SJL Deep South, August 2017

Southern Jewish Life LONG-AWAITED JCC MACCABI GAMES OPEN IN BIRMINGHAM

August 2017

Volume 27 Issue 8

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

shalom y’all shalom y’all y’all shalom When we first heard that a Louisiana congressman was being condemned for a video he filmed at Auschwitz (see page 14), the first thought was “what stupid thing did he say?”

Did he do one of those stupid comparisons of abortion in the United States to the Holocaust? Or worse, heaven forbid, say something factually erroneous that either was a form of Holocaust denial or played into the deniers’ hands?

It was with that trepidation that we watched the five-minute video, waiting for the bombshell. What did he say to provoke such a firestorm?

Not much, as it turns out. Rep. Clay Higgins’ big sin was filming less than a minute of the footage inside one of the gas chambers, where he spoke quietly with seemingly no one else around. As was rather forcefully pointed out after the video’s release, the gas chambers have signs asking for silence while inside, as a show of respect for those who were murdered there.

Recently there has been a debate over the propriety of smiling selfies at concentration camps, and this seemed more like an extension of that debate. Filming inside the gas chamber may not have been the smartest move, but the umbrage seems way out of proportion.

Some have condemned the video as politicizing the Holocaust, using Auschwitz for self-serving reasons. Perhaps, but politicians always use visits to significant sites for aims that seem political, whether or not they actually are.

One wonders how much of the criticism comes from the fact that Higgins, described as the “Cajun John Wayne,” is a Republican who is a bit… shall we say… quirky, with a history of speaking his mind, such as his June “kill them all” comment about radicalized Muslims after a London terror attack. Was it more about the messenger than the message?

What was Higgins’ message in the video? The dangers of unchecked evil and the need to continued on page 37

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Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING SPECIALIST Annetta Dolowitz annetta@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Nathan Klein, Tally Werthan, Bebe Hudson, Belle Freitag, Claire Yates, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/780.5615 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 connect@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com or Annetta Dolowitz, annetta@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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4 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

Team Alabama enters Bartow Arena at the JCC Maccabi Games opening ceremony in Birmingham on July 30. Story, page 20.

Weekend of events at Emanu-El honors newly-retired Rabbi Jonathan Miller This month, Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will celebrate the 27 years that Rabbi Jonathan Miller led Alabama’s largest Jewish congregation. Miller retired on June 30.

On Aug. 24, the Grafman Legacy Luncheon will be a “roast and toast” of Miller and his family. Reservations are requested by Aug. 21, and a $10 contribution at the door is appreciated.

The Rabbi Jonathan Miller Enduring Legacy Fund has been created within the Grafman Endowment Fund. The endowed fund will provide a perpetual source of income for the senior rabbinic position, “to help preserve his commitment to Jewish values and ensure the continued tradition of strong and visionary spiritual leadership.”

On Aug. 25, the 5:40 p.m. service will be a community celebration, followed by a grand reception.

As part of the evening, donors to the Enduring Legacy Fund will be recognized, and there will be a new recognition wall. The congregation is placing gifts honoring Miller into that fund.

Emanu-El’s website will have an online tribute where community members can submit their own tributes and well wishes, along with

up to three photos. They will also be collected and put into book form, for a presentation to Miller. The deadline to be in the book version is Aug. 10.

To submit items, go to ourtemple.org/RabbiTributeBook.

On Aug. 27, Miller and Rev. Stephen Jones will be the guest speakers at Southside Baptist Church’s 10:30 a.m. service. They will reminisce and celebrate the historic relationship between the congregations, dating back to when Emanu-El held High Holy Day services at Southside Baptist in 1913 when the Emanu-El building was not quite finished.

More recently, that relationship deepened when Emanu-El was renovating its building and met at Southside Baptist for 14 months in 2001-02. As Emanu-El’s Torahs were marched two blocks to the church, Miller wondered if the congregation was going to follow him into a Baptist Church, but Jones and his congregation embraced their guests.

Ordained in 1982, Miller came to Birmingham from the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles. He also had served at Temple Shalom in Auckland, New Zealand.

In October, Miller gave congregants at Yom

In June, Rabbi Jonathan Miller had a book signing for “Legacy” at the Alabama Booksmith Kippur services a copy of a book he had just published, “Legacy: A Rabbi and A Community Remember Their Loved Ones,” a collection of eulogies he has given over the past 26 years.

August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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Counter-terrorism expert to speak at Miss. coast Federation event Amos Guiora, professor of law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, will be the guest speaker for the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Jewish Federations of North America campaign event, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Additional details were not available at press time.

He teaches criminal procedure, international law, global perspectives on counterterrorism, and religion and terrorism, incorporating innovative scenario-based instruction to address national and international security issues and dilemmas.

He is currently a research associate at the University of Oxford, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. He is also a Research Fellow at the International Institute on Counter-Terrorism, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzylia, Israel; and a corresponding member, The Netherlands School of Human Rights Research, the University of Utrecht School of Law. Guiora has published extensively both in the U.S. and Europe on issues related to national security, limits of interrogation, religion and terrorism, the limits of power, multiculturalism and human rights.

