Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 31, August 11, 2017

Job Opening F/T Social Worker Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga hiring F/T Social Worker. Case management, visitation, assessments, referrals, advocate, some supervision and more. Experience required.

Competitive salary with benefits & moving expenses.

Resumes & letter to Michael Dzik mdzik@jewishchattanooga.com

Dr. Lanny Lesser Dies

Cardiologist Laurence “Lanny” Lesser, the father of Congregation Bet Haverim Rabbi Joshua Lesser, died at home in Snellville on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was 72.

Lesser was the first board-certified cardiologist in Gwinnett County, helped open Snellville’s first hospital, the Gwinnett Community Hospital, in 1979, and co-founded the Gwinnett Community Clinic in 1989. With volunteer physicians, nurses and pharmacists, GCC provided primary care services to people without health insurance for 26 years.

Lesser was a longtime volunteer physician at Camp Big Heart in Fort Valley, which served people with special needs, sponsored by the Civitan Club of Georgia.

He was honored in 2016 with the creation of the Laurence Martin Lesser, MD Graduate Medical Education Endowment at Gwinnett Medical Center.

In addition to Rabbi Lesser, survivors include his wife, Sandra, and his daughter, Mishele Elizabeth Lesser.

Sadly, Lesser is at least the third father of an Atlanta rabbi to die this summer. Sidney Kunis, the father of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim Rabbi Mark Hillel Kunis, died June 29. James Filson, the father of The Temple Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus, died July 4. ■

Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 31

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AUGUST 11, 2017 | 19 AV 5777

Jewish Pole Vaulters Soar in Atlanta

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

Recent Weber School graduate Becky Arbiv took first place in the pole vault at the U.S. Track and Field national junior championships July 30 with a jump of 13 feet, 1.5 inches, but she’s not the only elite Jewish pole vaulter in Atlanta.

Some of the best vaulters in the city are Jewish, and Jewish athletes hold the all-time records at North Springs, Dunwoody and Riverwood high schools.

Many started pole vaulting while at the Davis Academy or the Epstein School.

Matthew Berry, who coaches track and field at Davis and the club Pole Vault Atlanta and still holds Riverwood’s rec­ ord, said there’s no big secret.

“We just have a good system in terms of how we coach the pole vault,” he said.

“We have a pole vault pit at Davis. Epstein has a pit, and Weber has one. We all have an interconnected circle of coaches who know the pole vault. The kids get introduced to it because their athletic directors know the pole vault, and they stick with it and end up being pretty good.”

Epstein Athletic Director Jim Battag­ lia and Weber assistant track coach Hal Fairbanks vaulted together in high school and college. Fairbanks started PVATL in 2006 and with Berry and Weber Athletic Director David Moore has created an elite pole vaulting pipeline.

Arbiv, who starts at Duke University on a pole vaulting scholarship this fall, isn’t the only star in her family. Sister Ariel, a Weber junior, recently finished third in the nation in the 15-16-year-old division with a vault of 12-1.75 in the national tournament Becky won.

“Ariel has what it takes to be a na-

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Riverwood freshman Nick West has a chance to break Matthew Berry’s decade-and-a-half-old school record.

tional champion just like her sister,” said Fairbanks, who coached the sisters at Weber. “She has two more years and the work ethic to do it.”

Other elite Jewish pole vaulters include Jake Rubin at North Springs, Rachel Sinclair at Dunwoody, recent Dunwoody grad Coleman Gordon and Riverwood freshman Nick West. Each of them has come through PV-ATL. Aside from West, all hold their school records.

Rubin, Sinclair, Gordon and West all attended Davis and started jumping there with Berry. The Arbiv sisters started jumping at Epstein. Another elite jumper, Adam Mendel, attended Davis in the early 2000s when Fairbanks was the track coach there.

“Jake Rubin placed third in the Georgia state meet last year, and he’s got a chance to win it this year,” Berry said.

West “has a legitimate chance to break

my school record of 13-7.75. I’ll be coaching him this year, and I really hope to be out there when he breaks it. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.”

“Nick West is kind of the next big thing coming up,” Fairbanks said. “He has a great work ethic. Anyone that has seen him jump can tell you that he’s got it.”

West won the middle school state championship in the pole vault with a jump of 11-10, which is second all time for Georgia middle-schoolers. He is ranked third in the nation in his age group.

Since PV-ATL was founded 11 years ago, the club has produced 14 state champions, 21 state runners-up and 19 state third places in Georgia High School Association pole vaulting. None of the jumpers had more than two years’ experience before reaching the elite state level.

The club now has more than 65 members from ages 10 to 73. ■

INSIDE

EDUCATION, 18-25

Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion �����������������������������������������9 Business ��������������������������������������16 Sports ������������������������������������������ 26 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 27 Marketplace ������������������������������ 28 Arts ���������������������������������������������� 29 Crossword ����������������������������������� 31

• A Breman exhibit celebrates 140 years of aid from JELF and its predecessors. Page 18 • Birthright Israel participants can stretch their fashion sense with an extension. Page 21 • Jewish students are drawn to a Presbyterian university in the heart of Charlotte. Page 22

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AUGUST 11 â–ª 2017

MA TOVU

Repairs and Recompense

Bite the Bullet

I don’t really see the question: You broke it; you pay for it. At the very least, compromise and pay half.

— Zhenia Greszces

Call Your Rabbi

I would seek the advice of a rabbi. Our Torah is replete with laws referencing damages and covers virtually every situation. So use our rich heritage, which guides us through such murky situations.

— Debbie Black

Be a Mensch

Although technically the damage might not have been your fault, the Silversteins are without a dining room table. My advice is to follow the way of peace and pay either the entire expense or at least half of it.

“Our ways are ways of pleasantness, and all of its paths are peace” (Shabbat morning liturgy).

— David Markowitz

In Their Shoes

One time I was going out of town for a few weeks, and a friend asked to borrow my car while I was gone. I agreed and continued preparing for my vacation. I left feeling virtuous for helping a friend and secure that my car was in good hands.

When I got home, a light on the dashboard indicated a problem, and I heard a concerning noise. My heart hammered as I drove to the mechanic.

“Had you brought the car to me the moment the light went on,” he said, “the problem could have been fixed easily and would have been a minor expense. But since you waited, the total will be $400.”

Anger roiled within me. What had my friend done to me?

Taking deep breaths, I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

“Amy,” I began after we exchanged

pleasantries, “did you notice the light on the dashboard of my car?”

“Yes,” she replied. “It came on the minute I started using the car, so I figured you had simply forgotten to tell me about it. It drove so smoothly, so I figured it was just one of those things — you know how every car has its cricks. I did mean to ask you about it, but things were so hectic, and

Shared Spirit Moderated By Rachel Stein rachels83@gmail.com

I kept forgetting. It was such a huge help to have an extra vehicle while my out-of-town kids were visiting. I really appreciate your help.”

I took a deep breath.

“Amy, that light was not just one of those things. It cost me $400 for the repair. But the mechanic told me that if it had been brought in right away, it would have been $50.”

“I am terribly sorry,” she said. “I wish I had known.”

I waited for her to offer me compensation, but it wasn’t forthcoming.

“So how should we settle this?” I prodded.

We agreed to ask our rabbi for his advice and to abide by his suggestion.

“Really, you’re right,” Rabbi B assured me, and my blood pressure fell a notch. “But Amy doesn’t have extra money. She’s a single mother who is constantly struggling to make ends meet. So the best thing to do would be not to make any demands on her.”

My temper started to flare. Who said I have an extra $400?

Before I could reply, the rabbi continued. “But I have a special fund, and I’m happy to reimburse you for the expense. Just please do me a favor.

Don’t tell Amy about this, OK? It can be our secret. Just tell her I said it’s not her fault and leave it at that.”

That is how my situation was resolved. Without my rabbi’s incredible compassion, I would have remained furious with Amy. And now I think twice before lending out my car.

So, my friend, put yourself in the Silversteins’ shoes and act toward them as you would want others to act toward you. If someone were to damage your property, how would you like the issue resolved?

— Shira Cooper

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Recap: Our family went to a summer program in Lakewood, N.J., where we stayed as guests in the Silverstein family’s apartment, donated for the program. On our first day there, one of our children accidentally broke the glass dining room table. When I called to tell the Silversteins of the mishap, they apologetically informed me that the table had been shaky, and they had meant to warn us.

Who’s responsible?

3

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CALENDAR Atlanta

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DAVID R. COHEN

SUNDAY, AUG. 13

Mental illness program. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts the launch of Baken, a nonprofit targeting mental illness, with a morning of learning starting at 10:30 a.m. Free; www.bakenatlanta.org/events.

Hadassah brunch. The Metulla Group holds a new-members brunch with speaker Milton Tambor on “Judaism and Social Justice” at 11:30 a.m. RSVP

by Aug. 6; details from lindafay7@yahoo.com or 678-443-2961.

david@atljewishtimes.com Staff Writer

SARAH MOOSAZADEH sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Contributors This Week JASON ADLER • RACHEL FAYNE MARK FISHER RABBI DAVID GEFFEN YONI GLATT • ED GOLDBERG JORDAN GORFINKEL LEAH R. HARRISON SIMON HIRSCHHORN MARCIA CALLER JAFFE MARCY J. LEVINSON TOVA NORMAN • DAVE SCHECHTER DENA SCHUSTERMAN CHANA SHAPIRO ELI SPERLING RACHEL STEIN DUANE STORK MORASHA WINOKUR PATRICE WORTHY

CREATIVE SERVICES Creative Design

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CONTACT INFORMATION GENERAL OFFICE 404.883.2130 KAYLENE@ATLJEWISHTIMES.COM

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

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.

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CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

THURSDAY, AUG. 10

POSTMASTER send address changes to The Atlanta Jewish Times 270 Carpenter Drive Suite 320, Atlanta Ga 30328.

Established 1925 as The Southern Israelite Phone: (404) 883-2130 www.atlantajewishtimes.com 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

Eikev Friday, Aug. 11, light candles at 8:10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 12, Shabbat ends at 9:07 p.m.

Re’eh Friday, Aug. 18, light candles at 8:03 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 19, Shabbat ends at 8:58 p.m.

Infertility support. Licensed infertility therapist Lauren Berman facilitates a Jewish Fertility Foundation support group at 6 p.m. at MACoM, 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Free; www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org.

MONDAY, AUG. 14

Exhibit opening. The Jewish Educational Loan Fund’s history is featured in “The Legacy of the Hebrew Orphans Home” at the Breman, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. 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.

Teen party. Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, kicks off a new year of its CTeen program for high-schoolers with a barbecue and a game truck at 7: 30 p.m.

Details from cteenofnf@gmail.com or 770-410-9000.

TUESDAY, AUG. 15

Transgender talk. Joy Ladin, the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution, discusses various religions’ approaches to gender diversity at 7 p.m. at Congregation Bet Haverim, 2074 LaVista Road, Toco Hills.

Monkey Around With AJFF

Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Rey Foundation Executive Director Nat Scrimshaw will be the special guests at the AJFF Selects screening of “Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators.”

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival will show the documentary at 7 p.m.

Hans and Margret Rey flee ahead of the Nazis on makeshift Monday, Aug. 14, at SCADshow, 173 14th bicycles in “Monkey Business.”

St., Midtown.

AJFF Executive Director Kenny Blank said there are great conversations to be derived from the film, which tells the story of husband and wife Hans and Margret Rey, German Jews who were living in Paris at the start of World War II and escaped the Nazi troops on makeshift bicycles, carrying the yet-to-be-published “Curious George” manuscript with them.

Forced to live in Brazil while they awaited visas to the United States, the Reys eventually reached New York, where they published the children’s classic 75 years ago.

The documentary, narrated by actor Sam Waterston, augments interviews with hand-drawn animation and a treasure-trove of archival materials, including wartime journals, photographs, letters, and unpublished Curious George sketches and notes.

Scrimshaw is an illustrator who knew the Reys when he was a child.

Tickets are $13 and are available at AJFF.org/monkeybusinesstix.

Free; www.sojourngsd.org/joy-ladintouraugust-2017.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16

Transgender training. Joy Ladin leads a session on how clinicians can talk about and serve gender-diverse people at 11 a.m. at Jewish Family & Career Services, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Free; www.sojourngsd.org/ joy-ladin-touraugust-2017.

Senior swim. Jewish Family & Career

Services, Jewish Home Life Communities and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta co-host a senior swim social at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, at 11 a.m. Admission is $5 for members, $10 for others, with free transportation from JF&CS Alterman/ JETS; www.atlantajcc.org/ama or 678812-4070.

THURSDAY, AUG. 17

Elder abuse talk. DeKalb County Solicitor General Sherry Boston speaks to

Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com.

Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.

Remember When

25 Years Ago Aug. 7, 1992 ■ The number of Jews with AIDS in Atlanta is small, but so is the effort the Jewish community is putting into AIDS education and services. “Jews aren’t putting their heads in the sand, necessarily, but we’re not doing all we could,” said Rabbi Philip Kranz of Temple Sinai. Jewish Family Services has no program targeting Jewish people with AIDS. ■ Dan and Gerri Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., announce the marriage of daughter Sharon Gail to Scott Eric Kraun, son of Herman and Helen Kraun of Roswell, on July 5.

■ Maury and Staci Shapiro of Marietta announce the birth of a son, Reid Jacob, on June 18.

50 Years Ago Aug. 11, 1967

■ Rabbi Albert Aryeh Mayerfeld has been appointed to the position of assistant director of the Atlanta Bureau of Jewish Education, it was announced by bureau President Bernard Gordon. A graduate of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College of Baltimore, Rabbi Mayerfeld did postgraduate work at the Slabodka and Hevron Yeshivot in Israel, where he received his ordination in 1960. He also will serve as a member of the Hebrew faculty at the Hebrew Academy.

■ Miss Linda Matz, a native of Atlanta, has assumed the editorship of the Missouri Jewish Post and Opinion in St. Louis.

Miss Matz is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi. As a full-time employee, she will replace three part-timers.

■ Mrs. Frankie R. Levy of Augusta announces the engagement of her daughter, Ann Toni Danziger, to William Aaron Estroff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell J. Estroff of Augusta. A December wedding is planned.

CALENDAR Corrections & Clarifications

• Sammy K knew he and his team had something with his promotional video when it reached 20,000 views. The number was incorrect in an article Aug. 4.

• Ariel Lapson, the program manager for Ta’am Yisrael: A Taste of Israel, recalled being on a college campus in Indianapolis where people were scared to speak a word in Hebrew in public and urged educators to help Jewish students stop hiding during a Center for Israel Education panel discussion June 28. Those comments were misattributed in an article Aug. 4.

Transgender talk. Joy Ladin discusses community inclusion at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Free; www. sojourngsd.org/joy-ladin-touraugust-2017.

SUNDAY, AUG. 20

Blood drive. Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, holds a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Appointments at www.redcrossblood.org (keyword bethshalom) or 800-733-2767.

TUESDAY, AUG. 22

Modern mikvah. Rabbi Judith Beiner leads a class for the Marcus JCC’s Brill Institute on “The Tradition Lives On: Mikvah in the 21st Century” at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays through Sept. 12 at MACoM, 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Register at atlantajc.org/brill or 678-812-3723.

Breman training. The Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown, holds a six-session training course for volunteer docents for its Holocaust Gallery and other exhibitions, starting at 12:30 p.m. Details from Jennifer Reid at jreid@thebreman.org or 404-870-1632.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 23

Rosh Chodesh study. MACoM, 700A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, hosts a women’s study session for the start of Elul called “Women at the Beginning of Exodus: Where Would We Be Without Them?” at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $18, including dinner; info@atlantamikvah.org or 404-549-9679.

THURSDAY, AUG. 24

Drugs and prison. National Incarceration Association President and CEO Kate Boccia speaks about the effects of drug addiction on families at the weekly meeting of the Edgewise group at 10:30 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for members, $5 for others; www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-3861.

SATURDAY, AUG. 26

Prehistoric party. Clothes from the 1980s are the proper attire for the Signature Event at Fernbank, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Under 40 Division and the Birthright Israel Alumni: Atlanta Network, at 9 p.m. at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. Tickets are $15 (including one drink) in advance or $25 at the door; jewishatlanta.org/signature-event.

