Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCIV NO. 48, December 6, 2019

NEXT WEEK: CHANUKAH GIFT GUIDE

VOL. XCIV NO. 48 | EDUCATION

DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 8 KISLEV 5780

Social Media and Cell Phone Addiction Hits Home

ANTI-SEMITISM STRIKES UGA A SERIES OF INCIDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PROMPTS RESPONSE.

OUR JEWISH STIGMA IS IT STILL HOLDING US BACK WHEN IT COMES TO ADDICTION?

ATL WOOS NEW YORKERS ATLANTA’S ORTHODOX RECRUITS FAMILIES IN NEW YORK CITY.

2 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

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There’s more to education than mastering one’s ABCs, as we discover this week in our education issue. We can all learn a bit about addiction and how it affects the young mind. Front and center, in our cover story we delve into the addicting world of social media and technology. The AJT also asks the tough questions about whether Jewish taboos about addiction are preventing some from seeking treatment and addressing the issues. We talk with experts on both stories to learn the latest about these trends in addiction affecting today’s youth.

Also in our education section, pediatrician Pip Spandorfer details the negative effects of fast food on children’s health. We have stories on Camp Ramah leadership development and talented students at The Weber School. Meet the new Jewish mayor of Dunwoody here and learn about collaboration between The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

Reflecting on the past, we also have a story about how Jews from Finland fought with the Nazis and survived the

THIS WEEK

war.

In local news, we preview the upcoming Hillel International Global Assembly next week in Atlanta and update you on the anti-Semitic acts that took place at the University of Georgia.

There are achievements to celebrate in the education community and elsewhere, among students and others.

For instance, the installation of Jack Feldman, executive director of Temple Sinai, as the new president of the National Association for Temple Administration. He joins others from Temple Sinai gaining top leadership in the Reform movement.

In Orthodox circles, we tell you how a handful of observant Jews traveled to the Big Apple to recruit prospective residents and we share how Rabbi Yossi New and funeral director Eddie Dressler are ensuring there’s always a minyan at Jewish funerals.

Keeping to longstanding traditions, we begin our coverage of Chanukah next week with our Chanukah gift guide and holiday recipes. Lots to learn to be prepared for the Festival of Lights. ■

Cover photo: The Atlanta Jewish community addresses social media and cell phone addiction among youth.

CONTENTS LOCAL NEWS ���������������������������������� 6 ISRAEL NEWS ������������������������������� 12 REFLECTIONS ������������������������������� 14 EDUCATION ����������������������������������� 16 DINING �������������������������������������������� 28 CHAI STYLE ����������������������������������� 29 CALENDAR ������������������������������������� 32 COMMUNITY ��������������������������������� 34 BRAIN FOOD ���������������������������������� 36 OBITUARIES ���������������������������������� 38 CLOSING THOUGHTS ����������������� 40

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 5

LOCAL NEWS Kaddish for Every Jew

Rabbi New’s new program ensures there’s always a minyan at Jewish funerals.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

cal burials, is sent out of Atlanta for burial in other cities roughly 70 times Rabbi Yossi New of Congregation Beth and handles about 70 non-traditional Tefillah has rolled out a relatively new pro- funerals per year. Most local Jewish burials occur at gram, “Kaddish For EvGreenwood Cemetery ery Jew,” where he, with and Arlington, Crest alerts from funeral direcLawn, and North Attor Eddie Dressler, elicits lanta memorial parks. participation from his Kaddish is recited at WhatsApp group to enthe burial. sure there are sufficient Dressler said, “This men to make a minyan at program is about coma funeral. munity and fulfilling The program was our obligation to be created for people who there for them.” have requested and Some background deserve a ritual Jewish on the Kaddish: The funeral and don’t have first mention of survivors or friends to Eddie Dressler mourners saying Kadcompose the 10 men.

So far, Rabbi New has a set of 20 to 30 dish is found in Or Zarua, a 13th cenvolunteers and would like others. The tury halachic work. In the 16th century, group is elective based on availability, Rabbi Moses Isserles speaks of reciting so not everyone is needed for every fu- Kaddish for a period of 11 months, as stated in “To Pray as a neral.

Jew” by Rabbi Hayim Group member Halevy Donin.

Howard Aaron said, The Kaddish “Having a large family makes no direct refand base of friends myerence to death. It is self, I have feelings for in keeping with the those who do not. The fifth commandment to last funeral in which “honor thy father and I participated was a mother,” inspiring a Jewish woman who law that is in force alive had intermarried but or dead. Many say Kadexpressed her earlier dish for others besides wishes for a traditional parents.

Jewish burial.

I am According to Doglad that we are there Rabbi New with Eddie Dressler nin’s book, “There are for them in all kinds of maintain a dedicated group who will be part of a funeral minyan the things, the fruits of circumstances and am for those without 10 men. which man enjoys in happy to be a particithis world while the principle remains pant.”

Both Rabbi New and Aaron are con- for him to enjoy in the world-to-come.” currently saying Kaddish for their own Accompanying the dead to the grave is one of those. brothers.

To reach out to Rabbi New and be on Atlanta native Eddie Dressler opened Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care his alert list, contact Ynew@bethtefilah. in 1997. It handles roughly 200 lo- org. ■ 6 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

LOCAL NEWS

Anti-Semitic Incidents at UGA Prompt Response

By Eddie Samuels A series of anti-Semitic events at the University of Georgia have prompted responses from students, faculty and administrators, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

The first incident took place around a month into the school year. First-year student Ariana Dinberg returned to her room in the freshman dorm, Creswell Hall, to find a sign on her door ripped and fallen. The sign was from the Jewish sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, to which Dinberg belongs.

“I’d wasn’t sure if it had just fallen and ripped in the process,” Dinberg said, but she reported the event to her resident assistant.

A second incident happened months later, in October. Dinberg and her roommate had a white board posted outside their room. The words “All Heil” were written on the board alongside a swastika.

She reported the incident to the Equal Opportunity Office and the university police department, but as of Oct. 15, Dinberg said the University could not identify the culprit. According to the police report, there was no obvious connection between the two events.

“There were no cameras in the hallway for privacy reasons,” she said. “But the dean of students reached out to me and invited me to get coffee to discuss it more and learn a little more.”

Another similar incident happened Nov. 9 in Russell Hall, another freshman dorm. According to university police reports, a student returned to their hall and found swastikas drawn on laminated nametags in dry-erase marker.

The victim also said that other doors on her hall were similarly marked, according to UGA’s Grady Newsource, but because the markings were erased, the police were unable to confirm them, and as such a criminal trespass investigation was not warranted.

“It wasn’t anybody Jewish who was specifically targeted. It happened to everybody in the hall,” Dinberg said. “I don’t believe that they would have been the same person doing it, which is obviously worse, but I don’t feel unsafe or anything like that.”

UGA Hillel Director Roey Shoshan said that he has been in ongoing discussions with the administration about these events and what the next steps might be, including more cameras in dorms.

“Obviously there are privacy issues and as a public school the law is very clear on what can be done,” he said.

“It does create frustration and sometimes fear and uncertainty. … But we are trying on our end to give our students all the tools they need to handle these situations.”

In response to the events, UGA President Jere W. Morehead sent an email to the student body.

“I am appalled by such offensive and outrageous displays of hate. Let me be clear: this type of behavior has no place on our campus. The University of Georgia is defined by our shared values, … these values unite us as a campus community and inspire our academic endeavors,” the statement read, in part.

Max Harris, a student and member of UGA’s Young Democrats, said that he thought the letter was a positive step.

“From my perspective, the administration has been very open to meeting with students who were affected, and very welcoming when it comes to engaging community members,” Harris said. He added that, in light of the UGA statement, “I commend the university for taking such a public and

Photo courtesy of Ariana Dinberg // Ariana Dinberg

found this sign on her door ripped.

strong stance against hate.”

Ellie Reingold, a sophomore and board member at UGA’s Hillel, was less complimentary of the statement.

“At no point in the email were the words antiSemitism, Nazi, white supremacy,” she said. “It did not condemn it as strongly as I would’ve liked, and it whitewashed it as general hate speech. The word anti-Semitism should’ve been used because that’s what it was.”

David Williams is associate provost and director of the UGA honors program. He is also a graduate of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and has been with UGA’s Department of Religion for close to 30 years.

“It affects me very deeply because I don’t want my community to be one where these kinds of things happen, but unfortunately they are happening,” he said. “I don’t have a great answer, but I feel for the students first and foremost.”

A third, unrelated Student Max Harris said he incident also took place believes the administration Nov. 11 that upset many response has been appropriate. students. The anti-abortion group, The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform put up signs at UGA that displayed graphic images of aborted fetuses alongside images of lynchings and Holocaust photography, including photos of victims’ bodies.

Reingold penned an op-ed for the student newspaper The Red & Black in response.

“The images were incredibly graphic and probably triggering to a lot of people,” she told the AJT. “Students have to walk past that to get to class, with no warning. … I didn’t see a lot of coverage about the genocide issue, which I thought was at least as bad as the imagery.”

Reingold said she has felt that Jewish students’ needs are not always considered when making decisions, pointing to three consecutive career fairs that took place on Yom Kippur, and these signs likening those who perform abortion to Nazis. ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 7

LOCAL NEWS

Sinai’s Feldman to Lead Reform Administrators

By Bob Bahr This week Jack Feldman, executive director of Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs, will be installed as the new president of the National Association for Temple Administration. The group, which is having its annual meeting in Chicago Nov. 7-11, is part of the Union for Reform Judaism.

It represents those temple staffers who have the responsibility of managing the nation’s 873 Reform congregations.

Feldman’s election caps an extraordinary period of growth for Temple Sinai. Earlier this year, it successfully completed a capital improvement program that raised $13.5 million. Not only did it help to double the temple’s endowment, but it allowed the preschool to expand its program to a full day.

The campaign, which was part of the temple’s 50th anniversary celebration, also financed an $8.5 million renovation of the temple building that Feldman supervised.

With his new responsibilities, Feldman joins Temple Sinai’s Senior Rabbi Ron Segal, who earlier this year became the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents Reform clergy.

Next year, the director of the temple’s Center for Learning & Engagement, Marisa Kaiser, will become head of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators. It is unprecedented that all three of the top leaders of the Reform movement will be from the same temple.

We asked Feldman whether the members of Temple Sinai are comfortable having so many key staffers and clergy spending so much time on national issues.

Temple Sinai completely redesigned and reconstructed the lobby area to its building to be more open and inviting.

The sanctuary and much of the newly reconstructed building has a brighter, lighter, airier look and feel.

Feldman: The synagogue is highly supportive of us involving ourselves in the national stage and taking on these leadership roles. The synagogue really has stood behind us.

What you have to offer your colleagues nationally is also important to us as a local synagogue. I think it’s helped to make us one of the top three Reform synagogues in the country

their spiritual needs. The synagogues that are adapting, that are being creative and innovating and are listening to what their members want and need are the ones that are successful. The synagogues that are stuck in the 1950s and 60s and are hoping that things will get better, I think are the ones that are struggling the most.

So for me, at least, it’s a fundamental question of, is the synagogue working reactively or proactively? Are they able to adapt? Are they creatively using the resources that they have? So it’s really about being nimble. A lot of what we talk about with other temple administrators is what’s changing in the world of synagogue life and synagogue management.

AJT: How would you describe the state of health of the Reform movement from the standpoint of what you do, from the standpoint of financial management and administration?

Feldman: There’s a lot of synagogues that are struggling. Churches are struggling. People are less involved in their faith or they’re finding alternative ways to meet

AJT: How is Temple Sinai adapting to the presentday expectations of its members?

Feldman: We are getting away from the time when whatever happened at the temple happened in the building. We call those new programs Sinai Circles.

There are small groups of people with common interests who are elsewhere than in the building. It could be everything from wine tasting Jack Feldman supervised to theater, going kayakthe $8.5 million renovation of Temple Sinai. ing or hiking. They do whatever they’re going to do monthly, every other month.

But it connects them to other members of the temple in a way that we can’t do when they’re in the building. It makes an extraordinary difference.

It’s part of what our strategic plan told us 4 1/2 years ago, that we need to begin meeting our members where they are, as opposed to enforcing that rigid idea which is the only time you do Jewish is when you come into our building.

AJT: So how does this newly redesigned building fit into the new thinking about how the temple should function?