He served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces as Lieutenant Colonel, and held a number of senior command positions, including Commander of the IDF School of Military Law and Legal Advisor to the Gaza Strip.

Haas leaving Birmingham’s Emanu-El In a July 18 letter to the congregants of Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Laila Haas announced that she will be seeking other opportunities when her current contract ends next summer.

“I look forward to sharing this last year together, and engaging with you in the sacred work that drives our Temple’s mission,” she said.

In June, Emanu-El Rabbi Rabbi Laila Haas and Rabbi Jonathan Miller retired after 26 Jonathan Miller on Capitol Hill years of leading Alabama’s larg- during the AIPAC Policy Conference est Jewish congregation. Rabbi Doug Kohn arrived at the start of July to serve as interim rabbi for the coming year, and Emanu-El Cantor Jessica Roskin is recovering from a mild stroke she suffered on July 3.

A Miami Beach native, Haas joined the team at Emanu-El in 2011 after being ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. She noted that when “Rabbi Miller brought me here to Birmingham,” he told her that she would fall in love with the community. “He was right. I am eternally grateful for his mentorship, his friendship and for providing the opportunities for me to grow and develop my rabbinate,” she said.

Four years ago, Haas reworked Emanu-El’s preschool program, Temple Tots, renaming it the Discovery School and expanding its enrollment.

“Because this synagogue trusted and supported me, I have been able to design, build and grow our schools, develop innovative programs, lead worship, teach, and take an active role in our larger community, each of which has impacted and influenced the Temple we are today,” she said.

She concluded, “I will carry my Temple Emanu-El family in my heart, always.”

6 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

agenda Chevra Kadisha expert visiting Jackson Jackson’s Beth Israel will have an educational weekend about what is seen as one of the most praiseworthy roles in the Jewish community — that of Chevra Kadisha.

The “Holy Society” is a group of men and women that volunteer to prepare and dress a deceased member of the community prior to burial, according to Jewish practices.

David Zinner, executive director of Kavod v’Nichum, “honor and comfort,” will speak at Beth Israel during the Sept. 8 service. On Sept.

9, he will lead a morning session on the history and practice of Jewish burial traditions, and on Sept. 10 will lead an afternoon training session for volunteers.

Kavod v’Nichum is “the only non-profit in the United States and Canada that focuses solely on education and advocacy of Jewish traditions around dying, death, funeral, burials, cemeteries, grief and mourning.”

Saul Kahn of Boca Raton, who was head of the men’s Chevra Kadisha in New Orleans for many years, said “In my entire life, I don’t think I’ve done anything more worthwhile than serve on the Chevra Kadisha.”

Mindy Humphrey and Bill Morris are coordinating the women’s and men’s Chevras Kadisha for Beth Israel.

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On June 29, a ceremony was held at Beth Shalom’s cemetery in Baton Rouge to bury old books in the congregation’s genizah. Here, Joel Goldman takes part in the burial.

BHEC to honor Cathy Friedman The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center will honor Cathy O. Friedman at its annual L’Chaim event on August 20, for her ongoing commitment to Holocaust education in Birmingham.

The 2:30 p.m. event will be in the Jemison Concert Hall at the Alys Stephens Center. A dessert reception will follow the program.

The program, a combination of entertainment, education and recognition, will feature a performance by the Steel City Men’s Chorus and special musical entertainment arranged by Keith Cromwell of Red Mountain Theatre Company, including a performance of “L’Chaim” by the cast of RMTC’s recent production of “Fiddler on the Roof ”; Abijah Cunningham and Amy Johnson performing songs made famous by Barbra Streisand; and a special solo by Kristen Sharp.

L’Chaim is the culmination of the BHEC’s annual fundraising campaign. Tickets are $50, $25 for students, and are available at www.bhecinfo.org. All fundraising proceeds are used to advance the mission of the BHEC to keep the history and lessons of the Holocaust alive.

August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 7

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B’nai Israel in Panama City will have a social for members and those in the area who are not members but are interested in learning more, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m., at the home of Jamie and Robert Goetz in Panama City Beach. Rabbi Alana Wasserman will lead Havdalah, followed by a poolside barbecue.

Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham will hold its Cyber-Seniors program on Aug. 24 and 25 at the Levite Jewish Community Center, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The program is for older adults who need help learning to use smart phones, tablets and computers. Adults will work one-on-one with University of Alabama at Birmingham Honors College students, who will help them learn to use email, Facebook, Uber and more. Classes are free but registration through CJFS is required.

The Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge will have its annual CommUNITY Prayer Breakfast, “Listen: With Hearts Wide Open,” Sept. 7 at 7 a.m. at Boudreaux’s. Tickets are $20 and are available at the B’nai Israel office.

The Eastern Shore group in Baldwin County will have a barbecue, pool party and Havdalah on Aug. 12 at 6 p.m., at the home of Carol and Steve Zimmerman in Fairhope. Hot dogs and buns will be provided, participants can sign up to bring other items.