SUNDAY, AUG. 27

Kitchen tour. The Toco Hills Tour of Terrific Kitchens, presented by the Mount Scopus Group of Hadassah Greater Atlanta, visits eight new and renovated kitchens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at 1546 Nantahalla Court.

Tickets are $20 before Aug. 24 and $25 at the door; paypal.me/mtscopus/20.

Bowling. The co-ed Atlanta Jewish Bowling League offers bowling at 6:30 at Brunswick Bowlero, 6345 Spalding Drive, Norcross, to introduce people to the league. Free; RSVP to 404-667-7752.

Lance Ross • 404-557-7467

MONDAY, AUG. 28

5675 Peachtree Ind Blvd • Chamblee, GA 30341

College loan webinar. The Jewish Educational Loan Fund holds its semiannual seminar on its interest-free loan program at 10 a.m. Free; RSVP at register.gotowebinar.com/register/7028794491224613123 for details.

Infertility support. Licensed therapist Ashley Marx facilitates a Jewish Fertility Foundation support group at 7 p.m. at the foundation, 60 Lenox Pointe, Buckhead. Free; www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org/support-groups-1.html.

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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 30

Big party. The Collective: A Celebration of Community features the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s annual awards, Dad’s Garage entertainment, and a panel discussion with the heads of Federation, the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, Jewish Family & Career Services, Jewish Home Life Communities and the Marcus JCC at 7 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Torah, 700 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Tickets are $10 in advance, $18 at the door; jewishatlanta.org/event/collective.

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

the Edgewise group at 10:30 a.m. at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for members, $5 for others; www.atlantajcc­.org or 678-812-3861.

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ISRAEL NEWS

BDS Makes No Exceptions for Israel’s Critics

By Eli Sperling “To the End of the Land,” an antiwar play based on famed Israeli author David Grossman’s book, began a threeperformance run at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on July 24.

Critically exploring the complexities of Israeli life and the Arab-Israeli conflict, the government-sponsored play was a target for boycott, divestment and sanctions activists. More than 80 artists signed a letter, posted on the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel’s website, calling on the Lincoln Center to cancel the three scheduled performances of the play.

That letter was part of an effort to ostracize any Israeli cultural workers who have government financial support or perform in West Bank settlements and to boycott them from participating in international events, regardless of their work or political views.

One of the most vexing issues surrounding this story is that Grossman, a left-wing activist and recipient of the prestigious 2017 Man Booker International Prize, is one of Israel’s most outspoken and longstanding critics of governmental policies in the territories.

Likewise, the play offers unambiguous critiques of many of those policies.

Photo via the Adalah-NY Twitter feed (@AdalahNY)

Adalah-NY on July 5 tweeted out this file photo of BDS activists in London to support its call for the Lincoln Center to cancel “To the End of the Land.”

While the BDS movement’s boycotting of a play based on a Grossman book may seem counterintuitive to those unfamiliar with the movement’s practices, such tactics have become commonplace.

In early June, well-known Israeli singer Achinoam Nini (who performs as Noa), likewise an outspoken critic of Israeli policies in the territories, found herself the subject of BDS protests while performing outside Israel.

Frustrated and perplexed by these circumstances, Nini responded: “I do a lot of cooperation with Palestinians, and I draw a lot of inspiration from what I do. But it’s not easy for me, and

there’s a price to pay (within Israeli society). The BDS are boycotting me. …

Why should they try to silence me? Are we not fighting on the same side?”

According to the BDS movement’s Guidelines for the International Cultural Boycott of Israel, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel “urges international cultural workers (e.g., artists, writers, filmmakers) and cultural organizations, including unions and associations, where possible and as relevant, to boycott and/or work towards the cancellation of events, activities, agreements, or projects involving Israel, its lobby groups or its cultural insti-

tutions, or that otherwise promote the normalization of Israel in the global cultural sphere, whitewash Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian rights, or violate the BDS guidelines. … At this level, Israeli cultural workers should not be exempted from due criticism or any lawful form of protest, including boycott; they should be treated like all other offenders in the same category, not better or worse.”

Thus, the simple answer to Nini’s questions is no. Regardless of your politics, beliefs, body of work or perceived ability to effect change from within Israeli society, you are not “fighting on the same side.”

Grossman and Nini, both with long personal and professional records of working toward undoing Israeli government policies that they disagree with in the territories, are pushing for what they see as a brighter future for Israel and the Palestinians.

The BDS movement, on the other hand, as their literature and statements show, seems to be working toward the annihilation of the Jewish state. ■ Eli Sperling is the Israel specialist and assistant program coordinator for the Center for Israel Education (www. israeled­.org).

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Billion-dollar drip deal. Mexican plastic pipe producer Mexichem announced Monday, Aug. 7, that it has reached an agreement to acquire an 80 percent stake in Tel Aviv-based drip irrigation company Netafim from private equity fund Permira Funds and other minority shareholders. Be’er Sheva’s Kibbutz Hatzerim, Netafim’s founder, will retain 20 percent of the company.

The deal values Netafim at $1.895 billion. The company is the world’s largest irrigation company, with sales of $855 million in 2016. It pioneered drip irrigation in the 1960s and holds about 30 percent of the global market with 17 manufacturing plants and more than 4,000 employees.

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Reducing animal testing. An Israeli human-on-a-chip platform can predict the risk of toxicity in potential pharmaceutical and cosmetic products without animal testing. After spending an average of $2.5 billion to develop a drug, a pharmaceutical company sometimes must pull it from the market because 6 of an outcome that was not detected

in clinical studies. In March 2016, Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Yaakov Nahmias developed a “liver-ona-chip” platform to test a Type 2 diabetes drug called troglitazone that led to liver damage in one of every 60,000 users. He recently licensed the technology from the university and spun off a company called Tissue Dynamics to provide toxicological analyses of drugs and cosmetics with his liver on a chip — with heart and brain chips coming soon. The chips could reduce the number of animal tests, the amount of time for drug evaluation and the cost of drug development.

Positive outlook. Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the credit rating outlook for Israel from neutral to positive, meaning a higher credit rating could be as little as six months away. S&P nudged Israel to keep cutting its public debt.

Holy Land hop festival. The Jerusalem Beer Festival is the largest festival of its kind in Israel. At Independence Park the nights of Aug. 23 and 24, it offers

120 beer types, from well-established brands to local boutique brews. The festival includes DJs and musicians.

Don’t sleep with your phone. It has been known for a while that exposure to short-wavelength blue light from phone and tablet screens can harm sleep, but a new study led by Abraham Haim at the University of Haifa reveals how bad the problem is. The study found that exposure to blue light reduces the duration of sleep by 16 minutes on average, largely because production of melatonin is suppressed.

That hormone regulates the biological clock so the body reduces its temperature in sleep, reaching the lowest point around 4 a.m. When the body returns to its normal temperature, sleep ends.

Jerusalem tattoos not taboo. People around the world go to tattoo artist Wassim Razzouk’s studio in the Old City of Jerusalem in search of a classic Coptic tattoo. Said to be the only surviving pilgrimage tattoo business in the world, Razzouk Tattoo is a popular

stop for Christian tourists to Jerusalem.

Family lore tells of the Razzouk family first tattooing Coptic Christians in Egypt in the 14th century with a small cross on the inside of the wrist to grant them access to churches, then bringing the trade to the Holy Land in the 18th century. Razzouk, 44, set up his studio in a 350-year-old stone building just inside the Jaffa Gate. The shop is lined with framed articles about his family history. Razzouk uses 500-year-old, wooden, hand-carved stamps of religious designs as stencils. After stamping the outline on a client, Razzouk uses a tattoo gun to ink the design.

“Where Is My Mind?” Having recently experienced Britney Spears, Guns N’ Roses and Radiohead, Israelis welcomed post-punk legends the Pixies for two concerts in Caesarea on July 25 and 26. In the first, the Boston quartet performed 30 songs over two hours.

Compiled courtesy of ynetnews.com, israel21c­.org, timesofisrael.com and other sources.

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The Iraqi MiG-21 obtained in Operation Diamond is housed at an Israeli air force museum in Hatzerim.

Today in Israeli History Photos courtesy of FIDF

Allison Oreck (left), Ben Levy and Shaina Gordon visit Israel on this summer’s FIDF Young Leadership Mission.

Allison Oreck hands out ice cream to soldiers during IDF Appreciation Week.

FIDF Mission Connects Atlanta Trio to Soldiers

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

When Allison Oreck, Shaina Gordon and Ben Levy heard about Friends of the Israel Defense Forces’ Young Leadership Mission to Israel, the Atlantans each grasped the opportunity to learn more about the IDF and increase awareness about the nonprofit FIDF’s multiple endeavors.

They were among nearly 60 Americans who joined IDF soldiers to tour navy and air force bases, gain an inside look at military activities, receive security briefings from military officers, and explore Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from June 30 to July 9.

The mission included two former lone soldiers who live in California: Reeven Nathan, who served in a special operations reconnaissance unit, and Max Gordon, a former combat soldier in the Givati Brigade.

“I am a strong supporter of Israel and thought the mission was a great way to give back to the IDF as well as revisit Israel,” Oreck said.

She said she considers the soldiers’ camaraderie her fondest memory. “Everyone was very patriotic and formed a friendship based on their purpose and values, which I found very powerful,” she said. “It’s important to support Israel, and that goes for its military, which essentially serves as the country’s first line of defense.”

Shaina Gordon said she hadn’t known much about FIDF, “but as I discovered more, I became passionate about their work and the various programs they offered, which make it possible to help the soldiers and in turn protect Israel for Jews all over the world.”

Gordon also gained a better understanding of the IDF’s mission to

protect lives. “The soldiers go in trying to save as many people as possible, and when they shoot, they shoot to injure, not to kill, unless it’s an extreme case,” she said. “These were things I was definitely not thinking about when I was 18, which is why it’s important to support the soldiers and make life easier for them if we can.”

Gordon noted the IDF’s resourcefulness. “I think that’s a part of Israeli culture, but I also got to see what the FIDF does for the soldiers, which is beyond impactful.”

Mission participants took part in Israel’s first national IDF Appreciation Week by handing out ice cream while listening to stories from soldiers.

Levy, who serves on the FIDF Southeast Region board’s executive committee, learned about the Young Leadership Mission at a conference in New York and grabbed the opportunity to learn more about what IDF soldiers go through.

“I wanted to not only meet the soldiers, but hear their stories and see how FIDF is helping them,” Levy said.

FIDF’s support includes recreational facilities, flights home for lone soldiers and college scholarships for soldiers after their active service.

“We are always trying to do more than the year before, and if we can continue to build more gyms, more recreation facilities and send more soldiers off to college, that’s something we are always going to try to do,” Levy said.

“I am not serving in the Israeli military; however, I want to do my small part in whatever way I can because Israel means so much to me as a historical homeland and safe haven for Jews,” he said. “I encourage more people to look into FIDF mission trips, attend our events and listen to our speakers share their stories.” ■

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Aug. 11, 1929: The Palestine Jewish Agency is created on a 231-4 vote during the 16th World Zionist Congress, with an expanded role for non-Zionist Jewish representatives worldwide.

Aug. 12, 1944: Berl Katznelson, a leader in the Labor Zionist movement, dies suddenly at the age of 57 in Jerusalem. His advocacy for the creation of a labor-based society in Israel would eventually form the basis of the Mapai party, which would dominate Israeli politics until the late 1970s.

Aug. 13, 1995: Aharon Barak is appointed the president of Israel’s Supreme Court.

Aug. 14, 1944: In a letter written to Leon Kubowitzki, the head of the Res-

cue Department of the World Jewish Congress, U.S. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy says the War Department will not order the bombing of Nazi death camps because they are not a priority for U.S. military resources.

Aug. 15, 2005: Israeli soldiers and police begin enforcing the Disengagement Implementation Law, entering Gaza settlements and handing out evacuation orders to settlers.

Aug. 16, 1966: Israel’s Operation Diamond succeeds in obtaining a functional, Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jet when the Mossad cuts a deal with disillusioned Iraqi Christian fighter pilot Munir Redfa. Redfa receives $1 million, Israeli citizenship for himself and his family, and guaranteed full-time employment.

Aug. 17, 1898: A few weeks before the Second Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, 160 Zionists from 93 cities and towns in Russia meet secretly in Warsaw, Poland.

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

ISRAEL NEWS

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ISRAEL NEWS

Bonding With Our Future

Israel Bonds provide a secure, profitable investment option

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

I come from a banking background. My job was analyzing loans and pricing risks to the proper rate.

Luckily, I retired before the banking crisis of 2008-10.

The banks I worked at were always profitable, and I’m frequently asked for investment advice.

My friends and I are now classified as “senior adults” and rely more on income than growth, but even young people need to diversify. All people should have a portion of their portfolios in income-oriented investments.

With that in mind, it has been difficult to find acceptable yields for the past eight to 10 years. Many advisers have recommended instruments such as U.S. government Treasuries and other short-term bonds. Many of my friends need yield and have been forced to look for alternatives for at least a part of their portfolios.

An alternative to U.S. Treasuries is Israel Bonds.

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Purchases of Israel Bonds help me by offering a yield typically above that of Treasuries. They also help promote vital infrastructure development in Israel. Bonds are not used for the military but for such purposes as desalination, bridges, train systems and roads.

Israel Bonds offer yields and safe-

Guest Column

By Ed Goldberg

ty because Israel has never defaulted on a bond or interest payment. Israel’s economy is strong and diversified and is growing faster than the economies of most nations in the world.

You might argue that Israelis live in a bad neighborhood. I would point out that Israel has an extremely strong military and strong allies. In fact, Israel has good relations with the United States, China, India and Russia, to name a few.

Israel also has improving relations with many governments in the region, though those nations don’t talk about it publicly.

According to rating agencies, Israel is one of the strongest economies in the world in terms of growth and the ratio of debt to GDP. For any readers who have traveled to Israel over the decades, I don’t have to explain the great improvements in its infrastructure since the 1950s (even the past 10 years, for younger readers).

Israel has chosen a slightly different route than other sovereign governments for selling bonds. Most countries sell “registered” bonds to buyers through public offerings. Israel primarily sells bonds through offices throughout the world by marketing directly to investors.

Because Israel Bond investments aren’t marketable, a purchased bond must be held to maturity. For Israel, this means a stable marketplace for its bonds. (Think back on recent global debt crises for the opposite effect.)

For the investor, this means a

higher yield because a lack of liquidity has its cost.

Israel carries a country risk rating of A1 from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s and A from Fitch Ratings.

The bonds themselves are not rated because they don’t trade.

However, with little country default risk and a strong and positive financial history and future, Israel has achieved a place in the world among the strongest and most financially respected. That’s good enough for me to write this article and be a buyer.

Of course, I can’t recommend these bonds for you because I don’t know you or your needs. If you have a financial adviser, you should include that person. Israel Bonds make sense for me and many other people of all ages who need an income or nonstock component to their investment portfolio. If you want income and quality investments, you should consider Israel Bonds.

Let’s look at some specifics. At the time of this article’s writing, Israel Bonds come in two-, three-, five- and 10-year maturities with denominations as low as $36. Each type of bond can be increased above its minimum.

You can decide which category is right for your investment needs. You can also get fixed or floating rates. The longer the duration, the higher the interest rate. Because rates change all the time, you should go to the Israel Bonds website (Israelbonds.com) or directly to the rate page (israelbonds. com/Offerings-Rates/Current-Rates. aspx) to compare the rates with similar quality issues.

In conclusion, investing is complex. Israel Bonds have an edge we can believe in. They are even good for state governments and banks. Israel Bonds are owned by the states of Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama and by banks such as SunTrust and Regions Bank. ■ Ed Goldberg has a B.S. in finance from the University of South Carolina and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University. He worked at SunTrust Bank as an assistant treasurer, managing pricing functions and serving on the loan committee. He managed SouthTrust Bank’s credit underwriting for Georgia. He was the president and chairman of Business Development Corp., the largest Small Business Administration lender in the state at the time. Goldberg also developed real estate and started several businesses.

