TRAVEL

Jews Who Cruise

It has been over a year since the last cruise line canceled due to the pandemic that paralyzed its ability to set sail from U.S. ports, leaving cruisers scrambling to receive refunds and rebook their previously scheduled trips for a later date.

Due to mass cancelations in 2020, the cruise industry is now allowing cruisers to book voyages into 2023 with some cruise lines already starting to resume sailings.

Travel consultant Tamara Jacobs explained, “Cruise lines have put out their 2023 schedule because so many people pushed their trips to the end of 2021 and 2022, since people did not want to schedule too soon from fear of their trips getting canceled [once again].”

Another problem the industry encountered, Jacobs said, was adhering to the mandates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that govern “over the United States and its ports,” not allowing ships to set sail. Instead, “people were flying to St. Martín and the Bahamas to catch their next cruise from there.”

The CDC recommends that, “Since the virus spreads more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high. It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises.”

Jacobs, a certified travel consultant with Destinations by Tamara, hopes that cruise lines will stick to the final decision of reopening U.S. ports, such as Seattle and Texas by mid-July, while adhering to the CDC protocols of “updating sanitary guidelines of cleanliness, ship capacity and 95 percent of employees who must be vaccinated.”

While activities and food buffets will continue as normal, “employees will be the ones serving people, rather than the individual serving himself, … promoting a better way of avoiding contact where each person ends up touching the serving utensils.”

Jacobs said it’s up to the individual cruise line whether vaccinations will be mandatory or not. For instance, “Royal Caribbean has reversed its initial decision of mandating 100 percent of their employees and cruisers to be vaccinated.”

Another restriction cruisers may find daunting is that “lines are making it mandatory for cruisers to partake in its excursions [once the ship docks], not allowing travelers to wander off on their own, or use another company for their off-ship tours,” Jacobs said. For some avid Atlanta cruisers such as Varda Cheskis Sauer, it is less of a problem. “I’ve been cruising for years.” In her experience, there are two types of cruises. “There is cruising if you are going to travel.” Just like the time she sailed to New Zealand, Australia, the Baltics in Russia or the British Isles. “These voyages are different. The ships are bigger, you enjoy the ocean and every morning you wake up in a different coast,” she said. “But then there are the relaxing cruises where you just relax and have fun. You hang out on the ship, sit inside the hot tub and enjoy.”

Sauer believes the travel cruises are the most exciting ones. “It’s just great waking up in a different city.”

A teacher for 24 years at North Springs High School, Sauer admits that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Solstice

are her two favorite cruise lines. During the pandemic, the retired teacher did away with the refund offered and instead accepted cruise credits for whenever the ships decide to set sail. “I didn’t have the option of a refund because it was so unclear as of how it was working, and it came to the point where I knew that there is no way I’m Stephanie Nissani getting on a cruise ship in August.” Sauer is one of the lucky ones. She pushed her trip to the end of 2021 and in return, got a deluxe suite and a 12-night cruise to the Caribbean Islands. “But not on the trip of her dreams, Alaska.” So far, Sauer and her husband have travelled to Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Copenhagen, Denmark. “And the cruise that went to the Baltics was the most incredible destination I’ve ever been on,” she recalled, “I would do it again.” Despite her optimism about cruising, Sauer shared one concern about traveling. “We are going to sit at a table for two; we will not go into big party areas. In the theaters and concerts, I will wear a mask and will keep my distance,” since she admits owning a variety of facemasks. “Although I am a social butterfly, I will have to keep to myself.” In terms of those who aren’t vaccinated, Royal Caribbean stated on its website that some of its ships will keep the engagement of non-vaccinators to a minimum, have strict mask mandates and require tables be reserved at designated times in the main dining. For instance, Freedom of the Seas ships, leaving from the port of Miami, require unvaccinated guests to “undergo additional COVID-19 testing at their own expense” and follow specific health protocols based on CDC guidance. “If you do not wish to undergo or pay for additional testing, or adhere to these health and safety protocols, we are happy to provide you with a refund,” Royal Caribbean states on its website. A well-traveled Wendy Vitale of Marietta shared how she sails on special family occasions, such as a birthday or anniversary, or even just for the fun of it. The next trip the Vitale family had planned was a cruise to Alaska. It was canceled due to the pandemic that spooked the rest of the world, but Vitale secured a refund. “We booked the Alaska trip with Holland America Line in January 2020, and right about February or March, Canada had closed its ports for the rest of 2020.

