Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCIV NO. 32, August 16, 2019

NEXT WEEK: SYNAGOGUES

VOL. XCIV NO. 32 | HEALTH & WELLNESS

AUGUST 16, 2019 | 15 AV 5779

Jeffrey Epstein Consulted Atlanta Attorney Days Before Death

HEALTH & WELLNESS HEALTHY SLEEP, EATING DISORDERS AND TAKING TIME OUT FOR YOURSELF.

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Be Happy! Be Healthy! Long Life!

Health and wellness are subjects we revisit several times during the year because of their importance to our lives.

Doesn’t matter how much money you have; at a certain point you can’t buy good health. You can strive to improve it, however, through some of the information and advice offered in this issue about sleep, eating disorders, addiction, depression, and disconnecting from technology.

In this Health & Wellness issue, we ask Jewish doctors about sleep disorders and they discuss the benefits of a good night’s sleep. The Renfew Center’s liaison to the Jewish community talks with us about eating disorders with tips for how those who keep kosher can avoid dietary pitfalls.

Marketing guru Joey Reiman lets us in on his personal battle with depression.

The Berman Center alerts us to the signs of addiction among college students and we explore some traditional and alternative methods for how to unplug and unwind for better health.

This week the AJT broke an exclusive interview with attorney David Schoen, who shares his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sex trafficking who died in his New York jail cell Saturday in an apparent suicide.

Judaism in Latin America was the focus of a memorial for the 1994 bombing of the central Jewish organization in Argentina and a lecture by the American Jewish Committee’s leading expert on Latin America visiting for the occasion.

We also cover renowned Holocaust educator Deborah Lipstadt’s return to Young Israel of Toco Hills, in the proces of changing its name after a falling out with its national affiliation. She spoke about the latest in anti-Semitism as part of the commemoration of Tisha B’Av, the destruction of The Temple in Jerusalem.

From Jewish tragedy to survival. It’s the age-old story of our persistence and why our synagogues, the theme of next week’s issue, have remained vibrant over time. The heart of our Jewish community beats on. ■

THIS WEEK

Cover Photo: Exclusive story on events leading up to the alleged suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a federal jail cell in Manhattan.

CONTENTS LOCAL NEWS ���������������������������������� 6 ISRAEL NEWS ������������������������������� 12 BUSINESS ��������������������������������������� 14 OPINION ����������������������������������������� 15 HEALTH & WELLNESS ��������������� 18 DINING �������������������������������������������� 28 CHAI STYLE ����������������������������������� 29 ARTS ������������������������������������������������ 32 CALENDAR ������������������������������������� 34 COMMUNITY ��������������������������������� 36 KEEPING IT KOSHER ������������������ 38 BRAIN FOOD ���������������������������������� 39 OBITUARIES ���������������������������������� 40 CLOSING THOUGHTS ����������������� 41

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LOCAL NEWS Jeffrey Epstein Consulted Atlanta Attorney Days Before Death

By Dave Schechter Days before his death, Jeffrey Epstein met with Atlanta resident and criminal defense attorney David Schoen to discuss the ins and outs of his federal sex-trafficking case.

Based on the tone of their five-hour conversation, Schoen is skeptical about the circumstances of Epstein’s death.

“I don’t believe it was suicide. … I think someone killed him. I don’t like to speculate. I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” he told the Atlanta Jewish Times in an interview Sunday.

“It was just the two of us in a room, though other people came and went” during their Aug. 1 meeting at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, Schoen said. “We talked about the future, all sorts of plans for the case, things he hadn’t thought about before. He was very upbeat, eager to go. I’ve heard from other people who told me how much that meeting meant to him.”

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at the MCC at about 6:30 am. Saturday, Aug. 10, from an apparent suicide by hanging. The New York City medical examiner’s office performed an autopsy Sunday, Aug. 11, but the cause of death was not revealed as of press time, pending the results of other investigations.

Schoen said that in the days before Epstein’s death, he was mulling a request

by Epstein to become the well-connected financier’s lead attorney.

“He had asked me to take over his case, to quarterback the team. He has a bunch of lawyers, but it’s a bit dysfunctional,” Schoen said. “I agreed to do it. I was supposed to go up there this past Friday to meet with the lawyers. I needed to

Exclusive story on events leading up to the alleged suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a federal jail cell in Manhattan.

see if the other members of the team were willing to do this. … The last thing I heard was that they accepted me, but I needed to know what that meant,” Schoen said.

That Aug. 9 meeting was canceled, but Schoen had planned to fly to New York this week.

Epstein pleaded not guilty to a single count each of sex trafficking and conspiracy and was facing up to 45 years in prison if convicted, as outlined in an indictment unsealed July 8 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He had been arrested July 6 at a New Jersey airport when he returned aboard his private plane from Paris. At a July 18 court hearing, Epstein was denied bail. A trial date was expected to be set for 2020.

The New York indictment alleged that: “over the course of many years, Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, sexually exploited

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David Schoen, an Atlanta resident and solo practitioner, focuses primarily on the litigation of complex civil and criminal cases before trial and appellate courts.

and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations.” The indictment said that some of the girls were as young as 14 years old.

The indictment also alleged that: “In particular, from at least in or about 2002, up to and including at least in or about 2005, JEFFREY EPSTEIN, the defendant, enticed and recruited, and caused to be enticed and recruited, minor girls … to engage in sex acts with him, after which he would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash. Moreover, and in order to maintain and increase his supply of victims, EPSTEIN also paid certain of his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly abused by EPSTEIN.” Schoen said that during his Aug. 1 meeting with Epstein, “We were interrupted by the jail psychiatrist,” who said she needed to interview Epstein “pursuant to suicide protocol.” Schoen said that he and Epstein “ended up joking about it, so when they say he was taken off suicide watch, I’m not sure what it was originally.

“For anything to have happened to him at the MCC shows a deliberate indifference, to an unconstitutional degree, by the Bureau of Prisons,” Schoen said. “If it was suicide, it is unconscionable that he was not under suicide watch. He would have been under surveillance. If it was murder, it was absolutely outrageous.”

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has directed the inspector general of the Department of Justice to investigate Epstein’s death. In a statement, Barr said, “Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the F.B.I.’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General, who is opening an investigation into the cir-

cumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death.”

Schoen said, “I am happy that the attorney general has referred the case to the inspector general. I certainly will cooperate with the inspector general in all regards.”

Schoen noted media reports that Epstein had attempted to commit suicide on July 23. “That was not a suicide attempt,” Schoen said. “It involved another inmate.”

The New York Times reported that Epstein “was lying unconscious in a cell he shared with another inmate, with bruises on his neck. Law enforcement officials at the time said his injuries were not serious, but the incident was investigated as a possible suicide.”

The Times, citing its source as “a person familiar with his detention,” reported that following that incident Epstein “was placed on suicide watch and received daily psychiatric evaluations.”

The Times also reported that on July 29, Epstein “was taken off the watch for reasons that remained unclear.

“One federal prison official with knowledge of the incident confirmed Mr. Epstein had been taken off suicide watch recently and was being held alone in a cell in a special housing unit. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, said guards found Mr. Epstein in an otherwise empty cell during morning rounds. He had hanged himself and he appeared to be dead,” The Times reported.

Schoen said that he became acquainted with Epstein about 11 years ago, when the financier sought his advice.

“Periodically, over the years, he’s asked me a question or two. Over the past year, increasingly over the past six months, he turned to me for advice,” Schoen said. He added that Epstein wanted to be billed for that service, but he declined because, “I wasn’t sure where the relationship was going.”

Epstein “had me reviewing some of the submissions” made by his legal team, Schoen said. “The word was that from him and his inner circle, he trusted me.”

Schoen said that he went to New York this past spring, probably in April or May, and met with Epstein at his home “to discuss some of his legal affairs.”

Schoen criticized the handling of Epstein’s case, citing “outrageous disclosures, that you would not see in any case.

“Certainly the government has gone, and the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have gone well beyond what they should have said. The

LOCAL NEWS

Photo by Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images // New York medical examiner at the Metropolitan

Correctional Center following the alleged suicide of Jeffery Epstein on Aug. 10.

presumption of innocence in this case documents detailing Epstein’s alleged has been thrown out the window, by the activities were released as part of a civil judge and the prosecutors. I think the suit that included allegations of minors judge bears some responsibility for his providing sexual services to prominent death. The judge found him to be a dan- friends of Epstein from the worlds of ger to the community and a flight risk, politics and business.

“Everybody that knew him and was and he was neither,” Schoen said.

Epstein “had a very firm and oner- a friend of his feels that what happened ous agreement [from 2008 with federal was a tragedy,” Schoen said. “I’ve read prosecutors] in the Southern District of these articles that say the accusers feel Florida. Prosecutors in that office and up cheated [by Epstein’s death]. He never to the number two in the Justice Depart- got his day in court. He never got to answer the charges. ment were convinced That’s just not the they didn’t have a American way. By all case, so they signed a accounts, under the deal that had him goConstitution, he was ing to jail. He had to presumed innocent agree not to contest under the law, and no civil cases against one should ever forhim. He paid out milget that. lions of dollars to “To me, the most these accusers.” important reason Schoen said EpI’m part of this case, stein paid “simply to the reason I agreed resolve this whole to take it is that I’ve chapter and put evspent my whole caerything behind reer representing him.”

Jeffery Epstein was denied bail and remanded to the Metropolitan people attacked or Epstein may Correction Center. pilloried in the syshave “had very peculiar tastes with women,” Schoen said, tem. In this case, to the greatest extent but “I do not believe he was guilty of I’ve ever seen, the presumption of innothe charges brought against him by the cence was dismissed in the media and Southern District of New York. I believe the judicial system. I find that offensive. those charges should have been dis- We all lose when the presumption of inmissed and barred by the agreement in nocence becomes illusory.”

Schoen, who is an Orthodox Jew, disthe Southern District of Florida.”

Under the Florida deal, by which cussed his common faith with Epstein. he avoided federal prosecution, Epstein “We spoke about it a little bit. He was not registered as a sex offender and pleaded observant. He was very proud of being guilty to two prostitution charges in state Jewish,” Schoen said.

Asked what action, if any, he might court, for which he served 13 months at a Palm Beach jail and was permitted to take now that Epstein is dead, Schoen said, “I can’t comment on that one way or leave six days a week for work.

On Aug. 9, thousands of pages of the other.” ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 7

LOCAL NEWS

Concrete Pillars Replaced Menorot at Jewish Buildings

By Jan Jaben-Eilon The bombing that reduced to rubble the central Jewish organization in Buenos Aires 25 years ago changed innumerable lives, the Jewish community there and the entire country of Argentina. At a memorial Sunday sponsored by the American Jewish Committee in Atlanta and hosted by Congregation Or Hadash, some of those changes were highlighted for the more than 100 people who attended.

The congregation’s Rabbis Analia Bortz and Mario Karpuj had just returned to Argentina in July 1994 after finishing their rabbinic studies in Israel days before the tragedy. They recounted their personal losses and experiences in the weeks following the bombing. One of the 85 people killed in the attack was Rabbi Bortz’s best friend, Suzi Kleiman.

More than 300 people – Jewish and nonJewish – were injured in the devastation.

“And every human being was a whole story,” Bortz said.

But the changes in people’s lives reverberated far beyond those directly impacted. The two COH rabbis told how the

8 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

New Israel Consul General Anat SultanDadon lights a candle in honor of the bombing victims as Rabbis Analia Bortz and Mario Karpuj of Congregation Or Hadash lead the service.

Leading a panel discussion are Ambassador Charles Shapiro, president of World Affairs Council, Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, and Rabbis Analia Bortz and Mario Karpuj of Or Hadash.

bombing affected their decision to leave the country, first moving to Chile, and then to the United States. They also explained how the event brought Argentina together, with even non-Jews declaring in rallies that they stood as Jews as well.

“The entire country was injured,” Karpuj said.

Although Bortz said that anti-Semitism in the country decreased after the explosion – which followed the horrific bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires two years earlier – the Jewish community was forced to make significant changes. Whereas before the 1994 bombing of the Asociacion Mutual Israel-

ita Argentina Jewish institutions proudly reflected the religion by displaying either Stars of David or menorot, afterwards these symbols were replaced by concrete pillars that prevented parking out front.

The bombing that had destroyed the AMIA resulted from the detonation of more than 600 pounds of explosives that were packed into a Renault van in front of the building.

Jorge Lopez Menardi, Consul General of Argentina, which co-sponsored the evening, spoke at the beginning of Sunday’s memorial ceremony along with Anat Sultan-Dadon, the new Consul General of Israel in Atlanta.

The somber evening that concluded the holiday of Tisha B’Av included the lighting of candles while the names of the 85 murdered were read by the rabbis. A final candle represented the hope that was embodied in the last word of the ceremony’s title, “Memory and Accountability.” A short film narrated by the 25-year-old daughter of one of those killed focused on the desire and need for justice to be served against the terrorists thought to be financed and led by Iran and Hezbollah.

Dina Siegel Vann, AJC director for Latino and Latin American Affairs, explained how the Argentine government has still not brought the perpetrators of the bombing to justice.

In a panel moderated by former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro, and including the two rabbis, Siegel Vann updated those gathered about Argentina’s latest efforts to bring accountability for the terrorist act. “As long as no one is brought to justice, we feel this can happen again,” she said.

“There’s no reason it can’t happen again. Impunity brings the possibility of future attacks.” ■

LOCAL NEWS

Jewish Success in Latin America

By Bob Bahr The American Jewish Committee’s leading expert on Latin America gave a thumbs up about how Jews are thriving south of the border when she spoke in Atlanta Monday.

Dina Siegel Vann, who is the director of the AJC’s Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs in New York, painted a generally positive picture of life for the 400,000 Jews in the three sizable communities of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Part of the reason is the excellent relations that Israel has with those three nations and many other states in the region.

“I would say that relations between Israel and Latin America are at their peak. Much of that has to do with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to make an effort to reengage with that part of the world beginning in 2016.

The last three years have been like honey, just great.”

In 2016 Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to visit South America when he made a trip to Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. He followed that up in December 2018 when he attended the inauguration of Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Although there are significant exceptions like Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, which don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel, Siegel Vann said that Latin American countries are eager to engage with the Jewish state because of the technology Israel can offer. Israel is a leader in such important areas as water management, cybersecurity, medical technology and alternative energy, and Netanyahu’s visit was a big boost to economic ties, she said.

In Mexico, the recently elected mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, is Jewish, the first woman and the first Jew to occupy the office. She is a close ally and a trusted advisor to Mexico’s popular president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Siegel Vann predicted that one day she could become president herself.

Another reason why Mexico’s 40,000 Jews are doing well, is that they live in closely knit communities, which have a solid history of support for schools and other resources and a strong family ethic. This is also true of Brazil, where 110,000 Jews live, and in Argentina, with its 250,000 Jews.