OPINION

Turn Off Cruise Control

weeks of peace and quiet provided time for me to amass reserves of patience, not to selfishly want more, more, more, quiet, quiet, quiet.

So with all my power of intention, I focus on being present and patient.

I remember that this week’s parshah is called Eikev. Simply translated, the first verse of the Torah reading is telling us the blessings that we will re-

Guest Column

By Dena Schusterman

ceive eikev tish-mi-un — when we will listen — to the word of Hashem.

Our sages focus on a different translation of eikev: heel. They say the blessings come specifically on account of the mitzvot that people are so accustomed to that they may otherwise trample upon them.

What is it about the heel that gets its name included for posterity as a weekly Torah portion?

The heel is what we use to disregard the things we find unimportant.

In a sense, it’s the way by which we function on autopilot.

This week we are reminded to take all the commandments seriously and how blessed we are when we observe them — especially the ones we might step on, the ones we do by rote, on cruise control. These minor or seemingly petty mitzvot should be judged as equal to the big, important ones.

Keeping Shabbat is equal to building a fence for your yard. Being kind to an orphan is equal to saying a blessing over your food.

The message of this week’s portion is that I too should be both listening and functioning with intentionality.

Although I feel as if I can do them in my sleep, I will not trample on these seemingly menial tasks I do for my family. I will stay focused and attribute meaning, even to my most mundane achievements.

It is not easy.

I recognize that the entirety of my parenting is equally important.

I will be blessed. ■ Dena Schusterman is a mother of eight, a wife, the rebbetzin of Chabad Intown and the executive director of the Intown Jewish Preschool.

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

I am functioning on autopilot.

I go about my hectic day alternating between semiconsciousness and full-throttle action, neither of which requires much intention or reflection.

I am doing all the things I can do just as well in my sleep: well visits to the doctor, medical forms for camps and academic institutions, physical therapy for my swollen Achilles heel, labeling the children’s clothing and supplies for overnight camp.

Lists upon lists of actionable items for the upcoming school year at the Intown Jewish Preschool.

Tasks go onto my trusty Keep app, then summarily disappear, and I forget they ever existed.

On autopilot, you don’t get too overwhelmed. You just do it because it is the cruise control mode of living. I plod along.

I get five kids off to their faraway summer programs. One is still finishing his year abroad.

I have two kids left at home, our 5-year-olds twins.

I am almost paralyzed by the sudden quiet in my home.

Where is all the lively banter?

Where is all the beautiful chaos? Even the twins seem out of sync without all the background noise that usually buoys their play.

I breathe in. I breathe out.

It takes a little time to get used to this new normal of a small family.

Now we are enjoying the dog days of summer.

As a small family, we use the small car and cook small dinners. It is a vacation from reality, right here at home. It’s wonderful.

I begin to unwind. I begin to find time for reflection.

It is easy to smile and feel contentment when they are all safe, happily engaged in wholesome activities and far away.

Slowly the kids trickle back home.

And then we are back at capacity, a full house. It is once again loud and energetic.

I am no longer on autopilot. I am extremely overwhelmed.

How do I acquire the patience to listen to every camp story, each longwinded negotiation for more computer time and the ubiquitous complaints of boredom?

I am reflective, and I pause. I breathe in, and I breathe out.

I acknowledge to myself that four

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OPINION

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Our View

Socialist BDS

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

The Democratic Socialists of America aren’t a big or important group; they’re not even affiliated with the nation’s most prominent self-proclaimed socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders. An anti-Trump growth spurt reportedly has swelled their ranks to only 25,000 members, and they claim 14 public officeholders nationwide, including South Fulton City Council member Khalid Kamau.

Their most noteworthy accomplishment as part of the #Resistance has been opposition to Los Angeles’ bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2024. That worked so well that L.A. will host in 2028 instead.

The fact that this far-left group took up the mantle of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement at its national convention in Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 5, normally wouldn’t be worth noticing. Not surprisingly, the pro-BDS resolution had such overwhelming support among the convention delegates that no one even bothered to make a formal count.

What’s significant is what happened immediately after the measure passed: The delegates broke out in a spontaneous, unchallenged chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

That is, if the Democratic Socialists of America have their way, which matches the goal of the leadership of the BDS movement, a Palestinian state will be formed from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, driving out instead of existing alongside Israel.

We find the rabid support for BDS repulsive, and we remain dumbfounded that those who are desperate defenders of the national aspirations of the Palestinian people could so easily wish away the nationhood of the Jewish people while denying (perhaps even to themselves) any element of anti-Semitism in singling out the Jews as unworthy of their own state.

But we give the Democratic Socialists credit in one respect: At least they are honest about the goal of the BDS movement they support.

While many in the boycott crowd refuse to speak in public about their preference for a one-state, noIsrael solution or to specify whether the “occupation” they oppose goes back 50 years or 70, the enthusiastic converts to the cause in Chicago didn’t shy away from the ugly truth.

To be fair, the left wing doesn’t hold a monopoly on open hatred of Israel. The founding editor of The American Conservative, Scott McConnell, published a column the day after the Democratic Socialist vote in which, despite all expert analysis to the contrary, he implied that the Senate’s proposed Israel Anti-Boycott Act would criminalize pro-boycott speech.

He didn’t quite endorse BDS, but he did say that support for the movement would melt away if only Israel would stop building settlements and would give the Palestinians the state they seek in the West Bank and Gaza. McConnell’s simplistic prescription ignores the repeated Palestinian refusal to accept such an Israeli offer and the intention of BDS leaders and many supporters to settle for nothing less than Israel’s demise.

The comments on that column, including old slanders about the destructive influence of the pro-Israel lobby, make clear that Israel and American Jews 10 can find threats in any direction. ■

Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

Feeling the Israelite Passion Atlanta has hosted several major Jewish gatherence now, but the same could be said of a Sephardic ings this year and still has the United Synagogue of service at Or VeShalom or a Bukharian service at Conservative Judaism biennial ahead in December.

Beit Yitzchak. I can’t say someone from Beth Jacob But a smaller, significant conference almost escaped or Beth Tefillah would have found Or-Ami stranger this newspaper’s notice. than, say, Temple Sinai.

The International The men and women Israelite Board of Rabbis sat separately, though held its national conferwithout a mechitzah. The Editor’s Notebook ence in College Park from Hebrew content was about

By Michael Jacobs Friday to Sunday, Aug. 4 to the same as a Conservative mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com 6, splitting time between a service, but the comprehotel near the airport and hension was much higher.

Congregation Or-Ami, a The biggest difference shul in an office park full of tiny houses of worship. was the ruach (spirit). I can’t describe the uplifting, If you’re not familiar with the Israelite Board overwhelming feeling as we mixed ancient prayers of Rabbis or Or-Ami, it’s probably because, like me, with Jewish-flavored American spirituals, supported your stuck with binary, Ashkenazi-Sephardi thinkby drums, tambourines and other instruments. ing. Thanks to Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder — who, The divine filled that sanctuary. in addition to contributing to the AJT, is part of the Perhaps you are skeptical that the Israelites are team at Be’chol Lashon, which promotes Jewish Jews who were lost for 2,000 years. Rabbi Funnye diversity — I learned about the conference and the said a Chabad rabbi urged him to get all the IsraelCollege Park congregation under newly installed ites to go through Orthodox conversion to be sure.

Rabbi Shalem Jeshurun and had one of the most Rabbi Funnye scoffed at the idea. If the Israelspiritual Shabbat experiences of my life. ites were called by G-d to return to their roots, what The Israelite Board of Rabbis is one organizaplace does a beit din of men have to intervene? tion of what are variously called Black Jews, Hebrew The Israelites do not deny the legitimacy of Israelites or just Israelites. Their modern roots go Ashkenazim and Sephardim, but Rabbi Funnye also back to the 1890s — seven generations, they said sees no reason to grant them higher authority.

Shabbat morning — but their belief is that they “We are one,” he said several times, united in merely have rediscovered ancient Jewish roots. love of Torah and Israel, striving to repair the world, Deuteronomy 28, part of Parashat Ki Tavo, holds and looking out for one another, as in the case of the key verses prophesying the exile of Jews to Africa, to Ugandan Jews who get a single meal a day because be scattered across the world as slaves. For example: of a devastating drought across Africa. (One way to “The Lord shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships … help is through Be’chol Lashon at globaljews.dntly. and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies com/campaign/abayudaya-famine-relief#/donate.) for bondmen and for bondwomen.”

The worshippers at Or-Ami, some of whom are Israelite Chief Rabbi Capers Shmuel Funnye of members at other Atlanta shuls, made it clear they Chicago invited me to attend the Saturday service. welcome all of us into their “we.” Shouldn’t we do The clearly Jewish service was different from the same? After all, we’re all children of Israel, even my Conservative upbringing or my Reform experiif we took different routes to Atlanta. ■

Trying Not to Plotz While Recrossing ‘Delancey’ The issue was the ch sound, a guttural noise that resembles someone clearing his throat.

Mary Lynn Owen says, “I need more saliva.”

“For that you need your gorgl,” she is told.

(Readers may want to keep a Yiddish-English dictionary handy, and, remember, spellings are phonetic.)

Owen sat in with the Yiddish group at the Jewish Tower while preparing to play Bubbie Kantor in the Alliance Theatre’s production of “Crossing Delancey.”

The play, written by Susan Sandler, will be performed Oct. 7 to Nov. 18 at the Marcus Jewish Community Center (the Alliance’s home at the Woodruff Arts Center is being renovated).

Twenty-seven years ago, Owen played Bubbie’s granddaughter, Isabelle “Izzy” Grossman, in Theatrical Outfit’s production of the story, best known from the 1988 film starring Amy Irving as Izzy and Peter Riegert as Sam Posner, “the pickle man.”

Izzy, a 33-year-old woman in New York who lives in a highbrow literary world, resists and eventually is wooed

by Posner in a shidduch engineered by her 70-something bubbe.

Owen, who is not Jewish, was 32 years old when she played Izzy.

“In 1990, I believed that Izzy had all the time in the world. Now, through the eyes of Bubbie, I see that the clock is ticking,” Owen, a veteran actress and theater studies instructor at Emory University, said in an interview.

“What I enjoy so much about Bubbie is her embracing of life as is,” Owen said. “Pleasure and pain are weighted equally. She speaks candidly about everything — with a few theatrics for good measure — and when referring to herself, she doesn’t downplay the pain of her past, or her own strengths, or her own beauty. … Her forthrightness is my personal goal. Maybe it comes with the permission of age.”

On this day, Owen sits with six women and one man as they review words in the back half of the alphabet, from nosh, nebbish and nudnik, through schicker, schmaltz and schpilkis, until reaching zaideh and zaftik, though somehow — between tummel and vilda chaya — farklempt, farkachta and farschtopt come up for discussion.

Carolyn Goldsmith, who organized

the group, struggles to control the conversation, which zigs from debate about the usage of numerous words for the male sexual organ (which you will not find here) and zags to recipes for tsimmes and lokshen kugel.

“They remind me of my Cuban aunts and uncles. They’re loud, they

From Where I Sit

By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com

interrupt each other and correct each other, and they’re a heck of a lot of fun,” Owen said later.

The connotations of certain words prompt Lenny Schechter (no relation to the other Schechter in the room) to say, “All Yiddish is not sweet.”

Owen has questions for these alte menschen.

“How would you use this in a sentence?” she asks about “Nu?” “Could you kvell so much that you plotz?” she asks, setting off laughter.

“Do you say the ‘t’ in tsurris?”

Kvetch is one syllable, she is told, as the assembled take turns kvetching.

Some questions are serious, such as her inquiry about the meaning of shiva and its customs.

Owen, an Episcopalian, is not certain why, but she has played numerous Jewish roles in her career.

Her father was a circuit-riding Methodist minister in Athens, Augusta, Snellville, Riverdale and other area locales. When she was age 10, he gave her a book titled “What Is a Jew?” “I grew up with this healthy affection for Judaism,” Owen said.

The Yiddish group is impressed by Owen’s efforts to pronounce words in a once-fading language now experiencing something of a revival.

“It’s actually been fun. And very interesting. Bubbie’s lines are mostly in English with the occasional Yiddish phrase, word or song, so mostly I’m working on speaking with the Yiddish dialect,” Owen said.

“Well, this may change, but so far, I’m partial to the word schmendrick,” she said. “It’s fun to say. And I know a few. I also like the phrase ‘What are you, haken me a tsheinik?’ ” Here’s wishing Owen plenty of mazel. ■

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

OPINION

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LOCAL NEWS

Jew-Hatred by Any Name Is Just as Foul

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com The most common spelling of “anti-Semitism,” with the lowercase a, the capital S and the hyphen, is wrong, Deborah Lipstadt says.

According to the Dorot professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory, that spelling (used by the AJT) fails to capture the philosophical meaning of the word.

“The prefix ‘anti’ is mostly used with common words which can stand alone, such as anti-immigration or anti-taxes; however, there is no such thing as Semitism, but rather Semitic languages,” Lipstadt said Tuesday, Aug. 1, during her annual Tisha B’Av lecture at Young Israel of Toco Hills, titled “Contemporary Antisemitism: An Update.”

Although anti-Semitism has multiple definitions, Lipstadt pointed to a description introduced by British philosopher Isaiah Berlin, who is credited with saying an anti-Semite is someone who hates Jews more than necessary.

“This is a great definition because

Deborah Lipstadt discusses the nuances of contemporary anti-Semitism during her annual Tisha B’Av lecture at Young Israel of Toco Hills on Aug. 1.

the connotation matters. If someone asks you to describe an individual at a crime scene, and you respond, ‘It was a tall gentleman who was black’ vs. ‘It was a black man,’ it possesses a different meaning,” Lipstadt said.

Lipstadt also addressed philo-Semitism, in which a positive remark can reflect anti-Semitism. “An individual who is in trouble with the law will often say, ‘I am going to hire a smart Jewish lawyer,’ and if the person is found guilty, they are likely to state, ‘My Jewish lawyer failed.’ However, it is important to note that being Jewish is irrelevant,” she said. “An individual can hate someone,

but if it’s one iota more because they’re Jewish, it’s considered anti-Semitism.”

Anti-Semitism, Lipstadt said, represents a persistent structure of hostile beliefs about Jews as a collective, involving nefariousness, power and intellect to get others to do things that might not be in their best interest.

She presented different types of anti-Semites: the extremist, whom everyone recognizes as universally opposed to Jews; the savvy or polite, who often claims that “some of my best friends are Jews”; the blatant, who talks about “you Jews”; and the accidental, who genuinely does not know he is making anti-Semitic remarks.

“It’s irrelevant if someone is on the right or left in terms of the political spectrum. Anti-Semitism is an issue that manifests across the board,” Lipstadt said. “We can find it on both sides, whether you look at it in this country at the alt-right or other countries such as Hungary, you can see it in multiple forms. However, we can’t continue to use the fight against anti-Semitism to achieve our own political goals.”

The term “intersectionality” commonly links two separate issues, such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the situation of the Palestinians, she said. “You often hear this from many students who feel they are being forced to choose between their ideologies, and (it) has become endemic on college campuses.”

The denial of Israel also has spread among campuses, Lipstadt said. “It is one thing to have not believed in the existence of Israel in 1940. However, now that you have a living, breathing state with 7 million people in it while you’re citing its destruction, I would argue that that’s anti-Semitism.”

But she said there are nuances to anti-Semitism, including the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

“I think we have to use a scalpel as opposed to an ax. I agree that at its heart the founders of the BDS are anti-Semitic; however, I also know students who are not anti-Semitic but may naively feel that the BDS movement is a way to get Israel to change its policy and is antithetical to others’ plight.” ■

Trans Learning Begins With Conversations

By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

In a digital world with a binary system of 1s and 0s, it seems natural for discussions about the developing nonbinary system of genders to go analog.

One analogy used by Joy Ladin, a Yeshiva University literature professor who is the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution, is that of a person who is blind.

Synagogues and other institutions want to be welcoming to people who can’t see, but it’s easier said than done for that first member who is blind.

