No 27, July 6 The Atlanta Jewish Times

4TH-ANNUAL ICE FOR IAN

PROTÉJ IS UNDERWAY

YOU ARE HOW YOU EAT

PAGE 3

PAGE 13

PAGE 15

Ice skating & hot chocolate for Ian’s Friends Foundation

the atlanta

JFGA’s entrepreneur mentorship program begins

Author Dr. Robert Schwartz visits CBJ

JULY 6, 2012 - JULY 12, 2012

JOURNEY TO LEGOLAND Youth Reporter Heads to New Discovery Center

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16 Tamuz - 22 Tamuz 5772, Vol. LXXXVII No. 27

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AJT

MAZEL TOV

American Diabetes Association Names “Fathers of the Year”

JNF Atlanta Announces Incoming Co-Presidents

FOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS HONORED

J

LIEBERMAN, LERNER BEGIN NEW ROLES OCT. 1 ewish National Fund (JNF) announces the appointments of Jill Lerner and Matt Lieberman as Co-Presidents of JNF Atlanta. Their term begins Oct. 1; the two will succeed David Birnbrey and Mechal Perl in their roles.

Jill Lerner is President of Jill Lerner Communications, LLC, a boutique public relations firm specializing in the financial services and commercial real estate industries. Earlier in her career, Jill worked as an award-winning business reporter, most recently for Atlanta Business Chronicle.

She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Matt Lieberman is the owner of Compass Benefits, Inc., a benefits firm that partners with niche leaders to bring creative and constructive solutions to the benefits challenges faced by large private and public sector employers.

(From left to right) ADA Father of the Year Award winners Randall Kessler, Robert N. Stargel, Jr., Craig Kaufmanand Gary P. Stokan. PHOTO/Kent Ruby

A

t the American Diabetes Father of the Year Awards Dinner at InterContinental Hotel on June 14, Randall Kessler, Robert Stargel, Craig Kaufman and Gary Stokan were recognized as individuals who portray and epitomize family, citizenship, charity, civility and responsibility in their everyday lives.

Diabetes affects more than 25.8 million children and adults nationwide. The Father of the Year fundraiser’s purpose is to fund essential advocacy, education and research initiatives.

Atlanta Boy Choir Presents “Butterfly” in Russia” MOVING PIECE, INSPIRED BY POEMS OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS, HAS WORLDWIDE IMPACT

T

A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Matt has practiced law in the estate planning and notfor-profit fields and served in a senior advisory role in the last three presidential campaigns. He contributes his support to many Atlanta-area nonprofit groups and is a member of the prestigious Wexner Heritage Program.

TOP: Jill Lerner, President of Jill Lerner Communications, LLC BELOW: Matt Lieberman, owner of Compass Benefits, Inc.,

“We are very excited for Jill and Matt to bring their extensive professional expertise to the JNF Atlanta board,” said outgoing Co-President David Birnbrey. “JNF is tremendously fortunate to be a significant part of Matt’s portfolio of community activities.”

“Matt is a strategic thinker whose passion for Israel and JNF contributes to his effective leadership. His leadership skills, developed through the prestigious Wexner Foundation, will be a great asset to the JNF board,” added outgoing CoPresident Mechal Perl.

“Jill’s public relations savvy and her passion for sharing Israel’s great success stories,” said Beth Gluck, JNF Southeast Regional Director, “brings her to the fore of a prestigious board of directors. She brings enthusiasm, talent and dedication to her leadership role with JNF.”

he famous Atlanta Boy Choir under the direction of Maestro Fletcher Wolfe has just returned from St. Petersburg, Russia, where they presented the very meaningful and moving piece “I Never Saw Another Butterfly.”

This work was written by Cantor Charles Davidson to the poems of the Jewish children who were imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II in Teresianstadt, Czechoslovakia. Of the 15,000 children interned, only 150 survived.

The Choir – well-known during its long history of 55 years and training over 8,500 Atlanta-area boys – has been singing this work of hope and despair to audiences throughout the world for almost a half-century. In April, the choir gave a performance of this work at Atlanta’s The Temple with renowned actress Mira Hirsch narrating.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

The ABC has performed this piece several times in Washington, D.C. with the President and both houses of Congress present. The Choir also recorded the work with Cantor Isaac Goodfriend, of blessed memory, as narrator.

While in Russia last week, the 25 boys and 20 men of the touring choir gave a performance of this work at the Czar’s Winter Palace’s Imperial Capella Hall as well as The Great Hall of the Philharmonic. Many members of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg attended these concerts, and their response was overwhelming.

American Consul General Bruce Turner said this work in particular had a great impact on the Russians, as they too suffered horribly under the terrible Nazi re2 gime.

The Atlanta Boy Choir, here performing at The Temple, recently made a trip to Russia to perform the powerful piece “I Never Saw Another Butterfly.” PHOTO/courtesy the Atlanta Boy Choir

AJT

MAZEL TOV

Ice for Ian Skates to Success From Camp with Love

I

HAVING FUN & RAISING FUNDS

SENT BY NOA GREENE

ce for Ian, the Ian’s Friends Foundation fundraiser originally started by Erin Beiner as her bat mitzvah project, celebrated its fourth year with the best edition of the event yet. The turnout was great, with all guests enjoying skating and hot chocolate.

Our letter this week comes from Noa Greene, who’s spending her summer at Camp Coleman.

Davis Hosts EdTech Series BETTER PREPARING INSTRUCTORS TO “TEACH WITH TECHNOLOGY”

A

Davis Academy 21st Century Learning Coordinator Stacy Brown (front) and Davis first-grade teacher Dara Amram (back) attended the EdTech workshop.

PHOTO/courtesy Fran Putney

bout 40 teachers from around the metro Atlanta area attended the Harvardbased EdTech Teacher’s 10th Annual Summer Teaching With Technology workshop series during the week of June 11 through 15, hosted by The Davis Academy. The sessions, “Teaching the Elementary Grades With Technology and iPads and ePubs in the Classroom,” focused on effective ways to integrate technology in the classroom.

“The Davis Academy was honored to host this exciting workshop series,” said Davis Head of School Amy Shafron. “Our teachers have been very excited and energized by the creative ways that technology can be used in the classrooms and allow more emphasis on student-centered learning. Professional development of this caliber takes us even farther.”

EdTechTeacher’s mission is to help teachers and schools leverage technology to create student-centered, inquiry-based learning environments. The organization offers keynote presentations, hands-on workshops, online courses and live webinars for teachers, schools, and school districts (edtechteacher.org).

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

Ian Yagoda was diagnosed with a rare pediatric brain tumor at a very young age and has since undergone successful therapies, yet the his condition and those similar rarely gets the attention of well-funded research.

Knowing the story and the young man personally, Beiner – now a rising junior at the Weber School – jumped behind IFF when it came time to choose a charity.

3

AJT

From Our Youth Reporter

Discovering the Legoland Discovery Center THREE BRICKHEADS TAKE A TOUR Youth Reporter

side and outside, make blueprints of the buildings and create a footprint of the building,” Joshua explained.

ego is very popular with kids at the Epstein School. Epstein even has Lego classes after school and Lego camps during the summer.

Then the master builder uses Lego bricks to match the footprint. After the footprint, the blueprints are used to decide which Lego bricks go where to make the shape of the building.

The results are really amazing.

By Gabe Weiss

L

My friends and I like Lego because we can build sets from our favorite super-heroes, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and other things.

Recently, Lego even started sets especially for girls called Lego Friends.

You can make just about anything from Lego bricks, and there are even motors that you can use in your Lego creations.

A few months ago, Legoland Discovery Center at Phipps Plaza invited me to their grand opening to write a story for the Atlanta Jewish Times. I was excited to report all about it.

Unfortunately, I got sick and could not go. This was very disappointing.

The good news is that Legoland Discovery Center invited me back for a special tour and interview in June.

I went with the AJT’s managing editor, John McCurdy, and two of my friends from Epstein, Caleb Heller and Zack Naturman. We met with the manager, Jonathan Giles, and with the Master Builder, Joshua Bohn.

As the Master Builder, Joshua has a great job. He gets to create and build Lego buildings, characters and displays. Joshua said that his job is lots of fun, but it is also a real job. If we want to be a Master Builder, we need to study a lot of math and art.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

“When you do blueprints, you find out that everything in Lego is math,” he said. “In Lego, each piece has its own dimensions, so if you know your math, you can figure out the size and shape of something.”

4

Joshua also explained that to come up with creative things in your head, you have to be great at art too. There is an entire mini version of Atlanta, with all of its famous buildings, in the “Miniland” exhibit.

“To make these mini buildings, we take a bunch of pictures from the in-

Legoland Discovery Center has rides, a Lego history tour, Lego building classes and Lego building stations where you can make cars and then race them on the Lego track. There is also a café and a Lego store that has a great selection of Lego sets.

My friends and I had a great time. We learned a lot and had fun playing.

Editor’s note: Gabriel Weiss is a rising fourth-grader at the Epstein School.

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JULY 6 â–Ş 2012

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AJT

CHANA’S CORNER

Uncle Harry’s Surprise THE SECRET BEHIND A LOCKER DOOR IS REVEALED

By Chana Shapiro AJT Columnist

D

uring my youth, my siblings and I visited our paternal grandparents on Sunday afternoons.

Grandpa and Grandma lived in half of a small two-family house which was always filled with the aromas of newspapers and baking.

Our required visits, while routine, were not without ample rewards, as we got to hang out with our cousins and eat homemade rugelach and kamish bread. Even better, our grandfather worked in the candy department of the city’s largest department store, so there was always a lot of chocolate around.

These Sunday outings also provided an opportunity for various relatives to use their cameras, creating black-and-white documentation of that time and place. I am the possessor of most of those old photos now, and I’ve been looking through them with a careful eye.

Everybody from the Sunday visits is captured there, but none of the snapshots includes my Uncle Harry.

Here’s the reason…

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

My father and most of his siblings married nice Jewish spouses and were rearing nice Jewish children; however, one of my father’s brothers remained single. I was too young to appreciate the nuances and enticing possibilities of the fact that Uncle Harry, the oldest brother of all, was unmarried and still lived at home.

6

Interesting, too, were the facts that Uncle Harry had a great job, was quite good-looking, strong and healthy, a true World War II hero (the dagger he took in hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier was framed on the wall with official U.S. government documentation) and a good enough son to maintain and cultivate my grandparents’ verdant lawn and abundant rose bushes. But the manicured lawn and burgeoning roses were the only extant proof of

Uncle Harry’s existence, because actual Uncle Harry spottings were very few and extremely far between.