“Jews in Argentina have an incredible institutional network.” Siegel Vann pointed out, “It’s really impressive, and when it comes to advocacy on behalf of the community, it’s amazing what they have done. They almost don’t need AJC’s help to get their story out to the public in Argentina.”

Still, in America, the AJC has been instrumental in telling the saga of the ups and downs Jews have suffered in Argentina over the last century.

The organization helped to organize a series of events during the last several weeks in major American cities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the tragic bombing of Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina, the Jewish community’s headquarters building in Buenos Aires. The bombing, in 1994, killed 85 and injured another 300. Most were Jews.

The explosion was said to be the work of Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, but almost all of those who have been accused of the crime have never been

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first Israeli leader to visit Latin America, congratulates new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonara.

Jews in Buenos Aires demonstrate during the 25th anniversary of the tragic bombing of the AMIA building there.

brought to justice. On Sunday night Siegel Vann was one of the featured speakers about the bombing at AJC’s program at Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs.

Last month, on July 18, the actual anniversary of the tragedy, national leaders of the AJC attended a diplomatic conference in Buenos Aires where Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri became the first Latin American leader to officially designate Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization. He also decreed the day one of national mourning.

Nonetheless, Aug. 11, Macri suffered a stunning blow to his re-election chances when his leftist opponent Alberto Fernandez and his running mate, the former president, Cristina Kirchner outpolled him in a primary election landslide victory. Kirchner is generally seen as a having a controversial and often adversarial relationship with the

Jewish community, but Siegel Vann urged caution in interpreting the result of Sunday’s primary election.

“We at the AJC, want to engage with her if she is elected. We don’t believe everyone in her party is corrupt and bad, so we have to find a way to reconnect. Let’s see what happens.”

Despite the success of Latin America’s Jews in navigating the winds of change, the region has deep problems, according to Siegel Vann. Foremost among those issues, is what she describes as the long-term, continuous pressure created between the haves and the have-nots.

“What is needed and what AJC continues to work for,” she concluded, “is strong economic and political support for the nations of the region. What it is going to take is for the present administration to understand that we are all in this together; it is not us and them.” ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 9

LOCAL NEWS

Lipstadt Lectures on Anti-Semitism on Tisha B’Av

By Bob Bahr Deborah Lipstadt came back to the synagogue in Toco Hills she left earlier this year in a dispute with the Young Israel national religious organization to once again sound the alarm about the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the world.

Lipstadt, a distinguished Holocaust scholar and Emory University professor of Jewish history, has spent the better part of the past year promoting the ideas in her new book, “Antisemitism Here and Now,” which was published in January.

Her message at the synagogue changing its name from Young Israel of Toco Hills to Congregation Ohr HaTorah was that the new anti-Semitism is in many respects much like the old antiSemitism, rooted in the narrative of the New Testament that demonizes Jews for their rejection of the Christian messiah.

It is a scriptural tale, in her words, that accuses the Jews of using their superior intellect to crucify a troublesome Jewish rebel who criticized the moneychangers of The Temple in Jerusalem.

“So it’s a story about money. It’s about intellect. It’s about power. All used nefari-

10 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Deborah Lipstadt’s talk came two years to the day after the deadly racist and antiSemitic events in Charlottesville, Va.

The Unite the Right marchers in Charlottesville represented extreme white nationalist groups.

ously. All used maliciously. So what happens is the Jew becomes not just someone you dislike, but someone you fear.”

The story reaches its most vicious expression, as Lipstadt explains it, in the Middle Ages where Christianity turns the Jew into a representative of the devil.

“The devil has two characteristics which fit right into this anti-Semitic template,” she maintained. “One characteristic is that you don’t recognize the devil until he has done his dirty work, and the other is that the devil has the power to harm G-d. The Jew becomes the enemy with incredible power to do harm.”

Lipstadt’s synagogue talk on Aug. 11 came at the conclusion of the solemn fast

day of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates various past tragedies of the Jewish people.

But in an extraordinary coincidence, the fast fell two years to the day after one of the most significant anti-Semitic gatherings in recent memory, the marches in Charlottesville, Va., of August 11-12, 2017.

The ADL points out that since then white supremacists have committed at least 73 murders, 39 of them directly motivated by hate and racism. In places such as Parkland, Pittsburg, Poway and most recently in El Paso, the violence was largely inspired, in ADL’s view, by the events in Charlottesville.

“In each of these cities,” ADL noted, “white supremacist murderers acted on

the threat embodied in the chant made famous in Charlottesville: ‘Jews will not replace us! You will not replace us!’”

It’s a simple chant with a complex message that Lipstadt explained more fully Sunday in her Tisha B’Av message.

“The people on the far right are motivated by something called replacement fear that is chanted as, ‘Jews will not replace us.’ According to white nationalists, it is another way of saying that there is underway a massive migration of black people and brown people and Muslims coming to take over the world, but these people are not smart enough or not talented enough to be doing this on their own. Someone is controlling that, and always, that is the Jews.”

So in Lipstadt’s view, today racism and violence is nothing new. Like old wine in new bottles, the hateful teachings of the past are alive once again.

Such a stereotype, reinforced by religious teachings, has had and continues to have a durable lifetime. Down through the ages, as Lipstadt describes it, antiSemitism is like a piano on which different tunes can be played but the instrument remains the same. ■

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 11

ISRAEL PRIDE

News From Our Jewish Home

A tardigrade, also known as a water bear, is a microscopic life-form that can survive in the vacuum of space.

Israel May Have Landed Unlikely Guests on Moon

While the Beresheet lunar lander crashed on the moon in April, at least one of its missions may be considered a success. The spacecraft carried a miniscule archive containing DNA, data, and thousands of dehydrated tardigrades, microscopic creatures often called “water bears” for their appearance, according to The Times of Israel and Wired.

American venture capitalist Nova Spivack’s Arch Mission Foundation was behind the archive. The foundation aims

Today in Israeli History Aug. 16, 1966: Operation Diamond, the plan to obtain a Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jet, succeeds when disillusioned Iraqi-Christian fighter pilot Munir Redfa lands an Iraqi air force MiG-21 at Israel’s Hatzor Air Force Base. Redfa, escorted in by two Israeli Mirage jets, had cut a deal with the Mossad that included a $1 million payment, Israeli citizenship for himself and his family, and guaranteed full-time employment.

to create a “backup of planet Earth.”

The tardigrades were a last-minute addition, and are famous for their hardy constitution, able to survive being dehydrated for years. They are found all over the Earth and can survive even the vacuum of space.

The space bears appropriately were featured on 2017’s “Star Trek: Discovery,” which featured the creatures as navigators in space, though it seems unlikely Israel will be employing that technique on future spaceflights.

GPS Systems Soar Again at Ben Gurion Airport

Flights around Ben Gurion International Airport had been experiencing unexplained disruptions to their satellite navigation for two months, but that all ended Aug. 5, according to the Israel Airports Authority.

While there is still no clarity on what caused the interference to stop, or whether Israeli intelligence or security played a role in ending it, officials have pointed to Russian forces in Syria as the

not the second, writes to scholar Yehoshua Ravnitzky that the young Zionists at the Warsaw meeting are excited to hear someone stand up to political Zionists such as Theodor Herzl.

source of the disruption in the past.

The Russian embassy in Israel called those accusations “fake news.”

Todd Humphreys, a University of Texas professor, told the TOI in June that he was 90 to 95 percent sure that Russia was behind the interference based on his satellite data.

The disturbance did not lead to any safety issues at Ben Gurion, according to the Airports Authority, and all pilots were able to securely land using a “safe and professional” alternative method.

Similar issues have arisen in the past around the Black Sea — where Russia borders Norway and Finland — as well as near the Kremlin and Russian President Vladmir Putin’s palace.

Tiny Turtles Time to Hatch

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority released a warning for the public Aug. 5 after a loggerhead turtle hatchling was discovered trapped in tire markings on Zikim Beach on its path to the ocean. The beach is in southern Israel, near the Gaza border.

and essays in Yiddish and German, but is best known for his Hebrew writings, including a lengthy debate with Ahad Ha’am about the nature of Hebrew literature. Berdichevski’s insistence on the value of secular Hebrew literature inspires younger writers. He also spends years recording Jewish folklore.

Photo by Michael Eisenberg // Claire Epstein

led excavations of the ancient city of Hippos (Susita) on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the 1950s.

Central Zionist Archives photo // (Clockwise from bottom left) Yehoshua Ravnitzky, Mordechai “Ben-Ami” Rabinowich, Hayim Nachman Bialik and Ahad Ha’am are shown in 1926.

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, where organizer Ahad Ha’am rallies support for a Jewish cultural renaissance before any political actions. Ha’am, who attended the First Zionist Congress but 12 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Aug. 18, 2000: Archaeologist Claire Epstein, a London native who participated in many archaeological surveys and excavations in Israel, including discovering the culture of the Chalcolithic Period (4500 to 3300 B.C.E.) in the Golan, dies at age 88 at Kibbutz Ginossar. She began her archaeological work at Susita, an ancient Roman city near Kibbutz Ein Gev, where she lived, as an assistant to Michael AviYona during the War of Independence.

She didn’t pursue a doctorate in archaeology until the 1960s.

Aug. 19, 1856: Scholar and writer Michah Joseph Berdichevski is born in Ukraine. He writes short stories, novels

The Hebrew-language medical journal Harefuah has been published in the Land of Israel for 99 years.

Aug. 20, 1920: The first Hebrewlanguage medical journal in Palestine, Harefuah (Medicine), begins publishing on a quarterly schedule under the auspices of the Jewish Medical Association of Palestine. The editor is ophthalmologist Aryeh Feigenbaum, who as a teenager in Poland told a friend that he would become a doctor, move to Palestine and found the first medical journal there in Hebrew. The journal is still published monthly by the Israel Medical Association and is distrib-

Screencapture of The Times of Israel video showing a turtle hatchling fighting its way through tire tracks.

It is illegal to drive on any of Israel’s beaches, but risk to turtle nests, eggs and hatchlings exacerbates concerns and led to the call from the authority.

Hatching season lasts from March to August. During those months, the petite slowpokes make their way to the water guided by the natural light on the horizon, according to TOI. The INPA’s call also asked beachgoers to keep their visits confined to the day, and — if a night visit is absolutely necessary — to keep noise to a minimum, avoid lighting fires and clean up all trash that can serve as a barrier or danger to turtles. ■

uted free to all its members.

Aug. 21, 1982: American, French and Italian troops arrive in Lebanon’s capital to supervise the evacuation of about 14,000 PLO fighters through Sept.

1. Yasser Arafat leaves Beirut on Aug. 30.

Eight countries agree to offer asylum to the PLO: Syria, Jordan, Iraq, South Yemen, North Yemen, Sudan, Algeria and Tunisia, the last of which becomes Arafat’s headquarters. Driving terrorists and Syrian forces from Beirut is one of Israel’s principal goals in the 1982 Lebanon War. Aug. 22, 1952: The Development Corporation for Israel, now commonly known as Israel Bonds, brings 22 Jewish leaders to Israel on a 15-day American Champions of Israel Bonds mission, the first of its kind. They report to the Economic Conference for Israel in mid-September in Atlantic City, N.J., where the 600 delegates pledge to raise $130 million in bonds. The launch of American-purchased Israel Bonds in 1951 helped stabilize the economy of the young state. ■ Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Attempts to Curtail the Supreme Court By the Israel Democracy Institute Towards September’s re-run national elections in Israel, the Israel Democracy Institute has launched a new nonpartisan campaign to counter initiatives aimed at enacting an “expanded override clause” and possibly altering immunity laws for elected officials. Such legislation would provide the government with almost unlimited political power that could infringe upon the rights of individual citizens and minority groups by depriving them of the protection of the courts. This effort comes in the wake of the coalition negotiations that followed the previous election in April, when similar proposals were raised during the efforts to form a government. The goal of the campaign is to warn against attempts to curtail the independence of the Israeli judicial system that would lead to unlimited power for elected politicians.

The Supreme Court’s power to overrule legislation is rooted in Israel’s Basic Laws. The “limitations clause” of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (section 8) limits the ability of Knesset legisla-

tors to pass laws that violate the rights protected by the Basic Law. Similarly, it states that the Basic Law “shall not affect the validity of any law which is in effect prior to the commencement of the Basic Law [1992],” but therefore can affect the validity of new laws.

The campaign aims to increase awareness about these issues among the general public while also encouraging decisionmakers from across the political spectrum to renounce such proposals.

Guiding IDI’s efforts is the understanding that, though it is legitimate to consider altering the existing balance between the branches of government, such changes should not be made by abandoning basic democratic principles and they should not be made at the expense of the judicial branch’s independence or authority.

“The attempts to increase the power of politicians while diminishing the judicial branch’s ability to perform oversight over executive and legislative decisions would, in effect, obliterate the separation of powers in Israel,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of IDI. “The initiatives that were contemplated during the re-

Yohanan Plesner, President, Israel Democracy Institute

cent coalition negotiations threaten the basic principles of democracy that are in place to thwart attempts by elected leaders to exert excessive use of power and to ensure equality and individual freedoms for all citizens,” Plesner continued.

“The Supreme Court is the only institution in Israel that protects the rights of individual citizens and restrains the otherwise unlimited power in the hands of the elected majority in parliament,” Plesner added. “In every other democracy in the world there are multiple checks on power. Israel, as opposed to the U.S., has no constitution, no two independently powerful houses of parliament, and no local government that can balance the

ADVERTISEMENT - Paid for by Peachtree Hearing.

Hope For Those Suffering with Tinnitus A high pitched whistling, a buzzing, a whooshing; these are some of the most common ways people describe tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Almost everyone experiences brief moments of “ringing” in the ears that quickly go away. This is completely normal and can be attributed to a number of factors that are of no concern to your health. However, for many the ringing doesn’t go away and for some can even become debilitating.

In fact, tinnitus may be more common than you realize. The CDC estimates that 20 million Americans struggle with burdensome and chronic tinnitus. Another 2 million are estimated to have extreme debilitating cases.

The impact on these deeply affected individuals can be seen greatly in their overall health and social well-being. Their symptoms include: depression, distress, anxiety, sleep disturbances, mood swings, irritability, inability to concentrate, and in some cases even pain.

So when should you be concerned if you experience tinnitus? We spoke with Dr. Melissa Wikoff of Peachtree Hearing and asked her opinion. “If your tinnitus is constant or often enough that it is bothering you, a medical opinion is warranted. Also, if you experience tinnitus in just one ear

Practitioners committee.