“They don’t know what to do or what to say. They’re not anti-blind. But for one person, they have to overturn everything, and they don’t know how to do it,” Ladin said.

Although there are no reliable estimates on the number of trans people, she said, they are a small group, rare enough that a congregation might not have any, or might not know of any.

And trans people are individuals; solutions for one might not work for all.

That issue brings up another analogy: the Jewish community itself, which isn’t monolithic, but a mix of organizations, institutions and individuals with 12 different views and goals. Similarly, it’s

Joy Ladin says it’s encouraging that all the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism have adopted trans inclusion policies.

misleading to talk about a trans community, let alone an LGBTQ community.

“I was kind of disappointed when I realized I couldn’t find the LGBTQ community or the trans community,” said Ladin, who took a leave of absence from Yeshiva in 2007 and returned 15 months later in 2008 after her transition. She said she never got the handbook on becoming a woman.

Now, despite the awkwardness of being received as the representative of a diverse group, Ladin travels to speak about trans issues.

SOJOURN and Jewish Family & Career Services are bringing her on a three-day Southern tour that adds Birmingham to three Atlanta-area appearances. It’s her first time speaking here since she addressed “an intimate audience” at the Book Festival of the Mar-

cus Jewish Community Center in 2012.

In light of the election of Donald Trump as president, she’s hoping to learn more about people and parts of the country she doesn’t know well.

Even though she had lived in fear her whole life that people would see her as monstrous if they knew who she really was, that hasn’t been her experience, even in the Orthodox world.

“Lots of people welcomed me to humanity,” she said. “I never imagined that was possible.”

Ladin, who attends a Reconstructionist synagogue, said she is religious and is working on a book about reading Torah from a trans perspective. Not being Orthodox, she said, has helped Yeshiva accept her, though it was only last semester that she first spoke about

being trans at an event on campus.

Her discussion at Congregation Bet Haverim on Aug. 15 will deal in part with how gay men and lesbians understand trans people.

“Gay people and trans people don’t actually have a whole lot in common,” she said. “Being trans didn’t teach me how to be a lesbian. There’s nothing about being gay or lesbian that teaches you how to deal with trans people.”

The next morning, she’ll talk with clinicians at JF&CS about how to speak to their trans clients.

After addressing the Birmingham Jewish and LGBTQ communities the night of Aug. 16, she’ll discuss how trans and Jewish American identities are alike the night of Aug. 17 at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. ■

Who: Joy Ladin, poet, literary scholar and transgender speaker What: Discussion on different faiths’ approaches to gender diversity Where: Congregation Bet Haverim, 1074 LaVista Road, Toco Hills When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15 What: Clinician professional development Where: JF&CS, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody When: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16 What: Jewish community discussion on inclusion Where: Federation, 1440 Spring St., Midtown When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17 Tickets: All events are free; www.sojourngsd.org/joy-ladin-touraugust-2017

LOCAL NEWS

HAMSA, Miller Split

By Leah R. Harrison and Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

Eric Miller speaks about his battle with addiction at last year’s Community of Caring lunch, which raised almost $400,000 for JF&CS.

gram while simultaneously trying to hire the program manager. The job was posted on Work for Good and other online boards Thursday, Aug. 4.

“It’s extremely important to set a vision going forward,” Dresner said.

JF&CS is looking for someone who can maintain a high-level view to develop strategy, drive implementation and build partnerships. Those partners could be Jewish or non-Jewish organizations, including private Jewish recovery programs being launched.

The goal is to create a model that can be scaled and replicated. No one has developed a successful approach for integrating Jewish content into recovery programs, Dresner said.

Thanks to the work of Miller and Katz, HAMSA has connected with schools and other Jewish organizations for a stable system of outreach, Aranson said, so he thinks JF&CS will need to invest more on HAMSA’s clinical side.

HAMSA’s one full-time clinician has a full counseling caseload for people in recovery and their families, said Dan Arnold, the JF&CS director of clinical services. Other counselors with addiction experience can help.

“The demand continues to be very real and increasing. Schools are asking for our services,” Arnold said. “We want to be able to meet the needs of the community.”

Money is a key part of meeting those needs. The Marcus Foundation continues to support HAMSA, but Aranson said JF&CS must diversify the funding base with donations from other foundations and from individuals.

Meanwhile, Miller said he is still “looking to have impact,” specifically in Jewish recovery. He said he wants to “be in the trenches, helping people in the Jewish community struggling with addiction and their families.”

Miller said HAMSA is vital to the Jewish community. “It is my great hope that what they continue to build is better, stronger and ultimately sustainable. And successful. I want this program to be a great success.” ■

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Jewish Family & Career Services has let Eric Miller go as the program coordinator for HAMSA, effective Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The decision came after three years in which Helping Atlantans Manage Substance Abuse, which provides addiction education and clinical services, expanded its profile and impact in the Jewish community under Miller.

He was the program’s public face.

On Aug. 1, five days after the HAMSA committee was told he was leaving, Miller was featured in the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s weekly Federation Five e-newsletter, which called HAMSA “an important community resource for a community problem.”

“All of our programs at JF&CS are bigger than one person,” CEO Rick Aranson said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t value the contributions of all. …

We care deeply about Eric.”

Aranson and Chief Program Officer Faye Dresner praised the success of Miller and his predecessor, Erica Katz, in building demand for HAMSA’s services since its launch six years ago.

“I had a passion. They gave me the opportunity to develop the rest,” Miller said in an interview. Anonymity is a cornerstone of the recovery process.

But to pull back the shroud of secrecy and shame covering addiction in the Jewish community, Miller shared his battle with addiction.

“JF&CS offered me an opportunity that let me learn, develop skills and grow,” Miller said. “I have great gratitude for what JF&CS did for me personally and professionally and for the impact we have been able to have.”

Miller led HAMSA to a point at which it must shift from startup phase to an operational phase, Aranson said.

JF&CS decided that growth phase requires a high-level, strategic program manager instead of a coordinator.

“We’re really just scratching the surface of the problem in this town.

There’s an opportunity for a bigger impact,” Aranson said.

The program is developing a sustainable approach that, like other JF&CS programs, emphasizes what the agency does well and finds partners in related areas for the maximum impact.

The HAMSA committee, chaired

by Alison Lukacsko, is meeting with JF&CS executives the next few weeks to develop a strategic plan for the pro-

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HOME

Designer Relationship Inspires Downsizing Marcy and Hal Mendel thought Cobb County was fine for rearing a family, but once the kids were grown, they wanted a change in lifestyle.

Hal, owner of Mendel Tencer Flooring Group on Miami Circle and Dabble Entertainment, said: “Here in the center of Buckhead (alongside only seven other units by John Wieland), we feel like we are on vacation every day.

We can walk to stores and dining. All our wants and needs are taken care of without any stress.”

Enter Bo Waddell, owner of Bo Unlimited Interior Design, known for his decades of timeless, modernistic interior designs.

Bo’s clients often say his calmness and intuition make the project stress-free and result in an elevated experience.

“I would just come home, and Bo would have a new piece sitting there, and it would be perfect,” Marcy said.

“He makes a splash, but it’s discreetly marked with his stamp.”

Hear what the group has to say about great decor soothing the senses.

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Jaffe: How did you select Bo Waddell as your designer, and what did you expect him to accomplish?

Hal: That is a central question because, through my carpet business, I have many key relationships with designers. In that background, it could have been very difficult to choose one. Bo was the very first designer to put trust in my business. We have a unique, 32-year personal and professional relationship. We entrusted Bo with the job of making our townhouse exciting, functional and livable.

Marcy: Sophisticated and comfortable. He did such wonderful things like the incredible oak-grain, silkbacked built-ins lining the living room.

Bo: I did not want them to feel overdecorated. I selected neutral furniture designed to showcase the art and accessories. I wanted to use many of the things they already had, but perhaps in a different position. I incorporated Marcy’s grandmother’s tea set from Charleston, for example. For drama and interest, we have a comfortable, snazzy, dyed cowhide chair and a framed, genuine Cambodian rice cutter in the living room. I brought in the Craig Alan pieces, as he is local and I admire his work.

Much of the furniture is from Bed 14 Down (also on Miami Circle). Look at

the fine touches, like the twisted brass rings on the back of each dining room chair. Simple, yet classic.

Marcy: We love to travel and collect interesting art pieces that remind us of those places. The giant oil (“Western Wall” by Gendelman from our trip to Tzfat), now a centerpiece in the dining room, was something we had buried in a bedroom. Bo found just the right spot for it. Now it’s much more meaningful. He also did an amazing job with the guest powder room by designing custom mirrors and lighting

Chai-Style Homes

By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

and uniquely designing upholstery fabric as the wall treatment. Bo updated the feel with this vivid tangerine glass bowl from Portugal on the dining table.

Jaffe: You are like a teenager with your new hypertechnology and gadgets.

Hal: The electronic blinds (Hunter Douglas) and controlled lighting are attached to my cellphone. It’s so easy to set them on automatic to coincide with the sunrise and sunset.

Jaffe: How would you describe your entrance?

Hal: Bo did a great job of balancing the art in the foyer. The huge horizontal brass tree branches on one side complement frosted-glass, “Male/ Female” figures from the House of Glass in Venice. The crystal-beaded chandelier is by Lighting Loft.

Jaffe: What were your thoughts in designing the kitchen?

Marcy: I did alter some of the plans that the builder envisioned. I didn’t want to be stuck in the corner, preparing and cooking. I opened up the island to be able to grill and cook centrally. Also, we made the hood brushed chrome to stand out more prominently. The Italian glass pear is an unexpected touch. The keeping room is my area. We had 22 for Thanksgiving here; it’s very efficient.

Jaffe: What are some of your favorite art pieces?

Hal: I knew I had to have this painting “Quiet Passage” by Inam

A when I saw it at a gallery in Vinings. It easily became the central focus of the living room.

Marcy: Bo found this vintage photograph of a dress which has been treated with dripped wax in silver metallic: “Phoria” by Pezhman. It’s a large piece and very striking.

Jaffe: You are in the flooring business. What special touches follow that?

Hal: All of the rugs are from our Encore Collection. The staircase runners are wool in a chevron design by Momeni and have a sisallike look but are very elegant. They are trimmed on the edges with hand binding. The upstairs rooftop carpeting is an indoor/ outdoor diamond pattern by Stanton.

Jaffe: The view on the top floor is just high enough to be celestial.

Hal: The rooftop terrace is my favorite space. It is truly indoor/outdoor. The fabrics on the sectional are Kingsley Bate in all-weather acrylic.

Marcy: I have a system worked out where, when we entertain and serve up here, I go up and down the stairs to access the kitchen and send the food and drinks up the elevator. I need a dumbwaiter, Hal! Jaffe: Describe your master bathroom.

Hal: The counters are Turkish stone. The porcelain tub is supersized.

Actually, the space is 10 feet by 20 feet (plus individual commode closets), which is fairly large for a townhouse.

Truth is, I feel like I’m going through a carwash when I shower in there.

Jaffe: Hal, you are a charismatic comedian/raconteur. There must be a serious side hidden somewhere. Now that the design work is complete, you and Bo still remain friends?

Hal: When I was ill several years ago, the first knock on my door was Bo offering empathy and friendship.

It’s easy when you have a personal and professional relationship. ■

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

HOME

B Photos by Duane Stork

C

A: The chairs from Bed Down have detailed, twisted brass rings on the backs. Irena Gendelman’s oil painting of the Western Wall is the dining room’s focal point.

B: Marcy and Hal Mendel downsized from Cobb County to enjoy the conveniences of Buckhead.

C: Hal Mendel wanted the “Quiet Passage”

by Inam from a gallery in Vinings to supply the intense color between Bo Waddell’s custom-designed, silk-backed oak shelving.

D: Artist Pezhman compiled layers of wax drippings on a vintage photograph to create the magical effect of “Phoria.”

E: Bo Waddell selected horizontal brass tree branches to face off with the “Male/Female” frosted glass sculptures

by House of Glass in Venice, Italy.

F: The master bath with its Turkish stone finishes provides a special retreat.

G: Designer Bo Waddell framed this Cambodian rice cutter to add interest to the living room.

H: Bo Waddell, the principal of Bo Unlimited, has designed interiors for over 35 years.

I: Marcy Mendel enjoys the Lighting Loft’s “dancing lights” as she entertains in an efficient layout adjoining the keeping room.

J: The Mendels use indoor/outdoor fabrics and flooring to enjoy the TV and fireplace on the rooftop terrace overlooking Buckhead. Marcy finds serving and entertaining on the top level to involve science in execution.

D

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

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15

BUSINESS

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Who Are You? The Answer Is Key

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It seems like yesterday that Roger Daltrey belted out these lyrics by Pete Townshend: “Who are you? Who, who, who, who?”

I bet more than a few of you readers can still sing that easy-to-remember chorus. But can you accurately answer “Who are you?”

Knowing the answer to that question is one of the keys to unleashing the full potential held within each and every one of us.

We each have many roles in our lives. When we can properly prioritize each role and live by being true to ourselves, usually we are happier and more productive individuals.

That is especially true in business.

Two of the philosopher Socrates’ most famous quotes are “Know thyself” and “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” When I begin an engagement with an executive coaching client, I put the question to my client: “Who are you?” The answer is usually the basis for the next six to 12 months of our work together.

In today’s business parlance, we are addressing “self-awareness.”

In every job interview, this subject comes up with the questions “Can you tell me about yourself?” “What are your strengths?” and “What are your weaknesses?” The reason the answers are important is that self-awareness is the No. 1 trait of successful employees, executives and business owners.

A study was conducted in 2010

by Green Peak Partners and Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The study examined 72 executives at public and private companies and their interpersonal traits.

“Leadership searches give short shrift to ‘self-awareness,’ which should actually be a top criterion,” the study found. “Interestingly, a high self-awareness score was the strongest predictor of overall success. This is not altogether surprising as executives who are aware of their weaknesses are often better able to hire subordinates who perform well in categories in which the leader lacks acumen. These leaders are also more able to entertain the idea that someone on their team may have an idea that is even better than their own.”

Unfortunately, admitting to yourself that you can’t do everything is hard for some people.

Let’s examine a client of mine

whom I will call Anthony. Anthony owns and runs a successful chain of restaurants. He built his business by the sweat of his brow.

His business was stuck at a certain level because he was stuck personally on the thought that he was

Coach’s Corner

By Jason Adler JasonAdler@johnmaxwellgroup.com

the best at everything. He was the best chef, the best at service, the best at accounting, the best at marketing, etc.

He was not just a generalist of business skills; he was the best generalist.

Employees could never live up to his expectations. Business growth was limited to what he could do “best.”

Anthony hired me in the hope I could help him with marketing.

Not that I knew more than him, but maybe, just maybe, I could offer a new idea or two.

After a few weeks of building trust and making a solid connection with him, I did give him a new idea: I gave him a mirror and asked him what he saw when he looked in that mirror.

After a few moments of reflective thought (also a new concept for him), his answer was “I am a driven, hardworking, successful entrepreneur.”

Together, we then discussed what role an entrepreneur should play in his or any business. Then the discussion went to the cycle of business and on and on.

After a few sessions of being able to honestly assess his own strengths and weaknesses, Anthony began to build a great team around him. With his team in place, his business began to grow again.

Mission accomplished with a little tool known as a mirror.

If your business is stuck, it might be time to follow the advice of Socrates and begin to know thyself.

If that is too hard, just download the Who’s easy-to-remember “Who Are You?” The answers lie within. ■ Jason Adler is a John Maxwell-certified executive coach (www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/jasonadler) helping people and their organizations hire and keep quality employees.

The Jewish Breakfast Club Featured Speaker

COACH JOSH PASTNER Head Coach, Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball

Josh Pastner is the head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team and was named 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year in his first season on the job. Before that, Pastner was the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Memphis from 2009 to 2016 where he guided the team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2011 to 2014. He was also a player on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball national championship team, and an assistant coach at the University of Arizona under Lute Olson from 20022008. While playing basketball at the University of Arizona from 1996-2000, Pastner earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in only three and a half years. The 39-year-old Jewish coach now resides in the north Buckhead area with his wife and two kids.