In preparation for the High Holy Days, Chabad of Mobile is hosting the Jewish Learning Institute’s “Read It In Hebrew” five-week crash course in Hebrew reading. The class starts on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. and will meet for five Mondays. Reservations are $39.

On We Care Wednesdays, Blue Pants Brewery in Madison donates $1 from each purchase to a non-profit. On Aug. 16, Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom will be supported, on purchases between 6 and 10 p.m.

B’nai Israel in Florence will have a Day at the Lake, Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the home of Michelle and Buddy Bernstein.

Etz Chayim Sisterhood in Huntsville will have a Game Night on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m., with Mexican Train and Mah Jongg.

The Temple Beth-El Sisterhood in Pensacola will have an opening meeting on Aug. 16 at 11:30 a.m. with Women of Reform Judaism Southeast President Ellen Petracco and First Vice President Cheryl RaskinHood as speakers.

An Israeli folk dancing group is starting at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge.

Led by David Kirshner, it is open to novices and experienced dancers, or to those who just want to come and enjoy the music. The group will meet every other Sunday at 7 p.m., starting Sept. 17.

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The Western Shore Torah Study Group of Mobile’s Springhill Avenue Temple will meet on Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m., at the Wingate by Wyndham in D’Iberville. The topic is “Rosh Hashanah — Why is it more holy day than holiday?” The group is open to members and those interested in the Jewish faith.

Zeta Beta Tau at the University of Alabama will hold its alumni tailgate weekend on Sept. 16 for the football game against Colorado State.

Kickoff is 6 p.m.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El is having its annual poker night on Aug. 26. The No Limit Hold’em tournament is $100 for the first 100 pre-registered participants, $110 at the door. Participants get $3,000 in chips and can rebuy for $100 until 7:15 p.m. There is a one-time add-on of $5,000 from 7 to 7:15 p.m. Doors open at 4:15 p.m., play begins at 5 p.m. Refreshments are free, there will be a cash bar. Non-monetary prizes will go to the top nine players.

B’nai Zion in Shreveport will recognize Lionel Eltis on his 100th birthday, on Sept. 1. A special oneg will follow the 6 p.m. Shabbat service.

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An area of New Orleans with several major museums will be the new home for the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience.

During a presentation at Temple Sinai in New Orleans on July 28, the location of 818 Howard Street was announced, along with a projected timeline of 2019 for the museum to open.

The July 28 presentation was also an introduction of the museum’s new director, Kenneth Hoffman, a Baton Rouge native who has been at the National World War II Museum since it opened in 2000. Hoffman and Rusty Palmer, vice chair of the museum task force, made the presentation.

The museum’s location, currently a four-story office building, is one block from Lee Circle and half a block from the streetcar line. The National World War II Museum, Ogden Museum, Contemporary Arts Center and Civil War Museum are about three blocks away, and it is near the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and the Dryades Street Corridor that was an integral part of New Orleans Jewish history. The original location of Temple Sinai is also across the street, and the site is across from the New Orleans Hospitality and Culinary Institute.

Jay Tanenbaum, chairman of the museum task force, said the lease is still being finalized. The plan calls for the entire first floor and half of the second floor to be devoted to the museum, along with a courtyard and atrium space for events. The rest of the building will be a mix of office and residential.

A website for the museum, msje.org, went live in late July with a survey and a place to submit an email address for updates. The survey is being done “as we plan the museum’s new mission, exhibits, and programs” and input is requested from everyone, “whether you are Jewish or not, or a Southerner or not.”

A Facebook page, msjenola, has also been established. While people are encouraged to sign up at the website for updates, it will be several months before a public fundraising campaign will begin.

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community Camp in Utica six years ago as the camp sought to expand its programs into the museum space.

The museum originally came about as the camp became a repository for Judaica from congregations that were downsizing or closing in the region.

In 2000, the museum gave birth to a larger organization, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Jacobs Camp Director Macy Hart soon left the camp to lead the new organization in Jackson, and the museum became part of the Institute.

The ISJL is spinning off the museum as a separate entity, but there will still be ties between the organizations. For the last two years, a museum planning committee has worked to select a location, meet with interested parties and solicit major gifts.

Hoffman’s hiring was announced by the committee on July 12. Tanenbaum said Hoffman “is uniquely qualified for this challenge.”

Hoffman was a camper at Jacobs Camp and is a Tulane alumnus. After graduating, he was the first research and curatorial intern at the thennew MSJE in Utica. While finishing his Master’s degree at Tulane, he published research on several Southern Jewish communities.

After working at the New Orleans Museum of Art and Louisiana State Museum, he joined the National World War II Museum, which was then the D-Day Museum, as one of the founding staff members in 1998.

Most recently, he has been the director of education at the National World War II Museum, having established a nationally-recognized program with a department budget of over $1 million annually.

Tanenbaum said Hoffman is “known throughout the South and in history circles.”