“I became privy to a whole world of science and technology all related to tinnitus. Many of my patients have been told Dr. Wikoff is a lithat there is nothing they censed audiologist serving can do about their tinnithe greater Atlanta area. tus. I learned that this is She specializes in treatsimply not true. There is ing patients with tinnitus relief out there for those and hearing loss. When that are suffering, and it’s asked how she came to so important to me to specialize in tinnitus, Dr. Dr. Melissa Wikoff give those people hope”, Wikoff explains, “As long as I’ve been treating hearing loss, I’ve had expounds Dr. Wikoff. patients with tinnitus. It was important for So what may be causing you to have me to find a way to help my patients who were suffering. I dedicated myself to finding tinnitus? Tinnitus is a symptom and not a treatment options and help for these peo- condition in itself. This is part of the reason ple by pouring myself into all the research it may be important to have your tinnitus available.” Dr. Wikoff started out by attend- evaluated as the condition may be more seing seminars and workshops on tinnitus rious than the symptom. The most common diagnosis and treatment. She attended the condition causing tinnitus however is hearInternational Tinnitus Research Initiative in ing loss. Dr. Wikoff elaborates, “For many Spain. She joined the Tinnitus Practitioners of my patients with tinnitus, appropriately Association and became trained in treat- treating an existing hearing loss relieves and ment techniques such as Tinnitus Rehabili- eventually eliminates any tinnitus they are tation Therapy (TRT). Today she serves on experiencing.” She describes this as a win the Board of Directors of the American Tin- with regard to tinnitus relief, as hearing loss nitus Association and chairs their Medical in most cases can be easily treated. or it is accompanied by other symptoms, that is a red flag,” explained Dr. Wikoff.

HEALTH & NEWS WELLNESS ISRAEL will of the federal authority. This is why it is so vital for the judicial branch to retain its independence and the authority to serve as the last resort of the individual citizen against the centralized power of the state,” Plesner concluded.

Throughout its campaign, IDI will highlight a number of Supreme Court rulings that safeguarded the rights of individual citizens and minority groups.

Among the cases to be used will be the Alice Miller decision (allowing women to apply to the IDF’s flight school), the Emmanuel decision (barring attempts to discriminate against school girls based on their ethnic background), the decision instructing the government to increase compensation for citizens relocated during the 2005 Gaza disengagement and the court decision demanding that the government increase school shelters in Sderot and other communities adjacent to the Gaza border. ■ The Israel Democracy Institute is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

In other cases where there is not an underlying hearing loss, other conditions may contribute like obstructions, head or neck trauma, sinus issues, TMJ, neurological conditions, cognitive issues, and a laundry list of other illnesses that are known to cause tinnitus. “The ears are a window to your health. If you are experiencing issues with your hearing it may help lead you to a more serious underlying condition”, explains Dr. Wikoff. For this reason, she advocates for those suffering with tinnitus to have a complete tinnitus evaluation. “If you are suffering with hearing loss or tinnitus, please know that there is help out there for you.

Reach out to Peachtree Hearing or check out the American Tinnitus Association’s website to see that there are many options for help out there.” Dr. Wikoff is the founder and director of audiology at Peachtree Hearing located in Marietta, GA. Visit www.peachtreehearing.com or call 470-485-4327 to make an appointment with Dr. Wikoff.

Paid Content by Peachtree Hearing ATLANTAJEWISH JEWISHTIMES TIMESFEBRUARY AUGUST 16, ATLANTA 22,2019 2019| 13 |1

BUSINESS Fierman Rebounds From 2008 Crisis With Angel Oak

By Marcia Caller Jaffe The 2008 financial crisis put Mike Fierman out of business, but not out of ideas or motivation.

“I saw the recovery coming and seized the opportunity to buy assets cheaply. I started by raising $10 million, which is now in excess of $10.8 billion.”

As CEO and managing partner of Angel Oak Companies, Fierman oversees the asset management and lending companies, providing leadership and strategic direction as they continue on their growth trajectory. “And, yes, I put up my own money,” he said. “The skill base is converting distressed mortgages into real assets.”

In June, Yahoo Finance reported that “Angel Oak holds one of the largest books of servicing assets in the nonqualified mortgage market.” It is “adding talent and continuing to establish itself as a clear leader in the structured credit space.”

Backing up decades, Fierman is a native Atlantan. His inspiration, his mother who sold office furniture as a single mom, is the daughter of Harry and Sylvia

14 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

that to re-underwrite the loans we’re buying today, so that history doesn’t repeat itself,” Prabhu said.

Fierman added, “There is a pent-up demand for nonconforming mortgages as millennials enter the housing market.

Government regulations have helped us as well.”

The company has a “vertically integrated team approach,” Fierman explained. “There are a lot of moving parts in running a company like this: HR, IT, and we have a great legal and compliance team headed by Dory Black, our general counsel, who graduated from Brandeis [University] then Emory Law School.”

When asked to define his talent and key to success Fierman demurs, “I’m pretty good at assessing risk. More importantly, I surround myself with really smart people. With our major growth Angel Oak has 13,000 square feet of office space in Buckhead, in addition to offices in the Perimeter area, Miami, Dallas and more. trajectory, we are able to attract top talEmployees work as a team and are vertically integrated. ent from Wall Street to LA. We also hire locally from Georgia Tech and Emory Parks, part of the Mendel and Goldstein He let off steam by boxing, later tended bar Business School and are a very diverse families. at Houston’s, and earned a political science company,” he said. “Many brilliant men He was a bit of a “wild child” and was degree at the University of Georgia. and women are among our great thinkmarched off to military school in Virginia.

His confidence stemmed from his ers. We often train our own talent by hirability to work for 100 percent commis- ing summer interns who might turn into sion as a “street sales guy.” He learned career employees.”

The golden-haired Fierman, a memabout the mortgage credit market to be able to delineate bad credit from “rotten” ber of The Temple, is married with two credit. From 1998 to 2007 he ran South- teenagers and belongs to the Capital City Star Funding to cut his teeth on this Club, where “I play, at best, a mediocre game of golf.” Like niche market. father, like son. FierNow Angel Oak man’s dad, a Georgia is headquartered in Tech grad, was a com13,000 square feet of mercial Pan Am pilot.

Leadership in Energy Mike flies his own Cirand Environmental rus single-engine plane Design-certified space and zooms to his secon Peachtree Road in ond home in the BahaBuckhead with offices mas, where he likes to nationwide and more fish and kiteboard. than 720 full time emRecently inducted ployees. into the prestigious Fierman travels Buckhead Coalition, around the world to Fierman looks forward close deals in the Midto contributing to the dle East, Europe and community where he Asia. In the last few Atlanta native Mike Fierman, lives and works and months, he has been to CEO of Angel Oak Companies, studied the 2008 financial crisis “hanging out with cool Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, to rebound, managing billions folks like former Maythe Netherlands and of dollars in assets and funds. or Sam Massell,” who London. “Decisionmakers get to know us face to face. … I want heads the Coalition.

When it comes to rearing children, to meet them in person. After all, who in Asia has heard of Angel Oak in Atlanta, Fierman’s advice to his 12- and 16-yearolds is “Never burn bridges and treat evGeorgia?”

Often he travels with his partner and eryone the same.”

Seems to have worked well for this chief investment officer Sreeni Prabhu, who was profiled in Barron’s two years Buckhead CEO. In January, he was selectago. “We have the data on what kinds of ed by Atlanta magazine as one of the “Top loans defaulted in the past, and we use 500 Most Powerful Leaders in Atlanta.” ■

OPINION Maccabi and Moonshots: Why Big Ideas Matter

By Seth Cohen We are constantly reminded that it’s the details that matter, the small things that help make the big things possible. The tireless attention to detail, the relentless pursuit of better, and the unyielding demand for commitment (and contribution). These are the things that we are reminded of day in and day out, not only in our jobs, but in our communities as well.

And then something big happens that reminds us that the true power of community is not in the small details, but in the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves, and by feeling connected to others in deeply personal and transformative ways. Those big things remind us that there is something in a community that is stronger than membership dues and meeting agendas; it is the co-creation of moments, movements and experiences that bind us together in both commitment and spirit.

Something like the JCC Maccabi Games that Atlanta hosted last week in a spectacular fashion.

In 21 years of living in Atlanta, I would be hard-pressed to think of an experience in my own hometown that has helped bring so many parts of a community together in a spirit of positivity. Of course, the athletes from across North America, Israel, Mexico and Panama were the center of the experience, but the epic nature of the moment reached far beyond them. Every host family, every volunteer and every collaborative partner helped make the week exceptional, and in turn, the week helped make them feel exceptional as well. Each day pulsed with hospitality, pride and sportsmanship, and of course Jewish values represented by the six midot of the Maccabi experience: kavod (respect), rina (joy), ga’ava (pride), lev tov (good heart), tikkun olam (repair the world) and amiut yehudit (Jewish peoplehood).

In short, it was a big thing.

While it had been 18 years since Atlanta last hosted the Maccabi games, it is actually an anniversary of an achievement from 50 years ago that has also been on my mind.

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission achieved what was once considered unimaginable – landing humans on the moon. The accomplishment that was hailed by Neil Armstrong as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” was achieved eight years after President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of landing a human on

the moon by the end of the 1960s. On that midsummer day, the world watched together, in a milestone that was far more than just an event for a few. Rather, it was a global experience. For a moment, in the midst of a hot summer of racial strife and a cold war of geopolitical tensions, humankind was bound together in common experience and achievement.

That was big thing. A REALLY big thing.

That’s why big things matter, because they help us transcend who we are, and they remind us of who we can be. They help us think about the world in a positive and optimistic way, a way that galvanizes our spirt and strengthens our will to seize opportunities. They don’t eliminate conflict and complaining, and they don’t eradicate the seemingly intractable challenges that exist after the “big thing” ends. But they help in big ways. And here’s why.

Communities function on the basis of lots of seemingly “small” (albeit important and essential) things: the running of programs, the maintenance of facilities, and the raising of funds that resource the day-to-day work of community development. Meetings need to be held, decisions need to be made, salaries need to be paid, all to the end of providing the “working capital” that allows them to sustain themselves and their members. This is the essential engine of our community, and it takes excellence and professionalism to do this work. And equally important, it takes attention and resources to support those professionals and volunteers that do this work every single day, because they sometimes get lost in the pursuit of new and shiny ideas that are both small and big.

But communities also need to function on a sense of purpose, knowledge and wonder, the kind of elements and insight that, along with the fundamental building blocks, provide the jet fuel (literally and figuratively) for big things to happen. In my experience of helping communities apply optimism to their own formation, I have found that the higher a community’s aggregate measure of purpose (AMP), aggregate sources of knowledge it draws from (ASK), and amount of

wondrous experiences it shares (AWE), the more it consistently can achieve big things. In turn, it’s the power of big things to foster AMP, ASK and AWE that helps maintain a community’s sustained commitment to the small things as well.

That’s what happened with the Apollo 11 mission. It inspired an entire generation to believe that there was a greater purpose to humanity’s existence, that the boundaries of scientific exploration could be pushed, and that the wonder of seeing a person walk on the moon could spark millions of imaginations.

That too, I believe, is what just happened in Atlanta with the hosting of the Maccabi Games. A city of over 130,000 Jews had a moment that reminded it, as a leading national Jewish community, that

it is more than a sum of organizations, affiliation rates, and campaign dollars. It is a crucible of creativity and possibility, a place where metaphorical moonshots are not only possible, but achievable. But even more than that, Atlanta reminded a national Jewish community that in a summer where the concerns of the three antis (anti-Semitism, anti-Israel, and anti-BDS) have dominated the national discourse, sometimes the best antidote to a feeling of collective fatigue is to give a community a moment to feel connected and, just as much, a reason to believe.

Because when they believe together, they can build together.

Sure, big things aren’t easy; that’s why they are considered big things. But when they work, like they did in Atlanta last week, then the sky … or even the moon … might not be the limit. ■ Seth Cohen is the founder of Optimistic Labs, a design lab that helps companies, nonprofits, grantmakers and communities design optimistic solutions to complex organizational, communal and individual challenges. Seth can be reached at seth@appliedoptimism.com

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 15

OPINION Letter to the editor:

Last week, we hosted three athletes from Panama who participated in the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games here in Atlanta.

We had volunteered to host in response to public appeals for families to house athletes, particularly athletes who requested housing with a kosher kitchen. We applied to be hosts, were interviewed, and checked out – and we passed.

We received written materials describing our duties and we attended a training session at the MJCCA – all excellent. During the athletes’ arrival on Sunday and during the week’s evening activities, we received frequent and informative text messages on their whereabouts, keeping us in the loop.

We were assigned three 14-year-old boys on the Panama 14-and-under soccer team. Three wonderful boys! We divided our activities: Kevin drove them to the venues and picked them up from nighttime activities, and Claire did the laundry!

We accompanied them to the opening ceremonies, which were very exciting. In the ensuing days, Kevin attended their soccer matches at Marist School. What a great facility! Great buildings and terrific fields. Kevin took pictures of the boys and sent them home to their parents.

The soccer matches were scheduled so that transportation to them was easy. All of them started on time, as planned. The boys also rode JCC buses between Marist and

Alluring

cosmetic & Family Dentistry

the MJCCA, giving them safe freedom of movement to be with their friends.

On family night, Wednesday, our wonderful neighbor organized a cul-de-sac party nearby, giving the athletes an opportunity to make new friends. Our boys loved it.

Our biggest challenge was laundry late at night; but that comes with the territory.

Our experience was great fun. Though our boys came from another country, they were, in so many ways, the same as 14-year-old Jewish boys in Atlanta.

We congratulate the MJCCA for an amazing job. Logistically, organizing 1,600 athletes, housed in many homes, playing many games at multiple locations, and attending many events at disparate locations is, no doubt, very difficult. But it was very well done.

We don’t imagine Atlanta will see the Maccabi games again soon, but when they come again, we suggest hosting.

Kevin and Claire King, Atlanta

Letter to the editor:

Regarding: “Playwright Encourages Difficult Conversation About Israel,” Aug. 9.

Is J Street mischaracterized as anti-Israel because of misunderstandings from its earliest days? I tried to find out.

The J Street website proclaims Jerusalem’s status must be settled via negotiation, but also describes the desired outcome (West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state). It urges Israel not to encourage countries to move their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and not to encourage Jews to establish homes in East Jerusalem.

Is it reasonable to ask Israel to wait until the Palestinians are open to negotiating? Doesn’t J Street know that both Yasser Arafat (2000/2001) and Mahmoud Abbas (2008) flatly rejected Israeli proposals for the establishment of a PalestinAn international leader in cosmetic, implant ian state on essentially all of the disputed land, and general dentistry for more than three even with the possibility of shared governance in parts of Jerusalem? decades, Dr. David Mastro’s patients Do the Palestinians have a right to demand travel world-wide for his Atlanta cosmetic part of Jerusalem for their capital? Because Jordentistry and report that he is one of the dan illegally occupied the Old City and ethnicountry’s top cosmetic and general dentists. cally cleansed it of its Jewish population? Should Israel risk Palestinians repeating their past behavior? (In 2000, Palestinian snipers commandeered houses in Christian Beit Jala so they could fire on Jews in neighboring Gilo. Should more of Jerusalem be allowed to fall into firing range?)

