Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 21, May 26, 2017

PREPARING FOR SHAVUOT, PAGES 26-29 FOR THE CHILDREN

The gift of the Torah and the holiday’s first day are tributes to the future. Page 26

MILK AND BEER

Our cocktail expert offers seasonal options, including a true dairy drink. Page 27

WIDOWS’ GIFT

The Book of Ruth connects the messiah to the ultimate act of kindness. Page 28

Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 21

WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM

AIAAS Plans 4 Next Steps The Atlanta Initiative Against AntiSemitism plans a communitywide forum in October to address the problem of anti-Semitism in public and private schools.

The forum will bring the Jewish community together with educational representatives from the state to the school level. The guest list will include teachers, counselors and even bus drivers, who often are on the front lines of bullying.

The four AIAAS founders will use the format that worked at their leadership forum March 30: a few speakers setting the scene for facilitated table discussions.

“Why reinvent the wheel when we already had a successful format?” co-founder Danielle Cohen said. It was successful enough for American Jewish Committee Atlanta to bestow its Advocacy Award on AIAAS. The presentation was planned for the Selig Distinguished Service Award Dinner on Wednesday night, May 24.

At a volunteer training session Sunday, May 21, AIAAS announced three other initiatives: • Making the leadership forum an annual event.

• Launching a community campaign in which some symbol of opposition to anti-Semitism is displayed publicly.

• Organizing support for hate-crimes legislation in Georgia. ■

MAY 26, 2017 | 1 SIVAN 5777

Iran Deal Divides Duo In 6th Race

A Fond Farewell

Rose Karlin, who will be studying in Israel next year, stops on her way to her Weber School diploma to embrace UGA-bound classmate Shannan Berzack at Weber’s 2017 graduation ceremony Sunday, May 21, at the Ferst Center. Weber and its 55 graduates (Page 18) and the Epstein School and its 61 graduates the next night (Page 20) kicked off commencement season at the Atlanta-area day schools. Check out the graduation tribute ads on Pages 24 and 25, and look for more graduation coverage throughout June.

Nominate Your Jewish ATL 40 Under 40 Today! http://atlantajewishtimes.com/40under40/ DEADLINE IS JUNE 11, 2017

INSIDE Calendar ��������������������������������������� 4 Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion ���������������������������������������10 Business �������������������������������������� 31 Arts �����������������������������������������������32 Obituaries �����������������������������������33 Marketplace �������������������������������36 Crossword �����������������������������������38

Congressional candidates Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel offered conflicting views of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal Sunday, May 21, even while agreeing on the need for a hard line against the Tehran regime’s aggression in the Middle East.

The 6th District rivals appeared separately at the monthly meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 112 in Dunwoody about the time President Donald Trump was speaking in Saudi Arabia about isolating terrorist-financing Iran.

Republican Handel said Iran was the only nation to benefit from the deal the Obama administration and its international partners negotiated in 2015. That deal dropped economic sanctions and unfroze overseas Iranian assets to get Iran to halt work toward nuclear weapons.

“We should strictly and uncompromisingly monitor Iran’s compliance” through International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and U.S. intelligence, Democrat Ossoff said. “If Iran in any way violates the agreement, we should immediately impose harsh sanctions to punish the government of Iran.”

He called for imposing “swift, biting sanctions” if Iran tests ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions.

Trump during the presidential campaign criticized the Iran deal and the limited U.S. response to Iranian missile tests, support for terrorists and aggression in the Middle East, but he has done nothing to undo the nuclear deal.

Speaking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before flying to Israel, he singled out Iran for criticism. He said Iran gives terrorists safe harbor, money and the social standing to boost recruitment. ■ • More from the candidates, Page 13; Sandy Springs protests on Iran, Page 15

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MAY 26 â–ª 2017

MA TOVU

A Bit of the Unknown Can Be a Good Thing Not knowing can be hard.

Recently my sister-in-law went into the hospital late in her pregnancy but not quite at full term. While we waited for news, I felt the discomfort that comes from uncertainty.

On the whole, humans like to know. One of my dearest friends, a therapist, often reminds me that when we know, we can prepare to navigate the reality, good or bad.

We have discussed this generally at length over the years and personally when I’ve reached a crossroads and the path forward is unclear.

Often I experience the not knowing as stressful. Recently, I did not sleep so well while I waited to find out whether the offer we put in on a house was accepted.

This is an age-old problem.

Consider what happened at Sinai.

According to the Bible, in the weeks after the Exodus, the Israelites were craving certainty.

The oppression of their old lives had been horrid, but at least there had been structure and predictability.

Not so with life in the desert.

Sources of food and water were not obvious, and the destination was the vague Promised Land. But at least they had Moses and the assurance that when they got to Sinai, they would get to meet G-d and receive the revelation.

When they got to Sinai and Moses disappeared up the mountain, the not knowing got unbearable. In an attempt to quiet the uncertainty, they built a golden calf and fruitlessly sought answers there.

When, in the end, the Israelites got their wish — the revelation and knowing they sought — it turned out to be a bit much.

They did not get the entire Torah all at once; they got only the 10 key pieces. The direct encounter with the Divine Knower of All was simply too much to take in.

The day my sister-in-law went into the hospital, I was thinking about this and about the rabbinic teaching that while G-d knows all, people have

free will. Having both is impossible.

Not knowing is hard, but so is knowing. Moses got closer to knowing than anyone. On top of Sinai, he received the entire Torah, written and oral, directly from G-d. From the cleft in the rock, he saw as much as anyone has ever seen of the Divine.

Taking Root

By Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder rabbiruth@gmail.com

But in the end, he did not go into the Promised Land. I cannot help but think that in part he could not go because he knew too much.

Not knowing can make us anxious, but knowing takes away our freedom to make choices and our ability to hope. Sitting in synagogue the day my sister-in-law went to the hospital, worried though I was, there was nothing to stop me from imagining the best possible outcomes. I was free to be hopeful and optimistic.

I was able to pray for her health and for the safety of the baby.

Not knowing enables us to envision good outcomes.

According to our tradition, we have the obligation and opportunity to push toward the best possible outcome. Our actions may not always get us there, but we cannot know that unless we try.

I suspect that Moses’ knowing stood in the way of his trying. After all, if you know what will happen, what is the point of trying at all?

Things do not always turn out the way we wish or optimally envision them. The end can bring disappointment and even devastation. In some cases, there was nothing we could have done to change the outcome, but sometimes our only comfort comes from knowing we have tried.

And sometimes it works out for the best.

We move into our new house next month, and before then my newest niece should be home with her now very healthy mother. ■

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

In the end, Moses did not go into the Promised Land.

I cannot help but think that in part he could not go because he knew too much.

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CALENDAR THROUGH JUNE 11

“Atlanta Collects.” The second part of the exhibit of privately held art, covering contemporary work, is at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Museum admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and educators, and $4 for children 3 to 6; thebreman.org or 678-222-3700.

THURSDAY, MAY 25

Rosie the Riveter. Carol Cain, who has portrayed the iconic World War II figure at the Little White House and other Southeast locations the past 23 years, speaks to the Edgewise group at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, at 10:30 a.m. Free for JCC members, $5 for others; matureadults@atlantajcc.org or 678-812-3861.

Tzedek Award. New Israel Fund Atlanta honors Janice Rothschild Blumberg at 7:30 p.m. at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown, with speaker Sharon Abraham-Weiss of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Free; RSVP to Mordy Labaton at atlanta@ nif.org or 212-613-4426.

THURSDAY, JUNE 1

Community siyum. Young Israel of Toco Hills, 2056 LaVista Road, celebrates the community completion of the study of the Torah at 5:15 p.m. with its annual awards ceremony on the second day of Shavuot, this year honoring Miriam Udel, Devorah Lowenstein and Bob David. Donations encouraged; www.yith.org, leslie@yith.org or 404315-1417.

SUNDAY, JUNE 4

Shavuot hike. Cub Scout Pack 1818 hosts an all-Scout hike preceded by a child-friendly service at 8:15 a.m. at

Stone Mountain Park, 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Stone Mountain, at the base of the mountain by Confederate Hall.

Park entrance is $15 per carload; RSVP to dyannd@charter.net.

Car show. Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, hosts its annual Kosher Kar Show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free admission, with kosher barbecue for sale; www.or-hadash.org or 404-250-3338.

Hair donation. Women with at least 12 inches of hair to cut are invited to donate their hair and get free styling at Keri Gold Salon, 1258 W. Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the first Great Lengths for Cancer event in Atlanta to benefit Zichron Menachem and Israeli children with cancer. Free; greatlengthsforcancer.org or 404-990-3200.

Field day. The Sixth Point offers summer-camp-style fun and games for young professionals with its Wet Hot American Field Day at 2 p.m. at the Park at Pernoshal Court, 4575 N. Shallowford Road, Dunwoody. Admission is $5 (bring your own beer); thesixthpoint. org (register by May 26 to get your team color in advance).

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

Federation annual meeting. The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta honors Larry Frank with the Lifetime of Achievement Award and hears from former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro during its 111th annual meeting at 7 p.m. at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead. Free; jewishatlanta.org/ event/federation-annual-meeting or 404-870-1625.

Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com.

Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.

Remember When

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

25 Years Ago May 22, 1992 ■ Several hundred people gathered at the Georgia Conference on Human Survival, a two-day conference at Georgia Tech that served as a precursor to next month’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The conference included an interfaith panel that emphasized religious agreement on supporting reverence for the environment. Rabbi Brett Isserow of The Temple said it’s a mistake to wait for G-d or the messiah to clean up our messes.

■ The bar mitzvah of Mitchell Paul Kronenberg of Atlanta, son of Pam and Irwin Kronenberg, took place May 16 at Congregation Beth Shalom.

■ Michael and Marla Chaliff of Atlanta announce the birth 4 of a son, Ryan Scott, on March 24.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Bamidbar Friday, May 26, light candles at 8:22 p.m.

Saturday, May 27, Shabbat ends at 9:23 p.m.

Shavuot Tuesday, May 30, light candles at 8:25 p.m.

Wednesday, May 31, light candles after 9:26 p.m.

Thursday, June 1, holiday ends at 9:27 p.m.

Naso Friday, June 2, light candles at 8:26 p.m.

Saturday, June 3, Shabbat ends at 9:28 p.m.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

Infertility support. The Wo/Men Infertility Support & Help group meets at 6 p.m. at the Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah, 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, facilitated by licensed therapist Elana Klemm. Free; RSVP to RSVP@JewishFertilityFoundation.org or 404-275-9678.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

Recovery Shabbat. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of “Recovery: The Sacred Act,” starts a weekend in residence at Congregation Bet Haverim, 2074 LaVista Road, Toco Hills, by delivering the d’var Torah at 7:30 p.m. services. Free; www.congregationbethaverim.org or 404-315-6446.

Communal Shabbat. Federation Under 40, OneTable, PJ Library and the Birthright Israel Alumni Atlanta Network hold Shabbat in the City at more than 35 dinner tables, some for young families and others for young professionals without children. Free; shira@ onetable.org (no children) or nbrodsky@jewishatlanta.org (children).

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Recovery workshop. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of “Recovery: The Sacred Act,” leads a workshop from 3 to 8:30 p.m., culminating in dinner and Havdalah, at Congregation Bet Haverim, 2074 LaVista Road. Registration is $36; www.congregationbethaverim.org

50 Years Ago May 26, 1967 ■ Zionist groups in Atlanta and the Atlanta Jewish Community Council this week led a fast campaign to inform Washington leaders of their concern for the safety of Israel in the fast-moving Mideast crisis. The Community Council, representing 49 groups, sent a telegram to President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. The Atlanta Zionist Council barraged Congress with telegrams.

■ Despite the mounting tensions in the Middle East, 35 representatives of American Jewish newspapers, including The Southern Israelite, left the United States on Wednesday night for their convention in Israel. About a dozen others departed earlier and await their colleagues in Jerusalem.

■ Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Podber invite relatives and friends to attend the bar mitzvah of their son Jacob Joel at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, June 3, at the Shearith Israel Synagogue.

SUNDAY, JUNE 11

Recovery study. Rabbi Rami Shapiro leads a learning session with brunch at 9 a.m. at Congregation Bet Haverim, 2074 LaVista Road, Toco Hills. Registration is $18 ($50 to cover Saturday’s workshop as well); www.congregationbethaverim.org or 404-315-6446.

School beautification. ORT Atlanta, Federation Under 40 and Jewish Family & Career Services’ Volunteers in Action lead beautification activities at Forrest Hills Academy, 2930 Forrest Hills Drive, Atlanta, at 10 a.m. Free; www.facebook. com/events/1592188147472750, atlanta@ortamerica.org or 404-327-5266.

MACoM annual meeting. The Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah holds its annual meeting at Congregation B’nai Torah, 700 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, at 6 p.m., and then holds a grand opening of the mikvah’s gallery space with the exhibit “Mayim Rabim: A Great Many Waters” at 7.

Free; RSVP by June 2 to blenoble@atlantamikvah.org.

Eizenstat Family Lecture. CNN political anchor Wolf Blitzer delivers the annual lecture at 7 p.m. at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead. Free; www.aasynagogue.org or acohen@aasynagogue.org.

MONDAY, JUNE 12

Holocaust education. The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum holds its 26th annual Summer Institute on Teaching the Holocaust today through Friday, June 16, with full scholarships available after a $25 application fee. Register at www.thebreman.org/WeinbergCenter/Summer-Institute; questions to 404-870-1872 or summerinstitute@ thebreman.org.

War commemoration. Yitzhak Yifat, Zion Karasanti and Haim Oshri, the paratroopers shown in an iconic SixDay War photo at the Western Wall, appear at a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces event at 6 p.m. at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown. Tickets are $36; fidf.org/SixDayAtl.

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Contributors This Week RABBI RUTH ABUSCH-MAGDER JASON ADLER STEVE BERMAN RACHEL FAYNE RABBI DAVID GEFFEN YONI GLATT JORDAN GORFINKEL LEAH R. HARRISON JAN JABEN-EILON MARCIA CALLER JAFFE KEVIN C. MADIGAN ROBBIE MEDWED CHARLES MILLER DAVE SCHECHTER DENA SCHUSTERMAN TERRY SEGAL • DUANE STORK PATRICE WORTHY

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CONTACT INFORMATION GENERAL OFFICE 404.883.2130 KAYLENE@ATLJEWISHTIMES.COM The Atlanta Jewish Times is printed in Georgia and is an equal opportunity employer. The opinions expressed in the Atlanta Jewish Times do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Periodicals Postage Paid at Atlanta, Ga.

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MAY 26 ▪ 2017

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ISRAEL NEWS

Atlantan Angry at Israel for Forgetting Ethiopians

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Gene Rubel doesn’t mince words to express his outrage with the government of Israel.

Rubel, a Pittsburgh native who has lived in Atlanta for 20 years, isn’t complaining about settlements or the lack of egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. Instead, he uses terms such as “bureaucratic malfeasance” and “racism” about the behavior of the Israeli government toward Jews still living in squalor in Ethiopia, waiting to immigrate to Israel and be reunited with family members there.

“I heard a lecture a few weeks ago in which it was said that there are no more Jewish refugees in the world anymore; that’s not true,” Rubel said.

“Some of these Ethiopians have been there for 20 years waiting to go to Israel. Some people are saying it’s necessary to build a social welfare program to help them in Ethiopia, but there already is one in Israel.”

Since the early 1950s, the Jewish Agency for Israel has helped 90,000 Ethiopians make aliyah.

But Rubel’s complaints are related

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Gene Rubel visits with Ethiopian immigrant Talila while she is receiving steroid treatments at an absorption center in Jerusalem in 2013.

Talila and her mother get care at Hadassah’s Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.

to a decision the Israeli government made in August “to establish a system to interview people and make a list of those eligible to still make aliyah. In 2016, none were brought; 1,600 are supposed to be brought this year.”

