The Jewish Light Spring 2018

Volume 8, Number 3 Spring 2018

THE

Serving the Local New Orleans, Northshore, and Baton Rouge Jewish Communities

With Houston Still Suffering, Jewish Groups Step Up Hurricane Recovery Efforts

By Ben Harris Avram Mandell is no stranger to disaster zones. As the founding director of Tzedek America, a Los Angeles-based social justice group that runs relief trips for Jewish teenagers, Mandell helped out in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the wake of a devastating 2016 flood.

So he was hardly surprised on a recent trip to the Houston area with 15 California teenagers to discover floodwater still in homes six months after Hurricane Harvey decimated the area.

“The houses we were in in Port Arthur hadn’t been touched in six months,” Mandell said of the Texas town. “We were still finding floodwater in cups and pots and pans, jars of it.”

Over 300,000 homes in Houston alone were affected by Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas in late August and was among the costliest natural disasters in American history.

More than six months on, over 3,000 households in Houston are still receiving federal assistance to cover hotel costs – a figure city officials warn does not include families staying with relatives or friends. Mayor Sylvester Turner repeatedly has cited housing as a chief priority of his city’s recovery.

With full recovery still stubbornly elusive, Jewish groups recently decided to redouble their aid efforts with an initiative called ActNowHouston that brings together disparate efforts into an organized coalition and will invest more resources to make volunteer service trips to Houston easier, cheaper and more frequent.

“All of our coalition partners share one goal through ActNowHouston: to organize the groups who want to serve and enable those working on the ground in Houston to offer the most impactful service programming,” said David Eisner, CEO and president of coalition member Repair the World, which has had a staff member in Houston since November to help coordinate volunteer and rebuilding efforts.

Jewish aid workers and volunteers have been on the ground since the early days following the storm. Nechama, a Minnesota-based Jewish disaster relief group, sent a team to Texas right after Harvey and recently shifted gears to focus on rebuilding. The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston has worked closely with its local partners to deliver assistance to Houstonians still affected, even as it continues to respond to local Jewish needs.

But until last month, Jewish groups from out

Repair the World volunteers muck and gut a house in southwest Houston. More than six months after Hurricane Harvey, over 3,000 households in Houston are still uninhabitable. (Courtesy of Repair the World)

of town mostly were on their own if they wanted to send volunteers to Houston.

Then, in February, seven Jewish organizations announced the creation of the Leadership Coalition for Jewish Service and ActNowHouston.

Organized by Repair the World, a decade-old Jewish group that partners with community and Jewish organizations in about a half dozen U.S. cities to mobilize local volunteers to address urgent needs, the coalition aims to maximize the impact of Jewish efforts in Houston. It launched a website to enable groups to register online for service trips; is offering some financial support to cover the cost of getting groups to Houston; is planning more frequent trips; and is coordinating closely with groups on the ground to make sure aid efforts go where they are most needed.

Also, the initiative is providing trips with an educational component grounded in Jewish teachings about the importance of service.

One Jewish group that went on a recent trip came from Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which spent about $6,000 to bring 11 people ranging from teenagers to octogenarians to Houston for four days. Clad in Hazmat suits, the group cleared out rubble from several homes in northeast Houston, cut beams

to reinforce the floors and helped to hang drywall.

“It was really meaningful,” said Hinda Labovitz, the congregation’s cantor. “It felt to us like we were able to make a dent in the city’s recovery, albeit a small dent. But it felt like we were there doing something and being helpful.”

Most of the work Jewish volunteers will be doing in Houston is home repair — cleaning out the damaged and moldy items, sanitizing what remains, and installing insulation and sheetrock.

But thousands of Houstonians are still receiving food assistance, and some volunteer groups are helping pack lunch boxes and organizing food supplies. The Houston Food Bank is currently supplying twice its daily pre-Harvey distribution of food.

While most of the Jewish volunteer effort is aimed at Houston’s general population, Labovitz’s group did get a glimpse of the storm’s impact on Jews in the area. One of their days in the city was spent helping out at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, a Conservative synagogue home to a library of 44,000 volumes that was heavily damaged by Harvey.

“Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented destruction to Houston, and the Jewish community was hit especially hard,” said Avital Ingber, CEO of Houston's federation. “The solidarity and partnership we have experienced with Jewish organizations across the country has been energizing and revitalizing. While full recovery is expected to take years, our partnership with ActNowHouston expedites this critical work.”

Along with Repair the World, the Leadership Coalition for Jewish Service includes BBYO, Hillel International, JDC Entwine, Moishe House, OneTable and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, with additional support from the William Davidson Foundation, Marcus Foundation and Jim Joseph Foundation.

“It’s holy work,” said Sacha Bodner, the coalition’s program manager and a Repair the World staffer. “Somebody’s grandmother, a friend, an entire family, has been displaced and you’re helping them get back home. In many ways it restores your faith in the goodness of others.”

On the second day of a weeklong volunteer trip to Houston in late February by a group from the University of Michigan Hillel, volunteers See RECOVERY EFFORTS on Page

21

Community News

THE

If your group has an event that you would like for us to include on the Community Calendar please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance by the Editor. ì

Best Wishes to all my Jewish friends!

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome City of Baton Rouge Parish of East Baton Rouge

JEWISH LIGHT

An ARTrageous Evening April 21st at Shir Chadash Shir Chadash is thrilled to be hosting an exciting Art Auction on Saturday night, April 21, 2018. This will be the first Art Auction the synagogue has held in more than a decade. The event, aptly named " An ARTrageous Evening: Bids, Bites, and Bordeaux!" will feature well known artists from Azalea Auctions and also honors the Congregation's own talented artists.

These include works in various media, from paint to ceramics.

Another is Hannah Chalew who was named as one of the 20 New Orleans artists to know. Her work is universally relatable, but it’s also very Louisiana-specific. Reda Scher is a talented multimedia artist, who is donating a magnificent ceramic menorah”.

The event will start off with Havdallah at 7:45 PM and will be followed by 30 minutes of preview time during which guests will be able to enjoy appetizers & wine and will be entertained by musicians from Rosh HaAyin, Israel. One of the special features of the evening is ART with a Heart, a collaborative

children’s art project. Children from Gates of Prayer Nursery School, Torah Academy, CJDS and Shir Chadash’s Religious School are all participating. The children’s joint projects will go up on live auction and attendees will be able to bid on these priceless works of art. We encourage all the parents and grandparents of these children to attend the event for a chance to bid on these treasures.

The Silent Auction includes beautiful one-of-a kind jewelry and pottery, as well as a variety of gift certificates. Raffle tickets are included with Patron tickets and early bird ticket purchases and will be for sale at the event. There will be a raffle drawing every hour for fantastic works of art. Ticket holders must be present to win. Even if you don’t want to bid on any art, you are invited to join Shir Chadash for a fun evening. Tickets are available in advance from the Shir Chadash office or at the door.

In addition to multiple patrons, this event is also sponsored by AmFund.ì

Beth Israel

Friday, April 20th, following 7:00PM Services - Shabbat Dinner with Special Guest, Ambassador Yoram Ettinger, “At 70 - Israel’s Unique Contributions to American Interests” Join us as we welcome Ambassador Yoram Ettinger, a veteran Israeli Diplomat and expert on US

- Israeli relations in celebration of Yom Ha’atzma’ut on Israel’s 70th Anniversary. Ambassador Ettinger has served as Israeli Consul General to the Southwestern United States, as Director of the Israeli Government Press Office and as Minister of Congressional Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

Cost: Members: $18 per Adult, $9 per Child (6-13 years old) Non-Members: $25 per Adult, $18 per Child (6-13 years old) RSVP Required - RSVP@ BethIsraelNOLA.com or (504) 454-5080.ì

Sunday, April 15th, 10:00AM - Sisterhood: Skincare and Makeup Tips to Look Your Best

Alan Krilov, Sales Director of Mary Kay skin care products will be doing a makeup demonstration.

There will be refreshments, freebies, a door prize, and lots of 2

Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

fun. There will be no selling. However, any profits for orders of the products will be donated back to Beth Israel. How can you lose?

More info will be coming your way, but be sure to put this date on your calendar now. You won't want to be left out!

Please RSVP to RSVP@BethIsraelNOLA.comì THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Community News

JEWISH LIGHT

Yom Hashoah -

Holocaust Remembrance Day Wednesday, April 11, 7:30 pm Throughout the world, Jews mark this day to remember the Shoah and honor the memories of those who died. Participate in a meaningful service, led by members of Gates of Prayer Congregation, followed by a video.ì

Rabbi Nathaniel Share Religious School Mitzvah Masterpieces Art Exhibit

Sunday, April 15, 2018 9:30 am-1:00 pm Manheim Social Hall of Gates of Prayer Come view the Masterpieces our students and parents created during the Religious School year.

All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.ì

Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7 pm St. Louis Cathedral

Monday, April 9, 12:00 Noon Clancy DuBois Lawyer, Political Commentator and Co-Owner of Gambit Weekly.

He will be talking about the new political climate for both Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Please RSVP to the Gates of Prayer’s Temple office.ì

Table of Contents Community News

2

Community Happenings

5

Chai Lights

6

Education

8

Alma

9

Bookshelf

10

Sports

11

Arts & Culture

12

Entertainment

13

Financial

14

The Nosher

15

National

16

Judaism

17

Israel Under Radar

18

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

www.thejewishlight.org

Spring 2018

3

Community News

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

Cgop Nursery School, Sisterhood & Brotherhood Present an Important Informational Morning for All Parents

Sunday, April 8, 2018 9:30 am - 11:30 am *Carrie Pizzalato MPHDirector of Phil’s Help“What is Opioid Addiction?” *Dr. Arwen Podesta, Forensic Psychiatrist “The Biology of Addiction” *Dan Forman, Co-Founder, Medication Assisted Recovery Centers “Levels of Care and Local Resources For Addiction Treatment” Complimentary Breakfast Spon-

sored by Melanie & Richard Blitz For more information, contact either the CGoP Nursery School office: 885-4339 or the Temple office: 885-2600 Congregation Gates of Prayer, 4000 W. Esplanade Ave., Metairie, LA, 70002 ì

COMMUNITY YOM HA’ATSMAUT

Wednesday, April 18 7:00 pm at CGoP Featuring Tulane’s NJBeats Come and celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday with a commemorative service, led and sponsored by the Nick May – Be Heard! Greater New Orleans Jewish Clergy Council and highlighted by Friday, April 13, 8:00 pm Nick May, composer and per- the music of NJBeats, a Tulane former, will be with us at Gates of University Jewish acapella group.

Prayer to weave magical music Israeli refreshments to follow!ì from his acclaimed CD, “Be Heard,” as well as new music, throughout our service.

