Southern Jewish Life, New Orleans, February 2020

Southern Jewish Life NEW ORLEANS EDITION

BETH SHALOM IN BATON ROUGE CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY

INSIDE:

Feb/March 2020 Volume 30 Issue 2

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all One of the more interesting arguments against the legitimacy of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace vision is that there were no representatives of the Palestinians at the table. Even many Jewish groups have made that part of their opposition to the plan.

Exactly which Palestinian leaders have demonstrated a willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict and deliver on a peace agreement? Certainly none who have been in power to date.

For years, those seeking peace between Israel and the Palestinians have sought to preserve 1967 in amber, so the Palestinians could get what everyone has always assumed is their goal — an end to the occupation, statehood up to the pre-1967 armistice lines (they were never intended to be borders), eastern Jerusalem. Settlements — Israeli towns in the territories and neighborhoods around Jerusalem — were seen as an obstacle to the Palestinian demand to redline all Jews out of their future state (which somehow isn’t a moral problem for their otherwise progressive activists).

So many people who are otherwise of good will protest the “occupation,” thinking that is what the Palestinian leadership wants.

Years ago, Netanyahu froze the settlements in response to Palestinian demands. The Palestinians still refused to come to the table, whining about the settlements after the freeze expired. They are still refusing to sit down and negotiate or even present their own plan.

The Palestinian leadership has shown, time and time again, that 1967 is just an appetizer. The goal is to replace Israel in its entirety. What else does the chant “from the river to the sea” mean? What else can it mean when the Palestinian leaders reject proposals that give them what the people of good will assume they want, only to have it rejected and to have them assert they will never accept the concept of a Jewish state in any square inch between said river and sea?

As for the multi-ethnic Palestinian state that is envisioned by some in the peace crowd, does anyone honestly think that will work out well? Just ask the dwindling Christian popcontinued on next page

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i n s u r a n c e s February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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MESSAGES

ExtErior D I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel commentary

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games Esigns, inc.

By Beverly Katz to Australia to South America, Europe and the JCCulation Maccabi games around the United rule, Statesif you currently under Palestinian and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing howcan sports be to a vehicle to help build Jewish getcan them speak freely. identity, especially in our young.

For too long, the Palestinian leadership’s maximalist been I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the first time and demands fell in love have with not justentertained the city and If only will give more… but the people. You have taken Southern hospitality to excused. a new level with Israel your kind and caring The Trump plan resets the parameters, approach to the JCC Maccabi Games. stating that the world has had enough of Led by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-workingPalestinian volunteers were wonderful.

They leaders tilting at thepartnered windmill of with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, toeliminating make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit.

Israel, and failure to be serious I want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to thank youconflict on behalf about negotiating ansay end to the will, of everyone involved. for once, have consequences in terms of what theygames may be secure in the future. of I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah in able Israeltowith a U.S. delegation once, Back it incentivizes the ofPalestinian over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80For countries. in July the eyes the entire leadership do something for their people Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah.

This past to month with 1000 athletes and — and it obvious all but the willfully coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, youmakes became the focalto point. blind when they refuse.

Everyone from the Jewish community and the community at large, including a wonderful Why should they end the conflict? They police force, are to be commended. These games will go down in history as being a seminal have a great (for them) kleptocracy, making moment for the Jewish community as we build to the future by providing such wonderful Jewish the leaders billionaires through all manner of memories. corruption. It is better for them to keep the Jed Margolis conflict — and their personal cash flows — Executive Director, Maccabi USA going. If Gaza is an impoverished backwater, how (and why) is Hamas’ leader a billionaire?

ExpEriEncED tEam Will the Trump Who back knows… supremacists wouldvision like towork? see pushed DEsign anD construction our spEcialty On Charlottesville but at least itand is more and doesn’t put into a corner maderealistic to feel lesser.

We stand the entire burden onfamily Israel to give more while with and pray for the of Heather Heyer, (504) 866-0276 Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in Over 25 years experience and expecting nothing fromup thetoPalestinian who was there standing the face ofleaders. this A+ rating with BBB New Orleans Charlottesville, writtenexteriordesignsbev.com

by Jeremy Newman, hate.

Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi National, which called it “very eloquent” and praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Auburn University and… the leadership they display on their campus.”

White supremacy has been a cancer on our country since its beginning, threatening its hopes, its values, and its better angels.

The events that took place in Charlottesville represented the worst of this nation. Those who marched onto the streets with tiki torches and swastikas did so to provoke violence and fear. Those who marched onto the streets did so to profess an ideology that harkens back to a bleaker, more wretched time in our history.

A time when men and women of many creeds, races, and religions were far from equal and far from safe in our own borders. A time where Americans lived under a constant cloud of racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate. The events that took place in Charlottesville served as a reminder of how painfully relevant these issues are today.

Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the Jewish community of Charlottesville, and with the Jewish people around the country and around the world. We also stand with the minorities who are targeted by the hate that was on display in Charlottesville. We stand with the minorities of whom these white 4

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

We recognize the essence of the American narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid ourselves of such corners, and allow those in them the seat at the table that they so deserve.

It is the struggle to fulfill the promise of the Join Usoffor Lunch and Dinner Declaration Independence, that “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We know our work is far from finished, but we know we will not move backwards.

When men and women, fully armed, take to the streets in droves with swastikas and other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism are today. It is a wake-up call to the work that Veal more Parmesan needs to be done to ensure a better, welcoming country. But it should not come without a reflection on how far we’ve come.

America was born a slave nation. A century into our history we engaged in a war in part to ensure we would not continue as one. We found ourselves confronted by the issue of civil rights, and embarked on a mission to ensure the fair treatment of all peoples no matter their skin color. Although we’ve made great strides, Fried Seafood Platter it is a mission we’re still grappling with today.

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Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/432-2561 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com Jeff Pizzo, jeff@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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We love what we do, and who we do it for.

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events Members of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge worked on a Tree of Life stained glass art project on Jan. 11 as part of the congregation’s 75th anniversary celebration. The installation, by local artist Susan Arnold, is located at the congregation’s main entrance. Story, page 9.

Jewish community strategic plan being developed for New Orleans Surveys, interviews forthcoming as first step of information gathering The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans announced that it will be embarking on a Strategic Planning process this year, for the first time in over a decade.

The process, which was alluded to at the Federation’s annual event last fall, was announced in a community email by Federation Chief Executive Officer Arnie Fielkow and Board Chair Joshua Force on Jan. 23.

The process is beginning because “it is imperative that we take the time both to hear and understand our surrounding community, a community that has helped us become the organization we are today,” the email said.

A Strategic Planning Committee will be working with trepwise, a New Orleans-based growth consulting firm that has a national footprint, including working with the Jewish Federations of North America, Maccabi USA and the Jewish Design Institute, along with Tulane Hillel and Touro Synagogue.

The coming year will be spent “exploring possibilities, designing strategies, and building plans to define and fulfill our current and future role in the Greater New Orleans Community.”

The first step will be getting perspectives from a range of individuals and groups in the coming weeks, through a community-wide survey and interviews. An emphasis is being placed on reaching a “diversity of voices,” including new or currently non-involved voices.

After a “comprehensive effort” to reach out and collect feedback, data and insights, the information will be synthesized into recommendations that the committee will be able to use to design strategies for the best path forward.

In an interview, Fielkow noted that Jewish Federations have expanded beyond their traditional role of being seen as the community fundraiser, embracing many new initiatives and projects. “It’s really important that what we’re doing has the buy-in of the community and reflects the priorities of the community.”

Among recent areas are the two new Centers for Excellence that the Federation announced earlier this month, and increased advocacy work.

This process “will lay the blueprint for the next five to 10 years of our community,” Fielkow said, and will help give direction to lay and professional leadership, what the Federation’s “lanes

of impact” are and how successful they are.

The Federation is a membership organization, Fielkow said, and “it isn’t up to me to tell the community what to do… I want the community to give us input.”