Baton Rouge Chabad to dedicate Torah on Aug. 20 Chabad of Baton Rouge will celebrate the arrival of a Torah with a community celebration, Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. at the Louisiana State University Hilltop Arboretum.

The scroll was written around World War II, and was then taken to Israel for use in a synagogue, Rabbi Peretz Kazen said. It was purchased for the Baton Rouge Chabad and is being donated by Tere Vives.

Additional dedication opportunities are available on the Chabad website, from dedicating a letter in the Torah for $54, a word for $108, a special section for $360, individual parshas, the sections reciting the 13 divine attributes or the prayer at the opening of the ark, or an entire book for $1800.

Dedication opportunities are also available for the ark cover, pointer, sash and the Torah rollers.

community Several group trips to Israel planned for 2018 With Israel’s 70th birthday next year, many area congregations are planning Israel trips for 2018.

Rabbi Joel Fleekop will lead a trip for Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El from July 9 to 19, An informational meeting will be held on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. The trip is designed with first-timers and experienced Israel travelers in mind.

Rabbi Natan Trief will lead an Israel trip for members of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge, their friends and family. The trip will be May 25 to June 4, and registration is open.

Rabbi Barry Leff, interim rabbi at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El and a resident of Israel, will lead “Rav Barry’s Israel” next spring. As a resident of Israel, he will lead “a look at Israel as experienced by Israelis, as opposed to only the tourist side.” There will be an informational meeting on Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. The trip will feature not only Jewish holy sites, but those of Christians, Muslims and the Bahai. A visit to Hebron will include talks with Palestinians and settlers.

Chaya Mushka and Rabbi Mendel Ceitlin from Chabad in Metairie will lead the New Orleans contingent in “The Land and the Spirit: A Jewish Learning Institute Israel Experience,” March 4 to 13. Numerous communities will take part in the learning and solidarity trip.

Registration is open.

For those who are looking for a different type of congregational trip, Rabbi Jordan Goldson of B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is leading a “People to People” mission to Cuba, Dec. 7 to 12, with the trip’s pricing based on eight to 12 participants. Information is available through B’nai Israel.

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For the last 20 years, New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service has been providing Chanukah gifts to Jewish children and youth whose families have been struggling economically. The program has developed into one that last year helped close to 300 Jewish youth and institutionalized Jewish adults in the seven-state Southern region. Thousands of gifts were shipped to families with children.

Last year, department store gift cards were added to the gift bags for children and youth.

The JCRS annually distributes thousands of gifts, as each recipient receives eight small gifts, one for each night of Chanukah. The agency serves children in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

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community child to receive maximum gift consideration, including gift cards. To apply, parents should go the JCRS website, www.jcrs.org, and under the headline of programs they can find the Oscar J. Tolmas Chanukah Gift Program.

Parents who submit an electronic application after August 14 should assume that their children will not receive gift cards.

For more information about the program, as either a potential applicant or donor, contact the JCRS by calling (800) 729-5277, or write P.O. Box 7368 , Metairie LA 70010 -7368. The email address is info@jcrs.org.

Annual Wrap-a-Thon on Sept. 10

The annual Chanukah Gift Wrap-a-Thon will be held at the Goldring/Woldenberg JCC in Metairie on Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help wrap thousands of gifts for the Chanukah packages.

Pizza and refreshments will be served all day, and there will be Chanukah door prizes for each household. Students can earn community service hours, and there will be awards for the best wrappers. Child care is available upon prior request.

Yeshiva University professor Joy Ladin to speak on transgender isssues The recent series of tweets sent out by President Donald Trump banning transgendered individuals from serving in the military has brought the transgendered community into the headlines. On Aug. 16, Joy Ladin, the first and only openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution, will speak in Birmingham.

The “family-friendly presentation and discussion” will explore gender and how gender is connected to religion, tradition, and community. The program will be held at the Emmet O’Neal Library in Crestline, starting at 6:15 p.m., and is open to the community.

Ladin is the David and Ruth Gottesman Professor of English at Yeshiva University. The former Jay Ladin, after receiving tenure in 2007 she told the dean at Yeshiva’s Stern College that she was transitioning, and was put on leave. After student support and some legal maneuvers, she returned to campus as Joy in 2008, and received a great deal of support.

Her transition did result in the breakup of her marriage, and the divorce was a trauma for her three children.

In 2009, she published a poetry collection, “Transmigration,” and in 2012 published her memoir, “Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders.”

She travels to speak about the practical, religious and emotional issues around the transgendered. Her goal is to strengthen American democracy by finding ways “to talk respectfully about both our differences and our common concerns” without demeaning others.

The evening is sponsored by Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta, and is hosted by SOJOURN: the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity.

12 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

community Rabbi Task inducted into Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame For just the second time, there was a Jewish inductee to the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame.

Rabbi Arnold Task, rabbi emeritus of Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, was inducted into the hall, located at the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum at Angola Prison. After a ceremony at the museum, where there was a ribbon cutting for memorabilia cases of all of the inductees, there was a banquet at the Lod Cook Alumni Center in Baton Rouge.

