have one more try, a round table discussion Sunday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta. It’s probably too late to change the number of candidates, but we hope both parties in the future will heed the need for openness 10 and help the voters learn about all the candidates. ■

Cartoon by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com

Yes, We Are Biased Next time you hear people talk about objectivheard some excellent ideas, but they also would have ity in the media, think about the Atlanta Initiative learned that variations on many of those ideas are Against Anti-Semitism. already being carried out by organizations. We need AIAAS held its launch a better clearinghouse for event with about 250 sharing ideas and opporpeople from more than 150 tunities across the Jewish Editor’s Notebook organizations, including and non-Jewish communiBy Michael Jacobs me representing the AJT, ties — an area where the mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com on Thursday, March 30. AJT should play a big role. You can read about what At our table of 10, took place in a whirlwind, including a moderator and exciting two hours on Page a notetaker, we had three 28. But while I wrote that article without inserting Christians. Looking around the room, I think that opinions, I can’t pretend my reporting lacked bias. proportion of non-Jews was typical. I can’t speak for other media in the Temple It was also important: Making progress against Emanu-El social hall that morning, but I’m not going anti-Semitism is essentially about outreach, educato pretend to be neutral or disinterested when the tion and engagement with the general public, where conversation is about expressions of hatred against most anti-Semitism comes from. Jews. I wouldn’t be the editor of a Jewish newspaper A conversation about anti-Semitism with (or the father of two Jewish sons) if I didn’t care non-Jews, however, inevitably evolves into a discusdeeply about the threat of anti-Semitism. sion about hate in general, and that might be the The AJT wasn’t there just to report on AIAAS first question AIAAS leaders must answer: Can and and how it will turn this moment of anguish and should we focus exclusively on anti-Semitism? energy into something productive. This newspaper, If AIAAS strays beyond anti-Semitism, I’m your newspaper, was there as a participant — in the afraid, it will become little more than an echo of the language of anti-hate activism, the AJT is trying to be Anti-Defamation League in a smaller arena. That an upstander, not a bystander. potential was apparent in the repeated calls for That’s not a role an objective media outlet can activism on hate-crimes legislation in Georgia, one play. Objectivity means not taking sides and, for the of five states without such a law. most part, not getting involved. It’s like the Prime I’m not a fan of such laws. I see value in collectDirective on the original “Star Trek”: We’re supposed ing data on hate-motivated violence and vandalism. to observe and report but not interfere. But people should be punished for their actions, not But that’s not what a community newspaper the thoughts behind them, and I see no evidence that should do. Of course we’re biased toward the best laws targeting hate crimes make them less common. interests of our community. (I’m happy to be proved wrong.) So I was part of the discussion at my table, not More important is that I worry about such legisjust listening. I didn’t contribute as much as everylation being a distraction. We need action more than one else, but that’s partly because I’m more accuswords, and we probably need to start by showing tomed to asking questions than answering them. interest in and helping resolve the problems of our I do hope people around the room listened neighbors. The more we engage with others, the less more than they spoke. Not only would they have room will be left for hate to grow. ■

APRIL 7 â&#x2013;ª 2017

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OPINION

Letters To The Editor

Haredim Rioting in Israel

The entire world has watched — some with glee, some with sadness — as the Haredim, the ultra-Orthodox, have rioted in various Israeli cities, the most notable in Jerusalem. The “black coats” and “black hats” did not have to get permits from the police to hold their demonstrations. They are not just protesting; they are also beating people indiscriminately. A woman who was just trying to get home was attacked by Haredim, roughed up, and hit again and again. Remember, Haredim are not supposed to touch women outside their family. I believe an explanation is needed so you can understand what your brethren are doing. The police arrested 26 Haredim on charges of sexual harassment and even rape of women and young girls in their community. But that was not the reason for the rioting. Their anger winds around the attempt of the Israel Defense Forces to draft Haredi 18-yearolds into active duty.

Those individuals can take their draft notices to an office of the IDF and explain why they cannot go into service. If they show they are studying, the army gives them an exemption. The problem is with Haredim who have draft notices sent to their homes. They tear them up or act as if they never came. When that occurs, the IDF has to go after them. Those Haredim are arrested and incarcerated. The purpose of the rioting is to make it clear that the IDF are Nazis and satanic and on and on. The sad part is that no one in the government, from Benjamin Netanyahu on down, utters a word. The governing coalition has to be preserved because the Haredim are in the Knesset and even in the Cabinet. Votes are more important than rioting. Do the actions of your fellow Jews bother you? Write to Netanyahu and tell him how horrible these so-called religious Jews look. Maybe if world Jewry gets angry, something will be done. Israelis like myself have their hands tied. Only the politicians can act, but they are afraid of upsetting the Haredi apple cart. These individuals are representing Israel in the world media — what

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a shame. Israel is trying to be a decent, ethical country. The black hats are destroying our image. — David Geffen, Jerusalem

Rabbis, Focus on the Word

A recent rabbinic convention in Atlanta focused on “being a rabbi in turbulent times.” When were times not turbulent? The Holocaust, pogroms, inquisitions, Assyria, Persia, Rome. Pharaoh, Haman, Hitler and others, may their names be erased. No community is immune, as we remember the lynching of Leo Frank and the Temple bombing. Our rabbis have more training in Torah than in politics and know that all the answers are in the Good Book. For personal peace and serenity, I suggest they focus on and follow the advice that G-d gave to Noah when he was facing turbulent times: “Come to the Teva” (Genesis 7:1). Teva is commonly translated as ark but can also mean word. Our Sages have suggested that the lesson for us during these (perpetually) turbulent times is to come to the word, G-d’s word. For healthy living, it was a timely message then, as it is for us today. — Avraham Mendel, Marietta

The Jewish Breakfast Club Featured Speaker

ERIC ROBBINS Eric Robbins was hired as president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta in May of 2016. He moved to Atlanta in September 2005 to run Camp Twin Lakes, which provides camp experiences to nearly 10,000 children a year with serious illnesses in collaboration with other nonprofit organizations. Under his

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Leadership, the camp expanded from one location to three and moved into areas such as programs for military veterans and their families and a group home opened with Jewish Family & Career Services for special needs adults.

Before taking over Camp Twin Lakes, Robbins worked in the New York area. He was associate executive director of the Jewish Community Center MetroWest in northern New Jersey from the start of 2000 until he took the Twin Lakes job, and he was deputy executive director of New York’s Educational Alliance, a wide-ranging service agency with Jewish roots, for about four years. Robbins also earned a master’s in social work from Yeshiva University during his time in New York.

Socialists Condemn Threats

On behalf of the Socialist Workers Party in Georgia, I am writing to add our voice to protest the wave of bomb threats and violence against Jewish community centers, synagogues, cemeteries and organizations, including the threat March 7 against the offices of the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta. We call on all working people and the unions to speak out against these and all acts of Jew-hatred. The scapegoating of Jews rears its ugly head when the capitalist system is in crisis. It is used to try to keep people from seeing that the roots of the devastation of the working class — from worsening, unsafe conditions on the job to the inability of millions to obtain fulltime, decent-paying work to the lack of health care, even worse in rural areas — are the crisis of capitalism itself. Across the country, Muslim and Jewish organizations have reached out the hand of solidarity to one another and raised money for the reconstruction of damaged cemeteries, synagogues and mosques. This is an example for the entire working class to emulate. An injury to one is an injury to all. — Lisa Potash, Atlanta, Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor

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BUSINESS

Learning From the Little Aleph lowing characteristics: • Demonstrate a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation, and

Coach’s Corner By Jason Adler JasonAdler@johnmaxwellgroup.com

are never boastful. • Act with quiet, calm determination and rely principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate.

• Channel ambition into the company, not the self, and set up successors for even more greatness in the next generation. • Look in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors or bad luck. • Look out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company — to other people, external factors and good luck. I cite these three modern-day experts to teach a lesson we can just as easily learn from Moses. It will serve us well in business to look to our leaders from the past for the best qualities

to emulate. An ancient poem sums up this lesson: Go to the people Live among the people Start with what they know Build on what they have But of the best leaders When their task is accomplished Their work is done The people will say We have done it ourselves! ■ Jason Adler is a John Maxwellcertified executive coach (www. johncmaxwellgroup.com/jasonadler) helping people and their organizations hire and keep quality employees.

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What can business leaders today learn from Moses and the Torah portion Vayikra? In synagogues around the world on the first Saturday in April, Jews began reading the third book of Moses, Vayikra (Leviticus), which begins with the word vayikra. Vayikra in Hebrew is spelled with an aleph at the end of the word. In the Torah itself, written by Moses himself, the final aleph in vayikra is much smaller than all the other letters. Our sages teach us an important lesson from this. The Torah presents G-d’s words to the Jewish people as written by Moses. Moses had several arguments with G-d, one of them over the use of the aleph in this word. Moses wanted G-d to use the word vayikar, without an aleph, to show that he regarded himself as no better than Bilaam, the heretical prophet. Yet G-d wanted Moses to write it with the aleph as an expression of their true relationship with each other; one of intimacy and affection. In the final version, Moses agreed to use the aleph only if it was written smaller than usual, alluding to Moses’ great humility. Lesson No. 1 is that the effectiveness of your leadership will be measured by your own sense of humility. This lesson applies in business leadership as well. One of my mentors, John Maxwell, clearly states, “The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people.” The Harvard Business Review reports that Google’s senior vice president of people operations, Lazlo Bock, says humility is one of the traits he looks for in new hires. And it is not just humility, Bock says, but “intellectual humility. Without humility, you are unable to learn.” Growing and learning often involve failure and can be embarrassing. But leaders who can overcome their fears and broadcast their feelings as they work through the messy internal growth process will be viewed more favorably by their followers. They also will legitimize their followers’ own growth journeys and will have higherperforming organizations. Finally, as if we need any more proof that a humble leader is a better leader, leadership expert Jim Collins says that the best leaders have the fol-

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LOCAL NEWS

NCJW Honors 3 Pioneering Women By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com A Muslim, a Methodist and a Jew didn’t all walk onto the stage at a luncheon during the National Council of Jewish Women convention in Buckhead on March 24, but they all walked away with important awards for the ways they have inspired others. Luma Mufleh, Hillary Clinton and Phyllis Kravitch followed different life paths, but all three fit the NCJW’s definition for recognition at the Women Who Dared Luncheon at the JW Marriott in Buckhead. Mufleh, who said she’s just a soccer coach who drives a bus every day and is used to talking to kids, not female Jewish leaders (other than her wife), received the Hannah G. Solomon Award, named for NCJW’s founder. A native of Jordan, Mufleh came to the United States in 1993 to attend Smith College, and by the time she was a senior, she knew she couldn’t go home to her Muslim family because of her sexuality. She was granted asylum, made her way to small-town North Carolina to escape the Massachusetts win-

Courtesy of the National Council of Jewish Women/Cara Pastore

Luma Mufleh accepts NCJW’s Hannah G. Solomon Award on March 24.

ters, then found her calling in Atlanta. A wrong turn in Clarkston brought her to a group of refugee boys from Sudan and Afghanistan who were playing soccer. She asked to join them. “I feel in love with them,” she said. She founded Fugees Family, which began as a soccer club and has grown into a school serving 87 youths from 20 countries through eighth grade. On the soccer field, she said, she ‘s heard a heartbreaking question from her players: “Why do they hate us?” Mufleh praised NCJW women for their years of activism, saying she felt exhausted after two months of resisting the policies of President Donald Trump. “This is not the America that

welcomed me 20 years ago.” NCJW decided to honor Clinton with the Women Who Dared Award after she lost to Trump. She accepted the award through a video message. Robin Leeds, an NCJW board member who worked in President Bill Clinton’s administration, praised the former secretary of state for overcoming a “barrage of misogyny” to win the popular vote last year. She continues to serve as an example of leadership and fortitude, Leeds said. “We are all in her debt.” Clinton’s connection to NCJW goes back to her time as Arkansas’ first lady in the 1980s when she embraced the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, which NCJW brought to the United States based on an Israeli model. “We don’t organize for ourselves,” Clinton said in her video. “We organize for everyone. Just look at you.” Unfortunately, the audience didn’t get to look at the afternoon’s final honoree, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Phyllis Kravitch, because the 96-year-old became ill the day before. The Savannah native was honored

with NCJW’s Lifetime Achievement Award. One of her former law clerks, Deborah Danzig of Atlanta, detailed the remarkable life the judge has led. Kravitch faced discrimination as a woman and a Jew when she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s law school in 1944, Danzig said. None of the Eastern law firms would consider hiring a Jewish woman, so she returned to Savannah and worked in her father’s law firm at a time when women couldn’t serve on juries in Georgia. Judges didn’t want her to practice law in court, but she did. Amid segregation, she represented black clients and treated them just like anyone else. “She was just doing what was right,” Danzig said. Kravitch carried the black and female vote to win a place on the Superior Court in Savannah, then President Jimmy Carter nominated her to the federal appellate court, where she has served since 1979, although she shifted to senior status in 1996. Danzig said Kravitch also achieved greatness through her influence on the 102 law clerks and six assistants who have worked for her. ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

When National Is Local

The Jewish world, or at least the North American portion, descended on Atlanta for one week in March. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, the organization for Reform rabbis, and the Jewish Funders Network, the group for philanthropists and foundations, started their annual conventions March 19 — the rabbis at the Loews Atlanta in Midtown, the funders at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead. When JFN finished March 21, The Collaboratory, a networking meetup for innovators and nonprofit startups, kicked off at the Grand Hyatt. Collaboratory-related events were still going March 23 when the National Council of Jewish Women’s triennial national convention opened at another Buckhead hotel, the JW Marriott, a location chosen after Zika worries led NCJW to skip Miami. NCJW wrapped up the night of March 25. The AJT offered some coverage of the CCAR and JFN conventions and The Collaboratory in our March 31 issue; we go more in depth with JFN and NCJW in this issue. On this page and on Pages 16 and 17, you can read about three sessions from the NCJW gathering. Pages 18 to 26 present insights from the Jewish Funders Network. ■

APRIL 7 â&#x2013;ª 2017

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LOCAL NEWS

Receiving Award, Lewis Celebrates Jewish Women By Leah R. Harrison lharrison@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Congressman John Lewis received the National Council for Jewish Women’s Faith and Humanity Award at the Leadership Gala closing out the 47th NCJW National Convention in Buckhead on March 25. “Once we realized we were going to convene in Atlanta, we knew we wanted Congressman Lewis to receive the award. He’s always been supportive of NCJW,” said Belinda Lasky, the NCJW director of community engagement. “He’s very connected to the Jewish people, and the Jewish people are very connected to him.” A documentarian was on site that evening while shooting a piece about the intersection of the black and Jewish communities. Under a banner of “Shaping the Future, Leading the Way,” an energized constituency of “300 like-minded but not the same” women learned and strategized about being strong voices to effect positive change, said Amanda Glickman, NCJW marketing and communications associate. It was a fitting audience for the Atlanta Democratic congressman, who always encourages people to stand up for what’s right and “get into good trouble.” With a theme of speaking truth to power, close friend Sherry Frank introduced the congressman. The executive director of American Jewish Committee in Atlanta for 25 years, Frank now conducts the monthly “Frankly Speaking” sessions for NCJW’s Atlanta Section.

House floor, then said: “You, my brother, John Lewis, the beloved conscience of the U.S. Congress, are my hero. You live every day proving that one person can truly make a difference. It is with great love and pride that I present you to the NCJW.” Outgoing NCJW PresiCourtesy of the National Council of Jewish Women/Cara Pastore dent Debbie Hoffmann and Rep. John Lewis and National Council of Jewish Women members dance to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” CEO Nancy Kaufman told at the JW Marriott in Buckhead on March 25. Lewis they were thrilled to present their most presFrank told of Lewis’ first run for tigious award to him in honor of his Congress against Julian Bond, another courage and perseverance in speaking civil rights leader, in 1985. The sons of out for the rights of all Americans. Frank and Lewis distributed materials Lewis electrified the receptive and put up yard signs together. crowd with his prosaic delivery and his Frank said the people of Atlanta gravitas. decided not only then, but again for 15 To rousing applause, he thanked elections and 30 more years, to choose NCJW for the honor of the Faith and Lewis to represent them in WashingHumanity Award, “Sister Sherry” for ton. She noted that in 1982 he was a her kind introduction, and the assemfounding co-chair, along with Frank bly for all that they do. of the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition, “I do want to take just a moment to which continues to do important social say thank you. You’ve been good to me. justice work. The Jewish community in this nation, As a freshman congressman, Lew- and around the world, has been wonis stood staunchly in support of Israel, derful to me,” Lewis said. “I feel more even insisting on freedom for the Sovi- than lucky. I feel deeply honored and et Jews while on a visit to the Kremlin. blessed tonight to be in your presence.” Although he was jailed several times Lewis told of growing up in rural while standing up for civil rights — 40 Alabama in the 1940s and ’50s and seetimes in the 1960s, five times while in ing signs segregating white and colored Congress, “and I’ll get arrested again people. Asking his parents and grandbefore I leave the Congress” — “he re- parents why, he was told that’s the way fused to participate in the Million Man it is, and don’t get in the way — don’t March,” Frank said, “because of Louis get in trouble. Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic statements.” “But,” Lewis said, “I was inspired to She told of Lewis leading a June get in trouble. I was inspired to get in 2016 sit-in over gun violence on the the way, and I want to thank each and

every one of you, as members of this great organization, for coming together from time to time to get in trouble — good trouble!” He spoke of women marching all over the world and said it was wonderful “to see so many women get in trouble.” He recalled Martin Luther King Jr. saying from time to time that there is nothing “more powerful than the marching feet of a determined people.” “There are forces in American that want to take us back to another time, another era,” to divide us, he said, but “we cannot let that happen.” In his signature style he said all our foremothers and forefathers came to America in different ships, “but we all are in the same boat now” and must look out for one another, help one another and learn to live together “on this little piece of real estate we call Earth.” He said we each have an obligation to leave things “a little cleaner and a little greener for the generation yet unborn. … We must look out for all humanity.” He implored the women of NCJW to be brave, bold and courageous. “You, the women, must lead” and must encourage other women to run for elected office, he said. With an overwhelmingly female crowd, that statement brought down the house. In closing, Lewis said: “We have to get people to do the right thing. … When you see something that is not fair, not right, not just, you have a moral obligation and a mandate to say something, to do something, and continue to speak truth to power.” ■

LOCAL NEWS Photo courtesy of the National Council of Jewish Women/Cara Pastore

(From left) Neera Tanden, Gail Evans and Kathy Miller discuss health care and other policy proposals of the Trump administration at the opening plenary of the NCJW convention March 23.

By Patrice Worthy When Neera Tanden, an American domestic policy adviser and president of the Center for American Progress, walked out of the opening plenary of the National Council of Jewish Women triennial conference March 23, the women who filled the ballroom cheered as if she were a hero going into battle. “They just delayed voting on Trumpcare,” Tanden said as she left to catch a flight back to Washington. When that Republican health care legislation was withdrawn the next day for lack of votes, it was a victory for the many NCJW members who worked tirelessly to support President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The title of the opening plenary session of the NCJW convention at the JW Marriott in Buckhead was “A Conversation: The Trump Era, the Path Moving Forward.” The panel discussing the consequences of President Donald Trump’s policy proposals consisted of Gail Evans, a former CNN vice president; Kathy Miller, the president of Texas Freedom Network; and Tanden. The three women discussed what they considered an attack on women’s health by the current administration in a session that NCJW CEO Nancy Kaufman later said may have veered too far to the left. “We worked really hard to make ACA a reality. The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Americans have access to health care,” Kaufman said during her opening remarks. The Republican program to replace Obamacare failed because it did not address health care concerns for Americans, Tanden said. Instead, it would have exacerbated issues by making health care less accessible for those who need it. “This is a plan that the more you need health care, the more you pay,” Tanden said. “They designed a plan that if you’re 50 years old and live in

a rural community, you have an eighttimes increase in what you pay.” The speakers encouraged NCJW members to use their talents and activism to help pass legislation that benefits women and minorities. Tanden attributed the failure of the Republican health plan to calls to congressmen to voice dissatisfaction with the proposal. “People’s activism over the last several months has shifted the debate,” Tanden said. “Yesterday a Republican member of Congress came forward and said, ‘The calls are 2,000 to 1, so I’m voting against this.’ ” The panelists also expressed the importance of supporting institutions such as Planned Parenthood and said 90 percent of Americans oppose defunding Planned Parenthood. Miller stressed work to defend women’s reproductive rights. She said one-third of women have been raped, and one-third of women have had an abortion. “If you don’t know a woman who has had an abortion, that is because you made her feel silenced and ashamed,” Miller said. “We need to talk about abortion every day in a situation where you don’t feel uncomfortable talking about it.” These perilous times enable white women to acknowledge racial issues surrounding women’s health and abortion, Miller said. She said women’s health care and welfare programs such as Women, Infants and Children are being targeted in an attempt to control women, particularly women of color. But there is strength in numbers, Miller said, and NCJW members have a chance to support women of color and other marginalized groups. “Go to Black Lives Matter rallies. Go to immigrant rallies. Uniting against other rising segregation is a way to not normalize it,” Miller said. “The intersectionality of hate is becoming more apparent because of Trump and his administration.” ■

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NCJW Speakers Cheer Defeat of ‘Trumpcare’

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LOCAL NEWS

Funders Focus on Arts to Preserve Culture By Patrice Worthy Georgette Bennett, the co-chair of the Jewish Funders Network, stood in front of a packed room and began to speak. Everyone expected her to talk about the changes in the Jewish landscape, but instead she spoke about the arts. “The history of the Jewish people and arts and culture have always been linked,” Bennett said. She talked about creating social change through the arts, which receive 4 percent of Israel’s budget, an amount she hopes will increase. She touted Israel’s Polyphony ensemble as an example of how the arts can help transform society. The JewishArab music program promotes unity through performance. Mais Hriesh, an Arab flutist from Nazareth, said the program has been influential in Jewish-Arab relations among young people. “To be playing music in Jerusalem, the most beautiful city in the world and the site of conflict, to be there and see the kind of audience that was there,

One effort to preserve Jewish culture is the interactive, free database of Jewish texts at Sefaria.org.