The last strategic plan was done in the rebuilding process after the levees broke in September 2005. The first community-wide activities took place in December of that year, and

by September 2006, most programs were up and running again, with a much smaller community. The plan was started in 2007 as there were discussions of whether to downsize the community facilities to reflect a smaller community, or to embark on growing the community. Today, the community is larger than it was pre-Katrina.

The 2007 plan “was really important,” Fielkow said, but it was intended to cover the five years leading to 2012. Toward the end of that time, a demographic study of the Jewish community was done. A current strategic plan is important, “like in any good business.”

The committee will work on the plan through a series of working sessions through the spring and summer.

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

LimmudFest New Orleans announces speaker lineup for March 20 weekend Tulane University alumnus and nationally renowned author Rich Cohen will be one of the featured presenters at LimmudFest New Orleans 2020, which will be March 20 to 22.

Over 90 presenters from the New Orleans area, around the region and from across the nation will speak on a wide range of subjects at the weekend of learning. Presentations are done in a variety of educational styles — lectures, workshops, text-study sessions, film, meditation, discussions, exhibits and performance — ac- Rich Cohen cessible to everyone, no matter what their level of Jewish knowledge or commitment to Jewish life.

LimmudFest is held in New Orleans every two years. At the 2018 weekend festival, nearly 400 people participated in Big Tent Jewish learning, arts, culture and spirituality. LimmudFest is part of a global movement inspired by the idea that when Jews from diverse backgrounds come together to celebrate and learn about everything Jewish, the entire community is enriched.

“Wherever you find yourself, Limmud will take you one step further on your Jewish journey,” says Dana Keren, chair of LimmudFest 2020.

The weekend begins with registration at Gates of Prayer in Metairie, starting at 5:30 p.m. on March 20. After candlelighting at 6:45 p.m., there will be Conservative, Orthodox, Reform and Reconstructionist services under the same roof, followed by a joint Shabbat dinner at 8:15 p.m. and a Shabbat Tisch at 9:30 p.m.

After the different Shabbat morning services at Gates of Prayer on March 21, there will be a Shabbat lunch at 11:45 a.m. Sessions begin at 12:45 p.m., lasting for an hour with a 15-minute break in between, until 7 p.m. At 7:15 p.m. there will be Havdalah and a Melave Malka.

The sessions resume at 9 a.m. on March 22 at the Uptown JCC, breaking for lunch at 12:30 p.m. and continuing from 1:30 p.m., with the final sessions starting at 4 p.m.

Cohen wrote the New York Times bestsellers “Tough Jews;” “Monsters;” “Sweet and Low;” “When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead (with Jerry Weintraub);” “The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones;” “The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse;” and “The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship A Killer and the Birth of a Gangster Nation.” He is a co-creator of the HBO series “Vinyl.”

Cohen will present two topics during LimmudFest. “Israel Is Real” discusses his obsessive quest to understand the Jewish nation and its history, from the reinvention following the destruction of the Second Temple to modern days. Cohen will elucidate Jewish religious, cultural, and political history through quirky anecdotes.

Cohen’s second topic will be “Sam Zemurray: The Fish That Ate the Whale,” about how Samuel Zemurray arrived in America penniless in 1891, but when he died in the grandest house in New Orleans 69 years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. Cohen will relate how Zemurray worked as a fruit peddler, a banana hauler, a dockside hustler and a plantation owner. He battled and conquered the United Fruit Company, becoming a symbol of the best and worst of the United States: proof that America is the land of opportunity, but also a classic example of the corporate pirate who treats foreign nations as the backdrop for his adventures. The Banana Man was also instrumental in the emergence of the State of Israel.

Other subject areas during LimmudFest include arts and culture, con-

agenda temporary Jewish life and identity, food, history, Israel, music, social justice, the Southern Jewish experience, wellness and spirituality, and text study.

“Jewish Pride Through Sports” will feature Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans CEO Arnie Fielkow and Maccabi USA President Jeff Bukantz, along with former Maccabi athletes, talking about how the Maccabi Games have become the third largest sporting event in the world.

Josh Parshall, director of the history department of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, will give “Southern Jewish History on One Foot.” Hattiesburg native Leon Waldoff, professor emeritus of English at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, will discuss “Jewish Civil Rights in Mississippi,” focusing on Rabbi Charles Mantinband of Hattiesburg, and his brother-in-law, Adolph Botnick, who headed the New Orleans office of the ADL during the 1960s and was targeted for assassination by Byron de la Beckwith.

Tamara Kreinin of the Packard Foundation will speak on the role Jewish women have played in fighting for reproductive rights, as she states “Louisiana is now ground zero for women’s rights in the United States” as the Supreme Court hears challenges to Roe v. Wade.

Jon Greene, artistic director of New Orleans’ Radical Buffoons, will lead “Pretty Pretty Pretty Funny,” about the Jewish relationship with humor.

There will also be programming for children and teens.

The festival is planned entirely by volunteers, and all speakers volunteer their time. All food at LimmudFest is kosher, and meals and snacks are included in the registration fee.

Early bird passes were being sold through Feb. 20, after which rates will go up. Early-bird rates are $85 for adult weekend passes, and $60 for an adult Sunday-only pass. Children’s passes are $18, and there is a $180 Limmud Builder pass “for the mensch who wants to help LimmudFest sustain and grow,” covering the true individual cost for the weekend and helping subsidize the weekend for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

The entire schedule and list of speakers is available at limmudnola.org, along with a registration link.

ISJL seeks input on regional needs Jackson-based group celebrates 20th anniversary As the Jackson-based Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life celebrates its 20th anniversary, the agency is looking for input about its programs and the needs of communities around the region.

The Institute began on Feb. 13, 2000, with five staffers and an idea to provide regional Jewish services and support to communities in the South, no matter how small. Today, the Institute has two dozen professionals serving over 100 Jewish communities in 13 Southern states.

The Institute developed a standardized cross-denominational religious school curriculum that can be adapted for schools with six students or hundreds. The Institute also coordinates educational programs, cultural events and more, and provides rabbinical services to communities too small to have a resident rabbi.

A recent Institute program brought the Jewish Women’s Theatre of Los Angeles to several communities in the South last year. The group has already secured funding to return to the region and visit more communities this year.

“The ISJL is part of so many great stories,” says Michele Schipper, the ISJL’s Chief Executive Officer. “And our own story is ongoing. We’re excited to be preparing for a strategic planning process, and digging in to discover what our next chapter will look like.”

The Institute has already embarked on a Listening Tour around the region, holding focus groups to assess community needs. In March, a Survey of Southern Jewish Life will be available on the website so individuals around the region can weigh in.

The Institute is also about to launch a challenge grant campaign.

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda Temple Sinai celebrating 150th anniversary with ‘20s-style gala

Federico’s FAMILY FLORIST

As a nod to congregational history as New Orleans’ Temple Sinai celebrates its 150th anniversary, the annual gala on March 7 will be “Putting on the Ritz.”

The 1920s theme reflects the congregation’s move to its current location on St. Charles Avenue in 1928.

Chaired by Janie Glade, the 7:30 p.m. gala will feature 1920s themed music by Meryl Zimmerman and a gourmet seated dinner.

A patron party will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Joan and Julian Feibelman, Jr., featuring show tunes performed by Temple Sinai Cantor Joel Colman and Marcus St. Julien. Feibelman is the son of Rabbi Julian Feibelman, who served as Temple Sinai’s senior rabbi from 1936 to 1967.

Galatoire’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak have donated the fare for the patrons.

A commemorative video and keepsake Celebration Book, both featuring stories about Temple Sinai’s past, present and future, will be presented. A luxurious and extensive auction will also highlight the evening.

Featured items include an art deco 18K white gold and diamond ring from Friend & Company, three strands of Japanese cultured fresh water baroque pearls by Hope Meyer Jewelry and a weeklong stay at a Telluride Colorado ski home. Restaurant dinners, hotel stays and unique art pieces augment the auction lineup.

Founded in 1870, Temple Sinai was the first Reform synagogue in New Orleans.

The community is invited to the celebration. General gala tickets are $125, with patron levels starting at $300 and sponsorships starting at $1,000. Guests 40 and under are $40 per person. There will be ADA-compliant bus service to and from the patron party.