Luncheon

Wednesday, August 16 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Being held at Greenberg Traurig 3333 Piedmont Rd NE #2500

Registration is $18 per person. Limited Space Available.

Register now at atlantajewishtimes.com/JBC-Coach-Pastner/ Must register before August 11, 2017.

To subscribe call 404-883-2130 x 121 or go to www.atlantajewishtimes.com/subscription

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

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17

EDUCATION

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140 Years of Aiding Jewish Education

Breman exhibit celebrates JELF’s history from orphans to college students

By Tova Norman

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

For months, Jewish Educational Loan Fund CEO Jenna Leopold Shulman and colleagues and volunteers spent several hours a week reading through the archives at the Breman Museum.

The files chronicled the history of JELF and its predecessors: the Hebrew Orphans’ Home and Jewish Children’s Services.

In 1876, Simon Wolf, an influential Atlanta businessman, submitted a resolution at the Grand Lodge Convention of B’nai B’rith’s 5th District to finance an orphanage for Jewish children. In 1889, with the help of Wolf and the Atlanta Jewish community, the Hebrew Orphans’ Asylum, later renamed the Hebrew Orphans’ Home, opened in Atlanta.

In the 1930s, it became Jewish Children’s Services, an adoption and foster care agency. Finally, in 1989, it became JELF, an organization providing interest-free loans to Jewish college students in Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas and Virginia.

The community can explore the rich history of JELF, the oldest nonprofit organization in the state of Georgia, at a new exhibit at the Breman: “The Legacy of the Hebrew Orphans’ Home: Educating the Jewish South Since 1876,” which opens Monday, Aug. 14, in the Blonder Gallery.

The exhibition was curated by Kennesaw State University history professor Catherine Lewis, the university’s assistant vice president of museums, archives and rare books and the director of its Museum of History and Holocaust Education.

Ghila Sanders, the acting director of the Breman, said the exhibit was a team effort.

“From the current JELF board and staff, to The Temple, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Breman Museum, and of course the curator, Catherine Lewis, and her team, everyone had a part,” she said.

Which is why Shulman and her cohorts were reading through the archives.

“There were times where I was so hooked on a file that I wouldn’t get up until I was finished,” said Shulman, who read the files of children and the minutes from board meetings. “To feel the old paper that things were written 18 on and read the language that they

Photo from the Simon Scher Family Papers, Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History, Breman Museum

Residents of the Hebrew Orphans’ Home take an outing to Loew’s Theater in Five Points around 1920. In the photograph are Isaac Ashendorf, Lena Buchwald, Sam Buchwald, Eva Cherry, Louis Cline, Madge Evans, Oscar Felsenstein (Fields), Sarah Franklin (Brisker), Aline Gable, Rose Goodman, Sam Goodman, Billy Grauer, Reuben Grauer, Clara Green (Kooperman), Danny Green, Edna Groh (Sears), Hilda Groh (Satterwaite), Jacob Groh, Alma Hankin (Keller), Ethel Hankin, Eugene Hankin, Viola Hankin, Martha (maybe Rose) Hirsch, Henry Hyman, Gussie Jackson, Esther Johnson, Stella/Estelle Johnson (Segal), Isaac Katz, Jacob Katz, Percy Katz, Rebecca Katz (Landsman), Napoleon (Poley) Kauffman, Robert (Skeeter) Lavenstein, Jean Myers (Spielhoz), Evelyn Myers (Poes), Abraham Nirenstein (Niren), Benjamin Nirenstein (Niren), Rose Nirenstein (Niren) (Kaplan), Yetta Nirenstein (Niren), Benjamin Oppenheimer, Benjamin Perloff, Sam Perloff, Lewis Perloff, John Henry Peyser, Harry Rippa, Gertie Rosen (Markowitz), Harry Rosen, Ida Rosen (Feinberg), Jack Rosen, Morris (Murray) Rosen, Sam Rosen, Sara Rosen, Bennie Rosenbaum, Esther Rosenthal (maybe Rosenblot), Clara Ruben, Fannie Scher (Arbesman), Rachel Scher, Simon Scher, Isadore Segal, Jacob Shain, Daniel Stein, Lincoln Stein, Rufus/Raphael Tarragon, Harry Whiteman, Lena Whiteman and Florence Wolfson.

used” showed the depth of the organization’s history.

She also saw similarities in issues she deals with: marketing and fundraising.

“In 1920 they were dealing with the same fundraising issue that we are dealing with today,” Shulman said.

That connection with the past made her feel more in touch with her mission at JELF. “I feel even a deeper connection and responsibility to preserve the organization,” she said. “I feel like I’m contributing to its history right now.”

Bringing the archives to life is what the exhibit is about.

“Having an exhibition that features items from our archives is really about saving and interpreting the stories of real people through the artifacts and papers that were created in their daily struggles and accomplishments,” Sanders said. “Organizations like JELF affected and continue to affect people profoundly. To be able to bring those stories to the public, make history accessible, and create a connection between past, present and future is at the core of our work.”

In telling JELF’s story, Lewis explored what made the organization so resilient.

“That was really what I was trying to figure out: What was it about JELF that helped it survive?” she said.

Lewis pointed to good planning, strategic work and understanding of the changing landscape of what children needed. But she said there was one constant: “The thread that pulled through everything was education.”

Marianne Garber, the president of the JELF executive board, whose fatherin-law, Al Garber, was raised in the Hebrew Orphans’ Home, agreed that education has been a consistent priority.

“Our organization realized early on that education was one of the four keys to success for the kids raised in the orphanage and later foster care,” she said. “Education was not only something they could give the children, but also a necessity for them to lead successful lives in the U.S.” Sanders said the exhibition shows that even as JELF changed, the organization stayed committed to its original purpose.

“The story of JELF is a story of acumen and flexibility, of an ambitious vision brought to life through an organization that never got old, adapting to the changing realities and changing needs of the community it was created to serve while staying true to its core mission,” she said.

That mission has always been about helping children in need, Shulman said.

“There is no doubt that the organization has always had kids’ and stu-

dents’ interests at heart and that we’ve always believed in helping people who are needy and giving them everything we could to get out of that cycle,” she said. “When there is no one for them, we’re here for them.”

In curating the exhibit, Lewis saw the impact of JELF and its predecessors.

“To hear people over and over and over again say that an organization has helped them reach their goal or dream was really satisfying,” she said.

One of the people helped by JCS was Henry Birnbrey when he arrived in Atlanta after escaping the Nazis in 1938.

“They were sort of my counselors, advised me on which school to attend, took care of my wardrobe needs and transferred funds to my foster parent,” he said. “Periodically, I had sessions with the social workers on various issues, and they also sponsored periodic socials for the other children under their care.”

Birnbrey will be part of a panel discussion moderated by Lewis during the official opening event of the exhibit Thursday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m. Birnbrey; Caroline Light, an author and historian; Stephen Garber, the son of a Hebrew Orphans’ Home resident; and Sherry Frank, the parent of JELF loan recipients, will discuss stories that are not told in the exhibit.

“That’s why we really wanted to do

EDUCATION

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New Emory Hillel Head

Curator Catherine Lewis of Kennesaw State says the goal of the panel discussion Aug. 24 is to bring the exhibit to life.

the event: to bring the exhibit to life,” Lewis said.

For Birnbrey, the exhibit and event will connect the past with the future.

“By speaking on the panel, I can express my gratitude and hope that people will realize the good a community can do,” he said.

Lewis also hopes people who attend the exhibit will see the role the entire Atlanta Jewish community had in helping children like Birnbrey.

“I want people to walk out and think: It’s not one person. It’s not three people. It’s hundreds of people that have committed to this and transformed our community,” she said.

Birnbrey hopes that realization will inspire people to continue to sup-

port the mission.

“I am convinced, having been in fundraising for approximately 60 years, that people wait to be asked to give and then sometimes get very enthusiastic about what they are doing for the good of the community,” he said.

Although the Jewish community doesn’t have orphans as it did during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when single parents often put children in the home, or during the 1930s and 1940s, when children fled Europe alone, many people still rely on the organization started all those years ago.

“People assume there is not as great a need in the Jewish community now as when we had large waves of Jewish immigrants, or people assume that the problems we hear about in the greater community — alcoholism, drug abuse, deadbeat dads — don’t exist in the Jewish community,” Marianne Garber said.

But Jewish families face the same issues that can make college unaffordable for anyone, she said. “In some ways, I think the need is even greater today.”

After more than 140 years, JELF continues to evolve and reach new goals, and with this exhibit Shulman hopes attendees will get a chance to appreciate the organization’s roots.

“I’m looking forward to having people connect with the history, understand it and walk away with a deeper appreciation of the organization,” she said. “We should be proud as a community that we’ve been helping kids in this community for all these years.” ■

Ga. Southern AEPi Honored

Georgia Southern senior Matthew Lopater was honored with Alpha Epsilon Pi’s Robert Silverman Outstanding Scribe Award on Thursday, Aug. 3, during the Jewish fraternity’s annual convention in Las Vegas.

The award goes to the one of the roughly 12,000 college students in AEPi for going “above and beyond in keeping detailed and concise meeting minutes and one who maintains prompt correspondence with the Executive Office and other chapters.”

Lopater is the son of Bob and Marla Lopater of Johns Creek.

ZBT’s Anti-Hate Summit

Representatives from more than 20 organizations attended the inaugural Summit Against Hate, hosted in Indianapolis this summer by Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and partners Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity and the Anti-Defamation League.

“As a Hillel professional … I found the information to be very relevant and to answer a lot of questions that I didn’t yet have,” said Laura Matthews, the Hillel program coordinator at the State University of New York at Geneseo.

It’s Never Too Early to Prepare for College.

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Our approach will impact your child’s success in college and in life.

Take the time to explore our website.

Visit us at www.collegebridge.net

What: Grand opening of “The Legacy of the Hebrew Orphans’ Home” Where: The Breman, 1440 Spring St., Midtown When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24 Tickets: $150 until Aug. 16, then $180, or $100 for those under 40; jelf.org/breman or 770-396-3080

Contact Steven W. Cook, PhD swc@collegebridge.net or 404.983.4573

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Henry Birnbrey is speaking on the exhibit-opening panel to “express my gratitude and hope that people will realize the good a community can do.”

“We’ve always believed in helping people who are needy and giving them everything we could to get out of that cycle,” JELF CEO Jenna Leopold Shulman says.

Emory Hillel has a new director: Dave Cohn, a former high school band director and music teacher who this year completed master’s degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California and in Jewish nonprofit management from the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion while working with Hillel at UCLA. Cohn started in July, freeing Rabbi Russ Shulkes to focus on leading Hillels of Georgia.

Cohn, a Chicago native, spent two years at Hillel at UCLA after five years of leading the music education program at Larchmont Temple in Westchester County, N.Y., and three years as a high school band director in the Chicago public schools.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006.

Cohn was inspired to pursue a Jewish communal career by his time as a camper and a staffer at Olin-SangRuby Union Institute, a Jewish summer camp in the Milwaukee area.

Cohn is married to Sarah Ruben, an early childhood educator. They are the parents of a toddler, Selah.

19

EDUCATION

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August in Israel Brings Emory Memories

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Walking down the street in Jerusalem these days, I see parents of all persuasions with their children.

One group is led by parents in shorts and comfortable clothing. They are taking their children to museums, puppet shows, the artist fair.

Another group is led by ultra-Orthodox fathers clad in their black coats.

They are holding their children’s hands and watching them so they will not get hurt. You can see them in the zoo with the children running from cage to cage to see the birds, the elephants being fed and the kangaroos. Every night in the park near my home, they bring out their kosher barbecue grills. The smells from their culinary efforts waft through the windows.

That is just one aspect of this month and the natural activities that fill it. On Tisha B’Av, Israelis of all persuasions, religious and nonreligious, flowed down to the Kotel, no statistics taken. For the Temple Mount, where numbers were counted: 1,200 Jewish people ascended to show the world how much that site means to the Jewish people, no matter what the United Nations says. For me, it was too difficult to go to the area, but I saw on TV how dramatic it was.

My own personal interests were furthered when I took a bus ride to Tel Aviv and captured a little flavor of that city. I saw large sections of the city through bus and taxi windows.

The bus ride was first. Outside, it was hot. Inside, the coolness felt wonderful. Because the bus was not crowded, I sat in a front seat, and the driver and I struck up a conversation.

He was born in Israel, served in the army, and took his after-service trip to South America and Central America. Rather than return to Israel, he stayed in the United States. He told me that it was difficult, but you can make money. In the New York area, he worked for Moishe Movers, as our oldest son had done in the ’80s. Then he realized he wanted to be back in Israel.

He met a woman when he was a bit older. She happened to have been born in Israel to parents who made aliyah from the United States. She is a lawyer now; he is a bus driver. It is difficult to make ends meet.

He questioned why we made ali20 yah. I recalled that 40 years ago there

was a cigarette commercial: “You only go around once.”

I stressed to him that because we came alone — my wife and I and our three children, not sponsored by any organization — we could go back if we found it too difficult. I described how

Guest Column

By Rabbi David Geffen

our children became Israelis themselves. We lived in a neighborhood in Jerusalem where no one our children’s age or our age spoke English. They absorbed Israel fully even though they all had American citizenship.

They have gone through every step of being Israeli, from the army to college to professions; they and their children are all here. We think they did a great job of growing into their Israeli identities. They have seven degrees, both bachelor’s and master’s.

Most degrees were earned in Israel.

His last question: Do you feel you were right in making aliyah?

After 40 years, there is no answer except that we are here and have lived through all aspects of Israeli life. Yes, I am glad we made aliyah.

On the bus ride back to Jerusalem, I sat by a woman. She asked where I was going; I told her to my home in Jerusalem. She asked where I was from in the United States; I told her Atlanta.

She asked me if I knew anything about Emory. I smiled and told her that I did and that my father and his five siblings and I had all attended Emory. She asked me about Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian writer who taught at Emory and won the Nobel Prize.

I had to admit my ignorance.

Maybe some of you readers know.

Her education includes a doctorate in African studies from Hebrew University, but her career has been as an actor and a director.

Because she knew Soyinka from Emory, she took some of the works, all written in English, and produced plays from them. They have been presented in Israel, in Africa and around the world.

So as far away as I am from Atlanta and Emory, I am always sent back to the city and university I love. ■

Higher Education: Who’s Really in Charge?

I got into higher education accidentally, but I was hooked after my first week. It was one of the more difficult things I’d done at 26, but teaching writing to college freshmen and sophomores was rewarding in ways nothing else had ever been. The first time a student came back to class to tell me he’d gotten a job using the résumé I’d helped him write was euphoria.

For that reason, among others, I hesitate to write this.

After moving to Atlanta two years ago, I began teaching part time with a major university. I was given a small office in which I could meet with students. The syllabi I created were challenging and excited me, and my colleagues were wonderful.

The salary was minimal, but I went in with the hope of getting a full-time position after a few years.

The first two semesters were a dream.

My third semester, I went into my “English Composition II” class with high hopes. Eventually, though, I realized there could be a problem.

Two students, brothers, sat in the front row. They towered over me at well over 6 feet each and were likely close to my age. They rarely spoke, but when they did, the comments were often inappropriate and sometimes nasty or hurtful to other students.

The behavior progressed to giving offensive and off-topic presentations and calling other students names.

Some students complained, and I often had to take the brothers aside for a chat.

Then the behavior turned toward me. The day one of the brothers cursed at me using a racial slur and threatened me was the day I told him to leave class. His brother followed.

The behavior continued from both brothers until I had to make my dean aware. I found out it wasn’t the first time one or both of them had used racial slurs and threatening behavior, particularly toward young female instructors.

After I had much discussion with my dean and other higher-ups, virtually nothing was done.

The brothers didn’t receive disciplinary action (nor did they in other instances), and they were moved to another class. The school did suggest,

however, that security walk with me to and from my office and my car.

It went on for months. I didn’t want to go to work anymore.