Feldman: We wanted the renovated temple to feel like your living room. We wanted you to feel like, come on into our space, into our home. Make yourself comfortable. We wanted it to be a place where people could connect with each other. That’s why all the various seating areas in different places are places for people to gather and connect and get to know each other. ■

8 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

LOCAL NEWS

Hillel Conference to Address Weighty Campus Issues

By Kevin C. Madigan

Panels and speakers will take on topics such as the future of education, A four-day conference on major is- security concerns and how to prioritize sues affecting Jewish life on campus is set mental and physical health.

“Communication for people in college for Atlanta next week.

The Hillel International Global Assem- now is very different,” Shoshan said. “Sobly will kick off at the Omni Hotel at CNN cial media has become a really big player, so how do you utilize that to Center Dec. 9 and wrap up get students to participate Dec. 12. It is slated for 2020 in programs? … So engagein Atlanta as well. Last year’s ment and reaching out to event in Denver drew more people is a big one.” than 1,200 Hillel representaShoshan, who began tives and key stakeholders his stint at UGA in July from the United States and 2018, said he wants to creabroad, according to the orate ways for his students to ganization’s website. hone their Jewish identity.

University of Geor“What kind of Jewish texts gia Hillel Director Roey and studies can you offer Shoshan told the AJT the them these days that they conference focuses on proMatthew Berger will be fessional development, en- moderating a session on safety would be interested in? It’s and security on campus. something we’re working gagement and fundraising.

“There are a lot of one-on-one opportunities really hard on.” He also grapples with raiswith other professionals; it’s great for social- ing funds for the program. “As an organiizing, but it’s also a great time for the Hillel zation that lives off donations, we always movement to sharpen up some of the things have to think about that,” he said.

Partnerships with other entities such as we’ve been working on throughout the year – issues like anti-Semitism – that we need to Birthright Israel, Maccabee Task Force and Jewish Learning Fellowship will be discussed address together as a community.”

at the conference, Shoshan said. “How can How we balance that is a real challenge and we integrate more organizations into our something that will be discussed in depth.”

Another area of concern is the wellwork and help expand what we do? If someone comes in and offers us a group program, being of students, Berger noted. “Suicide we’re going to welcome it with open arms be- rates are rising. More students are reporting stress and feeling inundated and havcause it serves everyone’s interest.”

Matthew Berger, communications ing trouble as part of their life on campus.

More and more often we vice president at Hillel Inare asking professionals to ternational, said the HIGA support students that are conference is significant dealing with time-managebecause it promotes proment and stress and mental fessional development health challenges.” There and allows members to see will also be a session on the what their counterparts realities of food insecurity are up to. “It’s so great to among students in college. get that perspective from Berger said the HIGA other campuses on how conference will “re-energize they’re doing things.” our professionals who are Berger will be moderoften working in a vacuum ating a session called Safety University of Georgia Hillel on campus, embracing the and Security on Campus.

Director Roey Shoshan said fact that they’re part of a “We have become increasthe conference addresses ingly concerned about the issues such as anti-Semitism. bigger community having a really strong impact around rise of security issues on campus, and we are working to ensure that the country and around the world.” ■ all our students and professionals are safe Details on HIGA 2019 can be found every time they’re involved with Hillel. We want to be open and engaging, but at the at hillel.org/get-involved/conferences-andsame time we need to ensure our security. events/hillel-international-global-assembly.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 9

LOCAL NEWS

Atlantans Try to Woo Orthodox From New York

By Roni Robbins

blessed with a wide variety of attendFour represenees with varying tatives of the Toco backgrounds, all of Hills Orthodox comwhom rally around munity met in New SCP’s Torah.”

York City Nov. 24 to The Semichas participate in the Chaver Program is a Orthodox Union’s fast-paced, interacJewish Community tive halacha learnHome and Job Reloing program with a cation Fair. There, specialized focus on Photo by Zush Photography // Atlantans in New York for the The purpose of the OU community relocation fair was to provide the Atlanta group the practical meanOrthodox Union’s home and job relocation fair were” Hannah resources to prospective relocators about Jewish communities. pitched some 2,000 Fleshel, Josh Joel, Amy Solomon and Ethan Solomon. ing of halacha, acin attendance to try cording to a press to convince them to relocate here from New York. munity’s Orthodox Jewish life was truly extraordinary. As release. The program was founded in 2017.

Registering their interest in moving here were 73 dozens of community fair participants crowded around “Semichas Chaver is an example of the OU’s efforts to people, according to Hannah Fleshel, an Orthodox Real- their table, they had an opportunity to be introduced to a expand Torah learning among all segments, and all ages, tor with Keller Williams and member of Congregation welcoming community which is rich in the infrastructure within the observant community,” Bane said. “This wonBeth Jacob. She presented those inquiring with a one-page necessary for a full and meaningful Orthodox life.” derful program extends beyond the class itself to positively sheet with statistics about Toco Hills, its synagogues, JewIn other OU news, the Semichas Chaver Program, an in- impact the participants’ daily learning, as well as learning ish schools, housing prices, kosher offerings, and general novative learning initiative, has opened 28 new locations, in- with their families both during the week and at their ShabAtlanta weather and demographics. cluding Beth Jacob in Atlanta, bringing the total number to 53 bos tables,” he said.

“We were talking nonstop for six hours,” Fleshel said. worldwide. The program has also welcomed 700 new partici“The community response to the Semichas Chaver “I feel like we had successful meaningful conversations. … pants in the past month, with 1,300 total participants to date.

Program has been very enthusiastic, and as a result, we We are thrilled with the potential for 73 more families” to “The Semichas Chaver Program value lies in its ability more than doubled the number of chaburahs for this year,” move into Toco Hills, she said. to bring practical Torah values to life,” said Beth Jacob Rabbi Fagin said.

Over the past four years, Fleshel knows of two fami- Emeritus Dov Foxbrunner. “It’s an amazingly engaging, high Founded in 1898, the OU represents American Ortholies that have moved to the Orthodox community after energy format that draws participants in and provides them dox Jewry with over 400 congregations in its synagogue learning about it at a past relocation fair. The purpose of with inspiration for the entire week. Here in Atlanta, we are network. ■ the fair was to give those looking to relocate a resource on Jewish communal life, including schools, synagogues and kosher food options, she said. There were also informational sessions on seeking employment.

The Atlanta group participated in the seventh-annual fair in New York as “chesed,” kindness, Fleshel said, to share what they love about Atlanta. She believes there’s a better quality of life here, higher standard and lower cost of living.

In addition, the average commute from Toco Hills to downtown is 25 minutes versus an hour in New York and the average winter temperature is 43 here versus 20 in New York, Fleshel said. Another reason observant New Yorkers may consider Atlanta over other smaller communities at the fair is the option of a co-ed or single-sex school in Toco Hills, she said.

“Atlanta offers all of the amenities you would find in a larger community,” said Josh Joel, who also represented Beth Jacob and Atlanta at the fair. “We have large shuls with hundreds of families in each, a Kollel, mikvaot and many school options, including a great special needs program. We’re hoping that we can show people that we are a great community, a great economy, a great place to raise children, great rabbis, and a great infrastructure.”

Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane said in a release, “For various reasons, including the high costs of tuition and housing in the New York City area, there is a growing cadre of Orthodox families exploring other locations throughout the country and Israel to establish their homes. We are pleased to have been able to assemble so many Torah communities and to enable them to showcase to these families the attractiveness and advantages of their respective communities.”

Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Allen Fagin said, “The enthusiasm shown by the representatives from Atlanta as they demonstrated the vibrancy of their comATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 11

ISRAEL PRIDE

News From Our Jewish Home

The Nerivio device developed by Theranica Bioelectronics is worn on the upper arm to stimulate the body’s neural pathway and fight migraine pain.

9 Israeli Inventions Make TIME Magazine List

Nine Israeli inventions have found recognition on TIME magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of 2019 list, according to The Times of Israel.

Today in Israeli History

Leo Motzkin received this card as a participant in the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

The list enumerates inventions that make the world “better, smarter, and even a little more fun,” according to TIME. They evaluate all the nominations “based on key factors, including originality, creativity, influence, ambition and effectiveness.”

The Israeli inventions making the list, released Nov 21, include OrCam’s MyEye 2 talking glasses. They attach to glasses frames and tell blind people what they’re looking at and can even read text out loud.

The invention “could be a gamechanger” for accessibility, TIME said.

The list also includes a migraine treatment device called Nerivio, which stimulates the neural pathway through electronic pulses controlled by a smartphone and can help prevent migraines at onset. The device is worn on the upper arm and is already available in the United States by prescription. It should be available in Israel in April.

Seven other inventions were selected from fields such as augmented and virtual reality, consumer electronics, education, healthcare, social good and sustainability.

Dec. 8, 1885: Joseph Sprinzak, the first speaker of the Knesset and a twotime interim president of Israel, is born in Moscow. He and his Zionist family settle in Warsaw after Jews are expelled from Moscow in 1891. He starts the Zeirei Zion (Youth of Zion) in 1905, makes aliyah in 1910, and helps establish many of the institutions that form Israel’s foundation, such as the Histadrut labor federation, the Assembly of Representatives and Bank Hapoalim.

Dec. 6, 1867: Leo Motzkin, the chairman of the Zionist Executive from 1925 to 1933, is born into a traditional Jewish family in what is now Brovary, Ukraine.

Motzkin becomes interested in Zionism after witnessing the 1881 pogrom in Kiev.

He attends the First Zionist Congress in 1897 and advocates the Basel Program for a Jewish state. While devoting his life to Zionism, he also emphasizes the rights and protection of Diaspora Jews.

Dec. 7, 1921: Twenty-two women graduate from the Nurses’ Training Institute at Rothschild Hospital in Jerusalem, making them the first nurses to receive degrees in the Land of Israel. Hadassah opened the institute in 1918. The graduates, who represent the diversity of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine), go to work at Hadassah-run hospitals in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and Haifa.

12 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams has announced that he will be sponsoring an Israeli cycling team’s participation in the Tour de France, The Times of Israel reported. This will be the first time an Israeli team has participated in the event.

Adams is known for sponsoring promi-

nent events in Israel. He organized the Giro d’Italia bike race, brought Madonna to Eurovision, and sponsored the SpaceIL attempt to land on the moon. Recently, he coordinated a soccer match between Lionel Messi’s Argentina team and Uruguay Nov. 20.

Adams’ goal is to present Israel in a “normal” light, and he will keep sponsoring high-profile events in Israel, he said.

“The Tour de France is seen by 2.6 billion viewers. It’s one of the largest watched events in the world, and we will have our beautiful blue and white uniforms, and I guarantee that at least one Israeli will be competing at the Tour de France,” he said. “We’re making history and I’m very proud of it.”

He is attempting to create a $200 million endowment fund to which the Israeli government and diaspora Jews can contribute so more large events like these can happen.

“I think it would be really good for us, these types of projects, and this endowment would fund automatically a steady flow of these kinds of events,” he said. ■

returns to the Land of Israel in 1946. He arranges for the Irgun’s 1948 French arms shipment aboard the Altalena, which David Ben-Gurion orders sunk.

and the Arab world … can now proceed to play a larger part in the general pattern of mankind’s march” despite mounting violence between Jews and Arabs.

Oded Karni // Soccer star Lionel Messi, left, is welcomed in Tel Aviv by philanthropist Sylvan Adams.

Israeli Team Will Compete in the Tour de France

Knesset Speaker Joseph Sprinzak swears in Yitzhak Ben-Zvi as president Dec. 10, 1952.

Shmuel Katz was elected to the first Knesset as a member of Herut.

Dec. 9, 1914: Shmuel Katz, a leader of Revisionist Judaism and a founder of Menachem Begin’s Herut party, is born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Known as “Mookie,” he makes aliyah in 1936 and joins the Irgun the next year. He spends World War II in London, raising money for the Irgun and editing the weekly Jewish Standard, then

Dec. 10, 1952: Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 68, a native of Ukraine who made aliyah in 1907, is inaugurated as Israel’s second president after 30 days of mourning for his predecessor, Chaim Weizmann. The Knesset elected him on the third ballot Dec. 8 with 62 votes against Rabbi Mordechai Nurock (42 votes) and Yitzhak Gruenbaum (five). Ben-Zvi, a signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1948, serves three terms until his death in April 1963.