In fact, if it wasn’t someone’s significant birthday or anniversary, Uncle Harry was not in attendance. The door to his room was tightly shut and locked, and we never heard a sound from inside.

Naturally, we always asked where Uncle Harry was, and we learned that he had returned home very, very late Saturday night, long after my grandparents were asleep. He had gone straight to bed and was still sleeping in his room during our visit.

We were told that his dedication to his job was so great and his responsibilities so demanding, he worked all weekend, even late into the night.

My grandmother sometimes bemoaned the fact that Harry had not yet met the perfect woman. Once he united with his beshert, everything would fall into place; Uncle Harry wasn’t young, but a Jewish woman of the right age could still provide him with a wonderful Jewish home and a couple of Jewish children of his own.

The adult relatives – including my parents – surely knew something was going on, but nodded sympathetically at my grandmother’s hopes.

What I knew, though they never gossiped about it, was that my parents considered Harry’s behavior completely off-base, and this only served to heighten the deliciousness of the mystery for me.

I, the eldest cousin, was still young. What did I know of the possibilities? My cousins and I always tiptoed as we passed the silent room, hoping against hope that the family hero would emerge. But he never did.

One day my parents received a call from Uncle Harry, inviting them to join him at a swanky restaurant downtown. His other siblings and their spouses received the same invitation, and you can imagine the excitement and trepidation which these calls elicited.

People hadn’t seen Harry for ages.

Was this some sort of final meeting?

Was Harry sick? Was he leaving town? Was he in trouble?

for about five years. Cylvia, a radio personality and professor at the university, was a Jewish widow, with a son and daughter.

I stayed up until my parents got home and insisted on hearing all the details of their dinner meeting. My mother gave me a full report.

Harry, becoming the father of two, would move into Cylvia’s home and commence tending his own lawn and pruning his own rose bushes. He decided to leave the framed dagger with his parents.

Harry, jubilant and dressed to the nines, arrived a minute or two after everyone had gathered. The maitre d’ greeted him effusively – by name.

The relatives were taken to a large table, where a full-figured (sexy),

We were sure that Grandpa and Grandma knew all along that their eldest son was not at home. Why the subterfuge?

“My cousins and I always tiptoed as we passed the silent room, hoping against hope that the family hero would emerge. But he never did.” carefully coiffed (auburn hair, decorative combs), broadly-smiling (with dimples!) woman sat.

She was funny and warm and crazy about my uncle, and best of all, she was wearing a diamond-and-ruby Jewish star around her neck. This was one clever gal: If her looks and mannerisms didn’t convey her Semitic DNA clearly enough, the necklace would do the trick!

“This is Cylvia,” Uncle Harry told them.

“Cylvia with a ‘C,’” she clarified.

“We’re getting married in a couple of months,” Harry said.

Imagine the thoughts racing through the brains of the relatives!

But Harry had only begun his revelations; for one, while we had tiptoed past his door at my grandparens’, he had maintained an apartment in the city for around 15 years, where he resided every weekend.

Unless he was at Cylvia’s place, that is; they had known each other

It was the ‘50s; maybe they were embarrassed, or maybe they were just plain respectful of his privacy.

I gave my grandparents extra credit for keeping Harry’s apartment secret, but their new Jewish daughterin-law and grandchildren was a wonderful surprise to them, too.

Cylvia turned out to be my kind of aunt. She drove a pink Cadillac, loved giving parties and was partial to gold lame and chandeliers. She was devoted to her invalid mother, who lived with her in their big house, which had a big swimming pool and a big barbecue grill.

And she and Uncle Harry, who married his true beshert at the age of 52, really did live happily ever after.

Editor’s note: Chana Shapiro is an educator, writer, editor and illustrator whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines.

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From Camp, with Love!

Calling All Jewish Campers, CIT’s and Counselors!

Are you going to a Jewish Summer Camp?

Don’t forget to write “home” and tell us about your fun experiences!

We’ll publish one letter each week beginning the first week of camp through the last.

, W p i m t a h C Love m o r F

Share with your community the adventures, new friends and discoveries the Counselors!** season, and send pic**Calling All Jewish Campers, CIT’s of and tures, too! Email us (or scan your child’s letter) with subject line “From Camp With Love”: Are you going to a Jewish Summer Camp? submissions@atljewishtimes.com can also mail Don’t forget to write “home” and tell you us about your fun experiences! us your letter directly: 270 Carpenter We’ll publish one letter each week beginning the firstDrive week NE 230 of camp through the last. Share withSuite your community the adventures, new friends and discoveries of theGA season, and Atlanta, 30328 send pictures, too!

Att: To Camp Email us (or scan your child’s letter) with Withsubject Love. line “From Camp With Love”: submissions@atljewishtimes.com

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

general office 404.883.2130

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AJT

FROM MY LIPS

A Schlemazal Regains His Footing JOIN THE REVOLUTION FOR NICENESS

By Rabbi Marc Wilson

der me, and I land flat on my back,

share the privilege of cherishing the

hair, the other side of 60, in a wheel-

AJT Columnist

as though part of the Road Runner

moment when they knew all would

chair. To this I have no refutation.

cartoon.

work out?

Then think of starvation, of dis-

tuition tells me that, over all, people

Oy! Such a schlemazal!

ease, of torture and genocide, and

are getting nicer, and if we push a lit-

their victims who are belittled into

tle harder, we might actually foment

hopelessness. What might we do?

a revolution for niceness. It’s almost

O

Good morning, class. ur Yiddish words for today are schlemiel and schlemazal. These two tragedo-comic

charac-

You want to know about pain?

Details are irrelevant. After two

sets of x-rays and a CAT scan, we determine that I have fractured four

ters are perennially down on their

vertebrae.

luck. But are schlemiel and schle-

mazal synonymous?

Ask any Yiddish aficionado, and

he will resort to a word-picture to drive home the distinction:

Broken vertebrae aside, it could reassured me, was stable, so and watchfully wait for er series of x-rays and And

soup spilled in his

ticularly dank and rainy day. I feel particularly virtuous because Linda usually does the morning run, but this morning I play daddy, so Linda can get to a meeting on time.

The steps down to the backyard

are made of railroad ties, the kind that get mercilessly slippery in the rain. There had been plans to install

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

railings along the stairway, but as

8

you would expect, the project dropped to the bottom of a lengthy to-do list.

So, I take two steps, and a mo-

ment later, I become the prototypical schlemazal. My feet fly out from un-

railings

stalled.

Many of us have our

her morning constitutional on a par-

new

have already been in-

lap.

I am taking Minnie the Dog for

knew all would work out?”

CAT scans.

ways getting the

ishing the moment when they

two months for anoth-

the one who is al-

of schlemiel and schlimazel:

do not share the privilege of cher-

l could resume activities

The schlemazal is

of my own, starring me in both roles

many of our brothers and sisters

always be worse. The spine, they

bowl of hot soup.

personal example, a cautionary tale

undeserved providence; but how

Uncle Izzy would say.

stantly spilling his

own stories to be told. Take this

“G-d looked down on me with

“It could always be worse,” my

The schlemiel is con-

But I have intuition, and my in-

And finally, but foremost: Ordi-

as if we could see the brokenness of a

What kind of transcendent

nary people doing ordinary things

lessons can be learned from a schle-

bring extraordinary gifts. People in

person and be led to basic niceness.

mazel who slips and breaks his back

the hospital – techs, cleaning staff,

on the proverbial banana peel? I need

transporters, nurses – people who

ery one of us carries his or her own

not reach too far:

work at their jobs and collect their

bag of sadness, fear and insecurities.

pay, leave behind a smile, a laugh, a

We all need a gift of compassion, un-

sensitivity, a concern, a wish and a

derstanding and basic niceness.

prayer.

the perils we might confront when

kindness will explode and rain its

we’re out on our own.

ports (though they may be notorious

beloved fallout over all the earth?

for indifference). They now seemed

First, be careful! Mother and Fa-

ther usually knew best when they cautioned and re-cautioned us about

Second, cherish the moment. The

scant moment when I was transformed from schlemiel to schlemazel, I did see my life pass before my eyes.

For whatever reasons, my first re-

sponse was to try to wiggle my toes.

Upon succeeding, I knew by instinct that everything would be fine.

G-d looked down on me with un-

deserved providence; but how many of our brothers and sisters do not

And, I discovered the same in air-

only too quick to accommodate with a wheelchair, to assist getting over a step or to help navigate the concourses.

And then, dare we dream that

Schlemiel,

schlimazel…there’s

a role for each of us to play. Think about it, train your sights on it, do not despair, be known by your niceness, and most of all, be careful.

Just everyday people who will

help bear a load that might be too much for you to maintain.

Then we would recognize that ev-

I know what you’re saying cynical-

ly: Sure, that’s the treatment you get when you are a well-dressed guy, gray

The path can be slippery, and you

might take a fall now and again, but if you are careful, you will make it.

What a reward awaits.

Editor’s note: Marc Howard Wilson is a rabbi and writer in Greenville, S.C.

AJT

ASK BUBBE

Meet the Bubbes

HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS This week we introduce our four Bubbes, who will take reader questions on this page in each issue. Send your questions to submissions@atljewishtimes. com with “Ask Bubbe” in the subject line, and you just might see it answered in these pages!

Meet Bubbe Neda:

I am the proud Bubbe of three wonderful boys, Daniel, Ezra and Asher.

W NG

Originally from Baltimore,NEI Tcame to Atlanta I IS when my son and his then-new lwife, Allison, told me Atlanta was going to be their home.

So I may have “immigrated” here, but my Bubbie immigrated further to get to Baltimore; she was from Chernigov, Russia. She was a kind soul who taught me unconditional love and that a mother’s child does not have to be born from her womb, but is always born from her heart.

My Papa Tanah, my son’s namesake, told me G-d knows what you do, you do things for other people and hope they understand.

While working at my father’s store, I learned business and a strong work ethic and came to love poetry, which my father so enjoyed.

My mother taught me compassion and to put your family first. She also kept a kosher home, with a slight modification: She had three sets of dishes – milcich, fleishech and paper plates for Chinese food.

Somehow it all made sense.

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Jewish Bubbe and a modern Southern woman, with at least some memory and knowledge of what an old-time Southern lady used to be!