CGoP can be proud to welcome home a son of the Congregation, nurtured here, and now a popular Jewish singer/song-writer.ì

4

Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Sunday, April 8 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Summer Camp Reunion – Metairie It is almost time for Summer Camp!

Join us as we host our annual JCC Summer Camp Reunion. There will be family-friendly activities, music, and lots more! Lunch will be served.

Ages: 3 to 99 Goldring-Woldenberg JCC Metairie 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA Contact: Terrance Perkins Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: terrance@nojcc.org Instructor: Terrance Perkins No charge members and Camp alumniì Sunday, April 15 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm YOM HA'SHOAH This event will remember and honor New Orleans Holocaust Survivors, recognize students from the Donald R. Mintz Youth Leadership Mission of the ADL, honor an outstanding local Educator and learn from a guest speaker.

New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org Free and open to the communityì Tuesday, April 17 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm JCC Book Club – The History of Love New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org No charge members and nonmembersì Sunday, April 22 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm YOM HA'ATZMAUT Join us as we celebrate Israel's 70th birthday with members from our partnership city Rosh Ha'Ayin.

Yemenite food, music and history will be a main focus for the celebration.

New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org Free and open to the communityì

THE

Community Happenings

JEWISH LIGHT

JEWISH LIGHT

Wednesday, April 25 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Brain Health Series: Cognitive Health Special Topic on cognitive health New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Phone: 504-897-0143 No charge members and nonmembersì Monday, April 30 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm Movies in Metairie The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the account of Antonina and Jan Zabinski, keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion. Bring your lunch. Movie snacks will be served.

Goldring-Woldenberg JCC Metairie 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue Metairie, LA Contact: Stephanie Krell Phone: 504-887-5158 Email: stephanie@nojcc.org Free and open to the communityì Monday, May 14th 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm "Sabena Hijacking: My Version" - The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series Sabena Hijacking: My Version" is a powerful docu-drama that shows us that reality is often more gripping than fiction. This film fuses interviews with archival material and dramatic reenactments of what took place on May 8, 1972.

New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org Free and open to the communityì

Longue Vue House and Gardens Monday - Saturday 10AM - 5PM | Sunday 1PM - 5PM Last tour starts at 4PM

Klezmer Music Friday, April 27, 8:00 pm of Klezmer music. All are It’s the first Shabbat of Jazzfest welcome to worship and and we are happy to welcome back enjoy at Gates of Prayer!ì Seth Kibel and Sean Lane to enrich our Shabbat worship with the sound

Tuesday, May 15th 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm JCC Book Club – Sister of Mine New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA Contact: Judy Yaillen Phone: 504-897-0143 Email: judy@nojcc.org No charge members and nonmembersì

www.thejewishlight.org

Spring 2018

5

Chai Lights

THE

Gates of Prayer Mazel Tov to...

Leslie Miller and Ellen Raye & Sidney Miller on the marriage of their son and grandson, Myles Bragman to Amy Sheehy. ì

Temple Sinai ChaiLights features announcements of births, B'nai Mitzvahs, engagements, weddings, and honors. To request your special event be published in The Jewish Light send your material to United Media Corp., P.O. Box 3270, Covington, LA 70435 or e-mail jewishnews@bellsouth.net. Events are published on a first come, first served basis, as space permits. Photographs are welcom; professional ones preferred. The must be clear and in focus. ì

Mazel Tov to...

The following members for their contribution to the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) Greater New Orleans Section’s gala: • Patty Barnett (co-chair) • David Bernard (emcee) • Sarah Covert (committe member) • Barbara Greenberg (committee member)

• Susan Kierr (committee member) • Rollie Rabin (committee member)

• Briann Shear (committee member)

• Sue Singer (committee member) • Sandra Pulitzer (committee member)

Jack Benjamin, III on his acceptance to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a performing and visual arts high school. Jack is the son of Jennifer and Jack Benjamin, Jr.

Call Our Trained Experts & Experience the Difference

•Monthly Payment Plans • Drywood Termite Fumigation

“Your” Neighborhood restauraNt

Soups • Salads Sandwiches • Seafood See you there!

3001 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA

(504) 891-0997

Joan and Gerald Berenson for serving as honorary co-chairs of the Jewish Children’s Regional Service gala.

Joan Brooks Cox, mother of Charlie Cox, for receiving the Endowment Achievement Award from the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana.

Alan and Diane Franco, Bill

www.joeyksrestaurant.com

CLERK OF CIVIL DISTRICT COURT FOR THE PARISH OF ORLEANS Due to public demand, we continue to offer Remote Access with E-Filing Training sessions!

SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual: $700.00 • Monthly: $100.00 • 24 Hours: $25.00 • 8 Hours: $5.00

JEWISH LIGHT

Goldring, and Jeff and Walton Goldring for the Goldring Family Foundation receiving the Tzedakah Award, the highest honor of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana Catherine Giarrusso for being promoted to partner at the law firm Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, LLC. Sofia Giarrusso, daughter of Joe and Catherine Giarrusso, for being named an Orleans Parish District School Student of the Year. Sofia is also the granddaughter of Judge Robin M. Giarrusso.

Wendy and Julian H. Good, Jr., on the engagement of their daughter Allison Good to Jay Sher. Mazel tov as well to Allison’s grandparents Richard and Florence Schornstein, Peggy Good, and the late Julian H. Good, Sr. Betty Moore on being installed as the co-president of the New Orleans chapter of Hadassah.

Dr. Alan and Joan Sheen on the birth of their granddaughter Ruth Francis Young. Ruth is the daughter of Laurie and Will Young and the sister of Lincoln Young. ì

Beth Israel

Mazel Tov to...

Parents Myron & Marcie Goldberg and Ron & Sandy Apple on the marriage of Jonah Goldberg to Barbara Apple on March 11th in Atlanta, GA. Parents Eliav Kahan & Kayla Greenberg (Rabbi Gabe’s brotherin-law and sister) on the birth of a healthy baby boy on March 19th in Boston. ì

The E-Filing Training course is free and qualifies for 2.00 continuing legal education (CLE) hours for attorneys and paralegals. Attorneys, or their designee, are REQUIRED to attend this training prior to the activation of their account’s E-Filing capability since FILING FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. To reserve a seat for the 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. session on one of the dates below, contact Lisa Griffin at (504) 407-0042l or griffin@orleanscdc.com.

Monday, March 12th

www.orleanscivilclerk.com

Friday, March 16th

E-FILING TRAINING EXTENDED INTO APRIL Honorable Dale N. Atkins Clerk of Civil District Court an Ex Officio Recorder One Office, One Team, Committed to Public Service

6

Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

Tuesday, March 20th

Thursday, March 22nd

Monday, March 26th Tuesday, April 3rd

Thursday, April 5th

Monday, April 9th

Friday, April 13th

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Chai Lights

JEWISH LIGHT

Life CYCLE

Taking care of each other is what

(CONDOLENCES)

If you have a condolence that you would like for us to include in Life Cycle please e-mail the information to jewishnews@bellsouth.net. All submissions are subject to acceptance of the Editor. ì Julianne Moses, and greatgrandmother of Lauren Smith and IN MEMORIAM Walter Smith Adele Cahn Donald P. Gaver, Jr, father of Don Gaver and grandfather of Temple Sinai Manya & Elena Gaver IN MEMORIAM Richard James Bartkus, father Jane Moses, mother of Stephen of James Bartkus Moses and Allyn M. Frohsin, May their memories be for a grandmother of Lisa Moses and blessing ì

community

Gates of Prayer

is all about.

We’re proud to serve our community with personal, compassionate care.

NOTICE

A proud member of the Dignity Memorial network

The Publisher shall be under no liability for its failure for any cause to insert an advertisement. The Publisher will not be responsible for errors after the first insertion. Material errors not the fault of the advertiser will be adjusted by not more than one gratis insertion. Advertiser agrees to obtain clippings and tear sheets when the local rates are in effect. Advertiser agrees to protect and indemnify United Media Corporation, its agents and employees, against any and all liability loss and expenses arising from the publication of the Advertiser’s advertising because of claims for (1) alleged misrepresentation or misstatement; (2) alleged infringement of trademark, trade names, patents or copyrights; (3) alleged violations of fair trade laws; (4) libel and invasion of rights of privacy, (5) other violation of the rights of 3rd party’s or of government rules.

The Publisher reserves the right to censor, reclassify, revise, edit or reject any advertisement not meeting the standards of acceptance. All ads accepted are subject to credit approval.

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

Send editorial to us via e-mail at jewishnews@bellsouth.net or reach us by phone at (504) 455-8822. Our mailing address is United Media Corp. P.O. Box 3270, Covington, LA 70434

new orleans

504-486-6331 LakeLawnMetairie.com

Kenner City Councilman-Elect

• To place advertising in THE JEWISH LIGHT, call United Media Corp. at: New Orleans (504) 455-8822 Northshore (985) 871-0221 Baton Rouge (225) 925-8774 THE JEWISH LIGHT carries Jewish Community related news about the Louisiana Jewish community and for the Louisiana Jewish community. Its commitment is to be a “True Community” newspaper, reaching out EQUALLY TO ALL Jewish Agencies, Jewish Organizations and Synagogues. THE JEWISH LIGHT is published monthly by United Media Corporation. We are Louisiana owned, Louisiana published, and Louisiana distributed.

United Media Corporation has been proudly serving the Louisiana Jewish Community since 1995. Together, we can help rebuild Louisiana. We thank you for the last 23 years and we look forward to an even brighter tomorrow.

• The appearance of advertising in THE JEWISH LIGHT does not constitute a kashruth endorsement nor does it reflect the opinion of THE JEWISH LIGHT. • THE JEWISH LIGHT is not responsible for the content of advertising inserts. The publishing company reserves the right to refuse any advertisement or article.

• Member of the Jewish Telegraphic Association.

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

Smart security at your fingertips.

Get a FREE Consultation Today

504.780.8775

Best Wishes to my friends in the Jewish Community.

VIDEO, ACCESS CONTROL AND SECURITY SYSTEMS

Thank you for your support!

(504) 780-8775 www.laalarmwatch.com

www.thejewishlight.org

Spring 2018

7

Education Balloon Decor and So Much More!

THE

Jewish Day Schools Across the Country Join Walkouts Demanding Action on Gun Violence

By Josefin Dolsten

Manny Campo 504.738.1115 • 504.234.3514 (cell) www.rsvpdecorating.com • rsvpdecorating@bellsouth.net

Best wishes to all of my many friends in the Jewish Community!

Thank you for your continued support!

Good luck and kindest regards,

Jon Gegenheimer Clerk of Court, Jefferson Parish AGED STEAKS • FRESH SEAFOOD • LOBSTER VEAL • CHOPS • FINE WINE

Restaurant & Steak House

CASUAL UPSCALE DINING

A

JEWISH LIGHT

Restaurant

PRIVATE ROOMS AVAILABLE • RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE 5101 W. Esplanade • Metairie, LA (at Chastant St. near Transcontinental)

Dinner Monday - Saturday • www.austinsno.com • 888-5533

At the Golda Och Academy, students organized a memorial service in addition to a walkout.

