SJL Deep South, April 2015

Southern Jewish Life

HAPPY PASSOVER SELMA AND THE JEWISH WORLD CANTOR ON A MOTORCYCLE JCRS CELEBRATES 160TH BIRTHDAY PURIM IN THE SOUTH KREPLACH AND DIM SUM: JEWISH CHINA A WRESTLER AND A TENOR April 2015

Volume 25 Issue 4

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213

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shalom y’all shalom y’all

Cover Image: Courtesy Haspel

Last month, I was honored to speak at Anshe Sfard in New Orleans about my experiences from 25 years of Southern Jewish journalism. As I have stated many times, the Southern Jewish community is unique, and this issue continues to chronicle that.

We have our ongoing coverage of the 50th anniversary of Selma’s civil rights struggles, focusing on the Jewish experience from 1965 and today. We also have a piece on Cantor Joel Colman of New Orleans, who is doing a Southern Jewish exploration over the next two months, visiting six smaller communities.

We also have a piece from the 160th anniversary of Jewish Children’s Regional Service, an agency unlike any other.

But not everything about the Southern Jewish experience is completely unique — there are stories from elsewhere that feel familiar here. In this issue we have a piece on an upcoming film project that brings together Jewish musicians from West Virginia and from an isolated town in Uganda. Each group comes from somewhere that one does not necessarily think of as having a Jewish community (cough), and their musical styles are reflective of where they live — but there is still the common Jewish thread that runs throughout.

As you receive this issue, it will be about time to sit down to the quintessential common Jewish thread, the Passover Seder, the most widely observed aspect of Jewish life in the world. May you have a happy Passover, and we’ll do this again next month!

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4 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

On March 1, the Tragic City Rollers roller derby team provided encouragement for the dozens of volunteers participating in the Ovarian Cycle, a three-hour indoor cycling event at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center to raise funds for the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Over $41,000 was raised for ovarian cancer research.

Interfaith emphasis for Rabbi Kula weekend at Birmingham’s Beth-El The upcoming scholar-in-residence weekend at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have an interfaith focus, with an invitation to the entire Southside faith community to participate.

Rabbi Irwin Kula is president of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. A best-selling author, Kula received the 2008 Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award for his work “toward equality, liberty and a truly inter–religious community.” Fast Company magazine and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS both named him one of the leaders shaping the American spiritual landscape, and he has been listed in Newsweek for many years as one of America’s “Most Influential Rabbis.”

His book, “Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” won a “Books for a Better Life” award and was named one of the “Best Spiritual Books of 2006” by Spirituality & Health.

Kula has led a Passover Seder in Bhutan; consulted with government officials in Rwanda; helped build cultural and interfaith bridges in Qatar; and met with leaders as diverse as the Dalai Lama and Queen Noor to discuss compassionate leadership in the 21st century.

In April, there will be a joint venture between Beth-El and Independent Presbyterian Church to host readings, study and discussions of “Yearnings” in preparation for the May 1 weekend.

Kula’s visit will begin with life. A luncheon will follow the Shabbat evening services at service.

Beth-El on May 1. A pre-serThat evening, Kula will advice oneg will start at 5:30 p.m., dress two groups. There will be followed by the service at 6 a reception and dinner for the p.m. Beth-El Rabbi Randall Beth-El Star of David LeadKonigsburg is contacting felership group, where Kula will low clergy around Southside, speak about “Jewish Leaderinviting them and their conship in an Age of Transformagregations to the service. tion.” The end of that program Kula will speak on “Beyond will include a Havdalah serTribe and Creed: Religion as a vice, which will be the start of Path to Human Flourishing.” a program being coordinated He will discuss the demoby Rabbi Joseph Robinson for graphic, sociological and tech- Rabbi Irwin Kula the You Belong in Birmingham nological transformations that young adults group. After the are dramatically altering the ways people create intergenerational Havdalah, the You Belong their identities, form communities and make program is tentatively entitled “OMG: Connectmeaning. Then he will explore the implications ing to My/Our God.” for the products, services and delivery systems, The weekend will conclude on May 3 at Inthe resources, insights and teachings of religion. dependent Presbyterian Church, with a culmiDuring Beth-El’s usual Shabbat service at 9:30 nation of the “Yearnings” interfaith discussion a.m. on May 2, Kula will present “The Technolo- groups and Kula giving a talk about the book. gy of Mitzvot: Is There an App for That?” He will Kula notes that a key to happiness is underuse Innovation Theory and Positive Psychology standing how desires and yearnings work, but to discuss understanding the purpose of Jewish desires are never fully realized. “Once we know practice, and how to become more active in the this our desires and yearnings can become indesign of Jewish practices that are more accessi- credible sources of wisdom to help us know ble, usable and good enough to enhance Jewish ourselves better, live more fearlessly and joyful

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 5

agenda ly, act more ethically and love more passionately.”

The May 3 talk at 10 a.m. will be open to the community.

Information on the interfaith book discussions leading up to the weekend can be found on Beth-El’s website, templebeth-el.net.

Konigsburg said Kula “brings a message of hope and joy not only to people of faith but to those living a secular lifestyle as well. We all have moments where our lives seem to be empty of meaning and we feel disorganized. Rabbi Kula is nationally known for his work to help us find meaning in the messiness of life, and joy in all that we do. This is a message that can be a ‘life-changer’.”

The weekend, which is open to the entire Jewish and general communities, is being supported by the Beth-El Foundation, the Birmingham Jewish Foundation and the Independent Presbyterian Church Focus on Faith Committee.

Program on art, history of Mah Jongg Gregg Swain, author of “Mah Jongg: The Art and History of the Game” will speak at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center on April 12 at 11 a.m. Admission is $5.

A New York native, Swain published the first book to fully capture the story of the exotic game of Mah Jongg, offering an intimate look at the history of the game as well as the visual beauty of the tiles. Books will be available for purchase, and games will commence after the presentation.

The event is co-sponsored by the Sisterhoods of Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Knesseth Israel Congregation, and Birmingham Hadassah.

Visiting Capitol Hill with AIPAC

Red Mountain Theatre Company

PRESENTS

BAND Geeks Apr. 16–Apr. 19, 2015

Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana (above) and Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama (below) welcomed delegations from their states who were visiting Capitol Hill as part of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference on March 3. For reactions by the Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and northwest Florida Congressional delegations to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on March 3, visit our website, sjlmag.com.

at the Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret In the spirit of Glee and High School Musical, comes the hilarious and heartwarming Band Geeks, the triumphant story of high school misfits fighting to save their beloved Marching Beavers.

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6 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

RMTC-139 Band Geeks-SouthJewishLf.indd 1

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agenda Beth-El planning Jewish Mississippi tour Rabbi Joel Fleekop and Jody Schlesinger of Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El are planning a road trip to explore to role of Jews in the Deep South and also take in a healthy dose of Blues.

The trip will leave Pensacola on May 2, traveling to numerous places throughout Mississippi, returning on May 5. Planned stops include exploring the past and present Jewish communities of Jackson, Greenwood, Greenville, Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Natchez and Brookhaven. The group will tour historic synagogues, cemeteries and other sites of interest, as well as meet with members of the Jewish communities who will tell their history and their hope for the future.

The group will also explore the legacy of the Blues in Mississippi, walking in the footsteps of B.B. King, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, and experiencing today’s Blues scene. Blues sites include the B.B. King Museum, Robert Johnson presumed grave site, and many more.

Trip details are available from Beth-El.

CUFI holding regional summit Christians United for Israel will have an Eastern Regional Stand with Israel Summit on April 16 at the Church at Chapelhill in Douglasville, Ga., about 20 miles west of Atlanta.

Speakers include Dumisani Washington, national CUFI diversity outreach coordinator; Rabbi Shalom Lewis of Etz Chayim in Marietta; David Walker, national CUFI On Campus director; and Pastor Victor Styrsky, CUFI eastern regional coordinator.

Topics to be addressed include Israel 101, the Media’s “Big Lie” and Israel, Dr. Martin Luther King’s pro-Israel and pro-peace legacy, anti-Semitism and anti-Israel threats on U.S. college campuses and an “action-filled battle plan for the church.” Pre-registration is required and is $10. The summit will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time. To register, visit cufi.org/gasummit.

Rabbi Vana returns to B’nai Israel On Feb. 27, Rabbi Israel Vana returned to B’nai Israel in Pensacola under a one-year agreement. Vana will visit each weekend to conduct services and teach Hebrew.

Vana had been at B’nai Israel from 1993 until 2011. He was succeeded

by Rabbi Jordan Gerson, who recently returned to his hometown to become the campus rabbi at St. Louis Hillel at Washington University.

Lee McCarty of McCarty’s pottery in Merigold, Miss., welcomed students from the University of Virginia Hillel to the Gallery Restaurant and the pottery studio. The Virginia Hillel group had an alternative spring break working at Mississippians Engaged in Greener Agriculture in Shelby. The group also visited Adath Israel in Cleveland.

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 7

agenda Happy Passover

Beth Israel in Jackson will have its inaugural Men’s Club Golf Outing on April 25 at Deerfield Country Club. The 1 p.m. tournament will be a four-person scramble format with cash prizes for the top three teams.

Proceeds benefit the congregation’s community programs throughout the Jackson area. Individual registration is $100, a team of four is $500 including a tee sponsorship. Registration and lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have the B’nai Israel Classic on May 7 at the Island Golf Club in Plaquemine. The tournament will start at 9 a.m.

Registration is $125 and includes the round, cart, range balls, lunch and prizes. Hole sponsorships are $125.

Author T.K. Thorne of Birmingham, a Montgomery native, will speak about her latest novel, “Angels at the Gate,” on April 9 at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery. There will be a 6 p.m. reception, followed by her talk at 7 p.m.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El will have a Jazz Shabbat on April 10.

Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or will have “Havdalah, Bingo and Beer” on April 25 at 7 p.m.