both Jews and Arabs, was a one-of-akind experience,” Hriesh said. Hriesh, a senior at Bard College double-majoring in music and human rights, performed several classical pieces before being interviewed by Gerald Slavet, the producer of NPR’s “From the Top.” She said music is an agent of change, and she has seen it bring people together. “Music isn’t going to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict, but it is the first step in getting to know each other. I think with music it’s very powerful and personal. You’re very much exposed.” The arts also were the focus of a JFN session called “The Urgency of Jewish Culture: Preserving Our Past, Ensuring Our Future,” which focused on

investments in technology to preserve and make accessible Jewish art and culture. Lou Cove, the senior adviser of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, said now is the time to have a conversation about arts because of the threat of federal budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘Is there an urgency, and does it require us to rethink how we’re investing?’ ” Cove said. Brett Lockspeiser is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Sefaria. org, a database of 3,000 years of Jewish texts. The site is free and open to all. “The focus is on educators, educators who can use our source-sheet builder,” Lockspeiser said. “Face-to-face interaction is where the importance of Jewish text is coming up.” When Jews are debating Torah or learning Torah in the classroom, Sefaria is a tool that can be accessed anywhere. Lockspeiser said the texts convey Jewish culture. Preserving texts as artifacts is the mission of the Yiddish Book Center. The organization rescues and collects

Yiddish books that don’t have homes, said Christa Whitney, the director of the Wexler Oral History Project at the Yiddish Book Center, as the key to preserving a sidelined part of Jewish culture. “Only 2 percent of Yiddish text has been translated in any language,” Whitney said. “The Holocaust took a third of Yiddish speakers, and the rise of Hebrew assimilation has had a big impact on the Yiddish language.” The center produces audio books, archival recordings and videos. Also discussed at the session were the Biblical Lands Museum in Jerusalem and PJ Library, a Grinspoon Foundation-created program that distributes Jewish children’s books to families in Atlanta and throughout the world. A key part of creating spaces to preserve the past is designing them with aesthetic appeal. Many JFN attendees commented on the beauty and sleekness of Sefaria.org. Lockspeiser attributes the popularity of the website in part to the design. “I’m trying to create an experience people would want to be in,” he said. ■

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Happy Passover from

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LOCAL NEWS

By Patrice Worthy

Four women sat among a circle of people eager to hear their stories. April Baskin, Danielle Natelson, Nadiya Boyce-Rosen and Jamie Maxner shared their experiences of being Jewish women of color. As they talked and dissected their identities, it was apparent that the common thread in their narratives was overcoming the adversity of being a minority within a minority. The group of predominantly Ashkenazi Jews joined the quartet for the “Engaging Race and Racism: Not to Finish, But Also Not to Desist” session March 21 during the Jewish Funders Network conference. The audience listened in disbelief as each woman told a similar story. “My life has been punctuated by racism no amount of excellence could protect my family from,” said Baskin, the vice president of audacious hospitality at the Union for Reform Judaism. “I’ve had a very racialized experience in the U.S. I’ve been called a monkey, accused of cheating on tests and told my nose was slammed in a door.” Women of color at times have been scrutinized within the Jewish community. Confronted with uncomfortable questions about their Jewishness, the women recalled moments of disruption regarding their racial identity. Maxner, who is half-Chinese and half-Ashkenazi, was rejected from numerous day schools before she was accepted into one in Greenwich, Conn. That was the beginning of her racialized Jewish experience. Though her parents worked hard to shelter her from discrimination, she was inevitably bombarded with it at a young age. “I was called out at the age of 6 when a friend’s brother asked me why I look different,” said Maxner, who is on the advisory board of Repair the World. “That’s when I realized this is a thing I have to understand. This is a thing I have to answer for.” Acknowledging being a Jew of color is a source of empowerment for many. Natelson said that naming can change the narrative and provide a deeper meaning to existence. “There is tremendous power in naming yourself. When you’re talking about racial justice, you’re talking about a visibility issue,” she said. “When I name myself, I step into that term. It also signals to other Jews of

color it’s safe to be here.” Racism is antithetical to Judaism, going against the tenets of the Torah, Baskin said. She said it’s a historical fact that Jews of color have always been part of the community. “We need to shift the thinking. We’re a Jewish global people. We’ve long been multiracial,” Baskin said. “Most people in the Torah were black and brown people, and it doesn’t take away from the richness of Judaism.” But when the identity of a Jew of color is used to dehumanize or characterize someone as “the other,” it changes the conversation, said Natelson, the Simha and Sara Lanier director of Jewish learning and leadership for Hillel at UCLA. Though she grew up with a mainstream Jewish lifestyle, she was often questioned about her ethnicity after she left for college. “I would always get the politically correct question ‘Which one of your parents is Jewish?’ and I would say, ‘Both of them, so what’s your question?’ ” Even among non-Jewish blacks, Natelson wasn’t necessarily welcomed. “I met it with anger and disengagement and decided if they don’t want me here, I’ll go to my Jewish community. They may say messed-up stuff sometimes, but those are my people.” The best thing is to not look at any community as binary, said BoyceRosen, the community disabilities assistant at the Greater Atlanta Jewish Abilities Alliance. Boyce-Rosen is a black Jew who married a Sephardic Spanish Jew. She said the black and Jewish communities are not homogeneous. “Sometimes there isn’t an understanding of spectrum, blackness on a spectrum or Jewishness on a spectrum,” she said. “The black community isn’t immune to being anti-Semitic, and the Jewish community isn’t immune to racism.” The best way to face racism within the Jewish community is through inclusion. Opening spaces for dialogue is essential, Natelson said. She also put an emphasis on actively including Jews of color to build diverse communities. “The Jewish world has talked about inclusion, but race has not been a part of that conversation,” Natelson said. “If a community wants to be welcoming to Jews of color, make them a part of the conversation … and not just a token Jew of color. Go seek them out.” ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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Israel Seeks Help to Close Arab Gaps By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Israel is investing $3.5 billion to improve the condition of its Arab population because of the recognition that the country can’t move forward while its largest minority lags. That national effort and the ways philanthropists can support it were the subject of a session at the Jewish Funders Network conference called “Five Years and 15 Billion NIS: Closing Gaps Between Israel’s Jewish and Arab Citizens by 2022” on March 21. The speakers were Shuruk Ismail, the Arab community program director for Yad Hanadiv, a nonprofit working with Rothschild family foundations; Amir Levi, Israel’s budget director in the Finance Ministry; and Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi, the general director of the Injaz Center, which works to improve Arab local officials. Ismail said most of the Arab population lives in underdeveloped towns with poor educational systems in Israel’s periphery. “Many Arabs, including women, lack the resources to attain economic opportunities and face high social and cultural barriers for employment,” Ismail said. Israel’s government, working with nongovernmental organizations, has made Arab economic development a national priority to help achieve a sustainable economy. Toward the end of 2015, Israel launched a five-year economic development program for Arab citizens known as Government Resolution 922. The plan will spend 15 billion shekels on areas such as education, housing and transportation. The program has game-changing potential if it better integrates Arabs into Israeli life. While it faces challeng-

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Amir Levi, the Israel Finance Ministry’s budget director, explains how the process behind Resolution 922 began in 2014 with a study of the Arab gaps in Israeli society.

es such as bureaucratic barriers and a shortage of Arab expertise, philanthropic endeavors could play a significant role in the development of Arab civic society. Positive Arab economic trends include rising employment among women and falling poverty rates. But the overall employment rate is much lower than among Israeli Jews overall, and a huge gap in average salary limits Arab participation in the labor market. Levi said Israel’s Arab and ultraOrthodox populations are growing rapidly, and their high unemployment rates create an unsustainable situation. “Every gap leads to another gap,” he said. “The gap in education level is one of the main causes in income. Income gaps lead to weaknesses in local authorities. Weak authorities have less resources to investigate infrastructure and transportation in industrial areas, which is their source of income. This leads to a threat in jobs, which inevitably affects education.” Resolution 922 aims to break that cycle. The major components include improving after-school programs, increasing the housing supply, such as

Shuruk Ismail (left) and Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi are working with the Israeli government to implement changes in Arab society.

high-rise buildings, making strategic investments in public institutions, refining transportation and upgrading urban roads, administering local authorities, and increasing domestic security. The program has already decreased the education gap, added jobs and homes, enhanced personal security, and improved local government. “In the last 15 years, a new generation has emerged of a true middle class possessing dignified citizenship, education and welfare and allows us to see what will happen to the future of the state,” Rinawie-Zoabi said about Israeli Arabs. Arab women are becoming more active in the public sphere and having more influence on politics. Younger Arabs are pushing for greater civic engagement and transparency. Arab local authorities serve as the largest employers for Arabs in Israel. Newly elected Arab mayors, representing young professionals, are shifting from a sense of victimhood to one of collaboration with the Jewish population to change their own reality. But Rinawie-Zoabi also noted setbacks within the Arab community. “We

are currently undergoing a very violent geopolitical situation in the Arab world, the reality of the occupation, and the reality of building and maintaining a trust between the Arab society and Israeli government.” Community leaders on both sides work on building trust despite internal opposition, she said. “I believe in change. I believe in good changes in the state and Arab society and that we need equal partnership between Arab and Jewish society.” That partnership includes philanthropy. “It is to the credit of the JFN that they devoted a great deal of space and attention to the issue of shared society and closing the gaps with the Arab sector in Israel,” said David Gappell, a senior director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. He said the Schusterman Foundation recently decided to develop the Arab areas of its philanthropy, understanding their importance to the future of Israel. “The packed sessions at the conference are a good indication that there is growing interest among philanthropists to learn more about this issue and to act on it.” ■

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Innovation Can Design Better Philanthropy By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Becca Heller, the director and co-founder of the International Refugee Assistance Project, relays her background in fighting the Trump administration’s proposed refugee moratorium and in helping detained refugees. Paul Bennett, the chief creative officer of design and consulting firm IDEO, speaks about innovative thinking and its relation to everyday Jewish life.

Jewish aspects of activism may offer a solution. Bennett spoke of the need to embrace conversations rather than argue over who is more Jewish and to create platforms that focus on family, tradition and ritual. “Inclusion makes a difference, and it is up to us to consider whether we

wish to dial it up or down to support Jewish culture,” he said. Bennett concluded by proposing questions to the next generation of Jewish philanthropists. “Are we remembering what it feels like to be out there, to be young, to be this religion or that religion? Are we remembering to bring ev-

eryone to the conversation and to keep humans in the center? Judaism and design are the same thing. They are constantly evolving, and we need to understand how to appeal to people’s hearts and minds. We also need to use context in order to deeply honor the past and to look forward to the future.” ■

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The Jewish community is evolving, but an open mind and new philanthropic endeavors can steer it in a positive direction, according to the closing plenary of the Jewish Funders Network conference March 21. Sefaria Executive Director Daniel Septimus, IDEO Chief Creative Officer Paul Bennett and International Refugee Assistance Project Director Becca Heller spoke, and violinist Niv Ashkenazi presented a special performance. Septimus spoke about beginnings and endings within the Jewish faith and touched on the diversity of the conference participants and what each had learned. “We don’t do endings as Jews. This is true both literary and culturally,” Septimus said. “Our conversations start with Torah and end with the last commandment, which is to write a new Torah … because it’s more than a ritual act — it’s accessible. It is your own learning, own experiences and struggles. … Everyone’s voice is different, and we are excited to see all the things you will do.” Heller, a former recipient of the Charles Bronfman Prize, shared her story about starting an organization to help refugees, and expressed her appreciation for philanthropists who mobilized and helped them enter the United States despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to institute a fourmonth ban on the admission of refugees during a review of procedures. Bennett spoke about his experiences with the Jewish community and his efforts to design new ways to keep the culture, tradition and religion alive. “Before you design, you need to think about who people are,” Bennett said. To help identify issues in everyday Jewish life, he stressed the importance of concepts related to design and funding as well as Judaism. Design issues within religion and culture tend to repeat themselves in the Jewish community, Bennett said, yet they also raise opportunities to create better relationships between designers and funders. “It’s not rocket science. It’s not calculus or string theory. It’s simple. … What works best for funding and any kind of relationship is that you have to get people to feel it,” Bennett said. “We are so bombarded with information today that we rarely feel anything, so how do we get people to feel it on their skin?”

Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh

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Jewish Funders Urged to Embrace Empathy By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

The Jewish Funders Network kicked off its 2017 international conference in Buckhead with a focus on empathy toward philanthropic dialogue within the Jewish community. JFN CEO and President Andres Spokoiny welcomed people during a first-time attendee networking lunch gathering 450 participants, including 127 first-time attendees and 55 Israelis, for the 27th annual conference. “The issues that we are dealing with in the Jewish world and the world in general are extremely complex and difficult for a single funder to deal with on his or her own. Even the biggest funders in the Jewish world have to work together because we not only need to aggregate resources, but also our brainpower. We need to embrace diversity, which networking allows us to do,” Spokoiny said. The conference’s opening plenary was geared toward strengthening conversations among individuals within everyday society and addressing the

Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh

Beth Klarman (left), the president of the Klarman Family Foundation, and Dafna Meitar-Nechmad, the president of the Zvi & Ofra Meitar Family Fund, welcome attendees to the JFN conference March 19 at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead.

continuing dominance of social media. Klarman Foundation President Beth Klarman encouraged attendees to step out of their comfort zones and use the three-day conference as a space for dialogue. “We as philanthropists have a very important choice: to listen, consider and approach new opportuni-

ties. … Learning and listening require empathy, and we need to come away from our discussion with an optimistic view,” she said. Addressing cohesiveness in philanthropy in the Jewish community, Dafna Meitar-Nechmad discussed the importance of giving in the global arena.

“In Israel, philanthropy is not only growing, but becoming stronger, yet everything is not always so rosy,” said Meitar-Nechmad, the president of the Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family Fund. “We still need to adopt new partnerships with various Israeli sectors. … The great thing about JFN is that it advances funding from family foundations and promotes active social improvements.” Meitar-Nechmad expressed her optimism about future philanthropic endeavors by emphasizing the need to bridge gaps within communities and to help Jews in Israel and nationwide. “We need to focus on things we can achieve vs. things we can’t control.” Senior Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple delivered the d’var Torah during the opening plenary and expressed the importance of Judaism in bringing positivity to the world that can and should be. “We live in a world in which we have become aware of so much poverty … and human need that it’s easy for us to feel compassion fatigue. We can’t repair the whole world, and we can’t worry about every needy soul, ev-

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JFN President and CEO Andres Spokoiny provides conference attendees with new information about the JFN conference.

Keynote speaker Sherry Turkle, the Abby Rockefeller Mauze professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT, addresses the opening plenary session of the 2017 JFN conference March 19.

ery natural disaster,” Rabbi Berg said. “This causes us to shut out the world. … But this is not Judaism. The fact that we can’t help everyone is not an excuse for not wanting to help someone.” He emphasized the need for empathy in embracing diversity and other people’s viewpoints by connecting the conference to Atlanta’s civil rights history as “the city too busy to hate.” He

noted that The Temple was bombed in October 1958 because of Rabbi Jacob Rothschild’s public advocacy for racial justice and integration, but Rabbi Rothschild didn’t stop. “He spoke truth to power and modeled empathy for all of Atlanta by his actions and his aspirations.” The opening plenary focused on the notion of empathy and how social

media and technology have dominated people’s everyday conversations toward acceptance. Keynote speaker Sherry Turkle, the Abby Rockefeller Mauze professor of the social studies of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, addressed the psychological relationship to technology and how it affects funders’ efforts to create meaningful dialogues. Around 2011, Turkle finished a 15year study on digital culture and how it has changed daily conversations and relationships among people. Her research led to the discovery of a form of psychology in which people feel isolated and adopt a sense of guilt regardless of connections to numerous people online via social media. “Social media did not solve every problem,” Turkle said. “We really need each other face to face. We really need to be with each other, not just online.” Over time, people across generations have become more comfortable fleeing conversations that might make them feel vulnerable. In re-examining conversation in America today, Turkle discovered that conversations have become more trivial, and people don’t feel as invested with one another. The empathy gap is dramatic, especially

among younger generations. Throughout her address, Turkle emphasized the need to use technology in a manner that is pro-conversation and a way to retain opportunities. “The crisis of empathy, the crisis of conversation and where we need to repair, says a lot about daily conversations. … Fear of real time, fear of imperfection and technology, makes us forget about life.” Ongoing conversations may provide a solution, Turkle said. “Conversation is the cure for empathy. We are meant to be empathetic creatures and are artificially suppressing empathetic conversations, or the spiral of silence in which people don’t wish to share opinions due to fear of acceptance by followers. … But it’s time to be optimistic and time to be hopeful.” She added: “We need more than ever to talk to people that we can respect and learn how to disagree. … Every new technology challenges our human values, which is a good thing because it actually causes us to reflect on these values. … So let’s look up, let’s look at each other and let’s start the conversation. Conversations are essential for communication and help funders understand what they really need and what we can help with.” ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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Jewish Philanthropy Invests in Future By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com The relationship between a funder and a grantee is based on trust and support to establish a lasting impact on projects. Finding the right balance can strengthen partnerships, increase capital and create better initiatives based on empathy. To examine philanthropy within the Jewish community in greater detail, the Jewish Funders Network held a session March 20 on “Better Capital for a Strong Jewish Future.” The speakers included one local nonprofit leader, Jewish Kids Groups Executive Director Ana Robbins. The others were Esther Foer, former executive director of historic Washington synagogue Sixth & I; Brenda Zlatin, senior program officer of Baltimore’s Blaustein Philanthropic Group; Lesley Matsa, program officer for Chicago’s Crown Family Philanthropies; Aliza Mazor, the executive director of Bikkurim: Advancing New Jewish Ideas; and moderator Jonathan Horowitz, senior program officer of the Boston-

based Klarman Family Foundation. “In order to be a good grant maker, individuals need to restrain their ego, whether it’s a project grant or multiyear grant,” Zlatin said. “They really have to think about their role, but even more so when to give general operating support.” The principle behind most grantmaking initiatives is to achieve a meaningful impact with the help of strong organizations. But there are many forms of grants, each with its own criteria. Unrestricted grants, for example, although not glamorous, fulfill the basic needs of recipients, including operational costs. Such grants, combined with core leaders who are dedicated to a strong work ethic, provide an organization flexibility. The dynamics of the process have shifted, however, to better address the needs of grantees. “We have multiyear grants, which include a 40-year agreement,” Matsa said. “This is not typical, but it allows us to establish long-term relationship goals with our grantees, which in turn

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(From left) Ana Robbins and Esther Foer provide the perspective of nonprofits receiving funding, and Brenda Zlatin and Lesley Matsa offer the views of grant-making organizations at a JFN session on strengthening the Jewish future through better funding processes.

helps them succeed because they know what the situation is going into the year. … We have a depth of relationship with them, so grantees feel comfortable telling us what challenges they may be facing without feeling vulnerable and trust us to help.” Long-term grants also have downsides, such as the difficulty in tracking investments in the long run and the need to appeal to young innovators with fresh ideas for approaching funders. The longer the term of a grant, the less agile the funding. “I still think that the pros far outweigh the cons, however,” Matsa said. Zlatin, however, explained why the Blaustein Philanthropic Group does not make long-term grants. “I think the most important reason why we don’t do it is because social change is not measured in one year. If there is one thing I have learned about measuring outcomes and not just outputs, it is that you just don’t care to say 100 people got this training, but rather what happened as the result of the training is important.” To further elaborate on the advantages of unrestricted grants, Esther Foer spoke from the perspective of a grant recipient, unrestricted funding is crucial, she said, recounting her experience at Sixth & I. “As a startup, I don’t think we could have achieved anywhere close to the impact if we didn’t have a handful of unconditional, committed donors. … However, you cannot rely on a single donor. In order to make money, you must diversify your dependence on various donors.” Major donors are important for reaching long-term goals, but the risk,

Foer said, is that those big givers won’t want other major funders to encroach on what they created. That attitude can reduce the project’s ability to thrive. Robbins offered the perspective of a young, entrepreneurial grant recipient. “When done well, unrestricted funding lends trust and positions funders for a greater impact. It lends legitimacy to an organization and, with the right leaders, allows the programs to expand,” she said. “I think what both funders and nonprofits are trying to do is to get to good faster … yet the value of nonmonetary support and the relationships I am able to build with funders that take a real interest in the nonprofit are the most beneficial to me because that’s also the place I feel I lend the most value to the funder,” Robbins said. Robbins also examined the downside of unrestricted funding: “This is usually during the reporting process, where the organization has shifted for various reasons but the funder is unaware. Reporting back to the funder should instead require strategic planning to help gray areas. … “Sometimes I think about funding as relationship between that of a parent and their child. If you pay two different kids an allowance, one may place a specific amount in their savings, another amount in their tzedakah, and they are very careful with the rest, and the other may immediately spend it on candy. I think the question we need to ask is what type of interaction do funders want with their grantees and how might you leverage your resources to best impact our world.” ■

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Jewish Atlanta Needs Creative Sense of Place Metro Atlanta is projected to grow by 2.5 million people by 2040, and many Jews are expected to move inside the Perimeter in response to changes in technology and geography. Those moving into the city of Atlanta want to walk to the grocery store and entertainment, said Shayna Pollock, a senior planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission. That information was part of a discussion on “Meet Them Where They Are: Strategies for Engaging 21st Century Jewish Life” at the Jewish Funders Network conference. The focus was on how to build a Jewish community within Atlanta using creative placemaking. “Baby boomers are also moving back into the cities because they don’t want to have to drive everywhere,” Pollock said. “The trends in Atlanta are consistent with national trends.” City dwellers want to connect with other people in their community in fun, creative ways, and Eric Robbins, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, is look-

Photo by David R. Cohen

A crowd gathers inside the city of Atlanta for a Sukkot celebration held at Aluma Farm on the BeltLine in October.

ing at what the community needs. “Resources is a part of that, and the challenge is building communities beyond individual events,” he said. The Atlanta Regional Commission is examining data on the Atlanta population ages 24 to 35. The commission has found that most people in that demographic live within the Perimeter or along the highway corridors, and most synagogues and Jewish organizations are still within the Perimeter. The Jewish community needs to have a plan of engagement that is relatively inexpensive, said Jodi Mansbach,

Federation’s new chief impact officer. “We need tactical urbanism by making inexpensive interventions,” Mansbach said. “Disruption in Times Square started when people brought lawn chairs and showed movies. There have been some hard changes to Times Square. I use it as an example because it’s an iconic cityscape. How can we apply this to Atlanta?” The solution is to apply creative placemaking and activate spaces within the city, she said. New organizations are grasping the concept and have implemented

programming that connects groups whose missions overlap. “It’s about building an intentional place and building a Jewish place,” Mansbach said. “Emerging organizations are being proactive without building expensive infrastructure.” What that effort looks like is temporary spaces being brought to the Jewish community within the city limits. Robbins cited the example of the farm-to-table community Sukkot celebration in October at Aluma Farm on the West Side BeltLine, where a sukkah was erected for the event. Robbins said that to engage the community, the character of the community must change. He said one of biggest hurdles, based on feedback he has received, is unfriendliness within the Atlanta Jewish community. “The community is not as welcoming. We have to give the next generation a chance to build the community. We have to give them the ecosystem,” Robbins said. “I hope the next generation feels a part of the peoplehood. Why not be a part of a Jewish community that inspires you to be a better person?” ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

By Patrice Worthy

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Groups Advised to Act Against Anti-Semitism By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Anti-Semitism is rising, from college campuses to social media to email sent to Jewish journalists. But its most significant impact is on Jewish organizations’ ability to help millennials preserve their identity, according to panelists at a Jewish Funders Network session March 20 on “Understanding Contemporary Anti-Semitism.” The session featured Natan Fund Executive Director Felicia Herman, Anti-Defamation League Director of Technology and Society Brittan Heller, Tablet Magazine senior writer Yair Rosenberg, and University of Michigan Hillel Executive Director Tilly Shames. Herman laid out the increase in anti-Semitism on campus and its interaction with the Natan Fund’s efforts to promote Jewish identity. Heller presented data analytics gathered by the ADL regarding cyber hate. She said 2.6 million anti-Semitic tweets were sent from August 2015 to July 2016. In response, the ADL decided to compile data on anti-Semitic posts.

