SJL Deep South, May 2014

Pigs Flying to a different venue

Commemorating civil rights battles and tragedies

Passover across the South

Southern Jewish Life

May 2014

Volume 24 Issue 5

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213-0052 Above: Alabama Governor Robert Bentley with some of Alabama’s Holocaust survivors

Southern

Life

Long-time readers know that in the 24 years since we began this publication, we have found ourselves in fertile ground for church-state battles, from the stealth Ten Commandments monument at the Alabama Supreme Court to battles over prayer in school.

In the heart of the Bible Belt, it is the gift that keeps on giving.

The latest comes from the Louisiana Legislature.

On April 21, Rep. Thomas Carmody of Shreveport pulled a bill he proposed that would have made the Bible the official state book of Louisiana. Though that immediately sends up red flags about government establishment of religion, the original intent is a bit more difficult to argue against.

As originally written, the official state book was to be “the Holy Bible, published by Johannes Prevel, (Prevel, Jean, active 15101528, printer. & Petit, Jean, fl. 1492-1530.), which is the oldest edition of the Holy Bible in the Louisiana State Museum system.”

It’s possible, though not likely, that there could be a Torah scroll in the state which is older, but we’ll let that pass for now.

A problem arose in that the specified Bible was privately owned, so for whatever reason it could not be considered. On April 10 Carmody amended the bill to make it the Authorized King James Version.

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After the Protestant Reformation, the Protestant Church switched from using the books in the Septuagint, which included those books, to the Hebrew Bible delineated in Judaism — though some books were divided and re-ordered. Ironically, early versions of King James included the extra books, but they eventually were dropped as less important.

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It often falls on members of the Jewish community to point out violations of church-state separation, so it was refreshing to see that the first, immediate objection came from Rep. Stephen Ortego, who is Catholic. For Catholics, and there are quite a few in Louisiana, the King James Version is incomplete, because Catholic Bibles include what is known as the Apocrypha. Those are later books that were part of the canon, such as Maccabees, but were dropped by the rabbis as part of the Hebrew Bible around 2,000 years ago.

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The debate then moved to whether other versions of the Christian Bible should be considered, and the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs voted 8-5 to simply state “The Holy Bible” would be the state book.

A suggestion by Rep. Ebony Woodruff of Harvey on making “all books of faith” official state books did not go anywhere. So no Quran or Bhagavad Gita. Whether the Tanach would be recognized under the umbrella of “The Holy Bible” was not clarified, though in her comment she did reference the Torah as one of the alternate religious books.

At this point, it is academic, because Carmody withdrew the bill, saying it had become a distraction.

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Some have also said that because the “official state” declarations have

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Southern Jewish Life

May 2014

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Publisher/Editor: Lawrence M. Brook, editor@sjlmag.com Associate Publisher/Advertising: Lee J. Green, lee@sjlmag.com

no real effect on anything, a challenge to it in court would likely not pass the legal “who cares” test.

So we’ll just chalk this one as a harmless expression of the natural inclination of politicians — to wrap themselves in symbolic feel-good measures that flex the majority’s Godly muscles while dragging their feet on accomplishing things that are actually talked about in what would have been Louisiana’s official book.

Larry Brook Editor/Publisher Editor’s note: In the March issue, the reaction of Holocaust survivor Agnes Tennenbaum of Mobile as being uncomfortable with the building of a ThyssenKrupp plant near Mobile was erroneous.

She expressed no opinion; in fact, the family purchased a Thyssen-Krupp stair lift.

Southern Jewish Life

New Orleans Bureau: Alan Smason, alan@dsjv.com Cait Muldoon, Gail Naron Chalew Publisher/Editor: Lawrence M. Brook, Creativeeditor@sjlmag.com Director: The American Jewish Press Association Ginger Brook, ginger@dsjv.com announced that Southern Jewish Life was Associate Publisher/Advertising: Photographer-At-Large: recognized in the 2013 Simon Rockower Lee J. Green, lee@sjlmag.com Barry C. Altmark Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism.

Creative Director: Ginger Brook, The Rockowers are the highest honorContributing in Writers: ginger@sjlmag.com Jewish journalism.

Doug Brook The publication won second place for the Photographer-At-Large: Mailing Address: Rambam Award for Excellence in Writing Rabbi Barry C. Altmark .O. Box 130052, About Health Care. The magazine is in Pthe Birmingham, AL 35213 Writers: Doug Brook division of newspapers with 15,000 circulaContributing

SJL wins national award for NIPERM

tion and over; all magazines; special sections Telephone: Mailing Address: and supplements; and Web-based outlets.

Birmingham: (205)130052, 870-7889 P.O. Box Birmingham, AL 35213 The recognized piece is “Israelis help FAX: (866) 392-7750 New Orleans Prepare for the Unthinkable,” Telephone: Story Tips/Letters: about the December 2013 New Orleans/ Birmingham: (205) 870-7889 editor@sjlmag.com Israel Partnership on Emergency Response New Orleans: (504) 491-0562 and Medicine.

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Many of the college students who receive aidpublisher The is solely responsible foryears. To are $25/year or $40/two subscribe, (205)and 870-7889 Weil grew up in a small Jewish community from JCRS are from very low income families. the contents of SJL. call Columns letters or mail payment above. and was one of eight On average, each academic represent the viewstoofthe theaddress individual writers. All articles that do not have a children from a year the program funds The publisher is solely byline on them are written by theresponsible publisher. for blended family. After approximately 130 students the contents of SJL. Columns and letters her parents divorced, with an average award of Southernrepresent Jewish Life makes as to the viewsnoofclaims the individual writers. she developed severe about $2,000. Typically, All articles that do not a byline on the Kashrut of its advertisers, andhave retains medical problems that freshman and sophomores them are written by the publisher. the right to refuse any advertisement. caused her to miss a are eligible for grants for the Southern Jewish Life makes no claims as to available on request. and retains tremendous amount academic year. JuniorsAdvertising and the rates Kashrut of its advertisers, of schooling. She and seniors generally are eligible the right to refuse any advertisement.

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved, her family struggled to for a combination of grants Advertising rates available on request. reprints only by permission of publisher.

A pair of JCRS college success stories

make ends meet and and no-interest loans. to get the tutoring she For the 2014-15 academic Copyright 2014. All rights reserved, reprints needed to graduate high year, the deadline Philosophy: for only by permission of publisher.

To link the Jewish communities of the school. applications is May 31. All Philosophy: To link the Jewish communities Deep South, to tell you the fascinating College was the next college age Jewish students of the Deep South, to tell you the stories of one another, and challenge as her own JCRS sister success stories Laura and residing in the seven fascinating stories of to one another, and hardships, and those of Ashley Weil Southern states served by to document document and preserve news of and the preserve the news and her sister and roommate JCRS — Alabama, Arkansas, eventsand large and all small, all of a part of the events large small, a part culture of Southern Jewry.

Ashley, meant working multiple jobs with Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, the richrich culture of Southern Jewry. full course loads. Both sisters persevered, and Texas — and who are U.S. citizens are graduated with advanced degrees, and are eligible. JCRS does not fund students studying both productive and self-sufficient. abroad; this includes Israel, even for college According to JCRS, it is not uncommon for credit. financial worries and other troubles to become In 2013 JCRS reached more than 1500 a barrier to continuing an education. That is youth across seven mid-South states. All On the cover: Alabama Governor Robert 26 September 2010 Southern Jewish Life why JCRS has a College Aid program, helping programs of the JCRS are funded primarily Bentley, at the official state Holocaust financially challenged Jewish undergraduate through annual contributions and the annual commemoration on April 29, presented a students by providing scholarships for college income from family scholarship funds set up proclamation declaring Days of Remembrance or vocational training in the form of grants at JCRS. in Alabama. Five Holocaust survivors who live and/or no-interest loans based on financial Applications are available online at jcrs.org. in Alabama are pictured with him.

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Southern Jewish Life

Front Porch Renovations at Pensacola’s Beth El: The oldest Jewish congregation in Florida is looking toward the future.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth El announced a renovation project to transform its 80-year-old building on Palafox Street. The congregation moved to that location in 1931 after the second fire at the previous location on East Chase Street, where a historical marker now stands.

Captain Fred Levin, Beth El president, said as of April 22 the congregation had raised over $1.45 million in five-year commitments toward its $1.6 million goal. An update on the campaign and the construction plans will be given at the congregation’s annual meeting on May 18 at 2 p.m.

The plans include preserving the historic sanctuary and stained glass windows, improving the kitchen, enlarging the Max Bear Auditorium and making the building more accessible to those with disabilities,

including the installation of an elevator.

A new grand entry and welcoming lobby are also planned, as well as an adult education center. More convenient vehicular access and improved aesthetics around the campus are also planned.

The plans are being overseen by Quina Grundhoefer Architects and Greenhut Construction. The renovation committee is being chaired by Matt Dannheisser and Rodney Rich.

Remembering Ilan Ramon at Space Camp: Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom is teaming with the U.S. Space and Rocket Center for a screening of “Mission of Hope,” with an appearance by filmmaker Daniel Cohen.

The 2013 movie tells the story of Col. Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, who died on the disastrous 2003 Columbia space shuttle mission and explores his “mission within the mission.”

Ramon was an Israeli fighter pilot and the son of Holocaust survivors.

On the mission, he carried a miniature Torah scroll that had been given to a boy in a secret overnight Bar Mitzvah ceremony at BergenBelsen. That boy became Israel’s lead scientist for the mission.

“The story takes you on a journey of the human spirit,” Cohen said.

“It is an extraordinary tale of hope for the future, in the face of tragedy.”

Tickets for the 2 p.m. May 18 screening are $25 and are available at B’nai Sholom. Proceeds are being used for Space Camp scholarships in the name of Ramon and B’nai Sholom.

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May 2014

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Major renovations starting at Day School: On April 24, the board of Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School approved proceeding with a major renovation plan for the 20-year-old building.

Head of School Debra Abolafia said this is “an exciting project that we know is going to transform our school,” which runs from Kindergarten through eighth grade.

