Atlanta Jewish Times, XCIV No. 03, January 18, 2019

NEXT WEEK: AJFF PREVIEW

VOL. XCIV NO. 03 | CAMP

JCC Maccabi Games

SET TO BRING THOUSANDS TO ATLANTA THIS SUMMER

ATLANTA JEWISH LIFE FESTIVAL UNITES OVER 4,000 AT THE AQUARIUM IN CELEBRATION OF OUR COMMUNITY.

IN THE CITY CAMP GROWS TO REACH AN EXPANDING JEWISH ATLANTA.

AJFF 2019 ROLLS OUT RED CARPET FOR EXCLUSIVE LINEUP PREVIEW.

JANUARY 18, 2019 | 12 SH'VAT 5779

2 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

PUBLISHER

MICHAEL A. MORRIS

michael@atljewishtimes.com

MANAGING PUBLISHER & INTERIM EDITOR KAYLENE LADINSKY

kaylene@atljewishtimes.com Executive Assistant

JODI DANIS

jodi@atljewishtimes.com

EDITORIAL Associate Editor

RONI ROBBINS

roni@atljewishtimes.com Staff Writer

EDDIE SAMUELS

eddie@atljewishtimes.com Contributor & Proofreader

LEAH R. HARRISON leah@atljewishtimes.com

Contributors This Week BOB BAHR DAVE SCHECHTER JAN JABEN-EILON KEVIN C. MADIGAN MARCIA CALLER JAFFE RACHEL FAYNE RACHEL STEIN DR. TERRY SEGAL

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S'mores and More While the weather may not give it away, Georgia’s Jewish summer camps are starting to gear up for what begins in about five months. You’ll learn in this issue about the newest location of In the City Camp. We have an exclusive interview with the president and CEO of the American Camp Association in Atlanta, himself a product of Jewish camps.

Our cover story is a look ahead to the JCC Maccabi Games, which bring nearly 2,000 youth to the games for a week of sporting competitions in late July.

Another big event uniting the community was this past weekend’s Atlanta Jewish Life Festival with its shared appreciation for food, music and merchandise. More than 4,000 people from across Jewish Atlanta, representing all ages and denominations, descended on the Georgia Aquarium downtown for the Jan. 13 festival.

It may not be for squeamish stomachs, but you’ll learn in this issue what makes meat kosher through a behind-

the-scenes peek at the kashering process.

You’ll also get a taste of the Intown Jewish Academy’s upcoming four-part series on Jews & Food.

In our arts section, we revisit “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” which premiered during the 1996 centennial Olympic Games and returns here in time for the Super Bowl. You may recall playwright and Atlanta native Alfred Uhry from “Driving Miss Daisy” acclaim.

Atlanta can’t get enough entertainment. Young rising star and Russian-Canadian illusionist Vitaly Beckman, who stumped renowned magicians Penn and Teller, is coming to the Marcus JCC next month. We also feature one of Atlanta’s most eligible bachelors, Nate Kaplan, who is helping to expand his family’s real estate company in Atlanta and elsewhere.

Sex trafficking is a big issue these days in Atlanta and organizations that combat it, including a group formed at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, are focused on raising awareness during the Super Bowl.

THIS WEEK Such issues may bring a chill, but those planning summer camp experiences are already envisioning the balmy weather ahead. Get your shorts and bathing suits ready. It’s gonna be a scorcher out there soon. ■

CONTENTS LOCAL NEWS ���������������������������������� 4 POLITICS ���������������������������������������� 12 BUSINESS �������������������������������������� 13 ISRAEL NEWS ������������������������������� 14 OPINION ����������������������������������������� 16 COVER STORY ������������������������������ 18 CAMP ����������������������������������������������� 20 ARTS ������������������������������������������������ 24 CALENDAR ������������������������������������� 26 COMMUNITY ��������������������������������� 28 BRAIN FOOD ���������������������������������� 34 OBITUARIES ���������������������������������� 36 CLOSING THOUGHTS ����������������� 38

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LOCAL NEWS

The band Friction, made up of eighth-graders from The Davis Academy, was a standout act.

Ruby the Clown shared his antics throughout the Ballroom.

Atlanta Jewish Life Festival Unites Diverse Community

By Eddie Samuels The Atlanta Jewish community is big and widespread, so it’s not often that the whole community can come together under one roof. But the inaugural Atlanta Jewish Life Festival, organized by the AJT, welcomed more than 4,000 Jewish Atlantans on Jan. 13 to the Georgia Aquarium.

“It’s great to see families, children, seniors all in one place,” AJT Owner

and Publisher Michael Morris said. “It was wonderful to watch Orthodox and Reform community members come together, rekindle friendships and create new ones.”

Beth Gluck, Southeast region director of Jewish National Fund, echoed Morris’ sentiment.

“It was terrific to see the Atlanta Jewish community come together on Sunday at the Georgia Aquarium, the myriad

communal and professional organizations on hand represented the incredible diversity of our city,” she said.

Walking into the aquarium, visitors were greeted with friendly faces from the AJT staff and volunteers, a green-screen photo area and plenty of entertainment, food and merchant options.

The first sensations wafting through the air were the amazing smells coming from the Nosh Pit. And while a day of ex-

ploring a festival can really leave someone craving tasty treats, no one left the AJLF hungry, as 11 food vendors worked all day to keep stomachs full and smiles wide.

Among those caterers were six certified kosher options: Cinnaholic, Revolution Gelato, A Kosher Touch, Pita Palace, For All Occasions and More, and Avenue K. “I felt the event was wonderful,” said

Visitors could sample Jewish foods from mini bagels to South African-inspired curry chicken. And what would a festival be without cotton candy? Plus, the Ballroom offered a perfect view of whales, sharks and more.

4 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

LOCAL NEWS

Community partners organized activities and provided snacks to engage kids in attendance (above).

Adults also had the opportunity to wrap tefillin (below) and spin a prize wheel.

It’s never too early to start thinking about paying for college, as this child learns from the JELF table (above) or learn about Israel at JNF's table (below).

Jewish organizations from the Jewish Educational Loan Fund to ORT and Jewish National Fund educate the public about their missions.

Jodie Sturgeon, owner of For All Occasions and More. “I know it was the first time doing it and it exceeded even what we thought was going to be there. We did great, people loved our food and we loved every moment of it.”

Even in the world of kosher catering, the mouth-watering options were very diverse. Sturgeon explained that her biggest seller was her boneless beef short rib, while Sydney Kohn of A Kosher Touch said that its hit recipe was a South African-inspired curry chicken, displayed in an unusual way.

“The food was presented in our gigantic paella pan, filling the room with a unique and delicious aroma. A Kosher Touch was so pleased to be asked to participate in this wonderful event, and we

cannot wait until next year!” Kohn said.

From the Nosh Pit, guests could make their way to the main event, the Kibbutz in the Oceans Ballroom. Here the Jewish community showed just how diverse it really is, filling the room with tables from more than 60 community partners. Ranging from synagogues and schools to charities and camps, the room was brimming with people schmoozing and making new connections.

“It was one more thing that shows we are one of the best Jewish communities in the world,” said Eric Robbins, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. “The AJT and their commitment to bringing our Jewish community together around events like the festival is one of the key ingredients to

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this incredible community!”

Partners from all over Jewish Atlanta reveled in the opportunity to connect firsthand with community members.

“Jewish National Fund is always proud to take part in such a worthwhile cause, which builds solidarity and connection to our Jewish roots, values and commitment to Israel,” Gluck said.

Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz of Chabad of North Fulton added that the festival was a treat for him, as someone who lives outside the perimeter, to see so many Jewish faces all in one place.

“It was really wonderful to be there.

There was such a great energy in the room. The mere fact of being together with so many of Jewish Atlanta was unbelievable, especially for those of us who

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live a little further north,” he said.

Also making the trip downtown was Rabbi Michael Bernstein of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta. “I thought it was a great event, and amazing to see an incredible number of people from all parts of Jewish Atlanta all in one place.

There was a real effort to make sure everything was connected,” he said.

“I liked having it at the Aquarium. It got kids automatically engaged and excited to be there, and the food was really good — that never hurts either.”

Sharing more in common than a love of food and frolicking, there were educational pop-up exhibits in the Oceans Ballroom from the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Both exhibits chronicled Jewish

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LOCAL NEWS

Friction rocks out to some classic melodies like 'Hard to Handle' and 'Sweet Home Alabama.'

history, but through very different lenses.

The Wiesenthal Center’s exhibit, “The Birth of Israel: 18 Months that Changed Jewish Destiny,” told the story of the 1 ½ years leading up to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

With photos, documents and firsthand stories, the panels depict “the Jewish people’s long journey home, the struggle for a Jewish state, the leading figures who advocated for statehood and the villains who tried to block it,” according to a Wiesenthal Center press release.

The Epstein Middle School Shiriyah Ensemble was among the performers on the StarLab Stage.

“Eighteen Artifacts: A Story of Jewish Atlanta,” the Breman Museum’s exhibit, recounted how Jews have played a role in the success of the city for more than 175 years, featuring such events as the 1965 bombing of The Temple, the first Home Depot opening, and Rabbi Jacob Rothschild’s support of civil rights.

Accompanying community partners and exhibits in the ballroom, a number of groups showed off their musical side, with performers taking to the stage to play a variety of musical genres.

Ruby the Clown takes a break from entertaining to learn, along with other visitors, about the opening of The Home Depot, part of the Breman Museum’s pop-up exhibit.

The Bet Haverim Chorus performed in the Aquarium atrium for Jewish and general audiences.

First up on the StarLab stage in the Oceans Ballroom was The Epstein Middle School Shiriyah Ensemble. One of the bigger surprises of the day was “Friction,” a rock band made up of Davis Academy eighth-graders Jackson Crim, Sammy Effron, Zach Friedman and Carson Wolff.

The band formed when the four were in sixth grade, and they’ve been playing together ever since. Sunday’s performance featured several classics, among them, “The House of the Rising Sun,” “Rosanna,” and “Superstitious.”

While you might not expect to hear such nostalgic melodies from a group of eighth-graders, Effron’s reason for the song choices was incredibly straightforward.

“I think that’s what people like to hear,” he said.

Wolff agreed with his band member’s take and added that he was pleased with the reaction to their performance.

“I think the audience liked it, and that’s all that really matters,” Wolff said.

And while Friction was a hit with

Atlanta Jewish Life Festival attendees explore The Wiesenthal Center’s exhibit, which outlines the birth of the state of Israel.

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LOCAL NEWS

Sponsored by the AJT, the Henna Den offered hamsa tatoos.

From jewelry to art, there was plenty to view at the inaugural Atlanta Jewish Life Festival sponsored by the AJT, whose owner and publisher Michael Morris is pictured with an artisan.

many of the adults in the room, another performer, Rabbi Jake, enraptured many of the children with his unique style of Jewish children’s music.

On another stage in the aquarium atrium, performing to a Jewish and general audience, were incredible acts with melodious voices and jazzy beats: Mojo Dojo, As of Yet, Song of Atlanta Show Chorus, and the Bet Haverim Choir.

“Many thanks to … staff, volunteers and attendees who helped to make our show a success and lots of fun,” said Scott Glazer of Mojo Dojo.

Attendees could also visit The Shuk, where they could browse stunning wares from artists, from pottery

and jewelry to paintings and sculptures. There were also caricature artists and a henna den offering creative entertainment for the entire family.

“I heard glowing and positive comments about the festival all day!” said caricature artist Preston Lindsay.

“Perfect venue, perfect everything. And, it was so well organized, amazing. I was delighted to play a small part!”

Ruby the Clown also left his mark on the community, walking his rubber ducky around, and performing magic for attendees.

The festival accomplished its goal of uniting the Jewish community in a celebration of Atlanta’s vibrant and varied Jewish life.

Preston Lindsay drew complementary caricatures all day.

“It was a real blessing to bring together such disparate parts of our Jewish community in celebration of Jewish life, especially against the backdrop of such a fascinating place,” said Ahavath Achim Synagogue Rabbi Neil Sandler.

Morris agreed. “We succeeded in connecting the Jewish community to Jewish life, organizations, food and music. It was a home run,” he said.

When asked about the future of the event, Morris left little room for doubt.

“This was an awesome beginning to an annual festival,” he said. “It will definitely be happening again in the future.” ■

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LOCAL NEWS

Publisher's Note how vibrant and diverse What an outstanding our Jewish community lives, Atlanta Jewish Life Festival works and plays. And of this weekend. Awesome. course, who doesn’t love the Amazing. Remarkable. Wonpenguins? derful. The superlatives go I must offer praise on. The yasher koach goes where praise is due. First, out to 4,000 community the band Friction. You guys members who chose to come were the most talked about to the Georgia Aquarium on aspect of the Festival. As you Sunday with their families, go on to become famous, to eat Jewish, play Jewish Michael A. Morris please remember the first and have fun – Jewish. If you Publisher time you played in front of are reading this, then please 4,000 people and the incredknow that my thanks go out ible reception you received. For that matto you, personally, for participating.

I have already heard from nearly ter, all the entertainment was engaging two dozen community partners. They and talented.

I need to thank the Georgia Aquarithanked me for re-creating this festival and impressed upon me how important um for welcoming our festival and doing this event is for our community. An op- whatever it took, in planning and day-of, portunity for community members to to ensure it was successful and safe. I want learn about all of the fantastic Jewish to thank the Jewish Federation of Greater social, religious, educational, social ac- Atlanta for being our partner-in-arms and tion, and Israeli organizations our com- helping us reach out to Greater Atlanta’s munity has for engagement. This event Jewish community. Last, but certainly not has been missing from the Atlanta Jewish least, the AJLF would not have occurred landscape for almost nine years, and we without the leadership of Kaylene Ladincame back with a bang heard around all sky and Jen Evans, nor the insane amount of work by Deborah Herr Ritcher, Karen of greater Atlanta.

It was truly exhilarating to see the Isenberg Jones, Gayle Rubenstein, Sarah excitement on the faces of all of the chil- Parrish and Aparna Sharma. These seven dren. It’s always heartwarming for Re- people are responsible for bringing 4,000 form, Conservative, Chabad, Orthodox of our mishpachah together for a day of and Reconstructionist communities to fun, food, music, fish and Jewish engagecome together. It’s amazing to see just ment. See you next year! ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 9

LOCAL NEWS

Firsthand Lessons in Kashrut

By Eddie Samuels Most people would be perfectly happy buying their kosher meat in a supermarket and never giving a second thought to its origins. But more than 40 people gathered at Kollel Ner Hamizrach Jan. 9 to learn exactly what goes on behind the scenes of meat kashering.