(Courtesy of Golda Och Academy)

NEW YORK (JTA) — Students at Jewish day schools offered prayers, lit candles and demanded change as part of a nationwide student walkout calling for gun reform in the wake of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Students around the country walked out of class for 17 minutes at 10 a.m. Wednesday to pressure Congress to approve gun control legislation and to honor the lives of the 17 victims of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. The national walkouts come a week before the March for Our Lives, a protest organized by Parkland students in which their peers from around the country will descend on Washington D.C. to call for stricter gun control.

At Golda Och Academy, a Conservative day school in West Orange, New Jersey, students organized a prayer memorial service

Best Wishes to our many Customers and Friends in the Jewish Community from the Paretti family of dealerships

Paretti Mazda Paretti Jaguar Metairie and Baton Rouge Land Rover New Orleans and Baton Rouge

ahead of the walkout. At the service, students and teachers spoke about the Parkland victims and lit a yahrzeit memorial candle. Each speaker was picked so that he or she shared some characteristics with the victim being talked about, such as being in the same grade or teaching the same subject.

Afterwards, the overwhelming majority of students chose to participate in a walkout, where they carried signs, made speeches and sang songs.

Theo Deitz-Green, an 11th grader and the president of the school’s student council, said he and other student organizers planned the event after learning about the Parkland shooting.

“There was a sense that yes it happened at a different school, but it could have just as easily happened at our school, we could have been the school experiencing that tragedy,” Deitz-Green told JTA over the phone.

“As we saw the Parkland kids start to speak out, there was a sense that something about the aftermath of this shooting had to be different.

It was time not just for the country to change but for students to lead that change,” he added.

Another organizer, 8th grader Sarah Farbiarz, was happy with how the event turned out.

“We worked really hard, so most of it seemed really powerful, and really moving, especially at the end when people were singing together, I thought that was a really great moment,” Farbiarz said.

The school was supportive of the students, said the head of the school, Adam Shapiro.

“From a school perspective we supported the desire of the students to carry out this program and make their powerful voices heard,” he told JTA in an email.

Earlier this month, Shapiro led a group of 139 heads of Jewish day schools who signed an open letter voicing their support for students organizing for gun reform after the Parkland shooting.

See DAY SCHOOLS on Page

8

Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

THE

19

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Alma

JEWISH LIGHT

Every Ridiculous Thing I’m Doing to Prepare for Jewish Motherhood

By No’a L. bat Miri As an alma (i.e. a woman of childbearing age who does not have kids), it’s tempting to buy into the idea that being a Jewish mother is as easy as they make it look on TV. Maybe as we age, we do naturally start to force food on people who’ve already eaten and sweaters on folks who are perfectly toasty, and I do distinctly recall that I stuffed a bunch of napkins into my pocket before the last time I left home to go to a bar with a friend (what if my nose runs, what if his nose runs, what if the bathroom is out of paper?). But having children is a serious responsibility, a quest that should be thoroughly considered before embarked upon.

Sure, I’ve been single for years, enjoying it more than any other 27-year-old woman I know, and acquiring a partner is generally a required step on the path to Jewish motherhood, but let’s be real about the end game: baby clothes are somehow getting cuter all the time, and I can’t wait to buy them for my grandchildren.

Here’s what I’m doing to prep for the possibility of small humans who might have the gall to rely on me one day: 1. Fish & greens. Like WD-40® and Duct Tape for home repairs, vinegar and baking soda for cleaning, or Netflix and chill for avoiding serious relationships, fish and green veggies are apparently the dynamic duo of human health, keeping our cells energetic and healthy and ready to blast stellar babies into the world. Granted, it doesn’t take much to improve the diet of a woman who has a dedicated Instagram account for her wine and who readily admits to having lived off of Halo Top ice cream for days at a time, several times. But. This isn’t about me.

Would you think of the children?

2. Spending time poorly. Everybody likes to talk about how much kids cost, but the amount of time they

suck up is far more frightening to fathom. I know my hourly rates for different services, but I haven’t thought about what I’d charge for things like changing diapers or pretending that I’m not bothered by someone asking “why?” after every single thing I say, forget things like planning birthday parties or trying to teach someone to use a toothbrush.

The thought of not getting paid for those things is mortifying. I skipped that class in high school where they give you the fake baby to take care of, but I figure that I can mimic the feeling of parenthood by just allotting a certain amount of time each week for things I don’t really care to do. For example: hanging out at my synagogue’s parent-child learning events, even though I don’t have any kids, and I’ve yet to find anyone there I’d be interested in calling “daddy.”

Speaking of daddies, I’ve still got to find one to make one. To that effort, some of my wasted time each week goes towards loitering around medical schools and the returns section at the neighborhood fine jewelers. You never know where you’re going to find Mr. Well-Alrighty-Then.

3. Hoarding books. I’ve always been in favor of homeschooling, but come on. I’m not paying someone else’s tuition while I’m still chipping away at mine. Jewish schools are crazy.

ALMA IS FOR LADIES WITH CHUTZPAH Hey! We’re Alma, a new place for women to talk about working, dating, TV-binging, yummy eating, bat mitzvah reminiscing, quasi-adulting, and the world around us.

appreciation for the classic reli- risk factors. Fortunately, I don’t gious art my generation was raised carry any of the truly devastating genetic conditions that it’s absowith. lutely necessary to get tested for, but I do have an increased likelihood of developing Celiac and hemochromatosis. Celiac, I know plenty about. It was dramatic, a farewell to donuts, etc. But I don’t live with hemochromatosis, so

5. Asking the couples I admire lots of annoying questions. What are the upsides and downsides of raising an only child? How do you cope with having a kid who has a birthday on a major Christian or pagan holiday? What is the best legal way to get them to stop making noise?

JEWISH LIGHT

22

ONE STOP KOSHER FOOD SHOPPING OPEN During Passover Serving our Special Passover Menu Monday April 2 thru Wednesday April 4, 10 AM - 7 PM Thursday April 5, 10 AM – 4 PM Check our Website for our Passover Product Selection!

3519 Severn, Metairie 1 Block from West Esplanade

(504) 888-2010 6. Making a totally Ashkenormative list of dead people in the family who had nice names and didn’t have bizarrely tragic deaths to name my kids after. So far, Magda seems pretty safe, but a lot of my ancestors (men, of course) apparently died of injuries related to being kicked by horses. Weird.

Sounds like ayin hara (evil eye).

Won’t test it.

7. On the subject of how people die, it’s been increasingly important for me to learn about my genetic

4. Actually reading the children’s books about Jewish holidays that my mom has been buying for my nonexistent kids.

They’ve kind of been piling up.

And some of the artwork is a little too avant-garde. I want to make sure that future generations have an THE

See MOTHERHOOD on Page

www.thejewishlight.org

www.koshercajun.com

HOUSE STUFF • Modern • Vintage • Traditional • Antique

We Sell High Quality Pre-Owned Furniture 504-638-7332 or 504-251-6262 3939 TOULOUSE ST.

(1 block off N. Carrollton) • Mid City

OPEN 7 DAYS Spring 2018

9

Bookshelf

30 Years Later, the Author of ‘the Devil’s Arithmetic’ Has a New Young Adult Holocaust Novel

By Penny Schwartz

“Mapping the Bones” is the third Holocaust-themed book by Jane Yolen.

(Penguin Random House/Jason Stemple)

BOSTON (JTA) — More than 30 years ago, Jane Yolen had already made her mark in the world of children’s literature. Among the nearly 100 books she had written were fantasies and folk tales, picture books and the popular “Captain Toad” chapter book series. Her gift for spinning original fairy tales earned her the reputation as the

American Hans Christian Anderson.

But when her editor, Deborah Brodie, suggested she write a Jewish children’s book, Yolen dismissed the idea.

Sure, she was Jewish, she recalled telling Brodie, who was Jewish, too. But, growing up, Yolen’s family wasn’t particularly observant.

And although she had minored in religious studies at Smith College, Yolen told Brodie she would have to do as much research as someone who wasn’t Jewish.

Brodie persisted.

“She was a classic nudzh,” Yolen recalled fondly all these years later of the late editor, a giant in the world of children’s publishing.

But Yolen, best known as a fan-

Best Wishes to all of my friends in the Jewish Community Senator J.P. Morrell District 3

We are proud to support the Jewish Community Over 80 years of service in New Orleans

UNITED CAB COMPANY 522-9771 or 524-9606

1634 Euterpe Street • New Orleans, LA 70130 www.unitedcabsinc.com (for online booking) www.unitedcabs.com

THE

tasy writer, had a spark of an idea for a Holocaust story that would lead with a girl bored and indifferent at her grandparents’ Passover seder. When Hannah opens the door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she finds herself transported back in time to a Polish shtetl where the Jewish villagers are on the verge of being shipped to a German Nazi concentration camp.

Only Hannah knows the horrifying tragedy that the future will bring.

Yolen relented and wrote a first chapter. She assumed it would end at that. Instead, Brodie sent back a contract.

“I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to try this,'” she said in a phone conversation with JTA from her home in western Massachusetts.

The result was “The Devil’s Arithmetic,” a Holocaust novel that when it appeared in 1988 was nothing like anything that had come before. The book garnered critical acclaim, earned multiple book awards and was made into an Emmy-winning Showtime film starring Kirsten Dunst.

The popular fantasy novel has sold more than 1.8 million copies, is used widely in middle schools across the country and has been in continuous print since publication.

Now, three decades later, Yolen, 79, has written “Mapping the Bones” (Philomel), a Holocaust novel for a new generation of teens.

The year is 1942, in the Lodz ghetto in Poland, where 14-year-old twins Chaim and Gittel Abromowitz make a daring escape with their family. Separated from their parents in the forest, the twins hide with Polish partisans, and are later captured by German soldiers and forced into a slave labor camp.

Through brutal treatment, suffering and loss, the sister and brother bond with other camp prisoners, sustain each other, and find light

JEWISH LIGHT

through the young boy’s moving poetry that serves as a testament to loss and memory.

“Mapping the Bones” is Yolen’s third Holocaust novel; the second was “Briar Rose” (1992).

“I look at all three and I realize it’s not just the Holocaust that binds them together. It’s remembering,” she said.

“Whenever we think of the Holocaust, we think of remembering.

We think of never forgetting. Soon all we will have are the stories.

Soon we will have no one left who was there.”

“The Devil’s Arithmetic” was a trailblazer, according to Norman H. Finkelstein, an author of nonfiction for older kids and two-time winner of the National Jewish Book award.

