Atlanta Jewish Times, Vol. XCII No. 39, October 6, 2017 by Atlanta Jewish Times

Skin... it’s what we do!

Marc E. Yune, MD

Triple Board Certified Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

CONNECTIONS

Many groups bring young professionals together, but not always for love. Page 19

JEWISH SINGLES, PAGES 19-24 LONELY GAME SEEKING … Romance can prove elusive for Jewish Atlantans who are widowed or divorced. Page 20

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Raven Elosiebo-Walker, MD Board Certified Dermatologist

VOL. XCII NO. 39

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OCTOBER 6, 2017 | 16 TISHREI 5778

Aprio Leads Caribbean Relief From Hurricanes By Logan C. Ritchie lritchie@atljewishtimes.com When Category 5 winds from Hurricane Irma shredded St. Thomas’ only hospital Wednesday, Sept. 6, Atlanta accounting firm Aprio was launched into action that carried through weeks of drama packed, like a Shakespeare play, with many characters, much heroism and a timely touch of coincidence. The day after Irma ravaged Schneider Regional Medical Center in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Jewish accounting manager Julie Reader of Aprio (the former Habif Arogeti & Wynne) reached a client who’s an orthopedic surgeon on St. Thomas and was in dire need of materials for a makeshift surgical site, as well as such basic needs as water and generators. While Reader set out to collect supplies, colleague Susan O’Dwyer planned a delivery. Her experience with humanitarian logistics stems from providing relief to Tuscaloosa, Ala., after her son lived through a tornado that hit April 2011. She emailed everyone on her contact list, looking for a pilot and a plane. Within 35 minutes Angel Flight Soars, a volunteer program based at DeKalb Peachtree Airport, arranged for Bob Brown to make room on a Sept. 8 flight to St. Thomas. “I kept telling pilot Brown, ‘I love you. This is amazing.’ And he responded,

Aprio managing director Robert Melnick arranges boxes to maximize space in a U-Haul truck bound to Miami with relief supplies.

‘Hey, if you want something done, ask a Jew to do it,’ ” O’Dwyer said. Aprio staff kept collecting supplies and innovating ways to deliver them. Conference rooms were overflowing. “If there are 100,000 people, what we sent was only a drop in the bucket,” O’Dwyer said about the Virgin Islands. The local work has continued as Hurricane Maria, which cut through the Virgin Islands and slammed Puerto Rico two weeks after Irma, has added to the needs in the Caribbean and the response across Jewish Atlanta. A swirl of activity and people came together for the islands: • Sally Mundell of The Packaged Good worked with Spanx to provide

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1,000 kits of shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and aspirin. • O’Dwyer’s doctor friend donated glucometers for people with diabetes. • Aprio sales manager Stephanie Oliver collected blankets and first-aid kits for 30 children from a church youth group. • Reader got 200 pounds of medical gloves from MedShare in Decatur. • Robert Melnick, a Jewish Aprio managing director and a master tactician, took inventory and packed supplies. • A donor gave $5,000 to High Tech Ministries for supplies. O’Dwyer and her husband used that money to buy tarps, brooms, mops and cleaning supplies. Ben Federman, brother of Chabad

INSIDE Candle Lighting �� 4 Israel News ��6 Opinion ��10 Business �� 13 Food ��18 Arts ��25 Obituaries �� 29 Crossword �� 30 Marketplace �� 31

Rabbi Asher Federman on St. Thomas and a Miami evacuee, solved the problem of delivering the supplies when jets were ruled out. A private equity investor, he arranged transport from Miami to St. Thomas, using his knowledge of shipping lines, custom forms and palletizing. “Aprio paid for a 20-foot U-Haul. It was packed so well, you couldn’t have slid a single piece of paper in there,” O’Dwyer said. Chabad of Atlanta congregant Aaron Holder, who weeks earlier drove a packed truck to Harvey victims in Texas, recruited two Life University classmates to drive the truck to Miami. Sandra Jean and Brett Anderson left Tuesday, Sept. 26, with toiletry kits, tarps, mops, buckets, brooms, other cleaning supplies, diapers, baby wipes, food, glucometers and medical gloves. Eight pallets, each 6 feet tall and nearly 100 pounds, were wrapped and ready to be loaded onto a container ship. When the truck was stuck in a line half a mile from the ship, Jean tracked down the harbor master, and working in the office were two St. Thomas natives, who pushed the truck to the front. After delays, the ship was due to depart Wednesday, Oct. 4. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also turned to Aprio, seeking O’Dwyer’s help to fly 185 satellite phones to St. Thomas. She and Doug Ross, who heads the Birthright Israel Foundation’s Atlanta board, worked with Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to get the phones on a plane to the islands. Supplies and money from Aprio employees, Jewish community members, and O’Dwyer’s church, Birmingham Methodist in Alpharetta, are still pouring in, and she keeps looking for transportation to St. Thomas. “We haven’t even gotten to the cement, the 2-by-4s, the drywall. The logistics are staggering,” she said. ■

OCTOBER 6 â&#x2013;ª 2017

MA TOVU

Temporary Windows Open on Joy and Life are meant to build a sukkah (hut) for the next holiday, Sukkot. By design a sukkah is temporary in nature, open to the sky. Yom Kippur reminds us that none of us knows if we are destined to survive. None of us can truly avoid

Taking Root By Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder rabbiruth@gmail.com

all disaster. At some point we will face loss, danger or destruction. And as we flow into Sukkot, we are reminded that if we survive, we will need to rebuild. Rebuilding after devastation is hard. Often the frameworks that we cobble together after disaster hits, whatever form it takes — the loss of a job or marriage, the loss of health or a loved one — are, by necessity, temporary like the sukkah. As we recenter ourselves, we are all too aware of the gaps. But unlike somber Yom Kippur, Sukkot is meant to be z’man simchatenu, the time of our happiness. Because even difficult times can have their elements of joy, those moments the gaps are filled not only with darkness, but also with starlight and possibility. And when we avoid difficulties, it is easy to fall back into a false sense that we are impervious to danger. In those moments, the celebration of Sukkot reminds us that joy, however wonderful, has an element of the impermanent. It may stay, or it may go -- A realization that should heighten our compassion for others who are less fortunate and our appreciation of the gifts we have. It is upon us to savor what is, lest we miss those gifts altogether. After the recent storms, after Yom Kippur, I have returned to my sunroom. Once again, there is pure joy in reading a book under a skylight or watching birds perched in a tree. Even as I cherish these moments, I know the delight they bring is impermanent. It heightens awareness of the leaves that have fallen and the shortening of the days and reminds me that these windows are no magic barrier against all that might be. ■

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, 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 6 ▪ 2017

I love the back room of my house, with three walls of large windows that reach toward the ceiling. During the day the room is bathed in light, and the view is of a dense patch of trees. It’s an extraordinary sanctuary blending the inside and outside worlds. That was how I saw it, at least until last month when the forecasts began to predict that Irma might arrive with force in Atlanta. Along with everyone in the region, I was unsure of the potential impact. Patio furniture was put away, the grill and plants brought inside. But there was nothing to be done about the possible danger of the trees and the fragility of the windows. In all likelihood, there was no significant difference between the threat to the rest of the house and my sunroom, yet I worried most about that room. The very windows that generally make it so appealing laid bare the possibility that the outside would come in. We were fortunate. The storm did not touch our house. Our windows and trees remained in place. Not so for everyone. We all know people who lost trees, windows, power, water, roofs and more because of Harvey, Irma or Maria. I was thinking about them as I sat in synagogue on Yom Kippur. Though we all know that death can take us at any moment, most of the time we push that knowledge aside so as not to let it interfere with the business of living. On Yom Kippur we are forced to confront that sobering reality. The rituals of the day are funerary in nature. No food, no water, no bodily pleasures. All meant to remind us that nothing is permanent. A reminder eerily similar to those provided by the recent storms. Traditionally, the time after Yom Kippur is a time of great celebration. We have survived another year. We have made it through Yom Kippur. Once again we are able to push our concerns about the precarious nature of our existence to the back of our minds. The storm has passed; I can carelessly return to sit in the sunroom with the windows and live without worry. Except that there is another tradition. At the close of Yom Kippur, we

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Sukkot Wednesday, Oct. 4, light candles at 6:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, light candles after 7:53 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, light candles at 6:57 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Shabbat ends at 7:50 p.m. Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Wednesday, Oct. 11, light candles at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, light candles after 7:44 p.m. Bereishit Friday, Oct. 13, light candles at 6:48 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Shabbat ends at 7:42 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 6

Sukkah dinner and games. The Sixth Point serves Shabbat dinner and plays games in the sukkah at the Levys’ house, 2884 Parkridge Drive, Brookhaven, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 until Oct. 4 and $15 at the door; thesixthpoint.org/event/shabbat-dinnergame-night-sukkah-2017.

SUNDAY, OCT. 8

Mitzvah day. VIA (Volunteers in Action), the young adult group of Jewish Family & Career Services, holds Atlanta’s largest community service day for young Jewish professionals, with 12 projects at various starting times across the metro area. Free; register at www.mitzvahdayatl.org. SOJOURN in the Sukkah. SOJOURN visits Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Buckhead, at 9:30 a.m. and Congregation Gesher L’Torah, 4320 Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, at 4 p.m. to showcase its work and celebrate Sukkot. Registration is $18; www. sojourngsd.org/sukkottix Sukkot festival. The Marcus JCC, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, holds its first Sukkot Farm-to-Table Festival at noon. Free to all (cook-off entry $18, cook-off tasting $10); sukkotfarmtotablefestival.com/register. Sukkot celebration. Chabad of North

Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, holds a community celebration with pizza, games and crafts at 4 p.m. Free; chabadnf.org. Water celebration. Congregation Ner Hamizrach, 1858 LaVista Road, Toco Hills, invites the community to enjoy Simchat Bet HaShoeva, a tradition harkening to the Temple’s water-drawing ceremony during Sukkot, after the 7 p.m. Mincha minyan. Free; www.nerhamizrach.org.

TUESDAY, OCT. 10

SOJOURN in the Sukkah. SOJOURN visits Congregation Shearith Israel, 1180 University Drive, Morningside, at 7:30 a.m. to showcase its work and celebrate Sukkot. Registration is $18; www. sojourngsd.org/sukkottix Women’s Sukkot event. Chabad Women’s Circle gathers in the sukkah at Chabad of North Fulton, 10180 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, for sandwiches and other treats at 7:30 p.m. Details at www.chabadnf.org.

THURSDAY, OCT. 12

Simchat Torah. Among the holiday celebrations at synagogues 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.

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.

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.

TUESDAY, OCT. 17

Religious freedom in Israel. Mickey Gitzin, the new executive directive in Israel for the New Israel Fund, addresses the question “Israel: From Democracy to Theocracy?” at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom, 5303 Winters Chapel Road, Dunwoody. Free; bit. ly/2hwz3CG or 212-613-4426.

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.

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

Remember When

10 Years Ago Oct. 5, 2007 ■ A Lawrenceville man is accused of serving as a guard who handled attack dogs at Dachau and Buchenwald. Paul Henss, 85, who remains a German citizen 52 years after arriving in the United States, faces a deportation hearing before an immigration judge after charges were brought against him by the federal Justice and Homeland Security departments. ■ The bar mitzvah ceremony of Jordan Samuel Berne of Roswell, son of Warren and Felicia Berne, was held May 12 at Congregation Etz Chaim. 25 Years Ago Oct. 2, 1992 ■ Jewish fans of the Atlanta Braves are facing a rare (for them) conflict this year: The first two games of the National

League Championship Series between the Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates are being played during Yom Kippur. Game 1 is at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 6, and Game 2 starts the next day at 3 p.m., both at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 50 Years Ago Oct. 6, 1967 ■ Plans for a chair of Judaic studies at Emory University have become definite with the announcement of a $150,000 gift from Mr. and Mrs. I.T. Cohen in memory of their son, Jay, and his wife, Leslie, who were killed in a hotel fire in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 29, 1963. The Cohens feel close to Emory because Jay received a law degree there and because their son-in-law, William Schatten, received his bachelor’s and medical degrees at Emory and is on staff. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Henry Leff of Atlanta announce the engagement of daughter Nancy Sue to Barry Samuel Minkoff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Irving H. Minkoff of Atlanta.

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CALENDAR SUNDAY, OCT. 22

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 Metulla Group and the Beth Shalom Sisterhood. Free; 914-602-8998.

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 Fertil-

ity Foundation, 60 Lenox Pointe, Buckhead, holds training for its Fertility Buddies peer support program at noon. Free; RSVP to www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org/fertilitybuddies.

BBQ Fest to Benefit Six Organizations The fifth annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival is taking place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, at Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run in Dunwoody, but its impact should last long after the expected 4,000 attendees digest their fill of smoked meats. The festival will support six charitable causes: Jewish Education Loan Fund (JELF), I Care Atlanta, Jewish Family & Career Services, Helping Feed Atlanta, Weinstein Hospice and the Cobb County Police K9 Unit. The benevolent society Hebrew Order of David runs the annual kosher barbecue event, which takes on the festival name this year after previously being called a competition. “It is the mission of the Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival to raise awareness of and provide support for worthwhile charities while bringing the community together,” festival Executive Director Jody Pollack said. “We are proud to be supporting several local charities positively impacting our community.” Five of the six beneficiaries will receive money from the festival’s sale of tickets to sample the food of the more than 20 teams competing to prove they make the best chicken, ribs, brisket and beans. The sixth organization, JF&CS, will hold a kosher food drive at the festival. Attendees are asked to bring kosher, nonperishable food items in exchange for free tasting tickets. Admission to the festival is free.

The competition takes place under the supervision of the Atlanta Kosher Commission and is judged by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Tasting tickets are $1, and vendors also will be selling food. The Atlanta Jewish Music Festival will provide entertainment, and children’s activities will be available. For more information, visit theatlantakosherbbq.com.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

“The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival is about delicious food, family entertainment and giving back to the greater community,” festival CoDirector Ian Platt said. “Festival-goers will enjoy a wonderful afternoon all while supporting invaluable organizations.”

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ISRAEL NEWS

Jewish State Gives Iranian Journalist Refuge By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

When Iranian-born journalist and Times of Israel blogger Neda Amin sought refuge this summer while fearing her life was in danger in Turkey, she found support from Times of Israel Editor David Horovitz, who contacted Israeli officials and helped Amin move to Israel. While living in Iran, Amin reported on various events and wrote a series of books that caught the attention of the Islamic regime in Tehran. She was accused of composing literature that deviated from societal norms and was sentenced to two years of probation by Iran’s revolutionary court. Despite her trial, Amin composed another publication that led to her decision to flee. “I didn’t want to leave Iran. I loved my country, but I feared being thrown in prison,” she said. Making her way to Turkey in 2014, Amin continued her career as a reporter for The Times of Israel (an online partner of the AJT) until Turk-

ish authorities began subjecting her to frequent interrogations. They accused her of being an Israeli spy and this year threatened her with deportation to Iran if she refused to work with them. Amin was told by her lawyer and the United Nations that the only thing they could do was to send her case to Geneva, where she could lose, with the result that she would be sent back to Iran to be thrown in prison. “I cried constantly and felt that my life was becoming a nightmare,” said Amin, who faced execution or the amputation of her right hand and left foot as well as torture and rape in Iran. “I was ready to commit suicide rather than fall into the Revolutionary Guard’s hands.” In the midst of hopelessness, however, Horovitz contacted Amin to learn more about her situation. “I didn’t think he would do anything to help me but decided to share my story.” Amin said Horovitz told her to travel to Istanbul, where she would receive an Israeli visa. In Istanbul, Amin encountered further complications when Turkish

Blogger, journalist and activist Neda Amin left Iran in 2014 amid threats against her life and now lives in Israel, where she writes for The Times of Israel.

authorities refused to let her leave. “I was shocked and confused and wanted to know why they were restraining me if they sought to deport me earlier,” said Amin, who had three days of frustration in Istanbul until Horovitz contacted the Israeli Consulate. “They wouldn’t tell me anything and would not provide any information. However, after speaking with Horovitz, I was told to go home and not to worry, as they would take care of everything,” she said. “I don’t know what they said, but I received a call the following day to come sign some forms so I could finally leave.” Alongside her German shepherd, Chica, Amin boarded the plane that would fly her to Tel Aviv in early August. “I was fearful until the last moments before the flight took off as there were so many Turks on the flight and I thought I would be arrested,” said Amin, who was greeted by Horovitz in Israel. “I started crying when I reached immigration and couldn’t stop for five days out of sheer happiness. “I am so grateful to Mr. Horovitz and very appreciative of the help Israel provided.” Although Amin has lived in Israel for two months, she continues to wake up in fear in the middle of the night and feels unsafe. “They really put me through a lot, and I couldn’t tell if it was the Iranian or Turkish government who was behind the interrogations,” she said. While Amin lived in Turkey, her

apartment was ransacked five times, including twice while she was home with Chica, who drove off the intruders. “I don’t know what I would have done had it not been for her,” Amin said. Since arriving in Israel, Amin has gained some solace while assimilating into Israeli culture. “I feel like I’m at home, and everything is peaceful. People treat me humanely and are actually very nice,” she said. “When I told people I was from Iran and Turkey, it’s as if they wanted to cut my eyes out, but when I tell Israelis I’m Persian, they immediately exclaim how much they love Iranians.” Amin is taking Hebrew classes, and, despite limited English, she is adjusting to her new home. She continues to write, but she has limited opportunities to do so in her native Farsi. “I am not used to working outside the confines of Farsi, but it’s not a big problem as I am still able to communicate in English.” With Iranian Revolutionary Court orders hanging over her, Amin blogs under the Iranian regime’s watchful eyes. “I hope to continue reporting on current events and tell people about Israel so their perception can change, especially in Iran,” she said. She wants to build a relationship between Israel and Iran through her reporting. “It’s my obligation to help expose the truth and let people know what’s taking place. I want to keep individuals informed and reveal their hidden struggles in my own language.” ■

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ISRAEL NEWS

Israel Education Goes Online for Atlanta Teens As part of our core mission to enhance Israel knowledge among teens, we at the Center for Israel Education are excited to announce the launch of a six-week online instructional program for Atlanta teens in Grades 9 to 12. This opportunity will be open to select students, who will participate in weekly online classes on Israel-related topics. New lessons will be posted each Sunday, and students will have a week to complete them. Each lesson will be 30 minutes in length. Last year, in my first column for the Atlanta Jewish Times, I wrote about the need to transform Israel education from overly focusing on advocacy toward a broader understanding of Israeli and Zionist history, politics and culture. I asked, “If we only teach Israel in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, what will our students learn about Jewish self-determination, statebuilding, creativity and ingenuity?” Over the past year we have made great strides towards implementing this vision. We created an adult education program on the June 1967 war and its long-term impact, expanded our curriculum for second to seventh grades and continued our professional development work with Israel educators from throughout North America. CIE delivered presentations at local schools and international youth conventions on issues dealing with religion and state, the origins of Zionism, and Israeli politics.

