SJL Deep South, June 2014

Annual Summer Travel Guide

Jerusalem in Birmingham

Huntsville schools: No Place for Hate

Southern Jewish Life

Rebuilding New Orleans:

Scott Cowen’s Tulane presidency

June 2014

Volume 24 Issue 6

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213-0052 Above: Scott and Marjorie Cowen were presented with a Gary Rosenthal New Orleans streetcar Tzedakah box from JNOLA on May 7

Southern

Life

As school winds down for the year, it is time for summer vacations. And that means summer travel.

This issue contains our annual Summer Travel special section, with some ideas of places to visit in the region.

Over the years, we have traveled all over the SJL coverage area, visiting every town that has or had a Jewish presence. As long-time readers know, there are a lot of great stories in farflung places, and in places one might not expect.

Many people contact us for suggestions on Jewish sites to visit when they are on the road, whether in larger communities or on the back roads.

Later this summer, we will publish our first Chai Cotton, a guide to the Jewish Deep South. A lot of publications around the country put out some type of annual guidebook, listing the Jewish resources in their community, from synagogues to organizations.

In a sense, that is what this is — but it is also so much more than the typical guide. Chai Cotton will be a portal to the South’s Jewish presence, with history and contemporary stories.

It is designed to be a traveling companion. If you are on the road, it will have a list of what Jewish sites there are to see.

With so many communities in our coverage area trying to attract Jewish newcomers, it will also be a resource that communities can use as background information.

In future years, the keepsake edition will be a historical record of the community.

We are currently working on Chai Cotton. As is the case with the regular issues of Southern Jewish Life, we will send it to every Jewish household we know of in our coverage area, as well as make extras available to communities for their use.

As an independent publication, we do not receive allocations or subsidies from any Jewish Federations. The advertisers in the magazine and guidebook make it possible for us to send the magazine to the community without subscription fees.

Over our 24-year history we have endeavored to cover our entire region, including smaller communities as part of a larger Southern Jewish community.

We ask that readers who have businesses consider advertising in Chai Cotton, to help us continue providing this important service to the region. Naturally, we welcome placements in the regular magazine as well!

You can also support the magazine by making sure to let our advertisers know you appreciate their support.

To be part of Chai Cotton or SJL, give us a call. Our contact information is on the next page.

With your support, we will continue to provide the community a quality, original, locally-focused periodical — a unique publication for a unique community.

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Southern Jewish Life

Publisher/Editor: Lawrence M. Brook, editor@sjlmag.com Associate Publisher/Advertising: Lee J. Green, lee@sjlmag.com Publisher/Editor: Lawrence M. Brook, New Orleans Bureau: editor@sjlmag.com Alan Smason, alan@dsjv.com Associate Cait Muldoon, Gail Publisher/Advertising: Naron Chalew Lee J. Green, lee@sjlmag.com Creative Director: Ginger Brook, ginger@dsjv.com Creative Director: Ginger Brook, ginger@sjlmag.com Photographer-At-Large: Barry C.Photographer-At-Large: Altmark Rabbi Barry C. Altmark Contributing Writers: Doug Brook Contributing Writers: Doug Brook Mailing Address: Mailing Address: P.O. Box 130052, P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 Birmingham, AL 35213

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Philosophy: To link the Jewish communities of the Deep South, to tell you the Philosophy: fascinating stories of one another, and To link to thedocument Jewish communities of the news and and preserve eventsto large andthe small, all a part of the Deep South, tell you fascinating richone culture of Southern stories of another, and to Jewry.

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September 2010

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Front Porch “Jerusalem” opens at McWane Center: When it comes to seeing Jerusalem, the dome makes all the difference.

Not the Dome of the Rock and the actual city. Amy Templeton, executive director of Birmingham’s McWane Science Center was referring to the film “Jerusalem,” which opened at the center’s Imax Dome Theater on May 23.

The 45-minute National Geographic film will run at the center through Nov. 26. The fivestory domed screen gives one a bird’s eye view of Jerusalem, giving a new perspective even to those who have been there numerous times.

The film traces Jerusalem’s story from the Jebusites, who inhabited the site 5000 years ago, through the Jewish, Christian and Muslim periods. The story is told through three young women, one of each faith, detailing what Jerusalem means to them and their respective religions. In the film, their stories intertwine but rarely intersect.

Templeton noted that the McWane Imax usually shows documentaries geared toward children, while this is aimed at teens and adults. They hope to attract religious groups and groups who are planning to visit Israel. The only other venues for the film in the region are in Memphis, Houston, Tallahassee, Atlanta and Columbus, Ga.

A Saints star in Dolphin territory? On April 29, New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees was the featured guest at a Jewish Federation Men’s Night Out. But it wasn’t in New Orleans — it was in South Florida, the Miami Dolphins’ home turf, with the Jewish Federation of Broward County. Over 450 attended the event at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center, several sporting the black and gold with the number 9. Among them was New Orleans native Gadi Soved, who named his daughter after Brees. The CEO of the Broward County Federation is Eric Stillman, who was previously the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans until 2006, and he said the event came about because of his New Orleans past.

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Solomon rocks Hattiesburg: On May 6, Lenny Solomon (right) was able to mark off number 45 on the way to his goal of being the first Jewish musical act to play in all 50 states. The founder of Shlock Rock performed at B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg in an event that also is a farewell to retiring Rabbi Uri Barnea (left).

A musical tribute was fitting, as Barnea started off as a professional violinist.

To help him reach his goal, Solomon is currently touring smaller Jewish communities such as Fargo, N.D., Laramie, Wy. and Bozeman, Mont., “because they deserve performances too.”

For three decades Shlock Rock has adapted popular songs into Jewish-themed lyrics, including “Sweet Aroma of the Challah” to “Sweet Home Alabama.” One song, “Minyan Man,” refers to finding a minyan in the back of a hardware store in Mobile, though the video was actually filmed in Birmingham.

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Pinwheels for Child Abuse Prevention: Sigma Delta Tau at the University of Alabama raised over $6,000 for Prevent Child Abuse America through its Garden of Pinwheels fundraiser. SDT chapters across the country sell pinwheels, which PCAA has adopted as its symbol for awareness and prevention. The chapters then plant pinwheel gardens outside their houses. The sorority’s national fundraiser brings in over $100,000 per year during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

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The Roz Feigelson Circle of Life Knitting Society presented a painting by Garth Potts, former executive director of Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, to the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center in memory of its founder, Roz Feigelson, who lost her battle with cancer a year ago. The group knits scarves and shrugs for patients at the Cancer Center. The piece will be hung in the Hematology-Oncology inpatient day room in the UAB Women and Infants Center. The group, from beginners to experts, meets each Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the LJCC.

On May 1, an army of 50 volunteers at Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El sold, prepared and delivered 1,952 kosher style corned beef on rye sandwich bagged lunches on Deli Day, an annual fundraiser. Those who aren’t corned beef fans could donate their lunches, and 500 meals were given to nine area non-profits to feed those in need.

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On May 1, the team of Doug Black, Hamilton Shaw and Rabbi Jordan Goldson won the B’nai Israel Classic with a new tournament record of 59, 13 under par. The Baton Rouge B’nai Israel Classic golf tournament was played at the Island Golf Club in Plaquemines.

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Pool parties on Thursdays: Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will have its Thursday Family Fun Nights again this summer, starting June 12. Starting at 5:30 p.m. there will be parties by the outdoor pool, with family-friendly food available for purchase. On June 12 there will be water slides and music to “Slide Into Summer.”

June 19 will be a Summer Fiesta with Latin music, Sh’bam and Mexican cuisine, while June 26 will be a DJ dance party.

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Celebrating business ties with Israel: Israeli innovation and business ties to the Southeast will be celebrated at the 13th annual Eagle Star Awards Gala in Atlanta on June 11.

The gala is the flagship event for the AmericanIsrael Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region, and honors the people and companies who have contributed most to the Southeast-Israel economic and business relationship. The chamber promotes business ties between Israel and Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Nachum “Homi” Shamir, past president and CEO of Given Imaging, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the AICCSE Tom Glaser Leadership Award. With the encouragement and assistance of the AICC, Given Imaging, based in Yokneam and makers of the “pillcam,” established its U.S. headquarters in Duluth, Ga. It was recently announced that Covidien, a $10 billion global healthcare products leader dedicated to innovation and long-term growth with 38,000 employees in 70 countries, had acquired Given Imaging for a reported $860 million.

The Southeast Medical Device Association will be presented with the 2014 Community Partner Award. SEMDA actively supports the work of the AICC, and many of the officers of AICC have served in senior leadership capacities with SEMDA. The event’s host, AT&T Mobility, is considered a global leader driving innovation through the AT&T innovation center network. At AT&T’s Foundry locations in Ra’anana, Israel, Texas, California and now Atlanta, they fast-track projects with developers and industry collaborators with the goal of cutting the time from speed date to market by two-thirds.

Glenn Lurie will be the keynote speaker, telling the AT&T Mobility Israel story. Lurie leads AT&T’s strategic initiative to drive innovation by building high growth businesses both inside and outside the traditional wireless sector.

Nationally syndicated consumer expert Clark Howard will be the event’s emcee.

The gala will be at the AT&T Mobility midtown facility at 6 p.m. Tickets are available through the AICCSE website, 2014.eaglestargala.com.

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In his biography as a presenter for Limmud Chicago, newly-ordained Rabbi Jeremy Simons mentioned that in his free time he enjoys traveling.

He’s going to get a lot of traveling opportunities, as he joins the rabbinic services department at the Goldring/ Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

The Jackson-based institute serves roughly 110 communities in a 13-state area. Part of that is supplying rabbinic services to small communities, with traveling rabbis visiting different congregations on weekends.

Simons succeeds Rabbi Marshal Klaven, who is becoming the rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Galveston, as director of rabbinic services.

The Institute also has Rabbi Matt Dreffin, who is assistant director of education. Klaven had also rejuvenated a Traveling Rabbis program, where other rabbis could tour congregations throughout the region.

Simons was ordained on May 18 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.

Simons served as a student rabbi for the Wood River Jewish Community in Sun Valley, Idaho and Temple Beth Israel in Redding, Calif. He is passionate about social justice issues and has served as a Kol Tzedek Speaking Fellow with the American Jewish World Ser-

vice, speaking on behalf of the organization to communities across the country.

In 2011, he participated on the AJWS Rabbinical Students Delegation to Senegal. The organization has worked in the Casamance region of Senegal since 1992 and funds 13 social change organizations.

He also has served as a rabbinic intern with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Simons attended Ohio State University as an undergraduate, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy, magna cum laude. He also spent four years as a youth educator in West Newton and Framingham, Mass., prior to attending rabbinic school.

He also completed naval officer development school.

His love for travel and deep respect for the congregations who continue to thrive, even without a full time rabbi, led him to the ISJL position.

“I’m very excited to learn about these communities and their members, and also to build upon the incredible work of Rabbi Marshal Klaven and his predecessors,” said Simons.

“When I moved to Nashville as a child, I remember the warm greeting my family received from our temple and have really missed that famous Southern hospitality. I can’t wait to get started!”

Summit Jewish cemetery needs repair work The Jewish cemetery in Summit, Miss., just north of the Louisiana border, is in need of substantial repairs from tornado damage.

David Feldman of Summit has set up a repair fund to deal with the damage and is looking for assistance from other communities in the region. “We have used the little bit of money available to repair broken tombstones but there are no funds to complete that project or to replace the iron fence around the cemetery,” he said.

In the late 1800s there was a flourishing Jewish community there, and Ahava Shalom congregation, which disbanded in 1916. Many in the community had stayed in Summit after leaving New Orleans during a yellow fever

Southern Jewish Life

outbreak.

Those wishing to assist can send contributions to Feldman at P.O. Box 729, Summit MS 39666. “Visitors to the cemetery are welcomed and encouraged,” he added.

A tale of two presidencies Scott Cowen reflects on 16 years of leading Tulane As Scott Cowen completes his 16 years as Tulane University’s 14th president, it really marks the end of two presidencies for him.

And as with so many in New Orleans, the dividing line is Hurricane Katrina.

Cowen had been a professor and dean at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for 23 years. He was attracted to Tulane because it was “already a highly-regarded and respected institution in the 1990s, but I saw that it still had a lot of upside potential.”

He added that Tulane “was in a part of the country where there is not an overabundance of high-quality highly-ranked universities.”

He also felt “a good cultural fit between myself and the character and values of the people here at the university and in the city.”

Though he had not spent much time in New Orleans before, he said he could see himself living there.

After arriving in New Orleans in 1998, the first seven years were a “traditional presidency,” though he cautions that the term can’t “accurately describe being a university president.” There was a plan in place to build on Tulane’s foundation and “increase the impact and the quality of the institution,” and “we were well on our way.”

Then Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 as the fall semester was beginning. After the levees broke and New Orleans was inundated, Tulane became “the first major university in the country to close since the Civil War.” With students and faculty scattered across

the country, Cowen and his team were tasked with rebuilding the university.

Flooding inundated 70 percent of the campus and the entire downtown health sciences campus.

“A lot of people didn’t think we would survive it, or if we did survive it we would be so diminished that we would be just a shadow of what we were before the storm,” he said.

“I could never have anticipated in a million years” that something like this would happen.

Nevertheless, in December 2005 his Renewal Plan was approved by the Board of Trustees, and when classes resumed in January 2006, 87 percent of the students returned.

After the initial survival and recovery phase, the process became an opportunity to reimagine Tulane. The upward trajectory pre-Katrina was replaced with a “parallel” track, and “today we are probably stronger and better than we were before the storm,” he said.