Later in the same semester, I was teaching when a police officer knocked on the door and served me

The Social

By Rachel Fayne

with papers. The students were suing me for kicking them out of class.

When I finished teaching that day, the police escort picked me up and walked me through the parking lot, and I cried in my car.

The lawsuit was dismissed, but that’s not the point. I had to go to court, and the students stayed in school with no disciplinary action. I heard through some colleagues that the school was likely worried about being sued the school and getting bad press.

But what about me? The university thought the brothers were enough of a threat to have security escort me through the halls and to my car, but not enough of a threat to discipline them or even issue a warning. The students were clearly in charge, and they knew it.

I felt virtually no support from the school. That was the last time I taught on campus; I’ve been teaching online since.

It hasn’t been more than a decade since I was in school, but there has been a shift. I didn’t work for a school or a dean these past two years; I worked for and answered to students.

I’ve even taught at universities where student ratings of a professor determine a raise.

Maybe I should have stuck it out.

Maybe I’ll be back. Maybe not.

I miss being in the classroom, the smell of a new textbook and how wonderful my colleagues were. I even miss my small office.

But I won’t be scared to go to work, and the power-dynamic pendulum in higher education is swinging the wrong direction. I have things to teach a full classroom of incoming freshmen, and perhaps one day I’ll be able to do so. ■

EDUCATION

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Liraz Mordechai works with various organizations across the United States to lecture on Israel’s evolving fashion scene.

Photo by Geoffrey Melada for Hillel International Liraz Mordechai combines her passion for Israel and her background in fashion to educate people on the country’s beauty and its fashion industry.

A Bedouin woman teaches embroidery to a Fashionating Israel participant.

Birthright Israel Develops Fashion Sense Liraz Mordechai is changing how Taglit-Birthright Israel participants view Israel through Fashionating Israel, an extension of the program that offers fashion enthusiasts the opportunity to learn more about Israel’s evolving fashion scene.

Mordechai served as Zara’s training and development manager in Israel, overseeing the clothing retailer’s styling, leadership and sales method while gaining further access to the fashion industry. She then was accepted as an Israel fellow at Duke University, where she served as the Israeli emissary. “I loved every second of it and enjoyed sharing various aspects of Israeli culture with individuals who may not have otherwise known much.”

Mordechai’s interest in fashion led her to create Fashionating by Liri, uniting her passions.

“I wanted to discuss how Israeli fashion and its history connect to the country and create something of value.”

Mordechai has hosted conferences across the United States, partnering with museums, synagogues and companies, as well as Jewish and non-Jewish organizations.

Buoyed by the response to those appearances, Mordechai decided to launch the Fashionating Israel extension to Birthright Israel trips. (Interested participants can register at fashionatingbyliri.com.)

After the 10 days on their Birthright Israel trip, participants spend an extra four days chronicling Israel’s fashion industry through various perspectives on its past, present and future. They visit museums and partake in embroidery classes alongside Bedouin women to gain a better understanding of how old garments were made. They meet

famous Israeli designers, such as Dodo Bar Or, and learn about Israeli fashion as it relates to wearable technology and retail solutions.

Before completing the program, participants are tasked with creating outfits in collaboration with online Israeli retailer Co.Co. Each finished item is posted on the website for a chance to have the outfit selected for production the following winter.

“The individuals don’t need a background in design or fashion,” Mordechai said. “We are helping them get there.”

Mordechai said Israeli fashion has transformed the past decade between collectivism and individualism. “Israelis are deciding what type of fashion they want to adopt and whether they wish to become a part of a bigger trend,” she said. “Although you encounter H&M or Zara across the globe, more and more boutiques are providing limited-edition pieces in Tel Aviv.”

Boutiques across Israel still face competition from international labels, Mordechai said. “It’s hard to be a designer in Israel today due to economic challenges, outsourcing and competition in global rent. However, we are also noticing a turnaround in which customers are willing to pay more in order to maintain their identity.”

While fast-fashion brands such as Castro offer hope by providing affordable items through international shipping, high-end designers face separate business challenges.

“While some Israeli labels have garnered success overseas, the time and material used to create various pieces are expensive and may not be for everyone,” Mordechai said. “Designers who have attained success are either very talented and business-oriented or have partnered with someone who possesses business knowledge.”

She noted a shift in Israeli fashion

because of political and financial influences. “Israelis’ clothing is a part of their identity, and you can distinguish who they are based on their style and patterns they wear. Individuals often mix pieces that are very trendy and international with items which represent their individuality,” she said. “Comfort is the most popular style and involves coordinating a look that is often very stylish yet effortless.”

Mordechai wants to expand Fashionating Israel beyond Birthright and is working with Jewish Federations to

promote the program. She also hopes to launch a separate agenda this winter to discuss women’s fashion.

“We want to use fashion as a tool to teach individuals about Israel’s different emblems since it’s comprised of more than just startups, but also fashion, food, music and culture,” Mordechai said. “The most important aspect I would like participants to take away from the program is the importance of Israeli culture and fashion history. If that’s the only thing they attain, then I will have accomplished my goal.” ■

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

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EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Queens, Rabbi Make Jewish Students Welcome

By Marcy J. Levinson

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Nestled on a beautiful, lush campus in the Myers Park area, Queens University of Charlotte is a private gem of higher education.

Known for its business school, arts, sports and now a growing Jewish student body, the Presbyterian-affiliated school of 2,300 students hired its first rabbi about a year ago: Rabbi Judith Schindler, the director of the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice and an associate professor of Judaic studies.

Rabbi Schindler took the Queens job after 18 years at Charlotte’s largest synagogue, Temple Beth El. Although religious identification is not required on the university’s application, Rabbi Schindler said 25 students during the 2016-17 school year identified as Jewish on the application or through Hillel. That’s just over 1 percent of the student body.

Those Jewish students included two Atlantans: Morasha Winokur, daughter of Rabbi Harvey and Donnie Winokur of Temple Kehillat Chaim, and Simon Hirschhorn, who graduated in May. Founded in 1857 as the Charlotte Female Institute, Queens went coed with nonresidential men after World War II. Always part of the Presbyterian Church USA (with a few changes over the years), the school has grown in the areas of religious and multicultural inclusion. Now the curriculum has expanded, as well as faculty.

Rabbi Schindler has taken a hands-on approach to her new role at Queens. She hosted more than 30 students at a Passover seder in April, and she hopes to see the number of Jewish students on campus continue to rise.

The university set out to increase

22

Photo by Marcy J. Levinson

Rabbi Judith Schindler (right) and students in her Holocaust course who volunteered to join her attend a World Hijab Day rally in January to show support for Muslims amid fears of violence against them.

Jewish life and learning experiences in 2013, Rabbi Schindler said.

Hirschhorn was the first student who identified as Jewish in 2013. On applications for this year’s freshman class, Rabbi Schindler said, 15 students self-identified as Jewish.

In 2014, Hillel popped up on campus, and Talli Dippold was hired as the first director of Jewish life. On the heels of her joining the staff, Jewish cultural programs began to blossom as the Hillel group solidified.

Hillel, Rabbi Schindler said, is a small but strong presence.

With Shabbat dinners, biweekly breakfasts and the High Holidays, students have made Hillel a place of family, she said. The Queens campus is only five miles from the Levine Jewish Community Center campus, which houses all of Charlotte’s synagogues, so students aren’t far from the Jewish community at large.

“Our students love that Jewish life at Queens is a new program and they can be part of crafting it,” Rabbi Schindler said. “While historically Queens has Presbyterian ties, its effort to include all faiths are sincere. There is even a Muslim prayer space in the chapel. The fact that our small campus has both a director of Jewish life and a rabbi who serves as an associate profes-

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sor of Judaic studies, works with Hillel and is part of the university’s diversity, inclusion and community engagement initiative says it all.”

The university hired her last fall when it created a Judaic studies minor.

Rabbi Schindler had decided she wanted to grow as a scholar, and the Queens opportunity allowed her to study, teach, write and lecture as a visiting scholar in other communities, she said.

She’s co-writing a book with Charlotte community advocate Judy Seldin-Cohen, due to be published by CCAR Press in December: “Recharging Judaism: How Civic Engagement Helps Synagogues, Jews and America.”

Besides professional endeavors, Rabbi Schindler said, “I was drawn to Queens University because I love the students. Whether we are studying the Holocaust, human rights or the Hebrew Bible, they love to learn, to debate, to be challenged and to challenge each other.”

She said the faculty at the university was also a draw. “The faculty with whom I work are not only scholars who have a passion for their academic areas of expertise, but put their students’ needs front and center, and they are great colleagues and human beings.”

It was shortly after she gave 18

months’ notice of her retirement after 18 years at Temple Beth El that a 130page exploratory study from Queens on establishing a Center for Holocaust education and collective justice landed on Rabbi Schindler’s synagogue desk.

She said the match between herself and the university was beshert, or meant to be.

Her father fled Munich, Germany.

Her Aunt Judy, for whom she is named, died at Auschwitz. Her grandfather spoke out against Hitler during World War II. Now she uses education, social action and exceptional leadership to direct the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice.

“I was drawn to Queens University not only because I was honored to become an associate professor of Judaic studies and be challenged in new ways, but I was blessed that Stan Greenspon committed to generously endowing the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice,” she said. “Our center engages hundreds of teachers in workshops on teaching the Holocaust and human rights, and we teach and reach thousands of students.”

She said the Greenspon Center established a refugee advocacy network last fall, engages in social justice advocacy and hopes to add racial justice to its agenda this year.

So even on the lush, green campus of what was once a women’s Presbyterian college in a Southern city with a Jewish community of about 11,000 people (according to the Charlotte Jewish Federation in 2014), warmth and acceptance are greeting a growing Jewish student population at Queens University.

“I love watching our students grow up and find themselves, their passion and their life’s path,” Rabbi Schindler said. ■

EDUCATION

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2 Jewish Experiences, 1 Evolving School Both of us lived in the greater Atlanta area, and we both chose Queens University of Charlotte as our home for four years. However, as Jewish students entering a school with a Presbyterian heritage, our initial experiences were radically different.

When Simon started college in the fall of 2013, we had almost no Jewish presence on campus. Only a few Jewish professors taught at the university, and only a handful of Jewish students were enrolled. With no organized community at the university, Simon’s only connection to Charlotte’s Jewish community occurred when he traveled to a synagogue as part of his academic freshman general education experience.

Because he did not have a car, Simon could not get to Shalom Park, the hub of Charlotte’s Jewish activity five miles away. To connect with his spirituality in a house of G-d, he attended Queens’ chapel services, where students of all religious backgrounds were welcomed. When Christian prayers were recited, Simon would silently offer his own Jewish prayers.

Fast-forward three years to when Morasha arrived on campus in August 2016.

To her delight, she found an active and inviting Jewish community, and she joined the Jewish students she and Simon now consider their Queens family. She loves the size of Queens’ small student body and the intimate, personalized experiences she has with professors who not only know her name, but also know her as a person.

Excited by the endowed international program, which provides every student with an opportunity to study overseas, and by an internship program that places every student in a professional work environment, she looks forward to the real-life experiences she will gain.

When searching for just the right college, Morasha had no idea her Judaism would become an important factor in her decision. As she considered Queens University, she appreciated its growing Jewish program and believed she could have a hand in shaping it.

Her involvement with her high school youth group led her to believe that at Queens she would have an opportunity to share her passion. When she learned about the $5,000-a-year Gossett Jewish Leadership Scholarship,

Photo by Olivia Carlton

Atlantans Morasha Winokur and Simon Hirschhorn have boosted and benefited from the growth of Queens University’s Jewish community and programs.

which demonstrates Queens’ openness to bringing a new cultural and religious perspective to the historically Presbyterian campus, she was sold.

The university, which once had a single-minded religious focus, had made its commitment to embrace diversity.

Morasha finds Charlotte’s Jewish community vibrant and welcoming, and with the hub only five miles away, she has found a place to teach and earn some money at the religious school.

When Simon started at Queens, the university had no official Jewish program and no professional staff to support Jewish students. He did not prioritize religion when he chose to at-

tend Queens.

But when a dynamic and enriching Jewish program evolved during his sophomore and junior years, he found himself grateful to have Hillel on campus.

Both of us (Simon and Morasha) have worked to build a Jewish life at Queens. As we mature as independent Jewish adults, we make our own religious choices (such as attending High Holiday services), and, by our example, we help to ignite a Jewish spark in other students.

At Queens Hillel, we embrace our Judaism, and our chapter invited UNC Charlotte’s more established Hillel to join us on several occasions. With the support of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, we raised money to erect our own sukkah, which we built and took down ourselves. Thirty people attended our seder in April, and we hope to double those numbers next Passover as we open our doors to all Queens students, regardless of faith or heritage.

We have become a significant part of the multicultural fabric of the school and are looking forward to planning

programs and trips with the Black Student Organization.

In three short years, Queens now has Talli Dippold as our director of Jewish life and Rabbi Judy Schindler, rabbi emerita of North Carolina’s largest Jewish congregation, as both our rabbi and an associate professor of Judaic studies. We have a new multicultural lounge in the Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement Suite, where many multicultural and religious groups hold their meetings.

Rabbi Judy and Talli also lead the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice, which not only provides regional teachers with Holocaust and human rights educational resources and training, but also organizes Queens students and the entire Charlotte community to advocate for justice and support social issues that will make a positive difference in the world.

Simon graduated in May and is working in Charlotte, and Morasha will graduate in 2020. We welcome all Jewish students to Queens and look forward to their contributions, ideas and identity as they become part of our special campus community. ■

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

By Simon Hirschhorn and Morasha Winokur

23

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Going to Class Is Just Part of Senior Year

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

True, the time has come to enter the high school doors again. So just operate the same way as in past years.

Do your homework, take quizzes and tests, and participate in class.

You may join a few clubs and maybe be a part of an athletic team. Outside school, you might participate in a youth group at your synagogue or elsewhere. A few students may have paid part-time jobs or volunteer.

That’s it; you are ready to start school.

Sorry, it takes more than that to be a successful student.

Let us take a look at those students beginning the new year. There are a few questions to ask.

Are you taking the right courses?

Remember, colleges are looking for rigor. Taking the easy way out may not help you.

Perhaps take AP and honors courses if you can succeed. If an AP course would take up all your study time, what would happen to your other courses? Should you take five APs and have little time for anything

24

else in life? That might not be a good idea. Your physical and mental health are very important.

What courses do your prospective colleges want? Read the courses that each school recommends or even requires. If you desire an engineering major, what courses must you take, according to the college?

The Admissions Game

By Dr. Mark L. Fisher

How much do admission test scores count? Usually, test scores are the second or third most important element in your application. But you might not do well on the tests. In fact, your scores are poor, and you have always tested poorly in school.

Not all colleges require test scores.

Some are test-optional. If your scores are a sore point, look at the test-optional colleges.

Should you take the SAT, ACT or both? Look at your PSAT scores from

your junior year. Take an ACT practice test or the real thing. Which test are you more comfortable with?

Examine the content of the tests — the questions, the categories. Do the colleges to which you intend to apply want the optional writing test? If yes, you have to register for that section.

Will colleges look at your extracurricular activities? Usually, yes. Do you need a host of activities to impress the college? No. Colleges are interested in quality, not quantity.

What have you accomplished other than showing up for meetings?

Did you start a club? Did you have a leadership position? What did your participation mean for the activity?

When my clients work on a résumé, we dwell on accomplishments.

If you are an athlete, tell more than that you are on the team. Do you play much? Warm the bench? Succeed where you didn’t think you would?

Even if you have not been recruited, if there is a chance of making the team, let the coach know of your interest.

Seniors will choose teachers for recommendations soon. Which two teachers will you choose? Why are you selecting them? Will they be enthusiastic about you? Are they considered good writers?

If they give you a strange look when you ask for a recommendation, that nonverbal response might be telling you the teacher can’t write a favorable letter about you.

Many colleges require a school recommendation, typically written by your school counselor. Do you know your counselor well? If not, find a way to change that relationship. If your counselor just writes what the college knows from your application, the college isn’t learning much. Let the counselor know more.