IDEAL is the next step in reaching larger audiences using the CIE website and engaging young learners. As members of the inaugural

Optimism for New Year

confidence of 23.5 percent. Among institutions, Israelis continue to put the most trust in the Israel Defense Forces (89 percent), followed by the presidency (70 percent), the Supreme Court (54 percent), the prime minister (49 percent) and the rabbinate (28 percent). Israeli Arabs put the most trust in the Supreme Court (60.5 percent), with only 37 percent trusting the IDF and 16 percent trusting Netanyahu. According to the Peace Index survey, conducted with 600 Israelis through Sept. 27, members of rightwing political parties and secular Israelis have the strongest feelings of belonging in Israeli society, while the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs feel the least connected. ■

By Rich Walter

cohort, students will get to provide feedback about the program’s content, format and delivery method throughout the six weeks. We are seeking inquisitive and dedicated learners who are interested in supplementing their knowledge of Israeli history, culture and contemporary issues. Interested students can apply at www.israeled.org/ideal. The deadline is Oct. 15. Selected students and their parents will be invited to a kickoff event Oct. 29 with CIE founder and President Ken Stein on the Emory campus. A culminating event will be held Dec. 17. For questions or more information, email rich.walter@israeled.org. ■

Today in Israeli History

Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org), where you can find more details. Oct. 6, 1914: The USS North Carolina delivers $50,000 in gold to Jaffa to aid the Jewish community in Palestine. American Jewish leaders led by Louis Marshall and Jacob Schiff raised the money after a plea from Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey. Oct. 7, 1985: Members of the Palestinian Liberation Front hijack the cruise ship Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt while several hundred passengers are ashore for a tour of the pyramids. The terrorists fatally shoot one of the passengers still on board, wheelchair-bound Jewish American Leon Klinghoffer. The ship had departed Genoa, Italy, on Oct. 3 with 748 passengers for an 11-day cruise. Oct. 8, 1576: Ottoman Sultan Murad III issues a firman (a royal decree) ordering that 1,000 Jews from Safed be

registered, removed and sent to live in Famagusta, Cyprus. Oct. 9, 1917: Sarah Aaronsohn, an intelligence operative for the Nili spy network supporting the British in Palestine, dies four days after shooting herself to avoid further torture and interrogation by Turkish authorities. Oct. 10, 1983: Yitzhak Shamir is elected the seventh prime minister of Israel after Menachem Begin resigns because of health and personal issues. Oct. 11, 1938: After a four-day conference in Cairo, Arab leaders adopt the Resolutions of the Inter-Parliamentary Congress, rejecting the Balfour Declaration and any partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The conference is a response to the British Peel Commission Report of 1937. Oct. 12, 1938: Gavriel Salomon is born. A specialist in educational psychology, he serves as the dean of the faculty of education at the University of Haifa from 1993 to 1998.

Rich Walter is the associate director for Israel education at the Center for Israel Education (www.israeled.org).

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

The year 5778 is starting on an optimistic note in Israel, with 84.5 percent of Israelis saying their mood is good or very good and a similar percentage expecting this year to be at least as good personally as 5777, according to the Israel Democracy Institute’s Peace Index. But pessimism exceeds optimism on socio-economic issues, and 40 percent of respondents expect the divisions within Israeli society to widen. The September Peace Index survey examined Israelis’ views on their personal situations and national affairs, including trust in state institutions and prominent politicians. For example, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the trust of 43 percent of the public, while Labor leader Avi Gabbay has the

Guest Column

The Achille Lauro hijackers surrender in Port Said, Egypt, on Oct. 10, 1985.

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ISRAEL NEWS

Photo by Patrice Worthy

AJC Atlanta Regional Director Dov Wilker introduces Africa Institute Director Eliseo Neuman during a reception for AJC donors who have qualified for membership in the Marshall Society.

Photo by Haim Zach, Government Press Office

A little more than a month before canceling October’s planned Israel-Africa summit in his nation, Togo President Faure Gnassingbé visits Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem on Aug. 7.

Geopolitical Shifts in Africa Open Doors for Israel By Patrice Worthy

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

Israel’s relationship with Africa has changed dramatically since the 1960s and 1970s, Eliseo Neuman, the director of the American Jewish Committee Africa Institute, said during a recent Atlanta-area talk on “Israel’s Blossoming Ties With Africa: Why Now?” AJC recently made its first trip to Africa with lay leaders because of the changes on the continent since the Arab Spring of 2011, which created a geopolitical climate in which Israel is now welcome, Neuman said. “They think of Israel as a startup nation with a First World economy,” Neuman said. “Israel was a poor socialist country in the ’60s, and we looked to Africa as the nearest point beyond our circle of enemies.” Israel wanted to share with Africa the knowledge it had gained through its developmental challenges, such as water availability, nation-building, irrigation and defense, and the Jewish state reached out to many countries under Prime Minister Golda Meir. Israel sought alliances with African nations that naturally aligned with its sensibilities and plight. Neuman noted that Theodor Herzl was quoted in reference to Africa’s many colonized countries as saying, “Once I have witnessed the redemption of the Jews, my people, I wish also to assist in the redemption of the Africans.” But that initial phase of knowledge sharing did not end well. Most African nations severed ties with Israel, which the Israelis perceived as a huge 8 betrayal.

The orientation of Israel shifted in the 1970s toward the United States, causing tension with Africa. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, Israeli contact with Africa became sporadic, Neuman said. “Israel maintained the wrong kind of connections and had a close relationship with the apartheid government in South Africa,” he said. “There was a shift in openness to Africa and dialogue.” The view of Israel has changed, however, and many African nations now view the startup nation favorably. The strengthening relationships, a diplomatic goal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, come at a time when Israel needs friends, especially in the United Nations, and when Israel can leverage its technological growth. Israel’s expertise on water, energy and public health is valuable to many countries in Africa, Neuman said. Through Project Interchange, a program that brings leaders from all over the world to Israel, exposing them to the region and its complex issues, the AJC Africa Institute can forge enduring connections. The Africa Institute uses diplomacy to make contacts with businessmen in Africa and connect them with entrepreneurial Israelis. “Project Interchange fosters strong ties to build a political dialogue and zero in on business leaders, and the results have been fantastic,” Neuman said. It was a trip to Rwanda that resonated with AJC Atlanta President Melanie Nelkin. She visited the Rwanda-Israel Center of Excellence for Hor-

ticultural Development, a joint project between the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s MASHAV international development initiative and the Rwandan Agricultural Board. Nelkin and AJC met in Rwanda with Boaz Medina, a MASHAV representative who teaches horticulture classes. “He was teaching them the science of seedlings, germination and techniques specific to the country,” Nelkin said. “Rwanda is not flat. It’s called the Land of a Thousand Hills. You have to navigate the different levels, layers and heights.” She observed how Israeli technology, including the expertise of solar panel companies, is helping people living in remote villages by giving them access to WiFi, cellphone networks, lights and energy. She said that forging relationships with African countries couldn’t come at a better time because Israel can help Africa with business and thus help bring people out of poverty. “If you think geographically where Israel is and where Africa is, you can say they’re neighbors and potential allies, and I think they need each other for that reason,” Nelkin said. “If we can help them elevate themselves economically, then we can ask them to help us raise the profile of Israel on the world stage in the U.N. and the OAU (Organization of African Unity) because Israel is being treated unfairly. It’s about finding common ground and how we go from there.” But tension remains. Supporters of the Palestinian cause applied pressure to Faure Gnass-

ingbé, the president of Togo, to cancel an Africa-Israel summit being held in his country. Neuman had planned to attend the summit, and AJC was slated to be featured in a plenary session. The cancellation has been called a slap in the face to Netanyahu, but not all African countries support an active Israeli presence on the continent. “In many other countries they don’t identify Israel with a colonizing power,” Neuman said, “but in South Africa they see their identity through a prism of being victims of a racist regime.” The history of oppression and a large Muslim population put South Africa’s Jews, who are only 70,000 strong and have excelled in every area, at the fringe of identity politics. Israel’s issues are difficult to advance in South Africa because Jews are seen as white, Neuman said. “It’s hard for them to see Jews as the victim,” he said. “The heart is with the victim, but the mind is with the victor, and Israel with its own capabilities is under stress.” Although people in many African countries see no need to take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, antiIsrael posturing is strong. And while the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement doesn’t have roots in South Africa, history can validate a movement in the eyes of black South Africans, Neuman said. He said his work shows that Israelis see both sides of the story. “They understand it’s part of a much bigger conversation, and there are Israelis who struggle with that.” ■

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OPINION

Israel Pride: Good News From Our Jewish Home

New homes for Nahariya. The Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing reported the signing Sept. 26 of an agreement with the Nahariya municipality for the construction of 11,600 homes with a budget of 1.7 billion shekels ($480 million). The northern Mediterranean coastal city has a population of 55,000. Early cancer detection. BGN, the technology transfer company of BenGurion University of the Negev, has announced an agreement with Singapore’s Ram Group to develop a minimally invasive diagnostic sensor for earlier detection of cancer and other diseases than is now possible. The sensor will detect antibodies at previ-

ously undetectable concentrations in the blood, meaning that cancer could be treated before it even produces a tumor, said Gabby Sarousi, the electrooptical engineering professor who is leading the research. African military deal. Haifa-based defense electronics company Elbit Systems recently won a $240 million contract to supply a variety of systems to meet the operational needs of an army in an African country. The deal marks a significant achievement for the company in the African market. Elbit Systems declined to specify the country, explaining that the nation did not want its large-scale procurement of weapons systems to be exposed. Under the agreement, Elbit Systems will supply weapons systems within two years. Custom orthotics. Rishon LeZionbased Upstep (www.upstep.com) is a new online service that makes custom orthotic insoles and delivers them to homes. U.S. customers answer a few questions on the website, such as whether you have foot pain and what

size, type, color, brand and model of shoes you plan to put the inserts into. You snap a picture of the shoes and attach it to the form. The impression box arrives within a couple of days, and an Upstep tutorial video helps you make footprint impressions. The kit goes back to an Upstep fulfilment center in New Jersey, where 3D technology helps scan the impressions. The design file is sent to an Israeli production center, where the insoles are made within 12 days. The insoles cost around $200 — more than over-the-counter orthotics but less than most custom options. Puerto Rican aid. An emergency response team from Israeli nongovernmental organization IsraAID, including professionals from an established team in Haiti, arrived in Puerto Rico to help the island deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Based on its assessment of immediate needs, the team’s priority was distributing and setting up water filters and training locals to use them effectively. The Israeli team also distributed food and hygiene kits in poor neighborhoods.

Back from Mexico. An Israel Defense Forces search-and-rescue team of about 70 soldiers arrived back in Israel on Thursday, Sept. 28, after more than a week of helping Mexico after a deadly series of earthquakes. The delegation was the largest group sent by a foreign nation to help Mexico, arrived first and left last. “True friendship is measured in moments of crisis, and this is exactly what we did,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Skinny-dip in style. Professional swimmer Guy Barnea, 30, an Israeli record holder and 2008 Olympian, has a men’s swimsuit line. To promote his suits, Barnea set up a nude photo shoot on the beach, and the experience was so liberating that Barnea now wants to give everyone a chance to feel what it is like to skinny-dip in open water without exposure to the whole world — for a small fee. The campaign is meant as a first step toward creating safe spaces to skinny-dip in crowded public areas. Compiled courtesy of israel21c.org, timesofisrael.com and other sources.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

Kosher wine for China. Galil-based Hayotzer winery has built an $8 million facility in China with the Pen Dun Group. The Chinese see kosher symbols as marks of quality and import tens of thousands of bottles of wine from Israel. Importers at a recent wine fair in China placed an order for 40,000 bottles of Israeli wines.

OPINION

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Our View

Vegas Massacre

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

The United States has a gun problem, but it’s not the problem that led to the incomprehensible slaughter in Las Vegas late Sunday night, Oct. 1. Stephen Paddock’s slaying of at least 59 people with relentless automatic weapons fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay has caused shock, anger and overwhelming grief. But it is a classic, tragic mistake to rush to the judgment that the Las Vegas carnage is the result of a failure of our gun laws to control maniacs, psychopaths, terrorists, the mentally ill or whatever other category might apply to Paddock. Take the “common sense” gun control measures proposed by the Obama administration after the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012. From universal background checks to limits on the capacity of magazines to a ban on certain military-looking semiautomatic weapons, the ideas had varying degrees of merit, but none of them would have stopped Adam Lanza from stealing his mother’s firearms and killing helpless children and teachers. The only idea in the immediate aftermath that might have made a difference in Newtown, Conn., was the NRA’s proposal to station armed civilians at school entrances, thus making them harder targets. It was a proposal full of risks, but it was at least worth debating if the goal was to prevent another Sandy Hook. Instead, because of its source and its failure to “control” guns, it was mocked and dismissed. As for Paddock, he never should have possessed fully automatic weapons, and banning the sale of such weapons and doing more to crack down on the illegal purchases of kits to convert semiautomatic weapons to fully automatic are worthy pursuits. But such laws will not prevent another determined killer from wreaking similar havoc at some random place and time in the United States, any more than they have prevented mass killings in Paris, London, Manchester, Brussels, Istanbul and so many other places in recent years. The motives and means might vary, but the ability of bad people to find ways to kill in horrific numbers is a constant. Even repealing the Second Amendment and confiscating every legal firearm in the country — ideas that are neither possible nor wise — would not change that reality. We have far too many gun homicides in this country each year — between 12,000 and 15,000, excluding suicides — but the weapons involved in most of those killings aren’t vaguely defined assault weapons. They’re handguns. The debate over how to reduce those deaths and whether some form of gun control can or should be part of the solution is worth having, but it has nothing to do with the people slain on the Strip. A serious response to Las Vegas first requires us to suspend the fantasy that the United States is unique in facing such events. It also means differentiating between mass, random slaughter and the broader definitions of mass shootings — such as three people shot in a drug deal gone bad — that only confuse the issues. Most important, it forces us to acknowledge that increasing safety means decreasing freedom and that no free society is immune to horrific violence, as 10 our brothers and sisters in Israel know all too well. ■