Meet Charma Bubbe:

Meet Peachy Bubbe: I am Peachy Bubbe. I am a native Atlantan, and I appreciate this city, its Jewish community and its people as only a person who had to move away for awhile and then got to come home can.

I am a real Bubbe to the most wonderful four people in the world, and I feel so lucky to have them. I am old, have lived a full life and have had some usual and some unusual challenges, so I feel like I’ve seen many things and dealt with many things.

My adult children and their spouses feel very comfortable asking for my advice. Sometimes they even follow it!

I am known in my family as a good cook, though I am just copying the recipes that I learned from my mother! I think that I am a good hybrid between a

r

Your G o

I am here to teach you and answer your questions if I can. Why be a Bubbe to AJT? Where else?

My grandfather was a rabbi first in Chattanooga and then in Macon, and that’s how I got to Waycross, Ga. My family lived mostly in the Deep South, y’all!

Then again, I moved to Miami Beach at age 11. Does Miami qualify as Southern? Now there’s a question for you!

In 1956, I met my match while visiting my Uncle Jack in Atlanta. So here I am! A retired widow after 55 years, needing again the audience I once enjoyed teaching kindergarten for 16 years at Temple Sinai.

My certificate lapsed and I need someone to teach. Are you the lucky one?

So don’t be shy; I’m not! As they say, “so ask me already!”

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

I am a native Atlantan, and my 92-year-old mother still lives here. When I was growing up, my Bubbe, who came from Poland and spoke Yiddish, lived with us. She had all kinds of old-fashioned advice for us, and lived until she was 103, so she must have known something.

I am a recent widow, having been happily married for 42 years. We raised two children who have given us much naches.

My daughter lives here, happily married after one disastrous marriage. My son is married and lives in Austin, Texas and has blessed me with three beautiful grandchildren.

I am working full-time, but manage to fly out to Austin every three to four months to kvell and play.

The

Jon HAPIRO

9

AJT

COMMUNITY

Steve Oppenheimer for Georgia Public Service Commission LONGTIME DEDICATION TO SERVICE CONTINUES

By Ted Terry For The Atlanta Jewish Times

R

oughly 20 years ago, it was common for lobbyists of major utility companies to secretly meet with officials on the Public Service Commission – a five-member state agency that regulates utilities and helps decide how much Georgians pay for power – in hopes of cutting the best deal for their clients. They did this, even if that meant throwing ratepayers under the bus.

Two decades later, a lot has changed, but between the more than $5 billion homeowners have paid in electricity rate increases during the last five years and the consumer-prepaid $14 billion nuclear power reactor project, it seems like Georgians are still getting the short end of the stick.

This daunting disparity between what ratepayers want and what they end up shelling out is one Steve Oppenheimer hopes to reshape. The retired dentist and father of three is recognized for his years working as a community activist.

To say Oppenheimer’s background in citizen advocacy is somewhat expansive would be an understatement.

Between the decade spent working on U.S.-Israel security, his advocacy for energy independence and his time in volunteer and leadership positions at organizations including the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Oppenheimer has amassed more than 30 years of real-world experience giving everyday people a voice.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

“I began taking an active community role during high school,” Oppenheimer, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, said. “A strong community is important to me. I think I get more from doing than I give. I just enjoy doing my part.”

In 1983, Oppenheimer relocated to Atlanta, and his community engagement took root.

“When I moved here, I was really impressed by the vibrancy and diversity of the Atlanta Jewish community,” he said. “I’ve met and worked 10 with many dedicated people who be-

came friends, role models, mentors and partners.

enhancing Israel relations through agencies like AIPAC, said he was excited to learn of Oppenheimer’s plan to run in the statewide election.

“From them I learned about organization, group dynamics and interpersonal skills. L’dor v’dor, or ‘legacy and responsibility being passed from generation to generation,’ and tikkun olam, or ‘restoring the world,’ are principles that nurture community.”

To date, Oppenheimer has served on energy initiatives like the Department of Energy’s Clean-Cities Atlanta, the Metro Atlanta Plug in Vehicle Task Force and Set America Free.org and held leadership positions at the Epstein School, The Weber School, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and, most extensively, at Hillels of Georgia.

For Linda Selig, a past president Steve Oppenheimer of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Oppenheimer’s work with Hillels of Georgia truly highlights his While president of Hillels of Georgia, Oppenheimer worked to raise tenacious dedication. funds to build the Marcus Hillel Cen “I have worked with Steve for many ter at Emory. The building was dediyears and I have seen him shine the cated in 2010, fulfilling a 20-yearvery most at Hillels of Georgia – he dream for the organization. has done a superior job there,” she said. “He has spearheaded new proj- And although he remains supportects and been really dedicated. He ive of the community, Oppenheimer’s really put his heart and soul into it, decision to run for the Georgia Public and like anything else Steve does, he Service Commission has taken the really put 100 percent effort into the forefront in recent months. organization.”

According to Oppenheimer, his 20 years of work with Hillel came naturally.

“Creating a vibrant Jewish community on college campuses today is the groundwork to our community being vibrant in the future” he said.

“In the 1990s, Hillel transformed into a leadership development ‘do tank’ focused on empowering students to build the community they envision.

For me, mentoring students was simply paying it forward.”

Oppenheimer said one of the most important projects he took part in was the Hillel of Georgia’s Campus Superstar in 2004, an “American Idol”-esque program aimed at rebranding Hillel as a hip, fun anchor of campus life. The turnout exceeded the committee’s expectations, drawing more than 750 leaders of the Atlanta community to the Grand Finale and showcasing talent from at least 20 Georgia universities.

“I remain active and involved, but I’m not currently in any leadership positions,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to be a part of the community, but the Commission is a fulltime job, and the only to way to ensure I am serving Georgia families to the best of my ability is by giving this campaign my undivided attention.”

The transition from community advocacy to Georgia politics may seem like a leap, but according to Oppenheimer, it was the logical next step to benefit Peach State families.

“I tend to do things that are futurefocused. Hopefully my three sons will raise their families in Georgia, but what this state looks like tomorrow will be shaped by the energy policies made today,” Oppenheimer said.

“How we make energy it impacts our air, water and quality of life.”

Local orthopedic surgeon Steven Wertheim, who worked closely with Oppenheimer for more than 20 years

“He is a great guy; dedicated to the issues, hard-working, gets things done when he commits to them, and he has the natural ability to unite a diverse group of people to work towards a common goal” Wertheim said. “Steve has had a strong interest in energy-related issues for a long time and is amongst the most knowledgeable people I know in regard to this. He has great connections to national and international leaders, and he also has a ‘non-political’ view of things.

“He will try to get things done because it is the right thing for Georgia.”

Oppenheimer acknowledges the campaign trail will be long and demanding leading up to his November square-off with Chuck Eaton, the incumbent vying for re-election, but Oppenheimer has never been one to shy away from a challenge.

“I thought through the decision to seek office very carefully, because I know the commitment it will require,” he said. “But the stakes are high for the people of and the state of Georgia. We need to be making the right decisions today to ensure we have a better tomorrow with enough jobs and affordable energy here in Georgia.

“I want to serve to shape a brighter future. I understand the issues.

I understand the challenges. I will work diligently to be a first rate public servant who makes sure the decisions about Georgia’s energy policy put the interest of Georgia families first.”

Editor’s note: For more information about Oppenheimer, his campaign and ways to contribute, check out his website at steveforgeorgia.com.

AJT

COMMUNITY

Life at Home is the Key to IndependenceSM

“Burning Questions” A POLISH CATHOLIC’S EXPERIENCE DURING THE HOLOCAUST

AJT Contributors

O

n June 13, the East Cobb Library showed Mishael Porembski’s documentary about her father’s life in Briwinow, Poland under Nazi occupation. Approximately 50 people were in attendance to view the film and ask questions of Mishael and her father Jan.

Growing up in the United States, Mishael noticed that her father – a network news cameraman – appeared at times sad and lonely and always unwilling to discuss his life in Poland. She yearned to know about her father’s family and childhood years.

Mishael began her quest 20 years ago, and it took her 7 years to finish. At first it was hard to con-

But at that point, Jan decided that his history should be documented. Arrangements were made and together they made the journey to Poland.

Upon arrival in Poland, they visited Jan’s aunt, and it was then that memories came flooding back.

Jan remembered the good times as a young child, his parents and sister, his playing and eating fresh fruit.

But in 1939, when Jan was five years old, Warsaw fell under Nazi occupation, and hard times followed.

The Porembski family, along with other Polish Catholics in their city, were sent by train in a cattle car first to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belsen. At one point, they were moved to a farm where they were

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At the war’s end, British and UN forces arrived in the area with food and basic necessities for the inmates.

They were moved to a displaced persons camp in Germany, from there to England, and finally to the United States.

To this day, Jan Porembski does not know the fate of his father. His mother returned to Poland and died there. His sister married and moved to England.

Filmmaker Mishael Porembski (left) explores the history of her father Jan (right) in “Burning Questions,” in the process teaching much about the far-reaching effects of the Holocaust.

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Mishael was asked what her motive was for delving into her father’s life. She wondered what it was like to be Polish, as she never felt Polish growing up.

Also, there was a void in her family lore. Growing up in South Florida, she had many Jewish friends and

felt a close connection to the Jewish faith; because her father and his family were sent to a concentration camp, she always thought he must have been mistaken for a Jew. Jan Porembski said he is happy that he went back to Poland with his daughter. He and Mishael want us to know that 3 million Polish Jews died at the hands of the Nazis, and so did 3 million Poles.

M i s h a e l ’ s husband died when their children were babies, and she wasn’t sure she could go on with the documentary.

Jan said, “Your grandmother went to a concentration camp – you will survive this!”

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

vince her father to cooperate, he wanted his story left in the past; she threatened to investigate without his help.

By Helene Jacoby and Marylan Karp

11

AJT

COMMUNITY

Lipsitts Offer Time, Skills to Those Less Fortunate LOCALS TRAVEL TO ETHIOPIA WITH JEWISH HEALTHCARE INTERNATIONAL

By Robert Kremer For The Atlanta Jewish Times

T

emple Beth Tikvah congregants Michael and Jeanne Lipsitt believe in tikkun olam – a Hebrew phrase that means “repairing the world.”

While very active locally in their congregation and other Atlanta-area non-profit health-related organizations, they felt the need to act globally as well.

For nearly nine years, Michael (an interventional cardiologist) and Jeanne (a nurse) have been volunteering with Jewish Healthcare International, an international nonprofit organization of multi-specialty healthcare professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to improve the quality of and access to healthcare services for communities in need throughout the world.