Dec. 11, 1947: Arthur Creech Jones, the British colonial secretary, opens a debate in the House of Commons about Palestine by revealing that the British Mandate will end May 15, 1948, and that all British troops will be withdrawn by Aug. 1. He expresses the hope that “Palestine

A 1950 poster declares that an immigrant worker’s place is in the Histadrut.

Dec. 12, 1920: The General Federation of Jewish Labor, known as the Histadrut, is founded in Haifa to serve as a neutral, independent trade union representing all the Jewish workers in Palestine. David Ben-Gurion is elected its secretary-general in 1921. By 1927 it has 25,000 members, or 75 percent of the Jewish workforce in Palestine. The Histadrut’s services for its members include banking and health insurance. It remains a major force in the Israeli economy. ■ Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details.

ISRAEL NEWS Netanyahu’s Trial Takes Shape

In an IDI poll, a majority believe Benjamin Netanyahu should resign.

By Jan Jaben-Eilon In late November, Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could continue heading the caretaker government despite serious indictments charged against him. But Mendelblit refrained from ruling whether Netanyahu could be tasked with forming a new government, saying that it was too hypothetical. At that point, it looked unlikely that the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, could gather 61 votes for any member to receive that mission.

Apparently, President Reuven Rivlin now thinks otherwise. On Dec. 2, he asked Mendelblit to determine whether an indicted individual could be asked to form a new government. After two elections this year in which Netanyahu was unable to cobble together a coalition government, the task is in the hands of the Knesset until Dec. 11. If it is unable to choose someone who can form a government, the Knesset will be dissolved and the country will go to the polls for a third time within one year, probably in March.

Also on Dec. 2, Mendelblit refiled the indictment charges against Netanyahu, formally starting a 30-day period in which the prime minister can request immunity from the charges. At that point, Mendelblit also announced that Netanyahu’s trial would be heard before the Jerusalem District Court.

The attorney general listed 333 witnesses that the state may call to make its case. Among those witnesses are several American businessmen, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, former U.S. ambassador Ronald Lauder, Israel Hayom newspaper publishers Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who is also part of one of the cases in which Netanyahu is indicted.

After years of investigation, Netan-

Gideon Sa’ar is a potential Likud successor.

yahu was indicted Nov. 21 of fraud and breach of trust in three cases, in addition to bribery in one of those cases. According to the indictment, the prime minister “damaged the image of the public service and public trust in it.”

The indictment of a sitting prime minister is unprecedented. So is the fact that there have been two elections this year without producing a new government. The country has been coasting along without a functional government for about a year. According to the latest Israeli Voice Index – a project of the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research of the Israel Democracy Institute – the lack of stability has resulted in a sharp decline in the public’s faith in the country’s democracy.

In April, prior to the first election, 54 percent of Israelis reported feeling optimistic about the future of democracy. In the latest survey, announced on Thanksgiving, that number declined to 32 percent of Israelis. The IDI reported that the percentage steadily dropped over the past six months. Israelis are also less optimistic about the country’s national security, with only 49 percent reporting optimism now, compared to 59 percent in April.

Moreover, the IDI poll clearly shows that the electorate is blaming Netanyahu for the many months of political deadlock.

Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed said Netanyahu should resign, at least temporarily, and a growing number of Israeli lawmakers and public figures have called for his resignation. Notably, that includes members of his ruling Likud party. Gideon Sa’ar, a potential Likud successor, requested that the party hold primaries to determine who should take them into the next probable election. The party has agreed to hold those primaries within the next few weeks, but the date hadn’t been set by press time. ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 13

REFLECTIONS Astonishing Story of Survival by Jews of Finland

By Bob Bahr The history of the Jews of Finland that John Simon relates in his new book, “Strangers in a Stranger Land,” is an extraordinary tale of Jewish survival during World War II. Although the Jewish communities of Europe were decimated by the Nazi war machine, in Finland not a single Finnish Jew was harmed during the war.

As brave and dedicated members of Finland’s army, which was an ally of Nazi Germany, they fought alongside Nazi soldiers without ever experiencing anti-Semitism.

Because of their heroic stand against the Russians, three of the Jews were awarded the Iron Cross, Nazi Germany’s highest military honor. None of the three accepted the medal.

Even stranger still was the fact that at one point in the war, Finnish Jews in the army created a makeshift synagogue near the front lines, with a Torah imported from Helsinki. They held regular worship services in the midst of the Nazi troops with which they were allied.

At one point Heinrich Himmler, the head of Hitler’s SS, visited Finland. He offered the Finns help in solving their “Jewish problem.” He was curtly informed that Finland had no Jewish problem.

Simon took seven years to write this comprehensive and astonishing story. He visited Atlanta last month, where he spoke about his book at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs and Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, among other places.

We asked him why the Finns, who never had shown

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Jewish soldiers of the Finnish Army, who were allied with Nazi Germany, outside the makeshift synagogue near the front lines during World War II.

The four Blankett brothers were part of several hundred Jewish soldiers in the Finnish army during World War II.

a strong interest in Naziism, chose to ally themselves with Nazi Germany rather than the Soviet Union, which was America’s partner during the war.

Simon: By 1942, the Russians had already attacked Finland once in the Winter War two years earlier and were threatening a second time. Finland had only one objective and that was to maintain its sovereignty and to survive the war. And in doing that, they had to choose between a rock and a hard place, between what the Finns call the plague and the cholera. They chose the Germans. Going with the Soviets mean that they would have disappeared as a soci-

ety from the face of the earth. They would have lost their ability to make any decision about their own lives.

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AJT: So besides writing about the Jews of Finland, did you have other reasons for writing this book?

Simon: Even though the book was published in Finland in 2017 to good reviews, I didn’t primarily write it for the Finns. I feel that Finland has been given a bad name for its participation in World War II. It’s easy to look at it from an American perspective, which was a superpower on the other side of the ocean that looked very critically about the things that were happening in Finland.

But for the Finns, just like for the Jews, it was about survival, and I wanted to write about the broader questions of what was going on. The story of Finland’s Jews during World War II is very much like the story of Finland itself, certainly as it pertains to the war.

AJT: We hear a lot today about the anti-Semitism in Sweden, which is nearby. What is life like for a Jew living in Finland?

Simon: I’ve lived there for 36 years and I’ve had a good life. I’ve really had no examples, personal examples, of anti-Semitism.

What there has been has tended to be more protests of how Israel has behaved. And that’s a much more complicated question. Finland was very pro-Israel after World War II because Israel was like Finland. It was a country that had been attacked by much bigger countries surrounding it. But recently there’s been more criticism of Israel and some of it naturally became anti-Semitic.

AJT: And why do you think there is so much less anti-Semitism in Finland?

Simon: Two thousand Jews is the most there have ever been here at one time. And although this is a country with a tiny population, it’s still only 5 ½ million, which is, I think, about the same as there’s in Greater Atlanta, isn’t it?

Jews don’t stand out. I don’t think there’s anybody who could argue that the Jews of Finland have been manipulating the commercial or political scene here for their own benefit. They’re just a small group of people trying to do their part. ■ “Strangers in a Stranger Land,” by John Simon, was published in the U.S. in August by Hamilton Books.

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EDUCATION Community Examines Social Media Addiction

By Bob Bahr In a series of community conversations, Atlanta’s Jewish teens were urged to “look up” and spend less time gazing down at their cell phones and electronic gadgets.

The advice to young people to take the initiative to limit the time they spend with social media is part of a new program by JumpSpark to combat what many see as a kind of social media addiction.

JumpSpark Director Kelly Cohen started the program to help create a more open dialogue between teens and their parents over the rampant use of social media.

“It’s one thing for parents at home to say ‘let’s talk about your social media usage,’ but when we create the right container and bring in the right people,” she said, “we can have these conversations with teens to open up new paths for dialogue.”

At three programs held last week at The Temple, Temple Sinai and JumpSpark offices in Sandy Springs, teens and their parents and concerned professionals had the opportunity to discuss a problem that is getting increasing attention by mental health professionals and others.

The emerging problem is that the hold that social media exerts over teens is increased by the need teens have to be accepted by their peers, according to Dan Arnold, director of clinical service at Jewish Family & Career Services in Atlanta.

“Social status and connectedness are hallmarks of the adolescent struggle, and the prevalence of social me-

16 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Filmmaker Scilla Andreen facilitates a conversation about social media and teens at Temple Sinai.

dia compounds the issue. Whether it is cyber-bullying, the lack of privacy or trying to keep up with the Joneses – or Kardashians – the impact of social media and the related pressure can be extremely damaging.”

Participants in the JumpSpark program heard much the same message from Scilla Andreen, a filmmaker who has created an educational documentary simply entitled “Like.” It is a comprehensive overview of the effect that social media has on young people. The screening and discussion at JumpSpark in Atlanta was

similar to other viewings of the film, which has been seen 700 times in 11 countries since it was released in March.

“It really empowers people to self-regulate, to say OK, I have the tools. I am going to put my phone down a little more. I am not going to be a slave to it,” Andreen said. “It’s been amazing to get that response from people.”

There are many health care professionals who believe that since the introduction of the iPhone and other smartphone devices, the lives of young people have been radically changed. No matter what their social and economic status, whether in the inner city or the suburbs, they have been deeply affected by social media and the use of the technology that delivers it.

Dr. Jerry Bubrick is a nationally recognized expert on obsessive compulsive disorders and the senior clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. He appeared in the film “Like” shown in Atlanta.

“It can be an addiction, very much so,” he emphasized in a phone interview from New York. “It’s hard to think of it sometimes as an addiction because there’s no physiological gain other than, you know, that there’s that dopamine rush when something feels good. But this is a generation of children that only knows smartphones, which is a little scary that there’s not this kind of internal desire to kind of shut it down or keep it to a minimum. It seems like it’s just all the time.”

The issue of addiction is apparently international as well. A report, just published in the British medical journal, BMC Psychiatry, found that nearly a quarter of the young people studied had behavior consistent with addiction. Of the 42,000 people whose experience was analyzed, 23 percent could not control their usage of smartphones, the BBC reported Nov. 29. They became “panicky” and “upset” when they couldn’t use their phones, the study found.

Last year, a group of over 100 mental health professionals and child welfare experts working with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood wrote to Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook.

They asked that he shut down Messenger Kids, the first social messaging app developed specifically for children under the age of 13.

“Social media use by teens,” they wrote, “is linked

EDUCATION book’s founding president Sean Parker has claimed that part of the enormous success of the social media platform is in the answer to a single question: “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” Messenger Kids is still an active part of the Facebook platform.

Part of the goal of the JumpSpark program is to start a more productive conversation between parents and their children over how to bring more balance into the discussiono of how technol-

ogy affects personal and family relationships. According to Cohen, parents need to model the behavior they want their children to adopt.

In The New York Times Nov. 24, columnist David Leonhardt said as much.

He suggested that everyone, not just teens, take a “Tech Shabbat” during the weekend following Thanksgiving.

“Turn off your phone, and keep it off for a full 24 hours,” he wrote. “I predict you’ll be surprised by how much you’ll like it.” ■

The SMART Place to Buy Diamonds!

The Jumpspark Atlanta program featured a screening of “Like,” which examines social media addiction.

to significantly higher rates of depression, and adolescents who spend an hour a day chatting on social networks report less satisfaction with nearly every aspect of their lives.”

They went on to point out that half of all teens surveyed feel addicted to their phones and half the parents reported that they faced a constant battle trying to get their children to cut their use of social media.

“In a landscape of ubiquitous tech-

nology that undermines children’s emotional growth, the last thing the youngest among them need is a powerful enticement to move their friendships online” said Sherry Turkle, professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was among the health professionals with the campaign who wrote to Zuckerberg.

It is, in a sense, this vulnerability that social media developers exploit. Face-

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EDUCATION

Is the Jewish Stigma Around Addiction Holding Us Back?

By Paula Baroff

ing that led her to develop bulimia in her late teens. “I was in and out of treatment When it comes to addiction and several times,” she said. “Life went on, but substance abuse, the stigma they receive I always struggled with depression. I was from the Jewish community often pre- in survival mode for a really long time.”