Three decades ago, at a time closer to the war, the idea of writing about the Holocaust was still difficult, said Finkelstein, a retired public school librarian in the Boston suburb of Brookline.

“It was a different Holocaust book. It was not strictly factual, it was not a memoir,” Finkelstein told JTA in a recent conversation. “Jane did a superb job in taking the story of the Holocaust down to a level that ordinary American kids could understand and digest, and present it in a sympathetic manner. The characters were realistic, not paper cutouts.”

Educators immediately seized on the book to teach about the tragedies of the Holocaust, he recalled.

There’s an inherent tension in presenting the Holocaust in young adult fiction, according to Daniel Magilow, a Holocaust scholar and professor of German studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

On one hand, writers need to create young characters with whom readers can identify, said Magilow, a former fellow at the U.S. Holocaust See 30 YEARS LATER on Page

20

Unique & Beautiful Event Venues The Cajun Ballroom

Rehearsal Dinners Wedding Receptions Wedding Ceremonies Company Meetings Corporate & Social Occasions Kosher Events

Audubon Tea Room

(at the Tea Room)

Call today for an appointment 504.212.5301 Louisiana’s only Green Certified Caterer

10 Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

www.AudubonNatureInstitute.org/PrivateEvents

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

Alex Bregman Is Baseball's Next Jewish Star

Sports

By Hillel Kuttler

Alex Bregman's manager expects the young slugger to get even better.

(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (JTA) – Sitting on a couch near his locker at the Houston Astros’ spring training facility here in mid-March, Alex Bregman is reflecting about an encounter his father had at the World Series last fall.

It was in Los Angeles, between innings of the opening game. Sam Bregman was headed for a Dodger Stadium concession stand to grab a nosh wearing his Astros jersey with the No. 2 and his surname stitched on the back – a facsimile of his son’s uniform. The young Bregman, a third baseman, had just slugged a home run off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

A fan grabbed Sam Bregman’s arm.

“Are you Alex’s dad?”

“I am,” the elder Bregman replied.

“Is he Jewish?”

"Yeah.”

The man was a Dodger fan, but still he flashed what Sam Bregman described as “a look of great contentment” at the ballplayer’s heritage.

“I got such a kick out of it,” Sam Bregman said in a phone interview near his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “It made me feel so proud.”

Alex Bregman’s take on the encounter: “It’s definitely cool to have fans around the world give their support. It keeps you motivated to know that everyone has your back.”

Bregman can expect to have more fans on his bandwagon, Jewish and otherwise, following a strong 2017 season and the first World Series title for the Astros -to which he contributed mightily He knocked in a run in each of the first five games, added a second home run, threw out a runner at home plate to preserve a scoreless tie in Game 4 and had the runscoring single that ended an epic THE

JEWISH LIGHT

Game 5 in the 10th inning, 13-12.

During the 2017 season, the former No. 2 overall draft pick out of Louisiana State averaged .284, pounded 39 doubles and 19 home runs, and stole 17 bases.

Two days after the Game 7 road victory, Bregman celebrated at the championship parade in Houston.

Thousands of fans lined streets in a city still recovering from Hurricane Harvey flooding a couple of months earlier.

“To see their pure joy,” Bregman said, “gave me the chills.”

The experience capped a memorable year for Bregman that began with his playing for the U.S. team that won the World Baseball Classic title in March.

Israel’s squad, which finished sixth overall in the WBC, had sought his services.

In retrospect, he said, “I probably should’ve” played for Israel “because I got [just] four at-bats” playing as a backup for the American team. Regardless of who comes calling in 2021, Bregman said, he’s unlikely to participate.

His Astros will start defending their championship on Thursday in Arlington, Texas, against the Rangers. Bregman will turn 24 the next day.

“There are a lot of things I want to accomplish in this game. Winning is right there at the top,” Bregman said. “We have a great team to repeat as champs.”

Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he expects Bregman to “build off the momentum he generated in the postseason and throughout the whole season last year.”

“While he’s established himself as a major league player … he’s not even close to what he’s going to be,” Hinch said.

He called Bregman “a true baseball rat,” someone who “loves the game, loves practice, loves being around his teammates.”

But his mother, Jackie, will tell you that her son is more than about baseball. His foundation, AB for AUDS, provides computer tablets to children with autism and Down syndrome. Brady Columbus, a son of Bregman’s former hitting coach and Bregman’s godson, is autistic.

Jackie Bregman spoke of her son’s kindness.

“Alex is so patient with people,

and I’m really, really proud of him for that,” she said in a phone interview.

She recalled her son defending elementary school classmates being bullied. And he was also on the other end: A boy made fun of Alex’s pending bar mitzvah as he was leaving school to meet with the cantor, and a Chinese-American teammate on Alex’s basketball squad stood up for him.

The experiences, she said, “taught him what it was like to be marginalized.”

Years ago, the family attended an appearance by several players of the minor league Albuquerque Iso-

topes. One player was aloof.

“Sam and I said to Alex, ‘Don’t ever be like that,’ ” she recalled.

But Jackie Bregman also knows her son is driven to excel on the field.

See ALEX BREGMAN on Page

23

Best wishes to our many friends!

GeorGe’s Auto Body shop Specializing in Auto Painting and Repairs

486-7626 • 486-7644

4615 Earhart Blvd. (Carrollton Area)

RJ LaboRde ConstRuCtion, LLC An Affordable Quality Builder for Over 25 Years

Residential • CommeRCial Remodeling and new ConstRuCtion • Room Additions • Carport Enclosures • Custom Kitchens • Plumbing Repairs • Custom Baths • Garages Your Plans or Ours Licensed and Fully Insured

Building Homes and Remodeling in Greater New Orleans

(504) 885-5224 Cell (504) 250-7139

Deli — gourmet items to geaux Bakery — turtles, variety of King Cakes and our original Mud Slide Cake

Liquor — largest selection at the lowest price Meat — USDA choice beef Produce — always fresh Floral — floral arrangements & bouquets Seafood — fresh & frozen delicacies

Breaux Mart is Locally Owned With Clean Stores, Fast Checkouts and Friendly Employees.

We Look Forward to Serving You.

www.thejewishlight.org

2904 Severn Ave., Metairie • 885-5565 9647 Jefferson Hwy., River Ridge • 737-8146 315 E. Judge Perez Dr., Chalmette • 262-0750 605 Lapalco Blvd., Gretna • 433-0333 3233 Magazine St., New Orleans • 262-6019 Spring 2018

11

Arts & Culture

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

A Refreshing Romantic Comedy About an Autistic Couple Who Meet at a Jewish Community Center

By Curt Schleier (JTA) — On the surface, the indie comedy “Keep the Change” tells a conventional love story: A snooty rich boy meets a poor girl.

They start dating, despite the objections of his parents, who assume that she’s a gold digger. The two argue. They part. Ultimately the snooty rich kid finds his better self.

But the film, directed by Rachel

Posh

Israel, is far from your typical romcom: The main characters and their friends are all on the autism spectrum, and they are played by amateur actors who are on the spectrum themselves and give professionalquality performances.

The film is also set at a real New York City Jewish community center and involves a successful program

Paint Pub

Summer Art Camp • Field Trips Mention this ad Birthday Parties For Kids and Adults For a Free 6” x 6” Tile Walk-Ins Welcome One per Customer.

835-4155

3218 Taft Park • poshpaintpub.com

•

Your Wedding Specialist Since 1969

Our Metairie and Covington Showrooms are ready to serve your wedding with the same love and care we used for your parents' wedding. www.villeresflorist.com

750 Martin Behrman Metairie, LA (504) 833-3716

1415 N. Hwy. 190 Covington, LA (985) 809-9101

sales@villeresflorist.com

I’m ready to work for City Council District C to tackle drainage issues, enforce stricter budgetary controls, and responsible planning & growth for Covington!

Please trust me with your vote.

- Tim Burke (Retired Public Servant…NOT a Politician!)

“Your Helpful Hardware Man”

Rockery Ace Hardware Lakeview - Lakefront Propane Gas • Ace Paints • Keys Made Plumbing • Electrical • Garden Supplies Complete Hardware Supplies Visa • MasterCard • American Express Open Mon - Fri 8 AM - 5:30 PM Sat 8 AM - 4 PM

7043 Canal Blvd.

12 Spring 2018

288-3522

for people with autism and learning disabilities called Adaptations.

Much of what is shown of it in the film mirrors the Adaptations reality: a positive community that offers social and creative opportunities for people often misunderstood by society.

In the film, which opens Friday in New York, Brandon Polansky plays a man ordered by a court to attend a summer program designed for people on the spectrum. He’s paired on an assignment with Sarah Silverstein (played by Samantha Elisofon), who says she finds him sexy.

The two begin to date, but there are numerous obstacles to their relationship. David is not quite as worldly as he believes, and Sarah is far more experienced. Sarah is also likely to blurt out whatever is on her mind, which publicly embarrasses David.

“Keep the Change” is often funny, and it takes viewers on a heartwarming journey of self-discovery. It is Rachel Israel’s first feature, and her 16-year odyssey to its release is as fascinating as the film itself.

In 2002, the summer before she entered The Rhode Island School of Design, she took a course in nude drawing at a Florida college. Polansky was a student in the class, and as Israel recalls, he spent breaks “walking around the room hitting on every female” in the room.

At the time, Israel recognized he was different, but not that he was on the spectrum.

“I wouldn’t have guessed autism,” the filmmaker said in a recent telephone interview from her home on Manhattan's Upper West Side, just three days after giving birth to her second child. “My view from Hollywood was that autistic people are introverted. They don’t seek social connections. They definitely don’t like crowds.”

Even though she turned down a date, Israel gave Polansky her phone number when he asked, and the two stayed in touch.

“He kept calling and we’d have these phone chats once or twice a week,” she said. “It wasn’t until a year or so of knowing him that he

www.thejewishlight.org

Samantha Elisofon and Brandon Polansky in a scene from "Keep the Change." (Kino Lorber Films)

opened up enough to tell me he had autism.”

Polansky told Israel of his efforts at online dating, about “going to bars or big parties trying to meet people, often meeting with insensitive responses.” She counseled Polansky and began to see how these events could work cinematically, especially after he found his first girlfriend through the Adaptations program. That experience changed him, gave him increased self-confidence and “inspired the writing” of the screenplay.

In 2011, Israel decided to turn the story into a short film thesis for her masters of fine arts program at Columbia University. The entire shoot took less than five days, and the final product won several accolades, including the top award at the school’s film festival.

Israel then set about developing a feature version, which meant expanding the cast. She asked other members of the Adaptations community at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan to play characters on the spectrum.

Directing them sometimes required special patience and understanding. Some were able to see their role as part of a greater whole, while others could only see as far as their lines.

“All of them were terribly generous and open with me. It was challenging, not uncomfortable," Israel said. "What was frustrating was raising funding. “I had the commitment of the cast and their faith that it would happen.”