The next event in Temple Sinai’s 150th anniversary celebration will be a presentation of the oratorio “The Creation” by Harydn. The 2 p.m. concert in the sanctuary on March 29 will feature the New Orleans Symphony Chorus along with the choirs of Dillard University and University of New Orleans, plus a 21-piece orchestra. Temple Sinai’s Cantor Joel Colman will be singing the bass role. Tickets will be $25 at the door.

Temple Sinai and the New Orleans Opera will present “Music to Lift the Spirit: American Opera and Song,” March 1 at 7 p.m. at Temple Sinai. The evening will feature Betsy Uschkrat, Tyler Smith, Temple Sinai Cantor Joel Colman and other artists from New Orleans Opera, with collaborative pianist Jesse Reeks. Tickets are $10 at the door.

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Jewish Community Day School in Metairie will present “Any Dream Will Do,” a talent show, March 10 at 8:15 a.m.

On March 1, the PJ Library and PJ Our Way Little Mensches will make activity kits and no-sew fleece blankets for hospitalized children and tour the Ronald McDonald House. Space is limited, reserve through Jewish Children’s Regional Service. The program will be at 1:30 p.m. for ages 5 to 8, and at 3:15 p.m. for ages 8-1/2 to 12.

PJ Library and Slater Torah Academy continue the Early Childhood Development Series on March 15 at 10 a.m. with a free interactive yoga class for parents and young kids, led by Katie Tapper. She will teach a variety of breathing techniques, poses and relaxation exercises appropriate for young children. No yoga experience is necessary.

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Northshore Jewish Congregation will hold its “What a Bargain” Garage Sale on March 29 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Items for the sale are currently being accepted.

After Purim, Chabad of Louisiana will be running its first-ever matching campaign, with a goal to raise $140,000. Details will be released as the campaign approaches.

Photos by Amanda Bullman

Kiddush at Beth Shalom’s 75th anniversary Shabbat

Baton Rouge’s Beth Shalom looks forward on 75th anniversary On the weekend of Jan. 10, Baton Rouge’s younger congregation, Beth Shalom, celebrated its 75th anniversary with the present and the past.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, spent Shabbat with the congregation, and Rabbi Bernard Baskin, who served the congregation over 70 years ago, sent a video greeting recalling his formative years in Baton Rouge.

Rabbi Natan Trief, who has served Beth Shalom since 2016, spoke of the significance of the number 75, quoting from Psalm 75 and starting the service on page 75. As Trief lives in Atlanta where his wife, Rabbi Samantha Shabman Trief, serves at Temple Sinai, he also joked that 75 is “the number of round-trip flights I take to Baton Rouge every year.”

Jacobs said there were four reasons why he was in Baton Rouge. “This is a flagship of our Reform movement. We’re not just in the big cities or on coasts.”

There was also a personal connection, as Jacobs was the childhood rabbi of Samantha Trief and officiated at her installation in Atlanta. Natan Trief said at the installation dinner, he sat with Jacobs and “said something tongue in cheek, mostly kidding, ‘you know now that you have come to visit Samantha at her synagogue in Atlanta, you need to come visit me at my synagogue in Baton Rouge’.”

Expecting him to shrug it off, Trief said that instead, Jacobs “turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes and said… we’ll find a way to make it happen.”

Jacobs added that “The Marks also asked,” current president Mark Posner and immediate past president Mark Hausmann.

The fourth reason, Jacobs said, was that Beth Shalom is on the cutting edge of Reform Jewish life. Referencing his purple tallis, he said “I had to be here… where else would I wear my LSU tallis?”

He added, “I wear my LSU tallis wherever I go. Most people don’t know it is an LSU tallis.” And noting the national championship game that was three days away, he urged, “just keep praying.”

For most smaller communities with two congregations, one is Reform and one is Conservative, with the Conservative one likely having started out Orthodox. In Baton Rouge, both congregations are Reform.

Baskin recalled that when Beth Shalom started in 1945, B’nai Israel, which was established in 1858, “was one of a few congregations that felt assertion of interest in Israel was contrary to (being) American first” and support of a Jewish homeland would bring questions of dual loyalty.

While in the early 20th century, the Reform movement as a whole had not been in favor of a Jewish nation, that began to shift to neutrality in 1937 with the adoption of the Columbus Platform. Many Reform con-

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gregations, though, remained anti-Zionist, joining the American Council of Judaism.

In April 1945, B’nai Israel Rabbi Walter Peiser and the congregational president sent out a letter stating that the congregation supported the Classical Reform position on Zionism, and “our nation is America and our religion is Judaism.” All officers and board members of B’nai Israel had to pledge that they rejected the idea of a Jewish homeland.

In response, a group of 29 families broke away and formed their own congregation, Liberal Synagogue. Many were relative newcomers to Baton Rouge, and had not been comfortable with the Southern Classical Reform practices that Rabbi Rick Jacobs and his LSU tallis eschewed kipot and talleisim.

When Liberal Synagogue was established, they allowed kippot and talleisim, and instituted the practice of Bar Mitzvah, which Reform congregations had replaced with Confirmation.

The congregation’s first home was on Acadian Thruway, moving to the current building in 1980.

In 1984, the Rayner Learning Center was established, providing a daily program for infants through pre-Kindergarten.

Before “my first experience in the South,” Baskin had served a large congregation in Denver whose rabbi had been called into the service as a chaplain. Newly ordained, he then went to Baton Rouge in 1947.

In his video remarks, he said “One of the reasons I came is I was a loyal Zionist… Liberal Synagogue was making a natural and understandable protest at what they felt was an unfair and unnecessary outlook in terms of Israel.”

The new congregation “stood for something which had meaning for me and other Jews, and was a reason why I came to a relatively small place,” Baskin said.

He “was able to participate fully in the life of the general community. I did a great deal of interfaith work, I belonged to the ministerial association… I had a radio program.”

He also was visited by a woman he had met in Denver, and they went to Mardi Gras together. “On the way home on the bus I proposed to her. She rather quickly accepted, which of course surprised me.” He and Marjorie were married in Denver, then he finished his time in Baton Rouge, moving to Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1949 and building that congregation until his retirement in 1989.

He will turn 100 in March.

Over the years, the

community two congregations’ names led to confusion for those new to Baton Rouge.

Many assumed that the congregation with the Hebrew name was more traditional, while the one with the “liberal” English name was further to the left. That led to the eventual name change in the 1980s, which was not without controversy.

Though the congregations remain separate, in recent years there have been more joint programs, and last year a pair of joint Shabbat services where Trief spoke at B’nai Israel and B’nai Israel Rabbi Jordan Goldson spoke at Beth Shalom.

There is now a Joint Synagogue Exploratory Committee, discussing a range of topics from merger, more joint programs but remaining two congregations, or maintaining the status quo.

B’nai Israel has always remained the larger congregation. Currently, B’nai Israel has 210 members and Beth Shalom has 144.

“I’m glad there seems to be a greater feeling of community effort” between the two congregations, Baskin said.

The change in Jewish life over the last 75 years was a common thread in the anniversary weekend, as were references to the weekly Torah portion, Vayechi, the final portion of the book of Genesis.

Posner reflected on Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Menashe in the weekly portion. “When a grandparent blesses a grandchild, there is pure love.”

“Our grandparents, in a sense, as Beth Shalom founders, blessed all of us, their children, with the gift of this special shul,” Posner said. “We did nothing to deserve this wonderful gift that our grandparents worked so hard to provide for us, it just dropped in our laps, and now it is time for us to provide for our grandchildren.”

Treif reflected on the changes of 75 years. “Seventy-five years ago was the Shoah… in that same period we did not sink into a pit of sorrow. We chose life. We joined together, we began a new synagogue as celebrated our people’s greatest triumph and miracle, the founding of the modern state of Israel.”

While today there are challenges such as antisemitism, “we do not allow the anti-Semites to define us as victims, but rather we stand as proud Jews in celebration. That is our response and it will forever be our response to the hateful cowards who crawl out from their holes from time to time.”

Jacobs spoke about adaptability in Judaism, and looking ahead to

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community “where we are going.”

