Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCVIII NO. 5, March 15, 2022

NEXT ISSUE: EDUCATION & CAMP / HOLIDAY FLAVORS

VOL. XCVIII NO. 5

MARCH 15, 2022 | 12 ADAR II 5782

Ukraine and Jewish Ties That Bind

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PUBLISHER MICHAEL A. MORRIS michael@atljewishtimes.com

MANAGING PUBLISHER & EDITOR KAYLENE LADINSKY kaylene@atljewishtimes.com

EDITORIAL Associate Editor

DANIEL ELKIND daniel@atljewishtimes.com Online Content Coordinator

SASHA HELLER sasha@atljewishtimes.com Proofreader & Contributor

FRAN PUTNEY

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE ALLEN H. LIPIS BOB BAHR CHANA SHAPIRO DAVE SCHECHTER DAVID OSTROWSKY FLORA ROSEFSKY JAN JABEN-EILON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE ROBYN SPIZMAN GERSON VITAL ZELTER

ADVERTISING Senior Account Manager

BRENDA GELFAND brenda@atljewishtimes.com

THIS WEEK Jewish Atlanta Stands with Ukraine It is hard to think of something other than the invasion of Ukraine right now. As we go to press, the Russian invasion continues to kill and maim the people of Ukraine, and we continue to be horrified and concerned for the safety of its civilians. Turn the page to get the latest Ukraine coverage and find out what the Jewish community of Atlanta is doing to aid refugees, new Israeli immigration policies to take in those displaced by the invasion and how local family ties to Ukraine have brought the conflict home for many Jewish families.

And don’t miss Publisher Michael Morris’s note on the current crisis.

It’s finally spring here in Atlanta, where both flowers and taxes are soon due. Speaking of the former, we profile peony maven Michael Siegel, whose company, Planting Concepts, designs landscaping solutions and grows cut flowers in the North Georgia Mountains. Since this is our Home & Garden issue, the AJT spoke to local gardeners

to find out what they’re growing this season. And, since spring means spring cleaning, we get professional tips for a successful estate sale from local expert Robert Ahlers.

Our Senior Living section is full of useful advice, from everything you need to know to retire to ten major factors that affect aging, including the reversal that comes with aging parents, in which the child becomes the parent, and the parent becomes the child. And, as always, we spotlight your favorite local collections in our “Treasure Trove,” bring you the latest arts and culture coverage — remember “The Karate Kid”? “A Chorus Line”? — and community stories you won’t find anywhere else, such as Rabbi Spike Anderson’s other job as police chaplain for the Sandy Springs Police Department.

Finally, it’s also Purim…

Let’s stand with the Esthers and Mordecais of the world against the Hamans. ì

Cover Photo: Ukraine is in our hearts and prayers during this time of war.

CONTENTS NEWS ���������������������������������������������� 6 ISRAEL �����������������������������������������18 SPORTS ��������������������������������������� 20 WHAT'S JEWISH ABOUT ����������� 22 OPINION ��������������������������������������24 PURIM ������������������������������������������ 28 HOME & GARDEN ����������������������������32 SENIOR LIVING ������������������������������40 ARTS & CULTURE ����������������������� 46 DINING ����������������������������������������� 48 THE LOWDOWN �������������������������� 49 CALENDAR ���������������������������������� 50 COMMUNITY �������������������������������� 54 KEEPING IT KOSHER ����������������� 62 BRAIN FOOD �������������������������������� 63 OBITUARIES �������������������������������� 64 CLOSING THOUGHTS ���������������� 68 MARKETPLACE �������������������������� 70

Senior Account Manager & Team Supervisor

MICHAL BONELL michal@atljewishtimes.com

CREATIVE & DESIGN Creative Director

LILLI JENNISON Lilli@atljewishtimes.com

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Administrative Coordinator

KYRA GOLDMAN kyra@atljewishtimes.com

GENERAL OFFICE 404-883-2130 The Atlanta Jewish Times is printed in Georgia and is an equal opportunity employer. The opinions expressed in the Atlanta Jewish Times do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga. POSTMASTER send address changes to Atlanta Jewish Times 270 Carpenter Drive Suite 320, Atlanta Ga 30328.

Established 1925 as The Southern Israelite www.atlantajewishtimes.com ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES (ISSN# 0892-33451) IS PUBLISHED BY SOUTHERN ISRAELITE, LLC © 2022 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

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 5

NEWS Annual Atlanta Jewish Life Festival

Children watch in awe of the whale exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium during the Atlanta Jewish Times’ fourth annual Jewish Life Festival.

by Sasha Heller On Feb. 27, more than 2,000 community members braved the elements and battled downtown traffic (due to a marathon held at Centennial Park) to take part in celebrating Jewish life and culture at the fourth annual Atlanta Jewish Life Festival at the Georgia Aquarium.

Guests were treated to awe-inspiring displays from the aquarium’s featured resi-

Ruby the Clown is greeted by a pair of children at the Jewish Life Festival.

Team members with Cotton Cravings dish out tasty treats to festival attendees.

One of the attendees is pictured having his arm painted by a henna tattoo artist.

dents like mammoth sharks, massive stingrays and cute-and-cuddly penguins, as well as mouthwatering offerings of catered delicacies from local vendors.

“Usually, the AJT brings the community together right in our readers’ homes,” said publisher Michael Morris. “However, once a year we offer the opportunity to see what is in the paper live at the AJLF. This year, we had thousands come together to hear music performed by our own Jewish

community, eat kosher food, spend time with loved ones, and learn about synagogues and Jewish social organizations firsthand.”

Families and friends congregated at decorated tables as they enjoyed their meals in the cleverly named “Nosh Pit”, featuring fresh and savory servings from Kosher Gourmet, Toco Grill, EB Catering Company, Cinnaholic and Keith’s Corner BBQ. Everyone schmoozed while listening to a

selection of Jewish Atlantan live performers like The Baal Shem Tones, SunMoonPie and As of Yet. The youngest congregants, who spent most of their time pressed closely against the aquarium glass, riveted, and reveling in the sights, were entertained by roving artists, Ruby the Clown, strolling magician Magic & Mirth and musician Hannah Zale.

The Kids Zone, a crowd favorite, featured henna art, caricature artists, face

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6 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

NEWS

No charitable gift has a greater impact on the lives of Israelis.

More than 2,000 community members attended the AJT’s fourth annual Jewish Life Festival.

painting and cotton candy made to order, right there in front of you by Cotton Cravings.

“The Cotton Cravings team could not have been happier and prouder, to once again be a part of the Jewish Life Festival,” said David Karsh, chief encouragement officer for Cotton Cravings.

The AJT hosted a Facebook Live video feed for about an hour during the middle of the festival, showcasing live music, face painting, delicious food and, of course, the aquarium’s highest-profile residents. The recorded video from the live feed can still be viewed on the AJT’s Facebook page.

Karsh said he felt a spiritual connection at the event, being surrounded by such an enveloping community celebrating Jewish life and culture even within the now-normalized social constraints of a pandemic.

“Our team truly approached this year’s festival with great anticipation,” Karsh said. “We’ve been so limited in our personal interactions over the past couple of years, something that deeply affected everyone, especially in what is normally a

tight-knit and connected Jewish community.

“They say the current Jewish month of Adar is the most joyous of the entire calendar,” Karsh continued. “And to be there in the midst of this year’s festival and appreciate the moment of looking around in every direction to see countless smiling faces…it was easy to feel the special connection that we share on a spiritual level, whether or not we always realize it.”

Morris echoed Karsh’s sentiments regarding the community coming together to celebrate Jewish life on what could be the back end of a pandemic.

“For many of us, this was the first post-COVID opportunity to come together in person,” Morris said. “I think everyone could feel the excitement in the air. I think the festival is one of the most important things that the AJT does. Because COVID, we missed a year. But now, we are back to accomplishing our mission and I call this year’s program a success.”

A rousing success indeed…next year in Israel. ì

A Thank You from the Publisher After taking a COVID-19 break, I was very excited to see so many friends and partners at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Life Festival.

Everyone I spoke to was of the same mind, thank goodness we are now able to come back out into the community for an event, laugh with friends, schmooze around the nosh pit and wander amongst the sharks in their new exhibit. If you were able to join us, you know how special the day was. The best part for me was seeing the smiles on all of the kids’ faces!

I would be remiss if I did not take a few moments of your time to thank the people and organizations that created this spectacular day. First, I want to thank our major sponsors: the Georgia Aquarium, the Marcus Foundation and Joe Lipsey III from Lipsey Mountain Spring Water. Without your input, there would indeed be no festival. I also want to thank the people that worked for several months leading up to the festival. It was their creativity and hard work that brought this to fruition: Gayle Rubenstein and Sarah Parrish from Balloons Over Atlanta; Tiffany Fessler

from HL Strategy; Mary Cline and Taylor Reynolds from Georgia Aquarium’s Wolfgang Puck Catering; and Jodi Danis and Kyra Goldman from the Atlanta Jewish Times.

I also want to thank all of the sponsors who paid more than their fair share. There are too many to list, but it is your contribution and participation in the community and, specifically, this event that allows things like the Atlanta Jewish Life Festival to thrive.

Finally, thank you to my partner, my editor, my publisher, Kaylene Ladinsky. Somehow, between publishing 32 issues a year, she finds the time to create, manage and execute this event flawlessly. It is no small feat bringing thousands of people from the Atlanta Jewish community together for entertainment, food, community engagement and camaraderie. The rousing success of this year’s festival demonstrates your commitment to our community, the Atlanta Jewish Times and me personally. Thank you.

Michael Morris Publisher, Atlanta Jewish Times

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afmda.org ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 7

NEWS

Ukraine and Jewish Ties That Bind

By Dave Schechter

and offers an array of gluten-free and vegan items. She makes hamantashen Abby Shashoua is the owner of The to order, whether that be the more traFine Print Bakery, working from her ditional fillings (poppy seed, apricot or home in Cumming. Ken Katz and Jean- prune), the chocolate filling favored by her seven-year-old son or nette Flores-Katz are the the less traditional (such as proprietors of La Bodega at strawberry or blueberry). the MET, a carry-out eatery La Bodega at the MET in the Adair Park neighboris the successor to the forhood southwest of downmer Buenos Dias Cafe, town Atlanta. which was in the Georgia Shashoua and the State University neighborKatzes are among more hood. The menu features than 110 bakers and restaua variety of gluten-free ranteurs from across the pupusas from Jeannette’s United States and several The “absolutely European nations partici- heartbreaking and terrifying” native El Salvador, as well invasion prompted baker as Cuban sandwiches and pating in “Hamantashen Abby Shashoua to join various tacos. for Ukraine,” an interna“Hamantashen for Ukraine."

Katz, a native of the tional effort launched by the Jewish American owner of a bakery Bronx, was toying with the idea of bakin Berlin. During the Purim holiday peri- ing hamantashen when he came across od, proceeds from sales of the tri-corner the “Hamantashen for Ukraine” website. pastries will go to Polish Humanitarian During Purim, La Bodega is adding hamantashen filled with guaAction, a charity assisting va, a favorite ingredient in Ukrainian refugees fleeLatin America and Cuba, ing the Russian invasion of to the pastries (not glutentheir country. free) baked fresh daily.

Shashoua (maiden Katz said that his name Forstot), whose famfather left Latvia as a sixily roots are in Lithuania week-old in 1937, “for what and Ukraine, already was sounds like a very similar making hamantashen reason” to that of Ukraifor her family when she nians fleeing their homes. came across the website Amy Neuman says that An estimated 70,000 Jews hamantashenforukraine.

JF&CS case managers were killed during Nazi com. are aiding Holocaust survivors from Ukraine, occupation that began in “Without question.

Russia and elsewhere.

1941.

Most definitely,” she said, “History has a terrible way of repeatwhen asked if her heritage has caused her to follow news from Ukraine. “It’s ing itself,” Katz said.

Like Shashoua and the Katzes, absolutely heartbreaking and terrifying,” particularly as it comes 80 years after the numerous other Jewish Atlantans are Holocaust, which claimed the lives of her feeling an emotional tug at the plight of Ukrainians. A Facebook post that apLithuanian forebears.

The former Gwinnett County teach- peared the day after Russia invaded er began baking full-time four years ago asked, “Just curious — how many of us 8 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

dreadful news of the invawith any familial links to sion with more attention Ukraine (like my paternal than others who don’t have grandmother’s town of Ukrainian blood in their Narodychi) have looked up, veins.” say, its distance to Kyiv?”

Joe Sterling said that Within days, dozens three branches of his famof people responded, ofily came from what is now fering bits and pieces of Ukraine and one from their family histories, and Latvia. “Growing up, memthe names of Ukrainian Restauranteurs Ken Katz bers of my family called villages, towns and cities. and Jeannette Floresthemselves ‘Russian Jews’ The AJT contacted several Katz are supporting the and that isn’t inaccurate of these people. refugee charity through because Ukraine was part “The invasion of hamantashen sales. of imperial Russia,” SterUkraine has raised my level of interest and awareness of where ling said. “I am interested in this conflict for many reasons, but the my grandparents came fact that I just might have from,” Ron Leopold said. distant cousins there is “I’ve also spoken to family a constant thought. I am members to get the names fascinated with the Jewish of towns and look them up community, the bravery of in the map,” locating Talne, the president [Volodymyr Kiblych and Kolky.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish] “My grandfather’s and the strong national family escaped from identity of the Jewish comUkraine — Dnepropetromunity there.” vsk, now known as Dnipro Events in Ukraine “raised Emory University se— in the face of antisemimy level of interest and awareness of where my nior Jacob Busch rememtism, in the early 1900s,” grandparents came from,” bers that national identity Corey-Jan Albert said. “ObRon Leopold said. from his November 2017 viously it’s been more than a century. So, it isn’t my home, but it cer- trip to Ukraine as part of a BBYO delegation to an international tainly informed my mothconference of Active Jewer’s upbringing, which in ish Teens, an organization turn, informed my own. In of young Jews from the that light, it’s part of where countries of the former I come from.”

Soviet Union. The AmeriMim Eisenberg’s cans attended the confermaternal grandparents ence in Kyiv and traveled emigrated from Odessa in to Kharkiv. They met with 1905. “Their blood is in my Jewish Ukrainians and veins and my heart is hurting for the Ukrainian peo- Ukraine “certainly informed visited Babyn Yar, where more than 33,700 Jews ple,” she said. Eisenberg my mother’s upbringing, said that her grandmother which in turn, informed my were shot to death in a never spoke of her home own,” Corey-Jan Albert said. ravine by German troops country, “But I think I am following the over a two-day period in September 1941.

NEWS Throughout that trip, “We were wit- be distributed through on-the-ground partners in Ukraine, innessing and experiencing cluding the American Jewthe renaissance of Jewish ish Joint Distribution Comlife in the former Soviet mittee, the Organization Union,” young people eifor Rehabilitation through ther “reconnecting with a Training and the Jewish lost identity” or discoverAgency for Israel. ing an identity, Busch said.

Additionally, the ArHe reached out to a thur M. Blank Family friend in Kyiv the mornFoundation announced a ing after Russia invaded $250,000 grant to UNICEF, Ukraine. “His voice was “Their blood is in my veins the United Nations Intershaky,” Busch said. “It was and my heart is hurting national Children’s Emerclear that this was somefor the Ukrainian people,” Mim Eisenberg said. gency Fund. In a statement, thing new to them, totally terrifying. … It was good to let him know Blank said: “I am pained by the human that I supported him. They know we sup- suffering that we’re seeing in Ukraine.

In this moment of crisis, port them.” we must do what’s right One means of support and support our brothers is through funds raised and sisters who have been by the Jewish Federations forced to flee their homes of North America (JFNA), or who are trapped in an and locally, the Jewish escalating conflict. Our Federation of Greater Athearts go out to the Ukrailanta. JFGA announced its nian people, who are in a Ukraine Emergency Fund desperate situation to save on Feb. 25, the day after their homes, their families the Russian invasion. By Joe Sterling said he is and their lives. We encourMarch 10, nearly $1.13 milfascinated by “the strong national identity of the age others to join us, so lion from 743 donors had Jewish community there.” that together we can all been raised. The funds will

FREE

play a part in providing much needed hu- so scared.”

Amy Neuman, promanitarian aid.” gram manager of HoloWhen Russia invaded caust Survivor Services, Ukraine, case managers Aviv Older Adult Services at Jewish Family & Career for JF&CS, said that in one Services reached out to instance they were able to some 90 Ukrainian Holoconnect a survivor in Atcaust survivors who are lanta with a relief agency clients, most of whom are in Ukraine that was able in the Atlanta area. Now in to deliver food to relatives their 80s and 90s, the news there. has been traumatizing.

“We were witnessing In addition to surviAnat Granath, a cliniand experiencing the vors living in metro Atlancian on the agency’s Horenaissance of Jewish life,” Jacob Busch said of his ta, JF&CS manages grant locaust Survivor Support 2017 visit to Ukraine. programs for The Conferteam, said: “I hear about their anxiety and fear. ‘It’s starting all ence on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in a region comover again.’ These feelings prised of Georgia, South are not only from surviCarolina, North Carolina, vors from Ukraine and Virginia, Alabama, MissisRussia, but for all of our sippi, Arkansas, Louisiana Holocaust survivor cliand sections of Florida ents. It is hard. The memoand Texas. JF&CS asks that ries come up. They see the anyone who knows of Hostreets they used to walk. locaust survivors in GeorThey tell us about their gia needing assistance call experiences. They are very anxious and afraid of war Anat Granath hears anxiety 770-677-9382 and for those elsewhere in the region call on a bigger scale. Comand fear when she talks with Holocaust survivors.

770-677-9360 or contact munication is spotty. For those who have family there, they are all them through the website jfcsatl.org. ì

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 9

NEWS

U.S. Holocaust Survivor Count Dips to 50,000

By Dave Schechter

Neuman said that JF&CS plans to increase its outreach to survivors from A report to be issued this spring the Soviet Union, including through noby The Conference on Jewish Material tices in Russian-language newspapers.

Claims Against Germany, the organiza- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have tion that annually negotiates with Ger- the added effect of bringing forward surmany for Holocaust reparations, will vivors previously not on JF&CS’s client estimate that just 50,000 Holocaust sur- lists.

The Claims Conference announced vivors remain in the United States.

The report also will show that most March 2 that $720 million was being alof the survivors reside in New York, Flor- located to 300 social welfare organizaida and California, according to a spokes- tions globally. In 2021, $653 million was allocated globally. JF&CS man for the agency, often has been a recipient for referred to as the Claims more than a decede.

Conference.

The Claims ConferJewish Family & Caence was founded in 1951 reer Services estimates by 23 major Jewish orthat more than 300 surganizations following a vivors live in Georgia, promise by the then-West most in the Atlanta area, German government to according to Amy Neumake “material amends” man, program manager to Jewish survivors of the of Holocaust Survivor Holocaust. Atlanta naServices, Aviv Older tive Ambassador Stuart Adult Services for JF&CS. Eizenstat has been the The Claims ConferJF&CS Program Manager of Special Negotiator for ence this year is allocatHolocaust Survivor Services Amy the Claims Conference ing $2.1 million to supNeuman estimates that some Negotiation Delegation port the myriad services 300 Holocaust survivors live in Georgia, most in metro Atlanta. since 2009. In a statethat JF&CS provides for survivors in the Atlanta area, which in- ment, Eizenstat said, “Our negotiations clude home care, house cleaning, meal with the German Government are critical delivery, transportation, medical equip- to the care and welfare of survivors and ment and adult daycare, along with help we are committed to continue to fight for paying for medical and dental care and the care of this final generation of survivors globally.” prescriptions.

The youngest survivors are now in JF&CS also will receive $1.9 million to pay home care claims in a 10-state re- their late 70s and nearly 60 percent are gion where it manages grant programs 85 and older.

Home care itself is a $1.7 million for the Claims Conference. The region is comprised of Georgia, South Carolina, expense for JF&CS in Georgia alone; a North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Mis- similar amount is spent in the region. sissippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and sec- JF&CS also is supported through the Holocaust Survivors Support Fund of the tions of Florida and Texas.

Stuart Eizenstat, center, was a lead negotiator for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany at its annual negotiations with the German government. // Photo courtesy of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. In fiscal year 2021, the Federation allocated $731,633 to JF&CS and $359,529 in fiscal year 2020. A more recent funding source is the KAVOD Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF) initiative, a program of the Seed the Dream Foundation in partnership with KAVOD-Ensuring Dignity for Survivors.

There is no official census of Holocaust survivors. A report by researchers in 2009 projected that in 2020 there would be 67,100 survivors in the U.S. and that this would decrease to 36,800 in 2025 and to 15,800 in 2030. Among its other findings was that around 37 percent of survivors are living below the U.S. government-established poverty line — a figure that has held steady in recent years.

That report was authored by Ron Miller, the associate director of the Berman Institute-North American Jewish Data Bank; Pearl Beck, director of evaluation for Ukeles Associates, Inc. and Berna Torr, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University-Fullerton.

There also is no official definition of what constitutes a Holocaust survi-

vor. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and museum in Israel, refers to “Jews who lived for any amount of time under Nazi domination, direct or indirect, and survived. … From a larger perspective, other destitute Jewish refugees who escaped their countries fleeing the invading German army, including those who spent years and in many cases died deep in the Soviet Union, may also be considered Holocaust survivors.”

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. “honors as survivors any persons, Jewish or nonJewish, who were displaced, persecuted, or discriminated against due to the racial, religious, ethnic, social and political policies of the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945. In addition to former inmates of concentration camps, ghettos and prisons, this definition includes, among others, people who were refugees or were in hiding.”

JF&CS asks that anyone who knows of Holocaust survivors in Georgia needing assistance call 770-677-9382 and for those elsewhere in the region call 770677-9360 or contact them through the website jfcsatl.org. ì

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NEWS

FIDF Luncheon Highlights Women’s Service

Chair Karen Shulman and board member Renee Evans chat about their support for IDF soldiers.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe On March 2, at The Select in Sandy Springs FIDF Southeast Chairperson Karen Shulman greeted an audience of 70 that had turned out for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces women’s luncheon.

“We’re excited to have such a room full of women,” she began, then introduced the board and its newest member, Candice Keilin.

The FIDF provides for the wellbeing of IDF soldiers, including financial relief, education, scholarships, support of wounded and fallen families and lone soldiers. A video led with the statistic that 33 percent of the IDF is female, as is 51 percent of its officer corps. One female soldier gave her own life protecting a fellow soldier on their first day guarding the Damascus Gate. Another neutralized a terrorist who had just murdered four Israeli citizens and was preparing to reverse his truck to kill even more.

The first speaker, Captain G, who could not be photographed for security reasons, serves as a medical doctor and an integral part of her fighting force, came from an “idealistic” family with five girls. She described the challenges along the way of being in a “merit” position versus gender specific.

“I treat everything from athlete’s foot to cancer,” she said. “I’m part of a fighting force which encompasses all those operations — run, carry, shoot in addition to the medical part, like inserting an IV in the dark.” She reminded the group that her orders are to also treat terrorists after they have been neutralized. Her final charge, “No short cuts, stay focused.”

Headline speaker Maytal Itkis was born in Dayton, Ohio, 33 years ago while her parents were studying in the U.S. Raised in Israel on a moshav, she said that, because of trauma, she has no memories before the age of 9. Calm and poised, she shared that she lost both of her brothers while they were serving in the IDF 12 years apart. “You have to learn how to swim against the tide with acceptance and control,” she said, “not be passive and surrender as a bereaved family. My parents and I pledged to not let these deaths and fear dictate our lives.” Her two-word slide read: “Choose Life.”

During her own IDF Army Service, Itkis served in the navy, with the navy Seals (Shayetet 13), then as a commander on the Navy training base.

The losses Itkis experienced compelled the audience to internalize that life is too short and must be celebrated, and to choose to do whatever feels meaningful and impactful —

New board member Candice Keilin (left) and Jennifer Caplowitz (right) flank speaker Maytal Itkis.

Speaker Maytal Itkis touches audiences with her story of living positively after losing both of her brothers as young men in the IDF.

the essence of her late brother’s advice to her. She eventually made a big career change and became a photographer, blogger, social activist and motivational speaker, as well as a wife and mother.

Itkis concluded holding a sliver of plastic plane part that she treasures because it was found at the sight of her brother’s plane crash (into a crater). She said, “Amid thousands of scattered parts, I found this. Look at its shape — that of the country of Israel. Yes, we will keep our country whole.”

Following the formal program, Israel Consul General

Anat Sultan-Dadon spoke with the AJT. “The message today is of utmost importance. I am so proud to be Israeli and was moved by these stories exemplifying resilience and determination,” she said.

Renee Evans and Marsha Spector shared stories about visiting the soldiers they supported through the IMPACT Scholarship program. Evans was proud that she partially supports the Paratrooper Brigade, one of the IDF’s most prestigious units. Spector noted that a soldier she had previously sponsored is now well employed in IT, and that she is now sponsoring another. ì

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NEWS

25th Tenenbaum Lecture Focuses on Climate Change

By Bob Bahr Emory University’s Tam Institute of Jewish Studies has chosen the subject of climate change for its 25th anniversary Tenenbaum Family Lecture.

On Mar 21., have a Tirosh-Samuelson, director of Jewish Studies and professor of Modern Judaism at Arizona State University, will speak on “Judaism and Climate Change: Environmental Ethics and Social Activism.”

Ahead of the lecture, the AJT spoke with Tirosh-Samuelson on the Jewish dimensions of environmentalism, Zionism and the potential short- and long-term effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

AJT: What does Judaism have to say about our relationship to the environment?

Tirosh-Samuelson: Judaism is actually an exceedingly environmentally conscious religion. The Hebrew Bible, in my view, harbors deep ecological wisdom. You simply cannot read the Bible and not pay attention to nature. But also, you cannot read the Bible without paying attention to the

Andy N. Siegel CPCU, CIC, AAI Sheldon Berch

Hava Tirosh-Samuelson credits growing up on a kibbutz in Israel for her deep interest in nature.

duties of human beings toward the natural world. Environmentalism is not a marginal idea in Judaism. On the contrary, nature is very central to Jewish self-understanding.

We just need to pay attention to it. We need to recover it. We have the resources within our tradition to address the environmental crisis.

AJT: How has the history of the state of

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The annual Tenenbaum Family Lecture has brought leading scholars of Judaism and Jewish Studies to the Emory campus for the past quarter century.