He said the Interior Ministry is supposed to create a list but hasn’t done it. “The Ministry of Absorption funding is available. The people just need to go through a two-minute conversion because they are already Jewish. The primary list is based on those

who have relatives in Israel. The funds are allocated to hire people and for the travel.”

But nothing is happening, so Rubel, a former CEO of Jewish Healthcare International, has decided to start a movement to pressure the Israeli government to fulfill its commitment.

“This is a failure of the Israeli government to do what it says it will do.

These Ethiopians don’t have any advocates,” he said. “I decided I need to create a grassroots push in Israel and the United States.”

Rubel, who lived in Israel as a child in 1954 and as a college student in 1961, is fluent in Hebrew and has two children who made aliyah. He said he keeps up with news from Israel more than news in Sandy Springs.

Enlisting the help of Melissa Goldberg, a marketing communications professional, Rubel has launched a website (www.aliyafalashmura.org) to explain the situation of the Ethiopian Jews, referred to as Falashmura, and enlist the support of American Jews and Israelis.

He initiated meetings with local rabbis by talking with Congregation Or Hadash Rabbi Analia Bortz and presented his campaign on behalf of the Ethiopians at a recent Shabbat service there. He is reaching out to other rabbis and Jewish community leaders to urge them to spread the word and contact Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders.

Rubel’s activism isn’t limited to the United States. He has enlisted the support of the Jewish Agency, which appears ready to help settle the Ethiopians in Israel. But a planeload of about 17 families, all identified before the Israeli government’s August decision, was postponed from May 17 and now is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6.

Rubel has reached out to the Israeli Ministry of Interior, which is

supposed to create the new lists of eligible Ethiopians. He has requested a weekly report on the number of those interviewed and the number registered as meeting the criteria, but he hasn’t received a response. “Given the threeweek period for Ministry of Health and other processes between the time a family is registered and flown, I infer that no new registrations have been processed by the Ministry of Interior.

As we say in Hebrew, busha vecherpa: They should be ashamed.”

Referring to the latest delay, Rubel said the interviewing of families to determine eligibility for aliyah was supposed to take place last fall. “It is a disgrace that we are now almost five months into 2017, and not a single family has been registered. Meanwhile, thousands of people are living in hovels with little food and no medical care.

It is a disgrace that the Israeli government has allowed this to happen and even a greater disgrace that there is virtually no organized condemnation of this sorry state of affairs. Where are the Israeli human rights organizations? Where is the U.S. Jewish community? Where are the rabbis? Where are the shuls? Where are the Jewish Federations?”

He said he wrote to several Knesset members who conducted a hearing in March, but he has received no response. The Times of Israel reported in March that Knesset members Eli Alaluf (Kulanu), David Amsalem (Likud) and Avraham Neguise (Likud) accused the Interior Ministry of setting “deliberate obstacles to scuttle Ethiopian aliyah.”

The Times of Israel also reported that the last plane carrying Ethiopians, with 63 aboard, arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in October.

“I’m trying to raise public awareness of this issue,” Rubel said. “We have some people who are in trouble, and I want to know, what are we going to do to help them?”

He said Israel suffers from substantial racism and classism, resulting in a disproportionate number of Ethiopian immigrants working as hotel cleaners.

His goal now is for the first Ethiopian Jew identified under the government’s August decree to be transported to Israel, Rubel said. “Once the first one goes, that means there’s a process in place. Then we’ll figure out how to get the rest to Israel. The objective is to have 50 olim every month, but if there’s the reported 9,000, it’s going to take a while to get them all to Israel.” ■

ISRAEL NEWS

Today in Israeli History

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

May 26, 1924: The United States enacts the restrictive 1924 Immigration Act, which has the effect of boosting immigration to the land of Israel because fewer European Jews have the option of going to the United States. Between 1924 and 1929, the period known as the Fourth Aliyah, 82,000 Jews arrive in Palestine.

May 27, 1911: Teddy Kollek, a Zionist leader and longtime mayor of Jerusalem, is born in Nagyvázsony, Hungary.

May 28, 1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization is established during a Palestinian National Council meeting of nearly 400 delegates convened by King Hussein of Jordan.

May 29, 1979: Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, in a Knesset address,

recounts the events that transpired among Israel, the United States and Egypt the past two years, including the Camp David Accords.

May 30, 2009: Ephraim Katzir, who immigrated to Palestine with his family at the age of 9 and went on to serve as the chief scientist of the Israel Defense Forces and as the president of Israel, dies at 93.

May 31, 1665: Shabbetai Zevi declares himself the messiah. Born Aug. 1, 1626, in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey, he was a gifted scholar and mystic who showed signs of mental instability early in his life, causing unpredictable mood swings. After his announcement, he gains followers across the Sephardic world and into Europe, but when given a choice between death and conversion

by Ottoman authorities in 1666, he converts to Islam.

June 1, 1967: As tensions with Egypt escalate, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol appoints Moshe Dayan as defense minister, leading to Israel’s first national unity government.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Moshe Dayan, shown with daughter Yael in 1959, reflected on successful diplomacy with Egypt in a speech to the Knesset 20 years later.

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ISRAEL NEWS

Trump Raises Hopes for a Peaceful Future All the streets were closed because of the locales where President Donald Trump was going, so I stayed home to watch the second day of his visit.

Most Israelis had to go to work.

That was the case with our children and their spouses.

I hope that when they hear the words of the president, they will see a brighter future for their children.

Trump indicated that the Arab world is ready to destroy the terrorists, face the Iranian threat and help the Palestinians come to a peace agreement. Can Trump make it happen? We will have to see.

He spoke glowingly about Jerusalem on the eve of Jerusalem Day. He emphasized how Israel makes it possible for all faiths to pray in their own way — in institutions Israel protects.

He talked about the dreams of Herzl to create a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its center. Trump emphasized that Jerusalem represents hope not only for the Jewish people, but also for all peoples and all faiths.

The commentators pointed out that Trump never talked about two states but emphasized that the Palestinians and the Israelis would have to work out the peace that would be best for both. Trump also never mentioned the settlements. As a result, Likud ministers are already planning to build as much as they can in the West Bank.

At Yad Vashem it was moving after the Trumps lighted the eternal flame. You could see that Melania was crying. Trump spoke that favorite phrase: “The Jewish people will always

Guest Column

By Rabbi David Geffen

have the support of the United States.

We stress it will be never again that so many of yours are murdered.”

Trump was moved when he was given the notebook of a young woman who died in the Holocaust. A nonJewish neighbor had preserved this treasure. Trump was given a special copy to take back to the White House.

The meeting of Trump with Mahmoud Abbas did not offer any breakthroughs. In his final address, Trump said again that the Palestinians and the Israelis are ready for peace. The world is waiting.

As an ordinary Israeli, it was nice from the start of the Trump visit to hear an American president speak so positively about Jerusalem and Israel.

A writer who follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote after the first day: “Israel needs a full-bodied hug to feel secure. It is also important that its enemies see that embrace.”

That journalist, an American here for 40 years, recognizes the insecurity Israel feels as it nears age 70. In spite of winning numerous wars and developing high-tech breakthroughs, Israel as a nation is ever seeking public recognition. Without it, all the victories and discoveries are mere deeds.

On the other hand, another writer focused on the Trump embrace as just a way to suck Israel into his grand plans to bring about peace in this part of the world. Many American presidents have tried to get the Palestinians and Israelis together, but Trump knows he can do it. So, according to this writer, he puts on a grand show, bubbling over with praise for Netanyahu after bubbling over with praise for the king of Saudi Arabia and all the Arab leaders at the summit in Riyadh.

One of the great controversies of the Israeli writers on the two sides is what the visit to the Kotel meant for Israel, the Jewish people and his daughter Ivanka. Trump is the first American president to visit the Western Wall while in office.

His black kippah and the “black rabbi” who greeted him turned Trump into a grand supporter of Israel’s rights to the Kotel. Television kept the world focused on Trump at the holiest site of our faith. Placing notes in the Kotel meant that he was praying for the peace he hoped to bring about.

Ivanka was highly praised for her

religiosity. She prayed in the women’s section dressed demurely with a fashionable hat. She was unaware that a TV camera always shows what is transpiring at the Kotel.

Thus, when she prayed and shed a tear, it meant that just as Jews have cried at the Western Wall through the centuries, Ivanka’s tears made her a legitimate member of Am Yisrael.

Writers on the other side of the spectrum saw Trump’s visit to the Kotel as a statement of what will happen.

Trump would not permit Netanyahu or any other Israeli to be at the Kotel with him. If he wouldn’t let an Israeli join him then, the argument goes, how will he ever recognize East Jerusalem as part of Israel?

Trump wants a grand alliance of the Arab states, and that is much more important than accommodating Israel with the recognition of our holiest site and East Jerusalem as Israel’s current and eternal possession. This same writer suggested “that Trump went to the Kotel as a sign of his deep love for Ivanka’s commitment to Judaism.”

But Trump couldn’t miss the sight from his window at the King David Hotel that night of fireworks lighting up the sky for Jerusalem Day, a 50-year celebration to show the permanence of the results of the Six-Day War. ■ Rabbi David Geffen, a former Atlantan, lives in Jerusalem.

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Easing innovation. The Israel Innovation Authority has changed its rules on royalties and grant repayments to help Israeli companies go deeper into research and development before looking for a financial exit. Starting in July, small companies that receive authority funding will have to pay royalties at a 3 percent rate instead of 3.5 percent.

Companies receiving grants won’t have to repay them immediately when transferring intellectual property outside Israel but instead can enter licensing agreements and can sign up for payment plans instead of lump sums.

Wheelchair tennis runner-up. Israel lost 2-1 to Britain in the finals of the wheelchair tennis World Team Cup in Sardinia. Israel has won four world championships.

New way to sea. The Gottesman Fam8 ily Israel Aquarium in Jerusalem is set

to open late this year. The $25 million facility will house sea creatures indigenous to the Red and Mediterranean seas, from sharks to seahorses, but no mammals. Signage in Hebrew, Arabic and English will explain what makes each species special and how to help save it from manmade threats. The largest tank will accommodate dive shows amid sharks, tuna, rays and sea turtles. The only place to see marine life within Israel has been the Red Sea underwater observatory at Coral World in Eilat.

A true wonder. “Wonder Woman,” starring Israeli Gal Gadot, has received high marks after preview screenings leading to the June 2 U.S. opening. Peter Sciretta of /Film (slashfilm.com) tweeted that it is “funnier, more action packed than you’re probably expecting.

Gal Gadot is perfect as WW!” Others on Twitter called it “absolutely empower-

ing” and commended Gadot’s chemistry with co-star Chris Pine.

Clean meat. Global researchers, nongovernmental organizations and meat industry leaders gathered at the Technion in Haifa on Sunday, May 7, to strategize about mass production of cultured meat and learn about Israeli advances. The meeting was organized by the Israeli nonprofit Modern Agriculture Foundation and included Tyson Foods from the United States and Soglowek Food Group from Israel.

Three of the six clean-meat startups in the world are Israeli: Tel Aviv-based SuperMeat, established in 2015; Ramat Gan-based Future Meat Technologies, founded this year; and a brand-new, unnamed venture.

Walk this way. At a concert Wednesday, May 17, in Tel Aviv, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler cheerfully an-

nounced, “I’m making aliyah!” Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky responded the next day with a statement referencing some of the band’s biggest hits. “Walk this way — to a Jewish Agency shaliach,” Sharansky said.

“While some believe the Israeli experience entails living on the edge, life in Israel puts one back in the saddle of Jewish history, and we know Mr. Tyler doesn’t want to miss a thing. Theodor Herzl said that if you will it, it is no dream. Mr. Tyler no longer has to dream on.” Tyler is not Jewish. Aerosmith last played in Israel 23 years ago.

Direct flights from Miami. El Al is launching nonstop service three times a week between Miami and Ben Gurion Airport in November.

Compiled courtesy of Israel21c.org, verygoodnewsisrael­.blogspot.com and other sources.

ISRAEL NEWS

A Partnership Renewed

Netanyahu

Sara and I are absolutely delighted to welcome you and Melania to the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the united capital of the Jewish state. … You’ve been today, Mr. President, to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites of Judaism. You’ve been to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites of Christianity.

We protect the Christian sites as no one else does anywhere in this region. We protect Christian sites, Muslim sites, obviously Jewish sites. We’re committed to the freedom of all faiths and to the rights of all.

Mr. President, I appreciate the fact that you went to the Western Wall. …

The people of Israel applaud you for it.

We had a terrific discussion today, and when I say terrific, it encompasses everything. … I want to thank you especially today for your deep commitment to Israel’s security, its well-being and its future. I have no doubt that as we work together, you and I, the alliance between our countries will grow ever stronger.

I want you to know how much we appreciate the change in American policy on Iran which you enunciated so clearly just an hour ago. I want you to know how much we appreciate your bold decision to act against the use of chemical weapons in Syria. And I want to tell you also how much we appreciate the reassertion of American leadership in the Middle East.

I look forward to working closely with you to confront the dangers we face together in this violent and volatile Middle East. I believe that together we could roll back Iran’s march of aggression and terror in this region and we can thwart Iran’s unbridled ambition to become a nuclear weapon state.

I also look forward to working closely with you to advance peace in our region because you have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turning former enemies into partners. And that’s where we see something new and potentially something very promising.

It won’t be simple, but for the first time in many years, and, Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime, I see a real hope for change. The Arab leaders who you met yesterday could help

change the atmosphere, and they could help create the conditions for a realistic peace. These are all great signs on your historic visit.

Trump

This is a land filled with beauty, wonder and the spirit of G-d. I’ve been amazed by the glorious and beautiful monuments and holy sites and the generosity of your incredible people because it’s all about the people. I was deeply moved by my visit today to the Western Wall. Words fail to capture the experience. It will leave an impression on me forever.

Today we reaffirm the unbreakable bond of friendship between Israel and the United States, a friendship built on our shared love of freedom, our shared belief in human dignity and our shared hope for an Israel at lasting peace. We want Israel to have peace.

But we are more than friends. We are great allies. We have so many opportunities in front of us, but we must seize them together. We must take advantage of the situation, and there are many, many things that can happen now that would never have been able to happen before, and we understand that very well. That includes advancing prosperity, defeating the evils of terrorism, and facing the threat of an Iranian regime that is threatening the region and causing so much violence and suffering. …

In my visit to Saudi Arabia, I met with many leaders of the Arab and Muslim world. … These leaders voiced concerns we all share about ISIS, about Iran’s rising ambitions and rolling back its gains, and about the menace of extremism that has spread through too many parts of the Muslim world.

I’m encouraged that they pledged cooperation to confront terrorism and the hateful ideology that drives it so hard.

America welcomes the action and support of any nation willing to do the hard but vital work in eradicating the violent ideologies that have caused so much needless bloodshed and killing here and all over the world. We are willing to work together. I believe that a new level of partnership is possible. …

This includes a renewed effort at peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I thank the prime minister for his commitment to pursuing the peace process. He’s working very hard at it. It’s not easy. I’ve heard it’s one of the toughest deals of all, but I have a feeling that we’re going to get there eventually, I hope. ■

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

The following are highlights of the statements Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump made before dinner with their wives at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday, May 22.

9

OPINION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Our View

Pressure Iran

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

The 2015 Iran nuclear deal is an issue that doesn’t go away, as you can see in a front-page article about remarks 6th Congressional District candidates Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel made to Jewish War Veterans Post 112.

You can see the deal rehashed in opinion pieces supporting both candidates (Page 12). Such arguments usually echo statements made last year in the presidential election.

But arguing over the specifics of the Iran deal ceased to be worthwhile the moment the United States and its allies in the nuclear talks signed the agreement. That action brought an end to crippling sanctions on Iran and freed up tens of billions of dollars for the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism to spend as that radical regime sees fit while also slamming the brakes on its progress toward nuclear weapons.

It’s pointless to complain about the cash infusion to Iran, just as it’s pointless to celebrate that Iran hasn’t yet unveiled a nuclear bomb or that Israel hasn’t launched a pre-emptive strike against the nuclear program. As President Barack Obama said, we’ll only be able to judge the deal decades down the line.

What’s important now isn’t to worry about what could have been but instead to make the most of the existing situation: Iran, under the rule of expansionist, anti-Western Shia leaders, is doing all it can to undermine the rest of the Middle East and reassert the pre-eminence it enjoyed during the Persian Empire.

Enforcing the limits and inspections set by the nuclear deal is vital because this Iranian regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, but our allies will agree to reinstitute severe sanctions only if Iran breaks the agreement first.

The United States must also make Iran pay the price for separating nuclear matters from all the other bad things it does: We can and should aggressively sanction Iran for working on ballistic missiles, for supporting the slaughter in Syria, and for financing terrorists in the Middle East and beyond.

Iran can never be allowed to forget that as long as it is working to undermine sovereign nations, whether Israel and its Sunni-majority neighbors or Europe and the United States beyond, it is and will be treated as a pariah.

President Donald Trump delivered exactly that message during his visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

He left behind the campaign rhetoric over the Iran deal and concentrated on the need for the United States and its friends in the Middle East and the Muslim world to isolate the regime in Tehran to save lives now and in the future.

Trump is not known for verbal consistency, but he left no gray area in speeches in Riyadh and Jerusalem: Iran is the greatest threat to tranquility in the Middle East, but it also is creating a historic opportunity for Israel and Sunni states to build on anti-Iran security cooperation to develop deeper, lasting ties.

Actions such as the U.S. arms deal with the Saudis back up Trump’s words. A breakthrough in the Palestinian-Israeli stalemate would do the same. And every move that benefits the rest of the Middle East increases the chances that eventually an isolated Iran 10 will change its wicked ways. ■

Cartoon by Yaakov Kirschen, Jerusalem Post

That’s Me in Venkman’s Corner If you spend any time on Facebook, you couldn’t It’s a weird experience watching fellow middlehave missed the recent meme in which people aged guys belting out the soundtrack of your young posted a list of nine or 10 musical acts they saw in adulthood, but Melkonian and friends delivered a concert, plus one they great night out. Their chohadn’t seen. It was annoysen R.E.M. catalog includes ing from the start and formore than 100 songs, but Editor’s Notebook givable only for the respite they played most of the

By Michael Jacobs it offered from politics. tunes I wanted to hear and If I had played the all the ones I had to hear, mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com game, I might have fooled from “So. Central Rain” to people by listing R.E.M., “Driver 8” to the encore which anyone who went finale of “(Don’t Go Back to college in the South in the late 1980s should have to) Rockville.” seen. Somehow, I never did, even though I became a It was fun to see Melkonian’s sister, Wendy, a big fan of the Athens band’s first five studio albums stage performer whom he called “the best singer I (“Murmur” through “Document”) and keep a specialgrew up with in my house,” join him for one highedition “Reckoning” CD in my car for when I need to energy number as well. escape the world during the drive home from work.

But that’s also where the trouble began. Wendy Thanks to a Jewish restaurateur, however, I now Melkonian has performed the lead vocals on “Losing feel as if I almost saw Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, My Religion” with the REMakes, but that wasn’t the Peter Buck and Bill Berry live. That’s how good the song they did May 20.

REMakes were Saturday night, May 20, at VenkMy wife, out celebrating our anniversary with man’s. me, expected “Losing My Religion” at that point.

It’s an R.E.M. tribute band covering “early When she didn’t get it, she spent the next 90 minutes R.E.M.,” from its debut EP in 1982, “Chronic Town,” or so in increasing frustration, hoping to hear what through the album “Monster” in 1994. she considers R.E.M.’s best song. She never got it.

To say “Monster” is early R.E.M. is like saying There’s a lesson somewhere in that frustration the early Beatles continued through “Sgt. Pepper’s.” about accepting the beauty and wonders at hand I think “Document,” R.E.M.’s first top 10 album, was instead of always expecting something more. But I’m the end of the band’s early phase, but as I learned not a philosopher. I’m just someone who lives by the while watching everyone around me sing along with maxim “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” songs I didn’t know May 20, I’m not the expert.

I can take the criticism from Democrats and The REMakes are led by Geoff Melkonian, Republicans alike about the biases of myself and this whom I had known only as the proprietor of Breadnewspaper, but seeing my wife’s joy turn to bitter winner Cafe and Farm to Ladle. But after three hours disappointment was too much to take. of experiencing his best impression of Stipe, I can So I’m abusing my minimal power as AJT edisay that if you’re going to see only one Jewish-fronttor (and seizing my own excuse for a respite from ed R.E.M. tribute band, make it REMakes, which also politics) to make a simple, public request to the REfeatures Jeff Rosenberg on bass and Webb Vandiver Makes: Please, next time you’re at Venkman’s, play on drums.

“Losing My Religion.” ■

OPINION

Pausing to Remember On Memorial Day ducted in Hebrew and English. Judging by the lusty singing as “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem, closed the program, as well as the preponderance of Hebrew heard, those attending were overwhelmingly Israelis.

A friend who holds dual American

From Where I Sit

By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com

and Israeli citizenship estimated that maybe 50 or so non-Israeli members of the Jewish community had attended, not including those married to Israelis.

The Israelis could be forgiven for wondering: Where were the American Jews, the ones who talk so much about Israel? This event, I had been told, is more important to the Israelis than celebrations of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. Perhaps that is because they are far from home, where, on Yom HaZikaron, a siren sounds for two minutes and people stop what they are doing, including driving, often stepping out of their cars and standing silently on the roadways.

Perhaps that is because Israel is a small country, where the death of a single soldier has greater resonance than in this country, in part because military service is compulsory for most Israelis (compared with less than 1 percent of the adult population that serves in America’s military).

Jews make up less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, but, according to the best available estimates, about 0.3 percent of its armed forces.

In general, the American military is out of sight, out of mind, save for their families and friends. This includes 8,400 U.S. troops still deployed in Afghanistan, as well as nearly 6,000 reported to be in Iraq and several hundred more in Syria.

The American Memorial Day is an occasion for store sales, swimming pool openings and, in a dwindling number of places, parades.

But imagine if, at a designated time across the country, a siren sounded, and millions of Americans stopped what they were doing and stood silently in remembrance of those fallen in the service of this country. ■

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

On a sunny May afternoon, with just a few high clouds, the only sound at Greenwood Cemetery was the wind blowing through the trees.

Two small, frayed American flags, on either side of the Jewish war veterans memorial, fluttered in the breeze.

The memorial consists of a circular section — within it a Star of David and the words “Jewish War Veterans of the United States” — atop a base that reads: “In memory of all the Jewish men and women who served our nation honorably. … Dedicated to the principles for which their lives were offered. …

And given with the prayer that their sacrifices shall guide us, and all generations, to everlasting peace.”

The memorial was “Dedicated by Mack Frankel Atlanta Post 112 Jewish War Veterans of U.S.A. and Ladies Auxiliary, November 8, 1987.”

The cemetery is southwest of downtown Atlanta, just south of I-20.

The memorial sits inside a low, wrought-iron fence, alongside a road that winds through the cemetery, and is flanked by graves bearing the names Cuba, Hirsch, Moret, Rosen, Isenberg and Rachelson in a section marked for Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

A single stone, a sign of respect left by an earlier visitor, rested on its base.

This year, Memorial Day in the United States is May 29. Originally known as Decoration Day, May 30 was set aside to place flowers or otherwise “decorate” the graves of American troops killed in the Civil War. In 1971, Congress moved the observance to the last Monday in May, creating a threeday holiday weekend.

I visited Greenwood Cemetery a few days after Yom HaZikaron, the day when Israel pauses to remember (as of this year) the 23,534 members of the Israel Defense Forces who have died in the service of their country and 3,117 victims of terrorism since Israel was founded in 1948.

The community Yom HaZikaron observance was held at The Temple.

Beneath the sanctuary’s dome, the pews were full, and the overflow stood along the walls downstairs or sought seats in the balcony — in all, about 700 people.

The ceremony, a mix of speeches and video presentations, was con-

11

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

OPINION

Ossoff Is the Pro-Israel Candidate the 6th Needs For pro-Israel voters in Georgia’s 6th District, Jon Ossoff is the clear choice. We’re confident he will win the overwhelming support of our district’s Jewish community.

Why? Once you understand how American Jews vote, it’s obvious that Ossoff is the right candidate to represent our values and core convictions.

First, it’s important to clear up a common misconception: American Jews don’t vote primarily on Israel. In fact, just 8 percent of us vote on Israel as one of the top two issues. American Jews, just like Americans across the country, vote on health care, the economy and immigration.

On these domestic issues, Ossoff is a clear match. For example, the Jewish community is committed to standing up for immigrants and refugees and fighting Islamophobia. That’s in no small part due to our experiences with persecution and discrimination.

Like so many American Jews, Ossoff comes from a family of immigrants. He recognizes firsthand the

importance of welcoming strangers into our midst. He believes that if newcomers to our country work hard and

Guest Column

By Steve Berman and Charles Miller

play by the rules, they have every right to build better lives in America.

If Ossoff is our community’s clear choice on domestic issues, what about foreign policy and Israel?

American Jews may not primarily vote on Israel, but if we did, we would vote for Jon Ossoff.

American Jews are committed to Israel’s security, as is Ossoff. His travels to Israel, his education under former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren and his tenure as a congressional staffer imbued him with an abiding concern for Israel’s future and a keen sense of its security needs.

On the campaign trail, he has vowed to prioritize the maintenance

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MAY 26 ▪ 2017

pledging to support sanctions against Iran in response to ballistic missile tests and to prevent the flow of Iranian arms to Hamas and Hezbollah.

Crucially, American Jews overwhelmingly support a two-state solution. So does Ossoff. Like countless Israeli security experts, we recognize that it is the only way to guarantee Israel’s future as the secure, democratic homeland of the Jewish people.

Ossoff, unlike his opponent, is cleareyed about what it will take to build a secure, peaceful future for Israel.

Ossoff embodies everything our community could hope to see in a candidate. He’ll vote in Congress as we vote for Congress. He shares our fundamental values. He is possessed of a deep understanding of Israel’s security needs and knows what it will take to ensure that it remains secure, Jewish and democratic for generations.

What more could we ask for? We hope you’ll join us both in voting to send him to Washington on June 20. ■

Letter To The Editor

That was certainly not my intent.

I’m sure those writers personally feel strongly about Israel, as they claim, but facts are stubborn things. In poll after poll, unfortunately, liberal Jewish Democrats in recent years have been less supportive than Republicans of Israel’s best interests (for example, backing the Iran nuclear deal, abstaining on U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, supporting J Street over AIPAC).

We should all like to see representatives and senators from both parties support Israel.

But, aside from financial and military aid, it has been Christian legislators, mostly Republicans, in both Georgia and Washington who have been most supportive of Israel.

So when I say that Karen Handel, who is not Jewish, will advocate and vote for Israel, I know that she will and that she will be aligned with other Israel-supporting Republican Georgia legislators.

You can’t assume, just because Ossoff is Jewish and says the right things about Israel on the campaign trail, that if he is elected, he will vote the right way — especially because, as a young freshman, he would be compelled to follow the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress.

— Chuck Berk, Sandy Springs

Handel’s Israel Support

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of Israel’s qualitative military edge.

It’s a promise we have no doubt he’ll live up to. As a congressional aide, he worked on defense authorization bills that helped fund the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems.

Indeed, those convictions about American and Israeli security led him, as well as 60 percent of American Jews, to support the 2015 Iran agreement.

Scores of Israeli security and intelligence officials, including Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, and Ephraim Halevy, a former Mossad director, have expressed support for the deal, which has prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Ossoff, moreover, has repeatedly committed to pushing for strict enforcement and uncompromising monitoring of Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In fact, he has already gotten started. While working in Congress, he drafted a congressional resolution demanding the inspection of Iran’s secret nuclear facilities.

Ossoff has vowed to fight against Iran’s other destabilizing activities by

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A few comments regarding the reaction to my column in support of Karen Handel (“Why Karen Handel Deserves Jewish Vote,” May 12; Letters to the Editor, May 19).

First of all, I was disappointed at the animus and rancor of the respondents, as if I shouldn’t have been allowed to express my “misguided” views, in their eyes.

Many didn’t seem to understand that it was an opinion piece, not remembering or knowing that there was an article the previous week by my friend Steve Oppenheimer, who made the case for Jon Ossoff (“Why Ossoff Has Earned Our Support,” May 5).

I give the AJT much credit for being fair and balanced, not showing bias, and for trying to give readers opinions from both sides to help them make an informed decision.

Second, some people were offended, saying that they “completely disagree with the characteristics and assumptions about liberal Jewish Democrats” and that I was trying “to divide the parties, not unite,” in my article.

Steve Berman is the founder of OA Development, and Charles Miller is the president of CenterPoint Properties.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

Ossoff Warns of N. Korea; Handel Pushes Tax Cuts

By Patrice Worthy

Democrat Jon Ossoff says Congress isn’t taking the threat of North Korea seriously enough.

Republican Karen Handel says the Republican health care bill isn’t perfect, but is an improvement.

the National Security Agency, because of the risk of revealing intelligencegathering sources in an open session.

“Every official in the U.S. government has an obligation to protect the confidentiality of sources and methods in respect to intelligence gathering.

When the confidentiality of sources and methods is breached, it puts human sources at risk. It puts classified intelligence-sharing relationships at risk. It puts the secrecy of technical means of intelligence collection at risk,” Ossoff said.

He said the United States must maintain its commitment to ensure that Israel has “military capabilities and a qualitative military edge to sustain armed conflict against terrorist groups and multiple hostile states.”

Annual U.S. military aid to Israel is increasing from $3.1 billion to $3.8 billion in 2019 under a memorandum of understanding signed by the Obama administration.

Ossoff looked farther east to the threat of North Korea.

“We need to make China accountable for bringing North Korea back to the table,” he said, stressing the danger of Congress’ “cavalier attitude” toward foreign policy in Asia.

“We have to have the military force available in the region to deter North Korea from attacking our allies,” Ossoff said. “But we also have to be cautious and responsible in the conduct of foreign policy in this area. I think something that policymakers lose sight of is there are millions of lives a stake.

We’re talking about real human consequences; it’s not a game.”

He and Handel said they are committed to improving the process for veterans to receive health care.

Veterans can wait four to six months to receive a response to their health care issues from Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals. Ossoff would like to restructure health care to reduce the response time to 12 hours.

Handel said she is determined to remove the red tape blocking veterans

from proper health care, so she has asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to assign her to the Veterans’ Affairs and Budget committees if she wins.

The candidates addressed nonveteran health care as well.

“People are tired of partisan rhetoric,” Ossoff said, and when it comes to the ACA, “we should keep what works and fix what’s broken.”

Handel said she supports the American Health Care Act recently passed by the House. “Obamacare is collapsing,” she said. The Republican replacement “is not a perfect bill, but a step forward.”

Handel positioned herself as ready to attack the “money monkey business”

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If the 6th Congressional District elects Karen Handel on June 20, she will vote for the Taylor Force Act, cutting off U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority until it stops paying terrorists and their families, the Republican said Sunday, May 21.

Speaking at the monthly breakfast meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 112 at Berman Commons in Dunwoody, Handel criticized U.S. aid to the PA. The United States provided $357 million in direct economic aid in 2016.

Her opponent in the runoff to replace Tom Price, Democrat Jon Ossoff, agreed that “it’s unacceptable for U.S. aid to flow to anyone responsible for the deaths of Israelis,” but he said he needs to study the legislation before deciding whether to support it.

Such nuanced differences were common during the candidates’ separate appearances before Post 112 as they spoke about national security and veterans’ issues, then answered written questions from attendees.

Robert Max, the post commander, agreed to provide a forum only if both candidates spoke.

“It’s the most visible campaign in the nation right now,” Max said. “I thought Karen referring to her work in Georgia was very impressive; she has a great track record. His mastery of defense issues impressed me. It was very important they stuck to the questions of defense and veterans’ affairs.”

The candidates disagreed when asked about reports that President Donald Trump breached the highest levels of security secrecy recently when boasting to the Russian foreign minister about intelligence on Islamic State. Most media reports have suggested that Israel was the source of the intelligence, although others have pointed to Jordan.

No one knows what happened during Trump’s meeting with Russians, Handel said, calling reports of a Trump intelligence leak “a potentially gross assumption on the part of the press.”

“I’m going to let the process work.

We have investigations under way with a special counsel with the FBI and the House and Senate,” Handel said. “All of us have a responsibility to let the process play out and let the facts take us where the facts take us.”

Ossoff said the possible intelligence breach should be handled in a closed congressional session, possibly including the director of national intelligence and the heads of the CIA and

in government. She cited her work in carving out $2 million a year in savings for the state budget for her office when she was secretary of state and her success in closing a $120 million budget shortfall in Fulton County after she was elected the first female and Republican chair of the County Commission.

“We did that without raising taxes, and we achieved that without having a Republican majority,” Handel said.

She said Americans need meaningful tax reform, including relief for the small business owners who file individual income taxes because they operate as limited liability corporations or S-corporations to thrive. She said most businesses in the 6th fall into those categories.

“Without individual tax reform we won’t have the biggest amount of relief we can achieve,” Handel said.

“Our economy is only growing at about 1.5 percent; that’s not good enough. We need to return to growth rates in the 3, 4 or 5 percent range by simplifying the code and gutting the job-killing regulations that, in fact, are Washington’s most prolific outcome over the past eight years.” ■

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LOCAL NEWS

The Tasting Is a $210,000 Feast for the Senses The Tasting was a delicious and festive affair that raised money for the Zimmerman-Horowitz Independent Living Program on Thursday night, May 18. This nonsectarian program of Jewish Family & Career Services serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities — as well as their families and caregivers — so they can work, live and thrive in their communities.

In its 19th year, the event raised over $210,000 while returning to where it started: the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead. The room was spacious enough to fit more than 700 people without long lines.

Most vendors served fabulous, creative fish dishes. I have never seen salmon and tuna prepared in so many ways. C&S Seafood, for example, had tuna tartar on crispy shallots with soy mirin sauce.

Tabla’s Indian vegetarian dish rocked with some kick and spice.

One of the largest displays belonged to Sage Woodfire Grill, with

several choices, including a hot tomato olive bruschetta atop huge salmon fillets with balsamic reduction.

No one left hungry: The desserts were poised and oozing in the prefunction area.

Jaffe’s Jewish Jive

By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

The participating restaurants and catering companies were 1KEPT, 5Church, 10 Degrees South, Added Touch Catering, Amara, Aria, Avenue Catering Concepts, C&S Seafood & Oyster Bar, Cheesecake Factory, Cibo E Beve, Davio’s, Ecco, Food 101, Frosty Caboose, Haven, Grand Hyatt, il Giallo, La Grotta, Nan Thai Fine Dining, Pricci, Sage, Saltyard, Serpas, Shake Shack and Tabla.

The crowd conveyed good wishes to participants in the Independent Living Program, who mingled in their

Photos by Marcia Caller Jaffe

Stuart Fierman from Fifth Group Restaurants’ Ecco charms the crowd with roasted beets, local strawberries and Meyer lemon purée.

coolest outfits.

Ellen Lindemann introduced daughter Carla, who had been in a dayonly program and recently moved into independent living. Ellen said, “Carla is able to now live among friends without being dependent on us, and it has given us a measure of independence.”

Todd, 31, and Alan Schatten, 33, recognized by many for their work at Publix and Kroger, respectively, brightened up the cocktail hour. Alan said he is happy because he can walk to work from his home.

The Tasting event chairs were Amy and Evan Rosen and Arin and Lorne Tritt, while Pearlann, Jerry and

Michelle Horowitz and Scott and Michelle L. Horowitz were honorary chairs.

Libations chair Mark Brown ensured an ample assortment of wines, beers, tequilas and bourbons.

Amy Fingerhut and Scott Horowitz were the restaurant chairs. Marla Shainberg and Marci Silverman were the sponsorship chairs. The silent auction chairs were Robin Feldman and Sharon Wolf, and the logistics chairs were Zane Blechner, Sherry Habif and Betsy Levy. Habif was one of the last people to leave after breaking down the decorations used for the auction items. ■

Joining JF&CS CEO Rick Aranson (second from left) are Carly Tritt Siegel, Mandy Wright, Marc Chernau and Alex Rittenberg.

“This program is so important because we are making a direct impact,” says Avery Kastin (left), with Monika Schwartz of sponsor Rooms to Go and Itai Tsur of the Atlanta Jewish Foundation.

Bruce and Ellen Lindemann have gained more independence now that daughter Carla has moved into an independent living group home.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Pricci chef Piero Prenoli offers a scrumptious, healthy, 12-hoursmoked salmon on qui-noa salad with mint capers and peas.

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Enjoying The Tasting are (from left) Alan Schatten, Susanne Katz Karlick, Philip Karlick, Todd Schatten and Mark Cohen.

Jennifer Tinter has a drink with her father, Jay Tinter, one of the program sponsors.

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

LOCAL NEWS

Iranian-Americans: Regime Change Good for Region

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Photos by Sarah Moosazadeh

Shawn Bahrami and other Iranian-American demonstrators show their pride in their identity May 19 in Sandy Springs.

penter Drive because Iranian-Americans in Atlanta were allowed to vote in the presidential election at the Comfort Inn Buckhead North. The votes were sent to Iran via the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.

One dual citizen, Vida, said she voted for Rouhani because it’s difficult to see her parents now while they live in Iran. “I would like international relations to improve between Iran and America and perhaps change the status of how Iranians are viewed.”

Bahrami, however, said: “Most Iranians are sick and tired of the Islamic regime and would like a change. The Islamic regime is a state sponsor of terrorism across the region and have continued to run the country into the

ground economically and politically.”

Even after international sanctions were eased under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the county is struggling with an unemployment rate over 40 percent, Bahrami said, and its role in Syria has caused concern among its neighbors.

Unlike Iran’s leadership, “Iranian-Americans do not have anything against Israel or the Israeli people.

Some of the most talented Iranians are Jews,” Bahrami said. “Unfortunately, the Jewish community in Iran, in addition to the Baha’i and countless other minorities, has continuously been persecuted and had to flee en masse.”

Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Alpharetta contain a large population of Iranian-Americans, both Jewish and

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Carpenter Drive in Sandy Springs was the scene of Iranian-American demonstrations Friday, May 19, related to Iran’s presidential election, in which incumbent Hassan Rouhani won reelection against Ebrahim Raisi.

Shawn Bahrami, who moved to Atlanta in 1976 and is a 32-year member of the Iranian Patriots Association, said although Iran’s international relations have improved, most Iranian-Americans mistrust those in power.

“The presidency in Iran entails a phony position, as they do not have any authority in relation to foreign affairs or internal and domestic issues,” Bahrami said.

Iranians took to the streets in opposition to the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 during the Green Revolution.

“The elections are often used as a form of propaganda by the regime to delude individuals that it is a democracy,” Bahrami said.

The protesters gathered on Car-

non-Jewish, who relocated after the 1979 revolution.

In the past eight years, however, Iranian students who adamantly support the Islamic regime have arrived, Bahrami said. “These individuals are paid by the Iranian government to travel to America and have their own associations in the States.”

Georgia Tech has many of those students, explaining an incident at the university last year, Bahrami said.

“A group of students from the Iranian Student Association at Georgia Tech approached the dean and asked the Olympic pool to be gender-restricted.

Although it was to no avail, this tells you a lot about their beliefs.”

Iranian-Americans living in Atlanta represent diverse viewpoints, Bahrami said. “Iranian people love peace and freedom and wish their fellow countrymen to enjoy the same rights. However, there has been a tremendous change under the Islamic regime. Iran used to be a civilized nation in the world and regarded as one of the richest, yet the only aspiration Iranians have today is for a free Iran.” ■

15

LOCAL NEWS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Temple Celebrates Spending 40 of 150 With Jacobson

By Michael A. Morris michael@atljewishtimes.com When the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation (The Temple) held its 150th annual meeting Wednesday night, May 17, the board minutes were approved, the financial reports given, and the new trustees installed in record time to get to a celebration of a more personal milestone than the 150th anniversary of Atlanta’s oldest synagogue: It was 40 years to the day after Mark Jacobson began his tenure as The Temple’s executive director.

Lauren Grien, the president of The Temple, said she is the 21st president who has had the privilege and pleasure to work with Jacobson.

The past Temple presidents at the celebration included Larry Pike, Jackie Montage, Marvin Botnick, Joshua Brener, Jack Holland, Jay Schwartz, Valerie Needle, Jeff Levy, Jim Grien, Be-

Executive Director Mark Jacobson (left) and Senior Rabbi Peter Berg have been close partners in leading The Temple from the time Rabbi Berg arrived — more than three decades after Jacobson got his start at Atlanta’s oldest synagogue.

linda Morris, Billy Bauman and Jonathan Amsler.

The theme of the evening was his warmth, patience, integrity and smile.

He is responsible for everything but takes credit for nothing.

Senior Rabbi Peter Berg told his story of when he first met the executive director.

When Rabbi Berg arrived at The Temple for his first interview, Jacobson handed him an index card before he walked into the interview room and

said: “On this card are the names of all the people on the search committee you are about to meet. The names are in order of how they are sitting at the table, and there is a brief description of their role at The Temple.”

Of course Rabbi Berg thanked him, and without missing a beat, Jacobson replied, “Peter, if you come to The Temple, this is the kind of supportive relationship I hope we will have every day.”

Rabbi Berg later during the celebration referred to Jacobson as his teacher and rabbi.

Jacobson has served in a variety of roles within the National Association of Temple Administrators, has taken leadership roles within the national pension plan for synagogue employees, is frequently called on by other synagogue executive directors around the country and is the longest-serving top synagogue administrator in Atlanta.

Rabbi Emeritus Alvin Sugarman

shared a story about how he hired Jacobson in 1977.

They had passed each other at the intown Jewish Community Center while playing tennis. Rabbi Sugarman had met Jacobson as a college student a few years earlier and was impressed with him.

Rabbi Sugarman invited him to lunch. Jacobson had no idea that lunch was an interview and that he would shortly be offered the job of executive director.

The congregation presented Jacobson with a license for two seats to watch the Falcons at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, along with tickets to the opening season, continuing his tradition of going to the football games for over 20 years.

In his response, Jacobson credited the congregation. “It’s all about the members,” he said. “That is why I smile.” ■

Counting on the Break Lag B’Omer picnics, cookouts and bonfires were held around Jewish Atlanta on Sunday, May 14, as the 33rd day of counting the Omer from Passover to Shavuot fell on Mother’s Day. Images on this page come from Chabad of North Fulton, which had two celebrations that day: a family cookout in the afternoon and a teen party in the evening. ■

With a juggler’s help, a young man keeps three bowling pins balanced on his head.

Teens gather in the evening for food, socializing and learning.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Rather than a bonfire, one man on a unicycle handles the flames.

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Hamburgers and hot dogs feed the masses at the family celebration.

No child goes home empty-handed from the Chabad of North Fulton party.

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Hadassah Honors 21 for Academics, Activities

(From left) Hadassah Greater Atlanta President Sheila Dalmat joins Chesed co-chairs Phyllis M. Cohen, Eileen Cohn and Linda Weinroth amid signs of Hadassah’s Atlanta history.

• Temple Sinai, Rianna Saslow.

• Weber School, Shannan Berzack.

• Torah Day School, Kira Mermelstein. ■

The Chesed Award winners are (top row from left) Aiden Erez, Noam Kleinman, Richard Trutt, Rami Fabian, Shannan Berzack, Rianna Saslow, Katie Stone, Jenna Schulman and Zoe Glickman and (bottom row from left) Shira Kopel, Cary de Graaff, Gefen Beldie, Thelet Bunder, Sophie Wilson, Kira Mermelstein, Jeremy Stettner, Victor Maslia, Danielle Ben-Arie and Emily Brothman. Not pictured are Shira Golding and Lilah Presser-Weiss.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Hadassah Greater Atlanta recognized the recipients of the Marian F. Perling Hadassah Chesed (lovingkindness) Student Awards on Sunday afternoon, May 7, at Temple Emanu-El. The awards recognize students in day schools and synagogue schools for their love for Israel, concern for fellow Jews, Jewish culture and fellow humans, and good academic standing.

Each year the award recipients have records of exceptional accomplishments and high ideals and aspirations.

Establishing a new tradition, the Chesed program for the second year turned the spotlight to past winners.

“These students were involved in hundreds of hours of tzedakah to help numerous worthy nonprofit organizations. They volunteered because they each possess a generous spirit of caring and supporting others,” said Linda Weinroth, a co-chair of the program.

The ceremony “brought tears to my eyes and hope to my heart,” said Anita Walters from Hadassah Greater Atlanta. “Twenty-one beautiful, talented, intelligent and generous Jewish children. … If anyone needed something to give us hope about our future Jewish generation, then this ceremony was where you needed to be.”

The winners: • Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Zoe Glickman.

• Atlanta Jewish Academy Middle School, Gefen Beldie.

• Atlanta Jewish Academy Upper School, Thelet Bunder.

• Congregation Beth Shalom, Jenna Schulman.

• Congregation B’nai Torah, Emily Brothman.

• Congregation Dor Tamid, Cary de Graaff.

• Congregation Etz Chaim, Noam Kleinman.

• Congregation Gesher L’Torah, Richard Trutt.

• Congregation Or Hadash, Aiden Erez.

• Congregation Or VeShalom, Victor Maslia.

• Congregation Shearith Israel, Jeremy Stettner.

• Davis Academy, Rami Fabian.

• Epstein School, Lilah Presser Weiss.

• Temima, Shira Golding.

• The Temple, Danielle Ben-Arie.

• Temple Beth Tikvah, Sophie Wilson.

• Temple Emanu-El, Katie Stone.

• Temple Kehillat Chaim, Shira Kopel.

17

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

55 Graduate From Weber School

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

The Weber School sent 55 graduates into the world of college studies, gap years and the Israel Defense Forces with a celebration of individuality amid the numbers and calls to be persistent but also to be aware that sometimes changing course is the right choice.

The members of Weber’s 18th graduating class Sunday, May 21, pushed the total alumni in the nondenominational Jewish high school’s history to more than 700, faculty speaker and alumna Rachel Rothstein said.

“You inherit a world that is full of wonders and unique challenges,” Head of School Rabbi Ed Harwitz said at the ceremony at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center, urging the Class of 2017 to embrace the opportunity to live as mensches.

“This is your time.”

In offering a d’var Torah on the new week’s parshah, Bamidbar (Numbers), which highlights the census of the 603,550 Hebrews who left Egypt, Sophia Frankel said it’s crucial to look at the individuals behind the numbers.

“Reducing a person to a mere number serves to remove the unique quality of that individual,” she said. So instead

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Photos by Michael Jacobs

Members of the Weber Class of 2017 mark the official end of high school by flipping their tassels from right to left.

of a class of 55, she’s part of a class of one Sam, one Jenna and so on.

Salutatorian Rebecca Simonoff built on that idea of individuality by sharing some of the examples of the Class of 2017’s practice of Weber’s “head, heart and hand” motto.

Valedictorian Becky Arbiv, one of the top pole vaulters in the nation, laid out the surefire, three-step approach to failure and the four-step approach to success, with the only difference between them being the persistence to

try again as a fourth step after failing in Step 3.

“It’s important to dream big. It’s the big dreams that give us a sense of purpose in life,” Rothstein said.

But the social studies teacher also advised the class to set realistic goals, such as reading five pages of a textbook instead of a chapter and running for a certain number of minutes instead of a certain number of miles.

And while she said you shouldn’t expect to achieve goals without a strug-

gle and must hold yourself accountable, it’s also OK to take a night off and watch Netflix.

A bit of realism also can help you find the right path, she said.

“If you’re not happy with what you’re doing and you reach a point where you can’t imagine yourself being happy in the long term, try something else,” Rothstein said. “It may seem like giving up at the time, but try to look at it through a different lens. It’s an opportunity to dream up new dreams.” ■

Duke-bound valedictorian Becky Arbiv gives her classmates a lesson on the difference between failure and success: persistence.

Sophia Frankel delivers a d’var Torah on Bamidbar, including her physicsinstilled fear of zombies and her certainty that Esau was a vampire.

Salutatorian Rebecca Simonoff recounts the ways the Class of 2017 has reflected Weber’s motto of “head, heart and hand.”

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Weber School graduates often wear their futures or send other messages (finding inspiration from parents to Dr. Seuss) on their mortarboards.

Class of 2017

Accompanied by fellow Israel-bound classmates Rebecca Frankel, Rose Karlin, Jenna Rubin and Rachel Hayut (who is entering the Israel Defense Forces), Ari Stark reads the Prayer for the Welfare of the Government of the United States.

Ayelet Bernstein, the daughter of Tracie and Rabbi Michael Bernstein, reads the Prayer for the State of Israel while her Israel-bound classmates take center stage.

Head of School Rabbi Ed Harwitz and Principal Shlaina Van Dyke enjoy their final minutes with the Class of 2017.

Social studies teacher Rachel Rothstein, herself a Weber School alumna, sends the Class of 2017 into the future with advice that includes taking advantage of streaming video services.

MAY 26 â–Ş 2017

Rivka Arbiv Isabelle Jacqueline Ariail Zoe Felice Bagel Micah Jerome Barich Emily Taylor Berlin Ayelet Rivaya Bernstein Shannan Ashley Berzack Eliya Ouriel Brog Jake Tyler Burns Ethan Robert Danis Levi James Durham Jacob Duke Estroff Olivia Rose Fox Sophia Feride Frankel Andrew Michael Freedman Rebecca Faith Frenkel Lindsey Kate Gillman Nathan Aaron Glusman Jenna Sage Grossman Rachel Miryam Hayut Harris Marc Helberg Maya Nicole Horesh Rosalie Chaya Karlin Gabrielle Marlowe Kasten Zachary David Kopelman Amanda Jordan Kraun Emily Lauren Kurzweil Samuel Liam Kuttner Benjamin Samuel La Kier Chloe Eve Levitas Joshua Casey Lipton Joshua Ross Marx Fiona Ross Neidorf Nathan Harry Paull Caroline Faith Perlis Quinn Rabinowitz Blake Ashley Rosen Mattie Leigh Rosen Peyton Abigail Rosenberg Elias Jacob Rubanenko Jenna Sophie Rubin Sophie Zina Schiff Nikki Hannah Schiff Jessica Elizabeth Seagraves Rebecca Elisheva Simonoff Jared Ari Stark Daniele Chloe Stein Scott Maxwell Storper Zoe Naomi Toporek Jonathan Henry Vainer Noah Ryan Weiser Charles Simon Wildstein Ross Fantus Williams Yarden Ryan Willis Justin Spencer Wolozin

19

EDUCATION

Photos by Michael Jacobs The eighth-grade presentation features a detention skit based on “The Breakfast Club.”

Epstein School Sends 61 Grads to High School The Epstein School graduated a class of 61 eighth-graders Monday evening, May 22.

Speakers such as Head of School David Abusch-Magder, board President Darrin Friedrich and former Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Chairman Marty Kogon said the large size of the class set it apart — the students and their chaperones filled two buses during an 18-day trip to Israel that included Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut — but its range of talents made it special.

The graduates, many of whom had been at Epstein together since preschool or kindergarten, now are dispersing to high schools including

Class of 2017 Lihi Barel Tea Barton Roy Ben-Haim Eli Benveniste Tess Berman Shane Bernstein Mitchell Cohen Morgan Cohen Ryan Cohen Lauren Cohn Rachel Cohn Ryan Diamond MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Hannah Dobkin Amir Dressler Emma Estroff Sam Feldstein Ben Fox Sydney Fox

20

Noam Friedman

Weber, North Springs, Riverwood, Dunwoody, Pace and Woodward.

Epstein Middle School Principal Myrna Rubel urged the 61 students to make many new acquaintances in high school but, in keeping with the ceremony’s theme of “staying connected,” to draw strength from the lifelong friendships they have forged as “the talkative group” at Epstein.

Congregation B’nai Torah Rabbi Joshua Heller, who has spoken to the Class of 2017 every year at Epstein, said it is now up to each graduate to determine what it means to be Jewish.

“My hope, my prayer for you,” Rabbi Heller said, “is that you leave here knowing who you are.” ■

Bradley Friedrich

Hannah Miller

Ella Gamson

Zack Naturman

Simon Gersten

Talia Neufeld

Roy Ginzberg

Jacob Panitch

Jonah Glenn

Lilah Juliet Presser Weiss

Nolan Goldklang

Celia Rappoport

Maya Granath

Micah Reich

Elizabeth Grant

Hallie Schiff

Gabby Greenwald

Gray Schneider

Caleb Heller

Jordan Shoob

Harris Jacobs

Carly Spandorfer

Isaac Jaye

Lily Stoumen

Joshua Kardon

Ava Sturisky

Lauren Katz

Kiefer Sturisky

Eve Kogon

Ryan Sturisky

Jamie Kornheiser

Alex Tovin

Maddie Lampert

Rene Walter

Lindsey Lewis

Annie Rose Weinstein

Hope Lindner

Anna Wohlberg

Rachel Mayer

Owen Woodman

Mika Mazor

Max Young

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Graduating girls perform a dance they brought back from Israel.

Head of School David Abusch-Magder takes time to say goodbye to the families whose final child is graduating from Epstein. Two of the families had been part of Epstein for more than 20 years.

Marty Kogon, speaking on behalf of Federation and the ALEF Fund, explains that he won’t single out granddaughter Eve Kogon among the graduates, even though her connection to Epstein goes back to great-grandfather Gerald Cohen, one of the school’s founders.

The Epstein diplomas come with final faculty hugs.

Rabbi Joshua Heller leads rabbis around the gym in blessing the Class of 2017.

Graduating eighthgraders process into the Epstein gym.

Robin Singer, the eighthgraders’ adviser, tries to fight back tears while bidding them farewell.

Nolan Goldklang, the president of the student Knesset, thanks the faculty, staff and parents and announces the class gift to the school: the refurbishment of the gym locker rooms.

Graduates serenade the families and friends at the ceremony.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

The entire Class of 2017 joins in singing “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

21

EDUCATION Summer TDSA Raffle

Torah Day School of Atlanta is offering a vacation package as the grand prize in its Sizzling Summer Raffle.

The package includes two airline tickets anywhere in the continental United States, three nights at a Marriott hotel and $1,000 in spending money.

Also available as prizes are a cookout package built around a medium Big Green Egg outfit; a five-day, four-night lake getaway in the North Georgia mountains; and a week at each of four Jewish Atlanta day camps.

Single tickets are $50, but the perticket price drops as you buy more. You can get 20 tickets for $250. Purchase tickets at www.torahday.org/raffle.

The drawing is June 13.

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An $8,000 grant from Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta to the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity will help create a program to teach young children about gender equality, starting in July.

The Early Development of Gender Equity Program will teach kindergartners and first-graders about gender equality through games, stories, art, songs and other techniques.

The initiative aims to create natural opportunities to discuss, at a developmentally appropriate level, the role of gender and how it can be shaped so children (and adults) are not limited in how they see themselves and the world.

This approach will provide role models and support for families and schools informed by Jewish values.

“Our aim is for teachers to more effectively counteract and even neutralize gender bias in their classrooms to prevent the formation of children’s gender stereotypes,” SOJOURN Executive Director Rebecca Stapel-Wax said.

Preschoolers and first-graders taking the curriculum will “expand how they see and reach their potential,” she said. “With the support of Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, we can build a strong curriculum that we intend to replicate and implement widely.”

Jewish Women’s Fund Executive Director Rachel Wasserman said the fund is “proud to support this exciting new initiative. We have placed a priority on pilot projects in Atlanta, as well as on challenging stereotypical gender norms, and SOJOURN’s EDGE Program fits perfectly into those target areas.”

SOJOURN personnel devised EDGE based on experiences working with 5- and 6-year-olds. The program will include input from synagogues

and day schools to tailor the curriculum to those institutions.

“SOJOURN will work to shift definitions and behavior regarding gender equity as indicators for social change.

The long-term transformational community impact relies on teachers and parents who are familiar with the factors that influence gender identity and stereotype development,” Stapel-Wax said.

Record Weber Class Coming

The Weber School just graduated the Class of 2017 on Sunday, May 21 (story, Page 18); now it must prepare for its largest freshman class ever.

More than 70 students have enrolled as freshmen for the 2017-18 school year, Weber announced recently. They will increase the student body to more than 270, compared with 241 this school year. That’s an increase of more than 12 percent.

“We are actively planning to serve a larger community of students in ways that advance Weber’s mission and maintain our tradition of academic excellence in a warm, vibrant Jewish community,” said Rabbi Ed Harwitz, Weber’s head of school.

The school has formed a faculty task force and is working with faculty, staff and students to plan for the student growth, including new programs in academics, athletics and student life.

“The strength of our student ambassador program is a huge factor in our success,” said Rise Arkin. Weber’s admissions director. Arkin credited students Rachel Kaplan, Mallory Nathan and Mollie Schwarz, who were juniors this school year, with spearheading initiatives to connect with potential students.

Fundraising Fellowship

A fellowship program at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., is accepting applications until July 1 from recent college and master’s program graduates interested in careers in development and fundraising in Jewish cultural organizations.

During the yearlong program, fellows will gain hands-on, paid experience and professional training as fulltime staff of the Yiddish Book Center.

Applicants should have good communication skills and an interest in the development profession. A commitment to the mission of the Yiddish Book Center is required, and a background in Jewish studies is preferred.

Applications are due July 1. Visit yiddishbookcenter.org/developmentfellowship.

Congratulations North Springs Charter High School

CLASS OF 2017

So proud of all of you and where you're going.

Among our Top 10 - Spartans are headed to Georgia Institute of Technology, Claremont McKenna College, Indiana University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, and Wake Forest University; majoring in premed, neuroscience, finance, aerospace engineering, computational media, psychology, statistics, economics, sociology and biomedical engineering!

Our Top 10: Anna Rappaport, Jacob Cohen, Noah Lampert, Kevin Hopper, Jerome White, Jacob Karsch, Maddie Dorfman, Nathan Buffington, Justin Reid and Zephyr Strosnider

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

7447 ROSWELL ROAD • SANDY SPRINGS, GA 30328 • 470.254.2490 • WWW.NORTHSPRINGSHIGH.COM

23

EDUCATION

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

New Grads, Seize Your Opportunities As a new graduate, you may spend a lot of time wondering what your future holds and how to achieve your goals in the next phase of life. Career success boils down to two things: preparation and opportunity.

College has prepared you. Now you must watch for the right opportunity and jump on it.

How do you know when an opportunity is right for you?

Take a daunting decision I faced in my real estate investment business, the RADCO Cos. It was early 2013, and I had recognized that we were becoming the “renting nation.”

I had the opportunity to buy Park at Briarcliff, a 982-unit foreclosure backing up to the heart of the Orthodox Jewish community in Toco Hills on the way to Emory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was a huge deal, but it required a ton of equity I did not have and (being mid-1960s vintage) would require a ton

of repairs and renovations just to keep it safe.

On top of that, it sat on a ground lease, and we had no precedent to de-

Guest Column

By Norman Radow

termine its value to a future buyer.

What to do?

I met with my two partners that Friday afternoon. They both voted no, emphatically so.

Our construction department said it was too much for them to handle, and I had no idea where I could dig up $13 million of equity.

I went to Congregation Etz Chaim the next day to attend Shabbat services.

I did not sleep well the night before. I came to shul nervously thinking not of my fellow congregants or of Shabbat. I did not feel spiritual at all. Instead, my mind was twirling about the potential

Share your Celebrations with Your Atlanta Jewish Community for Free • Birth Announcements • Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • Anniversaries Submit your story, announcements and celebrations with pictures

today atlantajewishtimes.com,

or email them to submissions@ atljewishtimes.com.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

SAUL LEVY MAZEL TOV on your graduation from high school. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see the heights you reach at college!

Mommy, Granny and all the siblings 24

rewards of taking on what seemed like a huge risk.

If I said no, we would pass on this opportunity and remain a boutiquesize company in a field I expected to mushroom in the coming years. I say “expected” because, since the end of World War II, there had not been a demographic change like the one I thought was coming.

I did not yet have the capital and the infrastructure to take on this anticipated growth. So the decision was a big one, and I felt the weight of the responsibility in my kishkes. The decision was mine alone to make. Or was it?

Rabbi Shalom Lewis rose to speak on the day’s Torah portion. It was prophetic, and I felt the Torah and Rabbi Lewis speaking directly to me.

The Torah portion was about the 12 spies.

Near Canaan, the people were restless. Their faith was tested, and they wanted proof of what Hashem and Moses had said about the Holy Land.

So Moses called for 12 spies, one from each tribe.

The Torah gives the name, the family, the lineage and the tribe of each spy in nearly equal proportions. No one was singled out as better than any other. The 12 spies went out. When they came back, there were two reports.

The majority saw impenetrable walls, numerous and strong soldiers, and a disadvantageous terrain. They recommended not to enter the land and to go back to Egypt or elsewhere — Canaan was a no-go.

Two spies disagreed and insisted that this was our one chance. The enemy is arrogant. There are ways around their defenses. Let’s seize this opportunity. It may never come again.

Moses chose to advance, and the

Israelites were victorious.

Rabbi Lewis asked the congregation to close the Chumash and to name the 12 spies. The congregation could not name more than two, even though all the spies were given the same due in the Torah.

Those two were Caleb and Joshua, the two spies who said to seize the day.

Rabbi Lewis suggested that the Torah is telling us that history remembers those who take the chances Hashem gives us. Deciding not to make a decision, to avoid risk or to take the comfortable route could leave us in the dustbin of history like the other 10 spies.

I got it. I was going to do the deal.

I was going to grow RADCO into unchartered territory. I was going to do it without capital or infrastructure. As the two spies said, Hashem will provide.

We did the deal. We found the equity. We built the infrastructure. The demographic changes I saw coming accelerated the renting nation phenomenon. And I grew the company into this trend.

Today, RADCO is the second-largest landlord in Atlanta and was recently named Atlanta’s fastest-growing private company. We have nearly 18,000 apartments and an asset value well north of $2 billion. But it was almost not to be.

My recommendation to all the young people with budding careers is to believe in yourselves, understand the opportunity, and, like Caleb and Joshua, seize those chances right in front of you. ■ Norman Radow, who was honored

by Israel Bonds last fall, is the CEO of the RADCO Cos. and a member of Congregation Etz Chaim.

We are so proud of you!

Love, Mom and Dad

SABRINA WEINSTEIN

Alexandra Morris,

Mazel Tov! With a BS in Zoology from Colorado State University moving on to working on a Game Reserve in Zimbabwe. You certainly love the outdoors!

We are proud of you for your hard work and passion for animals.

Love Mom and Dad

Mazel Tov

RYAN WOLPERT on your graduation !! We are so proud of you and can’t wait to watch you grow as a performer at Temple University!!

Love, Mom, Dad, Lisa, Scott and Ross

Congratulations on your graduation from The University of Maryland with honors. We wish you all the success in the world as you continue your journey at The Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Congratulations on your graduation from Woodward Academy. We are so excited to see what your future holds as you begin the next chapter of your life at The Southern Methodist University.

Love, Mom, Dad and Sam

SHELBY FISHMAN ILANA BONELL Our beloved Ilana

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

We are so very proud of you and love you beyond words.

Mom & Dad

CARLIE LADINSKY

Mazel Tov!!!

From Walton High School as a Raider to Georgia Tech as a Yellow Jacket!!!

SAM FISHMAN Benjamin Ladinsky

Mazel Tov!!!

Your future is as bright as you are!!!

Love Dad, Kaylene, Benjamin & Bradley

Congratulations, Zoë, on your many achievements!

We are so proud of everything you accomplished on your journey through Walton High School!!!

We love you so very much,

March On!!!

Mom, Dad, and Zach

Love, Dad, Kaylene, Carlie & Bradley

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Love, Mom, Dad and Shelby

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SHAVUOT

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The Art of Gifting

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

With the school year coming to a close, there is much ado about gifts: gifts for the teachers, gifts for the graduates and let’s hope at least a pat on the back for yourself as the parent.

I got my child safely through another nine months of schooling.

Healthy lunches, clean clothes, homework and science projects.

All done. For now. Yay me (times eight).

In the early years of the Intown Jewish Preschool, which I founded, the parents would ask me about arranging different end-of-year gifts for the teachers. A cute apron or mug or pad of paper, and a lot of other cutesy ideas.

At one point I became a little exasperated and exclaimed, “These are highly intelligent teachers with strong educational backgrounds. They teach preschool. They are not preschoolers!”

Really, I was trying to make a stronger point.

I wanted the parents of the preschool children to know about the professionalism of our staff and how

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valuable we consider the early learning years to be.

People often mistake a preschool teacher for someone who is observing mindless play and facilitating adorable crafts.

They know about the hard, physi-

Guest Column

By Dena Schusterman

cal work but often don’t know the deep, interpersonal engagements and the considerable knowledge one must possess to effectively educate a young child.

It is easy to explain mathematics to a room full of Tech students, much harder to a room full of 4-year-olds.

The upcoming holiday of Shavuot gives us some insight into how the simplicity of the child and a child’s education is in fact very significant.

G-d, it seems, also agrees that there is great value to the innocence and

playfulness of children.

Shavuot is the holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai: 3,329 years ago, exactly 40 days after they left Egypt, the Jews received the Torah.

The midrash relates that G-d would not give the Jewish people the Torah unless they could provide guarantors for His precious gift.

The Jewish people offered up the forefathers as guarantors, but this was not sufficient. “Your guarantors themselves require guarantors” was G-d’s reply.

Then the Jewish people offered the prophets as the guarantors. “The shepherds have rebelled against Me,” G-d replied (Jeremiah 2:8). “Bring proper guarantors, and only then will I give you the Torah.”

Finally, without recourse, the Jews said, “Let our children be our guarantors.”

“They truly are worthy guarantors,” G-d replied. “Because of them, I will give the Torah.”

Why the children?

Indeed, children are 25 percent of the population and 100 percent of

the future, but the reason they were considered the most suitable to guarantee G-d’s precious gift is much more nuanced.

G-d gave us the Torah to practice it and study it. In order to study something meaningfully, one must ask questions: “Why is this stated?”; “What is the reason for this conclusion?”; and so on.

We are not meant to blindly observe our faith; we are meant to question and delve deeper.

Both adult and child learners ask questions, only differing in the source of their inquiry.

When an adult poses a question, he is often doubting the premise of the law or principle. And if the answer to the question is not to the adult’s understanding or emotional comfort, he will reject it entirely.

Children, on the other hand, have a deep faith in the unknown. They instinctively know that they don’t have all the answers and that they have to believe in an idea even if they cannot understand it. They ask to gain more information, not to discredit.

This is what G-d wants us to emulate, and this is how He knows His Torah will not be forgotten. Ask many questions, be curious, dig deep, but when the answers come up insufficient or uncomfortable, be like a child and rely on your innate faith.

A child is comfortable knowing that the parent or teacher has a deeper understanding. As adults, we too need to remember that human beings are limited, while G-d is infinite.

When we consider how much there is to learn from children and with children, it is befitting that G-d chose them as the foundation in gifting the Torah.

Lest we feel overlooked, we too can be the guarantors if we engage in our own learning with the faith of a child.

Wednesday, May 31, is the first day of Shavuot. The Ten Commandments are read in synagogue, and guess who is the guest of honor at services? You guessed it: the children.

So bring your children and your own inner child and stand ready to accept G-d’s gift once again. Happy gifting, happy studying and happy Shavuot. ■ Dena Schusterman is a mother of eight, a wife, the rebbetzin of Chabad Intown and the executive director of the Intown Jewish Preschool.

SHAVUOT

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Beer, Milk, Berries Perfect for Seasonal Drinks

Spring’s Revelation Shavuot doesn’t just mark the end of seven weeks of counting; it also marks the end of spring and beginning of summer. In Georgia, local strawberries are abundant in the spring and bring an incredible sweetness you won’t find with strawberries shipped in from other regions.

2 ounces whisPhotos by Robbie key (or any other Medwed spirit you prefer) Spring’s Revelation, 1 ounce lemon marking the juice transition from spring to summer, ½ ounce takes advantage strawberry-thyme of sweet local syrup* strawberries.

2 dashes angostura bitters Shake all the ingredients together with ice and double strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel or strawberry slice. * Strawberry-thyme syrup: Bring 1 cup of chopped, fresh strawberries, a handful of fresh thyme sprigs, ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes. Cool and strain.

Lemon-Gin Shandy Beer is an obvious choice for Shavuot. It has barley and wheat, and it’s made even better in this fun, summery

cocktail. Choose any neutral or citrusy IPA-style beer — you won’t need too much, just a few ounces, so don’t be afraid to get a premium beer.

The Cocktail Hour

By Robbie Medwed

1 ounce gin 1 ounce lemon juice ½ ounce simple syrup (50 Beer fits the role of percent water, grain in Shavuot, 50 percent sugar, and the Lemonboiled together) Gin Shandy is a 3 ounces IPA fresh, seasonal way to use beer. beer Sprig of mint Shake all the ingredients except the beer and the mint together with ice and pour into a rocks glass with a few ice cubes. Slowly add the beer, and garnish with the sprig of mint.

Tropical Clarified Milk Punch Clarified milk punches were most popular in the 1700s but are again finding their way to fancy bars. They are almost totally clear, and they have a smooth and velvety texture. You’ll need some time and patience to make this recipe, but it’s well worth the wait. Just be sure to remind guests that these cocktails do have dairy in them.

Step 1 ½ cup chopped Tropical Clarified Milk Punch ends up coconut so clear that you’ll ¾ cup sugar have to remind 2 cups water guests that this is a dairy drink.

Bring everything to a quick boil, let the mixture cool, then strain.

Step 2 2 cups rum Peels of 1 lime, 1 lemon, 1 orange In a large pitcher, drop the fruit peels into the rum and, with a wooden spoon or muddler, muddle the peels.

Step 3 To the pitcher with the rum and

peels, add: 2 cups coconut simple syrup 1 ounce lemon juice 2 ounces lime juice ½ ounce orange juice 2 cups water Step 4 In a second large pitcher, add: 1 cup whole milk (it must be whole, not skim or 2 percent) Slowly pour the contents of the first pitcher into the milk, straining out the peels, etc., as you do so. The milk will start to curdle (don’t worry) because of the citrus juice. Let that sit for at least 30 minutes on the counter or overnight in the fridge. The curds will begin to separate from the whey.

Step 5 Strain the liquid through coffee filters and a sieve into a large pitcher.

This will take a while; have patience.

The finished liquid should be nearly clear. (If you use an aged rum, your punch might look like white wine, which is nothing to worry about.) Pour a few ounces over ice and enjoy.

The finished punch will last in the fridge a few weeks. ■

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Shavuot is the culmination of seven weeks of counting measures of barley — an omer — beginning on the second night of Passover. The barley was brought as a sacrifice to the Temple until Shavuot, when newly grown wheat replaced barley.

According to tradition, Shavuot also marks the anniversary of revelation, when the Israelites received the Torah at Mount Sinai.

One of my favorite quirky traditions of Shavuot is eating dairy food.

Why dairy? The laws about which animals are kosher are found in the Torah. But in the days leading up to Shavuot, we didn’t have the Torah, so we didn’t know what types of meat we could enjoy. We therefore stuck to dairy food until we got the rules.

In honor of the barley, wheat and dairy, here are three great cocktails to enjoy over Shavuot. They’re especially a great way to enjoy a night filled with studying if that’s your thing.

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SHAVUOT

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Why the Messiah Springs From ‘Incestuous’ Roots

By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com The Book of Ruth is the key to understanding the crucial role that widows play in bringing forth the messiah, Rabbi Moshe Miller explained during an appearance at Congregation Beth Jacob on Thursday, May 11.

Rabbi Miller, a former principal of Torah Day School of Atlanta who now lives in Jerusalem, unveiled some of the lessons from “Rising Moon,” his book analyzing the Book of Ruth. It is traditional to read Ruth on the second day of Shavuot, which falls on Thursday, June 1, this year.

He focused at Beth Jacob on the mitzvah of yibum, in which the brother of a man who dies childless has the obligation to marry the widow and produce children so that his brother’s name will not die out. But in a general sense, yibum could be any male relative fathering children in a relationship that otherwise might be seen as incestuous.

Rabbi Miller said three great acts of yibum lie behind the story told in

Rabbi Moshe Miller signs and sells books May 11 to benefit the Tzarkei Naomi Fund.

Ruth, in which the Moabite widow of a formerly wealthy Jew follows her widowed mother-in-law back to the land of Israel. Ruth famously declares to her mother-in-law, Naomi, that she will go where Naomi goes and that Naomi’s people will be her people.

Ruth itself is a story of yibum because Boaz, a kinsman of Ruth’s dead

husband, decides to marry her, and their great-grandson becomes King David, the father of the royal line destined to produce the messiah.

But the acts of yibum in Ruth’s backstory are crucial to understanding the messianic line and the highest act of kindness.

The first of the three is at the heart of creation: Cain fathering children with his sister. Without that act, there would be no mankind. Thus, commentators such as Rashi have said, G-d performs a special chesed (kindness) in allowing that yibum marriage, and the example is set that whoever does the mitzvah of yibum is acting as a partner in creation.

The second act of yibum in Ruth’s history occurs when Lot and his daughters escape Sodom before its destruction. The daughters are convinced that the world has been destroyed, so they get him drunk and sleep with him to repopulate Earth.

That coupling produces the people of Moab, where Ruth later is a princess when Elimelech, Naomi and their sons settle there during a famine back home

in Bethlehem.

The third crucial act of yibum involves Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah. After her husband dies and two of his brothers refuse to fulfill the mitzvah of fathering a child in his name, she tricks Judah into doing the task.

That coupling leads to the family of Elimelech and Boaz, meaning that David is a direct descendant of two crucial acts of yibum even before the marriage of Ruth and Boaz.

The question, Rabbi Miller emphasized, is why yibum and widowhood should be crucial to producing the messiah.

The answer is that any act of chesed, or kindness, also has the element of the Aramaic meaning of chesed, which is shame or embarrassment.

“The moment you perform an act of chesed, you cannot prevent the inexorable, unavoidable result,” Rabbi Miller said. “You have made the recipient dependent upon you for a part of their existence. You have given them food (for example) but taken away their ability to meet your eyes.”

The only exception, the only act of kindness that is entirely good, Rabbi Miller showed through use of rabbinic sources, is something done for the dead, who cannot feel shame. Yibum is the ultimate example of such an action because not only is the beneficiary (the widow’s husband) dead, but the person doing the good deed is sacrificing himself so that the dead man’s name will live on.

Thus, the line of the messiah is blessed by multiple examples of perfectly selfless acts of chesed. ■

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

For the Widows

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Rabbi Moshe Miller spoke in support of Atlanta’s Tzarkei Naomi Fund, a Jewish fund for widows and orphans that is named for the Jewish widow who led Ruth to Boaz. In addition to the lecture at Beth Jacob, he spoke during Shabbat at Congregation Ariel, then appeared at Congregation Ner Hamizrach on Sunday before leaving town and missing the Atlanta Braves, who were on a road trip and whom he called Atlanta’s biggest attraction for him.

“I am honored to speak on behalf of an organization that is worthy of your support,” Rabbi Miller said.

Contributions to the widows and orphans fund can be made at TzarkeiNaomi.org.

SHAVUOT

Study Holiday Options The holiday of Shavuot, a celebration of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, starts Tuesday night, May 30, and ends Thursday night, June 1. Aside from the Book of Ruth, Yizkor and dairy foods, Shavuot is traditionally a time for all-night study.

Here are some of the options (free unless otherwise noted) for marking the holiday around Atlanta (send additions to mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com): • Ahavath Achim Synagogue (www.aasynagogue.org), emphasizes storytelling in study sessions running from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 5:15 a.m.

Wednesday, followed by minyan and breakfast. The Atlanta Jewish Times and MACoM are co-sponsoring the study sessions, so you’ll have opportunities to hear from and respond to AJT staffers and contributors.

• Congregation B’nai Torah (www. bnaitorah.org/shavuot), 700 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, delves into superstitions and the supernatural from 8 p.m. until just before midnight Tuesday.

• Congregation Etz Chaim (etzchaim.net/tikkunleilshavuot), celebrates the funny side of life with sessions on humor and open-mic stand-up comedy from 8:15 to 11 p.m. Tuesday.

• Congregation Beth Shalom (bethshalomatlanta.org/shavuot-5777), starts its night of study at 7:30 Tuesday, spearheaded by Rabbi Lou Feldstein and focusing on “reaccepting, revitalizing and reimagining” the Torah.

• Limmud Atlanta+Southeast (www.limmudse.org/shavuot-2017. html), Congregation Shearith Israel, Congregation Bet Haverim, Moishe House and SOJOURN gather with InterfaithFamily/Atlanta on the eighth floor of Ponce City Market, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Midtown, for sessions on the theme of “Pursue Justice: Standing

Together on Shavuot” from 7 to 11 p.m.

Tuesday.

• Temples Beth Tikvah (www. bethtikvah.com), Kehillat Chaim and Emanu-El hold a joint Shavuot experience called “Come to the Mountain” at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell.

• Chabad of Peachtree City (www. chabadsouthside.com), 632 Dogwood Trail, Tyrone, reads the Ten Commandments and dines on divine dairy treats at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

• Congregation Or VeShalom (www.orveshalom.org), starts with services at 7 p.m. Tuesday, then discusses Torah with Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla until midnight.

• Chabad of North Fulton (www. chabadnf.org), hosts a family celebration, including a scavenger hunt and ice cream party, at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

• Chabad Intown (www.chabadintown.org/shavuot), 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., Midtown, hosts TEDShavuot, a series of 10-minute power talks, from 10:30 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, then follows up with a family dinner and an ice cream party at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• Chabad of Cobb (www.chabadofcobb.com/Shavuot2017), starts with Rabbi Ephraim Silverman discussing marijuana at 10:30 p.m., follows with Rabbi Tzvi Kilov on anti-Semitism, then goes all night with Torah talk.

• The Atlanta Scholars Kollel (www.atlantakollel.org) and Congregation Ariel, hold a dairy lunch for young parents and their children at 1 p.m.

Thursday. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children, and free for 3 and under • Young Israel of Toco Hills (www.yith.org), welcomes Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier as a guest scholar at 8:40 p.m., before dinner at 9:30, and at 11:30, before all-night Torah study. $28 for members, $36 for nonmembers. ■

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Early AIDS Doctor Expects No Cure Soon

By Kevin C. Madigan kmadigan@atljewishtimes.com

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The Grief Recovery Method Support Group not only makes it possible, but provides partnerships and guidance to insure it happens during this 8 week action program. The program offers hope and support for any loss.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

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HOPE FOR THE GRIEVING HEART

A Jewish physician who was among the first to identify AIDS in 1981 believes that a cure is a long way off.

Speaking at Emory University‘s Center for AIDS Research on Thursday, May 18, Michael Gottlieb said treatment and prevention have improved vastly the past 20 years, but much remains to be done to eliminate the effects of the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes the illness.

“Can we eradicate it (known as a sterilizing cure), or create what we call a functional cure, which is a suppression so that a person’s immune system will keep HIV in check without the need for medication?” asked Gottlieb, an associate clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

“Though it may not be politically correct to say so, the likelihood of eradication is actually pretty small, at least in the short term,” he said. “If I were betting, I’d say the prospects are fairly dim. I hope to be surprised.”

Calling a cure for AIDS “a luxury,” Gottlieb said it’s important to focus on the advances made. “Not that we’ve totally conquered HIV, but there’s been remarkable progress. We have therapy now that is very effective. Basic science in action has had a huge impact on people’s lives. Patients were dying in the early years of the epidemic, and it’s incredibly satisfying to see people surviving today with good quality of life.”

Gottlieb was 33 in January 1981 when, as a junior assistant professor at UCLA Medical Center, he noticed that five of his patients, all of them homosexual men, had pneumocystis pneumonia.

“It was very unusual to see a patient who was previously healthy to have this opportunistic infection, which by definition takes advantage of a lack of host response,” he said. “I can remember those first patients of mine probably better than patients I saw last week. I remember the faces and life stories because their illnesses were so dramatic. It was very frustrating, of course, not having anything to offer them.”

The causes of the disease were eventually narrowed down to sexual transmission, the sharing of needles and sexual transmission among intravenous drug users, and blood product

Photo by Kevin C. Madigan

“It’s critical that we don’t forget people around the world who live with it or are spreading it sexually from one person to another,” Michael Gottlieb says.

transmission.

“The characterization of AIDS as a ‘gay disease’ was made early on. It was quickly disproven, but people didn’t want to think it was possibly their problem as heterosexual adults, so they preferred to keep calling it that, and we’ve suffered from that ever since,” Gottlieb said.

He added that, over the years, we have become numbed by the statistics.

“Back then, we started with five victims. Today we have roughly 33 million people infected with HIV worldwide, and 25 million-plus have already died.”

However, a person diagnosed today in the United States who can obtain medication is projected to have a nearly normal life expectancy, a huge change from the dire situation in the 1980s and early ‘90s.

“But it’s not available to everyone infected with HIV,” Gottlieb said. “It’s critical that we don’t forget people around the world who live with it or are spreading it sexually from one person to another. It would not be spread if they had treatment as prevention; a fraction of those with HIV are on hard therapy.”

Gottlieb said the bar for a sterilizing cure is very high, “and there are lots of gaps in our knowledge and unanswered questions. We’re reaching outside the country to obtain anything that might be helpful, such as Interferon, immune boosters, homeopathic remedies and anti-inflammatories.”

Methods that could serve as functional cures have been proposed, such as gene therapy in the form of a vaccine that could enhance T-cell receptors and induce new immune responses to HIV. “My conclusion,” Gottlieb said, “is a combination of approaches is likely necessary.” ■

BUSINESS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Winning Team Exceeds Individual Abilities Sometimes it might feel as if you take one step forward and two steps back.

Eventually, if you stay the course and follow the defined path forward, you begin to grow and get better.

Coach’s Corner

By Jason Adler JasonAdler@johnmaxwellgroup.com

Learning from each step forward helps growth soon become the norm.

Stick with it long enough, and growth becomes exponential.

For those starting to build a successful organization, Larry shared his step-by-step approach: • Create a statement of strategic purpose.

• Create systems to run your business.

• Create loyalty by making life simple for your clients.

Larry said that during 20 years in business, the times when MendenFreiman has seen lower-than-anticipated growth have been when it has veered

from its statement of strategic purpose. However, when the firm does follow the path and lives within its purpose, the collaborative energy creates huge growth opportunities for staff and clients.

That is Lesson 1: Stay on purpose.

Lesson 2: Let systems run your business, and hire the right people to run the systems.

The key here is to set up systems correctly. Each system will require a different skill set. When you know the exact skills needed to run these systems, finding the right people becomes easier.

You will have identified all the skill sets for running your company, and using those as a minimum benchmark, you can hire people based more on attitude and cultural fit. Your team becomes much stronger this way.

Lesson 3: Make life simple for the people around you.

In the previous lesson, we saw that systems can make life easier for employees. So now we must make life simple for clients. A key component to a good sales system is to make it easy for a customer to buy. Now extrapolate

that idea to everything you can do for a client.

In today’s culture, ease of use is a necessity. The less a client has to do, the more valuable you are to that client. Larry promises that his firm meets its clients’ needs, then delivers extra value to them by going the extra step.

His team promises good service and delivers great service.

The secret sauce that Larry Freiman shared with me is the same sauce Theo Epstein uses. Their teams have great relationships with one another and are able to lift one another to greater heights than they could achieve individually. The result is a winning attitude on the field, in the clubhouse, in the office and at home.

Life not only becomes easier, but also becomes better.

Isn’t that what we all want?

Imagine each of us winning the World Series of our lifetime. ■ Jason Adler is a John Maxwell-certified executive coach (www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/jasonadler) helping people and their organizations hire and keep quality employees.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

It still comes as a shock to some people: The Cubs won the World Series during their lifetime. Just as the Boston Red Sox broke their own curse 12 years earlier, the Cubs are no longer the hapless losers.

The one person credited for all this success is Theo Epstein, but if you ask him, he will defer credit to the players. He says it was the chemistry of the team.

The players enjoy working with one another. They lift one another up to greater heights than they could achieve individually.

I sat down recently with Larry Freiman, managing partner at the boutique Atlanta law firm of MendenFreiman, which focuses on business law, estate planning and estate administration. Founded in 1997 by George Menden and Freiman, the firm has lawyers who specialize in helping businesses and individuals plan for the future.

Over the hour-plus conversation, Larry shared a few nuggets of wisdom that I would like to pass along.

Just as in baseball, when building a team, there is a huge learning curve.

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ARTS

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Local Composer Celebrates Israel at 70

Waterfall Photographer To Beautify MACoM

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

By Rachel Fayne

Edward Zeltser, a local composer and musician, has released an album that celebrates the 70th anniversary of the state of Israel, an event coming in 2018.

Zeltser, who came to Atlanta as a refugee from Ukraine almost 30 years ago, composed all 10 works on the album, “In Pursuit of Dreams,” and recorded it with live and synthesized instruments played by local artists.

“On a grand scale, the vision for the CD is to commemorate the 70-year anniversary of the existence of the modern state of Israel, which will be in 2018,” Zeltser said, “by highlighting a few moments in the history of the Jewish people, from the times of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden to the present day.”

The album begins with “Blessed Rain,” a sweeping tune driven by piano and saxophone that celebrates the optimism of spring showers. Next up is “Once in Eden,” which details serenity in the Garden of Eden, followed by the expulsion into a turbulent world; it builds into the album’s title track, “In Pursuit of Dreams,” which represents the centuries-old dream of the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

The instrumental album continues with “Prayer” and “Far Away,” the yearning of the Jewish people for their homeland while in slavery. “Remembering” honors the memory of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism and transitions into the hopeful “Spring in Galilee,” which highlights the beauty of the Galilee region in the spring.

“Spicy Hummus” is a cheerful salsa dance celebrating the culture of Jews

Dunwoody artist Margery Diamond will exhibit her water-inspired photography in the new gallery space of the Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah as MACoM’s first guest artist.

With the addition of the gallery area and Photos by Rachel Fayne Diamond’s pho- Margery Diamond tography, MACoM is surrounded in her home by hopes to make the ancient tradition photographs she has taken around of mikvah imthe world. mersion more approachable and meaningful for those wanting more education and information about the process.

The chair of MACoM’s hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the mitzvah) committee, Michal Ilai, said the idea behind the partnership with Diamond is that any mitzvah is made more meaningful by adding beauty.

“In keeping with the concept of hiddur mitzvah, we want to invite the community to our holy place,” she said.

“It is our hope that everyone enjoys the beautiful art that is displayed on our walls.”

As a nature photographer, Diamond sticks to her roots with this exhibit.

“I believe everything that is important can be learned through the experience of nature,” she said. Her award-winning images are exhibited throughout Israel and the United States and published in several national and regional magazines.

Diamond’s exhibit, “Mayim

Edward Zeltser played the saxophone in big bands and orchestras as a young man in Ukraine.

scattered around the globe during the Diaspora.

The final two tracks on the album celebrate Israel’s two largest cities.

“Midnight in Tel Aviv,” an upbeat, saxophone-centric, tropical tune honors Tel Aviv’s designation as the other city that never sleeps. “Jerusalem Rhapsody” evokes the might and beauty of the historic capital of Israel and its Jewish roots.

Every track on the album, even the compositions written in minor key, has been transposed to a major key or has a positive, strong, life-affirming ending.

“I hope that all of the songs on the album are life-affirming,” Zeltser said.

“There’s not a sad feeling after you hear each song. Instead, you hear the optimism of the Jewish people and their belief that the future will be bright.”

Classically trained in clarinet and piano, Zeltser was born and raised in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and played saxophone and clarinet in big bands and small orchestras growing up. He moved to Atlanta with his family in 1988. He is also an accomplished professional photographer.

Zeltser began working on “In Pursuit of Dreams” in 2012. It is his second album, after 2014’s “Far Away,” and can be purchased at zeltsermusic.com. ■

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Rabim: A Great Many Waters,” will mirror the water theme of the mikvah while paying homage to the waterfalls of the world, most notably of North Carolina. The 18-piece show will feature images of water from the photographer’s travels that she said evoke a sense of wonder.

“I believe that everything that is important can be learned through the experience of nature,” Diamond said.

“Just as a waterfall opens our hearts to letting life pour into us, the mikvah opens itself to us so that we can pour ourselves into life.”

A public reception to open the exhibit will run from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 11, at MACoM. Michael Ilai After the mikvah’s (right), who annual meeting heads MACoM’s from 6 to 7, the gal- hiddur mitzvah committee, lery will hold the ofhas worked ficial grand opening, with Margery during which board Diamond to make her the members and others community attending MACoM’s mikvah’s first annual meeting will artist in residence. receive a private tour of the exhibit from Diamond and refreshments will be served.

The photographs are available for sale framed or unframed. Eighteen percent of all sales will be donated to MACoM. ■ What: MACoM annual meeting and gallery opening Where: 700-A Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs When: Annual meeting at 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 11; grand opening at 7 Cost: Free; RSVP by June 2 to blenoble@atlantamikvah.org or 404549-9679

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OBITUARIES

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Arthur Butcher 86, Atlanta

Arthur Leonard Butcher, 86, passed away peacefully Monday, May 15, 2017, at the William Breman Jewish Home.

He moved to Atlanta from Larchmont, N.Y., with his wife, Eleanor, to retire and be with family in 1990. Born in the Bronx, he attended Monroe High School, where he met and married Eleanor Nachmanson, his wife of 64 years.

They later moved to Mamaroneck, where they started a family and Artie started his business, Artel Interior Decorators. A talented designer and skilled craftsman, he created custom cabinetry and upholstery by hand until hiring employees. He had a knack for design sketch and an instinctual flair for color, design and textiles, earning him a large New York clientele, many of whom counted on him as a close friend. Artie remained a loyal New York sports fan after moving to Georgia.

He was a fierce competitor, especially when it came to tennis, bridge and gin rummy. “Losing” was not in his vocabulary. He took up tennis in his early 30s and played ALTA until shortly before moving into the William Breman Jewish Home in 2015. Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2000, he was aware of his progressive aphasia but remained in exceptional physical health until recently.

Always generous with his love and affection, he is survived by his wife, Eleanor; a daughter, Melanie (Allan) Nelkin; a son, Matthew Butcher (Rebecca Posner); and grandchildren Erin and Eli Mazursky, Noah and Hannah Butcher, and Matthew and David Nelkin. He was preceded in death by his son Jordan Butcher.

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A graveside service was held Thursday, May 18, at Arlington Memorial Park. Tributes may be made to the William Breman Jewish Home or American Jewish Committee. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Regina Elkan

Regina is survived by her mother, Mary Elkan; a sister, Stephanie (Jeffrey) Knauer; a nephew, Marshall Knauer; and a niece, Madeline Knauer. She was preceded in death by her father, Morris Elkan (of blessed memory).

Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Sierra Club, the American Brain Tumor Association or Hospice Atlanta. Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 23, at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Shalom Lewis officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Lenore Flack 91, Sandy Springs

Lenore H. Flack of Sandy Springs, formerly of West Palm Beach, Fla., passed away at the age of 91 on Monday, May 15, 2017, with her loving sons by her side.

Lenore was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin, who passed in 2000.

Lenore’s lifelong interest was a never-ending commitment to and support for her family, often providing part-time income to help support family vacations, which she cherished. The family will never forget those memories.

She is survived by her sons, Howard, Lawrence and Steven, and their families; six grandchildren, Jordan, Jason, Michael, Rachel, Devon and Alex; and a great-grandchild, Miles. The family will be forever grateful for the loving, committed care Lenore received from Huntcliff Summit and Vitas Hospice Care.

Services were held Sunday, May 21, at IJ Morris at Star of David Cemetery of the Palm Beaches, 9321 Memorial Park Road, West Palm Beach, Fla. Donations in her memory may be made to the Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) or Vitas Hospice Care (www.vitascommunityconnection.org/community-connection).

Death Notices

Jeffrey Kahn, 43, of Stone Mountain, son of Bob Kahn and brother of Amy Kahn, on May 18.

Jay Siegel of Roswell, brother of Dea Farris, on May 17.

Atlanta

Regina Elkan passed away peacefully Sunday, May 21, 2017.

Regina (“Genie” to her family and East Coast friends) graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and moved to Philadelphia, where she did educational research and photojournalism. Her photography of the Italian Market was notable for capturing the essence of the district. Projects took her to San Francisco, where she settled. She was drawn to medical research, editing and writing brochures and conference notes. She also worked as an editor for the PBS “Great Issues” series. She was always drawn back to photography, using film and developing pictures in her darkroom.

Regina showed in San Francisco galleries and artist collectives. She was involved in the photography and animation community and loved hiking in the California mountains. Regina savored life and relationships and the beauty of her immediate surroundings. She was a generous and loyal friend who always wanted to help. She had a gift of bringing people into her life and sustaining deep friendships. Family was important to Regina, and she did extensive research, finding relatives and collecting stories.

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HOME

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Condo Is Good as Gold as Home Art Gallery Icon, doyenne, revolutionary, rebel. Fay Gold, Atlanta’s pre-eminent name in contemporary art, answers to “legend.”

She is best known for her mission to bring New York art to the South and for her discovery of Radcliffe Bailey, Rocio Rodriguez, Rana Rochat and Zoe Hersey.

Gold has a bachelor’s from Adelphi University and studied painting with a protégé of Hans Hofmann’s.

She downsized from a large Buckhead home to a condo that is alive and overflowing with worldclass photography, sculpture, paintings and glass: works by Andres Serrano, Vik Muniz, Yasumasa Morimura, Sandy Skoglund, Zhang Huan, Mike and Doug Starn, Dale Chihuly, and William Morris.

Gold was the commencement speaker in 2010 at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. She received the Big Thinker Award from the Brain Injury Association of Georgia and Miriam’s Cup from Israel Bonds for her contributions to art and Jewish life.

Jaffe: Where did your talent begin? Were you an artsy child?

Gold: Yes, as a child I had visual gifts and small motor skills. I loved to knit, cut out paper dolls and won the sewing award at PS 225 for making my own graduation dress. I began collecting pop art in the early ’60s, such as Oldenburg, Wesselmann and Lichtenstein. I used the income earned from my backyard art school in Atlanta to buy art in New York.

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Jaffe: What advice would you give to folks who want to begin collecting art?

Gold: Go to the major art fairs, such as the New York Armory Show and Miami Art Basel. Attend gallery openings. Subscribe to Artforum and Art in America. Befriend and learn from other collectors.

Jaffe: Buy what you don’t like?

Gold: Collect art that asks questions and that you can’t figure out easily. No one has ever solved the mystery of why the “Mona Lisa” is smiling. Art reveals itself over time. Think outside the box. Take risks.

Jaffe: You are credited with trans-

34 forming Atlanta’s art scene. How did a

New Yorker like you end up here?

Gold: My father owned the Piedmont Shirt Co. (Wing Shirts) in Greenville, S.C., where I was born.

When I was 2, my family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where I grew up. My late husband, Donald, owned Nantucket Industries, which manufactured ladies underwear and hosiery and built a plant in Cartersville, Ga.

Chai-Style Homes

By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

A In 1966, we moved to Atlanta with my three children, Ames, Jason and Gena, then 10, 6 and 2. I created Fay’s World in my backyard art studio, where I taught oil painting and drawing to 60 children, women and men each week for 15 years. I opened the Fay Gold Gallery in 1980 with an exhibition of George Segal, followed by Robert Rauschenberg, Alex Katz, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

Jaffe: What are some of the most unusual pieces you have? I feel a lot of energy and excitement here. Let’s call it “art de vivre.”

Gold: My Deborah Butterfield horse, “Big Red,” 1980, made from scrap metal and old movie marquee letters. A life-size mannequin covered in jelly beans from “Shimmering Madness,” a photograph by Sandy Skoglund.

Jaffe: Your photography is stellar.

What do you treasure the most?

Gold: The portraits taken of me by Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton and Joyce Tenneson.

Joyce included my portrait in her book “Wise Women.” Tenneson’s photograph of “Dasha,” which graces the cover of Alice Hoffman’s novel “The Dovekeepers,” hangs in my den. My large-scale “Oedipus and Sphinx” by Brazilian photographer Vik Muniz is from the exhibition “Pictures of Junk,” in which he uses garbage to create images of mythological subjects.

Jaffe: How would you describe your master bedroom?

Gold: As you enter are black-andwhite photographs of famed actresses Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, a nod to my love

B of old movies. Over my bed hangs “Still Life With Camera,” 1995, by Sarah Charlesworth. In the corner is a George Segal sculpture, “The Lovers.”

Also in my bedroom are three Robert Longos from his “Men in the Cities” series, an Eric Fischl drawing and two Jerry Uelsmann photographs.

Jaffe: What’s next for you?

Gold: I am seriously involved in writing my memoir and my current art consulting projects: an advanced living community, several restaurants, an art liquidation and private collectors.

Jaffe: Do you collect any Jewish artists?

Gold: Yes. A Louise Nevelson black wood assemblage and two figurative sculptures by Israeli-born artist Boaz Vaadia, “Zevulun” and “Sodi.”

Jaffe: You’ve had an amazing life. I feel a book in the making.

Gold: True. The title is “Basquiat’s Cat,” and it is nearing completion. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the cultural life of Atlanta and help artists develop their careers.

Jaffe: Tell us something we don’t know about you.

Gold: I raised $750,000 net for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. I have a passion for cooking. I had 25 relatives and friends for Passover this year.

My daughter Ames and I whipped up homemade chopped liver, brisket, stuffed cabbage, chicken fricassee and tzimmes, all from my mother Ethel’s recipes. I am an avid reader and have been a member of the H20 book club for 20 years.

Jaffe: Last word. I think you look more beautiful now in your ninth decade than you did when Mapplethorpe photographed you in 1982.

Gold: Thanks to my boyfriend, Jack, for making me feel beautiful. I have never had any long-range plans.

I trust my instincts and have grasped opportunities that have seemed right. I found myself in art. I surround myself with genius and power, great art, creative friends, and loving family like five wonderful grandchildren. ■

HOME

www.atlantajewishtimes.com Photos by Duane Stork

A: Entering Fay Gold’s home brings you to John O’Kulick’s “Bellows,” a 1996 work of lead on wood (left); Zhang Huan’s “Foam 9,” a 1998 chromogenic print of the artist’s face covered in soapy foam; Vernon Fisher’s “Shell Game,” a 1996 oil on blackboard (right); and Warren McArthur’s 1930s art deco table and red chairs.

B: The living room is home to Brooklynbased KAWS’ “Astro Boy,” a 2013 work in painted cast vinyl, and Louise Nevelson’s untitled 1978 monochromatic wood construction box on the table; Sandy Skoglund’s purple dog from “Green House,” a 1990 cast polyester resin, under the table; Allan McCollum’s 1987 “Perfect Vessels” in the background; Andres Serrano’s “Gray Moses,” a Cibachrome photograph from 1990; and Michael Lucero’s “Double Jug Head,” made of ceramic and straw in 1994.

C: Fay Gold sits by the portrait Robert Mapplethorpe took of her in 1982.

D: The Gold dining room includes Vik Muniz’s 2006 chromogenic print “Oedipus and Sphinx,” paying homage to JeanAuguste-Dominique Ingres, on the wall to the left; Dale Chihuly’s “Silver and Gold Gourd With Two Stems” from 1991 on the table; Mike and Doug Starn’s “Gut Epoch G,” a 1994 toned silver print on polyester, in the corner; and Yasumasa Morimura’s “Doublonage Portraits,” which are chromogenic prints from 1988.

E: The glass cat is William Morris’ “Artifact Bundle” from 1996.

F: Sarah Charlesworth’s 1995 “Still Life With Camera” hangs over Fay Gold’s bed. Also in the bedroom are George Segal’s 1980 cast resin relief “The Lovers” (right) and two untitled Jerry Uelsmann silver gelatin prints from 1982 (the boat beneath the cloud sphere) and 1976 (the flaming desk).

G: Yorkie Murray, 13, rules the household.

H: In addition to Deborah Butterfield’s “Big Red,” a horse sculpture that was a challenge to fit into the elevator, the kitchen includes Boaz Vaadia’s “Zevulun,” a 1995 bronze-and-bluestone sculpture on the island, and Michael Eastman’s series of colorful chromogenic prints representing “The Splendor of Cuba.”

I: The 1986 bronze “Podium Figure” is by Tom Otterness.

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SPORTS A Kosher Approach to Sports

Despite persistent rain of late, the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, May 21, was played on schedule. Although the hometown team lost 3-2, the good news was that the Atlanta Kosher Commission-sponsored Kosher Day proceeded as planned for the first time at SunTrust Park, including kosher food prepared and sold by Keith’s Corner Bar-B-Que. The game was played less than a month after Atlanta Jewish Academy had its own celebration of Jewish sports among its Upper School students, who had their graduation after the AJT went to press Tuesday, May 23 (look for coverage at atlantajewishtimes.com and in next week’s newspaper). AJA honored all its athletes at a ceremony April 27, presented scholarship awards to wrestler Josh Italiaander and basketball player Naomi Moosai, and named basketball player Shaun Regenbaum and volleyball and basketball player Brooke Ratner its student athletes of the year. ■

Photo by Eli Gray Photo by Eli Gray

Donnie Grossblatt digs into a kosher dog at Kosher Day at SunTrust Park.

Josh Italiaander receives the AJA male scholarship award. He also was given the coaches award for wrestling.

Naomi Moosai accepts the AJA female scholarship award. She also got the coaches award for girls basketball.

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Rabbi Reuven Stein, the Atlanta Kosher Commission’s director of supervision, keeps an eye on the operations of Keith Marks and his Keith’s Corner Bar-B-Que crew during Kosher Day.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

Sivan: Inspiration From Head and Heart

MAY 26 ▪ 2017

Rosh Chodesh Sivan was set to begin Thursday, May 25. This is the month in which the wheat harvest is celebrated in the land of Israel. We also observe Shavuot, which commemorates the anniversary of the day that Hashem gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Each year, we prepare ourselves spiritually to receive the Torah. From the second night of Passover, we count the Omer for seven weeks until Shavuot.

The holiday, which this year falls from May 30 to June 1, is marked by festive meals, allnight Torah study, dairy food and the reading of the Book of Ruth.

The task this month is to bring Hashem into our everyday lives. We are at the middle ground, on the Earth plane. Above us hovers the sanctity of G-d, while below us is the low-level vibration of impurity. We must keep walking above the impurity by being mindful of our thoughts, actions and deeds.

But that’s not enough. We must also reach up through the divine layers to bring the essence of G-d-like qualities down into this realm. Study is one way to achieve that goal.

Sivan’s Hebrew letter is zayin; zodiac sign, Gemini; tribe, Zevulun; sense, walking; and controlling limb, left foot.

Zayin looks like a crown. This holds the energy in place at the top of the head, much like the mortarboard at graduation.

The sign of Gemini, represented by twins, presents an ongoing struggle between the head and heart. We all have Gemini traits somewhere in our chart. Those born under this sign are generally intellectuals, great communicators and enthusiastic people who have talent but are also changeable, often referred to as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

When out of balance, they let their hearts lead them into changing directions often, toward the next shiny thing. They excel in careers that offer constant change and opportunities to communicate but get bored easily and don’t do well with repetitive tasks.

President Donald Trump is a Gemini, as are Johnny Depp, Prince William, Angelina Jolie and Courteney Cox. Gemini is all about the flip-flop.

38 See how that shows up in your life.

Zevulun, from the west coast of Israel, was made up of seafarers and merchants. They dealt with the contrasts of spiritual quests and of material possessions in the physical realm.

The sense of walking, highlighted this month, is reminiscent of the

CROSSWORD

Dr. Terry Segal tsegal@atljewishtimes.com

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ACROSS 1. ___ Miriam (seminary in Har Nof) 5. Shivah ___ b’Tammuz (fast day commemorating the breaching of the walls of 35-Across) 9. 58-Across played a secret one that pleased the Lord (according to Leonard Cohen) 14. ___ ran (like Moshe Lion for Mayer of 35-Across) 15. Large women’s college in 35-Across 16. Make like a drone over Gan Sacher 17. Dynasty that ruled in 35-Across 19. Jordan, in 1967 20. Like Jordan in 1967 21. There’s one named for 58-Across standing in 35-Across 23. Hadassah Medical Organization head Kalman and director Michael 24. Depend (on G-d), as Hezekiah did when he was besieged 25. “___ all nations shall gather to it” (Jeremiah 3:17) 28. Yeshiva Torat ___ (Chabad yeshiva in 35-Across) 29. Cache (of Byzantine coins recently found in Ein Hemed) 31. Natalie Portman, e.g. (who was born Neta-Lee Hershlag in 35-Across) 32. Some Hebrew U. degrees 33. Highest ranking Jew in 35-Across, once 34. YU school with a satellite program in 35-Across 35. The heart of this puzzle, and the Jewish people 38. Meal whose last word is 35-Across 41. Gies recognized as righteous among the nations at Yad Vashem 42. Musical notes on 35-Across by Matisyahu 45. It can shut down 35-Across 46. Many a song by 58-Across written in 35-Across 48. Rabbi Moses Isserles (author of “Torah Ha-Olah” on the Temple) 49. Web address ender for Hebrew Union College 50. ___ II of 35-Across (king in 1284) 51. Parts for those on “Shtisel” 52. Many a site at the Mount of Olives 54. Item for one busking on Ben Yehuda Street 56. Common power in 35-Across 58. He purchased the Temple Mount approximately 3,000 years

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pilgrimage of our people. This time of Gemini may have some of us walking a path that is unexpected to mainstream thinking. Look for this in your life to see whether you are the one walking or are one of the observers, surprised by someone else’s path.

The controlling limb is the left foot. The left side is considered the feminine side of the body’s circuit board. Head and heart, right and left, seek balance. Decisions made with either the head or the heart are misaligned.

The left foot reminds us to bring in the spiritual, nurturing and emotional aspects of the story and integrate them with the facts and figures of the mental realm.

We’re challenged to bring Hashem into our mundane world. This is a perfect time to combine head and heart in study. It doesn’t have to involve lofty, esoteric goals.

Maybe you’d like to take a Jewish cooking class, learn to make challah, start lighting Shabbat candles or take a class in conversational Hebrew. Hebrew calligraphy might interest you, or a tea-and-Torah Jewish women’s study group. Perhaps you’d like to know more about Jewish art or learn about the lives of your favorite Jewish comedians.

Meditation focus: Quiet yourself and connect with the aspects of Judaism that touch your heart. Choose a track of learning. Decide whether you’d like to focus on a year of study of a particular subject or to learn something new each month that’s connected to Judaism.

Think about how enriched your life will be by next year’s Shavuot. Put the dates of your study on your calendar, or the summer breezes will blow them right away. ■

“City of Gold”

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

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New Moon Meditations

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

Hamikdash) 34. Cong. member more likely to support the embassy move to 35-Across 35. Many a 35-Across resident 36. Be laid up, like one at Shaare Zedek Medical Center 37. J’___, abbr. for 35-Across 38. Kiryat Moshe to Rehavia dir.

39. What the Six-Day War did on June 11, 1967 40. Kirk who has a theater named after him at Aish HaTorah in 22Down 42. It’s 33 miles from 35-Across 43. Where many residents of 35-Across once lived DOWN 1. “Aru, aru ad hayessod ___!” (part 44. Some Hebrew U. degrees 46. Angle (of The Jerusalem Post), of 46-Across) abbr.

2. ___, The Heart of Dixie (store 47. Common coin in 35-Across found on David Street) 3. Sect that once had a quarter in 48. Make like the shawarma spit at Halo Teiman 35-Across 50. Visitor of 35-Across with Donald 4. Destroyers of 35-Across 51. “He got ___ of the foreign gods” 5. Frank with a memorial in the in 35-Across (II Chronicles 33:15) Martyrs’ Forest 53. Price, at the Inbal 6. Like “Srugim” on Hulu 7. She’s in the middle of the Mount 54. “Need drove the starving to ___ at anything” (Josephus, on the Zion excavation?

8. One leasing a home in Katamon siege of 35-Across) 55. What a sunrise over 35-Across 9. Like Marzipan’s (delicious) never is rugelach 10. Fine-tune (as “Hostages” cast 56. What some do at the Western Wall on 9 Av members do with their skills) 11. Had too much at Ticho House 57. “Light” moshav right outside 35-Across 12. Rock band that played in 4259. U.N. gp. that calls some of Down in 1995 35-Across “occupied territory” 13. Like the summer weather in 60. Abbr. of the most iconic 35-Across documents at the Israel Museum 18. Extra times for Hapoel basketballers, briefly 22. The ___ City 23. Border of 35-Across? (B’Ivrit) 24. Aly who visited 35-Across LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION to watch the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 D I A R Y G L A S S N B A Maccabiah Games 14 15 16 E S T E E O I N K S A R K 26. Turner who 17 18 19 was hanged in G R E A S E A N N I E N I K 20 21 22 35-Across (in S S N G U M U N T O 23 24 25 26 27 Virginia) W I C K E D C O M P A N Y 29 30 27. Some workers 28 O D A S N O S I F at Herzog Hosp.

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 M A R S O M G S R A S H A 29. “___ habayit 40 41 42 B R O A D W A Y M U S I C A L beyadeinu!”

43 44 45 S E L M A S P U N R U N T 30. Midwest sch.

46 47 48 49 50 that ran a Living A N G R S A B O A 51 52 53 54 35-Across program B E A U T I F U L H A I R 57 58 31. Card one might 55O 56R A L S A N N L E get when visiting 59 60 61 62 63 64 B I B C H I C A G O R E N T 35-Across 65 66 67 I C E P E N A L N O K I A 33. ___ Tamid 68 69 70 A R T S Y E D G A R T E L (flame in the Beit ago 61. Make like Solomon when inaugurating the Temple 62. They will take you to 42-Down before you can go to 35-Across 63. Quirks one might think some passionate prayers at the Western Wall possess 64. Like IDF members operating out of 35-Across 65. Aussie billionaire and 35-Across Great Synagogue donator Frank 66. Actress Green who once portrayed Sibylla, queen of 35-Across, et al.

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