The B’nai Israel Sisterhood in Panama City will have an art auction, managed by State of the Art, on April 25 and 26. Previews start at 6 p.m. on April 25, with an evening of jazz, champagne and hors d’ouevres. Featured artists include Dali, Tarkay, Sholom of Safed, Lautrec, Wooster and many more.

On May 2, the Agudath Achim Men’s Club in Shreveport will have a Kiddush honoring Howard Lippton with the Abe Diebner Achivement Award, for congregational contributions. The reception will include the placing of a plaque in his honor. Shabbat morning services are at 9:45 a.m.

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Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will host a community Passover dinner with the Birmingham Community Youth Group on April 7 at 6 p.m. The meal is under the supervision of Chabad of Alabama, and is sponsored

by Winn-Dixie. The dinner is open to the community at no charge, but reservations are required.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will have a “Margarita” Tennis Mixer on April 19 at 2 p.m. The mixer is an interchanging partners mixed doubles tournament, with couples or singles registering to play. Each round is five games, and each round a player has a new partner and new opponents. There will be prizes for winners and margaritas for all participants. Registration is $18 for members and $22 for non-members.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have a Swamp Shabbat on April 11 at 10 a.m. The family-oriented program will be at Bluebonnet Swamp, strolling through the area and observing nature and the wonder of creation.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El is presenting “The Jewish Soul,” a recital with soprano Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk, pianist Yakov Kasman, and clarinetist Denise Gainey, on April 7 at 7 p.m. The concert will present pieces from Jewish composers, including Giacomo Meyerbeer, a German composer of Jewish birth, known as one of the most successful opera composers of the 19th century; Lori Laitman, whose “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” utilizes texts taken from a collection of poems written by children from the Theresienstadt concentration camp; Leonard Bernstein, America’s most beloved and well-known composer; and Gustav Mahler, from a collection of German folk poems assembled in the early 1800’s. A wine and cheese reception will follow.

Reminder: The Temple Emanu-El Jewish Food Festival in Tuscaloosa will be on April 19 starting at 11:30 a.m., and Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El will have its corned beef luncheon on April 30.

L’Shanah Tovah

8 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

agenda New Orleans Cantor Colman doing Southern Jewish road trip by motorcycle Having served as cantor of Temple Sinai in New Orleans since 1999, Detroit native Joel Colman knows that there is a distinct Southern Jewish culture. During his sabbatical this Spring, he is embarking on a 3,000-mile journey to “enrich my understanding of what it is like to be a Southern Jew.” Through the Jackson-based Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Rabbis on the Road program, Colman will visit six smaller Jewish communities in the region in April and May. The inspiration came from a visit to New Orleans by author Eli Evans, who was the trailblazer in chronicling the Southern Jewish experience, about 15 years ago, shortly after Colman arrived in New Orleans. Evans inscribed a book to Colman with the words “you are now part of this rich Southern Jewish history.”

Colman said that “stuck with me, that there is something unique about being a Southern Jew” that one can not understand until one lives in the South.

He will be traveling to the communities on his motorcycle. “When you visit on a motorcycle, it becomes even more tactile,” with a heightened awareness of the Parked outside Temple Shalom, Lafayette surroundings. “Besides, it is

a cool thing to do.”

Colman said there is no set program for the weekend visits.

Each congregation “has a different dynamic on what they would like to have when they have a visiting rabbi or cantor,” he said. He will lead Shabbat services, do adult education or give a concert, or a combination.

He will visit B’nai Israel in Natchez the weekend of April 10, then Mishkan Israel in Selma on April 24, Temple Sinai in Lake Charles on May 1, B’nai Israel in Cantor Colman performed at the Monroe on May 2, Beth Israel JCRS Gala on March 7 in Gulfport on May 8 and B’nai Israel in Galveston the weekend of May 15.

In February he did a first visit at Temple Shalom in Lafayette. There, he taught at the religious school on Sunday morning. Plans to lead a Shabbat service fell apart because the Mardi Gras parade route was one block away and it was “impossible for people to get to services.”

Before arriving in New Orleans, Colman was cantor at Temple B’rith Kodesh in Rochester, N.Y. and cantor/educator at Greenwich Reform Synagogue in Greenwich, Conn.

Colman received a Master’s degree in Sacred Music from Hebrew

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 9

agenda Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music where he was ordained as cantor in 1995, and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich.,with a degree in special education.

He is also a past regional director for the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and has taught high school in Texas and in Israel. He also visits the Henry S. Jacobs Camp each summer, teaching amateur radio to campers.

Colman has sung in concerts in New Orleans, Rochester, St. Louis, Miami, Detroit, Tulsa, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City and Jerusalem, and has also been the featured artist at two concerts held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Colman said ISJL was instrumental in lining up the tour — he did not have to call any congregation to find out if there was any interest. “They knew which congregations would be open to a visit,” he said.

Over the past several years, the ISJL’s Rabbis on the Road program has put 33 visiting clergy on the road; collectively, these clergy have conducted 75 community visits.

On March 15, students from the Chabad of the Emerald Coast Hebrew School in Destin lit memorial candles to honor the 11 servicemen who were killed in the March 10 Black Hawk helicopter crash in the Santa Rosa Sound near Navarre.

Men’s upkeep retreat prepares Jacobs Camp for summer Registration is now open for the annual Men’s Upkeep Retreat at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica.

From April 24 to 26, volunteers from the community help the Reform movement’s camp get ready for the summer, working on a variety of projects.

The retreat begins with dinner at 7:30 p.m. on April 24, followed by social time.

After breakfast on April 25, projects are available throughout the day, concluding with rest time around 5 p.m. After dinner there will be adult beverages, sports and other activities.

There will be additional work time after breakfast on April 26 until the weekend ends with lunch.

The projects range from general repairs to special building projects, indoors and outdoors. The camp provides tools but participants are asked to bring work gloves and clothes that can get dirty.

The program is also open to those who just want to come for the day on April 25.

Registration is available through the camp website.

10 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

Not Just Black and White Civil Rights and the Jewish Community

A welcome return to Selma: Hundreds assemble at Mishkan Israel With reporting by Verna Gates and Deborah Layman Fifty years ago, Selma’s Jewish community was less than thrilled about so many Jewish outsiders coming to town from across the country and demonstrating with the black community for civil rights, urging the activists to leave as quickly as possible.

On March 8, the few remaining Jews of Selma opened their synagogue to a delegation of Jews from across the country — and again, unlike 50 years ago, from across Alabama — to a commemoration of Bloody Sunday, held at Mishkan Israel.

The event was organized by Rabbi Fred Guttman of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, N.C. Almost 100 of his congregants made the trip, most taking an all-night bus ride to meet with those who flew to the Birmingham airport, where they met up with many more participants, including many from Birmingham’s Jewish community.

About 15 from Montgomery’s Jewish community also made the much shorter trip along U.S. 80 for the event.

Guttman felt a “silent moment Susannah Heschel of revelation” during his bridge

crossing at the 49th anniverEditor’s Note: This is the second sary last year, and felt moved part of our coverage of the 50th anto organize a celebration for niversary of Bloody Sunday and the such an important day in JewVoting Rights March from Selma to ish history.

Montgomery. The first two pieces, a “Selma is a holy place. That timeline of events leading up to the bridge is responsible for the 1965 marches, and recollections of voting rights act, which is imJewish participants in the demonperiled right now,” said Guttstrations, ran in last month’s issue man. and are available on the Southern Many speakers described Jewish Life website, sjlmag.com. what Susannah Heschel called “the new Jim Crow” and the need to keep fighting for civil rights and against a resurgence of racism.

Heschel is the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma in 1965.

Rabbi Randall Konigsburg of Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El introduced Susannah Heschel, noting that in 1958 there was an attempted Klan bombing at Beth-El. “Only the rain on a Saturday night kept our building intact,” he said.

Konigsburg said that during Rabbi Heschel’s long tenure at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he taught generations of rabbis about the importance of having social action as part of their rabbinate. “Being a rabbi is much more than books and sermons, it’s a calling, a call to justice, to equality and a call to cross all those bridges that separated people from

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 11

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their rights,” Konigsburg said.

“We, as Jews, have to care about other human beings. It is a Jewish responsibility. It is time to follow my father’s example and live a life of moral grandeur,” said Heschel, the Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College.

The central teaching of Judaism is “compassion for all people,” she said.

While her father’s visit to Selma is legendary today, “Many Jews opposed us in those days, and my father was not honored when he returned from Selma, he was treated with shame or with indifference.”

Many criticized him for championing causes outside the Jewish community, but caring for only Jewish causes “is not our Judaism,” she said, and the Jewish community should not be “seduced by Jewish self-centeredness.”

Her father was attracted to King because Rabbi Heschel came from Nazi Germany where the Jewish Bible was ripped out of the Christian Bible and the notion of Jesus as a Jew was rejected.

In America, he found King, who made the Exodus narrative central to the civil rights movement, and routinely quoted the Hebrew Prophets.

She said the Jewish community needs to thank the civil rights movement “for what it has given to us as Jews… it brought the prophets back to life.”

Heschel called Selma “a moment in Jewish history, a reminder that being Jewish doesn’t mean being right-wing Republican… and Prime Minister Netanyahu does not speak for all Jews.”

Two other Jewish figures from that era received a great deal of attention — Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were killed with James Chaney in Neshoba County, Mississippi while working to register black voters in 1964.

They were two of the 600 Jewish kids who journeyed South for Freedom Summer ‘64, most of them carrying with them memories of loved ones who perished in the Holocaust.

“They felt that injustice against anyone was an injustice to everyone, “ Guttman said.

David Goodman, younger brother of Andrew Goodman, said it was the first and last interracial lynching in American history, and it took the martyrdom of two white Jewish boys to get the attention of America.

“Because black lives didn’t matter,” said David Goodman, a word play on the call “Black Lives Matter” repeated by protestors and marchers. Had it been only Chaney, it likely would not have been national news.

In his opening remarks, Guttman asked if any were present who had marched on Bloody Sunday. One older black woman rose and received the first of many standing ovations given that day.