Cartoon by Jos Collignon, CagleCartoons.com

Shul as an Inclusive Garden The glass is half-empty: Interfaith marriage is a A letter reasserting that position is expected crisis for American Jewry. soon from the Conservative leadership. You’ll have Demographers estimate that 40 percent of Conthe chance to read the related thoughts of the head servative Jews who married between 2000 and 2013 of the USCJ, Rabbi Steven Wernick, in a forthcoming wed non-Jews, and the figure was about 80 percent AJT issue, and it’s sure to be a topic during the USCJ for Reform Jews. The calamity, as sociologist Stephen convention in Atlanta in December. M. Cohen has found, is I had to drive three that only 8 percent of the hours west to Huntsville, grandchildren of those Ala., to hear an expert Editor’s Notebook intermarried couples Conservative discussion By Michael Jacobs consider themselves reliof interfaith issues from giously Jewish. an Atlanta resident, Rabbi mjacobs@atljewishtimes.com The glass is half-full: Steven Listfield, who was Interfaith marriage is an officiating at Yom Kippur opportunity for American services at Etz Chayim Jewry. Synagogue for the third consecutive year. My son A decreasing percentage of non-Orthodox Jews is a sophomore at the University of Alabama in are getting married, and those who do marry are Huntsville, and Etz Chayim graciously welcomed our typically waiting longer to do so and having fewer family for the holiest day of the year. children. That’s where simple arithmetic kicks in. Rabbi Listfield said he believes that the overIf two Jews marry and have one child, the Jewish whelming majority of his fellow Conservative rabbis population declines, period. But if two Jews each share his position: They should not officiate at intermarry non-Jews, and each couple has one child, the faith weddings. Jewish population can be maintained — as long as But he rejected the explanation offered by some both couples raise their children Jewish, including colleagues that their role is to defend the boundaries conversion if necessary. between the Jewish and the non-Jewish. (It’s my thought experiment, so let’s ignore the In a world where most of us have non-Jewish reality that you need more than two children per relatives, Rabbi Listfield views rabbis’ job as tending couple on average to maintain a population. And the garden of Judaism so that it grows to be beautilet’s leave debates over the merits of matrilineal ful, vibrant and irresistible. After all, the challenge descent for another day.) isn’t just to produce Jewish children; it’s also to If those interfaith couples have multiple chilengage those children, one Jewish parent or two, and dren, Jewish population growth is possible, as long as instill in them a love of Torah and Jewish identity. those families feel welcomed and want to be Jewish. Rabbi Listfield didn’t mention it, but his apHow the Jewish community should respond to proach mirrors Chabad. Although there are sharp interfaith couples is the topic for doctoral dissertalines about who is and isn’t Jewish — if you weren’t tions, but it’s an issue breaking to the surface again born to a Jewish mother, you aren’t Jewish without in the Conservative movement, which has resisted conversion — everyone is welcome to pray, to learn taking the Reform/Reconstructionist path of letting and to share in the beauty that is Judaism. rabbis officiate at weddings between Jews and nonIt’s not a magic formula. It won’t satisfy everyJews. The Rabbinical Assembly bars Conservative one. But it plays to Judaism’s strengths, and it offers rabbis from even attending such ceremonies. a positive approach to a problematic opportunity. ■

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OPINION

Demography as Destiny For American Jewry can Jews to be ages 18 to 29, 30 percent ages 30 to 49, 25 percent ages 50 to 64, and 27 percent age 65 and older. Of those under 30, only 47 percent identified as Jews by religion, in contrast to 78 percent of those 65 and older. “If current trends continue, then,

From Where I Sit By Dave Schechter dschechter@atljewishtimes.com

in 30 years, we’ll see about half as many Conservative and Reform Jews age 60-69 as we have today,” Cohen and company forecast. “Only the Orthodox are having enough children to fuel population growth. Conservative and Reform Jews are falling well short of population replacement,” they reported. Writing admiringly of Orthodoxy, Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, a Forward editor, said, “Our methodology for continuity is rooted in the very values that, sadly, many liberal Jews reject — our insularity, our commitment to the collective over the individual, our obligation to a divine value system.” Cue the debate over how to encourage the retention of current and the (pro)creation of more non-Orthodox, denominationally affiliated Jews. According to PRRI, 74 percent of Orthodox Jews were married, compared with 64 percent for Conservative and 59 percent for Reform. Nearly three in 10 Jewish parents reported having at least three children in their household. Among Orthodox Jews, 62 percent had at least three children in their household, compared with 17 percent of Reform households. “The demographic trends we described are already in motion and cannot be changed overnight. The American Jewish community is entering a transitional period, and in particular the Conservative and Reform movements are facing a rocky few decades that will have implications for many of the major Jewish communal institutions,” Cohen and company said. That’s the handwriting on the wall. “But, demography isn’t always destiny,” they suggested in their follow-up. Inexorable as these trends may appear, perhaps non-Orthodox American Jewry will rewrite its future. ■

Jews and Muslims, including Nathaniel Goldman (left) and Aseelah Rashid (third from left), interact in Sarajevo.

A Muslim and a Jew Walk Into a Conference On a lovely Sunday morning, we sat eating our breakfast, overlooking the beautiful mountains of Sarajevo, far from our Atlanta home. As one Muslim and one Jew, we had spent the past week representing Atlanta, the Muslim Mix and American Jewish Committee at the annual Muslim Jewish Conference. Each year, the conference convenes 120 young Jews and Muslims from over 40 countries to eat, pray, share personal stories and discuss issues facing our communities. In groups of 20 we spent the week discussing topics such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, gender-religion intersectionality, and projects to take back to our home communities. People who had never met listened to one another openly and carefully. We shared prayers and religious rituals. We cried and laughed, agreed and disagreed. Acceptance was the common language spoken. The Muslim Jewish Conference is truly international with a combination of cultures from all over the world. We had Jews and Muslims from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. The participants from both groups ranged from extremely observant to completely secular. Often the individuals most relatable to us were those from our home region, regardless of their religion. Each of us learned an incredible amount, not just about the other religion, but also about how our own religion is practiced differently around the world. Meeting in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was especially meaningful. This city has been a bastion of interfaith cooperation

for hundreds of years and yet was the location of one of the world’s most recent genocides just 25 years ago. Visiting the Genocide Memorial was

Guest Column By Nathaniel Goldman and Aseelah Rashid a stark reminder of the need for us to stand up for each other. Our experience at the conference made it clear that extremist elements from both of our religions perpetuate the notion of animosity between us. Extremist voices are often the loudest voices, which can lead some to believe that they are the most numerous voices. We, as the mainstream, need to take clear actions to make our voices heard. We need to show that cooperation, mutual respect and support for each other are the values held by the majority of both of our communities. The MJC is creating a worldwide network of Muslims and Jews who will continue to work together. We will stand up and be counted. We will raise our voices. As human beings, we have witnessed the atrocities that result from hate and lack of understanding of the other. Yet we will not desist from our task. With our common goal of showing our mutual respect, we will create a world where justice and human dignity reside. ■

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

My brother, a Conservative rabbi, keeps in his wallet a picture of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, whose Chabad movement emphasizes outreach within the Jewish community. The picture reminds him to make one extra phone call, tutor one extra student, do whatever will keep young congregants engaged with Judaism as they move into adulthood. Like his colleagues throughout non-Orthodox Jewry, he has read the handwriting on the wall — and in articles and studies. Such as this: “For every 100 Orthodox Jews 60-69, we have 575 children under 10 years old in Orthodox homes. But for every 100 Reform and Conservative Jews in their sixties, we find only 56 putative grandchildren.” And this: The “next 40 years will see a large expansion of the Orthodox population, alongside deep declines” for Conservative and Reform Jews. Those statements are from articles published in the Forward, the first carrying the provocative headline “Does Orthodox Explosion Signal Doom For Conservative And Reform?” The authors, whose projections were culled from the 2013 Pew Research Center study of American Jews, included Steven M. Cohen, a well-known analyst of trends in the community. Two recently released surveys bolster their assessment. The Public Religion Research Institute interviewed more than 101,000 people to produce its latest portrait of American religious life. PRRI determined that 1.5 percent of Americans identify as Jewish by religion, while an additional 0.8 percent “identify as culturally but not religiously Jewish.” American Jewish Committee sampled 1,000 adult Jews for its 2017 survey of Jewish opinion. AJC and PRRI received similar responses on the question of denominational affiliation. In the AJC survey, 39 percent were “just Jewish,” without affiliation. PRRI used different terminology, but 37 percent of its Jewish respondents identified by culture, not religion. The largest denomination was Reform (AJC 31 percent, PRRI 28 percent). Next was Conservative (AJC 16 percent, PRRI 14 percent), then Orthodox (AJC 9 percent, PRRI 10 percent). Reconstructionists measured 2 percent in both. PRRI found 18 percent of Ameri-

Nathaniel Goldman is a co-chair of American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS. Aseelah Rashid is an AJC interfaith part11 ner as part of the Muslim Mix.

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OPINION

2 Hurricanes, 1 Jewish Community We live in divisive times. The American political scene has become hyperpartisan. The president, whether you like him or not, has created tremendous discord. These conditions have strengthened radical extremism, as witnessed by the sinister events in Charlottesville featuring neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. For us, it is also very unfortunate to observe a more pronounced wedge between the state of Israel and much of the American Jewish community. We read polarizing positions over the establishment of an egalitarian space at the Kotel. Similar forces surround the infamous “black list” of rabbis deemed untrustworthy, according to the Rabbanut, to vouch for their congregants’ Jewish status. In the Modern Orthodox community, we have seen the raging debate over female clergy with threats of expulsion of certain synagogues that employ women in rabbinic capacities. The discourse has become disrespectful, and our world feels deeply divided. But recent weeks have given me much hope. I refer to the efforts and care that my community in Atlanta demonstrated in our response to Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. After Harvey, Atlantans from Young Israel of Toco Hills and Congregation Beth Jacob traveled to Houston to assist in the cleanup efforts. Rabbi Ilan Feldman and I accompanied these courageous volunteers. We spent much of our time assisting within the devastated United Orthodox Synagogues community. We pulled out drywall, removed ruined property and boxed up waterlogged sacred books to deposit in shaimos. We assisted our

fellow Jews in their time of need. Preparing to board the plane home, our group heard about people from Florida looking to travel to Atlanta to avoid the new Category 5 hurricane, Irma, that was forming and projected to hit their area. We spread the word through

Letters To The Editor

the delicious cakes. A great time was had by all and was much appreciated. — Phyllis Rosenthal, Sandy Springs

Or Hadash’s Sweetness OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

I live at Huntcliff Senior Living, and I want to commend and thank Congregation Or Hadash and Rabbi Analia Bortz for coming to Huntcliff on Friday, Sept. 15, for the ninth straight year to bake honey cakes. They brought all the supplies and utensils, baked the cakes on our premises, and served honey cakes and coffee while our cakes were baking. Then they wrapped the 12 finished cakes and sent us home with

Guest Column By Rabbi Adam Starr

social media and by contacting shuls that the Atlanta community was opening its doors for all those evacuating. By the time we landed in Atlanta, we had received 70 requests for hospitality. That number continued to grow and finally reached about 1,500 people. It was an extremely complex task, making shidduchim between Atlanta hosts and Florida guests based on family size and special needs such as pets. Volunteers, some who had just returned from Houston, worked day and night for three days to ensure that everyone who wanted to spend Shabbat (and beyond) in Atlanta would have a place to stay. They did not need to consider all the nuances and divisions in Orthodox life. We didn’t have time to distinguish based on styles of Orthodox head coverings and hashkafah. In fact, the expression of Jewish unity spread beyond the Orthodox community: The Temple, upon learning of the many evacuees our Orthodox community had taken in, sent over kosher food and bottled water to do its share in support of our efforts. In the end, our Florida guests

Stand Up for Anthem

No one has questioned the exercise of First Amendment rights of NFL players or team owners (“Our View: Standing Up,” Sept. 29). But anthem protests are the wrong place to address their issues. A bit of perspective might be useful. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, undoubtedly with a straight face, referred to “the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.” With that in mind,

came as strangers and left as family. With awesome communal Shabbat meals and a spirited Motzei Shabbat unity kumzitz, we witnessed and experienced this sentiment of ahdut Yisrael. After all, the holiday of Sukkot is a great symbol of unity. Vayikra Rabbah 30:12 teaches that the Arba Minim represent different types of Jews whom G-d commands to bind together as an agudah ahat, symbolizing the Jewish people’s togetherness. Sukkot is not particular to Jewish peoplehood. There’s a universal nature to Sukkot, so the Jews offered 70 bulls in the Temple to represent the world’s 70 biblical nations. That’s Rashi’s message on Bamidbar 29:18: “The bullocks offered on the Feast of Tabernacles are 70 in all, in allusion to the 70 nations of the world.” This was also our response to the hurricanes. Our community came together, for humanity’s sake. When we were working in Houston, one member of our contingent found a Muslim family whose home had been devastated by the flooding. Off we went to this home, proudly wearing our kippot, to assist a clearly religious Muslim family. At first, it was somewhat awkward and perhaps uncomfortable. But within a few minutes, it was inspiring to observe that, through working together in this time of great need, we were able to connect to this wonderful family. They thanked us and asked to pose for a picture. We embraced and blessed one another before departing. Such moments prove that our shared humanity is greater than what divides us. That sense of connecting with good people across faiths was also felt when the weather remnants of Irma

reached Atlanta on Monday, Sept. 11. The storm knocked down power lines. If power lines go down, that could mean the eruv is down. We received an email from Karen Zimmerman, the associate pastor at Peachtree Baptist Church, just down the street from Beth Jacob, informing us that “someone in our church noticed that the Eruv that connects our church may have been damaged recently, and so I’m contacting you in the hopes that someone from your synagogue can look after it.” In response, after we thanked her for letting us know and shared that all was OK with the eruv, she wrote: “It’s such a relief to me to hear that the Eruv is intact. … I can only imagine what it means to your community and I’m glad that everything is in working order. It’s a privilege to be your neighbors and we’re more than happy to have the Eruv set up on our property. And especially in the current social and political climate — please let us know if there are more tangible ways we can express our love and support to your congregation.” Theoretically, the Talmud (Sukkah 27b) teaches, if a sukkah were large enough, all the Jews could fulfill their mitzvah in one massive hut. Normally, we all divide into our separate sukkot, even within our own community — different schools, shuls and social circles. Recent events made us realize how large our community is. What happened last month in Atlanta brought our Toco Hills community, with its different parts, together. ■

consider USA Today’s list of NFL player arrests (www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/ arrests), then consider athletes Arthur Ashe and Tiger Woods. Tennis legend and extraordinary gentleman Ashe became involved with tennis programs oriented not toward producing professional athletes, but instead toward using tennis as a vehicle for teaching life skills to young people. And you can do good without being perfect yourself. Golfer Woods (who married before he became a father) envisions his Tiger Woods Foundation as a hub for STEM education for underprivileged kids. Which NFL team players, some of

whom command multimillion-dollar salaries, are using some of their wealth to help address the needs of children of one-parent families in failing schools? This is what stand-up guys would do if they really were “an overwhelming force for good.” Education is fundamental to equality of opportunity. With regard to “using the Days of Awe to practice humility,” perhaps Arthur Ashe has the ultimate message for elite athletes: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” — Julia Lutch, Davis, Calif.

Rabbi Adam Starr is the spiritual leader of Young Israel of Toco Hills. A version of this article was first published by The Lehrhaus (www.thelehrhaus.com).