Israel influenced these ideas?

Tirosh-Samuelson: Zionism in Israel, in a very deliberate way, attempted to change the attitude of Jews toward the natural world. It’s absolutely correct to say that nature stands at the very core of the Zionist revolution, and I’m part of that. I was born in Israel and grew up in a kibbutz; I would put it this way: that the Zionists considered many Jews to be actually somewhat lacking because of the disconnectedness to the natural world. In the kibbutz you live and you work off the land and you are close — very, very close to the natural world. You don’t have this kind of alienation and distancing that you experience, especially in urban life.

Jews had to relearn and recreate the biblical past. The biblical past was all about agriculture. Zionism was an attempt to bring the Jews not just to the Land of Israel, but to bring the Jews back to nature.

ation in the world relate to your concerns about climate change?

Tirosh-Samuelson: The Ukraine situation brings in another important aspect, and that’s the aspect of warfare. I believe war will happen more and more and definitely in the Middle East, for instance, because water is going to be, eventually, in short supply. So we’re going to have many, many more refugees, which we might call climate refugees. Either because of war, or because of lack of natural resources, people are going to be on the move. So, to keep the planet habitable is very much connected to the issues of war and peace.

AJT: How does all this relate to your search for solutions to the climate emergency you have mentioned?

Tirosh-Samuelson: I consider my kibbutz background very relevant to my love of nature, to my understanding of the importance of nature, to human spirituality, to human well-being, human happiness, if you will. It’s very much a part of who I am. So, if you ask me, “where do you start?” I would start with the awareness that something went awry in our relationship with nature.

But I don’t want to be just about despair or just about depression, even though despair can be one source of inspiration. So how do we retain our hope and how do we nourish it and perpetuate it? What’s at stake is really the future of Planet Earth. And this is not an exaggeration.

AJT: Some might say that all these developments are so immense and difficult to control that they are leading us to a cataclysm. What do you think?

Tirosh-Samuelson: The most recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which came out at the end of February, tells us that the problem is worse than was even anticipated. I am hesitant to use the word cataclysmic because that kind of invokes or resonates with people who think in apocalyptic terms. A lot of people, if you’re thinking in those terms, will say, “it’s out of my hands, so I might as well do nothing.” That’s why I’m bringing to mind more hopeful possibilities of a revival, a renewal of greening. It’s the whole metaphor of greening everything. Everything we’re doing can be done with the green color in mind, shall we say, or the desire to do differently and to do it better. For 50 years at least, we didn’t do it. So now we’re running out of time and that’s the tragedy. But I think that we should avoid becoming paralyzed by the immensity of the problem. ì

AJT: We are in the midst of an invasion of Ukraine and some fear continuing global instability. How does the political situ-

The Tenenbaum lecture at Emory is free and open to the public. Register at https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/ZMS3JR8.

NEWS

Art Auction Raises Funds for ORT

By Marcia Caller Jaffe On Sunday evening, March 13, following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, O/Art in the City drew a crowd of 250 to the Stave Room. Guests from Tennessee, Israel and New York streamed into the cavernous warehouse space, filled with artists auctioning off their pieces to raise funds for ORT’s causes.

The silent auction gave attendees the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind works by artists from across the Southeast. Photographers, painters, fabric artists and ceramists were asked to create original designs around the theme of “Connections.” ORT Regional Director Rachel Miller said she was “thrilled that so many artists are willing to share their talent to come together tonight to support ORT.” Event cochair Leslie Moradi introduced Amos Gofer, an Israeli who runs the Silver Youth Village near Gaza and the city of Ashkelon in Israel, who told the audience that some child refugees from Ukraine have already arrived. “We expect another 15 or 20, mostly orphans, whose emotional and other needs will be met,” he said. “They are lucky as Jews to have someplace to go. As Natan Sharansky said, ‘It’s a good thing to be Jewish.’”

Many artists stood alongside their works and were eager to explain how they related to the Connections theme. Austin Center drove in from Chattanooga with his elaborate ceramic “Tree of Life,” based on a poem about the Kindertransport — the evacuation of children from Nazi-controlled territory prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. “This tree represents the healing and faith carried out by those children and their offspring as branches,” said Center. “Note the cracks and scars here. I made only three of these. One resides in the Mitzvah Congrega-

Austin Center traveled from Chattanooga to auction his ceramic “Tree of Life,” based on a poem about children escaping Nazi Germany.

Leslie Moradi, co-chair of the event, introduced Amos Gofer, who spoke about Ukrainian children finding refuge in his Youth Village near Gaza.

Pausing to chat under the ORT 100 sign, (L to R) ORT International CEO Barbara Birch, local ORT President Sari Marmur and ORT Regional Director Rachel Miller.

tion in Chattanooga, one was auctioned at a South African ORT function where proceeds benefited refugees; and this is the last one.”

He estimated that it was valued at $7,500, but was, in one word, “priceless.”

“As a first-time contributor, I am delighted to be here and amazed,” artist Ann Rawn commented, as there is no end to the creativity on display.” Attorney David Katz was proud of his wife, Jennifer, who displayed her piece, “Familiar Hearts,” with bids starting at $250. Adrina Richard’s cheerful “Vessel with Side Hands,” with a starting bid of $450, heralded spring with blooming yellow tulips.

Artist Barbara Flexner, who was a practicing architect before transitioning to art, combined the two disciplines with her watercolor “Circles,” estimated at $800.

Attendees were asked to vote on their favorite artists to win the Joe Cohen People’s Choice Award. Phyllis Cohen spoke in memory of her late husband, Joe, who was a refugee from Egypt and an ORT student in Paris, eventually rising to ORT’s national president position. Cohen presented awards to Adam Podber, Adrina Richard and Susan Proctor.

The menu, by District Events and Catering, featured hand-passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by arugula salad, pasta farfalle in white

wine garlic sauce, herb roasted snapper and assorted roasted vegetables. Dessert included fresh fruit kabobs, mint Oreo mousse cups, chocolate chip cookies and iced ORT cookies for attendees to take home.

“Since we’ve had to cancel two years in a row based on the pandemic, I am so excited to be here and helping such a good cause,” said host committee chair Beth Friedman. Local ORT President Sari Marmur emphasized that she was especially moved by this year’s focus on helping those fleeing the invasion of

Ukraine.

2022 is ORT America’s centennial year.

As the largest fundraising arm of World ORT, it strives to break through social and economic barriers to transform lives. The organization believes that when students from underserved communities have access to high-quality education, they are better positioned to enter the job market with viable skills, become leaders in their own right and invest back into their communities. ì

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Making Lives Better Through Daily Contact ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 13

NEWS

JCRCA Issues Statement of Support for Tarece Johnson

By Jan Jaben-Eilon To the surprise of many in the local community, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta in February issued a statement in support of one of its board members and chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, who has been attacked for her views on race and diversity.

“We don’t typically” issue such statements, acknowledged JCRCA President Harold Kirtz, but “we have never had a board member criticized like that before.” He said the JCRCA board discussed the proposed statement and there was “no hesitation” in supporting its issuance.

The statement expressed support for “the tenure of Dr. Tarece Johnson as an elected member and Chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Education.” It noted that Johnson is the “only Black Jew who is a member of the county board of education in Georgia” and that she “has unjustly been the target of a smear campaign.”

In fact, Johnson told the AJT that the “hostile environment” that has surround-

ed her and her two children in the past year or so has forced her to buy a gun and install a security system in her home. “I hate guns. When I went to buy it and go to classes, I literally cried holding it,” she said.

But if the JCRCA had hoped its statement would extinguish some of the rancor against Johnson, one had only to read its Facebook page to see that it did not.

“Now I’ve seen it all … the Jewish Community supporting racists!” read one comment. “We do NOT send our children to school to be indoctrinated

by Marxists!” read another. One commenter, drifting from the initial subject, suggested that “this page is clearly in bed with the same people that GET PAID for masks to stay on children.”

There were also dozens of comments supporting Johnson. “This illustrates exactly what has been happening for over a year to Dr. Tarece and her family,” read one. “One would think some folks maybe have jobs or children to tend to. Nope.

The need to troll and spew hate against a Black, female Jewish leader is more important. You have shown yourselves per-

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“We have never had a board member criticized like that before,” said JCRCA President Harold Kirtz, explaining why his organization issued a statement of support for Johnson.

“I’m a justice fighter,” said Tarece Johnson. “I teach my Jewish values and I teach my Black values. All of these things create an environment in which people see me as a threat.”

fectly. Grotesquely so.”

Another comment directed to Johnson stated, “the fact that you are dealing with all these racist and negative comments just proves that your comments are valid and absolutely correct. Some people are ‘socialized racists’ so much so that they can’t even see themselves in their authentic truth.”

When asked to comment on the vitriol expressed on the JCRCA Facebook page, Kirtz said, “It’s total B.S. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t do social media myself. In fact, I had to reinstate my Facebook just to see what kind of comments” were being posted. “The way she’s been attacked is totally uncalled for.”

Kirtz maintains that the JCRCA statement was directed at the community at large, as opposed to just the Jewish community. “Large parts of the Jewish community are supportive of her,” he said. And just by looking at the names of the people who commented on the Facebook page, he said, “not everyone were members of the Jewish community.”

Johnson, who was elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education in 2020 but started her job in 2021, is no stranger to controversy. She acknowledged that she is outspoken. “I’m a justice fighter. I teach my Jewish values and I teach my Black values. All of these things create an environment in which people see me as a threat.”

Since Johnson has not received any direct death threats, the Gwinnett police department has not responded to her pleas for help. “I have made several FBI reports and civil rights complaints, but I have received no reply,” she said.

Johnson contends that the environment of hostility that has been created

around her is similar to the environment that preceded both the 2011 shooting of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords — which resulted in six dead — and the fatal shooting in 2020 of the son of Federal Judge Esther Salas.

Johnson did not want to publicly identify the synagogue to which her family belongs and where she teaches Sunday School due to her fears that someone could act on their hatred, nor did she want to name the schools her children attend.

On the JCRCA Facebook page, several writers charged that Johnson does not send her children to Gwinnett County schools. However, one of her children does attend a Gwinnett public school, while the other attends a private school in the Atlanta area. Both had graduated from Jewish elementary day schools.

Johnson, who has a doctorate degree in education and describes herself as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, said that she is not sorry to be a member of the school board. The Gwinnett County public school district is one of the most diverse in the state, with students from more than 181 countries who speak at least 100 different languages.

The attacks against Johnson have come not only from ordinary citizens, but also from state politicians. “They’re taking my private life and creating a narrative. They are pulling [social media] content from before I was elected,” to harass her, she said. She is up for reelection in 2024. When asked if she will run again, she said she didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Kirtz hopes that the attacks on Johnson “won’t snowball,” he said. “The point of our statement was to set the record straight. I hope that will be the end of it.” ì

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 15

NEWS

Atlanta Community Answers Call to Help Refugees

By Jan Jaben-Eilon Watching the frantic scenes of Ukrainian civilians — mostly women, children and the elderly — fleeing the invading Russian military for more than a week, the Atlanta Jewish community, as did many Americans across the nation, felt the pull on their heartstrings.

So, when friends, colleagues and members of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Atlanta chapter received a late-night email on March 6 from co-president Sherry Frank, asking for emergency supplies for Ukrainian refugees by the next morning, they enlisted in the cause.

One member drove to Costco and bought $100-worth of medical supplies. Others brought bags and boxes of thermal underwear, bedding, coats and boots to the NCJW office in Sandy Springs. Still others had gone grocery shopping for diapers, triple antibiotic ointments and disposable plates.

Frank said she would be in the office by 10 a.m. on March 7, with NCJW board member Renee Videlefsky — who had started this ball rolling with a call to Frank — due shortly thereafter, to pick up the supplies.

One by one, people drove up and emptied their cars of supplies for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, mostly to Poland and other neighboring countries. The United Nations is predicting a massive humanitarian crisis, with at least four million Ukrainian civilians projected to become refugees.

“I spent all last night emailing people,” Frank said of her efforts on Sunday night, as she tried to reach as many as possible to bring in much-needed clothes and other supplies the next day. Frank was spurred into action by Videlefsky, a Con-

16 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

In the NCJW office in Atlanta, Sherry Frank (right) and Linda Davidson helped pile up supplies to be sent to Ukrainian refugees.

Sherry Frank with Ukrainian donations.

gregation Or Hadash board member, who most recently had helped her congregation “adopt” a family of Afghan refugees.

Both Frank and Videlefsky have a long history of working with immigrants and refugees, having assisted Russian immigrants with adjusting to their new lives in the U.S. decades ago.

One of those immigrants, Alex Khodorkovsky, is now Frank’s contact for shipping supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

“He is the son of the family that I have worked with since they came to Atlanta from Russia,” said Frank. “He came to Atlanta with his parents around 30 years ago. He is an entrepreneur and a responsible young adult. He is committed to helping the folks in Ukraine. Jeanney Kutner, Lois Frank and I have been very close to this family.”

According to Frank, the NCJW has worked with immigrants for more than 100 years. “At the turn of the [20th] century, we met Jews at Ellis Island, and also after World War II,” said Frank. In the 1970s, the local chapter worked with Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta to help resettle new Russian arrivals.

As volunteers brought more carloads of supplies to the NCJW office, Frank and volunteer Linda Davidson carried coats, clothes, and boxes of mouthwash, shampoo and other toiletries from a back office where they had been consigned for a few months to the front office. These were surplus supplies intended for care packages for recently arrived Afghan refugees. Now they were being used to assist a new set of refugees.

Referring to the massive contributions being collected, Frank told the AJT, “This just tells you how much people want to do more than just write checks.”

Local refugee assistance efforts weren’t limited to just individuals. On March 9, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced that it would grant $250,000 to UNICEF to assist with immediate relief.

“I am pained by the human suffering that we’re seeing in Ukraine,” said Foundation Chairman Arthur Blank. “In this moment of crisis, we must do what’s right and support our brothers and sisters who have been forced to flee their homes or who are trapped in an escalating conflict. Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who are in a desperate situation to save their homes, their families and their lives. We encourage others to join us, so that together we can all play a part in providing much needed humanitarian aid.”

UNICEF is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of children around the world.

In 2019, the Blank Family Foundation made a multimillion-dollar grant to CARE USA, which included support of its Humanitarian Surge Fund. That fund allows CARE to respond to needs as and where they arise. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 17

ISRAEL PRIDE

NEWS FROM OUR JEWISH HOME Sheba to Build Field Hospital in Ukraine

Sheba Medical Center will extend a helping hand to the people of Ukraine by building Israel’s first civilian field hospital in order to ease the plight of fleeing refugees and remaining citizens who are in dire need of urgent medical assistance in the western part of the country.

Until today, these missions of mercy were handled by the Israel Defense Forces.

But this mission to Ukraine is a first-of-itskind, sophisticated civil operation.

The medical delegation that will head to the Ukraine is set to comprise dozens of Sheba Medical Center volunteers, who will provide a variety of treatments to patients of all ages. During the past few days, an advanced logistical team has been on the ground in Ukraine to prepare the groundwork to build the field hospital. The Israeli field hospital will be helmed by Yoel Har-Even, while Prof.

Elhanan Bar-On will manage all medical operations.

The Sheba team is part of a national team organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and will also include the Clalit HMO, as well as other hospitals from across Israel.

During the past few days, medical teams have been practicing their skills in the field hospital erected on the grounds of

Today in Israeli History An Irgun poster in the 1930s reflects the underground movement’s willingness to fight for the Land of Israel.

March 15, 1939: Kol Tzion HaLokhemet (“Voice of Fighting Zion”), the underground radio network operated by the Irgun, broadcasts for the first time. The network’s messages highlight news the British would censor.

March 16, 2017: In the first use of the 2016 MK Impeachment Law, Basel Ghattas, an Arab Knesset member for the Joint List, signs a plea deal on charges he used his position to smuggle cellphones and documents to prisoners.

March 17, 1992: The Knesset enacts Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Concerns about conflicts with Jewish law had long blocked such a statement of support for core human rights among the laws that operate as a constitution.

March 18, 1975: The United States begins a “reassessment” of its ties with Israel over Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the 18 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Israel has launched a humanitarian mission to provide medical care to refugees in Ukraine.

Sheba Medical Center. The field hospital will feature various hospitalization wards for children, adults, pregnant women, as well as an emergency room, triage and pharmacy.

Just as Sheba has operated the Sheba Beyond virtual hospital to treat refugees in Moldova, it will showcase an even more technologically advanced tele-health virtual hospital in Ukraine.

Dir. General of Sheba Medical Center Prof. Yitshak Kreiss said, “Sheba is a beacon of light that is always ready to extend a hand to those in dire need of assistance anywhere in the world. This is our personal and professional commitment. The field hospital will feature some of the most innovative technology in the world, enabling us to treat thousands of patients. As an Israeli, I feel a great sense of pride to work in the medical field where all of us can contribute to humankind and offer hope without boundaries.”

United Hatzalah Sends Supplies to Ukrainian Border Sinai. Israel holds firm to its positions and signs a separation-of-forces agreement, Sinai II, with Egypt on Sept. 1.

March 19, 2012: The Knesset adopts the “Photoshop Law,” setting a minimum bodymass index for adult fashion and commercial models and requiring clear notification of any alteration or digital manipulation of an image.

The Jewish Colonial Trust raised money through certificates such as this one from 1907.

March 20, 1899: The Jewish Colonial Trust, a development bank proposed at the First Zionist Congress and approved at the Second Zionist Congress, is incorporated in London. The trust creates the subsidiary Anglo-Palestine Bank in 1902.

March 21, 2013: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to 600 university students in Jerusalem and to all of Israel on TV. He pleads for a two-state solution with the Palestinians while declaring that “Israel is not going anywhere.”

March 22, 1945: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Transjordan sign the Arab League Constitution in Cairo. A

A specially chartered plane departed from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel last week, carrying with it 15 tons of medical supplies, food and humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees at the Moldova border. The plane is being sponsored by United Hatzalah in partnership with El Al airlines and will supply an additional 40 medical personnel, EMTs, paramedics, doctors, psychologists and therapists, who will join the organization’s 15 volunteers who are already on the ground and assisting Ukrainian refugees in the country.

“Our initial team had two purposes,” said Dov Maisel, vice president of Operations, who will be on the flight. “They were tasked with assisting refugees as much as they could at the border crossings and in Chisinau, but they were also tasked with assessing the needs on the ground and laying the groundwork for this larger mission that is departing tomorrow morning. Our initial estimate was that we would need to send 30 people total.

After our jump team landed and saw the humanitarian crisis developing in Moldova, we raised that number and are now bringing an additional 40 people and 15 tons of supplies, covering everything from food, warm blankets, and clothes, hand warmers, to feminine hygiene products and diapers.”

Israeli companies also rushed to help.

Food supplies were donated by Osem, which sent 10 pallets of dry food, as well as Ha-

Palestinian representative participates in the talks but does not sign. Yemen becomes the seventh member May 5.

March 23, 1915: A Jewish unit of the British army is formed in Egypt with about 500 volunteers, many of whom had been expelled from Palestine. What begins as the Assyrian Refugee Mule Corps becomes known as the Zion Mule Corps.

March 24, 1993: Ezer Weizman, a nephew of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, is elected the nation’s seventh president on the second ballot on a 66-53 vote in the Knesset. He serves as president until July 2000.

March 25, 1950: The Saudi deputy foreign minister, Sheik Yusuf Yassin, tells visiting U.S. official George McGhee that Arab states will never normalize relations with Israel, and “we shall never admit a Jew in Saudi Arabia.”

March 26, 1979: Six months after signing the Camp David Accords, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter sign the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.

March 27, 1949: Elisheva Bikhovsky, 60, one of the “four mothers” of modern Hebrew poetry, dies of cancer in Tiberias. Though not Jewish, she was the first woman to publish a

United Hatzalah volunteers assisting refugees at the Palanca border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Wednesday.

shachar Ha’ole, Prinir, Wissotzky, Soglowek, Strauss, Filtuna, Leiman Schlussel, Materna and Latet. Dr. Fischer donated nine pallets of hygiene products and SLE donated 15 pallets of medications. Toys, clothing, medical equipment, and other goods were donated by various companies, including Appsflyer, Innovation Africa, Diplomat Israel, We Cannot Stand Silent, Nestle, ResQbattery, the Manufacturers Association of Israel and Sano.

“We are bringing home approximately 150 Ukrainian refugees who have Israeli citizenship,” said Eli Beer, president and founder of United Hatzalah. “The complexity of this operation is immense. It involves travel permits, diplomatic relations and travel between three countries by land and by air. There was an incredible amount of logistics involved.

Our teams both in Israel and Moldova have been working around the clock on this operation in order to get everything ready. This will be one of our proudest moments as an organization.” volume of Hebrew poetry in Palestine.

March 28, 2002: Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah presents to the Arab League what becomes known as the Arab Peace Initiative.

It features two states along pre-1967 lines and normal relations between all Arab states and Israel.

Israel besieges Yasser Arafat’s presidential compound in Ramallah during Operation Defensive Shield.

March 29, 2002: Israel calls up 30,000 military reservists and announces Operation Defensive Shield after a particularly brutal month of the Second Intifada. During the 19-day campaign, Israel takes control of most West Bank cities.

March 30, 1135: Moses Ben Maimon, known as Maimonides and the Rambam, is born in Cordoba, Spain. (Some sources say it is 1138.) His family lives in Morocco and Palestine before settling in Egypt in 1166.

Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

ISRAEL NEWS Controversy Follows Ukrainian Refugees to Israel

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a Shabbat to try to end the Ukrainian war.

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai argued against requiring Ukrainian refugees to make a $3,000 deposit and guarantee that they would leave after a month.

grandparent was considered a Mischling, or part-Jew. But days after the Russian invaNearly two million Ukrainians – sion of Ukraine, which mostly women, children prompted the exodus of and the elderly – are people from that counpouring out of their country, the Israeli Minister of try, becoming refugees in Interior, Ayelet Shaked, surrounding European “instructed her office to countries, mostly Poland. ease citizenship requireSome of these refugees ments for the families of are finding their way to Ukrainians immigrating Israel, but like many isto Israel, but only if they sues in that country, conare Jewish according to troversies have followed.

Israel’s religious stanThe first flights carTemple Sinai Ron Segal said, “If dard,” according to the rying Ukrainians eligible accurate, I – and I imagine most Times of Israel. for immigration to Israel throughout the Reform Jewish Shaked’s instruction arrived Mar. 6, from Mol- world – would find this application caught many people by dova, Poland and Roma- of the Law of Return to be highly objectionable and problematic!” surprise, including Atnia. They were assisted logistically and financially by the Jewish lanta Reform rabbis. Informed of Shaked’s Agency for Israel and the International move, Temple Sinai Ron Segal said, “If accurate, I – and I imagine most throughout Fellowship of Christians and Jews. the Reform Jewish world Since 1950, when the – would find this applicaState of Israel passed the tion of the Law of Return Law of Return, any Jew to be highly objectionhas the right to relocate able and problematic!” to Israel and acquire IsIsrael’s head of the raeli citizenship. Twenty Constitution, Law and years later, the right of Justice Committee and the immigration was exfirst Reform rabbi to be a tended to people with member of the Knesset, one Jewish grandparent Gilad Kariv, also said he and a person who is marwas shocked, and called ried to a Jew, whether or for it to be reviewed. “This not they are considered Rabbi Josh Weinberg, vice president of the Union for is the first time I’ve heard Jewish under halachah, or Jewish law, which Reform Judaism in Israel, said the of differentiating between controversial ruling about who Jewish and non-Jewish stipulates that a Jew is could immigrate to Israel had been people who are eligible someone with a Jewchanged, “at least temporarily.” under the Law of Return. ish mother or someone who has converted to Judaism and is not People eligible to return are all in the same a member of another religion. That expan- boat. I don’t know of any precedent for a sive definition was taken from the Nazis’ minister to make a decision differentiating determination that anyone with a Jewish like this in terms of who is eligible under the

Passengers disembark from an airplane carrying Jewish immigrants fleeing the war in Ukraine upon arrival in Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, on March 6, 2022. - MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Given that background, the Israeli Law of Return,” said Kariv.

Uri Regev, CEO of Hiddush, an organi- Immigration Authority has required that zation fighting for religious freedom and Ukrainian refugees who are not eligible for officially immigratequality in Israel, told ing to the country to the AJT, “I was shocked deposit approximately when I read it, and re$3,000 as a guarantee gret not knowing about and pledge that they will it in real-time. I checked leave the country within with Gilad Kariv and he a month. That time frame says that such distinction will likely be extended, as was described at the depending on what hapcommittee meeting is no pens in their war-torn longer practiced followcountry, but relatives of ing his taking it up with the refugees who live in the ministry. It’s a sheer Israeli Minister of Interior, Ayelet Israel have been flocking chutzpah!”

Shaked, “instructed her office to to Ben-Gurion Airport to Similarly, Rabbi Josh ease citizenship requirements help pay those deposits.

Weinberg, who is vice for the families of Ukrainians Nachman Shai, Ispresident of the Union for Reform Judaism in Israel, and execu- rael’s Diaspora Minister, and formerly an tive director of the Association of Reform Emory University visiting professor, arZionists of America, said the ruling had gued that “We must immediately remove the illogical and inhuman demand for a been changed, “at least temporarily.”

NIS [New Israeli Shekel] But determining 10,000 deposits for refuwhich Ukrainian refugees gees entering Israel from were eligible for Aliyah, or now on.” immigration to Israel, was The Israeli governnot the only controversy ment has also come while Israel is dealing under fire for not callwith the thousands who ing out Russia as the unare trying to enter the provoked aggressor in country. Israel has long Ukraine. Prime Minister struggled with the issue of Naftali Bennett has conallowing refugees into the tended that the country country. Most have fled can be diplomatically wars and poverty in Af“It’s a sheer chutzpah!” said useful because it has relaUri Regev, CEO of Hiddush, rican countries. At times, an organization fighting for tionships with both Rushuge detention camps have held thousands of religious freedom and equality in sian President Vladimir Israel, of the proposed restriction Putin as well as the Jewmigrants who were not alon which Ukrainian refugees ish Ukrainian President lowed to work in the councould immigrate to Israel.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. try or receive any kind of benefits. Israel has often repatriated some And indeed, the Orthodox prime minister of these migrants, but the practice has been broke Shabbat law by traveling to Moscow to meet with Putin to try to end the war. ì challenged in Israeli courts.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 19

SPORTS Brenner Runs for Parkinson’s Research Te c h n i cally, there are two ways to participate in the Boston Marathon.