The J Street website also shows a 2012 statement

by Abbas, noting his understanding that Dr. Mastro is a unique dentist with his he no longer has the right to live in the city of artistic expression developed through his birth, Safed, and that Israel is for the Israelis years of hand crafting crowns, veneers and while Gaza and the West Bank are for the Palestinians. The website doesn’t mention the outrage bridges. Today, with the aid of the most which this statement sparked among Palestinadvanced technology available, Dr. Mastro ians. Nor does it mention that, in the interview can care for patients’ complete dental in which Abbas made these statements, he also renounced terrorism. Yet, he has since praised needs from oral surgery and implants to martyrs (Palestinians imprisoned for attacking fillings and general cleanings. Dr. Mastro and killing Israelis or killed during attacks) and is legendary for quality dentistry and for prioritized paying stipends to the martyrs and their families over paying salaries to Palestinian transforming smiles for people from all Authority employees. walks of life.

I applaud Gili Getz for encouraging conversations about Israel. I urge AJT readers to visit websites, such as jstreet.org, camera.org, and memri.org, so that they can participate intelligently in those talks.

Toby F. Block, Atlanta

COSMETIC, IMPLANT & GENERAL DENTISTRY FOR THE FAMILY.

NOT YOUR ORDINARY DENTIST, NOT YOUR ORDINARY DENTAL OFFICE.

The AJT welcomes your letters. We want our readers to have an opportunity to engage with our community in constructive dialogue. If you would like your letter to be published, please write 200 words or less, include your name, phone number and email, and send it to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

16 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 17

HEALTH & WELLNESS Healthy Sleep Will Keep You Awake and Alive

By Bob Bahr Nearly two years ago, just after the end of the high holidays, Scott Greenhut made a New Year’s resolution. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to save his own life.

His father had died of a heart attack at the age of 62. His mother succumbed to cancer at 44. His sister was close to death in her mid-30s, and at 32 he felt like he was slowly dying. He had found it hard to stay away from the array of fried foods, sugary desserts and empty carbs at the buffet restaurant just behind his apartment off Pleasant Hill Road in Gwinnett County. All those meals of greasy calories and tempting sweets had pushed his weight past 300 pounds.

He had no energy and he was always tired. He frequently felt like falling asleep in the middle of the day. Although he needed to lose the weight and eat better, his doctor advised him to start his road to sound health with a good night’s sleep.

According to Dr. Scott Leibowitz, past president of the Georgia Association

18 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

But for all those with serious untreated sleep conditions, including sleep apnea, the dangers are very real. In Dr. Guy Leschziner’s new book, “The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience and the Secret World of Sleep,” published last month, the renowned neurologist and sleep disorder specialist mentions the possible consequences of untreated sleep apnea. Leschziner is a guest at this year’s Jewish Book Week in London.

“We are now aware that obstructive sleep apnea has a range of long-term implications on our health in terms of high blood pressure, in terms of risk of cardiovascular disease, risk of stroke, impact on cognition and mental clarity,” Leschziner said in an interview with NPR. “And there is now an emerging body of evidence to suggest that actually, obstrucThe medical treatment of a sleep disorder often begins with an overnight sleep study. tive sleep apnea may be a factor in the deof Sleep Professionals, sleeping well is the impact of sleep. And health, in every velopment of conditions like dementia.”

A poor night’s sleep has the potential seen as the foundation of a healthy life- sphere of essentially every human function, is impacted in some way by the way to affect our emotional and psychologistyle. cal functioning as well.

“In the last couple of decades, quite we sleep.”

How sleep affects mental health is For Greenhut, the search for a sound honestly, there’s been an explosion of interest in the field of sleep, in a large part night of sleep began with a fitful snooze not fully understood, but researchers at because of our increasing knowledge of in a sleep study lab. There, sensors at- the Harvard Medical School have found tached to his body recorded his heartbeat that sleep problems are an important and eye movements and the fact that his factor in patients with anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression breathing stopped and attention deficit momentarily almost hyperactivity disorevery minute he was der. asleep, 44 times an They point to hour, a clear sign of brain imaging and a a condition known study of the chemisas sleep apnea. try of the brain sugHe was one of gesting that a good the estimated 22 night’s sleep helps million Americans us to bounce back with a condition mentally and emothat can cause a tionally to face the continuous but temchallenges of daily porary obstruction living with mental in our breathing and emotional resilwhile we are asleep. ience, while chronic The American Sleep Dr. Scott Leibowitz heads the sleep sleep problems can Apnea Association medicine practice at Northside lead to emotional reports that 80 perHospital’s Laureate Medical Group. and psychological cent of those with sleep apnea are unaware they have a vulnerability.

Doctors, however, often are not spemoderate to severe case of the condition.

The simple solution for many of cialists in sleep medicine and get little or those like Greenhut, who are diagnosed no training in sleep disorders, and many with the problem, is a prescription for patients, like those who suffer from sleep a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure apnea, are hesitant to seek out medical machine, commonly called CPAP, a care.

This has been a problem, said Dr. small air pump device attached to a face mask that fits over the nose and mouth. Leibowitz, who practices with the LaureA constant flow of air, under moderate ate Medical Group of Northside Hospital. pressure, allows the breathing passages “Often, historically, people have been a to remain open and keeps you sleeping little bit embarrassed to talk much about psychiatric problems, and doctors were soundly.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

The new book by Dr. Guy Leschziner is based on the important medical advances in sleep medicine over the last several decades.

not reliably asking patients about their sleep and screening for sleep disorders.

Although, as we recognize that sleep is a neurobiological process, the options for treatment and evaluation have gotten a lot better.”

Among those choices have been medications. They are part of a class called benzodiazepine, such as Klonopin and zolpidem, which is commonly known as Ambien. Although they have been used in the treatment of insomnia, Dr. Leibowitz doesn’t believe that these powerful medications should be prescribed without a clear understanding of the sleep disorder a patient may have.

“That’s not to say that sleep medications are not helpful and/or effective, but quite honestly, when you treat a symptom without understanding the origin of that symptom, then the treatments are going be less effective and potentially expose the patients to risks. Medications should be used when you understand what you’re treating as opposed to the general complaint of ‘I can’t sleep.’”

Concern about the side effects from long-term use of sleeping medications has led the National Institute of Health to recommend that psychological therapy be considered as an alternative to drugs.

This is particularly so in the treatment of insomnia, which is said to affect up to a third of all Americans and result in more than $100 billion dollars in direct and indirect costs.

The use of what is called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia also has been endorsed as a first-line therapy by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Unlike pills, the program treats the underlying behavioral causes of insom-

nia rather than just the symptoms. A highly trained therapist, with specialized skills, helps clients to develop good sleep habits and avoid behaviors that keep them from sleeping well.

CBT-I is a structured program of up to a dozen sessions that helps identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that cause or worsen sleep problems with habits that promote sound sleep.

For those who might like to work on their insomnia without the help or expense of a therapist, they can download a free cognitive behavioral training app developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It’s called CBT-i Coach.

For those without serious issues, the National Sleep Foundation offers these tips for a better night’s sleep: • Stay away from video and computer screens just before bedtime.

• Avoid caffeine in the evening.

• Don’t eat late or drink alcohol at night.

• Put yourself on a sleep schedule that has you going to bed and awakening at the same time each day.

• Keep your bedroom cool and comfortable.

• Check with a sleep specialist if you don’t get much relief. You may need medical treatment.

If you need a doctor’s help, that treatment will be a lot better than it was 30 years ago or more, according to Dr. Leibowitz.

“The body of research in sleep medicine that we have has been evolving dramatically. In just the last few decades it’s like the difference in the general practice of medicine in the 1890s and in the early 1900s to medicine today.”

Scott Greenhut, 32, lost 110 pounds and regained his health on a program that began by addressing his sleep apnea.

Greenhut would probably agree.

After his sleep improved with the CPAP machine his doctor prescribed, he began exercising on an elliptical machine and totally dropped the fried foods, the sugar and the empty carbs.

In 1 ½ years he’s lost 110 pounds and

has improved his health so dramatically his doctor told him he didn’t need to use his sleep machine anymore. Next month he begins his new career as a motivational speaker to convert others to his eating and exercise program and to tell them to get a good night’s sleep. ■

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

The Impact of Media and Video Games

By Bob Bahr Video games have received considerable partisan political bashing in recent weeks and have raised concern in the Jewish community about being a platform for anti-Semitic activity.

The impact of video games gets a thoughtful and often profound analysis in a pair of recent books by two media scholars at Emory University.

The first, “Media in Mind” by Daniel Reynolds, questions the widely held notion that modern entertainment, whether it be film, video games or diversions on the web, are somehow separate from who we are, in body and mind. The second, Tanine Allison’s “Destructive Sublime,” looks at how the combat of World War II is treated, historically in American film, as well as in present-day video games.

The economic growth of gaming, particularly, has been impressive. The industry in the coming year in the United States is expected to gross over $90 billion, and it is estimated there are 2.5 billion people around the world who play games on their tablets, cell phones and computers, according to WePC.com.

For Matthew Bernstein, a nationally recognized film and media studies professor and chair of that department at Emory, the two new books reflect part of the challenge that the study of new media pose in trying to keep up with a rapidly changing world.

“Media studies is always devoted to keeping pace with new technologies and understanding the ways

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The violent “Grand Theft Auto” is the best-selling video game of all time. It has grossed more than $6 billion, according to Esquire magazine.

Books by Daniel Reynolds and Tanine Allison explore the impact of modern entertainment on our inner lives.

people use them and interpret them — and [professors] Allison and Reynolds exemplify two rich examples of the approaches scholars can take.”

While both books are primarily about media, they also explore the implication of the media we experience.

Whether we are playing a video game that carries us into the wee hours of the morning or sitting in the plush lounge chair of a darkened theater for an hour or two, both scholars maintain that we are experiencing more than just a momentary diversion from real life.

Both argue in favor of the immense impact that gaming and other forms of modern entertainment have on us. Both their books, which were based in part on their Ph.D. dissertations, explore not only the cultural influ-

ence of newer forms of media but how they work, affect us emotionally, and what we do with that experience.

Reynolds and Allison see themselves as part of the first generation of educators who have grown up with media that are more interactive, more open-ended in their narrative, more seductive in their claim on us.

“I am posing the question of: How do you perceive this?” Reynolds said. “What can this show you about the world or what kind of new experiences can this medium give you? I would almost call it a perceptual impact through something that new media have.”

At the heart of his argument is the idea that we somehow internalize our experiences of all modern media. That, just like the mind and body make up who we are as an individual, so our experiences of media in the external world of our experience become a part of who we are as a person.

“There’s been an increase of interest recently in the philosophy of mind and in cognitive science trying to think about the ways that the mind is part of the world.

What they are saying and what I am saying is that we need to think of the mind not as being something that’s sort of discrete and contained and separate, but rather it’s a thing that sort of emerges from activity in the world. And I’m trying to take that idea and extend it to media.”

Both professors reject the argument that violence in the modern games we play or the way we play them inspires us to be more violent or more accepting of violence in our everyday lives. Violence in media is a complex and challenging issue, they said.

There is also concern that online game-playing can lead some to become targets for white nationalists and other radical, anti-Semitic political movements.

In the past two years, the Anti-Defamation League has stepped up its work with the gaming community through its Center for Technology and Society. It has partnered with the International Game Developers Association and New York University’s Game Center to address issues related to hate and bias in the development of new game products.

Reynolds and Allison are assistant professors in the Department of Film and Media Studies at Emory. They teamed up earlier this year to teach a course in new media focused on the way students can analyze and confront the role that video games play in their lives.

“They have become an extension of us and that’s especially so for video games,” Allison said. ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 21

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Rockin for the Cure Jams on This Weekend

The first event, then named “Blues & Brews,” took place in 2016. Pictured are Taylor and Steven Benatar, Diane Benatar and David and Leah Gordon.

Ruth Falkenstein, right, with several high school friends who showed up in 2018 to support the cause and the organization.

By Eddie Samuels Now in its third year, Rockin for the Cure still stays true to its roots, providing a fun and festive atmosphere while remembering Morris Benatar, who died in 2016 from complications stemming from Crohn’s disease. The event is sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

“My husband has a band, and [in 2017], a brewery had offered them a spot on a Sunday afternoon where they could play for charity. After talking with my sister-in-law and my parents, we decided it would be a good tribute,” said Ruth Falkenstein, Benatar’s sister. “Morris loved music and he would always come up when my husband’s band would play.”

That first year, the event was held at Monday Night Brewing, but last year it was moved to Nowak’s, where it remains this year.

“We connected with Blaiss Nowak, and he offered his restaurant and it was fabulous. We changed the name — which the first year was ‘Blues & Brews’ — to ‘Rockin for the Cure,’” Falkenstein said.

While the venue remains the same, the goals this year are higher than ever.

In its first year, the event raised $6,000, and last year, it raised more than $16,000, but expectations remain high.

“I think we will have 150 or more 22 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

again this year and I think we’ll raise over $30,000 when all is said and done,” said Shannon Primm, development director for CCF’s Georgia Chapter. “The event fills a need for the chapter. We need something fun to bring people together.

There are three generations at the event and it being open to anyone is really important.”

The local chapter was founded by Leo and Louise Benatar, Morris’ parents, after his diagnosis, and in previous years, the event was largely organized by Falkenstein with help from her siblings and Morris’ widow, Diane. This year however, there has been a concerted effort to involve a third generation of Benatars in the planning process.

“This year we really had the whole family,” Falkenstein said. “We called a meeting and got all the kids involved.

Morris’ daughter-in-law designed our new logo. Now it really is the third generation, and soon, on to the fourth, but hopefully by then there will be no more need.”

Leo echoed his daughter’s sentiment, stressing the importance of family’s involvement in the cause.

“I love to see the younger generations involved. I’m the oldest member of the Benatar family now, the patriarch, and when we have events, we get them all together,” he said. “I believe in the family

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Rockin for the Cure is now in its third year, and its second at Nowak’s restaurant.

and I’ve tried to impart that on to our children and grandchildren and now, great-grandchildren.”

With music, food, drinks and a raffle, the event really is fun for whole families, Falkenstein said, and that atmosphere was vital to her when first planning the event.

“I would say the fun came out of the fact that my brother loved music. It epitomizes who my brother was and who our family is,” she said.

Primm also noted that keeping the event light helps to combat the difficulty surrounding discussions about inflammatory bowel disease — the blanket term for Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.

“It’s not sexy. No one wants to talk about how many times they’re going to the bathroom with their friends, and at work it can absolutely have an impact,” she said. “So, there’s a really big stigma there, and the awareness that events like this raise is just as crucial.”

While IBD isn’t isolated to the Jewish population, it is a more common disease, particularly among the Ashkenazi, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other nationally recognized medical sources.

Falkenstein notes that the Atlanta Jewish community, and particularly the family’s longtime congregation, Congregation Or Veshalom, has shown immense support.

“It doesn’t just affect Jewish people, but it’s one of those diseases that is very prevalent in the Ashkenazi Jewish community — which is what my mother was. Many of our synagogues’ members have already donated and come to the event,” she said. ■ The third annual Rockin for the Cure event takes place Sunday, Aug. 18 from 4-7 p.m. at Nowak’s restaurant. For tickets, visit http://bit. ly/2Ma31hY. Tickets are $30 online, or $35 at the door.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 23

HEALTH & WELLNESS

A Jewish Approach to Eating Disorders

By Eddie Samuels The underlying challenges of eating disorders are no different in Jewish patients than others. But The Renfrew Center’s liaison to the Jewish community, Sarah Bateman, spoke to the AJT about the center’s Jewish programming and specific struggles and successes of Jewish patients.

“We don’t have numbers [on Jews with eating disorders] but we know it’s a problem,” she said. “I try to stay really focused on how it manifests differently.”

The Renfrew Center, which has several locations including one in Atlanta, aims to ensure that Jewish patients are comfortable and accommodated for all levels of observance while in the program, such as keeping Shabbat, celebrating holidays and eating kashrut.

“Since 2009 we’ve had special programming for Jewish women with eating disorders, which we are in the process of reworking right now,” Bateman said. “For the past two years we’ve been using a unified treatment model developed from David Barlow’s Unified Protocol. … One of the things we’re doing now is looking

24 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Simply shifting the mindset around that can be a big step, Bateman said.

“Instead of looking at that as: I do this every single week, what am I supposed to do? We can look at it as an accomplishment: I do this every single week!” she said. “We can plan for this and make it a part of your meal plan and treatment plan.”

With the high holidays quickly approaching, Bateman also mentioned a few of the challenges for those recovering from eating disorders around holidays, especially those that are traditionally centered around food.

“It’s very challenging, and it’s the same thing with Jews and non-Jews. It’s really important to take the focus off the food and think more about the holiday.

Why do they observe it? Is there a way for them to consciously put the focus on something other than the food?”

She added that even with holidays like Passover, where the traditions can Renfrew’s Atlanta-area treatment center. seem so directly tied to a meal, there is at Jewish values and seeing how they can an assessment in which they discuss lev- more to it.

“Unfortunately, we put the focus on els of observance and necessary accomhelp with this treatment process.” the meal a lot of the time. … Being able Bateman explained that initially, modations.

“We also assess how their beliefs and to enjoy the meal and get that feeling of Jewish patients who wish to can undergo Judaism, more generally, affect them and fulfillment is an important part of treatmay have affected the development of ment, but we don’t want the focus to be their eating disorder, and what accom- all on the food,” she said.

Fasting is another big question for modations we can make for them,” she said. “That can mean anywhere from ko- Jewish patients and Bateman noted that sher food to working through issues with there is no specific rule stopping those with eating disorders from fasting, but specific groups.”

She noted that a values-based ap- additional caution is warranted around proach was a core part of the center’s Yom Kippur.

“There are guidelines that we work unified treatment model, and using Jewish values with Jewish patients is espe- with a rabbi to enforce. Someone with a history of anorexia, cially important. For who has been very reexample, she said, “Life stricted and has been comes first in Judaism, triggered similarly in and that’s something the past, should not fast we repeat a lot. These at all,” she said. “It can behaviors are harmbe extremely challengful, and there’s a higher ing for someone with mortality rate with anan eating disorder to orexia than any other not fast. There are conmental illness. It’s not cerns about being differjust about wanting to ent from everyone else look thin; this is a deadly who is fasting that often mental illness.” come up.”

While often holiShe recommended days can be difficult using the high holidays times for patients, Bateas a time for reflection. man explained that JewSarah Bateman “If we use this as ish practices can also an opportunity to think about what we create those same difficulties.

“Obviously we have Shabbat, so while want and what we believe in and set I have non-Jewish patients coming to me some positive, healthy goals, we can around the holidays asking, ‘How do I get work on tolerating the emotions,” she through a holiday meal?’ Jewish patients said “We can ask: Are my behaviors matching my beliefs?” ■ deal with that every week,” she said.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Marketing Guru’s Healing Message

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

anti-social. Could social media be an antidote for isolation? In today’s time, “yes.” It is like turning your hand-held device into a real hand held. I once had a girlfriend who texted me, “Is your head under your pillow? I’m here.” My head was indeed under my pillow. But with my phone, so was she and so were the words I needed to hear. That inspired me to do the same.

He’s somewhere between Woody Allen, the Dalai Lama and Federico Fellini.

He has been a purposeful and businesswise marketing stanchion on the Atlanta stage for decades. Joey Reiman is back with a new message that has lit up social media and serves as a platform to support friends and strangers alike who suffer from depression.

Jaffe: Is it cathartic to speak out Globally known as the “King of Cor- about emotional problems? porate Purpose,” for the past 25 years Reiman: If you don’t speak out, all Reiman helped Fortune 500 companies one can do is speak in — into yourself, discover and articuinto your already chaotic mind. This late their brands just exacerbates the with purpose. Fast Company magaproblem. When you zine named Reiman share your probone of the 100 peolems, they are cut ple who will change in half. Hopefully, you are talking to the way the world thinks. Renowned a person who is a witness without marketing professor Philip Kotler judgment — a true blessing. called him “The Moses of Marketing.”

These days Jaffe: Do you when he’s not orthink that high chestrating a ballet profile figures like for the Atlanta Symyourself are widphony Orchestra, ening the door for like he did in March mental illness to be 2018, he teaches better understood? creative and critical Reiman: Jon Marketing guru Joey Reiman thinking, “Ideation,” Hamm, Ashley Judd, exudes creativity. at Emory UniverGwyneth Paltrow, sity’s Goizueta Business School.

Jim Carrey, Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie, Last year Reiman also took the helm Lady Gaga, Michael Phelps, J.K. Rowling, as founder and chairman of Brand New have all been visited by demons. By speakWorld Studio, a storytelling business that ing out, they have become angels rescuing develops purposeful films with top tier those of us stuck in the dark. companies such as Proctor & Gamble.

A fabulous life still did not shield Jaffe: Is your experience that Jews him from bouts of depression, denying have more depression and anxiety because it, then ultimately dealing with it. “Inten- of parental pressure, guilt or suffering, or tion heals all wounds. One can’t wait for even the well-meaning push for perfection? a miracle.”

Reiman: Jews tend to be perfectionThe topic seems to also concern Rei- ists and with that comes guilt, shame, emman’s students. “Ten years ago students barrassment, and the truth — no one is would talk 80 percent to me about grades perfect. Western culture’s obsession with or schoolwork and 20 percent about radical individualism stunts our growth personal matters. Today it’s 20 percent as humans. Artists are more prone to decourse-related and 80 percent anxiety/ pression as art is a mortal attempt to crebad feelings. … I tweaked the curriculum ate heaven on earth. That is a daunting from corporate purpose to include ‘Why task, first given to the gods, then G-d, and am I here?’ I see a devolvement of happy, now his disciples — artists. Being a Jewjoyous students.” ish artist is a double whammy.

Joey’s journey unfolds.

Jaffe: Have you benefited from Jaffe: What is your goal in using so- mindfulness, meditation, or other mild cial media to make a safe space for others calming exercises? suffering from depression?

Reiman: Yoga has been a life saver.

Reiman: Depressed people become Meditation boosts medication and some-

times your yoga mat can become your soul mat(e).

to normal, you don’t think yourself back into a stupor.

Jaffe: What books did you find most helpful? I liked “10% Percent Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works” about Dan Harris’ struggles Reiman: “Darkness Visible” by William Styron, “The Noonday Demon”

by Andre Solomon, “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön, and “Yoga for Depression” by Amy Weintraub.

Jaffe: What words would you ascribe to depression?

Reiman: The word “alone” stands all alone. You can be in an arena with 50,000 people and feel ostracized. You are blinded by the darkness, and can only hear the deafening sound of silence.

Jaffe: How would you respond: Therapy versus medication in terms of healing? Genetics versus circumstance?

Reiman: Depression is not a flaw in character. It’s a mistake in chemistry.

My protocol was both meds and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Meds are a miracle. Unless you are wildly wealthy and can go to an oceanside sanatorium where nurses come check the condition of your easel, take meds if your doctor encourages you. In addition, see a cognitive therapist. They will help you rewire your thinking, so when your chemistry is back

Jaffe: “If you knew then what you know now” what would you have done differently, perhaps preventively?

Reiman: I would have been kinder and gentler to myself. Depression is not a weakness, rather it means you have been too strong, too long. In both cases, I learned that there is no better medicine for the brain than love in your heart.

Jaffe: What’s your mantra?

Reiman: Thoughts have wings. ■ Reiman’s best-selling book, “The Story of Purpose: The Path to Creating a Brighter Brand, a Greater Company, and a Lasting Legacy” follows his breakthrough business book, “Thinking for a Living.”

BEST OF JEWISH ATLANTA

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 25

HEALTH & WELLNESS Struggling With Drug or Alcohol Abuse

10 Signs to Look for in Your College Student

By Justin Milrad Drug and alcohol abuse on college campuses continues to be a problem after many decades. As a member of several different student groups, I have many memories that I’m not super proud of. The college years are meant to enhance a person’s life skills so they can move toward fulfilling their career and life goals. For many, it’s the first time in their life that they have complete control over their time and schedule.

This is the time that life skills become extremely valuable. With the combination of academics, social and life pressures, and the overall stress of being in college, some students turn to alcohol and drugs not just for partying, but for coping. If things spiral out of control, students may lose sight of their hopes and dreams.

College is a time where many individuals start developing issues that could lead to long-term problems. As parents, family and friends, we must understand and pay attention to the patterns and be-

26 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

haviors of students.

So how can you tell if a student is abusing drugs or alcohol? If you’re paying attention, many of the signs are easy to detect. Below is a list of 10 items to keep an eye out for. And note: just because someone might exhibit some of these signs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are abusing drugs or alcohol. However, these signs can help you identify if an issue might exist.

1. Binge Drinking – Students who drink regularly to blackout drunk. This is a visible sign of alcohol abuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for men, binge drinking is characterized by having five or more drinks in two hours, and for women, it’s four.

2. Declining Grades – The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s research demonstrates a pattern that students who binge drink regularly perform poorly in their studies.

Instead of studying, students are drinking. This often leads to hangovers, oversleeping, skipping classes, and just not

getting their work done. A harmful side effect is that some students counter the alcoholism with stimulants or what they call “study pills.”

3. Change in Appearance – Typically, a student who drinks excessively, does drugs, take pills, or has an eating disorder will impact how they look physically. These visible physical indicators include weight loss or gain, changes in their face or hair, dark circles around their eyes, lack of color in their cheeks, or sallow skin. Additionally, basic hygiene neglect, such as taking showers, brushing teeth, and unkempt appearances, are also warning signs. Alcohol and drugs weaken the whole body, including the liver, heart, immune system and nervous system.

4. Unexplained Financial Difficulties – If your child is constantly asking for money, make sure you know where it’s going and try to identify any suspicious patterns. The budget for a student attending college is pretty predictable.

If you see patterns that don’t appear to make sense, it’s possible that money is being spent on drugs or alcohol.

5. Sleeping Patterns – Drugs and alcohol affect sleeping patterns. Keep an eye out for staying up all night and sleeping all day. If you find your college student asleep at 3 p.m. on a weekday, that could be a sign that something is up.

6. Withdrawal from Healthy Friends – If your child is acting secretive with close friends and hanging out with others, there is a chance something is going on. Often, they are ashamed to let their friends see them in this light. As well, they are protecting their right to continue abusing substances and don’t want to be nagged by those who care about them.

7. Uncharacteristic Mood Swings – Some students who are abusing drugs and alcohol no longer seem like themselves. Their mood swings appear to be a complete change in character. A happy person with a positive attitude and energy may turn into a lifeless, negative, and

sour person whose mood fluctuates and turns on a dime. Withdrawal symptoms can cause agitation and even anger.

8. Reckless Behavior – As a student continues to use drugs and alcohol, their behaviors may become erratic and sometimes even abusive. Drunk driving, unsafe sex, mixing pills and alcohol, violence, and vandalism are just a few examples of reckless and risky behavior.

9. Lack of motivation – Has your college student gone from joining every club and sports team to sitting on the couch playing video games all day? Continuous use of drugs or alcohol will lead to lethargy and a lack of motivation to do much of anything.

10. Inability to make contact – Have you tried over and over again to get in touch with your child? Sometimes it’s tough to reach your child, they rush you off the phone, or always appear busy and agitated. This could be a sign that something bigger is going on. After all, who doesn’t have time for mom and dad?

As parents and friends, we must keep an eye out for our loved ones. College is a time to grow and develop for the next chapters in our lives. While we want our kids to grow, become independent, and find their own pathways, there is no harm keeping an eye on them and helping them be the best version of themselves. ■ Justin Milrad is the CEO of The Berman Center as well as the co-founder of The Blue Dove Foundation and can be reached at justin@bermancenteratl.com.

The Berman Center offers a customized, multidisciplinary treatment plan for those dealing with addiction and/or mental health issues. The Blue Dove Foundation provides tools to understand, support and overcome the challenges of mental illness and substance abuse.

For more information, call The Berman Center at 770-336-7444, or send questions to questions@bermancenteratl.com or call the Blue Dove Foundation, 404-490-2391 or questions to info@thebluedovefoundation.org.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

The Gift of Time and Positive Energy Flood-watch days, black Jacobson’s own mother, ice warnings or perhaps in her early 80s, does chair threats of a tornado can put yoga, which is accessible for a busy agenda on hold. The all ages. She talked about the car stays in the garage or negative side of life when driveway. Long to-do lists get “you’re angry, sad, frustratpushed over to the next day. ed, anxious – the negative Instead of moaning the disfeelings” and how the body ruption, these unanticipated is “shrinking, becoming hours of unplanned activismaller.” To create a positive Flora ties can be called gifts of time. feeling, she said to think of Rosefsky Slowing down a fast-paced “love, health, joy, energy,” life even in small increments which are “plus signs.” Medcan lead to a more relaxed state of mind, itation, as part of yoga, increases one’s reducing anxiety and stress. Here are some awareness “to a state of positivity,” said alternative and more traditional ways to Jacobson, who teaches at Peachtree Yoga unwind and disconnect.

Center in Sandy Springs.