Photo by Sarah Moosazadeh

(From left) Natan Fund Executive Director Felicia Herman, University of Michigan Hillel Executive Director Tilly Shames, ADL Director of Technology and Society Brittan Heller and Tablet senior writer Yair Rosenberg discuss contemporary anti-Semitism at the JFN conference March 20 at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead.

“We didn’t just want to say what was being said to people but wanted to report who was doing it, how it was being manifested, where it was coming from, why it was happening and understand what we could do about it,” she said. The ADL found that 10 journalists were targeted by 83 percent of the tweets; Rosenberg ranked No. 2. Harassing and anti-Semitic tweets aimed at journalists during the presidential campaign were traced to 6,131 accounts. Heller offered three steps organi-

zations should take against anti-Semitism. “If you see anti-Semitism, you should take action,” she said. “Second, use data if available; Twitter has since modified its terms of service and expanded its definition of online harassment. The third involves learning … specifically, if there is an overlap or interrelationship between types of targeting. Take the work you’re doing and push it to the next level.” As a Jewish journalist, Rosenberg talked about his experiences with online anti-Semitism. “The least useful question to ask is who is at fault. … What this really is, is a diversion tactic for people to not have to deal with antiSemitism within communities because it’s always the perpetual prejudice of other people.” He urged people instead to tackle anti-Semitism where they can have the most impact and to identify anti-Semitism within their communities. Rosenberg ignored the hate mail as he grappled with whether to share it. Because people do not wish to see negative content in their social feeds, Rosenberg had to figure out how to make anti-Semitism fun to share. He reflected the questions and harassment back at the people sending it. If, for example, someone said Jews owned 95 percent of the media, Rosenberg declared that claim preposterous and said it was actually 95.6 percent. “People don’t know what to do with that. … But if you make it into a joke, it works,” he said. An ongoing issue are Twitter trolls who pretend to be Jews. After the election, Rosenberg pushed back against anti-Semitic material by creating an impostor buster robot, resulting in many accounts being shut down. Rosenberg advised trying to solve specific problems instead of the whole issue of anti-Semitism. “That can sometimes be very powerful and inspire others to fight against bad deeds. It’s

something we can do. It’s measurable and can spur more and more efforts.” StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein, who attended the session, said: “AntiSemitic bullying has certainly been attempted on the StandWithUs social media forums, including on our Facebook and Twitter. This is handled through a team of social media ambassadors targeting the various negative campaigns from different angles, as well as mass reporting of the abuse.” Anti-Semitism is an ongoing challenge at colleges, including the University of Michigan, where Shames remains optimistic about her ability to support Jewish students. “This is the best time to be Jewish on college campuses in American history. We really do have tremendous vibrancy of Jewish life,” she said. “It’s important to keep that in mind in the context of negative situations that play out on campuses.” Shames said Jewish students who lack knowledge of Israeli narratives feel their identities under attack as they struggle with the notion of being “the other” on campus. “It is our job to help students find their voice, as it is ultimately up to them to help others understand what it feels like for them to be on campus,” Shames said. “They are looking to us for guidance, for comfort, for support, for the security and familiarity the Jewish community provides, and I believe we need to give them that warm hug, a little bit of Torah, and push them back out the door, help them face the world and hold their whole identities.” Students at Michigan and other universities live with fear of being labeled racist or accused of promoting apartheid for supporting Israel, Shames said, but funders can help. “We need our students to come to campus with a better understanding of Israeli industry and geopolitics as well as the Palestinian narrative so they are not shocked when they see that first apartheid wall,” Shames said. “Train them to know Israel and to love Israel. We need the support of our lay leaders, our donor community and leadership of our partner organizations, such as StandWithUS, Hillel International and the David Project, to work together in the interest of students.” Rothstein praised JFN for making anti-Semitism a priority. “The session was excellent because in addition to giving examples of anti-Semitic campaigns, ideas were offered about ways to challenge the newest form of the oldest hatred, from online harassment to swastika flyers on campus.” ■

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Founding partner Lauren Menis addresses the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism leadership forum March 30 at Temple Emanu-El.

Anti-Semitism Spurs Hundreds to Act By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com The need to do something about an apparent surge in anti-Semitism brought about 250 people of all faiths to Temple Emanu-El on Thursday morning, March 30, for the first Atlanta Leadership Forum on Anti-Semitism. “We can’t be complacent in the face of anti-Semitism and any other form of hate,” said Lauren Menis, who less than five weeks earlier launched the event’s organizer, the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism, with several fellow Davis Academy mothers in response to acts of anti-Semitism and waves of bomb threats against Jewish organizations, including the Marcus Jewish Community Center. The extent of the problem across the United States and Canada since January was laid out by Shelley Rose, the interim director of the Southeast Region of the Anti-Defamation League, which co-sponsored the event with the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Chapter: 165 fake bomb threats called or emailed in to JCCs, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions, including the ADL’s Buckhead office, and vandalism at three Jewish cemeteries. “My 14-year-old shocked me to the core,” AIAAS founding partner Danielle Cohen said, breaking into tears before managing to explain her daughter’s reaction to the bomb threats. “She said she believed another Holocaust could happen.” One response from the ADL, with the Islamic Speakers Bureau and Northside Drive Baptist Church, is a free workshop Sunday, April 23, at the

church in Buckhead on becoming an “upstander” instead of a bystander in response to hateful comments (atlanta. adl.org/upstander). Scott Allen, representing Christians United for Israel and Georgia Christian network Israel365, said the forum was the gathering he had long prayed would never be necessary in the hope that anti-Semitism would die out. Instead, Menis said, “we are living in a time when a culture of hate has almost become acceptable.” A refusal to accept that reality led more than 150 organizations to attend the forum. In addition to synagogues, the Israeli Consulate General, day schools, camps, youth groups and most of the other Jewish communal groups active in Atlanta, the gathering included churches, Muslim organizations, interfaith groups, public schools and school districts, universities, city and county government officials, local police chiefs, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, local prosecutors, and U.S. Attorney John Horn. The crowd grew so large so fast, fueled by a secret Facebook group with more than 4,200 members, that AIAAS had to turn away some groups. Cohen said the forum’s organizers worried about falling short of attendees’ expectations and wanted to be sure to deliver the wow factor. Looking out at the crowd, she said, “This is the wow.” “I honestly cannot begin to recall the last time such a diverse and esteemed representative body came together in Atlanta to discuss a topic such as anti-Semitism, let alone how to respond and combat it,” said Dov Wilker, the regional director of AJC Atlanta.

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“Today’s program is a clear demonstration of what happens when you take passion and combine it with the drive to make a difference,” he said. Host Rabbi Spike Anderson said the gathering was inspiring and invigorating, and he charged the participants in discussions spread across 26 round tables to present ideas to create “the Atlanta Jewish community we know we can be.” Among the ideas presented after two hours of presentations and table discussions: • Buy coffee for all the customers at a shop one morning in exchange for them taking and sharing anti-hate information. • Refuse to show fear or let life be disrupted by threats. • Hold neighborhood potluck dinners so people get to know one another. • Bring baked goods to law enforcement officers to thank them for their efforts to prevent and solve acts of antiSemitism. • Actively listen in conversations with people who are different and show genuine interest in their problems. • Launch an interfaith day of teen service projects. • Engage in interfaith social justice work and acts of tikkun olam (repairing the world). • Create lessons for schoolteachers that fit the Georgia standards and spread messages of love instead of hate. • Have exchange days among organizations such as the Breman Museum, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust’s Anne Frank exhibit, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to share one another’s interests. • Repeat events such as Thursday’s forum in individual communities across the metro area. • Collect and share data about the problem of hate in Georgia, and electronically and/or physically mark important sites of anti-Semitism and other hate (Leo Frank’s 1915 lynching, the 1958 Temple bombing, the 1906 Atlanta race riot, etc.). • Hold diversity festivals. • Issue a united public statement

About 250 people, including 70 AIAAS volunteers, gather for the anti-Semitism forum at Temple Emanu-El.

on behalf of all the organizations involved with AIAAS. A recurring theme throughout the morning was the need for a hate-crimes law in Georgia, one of five states without such a statute. The Jewish community played a pivotal role in enacting a hate-crimes law in 2000, but it was

The discussion at Table 24 includes (from left) Heath Campbell of BB&T, Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz of Chabad of North Fulton, Shira Wasser of Ramah Darom and Pam Tallmadge of the Dunwoody City Council.

thrown out by the state Supreme Court in 2004 for being too vague. Since then, a disagreement over LGBTQ rights has prevented legislation from passing. Marcus JCC CEO Jared Powers, who talked about the threats against his institution, urged the crowd not to focus on hate. He said the center received

supportive postcards from around the nation after the bomb threats, and the leader of a local mosque that itself was threatened offered to have members guard the JCC’s gates at night. “In the face of hate,” Powers said, “the love and friendship of others shines through.” ■

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Shelley Rose (center), the ADL Southeast Region’s interim director, joins AIAAS founding partners Lauren Menis and Danielle Cohen by the banner all forum attendees were asked to sign.

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The Temple’s Rabbi David Spinrad speaks to the dinner group.

Dining Against Hate The Temple held the first of three interfaith dialogue dinners designed to promote religious harmony Tuesday night, March 28, at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. For each meal, a few dozen young people of diverse religious backgrounds will aim to get to know one another to see beyond and discuss their differences. Besides The Temple, the dinners are sponsored by the Candler School of Theology, a Methodist seminary, and the Madina Institute, an Islamic studies degree program in Duluth. Graduate-age students sat down March 28 for a Mediterranean dinner, thanks to a learning grant that covered the cost of the meals. Deanna Womack, an assistant professor at Candler, integrated the dinner initiative into a new course because she recognized that the majority-Christian class populace should engage in dialogue with people of different religions rather than only read about them. “The students in my ‘JewishChristian-Muslim Dialogue’ course at Candler are training to be church pastors and Christian scholars,” she said. “At a time of rising anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in this country, such Christian leaders need interreligious awareness and the ability to lead their congregations to engage positively with neighbors of multiple faiths. I envision these dinners as a way to put

our classroom learning into practice.” The discussion at the first meal was designed by the Emory students

The Social By Rachel Fayne Gruskin

for participants to get to know one another outside their religious identities. Small groups formed, and while they ate, eating practices and the food or laws around them, along with how music connects with someone’s sense of religious identity, were main topics of conversation. The Emory students will plan guidelines for the discussions at the next two dinners, set for April 12 and 19. Womack is hopeful that the program will break down barriers and foster connections as students keep in touch. The rising concerns over Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have inspired dialogue in her classroom. “I hope these dinners can help to break down those senses of isolation we can all sometimes feel within those dividing lines of difference,” Womack said. “Sharing conversation over a meal is one simple way to break down barriers of religious difference and to see the common humanity that we all share.” ■

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Photo by Patrice Worthy

Speaking about the power of protest are (from left) Erin Schroeder, Tereance Puryear, Shirley Frank, Xernona Clayton and Rabbi Joshua Lesser.

Protest With Purpose Requires Alliances

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By Patrice Worthy

“Protests are meant to bring awareness. Protests are hopes that people that don’t look like us join the fight and join the conversations. Protests have led people to be empowered to become lawyers, police officers and district attorneys.” So said Tereance Puryear, the president of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Young Professionals, when asked about the effectiveness of protest at a panel discussion hosted by the Black-Jewish Coalition on the power of protest March 20 at the National Civil and Human Rights Center. The panel included Congregation Bet Haverim Rabbi Joshua Lesser, activist Erin Schroeder and civil rights leader Xernona Clayton and was moderated by Sherry Frank, who founded the Black-Jewish Coalition with Congressman John Lewis 30 years ago. “To look at the energy and enthusiasm of folks who want to continue carrying the torch is very gratifying, particularly in this world with the conversations around division,” Frank said. People protest out of a need to be heard, Puryear said. “Several protests have made CNN news and world news even. And the conversation was ‘Why are they blocking the roads? Why are they causing this disruption? Why don’t they be quiet? If they were quiet, we would listen to them. We get it,’ ” he said. “You don’t get it. People don’t protest because it’s fun. People don’t walk outside in the rain and mess up their shoes for fun.” Clayton has been involved in many protests during her lifetime, going back to the civil rights actions in the 1960s. She was also instrumental in desegregating hospitals in Atlanta. Clayton suggested a different form of protest: going to the top. “Black women could only get the good treatment on Wednesdays,” Clayton said. “If they were pregnant, they better go into labor on Wednesday.”

While researching the issue in the mid-1960s, Clayton learned that the discrimination in Atlanta was funded by the federal government: Hospitals practicing racial discrimination got more federal money than other hospitals in the South and the nation. “I decided we didn’t need to be fighting them; we needed to fight our federal government,” Clayton said. “We had the largest press conference of any group that had come to Washington, so we got special attention.” Clayton wrote a letter to President Lyndon Johnson but didn’t get a response. When her group went to Washington, she tried to call the president, and he eventually called back. Their conversation was the beginning of equal care and treatment for blacks in Atlanta hospitals and at medical facilities across the United States. Most protests, especially those challenging systemic oppression, require outside support. Rabbi Lesser said that’s why he is adamant about social justice activism and encourages it among his congregants at Bet Haverim. Rabbi Lesser became active in social justice while working with people who have disabilities. “I was also in the process of coming out, and the acceptance I received from that community and the partnerships nourished my soul,” he said. “That led me to be active in racial issues, LGBTQ issues and women’s issues.” The strength derived from shared experiences gives power to protest. Unity can only come from the community, Puryear said, and change will happen only when neighbors get together. “We saw the whole community come out for the women’s march. I think my issue as a black male in society is when it’s a black issue, there are only black faces in the struggle to get things to go right,” he said. “From every other race, we’re viewed differently. It’s not on us to answer the question. It’s on society to step up and say what is the issue and how can I help.” ■

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Jewish, Yazidi Genocides Run Parallel, Priest Finds On Aug. 3, 2014, Islamic State blitzed through dozens of northern Iraq’s minority-inhabited towns and villages, expelling, kidnapping, enslaving and massacring along the way. Many Christian, Shabak and Kakai’i people lost everything and were forced to flee their ancestral lands. But none suffered like the Yazidis. Branded as “devil worshippers” by Islamic State, they were shown no mercy. Roughly 5,000 Yazidis in the Sinjar and Nineveh Plains regions were killed. Dozens of mass graves have been discovered. Over 3,000 women and girls are being held as sex slaves for Islamic State fighters or have been sold. Hundreds of boys were kidnapped and have been forced to convert to a twisted version of Islam and become fighters. The lucky ones are languishing in camps in Syria, Turkey or northern Iraq/Kurdistan. The Rev. Patrick Desbois, known for work on the Holocaust, vowed to assist the Yazidis, a community that asserts it has been the victim of 74 genocides. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum among other nongovernmental organizations and institutions supports the claim of genocide since 2014. Desbois, who was visiting Atlanta, is an anti-genocide activist and Georgetown professor in the Center for Jewish Civilization and has spent many years researching the Holocaust and furthering Catholic-Jewish relations. He has written two books: “The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews,” a National Jewish Book Award winner, and the recently published (in French) “The Fabric of Terrorists: Into the Secrets of Daesh,” based on his ongoing investigations of the Yazidi genocide. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for ISIS/ISIL. The Catholic priest also is the president of Yahad–In Unum, a humanitarian organization dedicated to identifying Jewish and Roman mass execution sites in Eastern Europe. He has interviewed over 5,000 witnesses and identified more than 2,000 execution sites. The Holocaust is a personal issue for him: His grandfather was a French prisoner in the Rawa Ruska camp on the Poland-Ukraine border. Yahad-In Unum’s newest initiative is Action Yazidis. Desbois and his team continue to document Islamic State’s ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Yazidis and have made several trips to

camps for displaced people in northern Iraq/Kurdistan to interview survivors. Action Yazidis has collected more than 100 survivor testimonies documenting evidence of genocide. The interviews are held with victims of all ages, and the eyewitness accounts are cross-referenced with other sources, including photos and written material. “I got involved in the Yazidi issue because of the emergency situation,” Desbois said. “Democracies clearly did not care that there was yet another genocide taking place. There was a huge wall of silence.” Desbois advocates on Yazidis’ behalf, documents their genocide and seeks justice. “My goal is to find every single piece of evidence for Shoah and Yazidi victims, like a criminal investigation. I care about saving memories, justice and its victims.” The parallels between the Shoah and the Yazidi genocide run deep, he said, as Islamic State tries to eradicate anything associated with the Yazidis and their culture, just as the Nazis did to Jewish communities in Europe. “During the Rwandan genocide, it is well-documented that propaganda

served as a major tool in inciting people to kill their neighbors. This was also true during the Shoah, and propaganda was certainly used against Yazidis as well,” Desbois said. “If we’re only for ourselves, we learned nothing from the lessons of the Shoah,” he said. “Though Jews should get more involved, among Jewish individuals in the U.S. and France I have found the most compassion when it comes to the Yazidi genocide.” ■

Photo by Benjamin Kweskin

Catholic priest Patrick Desbois has turned his attention from the Holocaust to the modern genocide against the Yazidis by Islamic State.

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Paige Nathan and her son Danny have worked through his substanceabuse problem, which began as early as age 12.

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Teenagers in Atlanta’s wealthy northern suburbs are dying from addictions at an increasing rate, according to Eric Miller, the program coordinator for Jewish Family & Career Services’ HAMSA (Helping Atlantans Manage Substance Abuse) program. Miller spoke Sunday, March 26, at Congregation Gesher L’Torah about the Triangle, an area of Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties north of Atlanta where an 11Alive investigation found a 4,000 percent jump in heroinrelated deaths. As much as half of Atlanta’s Jewish population falls within the Triangle (largely covered by the 6th Congressional District), and, as the AJT has reported, the Jewish community has not been immune to the ravages of opioid addiction. “It’s not the sort of profile of who you would think of as a drug user,” said Miller’s colleague Sally Anderson, FULL a substance abuse clinician at JF&CS. WARRANTY “There is some controversy (about the 11Alive story) because heroin has always been a problem, but now that it’s affecting a suburban community, it’s suddenly big news.” Two members of a family affected by addiction appeared at the discussion. Paige Nathan and her son Danny spoke openly about “the hell we’ve been through in the last year and a half.” Married to an alcoholic, Nathan said she was in denial about her son, now 16, even after spotting telltale signs of dangerous conduct. “He didn’t go to school, suffered headaches. I gathered he was a little depressed. I really didn’t think it was alcohol. I didn’t put that together,” Nathan said. She described him as “a superbright, square-in-the-box kid. I always knew he would not take the traditional path but didn’t know what would transpire for him.” At first, Nathan wasn’t sure whether some of Danny’s activities just con-

stituted typical teenage behavior. “He seemed really popular, had friends over all the time, but then he would isolate himself.” Danny explained some of what he went through. “Everything started for me in middle school. … I got fine grades. I was a smart kid, a social guy. I was a nice Jewish kid from Dunwoody, went to synagogue, learned my Torah. Everything was great. But I said, ‘I’m going to find something better, cooler.’ I was 12 or 13 when I first smoked pot and got to hang out with my older brother and his friends. I was in the middle of ‘Who am I, how do I feel?’ Depression was the main part of it. We all just don’t like ourselves.” His parents eventually found a solution for him. “It all came crashing down because it never works,” Danny said. “Alcohol, drugs, sex — any bingeing activity will never work. That’s what I failed to realize. I felt like I was doomed to die, so it was OK to be an alcoholic. I just didn’t care. It took my parents putting me in the Insight program to really see that maybe I was fine. I knew I was a nice guy and could make people laugh, but it didn’t matter because I was sad.” Danny’s social life now revolves around the people with whom he is in recovery. “These aren’t hoodlums; these are your normal Marietta, Roswell, Al- Mailer With this Money pharetta kids,” he said. Not valid with any othe Miller offered advice to parents in 2/3/14 Expires a similar situation. “There are signs to look for: if they’ve changed the crowd they hang out with, if grades are dropping, the tension in the house has risen and there is conflict between parent and child or isolation. If all of a sudden they go silent, if they lose interest in something that had been very important to them. Those are signals, but there are no blaring lights.” The hardest part for Danny was facing reality. “I wish someone had said to me, ‘I know you’re not OK; I know you need help,’ ” he said. “But I wouldn’t admit that to myself.” ■

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With Rabbi Gene Levy at her side, Karen Kahn Weinberg reads in Guatemala City from a Torah donated by the synagogue her family attended for generations in Pine Bluff, Ark.