The Vitale family in Amber Cove City in the Dominican Republic.

Norm and Nancy Miller sip cocktails on a cruise deck.

Varda Cheskis Sauer leaves the Miami port on the Norwegian Getaway to Western Caribbean. The Vitale family in Amber Cove City in the Dominican Republic.

Wendy Vitale with sons Alex and Jeremy at Mameyes in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico Cruise specialist Barbara Diener was frustrated with the cruise lines. Tamara Jacobs with her daughter on a Mexico excursion.

“I couldn’t go next year because I already planned a cruise to Greece,” said Vitale, a senior manager at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). “It’s too hard to plan two cruises in one year when you have to work.”

Vitale anticipates sailing soon but raises some doubts. “My concern is that they will cut down on the services.”

She said her favorite cruise lines are Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian. “I like how Disney did their cruise,” Vitale said. She hopes to find other cruise lines that offer the same high standards for adults. “There is good and bad in all cruises; ships can be crowded at times and service may be lacking for some.”

Cruise specialist Barbara Diener found that the rules and cancelations during COVID erratic. “Cruise lines have been impossible, making promises that they can’t keep,” she said. A land and cruise specialist from Cruise Planners, Diener recalled that just last week a cruise line canceled her trips. She said that it is “exhausting, disappointing, and it is a lot of work for absolutely nothing.”

Typically, when an agent calls the industry to rebook, it takes up to two hours of wait time for anybody to answer, she continued. “Once you do get someone on the line, they send the paperwork, they get it all wrong and now you find yourself calling them again,” she said.

Nancy Miller has cruised more than a dozen times. The family started making it a priority to cruise together on a regular basis. “In 2015, it was our first grand cruise where we traveled to the Mediterranean Sea, waking up in Spain, then Greece,” she recalled. Miller, who is a paralegal and a retired preschool teacher, said what she enjoys most about sailing is “you just get a small taste of each place. … We got the last taste of it before it all got canceled.”

She booked an Alaska trip for July 2020 — it was on her bucket list — and waited in the hopes it would happen, until it got canceled. Then she rebooked another cruise for the winter with insurance, airfare, excursions and other items on a typical cruise-planning checklist.

“We are prepared for anything; … we will never reach herd immunity vaccinations and if we wait for that, we will be quarantined for life.” So Miller is holding out once more, preferring to enjoy and explore the world than stay put. ì

TRAVEL

Romantic Honeymoons on the Horizon

After Lindsay and Jacob Schwartz were married March 20, an AJT wedding announce ment noted how the couple after their small outdoor wedding reception in Young Harris, Ga., “mini-mooned” in a Blue Ridge cabin and expected to honeymoon in the near future. The Schwartzes and other metro Atlantans share how they chose to celebrate their honeymoons. The AJT also consulted with a travel agent for tips on honeymoon travel and Honeymoon Israel, which is based in Atlanta.

Primo Plans For Punta Cana

The Schwartzes decided that their honeymoon, now slated for August, would be in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. After sifting through numerous photos and online reviews, as well as finding added perks available for honeymooners, they booked directly through the hotel Excellence El Carmen, and scheduled their flights through Delta.

They originally planned a European trip, but Lindsay said, “As the pandemic went on, with most countries still not allowing Americans, we decided to stick closer to home.” They both wanted a “primo experience – all the bells and whistles. A swim-up suite or private pool was a must,” she said. The resort they chose is all-inclusive, yet they upgraded to the Excellence Club option for additional lounges, private beach and additional dining.

