Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 40, October 13, 2017 by Atlanta Jewish Times

MAKING A LIST

Shelly Danz offers advice on how to manage your bar mitzvah invitation list. Page 30

VOL. XCII NO. 40

SIMCHAS, PAGES 26-49 HEALTHY 101 ABRACADABRA Celia Levitt is living proof of the benefits of a good diet and clean habits. Page 42

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Weber School student Ari Slomka’s sleight of hand is taking him to Korea. Page 44

OCTOBER 13, 2017 | 23 TISHREI 5778

6th-Graders’ Nazi Mascot Assignment ‘Not Appropriate’ By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com A Shiloh Middle School social studies teacher is out of the classroom and under investigation by the Gwinnett County Public Schools after giving sixthgraders an assignment to create a colorful mascot for the Nazi Party to use at a rally in Germany in 1935. Sloan Roach, the school system’s executive director of communication and media relations, said the assignment, which angered parents, was an unapproved effort by the teacher to fulfill the Georgia Standards of Excellence curriculum, which calls for sixth-graders to learn about Nazism, propaganda and the events that led to the Holocaust. “Any time something like this happens, it unfortunately becomes a great teachable moment for all teachers to think about the resources that are out there on the Internet,” Roach said. “Although the teacher had good intentions of trying to teach the lesson, it was not appropriate.” The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast Region said in a joint news release Tuesday, Oct. 10, that the Shiloh lesson did not appropriately or accurately address the state standards. “This assignment trivializes the history of the Holocaust and does not

address how and why the Holocaust happened,” the statement reads. “Understanding the Holocaust is far more complex, requiring examination of the many motives that drove the choices of individuals, organizations and governments, which ultimately led to genocide.” The commission and ADL work together to provide educational materials. Allison Padilla-Goodman, the ADL’s Southeast regional director, said the commission has wonderful resources to apply lessons from the Holocaust to the modern day. “So many schools are doing great things as far as Holocaust education goes, but that’s because they take it seriously and the entire school really cares and is committed to having students learn about this … event in our history.” Roach said social studies teachers in Gwinnett are provided materials from a database that includes lessons vetted and taught by other teachers in the county. “We understand that teachers may often have ideas or certain ways they may want to teach things, but there is a process at the local school level on how to do so,” she said. Roach said Shiloh Principal Eli Welch has talked to the staff about proper processes. He also spoke to the parents who complained about the assignment. The situation helps the system en-

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A Positive Public School Moment Renee Evans (left), a Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta advisory board member, and Joanne Birnbrey (right), the chair of Federation’s 2018 Integrated Community Campaign, present the special Jewish Engagement Community Award to (from left) parent Beth Gaan, Johns Creek High School Principal Jimmy Zoll, Fulton County Schools Assistant Superintendent Christopher Matthews, Rabbi Chaim Neiditch of Jewish Student Union and Johns Creek Assistant Principal Carlton Harris on Sept. 27. Also honored was Fulton Board of Education member Linda McCain. Each was recognized for the school’s quick response to a bullying situation that bordered on anti-Semitism. “I have never experienced a group of individuals from a school system jump into action, achieving excellence for not only one family, but all special education students in Fulton County,” Evans said. “It was exceptional, showing the value of collaborating in a caring, focused way.”

sure “teachers are aware of what’s out there and using what’s provided by the district for them,” Roach said. “We are always looking at ways we can improve our curriculum.” School counselors have been available to meet with students about the assignment, she said. “In situations such as

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this, they are obviously more in tune and looking to see if a student is interested or needs to talk about something.” The incident is one of several in public and non-Jewish private schools in the past couple of years in which Jewish students faced bullying or harassment or questionable approaches were used to teach about the Holocaust. Danielle Cohen, a co-founder of the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism, said such incidents are the reason AIAAS has scheduled an education-focused forum called TASK (Tackling Anti-Semitism for Our Kids) on Nov. 8. “We hear about these kinds of situations and incidents almost daily now,” she said. “I think there are always ways to enhance education, empathy, character building, and social and emotional learning, which we are hoping to accomplish.” ■

OCTOBER 13 â&#x2013;ª 2017

MA TOVU

Resolution: Should Grandpa Speak Up?

Stay Out, Grandpa! It doesn’t take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kids, smack their little behinds when necessary and say no. — Anonymous Speak Up Parenting is so different today. Parents are practically condemned if they voice even a hint of criticism. And if they dare, they must carefully gauge the words they use and worry whether they have caused irreparable damage. When a child is reprimanded, the parent often apologizes. I wonder whether you’ll be the parent who winds up sniffling and making amends for having dared to care. It sounds as if your daughter and son-in-law run a strict regime, and you feel your grandchildren are suffering. I like your idea of taking your daughter out for a heart-to-heart. If your relationship is close, she should be open to your concerns and suggestions. The other option is also good: raising a point in a general conversation or sharing something you overheard in a class or learned from the rabbi’s speech (before you started snoring). — Linda A Spoonful of Sugar “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” Just speak from your heart: “Sweetheart, you and Jim are wonderful parents. You work hard to teach the kids the values of diligence, respect and responsibility. I’m really proud of you for raising such great kids. There’s just one thing I wanted to mention. Would it be OK if we discussed it?” I would keep it short and sweet. At our age, we’ve earned the right to be candid. — Mel Be a Model How about modeling when your daughter and son-in-law are close? Kids are guaranteed (or your money

back — no refunds on gray hair or wrinkles) to present you with endless teaching moments. When Abie smacks Sherry, put your methods into practice. You come across as gentle and positive, so I imagine you’ll jump to say something like “Sherry, what a

Shared Spirit Moderated By Rachel Stein rachels83@gmail.com

strong person you are not to smack Abie back! Excellent self-control. We can all learn from you.” By steering attention away from Abie’s misdemeanor, you’ve taken the wind out of his sails, and you’ve built up Sherry. If 15-year-old Bruce again forgets to take out the garbage, you could offer the following: “Oops! I won’t tell you how often I forget things I’m supposed to do. Here, let’s take it out together. And is there a reminder we can set up so you won’t forget the next time?” If your daughter and son-in-law see the efficacy of your techniques, perhaps they will try to replace their authoritarianism with your positivity. — Beth Discipline With Love Parents are too scared today to be parents. What is the world coming to if we’re afraid to discipline our children? Discipline should be fair and thought-out, but it must exist. If children grow up without rules in the home, how will they function in school and then as adults? Rules confront a person everywhere — in a job, on the road and just as a citizen. So I’m a proponent of consequences for infractions. I’m also a big believer that home should primarily be a place of warmth and love, so that a little discipline won’t do harm. Grandpa, are your grandchildren showered with warmth, love and unconditional acceptance in spite of their human foibles? When a consequence is given, is it followed by a hug and “I love you”? If so, I wouldn’t worry so much. If not, I agree that it’s time to talk to your kids — with love. — Billy R.

invites you and your parents to a

Special Reception Thursd ay, October 19, 2017 7:30 p.m. Marcus Jew ish Co mmunity Center of Atlanta 5342 Tilly Mil l Road Dunwoody, Dunwoo dy, GA 30338 At this event, students will engage in and experience University tradition, campus spirit and student life at the Capstone. Please respond by October 9th by visiting g o b a m a . u a . e d u / a t l a n t a - j c c- r e c e p t i o n For more information, call (205)348-2914 .

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Recap: Grandpa wonders whether he should approach his adult children about the salient mistakes he sees them making as parents. He understands the ramifications of meddling, but he struggles with seeing his grandchildren being treated too harshly.

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FRIDAY, OCT. 13

Homeless fundraiser. Nicholas House holds its Off the Street, On Their Feet overnight sleep-out fundraiser and awareness event at its Grant Park shelter in Atlanta, starting at 6:30 p.m. Sleep-out participants are asked to raise $2,500; nicholashouse.org/ events/off-the-street-on-their-feet.

SATURDAY, OCT. 14

Legal thriller. Local Jewish lawyer and author Jason Sheffield speaks about his new novel, “Son of a Bitch,” at 6 p.m. at Bookmiser, 4651 Sandy Plains Road, Northeast Cobb. Free; www.bookmiser. net or 770-993-1555.

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OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

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CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES

Simchat Torah. Among the holiday celebrations around the area, Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, holds a children’s event at 6:30 p.m. and a traditional service at 7:30. Free; www.chabadnf.org.

SUNDAY, OCT. 15

Pride Parade. SOJOURN leads 53 Jewish organizations in the Atlanta Pride Parade from the Civic Center MARTA station to the west side of Piedmont Park, starting at noon. Free to march; www.sojourngsd.org/atlpride. Bearing Witness. Polish Holocaust survivor Miriam Fishkin speaks at 2 p.m. at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Free; www.thebreman. org/Events/10-15-2017-Bearing-Witness-Miriam-Fishkin

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18

Jewish Breakfast Club. Top CDC official Anne Schuchat speaks to the JBC over lunch at 11:30 a.m. at Greenberg Traurig, 3333 Piedmont Road, Suite 2500, Buckhead. Admission is $18; register by Oct. 15 at atlantajewishtimes. com/jbc-cdc-schuchat.

Bereshit Friday, Oct. 13, light candles at 6:48 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Shabbat ends at 7:42 p.m. Noach Friday, Oct. 20, light candles at 6:39 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, Shabbat ends at 7:34 p.m.

Corrections & Clarifications

The first names of sociologist Steven M. Cohen and Rabbi Stephen Listfield were misspelled in a column Oct. 6.

THURSDAY, OCT. 19

Blooming desert. Shlicha Tamar Gez speaks about Israeli water technology in the desert at 10:30 a.m. to the Edgewise group at the Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Free for members, $5 for others; atlantajcc.org/ knowledgewise or 678-812-4070.

FRIDAY, OCT. 20

Reinventing life through art. Holocaust survivor Henry Friedman talks about his postwar experiences as a street artist in Italy at noon at the High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St., Midtown, in the latest Lunchtime Culture program with the Breman Museum and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Free; www.thebreman.org/Events/1020-2017-Lunchtime-Culture. Taste of Atlanta. The food celebration kicks off with a party at 7:30 p.m. and continues Saturday and Sunday at Historic Fourth Ward Park, 680 Dallas St., Old Fourth Ward. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $75 for the grand tasting experience and $85 for the kickoff party; www.tasteofatlanta.com.

SUNDAY, OCT. 22

JWV meeting. Former KGB operative Jack Barsky speaks at the monthly breakfast meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 112 at 10 a.m. at Berman Com-

mons, 2026 Womack Road, Dunwoody, with a special presentation of the post’s annual donation to the USO at the Atlanta airport. Admission (open to all) is $10; robertjmax@gmail.com, facebook. com/jwvpost112 or 770-403-4278. Barbecue festival. The annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run, 4470 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, with one free tasting ticket (normally $1) for two donated items for a kosher food drive. Free admission; www.theatlantakosherbbq.com. Teen initiative kickoff. The Atlanta Jewish Teen Initiative kicks off its efforts with ninth- to 12th-graders by attending Atlanta United’s regular-season finale at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with pre-game activities at 1:30 p.m. and bus transportation provided from East Cobb, Dunwoody/Sandy Springs and intown. Free; atlantajewishteens. wufoo.com/forms/qhhs95518tomgo. Organ donation. Rabbi Josh Sturm, the outreach director for Jewish kidney transplant organization Renewal, speaks on “The Jewish Response to Organ Donation & Transplants” at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, sponsored by Hadassah Greater Atlanta’s

Send items for the calendar to submissions@atljewishtimes.com. Find more events at atlantajewishtimes.com/events-calendar.

Remember When

10 Years Ago Oct. 12, 2007 ■ The Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast director, Bill Nigut, says the ADL is, “first and foremost, tough Jews, and at this time we need to be” because of continuing problems with anti-Semitic sentiments. Speaking at the 50th anniversary luncheon of City of Hope, he praised the Justice Department for seeking the deportation of 85-year-old Paul Henss, a Nazi concentration camp guard. ■ Simon and Stephanie Menkes of Dunwoody announce their marriage May 6 in Dublin, Ireland. He is the son of John and Myrna Menkes of Los Angeles. She is the daughter of Salomon and Evita Maya of Irvine, Calif. 25 Years Ago Oct. 9, 1992

■ Nearly 300 Jewish Georgians have endorsed a letter being sent to 15,000 Jewish households across the state that bashes President George Bush and lauds his Democratic challenger, Bill Clinton. “The next four years will be a disaster for all of us if George Bush is reelected,” reads the letter. ■ Teresa and Paul Finer of Orlando announce the birth of a daughter, Elena Jo, on Aug. 6. 50 Years Ago Oct. 13, 1967 ■ Three young women from Atlanta, Stefanie Ney (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ney), Reba Bobo (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Bobo) and Tobi Weiner (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Weiner), recently left for six months of service through the Volunteers for Israel program. They will help repair war damage to kibbutzim and other settlements. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Victor M. Barocas of Atlanta announce the birth of a son, Scott Lee, on Sept. 24.

CALENDAR Metulla Group and the Beth Shalom Sisterhood. Free; 914-602-8998. Genealogy. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia watches a video about Jewish family research at 2 p.m. at the Breman Museum, 1440 Spring St., Midtown. Free for society members, included with museum admission for others; www.thebreman.org/ Events/10-22-2017-Jewish-Genealogical-Society-of-Georgia-Meeting.

TUESDAY, OCT. 24

Segregation talk. Law professor Richard Rothstein speaks about his book “The Color of Law,” which shows how local, state and federal laws and policies produced persistent segregation in American cities, at 7 p.m. at the Carter Presidential Library & Museum, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. Free; www. jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25

Positive thinking. Rabbi Laibl Wolf speaks about transforming negative thoughts and emotions in a Chabad of North Fulton program at 7:30 p.m. at 10945 East Bluff Drive, Milton. Suggested donation of $10; www.chabadnf. org or 770-410-9000.

THURSDAY, OCT. 26

Mindfulness presentation. Rabbi Laibl Wolf speaks on “Mindfulness & Jewish Meditation” at 7:30 p.m. at the Intown Jewish Academy, 928 Ponce de Leon Ave., Poncey-Highland. Tickets are $18; www.intownjewishacademy. org or 404-898-0434.

SUNDAY, OCT. 29

Mah-jongg. ORT Atlanta and Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody, sponsor an American-rules tournament at 9:30 a.m. Admission is $36; RSVP by Oct. 20 to Carol Millman, 770-403-0443, or Helene Urbaitel, 770-399-5300. Infertility support. The Jewish Fertility Foundation, 60 Lenox Pointe, Buckhead, holds training for its Fertility Buddies peer support program at noon. Free; RSVP to www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org/fertilitybuddies. Music program. Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, hosts Tennessee Schmaltz, a band combining klezmer, bluegrass, jazz, classical and Appalachian folk music, at 2 p.m. Admission is $5; shearithisrael.com.

Temple Emanu-El, 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs, is taking action in the community and starting a dialogue on topics such as poverty, hate and addiction with a miniconference called Social Action Local Action. It’s free and open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, Oct 22. The event will include three panel discussions: hunger and poverty, led by Community Assistance Center CEO Tamara Carrera and Lauren Waits of the Atlanta Community Food Bank; hate and antiSemitism, led by Lauren Menis of the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism and Pastor Chianti Harris of the Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church; and addiction and mental illness, led by Alyza Berman Milrad of the Berman Center and Lucy Gainor-Hall of Mary Hall Freedom House. Emanu-El Rabbi Spike Anderson said in his Yom Kippur sermon: “It’s our issues. It’s our responsibility. It’s our time to stand up.” That’s what Temple Emanu-El is trying to do. The goal of the conference is to educate the community and inspire volunteerism and action. Sign up at bit.ly/2kDAWCx. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Taking Social Action

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ISRAEL NEWS

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home The wonder of Saturday night. “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot hosted the Oct. 7 episode of “Saturday Night Live” and started with a monologue featuring a message in Hebrew to her friends and family back in Israel. As translated on the broadcast, the actress joked: “Hi, everybody, I just wanted to let you know that this might be a big mistake. The writers here clearly know nothing about Israel. In every sketch they have me eating hummus. I mean, I like hummus, but come on. They’re nice, but they’re not very sophisticated. I think they believe that I’m the actual Wonder Woman. So good luck to me. I’m hoping for the best.” It was the first time that “SNL” was broadcast live in Israel. Straight out of “Star Trek.” Geordi La Forge’s visor from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” may soon be a reality. Yokneam-based Augmedics is developing the VIZOR, an augmented reality headset that shows surgeons an X-raylike visualization of a patient. Augmedics has just raised $8.3 million from investors. The company plans to use the money to continue developing the device and to run trials in preparation

for an eventual application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Connecting Arabs to Tel Aviv. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli Arabs who live in the Galilee will join their Jewish neighbors in enjoying a new fast train link from Karmiel to Tel Aviv. New bus lines will link 15 Arab towns to the train stations, and residents will get 50 percent discounts on rail fare for two years.

Acing Yom Kippur. Tennis star Dudi Sela pulled out of an ATP tour match against Alexandr Dolgopolov in China because Yom Kippur was about to begin. The Israeli’s request for an earlier match start was refused, so, with the match tied at one set apiece, Sela quit and forfeited $30,000 in prize money.

U.S. tanks with Israeli defense. The U.S. Army will install the Trophy active-protection system, developed by Haifa-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, on many of its M1A2 Abrams tanks. The system detects and destroys incoming anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

When Tom Petty toured Israel. U.S. rocker Tom Petty, who died Oct. 2, performed in Israel in 1987 with his Heartbreakers band on the “Temple in Flames” tour. He had a life-changing experience when he visited the Western Wall. After speaking with Avraham Rosenblum, the leader of the Orthodox rock group the Diaspora Yeshiva Band, Petty said, “Ten years of Sunday school and this guy told me more in five minutes than I ever grasped from that.”

Glowing coral. Researchers from Israel and the United Kingdom have discovered Red Sea coral that absorbs blue light to produce a protein that helps the coral glow in the dark. This process happens only with healthy coral and only in the Red Sea. The study may help save coral at the Great Barrier Reef.

Cutting-edge plant science. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program has awarded $1.2 million to the Feinberg Graduate School at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, which will use the money to buy instruments for the new

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The Jewish Breakfast Club Featured Speaker

ANNE SCHUCHAT, M.D.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Principal Deputy Director and Former Interim Director, Centers for Disease Control Prevention Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service

Dr. Schuchat joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer in 1988. She has served in various leadership posts over the years, and currently serves as CDC principal deputy director, a role she assumed in September 2015. She served as acting CDC director from January-July 2017 and was director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases from 2006-2015. Dr. Schuchat played key roles in CDC emergency responses including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza response, the 2003 SARS outbreak in Beijing and the 2001 bioterrorist anthrax response. Globally, she has worked on meningitis, pneumonia and Ebola vaccine trials in West Africa, and conducted surveillance and prevention projects in South Africa. Dr. Schuchat graduated from Swarthmore College and Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and completed her residency and chief residency in internal medicine at NYU’s Manhattan VA Hospital. She was promoted to Rear Admiral in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service in 2006 and earned a second star in 2010.