Asked what she hoped audiences would take from the film, the director said “It’s a love story. I hope they walk away with the warm glow of a love story.

“In terms of autism, I hope it opens up a whole world of people in a very humane way.” ì THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Entertainment

JEWISH LIGHT

Zach Braff Is Happy to Be Back on Tv. 'scrubs' Fans Should Be, Too.

Best Wishes from my family to yours!

By Curt Schleier

Zach Braff, center, is flanked by "Scrubs" cast members Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison in 2001.

(Courtesy of NBC/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Lightning struck Zach Braff in 2001. The up-and-coming Jewish actor, who had appeared in a few films — perhaps most notably a small role in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” — landed the lead role of John “J.D.” Dorian in the hospital-based sitcom “Scrubs.”

Along the way to starring in 175 episodes of the show, which became one of the most beloved comedies of the 2000s, Braff wrote and directed “Garden State,” released in 2004. The indie dramedy film, which also starred 23-year-old Natalie Portman, established the kid from South Orange, New Jersey, as a promising director in addition to being a first-rate comic actor.

But he surprisingly left “Scrubs” in 2009, while its ratings were still respectable.

“When it’s something you’ve been doing for so long, well, I didn’t want to phone it in,” Braff said in an interview with JTA. “I was tired I don’t mean to complain.

It’s the best job in the world, but you do get burned out. I wanted to go out on a high note.”

After Braff quit the show, he largely vanished from the mainstream film and TV world. He performed in theater on and off Broadway, notably in the adaptation of Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical.” He also wrote a play — “All New People” had a run at New York’s prestigious Second Stage. His 2014 film “Wish I Was Here,” which he wrote and directed, was heartfelt but mostly panned by critics following a limited release.

As he headed further down “the directing path,” Braff realized something was missing.

“I missed acting, I missed comedy," he said. "And when this was put in my lap, it seemed perfect.”

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

“This” is a reference to “Alex, Inc.,” an ABC sitcom premiering March 28 with Braff as its protagonist and main star. The network gave the show a coveted slot, on Wednesdays between “The Goldbergs” and “Modern Family” (that’s 8:30 p.m., if you were wondering).

Braff plays Alex Schuman, a Jewish character based on real-life Jewish podcast pioneer Alex Blumberg — a former producer for NPR’s popular “This American Life” and “Planet Money” podcasts. Blumberg gave up the relatively cushy world of NPR — with its salary, health benefits and paid time off — to start his own podcast company, Gimlet Media, in 2014. Gimlet has spawned several of its own very successful podcasts, including “StartUp” and “Reply All.” In “Alex, Inc.,” Schuman leaves his feel-good radio show (“NPR on Prozac,” he calls it) when his idea for a meaningful but depressing story is rejected He attempts to start his own show to prove the innocence of a convicted murderer.

When that doesn’t pan out, Schuman decides to make the podcast about the process of starting a podcast business — mirroring the arc of Blumberg’s “StartUp.” Of course, like most ABC sitcoms, “Alex, Inc” mostly deals with the ups and downs of family life. There is a narrator via voiceover, a happy ending complete with warm fuzzy feelings in each episode and the recurring theme that fathers don’t always know best.

The cast includes Tiya Sircar, whom many will know from NBC’s hit comedy “The Good Place,” as Schuman’s wife. Braff said that if the show is renewed for a second season, it will explore the dynamics of a mixed religious family. (Blumberg is married to Nazanin Rafsanjani, a fellow media producer who is Asian, like Sircar.)

Braff also reserved special praise for Elisha Henig, a recent bar mitzvah who plays Schuman’s son, Ben. “‘Family Ties’ was supposed to be a star vehicle for Meredith Baxter until this kid Michael J. Fox See ZACH BRAFF on Page

Stephanie Hilferty State Representative, District 94

Summer Music Festival DATES + TIMES:

June 4 - 8 Mon-Thu: 8:30am- 4pm • Fri: 8:30am - 12pm

DESCRIPTION:

Two Orchestras, ages 7-12 and 12-19, participate in this week-long collaboration with professional musicians at all rehearsals & a public performance.

Tuition: $350

Summer Orchestra DATES + TIMES:

Tuesday Evenings: June 26 - July 31 6:30 - 8pm

DESCRIPTION:

No audition necessary; placement is based on proficiency. Enrollment on first-come basis and students will perform one free public concert on July 31st 6:30pm at Loyola.

Tuition: $225

LOCATION:

Loyola University Communication and Music Complex

GNOYO.ORG • GNOYO@GNOYO.ORG

504.861.1801

URSULINE

open breakfast 7a-7p lunch everyday bagels muffins local coffee chai cafe

luna

@CafeLuna504

802½ nashville @ magazine

ACADEMY

Age 2 - 8t h Grade

girls

ART  ACTING  ROBOTICS  COOKING READING  SINGING  CERAMICS CHEER  SPORTS  SCIENCE  MUSIC  SWIMMING AND MORE!

23

www.thejewishlight.org

Register now! * UAnola.org Spring 2018

13

FINANCIAL Best wishes to all of my many friends in the Jewish Community!

Thank you for your continued support!

THE

'Engaging' Millennials Is All the Rage. But Is It the Best Use of Jewish Philanthropy?

By Jack Wertheimer

Jack Donahue

Louisiana State Senator for District 11

Birthright participants celebrate the program's 10th anniversary in Jerusalem, Jan. 14, 2015.

(Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Middle eastern Cuisine • authentiC & affordable Fried Kibby Plate • Vegetarian Dishes • Yogurt Salad • Chicken Shawarma Shish Kabobs • Chicken Kabobs • Hummus • Falafels & Much More

tel: 862-6200

1506 S. Carrollton

Hours: M-Th 11am-10pm F-Sat 11am-10:30pm Sun 12pm-10pm

ROYCE DUPLESSIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT, DISTRICT 93 Louisiana House of Representatives

Best Wishes to my friends in the Jewish Community.

Thank you for your support!

PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE-TO-ELECT ROYCE DUPLESSIS

14 Spring 2018

JEWISH LIGHT

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Engaging young people in their 20s and 30s, the so-called millennial generation, is a high priority for Jewish philanthropists.

Some funders have banded together to create new initiatives, including free trips to Israel, with the express purpose of drawing members of this generation into Jewish life. Others have gravitated to the so-called innovation sector, supporting millennials who dream up new programs to entice their peers into some form of Jewish participation.

But for all the energy and money expended on such programs, one question remains unanswered: Will these efforts move people from shallow engagement to actively live a Jewish life or deepen their knowledge?

What fuels these efforts are surveys showing that millennial Jews tend to be less affiliated with Jewish institutions, less observant of Jewish religious rituals and more distant from Israel than were previous generations of Jews at the same age. Much ink has been spilled to analyze why this might be so, with explanations focusing either on this generation’s unique historical experiences; the unprecedented disruption in the job market created by new technologies that force younger people to chart a new course and thereby extend their “odyssey years"; and the present cultural milieu, which places a high value on individualism but disdains anything resembling “tribal” allegiances In response to these developments, a number of the largest foundations with Jewish interests are investing heavily in initiatives designed to kindle what in a previous time was described as the "pin-

www.thejewishlight.org

tele yid," the little flicker of Jewishness waiting to be lit. The most ambitious — and best-known -such effort is Birthright Israel, the 10-day free trip to Israel. Since its inception in 1999, it has sent over 600,000 young people from around the globe at a cost nearing the billion-dollar mark. By virtue of its intensive and immersive programming, Birthright differs from most other programs aimed at millennials.

Funders have also invested significantly in Moishe House, a network of some 58 houses scattered throughout the United States offering programs geared to millennials.

Begun in 2006, Moishe House subsidizes rents for residents who organize everything from Shabbat dinners and Purim parties to social action activities and Jewish study circles. Most participants, notes an observer, “are ‘not Jewish in the rest of their lives’ in the traditional sense. They may not be celebrating holidays on their own; they may not be attending Shabbat services at a synagogue. ... Moishe House is the surrogate that provides these experiences for them.”

OneTable, still another creation of funders, works to entice younger Jews to attend Friday night Shabbat dinners hosted by peers. Having drawn positive reviews in such disparate publications as Vogue, The New York Times and BuzzFeed News, OneTable has been described as “a social dining app that helps people of all religious backgrounds celebrate inclusive Shabbat meals.”

Since its founding, One Table has subsidized over 30,000 Friday night dinners.

Younger Jews are also taking the initiative by founding dozens of startups designed to appeal to their peers. Often with the help of funders, startups meet in unconventional spaces, such as clubs, bars, performing art spaces, lofts and bookstores. They may offer a Friday night social gathering, a musical program or lecture series. Meeting in offbeat venues is part of the allure.

Events designed for millennials See MILLENNIALS on Page THE

21

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

the

JEWISH LIGHT

Chocolate Quinoa Cake Recipe

By Paula Shoyer

(The Nosher via JTA) -- I had heard the myth of chocolate cakes made with cooked quinoa and didn’t quite believe they would actually be tasty. This cake is surprisingly moist and delicious.

Note: This recipe is gluten- and dairy-free, and Passover friendly.

You can make this cake up to three days in advance, and it also freezes well.

This recipe is excerpted with permission from Paula Shoyer’s cookbook "The Healthy Jewish Kitchen."

Ingredients: For the cake: • 3/4 cup quinoa • 1 1/2 cups water • Cooking spray

• 2 tablespoons potato starch • 1/3 cup orange juice (from 1 orange) • 4 large eggs • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • 3/4 cup coconut oil • 1 1/2 cups sugar • 1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate • Fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional) For the glaze (optional): • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate • 1 tablespoon sunflower or safflower oil • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Directions: 1. Place the quinoa and water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan and cook the quinoa for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Set the pan aside. The quinoa may be made 1 day in advance.

NOSHER

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Use cooking spray to grease a 12-cup bundt pan. Sprinkle the potato starch over the greased pan and then shake the pan to remove any excess starch.

3. Place the quinoa in the bowl of a food processor. Add the orange juice, eggs, vanilla, oil, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt; process until the mixture is very smooth.

4. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or place in a medium microwave-safe bowl and put in a microwave for 45 seconds, stirring and then heating the chocolate for another 30 seconds until it is melted. Add the chocolate to the quinoa batter and process until well mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake it for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

5. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove it gently from the pan. Let the cake cool on a wire cooling rack.

6. To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate in a large microwave-

(food)

safe bowl in the microwave (see above) or over a double boiler. Add the oil and vanilla and whisk well.

Let the glaze sit for 5 minutes and then whisk it again. Use a silicone spatula to spread the glaze all over the cake. Serves 12.

(Paula Shoyer, “the kosher baker,” is the author of four cookbooks, most recently "The Healthy Jewish Kitchen" [Sterling Epicure, November]. Shoyer is a freelance writer who has competed on Food Network's "Sweet Genius" and appeared on television over 26 times before major Jewish holidays.)