The most significant change will be in the central commons area.

Currently used for lunch and for events, the large space will be transformed into a new learning center. The current library is being moved into the area, which will also have a wall of computers for students and a separate Media Bar inspired by the Genius Bars at Apple stores.

There will be areas where classes can gather, or nooks for students to do individual work or reading. The tile will be replaced with carpet to minimize sound.

The current library will become the dining area, with two new doors leading to the kitchen service area. Sliding glass panels will replace the wall between the center commons and the old library, providing for a larger event space. The Culpeper Library will be expanded into a quiet space and board room.

A wall between the first two classrooms will be removed, making a larger, more flexible space for what Courtney Pittman of Davis Architects said is a plan to make “the best Kindergarten space in Birmingham.”

On the second floor, the half-walls ringing the central commons and containing the lockers will be replaced by colorful glass walls, and the lockers will be on the side of the walkway where the classrooms are.

Windows from the classrooms will tie into the central area and provide more natural light.

Outside, the courtyard will be expanded and made more functional.

As of late April, the school had raised $1.7 million in endowment gifts and $1.3 million toward the renovations. The goal is to finish the campaign this month by raising an additional $700,000.

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May 2014

Helping students deal with anti-Israel activism: The Birmingham Jewish Federation, concerned with increasing anti-Israel activity on college campuses across the country, unveiled Israel on the Quad, a new project designed for college students and their parents, to help them face the challenges they will encounter on campus.

Samantha Dubrinsky noted that the activity has mainly been on “campuses throughout the Northeast and Midwest and on the West Coast.” Alabama campuses have been relatively quiet, except for some activity a year ago at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“Birmingham students heading to out-of-state schools could face challenges and even intimidation when it comes to being publicly supportive of Israel,” she said. “What makes it worse is that Jewish students, often not fully informed, are sometimes involved in such antiIsrael efforts.”

The Federation will offer several services, from helping students assess the anti-Israel climate at schools they are considering to helping prepare them for what they may see. The Federation will also be a continuing resource throughout the student’s college career, for advice on how to navigate difficult situations.

Because there is a large number of Christian supporters of Israel in the South, the Federation is making this service available to non-Jews as well.

The initiative “is designed to help students interpret and understand Israel within their own political and philosophical beliefs,” she said.

“It is not intended to give them an ‘Israeli government party line’ or convince them of anything. It is to educate them, so that they are comfortable standing up for Israel when the time comes — and standing up for themselves.

Southern Jewish Life

Front Porch Teams ready to compete with kosher ‘cue: Twenty teams are signed up to compete in this year’s When Pigs Fly kosher barbecue contest in Birmingham. Among the 20 are six from outside the Birmingham area, including Montgomery and Atlanta.

With construction on a new 15-story apartment complex slated for next door to Temple Beth-El, the contest has a new home at the Levite Jewish Community Center for the May 18 competition The teams will compete in best barbecue chicken, brisket and baked beans. There is also a “people’s choice” competition where guests can sample and vote for their favorites.

Brisket and chicken plates will be available, along with sandwiches, hot dogs and veggie burgers.

Team coordinator Michael Duvdevani said most teams are not professional chefs, but “they enter to have a good time and support a good cause. New relationships are formed between team members, a day full of fun benefits the Temple, but it is also a personal benefit to spend time with others and enjoy friendly competition.”

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be live entertainment, a pickle eating contest, a kid’s zone, mechanical bull riding and celebrity judges.

The Brenda and Fred Friedman Family Foundation is the new title sponsor.

UWF presentation on security: The University of West Florida College of Business and the Pensacola Jewish Federation present “Terrorism and Cyber Security: Implications for Private and Public Institutions,” with A.G. Gollan.

Gollan has over 12 years of service in Israel’s Security Services as well as 20 years in the private sector for corporate industry in both the U.S. and Europe. He served as Director of Security for the Group of 8 World Summit held in Genova, Italy in 2001 where he was responsible for successfully coordinating security arrangements for the heads of state of Canada, The European Union, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States.

The presentation, which is free and open to the community, will be May 19 at 6 p.m. at the UWF Conference Center, Building 22.

Regional URJ gathering: The Shalom Y’all Union of Reform Judaism community is holding “Hinenu,” a gathering of members and leaders from Reform congregations in Alabama, Georgia, Chattanooga, Nashville and Tallahassee. The May 17 and 18 program features Lisa Lieberman Barzali, director of URJ’s “Expanding Our Reach,” with a music session by Rabbi Brad Levenberg of Temple Sinai.

Discussions will focus on attracting and keeping members, congregational finances, youth and adult programming and longrange planning.

It will be held at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell and Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta. Registration information is available at urj.org/ south/hineinu.

Jerusalem in Birmingham: The National Geographic IMAX film “Jerusalem” is opening at Birmingham’s McWane Science Center on May 23. The film follows renowned archaeologist Jodi Magness as she explores some of the most extraordinary historical sites in the region in order to better understand how Jerusalem became the crossroads of civilization.

Director Daniel Ferguson and his crew were given unprecedented access to Jerusalem’s most sacred sites to create an intimate and engaging portrait of the city, complemented by stunning, neverbefore-seen aerial photography that will leave audiences in awe of the beauty and majesty of both the city and the region in which it lies. .

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Front Porch Gulfport’s Beth Israel will hold its annual International Food and Wine Tasting on June 12 at the Island View Casino Resort. The event, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., includes wines from around the world, paired with food.

There will be live entertainment by Jesse Hill and a silent auction. Tickets, which are $50, will be limited.

In observance of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will honor the servicemen at Shabbat services on June 6. During the invasion, 149 Jewish servicemen were killed, and their names will be read in memoriam. Members who served in World War II are also invited to share their stories, as are children of those who served and who can share their parents’ experiences.

There will be a farewell event for Mobile’s Israeli Shlicha, Hadas Hoffman, on May 18. Details were not confirmed as of press time.

On May 23, Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have a Beatles Shabbat in honor of the 90th birthday of Karl Friedman. Birmingham native Michael Levine and Bonnie Puckett of Sunmoon Pie will perform at the 5:45 p.m. service. Last fall the Atlanta duo did a Simon and Garfunkel Shabbat for the installation of Rabbi Randall Konigsburg, setting parts of the traditional service to Simon and Garfunkel tunes.

You Belong in Birmingham continues its regular meeting schedule with dinner at 6:30 p.m. on May 11 at Surin 280, then Third Thursday at Carrigan’s on May 15 at 5:30 p.m. The June locations will be Rojo and Otey’s on June 8 and 19 respectively.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will describe and celebrate the work of the Joint Distribution Committee on its centennial. The JDC was founded to assist vulnerable Jewish communities in times of need. The May 23 service will be at 5:40 p.m.

Israeli Movie Night at Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or will feature “The Matchmaker” on May 20 at 7 p.m. The 2010 film is based on Amir Gutfreund’s novel “When Heroes Fly” and received seven nominations, including Best Picture, in Israel’s Ophir Awards.

Guitarist Steve Lewis from Tennessee will visit Pensacola’s Temple Beth El the weekend of May 16. He will lead the congregation at the 7 p.m. Shabbat service on May 16, which will be in honor of congregational volunteers. On May 17 at 6 p.m., the Fleekops will host the congregation at their home for a Lag B’Omer barbecue and bonfire.

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In Jackson, Beth Israel/McLeod Elementary School Literacy Day will be May 19 at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers are needed to read the designated summer reading book to the class, then can “gift” the book to the teacher, who will give it to a child in need. To volunteer, contact Dana Larkin.

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Rabbi Yonatan Sadoff will be visiting Shreveport from sister city Omer in Israel. He will discuss the current situation in Israel. He will speak at B’nai Zion’s 6 p.m. Shabbat service on May 16. He will also be at the 9:45 a.m. service at Agudath Achim on May 17, and at the community Lag B’Omer picnic and softball game, May 18 at 11:30 a.m. at B’nai Zion.

The Mobile Christian-Jewish Dialogue will present a theologically based panel discussion: “Christian and Jewish Perspectives on the Modern State of Israel” on May 15 at 7 p.m. at Ahavas Chesed. Dialogue events are free, and the public is welcome.

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New Tulane program explores Middle East peace: Starting next spring, Tulane University students will have the opportunity to participate in the Stacy Mandel Palagye and Keith Palagye Program for Middle East Peace.

Fifteen undergraduate students will be selected to take part in the summer immersion opportunity. Following the close of the spring semester, they will take three weeks of intensive course work at Tulane. They will then travel to Israel for three weeks, where, through a partnership with the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, they will gain a first-hand view of the issues and individuals engaged in the peace process.

Stacy Mandel Palagye, a 1983 Newcomb College graduate, and her husband Keith Palagye are supporting the $1 million summer immersion program through the auspices of the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation. The pilot program, which will be free to participating students, is scheduled to run over four years.

The program “reflects the unique nature of the School of Liberal Arts and its offerings,” said Carole Haber, dean of the school.

Professor Brian Horowitz, chair of the Tulane Jewish Studies Department, will teach a course about Israeli and Palestinian society on campus and accompany the students to Israel.

“The presumption that these are two disparate societies living one mile from each other but separated by many decades of historical alienation is false,” Horowitz said.

Speakers involved in many aspects of the peace process will talk to students, both on campus and in Israel.

“You can’t learn about a conflict if you only learn about one side,” said Mark Gasiorowski, a Tulane political science professor who will teach a course on campus in May 2015 about Israeli and Palestinian politics.

Students must apply for the program and take or have taken ArabIsraeli Conflict (JWST 3220) or its equivalent.

“I would not be surprised,” Horowitz said, “if someday the secretary of state of the United States is someone who graduated from this program.”

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Ester Rada touring South: Rising star Ester Rada, “the new soul of the Middle East” will be in the region this month. From a religious Ethiopian family in Israel, she combines “Ethio-Jazz, funk, soul and r&b, with mixed undertones of black grooves.”