The Justice Hall of Fame was established by the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum Foundation Board of Directors in 2004 to honor and acknowledge the men and women of Louisiana who have served their community and their state in the honorable professions of law enforcement, the judiciary, criminal justice, civil service, and other related fields, including governmental service, corrections, education, communications/media, victim services, volunteerism, sponsorships and community activism.

Also inducted this year were Marlin N. Gusman, Leon A. Cannizzaro Jr., Jimmy N. Dimos, Retired Major General Bennett C. Landreneau, Marc H. Morial, Newell D. Normand and Robert ‘Bob’ Smith.

Ordained in 1958, Task started as an assis-

tant rabbi in St. Louis, then went to Newport News, Va., from 1960 to 1968. He then was at Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, N.C., until 1988, and was appointed to the citizens review committee that investigated the 1979 “Greensboro massacre,” a shootout between members of the Communist Workers Party and the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party.

He served Gemiluth Chassodim from 1989 to 2011, and has written regular columns in The Town Talk for 25 years.

Last year, he published a collection of the columns, “Life’s Amazing Lessons: Things I Learned Along The Way.” Task is past chair of the LSU-Alexandria Lay Advisory Committee, vice president for military affairs at the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, and a founding member of the Central Louisiana Community Foundation.

He also helped establish the Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum at Camp Beauregard, and helped raise the funds to establish the Holocaust memorial in downtown Alexandria.

Aside from being the second Jewish inductee, Task is the first clergy member recognized since

the hall began. Task noted that in 2011, Judge Lance Africk of New Orleans, who “grew up under me in Greensboro many years ago,” was inducted.

Michael Bindursky, president of Gemiluth Chassodim, attended the banquet and said “I found myself filled with pride for our congregation and felt that we are so blessed to have had such a wonderful rabbi for all these years, and that when he retired he chose to stay in our community.”

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 13

community

Rep. Higgins pulls video filmed inside Auschwitz gas chamber Apologizes for offense, says intent was to speak about consequences of evil

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Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins apologized for a video he took while touring the Auschwitz concentration camp and had posted on July 1.

Higgins, who is in his first term, said “my message has caused pain to some whom I love and respect. For that, my own heart feels sorrow. Out of respect to any who may feel that my video posting was wrong or caused pain, I have retracted my video.”

He has taken the video down, but it is still accessible on some news sites.

Part of the five-minute video was filmed inside a former gas chamber. After he posted it, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum tweeted that “Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence.

It’s not a stage.”

A follow-up tweet showed a sign outside the building stating that thousands were killed in the building, so “Please maintain silence here: remember their suffering and show respect for their memory.”

In the video, Higgins tours Auschwitz, stating that “a great sense of dread comes over you in this place” as he walked past the display of victims’ shoes.

He spent about a minute of the video inside the gas chamber and crematoria, speaking in a low voice with nobody else around, and describing what took place in that space. He then spoke outside the suffocation room where laborers were punished. “We must remember these things,” he said. “Man’s inhumanity to man can be quite shocking.”

Back outside, he added, “It’s hard to walk away from gas chambers and ovens without a sober feeling of commitment — unwavering commitment — to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of the world,” and said in this age,

with greater worldwide mobility, it is easier for threats to reach the U.S. mainland.

Manfred Klepper of Lafayette, who was six when the Nazis ransacked his home during Kristallnacht, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that Higgins “made a spectacle” of a “sacred space.”

The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, a little-known group until it criticized President Donald Trump a few months ago, called the video “disgusting beyond description” and Executive Director Steve Goldstein refused to accept Higgins’ apology.

Conversely, the Baltimore-based Coalition for Jewish Values, which represents about 200 “traditional” rabbis, sent Higgins a letter on July 10 commending him for making Auschwitz one of his first international destinations as a congressman, and for his “sincere, heartfelt reflections.”

The group told Higgins that he deserves “thanks from the Jewish people,” and that they are “embarrassed by those who accused you of insensitivity,” saying some of them are “misusing anti-Semitism as a political cudgel against our conservative friends.”

In his statement, Higgins said he filmed the video “with great humility. My intent was to offer a reverent homage to those who were murdered in Auschwitz and to remind the world that evil exists, that free nations must remember, and stand strong.”

Higgins’ statement concluded, “The atrocities that happened at Auschwitz were truly despicable, and we must never let history repeat itself in such a way. I have always stood with Israel and all Jewish people, and I always will. We live in a dangerous world, and massive forces of evil do indeed yet exist. We must all stand united against those evils. My Auschwitz video has been removed, and my sincere apology for any unintended pain is extended.”

community Nick May’s first full-length album can now be heard In Jewish music circles, Nick May is being heard.

“Be Heard,” the first full-length album by the long-time camp songleader and freelance synagogue musician from New Orleans, was released on July 14.