Arkansas Torah Finds Home in Guatemala By Jan Jaben-Eilon

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When Karen Kahn Weinberg drove from her Atlanta home to her hometown of Pine Bluff, Ark., last June to attend a Shabbat and de-sanctification service at Congregation Anshe Emeth, a 149-year-old Reform Temple that was closing its doors, she had no idea that the trip would take her to Guatemala City less than a year later. But at a February Shabbat service at Adat Israel in Guatemala City, about three dozen congregants and visitors heard Weinberg read from the same Torah that she read during a Yom Kippur service at Anshe Emeth in 2011 — a Torah now being donated to the Guatemalan congregation. It also was the yahrzeit of Weinberg’s father. Her mother died three days before the closing service of Anshe Emeth, where her family had been members for generations. At that de-sanctification, Weinberg learned that one of the synagogue’s two Torahs would be donated to Megiddo — in the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s sister region in Israel — while the other would go to the young congregation in Guatemala City. “Immediately I told Rabbi Gene Levy that I’m going to Guatemala,” Weinberg said. “And Gene said, ‘If you’re going, I’m going.’ ” Rabbi Levy, who is retired in Little Rock and had served Anshe Emeth for three years on a part-time basis, commissioned a wooden container for the Torah for the trip to Guatemala. He bought Transportation Security Administration-approved locks in case security needed to open the box. When he was insuring the Torah,

he was asked its age. “I said, ‘Moses brought it from Sinai,’ ” Rabbi Levy said with a laugh at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where he was waiting for another flight just weeks after traveling to Guatemala. “We wrote ‘fragile’ all over the box, and it was shipped with oversized luggage. We went through Atlanta, and there were no problems at customs.” On a Friday night in Guatemala, the Torah was unpacked from the wooden box, swathed in a new red cover and placed in the congregationmade ark by Toronto-based Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, a volunteer rabbi at Adat Israel, and Rabbi Joseph Edelheit, a Riobased representative from the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which helped arrange the donation. The next day, using a Hebrew/English/Spanish siddur, about 30 people participated in Shabbat services. “I gave a history of the Pine Bluff congregation,” Rabbi Levy said, “and then I called on Karen to read the first Torah portion.” “I said a few words in Spanish while the daughter of Adat Israel’s president, Jeannette Orantes, translated in English,” Weinberg said. “I said, ‘This warm and welcoming community is helping me to heal after saying goodbye a year ago tonight to my father, and three months later my mother joined him, and three days after that my hometown synagogue had their desanctification service.’ ” She added, “My lifelong dream was to chant Torah in a Spanish-language country.” As a teen, Weinberg spent a summer in Spain with her older sister. “I totally connected with the lan-

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Adat Israel in Guatemala City welcomes its new Torah, a gift from the defunct Congregation Anshe Emeth in Arkansas.

Rabbis Joseph Edelheit and Elyse Goldstein join Karen Kahn Weinberg on the bimah.

guage and culture, even though I’d only had one year of Spanish before that,” she said. She majored in Spanish at Newcomb College and spent a semester at the University of Madrid. “I was so blown away by the congregants at Adat Israel,” said Weinberg, the president of B’nai B’rith’s Achim/ Gate City Lodge in Atlanta. “The people are so passionate about Judaism.” Rabbi Goldstein said Weinberg added a lot to the Shabbat service. “She brought the continuity of Pine Bluff and the spirit of someone who had read it. Here was a person who had a relationship with the Torah,” she said. “Having everyone there from all over, coming from so far and being so into it, really touched my congregation. It was special for everyone — poetry in motion.” Rabbi Goldstein, who became Canada’s first female rabbi in 1983, was introduced to Adat Israel nearly a decade ago through a friend who had adopted a child from the Central American country. She traveled to Guatemala and attended services in the congregation’s house, which had been provided to Adat Israel. “The whole community came to meet us. There were 24 beautiful people, passionate about being Jewish,”

Rabbi Goldstein said. Some were converts. Others were Jews married to nonJews. Some believed they were descendants of Jews exiled during the Spanish Inquisition. “Some had Sephardic last names. Some had stories about their grandmother lighting candles on Friday nights. They fell in love with me, and I with them,” Rabbi Goldstein said. Ever since, she has served as Adat Israel’s volunteer rabbi, traveling to Guatemala at least once a year and Skyping and emailing with the congregants year-round. “Having its own Torah makes the congregation feel more real,” she said. “It reflects legitimacy and stability. Karen’s participation gave it historical context, and Rabbi Levy’s participation brought the American Jewish community to us. Rabbi Edelheit made it clear that our congregation is part of an international family. We are not alone. We are part of the Reform Jewish family.” The feeling of being a part of a worldwide movement “was palpable and powerful,” Rabbi Goldstein added. And the legitimacy came not just from abroad, she said. “We invited the Orthodox rabbi (from Guatemala City), and although he did not attend, he wrote and congratulated us.” ■

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Piece of Polish Future Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak (second from right), who leads Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland, receives a Torah from Rabbis Rachel Saphire, Joel Sisenwine (second from left) and Philip Sherman of Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, Mass., during the Central Conference of American Rabbis national conference, held in Midtown Atlanta from March 19 to 22. Rabbi Beliak flew to Poland on March 22 to give Beit Polska the Torah, originally received by now-closed Temple Sharei Tefillah in Norwood, Mass., in 1908. Sharei Tefillah’s other Torahs also have gone to Europe. Beit Polska, the umbrella group for Progressive Judaism in Poland, has four small synagogues and six havurah groups on their way to becoming synagogues, with two havurahs just lacking the necessary money. Last year Rabbi Beliak, based in Los Angeles, transported a Torah from Temple Hadar Israel in New Castle, Pa., to Beit Polska in a transfer facilitated by the Atlantabased Jewish Community Legacy Project.

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Rabbi Zalman Charytan, who leads Chabad of West Cobb, lends a hand to the sofer, Rabbi Moshe Klein.

In front of the Torah and the chuppah, Noah Pawliger carries a living wonder along Lower Roswell Road.

Above: Rabbi Ephraim Silverman discusses how, unintentionally, the dedication of the Torah coincides with the yahrzeit of Rick Faber. Below: One of the Cobb County police officers protecting the parade kisses the new Torah at the urging of Rabbi Moshe Klein.

Cobb Hebrew School students closely watch sofer Rabbi Moshe Klein at work.

Rabbi Ephraim Silverman and Mitchell Kopelman are among those dancing in the street to celebrate the new Torah.

Sheila Faber and other members of the Faber family pose with sofer Rabbi Moshe Klein and the Torah dedicated to her late husband, Rick Faber.

Chabad of Cobb Celebrates 4th Torah By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Live music, dancing and community ties brought family and friends together to celebrate the inauguration of Chabad of Cobb’s fourth Torah on Sunday, March 26. The Torah was dedicated in memory of Rick Faber, late husband of Sheila Faber, and their loved ones gathered from near and far for the occasion. The privilege of helping sofer Rabbi Moshe Klein write the last three letters was auctioned off among attendees, including Cindy and Harvey Ruback, who wrote a letter in honor of Harvey’s parents. Rabbi Ephraim Silverman called this scroll the “kindness Torah,” explaining that it is smaller and lighter than the congregation’s other Torahs in recognition of Rick Faber’s kindness throughout the community. The scroll can be handled by small children and the elderly and can be easily taken around the area, as when people visit family members in nursing homes. “A Torah will live forever, as I hope Rick’s memory 38 will,” Sheila Faber said.

After the Torah was completed and dried, people poured out of Chabad of Cobb onto Lower Roswell Road for a grand Torah parade escorted by Cobb County police. Children and adults alike rushed to catch up with Rabbi Silverman as they took turns dancing with the Torah under a traveling chuppah. Israeli songs livened the atmosphere. The dancing continued back at the synagogue with the traditional blessing of the new scroll. The first reading of the Torah took place the next day, the 29th of Adar, which happens to be Faber’s yahrzeit. “The new Torah is an opportunity to not only honor and bring the family and community together, but also serves as a way to give back to the community,” family member Lindsay Barnette said. Rabbi Silverman expressed his gratitude for the occasion. “Today unites us with all the Jewish people,” he said. “The Torah is the one thing that all the Jewish people share, and bringing in a new Torah unites us within the community.” ■

Rabbi Ephraim Silverman’s son demonstrates that the new “kindness Torah” is kid-friendly.

APRIL 7 â&#x2013;ª 2017

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LOCAL NEWS

OVS Cultivates Community Leaders By Patrice Worthy Founded in 1914 by a handful of families from Turkey and the Isle of Rhodes, Congregation Or VeShalom evolved into a strong community of Jews from all over the world. Now the grandchildren of some of the founding members are taking Sephardic traditions beyond the synagogue walls to help lead Jewish Atlanta. OVS has produced many community leaders over the decades, but now it has members leading three of the community’s most prominent nonprofit organizations: the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, the Marcus Jewish Community Center and Jewish Home Life Communities. Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla said the congregation fosters a spirit of leadership that inspires its members to be active within OVS and with other Jewish organizations. “The families value leadership in the community, and there’s a tradition of being involved in the community. When they came, they wanted to be a fountain; they didn’t want to be a

drain,” Rabbi Kassorla said. “The synagogue also embraces leadership, and we warmly embrace members who want to be leaders in the congregation.” Joel Arogeti just began his second year as the chairman of the Marcus JCC’s board of directors. His grandparents Joseph and Reina Arogeti were among the founding members of OVS. Arogeti is a former president of the synagogue and a current board member. He said the OVS environment provided him with the foundation to become a leader within the Atlanta Jewish community. “Growing up in the particular synagogue helped shape my identity and hold my values. I had many family and friends teach me service and leadership,” Arogeti said. “It’s a congregation with a low barrier to entry. Synagogues tend to be more homogenous, but Or VeShalom has a variety of people, which can be a strength and a challenge.” As a child, Arogeti saw Jews who practice the religion in various ways treated with dignity and respect, and he has taken that lesson on his jour-

The lay leaders of three of Jewish Atlanta’s biggest nonprofits, Joel Marks of Federation (left), Deborah Maslia of Jewish Home Life Communities and Joel Arogeti of the Marcus JCC, staff the entrance desk at the OVS Chanukah bazaar in December.

ney of stewardship. He said the older generation provided examples of how to respect others while honoring their culture. Arogeti recalls a story of a childhood friend’s father becoming the president of OVS and grappling with the men’s meeting being held in Hebrew or Ladino, then changing to all English. Observing that shift left a strong impression of what it means to be a leader. “Our prayers and pronunciation of words are different, and I was exposed to Reform and Conservative Judaism at summer camp. It helped me learn to appreciate different forms of Judaism,” Arogeti said. “I don’t think you can appreciate diversity unless you have a rich understanding of who you are.” That background helps him interact with diverse groups and with organizations that can benefit from his experience. “It gave me the foundation to serve on other not-for-profit boards,” Arogeti said. “It gave me the confidence and skills to serve on Hosea Feed the Hungry, which is a Christian ministry, and that gave me a great perspective beyond the Jewish community.”

Rabbi Kassorla said Arogeti is continuing the OVS tradition of leaving a legacy inside and outside the synagogue. For more than 101 years OVS has been home to people committed to the service of all. “I don’t want to generalize, but that has been the case in many countries where there are Sephardic Jews. In many cases they are involved within the general Jewish community; they have not wanted to stay in the ghetto,” Rabbi Kassorla said. “It is also in the Sephardic tradition of not only strengthening yourself and your family, but being involved in the general community.” Marriage is what prompted Joel Marks, the chairman of Federation, to take on community leadership. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where he took being Jewish for granted until he married his wife, Charlotte, the daughter of longtime OVS members Albert and Tillie Tenenbaum. He was soon introduced to Albert Maslia and Asher Benator, former OVS presidents and leaders in Atlanta’s business sector. “I lived in a Jewish ghetto where everybody was Jewish,” Marks said. “OVS

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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exposed me to a broad community, and Albert Maslia was one of my mentors. Albert and Asher made the place what it was — not just in the community, but in business.” The history of the synagogue, the warmth and the familial atmosphere make OVS unique, Marks said, adding that no one could match the values and culture of the congregation. The same environment that has nurtured Marks since his marriage inspired Angie Wieland, the daughter of longtime OVS members Victor Maslia and Lenore Sater-Maslia, to take on leadership roles. She sits on the board of Jewish Family & Career Services, where she focuses on disability programming. Wieland remembers how easy it was to become a leader within OVS, which made her more inclined to take on leadership roles outside the synagogue. She is a member of the OVS Sisterhood, has been the congregation treasurer and co-chairs the legendary Chanukah bazaar. She said OVS has everything anyone needs to cultivate leadership skills. “You can take on any role, and everyone is there to help you be successful,” Wieland said. “We grew up watching our parents do it, and it’s in our DNA. It’s a mitzvah to help and be a leader.” Having prominent Jewish leaders come from OVS is a source of pride for Deborah Maslia, the board chair for Jewish Home Life Communities. She said such communal leadership has special meaning because the congregation is small and tight-knit. Maslia is the daughter of OVS members Dan and Janet Maslia, and her paternal grandparents were founding members. The strong family ties make Maslia aware of the importance of communal prominence for older generations at OVS. “It makes me proud because I look at my parents and I know they’re proud,” Maslia said. She sees how Jewish Home Life Communities’ projects involve many of the OVS members she has known for more than 50 years, and she collaborates with them at the Marcus JCC, JF&CS and Federation. Maslia said the bonds created at OVS help the leaders serve the community. “I’ve experienced it more this year than ever before. Collaborations are stronger and more powerful because we all grew up together,” she said. “Growing up as a minority makes you have bigger appreciation for collaboration, speaking up and being a leader.” ■

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Congregation Or VeShalom has stood as Atlanta’s traditional Sephardic synagogue for more than a century, and that legacy will continue after the congregation failed to amend its constitution to hire a rabbi for egalitarian services in a vote Sunday, March 19. An ad hoc committee composed of OVS President Richard Maslia, Robert Arogeti and Lisa Galanti has convened to evaluate the next course of action. “After the vote we received a lot of questions and scheduled a board meeting to explore all our options. I think the search committee is still empowered and wants to re-examine what direction we would like to move forward,” Arogeti said. To increase Jewish engagement, OVS proposed launching a second religious pathway that would welcome guests from various backgrounds. The congregation had begun advertising for an egalitarian rabbi. “A majority of our members are seeking something different than what OVS is currently offering alongside Sephardic practices,” Galanti said. A vote on the proposal received 62 percent support, but that was short of the required two-thirds majority. Galanti said the congregation vote showed that most members favor two pathways, but “we want to make sure we stick to the bylaws for something this important and have at least 67 percent majority vote.” What happens next could be crucial in determining whether OVS can engage new members and branch out. “We are still gathering feedback from participants and asking why they were for or against the new pathway and what they would like to see moving forward,” Arogeti said. Although the ad hoc committee still hopes for action to reinvigorate the religious place of OVS in the Jewish community, many members are content with traditional Sephardic services. “A few people were uncertain as to what was going on. They were interested in keeping traditional values and open to egalitarian, but we also face challenges in terms of demographics,” Arogeti said. “Most of the population has shifted, particularly in Brookhaven, and statistics tell us that there are about 3,000 unaffiliated Jews in the

The recent renovations at OVS include a new chapel where egalitarian services could be held.

area. We want to take advantage of that by meeting the needs of the neighborhood, especially as it continues to spread out. More and more individuals want to attend synagogues closer to their home, and we need to engage people who are already in our back yard.” Galanti said she thinks the second pathway was of interest to OVS because of members who grew up at OVS but engaged with the wider community through day school or other involvement. “They are now seeking to welcome new members which cross various denominations.” She said the congregation’s rabbinic search committee is composed entirely of people under age 40. “We have an individual who is in her late 30s and has three children, and we also have a member who is 28 and single. Each is interested in discovering and building new relationships within the community.” The Sephardic roots of OVS have maintained its place in Jewish Atlanta for decades, but Arogeti said members are open to egalitarian as well as traditional services. “The traditional messages are different than what the next gen wants. They do not seek a wall separating traditional roles between men and women but rather females reading separate portions of the Torah, which occurred at OVS during Rosh Hashanah.” Arogeti said OVS is trying to reach a consensus while causing as little disruption as possible “in a unique situation.” He said several people at the congregational meeting asked why OVS needed a constitutional amendment instead of moving quickly to pursue the second track as an experiment. But the board thought the issue was too important to proceed without changing the constitution. “We now need to see how we can get that vote higher and what needs to be done,” Maslia said. ■

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LOCAL NEWS

Daffodil Dash Extends Pro-Child Marathon More than 400 people ran and hundreds more walked on a perfect day for the sixth Daffodil Dash on Sunday, April 2. The annual event raises money for Am Yisrael Chai to support the Daffodil Project — an effort to plant 1.5 million daffodils around the world in memory of the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust — and to assist anti-genocide and child-welfare programs in South Sudan, Darfur and Rwanda. For the second consecutive year the 5K run and 1-mile walk began and ended in Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run in Dunwoody, but this time Levetan herself was one of the post-race honorees and helped hand out honors

for the day’s best runners (the Patterson family dominated), the top fundraisers (the Marist School as a group with over $3,500, bat mitzvah project participant Hannah Ferrar as an individual) and the organizations with the most participation (Marist with more than 100 runners, followed by the Epstein School). The post-race speakers, Holocaust survivor Manuela Bornstein and former South Sudan “lost boy” Ngor Kur Mayol, were not Daffodil Dash newcomers, but their experiences are timeless. Bornstein, 83, is a native of Paris, and she and her parents and sister were still there in July 1942 when the

Nazi conquerors launched a roundup of 13,000 people in the city. She said her family was at home, but no one came for them. They escaped to the south of France, where they hid in a small village with the mayor’s help for more than two years until they could return to a liberated Paris. Her parents, who had a third child while in hiding, made a point of toasting each other with wine each Sunday to celebrate surviving another week. “Our story is a story of miracles,” Bornstein said. Mayol, who came to Atlanta as a refugee in 2001, added a simple message: “Support the children of the world.” ■ One of the younger participants sprints down the final stretch.

Photos by Michael Jacobs A pack of runners saunters along just after the start of the Daffodil Dash 5K. See more photos at www. atlantajewishtimes.com.

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Am Yisrael Chai head Andrea Videlefsky (left) and honoree Liane Levetan hand out more awards after the race.

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Ngor Kur Mayol listens to Manuela Bornstein’s story before saying a few words himself.

General Admission: $20 Purchase at: www.Wiesenthal.com/atlantaspecialscreening2017 The film follows the experiences of the late Ambassador Yehuda Avner during the years he worked for Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin. Based on Ambassador Avner’s best-selling book, The Prime Ministers, the film examines Rabin’s election as the country’s first native born Israeli leader in 1974, his negotiating the first bilateral treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1975, the dramatic events surrounding Israel’s rescue of hostages in Entebbe in 1976, the tense relationship between newly elected US President Jimmy Carter and Rabin and Rabin’s subsequent downfall in a financial scandal involving his wife Leah. Starring the voices of Michael Douglas as Yitzhak Rabin and Christoph Waltz as Menachem Begin and introducing Nicola Peltzas the voice of Esther Cailingold, The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers is full of emotion and rich history with rare, never before seen photos and film footage.

Matt Patterson, 18, leads from the start of the Daffodil Dash 5K, which he won by more than 30 seconds in a time of 17:25.

LOCAL NEWS

Eti and Chaz Lazarian have always tried to teach their three daughters the importance of doing good for others, from giving their Halloween candy to patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to donating oversize stuffed animals to homeless shelters and contributing their hair to Locks of Love. Now the girls — Noa, 9, Ella, 7, and Mia, 5 — are giving the community a chance to participate in tzedakah. “It’s nice to give back,” Noa said. The Lazarians, who are Dunwoody residents and Temple Emanu-El members, are hosting a spring carnival with the nonprofit A Community A-Fair from April 14 to 23 at the Spring Mill Village Mall at 6011 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain, then doing it again May 3 to 7 at the Gwinnett Prado shopping center at 2300 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth. A fall fair will follow at Spring Mill from Oct. 20 to 29. Chaz Lazarian’s Insignia management company owns both centers. A portion of the $20 admission fee, which brings unlimited rides, will go to the Packaged Good, the nonprofit Sally Mundell launched last year as a place where kids can create care packages. The family also is organizing dogood stations at the carnival. People are asked to bring small stuffed animals for Children’s Healthcare and travel-size toiletries for care packages. The Gwinnett Prado carnival will include a petting zoo, and those who donate a stuffed animal will get $5 off the zoo price. The girls also plan to make special care packages just for other children that may include small stuffed animals and coloring books. The biggest push, with entertainment and special activities, will be on opening day at each site, although collections will continue throughout the carnival. During the Gwinnett carnival, the plan is to work with public schools to bring kids in for a free day of fun. “I’ve been talking to them about philanthropy since they were born,” Eti Lazarian said, including how they can give back without money. “What can you do? You can give something else. You can give your talent. You can sing. You can read a book.” The fair will be open 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 11 Friday, 1 to 11 Saturday and 2 to 10 Sunday. Email acommunityafair@gmail.com or call 404-514-6631 for more details. ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Carnival Helps Girls Give Back

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POLITICS

Grawert Brings Front-Line Experience to Election By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Keith Grawert knows he’s a long shot to be elected to Congress from the 6th District, but the Republican believes he is the best equipped to defeat Democratic favorite Jon Ossoff in a potential runoff June 20. “If money weren’t a factor, I’d probably have the best chance of going up against him one on one,” he said.

“That would be an interesting race because we’re similar in age, we have similar stories, and there’s good contrast to what I have done in my life vs. what he has done.” Grawert, who grew up in Dunwoody, was a student at Duke University when the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks inspired him to join Air Force ROTC. After graduation, he served 14 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard as a pilot with deployments in the Middle

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Keith Grawert would like to match up his national security experience in the military against Jon Ossoff’s claims of such experience as a congressional aide.