Guttman then recognized those in the room who were under the age of 20, the next generation of activists.

David Goodman also recognized those under the age of 20. “You’re the ones we have to depend on… we haven’t left you with the greatest conditions.”

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the new director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted he is the first person in that position who was born after 1965.

not just black and white Pesner spoke of the Jewish “hope that God’s kingdom of justice could actually be realized on this Earth.”

He gave the opening prayer at a dinner on March 6 for the 90 Congressional representatives and their staffers who were in Selma for the weekend’s events. Since it was the beginning of Shabbat, he asked the Jewish participants to join him in the front to say Shehecheyanu.

He noted that “wherever people have struggled for civil rights and social justice, the Jews have marched together” because of the national narrative of being freed from Egypt.

“How easy it was for us to come to Selma” this year, he noted, “but 50 years ago the risk was real because people died here.”

He brought a group of young adults with him to introduce them to what Guttman called “Selma, the new Mount Sinai.”

In North Carolina, Guttman is part of the Moral Monday Movement, an interfaith effort Doug Mishkin and Peter Yarrow for social change and justice.

His partner, North Carolina NAACP leader Rev. William Barber, gave a thunderous talk about the significance of Selma and the work yet to be done. He noted that he was not there for a party, but for a “recommitment and a holy convocation.”

He challenged those in attendance to address inequities in health care, equal protection of the law, LGBT rights, equal opportunity and voting rights.

“We are going to walk across the bridge where we got voting rights when

we have no Voting Rights Act. They cut the heart out of it,” Barber said.

He referred often to what he called a fusion movement, a blending together of what Guttman called “coalition of goodness.” By focusing on the things all agree on, positive change can move forward on the local and state level. For example, Barber pointed out that while some have been killed by police violence, many more have died because a governor refused to sign a piece of paper approving the expansion of Medicaid.

“We can’t change D.C. down, we have to change Selma up,” Barber said.

He told the crowd that “you don’t know how blessed I feel to be here with my Jewish family.” He called for a renewal of an interfaith coalition that “can come together once again and fight to secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that would uplift the poor” and address disparities in the criminal justice system.

“Right here in Selma we need to be reminded of the need for prophetic rage. We need to be reminded of what the Jewish people taught us — who will stand up for me? We need to be reminded that we still need prophets and prophetic people,” Barber proclaimed.

A surprise guest was Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary. He recalled being part of a concert for the 1965 marchers just outside of Montgomery on the night before the march reached the State Capitol. The performers were on a makeshift stage in the midst of a muddy field.

At the time, Alabama “was like a war zone. You never knew what was going to happen,” he said.

Yarrow said he came to Mishkan Israel specifically to sing “Blowing in the Wind,” which he called “a holy song.”

Clarence Jones, political advisor, counsel and draft speechwriter for King, was another surprise guest. He heard about the gathering and came Continued on page 16

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In 1965, Selma’s Jews were in tough position Rabbi Joseph Gumbiner, who had been rabbi at Selma’s Mishkan Israel in the 1930s and came back for five days in March 1965 to participate in civil rights demonstrations, wrote that “there is no record of any Jewish person there becoming involved in the civil rights movement,” a failure “shared by the white population as a whole.”

That may have been an overstatement, but as with so many Jewish communities in the region, small numbers and vulnerability limited what could be done.

Pressure from national groups was not welcomed, because Selma’s Jews had been trying to fit in with the broader community and they did not want non-Jews to associate them with the vocal national groups.

In 1956, members of Selma’s B’nai B’rith lodge issued a statement urging groups like the ADL and American Jewish Committee to concentrate on Jewish issues and stay out of the debate over segregation.

Sociologist Marshall Bloom, whose 1966 senior thesis at Amherst was about the Jewish community of Selma, stated that fewer than one-fifth of Selma’s Jews could be described as “strongly segregationist,” but many felt they had to make an appearance of going along with the White Citizens’ Council. The Councils were more middle and upper class than the Ku Klux Klan, but also used intimidation and occasionally violence to fight against integration.

In 1965, Bloom co-founded the Southern Courier, a Selma independent newspaper that emphasized coverage of civil rights.

When the Selma demonstrations took place, there was still resentment against national organizations coming in to make their statements while members of the Selma Jewish community were suffering an economic backlash.

The Jewish Segregationiat While passionate segregationists were quite few in the Jewish community, Selma had one in Sol Tepper. A close friend of notorious Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark, Tepper answered much of Clark’s mail, in letter form and in a weekly radio show.

Tepper also established a Committee for the Economic Improvement of Colored People in 1963 — where he offered northern communities that spoke of integration the opportunity to receive some of Selma’s blacks.

Tepper was a member of Clark’s “posse,” an unofficial group of Klansmen and others who were seen as an anti-civil rights force. When Tepper showed up as the demonstrations intensified in early 1965, he brought an M-1 army rifle, which Clark’s chief deputy told him not to use.

14 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

not just black and white Tepper’s presence in the White Citizens’ Council kept anti-Semitism at bay. When one member showed up with a copy of the anti-Semitic newspaper Thunderbolt, Tepper thundered that he would meet anyone outside. That was the last time that paper appeared at a meeting.

After Bloody Sunday coverage critical of Selma was found even in Alabama media outlets, Tepper railed against what he saw as the unjust criticism of those who were trying to maintain law and order in the face of lawlessness by outsiders.

After Unitarian Reverend James Reeb was beaten by segregationists in Selma on March 9 and died two days later, there was a national outpouring of condemnation. In response, Tepper circulated “Ten Big Questions Regarding the Death of Reverend Reeb in Selma, Alabama,” alleging that it was the civil rights activists themselves who had killed him.

He was especially pained by all the Jewish representatives who marched in the demonstrations, figuring the visitors were staining the good reputation Selma’s Jews had. He wrote to one of the visiting rabbis, “I am proud of my Jewish heritage. I am not proud that you call yourself a Jew. In fact, I say you are not.”

members of the Jewish community, which numbered perhaps 150, were working with other moderates at great risk to their livelihoods.

A group of white moderates had started meeting every week at People’s Bank in Selma in late 1963. After Joe Smitherman’s election as mayor it was felt that there could be areas where progress could be made in race relations, and the group was expanded.

Among those who took part were cotton broker Charles Hohenberg, who was born Jewish but became a Presbyterian, Jewish merchant Morris Barton and car dealer Arthur Lewis.

The Voters League and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had organized a Christmas boycott in December 1963, continuing well into 1964, hitting Jewish merchants hard. The Retail Merchants Association was open to dialogue with the activists, but the White Citizens Council threatened any merchant that went against the prevailing segregation, pressing the white community for unity in the face of the demonstrations. The Council also sought a boycott of the Selma Times-Journal for being too moderate.

The president of the Retail Merchants Association proposed a meeting for Feb. 8 to discuss Working for Progress establishing a merchant boycott on advertising While Tepper was on one extreme, some in the Times-Journal, but Seymour Palmer, a

Jewish merchant, pressed Smitherman and city councilman George Swift to intervene and prevent the meeting, saying there was too much dividing the community already.

In the view of the moderates, a major incentive for solving the problems arising from the demonstrations was attracting new business. Dan River Mills announced a new textile plant in September 1964, and Hammermill Paper announced a long-awaited Selma plant on Feb. 3, 1965.

In response, SNCC tried to organize protests at every Hammermill in the country. At the end of March, King even called for a national boycott of Alabama-made products and for unions to refuse to transport them.

In April, the Civil Rights Act prohibitions on racial discrimination in hiring was set to start, and the Alabama Chamber of Commerce planned a large ad in state newspapers and the Wall Street Journal, urging businesses to follow the law. Local chambers were asked to co-sponsor and sign the ad, but there was one conspicuous absence when it appeared on April 15 — Selma.

The Selma Chamber’s president, grocery executive James Gaston, was upset that the Selma chamber had refused to sign, so he teamed with other moderates, some of them Jewish, to reprint the ad with their signatures.

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not just black and white Among those involved were Hohenberg and Jerome Siegel, who was president of the Committee of 100 Plus. They enlisted 1,000 whites, then approached the City Council and the Board of Revenue for the first real public debate over the racial issue.

At the meeting, some in the White Citizens Council accused the city of promising integration to attract the paper mill, a charge that Siegel denied. Siegel said the failure of Selma to sign the ad was a tactical gift that King could use against the city.

Moderates noted that the law was a fait accompli, to which Tepper retorted that death was also inevitable, but that did not mean it was something for him to embrace.

After the contentious debate, the city council unanimously voted to sign the ad, which appeared on April 18 in the Times-Journal and the Wall Street Journal, with the signatures of almost 1,300 whites from Selma.

Still, moderates did face a backlash for desegregationist sins, real and perceived. A rumor that Gaston had sent sandwiches to black demonstrators and donated to the NAACP was enough to target him for a white boycott in early 1965.

A Jewish couple, auto dealer Arthur Lewis and his wife Muriel, were targeted for speaking out. Enraged by the events of Bloody Sunday in March 1965, she wrote a letter to the Times-Journal, defending the work of a Federal commissioner who was in town trying to facilitate a rational discussion.

The Lewises sent a letter to a few close friends who they considered moderate, encouraging them to speak out, but not to share that letter.

A version of their letter soon circulated among members of the Citizens Council, edited to make them sound more radical. Late night telephone calls, hate mail and a boycott of the car dealership soon followed.

They tried to get a dozen or so important moderates to sign a “Declaration of Good Faith” in the newspaper, pledging communication and respect, but were frustrated by the lack of response.

A weaker version of the “Declaration” was eventually published.

The Lewises considered leaving Selma but decided to stay, though the stress of the fallout led to Arthur Lewis’ death of a heart attack not even two years later at age 53.

In the 1920s, the Jewish community of Selma was sizeable enough that it was said one could roll a bowling ball down Broad Street on Rosh Hashanah and not hit anyone, because all of the stores were closed. Today, while Mishkan Israel still houses an occasional service, the Selma Jewish community has dwindled to a handful.