In her mid-30s, Lubell developed an vents people from acknowledging a probaddiction to marijuana and later began lem and seeking treatment. abusing alcohol and “I think one of the other drugs as well. After most powerful ways that spending time recoverwe can address stigma ing, Lubell began workis by telling stories,” said ing for HAMSA and was Leslie Lubell, program promoted to her current manager of Helping position last year. Her Atlantans Manage Subpersonal experience with stance Abuse, or HAMSA. addiction has caused her Lubell has her own to feel strongly about story to tell. She is in both how society discusses the addiction and eating diseffects of marijuana. “I order recovery and says Leslie Lubell shares her believe in the medicinal talking openly about it story about addiction and value of cannabis. I’m prois important for her own eating disorder recovery. legalization. The problem healing and for helping I have is the cannabis industry is telling peoto dispel the stigma.

Born and raised deeply involved in ple it’s harmless and not addictive, and that the Atlanta Jewish community, Lubell is absolutely not true. I am living proof of went to Camp Barney Medintz and was that,” she said. “Anything that has a moodinvolved in BBYO. “I did all of the Jewish altering property can be abused, period.”

Organizations in Jewish Atlanta are things,” she said. Lubell struggled with feelings of discontent and lack of belong- trying to address addiction by focusing new

18 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Marijuana companies have business interests that may provide misleading information, according to Lubell.

The opioid crisis is a national problem the federal government is trying to address.

efforts on education in day schools, synagogues and other Jewish organizations.

HAMSA works closely with other Jewish mental health and addiction treatment organizations. “While I believe the Atlanta community is much further along than two years ago, many people still aren’t ready to talk about mental health and substance abuse,” said Justin Milrad, co-founder and president of The Blue Dove Foundation. “We, as a community, have to open up the conversation and feel comfortable leaning on one another.”

A Dec. 9 event, #QUIETINGTHESILENCE, will feature personal stories from people in addiction recovery, in-

cluding HAMSA employee Michelle Day. The event will take place at The Temple and is leading up to the organization’s book release in the spring, said Gabby Spatt, executive director Blue Dove.

Both Lubell and Milrad maintain that it’s very difficult to measure the rates and types of addiction in the Jewish community, but they assume they track with the rest of the country. “You have to look at what economic demographic people fall into. We’re not at any higher or lower risk than anybody else,” Lubell said. “With that being said, anecdotally, I can’t tell you how many Jewish clients say the first time they drank was at a Jewish event. There are a lot of people

EDUCATION who will tell you that their first exposure to families around the country.”

Both HAMSA and The Blue Dove alcohol was on a Jewish holiday.”

Last year, Moshiel Newman Daphna Foundation are also focusing on working from New York, whose drag queen per- with synagogues. This year, The Blue Dove sona is called Lady SinAGaga, spoke at a Foundation againdistributed a high holiHAMSA event. “This is a gay Jewish man day toolkit to synagogues around Atlanta in recovery who grew up in the Orthodox encouraging rabbis to address statistics and support during Rosh world in New York. Again, Hashanah and Yom Kiphe started drinking when pur: “Rabbi Brad Levenhe was 12 or 13 years old berg from Temple Sinai on Shabbat,” Lubell said. wrote a beautiful ‘Mi She“The Orthodox commuberach’ prayer for those in nity is not immune.” recovery,” Milrad said.

Orthodox Jews sufferHAMSA very often ing from addiction often gets referrals from synaseek help within their own gogues, Lubell said: “We’re community, but HAMSA starting to recognize that is seeing more clients look Justin Milrad said many people we want to be connectfor treatment, and there still aren’t ready to talk about ing with our community are organizations that specifically cater to the mental health and substance abuse. that is affiliated with synagogues. We’re working on creating Orthodox community in Atlanta, she said.

Daniel Epstein, director of client programming that the synagogues want care for The Berman Center, also cites around addiction and recovery.”

Along with stigma, the big challenge marijuana as a particular concern, along with vaping and technology. “Cannabis is for patients is affording treatment, accordso destigmatized that there is a danger- ing to Lubell. The federal government’s aid ous branding around it. Anecdotally, I’m packages, such as the 21st Century Cures Act hearing much more about cannabis-in- of 2016, are helpful but focus on the opioid crisis specifically and spend less resources duced psychosis,” he said.

To address addiction among youth, on alcohol and other drugs, she said. A big HAMSA is excited to partner with an orga- concern is the demographic that isn’t homenization called Beit T’Shuvah in Los Angeles less but still can’t afford treatment. “You to create a youth education program for have to remember that drug and alcohol the Jewish day schools in Atlanta next year. treatment is for profit. It’s a business,” she “They have a program that they’ve devel- added.

HAMSA helps patients to choose the oped with a seasoned education professionbest treatment centers al that spans sixth, seventh that are within their budand eighth grade to help get. “I wish the first queseducate the kids about the tion I have to ask people risks of drug and alcohol isn’t ‘Are you insured?’” abuse and how addiction she said. “If they’re uninlooks across the board,” sured and have absolutely Lubell said. no money, the options are It is developmentally going to be state-funded appropriate, with sixth programs. That’s just the graders learning about adway it is, unfortunately.” dictions to electronics and Daniel Epstein said the Because of this, Lubell vaping, and it emphasizes Jewish community is making doesn’t think many painternally motivated deprogress in addressing mental tients are being assessed cision-making. “Kids are health and substance abuse. correctly. “What we have more likely to make better choices when they are empowered with evolved into is a behavioral health system better information about what the risks that is in many ways driven by marketers. are,” Lubell said. “I’m a realist. I know that At least that’s what I see in Atlanta.”

According to Epstein, the Jewish teens are going to experiment with drugs and alcohol. What we can do is help our community is beginning to move in the right direction. “I’ve seen a substantial teens understand what the real risks are.”

According to Lubell, a big risk for shift over the past two years,” he said. young people is now fentanyl, which has “When I first moved to Atlanta, there been turning up laced in cocaine and was just this thick denial or underplaycounterfeit pharmaceuticals, and it can ing and an unwillingness to acknowledge be deadly. “You can take a pill that you what’s going on. For various reasons, and think is a Xanax,” she said. “And you one was the increase of programming don’t know what’s in it. That one pill can from Jewish organizations around menkill you and that happens all the time. tal health, they’ve started to increase exAnd it’s happened in plenty of Jewish posure and reduce stigma.” ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 19

EDUCATION

Weber’s Got Talent!

By Marcia Caller Jaffe The Weber School presented “You Will Be Found: A Musical Showcase” in three performances Nov. 23-25.

The group included 12 students, a technical director, a musical director, and a director/choreographer. Together they created a unique and upbeat show that featured some very inspiring and hopeful youths that could be bound for a “big time” theatrical career.

Director/choreographer Brad Bass said, “We have been working on developing a show based on training the performer as an actor, singer, and a dancer without the confines of playing a specific character. We are celebrating the unique talents of the individual. As the director, I wanted these students to perform using attributes from their own lives. What we ended up with is a wonderful night of musical storytelling in vignettes.” He later thanked the parents for “shlepping” the kids to practice four days a week.

The cast performed songs from Broadway shows, including: “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Newsies,” “Aladdin,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “South Pacific,” “The Greatest

20 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

The guys opened with Hamilton’s “My Shot” in terrific harmony. From left, Jordan Liban, Jake Friedman, Dov Karlin and Sammy Lebowitz with John Burke on piano.

Showman,” “Mamma Mia!” “The Addams Family,” “City of Angels,” and a rousing opening “My Shot” from “Hamilton.” The show’s title “You Will Be Found,” from “Dear Evan Hansen,” brought down the house for the closing number.

The cast was: Liana Bernstein, Miriam Burmenko, Jake Friedman, Eliana Glusman, Caroline Goldman, Amelia Heller, Jordan Joel, Dov Karlin, Sammy Lebowitz, Jordan Liban, Hope Lindner and Naomi Kuropatwa. The technical crew

The girls-only group rocked in “Mamma Mia!” From left, Hope Lindner, Eliana Glusman, Liana Bernstein, Amelia Heller and Miriam Burmenko.

The cast sign was a big welcome moment.

er” from “First Date.” Heller, who was inwas Isaac Lambert and Scott Leaderman.

Goldman, the only senior, studied terested in drama since third grade at Epmusical theater at Carnegie Mellon Uni- stein, stood out in the girls-only number versity’s pre-college program and has “Mama Mia!” Burmenko performed a difeight credits in well-known shows such ficult confluence of two unrelated songs.

A stunner, Joel killed it in several as “Rent” and “Avenue Q.” Musical Director John Burke, a Gram- group numbers and his own emotive my-nominated pianist and composer, “Santa Fe” from “Newsies.”

Friedman, with his groovy pompasparkled on the keys and sang “Happy/ Sad” from “The Addams Family,” as a spe- dour and great range, charmed in “There cial treat. He was most adept in supporting is Nothing Like a Dame” from “South Pacific” and in the guysthe various performers in only Hamilton number. multiple keys and the backAnd Kuropatwa, a bone of the show’s verve. pianist and band memDirector Bass was ber, played and sang raised on a Virginia to“A Case of You” by Joni bacco farm, formally Mitchell, which was used trained in New York and in film and TV. performed for 14 years beLindner, an 11th-gradfore realizing that teacher, shared that performing ing and writing were his helped her discover “her passions. Score one for true authentic self.” Prior Weber for landing Bass, to the show, mother Marwho performed “You’re cia Lindner noted, “The Nothing Without Me” Weber theater program from “City of Angels” with has supported our daughstudent Liban, both of Director Brad Bass captivated ter’s dream of performing whom were nothing short in his emotive solo “Feelin’ and allowed her to betof spectacular. Liban held Good” a la Michael Bublé. ter define her adulthood, his own in this powerful duet. Later, Bass soloed “Feelin’ Good” from while challenging her academically to be “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell able to get into the best colleges.”

Karlin’s father Michael said, “The of the Crowd” as we were all transported by program here has been fantastic. Being his charisma and projection.

Each student introduced a segment able to work with Bass has elevated them sharing their dreams. Many talked about all.” Dov Karlin has appeared in the At“catching the acting bug” early on at The lanta History Center production of “FalDavis Academy, The Epstein School or settos” and “Elf: The Musical” at Sandy summer drama camp. Lebowitz joshed, “At Springs Performing Arts Center, among two months old, I was doing Shakespeare others.

Glusman made her debut with this on the street before I became the understudy for Brad Pitt.” Lebowitz was more on show and specializes in hip-hop and the level with his performance in the all- modern dance.

One could well ponder 10 years from male numbers. Karlin, a Weber freshman, said he was smitten with performing after now, “Who could believe that I saw the Tony winner X at The Weber School proparticipating in “The Music Man.” Bernstein nailed an emotional “Saf- duction in 2019?” ■

EDUCATION

Fast Food, Slow Decline tion of the burger or the fries.

Resist temptation. You The surprising result of know it is probably not my science experiment was good for you anyway. Which that all the parents would temptation am I talking proudly say, “We don’t go to about this time? Fast food.

McDonald’s; we go to ChickI heard about someone Fil-A.” As if Chick-fil-A is who did an experiment a while healthier. Naturally, I purago. They bought a McDonchased a Chick-fil-A sandwich ald’s burger and put it on the and let it sit out for months bookshelf for five years. The Dr. Pip as well. No one should be sursad thing was that it didn’t Spandorfer prised that there was no mold get moldy or disintegrate. I growing on the Chick-fil-A thought this might be a good visual demonstration for my patients and en- sandwich, either.

I’m not sure exactly what it is about courage them to avoid fast food. So, I bought a cheeseburger (definitely not kosher) and fast food that keeps it from decomposleft it on my counter for two months. Amaz- ing; it could be the salt, the fact that it ingly, it didn’t get moldy. The bun dried up a was fried, the preservatives in the food itself, etc. But the unfortunate reality is little, but no mold or decomposition.

I thought how clever would I be if I the fast food still looks pretty good after 2 showed it to my patients; they would see 1/2 years sitting on my bookshelf at work.

According to an October 2018 Centers the burger and realize that there is something inherently wrong with fast food. for Disease Control and Prevention study, So, I started to tell my pediatric patients about one-third of all adults in the U.S. conthat I did a science experiment. I wanted sume fast food on any given day. The proporto see if they could guess how much mold tion decreased with age, meaning 20-yeargrew on a burger that I let sit out for two olds were almost twice as likely to eat fast months. Of course, everyone was really food than 60-year-olds. Contrary to popular shocked at how there was no decomposi- opinion, the higher the family income, the

more likely people were to eat fast food. Men tended to eat lunch and women tended to get a snack from a fast food restaurant.