After Katrina, Tulane became the first and only major research university to integrate public service into the core curriculum for all undergraduates.

“That turned out to be a very profound change in the culture and the ethos of Tulane University,” Cowen said. It affected the type of student who came to Tulane and boosted the retention and graduation rates to new highs.

They are sticking around. Eighty-five percent of undergraduates at Tulane are from outside Louisiana. Previously, most of them

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JCC holding event for Cowen’s new book On the day the Scott Cowen’s book, “The Inevitable City: The Resurgence of New Orleans and the Future of Urban America” is released, he will be at the Uptown Jewish Community Center for a launch party.

A book signing and dessert reception will follow the 7 p.m. event on June 10. Cowen will share his perspectives on leadership, Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University and the rebirth of New Orleans.

The event is free and open to the community.

The book details the challenges faced after the levees broke following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and chronicles the rebirth of New Orleans, which he says is an inspiring example of urban renewal and revitalization.

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“I believe it was my obligation to give a voice to the civic leaders and community members who brought about positive change in the face of crisis,” he said. “The resilience and creativity of the New Orleans community post-Katrina was remarkable.”

The book presents 10 principles that changed the city’s trajectory as a coalition of civic, business and non-profit leaders worked around the old institutions to bring about change.

Pre-orders are being taken at Octavia Books and will be available for pickup and signing at the event, and additional copies will be available that night.

The book is being released nationally on June 10, though there was a preview held at Tulane on May 15.

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went back home afterward. “It wasn’t that they didn’t want to stay here,” Cowen noted. “They just didn’t see ample opportunities. Today that is changing dramatically.”

Students are finding opportunities in the non-profit and commercial sectors. Cowen noted that a “very high percentage” of graduates go into Teach for America and other service organizations, with the “vast majority” doing so in New Orleans.

One of the largest employers of Tulane graduates is Tulane itself, he said. Last year about 75 graduates were hired by the university.

Cowen’s involvement with New Orleans as a whole also changed because of the storm. Before Katrina, “I was involved but tangentially,” he said. “Post-Katrina I have been involved very intimately in a number of important initiatives in the city, and I hadn’t envisioned that” in 1998.

He was appointed to the Bring New Orleans Back Commission and charged with leading a committee to reform and rebuild the city’s failing public school system. Tulane chartered a K-12 school in New Orleans and created an Institute for Public Education Initiatives to support the transformation of public education.

He was a co-founder of the Fleur-de-lis Ambassadors, civic leaders who traveled the country to tell the story of New Orleans, that it was an economically viable, livable city with a recovery plan in progress.

Though he is most proud of the reimagining of Tulane after Katrina, and the “culture of engagement” that came from it, there have been numerous other achievements. In June 2008 he announced the successful completion of “Promise and Distinction: The Campaign for Tulane,” which began before the storm. The initial goal of $500 million was surpassed and topped $700 million, making it the largest university fundraising effort in Louisiana history.

Now, Tulane is in the “silent phase” of a $1 billion campaign “and we’re having very good early success.

“I think we have changed the culture of fundraising and philanthropy at the university in very profound ways,” he noted. Also, close to $800 million has been invested in new buildings and facilities on campus.

Tulane is one of only a few universities in the country rated by the Carnegie Corporation in the highest research category and the highest category of civic engagement, and Cowen also points to “extraordinary contributions that faculty and students have made in certain areas of research.”

Despite all that, he acknowledges that “if you talk to some people, they’ll say my greatest legacy is I built a football stadium” on campus.

Yulman Stadium is set to open on Sept. 6.

Cowen says he is excited about the stadium and knows it means a lot for a lot of New Orleanians, but it’s not toward the top of his personal list. Still, “that may in many ways be the most visible mark from my tenure as president.”

An area where Cowen has remained visible is his relationship with the Jewish students on campus.

One concern he and his wife Marjorie had before they arrived was the size of the Jewish community in New Orleans, as they were coming from Cleveland, which had a Jewish population of over 80,000 — about nine times that of New Orleans.

Though the community was smaller “relative to what we were used to… we found that it’s not necessarily the quantity, it’s about quality and impact.”

While his wife has been on the Federation and synagogue board, Cowen hasn’t had the time to do that, but they try to be engaged with the community as much as possible. “My wife and I try both institutionally where appropriate and personally to stay very involved.”

At least once a year they host a large Shabbat dinner for students at their home, and do things with Hillel. He said he is very proud of

the Goldie and Morris Mintz Center for Jewish Life, the new Hillel building that was dedicated at Tulane in 2011.

On May 7 he hosted a JNOLA event at the president’s residence, attended by about 135 Jewish young adults from the community.

This month he will be speaking at the Jewish Book Council in New York and have a program on his new book at the Uptown Jewish Community Center (see sidebar). He will also be speaking to several Federations as part of the book tour.

He noted an award that will be presented to Tulane by Hillel International this month as recognition of Tulane having “the closest and strongest relationship between a university and its Hillel.”

What is next for the retiring president? Aside from speaking engagements about his book, it is time for a sabbatical, something he has not had in a 40-year academic career. “This will be a new experience for me.”

He will continue his non-profit work in New Orleans, mainly through the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, which was formed in 2007 as a think-tank to “eliminate the challenges impeding the success of K-12 education in New Orleans and beyond.”

He also plans to go back into teaching at Tulane, most likely the year after next. He has ideas for at least two more books and is a corporate director for several companies across the country, as well as non-profit boards.

In all, it will be “a portfolio of activities that will keep me intellectually and practically engaged in all the things I care about, which are higher education and Judaism.”

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Scott Cowen, Yvette Jones to be honored As part of Hillel International’s 90th anniversary, two new national awards are being established, and one of them will go to leaders at Tulane University.

The Maimonides Award will be presented to Tulane President Scott Cowen and Executive Vice President for University Relations and Development Yvette Jones. The award was established to honor “a university leader, or leaders, whose dedication to higher education has promoted a deep commitment to Jewish and secular learning and devotion to the community.

“I can think of no finer university leaders to bestow the first Maimonides Award” than Cowen and Jones, said Eric Fingerhut, Hillel International’s president and CEO. “Working together they have elevated Tulane’s undergraduate applications, student quality, fundraising, and research awards to record levels. And, while doing that, they played an instrumental role in helping New Orleans recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.”

The award will be presented on June 9 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City at Hillel’s annual Renaissance Gala.

Also being introduced is the Edgar Bronfman Award, presented to a Hillel professional who has served Hillel with distinction and honor.

The initial recipient will be Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, Neubauer Executive Director of the Tufts University Hillel.

The Renaissance Award, Hillel’s highest honor, will go to New York philanthropist and financier Mark Shenkman.

Jones has been in her current position since 2009, and is currently leading Tulane’s plan for a $1 billion fundraising campaign. As chief advancement officer before that, she oversaw the “Promise and Distinction Campaign for Tulane,” which was interrupted by Katrina and completed in 2008, raising over $700 million and making it the largest university fundraising effort in state history.

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June 2014

13

Best of Both Worlds.

From lectures and community engaged learning courses to concerts and community-wide celebrations of diversity and culture, the Millsaps campus is constantly alive. At Millsaps, every idea has a chance to succeed. www.millsaps.edu

Abroms-Engel Institute boosts the arts world at UAB

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June 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Across the street from the Alys Stephens Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts is changing the art world in Birmingham. And many in the local Jewish community played a major role in making it happen.

Opened in January, the institute houses three galleries with adjustable walls to make one large space. Upstairs there are numerous stateof-the-art classrooms, art and design studios and faculty offices.

Curator John Fields said the idea was to have a medium size to largescale contemporary exhibition space, something that has been missing in Birmingham because of limitations at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s facilities.

The 6,000 square feet of exhibit space will be dedicated to contemporary art. There will be a mix of student shows and shows from local, national and international artists.

The choice to focus on contemporary art was to not compete with the BMA, with whom the institute has a great relationship.

Much of UAB’s 600-piece permanent art collection has been stored at the downtown museum because of a lack of climate-controlled storage facilities. That void is also being met by the Institute.

Key to the Institute’s completion were Judy and Hal Abroms.

The Abromses first became involved with UAB in 1985 as the HessAbroms Scholarships were established in the university’s honors program. Abroms was asked to chair the advisory board, and he said UAB has been “very good from the very beginning in keeping us in touch with our students,” many of whom have gone on to impressive achievements, including two Rhodes Scholars.

In 2005 Abroms was asked to be the interim vice president of development for a year, which he did as a volunteer. In 2006, “we had an opportunity to make a significant gift somewhere and we hadn’t really done anything for UAB” since the scholarships. He approached then-president Carol Garrison, who presented him with three ideas.

The one that resonated was an art museum and teaching facility.

“We didn’t know what it was going to cost, who was going to be the architect,” he said. “The only thing we knew was where it would go.”

The art facility had been a dream of Bert Brouwer, dean of the school of arts and humanities, for years.

Fields noted that when he was a student at UAB, Brouwer said the facility would be finished before he graduated. He graduated in 2003 and got his Master’s from the University of New Orleans in 2007. “I was told I’d be in the first class to graduate from this building. Now I’m the first employee,” he said.

After an architect was selected, Shirley Salloway Kahn, who had become the vice president of development, called Abroms and said they

had a dollar figure for the building, but he really ought to bring a friend because it was a large amount.

“We knew Marvin Engel loved the arts too, so it was a perfect fit for us,” Abroms said. After that, he quipped, “we went to our friends who always came to us” to fundraise. “We had some people who really stepped up.”

The facility’s lecture hall is named by the Hess family, the Elsas family did the seminar room and the grand atrium was named by Gail and Jeffrey Bayer. Numerous other families in the Jewish community also made contributions.

In April, the Institute housed the 38th annual juried exhibit of student art. A nationally-known figure in the art world judges the works, and some space is offered to that artist.

This year, the guest exhibit was based on a Bar Mitzvah photo.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS George Ferrandi did an installation called “The Prosthetics of Joy.” Ferrandi’s works respond to the specifics of a site, audience or situation, employing whatever medium is best suited for the task. Based in Brooklyn, Ferrandi made news recently with her “daring” site-specific performance piece, “it felt like i knew you,” which tests the limits of a subway car’s shared spaces.

Explore the history of one At UAB, she spent a week building forms that re-created poses from of the world’s oldest cities. a large group photo at a nephew’s Bar Mitzvah party. On March 20, See this IMAX film only on our about 60 students and faculty members got into those forms to create a photo reminiscent of the original. The prosthetics were then disfive-story-tall dome screen. played the rest of the month.

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Faculty members from other divisions of the university are contactAds_forJewishQuarterly.indd 1 5/15/14 ing the Institute to develop interdisciplinary lessons, tying art to their departments.

Abroms said, “as much as we dreamed about it and as much as we are excited about it, it exceeded our expectations.”

3:54 PM

Nechama working in Mississippi Nechama: A Jewish Response to Disaster is on the ground in northeastern Mississippi, where a tornado came through the Tupelo area on April 28, causing major damage.

Based in Minnesota, the organization was in Alabama after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. They also spent 20 weeks in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Volunteers from the Margolin Hebrew Day School in Memphis have joined with Nechama, as have members of the Wren, Miss., volunteer fire department.

Fire Chief L.D. Wise said “in 2011 Nechama came down to help us and we will never forget it. As far as the helping others goes, it’s just something the firehouse likes to do.”

Wise added, “Nechama, y’all are family.”

Southern Jewish Life

June 2014

15

All of Huntsville’s schools are deemed “No Place for Hate” There are over 1500 schools in the country participating in the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” program. In just a few places, an entire school system participates.

Huntsville City Schools achieved that designation on May 8 during a ceremony at Lee High School, as all of the area’s 40 schools were recognized.

No Place for Hate is offered free to schools by the ADL. The initiative is designed to rally the entire school around the goal of stopping all forms of bias and bullying.

National ADL Chairman Barry Curtiss-Lusher of Denver, who flew in for the ceremony, said Huntsville is “a model for other school systems.”

He said “we wish all school districts would embrace it the way Huntsville has.”

To be designated as No Place for Hate, a school forms a committee to oversee anti-bias activities in the school, adopts and collectively signs the No Place for Hate Promise or the Resolution of Respect, does

a minimum of three projects during the year that align with the mission of No Place for Hate, and submits an application to the regional ADL office.

About 200 schools in the Southeast region from Atlanta participate in the program. In the New Orleans region, the program is underwritten by the Entergy Charitable Foundation and is in numerous schools.

The widespread adoption of the program in Huntsville came after a Jewish high school student experienced cyber-bullying and threatening voicemails about three years ago. The family contacted Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Temple B’nai Sholom, who approached the principal at Huntsville High School.

Her second call, she said, was to Holli Levinson, education project director at ADL’s Atlanta office. They and a team that included non-Jewish clergy from the Interfaith Mission Service met with school officials.

Bahar said Donna Clark, counseling coordinator for the system, “was really wanting to do things and she was very open.”

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Then when she found out that the deputy superintendent, Barbara Cooper, “had already done things with ADL, it made it so much easier.”

By late 2012, three schools — Grissom High, Westlawn Middle and Whitesburg P-8 — had achieved the No Place for Hate designation. The initiative was expanded to all middle and high schools by Spring 2013, and then all elementary schools were added for this school year.

Clark said the program is designed to “fight bullying, cyberbullying, intolerance and hate” with “positive behavior supports.”

She said the counselors in each school are “responsible for the success. I just told them to go out and do great things.”

Cooper said in her eight years of working with ADL, she has never seen an entire district recognized in the program. According to the national office, it is “a special accom-

plishment” but there have been a few districts across the country that have done so.

“We find that once No Place for Hate is successfully implemented in one or two schools in a district, administrators find great value in offering the anti-bias initiative district-wide, and challenging schools to achieve the designation,” according to the ADL. Each school must fulfill the criteria to become No Place for Hate on its own, “but there is great unity and continuity when the work is being done across all grades and schools in a district.”

Curtiss-Lusher spoke about last year’s ADL centennial celebration, “Imagine A World Without Hate.” He addressed the students, “you each, in your own way, are imagining a world without hate.”

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle spoke of how Huntsville is building an inclusive community, which “does not have a place for hate.”

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June 2014

17

National ADL Chairman Barry Curtiss-Lusher of Denver addresses the assembly in Huntsville Kenny Anderson, the city’s director for multicultural affairs, also mentioned that Huntsville is now the only place in Alabama that has been recognized as a compassionate city by the International Campaign for Compassionate Cities. “We are doing great things in this city and we will keep doing great things if we continue to work together.”

As part of the celebration, representatives from each school came to the stage with their school’s No Place for Hate banner, and the city-wide banner was unfurled.

Another banner was presented to the Seminole Boys and Girls Club, which is also in the program. Rena Anderson, director of community engagement for the Huntsville City Schools, said “students who learned about the program took it to the Boys and Girls Club and said we want to do it here.”

Representatives from Weatherly Elementary and Grissom made presentations about their programs. Last November, four Grissom students spoke on “Mobilizing Students to Lead Bullying Prevention and Diversity Education Initiatives” at the International Bullying Prevention Association Conference in Nashville.

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June 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Class is in session for adults with Chai Mitzvah at Day Schools While giving elementary school students a firm foundation of Jewish learning has always been a top priority of Jewish day schools, the schools in Birmingham and New Orleans are offering a program that helps adults grow their Judaism.

Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School and the Jewish Community Day School in Metairie are part of a national Chai Mitzvah program.

Chai Mitzvah, a non-denominational initiative founded in 2008, offers a core curriculum for learning how to lead an engaged and meaningful Jewish life.

The program has grown rapidly and now is up and running through synagogues, schools or interest groups, in dozens of communities in North America, Israel and most recently Costa Rica. The program’s popularity speaks to the needs of the Jewish community, and is enhanced by its affordability and accessibility, said Audrey Lichter, Chai Mitzvah’s co-founder and executive director.

“Chai Mitzvah is meant to help individuals create their own Jewish meaning and identity through shared Jewish learning and experience, and to create a deeper sense of community in the process,” she says.

“At a time when the Pew study tells us more Jews are feeling less Jewish, the program has real potential to re-energize Jewish life.”

Birmingham’s Vicki Lewis was a teacher for 41 years, including at the NEMJDS in the 1970s. She later served as a board member and then president of the school, where she sent her children and is now vice president of education and personnel.

As Jewishly active as she already was, Lewis, now retired, became intrigued by Chai Mitzvah when it began last fall. Monthly meetings over a nine-month period would focus on learning, social action and ritual. She decided to enroll, even though she was skeptical.

“I wasn’t sure how I would like it,” she said. “I was already involved in the community, lit candles and said kiddush every Friday night. I couldn’t imagine how I might improve my rituals, my Jewish community service and my general community service.” She concedes she did not attend synagogue except for b’nai mitzvah and high holidays. Also, “I wasn’t sure how I felt about God or even if God existed.”

Now that the Chai Mitzvah program cycle is nearly complete, Lewis says her Jewish practice — and her view of God — have been transformed. “In one of our lessons, the teacher guided us to talk to God outside on the playground,” she recalls. “I feel like I discovered God through the beauty of nature, accented by a building created by those inspired to teach our children about our Jewish history, heritage, rituals and obligations.”

Lewis says she now attends services regularly on Shabbat morning, joins classes with her congregational rabbi and wishes the Chai Mitzvah program would continue another year.

Sheri Krell is the Chai Mitzvah teacher in Birmingham. She is the Judaic coordinator and a teacher at the Day School. She had searched for a way to bring adults together to learn and to build community connections through the school. She discovered that Chai Mitzvah “fit the bill” and offered it to parents, the board, community members, and to parents of 4-year-olds as a “recruitment tool.”

The diverse group of 15 who responded has met monthly from 8 to 9 a.m. Krell said members range in age from 35 to over 70, have a varied level of Jewish knowledge and practice, and include the directors of the Levite Jewish Community Center, Collat Jewish Family Services and the Day School itself. As a result of their shared Chai Mitzvah experience, the three institutional leaders have met on their own for coffee and Jewish study sessions.

Southern Jewish Life

June 2014

19

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Though it has a core curriculum, Chai Mitzvah allows for the kind of flexibility that was important for Krell, whose top priority was meeting the needs of the participants. “Some were already very involved in Jewish life and weren’t looking to add to their involvement, but Chai Mitzvah enhanced what they were already doing,” she said. “Others wanted to learn even more about Jewish text and ritual, and I got additional resources for them. But all had a lot to say on each of the topics,” which range from philanthropy, to mindfulness and gratitude.

Krell also modified the Chai Mitzvah model for social action, which calls for individuals to pursue projects independently. Krell’s students already were engaged in volunteer work on their own, she says, so instead participants joined together for their activity, baking challot for “Shabbos kits” for the homebound.

In New Orleans, Chai Mitzvah was introduced during LimmudFest in March, and the first session took place just before Passover, led by Sharon Pollin, head of school for the Jewish Community Day School. Four participants took part in the first session, which dealt with the structure of the Seder and opportunities for personal additions and enrichment.

Pollin said the nine-session course will continue just before Rosh Hashanah and is open to all adults in the community. She notes that because the course is underwritten by the Avi Chai Foundation, the cost is just $18 for the entire nine-session course.

By sharing the Chai Mitzvah experience throughout a Jewish calendar year, Lichter said, participants cultivate the kind of connections called for in Ron Wolfson’s highly touted book, “Relational Judaism.” “The author argues that Jewish institutional life can be impersonal and alienating and that building closer relationships is the key to its reinvigoration,” she noted. “Building relationships is a core part of Chai Mitzvah.”

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June 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Summer Travel

World War II Museum building Campaigns of Courage pavilion Tales of Holocaust survivors and concentration camp liberators will be part of a significant expansion for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans when it opens its “Campaigns of Courage: Europe and Pacific Theaters” pavilion in December.

Assembled for the first time in one space will be the epic story of America’s citizen soldiers on the battlefields. Visitors will discover how the war that changed the world was fought and won, through the words and deeds of the participants themselves.

Covering warfronts from North Africa to the South Pacific to the heart of Germany, “Campaigns of Courage” will employ digital technology, personal stories, iconic artifacts and immersive environments to explore how average Americans rose to vanquish their foes in the most important event of the 20th century.

The 31,000-square-foot building will house two main exhibits.

Opening in December, “Road to Berlin: European Theater Galleries” will present the larger context of the European front, detailing what preceded and followed the D-Day landing at Normandy. The second exhibit, “Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries,” will open in the fall of 2015.

“Campaigns of Courage will take visitors into the minds of the generals and leaders on both sides,” said Dr. Gordon Mueller, president and CEO of the National WWII Museum. “They will understand exactly how we secured the Atlantic and Pacific sea lanes; mobilized American industry; achieved control of the air; planned and executed amphibious landings, and harnessed powerful new technologies of the wartime effort. It will be an unforgettable experience.”

The Campaigns of Courage pavilion will also debut one of the museum’s “most impactful experiences to date.”

“My Journey” begins in a re-created train station where museum visitors will be issued a digitally enabled dog tag resembling those given to new GIs. Each will contain a unique identification chip, which will unlock the story of an actual war participant. Kiosks located throughout the pavilion will highlight pivotal moments of the war through the eyes of these 29 individuals.

“Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries” will trace the path that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by way of New Guinea and South-

Southern Jewish Life

June 2014

21

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Summer Travel east Asia, the Himalayas, Burma as well as the islands of the Pacific.

Exhibits will explore the evolving strategy for fighting in the Pacific, examining the cultural differences and extreme conditions that confronted troops. Artifacts will include uniforms, personal effects and an authentic restoration of a shark-faced P-40 Warhawk.

Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America’s National World War II Museum, the New Orleans attraction celebrates the American spirit, teamwork, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who served on the battlefront as well as the home front.

Explore aviation history at Southern Museum of Flight

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June 2014

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Southern Jewish Life

American flying heroes and aviation pioneers with Southern — as well as Jewish — connections share rarified air at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham.

Officially opened at its current 75,000-square-foot facility in 1983, the museum houses more than 90 aircraft along with many engines, models, artifacts, photographs, paintings and stories. It is also home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, with more than 65 autobiographical plaques presenting Alabama aviation history through collective biography.

The Southern Museum of Flight is one of the largest aviation museums in the Southeast. “We want to provide an exciting, educational experience for those of all ages. When you consider all that has been accomplished in 110 years of flight, it is incredible to see where we’ve come to today,” said Elizabeth Grady, marketing and events director for the museum.

One of those early aviation pioneers with Alabama connections was Arthur Welsh, the first Jewish-American to receive a pilot’s license. He was born in Russia, but his parents immigrated to the United States when he was a boy, settling in Philadelphia.

Welsh attended meetings of The Young Zionist Union and joined the U.S. Navy in 1901. Captivated by seeing one of the Wright Brothers’ demonstration flights in 1909, Welsh decided to become a pilot.

The Wrights accepted him as a student and he entered the first class of the Wright Flying School in Montgomery, which began in March 1910 at what today is Maxwell Air Force Base.

The Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Bessie Coleman — the first female African-American pilot and one of the barnstormers — as well as other aviation pioneers also had connections to Montgomery and Alabama.

The Southern Museum of Flight includes some planes and artifacts as well as stories honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American flying platoon who were World War II heroes. The Museum also honors those who flew in the war and played roles in liberating the concentration camps.

Those visiting the museum can also learn about the role aviation in the South played in supporting Israel and its independence.

“I think people will be surprised at all of the connections to Alabama and the South and the important roles that were played,” said Grady.

That history goes all the way to today, including more recent aviation war heroes, leading manufactures and innovators in the region and Space Shuttle astronauts from the state of Alabama.

The Southern Museum of Flight also hosts summer camps and other education programs for children and young adults. They also offer several flight simulators for those who want to learn about flight, and who knows, may someday be featured in the museum.

Henderson Park Inn is key to great Destin getaway

By Lee J. Green Adults making the Emerald Coast a Destin-ation this summer and fall can keep active as well as have an ideal resort to stay at on the pristine beaches of Henderson State Park.

The adults-only Henderson Park Inn all-inclusive resort recommends several area events and attractions to its guests.

Art lovers can enjoy ArtWalk on the Harbor every third Sunday of the month — a free event with musical entertainment and vendors selling art, crafts, jewelry and clothes.

From June 5 to 7, Alys Beach presents its annual digital art event Digital Graffiti, the world’s first outdoor projection art festival. Artists use the latest technologies to project their original works onto the town’s iconic white walls.

For those interested in shopping and entertainment, the New Orleans-style community of Baytowne Wharf remains a popular option.

The Wharf features a summer concert series every weekend. The community features more than 40 shops and restaurants.

Those wanting a more active vacation can enter the 27th annual Destin Triathlon. More than 700 participants will swim half a mile in the Gulf of Mexico, bike 20 miles along the coast and run four miles through Sandestin’s beach and bayside community.

The 208-acre Henderson State Park, adjacent to the Inn, features guided hiking trails through the wildflower-filled terrain.

Over the winter, the adults-only Henderson Park Inn resort, which

features 35 rooms in New England-inspired buildings, experienced a major renovation. Some rating sites and magazines have named the Inn the “most romantic boutique hotel in North America.”

The Henderson Park Inn’s BeachWalk Café features a seasonal, farm-to-table menu and its expert culinary team can customize its menu items for guests upon request. Also popular is the hotel’s daily happy hour on the patio, with free drinks for guests.

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3/18/14 June 2014

7:22 AM

23

Good Neighbor for the Summer…

Come visit the Crescent City!

Summer Travel Greater Sevierville area offers active adventures

For couples on a get-a-way or girlfriend trips, consider the cocktail walking tour or the Ghosts and Spirits Tours

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Fly Through History at the Southern Museum of Flight

The Greater Sevierville area of eastern Tennessee offers many exciting opportunities for active travelers, including some for those whose favorite activity is shopping.

Visit Sevierville Public Relations Director Amanda Marr said Adrenaline Park is one of several places for ziplining, and the area also offers climbing and hiking, even skydiving. New for 2014 is the Tree Tops Ropes Course at Adventure Park Ziplines.

For those who consider shopping a favored sport, the area opened several new outlet stores — including some high-end, nationally known name brands.

And for something “cutting edge?” The National Knife Museum is located within Smoky Mountain Knifeworks. It shows many unique knives and the importance of those tools in everything from the dinner table to survival.

Located at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport in Sevierville, the Tennessee Museum of Aviation features planes, artifacts and stories pertinent to Tennessee from World War II to Vietnam. The museum also plays hosts to some impromptu flights of classic planes, since it is located at the airport.

When winter comes, so too does the area’s popular Winterfest. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Winterfest, which features many free events and millions of lights illuminating the area.

Marr said Visit Sevierville just launched its new website — www. visitsevierville.com. A new interactive feature allows visitors to put in the dates they want for their trip and the site will pull up a complete inventory of available hotels based on specifications provided, along with links that go directly to booking.

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Iverson Anderson, Great Grandson to “Chief” Anderson, “The Father of Black Aviation” at the Southern Museum of Flight’s Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit. “Chief” Anderson is pictured with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt before their famous flight.

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June 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Panama City Beach offers many events, activities and attractions for those of all ages, including some of those at the Dunes of Panama Vacation Rentals site.

Rental Manager Joyce Hall said the property features 331 rental units of various sizes along 1,500 feet of beachfront in Panama City.

The Dunes also offers three Gulf-side pools, tennis courts, picnic/pavilion areas, a fitness center and some fitness classes, a deli and a gift shop.

“We have a very comfortable atmosphere. It feels like home here, and the property is not in a congested area. We welcome individual guests, couples and families,” said Hall.

The Dunes of Panama is located near St. Andrews State Park and the Shipwreck Island Water Park. Guests have participated in area activities ranging from parasailing to pontoon boat rentals to fishing to golf.

On July 4, Panama City Beach hosts an Independence Day extravaganza with fireworks. On Aug 29 to 31, the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam features some of the top names in country music performing live.

Starting in June and through the spring and summer on the first Friday of the month, Panama City hosts a street festival featuring live music, car shows, art and shopping.

“There is always a lot to do here, or for some their favorite activity is just to relax on the beach and do nothing at all,” said Hall.

Jewish-owned tour company offers custom New Orleans adventures Those traveling to New Orleans, or who live in the area and just want to explore unique aspects of their city, can have plans customized by New Orleans Discount Tours — including Jewish New Orleans tours.

Lauren Sanders, a member of the New Orleans Jewish community, owns New Orleans Discount Tours, which can assist travelers at no charge with finding hotels, restaurants, transportation and tours.

Sanders said the City Tour is still the most popular. The three-hour tour highlights everything from Garden District celebrity homes to guided tours of historic cemeteries to City Park to the post-Katrina rebuilding process still ongoing in the hard-hit Ninth Ward.

A customized City Tour for any-sized party can include Jewish New Orleans sites. Sanders can coordinate those tours, including synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, JCCs, history and even kosher meals upon request. “We can even include some of the stores here that have some Judaica and the flavor of New Orleans,” she said.

Other popular tours include ghost tours, swamp tours, airboat tours and Treme walking tours, said Sanders.

New Orleans Discount Tours can be contacted at www.neworleansdiscounttours.com or (504) 302-4961.

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Immerse yourself in one of the most stirring and electrifying productions ever to grace the stage. You could see Les Misérables in New York, but you’ll like it better here. Performances are Tuesday through Sunday at the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater. Group rates are available.

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Birmingham’s Iron Man, Vulcan, celebrates his 110th birthday in June while the Vulcan Park and Museum looks at 10 successful years of hosting more than 1.1 million visitors from 90 different countries.

“The Vulcan Park and Museum serves as a history museum for Birmingham, Alabama and the South,” said Vulcan Park and Museum Marketing/PR Director Cristina Almanza. “When Vulcan was renovated and the park was completed (in 2004), I think that was a catalyst for this growth Renaissance we have seen in Birmingham the past 10 years. “We want to preserve the past and move forward into the future.”

During the past 10 years, Vulcan Park and Museum has also worked with more than 83,000 students in 16 different education programs at the facility as well as in the schools. In that time, its gallery has also hosted 21 different exhibits.

The Vulcan 110th birthday celebration will be in the afternoon of June 1. It will feature a Lego building competition, face painting, musical entertainment and cake.

Vulcan Park and Museum Marketing/PR Assistant Director Melanie Goodsell said the national Buzzfeed website rated the July 4 Thunder on the Mountain annual fireworks celebration as the top event for Birmingham.

“This is something everyone looks forward to each year. This year Thunder on the Mountain will be even bigger and better,” said Goodsell. Vulcan Park and Museum will coordinate the show with a textto-give program to help support the costs of putting on the annual fireworks show celebrating U.S. independence.

On Sept. 5 and 6, the play “Miss Vulcan 1939” will hit the stage in the park at Vulcan. The production, a partnership between Vulcan Park and the Red Mountain Theatre Company, centers on an actual beauty pageant that was held about the time Vulcan was placed on his current pedestal high atop Red Mountain. It is a family-friendly show.

Southern Jewish Life

June 2014

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Summer Travel Apalachicola a hidden gem on Florida’s west coast

By Lee J. Green

FA M I LY

EYE

CENTER

Florida’s “Forgotten Coast” offers memorable vacation opportunities and the historic, quaint Coombs Inn and Suites.

“This is Florida as it used to be. Much of the coast has become congested and very commercial. Here we focus on natural beauty, serenity and community,” said Regional Manager Leigh Coble.

Visitors in Apalachicola can walk or bicycle everywhere. All businesses are locally owned, including restaurants and art galleries.

Some of these old mansions have been turned into museums and antiques stores. Apalachicola is located half-way between Pensacola and Tampa on Florida’s Gulf coast.

James Coombs was a successful entrepreneur who earned a fortune in Maine’s lumber industry around the turn of the 20th century. In 1905 Apalachicola, located on the Gulf at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, was a busy port with 3,000 inhabitants, from which most of north Florida’s lumber was shipped. Coombs and his wife moved down that year, having the stately mansion built.

The mansion was purchased in 1994 and turned into the Coombs House Inn. Today there are 23 guest suites in three elegant historic Victorian mansions located on the property, one of which is the former Jewish-owned Marks house.

The all-inclusive bed and breakfast offers amenities such as bicycle and beach chair rentals, evening wine receptions, homemade cookies, teas and coffees, Wi-Fi internet, flat-screen cable televisions, with some rooms being whirlpool massage spa suites, as well as 17 fireplaces.

For visitors to the area, Coble and the Coombs Inn staff recommend the Marine Museum, sunset cruises, cemetery tours (dating back to the 1700s), live theatres, art galleries, antique museums, exploring the nature preserves, concerts in the park and waterfront cafes.

The town will host several fishing tournaments throughout the summer. For those into being active on vacation, the St. George Island 5K Race will take place Aug. 9, and once a month — June 12, July 12, Aug 10 — they offer guided climbs to the top of the Cape St. George Lighthouse to view sunsets and full moon rises.

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June 2014

“Shalom Y’All: The Valley’s Jewish Heritage,” an exhibit about the Jewish community of Columbus, Ga., and the Chattahoochee Valley communities in Alabama and Georgia, continues at the Columbus Museum through July 13.

L’Shanah Tovah Southern Jewish Life

“Joseph” takes Theatre LJCC stage The popular musical re-imagining of the Book of Genesis story, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” will illuminate the Theatre LJCC stage in Birmingham this month in what promises to be a “unique and impacting production.”

Director Cliff Keen, Jr., said he felt that the Levite Jewish Community Center was the perfect fit for “Joseph.” “This is an important show that has many historical connections” to the Bible, said Keen, Jr. “We plan on a production that is going to be unique, vibrant and really brings the story to life.”

The biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors, with lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and music by Tim Rice, debuted in London in 1968. Its U.S. premiere was in New York City in1970. Since then there have been more than 40,000 stock and amateur productions of the classic musical. A “Joseph” movie, featuring Donny Osmond as Joseph and Maria Friedman as the Narrator, came out in 1999.

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” tells just about its entire story in song, with a cornucopia of styles ranging from rock and roll to country-western to bubble-gum pop to calypso. Ellen Weems provides musical direction for the Theatre LJCC production, which runs from June 12 to 22.

“We’re blessed to have someone as talented as Ellen lead the music direction and we have a very talented cast,” said Keen, Jr. Southern Jewish Life Associate Publisher Lee J. Green plays a couple of supporting roles in the show.

Shows will be Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bhamjcc.org or the ticket line at (205) 879-0411.

Southern Jewish Life

June 2014

27

Kosher-Style Recipe: Post Office Pies

By Lee J. Green Since opening earlier this year in the growing Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham, Post Office Pies has specially delivered wood-fire-oven pizzas, salads, garlic bread and Avondale Brewery beer and cocktails.

It also provided a great homecoming opportunity for Birmingham native and Post Office Pies co-owner/head chef John Hall.

Prior to moving back in November 2012 to plan for the new restaurant, Hall had been working at some notable restaurants in New York City.

“It seems that every New York City neighborhood has its own neighborhood pizzeria. Avondale already has a great barbecue place and great brewery” with Saw’s Barbecue, which has the same ownership as Post Office Pies, and Avondale Brewery, “so we thought people would respond well to Post Office Pies,” said Hall. “We’ve been pleased by response thus far.”

One of the places Hall worked for in the Big Apple was the Gramercy Tavern, a fine-dining contemporary American cuisine restaurant. After coming back from working there around midnight most nights, he and his former girlfriend would cook up pizzas in his apartment and deliver to those who sought high-quality New York pizza in the wee hours of the morning.

“That was one of the inspirations for this place. Our food is simple and straight-forward, but made with passion… using the freshest local ingredients as much as possible.

Good pizza and a place like this bring people together. It makes people happy,” said Hall.

Unique to Post Office Pies is its wood-fired ovens. Most pizza places that use such ovens get them from Italy or California, he said. But a friend in Birmingham custom-made the ones at POP, which also use hickory wood from Alabama instead of gas, as most other places use.

Hall’s mother grew up in the Avondale area and he grew up not too far away. Hall said his dad and uncle were the prime cooks in the family, who were known especially for making great barbecue as well as Southern comfort food, including pecan pie.

“I would learn from them and help out.

Food was very much a part of our family and culture,” he said. Hall would leave home at 17 to earn a couple degrees from the Johnson and Wells Culinary Institute in Charleston 28

June 2014

Southern Jewish Life

209 41st Street South • Birmingham 205.599-9900

and Providence.

He spent some time after graduation doing French and other European cuisine in Luxembourg before going to New York for a few years.

“When I was away, I only saw my family here for a few days once a year,” said Hall. “It is great to be back home and connect with everyone.”

The White Pie 1 head of garlic 2 tablespoons roasted garlic oil ¼ cup Pecorino cheese 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ½ cup Ricotta cheese Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a quarter-inch off the head of garlic; place garlic on a square of aluminum foil.

Sprinkle with salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

Wrap up the garlic and place in the oven and roast until golden brown.

Once garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze garlic into a bowl. Crush garlic with a fork and cover with three tablespoons of olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the bottom rack of the oven.

To assemble, spread the garlic oil evenly on your ready pizza dough and top with pecorino cheese. Using two spoons, place the ricotta cheese over the pie and cover with mozzarella.

Let us host your parties at The Edge - Birmingham

Continued from page 30

We serve beer and wine

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the desert.”

“The shekel stops here.”

And what of Moses’ detractors and competitors? Throughout the Torah, they spoke to the people of Israel, saying: “It depends on what the meaning of the word <any word in the Torah> is.”

“Are you better off than you were 40 years ago?”

“I served with Moses. I knew Moses. Moses was a friend of mine.

Sir, you’re no Moses.”

“A manna in every pot, a camel in every tent.”

“Yes, we can! If we ever get out of this desert.”

“When I was in Egypt, I experimented with incense a time or two and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale and I never tried it again.”

“Read my lips, no new burnt offerings.”

“I am not a kibitzer.”

Last, and certainly least, is the propensity for falsehood. On one level, candidates make promises that are either empty or end up that way. Some say things that are outright lies. Some are simply misinformed.

Either way, one quote stands out from the rest of the Torah in perpetuating “facts” harder to believe than Noah tolerating the smell of all those animals: “You can actually see Russia from land here in the desert.”

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Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who abstains, courteously.

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

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Celebrate Your Financial Health

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Southern Jewish Life

“Ask not what The Lord can do for you, ask what you can do for The Lord.”

That’s how Moses famously concluded his inaugural address, but how did he get to that point? Only after an arduous campaign that would make 40 years in the desert seem like a stroll on the beach.

While almost several of you set out to vote in various election primaries, consider that the level of civility and decency prevalent in the modern American political machine is not a new development.

Most people don’t consider that smear tactics, sarcastic quips, and bombastic claims have riddled campaigns since the founding of the United States of America in 1776, when Columbus sailed the Today’s political climate ocean… Styx?

But it didn’t start there, either. goes back a long way.

Civil unrest and dissatisfaction Just ask Moses. with leaders goes all the way back to the Days of Yore B.C.E., specifically to when the Israelites wandered in the Sinai for 40 years and 40 nights.

While you’ve stepped out or zoned out during Torah readings, you’ve missed many exciting episodes which would rival much of primetime television if only King James hadst writteneth not in utilization of language which casteth even unto Shakespeare a more greaterly discernable light.

The Israelites rebelled against Aaron while Moses was having a second cup atop Mount Sinai, which resulted in the Golden Calf, and Moses treating his resulting tension headache by smashing up two tablets.

The Korach rebellion, which almost several of you will hear read later this month, was a family affair. Moses’s cousin felt left out, and suborned insurrection with a few hundred followers. In a move that political leaders today wish they could employ, the rebels were consumed by the ground or devoured by a fire from heaven.

The people complained about the manna — the one-taste-fits-all food that fell from heaven every day in the desert. When the Israelites asked for a salad bar one too many times, the response was “let them eat quail.” And they ate quail. And it was bad.

Moses sent 12 spies into The Promised Land. Ten returned with terrible reports, predicting defeat, gloom, doom, and the recording career of Barry Manilow. The other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, returned with good reports and then got stoned. But not in the fun way.

If you’re still not convinced, consider the following actual quotes from the 40 years in the desert which were lifted by future American politicians.

As Tevye once attributed to King David, Moses was slow of speech and slow of tongue. This led him to the sage wisdom, “Speak softly and carry a big staff.”

Other famous quotes from Moses inspired leaders for millennia to come, including: “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is The Lord Himself.”

Continued on previous page

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