A few months ago, they paid their own way to become the second medical group to visit Ethiopia on behalf of JHI. Their mission was to evaluate the screening process of Ethiopian Jews needing medical treatment and to expedite getting those most in need to Israel.

Most of these individuals have never seen a doctor and aren’t able to communicate to get the healthcare that they need when they do get to Israel.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

“The level of poverty in Ethiopia was so extreme, and people had unmet medical needs,” said Michael Lipsitt. “In some cases, these individuals have never received simple hearing or eyesight tests. So, rather

12

than being illiterate, they simply needed glasses or hearing aids.”

While visiting the hospital in Gondar, the Lipsitts visited the cardiac unit. While there was an EKG machine, there was no paper to perform the test, and few drugs were available.

While screening patients, Jeanne was surprised to learn that many did not know even their age or their birthday. She loved seeing the look of joy on the children’s faces when given a simple Tootsie Pop – the Lipsitts had brought a super-size bag with them that they had purchased from Costco.

“When you see a boy who has a rheumatic heart disease – who in the U.S. would have surgery the next day – not only go untreated, but go undiagnosed, it breaks your heart,” Michael said.

The couple are currently working with both JHI and the State Department to personally underwrite the cost to bring a young man to America to have the heart surgery performed here in Atlanta.

“Children have an amazing amount of resiliency,” said Michael.

“They are happy and adapt to their surroundings. However, it brought me sadness to realize that they did not even flinch when we poked their fingers with a needle for the blood test, because their threshold of pain is so high.”

To date, the Lipsitts have visited Minsk, Belarus; Odessa, Ukraine; and Kishenev, Moldova on behalf of JHI. Jeanne is currently the coor-

dinator for missions to Minsk and corresponds regularly with her counterpart there.

After their twoweek stay in Ethiopia, the pair are more committed than ever to returning for additional missions across the globe.

“I assure you that we get back more out of these trips than the effort and money that we put into them,” Michael said. “It gives one an appreciation of just how blessed we are to live in America and the satisfaction of helping people in need.”

Editor’s note: Visit jewishhealthcareinternational.org for more info.

TOP: Jeanne Lipsitt and her husband Dr. Michael Lipsitt are dedicated to tikkun olam, one medical screening at a time.

RIGHT: Dr. Michael Lipsitt (seated), surrounded by the hospital team, evaluates some of the equipment at a hospital in Gondar.

PHOTOS/courtesy Robert Kremer

AJT

COMMUNITY

ProtéJ’s Nosh ‘n Tell PROGRAM MATCHES BUSINESS VETERANS WITH ENTREPRENEURS Editorial Intern

T

hree years ago, Jennie Rivlin-Roberts and her family existed on the outskirts of the Jewish community. However, after starting her own business – online Judaica store Modern Tribe – Rivlin-Roberts joined and became deeply involved with her own entrepreneur community, the Indie Innovators.

This group was created as a way for independent Jewish innovators to support each other as they start up their own businesses. Together, they have recently launched a new program, ProtéJ, which links Jewish entrepreneurs with seasoned business leaders, the latter group acting as mentors to help the former grow their business and be even more successful.

ProtéJ launched June 1, receiving its own space within the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta building.

Their kickoff event on June 26, ProtéJ Nosh N’ Tell, introduced to the community the new program as well as the different entrepreneurs it will serve, who themselves as a whole serve over 18,000 Atlantans.

The event started with a presentation called Life of Sarah, which showed how each of the nine entrepreneurs serve members of the Jewish community throughout their lives. To begin, participant innovator Ana Fuchs – creator of Jewish Kids Groups – tells how Sarah starts Hebrew school and is instilled with a strong Jewish background that stays with her.

Next, Sarah benefits from the

Jewish Student Union, a group led

by Rabbi Chaim Neiditch that works in high schools to provide teenagers with a place to connect with their Jewish peers; and as Sarah grows older, she interacts with other or-

ganizations: Adamah Adventures (Adam Griff), the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival (Russel Gottschalk), Atlanta Jewish News (Marcy LevinsonBrooks), Punk Torah (Patrick Aleph), Jewish InterestFree Loans of Atlanta (Mort Barr), and Open Jewish Project (Rabbi Rachael Bregman).

After describing the impact that each of the represented organizations has on the community, Rivlin-Roberts launched into what ProtéJ hopes to achieve.

They will match a mentor with business, leadership and other skills to each of the nonprofit organizations in order to grow as a business.

As she put it, the Indie Innovators had the ideas and drive to be a success, but ProtéJ will provide them with the “work, wealth and wisdom” that are needed to be successful.

Along with mentoring, ProtéJ will support fundraising and other professional development workshops for the entrepreneurs.

When chosen, the mentors will be asked to invest $5,000 to a venture fund that will be distributed to the participating organizations, and in addition, the program will conclude with a fundraising gala within the entire community to benefit the organizations.

At the end of the year, Rivlin-Roberts says the entrepreneurs will have

gained “‘KSB’ – knowledge, skills and behaviors” that will grow their organization and expand their networks.

Given that this is the program’s inaugural run, the hope is that noticeable results will inspire other entrepreneurs to join in the future.

The various workshops throughout the year will be open to the public, allowing the entire community to learn together.

TOP: Indie Innovators (left to right) Patrick Aleph, Marcy LevinsonBrooks, Rabbi Rachel Bregman, Russel Gottschalk and Rabbi Chaim Neiditch share their pieces of the “Life of Sarah” at the Nosh ‘n Tell event.

ABOVE: From left to right, ProtéJ participants Adam Griff and Ana Fuchs and program head Jennie Rivlin-Roberts.

PHOTOS/courtesy Webb Roberts (webbroberts.com)

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

By Jessie Miller

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AJT

ARTS & LIFE

Kosher Movies: The Killing Fields (1984) DIRECTED BY ROLAND JOFFE

By Rabbi Herbert Cohen For The Atlanta Jewish Times rabbihjco@msn.com

M

y wife and I have been blessed with many new friends since making aliyah to Israel. But there is nothing like an old friend who has known you for many years.

For example, my friend Harvey, who I have known since I was 12, gave me two important pieces of advice or insights that have proven to be invaluable to me. When I was struggling in my Torah learning in 1966, he suggested I come to Israel, where I could develop my learning skills and be free of secular distractions.

Later on, when I was about to enter the rabbinate, he told me that the most important thing for me to do is to love people. If people sensed that I truly cared for them, I would be successful.

The nature of friendship is at the core of “The Killing Fields,” which takes place in Cambodia in the mid‘70s. The country is in the midst of a civil war between the Cambodian National Army and the communist Khmer Rouge as a result of the Vietnam War spilling over into its borders.

Friendship means thinking of the other as part of you. It is “the one of us.”

I once enlisted the aid of a rabbi older and wiser than I to come to Atlanta to strengthen the Torah program of the yeshiva of which I was principal. Surprisingly, the rabbi said he would come, but he told me something that sticks in my mind to this day.

The two central characters, Sydney Schanberg, a New York Times reporter; and Dith Pran a Cambodian interpreter; form a deep friendship as they document in stories and photos the tragic plight of the Cambodian people, who are caught in the crossfire of a war on its periphery.

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Because of the mounting instability in the country, Pran’s family is evacuated with other international diplomats, but Dith Pran stays with Schanberg in spite of the risk.

Pran’s situation worsens when the Khmer Rouge demand that all Cambodian citizens in the French embassy be turned over.

Forced to live under a totalitarian regime, he uses all of his resources to stay alive, and meanwhile, Sydney returns to New York and launches a campaign to find him.

Years pass with no word from Dith Pran, but in 1979, he is located in a Red Cross facility in Thailand.

Sydney flies there to see him and immediately asks for his forgiveness for not encouraging him to leave safely when he had the chance.

Dith Pram tells him that there is nothing to forgive. They embrace as John Lennon’s “Imagine” plays in the background and the Cambodian victims of war look on, mystified by the show of friendship between these two different men from different lands.

The lyrics resonate as we watch Cambodian and American embrace: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday, you’ll join us. The world will live as one.”

He was sensitive to the political undercurrents of my situation, and he said he would come only if I was sure it would be helpful to me; if at any moment I had second thoughts about my invitation, it was okay for me to change my mind. There was no self-interest on his part.

This is what true friendship is all about, and the Ethics of the Fathers underscores this when it praises the love between the Biblical characters Jonathan and David. They loved one another and wanted to do what was in the other’s best interest.

This is the kind of friendship we should all strive for, friendships where we ask ourselves, “What can I do for my friend?” and not “What’s in it for me?”

Editor’s note: Rabbi Cohen, former principal of Yeshiva Atlanta, now resides in Beit Shemesh, Israel. koshermovies.com.

AJT

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

You Are How You Eat AUTHOR OF “HOLY EATING” ENCOURAGES WEIGHT TRANSFORMATION IN ATLANTA

One incident compared the way that Esau gave up his birthright to “gobble” red lentils to the way Eliezer, seeking a wife for Isaac, “sipped” from

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“Trim,” according to the Pittsburghbased psychologist, is an optimal weight depending on body type – not skinny or overweight. He shared his personal struggle with weight, trying

N

OVER

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“G-d wants us to be holy, healthy – and trim,” stated Dr. Schwartz at the Shabbat lecture.

IO

To my surprise, I never ate it. Dr. Schwartz’s book, which I had been reading for the past week, was making an impact on me, and so were the lectures he gave that weekend at BJ.

At his more detailed lecture, held the following evening and sponsored by Beth Jacob Sisterhood, Dr. Schwartz shared many examples from Torah where the Jews’ relationship to food was challenged. From Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree, Noah drinking wine to excess from the grapes he planted to the Jews in the desert complaining when they missed eating meat, the Bible is filled with incidents concerning food.

1. Slow down your eating.

2. Pause and think of G-d as the Source of food.

3. Eat three times a day, as with prayer, because G-d wants us to turn to him and connect repeatedly.

4. See G-d’s love in providing the food served at the meal.

5. Use smaller bowls, plates and portions.

6. Don’t let your eyes overestimate the amount needed to be satisfied. It takes time for food to travel to the stomach and signal satiation.

7. Avoid the impulse to taste everything.

8. Focus on spiritual metabolism and weight transformation.

9. Eat to 75 percent of satiation (Maimonides).

10. Live longer, have more strength and do more positive things in G ATLA IN the world.

REG

But for now, my eyes grew wide at the tables filled with colorful salads, veggies, dips and a variety of tempting sweets. Although I had eaten breakfast and soon would eat Shabbat lunch, I grabbed a slice of marble cake topped with creamy chocolate icing.