Food and Environmental Metabolomics Lab. The FEM-Lab is researching plant metabolites, which are chemicals whose understanding has potential applications from food and health to alternative energy. Shrinking EMS response times. United Hatzalah, the volunteer emergency medical service that introduced the ambucycle to emergency care, has rolled out the Mini-Lance, a two-person electric vehicle that carries a full complement of medical equipment through urban areas. Unlike a full ambulance, the Mini-Lance is only 6½ feet long and just over 4 feet wide, so it can get through traffic more quickly. A device for weak hearts. Israel’s Magenta Medical has developed a catheter for patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHF), where the heart is too weak to pump enough blood throughout the body. Magenta has just raised $15 million of funds. Compiled courtesy of verygoodnewsisrael. blogspot.com, timesofisrael.com and other sources.

Luncheon

Wednesday, October 18 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Being held at Greenberg Traurig 3333 Piedmont Rd NE #2500

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ISRAEL NEWS

New Director: NIF Strengthens Bond to Israel When New Israel Fund was looking this spring to replace its longtime executive director in Israel, Rachel Liel, it found what NIF CEO Daniel Sokatch called the right mensch in a religiousfreedom nonprofit organization that had launched with NIF’s help, Be Free Israel (Israel Hofsheet). “NIF is at the heart of the efforts to realize the vision of Israel’s Declaration of Independence: that all will live here in peace, equality, freedom and justice,” Mickey Gitzin said in the announcement of his hiring in May. “Israel’s most beautiful and powerful asset is its social diversity, and to see it, one need look no further than NIF’s grantees: Jews and Palestinians, secular and religious, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, from the center of the country to its periphery.” Gitzin, a member of the Tel AvivJaffa City Council, founded Be Free Israel with some friends in 2009 as the first Israeli grassroots group working on religious pluralism, and he credits NIF’s funding, networking and expertise in organizational capacity building for helping Be Free Israel thrive. He has won two major awards from NIF — a British human rights award during his time working on a master’s degree at University College London and the U.S. Defender of Democracy award while he was a Jewish Agency for Israel shaliach (emissary) in South Bend, Ind. — but it was the experience of working with NIF to improve Israeli society that drew him to the job. “If you believe in a vivid civil society in Israel, New Israel Fund is the place to go,” he said in an interview before his first appearance in Atlanta since his hiring. “It proves itself every day.” NIF is not popular among many conservative supporters of Israel because its grantees include groups that internationally criticize the Israeli government, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli presence in the West Bank, such as Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem. But Gitzin said NIF is active in the areas that have a broad consensus among Israeli progressives, such as religious freedom, shared society and human rights. “In the macro level, the New Israel Fund today is the organization that looks in the most creative way at all the issues having to do with progressive

The best way to strengthen Israel’s bond with young Diaspora Jews, Mickey Gitzin says, is to help create an Israel that reflects their values.

values in Israel,” Gitzin said. He said it’s important for progressives to bring more voices into their movement, such as the Haredim, who are interested in peace and in effecting change within their community. “Cross-issue work,” which is parallel to the idea of intersectionality in the United States, is another area Gitzin said NIF must improve. “We’re developing it through the years. Cross-issue is very important — when shared society meets religious freedom meets human rights, that’s a place we should be as a cross-issue organization.” While it’s a challenge to replace Liel, who is credited with guiding NIF to growth amid increasing criticism of its work, Gitzin said he brings a different perspective as a former NIF grantee

and as an elected local official. He’s aware of the influence of local governments and their ability to bring changes to Israeli society. “Often, people think only on the national level, which is the wrong way to think.” Gitzin will speak at Congregation Beth Shalom on Tuesday night, Oct. 17, on a topic he knows well: “Israel: From Democracy to Theocracy? Championing Religious Freedom in Israel.” Polls show that most Israelis support more religious freedom in areas such as marriage, conversion and the Western Wall, he said, but the government doesn’t reflect that popular opinion yet. The challenge for NIF and organizations such as the Reform and Conservative movements is to shift Israelis’ priorities to focus on issues of religious pluralism. “As the religious establishment gets more extreme, more and more

Israelis are getting angry and nervous about it,” Gitzin said. “At the end of the day, most Israelis want to see themselves as part of the liberal countries.” He cited successes in bottom-up efforts. When Be Free Israel started, about 250 non-Orthodox Jewish weddings took place each year; now the number is about 800. The Orthodox rabbinate’s control over kashrut has been cracked. People are running their own transportation systems on weekends. All those efforts have NIF support. As a young Israeli leader, Gitzin sees such issues as crucial to strengthening Israel’s bond with Jews around the world. “We allow those people who feel uncomfortable with a government policy a tie to Israel and a way to connect,” he said. “People can say, ‘This is the Israel I can relate to. This is an Israel I would live in.’ ” ■

Who: Mickey Gitzin, Israel executive director, New Israel Fund What: Talk on religious freedom in Israel Where: Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody

Smile

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17 Admission: Free; RSVP to bit.ly/2hwz3CG, mordy@nif.org or 212-613-4426

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OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

By Michael Jacobs mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

ISRAEL NEWS

Perceptions of Future Divide Israelis, U.S. Jews Domestic issues overshadow security concerns in the Jewish state According to a National Economic Council report, Israel’s population will increase by 5 million people over the next 23 years. Israeli ecologist Alon Tal wrote an article, “Racing toward disaster: Israel’s unsustainable population bomb,” in response to these findings. In it, he describes how this 60 percent population increase will exacerbate problems already present in many components of Israel’s infrastructure, economy and housing markets. These are issues we, as American Jews, often overlook because of our focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Highlighting his grim outlook, Tal writes, “Signs are everywhere: missing the wedding ceremony of a dear friend because of an unanticipated traffic jam; … waiting years for a day in court because of the backlog; seeing a child fall behind and alienated in a classroom of 40-plus children; … knowing that one’s successful children will never be able to afford a new apart-

ment due to the insatiable demand that drives ever-rising prices.” A January Pew study, “American

Guest Column

Photo by Dim Schliefman

Gridlock-traffic is typical during rush hour in Tel Aviv.

By Eli Sperling

and Israeli Jews: Twin Portraits,” shows that 38 percent of Israelis view security threats, violence and terrorism as the most important long-term problem facing Israel, a sentiment shared by 66 percent of U.S. Jews. The same study shows that 39 percent of Israelis see economic problems as the most pressing long-term issue facing the Jewish state, an opinion shared by only 1 percent of U.S. Jews. Further, according to Professor Reuven Hazan, Hebrew University’s chairman of Israeli democracy and politics, only 37 percent of Israelis feel economically secure, while 62 percent feel confident militarily.

He similarly shows that 66 percent of Israelis see socio-economic change as the No. 1 issue for their government to address. Only 31 percent see the military and security as the priority for their lawmakers. Why, then, are American Jews so far off the mark in their perception of Israel’s long-term challenges? To truly understand modern Israel and its story, it is important to look at the many pressing issues facing the Jewish state. Sensationalized international media coverage of the circumstances surrounding the ArabIsraeli conflict, rifts with the Diaspora, and international political dealings are not enough.

Moshe Dayan, who lost an eye fighting for the British in World War II, served as army chief of staff, defense minister and foreign minister in Israel’s first three decades.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Today in Israeli History

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. Oct. 13, 2011: Israeli composer Daniel Barenboim is named the musical director of the prestigious La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. Oct. 14, 1994: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres are announced as winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, for negotiating and signing the Oslo Accords in September 1993. Oct. 15, 1894: Moshe Sharett, a future prime minister of Israel, is born as Moshe Shertok in Kherson, Ukraine. His parents are early Zionists, having been involved in the BILU movement in the early 1880s. Oct. 16, 1981: Moshe Dayan, Israel’s iconic military and political leader, dies from a heart attack in a Tel Aviv

Israel is a small, young country dealing with numerous, globally common problems. Rising costs of living and housing displacement, overcrowded hospitals and schools, general infrastructure in dire need of updating, and rising poverty rates are often more of a concern to Israelis than the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. ■ Further Reading The Center for Israel Education offers links to free English-language articles and news sources on Israel: • israeled.org/useful-links/newspapers. • israeled.org/blog/contemporaryreadings.

hospital at the age of 66. Oct. 17, 1880: Ze’ev Vladimir Jabotinsky is born in Odessa, Ukraine. He is known for his revisionist attitudes toward Zionism, which serve as the ideological foundation of the Likud party. Oct. 18, 1991: Israel and the Soviet Union resume formal diplomatic relations, completing a process of improving ties throughout the Soviet leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev only two months before the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. In 1987, the two countries established consular ties as the Soviet Union eased restrictions on Jewish life. Oct. 19, 1948: During the fourth day of Operation Yoav — a combined air, ground and sea effort to open a supply route into the Negev — the fledgling Israeli navy engages in its first major battle off the coast of Ashkelon. The Israeli ships Haganah, Wedgewood and Noga, all retrofitted military vessels that had been used as immigration ships, attack an Egyptian troop transport.

OCTOBER 13 â&#x2013;ª 2017

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OPINION

Our View

Onto the Porch

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Jewish Atlanta is too good a community not to be better. That truth is the basic premise behind the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Front Porch initiative, which is Federation’s most audacious and important undertaking of the 21st century. You can read more about the Front Porch on Page 14, but what’s crucial to understand is that it’s not really about Federation. Yes, it’s led by Federation staff. It’s happening because of Federation President and CEO Eric Robbins’ drive to innovate. If it works, it will alter Federation so that it no longer embodies the mid-20th-century model of a central organization raising and distributing all the money for Jewish nonprofits. But the transformation of Federation would mean nothing if it reflected change for change’s sake and was merely a desperate attempt to make a venerable institution appear relevant for another decade or so — long enough to kick any problems to the next generation of leaders. The Front Porch is something else. It’s an effort to conduct an extended dialogue with every element of our vibrant community — across all lines of geography, religious observance, family history, politics, age, gender and engagement — to assess collectively where we are, where we want to be and how we can get there. The answers will provide the necessary guidance to figure out Federation’s proper role. Maybe it will shift to fund only innovation. Maybe it’s primary role will be a convener of community discussions. Maybe it will connect funders directly with nonprofits and gradually phase itself out, at least as a fundraising organization. We don’t know at this point, less than two months after the Front Porch launched, and we shouldn’t know. More than 100 community leaders — representatives of all aspects of the community who are willing to give significant time to this project, not 100 big donors — are in the middle of fact-finding. They’re getting to know one another, studying Jewish and non-Jewish institutions locally and nationally, and holding conversations. Here’s where you come in: What comes out of this yearlong process is only as good as the information that goes into it, and no matter how connected and involved they are, 100 people can’t know everything about a community of 125,000-plus. From Oct. 18 to Nov. 14, Federation is holding 13 listening forums, each of which will give you 2½ hours to discuss the issues you and the other attendees think are most important. The sessions are designed to be convenient wherever you are and, in some cases, to appeal to specific mini-communities (seniors, interfaith families, empty-nesters, LGBTQ people). You’ll have to drive a bit if you’re as far south as Peachtree City, as far west as Hiram or north of Cumming, but the time is worth it to help create the future Jewish Atlanta you want to see. So pick a session or two, and go. If you can’t make it, call the Front Porch team at 404-870-1617, and you can make arrangements to have a conversation. Don’t let this once-in-a-generation opportunity 10 pass you by. ■

Cartoon by Jeff Koterba, Omaha World Herald, NE

It Happens Every Fall We’ve reached what may be the saddest time of of being left behind in a farm system packed with the year. promising pitching prospects. Not because the fervor, intensity and commuThen, out of the blue, the Braves promoted him nal connections of the High Holidays are behind us, to the big leagues, and the 23-year-old transformed unlikely to be approached back into the former firstagain until Passover, if at round draft pick who was all before next September. justified in wearing No. Editor’s Notebook Not because the sum32 as a tribute to Hall of mer heat has faded. Famer Sandy Koufax. By Michael Jacobs Not because my birthFried pitched in relief, mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com day and that of my wife then got his first majorhave come and gone, an league win as a starter by annual reminder that we shutting down the chamseem to get older but never wiser. pion Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. His totals as a It’s because baseball season is all but over. major-leaguer: a 1-1 record in nine games with a 3.81 Sure, we’re in the middle of the playoffs, but each ERA with 22 strikeouts in 26 innings. inning takes us closer to the last strike of the year. Jewish Baseball News recognized Fried as the For fans of the Atlanta Braves (or my beloved year’s best Jewish starting pitcher among minorCincinnati Reds), the fun ended less than 24 hours leaguers, and he has a good shot at beginning 2018 in after the shofar sounded to close Yom Kippur. For SunTrust Park. those of us who cheer on losing teams, the words of But he’s not the only pitcher who should excite Unetaneh Tokef could be changed to “who shall be Jewish baseball fans in Atlanta: traded, who shall get raises, who shall be waived, • Brandon Gold, the Davis Academy/Johns Creek who shall win awards, who shall be sent to AAA, High/Georgia Tech product, worked his way up to who shall be sold to Japan, who shall retire and be the High-A California League in his second pro seaheard from no more.” son. He ran out of gas as the summer ended, but the I can’t express the emptiness in my life withColorado Rockies farmhand finished with a respectout baseball available to live-stream for six hours able 8-8 record and 4.37 ERA in 25 starts. every night. I’m faced with the prospect of doing • Matthew Gorst, Gold’s teammate in high something productive with my time, such as reading school and college, also earned a promotion to books, catching up on the backlog of stories I have to High-A. Working as a reliever in the Boston Red Sox write or even spending time with my family. system, he went 7-5 with four saves and a 2.75 ERA. But let’s not go quietly into that darkened dug• Keith Weisenberg, a Braves draftee who spent out. There’s still time to celebrate the successes of the summer in rookie ball in Danville, Va., had a Jewish players with local ties. solid start to his pro career as a relief pitcher, comAtop the list is Braves left-handed pitcher Max piling a 3-2 record with one save and a 3.24 ERA. Fried, who ended 2016 as a playoff hero for the Rome Other than Fried, all these pitchers face long Braves but in July found himself in the middle of a odds ever to make it to the big leagues. But hope miserable year at Double-A Mississippi, with an ERA springs eternal, and it’s only four months until pitchapproaching 6, recurring blisters and the danger ers and catchers report to spring training. ■

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OPINION

Religious Freedom Vital to National Unity There are great similarities between ancient Israel, where 12 tribes united to form a nation, and the United States, where 13 colonies united to form a country with the motto E Pluribus Unum (one out of many). It is not accidental that these United States have often been referred to as the New Zion and the New Jerusalem. The purpose of union in both cases was similar, and in both cases the united groups wished to retain their individual, tribal identities. What was the force that held the independence of the tribes and the states while they defined themselves as members of a greater unity? First, there was a contractual relationship. In ancient Israel, it was an intertribal covenant. The Bible tells us that the idea of a covenant existed not only between G-d and Israel, and the tribes’ covenant assumed the sanctity of a legal force bestowed by G-d. The children of Israel were a people where the covenant ruled. Moses reminded the tribes of that covenant and the obligation to help all the tribes secure the land of Canaan to make it the land of Israel. After they settled the land and each tribe lived independently in its allotted territory, the covenant ensured mutual defense against enemies such as the Philistines. Deborah, for instance, used the covenant to remind other tribes of their duty to come to her tribe’s defense. The unity of Israel was enhanced by the worship of a national G-d and the Temple rituals. Thrice a year, Jews made their pilgrimage to the Temple and reinforced their unity, their histor-

One Man’s Opinion By Eugen Schoenfeld

northern tribes wanted to alter the tax structure and weaken the power of the Temple priests by establishing a religious center in their territories. At the time, cultic ritualism in the form of sacrifices was the dominant form of worship. The good life was seen as the result of the satisfaction of His pleasures. The site of the sacrifices, Jerusalem, became the center of political and economic life. The northernmost tribes — Naftali, Dan, Issachar, Asher — were too far from Jerusalem for three pilgrimages a year, so they wanted their own place of worship. But the priests who controlled the rituals in the Temple didn’t wish to share their power. The rigidity in holding the power of the Torah and the religious practices in Jerusalem led to a breakdown of unity and the establishment of Israel as a northern kingdom separate from Judaea in the south. The loss of unity weakened both countries, hampered their sense of identity and made them incapable of fighting off Sennacherib and the Assyrians. After their defeat, the Jews of Israel were scattered in Assyria and

lost their identity. I wonder how many of their descendants are fighting modern Israel’s existence. The United States from its start had a population with varied beliefs, and before this nation was established interreligious hostilities were common. Once we became a nation, our leaders faced the problem of the independence of the state and the need to eliminate religious hostilities. The Framers of the Constitution sought to provide legitimacy to all faiths. First, they tried to redefine religion by stressing that the importance of religion was primarily the inculcation of a moral standard that served as a common denominator across belief systems. The Founding Fathers minimized those elements of religion that stressed the separation of people from one another and elevated moral unity. This is evident in the belief systems of Jefferson, Franklin and Madison. In short, the Founding Fathers stressed the collective ideals that formed what Robert N. Bellah called the American civil religion. Perhaps the best example is a statement by Benjamin Franklin: “I never was without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that he made the world and governed it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service of G-d was the doing of good to men; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded either here or hereafter. These I esteemed the essentials of every religion; and, being to be found in all the religions we had in our country, I respected them all, tho’ with different degrees of respect, as I found them more or less mixed

with other articles, which, without any tendency to inspire, promote or confirm morality, served principally to divide us, and make us unfriendly to one another.” A similar view must have led Jefferson to edit the Bible and with his razor create a version in which he excised those statements and beliefs that led to disharmony and human separation. The same spirit led Madison to declare and establish the freedom to worship and the freedom from the yoke of religion. This capacity for accommodation has served to maintain of our unity in spite of having the greatest number of different belief systems. Modern Israel has a choice: It can follow the tragic mistakes of the past and keep on its present course by rejecting intrareligious accommodations, leading to tragedy. Or it can accommodate the inevitable changes and thus maintain Jewish unity not only within Israel, but around the world. It should be evident to the state that we must reject a Phineas-type zealotry. Zealotry in heterogeneous countries — and most countries are becoming heterogeneous — has become passé and must be replaced by freedom of belief. The followers of Orthodoxy, of course, have the right to maintain their beliefs so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others. The rigidity of Israel vis-a-vis non-Orthodox Judaism is a sure way to bring on another division among ourselves, and it is the path to another Jewish tragedy. How can we seek accommodation with other religions when we cannot be accommodative to our own variations? ■

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OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

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ical identity and their allegiance to the G-d of Israel. But change is an inevitable reality that all nations must deal with. The social, economic and religious conditions of Israel brought on demands for change. Unity was challenged after Solomon’s death. The