Your counselor is your biographer. You want the counselor to write a best seller. Teachers see you each day in class. Your counselor, no matter how good, does not see you often because of a heavy caseload and additional responsibilities.

Most college applications are not difficult to complete except for one section: the essay, which can drive you up a wall.

Your transcript is black and white.

Your SAT or ACT scores are numbers on paper. There are two times you can let college admissions officers know you. One is by your essay. The second is an interview for those schools that permit or even encourage interviews.

Look at the Common Application essays. Which prompt would you choose? Why? What do you expect the essay to indicate about you? Can you get help on your essay? What kind?

The essay must be written by you.

Admissions personnel know, after thousands of essays, when an essay is not written by the student.

I am deciding which of two essay companies would be good for my students. These companies do not write the essays. They help you formulate the essay. Stay away from someone else writing your essay.

Often, in addition to a main essay on the Common Application, a college will have one or two supplemental questions. In many cases, a question will boil down to “Why our college?”

Your answer shouldn’t be “You are in a big city” (they thought the campus was on a farm in a rural area) or “You are a good school” (no one ever told them that, even if they are considered one of the top schools in the nation).

I think you get the message. You need a sophisticated answer.

Don’t forget to compare colleges on your list. Broad topics include people (such as the intellectual level of students), academic life (primary major of interest, class size), campus life (academic facilities, housing, religious life), student body (undergraduate enrollment) and financial details (typical aid package, scholarships, loans).

Those are just a few examples of the many ingredients to compare schools.

College visits can be a game changer. How many colleges have you visited? Did you visit large colleges, medium colleges and small colleges?

Where would you fit in better? Where would you have the best chance for a successful college education?

The football team’s success will not give you the answer.

How will you demonstrate interest in the college? Some colleges keep track of your interest. You don’t need to pester the admissions office, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to them.

And you thought that just continuing to go to class would take care of your high school experience.

And juniors, you need to think ahead. ■ Mark Fisher is a college and career consultant at Fisher Educational Consultants (www.fishereducationalconsultants. com) and a consultant for the College Planning Institute (www.GotoCPI.com).

EDUCATION

Students Abroad Get Help With Jewish Connections “Study abroad changed my life” is a common sentiment from college students returning from three, six or nine months of studying abroad.

After spending that time away from friends, family and support structures and making their own choices about lifestyle, commitments and responsibilities, 98 percent of studyabroad students said the experience “helped them better understand their own cultural values and biases,” while 95 percent said it “had a lasting impact on their worldview.”

The experience fundamentally changes students’ sense of identity, habits and rituals.

Each year more than 25,000 American Jewish students study abroad, including hundreds from Emory, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and other local schools.

Emory student Alana Rettig studied in Prague last year.

“I had never been to Europe before, so I was very excited to travel everywhere and get to experience the different cultures of each place that I visited,” Rettig said. “Though I studied in Prague, I managed to travel to Zurich, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Vienna, Amsterdam, Sweden, Florence and Rome, all in just a few months.”

Most meaningful during her time abroad, however, were the experiences she had with Jewish communities. “For nearly every city I visited, I made it my mission to do something that would connect me to the Jewish community of that city,” she said. “I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, did a tour of the Jewish Quarter of Rome and went to the oldest synagogue in Barcelona. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to visit these communities.”

But not all students are so fortunate.

KAHAL: Your Jewish Home Abroad estimates that more than 90 percent of Jewish students studying abroad don’t engage with the Jewish community during their foreign experiences. More than 75 percent of Jewish students studying abroad are in cities with fewer than 10,000 Jews.

Even for those in larger areas, connecting with the local community can be difficult.

Because of obstacles such as language barriers, cultural differences and concerns about rising anti-Sem-

itism, most students miss out on opportunities to connect with Jewish communities. Students in places such as Prague, Madrid and Shanghai often are surprised that a local Jewish community even exists.

When Alex Jakubowski, who founded KAHAL in 2013 and remains its executive director, was studying abroad from Northwestern University in the northern Italian town of Bologna, he was determined to experience Jewish life.

He connected with the small Jewish community in Bologna before he got there, leveraging relationships he had made as an Alpha Epsilon Pi delegate to the World Union of Jewish Students Congress in Jerusalem.

Those relationships took him across Europe, from combatting antiSemitism in Paris to spending High Holidays in Zurich.

But he realized that few of his peers were engaging with Jewish life in their host cities. After several friends said they skipped Yom Kippur that fall, he set out to change the way Jewish students go abroad.

Since 2013, KAHAL has connected more than 2,600 Jewish study-abroad students to Jewish life and opportunities in their host cities. Students have had Shabbat dinners with families, taken Jewish heritage tours, and found volunteer opportunities, internships and connections with local Jewish students.

Combining immersive Jewish experiences with transformative study abroad, KAHAL is changing the way students view themselves, their Jewish identities and their sense of belonging to a global Jewish people.

Hallie Goldstein, who studied abroad and spent Passover in Copenhagen, said: “It was really wonderful for us to be in a completely foreign country, thousands of miles from our families, singing the same melodies and reading the same passages as we have since we were little children. This made us feel closer to home than any of us had felt our entire time abroad.”

KAHAL will have student interns across Atlanta-area college campuses this year to engage Jewish students in Jewish life and opportunities when they study abroad. Anyone planning to study abroad also can connect with KAHAL by emailing its campus operations director, Rebecca Schwab, at Rebecca­@KahalAbroad.org. ■

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AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Why do we travel? To make memories.

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SPORTS

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Top Teams AJA Shortstop Wins Silver for Canada Upset In First Round Of Playoffs The first round of the playoffs in the Atlanta Men’s Synagogue Softball League saw two top-seeded teams knocked into the losers’ bracket, while the third No. 1 seed came close.

Congregation Ariel, the top seed in the Division B playoffs, lost 9-6 to fourth-seeded Congregation Etz Chaim in a game that was tied until the top of the sixth inning, when Etz Chaim pulled ahead with three runs.

In Division C, top-seeded Temple Emanu-El suffered its first loss of the season, 13-10 to No. 4 Temple Beth Tikvah 2.

The only victorious No. 1 seed was Congregation B’nai Torah in Division A, which escaped with a win over fourthseeded Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

B’nai Torah was down in the bottom of the seventh inning but rallied back to win the game 10-9.

The double-elimination tournament resumes Aug. 13 with B’nai Torah and No. 3 The Temple facing off in the A winners’ bracket semifinals.

No. 2 Beth Tikvah and No. 4 Etz Chaim are scheduled to clash in the B semifinals. In the C semifinals, No. 4 Beth Tikvah 2 will play No. 2 Congregation Dor Tamid 2.

It was the Maccabiah moment that almost never happened.

Atlantan Micah Frankel won a silver medal in juniors baseball (ages 15 to 18) with Team Canada at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel, but his path to get there wasn’t easy.

The rising junior at Atlanta Jewish Academy played shortstop in 2016 for Team Atlanta in the JCC Maccabi Games in Columbus, Ohio. There he first heard about the Maccabiah Games, known as the Jewish Olympics, from his coaches, Todd Starr and Daniel Kaufman.

When he got back to Atlanta in early August, he asked his father, David, about trying out for Team USA. But the tryouts had been held in early July, and the team had been selected.

David Frankel noticed in his research, however, that Team Canada’s Maccabiah baseball tryouts were still a few weeks away. A native Canadian, Frankel reached out to the coaches to see whether Micah was eligible to try out.

“I was born in Ottawa,” Frankel said. “My father, the late Dr. Ephraim Frankel, was the headmaster of the Hillel Academy there. The Canadian coaches informed me of the two Maccabiah requirements: Jewish lineage and citizenship of the country you are

Aug. 13 AMSSL Schedule

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

East Roswell Park 12:15 — B’nai Torah 2 vs. Kol Emeth | B’nai Torah vs. Temple 1:40 — Temple 2 vs. winner B’nai Torah 2/Kol Emeth | Sinai vs. Dor Tamid 3:05 — Ahavath Achim vs. winner Sinai/Dor Tamid | Beth Tikvah 2 vs. Dor Tamid 2 4:30 — Beth Shalom vs. Sinai 3 | Chabad vs. Or VeShalom 5:55 — Beth Tefillah vs. winner Chabad/Or VeShalom | Emanu-El vs. winner Beth Shalom/Sinai 3 Ocee Park 9 — Etz Chaim vs. Beth Tikvah | Beth Jacob vs. Gesher L’Torah 10:25 — Sinai 2 vs. Winner Beth Jacob/Gesher L’Torah | Young Israel vs.

Or Hadash 11:50 — Ariel vs. winner Young Is26 rael/Or Hadash

Photo courtesy of the Marcus JCC

The Zaban Sharks celebrate their undefeated season.

JCC Sharks Undefeated For the first time in program history, the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s Zaban Sharks swim team went undefeated, completing the summer season in the North Atlanta Swim Association with a 5-0 record.

Thirty Sharks qualified for the Atlanta Swimming Association’s Divisional Tournament, held June 28 to 30, and 16 swam their way into the alldivision championship finals.

Braves Call Up Fried The Atlanta Braves have a Jewish player on the major-league roster for the first time this season after calling up left-handed pitcher Max Fried from

Atlanta Jewish Academy shortstop Micah Frankel bats for Team Canada at the Maccabiah Games in July.

representing.”

Frankel set out to see whether he could extend his Canadian citizenship to Micah. He found out that if you are born in Canada, you are always a Canadian citizen, and your children can gain citizenship upon completion of a rigorous application process.

The coaches invited Micah to the tryouts in Toronto, and Frankel made plans for Micah to arrive in Toronto the next week.

Sixty players tried out, and Micah was one of the 13 selected. Frankel said that was the easy part.

“This past year was filled with the challenge of obtaining my Canadian birth certificate and references so that I could complete Micah’s citizenship application,” Frankel said. “The process

was much more involved than I anticipated, but in the end Micah received not only his Canadian citizenship, but a Canadian passport as well.”

In June, Micah spent four days in Toronto at a mini-camp training with Team Canada, then traveled to Israel with the team in July for the threeweek Maccabiah Games.

Team Canada went 2-2 in pool play, then lost to Team USA 10-0 in the gold-medal game.

Frankel’s JCC Maccabi coach, Daniel Kaufman, was an assistant with Team USA. Micah was the starting shortstop for Canada in the championship game.

While he was disappointed with the outcome, he said the experience of competing for Canada was incredible. ■

AA Mississippi on Saturday, Aug. 5.

The promotion was a surprise because Fried, 23, struggled in his first year in the Southern League, compiling a 2-11 record with a 5.92 ERA over 86 2/3 innings as a starter. But he gave up no runs over 10 innings in his past three starts after taking some time off to let a recurring blister heal.

Those short recent outings for Mississippi align with his new role for Atlanta, where he’ll pitch out of the bullpen in long and middle relief.

The San Diego Padres drafted Fried seventh overall out of high school in the 2012 draft, but he had Tommy John surgery in 2014. He missed most of the 2014 season and all of 2015 while recovering.

During that period, the Braves acquired Fried when they traded Justin Upton to the Padres in December 2014.

Fried was dominant in the Rome Braves’ championship run through the Class A South Atlantic League playoffs last year and gained positive reviews for his performance in spring training with the Braves in March.

MLBPipeline.com ranks Fried as the Braves’ No. 10 prospect.

“It’s definitely been a long journey

and a lot of obstacles,” Fried told MLB. com. “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”

Two days before Fried got the call to SunTrust Park, the Boston Red Sox promoted Jewish Atlantan Matthew Gorst to High-A Salem (Va.) from Class A Greenville (S.C.).

Gorst, a right-handed relief pitcher, thus follows by about a month his former Johns Creek High and Georgia Tech teammate, Brandon Gold, in making the move to High-A. Gorst had a 6-3 record with four saves and a 3.19 ERA before his promotion. He made his debut for the Carolina League’s Salem Red Sox by pitching one shutout inning at Myrtle Beach on Aug. 5.

Across the country that night, Gold pitched his sixth consecutive quality start for Lancaster (Calif.), the High-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Gold, 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA for the JetHawks, got no decision while giving up two earned runs on eight hits, two walks and four strikeouts in six innings against Rancho Cucamonga.

Dean Kremer, the first Israeli selected in the baseball draft, pitched three innings for the Quakes in that game.

OBITUARIES

David Kaye 93, Atlanta

David Kaye (Kaplowitz) died peacefully Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Atlanta.

He was predeceased by his parents, William and Ida (Rosenbloom) Kaplowitz; his sister, Edna Kaye; and his beloved companion, Sydelle Shiffman. Survivors include his daughters, Marcy (David) LaPenna and Susan Seckel, as well as Scott (Lori) Shiffman, Robin (Brennan) Jones, and grandchildren Lauren and Anthony LaPenna, Taylor and Trevor Jones, Jamie Shiffman, Madison (Riann) Lourens and Oliver Lourens, and Graysen Shiffman. Also, much-beloved family friend Rita Rupnow and the Taylor and Karlan families.

David was born with twin sister Edna in Rochester, N.Y., on Oct. 10, 1923. The family moved to the Bronx in 1929. He graduated from the Bronx Vocational High School. He served in the U.S. Army’s 3015th Maintenance Engineering Company in the South Pacific during World War II. David entered the jewelry manufacturing business in 1949 and enjoyed a successful and fulfilling career in New York and Atlanta, spanning over 50 years. His legacy remains with those he apprenticed over the many decades to carry on the work he valued and loved. David was an avid and talented ice skater. He enjoyed and was skilled at skiing and baseball and especially golf, which became a true passion.

The family appreciates the late Dr. David Steinberg and Dr. Nirmala Bangalore at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center for the compassionate care they provided our dad over the years. A graveside service was held at Wellwood Cemetery in Babylon, N.Y., on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The family requests that, if desired, friends make contributions to the charities of their choice in memory of David.

Daniel Zacks 58, Columbus, Ohio

Daniel Bentley Zacks, 58, passed away peacefully in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017. He was surrounded by his loving family and friends.

He was born March 20, 1959, in Pittsburgh to Joyce Levison Zacks and the late Barry Zacks. He is survived by his loving mother, Joyce Zacks Shlesinger, and stepfather, Irving Shlesinger, of Atlanta. He was the oldest of four children and is survived by the three younger siblings: Andrew Zacks (Denise Leadbetter) of San Francisco, Tamara Zacks of Atlanta and Debbie Zacks Robbins (Clifton Robbins) of Greenwich, Conn. He was the beloved father of five sons: Mark Keller of Dayton, Ohio, Michael Keller of Columbus, Aaron Zacks (Brittany Zacks) of Atlanta, Adam Zacks (Yara Ferreira) of Los Angeles and Joseph Zacks of Columbus. He also is survived by a grandson, Jacob Keller of Dayton, by his former wife, Mary Keller Zacks of Columbus, the mother of his five children.

Daniel attended Bexley High School and graduated from Saddle River Day School in Saddle River, N.J. Those close to him loved his good nature and loving heart. He enjoyed sharing time with each of his children, whether having a fantastic meal, fishing or simply visiting. Danny’s zest for life and love of travel took him far and wide, and he was known as an “idea guy.” He was a stranger to no one, and people always remembered Danny because he left an imprint wherever he went. He will be forever loved and remembered.

Contributions to remember Danny can be made to the Zaban-Paradies Center, 1589 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309.

Arline Zane

Arline Zane, 92, of Delray Beach, Fla., residing in Atlanta, passed away peacefully Friday, Aug. 4, 2017.

Arline was born Sept. 13, 1924, in the Bronx, N.Y., to Gertrude and Albert Gansberg, both of blessed memory. Arline loved her long career in administration at Roslyn Junior High School in Roslyn, N.Y., and retired to Florida in 1988.

The ever-loving wife of 60 years to Murray, of blessed memory, and mother to Susan and Stephen Levine and Richard Zane (Laurie) of Atlanta, “Nana” was a wonderful grandmother to Deborah Schwarz (Greg), Laurie Dolgoff, Jennifer Levine Silver (Adam), and David, Joshua and Anna Zane and great-grandmother to Noah, Joshua, Jonah and Ella Dolgoff and Hannah and Rose Silver.