173 pages of “Holy Eating,” and the book does not suggest a diet; instead, it promotes a way of transforming our relationship to food into a spiritual experience.

At the end of Sunday evening’s speech, Dr. Schwartz led a meditation, “G-d Loves You” (detailed on pages 118119 of his book).

It’s one of several meditations, reflections and suggested rituals that make “Holy Eating” an inspiring and practical guide for a spiritually transforming experience through food.

Some of Dr. Schwartz’s suggestions for making “holy eating” a reality in your life:

YEARS C AL I TA L I A N

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

Eternal Weight Loss,” illustrated by Shoshana Brombacher, Ph.D.

He added that “eating with holiness will result in weight transformation as a natural consequence.”

Tips for Weight Transformation

IN E

IMAGES/courtesy Dr. Robert Schwartz

“You are what you eat, yes,” he said. “But importantly, you are how you eat.”

IS

Along these lines, Dr. Schwartz hopes to replace the term “weight loss” with “weight transformation.”

Not a single recipe can be found in the

With lots of humor, Dr. Schwartz relayed a serious message: that G-d cares not only about what Jews eat, but how we eat.

Editor’s note: For more information see holy-eating.com; “Holy Eating: The Spiritual Secret to Eternal Weight Loss” can be found at Judaica Corner.

U

A

fter Shabbat morning services on June 23, I followed the crowd into Heritage Hall for Kiddush at Congregation Beth Jacob. Afterward, I planned to join about 50 others in the conference room to hear Dr. Robert M. Schwartz, Ph.D., speak about his new book, “Holy Eating: The Spiritual Secret to

“People always try to gain back losses,” he said. “So instead of focusing on losing weight, holy eating stresses the spiritual gains that occur by eating with a more conscious awareness of G-d.”

the well water offered by Rebecca.

Many times, the Torah warns that excessive physical indulgence can lead to turning away from G-d.

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AJT Columnist

many popular diets and repeatedly gaining back what he lost.

SE R

By R. M. Grossblatt

alfredosatlanta.com

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AJT

LET IT BE READ

Q & A with Actor Steve Guttenberg APPEARING AT THE MJCCA JULY 12 TO TALK “GUTTENBERG BIBLE” Interview by John McCurdy, Managing Editor

ple of years ago.

Transcribed by Sloane Arogeti, Editorial Intern

A Festival.

ctor-author Steve Guttenberg (“Police Academy,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon”) recently published his memoir, “The Guttenberg Bible.” He appears at the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Thurs., July 12 at 7:30 p.m. as part of a Page from the Book

The Atlanta Jewish Times got a chance to chat with him via phone before his visit.

John McCurdy: So I know that, just taking a look at your CV, you have done plenty of stuff both on stage in the theater, on television, in movies Hollywood movies, made for TV movies, what have you. Just out of curiosity, do you have a preference between these different avenues for your acting?

SG: I wrote a diary and when I was writing the book I would look back on

And before we knew it we were public writing a book. And I went to the office everyday and had a great time writing it. It took about two years off and on.

Steve Guttenberg: No, I don’t have a preference. Each one has its own strength and style.

And each one you learn on each of the arenas of acting you learn on. I love them all. Whether it is television, film or theater or storytelling, you know, or stand up. It’s all terrific.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

JM: One more specifically acting-related question.

Who was your favorite co-star, the best person to work with?

SG: A great guy to work with was Karl Malden.

I did this movie called “Miracle on Ice,” for which he played the 1980 Olympic Team Hockey coach. And Karl was just tremendous to work with. Such a well-educated [person] and encyclopedic in show business.

So he was great.

JM: I’m wondering if you were writing down some of these stories that are included in the memoir as they were happening or if this was largely 16 written from the point of view of you of you now?

SG: Yes, my friends would always say how funny the stories are about me starting out in show business.

My agent and I, we had a conversation and he said, “I think it sounds like a great book.”

We were joking about it all, and I said okay, I put it out, and St. Martins Press said they’d like to do it.

JM: So it doesn’t sound like you’ve had a whole lot of trouble having the stories come back to you or having the right words to describe what had happened, how you felt, the situations you were in. Sounds like you might just be a natural.

Steve Guttenberg

the diary. So it was reading that stuff and then all of a sudden all kinds of memories would flood in from the notes that I made in my diaries. So that was great help. You know, you just remember the stories and tell the stories.

JM: So tell me a little bit about the practical process – what it took practically to write the book. You said that the idea came about just a cou-

SG: I hope I am. It was a great experience. I enjoyed looking back on the diaries and sitting and remembering stuff and then using my craft and my skills as a writer. I’ve been in the business a long time and I’ve always had an appreciation for the written word, so this was really a lot of fun.

JM: Could you compare the two art forms of acting and writing? Or are they so vastly different to you?

SG: They are similar in that they are creative outlets. So the creativity comes in a million forms and it’s just different tools. I think that the creative part of the brain is working on both.

JM: A little bit about your readership – who is going to pick this book up? It is the kind of book that has got something for everyone; these stories will make folks laugh or think no matter who those folks are. But if there is something that you wanted your readers to take away from it, maybe a central message or maybe just a general feeling or experience of reading it. Could you put that into words?

SG: I would hope that it makes people laugh and gives them a very interesting narrative to follow about the blessings of ignorance and the journey to fulfilling your desires of fame and fortune.

Next week:

Read our exclusive interview with:

Mayim Bialik “Big Bang Theory” star and author of “Beyond the Sling” who appears at the JCC on July 22!

AJT

LET IT BE READ

“To Be a Princess,” by Nimrod Liram BOOK REVIEW

By Jessie Miller Editorial Intern

O

n the front cover of “To Be a Princess” by Nimrod Liram are two competing pictures of cars, a classic 1969 and a modern 2009 Cadillac.

After reading his novel, I’m not sure where Liram got these ideas for the title and cover art.

The title has almost nothing to do with any of the content, particularly because princesses are never mentioned, and the entirety of the work comes from the perspective of male characters. As for the cars, it seems like they represent the passage of time, but time is not a very prominent theme in the book.

Instead of a single plotline, “To Be a Princess” is a compilation of 10 short stories; two are based off of Liram’s Israeli army experiences, and the rest are influenced by real events, though mostly fictional. It was difficult to draw connections between the stories, and I would be interested to know what inspired Liram to throw them all together.

In one story, Simon, a wandering traveler in search of something more to his life, ends up doing labor for Panos. Desperate to keep Simon at his disposal, he arranges the future mar-

riage of Simon and his daughter; however, Simon realizes he does not want to remain in the small town, and even though it hurts the family and young woman he has grown accustomed to, sets off on his next adventure.

In another story, a retired soldier is asked for his opinion on the case of an Israeli commander who on a night raid accidentally kills an Arab man. The latter died from his injuries, but he was the one who provoked the attack and grabbed the soldier’s automatic weapon; the story asks, was the murder justified?

Beyond the print, I believe this is a deeper analogy to the Arab-Israeli conflict and Liram, as someone deeply involved with the struggle, is questioning the morality of the fight itself.

Other highlights in “To Be A Princess” were the happenings

of three young adults while studying and making their way across Europe.

It had a lighter touch than some of the other stories and was a sharp contrast to the tales that included men the same age who were fighting in active war zones.

And that’s another thing to be said: The differences contrasted with the intrinsic similarities between all the men reveal truths of the human condition. We all struggle; we all must face the reality of our lives; and we sometimes make one decision that changes the course of our life.

If anything, Liram’s discombobulated stories are a quick, entertaining read. Some of the characters are distant bores, but others will resonate with something you find in yourself.

“To Be a Princess” is an exploration of different ways of life, but I guarantee you won’t come across any fairytales.

The short stories range from an unfulfilled teenage love story to a middle-aged technology guru searching for a life outside of the business world. The span of characters was really interesting, and the character development was well done for a short story.

Overall, the novel was easy to read and understand. I sped through most of the stories, wanting to know what happened to each man and the lessons they learned, though I was slightly bored by the war stories. The most prevalent theme was identity – finding oneself and making the hard decisions.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

However, the style of writing, diction and speaking patterns were mostly similar between characters which hindered the separation between stories.

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AJT

HOME AND ABROAD

The Rebirth of Jewish Life in Berlin RETURNING TO AND REVITALIZING WHAT WAS ONCE A HOME

By Norman Sklarewitz For The Atlanta Jewish Times

O

nce the infamous Berlin Wall came down in 1989, spectacular shopping complexes, elegant new hotels and office towers made over the face of what had been the Communist-controlled East Berlin. At the same time, throughout the area the horrendous fate of Berlin’s once-thriving Jewish community – among the largest in Europe, numbering around 160,000 – was observed with somber, often heart-wrenching memorials.

Included are the moving Holocaust Museum; the “Stumbling Stones”; the Topography of Terror on the site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters; and Platform 17 at the Grunewald Station, from which men, women and children were loaded like cattle into rail cars to be transported to their death.

Wall murals with the names and locations of all the infamous concentration camps are in building lobbies.

All these and others remind visitors as well as residents of the unspeakable atrocities committed by the Nazis against what had been a thriving Jewish community; at the war’s end, it had essentially vanished. In the view of many Jews living elsewhere, Berlin could never – should never – again be a home for Jews.

But the fact is, today it is a home for Jews again; and it’s a lively, growing community at that. Upon hearing that as many as 30,000 Jews have settled in Berlin, an elderly woman in the Fairfax District in Los Angeles asked almost in disbelief, “Have they forgotten?”

By way of response, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, chairman of the Chabad Jewish Educational Center, in Berlin by way of Brooklyn, says flatly:

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

“That is an irrelevant question.

The fact is that they are here and they should be welcomed with love and warmth and we should invest every resource to enhance their Jewish awareness.

“It’s not in our interest to seek revenge,” he concluded.

His Chabad Lubavitch Center opened in 2007; at a cost of $7.8 million, it was the first Jewish facility in Berlin built entirely with private 18 funds.

Once Germany was politically, socially and economically again unified in 1990, the face of the tiny surviving Jewish community began to change dramatically. First was a wave of thousands of Jews, mainly from Russia but some from other countries of Eastern Europe who came to escape discrimination and who were welcomed by the German government.