Rabbi Amitai ben David is a worldrenowned expert in the laws of shechita and treifa, the rules for slaughtering animals and ensuring that the animal is not treif, or non-kosher. The event, put on with the help of Agudath Israel of America, coincides with the laws of schechita and treifa in the Daf Yomi cycle – the over seven-year process of studying one page of Talmud each day.

“It was an opportunity for people who are learning the daily Gemara schedule to have a hands-on experience gaining a better understanding of these laws,” said Rabbi David Kapenstein, executive director of Kollel Ner Hamizrach.

Ahead of the event, ben David slaughtered a ram and a chicken, explaining that it was important to understand “what a longer journey the meat has had

Photos by Eddie Samuels // Rabbi

Amitai ben David expertly demonstrates how he checks the edge of his blade using the flesh of his finger without cutting himself.

before we get it on our plate, and how much we have to invest and take care to have the meat Hashem told us to eat.”

To begin the presentation he showed off the tools involved in the process, explaining the reasoning behind each. For example, the knife must be twice as long as the width of the animal’s neck in order to ensure the kill is clean and without pain.

“We have different types of knives for different types of animals and birds,” he said. “We have two pipes that go along the neck, the esophagus and the windpipe, and we have to cut both at once.”

He also skillfully demonstrated how to test a knife’s edge ahead of the shechita, first with a fingernail and then with the flesh of his thumb, running both up and down the blade to feel for deformations without cutting himself.

“These days no one checks with the flesh, because our knives are so good and thin that you can feel everything with the nail,” ben David said. “We cut with this knife because it is painless, because it’s so smooth no piece of the flesh gets torn.”

Following the demonstration of the tools, he began cleaning and checking the ram according to the Talmudic laws.

He was careful to specify that each check does not need to be performed normally, unless something is suspected to be wrong with the animal.

Among the steps ben David demonstrated for educational purposes, were checking the brain, the lining around the stomach and the intestines for any signs

of holes or ruptures that would render the animal treif.

“It brings it to life for people who are not so familiar with animals and the anatomy. It gives them an opportunity to understand what the Gemara is talking about,” Kapenstein said.

He removed the internal organs and blew into the lungs, inflating them, in order to ensure they were intact — a requirement for the animal to be kosher.

Following the ram demonstration, he also demonstrated the laws of kashrut associated with a chicken.

Kapenstein also explained the process by which he acquired the animals for the event. He signed up for a Georgia agricultural website and publication to track down a goat or sheep between 60 and 100 pounds, per ben David’s instructions.

“I called a woman who had a classified ad that was selling sheep, and I asked to purchase one from them,” Kapenstein said. “I was a little worried because she said it was a very friendly animal and I was concerned she was going to say, ‘I don’t want you slaughtering my favorite sheep,’ but in the end, … she had no problem with it.”

Kapenstein also added that even though it was for educational purposes, it’s still difficult to watch any animal being slaughtered.

“I guess after a while you might get used to it, but to watch the life force of any being leave is a difficult thing to watch,” he said, adding that while the event is a unique opportunity to learn about our food, many people would be very happy never seeing it firsthand.

The majority of the meat from the presentation didn’t go to waste either, with community members taking home cuts, except for the hind quarters, which aren’t kosher unless prepared in a complex manner. ■

Community members look on, intrigued and occasionally disgusted, as Rabbi Amitai ben David demonstrates how to determine whether a ram is kosher.

10 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

LOCAL NEWS

SOAP Event to Clean Up Sex Trafficking in Atlanta

By Marcia Caller Jaffe More than five years ago, Linda Bressler and Steve Chervin attended a program at Ahavath Achim Synagogue dealing with the child sex trafficking problem in Atlanta.

“Once we became aware of the magnitude of this modern-day slavery, we knew we could not stand by silently and thus established AAACTS, Action and Awareness to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex,” said Bressler, group co-chair.

“Our mission is to be a leading force in the eradication of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) through awareness, action and advocacy.”

Working with law enforcement, nonprofits, other faith-based communities and social justice organizations, the group is gearing up to attack DMST during the upcoming Super Bowl through an event called SOAP Up Atlanta.

SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) is a hands-on outreach to fight sex trafficking at large events and in communities. It was founded by author, advocate and survivor Theresa Flores,

each. A light breakwho was auctioned fast and lunch will off to nearly two be served during dozen men in a the event hosted dirty, inner city Deby Ahavath Achim troit motel. Theresa from 9:30 a.m. to recalled the only 3:30 p.m. and sponitem that would sored by AAACTS have reached out to and the Episcopal her, a bar of soap.

Diocese of Atlanta With that in mind, Commission on she created SOAP DMST. to help reach out to SOAP Nationother victims. al travels around On Jan. 27, Atthe U.S. conductlanta volunteers ing outreach projwill label 20,000 ects during highbars of hand soap Linda Bressler and Margie Eden, S.O.A.P. demand events with the National co-chairs, are striving to reduce and hopefully such as the Super Human Trafficking eliminate child sex trafficking in Atlanta .

Bowl, NCAA Final Hotline 800-number. They will be trained on how to label Four and Indy 500. It partners with local the soap and approach hotels in the area organizations to distribute to high risk surrounding the Mercedes-Benz Stadium motels millions of bars of soap wrapped to educate the hotel staff how to identify with a red band that gives the National and report sex trafficking when they see Human Trafficking Hotline number and educational resources. it.

During past SOAP outreach events, In the afternoon, groups of four will deliver the soap to four designated hotels at least 83 percent of all hotels accepted

the labeled soap. Generally, at least one missing child is identified by hotel staff during each outreach, according to the SOAP Project website.

Polaris Project, the nonprofit that runs the hotline, reported that calls double the week SOAP conducts an outreach event.

The SOAP Project educates and increases awareness about the prevalence of human trafficking in order to restore trafficked survivors and to prevent teens from being victimized by DMST, according to its website.

“Soap Up Atlanta is open to all who want to help make Atlanta a safer place for our children,” Bressler said. She, cochair Margie Eden and their committee conduct awareness training, action-oriented programs and advocacy throughout the year. ■ To participate in SOAP UP Atlanta, sign up at www.give.classy.org/soapsuperbowlatl. For more information, contact AAACTS co-chairs Linda Bressler, lindafb@ bellsouth.net, or Margie Eden, margie. eden22@gmail.com

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 11

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POLITICS

Dan Israel takes a selfie with Rabbi Heller outside the prayer service for newly elected and reelected Georgia officials.

Rabbi Joshua Heller shares a passage from Joshua during a prayer ceremony alongside other clergymen.

Heller Extends Blessings at Gov. Kemp Prayer Ceremony

By Eddie Samuels

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Newly inaugurated Gov. Brian Kemp was certain to include the Jewish community in his prayer service. He invited Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah to deliver a prayer Monday alongside various Christian clergy at the service accompanying the inauguration.

The governor was the most notable figure sworn in Monday, but with him were other newly elected officials: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. Joining them were incumbents: Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, State School Superintendent Richard Woods, Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler, Attorney General Chris Carr and the Georgia Public Service Commissioners Chuck Eaton and Tricia Pridemore, all of whom were reelected in November.

At the ceremony, Heller read from the book of Joshua 1:9-18: “I hereby command you be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed for the Lord, your G-d, is with you wherever you go. The word of the Lord.”

While the passage was pre-selected as part of a ceremony with so many clergy members involved, Heller shared his personal thoughts on the meaning behind it.

“The quote speaks to Joshua as a leader needing encouragement and support stepping into a new and different role,” he said.

“The challenges of running our state are very different from those of running for office, and I hope that G-d grants Governor Kemp wisdom and compassion in his new role.”

Kemp spoke at the inauguration, reassuring those who are concerned over the volatile and partisan nature of Georgia’s 2018 elections.

“Through the prism of politics, our state appears divided,” he said. “But after visiting all 159 counties, I can tell you we have so much in common. As governor, I will fight for all Georgians, not just the ones who voted for me.”

Dov Wilker, regional director of AJC Atlanta, added that the ceremony itself showed off the diversity of faiths and people in Georgia.

“While there was only one member of the Jewish community, there were various clergy from Christian denominations, and it was incredibly diverse, racially and politically —which I think was very important,” he said. “It was a great way to show, as Kemp said, that Georgia can be united.”

Wilker added that the importance of including Jewish voices in these ceremonies cannot be overstated.

“Any time these prayer services take place and they include a Jewish representative, it shows the really important relationship that has been created and a recognition that it’s not just one faith that is a part of our community,” he said.

Dan Israel, a Republican activist and digital executive, explained that Kemp had asked him for a recommendation of a Jewish voice at the event, and that Israel immediately thought of his own rabbi, Heller.

“Since he was elected as governor, Kemp wanted to offer prayers for wisdom and guidance for his new role,” Israel said.

The 83rd governor of the state of Georgia delivered his inaugural address Monday.

“With our taxes, business-friendly government and access to logistical hubs like the Georgia ports and Atlanta’s airport, Georgia is an epicenter of job growth, the Hollywood of the South, and soon to be the cyber capital of the globe,” he said. “I’m going to build on these accomplishments.”

Heller said he believes it is vital to work with those in power for the betterment of the community.

“I think we live in very divided political times, in general, and I hope that this administration works to find a path that is in the best interests of everyone in our state,” Heller said. ■ Video of Heller’s prayer is available on the AJT website. He begins speaking at the 21:00 mark.

BUSINESS Millennial Mogul Takes on Apartment Development

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Even before receiving his finance and real estate degrees at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, Nathan “Nate” Kaplan learned his way around property development and his family business by playing in empty homes and exploring construction sites.

Today, he says his goal is to “grow our Southeast efforts primarily in Charlotte, Raleigh and Atlanta, selected because of their high-tech industries and attraction for young people. We promulgate job growth and concentrate on forward thinking.”

Kaplan is responsible for acquisitions, site sourcing, development coordination and asset management at Morris J. Kaplan Communities, now Kaplan Residential.

At 30, he can be seen around his condo on the Atlanta BeltLine, Chabad Intown, working out, and doing volunteer work for Friendship Circle, for people with special needs.

In July, he was selected by Jezebel magazine as “good looking and go getting” in its selection of “20 Most Eligible Atlantans.”

Jaffe: The term “family business” has variable connotations. Do you encounter flak for nepotism, … being the “youngster” with a silver spoon in Dad’s business?

of our high-rises and saw 100 people working on that one site. Three years ago, we found this site and envisioned what would work. Now here Jaffe: What is the we are with this progresevolution of the Kaplan sive, utilitarian, and very family brand before your cool building. arrival seven years ago in By 2020 we should Atlanta? complete Generation Elle Wood Photography // Jezebel Kaplan: My grandmagazine selected Kaplan Atlanta at Ivan Allen [Jr. as one of the most eligible father Nathan Kaplan, Blvd.] near Centennial Atlanta bachelors of 2018. for whom I am named, Park, with 336 apartments. was a Holocaust survivor, and my uncle A completed project is 450 Piedmont — 250 Michael Kaplan was born in a concen- townhouse rentals. Another very popular tration camp. Although I was reared in one is Square One in Sandy Springs. We Baltimore, the family real estate business own and manage our properties. bloomed in New Jersey. Our office in HighIt’s not just construction, my family land Park still stands as the Merriwold and cousins are continuing to grow in Castle (originally owned by the Johnson other cities, hiring people and diversify& Johnson family), where as children ing. We own 26 Sushi [&Tapas, which is we were allowed to play in this fantasy kosher] in Miami. So many doors open land. My father and uncle developed over for others.

25,000 residences along with 3 million Jaffe: Define Kaplan’s real estate square feet of commercial space. niche.

My father taught me to be openKaplan: We are “scaling up” a platminded and have confidence in the busiform, primarily townhouse rentals ness world. We sometimes have different with 150-plus units. Our target is 20- to management styles, but our ability to 30-year-olds, maybe young marrieds, work together is what makes our relawho don’t want to commit to buying. We tionship special. are including full amenities like an upJaffe: What motivates you? scale club room. We are also seeing older Kaplan: Yesterday I walked into one adults who move in from the suburbs Kaplan: People with whom I interact see that I am serious and real. More importantly, I want those around me to grow too.

without sacrificing a ton of space.

Jaffe: How do you identify “Jewishly”?

Kaplan: I’m involved through my weekly studies with Rabbi Schusterman (Chabad Intown). I enjoyed consulting a bit on the construction of their BeltLine facility. Typical of some young adults in my generation, organized religion can be complicated; I am interested in better understanding and pursuing my connection.

As part of that, tikkun olam is a priority. I am involved with the Friendship Circle, which pairs volunteers with Jewish children and adults with special needs. There are two parts: writing the check and active volunteering to see where the funds go. It’s nice to see that many students from the local Jewish day schools volunteer there also.

Jaffe: When you’re not working, volunteering or chilling in your pad at Ponce City Market, where can we find you?

Kaplan: I’m a CrossFit fanatic: 6 a.m. one-on-one with a trainer, … then most days again after work in the p.m. I like to dine at Barcelona, MF Sushi, O-Ku and Gunshow. I am lucky that after having been in Sigma Alpha Mu, I have many friends here from Bloomington [Ill.].

This is a year of many friends’ weddings and bachelor parties. And everyone seems to want to fix me up along the way! ■

Israel Cybersecurity Company Courts Atlanta Hospitals

School Taxes to be Used for Gulch Development

An Israeli-based cybersecurity company that specializes in protecting healthcare information is stopping in Atlanta next month as part of its efforts to gain business in the Southeast. Cynerio announced Jan. 9 it received $7 million in funding to fuel growth in North America. The company is choosing to focus on Atlanta because of existing connections with Conexx, the America Israel Business Connector.

Former Atlantan Ilan Friedman, director of Cynerio’s global business development, was active in the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, the predecessor of Conexx, from Ilan Friedman seeks to the late 90s until about 10 years ago. drum up business for Working with Conexx, Friedman will meet prospective an Israel cybersecurity clients – hospitals with over 100 beds – Feb. 4 to 8 and hold a company and hold a lunch and learn Feb. 8 hosted by Smith, Gambrell & Russell. lunch and learn through Conexx next month.

The Israeli cybersecurity company helps address the vulnerability of medical devices to cyber attack, which also protects patients' lives and ensures continued hospital operations.

“Cynerio is committed to protecting the future of healthcare by focusing on its weakest link – the connected medical devices and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT),” CEO and co-founder Leon Lerman said in a release about the recent investment.

The company created cybersecurity technology that “thoroughly analyzes the medical workflows in the IoMT ecosystem to automatically discover all the entities on the network, provide an ongoing healthcare-specific risk analysis, accurately detect anomalies and stop threats to prevent service disruption, data theft and compliance violations.