It wasn’t until early May, after they were both fully vaccinated, that the couple began discussing travel, when and where they would feel safe going away. Later that month, they planned for their first air trip since the pandemic started.

“The honeymoon seems like such a crucial part of the ‘getting married’ process and the official ‘closing’ of that chapter. It’s time, and we’re really excited to officially feel like ‘the newlyweds’!”

Honeymoon a Year to the Date

The pandemic not only affected Valerie Kulbersh’s small wedding July 1 in the backyard of her husband’s grandmother. But COVID also impacted Kulbersh and husband Benjamin Myers ending up with a non-traditional honeymoon at his parents' house in Savannah right after their wedding. Situated on the water, Kulbersh said that home transformed to become a cruise ship. Her in-laws took orders for breakfast. The newly marrieds had private, romantic dinners on the dock, were served drinks and even played Bingo. Plus they had custom-made towel ani-

mals awaiting them on their bed each night. At the time, the couple contemplated taking an exotic honeymoon in the near future. Initially the couple was thinking of Iceland or the Greek Islands for their honeymoon but wanted to hold off until COVID was behind them, so they could “experience the destinations in their Flora Rosefsky full glory,” Kulbersh said. Puerto Rico became a “no-brainer” to be their honeymoon trip, planned for next month, on their first anniversary, Kulbersh said. The location fit their wish list to experience culture and history, have outdoor adventure and also just relax. After San Juan, they’re heading to El Yunque National Forest for a day of hiking, then to the island Vieques for some beach time and to visit Mosquito Bay, which Kulbersh claims is the “brightest bioluminescent bay in the world.” The couple also wanted to stay in the U.S. because of COVID travel restrictions. Not having a traditional honeymoon after their wedding, celebrating a year later seemed a logical conclusion. “This past year seems like it has both lasted a decade and flown by in five minutes, so our first anniversary snuck up on us. We went full speed ahead with honeymoon plans.” That is, with help from Amy Rosen, a vacation consultant with Expedia Cruises in Alpharetta.

Honeymoon in Israel

Based in Atlanta, Honeymoon Israel takes couples with at least one Jewish partner to the holy land. Before the pandemic, three trips set out from Atlanta

Courtesy of Honeymoon Israel //Atlanta’s Honeymoon Israel group at Ahava (love) sculpture in Jerusalem last year.

Alli Allen previews Sydney, Australia, for honeymoon travelers. The Schwartzes planned a mini-moon in the Blue Ridge mountains. Corey and Hilary Sloane on their HMI trip in Israel last year.

to Israel each year, including couples from 20 American cities. The last Atlanta trip was in January 2020 and the last HMI trip, a month later. HMI hopes to resume its trips in the fall.

Couples spend nine days exploring Israel with 19 other couples from their city. The trip includes visits to the Western Wall, Jerusalem’s Old City and the beaches of Tel Aviv, along with meals with local families and meetings with

high-level public officials and business leaders.

Hilary and Corey Sloane were part of the last HMI Atlanta trip to Israel before the pandemic, in January 2020. Hilary said, “While this trip would have been life-changing at any time, we are unbelievably grateful that we had the chance to go on HMI Atlanta in January of 2020 before the world shut down because of COVID. We had the last year at home to reflect on our experience and begin to bring new Jewish traditions into our family.

“We also had outdoor, socially-distanced get-togethers with our HMI cohort that kept us from going stir crazy during quarantine! I’d say the highlight of the trip was having the HMI community to come home to so we could all be there for each other during a rough year. Additionally, through past trips

to Israel, I have created my own connection to the country, but this was my husband’s first time. Watching him experience a country I love for the first time was so special and brought us even closer than we were before we left,” said Hilary, who recently began working with HMI. “The romantic views, delicious restaurants, and beautiful hotels made this a honeymoon experience we will never forget!”

Emerging Destinations

Alli Allen, an adviser with Travel Edge in Atlanta, specializes in planning luxury travel.