He wrote the title track while in high school, because “I was really struggling with my speech and how some people were treating me because of it.” He has stuttered since he was very young, “and it affects almost every sound that comes out of my mouth.”

Music, though “has never been hindered for me.” When dealing with how he was being treated in school, he looked at a bracelet he had worn from the National Stuttering Association. “Be Heard” was its message, and “these two, simple words motivated me to shake off the frustration and write a song that would uplift not only my spirits but others who were silently fighting their own battles.”

May, who is music and programming coordinator for Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge, said four of the 10 songs are from his 2016 EP, “This Beauty.” After the EP was released, “I knew I wanted to get back in the studio and make a full length album and I figured this was the perfect

time in my life to do it since I didn’t know what I was going to be doing after graduation” from Louisiana State University.

May was songleader at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica for three years, then was head songleader at JCC Camp Sabra in Missouri in 2016.

“One of my staff members from last summer at Camp Sabra, Josh Mannis, has recorded music so I went to him for information on the studio he recorded with,” he said. May got in touch with producer Ben Majchrzak, who has toured with Rick Recht, and found out it would cost $8,000 to cover recording, musicians, post production and the manufacture of physical copies.

He set up a Kickstarter campaign online, and “on the final night of the campaign, I surpassed my goal and raised $8,098,” May said.

In April, he spent nine days at Native Sound Recording in St. Louis, with Majchrzak, drummer Tony Barbata, pianist Nathan Jatcko, vocalist Robert Scott, and bassist Zebadiah Briskovitch. “Guitarist Adam Tressler recorded his

parts from Los Angeles and sent them to us via email,” May said.

Thanks to the musicians and his Kickstarter backers, “I can finally release this song and throw my voice out there to the world.”

The album is available on May’s website, www.nickmaymusic.squarespace.com, Amazon, Google Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and CDBaby.

August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 15

world maccabiah

MVP New Orleans’ Chance Doyle excels as U.S. rugby team wins gold

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For the first time in 20 years and only the second time ever, the U.S. rugby team won the gold at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel, with New Orleans’ Chance Doyle playing a key role. Doyle, who was a late addition to the team, was Vice Captain Chance Doyle, left, was named the MVP of named the tournament Most Valu- the tournament. Chase Schor Haskin, right, was named able Player and was the U.S. team’s the MVP of the final. vice captain. The U.S. beat “heavily favored” South Africa, 31-21, in the Fifteens fi- U.S. not make the medal round for the first time nals. After South Africa took a 14-12 lead, the since rugby was added to the games in 1985.

U.S. regained the lead, with Doyle converting Head Coach Shawn Lipman added Doyle to twice. the squad after being told about him by legendThe rugby tournament was held at the Win- ary player Gary Lambert last September. Doyle gate Institute in Netanya. first joined the team at an international tournaThe U.S. beat Argentina 32-19 in the semi- ment in February. final, and South Africa advanced by beating Being part of what is known as the Jewish Israel, 59-0. Doyle had a last-second insurance Olympics would not have been on Doyle’s radar conversion after a Mickey Rudzinsky try. before. Two years ago he played in New Zealand On July 10, they defeated Israel, a team that and spent much of the rest of the year touring competes in the European championship, 22- the Far East and Europe. After his return to the 15. After Israel took the early lead, Sam Rabb U.S., he set out to discover family connections, had two consecutive tries for the U.S., with and through an aunt found out that he had JewDoyle converting both. ish ancestry through his mother, but the family The first match was against Australia, which had cast their identity aside following persehad knocked the U.S. out in the 2013 semifinals, cution in Hungary and facing difficulties after leading to a U.S. bronze medal. The U.S. team winding up in rural Alabama, where he grew avenged that loss, 29-11, with Doyle scoring up. two tries and converting one.

He saw his participation in the Maccabiah The tournament win was a welcome change Games as a way to pay respect to his ancestors from the opening 7s tournament, which saw the in an area where he could perform well.

Recent Auburn grad wins silver in equestrian The United States equestrian show jumping team at the World Maccabiah Games consisted of three Grand Prix show jumping riders, and a rider who was the sole eventer on the team.

Andrea Glazer, who just graduated from Auburn University, was on the Auburn Eventing team. Now that the games are over, she is starting as a marketing intern for a racing club in Australia — but she is taking a Maccabiah silver medal with her.

“Ever since they added equestrian to the Maccabiah Games, it has been a dream of mine to ride on the team,” she told Eventing News.

16 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

A Louisville, Ky., native, Glazer has been riding since age 6. While at Auburn, she trained in Newnan, Ga., over an hour away.

In the Maccabiah, riders are on horses that are assigned to them. She rode a horse named Chin Chinello through a 1.20-meter show jumping course, the largest course she had ever jumped.

world maccabiah

Eternal Team Goldfarb coaches U.S. men’s soccer to repeat victory in his coaching finale In 2013, legendary Birmingham-Southern Soccer Coach Preston Goldfarb motivated the U.S. men’s soccer team in the World Maccabiah Games by saying they could make history by being the first U.S. soccer team to win gold at the Maccabiah.