East, South Korea and Eastern Europe. In 2014, he joined the elite 89th Airlift Wing, where he flew senior leaders around the world, including Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama, the secretary of defense and members of Congress. He said that serving in the armed forces and flying politicians such as Biden helped him realize there was another way to serve. So when Tom Price was nominated for health and human services secretary, Grawert decided to run for Congress. What he didn’t anticipate were 10 other Republican candidates, as well as five Democrats and two independents, entering the April 18 special election. “I know I need to get lucky, but I feel like if I could get my message out

there to enough people, I could have a good shot in the race,” he said. Grawert is frustrated by the lack of progress in Washington and wants to see change. He identifies as a commonsense fiscal conservative and is in favor of smaller government, free markets and lower taxes. He wants to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act but said he was not a big fan of the failed Republican health care plan. As an Air Force veteran, he said national security is one of the strongest issues in his campaign. For example, he said certain personnel policies he encountered in the Air Force are out of date and weakening the military. “I could spend another 25 years in the military, become a five-star general and still not be able to change some of the things that are wrong in the Defense Department,” he said. “If I really want to address some of the issues that I saw in the military, I need to be an elected official.” Born in Northern California, Grawert moved to Georgia when he was 10. He graduated from Marist in 1999 and double-majored in electrical engineering and economics at Duke before earning a master’s in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech in 2010. He has been to Israel three times with the Air Force, but Grawert hasn’t been outside Tel Aviv and said he would like to travel more in the country. “Having been over there and seeing what the Israeli state has to live with on a daily basis in terms of the constant threat, I’m a supporter of Israel,” he said. “In terms of our role in making peace, I think the United States has the power to bring both parties together.” In response to recent anti-Semitic incidents, Grawert said the federal government needs to send the message that discrimination against any group is not acceptable. Should Grawert not make it past the April 18 special election, he has several backup plans. He and wife Lauren are expecting their first child in May and plan to settle in metro Atlanta. He could begin flying for a commercial airline, go back to the military or remain in politics. “The people that I have worked with in the military, I think, have been inspired by me running in this race,” he said. “Even if I don’t win, I can show people that a normal guy can participate in this process and give it a shot. Maybe then more normal people will try to get involved in government. That would be a victory for me.” ■

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POLITICS

Llop: Lower Taxes, Raise the Minimum Wage Running on lower taxes and fair wages, Republican William Llop brings 30 years of experience as a certified public accountant to the 18-candidate race for the 6th Congressional District. The Sandy Springs native ran for Congress from the 11th District in 2012 and 2016 but decided to run in the 6th — he lives just across the district line — when Tom Price vacated the seat to become U.S. health and human services secretary in February. “I know what the problems are in America as it relates to taxes and regulations, and I know how to fix it,” Llop said. He favors reducing government spending and taxes by raising the minimum wage. He said large companies such as McDonald’s, Sears and Walmart take advantage of government welfare programs that subsidize employees who make minimum wage. When Llop graduated high school in 1979, the minimum wage was $2.90. Adjusted for inflation, that number today would be $9.70 per hour, he said. If elected, he would work to raise the minimum wage to that number. “Really what big business is doing is getting their labor subsidized off of corporate welfare,” he said. “The employers are the ones taking advantage of minimum wage.” He said $22 an hour is the living wage, “but $9.70 is a step in the right direction. We can reduce the size of government by getting people off of the system. People don’t want a government handout; they want respect.” Llop also favors tax breaks for the middle class and a reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 39 percent to 25 percent to spur growth in the economy and produce more jobs. Immigration reform is another priority for Llop. His father came from Italy in 1936 and served in the U.S. military during World War II. He supports granting legal status to longtime illegal immigrants. “These people are part of our culture now,” he said. “We need to give them legal status. They came here illegally, but they’ve been here now for 10 and 20 years. We’ve educated their children and given them jobs. We’ve made an investment in these immigrants, and we need to start getting our return in the form of them paying taxes like the rest of us.” Llop, who favors restrictions on abortion, would work to repeal the Af-

William Llop is optimistic about his chances in his third run for Congress.

fordable Care Act and said he would have voted for the health care legislation House Republicans failed to pass. The fourth of 11 siblings, Llop grew up in Atlanta and attended Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs. He now lives in Sandy Springs with his wife and 12-year-old twins in a neighborhood

split between the 6th and 11th districts. “When I walk my dog in the morning, three quarters of the walk is in the 6th District,” he said. “But our home is actually in the 11th.” A member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Llop said that Israel should be a place open to all religions and that the United States needs to continue to support Israel. In response to the apparent increase in anti-Semitic activity in the United States, Llop said the key to fighting all forms of discrimination against minorities is better education. “Our country is based on freedom of expression, and we need to keep

those freedoms in place,” he said. “It’s like we’re going backward when we need to go forward. We need to rejoice in individual faiths.” In the 2016 Republican primary in the 11th District, won by incumbent Barry Loudermilk, Llop received only 9.8 percent, but he said he is optimistic about his chances to be one of the top two vote-getters in the April 18 special election and reach the June 20 runoff. “Having this many candidates favors a person like me,” he said. “I think I have a strong presence in Atlanta, and I already have a decent following. That will help me get over the hump. I only need two out of 10 votes.” ■

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Handel: Familiarity Will Breed Respect By Elizabeth Friedly efriedly@atljewishtimes.com The only Republican woman running in the 6th Congressional District, Karen Handel, likely has one advantage over the other 17 candidates on the ballot April 18: Anyone who has lived in the suburbs north of Atlanta for any extended period has likely heard of her. “The people of the 6th know me. They know me very well from my time as (Fulton) County Commission chairman and then again as secretary of state,” Handel said in an interview in her Alpharetta office. She entered the race on the last day of qualifying in February, when it was clear how crowded the ballot would be, but she said: “It’s an opportunity to really make a difference. This is a unique time in history, I think, in Washington.” Handel was Georgia’s first conservative female secretary of state, proceeded in that post by only one woman, Democrat Cathy Cox. Handel ran for governor in 2010, losing in a close primary runoff against eventual winner Nathan Deal, and for the U.S. Senate in 2014, finishing third in the Republican primary. If elected, she would be the only woman in Georgia’s 16-member congressional delegation. “I take it very much to heart. I never expect anything other than a level playing field,” Handel said. She views an unbalanced budget as the greatest threat to the country. She supports a simpler, flatter tax system, preferably the FAIR Tax — the elimination of the federal income tax and the IRS, to be replace by a flat sales tax — and wants less regulation on businesses. She said with an almost self-conscious laugh, “I would love — even though I’m told by people that it’s not the plushest place to go — I would love to serve on the Budget Committee if I have this privilege.” Asked what she could do to bring jobs home to the 6th District, she didn’t hesitate in pointing to cutting federal regulation in connection with her strong belief in returning power to the states. She did not cite specific regulations, but Handel said overregulation stifles business growth. “When regulations are left on the shelf to languish for 10, 20, 30 years, they get stale and outdated,” Handel said in calling for a

Karen Handel says she’ll spend what is necessary to keep the 6th District Republican.

broad regulatory review. “Meanwhile, companies and industries evolve. So you have regulations in place that don’t really apply to how businesses are run today.” Like many candidates, Handel said she supports term limits, and she wants a stronger U.S. relationship with Israel. While she backs free trade, Handel also wants a wholesale review of the quarter-century-old NAFTA to be sure Georgia benefits as much as possible. Regarding Trump administration talk of a border adjustment tax that would make Mexican imports more expensive, Handel said that “as with most things, the details really do matter. On the surface, it sounds really great to say we want to have everything manufactured in the United States. … But we have to recognize that there are a great many industries in the 6th District and the state that would be hurt severely with the BAT. I would put myself in the very cautious category.” While her time in Georgia and the district informs the policies she would support, Handel’s personal story also plays a role. She said her Christian religion is important, sometimes leading her to drive up to two hours to Milner to hear sermons at the Rock Springs Church by Pastor Benny Tate. “I don’t know that a young girl can leave home at 17 from a pretty difficult situation and make it out on the other side without faith,” Handel said. “It informs how I lead my life.” Handel cited former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as someone whose leadership style she admires. “I’m not a ‘we have to have everything or we have nothing’ kind of person. She used to say that there was something to be said about relentless incrementalism, and that type of relentlessness is very much a part of who I am.” ■

PASSOVER

Hogwarts Haggadah Just for Fans By Lois Jacobs

The (Unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah By Moshe Rosenberg

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, the author of the 2001 book “Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter,” loves Harry Potter and believes that the Hogwarts saga and Passover share many similarities, including “concepts of slavery and freedom, focus on education, and the number four.” He inserts his analysis of the characters and plot of the Potter series into this complete haggadah (Hebrew and English), although, on close perusal, I couldn’t find the blessing for counting the Omer after the second seder. The author parallels sections of the Haggadah and the Exodus story with specific incidents in the Hogwarts story. For example, he compares lifting our wine cup during the seder without drinking to a scene in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Rosenberg also discusses the differences between Moses’ staff and Harry’s wand. A charming feature is Rabbi Rosenberg’s use of querying students about haggadah-related themes (Which Harry Potter character best understood the concept of freedom?) and their thoughtful answers. An annoying feature is the author’s obsession with the sacrifice Harry’s mother made for him. Rabbi Rosenberg even wrote a song that parallels “Had Gadya” to celebrate Lily’s love for Harry and her sacrifice: “Unconditional love, unconditional love.” If you don’t know anything about Lily’s sacrifice or who “He Who Shall Not Be Named” refers to in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world, this is not the haggadah for you. But if you and your seder guests love Harry Potter, this haggadah may inspire you to “create associations” that help everyone appreciate both even more. ■

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APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

A Pesach Visitation

Did your rabbi ever tell you the tale of the 35 tzadiks who secretly circulate in our world? They look like me and you, but inside they glow with righteousness. They are the spies of G-d, and their mission is surveillance of the human heartscape. Every Pesach they take the ethical pulse of humanity and report to the Creator, determining the fate of the world the following year. If all is ethically well, the harvest is bountiful, the S&P 500 zooms, winter is mild, and summer is balmy. Except for death and taxes, bliss reigns. But the Berg family had no time for rabbinic tales. They were busy planning for Passover. They would have a guest this year, they decided — some homeless stranger. A real mitzvah it would be. The next morning found Sarah Berg dialing several Jewish agencies until she found her man. Sure, they had a candidate. A young, rootless fellow passing through town. What a glorious Passover it would be, Sarah thought: a sumptuous meal, the seder ceremony and the added mitzvah of the indigent guest. As the haggadah says, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” But so much preparation and post-meal cleanup. She cringed at the thought of dirty dishes piled in the sink, crusted with the remains of five courses. She’d get a maid. A small luxury. Now it’s seder night. The doorbell rings. It’s the guest. He’s in torn jeans, a plaid shirt and a Bulls sports cap. But the Bergs welcome him with smiles. Uncomfortably, they make small talk as the stranger sits stiffly at the table. They proceed with the seder, but he seems to have no understanding of the service. Nor is he interested in Daniel Berg’s Passover anecdotes directed at both him and the children. “When do we eat?” he says as they pass the matzah and maror sandwiches around the table. The guest eats steadily as the family participates enthusiastically in the service. They talk of ancient miracles as he devours the brisket and roast chicken. The children swing their heads from the derelict to their parents in silent wonder at the sullen guest. In the middle of this tension, a horrible crash of china comes from the kitchen.

The floor is littered with the shards of Sarah Berg’s wedding china, a gift from her mother, who died two months ago. The elderly maid had slipped and upset the card table holding the dirty dishes. She stared down at her clumsy handiwork. A silent tear ran down the old lady’s cheek as Sarah looked at her mother’s heirloom, now-splintered

Guest Column By Ted Roberts

china all over the kitchen floor. A great sadness seized her heart. The failed holiday, the memory of her mother, this incompetent human who couldn’t clear the table without disaster. But she swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw the remorseful tears in the eyes of the old lady. “That’s OK, that’s OK,” Sarah said as she patted the shoulder of her Passover helper, who swept the remains of Sarah’s mother’s Lenox china into a brown paper grocery sack. Sarah returned to the table, determined to crown the evening with ceremony appropriate to the holiday. Fitfully, the family resumed singing. Soon, mercifully, the evening came to an end. The maid, still red-eyed, was paid handsomely in deference to the holiday and sent home early with a plastic bag full of roast chicken. The kids — sleepy, irritable, appalled by the rude guest — were ordered upstairs to bed. The family went to an uneasy sleep, where Sarah’s dreams were strangely filled with the bright, tearful eyes of the clumsy maid. A miserable night. Ah, but what a golden year followed for the Berg family and the world they inhabited. A warm wind blew over the face of Earth and unlocked the cold heart of humanity. Earth smiled, and her harvests were plentiful. The S&P 500 index zoomed. The winter was mild, and the summer was balmy. All for the price of a pat on the shoulder, a plastic bag full of leftover chicken and a set of dishes. Who would suspect that a tzadik’s duties included sweeping the kitchen floor? ■ Ted Roberts is a longtime writer and b’nai mitzvah tutor in Huntsville, Ala.

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I’ll Be Home for Seder I remember so vividly Passover as we celebrated it in our home on Seeley Avenue, Chicago, in the 1950s. I am 7 years old, proud of having mastered the Hebrew of the Four Questions, determined to stay awake until seder’s end and to drink all four of the ritual cups of wine. I never notice that I am the only child amid a sea of aunts and uncles sitting around a kitchen table made festive in an apartment so tiny that we have no dining room. Pa, my grandfather, conducts the seder in the singsong of his childhood shtetl. Grandma Ida fusses over dishes as consecrated as any divine law: matzah balls, carrot tzimmes, potato kugel, the lightest sponge cake. Auntie Levin, who once traveled the vaudeville circuit with a poodle act, grumbles as usual, with or without cause. Uncle Joe and Aunt Minnie put aside differences to harmonize lustily on the chorus of “Dayenu.” By the third cup of wine, my ebullient mother does her yearly imitation of Little Orphan Annie, placing a Mogen David bottle cap over each eye. Even my straight-laced colonel father loosens up, providing the barnyard noises for the singing of “Had Gadya.” Pa puts another chicken leg on my plate because “little (120-pound) Maishe Chayim” did so beautifully in asking the Four Questions. By dinner’s end, I am sent off to bed. I awaken the next morning to a buzz in my ears that I have not yet learned is a hangover. This is the real Passover. This is home. And how I miss it. But the years take their toll. Pa, Grandma Ida, Auntie Levin succumb to old age. Death brings blessed respite to my Alzheimer’s-ridden father. Joe dies in his prime from too many cigarettes and too much rare steak. Minnie is killed by a reckless driver. My mother, so vital and good-natured to the end, finally succumbs to heart disease as a new century begins. And “little Maishe Chayim”? He has ventured too many miles from home to make himself a life, far too attentive to his transitory crises and myriad of maladies, physical and emotional, and not nearly attentive enough to the longings that inevitably tug at him at this heart-tugging season. An edge of reality seeps into the bittersweet. There are many beautiful Passovers yet to be celebrated with a loving wife and now a third generation

of Wilsons. I will chant the ritual to Pa’s ancient singsong. Linda will make the most outrageous kugel. Perhaps

Guest Column By Rabbi Marc Howard Wilson marcwilson1216@aol.com

Ben or little granddaughter Racheli will provide the barnyard noises. Yet to be determined is who will perpetuate my mother’s memory as bottle-capped Little Orphan Annie.

Our kiddies and grandkiddies will whoop and holler in glee. Elijah will surely pop in for a visit. Little Izzy will do an exemplary job with the Four Questions and will probably awaken with a Mogen David-induced buzz. An edge of reality seeps toward the bittersweet. Rationality says we are creating our own memories, our own melodies and customs. (Did you hear of whacking each other over the head with scallions during “Dayenu”?) These will define our home. It will tug at our progeny the way that Seeley Avenue tugs at me. But who can be entirely rational when overwhelmed by an urge so compelling as the need to

return to 1958 and the life-giving source of warmth and nurturing I call home? As he approaches his 68th year, Marc Wilson (now “Rabbi Marc”) sits at the head of his dining room table, conducts his seder and works to create a legacy of melodies and memories. But a part of him forever remains little 7-year-old Maishe Chayim, sitting next to a doting grandfather at an ordinary kitchen table lifted magically by the aura of unshakable well-being. Don’t worry, Pa. I’ll be home for seder — if only in my dreams. ■ Marc Howard Wilson, formerly of Atlanta, is a rabbi in Greenville, S.C.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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Passover is fast approaching, and I am overwhelmed by how much work goes into preparing for this weeklong holiday. The days might be long, but the years are short, and time doesn’t stop for my procrastination and ruminations. As I bury my head in denial about having to clean out every bookshelf, shake off each book, get to the bottom of the toy bins, and turn over our entire kitchen to be kosher for Passover, I must remind myself that dust is not the forbidden chametz (leavened foods), and my children are not the sacrificial lambs to be offered at the altar of over-the-top meticulous Passover observance. For those unfamiliar with Passover, it is ironically the holiday in which we are commanded to celebrate personal freedom — “In every generation one must look upon himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt” (Pesachim 116b) — while veritably enslaving ourselves to a chametz-free home, our newly picky (what do my carb lovers eat now?) eaters, and cooking for the masses at seder. Educators have long known about this paradoxical nature of truths. Becky A. Bailey, in her book “Building Resilient Classrooms Through the Method of Conscious Discipline,” points out several paradoxes: • Focusing on the problem prevents finding a solution. • The child who creates distance is desperate for connection. • Limits or boundaries create personal freedom. • Power comes from choice, not force. The staff and I at the Intown Jewish Preschool have been studying the Conscious Discipline method, and we have been implementing it in our classrooms. What is most exciting to me is how similar Conscious Discipline’s empirical conclusions are to the way in which the Torah thinks, including the multiple themes of Passover. It is common to recognize how much the seder relates to children, but I would go so far as to say it also sets an example for progressive education. How so? The seder, with its matzah, four cups of wine and maror, is the central practice of the holiday, and it is all

about the kids. In a good way. We are all somebody’s child. So the seder engages the adult-child as well. It is almost as if the entire setup of the seder is in collaboration with Professor Howard Gardner and his

Guest Column By Dena Schusterman

Theory of Multiple Intelligences. While participating in the seder, we go about creating space for each type of learner to be an active participant. There is the sensory feel of the crunchy and bumpy matzah and the kinesthetic activity of pouring wine as each of the 10 plagues is mentioned. The haggadah itself is a treasure for the linguist, as the pivotal moment of the whole seder is the retelling of the Exodus story. So for me, as a mom and educator, dayenu. But there is more. While there are many modern lessons to be taken from the ancient practices of the seder and the Passover theme of free choice, the one that struck me deeply was about parenting and educating our children today. There’s a Chinese proverb: “Do not confine your child to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” There are four well-known sons (or daughters) named in the haggadah: the righteous one, the wicked one, the simple one and the one who doesn’t even know how to ask. In recent years, we added a fifth: the one who doesn’t even know it is Passover, so he doesn’t show up for the seder. Do you know that Jewish son or daughter? Reach out and invite him or her to your seder. While we can tease-apart each proverbial child and figure out the root cause of the learned or inherent behaviors, there is an interpretation that says we all represent each of these children. We show up in our lives personifying a different “son” (or daughter),

depending on the situation and depending on our experiences (or, as Becky Bailey calls it, our preprogrammed CD-ROM). We may know people who always play the part of the wise daughter or the righteous son. And, sadly, we know someone who is consistently the bully, naughty, I-will-rip-my-hairout-because-of-you wicked one. A good parent or educator knows that even this child is good, deep down. Most of us are not consistently any one way, but we go through phases of being: wise, rebellious, simplistic and utterly lost (all on a typical Sunday afternoon, in line at Trader Joe’s). What is an adult to do? If I am not in control of myself, how can I expect my children to get it together? We struggle to be outstanding parents while nurturing our children to reach their own potential. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” Gandhi said. Bailey and her Conscious Discipline method encourage adults and children to move away from reacting to our fast-paced world in an emotional and impulsive state. Instead, we need to approach the world in a calculated and thoughtful state. When we function without consciousness, we are knee-jerk and powerless, basically enslaved to the actions of others: “She made me”; “I had to.” But when we function with consciousness, we are able to pause and formulate an appropriate response using our G-d-given free choice. This response will typically be based on our values and beliefs. In contrast, when we are disconnected, we are emotional and impulsive without any consideration of consequences. Indeed, the slavery we might feel toward this holiday, the daily grind and the errant behaviors of our children can all be managed through our own self-work. As the adults, it is our responsibility to help shift feelings of loss of control and helplessness to a sense of competence and willpower. So here goes. I am excited to get my house sparkly clean. I am grateful to be able to cook healthy food for my beloved family and community. I adore celebrating our Jewish holidays with all the quirky traditions, and I am fortunate to live at a time when my Jewish observance is visible and I can share the Torah’s life lessons. Happy Pesach! ■ Dena Schusterman is a mother of eight, a wife, the rebbetzin of Chabad Intown and the executive director of the Intown Jewish Preschool.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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Happy Passover

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U.S. Jews Finally Awoke On Eve of Ghetto Uprising By David Geffen

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I reached age 5 in 1943. One specific memory of 70-plus-year vintage has motivated me to pinpoint those events of 1943 that touch on what I constantly recall. Most of what occurred back then relates to the Holocaust. The place is an Army camp in Mississippi in spring 1943; my mother and I are driving off the post to go to town. Innocently, I ask, “Mom, who are those men in gray clothing cutting the grass, cleaning the areas around the Army buildings and barrack?” My mother responded, “When your father comes home tonight, he will tell you all about it.” That night I learned they were captured Nazi soldiers. They were expected to work, and the conditions were not perfect. But the Geneva War Conventions were followed. The Germans were provided a certain amount of space to sleep in and food to eat, and at times they were permitted to go off the base. And as the Geneva Conventions state, they could try to escape. Louis Geffen (z’’l), my father, was the post judge advocate at that Army base in Mississippi, and he had to deal with the POWs regularly. An interpreter was used because they did not know he spoke German. Frequently, they complained that their rights as POWs weren’t being honored. My father had to deal with POWs who escaped and were captured but, when free, ruined a field of watermelons. Why do I mention the rights of Nazi POWs protected by the United States? We all know that more than 70 years ago Jewish civilians in Europe had no rights and were liquidated by the Nazis and their conspirators. Late 1942 and particularly February, March and April 1943 were critical months in the Holocaust for me. On Dec. 2, 1942, half a million Jewish workers in New York halted their labor for 10 minutes in protest of what was happening to the Jews in Europe. It was a statement directed at Jewish leaders and Franklin Roosevelt. Jewish children were not going to stand idly by. In February and March 1943, 2,000 Jewish kids in Chicago and 3,000 in New York held protests. Moreover, hundreds of students from Hebrew schools, Talmud Torahs and Sunday schools were knocking on doors in Charleston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco to

make their fellow citizens aware of the suffering of the Jewish people overseas. One of the Jewish demonstrators in New Jersey, age 10, told his teacher: “I wish that I was big. I would get me a gun and shoot those bad people. I have relatives over there, as do many of my friends. We are all crying for them.” What did the European Jewish situation mean to Americans? In the first few months of 1943, the Gallup Poll asked Americans: “It is said that 2 million Jews have been killed in Europe since the war began. Do you think that this is true or just a rumor?” Although the Allied leadership had publicly confirmed that 2 million Jews had been liquidated, the poll found that only 47 percent believed that it was true, while 27 percent dismissed the claim as a rumor. The remaining 26 percent had no opinion. In the American Jewish Yearbook coverage of 1943 events, Joshua Trachtenberg, a scholar and rabbi, wrote. “Religious groups reacted sharply to the reports of the slaughter of Jews in occupied Europe. In addition, efforts were made to arouse American Jews to full consciousness of the proportions and implications of these events.” Remember those words: “Full consciousness of the proportions and implications of these events.” That is what motivated a small percentage of U.S. Jews to do more. The United States was given a firm lesson in Jewish patriotism. On Feb. 3, 1943, the USS Dorchester was sunk. Alexander Goode, the Jewish chaplain, and three other chaplains sacrificed themselves by turning over their life vests so that four men could be saved. The chaplains went down with the ship and became a potent symbol of U.S. brotherhood. I served as a U.S. Army chaplain during the Vietnam era. I recall how moving it was for me when I, with 15 fellow chaplains, conducted a memorial for the four chaplains who gave their lives in World War II. To assist Americans in their understanding of the Holocaust of our people, a pageant titled “We Will Never Die” was presented, initially in New York, then in several other cities. The performances drew 100,000 people. Written by Ben Hecht, produced by Billy Rose, staged by Moss Hart, with a musical score by Kurt Weill, this powerful production was first presented at Madison Square Garden to a sellout au-