Rambam Hospital and Tel Aviv Medical Center are among the hospitals using Cynerio’s technology to protect sensitive data. ■

After months of fighting, the Atlanta Public Schools and Atlanta City Council voted Jan. 7 to allow school property taxes to help pay for the $5 billion redevelopment of 40 acres of weedy parking lots and railroad tracks across from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be held next month.

The redevelopment project, which is expected to transform downtown Atlanta’s skyline, will also be partially financed by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

The school district has been at odds with the city over its plan to use public school funding for the project. Public financing includes up to $1.25 billion in future sales taxes plus $625 million in property taxes collected in the Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD), according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Public school taxes would make up about half of those property taxes, with the remainder from the city and Fulton County.

On Nov. 5, the Atlanta City Council voted to help provide Los Angeles-based CIM Group nearly $1.9 billion in public subsidies to redevelop the area. This includes more than $300 million in future school taxes to pay for the project.

In response, the school district passed a resolution last month calling for written approval before school taxes could be used to pay for new projects, such as the Gulch, in the Westside TAD, the AJC reported. The school district also went to court to oppose the legal step required before bonds for the Gulch can be issued. A court hearing on those objections is set for Jan. 16, although a pending agreement with the city may settle the school district’s objections out of court, according to the AJC. Gulch opponents have said, though, they will continue their legal fight.

Meanwhile, the deal approved last week would allow school taxes to be used for the project through 2038. In exchange, the city would pay the school board $15 million through 2023 and then pay the school system half of its tax increment from 2024 until the TAD closes in 2038, contingent on money left over after paying off the debt and other fees. ■ Compiled by AJT Staff ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 13

ISRAEL PRIDE

News From Our Jewish Home Alpha Radiation Startup Kills 70 Percent of Cancerous Tumors

First Ever Sterile Kindergarten for Kids with Cancer

Israel’s First Ethiopian Pilot gets his Wings

Professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson of Tel Aviv University discovered a way to use alpha radiation to fight tumors 15 years ago. The typical issue with alpha radiation — as opposed to the standard treatments of beta or gamma — is that it cannot travel long enough distances to be an efficient means to treat anything but the smallest of tumors, but the two researchers discovered that a specific isotope could travel significantly further.

Their 2003 breakthrough was nearly lost due to infighting and bureaucracy with stakeholders, but thanks to Uzi Sofer, who was recruited to sort out the issues in 2015, progress is steadily being made.

Realizing the potential of the discovery, Sofer started a new company, Alpha Tau, which raised $29 million earlier this year. Animal studies have been successful, and the first human trials of the technology are taking place in Israel, Italy, New York and Montreal, with more locations and more specific treatments scheduled for 2019, according to The Times of Israel.

For parents of children suffering from cancer, every day can be a terrifying prospect, but a new school, opened in Ramat Gan, aims to take away some of that anxiety. The “Daycare of Dreams,” (Gan HaHalomot, in Hebrew) is the world’s first daycare built specifically to cater to children with cancer, according to The Times of Israel.

The state-of-the-art facility includes walls with antibacterial paint and a custom air conditioning unit that keeps outside air from entering the building. Daycare Director Ayelet Rafalin explained that the building is designed with many features from hospital isolation wards, without feeling like a hospital. That feeling is at the center of the daycare’s mission. Decorated with cartoon characters and colorful walls, the kindergarten is one of the few places where children with compromised immune systems can interact with peers who have the same experiences, while also being kids. All 22 members of the daycare’s staff have experience working with children who have special needs and aim to make sure the children get a real kindergarten experience.

Following an intense three-yearlong pilot training program, Lt. Y, Israel’s first Ethiopian pilot, was among dozens of peers in a ceremony at Hatzerim Airbase in the South of Israel. The class was the 177th to graduate from the Israeli Air Force pilot course and received their wings in front of the base’s commanding officer, Brig. Gen. Aviad Dagan.

Y, whose name was withheld for security reasons, is a graduate of Bnei David Mechina in the West Bank settlement Eli. He was praised by Rabbi Yehuda Sadan, the head of the Mechina, as a “serious and dedicated” member of his community, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The pilot course admits about 600 cadets after they pass preliminary tests, but two-thirds drop out in the first year. By graduation, only 30 to 40 have successfully completed the rigorous course. Y was one of the few to see it through to the end.

next year. Goldberg became U.N. ambassador in 1965 and helped draft and push through U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 after the June 1967 Middle East war.

of Israel Belkind in Kharkov, Ukraine. Responding to a wave of pogroms that began in April 1881, BILU sets the groundwork for the First Aliyah of the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel.

Forbes ‘Top 50 Women in Tech’ includes Three Israelis Three Israeli women were featured among Forbes' global “Top 50 Women

in Tech.” The list recognizes the highest achievers in the fields of cybersecurity, energy, advocacy, gaming and more, and features innovators from Australia to the United States, and places in between.

The three Israelis featured on the list are world-renowned for their contributions to the realm of technology: • Limor Shmerling Magazanik was recognized for her work in cybersecurity data legislation and regulation. Now the managing director of the Washington, D.C. think tank, the Israel Tech Policy Institute, she spent the past 10 years fighting for online privacy rights in Israel.

• Dr. Michal Tsur is the president and co-founder of Kaltura, a video platform used worldwide by professionals in media, education, enterprises and more.

Kaltura recently launched a $5 million expansion program with aims of spreading to more cities, including Jerusalem.

• Dr. Tal Rabin co-authored more than 100 papers in the field of computer science and works with the Cryptography Research Group at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center. She launched the Women in Theory workshop in 2014, which, twice each year, brings graduate students together to further women’s presence in the field. ■

Today in Israeli History

The original Bezalel, shown in 1913, closed in 1929 because of finances, and was re-established in 1935 as the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts.

Jan. 18, 1906: Forty women, chosen from a pool of 400 applicants, begin studying painting, drawing and tapestry at the new Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem. The school aims to teach crafts to the people of Jerusalem, develop original Jewish art, and find a visual expression for national and spiritual Jewish independence.

Jan. 19, 1990: Arthur Goldberg, a former labor secretary, U.S. Supreme Court justice and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, dies at home in Washington at age 81. The Chicago native was a labor lawyer before President John F. Kennedy named him labor secretary in 1961, then appointed him to the Supreme Court the 14 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Nazis gathered at this villa in Wannsee, outside Berlin, to plan the elimination of European Jewry.

Jan. 20, 1942: Nazis convened by Gestapo head Reinhard Heydrich at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee draft the plans for the “Final Solution” to the existence of European Jewry. The plans call for a shift from the promotion of Jewish emigration to a policy of deportation and resettlement in conquered territory to the east, where Jews would be imprisoned in deadly labor camps.

Jan. 21, 1882: BILU, whose name comes from the Isaiah verse Beit Yaakov lekhu venelkha (“House of Jacob, let us go”), is founded by 30 students at the home

Jan. 22, 2013: After the dissolution of the Knesset over a budget dispute in October, Israel holds early elections for the 19th Knesset. The results enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remain in power, but he needs eight weeks to form a government because of the loss of legislative seats among right-wing parties. Netanyahu’s Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, running with a combined list, drop from 42 to 31 members of the Knesset, while Yair Lapid’s new Yesh Atid party wins 19 seats.

Jan. 23, 1950: The Knesset votes 60-2 to adopt a Cabinet-drafted resolution declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

Members of the left-wing Mapam and the right-wing Herut abstain. Herut fails in a bid to amend the resolution to explicitly declare all of Jerusalem as the capital, despite the occupation of half of the city by Transjordan. Two Communist lawmakers vote no on the resolution because

they favor the official U.N. position of an international status for Jerusalem.

Eli Cohen (center) joins Syrian military officials for a visit to the Golan Heights, where civilians were barred.

Jan. 24, 1964: Syrian police arrest businessman Kamel Amin Tha’abet at his Damascus home and charge him with espionage. Tha’abet is actually Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who speaks Arabic with an authentic Syrian accent after being raised by Syrian Jewish parents in Egypt.

Cohen establishes friendships with senior government and military leaders and provides intelligence that proves crucial in Israel’s victory in the 1967 war.

He never sees that success, however: He is publicly hanged May 18, 1965. ■ Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (www. israeled.org), where you can find more details.

ISRAEL NEWS

Magen David Adom is Israel’s national emergency medical services organization.

Paramedics Face Off Over Saving Lives Israel’s two main paramedic services have been competing for years about who gets to respond first when lives are at risk. The conflict came to a head late last month when Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical services, sued volunteer paramedic program, United Hatzalah, for failure to register its paramedics, MDA reported.

The lawsuit alleges that, following a Ministry of Health ruling that United Hatzalah register its paramedics through MDA’s dispatch center, United Hatzalah failed to comply, registering only a small number of its first responders and spreading disinformation about MDA. The July 2017 order from the ministry was intended to reduce confusion about which organization to call in the event of an emergency, and read, “United Hatzalah will cease from publicizing its dispatch number so that public calls will reach the national first responders dispatch, making the procedure more efficient.”

According to a Jan. 14 MDA press release, all paramedic organizations, including United Hatzalah, have complied with the ministry’s order to register with MDA’s dispatch.

In its defense, United Hatzalah said MDA is trying to retain a monopoly, is financially motivated, and United Hatzalah wanted to continue to work with MDA to provide fast, effective care.

MDA said in its release that United Hatzalah can register through MDA’s app, which – in the event of an emergency – routes the five nearest first responders to the scene, regardless of whether those first responders are part of MDA, United Hatzalah or any other organization.

The suit also alleges that United Hatzalah has spread lies and disinformation about MDA, including a social media campaign using pictures with the phrase, “Cause of Death — MDA Monopoly,” among others.

MDA also alleges United Hatzalah lied about an incident in which a toddler choked to death. In 2017, MDA received an emergency call from United Hatzalah’s dispatch about the toddler, who was

receiving treatment from Hatzalah paramedics. MDA, quoting official monitoring, says that its ambulance arrived eight minutes later, while Hatzalah officials told media outlets it took half an hour for the ambulance to arrive.

Other MDA officials have pointed to ideas United Hatzalah has spread as dishonest, such as the, “claim that calling 1221 is the same as calling 101.”

Dialing 101 is the official emergency dispatch number in Israel, whereas 1221 is United Hatzalah’s dispatch number.

United Hatzalah still broadcasts the 1221 number on its website as 24/7 emergency medical response.

United Hatzalah is comprised of 5,000 volunteers from various backgrounds, as well as some Jewish Americans, answering an average 1,000 calls a day, according to its website. It boasts a 3-minute response time.

In a response to MDA’s statement, United Hatzalah responded that the ordeal was in keeping with MDA’s goal of retaining a monopoly on saving lives.

MDA maintains that the goal is not to prevent United Hatzalah from helping those in need of aid, but instead, to streamline the process and work better together to coordinate responses to medical emergencies.

Both organizations provide lifesaving care to those in need during emergencies and play a key role in maintaining short response times and proper EMS treatment.

United Hatzalah echoed that sentiment in its statement, saying that its volunteers in the field would continue to work with MDA personnel.

“In the field we are all interested in the same thing, providing the fastest and best care possible. It’s a shame that the leadership of Magen David Adom doesn’t view our partnership in the same way,” Gavy Friedson, a Hatzalah medic now based part-time in Atlanta, said in a statement.

MDA’s claim is for about $736,000 and an end to any alleged disinformation campaign; United Hatzalah points to the amount as evidence of MDA being financially motivated, rather than focusing on lifesaving.

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 15

OPINION Caution for Jews Stepping into Women’s March has referred to Farrakhan on The author of this column social media as a GOAT (Greatis male, Jewish, and of fair comest Of All Time), told The New plexion.

York Times in December that In some minds that may the march has come a long render him unsuitable to write way since its founding meetabout the anti-Semitism conings. troversy swirling around the “Since that conversawomen’s march. tion, we’ve all learned a lot Nonetheless, he persists. about how, while white Jews, The third annual march Dave as white people, uphold white in Washington, D.C., is schedSchechter supremacy, ALL Jews are taruled for Jan. 19. The first, called From Where I Sit geted by it,” Mallory said. in alarm at the election of Jews, it seems, are conveniently white President Donald Trump, drew more than 500,000 women (and men) to the capitol on (and separated from non-white Jews) when Jan. 21, 2017, exceeding most estimates for it suits the left, and not white when it suits Trump’s inaugural the previous day. A few the right, as with the neo-Nazi marchers in million more marched in cities and towns Charlottesville, Va. The anti-Semitism and Farrakhan across the country.

News coverage focused on the busloads issues are fracturing the coalition that of marchers, the pink “pussy hats” (a knit created the 2017 march in Washington, rebuttal to one of Trump’s less decorous prompting defections and declarations of comments), and the blending of ages, eth- independence by state and city chapters.

A group calling itself March on Geornicities and races. Yet, lurking somewhat out of view were the organizers’ attitudes gia – “We are not affiliated with Women’s toward Jews and Israel, and the dangers of March Inc.” – plans a Jan. 19 “March On to 2020!” rally on the Atlanta BeltLine, with anti-Semitism.

The march’s founding “unity principles” recently sworn-in Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath from Georgia’s 6th omitted Jews as a group needing protection.

Amended in time for 2019, those prin- District as the featured speaker.

The Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, ciples now read: “We must create a society in which all women, including Black wom- an outgrowth from the 2017 march in Aten, indigenous women, poor women, im- lanta that drew 60,000 people, did not plan migrant women, disabled women, Jewish a march this year, preferring to support lowomen, Muslim women, Latino women, cal events marking the birthday of the late Asian and Pacific Islander women, lesbian, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “We are a separate, independent orbi, queer and trans women, are free and able to care for and nurture themselves and ganization. Our position is that we stand their families, however they are formed, in against anti-Semitism in all of its forms. safe and healthy environments free from We will continue to work with our Jewish members and Jewish organizations we structural impediments.”

One founder of the march, Linda Sar- partner with to ensure that fighting antisour, a Palestinian-American activist and an Semitism is, as always, a part of our interoutspoken advocate for the anti-Israel BDS sectional social justice work,” said Janel (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, Green, GAFSJ’s executive director.

“Intersectionality” is the theory, born acknowledged the issue in a statement isin academia, that links the struggles for sued in November.

“We should have been faster and clearer rights by one group with the struggles of in helping people understand our values and other groups. On occasion, it has proven a our commitment to fighting anti-Semitism. tight fit for liberal Jews who support many We regret that, … We are deeply invested of the movement’s positions but who also in building better and deeper relationships harbor affection for Israel – no matter how with the Jewish community,” Sarsour said. much they oppose its current government.