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>> Selma to the program. “If the surviving lions do not tell their story,” he said, “then the hunters will get all the credit.”

Jones gave a firsthand account of the Selma experience, pointing out that President Lyndon B. Johnson played a positive role in the advancement of civil rights, and emphasizing the commitment and leadership of the Jewish community.

Most of the speakers said the event was more of a rededication than a celebration.

However, the issues have gained in complexity, according to Rabbi Jonathan Miller, of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham. Getting rid of poll taxes and literacy tests took the passing of a law. Creating equal opportunity presents tough challenges, as does healthcare and educational equality.

“The Jewish community is going to have to double down. There is too much suffering in America,” Pesner said in an interview.

“We can use our faith as a powerful source of good,” said Claire Shimberg, 23.

After the program, there was a luncheon and then the participants walked the few blocks through downtown to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, joining the roughly 80,000 people who came to Selma for the anniversary.

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Art installation at DYF 2.0, at Tulane in March 2014

Pro-Zionist festival returns to Tulane with Matisyahu headlining Reggae star Matisyahu is headlining this year’s DYF 3.0, a pro-Zionist festival held at Tulane University on April 12.

Joining Matisyahu on the free program will be the Rebirth Brass Band and the Ori Naftali Blues Band, the first Israeli group to reach the semi-finals of the International Blues Competition in Memphis.

Chloe Valdary of Allies for Israel at the University of New Orleans and Maor Shapira of Tulane University Students Supporting Israel are organizing the event, which will start at 2 p.m. on the LBC Quad.

There will be free food along with food trucks selling their items. Henna tattoos will be available, along with an art gallery, bazaar and a jam session for those who bring their own guitars.

At a time when Israel is under attack, especially on college campuses, Valdary says the festival is “taking the narrative back that was stolen from us and celebrating the beautiful story of the liberation movement of the Jewish people.”

The festival was endorsed by Alan Dershowitz, who said it “speaks truth to power — the best kind of answer to the defamation being heard across the country at college campuses about Israel, Zionism and the national liberation movement of the Jewish people.”

Shapira said Israel activism is too focused on relating the facts of the situation, while loyalty and solidarity come from an emotional connection.

The festival aims to provide a positive experience through arts, the spoken word, images and music.

Shapira noted a lot of supporters of Israel are afraid to speak up because of the anticipated reaction and that they would be seen as aligning with a cause that is accused of not being moral.

“By putting Zionism at the center of a large mainstream event we hope to empower supporters of Israel to speak up for Israel in the future,” Shapira said.

This year there will be less emphasis on speakers and politics. Instead, speakers will be giving personal stories and experiences. There will be information tents where attendees can learn more about a wide range of topics having to do with Israel.

The event will not be partisan, nor will it be focused on finding a solution to the situation in the Middle East.

Shapira and Valdary are both seniors, and they hope that the festival will continue after they graduate. Similar festivals are being organized at the University of Central Florida and at Indiana University.

In the last two years, Valdary has become a national figure in the pro-Israel movement. In mid-March, Allies for Israel at UNO responded to those who would boycott Israel by collecting signatures supporting a symbolic divestment from the Palestinian Authority as a way of supporting the Palestinian people who are suffering under a corrupt government.

She stated that a Palestinian student not only signed the petition, he spent three hours helping collect signatures from others.

18 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

community

Kreplach and Dim Sum:

Program explores Jewish history of China This year, the Birmingham International Center is focusing on China, and as in recent years, one of the programs has to do with the country’s Jewish community.

The center promotes global business development and global education in Alabama.

Cantor Robyn Helzner will present “Kreplach and Dim Sum: Yes, there are Jews in China” at the Levite Jewish Community Center on April 26 at 3 p.m. The event is free, but reservations are requested.

Helzner will do a multimedia presentation, sharing stories, photos, videos and music about the Jewish communities of Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Kaifeng.

In 1992, Helzner was hired as the High Holidays cantor for United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong. The congregation consisted mostly of American executives, bankers, journalists and professors.

At the end of the service, she was offered the position for the following year, and served there for six years. She also did winter residencies and concerts, visiting the 500-member congregation a dozen times.

Helzner officiated the first Bar Mitzvah in

ternational School.

The LJCC will also host the “Jewish Refugees in Shanghai” exhibit for two weeks, a traveling exhibit created by the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. Located in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the Tilanqiao Historical Area, the museum has taken a significant role in educating local and international visitors about the unique story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai.

From 1933 to 1941 Shanghai opened its doors to over 18,000 Jewish refugees fleeing persecution and war in Europe, transforming the city into an “open city for Jews” at a time when much of the rest of the world was closed.

The traveling exhibit, which will be at the LJCC through May 10, has given communities around the world an opportunity to learn about this significant but little-known story about Jewish immigration and settlement in world history. The 40-panel exhibit highlights historical content and biographies of many “Shanghailanders” who escaped Europe and made Shanghai their temporary home.

The first Jews, Silk Road traders, arrived in China in the 8th century and settled in Kaifeng.

Marco Polo noted a Jewish presence in Beijing in the late 13th century.

Persian or Iraqi Jewish traders first arrived in Kaifeng, one of China’s imperial capitals, during the Middle Ages. At its height, the Jewish community there likely numbered around 5,000 people with rabbis, synagogues, and other communal institutions.

But assimilation and conversion took its toll on the community and by the mid-19th century, there was little left. Today, about 500-1,000 identifiable descendants of this commuCourtesy Wikimedia Commons nity exist, with a number The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum of them seeking to reconBeijing on Oct. 12, 1996. Ari Lee’s mother, Elyse nect with their Jewish roots.

Silverberg, had heard Helzner sing in Hong Last year, Shavei Israel, a group that helps Kong for a meeting of Asia Hadassah. “lost tribes” and forgotten Jewish communities In Beijing, a Chinese Jazz band was taught return to their roots, held a Seder in Kaifeng last how to play klezmer music and the Capital year, reportedly the first one there in centuries.

Club staff was instructed on Jewish catering.

Many Jews arrived in China under British Silverberg prepared explanations of the service protection following the First Opium War in in Chinese. Guests were of Jewish and Chinese the 1840s. Some of these Jews were of Indian or backgrounds and included friends from the In- Iraqi origin, due to British colonialism in these

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regions. These included David Sasson (the “Rothschild of the East”), philanthropic businessman Sir Eli (Eliazer) Khadori, and real estate mogul Silas Herdoon.

According to most accounts, the number of Sephardic Jews in China totaled around 1,000.

Around 4,000 Jews would then arrive as refugees from the Russian Revolution of 1917, followed by the wave of refugees to Shanghai in the late 1930s and 1940s. According to Peter Nash, a child survivor from Berlin who found refuge in Shanghai from 1939 to 1949, about 8,000 of these refugees originated from Germany and 4,000 came from Austria.

“When Hitler came to power in early 1933, there were about 500,000 Jews in Germany and about 185,000 in Austria. Less than 100 Jewish professionals already left in 1933 and 1934 and went to Japanese-controlled Manchuria. Japan and China had a war in 1937, which Japan won,” Nash told JNS.org.

Japan’s win left Shanghai as the destination for the last refugees. The city was under a mosaic of rulers: the international settlement controlled by England and the U.S. with Japanese-controlled Hongkou on the northern Suzhou Creek, the French Concession, and the two Chinese districts that had grown up Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons around foreigners of A model of a synagogue in Kaifeng, China. many nationalities.

This mosaic is what enabled easy entry into Shanghai for Jews who were relieved of their citizenship from Germany and considered “stateless,” said Jody Hirsh, a former Jewish Community Center program director in Hong Kong. It was not Chinese humanitarianism that allowed for Jewish entry into Shanghai, but the absence of passport controls.

Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, former rabbi of the Jewish community of Japan, said Jewish contributions are still seen in China. The national anthem of China was written by famous Russian Jewish composer Aaron Avshalomov. The first Chinese psychiatrist was Abraham M. Halpern.

German-Jewish pop artist Peter Max picked up his first paint brush in Shanghai.

“The Jews came there as refugees with nothing and they left it a much better community,” said Tokayer In 1940, an estimated 36,000 Jews were in China.

Yet despite Shanghai having served a vital role in their lives, Jews looked to get out while China transitioned to Communist rule in 1949, Tokayer told JNS.org. Sephardic Jews, at risk of losing their bank accounts and businesses, fled abroad. Russian and German Jews opted for Mandatory Palestine, which welcomed all Jews. Others were able to secure U.S. visas.

“While it was no secret, relatively few in the global community were aware that there were Jewish communities living in Shanghai,” Nash said.

Kehillat Beijing brought organized Jewish life back to Beijing with its establishment in 1979. Chabad followed in 2001. In 1992, Nanjing University established an Institute of Jewish Studies.

Today there are roughly 5,000 Jews in Hong Kong, and about 2,000 each in Beijing and Shanghai.

(Additional info courtesy jns.org news service)

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community Holocaust commemorations mark 70 years since liberation Alexandra Zapruder, author of “Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust,” will be the featured speaker for the community-wide Holocaust Memorial Program in New Orleans.

The program, held at the Uptown Jewish Community Center on April 12 at 7 p.m. will remember and honor local survivors while educating the public about the Holocaust.

A founding staff member at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, Zapruder was one of the curators for “Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story,” the Museum’s primary exhibition for young visitors. Her book, “Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust,” won the Jewish Book Council’s National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category.

In conjunction with Zapruder’s talk, the Holocaust Educator of the Year award will be presented to Caitlin Meehan-Draper, a teacher at Samuel L. Green Elementary, and students from the Donald R. Mintz Youth Leadership Mission of the Anti Defamation League will be recognized. The program is free and open to the community.

Alabama’s state commemoration will be at the Old House Chamber at the State Capitol in Montgomery on April 14 at 11 a.m. Sponsored by the Alabama Holocaust Commission, the program will feature keynote speaker Rabbi Scott Kramer of Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery.

The program is open to the public. A luncheon follows, with reservations to the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center required. Cost for the luncheon is $18.

The Birmingham community commemoration will be on April 12 at 3 p.m. at Temple BethEl. The program will be “Stories Remembered and Retold,” the stories of deceased Holocaust survivors as told by their local descendants.

Jacksonville State University will have its annual commemoration on April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Holocaust survivor Robert May will be guest speaker, accompanied by daughter Ann Mollengarden.

Auburn University at Montgomery will have its annual Holocaust remembrance program at the AUM Athletic Complex on April 15 at 9:30 a.m. Max Steinmetz and Max Herzel,

survivors living in Birmingham, will be the featured speakers.

In Columbus, Ga., Shearith Israel will host a program with guest speaker Murray Lynn.

He will introduce and discuss a film about his survival of the death camps. Produced by the Breman Museum, the film is narrated by Ambassador Andrew Young. Rabbi Brian Glusman will lead the 7 p.m. program on April 15.

The Gulfport Jewish community will host a Yom HaShoah program on April 16.

In Alexandria, the interfaith commemoration will begin at the downtown Holocaust monument on April 20 at 6 p.m., and proceed to Emmanuel Baptist Church for a 7 p.m. program.

The Lake Charles commemoration will feature Pierre Sauvage and have programs at both McNeese State and Temple Sinai.

Sauvage is a child survivor and son of Holocaust survivors. A documentary filmmaker, he is founder of the Chambon Foundation, the first educational foundation dedicated to “exploring and communicating the necessary and challenging lessons of hope intertwined with the

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Holocaust’s unavoidable lessons of despair.”

The Varian Fry Institute was established by the Foundation in 2005.

Sauvage is best known for his 1989 film, “Weapons of the Spirit,” about an isolated community in France that took in and saved 5,000 Jews, including his family. In 2014 he released “Not Idly By — Peter Bergson, America and the Holocaust.”

“Weapons of the Spirit” will be screened at Bulber Auditorium on April 15 at 7 p.m.

The city-wide Day of Remembrance commemoration will be at Bulber Auditorium on April 16 at 7 p.m. After a brief ceremony, Sauvage will speak about his work.

On April 17 at 7 p.m., there will be a personal discussion with a question and answer session at Temple Sinai.

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The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama will have a Celebrate Israel 67 community-wide festival on April 19 from 4 to 7 p.m., featuring the Israel Defense Forces Military Reserve Band. The event will be at the Wynlakes Golf and Country Club in Montgomery.

Tickets are $15 in advance for adults, free for children under 12. Reservations are requested by April 10.

The New Orleans Jewish community will have a celebration of Israel at the National World War II Museum with the screening of “Above and Beyond,” Nancy Spielberg’s documentary about the formation of Israel’s Air Force in 1948. American pilots from World War II, many of whom were not Jewish, volunteered to fly salvaged Nazi aircraft to help Israel in its fight for independence.

The April 22 event will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception, followed by Spielberg’s talk at 6:30 p.m. The film will be screened at 7 p.m. A question and answer session will follow the film.

The Greater New Orleans Rabbinic Council will lead an Israeli Memorial Day commemoration as part of the evening. The reception is catered

by Casablanca.

Reservations are $18 and need to be made to the Federation by April 17.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will have a Birmingham Celebrates Israel event on April 26 from noon to 3 p.m. The event will include a decorated bike parade, with participants bringing their own bikes.

Traditional Israeli foods will be on sale, there will be interactive activities, face painting and a children’s zone. There will also be Israeli dancing and music by Shout Out Entertainment.

Mobile’s Shaliach is working on an April 30 event to celebrate Israel in Mobile by decorating the area in Israeli flags and blue and white ribbons.

Memphis Friends of Israel announced that their annual Israel festival will be on June 7 at Audubon Park. The annual festival and 5-kilometer walk attracts thousands each year.

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 23

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Over 100 people were in attendance as Capt. Fred Levin, president of Temple Beth-El of Pensacola, made opening remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Temple’s renovation on March 1. Groups of honorees took turns with shovels, beginning with Rabbi Joel Fleekop and his family, the board of directors and major donors. Sunday School children who will inherit the renovated space received their own hard hats and vigorously set about digging.

Several city and county officials attended the groundbreaking.

Levin said every effort would be made to have Shabbat and holidays in the sanctuary during the project. Torah study has been moved into the school building, which will be utilized as much as possible during the construction.

The Temple office functions have been moved temporarily to the home of administrator Kathy Smith. Also, the downstairs entrances to the building will be unavailable, so the sanctuary should be entered from the front door.

Levin said the renovations will make the building “more welcoming and accessible.”

The renovation project includes preserving the sanctuary and windows, adding a new grand entry tying the education building to the main 1930s Art Deco building, establishing an adult education center and welcoming lobby, and enlarging the Max Bear Auditorium. A more efficient kitchen is also planned.

The project will also make the building more accessible to those with disabilities, including adding an elevator.

Display cases will be in the upper and lower lobbies, with items from the Pensacola Jewish Museum slated for the lower lobby.

Outside, the parking lot and access to the property will be improved.

About $1.7 million has been raised toward a goal of over $2 million.

Choose your own path.

Music director Harry Mayronne, Chris Wecklein, Mary Viguera, Victoria May, John Reeks and Bruce Miller at the JCRS event

Celebrating Jewish, JCRS ties to music The Jewish Children’s Regional Service celebrated 160 years as the nation’s oldest Jewish children’s social service organization with a salute to five families and a celebration of American Jewish musical heritage.

The Jewish Roots of Music gala attracted about 500 to the Hyatt Regency on March 7. Leon Rittenberg III, JCRS president, told the crowd “We’ve been doing this for 160 years and we need your support to do another 160 years.”

The agency began as the Association for the Relief of Widows and Orphans in New Orleans, popularly known as the Jewish Children’s Home. Originally set up for Jewish children orphaned by yellow fever, an agreement was reached with B’nai B’rith to open the home to B’nai B’rith Delicious Flickr Twitter District 7 — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

As orphanages became a thing of the past, the home closed Delicious in 1946 Flickr DeliciousFacebook Twitter Flickr MySpaceRetweet TwitterStumbleUpon and became JCRS, providing services to children who had special needs.

Camp scholarships and college tuition assistance based on financial need Slash Dot Mixx Digg Skype Facebook MySpace StumbleUpon Facebook MySpace StumbleUpon were also established.

In 2014 there were 313 camp aid recipients and 128 undergraduates Slash Dot Mixx Slash DotReddit Skype Mixx FriendFeed Technorati Skype YouTube receiving aid, and 93 special needs children received case management and funding for care.

Newsvine SlideShare Google Reddit and most FriendFeed YouTube LinkedIn The agency also runs the PJ Library program in New Orleans Reddit FriendFeed YouTube of the region, sending Jewish books monthly to students ages 6 months to 8 years.

Yahoo Google Yahoo Buzz Netvibes Newsvine SlideShare Google Talk Newsvine SlideShare Google The event recognized the Cahn and Goldring families of New Orleans, the Woldenberg Foundation of New Orleans, the Klein family of LouisMicrosoft MSN AOL Apple Yahoo Yahoo Buzz Netvibes Yahoo Yahoo Buzz Netvibes ville, Ky., and the Grinspoon family from Western Massachusetts.

Mike Cahn, a Mississippi native, and Blanche Lazard, a New OrleaniApp Store AmazonMobileMe Last.fm Microsoft MSN Apple an, met and married in New Orleans in 1911. They founded Dixie Mill Microsoft MSN Apple Supply Company and had two sons, Emile and Jules.

Qik Vimeo Mister Wong Viddler Store Amazon Last.fm Mike and Blanche Cahn were already supporters of, andAppmentors to, App Store Amazon Last.fm the residents of the former Jewish Children’s Home in the early part of the 20th century, when in 1936 Emile married Adele Karp.Qik Adele was Tumblr Viddler WordPerss Blogger Vimeo Virb Vimeo Viddler one of four Karp sisters raised at the Home. Today, at age 97, Adele Karp Qik Cahn is one of the oldest and most proud surviving alumni of the Jewish BehanceBlogger Design Float Deviant Art Tumblr WordPerss Posterous Children’s Home.

Tumblr WordPerss Blogger The Cahn sons, together with their spouses, Adele and June, carried on Bebo Design Bump Squidoo Design Float Friendster Deviant Art a tradition of passionate and involved philanthropy, that hasBehance now passed Behance Design Float Deviant Art down to their children, New Orleanians Jimmy and Marie Cahn, and Richard and Vivian Cahn, through the Cahn Family Foundation.

RSS Email Share This Friendster Bebo Squidoo Bebo Squidoo When the foundation was established in 1954, one of its primary re- Friendster cipients was JCRS. RSS Email Elias Klein and his brother, Ike, were child refugees, who were sent out RSS Email of Nazi Germany in 1934 by their parents, who were left behind. They found themselves in need of assistance from the Jewish community of New Orleans and the home after their second set of foster parents moved to New Orleans from Atlanta in 1936 but could not provide what the boys needed. The community helped to place the boys with Lillian Greenwald, who became their foster mother.

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The brothers served in the U.S. military during World War II, then returned to New Orleans. Elias married native Beverly Aronowitz in 1948 and became an industrial and research chemist in New Orleans and Mobile. In 1981, a teaching position at the University of Louisville Medical School lured Elias from his position as the director of the Gulf South Research Institute. In appreciation of the support that the young Klein boys received from New Orleans Jewish institutions, Elias and Beverly have given back to New Orleans, and together with their children, created the Klein/Broniatowski College Assistance Fund for Refugee Children at JCRS. Stephen Goldring started a wholesale alcohol distributorship in his native Pensacola after Prohibition ended. In 1944 he and partner Malcolm Woldenberg, a Montreal native, founded Magnolia Marketing Company in New Orleans, and he became one of the most successful members of his industry.

He and wife Mathilde formed the Goldring Family Foundation, and oversaw the Woldenberg Foundation after Woldenberg’s death in 1982. A wide range of organizations in the national Jewish community and the general New Orleans community have benefited from the Foundation.

Some of the named places and institutions include Woldenberg Park along the Mississippi River in New Orleans, the Great Lawn at City Park, the Goldring Building at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, two main buildings at Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson and the Goldring/Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie.

Honorees at the JCRS gala were the The Goldring Foundation also Cahn, Klein and Goldring families, supports the PJ Library program the Woldenberg Foundation and at JCRS. the Grinspoon family Through the Woldenberg Foundation’s efforts, Woldenberg Village opened as a residential center for Jewish seniors in New Orleans. The foundation also supports projects in Israel, such as the Dorothy and Malcolm Woldenberg Orthopedic Hospital, and the Woldenberg Library at Tel Hai College in the Galilee, among others.

In 1993, Harold Grinspoon a real estate developer, created a family foundation whose original mission was to support services for residents

Hadassah Members (and Associates) Are Invited…

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Invite you to an exciting Shabbaton and to be a part of the just-named Super South Tri-Region on our nascent voyage as part of Hadassah’s newly-formed pilot HUB. Enjoy our wonderful speakers who will make Hadassah Big and Easy for you!

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community of Western Massachusetts and to support a variety of programs for various Jewish communities. Over time, both the mission of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the number of his own family members that he involved in the foundation has grown exponentially.

One deep passion for Grinspoon is his desire to enhance Jewish continuity, and to channel that passion through programs for Jewish youth and young families. After starting with western Massachusetts, they started supporting programs like Hillel and Birthright Israel, then Jewish summer camps.

The foundation’s JCamp180 works to improve camp planning, technology and fundraising, with challenge grants and incentives.

In 2006, the Grinspoon Foundation launched the PJ Library, a program that now provides free, monthly Jewish-themed books to 136,000 Jewish youth ages six months to eight years in North America. PJ has also expanded into South America, Australia, and Israel. With additional local support from the Goldring Family Foundation, JCRS administers PJ in New Orleans and across parts of six states, providing over 900 Jewish youth each year with book subscriptions.

Tamar Remz, who represented Grinspoon, said “everything we do is about partnership,” with the goal of “inspiring other people to give and give Jewishly.”

The musical part of the program, directed by renowned musician Harry Mayronne, started with Cantors Joel Colman of Temple Sinai and David Mintz of Touro Synagogue, and Cantorial Soloist Victoria May from Gates of Prayer.

May was joined by Chris Wecklein and Mary Viguiera in a retrospective of songs by Jewish composers and performers.

While the program dealt mainly with nationally-known Jewish entertainers, the evening was also an acknowledgement of the musical history

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28 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

of JCRS. Hank Greenwald, who narrated the performance, is a clarinetist and past president of the New Orleans Concert Band. All four of his grandparents and one step-grandparent were raised in the Jewish Children’s Home, and his grandparents Leslie and Lillian Greenwald were foster parents of Elias Klein, one of the night’s honorees.

Long-time New Orleans percussionist Bruce Miller, immediate past president of JCRS, received scholarship aid from the agency as a child.

Additionally, Miller and Greenwald are nephews of brothers Monty and Marcus Korn, who had lived in the home and became accomplished jazz musicians.

Other musical residents of the home included Ben Weil, who played the cornet while living at the home from 1899 to 1906. He continued to play, and eventually returned to Birmingham and created Mayer Electric Supply.

Joe Bihari, who was in the home in the 1930s, went on to lease jukeboxes and was frustrated at the lack of records from black musicians. He and his siblings traveled the South, signing singers who became some of the most influential blues and R&B musicians of the era.

More recent scholarship recipients include Mark Rubin, who is in the Austin Music Hall of Fame and was a member of the Bad Livers; Jon Swann, a noted musician in Houston; Birminghamian Yitzi Peetluk, who is a session drummer in Boston for several acts while studying music management; Caroline Samuels, a double bass and harp player who is a student at the Eastman School of Music; and Tennessee bass player Alana Rocklin, who most recently toured with Sound Tribe Sector 9.

The evening’s emcee, Bruce Katz, meteorologist at WVUE-TV, is another JCRS “success story,” having received camp and college scholarship aid.

culture

art • books • apps • music • film

United through music

Film project brings together Jews from West Virginia and Uganda for album What do Jews from West Virginia have in common with Jews from Uganda?

In the case of “Psalms: The Making of an Album,” it is unique musical styles that are rooted in Judaism and in the music of their surroundings.

A film project will bring them together this December to make music and explore what, if anything, they have in common.

Director Jon Matthews, whose most recent work was “Surviving Cliffside” and who was co-producer of Academy Award-winning documentary “Citizen Four,” said “both of these groups play really unique music.”

He began this odyssey when television and film composer Ernest Adzentovich approached him with film footage he had taken during a visit to Uganda in early 2012 and asked him to develop something with it.

The Abayudaya is a small group of Ugandans that identify as Jewish.

When Christian missionaries left Bibles in Uganda in the 1880s, this group started to follow the Torah and adopted their own form of Judaism.

In 1920 a foreign Jew named Yosef visited and provided knowledge of Jewish practices and kashrut, which the community still follows.

During the days of Idi Amin’s rule, the group was persecuted and their numbers dwindled, with some practicing in secret. In 1962 an Israeli became the second Jew from the outside world to visit the community, which has undergone a revival since the 1980s.

In 2002 about 400 Abayudaya were formally converted to Judaism by the Conservative movement, but the residents of Putti, who have a strict Orthodox lifestyle, are seeking an Orthodox conversion.

Putti is located near the Kenyan border. Matthews said the travel time from the capital city, Kampala, is anywhere from four to 10 hours, depending on road conditions and how many animals are on the road.

New York saxophonist Mike Cohen visited the village in 2008 after meeting community leader Enosh Keki Mainahh in the Save Ugandan Jewry newsgroup online and they traded recordings. Mainahh, a musician, said his mother had composed songs based on the psalms but wasn’t able to record them.

With the help of backers, Cohen went to Uganda and recorded the Putti choir with a challenging one-microphone setup. “When I Wake Up, The Music Of Putti” was released the next year. Cohen called it “some of

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April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 29

culture the most beautiful music I have ever recorded.”

Cohen is on the board of the Putti Village Assistance Organization, which seeks to make Putti a “fully sustainable village… economically, ecologically, educationally, and otherwise.”

A village of around 1,500, Putti has roughly 350 Abayudaya, about 600 Christians and 600 Muslims.

In 2012, Cohen returned to Uganda with Adzentovich, who mixed and mastered “When I Wake Up,” as his engineer. They spent 16 days in Uganda working on the second album, “I Love to Sing,” which includes “Ein Keloheinu,” “L’Cha Dodi,” “Shir Hamalot” and “Esa Enai.”

The footage Adzentovich brought to Matthews was from that trip.

“I’d never heard of the Abayudaya before,” Matthews said, “and the more I learned about it the more interested I became.”

Soon after that, Matthews was speaking at a conference in his home state of West Virginia, and he met Rabbi James Cohn of Temple Israel in Charleston. “I told him about the Uganda project and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it.”

After the encounter, Matthews reflected that he’d “never heard much about Jewish West Virginians, much like you don’t hear the phrase Jewish Ugandans.” When he was growing up, he didn’t know anyone in his town who was Jewish.

He started meeting Jewish musicians in West Virginia, such as Mike Pushkin, a cab driver who was elected to the House of Delegates, and multi-instrumentalist Dina Hornbaker.

Listening to their Appalachian-styled Jewish music, Matthews came up with the project, which deals with identity, culture and ethnicity.

In December, they will travel with the West Virginia musicians to Uganda, uniting the different musical styles. The film will be about the making of an album from the encounter, how the two groups communicate musically.

Matthews noted that in Uganda, the language of music is different. Adzentovich couldn’t speak with the Ugandans in terms of major and minor keys, for example.

If the album and film do well, the ultimate goal is to have the Abayudaya come to West Virginia and have a reunion concert on NPR’s Mountain Stage program.

“Our real goal is exploring identity,” Matthews said. “And the more specific we get with that question, the more universal the implications will be. Exploring the question of what it means to be Jewish will get at the deeper human question of ‘what makes us who we are’ and why that is so important.”

There is a Kickstarter campaign through April 2 for the film, but there are also numerous backers from across the country. The goal is to have the film ready for submission to film festivals by September 2016.

30 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

culture Chefs Currence, Shaya part of culinary mission to Israel this summer Four chefs, including Alon Shaya of New Orleans and John Currence of Oxford, Miss., will lead a “once in a lifetime” culinary tour of Israel this summer.

Also on the tour are Michael Solomonov of Philadelphia and Ashley Christensen of Raleigh, N.C. Shaya notes that this is an opportunity to travel through Israel with James Beard Award winning chefs — “not me, them.” Shaya has been nominated for Best Chef South for the last three years and been a finalist for the last two. He is a semi-finalist this year, but finalists have not been announced yet.

Shaya opened his self-named Israeli restaurant, Shaya, in New Orleans last month after being executive chef at Domenica and Pizza Domenica.

In 2012 he was named Chef of the Year by New Orleans magazine.

Shaya and Solomonov are long-time friends who have collaborated before. In 2013, they teamed up for an Israeli-themed wine dinner at the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience and led a seminar on Israeli street food. That fall, they led a culinary trip to Israel.

Aside from being born in Israel, both chefs share Bulgarian ancestry.

In 2011, Shaya was part of a Partnership2Gether trip, coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, that sent four New Orleans chefs to the community’s Israeli sister city, Rosh Ha’Ayin. Inspired by the trip, Shaya started adding Israeli flavors to his menus at Domenica and the trip pushed him toward his dream of opening an Israeli restaurant.

Born near Tel Aviv, Solomonov grew up in Pittsburgh. As a young adult he returned to Israel and worked at a bakery, making traditional items.

In 2003 his brother was killed while in the Israeli military. After that, Solomonov embarked on an exploration of Israeli food and culture while working in Philadelphia.

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He worked for Chef Marc Vetri, then became executive chef of Steve Cook’s Marigold Kitchen. The duo opened a Mexican place, Xochitl, followed by Israeli-style Zahav in 2008.

For his work at Zahav, Solomonov won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region in 2011.

They have also opened Percy Street Barbecue, two Federal Donuts and most recently, Israeli-themed Dizengoff and Abe Fisher.

As part of his 2013 trip, Solomonov cooked a tribute dinner for his brother’s unit for the 10th yahrzeit.

Solomonov is also hosting a two-hour documentary, “The Search for Israeli Cuisine,” that is slated for broadcast on PBS. A Kickstarter campaign is currently underway to help complete the project, which “will feature Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, Christians, and Druze — kosher and non-kosher, secular and religious.”

Christensen opened Poole’s Diner in Raleigh in 2007, and in 2011 turned a former Piggly Wiggly building into three restaurants — Chicken + Honey, Chuck’s and Fox Liquor Bar. In 2013 she opened Joule Coffee.

In 2014 she was recognized as Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation.

A New Orleans native, Currence worked in North Carolina before returning to New Orleans to open Gautreau’s with a friend. He then went to the Brennan group to help open Bacco, and in 1992 moved to Oxford and opened City Grocery. He has since opened many additional restaurants, including Snackbar and Big Bad Breakfast.

In 2009, Currence won the James Beard Best Chef South award.

In January 2013, Currence welcomed Atlanta chef Eli Kirshtein for “Big Bad Pop-Ups” with an Israeli street food theme. The four-week popup presentations were done while City Grocery was being renovated.

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culture Christensen, Currence and Solomonov were in New Orleans for the John Besh Foundation’s Fete des Chefs fundraiser, a night of 10 chef ’s table dinners at homes around the city on March 21, followed by an after-party at Borgne.

Currence and chef Tiffany Derry were at Billy Reid, Solomonov cooked at the home of Diane and Alan Franco, and Christensen was at the home of Becky and Richard Currence.

The Israel tour will be from June 25 to July 6, and includes meals at some of Israel’s top restaurants and markets.

The trip includes a visit to Makura Farm nature preserve in an ancient volcano between millennia-old olive orchards. Wineries, gourmet cheese producers and outdoor markets are also on the schedule.

“We will wolf down amazing hummus in Jaffa and eat sardines that are less than an hour from the sea in Akko,” Solomonov said. “We will eat foie gras cooked over charcoal on skewers and Jerusalem mixed grill at 2 in the morning.”

Shaya said the group will taste the best hummus in the world, “world class wines in the same fields they are grown in, meet an artisan goat cheese producer in the Judean Hills and hike up waterfalls in an oasis by the Dead Sea.” The chefs will prepare the final dinner on the trip at Arcadia Restaurant in Jerusalem.

Gil Travel is coordinating the trip.

“You will not come back hungry,” Shaya said.

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community Getting behind the “Band Geeks”

by Lee J. Green Band Geeks, a musical co-written by Jewish New Yorkers and a theatre professor at Troy University in Alabama, marches into the Red Mountain Theatre Company’s Cabaret Theatre April 16 to 19.

The musical, making its Birmingham premier, is called “a celebration of the tribulations of millions who have spent football halftimes pounding out Sousa-like renditions of ‘Maria’.”

With just nine members and dwindling funds, the Cuyahoga High Marching Beavers are close to extinction. When a troubled athlete is relegated to their ranks, Elliott, the tuba-playing band captain and Laura, his best friend, must find a way to unite the band by “embracing their inner geek” to save the Marching Beavers.

Troy University Theatre Professor Tommy Newman came up with the concept and wrote the music, lyrics as well as the book. New York City playwright Gordon Greenberg collaborated on the book. Gaby Alter partnered on the music and lyrics. Newman noted Alter’s father, Robert Alter, was the translator for the landmark “The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary.”

Alex Perlman, son of Collat Jewish Family Services Executive Director Lauren Perlman and Marc Perlman of Leitman-Perlman real estate, is in the Birmingham cast of “Band Geeks.”

Newman said he came up with the idea for “Band Geeks” based on his own experiences in marching band from the sixth grade through high school in Hopkinsville, Ga., through his junior year at Troy.

“The characters are based on friends of mine from high school and college,” said Newman, adding that Troy High School will also do a production of “Band Geeks” this spring. “This is a fun show but I hope what people will come away with is how important art and music education are in the development of young minds.”

The play was published in the fall of 2010 and premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, while Newman was living in New York. “It was such a perfect collaboration of ideas. When we completed it we really felt like we had something special and personal,” said Newman.

He said his father sung, played guitar and was involved in community theatre when Newman was growing up in the small town about an hour south of Macon. While in high school he got to help work on the sets and be in the chorus for the revival production of the opera house in Hopkinsville — “Music Man.” “Then when I got to Troy I had written original songs for an a capella group I was in. I got involved in theatre and the marching band there. They have some wonderful programs for music and theatre at Troy,” he said.

Newman moved to New York City when he was 23 and lived there for 10 years. Over the years he has written numerous musicals including “29” with Alter, “The Yellow Brick Road,” “We The People: America Rocks” and “Tinyard Hill,” which was performed in 2007 at the Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre.

In 2011, Newman was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. He thought it would be best to receive treatments closer to home. When he contacted his alma mater, they offered him a position as an artist in residence.

That led to a full-time professorship and opportunities to develop theatre talent at Troy. As for the cancer, Newman said he is in remission and “doing great. I take a pill a day to manage it and rarely feel any symptoms.”

Troy University will perform the new version of “To Kill A Mockingbird” toward the end of this semester. Newman said he is excited to see the response “Band Geeks” will get in Alabama.

“I hope this will influence others to understand how important the arts programs are in our schools. Those seem to be the first ones that are cut at high schools and colleges when they have to make budget cuts,” he said.

“We need to support the arts for future generations. America’s creativity is its greatest export.”

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Wrestler and opera singer Sam “The Great Kaiser” Tenenbaum is stepping into the ring and the spotlight again, but this time it’s with a book about his extraordinary life.

This month the 71-year-old involved member of the Birmingham Jewish community hopes to have his memoirs completed. New South Publishing in Montgomery is expected to release “The Great Kaiser Against The Grain: The Singing Wrestler” within the next few months.

“I want to have a legacy of my family name and a way to honor my parents’ memory,” said Tenenbaum. “I did not marry or have kids. I devoted my life to my parents and to my career. With the book, I want to share these memories and experiences with my extended family — my friends and family everywhere.”

Tenenbaum grew up in Birmingham, saying he had a good childhood and would sing in the Temple Emanu-El choir growing up. He still does.

But he was far from the strong, hulking body type he had in his wrestling and weightlifting prime, or today.

“I was a spindly Jewish boy and I used to get bullied in school. I was a C student and my father wanted me to get some discipline so they sent me to the Marion Military Academy when I was 17 years old,” said Tenenbaum.

It was there that Tenenbaum “became a man.” In nine months, he pulled his grades way up and packed on 30 pounds of muscle after starting wrestling, boxing and weightlifting. He returned to Birmingham, then went to college at the University of Montevallo.

But his prime focus at Montevallo was learning from one of the area’s great tenors and training to become an operatic tenor singer.

Tenenbaum would get roles in two Birmingham operas — “The Barber of Seville” and “Susannah” — while also keeping up with his bodybuilding and fitness regimen.

After graduating from Montevallo, Tenenbaum was trying to figure out what to do with his life. A training buddy, Joe Honeycutt, who is still active at the age of 90, suggested he would make a good wrestler. Honeycutt wrestled as Steel Dawson.

About a year later, Tenenbaum had his first match in Oneonta, against Nick Carter. “He was experienced and he worked me over pretty good.

But I held my own and had the crowd rooting for me since I was new and an underdog,” he said. Tenenbaum wrestled under the name Bob Kaiser.

His parents at first did not approve. “When I started in wrestling it was considered more rough and coarse. The characters were unorthodox. It was not so well known and loved as it is today. Today is more scripted and for entertainment. Back then it was real and rough,” he said.

“My parents were concerned about me getting injured and didn’t think I could make a steady career out of it,” added Tenenbaum. “But later on they came around and were very supportive. They began to accept it when they saw how much time, training and passion I put into it.”

After five years, Dr. Johnny Peebles III became his manager and would remain so through Tenenbaum’s wrestling career. The two are still very good friends today. In 2005 both Tenenbaum and Peebles were elected continued on page 37

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36 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015

KOSHER-STYLE RECIPE

Asian Rim

by Lee J. Green A dining experience that could be considered affordable fine dining set in a comfortable modern ambiance can be had with Asian Rim Birmingham and Asian Rim Huntsville. The Birmingham location opened at the Colonnade in November 2012 and Huntsville’s downtown location opened last November.

Asian Rim was founded by Roy and Paige Hockman. Roy had retired after many years with Outback Steakhouse and wanted to get back into the restaurant business. He explored different options for franchising a brand and couldn’t quite find what he was looking for.

Hockman saw an opportunity in Asian-style restaurants to create a higher-end concept that could grow and expand.

The next move was to come up with the menu, so he partnered with a group of chefs in

cooking on the stove with a covered pot.

If you don’t have a wok, use a sauté pan, preferably one without Teflon. Pans with Teflon don’t heat as quickly or readily. Preheat pan with vegetable oil or canola oil, and once the oil begins to lightly smoke add your raw egg, garlic and protein.

Cook protein until it’s about 75 percent finished (1-2 minutes in a hot pan) and add all your vegetables, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on high heat and add chilled rice.

The chilled rice will drop the temperature of the pan so keep the flame on high, then add the soy sauce, fish sauce, perhaps a dollop of ketchup for flavor and a little color, and a pinch of sugar.