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dience. The motto of the pageant was “to raise public awareness of the ongoing mass murder of Europe’s Jews.” The stage background was a giant replica of the Ten Commandments. The final scene carried these messages: • “Remember us who were put in the freight trains. ... We crossed Europe and died in the freight cars standing up.” • “Remember us who lived in the Ukraine. The Germans took our women and children into the roads and tied them together. They drove their heavy lorries into us, and thousands died.” Three rabbinical students at the Jewish Theological Seminary were fed up with the lack of movement by the U.S. Jewish leadership to get a program started to save the remaining European Jews. Noah Glinka, Jerome Lipnick and Moshe Sachs wrote a column in March 1943 in “Reconstructionist” magazine as a part of a campaign they developed. “We do not want retribution for Jews who have died already. We prefer help for those Jews who are yet alive,” they wrote. Sadly, their challenge was not answered. One Shabbat in early 1943, Israel Goldstein, the rabbi at B’nai Jeshurun in New York and the president of the Synagogue Council of America, gave a sermon titled “Hope Springs Eternal.” Rabbi Goldstein was an optimist, a realist and a pragmatist all in one. Before he died, he told me, “David, how saddened I was when I actually learned that the Nazis were trying to send all European Jews to their death. I cried inwardly, but I resolved something had to be done to end this butchery. Alas, we leaders who knew just took too long.” A remarkable countrywide event was the Purim celebration in 1943. Because the largest number of grassroots Jews still belonged to synagogues in that era, it was a time to express solidarity as the Megillah was read. On that Purim in mid-March 1943, thousands of American Jews poured out to capture the spirit of the holiday observance and to protest. The children’s costumes made the point. Mordecai wore the uniform of an American soldier. Haman was Hitler and Mussolini combined. Sweet Esther represented the Jewish people pleading for their lives. The king was FDR. How I wish I could have participated with other children that night. As the days between Purim and Passover passed, a voice rang out. The archbishop of Zagreb in Croatia, Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, spoke at a Sunday service and hoped his words would penetrate the ears of many Christians: “We have heard about the deporta-

tion of the Jews to Lodz this week, and so I remind you. Everyone, no matter to which race or nation he belongs, bears within himself the stamp of G-d and has inalienable rights, of which no earthly power has the right to deprive him. This week there were many occasions to see the tears and hear the sighs of men and the cries of defenseless women. As representatives of the church, we cannot and dare not be silent.” In 2011, Steve Lipman, a New York Jewish Week journalist, told the story of Yitzhak Milchberg, a boy who survived the Warsaw Ghetto uprising at Passover in 1943 and lives in Florida. An orphan of 12, “the Bull” had seen his father killed by a firing squad and his mother and the rest of his family sent from the Warsaw Ghetto

to the camps. He had one relative left, an uncle in the ghetto, and Milchberg wanted to be at the seder with him. This boy had escaped the ghetto a month before, posed as an Aryan, and kept going in and out of the ghetto. On the eve of Passover in April, the Nazis decided to give Hitler a present for his 54th birthday. Their idea was to level the ghetto and kill everyone in it. We have heard how the Nazis fired that day, and the Jewish Defense Organization retaliated. With few weapons, the Jews fought for a month. On the eve of Passover, Milchberg walked into the ghetto right by the guards while carrying eggs and potatoes. He moved quickly as the firing began. He found his uncle in a bunker with 60 other people.

When his uncle began to chant the haggadah from memory, the rest screamed out that G-d had saved us in the Exodus from Egypt, but now the Nazis were murdering us. His uncle persisted with Milchberg’s help. The seder began; finally, everyone was singing even as the roof shook from the shooting outside. His uncle made 12-year-old Milchberg swear he would tell his children and grandchildren the story of this seder. Milchberg survived, and his Warsaw Passover tale is a classic. A 12-year-old in the midst of the ghetto, only 7 years older than I was in 1943, proved that he could survive. We are saddened that 6 million of our people were liquidated. May their memories be for a blessing. ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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Eric Crane (left) poses with Domaine du Castel founder Eli Ben Zaken. The winery is a family-run operation west of Jerusalem.

Right Wine Makes Even Matzah Pop By Rachel Fayne Gruskin

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

HAPPY PASSOVER!

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There’s no doubt that flavors of foods and the overall dining experience can be enhanced by wine, and the Passover meal is no exception. You might know the basics: Pair reds with meats and whites with lighter dishes. But specific pairings can elevate and intensify the dishes on a Passover table. Israeli wines can be a nice seder addition that honors the region’s ageold wine traditions, and they can be found in a many stores around Atlanta. Atlanta sommelier Eric Crane visited Israel this year through a program sponsored by the Israel Export Institute and GuildSomm; eight American wine experts were selected to learn about Israeli wine culture firsthand. Crane spent a week visiting wineries and was struck by the history of winemaking in Israel and the passion for the process demonstrated by so many Israelis, although Israel is just now receiving buzz as an up-and-coming wine producer. The Muslim conquest of the land and subsequent anti-wine sentiments of the seventh century meant that most of the wineries were removed, and many indigenous grapes are disappearing or have ceased to exist. For those visiting Israel and seeking an equal dose of history and dedication to the winemaking process, Crane suggests Yad HaShemona-based Domaine du Castel, where winemaker Eli Ben Zaken has made his passion for wine a family business. Crane also visited Shiloh’s Gvaot, where a 3,500-year-old wine press carved into the rocks can be found beside the winery. “Wine was being made in Israel so long ago,” Crane said. “Being there was like having one foot in history and the other in the present. It’s like time trav-

el, knowing wines were made in this exact place both now and so long ago.” Based on his knowledge of Jewish food and wine pairings, Crane has some suggestions for creative ways to use wine to bring out the unique flavor profiles of traditional seder foods: • Matzah — Try seasoning your matzah with savory spices and herbs like garlic and rosemary, then eat the seasoned matzah with your favorite red wine to begin the meal. • Charoset — The most important rule of pairing sweet dishes with wine is that the wine should always be sweeter than the food you’re eating. If not, the flavors will come across as sour or bitter. So pair charoset with an oaky wine like Pinot Noir or Merlot. Avoid reds with high alcohol content. • Matzah ball soup — Wine and soup can be a difficult pairing because of the temperature differences and the potential richness of the broth. But chilled wines work with hot soups because you get a different sensation with every bite. An oak-aged Chardonnay or a light red like Pinot Noir goes well. Sparkling wine also brings out some nice flavor notes. • Brisket — Simply put, red meats often pair well with deep red wines. A Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah will complement the brisket. Crane can be found at this year’s Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, where he’ll conduct a seminar on Israeli wines and share some of his findings from his Israel visit. “When you find something that means something to you, you tell others about it. You want to show it to everyone,” Crane said. “As a non-Jew myself, presenting these wines in my hometown was important. I was so moved by what was happening in Israel that I couldn’t not share it.” The Food & Wine Festival is June 1 to 4. Tickets are available at atlfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. ■

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You Don’t Have to Eat In

Breakfast Go out to your favorite breakfast spots; just switch up your order. Instead of the Skillet Heap (freshsliced potatoes grilled with onions, green peppers, cheddar jack cheese and two eggs any style, served with toast or multigrain biscuit) at Thumbs Up Diner (thumbsupdiner.com), go without the biscuit and add a side of fruit instead. Trade out a breakfast sandwich at SoHo Café and Bakery (sohocafebakery.com) for an order of two eggs any way, tomato, avocado and cheese, then add mixed berries, blueberries or banana slices on the side. Lunch With locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs, Cafe Sunflower (www. cafesunflower.com) is a great detour from your average K4P lunch. Try the Macro Stir Fry with broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, and organic tempeh or tofu in a tamari miso sauce with brown rice as a filling, delicious option. Feel free to deduct the tempeh, tofu and/or brown rice, depending on your observance. If you have not made it to Gusto’s Ponce or Peachtree Road location, now is the perfect excuse. Gusto (www. whatsyourgusto.com) offers customizable meal options: You choose your

base, protein and veggies for a perfectly portioned meal. Every order comes with a side of fresh-baked sweet potato chips. My must-order is a bowl with lettuce, grilled portabella mushrooms and if sesame seeds and chickpeas are allowed, the tahini-cucumber-feta Gusto with tahini sauce, chickpea salad and feta with fresh dill.

The Food Scene By Skye Estroff

Dinner Even with the current situation on Interstate 85, True Food Kitchen (www.truefoodkitchen.com/locations/ atlanta) is worth the trek for a tasty Passover meal. Start with the roasted Brussels sprouts appetizer (with artichoke, sultana, shallot and toasted hazelnut), then keep the order strong with the seared albacore tuna salad with avocado, grapefruit, cabbage, cashew, watermelon radish, Thai basil, sesame and chili garlic dressing. If you’re still hungry, refresh your palate with lemon-ginger sorbet for dessert. Grab and Go Farm 2 Ladle (www.farmtoladle. com) has locations at two popular eatlive-play properties: Avalon and Ponce City Market. They are open from lunch through dinner and offer a variety of protein-packed snack, soup and salad options. You can even pick up a combo of soup and salad if you opt for something a little more filling. With locations in Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Toco Hills, Decatur, Alpharetta, Kennesaw and Suwanee, a Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe (tazikiscafe.com) is always around the corner. Stop by for a taste of the hummus with carrots, celery, squash and sliced tomatoes, fresh salads, baked seafood, or the grilled vegetable plate. If you get hooked during Passover, try Taziki’s again at Food That Rocks, a Sandy Springs restaurant event produced by Taste of Atlanta, on Saturday, May 6. Visit FoodThatRocks.org for more information. ■ Skye Estroff is the marketing and media manager for Atlanta’s largest food festival, Taste of Atlanta (tasteofatlanta. com). She is an Atlanta native, a University of Georgia grad and an expert in Atlanta’s best food.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Passover is a polarizing holiday for food. Some people love the mandatory nix on anything leavened, and others spend the whole year developing a solid sense of willpower to make it through the sacred eight days. Almost every year, Passover falls on my birthday. Because of my love for food and demand for a great kosherfor-Passover meal, I’ve become a pro of sorts at ordering at a restaurant during Pesach. Use my Taste of Atlanta guide to sort through restaurants so good that the lack of bread, pasta, cookies, crackers or pastries does not remove the flavor. You can go out to eat out during Passover and leave feeling satisfied. For more Atlanta restaurant ideas, visit TasteofAtlanta.com and follow @TasteofAtlanta on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. (Note that these recommendations vary based on levels of observance. They do not exclude beans, soy, rice and corn. Please ask your server about dietary restrictions before ordering.)

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Photos courtesy of Ghila Sanders

Ghila Sanders and her husband are ready for a Roman-style seder.

The Sanders family uses a haggadah written in Italian and Hebrew.

The table is set for the seder at the Sanders household.

Roman Culture Survives Through Seder Traditions

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

The Jewish community in Rome is one of the oldest in Europe and is where Breman Jewish Heritage Museum community engagement director Ghila Sanders has her roots. Rome has roughly 13,000 Jews in an overall population of about 4 million, Sanders said. The Jewish community can be traced back 22 centuries to a delegation from the Maccabees who went to Rome to look for allies and decided to settle in the city, which gained influxes of cultural diversity over the centuries from events such as the Spanish Inquisition. “Italian Jews from Rome are the oldest in Europe and come from a rich history with deeply rooted traditions,” Sanders said. “It is a culturally vibrant community and more than a blend of different cuisines and customs. It’s a way of living and worshipping that is solely unique to Rome.” Echoing the tagline of Rome’s Jewish Museum in the basement of the Great Synagogue, she added: “One can’t really know Rome until they learn about its Jewish community.” Sanders moved to Atlanta 18 years ago and still incorporates Italian cuisine and customs into her life, including Passover. During Passover, Sanders pre-

pares dishes composed of rice, grains and vegetables. Pomodori colriso consists of tomatoes stuffed with rice and is a staple for the Sanders family during the holiday. She also makes a lamb dish with potatoes known as abbacchio and an almond cake for dessert called tortadi mandorle. The seder plate is a bit different, with lettuce in place of bitter herbs. The afikomen is not hidden but is placed under the tablecloth. When it is time for dessert, the afikomen is removed, placed in a box, and distributed among friends and family to keep until the following year, when they will burn it with any chametz found for good luck. Celebrating Passover while incorporating Italian traditions is significant for Sanders in many ways. “It speaks of home. I come from a culture that values family and tradition, and I hope to pass that on to my children one day. I also think living in a different country allows you to appreciate your cultural roots much more.” She has celebrated Passover in Rome on multiple occasions, joining 40 family members as they recite the prayers and sing songs in Hebrew with occasional Italian translations. “Everyone participates, including the kids, who are each assigned a specific role, and it inevitably becomes a performance,” Sanders said. ■

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PASSOVER

Holiday Helps Preserve Bukharan Culture By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Sophia Babayev and her husband, Isaac, attend a Bukharan wedding.

Plov is a Bukharan dish composed of rice, meat, onions, carrots and spices.

thing was prepared by hand. “I learned to make matzah by the time I was 11,” Babayev said. While the women were tasked with baking the matzah, the men were in charge of the dough. “Everything had to be prepared in a single day, and it was very hard for my grandmother, as she stood in front of a terracotta oven from morning to night,” Babayev said. Upon arriving in Atlanta, Babayev and her family were introduced to different synagogues and felt that Congregation Beth Tefillah was the right fit. (A

thriving Bukharan congregation, Beit Yitzhak, operates in Norcross, where much of the community settled.) Although she is heavily immersed in the Ashkenazi community now, she is proud to prepare and serve traditional Bukharan dishes for Passover. Among them are a soup known as maso dyushak, cooked with meat and beaten eggs; kovov rugan, which includes chicken pieces with potatoes cut into french fries; and bakhsh, a type of pilaf rice with cilantro, cooked in a cotton bag. For dessert, Babayev enjoys making carrot preserves cooked with

sugar cubes because granulated sugar was considered chametz in Uzbekistan. “During my first Pesach in America, I was surprised at the abundance of processed food available. There were so many items, including candy, which was something we did not have back home,” Babayev said. Although she is half a world away from Uzbekistan, Babayev said she is “proud to be Jewish and carry on my Bukharan traditions. I believe it is important to preserve one’s identity because without it we could one day disappear.” ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Strong ethnic roots and customs have kept Sophia Babayev’s love of Judaism and Bukharan heritage unbroken in the 28 years since she left Uzbekistan. Babayev and her family were among the first Bukharan Jews to arrive on July 4, 1989, with the help of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. They were hosted for a week before other families arrived from Tajikistan. In Uzbekistan, then part of the Soviet Union, Judaism and other forms of religious worship were forbidden. Preparation for Passover was performed behind closed doors for fear of persecution. “We had to be careful because our neighbors held anti-Semitic views of us, such as pouring blood in the matzah,” Babayev said. As a little girl, Babayev worked alongside her grandmother and other girls in the community to prepare for Passover each year. Because vegetables and kosher meat were expensive and various food items were scarce, every-

Photos courtesy of Sophia Babayev

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PASSOVER

AJA Students Take Mitzvah to Central Asia By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

“There is a difference between learning in the classroom and using one’s knowledge to create an impact in the world,” Devorah Chasen told the AJT about her recent trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, with fellow Atlanta Jewish Academy Upper School junior Esther Benschitrit and sophomore Zoe Sokol to package matzah for the Jewish community. The students, including a second sophomore who asked not to be identified, joined by AJA alumnus George Birnbaum and Judaic studies curriculum coordinator Rabbi Reuven Travis, spent a week in Baku learning new customs, interacting with their Azerbaijani peers and packaging 13,000 boxes of matzah to deliver to Jewish families in the former Soviet republic and in neighboring Iran. The participants were selected among 23 student applicants through a process that included essays, examinations by school counselor Pam Mason and head of general studies Joel Rojek, and input from the participants in AJA’s first matzah mission to Azerbaijan last year. Jonathan Nooriel, who participated in AJA’s first trip to Baku in 2016, said the impact of the experience lasts. He cited a memory of serving as an impromptu translator: “A Persian man who arrived in the community one day possessed little to no knowledge of English or Hebrew. Yet, thanks to my Persian heritage, I was able to speak Farsi with him and facilitate a conversation. It was quite amazing, knowing that I was able to make a such a big difference and bring people together, despite their language barrier.” While traveling to Azerbaijan over five years, Birnbaum often found himself at Chabad Rabbi Shneor Segal’s house for Shabbat or Sukkot and learned about the shortage of matzah for 20,500 Jews living in Iran. Birnbaum saw the opportunity for AJA students to have a huge impact and gain an amazing educational and leadership experience. “I am so proud of the community and the students’ efforts to raise money toward the trip,” he said. The students raised more than $10,000 for the matzah on the journey. “Planning and strategizing are part of the growth experience, and the students will use the new skills they gained for the rest 60 of their lives.”

The students’ sightseeing in Baku includes the city logo.

The purpose of the trip is to package matzah for Jewish families for Passover.

Participants in the matzah mission include AJA students Devorah Chasen, Zoe Sokol and Esther Benschitrit.

The AJA delegation visits Azerbaijan’s Chabad school, which serves 200 students.

During the trip, the students connected to a different culture while sharing similarities within Judaism. “The Jewish community beyond that of Atlanta has always been a mystery to me, and I haven’t had the opportunity to visit many places outside Israel,” Zoe said. “I was eager to learn about new traditions within the Jewish faith while experiencing a new country.” Azerbaijan is wedged between Russia and Iran and is a place where Muslims and Jews live in harmony, Birnbaum said. Rabbi Travis said he felt more comfortable walking around Baku in a kippah than he did last year in Paris, where he felt the need to wear a baseball cap. According to Rabbi Segal, young Jews in Baku have a tenuous relationship with practicing Judaism, but having the opportunity to see other Jewish youths changes their perception. “It means a lot to them when they realize you don’t have to be a rabbi to enjoy the religion.” Programs such as Enerjew help students in Baku connect to Judaism.

The AJA mission visits Enerjew, a youth group for teens in Baku that serves 40 kids a week.

“It was really cool to see this because, although a lot of the teens were not observant, they are still very involved in the Sunday school program and wanted to be engaged in Jewish spirituality. We were singing and learning, and all of them were so involved,” Zoe said. “During Shabbat services, the girl sitting next to me was reading and singing the prayers in Russian, and you could tell how spiritually connected she was. Despite our ethnic differences, Judaism connected us all and became our common language,” Esther said. Besides packaging matzah, the AJA students played a soccer game, had a private language class in Azerbaijani and visited a carpet museum. They also enjoyed a meal with the Chabad rabbis and their families. The Atlanta students gained an understanding of the Baku community’s daily struggles to maintain a Jewish lifestyle. The Jewish school there has 200 students, who attend free. Interfaith marriages in which the mother is Jewish and the father is Muslim are common, but each household works

After a meaningful Shabbat, Baku’s Jewish high school students hang out with the AJA crew at the hotel.

hard to preserve Jewish customs. “Baku is growing rapidly, which has led the Jewish community to disperse, yet the school and shul serve as a hub for Jewish experiences. In America, the beit knesset is diffused, yet in Baku the synagogue is the beit knesset and the focal point of the community,” Rabbi Travis said. Chabad helps to preserve the religion before it disappears. The faculty and students at AJA are raising the funding for another trip next year and are hoping to welcome Azerbaijani Jewish students to Atlanta. “You have to live and experience life to learn about it,” Birnbaum said. “Seeing another Jewish community and the similarities we share is important, and spreading tikkun olam doesn’t always have to be within your own community, but outside the box you live in. The kids not only traveled to a foreign country, but one that is predominantly Muslim, to perform an enormous mitzvah. In doing so, they brought everything they learned from AJA, which could not have been accomplished without the school and faculty.” ■

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PASSOVER

Black Jews Connect With Slave Narrative Passover is a reminder that G-d prefers His children to be free from spiritual, emotional, physical and mental bondage. But for black Jews the weeklong holiday holds special meaning, often enriching their experience as part of the Jewish people. The haggadah reading often is combined with reflections on the history of slavery in America and the present circumstances of black people. “We celebrate this holiday every year, and how many times are we reminded that ‘I am the Lord your G-d who brought you out of Egypt’?” said Sandra Lawson, a rabbinical student and Congregation Bet Haverim member. Nadiya Boyce-Rosen said Passover is a reminder that slavery should never happen again. “You have people trying to say slaves are the new immigrants. When it’s posed that way, you need a reminder,” Boyce-Rosen said. “It’s very important to ensure your culture lives on when you have people who try to water it down. History is important.” The seder gives Lawson the opportunity to relate the story to her black heritage and tradition of standing up against oppression. “That’s why so many Jews are involved in social justice,” she said, “because we have this holiday.” The rabbinical student said it’s fascinating to see how blacks and others relate differently to the story. “A lot of people don’t realize it’s a slave narrative. They are looking at it from an Ashkenazi Jewish point of view, and then when we talk about it, they realize,” Lawson said. She uses the example of Exodus 16:3, when the Hebrews complain about starving in the wilderness as free people after having plenty to eat as slaves, to point out characteristics of people with a slave mentality. “It’s a slave narrative and trauma story,” Lawson said. “All the kvetching they were doing about having more fish as slaves is trauma.” There are deep connections between African-American history and the Exodus, Tarece Johnson said. “I celebrate it from a Jewish perspective, but as an African-American I see the fight and struggles just like ours,” Johnson said. “It’s that spirit to fight and survive.” The story has relevance today. Boyce-Rosen said it’s like a life lesson baked into her calendar. Passover is a story about a particular group, but

Tarece Johnson attends Temple Sinai with children Hannah and Nile.

Hasidic rapper Prodezra (Reuben Formey) performs at City Winery Atlanta’s Freedom Seder in 2016.

what applies to the group also applies to the individual. “You look at the story and see the fight that had to occur and the work that needed to be done. It’s something that galvanizes me, and you say, ‘This is why we need to be educated,’ ” BoyceRosen said. For Reuben Formey, the Hasidic rapper Prodezra, talking to his children about slavery is important at the seder while also discussing the history of blacks in America. “At my table in particular there’s always us speaking about freedom and slavery and the connection to it,” he said. “We compare and contrast and talk about how it is to be African-American in society and the idea of the slave mentality.”