She said travel advisers are especially valuable lately because travel now involves carefully navigating COVID testing requirements and protocols, which differ depending on the destination and change often. Travel advisers stay current on the news, trends and

policies that affect travel around the globe, “ensuring that one’s honeymoon will be seamless and worry-free,” she said.

Honeymooners can benefit from the flexible cancellation/refund policies currently in place due to COVID’s influence on the travel industry, Allen said. However, Allen always recommends purchasing travel insurance because it covers travelers both before and during your trip. “No one wants to deal with getting sick or injured in a foreign

Visiting Valerie Kulbersh’s family in Israel was the couple’s first big trip in 2019.

Alli Allen tracks elephants in Namibia. The Villenas exploring on their Honeymoon Israel trip. country, losing your luggage, or having to cancel last minute, forfeiting your travel investment – especially while on your honeymoon.”

To research honeymoon adventures and travel in exotic places, Allen visits destinations and vets hotels and itineraries in places such as Australia, Europe and Namibia, an emerging travel destination in southern Africa.

Allen said splurges especially popu-

lar with newlyweds include “treating yourselves to a private plunge pool, staying in an over-water bungalow, enjoying a yacht transfer, or booking a private cooking class.”

Lindsay Schwartz summed up how making honeymoon plans with her husband felt. “I hope this will be the first of many of our post-pandemic adventures together.”

Other newlyweds arranging honeymoon travel in the coming year might also agree.ì

The day after their 2020 wedding, Valerie Kulbersh and Benjamin Myers had a picnic at a park.

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TRAVEL

Southern Jewish Museum Opens in New Orleans

One man’s dream was to save other people’s memories. When Macy B. Hart was camp director of Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Mississippi, he began to see that small congregations in the South were closing. Hart decided there was an urgent need to save the artifacts and religious memorabilia and memories of these once-thriving Jewish communities.

Macy gathered arks, Torah scrolls, eternal lights and in 1998, a large exhibition opened at the camp in Utica, Miss. In 2000, after collecting over 3,000 artifacts, Macy left the camp, and started the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

More recently, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience opened May 27 as a nonprofit in New Orleans.

Atlanta resident Jay Tanenbaum is chair of the MSJE board and a member of its founding executive committee. “As former chair of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, when we decided to close the original museum, I felt an obligation to build on what had been started. This was an opportunity to create something wonderful that could strengthen the future of the Southern Jewish South and its ties to the larger community.”

The museum’s permanent collection now includes 4,000 artifacts and traces the history of Jewish contributions to the cultural, political and economic landscape of the American South. The museum highlights bonds of friendship that developed between Jews and gentiles in the South with multi-media and interactive exhibits. An introductory film unfolds the history of the South in the early 1700s and the early 1900s immigration to America through Galveston, also known as “the Ellis Island of the South.”

The collection focuses on popular culture, and includes musician Kinky Friedman’s album, a Bill Goldberg wrestling figurine and a glittered, lacquered bagel from a Jewish Mardi Gras krewe, Krewe du Jieux, focused on defeating Jewish stereotypes.

Food exhibits present a look at Southern and soul cuisine, with recipes, photos and advertisements showing how Jews balanced the marriage of Jewish and Southern traditions.

The Civil Rights and Activism exhibition follows stories of the Southern Jewish activists demanding equal rights for all people throughout the 20th century. Photos, artifacts and oral histories explore the wide range of roles and perspectives held by Jewish activists.

Rarely seen images introduce the post-World War II phenomenon of Jewish intellectuals moving to the South to teach at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as a result of anti-Semitic quotas at many institutions.

Susanne Katz

Jewish beliefs, traditions and celebrations include an introduction to sacred texts, symbols and sounds, with nearly 50 stained glass window reproductions from Southern synagogues.

“The cumulative histories of Jews who settled in the South is a remarkable testament to the possibilities of America,” Tanenbaum said. “In telling these stories, we hope to show how people of different religions and cultures can come together to build better communities and how we can unite for a better future.”

The museum will host a photography exhibition featuring works by Bill Aron, curated by Anna Tucker and Vicki Reikes Fox.

