No. 11 March 15 The Atlanta Jewish Times

GET GUN CONTROL RIGHT PAGE 4

atlanta

PASSOVER: FROM ANOTHER ANGLE

NOT JUST A JOKE, JOAN

PAGE 18

PAGE 10

march 15, 2013 – march 21, 2013

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AJT

israel

Israeli Pride

GOOD NEWS MADE IN THE JEWISH STATE THIS PAST WEEK

SIGHT FOR THE BLIND ACHIEVED THROUGH “PROJECTION.” Researchers in Optogenetics at Israel’s Technion are working on a substitute for damaged retinas. A light-sensitive protein can turn the ganglion cells in the eye into photoreceptors. Visual images projected onto these cells stimulate neurons and recreate the image in the brain.

ISRAEL DESTROYS LANDMINES. Israel has begun a project to rid the area of Eilat of over 10,000 defensive landmines placed near the city in clearly marked minefields during the ’60s and ’70s. The recovered land will be returned to the city for use in housing and agriculture.

OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY THE JEWISH STATE IN D.C. CREATED. The Israel Insti-

tute opened its doors in the U.S. capital last week with a novel mission: to advance the scholarly study of modern Israel in the United States and around the world.

TEN ISRAELI BANDS AT SXSW TEXAS. If you visit the music and film festival South By South West in Austin, Texas, you will get an opportunity to hear per-

formances from some of the best Israeli groups. SXSW celebrates 27 years with its 2013 festival; the multiple-day event ends March 17.

This list courtesy Michael Ordman and verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com.

RARE TREATMENT SAVES BABY. Doctors at Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya saved the life of a month-old baby who contracted whooping cough before immunization. The baby’s blood was replaced with infused blood, and she was soon discharged.

UK GUARDIAN HAILS ISRAELI CANCER TESTS. In a unique recognition of Israel’s medical success, the UK’s main newspaper ran a piece originally from the “British Journal of Cancer” on the innovative diagnosis breath test invented by Israel Technion Professor Hossam Haick.

GOLAN DRUZE EXPORT APPLES TO SYRIA. Israel will export 18,000 tons of apples grown by Druze farmers on the Golan Heights to Syria over the next three months. The transaction benefits Israel – by keeping the price of the fruit stable – as well as the Druze farmers, who are able to market their surplus.

ISRAELI TECH IS POWERING PLANES. When you next board an Airbus – or any plane with Pratt and Whitney engines – you can rest assured that Israeli technology is helping to power you to your destination. Bet Shemesh Engines produces components for the auxiliary power units and will continue to do so for a minimum of seven years.

TWENTY-THOUSAND PEOPLE RUN IN JERUSALEM MARATHON. Runners from 52 countries competed in the 2013 Jerusalem Winner International Marathon.

Ethiopians won both the men’s and women’s races in record times.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

WIRELESS CHARGING FOR IPHONE DEBUTS. Israel’s Powermat Technologies unveiled its cordless iPhone 5 charger at the Barcelona World Mobile Congress.

The product includes a charging case, an extra battery (which doubles the iPhone’s work period) and a 7,000-milliampere mobile internal charging pad for multiple recharges.

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AJT

op-ed

Op-Ed: Another Take on Firearms GREATER GUN CONTROL WILL NOT REDUCE VIOLENCE

BY Mitchell Kaye

For the Atlanta Jewish Times

T

he sight of innocent children gunned down at Sandy Hook has tugged on our emotions.

Seizing this “opportunity,” many Jews (not to mention the Obama administration) have called for greater restrictions on gun ownership. The Atlanta Jewish Times even published a column entitled “Gun Control is a Jewish Value.”

This thinking is not only misguided from a safety perspective, but runs counter to Jewish principles.

Reducing the level of violence in society is a worthy goal and must be pursued. However, gun control is not synonymous with crime control.

Criminals know too well where to find the easiest prey – namely, the weak and/or defenseless.

Except for the shooting at a congressional town hall meeting in Arizona in 2011, practically all mass

shooting murders in the U.S. have occurred in gun-free zones where the law-abiding cannot defend themselves: Columbine, Luby Cafeteria, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, ad nauseum.

The killers responsible for the tragedies at these sites are cowards and seek easy victims. At the first sign of armed deterrence, they surrender quickly or kill themselves.

In Aurora, Colo., the masked killer had a choice of seven theaters showing “The Dark Knight Rises” movie within 20 minutes of his home.

He didn’t go to the closest for convenience, nor did he choose that location that might allow him to achieve a maximum body count.

Instead, he chose the only one that specifically banned firearms.

Gun-free zone: 12 dead and 58 injured. In this case and others, such a zone resulted in disarming lawabiding citizens, not criminals (who by definition do not obey the law).

Life at Home is the Key to IndependenceSM

Reducing violent crime is a multifaceted task and includes greater assistance for mental illness; reducing Hollywood and video game violence that glorifies and desensitizes; better inter-governmental sharing of data in the NCIC instant background check system to prevent ineligible purchases; and enforcing the 20,000plus Federal and state gun laws already on the books.

But what do you do when an active shooter is in your school, business or house of worship, intent on killing as many people as possible?

Dial 911 and wait?

Homeland Security advises us to run, hide or fight. The Talmud (Berachos 58a) says, “if someone comes to kill you, anticipate him and kill him first.”

In gun-free zones, only the lawabiding are unarmed and make for obvious and easy targets.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the Newtown School Board (with the urging of parents) voted unanimously to assign two armed officers to every elementary school under its jurisdiction. The board members understood that the only real way to stop a bad person with a gun is with a good person with a gun.

Armed personnel were already in Newtown’s middle and high schools, as threats were thought to come from students of those ages. Today, we sadly know that threats often come from outsiders, and for this reason many elementary schools have started using armed security.

And what else can we do? We need to start enforcing existing laws.

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In 1994, as a member of the Georgia legislature, I helped pass mandatory minimum sentencing for those convicted of the “seven deadly sins.”

Since that time, the overall violent crime has decreased by more than 60 percent in the city of Atlanta.

What’s more, the Center for Disease Control reports gun homicides have decreased every year since 2007, and the per capita rate is at a 30-year low. Gun ownership continues to rise, while murder and violent crimes continue to drop.

Unfortunately there is no legislative remedy that could guarantee a tragedy like Sandy Hook will never happen again. If there were, it would have been enacted years ago.

The Connecticut assault weapons ban is more restrictive than the ex-

pired Federal law, and that didn’t help. Besides, annual FBI crime statistics show more people are murdered each year with hammers and clubs than assault rifles. So are we going to ban those, too?

The FBI estimates there are approximately 1.5 to 2 million instances of defensive firearm usage in the U.S. annually, and the overwhelming majority don’t even result in the firing of a single shot! These incidents rarely make the news, because “if it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead.”

“If it could save even one life” is often a rallying cry. But with greater gun restrictions, more innocent lives would be lost. A rapist would never hear the words “stop or I’ll shoot!”

In the U.S., gun control has racist roots designed to prevent blacks and other minorities from being able to defend themselves from lynch mobs – the KKK didn’t want any armed resistance. For proof, one need only look at our hometown paper: An Atlanta Journal headline once read “No Guns for Negroes.”

In 1968, during the frenzy after the murders of Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the most comprehensive piece of gun legislation – the U.S. Gun Control Act – was passed. It was sponsored by a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Thomas Dodd (father of former Sen. Chris Dodd), who assisted the Allied prosecuting team at Nuremberg.

So, was it coincidence that many portions of the U.S. law were taken verbatim from the Nazi gun laws of the 1930s? Regardless, it is not a comforting fact.

History has taught us Jews that with gun control, governments have a monopoly on weapons, and this has been a recipe for disaster. Our protectors can and have turned into our persecutors.

Time after time, the story is the same. Disarming law-abiding citizens results in more crime, while punishing criminals results in less crime.

New gun laws are about sound bites, not sound crime-reducing policies. The right to protect ourselves and our loved ones is not a right bestowed upon us by any government; it is an inalienable, G-d-given right.

Mitchell Kaye served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 10 years and lives in east Cobb with his wife and three children.

AJT

news

Hunger Walk Raises Big Bucks JEWISH ATLANTA COMES OUT IN FORCE

BY RON FEINBERG WEB EDITOR

M

other Nature was onboard for this year’s Hunger Walk on March 10, and so were several thousand Atlantans, including representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Family & Career Services, at least a half-dozen metro Atlanta synagogues and several other Jewish organizations.

“It’s a pretty day, and this is a fun thing to do,” said Diane Cohen, a member of Ahavath Achim in Atlanta. “And it’s all for a really great cause.”

The parking area around Turner Field was packed with participants – an estimated 15,000 people, according to early reports. Like Cohen, most everyone spent the afternoon enjoying the balmy weather, festive atmosphere and three-mile stroll through downtown Atlanta.

Walkers and runners were decked out in an assortment of cool and colorful sporting gear, including t-shirts that offered a variety of messages (Praying With My Feet) and team alliances (Sinai Striders).

Good will and good times aside, this year’s Hunger Walk – a project of the Atlanta Community Food Bank – managed to raise thousands of dollars. Proceeds benefit the Food Bank and other local nonprofit organizations that support food pantries, community kitchens, shelters and other such programs.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta both supports and benefits from The Hunger Walk. Through the Federation’s Hunger Walk/Run campaign, the Jewish community supported 23 organizations last year, including kosher food programs, shelters and food distribution programs in Atlanta, across the U.S. and even in Israel.

“We come out every year to take part,” said Rabbi Mark Zimmerman of Congregation Beth Shalom in Dunwoody. “It’s the Jewish thing to do.”

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chana’s corner

My Feminist Moment GOING OFF-SCRIPT SELDOM WORKS

BY Chana Shapiro AJT COLUMNIST

I

know it’s time I put this old grievance aside – especially since it’s been more than 50 years – but I’m still mad at Mr. Mueller.

He was my junior high school principal; the authority who forced me to toe the line.

My friend Myra and I worried over the summer about entering seventh grade, where we would have “specialties.” We, with the drama and resolve of girls on the cusp of becoming teens, decided that we’d die if we had to endure a full half-year of sewing with Miss Banks followed by an equally painful half-year of cooking with Mrs. Hoagland.

So, we concluded, we would take our case to the big boss.

This is how it worked for girls at our school: In the first semester, we sewed three garments, one of them an apron. The next semester was spent wearing that apron in a classroom kitchen, preparing recipes and filing them in store-bought recipe boxes.

All the while, we knew there was another world down the hall – shop class. Myra and I yearned to walk purposefully down that hall and take

part in what was considered “men’s work.”

You might think that our aspiration to go from baking and hemming to drilling and soldering was motivated by a desire to be with boys, but that wasn’t the case. Myra and I, as it turned out, were with boys a lot: in youth groups, after-school plays, clubs and Sunday school.

No, it wasn’t a clever ruse to share sexy items, like hammers and drills, with males. Rather, we understood that boys got to do more interesting things than girls, and it just wasn’t fair. In fact, our “plan B” was a girlsonly shop class.

“Plan C” was to alternate cooking, sewing and shop, but that was just to show we weren’t averse to compromise.

All of our other classes were co-ed; only these specialties (which were meant to prepare us for real life, in which there were “manly arts” and “womanly arts”) were gender-specific. Our fathers and brothers tinkered with the innards of cars, while our mothers tinkered with the innards of turkeys.

Home life reinforced that division, to a degree. My mother – who knew

Shabbat Candle Lighting Times shabbat blessings Blessing for the Candles Baruch Arah A-do-nai,El-o-hei-nu Melech Haolam Asher Kid-shanu b’mitzvotav V’zivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of time and space.

You hallow us with Your mitzvot and command us to kindle the lights of Shabbat.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

Blessing for the Wine Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu Meelech Haolam, Borei p’ri hagafen Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

Blessing for the Bread (Challah) Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu Melech haolam, Hamotzi Lechem min haaretz.

Our Praise to You Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.

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Friday, March 15, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:27 pm Shabbat, March 16, 2013 Shabbat Ends: 8:23 pm

Friday, March 22, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:32 pm Shabbat, March 23, 2013 Shabbat Ends: 8:28 pm Friday, March 29, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:38 pm Shabbat, March 30, 2013 Shabbat Ends: 8:34 pm Friday, April 5, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:43 pm Shabbat, April 6, 2013 Shabbat Ends: 8:39 pm

how to do all sorts of hard, complicated things like knitting sweaters and lining drapes – didn’t change light bulbs or replace batteries, while my father – who could take a clock apart and put it back together – never made his own breakfast. And it was the same with Myra’s family.

it less assertively from lower down.

From my chair, I delivered a stirring plea.

We knew better than to tell our parents about our planned encounter. From them, we couldn’t hope for support or encouragement; in fact, if they knew that we wanted to rock the boat, they’d be on the school’s side. So Myra and I were on our own.

He was taking too long, so just to move things ahead, I added a new, unrehearsed reason.

Mr. Mueller listened to Myra and me without emotion or comment.

When we finished, he sat quietly, thinking, while we fantasized about a positive response.

“It’s not only going to be good for us,” I said, “but it’ll make the other girls happy.”

We wanted other girls to join us, but even though many liked the idea and dozens promised to sign up for shop if it were open to girls, not a single one agreed to talk to the principal with us.

“Oh,” he said, possibly imagining a revolution of hundreds of frizzyhaired girls with braces. “It’s not just the two of you, then. A lot of girls want to take shop, do they?”

The King and We

“Do all your friends know how to sew and cook already, as you two do?” he asked, wryly.

When we came to the front office to make our plea, the office secretary seated us near her desk, where she could keep an eye on us. We waited and waited as Mr. Mueller made sure the bused kids and the walkers were taken care of. Then, there was a “short” faculty meeting.

Finally coming back to the office, the regal Mr. Mueller saw two skinny, nervous, frizzy-haired Jewish girls, with braces (me) and eyeglasses (Myra), both of us precariously balancing books, notebooks and purses on our laps (the only people who had backpacks in those days were mountain climbers). Expecting that we were in some kind of trouble, the man gravely escorted us into his private office.

We planned to convince him that we’d take shop seriously and that we were truly interested in making useful things out of wood and metal. We claimed that we could already sew and cook very well – so why waste the teachers’ time?

This was another lie, but we thought it a necessary and convincing one.

Myra stood as she presented her well-rehearsed speech. I remained seated, figuring that if Mr. Mueller considered her confident stance an affront to his authority, I’d play

“It’s got to be more fun than sewing and cooking!” I blurted out.

I’d foolishly shown my hand. Mr. Mueller turned us down. He was nice about it, though, and he invited us to come to him with any other novel ideas. We gathered our belongings and left.

I was worried that by the time I got home, Mr. Mueller would have called my parents to make sure that they knew about our visit. Fortunately, he had plenty of things to call other parents about.

Myra and I spent the rest of the year avoiding Mr. Mueller and obeying the “specialty” rules: We traced patterns and baked muffins.

Believe it or not, I still have all the seventh-grade recipes, filed in a recipe box.

But would it be infinitely cooler if I’d made that box myself in shop class? Maybe you can see why I’m still mad at Mr. Mueller.

Chana Shapiro is an educator, writer, editor and illustrator whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines.

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if you ask me

Reunited at Midnight FREEDOM AND HOPE

BY Eugen Schoenfeld AJT Contributor

I

t is cold outside, but I know spring is coming. Purim is over, and my mind is now turning to the most meaningful holiday in the Jewish calendar - Pesach.

Perhaps this holiday is more meaningful to me than it is to other Jews because I, like our ancestors in Egypt, have been liberated in the spring. True, I was freed from slavery at the hands of the Germans but the parallel remains.

The Haggadah tells that all Jews should consider themselves as though they were freed, but to me the words “as though” are superfluous.

For me, to be released from bondage is not a hypothetical and imaginary condition; it was real.

A few weeks after our liberation from the German camp Muhldorf and the subsequent stay in a quasihospital run by the American military, all of us survivors were considered by the physicians to be “fit for repatriation.” This turned out to be a euphemism for being sent back to my hometown of Munkacs, the city from where – with the assent of the population – we were sent to Auschwitz.

We were given some civilian clothes that had been hauled out of barrels donated by Americans. I was given a pink houndstooth suit, a couple of shirts, underwear and a summer suede pair of shoes (somewhat tight that, in time, corns appeared).

We were also given an ID that attested in three languages that the bearer was a “Displaced Person” and served as a railroad pass.

With a box lunch in our hands and directions to our home, we embarked on a near-impossible journey to rebuild our lives. Unlike our liberated ancestors in the Passover story, we didn’t depart as a collective with our families intact and with a specific and collective destination.

never returned to their erstwhile homes.

My three uncles, for instance, rejected the city and went to different cities as transit places, where each waited for an opportunity to leave Europe for the United States. And my father and I, we planned to go back not to stay but only hoping to find in our old town members of the immediate family.

“It’s true: There in the classroom in Bratislava, we witnessed a miracle of total familial unification.”

We boarded the train with other survivors for a long and arduous trip. The experience was made physically difficult by the bombed-out rails, which forced us to make frequent detours.

The engine chugged to life for the first time in the early morning, and by nightfall we arrived in Bratislava, the present capital of Slovakia. Under normal circumstances, the train ride should have taken only three hours, but the circuitous routes we had to take made the ride an all-day affair.

We disembarked from the train to stay the night, after which another train would take my father and me the rest of the way to Munkacs. Others couldn’t bare going back to the places from which they were taken; in fact, most of the liberated persons

For our night in Bratislava, we were provided trucks and taken to an empty public school, where we were fed and provided space on the floor with mattresses for our stay. Tired from the day’s travel, my father and I laid down, but despite our exhaustion, neither of us could fall sleep.

We were anxious to find out what had happened to our family.

We had but another 300 miles to transverse before we would arrive in our old home, and we were hoping for the miracle that somehow we would be reunited with family there.

All throughout that restless dark, more survivors also on their way to their previous homes arrived to wait for the next train. When they entered the building in which we laid, all of us already there would run up to the new arrivals, asking them whether they knew anything about our missing family members.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

I recall that, when one group appeared early in the evening, all of us immediately surrounded them, asking the usual questions:

8

“Do you know anything about soand-so?”

I myself asked:

“Do you know anything about Benjamin, Edit and Yolanda Schoenfeld?”

Among those of us doing the questioning was a man who had been

interned with us in Muhldorf Wald Lager. Just as he arrived to the periphery of the new bunch, he omitted a loud cry – for there among the arrivals, he saw his wife. Needless to say, this reunion affected all of us and gave us hope that we too, like this man, might have a chance to reclaim our loved ones.

After it was determined that this particular group would yield just the one happy revelation, we all returned to our mattresses. Of course, hardly any of us slept; most, including my father and I, wistfully chatted about the possibility that we too might be similarly blessed.

And thus we continued until near midnight, when a group of women arrived. Again, all of us – including the reunited couple – hastened to inquire of family members. As before, our questioning was interrupted by loud and hysterical shrieks, for there, the same couple were hugging, crying and holding on to two young women – their daughters.

It’s true: There in the classroom in Bratislava, we witnessed a miracle of total familial unification. This indeed was a benediction of almost biblical proportions; the odds that a whole family would be brought back together in one evening were extremely low.

But what about the rest of us? We were happy for the now-whole family, of course, but at the same time we were also envious – and, in my heart, I was angry at G-d.

“Dear G-d, why not us?” I asked.

Needless to say, little rest was had by any of us that night. All who had witnessed the fortuitous occurrence cried silently, empathizing with that family’s good fortune and praying that, like them, we too would have the good luck to be reunited with our families.

Unfortunately, miracles are rare.

Eugen Schoenfeld is a professor and chair emeritus at Georgia State University and a Holocaust survivor.

AJT

l’chaim

The Waiting Game KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND

BY TED ROBERTS

The “Scribbler on the Roof”

A

s in every conception in Gd’s world, there are usually two sides. So it is with the cosmos – people, villages, stars, constellations and galaxies – but also the Divine mind that frames the universe.

We live on the material side, filled with suffering, exalting, hoping and dreaming. It was like that in my shtetl, where once the village folk told the story of a man named Israel.

Now, on the other side of this cosmos – back in the village – life as usual was difficult. It was almost impossible to cope with the difficulty of earning enough silver coins to feed a family.

True tzadikim were as rare as lilies in a garbage dump. Sad to say, many did not follow the advice of the prophets to walk in the ways of the Lord. Some strayed dizzily, some stepped to a different path far away.

The Jewish community had its share of wife-beaters, drunks, burglars, con-men and worse. They were a typical mix of humanity, with hearts both good and evil, beset by the chilling winds of the world’s adversity.

Like all of Hashem’s creatures, from the hungry child to the bandit’s victim, they complained; but they did keep hope alive in their hearts.

“Just wait,” they said to console each other, “and on some shining, spring day it will seem the time is

ripe. Someday the mashiach will come. Hunger, disease, and injustice will be faint memories.”

They waited in ignorance. So do we, and so does He, for that perfect day.

Ted Roberts is author of “The Scribbler on the Roof,” which is available through Amazon.com and lulu.com/ content/127641. Website: wonderworks.com. Blog: scribblerontheroof. typepad.com.

He lived a mile or two down the road near the village of Vlank, and all agreed that he was a strange man with no means of support except what the charitable left at his door.

He had no work. Mostly he spent his time flying kites.

Yes, that’s what I said – flying kites.

Since he didn’t play cards or indulge in lashon hara and stayed away from the village tavern, he had no adult friends. He instead befriended every child in the village, all of whom were also enchanted with the heavenly flight of kites.

When cheder was out, they flocked around Israel; every afternoon, except on the Sabbath and holidays, they paraded down the road. They either brought their own kites or they flew his.

And, strangely enough, wind or not, the kites always soared.

Israel was the only adult the youngsters knew who demanded nothing of them. No chores around the house or farm for the peasant boy, no stacking or carrying inventory for the sons of merchants. Not even study for the Yeshiva students.

One of the older and wiser children, though, was curious.

“Israel, what do you do besides fly kites?” he asked. “My father says you either have a rich uncle or a guardian angel.”

“I wait,” replied Israel.

“And what do you wait for?”

“I just wait,” said Israel.

“One day, when you are no longer interested in kites you will understand, I hope.”

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

He looked away as he adjusted the cross rib on one of his best fliers.

And his face gleamed like that of Moses when he came down from the mountain.

9

AJT

Noga reports

Not “Just a Joke,” Joan RIVERS’S MISTAKE AND A SLIPPERY SLOPE

BY Noga Gur-Arieh AJT Contributor

I

n the Feb. 25 episode of the E! cable network show “Fashion Police,” comedian Joan Rivers made a remark on Heidi Klum’s Academy Awards dress, saying: “The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), demanded that Rivers apologize for her “vulgar and hideous” remark, but the comedian refused. According to CNN, Rivers told HLN’s “Showbiz Tonight” that: “It’s a joke, number one. Number two, it is about the Holocaust. This is the way I remind people about the Holocaust; I do it through humor.”

That Rivers made an insensitive remark is no surprise. In fact, I assume that the first word that comes to mind to most people when they hear Rivers’s name is “vulgar.” And

personally, I admire her chutzpah; I think that she speaks for powerful, confident women.

She herself is a strong woman, and she’s on primetime television, and that makes her a feminist icon in my opinion. When she makes my jaw drop in shock with her not-so-politically-correct comments and remarks, I want to stand up and clap my hands in honor of her courage and bravery – that is, right after I finish digesting the fact that “she just said that!”

However, some things are not a laughing matter, and the Holocaust is at the top of that list. Under no circumstance is the Shoah a joke, even 70 years later.

That’s because a joke about the Holocaust is not like a joke about Jews, about gays, about women or about Israel. It is not “offensive” or “so-not-funny” or “taboo”; it is way beyond that.

The way I see it, when Rivers says her remarks are her way to remind people about the Holocaust, she’s wrong. I don’t think that a joke about the ovens that Jews were pushed into is a way to make people remember one of the darkest times in the world’s history.

Making jokes about the Holocaust on television tells viewers that this mass murder wasn’t really that bad; that, at the end of the day, it was actually pretty funny, all those incinerated bodies...

It took me a trip to Poland to truly understand just how terrible this genocide was. It took me seeing a building full of shoes, small chambers colored with Zyclon-B gas and covered with scratches made by human fingernails and one big pile of ashes to truly understand how there was no chance for the 6 million.

The 6 million, whose only crime was being different from the “ideal” type that someone decided should be the only sort of person to live on this planet.

That trip to Poland gave me an understanding that all of this was performed not by monsters, but by human beings. And that made me realize how important it is to remember and never forget.

Now, many people will live a lifetime without a visit to Poland, and others will put only minimal effort into reading and learning more about the Holocaust. Those people will only rely on what they see and hear, and that is how they will come to their conclusions.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

My worst fear is that someday, decades, maybe centuries from today, all that will be remembered from the Holocaust is jokes. I fear that on that day, it will be the mainstream opinion that many of the pictures and videos that were taken during the Holocaust were doctored; that most people will think “it actually wasn’t that terrible.”

10

I fear that in this time, a leader will rise and convince everyone that a certain group of people is the source of all problems, and that it would be best for everyone to just place them apart from the rest. I fear that no one will remember what truly happened last time, and that everyone will nod in agreement…

You may say I am overreacting.

After all, it was just one harmless joke, and no one will take is seriously. And you are right; it was just one joke.

But the fact that the story of Rivers’s comment did not make much noise means that many people were too casual in their reaction and just let her words pass as “a bit offensive,” just like the rest of her jokes. Many people who don’t take much of an interest in the Holocaust heard this joke, were shocked for a few seconds, but then just went back to enjoying the show.

Next time, they may also laugh at such jokes, and they may slowly forget that it truly was horrible.

Personally, I don’t find jokes about the Holocaust to be funny, but many of my friends do. I can understand that, because sometimes it helps to laugh about things that are difficult to handle.

Within the Jewish community – and especially in Israel – we are surrounded by the Holocaust. We read, we hear, we ask questions, and we always want to learn more. We understand the importance of remembering and never forgetting.

Still, amongst ourselves, we sometimes make jokes. We don’t tell them in public, and we don’t tell them to people who don’t have enough knowledge of the Holocaust because we don’t want them to take it lightheartedly.

Joan Rivers may also understand the importance of remembering the Holocaust, but she must take responsibility and understand many viewers do not.

Unlike jokes about Jews or gays or women or Hispanics or any other minority in today’s society, jokes about an historic event – something we can’t see for ourselves, but know to be far from funny – can have serious repercussions. It is not “offensive” or “not-so-funny,” and it’s not anti-Semitism.

It is being indifferent to the Holocaust, which is something we cannot let time make us.

Noga Gur-Arieh visited the U.S. to work at Camp Coleman after finishing her military service in the IDF. She is now back in Israel, working as a journalist.

AJT

op-ed

More on Vashti and Midrash A RESPONSE TO RABBI SHLOMO PINKUS

BY Rabbi Zev Farber

L

ast week’s AJT (March 8 edition) featured an article

by Rabbi Shlomo Pinkus that critiqued Eden Farber’s column, “Who put the ‘SH’ in Vashti?�, the basis of which was the dissonance between the simple reading of the Megillah text about Vashti and the midrashic reading. Although the Midrash lampoons Vashti, the simple reading of the text paints an understandable, even heroic, character.

Even though Vashti is the queen of Persia, her husband King Ahasuerus demands that she stand before his drunken colleagues so they can gaze at her beauty. Offended, Vashti refuses, a decision which causes her to lose her royal status.

In her column, Eden noted that this decision can be seen as a courageous example of a person sticking to her guns and not allowing herself to be debased, no matter what the cost.

On the other hand, Rabbi Pinkus, in response to this column, writes: “More than disturbed by the writer’s lack of research and understanding of the information obtained, I was scared that someone would actually think, write and print the ideas that were presented.�

I must admit that I share some of Rabbi Pinkus’ feelings – but in regard to his article, not Eden’s. Putting aside the questionable propriety of his tone as a rabbi responding to an article by a high school student, I will limit myself to the methodological and factual errors contained in his piece.

These errors fall into two main categories: understanding the difference between Midrash (homiletical readings) and peshat (simple or contextual readings), and the determination of historicity when reading stories about the past.

Also, the idea that Vashti was

In making this claim, Rabbi Pinkus is doubly mistaken. First, there is a Talmudic principle known as ein miqra yotzei midei peshuto – a verse cannot be removed from its simple meaning. In other words, one can offer midrashic readings of text that differ from the plain meaning, but these need to be viewed as additional to but does not cancel out the plain meaning.

And second, although Rashi quotes the midrashic reading in his commentary, there are a number of traditional commentaries that read the text simply, without the midrashic changes, such as those below.

Malbim (Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michal Wisser; 1809-1879, Russia) believes that Ahasuerus wished to show off Vashti’s beauty to demonstrate that he only married her for her appearance, and that her family history (the rabbis believed Vashti descended from Nebuchadnezzar) was of no consequence to him.

Leibush asserts that Vashti refused to allow this insult to her family and wouldn’t appear.

The Gra (R. Elijah Kramer, 17201797, also known as the “Vilna Gaon�) offers a similar interpretation in his peshat section. And finally, Rabbi Joseph ibn Nahmias (14th century, Spain) writes that although the midrash says that Ahasuerus wanted Vashti to come out nude, the peshat is that he wanted her to appear clothed and wearing the crown to show off her beauty.

But onto the second category of Rabbi Pinkus’s errors: his comments about historicity. He argues that it would have been impossible for the rabbis to invent the claims they make about Vashti since these Midrashim “were recorded at the time of Purim by the people involved, who witnessed the miracles unfold.�

Actually, the Midrashim are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud, a work edited in the late fifth-to-early

sixth century C.E., while Ahasuerus (the Hebrew name for Xerxes) reigned from 519 to 465 B.C.E. That’s a difference of more than 1,000 years.

Thus, the editors of the Talmud can no more write eye-witness accounts of the Purim story than I could write an eyewitness account of the First Crusade. And even if one wanted to say that the Talmud was recording an older tradition, the people quoted are Rava (4th Century), R. Yossi bar Hanina (3rd Century), and an unnamed Tannaitic source (2nd Century) – still a difference of 700 years or so.

Of course, one can suggest that these sages were just passing along ancient information, but this is a faith claim – i.e., an assertion one can believe or not, rather than one based on evidence. Although such claims may pass as history in certain more fundamentalist circles, historians would not consider these stories eye-witness accounts.

And finally, when Rabbi Pinkus claims that there is no evidence for a “good Vashti� in either midrashic or Persian texts, I do not know what he means. There are no Persian annals

extant from this period of time, and the historical outline we have comes from a combination of archaeological evidence (including some written material like the Daiva inscription) and Greek historians such as Herodotus.

Vashti – good or bad – is not mentioned in any of these.

In short, there is nothing stopping Jews from interpreting Vashti as either a positive or a negative character, and both interpretations can be found in traditional commentaries.

Rabbi Pinkus’ critique notwithstanding, there is no historical evidence about Vashti one way or the other, and no religious imperative to jettison the simple reading of the Megillah for the midrashic one.

Editor’s note: Rabbi Zev Farber has his ordination (yoreh yoreh) and his advanced ordination (yadin yadin) from YCT Rabbinical School and has just completed his Ph.D. in Jewish studies at Emory University. He is also the father of celebrated AJT columnist, Eden Farber.

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To begin with, Rabbi Pinkus believes that it is illegitimate practice to read the text of the Megillah in a way that contradicts the midrashic reading. But the Megillah includes nothing about Vashti persecuting Jewish women, or about Ahasuerus requesting her to show up nude.

grotesque actually contradicts the explicit statement of the Megillah that she was beautiful. Nevertheless, Rabbi Pinkus seems to believe that the rabbis’ interpretation of the text is so authoritative that one cannot legitimately interpret the Megillah by its own words.

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AJT

passover

Atlantan Competes in Manischewitz Cook-Off

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GREAT GRANOLA, AT PASSOVER OR YEAR-ROUND

Q+A WITH CONTESTANT ROBIN SAUL

BY ELIZABETH FRIEDLY

BY John McCurdy

Assistant Editor

F

rom thousands of entries nationwide, the final five contestants have been chosen to compete in Newark, N.J. for the 7th Annual Manischewitz CookOff. Among them is Atlanta’s own Robin Saul – her Balsamic Mushroom Matzo Panini with mango jam beat out countless other recipes for a chance at the grand prize of $25,000 on March 21.

Managing Editor thinking out of the box!

I took my talent and I try to do something in order to get funding for her to go to school, so that’s really exciting.

AJT: Have you always enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen?

RS: I have always been naturally drawn to cooking and trying new things. When I ask my And not only is Saul’s family what their favorreputation as a Southite recipe is, they laugh ern chef on the line, but and say, ‘You always her daughter’s educamake something differtion funds as well; it ent, so we don’t neceswas in an effort to raise sarily have a favorite.’ money for her daughRobin Saul I just love all types of ter’s seminary schoolinternational and ething that Saul decided nic cooking because you on a whim to enter the get to try new things and it literally competition. brings you out of your space to an The Atlanta Jewish Times caught other place. up with Saul to talk about representing her community, her love of food AJT: When did you find out you were and any pre-competition jitters. a finalist?

The Atlanta Jewish Times: How does it feel to be representing the South on the national stage like this?

Robin Saul: Obviously, it’s a tremendous honor. I don’t feel like it is a personal winning, I really feel like I am representing Atlanta.

I looked at their [Manischewitz’s] list of past winners, and I don’t think there’s been anyone from Atlanta.

It’s time that the big cities recognize that Atlanta is not a small town; there’s a lot of talent here, there’s a lot going on, and we have an identity on our own.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

AJT: And this win could help out your daughter as well, correct?

RS: Yes; she’s graduating from high school this year, and she applied to a Jewish seminary and got in. The thing is, it’s not like college, where you have a lot of scholarship money.

The administrator [at school] said, ‘You’ve gotta think outside of the box when it comes to looking for scholarships.’ When I entered this 12 recipe contest, I felt like I was really

RS: I got a phone call and I was too embarrassed to ask where they were [in the decision process] – because I knew there were thousands of recipes.

I just kind of rode with the tide, I guess you could say, because it was so unexpected that I was chosen. It still hadn’t really sunk in that they had really called me. They have so many entries!

AJT: Are you feeling ready for the live competition?

RS: Well, I was at the beginning very stunned because I had never actually made the recipe. Now I’ve made the recipe several times and each time I make it, I feel much more comfortable with how I’m going to present it.

AJT: Any special Passover plans?

RS: I will be making a lot of matzo jam this Passover, I’ll tell you that!

My son takes the panini, and he takes a whole spoon of extra jam on top. I can already tell it’s a big hit, and it’s just so easy to make.

I

t would be safe to say that Matzolah was “in the works” for quite some time.

“About 30 years ago on Passover, I had an idea; it didn’t exist then and it barely exists now,” Wayne Silverman, president of Matzolah manufacturer Foodman’s Original, said with a smile.

“I made a kosherfor-Passover matzah granola and started sending that around to friends.”

age of locations to pick up their Matzolah: Try any metro-area Kroger’s or Whole Foods, or patronize one of many smaller vendors, such as Bagel Palace, Mercantile Exchange, Oakhurst Market or Kavarna. Nationally, the product can also be found in Shoprite, Stop ‘n Shop and Safeway (Northeast) and specialty stores (California and Florida).

And beyond commercial sales, Foodman’s also makes a point to partner closely “Right away, with non-profeveryone was sayits all over the ing, ‘You’ve got country. Locally, to market this, Laura and Dave you’ve got to marBogart of Toco ket this.’”

Hills represent As the saying the company to goes, behind evsynagogues, day ery great man is schools, religious a great woman. It Silverman’s personal favorite Matzolah schools and more. was Wayne’s wife, preparation: with fruit and whole-grain

“In this comLaura Silverman, flakes in milk pany, I’ve brought that pushed him my non-profit exto truly launch ecutive experience.

What we’re dothe product. In 2002, the couple and their daughter, under supervision of ing is, we’re creating a very different a mashgiach, made the first 1,000 niche of sales channels,” Silverman said. “We have direct sales to indiboxes of Matzolah. viduals, and yes, we’re in grocery That limited stock sold almost im- stores – but we’ve also been doing mediately, and local grocery stores direct sales to non-profit organizacame calling for more right away. tions because I so intimately know “Some chains wanted us to make a all these entities and how they operton of it, but we got scared and quit,” ate.”

Silverman said. “It was overwhelm- Regardless of where you find it, ing, and we didn’t know what to do.” it’s evident the passion for Matzolah Thus one more bump in the road – KosherFest 2013’s Best New Passwas encountered, but neither Laura over Product – is spreading. nor Wayne were truly content to give If you want to get in on the goodness, up. Finally, once the family had re- visit any of the above locations or located to the Atlanta area, it was order via foodmannosh.com or (404) time.

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“We were still thinking, ‘We’ve got to do this, we’ve got to do this,’” Silverman said. “So I gave up life as I knew it – and my life savings – and took a chance to marry all of the things I’ve really been passionate about in my life.”

Today, Atlantans have no short-

AJT

passover

Sacrificing in Flavor, but Not Selection THEY CAN MAKE ANYTHING KOSHER-FOR-PASSOVER!

BY RON FEINBERG WEB EDITOR

I can feast on frozen waffles, toast and cereal for breakfast; sandwiches – heavy on the, ah, bread – for lunch and a euphonic and tasty blend of pastas for dinner. Let’s not forget snacks and dessert: graham crackers and chocolate chip cookies; Weight Watchers brownies and ice cream; jellies, jams and cola all laced with high-fructose corn syrup.

Burp!

Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t use my gut as a trash can. Given that I’m doing a pretty good job of turning my back on all things sugary and loaded with carbs, it’s probably better that I stick with salads, yogurt, veggies and protein. The chametz – or what little is still around in a few days, even the sugarless stuff – will either be packed up and stored, sold or tossed.

Finally, Wendy and I will spend a giddy hour or so next weekend checking out the pantry and sweeping away all the crumbs that have nestled comfortably into the little cracks and crevices in our kitchen.

Then we’ll be set, time once again to focus on matzah and the lovely new things that kosher food manufacturers are producing these days to make Passover palatable.

Once upon a time, you had to suffer for a week or so, recalling those momentous days thousands of years ago when the Children of Israel, with a little Divine help and guidance, broke free from Egyptian slavery.

As the story goes, the Hebrew slaves were in such a hurry to skedaddle once Moses finished plaguing Pharaoh that we’re told they didn’t even have time to let their bread rise be-

fore baking it.

The finished product, flat and tasteless, is what we call matzah today. It remains flat and mostly tasteless and, along with a few additional dietary laws, informs what observant Jews can eat during the holidays.

And what’s the penalty for cheating and enjoying a piece of bread, donut or slice of cake?

Those souls – the observant believe – are lost to the people Israel.

Yikes.

But I digress.

These days you can, ah, “skip” your cake and eat it too! All those things that are prohibited – cereal, pasta, cakes, cookies and soda – are now produced in ways that allow them to be consumed while following the letter of the law, if not exactly the spirit of the holiday.

There used to be something special about not being able to eat your favorite breakfast cereal, ignoring Coca-Cola for a few days and being forced to use macaroons instead of Oreo cookies to dunk in your milk.

If you’re willing to pay the price, however, these days you can buy just about anything made special for Passover.

No need to suffer: These days, you can find just about anything and everything kosher for Passover at your neighborhood supermarket.

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As I write this, entire aisles are taken up with such goodies at area supermarkets and specialty stores.

It’s not exactly as tasty as the stuff filled with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, but it’s close.

And if it’s a matter of keeping your soul connected with the Children of Israel when you’re yearning for a sugary hit, maybe it’s worth the price. Just make sure you read the fine print when checking out at the market and make sure you have a good rabbinic lawyer when checking in to heaven.

You might also consider bringing along a few boxes of chocolatecovered matzo when standing before the pearly gates. It turns out the guy sporting the big “G” on his sweatshirt has a sweet tooth.

Just make sure it’s kosher for Passover!

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ime is running out, and I still have lots of chametz to finish off before Passover begins later this month. I imagine my wife Wendy and I will be throwing out much of the prohibited stuff, but I also think that, with just a little planning, I can eat my way through the pantry and fridge. After all, I still have 10 days or so before the first seder.

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13

AJT

education

GHA Welcomes LaVon Mercer ISRAELI-AMERICAN BASKETBALL STAR SHARES WITH STUDENTS

BY LEAH LEVY

AJT Contributor

L

aVon Mercer, an AmericanIsraeli basketball star, recently visited the Greenfield Hebrew Academy. Mercer played for several teams in Israel – including the Israeli national team – but, as he told the students at GHA, he started out right here in Georgia.

“I could have turned out a hundred different ways,” Mercer said.

He described his childhood in Metter, Ga., where he lived with his grandparents and worked to support them. After their deaths, he found himself homeless at the age of 16; but in high school, he found a mentor in Len West, his basketball coach.

With hard work and a willingness to learn, Mercer found himself poised for basketball stardom – he played for the University of Georgia and was eventually drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. Then his life took another unexpected turn.

Fortunately “They sent for Israel and me to play in Mercer, he Europe for a soon settled while, first in and found in Italy and himself falling then in Israel. in love with I thought I his new home. knew someIsraelis, meanthing about while, fell in Israel, because love with him. my grandfather was a In time, MerBaptist miniscer found that ter,” he said. he preferred “But my first playing bastrip to Israel Israeli-American basketball player LaVon ketball overwas horrible! Mercer with GHA student Hannah Solon and seas; it was teacher Rabbi Sam Strauss.

The flight was much less realmost empty strictive and – I got a whole more challenging. row to myself to stretch out in – but when I landed, I discovered that was “A lot of NBA players would have because it was Yom Kippur, the holi- a hard time playing in Europe,” he est day of the year. And there was no said. “A lot of things you call a foul for in the NBA are just part of basfood anywhere!” ketball in Europe!”

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

Mercer explained to students that he got to travel all over the world, whereas NBA players often only see the U.S. He showed the students his first American and Israeli passports, both covered in stamps from across Europe.

14

served for two years in the IDF, but after 14 years, the necessity of being more available to aging family members has brought him back to Atlanta. He still returns to visit Israel as often as he can.

While visiting with students, Mercer took part in a lively discussion of who might be the best player in the NBA (“Kobe Bryant, because basketball isn’t just played from the neck down”) and revealed that he knew Kobe as a child, when his father played in Europe with him.

Mercer told the students to always be willing to learn from others, but to remain true to themselves.

“Don’t ever stop being who you are,” he said.

After school, Mercer ran a basketball clinic for GHA middle school students who had accumulated more than 500 “Zamzee” points during the previous weeks as part of the school’s fitness campaign.

He coached the students as they ran around the gym, moving constantly, showing teachers and students how to hold the ball and improve their technique.

“Sports are so important, because they teach us to compete,” Mercer said.

“Sports teach you to fall on your face and get up and figure out a way to

While playing in the Israeli SuZoe Sokol gets some tips on shooting per League, Merbaskets from LaVon Mercer. cer played for PHOTOS/courtesy GHA Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv as well as keep going.” on Israel’s national team. Over time, his “temporary” assignment to Israel These days, Mercer is retired from basketball but still travels all over to became a permanent career. share his experiences and stand up “I was the first African-American for Israel, especially for audiences to play for the Israeli national team,” who know little about it.

Mercer told the students. “At first, it was difficult to grasp that I was ac- “Things happen in life, and you cepted, but then I realized that they think they’re by chance,” he says.

“But they’re really blessings.” did accept me. I loved it.

“We were seventh in the world championship games, the highest position for Israel. I played against guys who had played in the NBA.”

He became an Israeli citizen and

AJT

education

Yeshiva Atlanta’s Cause Fair 2013 STUDENTS’ PASSION AND COMMITMENT SHINE

BY BECCA SIROTA AND NOAM GAL For the Atlanta Jewish Times

As high school students, we often feel like we aren’t in a position to improve our world. That all changed for us at Yeshiva Atlanta last week, when we took part in the school’s Cause Fair.

With individual students advocated for causes they believed needed attention and provided solutions for the problems they detailed. For months prior, we researched projects, explored issues, came up with solutions and then prepared a presentation.

presentations,

By Feb. 27, we were ready to enlighten, inform, and inspire.

with a bang. “Choose to save a life‌save the world,â€? senior Levi Siegelman stated firmly at the conclusion of his presentation.

He and others each offered a method for making a difference in the world by raising awareness about a topic, donating money to the chosen cause and spending time understanding a wide range of issues and problems.

Indeed, at least one student – sophomore Elliot Dosetarah – has already started working on ways to end illiteracy, a cause he cares deeply about.

By placing bins around the school, Elliot collected books for organizations which focus on increasing the literacy rate among children.

Fair benefitted everyone by raising awareness and offering solutions for a host of issues. The next step is simply to take action.

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“I’m going to start by helping people like me,� she said.

In their presentations, students used photos for emotional impact and graphs to focus on data. Their oral arguments helped in pulling all their hard work together.

Many students, teachers and parents left the presentations better-informed on the problems and concerns facing the world today and – more importantly – with a greater understanding of how to go about fixing such problems.

“I’m learning each of these kids has their own passions and are finally getting the chance to express their feelings towards it,� said YA junior Josh Weissmann after watching a few of the presentations.

Though nervous at first, most of the presenters were fueled by interest in their cause and managed to push through in a confident manner.

As often as not, the students ended

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Such personal involvement made the presentations all the more engaging and inspiring. The eight weeks that students put into their projects definitely paid off.

Once the presentations ended, audience members were provided with “Yeshiva Bucks� to make donations towards their favorite three causes.

The top three students receiving the largest Yeshiva donations were given money to donate to their cause.

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Other stuyears, this iteraPHOTOS/courtesy Yeshiva Atlanta dents managed to tion of the Cause make a connection Fair had students between themuse PowerPoint selves and the presentations to illustrate their chosen issue. Each individual was given causes they championed. One stufive minutes to detail findings and dent, Tova Asher, detailed the emomade his or her presentation in a tional strain she felt as a child when her mother was battling cancer. separate room.

While some students dealt with familiar issues – illiteracy, cancer and human trafficking – others focused on lesser-recognized problems like elder abuse, juvenile arthritis and the potential extinction of bananas.

Editor’s note: Becca Sirota and Noam Gal are students at Yeshiva Atlanta.

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food for thought

Passover Cuisine: A Challenge Worthy of “Chopped” THE BIG WEEK APPROACHES

BY Cyndi Sterne

AJT Contributor

I

am a huge fan of the Food Network show “Chopped”; I especially love the judges.

I have even met and chatted with four of the regulars – Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian, Marc Murphy and Alex Guarnaschelli.

I think my love for “Chopped” stems from the “something-fromnothing” principle which guides the show. To me, this is one of the foundations of Jewish culture; we’ve been served well, even through the darkest of times, by “making do” with what we have.

Not to be too much of a “Devorah Downer,” but since the dawn of religion, we have been slaves and we have wandered through the desert.

We have been persecuted, cast out and, of course, nearly annihilated.

Still and through it all, we survive, and we eat!

This is why Passover is my alltime favorite holiday. After all, it’s like the “Chopped Challenge” of holidays: How do you make amazing meals three times a day for a week without flour and leavening?

I know that you have images of quinoa dressed 20 different ways and the dazzling array of Dr. Sweet’s Gluten Free treats in your mind.

While fabulous, I like incorporating the staple – matzah – into my creations.

I’m not going to give away the full menu, but to those of you attending the first night seder in my home, you are being forewarned: I’m changing it up, and I am not making brisket (so please stop asking)!

However, I will give you a sneak peek at desserts. Inspired by a meal at the Latin-Jewish-fusion pop-up restaurant, El Nosh, I will debut this “Tres Leches matzah brei.”

It’s so yummy that it may show up throughout the year just to remind us of where we have been and where we are going!

Celeb of the Week: Jesse Eisenberg “SOCIAL NETWORK” STAR DEBUTS “THE REVISIONIST”

Recipe: Tres Leches Matzah Brei

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ow is the time to make a list of the not-so-common kosher-for-Passover ingredients, like cream of tartar, extracts, etc. I tried several times to make this as a pareve dessert, but it just didn’t work; it’s definitely dairy, so plan accordingly – you could have a South-ofthe-Border seder with chipotle-cumin rubbed salmon.

The meringue/marshmallow topping itself is pareve, and I recommend it on everything!

Ingredients (for the matzah brei) 1 can (15 oz.) sweetened condensed milk 1 can (12 fluid oz.) evaporated milk 1 cup heavy cream 4 egg yolks (reserve the egg whites in a large, clean, dry mixing bowl) 2 whole large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla ½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted matzah) 1 cup bourbon or kosher for Passover liqueur (substitutions are below) 1 cup brown sugar 1 box (16 oz.) of matzah Ingredients (for the topping) 4 large egg whites

Staff Report

1 cup sugar

A

¼-teaspoon cream of tartar

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

ctor and playwright Jesse Eisenberg (of “The Social Network” and “Zombieland” fame) debuted his second off-Broadway play, “The Revisionist,” last month. Opening night has since been followed by a string of sold-out shows.

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Directed by Kip Fagan, the play chronicles an overwrought young author’s (Eisenberg) retreat to Poland for an extended stay with his cousin (theater veteran Vanessa Redgrave), a Holocaust survivor whom he has never met.

Eisenberg’s first piece, “Asuncion,” opened in 2011 and was nominated for a Drama League Award. Both works were produced by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, presented by Cherry Lane Theatre.

1 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract Directions: 1.

Spray a 9-by-13 baking dish.

Layer matzah in the dish, but don’t worry if it doesn’t cover; as you know, it expands (in the pan and in your belly).

2.

In a small sauce pan, add the bourbon and cup of brown sugar.

Heat on low until the sugar dissolves.

(Why bourbon? Matzah needs flavor! You can substitute coffeeflavored liqueur or water with the brown sugar and ¼-cup of maple syrup.)

3.

Next, add the vanilla and the salt; then pour the mixture over the matzah and let it soak in for an hour (or until most of the liquid is absorbed).

4.

In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evapo r a t e d milk, cream and salt. Whisk until the eggs are completely incorporated and smooth, then pour this mixture on top of the matzah and let it soak. Leave it covered in the refrigerator for four hours or overnight.

5.

Once the matzah is soggy and expanded, preheat your oven to 350F and bake for 30 to 45 minutes (or until a knife inserted comes out clean and smooth).

6.

While you wait, switch gears to the topping. Place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

7.

Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Starting on low speed, beat gradually by increasing to high speed. Continue until stiff, glossy peaks form at around 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla and mix until combined.

8.

Serve matzah brei in individual slices with a dollop of marshmallow topping.

If you want to post your creation on Pinterest, place slices on individual plates. Spoon topping onto the pastry using a serrated tip. Pipe a mound onto each slice and quickly brown with a blow torch to add a little golden color.

Editor’s note: Cyndi Sterne is the owner of Hal’s Kitchen, a destination in Brookhaven for hands-on cooking experiences customized for corporate team-building and private events. For more info, email cyndi@ halskitchen.com.

AJT

arts & life

Kosher Movies: Unstoppable (2010) KEEPING IN MIND CONSEQUENCES

BY RABBI HERBERT COHEN AJT Contributor

Unfortunately, the check was lost, and it took months before the situation was resolved. No funds were stolen, so no real harm was done, but the incident reminded me how one simple error in judgment can lead to an avalanche of problems.

It is not just the case of an errant check that illustrates this lesson in “Unstoppable,” and thus the message is driven home all the more powerfully. In the film, the cause of anxiety is an errant train that will unleash a cargo of toxic chemicals if it is not stopped.

The problem originates with a lazy railroad worker, Dewey, who decides not to connect the air hose to the rest of the train, thereby removing the air brakes that are so critical to stopping the train. Compounding his mistake, he leaves the locomotive cab when he sees that the train is lined up to go on the wrong track and runs to manually switch the track.

Unfortunately, the train’s control levers move on their own, accelerating its speed, and so Dewey cannot re-board the train in time. Now the train is unmanned and moving very quickly towards populated areas.

Two heroes emerge to deal with this crisis: Will Colson (Chris Pine) and Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington). Colson is a young, newly minted conductor, and Barnes is an engineer who has been working with the railroad for 28 years.

Together, they use the physical strength of youth and the wisdom of advanced years to devise strategies to stop the train, even at great personal risk.

Both men, knowing that their lives are in danger, want to connect

with family in case the unthinkable should occur. Will, who is estranged from his wife, would speak with her but is fearful of being rejected. He doesn’t call, but his thoughts remain on her and his child, both of whom he may never see again.

when we realize that every action of ours has a reaction in the lives of others.

Rabbi Cohen, former principal of Yeshiva Atlanta, now resides in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Visit koshermovies. com for more of his Torah-themed film reviews.

Meanwhile, Frank – a widower – phones his daughters to tell them he loves them. It is a 9/11 kind of call, full of love and uncertainty about the future.

In such a problematic or dangerous situation, Jewish tradition emphasizes how important it is to obey the rules. The Bible informs us that even the king is not to veer from the commandment, for if he does, his kingdom will not endure.

Rashi, an 11th-century commentator, explains that Saul lost his kingship because he did not follow the instruction of the prophet Samuel.

The latter had told Saul to wait seven days for his arrival before offering a sacrifice, but Saul does not wait for the prophet and as a result loses his kingship.

The commentators opine that Saul did not realize the importance of his position and how careful he had to be to perform his obligations correctly. Neither does Dewey in “Unstoppable.”

Instead, he takes his work responsibilities casually, and people pay a price for his unprofessional conduct.

He makes the mistake of a lifetime, jeopardizing the lives of many innocents.

In a coda at the end of the film, we learn that Dewey no longer works for the railroad but now is employed in the fast food industry.

“Unstoppable” reminds us to take our professional responsibilities seriously. No matter how mundane our jobs may be, we are required to give it our best effort for our sake and for the sake of all those who depend upon us.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

M

any years ago, I asked a friend to mail a $10,000 check for me. He mailed it from the post office, but he neglected to send it by registered mail – as I had requested – because the line at the post office was long and he did not want to wait.

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We lead a different kind of life

AJT

let it be read

“The Longest Night: A Passover Story” AGE-OLD STORY FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE

BY ELIZABETH FRIEDLY Assistant Editor

I

t’s a picture book 20 years in the making. What began as a childhood fascination, Atlantabased author Laurel Snyder has turned into “The Longest Night: A Passover Story,” which tells the story of the 10 plagues from the point of view of a young slave girl.

As early as the fourth grade, Snyder had decided she would one day write books for children. But Snyder was “too busy being – or pretending to be – a grown up” during her high school and college years to pursue children’s literature, so it wasn’t until she became an adult that her dream finally came to fruition.

“I mean, it’s just such a different tone,” said Snyder. “I thought what I really wanted was to strike a balance with something that would be compelling to children but also allow some of the darkness to come in.”

Although “The Longest Night” marks Snyder’s first time tackling the subject of Passover, it is only one of a growing collection of Jewish-themed children’s books that she’s authored. In addition to “Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher,” Snyder has published titles such as “Good Night, Laila Tov” and “Nosh, Schelp, Schluff” – all of which offer a new spin on tradition.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

“I had really been looking With the refor places where lease of “The I thought there Laurel Snyder Longest Night,” was a hole in the Snyder offers literature,” said a re-telling of Snyder. “The idea the story of Exodus from the sim- of a world without children [in the plistic yet revealing perspective of Passover story], it makes no sense, a child. It’s this juxtaposition of the but it’s also not interesting. I rememsometimes disquieting and graphic ber as a kid, that was a real curiosity plagues with the picture book format for me.” that makes for such an intriguing af From this initial interest, the orifair. gins of “The Longest Night” began After all, what exactly does a pic- to take shape. Snyder describes her ture book on the plagues read like? poetry in college and graduate school “I think that the tone of the book as an extension of the same thoughts is at once dark and childlike,” said that helped spark the picture book.

Snyder. “And I think that is what’s Over its long journey to complechallenging to people. But I don’t see tion, various changes have been an honest way of telling that story made since its original incarnation, that isn’t dark. At the same time, I including the gender of the narradon’t see the value of overlooking the tor. Originally envisioned as a boy by child’s perspective when you’re writ- Snyder, the main character was first ing for children.” interpreted as female by illustrator Growing up, one of Snyder’s pri- Catia Chien. mary introductions to the story of the And just like that, the text was Israelites’ escape from slavery was a transformed. When asked whether book called “Bible Stories for Jewish or not the story would have been difChildren.” Revisiting the text as an ferent had Snyder originally written adult, the book struck her as rather from a girl’s perspective, she readily stiff and unimaginative. concedes that the ways in which ac Although informative, the writing cepted gender roles dictate our dayto-day actions would have crept into 18 had little to offer a child’s mind.

her work.

“I mean, there’s no question that whether we want to or not, we bring gender and our assumptions into our writing,” said Snyder. “[But] we can at least choose to stop and give the little boy an apron and the little girl a bicycle.”

Also during the creation process – before “The Longest Night” could reach bookshelves – experts were called in to puzzle together how exactly the Hebrews might have lived.

Armed with only general information from the Bible and other sacred Jewish texts, Snyder had to research.

With some elbow grease, she managed to recreate a lively rendering of her character’s world, down to their beds and style of clothing. All the while, she kept in mind both her most admiring and critical readers.

“The world-building for a picture book is just the same as the worldbuilding for a novel,” said Snyder.

“It’s just that you don’t use all the words that you’ve picked up.”

This personal attention to detail helped produce a three-dimensional and engaging narrative that Snyder hopes will speak to readers across the board. She focuses on the humanity within the vast expanse of the revolution– the heart of the Hebrews.

And as with most meaningful work, it’s not confined to the typical picture book audience.

“I would like to think that parents would engage with it and have a sort of physical, visceral reaction to the story, that maybe they’re not used to having,” said Snyder. “I feel like this

is a season [Passover] that’s so multigenerational. We encourage children to come into the conversation at this time of the year and also for us to understand it differently by their presence.”

Snyder recalls large family gatherings in Baltimore for seders during her own childhood.

S p r e a d throughout the region, each member of the family would, once a year, make the trip for the celebration.

“You didn’t not come and sit down at my poppy’s table for Passover,” said Snyder. “So it stands out in my head as the point in the year that was most about family – everyone being at the table, and my grandpa being at the head.”

It was her grandfather that Snyder felt the original stories belonged to. As an adult, she struggled with the idea of a seder without her grandfather at the head of the table, without the Haggadah that she felt belonged to him.

“The Longest Night” is Snyder’s attempt at making the celebration her own.

“It wouldn’t be Passover without that book,” said Snyder of her grandfather’s Haggaddah. “This was meant to be a supplement. I feel like this is a way to kind of let me add a layer to what Passover meant to me.”

Editor’s note: Visit laurelsnyder.com for more information on the author, her work and purchasing options.

“The Longest Night” (Schwartz & Wade, 32 pages, $17.99) is available via amazon.com, barnesandnoble. com and other online book retailers.

AJT

MATZAH BALL SOUP FOR THE SOUL

The Puzzles of Parenting CAN WE TAKE OUR CUES FROM G-D?

BY RACHEL LAVICTOIRE AJT Columnist

That little plus sign quickly brings other images to mind: Tiny socks for tiny feet, loosely-fitting onesies for pudgy legs and pinch-able tushies.

But wait, there’s also panic – after all, after the years of baby talk, there’s a lifetime of oops and yikes because parenting is, well, hard!

Obviously, my lack of experience means I could be entirely off-base, but something tells me I’m not. In that moment that you learn you will have a child, you involuntarily take on the responsibility of another life.

Whatever you choose to do affects this new life, and even things you don’t have control over affect it.

“G-d doesn’t want to hurt us. G-d hopes for us to learn, not to suffer.” perstition, role models, reward, punishment and many other things.

For instance, you wear the same blue tie to a successful sales pitch and meeting with your boss. For this reason, it becomes your “lucky tie” because the choice to wear it “resulted” in positive consequences.

How will you instill a balance of love and discipline, work and leisure, strength and sensitivity?

But anyway…for those less interested in psychology, I’ll cut to the chase.

Such questions are passing through my mind because of a psychology class I’m taking this semester. As an introductory course, we’ve raced through eight chapters in nine weeks, lightly touching on major topics like biology and behavior, consciousness, learning, thinking and intelligence. It was the chapter on learning that served as the inspiration for this article.

On the topic of punishment, our textbook, “Psychological Science,” says the following:

The field of psychology recognizes two major learning types: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is fairly simple and can be expressed with one example: You pull out a red leash, your dog jumps with excitement.

This is because your dog gets excited by walks, and each time you’ve pulled out the leash to this point, the two of you have gone for a walk.

Now, the dog equates the leash with walks and therefore gets excited just by the sight of the leash.

Operant conditioning also plays on past experiences, but in a slightly different way. While classical conditioning focuses more on reactions, the operant variant addresses action and consequence. It’s the basis of su-

“Considerable potential exists for confusion… One thing people learn from punishment is how to avoid it.

Rather than learning how to behave appropriately, they may learn not to get caught. [It] can also lead to negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety… These emotions may become associated with the person who administers the punishment… [Punishment also] often fails to offset the reinforcing aspects of the undesired behavior.”

It’s these sorts of claims that lead me to the complexities of parenting.

So, your third grader pouts at the dinner table when you tell her she can’t be excused yet; you’re at a holiday gathering, and you’re somewhat embarrassed by your child’s impatience.

Do you bribe her with extra dessert now and scold her later? Do you cause a scene and argue with her now? Do you give in and just let her

leave? How will your decision in this moment affect future tantrums and her overall feelings about you?

Before I get into a biblical discussion of this issue, I need to make it clear that I view G-d as a parental figure. So, with that in mind, we have now finished the book of Exodus, and this week we begin reading Leviticus, or Vayikra.

The Hebrew title means “and He called,” which is fitting because of the book’s focus on law. In this week’s parsha portion, G-d details the instructions for sacrifices. The reading begins with generalities: “When a man from among you brings a sacrifice to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall bring your sacrifice (Leviticus 1:2).”

The next five chapters outline specifics: what to do for a burnt offering of cattle versus a burnt offering of sheep versus a burnt offering of doves.

What are the differences between a meal offering in a pan, an oven or a deep pot? What if it’s a peace offering or a sin offering? Was the man aware of his sin? Was it a sin of robbery or deceit?

Each offering is different in some way. The laws may seem arbitrary.

Why does one offering require a female cow, while another demands fine flour?

I like to think the laws are a result of G-d’s aversion to punishment. Yes, it’s true that G-d is often portrayed as a frightening being; we are supposed to be intimidated, fearful even.

But like a parent, I see G-d as having unconditional love for His children.

For this reason, I think He tries to avoid punishment.

You may see these sin offerings as punishments. The man bringing an offering is forced to kill a member of his herd or flock; clearly, he’s being punished. However, the terminology in and of itself clouds the idea of punishment – it’s an offering, a gift to G-d.

Another passage reads, “He shall bring [the sacrifice] to the kohen, and the kohen shall scoop out a fistful as its reminder, and cause it to go up in smoke on the altar, upon the fires of the Lord. It is a sin offering (Leviticus 5:12).”

G-d doesn’t want to hurt us. G-d hopes for us to learn, not to suffer.

In the process of making an offering, the sinner is never threatened, embarrassed or disapproved of. He sins, he brings his offering, and he is forgiven.

Obviously, it’s a thin line that G-d’s walking between what is and is not “punishment,” and I find the whole concept to be extremely intriguing. I willingly sacrifice food in order to receive forgiveness from G-d but would certainly feel differently if I were forced to sacrifice my weekend (otherwise known as being grounded) in order to appease my parents.

Is it the way in which G-d teaches, or is it just the fact that it’s G-d that makes me so willing? Or is it a combination of the two?

Rachel LaVictoire (rlavictoire@wustl. edu) is a graduate of the Davis Academy and Westminster High School, recipient of the prestigious Nemerov Writing and Thomas H. Elliott Merit scholarships at Washington University of St. Louis and an active member of Temple Emanu-El and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. She was recently named to the board of St. Louis Hillel.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

I

would imagine that one of the most life-changing sights for any woman is actually a very tiny image: the plus sign that emerges on a home pregnancy test.

The simple blue symbol leads to countless emotions, among them excitement, enthusiasm and anticipation.

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AJT

what’s happening

Fri., March 15 Third Grade Shabbat Dinner, all CDT third graders and their families are invited to join the clergy for a chicken dinner. Fri., March 15, 6:30 p.m.

Congregation Dor Tamid. ali@rubenstein.net.

AJMF Shabbat Service, with musicians from Ahavath Achim Synagogue and Congregation Bet Haverim; part of the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival.

Fri., March 15, 7:30 p.m. Free, open to all ages. Ahavath Achim Synagogue. (404) 355-5222.

CSI Friday Night Live Shabbat Service, an evening of singing, desserts and drinking; members and non-members welcome. Fri., March 15, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Shearith Israel.

To get involved, email lynneborsuk@ bellsouth.net.

Sat., March 16 Jumpers and Catchers, skydiving event for jumpers and those who just want to watch; from AJS, partnering with the Break Your Fear Adventure Club. Sat., March 16, 10 a.m. meetup.com/Atlanta-Jewish-Singles/ events.

AJMF Family Program, with musicians Lisa Loeb and Michael Levine. Sat., March 16, 1:30 p.m. Free and open to public, all ages. Temple Sinai. (404) 252-3073. For tickets, call (404) 9820616 or email kheckler@ccfa.org.

23rd Annual Torch Gala, dinner, dance and auction fundraiser for the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Sat., March 16, 7 p.m. Ritz Carlton Buckhead. ccfa. org.

CDT Blackout Party, wear black, white or neon; for adults and young adults over age 11. Sat., March 16, 7 p.m. $5/member, $8/non-member. Congregation Dor Tamid Social Hall.

(770) 623-8860.

AJMF Main Event Concert, with headliner Lisa Loeb; also includes Electra, Saul Kaye and DJ Mike Zarin. Sat., March 16, 7:30 p.m. $25/advance, $30/door. Tickets at ticketmaster. com/Lisa-Loeb-tickets/artist/766955.

Sun., March 17 CIC Matzah Bakery. Sun., March 17, 11 a.m. Chabad Israeli Center. cicatlanta.com/matza_bakery.

“Peter Pan,” a Hebrew musical production presented by Epstein School eighth graders. Sun., March 17, 11 a.m. & 4 p.m. $10/general seats, $20/ patron tickets. The Epstein School.

Tickets via epsteinatlanta.org/ events.

Miriam’s Seder, Sisterhood of CDT honors women who made an impact on society and Jewish history; dairy luncheon, open to all women age 11 and up. Sun., March 17, 1 p.m. $5/ person (prepaid), due March 10, sent by check. Congregation Dor Tamid.

Register by calling (404) 668-1135 or emailing sisterhood@dortmid.com.

Bearing Witness, “Unforgettable Stories From The Holocaust,” featuring speaker Benjamin Hiller. Sun., March 17, 2 p.m. The Breman Museum. (678) 222-3700.

Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra Concert, program featuring winners of the Ruth Kern Young Artists Concertos Competition. Sun., March 17, 4 p.m. Donations welcome. Congregation Shearith Israel. For info, email yoyijacobson@gmail.com.

“The Little Mermaid,” presented by The Davis Academy. Sun., March 17 (second show on March 18). Davis Academy Middle School. Tickets via seatyourself.biz/davisacademy; contact dfrank@davisacademy.org.

Mon., March 18, Hindu Thought in Hebrew Words, “The Influence of Indian Thought on Classical Jewish Mysticism,” a lecture by Professor Moshe Idel. Mon., March 18, 7:30 p.m. Emory University, White Hall 207. RSVP to (404) 7270896 or tames2@emory.edu.

Tues., March 19 Practical Pesach, “Let’s Go Kosher” lecture with Rabbi Reuven Stein.

Tues., March 19, 7:30 p.m. Free.

Congregation Beth Tefillah. Register at chabadsites.com.

Wed., March 20, AICC Israel Logistics Reception, welcome Israeli logistics companies for the Georgia Logistics Summit. Wed., March 20, 5:30 p.m. $15/members, $25/non-members. Grant Thornton office, 1100 Peachtree St. Register at aiccse.chambermaster.com.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

Thurs., March 21

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Coffee House speakers series with sweet treats and deep discussion.

Thurs., March 21, 7:30 p.m. $10/ members, $15/non-members. Registration required. MJCCA. (678) 8124079.

Sun., March 24 GHA Pre-Pesach Dinner by For All Occasions Catering, prepared pareve in the meat kitchen. Sun., March 24, 6 p.m. $9/person. Homburger Commons. RSVP to (404) 953-8157 or office@faocatering.com.

Seder With Flowers, create your own Passover table floral arrangement, sponsored by the Breman Museum.

Thurs., March 21. Neiman Marcus.

RSVP via (678) 222-3758 or Rkatz@ thebreman.org.

Mon., March 25 CIC First Night Seder. Mon., March 25, 7:45 p.m. $45/adult, $20/child; RSVP requested by March 18. Chabad Israeli Center. cicatlanta.com/pessach.

CBT Community Seder with Rabbi Yossi and Dassie New. Mon., March 25, 8:15 p.m. $45/adult, $25/ages 1012, $12/ages 3-11. Congregation Beth Tefillah. RSVP by March 18 via (404) 843-2464 x104 or bethtefillah.org Tues., March 26 Second-Night Seder at OVS. Tues., March 26, 7:15 p.m. Congregation Or VeShalom. (404) 633-1737.

Wed., April 3 “The Remarkable Unfinished Exodus of the Ethiopian Jews” lecture, by author Len Lyons. Wed., April 3, 7 p.m. $5/ person. Free for ages under 12 and members. Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. museum.ogelthorpe. edu.

Thurs., April 4 “Israel at 65: Finished and Unfinished Business,” first of the “Celebrating Israel at 65!” four-part series, featuring speaker Professor Kenneth Stein.

Thurs., April 4, 7 p.m. $36/entire series, $10/per session. Marcus Hillel Center of Emory University. Info via (678) 812-3723 or atlantajcc.org.

“Remembering Ravensbruck” Exhibit Opening, “Women and the Holocaust” presented by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, from Kennesaw State University, as part of “Anne Frank in the World.” Thurs., Apr. 4. Free. Parkside Shopping Center on Roswell Rd. (770) 206-1558.

Sun., April 7 Yom HaShoah, the 48th-annual community-wide Holocaust commemoration with speaker Benjamin Hirsch.

Sun., April 7, 11 a.m. Rain or shine.

Greenwood Cemetery. Info via (678) 222-3707 or thebreman.org.

AJT

MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING

Armin Jacobs

Grover Mills Mundell

84, FATHER OF DENISE 48, OF DUNWOODY JACOBS Grover Mills Mundell, age 48, of Dunwoody, passed away from complications related to pulmonary fibrosis on March

8, 2013. Although he lost his fight with this disease and was unable to have a timely lung transplant, he was able to donate many of his other organs so that others may have a chance at new life. Grover is survived by his wife Sally; his children Ruby, 5, and Matilda, 2; his parents John and Marilyn Mundell; sisters, Shelley Bear and Melanie Foster; brother, Sam Mundell; and numerous nieces and nephews. Grover was born in Walsh, Colo. and grew up on his family’s ranch. He went to school at West Texas A&M University and graduated with a degree in business. Grover came to Dunwoody with Sally in 2006. He loved his family and knew that life was a joy if only you would take the time to live it. He was an advocate for living life to its fullest. He loved playing music, writing poetry and being a humorist.

While his life was cut short, his legacy will be his love for his children, wife and family and his reminder to always take the time to enjoy what you do. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the children’s college education fund – gradsave.com/rubyfmundell. A memorial service was held at Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Atlanta, GA 30350 on Thurs. March 14, 2013 at 2 p.m. Sign online guest book at edressler.com. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

Armin Jacobs, z”l – born in Hungary on June 26, 1928 – passed away peacefully on March 2, 2013 in California at the age of 84. He spent most of his adult life in New York City. A survivor of the Holocaust, Armin was the last surviving among his six brothers and sisters. In spite of having his education cut short by WWII, he always hungered to learn more and continued to devour materials on historical and political subjects until his last days. Armin always had a joke and a smile and shared his love of the outdoors and of music with all those he touched.

Family and friends everywhere, from the Miramar Ski Club in Vermont to his friends in Humanistic Judaism in Florida and people he met in California, will remember Armin for his unfailing optimism, integrity, generosity, loving nature and faith in others. Armin is mourned and celebrated by his three daughters and their husbands: Deborah Jacobs-Levine and Joel Levine, of Millbrae, Calif.; Denise Jacobs and Steve Despins of Atlanta; and Jordana Jacobs and Kit Bland of Brooklyn, N.Y. He also loved and was cherished by his four grandchildren: Yoshi, Shoshana, Sam and Nina. Armin is also commemorated by beloved nieces and nephews and their children as well as cousins and friends around the world. He will be missed by all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Temple Kol Emeth, 1415 Old Canton Rd, Marietta, GA 30062; or the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2126.

Funeral services were held Wed., March 6, 2013 at Temple Kol Emeth at 1:30 p.m. with Rabbi Steven Lebow officiating. Interment followed at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.

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JEWISH PUZZLER

by David Benkof

Across 1. Prayer after mincha 6. Like the Torah 10. “___ teaches you when to be silent”: Disraeli 14. Worker’s request 15. Suffix with “chick” 16. Beginning of a magician’s incantation 17. 2003 film starring Adam Goldberg 20. Text, briefly 21. Agrees nonverbally 22. Czarist edicts 23. Whence the missiles of November 2012 24. “___ Hu” (seder song) 25. American anarchist 29. 1,200, in Roman numerals 32. ___ Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University 33. Not Seph.

34. “___ of Flying” (Erica Jong book) 35. “Annie ___” (Best Picture of 1977) 36. Nadel and Mayer 38. Many an archaeological find 39. Everybody, in Dusseldorf 40. Apple computer 41. Fictional journalist Sagdiyev 42. “___ Gadol Haya...”

43. Israeli fruit with many seeds 46. “The Divine ___ M” (Bette Midler) 47. Pulitzer-prizewinning musical by Jonathan Larson 48. Former Knesset member

Rabbi Meir 51. Eric who payed a Mossad agent in “Munich” 52. “Norma ___” (1979 film involving a Jewish union organizer) 55. Octogenarian officeholder from New Jersey 58. French phone greeting 59. Israeli NBA star Casspi 60. New York politician Bella 61. Applaud (for) 62. Barkat and Bergman 63. Bats flies?

13. Besmirches 18. Larry Harmon’s clownish alter ego 19. Alike 23. Gothic adornment 24. “I ___ happy!”

25. “Blue River” novelist Canin 26. ___ Adumim (suburb of

Jerusalem) 27. Ponders 28. Hora, e.g.

29. Ben Stiller’s mom Anne 30. Diamond measure 31. Aegean land 34. Jewish national ___ (far-

right party) 36. Author, “The Israelis: Founders and Sons” 37. Sacrificial animals 41. 1971 Woody Allen comedy 43. Way to be tickled 44. Free 45. French jurist Cassin 46. Shalach ___ 48. ___ Sava (Israeli city) 49. “City of New Orleans” singer Guthrie 50. Kind of effect 51. Stewart ___, Vietnam Silver Star recipient 52. Playwright Yasmina (“God of Carnage”) 53. In ___ (doing boring work) 54. Shakshuka ingredients 56. Dove Jeremy Ben-___ of J Street 57. JWI’s former initials

Last week’s answers

Down 1. Garfunkel and Spiegelman 2. Mayor of America’s third-largest city 3. Has a rivalry 4. The Chazon ___ (20th century Torah scholar) 5. Appropriate for NFTY or USY 6. Ultra-orthodox but nationalist (literally, “mustard”) 7. Lyric verses 8. White House chief of staff Jacob 9. Alkalai and Amichai 10. Rav Kook expert Ross (Bar-Ilan U.) 11. Iron Dome, essentially 12. Ontario natives

Chess Puzzle of the Week

by Jon Hochberg

Challenge: White to move: Checkmate in 2 moves

Last puzzle’s solution.

1) ..., Nf2 2) Kg1, Nh3#

MARCH 15 ▪ 2013

Jon Hochberg is a chess instructor who has been teaching in the Atlanta area for the last 6 years.

Currently, Jon runs after school chess programs at several Atlanta schools. He always welcomes new students, and enjoys working with children who have no prior chess knowledge. Jon can be reached at Jonhochberg@gmail.com to schedule private lessons.

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MARCH 15 ▪ 2013