Adding to their numbers soon came entrepreneurs from abroad – including the U.S. – who found in Berlin’s booming economy attractive business opportunities.

Then, most recently, some 15,000 mostly young, secular Israelis, moved to Berlin, where the cost of living is far less than back in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Before the advent of Nazism, Berlin boasted 34 synagogues. Most were closed by the Nazis and either destroyed or badly damaged in the war, but today nine – including the impressive Rykestrasse Synagogue – again are part of the Jewish community.

Badly damaged and desecrated synagogues like the Moorish-style domed Neue (New) SynaTOP: Bar and bat mitzvahs are again frequently hosted in Berlin, today in top-flight hotels such as the gogue and its Centrum InterContinental Berlin. ABOVE: A huge community reduced to nearly nothing but now growing again, Judaicum museum and Jewish Berlin places an emphasis on education and culture, as in this learning workshop. venue have been restored PHOTOS/courtesy Mark Sklarewitz as much as possible. Shabbat services are conducted

Upon visiting Berlin, many Awaiting Berlin visitors these days there by Rabbi Gesa Ederberg, one of only two female rabbis in Jewish visitors who perhaps came re- are social, gastronomic and artistic luctantly express a change in attitude. venues that are part of today’s Jewish Berlin.

As with almost every Jewish insti- One of these was Bernard Valier, a life there. Just opened in February is tution in Berlin (and in other Europe- French-born Israeli whose father was a red brick building that was formerly an cities, as a matter of fact), the Neue deported from France and killed in the Jüdische Mädchenschule, the Jewish Girls’ School, but remained desertSynagogue is distinguished outside Auschwitz. by no-nonsense barriers, usually con- “I sensed a feeling of genuine re- ed in recent years. A simple plaque crete or massive steel stanchions. Uni- morse on the part of the German near the main entrance recounts formed German police are also always government,” he said, reflecting on a the horrible fate of the teachers and present, often supplemented by young visit to Berlin a few years back. “Un- the young women who once studied, armed Israel guards in civilian dress, like the situation in some other coun- laughed and played here. authorized for such duty by agreement with the German government.

tries in Europe, I felt in marking the Holocaust with the many memorials throughout Berlin that the authorities actually meant it.”

It now has been redeveloped by art dealer and entrepreneur Michael Fuchs at a cost of some $6.5 million to

Down the hall, Oskar Melzer and Paul Mogg run a lively New York-style delicatessen that features what Chef Joey Passarella (until recently of New York’s Upper East Side) claims is the only homemade pastrami to be found in Berlin. Also on the premises is the Kosher Classroom – actually an elegant kosher restaurant and catering service – while all of the upper floors are galleries whose space is given over to exhibitions by local and international artists and photographers.

After 60 years, live Jewish theater returned to Berlin in 2001 with the opening of the Bimah under creative director Israel-born Dan Lahav. Presented now in its 250-seat theater on the smart Friedrichstrasse are cabaret acts and original plays, usually satire and comedy, mostly written by Lahav.

Another quite lively example of the future face of today’s Jewish community in Berlin is the Jewish High School in Grosse Hamburgerstrasse.

It reopened behind the usual security fences in 1993 as a co-ed private school offering classes from fifth through 12th grade; initially, it had just 27 students.

Today the school has 430 students, of whom 70 percent are Jewish.

Just as significant, Barbara Witting, principal of the Jewish High School, estimates that more than 80 percent of the school’s graduating seniors go on to university and, additionally, others take a year off before starting university to participate in humanitarian programs abroad.

To accommodate the increasing number of Jewish tourists coming from abroad is Milk & Honey Tours, started nine years ago by German-born Noa Lerner. She has seen her business expand some 20 times and today has 20 guides in Berlin alone.

Such traditional family events as weddings, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs are celebrated in top Berlin hotels. The InterContinental Berlin is particularly popular because its main ballroom can accommodate up to 1,200, although 250 to 400 is a more typical guest number for event parties in the Pavilion Room. The hotel hosts an average of two such Jewish events a month.

Charlotte Knobloch, former head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and a Holocaust survivor, is quoted this way: “Germany is once again a homeland for Jews. Berlin Jewry can now regard the city in which they live [as a] Haimat, their ‘home city.’”

Editor’s note: Norman Skalrewitz is a freelance journalist living in Los Angeles

AJT

SPECIAL INTERESTS

A Visit to Jerusalem ONE-WEEK TRIP HOLDS CENTURIES OF MEANING

By Eugen Schoenfeld AJT Contributor

F

or much of my life, I have dreamt of visiting Jerusalem.

Surviving the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel has intensified my desire to travel to the City of David.

Unfortunately, I had not found an opportunity until 1973, when “Professors for Peace in the Middle East” asked me to join a group of faculty members from various universities to visit Israel. Of course, I accepted and impatiently awaited my departure.

I wanted to tread on the soil of my ancestors, to stand in the places where all the remarkable events in our history occurred. Finally, the day of my departure arrived.

I flew to New York, where I was subjected to a rigorous questioning and luggage examination. I didn’t mind it; I understood the necessity for the rigors of security. I embarked El-Al, and soon both my wife and I were on our way to the land of my dreams.

As I settled into my seat – tourist class of course – the words of Yehudah Halevy came to my mind: “My heart is in the East, and I am in the far ends of the West.”

The flight was long, with many inconveniences along the way. Finally, the captain announced, “we are approaching the shores of Israel,” and the sounds of “Hevenoo Shalom Aleychem” came through the speakers.

There were those who stood up and cheered, while others attempted to dance the hora.

And there was I, quietly singing along with tears in my eyes. “I am home,” I said to myself all the while quietly repeating Theodor Herzl’s words, printed underneath his picture that hands on my classroom wall: “If you but wish, it will not be just a dream.”

After many years, I was about to realize our national hope “to be a part of a free nation in our land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

I spent a week visiting the land, but it was time that I traverse Jerusalem and – above all else – to stand on the holy soil where the Temple stood. My wife and I left the hotel in the large square facing the Kotel; I stood there for quite a while, to prepare myself for

the emotional experience and to observe the activities surrounding me.

At one side of the wall stood the ultra-Orthodox Chasidim in their black beaver hats, reciting their prayers with such intense concentration that they became oblivious to the joyous and loud singing coming from a group of people closeby: A young boy was being carried on his father’s shoulder, while another man – I assume a close relative – held a Torah clothed in an Eastern-style garment and decorated with a large silver crown and breastplate.

came to touch the Kotel, to experience the history of my people, to express my love of this oft-maligned, tortured and sacrificed people of whom I am an intrinsic part.

I lightly touched the wall, fearing of what it might do to me. What I experienced was a transcendental event, a communion with my existential history; as I touched the wall, I was suddenly transported, as if by magic, into another realm.

I had a vision in which I stood by Moses, the teacher of all teachers, and David, the sweet singer of Israel. Also

“I lightly touched the wall, fearing of what it might do to me.

What I experienced was a transcendental event, a communion with my existential history.”

The boy and the Torah were followed by a large entourage of relatives on their way to participate in the boy’s bar mitzvah rites. To the right of the men, the women were cordoned off by strands of ropes, serving as the mechitza; they were wearing a variety of dress styles and combination of colors, indicating a great geographical and cultural diversity.

Also a part of the scene were European, Yemenite, North African and Middle Eastern Jews creating a cacophony of language sounds which co-mingled with the loud and happy shrills of the female relatives of the bar mitzvah boy.

It was not, by any means, the quiet serenity that usually marks a holy and sacred place. This place was alive with the sound of joyful existence, the sound of people who after 2,000 years of adversity found themselves physically, emotionally and politically free.

Slowly – and, I must confess, with great trepidation – I approached the wall. I am a secular person, yet I was overwhelmed by the historic sanctity of the place.

I didn’t come like some others with written prayers or with notes of requests known in Yiddish as tzetelech; I

present were Hillel and Shamai, the two great scholars of the Tanaic period, and there were Rabbi Akivah and Bar Kochbah, the revolutionaries, the fighters for Jewish independence.

And there also stood my hero, the great Jewish dissenter Elishah ben Abooyah, the man who dared to question the meaning of ritualism, and who, because of his challenges to the content of beliefs and of ritual laws, was named in the Talmud as “The Different One.” There I stood, in the midst of my history together with the people from the ancient and the near past. There was my family and the people of my hometown who were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. I was in the center, surrounded by my people.

I felt as most Jews do, as not only as survivors of the many holocaust of the last two millennia, but also as a member of a “stiff-necked people” who in spite all their travails refuse to die.

Editor’s note: Eugen Schoenfeld is a professor and chair emeritus at Georgia State University and a Holocaust survivor.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

be a center for art and gastronomy. On the main floor is the Pauly-Saal, a fine dining restaurant and bar with seating outside in a garden area.

19

AJT

WHAT’S HAPPENING

This Week’s Highlighted Events

Friday

JULY

6

Fri., July 6

Tot Shabbat, join Rabbi Boxt and celebrate Shabbat with a service geared towards the youngest members of your family. Fri., July 6, 6:30 p.m. Temple Kol Emeth.

Dive into Shabbat, join Shearith Israel and Rabbi Glusman for a pool party, service, and cookout. Fri., July 6, 5:30 p.m.

Private Residence. shearithisraelsy@ bellsouth.net.

Sunday

JULY

8

Sun., July 8

Bet is for Baby, come learn about the transitions to parenthood, creating a Jewish home and more. Sundays, July 8, 15, and 22, 10 a.m. Free and open to the public. Ahavath Achim Synagogue. skaufman@AASynagogue.org or (404) 603-5741.

Tuesday Tues., July 10

JULY

10

Kabbala & Cocktails, come to this fun, inspiring, and thought-provoking evening that will start with a delicious Italian-themed dinner, followed by Rabbi Ingber’s riveting and fascinating talk about the Hebrew alphabet. Tues., July 10, 7 p.m. RSVP requested. $15/person.

The Kehillah. le7ingber@gmail.com or (404) 254-0248.

Brews & Schmooze, join Rabbi Zimmerman The Launch, join FIDF Atlanta’s for a fun evening of brews and schmoozing. Young Leadership for an evening to honor the Israel Defense Force with Tues., July 10, 7 p.m. raffles, drink specials and schmoozing.

Thurs., July 12, 8 p.m. Free and open to the community. Tongue and Groove.

JULY ginny.adams@fidf.org or (678) 2509030.

Wednesday

11

Wed., July 11

Conversation with the Curators - Remembering Ravensbrück: Women and the Holocaust with Dr. Jennifer Dickey. Wed., July 11, 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Central Library of the Cobb County Public Library System.