After the “impossible dream” team did just that, Goldfarb had to find a different motivation for a title defense this year.

“It’s hard to win one time, but to win it two times in back to back games is almost impossible,” he said.

The U.S. team surprised everyone again, becoming what Goldfarb called the “forever team” by winning gold again this year, defeating Great Britain in the championship game on July 16, 3-0.

He originally wasn’t going to coach the team this year, but when his assistant coach from 2013 who was slated to be the head coach this year got sick, Goldfarb received repeated calls urging him to come back. Having retired from Birmingham-Southern in 2015, he secured his wife’s approval to get back into coaching and started putting the team together.

On paper, he said, the 2013 team was more talented, but a major difference was that the 2017 team “came together at the airport when we left” and quickly became a cohesive unit.

There were five players from the 2013 team on this year’s squad, and Goldfarb said they were instrumental in getting the newcomers up to speed on what he expected from them.

The U.S. squad had a total of six practices before the preliminary round started. Goldfarb said Great Britain’s team, the London Lions, plays in a league all year. The teams from Australia and Venezuela are also teams that play together year-round, and Israel’s team is actually the national under-23 team.

Another difference is that each country sets its own eligibility rules.

In the U.S. squad, athletes must be Jewish. In many other countries, one need only be a Jewish Community Center member, regardless of the athlete’s actual religion. One of the teams they faced had only two Jewish starters.

“I’m proud we had an all-Jewish team,” Goldfarb said.

August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 17

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world maccabiah Like the 2013 team, they started out with a loss, with Great Britain doing the deed by a 1-0 score. After that, “we had to win every game or we wouldn’t qualify” for the playoffs. They beat Venezuela, 3-0, and Australia, 2-0. “It could have been 7-0 — I emptied my bench,” he said.

On July 12, the U.S. won its quarterfinal match, 4-2 over Uruguay.

Next up was Israel, which Goldfarb said was the best team in the group.

In the first half, “we were zombies, we were awestruck by the badge on their jerseys” indicating they were the national team. After a halftime reality check, the U.S. came back to win, 2-1.

Goldfarb said it was remarkable to repeat. “I was fortunate to be in that position, and they listened to me, so that was nice,” he said.

He said the gold medal repeat is “the highlight of my coaching career,” and lets him goes out on top — twice. He said “now I am fully retired, and I am thrilled.”

Basketball squads win gold The U.S. national men’s basketball team beat France, 75-68, to win the gold medal at the World Maccabiah Games. Steven Pearl, assistant coach at Auburn University, was an assistant coach for the U.S. team.

Pearl won gold as a player at the 2006 Australian Maccabiah Games, and at the 2009 Maccabiah in Israel, where his father, Bruce Pearl, was head coach.

To reach the finals, the U.S. beat Israel, 92-69, on July 14 in the semi-finals, and France advanced over Argentina, 78-59.

In the preliminary rounds, the U.S. beat France, 89-70, on July 9; took out Canada, 78-60, on July 10; had no trouble with Belgium on July 11, winning 110-32; and finished the preliminary rounds with a 91-29 win over Mexico.

Lior Berman of Birmingham is also bringing home gold, as part of the Juniors 15-16 men’s basketball team. In the gold medal game on July 16, the U.S. beat Argentina in a rematch, 53-33, with Berman scoring 9 points.

Berman, who will be a junior at Mountain Brook High School this year, scored 11 in a 70-41 U.S. victory over Argentina on July 14. On July 12, he scored 17 in a 91-25 win over Mexico, and had 6 points on July 10 as the U.S. edged Israel, 57-49.

On July 9 he had 15 points in the 78-40 win over Canada, and in the first game of the tournament on July 7, he had 9 points in the 90-25 win over Australia.

From the Maccabiah experience, he headed home to join Team Alabama for the JCC Maccabi Games in Birmingham.

Seth Cohen competes in tennis

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Birmingham’s Seth Cohen was one of six men on the U.S. tennis team, and the youngest at age 19.

Cohen won his first match against Argentina and lost the next one to Switzerland’s No. 4 seed. In the back draw he won the first round against Moldova and then lost in a close match against Mexico. He also won the first round in men’s doubles against Great Britain.

He also played against the No. 1 Israeli teams for Mixed and Men’s Doubles in the second round. Both of those Israeli teams went on to win a gold medal.

Cohen was part of the 7A state champion Mountain Brook High School tennis team, winning the five seed singles championship in April 2016. He now plays club tennis at University of Alabama.

Maren Angus and Rebecca Blitz celebrate the gold medal victory

Blitz, Angus bring back softball gold The U.S. Women’s softball team is bringing gold medals home from the 20th World Maccabiah in Israel. Two of the team members are from the region — Rebecca Blitz of Birmingham, a rising senior at Indiana University, and Maren Angus of Hendersonville, Tenn.