BUSINESS

Third Rail Carries Film Exec to Doraville Georgia rose in 2016 to the No. 1 location in the nation for the production of feature films, in addition to being the home of dozens of TV series. Amid all that entertainment activity, I had the opportunity to speak with Dan Rosen- Dan Rosenfelt felt, who heads the new Third Rail Studio in Doraville. Third Rail, on the site of the former General Motors plant, offers 60,000 square feet of purpose-built sound stages and 27,500 square feet of production offices. Before Rosenfelt moved to Atlanta, he ran a studio in Los Angeles and produced films for such companies as Smokehouse Pictures, owned by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, and producer Akiva Goldsman’s Warner Bros.-based company. Now he’s the president of operations at Third Rail, a full-service production facility. Rosenfelt’s job is mainly business development, which means speaking to studios about their projects in film and television to figure out what could come to Atlanta. He often travels to meet with officials at the likes of Marvel, Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon and Sony to discuss what Third Rail can offer. Rosenfelt also meets with legislators to talk about how Georgia’s tax incentives, which draw the TV and film productions, are working for the state, and he ensures that production clients are happy and that Third Rail exceeds their expectations. A big part of life at the studio for Rosenfelt is community outreach. Third Rail aims to be a socially responsible company that connects with community organizations such as re:imagine/ATL, which helps highschoolers become the next generation of storytellers, and I Care Atlanta, which provides groceries and equipment to families in need. “Personally, to do any sort of service for the community is very important to me, and it’s important that the studio be connected to local communities in Doraville and Chamblee,” Rosenfelt said. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of this city, and we want to be part of the community, not just an anonymous place tucked away making movies and TV. Third Rail wants to connect

and have a positive impact.” Like most people in the entertainment industry, Rosenfelt fell in love with movies as a kid, then studied film and TV in college at Penn State. “Stephen Spielberg’s ‘E.T.’ and being wrapped up in the fantastical world, coupled with the emotional story he told,” began Rosenfelt’s Hollywood inspiration. His other favorite directors include George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and John Hughes. In addition to his desire to get a change of pace from the L.A. lifestyle and to be closer to his extended family along the East Coast, Rosenfelt said he was drawn to Doraville because “production in Atlanta has been booming, and I knew there would be an opportunity to work in a studio space that would be something vibrant.” Rosenfelt said his Jewish heritage “plays a big role in how I grew up and the foundation of who I am.” He was raised in Reform Judaism, went to a Jewish summer camp and was the BBYO president in Philadelphia. His family has enrolled with Jewish Kids Groups and joined the Marcus Jewish Community Center. For fun, he enjoys reading, running and playing the original Pokémon card game with his kids. His favorite snack when he goes to the movies is Buncha Crunch, but while he said nothing beats going to the theater for the experience, he acknowledged that it’s not the only way to see movies. He said the proliferating streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, are amazing, and any way people can and want to watch is great. As for social media, Rosenfelt said they are great marketing tools, but in general they mystify him as places to watch or learn things. When I asked about the review site Rotten Tomatoes, he said he takes the same approach as I do: “If I like who made a movie, the genre or who’s starring in it, it doesn’t affect me.” People enter the film industry for many reasons, but Rosenfelt said he finds fulfillment in helping “push these massive art projects to the finish line.” “Movies since their inception have been a part of our lives around the world,” he said. “Some see frivolous entertainment, but I think life isn’t easy, and movies can provide something great.” ■

Located in Buckhead 3193 Howell Mill Road NW, Suite 328 Atlanta, GA 30327

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OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

By Briana Cohen

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LOCAL NEWS

Photo by Marcia Caller Jaffe

Kollel Tipoff Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner is greeted by Ramblin’ Wreck alumni Ted Nathan (left), George Nathan and Richard Arno (right) during his appearance at the Atlanta Scholars Kollel’s networking event Sept. 6 at Congregation Or VeShalom. A younger generation — Rachel Tobin, Robert Scheinfield, Roey Shoshan and Jaclyn Kaufman — awaits the coach’s presentation on basketball, Judaism and life earlier in the night.

Downtown Daffodil Dash Coming in November

Am Yisrael Chai’s Daffodil Project has gotten a boost the past six springs from the annual Daffodil Dash in Dunwoody, which raises money and awareness for the effort to plant 1.5 million daffodils worldwide in memory of the children killed in the Holocaust and to continue the fight against modern examples of genocide. Now runners and walkers downtown will get to do their part: The first Downtown Daffodil Dash will be held Saturday, Nov. 11. Produced by Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the event will take participants on a tour of some of downtown’s oldest neighborhoods, newest developments and iconic landmarks. The Daffodil Project has planted 240,000 bulbs downtown with the help

of CAP/ADID, starting with 110,000 in Woodruff Park in 2014. A “ribbon of consciousness” of the flowers runs from the King Center to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. “The Downtown Daffodil Project adds meaningful vibrancy to downtown Atlanta each year,” said A.J. Robinson, the president of CAP/ADID, “and we look forward to offering the community a new signature event that is sure to invigorate the streets of our community.” Participants can run in a timed 5K for $30 or do a fun run or walk for $25. The route starts and ends at Woodruff Park, with the timed race beginning at 8 a.m. “With over 200,000 bulbs planted in downtown Atlanta since the launch of the Downtown Daffodil Project, we are thrilled for this opportunity to celebrate the program’s impact and its

Spying the Past Marthe Cohn, a French Jewish woman who spied on the Nazis during World War II, and her husband, Major, flank Rabbi Ari Sollish during Chabad Intown’s event with the heroine Sept. 7. The former nurse and spy held an audience of 400 spellbound as she shared in accented English her wartime adventures, although she said people will have to read her book, “Behind Enemy Lines,” to get the full story.

bright future,” said Andrea Videlefsky, the president of Am Yisrael Chai and founder of the Daffodil Project. Videlefsky and project were honored by Central Atlanta Progress in 2016. For more details and registration, go to www.DowntownDaffodilDash. com. The seventh annual Daffodil Dash in Dunwoody will be held March 25.

Hadassah Hires Fundraiser

Hadassah has appointed Yael Shmookler as the director of development for the Georgia portion of the Southeastern Region, as well as for the organization’s Southern and Florida Central regions. Shmookler, who lives in Tampa, is responsible for initiating and supporting a program of individual major gifts in each Hadassah region. She will solicit major gifts and work with volunteer leaders to identify and seek donations

Remembering Frank Moiger Friends (from left) Mike Hayes, Paul Joffe and Steve Tabb are among those who gathered at the East Cobb Sports Collectibles Show on Sept. 17 to share memories of Frank Moiger, who died Sept. 12 at age 61.

from major givers. “Shmookler’s fundraising expertise will be an invaluable asset to Hadassah as we cultivate annual giving and Yael Shmookler individual major gifts, increase corporate and foundation giving, and expand our volunteer leadership prospects in support of Hadassah’s two world-class hospitals in Jerusalem as well as our groundbreaking medical research,” Hadassah Executive Director and CEO Janice Weinman said in a statement Sept. 6. Shmookler was born in Haifa and was raised in Tampa. She previously worked in fundraising for the Jewish Agency for Israel across the Southeast. She and her husband, Edward, have two young children.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

Parallels Between Nazis and Jim Crow Explored

When the Fifth Baptist World Convention was held in Berlin in August 1934, German Baptists who saw Adolf Hitler as a nearly messianic figure got a different perspective from a particular set of delegates. African-Americans visiting from the Jim Crow South recognized something all too familiar in the signs disallowing Jews from park benches, restaurants and shops, and it opened their eyes to the rising evil in Germany. Victoria Barnett of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum pointed out the parallels during a program on “Religion and Public Life in the Holocaust and the Jim Crow South,” held at Georgia State University and sponsored by the Holocaust Memorial Museum on Aug. 28. The program also featured pre-

The next U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum program in Atlanta will look at what Georgians were told about what was happening in Nazi Germany.

sentations by history professor Glenn T. Eskew and religious studies professor Monique Moultrie, who mentioned Stone Mountain, visible from the 23rdfloor windows of the Troy Moore Library, the venue for the free event. The museum sponsored a program

with a different angle on the Holocaust and Jim Crow on Sept. 27 in Birmingham: “Toward Healing and Reconciliation: Lessons From the Holocaust and the Jim Crow South.” The museum is presenting another panel discussion in Atlanta on

Wednesday, Nov. 1: “Americans and the Nazi Threat: What Did Georgians Know?” University of Georgia history professor John Morrow Jr. will moderate a panel consisting of Alexis Scott, publisher emerita of the Atlanta Daily World; Derrick Angermeier, a doctoral candidate at UGA; and David Klevan, an education outreach specialist for the museum. The discussion will include newspaper articles uncovered by volunteers, including pieces from the Southern Israelite, to show what the public was being told about the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s. The free program starts at 7 p.m. at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Midtown. Register at www.ushmm.org/ events/nazi-threat-atlanta. ■

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LOCAL NEWS

Overhaul Planned for Shul Familiar to UGA Alumni It has been half a century since the members of Congregation Children of Israel in Athens have altered their sanctuary or social hall. But if a fundraising campaign is successful, renovations and redesign could render the interior of the facility almost unrecognizable. The building needs a new roof, Rabbi Eric Linder said, as well as work on the heating and air-conditioning systems and other major maintenance work. “We figured, if we’re going to spend a good deal of money on repairing things, why not go ahead and improve the overall aesthetics?” he said. Others in the Reform congregation agreed; there had been talk of renovations in 2008 until the recession hit. Members of the congregation of 170 families have spent the past several months forming committees, choosing Atlanta-based Walker Houser as the architectural firm, visiting other projects the firm has completed, meeting with architects to discuss their hopes and dreams for the building, and determin-

ing their options. The price for the planned renovations and repairs is $1.4 million, which the congregation hopes to raise internally. Once the funding pledges are secured, architects will draw up the final plans, a process that could take six months. Six more months will be needed for the actual construction. Different committees have met to figure out the master plan, “and there’s tremendous enthusiasm,” said University of Georgia psychology professor Adam Goodie, the president of the temple. “It incorporates so many of the things we’ve been dreaming about.” Those dreams include more light — better lighting, skylights and an entire wall of windows in what is now a dark sanctuary. The windowed wall will open into a garden, which can serve as a peaceful gathering place. A small addition on the east side of the building will expand the sanctuary for more seating and a new bimah. Under the preliminary plans, the bimah will be larger, wide enough to

accommodate b’nai mitzvah families and to allow consecration students to stand under the ark. With a skylight overhead and windows on the north side and behind it, the bimah will be bathed in natural light. There will be raised seating for the choir, a new ark and two lecterns, and the bimah will be wheelchair-accessible. A new sound system is also part of the plan. “What’s great is that everything is going to be organically integrated,” Goodie said. “It’s going to be incredible.” Instead of pews, the renovated sanctuary will feature individual chairs, a change that will accommodate 200 people instead of the current 145. A center aisle will separate the seats. For small gatherings, chairs could be removed to create a more intimate setting. Plans are to renovate the adjacent social hall as well, with the floor, ceiling and walls mirroring those of the sanctuary. When the partition doors between them are open, the sanctuary and social hall will function as

one space, able to accommodate larger crowds and special events. The renovation will incorporate elements from the congregation’s first building from 1884 in downtown Athens: Two stained-glass windows will flank the entrance to the social hall; a wooden pew will be placed in the sanctuary; and two large menorahs will retain places on the expanded bimah. The preliminary plans include other improvements. The restrooms will be “refreshed,” and the Sisterhood will have a new gift shop. Prayer books will have space for storage in the vestibule. Rabbi Linder hopes to have all financial commitments — and 100 percent participation from the members — in place by the end of November so construction can begin in the spring. He isn’t sure whether services will move during construction. “We’re hoping to raise the money with our members, but if someone who joined us, or whose child or grandchildren joined us, while they were in college wanted to contribute, we would love to hear from them,” Goodie said. ■

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

By Rebecca McCarthy

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LOCAL NEWS

Traditions Preserve Persian Judaism in, out of Iran By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

Far before the 1979 revolution and chants of “Khomeini” swept through the streets of Tehran, Jews in Iran lived comfortable lives alongside their Muslim neighbors while practicing their religion under the shah’s reign. Some cities had large Jewish populations, including Mashad and Shiraz, which Congregation Netzach Israel Rabbi Yehuda Boroosan says had 10,000 Jews and 13 synagogues. Regardless of their location, Jewish Persian families used traditions to help preserve their identity. Now a member of Atlanta’s Orthodox community, Rabbi Boroosan recalled growing up in Shiraz during the 1970s with a strong connection to Judaism. Although many Jews were not shomer Shabbos in Iran, Rabbi Boroosan said they strove to keep Shabbat and High Holidays to the fullest extent. “The customs and rituals were the same as there was no discrepancy between one shul and another, and ev-

eryone respected the main authority.” Many people attended minyan in the morning before work and returned home in the afternoon for Kiddush before leaving again for work. Everyone attended shul on Friday nights and recited the same prayers. “You could really feel the coming of Shabbat and Yom Tov throughout the community, and although we weren’t yeshiva students, you could feel our connection to Judaism” Rabbi Boroosan said. He said Shiraz had two Jewish elementary schools, one middle school and one high school run by central organization HaTorah, which oversaw Sephardi schools throughout Iran, Tunisia, France and Morocco. But while some families enrolled their children in private Jewish schools, others sent them to public schools because of the shah’s push for secularism, affecting the community’s ties to the religion. “We had wonderful teachers and rabbim who were truly devoted to the kids,” Rabbi Boroosan said. Although people practiced their

After immigrating to the United States from Shiraz, Iran, Rabbi Yehuda Boroosan relied on age-old customs and traditions to preserve his identity as a Persian Jew.

religion freely before the Islamic revolution in Iran, Jews still faced challenges when age-old practices clashed with the modern mainstream. Despite observing Shabbat, for example, people had to work or attend school on Saturdays and fend off religious Muslims seeking to press Islam on them. Many Jews feared the attention they would attract by wearing yarmulkes. “We were allowed to have shuls, kashrut and schools, but the general population or religious Muslims did not wish to see individuals display their Judaism,” Rabbi Boroosan said. But the Jewish community put a high value on continuing the religion through practices such as marrying other Jews, Rabbi Boroosan said. “People understood that this was our religion and used traditions to help keep it alive,” he said. “We did not have a choice to cut corners or help accommodate individuals by making it more applicable.” After the revolution, many Jews sought refuge overseas as religious fundamentalism rose among Muslims. But Rabbi Boroosan said Ayatollah Khomeini held Muslims accountable for acts of oppression targeting Jews. The rabbi said the ayatollah actually strengthened the Jewish community. The Islamic government required Jewish boys and girls to get a Jewish education with a religious curriculum and mandated tests covering Jewish subjects. “It’s really amazing as we now possess a stronger community throughout Iran, as the children are more involved, whereas they may have been mere spectators in the past,” Rabbi Boroosan said. While he is not living in Iran, so he can’t offer firsthand observations

of the state of the Jewish community, Rabbi Boroosan said he believes that Jewish observance has increased and said he learned from his brother, with whom he reunited a few years ago after 37 years, that Jews can live normal lives within Iranian society. “People observe shomer Shabbat, businesses are closed, and the government does not interfere,” the rabbi said. After immigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, Rabbi Boroosan, like other Persian Jews, faced challenges being accepted into American Jewish society. “We didn’t know what to expect upon arriving in America; however, we discovered that the community was by and large welcoming,” he said. The younger generation had greater difficulties assimilating because their American peers were not always friendly, Rabbi Boroosan said. “They always made fun of our accents and often refrained from becoming roommates within yeshiva dormitories. It took a long time to integrate and was a process.” The Persian Jewish community responded by pulling closer together, he said. “We all felt the strains of finances, the imminent possibility of deportation and unfamiliarity associated with the Ashkenazi community,” which little by little helped the Persians find their way. Many Persian Jews struggled with the decision over whether to remain in the United States or return to Iran, he said. “It was not easy, as we were far from our families and could not rely on an inheritance to get by, yet we sought to establish ourselves and move on despite the constant feeling of loneliness.” The established Jewish community “eventually embraced us and helped uphold our religion, which will always be a part of our identity.” ■

LOCAL NEWS

Chemist Gives I-85 a Lift By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

Jaffe: Throughout your career you have worked for other companies that profited from your inventions? Rademan: Yes, I have worked as a new product developer and marketer for many familiar companies: Smith Corona and Ciba-Geigy (now BASF). I learned how to anticipate market needs, then develop products that meet those needs. Many hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on these products that repel water and salts from corroding concrete structures or materials that stabilize paints from mildew and algae. So it’s correct that I was salaried and got frequent promotions. Jaffe: Explain your role in the repairing the I-85 bridge collapse. Rademan: I developed a product called PREVent-C as a consultant for Premier Magnesia LLC that basically reduces or stops shrinkage cracking in concrete. Through market research, I found that the Chinese put magnesium oxide in concrete that inconsistently prevented cracking on several large dams in China. We invented the use of a glycol ether coating on magnesium oxide that works virtually every time. It helped shorten the time span for reopening our interstate. My dream is for every state’s DOT to use it to drastically increase the lifespan of bridges. I presented it to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation out West for successful use on a concrete dam spillway in Kansas. Also, the Army Corps of Engineers has now used it. The engineers from both federal agencies were amazed with its success in minimizing shrinkage cracks. When the I-85 bridge collapse occurred in March, being an Atlantan, I am extremely pleased that GDOT rec-

Chemist Jerry Rademan stands on the restored I-85 bridge.

ognized that PREVent-C was the right product to help shorten the time we had to endure the traffic nightmares here of finding alternative routes through Atlanta. Atlanta made national news with this bridge collapse calamity. The general contractor, who got a hefty financial bonus to make the early date, was pleased that the use of PREVent-C helped shorten the time while providing crack-free concrete decks. Jaffe: You went to Flint, Mich., to consult on the huge water debacle? Rademan: Yes, I visited Flint a few times to test their water in several locations and then spoke to government officials about how to overcome the high lead and copper water levels caused by the corrosion of pipes and joint solder materials. I developed a more effective water filter system called METALTRAP through my company, HydroPure Technologies Inc. The outcome was that there wasn’t sufficient funding to purchase these water filters, but federal funding under the Obama administration was finally provided for correcting the problem by replacing the infrastructure by tearing out the old pipes and replacing them with noncorrosive PVC pipes. This is a long-term project that unfortunately will not satisfy the shorter-term needs of many residents of Flint. As I am sure you re aware, Atlanta (and other major cities) have similar issues, but to a far lesser extent compared to Flint. Jaffe: What’s in the future for your creativity? I know your mind is always thinking a step ahead. Rademan: We are working on novel wall technologies that could potentially save lives. Unfortunately, on the news we see high-rises quickly go up in flames, most recently London and Dubai. Today’s conventional wall products can contain a fire for about one hour before penetration. By replacing it with this newer technology, that time could double to two hours using the same wall assembly dimensions. Think about that in terms of escaping a building. ■

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

Atlanta gained a problem-solver when Jerry Rademan and his wife, Arlene, moved from Jacksonville to Sandy Springs to be with family in 2013. Starting as an industry manager, Rademan had a stellar career developing products for the construction, plastics, photo additives and water purification markets. Rademan retired from the corporate world to operate his own technical development businesses. A chemical compound he developed helped the Georgia Department of Transportation’s contractor rush the repair of Interstate 85 after the fire and bridge collapse in March.

FOOD

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For Libyan Chef, It’s Always Time to Eat By Patrice Worthy

very traditional in the Libyan kitchen — a lot of oil. The olive oil is so dark you can’t see through the bottle. It’s dirty, thick and straight from the tree. … It’s incredible. Most of the kitchen comes from being poor and making something out of nothing basically. That’s why you have a lot of head and legs, things normally people wouldn’t eat, but when you try it, it’s delicious.

When Shay Lavi finished his service in the Israel Defense Forces, he didn’t know what to do with his life. Though his first love is cooking, he spent his time as an entrepreneur, owning a toy store and an appliance shop. Now he is embracing his culinary chops: “My life, my love, is cooking.” Lavi is making a name for himself in the Atlanta culinary community, winning praise for his Turkish kebabs and pitas at the first official Atlanta United tailgate. The half-Libyan, halfTurkish chef draws on his North African roots to create spicy dishes with ingredients such as cumin, tomato paste, couscous, turmeric and lamb. He spoke with the AJT about Sephardic food, his Let’s Eat catering company and the makings of a traditional Libyan kitchen. AJT: Where did you grow up in Israel? Lavi: Or Yehuda. It’s a small town with a lot of farms and restaurants. It’s very old school, and people drive hours just to try the food. It’s known for its food. I grew up there and Turkey as well because I spent summers in Turkey, so my influence is very Turkish as well.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

AJT: How much of an influence did Libya have on your life? Lavi: My father is from Benghazi, and my grandmother on his side is by far one of the biggest influences I had on my life. We were very close. She taught me a lot of things about life and the way to look at people and things. My father is a tough dude, but he taught me a different side. AJT: How has Libyan food influenced your cooking? Or has it? Lavi: Of course it has. We don’t eat to live; we eat to enjoy. Food is very important to your soul and whatever drives you. When you wake up in the morning, you have a breakfast with bread that we just baked and dishes like tapas. I can do it from any fresh produce with spices and herbs, so it’s endless.

AJT: How did your grandmother influence your cooking? Lavi: My grandma used to cook for almost 40 people — everything by hand with nothing written. It’s defi18 nitely a more ethnic way of cooking.

AJT: What is your favorite Libyan dish? Lavi: Aseeda. It’s a winter dish. It’s very spicy, and it has two components. The first component is semolina in water. It looks like pudding, and you serve it cold by putting it in the fridge. The second component is a tomato paste sauce and a salty, sun-dried fish. You take the plate of semolina and pour the warm sauce with fish on top.

Tbeha, a Libyan stew, is served with semolina patties with kukla (lamb fat and spices).

It comes from your heart because a recipe is a guideline. When I tried to write my first cookbook, I went to my mother and asked her how, and I didn’t understand. Now, I don’t even need to taste it. I can smell it, and I know. AJT: What kind of food do you serve for your catering business? Lavi: I serve Turkish, Libyan, and sometimes Moroccan and Persian. I play with stuff. I connect to my culture through the food. I keep my grandma in my memory and my mother in my memory to make sure they shine. I want to educate people. I want them to understand the Mediterranean kitchen is not just falafel. What I do is I have several menus. I take the traditional stuff because it’s pretty old school, and I tweak it and play with a little bit. I try to keep the flavors clean. AJT: So how do you prepare for Rosh Hashanah? Lavi: Well, we get about three lambs and slaughter them, and that’s for both Rosh Hashanah and Passover. And afterward we eat lamb for about three months. But for Rosh Hashanah we have the traditional seder plate with dates, pomegranates, apples, string beans, pumpkin, beets and leeks. You say a blessing over everything for the things you wish to come and the things you don’t want ... to end all curses. AJT: Is that the entire meal?

Lavi: You buy the lamb way before and nourish it to fatten it up. And when it reaches a certain weight and age, you slaughter it. My dad used to do three lambs: One he would split with his brother and sister, and then two lambs would be ours. Couscous goes with everything; it’s like rice or spaghetti here. You eat it with stews and with a mix of herbs like tomato paste, cumin, spicy paprika, onion, fried garlic and tomato to open up the taste. We also have a lot of salads like massierre, a pickle salad, and chirshi, a spicy carrot salad with preserved lemons. You mix it with half-cooked carrots and add a lot cumin, turmeric, caraway, salt and pepper, and then you mix it with tahini sauce and pumpkin. We also make ajja bill camun with the leftovers from schnitzel. We take the egg, flour, breading, and mix it with spices and then fry it. There is also tbeha, a Libyan stew with semolina patties with kukla, or lamb fat, and spices. You have it on every holiday, and every holiday has the same things. AJT: What are some of the things found in a typical Libyan kitchen? Lavi: We put cumin on everything. There’s paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon, onion powder and garlic used all the time, along with fresh garlic and onions. And semolina, but it’s a different version than what you use in the U.S. We stuff it and mix it with lamb fat and make kukla. We eat it every day. Oil is

AJT: What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed between Sephardi and other Jewish traditions? Lavi: We’re more cut to the chase: Pray, finish, eat, enjoy your food. With other cultures, it’s like “Let’s pray and sing and praise the Lord for hours.” The priorities are different. Everything is different. We want to get to the food; that’s how we celebrate. ■ Harriema (Spicy Fish Stew) Serves 6 1 head crushed garlic 4 tablespoons high-quality olive oil, blended oil or grapeseed oil 2 cups water or 2½ cups fish stock 3 tablespoons tomato puree 3 tablespoons sweet red paprika 2 tablespoons spicy paprika 1 teaspoon ground caraway 1 teaspoon ground cumin Salt to taste 6 pieces sea fish such as grouper, scaled and gutted In a large, low pot, mix the garlic, oil, crushed, sweet paprika, sharp paprika and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to a minimum and cook for 15 minutes until the sauce is softened. From time to time, stir and make sure the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pot. If the sauce is sticky, add about a quarter cup of water. After about 20 minutes, add the cumin and caraway and mix. Add the fish and place it in a pot in one layer. The sauce should cover the fish. If the water is lacking, carefully add more. Cook for 20 more minutes. Serve with a lot of lemons on the side.

JEWISH SINGLES

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Romance Rarely the Goal for Young Adult Groups Jewish Atlanta has no shortage of young professional organizations aimed at people in their 20s and 30s, but the goals of each group can differ greatly. Chabad Intown Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, who runs young professionals group YJP Atlanta, said the No. 1 goal is connecting young Jews in the hopes of fostering Jewish continuity. “That is the purpose of the entire YJP organization,” Rabbi Schusterman said. “I’m not saying there aren’t other layers to that, but that is the main goal, to connect Jews to Jews. All of our events are designed to create an environment where people are meeting people. Even when we do events that have a learning component, we always have time for socializing so that people have the opportunity to meet.” Rabbi Schusterman couldn’t estimate how many couples have met at YJP events, but he said people regularly tell him about meeting significant others at YJP functions. Michelle Krebs Levy, the CEO and founder of The Sixth Point, said her group is not focused on getting Jews together in the physical sense. “Our goal is to build community,” Levy said, “bringing people together for the sake of being together and being Jewish together. I think The Sixth Point certainly plays a role in people meeting new people and making new friends, and if they find a date or a mate, that’s excellent, but it’s not something we set out to do.” The Sixth Point is an independent, nondenominational community that hosts monthly events for young Jewish professionals. Levy said she started the group to provide an alternative to large Jewish events that can intimidate and put undue pressure on attendees. “Part of why we exist is to have something else besides those other events with 100 to 200 people,” she said. “There are lots of events that have that cliquey, insular feeling where people are only talking to people they already know.” Other organizations in Jewish Atlanta run the gamut from affiliation with larger groups to complete independence. From OneTable, a social dining platform that brings people together for Shabbat dinner, to MJCCA Young Adults, which hosts co-ed sports leagues, to synagogue-affiliated groups

Goza Tequila, owned and operated by young Jewish Atlantans, hosts an annual Christmas Eve party, Gozapalooza, where young professionals can meet and mingle.

such as AAspire and the Etz Chaim Young Adult Group, Jewish Atlanta’s young professionals have many options to meet and mingle. Local tequila company Goza Tequila even hosts a large annual party for young Jews on Christmas Eve, Gozapalooza. Groups such as ACCESS, American Jewish Committee’s young professional division, are focused on being gateways to their parent organizations. “Our goal is for Atlanta’s young Jewish thought leaders to advocate on behalf of the global Jewish community

and for human rights and democratic values for all,” said Julie Katz, the assistant director at AJC Atlanta. “ACCESS is social with substance. Many of our members join not only to meet their peers, but to make a vital impact. Although fostering Jewish relationships isn’t our No. 1 priority, we’ve certainly had relationships form out of ACCESS.” Other groups affiliated with larger parents include Jewish Family & Career Services VIA (Volunteers in Action), Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Southeast, JNFuture, and the Under 40 Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, which operates LEADS, a seven-week leadership education program designed for young professionals. Moishe House, an international organization composed of a collection of homes that serve as hubs for young Jewish adults, recently opened its third house in Atlanta and 100th overall. Gabrielle Adler, the Southern regional manager for Moishe House, said that sparking Jewish relationships isn’t a goal for her organization, although she did meet her partner at a Moishe

House event. “If a couple were to form because they met at a Moishe House event, of course we would be happy for them,” Adler said. “Relationships as a whole are one of the key pieces to making Moishe House a success. One of the most compelling and exciting aspects of Moishe House is that each house is unique, and the types of programming evolve as the interests of the residents and community members change. Thus, in regards to facilitating romantic relationships, that would depend on the interests and preferences of the current residents.” For most young professional organizations in Jewish Atlanta, romantic relationships between Jews remain a secondary goal or a byproduct of programming, but Jewish marriages are the goal for some. “In the Torah, it’s a mitzvah to marry Jewish, and we want to create an environment where people can fulfil that mitzvah,” Rabbi Schusterman said. “Along those same lines, the Jewish future is dependent on Jewish people marrying Jewish.” ■

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com

JEWISH SINGLES

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Singles Over 40 Find Dating Scene Lacking By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com The dating game in Jewish Atlanta is a common topic of discussion, but to gain a better perspective of what it’s like for older singles, including those who are divorced or widowed, the AJT spoke with people over the age of 40. Arlene Appelrouth, an AJT contributor, has been a widow since the death of her husband, Dan, a year and a half ago. Despite looking for a potential partner after her period of mourning, Appelrouth has found it difficult to reenter the dating scene. She has tried online dating, including using JSwipe and considering JDate, but she has found the apps overwhelming. “You’re flooded with pictures and profiles of men who are interested in meeting women; however, it’s like walking into a candy store,” she said. “You have all these different shapes and flavors, and who knows what to do with them? I find it amusing but am also taking the time to really ask myself what I really want, which I don’t know yet.”

One of the things Appelrouth has found challenging about the apps is the requirement to declare a Jewish denomination. “I’m unaffiliated, and I can’t really put myself in a box, which is why I hesitated to sign up for JDate,” she said. “I don’t like labels and don’t like telling people what kind of Jew I am.” Although Appelrouth has been advised by people she respects that there aren’t any people out there worthwhile, she remains hopeful. “I don’t know if that’s true and don’t think it is, but I hear that when you get to a certain age, you’re just better off being alone, as people have so much baggage,” she said. In addition to JSwipe, Appelrouth has used Match.com but was surprised to find that most of the men trying to date Jewish women are not Jewish themselves. Appelrouth is active in the community, participating in various events, but she said she would like to see more programs targeting singles in her age group. “There’s a lack of social support from the community and organiza-

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tions for individuals who find themselves single,” she said. Appelrouth has never used a matchmaker but may be willing to do so in the future. “It’s a prickly transition and shift in a person’s consciousness,” she said about the difference between thinking of yourself as a widow and seeing yourself as single. With a master’s degree in counseling, Appelrouth also hopes to start a group in which widows can come together to share their experiences and discuss their feelings. “It’s something to think about, as I have had countless women tell me there is no support for widows.” While Appelrouth misses her husband, she enjoys staying active. “I’m trying to do those things that were meaningful for me, but it’s challenging.” Others who spoke to the AJT requested varying degrees of anonymity. While the newspaper does not usually grant such requests, we did so for this article in the belief that the general issues older singles are facing are more important than the specifics of individual cases.

The Jewish Breakfast Club Featured Speaker

ANNE SCHUCHAT, M.D.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 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.

A woman in her late 50s said that although she often attends fundraisers, she has not had the opportunity to meet anyone new and feels that there is a lack of events for her age group. “The Jewish community as whole, whether through The Temple or the JCC, should help organize some activities for people 40, 50 and over that they would enjoy going to,” she said. She has never used a matchmaker but is open to the idea. She has turned to online options like JDate, Match. com and JSwipe. “I’ve met a lot of nice people through those apps, but you also have to be extremely selective,” she said. “Even though it’s very competitive, I also think it’s the best way to meet people right now, as there is nowhere else to go in Atlanta for Jewish singles around my age.” After losing his wife early last year, Don, who is in his 70s, shared his insights about the difficulty as a widower of finding a partner who shares the same values. Since his wife’s death, he has met people only through his synagogue and community events. He has used dating apps but has

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Jewish Breakfast Club

Kosher dietary laws observed.

Senior Day at the Marcus Jewish Community Center, co-sponsored by Federation, Jewish Home Life Communities and Jewish Family & Career Services, is a quarterly opportunity for Jewish Atlantans over age 50 to socialize but isn’t the most romantic setting.

found the process difficult. “The people are either too young or too old, and I am looking for someone who cares about being Jewish and not just spiritual,” he said. Don said he is frequently invited to the homes of friends and family members for Shabbat dinners. Those occasions have enabled him to make new friends but nothing more. “I’d like to meet someone, as it is a big part of my life I would like to have filled,” he said. Although Don has never been set up by a matchmaker, he intends to give the process a try after receiving some information from a fellow member of his Orthodox synagogue. “I’m going to look into it and see what happens.” After living in Atlanta for 11 years, a woman discussed her Jewish dating experience as a divorcee. Although she belongs to a synagogue, she has a problem finding a relationship within the shul because she considers herself Conservative while most members are Orthodox. “A lot of the men are not going to ask me out because even though I keep kosher, I still drive on Shabbos and am not in a position to have a match made.” She said her age often plays a role in meeting someone. “I am 55, and I think men look for someone who is younger,” she said, adding that people fix her up with men

who are much older. “Although I’m in my 50s, I am often introduced to individuals in their 70s, which is not deflating but makes me wonder where all the men are within my age group. Maybe if I was 10 to 15 years younger, I would have a better chance of meeting people at various young adult professional events.” She has participated in Jewish singles meetups and attended various synagogues to meet people. “You just never know who you will meet, and you can never have too many friends.” She said she is often asked to provide her phone number for a potential suitor. Though she has tried matchmaking, she said she often was paired with much older men, and she has failed to meet the right person with JDate and other dating apps. She said she has found that most of the men on Match and JDate are not Jewish. “I’m not looking to just date someone, but a partner who is going to communicate and share their life with me,” she said. She added: “I guess my hope within this community is that people aren’t afraid of commitment and they stop thinking about what’s greener in the other pastures without taking in what’s in front of you. We often miss the gems in front of us when we are looking elsewhere.” ■

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AJT Personal Ads – Find Love, Friendship or Fun Pick the ad that strikes your fancy and send an email referencing the ID number to singles@atljewishtimes.com. We will forward your email to the seeker, who will decide the next move. Include as much detail as possible about who you are, why you’re interested and what you’re looking for. A photo increases your chance for a response. We will not, without your express consent, provide your personal information to any third parties. How to read: Seeker’s gender, age, religious description, marital status, ethnicity, kind of connection being sought and how best to describe the seeker. Seeking gender, age, religious description, ethnicity, marital status and how best to describe the person being sought.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

FEMALE SEEKING MALE

ID #1201: Female 42 to 49, Conservative, divorced, Caucasian, interested in casual dating. I’m attractive, intelligent, beautiful. I am the best thing EVER! Seeking: Male 42 to 49, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, single/divorced, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1261: Female 26 to 33, Conservative, single, Caucasian, interested in love. I’m professional, fun, loving, and enjoy working out, traveling and going to restaurants and cultural events. Seeking: Male 26 to 41, Conservative or Reform, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, professional, fun and loving. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1281: Female 42 to 49, Conservative, divorced, Caucasian, interested in marriage. I’m a loving, attractive, intelligent SJF, 45, in Chicago, pretty, dark hair, bookish, funny, kind, good cook, mother to a little boy, writer, connected to Judaism and Israel. Seeking: Male, 50 to 57, Jewish, ethnicity doesn’t matter, available, professional, loving, intelligent SJM with older kids and freedom to be mobile, a mensch, interesting, positive about Judaism and Israel, looking for a real connection. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1302: Female 42 to 49, Reform/secular, single, Caucasian, interested in love or casual dating. I’m attractive, intelligent, adventurous, ultra-engaging, beautiful smile, sense of humor, very fit and love to hike. Seeking: Male 34 to 49, Reform, nonreligious, traditional, secular or not Jewish, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single/divorced, entertaining, fun, attractive, intelligent, adventurous, fit, healthy lifestyle. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1322: Female 63 to 70, nonreligious/traditional, divorced, Caucasian, interested in love. I’m loving, attractive, interesting, a very youthful and energetic baby boomer, an intown Jewish woman who enjoys music at Eddie’s Attic, walking on the BeltLine, theater, movies, travel and casual dining, seeking to share a great life with an amazing Jewish man. Seeking: Male 63 to 70, nonreligious/traditional, Caucasian, divorced, entertaining, loving, attractive.

––––––––––––––––– ID #1342: Female 63 to 70, divorced, Caucasian, interested in love. I’m professional, fun, loving, 5-foot-2½ and eyes of blue, divorced, 69-yearold, slim Jewish professional woman (CPA), highly energetic, passionate, fun-loving, outgoing, kind, sensitive, romantic, loyal, looking for a best friend and lover who has a good sense of humor and is intelligent, successful, romantic, kind, fun-loving. Honesty and integrity are very important. Seeking: Male 63 to 71+, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1362: Female 63 to 70, Reform, divorced, interested in love. I’m professional, entertaining, fun, loving, intelligent. Seeking: Male 63 to 70, Reform, single/divorced, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous — i.e., Renaissance man with myriad passionate pursuits, interests, travel; intelligent, funny, kind, handsome but doesn’t know it, for exclusive not-marriage relationship. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1403: Female 63 to 70, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in love/casual dating. I’m fun, attractive, adventurous. Seeking: Male 63 to 70, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, available, fun, loving, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1423: Female 18 to 25, secular, single, Caucasian interested in casual dating, just friends or social networking. I’m an attractive, intelligent, adventurous Georgia Tech student looking for other Jewish singles to hang out. Seeking: Male 18 to 25, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single and fun, intelligent and adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1443: Female 58 to 63, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, exclusive, not marriage. I’m professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous, with myriad passionate pursuits, a dance instructor/writer, 11 years in drum choir with a B.F.A. in dance, theater and performing arts. Seeking: Male 63 to 70, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional, secular, Caucasian or doesn’t matter, divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous Renaissance man with myriad interests seeking similar. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2089: Female 58 to 63, Conservative. I’m happy and attractive and love hiking, the outdoors, movies, arts, travel and, yes, sports. Seeking: Male 50 to 69, divorced or widowed, kind, smart, with similar interests and connection to Jewish community and Israel. Bonus points for fun and funny! ––––––––––––––––– ID #1544: Female 50 to 57, Conservative, divorced, interested in love and marriage. I’m fun, loving, adventurous, a Jewish female seeking a Jewish male who will hold my hand, kiss me in the rain, an animal lover who enjoys long walks in the sunshine and moonlight. A partner who realizes that I may not be at my best 24/7 and who will support me and allow me to reciprocate. A man who can speak his truth, be true to his word, walk what he talks and who is willing to grow together as the years pass. I’m

a patient, caring, educated women who enjoys cooking, travel, going on adventures or staying home for a quiet evening. Are you the one? I look forward to hearing from you. Seeking: Male 42 to 63, Conservative, ethnicity doesn’t matter, divorced, professional, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent and adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1564: Female 26 to 33, Conservative/Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love and marriage. I’m fun, loving and adventurous. If you’re looking for a girl who is outgoing, family-oriented and makes delicious banana bread, look no further! Seeking: Male 26 to 41, Conservative or Reform, Caucasian, single, ambitious, kind-hearted, good sense of humor. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1584: Female 26 to 33, rather not say anything about religious description, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating or marriage. I’m professional, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. I am a full-blown travel addict who brings a new meaning to the term “disasterprone.” Whether it’s getting roofied in Bangkok or being taken by stretcher to the emergency room in Melbourne, there’s never a dull moment traveling with me. But, hey, it’s going to take more than a few mishaps to keep me off the road! Seeking: Male 26 to 57, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, Hispanic or Latin, or Mediterranean, single and professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent and adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1645: Female 58 to 63, Nonreligious/traditional, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m entertaining, loving, attractive. Cut, carat, color, clarity, think of me as a diamond (I know, a bit threatening for you gentlemen), and I hope this ad will get your attention. Originally from NYC, I am an Emory graduate and have been in Atlanta since the ’70s. Cut: 5-foot-3. Carat: a lady never discloses. Suffice it to say I am 63, not thin, not heavy, with a good sense of style. Color: silver/ salt-and-pepper hair with Sassoon cut. Clarity: Emory grad. A bit of a social animal, I also feel it is important to give back. I support Meals on Wheels and animal rescue groups. My taste in music ranges from oldies to soft rock to Motown, from Ella to Frank and Tony, and you can throw in a little kid. I am not observant but respect someone who is. I look forward to meeting you. Seeking: Male 58 to 71+, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, available and professional, loving, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1664: Female 26 to 33, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love. I’m attractive, intelligent, a social butterfly. I’m a little sweet Jewish unicorn. I’m a Jewnicorn! Seeking: Male 26 to 41, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, single and attractive, preferably potty-trained, employed and not living at home with his parents. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1685: Female 18 to 25, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. I love travel (especially to Israel), and anyone who can make me laugh

has my heart. Seeking: Male 18 to 25, Conservative, Reform, nonreligious/traditional or secular, Caucasian, Mediterranean, single and professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1706: Female 42 to 49, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating. I’m entertaining, fun, loving. Maybe not skydiving, but stargazing for sure. Seeking: Male 42 to 57, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, available and fun, loving, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1726: Female 42 to 49, Conservative, single, Caucasian interested in marriage. I’m professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. SJW, 44, attractive, smart and funny N.Y. bagel, tired of getting burned. Seeking fresh and smooth cream cheese that’s available to spread some love. Seeking: Male 42 to 57, Conservative, Reform, nonreligious/traditional, secular, Caucasian, Mediterranean, single or divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1766: Female 63 to 70, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in casual dating to marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. A divorced, retired, 60ish, attractive woman with a great smile who looks and acts younger than her years, I’m intelligent, trusting and caring with a positive outlook on life and a good sense of humor. Museums, theater, hiking, going to the beach and dancing are some of the activities I enjoy. I’m fun to be with! Seeking: Male 63 to 71+, Reform or nonreligious/traditional, secular, Caucasian, single, divorced, available and entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1786: Female 50 to 57, Conservative, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, being friends, social networking, marriage. I’m professional, loving, adventurous, with a can-do personality, health-conscious, athletic, global-oriented. Seeking: Male 50 to 57, Conservative, Caucasian, single or divorced, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1807: Female 70+, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love or just friends. I’m intelligent, creative, compassionate, curious. Seeking: Male 63 to 71+, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional or secular, Caucasian, single or divorced, and intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1827: Female 42 to 49, nonreligious/traditional, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, just being friends, social networking, marriage. I’m loving, intelligent, adventurous. Seeking: Male 42 to 49, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional, Caucasian, Hispanic or Latin, Mediterranean, single or divorced, professional, loving, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1847: Female 63 to 70, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in casual dating, just being friends, companionship. I’m fun, loving, intel-

ing, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2009: Female 50 to 57, Conservative, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. Looking for someone to have fun with to start. You never know where it may lead. Seeking: Male 50 to 63, Conservative, Reform or nonreligious/traditional, Caucasian, single, divorced, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2069: Female 63 to 70, Modern Orthodox, Caucasian interested in marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, loving, lonely, attractive, intelligent. I am looking for an honest, caring Orthodox man who wants to begin a new chapter in life with an honest, passionate, observant woman. Seeking: Male 58 to 70, Modern Orthodox, Caucasian, divorced, available, widowed, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2110: Female 50 to 57, Conservative, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, marriage. I’m fun, loving, attractive, professional. I am successful and lots a fun to hang out with. I love my Atlanta Jewish community and seek the perfect companion to share life with. I am attracted to successful men who know what they want and are not afraid of an attractive woman to stand by their side. Seeking: Male 50 to 63, Conservative, Reform or nonreligious/traditional, Caucasian, single, divorced, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2140: Female 26 to 33, Conservative, single, Mediterranean interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m professional, attractive, intelligent. I enjoy conversations about international and political affairs, attending museums and theater, and interesting reads. Wine and dine me! Seeking: Male 26 to 41, Conservative or Modern Orthodox, Caucasian, Mediterranean, single, professional, entertaining, fun, attractive, intelligent, adventurous, culturally open. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2160: Female 42 to 49, not Jewish, surrounded by Jews my whole life, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating. I’m professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. I enjoy music, festivals, film, camping, reading, drinks on the desk. In general, I am a lover of all things cultural. Seeking: Male 34 to 57, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic or Latin, Mediterranean, single or divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous.

MALE SEEKING FEMALE ID #1221: Male 42 to 49, Conservative, ask me, single, Caucasian interested in love, marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, loving. I am originally from Kiev, Ukraine. Birth name is Sergei. Others would describe me as a sincere, patient, loyal person. I am looking for a relationship based on kindness and respect. I am close to my parents. I enjoy helping others, music and the beach. I love playing piano, composing music, cooking, reading, traveling, romantic dinners, concerts, cuddling at home, etc.

Seeking: Female 26 to 41, Conservative, Modern Orthodox or Reform, Caucasian, Hispanic or Latin, Mediterranean, single, divorced, fun, loving, attractive. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1241: Male 70+, rather not say my religious description, divorced, Caucasian, interested in love. I’m professional, entertaining, fun, loving, lonely, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. Former TV producer/writer and published author. Tall, attractive, healthy, active, loving, moral, faithful, financially sound. No vices. Love travel, theater, movies, music and entertaining conversation. Seeking: Female 63 to 70, religious description doesn’t matter, Caucasian, single, divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, lonely, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1382: Male 70+, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in casual dating. I’m fun, loving, intelligent, a young 77-year-old widower who likes to laugh and have fun. I am active but walk with a cane and enjoy travel, the arts, technology and other people. Seeking: Female 63 to 71+, Conservative or Reform, Caucasian, widow, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. An attractive lady who is intelligent with a good sense of humor, warm and loving, who likes to go out and do things. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1463: Male 42 to 49, nonreligious/traditional, relationship status is complicated, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating. I’m loving, attractive, adventurous. I am a fun-loving man who is looking for a fun-loving woman to experience the ebb and flow of a new adventure! Seeking: Female 34 to 49, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, divorced, available, loving, attractive, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1483: Male 26 to 33, Conservative, Sephardic, single, Mediterranean interested in love, marriage. I’m professional, adventurous, ambivert. My biggest passions are the outdoors and trying new recipes. Seeking: Female 26 to 33, Conservative or Modern Orthodox, Caucasian, Mediterranean, single, intelligent, gregarious, down-to-earth. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1504: Male 26 to 33, Reform or nonreligious/traditional, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, just being friends. I’m fun, loving, lonely, adventurous. Hi. I’m about to be 28 at the end of October. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/criminology and work at the Georgia State Patrol. My most recent interest has been restoring my 1965 Mustang and going to car shows. I’m hoping to use this to get back out there and just thinking positive. Seeking: Female 18 to 33, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional or not Jewish, Caucasian, single, divorced, fun, loving, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1524: Male 42 to 49, Reform, divorced, Hispanic or Latin, interested in love. I’m professional, fun, loving, adventurous. Seeking: Female 34 to 41, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Reform, nonreligious/traditional or secular, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1605: Male 34 to 41, Conservative, single,

Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, just being friends, marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, loving, intelligent, adventurous, optimistic and funny, searching for a distinct something. Seeking: Female 26 to 41, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, divorced, available, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1625: Male 63 to 70, Orthodox, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, single, Caucasian interested in marriage. I’m fun, loving, lonely, looking for a life partner after losing my wife, whom I worshipped for 40 years, and hopefully will find another with whom I can do the same. Maybe you’re the one? Seeking: Female 63 to 70, Orthodox, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Caucasian, single, fun, loving, attractive. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1746: Male 50 to 57, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m professional, fun, intelligent, with a strong Jewish identity with active participation. Seeking: Female 34 to 49, Orthodox, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional or secular, Caucasian, Hispanic or Latin, Mediterranean, single, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ID #1948: Male 42 to 49, not Jewish, single, African-American interested in casual dating, just being friends. I’m professional, attractive, intelligent. Seeking: Female 34 to 57, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, divorced, available, professional, entertaining, fun, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2029: Male 42 to 49, Christian, single, African interested in social networking. I’m professional. I believe everything, no matter how difficult, ends up for good. Seeking: Female 18 to 33, religious description doesn’t matter, ethnicity doesn’t matter, single, available, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, lonely, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2049: Male 42 to 49, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, social networking, marriage. I’m professional, fun, intelligent, a 42-yearold single man seeking someone with a sense of humor, compassion toward others, Jewish identity and interest in marriage. Seeking: Female 26 to 49, Orthodox, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Reform, secular or doesn’t matter, Caucasian, African-American, Mediterranean or doesn’t matter, single, divorced, professional, loving, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #2120: Male 50 to 57, Conservative, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage. I’m professional, fun, intelligent, successful, with a strong Jewish identity. Family is very important to me, and I enjoy spending time with my grown children. I am open-minded to new adventures and very thought-provoking. Seeking: Female 34 to 57, religious description doesn’t matter, divorced, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, marriage, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent.