The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at wwwTheNosher.com.ì

Still Fighting for the Working Families of Louisiana!

Best Wishes to all of my friends in the Jewish Community Thank you for your continued support!

RICHMOND CEDRIC

CONGRESS www.CedricRichmond.com PAID FOR BY RICHMOND FOR CONGRESS

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

www.thejewishlight.org

Spring 2018

15

THE

National Best Wishes to my friends in the Jewish Community!

These North American Baby Boomers Teach Israeli Kids English

By Ben Sales

Thomas J. Capella Jefferson Parish Assessor From our table to yours, Best Wishes to our many friends and customers in the Jewish community

AcquistApAce’s Covington Supermarket

We have the largest selection of Wine, Beer, & Spirits in the state!

www.acquistapaces.com 985-951-2501 985-893-0593 631 N. Causeway Blvd.,, Mandeville 125 E. 21st Ave Facing East Causeway Approach In Historic Downtown Covington

Greg thanks you for your support and asks for your vote.

Early Voting: April 14-21 Election Day: April 28

16 Spring 2018

JEWISH LIGHT

An Israeli high school student videoconferences with a North American baby boomer for a weekly English lesson.

(Courtesy of Israel Connect)

(JTA) -- There’s no reason Hodaya Koskas and Barrett Brickell would know each other.

Koskas, 14, is a high school student from a small city in central Israel who takes ballet classes and hopes to be a dancer. Brickell, 71, is a retired schoolteacher from Ottawa, Canada.

But they’ve been video chatting every week since September. The unlikely pairing begins by having Koskas read a one-page English description of a place in Israel -perhaps the Western Wall or a mall.

Then they shift into talking about their lives.

Koskas talks about an upcoming ballet competition that, if she wins, could lead to a trip to New York City. Barrett talks about life in Canada -- the snow outside his window, the particulars of the local malls. Koskas says she now understands that in Canada, people hit the malls with a bigger bag than in Israel, so they can buy more stuff.

“I feel a connection to another world,” Koskas told JTA of the conversations. “I talk about what’s done there and what’s polite there.

We talked about how they shop and how we shop.”

The Israeli teen and the Canadian retiree are participants in Israel Connect, a program where older North American adults tutor Israeli kids in English once a week via video chat. For seniors like Brickell, the program is a relatively easy way to connect with Israel and help kids. For kids like Koskas, the sessions expand their vocabulary, improve their pronunciation and introduce them to North American culture (she now knows how to pronounce “read” in the past tense, for example).

“I want to find out about their

www.thejewishlight.org

personal lives,” said Brickell, who taught fifth and sixth grade for nearly 20 years, and now tutors three kids as part of Israel Connect.

“I end up liking them a lot. The time I get to spend with young people is very meaningful to me, and I have a feeling that they enjoy it.”

The program began in 2011 as a side project of Sarah Gordon, a Canadian with Israeli parents who taught Hebrew in Ottawa. A former classmate of Gordon who taught English in Israel told her about some of her Arab-Israeli students who were struggling to pick up what would be their third language.

So Gordon matched them with Canadian seniors she knew who could tutor them from afar.

Since then, Israel Connect has mushroomed. It spread to Toronto and a few areas in the United States, from New Jersey to Baltimore to Florida. It now has 400 volunteer tutors, mostly baby boomers and older, and 500 Israeli high school students from 35 schools. Gordon said baby boomers are a good fit because they wake up early and tend to have free time.

The schools are mostly on Israel’s periphery -- smaller and often poorer towns that are distant from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv The students themselves come from a range of religious, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Gordon said she has a waiting list of 100 schools that want to join, and is hoping to expand her volunteer base.

“Most of our volunteers are connecting with students in towns they’ve never heard of before,” said Gordon, who now co-directs the organization full-time with her husband. “We take the ones that have the strongest need. Some of the schools we work in don’t have English teachers. We have schools where we are the English program -- we do not recommend that.”

English is usually a key part of the school curriculum in Israel, and is viewed as a gateway to cultural exposure, academic excellence and professional success. Students in Israeli high schools receive four to five hours of English education per See BABY BOOMERS on Page THE

19

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

Judaism

JEWISH LIGHT

The Youngest Schindler's List Survivor Is Still Telling Her Story

50 yrs exCellent serivCe

By Ben Sales

Eva Lavi, who was 2 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland, addressing the United Nations last week. (Courtesy of the Israeli mission to the U.N.)

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Eva Lavi’s earliest memories are of the Holocaust She remembers how her mother made her hide outside in belowzero weather, clutching a standing pipe, as Nazis searched her home in Poland. She remembers her father telling her to swallow a spoonful of cyanide -- better than death at the hands of the Nazis -- only to have her mother object at the last minute.

She remembers seeing her twin cousins shot to death as they ran up a hill at a labor camp.

Lavi was 2 years old when Nazi Germany took over her hometown of Krakow in September 1939.

Now 80, she wants to make sure her stories aren’t lost after she’s gone.

“There was no childhood for children my age,” she said last week in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly following International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27.

“Regularly, we saw, heard and understood everything the Nazis were doing to us. At 6 years old, children were cynical old people trying to survive.”

Lavi is the youngest survivor to have been on Schindler’s list, the Jews saved by German industrialist Oskar Schindler and immortalized in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film.

Lavi was put in a ghetto in Poland with her family immediately after the Nazi takeover, transferred to a labor camp and then to Auschwitz.

After being saved by Schindler, who sheltered hundreds of Jews who worked in his kitchen goods and armament factories, Lavi lived a quiet life in Israel. She served in the army, lived on a kibbutz, worked as an administrative assistant and raised a family. She remembers the early years in Israel when survivors THE

JEWISH LIGHT

24 Hour Pick-uP & Delivery commercial cHarge accounts Welcome metairie’s First & Finest

Serving JefferSon PariSh for over 50 YearS Courteous Drivers...DepenDable Metairie Cab

were disparaged as weak and passive. But as interest in the Holocaust increased, she became more vocal in recounting her experience.

Now she speaks to groups at Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust authority, and travels to Poland every year with a group of high school students.

“It’s true testimony from someone who was there. It’s not a story,” she told JTA in a separate interview last week, adding that once Israelis became interested in the Holocaust, “the survivors opened their mouths and began to tell the story. It’s not just a story. It’s the worst and cruelest thing that happened in the world.”

Although Lavi now regularly returns to Auschwitz, she says the experience still isn’t easy. Each time, she finds herself looking around in horror and crying. But by now she’s used to it.

“Every time I go, I cry here and there because it’s a terrible thing,” she told JTA. “Every person that went there saw the ovens, the gas chambers. Everything was real. It’s very scary, but because I’ve gone so many times, I take it differently.

I don’t think about myself. I think about how the kids are reacting.”

Lavi also feels a sense of urgency in telling her story because she thinks the world hasn’t gotten better since she was liberated. There are groups that still seek to annihilate Jews and other minorities, she says.

And she called the Polish bill that would criminalize those who blame Poland for the Holocaust a “disaster.” Yes, she says, Poles were killed, too, at the Nazi death camps. But she adds that the Poles were no angels, citing Polish violence against Jews during and after the war.

“I was in Auschwitz, and there were Polish prisoners,” she said.

“But what they say, that the Poles were all sweetness and light? No. In any case, they didn’t really like the Jews.”

As the Holocaust survivor population shrinks -- Lavi was born just two years before the war -- she See SURVIVOR on Page

835-4242

raDio DispatCheD units

3625 Airline Drive • MetAirie - All CAbs Air ConDitioneD

Before

Before

After

CHAR DA’

High-end Level 5 Smooth Finishes

504-835-0463 Family owned for 50 years

Licensed & Insured

22

www.thejewishlight.org

Spring 2018

17

Israel Under Radar

Israel Is the Star at a National Security Conference in Mississippi

By Ben Sales

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant at a press conference with Israeli officials at the Homeland Defense and Security Summit in Biloxi, March 13, 2018. (Ben Sales)

BILOXI, Miss. (JTA) – A homeland security conference took place in a southern Mississippi town with an Air Force base and a shipbuilding yard.

Among those in attendance were the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; a general from India, the world’s second-largest country; and representatives from Taiwan and South Korea, a U.S. ally in a key trouble spot.

But Israel was the star.

The International Homeland Defense and Security Summit, organized by the state government, was held Tuesday in this Gulf Coast city far from any Jewish population center, in a state the local Israeli consul visits only twice a year. But representatives of 16 Israeli companies attended, along with a delegation from its Defense Ministry and arms industry. And speakers, especially Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, couldn’t stop talking about it.

Bryant credited a national security conference he spoke at in Israel in 2016 as the inspiration for this one. One of the first pictures he showed during his speech was of him grinning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“If there’s anyone that knows about homeland security, it’s the Israelis,” he said at the start of his address opening the conference,

THE

whose organizers paid for JTA’s flight to Biloxi along with hotel costs. “They have a tough neighborhood they live in."

The admiration went beyond the governor.

Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard commandant, said of Israel that “[t] here’s no better example of a country that finds itself in the bullseye.”

A panelist said “Israel is literally our anchor in the Middle East.”

Israelis spoke on two panels, and at a news conference the governor invited a few Israeli officials to stand alongside him and some U.S. military officers.

The Israeli delegation featured companies specializing in security technology. They were there to expand into the U.S. market and introduce themselves to local officials and private companies.

One tool, Smart Shooter, promises to make guns more accurate.

Another, Magal Security Systems, is a border security sensor system that’s used on Israel’s northern and southern frontiers. A third, Beeper, is a surveillance system -- already deployed by the Israeli military and police departments in Baltimore and Houston -- that can pinpoint where a gun is fired and instantly take video of who fired the weapon.

JEWISH LIGHT

While there are no hostile borders in Mississippi, Magal has already done work there and elsewhere in the United States securing the perimeters of prisons, power plants and Secret Service sites. It’s played a role in securing 80 percent of Israel’s borders, as well as some borders in Europe, the manufacturer claims.

“I don’t think they suffer from any illegal movement on the border, “said Saar Koursh, CEO of Magal. “But for us, securing Mississippi’s critical sites is definitely an opportunity, and besides that, collaborating with the industries doing projects out of Mississippi as well.” Israel Aerospace Industries has two facilities in Mississippi.

The threats discussed in Mississippi were a far cry from those in Israel, where militant groups aim missiles across a border, terrorists try to infiltrate from the barely selfgoverning territory next door and at least one regional rival threatens annihilation.

Instead, discussion focused on the Gulf Coast’s maritime economy. Panelists talked about boats ferrying drugs, migrants and weapons across the water. They disSee CONFERENCE on Page

20

TAKE IN THE VIEW.