One-third of children eat at a fast food restaurant every day. Teens were found to consume twice as many calories from a fast food restaurant as children under 10 years of age. All these statistics are concerning for me as I try to encourage people to choose a healthier lifestyle.

Eating fast food is associated with obesity, which leads to higher levels of coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, stroke and cancer, among other medical ailments. There are large amounts of carbohydrates, added sugars, sodium and fats in many of the processed foods sold at fast food restaurants.

In terms of practical advice, there are several things you should do if you are going to a fast food restaurant: Plan ahead when choosing a restaurant so that you won’t be tricked into getting a combo meal. Try to keep the calorie count under 500. Salads are a good option if you get them without cheese and with a low-fat dressing.

Grilled is always a better option than fried.

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Proper Use of Technology in Education Schools have been grappling with the effects of children and adolescents screen time, access to digital devices and nomophobia – fear of being without a mobile device – for some time now.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that children spend about seven hours a day on broadcast (TV/video) and interactive (social media/video games) media, which are all vying for children’s attention. Many schools are having to establish rules on technology only after issues arise, and the rules change from year to year.

In the fast-paced speed of high tech, we can suspect there are poignant effects on student’s development we do not yet understand, making the oversight of educational technology a vital part of school.

The effects of media we do know about include increased risk for obesity, negative impact on sleep, risk for mental health, educational and social problems, to name a few, according to AAP. Many adolescents show signs of smartphone addiction, not wanting to part with their phones during the day or night. Dopamine, the chemical messenger for your reward pathway that makes you feel good – including from love, food, exercise, drugs – is triggered during media usage, putting children and adolescents at risk for media addiction, according to an article last year

by Harvard University researcher Trevor Haynes.

Of course, this is balanced with the benefits of

media usage, which AAP expresses are increased collaboration and exposure to new information while raising awareness of current events and promoting civic engagement.

The stance from schools should reflect our knowledge of the benefits and risks to our students. As we all know, the best way to develop language, cognition and social emotional intelligence is by actively engaging in these experiences. For children and teens, school is an important environment to develop these skills, contributing to the success of the child.

Schools have a great responsibility to use evidence-based research to lead the way by adopting and putting into practice responsible technology in education. It is important that our schools are practicing reasonable ways for our students and families to embrace technology, while not being overwhelmed by its negative side effects. Because even the casual observer knows that schools are making a concerted effort to increase the amount of technology in their classrooms. This shift is seen in the presence of digital textbooks and one-to-one student to computer ratios being touted as the basis for an advanced technological school.

In a 2017 Frontiers in Psychology journal article a study published in 2013 showed that “in-class multitasking with a laptop is negatively correlated with academic performance for the user and all others within sightline of

Sarah Bari (middle) and Shayna Addess (right) are using the smart board to learn about linear functions and substituting values into equations with middle school math teacher, Mrs. Branham (left).

the screen.” Therefore, an advanced school’s technological options don’t necessarily translate into a healthy educational environment.

Schools must be ready to tackle the tough questions related to ed tech: For example, is the time students are in front of a screen meaningful and purposeful? Are students having face-to-face conversations without technology? Is technology just another tool and not the end-all? Are teachers playing a role in technology use? Are students encouraged to read deeply instead of glancing? Are students encouraged to monitor their own screen time so they know when to disengage?

CMCH Elementary & Middle School answers the hard-hitting questions about incorporating educational technology to optimize the students learning environment. The basics such as no cell phone usage during school hours and filtering on all school devices is already in place, but usage of ed tech within the school must conform to higher standards. The CMCH coding class allows

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students to embrace technology in a purposeful way focused on a deeper understanding of problem-solving, resilience and creativity.

CMCH encourages the use of smart boards when it is meaningful to the lessons taught. Laptops are only used when needed and are not the end-all way to research and express information. CMCH teachers encourage project-based and in-depth learning to develop critical thinking, gather a deep understanding of what’s being learned, and show students how it relates to the real world.

Collaborative and group learning are important at CMCH so students have opportunities to articulate ideas and understandings, uncover misconceptions and negotiate with others.

Those are just a few examples of how CMCH Elementary & Middle School is embracing best practices to model reasonable ways for their students to positively incorporate technology while not contributing to the negative side effects. Come see for yourself by calling 404843-0118 to set up a tour at CMCH.

Paid Content by CMCH. ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 21

EDUCATION

Davis Students Show Off Tech Projects Davis Academy sixth- and seventhgrade tech leaders were selected to present to educators from around the state recently at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference Nov 7. Students Drew Kaufman, Blake Cohen, Jake Barras, Adam Ress, Avi Nebel, Zach Rindsberg, Micah Kopelman, and Adam Greenstein shared their technology projects built with a combination of recycled materials and cutting-edge technology tools, creating an interactive exhibit that showcased their resourcefulness.

Student projects included: Mini Mac computer coded with Python, a programming language platform; SunCam that uses solar power to take photos; Fresnel lens mask that when worn, enlarges the head of the person wearing it; Robotic switch-operated machine that has a randomized reaction to its switch each time it is flipped; Walking robot coded with mblock programming software; Robot made of recycled materials and programmed with Visual Create Basic software; Hacked Finch robot programmed to be

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Student Presenters: Avi Nebel, Jake Barras, Adam Ress, Micah Kopelman, Zach Rindsberg, Adam Greenstein, Drew Kaufman and Blake Cohen pose for a picture at the GaETC student showcase.

One of the projects was a Fresnel lens mask, modeled here by Jake Barras, that when worn, enlarges the head of the person wearing it.

Micah Kopelman proudly displays the mini Mac computer created with a 3D-printed computer body and coded with Python, a programming language platform.

a scavenger device in a dystopian society. It was created in conjunction with a featured book from The Davis Academy book club, “The Wild Robot,” by Peter Brown.

To create their technology projects, students worked in teams of two and curated project ideas from technologyfocused resources within a set budget.

Student projects required that they improve upon and grow their knowledge of coding, engineering and design.

To ensure project objectives were met

and to document their progress throughout their projects, students created 3D modeled prototypes and stop-motion videos outlining their project journey. Not only did this documentation give insight into the creation process when students presented at GaETC, but it also helped them further appreciate their end product and the hard work it took to get there.

When asked what he gained from presenting at GaETC, seventh-grader Adam Greenstein shared that it: “not only gave me the opportunity to share my pas-

sion for technology with others, but it also gave me the chance to hone my skills in teaching and in giving presentations.”

Elaborating upon what Adam shared, Davis’ 21st Century Learning Coordinator Stacy Brown said, “It was so rewarding to see our students, who share a love for innovation and technology, become the experts in the room as they taught adult learners and educators about their project details, shared tech advice, and provided tips for technology implementation in the classroom.” ■

EDUCATION

Seniors Signed to Play College Ball

Chase Engelhard commits to playing baseball at Tulane University. Josh Peljovich commits to play baseball at Colby College.

Chase Engelhard and Josh Peljovich, both seniors at Riverwood International Charter School, signed letters of intent to play baseball in college — Engelhard at Tulane University in New Orleans and Peljovich at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Both were four-year varsity lettermen in baseball and were classmates at The Epstein School.

Engelhard will receive athletic and academic scholarships to play for the Green Wave, which competed in the American Athletic Conference.

He was recruited as a shortstop for the NCAA Division I team.

He was named to the 2019 All Region baseball team, among other baseball achievements.

He also earned a varsity letter in football at Riverwood in his freshman year. Off the playing field, Engelhard is an honors student involved in the men’s choir, Beta Club and Jewish Student Union.

He is the son of Suzy and Hadley Engelhard of Sandy Springs.

Peljovich was reruited as a pitcher for the Mules, who compete in the 11-school New England Small College Athletic Conference of the NCAA’s Division III. He was honored as JV Pitcher of the Year and Riverwood Athlete of the Month his freshman year and was named to the 6-AAAAA Second Team AllRegion as a junior. Peljovich ran cross country for Riverwood his freshman year. He is an IB Diploma Candidate and a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club.

He is the son of Allan and Lori Peljovich of Sandy Springs. ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 23

EDUCATION

Mayor-Elect Deutsch Looks to the Future

By Eddie Samuels Dunwoody’s Jewish mayor-elect Lynn Deutsch never thought she’d be the one campaigning for public office.

“I always foresaw a career behind the scenes,” she said. “But I consider myself much more of a policy maker than a politician. I’m much more interested in policy research and communications.”

The Temple Emanu-El member first stepped into community involvement when her oldest son was in kindergarten.

The school’s principal appointed her to a committee made up of representatives from all the schools in Dunwoody.

“That was my first foray into it, and the activism with the school system came later as I peeled back the onion,” Deutsch said.

When Chestnut Elementary School didn’t have an art teacher, Deutsch found herself horrified and wanting to change that.

“There were multiple elementary schools in DeKalb that didn’t have art teachers,” she said. “The PTA started raising money to fund one, but that’s wrong on so many levels, because every elementary school child should have art and music and P.E. The principal shouldn’t have to choose.

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Lynn Deutsch uses her background in education and city planning in her political career.

Deutsch was an advocate for students before pursuing politics.

Deutsch‘s campaign knocked on about 7,000 doors to woo voters to the ballot box.

“There are a lot of elementary schools where the parents might not have the means to raise money and pay an art teacher,” she added.

She began advocating for students, talking to school boards and fighting for education. In the process, Deutsch discovered some of the challenges facing DeKalb County Schools. She served in a variety of leadership roles at Chestnut, Dunwoody Elementary School and Peachtree and Dunwoody high schools.

She was named to the Master Teacher & Academic Coach Implementation Committee as a parent representative by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.

When Dunwoody became a city in 2008, her background in city planning — a field in which she earned a master’s degree from Georgia Tech — pushed her to become even more involved.

“I was appointed to the first planning commission after cityhood, and then ran for city council,” she said. “In the first couple of years, there was a missing voice, which was from mothers with younger children. The incumbent for that seat wasn’t going to run again, so it was a huge decision for me.”

While her campaign for mayor this year retained that same grassroots approach she took in her first city council run, Deutsch said that the scale was the biggest change.

“This year there was no reason for people to come to the ballot, except for municipal elections,” she said. “That means we had total responsibility for getting people out to vote, so we knocked on about 7,000 doors, … and had almost two dozen meet and greets.”

As for what in her platform really appealed to voters, she explained that her perspective of opportunities seemed to resonate with those with whom she met.

“We have opportunities, for example, in Dunwoody Village,” she said. “One of the knocks against Dunwoody is that there’s no here, no local gathering space, and the village can be that spot. I can’t tell you exactly what it’s going to look like, but I know we need to make it happen.”

As for the overall state of Dunwoody, Deutsch explained that she felt it was strong, but an eye toward the future would be vital.

“Dunwoody is in really good shape,” she said, “but I ran, in part because I’m concerned about where we’ll be in 10 years, when compared to the cities around us. Our economic well-being is dependent on Perimeter Center. How do we make sure that the businesses that are there stay there?”

Another area in need of work was DeKalb County Schools, according to Deutsch.

“One of our biggest challenges is a school system we have no direct control over,” she said. “I intend to bring all the mayors and leaders of DeKalb County together to see if we can come up with a plan to influence the school system to do a better job.”

She pointed to the overcrowding in schools as one major issue, but said it is likely a symptom of a bigger problem.

“There has been a long period of mismanagement and some corruption,” she said. DeKalb County has seen five superintendents in less than 12 years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and current superintendent R. Stephen Green tendered his resignation in May, which will take effect in June 2020.

“It’s really about not just top leadership, but also how does a school system develop mid-level leadership who can turn the ship around?” Deutsch asked. “It has operated in isolation for decades and it does impact the health of the entire county.

They need to get their house in order.”

Taking over for Denis Shortal, who has been in the post since 2015 and did not run for reelection, Deutsch is the first woman to be elected mayor of the young city of Dunwoody, and explained that representation is important. She defeated fellow councilmember Terry Nall by over 20 percent.

“There have been a lot of young women and girls who have been excited, because I think role models and mentors are important,” she said. “In addition, we have three women on the city council this year, which is the most since it was founded. Women are really politically interested right now, and local government effects your day-today life more than any other form.”