Tanenbaum continued, “Over 30 years ago, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience launched an ambitious initiative with project director Vicki Reikes Fox and photographer Bill Aron to capture images of rural and urban Southern Jewish communities. One trip turned into a 14-year-project, resulting in a time capsule of Southern Jewish life in the 1980s and 1990s.

“These images present us with a sense of continuity, perhaps even surprising us with a feeling of familiarity. This exhibition provides one interpretation of an unfolding and everchanging narrative, preserved in snapshots of a past time that compels us to examine the present.”

A gala celebration is planned for early October. ì

The museum is located at 818 Howard Ave. in New Orleans, open daily Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Tuesday and select holidays.

This permanent gallery includes sacred texts, images and symbols that explore Jewish holidays, lifecycles and beliefs of Southern Jews. // Photos courtesy of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience This Victorian community quilt from 1885 was made by the Jewish Ladies’ Sewing Circle in Mississippi.

Courtesy of the Crosby Family Collection // The Jewish Orphans’ Home in New Orleans, circa 1915. Courtesy of the Rubel Family Collection // Members of the Rubel family in Corinth, Miss., circa 1880s.

Atlantans Need Patience to Travel to Israel

Cheri Scheff Levitan is among the first Atlantans to travel recently to Israel after more than 15 months in which the Jan Jaben-Eilon country essentially shut its borders to noncitizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, even Israeli citizens struggled to get permission to fly to their country.

But while the doors are beginning to crack open, there is definitely not a huge “welcome sign” for the rest of the world. Israel may be ahead of the majority of countries in getting its citizenry vaccinated and being successful, for the most part, in controlling the virus. But it is definitely hesitant to allow in travelers from around the world who might bring in variants of the virus that could stoke the pandemic again.

Just ask Alex Gandler, deputy consul general of Israel to the Southeastern United States, who one day received a call telling him that – along with his regular duties – he was required to give his permission for every single non-Israeli wanting to travel to Israel. “We weren’t staffed for this,” he said. He noted how he receives dozens of emails a day plus daily phone calls, including on Shabbat, from non-Israelis wanting him to approve their travel to Israel.

These contacts weren’t just from nonIsraelis in the seven states covered by the Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta. “One person contacted all nine consulates

Alex Gandler said Israel wants to be a safe tourist destination. Cheri Scheff Levitan visited Makhtesh Ramon with her tour group.

“Israeli bureaucracy is alive and well,” said Cheri Scheff Levitan.

in the United States,” essentially begging for permission to fly to Israel.

To receive approval and that precious signature from Gandler, Atlantans must meet an extensive list of criteria that are enumerated on the consulate website. Students attending recognized yeshivot are among those who procure approval, as are non-citizens who have a first-degree relative living in Israel. But even those people must jump through several hoops, and Gandler warns that the situation changes constantly.

“Our turnaround time is 10 days, but things change all the time,” he said, and emergency approvals may jump the line.

Although Levitan has two sisters living in Israel, she received her exception to go there in June because she was traveling for business purposes. She is the CEO of Kenes Tours, an Israel-based tour operator. Just weeks ago, the Israeli ministries of tourism and health announced a pilot program that allows tourist groups of five to 30 people to travel to the country, under strict guidelines.

According to Levitan, the group must land together, eat together, along with the bus driver and tour leader. And, of course, they must be vaccinated and get COVID tests before they embark and after they land, along with a test that proves they have antibodies. Until that test comes back positive, they must stay in their hotels, essentially quarantined. Levitan said it took more than 24 hours to get her notification. “Israeli bureaucracy is alive and well,” she said, tongue in cheek.

Under this pilot program, participants “must stay with their group. They can’t visit their uncle,” Gandler warned. “They are banning people from Israel for 10 years and there’s a heavy fine,” he said. He added that he’s surprised how seriously the authorities are enforcing these restrictions.