Also at issue has been the reticence of There is much to laud in the women’s organizers to disassociate themselves per- march, most notably how it brought unsonally from Nation of Islam leader Louis told thousands of women and men into the Farrakhan, though the march organization public square and inspired greater civic enitself has said that “we do not support or gagement. endorse statements made by Minister Louis Still, there is ample reason for Jews to Farrakhan about women, Jewish and LGBTQ do their due diligence about the women’s communities.” march before putting a foot further forAnother founder, Tamika Mallory, who ward. ■ 16 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 17

COVER STORY

Sandy Springs Mayor Russell K. (Rusty) Paul holds the Maccabi torch.

Members of the teen advisory board are assigned to each of the planning committees preparing for the JCC Maccabi Games in Atlanta to offer their input from the perspective of the teen participants.

The torch in front of the SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel in Centennial Olympic Park.

Maccabi Games:

More than Camp for Thousands of Kids this Summer The morning Stacie Francombe talked to this reporter there were 199 days until the start of the JCC Maccabi Games in Atlanta.

But who’s counting?

Francombe, the 2019 Maccabi Games director, exuded confidence as she and the games staff worked through a checklist of tasks Dave to be completed before the Schechter Sunday, July 28, opening ceremony.

“Everything is great, and I mean that genuinely,” said Francombe, a veteran of the event planning industry and, before that, television sports at CNN and Turner Broadcasting. “Everything is running on schedule. Some stuff is ahead of schedule. Some stuff comes up, of course.”

Beginning on July 28 and ending with a closing event on Thursday, Aug. 1, Atlanta will host the annual sports festival for Jewish boys and girls, ages 12 to 16.

Some 1,200 visitors will join 400 of their Atlanta peers for a week of competition on fairways, fields and courts, on lanes and in lanes, and on stage. Away from the competition there will be social 18 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

activities and a community service project.

Teams representing 27 Jewish community centers in the United States, and others from Canada, Mexico and Panama, are coming to Atlanta. Thanks to assistance from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, a delegation will come from the Israeli sister city of Yokneam-Megiddo.

The boys and girls will stay in local homes. Many of the 500 host families needed will come from the ranks of Team Atlanta members, who each can expect to welcome two or more guests.

Additional hosts are being sought, “but we have already seen great support from the Atlanta community offering up their homes and time,” Francombe said.

The hosts will: provide breakfast and snacks; drive to and from the competition hubs; and launder a lot of sweaty uniforms. Housing arrangements take into account such factors as dietary needs, including keeping kosher and religious observance.

Competitions will be held in flag football, basketball, soccer, baseball,

volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, swimming, dance, golf, tennis, bowling, table tennis, and track and field. Participants in a program called “star reporter” will write about their delegation’s activities, take photographs and use social media.

Team Atlanta has selected its squads for team sports, and tryouts for individual sports will be Jan. 20-30.

Some 1,500 volunteers will be needed to staff the games. “We are actively recruiting volunteers to help the week of the games. There are opportunities for everyone,” and not limited to the Jewish community, Francombe said. “We have had such an amazing response to Maccabi since we launched all of this that I know people are going to come out and volunteer.”

The primary competition venues at the Marcus JCC and the Marist School will be supplemented by 10 to 15 other sites.

Although the games usually use a single hub, at the local JCC, the number of competitions and Atlanta’s notorious traffic made two hubs desirable. To reduce the headaches posed by Atlanta’s legendary traffic, most events will take place in the middle of the day. A fleet of 50 buses will transport athletes, coaches

and officials between the hubs and competition sites.

Multiple levels of security, from federal to local, have been involved in the planning. “Without revealing too much, the JCC Maccabi Games are a multifaceted security event. It is all-hands-ondeck, and our security team is working diligently to ensure all participants’ safety,” Francombe said.

Keeping the athletes hydrated, particularly those competing outdoors, will be a challenge. The average high temperature in late July and early August in Atlanta is 88, degrees and the chance of rain averages about 40 percent.

Coca-Cola, a national sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games, will provide its water and sports drink products at the venues.

The Maccabi Games staff is working with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to arrange for medical staff at the MJCCA and Marist, as well as trainers at competition venues and doctors available on call.

The athletes will eat at the MJCCA and Marist hubs, where they also can relax in “hang time” rooms staffed by Israelis.

Members of a “teen advisory

COVER STORY

A collage of Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival participants with the torch.

The torch makes appearances at Sandy Springs City Hall and the Davis Academy.

board” are assigned to each of the planning committees, offering their input on such items as food and snacks to be served at the hubs and other aspects of the week’s activities.

The games will begin the evening of July 28, with an Olympic-style ceremony at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, formerly Verizon Amphitheatre.

Still to be determined are which sports personalities will participate at the opening ceremony.

The closing party will be on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 1, at an as-yet unannounced location.

On Monday night, July 29, the Maccabi participants will visit the Nitro Zone amusement center in Peachtree Corners, and the next evening’s outing will be at the Georgia Aquarium. Host families will plan events for their guests on Wednesday night, July 31.

The JCC Maccabi Games are designed to promote community involvement and pride in being Jewish. Emphasis is placed on two values: Rachmanus (compassion) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), which also are central to a planned community service day for the teams.

To that end, the boys and girls will participate in a “JCC Cares” project to benefit the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. Local organizations working with the disabled may be engaged as part of this effort.

The Atlanta games also will feature an inclusion program, making it possible for young people with special needs to participate in such events as bowling and track and field.

“We want to make it a meaningful and a great experience for the kids who can and want to participate,” Francombe said,

adding that a separate committee is dedicated to broadening access to the games.

The Maccabi Games were last held in Atlanta in 2001. The MJCCA was selected to host in 2007, but withdrew because of financial problems.

The games are an expensive undertaking, for which $1.5 million in donations (financial and in-kind) are being sought.

“The Games never stop fundraising; every dollar earned goes towards making the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games the best one yet,” Francombe said.

Since the inaugural JCC Maccabi Games in Memphis in 1982, more than 120,000 Jewish teens from the United States, Israel and other nations have participated.

The JCC Maccabi Games, a program of the JCC Association of North America, is not affiliated with Maccabi USA, which sends teams of American Jewish athletes, youth and adults to international competitions, including the quadrennial Maccabiah Games in Israel.

There are two JCC Maccabi summer events annually. Detroit will host both an athletic competition and the JCC Maccabi ArtsFest Aug. 4-9. ArtsFest includes acting/ improv, culinary arts, dance, musical theater, rock band, social media squad, visual arts and vocal music.

Francombe praised everyone working to prepare for the games.

“The support that we have from the Maccabi staff here and the support we have from our leadership team (co-chairs Libby Hertz and Amy Rubin) is like nothing anybody has ever seen before. Everybody has so much passion. Without their support and their commitment and determination, this doesn’t work,” Francombe said. ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 19

CAMP In the City Camp Grows to Include Johns Creek

By Eddie Samuels Summer camp is a big deal in the Jewish community, and with so many options in Georgia it can be hard for parents to pick. In the City Camp is trying to make that choice a little bit easier by bringing a full Jewish camp experience to your backyard with its third location opening this summer at Congregation Dor Tamid in Johns Creek.

“One of our founding principles was to offer a Jewish, choice-based camp where nothing else like it was available,” CEO Eileen Snow Price said. “We are bringing a new option to families who may have not had the chance to experience ITC.” In the City Camp launched in 2012, when Snow Price figured out that overnight camp wouldn’t fit all four of her kids’ needs. With a long history of Jewish camp experiences in her family – her parents met at an overnight camp – she wanted to find a way to capture that same feeling a little closer to home.

With its first two locations in Atlanta and Sandy Springs, In the City Camp

Campers play soccer and other games with staff members.

grew from a few dozen kids in the first year to 700. The third location allows the camp to reach Jews a little further north.

“There’s a large and growing Jewish community outside of the city, so when

Campers practice archery and other outdoor activities at In The City Camp, just one way the authentic camp experience takes place a little closer to home.

the opportunity to partner with Dor Tamid presented itself, we quickly sprang into action to bring our community to theirs,” she said.

Snow Price explained that one of the unique parts of Jewish overnight camp has always been in its hands-on interaction with Judaism.

“Our culture is something you have to live to understand. You have to experience it, and camp is an experiential learning opportunity,” she said. “When you get to practice these Jewish values in a community that is supportive, and you can grow in those ways, that is the power of camp.”

Keeping that experiential nature

was an important part of creating a new kind of Jewish camp in 2012 and remains at the core of In the City Camp today.

“Since day one we have always seen camp through the eyes of a child,” Snow Price said. “Our choice-based model teaches children critical thinking skills and empowers them to participate in activities they love while trying new things.

While the other locations include Kid Camp (K-6) and Tween Camp (rising seventh- through ninth-graders), the Johns Creek location will only include the younger groups, at least for its first summer.

Snow Price explained that starting at a younger age is a unique draw to In the City Camp, as many overnight camps don’t offer programming for those younger than rising third-graders.

“We start at a young age, and so it’s an earlier step on a child’s Jewish journey,” she said. “It allows us to have and create community close to home that has the specialness of camp.”

In The City Camp’s Atlanta location, at Morningside Elementary School, runs from June 3 until June 21; the Sandy Springs location, at The Weber School, from June 24 until Aug. 2; and the newest location at Johns Creek from July 15 until Aug. 2.

While camp can be expensive, part of In The City Camp’s mission is to ensure it remains affordable and accessible for all members of the community. Part of Snow Price’s goal is to make sure that every Jewish child has the opportunity to experience camp. ■

Color wars are a staple of the ITC camp experience.

20 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CAMP

CIE Brings Israel’s Context to Camp The Atlanta-based Center for Israel Education will convene its second Israel seminar this spring to deliver historical context and state-of-the-art educational and experiential methods to Jewish summer camp staffers.

The program, with collaborative direction from the Foundation for Jewish Camp, is the core of an initiative CIE launched in 2018 with a three-year grant from the Legacy Heritage Fund to enhance Israel learning at Jewish summer overnight and day camps.

The CIE summer camp initiative provides Jewish camp staffers a stronger background on Israel’s story, the tools to create meaningful programming, a connection to peers at other camps and the opportunity for follow-up work with CIE professionals, including on-site summer visits.

The benefits go beyond summer experiences. Staffers who are college students bring their enhanced Israel knowledge back to campus, where they are able to engage in discussions about Israel with context and nuance that go beyond the conflict and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. When campers go to college in the future, they also will have the knowledge to feel comfortable in discussions about contemporary Israel. Owning Israel’s story gives campers a more complete sense of their Jewish identity.

“We’re doing training in what we do best,” said Steve Kerbel, an educational consultant with a quarter-century of experience who is leading CIE’s camp initiative. That means showing how to learn about modern Israel with background and context through age-appropriate games, experiences and other activities that are fun as well as educational.

For example, CIE advocates using food as a nonthreatening, uncontroversial way to delve into Israel. Kerbel cited two lessons — one focused on hummus, the other on Israeli couscous — that bring Israel’s history, culture, diversity and innovation into the kitchen with campers.

A deeper connection to Israel can come from something as simple as announcing the weather in Tel Aviv along with the camp forecast each morning or sharing Israel’s success in European basketball competitions as part of sports programs, Kerbel said. “Those things don’t make the news, so our kids don’t know about them.”

The camp initiative is not meant to replace the work Israeli shlichim (emissaries) do in serving as the face of Israel

Photos courtesy of CIE // Educational consultant

Center for Israel Education President Ken Stein uses a floor map of Israel to educate Jewish camp staffers about its geography during CIE's inaugural three-day seminar at Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia.

for summer campers. Instead, the CIE program augments context and provides background for their programming, Kerbel said.

The first three-day retreat for camp staffers in May 2018 drew 35 participants from Young Judaea and Ramah camps, Camp JORI, URJ Camp Coleman, Atlanta’s In the City Camp, and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s day camps.

The content included the origins of Jewish identity, peoplehood, Zionism, state-making and contemporary issues and led to discussions about how each camp could take advantage of its unique setting to implement experiential programming beyond a single Israel Day during a summer session.

“Some participants wrote feverishly, jotting down ideas from peers. Others challenged their own perceptions of Israel’s story, and still others figured out, through brisk exchanges, how to apply content to their camp’s settings,” CIE President Ken Stein said. “As a teacher, watching each of them belong to Israel’s story in their unique way generated similar outcomes to what educators, teens and clergy have experienced in previous Israel learning sessions with us. Common to all of them is understanding content in context and Israel’s complexity.”

Kerbel said camps sent staffers because they recognized the need to improve as Israel educators, not in response to claims from organizations such as IfNotNow that summer camps hide the truth about Israel and the Palestinians.

But he said CIE can help camps deal with those issues in a developmentally appropriate way that includes understanding perspective and answering tough questions with appropriate, nuanced responses.

Kerbel said he followed up on the seminar by spending a couple of days doing Israel programming with seventhand eighth-graders at Camp Judaea, and he found they didn’t even know how to start talking about the conflict.

“After allowing myself to sit on the student side of the classroom, learning from the CIE staff and the impressive young participants, I now feel more

Steve Kerbel leads a discussion with some of the three dozen attendees of CIE's inaugural three-day seminar for Jewish camp staffers in May 2018 at Camp Ramah Darom.

properly positioned to encourage these exercises and conversations in camp,” said seminar participant Elana Pollack, the program director at Camp Judaea.

Helene Drobenare, the executive director of Young Judaea Sprout Camps, said participation in the May program added to the staff skill set and helped build a stronger educational team for this past summer.

Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake staffers said at the end of the seminar that they gained a better understanding of Israel’s current events, learned how to teach Israel to young children, took away programming ideas and materials on Israeli geography, and gained ways to explain the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the issues of occupation.

“Our staff returned motivated and excited to create some new programs for our community,” Drobenare said. “They had fresh techniques that really worked at camp.” ■ Kerbel can be reached at steve@israeled.org for more information about the CIE Jewish camp seminar.

Provided by Center For Israel Education

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 21

CAMP

Never Too Old: Lessons from a Life at Camp Like many Jewish kids, Tom Rosenberg’s camp experience started at Blue Star Camps in Hendersonville, N.C. But unlike most Jewish kids, his camp experience never ended. As President and CEO of the American Camp Association in Atlanta, Rosenberg is still workEddie ing from the first lesson Samuels he learned at camp as an 8-year-old.

“The more that you put into camp, the more you get out of it,” he said.

Born in New Orleans, Rosenberg’s family moved far from Blue Star while he was still a child, all the way to San Luis Obispo, Calif. It wasn’t until he was in college at Tulane University looking for a summer job that he returned to Hendersonville to work as a counselor. Even then, camp didn’t seem likely to become his career.

“I thought I was done and went off to start a career in commercial banking and went back to grad school three years later thinking about strategy consult-

ing, and I ended up getting a phone call from my camp director back at Blue Star, Rodger Popkin,” Rosenberg said.

Asked to become the next camp director, Rosenberg considered his options and jumped in headfirst.

“Getting outside into the mountains or into the woods and being able to develop friendships and relationships and build community really felt very impactful. I wanted to be a part of that,” he said.

Rosenberg explained that he was split between a love of business and a love of teaching, and that being camp director allowed him to lean into his teacher side and focus on building a community.

He spent 22 years as director of Blue Star before his wife, Atlanta native Pam Sugarman, decided she wanted to return to her hometown to be closer to family while raising their son, Daniel.

So, Rosenberg stepped in as director of Camp Judaea, with offices in Atlanta.

Tom Rosenberg is president and CEO of the American Camp Association in Atlanta.

He spent five years with the program until he was invited to apply for his current role at the ACA, an organization he knew well as a volunteer.

The ACA is a leading authority in youth development and strives to preserve, promote and improve the camp experience, according to its website. It has its own accreditation system for camps, which are not strictly regulated in some states, guaranteeing high standards for parents choosing a camp.

In addition to reflecting on his decades of experience as a camp director, Rosenberg also discussed the importance of camp experiences for children today who are incredibly well connected to the world through technology but can sometimes struggle with person-to-person contact.

“Where else can a young person put their phone away for two weeks, three weeks or four weeks and learn to communicate effectively, eye to eye? And you’re learning to compromise, discuss, argue, negotiate – all those human skills are so essential.”

He added that while school does a good job teaching academic skills, camp has a role to play in developing emotional and social skills that are difficult to cultivate in other environments.

“Think about how scheduled kids today are, but at camp you have the opportunity to make choices for yourself, good and bad,” Rosenberg said. “One of the most important things kids can learn at camp is how to try new things, take posi-

tive risks, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”

Discussing how Jewish camp is so central to Jewish identity in the U.S., Rosenberg said that camp is a unique vehicle for learning.

“If we want to teach Torah or Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Fathers], it’s an amazing place to focus on not only what you read, but how you live,” he said. “When I was growing up at camp, we talked about living Judaism.”

He also explained that part of the importance of camp is in forming lifelong connections, recalling his relationship with the son of an Atlanta icon, the late Rabbi Jacob Rothschild.

“Billy Rothschild was my bunk counselor when I was 10 years old. He was a banjo player back then and we called him Banjo Billy. I still see him on occasion around town,” he said. “When you have young adults that are teaching children who are then going to grow up and share the same community, that’s really powerful.”

“I found my faith in the woods, in the mountains with other people, testing myself and learning to explore,” he added.

Rosenberg also noted that while camp is most common for children and young adults, there are similar opportunities out there for those of every age group, from 20s and 30s all the way to senior excursions and activities.

“We all need a little camp in our lives, even when we’re older,” he said. ■

Field trips are part the camp experience at Camp Judaea, for which Tom Rosenberg previously served as director.

22 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 23

ARTS ‘The Last Night of Ballyhoo’ Comes Home Atlanta native Alfred Uhry’s “Last Night of Ballyhoo” is returning to its birthplace more than two decades after it premiered as part of the Olympic Games here. It opens Friday, Jan. 25, at the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody.

Uhry, who grew up in the Atlanta Jewish community, originally wrote the play as part of the centennial Olympic celebration in Atlanta in 1996. It went on the following year to Broadway, won a Tony Award for best play and was a finalist in the Pulitzer Prize competition.

The play is set in Atlanta in December 1939, a few months after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, and tells the story of a highly assimilated Jewish family just before Ballyhoo, a kind of coming out party for upper middle-class Jewish society in the city.

The director is Mira Hirsch, who founded the Jewish Theatre of the South at the MJCCA. In our con- Bob versation, she discussed the Bahr “The Last Night of Ballyhoo”

24 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

are often at odds with each other. And I think we, as American Jews, are often struggling to find that balance in our lives. A lot of these plays about American Jewish life deal with that conflict.

Atlanta native Alfred Uhry’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” opens Friday, Jan. 25, at the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody.

as a work of a very particular time and place.

AJT: How does the play reflect a search for Jewish identity in Atlanta at the time?

Hirsch: Jewish identity in 1939, particularly in the South, often was a reduced identity, and clearly Alfred Uhry is speaking from his own experience of having

AJT: It’s also a play about social stratification as well.

Hirsch: Well it’s interesting to look at the history of the Atlanta Jewish community and see how divided we were, among ourselves, into basically the German Jewish community and what they call the other kind, you know, east of the Elbe River. And this is something that I certainly wasn’t aware of as I grew up in the 70s and 80s.

But it’s also a very funny play and some of the lines are very, very funny.

Sometimes we’re laughing at them and with them and at ourselves.

I mean most comedies have a serious underbelly. I think the Jewish theater, in particular, has this Jewish idea of laughter through tears.

grown up extremely assimilated and knowing very little about Judaism as a religion or even, in many ways, in a cultural sense …

And I think when he wrote the play in the mid-90s, that was a time when he had really begun coming around to his own Judaism after writing “Driving Miss Daisy.”

These plays about the Jews of Atlanta, “Driving Miss Daisy,” written in 1989, AJT: The play opens at the Stage and Ballyhoo in 1996, and then “Parade” in 1998, were later career plays for him. Door Players theater in Dunwoody just He had written about many subjects pri- before tickets for the Atlanta Jewish or to that and was not dealing with the Film Festival go on sale, and runs concurrently, in FebruJewish experience. ary, with the festiI think it marks his val. Do you think evolution, as well as that will help draw marking many peoan audience? ple’s evolution.

Hirsch: I think I mean I grew that the success up at The Temple. I of the film festival mean this is the maproves that as Jews, terial that I feel. It’s as assimilated and a story and people connected to the and ideas that I most city as we may be, closely relate to. So, we still crave forms I feel that I am in a of entertainment unique place to help and culture that tell those stories as a we feel reflect ourJew and as a theater selves, and I think it artist.

Mira Hirsch directs “The Last is one of those ways Night of Ballyhoo” at the Stage that we can satisfy Door Players in Dunwoody.

AJT: You think being connected this is an important play for the Jewish community in this to the Jewish community. The Jewish theater has been called the secular city to see?

Hirsch: I do. I think that any play synagogue. It’s a place we’re combining that deals with Jewish identity is impor- as a people and gathering around our tant. And so many of the plays that we shared experience. And I think that’s call Jewish theater plays do deal with the importance of Jewish culture overidentity. I think that’s the constant strug- all, be it Jewish music or Jewish film or gle of the American Jew and, perhaps, Jewish theater. It gives you a place to any Jew in the diaspora. share our common identity and culture It’s something that sociologists have in this assimilated society. ■ called the ‘competing impulses,’ the urge to assimilate into America versus the Tickets to “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” are urge to survive as Jews. And those things available at www.stagedoorplayers.tix.com.

ARTS

Illusionist Brings Paintings to Life The Marcus JCC starts out 2019 with an unusual, mystery-packed 90 minutes with Russian-Canadian illusionist Vitaly Beckman, featuring two shows the second weekend in February. A new era of “magic” takes us out of the rabbit-in-thehat realm to an illusionist genre in this family-friendly show. Beckman defies perception as the interactive audience gets a bird’s eye view.

His shows are known for making drawings and paintings come to life and teleporting playing cards among audience members that are not simply jawdropping feats. He wants us to leave his show wondering what life could be without traditional limitations. Beckman has a magical outlook on life we find as we examine his past and current views before the upcoming show.

because I realized it can be a form of expression for me, one where I could innovate and share my imagination with an audience.

Jaffe: Are there any Jewish elements in your life now?

Beckman: Well, I’m Jewish and while not religious, I’m very proud of my heritage.

Photos courtesy of Beckman // Vitaly Beckman has performed before Penn & Teller.

to solve a triple integral of a matrix. Go ahead and try to apply it to the real world!

Jaffe: How did you stump Penn & Teller?

Beckman: I always loved Penn & Teller and had Jaffe: Describe your the pleasure of showcasfamily’s journey from Rusing one of my original acts sia to Israel to Canada? where a photograph comes Marcia Beckman: In 1990, the to life and a bus drives away Caller Jaffe Soviet Union opened its borfrom the photo. Penn & ders for Jews … not to come Teller deliberated for quite a bit and tried in, but allowed us to get out. Thus, my a few guesses, which turned out to be parents left and repatriated to Israel. It wrong, and I got a trophy with the letters was a secret trip through Europe to avoid F.U. which stands for “Fool Us,” of course. terrorists attacking us on the way. My Jaffe: You’ve had an off-Broadway parents still live in Israel today while I moved to North America 10 years ago to show? What are some of the exciting venpursue my dream of performing in Vegas ues in which you have performed?

Beckman: The Westside Theatre, and on Broadway. where I appeared off-Broadway, was acJaffe: You graduated as an engineer tually the very same venue at which Penn from the Technion (Israel Institute of & Teller started their career over 30 years Technology)? ago, so it was pretty cool! Another excitBeckman: I graduated as a me- ing venue I had the pleasure of performchanical engineer, and unfortunately ing at was in Chile, in a beautiful theater it doesn’t play into my act as much as that was situated over a lake. It was very I hoped. Although magic has the ele- magical. ments of invention and science, it is Jaffe: Have you ever been to Georgia still more of a performance art. My (our state, not Russia, LOL) and do you studies at Technion were very theohave any impressions about the South? retical. For instance, we learned how

Beckman: I have only been to Atlanta for a few days for a conference a few years ago. My impression is of warm and hospitable people, but I hope to experience more when I visit next month.

Jaffe: What inspired you as a child to go into this field? Do you take inspiration from David Copperfield?

Beckman: When I was a kid, I used to paint and had a great appreciation for the arts. When I was 14, I was inspired by Copperfield. I decided to pursue magic

Jaffe: Are you more like Borat or Jerry Seinfeld?

Beckman: They say I sound like Borat and look like Seinfeld. What do you think?

Jaffe: Ok, the ladies want to know… do you have a girlfriend and is she in your show?

Beckman: Yes, I do have a girlfriend (sorry!), but she is not in my show. I think she’s afraid to get sawed in half... ■ Beckman’s “Evening of Wonders” will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 9 and 5 p.m. Feb. 10. Tickets are $20 for MJCC members and $28 for the community. For tickets, www.atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4000.

Beckman performs a magic trick with an apple.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 25

CALENDAR FRIDAY, JANUARY 18

Intown Shabbat Project – Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. A new program that seeks to connect Intown families over Shabbat dinners. Sign up to either be a host or be hosted and MJCCA Intown will take care of the rest. Four families will be matched by age of children and neighborhood. MJCCA Intown will provide the funds for Shabbat dinner, a Shabbat kit, and some fun kids' activities.

Free and open to the community. For more information, contact Lauren Chekanow, lauren.chekanow@atlantajcc.org.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Beshalach Friday, January 18, 2019, light candles at 5:36 p.m.

Saturday, January 19, 2019, Shabbat ends at 6:35 p.m.

Yitro Friday, January 25, 2019, light candles at 5:44 p.m.

Saturday, January 26, 2019, Shabbat ends at 6:42 p.m. series features Atlanta rabbis who share unique perspectives on topics of their choice. Bring a dairy lunch or purchase kosher food at the café. Free and open to the community. For more information, www.atlantajcc.org.

Film Screening: “Rosenwald” – Wal-

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19

A Cup of Music – Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell, from 7:30 p.m. Musical Coffee with Martin Levson and Nancy Kassel. Adult coffee beverages, music, wine and dessert.

Suggested $10 donation. For more information, www.bit.ly/2QzrV8r.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20

Zine Making Workshop – William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, from 1 to 3 p.m. Join us for an afternoon of zine making fun. Explore the history, purpose and art of zine making. Make your own zine, inspired by the Vedem Underground Exhibition. Open to all ages. Free for members, $12 for nonmembers, $6 for nonmember students.

For more information, www.thebreman.org.

Holocaust Remembrance Event – Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs, 6 to 8:30 p.m. In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, join keynote speaker Marion Lazan, who was a direct witness to the events of Kristallnacht. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2LV8Dtu.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22

Jews and Food – Chabad Intown On The BeltLine, 730 Ponce De Leon Place NE, Atlanta. Tuesday evenings through Feb. 12, from 8 to 9 p.m., and Thursday afternoons through Feb. 14, from 12 to 1:15 p.m. $60 for single reserva26 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

tions and $100 for double reservations.

Why are Jews obsessed with food? Dive into Jewish history and Kabbalistic insights. For more information, www. chabadintown.org.

Books for Breakfast – Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Hungry for a good read and lively discussion? Join this monthly book club for a morning feast of ideas, exciting conversation and thought-provoking analysis. You’ll get your fill with each monthly selection and meet new bookworms at the same time! Tickets are $5 per person. For more information, contact Jill Rosner, jrosner@aasynagogue.org.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23

Introduction to Biblical Hebrew – Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave. NW, Atlanta, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For adult students who can read Hebrew words but do not know what they mean, this course provides an introduction to the Hebrew grammar and vocabulary found in the Torah and siddur. This course is suitable for beginning and intermediate students. $50 for members, $65 for nonmembers and $75 for couples. For more information, www.bit. ly/2nVTxbJ.

ter E. Massey Leadership Center, Bank of America Auditorium, Westview Drive SW and West End Ave. SW, Atlanta, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. “Rosenwald” tells the story of Jewish philanthropist, Julius Rosenwald, who established schools in the pre-civil rights era. Inspired by the late educator Horace Mann Bond and his son, Julian Bond, the film documents black-Jewish relations. Join film director Aviva Kempner, Ethelbert Miller, and Atlanta Councilman Michael Julian Bond for a discussion to follow the screening. This event is sponsored by Morehouse College’s Department of English. Tickets are $20 per person. For more information, www.bit.ly/2D0HZwk.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25

Acoustic Shabbat Café – Virginia - Highland – San Francisco Coffee Roasting Co., 1192 North Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta, from 7 to 9 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 Atlanta Jewish Music Festival and The Weber School. Free. For more information, www.bit.ly/2nVTxbJ.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24

Lunch ‘N Learn – Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, from 12 to 1 p.m. Join local rabbis for an interactive class and discussion at the MJCCA (Zaban Park). The JCC Lunch ‘N Learn

Lost and Found Jewish Musical Treasures – Earl and Rachel Smith

Strand Theatre, 117 N. Park Square, NE, Marietta, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Congregation Etz Chaim invites you to attend its Saturday evening Scholarin-Residence Program with Hankus Netsky and Hebrew National Salvage. $20 per person. To register, www.etzchaim.net/event/sir2019.

Temple Beth Tikvah Early Childhood Education Open House – Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell, from 9:45 to 11 a.m.

Curious about preschool and pre-K at Temple Beth Tikvah? Join them for family Shabbat services followed by the opportunity to meet with their preK staff and director of congregational learning. Free. For more information, 770-642-4168.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27

Men’s Club Ski Trip – Congregation Beth Jacob, 1855 Lavista Road, Atlanta.

All day ski trip to Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Chartered bus leaves from the Beth Jacob parking lot. Trip includes meals, several options for skiing and other outdoor activities. For pricing, options and for more information, www.bethjacobatlanta.org/skitrip.

Bagels and Bids – Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway NE, Marietta, from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Support Etz Chaim’s annual silent auction benefitting their preschool and religious school. Bid on restaurant gift cards, birthday party packages, spa deals, weekend getaways, swim lessons and much more. Join the community for breakfast and bidding while the kids enjoy fun activities. $9 per adult, $18 per couple and $10 per child. For more information, email bagelsAndbidsetzchaim@gmail.com.

JANUARY 18-27 Find more events and submit items for our online and print calendars at:

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

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

EDGEWOOD RETAIL DISTRICT

1230 Caroline St

404.343.0805

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26

Havinagala 2019 – College Football Hall of Fame, 250 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, from 8 to 11 p.m. Join the Young Professionals of JF&CS for a fun evening to benefit the PAL Program, Atlanta’s only Jewish Big Brother/Big Sister program.

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Havinagala and enjoy an open bar, raffle and games. $60 general admission, $70 at the door, $100 VIP ticket with Chick-fil-A Fan Experience, $110 at the door VIP ticket with Chick-fil-A Fan Experience. To purchase tickets, www.havinagala.org.

MJCCA Arts and Culture Presents La Tortuga and the Hare – Marcus

Soap Up Atlanta – Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave. NW, Atlanta, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Ahavath Achim’s AAACTS Committee (Action and Awareness to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex) and The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta’s Commission on DMST (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invite you to participate in SOAP UP Atlanta. Help label 20,000 soap bars with the national human trafficking 800+ hotline number and distribute them to hotels surrounding Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the Super Bowl will be held on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Free. For more information, www.bit. ly/2RnRY7C.

JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, three showtimes, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 12 to 12:30 p.m. and 4 to 4:30 p.m. Join in the fun and excitement as the tortoise and the hare hit the starting line.

The audience is invited into the center of the race track to experience the action all around them. Through dance, movement, music and bilingual storytelling, young children will engage in this classic folk tale in wholly imaginative and new ways. $12 for member child, $14 for member adult, $14 for community child and $16 for community adult. For more information, www.bit.ly/2QAnhqx.

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Positive Attitude Towards Aging – Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Beth Shalom’s Men’s Club and Sisterhood invite you for a delicious brunch with guest speaker Debbie Koval, board certified clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy. She will speak about learning how to take care of your body through exercise and balance. As you age, learn what you can do for your body to enhance the quality of life. $7 per person. For more information, www.bit.ly/2VI1m4x.

The Classics Film Club– Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta, from 1 to 3 p.m. Join the monthly film club, where you watch movies from different genres and discuss the techniques and themes that went into producing them. The first session is always free, so invite friends to come for a weekend classic and a vibrant discussion.

Free for members, $5 for the community. For more information, www.bit. ly/2CcGKbS. ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 27

COMMUNITY

Hostess Viki Freeman welcomes Ellen F. Arnovitz, Joyce Schwartz and Debbie Neese to her home for the AJC event.

Guest speaker Rabbi David Rosen, AJC international director of interreligous affairs, with Melanie Nelkin, president of AJC Atlanta.

Miles and Elaine Alexander, both AJC life members and previous AJC chairs, enjoyed the presentation.

Jackie and Tony Montag look forward to Rabbi Rosen’s discussion.

Rosen Continues to Inspire Interfaith Progress

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Is religion the problem or the solution? That was the topic of Rabbi David Rosen’s talk Jan. 10 at the 75th anniversary kickoff celebration of American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta chapter. It took place at the Buckhead home of Viki and Paul Freeman.

28 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Rosen is the AJC’s international director of interreligious affairs based in Jerusalem.

Among his list of accomplishments, Rosen was former chief rabbi of Ireland and senior rabbi of South Africa’s largest synagogue, and he’s a member of the chief rabbinate of Israel’s delegation for relations with world religions. He shared his

view on the religions of the world at the Jan. 10 event. While in Atlanta last week, he also made other appearances, which included serving as Scholar-in-Residence at Congregation Shearith Israel.

Dov Wilker, AJC Atlanta regional director, conducted a Q&A with Rosen, referring to him as “the Pope’s rabbi.”

Rosen, who said he speaks officially about interfaith issues through the AJC, proffered unofficial comments about his position as an Israeli citizen, saying, “A two-state solution is the ONLY solution.”

On the AJC front, Rosen, in his elegant British accent, spoke of his worldwide travels resulting in steady strides in improving interfaith relations. He shared that anti-Semitism may be more open because “‘anti-social media’ allows the circulation of garbage. … There is a general insularity and rise in xenophobia, but not necessarily more anti- Semitism.”

A very positive experience he shared was his December trip to the United Arab Emirates, where Muslim royalty and clerics lit Chanukah candles with the delegation. “I am finding that leaders from all over the world want to bend over backwards to show that they are NOT anti-Semitic!” Rosen said.

AJC board member Murray Goldman said he was fortunate to be on that trip with his wife, Marcia. The couple were part of the AJC Gulf Mission to Oman, Bahrain, and UAE while Rosen and 12 other rabbis were at an interfaith conference in Abu Dhabi. “We were at a Shabbat service and kosher meal in Dubai with approximately 80 ex-pat Jews, which was an amazing religious and personal Jewish experience in the midst of a Muslim country. It was evident that the interfaith and political influence of Rabbi Rosen and AJC were making a difference, bringing these countries and their citizens

closer to better relations with Israel and world Jewry.”

Rosen is international president of Religions for Peace; honorary president of the International Council of Christians and Jews; and the Jewish representative on the board of directors of the King Abdullah International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

He was part of the Israeli team that negotiated full relations between the state of Israel and the Holy See, and is a past chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, the Jewish umbrella organization for interfaith relations. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI made Rosen a knight commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in recognition of his contribution to Catholic-Jewish reconciliation; and in 2010, he was named a commander of the British empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his interreligious work.

In addition to Rosen’s talk at the Buckhead celebration, AJC Atlanta president Melanie Nelkin recognized several active AJC members who were recently touted by Atlanta magazine among the city’s most powerful leaders.

She was proud of AJC’s “value-driven messages” on local, national and global forums – most recently the reaction to the tragic shooting in Pittsburgh. “The Torah has 169 mentions to ‘remember and not forget;’ this anniversary will not allow us to forget.”

Kenny Blank, executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, briefly spoke about AJC’s vision in founding the AJFF and specifically about its new City Springs venue. Sandy Springs City Councilman Andy Bauman was present when Blank said, “We were like Jews wandering the desert until we just found the Promised Land there.” ■

COMMUNITY

Kenny Blank, executive director of the AJFF, chats with sponsor Robyn Spizman Gerson.

Emily Hutmacher, executive director of the Sandy Springs Foundation, and Drew Lisac, former chair of the San Francisco Arts Commission, chat with sponsor Barbara Mendel.

Mayor Rusty Paul expresses excitement about City Springs becoming a movie venue in 2019.

VIPs Lineup for AJFF Preview Party

By Marcia Caller Jaffe The slick lobby of the Atlanta History Center welcomed sponsors, partners, staff and glitterati Jan. 9 to preview the 2019 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, themed “See the World on Film.” The festival opens Feb. 6 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre featuring “Shoelaces,” and closes Feb. 26 with “Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal.”

“There is a great lineup this year, full of diversity, documentaries, and fiction spanning many countries,” Matthew Bernstein, chair of Emory University’s Film and Media Studies department, said during the pre-function hour of the AJFF Insider Preview Party. “Also, we have an especially impressive group of speakers.

This year I am keen on “The Tale” and “To Dust” (which is a little offbeat), among others.”

Sandra and Clive Bank of Added Touch were behind the scenes serving up a grand buffet.

Caterer Sandra Bank was on hand with Added Touch’s zesty buffet of foods from around the world. Then a short walk into the Grand Overlook ballroom.

There, Kenny Blank, executive director of the AJFF, and Max Leventhal, AJFF board president, affably welcomed the crowd.

Jason Evans co-chaired the film evaluation committee with Hazel Gold, which was quite a task. The committee members watched 703 movies, and after 21,000 reviews, only 73 made the final cut. Some folks had to watch some “really bad movies,” Blank said. “We have three world premieres and two U.S. premiers this year.”

Leventhal acknowledged Sandy Springs City Councilman Andy Bauman, and Mayor Rusty Paul for building the City Springs performing arts center, where the festival will be held, “with our films in mind.” Later in the evening,

Paul took the floor and received rousing applause by offering free parking at the City Springs venue for the AJFF audience.

Evans conducted stageside interviews. Some of the most special ones were with his mother and author Gail Evans, Joe Alterman, director of the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, and Victoria Stilwell, an Animal Planet celebrity. Stilwell spoke about the making of a film that The Epstein School is sponsoring, entitled “Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog,” where a dog is separated from his Jewish family and trained by Nazis for terrorizing prisoners.

Alterman, whose trio had just performed a cool set, was excited about the movie, “It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story,” a documentary about the eponymous jazz record label. “Jazz without Blue Note is like Torah without Moses.”

As for this humble reporter, my list

begins with: “Holy Lands,” starring James Caan as a retired American cardiologist abandoning life in New York City for Nazareth and tending a pig farm.

“Carl Laemmle,” a documentary about the German-born Hollywood mogul who founded Universal Pictures.

“King Bibi: The Life and Performances of Benjamin Netanyahu,” showing outtakes of him as a young politician mastering his media savvy public appeal.

“The Last Resort,” a documentary about paradise rediscovered through the bygone era of Miami Beach during the ‘60s and ‘70s.

And that’s just scratching the surface. Find the best location and times for you and book early! Tickets go on sale Jan. 28. ■

Tom and Diane Casey, who serve on the AJFF marketing committee and are owners of Encore Atlanta, enjoy the reception.

Matthew Bernstein, chair of Emory’s Film & Media Studies department, with Opening Night Chair Martha Jo and Jerry Katz.

Danielle Tanzman, with AJFF Board Member and former co-chair Dina Gerson.

For more information, AJFF.org.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 29

COMMUNITY Jewish Life in Small Towns

Rome’s Rodeph Sholom is Like 'The Little Engine That Could’ On March 27, 1938, Unlike many Jewish when the new congregacommunities in small Geortional building was dedigia towns whose conneccated, Atlanta Rabbis Harry tions to Atlanta are mostly Epstein and David Marx through former residents, officiated. Rabbi Epstein ofRome’s Rodeph Sholom Conficiated again at the 20th angregation boasts numerous niversary of the dedication rabbinic associations with and was on hand in 1975 at Atlanta – as well as many the congregation’s 100 year former Romans now living Jan celebration. in the Atlanta area.

Jaben-Eilon But Rabbi Epstein was Rome, city of seven hills not the last Atlanta rabbi to and three rivers founded in 1833, became home to Rodeph Sholom grace Rodeph Sholom’s bimah. Although Congregation in 1875. The same year, J.J. the synagogue had a full-time rabbi until Cohen donated land on Mount Aventine, 1955, student rabbis from Hebrew Union one of Rome’s seven hills, for the congre- College in Cincinnati, Ohio, served the gation’s Jewish cemetery. Rabbi David congregation for the next 40 years. Then Esserman was the congregation’s first Rabbi Scott Saulson from Atlanta served rabbi and the great-great-grandfather of the Rome synagogue for 10 years.

Since then, Rabbi Judith Beiner, Shelly Peller, the wife of the current congregational president. He served Rodeph community chaplain of Jewish Family & Sholom from 1898 until his death in 1917. Career Services in Dunwoody, has taken In 1937, a congregant who lived in Adairs- the part-time mantle as religious leader ville, Abe Abramson, died and left money at Rodeph Sholom.

She takes turns leading services with to the congregation, launching a building fund that resulted in its structure on East Rabbi Steve Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta. Rome-native and Atlanta atFirst Street.

30 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

torney Deborah Rome, as was Heyman Harris her mother. Her became friends grandparents with Lebow afmet and marter attending ried there. “At summer camp one time, I think with him. we were related “I’ve been to at least half going to Rome the town,” she off and on for says, laughing. two or three Now a resident Rodeph Sholom Congregation has been part years,” Lebow of Buckhead, of Rome since 1875. Many rabbis from Atlanta says. “I love the Levine notes her have served the synagogue as spiritual leader. people there. father’s furniThey are so knowledgeable. My favor- ture store, Rome Furniture Co. ite thing is to teach Torah study. They According to Peller, whose family are hungry to learn and I’m hungry to were also merchants, “all the Jewish merteach.” When he’s home at TKE, he leads chants are gone now.” One of those merservices with a cantor and has a choir chants was the father of Lyons J. Heyman. director. When in Rome, “I’m a one-man Born in Atlanta, Heyman says his father band," he says. and a friend had bought out a furniture Rodeph Sholom is affiliated with the manufacturing company in Atlanta and Union for Reform Judaism and partnered had moved it to Rome in 1937 when Heywith the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute man was about 8 years old. Eventually, of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Miss. both Heyman and his father were presiPeller compares the congregation to "The dent of the Southern Manufacturers AsLittle Engine that Could.” sociation.

“Our motto is to focus on what we Heyman, now 90, sold his house in have, not on what we don’t have,” Peller Rome last year and is now living in Birsays. “We focus on quality, not quantity. mingham. None of his three children live We have a beautiful sanctuary and a core in Rome. His daughter is Heyman Harris group of active members who are well and son Lyons J. Heyman Jr., who lives in educated.” A physical therapist, Peller is Cartersville, is CEO and founder of 7 Hills married to a doctor. She grew up wanting Transport. Another son lives in Denver. to move to a big city, but her New York CityAccording to Heyman, anti-Semborn husband wanted to live in Rome. itism was never a problem in Rome.

Peller’s older sister, Jackie Green- “There weren’t too many Jewish people stein, who lives in Peachtree Corners, so there wasn’t much to be angry about,” says that when they were growing up, he laughs. A former president of Rodeph “I was the one who was going to stay in Sholom – “as most people have been” – Rome and Shelly was the one who was Heyman says the current Rome Jewish going to leave.” Now Atlanta is growing community is “hanging in there. They too big for Greenstein, calling herself a need people more than they need money.” “small-town girl.” Like many Atlantans The board of directors of the congrewho grew up in small Georgia towns, gation has already voted to donate its reGreenstein says her Jewish identity was cords to the William Bremen Jewish Herideeply instilled in her by her parents. tage Museum and archives in Atlanta, One of her favorite memories was but has only had preliminary talks with building the sukkah at Rodeph Sholom. the Atlanta-based Jewish Community “The whole congregation was there. I Legacy Project about its future plans. Pelremember how awesome the fresh fruit ler says the “challenge is that we always smelled,” Greenstein says. When she was want to ensure the continuity of the convery young, she recalls a Rome deli that gregation. We look at it as a mitzvah.” sold kosher meat. “I remember going But according to Lebow, “They’re a with my grandfather. He always gave me historic congregation. They’ll be around a big kosher pickle. He blew the shofar forever!” ■ on holidays and when he left town, the honor passed to my father.”