“You got to 75 because you were always ready to adapt,” Jacobs said.

“Those 29 families in 1945 that gathered together and got this thing going, could they have imagined the strength and vitality of this community? They had the faith and the hope and they set the journey on its course.”

He spoke of walking alongside an African-American and a Latino in New York recently, when the three of them approached a Chabad Mitzvah tank. The Chabadnik asked Jacobs if he is Jewish. While Jacobs praises the work Chabad does, he said that showed “too many of us in the Jewish world have too narrow an understanding of who might be Jewish.”

In the 21st century, “I could easily have been the one person that was not Jewish… we are an incredibly diverse people” and it is a gift to the Jewish community’s future.

He also referenced outreach to the LGBTQ community, and said “interfaith families are an absolute pillar of our community.”

He urged continuing to open the tent through “audacious hospitality,” as “this Judaism that we live is attractive, it’s smart, it’s open, it’s real, it’s joyful.”

The anniversary also included a Shabbat lunch with Cajun favorites, including kosher gumbo, jambalaya and bread pudding. After lunch, Susan Arnold led a brief class in glass cutting, as congregants worked on the new Tree of Life that is being installed at the main entrance.

That evening, there was a Havdalah cocktail reception, with music by the Flying Balalaika Brothers.

The weekend of Aug. 21, there will be further events celebrating the anniversary, with Shabbat services, a dinner and show celebration on Aug. 22, and an Aug. 23 breakfast with a sofer who will be inspecting and repairing the congregation’s Torahs. The weekend is two weeks later than previously announced.

There is also an online celebration with a 75 Questions for 75 Years contest on the Beth Shalom website. As of press time, 25 questions had been posted, and the winner who answers the most questions correctly will be announced shortly after the 75th question is posted.

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www.koshercajun.com

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz poses with young leaders from the Greater New Orleans Section. Pictured here are Sheila Katz, Cole Bernstein Trosclair, Alanna Rosenberg, Sarah Covert, Alysse Fuchs, Jessica Frankel and Dana Keren. More, page 28.

An Official Publication of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans

THE

JEWISH NEWSLETTER March 2020 | Adar 5780

Vol. XV No. 2

Super Sunday 2020

On Sunday, February 9, the Jewish Federation welcomed 97 volunteers from all over Jewish New Orleans for Super Sunday (18 more volunteers helped us wrap up our phonathon efforts on Tuesday, February 11)! Helmed by Super Sunday Co-Chairs Sarah Schatzmann, Dana Shepard, and Hal and Kathy Shepard, the event raised $145,542, and reached 327 households in our community. 2020 Annual Campaign Co-Chairs, Mara Force and Joshua Rubenstein, were also on hand to help, as was Board of Trustees Chair, Joshua Force. Thank you, New Orleans!

Nourish’s 2nd Annual Community Mitzvah Day

Join the Jewish Federation’s Nourish initiative for our Second Annual Community Mitzvah Day on Sunday, March 29 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. This year, we are partnering with J-Serve, BBYO, NFTY, and the New Orleans JCC to provide our biggest day of service yet. Volunteers will collect supplies and create care kits for The First 72+ and Eden House. The First 72+ has a mission to stop the cycle of incarceration by fostering independence and self-sustainability through education, stable and secure housing & employment, health care, and community engagement. Eden House offers long-term housing and comprehensive recovery services to survivors of human trafficking and PRESENTED BY commercial sexual exploitation.

Nourish

Register to volunteer at https://tinyurl.com/wm9ghjr. Transportation is available from the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie to The First 72+, leaving promptly at 12:15 pm and due to arrive back between 2:45 and 3:00 p.m. Please email Michelle Neal or Garrett Moore at michelle@jewishnola.com or garrett@jewishnola.com to learn more.

February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

13

Federation is hiring an Executive Director for the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation Center for Interfaith Families Since 1913, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans has served as the central coordinating body for the Jewish community. The Federation directly supports local, national, and overseas programs – supplying critical services to those in need, strengthening the Jewish people, and inspiring a lifelong passion for Jewish life and learning. In an effort to include and address the needs of interfaith families, the Federation is proud to launch the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation Center for Interfaith Families. This center will provide a centralized resource and support system for interfaith partnerships and families in Greater New Orleans.

The Federation seeks a creative leader to promote the center’s mission. Working in collaboration with area synagogues and Jewish organizations, the Center’s goal is to create nurturing and inclusive opportunities for people to explore and connect to Jewish values, traditions, experiences, texts, and spirituality in a self-selected manner. The four goals of the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation Center for Interfaith Families are: • • • •

Ensuring that individuals, families, and children feel a connection to Judaism Enriching and enhancing the Jewish community through non-judgmental acceptance Increasing the Federation’s visibility in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities Strengthening relationships with Jewish and non-Jewish community partners

The Executive Director must be a creative visionary and a detail oriented, self-motivated administrator. They must be able to skillfully communicate with members of the Jewish and interfaith communities, and have the capacity to build constituencies between Jewish and non-Jewish communities. They will work collaboratively with a small advisory committee and Federation staff, and will have the opportunity to vision, initiate, and pursue program goals. The Executive Director will be expected to create and maintain an outreach database of interfaith families and couples, develop creative interfaith programming events, provide grants to local organizations that offer interfaith programing, and design vibrant web pages that offer referral and educational information. Well-developed and desired computer and software skills include Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, website maintenance, and CRM software. Requirements: • • • • •

Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Education, Social Work, Jewish Studies, or related areas Proficient writing skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite Familiarity and sensitivity of interfaith couples and families Expertise with social media and other web presence Experience with program development and/or event planning

A generous benefits package includes health insurance, retirement and flexible benefits accounts, life insurance, and generous paid time off. Learn more at jewishnola.com/jobs. To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to Michelle Neal at michelle@jewishnola.com.

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February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

Mark your calendar for GiveNOLA Day! GiveNOLA Day is on Tuesday, May 5, and we’re asking your help to grow our Greater New Orleans Jewish community! Here are two ways in which you can make a difference: 1. Pay your 2020 Annual Campaign pledge through the GiveNOLA website. (You can allocate funds from your donoradvised fund at GNOF before April 15, 2020, too.) The Greater New Orleans Foundation’s (GNOF) Lagniappe Fund offers a special matching opportunity, and GiveNOLA Day prizes amplify the power of your pledge payment.

2. If you have already made your 2020 pledge, consider an additional gift to Federation on GiveNOLA Day. The Goldring Family and Woldenberg Foundations will generously match them at 25%!

Learn more at givenola.org/jeworleans, or contact Cait Gladow at cait@jewishnola.com or at 504-780-5614.

Tribute TributeGifts Giftstotothe theFederation Federation

Thank Thank youyou to the to the following following donors donors forfor their their tribute tribute gifts gifts to the to the 2020 2020 Jewish Jewish Federation Federation Annual Annual Campaign.

Campaign.

WeWe areare deeply deeply appreciative appreciative of your of your generosity. generosity.

Paula Paula && Joel Joel Picker Picker | In| In honor honor ofof David David && Janet Janet Desmon Desmon Pam Pam Friedler Friedler | In| In memory memory ofof Sandy Sandy Heller Heller If you If you would would likelike to make to make a tribute a tribute giftgift to the to the Federation Federation in celebration/in in celebration/in memory memory of someone, of someone, please please visit visit jewishnola.com/give. jewishnola.com/give.

Save the date for the 2020 Lion of Judah Luncheon The 2020 Lion of Judah Luncheon will be held on Thursday, May 7 at Chophouse New Orleans. The event is co-chaired by Diane Franco and Jane Goldring, joined by 2020 Annual Campaign Co-Chairs Mara Force and Joshua Rubenstein.

Attendees will hear from keynote speaker, Suzanne Grant. Suzanne Barton Grant is an accomplished businesswoman and philanthropist. A former senior vice president at Smith Barney, she currently serves as the chair of the board of the Delaware State Pension Fund. Suzanne is former president of the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the immediate past national campaign chair for Jewish Federations of North America.