The U.S. team beat Canada, 8-1, on July 13, to win the gold. The U.S. team finished 5-1, while Canada fell to 3-3. The U.S. team scored 52 runs and gave up just 6. Blitz reached base in all but three of her at-bats in the tournament, which was a triple round-robin among three teams.

Blitz provided the final hit in an 8-1 finals victory over Canada. Her two-run triple in the fifth inning triggered the 7-inning mercy rule, ensuring the gold medal. Blitz went 3-for-4 in the gold medal game.

The U.S. team dropped its first game on July 9, 4-3, to Canada, despite an inside-the-park home run by Blitz.

In the second game of the day, against Israel, the U.S. pitched a onehit shutout of Israel, with the game ending 12-0 by the mercy rule. For Angus, the Israel game was her first live action since high school, and she played first base. “It felt so great to get in the box and face live pitching again,” she said, even though she went 0-for-2 with two groundouts.

On July 10, the U.S. avenged its earlier loss by pummeling Canada, 8-1, in another mercy rule game. The U.S. team then beat Israel, 10-0, on July 11, with Angus getting her first hit to lead off the second inning. Her first RBI came in her next at-bat, with a fly ball to right field, scoring her roommate. Her final at-bat of the day, she was hit by a pitch.

July 12 brought another U.S. win over Canada, 8-1, followed by an 11-0 win over Israel.

Blitz said the experience was incredible, “not only because I was able to play and win gold in the sport I love on the international level, but because I was able to tour Israel, gain a deeper understanding of my Jewish identity, and make incredible friendships that will last a lifetime.”

Blitz was named Second Team All Big Ten the last two seasons, and led Indiana in batting average and hits.

For Angus, the moment contained a mix of emotions. Because the gold medal game ended early due to the mercy rule, she was the only player not to see action that day. “My career just came full circle,” she said.

In her reports for fastpitchnews.com, Angus wrote that “Sixteen-yearold me came to Israel before her senior year of high school and gave up her dream of playing college softball” because she chose the Israel trip at a time when she would otherwise have been going through the college recruiting process. “Nine years later… I prepare to come home from Israel with a Maccabiah gold medal.”

August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 19

Photo by Rabbi Barry Altmark

Carleton Sokol, Spencer Lynch, Cantor Alberto Mizrahi, Layne Held, Amanda Held, Allison Weil, Coach Bruce Pearl, Bruce Sokol, General Charles Krulak and Mike Slive at the opening ceremony on July 30 at Bartow Arena.

“Small but mighty” Birmingham opens Maccabi Games Visiting delegations march into Bartow Arena as “once in a generation” event kicks off A “once in a generation” event kicked off on July 30 as 900 athletes from around the United States and across the world marched into Bartow Arena at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the opening ceremony of the JCC Maccabi Games.

Coordinated by the Jewish Community Centers Association, the Maccabi Games bring together Jewish teens age 13 to 16 for a week of competition and community service.

Several times during the evening, during the opening ceremony and at a preceding reception, it was stated that Birmingham’s “small but mighty” community is the second smallest Jewish community to ever attempt hosting the games.

As the opening ceremony began, cochair Layne Held spoke for the organizers, saying “this very well could be our one shot at this, so we went all in” and looked to the overall community for support, as this would benefit Birmingham as a whole.

He was joined on stage by wife Amanda, co-chair Bruce Sokol and his wife Carlton, Levite Jewish Community Center Executive Director Betzy Lynch, Games Director Spencer Lynch and LJCC President Allison Weil.

As Held and Sokol went to the corporate community to tout the games, “most of these companies took these meetings as a favor, but they left the meetings in awe,” Held said. “Over 75 companies believed in the Maccabi story.”

Held spoke of his experiences competing as a Maccabi Games athlete, then as a coach. He recalled losing a basketball game against Atlanta in 2001, and two of the Atlanta players embracing in celebration. One of 20 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

those two would be his big brother at the University of Georgia, and the other was one of the signers of his ketubah.

With the words “let’s meet the over 900 athletes and their coaches of our 28 Delegations from around the world,” Robert Levin, voice of the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band, began introducing each delegation with anecdotes about their communities.

Before the ceremony, Levin commented that he “can’t say enough” about the “remarkable job” that opening ceremony co-chairs Anna Slive Harwood and Alison Berman did in putting the evening together.

The teams walked in alphabetically, starting with Atlanta, which will host the games in 2019. They were escorted by sign-holders from Birmingham, and Junior Maccabi participants who are too young for the athletic competitions. Next to last in the arena was Team Israel, which received a rousing ovation.

As the home team, Team Alabama came in last, with a delegation of teens from Birmingham’s sister cities in Israel and Ukraine, Rosh Ha’Ayin

Memorial tribute to the 1972 Israeli athletes

maccabi games and Vinnytsia.

After the playing of the Canadian and Ukraine national anthems, Cantor Alberto Mizrahi led “Hatikvah” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

That was followed by a memorial to the 11 Israeli Olympic athletes who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Junior Maccabi participants carrying electronic candles entered the darkened arena and traced a Star of David projected on the floor, standing at each angle. