Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCV NO. 8, March 31, 2020

NEXT ISSUE: PASSOVER

VOL. XCV NO. 8

MARCH 31, 2020 | 6 NISAN 5780

HOME & GARDEN AND PASSOVER RECIPES

COVID-19 4 RESIDENTS AND 6 EMPLOYEES AT BERMAN COMMONS TEST POSITIVE

CDC TRANSFORMATION BOOSTED BY EARLY EFFORTS MADE 19 YEARS AGO

THE LOWDOWN FEATURING THE LEGENDARY DUO OF JOEY REIMAN AND BRAD SIEGEL

The Atlanta Board of Rabbis ARA ‫ נחמו עמי‬,‫נחמו‬ “comfort, comfort to my people” Isaiah 40:1 These are unprecedented times, requiring us to practice behaviors that go against human nature and our Jewish teachings- not to separate ourselves from the community.

But in these days of COVID-19, we must practice social distancing as an act of Pikuach Nefesh, to save lives.

Your Atlanta Area Rabbis are here to remind you that while you may feel a sense of loneliness or anxiety, remember no one is ever really alone, we are all apart of a strong vibrant community learning new ways to stay connected.

If you are in need of spiritual support reach out to a rabbi.

We are all here for you.

‫חזק ואמץ‬ “Be strong and of good courage” Joshua 1:9

PUBLISHER

MICHAEL A. MORRIS michael@atljewishtimes.com

MANAGING PUBLISHER & EDITOR KAYLENE LADINSKY

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JODI DANIS

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RONI ROBBINS roni@atljewishtimes.com Staff Writer

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Contributors This Week BOB BAHR DAVE SCHECHTER FLORA ROSEFSKY JAN JABEN-EILON KEVIN C. MADIGAN MARCIA CALLER JAFFE MARTINE TARTOUR RABBI RUTH ABUSCH-MAGDEN TERRY SEGAL

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Home Grown As we settle into the new normal of 24-7 life at home with the family during the COVID-19 health crisis, the AJT brings you our very first fully-produced-fromhome issue on very relevant topics: home and garden and Passover recipes. Spending so much time in your humble abode, you can learn what makes a home Jewish for some of our community leaders and decorating gurus. We have stories on gardening projects at Ahavath Achim Synagogue and Temple Emanu-El, and the newest trends in gardening from a master gardener whose new specialty is terrace containers.

Then there’s our Chai Style Homes interview with Brad Siegel, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, who opens up his Buckhead brownstone to us with its feel of a Mediterranean villa.

Our Lowdown continues the conversation with Siegel, who has teamed up with marketing guru Joey Reiman to produce films with a message.

In terms of Passover recipes, we have sweet and savory dishes, entrees to desserts, healthy to decadent. Community members and AJT staff share their favorite culinary creations in preparation for the family-centered holiday that starts next week.

THIS WEEK This year promises to be different in so many ways from any other Passover we’ve celebrated in the past, namely because of COVID-19.

From our ongoing online coverage of how the Atlanta Jewish community is responding to the national pandemic, we pulled out a few pieces for our print issue. First, how Atlanta Jews plan to celebrate Passover remotely. Next, technology is transforming how rabbis and synagogues bridge the virtual divide to maintain contact with their congregants and keep Jewish life on track. Plus, how Jewish HomeLife is trying to protect our most vulnerable – seniors – and how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the epicenter of the crisis, developed into the major health campus it is today.

If that’s not enough news to keep you occupied, we chat with Yoel Levi, who returned recently as a guest conductor for an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert, and Allison Padilla-Goodman, vice president of the ADL in Atlanta, who will accept the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI. That’s just a taste of the fresh morsels this week, with a hint at what’s to come next week in our Passover issue. ì

Cover Photo: Jewish life at home and in preparation for Passover as the community copes with COVID-19.

CONTENTS LOCAL NEWS ���������������������������������� 8 OPINION ����������������������������������������� 17 ISRAEL NEWS ������������������������������� 18 HOME & GARDEN ������������������������ 20 CHAI STYLE ����������������������������������� 26 THE LOWDOWN ���������������������������� 29 PASSOVER RECIPES ������������������ 30 CALENDAR ������������������������������������� 38 ART ��������������������������������������������������� 42 COMMUNITY ��������������������������������� 45 OY VEY �������������������������������������������� 50 BRAIN FOOD ���������������������������������� 51 OBITUARIES ���������������������������������� 52 NEW MOON MEDITATIONS ����� 55 CLOSING THOUGHTS ����������������� 56

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 5

Keeping Jewish Atlanta Connected During This Time of Isolation

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6 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Publisher's Note This is our first issue completely written, created and published by working at home. Great job Atlanta Jewish Times staff. There has been a steep learning curve and I am impressed with my staff that we have pulled it all together so quickly and efficiently. I want to thank our advertisers who are sticking with us through this tumultuous time. In addition, I want to thank our subscribers, renewing subscribers and new subscribers. You are all ensuring we can continue to publish, and I offer you, personally, a big thank you.

Atlanta Jewish Times is in the communications business and now more than ever, our community needs communication. In this time of isolation, the AJT will help keep the Jewish community connected. Our pages, online and in print, will provide you with important community information, simchas, stories and updates, as well as information and links to COVID-19-related topics. We hope it provides a respite in a day filled with continued unknown.

Here’s some of what we’re doing: First, there is a very good chance you received this issue in the mail by surprise. Don’t worry, it’s free, with no catches or fine print. We are distributing for free because it is the right thing to do. We know that most of our distribution points are closed and that many of our readers still want to receive a paper. We have pulled together old lists of subscribers and are using lists from some organizational partners.

We are doing this at our increased expense. If you know of someone who did not receive a paper, but would like to, please feel free to email me their name and address. If you do not wish to receive the paper in the mail, please email me your name and address. If you would like to help us in this endeavor, please go to our website and purchase a subscription. Otherwise, just enjoy your free gift.

We are updating our website daily and sending out eblasts three times a week. Check our website to see what’s going on in our community as well as what’s going on in the world of COVID-19. We have created a unique spot on our website that is republishing articles and links from federal, state, and local government offices as well as from key sites such as the CDC. In addition to the AJT website, the Atlanta Jewish Connector is also being updated daily with hundreds of virtual options within our community such as religious services, volunteer opportunities, chat groups and Jewish communal organizations’ virtual get-togethers.

More people than ever are going onto the Connector to see what is happening in our community and how they can connect.

We have also opened up the Connector to for-profit businesses, for free, so they can tell you who is open and what kind of curbside services they are offering. One last online option I want to mention is our digital print edition of the newspaper. You can read the AJT from cover to cover at www.issuu.com/AtlantaJewishTimes/.

I want to close by wishing all good health and safety during this time. We are here to serve our community and keep you connected.

During this time of social distancing, get AJT in your mailbox and stay connected to Jewish Atlanta.

Michael A Morris Michael A Morris Michael@atljewishtimes.com

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 7

NEWS Berman Commons: 4 Residents, 6 Employees Test Positive for COVID-19

After four residents in the memory care unit tested positive for COVID-19, 43 employees there were tested; six tests returned positive.

By Dave Schechter

one of our communities, our Incident Command Center (ICC) Team felt it was critical In a matter of days toward the end of that we had enough tests to do widespread, March, four residents of the memory care precautionary testing if ever needed,” Harunit at Berman Commons, and subsequentley Tabak, Jewish HomeLife president and ly six employees, tested positive for the COCEO, and the agency’s chief operating ofVID-19 coronavirus. ficer, Jeff Gopen, stated in a March 29 letter As the situation developed, the facilto Berman Commons resiity operated by Jewish dents and families.

HomeLife increased meaWith the positive test sures already in place to results in the memory stop exposure to the pocare unit, that situation tentially fatal disease. came into play.

Berman Commons At a time when residents and families testing kits are in short were informed March 29 supply and in demand of the employees’ positive throughout the state, JewCOVID-19 tests, just as ish HomeLife nurse practhey were March 26 of the titioner Kara Gold and residents’ positive tests.

JHL’s director of assistedThe latter stemmed Jeff Gopen, chief operating officer living services, Cheryl of Jewish HomeLife (above), from COVID-19 testing Chambers, tracked down and Harley Tabak, president done when five residents and CEO (right), sent a letter a supply of testing kits of the memory care unit March 29 to residents and and identified a lab “willdeveloped elevated temfamilies at Berman Commons. ing to fast-track testing as peratures. Four of those this very scenario unfolded at Berman Comtests came back positive. The source of their mons,” the letter said. infection may have been an employee who Berman Commons has 110 employees. worked in the unit on weekends – and had Those tested on March 27 were 43 employnot been in the building since March 14 ees working in the memory care unit, staff – who called March 26 to say that she had working in the hospice unit, 11 “floaters” tested positive. who work in both the memory care and Berman Commons has a 32-room assisted-living wings of Berman Commons, memory care apartment wing and 58 and support staff, such as those working in assisted-living apartments. When the four laundry or housekeeping. memory care unit residents tested positive, As a further precaution, three additioncommunal meals were also suspended in al residents of the memory care unit also the assisted-living section and residents were tested on March 27. were directed to remain in their apartments The tests were sent to a lab the evening with meals being delivered to them. of March 27 and the six positive results that “As part of the plan we set forth in came back late the night of Saturday, March anticipation of having confirmed cases in 28, on the six employees, were a surprise.

8 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

“All were asymptomatic, so you can imagine measures that “should be implemented in how shocking this has been for them,” the ALL long-term care facilities throughout Georgia, regardless of if you have increased letter from Tabak and Gopen said.

Of the additional memory care resi- respiratory illness or confirmed cases of dents tested, two of those tests came back COVID-19 in your facility, and regardless of negative. As of the evening of March 29, the the number of persons diagnosed with COVID-19 in your immediate area.” result on the third was not known.

Based on the letters When they report for sent by Tabak and Gopen, work, Jewish HomeLife most of those measures employees are asked a already were or have been series of screening quesput into effect at the eldertions and have their temcare facilities that Jewish perature taken, and the HomeLife operates at its temperatures are tracked Howell Mill campus in Atto watch for any elevated lanta, in Dunwoody, and temperature. “We’ve been in Johns Creek. ahead of the game on a Though there have lot of this,” JHL spokesbeen no suspected or conwoman Shari Bayer said March 29, noting that JHL Jewish HomeLife executives praise firmed cases in the assistthe staff who were able to access ed-living wing, “we have began barring visitors as a precaution ahead of many COVID-19 testing kits and arrange implemented policies so to have a lab fast-track the results. the entire community will facilities. “Even with that and even with all the screening, we still had be treated as if there has been exposure, including isolating all residents in their apartcases,” she said.

“Fortunately, the lower number of ments and using proper PPE [personal procases (compared to the total staff) will not tective equipment] as appropriate,” Tabak cause staffing issues, and we don’t antici- and Gopen said in their March 29 letter.

“All MC [memory care] staff are using pate staffing shortages going forward at this time thanks to the ongoing support of N95 masks, gowns, gloves and if necessary, Jewish HomeLife,” Tabak and Gopen said in shields to care for all residents, regardless of their March 29 letter. “We are choosing to be diagnoses,” the letter said.

“All team members will use gloves and grateful at a time when many are searching for answers or assigning blame. We are bet- masks when caring for all residents,” the ter able than many organizations to know type of mask and other protective equipwho is positive before they even have symp- ment depending on the individual resident. toms because of our access to a lab with “For asymptomatic residents in assisted living, we will follow the current CDC guideprompt testing capabilities.”

Additionally, on March 28, Dr. Kathleen lines indicating that a surgical mask is apE. Toomey, commissioner the Georgia De- propriate. Anyone who is in direct contact partment of Health, sent operators of long- (caregiver, dining, etc.) with someone showterm care facilities statewide a directive on ing symptoms or has a suspected or con-

NEWS firmed case will use N95 masks and other appropriate PPE,” the letter said.

The families of Berman Commons residents already had been barred from the facility.

“We will no longer allow private duty sitters who see other clients outside of Berman Commons. If our resident is their only client, we will allow them to continue provided they pass through our screening process,” the letter said. “We have already reduced Hospice visits, and will only allow limited family during the active dying process if they clear screening and wear gloves and masks.”

Dining staff will wear protective equipment in the memory care unit. “The caregivers will actually serve and deliver to individual apartments. In Assisted Living, dining staff will deliver meals to resident rooms, wearing appropriate mask (or other PPE if indicated), and use proper hand hygiene plus re-glove between each apartment,” the letter said.

“We have been transparent with you since the beginning, and will continue to do so throughout this crisis. We appreciate your patience and understanding,” Tabak

and Gopen said in their March 29 letter, adding that a dedicated email address had been created to answer non-emergency questions about how COVID-19 is impacting Berman Commons.

On March 25, an 89-year-old resident of The Zaban Tower, an independent living facility, died in an Atlanta hospital. The woman, who already was hospitalized, had underlying health conditions and tested positive for COVID-19 while in the hospital.

The families of residents of facilities at Jewish HomeLife’s Howell Mill Road campus were informed by email March 25. That notice said that “any staff or ZT resident who has had direct contact with this individual has been screened and/or tested as a precaution.

“This is an emotional time for all of us.

We are doing everything in our power to bring the best medical expertise, testing and protective equipment to protect our most vulnerable population, to protect our staff who are on the front lines every day. We are not the first and will not be the last senior care community to face this crisis, and sincerely appreciate the community’s support in our efforts,” Tabak told the AJT March 27. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 9

NEWS

Passover 2020: Balancing Health and Tradition

By Dave Schechter The central question asked at a Passover seder is: What makes this night different than all other nights?

There is no question of what will make this year’s seder different.

The coronavirus designated as COVID-19 already has been referred to as an 11th plague added to the 10 that, as the story is told, God visited upon the Egyptians to persuade a recalcitrant pharaoh to release the Jewish people from their servitude.

Passover seders often are cherished family memories. But this will be remembered as the year when a public health crisis prevented generations of family from gathering together; when those who did take seats did their best to keep a safe distance from others; when those who did not travel watched on a computer screen as the story of the exodus from Egypt was retold; when perhaps paper and plastic were favored Photos by Stanley Leary// Here are scenes from last year’s Diaspora Journey seder. over china, glass and metal; when communal plates of ritual foods were gation Bet Haverim, and the Your Jew- adjusting to my new reality. If G-d has eschewed in favor of individual serv- humility,” Bortz said. ings; and when the scramble to find Paul Root Wolpe, director of the ish Bridge initiative, noted a particular decided that this year my wife will ask the afikomen might have been a bit less Emory Center for Ethics, acknowledged difficulty. “A lot of my educational/pas- me the four questions, I will thank him rambunctious. the Passover balancing act that the toral work is with Jews by Choice and that I have her to ask me and that I have Rabbi Analia Bortz of Congrega- coronavirus causes. “We are required candidates for conversion, who were the privilege to answer. We serve G-d in tion Or Hadash, who also is a medical to subordinate all other mitzvot to safe- planning to attend a community seder the circumstances that He dictates. One doctor and bioethicist, said that Jews guarding health and life, with only a as their first Passover experience. [Now who is alone may also have a seder and revel in the retelling have no choice but few exceptions. So I am] coaching them of the story and feel to be mindful of the we have an ethical to prepare to lead a as though he perthreat posed by the obligation to avoid seder at home,” she sonally left Egypt,” coronavirus. risking disease in said.

Friedman said.

The haggadah “In a globalized our current circumFor those strugworld, when isolastances. But Juda- says: “And even if gling with “food intion and physical ism is a dynamic, we were all sages, security” – the oftdistance is required creative religion. So all discerning, all used euphemism for to combat this COhow do we maintain elders, all knowlhunger – Passover is VID-19 pandemic, our religious and edgeable about the another day of chalwe need to be mindethical obligations, Torah, it would be a lenge. To meet their ful of preserving the and still celebrate commandment upon need, Jewish Family principal pikuach Passover to the ex- us to tell the story & Career Services, of the exodus from nefesh, saving lives. tent possible? through its Maos The Passover seder “First, we must Egypt.”

Religious and ethical obligations must Chitim (Hebrew for Rabbi Binyomin this year should be limit the size and When it comes to his seder plans, be balanced at the seder because of the “I am adjusting to my new reality,” “wheat money”) protaken as a shahat scope of our seders Friedman of Concoronavirus, said Paul Root Wolpe. said Rabbi Binyomin Friedman. gram, will distribhadchak, an emerto those with whom gregation Ariel adgency situation in which we limit the we would interact anyway. It is a year vised that there are guidelines for those ute checks to about 550 households, of number of people around the table to for intimate seders, focusing more on whose seder may be a smaller affair some 1,050 individuals. JF&CS also will our immediate family. Some families the family (highlight the four children, than intended. “Our sages in the trac- deliver 150 bags of kosher-for-Passover that might be comfortable using tech- for example). Or, for those who do not tate Pesachim (116a) state, ‘If the son is food to households in need, whose nology could take advantage of Zoom avoid electronics on the holiday, invite wise, he asks his father the four ques- ranks include families with children, or other ways to communicate with others to share your seder virtually – tions. If the son is not capable of ask- individual adults, senior citizens and their virtual guests. More than ever, singing and reading together is a large ing, the wife asks her husband. If the Holocaust survivors. An estimated Pesach this year should provide us with part of the experience. So what if you wife cannot ask her husband, the man $75,000 was raised last year to meet an opportunity to reflect on bonds and will need separate afikomens,” Wolpe asks himself.’ As my grand Pesach seder this year’s Passover need. JF&CS forepopulated with children and grandchil- sees needing $80,000 for next year. boundaries, freedom and pollution, op- said.

The elderly, even those without ulence and scarceness, arrogance and Rabbi Pamela Gottfried of Congre- dren evaporates before my eyes, I am 10 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

NEWS

chronic health problems, are the group been canceled now and it will likely be most vulnerable to the spread of the just the 5 of us. Sigh.”

“Small Seder. My guests cancelled. coronavirus.

Sister may not fly As the AJT went in. Dad coming. He’s to press, Jewish 99 (kaynahora). AlHomeLife was reready bought matza. evaluating whether It will be the smallto hold its previest Seder I’ve ever ously-planned resihosted but hopefully dents-only seder at we will FaceTime Berman Commons. with grandchildren.”

Posing a ques“We are cantion on Facebook to celled. No way for Atlanta area Jews, family to get here. the AJT received nuFirst time ever that merous tales of alwe won’t be together tered Passover plans. for Passover.”

Typical of them was Jews of Choice and candidates for “My family’s that from Rebecca conversion may find themselves tentative plan is to Leary, who respondleading their first seders, said do a virtual Seder ed: “We hadn’t gotten Rabbi Pamela Gottfried. and then have a real too far in Seder planning, except to book plane tickets for Seder in a few months.” my mother. From NY. She’s 81 and has The latter comCOPD. Flights are ment prompted a cancelled. No idea discussion of the what we’re all doing cost and capabilinow.” ties of social meetA sampling of ing platforms more other responses: commonly used by businesses to con“Our plans were duct meetings. This complicated due will be the year to multiple cities that instead of hugs and multiple famand kisses from ily members all with their grandparplans of their own, ... ents, grandchildren but we were going to will wave to them make it work out so Passover this year should be a shahat through the camera that we’d host the hadchak, an emergency situation on a computer or second-night seder. limiting the number of people at the cellphone.

ALL of the plans have seder table, said Rabbi Analia Bortz.

Aside from her family seder, Corey- there,” she said.

Jan Albert of Roswell has for about 25 In the past, Albert also has organized years also produced a unique “Diaspora Journey” seder attended by anywhere the production for synagogues and other organizations.

But from 25 to 40 people. not this year.

“What I usually “After hard contell people is that this sideration and given is based on the idea the need to ‘flatten that, when you think the curve’ on the about it, the Passover spread of the coroseder is the world’s navirus, we’ve made original dinner thethe difficult deciater experience. sion to not hold it So, instead of bethis year. Our main ing structured for a thought was that ‘leader’ and multiple hard as it was to ‘congregants,’ this call it off, if anyone haggadah is strucgot sick as a result tured as a play that of being with 25 to takes place at five 30 other people at different seder tables our house, we would through history. And Corey-Jan Albert has called off her find it even harder instead of reading theatrical “Diaspora Journey” seder to forgive ourselves. in turn around the for the first time since she created For the time being, a table, participants the event some 25 years ago. very small group of are assigned specific roles that they will play throughout the us has been discussing getting togethevening. Its first iteration was as my the- er and doing a combination of readsis for my master’s degree in theater and ing and discussion. But this, too, may performance studies (emphasis on play- fall by the wayside, depending on how writing), but it took on its own life from things go,” she said. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 11

NEWS

Physically Separated, Emotionally Connected

By Dave Schechter

me, both as a way to honor the memory of my father and as a touchstone in my The first gathering of a virtual kad- daily life to help me center and to help dish minyan that now meets nightly me mourn. I am not that observant, and my father wasn’t exemplified how at all, but from day Jewish Atlanta has one I felt a strong found a new underneed to say kaddish standing of what every day, so when it means to be in it came to an abrupt community. halt, it left a big M i c h a e l void. And then CBH Rekhelman, a came to the rescue member of Conso quickly and effigregation Bet ciently, I was really Haverim, had been touched and blown saying kaddish away,” Rekhelman daily since his fasaid. ther died Nov. 25.

That first virtuHe often attended As president of the Reform movement’s al minyan, conducta daily minyan at association of rabbis, Rabbi Ron Segal of ed on the video conCongregation Beth Temple Sinai urged his colleagues to view platform Jacob along with technology with an “open-hearted and open- ference his brother-in-law, minded spirit, not with a sense of foreboding.” Zoom, brought together a dozen or so a Beth Jacob member whose own father had died the same members of Bet Haverim and, from Seattle, Barbara Schwartz, whose brother is day.

“This has become very important to a member of CBH.

12 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Thus did technology permit an AtSchwartz’s husband, Stephen, a long-time professor of pathology at the lantan to continue saying kaddish for his University of Washington and a pioneer father and provide a woman in Seattle a in the field of vascular biology, had died a minyan when one was not possible there.

The minyan has couple of days earcontinued since lier, on March 17, that night, with the at age 78, from the number of particicoronavirus known pants growing. as COVID-19.

“The entire Schwartz ofworld – Jewish fered heartfelt and otherwise – thanks for being is turned upside permitted to join down,” said Rabbi the Bet Haverim Steve Lebow of minyan. The AtlanTemple Kol Emeth. tans replied that When Kol Emeth they felt honored to livestreams Shabbe there for her. bat services, “There “I am in quar“The entire world – Jewish and otherwise is only me, the canantine. There are – is turned upside down,” said Rabbi tor, and the Torah no services or shiva Steve Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth. reader, and we possible here because of the severity of the crisis. I am make sure that none of us is closer than grateful to CBH for sharing these virtual six feet away.”

Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser recently services with me and for being so welcoming. It is a great comfort,” she told the conducted a shivah service with only a woman and her two children present, AJT in the days after the service.

NEWS but with more than 100 people gathered on 47 screens via the video conference platform Zoom, including children of the deceased, who were able talk about their father. “Despite the fact there’s physical separation, there doesn’t appear to be a physical or emotional disconnect because you’re there in real time,” said Nemhauser, who manages the Union of Reform Judaism’s “Introduction to Judaism” online and serves part-time at Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville.

The experience is different when a service is livestreamed because the rabbi or cantor “It is a serious sin, … to engage in activity cannot see the that is a violation of public health congregants, regulations in times of pandemic,” but with video Rabbi Michael Broyde wrote. conference technology, “They’re actively participating, as opposed to you being outward facing and having no dynamic between you and your kehillah, your community,” said Nemhauser, who follows services streamed by Atlanta congregations and also leads her own minyan, using Zoom.

The experience has been poignant for clergy. On the myjewishlearning.com website, Rabbi Pamela Gottfried of Congregation Bet Haverim and the Your Jewish Bridge program, described leading a service for a congregation not physically present in the sanctuary.

Gottfried wrote, “I invite everyone to unmute, to say the names of the people they are remembering during kaddish, and to join in saying the prayer with me. I stand, facing the ark. The camera, computer, and candles are visible only in my peripheral vision. I am the only Jew in the room. We are all in the room together.”

Should there remain any in the Jewish community not taking appropriate or mandated actions, Emory University law professor Rabbi Michael Broyde published an open letter supporting the temporary closure of synagogues and “to encourage people to listen to the authorized governmental authorities.

“People need to be told directly that it is a sin – a serious sin and direct violation of profound and important values of halacha much more serious than any mitzvah of communal prayer – to engage in activity that is a violation of public health regulations in times of pandemic,” Broyde wrote.

“Let me add that even a person who feels that he or she is not in any personal danger is still engaging in sinful conduct by defying public health authorities. A youthful and healthy person who has caught the virus might think they are in no personal danger at all (and might not even know that they are contagious) but that person is endangering others when they go about their public life. In truth, endangering yourself to fulfill a mitzvah is prohibited according to all but a few authorities,” he wrote.

Rabbi Ron Segal of Temple Sinai is also president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the organization of the Reform movement’s rabbis. CCAR canceled

its annual convention in Baltimore, so Segal addressed years ago. A day she diligently prepared for. A day we his colleagues online and found reason to embrace the looked forward to with such joy and excitement. But one week before our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, the world possibilities of technology.

“Throughout Jewish history, with every disruption screeched to a halt,” her mother, Rachel Simon, wrote in the world, rabbis have reshaped, redefined, and rec- on the website medium.com.

Abby insisted on going through with the bat mitzreated Jewish life and expression to ensure Judaism’s survival and continued relevance. I know I am not vah service. There would be no party. Those who could not attend in person would watch the first to suggest that the time a livestream. “When the service has come for us to do so again. … ended we looked at our phones.

Though nothing can replicate the We had hundreds of notifications spiritual and emotional signifi— texts, emails, Facebook posts, cance of physically being together Instagram tags and Snapchat stoin community, or ever replace the ries. Abby was so overwhelmed, efficacy of actually reaching out she started to cry. People sent us to hold the hand of someone in screenshots and videos of the serneed, still, having employed new vice and pictures of them watchmodalities to connect with and ing from home. We truly felt the engage people throughout our power of community and it was communities, including those inspiring!” who had previously determined Then there was this, from the our congregations’ or organizaremarks that Abby’s parents read tions’ offerings were either too Michael Rekhelman has continued to to her: “Many times throughout limited or not in their budget, recite kaddish for his father in a minyan our history, Jews have been forced having discovered new and creusing video conferencing technology. to chant Torah in isolation, quiet ative ways to respond to the needs of our diverse community, we need to understand and for fear of being punished. It would be easy to look at greet this moment with an open-hearted and open- our strange circumstances today like that, but we are minded spirit, not with a sense of foreboding,” Segal not. Instead, while the seats of this beautiful synagogue may not be filled, your family and friends from all the urged his rabbinic colleagues.

Meanwhile, at Temple Sinai, on March 21, in the different parts of your life are here with you, virtually midst of the coronavirus chaos, Abby Simon became that is. We don’t know about you, but isolated is the last a bat mitzvah. “This was a date we received over three thing that we feel. I hope you feel the same way.” ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 13

NEWS

Yoel Levi Returns in Triumph to Atlanta Symphony

By Bob Bahr The famed conductor, Yoel Levi, made a triumphant return to the Atlanta Symphony earlier this month when he conducted the orchestra’s 75th anniversary concert with violin soloist Pinchas Zukerman.

The concert occurred before the ASO announced March 13 it was canceling or postponing all orchestra performances and activities through April 12 because of the coronovirus. Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman was supposed to appear with Levi, but canceled as a result of travel precautions resulting from the health crisis, and Zukerman stepped in so the concert could proceed March 11.

For 12 years, Levi was the driving force that shaped the ASO into a worldclass orchestra and Emmy Award winner. Since his final concert as a guest conductor with the orchestra in 2005 he’s been in the top ranks of the world’s symphony conductors, winning acclaim with orchestras in Europe and Asia and as principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Despite his world travels, Levi continues to make his home Atlanta. We asked him about his recent return to the ASO. AJT: What was it like to step onto the stage of Atlanta’s Symphony Hall for the first time in 15 years?

Levi: When I walked on stage the adrenaline kicked in and I was very, very excited. And that’s what I love about this profession. I am so excited when I go on stage. It’s a very special feeling. It’s a very emotional moment. It took a couple of seconds to calm down.

AJT: Your anniversary concert program with the ASO was enthusiastically received. There was an energetic and very vocal standing ovation and several curtain calls. How did you decide what the anniversary concert would be?

Levi: My idea was to reconstruct my first program with the Atlanta Symphony as a musical director in 1988. So the overture was the same. It was Verdi’s “La Forza Del Destino,” the Force of Destiny.

And then we had Pinchas Zuker-

Yoel Levi’s most recent award-winning performance was a recording of Mahler’s “Symphony No. 9.”

Yoel Levi and Pinchas Zukerman teamed up with the ASO for a stunning performance of Bruch’s “Violin Concerto No. 1.”

man with a tremendous performance of Bruch’s “Violin Concerto No. 1.” I wouldn’t call it a Jewish piece, but it has a lot of Jewish soul. By the way, Zukerman and I, when we were young, both studied violin with the same teacher in Israel.

And then, the Mahler First Symphony. I decided to bring it back because it’s very special to me. Of all his symphonies, I would say it is his most Jewish one because of the themes, the melodies he’s using, the way he’s portraying like a Jewish Chasidic wedding and things like that. Mahler came from a very Jewish family, but that was not the reason I chose it for the program. The reason was purely because I loved Mahler, number one, and number two, that was the original program when I first came to the Atlanta Symphony.

symphony orchestras have today is cultivating a new audience. How do we get more young people interested in great music? What do you think it will take for us to do this in Atlanta?

Levi: Well, obviously, we need a new approach. No question. I think one of the things that is missing in Atlanta is to have a truly great musical school. Like you have in Europe or in other places in the world. And if we will create a great musical school that is connected to the Atlanta Symphony, that will be the first step.

We also need to do more of what we call outreach programs to have relationship with different schools, different universities, collaborate with them, do joint projects with them. There are a lot of things that can be done.

And we should always try to achieve a higher level because I always say that the most important thing is the product. Is our product truly first class?

We can convince people only if we have the highest level. People like to be part of something at the very high level. And if we are involved more with the younger generation in different ways, we will be the inspiration, the cultural inspiration for the whole South. And that’s what we need to do.

AJT: And would you say you have a lot of Jewish soul, too?

Levi: There is no way to describe what is your soul. You cannot. There is no question that I have something special within me that makes me look at music in a certain way.

Is it because of my upbringing in Israel? Possibly.

But I have no explanation for the things that I can do or am capable of doing. Where is it coming from? I have no idea. I don’t know the history of my family because most of them were killed in the Holocaust. And today there is no one in my family to talk about it. No one knows.

But I hope I have a Jewish soul. I hope so. I hope the good part of the Jewish soul.

AJT: One of the problems that all 14 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

AJT: You know, after you left the ASO, you could have lived anywhere in the world. Why did you choose to remain in Atlanta?

Levi: Because I love the city. I feel very comfortable here. My children are here, two of them. One of them was born in Atlanta. I didn’t feel any reason to move to another place. I have many friends here and I feel extremely comfortable and that’s why I never left Atlanta. It’s my hometown. ì

NEWS

ADL VP to Receive FBI Award

By Kevin C. Madigan The southern division of the Anti-Defamation League is set to receive an award from the FBI for its work in combating hate, bigotry and extremism.

Allison Padilla-Goodman, vice president of the ADL’s branch in Atlanta, will accept the Director’s Community Leadership Award, presented by the FBI, at a Washington, D.C., ceremony whenever it is rescheduled. It was originally scheduled for the spring but was postponed because of the coronovirus.

The award was created in 1990 “as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs and violence in America,” according to an FBI statement.

We asked Padilla-Goodman about the recognition.

AJT: Why are you and the ADL receiving this award?

Padilla-Goodman: We do a lot of work with the FBI on a regular basis. We communicate fairly regularly on domestic extremism threats, on hate crimes, on issues of extremism in our state. We’ve done

state legislasome joint ture right now. training and It’s ADL’s bill. professional We’ve been development working on it workshops for for a long time them. The ADL to get Georactually trains gia off the list every new FBI of states that agent in Washdon’t currently ington, D.C., have a hate at the United crimes bill.

States HoloWe’re just waitcaust Memoing for it to get rial Museum a hearing. with our law Allison Padilla-Goodman, vice president of the enforcement ADL’s branch in Atlanta, will accept the Director’s AJT: What and society Community Leadership Award, presented by the do you think training.

FBI, at a Washington, D.C., ceremony this spring. the media is We have this long-standing national relationship not covering that it should be?

Padilla-Goodman: They pay a lot of atwith the FBI and we continue to put it as a top value here in Atlanta. The FBI is an im- tention when there’s a white supremacist portant entity [regarding] bias-motivated rally, something like that that’s really in your incidents in general, so this partnership is face. I actually think they pay too much attention to those things; I wish they were a little really important to us. less emphasized. And when we think about AJT: Georgia still does not outlaw hate anti-Semitism, most people in the non-Jewish community are surprised to hear about how crimes.

Padilla-Goodman: We have a bill in the much anxiety there is about anti-Semitism in

the Jewish community right now.

What I and other board members would like to see is a regular short blurb of the latest things that people should know about, maybe a summary of white supremacist incidents in Atlanta over the past month, or the new trends that we’re seeing online, … because there’s so much general concern about those sorts of issues. If you want to do that, I’m happy to connect you with the right people.

AJT: What else should the media be looking at?

Padilla-Goodman: We have this coalition called Hate Free Georgia with these big non-Jewish partners who feel very committed to not just the ADL, but the Jewish community more broadly. When we see things like Black Lives Matter adding a line about Israeli and Palestinian rights, … I feel that what I hear a lot from the Jewish community is ‘oh, our relationship with the black community is not that strong.’ The CEO of the Urban League and the head of the NAACP would tell you very differently.

I think people in the Jewish community need to hear how much non-Jews value their allyship and stand with us. ì

Mazal Tov to our outstanding teenagers Grant Chernau, Chase Flagel and Evan Sommer on being honored in AJT’s “18 under 18”.

‫מזל טוב‬ Rabbi Daniel Dorsch Rabbi Shalom Lewis, Emeritus ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 15

NEWS

CDC Transformation Boosted by Early Efforts

By Bob Bahr Almost exactly 19 year ago, in April 2002, Bernie Marcus made a down payment on the future of the CDC. Marcus, the well-known head of The Marcus Foundation and a founder of The Home Depot, made a pledge of almost $4 million so that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could have an Emergency Operations Center.

At the time, despite the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the deadly anthrax attacks that quickly followed, the CDC lacked a state-of-the-art operations hub for national emergencies.

When it was finally dedicated in 2003, CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding expressed her appreciation.

“The CDC now has a world-class operations center equipped to handle any public health emergency, whether it’s a bioterrorism attack or an outbreak of a new disease,” she said, “The nation’s public health community had an urgent need and Bernie Marcus and other corporate donors stepped up to the plate and made it happen,” Marcus’ gift helped to set in motion the transformation of the CDC’s campus into

the massive complex of towering modern structures that reinforce the important role that the CDC plays today in the health of the nation.

But the new buildings are in sharp contrast to some of the facilities the CDC was using before the Marcus gift.

Phil Jacobs who was a BellSouth telecommunications executive at the time and a close friend of Marcus had toured some of the CDC buildings and was appalled by what he saw.

“It was incredible,” he told the AJT recently. “I’ve got photographs of some awful conditions.”

During the late 1990s some of the buildings the CDC was using in their campus on Buford Highway were collapsing.

“I have pictures of tarps on the ceiling that are holding water out over these million-dollar pieces of equipment,” Jacobs said. “There was one story of a woman who was an employee of the CDC who went into the ladies room and fell through the floor because all the the rotted wood.”

Determined to do something, Jacobs, Marcus and Kent “Oz” Nelson of UPS recruited several of Atlanta’s most important business executives. They convinced Wil-

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The CDC headquarters houses the Bernie Marcus Emergency Operations Center, the Phil Jacobs teleconferencing center and the Oz Nelson Auditorium.

liam Dahlberg at the Southern Company, ployees, on their financials, on their supply James Kennedy at Cox Enterprises and Leo chain management and all of those eleMullen at Delta Air Lines, among others, to ments,” Jacobs said. “So it drove a lot of these contribute $10,000 each to create an organi- companies to look at disaster relief plans on zation called the Corporate Friends of CDC, how to deal with emergencies.”

Over the years, the CDC Foundation’s which repeatedly lobbied Congress to create a modern Atlanta home for the public corporate and philanthropic sponsors have contributed over $800 million to further the health center.

“Long story, short, over a period of a work of the CDC. In late January, the Foundation initiatnumber of years, we were able to get Congress to increase the budgetary appropria- ed an Emergency Response Fund, which so tions so that over an eight-year period we far has raised $30 million, much of it in the got an additional $1.6 billion, which allowed past few weeks. The Foundation expects donations could eventually us to build them in phases, total in the hundreds of milobviously, to rebuild the enlions of dollars. tire Buford Highway cam“There are many impus,” Jacobs said. mediate needs which are But rebuilding the CDC continuing to evolve along complex was only part of with the pandemic,” the the goal of the business Foundation pointed out releaders. As members of the cently. “Among those needs Atlanta-based CDC Foundaare support for vulnerable tion as well as the Friends communities, increasing of CDC organization, they laboratory capacity, and worked to raise millions of boosting clinical research dollars to fund urgent new programs that weren’t in the Phil Jacobs still serves the CDC to optimize clinical care and Foundation as a member of its research.”

CDC’s federal budget. development committee. He For Jacobs there is a Marcus was the first is also chairman of the board certain sense of satisfaction chairman of the board of the Woodruff Arts Center. that the early efforts that when the CDC Foundation was created by Congress in 1996. Together were started by himself, Bernie Marcus, with Jacobs, who was elected chair in 2005, and others in the Atlanta community have they worked to raise awareness nationally made such an important difference today. of the importance of public health funding, Nonetheless, he seemed somewhat awed by including the impact that it has on corpo- the challenges confronting America and the world. rate America’s bottom line.

“I don’t think anyone ever anticipated Both men urged the creation of a Corporate Roundtable on Global Health the scale of what we are seeing now,” he said.

Threats at the Foundation that would help “I don’t know that anyone ever dreamed of to encourage the nation’s top business lead- the astronomical consequences, the human ers to add their own public health initiatives consequences, of what we are facing.”

Learn more about the CDC Foundation’s to the mix that the CDC and the CDC Founcrowdfunding campaign “All of Us: Combat dation were funding.

“We informed corporations of things Coronavirus” at www.GIVE4CDCF.org. For that could happen in public health that more information about the CDC Foundawould have a dramatic effect on their em- tion, visit wwww.cdcfoundation.org. ì

OPINION Today’s Crisis Bringing Change for Tomorrow This column was to have been written during a trip to Strasbourg, France, where our youngest was spending a college semester Dave Schechter abroad, and From Where I Sit Barcelona, a city we have wanted to visit for some time.

That trip was canceled the day before we were scheduled to fly, so this column was composed in my office at home, where I regularly spend hours on end engaging in “social distancing.”

[After surmounting logistical challenges, our son made his way home to Atlanta, where – out of an abundance of caution – he has been in self-quarantine.]

Watching the nation’s response to the coronavirus designated COVID-19 – by the government, from federal to municipal, but also by the general body politic – I found a parallel of sorts in events not quite two decades ago.

The last time life in America was impacted so severely all but a few did not see it coming.

At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, a voice from New York interrupted CNN’s morning planning call with word that a plane had struck one tower of the World Trade Center. A short time later, another plane, like the first, a commercial airliner, struck a second tower. A third plowed into the Pentagon and a fourth hurtled into a field in rural Pennsylvania.

On that morning, the sense of security that America rebuilt after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor vanished. Comparisons with Pearl Harbor were apt, in terms of the punch to the gut Americans felt and the gnawing feeling that had the dots been connected, disaster might have been averted.

Much was said post-9/11 about protecting the homeland from terrorists attacking with a nuclear or biologic weapon and yet the nation’s public health system remained vulnerable to a virus spread by people coughing and sneezing.

Unlike 9/11, when what had passed for predictability on 9/10 was turned upside down in an instant, three months elapsed between the time COVID-19 was identified in a Chinese city and when it gripped the consciousness of the Ameri-

can masses.

My guess is that, unlike 9/11, no presidentially-appointed commission will study the laggardly response by various levels of government, starting at the top, and why, despite warnings by people expert in the field, the nation remained so unprepared for a large-scale public health crisis. No report will be published and left to gather dust on a shelf, its recommendations pushed aside for the sake of expediency.

Nearly two decades after 9/11, the phrase “out of an abundance of caution” (see my reference above) has become ubiquitous. Shoes, belts and coats come off at airport security checkpoints that did not exist pre-9/11. Pockets are emptied for inspection before entering sports stadiums and many theaters. Americans by-andlarge have accepted greater government access to their movements, their finances and their associations in exchange for an implied promise that nothing like 9/11 ever will happen again.

The coronavirus will result in a different kind of change. Maybe the nation’s public health system will receive the attention and resources it merits. The trend toward working remotely from a home office has accelerated. In those industries where it is possible, decentralization may look more attractive to those in the corner office. Similarly, the nascent movement toward distance learning, whether at the college level or in K-12, has found new adherents.

In Atlanta, as elsewhere, the Jewish world, by necessity, has explored how best to meld modern technology with thousands of years of religion. Worship is conducted online for virtual congregations as adult education and day school classes are taught for virtual classrooms. As I wrote elsewhere, what it means to gather in community is being redefined.

As in the days and weeks after 9/11, the chief topic of conversation with friends and family (albeit online or on the phone rather than in-person), is how the coronavirus has affected our comings and goings, what events have been canceled or postponed, what remains open and what has closed.

This crisis will end, but just as assuredly, not all will return to the way it was before. Some of the changes we are experiencing now will remain part of the foundation of our future, just as they have after a Tuesday in September almost two decades ago. ì

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 17

ISRAEL PRIDE

NEWS FROM OUR JEWISH HOME

Hadas Parush/Flash90 // A nurse

in a hospital in Israel.

Israeli Firm Has New FDA-Approved Medication

A new medication for the treatment of bacterial infections was announced by the Israeli biopharmaceutical firm RedHill Biopharma Ltd. in early March. The new drug Talicia is used for the treatment of a Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria in adults that can cause ulcers and gastric cancer, The Times of Israel reported.

Today in Israeli History March 30, 1976: Demonstrations against the planned government seizure of land in the Galilee turn into riots that kill six Israeli Arabs and are commemorated annually as Land Day, the first widespread Arab protests in Israel.

March 31, 2002: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declares Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat “the enemy of the free world” after two suicide bombings in one day, including an attack that kills 16 at Haifa’s Matza restaurant.

April 1, 1925: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem officially opens on Mount Scopus, fulfilling a dream first expressed in a letter from Heidelberg University professor Herman Schapira in 1882.

April 2, 1979: Menachem Begin becomes the first Israeli prime minister to visit Egypt when he arrives in Cairo a week after signing the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.

April 3, 1994: Maj. Gen. Aharon Remez dies in Jerusalem at age 74. From July 1948 to December 1950, he served as the second commander in chief of Israel’s air force.

April 4, 1920: The Nebi Musa festival, 18 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

RedHill said that it would promote the drug to 25,000 American gastroenterologists, primary care physicians and other healthcare providers with the goal of targeting 2 million U.S. patients a year.

This is the first FDA-approved drug for this infection in over a decade, and it has achieved 90 percent efficacy in phase three trials, RedHill said. H. pylori is a leading carcinogen, the most prominent risk factor for gastric cancer, and a major contributor to peptic ulcer disease, gastritis and non-cardia gastric cancer, RedHill said. Over 50 percent of the world is affected by this bacteria and it is increasingly resistant to current antibiotics, which makes treatment difficult.

According to The Times' reporting, current antibiotic therapies fail in 30 to 40 percent of patients.

The new treatment is a fixed-dose oral capsule made by combining two antibiotics, rifabutin and amoxicillin, and a proton pump inhibitor called omeprazole.

The company was founded by Dror Ben-Asher and Ori Shilo and is based in Tel Aviv and Raleigh, N.C.

Ancient Hebrew Bible Found by Israeli Researcher

While attempting to document an Egyptian synagogue, an Israeli historian discovered a well-preserved 616-page Hebrew biblical codex from 1028 on a dusty shelf in the Karaite Moussa Der’i Synagogue. The Zechariah Ben ‘Anan Manuscript is considered one of the era’s most well-preserved and complete examples of Ketuvim, or “writings,” the third section of the Tanach. It was lost to scholars for nearly 40 years, according to the Times of Israel.

Historian Yoram Meital spent decades traveling to Egypt as a professor at BenGurion University. In July 2017, Meital was visiting Cairo as part of a Jewish community project led by the Drop of Milk organization to document the city’s synagogues. He was visiting the Moussa Der’i Synagogue, hoping to document its architecture, and discovered the manuscript. In a recent article published in the Jewish Quarterly Review, Meital said the discovery left him “overwhelmed.”

“It would be difficult to remain indif-

a pilgrimage to the site Muslims believe to be Moses’ grave near Jericho, breaks into rioting in Jerusalem’s Old City, killing five Jews and four Arabs over three days.

ferent to the beauty of this manuscript,” Meital wrote.

Rare details, including the name of the scribe, Zechariah Ben ‘Anan; the person who commissioned the manuscript; and the date of completion were all included.

Based on Ben ‘Anan’s notes, scholars know the manuscript was completed in the Jewish year 4788, or year 1028 in the Gregorian calendar. His notes also show that it was once part of a complete Hebrew Bible, but the other two sections are lost. In addition to Ketuvim, it includes 12 images of mesorah, or textual commentary.

Meital said the next step is to turn a building at Cairo’s central Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue into a library for Jewish heritage.

“We intend to take this space, to renovate it, and to open a library that will have two collections: one is something like 10,000 to 12,000 volumes that we already collected in Cairo and the second floor will be devoted to rare documents and manuscripts,” Meital said. “The jewel in the crown is the Ben ‘Anan manuscript.”

bor Party meeting, one month after the formation of Israel’s 16th government and eight days after the release of a critical report on the Yom Kippur War. April 11, 1909: Sixty-six families gather on the dunes outside Jaffa to claim their lots in the neighborhood of Ahuzat Bayit (“Homestead”), marking the founding of the first modern Jewish city, Tel Aviv.

April 12, 1951: The Knesset establishes the 27th of Nisan as Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. The post-Passover date is chosen because it is close to the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Photo by si.robi via Wikimedia Commons // Jonathan Erlich, who has won 20

professional doubles titles, remains active on the ATP Challenger Tour, the second tier of professional men’s tennis.

April 5, 1977: Tennis player Jonathan Erlich, known as Yoni, is born in Buenos Aires. His makes aliyah at age 1. He teams with fellow Israeli Andy Ram to win the Australian Open in January 2008.

April 6, 1923: Shoshana Netanyahu, who is Benjamin Netanyahu’s aunt and in 1981 becomes the second female Israeli Supreme Court justice, is born in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland).

April 7, 1977: Maccabi Tel Aviv wins its first European basketball championship by defeating the two-time defending champion Mobilgirgi Varese of Italy after upsetting CSKA Moscow in the semifinals.

A poster promotes the 1929 Palestine and Near East Exhibition in Tel Aviv.

April 8, 1929: The fourth Palestine and Near East Exhibition opens in Tel Aviv to showcase the commercial and industrial activity of the Yishuv, the Jewish area of settlement.

April 9, 1921: Yitzhak Navon, elected Israel’s fifth president in 1978, is born in Jerusalem. He fights with the Irgun and Haganah and serves in the Knesset. He dies in 2015.

April 10, 1974: Prime Minister Gold Meir announces her resignation at a La-

April 13, 1971: Prime Minister Golda Meir meets with leaders of the Black Panthers, a Mizrahi activist group fighting the discrimination felt by non-Ashkenazi Jews.

She later calls them “not nice people.”

April 14, 1871: Germany is established as an empire under Prussia’s Wilhelm I, enabling the expansion of the civil and political rights granted to Jews in 22 German states in 1869. Jews remain barred from some high-profile positions.

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

ISRAEL NEWS Netanyahu on Verge of Heading a Unity Government

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

coronavirus epidemic.

Although it seems the majority of Israeli After a shocking roller-coaster turn of voters wanted a unity government, not evevents last week, the Israeli political picture eryone was convinced by Gantz’s argument. might finally be clearing.

“A unity government is not Instead of coronavirusnecessary, unless you buy stricken Israeli voters into the fear-mongering forced to head to a fourth of Netanyahu,” stated Shai set of elections since April Robkin, an Atlantan who 2019, Prime Minister Benholds dual citizenship and jamin Netanyahu is on the has a home in Jerusalem. verge of leading his first “While there may have permanent government been those who were skepsince he called for electical of the government’s Dov Wilker said he believes tions in late 2018. Netanearly and strong actions that the unity government yahu has been heading a to combat COVID-19, no was necessary, considering the health crisis in the country. caretaker government in one doubts today that this the interim. is a serious pandemic. If the Republicans and In a move that apparently caught all Is- Democrats [in the United States] can come raelis off guard Thursday, Benny Gantz, the together so quickly on a $2 trillion rescue leader of the Blue and White party, whose package, there’s no reason to believe that you members were only unified by their agree- need a unity government in Israel to do what ment to replace Netanyahu, suddenly decid- needs to be done.” ed to join the prime minisCongregation Or Hater’s next government. dash Rabbi Mario Karpuj, In a blog he wrote for who along with his wife The Times of Israel, Gantz Rabbi Analia Bortz will explained his stunning decibe immigrating to Israel sion: “At this time of crisis, this summer, said he was I had no choice but to put shocked by Gantz’s move. politics aside and choose “I thought we were going the only path that allows us into some kind of minority to avoid fourth elections. … I government led by Gantz chose the only path which that would take Bibi out of positions Israel to effectively the picture,” he said, using Rabbi Mario Karpuz, who is fight this horrific pandemic: Netanyahu’s nickname. married to Rabbi Analia Bortz, charged that Benny Gantz the path of a national emer“Gantz has lost all has “lost all credibility.” gency government.” credibility,” Karpuj said. His While a final agreement on who will be sentiment comes after Gantz had promised named to head which ministry in the govern- that he would not sit in a government with ment had yet to be signed as of press time, it Netanyahu due to his indictment on several looked like Gantz will become the foreign criminal charges, including bribery, fraud and minister, with a promise to follow Netan- breach of trust. Netanyahu’s trial was schedyahu as prime minister uled to start in March, but in 18 months. The governafter his justice minister ment will be composed of effectively closed the court the Likud, Shas, Yamina system due to the coronaviand United Torah Judaism rus, it has been rescheduled parties, as well as about for the end of May. 15 Knesset members of Robkin acknowlGantz’s Blue and White edged that “there are those party. The rest of Blue and who are hailing Gantz as a White’s Knesset members hero, putting country over – which totaled 33 after the politics, [but] his capitulaGantz turned his back on his early March elections – will tion is a sad day for Israeli voters by entering the Netanyahu remain in the opposition. democracy. The majority government, Shai Robkin believes.

Dov Wilker, regional of Israel’s citizens said that director of the American Jewish Committee Netanyahu should no longer serve as prime in Atlanta and an Israeli citizen, told the AJT minister. That was Gantz’s singular camthat the unity government was the “only way paign issue and for him to turn his back on to protect all of Israel’s citizens” during the his voters is indefensible.” ì

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HOME & GARDEN What Makes a Home Jewish?

By Roni Robbins

remembered that. That was part of their Jewish journey.”

The family also invited guests each year to celebrate in their sukkah in Sandy Springs.

When her children were growing up, there was a shelf in their pantry marked for tzedakah. They helped their mother pick out food from the grocery store to put on the shelf and when it was full, they brought the collection to the Temple Night Shelter for Homeless Couples, now the Zaban Paradies Center for Homeless Couples. “All these Jewish experiences were meaningful to them and us.”

One of Nemo’s hobbies is collecting dreidels and Chanukiot. People often gave her such items for special occasions.

“After 10 years, I had a beautiful Judaica collection,” said Nemo, who now lives in a Buckhead condo.

“I used to open my home to Temple Sinai every year for the seventh grade class to show them our collection. They particularly loved the dreidels and asked a lot of questions, and I think they really enjoyed that.

You know that feeling when you walk into a Jewish home either before Shabbat or a Jewish holiday? You kiss the mezuzah – before the era of coronavirus – and the warm smells of challah and chicken soup, kugel and rugelach permeate the air. You listen to the Hebrew prayers and sit with the family around a dining room table surrounded by cabinets of Judaica. The sense of Judaism within those walls is palpable.

In light of the global health crisis, Jews are spending more time in their homes, which have literally become sanctuaries or safe havens from the outside world.

The AJT asked a few rabbis, a community activist, an interior designer and an education director, all with distinct decorating skills, to share what makes a Carol Nemo has an extensive collection of Chanukiah. home Jewish. They listed among the qualities of a Jewish home a strong sense of Jewish values, a place for socializing and Shabbat candles or a library of Jewish should be Jewish values, “number one, then tzedakah and tikkun olam, charity, relationship-building, meaningful Juda- books.

One of Rickles’ favorite pieces in her justice and repairing the world.” ica evoking memories of departed loved The key to Jewish values, she said, ones or family history, Jewish books and own house is an oil painting of the biblical Ruth and mother-in-law Naomi she is keeping the traditions and celebrating A Family of One ritual experiences.

For interior designer Linda Rickles, inherited from her grandmother. “I love the meaningful rituals associated with You don’t have to have a family to “creating a warm and inviting atmo- the painting and the sentiment it evokes. Shabbat and holidays. have a Jewish home, said Rabbi Josh LessNemo, the daughter of philanthro- er of Congregation Bet Haverim. He unsphere for family and friends is the most But what made my grandmother’s home enduring and effective way to create a so special was not the mezuzah on the pist William Breman, shows by example. derstands it might sound sappy but, “It’s She said she door or the SabJewish home. a Jewish heart bath candles on learned to make Meals, sustethat makes a the table, but the challah after renance and soJewish home. All warm, inviting cuperating from ciability create you need is one. atmosphere she rehab at The conversation There’s so much created for any- William Breman and dialogue emphasis on the Home one who came to Jewish between famtradition about about six years visit. … ily members having a partner, “She always ago. She was and friends. An spouse, children, invited students invited to help example of a often people can or anyone else make challah as physical object feel very lonely that needed a volunteer and that encourages when there’s a place to cel- has continued camaraderie is a only one of you.” ebrate a holiday to do it every Friround dining or Regardless to her home. Her day at the nursbreakfast table.” of family size, reputation as a ing home and Shabbat the home serves renowned inte- often at her own candles, mezuas a sancturior designer, house for Shabzot, ketubot and ary, maybe now not to mention a bat.

Jewish art “are more than ever, She recalled marvelous cook, all powerful he said. From helped add to how her parents symbols and imthe moment you her mystique. invited for Passportant remindenter a Jewish This plate was minted on the same day the Carol Nemo’s husband Bob made this bargello Georgia … Once some- over ers of our Jewish home, the mestate of Israel was established, May 14, 1948, and needlepoint wall hanging of Jerusalem. students one entered her Tech faith, heritage zuzah is a “powwith a mistaken moniker, Republic of Israel. door, they were and soldiers from Fort McPherson. “I erful reminder to leave anxiety out the and history,” the learned from them. We always had a door and be safe in the home,” he said. no longer a stranger.”

Sandy Springs resident continued. seder with four other families. As the When she designs a space for clients, “Literally we are in a time now that families grew, there were more and more the home is our sanctuary. Businesses she tries to incorporate their Judaica to Jewish Values Community activist Carol Nemo people to celebrate. Everyone looked for- have closed, restaurants. More people are create a visual effect that is warm and inviting. That may include seder plates, said the main priority of a Jewish home ward to it. … The kids grew up and they looking to the home and I think that’s a 20 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

HOME & GARDEN place of Jewembroidered ish values cloth, the conand good cept of hidJewish decidur mitzvah sionmaking. encourages He citbeautifying ed the “Ma the home. The Tovu” as a items chosen collection to include in of psalms the home tend about the to remind J e w i s h residents of home. “How “a memory or goodly are moment that your tents, O connects time Jacob, your and space This whimsical ceramic children’s menorah was This metallic tzedakah box, Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder’s biggest collection dwellings, with other used in the home of Linda Rickles’ client. a sculpture in the image of is of 1,000 cookbooks, mostly Jewish ones.

O Israel!” people and a home, belongs to one of Lesser exevents in our Linda Rickles’ clients. plained, lives that are “When our part of our ancestors lived in tents, Abraham and a Jewish home for us is the ketubah. It’s they bring to it, how they beautify it, and Jewish history.” In that way, “Judaism beSarah had a place of hospitality where the most emblematic thing, the largest other elements of Jewish culture con- comes synonymous with beautiful.” people were welcome.” piece of Jewishness. It’s in English, He- tained within. “All those things make a The items do not need be expensive For Lesser, his townhouse in Inman brew and Portuguese and we designed it home Jewish, how we treat each other in to be meaningful. In her home, she has Jewish ways and honor our parents and silver candlesticks that are a family heirPark is the sanctuary he needs to gain together.” rest and renewal, allowing him to serve If the mezuzah protects occupants care for our neighbors.” loom beside a whimsical menorah she She said the home is a sacred place, made and painted with her nieces. the Jewish people more effectively, he from what’s outside the home, Lesser said. said the ketubah offers protection inside. a mikdash me’at, in which Jews enact JewOne of the few heirlooms she has He wants to “make meaningful mo- “It reminds us how to treat each other so ish rituals and traditions. Like the Torah, from her mother’s side, most of whom adorned in silver plates and woven or died in the Holocaust, is a Pesach gefilte ments in the home, connect with ances- there’s shalom bayit, peace in the home." tors and their different sacred moments throughout their time in their homes.”

Judaism in Every Room Some of those moments, for him, inWhen Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder volve preparing Jewish food. “Last night and her husband David were looking for I made zucchini latkes. That’s my com- a home, they didn’t set out looking for fort food. The week before I made ha- one owned by Jews. They just wanted a mantashen, … I won the home with a dining room blind taste test contest” for Shabbat dinners, at the Reconstructionist she said. But when they synagogue in Toco Hills. walked in the door of this “Everyone thought it was Sandy Springs home and rigged.” noticed the Jewish art and It was the last commezuzot or holes where munity gathering before mezuzot had been, they the coronavirus confined knew this was a house congregants to their where a Jewish famhomes. “It was a way to ily had lived happily, said share hamantashen from Abusch-Magder, rabbimy home with the comin-residence and educamunity.” tion director of Be’chol Lesser described his Lashon, which advocates home as very minimalisfor Jewish diversity. Her tic compared to the home husband David is The he grew up in and his Epstein School’s head of office. Like his parents’ school. home, his office is packed “Jewish families told This whimsical mezuzah with tchotchkes, ritual us they knew this house hangs outside the entrance objects, toys, books and and had strong, wonderto a boys bedroom in the framed pictures. Meanful memories being here. home of Rickles’ client. while, his home is simThere was music and plistic. crafts and happiness and joy and cre“It’s an expression of my Jewish spir- ativity there. We really connected to this ituality even if it’s not a common choice.” house.”

Probably the most notable item of JuAbusch-Magder said there are four daica in the home is the large ketubah he elements that make a home Jewish: the designed with his husband. “What makes people who live in it, the Jewish values ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 21

HOME & GARDEN

Photo by Belle Fotos // The Schusterman

family goal is to have a home filled with Jewish books.

fish her grandmother brought from Austria. “It’s ironic because we don’t eat a lot of gefilte fish.”

For Abusch-Magder, Judaism is woven into every corner of her home.

“There’s not a room in my house that doesn’t have a Jewish artifact in it. They range from books to ritual items to artwork to memorabilia. Everywhere you

22 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Among other unusual items in Abusch-Magder’s Jewish collection is a box of sugar packets with pictures of Zionists on each one.

see Jewish in my home. It’s an expression of the many ways Judaism plays out in my life.”

Her biggest collection is of 1,000 cookbooks, mostly Jewish ones. In research for her dissertation for a doctorate at Yale University on “home-made Judaism,” Jewish home life, she learned that immigrants used cookbooks to in-

This original oil painting, “Ruth and Naomi,” from her grandmother’s home hangs in Linda Rickles’ family room.

struct them how to perform such home- at home, parents have an opportunity to maker skills as using appliances and set- teach their children about their own family identity and heritage and “how they ting the table.

Among other unusual items in her survived Jewishly and how it impacted the Jewish collection is a box of sugar packets family, how the family kept Judaism alive.”

Among the other ingredients for a with pictures of Zionists on each one; a framed poster of the women of the House- Jewish home are observing kashrut, enwives League of Germany; a plate minted couraging charity and following family on the same day the state of Israel was es- purity laws, she said.

“People worry about the rest of the tablished, May 14, 1948, with its mistaken moniker, Republic of Israel; and a framed world, but charity begins in the home, in the kitchen” and stained by having a tzematzah cover dakah box in her husband’s which to place grandmother coins each day. and great-grand“My chilmother used. dren, before “By framing they even knew it and putting it what a nickel, behind glass we dime or quarter are paying homwas, knew coins age to David’s are tzedakah. family and the It elevates all women and the of your money work they did when you give to make their some of it to tzehome beautiful.”

A round dining or breakfast table creates a warm and inviting atmosphere allowing family and dakah.” friends to mingle, the most enduring and effective People want Time for Books way to create a Jewish home, Rickles said. to do Jewishly: and Stories Dena Schusterman’s ideal home has light Shabbat candles in the kitchen, so many Jewish books “it evicts us from gather with people for holidays, which our own house,” said the founding direc- means right now with our family.” She tor of Chabad Intown Jewish Preschool listed some of the traditional foods preand Intown Hebrew School. She is also pared in the kitchen, including latkes, hamantashen, “any Jewish recipe passed the wife of Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman.

The home is the bedrock of our Juda- from grandparents infuses a home with ism, Dena said, and a Jewish home should Yiddishkeit,” the rebbetzin said.

By incorporating these aspects into have at least one chumash, the Torah or Jewish home life, Judaism becomes “inFive Books of Moses, and commentary.

Dena is a “big proponent of unsani- fused through the entire home. We actutized Jewish stories, stories about our an- ally were instructed to create a mishkan, cestors, digging into stories from the Baal tabernacle, in our home. What better Shem Tov, the Talmud.” With more time time than now to do it?” ì

HOME & GARDEN

Gardening That Teaches More Than One Way to Grow

By Bob Bahr

named after it.

For Rabbi David Seidenberg, whose authoritative book “Kabbalah and EcolFor a dedicated group of gardeners ogy” was published five years ago, there is at Temple Emanu-El, the spring holiday no more important relationship than the of Passover takes on special meaning. Not one we have with nature and the land. only can they look forward to celebrating “It says in the second chapter of Gena holiday of renewal and freedom, they can esis that we are to serve the land, not the start to work again in the synagogue garland to serve us; that creation itself needed den that always comes to life after the chill us to fill that role,” he said in a phone conof winter. versation with the AJT. They are continuing to work in their Every major holiday in Judaism, he garden during the health crisis but are doobserved, is intimately connected to the ing so with care and safety. cycles of the land. That The garden project is particularly the case originated 15 years ago with the Passover spring when temple congreholiday. gants were challenged “Liberation is conby guest speaker Bill nected with spring. And Bolling, who founded that makes sense,” Raband ran the Atlanta bi Seidenberg pointed Community Food Bank out.

“It makes sense on a for many years, to do psychological level, on a something as individuspiritual level, on a mysals about the problem of tical level, on a metahunger in America. physical level. When Temple Emanu-El’s we celebrate Passover, answer is its “Garden of we’re also celebrating Isaiah,” named after the moving into the time Hebrew prophet who of growth and spiritual implored Israel toward aliveness and being part the end of his biblical of the natural world. message to “feed the “Kabbalah and Ecology” by Rabbi And that’s why in some hungry and help those in David Seidenberg explores the observant homes it’s a trouble. Then your light important relationship between custom to read the Song will shine out from the Judaism and the natural world. of Songs at the seder.” darkness.”

During the last decade there’s been a The congregational garden, which takes up what was once a rarely used cor- renewed interest in Jewish communal garner of the synagogue’s parking lot, has in- dens. The JCC Association of North Amerideed become a “light” for the dozen or so ca has asked member JCCs to establish and expand community gardens as part of a congregants who work there.

The temple’s president, Robert Witten- healthy food and hunger-relief initiative.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atstein, maintains that the effort has done lanta has also been more than just grow supportive of the comfood for those in need. munity movement over “The Garden of Isathe past several years. It iah has become sort of has made Camp Ramah a bedrock for our social Darom, the Conservative action at Temple Emamovement’s youth camp nu-El,” he says. “It’s both and retreat center in the something we do to help North Georgia mounour community, but it’s tains, part of their Jewish also something that alFarming Initiative. lows our members to Jewish environbe more connected to mental programs are the synagogue and conpart of year-round pronected to each other.” grams for adults and In the Torah, the Beth Mazur harvests potatoes young people. The faJewish connection to the in the Garden of Isaiah. cility grows some of its land and how it sustains us is an integral part of our religious teach- own food on a 185-acre site. It has apple, ing. The first man in the creation story of plum and pear trees that are just beginning Genesis, Adam, came from the earth, which to bloom. Soon the camp’s herb seedlings in Hebrew is called “adamah,” and he is will be transplanted outdoors.

For religious thinkers like Rabbi Seidenberg, such education is crucial if we are to survive all the ecological challenges we face.

“If we don’t change how we think about the world and how we live in the world and with the world, we’re not going to overcome it through technology,” he maintains. “So that was our ancestors’ position also. This is not a technological problem. It’s a spiritual problem. How do you cope? How do you create a great relationship with the earth?”

The gardeners at Temple Emanu-El believe they’ve found one way to create a great relationship and to help others as they dig into the soil earnestly, again, in the weeks before Passover.

Last year, the most successful year for the temple garden, over 1,500 pounds of produce was grown. This year they are looking for another bumper crop, while at the same time working, individually, to boost local food distribution programs in the community, such as the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Community Assistance Center and Malachi’s Storehouse.

Wittenstein, who’s become an expert

One week’s harvest from Temple Emanu-El’s garden.

potato grower, feels the garden has taught some valuable lessons.

“Not only do we deliver fresh vegetables every week to those who need it, it’s sharpened our whole synagogue's approach to dealing with hunger in the community.” ì

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HOME & GARDEN

Engaging Community by Digging in the Dirt

By Flora Rosefsky

the memorial garden on AA’s west It’s not only entrance, where landscapers who six fountains were come to mind placed in the pond when congregants in front of the Hoof Congregation locaust memorial Ahavath Achim area naming sevthink of who reeral of the death pairs, maintains camps and conand beautifies the centration camps. gardens of the The same Greening Buckhead synaGroup undertook gogue. It’s a group The Daffodil Projof synagogue volect of Am Yisrael unteers, including Chai, which brings Myrtle Lewin, a families together white-haired womin late fall to plant Photos by Myrtle Lewin // English ivy has AA gardeners include Brenda Silverman, AA daffodil garden in bloom. an with sunglasses, daffodil bulbs. been removed from the base of the tree.

Barry Fields and Myrtle Lewin. wearing a largePlaced at the synabrimmed hat, pergogue’s side entry haps donning a T-shirt with a message to ing Group along with planning and help- ing in the earth with my hands feels area, this garden is planted in memory plant trees. of children who died in the Holocaust. ing to maintain several areas situated in more like a few minutes.”

After Lewin’s retirement as a math- what the AA website calls “an urban forWith her own interest in plantings, This past fall, 250 new bulbs were added, ematics professor at Agnes Scott College est setting.” trees and sustainable gardens, Lewin and so that this garden now contains 2,700 in Decatur, this avocational environment Lewin tells the AJT that digging in many like-minded AA members have bulbs. activist started gardening initiatives at the dirt for her is a form of meditation, been doing this work, and creating com“It’s a wonderful idea. The bulbs reAhavath Achim. She chairs AA’s Green- where “the four or five hours spent work- munity, over the course of more than generate, make babies, … deep messages of survival here.” eight years.

Lewin told the AJT that she, along “The first task we worked on was the with other AA members, supplement forest – removing invasives from several what she calls the “blow, mow and go hundred trees. English ivy and some poigardeners,” the professional crew who son ivy had totally enveloped many trees. come weekly to maintain AA’s grounds It was to control the ivy that we got the and gardens. goats. They ate all the accessible green In addition to her AA garden efstuff so that we could get into the area Top 1% of Coldwell Banker Internationally, Certified Negotiator, forts and being a climate change activist, without having to climb over a jungle; Luxury, New Homes and Corporate Relocation Specialist Lewin has worked with Trees Atlanta for this also made it easier to avoid spiders, Voted Favorite Jewish Realtor in AJT, Best of Jewish Atlanta over 20 years by planting trees, which in snakes etc., but the goats do not remove her words, “is to improve Atlanta’s urthe roots, or kill the plants. That’s why ban canopy.”

Under Lewin’s leadership, we had to go in by hand when they were there have been eight Tu B’Shevat tree done.” plantings with participation from synaLewin further explains that these gogues, day schools, Hillels and others forest area trees “are largely in what we from across the city.

At the most recent call the ’ravine:’ that huge area on the Tu B’ Shevat tree planting Feb. 9, about west of the lower parking lot up the steep 120 people planted 81 trees. hill to the synagogue building. But there Lewin hopes that “the broad prinare also dozens of trees all along Northciples of sustainable gardening used – inside Drive and elsewhere. We are not cluding maintenance of the tree canopy done. We worked on this intensely for – will influence others in their practices.” maybe two years.”

The inspiration for Lewin’s gardenIn 2013, Lewin and AA volunteers ing and environmental work often comes started to restore the grounds on both from Jewish text, such as words from Misides leading to AA’s main entrance. A drash: “Take heed not to damage or debrown, mostly barren area leading to the • Location -Location – Close to Hospitals, • Updated Kitchen that HGTV Fans Will stroy My world, for if you damage it, there main front entrance was transformed to Mercedes, UPS, Shops & Dining Love is no one to make it right after you.”

She become a perennial garden using large • Gorgeous Open Plan, High Ceilings & • Level Backyard with Patio and told the AJT that “It is passages like this leafy plants and shrubs. The group, acGreat Flow Peaceful Waterfall cording to Lewin, “weeded out tons of that tell me that my sensibilities about direct 404.250.5311 | office 404.252.4908 overgrown ivy, removed rocks and other the land, and what we can grow, how we Follow Us On Facebook debris.” She calls this space the Golden need to care for it and protect it, and how Debbie@SonenshineTeam.com | www.SonenshineTeam.com Doors garden, pointing to the large heavy the land can yield its fruit, all have deep ©2018 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Jewish roots. This is central to my view of gold metal doors at AA’s main entrance.

Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Operated By a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. The Greening Group landscaped tikkun olam, to repairing the world.” ì

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HOME & GARDEN

Dramatic Gardens in a Container

By Flora Rosefsky

luxuriant look? Do you prefer clusters of pots or larger, single ones?” The goal is to As a young girl from South Africa’s provide a beautiful view. tropical Miami-like city of Durban, EuSeveral years ago, Cohn had a very gene Cohn grew up amidst colorful, large elderly but spritely client who lived in multicolored flowers and oversized green an assisted living high-rise. She could no leafy trees in her family’s backyard garden. longer travel the world and longed for a Living in that environment, Cohn said she sophisticated and colorful garden on her learned to appretiny porch to give ciate how outdoor herself a beautigardens added ful view. Cohn beauty to her said a small scale home for which Versailles garher mother deden of miniature signed the garden boxwood hedges, plantings and her topiary trees and father’s specialty brilliant flowers was growing or“gave the woman chids. many years of deAfter settling light as she sat by in Atlanta in the her kitchen table 1970s, instead looking out onto of continuing the burst of color her career path that brought back of being a certisuch happy memfied high school ories of her trips English and histo France.” Cohn tory teacher, Cohn remembered how gravitated toward the client was very The focal point on a pool terrace developing a new proud to have becomes dramatic. business in 1996 the most beautiplanting gardens in large containers for ful balcony in the building, with the lime Atlanta clients using flowers, trees and green trailing vines being very visible from shrubs local to the Georgia climate. the parking lot.

Cohn said she noticed that most Cohn believes that gardens in containAtlanta homeers can be easy to owners wanted maintain even for beautiful yards the beginner garthat were easy to dener. She said it’s maintain with very important to colorful and drause the right size matic flowerpots container, large to highlight varienough so that the ous parts of their plants, trees and home, whether it flowers can retain be the porch, the enough water entrance, the pool, through our area’s or as a feature in long hot summers. the yard.

“Too many people Before workuse the wrong size ing with a client, pot or container Cohn spends time for their porch asking questions flowers.” about what kind According to of look they would Cohn, the most exenjoy. She told the pensive purchase A garden in a window box AJT that questions is the container enhances a garage entry. could be “When itself, followed by you come up your driveway, what would the topiary tree, flowers and ivy. She told give you pleasure to see?” or “When sitting the AJT that once the container garden is in your kitchen having a meal and look- put together, the maintenance need not be ing out onto your patio/deck, what colors difficult. would make you happy? Do you prefer a A tree or small shrub can stay healthy neat classical style or a more abundant, outdoors year-round. The only replace-

ment would be to purchase annuals to plant each season around the base of the tree. Cohn also recommended planting herbs and cherry tomatoes mixed in with the flowers for added fun. She said that gardening in Atlanta is all about buying the right plants for the amount of sun they will have during the heat of the afternoon.

In her own home, Cohn said she arranged her yard in such a way that from every bedroom there is a specific view and focal point. The view from the kitchen reveals a hint of a hacienda with stucco arches, blue flowerpots, pink and orange flowers, and a rug to match. The focal point, at the back of the yard beyond the pool, is a 6-foot-tall pot that contains plantings of a 10-foot red maple tree and flowers with a semi-circle of boxwood hedges around it.

She likes to buy large pots from AW Pottery in Chamblee, which she said makes a wonderful outing. “Ideally, container gardens should be hooked up to a sprinkler system to take the stress out of watering.” But she understands that’s not always possible.

Affectionately called “The Container Lady” by satisfied clients and friends, Cohn’s newest venture, when she is not

Photos by Eugene Cohn // Eugene

Cohn selects orchids.

busy planting, is taking oil painting lessons. The painting subjects are no surprise: flowers and landscapes, or perhaps replications of favorite gardens she remembers so well from her life in tropical Durban. ì

Mazal Tov Ryan Diamond Harris Jacobs

from The Weber School ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 25

Duane Stork Photography// Siegel curated this collection of wood soldiers from South

Africa and Malawi when he was on the board of UNICEF.

Chai Style Homes

Siegel chills in his study with chocolate lab Duke.

From the Art World to a Brand New World

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

Spielberg, hydrogen and oxygen. The ever-clever wordsmith, Reiman said, “In our case one 1=1 = 11.”

We caught up with them between skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, and film production in Germany and Austria.

Read more about these two in this week’s Lowdown feature.

Meanwhile, take a tour of the Siegel collection.

We caught up for a corporate tete-a-tete with Brad Siegel and Joey Reiman at Siegel’s Buckhead brownstone, which has the feel of a Mediterranean villa. Siegel and Reiman co-founded New World Studios. Both are master marketers, producers and storytellers whose partnership culminated in the production of films that articulate Jaffe: How would you describe what art how businesses can make more money while is speaking here? achieving purpose.

Siegel: I would call it an assemblage of a Reiman is a prolific author, Emory prolifestyle of collecting based purely on what my fessor and advertising guru who sold his piowife Jill and I love. neering global consultancy BrightHouse in A good bit of the quality photography is 2015. “Years ago I started the tsunami of busitied into the music specials I produced includnesses making money to improve lives. Now ing TNT’s “All Star Tribute to Burt Bacharach” everyone wants to know the ‘why.’” as well as tributes to John Lennon and The Siegel is president of Turner EntertainBeach Boys’ Bryan Wilson at Radio City Music ment Networks for TBS, where he created Marcia Hall.

Turner Classic Movies and launched Adult Caller Jaffe In the family room we have black and Swim. He had a raucous and varied career inwhite photography of Johnny Cash, Bob Marcluding starting a gospel music channel in 2004. In a 2008 ley, Brian Wilson, James Brown, Thelonious Monk, my story in The Wall Street Journal, Siegel said cable company friend David Sanborn, jazz saxophonist, and the very telling operators and potential advertisers wondered, “What’s a group shot of the cast from the last episode of “Seinfeld.” nice Jewish boy like you doing in a place like this [gospel industry]?”Not to mention that he was president of WashJaffe: What are some of the other spectacular shows ington, D.C., based “TV One” channel for African Americans. you have produced?

Siegel and Reiman are somewhere between Lucas and Siegel: I did four shows at The White House you may 26 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

have heard of, …”Very Special Christmas” as well as tributes to Ray Charles and gospel music.

Jaffe: What artists do you collect?

Siegel: That’s a wide swath. The entrance displays a collection of wood soldiers from South Africa and Malawi when I was on the board of UNICEF. Many are local like Radcliffe Bailey, an African American mixed-media artist whose works are in the permanent collect at the Smithsonian and Metropolitan museums, Helen Durant, Ab the Flagman, who started as Fay Gold’s installer, and Steve Penley, who just opened a gallery blocks from here.

Local artist Tracey Hartley creates furniture from salvaged and recycled materials that have a distressed and primitive feel known as “urban southern art.” We commissioned him to jazz up the fantastical piano that was a boring old- fashioned eyesore brown wood number from my wife Jill’s childhood. We like that this is all in the front brick floored lobby atrium with dramatically high ceilings and an open-air feeling, to be able to place exciting vertical art compositions.

A few pieces like Joe Peragine’s “Rabbit” are from the Trinity School art auction.

Jaffe: What are some of the unusual works here?

Siegel: In the living room we treasure this huge David

CHAI STYLE The Einstein and John Lennon sketches are

by Israeli artist Ketti Camus acquired in Safed, the northern art colony in Israel.

The living room is commanded by this large original David Bierk, a Canadian who reimagines Old Masters. This one is Vermeer and is bordered in rust.

Bierk bordered in actual dusted rust. Bierk, a Canadian, is an appropriator of Old Masters, in this case Vermeer. The opposite wall houses a large Tom Murphy “Wedding Dress.”

The cobalt blue Radcliffe Bailey is a reclaimed door from a legendary blues artist’s house in New Orleans.

The pair of encaustics in my office is by Tony Hernadez who had an emotional reckoning with the Holocaust when he found out that his Spanish ancestors were indeed Jewish. You can see the numbers on their arms, the trains, the children. He has also done iconic album covers for the rock band Train.

The dining room furniture is Philippe Starck, known for his minimalistic and ergonomic style. The oil is by Spanish painter Astolfo Funes.

We have a fun diptych from our trip to Israel by Ketti Camus ( October 2017) of a goofy Albert Einstein and John Lennon. The Camus Gallery there, “Art & Soul,” represents 18 generations of Safed sabras.

I was gifted this Mike Luckovich (Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) stand up of Paul McCartney playing the guitar by my friend Rob Epstein.

The Siegel dining room has furniture by Philippe Starck. The painting is by Astolfo Funes.

Crimson Helen Durants line the stairs and are composed of wine bottle labels depicting dogs and goats.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 27

CHAI STYLE This master bedroom oil is by Vancouver, B.C., artist Tina Thompson and one of the first pieces the couple bought together.

The Siegel atrium has a brick floor and a mixture of folk art. The piano was painted by local artist Tracey Hartley. The Paul McCartney stand up is by AJC Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich. The wood sculpture above, center, is by Ab the Flagman.

The series of Helen Durant’s going up the staircase utilizes a lot of crimson and canine frivolity and is composed of wine labels. She is typically known for her depiction of animals.

Jaffe: Sentimental things?

Siegel: Our kids, Casey, Jake and Griffin, did the blue dog triptych in the folk art room. Pretty special and authentic looking. The painting in the master bedroom of the older ladies having tea has a fun history. When Jill and I were just married, we were short on money, but knew we wanted that painting. We bought it on a monthly pay plan over a few years. The gallery owner is Israeli

war correspondent Jacob Elbaz.

Jaffe: What about you as a gourmet chef?

Siegel: I am a devotee of Frank Pellegrino, the famous New York Italian restaurateur of the notorious Carmine’s.

My favorite guide is “Rao’s Cookbook” based on the 100-yearold eponymous 10-table restaurant in east Harlem.

I make an outrageous pasta Italian seafood stew and linguine vongole.

Jaffe: If you could wake up tomorrow and find one thing in your living room, what would it be?

Siegel: A box of hand-rolled Alec Bradley cigars. ì

The lower level patio is a place for Jill and Brad Siegel to relax away from the hubbub of the city.

Radcliffe Bailey, an African American mixed-media artist, made this piece from a reclaimed door in New Orleans. Bailey has works in the Smithsonian.

28 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

The Lowdown I Bet You Didn’t Know …

Joey Reiman and Brad Siegel Atlanta is chock full of interesting movers and shakers, some bent on creativity, empire building, activism, and some on just plain having fun and living the good life. Lean in to hear some of the off the cuff remarks about what makes the partnership of Joey Reiman and Brad Siegel tick.

Over a year after co-founding Brand New World Studios, these two legendary moguls are working with Fortune 500 companies to align their messages through films that dovetail with one of the 17 U.N. Millennium Development Goals carrying the power to heal the ills of society.

“Instead of making 30-second TV commercials, our clients are investing in films, short and feature-length, that don’t come and go. They come and stay,” Reiman said.

“Currently projects include a documentary about the Swarovski family ’The Crystal Empire;’ a full-length feature film about the race for the electric car, ’The Lightning Men;’ and an Astro-fantasy trilogy called ’Earthstars.’”

Siegel weighed in.

“SunTrust Bank commissioned us to develop a film ‘Summer Camp’

about a woman who had it all, lost it all and got a second chance to regain her confidence by going back 20 years to summer camp where it all started.”

Reiman and Siegel have worked with poet laureates, ballerinas and business giants to speak out on topics from climate change and the arts, to the plight of refugees.

These two buddies know how to laugh at themselves while tending to the work and potential of changing the world. All from Buckhead.

Move over Tyler Perry.

How did you and Brad meet?

Reiman: In the early ‘90s, Brad was running Turner Entertainment Networks and I had just opened BrightHouse, the world’s first purpose consultancy.

We had a mutual interest in film and telling stories that would have a positive impact on the world.

divide, we multiply. The two of us together create a wellspring of ideas that turn into movies.

What do you and Joey “disagree” about and how is it resolved?

Siegel: Where to eat lunch. Whoever is hungrier wins.

What you don’t know about each other is…

Reiman: Our astrological compatibility chart.

Who comes up with ideas? How does the creative process work?

Siegel: Ideas come from three places: my head, Joey’s heart

and other screenwriters and directors from around the world.

What would be an ideal next project if you could land something incredible?

Reiman: An Oscar-winning documentary about the reimagination of the corporation, placing business in the evolved position to inspire and guide the world.

Share a secret.

Siegel: We are working with the Alliance Theatre to mount our musical “12” for the 22-23 season.

Atlanta is the film capital of the world!

We have more studio space than anywhere in the world. But most content is developed outside of Atlanta and only brought here for “manufacturing.” We are changing that.

How do you divide who does what?

Reiman: We don’t

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 29

PASSOVER RECIPES Passover Desserts Submitted by Sheryl Westerman

Strawberry Ice Sorbet

Servings: About 14 This is so easy and a real refreshing dessert after a big seder meal. It’s easy and light. Amazing with so few ingredients how this recipe multiplies.

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 egg whites, room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon extract 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Combine all ingredients. Beat for 15 minutes in an electric mixer until fluffy.

Freeze overnight.

Passover Meringues

¾ cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until peaks form. Add sugar into the egg white whites, very slowly, 1 teaspoon at a time. Gently stir in vanilla and

salt. Beat until egg whites are stiff and shiny.

Drop mixture by level tablespoons, or pipe through a pastry bag, onto the sheets. Turn off the oven, place the meringues in the oven and leave them for a few hours or overnight.

Serve with pareve rich whip, which has been well beaten to resemble whipped cream, and mixed berries. ì

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PASSOVER RECIPES

Fabulous Passover Banana Pesach Pizza Sponge Cake Submitted by Carol Nemo This has been our family’s fave for generations!

1 cup matzo cake meal ¼ cup potato starch 1 ½ cups sugar ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup peanut oil 8 large eggs, separated, left at room temperature 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas (about 4 bananas) 2 teaspoons lemon zest Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine cake meal, potato starch, sugar and salt in mixer. Make well in the center and add in order: oil, egg yolks, bananas, lemon zest.

Beat about 5 minutes. Beat egg whites until VERY stiff. Pour egg mixture over whites slowly, and fold into the mixture just until blended. It’s OK if a little of the whites show.

Submitted by Carol Nemo

Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (not Bundt) and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. May take longer, depending on oven.

Remove from oven and invert on a Coke bottle until fully cool. ì

6 matzah boards Spaghetti or marinara sauce Mushrooms Onions Zucchini Spinach Red Pepper Broccoli Tomatoes (remove seeds so not too watery) Salt Pepper Garlic powder Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a large baking sheet with sides. Mine is 12 by 18 inches. Dampen whole matzot (about 6 boards) and place touching each other.

Pour on your favorite bottled spaghetti or marinara sauce, then top with your favorite vegetables: mushrooms, onions, zucchini, spinach, red pepper, broccoli, tomatoes (remove seeds so not too watery), salt, pepper and garlic powder. Fill up each matzah board with whatever ingredients you want to put on it.

Top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese and bake until nicely golden brown. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of olive oil if desired. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 31

PASSOVER RECIPES

Passover From the East

By Martine Tartour

If the Tishrei high holiday festivities are under the signs of forgiveness and repentance, Passover comes with greenery and the smell of the spring blossoming. So Passover recipes from Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco are full of green, vegetables and perfumes of mint, coriander, cumin and the like.

Lamb Stew with Matzah

Passover Forma Servings: 8

Finger Cakes Servings: 24 The Jewish community of Tunisia is one of the oldest in the diaspora. For Pesach, the ritual of the seder plate is unique. It is covered with a beautiful scarf and the family sings as the plate arrives at the table. Before the ceremony starts, the seder plate is placed on a child’s head and then rotated seven times, and the child receive one of these finger cakes.

Servings: 12 This is not just a lamb stew; it is much more. It is a family affair. In order to cut up to 30 different vegetables in small pieces, you need to gather everyone. It is a moment of sharing and joyful conversations in the kitchen. This Algerian and Tunisian Jewish recipe celebrates Pesach but also the upcoming spring.

This dish is a full meal.

1 pound lamb shanks and 1 pound lamb shoulder 1 pound spinach 2 white onions, chopped 2 leeks 1 head iceberg lettuce 4 carrots 3 turnips 3 zucchini 1 parsnip 2 potatoes 1 fennel bulb 1/2 pound fava beans 1/2 pound peas 3 artichokes 32 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

2 sticks celery with leaves 6 cloves garlic 1 board matzah 1 bouquet each of fresh dill, coriander, mint, flat parsley 1 tablespoon harissa paste, optional 1 tablespoon each of salt, pepper, turmeric and sweet paprika.

4 tablespoons sunflower oil We chose only 15 varieties of vegetables, but you can be more generous.

Wash thoroughly. Cut vegetables into small pieces.

In a large cooking pot, fry chopped onions and crushed garlic in oil until golden. Add the lamb, salt, pepper, harissa, turmeric and sweet paprika and sear for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add water to cover the meat.

Cook 1 hour minimum on medium heat. Check the meat, keep cooking it if needed, and add water if it is too dry.

Add all the vegetables and herbs.

Cook for 45 minutes.

Serve with one matzah crumbled over the top.

2 cups potato starch 2 cups matzah flour 3 eggs 1 ½ cups sugar 1 egg 4 ounces raw, unpeeled almonds, chopped 2 tablespoons oil, any type Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all the ingredients and knead with your hands for a short time into a hard dough.

Divide the dough into 2 parts and with each one, form a log. Place the logs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or with a silicone mat. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the logs from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Place a log on a cutting board and using a sharp, serrated knife, cut it diagonally into ½-inch slices.

Put the cookies back on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Tunisian Jews eat kitniyot (products such as legumes, rice and corn) during Passover. The starch in the Passover forma is rice, which has been carefully picked over and cleaned to make sure that there is no chametz in it. Those of you who don’t eat kitniyot during Passover may substitute the rice in the recipe for boiled, diced potatoes or matzah farfel.

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup cooked brown rice 2 pounds chicken breast 4 eggs 6 boiled eggs 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 bouquet parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and black pepper Fry the garlic and onions for a few minutes in 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then quickly add the chicken in pieces.

Cover with boiling water, add salt and pepper and parsley and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Leave to cool for one hour. Cook 4 eggs until hard. Set aside and leave to cool for a few hours.

Reserve the cold chicken in a plate and bone by crumbling it. Cut the hardboiled eggs into small pieces (8).

Cook the rice. Rinse in cold water.

While cold, mix well the raw eggs, crumbled chicken, rice and hard-boiled eggs. Coat a pan with olive oil. Pour in the preparation.

Cook 1 hour. Check until it is firm like a cake. Serve cold with a salad. ì

PASSOVER RECIPES

Matzo Farfel Kugel

Keftes de Pescado Tomate

(Fish Patties Simmered in Tomato Sauce)

Submitted by Suzanne Hanein Submitted by Sandy Bailey Topping ½ cup pecans 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Base 3 eggs ¼ cup sugar 2 cups matzo farfel 2 cups creamed cottage cheese 1 cup sour cream ½ cup melted margarine ½ cup apricot preserves ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together topping ingredients and set aside.

Beat eggs until light and fluffy and add sugar. Then beat the mixture until thick.

Soak the farfel in water and squeeze out all the water. Add eggs to the farfel with the cottage cheese, sour cream, margarine, apricot preserves, vanilla and raisins. Mix gently and pour into a greased baking dish.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add the topping before serving. ì

Fish is a big part of Mediterranean cuisine and is used in many of our dishes. During Passover, this dish is quick and easy to prepare. Serve it with rice, if your observance permits, or with a grain of your choosing.

2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans tuna or salmon, drained and shredded 1/4 cup matzo meal 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind 1 grated onion 1 minced garlic clove Pinch of cumin Salt

Pepper Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and shape into 10 flat cakes. Fry in hot vegetable oil until well browned on both sides.

Tomato Sauce: 1 small can tomato sauce 1 cup water Juice of one lemon Salt Pepper Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, then pour the sauce over the fish patties and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, basting once or twice. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 33

PASSOVER RECIPES

Apricot Squares

Passover Brick Cookies

Submitted by Flora Rosefsky

Submitted by Flora Rosefsky First cousins Hilde Schwartz of Texas and Marion Cohen of New York grew up in Hamburg, Germany, and emigrated to America in the late 1930s with their parents just before the gates closed for Jews to leave. They shared this family favorite Passover cookie recipe with my daughter Ellen Cohen, Marion’s daughter-in-law, who then shared the recipe with me. Not being an experienced baker myself, I remember my mother once telling me that if you can read a recipe, you can bake or cook. I took her advice and made this delicious Passover dessert. The squares do freeze well. My suggestion for the novice baker: take out the butter to let it stand a couple of hours to become soft.

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks) 2 egg yolks 1 cup sugar 2 cups sifted matzah cake meal (when not made for Passover, use flour) 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 1 teaspoon vanilla 13-ounce jar of Bonne Maman apricot preserves ¼ cup lemon juice Preheat oven to 325 F. Using a Mixmaster or portable electric mixer, combine first six ingredients to make the dough.

Combine lemon juice with apricot preserves and set aside in a bowl.

Spread ¾ of the dough on the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch jelly roll pan, going to the edges of the pan.

Bake the dough for 20 minutes.

Take out of pan and spread the apricot-lemon juice mixture on top.

Take the rest of the dough, about ¼ left, which should be crumbly, and sprinkle on the top of the apricot-lemon juice mixture.

Bake another 25 minutes.

When cool, cut into squares. (Hilde likes making the squares large, about “2 fingers” wide). ì 34 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

These cookies are the family favorite Passover dessert of cousin Judy Lizzack. Her husband Larry loves to eat them year-round, so Judy brought a large freezer bag of them on a family timeshare apartment vacation, where we also happened to be staying, and served the cookies to us.

With today’s protocol to stay home or to avoid groups, staying 6 feet away from people during the COVID-19 virus pandemic, I was able to buy a few of the ingredients at The Spicy Peach in Toco Hill, where I pre-ordered the matzah farfel, matzah meal and chopped nuts online.

Someone came out to my car at a predetermined time and put the bag in my car.

This gave me the opportunity to bake these crunchy cookies that resembled bricks on a weekday afternoon. I froze them in a Ziploc plastic bag to be ready for this year’s Passover holiday.

The recipe makes 6 dozen small cookies, with a consistency like a good oatmeal cookie. You can add small chocolate chips if you want a sweeter taste. The spiral bound vintage cookbook, “From Manna to Mousse,” published in 1969 by Sisterhood Congregation Beth El in New London, Conn. was the book Judy originally used for the recipe. The cookbook was reissued by Dell Publishing in 1972.

Servings: About 6 dozen cookies.

2 cups matzah farfel 2 cups matzah meal 1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup dark raisins 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or other), optional 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon cinnamon (my cousin uses more) ½ teaspoon salt 2/3 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs ¼ cup orange juice (no pulp) or apple juice 2 tablespoons sweet Manischewitz wine (she uses more so that cookies are not too dry) Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients.

Beat in the eggs and oil. Add wine and juices and mix well.

Use parchment paper on top of cookie sheets so that the cookie bottoms don’t get black or burned, as the cookies should be a dark brown when they’re done.

Use a teaspoon to form the dough into cookies. There should be about 12 cookies per tray.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them; you want them to be darkish brown and crispy. You can use two baking pans on different racks, to yield 24 cookies total. Repeat this process until dough is used. When done, remove the baked cookies from pans and serve on platter or plate.

Cool and freeze in freezer bags. Good eaten while still frozen. ì

PASSOVER RECIPES

Persian Jewish Flavors

By Paula Baroff Iranian Jewish seders follow Sephardic custom with some distinct flavors. “We are allowed to have rice and beans, but not chickpeas or green peas,” said Farah Lalehzarzadeh, an immigrant from Iran who lives in Atlanta. She explained that her parents told her they cannot eat anything that gets bigger, similar to how bread leavens.

Among the most interesting aspects of Iranian and other Sephardic seders are the green onions laid out on the table. When it comes time to sing “Dayenu,” guests gently hit each other with the green onions to mimic whipping during slavery. “It’s so fun with the green onion! We wash it, we nicely put it on the table.

We just try to have fun,” Lalehzarzadeh said.

Another custom is putting out walnuts on the seder table, she said. The night before, the whole walnuts are soaked in the shells, and the night of the seder, they are put on the table for those gathered to eat.

Lalehzarzadeh was excited to describe Persian charoset. Distinct from Ashkenazi charoset, which is commonly made from apples, nuts and spices, the charoset she makes largely consists of dates. “It is so yummy and very heavy,” she said. “We grind all the nuts – almonds, pistachios, cashews – and sesame.

And then we put wine, and we put dates, and we put raisins. And a little water also.” It’s a joke between Iranians how delicious and strong the charoset is, she said. “It just tastes so good!”

The rest of the seder is essentially the same as Ashkenazi traditions, Lalehzarzadeh said. However, Iranian Jews are allowed to eat grains Ashkenazim can’t, such as rice. Lalehzarzadeh provided a popular Persian steamed rice dish with a stew to put on your seder table for Jews who are able to eat rice on Passover; otherwise, it is an excellent recipe to try out at a different time. The fried potatoes covered in saffron water are extremely tasty and sure to be a hit.

If the stew is too watery, let it cook down until it thickens.

Fry the eggplant until cooked and then add to the stew.

Persian Rice, or Tahdig 3 cups basmati rice 1 potato Salt Water Optional: dried dill, green peas, saffron Fill a medium-sized pot with water and let it boil with a little salt. Wash and drain the rice and add it to the boiled saltwater.

Let the rice boil for 7 to 10 minutes, so it is slightly soft with a crunchy center.

Drain the rice in a strainer and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process.

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat until it warms and add 1 cup of hot water.

Slice the peeled potato into thin coins and layer the slices at the bottom of the pot.

Add all of the rice. If desired, alternate layers of rice with green peas and dried dill.

Turn the temperature to low. Cover the pot with a paper tower and put the lid over it.

Cook for about one hour at a low temperature.

Tahdig is a popular Persian rice dish that can be eaten on Passover, in households where permitted, or year-round.

When finished, flip the pot onto a serving platter.

There should be a crunchy crust of potatoes and rice.

If desired, mix ground saffron with a little hot water and pour over rice. ì

Persian Stew with Green Beans and Eggplant 1 package of beef or any kind of red meat (about 15 medium-sized pieces of meat) 1 onion 2 cups water, enough to fill over half the pot (it will evaporate when cooking, and more can be added) 1 can tomato paste Green beans cut into small pieces 1 eggplant, cut into pieces Salt, black pepper and turmeric, to taste Cut the onion into pieces. Sauté the meat with the onion, salt, pepper, and turmeric until the onion turns translucent, then pour boiled water over it, filling a little over half the pot.

Add can of tomato paste. Cook at a simmer for a few hours, until the meat is cooked.

Add the green beans.

Peel and cut the eggplant and put into a strainer. Add salt and let stand for 10 minutes, until liquid drains from the eggplant.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 35

PASSOVER RECIPES

Passover Chocolate Tart in a Peach Farfel Macaroon Crust

Grandma Flo’s Matzo Farfel Muffins (Kigelach)

Submitted by Brenda Gelfand 1 canister matzo farfel 2 (15-ounce) cans of sliced peaches 7 eggs 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 sticks margarine, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 cups hot water Submitted by Lilli Jennison Preheat oven to 350 F. Place dry farfel in a bowl, then pour hot water over it. Let stand until absorbed.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, syrup from peaches, salt, sugar, margarine and vanilla. Add farfel and combine well. In a well sprayed 9-by-12-inch baking dish, pour 1/2 the mixture, then arrange a layer of peaches on top. Add remaining mixture on the next layer and top with remaining peaches. Sprinkle with just a bit of cinnamon if you’d like.

Bake for 1 hour. Serve hot out of oven, or at room temp. It is quite delicious at room temperature, if you don’t have the room in your oven, and it makes for a pretty awesome leftover.

Can be assembled and cooked halfway through ahead, then cooked the rest of the way on the day of the holiday. ì

36 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Submitted by Lilli Jennison I have been making this for years.

Super easy and delicious. It is from the Oh! You Cook! blog I found on Pinterest a few years ago.

Serving: 10 to 12 1 (10-ounce) can coconut macaroons (I like to use Manischewitz almond) 1 (9-ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use non-dairy) 1/2 cup milk (or almond milk) 3 tablespoon unsalted butter Set aside a few macaroons. Process the remaining macaroons in a food processor until they are pulverized. They might start to clump up, in which case

you’ll have to use clean hands to manually break up the clumps. Using the back of a spoon or your fingertips, as long as they have macaroon all over them already, press the ground-up macaroons into an 8-inch pie or tart plate. Set aside.

In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the milk and butter until they barely start to simmer. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and let sit a minute to melt. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pie plate.

Break up reserved macaroons and decorate top. (I also use a few extra chocolate chips to decorate). Place in fridge to firm up.

Remove from fridge about half an hour before ready to serve. Cut into small delicious wedges. ì

Servings: About 24 muffins 1 (14-ounce) canister of Manischewitz Matzo Farfel 6 cups cold water 6 eggs, beaten 1 ¼ cups apple sauce 1 ½ teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon butter Preheat oven to 350 F. Empty matzo farfel into a bowl. Pour in cold water and let matzo farfel soak for 30 minutes.

In a larger bowl, combine eggs, apple sauce and salt. Add matzo farfel. Mix well.

Pour into greased muffin pans. Dot each muffin with butter.

Bake for 35 minutes. ì

PASSOVER RECIPES

Spaghetti Squash Pie

Spinach Matzah Kugel

Submitted by Roni Robbins

Submitted by Roni Robbins

My healthy sister-in-law, Cathy Kayne, has often added this Paleo Magazine dish to our traditional Passover fare at my parents’ home in North Carolina. She modified this recipe from its original to make it kosher for Passover.

My best friend, Wendy Vitale, serves this at the Passover seder we usually celebrate together. Perhaps she will make it this year again and we can watch her family savor it at what I expect to be our first fully-virtual seder. (We’ve had my son on FaceTime in the past for certain sections, but not the whole time).

(Kosher for Passover version)

Servings: 3 to 4 1 large spaghetti squash (about 600 grams) 1/2 yellow onion, diced 1 cup pizza sauce (no sugar added) 1 teaspoon dried basil 3 eggs, whisked salt and pepper, to taste Optional: Add anything you like with pizza: veggies, basil, even cheese if you do the primal plan. My sister-in-law adds sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and spinach.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.

Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the skin of

the squash gives when you press on it. Then reduce oven heat to 350 F. Once squash is done cooking, remove threads by scraping out with a fork and place in a greased 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

Place a large pan over medium heat.

Add onion and sauté. Add pizza sauce, dried basil and salt and pepper to the pan and mix well.

Add sautéed veggies to the pizza sauce mizture, then all to the 8-by-8 dish and mix well with spaghetti squash threads.

Lastly, add whisked eggs to the baking dish and mix everything together until you can no longer see the eggs.

Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture forms a slight crust that doesn’t give when you press on it in the middle of the dish.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

5 pieces matzah soaked, drained and crumbled 1 large onion, chopped 1 cup fresh mushrooms, optional 1 stick butter 1 package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained 12 ounces sour cream 4 slices Muenster cheese 1 egg, beaten Salt and pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 350 F. Saute onions and mushrooms, if desired, in butter.

Mix in matzah, spinach, sour cream and egg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour

into greased dish. Mix in slices of cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until kugel starts to slightly brown.

Salt and pepper, to taste. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 37

CALENDAR CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES Tzav Friday, April 3, 2020, light candles at 7:42 p.m.

Saturday, April 4, 2020, Shabbat ends at 8:38 p.m.

See next page for: Passover Candle-Lighting Times

Virtual Classes and Events: Chabad.org Presents Jewish Kids Activities Online – Jewish art projects, videos, games, activities and more.

For more information, www.bit. ly/2UgUFId. In the City Camps Presents - Virtual Camp – Every weekday afternoon from 3:30 to 4 p.m. In an effort to keep the community connected, they are giving their campers opportunities to see one another.

To watch and join in, www.bit. ly/2xhGR71.

Jewish Spirituality & Mysticism – Join Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz for a weekly class on Jewish spirituality, mysticism and how to apply them to your personal growth in a meaningful way. For more information, www.bit.ly/2wmSBFp. MJCCA Day Camps – Weekdays, 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Check in for weekday live activity sessions on their Facebook page. To participate and for more information, www. bit.ly/2wvLOcn. MJCCA Fitness – MJCCA will be posting daily workouts and conducting live workouts on their Fitness Facebook page. They also have a free option to help keep you active and working out at home. For more watch here, www.bit.ly/2WHcSQz. MJCCA Book Festival – Click to view MJCCA’s upcoming Book Festival virtual events, www.bit. ly/3bk1mi7.

MJCCA Athletics –The – MJCCA Athletics program encourages kids to stay 38 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

active at home while school is out for an extended period of time. Action for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit organization that promotes a focus on health, fitness and wellness in schools, has provided some amazing resources to keep kids happy, engaged, and focused on their overall health while at home. Click for activities to do at home at MJCCA’s Game On Activity Library, www.bit. ly/2wzY5MO. MJCCA BBYO – Tune in to BBYO On Demand, a brand-new virtual experience for teens worldwide. Enjoy amazing programming and global events. Some of the sessions will even be led by our very own Greater Atlanta Region BBYO members.

For more information, www.bit. ly/2QFlCD2.

MJCCA Blonder Department for Special Needs – Please stay tuned to the Blonder Family Department for Special Needs Facebook group for daily activities, chats, workouts and more. For more information, www.bit.ly/2Jmpl4x.

MJCCA Aquatics – A few things that you can work on at home to keep your swimming abilities top notch.

Please see our swim skills guide that describes exercises for your child’s ability along with a picture.

For more information, www.bit. ly/3bmmlRC. MJCCA Outreach – Rabbi G will be leading “Acoustic Shabbat Live” on Fridays at 6:30 p.m. on the MJCCA Community Outreach Facebook page. Watch here, www.bit.

ly/2QFabv4.

My Jewish Learning – A few Jewish learning resources to get you through these difficult days. For more information, www.bit. ly/3bms5dQ. PJ Library is Going Viral! – Mondays at 9:30 a.m., Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 a.m., and every afternoon at 2 p.m. PJ Library is bringing fun, crafts, stories, Q&As, scavenger hunts, food demos and so much more every weekday morning and afternoon to you. To join in and for more information, www.bit. ly/2WzFFqh. Repair the World – Repair the World welcomes you to sign up for its programming. Join them from the comfort of your home for a discussion on compassionate care for ourselves and our community.

For more information, www.bit. ly/2xhUsv5.

Virtual Hillel Connections – If you’re looking for community, connection and meaningful learning opportunities or if you’re just bored and need a distraction during coronavirus cancellations, then you’ve come to the right place. Hillel has virtual meetups and online gatherings that bring you together with Jewish

and Jew-ish students from around the world in real-time! For more information, www.bit.ly/3af7wjA. Virtual Hunger Seder –Monday – April 13th at 7:30 p.m. The Hunger Seder is an interfaith event re-imagining the traditional Passover seder to include learning about hunger and food insecurity – problems and community-led solutions. Join the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish and other faith partners for an online evening of Passover symbolism, presentations from experts, and breakout discussions. Our theme this year is urban community farming and gardening. Suggested donation of $6 to $36 will be given to our speakers’ organizations: Historic Westside Gardens, Wholesome Wave, and an additional organization addressing urgent community needs related to food access during COVID-19. For more information, www.bit.ly/2WDOqPW. Virtual Senior Center Zumba Class – DeKalb County Department of Human Services has put together a Virtual Senior Center Zumba Class video. To watch and join in, www. bit.ly/39hEVsl. Please send Virtual Classes & Events to jen@atljewishtimes.com.

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

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

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

PASSOVER CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES Wednesday, April 8, 2020, light holiday candles at 7:46 p.m.

Thursday, April 9, 2020, light holiday candles after 8:43 p.m.

Friday, April 10, 2020, light Shabbat candles at 7:47 p.m.

Saturday, April 11, 2020, Shabbat ends at 8:44 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020, light holiday candles at 7:50 p.m.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, light holiday candles after 8:48 p.m.

Thursday, April 16, 2020, holiday ends at 8:48 p.m.

Community Services: Anti Defamation League – The Coronavirus Surfaces Fear, Stereotypes and Scapegoating: A blog post from ADL to help provide accurate information, explore emotions, and, most importantly, play a role in reducing stereotyping and scapegoating. To read more: www.bit.ly/3dp5a3t.

Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Text for Help SMS Function –The – Atlanta Community Food Bank’s mission to provide nutritious food to the people who need it has reached a major milestone toward access to food for all. The Text for Help SMS function recognizes two keywords – ‘findfood’ (no space) in English or ‘comida’ in Spanish. Each keyword will activate automated responses in the relevant language. When a person texts either keyword to 888-976-2232 (ACFB), they’ll be prompted for their zip code or address to enable location services for food pantries closest to them. Responses will include a list of three different nearby pantries and their contact information. If no pantries are located within a 10-mile radius from the zip code entered, the program provides information on the nearest food pantries in neighboring zip codes. For more information, www. acfb.org.

Atlanta Jewish Music Festival Updates – Music is a powerful force. It heals.

It can bring people together. In the wake of the tragic events over the last few weeks, the public has reached out to the AJMF community seeking “healing music.” To listen, www.spoti. fi/2Uuq7BB. For information about the AJMF, www.atlantajmf.org.

Atlanta Restaurants Offering Curbside Pickup and Delivery – Atlanta has suspended dine-in service, with take-

out and delivery and online gift card and merchandise purchases now the new reality for restaurants. Owners and chefs, the Georgia Restaurant Association and state and local legislators are pushing for financial assistance and relief for the state’s restaurant industry. For a continually updated list of Atlanta restaurants now offering food delivery service and curbside pick-up, www.bit. ly/2Uyg1zl.

Creating Connected Communities – In addition to collecting new and gently used books to give to kids at future programs, they are also partnering with places helping to distribute books to kids and families who are stuck at home while selfquarantining. If you have books to donate, please contact Stefanie Foree.

CCC needs LEGOs. They are collecting new or used LEGOs so the kids at their programs can make more amazing creations. If you’re cleaning out a gift closet and have NEW toys that your kids are never going to use, CCC can use them. They are always accepting donations of new and unopened toys for our gift store at Amy’s Holiday Party. CCC needs small gift items to give to the adults who attend the party. For more information, tara@cccprojects.org or Stefanie at: stefani@cccprojects.org.

Fresh Food to your Door – Farmers & Fishermen are providing home delivery service of steaks, chicken and seafood to Greater Atlanta residents who are remaining in their homes as they exercise social distancing. To place an order, call 770-441-1100 or email homedelivery@farmersandfishermen.com. For more information, www.farmersandfishermen. com.

Israel American Council – IAC @Home brings you the most innovative content online while continuing to build a national community with Israel at heart. With activities for kids, teens, young professionals and adults, you can stay connected to Hebrew, Israeli and Jewish heritage, online activism and to one another. IAC @ Home lets you enjoy a coast-to-coast community right from your own home.

For more information, www.israeliamerican.org/home.

Jewish Family & Career Services Updates – JF&CS will be closed until it is advised to be safe to open. For therapy services or to make a telehealth appointment, email them at therapy@ jfcsatl.org or call 770-677-9474. Aviv staff will continue to be available by phone, video-conference and email.

They are still here to help provide resources, care plans and support for you and your family. For more information, www.jfcsatl.org.

For updates and more information, www.bit.ly/3ahrNVM. Marcus JCC Updates – The Marcus JCC will be closed until such time as it is advised to be safe to open. In addition, The Weinstein School, The Schiff School, The Sunshine School and their Club J after-school program will also be closed. For more information, www.bit.ly/2QEAuRX. Please send Community Service Opportunities to jen@atljewishtimes. com.

JFCS - Emergency Financial Assistance – JF&CS is here to provide emergency assistance for individuals and families. Please call 770-677-9389 to get assistance. For more information: www.bit.ly/2wo5qzj.

JFCS - Telehealth Counseling Services – Now offering telehealth options via phone or video conference for current and new clients to help the community during this crisis. For more information about our therapy services or to make a telehealth appointment, email us at therapy@jfcsatl. org or call 770-677-9474.

JFCS - Telehealth Older Adult Services – Aviv older adult staff are here to help provide resources, care plans and support for you and your family.

Call AgeWell at 1-866-AGE-WELL (1866-243-9355) to find out how we can help. For more information, www. bit.ly/2wo5qzj.

Jewish Federation of Great Atlanta COVID-19 Resources – The unsettling, fast-moving and unpredictable world of life with COVID-19 is upon us. As we’re all discovering, a worldwide pandemic disrupts everyone on an unprecedented scale.

COVID-19 represents a challenge to all of us in varying degrees. For some, it is frustrating and a grave inconvenience. For others, it is lifechanging, scary and a very real threat. For all of us, it represents the opportunity to ensure that our community does what we do best – come together and support one another.

Synagogue Live Streaming Services:

Ahavath Achim Synagogue – Participate in services live from your computer. Ahavath Achim’s services are broadcasted from the main sanctuary and Ellman Chapel. Open to members and the community. To watch and for more information, www.bit.ly/33EJfAU. ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 39

Congregation Etz Chaim’s Virtual Morning Minyan and Shabbat Services – Sunday through Friday at 8 a.m. Join Rabbi Daniel Dorsch for livestreaming daily morning minyan and Shabbat morning services.

Their morning minyan “doors” will open at 8 a.m. for virtual schmoozing with minyan beginning at 8:30 a.m. To call into minyan, dial 646-558-8656. When prompted for the meeting ID, enter 375 012 438.

Livestreaming Shabbat morning services begin at 10 a.m. To call into Shabbat morning services, dial 646-558-8656. When prompted for the meeting ID, enter 365 561 931.

For more information, www.bit. ly/2xhKjP1.

Virtual Wednesday Evening Minyan – Etz Chaim’s Sababa USY invites you to join them for Wednesday evening minyan at 6:30 p.m. They welcome the community to remotely daven with them for this virtual Mincha/Ma’ariv service. To join and for more information, www. bit.ly/2UJc4s3.

Temple Sinai Live Stream Services – Temple Sinai will have live Shabbat services on Friday night and Saturday morning. For more information and to view services, www.bit. ly/2JdsZxa.

40 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

and constantly changing to keep up with the hottest trends in food preparation. Our chefs use only the freshest ingredients to prepare you the finest and tastiest food, all under the strict rabbinical supervision of the AKC. For menu and more information, www.bit.ly/2xhhEcU.

EB Catering offers full service glattkosher catering. Our gourmet menus are innovative, upscale

Check the Atlanta Jewish Connector for updates: www. atlantajewishconnector.com.

The Temple Live Streaming Services – Find live streaming services here, www.the-temple.org.

Please send Synagogue and Temple Streaming Services to jen@atljewishtimes.com.

Volunteer Opportunities: Creating Connected Communities: www.bit.ly/3bekKNI

Congregation Shearith Israel – Live Stream Service – Daily and Shabbat services will continue at regular times in a virtual manner. They are counting participants in these live-streamed services as part of a minyan, or prayer quorum, allowing members to recite full prayer services including Mourner’s Kaddish. To participate via phone, dial 929-205-6099 and then enter the meeting code 404 873 1743. To be a part of services, visit the following Zoom link: www.bit.ly/2wnFWlD.

Temple Emanu-El Live Streaming Services – Erev Shabbat, Fridays at 6:30 p.m., Shabbat Service, Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Bar/Bat Mitzvah Services Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.

Join in, www.bit.ly/2QHzpZT.

providing customized, high-end, kosher catering services for weddings, mitzvahs, bris and baby namings, community events and fundraisers under our full-service kosher catering company. For menu and more information, www. bit.ly/2xhhEcU.

Ways to Help Through CCC: www.bit. ly/2vAXqdN

Package and Deliver Meals Through Open Hand Atlanta: www.openhandatlanta.org/volunteer

Jewish Home Life – Care, support and companionship for aging loved ones who may be isolated, seniors with dementia or physical impairments, and post-surgical care or illness support for any age adult. Can help with everything from grocery shopping and companionship to support for activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, grooming, cooking, etc.). From a few hours a week to 24/7 care. For more information, www.bit.ly/33FrxNH.

Package and deliver meals through Concrete Jungle: www.concretejungle.org/

Cards & Care Packages for Jewish HomeLife Staff: www.bit. ly/2WDncsY & www.bit.ly/2WDncsY

Atlanta Public Schools: Deliver food on bus routes as well as food distribution sites in kitchens and drivethrough lines. For more information, www./bit.ly/2Uk7lga.

Second Helpings Volunteer Opportunities: www.bit.ly/2UpkxQE

Become a Virtual Tutor: www.mindbubble.org Donate for Emergency Groceries: www.pawkids.org Provide a Meal to Homeless Women: www.rebeccastent.org.

Passover Catering Options: A Kosher Touch proudly serves clients throughout the Southeast by

Repair The World Resource – A onepage resource for caring for the sick in the time of crisis. For more information, www.bit.ly/2JamMlQ.

JFCS Kosher Food Pantry: www.jfcsatl.org.

Help with COVID-19 – A list of additional volunteer opportunities: www.helpwithcovid.com Please send Community Service Opportunities to jen@atljewishtimes.com.

Connector Chatter Directory Spotlight www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Congregation Etz Chaim

JELF – Jewish Education Loan Fund In conversation with David Cohen How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Since 1889 but doing interest-free loans since 1961.

In conversation with Bernice Isaac How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Etz Chaim will be celebrating its 45th year, founded as the first congregation north of the Atlanta perimeter.

How does your organization help the community?

We are a very busy, active congregation creating meaningful Jewish experiences. Much is going on when our preschool and religious school are in session; there are adult education offerings weekly from October through May. Our affinity groups – Men’s Club, Sisterhood, 3 Score and More, Young Adults, and our three youth groups – each have monthly programs. We offer lay-led minyan twice-daily.

Havurot and our new affinity groups program, “Roots,” hold meetings outside the shul. We offer weekly Torah study group and a lunch and learn cohort meets on a monthly basis. We have recently started congregant-driven initiatives like a walking group that attends Sunday morning minyan and then heads out to walk together.

Our newly designed Chesed Committee delivers food to families of newborn babies, will do light shopping and provide rides to doctors’ appointments, and delivers shiva meals to families in their time of need. Our social action committee drives other various initiatives like baking cookies for our local police precincts on 9/11, knitting scarves for MUST ministries, and having our children visit local senior centers. We also participate in Atlanta’s Hunger Walk, sponsor educational programs about sex trafficking, and run a popular safe driving program for teenagers in the community at large.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

We have recently experienced meaningful growth among younger families, many of whom grew up at the synagogue in the 1990s and have returned home to East Cobb and its surrounding areas to raise their children. Other members are transplants from cities around the south, the northeast, Florida, and other areas of the country. We have always called ourselves a lay-led synagogue with the “the neshama of the South,” and we are excited to see how these newer families will contribute to the vibrancy of our spiritual community.

How does your organization help the community?

JELF provides interest-free loans to Jewish students that lack needed resources for their higher education.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

JELF has grown exponentially in the last five years. We’d like to continue our growth to help an even larger percentage of Jewish students from our region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Birthright Israel Foundation

In conversation with Kate Smith How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Birthright Israel Foundation has been lucky to have committed donors in Atlanta since the very beginning. Eight years ago, we launched our Atlanta Leadership Council and have had a professional on the ground ever since.

How does your organization help the community?

Each year, Birthright Israel Foundation raises the necessary funds to provide the gift of an educational trip to Israel to nearly 50,000 young Jewish adults from around the world through Birthright Israel. Over the last 20 years, almost 9,000 participants from Atlanta have participated in the program. The work of Birthright Israel Foundation has enabled the trip to become the launching pad for Jewish/Israel engagement in local communities, on college campuses, and in nearly every Jewish organization. Participants from Atlanta, through their Birthright Israel experience, come back home inspired, engaged and ready to take on leadership roles. Next time you meet a young person involved in our community, ask them if they’re a Birthright Israel alumnus. I can guarantee they’ll say yes!

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

That’s exciting! In 10 years, I hope that the work of Birthright Israel Foundation has impacted over a million young Jewish adults, bringing them closer to their Jewish identity and the State of Israel. And, now that we’re in our 20th year, we will be seeing the children of alumni participate in Birthright Israel in the years to come. We can only go up from here!

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 41

ART Israel, the Promised Land of TV Series evokes everything that made Tel Aviv what it is today, a city apart in Israel, the carefree youth, the real estate boom, the arrival of African immigrants and gay life, mentioned for the first time on Israeli television.

By Martine Tartour How can we explain the success of such a small country producing blockbuster TV series?

The trend is not new but is constantly developing. For 15 years, Israeli TV series have been among the biggest hits of Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO. One Israeli series out of four is sold abroad.

“Homeland” would not have existed without the Israeli version “Hatufim” ("Prisoners of War”). “BeTipul,” (“In Treatment”), the story of a therapist whose private life is a real disaster, has been a hit in more than 19 countries. “Shtisel,” which describes a family of ultra-Orthodox Jews in a Jerusalem neighborhood, will be adapted for U.S. audiences and transposed to Brooklyn, N.Y. This recognition comes with a shower of awards. The International Festival Series Mania, the international TV festival in France, awarded its grand prize to Israeli productions three years in a row: “Your Honor” in 2017; “On the Spectrum” in 2018; “Just for Today,” last year.

In its 2019 ranking, The New York Times nominated two Israel series for the top 30 of the decade: “Hatufim” is ranked No. 1 and “Fauda” (Israeli agents infiltrating Hamas) is ranked No. 8.

Let’s try to understand the reasons for this success.

“Florentine” is named for the Bohemian neighborhood of Tel Aviv, where three roommates live. The first season dates back to 1997 and is a chronicle of Tel Aviv urban culture.

Powerful scenarios Conflicts make the best scenarios. In Israel, they are at the heart of the country’s existence: Israeli-Palestinian war, opposition between religious and secular people, eco-

42 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

AP Photo/Oded Balilty // In this May 30, 2019, photo, a crew films a scene

on the set of Israel's hit TV show “Fauda,” in Tel Aviv, Israel.

nomic inequalities, racism. “Far from trying to hide or mitigate them, they [screenwriters] take a realistic approach to these tensions,” Jacques Ouaniche, a Franco-Israeli producer, told the AJT. “They do not hesitate to criticize policies and even to reveal what the people themselves prefer to overlook. ‘Our Boys,’ the latest production by Hagai Levi (creator of ‘In Treatment’) provoked a shockwave.”

The series revisits the tragic events of the summer of 2014, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, followed by the murder of a Palestinian teenager.

“Critics saw it as one of the best series ever produced,” Ouaniche said. “’Our Boys’ allowed an intimate introspection of a whole nation in the face of this drama. Even though [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu called for a boycott on his Facebook account, this did not set back the broadcast’s directors in charge.”

Stories that speak to everyone “One thing is certain: Israel is a country of immigrants who know how to tell stories,” Helene Schoumann, jury member of the Jerusalem and Haifa film festivals, told the AJT. “The Jewish nation has had to constantly reinvent itself throughout its history, and that has made it creative. We are storytellers! Moreover, the success is also due to the fact that the Israelis have understood what is expected from a series: drama, war, conflict are at the center of the scripts, together with a personal story focusing on emotions and the intimacy of the characters. For example, look at the difference between ‘Hatufim’ and its American adaptation ‘Homeland.’ When Brody, a Marine held prisoner by Al Qaeda for eight years, comes home [in ‘Homeland], he has barbecues with his neighbors. In ‘Hatufim,’ the prisoners back with their families are detached from reality. ‘Hatufim’ asks real questions: is the long-awaited husband

and father who returns still the one we knew, or has he become a stranger to us? " Limited budgets Ouaniche said, “When ‘Taagad’ (‘Charlie Golf One’), the daily life of a Tsahal medical unit, was adapted to the United States, ‘68 Whiskey’ with Ron Howard as a director, a single episode cost three times more than all 40 episodes of the Israeli version!” Easy to believe: an episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ cost $10 million."

So how do the Israelis do it?

“Low budgets encourage creativity,” explained Danna Stern, director of the Israeli yes Studios. “Writers have nothing to lose and get straight to the point. That’s the way this country works! They use very simple concepts: ‘In Treatment’ is just two people talking to each other in a room. In ‘Shtisel,’ there are countless scenes in the kitchen where father and son meet. And even if you have to aim for adventure, it’s at a lower cost: ‘When Heroes Fly,’ which takes place in Colombia, had a budget of $200,000 per episode!"

However, success starts to have an impact. The biggest budget TV drama series: “Valley of Tears,” which evokes the Yom Kippur War, is currently being filmed and has a budget of $1 million per episode.

This is a great success for a country where television had a very late start and was slowed down by the objections of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. The first public channel started in May 1968. It was not until November 1996 that a second channel was born.

The 12 best series: “Florentine” by Eytan Fox, three seasons. The title refers to the Bohemian neighborhood of Tel Aviv where three roommates live. The first season dates back to 1997, but it is interesting to review this series as a chronicle of Tel Aviv urban culture. The show

“BeTipul” by Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan and Nir Bergman, two seasons. Describing the life of a psychotherapist and his relationship with his patients. “BeTipul” enjoyed enormous success in the country where psychoanalysis is a religion. Each episode is kind of like a conversation between the host and the guest, as if they were on a TV talk show.

The co-screenwriter Levi likes to say that the idea for “BeTipul” came to him in a gym while he was running on a treadmill. Levi is also a producer of the American version, “In Treatment” with Gabriel Byrne.

“Hatufim” follows the lives of two Israeli soldiers who have just returned home after being held captive for 17 years but are suspected of being the enemy’s secret agents.

“Hatufim” by Gideon Raff, two seasons.

“Hatufim” follows the lives of two Israeli soldiers who have just returned home after being held captive for 17 years but are suspected of being the enemy’s secret agents. This series has inspired the Showtime hit “Homeland.”

The strength and depth of “Hatufim” is its capacity to explore the fears and doubts of ordinary men and women who want to resume the courses of their lives, whatever the truths of their past were.

“Hostages” by Omri Givon and Rotem Shamir, two seasons. A female surgeon, who must operate on the prime minister, sees her family taken hostage and threatened with execution if she does not cause the prime minister’s death during the surgery. The U.S. version, which was filmed at the same time as the Israeli version, turned the psychological drama into an uninspired thriller. It had little success in the U.S. The Israeli version, however, is not to be missed.

“False Flag” by Maria Feldman, Leora Kamenetzky and Amit Cohen, two seasons. Five Israelis from very different backgrounds – a teacher, a chemist, a bride-to-be,

ART a kindergartener of Russian descent, a young man from India – wake up one morning to discover their faces all over the news. They are suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of the Iranian defense minister in Moscow. Their lives are suddenly turned upside down. They struggle to prove that they had no connection with the kidnapping, but are they really innocent?

“Mossad 101” by Izhar Harlev, Uri Levron and Daniel Syrkin, two seasons. Taking place on a top-secret army base, the series chronicles the daily life of wannabe soldiers who train to join Mossad, the elite intelligence unit. Even if the series depicts the misery and misadventures they endure, it is sprinkled with a wonderful dose of Israeli humor.

“When Heroes Fly” by Omri Givon, two seasons. Four veterans who served in the second Lebanon War decide 10 years later to fly to Colombia. They set out to find Yaeli, the sister of one and the former girlfriend of another. The success is due not only to the landscapes of the Amazonian forest, but also to the accurate description of the psychological after-effects of those who fought in Lebanon in 2006, like Givon, the director. He stated that he received many thanks from those who found the series therapeutic.

“Our Boys” by producer Hagai Levi and screenwriters Joseph Cedar and Tawfik Abu Wael, one season. The assassination by Hamas of three Israeli teenagers and, in revenge, the murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian killed by three Israeli fanatics, two of whom were minors. The screenplay was written by Levi together with Cedar, an Israeli Jew, and Abu Wael, an Israeli Arab. These events traumatized the country. The creators wanted to return to this tragedy with a question valid in all societies: how to take the time to investigate the facts, prior to incriminating “the other” that we consider the enemy.

“Fauda” is the story of a special army unit with the mission of infiltrating the population of the Palestinian territories.

“Fauda” by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, three seasons. A special army unit has the mission to infiltrate the population of the Palestinian territories. The characters, who

speak fluent Arabic, demonstrate that bilingualism unites people rather than separates.

The success is global. Issacharoff, co-author, mentioned that he received a call from a relative of Mohammed Dahlan, former Fatah leader, asking when the third season of “Fauda” will be released. Issacharoff will probably announce a fourth season, on which the scriptwriters are currently working, and at the same time are finalizing a series inspired by “Sex and the City.”

“Shtisel” is a family saga that reveals a great respect for the ultra-Orthodox community.

“Shtisel,” by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, three seasons. This family saga reveals a great respect for the ultra-Orthodox community, its complexity and its deepest aspirations, whereas this topic is typically portrayed as archaic and narrow-minded. The success of the series is mainly due to the actors. Michael Aloni, the darling face of Israeli cinema, and Dov Glickman, who, for every day of shooting had to spend several hours in makeup and learning Yiddish, a language he has not mastered.

“Autonomies,” by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, the two creators of the ”Shtisel” series. Let us imagine a near future: Israel is divided in two, and within its borders, one half is an autonomous state living according to the laws of the Torah. “Autonomies” reflects a growing fear in Israel, due to the increasing demographic share of the ultra-Orthodox and its consequences. Will Israelis be able to continue to live together?

“On the Spectrum,” by Dana Idisis and Yuval Shafferman, one season. It is recent (2018) and one of the most original, engaging Israeli series ever done. It deals with the daily life of three, 30-somethings diagnosed with autism – the title refers to autism spectrum disorders – who live together in a therapeutic apartment designed to stimulate their relationships. Looking for love and understanding like everyone else, and finding complications like everyone else, they deal with it all in the most honest and moving way possible. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 43

ART

Move Over George Clooney

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

and Shirley MacLaine. "What’s a nice Jewish girl doing in a Christmas movie?" could be explored in a subsequent story.

Affable and confident without the arrogance, Stern attacks his roles with zest and authenticity, accepting the requisite rejection along the way.

Listen in as Mayer “acts” out.

Atlanta, as the new film capital, has ushered in many twists and turns. Consider native Atlantan (Ayal) Mayer Stern, who got his acting chops in Chicago and Los Angeles and ended up back in our hometown. Here Stern has access to studio roles and teaches his own class at The Working AcJaffe: As a child at tor Group. TWAG on RoThe Epstein School and swell Road offers private Walton High, did you coaching, audition taping, have the lead in all the space rental, reel creation, school plays? and image consulting, in Stern: Hardly. I did addition to workshops not have the courage. I and classes. never performed on stage Founder and co-ownuntil I joined a college imStern has appeared in the er Lauren Halperin said, prov group.

“Dynasty” remake, “Raising “Stern brings an amazing Dion,” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” energy and perspective.

Jaffe: Why the UniStudents from his class completely rave. versity of Kansas?

He has a way of connecting to people; and Stern: Actually, my degree from there this gives him the opportunity to promote is Bachelor of Arts in theater and film, and real breakthroughs.” Halperin herself has KU does have a fine acting school. Paul appeared in Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” Rudd and Jason Sudeikis were students and “Noelle,” a movie with Anna Kendrick there. So, in Lawrence, Kan., I got stage ex-

Stern grew up in Atlanta and did not pursue acting until he attended the University of Kansas.

perience and learned the art of auditioning and improvisation.

Jaffe: Elaborate on the class that you teach at TWAG. Stern: My class is “Scene Study,” which is pretty standard and taught in L.A. I work in groups of 10 to 12 and focus on involving the students. I pick out scenes from plays like “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train,” “Proof,” and Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” for them to perform. When we’re ready with the finished project, I try to bring in a casting director for exposure.

The class is three hours on Monday nights.

Jaffe: What was your favorite TV role?

Stern: I was a guest star in “NCIS: Los Angeles.” I appeared in scenes as the new terrorist with LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell.

In Atlanta I was in the “Dynasty” remake playing a personal assistant and flight attendant on a private plane. I was also in “Raising Dion” on Netflix with Jason Ritter.

Jaffe: Do you deal with rejection?

Stern: Constantly, 90 percent of the time, it requires accepting rejection.

I developed a thick skin right off the bat.

The old expression, “Let the water roll off your back,” I took a Mayer teaches a class at TWAG step further in that I Jaffe: What movthat often enables students to have ies did you watch as a breakthroughs and professional growth. looked at it like a victory. Any tryout, getyoungster?

Stern: Paul Newman in “The Color of ting to act for even five minutes, feeds that Money.” He had an effortless and under- chance to perform. stated charm which allowed him to get Jaffe: What is your dream role? away with anything with a smile. Also “You Stern: Something like a Mossad agent Can Count on Me” with Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney, which explores the relation- in “Homeland.” Maybe a spy or a cop. I ship between a brother and sister, a topic thought an inspirational role that I would do well with is an old film “Half Nelson” that is not often explored in film. with Ryan Gosling about a teacher who is an addict. It’s a very complex character Jaffe: Was Chicago pivotal for you?

Stern: Weighing a psychology career, that would be a challenge to portray.

I had to consider that future involving a Jaffe: Your mother Aviva is a painter commitment to graduate school. But I had taken classes at the Actors Studio in Chi- and mixed media artist. What would she cago and decided, for better or for worse, say about your acting career?

Stern: Since I am the youngest of I would not look back. I had the lead in “Suddenly Last Summer” and “Sexual Per- three, she would say that I am well suited for acting and comedic roles. You know the versity” by David Mamet.

I secured an agent to pursue my ca- youngest kid is always trying to be funny reer and in 2014 moved to LA for auditions. and labeled as the clown. ì 44 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

COMMUNITY Team Rams Beat Cancer Campaign Goal

The Weber School’s Team Rams of two to three students participate in exceeded its goal of raising $70,000 for a fundraising challenge” to benefit the the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s nonprofit. “Candidates raise money in Student of the Year Campaign. “Team honor of a young, local patient hero who Rams: Charging Towards the Cure,” led is battling or in remission from a blood by students Spencer Dickson and Me- cancer. The candidate or team who raisgan Greenberg, raised $96,000, which es the most money at the end of the prowas part of the togram is named Stutal Georgia student dent of the Year for haul of almost $1.7 their local chapter. million.

From Jan. 10 to The team used Feb. 28, Team Rams a combination of raised money for corporate sponsors, this effort in honor including Earthof LLS Hero of the Link and Taco Mac, Year Autumn Muras well as local famray of Atlanta, for ily foundations, an whom this year’s auction by Atlanta Student of the Year artist Steve Pencampaign was ley, and more than dedicated. She was $50 thousand in diagnosed with leuindividual contrikemia at the age of butions to become Megan Greenberg and Spencer Dickson led 11. After battling one of nine teams Team Rams to be one of nine Georgia teams cancer, she is preto raise more than $50 million for cancer. in Georgia to raise paring to enter high more than $50 thousand. school, according to LLS. In a promotion titled Beating Can“Autumn was treated and has now cer is in our Blood, Dickson and Green- entered remission! After seeing what berg described the Student of the Year Autumn and her family went through Campaign as “a seven-week philanthrop- due to this horrible disease, we wanted ic leadership development program led to participate in this great cause and do by high school students to raise money everything we can to help her and othto support LLS and their cause.” ers who are affected by leukemia and/ The campaign and LLS mission are or lymphoma,” Dickson and Greenberg efforts to “to find cures for blood can- wrote on behalf of Team Rams. cers and to assist patients and families The students said they hope this as they battle leukemia, lymphoma, year’s accomplishments will lead to a Hodgkin’s disease or myeloma,” the We- Student of the Year legacy Weber School ber students wrote. team. They will help next year’s candiLLS further explains that the “Stu- dates to build upon their success and dent of the Year Campaign is a six- to continue raising funds to find cures for eight-week initiative in which nomi- blood cancers and support patients and nated high school students, or teams their families fighting these diseases. ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 45

COMMUNITY

AJA Honors Longtime Teachers

More than 300 attended the dinner of honor in the school’s new gym.

By Roni Robbins The Atlanta Jewish Academy honored five teachers earlier this month who had been at the school more than 30 years, including two who had been there more than 40 years.

The Masquerade Dinner of Honor was attended by a sold-out crowd of more than 300 in the school’s year-old gym, which was “transformed” for the event, said organizer Susan Moray. It was the first time the dinner was held

The event honored for 30 years of service: Robyn Cooper, Lisa Marks, Vicki Fink, Penny Eisenstein, and Rabbi Daniel Estreicher. awards were presented by Ari Leubitz, head of school.

in the gym with a special dedication in memory of Betty Minsk, a longtime AJA volunteer and community activist for whose family the gym is named. Minsk and her husband, Malcolm, donated money for the gym to be built in honor of Malcolm’s parents. Betty died in December.

The early childhood wing of AJA was dedicated in memory of her. She was a longtime teacher, volunteer and major donor, Moray said. Among her contributions to the school, Betty doc-

umented and preserved the school’s history in an AJA flipbook. Her granddaughters gave the d’var Torah at the start of the ceremony. The dinner of honor also named Leah Summers its first Woman of Valor, recognizing her retirement after 40 years in education, about a third of that time at the school and its predecessor Greenfield Hebrew Academy, Moray said.

“This is the first year we honored teachers who had been at the school a long time.” In the past, the dinner paid

Kathy Eisenband was presented the teacher of the year award by Leubitz.

tribute to a teacher of the year and a volunteer of the year. This year, Kathy Eisenband and Leanne Kaplan, respectively, earned those designations.

Previous dinners of honor were held as part of a golf tournament, but this year those events were separated.

The other teachers honored at the dinner were: Lisa Marks, for 32 years at the school; Robyn Cooper, 34 years; Vicki Flink, 38 years; Penny Eisenstein and Rabbi Daniel Estreicher, both 43 years. ì

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46 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

COMMUNITY

Atlanta Women Pay Tribute to Jews in Poland

JWC Atlanta with JRoots tour guide Tzvi Sperber at the Lancut Synagogue.

More than 45 Atlanta women re“Today was a wild ride of ups and turned recently from a powerful trip to downs that I may never fully process,” said Poland with Jewish participant Allison FeldWomen's Connection man. The group “talked of Atlanta. During that late into the night” about time, they volunteered the Holocaust, she said. at the Krakow JCC to “Horrors that will leave make mishloach manot their mark on our souls. bags, Purim food gifts.

But we also witnessed JWC Atlanta’s inaugujoy and love and support ral Poland trip included and bravery.” visiting the sites of the JWC Atlanta’s goal Holocaust, as well as is to create and build the cities of Krakow, “a spiritual community Members of JWC Atlanta Lublin and Warsaw. that connects women volunteered at the Krakow JCC to make mishloach manot bags for Though the focus of through friendship, Purim. They are pictured with the group was learning learning and Jewish Atlantan Ryan Kaplan, JCC Krakow and remembering, the values, and transforms director of external relations. women also paid triband impacts them, their ute to the future by making the Purim gifts. families and the Atlanta Jewish communiThe women from Atlanta stopped ty,” according to a press release. Its mission by the JCC to learn about the important is: “Light a Jewish woman’s soul, inspire the rebirth of Krakow’s Jewish community. family, community and the world.”

Rabbi Avi Baumol, JCC director Jonathan JWC Atlanta has impacted more 2,000 Ornstein and Atlantan Ryan Kaplan, di- women across metro Atlanta “through rector of external relations, met with the online and in-person learning, weekend group over coffee and tea and spoke about retreats, and weeklong trips to Israel and modern Jewish life in Poland.

Poland,” according to the release. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 47

COMMUNITY

Study: Jewish Women, Girls Under Pressure

By Jan Jaben-Eilon When the Jewish of Atlanta launched its study of the needs of women and girls in the local Jewish community earlier this year, it hoped to interview maybe a couple of hundred individuals in three categories.

Those categories included working women, issues surrounding the aging and caregivers, and teens.

What they learned was that both adult women and teen girls were stressed by the same work-life/ school balance, and both groups wanted to talk about it.

Instead, surpass-

ing expectations, the grant-making organization founded in 2012 captured Women’s Fund nearly 800 responses to the research conducted by the Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute.

“The response far exceeded anything we ever imagined,” said Rachel Wasserman, JWFA executive director. “Our researchers were also blown away.

At 500 it would have been amazing, at 600, unprecedented. Women were so hungry to talk about those isBrandeis research scientist Fern sues. They said no one Chertok was surprised that had ever asked them three-quarters of women who before.” experienced sexual harassment in The results of the workplace never reported it. the needs-assessment

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study were announced March 18 and her as a researcher because the “Cohen Center exists to provide usable knowlpresented to the trustees of the JWFA. Brandeis research scientist Fern edge that Jewish communities and orChertok told the AJT that the number of ganizations can act on.”

The study showed that more than responses was particularly astonishing because “we didn’t incentivize anyone. one-quarter of the women are in jobs We were just talking to their needs. This that don’t provide paid maternity leave. is a set of conversations that haven’t “Even women who work in the Jewish been happening in the Jewish commu- communal environment,” Chertok said. nity and showed us that there’s a lot of “That flies in the face of organizations room for the conversations to continue. who say they support families.”

The results also showed that 37 And JWFA can bring them together.”

Wasserman said she was most sur- percent of the women face illegal disprised by how candid the interviewees crimination, such as earning less than were about their struggles and chal- men in comparable jobs and 26 percent lenges in balancing work-life issues. of women experienced some kind of “We saw parallels with the teen study. sexual harassment in the last 10 years.

We’re all dealing with the same thing Of those, Chertok was especially surand there must be a way to intervene prised that three-quarters stated that at an earlier stage in life. That was the they never reported the harassment bebiggest ‘aha’ for us because we’re per- cause they were afraid of the repercuspetuating the same anxiety. Teenage sions. That included college-educated, girls become moms and we have got to comfortably well-off women.

The study discovered that both stop this cycle.”

Lisa Fox Freedman, a JWFA execu- working women as well as teenage girls want and need tive board member mentors.

“Teens and co-chair of the wanted older womstudy, said she, too, en they can turn to” was surprised by who aren’t relatives the parallels with or teachers, Cherthe teen study. tok said.

“Teens are trying “A lack of mento be perfect and torship came up to get into the best across the board,” schools.”

Wasserman said.

According to She pointed out JWFA, many of the that this year JWFA teen girls expressed implemented a the pressure to be mentorship properfect in all areas gram, starting with of their lives, whethonly 20 women. er it was in academ“Now it’s evident ics and extracurthat this is a need ricular activities, for women and their relations with teenage girls.” friends, or their Wa s s e r m a n personal appearsaid that what ance and how they JWFA “set out to conduct themselves. accomplish, we acOne high school complished.

And teen mused, “I guess JWFA Executive Director Rachel we saw proof that, it’s the way that the Wasserman said researchers were world is right now, … “blown away” by the number of responses although the Jewish community thinks if you haven’t cured to the needs-assessment study. it’s different than cancer by the time the wider world, it isn’t. The same probyou’re 12, then you’re a failure.”

Both Wasserman and Chertok lems exist in the Jewish world. These noted that this was the first in-depth numbers show this loud and clear. This look at core issues affecting Jewish study sets our agenda for the next numwomen in a community. “We had not ber of years.” ì For more information on the study had a chance to take a deep dive into these questions,” Chertok said. “It was findings, visit https://jwfatlanta.org/ a unique opportunity,” and valuable for research/

COMMUNITY

Jewish Business Network: Torah, People, and Food

ADVERTISEMENT - Paid for by Chabad Intown.

Chabad Intown’s “Adventures in Marketing” program with entrepreneur Joel Babbit, CEO of Narrative Content Group and Mother Nature Network.

Chabad Intown has become the center of Jewish life for many Atlantans. It reaches the community with a wide variety of services and programs. One offering that has had a powerful influence is Chabad Intown’s Jewish Business Network (JBN).

JBN regularly hosts events featuring great kosher food, networking opportunities and speakers who provide ideas to empower Jewish businessmen and women for success.

“There is a community of people looking to further their careers and professions.

JBN offers opportunities for people to connect with one another. This in turn strengthens the Jewish community and the larger community,” says Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, Chabad Intown director.

Such an opportunity appeals to Pia Koslow, a 43-year-old family law attorney who is a JBN regular.

Worth Your Time As a Professional “What impresses me so much about JBN,” she says, “is the thought that is put into the speakers, the programs and the timing. It’s never going to be someone average, but instead someone with a different perspective who offers a strong takeaway. As a result, Chabad Intown brings together a solid group of professionals.

That’s what you’re looking for as a professional when taking time to go to an event.”

The working mother also appreciates the quality cuisine and tasteful space that Schusterman and his wife, Dena, have created with Chabad Intown’s new 21,000-square-foot brick abutting the BeltLine in Midtown.

Each event begins with a Torah teaching.

It may be discussion around the week’s Torah portion or the theme of the evening, taking the opportunity to help JBN participants strengthen their Jewish identity at the same time as their careers.

Koslow appreciates being able to learn something valuable while she’s networking.

Blair Rothstein, a 42-year-old investment advisor, echoes these sentiments. One of his favorite JBN events featured financial advisor Doug Ross, Atlanta Chair of the American Is-

Rabbi Schusterman, front right, and other professionals enjoy a Jewish Business Network event.

rael Public Affairs Committee. The two men have continued to nurture a business relationship over breakfast get-togethers.

Rothstein and his wife, Lisa, connect with Chabad Intown in other parts of their lives, including community Shabbat dinners.

Their three children have attended Intown Jewish Preschool (IJP), and the now the Intown Hebrew School.

Kindling the Jewish Spark into Family “I credit IJP for creating that initial Jewish community for Lisa and myself. They did a good job rekindling that Jewish spark so that we wanted to have a Jewish family with Jewish values,” Rothstein says.

Rabbi Schusterman would refer to this phenomenon as the “ecosystem” of Chabad Intown. He and Dena, colleagues Rabbi Ari and Leah Sollish, directors of the popular Intown Jewish Academy, Rabbi Chaim Aaron and Chava Green, directors of the YJP Young Jewish Professionals, and soon Rabbi Leivy and Shelbelle Lapidus, have created a smorgasbord of offerings that meet people where they are in life. This includes religious services, early childhood education, adult education classes and programs with snappy titles like “The Chasidic Role in the Feminist Revolu-

tion” and “Jewish Secrets of the Supernatural” and a recent Jewish art exhibit entitled “Confluence.”

Sandrine Simons, 48, also connects with Chabad Intown, which enhances many areas of her life. A global airline business development manager, she has participated in JBN events like a recent networking dinner featuring Joe Apfelbaum, CEO of a digital marketing agency in Brooklyn. He spoke on “15 Minutes or Less: Three Ways to Generate ROI on LinkedIn.” Simons learned new perspectives in marketing in the fast-growing digital world. “I also brought my son to the JBN program. He is a junior at Grady High School studying marketing and is a young entrepreneur himself.

He was able to network after the presentation with the speaker.”

For mom, JBN means a pleasant night catching up with friends in a business environment, the opportunity to meet new Jewish professionals and share delicious food.

The Welcome Mat Is Always Out Her go-to Chabad Intown programs include Torah and Kabbalah classes, Shabbat and holiday services and Rosh Chodesh events.

“Everything here feels very spiritual to me,

Chabad Intown is a center of Jewish life in Atlanta.

and one always feels welcome,” Simons reports.

“I feel that Chabad is not judgmental.

They are just happy that you are interested in learning more and want to be engaged. Some people feel like they need to go to the gym every day. Chabad provides me with this great balance in my life and keeps me grounded in a fast-paced world.”

For others interested in building their networking muscles, JBN promises a full lineup of signature events from a real estate symposium to an annual business breakfast.

It’s all part of Chabad Intown’s commitment to serve as a center for Jewish life by providing broad programming that appeals to a diverse crowd.

The community is invited to support a $12.5 million building campaign called Vision 2020, to help Chabad Intown complete the purchase of its new facility on the BeltLine at 730 Ponce de Leon Place. The vision calls for a multipurpose community center with classrooms, kitchen, offices, co-working spaces, café, arts and makers room, young adult and teen lounge, playground and more. Funds raised also will cover the construction of a new Intown Jewish Preschool building nearby.

Be a part of it! Visit www.buildingintown.com or e-mail Rabbi Schusterman at rabbi@chabadintown.org to learn how Vision 2020 will benefit JBN, the many other Chabad Intown programs and Atlanta’s Jewish community.

(NOTE: This article was prepared before the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, shutdown. Chabad Intown is exploring other ways to provide JBN offerings during this time. Meanwhile, please check out Intown Jewish Academy Live!, www.intownjewishacademy.org/live, for weekly classes on Torah, kabbalah, Passover, cooking and more.)

Paid Content by Chabad Intown.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 49

OY VEY

JEWISH JOKE OF THE WEEK

OY VEY! HAVE I GOT A PROBLEM... r have lost thei of my friends y an l, m y he lit So ac !

R ci r fa ng Dea living t a blessi in an assisted rly father; wha cline. He lives de I have an elde to fallen twice. d s te ha ar st he ly, he has st month, te la e na th tu or In for nf n.

U io d attent parents.

I do not take deal of time an are miracles t e ea os gr th a lab e; es s, m ir or ti but requ ith doct rt either not badly hu of follow-up w al as w de t he ea , gr ly a ul Thankf ve required ese episodes ha Algranted. But th is not simple. testing. work, which ic st om no fr st. f ag la of di e d ill m w rance take ti work an w long his tole requires me to ho is th ow , lly kn bi t al si n’ ur on do at N and resp t so far, I ow dedication s been patien sh ha to ss re ee bo ti y oy en m e pl though n that th me as an em does not mea is important to h r has a family he ot In addition, it d to speak wit br ie y tr m e d single an s. When I’v er I’m e ld I us ou m ca A sh . y be ns m ity. Just obligatio ld fall on he has family er’s care shou th ys fa sa y d m an of gs his? burden ore, he shru ss value than out helping m y bilities have le si on sp angry that m my brother ab re d d an l an Do my life ing resentfu o? el fe to , on am rs d pe an not a weeks to the gym in I haven’t been t. gh pulling his wei brother is not recommend?

What do you Signed, n A Frustrated So

The Root of Our Troubles Dear Frustrated, It sounds like a large portion of your father’s care rests on you, and that it has become too much for you to handle. Although your devotion to your father is admirable, I believe the caregiving should not come at the expense of your job and well-being. After all, if you fall apart, then no one will benefit!

From your perspective, it doesn’t feel equitable that your brother refuses to do “his rightful share.” Objectively, however, his claim seems reasonable. If he has a wife and children who depend on him, then in how many directions can he be pulled concurrently? Certainly, your brother should contribute some time to Dad. He is his father, too. He should visit him regularly, and he should take him to some appointments. But is it reasonable to expect the same time allotment from him when he has more responsibilities?

Is it possible for you to hire a caregiver? If Dad can afford to pay for it, GREAT! If he does not have the funds to cover the additional help he needs, would you and your brother be able to split the cost? Perhaps this can be done as a temporary solution while your father is recovering from his falls. Hopefully Dad will get stronger and won’t need the help long term. If he does continue to require more intensive care, might it be prudent to move him into a facility that caters to his specific needs?

Parents are a priceless blessing, and we pray that they live until 120 in good health. How much time, energy and devotion did they invest in bringing us to adulthood? We owe them our lives! As time passes and they reach their golden years, caring for them is a great privilege. Of course, they, and we, hope they retain independence and don’t need to be looked after. Yet, when caregiving does become necessary, it can be challenging to balance our obligations while devoting time and attention to our parents.

At the end of the day, each of us wants to be able to look in the mirror and say, “I am doing my best.” And sometimes our best involves looking for solutions to help us manage that will ultimately be to everyone’s advantage.

So go ahead and enjoy your workout! You’ll be a better individual, son and brother when you take care of yourself.

Wishing you the best, Rachel Atlanta Jewish Times Advice Column Got a problem? Email Rachel Stein at oyvey@atljewishtimes.com, describing your problem in 250 words or less. We want to hear from you and get helpful suggestions for your situation at the same time!

50 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Did you know that the horseradish root goes back in time as far as the matzah does? The horseradish root also crossed the Red Sea with the fleeing Israelites. The Israelites were slaves at the time and only had access to a few vegetables. The hard and woody horseradish was one of them and was a household staple.

Nearly all the fleeing Israelites took horseradish with them. Moshe and Sadie, however, while gathering up their scant belongings, found to their dismay that they had run out of horseradish. Sadie immediately sent Moshe into the field to dig up a large horseradish root to take with them. However, because it was dark and everyone was running around in panic, Moshe dug up a ginger root by mistake.

After 40 years in the desert, the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land – all, that is, except Moshe and Sadie. It took them 41 years to arrive. When asked where they had been, Sadie, now grown old, shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Moshe insisted on taking an alternative root.”

Joke provided by David Minkoff www.awordinyoureye.com

YIDDISH WORD OF THE WEEK bubbameisse

‫בובמייסס‬ Old wives' tale, cock and bull story (often attributed by erroneous folk etymology to combination of bubbe, "grandmother", and meisse, "tale", but in fact derives from "Bove-meisse", from the "Bove Bukh", the "Book of Bove", the chivalric adventures of fictitious knight Sir Bevys ("Bove") of Hampton, first published in Yiddish in 1541 and continually republished until 1910.

BRAIN FOOD

Greetings

ACROSS

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1. Sawyer of news 6. Wreck 10. New York stadium with kosher food options 14. Befuddled cartoon character?

15. Palindromic publication 16. Shmooze 17. Jewish greeting 19. Disneyland souvenir 20. Propulsion aids 21. Friendly robot in "Interstellar" 22. Director Kershner, for short 23. Code letters?

24. Makes like top Democrats, these days 26. Abu Dhabi's land, for short 29. Alternative to the first word in 61-Across 30. Parlor for Pac-Man 32. Big name in Israeli food exports 34. Catchall category abbreviation 37. Catchall abbreviation 38. Jewish greeting 41. Rent-___ 42. MBA subj.

43. Guns, an engine 44. As far as the eye ___ 46. Eve, once 47. Part of a refrain 48. One-upped like the President?

52. "Well, ___ di-dah!"

55. Word with set or service 57. Python's pose 58. Notable Israeli nickname 59. Achim 61. Jewish greeting 63. Where some might aptly rove around Yerushalayim, with "The" 64. Tops 65. ___ say more 66. Gentleman caller 67. Murray with two Olympic golds 68. Enables one in need to provide for himself

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1. Home scheme 2. Omar of concern, to some 3. Ancient Jewish scholar 4. Belonging to Flanders 5. Poetic palindrome 6. Addict's need?

7. Michelob offering 8. Words of the defeated 9. Neighbor or Ari. 10. Dell competitor 11. Jewish greeting 12. Chermon, for one 13. Mork and Spock, for short 18. "Ignore that edit" 22. ___air

24. Not the brightest 25. To-his own link 27. "Watership Down" novelist Richard 28. Crosswords' most common fish 29. They're shifted 31. Famous one, for short 32. Bald award 33. Jewish greeting 34. Alt. to 10-Down 35. Well known judge of the mid90's 36. 1040 ID 39. He'brew, e.g.

40. Like the Negev 41. Put on a show 45. Ben Gurion abbr.

46. Bank (on) 49. Dominant NCAA basketball team, last decade 50. Made like Mr. Brown 51. March 14th, to math majors 52. Kind of measurement 53. Stand fast 54. 45 players 56. Grandson of Sarah 58. Brak or Akiva 59. "Just a sec," in texts 60. Bass producer?

61. ___ few rounds 62. New England sch.

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“It’s meaningful to make something to pray to G-d in,” Amy McCain said as she sat on the floor, tying the fringes to her pastel tie-dye tallit. Some students said they planned to wear their tallitot at their own b’nai mitzvah and the entire class looked forward to showing off their creations at their graduation in June. ì Lauren and Steve Heller announced the birth of their son, Jacob Lawrence “Cobi” Feb. 16. Cobi has two sisters, Stephanie and Becca. Cobi was given the Hebrew name Yitzchak Leeoz in memory of his maternal grandfather, Irving Wilson, and his paternal great-grandmother, Lenore Nathan. The brit milah was performed by Dr. Daniel Goodman at Temple Emanu-el with Cantor Scott Colbert officiating and Geoff Frisch as the sandek.

Cantor Isaac Goodfriend

15 Years Ago // March 25, 2005 ì The bar mitzvah ceremony of Jason Michael Gerson was held Saturday, March 19, 2005 at Temple Beth Tikvah. Jason is the son of Steve and RoseAnn Gerson and the brother of Jennifer. He dedicated his ceremony in honor of his grandmother, Helen Reiber, and his grandparents, Adrian and Gertrude Gerson and Moses Reiber. He was a seventh-grade student at The Epstein School, where he participated in the Nediv Lev program that donates portions of students’ b’nai mitzvah gift dollars to charity. directed the choir in 50 Years Ago// March 27, 1970 ì JCC’s Habima Theatre honored Lois and Jerry Blonder at a tribute “Let My People Go” ì The Ahavath Achim sisterhood hosted members of the United when Ahavath Achim evening for their commitment to programs for people with disabilities March sisterhood hosted women Church Women of Atlanta Monday, April 6, at their synagogue for an inter31, 2005. “They are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met,” said of a local church. faith seder.

Cantor Isaac Goodfriend directed the choir in a cantata written by Susie Davidow, who directed the JCC’s Blonder Family Department for Dea Russian Jew, entitled “Let My People Go.” Members of the Sisterhood wrote velopmental Disabilities. “I’m in awe of their generosity and kindness.” The a mock seder, which was followed by a Passover luncheon and question and answer period. evening began with a performance of “Mame” and was followed by a reception. ì Mr. and Mrs. Ben Greszes of Atlanta cordially invited their relatives and friends to 25 Years Ago // March 31, 1995 attend the bar mitzvah of their son, Mario. The bar mitzvah was held March 28 at Congregaì Congregation Beth Shalom seventh-grade students learned to hand-make tallitot. tion Beth Jacob.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 51

OBITUARIES

John Isaac Benator 86, Atlanta

John Isaac Benator, 86, passed away March 19, 2020. Johnny will be remembered as a loving son, husband, father, brother and uncle who was always eager to help his community and anyone in need.

He was born in Atlanta on July 7, 1933, to Marie and Isaac Benator, of blessed memory. He is also predeceased by his brothers Morris, Max and Asher, and sister Alice. He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Leslie Shetzen Benator, his children Elizabeth and Andrew, and a large and loving extended Benator family.

There was nothing that Johnny loved more than to spend time with his family.

Playing backgammon with his brothers was their favorite pastime. His and Leslie’s support of their children’s professional and creative endeavors brought him great joy.

Johnny grew up on Central Avenue on the south side of Atlanta in a tight-knit community of Sephardic Jews with whom his parents had immigrated from the Isle of Rhodes and Bodrum, Turkey. He attended Georgia State University and served in the Army before returning to Atlanta to work as a salesman for Prager Brush Company.

Johnny and Leslie married in February 1966. One month later he co-founded Tara Materials, an artist canvas manufacturing company which became his life’s work and which has remained a family business to this day, run by his nephew Michael Benator. Johnny was an active member of his community, serving as president of his beloved Congregation Or VeShalom and the Atlanta chapter of American ORT, and vice-president of American ORT. He was a lifelong supporter of the Atlanta Jewish Federation and the Georgia Israel Bonds committee, among other organizations.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Congregation Or VeShalom or the charity of your choice. Due to the current public health crisis, the family held a private graveside service March 22 at Greenwood Cemetery, officiated by Rabbi Stephen Listfield. A memorial service and shiva will be held for friends and family when circumstances allow. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. An online guestbook is available at dresslerjewishfunerals.com

Rhona Miriam Caplan 69, Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Rhona Miriam Caplan, 69, passed away peacefully March 22, 2020. Born to Sylvia and Hyman Caplan of blessed memory and raised in Atlanta, Rhona moved permanently to Laguna Niguel, Calif., in 1984.

She graduated from Henry Grady High School and the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in education. Rhona taught middle school science in Atlanta and then worked in sales for many years after moving to California. She had a zest for life and was a loving sister, sister-in-law, aunt and friend. Whenever a family member or friend was in need, Rhona was always there to lend a helping hand. She had a heart of gold. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends and will remain in our hearts forever. Rhona is survived by two loving sisters, Leona Zivitz (Donald), and Adele Wineburgh (Michael, of blessed memory); five beloved nieces and nephews, Thomas Zivitz (Anita), Sara Beth Zivitz, Hydee Zivitz Kivowitz (Ross), Sam Wineburgh (Elina), and Lauren Wineburgh; and great-nephews Brodie Zivitz, Meyer Wineburgh, Adler Wineburgh and Eli Kivowitz.

The funeral service was held graveside at Arlington Memorial Park March 25, 2020. It was a private service due to the health crisis. Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal officiated. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, the Alzheimer’s Association or Ahavath Achim Synagogue. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Rachel Shamon Glazer 102, Atlanta

Rachel Shamos Glazer passed away at home in Atlanta March 26, 2020, at the age of 102. A native of Atlanta, she was born November 23, 1917, the fourth of five children born to Dvora and Jacob Shamos, who had immigrated to Atlanta from Ternovke, Ukraine. As a child, she lived in the back of her parents’ store on Nelson Street in the West End neighborhood and attended the Arbeiter Ring Yiddish language school.

52 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

She attended Girls’ High and was a double major in chemistry and math at Agnes Scott College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa during the Depression and continuing her summer job as salesperson at Rich’s department store. In 1937, at the age of 19, she got a job as an elementary school teacher in Atlanta, and that same year she married Isaac Joseph Glazer (1911-1990), whom she had met at the Atlanta Public Library.

After they were married, Joe attended and graduated from dental school at Emory and then served as a dentist in the Army during World War II. During his service, Rachel and Joe lived at Camp Gordon Johnston, Fla., in Nashville, Tenn., and Daytona Beach, Fla. Joe and Rachel returned to Atlanta after the war, where they settled in Ansley Park and raised three children.

Rachel was active in the Jewish community as a member of Ahavath Achim Synagogue and she served as local programming chair for Hadassah, the Jewish women’s organization. In the 1960s Rachel went back to school at Georgia State, brushing up on math. After learning assembly language in the one computer course she took, she began working in 1966 in the actuarial department at Alexander & Alexander as the firm’s only female programmer. She went on to teach computer programming at Atlanta Technical College from 1968 until her retirement in 1982.

During her retirement, Rachel stayed busy, visiting her children and grandchildren; traveling to Israel and to Europe; tutoring elementary school students in math and science; and joining a Torah study group at A.A. synagogue, among other pursuits.

She also belonged to a Sunday morning discussion group at the Royal Bagel, attending nearly weekly for more than two decades. During her lifetime, she saw dramatic transformations in the world. As a small child, she was allowed to cross the street on her own because cars were so rare. Customers shopped for food daily at her family’s store because they didn’t have refrigerators.

In recent years, she enjoyed talking to her children and grandchildren on Skype video calls, expressing amazement at being able to connect with her family around the world from her computer in Atlanta. Rachel Glazer was the last surviving sibling of her generation and was aunt to six nephews and nieces and great-aunt to 13 grandnephews and nieces.

She is survived by her children Charlotte (Michael Baer) of Washington, D.C., Sarah (Al Furst) of Cambridge, Mass., and Samuel (Elise Siegel) of New York, N.Y.; three grandchildren, Daniel, Naomi, and Juliet; and a great-grandson Aulu, whom she met for the first time last month. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Betty S. Jacobs Hoffman 81, Atlanta

Betty S. Jacobs Hoffman passed away March 16, 2020. She was a magnificent mother, grandmother and sister.

She was born August 4, 1938, in Jamaica, N.Y. to Gertrude and Sidney Spero, now deceased. She attended Boston University, where she met her husband Bo Jacobs, now deceased.

She raised two daughters, was officer of Temple Beth El Sisterhood, continued her studies in interior design and owned Stitches ‘n’ Stuff, a needlepoint shop in Knoxville.

In her day, she was an avid mahjong and tennis player, Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader, and PTA and homeowners’ association officer. She was a realtor with Harry Norman Realtors in Atlanta and part-owner of Partyrama. In 1994, she married Jason Hoffman, now deceased, and was happily married to him for 13 years.

Betty is survived by daughters Robin Jacobs Nelson and Judi Jacobs; son-in-law, Morgan Shallcross; grandchildren Aaron Nelson (Joe Johnson) and Jessica Nelson ( Dan Banks); brother Michael Spero (Kimber); and niece Susan Spero Lane.

The graveside service was private. There will be a memorial service for Betty Hoffman at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Georgia, BrightFocus Foundation (for macular degeneration) or a charity of your choice.

OBITUARIES

Carol Klug 73, Marietta

Carole Klug, 73, of Marietta, Ga., passed away Feb. 5, 2020. She is preceded in death by her son Joshua. Carole is survived by her husband Joe Klug; daughter Alli Klug; and brother Steven Tauber.

Donations may be made to Temple Emanu-El or the American Cancer Society.

Funeral services were held Feb. 9 at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Dennis Kodesh 78, Atlanta

Dennis Kodesh, 78, died at home March 15, 2020, surrounded by three generations of family. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Marilyn; sons Brad, Neil (Shanee), and Greg (Elissa); brother Eric (Tessa); and five grandchildren: Morris, Orly, Henry, Solomon and Flora.

Dennis was born Sept. 27, 1941, in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Edith and Harris Kodesh. In 1984, he emigrated with his wife and children to Atlanta, where he rooted himself in the Jewish community and developed lifelong friendships with other South African emigrants.

An avid reader, Dennis passed along his love of learning to his three sons. In his later years, nothing brought Dennis more joy than spending time with his grandchildren. He was a devoted husband, caring father, and beloved zayde.

Due to the health crisis, the funeral and shivah period will be held in private.

Dennis will be honored with a public memorial service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Congregation Beth Tefillah or Jewish HomeLife. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Bernice Kravitch Mazo 97, Atlanta

Bernice Kravitch Mazo passed away March 18, 2020, at age 97. Bernice was born on May 16, 1922, in Savannah, Ga., to Aaron and Ella (Wiseman) Kravitch. She lived in Atlanta for over 67 years with her loving husband of 48 years, Edwin Julian Mazo, until his passing in 1994. She lived for over 40 years at Plaza Towers. She was known to be an excellent cook and baker plus she enjoyed volunteering at The Cathedral of St. Philip Thrift House.

Bernice was preceded in death by her parents and sisters Rosland Weitz (David), Judge Phyllis Kravitch, and son-in-law Herbert William (Bill) Mabry.

She is survived by sister Sally Scharf (William) of New York City; daughters Laura Arnovitz (Richard) of Memphis, Tenn., and Anne Mabry of Marietta; grandchildren Amanda La Kier (Howard), Skye Cossio, Cynthia Nickelson (Andrew) and Matthew Mabry (Rachel); and great-grandchildren Eden and Maren La Kier and Eli and Jude Cossio. A special thank you to her amazing caregiver of five years, Margaret Kamau.

A private graveside service was held at Bonaventure Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to your favorite charity.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 53

OBITUARIES

Gilbert Miller Canton, Ga.

Gilbert Miller passed away Saturday, March 14, 2020. We celebrate his life as he celebrated life – being alive, being a part of the universe. He made each day a joy and a sad face a rarity. In North Miami Beach, Fla., he raised his family, opened his own accounting firm, was an active member and treasurer of Adath Yeshuran Synagogue.

From there, given his altruistic nature, he became a chancellor for the Knights of Pythias and joined the North Miami Beach Lions Club. Fifty-four years later he was still a Lion, this time in Canton, Ga. Not satisfied with just being a member, he became involved on a state level organizing the Leo’s Club for the state of Florida, a high school service club, and served as president of the Florida Lions Foundation for the Blind.

Outside of temple and the community, having graduated from University of Miami, he became a fanatic of Miami Hurricane football, dressing in Hurricane gear, flying the Hurricane flag, travelling to away games - a fanaticism that carried over to his children, Mark and Susan.

Gilbert is predeceased by his parents, Gertrude and Philip Miller, brother Seymour “Stretch” Miller, and daughter Susan Schwartz. He is survived by his wife Nell Miller; son Mark Miller; step-children Jeri Brooks and David Vaughn; grandchildren Michael and Jonathan Schwartz, Lauren Brekke, Jason Mille and Cody Vaughn; and great-grandchildren Matthew, Nathaniel and Thea Schwartz, and Jake Brekke. Donations can be made through the Florida Lion’s Foundation for the Blind website. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Edith Pliner 90, Atlanta

Edith Pliner, 90, passed away peacefully March 17, 2020, at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. Edith was born in Philadelphia to Morris and Bella (Barson) Cherrin.

She lived in Atlanta with her loving husband of 56 years, Irvin, until he passed away in 2006. Edith, a proud Jewish woman, was a most loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a true role model in every sense of the word. She always looked beautiful and composed herself with such poise. She constantly boasted of her two biggest accomplishments in her life, Stuart and Eric (Isser) Pliner. She insisted that she was so lucky and blessed to have her beautiful boys and she counted her blessings daily. Not only was Edith a dedicated, involved and committed grandmother, she was a best friend to each of us. We can hear her voice now telling every one of us, “you are a very important person in my life and I am lucky to have you.”

One of the most profound messages and perspectives she ever gave us many, many times over was the following: “In life you find there are good parents who don’t get great children, and other times in life there are great children who don’t get good parents. But just sometimes, God blesses individuals to have great parents and great kids, and that’s our family. You are so lucky and blessed to have wonderful parents and your parents are so blessed and lucky to have wonderful children. And that’s exactly how I feel about my two boys.”

Edith leaves behind her sister Miriam Levitas; two sons and daughter-in-law, Stuart and Barbara, and Eric (Isser) and Suann. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. May her soul rest in peace. May her soul rise directly to Heaven next to her soulmate Irvin Pliner. May her sons, and those who love her dearly, find comfort and solace in her full and robust life that she lived.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Meals on Wheels Atlanta, 1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318; 404-351-3889. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

‫זיכרונה לברכה‬ Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Managing Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

54 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Doris Ginsberg Schneider 91, Atlanta

Doris Ginsberg Schneider, 91, of Atlanta, passed away Thursday, March 12, 2020.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Doris was the daughter of Jack and Anna Ginsberg. She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife and mother. She worked as legal secretary until her retirement. Doris was preceded in death by her husband Moe Schneider in 2011, her grandson, Michael Jared in 2012, and her son Jeffrey Scott in 2015. She is survived by her son Jason Todd Schneider; daughters-in-law Alison Schneider of Atlanta and Paula Schneider of Boston, Mass.; and her loving grandchildren: Emily Schneider, Adam Schneider, Sophie Schneider and Caroline Schneider.

Donations can be made to Jewish HomeLife, https://www.jewishhomelife.org/, or Temple Sinai, https://www.templesinaiatlanta.org/. The funeral was held at Arlington Memorial Cemetery March 15 with Rabbi Ron Segal officiating. Arrangements by Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Laurel Tamkin 81, Atlanta

Laurel Tamkin, 81, of Atlanta, died March 15, 2020. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law David and Theresa Milder; daughter and son-in-law Lisa and John Flagel; and grandchildren Melissa and Megan Milder and Zachary, Connor and Chase Flagel.

Laurel was born in Vicksburg, Miss., and raised in Columbia, S.C. She earned a master’s in library information sciences from the University of South Carolina while working for the South Carolina Department of Corrections and retired after 25 years as a librarian in the women's prison.

Following retirement, she spent 15 years in San Diego, then moved to Atlanta for her final years. She loved her cats, reading, exercising and socializing. A memorial service was held March 16 at Congregation Etz Chaim with Rabbi Daniel Dorsch officiating.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. Sign online guestbook, www.DresslerJewishFunerals.com.

Margie Ulman 89, Atlanta

Margie Ulman passed away March 26, 2020, from the COVID-19 virus. Margie was born Jan. 5, 1931, in New York, N.Y. She was the only child of Doris and Charles Saks. Margie grew up in Syracuse, N.Y. She graduated Syracuse University with a bachelor of science in bacteriology. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Atlanta, Ga., to work as a research biologist at Emory University. She met Stanley Ulman, now deceased, who she married on Jan. 4, 1953.

Stanley and Margie had three children Cary Ulman, Missy (Deborah) Alterman, now deceased, and Jennifer Rickles. Margie had a long and distinguished career as a residential realtor. Recently, she was honored by the Atlanta Realtors Association by achieving Realtor Emeritus status. Margie was an avid tennis player and loved being a grandmother to her six grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.

Margie is survived by her son Cary (Sue) Ulman; daughter Jennifer (Harvey) Rickles; grandchildren Samantha Alterman, Jason Ulman, Ben (Jacqueline) Ulman, Carley and Julia Rickles and Erica (Eric) Montenegro, and great-grandsons Nathaniel and Graham.

Margie is also survived by her husband’s brother Bernard (Bubba) Ulman.

A graveside funeral service was held Sunday, March 29, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Neil Sandler officiating.

Due to the current public health crisis, the funeral was limited to family only. It was live streamed on Dressler’s Facebook page. Donations may be sent to American Parkinson Disease Association or the American Lung Association. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

NEW MOON MEDITATIONS A Post-it Note in the Sky R o s h Chodesh Nisan began at sundown on Thursday, March 26. This month is referred to in the Torah as chodesh ha-aviv, the month Dr. Terry Segal of spring, as New Moon Meditations it begins the season. In our history, two weeks before the Exodus, Hashem showed Moses the crescent edge of the new moon and set the time clock of the months and seasons on which we still run. From that time on, we’ve been given the opportunity to become aware of, and work with, these constant and sacred cycles.

Most people don’t pay attention to the phases of the moon but, in fact, it’s a mitzvah to sanctify the new moon. It was the first mitzvah given to our people of the newly formed nation of Israel.

Being mindful of the moon’s phases becomes relevant to us today, as a valuable tool for preventing burnout. Go outside, at least two nights a month, to observe the darkness of the new moon and the light of the full moon. You’ll not only ground yourself to the grid of Mother earth, but you can consciously entrain with the moon’s rhythms.

Entrainment refers to the alignment of an individual’s chronobiological, physical and behavioral relationship with the environment in which they live.

Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines the adaptation of living organisms to solar and lunar-related rhythms, like our circadian rhythms, that inform us when to sleep, awaken, eat, etc. We all know what it feels like to travel to different time zones and have to readjust.

When we consciously entrain, or match our rhythms to the cycles of the moon, we wax and move outward to shine brightly at the full moon and then wane, as we pull our energies back in to rest and restore through the new moon.

The moon is so much greater than a Post-it note to remind us to live in balance. Whenever you’re reading this, look up the moon’s phase if you don’t already know it. Notice if you’re in the time of the waning moon that culminates in the new moon or the waxing moon that arrives at the full moon. If you’re in the two-week period through the waning moon then use this time for resting, restoring and

planning. Go inward and evaluate where you’ve been wasting your energy or overdoing it, monitor your activity levels and plant the seeds of your next steps. Get more sleep and be mindful of the patterns that take you off balance. Then in the next two weeks of the waxing moon, turn your inner light up, ready to shine with the full moon, and take action with your energy at its peak.

The female menstrual cycle parallels the moon cycles of ovulation, when the egg is ripe to be fertilized and propagate new growth, and the arrival of the period, when there is a release and sloughing off of matter that has not been used.

The time of a woman’s period is often referred to as her “moon time.”

After you’re in the habit of heightening your awareness to the cycles of the moon and you learn to manipulate your energies so that they wax and wane, widen the lens to look at the larger picture of the passage of time.

For most of us, birthdays mark this passage each year. Are you in the group that celebrates your birthday with special trips, parties or dinner plans, or the group that says, “Oh, it’s just another day; I don’t count them anymore”?

When you’re mindful of the passage of time, rather than mourning it, celebrate by scheduling things you’d like to do or achieve.

Meditation Focus: Sit quietly and imagine yourself in each of the two contrasting phases of quiet introspection and full-blown action. Which one is more natural for you? Are you inclined to constantly be doing and running, over-scheduled and without time to think or check in with yourself? Conversely, maybe you spend a great deal of time alone or in a silent, contemplative mood. Make a plan for the next three months to practice living in the balance between the expression of these two opposing energies. ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES MARCH 31, 2020 | 55

CLOSING THOUGHTS Finding Hope in a Time of Uncertainty I love Shabbat, but never before had the recitation of the blessing over wine brought tears to my eyes.

Just beRabbi Ruth fore we lit the Abusch-Magder candles, my son had called.

He is in the middle of a closed Army training program and communication is limited - no newspapers or TV, and rare, very short phone calls, often weeks apart.

His training is difficult, so when we talk, we do our best to focus on the positive, not on the complexities of life. Looking ahead to his cousin’s bar mitzvah scheduled for the beginning of May, our son asked my husband to buy him a plane ticket.

We could not explain in a minute or two that the world as it was, with family gatherings and frequent air travel, was

no longer really in play.

So we skirted the complexities unfolding in our world beyond his training camp and simply said, “We will do what needs to be done.”

The conversation ended. We returned to our rituals. When we began to recite the full text of the Shabbat blessings over the wine, the Kiddush, the words which I have said weekly my whole life, took on new and powerful meaning.

And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day, God finished the work that God had been doing, and God ceased on the seventh day from all the work that God had done. ...You made the holy Shabbat our heritage as a reminder of the work of Creation. As first among our sacred days, it recalls the Exodus from Egypt.

In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of the reality that is unfolding

before us, these words recalled me to the timeless certainty of creation, the earth, our traditions and the divine. And just like that, tears began.

Right now we are all painfully aware that the only certainty is change.

And lack of control and rapid change are hard.

Even in the most ‘normal’ of times, the world is a very uncertain place. Violence, illness, random tragedy are not under our control. Still, most of the time we negotiate the world and the everyday with the illusion of control. COVID-19 has shattered our illusions.

Throughout the generations, in times as uncertain and even more uncertain than our own, our people have weekly come to the words of the Kiddush. While all ritual is grounding, the words of the Kiddush recall the story of creation as well as that of the Exodus from Egypt. They are a reminder of the universal truth of being, of the sun and the stars, the earth and the water. The Exodus is a reminder of the survival of our people through even the most difficult of

times.

The Kiddush is also a reminder of the power of time. On my daily walks, I pass over the empty lanes of [Georgia] 400. Normally, a quick glance at the traffic gives me a sense of how busy our city is, the time of day and the day of the week.

Now the traffic is always light, a reminder of how, in this time of social distancing, each moment is eerily similar to the next. The Kiddush reminds us that even when the days seem the same, the ritual of Shabbat helps us recall the markers of time. The Kiddush says, no matter what the traffic on 400, this day is not the same as the one before or the next.

Many of us are carrying more than we feel equipped to handle. I did not know what to say to our son that night, I do not know always how to calm myself.

And so the power of Shabbat, its grounding format and its durability, provide the prayers I need more than ever. ì Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder is rabbiin-residence of Be’chol Lashon, which advocates for Jewish diversity.

We’re here to help you cope during this stressful time.

Telehealth options for counseling are available, as well as virtual parenting and therapy groups.

For more information about our therapy services, or to make a telehealth appointment, email or call us at: therapy@jfcsatl.org or 770.677.9474.

jfcsatl.org 56 | MARCH 31, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

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