We are all stressed, according to TerAnother place to give off positive enry Segal, a licensed psychotherapist. “We ergy is in your home through feng shui, are granted a certain amount of time on the ancient Chinese art and science of this earth. We must make time for what’s placing items in such a way to inspire important to us,” she said. positive energy. Besides one’s personalIn her book, “The Enchanted Journey: ity, it involves surrounding yourself with Finding the Key that Unlocks You,” she ad- de-cluttered spaces, including all rooms, vocates 10 keys, including mindfulness, al- basements, closets, cabinets and drawers. tered perceptions, jourThat kind of energy naling, art, nature and “is a bundle of one’s demeditation. Rather than sirable attributes, both dwelling on the past in a person and their or worrying about the home,” said Roberta future, Segal advocates Grant, who is certified that we be more aware in feng shui. “A person of living in the present. who is optimistic, enYoga is known to thusiastic, cheerful, and help harmonize your kind has and gives off mind, body and spirit, positive energy which is according to Tanya Jafelt by others.” cobson, a registered In the home, she yoga teacher. Yoga with suggests focusing on meditation should be letting sunlight into the performed together but rooms, including houseit doesn’t mean that evplants and flowers, de“Welcome Sabbath Bride” eryone who meditates cluttering, applying a

by Flora Rosefsky does yoga. fresh coat of paint, and “Meditation is a daily practice, just hanging artwork. “Always live with what like brushing your teeth.” By doing medi- you love and makes you smile.” tation, something “neurophysically hapFor Jews, Shabbat prescribes for us a pens to the brain in a positive way.” Cer- day of rest. Rabbi Jason Holtz of Temple tain personalities, those always on the go Kehillat Chaim in Roswell noted that for – firing from multiple burners without him, “Shabbat is a reminder of what it catching their breaths – will say they means to be a human being. We’re not don’t have time to meditate or do yoga. created just to be creators ourselves. For But they’re the ones who need it most, many of us, our work is fulfilling, meanJacobson said. ingful and valued by others. At the same “You cannot reach your potential if time, how well we live life isn’t just meayou cannot quiet the mind.” It’s easy and sured by our output.” it’s free. There needs to be a willingness to Shabbat can focus our attention on try something new. She suggested medi- other important things, such as our famitating when waking up in the morning, ly, … our own well-being, and our commubefore getting out of bed. “Rest your right nity, he said. “Finding the right balance hand on your belly, left hand on your in life can be a challenge, but Shabbat heart. Become aware of your breath.” comes every week to help us out.” ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 27

DINING Bite into the ‘Smoky’ Sky

Executive chef Juan Ruiz runs a tight kitchen and presents artful plates.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Atlantans do love to be on the cutting edge of something new and different when chasing the dining scene. That combined with the halo around Sandy Springs makes Casi Cielo Cocina Mexicana, the gourmet ingénue sporting Oaxacan cuisine, not the same old rice and beans.

Oaxaca (pronounced Wah-haw-kah) is one of the 32 entities in Mexico, and is known for its ruggedness, long Pacific coastline, 16 recognized types of indigenous peoples, and biodiversity.

The outdoor patio seats 30 and faces Roswell Road.

The chef sent out an amusebouche of mini corn tamales.

Gracious general manager Hector Londono keeps the front end running smoothly.

I vacationed at a family Club Med in Huatulco, Oaxaca, decades ago, and was told to not venture outside the walls of the property. Cuisine-wise, Casi Cielo boasts the mezcal and smoky flavors of this region along with handmade corn tostadas.

Many of the cocktails also incorporate the smoky flavor like Paloma Negra: Sombra Espadín, Joven Mezcal, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and agave with volcanic salt. The carrot orange mimosa seemed interesting. I had a refreshing Campo Viejo Cava Brut-Rosé to combat the heat wave outdoors.

For a Tuesday night, there were no available tables, so there was bit of a wait. Contributing to this was the extreme heat where normally another 30 (plus the 120 indoors) could have dined outside.

The patio is smack on Roswell Road, but the vibe of being in the Modera apartment complex makes for a city/suburbia atmosphere. There is valet parking, but we chose complimentary parking in the rear. The festive art panels on the building exterior announce that something special is inside.

Like Rumi’s Kitchen directly across the street, the dining room had more than its share of Jewish patrons. When asked about this, the cordial general manager Hector Londono, a native Columbian, said “We know how to accommodate our audience in Sandy Springs.”

Since it’s not the traditional burrito/ nacho Mexican fare, the check may not be modest. The menu is divided into Momento segments. The lubina entrée was $30 and filling, but add a drink, starter/ salad and split a dessert, and it can tally up. The kitchen is well equipped, and one can expect to see executive chef Juan Ruiz hustling to line up the orders and assure each dish comes out resembling an artist’s palette.

All tables get servicio de tostadas, handmade blue corn tostadas in a clay comal, served with red and green sauce.

The menu notes if you ask for additional sauce, there will be a $7 charge.

How the tastes flowed:

microgreens which made for a nice touch, with kale on top. Less heavy on the salt would have let the greens shine better.

Pan Seared Lubina: A rock star entrée. Branzino placed on corn purée and green chiles, with habanero and chili aioli was worth fighting over.

Planning choices for the next visit: Gazpacho Mexicano: Fresh pineapple, unusual raw tuna, and chile powder.

Salmón Prehispánico: Wrapped in plantain leaf and tortilla dough with potatoes.

Coliflor al Josper: Cauliflower, piperrada, lemon, chile powder, guajillo oil and pumpkin seeds.

Also Notable: Atomatada eggplant; epazote (medicinal herb); Olives; Esquites (grilled street corn off the cobb); Asparagus; or Onions toreadas.

Tartar de Atún (tuna): A ramekin shape layered with mango, avocado and chile powder.

There are dozens more menu items such as langostino, duck and octopus that this reviewer eschewed; but may be someone else’s idea of a real treat. A nice touch was the server setting up a purse “tree stand” to clear the floor and let diners keep an eye on their property.

The restaurant bills itself as the largest mezcal collection in Atlanta with “small pieces from heaven.” Its name itself means “half sky.” Certain momentos are just that. Good idea to take a SpanishEnglish dictionary. ■

Guacamole Frito de Hierbas: The mashed avocados were feathered with

Casi Cielo is located at 6125 Roswell Road, a bit north of I-285.

Aguachile de Pescado: Sliced halibut in citrus powder with chile jalapeño sauce was rolled in vertical stacks and abundant with flavor.

28 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Fish Tacos: Mahi-mahi tempura, coleslaw, carrots, chile powder, chipotle aioli, aguacatada sauce. The tacos were on the small side, and we peeled off the deep-fried coating to find a thick, tasty white fish inside.

This 200-year-old wood buffet is from Marianne’s grandparent’s home. It has only pegs, no nails. The peach covered jar on left is Marianne’s and as is the blue queen chess piece in the rear: “Head Trip” which is sand-blasted and drawn on before sealing. The digital photograph is “Small Storm” (Maggie Taylor). The burgundy charger is by Steve Joplin.

Chai Style Art

Photos by Dark Rush Photography // Marianne poses

by her 10 tall white organically shaped porcelain columns, “Clay People,” (1990) in the dining room that were modeled after her classmates.

Venerable Visionary in Vinings Marianne Weinberg-Benson, a professional sculp- Line of Light,” a tribute to him and the invisible sense of tor with experience in permanent monumental public healing in medicine. art projects, opens her home as a tour de force of her We lived off Peachtree Battle. At age 6, I began cerebral élan. Specializing in realistic bas-relief carved working at Olga Heatley’s clay studio in Buckhead. Fast brick sculptures, abstract and representational ce- forward to age 42, when I went back to the University of ramic and glass mosaics, her own work is Georgia to get a masters in ceramics. It was co- mingled with local treasures and those not easy studying for the GRE at that age! of faraway worlds. Constantly curating, Weinberg-Benson never shies away from Jaffe: Who are the inspirations that making a statement. “Over a span of 10 impacted your creative development? years, I developed the photography and ceWeinberg-Benson: I would break it ramic programs at the Chastain Arts Cendown this way. My University of Florida ter. In 2018, at its 50th anniversary, I was undergraduate photography professor Jerthe only living full-time instructor.” At ry Uelsmann influenced me to the extent home in Vinings with cat Sissy, she peels that I changed my major. I have his original away the layers of life’s chapters that con- Marcia black and white photograph, which later template the meaning of art and initiation Caller Jaffe was used for the Bon Jovi album cover. He of its conversations. was extremely talented and the first to manipulate a photograph in the dark room.

Jaffe: Share some back story on how you came to Charles Counts was a mentor. He shipped the wonyour art? derful pottery by Ladi Kwali in the master bedroom as a Weinberg-Benson: My father was an Atlanta cardi- wedding gift from Nigeria.

The late Polly Harrison was my dear friend. She ologist, which was my motivation for designing the public art at the Medical Center MARTA station “Healing was known for her use of recycled materials like the

sculpture upstairs constructed from old cellulose acetate movie film. Her work, as is mine, resides in the permanent collection at the Atlanta High Museum of Art. Jaffe: What has been your role on the Atlanta public art scene?

Weinberg-Benson: I did a permanent sculpture commissioned by the Fulton County Arts Council for the Robert E. Fulton Library in Alpharetta. Two monumental brick sculptures are life-sized figures carved from wet industrial brick in bas-relief, each in repose under “From Reading To Writing under the Tree of Knowledge.”

As part of a team, I won a regional competition to create a historical sculpture at the Ben Hill Recreation Center for the City of Atlanta, incorporating carved brick, stainless steel, fiber optic lighting and landscaping. It won an Atlanta Urban Design Commission Award of Excellence in public art.

For the Southwest Arts Center I did two columns – a ballerina and African drummer, also in carved brick.

My late husband encouraged me to keep an assortment of my work in phases, which was later shown as a retrospective at the LaGrange art museum.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 29

CHAI STYLE Unnamed bird by the late Nellie Mae Rowe from Fayette County, one of the most important American folk artists. Her work is displayed in the High Museum of Art.

The master bedroom nook has Weinberg-Benson’s cracked “Is There a Dragon in Your Marriage?” on left. Her painting “Open Doors” is over the treasured Nigerian pottery wedding gift in lucite case.

The vertical stained glass panel arrived broken from England and was repaired by monks.

Jaffe: What are some of your most treasured works at home?

Weinberg-Benson: I sculpted these 10 tall white organic porcelain columns, “Clay People” (1990), in the dining room, reflecting the personalities of my fellow graduate school classmates.

Perhaps I am best known for sand-blasted pottery, where the process opens the pores of the glaze and allows me to freely draw on the surface. The piece in the dining room, “Head Trip,” is from my “Chess Set” [series] where half were cobalt blue and the opponents were white. Blue is a best seller (laughing). Every artist must have her ‘blues.’ Each piece reflected psychological games people play.

Then there’s my bust of a gentleman thinking about

his life in Africa by the fireplace.

In the master bedroom is my piece “Is There a Dragon in Your Marriage?” (Cracked Liberty Bell Series.)

I have done teapots and have teapots by others.

They are fun to create and a challenge to do well since there are so many different elements.

I have two super-sized acrylic paintings from decades ago. The layered alabaster one upstairs garners a lot of comments.

Jaffe: Describe your techniques.

Weinberg-Benson: I developed ceramic cloisonné, sandblasting a glazed surface, rubbing powered pigment, then drawing onto a porcelain tile to create a multi-dimensional process.

The Vinings home has both a “Mardi Gras” wood cut by Ben Smith and this, his rare multi-figure painting “Boardwalk Fortune Teller.”

The American maple kitchen table is surrounded by chairs by Frank Gehry facing a variety of teapots and sculpture. Weinberg-Benson did the tall pot on the left. Reed Minty’s “Dream Interpretation” is adjacent to the frosted glass piece by Ginny Ruffner.

30 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CHAI STYLE Weinberg-Benson’s upstairs layered alabaster painting is a full 5-by-5 feet.

This colorful recycled film sculpture was done by Weinberg-Benson’s best friend, the late Polly Harrison.

Beginning the creative process for a public space, I reflect on what’s happening in the community, who will be enjoying it, and what’s happening inside the building.

Jaffe: What are some of the most unusual works of others that you collect?

Weinberg-Benson: I have several Moulthrop wood bowls. I had a close relationship with two of the three generations: Phil and Ed, and own work by all, including Matt, who specialized in native Southeast wood.

The stained glass panel in the master bedroom (Frank Garrett), “Four Seasons,” which arrived broken from England and was repaired by monks in the Conyers monastery.

In the dining room is a digital photograph “Small Storm” by Maggie Taylor, and a burgundy charger by Steve Joplin, Janis Joplin’s brother. I also have a Ben

Smith painting “Boardwalk Fortune Teller,” which is on the rare side since he is known for his woodcuts.

The early frosted glass piece by Ginny Ruffner is pretty special.

I treasure the cheery bird in front of her Vinings home by folk artist Nellie Mae Row (mixed media – crayons and paper in layers). I have an unusual Noah’s ark lamp done by Chris Moses.

Jaffe: What’s next for you?

Weinberg-Benson: I pick and choose my projects at this point. My primary focus is mentoring a young artist who has had success in getting into the public art domain. I am proud of that.

As has been for most of my life, travel is my passion.

Soon I’m off for a seven-week European jaunt.

And … I never stop collecting! ■

The colorful quilt is by Elizabeth Barton, “Collingate,” of an apartment in Manhattan .

Weinberg-Benson is credited as being the first to develop two- and three- dimensional ceramic cloisonné. “Ancestors in Our Name” represents the fleeting character of life.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 31

ARTS In Search of a Birth Family

By Jan Jaben-Eilon Atlanta native Charlotte Laws has two main messages she seeks to convey in her new book, “Undercover Debutante: The Search for my Birth Parents and a Bald Husband.”

“I think doing things for others is the key to happiness, and perseverance is the key to success,” Laws told the AJT from Los Angeles, where she now lives. “It’s not about focusing on petty things and being selfish.”

Her advice might strike a reader of her latest book as disingenuous since it’s a memoir of her non-conventional life as a celebrity party-crashing, sequin-clad adoptee obsessed with finding her birth parents. The 300-page book published

by Stroud House and scheduled for release this week, is, well, a page-turner that reads like a soap opera. It strains the imagination, but Laws confirms that it’s her memoir. “It’s all accurate to my knowledge,” she jokes.

“Undercover Debutante” is actually her third book, and second memoir. Her

32 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Charlotte Laws tells almost all in her new memoir.

first, published in 2015, was based on her first 21 years. Already, at 59, Laws has

more escapades and exploits to share with her readers than most of us ever will. And fortunately, for her readers, she has a flair for relating them in colorful, captivating and conversational short chapters that keep her storytelling flowing.

Laws is unquestionably a maverick who refuses to conform from the start, especially to her adoptive, wealthy Atlanta family who reside in what she describes as a preppy, debutante society. As she writes, “Mom and Dad were racist, sexist and homophobic; and they claimed to be Christian, although they never attended church or discussed religion. They owned guns, raised cattle as a sideline investment, and had no interest in current events, charities or philosophy. They were, however, very interested in money. They were the embodiment of the saying, ‘Whoever dies with the most stuff wins.’”

