Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCIII No. 3, January 19, 2018 by Atlanta Jewish Times

ALL FOR ONE

Three rabbis walk into a classroom, and the learning has just begun. Page 13

VOL. XCIII NO. 3

EDUCATION, PAGES 13-22 KIRUV GIFT EAGLE’S NEST A Catholic teacher at AJA brings Chanukah back to a Holocaust survivor. Page 14

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Scout Matt Bartel makes his mark by building a pavilion at Dunwoody High. Page 18

JANUARY 19, 2018 | 4 SHEVAT 5778

Atlanta Could Lose Consulate

Photos by Michael Jacobs

Taking the Lead on King Day Ellie Gold and Atlanta Rescue Dog Cafe founder and CEO Aaron Fisher pull hard to tighten a knot and complete a dog leash made out of repurposed climbing rope in one of eight service projects conducted simultaneously at Congregation B’nai Torah on Monday, Jan. 15, during the first Community Mitzvah Day to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. About 350 people were expected at B’nai Torah and almost 800 overall at project sites around the metro area. See more photos, Page 9.

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INSIDE Candle Lighting �� 4 Health & Wellness ��5 Israel News ��6 Opinion ��10 Arts �� 26 Food �� 28 Obituaries �� 29 Crossword �� 30 Marketplace �� 31

The Israeli Consulate in Atlanta is threatened with closure for the second time in Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer’s 2½ years as consul general. The Midtown office, which represents Israel in seven states, is on a list of seven diplomatic missions scheduled to close by 2022 under a budget the Israeli government approved Friday, Jan. 12. The current plan is to shutter the Atlanta office, a consulate in India, and embassies in Ireland, Belarus, Eritrea, the Dominican Republic, and either Latvia or Lithuania, Yedioth Aharonoth reported. A Foreign Affairs Ministry statement, however, said the seven missions being closed haven’t been picked, The Times of Israel reported. A committee is supposed to make recommendations by Friday, Jan. 19. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also the foreign minister, is due to decide by the end of the month. The proposed closings come as Israel faces increasing diplomatic pressure to make concessions to the Palestinians and as the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement becomes more aggressive. The news also comes just before dozens of leaders from Jewish organizations in Atlanta embark on a mission to Israel and as Shorer is trying to finalize plans for the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to tour her region in celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday (see Page 8). The Atlanta consulate survived a round of closings in 2016 that led to the shutdown of its Philadelphia counterpart. Still, the territory of the consulate to the Southeast shifted, with Mississippi and Alabama becoming the responsibility of Miami and Atlanta adding Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia to Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. ■

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We Can’t Always Want What the Heart Wants heart is connected to our ability to feel a connection to the divine and to feel compassion. If you have ever witnessed the transformation of solids into softer forms, you know that it is not always a process without violence.

Light & Bones By Marita Anderson

Recently, my husband and I went on a hike around a beautiful, frozen lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains on a cold winter morning. We were alone, surrounded by forest and far from the bustle of life and traffic. Suddenly, we heard a deep, loud moaning that pierced the silence of the forest. The sound whistled and crackled in low tones, and we realized that it was the frozen lake, responding to the change in temperature as the sun rose. It sounded like the subterranean cry of a whale. I imagine that the practice of heart-softening has a similar effect and is not without its expression of transformation, which may be felt as pain or discomfort. We soften our hearts by bringing attention and awareness to the purpose of the heart’s hardening in the first place. When we soften our hearts, we tune into our fears and past hurts, defenses that we worked hard to build up. The melting of the hardened surface of the heart may be soundless or may produce deep moans. Whatever our personal process may be, Jewish spiritual tradition tells us that we can choose our responses to life’s realities and that it is not wise to follow the heart’s desires blindly. We are called to cultivate our hearts, checking for protective layers to prevent calcification and callousness. Living with a softened heart may seem precarious, but, according to our tradition, it is an ongoing process toward a life of connection and meaning. May we become aware of the heart’s incessant narrowing and expansion, not only as a muscle responsible for the flow of life’s energy through our body, but also as the organ measuring out compassion and lovingkindness for all life. ■

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

The heart is a miraculous organ whose function is to push and pump blood throughout the body. A ball of muscular tissue, the heart contracts and relaxes with the continuous rhythm of a metronome, feeding our bodies with oxygen and nutrients and filling us with the energy essential for life. Yet most of us have no awareness of the heart’s incessant narrowing and expansion unless it begins to spasm or malfunction. We are told by medical professionals to take care of the heart by exercising and eating right. Indeed, we invest much of our time and money in pursuits that are supposed to keep this muscle from breaking down. In contemporary culture, the heart is much more than an organ; it is also perceived as the seat of intuition. Self-help books guide us to follow the heart’s desires and trust our hearts. Love coaches tell us to listen to the heart. Yoga teachers remind us to set our intentions on the heart’s truth. In the context of Jewish spiritual life, the heart is a remarkable organ to pay careful attention to, but for different reasons. One of my teachers, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, taught that the heart in Torah tradition is the seat of the ego. We could substitute the word “ego” for “heart” in Noah narrative: “G-d saw that the evil of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (or ego) was evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Over and over in Exodus, Pharaoh’s heart hardens against the Israelites’ pleas for freedom. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart made him incapable of compassion and unable to hear their cries. Pharaoh’s heart did not harden overnight but continued the process of calcification as he became more and more accustomed to rule without mercy and to the life of an unchecked ego. From this perspective, the heart is a malleable organ capable of transformation, of hardening and, alternatively, softening. The Bible is filled with calls for the softening of the heart. Jeremiah tells his people to soften their hearts and unravel them from layers of protection (Jeremiah 4:4). Ezekiel promises a time when the human heart of stone will be replaced with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Somehow, the softened

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Contributors This Week MARITA ANDERSON SKYE ESTROFF MARK L. FISHER LISA FOPPA YONI GLATT JORDAN GORFINKEL LEAH R. HARRISON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE ERIC M. ROBBINS DAVE SCHECHTER SHAINDLE SCHMUCKLER MAAYAN SCHOEN CADY SCHULMAN DENA SCHUSTERMAN

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JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

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POSTMASTER send address changes to The Atlanta Jewish Times 270 Carpenter Drive Suite 320, Atlanta Ga 30328. Established 1925 as The Southern Israelite Phone: (404) 883-2130 www.atlantajewishtimes.com THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES (ISSN# 0892-33451) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY SOUTHERN ISRAELITE, LLC 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30328 © 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES Printed by Walton Press Inc. MEMBER Conexx: America Israel Business Connector American Jewish Press Association Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce Please send all photos, stories and editorial content to: submissions@atljewishtimes.com

Kaiman installation. Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies is the scholar in residence during the installation weekend for Rabbi Ari Kaiman at Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, culminating in a “Rock the Shtetl” celebration at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Emory’s Miller-Ward Alumni House, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta. Visit www.shearithisrael.com/ installationweekendfor details. Sinai at 50. Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs speaks at 6 p.m. services at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs, to celebrate the congregation’s 50th anniversary. Free; www.templesinaiatlanta.org. Acoustic Shabbat. The musicians include Rabbi Brian Glusman, Drew Cohen and students from the Weber School at 7 p.m. at Alon’s Bakery & Market, 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Free (food and beverages available for purchase); bit. ly/2jMQCQq. Shabbat Together. Temple Emanu-El Rabbis Max and Rachael Miller hold the first of six dinners scheduled in the first half of 2018 for people in their 20s and 30s to enjoy a meaningful start to Shabbat. For details and registration, email mmiller@templeemanuelatlanta.com or rkmiller@templeemanuelatlanta. com.

SATURDAY, JAN. 20

Comedy show. Evan Berke and friends perform a benefit stand-up show at Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell, at 8 p.m. after Havdalah at 7. Tickets are $36 in advance, $40 at the door and $50 for preferred seating; www.bethtikvah.com or 404-538-7699.

SUNDAY, JAN. 21

Cooking

competition.

Hadassah

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Bo Friday, Jan. 19, light candles at 5:38 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, Shabbat ends at 6:36 p.m. Beshalach Friday, Jan. 26, light candles at 5:44 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, Shabbat ends at 6:42 p.m.

Corrections & Clarifications

• An item Jan. 5 on the Atlanta visit of Women of the Wall Executive Director Lesley Sachs was unclear about the sponsorship of her two scheduled appearances. Only the Congregation Etz Chaim Sisterhood is sponsoring Sachs’ appearance Feb. 1 at the East Cobb synagogue. • The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s closing feature is “The Last Suit.” The name of the film was incorrect in the Editor’s Notebook on Jan. 12. • The first name of Burrill Crohn, the gastroenterologist for whom Crohn’s disease is named, was misspelled in an article Jan. 12. Greater Atlanta holds its “Almost Chopped!” benefit at 2 p.m. at Spring Hall, 7130 Buford Highway, Chamblee. Tickets are $36; www.hadassah.org/ events/atlalmostchopped. Book talk. Sponsored by Bookmiser, Georgia Hunter speaks at 2 p.m. at the Milton Library, 855 Mayfield Road, Milton, about the book based on her family’s Holocaust story, “We Were the Lucky Ones.” Free; realbookmiser@ gmail.com or 770-993-1555. Holocaust remembrance. Holocaust survivor Leo Melamed and Chihiro Sugihara, grandson of the Japanese diplomat who saved Melamed and thousands of other Jews, speak at Am Yisrael Chai’s “Conscience and Action” observance at 7 p.m. (exhibit opens at 6 p.m.). Free; registration required at www.2018remember.eventbrite.com.

MONDAY, JAN. 22

Israeli cooking class. Tel Aviv chef Avivit Priel demonstrates Mediterranean dishes at 6 p.m. at Hal’s Kitchen, 4969 Roswell Road, Suite 220, Sandy Springs. Tickets are $70; bit.ly/2CGb4i9 or 404-345-9610.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24

Book talk. Lawyer Jason Sheffield speaks about his novel, “Son of a Bitch,” at 11 a.m. at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive, Sandy Springs. Free; 404-2523073 or www.templesinaiatlanta.org. Hawks and tech. Atlanta Hawks Vice President Jason Parker speaks to Conexx young professionals at 6 p.m. about how the Hawks and Philips Arena use Israeli technology before the Hawks host the Raptors at 7:30 p.m. at the arena, 1 Philips Drive, downtown. Tickets are $36; www.facebook.com/ events/1617685891621832. Opening night. The 18th Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, which runs through Feb. 15, opens at the Cobb Energy Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Cumberland area, at 7:30 p.m. with “Sammy Davis Jr.: I Gotta Be Me.” Tickets are $36; ajff.org or 678-228-8872.

FRIDAY, JAN. 26

Winter Wonderland Shabbat. YJP Atlanta holds happy hour at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 at Chabad Intown, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., Poncey-Highland. Tickets are $18; bit.ly/2mAthCM.

Find more events and submit items for our online and print calendars at the Atlanta Jewish Connector, www.atlantajewishconnector.com.

Remember When

10 Years Ago Jan. 18, 2008 ■ The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and 13 other local Jewish organizations are getting a total of $443,507 in federal grants under the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Areas Security Initiative grant program for nonprofit agencies. ■ The bat mitzvah ceremony of Melanie Pearl Blanke of Roswell, daughter of Jody and Charlene Blanke, was held Saturday, Oct. 6, at Temple Emanu-El. 25 Years Ago Jan. 15, 1993 ■ Two newly elected Jewish legislators, Democratic Sen. Ron Slotin and Republican Rep. Mitchell Kaye, find them-

selves on opposite sides of the debate over the state flag in the new session of the Georgia General Assembly. Kaye dismissed efforts to change the flag to its pre-1956 design; Slotin, the youngest member of the legislature at 29, is ready to abolish the current flag. ■ Tanya and Scott Jacobson of Marietta announce the birth of a daughter, Sophie Rose, on Dec. 3. 50 Years Ago Jan. 19, 1968 ■ A nationwide program to speed the movement of qualified Jews into management positions at large corporations has been launched by the Jewish Occupational Council with the help of a grant from the Kahn Foundation. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Silberstein of Atlanta announce the engagement of daughter Paula to Robert Isaac Schwartz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Schwartz.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

How to Beat the Post-Holiday Blues ing with a trusted friend or family member to reduce shame. You will see that you are accepted for who you are despite your weaknesses, untoward behavior and/or negative circumstances.