Memorial donations may be made to Temple Sinai, www.templesinaiatlanta. org. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Private services were held.

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

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ARTS

Rare Yiddish Film Illuminates Hasidim

By Patrice Worthy At least four Yiddish films have been made for the big screen since 2010 as part of a trend of using low-cost modern equipment to depict underrepresented cultures and languages.

The latest is “Mensashe,” an independent production filmed entirely in Yiddish. It was the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s AJFF Selects movie in July and was picked up by A24 Films, the distributor behind Oscar winners “Moonlight,” “Ex Machina” and “Room.” The film is tentatively scheduled to open in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 18.

The movie follows Menashe, a recently widowed Orthodox Jewish man living in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. Menashe has difficulty finding stability for his young son, who is taken away to be raised by his wealthy brother-in-law.

He is left with the decision to find a new wife, a choice that to Menashe seems like an ultimatum.

What stands out about the film is the performance of the amateur cast, which includes a chief rabbi played by

The widowed Menashe (Menashe Lustig) struggles to raise his son alone.

a taxi driver, said Eddy Von Mueller, an Emory University lecturer in film and media studies who spoke at the AJFF Selects screening July 30.

It’s “challenging to shoot a film with nontraditional actors,” Von Mueller said. “And part of a tradition of New York cinema is outsider cinema.”

The film was shot in Borough Park without permits. The film provides a glimpse into traditions and a belief system that have survived for generations on the edges of a rejected mainstream.

“Gentiles have broken families, and therefore they have a broken society,” one character says.

Director Joshua Weinstein and the cast did not speak Yiddish. They

learned the lines phonetically. It’s an impressive feat that brought back memories for those who grew up hearing Yiddish at home, said AIB-TV producer Audrey Galex, a New York native.

“It’s an intimate look at a community that was so much a part of my childhood,” Galex said.

Von Mueller said the film’s unique perspective on the Orthodox community results in part from the emphasis on Yiddish, which becomes a main character. The story provides a peek inside a world that is cut off from those who are not immersed in Orthodox culture.

The values, mores and laws of the society are experienced instead of criticized. “It would be so easy to stand outside of the Orthodox community in a condescending light,” Von Mueller said.

The distinct clothing of Hasidic men can leave the impression that they are all the same, but “Menashe” challenges that perception through events that pit the main character against a variety of men in his community.

“It gives you an eye into the men’s world in the ultra-Orthodox community,” Von Mueller said. “There’s a range.”

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The film focuses mainly on male relationships. Men make all the decisions regarding family, finances and halacha. Women are rarely seen, leaving the audience to question whether that approach reflects respect for Orthodox observance or provides an accurate portrayal of the community.

There is a glimpse into the world of women when Menashe visits a neighbor’s apartment to retrieve a kugel recipe, and her daughter is sitting at a table, pregnant and silent. Another neighbor’s young daughter challenges her mother on why the rabbi gets to decide whether she goes to college.

Those short scenes are played out like women’s roles in the community — quietly and behind closed doors.

But for the most part, the film centers on men in the community and how the laws that govern the Hasidic sect are administered through a hierarchy of men who judge one another based on their levels of menschlichkeit.

“It’s an issue of an immigrant experience or Orthodox experience or any community that makes itself separate,” Von Mueller said. ■

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Gershwin’s ‘Paris’ Helps Jewish Actor Break Out

By Patrice Worthy “An American in Paris” is coming to the Fox Theatre from Aug. 15 to 20 and bringing with it such George Gershwin classics as “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm.”

The music and dancing are Etai Benson’s favorite parts of the show.

Benson plays Adam Hochberg, the narrator of the musical and a Jewish World War II veteran traumatized by the experience.

Benson, an Israeli-American Jew, has appeared in “Fortress of Solitude,” “My Name Is Asher Lev” and “A Room With a View,” among others. He gravitates toward serious roles that dive beneath the surface.

He took time while on tour in Chicago to talk about playing Jewish characters and how he attracts dramatic roles in a world full of giddy melodies.

AJT: Tell me about why you chose to audition for “An American in Paris”?

Benson: It’s beautiful as far as the dancing is concerned. For people who love musicals, it’s the ideal show. Half of the cast comes from ballet companies. The music is also beautiful. In between acts, you get to hear Gershwin’s orchestral music, something you never hear outside of a concert hall. You’ll hear the “Concerto in F,” and at the end you hear the “American in Paris Symphony.” The show blew my mind the first time I saw it. It’s romantic, serious, funny, and it’s beautiful. There is also more drama and seriousness in this show than in the movie because they changed the story a little bit.

AJT: You tend to take roles in serious productions with a cultural message. Is that purposeful?

Benson: My first big job right out of college was playing Boq in “Wicked.”

of playing Adam Hochberg in “An American in Paris”?

Benson: In both “My name Is Asher Lev” and “An American in Paris,” I’m the narrator. The very first thing you see in “An American in Paris” is I walk onstage, light a cigarette and set the scene. It’s the same thing in “Asher Lev.” To break that fourth wall is rare, and it’s an opportunity you almost never get. When I did “Lev,” it was in front of 150 seats. I’m speaking to thousands of people every night in “An American in Paris,” and I have to make it seem like I’m speaking to them individually.

Etai Benson says he enjoys breaking through the fourth wall as narrator Adam Hochberg in “An American in Paris.”

I loved it. It’s a big show with an important message. It’s as commercial as you can get on Broadway. You can get boxed in. They’ll say, “Oh, he just does big, fun musicals.” I had to work to break out of that.

what he saw in World War II as a Jew, he is mired in darkness. He thinks his art has to be dark and heavy, but once he falls in love, he realizes art doesn’t have to be dark. It can serve to bring people hope.

AJT: Why did you work so hard to break out?

Benson: Being from two cultures, there’s a cultural awareness to me that is important. I studied in Moscow at the Moscow Art Theatre in college, and my parents are travelers. It’s important to me to tell important stories. I got into this to tell stories, not for money or fame, and I seek characters that are an expression of my worldview.

The “American in Paris” character is a prime example of that.

AJT: You played in the Jewish production “My Name Is Asher Lev,” based on the novel by Rabbi Chaim Potok.

What attracted you to that role?

Benson: That is actually my favorite role. It was pretty much a one-man play where I had to keep the attention of the audience for 90 minutes, and, like in “An American in Paris,” I was the narrator. It’s about a young Hasidic boy living in Brooklyn, and he discovers at an early age he’s an artistic prodigy, but family and community don’t approve.

It’s a very dramatic story dealing with faith, family and passion. The role was a turning point for me because I never left the stage for 90 minutes. I had to engage the audience, and there was a lot of growth for me.

AJT: How is Adam Hochberg an expression of your worldview?

Benson: He’s an American Jew, and his outlook on life is so similar to mine, it’s scary. He was injured in the war and stays behind in Paris to work on his art and music, but because of

AJT: What’s the biggest challenge

AJT: When did you realize you wanted to go into musical theater?

Benson: In eighth grade my friends dragged me to an audition for “The Wizard of Oz.” I didn’t want to do it because I was a cinephile, but I was cast as the Tin Man and was addicted to being onstage. After that, I went to Stagedoor Manor in the Catskills for three summers, and it clicked that musical theater is what I wanted to do, and I’ve been pursuing it ever since.

AJT: What is the one role or production you are dying to tackle?

Benson: I’m dying to play a role that hasn’t been written yet — a role that was created just for me, that I originate. That would be the next big step in my career. My all-time favorite musical is “Sweeney Todd,” and I would love to be in “The Seagull” by Chekhov or do Shakespeare professionally. ■ What: “An American in Paris” Where: Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., Midtown When: Eight shows from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Sunday, Aug. 20 Tickets: $33.50 to $113.50; foxtheatre. org/events/an-american-in-paris or 855-285-8499

Music Fest Alters Colors, Adds to Board AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Each August the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival unveils a new color scheme for the upcoming season and transitions the AJMF board to add new leadership.

This year’s color scheme is a carnation palette with pink, green and dark brown.

To choose the colors, the festival staff explored fashion trends on Pinterest and choose the carnation combination out of 8 to 10 options in a vote 30 of the marketing committee. The car-

nation palette will be used in all marketing and branding materials for the ninth spring festival.

The new AJMF board members are Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Sarah Arogeti, Cantor Nancy Kassel, Shai Robkin and Moses “Mostai” Staimez.

“Every summer we transition our AJMF board with seasoned veterans rolling off and new leaders joining the team,” festival Executive Director Russell Gottschalk said.

“It’s also a time for us to update

our marketing and branding materials for the upcoming season. We are thrilled to announce our new AJMF9 board members and new palette. We have some incredible events planned for 2017-18, and we look forward to kick-starting our year-round programming on Aug. 13,” when AJMF will provide music for Congregation Shearith Israel’s back-to-shul event from noon to 2 p.m.

The AJMF9 spring festival is scheduled for March. ■

The AJMF9 logo and color scheme will be used in all marketing and branding materials for the next year.

The Apprentice: A Love Story My husband’s relatively new elliptical machine needed to be fixed. The warranty allowed for repairs, but after three visits by the company technicians, the problem continued.

After abandoning hope that the manufacturer’s technicians could help, Zvi tried to ignore the irritating sound his machine made as it rotated.

But when he couldn’t take it anymore, he resolved to find an independent repair service that could do the job. Unfortunately, no one Zvi asked could give a positive recommendation.

Becky, the owner of the gym in which I pay to be tortured, owns ellipticals like ours. When I asked her which company she uses for maintenance, she gave us the name of an independent worker.

Two weeks after my husband contacted Becky’s repairman, David Williams arrived to take a look at the problem. We were surprised that he brought an assistant with him just to look, but we agreed that it made sense to train an apprentice to carefully assess a job before taking it.

Williams said a major part had to be replaced. With the replacement, he assured us, the elliptical would run like new. Zvi agreed to hire them.

The two men returned a week later with two enormous toolboxes and a new wheel.

Zvi, who couldn’t help being curious (skeptical might be a better word) after the failures of the first three technicians, intermittently watched them work. He was grateful that they took their time, and he was touched by the care with which the boss enabled and supervised his helper.

After several hours of labor, Williams declared the repair complete.

He asked Zvi to watch as the assistant ceremoniously mounted the machine, tried it at different speeds and demonstrated that the disturbing grating sound was gone. The wheel replacement worked! There was joy and gladness in our home.

The men packed up their tools and cleaned the area where they had been working. Relieved and impressed, Zvi paid Williams and escorted them to the door. “You spent all afternoon here,” he said. “I appreciate that!”

Zvi turned to me: “When the boss himself does the job, it gets done right.

That apprentice is lucky to work side by side with him.”

At 6 p.m., Zvi optimistically put on his sneakers and started his exercise routine. After a few minutes, the grating sound began, softly at first, then slowly getting louder. After 45 min-

CROSSWORD

utes, Zvi sadly believed that Williams, too, had failed the test.

The next day after exercise class, I complained to Becky, who had assured me that Williams could fix everything.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “David Williams is the best. Sorry.”

By the time I got home, Zvi had already left a message on Williams’ answering machine. “They thought they were through with me,” Zvi said.

“I’ll never hear from them again.”

That evening the phone rang. It was Williams. “I don’t understand what went wrong,” he said. “You were there when John used it. We’re coming back until we get the job done.”

They took the machine apart and started over, with Williams demonstrating the repair to his helper. When they finished, Zvi got on and used it for 10 minutes while the two men stood ready to make adjustments. None was needed.

Zvi offered to pay the men for their time, but Williams refused. He pulled our original check from his wallet. “I didn’t cash it because I wanted you to use the machine. I meant it when I said we’d stay on the job until we got it right.”

Zvi turned to the apprentice, “I bet you learn a lot working with Mr. Williams!”

The young man beamed, and Williams put his arm around him, “This is my son,” he said. “He’s already good at fixing exercise equipment, and he’s also learning to stick with a job until it’s done right. That’s why I’m teaching him myself.”

Among other wisdom, our Jewish sages counsel parents to make sure their children acquire a vocation. Isn’t it great when the parent is the teacher?

P.S. The check cleared a week later. ■

“Jews”

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

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Chana’s Corner

By Chana Shapiro cshapiro@atljewishtimes.com

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gefilte fish 69. Semite preceder 70. Mother of Shmuel HaNavi 71. What the St. Louis passengers were not granted by the U.S. in 1939 72. Camp Ramah night activity?

DOWN 1. Non-Jew 2. What some might need to get around the Old City (two words) 3. Hill’s “21 Jump Street” love interest Larson 4. Jacob’s son who had a bad temper 5. “Bivadai?!”

6. Take to one’s heart 7. Negatively charged particle 8. Nazi filmmaker Leni ___enstahl 9. Shows some chutzpah 10. Yael gave him a real headache 11. Fiddler on the reef 12. Like the face of Moses, for the last 39 years of his life 13. A gossipmonger might spread one 14. Like one route up Masada 22. Asked (a rabbi a question) 23. Egypt’s Mubarak 27. “Loser” rock star 28. Rav who M A M B A was first A D A R I editor of the M A Y I M Babylonian A M A D E Talmud G E 29. Yesh ___ G A B E 31. False love U R I P god A I L A 32. Boxer M E L O D Foreman S B S 34. Idina B I B I Menzel’s snow I N I T I queen N F L L 35. Some chips D E L S for new poker A S R S champ Scott 1

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Blumstein 37. Makes like Nissim 38. ___-do-well (real schlub) 39. Cameras for pros, for short 41. Horned foe of Spider-Man created by Lee 42. “Lower” Jewish neighborhood, once 43. Jessie ___ (Elizabeth Berkley on “Saved by the Bell”) 48. Torah scholar Leibowitz 49. “The People’s Court” judge 50. Like latkes 52. Where legend has it a golem is hidden in a Prague synagogue 53. Band whose drummer is Jon Fishman (fittingly enough) 54. Company (known for cars) that partnered with SolarEdge in 2015 56. Pass, like the Knesset 57. What Phineas used to kill Zimri and Cosbi 59. Jackie in Ratner’s “Rush Hour” 60. Flair or a Hebrew name 61. Lang from “Smallville,” created by Bill Finger 62. Model Ginzburg 66. Jew

5

17

62

7

15 18

8

H O R A

L

M

29

S 30

M F A

I

R

T

Y

E I

M

A

C

A

B

L

T

A

S

24

R S

43

21

A

R

E

A

R N

S

I

R

I

A

L

C H

61

A

G

16

A 51

55

S

A

N

E

D

E M Y S

E G 40

47

A

U

I

M C H

A

R D

S

H

E

S

S 35

D

T

64

A 36

Y

N R

A

E

I

D

S

P

S

44

A

H

G

E

O S S

13

D

25

T

52

I

T

19 22

12

E

C O M E

39

B

46

31

L

34

11

B

Y

B

50

10

E

S M A

U

9

O V

56

E

A

57

R I

58

E

M

A M R

A M

R

L

67

A

L

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Y

31

An education you can afford...

Associate of Science Degrees and Short-term Diploma programs in Accounting Medical Office Administration Human Resource Management Information Technology Business Management HVAC Financial Assistance Available Certifications, Accredited Curriculum Job Placement Assistance Day & Night Classes Also offering English as a Second Language GED Preparation

...A Future You Can Depend On

PETER BRANDI Estate Sales

Atlanta’s Experts in Estate Liquidations

Built on our SOLID reputation, we have had over 2,000 ESTATE SALES. Our clearly slated standards about an estate’s worth lead to exceptional service for each client relocating, scaling down or divesting family possessions. Peter Brandi is a stable force in the local community, a licensed and certified appraiser with 40 years of experience, degrees in fine art & architecture, and has an extensive business background. His clients include some of the world’s rich & famous as he travels extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. Contact us to schedule appointment.

Ranked by U.S. Dept. of Education in Top Twenty Schools

AUGUST 11 ▪ 2017

Nationwide for Tuition Value (in two-year private sector)

32

5303 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341

770-216-2960

www.ict.edu | Campuses in Chamblee, Morrow and Gainesville

940 CANTON STREET, ROSWELL PETERBARNDIESTATESSALES.COM

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