Laws, on the other hand, became an animal rights activist, vegetarian and Reform Jew. In her book, she quotes several academicians who point out the importance of nature over nurture. Laws herself obviously believes that genes determined who she became as a person rather than the adoptive family in which she grew up.

Again, she summarizes that “My birth mom had been raised Christian, then attended a Unitarian church for a year, and finally converted to Reform Judaism. I had been raised a Christian, then

attended a Unitarian church for a month, and finally converted to Reform Judaism.

The interesting part is that we did not know each other or know about each other. We had lived in different states with different families; we had led completely separate lives.”

Her affinity to Judaism started when she was a student at Lovett High School. “I had sympathies for Judaism even when I was young. People would ask if I was Jewish – even people I didn’t know,” she told the AJT. But it wasn’t until she escaped Atlanta and was living in Los Angeles and started attending Friday night services at Stephen Wise Temple, that she actually started studying about Judaism and eventually converted.

She acknowledges that she received a good education at Lovett. “It was a wonderful school. Many of the teachers felt like parents to me. I went to their houses and I’m very grateful for that.” But Laws stresses that she “didn’t feel I was in sync with Atlanta. I never fit in. I was stifled in my family.”

That’s why her story really unfolds and picks up speed after she moved, first to Las Vegas and then Los Angeles. Admittedly a rebel, Laws took jobs – such as a stripper and house-cleaner – and perfected the art of crashing parties at celebrities’ homes and awards events.

She says her first boyfriend was pop idol Tom Jones.

In “Undercover Debutante,” she writes about her experiences with other celebrities such as Merv Griffin, Tony Bennett, Milton Berle, President Ronald Reagan and Julio Iglesias.

But it’s the story of finding and meeting her birth family that is the soul of this book. Although Laws never names her birth father or birth siblings, she draws sharp parallels between herself and her birth mother and birth grandmother, whom she does name. In contrast, she names her adoptive father and calls him the “antagonist” in her life. She assumes that he will never read her book, which is probably good since her description of him is anything but complimentary.

“But I have no anger toward anyone in the book,” Laws states. In fact, writing the book about her adoptive and birth families – not to mention the father of her only child, and that daughter — was apparently cathartic for her. Her story will leave readers with mouths gaping wide. ■

ARTS

Fiddler’s Story: Tradition to Modernity

By Marcia Caller Jaffe The Aug. 6 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival audience was mesmerized by a sold-out screening of the new documentary “Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. It didn’t really fit in the pocket of a “pure documentary,” so it was a movie within a movie, or a movie about a movie. Labels aside, the film was nothing if not emotional.

The 500 moviegoers were the maximum permitted by the film’s distributor ahead of the upcoming commercial release.

Before the movie, Tony Award-winning actor Shuler Hensley reprised his role as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Dressed in costume and working his way down the aisle, Hensley, who serves as the associate artistic director of the City Springs Theatre Company, treated the audience to a rendition of “If I Were a Rich Man.” “AJFF Selects’ showing of ‘Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles’ reminded me why this beloved Broadway classic connects so powerfully with audiences,” said Sari Earl, AJFF’s new board vice president, who introduced the film. “Universal experiences of life, love, parenting, loss, and the hope we all need during difficult times had people laughing, crying, and cheering.”

Brandt Blocker, artistic director of the City Springs Theatre Company, said, “For a sheltered Catholic boy from New Orleans, ‘Fiddler’ was my first exposure to Yiddish culture.”

That, indeed, was the theme of the evening: universal emotions bringing people together, considering it was performed around the world, including a controversial performance by an allblack and Hispanic school in 1970.

Roots The glue of the film was remarks from gracefully aged Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) and Jerry Bock (music), who traced the adaptation of the “Fiddler franchise.” They connected the dots of the original Sholem Aleichem stories, where the people came alive with their anger and neuroses, the simplicity and fragility of life, and pogroms.

There was a lesser known female empowerment theme as Jewish women were sent off to South America enslaved as prostitutes at the time “Fiddler” is set, 1905, versus Chava, the modern “Fiddler” daughter who dared to buck tradition.

(Even Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan were subliminally on screen.)

Note the original “If Were A Rich Man” lyrics morphed from “If I were a Rothschild, … I’d take my coat out of the pawn shop.”

Anna Lee photographer // “Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” takes a backstage

look at what was once the longest-running musical.

Produced by Hal Prince, who died July 31, the play premiered in Detroit to poor reviews as “too Jewish.” Much refinement occurred – songs deleted, script changes.

Layers The show’s genius, Jerome Robbins, was front and center. His choreography was pure magic, but he extracted pounds of flesh to get there. He was abusive to actors with blame and dressing down sessions.

He was careful to not “stage” the dance sequences, but rather ushered their flow. The most exciting was the “bottle dance” that he replicated from a religious wedding experience. Imagine the fragility of balancing glass on heads.

It was precise.

The moody Robbins deserved “props,” but was portrayed as a miserable character. Struggling with his own homosexuality and Jewishness, he “named names,” testifying at the House Un-American Activities Committee to tamp his secrets.

Broadway phenom Linn Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”) shared that as a fifth-grader, “Fiddler was his only exposure the Jewish experience.” Fast forward to his own wedding, where he performed “Fiddler” with his Dominican father-inlaw. Marvelous cross-cultural journey!

The biggest laugh of the night came when movie director Norman Jewison admitted, “Even with a name like mine, I’m a goy!” He certainly “got it” – shown weeping while shooting scenes. Another strong audience reaction came from Motown, The Temptations’ shaky attempt at “If I Were a Rich Man.” Tevye The movie linked the various Tevyes and what they brought to the character.

Zero Mostel, arguably the most famous, was shown as a belligerent egoist “on and off the set.” Herschel Bernardi was sentimental as his son Michael reprised the role. Israeli Chaim Topol brought a new vigor of masculinity. He laughed, “I was especially poignant because I had

a toothache during the filming, which came out as real anguish.”

Much was made of the “Do You Love Me?” number with the explicitness that Goldie and Tevye still had sexual passion.

What they all had was a personal relationship with G-d and the imperative to maintain tradition, which was the final dénouement.

Modernity “Fiddler” has been performed every day somewhere in the world since premiering in 1964. It held the record for

most performances for 10 years before being replaced by “Grease.” The movie version of “Fiddler” premiered in 1971.

The end of the documentary got edgy by superimposing current political immigration and protest scenes. Is our border crisis now morally equivalent to pogroms? One voiceover stated, “Leaving because you were thrown out like Anatevka – given no choice – in three days, is not the same as seeking a border crossing for a better lifestyle.”

The young Bernardi closed with a trip to Kiev, Ukraine, for a Jewish wedding. The new perspective was the African-American violinist who performed there as she had in the live U.S. shows.

Bernardi mused, “This is complex. It’s not a melodrama. It has lasted.”

Another delight was the red and ochre floating drawings suggesting Chagall-like scenes.

Some moviegoers commented that the film was 15 minutes too long; but I didn’t want it to end.

The movie opens Sept. 6 at Regal Tara Cinemas on Cheshire Bridge Road and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse.

Don’t miss it! ■

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 33

CALENDAR FRIDAY, AUGUST 16

Community and Prospective Member Dinner – Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Join Rabbi Mark Zimmerman and fellow congregants who will lead us in song and prayer. Enjoy a BBQ Shabbat dinner and learn about their warm and inviting community. For more information, www.bit.ly/2G3KcIv.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18

Habitat for Humanity NW Interfaith Build – Latreece Williams Household, 2490 Perkerson Road SW, Atlanta, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed for this year’s Habitat for Humanity NW Interfaith Build.

This year marks the 26th year Ahavath Achim Synagogue has been a sponsor of this mitzvah. Become part of this meaningful tradition. For more information, www.bit.ly/2S8gUNL.

B’nai Torah Back to Shul BBQ – Congregation B’nai Torah, 700 Mount Vernon Highway NE, Sandy Springs, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meet, greet and eat.

Open beer and wine bar and cookout food for purchase. Free to enter. For more information, www.bnaitorah.org.

Say “Chai” at CSI – Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Atlanta, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Shearith Israel will host a community festival to kick off the new school year. The event will feature breakfast tacos, espresso and bloody mary bars and information about CSI’s committees and groups. See what’s on tap for 5780 and how you can get involved.

Free. For more information, www.bit. ly/2LW5Cen.

Open House, Open Hearts! – Temple Kehillat Chaim, 1145 Green Street, Roswell, from 3 to 5 p.m. You are invited to an open house. Meet Rabbi Jason Holtz, our religious school director, preschool administration and temple leadership. There will be tours of our facilities along with crafts for kids and food and fun for all. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2OEO6OE.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21

Open Play Games – Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open play tables are set up every week on MJCCA’s Main Street on Mondays and Wednesdays for you to enjoy popular strategy and skill games while 34 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Va’etchanan Friday, August 16, 2019, light candles at 8:05 p.m.

Saturday, August 17, 2019, Shabbat ends at 9:01 p.m.

Eikev Friday, August 23, 2019, light candles at 7:57 p.m.

Saturday, August 24, 2019, Shabbat ends at 8:52 p.m. making new friends. Free for members, $5 for the community. For more information, www.bit.ly/2H6mYRt.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22

Brain Health Boot Camp – Jewish Family & Career Services, 4549 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, from 3 to 5 p.m. This can help maintain and enhance your memory and brain function. $25 per class. For more information, www.bit.ly/2Ob6bCB.

Shabbat in the Park – Glen Lake Park, 1121 Church St., Decatur, from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m. Shabbat in the Park is a casual, fun and family-friendly Friday evening potluck dinner held monthly in a local park. Featuring a Shabbat sing-along led by Rabbi Ari Kaiman.

Enjoy a vegetarian-friendly meal, and an evening of socializing with Congregation Shearith Israel. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2IaIuGP.

Friday with Family – Temple EmanuEl, 1580 Spalding Drive, Atlanta, from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. For children with their parents and/or grandparents to engage in a fun and interactive Friday night worship experience. Free and open to the community. For more information and to RSVP, www.bit.ly/2KIRovh.

Navigating Parenthood – Addressing Anti-Semitism – Congregation Gesher L’Torah, 4320 Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, from 7 to 9 p.m. Gain the tools and resources you need to prepare your Jewish teen for the milestones and challenges they face today.

Free. www.bit.ly/2YFFCXr.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23

Shabbat in the Park – East Cobb Park, 3322 Roswell Road, Marietta, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Join Congregation Etz Chaim for its annual outdoor Shabbat in the Park at East Cobb Park. If you are new to the area, we invite you to join us for games, food, fun and a Shabbat service. $7 per person and $28 per family. For more information, www.bit. ly/2XHtHrE.

Dekalb Ave. NE, Suite A, Atlanta, from 2 to 4 p.m. Join SOJOURN for Tum Tum, a new group for Jewish LGBTQ+ identified teens and allies to share, learn and connect in a safe space. Free. For more information, contact tumtum@ sojournsgd.org or visit facebook.com/ events/469275077179100.

Camp Fed – Jewish Federation’s Next-

Mahjong for Beginners & Advanced Players – Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. If you have played in the past and just need some reminding, you are welcome to join. If you have just learned and want to get better, you are welcome. If you are experienced, come alone or with your group.

Open to the public. $2 for sisterhood members, $5 for non-sisterhood members. RSVP, 770-399-5300 or office@ bshalom.net.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25

Tum Tum Teen LGBTQ + Allies Group – Phillip Rush Center, 1530

The Well YPs: Summer Soul Shabbat Goes Bollywood! – The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Join The Temple Young Professionals for a very special Summer Soul Shabbat under the stars, celebrating the robust Jewish community of India and its formative place in shaping Bollywood. About 6,000 Baghdadi and Bene Israel Jews still live in India today, each with very distinct identities and rituals. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2KvoFJU.

Gen Signature Event – The Foundry at Puritan Mill, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. NW, Atlanta, from 2 to 5 p.m. Each ticket to Camp Fed includes one drink, delicious camp snacks like s’mores and grilled cheese, access to all activities and a $2 donation to Federation’s Camp Scholarship Program, helping send hundreds of children to summer camp. $25 in advance and $28 at the door. For tickets and more information, www.bit.ly/2NPJO6P.

A Health Symposium for All – Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Atlanta’s finest doctors will participate in a panel discussion dealing with today’s health concerns and best practices that enhance a healthy mind and body. A question and answer session will follow. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2YnZeE9.

“I am Maris” Film Screening and Wellness Workshop – Chabad Intown on the Beltline, 730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Join Chabad Intown for a screening of the film, “I Am Maris” and receive resources to support your teen struggling with anxiety and depression.

Presented in partnership with Chabad Intown, The Blue Dove Foundation and the MJCCA post-2019 Maccabi initiative for teen athletics and wellness, and Be Hot Yoga. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2Kn3MSx.

AUGUST 16-28

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22

ORT Summer, Sips and Schmooze – Urban Tree Cidery, 1465 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta, from 7 to 9 p.m. Join ORT Next Gen Young Professionals for a fun, happy hour-style event. Enjoy the end of summer with a light nosh, a drink or a flight of cider, tour the cidery and schmooze. This is a dog-friendly event, so please bring your pup. $20 per person. For more information, www.bit.ly/33g2uQw.

Cooking for Kfar Silver – From 4 to 6 p.m. Sample gourmet food and wine as ORT Atlanta raises money to renovate the kitchen in the Kfar Silver Village in Israel. Free. For location and more information, www.bit.ly/2GL8sPS.

Hebrew Reading Crash Course – Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Atlanta, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Shearith Israel is pleased to present, in partnership with NJOP (National Jewish Outreach Program), a five-session Hebrew literacy course for community members with little or no Hebrew literacy interested in learning the alef-bet (alphabet). Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2yHzpzs.

MONDAY, AUGUST 26

Jewish Women in Judaism – 1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Dunwoody, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Greater Atlanta Hadassah Metulla will meet in Dunwoody for the Jewish Women in Juda-

ism study group with Rabbi Ari Sollish. The topic will be “Deborah.” $5 per person. For more information, contact Nancy Schwartz, nshadassah2016@ comcast.net.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28

JELF Major Event – Coca-Cola Roxy at The Battery, 800 Battery Ave. SE, Suite 500, Atlanta, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Join JELF for its fundraising event featuring entertainment industry expert Jeffrey Stepakoff. With a 30-plus year career in the entertainment industry, Stepakoff is an accomplished producer, screenwriter, novelist and entertainment industry expert. He’s written and produced dozens of television series, including Emmy Award winning “The Wonder Years” and breakout hit “Dawson’s Creek.” $50 per person under 40, $75 per person 40 and over, $450 per table for 10 seats for under 40, $700 per table for 10 seats 40 and over. For more information, www.jelf.org/stepakoff/.