She is finishing her debut album after receiving acclaim for her self-written EP, “Life Happens,” released last year. She opened for Alicia Keys in Israel, and her video is receiving strong play across Europe.

She will be at the Preserve Jazz Festival at Sloss Furnace in Birmingham, on May 25 at 4:45 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the gate. In all, the festival includes 10 acts from noon to 11:30 p.m., including the Yisrael Trio, which will be at the craft beer tasting stage at noon.

The Yisrael Trio, originally from Birmingham but now in New Orleans, is three brothers who are one of the hottest young jazz groups in the country.

Rada will be at the Thirsty Hippo in Hattiesburg on May 27 at 7 p.m.

On May 28 at 7:30 p.m. she will be at Duling Hall in Jackson, with the show presented in part by Capital City Beverage, Cathead Vodka, A2Z Printing & Find It In Fondren. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and there is an additional $3 charge at the door for those under 21. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

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May 2014

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Local Jewish News It’s What We Do.

Southern Jewish Life

Israel Festival in Memphis: Memphis Friends of Israel will hold its seventh annual Israel Festival and five-kilometer run/walk on June 8 at Audubon Park in Memphis from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This year’s festival will include the unveiling of plans for a northwest Mississippi Holocaust memorial, a spinoff of the “Unknown Child” project.

The festival is put on by an interfaith coalition of Israel supporters and draws about 7,000 each year. The free family day includes music, education, children’s activities, arts and crafts and a Jewish Food tent with a wide range of kosher and Israeli-style foods.

New attractions this year are an archaeological dig for children, and camel rides. There is also a falafel eating contest and 3-point shooting contest. Musical guests this year include the a capella Kol Ish, the Goldstein Family Band and Soulfarm.

The Unknown Child began in 2009 when Susan Powell, a teacher at Horn Lake Middle School taught a unit on the Holocaust. An effort began to collect 1.5 million pennies, to represent the 1.5 million children who died in

the Holocaust.

A connection was made with Israeli artist Rick Wienecke, who had done a life-size sculpture of a faceless child at the ovens of Auschwitz. He began to work with the pennies, as a site for the sculpture and the pennies was sought in northern Mississippi. Plans are now progressing for the memorial in Hernando.

Wienecke will be at the Memphis festival and show maquettes of his work. Ten of the small reproductions will be sold with the funds going toward the memorial.

On April 1, Rabbi Debra Kassoff (above) and fellow Mississippi Rabbi Matt Dreffin were among about 60 rabbis at the Central Conference of American Rabbis convention in Chicago to participate in Shave for the Brave.

They had their heads shaved as a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research and to raise awareness. The initial goal was $180,000, as of press time about $580,000 had been raised toward a new goal of $613,000. The initiative was in memory of “Superman Sam,” son of Chicago Rabbis Phyllis and Michael Sommer, who died from leukemia last December.

New Jewish music retreat: Ramah Darom announced the first JewJamSouth, a four-day celebration of Jewish choral and Klezmer music this August.

The retreat is designed for “passionate Jewish choral singers, klezmer instrumentalists, Hebrew and Yiddish singers and their families,” whether experienced or a newcomer. It is open to those of all levels and background, and no previous experience is needed.

The retreat is being led by Hazzan David Tilman, adjunct associate professor at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the choral director at Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pa. Also leading the retreat are the husband and wife Strauss/Warschauer Duo. Warschauer is founding artistic director and senior artistic advisor of the KlezKanada Institute for Yiddish/ Jewish Culture and the Arts, is on the faculty of Columbia University in New York, and is a graduate student in Cantorial Music and Modern Jewish Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Strauss is an award-winning children’s educator and a highly regarded Yiddish dancer and dance leader. For over 25 years, the duo have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene.

The retreat includes gourmet kosher cuisine, formal and informal singing and dancing, and a full klezmer concert and dance party.

Registration information is available at ramahdarom.org.

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May 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Mississippi Remembering 50th anniversary events for Freedom Summer, Neshoba County murders The summer of 1964 became known as Freedom Summer as large numbers of activists and volunteers descended on Mississippi during the height of the civil rights struggle. They sought to register as many African-Americans as possible to vote, and established Freedom Schools.

A large proportion of the volunteers were Jewish, estimated at over 1,000, and in June two of them, along with a local African-American activist, disappeared in Neshoba County. Their bodies were found weeks later underneath an earthen dam in one of the most notorious murders of that era.

In June, there will be a major Freedom Summer 50th anniverSJL file sary gathering centered at Touga- Carolyn Goodman, mother of slain civil rights worker loo College in Jackson. Activists, Andrew Goodman, at the 2004 memorial at Mount Nebo elected officials, students, scholars Church in Neshoba County. and veterans of the movement will gather for the June 25 to 29 reunion. About 3,000 meeting today’s injustices,” Rubin said. “Economic inequality is greater today than it was in participants are expected.

In conjunction with the event, the Goldring/ 1964. Voter suppression laws are rampant. The Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life is Freedom Summer 50th is planned to be a waorganizing programs to highlight Jewish activ- tershed event in planning for the ongoing civil ism from 50 years ago through today. The ISJL rights struggle ahead, and I hope Jews and all is partnering with national Jewish organizations other activists will attend this important gaththat work for social justice to offer programming ering.”

Myers said the week “will not be a typical that will give a contemporary Jewish presence while honoring the legacy of the Jewish volun- commemoration, but a launching pad for social action focused on four closely-related issue arteers from the 1960s.

Rachel Myers, ISJL special projects coor- eas: Education, Workers Rights, Healthcare, and dinator, said she and Director of Community Voting Rights within Mississippi and the nation.”

Among the national groups taking part is Bend Engagement Malkie Schwartz were inspired “to offer programming that gives participants an au- the Arc, A Jewish Partnership for Justice. Stosh thentic experience in the state in which the cam- Cotler, Bend the Arc CEO, said the organization paign occurred, exchange ideas with local and is excited to be participating. “The hard-won vicnational activists, and most importantly show tories from that summer — including the Voting Rights Act — are in jeopardy today, that Jewish activism is still alive making it meaningful and even urand well, not just a story from 50 gent for all of us to come together, years ago.” learn, and continue the vital work While in Mississippi, Jewish of protecting the right to vote. It is social justice advocates will have especially poignant to gather tothe opportunity to learn from gether in Mississippi, where Freeveterans of the Civil Rights Movedom Summer culminated.” ment and fellow advocates about A dinner for Jewish particithe work that lies ahead. Propants is planned for June 26, and gramming will provide the space for people to learn about Jewish activism during organizations will be able to share information Freedom Summer and the work of Southern about their work.

The ISJL will host a Lunch and Learn at their Jewish communities today.

Among the veterans taking part is Larry office at noon on June 27. During the afternoon Rubin, who came to Mississippi in 1964 from there will be a panel on the history of Jewish Philadelphia, Pa. An organizer with the Student Freedom Summer volunteers.

At 5 p.m. on June 27, Beth Israel will host a Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1961 to 1965, he started in Georgia and then went to Shabbat service and community discussion among scholars, volunteers and Jewish social Mississippi.

“This event will commemorate Freedom justice professionals on the experience of being Summer by discussing tactics and strategies for an “outsider” working in diverse communities.

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Additional programs on June 28 include a breakfast discussion on current initiatives, a tour of Jackson and a Call to Action moving forward.

These sessions are open to the Freedom Summer 50th conference and planned to complement the other sessions at Tougaloo.

In Neshoba County, where the murders of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney took place, the Philadelphia Coalition will hold 50th anniversary events the week of June 15. A kickoff event will be held at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church at 3 p.m. on June 15.

The church is where Klansmen beat church officers and set the church on fire on June 16, 1964. On June 21 of that year, the three civil rights workers arrived to document the beatings and arson before they were abducted. They have held memorial services for the three every year since then. The first community-wide service was held in 2004 for the 40th anniversary.

Civil Rights tours will be held in Neshoba County throughout the week.

On June 20 at 7 p.m., there will be a program at Mt. Nebo honoring local heroes.

On June 21 there will be a unity march followed by a luncheon at the Neshoba County Coliseum. There will be a unity program starting at 4 p.m.

The Louisiana CORE Legacy Committee is organizing “Freedom Summer and Beyond” from June 21 to 23 to commemorate the 1960s and examine “what we can and should be doing to address the many contemporary problems in Louisiana and in the nation.”

In October, a group of young Jews will visit the region through TENT: Encounters with Jewish Culture, a traveling seminar hosted by ISJL and the Yiddish Book Center. The participants will visit sites from New Orleans to Memphis.

Rabbinic staying and going Arrivals and departures are being marked at congregations in the region as the rabbinic leadership at some congregations change — but for some, they stay the same.

The biggest change is in Mississippi, where both of the state’s full-time pulpit rabbis are leaving. Rabbi Valerie Cohen had previously announced that she is taking a pulpit in Massachusetts this summer after 11 years at Beth Israel in Jackson.

Last month, Rabbi Uri Barnea of B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg announced his retirement after seven years. His final Shabbat service leading the congregation will be on May 30.

Rabbi Debra Kassoff, who was just named education director at the Jackson congregation, serves Greenville’s Hebrew Union Congregation part-time, and there are visiting rabbis at the congregations in Cleveland, Gulfport and Meridian.

Beth Israel will have a weekend honoring Cohen on May 30 and 31. At the 6:15 p.m. Shabbat service on May 30, congregants are being invited to come up and share stories and memories about Cohen. A special oneg will follow.

On May 31, there will be a “Toast to Jewish Composers” honoring her years of service to Beth Israel and the greater Jackson community, with a seated three-course dinner at the Fairview Inn. A cash bar will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by Havdalah at 7 p.m., dinner and the performance.

The benefit has levels named for Carole King, Debbie Friedman, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. Proceeds will benefit the congregation’s music program.

Beth Israel will have an interim rabbi next year while they search for a permanent successor.

Also leaving is Rabbi John Nimon of Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville, who has been at the congregation for five years.