Because Gandler can’t guarantee anyone his signature, especially within a certain time period, he recommends that prospective travelers buy tickets they can change. “We can’t get to everyone because we deal with life and death emergencies several times a week.

“Israel is trying to protect itself,” he underlines. “COVID traveled by airplane.”

The airplane experience has certainly changed as a result. Delta Air Lines interpreter Isabelle Shavit told the AJT, “today, we are almost back to our full beverage and food service.” Still, Levitan said she had to pre-order her meal. “To get a snack between meals, passengers had to go to the galley for them,” And, Levitan noted, “you can’t even sleep without your mask on.”

Levitan joked that Israel “is not quite ready for prime time,” but there is talk of opening up the country more in August. Gandler said, however, that he hasn’t received that notification and that Israeli hotels are not officially open for tourists yet.

Referring to all the required COVID testing, Gandler explained, “I don’t think this will change for a long time because there are new variants and the vaccination rate in some countries” isn’t that great. “Israel is one of the few countries in which you can walk around without a mask.”

Unquestionably, Gandler looks forward to life after COVID. “Then all this work will get off my shoulders. This is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, a historical moment. Israel is trying to be a tourist destination,” emphasized Gandler, “but we are trying to find a way to make it a safe destination.”ì

TRAVEL

Feinberg Heads West with Dome Resorts

By Marcia Caller Jaffe

Hal Feinberg’s parents Fred and Susan introduced Hal and interior designer sister Marni to unique travel experiences at a young age. Today he is designing and opening Clear Sky Resorts, glamping domes that take “wow” to a whole new level.

Co-owner Hal "gave birth" to resorts recently at both Glacier National Park and Grand Canyon just two weeks apart. Guests sleep in private domes unspoiled by nature with the tag: “Explore the land without sacrificing creature comforts.”

After a bar mitzvah at Temple Sinai and while at Riverwood High School, Feinberg played competitive tennis, allowing him to visit far-reaching areas of the U.S. to enhance his appreciation for travel. Post college, he published a European travel magazine to further cement his travel bug.

“Through these experiences I had an interest in accumulating ideas to culminate in a luxury resort that had themes of stargazing and swinging chairs. My goal is to have guests “draw drop” beginning when they enter our check-in welcome dome.”

With the help of sister Marni Ratner, they created a spectacular lobby dome, which includes a 26-foot-tall ceiling, an 800-square-foot panoramic window, oversized swinging chairs, and a beautiful Instagram wall at each location, making for memorable experiences.

The Grand Canyon location, which has 45 guest rooms, opened May 28, and Glacier National Park with 16 rooms opened June 10. Costs range from $295 to $575 per night.

In terms of seasonality, Glacier is only open four months a year, and Grand Canyon six months. To moderate weather, there is heat and air conditioning in each luxury unit, an HVAC with mini split climate control. Domes are constructed of

Proud parents Fred and Susan Feinberg attend grand opening, bookending their children, Clear Sky partner Hal Feinberg and Marni Ratner.

steel bars with an insulated mylar material covered by PVC canvas.

Grand Canyon has a food truck with a dining dome and Glacier has a restaurant. Dining is onsite, but cooking is not supported inside individual domes.

While Glacier is 97 percent full for the season with a few remaining openings, Grand Canyon is filling up quickly, having just opened bookings.

Coming out of COVID, Feinberg said, “People are anxious to get out. Domestic travelers are way up from normal, while foreign travelers are down until things open up more. 2022 should be very busy as many Americans have newly discovered national