But the relationship is complex, Formey said. Judaism allots black Jews the freedoms that come with Jewish spirituality and culture. “Obviously, we value the skin which is African-American and the spirituality which is Jewish, so we bring those together, and it does hold special meaning to have a certain level of freedom,” he said. There are stark differences between the Jewish and black slave narratives, Deanna (Dvora) Windham said. Jews kept their language, names and clothes — three elements essential to identity that were denied to African slaves and their descendants. That makes a huge difference. During Passover, Windham can’t help

but think about the experience of her African ancestors. “I’m extra-careful in remembering that they were slaves, but they were stolen and robbed of being able to have families, so it became a different experience,” Windham said. “Anything I learned about it, I learned on my own, except the small paragraph in history books in public school.” Hearing the slave narrative every year is not an option, Windham said. Even after the seder, when the story is dissected for hours, Jews reflect for a week on why we deprive ourselves of certain foods. In that respect, she said, the story of slavery is something you just can’t walk away from. “I wish it was something black Americans had where you sit down, tell stories and have a liturgy. There’s meaning to that,” Windham said. “It’s not optional if you’re Conservative, Reform or Orthodox; everyone is doing it. However, you’re doing it first seder; you’re talking about the Passover. I wish my cousins had that, my sisters had that or my brothers had that. It’s disheartening, but in some ways I feel lucky.” ■

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

By Patrice Worthy

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PASSOVER

A Seder Feast for the Rest of Us By Beverly Levitt

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

When Marge Piercy was a girl, her grandmother set a special place at the Passover seder for Blackie, her cat. He was a dignified cat, Piercy said. “Blackie sat quietly in his chair while we went through the entire Maggid. “Grandma told me that when nobody else was here, Blackie ate with a knife and fork. I never saw him do it, but I wondered why he wouldn’t eat that way for me.” Whether it is the warm memory of Blackie or of her grandmother creating the annual seder in her small Cleveland apartment — setting out her Passoveronly dishes, ironing her spotless tablecloth for special occasions, polishing the fine silver candlesticks brought from Lithuania and preparing the traditional Ashkenazi menu — Passover is the prolific poet, novelist and social activist’s favorite holiday. For years, she has cooked gedempte flaisch mit abricotten (pot roast with apricots) on the first night of Passover to honor her grandmother Hannah Levi Bunnin. “If I wasn’t honoring the mem-

ory of my bubelah, part of the reading I would probably of the haggadah. It’s serve lamb, especially a time for lively disbecause of its assocussion, but it’s long, ciation with Pesach,” and people are hunPiercy said. gry,” Piercy said. “So Although she I serve this right after loves re-creating her the Hillel sandwich. grandma’s AshkeIt is satisfying and an nazi menu, lately she admirable start for has added Sephardic the meal.” chicken soup and A fish dish is Mizrachi charoset commonly served because of her fasciafter the egg course, nation with the difand many matriarchs ferent food traditions spend the better part Photo by Julie Siegel among Jews all over of a day making fresh Marge Piercy’s Mizrachi charoset the world. She even gefilte fish, which is a is a mix of sweet and tart flavors. has created a special delight and for which egg salad to eat during the part of the Piercy offers recipes. seder that calls for dipping a sprig of For the rest of us, who might not parsley and a hard-boiled egg into salt have time, Piercy offers her version of water to symbolize spring and the cycle chopped herring, an easier alternative. of life and to mimic the tears of the Although she finds Passover the slaves under Pharaoh. holiday with the strongest personal Instead of picking from a basket of meaning, every year she tries to make eggs, her Passover guests eat their eggs it more relevant to her life and what’s mixed with cucumber, fennel, olive oil, happening in the world. That’s why the lemon juice and salt. haggadah she and her guests read from “This happens during the first is not traditional.

Instead of leading the seder from the same book her grandmother used, Piercy has created her own. “It’s 65 percent poetry; it’s been a ‘work in progress’ for decades,” she said. In 2007 she published “Pesach for the Rest of Us: Making the Passover Seder Your Own” (Schocken Books), which is filled with phrases and insightful poetry from her haggadah. In the writing and rewriting of this sacred book, Piercy is aware of the importance of making tradition accessible so that young people turn toward their heritage and not away from it. “At best, the haggadah should create a sense of roots,” she said, “and the seder a feeling of belonging.” Piercy not only explains why we eat matzah, wine, parsley, eggs, bitter herbs, fruit, nuts and honey, but also gives us the historical meaning and different ways of thinking about each. She also offers alternatives and ways of experiencing the journey, such as taking off our shoes and plunging our feet into the Sea of Reeds or walking outside and gazing at the moon to remind us the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles. But most striking is the way she enlivens the symbolic items that are placed on the ceremonial seder plate: • Zeroa is the shank bone of a lamb. In ancient times lambs were sacrificed. The bone is a symbol of struggle and liberation and a reminder that sacrifice is frequently the price of freedom. • Beitzah is the roasted egg, an additional temple sacrifice. It’s a challenge to roast an egg properly, but Piercy is fond of the flavor and savors her treasure long after the seder is finished. • Matzah is the bread of haste at the beginning of the journey. Because there was no time to let it rise, it remains inert — the essence of bread in its purist form. Piercy recommends matzah shemura, which is made by hand in Israel and is most like that of the ancient Israelites. • Maror (bitter herb) is the sorrow of slavery. When we bite into horseradish or the more authentic rue, wormwood or chicory, tears spring to our eyes. We mix it with sweet charoset in the Hillel sandwich, a wish of hope for the future. Piercy also recommends a Passover salad of bitter greens such as arugula, peppergrass, chicory and endive. • Karpas is a vegetable, usually parsley, representing spring, the seasons of the year and life. • Charoset was not originally part of the Passover plate but was added by rabbis who wanted something sweet

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PASSOVER

Marge Piercy’s Passover Menu Passover egg salad Sephardic chicken soup Chopped herring Passover roast lamb Mizrachi charoset The following recipes are from Piercy’s “Pesach for the Rest of Us: Making the Passover Seder Your Own.” Passover Egg Salad Makes 8 servings For vinaigrette: ¼ cup lemon juice Salt to taste ½ cup virgin olive oil Combine the lemon juice and salt. Whisk the olive oil into the mixture until combined. For egg salad: 5 hard-boiled eggs, sliced 2 medium cucumbers, sliced in circles 1½ fennel bulbs, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley In a pretty glass bowl, place the eggs, cucumbers, fennel and shallots. Add the vinaigrette and gently toss. Chopped Herring Makes 4 servings 1 jar (16 ounces) herring in wine sauce 1 matzah, crumbled 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into quarters 2 hard-boiled eggs 1 teaspoon sugar or sweet red wine (optional) Drain the wine sauce into a small bowl. Add the crumbled matzah to absorb the liquid. Finely chop together the herring, onions from the jar, the fresh onion and the apple. Add the soaked matzah and hard-boiled eggs and chop until thoroughly blended. Add sugar or wine if desired. The mixture is delicious piled on matzah. Sephardic Chicken Soup Although Sephardim eat rice during Passover, Ashkenazim traditionally do not. This soup tastes delicious with or without the rice. Makes 8 servings 1 whole chicken 2 quarts filtered water 2 cups white wine Bunch of Italian parsley, stemmed 3 medium carrots, halved crosswise 2 onions, quartered

1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon salt or to taste ½ teaspoon turmeric ½ to ¾ cup brown rice 2 eggs, beaten Juice of 1 to 1½ lemons Put the chicken, water, wine, parsley, carrots, onions, salt, thyme and turmeric in a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove the chicken and vegetables. Slice the meat from carcass, discarding any undesirable pieces. If desired, add rice to the broth and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, slowly add the lemon juice to the beaten eggs, whisking until thoroughly combined. Take 1 tablespoon of the hot soup and whisk it into the egg-lemon mixture. Continuing to whisk, add 1 tablespoon at a time until you have about 2 cups. Slowly add the rest of the soup. The secret is to not stop whisking until you return the soup to the pot, along with the chicken and vegetables. Heat over a low flame, being careful not to curdle the eggs. Cinnamon Lamb (Pesach Roast Lamb) Makes 4 servings This delicious recipe works equally well with a crown roast of lamb or lamb chops. Feel free to pick and

choose among herbs and spices or add a few of your own. 1 3-pound shoulder of lamb 2 cloves garlic, cut in slivers 1 tablespoon almonds or walnuts 1 teaspoon dried or 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 1 teaspoon dried or 3 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon chili powder Pinch of cloves Kosher salt and black pepper to taste Juice of 2 lemons 1 tablespoon olive oil Preheat the oven to 325. Score the lamb, and place slivers of garlic inside. Place the almonds, dried parsley, dried mint, cinnamon, chili powder, cloves, salt and pepper in a spice grinder. Pulse until thoroughly mixed. (If using fresh parsley and mint, add them to the mixture after the other items are ground together.) Remove to a medium mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Stir until the consistency is a thick paste. Fill cracks in the meat and cover with the paste. Let the lamb sit for half an hour in the refrigerator. Place the lamb in a shallow roasting pan and roast until the interior is slightly pink, about 15 minutes per pound. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Mizrachi Charoset Makes 3½ cups 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 cup apples, peeled, cored, quartered 1 cinnamon stick 3 cardamom pods ½ cup almonds and pistachios ½ cup pitted dates ½ cup white figs ¼ cup dried cherries ¼ cup pomegranate seeds Black pepper to taste ¼ cup cherry or orange brandy, sweet wine, or grape juice Honey or brown sugar (optional) Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples and set them aside. In a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, grind together the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. When they have the consistency of a powder, add the nuts, then the apples and dried fruit. Keep a light hand on the pulse button. The consistency should have a bite to it. Remove the ingredients to a large bowl. Fold in the pomegranate seeds, the brandy, wine or grape juice, and, if desired, the sugar or honey. Taste the charoset to see whether it is the right blend of sweet and tart. Add honey or sugar for sweetness, lemon juice for tartness. Mix to combine. Serve in a pretty cut-glass bowl. ■

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APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

to offset bitter herbs and to serve as a symbol of freedom. There are numerous interpretations of the original fruit, nuts, spices and wine. It’s fun to make more than one charoset to remind us of the diversity of our Diaspora.

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PASSOVER

Remember Our Enslavement

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Pesach is perhaps the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar. As a Holocaust survivor, this holiday reflects my personal experiences — my own journey from slavery to freedom. But even more important to me is that this year I will experience the transmission of my cultural values with my third generation. I’ll spend my seders with my grandsons. Each of the two nights I will celebrate in one grandson’s home. Each night I will listen to the Four Questions asked by my great-grandchildren. Each night I will answer these questions from my personal journey from slavery to freedom and thereby transmit my Jewish heritage to a fourth generation. But Passover has a more important meaning than just reinforcing my personal story. Passover is the most significant holiday because it marks Judaism’s transition from a cultic religion to a moralistic religion — from a religion

emphasizing ritualism and sacrifices to one founded on moral dicta, a religion that seeks to develop justice in human relationships. For this reason, I consider this holiday to be a universal event in the

One Man’s Opinion By Eugen Schoenfeld

development of human moral consciousness. Each year the Christian world performs pseudo-seders to commemorate Jesus’ “Last Supper.” But hardly any of those seders recognize Passover’s significance as a symbol of human freedom or celebrate the idea that it is each human being’s G-d-given heritage to be subject to the moral principles derived from the yetziath Mitzrayim — the departure from Egypt. The Torah gives us our watchword: Remember Egypt. Even the observance of Shabbat has become associated with the Egyptian experience.

Passover provides our moral awareness that all humans are responsible for one another, that the answer to the question posed in the Book of Genesis is that we are our brothers’ keepers. Of course, some still seek to reduce G-d to an anthropomorphic image. Those who cannot comprehend the idea advocated by Maimonides of G-d’s noncorporality are also unable to conceive that there are intrinsic moral values, and they cannot elevate themselves to the idea of the social creation of morality. Their concept of morals will remain dependent on the dictates of a higher force, not the product of human insight. For them, Shabbat must be observed because G-d sanctified the day and endowed it with the quality of the sacred, making it an object to be feared and to be set aside for special treatment. For me, Shabbat is intrinsically bound to Egyptian experience, as evidenced in the Ten Commandments as they appear in the Book of Deuteronomy, where it states:

“On that day you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, not your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest as you do. “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your G-d brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your G-d commanded you to observe the Shabbat Day.” In this latter version of the Ten Commandments, we are advised to obey the Shabbat ideals, as stated in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers), not because of expected reward, but because Shabbat has an intrinsic value. This version of Shabbat observance reflects a moral universal and humanistic perspective. This is unlike the injunction based on a more primitive reasoning that proposes obeying Shabbat because the Lord has sanctified it and endowed it with a power to do harm if mistreated. What is the intrinsic value of Shabbat? It was derived from the ideals reflected in the Egyptian experience: Slavery is evil because it deprives a human of the right to rest. This is a fundamental ideal derived from the universal moral principle of tsar baal chay, of not causing pain to any living thing, let alone to human beings. Slavery, from a Jewish perspective, is an evil condition, and we bless G-d every morning that he keeps us free and not enslaved. The redemption of slaves is considered an essential human act of rachmanut, of having sympathy. Communities in the past had special funds for the redemption of Jewish slaves. So when we sit at the Passover table celebrating our freedom, we should take special care to look at the salt water, the item that symbolizes the tears shed in slavery. There are various forms of slavery, and one of them is poverty. We are informed by our sages that a poor person should be seen as living in a worse state than slavery; he could be considered a dead person, for poverty deprives people of access to life itself. Indeed, in recent weeks our elected representatives have faced the issue of whether we the people of this country should provide all human

PASSOVER beings the right to live or reserve that right as the prerogative of only the wealthy. Will we give all people the means to be free from pain and from the devastation of illness? We are again faced with the question of whether we will extend a hand to all those who shed tears of poverty, who are deprived of freedom by the horrible human conditions that result from poverty. What will this country repre-

sent? Shall we advocate and remain a country that provides freedom to all or become a country that advocates the right of the wealthy to enslave us to a life in which only they are free? As you sit at the seder table, remember that we wish to celebrate not only freedom from slavery, but also freedom from want — to be a country unlike Egypt and especially unlike the immoral practices of Sodom and Gomorrah. ■

Ask Tough Questions can direct our focus. One can read the news or watch it on TV until one sees nothing but the worries of the day. One also can stay informed and have the awareness of when to pull away and to pause with a deep breath, a walk in nature or a few minutes of silent meditation. We too often forget that what

Guest Column By Gedalia Genin

we share with our partners, children, friends, neighbors and colleagues is our inner state. Before we open our mouths, they can perceive our stress or our contentment. My training has been in Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old integrative system of health that encourages daily pursuits such as meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, essential oils, herbs and proper nutrition as the path to health and fulfilling relationships. The intent is to quiet the mind and in that stillness to perceive the qualities of the heart. One key lesson from Ayurveda is that by shifting our daily habits and routines, we can replenish our health and spirit. Passover asks us to reflect on our lives and our responsibility to help others who are not free. What I discover again and again is that when I don’t feel free, I have little to offer others. But when I nourish my inner state, I am aware of my ability to nourish and uplift anyone I encounter. ■ Gedalia Genin helps women get unstuck and free from stress, anxiety, depression, grief, loss and hormonal imbalance using natural modalities. Contact her at www.gedaliahhealingarts. com or 404-528-1483.

Happy Passover

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APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Passover has more to do with questions than answers. It’s telling that those invited to ask the Four Questions central to the seder are children. The young are free to ask what we as adults no longer question. Passover asks us on a symbolic level to reflect on our internal state of freedom and to consider all those in bondage. Oppression takes many forms in the world, including poverty and exploitation. For most of us, who are fed and free to vote, travel and express our opinions, the most egregious bondage is selfimposed. We may move wherever we choose and associate with whomever we want, yet the cage of our mind rattles with feelings of anxiety, grief, sadness, insecurity or depression. We are free, but we are stuck. We are blessed with sight but fail to see the deepest truth of our divine nature and the divinity inherent in every particle of our world. The Hebrew word for truth is emet, which combines the first, middle and last letters of the aleph-bet, as if to say all the world is truth, all the world is sacred. At this time of year when we reflect on our state of freedom, in the world and within ourselves, it’s apt to ask when and how we tune in to an inner feeling of freedom, appreciation and awe. It may be helpful to reflect on what keeps us wired, stressed and oblivious. Often that happens when we’re unconscious, on autopilot, when we fail to listen or fail to notice. But who among us doesn’t have the freedom to look up from an iPhone, set it down, and take note of a flower, a dog, a cat or the sun glinting off the water? We are free to the extent that we

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PASSOVER

The 5th Cup: Sometimes We Cannot Wait

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

On the nights of the seders, we drink four cups of wine to symbolize the four verbs employed by the Torah (Exodus 6:6-8) to express the manifestations of G-d’s redemption of the Israelites. These four cups correspond to the four sections of the seder. Each section represents a part of our seder night journey, and the symbolism of each section is understood and appreciated. But there is a fifth cup of wine on the seder table for which we do not recite a blessing. This fifth cup represents a fifth verb found in the verses mentioned above: V’hay-vay-ti — “and I will bring you to the land which I have promised you.” As the late Rabbi Dov Kanotopsky notes in a recently published collection of his sermons from the middle of the 20th century: “The fifth cup is of a somewhat dubious nature — we simply fill the cup and then we let it sit on the table and wait for the prophet Elijah to come and do something about it! And how long are we going to wait?”

Forty years after his passing, Rabbi Kanotopsky is right. His interpretation 70 years ago, in the shadows of the Holocaust and before the state of Israel, is still on target today. We cannot wait. We cannot wait to be G-d’s true

Guest Column By Rabbi Paul David Kerbel

partner in bringing tikkun (repair and return to completeness) to our olam (world). We cannot wait to fight oppression wherever it manifests itself. We cannot wait to stand up to our enemies Iran, Islamic State, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah. We cannot wait to speak against the anti-Semites, the nations and individuals who seek to blame the Jews and Israel for the problems of the world. Thanks to the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, we do not

have to wait to put a stop to the endless anti-Israel resolutions and attacks on Israel at the United Nations. Thank you, Ambassador Nikki Haley, for your amazing strength and forceful language at the United Nations. The Hasidic Rebbe Naftali Tzvi Horowitz used to invite all the participants of his seder to pour wine from their cups into the cup of Elijah. Rabbi Horowitz understood that for redemption to come, for the divine force of redemption to be realized, we must take the first step to let G-d know we are ready for redemption. When the Israelites stood at the Sea of Reeds as they prepared to begin their journey toward the land of Israel, they saw the sea before them and the Egyptians behind them. The people cried out in anguish, “Moses, were there no cemeteries in Egypt, that you brought us out here to die in the wilderness?” Moses prayed to G-d. G-d was not happy. G-d scolded Moses: “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward!” Our rabbinic commentaries add a story here. One brave Jew was ready to

jump into the water. Nachshon took a leap of faith, and the sea split. Nachshon showed G-d that the people were ready to be redeemed from Egypt and inherit the land G-d promised to the people. In modern times, we have seen this narrative played out dramatically: • In 1967, the people of Israel, under siege and surrounded, launched a pre-emptive strike to save the state. • In 1976, Gen. Daniel Elazar and Capt. Yoni Netanyahu knew that the only way to save the Jewish hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, was to attempt a daring rescue. • In Yemen in 1949 and Ethiopia in the 1980s and 1990s, we knew that the way to save whole Jewish communities was to go in and scoop them out. • In 1981, Israel knew that the only way to confront the possibility of a nuclear Iraq was for the air force to destroy the nuclear facility. Throughout our history, we have prayed for Elijah to bring peace and redemption. When we sing “Eliyahu HaNavi” at the seder, we close our eyes and pray for a few minutes of peace and wholeness. But we also know that praying is not enough. We can keep singing, but we know that we also must act. We can sit and watch a cup that no one drinks, and the level of liquid doesn’t change, or we can do what Rabbi Horowitz did: Invite everyone to participate by adding wine and show G-d that we are ready for redemption. So this year, when we sing “Eliyahu HaNavi,” let us hold the fifth cup, Elijah’s cup, and sing with all our hearts for peace, redemption and completeness, but let us also show G-d that we are ready to say hineni, that we are ready when situations present themselves and that we know we cannot wait anymore. It is time for us to play a role in the spiritual and physical redemption of our people. Melissa and I wish all our Atlanta friends a joyous and meaningful Passover. Chag sameach. ■ Rabbi Paul David Kerbel served as the associate rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim in East Cobb from 2003 to 2015. He now is the associate rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn Heights, Long Island, N.Y. He is a member of the Global Jewish Peoplehood Committee of UJA Federation New York and chairs the Rabbinic Campaign of the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel.

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EDUCATION

BBYO Picks 2 Atlantans for International Board

Members of Atlanta Council and all of BBYO’s Southern Region sport bunny ears, representative of region mascot Bugs Bunny, during a group photo at the BBYO International Convention.

uven Rivlin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban addressed the convention by video. The closing ceremonies Feb. 19 brought word that the Atlanta delegation had been awarded the Max F. Baer

North Springs junior Jacob Lewis is BBYO’s new s’gan.

Spirit Gavel. “Attending IC was truly a fun experience for me. Some of the highlights of the weekend included listening to interesting adult speakers sharing their thoughts on Judaism and other things to help me and others thrive as

Chamblee junior Jake Busch is BBYO’s new mazkir.

Jewish teens, a concert featuring Nelly and Fifth Harmony, and touring Dallas,” first-time IC attendee Ross Wolpert said. “I enjoyed making new friends from around the world, and I feel like I developed a deeper appreciation for being a member of BBYO.” ■

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APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Two Atlanta Council BBYO members were elected to the AZA international board during the 2017 BBYO International Convention in Dallas, Texas, during the Presidents Day weekend. Jacob Lewis, a junior at North Springs Charter High School, was elected s’gan (international vice president of programming), and Jake Busch, a junior at Chamblee Charter High School, was elected mazkir (international vice president of communications and globalization, aka secretary) for AZA, the boys’ side of the high school youth group BBYO. They are among five boys and five girls who will form the BBYO teen board and will help chart the organization’s vision and leadership for the coming year. They were all elected by the more than 2,500 Jewish teens attending the convention. “As grand aleph mazkir, I will aspire to inspire — through expanded global partnerships, an empowered and empowering social media presence, and a network of subnetworks built upon the individuality of each and every leader in this order,” Busch said. “It’s been surreal thus far to have the opportunity of being elected as grand aleph s’gan,” Lewis said. “I can’t wait to showcase my passions on the international stage and help contribute to the movements of AZA and BBG.” Atlanta sent 134 teens to the BBYO IC, the largest traveling delegation at the convention, where more than 2,300 Jewish educators, professionals, philanthropists and other adults joined the teens from 48 North American states, districts and provinces and 30 countries, making it the largest gathering of Jewish teen leaders worldwide. BBYO International Convention attendance has grown almost 300 percent the past five years. “As we highlight BBYO’s core principles of community service, civic engagement, philanthropy, leadership and Jewish heritage, our program focuses on the opportunities we have as citizens to shape the world,” said Matthew Grossman, BBYO’s chief executive officer. “With over 2,500 teens joined together this year at IC 2017, this event offered a truly unique opportunity for them to see how the BBYO local experience translates into being part of something bigger than themselves: the global Jewish people.” Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt was among the speakers at the convention. Israeli President Re-

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EDUCATION

Photos courtesy of the Epstein School

Tamar and Mark Stern are honored at the 2017 Epstein Celebration for their years of dedication to the school and community.