This event is open to women who have made a minimum household commitment of $5,000 to the 2020 Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. To learn more, contact Sherri Tarr at 504-780-5609 or at sherritarr@ jewishnola.com. Online reservations are available now at events.idonate.com/lojl.

This event is generously underwritten by the Schoenbaum Family Foundation.

February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

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Upcoming with JNOLA JNOLA is working on two exciting events to share with the 21-39 Jewish young professional community. First up, JNOLA is partnering on an event with Limmudfest, which is a weekend festival from March 20-22 of Big Tent Jewish culture, art, spirituality and learning, locally planned and run by a community of volunteers. On Thursday, March 19, attendees will get a sneak peek at some of the exciting Limmud guest speakers over cocktails. Then, on Sunday, March 29, JNOLA is participating in Federation’s Community Mitzvah Day (see page 1). Learn more and follow JNOLA at facebook.com/JewishNOLA. JNOLA is generously sponsored by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust. JNOLA serves members of the Greater New Orleans Jewish community between the ages of 21-39. To learn more, contact Tana Velen at tana@jewishnola.com.

Be a part of the Jewish Federation Mentorship Program Sign up today to be matched with a successful local Jewish mentor!

The Jewish Federation Mentorship Program, presented by Emily Schoenbaum & Jones Walker is designed to help Jewish professionals achieve growth and success in New Orleans.

By connecting professionals to successful mentors both virtually and in-person, this program aims to help the Jewish professional community develop their careers and stay in New Orleans.

If you are a prospective mentee, the Federation is accepting applications through our website, jmentor.org, for Face to Face mentorship experiences and Micro Grants to help pay to renew a professional license, attend a seminar, etc. Just register on the site to have access these features and more. Questions?

Contact tana@jewishnola.com.

The program is also looking for mentors - are you a member of the New Orleans Jewish community who is professionally established? Do you want to aid young professionals looking for their niche in our city? Reach out to Tana Velen at tana@jewishnola.com to learn more.

JNEXT gives back On Wednesday, March 11, the Jewish Federation’s JNEXT group will spend the evening volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank.

Participants will pack food boxes and then enjoy a light happy hour.

To learn more or to register (volunteers must register in advance), please visit jewishnola.com/jnext.

JNEXT is also looking for volunteers to help Jewish Family Service deliver Passover Food Baskets on Sunday, April 5. If you have access to reliable transportation and would like to help, please email Cait Gladow at cait@jewishnola.com.

JNEXT seeks to attract, engage and grow the Jewish community in the Greater New Orleans area for those in their 40s and 50s. We provide opportunities for social engagement, cultural programs and service outreach while celebrating our Jewish identity, unique traditions, and the future of Jewish New Orleans.

16 February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

Jewish Community Day School Family Fun Fest 2020

On Jan. 26, JCDS celebrated pretty much the most fun, festive, and family-est Family Fun Fest ever. The wet, dreary weather outside made the warm, brightly lit gym an oasis for the more than 135 people who enjoyed bounce houses, making slime, using found art objects to create a tree of life, playing GaGa Ball, face painting, a sensory table where little ones played with dry red beans and rice, dancing to music by DJ Tuvia, and filling our bellies with burgers and hot dogs from Casablanca. Not only did most of our current families come out, we had a large number of new visitors eager to learn about the school! Thank you to all of you, staff and parent volunteers alike, who worked so hard to make this come together.

100 Days Already?

Children’s Choice Funded by a generous grant from Richard and Vivian Cahn, Children’s Choice Week brings together the students of Jewish Community Day School and Slater Torah Academy for a week of experiential learning. Courses range from kosher cooking to computer programming to artistic expression to robotics, and students of all ages from both schools work together to learn an unfamiliar craft.

The week culminates in a celebratory Kabbalat Shabbat luncheon. This will be the third year of Vivian and Richard Cahn Children’s Choice Week, and our students are incredibly excited about this unique learning experience!

How are we already 100 days into the school year?! Ms. Fried and Ms. Carol (prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers) led a schoolwide celebration of our 100th day, decorating the halls and providing an opportunity for students to expand their numeracy by conceptualizing what 100 of a number of different items would look like, from 100 wine corks to 100 pieces of candy. Students also cleaned out their piggy banks (is that Kosher? Lamb shank banks?) to bring in hundreds and hundreds of coins for Tzedakah. It was later announced that the coins would go to support Pennies for Penina, JCDS alumna Penina Berman’s Bat Mitzvah project to raise money for Fisher House. Fisher House is a residence that houses the families of wounded veterans while those veterans are receiving care at the VA Hospital.

February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

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Jewish Endowment Foundation Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana Announces Annual Event and Honorees Save The Date to join the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana for its 2020 annual event on March 15, at noon at the Audubon Tea Room.

JEF’s Board of Directors and staff invite donors, supporters and friends to attend the 2020 luncheon celebration.

“This year, JEF will present three awards that recognize members of our community for their passion, dedication and impact,” said JEF Board President Larry Lehmann. “These individuals continue to exemplify the highest levels of generosity and service.”

The Tzedakah Award, JEF’s highest honor, will be presented to Joyce and Sidney Pulitzer, who serve as role models in setting an example of meaningful philanthropy to support and preserve the future needs of our Jewish community. They have been extremely charitable with their financial support and generous with their time for many organizations. By doing what is right and living their Jewish values, they have made great accomplishments individually and collectively, impacting JEF and the wider Jewish and secular community.

Charles A. (Rusty) Levy, III, who has made a positive impact on our Jewish community while also keeping JEF’s best interest in mind, will receive the Young Family Award for Professional Excellence. Rusty has loyally served and generously supported multiple Jewish organizations and causes in leadership capacities.

The Helen A. Mervis Jewish Community Professional Award will be presented to Caitrin Gladow. Cait may be best known for her 12 years of work with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, but she is also a tireless volunteer for many other local causes.

Event Chairs Melinda and Morris Mintz are pleased to have the opportunity to help JEF honor these outstanding community leaders who are dedicated to ensuring a strong and vibrant Jewish community for future generations in the Greater New Orleans area.

What: JEF Annual Event When: Sunday, March 15 Luncheon and Program: 12 p.m.

Where: Audubon Tea Room 6500 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA 70118 Invitations will be mailed in mid-February and reservations may be made online at www.jefno.org. Individual tickets are $65 per person and $650 for a table of 10. Patron level tickets are $150 per person.

Please note that space is limited, so please RSVP early!

For more information, contact Patti Lengsfield (patti@jefno.org) at 504-800-8011 or Debbie Berins (debbie@jefno.org) at 504-800-8007.

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February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

Tulane Hillel Shop For Good Art Market Last semester, Tulane Hillel hosted the Shop for Good Art Market with members of the Tulane Jewish Leaders program. The Art Market featured student artists and focused on everything from beaded jewelry to embroidered clothing containing a message. Not only did this student-led market generate a platform for creative student entrepreneurs, proceeds from sales were also donated to local and social justice organizations such as PETA, the Innocence Project New Orleans, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and Women for Women International.

After a successful first run, TJL members decided to continue the programming during spring semester. You can find the Shop for Good Art Market at Tulane Hillel’s Goldie and Morris Mintz Center for Jewish Life (912 Broadway St, NOLA 70118) on Sunday, March 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. Stop by to say hello; grab brunch at our delicious, inhouse kosher restaurant, Rimon; and support our students’ creativity, philanthropic efforts and entrepreneurial ventures all at once!

Jewish Community Center Celebrate Purim at Adloyadah Carnival is around the corner! The 51st annual community-wide Purim celebration will be held on March 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Uptown JCC. Bring the entire family for a fun-filled afternoon of food, music, games and activities for all ages. The “Human Hamster Ball” and giant slide are back, as are everyone’s favorite inflatables.

Come enjoy delicious Middle Eastern delicacies and nosh on New York-style deli items. Grab a snowball or popcorn, and do not forget to take home a bag of the homemade hamantashen. Admission to the carnival is free and open to the community. A children’s All Day Play Pass is $12, or $10 with a donation of nonperishable items for the Broadmoor Food Pantry.