Briefings from The Berman Center By Lisa Foppa

If you are afraid to speak in public because you fear being humiliated and have an urge to flee, it is best to remain and do your best to deliver your speech. It sounds dreadful at first, but the anxiety will eventually subside, and you are more likely to be left with a feeling of accomplishment. Challenge the negative thoughts, such as “I am a failure,” by asking, for instance, “What has gone right? When have I succeeded? What are the facts of the situation?” instead of assuming a worst-case scenario. Besides feeling and leaning into your emotions and challenging nega-

tive thoughts, having compassion for yourself and your circumstances has been proved by Kristen Neff to reduce depression and anxiety and increase self-confidence. The concept of self-compassion researched by Neff encourages others to see that our emotional pain is part of the human experience, and we can respond to “human imperfection with kindness and care” instead of “judgment and criticism.” Neff recommends three steps to foster self-compassion: State your feelings without judgment with words such as “I feel sad because”; identify how your “experience is connected to the larger human experience” and the circumstances leading to your reaction; and use kind, understanding words with a soft nurturing tone of voice toward yourself. For instance, “You poor dear, that was a difficult night for you; it is understandable you felt sad when your feelings were not considered.” Now you will be all set when you feel like growling at the next person who says, “Happy Pesach!” Just remember to breathe, accept

Smile

reality, make space for your pain, challenge those negative thoughts, find a healthy outlet (such as movement) to release your emotions and show kindness toward your suffering. Lastly, remember you are not alone in your pain. ■ Lisa Foppa, M.S., M.S.W., is a licensed master social worker and primary clinician at The Berman Center. For program or private practice inquiries, email lisa@bermancenteratl.com, or call 770573-4803. For individuals and families struggling with addiction and mental health illness, The Berman Center’s Intensive Outpatient Program (www.bermancenteratl.com) is the treatment, recovery and personal advancement center that helps people move from existing to living through an individualized, spiritually holistic approach, best-in-class clinical excellence, and exceptional post-treatment community integration programs. Finding hope, igniting purpose. For answers to your questions related to mental illness and addiction, call The Berman Center at 770-336-7444, or email questions@ bermancenteratl.com.

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JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Let’s hope your winter holidays were filled with joy, a sense of community and shared experiences. For many, however, the post-holiday season can feel like an unwelcome hangover — as we are left with hefty credit card bills, conflicts with family members, regrets from imbibing too much and extra pounds. What if we were told to have a happy Chanukah, and we were without family and friends and felt isolation and grief instead of happiness? What if we have lost loved ones? Have an illness? Are financially strapped? We can start to beat ourselves up and blame ourselves for circumstances that are out of our control and ask, “Why me?” — leading to unnecessary and unhealthy shame. It is understandable to want to avoid these issues and the resulting negative feelings, but the wound can fester if left untreated. It is counterintuitive to go toward the pain, but therapies such as acceptance and commitment and mindfulness allow one to take a bird’s-eye view to the problem, step back, observe and not judge oneself for shortcomings. It is best to approach those things we fear unless we are, in fact, to see a ferocious tiger charging toward us or a car about to smash into us. At that point, thinking and observing would be foolish; quickly fleeing or pounding the brakes would be the wise thing to do. Luckily, our reptilian brains allow us to appropriately respond in milliseconds. In this day and age, however, financial hardships, relationship conflicts and hurt feelings feel like the world is about to end. Negative thoughts arise: “What’s wrong with me? Why does this always happen to me? I am such a failure.” They persist as we continually focus on the negatives. Given that these threats will not kill you, even though our flight-fightfreeze response kicks in and we feel as if we are going to die, it is best to accept our emotions, feel them, make space for them, treat them as a friend instead of an enemy, be curious about them, and do as Marsha Linehan from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy recommends and “act opposite to your urges.” For instance, if you are feeling shame and your urge is to hide, it is best to share your shameful feel-

ISRAEL NEWS

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home Danger on ice. Figure skater Alexei Bychenko is widely considered Israel’s strongest contender at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Bychenko made aliyah in 2010 at age 22 from Ukraine and is the first Israeli to medal at the European Figure Skating Championships, earning the silver medal in 2016. He also represented Israel at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Pyeongchang games start Feb. 9, four days after he turns 30. Sweet tomato creations. Kedma, based in the Arava desert, has developed the Tipa (“drop”) tomato, which is about the size of a blueberry — the smallest tomato ever cultivated in Israel and perhaps in the world. It has also developed the Bon Bon, the world’s sweetest tomato. The tomato plants are the creations of Ariel Kitron, Dubi Dagay and David Mizrahi, three farmers from Moshav Idan who in 2015 founded Kedma with the goal of developing innovative fruits and vegetables. Dagay said the Bon Bon looks like a regular tomato but has high quality in taste and shelf life. “We have achieved a sweet and unique taste with a different aroma than the standard tomato, using the world’s leading technology and unique greenhouse growing that achieve a sweetness that is 30 percent higher than any other tomato in the market.”

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Free high-speed travel. Israelis can ride free for the first three months after the launch of the high-speed train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, due to open March 30. The train is expected to carry people from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 28 minutes. The line has cost more than 7 billion shekels ($2.1 billion) since construction began in 2001. Faster Wi-Fi. Intel unveiled its “made in Israel” 802.11ax Wi-Fi chip at this month’s CES electronics show in Las Vegas. The chips increase maximum speeds by 40 percent, and the average supply to users will improve by 400 percent. The chips are for household routers and many other devices. Straight out of “Star Trek.” The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Yissum Research Development Co. has unveiled breakthrough 3D printing of food based on nano-cellulose (caloriefree, edible natural fiber). The technology makes possible instant, lowcalorie, vegetarian meals to satisfy all

Photo by Eli Sabti

Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev shows off the logo for Israel’s 70th anniversary events during a ceremony Jan. 15.

tastes. This innovation could benefit an assortment of food markets and populations with diverse dietary needs, such as vegetarians and vegans, because meat substitutes can be printed. The platform also can aid people with diabetes or celiac. Another IKEA. Swedish ready-toassemble retail furniture chain IKEA will open its fourth store in Israel next month. The Be’er Sheva location will join outlets in Rishon Lezion, Netanya and Kiryat Ata, near Haifa. Anniversary blowout. Israel is celebrating 70 years of independence this year, and Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev on Monday, Jan. 15, promised a massive party as she revealed some of the anniversary plans. “I thought it would be appropriate to implement a concept of ongoing events, beginning with the Independence Day ceremony on Wednesday and ending on Saturday evening: 70 hours of Israeli festivity that will bring citizens together across the country in varied and joyous events,” Regev said at a news conference at which she unveiled the official logo for the 70th anniversary, to be celebrated under the tagline “A Legacy of Innovation.” Regev said the annual state ceremony at Mount Herzl on Wednesday, April 18, will be accompanied by an official song to celebrate Israel’s 70th, followed by the largest fireworks display in the country’s history. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com, timesofisrael.com and other sources.

ISRAEL NEWS

BILU pioneers work at Moshava Gedera in 1910.

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. Jan. 19, 1990: Arthur Goldberg, a former U.S. Supreme Court justice, secretary of labor and ambassador to the United Nations, dies at the age of 81 at his home in Washington, D.C. Goldberg was an important drafter of U.N. Resolution 242 after the June 1967 Six-Day War. Jan. 20, 1942: The Nazis draw up a plan for the “Final Solution” of European Jewry at a conference organized by Gestapo head Reinhard Heydrich in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The policy of resettlement, forced labor and slaughter is adopted at the height of British restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine. Jan. 21, 1882: The groundwork for the First Aliyah, starting in the summer, is laid with the formation of the BILU group by 30 students at a meeting in the home of Israel Belkind in Kharkov, Ukraine. Jan. 22, 2013: Early elections are held for the 19th Knesset after the October 2012 dissolution of the parliament because of an impasse over the state budget. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power, but his Likud party and partner Yisrael Beiteinu drop from 42 to 31 seats. Jan. 23, 1950: By a vote of 60-2, with members of the Mapam and Herut parties abstaining, the Knesset adopts a proclamation drafted by the Cabinet in December to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Two Communist lawmakers vote no, preferring an international trusteeship for the city. Jan. 24, 1964: Syrian police raid the home of Damascus businessman Kamel Amin Tha’abet, who is in fact a Mossad spy named Eli Cohen, and arrest him on charges of espionage. Jan. 25, 1904: During a two-week trip to Italy, Theodor Herzl meets with Pope Pius X to try to gain his support for the Zionist cause.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Today in Israeli History

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ISRAEL NEWS

Fundraising Urgent for Jerusalem Orchestra’s Tour By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra will make a two-week tour of the Southeast to celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday, but only if the Israeli Consulate can raise $300,000. At least two-thirds of that total is needed before the end of February, or the tour will be canceled, said Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, the consul general to the Southeast. Now that the Foreign Affairs Ministry is considering closing the Atlanta consulate, the fundraising drive is all the more urgent, Shorer said. “If people get together and decide to donate so we will have a fantastic evening which can be televised and videotaped and be sent home to show what a force there is in the South, what can be done here, I think the entire atmosphere can be changed.” She said she booked the orchestra two years ago to celebrate Israel’s 70th without guns or uniforms, but with music, which “has no boundaries, has no religion. Music is international.”

But fulfilling her dream has been tough. The logistics involve moving 75 musicians and their instruments, along with five people who accompany them, to and through the consulate’s seven-state region with buses, food and hotels, arranging visas with work permits, booking arenas, coordinating choirs for performances, and working with multiple Jewish Federations. “I don’t think that anyone was thinking big, and maybe people didn’t think it was doable,” she said about the lack of competition to book the orchestra. “I still don’t know whether it’s doable. I just pray.” The plan is for the tour to run from April 10 to 23. Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, begins the evening of April 18. The orchestra’s program will include American, Israeli and international music. The orchestra will first perform in

Charleston, S.C., with the Charleston Men’s Chorus, then do a matinee at Kennesaw State University and a performance in Knoxville, Tenn. The orchestra will return to Atlanta for the highlight of the tour: a concert at the Woodruff Arts Center with the 200-member First Baptist Church choir, followed by the official government Yom HaAtzmaut reception. The tour then hits Memphis, St. Louis and possibly Louisville, Shorer said. In each location, the Jewish Federation will hold a reception to celebrate Israeli independence. Shorer said she’d like concert tickets at $70 for Israel’s 70th birthday, but the local Federation and the concert venue will determine the ticket policies. Any ticket revenue will go to Federation. But none of that will happen if donations don’t pick up. “People heard about it and were

very, very, very enthusiastic. ‘Wow. It’s coming to the South. It’s a celebration of Independence Day.’ It was received fantastically,” Shorer said. “But the second reaction has to do with the financial support. It’s much slower.” Cutting back the tour to lower the fundraising requirement isn’t an option, she said. It’s all or nothing. “It’s a big, big event,” she said. “I beg people to help us so we can make it and not be stuck in the middle.” People who want to support the tour should send donations to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, not the consulate, Shorer said. Just indicate on the check that it is for the orchestra’s celebration of Israel’s 70th. She’s also soliciting donations from evangelical Christians. “I think the Southeast of the United States should prove that with the evangelical community, which is huge, with Jerusalem declared officially by the president of the United States the capital of Israel, I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to prove that the South can do it,” Shorer said. “It’s the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.” ■

LOCAL NEWS

Photos by Michael Jacobs

Joanna Estroff from The Packaged Good welcomes volunteers interested in packing care bags of toiletries.

Children’s definitions of tikkun olam range from “doing for others” to “don’t litter.”

The Atlanta Rescue Dog Cafe leash-making station proves popular and provides fun for children helping repurpose old climbing ropes.

One young volunteer shows off the card she created.

The mess is part of the fun for some volunteers making cards and picture frames for JF&CS clients.

In the City Camp founder and CEO Eileen Snow Price said she wanted to do service projects with her children on Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year, but nothing age-appropriate was available. So this year she launched Community Mitzvah Day on King Day with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Family & Career Services, the Marcus JCC, Ramah Darom, The Packaged Good and other partners. The biggest site for projects from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, was Congregation B’nai Torah, where about 350 people made leashes and chew toys for dogs, cards and photo frames for

JF&CS clients, paper flowers for Holocaust survivors, cards for community members and Israeli soldiers, and bookmarks for seniors. They also packed care packages of toiletries for homeless people, got to know two Sandy Springs police officers, and had the opportunity to discuss year-round service opportunities and learn about PJ Library. The adults could donate blood at a Red Cross bloodmobile in the B’nai Torah parking lot. Other sites in metro Atlanta provided service projects for roughly 450 additional people. ■

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

King Day Service With Many Smiles

OPINION

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Our View

Mission Possible

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

The Israeli government’s preliminary decision to close its consulate in Atlanta is shockingly shortsighted and disappointing, especially coming less than 2½ years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to be persuaded to spare the diplomatic mission from an earlier round of budget-related closures. Once more, we’re forced to list the reasons Israel needs Atlanta at least as much as Atlanta needs Israel: • Metro Atlanta has one of the 10 largest Jewish communities in North America. • Greater Atlanta has as many as 15,000 Israelis. • More than 40 Israeli companies have national or regional headquarters in Georgia. • Atlanta is the heart of the nation’s largest concentration of evangelical Christians, the most important non-Jewish, pro-Israel group of Americans. • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, provides easy access to just about anyone anywhere. • Atlanta is a strong contender for Amazon’s HQ2. Israel’s closest consulate to Amazon’s main headquarters is roughly 800 miles away in San Francisco. With the increasing influence of the e-commerce leader in business, cloud computing, home automation and even the news people get, Israel would be wise to have professional advocates close to one of its bases. The Jewish Agency for Israel recognized Atlanta’s importance when it included our city on the limited U.S. itinerary of Knesset members in September. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra recognized the importance of Atlanta and the surrounding states served by the consulate when it agreed to celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday with a tour at the invitation of Consul General Judith Varnai Shorer, who helped save the consulate in 2015. In addition to phone (404487-6500) and email (info@atlanta.mfa.gov.il) messages of support to the consulate, for forwarding on to Jerusalem, donations to ensure the orchestra makes the tour would help make Atlanta’s case. Closing the Atlanta consulate would leave Israeli diplomats in two California cities (Los Angeles and San Francisco), two Northeastern cities (Boston and New York), two cities that in their own ways are cut off from the rest of the country (Washington and Miami), and two cities that essentially would cover all the U.S. interior (Chicago and Houston). That’s a crazy setup for Israel, a nation that is under constant criticism and relies on a close relationship with the United States. It’s understandable when Israelis ignore Diaspora criticism of what they perceive as entirely domestic issues, even though we think it’s reasonable for the Jewish people wherever they are to weigh in on matters within the Jewish state that affect and often reflect on Jews who don’t live in Israel. Those issues range from the Western Wall and conversion policy to efforts to make peace with the Palestinians. But our Israeli cousins would be wise to listen to us locals when it comes to Diaspora diplomacy. If Israel wants to maintain an edge against its foes in the hearts and minds of elected officials, business leaders and everyday residents of the growing, thriving Southeast, it needs to be like more than two dozen 10 other nations and keep a consulate in Atlanta. ■

Cartoon by Yaakov Kirschen, The Jerusalem Post

BDS Strikes in New Orleans My beloved birthplace, New Orleans, has prohistoric vote beginning the process of divestment. duced heartache this month, and not just because of After the council voted to suspend its rules to the unbelievable way the Saints were knocked out of consider a resolution listed as “under suspension” the NFL playoffs. (After the weakly concealed glee I on the meeting agenda, only people involved with felt at the Falcons’ Super Bowl collapse, I accept my the pro-Palestinian group spoke, and they were clear just deserts; email me all your Aints jokes.) about their anti-Israel intent. I’ve been a Saints fan long enough to anticipate Cantrell and four other council members voted unimaginable ways of losfor the measure anyway. ing. But the New Orleans Intentionally or not, City Council blindsided me they followed the BDS Editor’s Notebook Thursday, Jan. 11. playbook perfectly, from By Michael Jacobs As thoroughly rethe sleight of hand that mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com ported by Southern Jewish ensured only supporters Life, the council started its would speak to the use of meeting by honoring the nonspecific, pro-humanJewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. It ended rights language that would only ever be applied to six hours later by passing a resolution promoted by one country. the New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee New Orleans’ outgoing mayor, Mitch Landrieu, as part of the boycott, divestment and sanctions criticized the resolution Jan. 12, saying in a written movement against Israel. statement that it “was ill advised, gratuitous and does The nonbinding resolution “encouraging the not reflect the policy of the City of New Orleans.” creation of a process to review direct investments He added: “My administration understands that and contracts for inclusion on, or removal from, words matter and that there are consequences to the the City’s list of corporate securities and contracted actions of government. This resolution is concerning partners” does not name Israel or any other nation, and does not reflect the city’s history of inclusion and council members the next day denied that the and diversity.” measure was a victory for the BDS movement. That sounds good until you notice the words he But the resolution’s passage reveals the foolishleft out. He offered no support for Israel and no critiness of the five council members who voted for it, cism of BDS. The same mayor who was bold enough including Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell, — either for to take a stand against the display of Confederate falling for BDS tricks or for thinking they could lend monuments dodged such clarity on Israel. the BDS movement support without consequence. That’s scary. Maybe it was an oversight, but The process tells the tale. maybe, like the council action itself, it reflects an The pro-Palestinian committee has been open anti-Israel movement riding an intersectional wave. about trying to get the city to divest from Israel. It It also indicates the power of fools in New held a demonstration at City Hall in December and Orleans. City leaders should know a tourism-depenpresented a resolution to council members toward dent city is never going to win the game of boycotts. that goal. As Southern Jewish Life explained, the It would hurt more than a Saints postseason council passed an abridged version of that resolution. loss to the Falcons, but if New Orleans ever tried to The Palestinian Solidarity Committee urged its cut itself off from Israel, I’d never go back. I’m sure I supporters to attend the council meeting Jan. 11 for a wouldn’t be the only one. ■

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OPINION

When America Scorned Jewish Immigrants I have shelved, yet again, a perfectly serviceable column — about ideological divides in the Jewish community — because something else is stuck in my craw. In my computer, its replacement is titled “Shithole.” No asterisks to replace the letters, please. In a meeting with members of Congress working on immigration reform, the president of the United States is said to have asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” The immigrants being discussed were from the African continent, as well as Haiti and El Salvador. President Donald Trump also is reported to have wondered aloud why the United States couldn’t admit more immigrants from Norway and, because of their potential to aid the U.S. economy, nations in Asia. His timing being what it is, Trump made these comments one day before the seventh anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti and one day before signing a proclamation to mark Martin Luther King Day. All of this prompted me to look back to the last century, when many of our Jewish forebears (90 percent of American Jews are Ashkenazi, primar-

ily of German or Eastern European descent) came to the United States from what xenophobic Americans then considered to be the “shithole” countries. They didn’t look like “regular” Americans. They didn’t sound like “regular”

From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com

Americans. They didn’t pray like “regular” Americans. Many came with nothing more than the clothes on their back, personal possessions in their satchels, the hope that the United States would offer sanctuary from religious persecution, and a dream that this country would offer their children and their children’s children opportunities not possible in the Old Country. Today, most of us, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, live comfortably. We live in nice homes. We have food on our tables. We are well educated. We pray where, when and how we like. The barriers that hindered previ-

ous generations of American Jews in the workplace, in schools and in public accommodations are pretty much a thing of the past. When Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, nativist sentiment was rampant and often directed at Catholic and Jewish immigrants. That law restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, severely limited immigration of Africans and Arabs, and excluded Asians. “In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924 Immigration Act was to preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity,” according to a State Department history page. “America must remain American,” President Calvin Coolidge said in signing the law. It was a slap in the face of the Statue of Liberty, that lady lifting a lamp of freedom in New York Harbor, which, ironically, Coolidge dedicated in the same year. It was a repudiation of Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” which was carved into its base in 1903. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Not until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 were nationalorigin quotas scrapped and greater consideration given to immigrants’ personal connections to Americans and, yes, the occupational skill sets they might possess. In signing the law, President Lyndon Johnson said that it “corrects a cruel and enduring wrong.” If you question whether Trump’s remarks (not the first time he has denigrated people who seemingly do not fit his image of an American) are indefensible, inexcusable and patently un-American … Think back a century and check your family tree. ■

Iranian Protests Different From Past Uprisings Iranian people, has instead been used to fund Hezbollah, Hamas, and a series of military bases in Yemen and Syria to promote terrorism. For years Iran’s Islamic regime has built multibillion-dollar charitable

Commentary By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

organizations run by religious clerics to support international terrorism while failing to spend on domestic problems that continue to plague the country. As stated by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who is speaking at AIPAC’s annual Atlanta event Sunday, Jan. 28, the right way “of describing Iran’s dictatorship is a kleptotheocracy, driven by impulses that

are by turns doctrinal and venal.” Increasing prices for staples such as eggs, which rose from $8 to $14, recently led to a new wave of nonviolent protests in Iran. In late December demonstrations spread across 80 cities, including Teheran, Mashhad, Isfahan and Kermanshah, as countless Iranians took to the streets to voice their frustration regarding President Hassan Rouhani’s reform policies and his government’s failure to provide economic stability. President Donald Trump has announced his support for the Iranian protesters, a far cry from the Obama administration, which failed in 2009 to highlight the regime’s oppression of its own people. Another noteworthy difference from 2009 is the chants from demonstrators, such as “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran.” Such chants may indicate that Iranians are open to forging new

international relationships and that they want the government’s focus on domestic issues. Support from the United States is a step in the right direction; however, international recognition is also needed, mainly from European countries, which continue to conduct business with Iran amid disregard for human rights violations. At least 21 people have been killed since December, and over 4,000 arrested, including 90 students. Among the detainees, two have been killed in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, including Sina Ghanbari, 23 whose only crime was his participation in the protests. The death has further divided the Rouhani regime from Iranians who demand accountability. Yet what’s needed now more than ever is for protesters in Iran to stick together if they are to topple the regime. Freedom is never won easily, but for the people of Iran it is long overdue. ■ 11 JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

For many Iranians, the recent uprisings in Iran are a reminder of the religious fundamentalism, economic instability and oppression that have ruled Iran the past 40 years. Yet Iranian demonstrations are an anomaly and often stem from different factors. In 2009 the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad evoked anger among countless Iranians. Thousands gathered around Azaddi Square (Freedom Square) to ask, “Where’s my vote?” It was not long, however before, the Iranian government unleashed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on the protesters, resulting in the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, who became a symbol for the Green Movement. The past couple of years, money from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which should have trickled down to the

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OPINION

Letters To The Editor

3 Questions for Rabbi Jacobs

Temple Sinai will have a Friday night service Jan. 19 ushering in its 50th anniversary. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the head of the Union for Reform Judaism, will be the keynote speaker at this wonderful event. Over 500 attendees are expected, and with so many things affecting Israel and the Jewish community the past two months, I and others in Jewish Atlanta hope that Rabbi Jacobs will address the following issues: • Iran protests — The Iranian people are rising against the Islamic leadership that has positioned Iran as the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Rather than use the loosening of sanctions for their citizens, Iran spends billions funding terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, causing havoc in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, North Africa, Yemen and elsewhere. It still endorses the destruction of Israel. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and President Donald Trump have spoken out and supported the Iranian people. Does the URJ back the State Depart-

ment and Trump in supporting the Iranian people’s movement, especially affecting women and the LGBTQ community, or does it follow the Obama wait-and-see policy? • United Nations — Haley recently condemned the United Nations’ antiZionist/anti-Semitic actions and has vowed to cut U.S. financial support, currently 22 percent of the U.N. budget, unless changes are made. Of the 97 human rights resolutions passed by the General Assembly from 2012 to 2015, 83 targeted Israel. No resolutions cited Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Russia or China. The Obama administration in its waning days refused to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution unbelievably asserting Palestinian rights to Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Western Wall, ignoring Israel’s rights. What is the URJ’s position on U.N. abuse of Israel and all Jews and a cut of U.S. support to bring change and positive action? • Taylor Force Act — Congress is trying to pass the Taylor Force Act, which would cut U.S. aid to the Palestinians unless they halt subsidies to the families of Palestinian terrorists who kill or maim Israelis. Also, the State Department is reducing funding of the Palestinian Authority if it doesn’t engage in peace negotiations. Does the

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URJ support the threat of U.S. aid cuts to reduce attacks against Israel and to bring about a negotiated settlement? I hope Rabbi Jacobs has a safe trip to Atlanta and a Shabbat shalom when he comes to Sinai. I hope he will find time to discuss these questions Jan. 19 or in the near future. — Jeffrey Kunkes, Sandy Springs

JCC Kosher Policy

For many years the Marcus JCC, like many communal Jewish organizations, had a kosher-friendly policy on campus. The MJCC required that all programming that served food be compliant with Jewish dietary laws. The purpose of this policy was that all Jews could fully participate and be comfortable at these programs. This is no longer the case. As a case in point, the Sukkot Farm-to-Table program in October was not in compliance with Jewish dietary laws. There was a kosher food option available, but all the demos and most of the programming were not suitable for the kosherkeeping public. This policy change is disappointing. Of late, organizations try to be more inclusive, not less inclusive. I encourage the MJCC to return to its previous policy of only having programs that comply with Jewish dietary laws so that all Jews are included and can fully participate. — Rabbi Reuven Stein, director of supervision, Atlanta Kosher Commission

Unstable Genius

Thank G-d a “stable genius” did not occupy the White House when my ancestors arrived on these shores from the “sh*tholes” of Europe. What made America great was its willingness to look beyond its prejudices and judge us for what we could become rather than from where we came. — Rabbi Scott B. Saulson, Atlanta

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Halachic Friday Football

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In the discussion about going to football games on Shabbat and how to enter the game without carrying tickets (“Redemption in Red and Black,” Jan. 5), I would like to present a halachic solution to the same question in Atlanta in the 1950s. I was a big football fan of my Henry Grady High School team. One year, I think it was 1954, our team was quite good, and I wanted to see all the games played at Grady Stadium on Boulevard. One or two games were on Thursday night, the rest on Friday night. I knew the coach, the late Erk Russell, quite well, and he encouraged me to come to

the games because he liked my positive attitude. My grandfather Rabbi Tobias Geffen proposed a two-part solution: My ticket would be at the box office, and I had to go to Kabbalat Shabbat and eat something before I walked to the game from our home at 1435 N. Highland Ave. The most significant moment for me was the district finals in Decatur Stadium. I had to find someone to walk with me; it was four miles. The great tennis star Crawford Henry, a very good friend, said he would walk there and back with me. Grady triumphed that night and won the state championship the next week in Macon. I did not walk to Macon. — Rabbi David Geffen, Israel

Arab Peace Plan Just Words

While the “Saudi Peace Initiative” has been tweaked in recent years, it remains a call for Israel to make concrete concessions (withdrawing from land of historic, religious and strategic importance) in return for a promise (“full” normalization between Arab nations and Israel) on which the Saudis might be unable to deliver (“Saudis, Israel Cooperate in Regional Chess Match,” Jan. 12). So the offer is, at best, a baby step above the Palestinian mantra that says Israel needs to compromise but the Palestinians don’t. It’s time for the Arab nations, especially those, such as Saudi Arabia, that seek Israel’s help in facing the Iranian threat, to take actions that will help untie the Gordian knot that is the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. For instance, Muslim countries could rescind their laws barring Palestinians from citizenship and limiting the professions they may pursue. This would give Palestinians who don’t want to be in the minority in a Jewish country, but also don’t want to live under corrupt Palestinian governance, the opportunity to escape the refugee limbo to which their rulers have condemned them. Oil-rich Arab countries could also contribute to efforts to build the Palestinian economy. This would require careful monitoring so that the funds are actually used to improve the people’s living conditions and are not siphoned off into efforts to delegitimize and destroy Israel. The Arab donors would need to cease their own spewing of anti-Jewish invective and pressure the Palestinian leaders to prepare the “refugees” to become citizens of a Palestinian state willing to coexist with the nation-state of the Jews. — Toby F. Block, Atlanta

EDUCATION

No Joke: 3 Rabbis Walk Into a Shared Future By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

Photo courtesy of the Marcus JCC

(From left) Rabbis Peter Berg, Adam Starr and Ari Kaiman share a laugh during the finale of their “Denominations” class Dec. 11 at The Temple.

in my synagogue and I’m preaching, I’m teaching and preaching my general understanding of what G-d and Torah demand of us, which would be different from different movements.” • Definitions of a Jew. The U.S. Reform movement’s acceptance of patrilineal descent doesn’t create as dramatic a split in practice as in theory. Reform rabbis are strict in applying patrilineal rules only when a child has a Jewish upbringing, Rabbi Berg said, and The Temple still encourages formal conversion. Rabbis Starr and Kaiman recognized two kinds of Jews: those who are halachically Jewish and those who identify as Jewish. While only halachic Jews — those born to a Jewish mother or converted according to Jewish law — may participate in religious honors and rites at Young Israel and Shearith, that doesn’t mean others aren’t welcome in the communities. “If you identify as a Jew, I will talk to you as a Jew,” Rabbi Starr said. “In your own eyes, of course you’re Jewish,” Rabbi Kaiman said. “And in Gd’s eyes, who knows?” • Halachic decision-making. On issues ranging from divorce to abortion, the rabbis said their movements start with traditional Jewish law to look for answers, and they finish by dealing with the problem on a human level, not just a theoretical theological question. Where they differ is what comes between halacha and the human. The Reform and Conservative movements have voluminous literature on rabbinic questions, which individual rabbis can use while consulting colleagues to make decisions. Only accepted Torah experts may interpret halacha among Orthodox rabbis, Rabbi Starr said. “I don’t have the authority to come and just say, ‘Well, I just see it this way,’ without the support of the recognized Orthodox rabbinic authorities.” ■

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Three rabbis from three Atlanta congregations representing three Jewish movements helped 33 students learn in three months of study that Judaism’s denominations can coexist. “We’re no longer each other’s competition or enemies or anything close to that because the biggest challenge we all share is the largest denomination,” those Jews who don’t have a spiritual home at all, Young Israel of Toco Hills Rabbi Adam Starr said. “I think we all appreciate that each of us is able to reach different people in different places, and we want to make more Jews, and even if it’s not the way we personally would do it, we appreciate that more people are being reached.” Under the auspices of the Marcus JCC’s Lisa F. Brill Institute for Jewish Learning, Rabbi Starr took turns with Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple and Rabbi Ari Kaiman of Congregation Shearith Israel in leading a combined class of their congregants in a new course, “Jewish Denominations: Addressing the Challenges of Modernity.” As its name indicates, the course compared the Modern Orthodoxy of Young Israel, Conservative Judaism of Shearith and Reform Judaism of The Temple, but the finale Dec. 11 at The Temple marked the first time the three rabbis faced the class at the same time. “There are so many things that we have in common. This whole course was meant to be a celebration of that which we share,” Rabbi Berg said. Among those things: • Diversity. Rabbi Berg said diversity is a strength within his congregation and across Atlanta’s rabbinic community, which he said is unusual in its willingness to sit down together and discuss issues respectfully. “If we’re not going to close our world, we’re going to experience diversity, and diversity is going to challenge us to expand what we think is possible,” Rabbi Kaiman said. He said that when he teaches, he presents what is compelling, valuable and important to him without the expectation that it will be perfect for others. “I teach it as an option. I teach it as a way. And it’s a pretty awesome way.” Diversity works as long as you first know who you are and what you believe, Rabbi Starr said. “We certainly value diversity. But when I’m teaching

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EDUCATION

Catholic AJA Teacher’s Kiruv Brings Survivor Back

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

I always knew our teachers were righteous, but until recently I did not know how deeply. Kiruv (bring close) refers to efforts to bring the unaffiliated closer to their Judaism; it is most often associated with rabbis and rebbetzins and certain kinds of experiences. I feel comfortable saying kiruv has never been attributed to a devout Catholic woman until now. Meet Catherine Brand. As her grandfather’s health declined, Mrs. Brand, recent Teacher of the Year and resident master of all things science and nerd (Nerd Club is a thriving part of Atlanta Jewish Academy culture), began spending more Christmases home in New Mexico. One fateful Christmas dinner in 2015, the last one before her grandfather died, a friend of her grandfather’s, Rudy Gross, joined the mishpacha (family) for the evening. Mrs. Brand’s mother encouraged her to converse with Rudy, a Holocaust survivor; Mrs. Brand studied the Holocaust in college

and taught at two Jewish day schools (Weber and AJA). Engaged by Mrs. Brand, the 95-year-old told of his life in Mann heim, Germany, and flight to America.

Guest Column By Maayan Schoen

Rudy’s Story Rudy, a talented violin player, had a bar mitzvah and went to shul with his father on Shabbos mornings. His father earned the German Iron Cross in World War I. As Hitler rose to power, Rudy’s father felt confident that the Germans would not come for dedicated citizens who were not German Jews, but Germans who were Jewish. Even so, at 14 Rudy left for St. Louis, sponsored by the St. Louis Jewish community, in the late 1930s. He had a religious culture shock, placed with a less religious family

who dressed and behaved differently and did not go to shul on Shabbos. After graduating high school during World War II, Rudy Rudy Gross now refers noted the to Catherine Brand as desperate his granddaughter. need for German translators, and he enlisted in the Army as a foreign national, undergoing a year of vetting to verify that he was not a spy. His unit was based in London; when the Americans captured a German town, his team would fly in to go through documents and translate. Toward the end of the war, Rudy met and fell in love with the British woman who would become his wife for more than 50 years. He also got a telegram through the Red Cross from his younger brother, Fred, in France. Fred had been rescued by Quakers and

hidden in a French orphanage, where he aided the Resistance. But Fred had bad news: Their parents, Klara and Isaak, were murdered in Auschwitz. Rudy traveled three days to embrace Fred in France and wanted to bring his brother to America. But Fred, recruited by young Zionists, instead chose aliyah to the land of Israel. Fred was intercepted and sent to a detention camp in Cyprus for six months but escaped and made it to Israel, where he joined the Irgun. He was killed on the first day of the War of Independence. Spiritual Intuition As Mrs. Brand delved deeper into Rudy’s story, her fascination transitioned to spiritual connection. She felt the need to take care of his family. Consulting with AJA’s Rabbi Daniel Estreicher, she had her mother in New Mexico collect the necessary information about Rudy’s parents and brother for Rabbi E to say Kaddish: names, birthdays and the known death date. Rabbi E took on the task but made one request of Mrs. Brand: Adhere to