Across Lake Pontchartrain, Gates of Prayer is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Rabbi Robert Loewy’s tenure. There will be a Shabbat dinner marking the occasion on May 30 at 6 p.m., followed by the 8 p.m. Shabbat service.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El announced that Rabbi Laila Haas has been given the title of associate rabbi, along with a four-year contract extension.

This summer, Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg will become the full-time rabbi for Beth Israel in Metairie. He was hired a year ago but wanted to fulfill the final year of his agreement as Hillel director at Cal-Berkeley, so he has visited New Orleans monthly this year.

...MOVING FORWARD

ADL among critics of Miss. law So-called religious freedom bill seen as license to discriminate The Anti-Defamation League is among groups criticizing the new Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, says the government can not burden “a person’s right to exercise of religion” without a compelling reason.

It passed on April 1 and was signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant on April 3. The bill also adds the phrase “In God We Trust” to the state seal, and directs its inclusion on all new depictions of the seal from stationery to government buildings.

Bryant said he was “proud to sign the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act today, which will protect the individual religious freedom of Mississippians of all faiths from government interference.

Mississippi has now joined 18 other states to defend religious freedoms on a state level.”

The bill was introduced in the wake of lawsuits filed against businesses elsewhere in the country that refused to provide services for same-sex couples because the business owners stated that lifestyle went against their religious beliefs. The bill itself is broadly worded and does not mention homosexuality or any particular group, but makes it difficult for a business owner to be prosecuted for such incidents.

It was modeled after a highly-criticized Arizona bill that was ultimately vetoed by the Arizona governor, though supporters say the final version does not resemble the Arizona bill, and most of the opposition comes from wording that was in the original bill but was not in the version that passed.

Civil rights groups wanted language added to the bill to state that it could not be used to undermine anti-discrimination laws, but that was refused. The original bill was modified to more closely resemble the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Congress passed almost unanimously, but critics say the rewritten bill can still be used to discriminate.

The ADL called the bill “nothing more than a license to discriminate in the name of religion that will harm the civil rights, health and safety of Mississippians.”

The organization predicted numerous unintended consequences from the bill. “Invoking religious beliefs, a health care worker could use the law to refuse to give a patient a blood transfusion or psychiatric care or medicine; a law enforcement officer could refuse to serve and protect Mississippians engaged in activities contrary to the officer’s religious beliefs; and based on his or her religious beliefs, a business owner could deny service to a prospective customer.”

The original bill did have a provision protecting health care workers in such circumstances, but it was not in the final bill.

The Interfaith Alliance in Washington called the bill “a gross distortion of the American promise of religious freedom.”

Conversely, supporters pointed to a recent case where a Holly Springs ordinance was challenged by a church. The ordinance said churches could not operate along the courthouse square, where Opulent Life Church had leased a storefront.

Another cited case involved a truck driver who is a Sikh, who was arrested after police officers who referred to him as a terrorist ordered him to remove his turban and kirpan, a small ceremonial sword that is

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worn as part of his faith. In court he was expelled from the room and refused re-entry unless he removed “that rag.”

In response to the law, a group has started distributing decals for businesses to display in their windows. The decals read “We don’t discriminate: If you’re buying, we’re selling.” Started in the Fondren district of Jackson, the effort has spread statewide through Equality Mississippi.

Among those protesting outside the state capitol during the signing was Jeff White of Waveland, a co-founder of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Lesbian and Gay Community Center. He stated that he was concerned about the law’s effect on him, as someone who is gay and Jewish. The law “made me physically ill” and prompted him to consider leaving Mississippi, he said.

Pro-Israel Declaration on campus On March 30, about 400 turned out at Tulane University for Declare Your Freedom 2.0, a student-led pro-Israel event that brought in national speakers and music acts to “celebrate Zionism.”

Chloe Valdary of the University of New Orleans and Maor Shapira of Tulane coordinated the event, which has since been replicated at the University of Central Florida. Last year’s inaugural event was held at UNO. The festival included backdrop murals painted by Artists 4 Israel. Two graffiti artists from New York painted murals, and there was a collaboration mural demonstrating how art is creation, instead of the destruction of war.

The event kicked off with a jazz rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and Hatikvah. Musical acts included Los Rakas, Zion I, Shi 360, the Ori Naftaly Band and Pep Love.

Sudanese human rights activist Simon Deng spoke about being a child slave in Sudan, and about the ongoing genocide there. He spoke about the hypocrisy of human rights activists who ignore what is happening there and who pour their outrage onto Israel instead.

Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, spoke about the need for reform in the Muslim world.

Also speaking was Brooke Goldstein, director of The Lawfare Project, which exposes abuse of Western laws and systems to achieve political ends, such as Photos by Lauren Clarice Cross hindering the fight against terrorism, Chloe Valdary, Maor or charging the U.S. and Israel with war Shapira and Simon Deng crimes in international courts. spoke at DYF 2.0 Also speaking were Samantha Rose Mandeles from CAMERA On Campus, and Alan Mendoza of the Henry Jackson Society, which promotes “the rule of law, liberal democracy, civil rights, environmental responsibility and the market economy.”

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Allison Goodman new head of ADL’s New Orleans office The South-Central office of the Anti-Defamation League has a new leader.

As of April 27, Allison Padilla-Goodman is the new community director for the New Orleans office, which serves Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. “I’m very excited to get started with this great organization and do awesome social justice work,” she said.

A New Orleans native and Isidore Newman School graduate, she has been the director of special projects at Harriet Tubman Charter School, overseeing the school’s enrichment programs, high school placement, and community partnerships.

She recently completed her doctorate in sociology at City University of New York, with a dissertation on “The Racial Politics of Repopulating Post-Katrina New Orleans.”

From 2008 to 2011, she was director of youth programs with Silence Is Violence, a grassroots organization about public safety in New Orleans. She spent time in schools working on enrichment programs and mentoring students and staff. In 2011 she taught at Lignan University in Hong Kong.

She becomes the New Orleans office’s fifth director. Cathy Glaser stepped down a year ago and was succeeded by Talora Gross last June.

Gross stepped down last fall and is now senior programs and Teen Life Counts coordinator at Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans.

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On April 7, Shelley Rose, associate director of the ADL Southeastern office in Atlanta, spoke to the Birmingham Jewish Community Relations Coalition.

She noted that 2013 was the 100th anniversary for ADL — and for Clorox. She said Clorox had a theme of “100 years of making things white,” which was “not an appropriate theme for ADL.” Instead, the ADL had a theme of “Imagine a World Without Hate.”

Few anti-Semitic incidents reported in Deep South On April 1, the Anti-Defamation League released its annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, showing a 19 percent decrease from the previous year. The 751 incidents is one of the lowest levels since the audit began in 1979.

Nevertheless, the category of assaults went up, from 17 to 31.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, said “The falling number of incidents targeting Jews is another indication of just how far we have come in finding full acceptance in society, and it is a reflection of how much progress our country has made in shunning bigotry and hatred.”

The highest number of incidents came from New York, with 203, down from 245. California had 143, New Jersey had 78.

Alabama had five reported incidents in the harassment, threats and events category. Louisiana had one, and one case of vandalism, for two overall, and Mississippi had one vandalism incident.

The Mississippi incident was the May 2013 vandalism of Beth Israel in Jackson.

Neither Alabama nor Mississippi had reported any incidents in 2012, while Louisiana stayed the same with two.

Florida had 55 harassment, threats and events incidents and 13 cases of vandalism. In 2012 Florida had 88 incidents.

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She noted that the annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States showed 19 percent fewer incidents in 2013. The level dropped in the 1990s, spiked after Sept. 11, 2001, and has been declining again ever since.

“Do I believe there are only 751 incidents of anti-Semitism in the U.S.” in a year, she asked. “No way. But that’s the ones that are reported to us.”

She remembers when the raw number of incidents was three times higher.

Last year her office reported 14 incidents. “When I first started… we had 30 or 31.”

The Atlanta office covers Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. Being in this region, Rose said she does a lot of work on church-state issues, especially in public schools. Other top issues are voting rights, immigration reform, and gay/lesbian issues.

The ADL does a lot of investigating, “monitoring and exposing hate groups and extremist activity” and sharing information with law enforcement.

The organization has numerous educational programs, which today are often used as anti-bullying programs. “No Place for Hate” is in 220 Atlanta-area schools, and is used in the entire Huntsville school system after anti-Semitic graffiti at a Jewish family’s home. The ADL was invited to meet with school officials, and “the administration was very much behind” introducing the curriculum.

There was a community celebration last spring, she said. “It helped the students begin to think about treating people who are different from them with respect.”

The ADL also monitors groups like the Nation of Islam and the New Black Panther Party. Rose noted that last summer, the Nation of Islam targeted Richard Friedman, executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, during discussions of the Voting Rights Act. Rose also touched on anti-Israel extremism on campus, and noted that of the 3,000 campuses in the country, there are perhaps 125 with “significant” anti-Israel activity.

Even there, she said, “our students can have a great experience and we have to prepare them for what they might encounter.”

The National Federation of Temple Youth’s Southern region held elections on April 11 during the Spring Conclave, held at Gates of Prayer in Metairie. The regional officers for the coming year are: Anna Aronson of Baton Rouge, president; Haley Fried of New Orleans, programming vice president; Katie Fijman of Jackson, social action vice president; Andrew Rogers of Memphis, religious and cultural vice president; Jared Lindy of Memphis, membership vice president; Lauren Grundfest of Little Rock, communications vice president. The Little Rock chapter was recognized as TYG of the Year.

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Black and Jewish in New Orleans

By Marian Moore December 2013 found me in San Diego, attending the 50th biennial of the Women of Reform Judaism. Although this was the organization’s centennial, WRJ actually began at Temple Sinai in New Orleans in 1900 as “the Sisterhood,” the name still used by most members.

When I look at our official history, I find that the Sisterhood began as a ladies auxiliary. In 1900, they took on the task of selecting the furnishings for the synagogue and maintaining the new synagogue building. In later years, they did everything from comforting the sick, funding the purchase of an organ, preparing holiday synagogue meals and sponsoring scholarships at the rabbinical college in Cincinnati.