This ongoing series about Jewish life In fact, the leadership of the con- in small towns is sponsored by the Atlantagregation, which averaged 25 to 40 fami- based Jewish Community Legacy Project. lies for a long time and now has settled Visit www.jclproject.org to learn more about at about 15, seems to get passed like a the initiative to help such communities as baton from one family to another. Pel- they navigate the present and prepare for ler’s cousin, Phyllis Levine, was born in the future.

COMMUNITY

Jews and Food: We Are What We Eat What is it with Jews and food? And is eating the secret to a more spiritual life?

That’s something Rabbi Ari Sollish is attempting to answer with a four-part course at the Intown Jewish Academy that runs from Jan. 22 to Feb. 14.

“We have a lot of courses; sometimes Jewish history, Kevin C. Jewish laws, or Jewish mys- Madigan ticism,” said Rabbi Sollish.

“The concept here is food. You can’t do anything Jewish without food. If there’s a holiday, there’s food. If there’s a life cycle event, there always some type of food. It’s such a part of the Jewish experience.”

The series seeks to explore the deeper associations that Jews have with the food they eat. How did it become a part of the Jewish condition that there’s always food involved with the Jewish moment or celebration? Where does that association come from and what is the deeper connotation behind eating? Or of the kosher diet?

“We will talk about the significance of certain types of food that we eat,” Rabbi Sollish said. “For example, meat and which part of an animal are we supposed to eat, or which part is perhaps not kosher, and what different parts signify. ... What about the specific Jewish prohibition of eating the blood of an animal?

What that signifies, and what the spiri-

tual meaning of all of it is.”

The intricacies of Jewish dietary laws, known as kashrut, will be addressed.

Kashrut regulations stipulate, for instance, that mammals and birds must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law; animals that died of natural causes or were killed by other animals must not be consumed.

The animal to be slaughtered must have no flaws or disease. This restriction does not include fish, which, according to the Torah, can simply be “gathered.”

It gets quite complicated. “One of the objectives of the course is that in Judaism there are really a lot of teachings on this,” Rabbi Sollish said. “What we put

in our bodies, on a practical as well as spiritual level, and the effects that it has.”

Why do Jews observe all these laws? According to the Mamre Institute, it’s because the Torah says so. “The Torah does not specify any reason for these laws, and for a Torah-observant, traditional Jew, there is no need for any other reason. Some have suggested that the laws of kashrut fall into the category of chukkim – laws for which there is no reason.”

The first lesson of the course, which will include tastings, deals with why Jews

are so obsessed with food and other less healthy aspects of Jewish eating traditions.

“There is a lot of stuff that is kosher that we probably should not be consuming too much of or perhaps even at all. Just because something is permitted in the rubric of Jewish thought and teachings doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good for the body,” Rabbi Sollish said. “I think that today the trend is mindful eating.

We’re careful about what we eat. Whether we’re on a certain type of diet or just trying to be healthy, we are very mindful of what we put in our bodies.”

Rabbi Sollish believes that just as we have a body and a soul, food does also.

“The body is what we see, the soul is the energy of the food, not just the physical energy it gives us. There’s also spiritual energy to all the food that’s out there and really the exploration is about, not only the physical part of it, but the spiritual energy present in the food.”

So what does Rabbi Sollish like to see served when he goes to a special event?

“I’m thinking babka, brisket, and a good bottle of kosher wine," he said. ■

Marcus JCC Personal Trainer Brings Healing to Pittsburgh A former Pittsburgh resident, Valerie Chambers returned to the community wounded several months ago by terrorism and found hope. She lent her healing skills as the wellness coordinator of the Marcus JCC to a new program of JCC Association of North America providing crisis relief to com- Roni munities in need. As part of Robbins JResponse, Chambers joined dozens of JCC employees from across the country and Canada who have using the skills to help staff of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh get back on their feet and get a needed respite.

The JCC Association developed JResponse with IsraAID to respond to crises such as natural disasters by lending JCC professionals to help communities recover and rebuild. The massacre at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh broadened the JResponse mission – responding to

acts of hate and terror that target Jewish communities, according to Doron Krakow, JCC Association President and CEO. We asked Chambers to share details of her volunteer experience and how Pittsburgh is rebuilding since the fateful day in October when 11 lives were stolen.

“I had a busy and unforgettable day (Dec. 21) at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh,” she said. She was there with a team of six JResponders.

“I was definitely able to use my skill set and experience as a personal trainer to make a difference as a JResponder.

While at the JCCPGH, I worked in the fitness center and helped with the day-today tasks in the fitness department. I also helped with their J Café program, which gives seniors over 60 affordable lunch options.”

Valerie Chambers, fourth from left, represented the MJCCA among other JResponders helping at the Pittsburgh JCC.

Life seemed to have resumed in Pittsburgh since the tragedy, she said. “Seeing that everyone continued their lives, while grieving, touched me deeply. ... It was also great knowing that we were giving employees time to reflect and hopefully heal a bit.”

For Chambers, being in Pittsburgh was a reminder of her previous life there.

“I lived in Pittsburgh from 2011 through 2014. I would walk by Tree of Life synagogue every day when I lived on Wilkins Avenue. My husband and I were members of JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, and I had my first child at Magee Hospital,” she said.

“I consider the Pittsburgh community my extended family, and I am incredibly thankful to be able to give back to it in any way possible. It was heartening to work in a team filled with committed individuals and to practice tikkun olam.”

Looking to the future, Chambers remains optimistic. “There are signs on all the storefronts in Squirrel Hill that read, ‘Hate does not belong here. People have crocheted and knitted Stars of David and hung them on telephone poles. Talking to my close friends and family in the area, and the new friends I’ve made on this trip, I feel that they’re hopeful for the future, despite all that’s happened.” ■ ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 31

COMMUNITY Such a Catch:

Entrepreneurship, Entertaining, and now, Dating

By Rachel Fayne Lori Bloom, 42, is a graphic designer who owns her own business and very much enjoys all things decorating and festive. As a busy entrepreneur, she also makes time for entertaining friends and now, she’s making some time for herself and dating as well.

Bloom has called Atlanta home since 2000, and although she’s been more active in Jewish organizations around town in the past, she doesn’t belong to any currently. Ask this business-savvy decorator what’s important to her, and it’s all about friends, family, fitness and fun. We think Bloom is Such a Catch, so let her tell you a little bit about herself.

AJT: What are you looking for in a partner?

Bloom: I’m looking for someone who compliments me so that we can be a great team, someone that is loyal, supportive, compassionate, self-aware, and is looking for a partner in crime. I am also looking for a go-getter and someone that likes to make things happen! That’s such an important quality to me. Also, I’d like to find someone who also leads a healthy lifestyle as well, but someone who can still get out and let loose is so important.

AJT: What do you think/have been told are your best qualities?

Bloom: My thoughtfulness and dependability I’ve been told are my best qualities.

I enjoy going out of my way to make someone smile. I am very empathetic, driven, funny (so, I think), and authentic. I am also very creative! I have to be for my career.

AJT: How do you spend your spare time?

Bloom: I like to socialize with friends, work on projects around my house, come up with new ideas to grow my side businesses, and work out. I also love happy hours, patio weather, festivals, traveling, and dining out. Nights in are the best too.

AJT: What is your guilty pleasure?

Bloom: I love frozen yogurt, champagne and thrift shopping – not at the same time though. I also love to find hidden treasures and turn them into something new.

AJT: What are some things that are most important in your life? Why are they valuable to you?

Bloom: Friendships. I think the older we get, our true friends become our family.

I very much believe that. Relationships are very important to me. I also think that a healthy lifestyle is essential, and it’s helped me in so many ways. Growing my own brand and reaching my goals within, that has become a very exciting venture. ■ If you’re interested in this catch or want to be featured as a catch yourself, email editor@atljewishtimes.com.

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SIMCHA SPOTLIGHT

Wedding Announcement Gonzalez – Sevy

Alex Sevy and Mildred Gonzalez were married Oct. 12, 2018, in a beachfront ceremony in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Rabbi Stephen Spiegel officiated.

The bride is the daughter of Carlos and Olivia Gonzalez of Chihuahua, Mexico. The groom is the son of Jerry and Jorita Sevy of Johns Creek and Rod and Renee Hasterok of Dunwoody.

Mildred is a 2012 graduate of Universidad La Salle in Chihuahua, Mexico, and will complete her Master of Business Administration from Trevecca Nazarene University in May 2019. Mildred is currently a program manager at Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association.

Alex completed his doctorate in structural biology from Vanderbilt University in August 2018 and is a post-doctoral fellow at Merck Research Laboratories in Boston.

The couple lives in Boston.

Birth Announcement

Lilah Pearl Schube Talia and Jeremy Schube of Atlanta are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Lilah Pearl Schube on Dec. 30, 2018. Grandparents are Maxine and Keith Schube of Atlanta and Claire and Julian Rachman of Dallas, Texas. Great-grandparents are Judy Finkel and Brenda and Stanley Schube of Atlanta.

Lilah is named for her greatgrandmother Lilly Rachman and greatgrandfather Paul Finkel.

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.

COMMUNITY OY VEY! HAVE I GOT A PROBLEM... s, r the past 30 year Dear Rachel, e athletic club fo m rsa e du th se to ci g er in ex cally I’ve been go from home. I typi ay aw ho e w m rs ho be y em m m and it feels like and the other club e slot every day, s, almost like tim nd e ie m fr sa e e os th cl g in become ve ha e dI tim at th joy “me-time,” an are there during place where I en l ia ec sp a , m gy family. It’s my iate it. at they offer, they value and apprec riety of classes th va t ea gr e er aeroth to In addition imming and wat sw ve lo I d an , sized pool have an Olympicner hip. Our new ow bics! changed owners ub ce cl e ni th e m o, so ag s e en mad Several year going and has ev e ac to pl rd e ha th d ep an ke oody works hard to she tends to be m es im ke et sli m di so to t s Bu . em improvements me reason, she se lly ly that, but for so on ot N . targeted specifica ith w al de ents to slip out, m m co tic us ca s me and allow go g to affect me. I towards me. and it’s beginnin e, cu siv di ra ri ab w is ho e d Her attitud rated. An go vi in of d ea st ssyfoot ounded in ould I have to pu sh home feeling w hy w r; be em to a paying m r by allowing me lous is that? I’m doing me a favo e’s sh if as an om around this w surso of my day, I’m or use her gym? ur ho at th ng zy rt, duri atmosphere as co For the most pa cooned within an co an y, jo om w en I is le th t op Bu rounded by pe ir of sweat pants. as my favorite pa tween, and her be in de lli co and comfortable n te of e w , go me and is there when I co experience. per on my whole m da a attitude puts gyms?

Should I change Signed, nt A Frustrated Clie

Jewish Joke of the Week

Dear Frustrated Client, Seeing your safe haven transform into a “danger zone” sounds very difficult. Your time to strengthen and energize yourself so that you can be healthy physically and emotionally has been invaded, and you are in a quandary.

The way I see it, you have several options. You can stay, continue to swallow the caustic comments, and hopefully grow thicker skin so that her words don’t affect you. Enjoy your workouts and the accompanying camaraderie, and simply allow this woman’s malevolence to slide right off. Easier said than done, I know.

As you mentioned, you can leave and start over in a new facility. But whether you’ll develop the same types of intimate relationships that have become so important to you is questionable, though certainly possible. But of course, all relationships take time to build; friendships don’t spring up overnight, especially not the kind that have 30 years of history.

One other consideration may be to have a heart-to-heart with your club owner. Of course, with any potentially volatile communication, start with positivity. Tell her how much you appreciate the club and all her hard work and innovations. And then, take a deep breath, and, ever so gently, let your feelings bubble to the surface. Express what’s bothering you, laced with sensitivity, and gauge her response.

“I’m wondering if there’s something I do that bothers you,” you may say. “Because sometimes I feel like you’re upset with me, and I’m not sure of the reason.”

Who knows? Maybe she’ll tell you that you don’t put equipment away after using it, or that you come late to classes or leave early, and that doing that becomes disruptive to the instructors and the attendees.

“So that’s it!” you’ll exclaim. “I’m so glad we spoke. I’ll try to be careful with that from now on. Thank you again for everything you do!”

Perhaps she’s going through a rough patch in her personal life, and for some inexplicable reason, she is unleashing it on you.

I am certainly not justifying her abusive way of treating you. However, I think if you can figure out a way to deal with this volcanic persona so that you don’t have to leave a place you love, that would be ideal. But please don’t continue to suffer in silence. No one deserves to be abused – ever.

I’d love to know what you wind up doing. I hope you don’t have to give up your “home away from home,” and that the situation turns around and becomes brighter.

Best wishes, Rachel Stein Atlanta Jewish Times Advice Column Got a problem? Email Rachel Stein at oyvey@atljewishtimes. com, describing your problem in 250 words or less. We want to hear from you and get helpful suggestions for your situation at the same time! Identifying details will be changed upon request.

The Dinner Date Shlomo and Yetta were getting ready to go out to dinner.

Yetta comes out of the bedroom and says to Shlomo, “Darling, do you want me to wear this Chanel suit or shall I put on the Gucci outfit?”

“What do I care?” Shlomo replies.

Yetta then asks, “Darling, shall I wear my Rolex or my Cartier watch?”

“Who cares,” says Shlomo.

Yetta then says to Shlomo “Darling, shall I wear my 5 carat pear-cut or my 6 carat round-cut diamond ring?”

To which Shlomo responds, “Oy Vey, if you don’t get your act together, and soon, we are going to miss the early bird special!”

Yiddish Word of the Week kvell Kvell: derived from Yiddish kveln, meaning "to be delighted," which, in turn, comes from the Middle High German word quellen, meaning "to well, gush, or swell."

Background: The date for the appearance of kvell in the English language is tricky to pinpoint exactly. The earliest known printed evidence for the word in an English source is found in a 1952 handbook of Jewish words and expressions, but actual usage evidence before that date remains unseen.

Examples: "Proud parents kvell over every thing that their precious little darlings do."

"The AJT is kvelling over the success of the inaugural Atlanta Jewish Life Festival this past weekend."

Joke provided by David Minkoff www.awordinyoureye.com ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 33

BRAIN FOOD "A" OK

ACROSS

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1. Study spot 5. Basic rhyme scheme 9. ___ B’Tevet 14. Entry-level prosecutors: Abbr.