One option is to qualify for the esteemed race.

David Ostrowsky That’s not so easy. If you are, say, 59 years old, you need documented proof indicating completion of the 26.2 miles in under three hours and 35 minutes (good for an average of 8:12/mile). Thus, for many aspiring marathoners, Boston remains a pipe dream.

“There was no training on earth that was going to get me to a sub-four-hour marathon unless I quit my job and started running all the time,” says Brookhaven resident Bob Brenner, 59, who is, in fact, gearing up for his first Boston Marathon this April.

Brenner hails from Boston’s North Shore and has been an active recreational runner for the past decade. But he is

THE

A decade ago, Bob Brenner caught the “running bug.” He’s been devoted to the sport ever since.

This April, Brenner will be participating in the Boston Marathon, the most famous 26.2-mile race in the world.

also realistic. He knew that if he was ever going to burst through the finish line on Boston’s iconic Boylston Street on April 18 — a holiday known as Patriots’ Day up

north — he’d need another form of arithmetic in his favor. He’d need to qualify via the more conventional route: raising the requisite funds for a charitable organization.

In this regard, he has already crossed the finish line.

Brenner will be participating in the 126th running of the world’s oldest annual marathon as a member of “Team Fox,” representing the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, for which he has raised over $15,000 and now hopes to hit $25,000.

The foundation, spearheaded by the iconic '80s actor, is focused on supporting research for Parkinson’s, a disease that Brenner has become all too familiar with. In August 2017, his beloved motherin-law, Marilyn Hankin, lost her 20-year battle with Parkinson’s. As long as he had known his wife, Dara, Brenner had also known what Parkinson’s entailed: slower-paced walking, facial features freezing, slurred speech, early onset dementia.

So, when Brenner learned that the sevenmember team had an open slot for this year’s race, it was the proverbial win-win situation — he could support Parkinson’s research while realizing his decade-long dream of running on Marathon Monday.

That’s right, decade-long. Not lifelong.

“I had no interest in running,” acknowledges Brenner, who has run the 2018 Marine Corps Marathon and, most recently, this year’s Atlanta Marathon. “I was the guy that might occasionally run for two or three miles and then I would get bored. It never really did anything for

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While Brenner will be content simply finishing the Boston Marathon, his ultimate goal is to finish the grueling race in under five hours.

me.”

Naturally, there were baby steps before competing in the grueling 26.2mile event. The first competition was a standard 5K, the completion of which Brenner equated to “Olympic gold.”

Then it was on to the July 4th Peachtree Road Race. With the 10K checked off, Brenner graduated to Atlanta’s Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, when it was probably 80 degrees colder than on Independence Day. After training for and completing the 2018 Marine Corps Marathon, Brenner figured that race was his first and last. But then he had a change of heart, seizing the opportunity to pay homage to his late mother-in-law by gunning for the Boston Marathon, which he refers to as the “granddaddy of them all.”

For obvious reasons, there was no Boston Marathon these past two Aprils.

(Last October, there was a watered-down event with a reduced capacity of 20,000 runners.) This spring, after a three-year hiatus, the Boston Marathon will resume in earnest with its traditional field of over 30,000 participants.

“There are certain things I am a purist about,” says Brenner. “I don’t know if running it [Boston Marathon] in October would have been exciting. Running it on Patriots’ Day, that is the only way to do it.”

He’s aiming to run it in 4:40, which would match the mark he set during his first marathon. But, being a native New Englander, Brenner knows that Boston has its unique challenges. For one, the weather can be wildly unpredictable — in 2012, runners sweltered in 89-degree

SPORTS

During this year’s Boston Marathon, Brenner will be representing Team Fox, whose members have raised funds in support of research for Parkinson’s disease.

temps, while six years later, athletes battled wind and freezing rain for hours.

Then there’s the course’s signature “Heartbreak Hill,” a cruel incline that daunts runners at Mile 20.

“Finishing it is the first goal,” acknowledges Brenner, whose fascinating

Jewish background includes a grandfather and great-great-grandfather who were rabbis on the island of St. Thomas.

As April 18 approaches, Brenner is no different from the overwhelming majority of marathoners who, at least on occasion, wake up wondering if they are

After burning over 2,000 calories on any given workout, Brenner sees nothing wrong in indulging in an adult beverage.

good for a five-hour run later. Especially when temperatures hover around freezing.

“I used to joke that I am not a real runner,” he adds. “I usually get a little anxious. I don’t think I can do this today.

“For me, once I get going, it’s the

exercise component, but it’s the accomplishment. I can go have that burger. It’s fun when you say to your friends, ‘Yeah, I ran 18 miles today.’”

Indeed, Brenner has quite a few friends who are supporting him in this noble pursuit. In addition to hearing from old shipmates from his Navy days and even older high school friends, Brenner has the backing of a weekly neighborhood fitness club whose members have accompanied him during the more trying stages of his recent workouts. They’ve also been instrumental in supporting his aforementioned fundraising goal, necessary for securing the coveted bib for Team Fox. “This current group I work out with really came together,” says Brenner.

“They really jumped out and supported me. It’s hard to ask family for money.

One day, I looked and there was a $1,000 donation. Almost everyone in that group has donated.”

For those interested in learning more about Brenner’s story and the Team Fox mission, please visit https://www.givengain.com/ap/bob-brenner-raising-fundsfor-the-michael-j-fox-foundation-43022/ or reach out to Bob at bbrenner@bellsouth.net. ì

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What’s Jewish About … The Titanic?

By Robyn Spizman Gerson Isidor and his wife, Ida Straus, are a Jewish family, who tragically lost their lives on Apr. 15, 1912, while on the Titanic which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg. The Titanic departed on that day from Southampton, England, for the first and only time. The ship had nine decks with separate areas for first-class, second-class, and third-class passengers. There were close to 2,200 people aboard for the ship’s maiden voyage.

Isidor, who was offered a lifeboat seat with his wife, would not get in the lifeboat until every woman and child were safely in the lifeboats. His wife, Ida, climbed back on the ship to be with her husband and they both perished at sea.

The AJT spoke with the Straus’s greatgrandson, Paul Kurzman, the former chairman of the Straus Historical Society, a social worker and professor with a dual appointment at Hunter College and at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

Tell us how you are related to Isidor and Ida Straus.

I am the great-grandson of Isidor and Ida Straus. The lineage starts with Isidor and Ida who had seven children.

One named Clarence died in childhood and surviving were six children – three boys and three girls: Jesse, Percy, Herbert, Sara,

Minnie and Vivian. I am descended from the eldest daughter of Sara Straus, by marriage, who became Sara Straus Hess. I knew my grand.mother well, She did not die until I was 22 years old.

How did you learn the story of what happened to your grandparents?

I heard about my great-grandparents, Isidor and Ida’s story from my grandmother, Sara Straus Hess. I was about 11 or 12 years old, and that was the first time I recall learning about the Titanic. We went to my grandmother’s 12 room apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan every Sunday for lunch. If there was no guest of honor at these regular Sunday meals when she’d entertain diplomats and important people, I would sit with her afterwards in her library and ask her questions about the family and my great-grandparents, in particular. My grandmother was widowed quite young as her husband Dr. Hess (who was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Medicine) died in his late fifties. She lived in a large apartment with a lot of staff for only one person. I was captivated about the idea of a ship sinking and I’d ask question after question. The wealthy and well-known members aboard

were all expected to get in the lifeboat. However, Ida got in and Isidor said, “I will not get in until I see every woman and child a board lifeboa, and then I will board the lifeboat and then only.” Ida did something surprising. The third mate who was helping people board that lifeboat said, “Mr. Straus we know who you are, the owner of the largest department store, you are an elderly person, (he was in his '60’s and back then in 1912 that was a long life) and of course, you can get in the lifeboat with your wife.”.” He replied, “No I will not do so.” Ida then exited the lifeboat and she said she would stay with him and said the words from the Book of Ruth in the Bible, “Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge.” She said, “We’ve had a wonderful life together with our children and grandchildren and we will not be separated. If you stay on board, I will stay on board.” The witnesses saw them go to the starboard side of the ship, where they embraced, arm in arm, and then a big wave came and swept them into sea where they drowned.”

Was anything of your greatgrandparents' saved?

As Ida exited the lifeboat, she took off her full-length mink coat and gave it to her personal maid Miss Ellen Bird and said, “I will no longer have a need for the coat. I want

you to have it to keep you warm.” When Miss Bird was rescued, she felt that she couldn’t keep the coat and went to New York to give it to Ida’s eldest daughter, my grandmother Sara. She said, “Miss Bird my mother gave this coat to you and she wanted you to have this coat, so you are to keep this coat through yo life in my mother’s memory.”

Did you inherit anything that belonged to your great-grandparents?

Recovery ships had found Isidor’s body floating, and they brought him back but never found Ida’s body as she perished at sea. They found a locket in Isidor’s vest under his jacket, a gold locket with an onyx inlay and inside the locket were two small photographs. One was of their eldest son Jesse Isidor, who by then was the president of Macy’s and later became the Ambassador to France and a great supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt. And on the other side of the locket was a photo of my grandmother Sara, his eldest daughter. That locket was turned over to Isidor and Ida’s eldest daughter, my grandmother, who deemed that it would go to her daughter, my mother Eleanor, and upon her death it went to me, since I had the most interest. The locket is my greatest treasure. I can’t even put into words what it means to me. It’s my connection to my grandparents and my great-grandparents and my legacy.

Will this family heirloom and personal treasure ever be on display?

Many exhibitors have asked me to put the locket on exhibit including when we met the 100th year in 2012. I’ve never been willing to put it on display. I gave many presentations in 2012 all over the

Currently at The Breman Museum’s History with Chutzpah exhibition you can see a beautiful oil painting of Isidor Straus from 1912, the year the Titanic sank. www.thebreman.org The Titanic departed on Apr. 15, 1912, from Southampton, England, for the first and only time on.

22 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

United States, as chairman of the board of the historical society. I would hold the locket in the palm of my hand and show it. It was too emotional to be away from it. For the first time on the behalf of the Straus Historical Society, however, I plan to lend it to the Titanic Museum in Tennessee, which later this year will have its first exhibition honoring the Jewish passengers of the Titanic. Those who lived, and those who died like Isidor and Ida. When I heard that, I was persuaded. My son will represent me and do a presentation of significance about the Jewish passengers.

Were family members consulted when the award-winning movie was being made?

I recognized the movie as wonderful, and James Cameron, the director, had me and the descendants of two other survivors, of Molly Brown and John Jacob Astor, come out to California for the honoring of the 100th anniversary. He was very gracious and made an anniversary film with National Geographic. I recognize it as a Hollywood film, well-deserving of best picture of the year. Cameron is a genius filmmaker, and he has taken a dozen divers down to the Titanic. I have great respect for him, but he takes certain license with the facts. When I mentioned that to him, he said, “This is a filmmaker's privilege and I don’t claim to be an American historian, but that’s the liberty I had license to take.” He’s very honest and that movie made the careers of the leading actors and some of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. There was actually more about my great-grandparents that was cut, and I was able to see it. He showed me a documentation of everything that was true, but some of it didn’t make the movie.

What’s the most important part of your family legacy and the real Titanic story?

A couple gave their lives to save others.

They had six children at home, all healthy, married, grandchildren and they were in good health with so much to live for. They surrendered everything they could live for so they could die by principle, not just Isidor’s principles, but also Ida’s. They would die as they had lived.

What message do you want to say to our readers about the importance of family?

For the individual reader and their family, think about what it is they can do during their lives that will leave something that’s better than what they found when they came here. Let it be in the spirit that is consistent with the principles of Judaism, and the incredibly rich history of the Jewish people.

That they figure a way they can leave behind a contribution that their family can be proud of. That is an expression of Jewishness that is enormously precious. It is the ultimate religious expression and devotion to leave behind something they have not found when they arrived as their gift when they leave. ì For more information about The Straus Family Historical Society, visit: www.straushistoricalsociety.org Currently at The Breman Museum’s History with Chutzpah exhibition you can see a beautiful oil painting of Isidor Straus from 1912, the year the Titanic sank. www.thebreman.org Visit the exhibit at Titanic Museum Attraction at Pigeon Forge which is paying tribute to Jewish passengers and crew. There were 69 known Jewish people aboard the ship, 39 of whom perished. www. titanicpigeonforge.com

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 23

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OPINION History Requires Us Not to Look the Other Way When I watch documentaries about the 1960s civil rights movement, I take note of the children. Today they may have grandchildren Dave Schechter the same age From Where I Sit that they were then. I wonder what stories these elders tell.

The FRONTLINE series “American Reckoning” recently focused on the 1967 killing of Wharlest Jackson Sr., treasurer of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) branch in Natchez, Mississippi, by a car bomb likely set by Ku Klux Klan members.

In one segment, the late congressman John Lewis tells Jackson’s children how, years earlier, he and other African Americans who attempted to integrate a whites-only bus station waiting room were beaten by men who “left us lying in a pool of blood, and a lot of the people, they knew what was happening, they looked the other way.”

“They knew what was happening, they looked the other way.”

Those words are why it is important to teach such subjects as America’s racial history and the Holocaust.

I was exposed to the Holocaust more during my congregation’s Sunday school than in my Monday-Friday public school education. Even there, though, the attempted extermination of European Jewry was presented — particularly in films — as a precursor to the modern nation of Israel, rather than as a subject from which to draw moral lessons.

The importance of Holocaust education was borne out, yet again, by the Cobb County middle-school boys who walked the hallways wearing armbands with swastikas and making Nazi salutes.

The county school board issued a statement that said: “Several students, after school, made a very poor decision to display hateful and Anti-Semitic imagery while recording themselves on social media. The students will be disciplined according to district policies, and we encourage parents to talk to their students about using social media responsibly.”

The problem is not “a very poor decision . . . while recording themselves on social media.” The problem is not “using social media responsibly.” The problem is the swastika and the salute.

I understand that some of the boys have

been meeting with a rabbi. That is good.

Here’s my suggestion for the next time something similar happens (and it will happen): The offenders (and their parents, because education starts at home) should be required to visit the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.

They can tour the permanent Holocaust exhibit, then sit with survivors who are part of the Breman’s “Bearing Witness” program and listen to first-person accounts of the horrors wrought by Hitler and the Nazis.

We are in the midst of a national debate over how to teach uncomfortable and divisive subjects, particularly America’s racial history. The point is not to make anyone feel ashamed or guilty, but to understand how these events came about and to recognize what remnants of that history remain part of American life today.

The Holocaust has been caught up in the larger debate. A Jewish legislator in Wyoming objected to a bill that said, “The teaching of history must be neutral, without judgment” and “no one should feel discomfort or distress.”

Rep. Andy Schwartz doubted that Native Americans and African Americans would accept such an approach. “But I’m Jewish, and I cannot accept a neutral judgmentfree approach on the murder of six million Jews in World War Two,” Schwartz said. “In learning about the Holocaust, I have suffered a lifetime of discomfort and distress. It is essential that as students learn about this dark time in our history, they do feel discomfort and distress.”

As South Carolina considers similar legislation, the mother of a first-grade student told her local newspaper, “I just want my child to be taught an accurate picture of history, it doesn’t matter if it’s uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter if it’s sad or makes someone feel an emotion, it’s stuff that happened.”

Here in Georgia, Abbie Fuksman, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta, and the daughter of Holocaust survivors, cautioned a Senate committee: “When the government tries to erase history because it’s uncomfortable for students to hear — human atrocities, slavery, the Holocaust — we prevent our students from learning true historical context. . . History requires context: the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly.”

Why should uncomfortable and occasionally divisive subjects be taught — with age-appropriate materials — in public (and private) schools?

So that in the future, we do not say: “They knew what was happening, they looked the other way.” ì

OPINION

Letters to the Editor The AJT welcomes your letters. If you would like your letter to be published, please write 200 words or less, include your name, phone number and email, and send it to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

resolutions. Disturbingly, a report emerged today that Ukrainian civilians are attacking and robbing their Jewish neighbors in areas where law enforcement has lapsed.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is wrong. And simultaneously we can comprehend and condemn the historical and ongoing wrongs of Ukrainian conduct towards Ukrainian Jews, and towards Israel.

Daniel H. Trigoboff, Ph.D., Williamsville, NY

Letter to the editor,

Letter to the editor,

Historical perils in Mother Russia’s immediate neighborhood.

A couple of territories that Russia annexed over the 20th and current centuries are the focus of world attention. Toward the end of 1939, the Red Army invaded Finland and declared sovereignty over its peninsula (formerly known as Karelia) in a so-called “Winter War.” Meanwhile, nearby Sweden maintained its neutrality thru World War II hostilities involving Germany, Finland and Russia.

Some 75 years later, Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula (long known as Crimea).

Today, segments of Ukraine’s so-called “break-away” provinces in the Donbass region are the focus of a percolating Russian/Ukrainian war. Most recently, Hungary, a NATO full member since 1997, seems to have cast itself as a “bystander” (i.e., in its predominantly Slavic-oriented spheres of influence), albeit a quasi-Putin sympathizer.

American Jews may historically ask, how does toleration of Hungary’s current antisemitic firmament in eastern Europe parallel Sweden’s status as a “bystander” to Nazi atrocities, during World War II against Scandinavian Jews? Patriotic Jewish citizens in Finland – who mobilized themselves under the command of Field Marshall C. G. E. Mannerheim while he was charged with coordinating his nation’s mission as an ally of Germany against Russia – found it expedient to outspokenly justify many quandaries they faced. Especially while fighting for their Fatherland’s survival vis-à-vis Nazi-inspired ideologies. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s birth post-dated the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 by almost a decade. His current “double-gamesmanship” impacting the foreign policy of the United States, Israel, NATO et al. has hazardously fueled the toxicity of international anti-Semitism.

Lawrence M. Ginsburg, Atlanta

For those Jews enamored with Zelensky because he is Jewish, perhaps a dose of reality about Zelensky is in order “Zelensky Emerges as Jewish Hero in Ukraine”.

Just this month, Zelensky gave a group of Ukrainian officials an award named for Bohdan Khmelnitsky (1595-1657), one of most notorious antisemites in history. He was responsible for the murder of 100,000 Jews, and the obliteration of 300 Jewish communities. Amelia M. Glasser in “Stories of Khmelnitsky, “writes” Jews have likened Khmelnitsky as the hetman under whom thousands of Jews were massacred to Haman and Hitler.” Yet Zelensky gives awards in Khmelnitsky’s name.

Further Zelensky consistently opposes the Jewish people of Israel at the United Nations: 1. The Ukraine voted in favor of the UNRWA resolutions.

2. The Ukraine abstained from the viciously anti-Israel “Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the occupied Territories.”

3. The Ukraine voted in favor of the “Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Syrian Golan” resolution which condemns Jews living in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.

With friends like Zelensky, the Jewish people do not need enemies.

Richard Sherman, Margate, Florida ì

Letter to the editor, We can do more than just claim one in our midst.

All over the country news outlets are showing solidarity with Ukraine by running stories and photos about local Ukrainians.

Other than using human interest stories to promote readership and maybe raising some donations, these stories do little to prevent invasion from happening again in other countries.

Why is that? The people of this country have little to no understanding of what totalitarian government is all about, and little desire to know. We don’t even raise a finger when huge signs of similar developments happen in our own country.

In addition, we have little understanding of despotism’s opposing system, democracy. Every one of us would fail a simple test about what is required to make a new government a true democracy.

So, by running these stories about local Ukrainians who are sad about what is going on in their country, we are just covering over our own ignorance with a syrupy balm of Christian kindness. We love everybody, even when they are having a bad time. But we don’t know how to prevent bad times from happening here or anywhere.

Kimball Shinkoskey , Woods Cross, KS

Disclamer to our readers: This section of the newspaper is a forum for our community to share thoughts, concerns and opinions as open letters to the community or directly to the newspaper.

As a letter to the editor, we proof for spelling and grammatical errors only. We do not edit nor vet the information the letter contains. The individual signing the letter is accountable for what they share.

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Letter to the editor, Ukraine and the Jewish People Many Jewish people have understandably been highly sympathetic to Ukraine’s plight.

We have resonated to the constant flood of reports about innocent people being victimized by cruel invaders. In so doing we may have lost sight of some important realities about Ukraine’s historical treatment of the Jewish people.

Ukraine has been the scene of terrible pogroms against Ukrainian Jews. For hundreds of years murderous Ukrainian antisemites massacred Jewish people there in organized attacks, from Khmelnitsky to the Black Hundreds, attacks which together killed over 100,000 Jews.

During World War 2 significant numbers of Ukrainian civilians voluntarily participated enthusiastically in the murder of their Jewish neighbors, sometimes even exceeding the brutality of the German Nazis overseeing them. Even the Ukrainian guerrillas of Stepan Bandera, himself elevated to the role of national hero by Ukrainians, engaged in antisemitic acts.

Nowadays many American Jews take pride in the fact that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is Jewish. Yet Ukraine has routinely voted on the wrong side of anti-Israel U.N.

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 25

OPINION

Never is Now. We Must Do Everything to Help Ukraine.

By Vita Zeltser I was born in Ukraine, immigrated with my family to Atlanta as a child in the late 1980s, and have been a proud citizen of the U.S. for decades, and a practicing attorney for nearly 20 years.

The barbaric atrocities that the Russian government has unleashed upon a sovereign, democratic, independent Ukraine and its citizens over the past two weeks have left me, my family, and others in the former Soviet immigrant community shaken with pain, anger, and disbelief, but also filled with profound pride for the Ukrainian people.

I am appealing to every member of the Atlanta Jewish community to educate yourself on the crisis, and to reach out to your elected representatives to let them know that their constituents fully support America’s unwavering commitment to help Ukraine.

Please encourage others to do so, too. More on concrete action we can take below.

We are living through unprecedented times.

We are witnessing a genocide being committed, in real time, on the screens of our smartphones and TVs. We are all eyewit-

This is a 1980s photo with my father, Edward Zeltser, one just me.

nesses to genocide.

All evidence points to deliberate killing of innocent children, women, and men by the Russian army, with the apparent goal of annihilation of those who refuse to allow their democratic country to bow to the rule

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My family Husband, Alex Pivoshenko and our three children - Talia, Mia and Annika Pivoshenko visisited The Zeelpin the Ukraine in 2019

of a vicious neighbor with imperialist aspirations.

Russian troops have been indiscriminately bombing Ukrainian residential buildings, hospitals, blood banks, evacuation routes, TV and cell towers, and other life-sustaining infrastructure of every type. Entire towns and villages have been leveled with the ground. Some areas have been deliberately cut off for days from electricity, heat, water, outside communication lines, and food and medical supply lines. Bombs, fleeing refugees, destruction, starvation, death. Genocide. How is this possible in 2022?

It is up to each of us, and especially to those for whom genocide is not an abstract concept, to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that civilization rather than barbarism wins in this apocalyptic conflict. The alternative simply cannot be.

As citizens of a representative democracy, we have a vote, and we have a voice.

As human beings, and especially as members of the Jewish community, we are responsible to speak out when witnessing genocide.

We are fortunate to live in the free world. We can assemble on the sidewalks of our cities – as my family and hundreds of others in Atlanta have done for the past two weekends, to show our support for our cause, under the protection of the men and women of the Atlanta Police Department.

What a contrast from scenes in Moscow and other Russian cities, where police in riot gear drag off screaming citizens simply for uttering “no war” in public spaces.

This is what the fight for Ukraine represents: the right of every person to be protected by its government of democratically elected representatives, rather than to be annihilated or bombed into submission by a

conqueror.

I encourage you to read up on the Budapest Memorandum, a 1994 agreement according to which Ukraine gave up what was then the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world in exchange for security assurances (but not security guarantees) from the U.S., UK, and Russia.

Unwavering support from the U.S. and from our Jewish community is critically important. Ukraine is pleading for the West to help secure a no-fly zone, or at least to provide airplanes to allow the Ukrainian military to enforce a no-fly zone to stop indiscriminate Russian bombings of civilians.

Here is concrete action we can take right now, and encourage others to take: Please contact the White House and your U.S. Senators and Representatives.

Please ask them to support the use of all means at the disposal of the U.S. government and military to support the Ukrainian government and military in whatever it needs in its continued fight for existence. Please let our elected representatives know that their constituents fully support our country’s unwavering backing of Ukraine in its struggle in what has become a proxy war of the entire civilized world, with Ukraine as the tip of the spear, against a fascist Russian regime. ì

Here is how to do it:

Contact President Biden and Vice President Harris: www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ Find and contact your U.S. Senator: www.senate.gov/senators/senatorscontact.htm Find and contact your U.S. Representative: www.house.gov/representatives/findyour-representative

OPINION

What Did Ukrainke Do to Warrant a Full-Scale War? As the current shepherd of the Atlanta Jewish Times, I think it is my duty, responsibility and obligation to speak out about the horrors and Michael A. Morris atrocities being Publisher committed by Putin against Ukraine and its citizens. Putin is a tyrant, he is wantonly killing people and there is a moral obligation for everyone and anyone who has an outlet to use that vehicle to voice their opinion to their followers and friends, our political leaders, the Ukrainians and Russians and Putin himself.

I have refrained my entire life from drawing comparisons between current events and WWII in any capacity. Many worldwide events have been heinous, but I have felt — except for instances of genocide — that all post-WWII wars, incursions and combats have fallen very short of an evil and demented dictator’s well-planned and -executed quest for the consolidation of European countries at any expense, including the death of 85 million people. Unfortunately, Putin rises to the occasion. (As a perspective, WWII took the lives of 85 million people on this planet, COVID deaths stand around 6 million.)

Putin, like other dictators in the past, came to power through a somewhat democratic process that he then dismantled upon taking office. He feels that his country has been treated unfairly by the world and seeks to return it to the glory days of the past. He’s started wars against neighboring countries in order to take back what he claims is rightfully his. In the end, he has no concern for the death and destruction involved. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg as it

concerns historical comparisons.

Putin is nothing more than a murderous thug and malicious dictator. His actions speak quite loud to this point. He does not take advice from the people he appointed to assist him, and his advisors are seen as reluctant to offer any disagreement. He mostly stays in isolation, and when he does meet with people, he physically stays dozens of feet away from anyone (note this from television coverage and media descriptions). He incarcerates or kills anyone who has a dissenting opinion; Russian prisons are bursting at the seams. He hates democracy, capitalism, freedom and liberty. He has shut down the free media and press in his own country so he can control the facts, lies and knowledge base of his people. He has no interest in his own people knowing the true atrocities that he is perpetrating. He does not want his people to know what he is doing, how he is doing it and what the world thinks; and, as we have heard from news reports, his troops don’t know what their orders or goals are either.

He has rewritten the history of Ukraine to fit his narrative and passes off his work of fiction as fact. He published his intentions (not strategy) ahead of time to garner some sort of acceptance of future actions and then uses propaganda to justify abominable activity. All as we watch from the sidelines, hoping that his rants and actions will just go away or belie his true intent. Wake up, they don’t. He means every word, and his subsequent actions are worse than we could have expected. Another tyrant follows through with his stated goals, surprise!

These are the less nefarious offenses.

Once Putin began the ground war on the pretense of taking back land he falsely claims is his, his deeds then became those of an insane, delusional, authoritarian despot. He is either using, moving into place to use, or threatening to use any and all weapons of mass destruction at his disposal, whether they be

cluster bombs, phosphorus bombs, vacuum bombs, chemical agents, biological agents or nuclear weapons. Just ponder for a moment, would these be the weapons of choice to use if your intent was to take over a country; or, perhaps more likely, just to kill massive amounts of people? If he really felt some sort of kinship for Ukrainians, would he be threatening nuclear war? Is that an act of a leader or a normal person for that matter? He is waging a war to intimidate the people of Ukraine or kill them all, if need be. Indiscriminate bombing does not affect military resistance, it attempts to cow civilians into submission.

Indiscriminate bombing targets civilians, women and children, schools and hospitals, markets and playgrounds, museums and memorials. Effectively destroying a country, its population, its history and its culture.

Reminiscent of ISIS? Putin is using every disgusting tactic at his disposal, and what is his rebuke to the world? “If you intervene, I will use worse tactics and munitions.” Essentially, cowing world leaders, including ours. Putin is a sick human being. This is at least the third time that he is killing people in other countries. Our response is clearly not working. We must do more. Hundreds of people are dying each day. Are we waiting until the toll reaches

thousands? Is anyone under the pretense that at some point this deranged human is going to stop?

Exactly what did Ukraine do to warrant such mass destruction? In fact, what did Ukraine do to warrant a full-scale war?

Rewriting history to remove Ukrainians as a people and as a culture so as to give license to genocide is what an insane, demented, evil person would do. I ask you this: is our response in any way frustrating Putin’s goals?

With the entire world in agreement (except China, Iran and North Korea — what a club), why are we not doing more? I am not suggesting we go to war. I understand that the world is on the brink of a nuclear disaster. Unfortunately, we will remain on the brink while Putin remains in control of Russia. Let’s not kid ourselves, any solution short of removing Putin will keep us on the brink. The only saving grace I see is that, like all malevolent dictators, his people do not unanimously support his actions. Appeasement keeps us on the brink, it does not reduce the threat.

The question facing the world is: how many countries will he take over and how many people will he kill until we do something that risks a larger-scale war? Putin will not stop.

How many will die before we do more? ì

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 27

PURIM The 5782 Purim Gazette Welcome to the 5782 Purim Gazette, edited by legendary Professor Essie S. Fresser. Devoted fans can’t get enough of Professor Fresser’s beloved syndicated column, Bring Your Own Lunch, which often appears in this newspaper. Her new book, “I Lost My Coat in San Francisco,” will be available on Amazon this summer.

World’s Largest Etrog

Backyard farmer Pinky Nagelvasser’s 200-lb. rutabaga and 150-lb. cucumber won first place in Georgia’s “Bigger is Better” fruit and vegetable round-up in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In 2021, Nagelvasser garnered a blue ribbon for his mammoth 300-lb. pineapple, which he eventually sliced with a chain saw. But how could he use his agrarian expertise and outstanding backyard soil to nourish his own roots?

During the pandemic, Zoom calls with relatives in RisProfessor Essie hon LeZion, Pinky found the answer. He vowed to grow the Fresser world’s largest etrog in 2022, in time for Sukkot.

The Guinness Book of World Records agreed to create a new category, “Etrog.” A Guinness representative remarked in a phone interview, “When we saw adults fighting over the big ones on YouTube, we knew this would attract attention.” He added, “So far, Nagelvasser is the only contender, but we’re open to ethnic delicacies from all races [sic]. We got a great response when we included the world’s largest garden slug.

That was a doozy!”

Druids Start Construction in DeKalb County

Puzzled by strange stone construction underway in the Toco Hills shopping center, Atlanta Jewish Times’ intrepid reporter Lupita Fognotz approached the group of robed men and women hard at work chiseling huge masses of bluestone. Fognotz discovered that the priestly group of Celts, known as Druids, were preparing to welcome the summer solstice in June by erecting a worship site in North Druid Hills. “For thousands of years, we’ve been celebrating in England,” red-bearded spokesperson Rowan Eeay explained, “but when we learned of the multitude of worship sites in the Druid Hills area, and the prophetic and revelatory street and community names, we Druids knew we were destined to build our sacrifice site here. As long as everybody leaves us alone, we’ll stick to animals.”

Terrified shopping center merchants, aware of the Druid’s sacrificial temple plan, have been clandestinely strategizing to get rid of them; however, no one was willing to be quoted for this story. Word on the street is that attorney David Schoen has been approached to take their case.

Community Leader Invents Skin Plumper

Before heading to an important JF&CS meeting, Tara Boom-Deeay took a few seconds to steam iron her linen trousers, but misread the temperature setting, singeing her eyebrows and super-heating her forehead and cheeks. Looking in the mirror to assess the damage, Boom-Deeay was astonished that her once-troublesome facial lines, folds and creases had become smooth, supple, bright pink and pleasantly plump. The incident provoked Boom-Deeay to take her face into her own hands, so to speak. She immediately texted her daughter, Bella, a vapor major at Georgia Tech, and together they invented the Skin Plumper.

At the height of the pandemic (according to The National Expirer) millions of homebound Americans, deprived of visits to their estheticians, spent hours obsessing over their looks and consequently wallowing in self-loathing. The Skin Plumper, modeled after Boom-Deeay’s steam episode, was quickly patented and produced by Bella Boom–Deeay’s Tech team. In its first three months, twice as many Skin Plumpers were sold as the legendary George Forman Grills or Chia Pets. To date, there have been a mere handful of lawsuits and no fatalities. Now the mother-daughter Boom-Deeay duo is experimenting with a new product: The Zit-Off, made entirely from common household cleaning products.

28 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

PURIM Whoopi Goldberg Promotes Jewish Race

ASK THE REBBITZEN ckmesser, r white silk Dear Rebbetzin Ho owed my designe rr bo , len He d, frien At the reception, My (former) best a family simcha. r fo t ke jac g in ith a match front of both garcocktail dress w rry wine on the be er eld itz w he could take care s of Manisc er who said they she spilled a glas an cle ch en Fr lty to a neighborto a specia to take my clothes ments. I took them s nt wa len He x. n I get Helen to $60, plus ta garment. How ca r of both stains for pe .99 $2 s ge ar uses, who ch le our friendship? hood cleaner she same time rekind e th at d an x, ta pay $60, plus etta Anxious in Alphar

In an attempt to quell criticism of her widely-publicized Holocaust comments, The View’s Whoopi Goldberg professed her affection for Jews by offering to sponsor a pre-Olympics “Jewish Race” in Paris in 2024. The event would feature Jewish marathoners from around the world, “Because, you know, Jews are all over the place and they love to compete,” she explained. Goldberg even hinted that she might train and run with them. “I didn’t take the name Goldberg frivolously,” she declared. Goldberg floated the plan to the Olympic committee, which, as of press time, was too stunned to respond.

Dear Anxious, So what if you can’t rekindle? Friend, schmend! Insist that Helen pay to have the stains removed by the fancy cleaner. A designer white silk cocktail dress with matching jacket? I should only have such an outfit!

Dear Rebbetzin Ho ckmesser, We sent our daug hter, Charlene, to an ivy league un gave her the best iversity, and alw of everything. Sh ays e had quite a few writing on the wa pe ts, bu t we didn’t see th ll. At college, she e met Billy, one of types. They got those hairy, outd married and bo oorsy ught land in Co showed us a pict nyers. Yesterday ure of the two of , Charlene them riding mul wants to pursue es, and she told us a degree in Anim that she al Husbandry. Do spent a fortune you think it’s fair on her education, that we and now she wa livestock? nts to learn how to raise Distraught in Du luth

Dear Distraught, You are not alone in this situation, and I know what I’m talking about. However, I wouldn’t worry. My experience tells me that Charlene and Billy’s children will desire big houses and fancy cars. Stay close to Charlene and Billy, but keep your distance from the mules.

’d welckmesser, . He’s great and we Dear Rebbetzin Ho me to live with us ca ssed, er th pa r fa he ed ot ow . When my m My newly-wid lem ob pr e on r fo erywhere en arms, except takes the bird ev come him with op rt pet, and now fo m co a gh we’ve as ou k th oc ac over. Even Dad bought a pe en friends come wh is n er gets the d nc co Da t es have guests, he goes. Our bigg ckyard when we ba e th atter of in m pe a Pe ly ep open. It’s on begged him to ke bly the feathers ita ev in pe cond Pe : an , at in th t. Not only urge to bring him mebody’s eye ou so ke g about po in ill lk w ta r he . Everybody’s ds un time until a feat so ng hi ec re probably ry unpleasant sc out for food. You stantly makes ve s and only come om ro eir of Mom. th m hi in y ds sta says it remin He us, and our kids rt. fo m co r fo chose a peacock wonder why Dad ss Nervous in Norcro

Popular Musicians Featured in “What They Eat”

Former Atlanta Jewish Crimes literary, music, drama and food critic Polly Esther Pantz’s new book is a compendium of essays written by music greats who reveal their favorite food choices, and even make an occasional confession. “The candid stories in this book offer fans an intimate look at the guts of musical icons,” Pantz hints, “and I guarantee a few bombshells.” A tight lid is being kept on the book’s contents until its launch at the MJCCA Book Festival, but Pantz, ever loyal to her Atlanta readers, sends a random sample of chapter headings: Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Scone Led Zeppelin: Nobody’s Fat but Mine The Beatles: All You Need is Lox Adele: Jello The Eagles: Hotel California Rolls ABBA: Take a Chance on Meat Sam Cooke: Twizzlers the Night Away Elvis Presley: Jailhouse Rock Cornish Hen Lady Gaga: Million Raisins The Rolling Stones: You Can’t Always Eat What You Want David Bowie: The Width of a Girdle “Those chapters are just a taste of the book’s innards,” Pantz promises. ì

Dear Nervous, If you don’t want to dislodge your father, there’s only one way to get him to replace Pepe. Introduce him to someone like your late mother. Feel free to contact me for referrals.

Rebbetzin Frieda Hockmesser, amateur psychoanalyst and popular talk show hostess on station FRUM, answers queries from our readers.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 29

PURIM

In the Spirit of Purim Purim, which this year begins at sundown on March 16, is a mix of joy and tragedy.

But though we all know about shaking noise

By Flora Rosefsky makers at a Megillah reading and enjoying a festive meal, wearing costumes, savoring sweet hamantashen and even drinking some wine, there are still many hidden meanings to discover. The AJT spoke to rabbis from three local synagogues and others from metro Atlanta to go beneath the familiar surface of this holiday.

“Stories we read like the Book of Esther is not only about our past, but also our present and future,” said Rabbi Adam Starr of Ohr HaTorah. “The Megillah’s words have eternal relevance in how its messages resonate even in our time.”

Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal of Ahavath Achim explained that “the four mitzvot (commandments) prescribed by the ancient Story

Sara Papier and her daughter make hamantashen to fill up their Mishloach Manot baskets.

of Esther text are: to hear the reading of that story in the Megillah; to celebrate Purim with a festive meal (Se’udah); to send Mishloach Manot (gifts of food to family and friends); and Matanot L’Evyonim (to give gifts/tzedakah to the poor).”

The Megillah is sometimes referred to as the ganzeh Megillah in Yiddish “because the story of Esther is read all at one time, which, depending on how fast the reader can

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A collection of children’s graggers from Judaica Corner.

A giraffe costume is worn by Temple EmanuEl’s Rabbi Max Miller during Purim 2020.

say all the words, takes an average of 30-40 my children to Judaism,” she said. For the fillminutes or more,” said Rabbi Starr. He ex- ings, they create their own unique flavors. “It plained that this special reading takes place is quite easy to cook down different combinatwo times: during the evening of Purim and tions of fruit and sometimes herbs and spices to make some amazing flavor combinations the next morning.

As the Megillah is read, groggers or like apricot peach ginger. The adults also have fun by making cockother types of noisemakers tail-themed hamantashen drown out the name of the like margarita ones garstory’s villain, Haman. The nished with lime salt or tradition goes back to Tosugar rim and old fashion rah, Starr said, and Chapones using cooked-down ter 25 (lines 17-19) of Deucherries with bourbon, teronomy, when the nation sugar and orange zest.” of Amalek is mentioned.

According to RosenHaman is believed to have thal, “each family could belonged to the same namake this an incredible extion, so using noisemakpression of generosity and ers to obliterate his name kindness, by not just giving became a popular custom. tzedakah (something that Hearing the Megillah read Jews do really well already) out loud each year is a rebut by using this mitzvah minder of how close the as a meaningful opportuJewish people came to benity to interact with someing destroyed, except for body less fortunate around the courage and wisdom Atlanta. There are many of Queen Esther and her places throughout Atlanta successful plan to save the where people in need seek Jews. Even in 2022, “Hahelp and resources.” He mans exist today as antiA Megillah from Ohr HaTorah is recommends that people semitism is still with us,” a scroll of the story of Esther. think about packing a few Starr said.

In addition to the Megillah reading, the bags with helpful items, put them in their giving of Mishloach Manot is “well estab- front seat and give them out when they see lished throughout the Jewish community, as somebody in need.

Starr says a fairly new tradition has synagogues, schools, and other institutions have their own gift-giving programs during evolved in which congregants bring boxes Purim to help connect members of their of pasta to shake in place of graggers to blot communities to one another” said Rabbi out Haman’s name during the Megillah reading. The improvised noise-makers fulfill two Rosenthal.

AA member Sara Papier and her young functions at once — following the service, family filled Mishloach Manot gift baskets the boxes are placed in a large container to with dozens of homemade hamantash- distribute to a local food pantry.

Over in Toco Hills, Keren Fisher chairs en, which they delivered to friends and neighbors. “Fun traditions like making ha- an annual AMIT Mishloach Manot Purim mantashen create a deeper connection for Basket Project, which sends significant funds

PURIM

Triangle-shaped hamantashen are a traditional Purim favorite.

Boxes of pasta, when shaken, can become modern-day noisemakers and, later, donations.

to AMIT Children, an organization that runs party, with citywide festivals in which Israe109 schools in 31 cities throughout Israel. lis dress up in all kinds of costumes and hats “AMIT currently provides innovative, Jewish while walking the city streets. In metro Atvalues-based education to 44,000 students, lanta, synagogue-sponsored Purim festivals most of whom come from disadvantaged and parades are part of the festivities.

Congregation Beth Jacob hosted the backgrounds,” she said. Supporting Israel’s present and future is the main goal of the 30th annual Atlanta Purim Parade & Festival project. The second goal is to strengthen in Toco Hills on March 13. Parade particibonds between Toco Hills community mem- pants rode on about a dozen decorated floats, making their way down bers around Purim by Lavista Road. The Beth Jasending each other cards cob float featured Rabbi and beautiful baskets Ilan D. Feldman, Rabbi filled with gourmet Kosher Dov Foxbrunner and treats.

Rabbi Yitzchok Tendler In the 1950s, most and their kids, dressed as Jewish children attending British aristocrats from their synagogue Purim the early 1900s. The festicarnivals had few costume val followed the parade, choices. Girls dressed up including many rides, as Queen Esther and boys An AMIT Mishloach Manot gift games, music and kosher could be King Ahashverus, Mordecai or mean Ha- container is ready to be delivered. food trucks. Sarah Faygie man. Today, costumes from Spiderman to Berkowitz, who helped organize the day’s Wonder Woman are worn by adults and chil- festivities, said that “this event creates unity dren. Rabbi Max Miller of Temple Emanu-El among different Jewish groups, including explained how the tradition of wearing cos- schools, youth groups, synagogues, as well as local businesses. It’s truly a joy-filled event for tumes became part of the Purim festivities.

“Dressing up probably originated in the the entire community, cherished by Atlanta Middle Ages, not before the time of Talmud,” families.”

A somber Fast of Esther is conducted on he said. The whole reason we dress up, putting on costumes and masks, is because Es- the 13th day of Adar to recall the date when ther had to hide her Jewish identity. Miller the Jews were supposed to be murdered, but talked about how, as parents and students, what would a Jewish holiday be without a we have different roles, wearing what he Se’uda (festive meal)? This commandment, called “figurative masks,” not always reveal- fulfilled after the fast and the reading of the Megillah, may feature a vegetarian menu ing our innermost thoughts.

The tradition of wearing any kind of in honor of Queen Esther, who, according costume is a more recent Americanization to some legends, probably kept kosher and of the holiday. Miller says the day after Hal- therefore would not have eaten meat. Trianloween is the best time to find a Purim cos- gular kreplach, filled with chicken or meat tume to purchase for the following year. In can also be served.

Most Se’uda desserts would most likely 2020, he wore a giraffe onesie. This year, look for Rabbi Miller, the dragon. Even his young include hamantashen and their sweet filldaughter will be in costume, wearing a red ings. Folklore says the triangle shape is an Elmo hooded towel. His wife, Rabbi Rachael imitation of Haman’s hat, but scholars assert Klein Miller, plans to be a praying mantis. that hats during the time the Megillah was Miller observed that, in Israel, the whole transcribed did not look like that. Nevertheweek leading up to Purim feels like a giant less, the tradition remains. ì

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HOME & GARDEN Siegel’s Planting Concepts Business Blooms In 1991, Chattanoogaborn and Columbus-raised Michael Siegel returned to Atlanta after studying at an Israeli yeshiva for two years.

Robyn Spizman While there, Gerson he met his wife, Dawn, who is from South Africa and was then studying at a seminary.

They ultimately put down roots in Atlanta, married and began a career that has brightened the city of Atlanta, as well as simchas all over the country.

Siegel took over a landscape design company belonging to his sister, Faye Lefkoff, incorporating Planting Concepts in 1993, which he and Dawn run now.

For the Siegels, who are Orthodox Jews, there’s no landscaping challenge they don’t embrace. Planting Concepts is a full-service company that also includes a cut-flower business growing magnificent peonies for simchas and retail.

Siegel comes from a line of engineers, but likens himself to a rabbi.

“Just like rabbis have lineage,” he says, “I have lineage in this business and am a third-generation Georgia Tech graduate in building construction. My father, Leon, was a civil and industrial engineer and my grandfather Abe was a civil engineer.”

Over the past two decades, Planting Concepts has grown literally from the ground up. In 1998, the Siegels bought a farm in the Appalachian foothills, near Homer, Ga., a hilly terrain just 15 minutes south of Cornelia, in the North Georgia mountains, where Siegel grows peonies in every shade from pink to fuchsia. The farm features a two-acre lake, streams, a heavily wooded area where their flower business is based and 20 cows and pregnant goats (the Siegels are on stand-by for the occasion). Their goal is to grow their cow herd to 30 and start a goat cheese, milk and soap producing operation.

“The peonies are planted on seven fields, totaling about 10 acres,” Siegel said. “Multiple colors line each individual row, and our first year we had a crop of peonies in the tens of thousands. They come from 15 different varieties and they are all different shades of white with red specs and dark fuchsia, baby pinks and a couple varieties that are pink on the outside, with a cream color.”

32 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Planting Concepts transforms backyards into landscaped settings.

Magnificent peonies are the flower of choice for Siegel’s cut-flower business.

He can distinguish the flower varieties just by smell. “There’s crosses of different varieties and every single bud is breathtaking,” Siegel said, “you never tire of this flower. There are certain days when we cut 3,000 stems — which is 300 bunches — and we ship all over the country.” The fields are all named after the six Siegel children: Rachael, Aaron, David, Herschel, Sarah and Joshie. “After my kids graduate high school,” he said, “they go to Israel for a year to study and we’ve even visiting peony farms in Israel.”

Siegel’s is the southernmost farm that grows peonies. “They grow them in Chile, which is closer to the equator,” he says. “But what makes it tricky for us is that we are in a moderate zone, not as cold a winter and it’s hard because in the summer, we’re battling fungus due to the heat. Our peonies come out in the middle of April, around Passover and then we don’t cut them after Mother’s

Siegel grows a large variety of peony.

Michael Siegel runs a 10-acre farm, a greenhouse, full-service landscaping service and cut-flower business producing peonies.

Day.” Because different varieties mature at different times, they’re planted in different fields, Siegel says. “We hand-pick the flowers just before they explode; they call that the marshmallow stage.

Since our market is Atlanta — an hour and ten minutes away — and we can pick to the last minute, we cut it, process it and have it to the wholesalers the next morning, as fresh as it can possibly be.

It’s just been the family doing this and my kids know more about peonies than many growers do. Of course, my crew helps me when my kids are not available.”

Siegel also grows ornamental lilies, Peruvian daffodils that are rare and bloom later in the spring and is currently working on propagating new varieties with over 100 types of plants. “You realize how at mercy you are to God, dependent on the rain, a late frost that won’t

burn the buds, or a cold weather winter,” he confesses. “It blows you away that everything is related to nature and you have limited control. That’s the one physical side. There’s a spiritual side, and I feel that God is in control. If you go through the Oral Torah, the bulk of all that writing is based on agricultural life. Every time I turn around, I find something else that was discussed 2,000 years ago.”

Siegel’s company also focuses on the finer details of landscaping. “I can recontour the dirt and the owners are often shocked,” he says. “I feel happy that we just helped a client enjoy their property. The fun part is when I take on a radical change that requires an engineering background. That’s the installation side and there’s another side, where maintenance becomes important, and sometimes it buys me time to focus on composting, the leaves and gardening.

HOME & GARDEN

Siegel’s Planting Concepts brightens Atlanta’s lawns and yards.

Dawn Siegel picks stunning flowers on their farm in the North Georgia Mountains.

It doesn’t put food on the table, but at the end of a long journey, those types of projects are such fun for me.”

Siegel also owns antique wood and glass greenhouses that took two years to

disassemble and move. Originally built in Buckhead, they were relocated to Brookhaven by the late Col. Morrison, known locally for his poinsettias. Planting Concepts purchased the greenhous-

es and moved them to Sandy Springs, where it grows organic vegetables and off-season cut flowers.

“I wanted to grow boutique specialty vegetables for the restaurants, but with more research I found that it was not profitable,” Siegel said. “We found a greenhouse and organic vegetables. It took two years to move the greenhouse and, three days a week, we’d go to Colonel Morrison’s site with a million photographs. It’s 20 thousand square feet and recently we bought organic shitake mushrooms, lion’s mane and blue oyster spores. Three or four weeks ago, we inoculated logs with those spores and the spores have started to spread.”

At the end of the day, Siegel says it’s the little things that mean the most to

him. “Ten years ago, I planted a pomegranate and it’s white and very sweet,” he said. “It is a fun thing to give people for Rosh Hashanah, and this year I had only one due to (we think) raccoons getting to them. I treasured that one plant.

I normally get 50 to 100 per tree and this year, we had just one.”

The Siegels are proud parents to six children, ages 20 to 28, and members of Beth Jacob and associate members of Beth Tefilla. Synagogue plays a large role. Over the years, when his kids were younger, the teachers at Torah Day School knew it was April, or flower season, when the kids would miss a few days to help pick flowers at the family farm. “Dawn monitored their attendance closely to make sure they weren’t out for long,” Siegel assures.

Still, his biggest thrill is pleasing other people. “The farm has taught me the rain is a blessing, a brachah, no matter what. 25 years ago, I’d get upset because it rained, but after owning a farm, rain is a blessing no matter what. We can’t do without the rain, and we roll with those punches.” ì For more information, visit www. plantingconcepts.com.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 33

HOME & GARDEN

‘Tis the Season to be Gardening Pam Williams convinced her father to start a garden with her when she was ten years old. Her immigrant grandparents had been part of Chana Shapiro the back-to-theland movement, which was based on living close to the farm, with as much self-reliance as possible. They had an apple orchard, perhaps planted by Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), and sold chicken eggs. Williams has incorporated these family values into developing her own garden and building connections with other gardeners.

As newlyweds, Pam and Jack Williams had tried to grow zucchinis in a trough on their coffee table in New York, but without bees for pollination, the plants produced flowers but no zucchinis. Since the early 1990s, the Williamses have maintained a vegetable garden at their Atlanta home. “Planting it became our children’s Mother’s Day gift to me. One year, we were even part of the Intown Garden Tour,” Williams says.

34 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Spontaneous shoots in Blimi Lindenblatt’s compost pots.

TDSA second grade girls plant peas and beans this year.

TDSA’s 2021 spring garden was harvested this year.

She was not always successful. Squirrels first ate the corn seed, and squash didn’t grow during wet summers. She learned about companion planting and grew marigolds alongside her tomatoes because marigolds ward off tomato-eating insects. Williams now successfully grows vegetables for her family table, including cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, eggplants and sweet potatoes.

Last summer, Williams sent garden plot soil samples to the University of Georgia’s soil, plant and water laboratory. It turned out that

their “soil was deficient in lime,” so Williams “added lime to the dirt prior to planting, and my vegetables grew beautifully!” Gardeners can order the inexpensive test online, mail it to the lab and receive a soil analysis.

Blimie Lindenblatt’s mother tended small front and backyard gardens in Brooklyn, N.Y. Today, Lindenblatt’s kitchen and full-sun side yard contain leafy tubs of all shapes and sizes. “Any empty container that will hold soil and water can be a pot for a new plant,” she says. Outside, dozens of plants are beginning to sprout, including mint, wild

strawberries, garlic and parsley.

Several impressive avocado trees, a mango tree and a hearty spider plant flourish in Lindenblatt’s sunny kitchen. She found these plants emerging spontaneously outdoors in composted pots, but they were too fragile to remain outside. She replanted them and brought them indoors.

Lindenblatt depends on active composting and is never sure what may take root as a result of being nourished on decaying vegetable scraps, discarded seeds and falling leaves. Sun is essential. “My plants grow

HOME & GARDEN A N D C O M PA N Y COLLECTIONS FOR THE HOME

SI Pam Williams, ready to plant trees in 2022.

A corner of Pam Williams’s 2021 summer garden.

themselves,” Lindenblatt says. “Every spring is a series of discoveries. I go out every day and some plants are easily recognizable as they appear, and some are mysterious, unexpected. Last year I got 12 tomato plants, which I replanted when I found them growing in a pot of fruit and vegetable scraps. Tomatoes grow spontaneously, and melons plant themselves when their seeds are in compost. The avocados first appeared in a tomato pot that I was mulching with table scraps.”

Potatoes with “eyes” are put into the ground and eventually every “eye” produces another potato. Peeled garlic cloves are planted flat-side-down, and a garlic plant grows.

Lindenblatt’s composting process begins with potting soil from a nursery. After that, she adds random peels, seeds and rotting fruits and vegetables. Her herbs and vegetables contribute to family meals, but she doesn’t devote a great deal of time and energy to tending the plots. She considers herself a practical gardener. “I grow what works,” she explains.

Rachel Goldsmith had success with her winter garden of root vegetables, including several barrels of beets and potatoes, which she nurtures in a heavy vinyl greenhouse on her patio. Another greenhouse holds large containers of aromatic citronella plants and Persian shield plants, as well as two self-watering raised planters for parsley and strawberries.

Goldsmith is a do-it-yourselfer who blogs about her projects and encourages others to try new things. Her resourcefulness is especially evident in her indoor plant “garden.” This quasi-greenhouse is in her guest bathroom, where a large, wheeled shelf unit holds lush summer and indoor plants. “It’s easy to water plants in a room that has a drain,” she explains,” and I installed a grow light above the plants and a timer switch that keeps it on four hours a day.”

Goldsmith had a pivotal gardening experience as a counselor at Camp Coleman.

She comes from a gardening family, but

didn’t fully appreciate the effort it required as a child or as a camper. As a mature counselor, she saw working with dirt and plants as an ideal combination of gardening and crafts.

Now, she extends her skills by “dabbling in landscape design” and writes a home-andgarden blog. “Everyone’s home should feel like a pleasurable vacation,” Goldsmith believes, “where your soul feels comfortable.”

Last year, in spring 2021, Torah Day School of Atlanta teachers Ruth Freundlich and Naomi Cohen noticed a sunny spot just outside their classroom door, in the school’s play area. It was filled with pebbles and devoid of grass. The administration and the custodians were enthusiastic about using that space to build a large, raised gardening bed, and the girls were excited, too. They did all the planting, weeding and watering for the garden themselves. Cohen still had seeds left over from her own 2020 COVID garden, so the class planted sunflowers, tomatoes and butternut squash. They also planted pea and green bean seeds because they grow quickly and were able to harvest a bounteous crop and eat the produce at the end of the school year.

The sunflowers, tomatoes and squash were harvested by this year’s second grade class at the beginning of the school year, a living gift from last year’s second graders.

This year’s second grade class took over the gardening. They harvested last year’s sunflowers, tomatoes and squash, collected the sunflower seeds and made butternut squash soup. They recently planted peas and beans.

“There is nothing like the thrill of tilling my garden’s soil in preparation for planting, putting my soil samples into the mail to send off, planning my garden plot, choosing my vegetable plants, and planting my garden every year,” Pam Williams concludes. “I love working the land and waiting patiently for my garden to grow. I realize how fragile the Earth can be, how grateful I am for the sun that shines and the rain that comes down from the heavens.” ì

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 2022 3/10/2022 15, 4:58:40 PM| 35

HOME & GARDEN

Tips for a Successful Estate Sale

After staging interior shots of an in-home estate sale.

By Robyn Spizman Gerson

Designer wardrobe featured in Peachtree Battle Estate Sale’s gallery on the Upper West Side.

and value of items for sale or HOA restrictions,” says Ahlers. “This allows adequate Spring is around the corner, which time to work the discounts in a manner that means it’s time for spring cleaning. Whether maximizes the realized prices. Pricing and you are downsizing or clearing out a home, discounting will have a large impact on the pay attention to what the experts say, as you overall result and that formula is highly effective.” just might be sitting on Estate sale client valuable treasures and Fred Katz certainly apcollectibles. preciated Ahlers’s assisWhen preparing tance in selling his home. for an estate sale, Robert “When I sold my home Ahlers, CEO and founder in Atlanta, I needed help of Ahlers and Ogletree pricing and selling a Auctions and Peachtree houseful of items, from Battle Estate Sales with furniture, art, silverware, his wife Christy, suggests: dishes to loads of odds and “If you’re considering a ends,” he said. “It seemed sale, begin by setting up like an overwhelming a consultation early in task, but Peachtree Battle the game. Many people Robert Ahlers, CEO of Ahlers Estate Sales took over the throw away or donate & Ogletree, leads one of the best-known auction houses entire job, sold almost things that would sell reand estate sale companies everything in the house ally well. An efficient prowith his wife, Christy. and it was a flawless excess is designed to make things easy, and having an established com- perience from the moment we met. I was pany meet you during the planning process shocked how many things actually sold, and will guide you and save a lot of effort, under- the prices were incredible.”

Another client, Jill standing how the process Segal, said, “Peachtree works will prevent you Battle Estate Sales did an from making mistakes.” exceptional job, and their For those who don’t staff was so courteous. have enough for an onI can’t say enough good site sale, Ahlers offers an things about them. They offsite option. “Typically, are experts at what they for an on-site sale, there do and did a tremendous needs to be a majority job for us as we downof the household up for sized. This full-service sale and the gross value company made all the difneeds to be a minimum ference and is outstandof $15,000 to $25,000,” he ing.” says. “It is often hard for a Christy Ahlers runs the Peachtree Battle Estate Sale Ahlers displays rare family member or potenwith husband Robert. and antique items at the tial client to size this up, so it is best to have a free consultation to make a company’s 15,000-sq.-foot gallery at 1218 Old Chattahoochee Avenue, on Atlanta’s Upper determination.”

The timing of the sale is also important. Westside. Below, Ahlers shares professional “We generally run our sales for three days tips for a successful estate sale: but customize this according to the volume 36 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Jewelry from an in-home estate sale hosted by Peachtree Battle Estate Sales.

Get the most value out of the items you are selling.

Knowing what things are worth is the most important thing. “Our staff researchers have extensive product knowledge,” Ahlers said. “Pricing things properly from the start is absolutely vital to a successful sale. Since we own an auction house that is separate from our estate sale company, we have the unique ability to sell items through our sister company, Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery. The auctions are global and open up the world to our customers. Offering some of the rarer and more unique items at auction allows the market to determine the value and usually results in a higher price due to the broader market. In our estate sales, we spend a lot of time doing extensive setups and displays to show items at their best. We also do extensive photography to give a good representation of the objects online. Finally, we maximize by having a knowledgeable sales staff interacting with customers and actively selling.”

When hiring a company, it’s important to inquire about services that will ease the process.

“An estate sale benefits from a full-service estate sale company that is designed to make things much easier for clients,” said Ahlers. “We re-stage items in the house, pull everything out of cabinets, drawers, etc. and set up displays. Next, we do photography and advertising. This includes social media ads, listings on estate sale websites, email campaigns, signs around the neighborhood, etc.

Pricing and research come next. We price every item at $1 or more (this creates value for items, instead of group pricing). After the conclusion of the sale, we provide a full cleanout, customized to the client’s needs.

We donate items that need to be donated and make an itemized list, take any items back to our gallery that we think we may be able to sell for you in a future sale, sweep, vacuum,

Silver displayed from an estate sale of a prominent Atlantan.

wipe down counters and leave you with an empty house.”

What sells quickly?

According to Ahlers, there is a customer or buyer for almost everything. Obviously, the more unique and higher-value items tend to sell quickest. His gallery has had success with fine art, jewelry, antiques, designer clothing and accessories, fine furniture, modernism and even household items and good used furniture.

Which items do not sell?

There are not many things that don’t sell. Most of our estate sales have an 85 to 90 percent sell-through rate. We have all types of buyers, such as interior designers, set designers, people buying for second homes and Airbnb rentals, retail and collector buyers, and so on. Some of the things that are a little more challenging to sell are mostly big furniture items like armoires, wall units, or really dated items that aren’t old enough to be antiques or new enough to be current.

What safety precautions should you take?

Ahlers encourages clients to remove all personal items, documents, family photographs and anything they don’t want to be included prior to the sale.

How do you select a company?

The vast majority of sales come through referrals from past clients, realtors, move managers and attorneys. If you are looking for a company, ask around. You can also look on estate sale websites such as estatesales. net. Make sure to ask a lot of questions and get good references from recent clients and read the reviews. Pay particular attention to the negative reviews, as they will really tell the true story. ì

HOME & GARDEN

Siegel Couple “Nails” Upscale Homes

David and Kathy Siegel work as a team to achieve a quality-built home

Driving around Buckhead’s treelined neighborhoods, it would be hard to miss houses under construction that have the Siegel Construction & DeMarcia sign signage out Caller Jaffe front. Hard to mist because a Siegel house represents its own unique look and aesthetic. Most of Siegel Construction & Design’s remodeling or new construction projects are 10,000 square feet or more, along with top line finishes and appliances.

David Siegel, a graduate of North Springs High School and the University of Georgia says, “Building high end houses like ours costs upwards of $4-6 million. The inventory in that price range is low, so we rarely have to market them before posting ”Under Contract” on the sign. In addition to building spec houses, we get calls from agents and brokers who have customers interested in high-end remodeling jobs. We stay focused on Buckhead, maybe a few jobs in Ansley or North Buckhead/Sandy Springs.” Siegel’s company, which includes his wife Kathy, who handles the design aspect of the work, has 15 -20 projects going on at any one time.

Siegel’s first job was brokering raw plastic, dipping his toe into learning about materials. After meeting Kathy in New York City, the two took on some “fun remodeling projects” with Kathy’s stepfather, who was in construction. After moving to Atlanta, they remodeled or built and successfully sold a number of homes, then the 2008 financial crisis hit. Siegel said, “If you went to a bank at that time with free land, labor and materials

Siegel-built house’s rectangular swimming pool is typical of what today’s homeowners want.

and asked to do a spec home, they wouldn’t entertain the idea. They threw the baby out with the bathwater by not allowing loans.

Banks were just not lending.” Until the capital markets re-opened, the duo worked for others remodeling kitchens and other smaller home projects and learned a lot along the way. In 2016 the Siegel’s, started their own construction and design company.

In terms of high prices, Siegel has experienced inflationary costs in lumber, roofing supplies, appliances (top shelf Sub Zero and Wolf) and more. Thankfully they are not experiencing labor shortages. Siegel explained, “We have our own large and loyal crew that we treat like family: general contractors, project managers, and 25 or so carpenters. Siegel says that the average house now takes 18 months to build, sometimes delayed by having to get city permit approval which can often move slowly. They have to address water quality studies and make sure that trees are handled correctly.

Kathy, as chief designer, works carefully with the architect and homeowners to create the best interiors. The Siegel Construction & Design style is clean and minimal. “We connect the inside and outside with beautiful sight lines throughout the house. We stay current without being too trendy. The most important thing when building a custom house or doing a major remodel is getting to know our clients and the way they live.

Right now, we are combining different natural woods with warm painted and plastered walls, white marbles with large veining. All of our houses open to large, covered porches through iron doors. Working with my daughter Maggie helps keep our style current so we are always adapting to new design ideas,” says Kathy.

David describes more design vision and what’s on trend: less trim, using weath-

ered granite, plastered walls, natural honed marble, flamed bluestone, cedar and cypress woods, cedar shake roofs, and painted white brick exterior are all popular. David agrees with Kathy, “Having Maggie’s input is inspiring as she learns the family business. The bottom line is to select a builder whom you

David and Kathy labor over plans to maximize the space in one of their 10,000+ square foot homes.

can trust, but also is well versed in design and understanding your vision. After all, Kathy is our secret sauce. We are passionate about our business and feel no one does it as well as we do.”

The Siegels are members of The Temple on Peachtree. ì

what does luxury mean to you?

I believe in a luxury approach to real estate, no matter what price point home. All of my clients can expect the same level of service and results.

Carrie Moore c. 770.851.6066 | o. 404.480.HOME CARRIE@ANSLEYRE.COM 404.480.HOME | 3035 PEACHTREE RD. SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 | ANSLEYRE.COM Equal housing opportunity. If you have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 37

HOME & GARDEN

Making Eclectic Table Settings out of Souvenirs

Large placemats and napkin rings share a flower motif.

Set out on Scottie-themed placemats are Scottie dog dishes, placed over charger plates.

Even though not made up specifically for Thanksgiving, Eve Mannes liked the combination of using Alessi Alien placemats with Thanksgiving hats and ducks.

You don’t have to have company to take out the beautiful things you already own for a memorable dinner at home. Artist Eve Mannes transforms dining tabletops into what she calls tablescapes, original table setting concepts that have become

By Flora Rosefsky her daily ritual, offering her a kind of therapy.

“After my morning cup of joe, I rummage through drawers with no theme intended, except maybe for

holidays,” she said. “I start to pull items for inclusion. It gives some decorum and civility to dining at home.” She added how she and her husband, Harvey, love to cook and prepare meals for themselves, family and friends.

“Hosting has always been our pleasure.”

Mannes’s table settings are assembled around her extensive personal collection of a wide variety of items, including china, crystal, modern design accessories, vintage antiques, Alessi objects and innumerable pieces from her world travels. During COVID, she says, it became a ritual to create different table settings three to four times a week.

“Using placemats I have made or ones purchased,

each table setting has its own unique identity,” she explained. “The tables become alive with color and fancy.”

Mannes pulled out four blue and white placemats, originally purchased in Paris, and added a paper shoe by Linda Filley, using similar colors, to unify the tablescape theme for that day.

Mannes admitted that “the pandemic left us eating more at home. In addition, Harvey and I had to cut back on our travel plans — something we had so thoroughly enjoyed, especially after he retired from his urology practice.” So, over the last year and today, after searching through her many closets and drawers, Mannes found ways to incorporate rediscovered items into her daily life.

“I like the surprise and fun aspect of seeing something new each time we sit down for lunch and/or dinner,” Harvey says. Together, they love seeing objects from their many travels put out as personal treasures.

Each item brings back loving memories of a trip, whether it was a few years ago or several years past.

Mannes talked about how “anything but anything can be included on the table.” She says the juxtaposition of unexpected and familiar objects often makes the tablescapes more interesting. A vintage antique — such as a plate from Agra, India, or a gilded gold lunch box from Myanmar — a Party City purchase and a travel souvenir can all share the same tablescape composition. Other times, one theme, like Scottie dogs, will incorporate different items with a similar motif.

“Since we have not taken journeys during this ongoing pandemic, using items like saris from India as tablecloths and other fabrics, reminds me of that long list of travel experiences,” Mannes says.

Some of her favorite tablescape collectibles include chargers from Chicago, paper shoes by craftswoman Linda Filley and Allen placemats from Alessi. Then there are the Scottie-themed placemats she made along with Bakelite-resin Scottie napkin rings from Scott’s Antiques Market and Scottie dishes to be set over charger plates. A hand of Buddha found at the Buford Farmer’s Market, Gaetano Pesci plastic placemats from Coming Soon in New York and three starfish purchased at Fernandina Beach, Fla. are some of her other travel treasures. For now, the collection is far from complete.

“I am still buying! If it looks good, it will feel good,” Mannes says. ì

LOVE WHAT IS LEFT UNSPOKEN,

What Is Left Unspoken, Love will present contemporary artworks that address the different ways the most important thing in life— love—is expressed. As poet and painter Etel Adnan wrote, love is “not to be described, it is to be lived.” The exhibition will feature nearly seventy works, including paintings, sculpture, photography, video, and media art, by more than thirty-five international artists.

MAR. 25–AUG. 14 | HIGH MUSEUM OF ART | HIGH.ORG What Is Left Unspoken, Love is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.

F U N D I N G P R OV I D E D

BY T H E

Taylor Family Fund

PREMIER EXHIBITION SERIES SPONSOR

PREMIER EXHIBITION SERIES SUPPORTERS

BENEFACTOR EXHIBITION SERIES SUPPORTERS

ACT Foundation, Inc. Sarah and Jim Kennedy Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot Dr. Joan H. Weens Estate

Robin and Hilton Howell

Rina Banerjee (Indian, born 1963), Take me, take me, take me … to the Palace of love (detail), 2005, plastic, antique AngloIndian Bombay dark wood chair, steel and copper framework, floral picks, foam balls, cowrie shells, quilting pins, redcolored moss, antique stone globe, glass, synthetic fabric, shells, and fake birds, courtesy of the artist. © Rina Banerjee.

38 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

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DISCOVER YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 39

SENIOR LIVING What You Need to Know to Retire

Robyn Spizman Gerson

Whether you’ve been diligently planning for retirement or planning to work until the end of time, professional advice can help you arrive successfully at the des-

tination.

Bill Cohen, of Oakbridge Partners, a well-known Atlanta firm with nearly fifty years in the wealth management industry, says, “In order to prepare for retirement and have a successful retirement experience, the key is to have a well-formulated plan and stick with that plan. When working with clients, we begin by analyzing a client’s investment horizon, tolerance for investment risk, current and future needs from a portfolio and their ultimate goals and aspirations.

These could range from spending your last dollar travelling the world, providing for your children and grandchildren, supporting charitable endeavors and/or any other priorities. Each plan should be customized to address that client’s unique needs and goals.”

Cohen says that, in today’s investment environment, with interest rates being so incredibly low, it is difficult to generate a risk-free return that keeps up with inflation. “Most retirees have to take a certain level of investment risk to achieve their goals,” he says. “It’s our job to help people discover that delicate balance between risk and reward so that they stick with their plan in different market cycles. It’s very important that they don’t overreact when the market sells off or are remorseful of missed opportunity when the market is roaring.

Smart and steady wins the race when it comes to achieving retirement goals.”

It’s also important that retirees learn to focus on those things they can control, like periodically rebalancing their portfolio. By rebalancing, Cohen means “taking a little risk off the table when the market goes up by selling stocks and adding more stocks when the market sells off.”

This requires discipline, he say, “and one of the hardest things for investors to do is to keep their emotions in check when the market gets rocky. Providing that discipline is one of the most important things that we do for clients.”

Cohen says a simple baseline rule of

40 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

thumb is that you can spend 4% of your portfolio each year for about 30 years and not run out of money. “That rule is not bulletproof for everyone, but it is a reasonable baseline to work from,” he says.

“Stress-testing a client’s plan is a must as we know that investment returns are not guaranteed, and they do not happen in a straight line. We believe that it is key for clients to match what they value with how they spend and invest. You want to be prudent and responsible while also allowing your financial resources to help add joy to your life. Securing a trusted team of advisors (attorney, CPA, financial advisor) who have a fiduciary responsibility to serve you will provide confidence to all your financial decisions. Retirement comes hard-earned for most of us, but it does not have to be difficult to get there.”

Tax attorney Lance Einstein, who is also co-managing partner of MendenFreiman, LLP, a boutique law firm that specializes in trusts and estates, tax controversy, business planning and estate administration, views estate planning as a collaborative effort. He works closely with clients and other professional advisors to come up with a plan for retirement. Einstein’s role is to determine the client’s estate plan, which includes preparing wills and trusts, health care directives and powers of attorney.

“It’s a good idea to create an estate plan because it provides your wishes and decisions for how your assets will transfer upon your death and who will have decision-making authority when you

pass away or are incapable of making your own decisions,” he says. “It’s important to remember that everybody’s estate and situation is unique and there is generally not a one-size-fits-all approach.

This is important to your retirement planning because it takes the burden off your family and friends, minimizes any disputes amongst them and can save considerable time and money.”

Einstein begins the estate-planning process by sending the client a questionnaire in which they provide their personal and financial information. He will then use their answers to advise them on the recommended plan and to prepare the will, trust, heath care directive and/ or power of attorney. “We will review the information and have an initial meeting to discuss our recommendations and the client’s wishes,” Einstein says. “From there, we prepare the appropriate documents and then schedule meeting for the client to execute the documents. At the completion the meeting, we provide the original estate planning documents and recommend that they be kept in a secure location, in addition to an organized binder with copies of the documents that we recommend be kept in an accessible location.”

Sammy Grant knows all about client-centered approaches to financial planning. An attorney educated in trusts and estates — as well as a CPA, Certified Financial Planner practitioner, licensed real estate salesperson and Chartered Life Underwriter — he brings a wealth of experience to the clients he serves.

“When someone asks me what I do, I think of the term ‘behavioral finance,’” Grant says, “as it’s essential for me to understand the whole person and their purpose in life. More and more people are engaging concierge medical practitioners who offer full access to one person who understands your full picture.

It’s the same way in our business; it’s important to have all of your assets, needs, goals and advice from other specialists working together.”

There’s often a big difference between expectation and reality. “In the middle of a stressful career, lying on the beach and playing golf sounds amazing,” Grant says. “And often it is for a few months, however, you need to give thought to your purpose in retirement.

All of a sudden, someone reaches their financial goals, but no one is asking for their help or advice and they are not being intellectually challenged. I suggest you take a 5-day work week and map out the week and look at what you’re doing.

You’ll see how much of that time is related to work even if it’s getting dressed or driving in traffic to work.”

When a client’s purpose is in place, “that’s where the value of an advisor with experience can help clients make the best tactical decisions,” he says. “It begins with doing the math. I need x dollars to be able to retire. From that point, here are some examples of smaller details to think about: Which of your accounts makes sense to use first? It’s important to use your assets properly. Let’s say you have a general savings account, a company

SENIOR LIVING 401K and a Roth IRA. You need to maximize the tax efficiency of which accounts to draw on in which years when you retire. For each person that is different, because of your income or age. Someone who is 63 does not have to worry about how reported income will impact Medicare premiums the same way someone age 68 will. Inquire how you can set yourself up to delay social security until you are 70. That’s advised in most cases because behind the scenes the amount you receive goes up approximately 8 percent per year by delaying until 70. There’s a lot of sophisticated social security planning depending on each spouse’s earnings and more, making this one of the most important decisions for many retirees.

Have you updated your estate planning documents and reviewed your current needs? Rethink your estate planning as to where your needs and your family’s needs are at the time of retirement. Most working couples first have their wills drafted so that if something happens to them there are persons in place to raise their minor children. By retirement, those children are often grown and the documents might focus more on insuring your assets flow to the right people at the right time, taking into account

Bill Cohen, a principal in Oakbridge Partners, offers financial insights for a successful retirement.

Lance Einstein, co-managing partner of MendenFreiman, LLP helps clients prepare for retirement.

Sammy Grant is a wealth management expert at Homrich Berg.

possible creditors and spouses not in the picture many years ago.”

Since people are living longer, Grant says it’s important to contemplate what will happen if clients can no longer manage their own affairs. “Presumably a spouse would know if they are the ones you are relying on,” he says, “but if it’s not a spouse, does that person know your

wishes, where your assets are and everything else they need to know to be your effective advocate?”

He says that semi-retirement can start out as a trial run to evaluate your options.

“As you start to pull money out of your accounts and your savings, or you distribute your income, it’s critical to understand how you really feel at the end of each day,”

Grant advises. “If you’ve been a saver your entire life, will you be able to handle the change to withdrawing funds potentially in a declining stock market and not lose sleep? You’ve worked hard to earn the benefits coming from a happy retirement so be sure you spend as much time planning for your emotional and psychological bucket as you do your financial one.” ì

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SENIOR LIVING

Ten Major Factors That Affect Aging Why do some people reach their 80s in overall good health while others age differently? The AJT spoke to two

By Flora Rosefsky experts, Dr. Ben Epstein of Piedmont Physicians, who specializes in geriatrics, and to Dr. Brian Nadolne, of East Cobb Family Medicine at Northside Family Medical Center. Both professionals spoke about the factors affecting aging and what you can do about it.

Natural accumulation of years:

At a certain age, Epstein said, “chronic diseases accumulate as you age, so the mere fact of living to be 70, 80, 90 or older — for the majority of people at that age, most will be dealing with more health issues than when they were

younger; for some, certain body organs do wear down.” However, “just because you get older, it doesn’t mean you have to get sicker. Jack LaLanne was a very good example of this. Take care of your body and it will take care of you,” said Nadolne.

Inherited genes and DNA:

“Know your family history and be engaged,” Nadolne said. “If your father has heart disease, this is important to know. Do not wait until middle age. Start early. Be pro-active.” This means speaking to your family doctor. If your father had a heart attack early in his life, Nadolne says you should be exercising regularly and making healthy eating choices. And your family doctor may want to bring in a cardiologist early on if your labs demonstrate a similar pathway as your firstdegree relative.

The bottom line? “Do not wait for a problem. You can improve your outcome by knowing your risk factors and act to improve your lifestyle before that first cardiac event,” he said.

Brunch & Learn

Acquiring a taste for more vegetables and fruits is part of a healthy life-style choice.

Overcoming grief:

Nadolne has found that living alone, overcoming grief of a spouse or partner who had died “affects the mental and emotional health at any age, but especially for those considered to be seniors, over 65 or 70.” Making changes, deciding where to live — whether to move to an Brain function: assisted living facility or Memory loss occurs age in place, with help — normally with age. But, can often lessen the grief. when it becomes more Factor in the importance than a name-recall issue, of family support, grandstart with your family children or good friends, Dr. Brian K. Nadolne is a physician, who is your past president of the Georgia pets, belonging to groups first line of defense. If the like synagogues, the MJC- Academy of Family Physicians. doctor notices a problem, CA and clubs, which all help. you can decide together if seeing a neurologist is necessary at that time.

Nutrition:

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speed up the onset of heart disease and cancer. Another common addiction is alcohol. “Over-imbibing alcohol is never a good choice,” says Nadolne. “But alcohol in moderation, especially red wine that has resveratrol in it, has been shown to be healthy.”

Good dietary habits are critical to longevity. However, “that does not mean that the secret to a long life is a good diet!” Nadolne said. There are many factors involved. Making good nutritional choices on a daily basis will only improve your odds, says Nadolne. For instance, instead of eating fried or sugary foods, try salads, fruits and protein shakes, which may help prevent the onset of diabetes.

Substance Addiction:

Smoking is one addiction that can

Imagination:

Engaging in conversation, reading on a regular basis, making crafts, art, music, puzzles, playing cards and other games, attending film showings followed by discussions — all of these can enhance mental function in one’s older years.

Exercise:

A licensed physical therapist once said that “motion is lotion.” Admitting it may sound clichéd, Epstein said that, in addition to eating well, “staying active is

SENIOR LIVING

Having a best friend in the kitchen.

That’s the Power of WE. Pickleball, a popular sport for seniors, makes exercise fun.

still important at any age.” Even adding a walk to one’s daily or weekly routine can make a difference in one’s overall health.

For seniors 70 and over, practicing yoga or meditation, hiking trails, riding bicycles, lifting weights, playing pickleball or golf are all great ways to pursue the benefits of exercising the body and the mind at the same time.

Diagnostic Tests and Treatment Options:

Imagine your life having a complete support system.

It's like an extended family working together, supporting you, lifting you up, raising your spirits and making life easier. Every day. Your meals, your prescriptions, your chores, even a hobby or two, all looked after and taken care of. Smiles at every turn, a joke with a neighbor, a chef who knows just how you like your favorite meal. A life thriving through connection.

That’s senior living at The Piedmont.

enjoyable activities?” After reviewing their answers, Epstein tries to explain to patients whether a particular medical recommendation will help them reach their stated goals or not.

He pointed out how many “management recommendations for specific health problems are based on testing things for just one or two problems.”

Since many older adults have multiple chronic conditions, recommendations must be individualized. But, after a diagnosis, Epstein points out that “older adults might want to ask about the evidence for treatment recommendations, since many studies are of persons 40, 50 and 60 years old, showing that treatment can help them live to 80.”

To help prevent disease progression, Nadolne emphasizes the importance of following up with your family physician regularly for preventative health, cancer screening and mental health screening. And be educated about the warning signs of heart disease.

Good luck: Epstein says he gives “Life and death happatients a geriatric aspen,” said Nadolne. But he sessment during physitries to remind patients cals, which aims “to fothat leading a good, procus on how well an older ductive life, surrounded adult is functioning in by loved ones, is not to be life, rather than testing taken for granted at any each organ system and age. That loving network chronic disease,” he said.

Dr. Benjamin H. Epstein can include family, a be“One’s goals in life are is certified in geriatrics. loved pet, kind neighbors not to have a better blood and friends. By becoming more aware of pressure or cholesterol or blood sugar the factors that affect the aging process number.” Rather, he asks older patients, and being proactive in making better life“Is your goal to reach a personal or famstyle choices, the “fountain of youth” can ily milestone, or to engage in preferred keep flowing. ì

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SENIOR LIVING

When Did I Become My Kid’s Child?

W h e n Alan Mintz’s father died suddenly in Florida, there was no one there to take care of his aging and chronically ill mother.

Bob Bahr Because Mintz travelled frequently on business, the job fell to his wife, Roni.

Even though she made space in her own home for the woman who had always been such a warm and loving part of her family, nothing prepared Roni Mintz for the task of providing for her mother-in-law’s needs each week.

“She was not herself. I mean, she was a completely different person,” Mintz said.

“So there was not that dialogue that I was able to have with her in the past. I didn’t know then how different it could be when you have a relatively healthy loved one who is aging. She was basically not functioning.

The minute she arrived in Atlanta I knew it was going to be a difficult journey.”

Mandy Merkel, a geriatric care manager in Atlanta, moved her mother 8,000 miles from South Africa and looked after her for another decade.

Professionals advise detailed planning to ensure an easier transition for their aging parent.

Adult children can often feel that they have become parents to an aging parent.

Mintz recalls the first three months that her mother-in-law was in Atlanta as a very emotional time. Although there was a steady stream of visiting nurses and physical therapists to help, her mother-in-law was said to be functioning at a very low level. She had to be fed and encouraged to eat, there were a large number of medications to administer and monitor and the elderly woman often wasn’t lucid enough to participate in many of the decisions about

her future.

“It was difficult,” Mintz says, “because there was a role reversal. It was as if I had become the parent and she had become the child.”

Eventually, a nursing home in Decatur was found and some of the burden of daily care was shifted to the professional staff there, but the complexity of daily life remained.

What Mintz and her husband experienced is not unusual for the children of parents whose physical and psychological needs can change suddenly. The effects of a stroke, a serious fall or the early onset of dementia can mean a quick shift in the level of responsibility. With medical advances increasingly able to prolong life, children, who are often coping with their own advancing age, find themselves facing challenges they had never anticipated. The aid of a professional can make a big difference.

For the past 20 years, Debbie Dooley, a psychologist and geriatric care manager, has seen a steady stream of clients in need of help with family relationships. She has experienced some of that herself, with a mother who lived to be almost 100.

“We certainly understand why an adult child becomes angry or disappointed.

And the parents don’t listen. I can’t tell you how many times my mother used to say to me, ‘well, I guess you’re the momma now.’

And I would always say, ‘oh no, I am not your momma, I’m your helper, I’m your care partner, I’m not your momma. I don’t need to be your momma.’ But I just wanted to be able to help her. And that softened it a little bit.”

Dooley, who still works at Jewish Family and Career Services, is now nearing retirement herself. Because she has seen what can happen without a carefully designed plan, she and her husband have just renovated their home to provide for wider doors and facilitate living on a single floor — all of it compatible with standards in the federal

Americans With Disabilities Act. Considering her own plan for the years ahead, Dooley says she always keeps in mind the difficulties she’s seen in her professional life.

“We’re always looking at this goal when the adult child gets so wrapped up in the care that they’re stepping into the role of caregiver,” she says. “They are actually sometimes stepping out of the role of loving adult child. And then they receive anger and they respond with anger. Let’s just say that it can get pretty testy.”

The key, according to those with years of experience in gerontology, is to have a carefully articulated set of goals should a parent decline in their ability to take care of themselves.

Mandy Merkel, who has practiced geriatric care management for the last 23 years, learned this firsthand when she moved her mother 8,000 miles from South Africa to Atlanta and looked after her for another decade.

“We as children, we know that mom and dad are having problems. But if you dig in your heels and don’t acknowledge how difficult this is for the parent, very little will be resolved. It can be much more productive to say, ‘please just consider this for me. I’m your child. You took care of me, and now I would like to talk to you about a plan for what can happen.’”

After the experience of caring for her mother-in-law, Roni Mintz feels like she came full circle in caring, years later, for her father, Sid, who lived to be 102. Sid was a fully participating and loving partner in his care for the ten years he lived in Atlanta.

Taken together, the two experiences left Mintz with a new appreciation of the ancient biblical commandment to honor your father and mother.

“It’s like an honor to your parents, to do the best you can for them,” she said. “They gave us life, sometimes even a lovely life, and our fathers and our mothers deserve to be honored for that.” ì

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STERLING ESTATES SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES

“Leading The Way – Safe and Social” The past 24 months were a trying period for our nation and the world.

Covid-19 interrupted our normal way of life in ways unimaginable. But despite this, our senior communities have been a beacon of safety for their residents.

In the Fall of 2020, we worked hard to become a Tier One direct provider for the vaccine, something no other senior living provider was able to do. Our residents on December 24th, 2020, were the first seniors in the state to receive the first dose of the Moderna vaccine and by the end January had received their 2nd dose. We believe this was just one of the many ways our owners and staff stayed at the forefront of responding to the pandemic…keeping our residents Safe and Social all the while. Brighter days are here for all of us in 2022!

With that in mind, we’d like to let you know a little more about our two Retirement Communities in Marietta to see and hear why so many seniors are choosing to call them home in 2022. For the last 3 years (2021-2019), our communities have won the Cobb Life/MDJ “Best of Cobb” competition for Retirement Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care designations. These communities built like residential neighborhoods were developed by six partners who have lived in greater Atlanta most of their adult lives and have over 125 years of combined senior living industry experience. These individuals are committed to providing the finest lifestyle, services and care for their residents.

Managing Partner Mike Brown tells us that every aspect of planning, designing and developing Sterling Estates had one primary objective, “What would we want for our own loved ones?”

In partnership with families and physicians, Sterling’s commitment is to encourage and empower each resident to stay active and independent as much as possible by focusing on wellness and socialization activities that promote physical and mental stimulation. Wellness programs and socialization activities that maintain one’s quality of life are not an after though for these communities, they are central to what the owners and staff are trying to deliver for their residents.

Sterling Estates’ two senior living communities are in East Cobb and West Cobb, with a future development in Cumming, Sterling Estates of Forsyth. Unlike typical senior living communities, these are built on substantial acreage with plenty of green space and room for extensive outdoor amenities for residents’ enjoyment and use.

Sterling Estates of West Cobb Situated on 30 acres in a classic neighborhood setting with walking paths, large resident garden, beautifully landscaped courtyards and parks, Sterling Estates of West Cobb - which opened in 2016 - offers independent living cottages and apartments. Additionally, its main building The Landmark, provides apartment living and is licensed to provide assisted living services to residents residing there. The

Landmark has a variety of dining options and a state-of-the-art $1,000,000+, 7,500 sq. ft. Sterling Way Wellness Center with an indoor heated, saltwater, aerobic pool and multi-dimensional exercise area.

The West Cobb property recently opened a new (The Hampton) independent living residence with additional one- and two-bedroom apartments, a large clubhouse (The Club), with indoor and outdoor seating, and a bar for socializing and “happy hours.” The Club also includes areas for art, sculpturing and woodworking, as well as a technology/media center.

The community’s state-of-the-art memory care residence (The Grande) opened in June of 2019 as well. The single story building with 36 resident suites features three strategically placed “engagement centers” as well as a secure central interior therapeutic garden and courtyard. An expansion of 6 additional resident suites is currently under way. Partner Mike Brown stated, “We were determined to deliver Marietta and greater Atlanta a cutting-edge, evidence-based memory care center, and believe we have done so.”

munity offers residents the choice of living in cottage homes or in its Landmark residence where they can live independently in apartments, and if needed receive assistance with activities daily living. The same common area amenities and features of West Cobb are included in the East Cobb property, including a 5,000 sq. ft. Sterling Way Wellness Center featuring an indoor heated, saltwater, aerobic pool and large exercise area. Well known locally for its excellent dining experiences and delicious meals, Sterling Estates of East Cobb is the recent two-time winner of the “Taste of East Cobb” competition.

Each of these communities offers exceptional living accommodations, a myriad of opportunities for continued good health and happiness for you or your loved ones. “Leading the way,” Sterling Estates Senior Communities are here for you. Come see for yourself!

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Sterling Estates of East Cobb Much like its sister community, Sterling Estates of East Cobb is situated on 10 acres on Lower Roswell Road just off of Johnson Ferry Road. Located across from Indian Hills Country Club, it too has plenty of green space, gardens and outdoor amenities.

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ARTS & CULTURE City Springs Theatre Company Revives ‘A Chorus Line’ Nearly 46 years after it first opened off-Broadway at New York’s Public Theater, “A Chorus Line,” whose revival debuted at the Bob Bahr Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center on March 11, has lost none of its power.

The production, by the City Springs Theatre Company in Sandy Springs, tells the story of 17 dancers auditioning on a bare theater stage for a role in a new Broadway musical. As the show progresses and about half of the hopeful performers fall by the wayside, we get a close-up look at the experiences that have shaped their lives, hopes and dreams as performers.

It’s a distinct change of pace for the Sandy Springs theatrical troupe, which has built a large and loyal following of season ticket holders with lavish stagings of the Broadway classics. According to

The fate of the revival could indicate how audiences are responding to updated CDC COVID guidelines.

“A Chorus Line” tells the intimate story of a group of performers competing for a place in a new Broadway musical.

Baayork Lee, an original cast member of “A Chorus Line,” directed the new City Springs production.

the company’s executive director, Natalie DeLancey, this production of “A Chorus Line” takes it back to the basics.

“There aren’t huge sets. There aren’t glamorous costumes. The show is really a behind-the-scenes look into an actor’s life. And the audition really turns into something quite different for them because the choreographer and director want to know about them as people. And so it turns into the cast sharing a lot of really personal stories about their lives, about their childhood, about who they are today.”

The original production by the origi-

nal director and choreographer, Michael Bennett, who recorded 24 hours of interviews with dancers in the cast, took shape over a two-year period. These interviews were later edited to form the book for the show.

In his book, “Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway,” Michael Riedel described the process of sifting through the recordings. They were, as he put it, like a group therapy session with talk of unfaithful fathers and unsuccessful marriages. The gay men spoke about the conflict they felt about their sexual choices, which was rarely discussed openly at the time.

The show’s Jewish character, who goes by the stage name Gregory Garner, introduces himself in the script as Sidney Kenneth Bechenstein. He points out that he has the Hebrew name of Rochmel Lev ben Yaakov Mayer. Gardner, who is also gay, admits his adopted name is “very East Side and I don’t deny it.”

Bennett, whose mother was Jewish, worked with Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood to create a narrative structure for this new musical where most of the conflict emerged not from the plot but from the actual words that the dancers had spoken about their lives.

At the time, a show without stars, with a skeletal story line and no sets or costumes to speak of was shunned by Broadway theater owners and investors.

It was Joseph Papp, born Yussel Papirofsky to immigrant Jewish parents from Eastern Europe, who became the driving force behind the production. His Public Theater put $100,000 into the show and a woman named LuEsther Mertz, heiress to a fortune from Publishers Clearing House, put in $25,000 to get the show into off-Broadway previews.

After the first performance on April 16, 1975, the initial audience of 299 paying customers went wild. When the show moved to Broadway a few months later, it opened to rapturous reviews. Clive Barnes, the influential New York Times critic wrote, “The conservative word for ‘A Chorus Line’ might be tremendous or

perhaps terrific.” The New York Post’s Martin Gottfried wrote, “Bennett is now a major creative force and ‘A Chorus Line’ is purely and simply magnificent, capturing the very soul of our musical theater.”

The production ran for 15 years on Broadway, racking up 6,137 performances and becoming, for its time, the longestrunning musical in Broadway history.

According to the producers, the musical grossed $277 million. It was also nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning nine, including two for Bennett for direction and choreography. The show was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Bennett was said to have demanded 15 percent of the show’s profits and 5 percent of the weekly box office. According to Riedel the deal made him the richest director in the history of Broadway.

Now, Baayork Lee, who portrayed the diminutive Connie Wong in the original production, has directed and choreographed the new production based on the work of Bob Avian, who helped to create the original dance numbers in 1975. Lee was a longtime associate of Bennett’s before he died in 1987 and choreographed the 2006 revival of the show on Broadway.

She has also directed 35 productions of the show around the world and is following up the Atlanta production with one in Pittsburgh that opens in July. The 75-year-old director last worked with the City Springs Theatre Company on a production of “South Pacific” in 2019.

This new production may test the appetite for live performances following the relaxation of rules for indoor masking by the CDC. DeLancey still recommends that ticket buyers wear their mask inside the theater. During rehearsals, all cast members were masked and tested three times a week for the COVID virus.

Ticket sales have been brisk so far, selling at about 85 percent of the theater’s capacity, up about 10 percent from the company’s last production in September 2021. ì

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ARTS & CULTURE

AJFF Names 2022 Prize-Winning Films

By Bob Bahr A depiction of Palestinian life in the West Bank, a short home movie made in Eastern Europe just before the Holocaust and a documentary about the Jewish family who saved Thomas Jefferson’s famed estate from ruin were among the winners of Jury Prizes at the 2022 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

“Let It Be Morning,” an Israeli production featuring a cast of Israeli Arab actors and a script by a prominent Israeli Arab writer won for best narrative film. The film follows a prosperous Arab family that is marooned by an IDF roadblock in a Palestinian village after attending a weekend wedding celebration, mixing comedy with serious and sometimes heartbreaking lessons about how the Israeli occupation of the West Bank seeps into every aspect of Palestinian life.

The three-judge panel described the film as having “striking imagery, enormous compassion and an unusual balance of melancholy and humor.” The film, the judges said, “gives us a much needed, palpable sense of what life is like for Palestinian Israelis with compassion and great insight.” “Let It Be Morning” also took home Israel’s top film prize at the Ophir Awards, nabbing Best Director and a half-dozen other honors. It is Israel’s choice to compete for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards.

The Documentary Jury Prize went to “Three Minutes: A Lengthening,” a frameby-frame examination of a three-minute

Steven Pressman’s “The Levys of Monticello” was cited for its contribution to building bridges of understanding.

“Let It Be Morning,” about Arab life in the occupied West Bank of Israel won Best Narrative Film.

The Jury Prize for Best Documentary went to a Holocaust film, “Three Minutes: A Lengthening.”

strip of home movie footage taken by David Kurtz, a prosperous Jewish émigré who returns to his hometown in Poland in 1938, just prior to its destruction in World War II. The jury honored the filmmakers, led by director Bianca Stiger, for the way in which they “powerfully employ stateof-the-art technology to bring back to life these people who otherwise would be lost and is a significant contribution to the documenting of the Holocaust.”

The prize for the film that best promotes the AJFF’s mission of building bridges in the community went to “The Levys of Monticello,” a documentary by Steven Pressman, which tells the story of how an American Jewish naval officer bought Thomas Jefferson’s historic Virginia estate in the late 1830s and began the long process of restoring and preserving the historical property for future generations of Americans.

The jury singled out Pressman for using the history of the landmark to examine not just the Jewish aspect of the story, but

of the role it played in African American history as well.

“At a moment when racism and antiSemitism are palpably felt even today,” the jury wrote, “the process of coming to terms with our past resonates powerfully.”

Reckoning with the past has been a theme of Pressman’s work. Two years ago, his film “Holy Silence,” about the role of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust, was screened at the AJFF. Another Jury Prize went to Pini Tavger, a young Israeli director, who won the Best Emerging Filmmaker award for his feature-length film, “More Than I Deserve.” The film, a more sensitive retelling of a short that Tavger made 13 years ago, is about a young boy, Pinchas, and his mother, Tamara, new immigrants from Russia, whose relationship deepens and grows as they learn to live in an ultra-Orthodox community of Mizrahi Jews in Israel.

The Human Rights Prize went to “Blue Box,” another film from Israel, which takes a critical look at the Jewish National Fund

during Israel’s early years. It was made by Michal Weits, the great-granddaughter of a prominent JNF executive.

The festival award for Best Short Film went to the sixteen-minute French short “The Inspection,” by Florence Jana, which explores how one courageous educator stands fast when she is challenged about her teaching of the Holocaust.

This year’s expert panels included noted actress Tovah Feldshuh, veteran actor Judd Hirsch, the distinguished documentarian Nancy Buirski, whose film, “A Crime on The Bayou,” was nominated for last year’s Human Rights prize and Rabbi Noam Marans, the director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations at the national office of the American Jewish Committee.

This year’s winners demonstrated the continued creative growth of the Israeli film industry, which contributed about a third of the feature-length productions screened at the festival, winning three of six Jury Prizes. ì

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DINING Davis Premieres Modern Italian Fare As layered as eggplant parmesan, Tre Vele opened last summer and now has three different, yet connected concepts. Start with an aperitiMarcia vi on the 90-seat Caller Jaffe open air wraparound rooftop with firepits and walk downstairs for dinner. Then there’s the attached market- café for all sorts of salads, desserts, and sandwiches. Tre Vele, pronounced ‘tray vehlay,” meaning “three sails,” mirrors this threepart concept with modern Italian choices.

Tre Vele’s location in City Springs is not exactly new. The original “Three Sheets” opened in 2010 and was known for its ultrachic interior. The former owners navigated the COVID winds to team up with Chef Ian Winslade (Buckhead’s Mission and Market) and an experienced Florentine chef to birth this new concept.

The restaurant's present general

The vegan cashew pizza was a conversation piece. The spinach salad with white balsamic dressing was a table favorite.

GM Mike Davis began working in the restaurant business at age 19. At Tre Vele he keeps a fast pace.

The star entrée was Branzino with layered squash and potatoes.

manager, Dunwoody native Mike Davis, who began his hospitality career at 19 as a pizza cook at Mellow Mushroom. With his youthful energetic style, Davis explained his love of food by saying, “My parents always inspired me in many directions — food being a major aspect. Growing up, we grew many herbs and vegetables which require great love and responsibility.

Today, I still carry on this tradition, as I grow all my peppers for my hot sauce company,

Samson’s Bite Sauce. We had home cooking most nights, some of which was passed down from grandparents on both sides. My parent’s home was wafting with the unmistakable smell of matzah ball soup around any big holiday.”

Tre Vele is Davis’s first restaurant experience starting as a manager. He said, “I’m learning just exactly what it takes to open a successful restaurant from cocktail and food creation, to staffing, and to financial aspects.”

Our experience dining here on a Saturday night was quick seating and a moderate level of buzzing conversation. The white marble and bright green accents stood out as both clean and classy. Our server was efficient and knowledgeable. The menu in sections was easy to navigate. Some ingredients danced around in different segments, appearing here and there, like luxardo (a type of maraschino without artificial coloring) cherries, pumpkin seeds and kale. Some nouvelle splashes alongside traditional Italian dishes like pizza and pasta.

“We just launched lunch into a full-service operation a few weeks ago,” Davis said.

“Takeout business has been great, especially on the weekends/holidays. Our bar has a great cocktail and wine program featuring Italian and other world classics, with a great happy hour coming soon. A huge part of our restaurant is the café, market and coffee shop. There we sell Illy brand coffee and feature freshly-made pastas, pastries, sauces and ready-made ‘take and bake’ pasta dishes.”

What we enjoyed: Spinach Salad ($9) Spinach, arugula, luxardo cherries, walnuts, goat cheese, white balsamic dressing worth fighting over if you split!

Vegano Pizza ($21) wild mushrooms, hazelnut, vegan cheese, black truffle, cashew cream.

The healthy options don’t feel like a sacrifice. Note that there is no red sauce here

(vegan).

Secondi Entrée - Branzino ($33) Fillet- layered potatoes, tomatoes and squash rolade with basil parley and a splash of kale with tangy salsa verde Desserts $8 Always a favorite tiramisu well-soaked in liqueur.

Apple Crostado: wafting with cinnamon For next time: Antipasti Carciofo Alla Griglia ($11) Grilled artichokes, salsa verde.

Mushroom Bruschetta ($11) Robiola Fresca, wild mushrooms, black truffle.

Pesce Spada Affumicato ($14) Orange cured and smoked swordfish, Calabrian Chilirro.

Farro Salad ($12) celery, dates, tomatoes, mozzarella, saba, basil oil.

Must try: Homemade Pasta Primi Piatti.

Strozzapreti ($17) kale pesto, pumpkin seeds (vegan).

Davis concludes, “As a former bartender, I’m a huge fan of our Italian Old Fashioned or the classic Aperol Spritz. I see tons of friends, new and old, from the community.

We’ve already had several inquiries into private Jewish events as we hope to do many in the future.

The secret to Italian cooking is very simple: Quality over quantity. Delicious and fresh high-quality ingredients make great food.”

Parking is easy. Sometimes valet. Or self park by Kroger.

spring plant sale Join us and shop Georgia native plants including azaleas, milkweed, carnivorous plants, and more; many exclusive to the Spring sale!

M E M B E R S O N LY: M A R C H 24 | 4 –7 P M O P E N TO P U B L I C : M A R C H 2 5 – 2 6 , A P R I L 1 – 2 | 1 0 A M – 5 P M

S P O N S O R E D BY:

9135 Willeo Road | Roswell, GA 30075 chattnaturecenter.org | 770.992.2055 48 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Tre Vele 6017 Sandy Springs Circle Closed Sunday Open for Lunch and dinner Café opens at 8 a.m.

Phone: 404-303-8423. ì

The Lowdown I Bet You Didn’t Know …

Ilene Engel

Ilene Engel grew up in Jasper, Ala., and spent her career in the broadcast news industry.

She earned her bachelor’s at the University of Texas, has lived in many cities throughout her career and has called Atlanta home for the last 25 years. Following her last position, as corporate bews director, Engel became a full-time community volunteer. She is the immediate past president of American Jewish Committee Atlanta/ Southeast Regional Office and serves on the National AJC Board of Governors.

Engel’s commitment to giving back is best summed up in her work and tzedakah, uplifting women as founding chair of the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta and a past board chair of The Atlanta Women’s Foundation. The former is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with an event featuring CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in conversation with CNN Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on April 27.

Through JWF, Engel empowers women and girls to effect positive social change in Israel and across the country, primarily in Atlanta.

“Over $1.6 million has been invested in changing systems to better society through JWF,” she said. “In comparison, the AWF is the secular version. Both organizations have similar missions: to lift up.”

Delve into Engel’s lighter side and find out what she likes to sip in her free time.

How did you make your mark on broadcast journalism?

I started at the bottom of television production, doing sports scores, prepping for the anchors. I followed jobs from Dallas to New York City to Atlanta. Learning in the control room, I became a corporate news director on the management side — all from behind the scenes.

Jaffe: People don’t know that I’m …

A passionate political news junky.

What instilled in you your love of travel?

My parents loved to travel. They took us in 1973 to Eastern Europe when it was still under Communism. I also recall visiting a synagogue in Moscow with KGB agents in dark glasses in the shadows.

What are you reading and streaming?

"Migrations,” a novel by Australian author Charlotte McConaghy. It’s very intense, about a woman’s journey and her perseverance. … Streaming a CIA spy series, “Condor.” And for fun, “Emily in Paris.”

If they made a movie about you, who would play the lead?

Ally Sheedy when I was younger. Now maybe Jami Gertz.

Word is you are a good cook.

I’m really not a cook, but a baker. One of my favorite sentimental recipes is my grandmother’s blintzes with farmer’s cheese.

What’s your favorite cocktail?

Añejo tequila with ice cubes. I sip. Don’t drink much.

You have retail store experience in your blood …

My grandfather was a peddler and came to Alabama because New York City was too crowded. My father had a family soft goods store where, at age 6, I was straightening socks. At ten, I was promoted to run the cash register! ì

Reported by Marcia Caller Jaffe

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 49

CALENDAR

MARCH 15-31

TUESDAY, MARCH 15 Virtual Infertility Support Group — 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Join Jewish Fertility Foundation for a FREE virtual support group, open to any woman currently experiencing infertility. Must RSVP 12 hours prior to event to receive the private Zoom link and password. See https://bit.ly/3HGWHHw for details.