WRJ, the Sisterhood, is still the critical heart of the synagogue. They ensure that things get done. The president of each synagogue chapter is responsible for representing the chapter on the synagogue board and responsible for defining what tasks the chapter will accept.

This was my third biennial but my first as the president of Temple Sinai Sisterhood. Each time that I’ve attended these national gatherings, there are more Jews of color participants than before. I attended many small panel discussions where I was the only non-white woman in the room, but when I attended the group discussions with more than 100 attendees that was never the case. Many of our blended identities were present, from Jewish and African-American, Jewish and Asian-American, Jewish and Latina, and so forth.

While I was there to find out how to increase membership in my own synagogue Sisterhood, I was interested to listen as the hierarchy of both the women’s organization and the Reform movement wrestled with the recognition of the diversity of Reform Judaism and Jewish life in general. I see evidence of that struggle in my life in New Orleans.

For example, I sat in one seminar where the rabbi was describing the development of the synagogue itself. The synagogue as an assembly may have begun during the Babylonian exile, but he traced the growth of synagogues as edifices to Napoleon: the creator of French identity. He turned to the Jews of France and asked: Is Judaism a religion?

Or are Jews a people? If Jews were a people, then he was prepared to expel them. If they were merely Frenchmen practicing a different religion, they could stay. Very quickly, the Jews of France decided that they were practicing a religion. This was the pattern established across Western Europe.

According to the rabbi, the Jews of Eastern Europe were not offered this choice; they maintained their cultural definition that Jews are a people. For example, it was not until 1997 that Russian identity papers eliminated “Jewish” as the nationality of Russian Jews.

The stage was now set for the migration to the United States. The Jews of the West became Americans and adopted the practices of

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their new country. They built Jewish houses of None of this would be a surprise to some worship and emulated their neighbors. They black professionals in New Orleans. You don’t became Americans first and Jews second. The have to be black and Jewish to experience Jews of the East also became Americans, but your white associates’ cultural blindness or the cultural identity of Jewish remained cen- assumptions. It’s the same in the Jewish comtral to their character. (And yes — this is a vast munity, but complicated by their own feelsimplification.) ing of exclusion. Sometimes they see a black My synagogue was founded by Western woman, sometimes they see a Jew. And to be Jews, and a black woman could become pres- fair, I am suspect to the same type of blindness ident of her synagogue’s women’s group. Via as they. The New Yorker who included me in Jewish Multiracial Network, I know of at least his invitation was seriously flirting but it nevtwo black rabbis, one rabbi in training and nu- er occurred to me that someone white would merous other Jews of color in the U.S. be interested in me.

However, that doesn’t mean that the idea of The New Orleans Jewish community is Jewish peoplehood has vanished, even within small compared to that of the Northeast. my synagogue. In practice, Judaism is family Therefore, I have not suffered the questions centered, not synagogue centered. Unlike and rejections that some of my Northern many of the JOCs that I know from the North- JOC friends have. More than once, people east, I am a convert, an adopted member of have leaned over after services and complithe tribe. And like some adopted children, I mented me on my voice. I’ve been invited up find myself occasionally to the bimah for the honor treated as inauthentic or an of reading the Torah in my How long have you outsider. The reason is not own synagogue, and to read always apparent. the blessing over the Torah been Jewish? For in several other synagogues.

Case 1: Women are almany Jews of color, There are few Jews in New ways rushing out of the last Orleans, and we treasure the answer may be service that marks the end every one. generations of the High Holy Days. I It’s only when I leave New never understood why until Orleans and the Gulf Coast a visitor from New York inregion that I hear the question: How long have cluded me as his plus-one invitation. People you been Jewish?

It drives many Jews of color had been rushing home to prepare elaborate meals for family and friends. These meals into a fury because their families have been mark the end of a day-long fast. Why did it Jewish for unknown generations. After all, Istake a stranger to let me know of a practice in rael is on a land bridge between Asia and Africa. Fifty-five percent of modern Israelis are my own synagogue? of North African or Middle Eastern descent.

Case 2: People are sitting around In my case, however, there is an actual match-making the few single women in our number of years that I’ve been Jewish. By Jewgroup. I notice that they don’t match me with ish law, however, it is a question that should anyone and I wonder — aloud — why that is never be asked, even of converts. Once you so. Silently, I ask myself if it is because they are convert, you are Jewish, the child of Abraham American white Southerners first and can’t and Sarah. Many converts, including myself, imagine bringing a black woman into their feel as if they are merely returning home to family? Or is it because I am not an authen- Judaism. tic member of the tribe in their view? I have Home is a religion that welcomes questions no way of knowing. The only response that I and rejects the idea that there is one answer received was an abashed silence and a change to any religious question. Home is a religion of subject. that has no concept of original sin and that inCase 3: A musician at a synagogue fund- sists that the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) raiser is taking requests for his final perfor- is a vital component of a balanced human life. mance and someone asks for “Dixie.” Really? I Home is a religion that had no word for “relilook for the person in the crowd and can not gion” until modernity.

There are no easy responses to what it is like find him. My memories of “Dixie” are seeing Shreveporters stand for the song as if it were to be black and Jewish in New Orleans. I have the national anthem. I’ve heard enough sto- spent years wondering if I occasionally feel ries of fear and exclusion from Jewish friends like an outsider because I am black, because I that I want to demand that the requestor ex- am single in a family-oriented religion, or beplain why he wants the anthem of people who cause I am not a native New Orleanian.

It was instructive to listen to Rabbi Rick Jaoppressed both blacks and Jews played aloud cobs, the current leader of the Reform moveto a Jewish crowd. ment. At the biennial, he spoke of arriving

Southern Jewish Life

at a synagogue where he was scheduled to speak. He was early and few people were around. One woman demanded to know why he was there. The rabbi replied that he was looking for a “congregation filled with warmth and welcome.”

Too often, he reminded this assembly, we don’t welcome the stranger. If the current head of the Union of Reform Judaism can have his authenticity challenged at a synagogue, I suspect that the source of my occasional discomfort is more multifaceted than America’s racial divide.

It has been my own practice for the past few years to reject bitterness and remember that I am the child of Abraham who ran out into the street to welcome the stranger. My small Passover table has been open to those who I know were not invited elsewhere. I am the one bringing Moroccan carrot salad or Ethiopian lentil soup to synagogue events to remind others that Jewish food is more than kugel and bagels. I would love to see the story of Esther read, as we do every year during Purim, as we sit down to a Persian dinner.

Some people may grumble that I don’t bring “Jewish” food. Others will rejoice at new choices. On the African-American side, I am lucky that most of my black friends have decided that pork is unhealthy. I seldom have to avoid their meals for religious reasons.

My two traditions, black and Jewish, echo each other in surprising ways. When at their best, they are proud of their differences. When at their best, they remember what it means to be a stranger.

Tupelo Temple escapes tornado damage

Temple B’nai Israel in Tupelo escaped a April 28 tornado with minor damage. Some tree limbs fell on the roof and there was some “minor damage,” according to congregational leaders, but the building was secure.

Many congregants were without power, but everyone was safe.

Sid Salter reported via Twitter that the home of legendary broadcaster Jack Cristil, who was the voice of Mississippi State football for over 50 years, suffered “significant damage,” but he was not injured.

Cristil routinely leads Shabbat services at B’nai Israel, and his home is about half a mile west of the Temple.

Salter wrote the 2011 biography of Cristil.

The tornado went through town around 3 p.m. and heavily damaged some businesses along Gloster Street, including landmark restaurant Vanelli’s. The destroyed businesses are roughly three-fourths of a mile northeast of B’nai Israel.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported house-to-house searches in the neighborhood where the Temple is located. Joyner School, located around the corner, had some trees down and roof damage.

A version of this piece appeared on the Brassy Brown website and is Tupelo’s only Jewish congregation was established in 1939. The curreprinted with permission. rent building, the congregation’s first permanent home, was dedicated in 1957.

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May 2014

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In the winter of 1950, during the immediate aftermath of the destruction of European Jewry in the Holocaust, a charismatic 48-year-old Rabbi Schneerson assumed leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, charting a mission to rebuild world Jewry from the ground up.

Chabad Jewish Centers are marking the 20th anniversary of the Rebbe’s passing with an educational course, “Paradigm Shift: Transformational Life Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” prepared by the Jewish Learning Institute. Paradigm Shift will be offered in Metairie over six Tuesdays, starting May 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Uptown over six Wednesdays, starting May 14, at 9:15 a.m.

It is also being offered at the Bais Ariel Chabad Center in Birmingham on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., starting April 30, and Thursdays at 11 a.m. starting May 1.

The course is a collaboration of over 40 scholars. It presents Schneerson’s unique outlook and central contributions to Judaism and society, addressing questions such as: What was his understanding of the human being and what were his hopes for humanity? And how these insights be applied toward living a more purposeful life?

His vision was to spread an appreciation for the infinite value and limitless potential of the individual and to demonstrate how every circumstance in life presents an opportunity to improve society.

“Paradigm Shift” encapsulates the Rebbe’s many letters, personal audiences, and public addresses, distilling them into a six-session course that will guide students to view themselves, others, and the circumstances they encounter from a more meaningful, richer, and radically more positive perspective.

Elie Wiesel, the noted scholar and Nobel Prize laureate, said “I know of no one who has left the Rebbe without being deeply affected, if not changed, by their encounter. Time in his presence begins running at a different pace.

You feel inspired, you feel self-examined, you are made to wonder about the quest for meaning which ought to be yours. In his presence nothing is superficial, nor is it artificial.

In his presence you come closer in touch with your inner center of gravity.”

Paradigm Shift is designed to appeal to people of all levels of Jewish knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public.

Registration information is available at myJLI.com.

Real Estate/Homes

Custom concrete counters, fireplaces and much more!

Exterior Designs brings beauty, function to outdoor living spaces

By Lee J. Green Those who come to Touro Synagogue and the New Orleans Jewish Community Center can admire the beautiful landscaping designed and maintained by Beverly Katz.

Her company, Exterior Designs, provides architectural planning for outdoor living spaces, landscaping, gardens and courtyards.

“Our specialty is affordably transforming unpleasant outdoor areas into additional living space,” said Katz.

Katz noted that outdoor kitchens are becoming increasingly popular.

Other trends she mentioned include well-thought-out gardens and courtyards, as well as helping homeowners to remedy drainage issues. “The homeowner wants a nice outdoor space to relax and meditate,” said Katz.

She said when one consults a landscape or exterior designer, they should consider how they see using the outdoor space; what the budget is and if working in phases is an option.

In addition to Touro and the JCC, Katz developed a signature theme of New Orleans courtyards, and also designs and builds signature pergolas.

She is also on the board for Park and Pathways and maintains the landscaping for a few schools.

“Being visual throughout the city is important to me,” added Katz.

Fusoform Custom Concrete 106 22nd St S • Birmingham, AL 35233 205-223-0244 • fusoform.com

Issis and Sons goes from floor on up For more than 30 years, Issis and Sons has offered flooring and carpeting solutions to central Alabama out of its Birmingham area stores. In recent years, after laying that foundation, Issis and Sons progressed into blinds and draperies and most recently home furnishings.

“Furniture was just a natural progression from the flooring, draperies, blinds and accessories. We want to offer our customers complete solutions to their home interior needs,” said Nancy Gowens, Issis and Sons Operations Manager, who leads the Pelham furniture store.

That store opened in 2009 and last year, the company opened its Highway 31 location in Vestavia. The flooring and draperies locations are on Highway 280 and Pelham.

“Issis and Sons is all about quality,” said Gowens, noting that the stores focus on “mid-to-high-end products” along with knowledgeable, friendly customer service. “We’re all consumers so we think about bringing in what we would buy and treating others how we would want to be treated.”

In furniture, Issis and Sons carries “core classic pieces that stand the test of time. But we certainly also are on the pulse of what is trending and bringing things to this area first when we can,” Gowens added.

Gowens said grays and beiges are popular here. Tastes run from industrial to French provincial. “Nationally things are trending more toward bright colors and we’re seeing that more recently hitting this area,” she said. “We’re seeing a big increase in the number of people moving to Birmingham. Those that are coming from larger cities are bringing some of those styles and tastes with them.”

Issis and Sons works with more than 200 furniture and accessories vendors and can do a lot of custom-fit work. “Between our two furniture stores, we may only carry three or four of a given piece of furniture. What separates us from a big box store is that we don’t buy in bulk so we can offer our customers more unique products. Plus we can offer the personal service touch,” said Gowens.

Southern Jewish Life

May 2014

21

Real Estate/Homes Birmingham shows real estate market is on the rise

By Lee J. Green

Paint the Town

Chocolate Chocolate Favors for All Occasions Bar/Bat Mitzvah Weddings Baby Showers Anniversaries Birthdays Parties

Birmingham area ARC Real Estate Agent Debbie Clarke won’t go so far as to call the current real estate market and sales increase a boom rivaling that of several years ago. But she and the market have seen some significant gains in the past 18 months.

“Birmingham has earned a top-10 ranking of best cities to live in nationally,” factoring quality of life and living affordability. “People want to move here and it’s also a great time for people to buy homes (who already live in the area) because interest rates are low coupled with banks loosening up on credit and lending,” said Clarke. “There are some programs in which people don’t have to put anything down and can easily get into a new home.”

One of the issues now is low inventory, she said. New construction slowed or stopped during the down years and some people took their homes off the market since they would not sell. That new construction is starting to pick up, but that takes time to develop.

“We’re looking for more sellers. The market has moved strongly toward a seller’s market, so it is a good time to get a home ready to sell for those who are interested in doing so. We can work with them on how to best get the home ready for presentation… and help them to sell,” said Clarke.

Her advice to sellers is to “de-personalize” the house when it is being shown and focus on the interior, especially bathrooms as well as kitchens.

“When a prospective buyer comes in, you want them to be able to see themselves and their stuff in the house. It should be clean and uncluttered.

If a seller wants to make some enhancements, the kitchens and bathrooms are most important,” though curb appeal is still a factor.

Clarke said buyers are looking for multi-purpose rooms that the entire family can enjoy time together in. She said buyers today, considering all that is on the Internet, are more educated than ever before.

For many, a top priority is the quality of the schools. Clarke gives her buyers some information and refers them to a school rating site www. greatschools.com.

“I think that is why we are seeing some new buyers go to places such as Hoover, Trussville and Gardendale, since the schools are good plus they can get more house for their money,” she said. “There is less new construction in Mountain Brook and Vestavia, but we’re still seeing some good sales growth there as well as surrounding areas such as Irondale and Crestwood.”

ARC President and Qualifying Broker Beau Bevis said that thanks in part to some new retail developments, former emerging markets such as Crestwood and Crestline Park have become hot neighborhoods.

Bevis said there are two big indicators for the positive growth in the Birmingham area real estate market. “For the first time in seven years in certain markets, there are more pending sales than active listings,” he said.

He added that since the depths of the housing market recession, the number of foreclosures in the area has been cut in half.”

Since inventory is low and demand is high, it’s a good time to sell. Plus it’s a good time to buy since interest rates are low. “It is a great time to buy and sell. In two to three years, interest rates should go up a couple percentage points, so now is the time,” noted Bevis.

RealtySouth’s Bridget Sikora encourages sellers; aligns them with buyers

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RealtySouth’s Bridget Sikora, an involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community, said that sellers today are selling their homes more quickly and getting more money for their homes than in recent years.

“We’re dealing with low inventory, so it’s a great time to be a seller… as well as a buyer,” said Sikora. “I’ve had some people call me to inquire about putting their home back on the market or on the market for the first time. Before they make the commitment to get the house ready to present

to sellers, in a few cases, I have been able to tell them about a guaranteed buyer who would pay a certain amount…so there is not the risk involved and it can work out quickly.”

She said the home inventory is higher “as you go out further” from Birmingham and Over the Mountain. “Now would be a great time for potential sellers, especially in the (OTM communities) to think about getting their houses ready to present. I am happy to help them with tips on how to de-clutter and de-personalize the house so prospective buyers could see themselves in the house,” said Sikora.

As for prospective buyers, more are getting approved for mortgages and interest rates are still low. “Even if interest rates go up to five percent later this year, they still are low with some excellent options. We seemed to have some buyers, like sellers, who waited it out and now are in a good position to get the new home they want at the price they want,” she added.

Inline Lighting

A proactive approach to flood protection

INLINE

By Eyal Ron The massive flood damage around the Birmingham metro area on April 7 caught many residents by surprise. The National Weather Service measured more than seven inches of rain in Vestavia Hills, while other locations in the area reported five or six inches of rain.

The National Flood Insurance Program was created by the U.S. Government to help with the high cost of flood-related losses of both buildings and property.

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Important facts about Flood Insurance:

No one is safe. People outside of high-risk areas file nearly 25 percent of National Flood Insurance claims. In high-risk areas, there is at least a one in four chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. Poor drainage systems, rapid accumulation of rainfall, and broken water mains can all result in flood. Properties on a hillside can be damaged by mudflow, a covered peril under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy.

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Does a Homeowner’s/Renters Insurance policy cover this? Flood damage is not typically a covered peril by most homeowners or renters insurance policies sold in the U.S. Can I purchase Flood Insurance Policy? If you live in a community that participates in the NFIP, you can get flood insurance. In Louisiana, there are 313 communities enrolled and only 22 that are not. In the Birmingham area, Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Alabaster, Chelsea and many more municipalities are participating.

How much coverage is allowed by the NFIP? Residential homes structure limit is $250,000, and content is limited to $100,000. Business Structure limit is $500,000 and $500,000 limit for business content. Renters Contents limit is $100,000.

Does flood insurance cover flood damage caused by storms, rivers, or tidal waters? Yes, provided that, if confined to your property, the flood water covers at least two acres. A general condition of flood also exists if two properties are affected, one of which is yours.

What are Flood Zones? Flood zones are land areas identified by the FEMA. Each flood zone describes that land area in terms of its risk of flooding. Everyone lives in a flood zone — it’s just a question of whether you live in a low, moderate, or high risk area.

What is covered in my basement? Flood insurance covers your home’s foundation elements and equipment that’s necessary to support the structure (i.e. HVAC, water heater, etc.). Flood insurance does not cover basement improvements, such as finished walls, floors, ceilings or personal belongings that may be kept in a basement.

Constance Longworth Collection

2408 Canterbury Road 205-803-4040 Mountain Brook Village

Eyal Ron is an insurance agent and owner of the Ron Agency, Inc., in Mountain Brook, Ala. The Ron Agency is part of the local flood insurance agents program.

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23

Real Estate/Homes Hurwitz Mintz a New Orleans tradition for almost a century

By Lee J. Green In 1923, Joseph Hurwitz and Morris Mintz opened a small furniture store on the 200 block of Royal Street.

Much has changed over the years with furniture styles, items and what customers seek in their home or business environment. But what hasn’t changed is the company’s commitment to serving the folks of New Orleans and the Deep South with a wide variety of furniture and accessories to satisfy all tastes.

“As Jews, home and family are very important to us. We have remained a successful, family-owned business for 91 years and have taken pride in working with multiple generations of families to provide them with everything they need for a comfortable living environment,” said Mitchell Mintz, who took over total ownership of Hurwitz Mintz in 2006 after his father, Ellis, passed away.

Ellis entered the business in 1943. Through his leadership in 1963 Hurwitz Mintz doubled the size of its Royal Street location through the purchase of an adjoining building. In 1971, Ellis purchased, renovated and opened a two-story store around the corner and called it Units — catering to a contemporary clientele.

Mitchell joined the company in 1973, becoming the third generation to enter the business (he was a ZBT at the University of Alabama). In 1977, they expanded Units. Then a year later, Hurwitz Mintz purchased a 200,000-square-foot warehouse to further increase operational efficiencies.