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

ligent. I have been a widow for eight years. It is finally time to push myself to test the dating waters. Companionship, mixed with friendship, could be both welcomed and exciting at any stage of life. Seeking: Male 63 to 71+, Conservative or Reform, Caucasian, widowed would be comfortable, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1867: Female 50 to 57, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating or just being friends. I’m professional, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous, a kid at heart. Animal lover, Gator-covered, Buckeyes in my core! Seeking: Male 42 to 63, Reform, nonreligious/ traditional or secular, doesn’t matter, Caucasian, single, divorced, available, professional, entertaining, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous, great sense of humor. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1887: Female 26 to 33, Reform, single, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, just being friends, social networking, marriage. I’m entertaining, fun, attractive. A TV producer and fitness trainer who just moved back to ATL, ready to get my Mrs. degree. (aka looking for the real deal). Seeking: Male 26 to 41, Conservative, Reform, nonreligious/traditional or secular, Caucasian, single, professional, entertaining, fun, loving, attractive, intelligent, adventurous. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1908: Female 70+, Orthodox, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Reform, nonreligious/traditional, single, Caucasian interested in casual dating. I’m entertaining, intelligent, adventurous, and ready to add a new chapter to a life well lived. Seeking: Male 63 to 71+, Jewish, not labeled, Caucasian, single, available, widowed, professional, fun, loving, intelligent, adventurous, compassionate. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1928: Female 50 to 57, Conservative, divorced, Caucasian interested in casual dating. I’m professional, loving, intelligent. Open to new experiences in and around Atlanta. Let’s play, learn, work, be healthy and enjoy! Seeking: Male 50 to 63, Conservative or Modern Orthodox, Caucasian, available, professional, loving, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1968: Female 58 to 63, Reform, divorced, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, just being friends. I’m entertaining, loving, intelligent. Looking for a nice man for fun and entertainment (my children say I’m quite entertaining). I’m 5-foot-10 and professional and travel weekly for business, so weekends are best. Let’s say hi! Seeking: Male 58 to 63, Reform or nonreligious/traditional, Caucasian, single, divorced, professional, loving, intelligent. ––––––––––––––––– ID #1988: Female 42 to 49, Reform, separated, Caucasian interested in love, casual dating, social networking, marriage. I’m loving, attractive, intelligent. Exercise daily, runner, weights, gym. Love music, concerts, college and NFL football, cooking, being outdoors and especially by lakes and oceans. Love animals and spending time with family and good friends, being busy or hanging out at home. Seeking: Male 34 to 49, Reform, Caucasian, available, professional, entertaining, fun, lov-

JEWISH SINGLES

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Bringing Dating Back to the Basics By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com Making connections in a big city can be difficult, but matchmakers Beth Friedman and Jenna Shulman are bringing dating back to the basics in the hope of helping Jewish Atlantans find love. The Jewish matchmaking program that Shulman and Friedman started as a side project, juLuv, has grown to a database of 580 people ages 19 to 77 and has produced 12 successful matches, which Shulman counts as a long-term relationship or a marriage. Two couples introduced by juLuv had babies the past two months. “We started a few years ago out of a common, shared love for matchmaking and figuring out that there are so many single people in the community who didn’t want to necessarily always rely on social events to meet people,” Shulman said. “What we tell people is don’t let juLuv stop you from anything else. In other words, this should be one of many things you’re doing to meet people. So put yourself out there in a

number of places, including juLuv.” The process is simple. Go to www. juluv.com and fill out a confidential form that includes age, where you live, your level of Jewish practice, potential deal-breakers and types of cuisines you enjoy. What happens next depends on the package you choose. JuLuv offers two options. The free guest option adds you to the database. The $475 client option provides an individual meeting with Friedman and a guarantee of three dates in three months. Originally, juLuv did not have a premium option, but Friedman and Shulman had so much interest that they decided to add it to provide the chance for a personalized experience. “This is not a business. This is just two girls doing it as a mitzvah because it’s something we enjoy,” Shulman said. “A lot of times we have people breathing down our necks about why we haven’t matched them with someone, so we added a premium option.” Matches are made by Shulman and Friedman based on a number of factors, including level of observance,

age and appearance. “If I match up an Orthodox person with a Reform person, it’s probably not going to go well,” Shulman said. “This is what we do instead of playing tennis,” she added. “I didn’t give up my job to do this, but, having said that, we’ve had a number of awesome successes.” Shulman, who has been the CEO of the Jewish Educational Loan Fund since 2014, said she has learned a lot since she and Friedman launched juLuv in 2013. For starters, Shulman said both men and women can be too picky. “My biggest lesson that I’ve learned through this whole thing is if everybody could move a tier down on their pickiness level, we would all be in so much better shape,” she said. “Everyone is so picky to the point they don’t want to give someone a chance because of one thing. Life just doesn’t work that way.” Shulman said that when she was dating, she told herself she had four things she valued in a relationship. The man she ended up marrying had none

of those things. “I dropped my barriers at the end of the day,” she said. In February juLuv hosted a speeddating event to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Although the event was well attended, Shulman and Friedman have decided not to rely on events in the future. Shulman also understands that people are hesitant to promote the fact they met significant others using juLuv. She recently asked the two couples who had babies after meeting on juLuv whether she could share their story, but they declined. “People get embarrassed,” she said. “Maybe people want to have a better story in life. Couples crave to have their own fun, organic story. I think it’s similar with dating apps. I just don’t think people consider those very sexy ways to meet people these days.” Regardless of any social stigma, juLuv is providing an alternative to the impersonal world of dating apps, as many singles are craving something different. Shulman said that’s good enough for her. ■

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Israeli Heart Art Fosters Mindfulness By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com

Photos courtesy of Roie Avidan, Mind the Heart

Maya Gelfman and Roie Avidan compose a mural in collaboration with Core Dance, which is also part of a series called “De/Construction,” derived from a Kabbalah story in which, by shaving off letters from a word, one by one, you can vanquish a demon.

ning until Saturday, Oct. 7, in Decatur, involves the city, the Decatur Arts Alliance and Core Dance. Avidan and Gelfman distributed 100 red yarn hearts to locals on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Avidan took photos of them. The participants then had 48 hours to place their hearts at or near locations significant to them, then submit photos with explanations of the importance of the locations. Avidan plans to display the photos Oct. 7 at the Decatur Arts Alliance, 113 Clairemont Ave., alongside the work of residential artists. Since the project launched, it has taken multiple forms, including soundbites that artists recorded while working on the streets. The photos have been archived at www.mindtheheart. org and are regularly curated for public exhibits, including a large exhibition planned for New York next August. In Georgia the Israeli artists met with students at Kennesaw State University’s School of Art and Design and provided a master class about Mind the Heart and the philosophy behind the project Friday, Sept. 22. “The students were wide-eyed throughout the entire presentation, which was amazing to see and witness,” Avidan said. Gelfman and Avidan also produced a mural in collaboration with Core Dance in Decatur. Avidan said the mural reflects Core Dance’s place in the community and represents the use of a dancer’s body to create a moment of art. Gelfman and Avidan will travel for the next year to share Mind the Heart, including stops in Savannah and Florida.

Serendipity also plays a role in the artists’ journey and in the next phase of the project, Gelfman said. “We don’t know where we’re going and instead allow our encounters with different individuals to dictate it.” The artists plan to use interactions on social media such as Facebook and Instagram to help determine where to travel.

People in the Mind the Heart project’s Heart Community show their hearts and their spots of significance.

“That’s the beauty of the project, however, and what we set out to do,” Gelfman said. “The project creates an opportunity for conversation, and, in a way, you can say this whole act happened because we try to incorporate more mindfulness in our own lives and try to use sensory tools to take the experiences of where we are and reflect it in the piece.” ■

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OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

When Israeli artists Maya Gelfman and Roie Avidan sought to become the change they wished to see in the world, they separated themselves from everyday routines and adopted a feeling of mindfulness, the main concept behind their public art project, Mind the Heart. The project, which originated in the streets of Tel Aviv, serves as a reminder for people to be aware of the beauty around them and to live in the moment. “Our senses are bombarded and in overload all the time, but you are not living in the present, and it’s a shame because each moment is precious and could be your last,” Avidan said. Red yarn hearts were strategically located in areas of Tel Aviv to garner the most attention, Avidan said. “Just because you’ve been in a place a long time doesn’t mean you really know it, and you should pay attention.” Each red heart, although flawed, represents the complexities of life and its numerous imperfections. After waking up to the realization that every person needs three basic ideals to be productive, Gelfman and Avidan decided to come up with their own principles to maximize their creativity every day: the creation of something new, meaningful human encounters, new experiences, a connection to nature and great food. Despite their comfortable lives in Israel, Gelfman and Avidan wondered whether they were living up to life’s potential. “It’s like having a feeling in your gut that something is missing and you are running after life instead of dictating what you want to do,” Avidan said. The two dismantled their studios and narrowed their possessions to one laptop, half a suitcase, a few art materials and a camera before traveling to the United States from Tel Aviv. “We decided that if we wanted something new to happen, we would have to let go of everything we know,” Avidan said. Gelfman and Avidan, who now live in a van, use people and everyday conversations as inspirations to dictate what they do and to break people’s preconceived notions, including their own. Since arriving in the United States, the two have taken their 9-year-old public art project to numerous cities while collaborating with organizations and individuals. Mind the Heart, run-

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Mother, Son and the Law’s Holy Spirit Atlanta has a burgeoning, homegrown star who is a cross between Doc Hollywood and Perry Mason. Jason Sheffield, a criminal attorney with a past in theater, busts through with his seminal book, “Son of a Bitch.” Inspired by true events (his own trials and tribulations), the novel loosely chronicles the story of Benjamin Scales, who grows up coping with his single, flamboyant mother, a criminal attorney herself. Carter Scales dragged Benjamin through hell while clawing her way to the top of the sexist, male-dominated legal profession in Atlanta. It’s up to the reader to weigh the climate and conditions for an ambitious woman balancing priorities and lifestyle when it wasn’t de rigueur being Super Woman, let alone doing it while single. Under her ferocious veneer, Carter is a shattered and lonely woman. As a young adult, Benjamin chose to break away from her. They haven’t spoken in years, but when she is caught in flagrante delicto with her star Mafia client, she turns to the one person she thinks should always have her back. But why should Benjamin help her? The novel, which explores the peril of a parent-child relationship amid the crazy world of criminal defense, is a tale of motherhood and

manhood, forgiveness and redemption, and a mother’s hope that her son, now a man, will close his eyes to the past and open his heart to the future.

Jaffe’s Jewish Jive By Marcia Caller Jaffe mjaffe@atljewishtimes.com

Jaffe: So, Jason, is the book biographical or not? Sheffield: The feelings and choices we experienced are real. I did have anger about some elements of my childhood. This book allowed me to talk it through. Remember, she was No. 1 in her law school class when a single, attractive, ambitious woman was plodding new ground. I was navigating this all as a young child. It wasn’t until I matured that I could step into her high heels and forgive her. Some of the things in the book did not happen, like the sex act visiting a client at jail. … That was contrived to provide Benjamin the platform to reconnect and help her. Jaffe: What elements of the book relate to your being Jewish? Sheffield: Growing up in East Cobb circa 1980, we had to drive into the city for Jewish connection. There was no question as to our religious

identity. Since this is the High Holiday season, certainly there is redemption in asking for forgiveness and looking deep within to recognize our own flaws and not being judgmental. The ultimate exchange of hearts, knee to knee, is what heals us. My mother sometimes traded being a good mother for success and her own struggles. Since I’m a parent now, I am more sensitive to what pulled her. Hey, she grew up watching “The Untouchables.” An apology goes a long way. Jaffe: So your relationship now? Sheffield: She is a terrific grandmother. And, yes, we do still work on some cases together. Jaffe: Great title. So if you’re the son, does that make her “the bitch”? Sheffield: That is not such a bad word. … If being a bitch makes one fearless and serious about the search for justice, then I am a bitch also. Jaffe: What’s next for you? Sheffield: The script is begging for a movie or TV series deal. Also, two other books are in the works: a prequel of Carter’s life before and the third book, a continuation of our working

Jason Sheffield finds inspiration from his own life for his writing.

together and the ultimate death of a character. Jaffe: I’ll ask the worn-out “demean the lawyer” question. How can you justify putting criminals back on the street with your own expertise by finding a legal loophole? Sheffield: All my clients are not innocent. However, we do have a Constitution, and, believe me, it is very scary when the state comes against you with all its force with the assumption that you did it. Some of the accusations of police officers are opinions. There are shades of gray, and I try to get criminals to examine the situation and get help. Criminal attorneys stand as a check and balance separating society from oppression. And, yes, I do enjoy using my acting background in the courtroom. ■ Who: Jason Sheffield

Son of a Bitch: Inspired by True Events

What: Book talk and signing

By Jason B. Sheffield

Where: Bookmiser, 4651 Sandy Plains Road, East Cobb

Michael Terence Publishing, 384 pages, $14.99

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14

Fourth Tower of Talent Moves to Ferst Center

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

The Tower of Talent benefit concert for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta returns this month for more tikkun olam and performances at a new venue, the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech. The curtain will rise on the fourth annual concert at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15. A citywide casting call has produced an outstanding lineup of singers, musicians and other performers ages 6 to 18, with presentations from Beethoven to Broadway and beyond. The concert idea was initiated and fully funded by Michael Greenbaum, the owner of Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits, who is dedicated to a legacy of support for medically fragile children. “My father taught me the importance of giving, and this is something I want to pass on, not only to my children, but also to my employees at Tower,” Greenbaum said. “Over the 26 past year, we have been volunteering

at least once a month with our Tower Lights program all over Atlanta, and our grand finale is this upcoming fundraiser.” Having young grandchildren makes Children’s Healthcare a special cause for Greenbaum. “Even though they are happy and healthy, it has reminded me of the importance of good health care for children, who really are the future.” The addition of classical music to the concert was inspired by musicologist and piano teacher Warren Woodruff and his popular book, “Dr. Fuddle and the Gold Baton.” The concert has soared under the direction of Lynn Stallings, the executive director of the Atlanta Workshop Players. Some of the kids in the show were patients at Children’s who now want to help other children live out their dreams. Melisa Morrow, the development

officer for Children’s, said the nonprofit organization relies on donations such as Greenbaum’s to support unfunded projects. “His generosity continues to fund our music therapy program, which empowers the children and their families through unique musical experiences to achieve optimal well-being. Children who receive these services in the hospital are presented with alternative ways to manage pain, express emotions, improve physical/ cognitive activity and relate to others through music.” Woodruff said: “The Tower of Talent is a win/win. The financial benefit to CHOA is the most direct reason for the concert; but, behind the scenes, wonderful and equally amazing empowerment happens as young people get the benefit of knowing their dedication to music is actually being used for good; as a force to bring positive change in a world that so desperately

needs the healing power of music.” Robyn Spizman Gerson, who coordinates the Tower of Talent, said Greenbaum and his wife, Anne, “have selflessly strived to brighten the lives of others and provide services that brighten the lives of those in need. I am honored to support this cause, which has become one of the hottest holiday tickets in town. “The Tower of Talent is going to be a star-studded, jaw-dropping, celebrityfilled event with amazing kids. Last year our goal was to collectively break a million dollars in donations, and we accomplished that. This year, the sky is the limit.” ■ What: Tower of Talent Where: Ferst Center for the Arts, 350 Ferst Drive, Midtown When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 Tickets: $35 to $100; www.choa.org/ toweroftalent

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‘Lavender Scare’ Reveals Ugly American History By Cole Seidner “The Lavender Scare” exposes a troubling period when the U.S. government persecuted gay people with the same fervor unleashed against Communists at the same time. The documentary, which the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screened in partnership with Out on Film on Sept. 14 as part of the AJFF Selects series, is based on David E. Johnson’s book “The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government.” The Midtown Art Cinema audience was greeted by the image of a young Jewish man, Frank Kameny, holding a sign: “The Last Persecuted Minority.” The movie opens in the 1920s. Filmmaker Josh Howard shows that Washington, D.C., had a culture that welcomed the lesbian and gay community. People flocked there for jobs and

love and danced openly until President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s declared that gay men and lesbians were feeding information to the Soviets. Thus began the Lavender Scare. The audience was absorbed in the film and talked back as the emotional scenes produced passionate reactions. Many people murmured about Frank Kameny, the Jewish figure often seen as leading the fight against the Lavender Scare, and asked each other, “Did you know about him?” Labeled the “Grandfather of Gay Activism” but seemingly little known, he connected with the AJFF audience. The film touches on an underpublicized part of midcentury history, a period better known for the Red Scare. The festival chose a documentary that not only speaks to history, but also, with a single sentence at the end of the film, unites the entirety of the Lavender Scare with modern times. ■

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Marian Scheuer Sofaer presents a copy of “The Synagogues of India” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Israel Museum on July 5.