Pool Party with PJ, enjoy snacks, have a pool-themed PJ library book story time and have fun swimming and socializing. Please bring a snack to share. Wed., July 11, 2 p.m.

Brookstone II Clubhouse.

Thursday

JULY

12

Thurs., July 12

Yeshiva University’s Atlanta Beit Midrash Program, sponsored by YU’s Center for the Jewish Future and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Activities from Thurs., July 12 through Sun., July 22. Young Israel of Toco Hills. nunterma@yu.edu.

Family Fun Night at the J, poolside karaoke, bounce house and food available for purchase. Thurs., July 12, 5 p.m. MJCCA’s Zaban Park. brian.glusman@atlantajcc.org.

Augusta Jewish Film Festival, come to the opening night festivities and watch “Nicky’s Family.” Reception to follow. Thurs., July 12, 7 p.m. Augusta Jewish Community Center.

Fri., July 13

Dive Into Shabbat, open swim followed by poolside song and prayer with Rabbi Brian Glusman. Fri., July 13, 5 p.m. MJCCA’s Zaban Park. brian.glusman@atlantajcc.org.

Sat., July 14

Progressives vs. Conservatives, come to this politically themed potluck dinner for adult singles. Sat., July 14, 7 p.m. Private Residence. mhorv00@gmail. com or (770) 722-3834.

Sun., July 15

Go Green and Help Our Planet, recycle electronics with Jewish Family and Career Services, A to Z Information Services and ePlanet-eWaste. Sun., July 15. JF&CS on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. bfiske@jfcsatlanta.org.

Ice Cream Social, come and enjoy this family event.

Sun., July 15, 4 p.m. All are welcome. Temple Kol Emeth. denisejacobs@kolemeth.net or (770) 9733533.

Pathways in the Park, join the MJCCA and other interfaith families and adults for dinner, hike, crafts and more. Sundays July 15, 23 and 30, 5 p.m. $18/ family or $5/individual. Morgan Falls Park. suzanne. hurwitz@atlantajcc.org or (678) 812-4160.

Burgers, Boeries & Beer with the CBS Men’s Club, plus Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. Sun., July 15. Congregation Beth Shalom. bshalom.net.

American Religion, Society, and Culture: A Talk with Dr. Michael Berger, come listen to this talk to gain a better understanding of Americans as a whole and the changing landscape of religion in our country.

Sun., July 15. The Breman Museum.

Tues., July 17

ORT Honey Drive, wish family & friends a sweet and healthy new year with this gift. Order deadline Tues., July 17. $10/jar, includes shipping & handling. orthoney.com/BTG.

Wed., July 18

Special Seminar: Exporting to Israel, local exporters interesting in expanding sales to Israel are invited to attend this seminar led by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. Registration required. Wed., July 18. $25/person. 8 a.m. Metro Atlanta Chamber.

Thurs., July 19

Life Line Screening, a stroke screening. Preregistration is required. Thurs., July 19. Congregation Beth Shalom. 1-(800) 324-1851 or (770) 399-5300.

Fri., July 20

“Avenue Jew,” come to this fun and family friendly Shabbat service and watch as puppets take over the bima. Fri., July 20, 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Temple Kehillat Chaim. (770) 641-8630.

Shabbat Under the Stars, join Rabbi Boxt and Mitch Cohen for a picnic in the park and then celebrate Shabbat. Fri., July 20 6:30 p.m. East Cobb Park.

Next week:

Friends of the IDF

Atlanta Women’s Brigade

are packing heat!

B’nai Mitzvah Sari Devorah Leven

T

he bat mitzvah of Sari Devorah Leven of Atlanta was held at Congregation B’nai Torah on Mar.

10, 2012.

Sari is the daughter of Bob and Michelle Leven. She is the granddaughter of Elliott and Polly Lanson of St. Louis, Mo., Mike and Andrea Leven of Atlanta and Diana and Shelly Lutz of Nashville, Tenn.

For her mitzvah project, Sari volunteered at and donated books to Our House, a preschool for homeless children located in Decatur, Ga.

Engagements LiebergesellGlatzer

L

arry and Judy Glatzer of Bethlehem, Ga. are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Michael Glatzer, and Dania Liebergesell, daughter of Dr. Matthias and Astrid Liebergesell of Pennsylvania.

The future bride is the granddaughter of Mahmoud and Ellen Mohtadi of Frankenberg, Germany and the late Karl and Erika Liebergesell, who lived in Frankenberg.

Dania graduated summa cum laude with both a bachelor’s of arts and master’s in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and is employed as a case manager at Homestretch in Virginia.

The future groom is the grandson of the late Morris and Hannah Bernhardt and the late Marvin and Ruth Glatzer, all of whom lived in Atlanta. Michael graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Georgia and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is currently employed with Computer Science Corporation in Virginia.

The couple reside in Virginia and are planning a spring 2013 wedding.

AJT

d’var torah

Parashat Balak

CURSES BECOME BLESSINGS

By Rabbi Rachel Bregman Open Jewish Project, The Temple and the Atlanta Rabbinical Association

M

y flight was cancelled. I was returning from The Catholic-Jewish Emerging Leaders conference in New York and my flight to Atlanta was cancelled.

And, as storms occurring the day before had taken out all the flights, I could not get out of New York for two more days.

Curses, I thought.

Deadlines, emails and life in Atlanta were calling me. My cell phone was not charging correctly and needed repair…and where was I to stay?

Apparently, I was not the only one facing curses this week: Our Torah portion of Balak (Numbers 22:225:9) shares the story of King Balak of Moab, who is terrified of the Jewish people. He calls on Balaam – a prophet-wizard-type – to curse the Israelites as they wander through the wilderness (their travels, like mine, took a circuitous route).

Balaam tries and tries to curse the Israelite people and each time he does, God intervenes and a blessing pops out of his mouth instead. Three times it happens!

His last blessing is part of our regular liturgy today – Mah tovu ohalech Yaakov, mishcanotecha Yisrael.

“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!”

Balak, thwarted, in the end he goes on his way.

But back to the present-day: Not only had I been in New York for the conference, I was also there to see my old college roommate, who is very sick with ovarian cancer. She had another surgery this past week and is not progressing.

There is no blessing which I will speak of which has come from the curse of her illness; she is too young and is suffering too much. But there are little tiny moments along the way which we hang on to and name as Sacred.

When my flight was cancelled, I checked into a hotel and went straight to the hospital, where the

guards know me by now as the rabbi with the congregant on the 10th floor.

I rode the elevator up, stepped on to the floor and took my friend’s hand.

Nighttime is the worst; visiting hours end at 8:30 p.m., leaving her alone until sleep takes her away from another painful day. But as clergy, I have access to her at any time.

“Just stay until I am sleeping,” she would say each night, and I would.

After the bedtime rituals of removing contact lenses and brushing teeth – mixed with pain, vomiting, frantic calls to the nurse and medications – finally…finally…sleep.

“Hi,” I whispered as I entered and took her hand. She squeezed back and smiled.

She was half asleep, finally appropriately medicated and pain-free. It was a blessing to see her at ease.

“The usual?” I asked. She nodded.

I began singing mi sheberach, our prayer for healing, and then hashkivenu – it’s like the Jewish version of “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” I tell her. She grins weakly.

Then another song, and another.

Her hand twitches as she succumbs to the world of sleep and rest where there is no pain.

Like Balak, I have learned, I have no control over the blessings or the curses which come our way. But we pray anyway, and we count the blessings as they come, no matter how big or how small.

We know that not every curse turns to a blessing, but we seek out the tiny Sacred moments within the painful ones.

One more blessing I say before I go: yivarechecha Adonai v’yishmarecha, “may God bless you and keep you… may God light up God’s face towards you and comfort you…may God look up to you and grant you peace.”

Please God, please…bless her with peace.

Editor’s note: Rabbi Rachel Bregman is the rabbi of the Open Jewish Project and a member of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association.

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

AJT

TELL & kVELL

21

Atlanta Synagogue Directory CHABAD

Non-denominational

Congregation B’nai Torah 1633 Hwy 54 E Jonesboro, GA 30238 www.bnai-israel.net 678.817.7162

Chabad Israel Center 5188 Roswell Rd. Sandy Springs, GA 30324 www.cicatlanta.com 404.252.9508

Atlanta Chevre Minyan Druid Forest Clubhouse North Crossing Dr. Atlanta, GA 30305 www.atlantachevreminya.org

Congregation Dor Tamid 11165 Parsons Rd. Johns Creek, GA 30097 www.dortamid.org 770.623.8860

Chabad Jewish Center 4255 Wade Green Rd. Suite 120 Kennesaw, GA 30144 www.jewishwestcobb.com 678.460.7702

Congregation Shema Yisrael 6065 Roswell Rd., #3018 Atlanta, GA 30328 www.shemaweb.org 404.943.1100

Congregation Ner Tamid 176 West Sandtown Rd. Marietta, GA 30064 www.nertamidonline.com 678.264.8575

Guardians of the Torah P.O. Box 767981 Roswell, GA 30076 www.guardiansofthetorah.org 770.286.3477

Temple Beth David 1885 Mcgee Rd. Snellville, GA 30078 www.gwinnetttemple.com 770.978.3916

Nediv Lev: the Free Synagogue of Atlanta 3791 Mill Creek Ct. Atlanta, GA 30341 My.att.net/p/PWP-NedivLev 770.335.2311

Temple Beth Tikvah 9955 Coleman Rd. Roswell, GA 30075 www.bethtikvah.com 770.642.0434

Chabad of Gwinnett 3855 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Suite 770 Norcross, GA 30092 www.chabadofgwinnett.org 678.595.0196 Chabad of North Fulton 10180 Jones Bridge Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.chabadnf.org 770.410.9000 Congregation Beth Tefillah 5065 High Point Rd. Atlanta, GA 30342 www.chabadga.com 404.257.9306

Conservative Ahavath Achim Synagogue 600 Peachtree Battle Ave. Atlanta, GA 30327 www.aasynagogue.org 404.355.5222 Congregation Beth Shalom 5303 Winters Chapel Rd. Atlanta, GA 30360 www.bshalom.net 770.399.5300 Congregation B’nai Torah 700 Mount Vernon Hwy. Atlanta, GA 30328 www.bnaitorah.org 404.257.0537

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

Congregation Etz Chaim 1190 Indian Hills Pkwy Marietta, GA 30068 www.etzchaim.net 770.973.0137 Congregation Gesher L’Torah 4320 Kimball Bridge Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.gltorah.org 770.777.4009 Congregation Or Hadash 6751 Roswell Rd. Atlanta, GA 30328 www.or-hadash.org 404.250.3338

Orthodox Anshi S’Fard Congregation 1324 North Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306 www.anshisfard.com 404.874.4513 Congregation Ariel 5237 Tilly Mill Rd. Dunwoody, GA 30338 www.congariel.org 770.390.9071 Congregation Beth Jacob 1855 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.bethjacobatlanta.org 404.633.0551 Congregation Beth Yitzhak 5054 Singleton Rd. Norcross, GA 30093 770.931.4567 Email: anatoliy@bjca.com Congregation Ner Hamizrach 1858 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.ner-hamizrach.org 404.315.9020 The Kehilla of Sandy Springs 5075 Roswell Rd. Sandy Springs, GA 30342 www.thekehilla.org 404.913.6131 Young Israel of Toco Hills 2074 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.yith.org 404.315.1417

Reconstructionist

Congregation Bet Haverim 2676 Clairmont Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.congregationbethaverim.org 404.315.6446

by Kathi Handler (bookssss@aol.com)

Reform

Chabad Intown 928 Ponce De Leon Avenue Atlanta, GA 30306 www.chabadintown.org 404.898.0434

Chabad of Cobb 4450 Lower Roswell Rd. Marietta, GA 30068 www.chabadofcobb.com 770.565.4412

22

Congregation Shearith Israel 1180 University Dr. Atlanta, GA 30306 www.shearithisrael.com 404.873.1743

JEWISH PUZZLER

Temple Emanu-El 1580 Spalding Dr. Atlanta, GA 30350 www.templeemanuelatlanta.org 770.395.1340 Temple Kehillat Chaim 1145 Green St. Roswell, GA 30075 www.kehillatchaim.org 770.641.8630 Temple Kol Emeth 1415 Old Canton Rd. Marietta, GA 30062 www.kolemeth.net 770.973.3533 Temple Sinai 5645 Dupree Dr. Sandy Springs, GA 30327 www.templesinatlanta.org 404.252.3073 The Temple 1589 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30309 www.the-temple.org 404.873.1731

SEPHARDIC Congregation Or VeShalom 1681 North Druid Hills Rd. Atlanta, GA 30319 www.orveshalom.org 404.633.1737

Traditional Congregation Shaarei Shamayim 1810 Briarcliff Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.shaareishamayeim.com 404.417.0472

Crossword Clues Across 1. Wilder or Barry 5. Fiddler’s station?

9. Burning plant?

14. Airline 15. Uzi must 16. Like Esau?

17. Seder manner 18. Mordechai 19. Bandleader Shaw 20. Morning service 22. Say Kiddush 23. Hebrew letter 24. Louis Brandeis org?

25. Former Israeli Premier 28. Soviet Refusnik Natan _ 34. Lulav companion 35. Book of __ 36. Tet (Eng) 37. Jazzman Getz 38. A tel 39. Bissel (Eng) 40. It is to Leonard Cohen 41. Messiah mount 42. Yiddish theater star 43. “Friends” star 45. Machers 46. Hallel has three 47. __ Aviv 48. Delicate 51. Rachel’s birthplace 57. “Bonanza” dad 58. Minor Prophet 59. “Ginger” Actress __ Louise 60. Swift scribe 61. Shiva clothes 62. Israeli food corp.

63. Shed at the Kotel 64. Al Jolson position 65. Rabbi Moshe Isserles Down 1. Gimels (Eng.) 2. King of Israel 3. Resnik’s Org. 4. Lieberman’s race 5. Harlot at Jericho 6. Counting of the __ 7. Third dynasty king 8. Measurement 9. Saturday 10. Sci fi writer Ellison

11. Brit Milah 12. “Exodus” author 13. Shaloms?

21. Haman’s sentence 24. Negev climate 25. Observes Shabbat 26. Anne Frank’s hideaway 27. Has Chutzpah 28. Forty days for Noah 29. Bayit (Eng) 30. Capp’s L’il creation 31. Acted the gonif 32. Torah crown (Heb) 33. 50 to the Jubilee 38. Leah and Zilpah 39. Pagan 41. College Orgs.

42. Magic Carpet base 44. Father of cybernetics 47. Ta’am (Eng) 48. Like matzoh 49. “The __”, Midler’s movie 50. Richard Tucker solo 51. “Jurassic__” Spielberg film 52. Congregation response 53. “Thy will be _” 54. Make aliyah 55. Issachar city 56. Rachel to Joseph

Last week’s answers

AJT

MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING

Dave Landau

88, BORN IN ELBERTON, GA. Dave Landau, co-owner of the beloved Snack ‘N’ Shop Delicatessen for 40 years, died peacefully on Sun., June 24, 2012 at age 88 from complications related to bladder cancer. His wife of 57 years, Fran Landau, died two months earlier on Apr. 19, 2012. Dave was born in Elberton, Ga., and left Elberton when he enlisted in the infantry during World War II. Following an honorable discharge, he attended University of Georgia (UGA) and graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in business in 1949. At UGA, he was a member and president of the men’s fraternity, Phi Epsilon Phi. He married Fran Feldman in 1954 and with his wife co-founded the delicatessen Snack ‘N’ Shop with Saul and Renee Feldman in 1958. Snack ‘N’ Shop was known among the Jewish community for 40 years and was famous among its patrons for its old-style potato salad, homemade chopped liver and oversized reuben sandwiches. Dave was most often found behind the meat counter taking care of family and friends. Dave is survived by two daughters, Jan Lewin and Barri Nolin and her husband Carl; and by three grandchildren, Michelle and Cara Lewin and Coty Nolin. He was the last surviving child among five of Meyer and Annie Landau of Elberton. An online guestbook is available at edressler.com, and in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice Atlanta Center at Visiting Nurse Health System, 5775 Glenridge Drive, Suite E200, 30328. Services were held at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs with Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla of Or VeShalom officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.

Terry Ornstein 86, ATLANTA

Unveilings

Dr. Sidney Isenberg The unveiling of the headstone of Dr. Sidney Isenberg will be held July 8 at 10 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery.

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We’ll also setup, or optimize, other social sites where your customers are - manage them if you like and help drive customer awareness for your business. www.ez2bsocial.com Didn’t your mom ever tell you to be social?

ez2BSocial 678.358.7858

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

Terry Ornstein, age 86, of Atlanta, died June 23, 2012. He was a beloved father, husband, grandfather and uncle. He was a World War II Army veteran serving in the Pacific. Mr. Ornstein went on to become a successful commercial real estate broker. Survivors include his wife Thelma Ornstein; daughter, Eileen Jefcoat, Huntsville, Ala.; granddaughter, Jenny Wiggins and her husband Brian; great-granddaughter, Madison; niece, Glenda Alexander and her husband Kenny, Atlanta; niece, Joyce Stark and her husband Joel, Sanford, Fla.; stepdaughter, Phyllis M. Cohen and her children and grandchildren; and five great-nieces and nephews. Sign online guestbook at edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ORT, 2200 Century Parkway, Suite 160, Atlanta, GA 30345; Congregation Or VeShalom, 1681 North Druid HIlls Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319; or a charity of your choice. A graveside service was held Mon., June 25, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Crest Lawn Cemetery with Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.

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THE MARKETPLACE 404-883-2130 ext. 104 HOME IMPROVEMENTS

COMPUTER

We’ll Hang It We’ll Install It We’ll Repair It

REAL ESTATE We’ve always been here when you needed a mortgage, and we’re here for you now.

Ask us how we can help you.

At SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., we’ve made it our business to put your best interests first.

We’re confident we can help qualified home buyers with the financing to meet their individual needs. Call today!

All you need to do is call

770.234.0424 www.handyhusband.com

Jay Givarz Loan Officer 678.832.9386

Established 1994

jay.givarz@suntrust.com NMLSR# 203728

MULTI-PLATFORM ADVERTISING PROFESSIONAL

Equal Housing Lender. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., 901 Semmes Avenue, Richmond, VA 23224 is licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act; is an Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee; is a Lender in Massachusetts having Mortgage Lender license #s ML1216, ML0133, ML1432, ML1914, ML1913, ML1815, ML2411, ML1214, ML2442, ML2491, and ML2538; is licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department; is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, toll free 1-800-330-4684; is a licensed lender in Rhode Island; and is doing business in Arizona as Crestar Mortgage, 7250 N. 16th Street, Ste. 100, Phoenix, AZ 85020. ©2011 SunTrust Banks, Inc. SunTrust, SunTrust Mortgage, and Live Solid. Bank Solid. are federally registered service marks of SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Excellent interpersonal, communication skills, are highly motivated.

ENTERTAINMENT

We know our people are our greatest asset.

• Work in a collaborative team environment!

• Engage in all stages of the sales cycle, from prospecting to developing customer rapport, closing business and servicing accounts.

• Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to drive new business as well as protect and increase existing advertising.

• Thrive in a fast-paced, deadline oriented environment.

Previous sales experience required. Computer skills (Microsoft Word, Excel) necessary. Knowledge of advertising sales software CRM preferred.

Generous Commission Structure!

Please send your resume to mgreene@atljewishtimes.com No phone calls, please. The AJT is an equal-opportunity employer.

PHOTOGRAPHY

REAL ESTATE

NANNY SERVICE

OFFICE CONDO FOR SALE East Cobb/Paper Mill Village – 1,000+/-sq.ft 3 large offices, reception area, secretarial station, conference room, private restroom, kitchen $119,900 Call 770-317-1767

Nanny for Hire / Run Errands

JULY 6 ▪ 2012

STUDIO FOR RENT Unfinished studio Apt in Private home for rent - Sandy Springs Private entrance, bathroom and kitchen. $525/mo.

All utilities included. Call 404-252-1787

WORK NEEDED

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT Certified Nursing Asst. CNA 10 yrs. exp. Excellent References.

Anne 770-905-1694

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▪ Available for Atlanta Families ▪ Own transportation ▪ School Activity Pick up and Drop off ▪ Shop / Run Errands ▪ 10 years Experience

Call Rena 404-468-5427

Cohen Photographic Art Bar & Bat Mitzvah Photography & Video We also specialize in Website Videos, Weddings and Family Portraits! www.cohenphotographicart.com blog.cohenphotographicart.com 404-783-0808