SPECIAL ABILITY
Nonverbal autism won’t stop Dalia Cheskes from becoming a bat mitzvah at Beth Shalom. Page 4
POWER OF ONE
Federation honors the many individuals who make the community more inclusive. Page 8
DIGGING IN
Trees Atlanta gets a lot of help to celebrate Tu B’Shevat in Poncey-Highland. Page 32
Atlanta VOL. XC NO. 5
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Welcome To The Future
Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman brings a message of corporations as change agents to Emory business students. Page 3
SCARY WORLD
Anti-Semitism isn’t simple, which means there are no simple solutions to the problems facing European Jews. Page 7
Local News 2
Diamant To Help Launch Community Mikvah By Suzi Brozman sbrozman@atljewishtimes.com nita Diamant, best known as the author of “The Red Tent,” is coming to Atlanta to make two public appearances this month. Her latest book, “The Boston Girl,” will be the focus of her visit Feb. 23 to the Marcus Jewish Community Center. But the night before she will help local organizers plunge into a new project, an alldenominations mikvah at Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs. Diamant’s discussion of reimagining ritual for the modern age will be free and open to the public at The Temple in Midtown to launch the Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah (MACoM) into the consciousness of Jewish Atlanta. MACoM is an independent nonprofit that plans to start construction of the community mikvah in May and finish before the High Holidays. The project will involve a renovation of the existing facilities at B’nai Torah and has the support of more than a dozen synagogues and other organizations. MACoM’s board reflects diverse support, including three rabbis and representatives of Reform, Conservative and Orthodox streams of Judaism. Diamant helped establish the model for a nondenominational community mikvah the past 10 years at Boston’s Mayyim Hayyim (Living Waters). “People responded to the idea of a place that was welcoming and beautiful, for happy occasions and sad, a way to mark life’s changes,” Diamant said. See more about her thoughts on the modern mikvah on Page 6. ■
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Nearly 3,500 leading Jewish teens come to Atlanta to chart personal and communal paths forward. Page 18-25
BEST POLICY
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 | 24 SHEVAT 5775
INSIDE
Education 27
Israel 10
Obituaries 28
Opinion 12
Simchas 29
Arts 15
Sports 29
Calendar 16
Crossword 30
Travel 26
Marketplace 31