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OPINION

A Jewish Case for Kurdish Independence

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Why was an Israeli flag flying at a rally for Kurdish independence in northern Iraq in late September? On Sept. 25, the people of Kurdistan, in a national referendum, voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence. On Sept. 13, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke with other Middle Eastern leaders, the European Union and the United States by releasing a statement expressing support for the “legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.” This is not a new policy. Israel has supported the Kurds, in varying stripes, for decades. So why does Israel care — and, more broadly, why should Jews? The reasons are both moral and practical. The moral reasons are clear. The Kurds’ generations-long struggle for independence is one deeply deserving of recognition. Any supporter of Israel, across the full span of the political divide, should find ready and ample cause for sympathy in the Kurdish plight. A long-persecuted people with their own language, the Kurds are often called the world’s largest ethnic minority without a homeland. The Kurds are notably egalitarian by global terms in religion, ethnicity and gender — and remarkably so by regional terms. Women not only have the right to vote in Kurdistan, but also serve in combat roles in the armed forces, with no official cap on rank. After the regime of Saddam Hussein attempted to ethnically cleanse Iraq, gassing the Kurdish population, the Kurds fought hard for independence, finally gaining recognition in the form of an autonomous zone encompassing the northern third of Iraq after the 2003 American invasion. The Kurds have been steadfast allies of the United States for 30 years and of Israel for 60. Kurdistan, with its leading socialist-agrarian philosophy, exists now in state not unlike the Yishuv, pre-state Israel. While the morality of supporting Kurdish independence is both clear and important, the practical political considerations deserve greater depth in analysis. Israel’s formation is a topic of controversy still today. The case for Israel is often made in terms of Wil12 sonian self-determination, whereas

the case against Israel’s existence is dressed in the language of European colonialism, wielding terms such as “imperialism,” “occupation” and “apartheid” as blunt weapons against consciences. Those critics of Israel see it in terms similar to those articulated by former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser: an imperialist tool to divide and weaken the Arab people and an unnatural growth grafted onto the Middle East to subjugate Arabs, conceived as a parting shot of spite from the geriatric empires as they exited the region. Thus, a thorny question among those seeking to make a peaceful case for Israel’s belonging amid the Arab community of nations is how to make the case that Israel and Jews in general belong in the Middle East? Further vexing is proving that Jews deserve such an existence within an autonomous state that protects their values and integrity. The answer posited here is Kurdistan. What better way to show the Arabs that Israel believes in their right to self-determination and was never

Guest Column By Elijah Harrison

a colonial stooge than to support the tearing-down of the vestiges of SykesPicot? Israel has long worn the blemish of its association with Britain and France in their attempt to oust Nasser from power in the 1956 Sinai-Suez war. This was the mortal wound to European colonialism in the Middle East, and although Israel fared well, it backed the wrong horse and wound up on the wrong side of history. In the years to follow, a wave of military coups would topple the European-sanctioned leadership of the Middle East, something Israel was seen to be wary of, pitting the Israelis against the Arab people. While trying to maintain ties to “reliable” leaders throughout the region, the Jewish state was thought to be against popular Arab self-determination. This, in part, is what so galvanized the Arab states in the wars of 1967 and 1973: a fear that Israel was a window through which imperial aspirants,

Cartoon by Emad Hajjaj, Jordan

either old or new, could enact their whims upon the region, thus turning Israel’s existence into a destabilizing factor for nascent Arab dictatorships trying to establish and coalesce their authority. This is a chance to right that wrong. The region is now in the wake of the Arab Spring, another series of popular Arab uprisings during which Israel decided to play its cards close to its vest. Few of these uprisings, save Tunisia, could be regarded as successes, even by the most generous definition. But those uprisings created the fertile ground on which Kurdish independence seeks to grow. The revolt of Syrian civilians and the brutal response of the Assad regime created a vacuum in which the Islamic State formed. Islamic State’s rampage into Iraq threw the Iraqi government’s legitimacy, to the extent it had any, into question as the nation’s territorial integrity and military melted away. In the midst of Baghdad’s delegitimization, becoming a failed state in the eyes of most — a government is only as strong as its ability to protect its own people, and it failed — Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, saw its own legitimacy grow. Its Peshmerga forces — literally, “those who face death” — proved to be the only regional force potent enough to stand up to the Islamic State on its own. With American aid and air support, the Kurds turned back the tide of black flags and began reclaiming a vast swath of territory spanning from Iraq across the northern third of Syria. It is Kurdish forces who are poised to retake Islamic State’s self-declared capital, Raqqa. The one major sticking point is Turkey.

Turkey, with its own significant Kurdish minority concentrated in the country’s south, feels threatened by Kurdish independence. The Turkish government has waged a war with a Kurdish guerrilla group, the PKK, for decades. Turkey, like the United States, Israel and most European countries, regards the PKK as a terrorist group. The government of Turkey has taken its accusation one step further, lumping the Peshmerga and the government in Erbil, as well as any Kurdish fighting force, with the PKK. It’s guilt by ethnic association. Turkey has gone so far as to launch a military incursion into northern Syria, amounting to an invasion by most definitions, with no clearly articulated intention to relinquish its holdings, so it can smother Kurdish aspirations for territorial continuity along its southern border. Turkey also voiced extreme displeasure at the Kurdish referendum, after which Netanyahu went curiously silent on the issue. Some Israeli officials within the prime minister’s Likud party have suggested there may be a gag order within the ruling coalition. However, kowtowing to the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be a dreadful historical blunder. Erdogan is barreling down the road toward tyranny and authoritarianism, with little regard for his Western partners, using the geopolitical relevance of his country (and especially its air bases) to keep his nominal international allies mum. Meanwhile, the Kurds are seeking to move in the opposite direction, using internationally monitored, egalitarian, democratic processes to go about gaining legitimization for the founding of a democratic state. While angering the Turks is not beneficial, Israel stands to lose far less than the United States by backing the

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Kurds. Erdogan’s populist, ostensibly Islamist party, the AKP, has gradually pushed away from the Jewish state for years. This is an excellent opportunity for Israel to seize the initiative and pivot toward the region’s future. Israel has tacitly supported the Kurds for over 50 years, funneling arms and aid to their myriad incarnations for political calculations varying

in savoriness. It is high time to bring that support out of the back room and out from under hushed breath. It would certainly be a gamble to bet on the Kurds, especially against the powerhouse Turks; however, even if the Kurdish experiment is unsuccessful, the windfall of good will the Israeli government will achieve is immeasurable.

For years Israel has won small victories among Arab governments in the form of treaties and varying stages of recognition, but it has been losing horrendously in the Arab street and in the West. Vocal support and publicized aid of a sovereign Kurdistan might not be popular to a few Middle Eastern regimes but would mark a dramatic

Letters To The Editor Tone-Deaf on Guns

I have been a subscriber since 1976 in order to connect with the local Jewish community. But the increasingly reactionary political messages in the AJT opinion pages have prompted me to reconsider. Your greater prominence to articles in support of Donald Trump in 2016 was merely partisan. This week’s article on guns (“Our View: Vegas Massacre,” Oct. 6) is completely tone-deaf — shockingly so. — Livvy Kazer Lipson, Atlanta

Jam and Rifles

A friend of mine who has Transportation Security Agency pre-screening status recently had to surrender a jar of rhubarb jam before boarding a flight to Texas, a pistol-packing state. Yet a guy in Nevada, like people elsewhere, can blithely carry machine guns up to his hotel room. The so-called greatness of America is our guarantee of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I take it that my friend was deprived of her liberty to happily carry home a jar of rhubarb jam lest the lives of her fellow passengers be endangered. Apparently, that simple rationale does not apply to Second Amendment freaks. North Koreans and Iranians must be snickering at our hypocrisy concerning their avowed national right to liberty and happiness to pack nuclear punch. After all, given our domestic idiocy, they must consider their lives more important than ours. — Rabbi Scott B. Saulson, Atlanta

We Need Our Guns

Here we go again: gun control. Before the poor families could even gather the remains of their loved ones from the mass murder in Las Vegas, our Democratic politicians and others on the left turned this into another debate on our cherished Second Amendment. Oh, the ironies of life.

Cartoon by Schot, De Volkskrant, Netherlands

Our fellow Jewish citizens on the left handed $150 billion and a smooth path to nuclear weapons to tens of thousands of modern-day Nazis in Iran — weapons that could eventually murder millions — but today they are stoked again about discussing the end of the Second Amendment and the right of good, law-abiding American men and women to own handguns. They are really charged up about bump stocks in America. If the focus and policy were not so foolish, they would be laughable. A characteristic of the left is that you can rely on these people to do what feels good but does no good. No number or kind of bump-stock laws would have stopped this evil man in Nevada from wrecking the lives of hundreds. Repealing the Second Amendment would have done no good and in fact would exponentially increase the amount of evil we face. Human evil is here to stay. It does feel good to yammer about legislation, but it will not stop the next mass murderer in a stadium, shopping mall, synagogue, church, bus, train, school or baseball field — whether he uses a gun, a truck, some fertilizer altered to make a bomb, some poisonous gas or whatever his devious mind may concoct. What will ameliorate the evil is looking it in the face and approaching it with American liberalism, maturity and resolve — approaching it knowing that utopia will never come in this life of ours and burials for the innocent will never stop. We need to remind ourselves what

does good. We need, for example, to embrace our great Second Amendment and encourage good people to learn to respect and safely use handguns and carry them where they can. We need to fight the deplorable lies and hatred directed at our police, the thin blue line between peace and a barbaric society. We need to support mental health professionals, clergy, teachers and families trying to identify and help depressed fellow citizens. We need to demand fathers be married to women they have children with and be there to raise their sons into good men. We need to stop trying to cleanse the public space of Judeo-Christian values. A good, mature, strong, self-reliant American possessing a gun knows he has a chance to quell one of the rare instances of evil that may come his way, directed toward himself and his family. With it, he knows, he sends a clear message to the politician that he should be careful not to cross the line into the mass evil of state-sponsored tyranny — a line crossed regularly throughout human history. He knows that the Las Vegases of life will always be with us. We are born into a fractured world. We can look at the world with clear, adult eyes or with the eyes of the child — the eyes of the American and Jewish left. — Howard Sachs, Chevy Chase, Md.

Big Sugar and John Lewis

Congressman John Lewis (D-Atlanta) is in the pocket of the nation’s beet and cane sugar cartels. Lewis continually votes to main-

change in the argument for Israel’s legitimacy in the hearts and minds of not only Arabs, but also young Jews the world over, with the added benefit of securing a potential ally for decades to come. ■ Eli Harrison has studied political science and the Middle East at Brandeis and is an aspiring broadcast journalist. tain the U.S. sugar program. Why? It is quite simple: Lewis has received well over $69,000 in political donations from the sugar cartels since coming to Washington in 1987. Thanks to Lewis and others, the U.S. sugar program continues. The sugar program is a Soviet-style commandand-control scheme that restricts planting and imports and inflates the price of sugar in the United States to almost double the world price. So when you go to the store to buy a snack cake or anything sweetened, you pay more. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the program means Americans pay $3.5 billion every year in increased grocery costs, or $58 per household. In Lewis’ 30 years in office, he has repeatedly voted against sugar reforms, costing each Georgia family an additional $1,740 for groceries. You have to ask yourself: Is my congressman fighting to make life better, or is he just another politician in it for the campaign contributions? It’s time for Lewis to step up and end this costly government giveaway to the cartels. — Nicholas A. Pyle, president, Independent Bakers Association, Washington

From the AJT Blogs

The community conversation is always active at blogs.timesofisrael.com/ atlanta-jewish-times. Recent posts include Bonnie Levine’s argument for debating gun control now, while the passions over Las Vegas are burning (blogs.timesofisrael.com/yes-now-isthe-time-to-talk-about-gun-control). Visit the blogs page to sign up for your own blog or to add your comments to recent posts.

Write to Us

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

OPINION

The AJT welcomes letters and guest columns from our readers. Letters should be 400 or fewer words; guest columns are up to 700 words. Send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com. Include your name, your town and a phone number for verification. We reserve the right to edit sub13 missions for style and length.

LOCAL NEWS

Chat on the Porch

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s yearlong exploration of the community’s strengths and needs, The Front Porch: Unlocking the (Incredible) Potential of Jewish Atlanta, is in the heart of what Chief Impact Officer Jodi Lox Mansbach calls the discovery phase: gathering lots of information. The Front Porch features three tracks for study and ideas: the Jewish Atlanta ecosystem; the cultivation of a Jewish renaissance through innovation; and the regeneration of Federation, whose efforts will depend on what the other two platforms produce. In addition to individual interviews and field trips being conducted by the 100-plus people who are participating in the full process, facilitators are holding 13 listening forums over four weeks to bring as many voices as possible to the table. Nine of the sessions have been arranged based on Jewish Atlanta’s diffuse geography; four are meant to connect with specific interest groups (seniors, empty-nesters, interfaith families and LGBTQ people). “The community study has taught us geography, geography, geography, so

we’re just going to kill ourselves and go everywhere,” Mansbach said. Liz Solms, a partner in the Philadelphia consulting firm working on The Front Porch, Insyte Partners, said the people at a listening forum will set the agenda for that session. After an introduction to The Front Porch, anyone will be able to suggest a needed conversation, such as how to create a meaningful experience after Birthright or how to make Atlanta fantastic for interfaith families. All the suggestions will be added to an agenda on the wall, and attendees will decide which of those conversations to hold (say, five simultaneous topics during each of two discussion periods). People choose which conversation to join, and if they aren’t learning or aren’t participating, they can walk over to a different conversation. Someone takes notes in each conversation, then the results are shared by the full group at the end of the meeting. The 2½-hour listening forums are being held at these times and places (RSVP to Ligi George at thefrontporch@ jewishatlanta.org or 404-870-1617): • Wednesday, Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m., Windsor at Brookhaven, 305 Brookhaven Ave., Brookhaven. • Wednesday, Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m., Young Israel of Toco Hills, 2056 LaVista Road, Toco Hills. • Thursday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m., Ponce City Market (Jamestown, 7th floor), 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Old Fourth Ward. • Friday, Oct. 20, 9:30 a.m., Berman Commons, 2026 Womack Road, Dunwoody (for seniors). • Monday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. • Tuesday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m., Temple Beth David, 1885 McGee Road, Snellville. • Tuesday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m., Ponce City Market (Industrious, 8th floor), 675 Ponce de Leon Ave., Old Fourth Ward (for interfaith families). • Thursday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m., SOJOURN, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Suite A, Atlanta (for LGBTQ+ people). • Monday, Oct. 30, 6:30 p.m., Congregation Etz Chaim, 1190 Indian Hills Parkway, East Cobb. • Wednesday, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m., JF&CS, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody (for empty-nesters). • Sunday, Nov. 5, 1 p.m., Temple Beth Tikvah, 9955 Coleman Road, Roswell. • Wednesday, Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m., private home, Johns Creek (call 404-8701617 for the address). • Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m., Agnes Scott College, Letitia Pate Evans Hall, 213 S. Candler St., Decatur. ■

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LOCAL NEWS TV Newsman Launches Challenge to Rep. Handel

We don’t know whether Jon Ossoff will seek a rematch next year against new 6th District Congresswoman Karen Handel, but we do know the Alpharetta Republican will face at least one high-profile Democratic challenger in 2018. Bobby Kaple, a former TV anchor for CBS 46 in Atlanta, announced his 6th District candidacy Monday, Oct. 9. Kaple quit his TV job in September to make the move into politics. “Washington is broken. It’s obvious to everyone here in Georgia that the career politicians are more interested in serving the special interests instead of their constituents,” Kaple said in his announcement. “It’s time for a new generation of leaders ready to get things done.” Kaple is making health care the initial focus of his campaign by focusing on his mother’s successful battle against breast cancer and his wife Rebecca’s premature delivery of twins. The Milton Democrat thus takes up the effort to flip the 6th from the Republicans, who have won the district in every congressional election since 1978.

Physician Tom Price in January resigned the seat, previously held by Newt Gingrich and Johnny Isakson, so he could serve as President Bobby Kaple Donald Trump’s health and human services secretary and lead the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. That bid has stalled in the Senate, and Price resigned amid criticism of his spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on chartered flights instead of flying commercial. Political newcomer Ossoff, who is Jewish, emerged as the dominant Democratic candidate in the special election to replace Price and easily won an 18-candidate primary in April but couldn’t build on his lead to gain a majority in the June runoff against veteran Fulton County and state politician Handel. With total spending of about $60 million, it was the most expensive U.S. congressional race ever. Handel’s subsequent fundraising appeals have focused on the possibility of Ossoff running again, but he has refused to disclose his political plans. The congressional primaries are set for May 22. ■

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LOCAL NEWS

Peachtree Hearing audiologist Melissa Wikoff and Holocaust survivor Hershel Greenblat are all smiles after Greenblat gets his hearing aids.

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By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Eighteen Holocaust survivors from Atlanta recently received free hearing aids, thanks to an initiative by Peachtree Hearing and Jewish Family & Career Services. Two years ago audiologist Melissa Wikoff of Peachtree Hearing in East Cobb heard about a hearing aid program for Holocaust survivors in Maryland in an alumni magazine for her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Maryland. She later approached Amy Neuman, the Holocaust Survivor Services program manager at JF&CS, to develop a similar program in Atlanta. “I started this practice with the goal of doing good and making a difference,” Wikoff said. “So when I saw the article, I got connected with Amy, and she helped me find the survivors to help. Everyone that JF&CS sent me who qualified, I was able to get hearing aids for.” Wikoff and Neuman secured a donation from Starkey hearing aids through the Starkey Hearing Foundation. The donation of 18 sets of hearing aids, plus lifetime care and services for the survivors from Peachtree Hearing, totaled more than $120,000 worth of technology and services. The 18 Holocaust survivors who qualified for hearing aids were fitted in late August and early September. The entire process took Wikoff and Neuman around 16 months from start to finish. One Holocaust survivor who received a set of hearing aids, Hershel Greenblat, has lived in metro Atlanta since 1950. He regularly speaks at schools, the Breman Museum and other locations about his survival as a child in Ukraine during the Holocaust. Before seeing Wikoff, he didn’t even

know he had a hearing problem. “I told Melissa that I was having trouble understanding words,” Greenblat said. “I could hear what people were saying; I just couldn’t understand. So she tested me and told me exactly what was wrong. It’s been fantastic since I’ve gotten these hearing aids. I can actually understand what people are saying to me.” Greenblat, who now lives in Alpharetta, said he was excited to show off his new hearing aids to his family. JF&CS Holocaust Survivor Services provides support and social opportunities for Atlanta survivors. Neuman said it’s important to help survivors live independently as long as possible. “The goal of the funds that we get is to help survivors to continue living independently because they’ve gone through a horrible trauma,” she said. “The research shows that people who have gone through a trauma are not likely to react well in an institutional setting. So we want to keep them out of nursing homes. All of our services are really aimed at keeping them living independently.” Neuman estimated that 250 to 300 survivors live in metro Atlanta. For Wikoff, who opened Peachtree Hearing a year ago, helping Holocaust survivors has been one of her proudest moments. “This is the highlight of my whole career,” she said. “I thought opening a business was it for me, but it’s really to make a difference in my community and the Jewish community especially. I’ve been working on this for 16 months, but it’s come to fruition today, and it’s at a time when there’s lots of hate. I just want to show the world that Jews are doing good in the world, and we also don’t want to forget these survivors. They are here, and they deserve to have better lives.” ■

LOCAL NEWS

The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust has announced the theme for the 2018 Holocaust Days of Remembrance in Georgia: “Incite, Resist, Document: Weighing the Power of Words.” The theme encourages reflection on the moral questions raised when we examine the Holocaust period and consider what it means to be a responsible citizen. The words we use when we speak, write, post or tweet have a lasting impact. The Holocaust occurred because individuals, groups and nations made decisions to act or not to act. Hateful words incited people to join or assist the Nazis and their collaborators. Resistance groups wrote, broadcast and sang words of defiance and inspiration. People targeted by the Nazis documented their experiences in diaries and letters, leaving compelling testimonies that have outlived them. The commission’s focus on words comes at a time of increasingly harsh statements in politics, easing the path to the mainstream for extreme views and expressions of anti-Semitism and other hatred, as seen most dramatically in the Charlottesville, Va., marches and clashes in August. Georgia’s 2018 Days of Remembrance observance is scheduled to culminate April 13 with a ceremony at the Georgia Capitol downtown. In addition to a candle-lighting ceremony featuring Holocaust survivors and liberators, the event will include recognition of the recipients of the Commission on the Holocaust’s Humanitarian Award and Distinguished Educator of the Year award, and the winners of the Creative Arts Student Contest. Student entries in that contest must reflect the 2018 theme and use sources provided by the commission. The Distinguished Educator of the Year award goes to a full-time Georgia educator from fifth through 12th grades who demonstrates excellence in the development and presentation of lessons or activities focused on the Holocaust, human rights, civil rights or character development. The award includes a $500 stipend. The deadline to apply is March 13. Entries for the Creative Arts Student Contest are due by March 6. Each entry will be judged on historical accuracy, thematic content and artistic excellence. First-place in each category will receive iPad Minis. Find details at holocaust.georgia. gov. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Holocaust Theme Focuses on Words

HEALTH & WELLNESS

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Panel Urges Action On Women’s Health

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Women face three challenges in fighting heart disease, pioneering cardiologist Nanette Wenger said during a Hadassah Greater Atlanta Gender Equity in Medicine forum Sunday, Sept. 10, at Congregation or Hadash. Women must investigate the disparities between men and women on heart disease diagnosis and treatment, educate health professionals and the general public on those differences, and advocate legislation to pay for research, women’s health coverage and disease prevention, the Emory University professor and Grady Memorial Hospital doctor said. Recent research has found that women can have heart attacks with no apparent arterial blockage, Wenger said. The causes include microvascular disease (tiny obstructions in arteries) and spontaneous coronary artery dissection (a tear in an artery, an increasing cause of heart attacks in apparently healthy young women). More than 90 percent of SCAD patients are women. Wenger spoke on a panel that also included neurologist Allan Levey and obstetrician/gynecologist Mimi Zieman. Hadassah Medical Organization Chair Rachel Schonberger, an internist, moderated the discussion, which was organized by Hadassah Greater Atlanta’s Health Professionals and Ketura groups. The discussion was part of a forum sponsored by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care that highlighted the health care differences between men and women, from medication reactions to disease symptoms to medical access. Zieman built on the advocacy element of Wenger’s comments. “Every cell has a gender,” Zieman said, quoting from a study by Paula Johnson, a Harvard specialist on sex and gender. Noting an increase in maternal mortality, Zieman advised each woman to be an advocate for her personal health. That effort includes getting information from such online sources as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Zieman, the vice president of clinical affairs for women’s medical device maker Femasys. Go to doctor’s visits ready with key questions. Analyze health policy issues from a woman’s perspective and advocate beneficial policies to eliminate

Photos by Greg G., Greg G. Photography

Moderator Rachel Schonberger (left) and panelists Mimi Zieman, Allan Levey and Nanette Wenger (right) await their presentations.

(From left) Bonnie Berk, Helene Jacoby and Marsha Hildebrand near bags of heart-healthy information and tips distributed by the National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease.

disparities in health care and research. Levey said 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number will rise as people live longer because half of Americans who reach age 85 will develop the degenerative brain disease. More women than men develop Alzheimer’s, in part because women have a greater life expectancy, although the effect of hormones on the brain may be a factor, Levey said. Current medications can slow but not cure the disease, which accounts for two-thirds of dementia cases. More research is needed to improve early detection, and Emory University’s major Healthy Aging Study can contribute to that effort. Levey, who directs the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, encouraged enrollment in that study, as well as in clinical trials of anti-Alzheimer’s drugs. Organizations participating in the GEM forum included the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Parkinson Disease Association, Atlanta mental health initiative Baken, the Marcus Jewish Community Center, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Planned Parenthood Southeast, and the National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease. ■

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Put Eating Disorders On the Jewish Table Bulimia Nervosa • Has a cycle of bingeing and purging. • Reacts to stress by overeating. • Feels as if eating is out of control. • May purge using laxatives, overexercise or vomiting.

Guest Column By Adrienne Ressler

Binge Eating Disorder • Eats large amounts to the point of feeling uncomfortably full. • Eats when not physically hungry. • Turns to food to cope. • Feels disgusted, guilty or embarrassed after binge-eating. Education is an important factor in eliminating eating disorders. The Renfrew Center , which has a location in Sandy Springs, hosts “Feasting, Fasting and Eating Disorders in the Jewish Community,” a half-day seminar for health and mental health professionals, educators, and clergy, in cities around the country. The event takes an in-depth look at behaviors among Jewish women. Renfrew also provides specialized programming to meet the needs of its Jewish clients. The programming lets people keep kosher, observe holidays and rituals, and use many of the tenets of Judaism for healing while working to overcome their struggles with food, weight and body image. Full recovery from an eating disorder is possible. With treatment targeted to meet their needs, people can learn to enjoy Jewish traditions without being controlled by them. They can learn the value of a life filled with positive affirmations rather than a life filled with weight-related achievements. ■ Adrienne Ressler, LMSW, CEDS, F.iaedp, is the vice president, professional development, of the Renfrew Center Foundation and has served as a senior staff member for over 27 years. She is a member and co-chair of the Somatic and Somatically Oriented Therapies SIG of the Academy of Eating Disorders and serves on the advisory board of Eating Disorders Recovery and Support in Petaluma, Calif.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Eating disorders have at their root a complex combination of biological, psychological and cultural factors that are unique to each person. Although as Jews we may take pride in being among the best and brightest, the pressure to achieve can come at a high price. Whether in the classroom, in the kitchen or on the scale, the quest for perfection never has a happy ending and can lead to an eating disorder, especially when factors such as feelings of inadequacy, negative self-talk, body-image issues and too little opportunity for self-expression are involved. In cultures where rules can be rigid and food is a focus, the incidence of eating disorders tends to be greater than in the general population. The Jewish culture has a definite food focus: Shabbat family dinners, funeral comfort, elaborate holiday and simcha celebrations, even break-fast menus. And we have rules about what may and may not be eaten. For many women, this combination is fine. For others, it creates an environment that triggers weight or food anxiety. It is important to note that it’s a myth that eating disorders affect only women. Over the past decade it has become clear that males are vulnerable to eating disorders, and children as young as 9 show symptoms. Jewish culture places a high value on a beauty ideal of thinness. In some Orthodox families, for whom marriages are early and often are arranged, the prospective bride’s weight and clothing size can be important considerations, as can the attractiveness of the woman’s mother. For those who are more vulnerable, the result can be anger, anxiety or depression — feelings that go hand in hand with eating disorders. The following are common warning signs for eating disorders. Someone could have symptoms of more than one diagnosis or not fully meet the diagnostic criteria for a specific disease but still need help. Anorexia Nervosa • Is thin and gets thinner. • Never reach satisfactory weight. • Displays perfectionist tendencies. • Has a distorted body image.

EDUCATION

Rabbi Judy Schindler (left), shown with Inbal Ozeri, Noah Goldman and Talli Dippold at a Queens University international expo, will be the first Sklut professor in Jewish studies at Queens.

Queens U. Gets $1 Million For Jewish Studies

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A $1 million endowed fund has been established for the Sklut Professorship in Jewish Studies at Queens University of Charlotte through a gift from Lori and Eric Sklut. Rabbi Judy Schindler, an associate professor of Jewish studies at Queens, will be the inaugural holder of the professorship. “We are honored and grateful to be the beneficiary of Lori and Eric’s investment in our work,” Queens President Pamela Davies said. “This gift will help faculty, whose teaching of Jewish history and culture enriches our Jewish studies program. We are a campus committed to understanding.” Queens established its Jewish studies program in 2013 to examine Jewish identity, culture and beliefs through courses covering history, political science, international affairs, religion, theology, ethics, philosophy, sociology, pop culture and more. “We admire Queens’ efforts of inclusion and cultural diversity, attracting students and faculty from different backgrounds, ethnicities and national origins,” Lori and Eric Sklut said in a statement. “We are excited to be in a position to endow this professorship for the university.”

Blank Family Gives UGA $1.5 Million

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has pledged $1.5 million to the University of Georgia to provide needbased student aid in two areas: • The College of Pharmacy will receive $1 million to support students facing financial hardships. • Five need-based scholarships for UGA students from Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods will get $500,000 from the Blank Family Foundation, plus a matching donation from the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program. “I want to thank Arthur Blank and his family for supporting the top priority of the University of Georgia’s

Westside students are benefiting from a new scholarship fund named for Angela and Arthur Blank.

Commit to Georgia campaign,” university President Jere W. Morehead said. “These tremendous gifts will make a difference in the lives of so many students and their families for generations to come.” The $1 million gift to the College of Pharmacy, coming from the foundation’s Molly Blank Fund, will establish the Molly and Max Blank Student Enrichment Endowment, named for Arthur Blank’s parents, who owned a successful pharmacy in New York. Students from the Westside Atlanta neighborhoods of English Avenue, Vine City and Castleberry Hill — those most affected by the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium — will benefit from the new Angela and Arthur M. Blank Scholarship Fund, named for the Atlanta Falcons owner and his wife. The first five scholarships have been awarded this fall to three freshmen and two other undergraduates. Blank said his family is proud to support such life-expanding opportunities for deserving students.

Ben-Gurion, Michigan Plan Closer Ties

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the University of Michigan School of Public Health are expanding the partnership they formed in 2013. Faculty members and graduate students from Ben-Gurion and Michigan will participate in collaborative research on such public health topics as the control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, health care delivery in poor communities, the health effects of pollution, and maternal and child health. Other initiatives include international conferences on public health issues, mentorship and exchange programs, merit scholarships and fellowships, and visiting scholar programs. Since 2013, the universities have funded joint research projects on HIV prevention, influenza vaccine efficacy in health care workers and polio vaccinations.

OCTOBER 13 â&#x2013;ª 2017

ARTS

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Phillip Jeffries Makes Wallpaper Cool By Patrice Worthy Phillip Jeffries Ltd. opened its newest showroom during Discover ADAC. The brothers Philip and Jeffrey Bershad are the president and CEO of the family-run business and are making wallpaper sexy again. The brothers are following a 41year tradition of innovation by using technology to craft one-of-a-kind textures seen in the homes of everyone from soccer great David Beckham to fashion houses Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton. Originally from Chicago, Philip spoke with the AJT about wall coverings and the shift from a garage in Lincoln Park to ADAC.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

AJT: How did you get into the wallpaper business? Bershad: Phillip Jeffries started 41 years ago with my dad in our garage. He started with 10 grass papers or grass cloths. Think of early ’70s, mid-“Mad Men”-esque: The naturals were totally huge. AJT: So when did you decide to get into the business? Bershad: I’m the Philip, and my brother is the Jeffrey. I was the kid in the back, cutting samples or sweeping the floors, and eventually worked in the warehouse. Jeffrey and I both went away to school. I went to Michigan, and he went to Duke, and we both got jobs in corporate America. But even as little kids we had the lemonade stand and always wanted to start our own business or create something. Every Saturday morning in Lincoln Park, we’d go to the Salt & Pepper Diner, and we’d say, “What are we going to do one day?” Well, one day Jeffrey says he remembers I said, “When is one day going to be today?” I was 27, and we took that chance. I was working as a trader for a Fortune 500 company and took an 80 percent pay cut. At the time, it was Mom doing the books, and there was Dad. My wife told me I was crazy, and now, 17 years later, we’ve gone from eight people to 118 people.

AJT: What has been your driving force behind the business? Bershad: Our vision is by simply doing wallpaper and rugs and wall coverings and fabrics, we want to be the world’s best when it comes to great textures and great wall coverings, from 24 these grass coverings woven by hand

Philip Bershad and his brother, Jeffrey, have a new showroom at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center.

or the Japanese woven papers to authentic gold and silver leaf to artisanal, handcrafted papers. AJT: What are some of the trends you’re seeing in wall coverings, and how do you stay on top of what’s in? Bershad: We have a team of nine designers and we’re always focused on coming up with something new and innovative. We work with three trendforecasting groups too, so it’s not just looking at what’s hot today, but what’s going to be on trend two to three years out. Some are more home-designbased, and some are more fashionbased like Chanel. Sometimes it’s us taking natural materials and evolving them in a unique way, like taking a natural raffia and hand-glazing it so you get a really cool lacquer. What we do is create incredible textures and make them easy to install. AJT: So what are some of the textures you create? Bershad: Well, we’ve done something really cool and taken some of our textures and gone digital by digitally printing murals on our wall coverings. We’ve taken a classical pattern like a mulberry tree, blown it up and printed on everything from silks to metallics. We use special printers that can print on grass or weave that gives it a more artisanal look. It’s like taking modern technology and introducing it in a new, cool way. AJT: So what kind of people would buy your wall coverings?

Bershad: We’re everywhere from Elton John’s house to David Beckham’s house to the Four Seasons. We did 37 Louis Vuitton stores in the last couple of years, and we’ve done five Dior stores in the last couple of months. AJT: How did you go from your dad’s garage to Dior? Bershad: You had all these wallpaper stores everywhere, and Dad used to be the name behind the name. So any time a company had a natural grass cloth, a lot of times it was Dad. So what happened in the early ’90s when times got tough and wallpaper wasn’t hot, seven of his 11 distributors went bankrupt. He said, “What am I going to do?” It was a really tough year. He was depressed and down, and I almost had to leave school in Michigan. I called him one day from a phone booth, and he was excited. He said, “No more middleman. I’m going to go direct.” He said, “I have a dream to go direct to the designers and create incredible textures, and I’m going to call it Phillip Jeffries.” AJT: What’s your secret to success and longevity? Bershad: For a while, we weren’t growing, but we made it through. When my brother and I finally came on board, we worked hard to make an innovative product. So a lot of times, where it takes most companies one week, two weeks, 10 weeks to deliver 80 percent of our line, you can buy it today by 5 p.m. and have it tomorrow. We stock over a million yards in this exotic place called New Jersey. ■

Phillip Jeffries supplies natural wall coverings in various colors for a modern but artisanal look.

BUSINESS

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Kosher Italian Bistro Coming to Toco Hills Never telling customers no is only part of the philosophy for Formaggio Mio, said Scott Italiaander, the co-owner of the kosher restaurant opening sometime in the fall in Toco Hills. The Italian bistro will be a fullservice restaurant providing quick-service options, including a pizza bar, as well as takeout and delivery for dishes ranging from pastas, salads and fish to sandwiches and paninis. “We want to provide a warm and comfortable environment families will enjoy visiting while sitting down to a nice meal with their spouse or significant other,” said Italiaander, who came up with the concept while trying to create a gathering place for the kosher Jewish community. “We don’t see ourselves as simply a kosher restaurant, but an Italian bistro that serves kosher food, simply because we want to compete and be the best in town,” he said. Formaggio Mio will open in the space formerly occupied by kosher dairy restaurant Broadway Cafe, which closed late in the spring after struggling with consistency in its food and service. Although Formaggio Mio has not finalized its menu because of a desire to remain flexible in the first few weeks, the restaurant will offer a wide selection of pastas and nonmeat sauces, fish dishes for the evening, and Italian and non-Italian salads. The bistro will serve pizzas prepared in a brick oven, which Italiaander said will bake pies in less than five minutes. He said Formaggio Mio will offer traditional and specialty pizzas with several dough options, including gluten-free. The bistro plans to offer a late breakfast after opening at 10 a.m., which will include the chef’s specialty, shakshouka, which might also be available for lunch. “We know we can’t be all things to all people, but we definitely want to be most things to most people,” Italiaander said. Moving forward, he hopes Formaggio Mio will produce its own bread and desserts and sell beer and wine. After purchasing the assets and lease of the Broadway Cafe at the corner of Briarcliff and LaVista roads in June, Italiaander and partner Julie Meni, a kosher caterer in Atlanta with over 40 years’ experience in the food

business, intend to run the bistro together. Meni will lead operations in the kitchen, while Italiaander will run the front of the house with Meni’s third son, Gilad. Although the quality of the food is important to Italiaander, he also emphasized the customer’s overall experience. “We want to provide great customer service with consistency, and most importantly we want to be responsive.” The exact hours of operation haven’t been set, Italiaander said, but he does expect to offer weekly specials and to serve Sunday brunch.

“I hope that guests will come away thinking that Atlanta has finally entered the big leagues in terms of restaurant quality after dining at Formaggio Mio,” Italiaander said. “We want to be on par with Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and New York and hope that people will see the restaurant as a worthy competitor.” He said the plan is for the restaurant to have a soft opening, then hold a grand opening for the community later in the fall. “We are excited to serve the religious and broader Jewish community at large with great food and price in a welcoming environment.” ■

Scott Italiaander’s initial hope was that the new kosher restaurant would open during the summer, but renovations and other preparations have taken longer than expected.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

SIMCHAS

www.atlantajewishtimes.com Photos by Greg Ceo

The Grand Ocean Terrance has more than 5,000 square feet and can seat up to 220 people for dinner.

Glass doors can be removed to provide easy access to a deck overlooking the ocean.

Westin Completes Luxury Island Destination Grand Ocean Terrace offers Atlantic-view celebrations at Hilton Head By Michal Bonell michal@atljewishtimes.com

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Back in 2014, my colleagues at the AJT and I were invited to enjoy a weekend at the newly renovated Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa, where all 416 guest rooms, six dining outlets, and over 37,00 square feet of banquet and event areas were completely redone. We were thrilled to enjoy an oceanfront getaway with our children on Hilton Head Island, the No. 1 beach destination of the South, just four hours’ drive from Atlanta.

At the time, the resort boasted a renovated, two-story, lush garden and conservatory, a panoramic ocean-view lobby, which overlooked the resort’s three prominent beachside pools (one completely shaded for sun protection), three 18-hole championship golf courses, and Heavenly Spa, named the best spa in South Carolina, where guests can enjoy complete salon services as well as a variety of rejuvenating treatments. With over 10,000 square feet of private, oceanfront event space, the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort &

Spa (843-681-4000) aspired to be the premier beach wedding and event venue in the Southeast, as well as the No. 1 resort destination for families and golf lovers. My colleagues and I, with our four teenage boys, enjoyed the resort’s amenities, dining and breathtaking views so much that we could not find any reason to leave the resort. For three days, we soaked up the sun and enjoyed drinks on the beach, poolside meals and revitalizing spa treatments. Each room had a private balcony, heavenly beds and a heavenly

shower — a treat in itself. The boys spent the days running back and forth from the pool to the beach to the hot tub, playing ping-pong and delighting in the fresh air. It was no surprise that when the Westin invited me back for the unveiling of the final piece of its $40 million renovation, the Grand Ocean Terrace, a new, all-glass, oceanfront event venue, I dropped everything and ran. I had been back to the resort a few times since my 2014 visit, but, knowing how the resort’s sales and marketing team pays attention to every detail, I had to experience this unveiling event and see the full potential of the venue. I was amazed. The Grand Ocean Terrace sets the standard for beachfront receptions as the largest enclosed oceanfront event venue along the Carolina and Georgia coast. Seating up to 220 guests, the Grand Ocean Terrace enjoys unobstructed ocean views elevated above the beach dunes with over 5,000 square feet of space. Glass walls slide open and disappear into a full-length, covered balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Imagine hosting your upcoming bar mitzvah, wedding, anniversary or corporate event overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, starting with a cocktail reception on the resort’s picturesque Oceanfront Deck, just steps from the Grand Ocean Terrace, with a wraparound, ocean-view balcony. It’s a venue you and your guests will never forget. I recommend the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa for any celebration and getaway needs. I hope I am lucky enough to celebrate my upcoming 25th wedding anniversary, my husband’s 60th birthday and my 50th, which all fall in the same year, at the Grand Ocean Terrace surrounded by family, friends, and my favorite place on Earth, the ocean. ■

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Barbara Ladin Fisher chose lighter-weight cotton fabric for the tallis, which covers 312 square feet.

A Tallis Big Enough To Reach to New York It was just a year ago that former Atlantan Evan Zisholtz and his wife, Diana, and children visited Atlanta for Sukkot, and he saw the huge, decorated tallis made for Young Israel of Toco Hills. All the children in the shul were blessed under it on Simchat Torah. Zisholtz got the idea that he wanted one for his own synagogue in Riverdale, N.Y. But it would have to be twice as big because his shul has over 800 children. And so it happened this spring that he contacted Atlanta fabric artist Barbara Ladin Fisher, who had decorated the one at Young Israel. Janet Afrah, the owner of the Judaica Corner in Toco Hills, ordered two oversize tallises so that the finished product would be 13 by 24 feet. Fisher, who works primarily in ultrasuede, made the decision to use lighter-weight fabrics because the heaviness of the finished project was a concern. She chose lightweight cottons that are used by quilters. She shopped for fabrics in a vari-

ety of cheerful, harmonious colors and began the work in her home studio on Arborvista Drive. Weeks later, as the project grew too large for her studio, she moved the project to the family’s playroom, where she began to use the ping-pong table as her base. It took several weeks to sew on the colorful, 12-inch border, which is over 73 linear feet. Sadly, Zisholtz’s devoted mother, Vivian, did not live to see the finished product. Soon after her death in August, her son decided to dedicate the tallis in her memory. Evan Zisholtz’s father, Barry, will bring the tallis to New York, where the entire Zisholtz family was set to see it for the first time during their celebration of Simchat Torah together this week. The children of the congregation are due to be blessed under this vibrant tallis during the Blessing of the Children on Friday, Oct. 13, Simchat Torah morning. ■

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Who Makes the Cut?

A simple guide to your bar/bat mitzvah guest list Creating your child’s bar or bat mitzvah guest list is a challenge. Here’s a simple guide to determining who gets an invitation. Friends If your teen considers someone a friend, that person should make the list. It is his/her party after all. Draw the line at acquaintances — those your child likes but doesn’t socialize with outside school, a club, etc. But if your teen wants to invite members of a sports team, camp cabin or performing troupe, the entire group should receive invitations. You wouldn’t want hurt feelings to arise over one or two kids being left out. If your child’s friends are traveling from out of town but you don’t know the parents, do not feel obligated to invite them. You can offer to assist with accommodations and transportation (in town) for the friend if the family needs help.

When it comes to your adult and family friends, invite the people who are important to you right now. Forget the guilt factor; otherwise, you’ll be inviting everyone you’ve ever met.

Guest Column By Shelly Danz

If you’re on the fence about a guest, you might decide to “test the guest” and invite only those who know the bar/bat mitzvah child. If your teen has no clue who it is and a quick reminder doesn’t help, perhaps the guest should be cut. Remember, you do not have to invite an entire family when all you want to do is invite the parents (or the one child who is friends with your child). It is perfectly acceptable to address an invitation to only the family members you want in attendance.

Your parents (the grandparents) may want to invite several friends to share in the simcha. While having too many grandparent friends changes the celebration atmosphere, a good compromise would be to offer them one table for their closest peers. A final word on the friends front: Just because you like someone doesn’t mean he or she should receive an invitation. You can’t invite everyone. Clergy and Tutors Hopefully you have a relationship with your rabbi and cantor, in which case an invitation is a gesture of appreciation for their spiritual guidance. Most clergy don’t attend the celebration, however, because if they went to one, they would need to attend them all. Tutors who prepare children for Torah reading often form strong bonds with their pupils. If your child feels a connection, send an invitation to the service, even though the tutor may also be a member of your

Deciding who gets an invitation can be as important as choosing the invitations themselves. Photo by Robin Zusmann.

synagogue. VIP Adults Tennis instructors, piano teachers, sports coaches, nannies — they all have connections to your teen. But they shouldn’t all be on the list. Open a dialogue with your child to confirm which ones they truly consider important. Then take it one step further: Does he want to see Coach Ken on the dance floor next to Aunt Deborah? If the answer is yes, and your budget and venue space allow, invite him. If the relationship is close but not cry-during-the-montage close, consider a compromise: Invite favorite teachers, coaches and sitters to the service and luncheon, but not to the formal celebration. But if the party immediately follows the service, note that the invitation must be all or nothing.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Work Colleagues You may feel obligated to entertain co-workers at your big event, but do they belong there? Consider whether you socialize with these people outside the office, and, if so, do they know your child well enough to be part of this special day? If the answer to these questions is no, they shouldn’t be on the list. Listen to your teen and your gut when making final decisions on the guest list. And remember, just because you like me doesn’t mean you should invite me. I’ll understand, and so will friends and acquaintances. ■

Shelly Danz is the founder/chief party officer of Atlanta Party Connection (www.atlantapartyconnection.com), the premier bar and bat mitzvah resource in the metro area, helping thousands of families to create their ideal mitzvah celebrations. APC connects parents with top vendors, secures exclusive deals and discounts on services, provides party consulting and day-of management, and produces the twice-yearly Bar & Bat Mitzvah EXPO. The next expo is Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Hotel at Avalon in Alpharetta.

OCTOBER 13 â&#x2013;ª 2017

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Survivor’s Wedded Bliss Began at Beth Jacob By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Sixty-four years ago, Holocaust survivor Lucy Rosenblith and Sam Carson joined Rabbi Emanuel Feldman and 10 guests in a small white house off Boulevard for the first marriage at which the rabbi officiated at Congregation Beth Jacob. It’s a day Lucy Carson, now 86, remembers with clarity. Carson was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in July 1931 and fled with her family to France in May 1940 when the Germans invaded Belgium. She survived the war as a hidden child, living as a Catholic under a fake French name and being moved from one place to another to avoid the Nazis, who killed her parents. Carson said she spent time in a children’s home and a convent over the course of five years. She survived with the help of a French humanitarian organization, Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, which before the war assisted underprivileged Jewish children by providing them a place to spend the summer.

Lucy Carson’s wedding in 1953 was the first marriage ceremony officiated by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman at Congregation Beth Jacob.

Although her parents died at Auschwitz, Carson and her sister, their cousins, and other family members survived. After the war, Carson and her sister, Betty, moved to Atlanta in 1947 to live with relatives. The sisters welcomed Georgia as their new home and integrated into the community with the help of the New World Club, which assisted immigrant children. Carson and two first cousins from Belgium, Suzan Tibor and Regine Rosenfelder, were honored as candle lighters at this year’s Days of Remembrance ceremony held by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust to commemorate Yom HaShoah.

Lucy met Sam Carson while she worked as a bookkeeper for a paper manufacturing company in Atlanta. “He was a wonderful man, and it was easy for me to find the attraction,” she said. “He was the greatest and the love of my life.” They were married almost 60 years until Sam’s death in 2012. Carson recalled the tiny wedding ceremony at the old Congregation Beth Jacob on June 28, 1953. The shul consisted of a small white house upstairs, in addition to a social hall and small living room, dining room and kitchen downstairs. “I was the happiest girl alive,” said Carson, who noted that the cer-

emony was at the beginning of Rabbi Feldman’s career in Atlanta, before he traveled to Baltimore to get married himself. Besides Beth Jacob, Atlanta at the time had The Temple, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel, Congregation Or VeShalom and Congregation Anshi S’fard, compared with the 40-plus congregations of today. Carson’s father-in-law, Joseph Carson, who moved to Atlanta from North Dakota, was among the 10 members who founded Beth Jacob in a storefront before the congregation relocated to Boulevard and later to Toco Hills. Carson has remained a devoted member of Congregation Beth Jacob and is heavily involved in the shul’s sisterhood. She recalled how the community has evolved over time. “The congregation and community have grown larger, and Toco Hills is now considered the hub of Jewish Orthodoxy,” she said. “It’s quite a community, and I am very blessed to be a part of it. They have been such a great support to me.” ■

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A newly certified Reform mohel is a pediatric surgeon with a business plan By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

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Pediatric surgeon Jonathan Meisel has performed circumcisions for years, but it was only recently that the 39-year-old decided to go through the process to become a certified mohel. Over the summer, the Druid Hills resident and member of The Temple took a 12-week training program to be able to perform brit milah. He has performed several of the rituals since early September. “I found out that all Reform mohels are doctors, and I’m a pediatric surgeon,” Meisel said. “I do circumcisions all the time, usually in the operating room or the neo-natal intensive care unit. When we moved to Atlanta, I talked to some of the rabbis at The Temple, and they were really excited because there aren’t many Reform mohels in Atlanta, and the ones that are here are on the older side.” The once-per-week webinar train-

ing focused on the history of circumcisions, the prayers and the customs of brit milah. Meisel said everyone taking the course already knew how to perform a circumcision, so hands-on training wasn’t necessary. “Everyone had a different comfort level with the Hebrew and the history behind the bris and designing the ceremony,” he said. “We talked a lot about interfaith couples and about how the definition of a Jew varies in different parts of the country.” Meisel grew up in Queens, N.Y., and was part of a Reform congregation. He moved to Atlanta three years ago with his wife, Jane Lowe Meisel, who is from here and is also a doctor. To be a certified mohel in Reform Judaism, you must be a doctor. Outside Reform Judaism, many mohels have little medical training. Meisel said it’s more like a mentorship program. “I think having a medical background is definitely a benefit,” he said. “Complications of circumcisions are

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quite rare, but if one were to occur, it’s a great benefit for a mohel to be a surgeon or know how to deal with bleeding for the rare occasion that it might occur. But some of these Orthodox mohels have done hundreds or even thousands of circumcisions now, and I assume they are quite good at it.” Another skill Meisel brings to the table is bedside manner. As a pediatric surgeon, he deals with nervous parents on a regular basis. He said one of his strengths is calming nervous Jewish parents before the ceremony. Meisel now is available to perform brit milah in Atlanta, although his schedule is busy between working at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and taking care of his two sons at home. Interested parents should contact him at jmeisel78@gmail.com. Eventually, Meisel would like to join up with his mother-in-law, Joyce Bihary, a retired bankruptcy judge, to start a bris-based business venture. “After a bris, it’s customary to have bagels and lox and cream cheese,” he said. “Kind of a nice celebratory meal after the ceremony. With my motherin-law being in Atlanta and retired, she came up with the idea that she would help cater the bris because how great would that be if a mom didn’t have to worry about arranging the food? But I’m pretty busy, so it might be a while until that gets up and running.” At the very least, Meisel already has a slogan. “Some of my friends came up with the slogan ‘a snip and a schmear,’ ” he said. “But right now it’s more of a joke than anything.” ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Jonathan Meisel now has Reform certification to perform brit milah.

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SIMCHAS

Growing Older, Assessing Life

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

At Piedmont Hospital on Crumley Street on the South Side of Atlanta, I came into the world on Nov. 1, 1938. Anna, my mother, who repeated this story many times, told the doctor I had to be born that day because she had not bought a birthday present for her husband and my father, Louis. He also was born on Nov. 1, but on New York’s Lower East Side. His brit milah was on the day Teddy Roosevelt was re-elected, Nov. 8, 1904, so it had to be held late in the day so that everyone who was eligible, could vote. Sitting here thinking about my 79th birthday, just weeks away, I wonder where all the years have gone. All of us pass through various stages. Sometimes they are easy, sometimes very difficult. I cannot really identify the periods of good and bad in my life, but here I am. A rabbi I knew well wrote the following, and I have tried to live up to his poignant words: In judging life let us understand that: Much as we need something to live with, we need even more, something to

live for. If our lives are not to become spiritual dust-bowls, we need regular replenishment from the waters of study, reverence, caring and unselfishness. Happiness resides not in things but in ourselves. There is no adventure as exciting as the adventure of a mind and a soul which never stop growing. There is no better exercise for the spirit than bending down to help lift someone up. The greatest endowment we give our children is the example of an upright life. The best portions of a good person’s life are as the poet said: “His little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.”

If this be our judgement of life, our faith need not come in moments. It can be the steady quality of life through which each of us can fill our days by developing responsibility, increasing happiness and love each and every day. I am fortunate that many of my friends from high school and college who were from Atlanta still live in Atlanta. I was a bit adventurous, so I can enjoy Atlanta only from afar. However, the “little nameless unremembered acts of kindness” of my friends I do recall. When I first entered the James L. Key School on the South Side in 1946, when my father returned from overseas and brought my mother and me back to Atlanta, I felt very lonely because I did not know anyone. Several of the Jewish boys and girls in my second-grade class encouraged me, brought me to their homes and played with me. When we moved to the North Side

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and I entered Morningside School in the middle of the year, I really knew only one or two classmates. Again, they offered me such kindness. They asked me to ride their bikes with them. They arranged dances on Friday, not Saturday/Shabbat, so I could be there. I was awkward and had trouble dancing, but I recall one girl in particular who came over to me when I was the only male wallflower and asked me to dance. Was I excited. When Boy Scout Troop 73 began, both Joe Zimmerman and Josiah Benator invited me to join. I always feel sad about Mr. Zimmerman, but I delight in maintaining contact with Mr. Benator, who I believe is a very special human being. At Grady High School, I can recall making many wonderful friends who treated me as if they had known me all their lives. Many of them are friends to this day because, thankfully, they can still enjoy their lives. I wanted to be in AZA Chapter No. 134, but for some reason I was not invited to join. Then an active member of the chapter said to me, “David, I have arranged for you to become a member of No. 134.” That special act of his transformed into many years, even beyond high school, of active participation on many levels of BBYO. To this day, I always think about some of these “unremembered acts” that were so special in my life. I believe strongly that my friends in Atlanta have lived up to the words of a poet I love to quote: Why build these cities glorious when man unbuilded goes In vain we build an order unless the builder also grows. I want to thank all my Atlanta friends, who in their way have made my life so very full and meaningful. Todah rabah. May your lives continue in ways you choose to make them as beautiful as you feel they should be. ■ Atlanta native David Geffen lives in Jerusalem.

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While his fraternity brother, Congregation Shearith Israel Rabbi Ari Kaiman, and Eli Harrison listen, Lander Gold, the senior director of advancement and philanthropic partnerships for Moishe House, tells about the organization’s origins in 2006 in Oakland, Calif., when four friends decided to hold a Shabbat dinner and ended up hosting more than 70 young adults.

Moishe House Celebrates Third Atlanta Home By Leah R. Harrison lharrison@atljewishtimes.com Moishe House Buckhead held a formal mezuzah-hanging ceremony Sunday night, Oct. 8, five months after opening as the 100th house for the international organization and third in Atlanta. Moishe House was founded 11 years ago as a place for young Jewish adults to connect through events and programming chosen and organized by house residents, and to engage in

their communities on their own terms. Through the end of September, the Toco Hills, Virginia-Highland and Buckhead houses had hosted 953 unique participants, with total attendance of 2,913, at 168 programs. Recent events included New to ATL Happy Hour and Break Fast Bagel Bash. Now there are 108 Moishe Houses in 27 countries, with 111 likely by year’s end. As long as community support continues, a fourth Moishe House in the Atlanta area is possible. ■

Moishe House Toco Hills resident Matt Goldberg talks about the ways the organization has enriched his life.

Wood reclaimed from the Warsaw Ghetto has been used to fashion the mezuzot for all Moishe Houses, based on casts of mezuzot found in formerly Jewish homes and establishments in Warsaw.

Two former Moishe House residents, Ally Berman from Palo Alto, Calif., and Michael Godin from Shanghai, met at the first Retreatology, a Moishe House leadership retreatt, married last year and moved to Atlanta, where they are frequent attendees at Moishe House programs.

Virginia-Highland resident Jeremy Katz and Toco Hills resident Matt Goldberg join Moishe House Buckhead residents Cassidy Artz, Aviva Abelson and Matt Spruchman for the blessing of the mezuzah.

Moishe House Buckhead residents Cassidy Artz, Aviva Abelson and Matt Spruchman react to hanging the special mezuzah.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

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A Kaluszyn resident, who was born in 1931, witnessed war atrocities and has had nightmares ever since, expresses her sorrow to the group gathered to dedicate the monument.

Ed Goldberg of Atlanta (left) and Mark Upfal of Ann Arbor, Mich., stand in front of the memorial monument in the cemetery in Kaluszyn.

The base of a mezuzah remains attached to a Kaluszyn building that used to be the home of a Jewish merchant but has not been occupied since the Jews were deported to Treblinka. Harvy Berman, a monument donor and the son of the homeowner, helped find the house and mezuzah.

Descendants Restore Polish Town’s Jewish Memory Time is a strange thing. An important idea that has gestated for years can suddenly come to fruition in a matter of days. About 10 years ago I found out that Joe Gellman, the younger brother of a childhood friend, was trying to reclaim the Jewish cemetery in the town of Kaluszyn, Poland, home of my father. The town was one of hundreds in Poland where over 3 million Jews were taken to be murdered by the Nazis. Kaluszyn lost more than 6,000 Jews. A handful survived, but no Jews now live there. Joe and his family grew up in Charleston, S.C., where I was also born. His grandfather was born in Kaluszyn, just like my father. Before World War II, Kaluszyn was a small town of under 10,000

people. About 60 percent were Jewish. Today, the town has only 3,000 residents, none of whom is Jewish; all

Guest Column By Ed Goldberg

signs have disappeared that Jews and Jewish culture once thrived there. The Nazis flattened the town, a resistance city during the war, and used Jews as slave labor to tear down the synagogue and remove all headstones from the two cemeteries. All the rubble, with all the Jewish memories that rubble represented, was used to pave a runway nearby for the Nazi killing machine in Poland. Perhaps that is why Joe had such an empty feeling when he visited there

10 years ago. But he decided he should do something about it. Within months Joe had applied to the Polish government to acquire the abandoned cemetery and reclaim it through a Polish trust. His goal was to build a monument to honor the memories of those who were robbed of them in death. For eight years I asked Joe if I could help him, and two years ago he finally agreed. Our journey to re-consecrate the cemetery property culminated Sept. 14 with the dedication of a beautiful and haunting monument. The dedication ceremony was 78 years to the day after Kaluszyn fell to Nazi forces, which happened to be on the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5700. In the two years leading up to the consecration, I found about 180 of the descendants of Kaluszyn and asked for their support. Joe, who now lives in Jerusalem, worked with a fellow

American, also now living in Israel, to design our monument, which was built and paid for through the generosity of people in Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, Detroit, England and other places around the world. My travels have taken me to many countries, but I’d chosen to never visit Poland. My anxiety grew as I anticipated a Sept. 11 departure for the dedication Sept. 14. I would be visiting a forbidden place. Then Hurricane Irma bore down on Atlanta, and I wondered whether the storm was an omen from my ancestors, warning me that I had made a mistake in supporting this project. After some sleepless nights, I concluded that I had to go. I decided to leave early for Amsterdam to avoid Irma but refused to change my arrival in Poland because I still didn’t feel welcomed. There would be so much dark history there.

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There were 13 of us in our group: some people I had talked into contributing to the project, plus Joe’s group, consisting of the designer, Ken Goldman, and his wife, Sandy, Joe’s sister and a personal friend of Joe’s. We met in Warsaw and became fast friends. It was so strange to think that if not for all the turmoil in the world eight decades ago, we might have grown up as friends in Kaluszyn. Before we traveled to Kaluszyn, we spent a day in Warsaw, where we took a private tour of many Jewish sites. Photo records show that virtually everything in Warsaw was destroyed in World War II. Monuments now mark the significant spots, such as the bridge between the small and large ghetto and Mila 18. Only a fragment of the ghetto wall remains. A beautiful museum traces Polish Jewish history and contains a wonderful replica of a small synagogue. On the morning of the dedication, the 13 of us and about 30 other people boarded a bus for the 45-minute ride to Kaluszyn. When we arrived at the cemetery, I was pleased to see the monument standing tall and proud in the open field, the only marker in the town to show that Jews once lived there. There were signs that today’s Jews are finding this site. Stones and yahrzeit candles already lined the base of the monument like tiny mourners standing vigil. We had done a good thing for our fellow Jews. The ceremony was understandably emotional. More than 100 people were there, including four representatives of the U.S. government, the Israeli ambassador to Poland, the Catholic priest of the parish, the chief rabbi of Poland, a group of local people and the schoolchildren of the town. Joe made a moving speech about the history of this community and the significance of the date of the event. It will be one of my greatest accomplishments to have done some small part to help those departed souls rest and help those who desire to pay their respects. No visitor will have to feel the emptiness that Joe felt 10 years ago. Of course, there are so many more communities to remember. Even within Kaluszyn, our goal is to place more markers commemorating significant Jewish sites. Over those two days in Poland, I felt time collapse as I was drawn back to the place where my ancestors had once lived. It was joyful. It was sorrowful. One job ended, and another job began. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

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Bris Celebrates Baby’s Irma-Assisted Arrival By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atlantajewishtimes.com

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

The theme of unity and kindness spread throughout Toco Hills as locals gathered at Congregation Beth Jacob on Friday, Sept. 15, to celebrate the bris of Joseph and Adina Landsberg’s son, Jesse Gabriel Landsberg, amid the recovery from Hurricane Irma. When forecasts predicted the hurricane would hit Florida, Adina Landsberg posted a message on Facebook inquiring whether any families would be willing to host a 37 weeks’ pregnant woman, her charming English husband, Joseph, and a pet dog in South Carolina or Georgia. Her request was answered by Yoni and Davida Graber of Toco Hills, who knew the Landsbergs after meeting the couple a few years ago at a kosher restaurant in Italy during the Landsbergs’ honeymoon. “I noticed there were a few comments under the post from people inviting the Landsbergs to come, but no one from the area she was looking for,” Davida Graber said. “I had only met the

Landsbergs for a few hours years ago but asked them to come on up.” The connection was part of a community effort to accommodate more than 1,000 Florida evacuees starting before Shabbat on Sept. 8. After slicing through Florida, Irma hit Atlanta as a tropical storm Sept. 11, toppling trees and leaving much of Toco Hills in the dark. Although the Landsbergs had planned to deliver the baby at a hospital in Boca Raton, their arrangements were canceled when they evacuated to Georgia. While driving toward Atlanta, the Landsbergs stopped in Jacksonville. No sooner had they begun to travel than Adina started feeling contractions. “We didn’t expect the baby to come so soon,” Joseph said. Upon arriving in Toco Hills, Davida recommended her own OB-GYN, Joseph Tate, to see Adina. He concluded that she was dilated but had time. “We were informed that the baby could arrive in a few days or a couple of weeks; however, the joke was on us,”

Photo by Vanessa Munsch

After hearing about Jesse Gabriel Landsberg’s story, photographer Vanessa Munsch used the radar image of Hurricane Irma as an inspiration to capture the love and support of the community in the first moments of the baby’s life.

said Joseph, who added that Adina’s water broke the next day while they were at Sublime Doughnuts. The couple checked into Emory University Hospital in Midtown and soon welcomed their son, Jesse, three weeks early. “The hospital staff was amazing and did a great job,” Joseph said. The Landsbergs had no idea how they would schedule the bris or find a mohel. “We didn’t know how to plan anything and felt like a fish out of water, but Davida and Yoni were very instrumental in helping us,” Joseph said. The family contacted Rabbi Yitzchok Tendler, the executive director at Beth Jacob, to schedule the bris, which was held at the synagogue with around 50 guests. Young Israel of Toco Hills Rabbi Adam Starr and Beth Jacob Senior Rabbi Ilan Feldman led the ceremony. The bris left the couple with mixed emotions. “We were overwhelmed with everything and a bit saddened that our Boca family couldn’t be there to celebrate with us until the last day when a few did fly in,” Joseph said. “However, at the end of the day we are also very grateful for the help the Toco Hills community has given us and felt honored to celebrate with them. We were

totally blown away with the community’s kindness.” He said Rabbi Starr helped in any way he could, and Tzippy Teller from the Spicy Peach helped prepare the food for the meal after the ceremony. The Grabers were named Jesse’s godparents. Davida said lactation consultant Katherine Morrison helped set up the bris and connected the Landsbergs with a doctor who usually puts people on a waiting list for months. “It was extremely meaningful to have the bris at Beth Jacob,” Rabbi Tendler said. “Our community has always been built on hospitality, and this was a meaningful representation of that and what the community stood for.” He added, “To have a lifecycle event such as this happen in our synagogue with the presence of our community leaders was very moving and the capstone to the entire week of coming together, opening our homes, being hospitable and doing the best we can for our fellow Jews.” Rabbi Starr said, “It was a very special conclusion to the week as the people became a family and built a Florida-Atlanta connection. They came as strangers and left as an extended family.” ■

SIMCHAS

Pauline “Polly” Schaffer DeNur celebrated her birthday where she started life 90 years earlier.

Pauline “Polly” Schaffer DeNur returned to Atlanta from Dallas, Texas, for her 90th birthday celebration on Saturday, Sept. 9. Daughter Bobbi Kornblit, a Buckhead resident, hosted a party for 50 relatives at the Grand Salon of the Phoenix on Peachtree condominiums. The theme was “90 Is the New 60,” a reference to Pauline’s high energy and youthful attitude. Partygoers were mainly Atlanta cousins, including the Joffres, Weinmans, Cohens, Terry Spector, Amy and Paul Harris, and Californian Sherry Weinman Umansky. Sisters Peggy Slotin, with her family, and Harriet Hess, in from Washington, D.C., also attended the celebration. Singer Megan Harkins performed Broadway show tunes, a favorite form of entertainment of the honoree. Pauline was born in Atlanta in 1927. Her parents were the late Freda and Dave Schaffer, Russian immigrants who owned groceries and real estate. Pauline graduated from Girls’ High and moved to Dallas after marrying Georgia Tech graduate Samuel Feldman in 1945. She later wed Amnon DeNur in Texas, who died two years ago. Israeliborn DeNur, a retired businessman, was one of the 20 original pilots in the fledgling Israeli air force in the War for Independence, joining in 1948. Pauline, an inspiration to friends and family, attributes her good health and vitality to 40 years of Jazzercise aerobic dance sessions. Over the decades she has celebrated almost every simcha of her relatives in Atlanta. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

90th Birthday Pauline Schaffer DeNur

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

SIMCHAS

Secrets of a Centenarian

In my mom’s case, healthy eating has made a difference By Beverly Levitt

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

May 3 would have been my dad’s 100th birthday. “We were the same age. Why isn’t he still here with me?” Mom asks. “Why couldn’t I have saved him?” When I remind her that he lived longer than anyone in his family and that 96 is an accomplishment, she pretends to forgive herself because she knows she spent 76 years trying. Although my mother, Celia Levitt, just turned 101, she doesn’t look a day over 82. She takes no prescription drugs and no hormones; her memory is razor-sharp. She has been in the hospital only four times: three times to have babies and once to fix a broken hip. She is always dressed and coiffed perfectly, and she isn’t shy about lecturing anyone about the dangers of eating meat, sugar and fried food and of taking X-rays (even mammograms), and she advises taking what most doctors have to say with a grain of salt. She lives by herself in the Beverly Hills condo she shared with my dad, Milton, and wouldn’t think of moving to assisted living or having a caregiver. She makes her own meals, and her house is always spotless, even her drawers. Every day she is picked up by the city’s shuttle service to go to Roxbury Park, where she has lunch, plays bingo, watches old movies and live entertainment, and attends art, acting and sometimes meditation classes. But her favorite thing to do is to tell everybody how old she is. She thrives on their shock and disbelief. It makes her day. When I was growing up, I had no idea how enlightened Celia was. All I knew was that she wasn’t like the other

Celia Levitt is going strong while living on her own at age 101.

moms. What was I supposed to think when folks uttered insults behind her back? “Health nut!” “Health food freak!” “Food faddist!” I remember my embarrassed giggles when my grammar school friends poked inside my lunchbox and found nary a chocolate-chip cookie or potato chip — not even a sandwich of packaged cheese or salami on white bread. If they only knew that at home our milk was raw, and our eggs were fertile. Our bread bulged with brown, grainy nuggets. But I wasn’t talking. The last thing I got when I left for school wasn’t a chocolate doughnut. It was a shot glass full of vitamins with some freshly squeezed juice. The worst part of the morning: My breakfast bowl wasn’t filled with snap, crackle and pop. We had to wait a full 20 minutes while Mom cooked our oatmeal, then topped it with blackstrap molasses (never sugar), raw butter (never margarine), unsulphured raisins and organic cheddar cheese.

Celia Levitt spends time with her first great-granddaughter, Talia.

While Mom was busy telling me that I was what I ate — thanks a lot, Adelle Davis — I spent most of my waking moments wishing I could have onion bagels and lox for breakfast and hoping against hope that maybe on my birthday she’d let me have a chocolate babka. And, just once, a real sandwich in my lunch instead of a pita filled with celery hearts, sunflower seeds and hummus. Did my mother even care that I was the kid sitting alone on the bench while all the other lunches were traded? It wasn’t my grandma Fradel’s fault. She was a good kosher housewife who cooked typical Ashkenazi meat and potatoes, much the same as her mother in Vilna had before her. She and Grandpa Charlie moved to America in 1914, with a stop in Philadelphia, where Mom and her older sister, Dena, were born. Then on to Atlantic City before settling in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of

Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Celia and Dena were 5 and 8, respectively. Celia was still in grammar school when Dena came home from a lecture, her cheeks flushed, raving about the amazing man she’d just heard. She asked her baby sister if she wanted to go with her the following night. The lecturer was groundbreaking nutritionist Gayelord Hauser, who mentored movie stars such as Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson (gorgeous into their 80s) about diet and lifestyle. It wasn’t very long before the sisters were meeting holistic doctors Henry Bieler and Linus Pauling, chiropractor Bernard Jensen, and Paul Bragg, who opened the first health food store in America and popularized nutritional products such as his liquid amino acids, which Mom still pours over just about everything. But their biggest heroine was nutritionist and best-selling author Adelle Davis, who persuaded them to become vegetarians at ages 13 and 16.

Fradel didn’t know what to make of her daughters, but because fruits and vegetables were cheaper than meat, she didn’t complain. Celia thrived on her vegetarian diet. G-d was in his place. All was right with the world. Until Milton Levitt spotted Celia across the room at a shul social and said to himself, “That’s mine.” Little did she know her salad days were about to come screeching to a halt. Because Milton was the only boy who owned a car — a 1930 Ford roadster with a rumble seat — he planned to wine and dine her, even though she almost refused his offer of a ride home because she had spent 10 cents to take the red car to the event, and it was a round-trip ticket. They dated. He took her to the Chili Bowl; she refused to eat anything. She tried luring him to vegetarian restaurants, her lectures, even hiking. His response: “No way!” After they married, Celia learned how to make her mother-in-law’s brisket and carrot tzimmes, chopped liver, matzah ball soup, even Lawry’s prime rib with creamed horseradish. But when left to her own devices, she’d slip him some salad — heavy on the avocado. She maintained her svelte, Size2 figure; he carried around 20 extra pounds. Life went on. As their marriage approached its golden anniversary, Dad became mellower with his meat demands and even bragged that he was eating more like Mom. He tolerated her Middle Eastern eggplant, slurped her Boston baked beans and fell in love with her fresh horseradish, which he devoured straight out of the bowl, between meals, when the matzah box was empty. It wasn’t until they went to visit my first grandchild and their first great-grandchild, Tiara, in Atlanta that they finally found a meatless dish they both loved: Southern grits. They stuffed bags of it — and everything else they couldn’t help but buy on their many trips to Harry’s Farmers Market in Alpharetta — into their suitcases to take home. Mom was proud that Dad was edging toward a more healthful diet until my youngest daughter, Alyssa, spilled the beans. “Whenever Grandpa came to pick me up, our first stop was McDonald’s.” And there were those candy wrappers she found stuffed down his bathroom sink. And so my mom, Celia, glides gracefully past 101. She wasn’t born yesterday, in any sense of the word. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

SIMCHAS

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SIMCHAS

Weber Student’s National Rise Is Magic By Leah R. Harrison lharrison@atljewishtimes.com As he formulates his thoughts, the playing cards shift and slide effortlessly through his hands as if they are extensions of his long fingers, the movement as natural as blinking or breathing. Ari Slomka is a magician. Not some cute prankster playing with a new toy, but a professional, award-winning, nationally renowned performance artist, preparing to compete, by invitation, on an international level. Ari is 15. He practices close-up magic — not stage magic, which often relies on huge props, steamer trunks and saws, but the kind that is up close and personal. It’s sleight of hand performed on a tabletop using cards, coins and the like. “With close-up magic you really get to bring the magic to people. The best close-up magic happens in somebody else’s closed hands,” Ari said. “I love that feeling of connection with somebody through magic, through giving them an experience they wouldn’t otherwise have.” Interested in magic since his father showed him tricks at age 4, Ari has been refining his skills ever since. At the Weber School, when other students turn in their cellphones for the day, Ari must also turn over his deck of cards. About two years ago he began working at a couple of restaurants. “Talking to people, approaching them and sharing my magic with them really brought out my confidence,” Ari said. “Getting paid in tips and baked ziti,” he also gained proficiency and a following. He was hired to do birthday parties, and people posted about him on Facebook. “I’m still getting gigs from two years ago.”

Magician Lance Burton and International Brotherhood of Magicians President Oscar Munoz congratulate Ari Slomka for finishing second in the North American close-up magic championship.

Things began to change. Two years ago Ari joined the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Despite being the youngest active member, he was one of three asked to perform at the banquet, so he created a new routine from scratch. “Doing magic for magicians is particularly difficult,” Ari said. “It helped me learn about my stage presence.” He watched videos, read and learned new tricks. And his hands grew. Just as a swimmer benefits from a large wingspan, a magician gains from having hands big enough to conceal coins and manipulate cards, scarves and other tools of the trade. As his body grew, Ari’s art matured. Last year, before his first IBM convention, he attended a teen summit and won the Staff’s Choice Award, gaining free tuition to a master class at the McBride Magic & Mystery School. He performed the genesis of his routine and received critiques and feedback from other students and “some of

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championship for close-up magic. He was selected with 12 other contestants and was the youngest by far in a field of mostly touring professionals. “I definitely had the least experience,” Ari said. Because it was a combined convention, three independent panels judged the competition: IBM, SAM and the Federation Internationale des Societes de Magique. Every three years FISM holds the World Championships of Magic, the Olympics of the magic world, and the continental competition winners advance to that event. Ari performed in a 1,500-seat ballroom with cameras trained on his every move, displayed on six 15-foot display screens. He was noted for his stage presence and sense of humor while performing a creative routine in which he magically turned poker chips into cash because a teenager can’t legally convert chips into cash in our nonmagical society. Ari was awarded second place in North America and a cash prize and

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the best magicians in the field,” helping him solidify the nine to 10 minutes that would earn him fame. He saw the close-up magic competition at the 2016 IBM convention and realized that type of performing is what he does. “It wasn’t scary. I looked at it and said, ‘I could definitely do that.’” He had a similar thought when he saw the Season 9 winner of “America’s Got Talent,” Mat Franco, headlining a show in Las Vegas. “I realized that I could do every single thing that he did, but he did it on a Las Vegas stage with Jumbotrons,” Ari said. He also realized he had the talent to compete on a larger scale. The other major industry group in the United States is the Society of American Magicians. Only 10 times before had IBM and SAM come together for one massive magic conference, as they did in Louisville, Ky., in July. Before the IBM-SAM Combined Convention, Ari submitted a video to compete in the IBM North American

Doing a card trick at home, Ari Slomka shows that a magician’s hands are often in motion.

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was one of four close-up acts selected by the FISM panel to compete in the 2018 World Championships in Busan, South Korea. Suddenly, the Weber student, a Camp Ramah Darom and Atlanta Jewish Academy alum whose family regularly attends Congregation Shearith Israel, was a celebrity in his industry. He was solicited by magazine writers, sought by talent scouts and approached by people wanting photos with him, including magicians he idolized. “I thought I might win one of the smaller awards, like the People’s Choice, where the audience voted. I did not expect the judges to consider me in the same class as the other performers, but when my name was called, I remember there was a cheer from the crowd,” Ari said. The winners were announced three days after the competition, and he remembers people coming up and congratulating him in those days, telling him he was famous and a great magician. Being chosen to compete in the World Championships next summer is “a really big deal,” Ari said. “Very few people from every country go. It’s the people who are representing the magicians of each country, and I’ve seen some amazing videos of these acts. Those are the best of the best, and to hear my name called for that was just incredible. It was a great moment for me.” “It’s the grand prix,” said Ari’s father, Howie Slomka. “At FISM, he will be representing North America against magicians from Asia and Europe.” “In front of judges who might not speak English,” Ari added. “In terms of my everyday life, I’m not famous. It’s not like people know my name,” Ari said. “But for that convention, for magicians everywhere, … some people who I respect and admire very much are now my fans, and that was really very exciting.” Around town he has performed many times at the Shearith Israel Purim carnival and Chanukah festival. Ari often volunteers for events with Creating Connected Communities and has two scheduled this month. “Just give me a corner and a table,” Ari said. People he encounters largely are unaware of the magnitude of his accomplishment, but with the FISM championships less than a year away, he might be out of your simcha league soon. For a magical time before then, call 404-869-6165 (not during school hours), or email Magic@AriSlomka. com. ■

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

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Calligraphy, glass etching, felting, marbling, water-coloring, painting with oil, sculpting, drawing — those are some of the ways people interested in art can express themselves and improve their skills through the efforts of Amy Linde and Rebecca Simon, the founders of Art at Home, which recruits artists to teach various disciplines. “We try to bring art to people; that’s why it’s called Art at Home,” Linde said during a meeting with the AJT at a Chamblee tea shop. “We want to give people exposure to as many different mediums as possible. Whether it’s clay, paint, jewelry, woodworking, making soap or lotions, whatever it is. People need art in their lives in so many ways.” The two met when their children attended a DeKalb County magnet program and often spoke of starting a business. “We were thinking about what there was a need for,” Simon said. “Everyone has a creative side to them, and I think it’s important for people to explore that, even if they don’t think they’re very good at it. We also wanted to put artists in Atlanta to work because there’s a huge market of artists who need to fill in their time. This was an opportunity to employ them and let them teach. We try to find work for all of them.” Simon is an artist herself and taught art at the Cliff Valley School, where she created a large mosaic that graces the lobby. She owned Simonworks, a graphic design firm in Boston, and the Divine Dish, which sold ceramic dessert ware, in Atlanta. Linde’s background is in sales and marketing. Most recently she was involved with Keep My Planet Green, which works to offset emissions and attain carbon neutrality. Linde and Simon’s clients include Porsche, Lululemon Athletica, Serenbe, Delta Air Lines, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where cardiac nurses participate in team-building activities as part of an employee retention program. “It pulls them out of their normal, stressful day. They are our most creative group because they have to think on their feet,” Linde said. According to its founders, Art at

Rebecca Simon (left) and Amy Linde own Art at Home.

Home also provides synagogue sisterhoods and men’s clubs, Hadassah groups, and chavurot with Judaica projects, and the company works with individual families to create unique gifts, such as spice boxes or mezuzot, that can be given to relatives and friends at simchas such as b’nai mitzvah as keepsakes. The company has projects geared to any age group. “There are not that many businesses that appeal to almost everybody,” Simon said. “We have STEAM programs and art enrichment classes at schools. We go all the way up to those who are older and a little infirm. We have one customer who is a high-functioning autistic. He’s done watercolor lessons, woodwork, calligraphy; he loves it.” But in schools, art is ignored to some degree, Simon said. “It kind of goes by the wayside. By the time you get to middle or high school, not as many kids get exposed to it. In middle school it becomes an elective that some kids get, but not all. You’re making a choice at that point; you are forced to.” She said people in general need a channel for creativity. “It’s something to look forward to. It’s an outlet, so it’s really important for people to have that.” In addition, the company is working with the Clarkston Community Center to help refugee children assimilate into American society. “We are trying to change the world one art piece at a time,” Simon said. “And take the starving out of starving artist,” Linde added. ■

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SIMCHA RESOURCE GUIDE Catering A Healthy Touch Cafe at MJCCA, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, www.akoshertouch.com, 770321-9592 A Kosher Touch/Added Touch Catering, www. akoshertouch.com, 770-321-9592 Alon’s Bakery, 1394 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, www.alons.com, 678-397-1781 Avenue K Catering, www.avenue-catering.com, 770-578-1110 Bagel Boys Cafe, 6355 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Sandy Springs, www.bagelboyscafe.com, 678-585-3435 Bagelicious, 1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 37, Marietta, 770-509-9505 Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, 265 Pharr Road, Atlanta, www.buckheadrestaurants.com, 404-237-2060 Café Intermezzo, Midtown, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Atlanta airport, www.cafeintermezzo. com, 770-396-1344 Café Vendôme, 4969 Roswell Road, Suite 155, Atlanta, www.cafevendome.com, 404-551-5163 Cibo E Beve/Food 101, 4969 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.ciboatlanta.com, 404-2508988 Cinnaholic,1230 Caroline St., Suite B110, Atlanta, www.cinnaholic.com, 404-343-0805 Citi Wine & Spirits, 5861 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.CitiWineandSpirits.com, 404228-4260 Corks & Caps, 4600 Roswell Road, Suite D-110, Atlanta, www.corkscaps.com, 404-483-1050 Create Your Cupcake, 203 Hilderbrand Drive, Sandy Springs, www.createyourcupcake.com, 844-354-7487 Cuzin’s Duzin, 2121 Windy Hill Road, Suite 128,

Marietta, www.sweetdreamsminidonuts.com, 347-724-6200 Epic Events, 1119 Logan Circle, Atlanta, www. EpicEventsAtlanta.com, 404-991-9128 Farm Burger, 4514-B Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, farmburger.net, 770-454-2201 For All Occasions and More, 5200 Northland Drive, Sandy Springs, www.foralloccasionsandmore.com, 404-953-8157 The General Muir, 1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230, Atlanta, www.thegeneralmuir.com, 678927-9131 Goldbergs Group, 4385 Roswell Road, Atlanta, www.goldbergbagel.com, 404-477-1110 Hudson Grille, 6317 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.hudsongrille.com, 404-554-8282 Keith’s Corner BBQ, www.keithscornerbbq. com, 404-250-1227 The Kosher Gourmet, 2153 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, www.kgatl.com, 404-636-1114 Liquid X Cream, www.liquidxcream.com, 678733-0084 Madras Mantra, 2179 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite A, Decatur, www.mandrasmantra.com, 404-636-4400 Maggiano’s, Buckhead, Cumberland and Perimeter Mall, www.maggianos.com, 770-704-3313 Margot Alfie Catering & Cooking Classes, 3088 Greenfield Drive, Marietta, 404-275-1397 No Gluten Inc. Bakery, www.nogluteninc.com, 678-406-0003 The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., 2955 Cobb Parkway, Cumberland, www.brooklynwaterbagels.com, 770-988-9991 Pita — Mediterranean Street Food, 4709-B Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, pitastreetfood.com, 404-392-7070 Publix Supermarket, www.publix.com Rumi’s Kitchen Persian Cuisine, 6112 Roswell

Road, Sandy Springs, www.rumiskitchen.com, 404-477-2100 Shami Kitchen, 8363 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.shamikitchen.com, 678-974-8573 SoHo Cafe and Bakery, 334 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs, www.sohocafebakery.com, 404-549-8385 The Spicy Peach, 2887 North Druid Hills Road, Toco Hills, www.thespicypeach.com, 404-3347200 Sufi’s Atlanta Persian Cuisine, 1814 Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.sufisatlanta.com, 404-8889699 Tower Beer & Wine, 2161 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, www.towerwinespirits.com, 404-881-0902 Yum Boutique Catering, 678-592-1783

Décor

Balloons and Events Over Atlanta, 1231 Collier Road, Atlanta, www.balloonsover.com, 404-2313090 Encore Events & Entertainment, 253 Swanson Drive, Lawrenceville, www.encoreevents.com, 678-427-0028 EventScapes, 1484 Atlanta Industrial Way, Suite B, Atlanta, eventscapesatlanta.com, 404-4729233 Jim White Designs, 2922 Marlan Drive, Atlanta, www.jimwhitedesigns.com, 404-599-4731 Kagan Entertainment, 10270 Piney Ridge Walk, Alpharetta, www.kaganentertainment. com, 770-826-8263 Total Lunacy, 215 Berry Glen Court, Johns Creek, www.totallunacy.com, 770-315-4116 Village Green Flowers & Gifts, 3246 Atlanta Road, Smyrna, www.villiageflowersandgifts. com, 770-435-9393

Entertainment Bodyworks Atlanta, 600 Garson Drive, Suite 7304, Atlanta, www.makeupartistryatlanta. com, 404-816-0989 Caricatures by Tony, 130 Canal Place, Fayetteville, www.caricaturesofatlanta.com, 678-8170169 FlipnPics, 901 Gemtry’s Walk, Atlanta, www. flipnpics.com, 770-742-8910 Game Truck, 50 Barrett Parkway, Suite 3005137, Marietta, www.gametruck.com, 770-7555100 Premium Corporate Entertainment Group, 2981 N. Tower Way, Conyers, 678-663-7096 Rock Steady Ballroom, 270 Carpenter Drive, Suite 120, Sandy Springs, www.rocksteadyballroom.com, 404-254-1491

DJ & Live Music

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Atlanta Fever Entertainment, 978 Forest Pond Circle, Marietta, www.atlantafeverent.com, 404-931-5779

Big Band Contractors, www.bigband.band, 770998-8888 Kagan Entertainment, 10270 Piney Ridge Walk, Alpharetta, www.kaganentertainment. com, 770-826-8263 Party Express by Tevyeh, 2823 Arabian Trail, Marietta, www.tevyeh.com, 404-939-3813 Richard Siegal, Pianist, 404-994-7507 Sephinta Zarka Music, 141 Meriwether Circle, Milledgeville, www.sephintazarka.com, 404479-1719 Vibe Entertainment, 2080 Peachtree Industrial Court, Suite 107, Atlanta, www.vibeentertainmentinc.com, 404-257-0206

Venues & Hotels

103 West, 103 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, www.103West.com, 404-233-5993 Alpharetta Convention and Visitor Bureau, 178 S. Main Street, No. 200, Alpharetta, www.awesomealpharetta.com, 678-297-2811

Andretti Entertainment, 1255 Roswell Road, Marietta, www.andrettikarting.com, 678-4969530 Atlanta Events Center, 1150 Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.atlantaeventcenter.com, 678-793-0030 Atlanta Marriott Peachtree Corners, 475 Technology Parkway, Peachtree Corners, www.marriott.com, 404-263-8558 City Winery Atlanta, 650 North Ave., Suite 201, Atlanta, www.citywinery.com/atlanta, 404-9463791 College Football Hall of Fame, 250 Marietta St., Atlanta, www.cfbhall.com, 404-880-4800 Defoor Centre, 1710 Defoor Ave., Atlanta, www. defoorcentre.com, 404-591-3809 Embassy Suites-Perimeter, 1030 Crown Pointe Parkway, Sandy Springs, www.embassysuites3. hilton.com, 770-394-5454 Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta, www.emoryconferencecenter. com, 770-310-6013 Fernbank Museum, 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta, www.fernbankmuseum.org, 404-929-6339 Game X, 275 Baker St., Suite B, Atlanta, www. gamexatl.com, 404-525-0728 Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St., Atlanta, www.georgiaaquarium.org, 404-581-4000 Georgia Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Atlanta, www.dceatlanta.com, 404656-3850 The Georgian Club, 100 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1700, Cumberland, www.georgianclub.com, 770-952-6000 Hilton Atlanta Perimeter Suites, 6120 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Sandy Springs, www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/georgia/hilton-atlanta-perimeter-suites-ATLPDHF, 770-668-0808 Hilton Garden Inn-Perimeter Center, 1501 Lake Hearn Drive, Sandy Springs, www.hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com, 404-459-0500 Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, 4000 Summit Blvd., Brookhaven, atlantaperimeter.regency.hyatt.com, 404-303-7700 iFly Indoor Skydiving, 2778 Cobb Parkway, Cumberland, www.iflyworld.com/atlanta, 844650-7433 InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, 3315 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, www.intercontinentalatlanta.com, 404-946-9000 Lake Lanier Islands, 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, www.lanierislands.com, 770-9458787 Le Meridien Atlanta Perimeter Hotel, 111 Perimeter Center West, Dunwoody, www.lemeridienatlantaperimeter.com, 770-396-6800 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 1 AMB Drive, Atlanta, mercedesbenzstadium.com, 470-341-5000 Omni Hotel CNN Center, 100 CNN Center, Atlanta, www.omnihotels.com/hotels/atlantacnn-center, 404-659-0000 The Pavillion at Olde Towne, 4950 Olde Towne Parkway, Marietta www.the-pavillion.com, 770578-1110 Roswell Convention Center, 617 Atlanta St., Roswell, www.visitroswellga.com, 770-640-3253 or 800-776-7935 Sage Perimeter/Sage Woodfire Tavern, 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, www. sagewoodfiretavern.com, 770-804-8880 Visit Sandy Springs, 5920 Roswell Road, Suite A-118, Sandy Springs, www.visitsandysprings. org, 770-206-1447 Sherwood Event Hall, 8610 Roswell Road, No. 200, Sandy Springs, www.sherwoodevent.com, 678-643-9324 SlingShot Entertainment, 6344 Cash Court, Peachtree Corners, www.slingshotplay.com, 678-585-2268 Spring Hall, 7130 Buford Highway, Suite A-100, www.spring-hall.com, 770-613-9973 The Standard Club, 6230 Abbots Bridge Road, Johns Creek, www.StandardClub.org, 770-497-

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0055 Stars and Strikes-Sandy Springs, 8767 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.starsandstrikes. com, 678-965-5707 Sufi’s Atlanta Persian Cuisine, 1814 Peachtree St, Atlanta, www.sufisatlanta.com, 404-8889699 Three Sheets, 6017 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs, www.threesheetsatlanta.com, 404-3038423 Tongue & Groove, Lindbergh City Center, 565 Main St., Atlanta, www.tandgonline.com, 404261-2325 Twelve Hotel Centennial Park, 400 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta, www.twelvehotels.com/ centennialpark, 404-418-1212 Westin Atlanta North, 7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs, www.westinatlantanorth.com, 770-395-3900 Wyndham Atlanta Galleria, 6345 Powers Ferry Road, Sandy Springs, www.wyndhamatlantahotel.com, 770-955-1700 Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave., Atlanta, zooatlanta.org, 404-624-5602

Photographers & Videographers 7th Wave Pictures, 750 Ponce de Leon Place, Atlanta, www.7thwavepictures.com, 404-246-9674 Affordable Photography, 3000 Old Alabama Road, Suite 119-195, Alpharetta, www.affordablephoto.com, 770-992-1529 Blue Orchid Productions, 2184 Zelda Drive, www.blueorchidproductions.com, 404-2752290 Chuck Wolf Photo Design Bar, 3763 Roswell Road, Atlanta, www.photodesignbar.com, 404709-2981

Current Pixel, 5975 Roswell Road, Suite A125, Sandy Springs, www.currentpixel.com, 404256-4108 Eric Bern Studio, 400 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, www.ericbernstudio.com, 404252-0209 Gray Imaging Photo, www.grayimagingphoto. com, 770-284-0395 The Great Frame Up, 1432 Dresden Drive, Suite 400, Brookhaven, brookhaven.thegreatframeup.com, 404-464-5972 Harold Alan Photographers, P.O. Box 88744, Atlanta, www.haroldalan.com, 770-730-8911 Jon Marks Photography, 651 Maple Grove Way, Marietta, www.jonmarksphoto.com, 770-5873365 Kissed With Light Photography, 655 Huntwick Place, Roswell, www.kissedwithlight.com, 404538-4977 Michael Rosser Photography, 3905 Remington Way, Marietta, www.michaelrosserphotography.com, 770-516-4332 Montage Mania, www.montagemania.net, 404444-5999 Paula Gould Photography, www.pmgphoto. com, 404-310-2094 RMB Studios, rmbstudios.zenfolio.com, 410804-6408

Beauty Anderson Center for Hair & Restoration, 5555 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Suite 106, Sandy Springs, www.atlantahairsurgeon.com, 404256-4247 For the Sole Foot Spa, 6690 Roswell Road, No. 550, Sandy Springs, www.ftsole.com, 404-2543758 Joseph & Friends Salon, 6309 Roswell Road,

Sandy Springs, josephandfriends.com Keri Gold Salon, 1258 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, www.kerigoldsalon.com, 404-990-3200 Noami’s Salon, 4401 Shallowford Road, Suite 132, Roswell, www.naomisalonandspa.com, 470-545-0815 Premier Image Cosmetic & Laser Surgery, 4553 N. Shallowford Road, Suite 20B, Atlanta, www. picosmeticsurgery.com, 770-457-6303 Sweet Peach Wax & Sugaring Studio, 206A Johnson Ferry Road, Sandy Springs, www. sweetpeachwax.com, 404-481-5488 Vintage Barber Shop, 6649 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, www.vintagebarbershopatl.com, 678-967-4700

Event Planners Atlanta Party Connection, 330 Highlands Court, Alpharetta, www.atlantapartyconnection.com, 770-744-5750 Encore Events & Entertainment, 253 Swanson Drive, Lawrenceville, www.encoreevents.com, 678-427-0028 Balloons and Events Over Atlanta, 1231 Collier Road, Atlanta, www.balloonsover.com, 404-2313090 Mazel Tov Atlanta, www.mazeltovatlanta.com, 770-312-9722

Clothing & Accessories Bennie’s Shoes, 2625 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, benniesshoes.com, 404-262-1966 Chic Occasions, P.O. Box 144, Marietta, www. chicoccasions.com, 770-257-9007 Fox’s, 6247 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, foxs. com, 516-294-2678 H Stockton Ladies, 4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, hstockton.com, 770-396-1300

Nina McLemore, 110 E. Andrews Drive, Suite 3, Atlanta, www.ninamclemore.com, 404-841-8111 Rita Ellen’s Boutique, 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 116, Marietta, www.ritaellensboutique. com, 770-509-0039 Ticknors Men’s Clothiers, 4400 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Suite 1455, Dunwoody, ticknors. com, 404-946-5808 Under the Pecan Tree, 5482 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, www.underthepecantree.net, 678-694-8704 Zimm’s Dry Cleaning, www.zimmsdrycleaning.com, 404-227-4426

Jewelers Alexander’s of Atlanta, 2891 North Druid Hills Road, Unit 4503, Atlanta, alexandersofatlanta. com, 404-634-3197 Brown & Co. Jewelers, Atlanta and Roswell, www.brownjewelers.com, 404-814-9800 D. Geller and Son, 2955 Cobb Parkway, Suite 230, Cumberland, www.dgeller.com, 770-9555995 Iroff & Son Jewelers, 3960 Old Milton Parkway, Suite 300, Alpharetta, iroff.com, 770-751-7222 LeeBrant Jewelers, 127 Perimeter Center West, Sandy Springs, www.leebrant.com, 770-5518850 Solomon Brothers Fine Jewelry, 3340 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, www.solomonbrothers.com, 404-266-0266

Invitations

EventPrints, www.eventprints.com, 404-7459590

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

SIMCHA RESOURCE GUIDE

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Artsy Socialite Devoted to Animal Activism Marilyn and Howard Krone bring an air of intrigue with Old World romance to their Buckhead house, showcasing collected things that give a place its emotional essence. Both originally from New York, the Krones show an exuberance for décor that is akin to uncorking a special pinot noir from their wine cellar. Howard, an orthopedic surgeon, and Marilyn, who is in full flower participating in the Atlanta social scene or fussing about her own home, are tastemakers of layers from past houses and designers. Marilyn, the honoree at the sixth annual Fix Georgia Pets Come Together gala on Tuxedo Road, recalls the back stories of her Italian, Yugoslavian and Southern artists and happily confesses that she chose this three-level house because it could accommodate her oversized French Aubusson rug. Come into the Krones’ world. Jaffe: How would you describe the style of your house? What feelings do you want it to evoke when you come home? Marilyn: Our home has an eclectic feel with a combination of Old and New World. In the future we want to maintain this look with a more contemporary twist with a fresh, lighter feel. We aren’t fond of the cookie-cutter contemporary that is so popular. Howard: I want a comforting, soothing space. I like having minimal land along with privacy. I like to sit out back with my coffee and enjoy an occasional cigar. Jaffe: Who are your favorite art-

His talent became the only means of survival for his family during the postWorld War II period, supporting his six brothers and sisters. Howard: We have a large collection of Yugoslavian artist Ivan Kustura with his elements of cubism, surrealism, Italian futurism, German expressionism and Russian constructivism. He studied in Venice and Paris and ultimately resided in the U.S. “Hunchback Escapes,” “Woman With Glasses,”

Chai-Style Homes By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

“Woman Priest and Dancers Below,” all circa 1982, are his works. Jaffe: Did you use a designer, and how did that work with your own input? Marilyn: We used Stan Topol designs for our first three homes. Here I used most of the pieces we previously owned but created a new look myself. Jaffe: What’s your flow of entertaining? Marilyn: We have used the entire house in many ways for entertaining. Our lower level has a dine-in stone wine cellar (which took me a year to design and build from base concrete). It is especially fun. We have an elevator off the kitchen with easy access to transport the food to the wine cellar area nearby. We kept the central room in our lower level empty to have dinner parties, with several tables for fine dining, or to dance the night away.

ists?

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Marilyn: We love Robert Jessup with his bold colors and heavy palette. We became good friends with Fay Gold (the art consultant), and she led the way to fill our home with some great pieces. The other pieces were finds from our travels. We love and appreciate the talents of artists from Asia and appreciate the talents of artists from India. My bedroom portrait was done by Alabama artist William Bruce Sparks, who was deaf and dumb, so we communicated via notes. “Peaceful Rest — Girl With Basket” was done by Italian Pino Daeni, who painted over 1,600 book covers 50 for adventure and romantic novels.

Jaffe: Do you have accessories from your travels? Marilyn: We bought enough fine porcelain pieces to have a container shipped when we visited China in 1995. We also acquired silk rugs from India, which feel dreamy on our bare feet. We also found a bronze sculpture, “Noah’s Ark,” from our visit to Budapest, by Hungarian artist Tóth Ernő, who is best known for his life-size sculpture of Steve Jobs. Jaffe: After all this design work, now you want to downsize? Marilyn: Our last move was 10 years ago, which was very difficult to do. Since Howard is close to retire-

B ment, we feel the need to move once again while we still have the energy. We moved from a very large house to our current home just before 2008. We saw this house two years prior to purchasing. I wanted a home that would fit my 17-foot-square, antique Aubusson French rug. Our current living room was the perfect fit. It took six months to reverse all of the threads to bring out its original beauty by Georgette of Georgette Oriental Rugs in Atlanta. Yes, we are currently looking for intown living but don’t desire a high-rise. I like to take my morning cup of tea, open the door and let my pups out. Jaffe: What motivates you to raise funds for neglected and rescued animals? Marilyn: Animal advocacy has surged over the past 10 years. We are so overwhelmed with the busyness of life, people have put faith and love into their pets. It breaks my heart to think of so many unwanted pets being

euthanized. Pet lover Ginny Millner is my neighbor, whom I helped over the past six years with Fix Georgia Pets. They are honoring me at the grand affair on Oct. 19 alongside Bo Derek. I am very humbled by this. Jaffe: You have a side vacation rental business that allowed you to design. Marilyn: I am the sole proprietor of the Cabins at Seven Foxes, five cabins on a 7-acre resort that opened in 2001. For these cabins in Lake Toxaway, N.C., I tapped a talent inside and had fun creating. I started with some help but realized I could do it myself. My eye would catch a gem in a sea of items at flea markets, magazines, show houses and design centers. I learned to pay attention to detail and let the thoughts flow. The cabins are rustic yet modern and authentic for the area and display outdoor metal art (by property manager Bill Bergamini) along the surprise walking trails and waterfalls nearby. Of course, we are pet-friendly. ■

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C G

E A: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

B: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

The master bedroom suite includes “Peaceful Rest — Girl With Basket,” an oil painting by Italian-born artist Pino Daeni. C: Photo by Duane Stork

Local artist Zach Smith created this tribute to Andy Warhol with oil, acrylic and lacquer on canvas. D: Photo by Duane Stork

The bold colors attracted the Krones to Robert Jessup’s “Thief,” which they bought at Fay Gold’s gallery. E: Photo by Duane Stork

The elevated entry features pictures of the homeowners’ eyes by Jaume Garcia Antón of Barcelona. The Krones commissioned this installation on a wedding trip to Spain. F: Photo by Duane Stork

Marilyn and Howard Krone, shown in their foyer, are looking to downsize by selling their West Paces Ferry Road house. G: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

J The Krones’ rescued coonhound and Great Pyrenees mixes, Henry and Poppi, have found a home with a board member of Fix Georgia Pets, which provides money for spay and neuter programs. The painting above them is “The Brute of a Husband” by British artist Henry James Richter. H: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

The space to accommodate the antique French Aubusson rug in the living room is one of the reasons the Krones bought this Buckhead home. The art in the room includes “Nude Ladies in Water” by 19th century Italian artist Natale Carta. I: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

In the dining room, the centerpiece bowl is from Jane Marsden’s collection of ancient Chinese porcelain. Flanking the narrower entrance are two pieces purchased at the Vatican in 1985: To the right (seen beneath the chandelier) is an oil painting of a fish by Italian-born artist Virgilio Cassio; to the left is a mosaic copy of the painting made by his students with chips of 200-year-old tile.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

The Krones frequently entertain in their wine cellar, a room Marilyn designed from a blank storage space. It houses over 200 bottles, including Howard’s favorite, Kosta Browne Pinot Noir.

J: Photo courtesy of Muffley & Associates

The expansive kitchen counters are granite and often serve as bars or buffets at parties.

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OBITUARIES

In Remembrance Of Sylvia Schwartz

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

I got to know Sylvia Schwartz when I enrolled my son Jed in the preschool of the Jewish Community Center, which had just moved from downtown to Zaban Park. He was a curious, bright, strong-willed 3-yearold who was lucky that Sylvia was his first teacher. What made Sylvia an excellent teacher was her ability to recognize the unique nature of each child. Many teachers demand conformity, which makes their jobs easier. But not Sylvia. She was both friend and ally to all her students, helping them learn who they were and encouraging them to grow and develop into their best selves. I’ll give you an example. Three-year-olds do a lot of free play with blocks and other toys. In Sylvia’s class, when free play ended and it was time to clean up and get ready for the next activity, my son would often be in the middle of a building project. Instead of insisting he put his blocks away, Sylvia understood that finishing what he was doing was important to Jed. She marked off an area in the classroom just for my son, allowing him to complete his project. Sylvia understood and respected my son. She treated him with warmth and wisdom and intuitively understood the proverb that you should educate a child according to his way (Proverbs 22:6). She was like that with all her students. She loved them, and they loved her. Sylvia played many roles at the JCC. She wasn’t only teaching preschoolers. She was also a source of guidance to the parents of those preschoolers. Children don’t come into this world holding a “How to Parent Me” manual. Parenting is one of those learn-as-you-go jobs, and sometimes on-the-job training doesn’t work. Figuring out how to bring out the best in your children sometimes requires learning from someone with more experience. Sylvia was willing to share her experience and make suggestions that made sense. She taught students and guided their parents for decades. 52 Her love for children was some-

thing you could feel. She was genuinely interested in her students. What was remarkable was that her interest in those 3-year-olds didn’t end when the school year was over. It lasted forever. Sylvia taught my children more

According To Arlene By Arlene Appelrouth aappelrouth@atljewishtimes.com

than 35 years ago. But whenever I saw her, she wanted to know what they were doing. She remembered them as 3-year-olds and celebrated their accomplishments throughout their lives. I was lucky to be able to maintain a relationship with Sylvia for almost 40 years. Sometimes we went out for lunch, and sometimes she came on my boat. She was also a fan of my husband’s and made it her business to come to his concerts. Whenever he sang at Hammond Glen, I went along so I could sit in the audience with Sylvia. Her curiosity about my entire family made me feel good. I enjoyed talking to her and know I was fortunate that she took an interest in me. Because she came to Dan’s concerts and my three children were always there, she maintained relationships with them, watching them mature and always remembering what they told her. A few days after Sylvia died Wednesday, Oct. 4, I asked Jed, who is in the education field, how he thinks of his first teacher. This is what he said: Sylvia Schwartz was a natural educator who always had her heart in the right place, who always put the individual needs of her students first. She was an empath. She paid attention and tried to understand her students in order to better accommodate their needs. She was excited about the growth and development of her students. She invested herself in their outcomes and celebrated their successes, which gave her satisfaction and brought a smile to her face. Although I will miss my conversations with my friend Sylvia, I will always focus on the gratitude I feel for having known her. She was one wonderful woman. I loved her. She leaves a legacy of love. ■

Harriet Brown 78, Decatur

Harriet Fleisher Brown, 78, of Decatur passed away peacefully Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, after a long bout with Alzheimer’s. She was born to Jake and Dorothy Fleisher, of blessed memory, in Birmingham, Ala. After growing up in Birmingham, Harriet attended the University of Alabama and later moved to Dallas, where she met her husband of 49 years, Marvin. Harriet and Marvin soon married and moved to Atlanta to start their family together. Harriet worked for Sodexo at Georgia Tech and Emory for many years. She loved cooking, shopping, spending time with her family and traveling all over the world with Marvin. Harriet is survived by her daughters, Jodie Brown and Robyn Ripps (and her husband, Scott), and by her grandchildren, Emma and Jacob Ripps. She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Brown. An online guestbook is at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. A graveside service was held Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Loren Lapidus officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Ruth Coan 72, Atlanta

Ruth Ellen Coan, age 72, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, in Atlanta. Ruth was born in Cleveland and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She earned a degree in sociology from Cornell, a master’s in social work from the University of Chicago and a master’s in real estate from Georgia State. Her first job, as a lobbyist for a women’s rights organization in Illinois, was followed later in life with activities and contributions to Jewish women’s organizations. Ruth moved to Atlanta in 1975, raised her family there and made it her home. She had an impact on real estate development in Atlanta and the Southeast as a partner with the Shopping Center Group, where she worked for over 30 years. She served as the chair of the Sandy Springs Real Estate Appeals Board, was a founding member of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Atlanta and was an honored member of the CREW Hall of Fame. Her success in business was surpassed only by her success as a wife and mother. She is survived by her husband, Mark, whom she married in 1969; her sons, Seth and Brian; a daughter-in-law, Tica; grandchildren Leah and Arabelle; her mother, Neomia Chitlik; and her brothers, Jimmy and Larry Chitlik. She was preceded in death by her father, Edward Chitlik, of blessed memory. Forever curious, she traveled the world with husband and family in tow. She always enjoyed connecting with new people and nurturing relationships that spanned decades. To her family, she is a guiding light whose moral compass was firmly rooted in her Jewish upbringing and commitment to her family and children’s happiness. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, 1440 Spring St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309, 678-222-3716, www.jwfatlanta.org), in Ruth’s memory. The funeral and graveside service took place Sunday, Oct. 8, at Arlington Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Susan Levine 74, Atlanta

Susan Roth Levine died peacefully in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, at the age of 74. Susan is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Anne Silver; her daughter and son-in-law, Mindy and Michael Planer; her sister and brother-in-law, Nancy and Steve Friedberg; her grandchildren, Justin and Eric Silver and Austin and Dani Planer; her niece and nephews, Jenni and Brian Friedberg-Swenson and Andy Friedberg; her great-nephews, Noah, Josh and Sam Friedberg-Swenson; and many cousins and friends who loved her so much. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alan D. Levine; her companion, Madison O’Kelley; and her parents. Susan was born Sept. 24, 1943, in Birmingham, Ala., to Adolph and Esther Roth. She graduated from Shades Valley High School in 1961 and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. During her time in New York,

OBITUARIES she met and married Stuart Silver, and they had their two children, Mindy and Paul. In the early 1970s, Susan moved back to Birmingham with her children. After moving to Birmingham, she worked as a cardiac catherization technician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She later worked in the marketing department for the Birmingham News, where she was featured in several photo layouts. She also volunteered many hours at the Birmingham Crisis Center and Temple Beth-El and as an elder companion. Susan’s children know her as a wonderful, loving and zany mother who was their biggest cheerleader and encouraged them to pursue their passion and goals. Susan had an eye for fashion, a taste for good food and wine, and a great sense of humor. She lived life to the fullest. Susan was small in stature but giant in presence, and everyone who met her was charmed. Her friends and family will remember her warm laugh, her vivid imagination and her desire not to let challenges stand in her way. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. A memorial service was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 12, and the family will be sitting shiva Sunday, Oct. 15. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Birmingham Crisis Center at www.crisiscenterbham.org/give/donate.htmhe, the American Lung Association at www.lung.org or Hospice Atlanta at www.vnhs.org. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Sylvia Schwartz 93, Atlanta

Sylvia Schwartz, 93, a native of Atlanta, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. She was born Oct. 12, 1923, to Pearl and Isadore Glustrom, both of blessed memory. Sylvia graduated from Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt) and went to work for the Atlanta Jewish Community Center in 1954, retiring as the director of early childhood services at the Marcus JCC in 1990. A member of Na’amat and Brandeis, where she worked at the book sale for many years, she was a past vice president of Congregation Shearith Israel and a consultant to the Shearith Israel religious school. Sylvia was preceded in death by her loving husband of 68 years, Fred Schwartz, and siblings Jonny Glustrom and Ida Macher. She is survived by her daughter, Denise Schwartz; her sons, Jim (Wanda) and Bill (Terry); grandchildren Justin Schwartz, Jessica Franks, Whitney Schwartz-DuBose and Charles Cortell; great-grandchildren William, Hannah and Noah Franks, Kylie Ferris, and Kaden Schwartz; and niece Bobbi Wilson. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Sunday, Oct. 8, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Ari Kaiman officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Congregation Shearith Israel, www.shearithisrael.com, or Hospice Atlanta, www.vnhs.org. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Michael Wexler Michael Wexler, age 74, of Johns Creek passed away Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, after a recent illness. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., but from the age of 15 grew up in Monroe, where he later had his dental practice for over 20 years. He served as a captain in the Army during the Vietnam War. Michael graduated from the University of Georgia and Emory University. He was an avid tennis player and faithful fan of Georgia football, enjoyed traveling, and, most important, was a loving husband and father. Michael is survived by his wife, Sharon Berlye Wexler, and his two sons, Ryan Wexler of Roswell and Raegan Wexler of Mableton. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. The graveside funeral was held Friday, Oct. 6, at Green Lawn Cemetery in Roswell with Rabbi Spike Anderson officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Associate Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@ atljewishtimes.com.

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

74, Johns Creek

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Joseph the Fixer

OCTOBER 13 ▪ 2017

Joseph started working after school as a stock boy, and now, years later, after being transferred to different stores in the chain, he’s assistant manager back at his original place. Our first encounter years ago was the day he carried my bulky purchases to my car. I didn’t ask for help, but he insisted. I figured he was expecting a tip, but he refused when I offered it. “I appreciate your help, Joseph,” I said as he walked away. “How do you know my name?” he asked. “The manager’s always calling out for you. He works you hard, doesn’t he?” “I like it,” Joseph answered. “They count on me.” Joseph was right about that. He was the go-to guy in that store, consistently looking for ways to help people, never losing his cool or being too busy to climb to a top shelf or stoop to pick up fallen merchandise. He instinctively wheeled shopping carts for elderly and disabled customers and helped them check out. Best of all (unlike some of the teenagers you and I know), he was always in a good mood. I was in the store one day when he found a small, cheap ring while he was sweeping. Even though it wasn’t valuable, he ran up and down the aisles, trying unsuccessfully to find its owner. “It’s junk; throw it away,” Maria, the cashier, advised, but Joseph put it behind the counter. A little girl, sobbing, burst in, followed by her irate mother: “I lost my birthday ring! My grandma gave it to me!” Maria immediately produced the ring. She looked like the hero, but I knew better. Fortunately, Joseph’s bosses rewarded his fine qualities, and promotions ensued. So there he was, back where I first met him, no longer a stock boy. The store is a true salad bowl of ethnicities and socio-economic diversity. The languages and clothing from all over the world are part of the experience one enjoys while shopping. I was standing in a line of the usual multinational group, all of us anxious to get out quickly. It was after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and Atlanta rush hour had already begun. 54 The line was moving steadily, but

it came to a standstill because of the woman just ahead of me, whose cart was overflowing with clothing and housewares. She slowly moved her potential purchases back and forth between counter and cart, one at a time, scrutinizing each item. She tried to talk to Sofia, usually the fastest and

CROSSWORD 1

smartest cashier, but Sofia didn’t grasp a single word. We all heard her, too, and we shook our heads. Among the languages represented in the group, no one understood her. Was she addled and poor, forced at the moment of truth to decide what she really needed? Was she a new immigrant, confused about the system? Was she drugged or overmedicated? Was she trying to get away with something? Those of us behind her, imagining ourselves stuck in traffic, were becoming antsier and angrier by the second. We were fed up and didn’t care. We just wanted her to disappear, but in spite of our grumbling, none of us had the guts to push past her. Overwhelmed, Sofia called Joseph out of his office. He first did the obvious, then the unexpected. He opened a new register for Sofia and our line and took his place near the woman. As we followed Sofia to her new station, Joseph had something to say to us: “Isn’t this woman lucky to be here with us where we can help her? I’m sure a lot of us have been in her shoes. Thank you all for being so kind and understanding.” He smiled when he said it, but he meant business. I knew Joseph would patiently stand by the woman’s side and listen as she picked through her cart and talked to him in words he wouldn’t understand. He would gently escort her out, maybe even make sure she knew how to get home. I can only guess what the other people thought, but I have a plan. I’m praying for patience and empathy this year. Wishing you the same. Shanah tovah! ■

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By Chana Shapiro cshapiro@atljewishtimes.com

“Living Legends”

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

Chana’s Corner

www.atlantajewishtimes.com

ACROSS 1. Gyllenhaal and Arrieta 6. Arika in the Talmud 10. Signs 14. “Hello” singer who apologized for making antiSemitic remarks in 2009 15. Ooze like honey 16. “Buona ___” (Italian greeting) 17. Living legend born in 1922 19. Iranian money 20. Galena or bauxite 21. Fudd voiced by Mel Blanc 22. Have a cow? 23. “SNL” sketches 25. Apple core you’d never make a blessing on? 26. Brings to a beit din, perhaps 27. Day before 29. El Al, e.g. 32. Singer/songwriter Mann 35. Methuselah, for sure 36. Netivot to Be’er Sheva dir. 37. Living legend born in 1922 40. It’s a light name 41. Apportion tzedakah 43. One of Sheldon Adelson’s casinos 45. 1954 Billy Wilder classic 46. Lbs. and kgs., e.g. 48. IDF status 49. ___ carte 50. Wiener’s “Mad Men” star 54. “There’s ___ between us” 56. || on a YouTube video 58. Kosher animal in a famous Julie Andrews song 59. Neshika, in British slang 60. Living legend born in

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1915 62. Babka, e.g. 63. “And she bore ___” (Ruth 4:13) 64. Nemo creator Jules 65. Sound from the staff of Moses? 66. A Netanyahu 67. She put the “she” in Yeshiva

34. Living legend born in 1926 35. How many daughters 1-Down had 38. Merkava, e.g. 39. Baruch follower 42. Jaffa fruits 44. Pre-Tisha B’Av dip 46. Those who went to Touro 47. Israel “Journey” DOWN organization 1. Also known as Israel 49. His wife was Elisheba in 2. Purim won’t fall in it the Bible some years 51. Decorate a sukkah, 3. Israeli writer Etgar perhaps 4. Start of Lag B’Omer? 52. ___ of Olives 5. Like the Negev 53. Basketballer Gal 6. Author of “I, Robot” 54. Writer Sholem 7. Elaine on “Seinfeld” 55. ___ Yisrael 8. Goldstar, e.g. 56. Shekel alternative to 9. Passover mo., generally Carlos 10. Gene Simmons, by birth 57. “Green” sin 11. Living legend born in 60. It might become cow 1927 cud 12. ___ maga 61. David compared with 13. You can probably get a Goliath, to a Scot sukkah on this next week 18. Late great Wiesel 22. Least loquacious 24. Isaac couldn’t do it 26. Fries or kugel, often 28. Abolish, like Germany did with Nazi laws LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 29. “___ My G L A T T M I A M I I S H Sons” (Arthur A I S H A A S L A N R C A Miller) P A P E R C H A I N S G A L 30. Mayim I S R N S U M U L L F R U I T G A R L A N D S Bialik plays W A R S N O E I N one I M U S G U N G S T R U T 31. Patriarchal F O I L D E C O R A T I O N S and Davidic E S T E E H A I M S O D A 32. Those E L S P A R M O R named after a G R A P E C L U S T E R S Judean king R O S S E A S I F I 33. Wife of A L P I N T H E S U K K A H D E E M I K E S A K I V A Sacha (Baron S S N S C A R E H I D E R Cohen) 1

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