Jump into Summer at the JCC! Registration for JCC Summer Camps is now open to the community and units at both the Uptown and Metairie locations are filling quickly. Tailoring programs to match the changing needs of children from toddlers to preteens, the JCC packs summer days with a variety of games and activities, including sports, art, drama, music, cooking, science, Israeli culture and daily swimming. Campers ages 3 and up receive swim instruction from American Red Cross certified Water Safety Instructors. Older campers enjoy weekly field trips, an overnight at the JCC, and a day trip to Blue Bayou Water Park. A separate Sports Camp is offered Uptown to campers entering grades 3 to 5. These campers focus on sports but also swim each day, participate in Oneg Shabbat performances, and join the main camp for both the overnight and the Blue Bayou trip.

The 2020 summer camp runs June 8 to July 31. Early Childhood and General Day Campers must enroll in a minimum of four weeks, but those weeks do not need to be consecutive. For teens entering grades 6 to 8, weekly options focus on a specific topic or activity and include Tennis, STEM, Culinary Arts, Adventure Trips, Maccabiah Color Wars, Creative Arts and more! Early morning and afternoon care are also available for campers. Register by March 15 to receive the ‘early bird discount.’ Teens who register for four or more weeks receive $100 off their total tuition. Visit nojcc.org/camp to apply and to learn all about the fun that awaits campers during a summer at the J!

A Field Guide to the Jewish People Why do random Jewish holidays keep springing up unexpectedly?

Why are yarmulkes round? Who is “the Golem” and whom do you want it to beat up? These baffling questions and many more will be answered on March 31 at the Uptown JCC when comedy legends Dave Barry, Adam Mansbach, and Alan Zweibel (two-thirds of whom are Jewish) present their book, “A Field Guide to the Jewish People.”

Combining the sweetness of an apricot rugelach with the wisdom of a matzoh ball, the authors dissect every holiday, rite of passage and tradition, unravel a long and complicated history, and tackle the tough questions that have plagued Jews and non-Jews alike for centuries. The talk begins at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a book signing. As part of the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series, this event is free and open to the community.

February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

19

Jewish Family Service

JFS offers counseling for children, adults, couples, families, and groups. Our licensed behavioral health professionals provide guidance and support.

JFS accepts most major insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid as well as sliding scale payment.

Call (504) 831-8475 or email jfs@jfsneworleans.org to schedule an appointment today.

All events located at: 3300 W. Esplanade Ave. S., Suite 603, Metairie.

For more information or to register, call (504) 831-8475, or visit the Workshops and Continuing Education page on the JFS website: http://www.jfsneworleans.org/

Join One of Our Spring Support Groups

20

February 2020 • The Jewish Newsletter

senior life an annual SJL special section

Locally Owned and Operated Since 1991 We Specialize In… u Care Management u Family Consultation u In-Home Care

Following Up on The Conversation It isn’t easy to have “the conversation,” but a forum on Jan. 28 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home in Metairie gave community members some help in broaching the subject about monumental life transitions when it comes to aging.

The program was held in coordination with Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans. Rachel Eriksen, director of clinical services at JFS, said the program dealt with how to start a conversation with family members and with one’s doctors, and how to overcome barriers and procrastination.

Eriksen added that Medicare now pays for Laura Zucker and JFS such meetings with medical professionals.

Executive Director Much of the presentation was done by Roselle Ungar Laura Zucker, medical director of Family Practice Group, a large practice of family care physicians in Arlington, Mass. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine, and Assistant Clinical Instructor and Professor at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School.

While Zucker said 92 percent of people think it is important to discuss end-of-life wishes, only 32 percent have done so with a family member, and only 18 percent have done so with a doctor. While 70 percent of people prefer to die at home, only 20 percent do.

The idea for the discussions is to “avoid a crisis and plan for the ‘what ifs’ across the life span so we can get on with living,” Zucker said. “Hope is not a plan.”

Zucker said the two most important documents are a health care proxy, who can legally make health care decisions in case of incapacity, and a living will or advanced directive/plan that gives preferences for medical care if unable to convey decisions.

She said there are numerous barriers to the needed conversations. For patients, barriers include fear of upsetting loved ones, pain, disability, loss or being forgotten. For clinicians, there is sometimes a lack of training, particularly in religious or spiritual needs of patients, cultural differences and a fear of dashing hope.

How does one broach the subject with relatives? Start with a story, or claim that a doctor or lawyer insisted.

Not having such discussions could lead to a need for immediate decisions — or guesses as to what the individual would have wanted — on a range of issues, from “housing, responsibility for the care of relatives, financial and legal matters, as well as advance planning for funerals, cremation or burial,” said Stephen Sontheimer of Lake Lawn. Furthermore, all family members need to be in on the conversations so there won’t be any disagreements on what someone “would have wanted.”

Sontheimer said many more questions were asked at a reception held at Lake Lawn after the presentation, and he has received many requests for information from the evening by those who had been unable to attend.

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Having worked in the senior care industry for more than 30 years, I have often found myself describing our assisted living and memory care communities as a home away from home. I’ve described it as a place that they will be proud to call home. I often talk about the feeling of family inside, the engagement and socialization that takes place on a daily basis, the entertainment features and guests, and how we will come to love our residents the same as the families that entrust them with us, and vice versa.

Although it sounds very appealing, and does relieve some of the guilt and emotional struggle that is often attached to making such a crucial decision in one’s life, it is often not the way the residents themselves feel at all.

After all, it is not really home.

A home is the roof that we grew up under, or where we raised our children and watched our grandchildren play and grow. Home is the sense of belonging, and home is the feeling that you get when you feel that sense of calmness and belonging to a particular place that makes you feel at peace.

So I’ve learned over the years to make sure that my prospective residents and families understand that although we know this is not home, we can do everything in our power to create such an exceptional experience that it absolutely creates a sense of belonging, participation and peace of mind. This peace of mind is not only for the residents we care for, but the many family members that we support and assist through this ever-changing journey.

A community needs to be as individual in the services it delivers as the residents that receive a particular service. No two residents are alike… no two families are the same… and, as my mother used to say when she was happily residing in assisted living, “there’s also 500 ways to fry chicken.” It’s important to find a place that understands this and aims to please.

As you search for the perfect community for you or your loved one, ask many questions, look for smiles, look for the warmth and welcoming that you will expect upon every visit. Look for professionalism. And most of all, look for a sense of “living” — music, art, socialization… Look for a place that can truly be considered the next best place to home.

Mark Francis is vice president of Schonberg Care, Louisiana’s largest family owned and operated senior living company.

Home Care Solutions offers Care Management services Home Care Solutions takes great care in matching caregivers with seniors and is unique in providing Care Management Services.

Community Liaison for Home Care Services Rachel Palmer said the Care Management program is led by licensed and certified care managers, who can schedule doctors’ appointments, attend and report back to family. They also manage crisis situations and explore options with families for medical as well as residential care.

“We are the only company in the metro New Orleans area to offer certified Care Management,” said Palmer, an involved member of the New Orleans Jewish community. She said that care managers, care supervisors and caregivers work with clients and their family to make sure they are providing all complete care solutions needed in-home or in a facility.

“Our team of experienced, bonded and insured caregivers provides older adults help with activities of daily living and companion services,” added continued on page 24 22

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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senior life

>> Home Care

continued from page 22

Palmer. “After an assessment completed by our caregiver supervisor, each caregiver is carefully matched to meet both the clients’ needs and personality.”

“Matching clients and caregivers is truly a labor of love,” she added. “It involves brainstorming about who we think would work with whom based on the assessment we’ve done with the client and family; looking at our caregiver personalities and client needs. We work through each case as a team and determine who we think makes the best fit.”

Palmer said the caregiver supervisors create a plan of care tailored to each client and ensure that their caregivers are closely following the plan, acting as an important liaison between the caregivers and the families.

Caregivers help older adults with personal care, light housekeeping, errands such as grocery shopping as well as doctor visits, meal planning, medication reminders and support.

Home Care Solutions has been providing solutions for aging well since 1991. Two years ago, Poydras Home — which is run by a licensed social worker — acquired the company.

“We are well-positioned to offer that continuum of care,” said Palmer.