• 90 residences available to own starting at $429,000

• Rooftop pool / sundeck with outdoor cooking spaces and fitness center

• Varied 1 – 4 bedroom unit floor plans ranging from 760 – 3,000 square feet

• Covered parking spaces and storage units available for each unit

• 1 – 3 private balconies in each unit

• Ground floor retail space

• 16 Stories above the Warehouse Disctrict

• Short Term Rental Approved

F O R S A L E S P R E S E N TAT I O N S C O N TA C T TA L B O T R E A LT Y G R O U P

747 Magazine Street Suite 7 Call: 504.684.1100 www.1100annunciation.com

*To be built. All pricing, plans and specifications are subject to change without notice.

18 Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

DAY SCHOOLS Continued from Page 8 Students at Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn also held a prayer memorial service. The service honored all victims of gun violence in schools.

Students gave out note cards with the names of gun violence victims, lit a yahrzeit candle and prayed for the families of victims.

After the service, students had the choice to stay inside, walk outside the school or walk together with teachers to Brooklyn Borough Hall, where students from other schools gathered. The majority of students took part, said Annette Powers, the school’s director of communications and marketing.

Powers said supporting the walkout was “very much in line with our values.”

“We’re a school that really promotes the idea of social action and not just talking about issues but taking action to make a difference,” she said.

At the Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy, a pluralistic school in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, students gathered in a parking lot outside the BABY BOOMERS Continued from Page 16 week, and an entire section of Israel’s version of the SAT is devoted to English proficiency. But Gordon said most of the students’ practical knowledge of English comes from pop culture.

“They watch a lot of TV and listen to a lot of music,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for them to show up the first week and [as] they're talking with a retired dentist or brain surgeon, they’ll say, ‘Hey, what’s up, dude.’ And the teacher will say, ‘We start with 'Hi, how are you?’”

The core of Israel Connect’s curriculum is the one-page handouts on Israeli locales, which come with pictures. Volunteers will help the students read through the paragraphs, and then will discuss them before pivoting to casual conversation.

The only restriction Gordon gives is to avoid politics. Some of the participating schools are in West Bank settlements, and Gordon stresses that the program does not take political positions and aims to serve Israeli kids regardless of where they are. Retired doctors are also told not to provide medical advice.

“They didn’t choose to be born into this conflict,” Gordon said of the THE

Education

JEWISH LIGHT

JEWISH LIGHT

school. They read about the lives of the Parkland victims and heard speeches from students and teachers.

“It was really an incredible sense of togetherness that all these people I’ve talked to about other issues where we might not agree, or just people that I don’t know very well, we all came together and stood together for this issue that we all feel so passionately about,” said Sophia Shapiro, a 10th grader who organized the walkout together with 11th grader Ruthie Cohen.

She emphasized that the walkout was only the beginning of action.

Shapiro and Cohen are planning to find ways to keep their fellow students engaged on the issue, including by organizing students to contact their local representatives.

“Our message doesn’t end with this news cycle,” Shapiro said.

“When this news cycle ends, our message will continue, and we will continue to fight for what we believe in.”

NFTY, the Reform movement’s youth group, urged members in public schools and day schools to march and share their participation on social media using the hashtag #JewsDemandAction.ì students. “They didn’t choose to go to the army in two years. We should just be empathetic to their reality.”

But Gordon emphasizes that the point of the program is to rigorously teach English, not just to create informal video pen pals. Most of the students’ chats happen while they’re at school, under a teacher’s supervision. Gordon said that out of 300 alumni of the program, all but four scored over 90 percent on the English comprehension section of the standardized test.

“They’re more confident in reading, in their interactions talking with the volunteers,” said Ofira Mor, a teacher at Koskas’ high school.

“They have a wider vocabulary.”

But volunteers say that aside from the tutoring, they enjoy having direct exposure to life in Israel through young people’s eyes. Beverly Grostern, a volunteer from Ottawa, took her first trip to Israel in decades after a year of tutoring an Israeli girl.

“It’s reintroduced me to Israeli life, to their food, to their attitude,” she said. “They’re like your typical teenager anywhere. I ask them something, what’s your favorite activity, what do you like to do, and nine out of 10 it’s like, ‘I like to go shopping, I like to visit my grandmother, I like my computer.’”ì

Own the Road.

Or lease it for $459 a month.

2018 GLC 300 SUV. 36 monthly payments of $459. $4,153 due at signing includes $2,949 cap cost reduction, $795 acquisition fee and first lease payment of $459. $0 security deposit.

Credit permitting. Plus tt&l and registration fee. 30,000 mile lease.

• Free pick up and delivery of your vehicle • Complimentary loaner vehicles • Early Service beginning at 7:30am • Service department open on Saturdays 8:30am - 5:00pm • Complimentary car washes • Complimentary shuttle service • Roadside assistance available 24/7/365 • Complimentary valet service and refreshments

www.thejewishlight.org

Second To None

MBofNO.com 3727 Veterans Boulevard Metairie, LA 504-456-3727

Spring 2018

19

Bookshelf Call Our Trained Experts & Experience the Difference

•Monthly Payment Plans • Drywood Termite Fumigation

Israel

THE

30 YEARS LATER Continued from Page 10 Memorial Museum who writes on the subject of Holocaust representation. Books for younger readers tend to be redemptive, and if not upbeat they at least suggest that adversity can be endured and overcome.

The problem? This does not square with the historical reality with how children were treated during the Holocaust.

“We are reminded that the very young and the very old were immediately slated for the gas chambers,” Magilow said.

Magilow cautioned that Holocaust fiction should not be presented uncritically, but should be taught “in the context of the uncomfortable truths.” It’s important to educate kids about tragedies that occur in the world, but it’s a complex balancing act.

“It’s devastating material,” he said, “and there’s no way around it.”

Yolen acknowledged the balancing act in an author’s note for “Briar Rose,” which is set at the Chelmno extermination camp in Poland. “[T]his is a book of fiction. All the characters are made up,” she wrote. “Happy-ever-after is a fairy tale notion, not history. I know of no woman who escaped from Chelmno alive.”

“The Devil’s Arithmetic” struck a chord for Deborah Berlin, who read the book more than 15 years ago, when she was about 10 years old, she recalled in a recent phone

conversation. As a child growing up outside of Boston, she knew that half her family had perished in the Holocaust. Reading Yolen’s historical fantasy stirred an emotional connection to the incomprehensible loss, she recalled.

“It was my gateway” to read more books in a quest for a deeper understanding of the Holocaust, said Berlin, now a middle-school math and science teacher at the Rashi School, a Reform Jewish K-8 day school in suburban Boston. Yolen’s fantasy and other works of fiction are especially important to today’s teens, who may feel disconnected from the Holocaust, she has observed.

“Mapping the Bones” is Yolen’s 366th book. As Yolen sets out on a whirlwind series of book talks and conferences, the author said she had not planned to write a third Holocaust novel.

The idea for the Hansel and Gretel-like narrative emerged in a conversation with an editor, who like Brodie three decades earlier, urged Yolen to take on the project.

In four years of being immersed in Holocaust research and writing, there were also lighter and happier books, Yolen said. Among them was “Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook,” written with her daughter, Heidi E.Y. Stemple.

“But the things that feed the soul are [books] like ‘Mapping the Bones,'” Yolen reflected. “As hard as it was, I know I was meant to write this book.”ì

6 days from $1,561 pp

Includes 5 nights at The David Citadel Hotel & Guided Tours of Bethlehem, Jericho, Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea

JEWISH LIGHT

CONFERENCE Continued from Page 18 cussed natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina -- its effects are still visible here -- and how climate change could exacerbate future storms. They talked about the area’s military presence and how manufacturing equipment like drones can boost the state.

But the governor said there’s still plenty of opportunity for Israelis to do business in the state. Bryant pointed to the border tech they have developed, from sensors to surveillance, as a way to secure the coast without a physical barrier. He has made supporting Israel a priority of his administration, visiting three times since he took office in 2012.

“What we can learn from the real world experience, unfortunately of having someone on your border in a threatening manner, can be very beneficial here in the United States of America,” the governor said at a news conference. “Israel has shown the world that you can secure a border with the use of technology as well as the new advanced structures that we see being used here.”

Israel and Mississippi also share cultural similarities, said Lior Haiat, Israel’s consul general for the region, who is based in Florida. Its population of fewer than 3 million makes it intimate like Israel. And the high percentage of soldiers and veterans makes military service a familiar and appreciated part of life, as it is in Israel, where there’s a mandatory draft.

“It’s very similar because Mississippi is a very small place where work is very centralized,” Haiat said. “The governor knows all of the key players personally, and he personally opens the door for Israeli companies."

In his closing speech at the conference, Bryant said: "Should there come a day when there will be a threat, and it will, we will have friends around the world. We are preparing ourselves in the event that that terror attack does occur.ӓ

504.834.7000

OR 800.899.8553 TRAVELCENTRALVACATIONS.COM 3221 N. CAUSEWAY BLVD. METAIRIE

20 Spring 2018

www.thejewishlight.org

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

MILLENNIALS Continued from Page 14 usually are free or require only a modest admission fee. Participants attend episodically and are treated to programming that is light on Jewish content and heavy on socializing. The rationale, no doubt, is that first you have to attract young people who tend to be suspicious of events that seem “too Jewish” or too similar to what an older generation might prefer. As a result, these funder-supported efforts must find a way to move participants from Jewish lite to something more content-rich, let alone demanding, without turning people off -- a fine line not easy to walk.

One wonders, though, whether these episodic and mainly social gatherings will lead to lifelong engagement unless participants grow as Jews, deepen their Jewish knowledge, connect with the richness and complexity of Jewish civilization, and grapple in a meaningful way with their Jewish identity.

Episodic connection is unlikely to educate individuals about how to live as Jews, and certainly is not a recipe for building commitment to Jewish community.

The heavy investment in millennial engagement, furthermore, usually comes with no comparable funder commitment to improving Jewish education for children.

Which raises the question: Why not educate Jewish youth properly when they are young? That way they won’t need engagement programs to remediate for the shallow education most have encountered in their Jewish schooling and informal Jewish education.

To be sure, local funders are supporting Jewish education, as are a few national foundations, but for the most part the big dollars are going for millennial engagement.

It’s not as if the field of Jewish edu-

RECOVERY EFFORTS Continued from Page 1 were working on a home when owner Jennifer Clay stopped by to offer her thanks. Clay had survived a harrowing ordeal during the storm, abandoning her home with her husband and three children as the floodwaters rose and completing a dangerous trek to safety with relatives several miles away.

“It was very special,” said Rebecca Grbinich, the Hillel fellow who THE

Financial

JEWISH LIGHT

JEWISH LIGHT

cation presents no large systemic challenges requiring ambitious funding and creativity.