As for the support she received during the campaign, Deutsch was nothing but grateful.

“Campaigning is hard, and every night I would come up with a plan and say, ‘this is what I’m doing tomorrow,” she said. “If I woke up in the morning and felt like I didn’t want to do this, I thought about all my volunteers and I couldn’t let them down. They really propelled me to get up, get going, and get this done.” ■

EDUCATION

Camp Ramah Director Ups Exec Skills

By Roni Robbins Earlier this month, Camp Ramah Darom director Geoffrey Menkowitz graduated from an elite professional leadership training program that gave him the supervisory tools to prepare for the future of Jewish camping. Along with 15 other Jewish camp directors, he participated in the Executive Leadership Institute created by the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

There he learned high-level executive and management skills to keep up with general trends in society and the changing face of Jewish life.

Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, gave the commencement address at the Nov. 6 ELI program graduation. In 2005, The Marcus Foundation, of which Marcus is chairman, gave FJC its first $1 million grant to establish the ELI program, and continues to support the program. “His motivation came out of his experience with training executives at The Home Depot,” Menkowitz said. “He shared his belief that for Jewish camps to be successful, we needed to invest in professional leadership in the same way.”

Although Menkowitz has been part of other professional development with other Camp Ramah directors in the past, this was the first time he worked closely with colleagues from other camping movements, most of whom have been in their roles about 10 years. This will be Menkowitz’ 13th summer at Camp Ramah.

“The idea here is not to just teach camp directors, but to really help us evolve as executive leaders and stewards of our organizations,” he said. “This program was not just focused on Jewish education programs or matters of our camp operation, but to really help attain the next level of leadership, to grow as supervisors, to grow as leaders, to enhance our abilities with financial management, and to get to the next level of being able to tell the story of our organization more effectively to all the stakeholders involved.”

Some of the takeaways from the program: “I feel a deeper knowledge of how to be an effective fundraiser and an effective manager and what I walked away with most of all was how to think about leading our organization to the next decade and beyond.”

A big focus of the program was on anticipating the future in terms of “contemporary trends and making sure camps were evolving and adapting to continue to be relevant and sustainable organizations.”

Camps must stay true to their mission, but need be able to advance that mission through changing times, Menkowitz said he learned. For instance, the ways Jews gather and become engaged are shifting and camps need to be award of that along with other contemporary issues of gender and race, “trends which are impacting all of society but there are implications for the Jewish community that it needs to be thinking about.”

The challenge of Jewish families being able to afford camp is another big issue for leaders of Jewish camps to consider. “What is the role of the camp in all of that?”

This was the fourth cohort to participate in the ELI program. The recent graduates represented five camping movements: Union for Reform Judaism, Ramah, Association of Independent Jewish camps, JCC Association, Young Judaea and Independent camps.

“Using experts and recognized leaders from various disciplines from the business world and the nonprofit sec-

Bernie Marcus gave the commencement address at the graduation in Boca Raton, Fla., which included Geoffrey Menkowitz of Camp Ramah. Both are pictured here with Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

tor, the program challenged the directors to widen their lens of leadership and management over a 20-month period that included six seminars [around the country] with industry leaders and Jewish educators, individual mentorship, the use of customer feedback data, and the implementation of a project specific to each cohort’s camp,” FJC reported. “A new addition to the program: travel with peers and faculty members to visit at least one camp other than their own, enabling encounters with fresh perspectives, and new ideas to bring back into their camp communities

for the remainder of the summer.”

One of the themes of the executive leadership program was how to stretch their understanding of camp, Menkowitz said. “We see the role Jewish camps can play because we are such an effectual vehicle for Jewish engagement. We can reach families in different ways.”

Menkowitz said he was “extremely grateful” for the high-level training, mentorship and coaching he received through ELI “to help me grow and better serve Ramah Darom.” ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 25

EDUCATION

Atlanta’s Connection to WWII Museum

By Paula Baroff

the final major physical addition to the museum, The National with three floors WWII Museum exploring the end in New Orleans of the war, the has just expanded, Holocaust, the according to Atimmediate postlanta-based board war years and the member and AJT war’s continuing owner and pubimpact on our lisher Michael own lives,” the Morris. museum said in a The mupress release. seum, which The Hall of Democracy will Thousands of books, research and other “Operation Finale: The Capture & R e c e n t l y, opened in 2000, provide new research and resources are housed at the Madlyn and Trial of Adolf Eichmann” details the the museum preis “the only mueducation opportunities.

Paul Hilliard Research Library. trial of the Nazi war criminal. miered a temposeum of its kind rary exhibit on in the country,” ber and a member of the Georgia Com- With the museum within driving disand is designated as the official World mission on the Holocaust, Morris is “ea- tance of Atlanta, the collaboration is mu- Operation Finale, detailing the capture War II museum of the United States, ger to grow education cooperation and tually beneficial to the museum and the and trial of Adolf Eichmann. The exhibit will be open through Jan. 5. said Morris, who is also owner-pub- links between the two cities.”

Georgia Holocaust commission.

The Hall of Democracy is another lisher of the AJT. Groundbreaking for the pavilion Morris and Sally Levine, the execuWhen the museum first opened, it tive director of the Georgia Holocaust was in October, and it is slated for com- bold addition. It is a “three story, state-offocused on D-Day and the Andrew Hig- commission, recently visited to learn pletion in 2021. “When people hear ‘lib- the-art research and education complex,” gins boats that helped win the war, but about new programming, exhibits, and eration,’ they usually think immediately which will serve as a “preeminent educawas encouraged to expand, Morris said. to begin building a relationship with the about the camps,” Morris said. “But the tion gateway” about World War II and The museum has since become a prime museum. They attended the grand open- pavilion is also about the liberation of all will include large research and education departments, an exhibition hall and destination for visitors to New Orleans, ings of several of the museum’s initia- of Europe from the Nazis. he said. As both a museum board mem- tives, including the Liberation Pavilion.

“The Liberation Pavilion will mark a library. ■

26 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 27

DINING Ten Years of Local Plates at Bocado

Bocado has an industrial minimalist warehouse vibe on the Westside.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Shame on me for taking 10 years to experience Bocado, Portuguese for “mouthful.” With a continental American bill of fare, Bocado was there before the recent avalanche of the Westside gen-

28 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

A favorite small plate was vivid beets in a citrus mélange. The pumpkin seeds were a peppy top off.

The rainbow trout worked well over parsnips and under arugula and radishes.

The warm apple cobbler is topped off with caramel gelato served on recycled menus.

trification explosion. With its minimalist and industrial vibe, Bocado, owned

by Brian Lewis, doesn’t just happen to have good food. The seasonal menu is all about local farmers (especially artisanal cheeses) and the showcase of rotating farm-to-table ingredients.

The sacrifice on the flipside is a limited choice of entrées. Not to worry, the small “experimental” sharing plates are front and center.

We had three small plates that were standouts, starting with Brussels sprouts, sunchoke puree, calabrese pepper, farro, parsley and butter. The sprouts were crunchy enough and the beads of farro were a nice blend, with its rich puree, which made it a bit soupy.

My favorite was the kale salad with apples, pecans, flax seed, parmesan and buttermilk dressing. Not normally a fan of buttermilk, this dressing was sharp and mild concurrently. The kale had been massaged or in some way treated to lay out a soft enough texture instead of a grind-your-teeth kale bite.

Actually, the table favorite was a brilliantly constructed and flavorful citrus, purple and orange beet salad with tzatziki, pumpkin seed, oranges and lemon.

The watermelon radishes added crunch and even more color. Even for those who do not crave beets, this one worked. Next time, I would try red quinoa, field peas, avocado, cilantro, radish, cucumber and cashew lime butter. Note that lime appears on the menu in many forms.

Bocado has a popular lunch scene (even on Saturday) with a heavily sandwiched menu. They are known for their burger stack; but I would opt for the roasted cauliflower sandwich with Chinese and Thai eggplant and cilantro.

The rainbow trout entrée was a thick hunk of white “meat,” crisped on the skin on one side. It could have used less salt. The seasoned arugula helped to tone down the saltiness.

For dessert, we thought about the

chocolate pot de crème (out of only four choices) to ultimately align with the warm apple cobbler with cinnamon, lemon/lime zest and caramel gelato.

It was served properly with the apples warm, but working against the gelato, which stayed firm, avoiding the goopy ice cream syndrome. I would have preferred more apples and less dough, but the kitchen sent out a nice touch, a recycled old menu as a saucer.

The desserts are $7 to $8 and made on site.

In the epicenter of the requisite hip Westside scene, Bocado’s cocktail list is lively and poses questions to stimulate discussion. Where do herbsaint, monkey shoulder, and egg whites fit into names like Big Business, King George VII, Joy Sauvage, Penicillin, and Miss Jackson?

We settled for a calm cava and a Coyote with tequila, Gran Classico, Salers (aperitif that would make the mouth pucker), and lime soda ($13).

A note about the well-paced service.

Our server was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and headed a youthful team who seemed to watch her nods to know when to go in or stay back. None of the silliness, where strange faces bring other people’s meals at the wrong time. Our server who has been at Bocado for four years is a hospitality major earning her stripes in the real world.

Dare we use the term “gourmet à la local?” Bon Appetit.

Bocado had a $3 parking fee and is located at 887 Howell Mill Road, also accessible from the Northside Drive parallel street if you don’t mind the strip club route. There is late night Friday service until 2 a.m., but the restaurant is closed Sundays. ■

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The Zweig’s refurbished indoor climate-controlled pool, which is structurally cantilevered.

Chai Style Homes

Photo by Duane Stork // Susie and Arnie Zweig enjoy the Chattahoochee River view and fresh air amid the mountain laurel and fig trees.

Designer’s Magical River Home Mother Nature found soulmates in Susie and Arnie surfaces, and the landscaping/hardscape were redeZweig. Overlooking a panorama of the snaking Chatta- signed, modernized and chosen to be ageless. hoochee River, their Sandy Springs home is enveloped in It was exciting watching a crane lift the metal struclush indigenous flora. Susie, an architecturally trained in- ture for the bar/river room extension over the 30-foot terior designer said, “When I first saw this house and site, pool skylight and drop it into place. New proper-scaled it reminded me of a Frank Lloyd Wright. Fascinated by windows and doors replaced ones sized for Lilliputians. A the shale outcroppings lining the street as well as the pri- new entry façade in mahogany, designed by Jay, is perfect. vacy and park-like surroundings with views The original driveway was built like a of the river, I knew that it had potential. superhighway with 18 inches of concrete. In With its post and beam construction, movthe 70s the original owner supposedly spent ing walls would be easy and the structural $1 million on the engineering for the retain3-inch-thick heart pine ceilings were lovely. ing walls, driveway, foundation and pool.

Arnie, a retired plastic surgeon, concurred. “I liked the idea of living in a forest Marcia: How would you describe this within a major city with healthy air and no masterpiece fireplace? traffic or noise other than birds. Daily I am Susie: The stone top is original. Echoovercome by the beauty of the house. ... When I ing the elliptical shapes of the front enfirst saw it, I thought it was a disaster. With Su- Marcia trance and the kitchen clerestory, amazingsie’s talent, it’s now nothing short of spectacu- Caller Jaffe ly it is proportional at 11 feet high. I found lar. Imagine showering while looking through a wooden ornament purported to be from the trees to the winding river from over 125 feet high.” the developer of Sea Pines in Hilton Head. The compass rose became the center. I found a great carpenter, masMarcia: What happened architecturally? ter stone mason and craftsmen who did restoration finSusie: Architect Jay Waronker and I worked togeth- ishing at the Biltmore House in Asheville. er; the finished project took a full year. We only kept the Yes, it does radiate heat. roof structure, the slab, two fireplaces and a few walls.

The floor plan, all mechanical systems, all finished Marcia: The indoor pool is an important element.

Arnie: I used to operate at 7:30, so I would swim at 5 a.m. and exit through a secret door without waking Susie A special heating/cooling unit removes moisture and returns it to the pool, allowing me to swim laps comfortably all year. Since we get no leaves or debris, maintenance is minimal.

All the glass walls and ceilings make you feel outdoors. New operable windows and fixed glass were installed to replace the sliding doors opening to the cliff. The 42-foot pool was resurfaced with natural looking Pebble Tec. Marcia: Where did you get your design sense and love of outdoors?