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Residents at the Colonial Oaks Living Center skilled nursing facility in Metairie celebrate birthdays, holidays and life.

On Feb. 24, they will have a big Mardi Gras celebration led by a selected king, queen and court, dressed in their finest carnival attire. Residents will enjoy Cajun-Creole cuisine and music.

This past December, they held a Chanukah party, with Jewish residents getting baskets from New Orleans Jewish Family Service.

Michele Varon, community liaison for Colonial Oaks and the Belle Vie Living Center located next to Ochsner West Bank hospital, said residents also enjoy a monthly celebration of birthdays with a deejay playing their favorite music.

They regularly bring in singers to entertain — everything from youth choirs to barber-shop quartets. Other popular activities include bingo, pet therapy (at Colonial Oaks) and dining/shopping excursions.

“Our residents have fun and celebrate life at our communities,” said Varon.

In November 2018, they added a big celebration to the list — the completion of an extensive renovation of the Center, which is located behind East Jefferson Hospital.

“We essentially took a 50-year-old building and made it new again,” said Varon. “This was a complete external and internal renovation, including new flooring, lighting, painting. We renovated every room, the gym, the reception area. Everything here is brighter and more inviting.”

Colonial Oaks holds a capacity of 95 beds and Belle Vie holds a capacity of 89 beds. Twenty of the rooms at Colonial Oaks and 15 of the rooms at Belle Vie are designated as Short-Term Accelerated Rehab units.

“The S.T.A.R. unit fills the gap for those who leave the hospital but are not quite ready to go home,” said Varon. “We have a team of in-house trained therapists who do physical, occupational and speech therapies. On average a patient’s stay in the S.T.A.R. unit is 30 days or less. We make their environment as close to home as possible.”

Varon said their rehabilitation partner is Premier Rehabilitation. She and representatives from Premier regularly get out in the community to conduct talks. “We speak at the Uptown Jewish Community Center about once a quarter… and at senior centers across the area,” she said. “We’re happy to come to them to talk about short-term rehabilitation for seniors. I welcome anyone to contact me.”

They have several residents at Colonial Oaks who are Jewish and they offer special Shabbat meals upon request.

For more information, go to www.colonialoaksliving.com and www.bellevieliving.com.

senior life What could be better than getting NEW HAIR in the NEW YEAR? Poydras Home launches enrichment program with a repertory theatre Poydras Home, a continuing care retirement community, launched a program in the fall of 2019 employing improvisational theatre exercises designed to help residents dealing with dementia.

The community located in the heart of Uptown New Orleans partnered with Southern Rep Theatre to launch a “Care For Creatives Drama Club.”

The program engages residents and their supporting family members in six weeks of flexible, improvisational theatre exercises designed to stimulate communication.

Poydras Home Director of Memory Support and Day Programs Elena Cambre describes the program as potentially transformative for people living with dementia to strengthen connections with their caregivers.

“The techniques the team uses offer participants’ care partners new tools for coping with the day-to-day challenges of communication,” said Cambre. “Drama and improv are about meeting a situation in front of you, taking what is given with an honest connection and making something new together. We are just getting started, but I can already see some amazing sparks coming to life within our group members.”

Poydras Home Marketing Director Jennifer Brammell said the continuing care retirement community offers residents the option of moving in at the independent living level with the assurance of additional living options such as assisted living, nursing care and memory support should changing health needs require.

For others, the PHASE Senior Day Program is a way of meeting personal as well as family needs and getting acquainted with the Poydras Home community.

“We have a deeply rooted tradition of making all who live at Poydras Home feel like part of a special family,” she said.

In 2017, Poydras Home reached a rare, historical milestone, celebrating its 200th anniversary. This coincided with an addition to its campus of a scenic park with a Koi fishpond, fountain, patio, walkways, gardens, benches and gazebo.

Brammell added that Poydras Home has a growing population of Jewish residents “who find comfort and community here.” The community offers Shabbat services monthly and celebrates major Jewish holidays.

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Focus on community at Woldenberg

In 1962, Woldenberg Village, originally named WillowWood, was founded by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. Today, the continuum-of-care senior living community continues to reach out to the area Jewish community to strengthen ties and boost new resident numbers.

The community, which covers 17 acres on the West Bank and was acquired by Touro Infirmary in 1998, includes 60 independent garden apartments, 60 assisted-living apartments, a 120-bed skilled nursing care facility, and an outpatient rehabilitation center that specializes in physical as well as occupational therapy.

Woldenberg Village Executive Director Joe Townsend said that approximately 12 percent of their residents are Jewish. It was 7 percent when he came on board in September 2011.

“Growing our Jewish resident numbers and making this the most ideal home environment for our current Jewish residents has been a focal point for me,” said Townsend. “This was one of my main goals when I got here.”

The community celebrates all the Jewish holidays and many Jewish and non-Jewish residents attended the recent Chanukah party.

One focus is to enhance the quality of and options for dining in the Woldenberg Village independent living area. They can do kosher options and have a licensed dietitian. The dining areas are social opportunities for people to congregate, have some good food and get to know each other better.

Residents at Woldenberg love dressing up for socials and celebrations — everything from Mardi Gras to birthdays to fancy dinners.

Independent living residents can get regular transportation options and enjoy day trips to the World War II Museum, the Audubon Zoo, shopping and dining.

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community Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience returns this fall in New Orleans The opening of the reimagined Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience draws closer with the announcement that the New Orleans site will debut this fall.

“This will be the only museum in the country to focus exclusively on the history and culture of Jews across the South,” said Jay Tanenbaum, museum chairman.

Exhibits will explore the many ways Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage of their communities, covering 13 states and more than 300 years of history — including Colonial, Civil War, World War II and the Civil Rights Movement.

Multi-media exhibits will illustrate how Jewish immigrants and succeeding generations adapted to life in the South, forming bonds of deep friendship and community with their non-Jewish neighbors. The museum will also address issues of race and anti-Semitism, and the many ways that Southern Jews navigated them at different times.

“Southern Jews have more often been a part of their communities than apart from them,” says Kenneth Hoffman, executive director. “This contrasts with America’s urban immigration centers where Jews formed more insular enclaves. The contributions they made and the acceptance they received attest to something unique in the Southern heart.”

The museum was established in the late 1980s as small Southern communities sent their religious objects and records to the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica. The museum opened at the Reform movement summer camp, and some of the items, such as the ark, were used by campers during the summer.

As the museum grew, it spun off into the Jackson-based Goldring/ Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which provides an array of services to Jewish communities in 13 Southern states.

As the camp needed space, the museum was closed in 2012 and its collection was put into storage. Tanenbaum said “In order to reimagine and grow, the museum separated from the Institute, giving it the independence to become a world-class attraction.”

After a few years of discussion, it was decided to reestablish the museum in New Orleans, because of the city’s vibrant tourism economy, long Jewish history and the historical connection to the broader Southern region.

The museum will be located in the city’s popular “Museum District,” in proximity to the National WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Contemporary Art Center — conveniently located on the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar line by where it turns from Howard Street onto Carondelet, and on the walking path between the museums and the Oretha Castle Haley redevelopment.

The museum’s collection of over 7,000 artifacts was transferred to New Orleans, where it was re-catalogued and put into “best practices” storage. Due to space, a small fraction of the items will be displayed at any particular time.

Multi-media exhibits will illustrate how Jewish immigrants and succeeding generations adapted to life in the South, forming bonds of deep friendship and community with their non-Jewish neighbors. The Museum will also address issues of The museum site on Howard Street 26

February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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A rendering of planned exhibits race and anti-Semitism, and the many ways that Southern Jews navigated them at different times.

The museum is working with Gallagher and Associates, an internationally recognized museum planning and design firm, responsible for award-winning experiences at scores of international projects including the National Museum of American Jewish History, the National College Football Hall of Fame, and in New Orleans, the Sazerac House and the National World War II Museum.

The experience will start by entering through the storefront, a tribute to the common experience of Southern Jews who started as peddlers and worked their way until they could open a physical store.

An orientation film will be screened in a 60-seat theater that can also be used for lectures and other film programs.