15. Journalist Logan 16. “Casa” components 17. Closing ceremony 19. Drive option 20. Heston’s org.

21. A neighbor of Minn.

22. Pulitzer-winner Shepard 23. Rabbinic ruling 24. Actress Lyonne 28. Alter, as a pet 29. Some Ethiopians 30. “Pick ___” (trick phrase) 32. Cow chow 33. Big name in home security systems 34. Chips option 35. Honey Boo Boo’s real name 36. Mimicking bird 37. Palindromic ruler 38. They might make G-d laugh 39. Ragged and worn 40. Excessive sentimentality 42. A Reiner 43. ___ HaMishpacha 44. Like venison 45. Wily

46. Lipinski of note 47. Theater option 50. Capital of Yemen 53. Summer option for many a Jewish youth 55. He’s treated like a god in Massachusetts 56. Org. that could give a G 57. “I ___ Little Prayer” (1967 hit) 58. Homeric works 59. Like Saul 60. “Cool”, in somewhat dated slang

DOWN

1. 1944 Chemistry Nobelist Otto 2. Last month, perhaps 3. Chocolate ___ cake 4. Dangerous trip letters 5. What the impatient don’t have 6. Eponymous parsha 7. Liquor of Mideast 8. ‘Phooey!’

9. Simile for weight words 10. Hayak on the screen, and others 11. Words with mode 12. “Batman” villain ___ al Ghul 13. Dip for an evening in Av 18. Syrian big shot 22. “Saucy” dance?

23. Some fantasy football leagues, for short 24. Indian breads 25. Head covering option: Var. 26. Negative, verbal contraction 27. “I think I need ___ of execution” (Aerosmith lyric) 28. Request during a throat culture 29. Gregor was his most famous character 30. As ___ resort 31. “Envious” assassin of Caesar 32. Kosher (or this guy) 35. Calm 36. Rare name for a Jewish girl 38. Compound wagers 39. A daughter of David 41. Elevated Israeli tourist site 42. Kind of tunnel?

44. Notable Nasser 46. Bite-size Spanish appetizer 47. Biblical measurement 48. Poet Angelou 49. Shmooze 50. Henderson’s forte, for short 51. Legendary Notre Dame coach Parseghian 52. Kvetch 53. TV channel based in Nashville 54. African cobra

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■ Roni Kayne, now Roni Robbins, joined the Atlanta Jewish Times staff along with Amos Fabian.

■ The bar mitzvah of Charles Bradley Feldman of Atlanta took place on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. Brad is the son of Dede and Dave Feldman.

■ The JCC hosted the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre of New York as it performed its touring production of “The Lady Next Door,” a comedic drama about life living in tenements. The show was performed entirely in Yiddish, with English subtitles, as Folksbiene hoped to teach another generation about the importance of the Yiddish language in Jewish history. The play ran from Jan. 15-18.

50 Years Ago // January 17, 1969 ■ For the first time in its history, Maryland has a Jewish governor.

Marvin Mandel was active in the Associated Jewish Charities, the Israel Bonds campaign, synagogue groups, B’nai B’rith and other Jewish organizations.

Roni Kayne (Robbins) previously joined the Atlanta Jewish Times staff in 1994.

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25 Years Ago // January 14, 1994

15 Years Ago // January 16, 2004

34 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

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■ The bar mitzvah of Jake Perlmutter of Duluth was held Saturday, Jan. 17 at Temple Beth Tikvah. Jake is the son of Don and Natalie Daughtry and Andrew Perlmutter. He was a seventh-grade student at River Trail Middle School.

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■ Col. Heyward Myron of Atlanta, who was serving as Southern district engineer in Vietnam, was awarded the Legion of Merit for “exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service in Europe.”

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 35

OBITUARIES

Ashley Ackerman 75, Atlanta

Ashley Ackerman, 75, of Atlanta, died Jan. 6, 2019. Born in Gary, Ind. in 1943, he moved to Atlanta in 1978. Ashley was a devoted father, brother, cousin and a friend to everyone he met.

His passion for his sports teams – the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and Indiana University basketball – was unrivaled.

He was self-employed throughout most of his career, which ran the gamut from a cheese and wine deli, a cookie business and Sandwich and Stuff deli to an engraving business. His favorite social pastimes were bowling with the B’nai B’rith league and playing cards with his regular buddies. He loved to make people smile and always used the line “to make a long story short,” while he was telling a long-winded story.

He was preceded in death by his older brother, Warren Ackerman of Indianapolis.

He is survived by his daughter Rosanne Ackerman Mastin (Jasen) and his many, many friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association. A memorial service was held Jan. 13, 2019, at Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care with Rabbi Judith Beiner officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.

Rosalind Inslicht Edelstein 97, Atlanta

Rosalind Inslicht Edelstein, who pioneered family psychotherapy in Atlanta and mentored generations of young social workers, died Jan. 6, 2019, at the age of 97.

Mrs. Edelstein was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., of immigrant parents from Poland. She attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush and became the first person in her family to graduate from college. After Brooklyn College, she went on to earn a master’s in social work at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1948, she moved to Dalton, Ga., with her husband, Otto, a textile engineer. She often spoke of her shock at segregation in the Deep South. With few social services then in Dalton, she commuted to Atlanta to work at the social service agency that has since evolved into Families First in Atlanta.

A daughter, Karen, and a son, Ken, were born in Dalton. The family moved to Caracas and then to Toronto, where Mrs. Edelstein counseled Holocaust survivors, before returning to Dalton. There, she became the founding director of the Parent Child Center, a landmark federally funded program that modeled comprehensive services for poor families with young children.

After the family moved to Atlanta in 1972, she directed counseling services for Families First, then known as the Child Service and Family Counseling Center. As director of staff development, she also trained many young social workers and family therapists.

After retiring from that position, she counseled couples and individuals in private practice until 2017, when she was 96 years old.

Survivors include her daughter, Karen Edelstein; son, Ken Edelstein; and grandson Obediah Medrano Edelstein. Mrs. Edelstein was a strong supporter of Israel and of many progressive causes, including women’s rights, the environment and Middle East peace. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Givat Haviva and TechnoServe. A graveside service was held Jan. 11, 2019, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Loren Lapidus officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999.

Steven Barry Krodman 66, Woodstock

36 | JANUARY 18, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Steven Barry Krodman, 66, Woodstock, died Jan. 11, 2019, from a rapidly moving form of ALS. He was lovingly surrounded by his family. Steve was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1952, the son of Eli and Bernice Krodman, and spent his formative years in Massapequa, Long Island (down the street from the Baldwin brothers).

Steve taught himself to read at three, stapled his thumb at four, and at 14, built a model rocket that took pictures of his town. Steve graduated from Princeton University cum laude in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering.

Looking uncannily like Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate,” Steve went on to work in plastics, “Toiling away in ‘the Great Corporate Salt Mine”’ of the petrochemical industry (Exxon, later Exxon-Mobil).

Steve’s first job brought him to Houston, Texas, where he met his beloved wife, Donna, on a New Year’s Eve blind date in 1975. They had two girls, Melissa and Jocelyn, who grew to inherit Steve’s offbeat sense of humor and artistic impulses. Steve enjoyed a fruitful career for more than 35 years, moving his family to several different states in both the South and Northeast. He travelled for work extensively, throughout the U.S.

OBITUARIES and internationally, fueling his love of global culture and interesting people.

But it was after his retirement in 2009 that Steve blossomed. It was then that his other interests were able to be fully enjoyed. He was an avid cook whose culinary abilities rivaled professionals, and a prolific writer whose blogs (“Blog d’Ellison,” “Lost in the Cheese Aisle” and “The Concentrated Mind”) enjoyed a vast and committed audience. He occasionally wrote for “Like the Dew” and “McSweeny’s.” Blogging, which began as a hobby in 2004, became a passion and source for community with Steve becoming close “IRL” friends with many fellow writers.

Steve was heavily involved with Jewish life for many years. In Georgia, as a member of Congregation Etz Chaim, Steve attended morning services daily (and subsequent breakfasts at Bagelicious), was a gabbai on Saturday mornings, and served as a member of the synagogue’s board. Steve’s biggest Jewish life passion was the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, serving: as president of the synagogue’s chapter, as president of the Anshei Darom region, on the board of directors, as chairman for the Leadership Development Institute, and as co-chairman for the 2019 biennial convention. His beautiful voice lit up Etz Chaim as chazzan for high holiday services as recently as this October, when he led a portion of Rosh Hashanah services and chanted the Kol Nidre.

In addition to his accomplishments, Steve had a passion for his family and friends.

He was the kind of man who, with genuine interest, would talk to anyone about anything.

He cultivated a lifelong eclectic love of music, cartoons, science fiction and other arts and culture. He was a voracious reader and seeker of knowledge. He radiated warmth and was filled with humor and vitality.

Survivors include his family: wife, Donna Krodman; daughter, Melissa Krodman, (Emmanuel Taati), Philadelphia, Pa.; daughter, Jocelyn Krodman, (Andrew Molleur), Kingston, N.Y.; brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Erica Krodman, Wantagh, N.Y.; granddaughter, Naomi Taati-Krodman; mother-in-law, Cecilia Canter, Fort Worth, Texas; brother-in-law, Aaron Boardman, Fort Worth, Texas; brother-in-law, Morry (Rebecca) Boardman, Denton, Texas; niece, Madison Boardman; nephew, William Boardman; as well as a large and varied community of devoted friends.

Pallbearers were Aaron Boardman, Morry Boardman, Steve Dix, Gary Feinberg, Sid Milstein, Andrew Molleur, Emmanuel Taati, Eric Simonds, and honorary pallbearer, Don Zugel.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Steven Krodman Men’s Club Scholarship Fund. Funeral services were Jan. 14, 2019, at Etz Chaim with Rabbi Daniel Dorsch officiating. A committal service was held at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999. Sign online guest book at www.edressler.com.

Judy Gerson Schreiber 71, Canton

Judy Gerson Schreiber of Canton, Ga., formerly of Maitland, Fla., was born in Macon, Ga., to Robert Gerson and Sadie Schwartz Gerson on August 17, 1947. She succumbed after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer on Jan. 12, 2019, at the age of 71. Judy enjoyed mahjongg with her friends, knitting, and most of all, her family and seven grandchildren.

In her early days she was an elementary teacher for close to 15 years, and later she was the adult service coordinator at the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando. Judy and Steve were members of Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland, Fla., for close to 40 years.

Judy married the love of her life, Stephen Schreiber, on July 17, 1970, and they enjoyed nearly 49 wonderful years together. They raised three beautiful children, whom Judy committed her life to, along with their families. Judy’s family was everything to her, and the true joy of her life.

Survivors include her husband, Dr. Stephen Schreiber; daughter and son-in-law, Jodi and Michael Rosenberg of Charleston, S.C.; son and daughter-in-law, Seth and Shannon Schreiber of Brookhaven, and Tadd and Jenna Schreiber, of Jasper; and the delight of her life, her seven grandchildren: Jared and Andrew Rosenberg, Hayden and Rowan Schreiber and Sadi, Sam and Abe Schreiber.

She was predeceased by her parents, Sadie and Robert Gerson, and her brother, Stanley Gerson. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Roth JCC of Greater Orlando, Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland, Fla. or Congregation Kahol Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, S.C. A graveside service was held Jan. 15, 2019, at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements

by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999. Sign online guest book at www. edressler.com.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JANUARY 18, 2019 | 37

CLOSING THOUGHTS Shevat: Building Your Spiritual Home Base What if we integrate our secular New Rosh Chodesh Shevat began Jan. 7 and Year’s goals with our Jewish New Year plans continues through Feb. 4. The New Moon to turn toward Hashem? Instead of evaluaton the Hebrew calendar is calculated at ing goals annually, why not do it seasonslightly different times than the astrologially? Pick an overarching goal for the year, cal calendar. The Jewish day does not have a but take actions each month with these specific length, but has been marked by the astrological forecasts to help stay on track. reference, “...there was evening and there New Moon influences last a month, was morning…” One day ends and a new while eclipse influences span six months. one begins when there are three stars visThis Shevat’s solar eclipse energy is harmoible in the night sky. A “day” is from sunset nious for building a spiritual home base, a on one day until sunset on the following Dr. Terry Segal physical dream home, starting or growing a day. business. It supports projects that promote The astrological New Moon, when the New Moon Meditations creativity or artistic endeavors, especially moon passes between earth and the sun, began on Jan. 6, bringing with it a partial solar eclipse. those that are helpful or charitable to others.

Astrologers agree it’s a time of great possibilities if This one could best be seen in Siberia, but the total lunar eclipse, that occurs between Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, is ex- we discard old structures and habits that don’t serve the pected to be visible from all of North America. It’ll begin highest good in favor of fresh approaches. As we move at 9:35 p.m. EST on Jan. 20 and end at 2:50 a.m. on Jan. out of Capricorn and into Aquarian energy, the craggy 21. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the rocks that the goat steadily climbed suggest that we can shadow of the earth. This full, white moon can appear to be a solid support or rock to someone else. It’s a beautiful way to offer acts of tikkun olam. have a red cast, giving it the name of the “blood moon.”

Shevat’s zodiac sign is Aquarius, the water-carrier.

Eclipses invite us to consider what’s shining brightly in our lives vs. what’s hidden or partially obscured. Water has certainly been a theme for us here in Atlanta There will be five eclipses in 2019. The total solar eclipse for the past few months. We’ve had so much rain. Most on July 2 will be another one of those unifying events people have been complaining about the weather. If we use this topic to flex our spiritual muscles, we can where everyone’s trying to catch a peek.

Our task for Shevat is to build a bridge to Hashem in change our perspective about all of the rain. Instead of order to bring divine wisdom from the highest spiritual imagining the water-carrier dumping his overflowing vessel of water down on our heads, what if we viewed it platform to our everyday lives.

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as Hashem showering us with blessings? Water is a vital element of life. Without it, plants and people die.

What if we seek and search for positive imagery that supports a kinder, gentler view of the world? Remember the lyrics from the song, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by B.J. Thomas? He reprimands the sun, saying that the sun is not doing its job. Then he declares that the blues he associates with the rain will not defeat him and that he won’t find himself crying. Then he comes to the realization that he’s “never gonna stop the rain by complaining, because I’m free, nothing’s worrying me.”

Then there’s the image of Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain,” defying the depressed mood that many associate with rain. Annie’s view that “the sun will come out tomorrow,” at least metaphorically, becomes possible if we change our perspective.

Meditation Focus: Is there someone you could mentor? How can your wisdom benefit others? Can you simplify your life and let go of objects or relationships that dull your spirit? Can you be a ray of sunshine? ■

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