Find more events and submit items for our online and print calendars at:

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Calendar sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Connector, an initiative of the AJT. In order to be considered for the print edition, please submit events two weeks in advance. Contact community relations director, Jen Evans, for more information at jen@atljewishtimes.com.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 35

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COMMUNITY SIMCHA SPOTLIGHT

Mazel Tov

Dan Regenstein Reg Regenstein is the proud father of Dan Regenstein, who only took up golf four years ago and has recently scored two holes-in-one – and has witnesses to prove it!

On June 1 at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple course, Dan hit his second holein-one from 130 yards out with a 9-iron on the 13th hole, which is an easy par 3.

His first hole-in-one came on the most recent Friday the 13th, which was July 13 of last year, on hole six at the club’s Brookhaven course. So, who says Friday the 13th is an unlucky day?

Dan’s only comment was, “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

Dan attends The Temple, and a couple of years ago, helped lead an economic development delegation to Israel, including Gov. Nathan Deal.

B’nai Mitzvah Notices:

Lyly Dych, daughter of Jennifer Manning and Erik Dych, on July 29.

Lilah Alexander Mott, daughter of Kelly and Joshua Mott, on Aug. 2.

Arden Victoria Aczel, daughter of Alisa and Joseph Aczel, on Aug. 10.

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36 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

COMMUNITY Need Money for the Spring/Summer 2020 Terms?

Apply for an INTEREST-FREE Loan for Higher Education September 1-30

• Able to demonstrate financial need (2019 FAFSA application required).

Applications for Jewish Educational Loan Fund’s interest-free loans for higher education (college, graduate school and vocational programs) will be open September 1-30 on jelf.org to Jewish students in the metro Atlanta area for the period January through August 2020.

In partnership with the Atlanta Jewish Family & Career Services, JELF helps Jewish students reach their academic goals. While there are many organizations that provide interest-free loans, JELF is distinct in that it is the only Jewish organization in the U.S. focused solely on higher education.

To qualify, the applicant must be: • A permanent resident of FL, GA, SC, NC or VA (excluding metro DC) but can attend any U.S. accredited school, • Enrolled full time in a program leading to a degree or certificate and in good academic standing, • A U.S. citizen or have lawful immigration status, • Have a designated co-signer, and

Loans provided by JELF help pay the necessary living expenses that other financial aid doesn’t cover, such as travel, rent, food and books. JELF’s “no-interest” student loans save borrowers thousands of dollars in high-interest bearing debt.

The strength of the longstanding “Free Loan” model is funds are lent to those in need, yet once the borrower can repay, the repayment goes to the next student - and so on. Thus, the same funds are recycled indefinitely, and the organization can help future students in need.

In addition, donors can see their donations continue to do good far into the future. “This is the only type of organization I know of that when I write a check I know exactly

where it’s going, and it keeps going. My dollars never die,” says Stan Lowenstein, a long-time JELF volunteer and current President of the Board.

staff are active in supporting students and their families, and in attracting the financial resources JELF needs to meet an ever-increasing demand for loans.

ABOUT JELF JELF provides interest-free last dollar loans for higher education to Jewish students in need, bridging the gap between a student’s total financial resources and the cost of attending school.

Since 1961, JELF has provided over $12.5 million to 4500+ students from JELFs five-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia (excluding metro DC). JELF is proud to boast a 99 percent repayment rate and strongly believes that money should not stand between a student and the education that he or she needs to excel in life. The JELF board and

ABOUT JEWISH FAMILY AND CAREER SERVICES ATLANTA JF&CS, established in 1891, helps improve the quality of life and build selfsufficiency for individuals and families in greater Atlanta. We are a welcoming community and provide counseling and career support, and services for older adults and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additionally, we operate a full-service dental clinic. Our highly skilled professionals serve thousands of individuals annually regardless of age, race, religion, national origin or ability to pay. JF&CS is a proud partner of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta. Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. ■ For more information about JELF in Atlanta, contact Yael Stein at 770-677-9305 or ystein@jfcsatlanta.org.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 37

KEEPING IT KOSHER Peach Glazed Grilled Chicken With Watermelon Salad Cooking and Prep: 40 minutes Serves: 6 Contains: Gluten / Wheat Preference: Meat Difficulty: Easy Occasion: Shabbat Ingredients 6 skin-on French bone-in chicken cutlets Gefen Olive Oil, for basting, plus 1/4 cup 2 tablespoons teriyaki glaze, or sauce 1 tablespoon Haddar Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon minced garlic, or 1 Gefen frozen garlic cube 3/4 teaspoon Haddar kosher salt 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup peach preserves

Watermelon Salad

1 small watermelon, cut into a square 1 shallot, minced 1 teaspoon lime juice 2 tablespoons Gefen Olive Oil 1 tablespoon vinegar 2 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, or 1 frozen cilantro cube mint leaves, for garnish cilantro leaves, for garnish basil leaves, for garnish

Prepare Watermelon Salad

Whisk lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and cilantro in a large bowl.

Cut watermelon into rectangular pieces.

Mince shallot and add both to vinaigrette.

Toss until completely coated and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Stir well before serving.

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- Ven Abe comes in, I’ll tell him you called...

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Prepare Chicken

Combine peach preserves, olive oil, teriyaki glaze or sauce, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Preheat grill and brush both the grill and the chicken cutlets with olive oil (or spray the grill with cooking spray).

Season chicken by sprinkling with additional salt and pepper.

Place chicken on grill, skin-side down, and cook until golden brown, about 6 or 7 minutes.

Turn and brush with peach glaze.

Keep turning and basting for 5 more minutes.

Remove to a platter and allow to rest.

Arrange the marinated Watermelon Salad alongside the Peach-Glazed Chicken Cutlets on a rustic-looking picnic plate, and garnish with fresh mint, cilantro and basil leaves.

Note: This recipe works beautifully with white or dark meat chicken cutlets.

Recipe by: Rivky Kleiman Source: Family Table by Mishpacha magazine at www.kosher.com Photography: Hudi Greenberger Styling: Lisa Monahan

Yiddish Word of the Week BUBBALE (bubele, bubbeleh, bobale, bubala, bubale, bubbaleh, bubeleh)

‫בובעלע‬

sweetheart; dear; sweetie – [term of endearment]German origin Alternatively, spelled “bubala” this is basically a diminutive form for the word “friend,” though it is often used by older family members like grandmas to talk nicely to their grandchildren. ““Elise,” I’d say, “bubala, you’ve got to stop stressing about what other people think.”

BRAIN FOOD

Romanticism

ACROSS

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20. Suffix with president 21. Classic street liners 22. To the left, at sea 23. Big moment that might precede a celebratory l'chaim?

27. N.F.L. linemen: Abbr.

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52. Possible recipients of the words "Soon by you!"?

58. Improvise 60. Big DIY brand 61. As well 62. They might add a lot of ruach on the big day... or just be free loaders?

66. Operation Solomon operator 67. Bloomeo alternative 68. Kafka's Gregor 69. Russo of "Avengers: Endgame" 70. Make like Jeremiah (to no avail) 71. Disney ice queen (and others)

DOWN

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64. Another name for the Vilna Gaon, with "The" 65. Bad Kubrickian computer

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first synagogue in Gwinnett County, Temple Beth David was created by 12 families who wanted to give their children a Jewish experience far from Atlanta’s existing temples. In 1994 the community grew to 150 children from 115 families.

■ Chabad of Cobb offered High Holy Day preparation seminars leading up to Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Ruvi New conducted all lectures.

■ The Atlanta chapter of the American Jewish Committee held the first of three teen programs on defending Israel Aug. 8 at Temple Emanu-El. The sessions were also open to parents.

■ Temple Beth David marked its bar mitzvah Aug. 19-20. The

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25 Years Ago// August 12, 1994

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■ Dunwoody residents Sada and Emily Jacobson, 21 and 18 respectively, lead what many experts considered to be the United States’ most talented fencing team ever. Sada was ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s saber and Emily was ranked No. 10. They competed in the first Olympics since the 9/11 attacks amid the Games’ tightest security ever.

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15 Years Ago// August 13, 2004

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Remember When

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50 Years Ago// August 15, 1969 ■ Samuel Abrams, president of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in New York City, announced that in the fall of 1970, the synagogue would hold the nation’s first Reform day school.

Photo by TeamUSA.org //

Dunwoody resident Sada Jacobson was the world’s topranked women’s saber athlete.

■ The United States finished in first place in the eighth Maccabi Games with 63 ½ gold medals, 40 ½ silver medals, and 34 ½ bronze medals. Israel followed in second place with 48 gold medals, 52 ½ silver medals, and 51 bronze medals.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 39

OBITUARIES

Robert C. Shuster 86, Atlanta

Dr. Robert C. Shuster of Atlanta, formerly of Asheville, N.C., died peacefully Aug. 11, 2019, at the age of 86.

He is predeceased by his wife of nearly 50 years, Myrna Shuster, and is survived by his son and daughterin-law, Todd and Elyse Shuster; daughter and son-in-law, Lauren and Gary Kazlow; granddaughters, Sarah, Abby and Anna Shuster, and Arielle Kazlow; brother, Arthur Shuster; and sweetheart and partner over the past 10 years, Elaine Harris.

He was a research biochemist at Emory University for more than 30 years, having taught in the medical and nursing schools, and his career led him to work in both France and Israel. He was a veteran of the Korean War, stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. Dr. Shuster had strong ties to the Jewish community throughout his life. He was a member of both Temple Sinai and Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Atlanta, and of Congregation Beth Ha-Tephila in Asheville, N.C. His kind and generous nature led him to work diligently for many Jewish charities, including service on the boards of ORT and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, and as social action chair at Beth Ha-Tephila. He also was a staunch supporter of the JDRF, whose mission was a personal one for his family.

He was a dedicated lover of learning and intellectual discourse, and as a gifted and natural teacher, he loved to share his incredible wealth of knowledge about religion, history, philosophy, science, politics, art, literature, classical music, opera, and more.

He enjoyed playing the piano, and he was a lifelong and talented bridge and tennis player.

While he loved to travel and to experience other cultures, family was most important to him. He was a loving son, brother, husband, father and partner, but his greatest joy was in seeing his four granddaughters become strong, caring and independent young women. He was greatly adored and loved by them. His kind, gentle, patient and caring soul will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Dr. Shuster was buried next to his wife, Myrna, in West Lafayette, Ind., Aug. 13. A memorial service was scheduled in Atlanta at The Piedmont at Buckhead, 650 Phipps Blvd., at 3:15 p.m. Aug. 15.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to ORT, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Temple Sinai or the JDRF. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999. Sign online guest book at www.edressler.com.

Harvey Silverman 90, Roswell

Harvey Silverman, 90, of Roswell, Ga., passed away Aug. 11, 2019. Harvey was born Sept. 8, 1928, in Detroit, Mich., to Anne and Julius Silverman. He is survived by sisters, Henrietta (William) Bitterman, Bernice (Daniel) Pinsky, and Lorraine (Seymour) Soverinsky; brothers Morris (Shayna) Silverman, Paul Silverman and Gordon (Gloria) Silverman; children, Steven (Sandy) Silverman and Lauren Silverman (Robert) Gray; grandchildren, Alan (Amber) Silverman, Aline (Dustin) Pitney, Hilary (Ryan) Booco, Michael (Jessica) Gray, and Eric (Sarah) Gray; great-grandchildren, Bo and Holly Silverman, Taryn, and Hannah Pitney.

Donations may be made to Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway, Marietta, GA 30068; Lassiter Band Boosters Association, 2601 Shallowford Road, Marietta, GA 30066; Pope High School Foundation, 3001 Hembree Road NE, Marietta, GA 30062.

The funeral took place Aug. 14 at Clover Hill Park Cemetery in Michigan. Shiva will take place Aug. 18 and Aug. 19 at the home of Lauren and Robert Gray, 213 Barrington Oaks Ridge, Roswell, GA 30075.

Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. ■ Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Managing Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details.

40 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CLOSING THOUGHTS Stymie Heaven

New York drivers are a stymie heaven. breed apart from all other I leave home for the drivers. I should know; I am drive to work at my usual one. time. Every other day I drive We are self-assured, to the right, down one steep whether we deserve to be or hill and up another, heading not. for my BP station, so I can We are always on the ofpick up my cappuccino fix. fensive.

Yes, my BP station serves the Non-New York drivers best cappuccino coffee in are easily stymied by snow, Shaindle the state – perhaps the unirain, sunlight, moonlight, Schmuckler verse. On the days I am not and let’s not forget warm or Shaindle’s Shpiel headed for my ‘fix,’ I turn to cold weather. Even the slightthe left. Why left every other est of breezes can stymie a non-New York day? This, my friends, is a conversation driver. for another time.

Once again, this very morning, one In Martin’s Landing, the community of them almost sent me to stymie heaven. in which I reside, it seems we are always The most important lesson in rutting season? No, I am not referring to drummed into my head when learning to those nasty ruts in the road that can blow drive was, you must trust your co-pilots, out a perfectly good tire. However, if you the one on your left, on your right and were a buck, you would totally be looking your rear view. forward to these seasons. Don’t believe These co-pilots, otherwise known as this? Google rutting season, I’m in no rush, your car’s mirrors, can save your life.

I will be right here when you return.

Mirrors help you park, help you get Deer inhabit my community all year your bearings when in reverse, help you long. The mommy deer have a tradition pass a slow poke car, help you ‘feel’ the of kicking their Bambi babies out of their length and width of your car, help you comfy homes, as a way to show these premeasure parking areas, help you become cious little tykes they must learn to make ‘one’ with your car. it on their own. We see them wandering Last, but in no way the least, mirrors around looking for food and a safe place to can help you spot the car of an officer of call home. They hang out on my property, the law. Oh yeah! consuming my flowers, and on the roads, What ever happened to the CB radio? which makes driving a bit hazardous.

Do not misunderstand me. I am Thank goodness I was not in any NOT advocating banning the use of the particular rush as I drive slowly through new technology designed to keep us safe. my neighborhood, making sure I do not This very technology can prove very dis- injure one of these Bambi babies. Sudtracting. I myself never installed a GPS denly, I am on alert as the driver of a system. Well, then again, I am the one rather ostentatious SUV decided its lane person on earth holding on to my flip was not wide enough, and needed a piece phone for dear life. of the lane I was in.

I am one of those lucky ones, given I She came a hair’s breadth from catado possess a heightened sense of direction. pulting me to that previously mentioned Except when I don’t. stymie heaven.

Over the years I have developed an When I started breathing again, I almost paralyzing fear of getting lost. looked up to see her speed off as if nothShould this trauma befall me, I call one ing ever happened. Not a word of conof my daughters or sons-in-love. With my cern, not even an acknowledgment of me voice crackling when I call, they recog- or my car. nize the crackle as "Help I’m lost and I’m She obviously was not a New York drivbeginning to sweat." I don’t know how er, and unfortunately, never learned to trust they do it, however, they easily direct me her co-pilots. Where are those officers of the to where I should be going. law hanging out while I have my brush with Let us now return to my brush with stymie heaven? I’m just sayin’! ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES AUGUST 16, 2019 | 41

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