Susie: Both my parents were artistic and loved plants.

We lived on a Stone Mountain farm until I was 9. My father was a “gentleman farmer” and a jewelry designer with an eye for unusual things. He bought me a brass church alter rail at auction. It became a sink base for the powder room and a coffee table in the bar/river room.

My mother, Peggy Ellman Greenbaum, was an award-winning artist. We especially love her female figure paintings displayed here.

The Chattahoochee River creates a mini ecosystem like the mountains, allowing plants to thrive that can’t grow in other Atlanta locations. Our Tuscan-like landscaping and hardscape, designed by Jeremy Smearman ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 29

CHAI STYLE Photo by Duane Stork // Susie’s favorite painting is “Capriole” by James Way, reminding her of a whimsical carousel. It’s a full 7 feet by 8 feet.

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The master bedroom boasts the original stone fireplace. The chandelier and embroidered pillows came from Susie’s mother, Peggy Ellman Greenbaum. The painting over the fireplace is Dali.

(Planters), includes indigenous plants. The native mountain laurels are spectacular in May. Marcia: What’s unusual about your master suite?

Susie: The bedroom has a 15-foot wall of glass looking out to the woods and the garden and concrete statues my grandparents brought from Europe in the 50s.

My mother’s Baccarat crystal chandelier and her embroidered Brazilian-cutwork pillow covers are special to me.

We share a tub and shower but have double everything else, including the enviable closets in our luxurious bathroom. It has expansive views of the river forests and my newest project, a moss garden.

Marcia: What art do you most treasure here?

Susie: My favorite, after my mother’s work, is a 7-by-8-foot oil painting, “Capriole” by James Way (2004) of a real horse, beautifully executed, suspended whimsically by a string like that of a jumper on a carousel. It captures the space.

In the foyer, Patrick McGannon’s painting (2002) features a female figure overlooking the Tuscan countryside. Flanking the front door are a pair of life-sized carved wood statues … from a once-important building, purchased in 1974.

Arnie: Susie incorporated pieces I really like from my former home and office – some pieces by Salvador

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The master bath with great light and views.

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The dramatic foyer has antique wood statues bought in New York 45 years ago. The painting rear right is Dali

30 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CHAI STYLE Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // Susie’s carefully planned gardens overlook the river

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The expansive bar/river room has majestic views to the river and flora.

Dali, a piece by California artist [Christina] De Musée and a three-dimensional relief sculpture by Bill Mack.

Marcia: What is special about your kitchen?

Susie: Its timelessness.

White Georgia marble and quartz (for durability) countertops sit on contemporary mahogany cabinets with quirky pulls. The interesting microwave cabinet is different from the rest. A white hex floor, seen in 1920s drugstore fountains, has black shapes spaced minimally. The reverse pattern, black with white shapes, is used in some toe kicks. The kitchen works nicely, including the new Wolf appliances.

My fussy orchids love the generous natural light.

Arnie: Susie bought some junky turquoise metal

pieces from the Lakewood Antiques Market. Refinished with added white glass, they are amazing light fixtures.

Marcia: After putting so much into this fabulous home, why now sell it?

Susie: While we love it, Arnie is retired; we want to simplify things and travel more.

This contemporary home is a breathtaking response to the site, a private gateway to nature that is comfortable, functional, unusual and stunning. (FMLS# 6522152).

Dali said, “Have no fear of perfection, as you will never reach it.” In this instance, he may be dead wrong. ■

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // Susie designed the kitchen for entertaining including a trio of lights from the Lakewood Antique Market that she refinished. She also designed the pattern for the 1920s- style tile floor in great detail.

Photo by Chris Nelms VSI Photography // The focus of the Zweig living room is the custom fireplace. Far right is a painting by Susie’s mother, Peggy Ellman Greenbaum.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 31

CALENDAR #QuietingTheSilence: Seeing the Light of Hanukkah – The Temple,

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

DECEMBER 6 – DECEMBER 8

Teen Israel Leadership Institute – Emory Conference Center, 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta, from 3 p.m. Friday to 2 p.m.

Sunday. The Center for Israel Education and the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel invite Jewish 10th through 12th-graders to apply to attend the Teen Israel Leadership Institute, which features a series of engaging learning activities to expand students’ knowledge and understanding of Israel and Zionism while they sample Jewish life on the Emory University campus and forge friendships with peers from across the country. The weekend workshop is nonpartisan and devoted to education, not advocacy. Attendees will take what they learn during the weekend workshop and apply it to Israel learning programs back home. $100 per person, which includes lodging and kosher food.

To register, www.bit.ly/34WvsVW.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6

Blue Jean Shabbat – Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway NE, Marietta, from 7 to 9 p.m. Put on your blue jeans for a delicious Shabbat dinner and fun musical Shabbat service.This is a multi-generational event. $10 per adult, $5 for children 12 and under. For more information, www.bit.ly/341YZx6.

YJP First Friday – Viva La Shabbos – Chabad Intown on the BeltLine, 730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mingle, schmooze, and meet new people with an open bar and a delicious Shabbat dinner buffet. Bring friends and make new ones. Menu includes challah and dips, pico de gallo and chips, Mexican chicken soup and a taco bar. Tickets include open bar and dinner. For tickets and more information, www.chabadintown.org.

Vayeitzei Friday, December 6, 2019, light candles at 5:11 p.m.

Saturday, December 7, 2019, Shabbat ends at 6:09 p.m.

Vayishlach Friday, December 13, 2019, light candles at 5:12 p.m.

Saturday, December 14, 2019, Shabbat ends at 6:11 p.m.

Monday Night Parsha – Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, from 7 to 8 p.m. weekly. As Chabad of North Fulton begins the new annual cycle of Torah reading, consider joining this new class by Rabbi Gadalya Hertz on the weekly parshah. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/34E5JS1.

and smores. There will be activities and games for kids and families. $5 per person, $15 per family. For more information, www.bit.ly/2rRjTkl.

Acoustic Shabbat Café @ Alon’s Bakery & Market – 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, from 7 to 8:15 p.m.

Join Rabbi Brian Glusman, Drew Cohen and teen musicians from The Weber School for an evening of music and Shabbat prayers. Food and wine available for purchase. This interactive Shabbat-themed experience is sponsored by the MJCCA, Atlanta Jewish Music Festival and The Weber School. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2nVTxbJ.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7

Visiting Shabbat Scholar – Rabbi Arie Hasit – Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway NE, Marietta, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Join in welcoming Rabbi Arie Hasit to the community.

Come hear his drash and join us for kiddush lunch followed by Torah study.

Free. For more information, www.bit. ly/35zdkBD.

Havdalah Under the Stars – Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, from 5 to 7 p.m. Join in for seudah shlishit (the third meal) followed by Havdalah, singing, a campfire

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

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Film Screening: “The Women’s Balcony” – Chabad Intown on the BeltLine,

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8

Bearing Witness: Murray Lynn (Hungary) – William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring St. NW, Atlanta, from 2 to 5 p.m. The speakers of Bearing Witness, all Atlanta residents, recall their experiences during the Holocaust.

Their words rise above hatred and retribution to speak about the strength and will that enabled them to survive and go on to build new lives. Free. For more information, info@thebreman.org or 678222-3700.

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.

730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. An accident during a bar mitzvah celebration leads to a rift between the men and women in a devout community in Jerusalem in this rousing, good-hearted comedy. Awash with Jerusalem’s distinctive glow, “The Women’s Balcony” is a warm, poignant portrait of a modern community struggling to balance tradition with practical, progressive values. Movie snacks will be served. $10 per ticket. For more information, www.bit.ly/349ZXaM.

New Israel Fund’s Third Annual Tzedek Awards – Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, from 7 to 8 p.m. This year, as the New Israel Fund celebrates its 40th anniversary, we are excited to honor our dear friends Judy and Shai Robkin for their lifetime of work in the Atlanta Jewish community and for their many contributions to NIF’s mission to advance a just and democratic Israel. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2CDbTFV.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9

Divorce & Separation Support Group – Jewish Family & Career Services, 4549

32 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

1589 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, from 7 to 9 p.m. Join in for a night of mental health and substance abuse awareness, education and dialogue through the lens of Hanukkah. Suitable for ages 18 and up.

Free. To RSVP and for more information, www.bit.ly/2XvOpfs.

Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, from 6 to 8 p.m. Join this biweekly support group facilitated by Helen Kotler Ph.D. LPC. $25 per session. To join the group, hkotler@jfcsatl.org or call 404210-9571.

Rosh Chodesh Society - Insight : Changing of the Garden– Chabad Intown on the BeltLine, 730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

“Insight” is a remarkably transformative experience that unveils the purpose, beauty and power buried within ourselves, our destiny and all of existence.

It does so by distilling the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s unique wisdom and infusing our lives with the ability to see things beneath the surface. Explore the Rebbe’s broad view of the world at large, our personal failures, the feminine role, current trends and events, and more. $10 per person. For more information, www.bit. ly/2XvGezG.

NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 5

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10

Professional Co-working Day: JF&CS Workshop – Jewish Family & Career Services, 4549 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Professional Co-working Days is an investment in relationship building within the professional community and teen ecosystem. With a full day of skill building, professional development programming and opportunities to connect, you’re invited to drop in for as little or as long as you’re able. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2qzQpaI.

Torah Scholar’s Institute – Rabbi Yossi New – Congregation Shaarei

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10

Latkes & Lattes – Chabad Intown on the BeltLine, 730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta, from 7:30 to 8 p.m. Join Chabad of North Fulton Women’s Club for an evening of holiday inspired ceramics, coffees and latke bar. $25 per woman.

To register and for more information, www.bit.ly/37ur16C.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11

Mahloket Matters– Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell, from 7 to 8 p.m. Join your local rabbis, alongside new friends from across Atlanta’s Jewish community, in exploring the classic, Jewish roots of Mahloket and rediscover how disagreement can be holy. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2KU3Usv.

Shamayim, 1600 Mt. Mariah Road NE, Atlanta, from 7 to 8 p.m. Join in as we kick off our third year with Rabbi Yossi New, who will discuss: “Hillel vs. Shamai, Right vs. Wrong?” For more information, www.bit.ly/2KRZgvb.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13

Shabbat Friday Night Monthly Musical Service – Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway NE, Marietta, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Come be part of our Friday night musical service. We are looking for musicians of all ages, so if you play an instrument that enhances the ruach of Shabbat, join us. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2KGOyGZ.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12

We Candle It! Chanukah Candle-Making – Ashford Park Community Build-

Friday Night Live – Congregation

ing, 2980 Redding Road NE, Brookhaven from 7 to 9 p.m. The Sixth Point invites you to join Atlanta’s Jewish young professionals to make rolled beeswax. $8 per set of candles, paid in advance, and $10 at the door. Adults only. For more information, www.bit.ly/37Fv3JI.

Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Atlanta, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Shearith Israel’s monthly, spirited, song-filled Friday evening service followed by a lovely oneg and socializing. It’s a wonderful way to welcome Shabbat. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2Gp5SRI. ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 33

COMMUNITY SIMCHA SPOTLIGHT Creating and Amplifying Opportunties for Teens to Connect

Mazel Tov Noa Feen

Atlanta’s Teen Hub for Jewish Engagement and Education JUMPSPARKATL.ORG | INFO@JUMPSPARKATL.ORG | 770.648.2918

Noa Feen, a fourth-grader at Atlanta Jewish Academy, undertook a project to aid women’s shelters last winter. On a visit to Rebecca’s Tent, which is located at Congregation Shearith Israel, Feen met with women at the shelter and noticed that their rooms were small and unadorned.

After brainstorming with her family, Feen decided to sew custom pillowcases for each resident to provide a little Noa Feen was hard at work sewing brightness to their rooms. She assempillowcases for residents of Rebecca’s Tent. bled a collection of fabrics decorated with stars, flowers, patterns and various colors and set out to sew with the guidance of her sewing teacher Annie D’Agostino, who is a member of Shearith Israel.

On Nov. 4, almost a year after her initial visit, Feen delivered her gifts to Tasho Wesley, Rebecca’s Tent executive director, and Cecelia Borgman, a fellow with Repair the World Atlanta. Feen also met with women at the shelter.