The most obvious needs are in the arena of supplementary schooling. Funders have shied away from investing in the so-called Hebrew school, the vehicle educating the largest proportion of Jewish children, on the grounds that the field is diffuse, housed in synagogues of various denominations and lacking in national operators. All the more reason, then, for national funders with the ambition to make a big impact to invest in this educational arena.

Several other large challenges persist: One is the affordability crisis in Jewish day schools, which could benefit from new thinking.

Another concerns the still too-low proportion of Jewish children experiencing Jewish overnight camp and teen programs that could do even more to infuse their offerings with serious Jewish content. By finding solutions to these challenges, national funders can make a large difference in the education of Jewish children.

Within a generation, today’s school-age children will become the new cohort of 20- and 30-somethings. Wouldn’t it be wise to invest in their Jewish education now so as to reduce the need to “re-engage” them when they enter their postcollege years?

(Jack Wertheimer is professor of American Jewish history at the Jewish Theological Seminary. His report, Giving Jewish: How Big Funders Have Transformed American Jewish Philanthropy, was prepared under the auspices of the Avi Chai Foundation.)

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.ì

led the trip. “I was excited because I could see her excitement and her realizing that her house is becoming a home again. It was very moving. It’s hard to put it into words.”

(This article, sponsored by and produced in partnership with The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, is part of a series about how young Jews are transforming Jewish life in the 21st century. This article was produced

by JTA’s native content team.)ì

Best Wishes Judge Kern Reese

Orleans Civil District Court Section L

Best Wishes to all my friends in the Jewish Community, thanks for your continued support!

Randal Gaines

Louisiana State Representative District 57 Paid for by the Randal Gaines Campaign Fund

Best Wishes to my friends in the Jewish Community!

Thank you for your support!

Patricia Smith

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

District 67

FLOORCRAFTERS WOOD INTERIORS

FLOOR INSTALLATION/SALES Oak • Pine • Prefinished Laminate • Bamboo • Ceramic

486-1418

SANDING & FINISHING EDWARD YOUNG 4715 S. CARROLLTON @ CANAL

www.thejewishlight.org

floorcrafters@gmail.com www.floorcraftersnola.com Spring 2018

21

Alma

THE

JEWISH LIGHT

MOTHERHOOD Continued from Page 9 learning about symptoms and treatment has been eye-opening. And yeah, it’s the fourth question I ask every guy who walks out of a building on the local medical school campus. If they’re going to be doc- as tolerable. In addition to filling tors, they ought to know. my camping rucksack with books, bags of sand, and other hard heavy objects with an impeccable ability to resist my will, and hoarding all of the linens and other laundry until I have enough to do seven loads in one day, I have also been anointed by the most intense brainwashing available: listening to Jewish music, the same song, on repeat, for at least 8. Endurance training. Jewish three days in a row. existence is, itself, endurance trainOr maybe I’ll just get a corgi. ing. We remind ourselves this on every holiday: if our ancestors could survive 40 years in the desert, we can survive a seder that lasts into the next morning; if they survived Haman’s harsh decrees, we can survive a bit of alcohol poisoning; if they survived the Greeks, we can survive deep-fried everything.

The resilience of the Jewish stomach and Jewish soul are incomparable. The lower portions of the digestive tract, we won’t mention.

No’a L. bat Miri is one hot mess But this is about the Jewish moth- of a Jewess who lives in New Jerer’s psyche: all children are hell- sey. She earned her MFA from ishly annoying as part of their prop- Queens University of Charlotte in er development, and as people who Latin America and swaps her writdemand the objective best for the ing and editing skills for wine on kinderlach, we are obligated to the regular.ì make Jewish childhood as annoying

Ferncrest Manor Living Center Quality Nursing Care · Hospice Care Medicare Skilled Nursing Unit Intermediate and Respite Care Short and Long Term Rehabilitation Ventilator Dependent Unit On-Site Dialysis Positions available for RN · LPN · CNA 14500 Hayne Blvd.

Between Paris Rd. and Bullard Ave.

504-246-1426 www.ferncrest.com

Owned by Wayne J. Landry and managed

by Lexis Landry Nunez, NFA. 22 Spring 2018

SURVIVOR Continued from Page 17 sounds conflicted about how best to perpetuate Holocaust memory. On the one hand, she acknowledges that survivors’ stories are extensively documented. On the other hand, she knows nothing is more powerful than a firsthand account.

One way to transmit the experience, she says, is movies. She’s grateful for the research work that Spielberg did while making “Schindler's List,” which won the Academy Award for best picture.

One scene featuring her as a child, she says, is mostly accurate: Nazis separated her from her mother, but Schindler saved her by telling the guards he needed her small fingers to operate machinery. She believes that movie and those that have followed play a positive role in educating people about what happened

www.thejewishlight.org

-- even if some are fictional.

“They did a lot of movies that had influence,” she told JTA. “They engaged the heart, even if they’re not true, but they have to be faithful to truth.”

After decades of telling her story around the world, Lavi says addressing the United Nations gave her a sense of closure. For years she has carried guilt for surviving where so many perished. But with this speech, she said, she achieved something to justify her life.

“It was very hard to be a child survivor,” she told JTA. “I felt guilty. I began to talk to God: Why did he save me? I imagined my Jewish brothers, me and them together, we’re walking, and then God pulls me out. Now that they've sent me to the U.N. to speak in front of the world, it’s as if I did something to satisfy God after my death.”ì THE

JEWISH LIGHT

THE

ALEX BREGMAN Continued from Page 11 “He would not mince words. ‘I don’t just want to play baseball; I want to be the best,’” Jackie Bregman remembered her son saying.

“He was determined.”

In junior high in Albuquerque, Bregman attended a University of New Mexico baseball camp. The Lobos’ baseball coach, Ray Birmingham, preached dedication to greatness.

“Alex took that so literally that he’d hit in the batting cages until he got calluses,” recalled Sam Bregman, who had grown up on the field at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, where his late father, Stan, worked as a lawyer for the Washington Senators. It was Stan, “Grandpa Zayde,” who gave his grandson a card set of Jewish baseball players.

Someone else who witnessed that commitment was Darvin Ham, who coached the New Mexico Thunderbirds, an NBA Development League team the Bregmans owned.

In postgame conversations and at the Bregman home, Alex Bregman “was like a sponge” of information about the makings of athletic achievement, said Ham, now an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks.

“He was a very good listener. He took mental notes,” said Ham, who considers Alex Bregman “a little brother.”

Bregman explained his early competitive drive.

“Coach Birmingham said you have to decide,” he recalled. “I woke

ZACH BRAFF Continued from Page 13 took over. [Henig] is going to be the next Michael J. Fox,” Braff said.

Braff is not religiously observant, but he is aware of his distinctly “Jewish sense of humor,” which he infuses into almost everything he works on. He greeted JTA with a cordial “Shalom.”

“I was raised on Mel Brooks and Woody Allen and Neil Simon. I totally inherited that from my father," he said. "I grew up in North Jersey and he would bring us in to see Neil Simon plays and Mel Brooks movies. “I think there is a [comic] timing ingrained in me, that New York sense of humor.”

Braff attended Hebrew school THE

Sports

JEWISH LIGHT

JEWISH LIGHT

up at 5 am. to go to the cage to school to the cage: defense and hitting. I did that every day for years, [beginning at] probably age 12 or 13.

I never went to the school dance.”

On this day, Bregman departed for a practice field and chatted in Spanish with fellow infielders Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, natives of Venezuela and Puerto Rico, respectively, at second base during a running drill. Bregman is fluent in the language.

Jerick Paquinto, a 19-year-old from Houston wearing a Bregman jersey, was among hundreds of fans watching.

“I like that he’s not the biggest guy and he has a lot of heart,” Paquinto said of the 6-foot Bregman, words similarly applicable to the 5-foot-6 Altuve, last year’s American League MVP. “I liked him since he was at LSU [where Bregman was a first-team All American at shortstop]. I saw him hit a homer, and I fell in love with him as a player.”

The trio jogged toward a batting cage, Bregman stopped to sign autographs after he finished hitting.

He’ll be signing plenty more when the Astros come home next week for their opener at Minute Maid Park. His parents will be there.

Sam Bregman joked about guarding the championship ring his son will receive.

“I know that the Jewish community around the country is so proud of him,” Jackie Bregman said.

Referring to the card collection of Jewish players, she added, "I hope that one day he’s in that collection.”ì

and was a bar mitzvah at Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange.

As Passover approaches, he is reminded of his father’s love of the seder.

“My father could make a Passover seder longer than anyone else,” Braff said. “He always wanted to do the after-dinner part, and we’d all say, ‘Oh, no. Not the after-dinner part, too.’”

Judging by his enthusiasm for the new project, Braff is enjoying “Alex, Inc.” far more than his dad’s seders, despite the hectic schedule.

He directed four of the 10 episodes.

“With kids in the mix and physical comedy, you’re always racing.

There’s no down time," he said.

"There’s some behind-the-scenes video where I look like I’m schizophrenic.”ì

ELEGANCE | STYLE | TRADITION Continuing the Joe Morrow legacy of fine design founded in 1967

A full service Interior Design firm, Ashley Hall Interiors has been creating luxury interiors for homes and businesses nationally and internationally since 1967. We invite you to visit our showroom to experience the Ashley Hall Interiors signature style.

832 Howard Avenue | New Orleans, LA 70113 designer@AshleyHallInteriors.com 504.524.0196

www.thejewishlight.org

www.ashleyhallinteriors.com

Spring 2018

23

Best Wishes from all of us to all of our friends and clients in the local Jewish Community!

CALL Me FIRST to LIST or BUY a Home!

504-330-0901

CAROLYN TALBERT

Barbara Robinson Picou 504-452-2602

Jennifer Lacoste 985-373-4927

Peggy Talbert 985-869-0798

TOP Producer Since 1985 · SOLD OVER $830 Million · Experience Makes a Difference

www.CarolynTalbert.com

“I want to sell your home!”

4 Bedrooms 3 Baths Pool River Ridge

327 Midway Drive · $999,000 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

5 Bedrooms 5 Full Baths 2 Half Baths Pool

31 Waverly Place · $990,000 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

4 Bedrooms 3 1/2 Baths

4 Bedrooms · 2 1/2 Baths · Office/Study 4904 Henry · $379,000

3600 Richland · $429,900

More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

4 Bedrooms 2 1/2 Baths

4628 Meadowdale · $395,000

1-888-351-5111, LLC

More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

3 Bedrooms

3 Bedrooms

2 Baths

2 Baths

4905 Jeannette Dr · $279,900 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

7211 O’Neil · $449,900 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

3 Bedrooms · 2 Baths

1409 Richland · $228,000 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

4 Bedrooms 3 Baths

648 Rosa · $399,900 More listings at www.CarolynTalbert.com

Realtors Licensed by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission Independently Owned & Operated