The current plan is for the museum to be divided into three sections with an open floor plan and islands of exhibits. The first, about the 18th and 19th centuries, starts with the small Jewish communities of Colonial times and move through waves of immigration. Part of it will be devoted to Jews, race and the Civil War. “We’re not going to shy away from uncomfortable history,” Hoffman said.

Part of the first section will be about “Becoming Southern.” Hoffman said that after one was able to start making a living, “you could start being civically minded and philanthropic.” This area will mention Jewish mayors and other contributions to civic life.

The second area will be in what used to be an open-air atrium. This section will explore and describe Judaism, life cycle events, holidays and texts, using items from the museum’s collection as illustrations. There will be a Torah displayed. “It’s not a kosher Torah but it is a historic Torah from a Southern congregation,” Hoffman said.

The third section will explore the 20th century, including how Southern Jews responded to the Holocaust and Zionism, along with Jewish activism during the civil rights era and for Soviet Jewry.

The exhibit will also explore the “changing landscape” as small-town Jewish communities started to fade. There will also be explorations of Southern Jews in popular culture, including Jewish characters in works

by Harper Lee, William Faulkner and Mark Twain.

Interactive stations will have more resources about each of the 13 represented states.

The final stop before the gift shop will be an interactive project about the strength of diversity in a community.

Hoffman said “Our hope is that visitors come away with an expanded understanding of what it means to be a Jew, what it means to be a Southerner, and ultimately, what it means to be an American.”

The grand opening will be announced in plenty of time to allow people to come to New Orleans for it. Hoffman urges everyone to follow the museum on Facebook, sign up for the newsletter and share their stories with the museum.

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Bird savor smell

The museum unveiled the Mezuzah Society, where those donating $1,800 and up are recognized with an artistic installation made up of mezuzahs they send to the museum, and they receive a specially-designed mezuzah, hand made by glass artist Andrew Jackson Pollack in New Orleans.

Savor Come to Your

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MARCH 18-22, 2020 USA Today’s 10Best a GOOD TIME for a GOOD CAUSE Get your Tickets Now ~ NOWFE.com February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Fuchs honored as NCJW Emerging Leader On Jan. 23, the Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women welcomed Sheila Katz, NCJW’s national chief executive officer, as the keynote speaker. She and Tulane Hillel Executive Director Yonah Schiller spoke about “What is happening on college campuses around the country.”

As part of the evening, Alysse Fuchs received the Section’s 2020 Emerging Leader award, which pays tribute to a member new to the NCJW scene who shows great promise for future leadership.

A California native, Fuchs came to New Orleans to participate in Avodah. In 2016, she returned to Avodah as program director and was selected to the NCJW Way leadership training program. She helped organize and mentor the next NCJW Way class, and she was a tri-chair for a three-generational NCJW Gala at the Stage Door Canteen at the National World War II Museum. She also was an organizer of the Section’s board retreat in 2019.

While she had a choice of doctoral programs across the country, she decided to stay in New Orleans, bought a house in Treme and has entered the Tulane School of Social Work.

The Section also announced that Maddie Fireman was selected to receive the Elissa Froman Inspiring Leadership Award, which will be presented at the NCJW national convention, “Jewish Feminism: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future.” which will be in Chicago from April 23 to 25.

This award honors an emerging NCJW leader who has had a positive impact on the lives of women, children and families in their community.

gala WYES invites you to celebrate the popular MASTERPIECE period drama “Victoria” at the “The Town and Country World of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert.”

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Live Entertainment by The Boogie Men

NCJW board member Susan Kierr presented Alysse Fuchs with the Emerging Leader Award

community >> Rear Pew Mirror continued from page 30 never come late enough. The Torah mentions the first of Nisan every year.

The New Year for Animals has gone to seed, and is no longer observed. (It has no relation to the common fall celebration for animals, linked to the Torah reading of Noah, for which people bring their pets to temple dressed as formally as they let their kids dress for services.)

For a long time, Tu B’Shevat’s observance was truncated. But thanks to the popularity of planting trees in Israel, the popularity of Tu B’Shevat still may pull ahead of other holidays. The many Jews who pine for more entertaining Jewish activities would find this okay.

Regardless, by accounting for the Torah, the regular calendar, animals, and trees, the Talmud leaves no stone unturned.

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who believes that every day is the first day of a new year, which explains his behavior the night before.

For more information, past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/ rearpewmirror.

Cases for a Cause The Chabad of Baton Rouge Jewish Women’s Circle and Carolyn Bombet present Cases for a Cause, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at The Guru.

The women’s gathering will be to decorate duffel bags for foster children, as most children who enter foster care generally receive two trash bags for their belongings. The duffels will include a teddy bear, hygiene kit and blanket.

The evening will include a dinner buffet and wine tasting, and all proceeds will go to Together We Rise — Helping Children in Foster Care.

Tickets are $25, sponsorships are $50.

Corned Beef Sale Returns at Beth Shalom The annual corned beef sandwich sale at Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will be March 15 to 17, with drive-thru only on March 15 and drive-thru or business delivery available on March 16 and 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Orders can be for corned beef, egg salad or tuna on rye, white or wheat. Advance orders can be placed at bethshalomsynagogue.org. The $10 lunches include a sandwich, chips, brownie, dill pickle and mint.

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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rear pew mirror • doug brook

Crazy Etz This column first ran in February 2012. Let’s see if you laugh this time…

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The rabbis in the Talmud knew how to party.

Why else would Judaism have not one, not two, not three, but four New Year festivals designated in its calendar? And that doesn’t even include the Rocking Eve one that the Talmudic rabbis established for their contemporary, Rabbi Richard Clark. Or the Chinese New Year (which we observe for the food).

Top scholars point out that four New Year celebrations is a surprisingly small number, given the Talmudically mandated two-rabbis-to-threeopinions ratio, plus how many rabbis are in the Talmud.

Rosh Hashanah is the best-known New Year festival, particularly by Jewish posteriors near the end of the second day’s sermon. Of course, the rabbis had to compound matters by giving this first of four New Year festivals four names: Rosh Hashanah (The Head of Shauna), Yom HaDin (The Day of Dean), Yom HaZikaron (I forget this one), and Yom Teruah (The Day of Being True).

Rosh Hashanah, observed on the first of Tishrei (and celebrated once the service is finally over), commemorates the creation of the world.

However, despite festivizing the first day of Existence, this New Year festival was not the first to Exist.

The Torah tells us that the New Year is on the first of Nisan, 15 days before Passover. Not only does the first of Nisan mark the New Year for Japanese automobiles, this biblically ordained New Year also used to measure the reigns of kings (the ones who actually ruled longer than a year).

The rabbis decided to have the bigger New Year service on Rosh Hashanah instead of the first of Nisan when their spouses pointed out that necessitating Rosh Hashanah-size dining two weeks before Passover could induce a new rabbinical practice of sleeping on the couch.

The least-known New Year is on the first of Elul, one month before Rosh Hashanah. What might seem like a warmup for Rosh Hashanah is really the New Year for Animals. Specifically, animal tithes.

In Talmudic times, people would dress their animals in suits and tithes to go to Jerusalem and pay their taxes before their second IRS extension expired. (Some Jews still observe this practice today, without going to Jerusalem. And without bringing the animals, though some still dress them up.)

The fourth New Year is on the 15th of Shevat: Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for Trees. This holiday first took root in the Mishnah, as the rabbis decided that the New Year observances should branch out.

The rabbis were stumped about what date to use. Their seemingly endless debate finally bore fruit, as they scheduled it based on when winter rains are over. Talmudic scholars are tied in knots figuring out where those rabbis lived that they thought the rains end by then, but wherever they were they must have stayed indoors.

Tu B’Shevat traditions included a special rite with the Cohns, which incorporated their famous salute with open palms. However, after the rabbis got needled by the masses, they saw that this was a holiday to usher in spring and get one’s hands dirty. The rabbis accepted that they were barking up the wrong tree.

The fates of the four New Years are quite varietal. Rosh Hashanah can

When is the New Year?

Which one?

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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February 2020 • Southern Jewish Life