“Noa's kindness and generosity warmed our residents' hearts and put smiles on their faces as they entered shelter on the first day of our shelter season,” Wesley said “I cannot thank Noa enough for taking the time to sew pillowcases for the ladies at Rebecca's Tent.” ■

Feen’s bright new pillowcases on beds at Rebecca’s Tent.

Have something to celebrate?

Births, B’nai Mitzvah, Engagements, Weddings, Anniversaries, Special Birthdays and more ...

Share it with your community with free AJT simcha announcements.

Send info to submissions@atljewishtimes.com submissions@atljewishtimes.com..

34 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

COMMUNITY

Building Community During the Holidays

Jori Mendel, vice president of innovation at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, greeted the crowd at Wisdom Pairings Nov. 20.

Cherini Ghobrial checks in to the Wisdom Pairings event, a night of community building and connections for Jewish Atlanta.

Ally Berman talks with a new connection at Wisdom Pairings, where members of the Jewish community came together to build mentoring relationships.

Federation CEO Eric Robbins speaks with Scott Steckel during one of the event's breakout moments for conversation.

Jon Effron and Sonia Field enjoyed their conversation during one of the many opportunities for making connections with fellow members of the Jewish community.

Cherini Ghobrial, Melissa Miller and Isabel Raner make connections during Wisdom Pairings.

Building better connections and networks and creating a sense of belonging are particularly important during this holiday season. For that reason, a gathering of Jewish Atlantans representing a cross section of generations and walks of life came together Nov. 20.

Federation Innovation, an initiative of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Plywood People, hosted Wisdom Pairings, “an intimate evening of intergenerational connections and conversations.”

“It starts with a diverse group of people having dinner, blooms into an evening of curated conversations, and creates lasting connections between emerging and experienced professionals

who can count on each other for shared learning,” according to a press release.

“With the goal of building a Jewish community of reciprocity, mentors and mentees came together from across Atlanta’s Jewish community to share and receive wisdom.”

A diverse group of people from the Jewish community enjoyed dinner and drinks during the gathering last month, followed by curated conversations and lasting connections between emerging and experienced professionals who can count on each other for shared learning.

Participants were paired by their shared passions, expertise, life journeys and interests. ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 35

BRAIN FOOD Jewish Joke of the Week

The Waiter Benjamin and Morris are sitting in a wonderful kosher restaurant on Canal Street in New York.

They are talking among themselves in Yiddish. A Chinese waiter comes up and in fluent and impeccable Yiddish asks them if everything is okay, can he get them anything, and so forth. Benjamin and Morris are dumbfounded.

“My G-d, where did he learn such perfect Yiddish?” they both think. After they pay the bill, they ask the owner of the restaurant, an old friend of theirs, “Where did your waiter learn such fabulous Yiddish?”

The owner looks around and leans over to them so no one will hear and says, “Shhhh. He thinks we’re teaching him English.”

Joke provided by David Minkoff www.awordinyoureye.com

Yiddish Word of the Week Fakakta, Fakakte, Fakakte, Vakakte

‫רקאקט‬ ַ ‫ֿפא‬ ַ

Lousy, messed up, ridiculous.

“I’m trying not to crash the car on this fakakta highway.”

“The food was Vakakta”

36 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

BRAIN FOOD

A Holiday Classic

ACROSS

By: Yoni Glatt, koshercrossword@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Easy 1

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18. See 16-Across 61. Modern TV feature, for short 22. ___-mentioned

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15 Years Ago// December 10, 2004 ■ Several Yeshiva Atlanta students raised money for Chai Lifeline, an organization that helps kids with cancer, by seeking sponsorships for a d’var Torah at school or their own shul. They also sought donations for Chanukah toys.

■ More kvelling. That was Erin Block, a freshman at Walton High School, playing the piano Dec. 4 at the Christmas House, a fundraiser for the Atlanta Children’s Theatre. Her program included selections from Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin, Mozart and Bach.

Erin’s proud parents are East Cobb residents Debbie and Mitch Block.

25 Years Ago// December 2, 1994 ■ The National Council of Jewish Women honored its 100th year at its Life Member event Dec. 5. The group toured the Creating Community exhibit at the Atlanta History Museum. The exhibit

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described the history of Atlanta’s Jewish community with artifacts, photographs and testimonials.

■ Brandeis University National Women’s Committee hosted a private screening of the film, “Disclosure,” on Dec. 12 at the General Cinema Sandy Springs Parkside theater. The film, based on a novel

by Michael Crichton, stars Michael Douglas, Demi Moore and Donald Sutherland.

Brandeis University National Women’s Committee hosted a private screening of the film, “Disclosure.”

50 Years Ago// December 12, 1969 ■ Robert M. Blumenfeld, a student at Benedictine Military School, was chosen as one of 350 high school seniors from across the country to participate in the third session of a Presidential Classroom for Young Americans. The program was designed to give academically outstanding seniors the opportunity to see firsthand the operation of their government. Blumenfeld left on Feb. 28 to attend the course.

■ Ronald S. Blumenthal joined the staff of Florida Region’s B’nai B’rith Youth Organization as supervisor of the North Florida Council. A native of St. Louis, the new NFC director was a former regional Aleph Godol and Hillel Foundation president.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 37

OBITUARIES

Fred Filsoof Atlanta

Fred Filsoof passed away in the arms of his family Nov. 26, 2019, and will be deeply missed.

“Uncle Fred” was born in Kermanshah, Iran, and lived an extraordinary life. The eldest of four children, he came to United Stated at the young age of 18, where he attended Belmont Abbey College and later North Carolina State, where he graduated with a degree in engineering.

He did all of this while supporting his family after his father passed away. Fred then received his law degree from Emory Law School and established a very successful law practice. Forever moving forward, Fred then founded a real estate management and development company, which also achieved incredible success.

Notwithstanding his professional accomplishments, Fred’s proudest achievement was always his family. He was the best son any parents could ask for and was an outstanding husband and father. He was predeceased by his mother, Saltanat Filsoof, and his father, Davoud “David” Filsoof. He was also predeceased by his brother-in-law, Alvin Siegel.

Fred is survived by his soulmate Terasa Filsoof; four children, David Filsoof, Nader Filsoof, Joshua Filsoof and Rachel Filsoof; granddaughter Charlotte Filsoof; two sisters, Mimi Siegel (Larry Cohen) and Mina Rose; and brother Adel Filsoof (Guity Filsoof).

Funeral services were held Nov. 29, 2019, at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. Interment followed at Greenwood Cemetery. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Alexandra “Alex” Wasser 24, Atlanta

Alexandra “Alex” Wasser, 24, passed away unexpectedly Dec. 1, 2019. Born in Atlanta, Alex was a graduate of Riverwood High School. She earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Alabama in May of 2019, where she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She was a lover of all animals and had a passion for horseback riding. She was especially proud of being one of the founding members of the University of Alabama Eventing Equestrian Team.

She is survived by her parents Joan and Glenn Wasser; sister and brother-in-law Ellie and Chris Deedy; grandmother Carolyn Wasser; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family. She is predeceased by her grandparents Richard Wasser and Paul and Juanita Lee. Graveside services were held Dec. 4 at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Alvin Sugarman and Rabbi Loren Lapidus officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Atlanta Humane Society. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

‫זיכרונה לברכה‬

38 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

OBITUARIES

Glenn Zell 85, Atlanta

Glenn Zell passed away Nov. 24, 2019, shortly after turning 85 years old. Born and raised in the Bronx, he graduated NYU in 1954. After serving in the Korean Theater after graduating, he returned to New York, where he met his future wife, Gloria Wynne.

They were engaged six weeks later. After marrying, they settled in Atlanta, where he decided to attend law school at Emory University, graduating in 1965. Joining the bar association, he was a staunch defender of the Constitution, helping found the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which is now one of the largest defense bars in the country.

A big believer in representing those most in need, he successfully defended three people facing execution. Possessing a brilliant legal mind, he argued three cases in the United States Supreme Court. One of his arguments so impressed Justice Byron White that he personally wrote Glenn a letter praising his performance at oral argument. After actively practicing law for 45 years and representing thousands of clients, Glenn retired. As the child of immigrant parents with no formal schooling, he firmly believed in obtaining a strong education, and one of his most satisfying accomplishments was providing his children the opportunity to earn college and graduate degrees.

Glenn was preceded in death by his brother Ira Zell and his beloved wife Gloria, his partner in marriage for more than 40 years until her death in 2002. Glenn is survived by his three children and their spouses, Jeffrey Joseph Zell (Lara), Rodney Samuel Zell (Jennifer), Barbara Zell Kaufman (Dan), and his eight adoring grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Glenn’s memory may be made to American Parkinson Disease Association or Alzheimer’s Association. A graveside funeral was held Nov. 26 at Crest Lawn Memorial Park in Atlanta with Rabbi Joshua Heller officiating.

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 about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2019 | 39

CLOSING THOUGHTS Is Three Just a Number?

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40 | DECEMBER 6, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

I was an only child. first year of married bliss I rather enjoyed being an and would require fairly imonly child. Those of you who mediate resolution. Do we used to be, or still are only really want to stay in New children know to what I am York for the graduate proreferring. Showered with atgram at NYU? Easy decision, tention and gifts, life must no! have been joyous.

The decision to leave Given I was a fairly acNew York was made very tive little girl, I wonder if early in our relationship, I was smiling and happy Shaindle so NYU was out before it when I earned a potch (slap) Schmuckler was in. Hawaii University in tushie (buttocks)? was out as well. Do we reShaindle’s Shpiel I enjoyed all the beautially want to pay for Black ful clothes my older cousin gave me. The Beauty to be flown out to Hawaii? Good lovely bonnets with big bows at the neck grief who could afford such a luxury; or on the bonnet itself must have made certainly not us. Black Beauty was our me feel like a princess. OK, I probably number one priority, forget stuff hapdid not enjoy wearing those ridiculously pens in threes! L.S.U became our deshideous brown high-top shoes. The white tination. Do we really want to travel high-tops weren’t any lovelier. It seemed down South, a place very scary to us, to me the white ones kept getting heavier given our whole world revolved around and heavier with each layer of shoe pol- New York? Seriously, where else was ish. there? Our decision made, we packed Another advantage of being the only up Black Beauty with our meager bechild, the amount of energy spent on longings and headed to Baton Rouge, cleanliness, eating habits, photographs, La., and Louisiana State University. Go and statements like: tell the nice man Tigers! how old you are; show Tante (aunt) how Our third move after graduate you dance. school, along with our three girls, was to I could write a book on the number Tampa, Fla. of times “tell” and “show” were the first Our fourth girl waited for the comwords to escape from either of my par- pletion of our third move to be born. I ent’s mouths when there was an audi- imagine she knew one day I would be ence for their only child to show off her writing this Shaindle’s Shpeil and did skills. not want to spoil it for me. In year three Truth be told, I totally do not remem- of our life in Tampa, I accepted the posiber my early years, however photographs tion of director of the camp at the Jewish would indicate I was a blissfully happy Community Center on Horatio Drive. child, always smiling.

Have you been keeping up with this?

Then I turned three.

Take a breath; count to three.

Suddenly, not only am I not the While we were living the life of suncenter of my parents’ world, I no longer shine and beaches, my parents (z”l) came slumber in my beloved crib. I am now to appreciate the Florida weather, evenold enough for a junior bed, with bed tually making the enormously difficult rails. I have photos showing the disbe- decision to leave everything they held lieving look on my face while holding dear and move to Delray Beach, Fla. They what I believed was a squirming, breath- would leave their siblings, nieces, nephing, poopy-making baby doll. Of course, ews, lifelong friendships, and their entire the shell-shocked look on my sister’s way of life. Mom would have to find new face shall forever be frozen in time in Maj players, Dad new pinochle players that very same photo. Five years after and the most difficult challenge was leavthis adorable photo of my parent’s pre- ing their beloved Bronx. cious girls, our sister number three was Three years after their move, mom born. was crowned queen of her Hadassah Yes, we are three girls. My mom was chapter’s annual dance. one of three girls (oh yes, and a baby Three years after moving ‘closer’ brother). to us, we moved to Atlanta. Three years My husband Gene was accepted later our youngest beauty became a bat into three graduate programs. We were mitzvah. married less than a year. We had just Last but definitely not least, three purchased Black Beauty, the name of our is the essential number to be used in a first car – a tricked out Studebaker. Three grouping of decorative items. serious dilemmas faced us during that And so it goes.

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