Cook for an additional minute or two, making sure to keep the rice from getting mushy (due to over-cooking). Turn the flame off, add a pinch of coarse black pepper and toss to mix. Garnish with a little cilantro.

Seattle. The concept was to build a menu that would be broad enough in selection to provide a little something for everyone.

General Manager Chris Arvin said the menu started with sushi and Pan-Asian dishes and evolved to include authentic Thai while expanding the sushi menu to include signature items.

Hockman partnered with Birmingham’s Turner Batson architects to design the restaurant that features “comfortable modern ambience” that include warm wood features, stained glass and an inviting patio environment.

“Our beautiful décor and excellent menu help set us apart immediately, but it’s our people that really make the experience truly great,” said Arvin.

Some of the most popular kosher-style sushi items at Asian Rim include Red Dragon, Rim of Fire, Midnight Sun, The Lotus and Ahi Super Crunch. Other popular items are (Thai) Drunken Noodle, Pad Thai, Fried Rice, (Pan-Asian) Sea Bass, Salmon with Smoked Sea Salt and Sirloin.

Continued from page 38

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axiomatic that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

However, is it logical that for every two Vulcans there are three opinions?

To more fully explore this broad question, the Vulcan High Council has decided to examine the Talmud — a copy of which they ordered from Amazon Prime, the only interstellar repository of all published knowledge that guarantees two-day delivery to all Federation member planets, and most outlying colonies and outposts.

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who suspects Leonard Nimoy might have enjoyed this. But we often do such things too late. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

>> Great Kaiser

into the National Wrestling Alliance’s Hall of Fame.

So how did Tenenbaum become The Great Kaiser? He credits Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in 1976 was in Birmingham for a few months making the bodybuilding movie “Stay Hungry.” Tenenbaum got to be in the movie and the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger suggested The Great Kaiser name when they spoke of Tenenbaum’s wrestling career.

It was about that time that The Great Kaiser’s wrestling career really took off. He started wrestling in bigger matches in larger cities such as Atlanta and Charlotte. Of course he was already a big name in Birmingham and had a strong, loyal fan base.

“That was really exciting. I started getting more and more big bookings to wrestle as The Great Kaiser and wrestling was really becoming more mainstream,” he said.

The Great Kaiser continued to wrestle pretty regularly through the 1980s and has come back for some reunion matches in years since. “I guess I can never say officially I fully retired. And I am still involved with wrestling as a consultant… as well as a mentor,” said Tenenbaum.

But these days it’s his operatic tenor that gets the applause. Tenenbaum sings at Temple Emanu-El several times a year as well as a special community performance for Israel Independence Day. He lends his voice to the annual Crooning for Critters Greater Birmingham Humane Society event and sings the national anthem at some Birmingham Barons baseball games.

Did wrestling and opera ever cross over? Tenenbaum said his theme song as The Great Kaiser was “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music,” and he sang it operatically in the ring a few times at matches.

“I am blessed with all I have been given. I have wonderful family and friends. I’ve gotten to wrestle and sing — the two things I love to do,” he said. “Life is good.”

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>> Asian Rim Asian Rim offers Happy Hour from 3 to 6p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Monday night is $1 sushi from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday is pint night, and they have live music on the patio during warmer weather months. Thursday is half off all wines. A quick, affordable lunch menu is offered weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Asian Rim Birmingham has brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring roast chicken with hashbrown, omelets, French Toast, fresh fruit, mimosas and Bloody Marys as well as French-Press coffee, and more.

The restaurants can seat up to 150 inside and 75 outside. Birmingham can accommodate large groups in their Wave Lounge area and Huntsville offers a private dining room for special events and business meetings.

Arvin said “we source items from several different distributors to ensure we receive the highest quality. When possible we source local or within Alabama, including produce. We prep fresh every day, making everything in house. We employ Thai chefs and trained sushi chefs to ensure quality and authenticity.”

April 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 37

To Better Serve You…

the beholder’s eye • doug brook

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18

MOUNT SELEYA,there VULCAN In the beginning, was a — In light of recent events, the Vulcan High Council has finally consented to consider whether the Terran Jewish question. custom saying sunny, Kaddish is logical.

It wasof a warm, summer Why would the Vulcans Shabbat morning, whencareanabout a ritual from Earth, especially one that is specificallywoman Jewish? Some unsuspecting was Vulcan scholars have found Judaism fascinating ever discovering that lot, the time-honored salute approached in asince synagogue parking and asked theVulcan question thatis identical to a hand gesturequips. used by the Jewish high priest during priestly would launch a thousand benedictions.

“Do you think you know four rabbis who would prefer people sleeping Not only the hand gestures identical in formation, but Vulcans and through theare sermon, rather than talking during it?” She said, “probably. ” Jews also them equally painful.

From thatfind came the headline, “Rabbis prefer sleeping during sermon.”

It isthat therefore logical to believe that where oneinnocuous parallel exists, other In first fateful column, 18 years ago, her “probably” parallels couldofbe least worthy of exploration. was the basis theat scientific assertion that four out of five rabbis prefer Terranduring Jewisha tradition Kaddish every daySimple: for 11 sleeping sermon. has Frompeople wheresay came the fifth rabbi? monthswas after immediate passes away, and thenThus, everyfour yearout on When theanlast time fiverelative rabbis agreed on anything? thefive. anniversary date. An immediate relative is defined as a parent, spouse, of sibling, or child, because these areinvestigative the relatives skills you are most likely tothere have The journalistic integrity and demonstrated affronted with frustration, indignance, or playing Barry could havemore easilyfrequently led to a prestigious career today in covering the Middle M*nilow too loud.

East for most major news outlets. But instead, this column labored every Is it logical dwell thethat past?were Some Vulcanand scholars say thattwice it is month (excepttofor the on ones missed), sometimes logical only to look forward.

Others thatalmost one can lookreaders. at the past monthly, to bring almost several laughssay to its several without on it.waves A few of more that the question is irrelevant It rodedwelling the sound Thebelieve Southern Shofar though, despite because it was asked in the past, rode whichinhasthe yetseat to bebehind proven to be logical contractual stipulation, never a Southern to dwell upon, andspoke therefore is simultaneously both Voice, relevant and Chauffeur.

It then in its itown Deep South Jewish before irrelevant fully investigated. settling inuntil to Southern Jewish Life‘s hind end — unless you read the One scholar raised the accepted tenet that how death magazine right to left, which does not make most of we thedeal newswith today makeis at leastorasless, important more, sense. as how we deal with life. Saying Kaddish is a form of Over dealing death, and therefore it would merit exploration as an thewith years, this column presented the wisdom of the recentlyexploration long-lost of life itself. discovered, Mishnah tractate Bava Gump which, among other The Kaddish doesshrimp not talkcan about death, or about individuals. The most things, teaches how be kosher. logical purposeretold of reciting it is simply to remember.

The column the legendary adventures of theHowever, beloved Vulcan young mental discipline allows and them have exceptional so there kabbalist, Harry Plotzer, histoadventures with Thememory, Sanhedrin’s Stone,is much debate about whether such a ritualistic is necessary. through The Chamber of Shpielkis, and with reminder The Prisoner of Ashkenaz a basic form, a similar When andInThe Gabbai of once Fire, again though not yetVulcan gettingritual to Thealready Deadlyexists.

Challahs. a Vulcan dies, his orwere her guests, Katra — theasliving spirit, orone soul, Occasionally there such the recurring duecontaining to a hareeverything they knew and were can beasretained.

Whenthe this form of brained rabbinical typo, Ask the— Rabbit, well as Gurb Caveman mind meld is performed, as part report of the from process word “remember” is Rabbi, and the occasional special Thethe Oynion. uttered.

Explored were calendar anomalies and events, real and surreal, such as Once again,Mezuzapalooza, debate exists. Some scholars believe that this provides Thanksnukah, Kol Nidre the 13th, Purover, Chrisnukah, precedent and for athe ritual to remember those whoand haveDay passed.

Others say an Yomtober, pirated Rosh Hashaarrrnah of Aarrrtonement. unpronounceable Vulcan Been term, Run which bestBytranslates as “poppycock. ”A The chorus of “Bubbe’s Over a Reindeer” was sung, the few more believe thathis nobody can truly know whatwho would be best until Rebbe at the Bat got bell rung, and the Grinch hated Jew-ville theyhis canhatred establish a common frame of reference — in essence, that they had unstrung. would haveit to die before they this could discuss matters In case wasn’t apparent, is competently the 18th anniversary of thisrelated space to death. not being for rent. In honor of this Chai anniversary, it would seem Of course,tothe question exists chai that tea. if a Vulcan’s Katra is preserved, is appropriate toast it with some that person truly Thatbaffled is, if the soul persists, is that person gone Except that chaigone? tea has rabbinic scholars for hundreds of “enough”(“Should to be mourned and, thus, commemorated via theLet’s Kaddish? seconds. we have seconds?

Is one cup enough? drink on theall, debate Earth centuries ago whena iscup theofactual it.”Like ) After chai on is not pronounced like regarding Chai, though chai point in time to when a life begins, thissome raisessay the centuries-old Vulcan makes it easier pronounce Chai. And that chai has properties debate whenone’s lifelife, truly ends.

During one of many debates on that helpabout to extend one’s Chai. this subject ago,relationship the great Surak’s discordant And what centuries is chai tea’s to Thaisummary Iced Tea?ofIsthe there such a discourse became a philosophical of the Vulcanaspeople: thing as Thai Chai Tea? If there is, arecornerstone its effects best described tai chi Infinite Diversitysystem? from Infinite Combinations. for the digestive So, as of writing,totheponder Council has suspended Kaddish debate These arethis questions during this High the Holy Day season, so they can focusnot instead resolvingon a more It is though perhaps late on afternoon Yom fundamental Kippur. Thisissue. column

continued continuedon onprevious previouspage page 38 Southern Jewish Life • April 2015