Epstein alumni Daniel, Arielle and Julia Stern speak about their parents’ passion for the Epstein School at the school’s annual gala.

Epstein School President Darrin Friedrich presents Tamar and Mark Stern with a blown-glass shin to honor them for their many years of service to the school.

Fun and Philanthropy For the Epstein School More than 450 people gathered to honor Tamar and Mark Stern for their years of dedication to the Epstein School at the annual Epstein Celebration on Sunday, March 26, at the InterContinental Buckhead. In addition to general fundraising, the party (with music by The Helpers) met the fund-a-need goal for a new speaker system to be installed in the day school’s Tritt Family Gymnasium this spring. Justine Cohen and Stephanie Rubel chaired the celebration, supported by committee chairs Brenda Deckelbaum, Lauren Skor, Maya Sunshine, Louise Short, Joel Axler, Caryn and Jonathan Berzack, Leah and Ted Blum, Amy and Bryan Lewis, Melissa and Keith Maldin, Joyce and Ramie Tritt, Lori and Jonathan Woolfson, Narissa Bonnet, Delilah Cohen, Karen Shulman and Dana Kardon. ■

Justine Cohen and Stephanie Rubel, the co-chairs of the Epstein Celebration, speak about how much the Sterns have done for the school. They also drew the name of the night’s 50/50 raffle winner, Wendy Heller.

Auction co-chairs Maya Sunshine and Lauren Skor enjoy an evening of schmoozing, shopping the extraordinary auction, eating good food and dancing to live music by The Helpers.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Weber and AJA Teams Crack Safes in Israel

Two teams from Atlanta, representing the Weber School and Atlanta Jewish Academy, traveled to Israel in late March for the annual Shalheveth Freier International Physics Tournament at the Weizmann Institute’s Davidson Institute of Science Education in Rehovot. The competition involves teams creating and cracking locks on pretend safes. But instead of combinations or keys, the locks are controlled by and demonstrate certain physical principles. Each team of up to five high school students designed, built and operated its own sophisticated locking mechanism and tried to crack the safes of other teams. Basically, each lock is a multistep puzzle that can be solved by applying scientific principles. During the competition, teams take turns trying to crack safes, and judges determine the winning team based on physics knowledge, clever design and functionality. The Weber School finished fifth overall out of more than 100 schools that entered the international compe-

The Weber School team finished fifth in the safe-cracking competition.

tition and was the highest-ranked U.S. team. The students participating in the tournament also picked the Weber safe as their favorite. The Weber team, which did not participate in the contest finals in Rehovot last year, consisted of seniors Levi Durham, Becky Arbiv and Ross Williams and juniors Eric Lieberman and Justin Cobb. Coaching them were faculty adviser Spencer Roby and science teacher Sairina Merino Tsui. AJA made its second consecutive appearance in the Weizmann safecracking competition, though members Shaun Regenbaum, Josh Bland, Josh Italiaander, Jonathan Bashary and Nittai Shiff finished outside the prizewinning top five. ■

SPORTS

Tech Falls in NIT Final

the NIT with victories over Indiana, Belmont, Mississippi and Cal StateBakersfield before losing to TCU, which started on a 20-3 run and scored 19 consecutive points over 10 minutes in the second half to put the game away. Although Tech is losing senior point guard Josh Heath and forward Quinton Stephens, the team expects to return its top three scorers: Josh Okogie, Ben Lammers and Tadric Jackson. After reigniting excitement in the fan base, Pastner has a successful first season to build on. The 39-year-old is scheduled to be the speaker at the Jewish Business Network, Midtown Atlanta’s business breakfast May 10. The new program of Chabad Intown aims to serve the Jewish business community with networking opportunities and continuing education inspired by Jewish thought. ■ What: “From Hebrew School to Hoops: The ACC’s Coach of the Year” When: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 10 Where: Selig Center, 1440 Spring St., Midtown Cost: $36; www.facebook.com/ events/1355410314520469

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APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

Josh Pastner’s surprising first season as Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach ended with an 88-56 loss to TCU in the championship of the NIT on Thursday, March 30, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Yellow Jackets, picked by many to finish at the bottom of the ACC, finished 21-16 and had only their second trip to the NIT final in school history. Pastner, hired in April 2016 to rebuild the Tech program, was named the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year after leading the team to eight conference wins, including victories over three Top 25 teams, with a ragtag squad inherited from fired coach Brian Gregory. “From where we started to where we are now, these guys have been just unbelievable,” Pastner said after Tech’s NIT loss. “I promise you, if you’ve seen us in the beginning, and to be playing in this final game, it’s miraculous. And I’m so happy for these guys. Obviously, this is not the ending we wanted. But I’m not going to allow it to steal the joy in the type of season we had and the amount of overachievement we’ve had. These guys have just been crazy good.” Georgia Tech cut its way through

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OBITUARIES

Judy Frankel 62, Marietta

The righteous soul of Judy Lynn Romm Frankel passed from this world Friday, March 31, 2017, after a courageous fight of over 20 years with an extremely rare form of meningioma tumors. Despite enduring numerous surgeries and medical procedures over those years, Judy never lost her zest for life and her upbeat spirit about the good in all people. She looked deep into people for that good and never let anything dissuade her from doing right for others. Judy was born on June 28, 1954, to Shirley Romm Wender and the late Milton Romm, of blessed memory. She was a third-generation native Atlantan, the great-granddaughter of Hyman and Esther Mendel, both of blessed memory, and a proud member of the Mendel family, which reaches back to the Atlanta of the 1880s. She cherished being with her Mendel cousins, her Romm cousins and those of her mother’s family, the Hermans, originally from Jackson, Miss. In addition to her father, Judy was predeceased by her stepfather, Donald Wender; her mother-in-law, Evelyn Tendrich Frankel; and two first cousins, Susan Jacobson Goldberg and Helen Horowitz Gardner, all of blessed memory. In addition to her mother and innumerable cousins, Judy is survived by her husband of 40 years, Baron Jay “Barry” Frankel of Atlanta; their son, Harris Mac Frankel of Dallas, Texas; and their daughter, Rebecca Susan (Frankel) Novick, her husband, Daniel, and their son, Judy’s precious and brilliant grandson, Miles Parker Novick, all of Dallas. Judy is also survived by her brother, Stuart Romm of Atlanta; her sister, Sally Romm Berry, her husband, John, and their children, Rachel (Jon) Slone, Hadley Berry and Seth Berry, all of Atlanta; her father-in-law, Meyer Leib Frankel of Atlanta; and her sister-in-law, Shelly Frankel Forer, and her husband, Joseph, of Miami, and their children, Justin (Morgan) Forer of Philadelphia and Frankie (Ron) Linsky of Tampa. Judy was the proud great-aunt to five beautiful great-nieces: Emrie Belle and Rhen Chaite Linsky, Sterling Eloise and Sutton Juniper Forer, and Brooklyn Leah Slone.

Judy’s love for and devotion to her immediate and extended family, as well as her friends, was unmatched. She considered her first cousins and their spouses to be the equivalent of brothers and sisters. She ended her telephone calls to them and her friends with the words “love you,” and they responded in kind, both by their words and their actions. Be it for family, friends or her husband’s business associates, Judy loved to entertain, which she did both elegantly and casually without peer. Her family and friends knew that she loved to bring people together to party and to celebrate any occasion, whether it was for a wedding, a Jewish holiday, or a Texas or Falcons game that might be broadcast. If music was involved, she was always the first person on the dance floor, whether the music was rock ’n’ roll or the tune for the hora, and she did so both to have fun and to get others to follow suit. Judy was a 1972 graduate of Northside High School and a 1976 graduate of the University of Texas. Armed with her degree in sociology, she spent five years with Fulton County DFACS, rising to the position of casework supervisor, both at the Martin Luther King DFACS office and at 800 Peachtree St. With the birth of Harris, Judy began focusing her efforts on her children, which led her to be an officer of three PTSA groups and to watch hundreds of their sporting events around the metro region and the country, most of which included her cheering with her favorite child, her bichon frise, Shaq. In addition, Judy became a passionate tennis player, rising to the AA level in ALTA and the 4.5 level in USTA. That led her to a tennis teaching certificate and to coaching juniors and ladies on the courts of East Cobb. In the broader community, Judy used her tennis and teaching skills to help coach in the Special Pops tennis program and to participate in tennis as part of the Georgia Special Olympics, where her favorite partner was her niece Hadley, with whom she won numerous medals, including gold. Her other charitable efforts focused on the Be the Difference Foundation, which was founded by her cousin Helen Gardner to fight the battle against ovarian cancer. Judy had an entrepreneurial spirit, as evidenced by her work with her mother in starting the Budge Factory, the manufacturer of the Can’t Budge Fudge line of chocolate and praline ice cream sauces and brownie mixes. Their “home cook-

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The Atlanta Jewish Times is taking another step towards “Keeping Jewish Atlanta Connected” and in the process of publishing a glossy booklet that will serve as a comprehensive guide of the local Atlanta Jewish community. Copies will be distributed to our subscribers, schools, realtors, local businesses and Jewish organizations this summer. Current residents as well as newcomers and those considering a move to the area will find a wealth of information about the Atlanta Jewish community, making this guide an indispensable resource throughout the entire year.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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OBITUARIES ing in a jar” was featured in national magazines and on the Joan Rivers holiday gift show. Judy followed that part of her life with a passion for photography of family and friends, and she and Sally used their skills to help friends and family have their own pictures turned into creative memories for posterity. Judy’s family would like to publicly thank her teams of doctors and their staffs who fought her 20-year meningioma battle with her, including her dear friend Dr. Christopher Clare, along with Dr. Mark Codner, Dr. Jeff Shapiro, Dr. Fred Schwaibold and Dr. Lou Jacobs of Piedmont Hospital, Dr. Reid Thompson, Dr. Louise Mawn, Dr. John Shack, Dr. Anthony Cmelak and Dr. Paul Moots of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Dr. Erin Dunbar of Piedmont Hospital and Piedmont Physicians Neuro-Oncology. They gave their all for her, and Judy’s family will be eternally grateful to them. A memorial service for Judy was held Sunday, April 2, at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Atlanta, with Rabbi Alvin Sugarman officiating; interment followed at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Sugarman and Rabbi Ephraim Silverman co-officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Judy’s memory by making a charitable donation to the Be the Difference Foundation, www.bethedifferencefoundation.org; the Georgia Special Olympics, www.specialolympicsga.org; The Temple, www.the-temple.org; Chabad of Cobb, www.chabadofcobb.com; or the charity of your choice. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Shirley Ann Goff 88, Atlanta

Shirley Ann Drucker Goff of Atlanta passed away Friday, March 31, 2017. She was born July 23, 1928, the daughter of Mollye Rodbell Drucker and Charles Drucker. A proud native of Atlanta, she grew up on Boulevard and attended Smiley Elementary and Bass Junior High. Shirley graduated cum laude from Girls’ High in 2½ years. Agnes Scott College awarded her a scholarship, but she entered the workforce to support her family. Her career culminated as executive secretary to Mr. Peter J. Stelling of the well-known J.P. Allen department store. Shirley was an avid athlete, playing a fearsome game of tennis as a lifetime member of the Standard Club. She enjoyed a wide circle of lifelong friends, loved playing bridge and had the opportunity to travel the world extensively. Shirley was the longest-serving volunteer at her synagogue, Ahavath Achim, which named her its first-ever Volunteer of the Year. She is survived by her children, Kimberly, Kevin and his wife, Patty, and Jonathan and his wife, Alice; and by her granddaughter, Molly. A measure of the love that she engendered in them is their devotion to her throughout her illness. Also surviving are her brother, Milton Drucker of Los Angeles, and oceans of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. In lieu of flowers, Shirley requested that donations be made to It’s the Journey Inc., the organizer of the Atlanta 2-day Walk for Breast Cancer (www.2daywalk. org). A graveside service was held at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs on Sunday, April 2. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Malcolm Hirsch Dr. Malcolm George Hirsch, 85, of Atlanta passed away Wednesday, March 29, 2017. He was born April 1, 1931, in Jersey City, N.J., to Lillian and Fred Hirsch, both of blessed memory. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Reeva Katter Hirsch; daughters Susan Feingold (Louis), Laurie Whitehead and Karen Hirsch; and grandchildren Bobby, Julie and Natalie Feingold, Alex and Lily Whitehead, and Emma and Ryan Tuck. Mal graduated from Boys’ High in Atlanta before attending Emory University and serving in the U.S. Navy. He graduated magna cum laude from Illinois College of Optometry. Known for his dry, sarcastic wit and his love for animals, Mal’s hobbies included jogging, golf and poker. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Thursday, March 30, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Loren Lapidus officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, Wesley Woods Health Center, 1841 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.apdaparkinson.org. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

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LOCAL NEWS

Lindenblatt Leads Jewish Life at JHLC Jewish Home Life Communities has hired Rabbi Steven Chaim Lindenblatt as its director of Jewish life. The former spiritual leader of Congregation Anshi S’fard, known as Rav Chaim, is a chaplain, lawyer and professional counselor who last year helped Jewish Home Life evaluate its Jewish operations, including kashrut, while the nonprofit organization dealt with Berman Commons’ growing pains. Rabbi Lindenblatt believes that giving older adults the ability to reflect on and embrace who they are as people and as Jews can help them bring additional meaning to their lives.

He has spent many years serving the Department of Veterans Affairs as a chaplain and was one of the first chaplains for Weinstein Hospice. He Rabbi Steven also has a private Chaim Lindenblatt family practice in Toco Hills. His new role is part of a bigger effort to ensure that Jewish Home Life Communities is consistent in how care and services are delivered. As the organization embarks on a

strategic planning process, it has added a chief operating officer, Jeff Gopen. In addition, a full-time nurse practitioner will support the residents of all the communities and lead an on-site clinic at the main campus on Howell Mill Road. Rabbi Lindenblatt will provide chaplain services, oversee kashrut and be a resource to help community-based staff increase the Jewish content of engagement activities. “Our communities are open to all, but our ethical and moral obligation is to treat people Jewishly,” JHLC President and CEO Harley Tabak said. “How we do that as a whole organization is

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something Rav Chaim will help us determine.” One of his first tasks is the creation of a standard approach to kashrut that can be tailored to each community’s level of observance while being appropriate for the level of residents’ health. The kosher level should not be seen as an indicator of Jewishness, Gopen said. “We have three residential communities with different levels of dietary observance. But we are Jewish through and through, whether you are living at Berman Commons, Cohen Home or the Jewish Home. Rav Chaim will be instrumental in helping us personify that.” ■

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

How I Shopped For My New Soul Mates

APRIL 7 ▪ 2017

My intention was to drop off a donation of clothing and stop at the front desk for a receipt. I had no time or interest in shopping, so I was pleased that the collection bins were in a foyer outside the store. As I lowered my bags into the containers, I heard voices from inside the store that sounded like people chanting. I couldn’t identify the language because the words were indistinguishable from one another; intermittently I thought I heard some English. My curiosity got the best of me, and, abandoning my earlier resolve, I went in. It was easy to find the source of the voices because they carried throughout the store. There were four participating people, a man and three women. They stood together in an empty spot between the dressing rooms and the handbags, usually the busiest area of the place. The group was isolated in that space because the other shoppers did their best to steer clear of them. The customers were doing an excellent job of pretending not to hear or see these four while avoiding them completely, but I was drawn to them. I walked toward the chanters and listened for a few minutes until they stopped. They immediately noticed and turned to me, obviously waiting for me to say or do something. I obliged. I asked the woman closest to me: “Were you praying? Are you part of some religious group?” “We never met each other before,” she answered. “But then how did you get together?” I asked. “We just felt a connection and were drawn to each other. We felt G-d’s presence upon us.” This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered a group of people performing a religious act in a public space. But it had never been inside a big, busy store. And in the past the people had known or been connected to one another. I didn’t get it. “What do you mean? What kind of connection?” I asked. A second woman answered: “You know, a soul connection. Our souls touched, and we just started.” The group could see my confu74 sion, and the four were willing to help

me understand. The first woman took my hand, “We feel it with you,” she said. “We can tell you’re a G-d-loving woman.” “Yes, I am,” I nodded. (I wasn’t going to get into the which-G-d-arewe-talking-about thing.) My nod was

CROSSWORD 2

followed by a few amens. “Can I give you a hug?” Woman No. 2 asked. “We’re sisters of the soul. G-d brought you over to us. Yes, indeed, our souls are sisters.” The three women took turns embracing me while the man waited. It was time to move on. “It was lovely meeting you,” I said. And the bonding experience ended. Almost. I was near the door when I bumped into one of the women again. There was a question I hadn’t asked because my soul had been eager to leave the store. “Hello, again,” I said. “May I ask you something else?” “Yes, indeed, sister, what’s on your mind?” “What language were you using, and what were you saying?” “Each of us did our own thing, whatever the spirit moved us to say, and it was all English.” “You mean like reciting your own different prayers, but together?” “More like blessing each other, from our own souls.” On my way home, I considered the meaning and power of that experience. Picture this: Several Jews who have never met somehow sense a spiritual connection while they’re shopping at a busy store. They simultaneously reach out to one another. One says “May you live a long life!” Another says, “May your hopes and dreams come true!” Another says, “May you make the world a better place!” Another says, “May you have a joyful home!” They repeat these blessings over and over for a while, in a soothing chant, reaching for connections. Any searching souls out there? ■

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ACROSS 1. Spray that can stop a ganef 5. Fashion label in a Lauren Weisberger book and David Frankel film 10. Bowie’s widow, who was in a “Star Trek” film with Shatner 14. Levin and Glass 15. ___ up (wasn’t so machmir) 16. L’cha follower in a Friday night song 17. Fitting nickname for King Solomon 19. Sinful son of Judah in Genesis 20. “___ were a rich man” 21. Monster that’s also a girl’s name in Hebrew 22. Rabbi Carlebach of song 24. Possible name of a world made from Paskesz and Elite products 27. The staff of Moses might have become one 28. Outside spot for a schmooze on Shabbat (in Brooklyn) 29. Shofar source 31. Number of times Moses split a sea 34. Natalie Portman achieved it at a young age 38. Israeli airline 39. Need for 11-Down 42. Like eating on Yom Kippur 43. Vikings owner Wilf 44. Dead Sea Spa sounds 45. David Frankel of Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel 47. Jerusalem to Amman dir. 48. ___ Beta Kappa (honor society of Benjamin Cardozo) 49. Title for Heschel or Boteach 53. John who played Sulu in Abrams’ “Star Trek” 55. Thunderbolt or Solomon 59. No. 1 Beach Boys hit parodied at Krusty the Clown’s “Wet ‘n’ Wild Bar Mitzvah” 62. He lives with Larry on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” 63. “Sheket!” 64. Alternative to “Slicha bivakasha”

By Chana Shapiro cshapiro@atljewishtimes.com

“Play Time”

By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Easy

Chana’s Corner

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

38. B’___ Hashem (with G-d’s help) 39. Daniel ___ Kim, actor on Lindelof’s “Lost” 40. Malcolm played by Jeff Goldblum in “Jurassic Park” 41. Some security folk for 38-Across, more or less 46. Big ape coming to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo 48. Drink with a heart logo that might be drunk on Rosh Hashanah 50. Pepto-___ (it can help with shilshul) Down 51. Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” 1. Makes like Baldwin doing was based on this opera (with Trump “La”) 2. Predecessor of Abbas 3. Adelson’s The Venetian, e.g. 52. “Daka echad” 54. Like a studio apartment in 4. Crown Heights time zone: the Old City abbr. 5. Some might thank G-d after 56. Judah Maccabee often made clever ones before battle escaping it 57. Like Elie Lichtschein’s 6. City in central Israel “Middle Grade Horror” podcast 7. Heritage of 53-Across 8. Where the lions did not eat 58. Literally, a “pursuer” in Jewish law Daniel 59. Madeline of “Blazing 9. Amplifies (like Pharaoh to Saddles” the Jews’ workload) 60. Indian state where Howard 10. Worshipping them is Metzenbaum was a senator? 42-Across in Judaism 11. The Hebrews had one over 61. What Moses did to all but one of G-d’s commands water during the first plague 66. What the menorah was 12. The first man made of, en Espanol 13. El ___ (weather phenomenon that can answer 67. Palindromic king in the Bible the prayer of Geshem) 18. Exodus land 23. Classic treif LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 25. Measures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 A T R I U M A T T H E P F C at Mount Sinai 15 16 17 B O U R N E R E H E M A R A Hospital 18 19 20 26. What willow 21 I N T O 22D A R K 23N E S S 24 C A N E S H O D E S T S F I N N branches do 25 26 27 S N O W P E A O U N C E 30. Biblical 28 29 30 31 measurements 32T H E R E W 33 I L L B 34E B L O O D 32. Be a nudnik 35B A R S 36 37 R O Y 38 D A L 39 40 41 S P A B C E C U D E S A 33. Samuel’s 42 43 44 45 C I A B E A K L A L teacher in the 46 47 48 49 50 51 G R E A T B A L L S O F F I R E Torah 52 53 L A R G E G A S T R I C 35. “Baruch 54 55 56 57 58 59 A C R E D R S R I B L A T ___” 60 61 62 63 36. Medium for 64S H O 65M E E T J O 66E B L A C K E E R T W E E T N E E D N T Howard Stern 67 68 69 H Y D R A T R A D E S R L S 37. AKA in the WSJ 65. 17-, 24-, 42- and 55-Across and 11- and 41-Down, categorically 68. Bring on (like Balak of Balaam) 69. Bert’s pal who has been on “Shalom Sesame” 70. Wilder’s “___ Like It Hot” 71. Like a yenta 72. Little brother of Yehuda and Shimon 73. Baldwin who played Jack Ryan before Harrison Ford

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