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Jewish Atlanta architect Jay Waronker’s expertise in synagogue design has drawn attention at elite international levels. During his historic visit to Israel in July, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented a copy of Waronker’s book “The Synagogues of India” (FIS Publications) during a tour of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on July 5. Modi later was given a copy of a second book Waronker published this year, “Synagogues in the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity” (Edinburgh University Press). Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent time at the Israel Museum exploring a reconstruc-

tion of the wooden 16th century Kadavumbagam Synagogue from Cochin in southern India, one of four reconstructed synagogues from three continents on display. The rescued synagogue reflects the decorative influences of mosques and Hindu temples. Waronker’s colleague Marian Scheuer Sofaer presented “The Synagogues of India” to Modi. The next project for Waronker — a Kennesaw State architecture professor whose scholarship has focused since the 1990s on shuls in India, Myanmar and sub-Saharan Africa — is a book on the synagogues of sub-Saharan Africa, undertaken at the invitation of the African Jewish Congress. ■

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SIMCHAT TORAH

Centuries of Celebration

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

On Simchat Torah in the eternal city of Jerusalem, we dance with great joy and sing with fervor. So that every Israeli can participate in completing and restarting the Torah, hakafot sheniot are held across the country on the night after the actual Simchat Torah. We have always sought ways to infuse this final fall holiday with a meaning all its own. Being an American by birth, it has been important to me to search resources to find out how my U.S. forebears observed the holiday in the traditional manner and developed spiritual, innovative ways to add meaning to the holiday. As a student rabbi in the 1960s, I organized and led the Simchat Torah celebration in Easton, Md., and in Statesville and Wilson, N.C. In the San Francisco Call newspaper Oct. 5, 1879, this story appeared: “On Simchat Torah all the sephorim, scrolls of the law, were taken out of the Ark, carried in procession around the synagogue.” The ritual was the same as we follow. “The last chapter of Deuteronomy and the first chapter of Bereshit were read in succession in order that there may be no break in the Law.” California’s Jews also created ways to observe the holiday in a social fashion: “A Simchat Torah ball was held on October 18, 1913, at the Majestic Theater downtown; money raised for the local Hebrew school.” This use of the festive observance in a social manner helped fill the depleted coffers for Jewish education. The crisis in Atlanta after the lynching of Leo Frank in August 1915 could have deterred the Jews there from holding Simchat Torah services with lively singing and dancing. It is not clear what was done in The Temple, where Frank was a member. However, the Atlanta Constitution reported that in the “Gilmer Street synagogue” (Ahavath Achim) and the “Hunter Street synagogue” (Shearith Israel) “the boys and girls of the Hebrew faith and the adults too listened closely to the reading of the scroll and filled the synagogues with their joyful singing, and some even danced.” As the Paris correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency sat with other European Jews in October 1934, he wrote that “in spite of the Nazis and other anti-Semites, we still rejoice and pray for a prolonged Simchat Torah.” 28 With World War II raging, the ob-

servance of Simchat Torah was toned down because American Jews did not want the 550,000 Jewish men and women serving in all branches of the military to feel that at home they were dancing while the GIs were fighting. “Now that the war is over,” Rabbi Hyman Friedman of Shearith Israel said in 1946, “the most enthusiastic cel-

Guest Column By Rabbi David Geffen

ebration of Simchat Torah and other holidays will again be possible. When the time comes for Simchat Torah, we should get our dancing shoes ready.” I can attest to the most exciting Simchat Torah in 1946. My father in April 1946 had returned from Tokyo, where he completed his six years of Army service as a judge advocate. I enrolled in the Hebrew school headed by Rabbi Friedman. The Simchat Torah celebration was led by Rabbi Friedman and his wife, Yehudis, in an exuberant manner I have seen matched only in Israel. Annually, we can observe the growing participation of women in Simchat Torah’s singing and dancing. Two noted female rabbis, Jill Jacobs and Jill Hammer, explained the meaning of this celebration for women. “The image of ‘dancing in the face of darkness’ as Jewish women became liberated on Simchat Torah meant much to us because in our synagogues we burst into the chilling fall night air dancing with the Sifrei Torah. As we danced, we were fortified with strength and energy for the challenges ahead,” Rabbi Jacobs wrote. In her “Guide to Simchat Torah,” Rabbi Hammer wrote, “I have never in my adult life missed Simchat Torah. I have danced with the Torah in student chapels, in formal synagogues, in the seminaries and in the streets of Boston and New York.” Then she stressed the holiday’s importance to her. “To join a dance circle, I have run down forty or more steps. I have crept through crowds to make sure I could dance. Simchat Torah is the holiday I look to all year, not only because of its celebration of joy and music, but because it’s a celebration of G-d as changemaker. For me Simchat Torah celebrates the possibility of rereading the Torah in a new light.” ■

Why the Torah Delay? On Simchat Torah it’s appropriate to ask a basic question that our sages, throughout the ages, have ignored: Why did the Almighty wait so long to hand us the Book of Books, the Torah? A legend — not a Midrash, just a legend told by kibitzers sitting around the JCC pool — explains the delay. The angels cast a unanimous vote for the Almighty to lay the Torah at the foot of the Tree of Knowledge that first week in Eden. They suggested that He prop it up against the trunk so the world’s first newlyweds, dizzy with the world’s first love affair, couldn’t miss it. They were wary of man. “He’s dangerous,” they advised the Creator. “At first, he’ll use a stick to walk. Next, he’ll use it to knock fruit out of the trees. Then he’ll sharpen one end of it and throw it at his fellow creatures. “You have made him with the reproductive glands of the desert hare, the ferocity of the tiger and the acquisitiveness of the honeybee. But the hare is gentle, the tiger is lazy, and the honeybee is small. They will never desecrate your creation. But man is different. He needs restraints. He needs Torah now.” The Lord replied: “Humanity is not programmed like the animals. I have given this breed a soul, and I’ve given them the blessing and curse of free will. We shall see what we shall see.” The Lord looked down on the paradise He had built on Earth. He saw the incredible variation of plants and creatures. He saw Adam and Eve, the newlyweds, as gentle as the fruit-eating orangutans. So the Lord rested. The angels chattered among themselves like the blue jays in the garden. “He shouldn’t have rested before He made Torah.” “Yeah,” said one little fellow with fluffy wings. “Wait until he gets a load of Cain.” The next day — a day of heaven is many generations on Earth, you know — the Lord inspected His universe. He saw the first act of disobedience in the garden, and He saw Cain’s murderous rage. He saw the generations who displayed all the faults of the desert hare and the honeybee with none of their virtues. “Earth was corrupt in His sight,”

as He was later to note in Genesis Chapter 5, Verse 11. So He sent the flood. “That’ll do it,” He told the angels. “Such power will make man fear me. They will flock to me like the gentle dove. Just watch their improvement.” “They need the Torah,” mumbled the angelic court.

Scribbler on the Roof By Ted Roberts

“No,” He said. Then came the generations of the patriarchs; G-d-fearing men but imperfect. With hesitancy and a sigh, the Master Builder peeped between His fingers at the strange animal with a soul called man just in time to see the sons of Jacob betray their father and their brother Joseph. “Now!” said the angels. “No,” said the Lord. “Did I not make them in My likeness? And unlike the animals, did I not give them freedom, even unto sin?” Soon, the descendants of Abraham were slaves in Egypt, and their wailing drifted up to heaven itself and the ears of their Creator. Ah, another opportunity to demonstrate My power to this unruly species, He thought. He delivered his people from the whips and clubs of the Egyptians. Later, He was to tell the whole story in Exodus. Strengthened by His might, they strode out of Egypt as free men, but no sooner had they struck off their chains than they assumed the characteristics of the lustful hare, the savage tiger and the acquisitive honeybee. The Lord threw up His hands in despair. “They need a rulebook,” He announced to the heavenly hosts, who modestly nodded. “They need limits on their freedom like the planets need an orbit, like the river needs a bank.” And the Lord took the ex-slaves to Sinai, where He spoke to Moses and gave him the Torah like a father gives a son a prayer book on his bar mitzvah day. The slaves were now accountable. As I said, it’s only a legend. Ask your rabbi. But if he laughs at your legend, ask him for his explanation. ■

OBITUARIES

Louis Taratoot 82, Dunwoody

Louis Taratoot, 82, passed away surrounded by family Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Clara “Bunnie” Taratoot; his sons, Barry and Jeffrey (Esther); his grandchildren, Seth and Aaron; and his sister, Sheila Taratoot. He was predeceased by his parents, Ben and Bessie Taratoot, and his younger brother, Bernard Taratoot. After putting himself through college and graduating from Georgia State University, Taratoot began his real estate career at the B.M. Grant Co. Shortly after, he started his own company, Taratoot & Associates, which is still active today. He co-owned and solely managed over 500 apartment units in Atlanta, along with a strip shopping center in Decatur and other land developments. Taratoot was a visionary and a true leader in the Atlanta Jewish community. He served a two-year term as president at Congregation Beth Jacob, serving with honor under Rabbi Emanuel Feldman. When he and his family moved to Dunwoody in 1990, he had a dream to build the first Orthodox synagogue in Dunwoody. Taratoot put together a group including Lester Czuper, Sam Eden, Terry Tenenbaum, Murray Siegel and others, and, with the help of the Atlanta Scholars Kollel, Congregation Ariel was founded and opened its doors for Shabbat on Aug. 7, 1993, at its first home on Sandell Drive. That location held approximately 30 people. The synagogue later hired Rabbi Binyomin Friedman, along with his wife, Dena, in 1994, and they grew the community. By spring 2005, it became apparent that a larger location was needed. Taratoot, Rabbi Friedman and his core group purchased land on Tilly Mill Road, where the current building is permanently located. Taratoot had two main goals in life. The first was family, where he assisted in supporting his grandchildren through Jewish day schools and becoming a part of their daily lives. The other was growing in observance and helping spread this throughout Dunwoody. Sign the online guestbook at www.edressler.com. Graveside services were held Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Friedman officiating. Memorial donations can be made to Congregation Ariel, 5227 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338, www.congariel.org. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Courtney Sackin We all wish we had that friend. The one who never forgets your birthday. Or your kids’ birthdays. Who lights up when she sees you. Who knows how to really listen. Who has a wicked sense of humor. Who knows the best restaurants. Who gives of herself unconditionally. For so many of us, we didn’t wish we had that friend; we had that friend with Courtney Sackin. Cori died Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Atlanta, and our friend will be forever missed, forever remembered. She was born in Los Angeles to Stevie and Stanley Sackin. After the Sackin family relocated to Atlanta, Cori graduated from Riverwood High School and the University of Georgia as a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority. Cori dedicated her career to helping others, first in Alzheimer’s care, then in elder care, and most recently as an intake coordinator and capacity building specialist at Care and Counseling Center of Georgia. To Cori, family meant both the family she was born to and her family of friends. To list all those she leaves behind would be impossible, her hug and reach were so vast. An online guestbook is available at www.edressler.com. The family requests donations to the Care and Counseling Center of Georgia, www.cccgeorgia.org/cori-sackin; Chaya Mushka Children’s House, www.chayamushka.org/ elementarycori-sackin; or to the charity of one’s choice. A memorial service will be held on her birthday, Dec. 5, in Atlanta, with other celebrations of life to be scheduled. Details to be announced. 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 6 ▪ 2017

Atlanta

CLOSING THOUGHTS

The High-Tech Times, They Are A-Changing

OCTOBER 6 ▪ 2017

I am sitting in Berlin, writing this article on an iPad. I just finished reading the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, and it convinced me how radical the change in my grandchildren’s lives is from the life I led growing up. I’m old school. I learned to memorize multiplication tables, wrote with a pencil on lined paper, carried textbooks to school in my hands, used a typewriter and made changes with Wite-Out, studied with long-playing records on a separate stereo, never used a printer, a fax or a scanner, grew up listening to radio shows, and watched TV on a 16-inch black-and-white set that was the only one in our apartment. I went to elementary school half a block from my apartment in Brooklyn, came home for a lunch my mother prepared, and played sports, cards and games on my street without parental supervision. We had no coaches and no organized teams, and we made up our rules as we needed them. I’m in Berlin visiting my grandchildren. While I was sitting on the couch, reading the Steve Jobs hardcover book, my grandson (age 10) was playing games on a cellphone, my granddaughter (age 8) was playing a game on my iPad, and my younger grandson (age 6) was watching a kids’ movie on Netflix. The world is radically different for our youth today than when I grew up. Cellphones are replacing telephones. I can call people in Atlanta for a few pennies a minute from Berlin or even free on FaceTime and see their faces. Long-playing records are extinct; even music on a CD is not necessary. My grandchildren can find any song or music on Spotify free in less than minute. I tested them, asking one of them to find “Hotel California” by the Eagles, and I was listening to it before I could say my full name. Books are being replaced by electronic books. I was reading a 600-page book on the airplane, while the woman next to 30 me was reading a book she had down-

loaded onto a Kindle. My book was big and bulky, while her Kindle was small and thin. Bookstores are on the way out.

CROSSWORD

“What’s Hanging”

By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Easy(ish)

41 43

47 53

ACROSS 1. Kosher or Yoni 6. Common January vacation spot for many Jews 11. Man word 14. Tyler who dated 56-Across on “Friends” 15. Talking Narnia lion 16. Elvis’ record label 17. What’s hanging? 19. Gadot in “The Justice League” 20. __air (El Al alternative) 21. Sch. in eastern Virginia with Demon players 22. Ponder, with “over” 23. What’s hanging? 26. Yom Kippur, e.g. 28. ___-Cone (treat on a hot Shabbat) 29. ___ Gedi, Israel 30. Sid Rosenberg does sports on his radio show 32. ___-ho, like one psyched to make aliyah 35. Move like Mick Jagger or Paul Stanley 39. What’s hanging? 42. Lauder of cosmetics 43. Danielle, Este and Alana’s band 44. What many Israel supporters’ Stream? 45. Ernie of 47-Across 47. Something Daniel Berger or 45-Across shoot for 49. Israeli name similar to a request from Oliver Twist 50. What’s hanging? 56. Chandler’s brother-in-law 57. Sports nutrition brand with many kosher products 58. “___ Were a Rich Man” 59. Matterhorn, e.g. 60. Where 17-, 23-, 39- and 50-Across are hanging? 65. Snider of Twisted Sister 66. Myers and Posner

29 32

45 50

By Allen H. Lipis

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The Bottom Line

I grew up with movie theaters showing two movies with cartoons between them. I bought several hundred DVD movies, and now they are mostly unnecessary because they are available on demand on Netflix or over the Internet. My car allows me to dial anyone on my contact list by my voice or by the press of one button, and someday we won’t even need to drive our own cars. In an urban setting like Atlanta, you might not need a car at all because you’ll be able to rent a car by the minute, park it anywhere near your destination, and let someone else rent the same car a short while later. This is already happening in Berlin. I can hear my favorite U.S. news show on my computer in Berlin, while my son in Berlin can read The Washington Post in his home. I can read Jerusalem’s Haaretz newspaper in my living room in Atlanta, and I don’t need a siddur to pray anywhere in the world because it is on my cellphone. There is a real conflict for parents these days. How much time should children be allowed to play games on a computer or a cellphone? My grandchildren, especially the boys, want as much time playing computer games as they can get. Is learning from a computer better or worse than real textbooks? When should a child be given a cellphone or a computer? What TV shows or movies should be off-limits? I am glad I am their grandfather and don’t have to make those decisions. I know I am a softy, and they get away with more from me than they do with their parents. The bottom line: Stay out of raising your grandchildren and leave that to your children. How well they do it reflects how well you did it. ■

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27. Author Oz of Israel 31. Observes Shabbat, perhaps 33. Daughter who inherited land in the Bible 34. Grabs onto (a Torah when doing hagbah) 36. The King David has them 37. Bring to ruin 38. Anti-Semite Nicholas II, DOWN e.g. 1. Feature of Alfred E. 40. Remove, as text Neuman’s smile 41. Expensive strings for 2. Name that also makes Itzhak Perlman Dah, Ma and Ta a name 46. Like the route to the 3. Moses’ staff might have Dead Sea turned into one 48. ___ shlema 4. “A League of ___ Own” 50. Those who finish Bar-Ilan, 5. Paul of ___ (Jew who for short changed the world) 51. Parts for Dustin Hoffman 6. “What?” to Bibi 52. Ski town with a Chabad 7. “If ___ out of tune” (The 53. Chanukah food Beatles) 54. One walking to a chuppah 8. Fineman whose name 55. Tikki-Tavi who might eat means “Joyful” in Hebrew 9. Waste hated by Biff Tannen a 3-Down 60. Use Facebook Chat, 10. Walk-___ (surprise shul briefly attendees) 61. Tel Aviv to Jerusalem dir. 11. Military organization headed by Menachem Begin 62. Kosher child? 63. Brooklyn’s J with many 12. Spill hot coffee on kosher eateries; abbr. (Kramer), say 13. Wedding and bat mitzvah 64. ___ Sinai locales 18. What some might do LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION watching “Curb P A C T S Y A I R A D A M …” U S U R Y O L D E V E T O 22. Bug that A S S U R A N C E S O M A R prays? H I S V I S A S W O R E 23. Fig or date, A L I L S H A N A H F O R G I V E N T E L e.g. A D I O S L E N O S T E W 24. What one S O N A L L V O W S O R I who is shomer T R A P S E E S N O W I N negiah won’t do L E A R E N O U N C E 25. Schindler A S S E R T S O B S made an B O N D S O N O R J R S important one B L O G G U A R A N T E E S R O U E O P I E E S S E N 26. Leah to S S T S O S L O O A T H S Jacob 67. Historic rabbinic sage or screenwriter Goldsman 68. Lenny Bruce’s was 56748-8307; abbr. 69. Make like one of Spielberg’s “Gremlins” 70. One avoiding a gremlin or a seeker

14 17

46 50

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