parks travel since they are not going out of the country. This has opened up a lot of new travelers who otherwise wouldn’t have discovered the beauty of national park travel.” Feinberg fulfilled his dream of unique activities on site. Grand Canyon has a glowin-the-dark frisbee golf course, lit animal night walk, projection dome for 360-degree movie viewing, jump pillow, trike track, playground, volleyball court, oversized chess, oversized Jenga, s’mores by the firepit nightly, a bar/lounge in the spectacular welcome dome, live music, a-stronomy viewing and outdoor movies on varied nights. Nearby is the famous Route 66 in Williams, Ariz., 25 minutes away and includes Bearizona. At Glacier, they have a plethora of yard games, live music and movies certain nights a week, oversized chess and more. Ratner, featured in the AJT Chai Style Aug. 2, 2018, helped design the welcome dome and crafted the layouts for each guest dome. She recalled, “A couple years ago while on a family vacation, Hal shared his vision for the Geodome resort. He pulled out a napkin sketch of Guests can marvel at the pink sky in a Grand Canyon dome. A drone shot shows the big expanse a typical dome. of Grand Canyon domes. I said, ‘let me put it into AutoCAD, it will take 10 minutes!’" Three and a half days later, after collaborating with him 24/7, they designed, tweaked and retweaked the typical domes and added a staff dome and giant welcome dome as the ultimate “design/ build” project. Ratner’s staff at Studio M Interiors then replicated the Glacier concept with full construction plans for Grand CanDome interiors are inspirational and thematic. yon. She concluded, “This was definitely our most unusual project yet, and experiencing it in person recently [at the grand opening] was amazing.” Clear Sky is fielding requests for weddings, putting them on hold until 2022 due to COVID. They are booking family reunions. Clear Sky Resorts tout: “Happiness is starry skies and dusty boots.”ì

IS TO TOUCH A LIFE FOREVER TO TEACH

The Jewish Education Collaborative is proud to announce the 2021 Sylvia Newman Memorial Teacher of the Year Award honoring two outstanding educators for their commitment to excellence in supplemental Jewish education programs. Congratulations to this year's Sylvia Newman Memorial Teachers of the Year Award recipients, Josh Needle and Kimberly Reingold.

JOSH NEEDLE

CONGREGATION GESHER L’TORAH SEVENTH GRADE

KIMBERLY REINGOLD

CONGREGATION OR HADASH THIRD - FIFTH GRADE

Thank You to ALL of Atlanta’s Talented Teachers in Part-Time Jewish Education!

AHAVATH ACHIM SYNAGOGUE Sharon Graetz*

Dani Dysch Abigail Gray Erin Johnson Matthew Kaplan Shulamit Leibou Hope Lindner Jacki Nix Adam Strater

CONGREGATION BET HAVERIM Kate Hennessey*

Harrison Bleiberg Deb Hussey Henry Lewis Jess Scheer Sky Scheer

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM Linda Zimmerman*

Jodi Beck Kendra Fabry Gail Foorman Irit Perlove Fred Rich Dodie Sachs Miryam Bendico

TEMPLE BETH TIKVAH Suzanne Hurwitz*

Carrie Bickwit Adam Boehm Leah Faupel Ela Ellsworth Bobbee Gri Robin Karlin Musia Oren Rhonda Povlot Jay Weiner Rachel Wilson Forrest Wol

CONGREGATION B’NAI TORAH Elizabeth Bloch*

Beverly Barnhard Marilyn Perling Merideth Cohen Jana L Kogon Yali Philipson Josh Owens Maya Tau Nadav Ribak Hagar Baruch Jodi De Graa Ron Rodan Ilan Lieberman Yulia Litvin Idan Tau

CONGREGATION DOR TAMID Molly Peled*

Landy Gonzalez Susan Grossman Ruth Hartman Lori Herman Stacey Jahanfar Limor Kolt Maya Peled Marci Risner Annette Schulman Lisa Skyer Allyson Tibor

TEMPLE EMANU-EL Beth Blick*

Laura Drukman Mira Eden Michelle Foster Jessica Goldberg Allie Goodman Evelyn Grinberg Denise Jacobs Rossi Klompus Dvora Miller Nikki Pollack Julie Schneider Jaime Schwartz Ilan Weismark Orna Willis Eric Wittenstein Sigal Tzoref

CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM Debbie Deutsch*

Allison Barchichat Liam England Lauren Gilsten Debbie Isbitts Kyle Jacobs Faith Kart Esti Kleinman Delores Lazerson Fern Meharg Sara Fran Neuwirth Emma Okrent Roz Reiss Elaine Schwartz Rachel Slomovitz Dana Sobel Sarah Ziskend