In 1982, Ellis and Mitchell acquired full ownership of Hurwitz Mintz by purchasing the Hurwitz family’s interest.

Then in 1999 to accommodate growth, Hurwitz Mintz acquired the site for the new warehouse and showroom, featuring state-of-the-art equipment and methods to maximize efficiency.

The current facilities on Airline Drive in Metairie were again expanded significantly in 2004 and 2009, with the corporate offices being moved from downtown to Airline Drive. Today, Hurwitz Mintz has 125,000 square feet of space for home furnishings.

“We have the largest, most diversified selection of inventory and services in the area, including imported fine furniture, accessories, rugs, drapery, carpeting along with other home furnishings,” said Mitchell Mintz.

He said in recent years, customers are trending toward putting more focus into furniture for multi-functional spaces, such as family-gathering areas that can also serve as a home office space, memory-foam bedding and home entertainment rooms.

“It seems there is more of a family focus on electronics and spending time together in a room with a home-entertainment center, along with motion recliner chairs and sofas that people can adjust as much as a car seat,” said Mintz. “People also want some more casual dining furniture for kitchens as well as other rooms apart from the more-formal dining room.”

He said Hurwitz Mintz also has recently seen a rise in sales of outdoor furniture. “These days you can get nice, well-made furniture for the outdoors at lower prices,” said Mintz. “Much of the indoor and outdoor furniture and accessories we sell comes from the Pacific Rim. We are able to acquire it for less and can pass on the savings of this fine furniture to our customers.”

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Southern Jewish Life

A concrete investment in nice homes

By Lee J. Green Those wanting to make a “concrete investment” in higher-end homes and businesses in the region can choose an environmentally friendly, refined material that can be 100 percent customizable.

This is not your father’s pouring of concrete for driveways.

Birmingham’s Fusoform Concrete provides custom, hand-crafted builds including countertops, tables, chairs, tub bases, water features, stairs, fireplace forms, benches, pool spoils and even dog kennels.

“If you can envision it taking up 3D space, we can custom-make it with concrete,” said Fusoform owner and founder Brian Maloy. “People are surprised at how versatile

Inline Lighting and Electric offers bright ideas for lighting Function and style merge when it comes to lighting. Inline Lighting and Electric, with 10 locations across Alabama, wants to offer some bright ideas for getting both out of home lighting.

According to Inline Marketing Director Lauren Collins, the focus in the past several years has been on greater efficiency. “We have seen those changes evolve in the bulbs we can now choose from; LED, CFLs and Halogen as opposed to the standard incandescent light bulb we are all accustomed to. Manufacturers have also put an emphasis on lighting that is more task-oriented,” said Collins.

She said Inline offers several under-cabinet task lighting system options, some featuring modular components that can be reconfigured as the mood strikes. The LED under-cabinet lights are not only economical, but also environmentally friendly and can last up to 50,000 hours — ten times longer than halogen.

As for style in lighting fixtures, Collins said vintage is the word. “The nostalgic lamp and fixtures in the retro industrial style are very in.

Clear or mercury glass fixtures that expose the light bulb are very trendy, with more choices in the light bulb and filament,” she said.

Nickel and chrome lighting fixture finishes along with industrial steel and galvanized metal continue to rise in popularity. Many of the new fixtures incorporate geometric designs and patterns such as spheres, cubes and quatrefoils.

Inline started in Huntsville in 1988 and now offers locations in Birmingham, Pelham, Trussville, Huntsville, Jasper, Gadsden, Albertville, Montgomery, Auburn and Cullman.

concrete can be. It is a material that is easy to work with, very durable and we can do a wide variety of shapes as well as styles.”

Why concrete? Maloy said the material at Fusoform is hand-crafted and “brings a high level of beauty to nicer homes.” Unlike some comparable materials, it isn’t mined in places across the world with “questionable work conditions” and shipped across the globe. “Most of it is sourced locally.

Concrete is strong and beautiful.”

Maloy is from Birmingham but graduated in environmental geology at Colorado State University. When he came back to Alabama, he was working for a company affected by the recession. A friend mentioned concrete to him.

“I fell in love with it right away. Being creative with concrete is blending science and art. I started asking around to architects and interior designers to see who was doing concrete in this area. They said there was just about no one so I thought this would be a great area to go into business,” said Maloy, who started Fusoform in 2011.

Thus far, the response has been strong and it continues to build. “We are happy to educate people on the benefits and properties of concrete,” he said.

I love getting net gains for sellers, and buyers the homes they de-serve!

(205) 910-0594

bsikora@realtysouth.com http://bridgetsikora.realtysouth.com

At Home Furnishings says monochromatic palettes trending At Home Furnishings, which opened its showroom in Homewood 22 years ago, said Southern trends for 2014 include monochromatic palettes, linens, light woods and the industrial look.

At Home General Manager Paige Rouss said styles vary from region to region, but residents in the South generally prefer “light and airy” as opposed to up north, where they tend toward heavier woods and fabrics.

Rouss said that back when owner Babbie Styslinger opened the store in 1992, At Home mostly sold heavily-carved Indian furniture. “Now people are into linens, raw or light-stained woods — just more organic, delicate designs,” said Rouss.

Much of At Home’s inventory of furniture and accessories comes from India, China and Mexico and changes daily. The showroom features more than 200 vendors.

Rouss said they encourage customers to bring in paint colors, swatches from current furniture and photos of their rooms. “Our sales staff has the expertise to guide them in their design choices so that everything they purchase here will fit well in the home environment they want to create,” she said.

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May 2014

25

Real Estate/Homes Saving money and energy on heating and cooling

By Lee J. Green Evans Services, which has been working with Birmingham area customers on HVAC and plumbing solutions since 1901, offers both “the best guarantees of repair service” as well as options for those who want to save on their heating, cooling and water bills.

In 2006, the company was purchased by the international Direct Energy corporation and now operates Evans One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating along with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. “This has given us the resources to provide the best of guarantees to our customers, while offering them the best service from our local operations here in the Birmingham area,” said Vice President Red Binford.

“We offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee,” said Binford. Evans/ Benjamin Franklin has an “internal Better Business Bureau,” UWIN. When a consumer does business with a UWIN endorsed contractor, that guarantees that an employee working in one’s home has been drug tested, background-checked, properly trained and with workers’ compensation insurance, while being licensed by all the appropriate government agencies.

On the HVAC side, Evans provides new unit installation, servicing, repair, duct cleaning, air purification and filtration and other related services.

“One thing people don’t think about checking is their ductwork. We can make sure their ductwork is sealed. If you feel cool air in the crawl space in summer, for example, there is a problem. A 5 percent loss of air is a 20 percent loss in efficiency,” said Binford.

He said Evans One Hour Heating and Air can provide customers with some of the most energy-efficient new units or service existing units to work at their maximum capability. “We give our customers options and let them make the decisions on what works best for them,” he said.

Programmable thermostats are becoming more prevalent, added Binford. Those can be controlled remotely from one’s phone or in the home to desired settings. “It’s ideal if someone is on vacation and they can adjust if the weather changes back home,” said Binford. “It is a great way to save energy when no one is at home and ensure the house is comfortable when everyone returns.” The units can also be programmed prior to the Sabbath for those who observe.

On the plumbing side, Benjamin Franklin Operations Manager Nicholas Phillips said tankless water heaters are becoming more popular. “Tankless only heats water when you want it to, not all the time. That saves money and helps to ensure a family doesn’t run out of hot water,” said Phillips.

He also recommends a back-up sump pump to some customers, especially in places where flooding is more of a concern. “The sooner you can get the standing water out of your basement or other parts of the home, the less likely you are to have permanent damage,” he said.

Benjamin Franklin also offers “water treatment” service that can make the water softer so it cleans more effectively and efficiently, or simply just taste and smell better.

Binford and Phillips said some plumbing issues are more obvious, such as hearing a toilet tank constantly running or seeing leaks. But some are less obvious.

They advise checking under all sinks at least once a month to see if there is any leakage from pipes that might be contained in cabinets. Also once a month, check the water meter. If no water is running but the red triangle is moving, that is a sign that water is running that isn’t supposed to.

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Summer Travel

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May 2014

Southern Jewish Life

From traditional to transitional: Interior design trends in the South Birmingham area interior designer Mary Rooney said that individual tastes may vary, but more of her clients these days are moving toward the “transitional” from the “traditional.”

“Many of the clients seem to want clean lines, sleek finishes without a lot of embellishment.

They want solid colors, not a lot of prints. They might want to incorporate some antiques but the design has more of a contemporary feel with contemporary furniture and accessories,” she said.

Rooney, who lives in Mountain Brook, said she specializes in “Accessibility Design.

The Americans with Disabilities Act took effect in 1992, but only in recent years has the design aspect of accessibility become more of a part of peoples’ thinking,” she said.

“People want seamless implementation and recognize it is possible to have function along with aesthetically pleasing design.”

She also has developed a strong niche for “Sustainable Design,” which has become increasingly

popular in recent years. “People are using more reclaimed materials and want a living space that is pleasing to them while also environmentally friendly,” said Rooney, who has worked with several Jewish clients over the past several years.

Rooney has lived in the area for close to 35 years. She was a school teacher for 22 years.

When her daughter was in college, Rooney began to take an interest in interior design and earned a degree in that discipline a few years ago, to go with her education degree.

She passed all the tests and earned accreditation a few years ago. “That’s important.

Only an interior designer is certified, not an interior decorator. It is best to work with someone who has earned their certification,” said Rooney.

She said she is happy to offer clients recommendations, but welcomes them to educate her on what they like as it pertains to style. “I take what the client likes and shape that into something pleasing,” added Rooney.

Seen and unseen: PuroClean takes care of mold problems The negative effects of mold on one’s property as well as one’s health can be significant, but the “Paramedics of Property Damage” can remove the threat and restore one’s home to wellness.

“If there is a water leak inside a home, especially in the warmer months, mold can develop in 72 hours or less. It’s important to be proactive to prevent the potential damage and health hazard it can cause,” said John Kelly, owner of the Birmingham area PuroClean franchise. The south Florida-based company has close to 300 locations nationwide.

PuroClean provides fire and water damage restoration services; mold and mildew removal and biohazard clean-up. Kelly said after bad weather or if a refrigerator or dishwater leaks, it is usually noticeable and people can quickly take action. But sometimes people are out of town when these situations happen or the dangers are hiding in places that aren’t as visible.

“Every now and then, I would advise home and business owners to check their crawlspace or have someone do so,” he said. “If something is caught before it turns into mold and mildew, the home insurance might pay for it. But in other cases if it sets too long and goes unchecked, the damage will get worse, plus the home insurance may not cover it.”

Sometimes water leaks turn into mold and

mildew, but were not visible. Kelly said other clues would be strange odors or if people in the house get sick and have respiratory health issues, and a physician determines mold is at the root.

“Millions of spores of mold can infest a very small space and can colonize in moist areas, like one’s air conditioner vents,” he said. “Some people think something such as Clorox will just kill the mold and they will be fine. But that does not contain the mold and prevent it from getting in the air. Mold can cause a serious health issues if left unchecked for a while.”

In older homes, one problem is outdoor water coming in from poor drainage. It can eventually seep into the foundation and cause significant damage if left untreated. “I highly recommend keeping gutters clean if you have them on the house and diverting all water away from the house,” said Kelly.

He said that kitchens, bathrooms and crawlspaces have the highest propensity for water and mold damage in the home. Most importantly, do not try to treat mold or water damage yourself, Kelly warns.

“When PuroClean comes in, we build a zippered containment wall and use a flex pipe to push the water and mold out of the window. We have all the equipment to do it properly and safely. Mold is common outside, but it’s supposed to be out there and not harmful,” he said.

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Kosher-Style Recipe: Pappas Grill Birmingham’s popular Greek Festival happens once a year, but it’s a Greek festival every day at Pappas’ Grill on Highway 31 in Vestavia. Well, except Sundays.

“We take a lot of pride in sharing these old family recipes and some new ones with people who like tasty Greek cuisine,” said Greg Pappas, who owns Pappas’ Grill with his wife, Pat. Both grew up together in Birmingham, but their fam1066 Montgomery Hwy • Vestavia ilies came to the U.S. from 205.823.4458 Greece.

Greg Pappas said when he was growing up his grandmother did a lot of the cooking and would let him assist. “As I got older, she would let me barbecue the lamb on holidays and things like that. Cooking and eating has always been an important part of our family time together,” he said.

While in college during the 1960s, Pappas worked at Sneaky Pete’s hotdogs in downtown Birmingham. It was owned by a friend of the family, who also was Greek. Then after college and a stint in the U.S. Army, Pappas bought the Eastwood Sneaky Pete’s franchise and ran it from 1974 to 1986.

He served as general manager at Rossi’s restaurant from 1986 to 1992. A friend wanted to sell his sandwich shop in what is Pappas’ current location. Pappas bought the space with the intent of turning it into a hotdog place, originally called Pappas’ Fine Foods.

“I started serving some Greek chicken and kabobs one day a week and they were so popular that I started serving them every day. Then I began adding more Greek dishes such as pastitio, moussaka, grape leaves, spanakopita and Greek snapper. If enough people liked something we Baked Greek Snapper would add as a special, it Ingredients: would become a regular menu item,” said Pappas. 8-ounce fillet of snapper (can also use cod, tilapia or grouper “The menu has evolved over depending upon tastes and what is the years to what it is today.” freshest in-season) Also popular at Pappas’ Lemon juice Grill is their gyro. “I started Seasoning kosher salt doing gyros at the Greek Ground black pepper Festival years ago and then Granulated garlic started selling them at Sneaky Pete’s Eastwood,” Oregano leaf said Pappas. He and his wife Diced onions still volunteer with the Greek Diced tomatoes Festival, also donating some Feta cheese Olive oil of their sauces for the event.

Pappas’ Grill seats approx- Instructions: imately 40 people inside and Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic offers a few tables outside. and oregano to fish fillet. Top with They also do catering and diced onions, tomatoes and feta party pans. cheese. Drizzle some olive oil over Every Friday night, the the fish. restaurant serves its signa- Cook at 500 degrees for 20-25 ture leg of lamb along with a minutes. few Greek fish dishes.

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Let us host your parties at The Edge - Birmingham

Continued from page 30

We serve beer and wine

never cries.

While standing on one foot, he can recite the entire Torah.

Unabridged.

After Neilah, and 26 hours of fasting, his congregants stay.

He knows the full, 72-letter name of the Big G, because they are on a first-name basis.

The houses of Hillel and Shammai both agreed with him. And he wasn’t even born yet.

He can roll an entire Torah in under 60 seconds.

His conversion classes are no longer allowed to be visited by clergy of other faiths, because they kept converting.

He knows the solution to peace in the Middle East. He also has an idea or two for peace on the synagogue board.

When someone drops a Torah, he always makes a diving catch just in time. Even if it’s dropped at another synagogue.

All of his congregants know what day of the Omer yesterday was.

And why they should know yesterday instead of today.

His favorite college football team holds kickoff until after Havdalah, without him asking. And CBS agreed to it.

When he chants Torah, the entire congregation understands every word. Even if they don’t know Hebrew. Even if they didn’t come to services.

He can drive a car without breaking the rules of Shabbat.

When he leads a minyan, he has to send 10 people home.

He knows how to always leave ‘em wanting more. Even after they sing Dayenu.

He is… the most interesting rabbi in the world.

“I don’t always drink schnapps. But when I do, I prefer to drink l’Chayim…

“Stay noshy, my friends.”

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FREE CONSULTATION Medicare Supplement And Long Term Care

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who sincerely apologizes to any rabbis who are evaluated based on these standards during contract renewal. His short Cain and Abel satire, “Murder of the First,” will be staged at Birmingham Festival Theatre on May 6. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, enjoy facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

• What long-term care is, and why you and your loved ones are at high risk for needing care at home or in a facility

Theatre LJCC presents “Joseph” ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical take on the Biblical story, will be the next show for Theatre LJCC at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham.

Performances will be from June 12 to 22, with 7:30 p.m. curtain on Thursdays, 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students, and are available at the LJCC.

Find Out

• Why the limited benefits from Government (Medicare or Medicaid) are not a good choice for your long-term care needs

• At what age should you consider buying longterm care insurance. You will be surprised to know why and how buying at a younger age is better for you.

• Compare different Medicare Plans and determine which is best for you • Find which company offers the most competitive rates for the plan you want.

Milton Goldstein, CLTC

Certified Long Term Care Specialist

Cell: (205) 907-0670 E-mail: miltgold@bellsouth.net Visit My Website www.goldsteinltc.com Licensed in 11 States

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Southern Jewish Life

May 2014

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Celebrate Your Financial Health

The Beholder’s Eye

by Doug Brook

The most interesting rabbi in the world

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May 2014

Southern Jewish Life

When he graduated from the Seminary, the rabbis on faculty asked for his reference.

He officiated his own bar mitzvah.

His congregants complain that his services aren’t long enough.

He can wing a drash better than the best cooks can sling corned beef hash.

His opinions are so insightful, that the Great Sages decided to put them in the Talmud. Two thousand years ago.

When he pours Manischewitz, it actually tastes good.

He is a Jewish exorcist — he knows how to throw de book at “I don’t always drink a dybbuk. schnapps. But when His congregants walk to services, no matter how far away I do, I prefer to drink they live. l’Chayim…”

His kitchen is kosher enough for everyone.

When he drinks enough on Purim to not be able to tell Mordechai from Haman, he can still tell Mordechai from Haman.

His tallis never falls off his shoulders. Even without tallis clips.

He doesn’t need a second rabbi; he can have three opinions all by himself. And it’s hard to dispute any of them.

His marror has been productized by drug companies as a cold and allergy cure.

He figured out how to make chicken parmesan kosher. And it was very good.

His b’nai mitzvah all lead Jewish lives.

He has to urge people to leave the sanctuary after services to go to the Oneg before everything gets cold.

He teaches b’nai mitzvah students without them knowing they’re learning.

On Purim, he can chant in one breath the names of Haman’s 11 sons. And the rest of the chapter.

His congregants all know what they believe, what they don’t believe, why, and what makes it okay.

He can trace his lineage, name-by-name, back to the Exodus from Egypt. And he still uses his great(x88)-grandmother’s original recipe for matzah.

Every wedding he officiates lasts for their lifetime.

After he takes off his tefilin, his arm doesn’t have strap marks.

When he shakes a lulav, the change in air current affects the weather.

His kippah never falls off.

He knows every Yiddish joke ever told, and tells them all better.

He makes religious school parents care about religious school.

When he throws out the first pitch at Jewish Heritage Night, the home team has him stay in the game for the first seven innings.

His ritual committee agrees with him.

His congregants complain that his sermons aren’t long enough.

He counts as two people toward a minyan.

He is so skilled a moyel, he doesn’t need a scalpel. And the baby

Continued on previous page

Passover in the South

Above, the Women’s Seder at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El on April 6. Left, the Seder at Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El drew over 80 participants.

Above, Seder at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge. Left, the “four cups of wine” drinking race at the pre-Passover kids’ Glow in the Dark event at the Chabad Jewish Center in Metairie.

Below, Seder in Florence (photo by Phil Abroms).

Left, new Auburn Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl was among 70 at the Auburn community Seder. He is pictured with Hillel officers Emily Levinson, Rebecca Chazinoff and Scott Godchaux.

At Birmingham’s Temple BethEl, the chometz was safe and sound during Passover, having been bought by Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper.

Rabbi Randall Konigsburg facilitated the sale. As part of the process, members of the community donated over $700 to the Birmingham Police Foundation. Another $600 went to the Collat Jewish Family Services food closet.

Below, Rabbi Marshal Klaven led Seder at B’nai Israel in Panama City as part of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Passover Pilgrimage.

Left: Passover Palooza at Jewish Community Day School in Metairie

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May May 2014 2014

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