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the custom of giving charity in the merit of the dead. She picked Od Yosef Chai, Rabbi E’s preferred tzedakah. Mrs. Brand then made Rudy’s Yiddishe neshama (Jewish soul) her personal business. Her next Christmas visit to New Mexico coincided with Chanukah, a fact she said was “orchestrated by Hashem.” She presented a grand Chanukah intervention plan to three AJA rabbis, who gave the go-ahead. Mrs. Brand planned to bring the Chanukah experience to Rudy, including Hebrew blessings, candle lighting and her own dreidel-Chanukah-cookie extravaganza. When she told me, I thought, “I am sitting across from one of the greatest kiruv rebbetzins of our time, and she’s … Catholic.” Rabbi Reuven Travis offered a chanukiah. Rabbi E printed the blessings in Hebrew, transliterated Hebrew and English. Former AJA student Ezra Blaut gathered the candles, and the whole Blaut clan helped her practice the words. Her mother checked a New Mexico Walmart for dreidels, Chanukah cookie cutters and chocolate gelt. Plan in Action Christmas dinner and the second night of Chanukah came. Mrs. Brand launched her assault. “Rudy, it’s the second night of Chanukah! And we’re gonna do it!” She passed out dreidel cookies and set up the candles. She lighted the shamash and said the prayer for Rudy. He lighted the two candles. He was delighted and took some gelt home, but he was not talkative. Mrs. Brand lighted candles without Rudy every night, hoping he would return. On the fifth night, Rudy joined her family again, and he stopped her in the middle of the blessing. “I remember this,” he said. “I remember these prayers. That’s the same beginning as the prayer for Shabbos.” Ever the kiruv rebbetzin, Mrs. Brand thought, “Hey, I can do a fair impression of the Shabbos Kiddush too.” Rudy was all smiles. He told Mrs. Brand how much he enjoyed their celebration. “This is so neat,” he said. “You’re such a Catholic Jewish girl.” “Well, you’re my Jewish grandfather,” she said. The title has stuck with Rudy, who has no children or grandchildren. He has upgraded his greeting from “Hello” to “Hey, it’s my Jewish granddaughter, who teaches at the Jewish school and knows so much about being Jewish” when they speak on the telephone. New Traditions Chanukah in 2017 ended two days

before Mrs. Brand flew home. She equipped her mother with the chanukiah and the translated blessings, but she had her eye on Shabbos as her next personal Rudy mission. Rudy had indicated that he didn’t recall much about his Jewish experiences with his parents, but he made the connection to Shabbos and made the motion of challah braiding, remembering that his mother prepared the bread before Friday night prayers. Mrs. Brand was confident that the spiritual stars had again aligned. She gathered her tools to make Kiddush: a bencher, candles, Kedem grape juice and a great challah recipe. “He grew up in a Jewish house, and I believe that if the war hadn’t happened, he probably would have some

kind of Jewish identity today,” Mrs. Brand said. “Nothing he lost was his fault, and I wanted to do something to connect him with what he lost, what he had and was a part of him, what his whole family was murdered for.” For Mrs. Brand, faith is important and beautiful. “I believe in having faith and that it helps you and sustains you in times when nothing else can or will,” she told me. “He’s lost so much that, to me, helping him reconnect with his faith is a way for him to get something back. I can’t resurrect his parents or stop the Nazis, but maybe I can reconnect him to his faith.” I had to know: Why did she go to the lengths she did? Why not turn Rudy over to a Jewish organization or just bake Chanukah cookies?

“It’s what I can do, so it’s what I have to do,” she said. “His parents were murdered for their faith, which, based on Rudy’s memories, they clearly wanted to share with him. I owed it to their memory to try to bring their son closer to his faith, and I felt in a unique position to do so. It’s what I’ve been training for my whole life, in a certain sense. And if I didn’t seize this opportunity, what would be my excuse?” Mrs. Brand is a tzadeket, a righteous and virtuous woman whose quiet dedication to others knows no bounds, defies logic and testifies to her angelic character. How fortunate are we who learn in her presence. ■ Maayan Schoen is a senior at Atlanta Jewish Academy.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

EDUCATION

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EDUCATION

The Optimist for the Jewish Future

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Much of my father’s wisdom comes in story form, but sometimes he shares a joke. A joke in our family was nuanced in humor and overt in a life lesson. Here is an example: There were two brothers. One was always sad and negative, while the other was perpetually happy and positive. The parents brought these boys to a doctor to try to uncover the mystery of their personalities. The therapist put the sad son in a room filled with every toy imaginable and the happy son in a room filled with horse manure. The boys were left in these rooms for the day, and when they came back many hours later, things were unchanged. When asked, “Why are you so sad when you have so many toys to play with and enjoy?” the sad son’s response between sniffs and sobs was “I know these toys are not mine to keep and I am not here to stay, so why should I even begin to play?” When they opened the door to the room filled with manure, they were surprised by a slop of manure hurled

toward them and the happy son laughing and running. “What are you so happy about here, son?” “Mom! Dad! With this much

Guest Column By Dena Schusterman

manure, there has got to be a horse around here somewhere!” This was my father’s humorous way of teaching us the essential life lesson about pessimism and optimism. I think it was Mark Twain who said, “Better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right.” Recently, Time magazine had Bill Gates take over as the issue editor, and the feature piece was about why you should feel optimism now for our country and for the state of our world. Many contributing writers, including Warren Buffett, Malala Yousafzai and Bono, shared their positivity about the future of our planet.

So much in the media offers doom and gloom, and the current zeitgeist for our country seems to be at best “good-ish.” I absolutely adored almost all the articles and commentary, and I want to be on record as an optimist for our collective Jewish future. Really, what do I have to lose? Remember, my father taught me well. So why positivity when the latest research shows that 53 percent of Jews under age 30 identify as Jews of no religion, synagogue membership is at an all-time low, and we are slowly losing the mainstream Jewish community, as our tribe congeals at different ends of the simcha dance floor, to the far right and far left? Why optimism? I’ll tell you with another story. We were in Florida for winter break in December when my cousin called my father to pass along regards from a certain Moshe she met at a bakery in Brooklyn. He saw my cousin’s credit card with our shared last name and asked whether she was related to my dad. “Send him my regards and tell him that my life today is credit to him.” This was “the rest of the story” to one we heard growing up that began

over 40 years ago in San Francisco. My father was a Chabad rabbi in Northern California in the ’70s, and one day a distraught man entered his office. He said he and his family had recently emigrated from Russia. The entire time they lived in the Soviet Union, the man said, his son was an observant Jew, even particular about making it to the morning minyan under the watchful eyes of the KGB. It was on the level of self-sacrifice, with the real threat of jail. But upon arrival to the goldene Medina, America, land of the free, he was unyoked from his Jewish practice. No more Shabbat. No more minyan. No more observance. What to do? My father was instrumental in arranging for this young man to attend a yeshiva and receive an integrated Jewish education in a supportive environment, which today he is grateful for. When his life was on the line and being a Jew was brave, he was a heroic fighter. As soon as it became easy, well, easy come, easy go. This was how my father always told us the story. And now over winter break we heard the sweet regards.

EDUCATION

Dena Schusterman is a founder of Chabad Intown, a Jewish educator, and a founding director of both the Intown Jewish Preschool (intownjewishpreschool. org) and the Intown Hebrew School. She and her husband, Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, are native Californians living in Atlanta for 20 years with their eight children.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

If 40 years ago Jewish life in the United States was hard to maintain, then today, in a more enlightened and more inclusive society, it is even harder. There are no barriers to our acceptance into American culture. Join the JCC because it’s beautiful, but not because your local fitness center won’t have you as a member. Join a synagogue because you feel connected there, but not because there is any communal pressure to do so. Our social circles do not rely solely on fellow Jews anymore because we are so well integrated into our neighborhoods, and a diverse group of friends, across cultural spectrums, is where it is at. Sometimes we don’t even know who the Jewish children are in our child’s class. And some of those kids call themselves half-Jewish, not knowing they are actually entirely Jewish. Against this backdrop I am positive and optimistic. It does look bleak — like a room full of stinking manure — if that is the way you choose to look at the Jewish landscape. The reality is not depressing to me because it is to be expected. Any Jewish practice in our liberty-loving, happiness-pursuing country is optimistic. Every single act of Jewish engagement, every mitzvah done, every minute of Shabbat celebrated, every Jewish child born is reason to celebrate. We have never been freer, but we have also never been so challenged — to stand proud as Jews without any adversity or enemy compelling us. We have little experience with functioning Jewishly as we do in 2018. Today, when we choose Jewish, it is our own truth that speaks, from deep inside. This is remarkable. Throughout Atlanta, especially in my intown Jewish community, I see parents committing to Kabbalah and coffee while their children attend Hebrew school. I see parents inquiring about Jewish preschool and enrolling. I see young adults engaging in Torah study and creating social groups with fellow Jews. But most of all, I see individuals who choose a relationship with G-d in whatever way they know how or feel compelled to. On their own volition. This Judaism is deep and profound. I am optimistic for our future. ■

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EDUCATION

Dunwoody Student Excels Across the Chalkboard Dunwoody High School junior Matt Bartel has built a stellar résumé based on his values and hard work. The son of Larry and Fran Bartel, Matt constructed an outdoor learning center and pavilion as part of his Eagle Scout program, served as a page in the Georgia Senate, appeared in Atlanta Hawks TV commercials, and he plays offense and defense on the varsity football team. He is the only DeKalb student on the Georgia Department of Education student advisory board.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Jaffe: Tell us about your Senate experience. Bartel: The Georgia state Senate has an incredible program allowing students to page for their senator, mine being Sen. Fran Millar. They are only in session for 40 days and have the tendency to run close to midnight toward the end of the session. I had the honor to page the second-to-last day of the session, where I was on the Senate floor from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. I was the only

page to make it past 4 p.m., and at the end of the night, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle recognized me for perseverance with a standing ovation from the senators. Jaffe: What were the rigors of building the outdoor learning center? Bartel: Approval, approval, approval. Sometimes I felt like I had to get approval to ask for approval. I had

Jaffe's Jewish Jive By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

to go through dozens of processes to confirm building permits, Boy Scout project eligibility, and I even had to get permission to use the school’s water supply. Getting that green light was a critical yet challenging step. At the end of the day, I was fortunate to have support from my Boy Scout leaders, high school administrators, local politicians and family.

Matt Bartel’s grandparents Iris and Marvin Wynne recently moved from Mississippi to be closer to the family.

Jaffe: What’s your involvement with the Hawks? Bartel: I was the youngest member of the Hawks Kia Sixth Man Section, with free tickets and cheering with other Hawks fanatics. I starred in a commercial on Fox Sports Southeast. I attended close to a hundred games and made countless friends. Unfortunately, there were a lot of late nights, and it wasn’t in my best interest to stay on with the extreme academic rigor I’m taking. (Matt has a 4.2 GPA.) Jaffe: What advice would you give parents on guiding, disciplining, and structuring (or not) teenagers? Bartel: The only way to live a life of self-fulfillment comes from a dedicated mindset. I feel like one of the best ways to transform a mindset is to see it done or basically have proof of success — one of the reasons I hope to get involved in public speaking in the upcoming years. I would encourage children to give Scouting a chance. Their principles of being “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, caring, curious, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent” are universal ideals. I also advise all parents to let children make their own decisions. Mistakes are part of life. By realizing their own mistakes, they’re able to process. That’s the only way to achieve a mindset instead of temporary actions.

For his Eagle Scout project, Matt Bartel worked every weekend for five months to build this gazebo at Dunwoody High, whose construction was complicated by the eight-sided design.

Matt Bartel poses with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (left) and Sen. Fran Millar while serving as a page in the spring of 2017.

Jaffe: What is religious life like at Dunwoody High? Bartel: There are a lot of Jewish students, and we have wonderful friendships. I am really looking forward to going on a Birthright trip to Israel, hopefully before college. Jaffe: Tell us about your family. Bartel: My maternal grandparents, Iris and Marvin Wynne, moved recently from Mississippi to be close to us. We love being near them. I have twin preteen siblings. The funniest claim to fame for my family is my mother’s appearance on “The Price Is Right.” Talk about bucket lists! Being treasurer of the junior class, Matt rushed off to plan the prom. ■

JANUARY 19 â&#x2013;ª 2018

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EDUCATION

Do More Than Take a Stroll on a Campus Visit

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

High school students typically visit college campuses of interest to them. While an interview with admissions may occur that day, this article will only focus on the campus tour. Along with other high school students and often parents, you will follow the tour guide, usually a current student, walking backward. Try not to lag behind or you might struggle to hear the guides. Your phone rings, and you note it is one of your best friends. You start your conversation. That is one way to show the guide that you are merely taking a walk and that the tour is secondary. Get the message? The guide asks for questions, and you hear a lot from parents. Who will be applying? The students or parents? That is another message. Why visit? That is the question you should ask in the first place. That campus might be your home for four years or more. Would you want to live on a campus that doesn’t

appeal to you? As a visitor to hundreds of campuses, I have learned a lot. If the current college accepts you and it is at the top of your list, you

The Admissions Game By Mark L. Fisher drmarkfisher@yahoo.com

might take another visit before the May 1 national reply date, when you must notify a college that you have accepted its offer. (There is an exception with an early decision acceptance, in which you must accept the college’s offer by an earlier deadline.) Back to the question of the tour. Some of your observations could find their way into an interview and even your essay. Remember, colleges are interested in students who are interested in them. How to make your campus visit and tour worthwhile:

• Schedule a college tour so the college knows you will be on campus. • Participate in an information session, usually a part of the tour. • Arrange to sit in on a class that interests you if possible. • Plan to meet with a professor in your potential major. • Meet with a coach for whom you might play. • Grab a school newspaper if you see one. • Scan bulletin boards as you pass. You can learn about guest lecturers, entertainment, discounts, job opportunities on campus and nearby, and a host of other events. Are protests being planned? That will give you a view of what’s going on at the campus. • Ask students, including your guide, why they chose that college and what surprised them once they matriculated. • Eat in the cafeteria. If you have a special diet, ask about provisions for such a diet. • If you keep kosher, ask questions such as where the food is served, who supervises the kosher plan, how many meals are served per week, and what options the plan offers. • Browse in the college bookstore. • Drive around the community surrounding the campus. Is it residential? Run-down? Safe? • Where do students hang out on campus? • Are buildings in good shape? Do they need paint? An update? • Any construction taking place? • How large are classrooms? • Whether or not Hillel or another Jewish facility is mentioned on the tour, visit that facility yourself after the tour. Find out what Jewish activities and services are on campus. More on that in a future article.

• What recreational activities are available? Where? • What is the library like? Is it easy to study there? Are there group rooms to study with other students? Are books available from other libraries? What’s the schedule of hours for students during weekdays and weekends? Are hours extended during exam time? Imagine yourself on that campus for four years. Should your parents visit campuses with you? There is an advantage because they will see the same things on the tour, but one of you may see what the other missed. You can discuss with your parents what each of you observed. What about going with a friend? That is fine, but what if you agree with everything your friend says just because you always agree with him or her? If the friend hates the campus, you might have the same opinion. But what is good for you might not be good for your friend. Also, don’t judge the college based on the tour guide if you don’t click with that individual. One person is not the entire student body. Did you think that the tour is just walking around and seeing if the grass and plants are being taken care of by the college? Coming home and just saying that the grounds are beautiful? As you should realize, there is much more to learn on a college visit. Take as much advantage as you can that day because that college could be your home away from home. ■ Mark L. Fisher is a college and career consultant at Fisher Educational Consultants (www.fishereducationalconsultants.com) and a consultant for the College Planning Institute (www. GotoCPI.com).

EDUCATION

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Encouraging students to learn about the world around them through different perspectives is one of the Davis Academy’s main objectives. It is also part of an integrated unit of study in conjunction with the middle school’s comparative religion course. Seventh-graders will visit three holy sites for other religions: the Roswell Community Masjid (Islam), the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Mandir (Hinduism) and the Dharma Jewel Monastery (Buddhism). “We want to demystify some of the things the students have perhaps come to understand about other religions and their practices because we believe we are grooming new leaders and want them to have those types of mindsets and attitudes,” Davis Assistant Principal Jeff Rothstein said. “We want the kids to be able to make connections between what they are learning in the classroom and the

real world and inspire in them an inclusive mindset,” he said. The idea for the field trip developed after the launch of the comparative religion unit in 2017. The seventh-graders will hear from religious leaders and congregants at each place of worship. Rabbi Micah Lapidus was instrumental in connecting the school to the holy sites. After Davis, “most of the kids will go to schools which will have a lot more diversity than a Jewish day school, and being able to connect with people across various lines is an important human trait and characteristic we want our kids to grow up with,” Rothstein said. “Integrated learning is part of who we are at Davis,” he said. “Our kids are our leaders, and we want them to understand different ideas and ways of looking at things that will help them as they grow to work with others. You have to have the emotional intelligence to accept different perspectives, and the field trip is another step in that direction.” ■

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Davis 7th-Graders Hit Road to Tour Religions

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JKG Gets Guidance to Grow

Project Accelerate has accepted Jewish Kids Groups into its 2017-19 cohort to help the alternative Jewish supplementary education program enter a new stage of growth. JKG lay and professional leaders are going through organizational assessments, training and consulting. “A decade after the emergence of the Jewish innovation sector, it is clear that post-startup organizations require a specific kind of support to grow their impact and figure out how to scale,” JKG founder and Executive Director Ana Robbins said. JKG has benefited from accelerators at earlier stages, going through the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s ProtéJ program in 2012-13 and the San Francisco-based UpStart Accelerator from 2015 to 2017. Project Accelerate launched in 2015 to help innovative organizations that are past the startup stage. “Now that Jewish Kids Groups has opened a fifth location in Atlanta, we have identified new opportunities and challenges associated with replication and scaling. I’m certain that JKG will benefit from Project Accelerate and am honored to learn with such a distinguished group of leaders and organizations,” Robbins said.

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Estroff’s Challenge Island Expands to Singapore

The Challenge Island educational franchise has launched a franchise in Singapore, building on an East Asian expansion that began with the Philippines, the Atlanta-based company announced Thursday, Jan. 4. “We could not ask for better validation of the unique educational value of Challenge Island than to be introduced into the cutting-edge Singaporean marketplace,” founder and CEO Sharon Duke Estroff said. Challenge Island is a cross-curricular enrichment program in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) education. It has 75 locations worldwide.

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Rabbi David Teutsch is mentoring Robbins in Project Accelerate. He leads the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia and has served as the seminary’s president. To be a “Jewish leader,” rather than just the leader of a Jewish organization or a leader who happens to be Jewish, “means to act like a mensch,” Rabbi Teutsch said. “It means you must guide by Jewish virtues and values, including integrity, courage, humility, gentleness and empathy.” Fifteen other organizations are part of the Project Accelerate cohort.

Big Shoulders to Lean On Photo by North Shore Photography

(Bottom from left) Lena Robbins, Madelyn Chernau, Hailey Figur and Mollie Nadolne, (middle from left) Lian Kleinman, Jordyn Figur, Tali Lyons and Grant Chernau, and (top from left) Brandon Levin, Ben Surasky, Julie Budd, Josh Weinberg and Benjy Nadolne are Atlanta-area representatives of USY’s HaNegev region attending the USY International Convention in Chicago in late December. Nearly 1,000 teens attended the Conservative youth movement’s convention from Dec. 24 to 28. The convention addressed the topics of religious freedom in Israel, human rights, the freedom of expression and refugees, then sent the teens out to work on social justice projects with more than 30 organizations in the Chicago area.

Agnes Scott College has picked its ninth president after an eight-month search: Leocadia “Lee” Zak, who was the director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency under President Barack Obama. She will take office July 1, replacing retiring President Elizabeth Kiss. “Lee Zak stood out as an exceptional and accomplished leader, and the board of trustees unanimously concluded that she is the right choice at this stage in Agnes Scott’s transformational journey. We feel she is well positioned to continue the momentum of SUMMIT and to contribute greatly to our growth as a premier liberal arts institution,” said Elizabeth Daniel Holder, who chairs the board of trustees. “She will be stepping into the role armed with a solid foundation.” SUMMIT is the college’s signature experience, focused on global learning and leadership development. “I am extremely excited and honored to be joining Agnes Scott College. Now more than ever there is a need for women’s colleges,” Zak said.

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LOCAL NEWS

Breman Archivist Makes History on ‘Jeopardy!’ Jewish Atlantan Lindsay Resnick can now add “Jeopardy!” champion to her résumé. The Breman Museum archivist used her history knowledge to come from behind during her appearance on the show Tuesday, Jan. 9, in the Final Jeopardy round, and topple two-day champion Brandon Brooks. But her “Jeopardy!” moment almost never happened. Resnick auditioned for the show nearly three years before and was told she would stay in the contestant pool only 18 months. Out of the blue on Yom Kippur, Resnick got a strange phone call. “Well, it was just the most shocking thing,” she said. “We were all sitting outside, and everybody was chatting, and I felt my phone ring. I looked, and it was a number from Culver City, Calif. Then I listened to the voicemail, and it was a producer from ‘Jeopardy!’ asking me if I wanted to be on the show.” Resnick, a 2009 graduate of Centennial High School, hadn’t kept her “Jeopardy!” skills sharp, so she watched

Lindsay Resnick charmed “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.

more than 100 episodes to prepare for the October taping in Los Angeles, where she took her parents and her maternal grandparents. At each “Jeopardy!” taping, two contestants are held over until the next day to face the previous day’s winner. Resnick had to wait until the second day, but that helped calm her nerves. “That whole first day I was watching everyone on the show, and all of us in the audience were playing along,” she said. “It was just such an exciting feeling to see people play, and it was just so nice getting to know everyone and meeting all of these people with similar interests as me with a love of learning and trivia and knowledge. All of my nerves had dissipated by the time I stepped up onstage for that game.”

On her first show, Resnick earned a warm response from host Alex Trebek during the contestant interview segment. She was born on her mother’s birthday, and, as she told Trebek, her mother says it was the nicest birthday present she ever got. Resnick, who majored in history, technology and society at Georgia Tech, used her expertise to get the correct Final Jeopardy response in the category “First Century A.D.”: “Letters written by this Roman recount the events of a natural disaster, like the death of his uncle, a famous scholar.” Resnick answered late but accurately: Pliny. (Technically, it was Pliny the Younger, but the “Jeopardy!” judges accepted just Pliny.) That response added $3,001 to Resnick’s score for a total of $10,001, more than enough after Brooks lost $4,401 from his $9,600 total with the incorrect answer of Socrates. When I won at the end of my first game, I looked over at my family in the audience and they were all crying,” Resnick said. “That’s an image I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.” She didn’t fare as well on her sec-

ond appearance Jan. 10. She finished third after losing all but $1 on a difficult Final Jeopardy question that asked the three contestants to figure out which two current senators, one from Virginia and one from Massachusetts, have names that are anagrams of each other. No one got the correct response: “Who are (Elizabeth) Warren and (Mark) Warner?” “Both of the Final Jeopardy questions that I dealt with seemed to be a little bit harder than what I had seen on other shows,” Resnick said. “But I find it really hard to judge which questions are harder or easier because everybody has different levels of knowledge in different things.” Overall, Resnick got 24 responses correct and seven wrong and was 0 for 2 on Daily Doubles. She won $11,001. She can never compete on the show again, but she joined a Facebook group for past “Jeopardy!” contestants and said she plans to meet up with some of her competitors. “A lot of ‘Jeopardy!’ is just the luck of the draw,” she said. “It was luck combined with skill, which is I guess how you win any game.” ■

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

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LOCAL NEWS

Seminar for Teens, Parents to Expose Sex Trafficking By Cady Schulman cschulman@atljewishtimes.com Keeping an eye on kids’ social media accounts and their activities online is one way parents can protect their children from sex trafficking. “If it is a social media venue, trust me, a trafficker is there, and they’re lurking,” said Susan Norris, the founder and executive director of Rescuing Hope, an organization geared toward educating teenagers and parents about sex trafficking and eradicating it. The use of social media in sex trafficking is one of the subjects at a seminar called Hidden Dangers, to be held Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Congregation Etz Chaim in East Cobb. The seminar is for middle and high school students and their parents, but adults and young people will be separated. Issues to be addressed include sexting, porn, social media and the Internet, and how those are used to groom and lure kids into sex trafficking. With around 300,000 young people being trafficked at any given time, sex trafficking is a huge issue that many aren’t aware of, Norris said. Sex

trafficking can happen anywhere, not just in specific areas or neighborhoods. “I think we all live in our little bubble,” Norris said. “If we live in a safe neighborhood and we have parents who are involved, we think it’s not in the area. Particularly in the suburbs, we think we’re safe. What we find is it’s not in the poor communities only, as most people think. It also exists in suburbia.” At Rescuing Hope, Norris works with those who have escaped sex trafficking. She has found that not only were most sexually assaulted as minors, but also that every one had abused substances, whether as a coping mechanism or as a result of being forced. “In some cases, it’s what kept them in the life,” Norris said. “The trafficker would say, ‘As soon as you pay off your drug debt, you can leave,’ but they never pay it off.” For those who can’t escape, life expectancy is about seven years. Deaths occur from drugs, suicides, sexually transmitted diseases, and violence at the hands of purchasers and sellers. “Several of the girls I have served have said they contemplated suicide

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while in the life,” Norris said. “It’s quite horrifying when you start laying it out and looking at what we’re fighting.” One of the main ways Norris is trying to stop sex trafficking is by making teenagers and their parents aware of what can happen and how sex traffickers work. Traffickers pose as teenagers on social media to gain trust. “They hang out wherever teens are,” Norris said. “They can pretend to be someone of the same age and same sex or someone of the opposite sex, gaining insight and information. They schedule to meet, and when they do, they find out it’s not who they expected.” To help keep their kids safe, parents should lock down their kids’ social media accounts and know all their login information. “Parents need to know every social media outlet their kids are on and be on there as well to make sure it’s appropriate,” Norris said. “You wouldn’t put a sign on your yard and say, ‘My kids are here. Come have at it.’ This is the same thing.” One teen Norris worked with was a home-schooler who encountered a

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sexual predator while playing an online game from her bedroom. The predator persuaded the girl to take nude photographs of herself, which were then used in a child pornography ring. “It happened while the young lady was in her bedroom and Mom was in the kitchen,” Norris said. “Perpetrators are learning how to invade our homes without physically invading our homes.” Norris said she hopes those at the seminar will take the information they learn and spread it to their friends, who then will pass it to their friends. “They can go into their circles and impact others,” she said. “Then we can start widening the reach to protect our children.” ■ What: Hidden Dangers sex trafficking seminar Who: Susan Norris, Rescuing Hope; Jeff Shaw, Out of Darkness Where: Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway, East Cobb When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31 Admission: Free; RSVP at www. etzchaim.net/hiddendangers

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Havinagala Lands at PDK Jewish Family & Career Services’ annual fundraiser for the PAL Program, Havinagala, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27, inside DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. The Hangar at Peachtree at PDK is expected to welcome more than 600 people to support PAL, Atlanta’s only Jewish big brother/big sister program. “The PAL Program has been around more than 30 years in the Jewish community,” program manager Carly Sonenshine said. “Havinagala has always been the event that benefits the program and allows us to continue the great work. So the success of the event has always helped PAL, and it also helps us recruit big pals to match with little pals in need.” PAL supports families by offering one-on-one mentor relationships for children who could use extra time with a trusted adult. Havinagala has been the main fundraiser for the program for more than 20 years, and last year’s event at Ponce City Market raised more than $56,000. Sonenshine said the fundraising goal this year is $60,000. Hosted by the JF&CS young professional group Volunteers in Action, this year’s edition of Havinagala will feature an open bar, desserts, a photo

booth and a silent auction set against the backdrop of the airport. “The airport has this beautiful hangar that’s really a blank slate,” Sonenshine said. “If the weather is nice, we’ll open the hangar up to the runway. If the weather is cold, we’re ready for that too, and we have more than enough space inside.” Event sponsors include Perennial Properties, Mudpie, Jeckil Promotions, Atlanta Fever Entertainment, Atlanta Pipe and Drape, Button It up, Celebrated Experiences, Classic Tents & Events, Lyft and Great American Cookies. The Havinagala co-chairs are Marni and Daniel Bekerman, Ilissa Paulen, and Allison Thurschwell. “When you come to Havinagala, you’re not only coming for an awesome party,” Sonenshine said. “But you’re also coming to benefit a really important program for families in our community.” ■

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Michael and Etti Alon of Atlanta celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in November. They met in Israel and married in the United States in a ceremony performed by the groom’s brother, Rabbi Yerachmiel Carmi. They are the proud parents of four daughters — Naomi, Ronit, Zipora and Tamar — and the kvelling grandparents of 14, ranging in age from 7 to 29. Their 55th anniversary and Michael’s 80th anniversary were celebrated during Thanksgiving week with a three-generation family cruise. The family gives much thanks to G-d. ■

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ARTS

B A A: “After Wyeth/Christina’s World,” an oil on canvas from 2005, shows Sirod X’s affinity for trees. B: Devoted son Richard Schultz regularly visits Sirod X at Berman Commons. C: This is Sirod X’s “Bare Walls.” D: “Abstract Human Forms” reflects one of Sirod X’s favorite subjects. E: “Dancing in the Light,” an oil on canvas from 1995, is one of Sirod X’s best works. F: As a young woman before her name change, Doris Miller was a stunning beauty.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

The Art and Spiritual Journey of Sirod X Sirod X (the artist formerly known as Doris Miller) was born in Queens, N.Y., in 1936 and created many valuable works: a productive marriage, three children, and many professional and spiritual accomplishments. “Her latest work, still in progress, is her own peaceful and magical journey through enlightenment and toward the ultimate translation of her form,” said her son, psychologist Richard Schultz. Glimpses of her works are on display occasionally at Berman Commons in Dunwoody, where Sirod, who has dementia and is nonverbal, lives in the Ackerman Memory Care unit. Judy Landey, a community sales counselor for Berman Commons, said: “We are one of only 25 communities in the country who are certified in the I’m Still Here approach and the only dedicated memory care neighborhood in Georgia. This memory support program specializes in communication techniques and purposeful activities regardless of the cognitive challenge. For example, one of Sirod’s caregivers, Amanda Bunder, has an amazing connection with her and enables her to paint by providing choices and colors.” Jaffe: How would you describe

26 Sirod’s style?

Schultz: She was influenced by masters of the early Italian, Spanish and French Renaissance movement and the Venetian and English romantic schools. You see references to Bosch, Wyeth, Filippino Lippi and El

Chai-Style Art By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

Greco. She has always been mesmerized by magical landscapes and the grace of trees, particularly jacarandas. Trees stirred happy memories of summers in upstate New York. Abstract and literal human forms, prophets, angels and even dinosaurs are woven throughout. Most are oil on canvas. Sometimes she used masonry board, stray cardboard or found objects. Jaffe: Did your mother get a formal education, or was it more organic, like Grandma Moses, who began as an older adult? Schultz: She did have formal training, although it did not begin until she was well into her 40s. My mom went on to earn a bachelor of fine art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with concentrations in painting and filmmaking. She also later

attended the Otis Parsons art institute in Los Angeles. Jaffe: Where has her work been displayed? Schultz: She has shown at the Palm Springs Art Museum in San Diego, in shows curated by the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and in several competitive shows. Then came her career in the movie business. Jaffe: How did she segue way into filmmaking? Schultz: She began with positions in feature film development and went on to work in production, all in Los Angeles. She worked on 10 features, including “Call of the Wild,” “Silver Wolf,” and “Children of the Corn” 5 and 6. In 2000, my mom produced a film with Robin Williams titled, “An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story.” She also made “An African Sojourn,” a documentary throughout Nigeria and Ghana. In 1992 she served as director and curator of the Barbra Streisand Jewish Film Festival. Jaffe: How would you describe her religious journey? Schultz: As a very interesting one! My mom raised my brothers and me in a Conservative Jewish home, and all three of us were bar mitzvahed. In

1986 my parents moved to California, and she experienced a spiritual rebirth. A pivotal component of this path was her involvement with Eckankar, a religion of light and sound based in Nigeria. During this time, she divorced my father, moved to Venice Beach, and started painting and exploring her identity. Consistent with Eckankar, she believed that the soul travels via reincarnation, and the most important goal in life is to give and receive love. Jaffe: You spend a lot of time together; how does she communicate with you? Schultz: Traditional verbal/written communication tends to be unnecessary, and I believe it is highly overrated in general. My mom and I share a deeply felt connection that cannot be fully taken away, even by dementia. She blows sweet kisses. As her youngest child, it would be impossible for her to forget her Vonce (“bedbug” in Yiddish). Jaffe: What’s with the unusual name? Schultz: To turn her life upside down, she decided to reverse her given name, Doris, to Sirod. She originally chose not to have any legal last name, but the IRS had a problem with this. So while signing at the “X” one day, she decided to adopt that as her surname. And it stuck. ■

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ARTS

AJFF Shorts Bring Ethiopian Experience Alive By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com The first program of shorts at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents five films that tell two stories about Israel, offer a fun music video and show one way that women of all faiths worldwide connect with the Torah. The first two films, “Shimala” and “Habesha,” focus on Israel’s Ethiopians. “Shimala” is a cartoon, and although the animation is basic, it works

for the simple, emotional, true story of a mother who has fulfilled her dream of living in Israel but is heartbroken that her daughter has been left behind. Be prepared for a heart-rending ending. In some ways, “Habesha” tells the rest of the story. People who made the journey out of Africa to become Israelis, as well as a representative of the next generation, describe how the tough reality compares with their heavenly dreams of Jerusalem. The program takes a sharp turn

when its longest film, the 30-minute “Across the Line,” hits the screen. The line in question is the Green Line; the story of a religious settler trying to get home before Shabbat and a Palestinian hitchhiking to see his girlfriend takes place entirely in the West Bank. It’s a fun, silly comedy featuring two excellent actors, David Shaul and Jalal Mashwa, and a sweet message. The longest film in the program is followed by its shortest, “Chad Gadya,” in which the Passover classic, sung by

Cantor Moishe Oysher, is brought to life through animated embroidery. The stitching in “Chad Gadya” meshes well with the finale, a 16-minute documentary about the Torontobased Torah Stitch by Stitch project, “Stitchers: Tapestry of Spirit.” It’s an amazing effort: more than 1,500 people, most of them women, including at least one Muslim and an English Catholic nun, working in more than 20 countries to turn the Torah into a tapestry, four verses at a time. ■

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FOOD

5 Coffee Shops Where You’ll Find a Warm Welcome

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Meteorologists have their work cut out for them this time of year. Georgia weather quickly bounces from hot to cold, from rainy to downright gray and dreary. Atlantans are lucky to have a sprawling city flourishing with trees and parks, but there’s less to seek and enjoy when the temperature drops below our comfort zone. We are quick to grow bored in this season and don’t know what to do besides sleep and watch every Oscar-nominated movie. When the climate is not ideal, here’s a suggestion for you: Visit Atlanta’s best coffee shops. Hide out in your favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) cozy spots. If you must come out from under your comforter, this list compiled by Taste of Atlanta suggests great options: • East Pole Coffee, Brookwood Hills (eastpole.coffee) — Opened in September, East Pole Coffee is new to the Armour Yards area on Ottley Drive. Order coffee any way you like,

and the baristas are happy to make your drink extra frothy and Instagram-able. East Pole offers seasonal specials, and the current version is one

The Food Scene By Skye Estroff

Press & Grind is a cozy VirginiaHighland spot to work or relax.

Photos by Skye Estroff

The baristas at East Pole Coffee are happy to make your coffee frothy and photogenic.

of the most creative coffee concoctions we have seen. The new latte is made with freshly squeezed orange, orange zest, honey and rosemary steeped in a simple syrup and garnished with an orange peel and cinnamon. • Press & Grind, Virginia-Highland (www.facebook.com/pages/PressGrind/1058045404248468) — Press & Grind is synonymous with cozy. This Virginia-Highland gem is a great space to spend downtime and is just as suitable for working and taking meetings. The charming converted house has great seating and offers a quiet space to get away. There is parking behind the house, or you can park on the street and walk over from the surrounding streets of Virginia Avenue and North Highland Avenue. • Land of a Thousand Hills, Roswell, Atlantic Station, Midtown and Cumming (landofathousandhills.com) — If it’s your first time trying Land of a Thousand Hills, we recommend a drive to the Roswell location, which is on a hill overlooking Atlanta Street in a historic house where, once inside, you feel like you’re away from the city commotion. The indoor feel is comfy and warm, and the outdoor space is plentiful once spring turns a corner. Another perk: This shop is open late. On Fridays and Saturdays, Land of a Thousand Hills stays open until 11 p.m. • Chattahoochee Coffee Co., Cumberland and West Midtown (www. chattahoocheecoffee.com) — This coffee shop flies under the radar, but if you try it one time, you won’t be able to stay away. Chattahoochee Coffee is at the back of the Walton River apart-

ment community. When you pull up to the gate, use the callbox to say you’re heading to Chattahoochee Coffee Co., and the baristas will buzz you in. Drive straight to the back of the community and park in the dedicated lot on the left. As the name suggests, the shop overlooks the Chattahoochee River. During the warmer months, sit on the deck, or venture downstairs and sit right next to the river. • Moonbird Coffee, Chamblee (www.moonbirdcoffee.com) — Moonbird Coffee is self-proclaimed as the “proud newcomer” to the Chamblee area. The shop is inside the reputable restaurant Southbound. Notable pastries on the Moonbird menu include Vegan Zucchini Bread, Hummingbird Bread and Sweet Potato Pie. Everything is locally imported: coffee from CoffeeM and Holy Kakow, pastries from Alon’s Bakery and Twisted Pastry. Other notable shops include Dancing Goats (Midtown, Ponce and Decatur), Brash Coffee (Westside Provisions District), San Francisco Coffee Roasting Co. (Virginia-Highland) and Tea House Formosa (Buford Highway and Doraville). ■ Skye Estroff is the marketing and media manager for Atlanta’s largest food festival, Taste of Atlanta. She is an Atlanta native, a University of Georgia grad and an expert in Atlanta’s best food. Stay up to date with food and restaurants by following Taste of Atlanta on Facebook (Taste of Atlanta), Instagram (@TasteofAtlanta) and Twitter (@TasteofAtlanta) and following her food stories on Instagram (@skyemichelle58).

The view at the original Chattahoochee Coffee Co. location is good if you’re looking at your drink or at the river.

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OBITUARIES

89, Atlanta

Herbert Gershon, age 89, of Atlanta died Friday, Jan. 12, 2018. His life was defined by his passions — radio, music and, above all, family. He began his love affair with radio in the Army, where he served as an announcer. Early in his career, he became half of the first interracial, or salt-and-pepper, radio team in Atlanta. He worked at multiple Atlanta radio stations, serving as news director at WGST, WPLO and WRNG. He developed his love for music as a boy. He played trombone and proudly spoke of joining Atlanta’s Jewish drum and bugle corps at an early age. He married the true love of his life, Evelyn Gershon, in 1954. They had three children and two grandchildren. Happily, the entire family gathered the night before his passing to celebrate Evelyn’s 90th birthday, sharing a joyous, loving occasion. He even sang “Happy Birthday” to her just hours before he passed away peacefully. Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Gershon; son Eric, his wife, Joan, and grandson Eli; daughter Gina, her husband, Jim, and grandson Nate; and son Josh. He is also survived by his sisters, Phyllis Arnold (Joe) and Elaine Beeber. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Congregation Bet Haverim, Ahavath Achim Synagogue or the charity of your choice. A graveside service was held Sunday, Jan. 14, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Elaine Hirsch 79, Atlanta

Elaine Shulman Hirsch, 79, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, from complications associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Elaine was born Dec. 8, 1938, at Beth El Hospital in Newark, N.J., to parents Nat and Lillian Shulman (both of blessed memory) and grew up in Charleston, S.C., where her father served as director of the Charleston Jewish Community Center and where Elaine would, at one point, work alongside him as director of the JCC’s summer day camp, Camp Baker. Elaine graduated from Charleston’s Rivers High School and from the College of Charleston, where she earned her bachelor of science in 1960. Her first job out of college took her to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a computer programmer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and where she met her future husband, Paul Hirsch, at a DCJCC singles Chanukah party. She and Paul married in May 1961 and settled in Silver Spring, Md., where their two eldest children were born. In 1968 the family moved to Athens, where, two years later, Elaine gave birth to twins. In 1974 the family moved to East Cobb, and, soon after, Elaine returned to the workforce, with jobs as a school library assistant and later as a computer programmer with Cox Communications. But the job she held the longest, until her retirement, was with the IRS as “one of the good guys,” working in the division of customer services. This position gave her the opportunity to travel — taking her

Death Notices

Margo Berkman of Marietta on Jan. 3. Naum Lyubich of Panama City, Fla., on Jan. 3. Dveyra Yurovitskaya, 94, of Atlanta on Jan. 11. Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Associate Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@ atljewishtimes.com.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

Herbert Gershon

on a number of overseas assignments, instructing service and civilian personnel on military bases in Japan, Greece, Turkey and Bahrain. She enjoyed additional travel experiences with Paul, taking part in Road Scholar programs, visiting Israel and multiple countries in Europe and South America. Elaine was a lifetime member of Hadassah and was active with the League of Women Voters. She was a member of The Temple for over 40 years, forging lifelong friendships through the synagogue’s chavurah program, becoming an adult bat mitzvah at age 68, and participating in trips and activities with The Temple Sages. Elaine was an avid reader, loved PBS mystery programs, and was a member of a book club and a mah-jongg group. While she never returned there to live, Charleston remained her “soul home,” and she spent many happy days there, visiting her parents and friends and teaching her children to ride the waves off Folly Beach and Sullivan’s Island. Survivors include husband Paul Hirsch; daughters Mira Hirsch (Keith Yaeger), Abby Reish (Greg) and Deva Hirsch (Stuart Peskin); son Joe Hirsch (Andrea); grandchildren Sophie Yaeger, Nate Yaeger, Isabella Reish, Charlie Peskin, Sydney Peskin, Eden Hirsch and Sabra Hirsch; and brothers Sandy Shulman (Sandra) and David Shulman. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hadassah, the College of Charleston, The Temple or the Alzheimer’s Association. Funeral services were held Friday, Jan. 5, at H.M. Patterson & Son’s Arlington Chapel and graveside at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Peter Berg officiating.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Even for the Bronx First of all, I don’t really believe there is such a thing as 14 degrees, and certainly not minus-14 degrees. What kind of a number is minus-14 degrees or minus-10 degrees or minus any degrees? Cold by any other name is still cold. It’s a plot to unnerve us, to lull us into thinking we know nothing, to accept that it’s the weather forecasters who are the smart ones and that our daily lives hinge on the relationship they have with Mother Nature. Did any of them go to the Bronx High School of Science? Well, neither did I. However, I know someone who did, my very own sister, so by one degree of separation, I am smarter than those farkakteh (silly) forecasters. If you are reading this and happen to be a weather forecaster, please do not take offense or, worse yet, bring those degrees down even further. This is just a Shaindle’s Shpiel, after all, and truth to power — how we go about our daily lives does depend upon you. Our driveway was totally black ice the other morning. My brave husband fell taking the trash cans out on his way to picking up the newspapers. I happened to be looking out our front door when he fell, so I screamed: “Are you OK?” I was relieved he said he was OK because running (sliding) down to help was unthinkable, given that it was freezing outside. So instead I made an offer: Wait until I leave for work. I will drive down, pick up the papers and drive back up to give them to you. Clever, right? Hmm, not so much. Slowly backing out of the garage, the car spun — just a little, just enough to scare the bejesus out of me. Most folks do back out of their garages slowly, this is true. However, the real and true reason I must back 30 out slowly is because my Honda Pilot

(which I love) leaves a little less than 6 inches for maneuvering. Weight Watchers can’t help my car lose inches. When my house was built, cars were much smaller. Actually, I think we were too. Our dinner plates were smaller as well. Ah, but I digress. At what would be considered a

snail’s pace, I drove down the driveway, skidding just a wee bit on the ice. At the bottom of the drive, I put the car in park, exited the car, picked up the papers and attempted to drive back up. Nope, no way, not gonna happen, not in this lifetime. My car skidded, and I could not get up the drive. So, once again I put the car in park, exited and slowly crept up the driveway with the newspapers in hand. I tossed them with all my might to my hubby and slid back to my car, where the door was open and ready for me to climb back in. I attempted to climb back into the driver’s seat, and the darned car started sliding down the lower end of the driveway, with me holding the steering wheel while my legs imitated a scissor. I thought I was surely a goner. I just knew my Pilot would wind up flipping me under and drive over me. After about 5 feet of downward sliding, the car came to a stop, as did my heart and my breathing. As I climbed into my car, the frozen blood in my veins started defrosting and flowing to my heart, which, thank goodness, started beating again. Whew, that was a close one. Baby, it’s cold outside, even for this Bronx girl. Just sayin’! ■

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ACROSS 1. Apple or tomato 6. Intensifies 10. Like an unclosed honeypot 14. End of a shoelace 15. Emperor who the Talmud says became a proselyte 16. He played Kane’s Wayne 17. Goldie Hawn’s daughter 19. Sean Connery, for one 20. Holy Land abbr. 21. Daughter involved in a property dispute 22. Like lox 24. He’s appeared many times with Rogen and Banks 28. “One sec,” online 29. Candy-___ 30. Like Solomon as king, compared with his son 33. Friend to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 36. “Magniv!” (in the 1960s) 38. One is made on chametz 39. Adam’s 930, e.g. 40. Anderson who often casts Jason Schwartzman 42. HaZikaron preceder 44. Mossad counterpart; abbr. 45. Future tulip, say 47. Homerian exclamation 49. More likely to stay home from work 51. Belgian shoe 53. Sherpas, nationally 55. Persian, e.g. 56. Israel’s most famous woman 59. “All in the Family” role 62. “Hawaii Five-0” actor Daniel ___ Kim

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Shaindle’s Shpiel By Shaindle Schmuckler shaindle@atljewishtimes.com

“Luminaries”

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

At the bottom of the drive, I put the car in park, picked up the papers and attempted to drive back up. Nope, no way, not gonna happen, not in this lifetime.

JANUARY 19 ▪ 2018

CROSSWORD

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63. ___ L’Tzedek 65. Many millennia 66. The themers in this puzzle or what you get when you properly connect the two sets of circled ABCs 70. “E.T.” transport 71. Neighbor of Saudi Arabia 72. Country where Modi is 73. Chutzpah 74. Jacob’s 12 75. Makes like Haman

33. Montreal Canadiens, familiarly 34. Mayim, in Spain 35. Living comic legend 37. Amounts of medicine 41. Zemer 43. Kunis of “Family Guy” 46. Ludlum’s “Identity” and “Ultimatum” 48. Progress 50. Heroic Heston role 52. Friday letters that precede “F” 54. Area west of the DOWN Mississippi 1. “The Open Window” pen 57. Perform better than name 58. A Jewfro or hazel eyes 2. Audibly shocked 59. Says lashon hara, 3. ___ Orthodox perhaps 4. Chabad capital? 60. Princess who can fly 5. Biblical suffix through space (apparently) 6. Over ___ (sign-off) 61. “This is ___ for 7. ___ Kiddushin (wedding Superman!” leader) 64. Levin and Glass 8. Where some athletes go 67. Rock genre 9. Jacob’s 12 68. Jacob’s was injured by 10. Takes in, like the tribe of an angel Simeon into Judah 69. 56-Across hosted it Oct. 11. His name reversed is a 7, 2017 game 12. Soothing ointment 13. Abbr. after many a general’s name 18. Lacking a G or an R LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 23. Deg. for B A R E S N O K I A C P A Bloomberg F L A M E E A R N S H I T 25. ___A G E F I L T E F I S H O L E (Bruin’s sch.) T R E A D S E E L S S A R G E N T 26. ’20s movie A L I A S E S R A N T L A B A N O N E A mogul K U G E L I N T O T R L 27. “Band B R I S K E T of Brothers” N S C S O S O B A B K A event E C H O M I N E R D A M S 31. First name T R A U M A S V A N E S S A behind “A Jew E L S E L O C A L S Today” C A L C H I C K E N S O U P U M A C A C H E N O O S E 32. Stern E S H A R E A S A N N A N (nautically) 1

33 37

11 16

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