CONGREGATION GESHER L’ TORAH Rebecca Gordon*

Erica Kaiser Anita Freedman Leah Stinson Caryn Young Abbey Adler Wendy Bendit Erin Benis Sharon Freeman Josh Needle Tracie Bernstein

CONGREGATION OR HADASH Amy Robertson*

Kayla Engle-Lewis Avery Frank Evelyn Grinberg Rachel Jenks Rachel Lazarus Ziva London Musia Oren Amy Price Kimberly Reingold

CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL Nancy Gorod*

Shoshana Goldshmidt-York Isabella Cantor Ethan Feldman Rebecca Fox Melanie Kaplan Gabe Samuels Ester Shimon Elana Titus Anna Wachspress

JEWISH KIDS GROUPS AFTERSCHOOL Sivan Abada* Debbie Denenberg* Joey Heyman* Gabe Monett*

Ben Alpert Roni Cola Samuel Durham Alexandra Fuchs Jeanette Holley Tammy Kaiser Marius Karolinski Sophie Kie er Linda Leman KT Lipsiner Kendall McMahan Jennifer Michaeli Grant Mooney Casey Rosner Yosef Samuel Gabrielle Stearns Rachel Wansker

JEWISH KIDS GROUPS SUNDAY Nikki Berne*

Ben Alpert Danielle Amrani Helena Asherian Binny Frenkel Manny Goldin Lindsay Kraun Linda Leman Kendall McMahan Madison Neidorf Jonny Nooriel Gabby Oquendo Adva Oshri Sydney Popsuj Noah Prout Ruthie Stolovitz

TEMPLE KEHILLAT CHAIM Michelle Erste*

Tom Bryant Amy Bryson Laura Dre n Lori Dre n Emily Glatter Carey Grucza Debbie Lutchen Bruce Miron Suesan Phillips Paige Simunek Michelle Wallace Elliot Weiss Morasha Winokur

TEMPLE KOL EMETH Hope Chernak*

Linda Ames Korrina Corley Rhonda Davidson Lauren Davis Harli Gottesman Lily Herman Susan Herman Emma Horton Steve Kerbel Lisa Mallis Janet Melnik Jody Miller Rae Portnoy Max Ruth Lisa Sandler

TEMPLE SINAI Marisa Kaiser* Rachel Moldovan*

Anthony Baker Samantha Berinsky Daniel Berke Yishai Bloch Rose Capin Rabbi Lauren Cohn Leah Coonley Heather Dittus Zavi Feldstein Donna Ja e Rachel Jenks Tarece Johnson Sydney Kaltman Sophie Kie er Cindy Livingston Alexa Miller Jody Miller Alexandra Rachman Keren Reizis Rebecca Rivera Ana Rodriguez Shoshanna Rosenthal Susan Saddawi-Schmidt Hannah Schafer Ande Teeple Jessica Weinberger Miriam Ziskind Or Zolti

THE TEMPLE Rabbi Steven Rau* Elizabeth Foster* Rebecca Good*

Noah Aronson Reli Barkoni Zachary Bernath Ari Bogotch Addison Dascher Scott Edlein Ariela Ehrens Cathy Filson Lorie Flacker Miriam Goodfriend Ellen Harrison Ana Hazanov Leah Hiller David Ho man Rachael Jacobson Lisa Kepler Debra Kraar Erica Lansky Samuel Latzsch Meg Lazarus Matt Levy Marcia Lindner Joanne Lipshutz, RJE Debbie Maman Jenny Marks Rabbi Dan Medwin Jacqueline Morris Tania Moser Sydney Pearlstein Amy Peskin Sylvia Poretsky Marilyn Price Julie Rau Rebecca Ries Ayer Ryden Gabby Seligman Dawn Siegel Hannah Simon Rosalyn Sommers Colette Walker Sonata Woodard

*Director(s)