Brad Meltzer, The Lightning Rod — 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Book Festival of the MJCAA presents Brad Meltzer’s “The Lightning Rod” for an in-person conversation with New York TimesBestselling Author, Karin Slaughter.

Masks required. Please visit https:// bit.ly/34UdSXT for more information.

friends and family from all over Middle Georgia. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3I82xSP. Significant Others of Addicts Support Group — 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Join Sally Anderson, MS, LPC for a weekly free support group for spouses, partners and/or significant others of those struggling with addiction. Visit https:// bit.ly/3B5bABf for more information.

Purim Carnival and Celebration — 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Temple Beth Tikvah Presents a Purim carnival and costume parade followed by dinner, Purim spiel and celebration. $10 per adult and $5 per child. See https://bit.ly/34USZfi for more information.

Trivia on Zoom — 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Join Congregation Or VeShalom every other Wednesday on Zoom. Each night will have a different theme. Visit https://bit.ly/3sU3LKV for more information.

THURSDAY, MARCH 17 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 Torah Study — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Join Rabbi Jordan each Wednesday, either on Zoom or in-person at Congregation Dor Tamid, and continue an indepth look at the Book of Leviticus.

For more information visit https://bit. ly/3srZsGj.

PrimeTimers Coffee with Rabbi Jordan — 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Grab a beverage and head over to Zoom to spend time with Rabbi Jordan and your PrimeTimer Friends from Congregation Dor Tamid. Visit https://bit.ly/33CivFA for more information.

Parsha & Poker on Zoom — 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Join Congregation Or VeShalom every other Thursday night. $20 buy in. Winner gets bragging rights and charity of their choice gets the proceeds. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3oGRqZo.

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Calendar sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Connector, an initiative of the AJT. In order to be considered for the print edition, please submit events three to four weeks in advance. Contact Administrative Coordinator Kyra Goldman for more information at Kyra@atljewishtimes.com.

YAG: The Movie — 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. In YAG, Batsheva Dance Company’s first production adapted especially for the screen, house choreographer Ohad Naharin uses cinematic language to communicate his work both as director and choreographer. See https://bit. ly/3h7kuF7 for more information.

SATURDAY, MARCH 19 Story Time with Rabbi Jordan — 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Join Rabbi Jordan for Story Time on Facebook. For more information visit https://bit. ly/3HIW8gw.

FRIDAY, MARCH 18 Emory’s Young Artists — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Some of the most outstanding undergraduate talents from Emory’s Department of Music perform in this annual showcase. Visit https://bit. ly/34UXO8o for more information.

Tot Shabbat and Kiddush Lunch — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join Congregation Beth Shalom every Shabbat for an interactive Tot Shabbat, followed by a wonderful Shabbat Kiddush lunch. For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3rBWd03.

Purim in Macon/Middle Georgia — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Celebrate Purim with

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

50 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Purim Under Construction — 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Israel presents a Purim event for all ages. $36 per adult and $18 per child. Must register.

Visit https://bit.ly/3H6MpQa for more information.

G! For more information, visit https:// bit.ly/3I7y0Ez.

SOJOURN’s Drawing from the Well — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Drawing from the Well is SOJOURN’s inclusive weekly meetup for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies.

Visit https://bit.ly/3gxpDWP for more information.

Shabbat, Me & Rabbi G — 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Bring your children to the JCC for a fun Shabbat celebration with Rabbi

Spring Arts Festival — 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This annual Festival at Kennesaw State University features demonstrations and hands-on workshops in many two- and three-dimensional media. A pin-up show invites local artists and students to compete in four categories: elementary, middle, high school and community. Experience

all that the visual arts have to offer at our free, family-friendly festival. Visit https://bit.ly/3v36Db4 for more information.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES Torah Reading: Tzav Friday, March 18, 2022, light candles at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 19, 2022, Shabbat ends at 8:26 p.m.

Torah Reading: Shemini Friday, March 26, 2022, light candles at 7:35 p.m.

Saturday, March 27, 2022, Shabbat ends at 8:31 p.m.

Poetry Month — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every day through April 14 the Zuckerman Museum of Arts at Kennesaw State University presents an exquisite selection of contemporary artists’ books published by Sue Gosin, president of Dieu Donné Press and co-chair of Dieu Donné Papermill. Each work on view is produced as a collaboration between papermaker, bookbinder, visual artist and poet, and illustrates the rich and notable developments in the field of modern hand papermaking.

Spousal Caregiver Support Group — 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. every Thursday.

This free group will provide support, resources and a safe place to process and share experiences related to being a family caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit https://bit. ly/33M20He for more information.

“Lawn Alternatives for a Healthier Environment” presented by the North Fulton Master Gardeners – Spring 2022 Gardening Lecture Series — 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. North Fulton Master Gardeners Paula Lindsey, Tom Redmon and Sandra Shave explain how you can and should reduce your lawn size by making your own native habitat. Join the effort to create a countrywide Homegrown National Park and reduce your lawn size. Must register.

For more information visit https://bit. ly/3LVPlCS.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 MONDAY, MARCH 21 Peachy Parsha — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Join Intown Jewish Academy Mondays at noon to discuss and explore the weekly Torah portion while enjoying a delicious lunch! Peachy Parsha features food from Spicy Peach that you order and purchase. For more details visit https://bit.ly/3rD86mh.

A Guide for the Perplexed: Exploring Judaism with Rabbi Lauren — 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This monthly class with Rabbi Lauren will cover big questions and topics that mystify many of us.

Each month will focus on a different topic. Bring your big, thorny questions and join in at shul or on Zoom.

For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3p8feVX.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20 Kabbalah & Coffee — 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

A Weekly Study Series with Rabbi Ari Sollish. Discuss, explore and journey through the world of Jewish mystical teaching and learn how to apply these profound teachings to your daily life.

For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3LP4o11.

Meals of Love-IJA Mitzvah Day — 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. An opportunity to volunteer: cook and bake warm homemade meals for people without homes. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3HfN9Ch.

Take Me Out to the Bowl Game — 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Join the Atlanta Jewish Bowling League on Sunday evenings for a night of bowling and making new friends. $17 per night for 3 games.

For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3gwXleU.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22

Intown Jewish Academy’s Jewish Book Club — 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. A monthly discussion group for fans of great Jewish writing, led by Ariela Rich. For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3sW4D1K.

Bereavement Support Group — 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This support group aims to foster a safe and healthy environment to process feelings and support people in mourning. To learn more and register, visit https://bit. ly/3Ls6oMi.

Lunch ‘N Learn on Zoom — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Every Tuesday, join Rabbi Hearshen on Zoom for a discussion about the Torah portion of the week.

Visit https://bit.ly/3h8q6Pi for more information.

Bootycandy — 8 p.m. Regular performances Wednesdays and Saturdays through March. Join Sutter as he propels through a kaleidoscopic odyssey through his childhood home, church, dive bars, seedy motels — and one riotously funny phone conversation about very inappropriate baby names.

One of the most acclaimed satirical comedies in decades, “Bootycandy” is an audacious series of subversive vignettes that explore what it means to grow up gay and black in America.

For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3t2i8wz.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 51

THURSDAY, MARCH 24 Leonardo Drew: Cycles — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation is honored to present the exhibition Leonardo Drew: Cycles, from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation and to publish the accompanying exhibition brochure as part of an ongoing effort to share work from the collection and to support critical dialogue. The exhibition can be viewed daily, through May 7, at the Zuckerman Museum of Arts at Kennesaw State University. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3rAGOwU.

TBT Friday Night Services — 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Join Temple Beth Tikvah online for Friday night services! For details, visit https://bit.ly/35XKJeJ.

MONDAY, MARCH 28 Monday Night Parsha — 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Every week on Monday join Rabbi Hertz on Zoom for a class on the weekly parsha. Visit https://bit.ly/34TeGvR for more details.

Think Different — 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Study the single most transformative Jewish spiritual text written in the last three centuries with master Tanya teacher Rabbi Ari Sollish. Visit https:// bit.ly/3gExbXC for more information.

TUESDAY, MARCH 29 SATURDAY, MARCH 26 Tot Shabbat — 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Celebrate Shabbat on Sunday mornings at Congregation Etz Chaim with other families with young children. There will be songs, Torah stories, crafts and challah. Visit https://bit.ly/3p2XpI3 for more details.

Knit and Crochet Group — 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Join Dor Tamid and crochet and knit beanies for premature babies from home. Participate by Zoom to socialize while working on your beanies or any other project. Visit https://bit. ly/34Ru9wp for more information.

Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage — 8 p.m. Every week on Thursday, through April 17, Actor’s Express continues its 34th season with the production of “Intimate Apparel” by Lynn Nottage, winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Lynn Nottage remains the only woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3h5k9mf.

Mah Jongg on Zoom — 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Join the game every other Thursday, using the app Real Mah Jongg.

Knowledge of the game and current Mah Jongg card required. For cost and details visit https://bit.ly/34vdY8o.

Jewish Insights Series — 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A weekly Zoom with discussion on a pertinent topic from the Torah’s weekly portion. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3699PaI. Greg Bluestein, “Flipped” Book Launch — 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The MJCCA Book Festival presents an in-person national book launch and signing party for Greg Bluestein’s “Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power.”

Masks required. Please visit https:// bit.ly/33HBS07 for more details.

52 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

FRIDAY, MARCH 25 Tot Shabbat — 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Join Dor Tamid for Tot Shabbat. RSVP required. See https://bit.ly/3v73qr1 for more details.

Brain Health Bootcamp — 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. New virtual Brain Health Bootcamp every Tuesday will combine gentle physical exercise, including yoga and exercises to help reduce stress and anxiety, along with a full hour of brain exercises done in a nonstress and engaging way of learning.

For more information visit https://bit. ly/3sr94RP.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30

SUNDAY, MARCH 27 Hot Peas ‘n Butter Family Fun Concert — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The MJCCA presents Hot Peas ‘n Butter, an award-winning, multicultural family music band that wows thousands of young audiences across the nation every year with their highly energetic and interactive musical style. Find out more at https://bit. ly/3LPJ0J1.

“Intro to Hydroponics: Learning the Basics to Enjoy Growing Without Soil” presented by the North Fulton Master Gardeners - Spring 2022 Gardening Lecture Series — 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

This free class will discuss basic principles of hydroponic gardening as well as ways to enjoy this technique yearround. Must register. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3JQajkH.

Etz Chaim Zionist Forum with Dr. Yizhar Hess — 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dr. Yizhar Hess is the former CEO of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel. A tenth generation Jerusalemite, he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the World Zionist Organization. A regular contributor to the Israeli press on the subjects of religion and state, he is the co-editor of the book, “Questions About God,” and is currently on a fact-finding mission to Atlanta to learn ways to further promote cooperation and engagement between Israel and the diaspora. For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3H5vOvW.

THURSDAY, MARCH 31 2022 Torch of Liberty Award Celebration — 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Join ADL Southeast for the Torch of Liberty Award Celebration, honoring the Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin. Presented by Alston & Bird, City Winery and UPS. This eagerly awaited community gathering reinvents the typical gala into an evening of music, culinary delights and mission moments.

For more details and to reserve tickets, visit https://bit.ly/35gfD1C. Registration closes March 24. ì

CONNECTOR CHATTER Directory Spotlight www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

In Conversation with Eddie Dressler, Owner and Licensed Funeral Director

How Long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care was formed in 1997 Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

As Atlanta grows, so does the Jewish community. The need for the services of Atlanta’s only Jewish funeral home has increased steadily year after year and shows no signs of abating. Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care will serve your family for generations to come.

How does your organization help the community?

Dressler’s staff is available to speak at events throughout the community, whether in a congregation, a school, or staff of a care facility. We cover topics including Jewish customs, organ donation, veterans benefits and financial considerations.

In Conversation with Kenny Blank, Executive Director

How Long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival celebrated the 22nd annual festival Feb. 16-27, 2022, with an all-virtual festival experience: 50+ films, 18 countries, 12 days of streaming, plenty of virtual enhancements to engage our community.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

AJFF will be the world’s most elite festival of its kind.

How does your organization help the community?

AJFF benefits the community in so many ways. Aside from our organization’s economic impact with the creative community, we also serve to bridge barriers of understanding among diverse groups and interfaith organizations, bringing folks together physically and figuratively through the power of filmmaking and storytelling.

Congregation Beit Yitzchak

In Conversation with Anatoliy Iskhakov, Community President How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Congregation Beit Yitzchak is under the umbrella of King David Community Center of Atlanta. King David began operation in 1998, while the synagogue was founded in 2002. The synagogue’s current location opened in 2013 and had a grand re-opening in 2019. Congregation Beit Yitzchak was founded by Bukharian Jewish immigrants, who came to Atlanta as refugees from Uzbekistan in 1991.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

We see Congregation Beit Yitzchak growing into its full potential. The area around the synagogue is ripe for growth, with affordable (and excellent) real estate, an eruv, a women’s mikvah, a utensil mikvah, and the most beautiful sanctuary in the Atlanta area. Over the next 10 years we expect to see numerous families move into the community and grow with us. We expect to see (after the COVID-19 pandemic), a return to daily services and regular learning sessions and opportunities, and additional Shabbatons at the synagogue and elsewhere.

How does your organization help the community?

Together, Congregation Beit Yitzchak and King David Community Center offer an array of services to the community. King David Community Center has a large adult day health program, with ancillary services such as home-delivered meals, non-emergency transportation, and home-care visits. King David Community Center and Congregation Beit Yitzchak host family smachot and events like weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, brit milah and simchat bat. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 53

COMMUNITY Rabbi Serves as Police Chaplain in Sandy Springs G r ow i n g up, boys often aspire to one day become a policeman or fireman.

That was not the case with Temple EmanuEl Rabbi Spike Jan Jaben-Eilon Anderson, who grew up in the suburbs of Boston. Of course, becoming a rabbi was also not in his long-range plan.

Yet, today, he is in his seventh year with the temple and in his fourth year as a volunteer Jewish chaplain with the Sandy Springs Police Department.

Anderson’s three children know he is going on police duty when he dons one of his police-issued uniforms. He has also been issued a bullet-proof vest and a badge. But, although he participates in periodic security training, Anderson wasn’t given a gun.

“Guns are not an active part of my life,” he said, while acknowledging that he has shot one before.

According to Sandy Springs Police Chief Kenneth DeSimone, “chaplains have been imbedded with the U.S. armed forces since the 1700s.” He sees having police chaplains as “another way to offer assistance to our police officers and to the community.”

Anderson is not the only police chaplain serving more than 100 Sandy Springs police officers. First Baptist Church Atlanta Rev. Peter Urdanick has also been with the Sandy Springs police department, far longer than Anderson has. “He’s the one who took me to the police gym” the first time, said Anderson. “He goes often.” Mixing with the police as they work out is a way for the officers to become more comfortable with their chaplains. The objective, Anderson

J

The Sandy Springs Police Department employs a number of Jewish police officers as well.

said, is “How do we get ourselves seen by this tight-knit group?”

Building up that comfort level has been a major goal of Anderson’s. Since he applied, went through a vigorous interview process and was accepted as a police chaplain, Anderson has been eager to know the officers “so they feel comfortable” calling on him for pastoral care. In the past year, he’s sensed a shift in the officers’ acceptance of him.

“There have been a few times, mostly in the last six months” when officers have consulted with him about “issues of G-d. From my perspective, it is welcome. I don’t know why they are approaching me, but I know that I’m eager to be there for them. The beauty of being a chaplain is that you get to know people at a deeper level.”

Anderson explained that “for the most part, calls from officers are prompted by spiritual or theological issues, instead of straight psychology. They are on the front lines in so many different ways,” he said, referring both to crime-fighting, answering emergency calls, or even COVID response.

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Sandy Springs Police Chief Kenneth DeSimone looks for “mental resolve and psychological toughness” when he hires a chaplain.

“It’s better for interfaith relationships when people see someone wearing a kippah and also a Sandy Springs police uniform,” said Temple Emanu-El rabbi and police chaplain Spike Anderson.

“It’s hard on family life to be a police officer.

It’s a hard profession to have as a career. But overwhelmingly, the Sandy Springs community is very supportive of them.”

So is the Jewish community in Sandy Springs, said Anderson. Like most synagogues nowadays, the front doors of Temple Emanu-El are not opened without a police officer present. “I have tremendous respect for police in this country and the Jewish community has appreciation for law enforcement,” he said.

Chief DeSimone said that the Sandy Springs police department is unique in having a few officers who are Jewish.

As DeSimone pointed out, the police are the only form of government that will come at 1 a.m. on New Year’s Eve when a citizen calls. “Anytime we get a call, it is some kind of crisis,” he said. Hence the need for chaplains, who not only ride along with officers, responding to calls and building relationships. “If there’s a particularly traumatic or death notification, such as if a young child is dead, the police officer can request that a chaplain accompany” the officer to notify that family.

DeSimone recalled that one of their first chaplains was with a police officer who responded to a fatal car accident, at about 2 a.m. The officer suggested that the chaplain go view the deceased in the car. The chaplain had never seen a dead body outside of a hospital or funeral home. The officer said, “This is what my police officers see all the time.” DeSimone said it was very emotional for the chaplain.

It is due to these kinds of experiences that DeSimone looks for “mental resolve and psychological toughness” when he hires a chaplain. He also seeks someone who is personable, outgoing and doesn’t mind working. He said it’s “like picking a reverend, minister, rabbi or imam for your

church, synagogue or mosque.”

DeSimone said he liked Anderson’s personality. “He’s very engaging and easy to talk to. If you are not within the law enforcement family, you can be distrustful [of them].

It makes you hardened, jaded and hard to get close to.” He also noted that we’re living at a time “when it’s cool to hate the police. But when something bad happens, you don’t call a social worker; you call the police.”

The Sandy Springs chaplains typically work an average of six to eight hours a week for the police, although it could be 12 to 24, said DeSimone. “It depends on the season and what they have going on at their congregation.”

Chaplains are also called upon for more ceremonial duties. “Spike blessed the food at one of our Christmas parties,” the chief said. Anderson recalls giving an invocation at a city council meeting as well. “I am there if they need me.”

Chaplaincy, like the synagogue, is part of the Anderson family DNA. The rabbi’s wife, Marita, is a member of the large chaplaincy department at Northside Hospital. “She’s the Jewish representative, but she’s not just there for the Jewish patients,” he said.

Anderson, who obtained his nickname from his father, who grew up in Atlantic City and vowed at 10 years old to call his son by that “tough” name, said he applied to become a chaplain because he wanted to “give back” to the community. “I consider myself a civically minded person and I thought I could do some good,” he said.

It’s also important for him to be known specifically as a Jewish chaplain, always wearing his kippah, or head covering. “I wanted to have the officers get a closer look and relationship with someone visibly Jewish. It’s better for interfaith relationships when people see someone wearing a kippah and also a Sandy Springs police uniform.” ì

Join the Atlanta Jewish Foundation for an evening under the trees Celebrate our Jewish Community’s dedication to grow and sustain a vibrant Jewish future Tuesday, April 12th | 6pm Temple Sinai Lonnie Cooper Outdoor Chapel With special recognition for Atlanta Jewish Foundation’s Legacy Society, which honors donors who have made a legacy gift to the Atlanta Jewish community.

Join us for a joyful evening of Community, Togetherness, and Celebration.

Heavy hors d'oeuvres, drinks, speaker Dr. Marshall Duke, and a chance to visit our story booth to record a message for your children and grandchildren.

This is an event you will not want to miss!

Please RSVP at AtlantaJewishFoundation.org/Grow-A-Legacy Questions? Please contact Rachel Rosner, rrosner@jewishatlanta.org

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 55

COMMUNITY

Jeff Kaplan Shines in ‘Cobra Kai’ Role Local actor and musician Jeff Kaplan admires Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

But Kaplan grew up far Marcia from Gotham, Caller Jaffe in Atlanta, with family Shabbat dinners, High Holy Days at Ahavath Achim, basketball at the MJCCA and Camp Barney Medintz. Kaplan, who recently landed the role of Cruz in the popular series “Cobra Kai,” said, “I’ve always had a bent for entertainment, from impromptu acting to lead roles at the Greenfield Hebrew Academy and Hannukah plays at the ‘J.’ For high school, I was drawn to the North Springs magnet program for the arts. Instead of traditional college, I immersed myself in photography, filmmaking, screenplay writing … all paths led me to acting and music.”

Early on, Kaplan produced his own

(L to R) Ralph Macchio, Jeff Kaplan, William Zabka and Terayle Hill on the set of “Cobra Kai.”

music videos on YouTube, performed in clubs and entered film competitions. Just out of North Springs, he made a short film called “Snooze,” which won Best Picture at the International Campus Film Festival. Cruz, the character he plays on

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“Cobra Kai” — a continuation of “The Karate Kid” — “is an interesting character, a lost soul who ignored his God-given gifts and fed on others,” Kaplan says. “I was the only character to fight Robby, Johnny (William Zabka) and Daniel (Ralph Macchio).”

Kaplan, who wears many hats — from producer and musician to “juicer” — says that he’s always been an actor at his core. “I enjoy the creativity of many art forms, but it all keeps coming back to acting. My intention is to create music that inspires people to celebrate who they are, excuse their flaws and focus on their potential. My music and acting have become one.”

Kaplan’s music has a wide-ranging sound, which perhaps stems from theatrical storytelling. Lately he has focused on pop, punk/rock and trap music. His songs have aspirational messages, while some embellish living on the wild side and others tap into universal emotions.

Kaplan was greatly influenced by the JayZ and Lincoln Park album “Numb/Encore.” He is also inspired by Queen, Blink 182, Eminem and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Georgia may not be able to compete with LA or NYC as a place to launch your career, but Kaplan chooses Atlanta for its independent art community, vibrant Jewish life and would only move if the work required it. “The film business here is exploding, and I plan to grow with it,” he said. “I’ve appeared on ‘Meet the Browns’ for Tyler Perry Studios and my agent is sending me on auditions for all sorts of films.”

Kaplan credits family support for his success, especially his folks, who came to some “iffy” clubs to watch him perform

“I enjoy the creativity of many art forms, but it all keeps coming back to acting,” Kaplan says.

and welcomed all sorts of entertainment people to their Shabbat table. “There are no bigger fans in the world than my parents,” Kaplan says. “We all understand that my career path is anything but traditional for a good Jewish boy, and it has meant so much that they are in my corner. I wish every son and daughter could feel this type of support,” he said.

His father, Mark, commented on how proud he was that Jeff overcame his obstacles. “Karen and I recognized Jeffrey’s intense love for acting and music early on,” he later said. “While that path often stretched our comfort zone, we saw how committed he was to achieving his dreams. Jeffrey is all in, and we couldn’t be prouder.”

“I over-indulged in high school, but I rarely ever stopped,” Kaplan recalled. “[Substance use] is celebrated and even encouraged in the entertainment space, so it never seemed out of the ordinary or dangerous. With more maturity, I’ve discovered that this path is an absolute ‘no-win’ situation. With that awareness, my eyes were opened to the little-known fact that so many successful people in the entertainment space are clearheaded and sober. That old image of a continuous afterparty is a fantasy now. Success in this industry requires focus. That led to my decision to live a sober life. My creativity has never been higher and my life will be longer.”

Looking toward the future, Kaplan says, “It’s taken a while to understand how things work in the entertainment space. Now I know why this is such a ‘road less traveled.’ Still, for me, there’s no other way to go. I truly believe my best work is right around the corner.” ì

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COMMUNITY

Goldstein Family Midweek Mitzvah Project

The Goldsteins join friends and family in paying off holiday layaway debt at Toys “R” Us.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe When it comes to mitzvot, some parents tend toward the “do as I say, not as I do,” approach. But entrepreneur Jeff Goldstein and his wife, Carrla wanted to set a good example for their twins, Sydney and Robert, so the Goldsteins began what they call their Midweek Mitzvah Project.

“We began doing the Midweek Mitzvah Project about five years ago, starting at my office, allowing the employees to have the opportunity to take advantage of giving to others,” Goldstein explained.

“Every week we find a local or national cause that we feel is worthy of our time and money,” said Carrla, who plans the mitzvot.

Their daughter, Sydney, a graduate of the University of Alabama and Texas A&M, said, “Some of our most popular mitzvahs were bringing lunch and clothing to the homeless in downtown Atlanta, bringing pizza to the police, donating business clothes to centers that help people apply for jobs, buying toys and actually cooking meals at the Ronald McDonald House.”

Her twin, Robert, who graduated from the University of Georgia, said, “Probably our all-time favorite mitzvah has been paying off the layaway fees of people before the holidays.”

Looking back, Goldstein says, “Over the years, my wife, children and I have learned and evolved in the way that we view tzedakah and giving altogether. At first, we viewed it as a one-way street. We, as the mitzvah doers, were giving of our time and money to help people in need. We gave, they received. Over time, we realized that the recipient wasn’t the only benefactor. We found out that we gained at least as much as the people receiving, maybe even more.”

“We live in a world now where it’s easy to harm others,” Carrla says. “We can destroy people instantly on social media …

The Goldsteins enjoyed bringing pizzas and drinks for a lunch at the Sandy Springs Police Department.

get them fired from their jobs, crush their businesses and destroy the reputation of anyone that disagrees with us. But when you start committing yourself to doing mitzvahs, it becomes very hard to return to harming other people.”

For example, the Goldsteins enjoy visiting local fast-food establishments and paying for the meals of customers in the drive-thru until the money runs out. “What is so great is that it really makes no rational sense,” Goldstein says. “We have no idea of the financial status of the next people in line to get meals. They could be very well off or struggling. That is not important.”

They find it fascinating to watch the expressions on customers’ faces when they pull up to the payment window. At first, they are confused. “Why would someone be paying for their lunch? It is irrational,” says Goldstein. “These people could think differently than us politically, religiously and in all other ways. It is awesome seeing them come to terms with this.”

Goldstein wonders about the lasting effects of these random acts of kindness.

“Did this nonsensical act make it harder for them to block a fellow driver from getting into their lane? Will they still ignore their coworkers yelling to hold the elevator? I think that senseless acts of kindness initiate senseless acts in return. They might not even understand why they feel the urge to do something good.”

The Mitzvah Project has slowed down a bit during the pandemic, but in 2022 the Goldsteins intend to return with renewed energy.

“The great thing is that anyone can do these mitzvahs,” Carrla concluded. “You just have to make arrangements in advance. The Ronald McDonald House is always looking for help with food, clothing and toys. There are also plenty of food banks and other organizations that are continuously collecting for the community.” ì

COMMUNITY

Simcha Announcements Have something to celebrate?

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

Share it with your community with free AJT simcha announcements.

Send info to submissions@atljewishtimes.com.

B’nai Mitzvah Notices Isaac Silver, son of Mara and Brian Silver, in March 2022.

Jake Olevitch, son of Ann and Bill Olevitch, in February 2022.

Jackson Greenwald, son of Jennifer and Scott Greenwald, in March 2022.

Lucy Ringel, daughter of Deb Weisshaar and Jonathan Ringel, in February 2022.

Hana Gertsacov, daughter of Andrea and Dan Gertsacov, in March 2022.

Maya Rowe, daughter of Allison and Scott Rowe, in February 2022.

Brenin Jones, son of Karen and David Jones, in March 2022.

Ella Sugarman, daughter of Shannon and Jeffrey Sugarman, in February 2022.

Eli Belkin, son of Dara Steele and Jeffrey Belkin, in March 2022.

Jake Tessler, son of Jana and Jason Tessler, in February 2022.

Asher Solomon, son of Cristy and Andy Solomon, in March 2022.

Lev Zusman, son of Ula and Michael Zusman, in February 2022. ì

Reid Alexander, son of Haley and Ben Alexander, in February 2022.

Ian Belinfante, son of Karinne and Josh Belinfante, in February 2022.

Davis Berman, son of Mara and Justin Berman, in February 2022.

Zachary Markwood, son of Lindsey and William Markwood, in February 2022.

Ella Marks, daughter of Hedy and Josh Marks, in February 2022.

25TH ANNUAL TENENBAUM FAMILY LECTURE

Judaism and Climate Change: Monday,March 21st Prof. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Arizona State University

Free, In-person Event

Register using the QR Code or link

Ackerman Hall, Michael C. Carlos Museum on the Emory Campus

A live-stream will also be available over Zoom REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR BOTH IN PERSON AND ZOOM FORMATS

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Co-sponsored by: Emory University’s Center for Ethics, Climate@Emory Initiative, Departments of Environmental Studies and Religion, Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Hightower Fund, Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, and Office of Sustainability Initiatives.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 59

COMMUNITY

Treasure Trove: Howard Newman’s Rare Pen Collection

Howard Newman was already a knowledgeable pen collector when he moved to Atlanta in 1999.

Vintage ink bottles.

One-piece pens.

The Southeast Pen Collectors Club meets on the third Sunday of each month in Norcross.

Scrooge McDuck pens.

Judaica pens.

strates the diversity of that genre. One example is the parade of Lady Sheaffer pens from the 1960s, which used disposable ink cartridges and have no pocket clip because they were carried in a purse.

While living in the Midwest, Newman began attending the Detroit Pen Show.

His favorite dealer, Susan Wirth, had an attractive, cleverly organized booth, and they met again at the 2000 Atlanta pen show. Impressed with Newman’s outgoing personality and customer savvy, she hired him to help with other shows. A further inducement was that his pay was in pens.

“I wanted to own an example of every pen,” Newman says, “and Susan helped me toward my goal!”

Everybody has pens at home; however, except for other collectors, most of us have never seen the types of pens Newman has in his collection. In the dip pen category, he displays an Esterbrook desk set from the Kennedy-Johnson years, with the pen hot-stamped “The President — The White House.” This represents the end of an era, as subsequent presidents would use newer fiber tips and ballpoint pens to quickly sign documents.

Newman’s collection also represents the progression of pen body materials: chased hard rubber, from the 1880s to 1920s; celluloid plastic, 1924 to 1930s; injection-molded plastic in solid colors, 1940s to 1980s; acrylic plastic, 1990s to the present. His pens are organized thematically. An etagere shelf holds an assortment of pens with a Jewish theme, while the lower shelves are devoted to desk pens and accessories. One hundred years ago, pens embellished with snake figures were all the rage, and Newman owns a nest of modern pens mimicking that craze.

Other collectibles include dozens of ink bottles and a clutch of sleek one-piece Parker pens (no separate nib). Three of these are titanium T-1s, commemorating the 1969 moon landing; the others are stainless steel Falcons.

Newman’s favorites are a bright blue pelican holding a German Pelikan M-800 fountain pen in its beak, engraved with his signature, and Michael’s Fat Boy rollerball pen. “Using either pen is like writing on silk ribbon,” Newman raves. He also treasures two Scrooge McDuck pens. One head retains its original gold, while its

companion was hand-painted in Disney colors using a three-bristle brush.

Pens also brought Newman love in 2000, via Ahavath Achim’s former Impressions dating service. His bio included collecting and restoring fountain pens, a fact that intrigued his future wife, Sylvia, a Jewish educator. He recently endowed Hebrew school teacher awards in her memory, through the Atlanta Jewish Federation.

The Southeast Pen Collectors Club meets in Norcross on the third Sunday of each month and guests are welcome. The group supports The Atlanta Pen Show, which, after a three-year COVID hiatus, will take place from April 1 to 3 at the Sonesta Atlanta Northwest at I-285 and Powers Ferry Road. Daily admission is $10; children under 13 are free. Entrance includes a chance at multiple raffle prizes, including a valuable pen offered by Amy’s Holiday Party, which brings gifts to a community shelter. One dollar from each admission will be donated to the cause.

Visitors will find journals, hard-to-find pen refills, inks, ephemera and new and vintage pens and pencils. ì

By Chana Shapiro When Howard Newman moved to Atlanta in 1999, he was already a knowledgeable pen collector. Newman had moved from Columbus, Ohio, where the pen club membership was closed to newcomers — not the welcoming, inclusive Southeast Pen Collectors Club he found in Atlanta.

Newman soon became a very active member and is currently the club’s president.

Newman’s interest in pens began when he took an adult education calligraphy class at Ohio State University in the early 1990s. Fine calligraphy was originally accomplished with a dip pen and ink. Newman owns a magnificent calligraphic sample of Psalm 100, for example, which was given to him by his calligraphy teacher, Bill Lilly — a document that lost its market value when the calligrapher erroneously skipped a line of the psalm.

Newman tried his hand at it, but asked, “Can’t we find a fountain pen [that doesn’t need to be dipped in ink] that can do an equally beautiful job?”

This query led him to the library, where he immersed himself in the world of pens.

Newman learned about American classics — including Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer and Wahl-Eversharp — and studied pen styles and different pen nibs (points.) He found that, to this day, script calligraphy cannot be perfected with a fountain pen.

The fountain pen, which contains its own ink, was a significant writing innovation, notwithstanding a possible leak in a shirt pocket or the loss of the essential cap.

Newman’s collection of fountain pens, both decorative and utilitarian, demon-

60 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

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KEEPING IT KOSHER

JEWISH JOKE

Cinnamon Bun Hamentaschen Cooking and Prep: 1.5 h Serves: 24 Contains: Preference: Dairy Difficulty: Medium Occasion: Purim Diet: Vegetarian, Pescatarian Cuisines: Ashkenazi Category: Desserts, Baking

Ingredients Dough 3/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature 1 egg + 1 egg yolk 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon Gefen Vanilla Extract 2 and 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon Haddar Baking Powder 1 tablespoon Gefen Cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling 4 ounces (whipped) cream cheese about 1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar /2 teaspoon Gefen Vanilla Extract

For Assembly

Life

3 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon Gefen Cinnamon

A rabbi, a priest and a minister are discussing when life begins.

Prepare the Hamentaschen

The minister says: “We disagree. We believe that life begins when the fetus is viable away from the mother’s womb.”

Cream butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in eggs, milk and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Mix all the ingredients together with wet ingredients until dough forms.

Form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour.

In the meantime, mix together ingredients for filling (easier to use the whipped cream cheese).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out dough to a quarter-inch thick.

Combine cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over dough, patting it down with your hands.

Use a two-and-a-half- to three-inch cookie cutter to cut dough into circles.

Place about one teaspoon of filling in each circle, folding (or pinching) to form triangle shaped cookies.

Bake for 14–15 minutes.

For the icing on top: once hamentaschen have cooled, I took the remaining filling and mixed in a drop of cinnamon, then put it in a zip top bag and piped it on top.

Recipe By Erin Grunstein Sourse: www.kosher.com 62 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

The priest says: “In our religion, life begins at conception.”

The rabbi responds: “You are both wrong. In our religion, life begins when the kids graduate college and the dog dies.”

YIDDISH WORD Kunyehlemel (kun - yee - LEM - el) n. naïve, gullible person. A nincompoop.

Based on a character in a story by Avram Goldfaden.

BRAIN FOOD

Purim AKA By: Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Manageable 1

2

3

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15

17

18

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58 65 69

68

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72

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60

1. ___ Shalom 5. Dwindles 9. Top monk 14. A big bird 15. Fruity pastry 16. Gymnastics “animal” 17. Mario game 18. AKA Haman 20. Mozart’s “Madamina,” e.g.

21. Electronic game pioneer 22. Dog command 23. Blueprints 25. AKA Matanot L’evyonim 28. Joker portrayer 31. French seasoning 32. Gibbon, for one 35. Fastener 37. Newspaper section 41. AKA Achashverosh 43. Susa 45. Like some seals 46. Sci-fi weapon 48. Ball in a socket 49. Org. for teachers 51. Antibiotic target 53. AKA Esther 57. Archaeologist’s find

24. Breaks away 26. More coy 27. Porters, e.g.

29. Michaels and Gore 30. Follow closely 32. Body spray brand 33. Kind of patch 34. Be off 36. “Hey ... over here!”

38. Everyday article 39. Bit of hope 40. Wee hour 42. “Warrior Princess” of ‘90s TV 44. ___ Royal Highness 47. Red-faced 50. Make in Israel 52. AKA Iran 53. B-ball 54. Jewish novelist Yezierska 55. Eatery that might be open late 56. “Remember the ___!”

58. Live’s partner 59. Key 60. Kind of board 63. Narrative 64. Conclusions 67. Baseball stat 68. Jew follower

61. Clandestine maritime org.

62. Get ___ start (be tardy) 65. Sin preceder 66. AKA Hamantashen 69. Circular announcement 70. Where ships come in 71. Mine ___, psychic link made famous by Leonard Nimoy 72. Angers 73. Historic mother 74. Praiseful poems 75. Aardvark’s fare

DOWN

1. SeaWorld attractions 2. Like the bright 3. Bone-chilling 4. AKA Daniel 5. Bluesy James 6. Thai currency 7. Respirations 8. HBO alternative 9. “Eureka!”

10. Mire 11. Lively 12. Port of ancient Rome 13. Choppers, so to speak 19. Miep who hid Anne Frank

“Greek to Me” SOLUTION 1

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 15, 2022 | 63

OBITUARIES

Leslie Dean Gurvey

Morris Nace Habif

Early Monday morning, Feb. 28, Leslie Dean Gurvey, devoted husband, father, stepfather and grandfather passed away at the age of 80.

Les was born on July 6, 1941, in Chicago, Ill., youngest son to Richard S. and Shirley Cooper Gurvey. He was in the ROTC in high school, studied at University of Illinois in Champagne, Ill., was in the Marine Reserves and National Screen Service Manager with his uncle. Family members introduced him to his first wife, Joan Friedman (Gurvey) and they moved to Atlanta in 1970, where they raised their two children, Andrew and Jennifer. Les had several careers and side hustles. He may have installed your home security system, insured your employees or managed your investments as he built a successful career in the insurance and financial planning business until his retirement at 65.

In 1988, Les met Lois, whom he married, and as time went on, they became a blended family. They enjoyed playing golf, traveling the world and socializing with countless friends. They especially loved spending time in Aruba, where they enjoyed the beach while making friends with people from around the world.

Les was a natural salesman, entrepreneur and quintessential handyman, which was apparent since he was a kid; if it was broken, he could fix it — if it needed to be built, he would make it. He was far from materialistic, overly humble and loved volunteering for the Shriners, active with the Atlanta Jewish Community Center, Temple Sinai and Camp Barney Medintz. His passions were endless. He had a knack for remembering names and faces. If you met him once, he considered you his friend and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for you, whether you asked for it or he saw you had the need. He maintained friendships for over 70 years — notably active with childhood friends and their baseball team, The Majestics. He was reserved, sometimes very private, sentimental and loved his grandchildren like no one else. If you knew him, he always had a story or skill you may not have known about — sometimes even surprising. He was known for his curiosity, congenial smile and his kind and compassionate spirit.

Les is survived by his wife, Lois Frank Gurvey, his children, Andrew Gurvey of Atlanta and Jennifer Gurvey of San Francisco and stepchildren Mark (Stacy) Frank and Missy Frank of Atlanta, in addition to four granddaughters, Dalia Gurvey, Hanna Gurvey, Mia Gurvey and Olivia Frank, his brother, Dr. Michael (Marlana) Gurvey of Los Angeles, a niece, nephew, many cousins and hundreds of friends.

Funeral services took place at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs on Wednesday, March 2, with Rabbi Ron Segal officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or the Marcus JCC of Atlanta. Arrangements by Dressler’s Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Morris Nace Habif, husband of Susie Habif for 60 years, of blessed memory, and father of 5 children, 15 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren, passed after a life filled with intense passion for family, business and his community. An Atlanta native, Morris grew up during the Great Depression, while his father struggled to earn a living as a hat maker. He attended Commercial High School, where he was never without a parttime job. Because his father died when he was 16, Morris took a job as a bookkeeper as soon as he graduated high school. Morris entered the army during the waning days of WWII. His business acumen was quickly noticed by his superiors, who selected Morris to serve as assistant to the administrator at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. After returning to Atlanta, Morris worked at General Motors, where he was distinguished as the only one in the accounting department without a college degree. Soon after, he met his adored wife, Susie, while she was traveling from her home in Havana, Cuba.

Between 1950 and 1958, Morris was a serial entrepreneur, opening a number of small businesses, including a sewing machine business, barbecue restaurant and a chain of transmission repair shops. In his spare time, he attended law school at night and became a member of the State Bar of Georgia. In 1959, Morris founded APD Transmission Parts, which distributed parts to repair centers throughout the U.S. He enjoyed 47 years of success from this business until selling it in 2006 as part of a nation-wide roll up of suppliers.

Of all his businesses, Morris’s greatest passion was for commercial real estate. Beginning in the 1960s, Morris helped initiate a renaissance in south downtown Atlanta when he purchased and rehabilitated many vacant buildings that comprised Atlanta’s former garment district. State and municipal buildings now occupy much of the land that Morris assembled in this area. Morris went on to purchase office buildings, retail centers and warehouses throughout metro Atlanta. He continued to pursue his passion for real estate, working at Habif Properties through age 95, where could be found at the office 6 days a week. When he wasn’t working, Morris enjoyed boating and traveling with family.

Morris is preceded in death by his loving wife, Susie, and his brothers, Isaac and Israel. He is survived by his five children and their spouses, Larry Habif, Michael & Gail Habif, Valerie Habif & Neil Wasser, Marlene & Mark Haber and Nancy Habif & Scott Kleber; as well as 15 grandchildren and their spouses, Taylor Habif, Craig & Julie Habif, Lauren & Ben Barden, Frank & Hartley Wasser, Brent & Raleigh Wasser, Keith Wasser, Aaron Wasser & Marisa Ahlzadeh, Andrew Haber, Jamie Haber, Katie Haber, Shaun Kleber, Troy & Sara Jane Kleber, Brandon Kleber, Chase Kleber and Selena Kleber; and 8 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Susie Habif Chesed Fund at AA Synagogue, established by Morris to honor his wife’s passion in caring for the needs of others. Graveside services were held March 7 at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

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OBITUARIES

Sharon Hamburger 75, Atlanta

Sharon Hamburger passed away on March 3. Sharon leaves behind her husband of almost 57 years, Steve, her beloved children: son, Mitch Hamburger (Allison Eagle), daughter, Mindy Godwin (Rodney) and their two sons, Jack and Spencer; her sister, Cookie Aftergut, brother-in-law, Fred, and their children, Brian Aftergut (Stephanie), Jeff Aftergut (Karen) and their sons, her beloved nephews, Ethan, Mathew, CJ and Issac; and countless cousins and loved ones.

She was the daughter of Frances Willen and Hyman Friedland. Sharon brought love to everyone she met. She shared her heart wherever she went. All her family and friends have one thing in common — Sharon’s heart. She gave it to all of them so much that she forgot to keep a little for herself. She would want you to smile and laugh when you think of her. Sharon loved her sister Cookie very, very much. Their relationship was one-of-a-kind. The two of them talked several times a day and this was the same relationship they shared with their mother, Frances. The three of them would go everywhere together. She instilled this into Mindy and Mitch and they, too, are inseparable.

Steve met Sharon in June 1962. She was soon to be 16 and he was 18. They fell in love on their first date. They married in June 1964. In December 1971, Mitch came into their hearts and in March of 1978, Mindy came popping out. The four of them became a clan. She would not allow anything to come between any of them. Family first was her way of life. She cared for her husband through lengthy illnesses, she was the strength her son needed when he faced heart problems and helped her son-in-law through his recovery, which made their mother-daughter bond even more inseparable. They shared their life as if it was one.

Contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, www.heart.org. A graveside funeral was held at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs. The funeral was livestreamed. To sign the online guestbook and access the Zoom link, please visit www.dresslerjewishfunerals.com. Arrangements by Dressler’s Funeral Care, 770-4514999.

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OBITUARIES

Dr. Stuart Handelsman

Susan S. Lubin

Dr. Stuart Handelsman, 71, died on March 10. Stuart grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he earned his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and medical degree from Yeshiva University-Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He served his residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital and fellowship in Nephrology at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He moved to Atlanta in 1980, where he founded North Atlanta Kidney Specialists and practiced for 41 years. He took pride in his Jewish heritage. He was an avid sports enthusiast and music lover. Most importantly, he was the most kind, nonjudgmental and loving man we have ever met.

He was beloved by his family, patients, colleagues, hospital staff, friends and all who knew him. He is survived by his children, Marc Handelsman, Bradley Handelsman, Cory Handelsman (Priscilla) and Lindsay Handelsman (Seth Vertelney), sister, Meryl Mendelson (David), and grandchildren, Juniper and Adam. He is also survived by previous wives Ellen Hodes and Robin Schmerler. Graveside services were held 3:30 p.m., March 11 at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, Ga. (and also available by Zoom link on Dressler’s website), with Rabbi Joshua Heller officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org.

Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Susan Lubin was born in Sharon, Penn., on March 3, 1936. She was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and relocated to Atlanta with her family in 1972. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Alvin Lubin, and three daughters, Sharon Lubin, Julie Lubin, Kathy Lubin-Binder and son-in-law Steve Binder. She had 4 grandchildren, Selena Ortega Sanchez, Brandi Schleter, Daniel Binder and Leah Binder, and three great-grandchildren, Noah, Autumn and Luna. She was a career nurse and a member of many Jewish professional organizations. She loved sewing, quilting, horticulture and volunteering for Jewish organizations including Hadassah, Pioneer Women and the Zaban Shelter. She enjoyed studying Torah with the Temple group, where she was a long-time member.

She was known for her Passover Seders, where everybody was always welcome. Due to COVID-19, Shiva will not be observed. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. ì

71, Atlanta

86, Atlanta

Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Editor and Managing Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS Prayer: Purim and Ukraine Have Some Similarities This week, we will celebrate the holiday of Purim. A key element in the story is Haman, the evil enemy of the Jews. Haman is promoted to be a dictator unAllen H. Lipis der the king, an The Bottom Line autocrat, just as Putin is today. Everyone is told to bow down to Haman just as Putin is trying to get Ukraine to do. As you may recall, one person, Mordechai, the leading Jew in his time, and the uncle of Queen Esther, refuses to bow down to Haman.

Ukraine is today’s Mordechai.

Haman then speaks to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm.

Their laws are different from every other people’s, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them.” As a result,

68 | MARCH 15, 2022 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

the king gives Haman permission to kill all the Jews.

What is going on in Ukraine has some similarities. Haman today is Putin, the autocrat of Russia, who wants Ukraine to bow down to him. They refuse, just as Mordechai in the Purim story refuses. Once again, we see that autocrats want total control over the people, whomever they may be, and have them bow down to his total control. Ukraine has refused and wants to be a separate country with their own rules, and they do not want to observe Putin’s laws.

What we have on the world stage today is a country that wants democracy, not autocracy, a country that wants to move in its own way that is different than Russia. That has a ring of truth for us Jews, because we have our own ways of living in terms of how we pray, what we eat, and even how we dress.

Dictators like Putin want total control, and the fight the world is in now is about Democracy versus Fascism, freedom versus autocracy. We Jews have

been fighting this battle for freedom for centuries, and it is interesting that the man in charge of Ukraine is a Jew himself, the Mordechai of our times. We are often attacked because we are different.

The Purim story is, of course, quite different than Ukraine’s war today. The Purim story took nine years to unfold, five of them under the control of a Haman. Let us hope the story of Ukraine is resolved much more quickly, but no one now can tell. What we do know is that the battle for freedom is never won easily or quickly. I hope that the deciding king in today’s battle is NATO, the power of Western Europe and the U.S., is more powerful than Putin, and they are supporting Ukraine to fight for freedom as we Jews have fought for freedom again and again.

In the Purim story, Mordechai is honored by the king and Haman is despondent. When he tells his wife what happened, she says, “If Mordechai is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but will undoubtedly fall

before him.” Haman is hanged along with all of his children. So may it be for President Zelensky of Ukraine, that he will prevail over Putin and all his bureaucrats. ì

/JudgeWhitaker

Leadership Academy Alumnus, Georgia Association U D G E WH ITAK E R DonnaJMaslia I S COM M ITTE D TO: Women and Children of Women Lawyers I S COM ITTE D Director, TO: April Ross, Esq. |M Executive Creative Solutions Fulton Families Fulton Families Master, Bleckley and Inns of Court A Safe Fulton Georgia Commission on Family Violence Women andWeltner Children Women and Children Host Committee, AJC Unity Seder Committee to Keep Judge Whitaker Creative2022 Solutions Jan Schwob Creative Solutions PO Box 19512 Host, A AJC Anti-Semitism judges@JudgeWhitaker @Judge_Whitaker A Safe Safe FultonTraining for Fulton /JudgeWhitaker Atlanta, GA 30325 Fulton

Leah Ward Sears | Former Chief Justice of the Georgia Juris Doctor: Duke University School of Law (1992) Supreme Court Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Political Science: College of Charleston (1989) Mike Bowers | Former Attorney General of Georgia Sitting Superior Court Judge, Superior Court of Sam Olens | Former Attorney General of Georgia Fulton County William B. Hill, Jr. | Former Judge, Fulton Superior Court Deputy District Attorney, Appeals Division, Fulton Michael Julian Bond | Atlanta City Councilman County District Attorney’s Office Gary Alembik, Esq. Senior Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Justice Robert Arogeti, CPA Division, Georgia Department of Law Early Bruce S. Harvey, Esq. Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia V o ting starts on J U D G E WH ITAK E R S. Kaufmann, M.D. Robert Vice Chair, Georgia Commission on Family Violence I S COM M ITTE D TO: Fellow, Womens’ Policy Carla Stern Malever, Esq. J U DGeorgia G E WH ITAK EInstitute R

Re-Elect Judge Re-Elect Judge Credentials:

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Committee to Keep Whitaker Learn more byJudge visiting KeepJudgeWhitaker.com or using the QR Code Learn more by visiting KeepJudgeWhitaker.com PO Box 19512 judgewhitaker@gmail.com /JudgeWhitaker @JudgeWhitaker @Judge_Whitaker Atlanta, GA 30325judgewhitaker@gmail.com

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Leah WardofSears | Former Chief Justice LeahofWard the Georgia Sears | Former Chief Justice of the Georgia Juris Doctor: Duke University School ofJuris Law Doctor: (1992) Duke University School Law (1992) Supreme Court Supreme Court Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Political Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Political Science: College of Charleston (1989) Science: College of Charleston Mike(1989) Bowers | Former Attorney General Mike Bowers of Georgia | Former Attorney General of Georgia Sitting Superior Court Judge, Superior Court SittingofSuperior Court Judge, Superior of Attorney General Sam OlensCourt | Former SamofOlens Georgia | Former Attorney General of Georgia Fulton County Fulton County William B. Hill, Jr. | Former Judge, William Fulton Superior B. Hill, Jr.Court | Former Judge, Fulton Superior Court Deputy District Attorney, Appeals Division, Deputy Fulton District Attorney, Appeals Division, Fulton Michael Julian Bond | Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond | Atlanta City Councilman County District Attorney’s Office County District Attorney’s Office Gary Alembik, Esq. Gary Alembik, Esq. Senior Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Senior Justice Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Justice Robert Arogeti, CPA Robert Arogeti, CPA Division, Georgia Department of Law Division, Georgia Department of Law Early Early Bruce S. Harvey, Esq. Bruce S. Harvey, Esq. Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia V o ting starts on ng starts on J UChair, D G Georgia E WHCommission ITAK E RonS.Family JU D G E WH ITAK EV RotiS. Robert Kaufmann, Robert Kaufmann, M.D. Vice Chair, Georgia Commission on Family ViceViolence ViolenceM.D. I S COM M ITTE D TO: I S COM M ITTE D TO: Fellow, Womens’ Policy Womens’ Policy Carla Stern Malever, Esq. Carla Stern Malever, Esq. J U DGeorgia G E WH ITAK EInstitute R Fellow, J U DGeorgia G E WH ITAK EInstitute R

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“It is an honor to serve Fulton County “It is an as honor a Superior to serve Fulton County as a Superior Court judge. I ask you to join these Court leaders judge.in Ithe ask you to join these leaders in the David Adelman | Former David Adelman to Singapore | Former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore law and the community in standing lawwith andme. the Icommunity ask in standing with me. I U.S. ask Ambassador RoyMay Barnes | Former Roy Barnes | Former Governor of Georgia for your vote on or before May 24th for your so that vote I can on or before 24th so thatGovernor I can of Georgia continue working towards a safecontinue Fulton County.” working towards a safe County.”

Nathan DealFulton | Former Governor of Nathan GeorgiaDeal | Former Governor of Georgia - JUDGE PAIGE REESE WHITAKER - JUDGE PAIGE REESE WHITAKER Harold Melton | Former Chief Justice Harold of the Melton Georgia | Former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Supreme Court

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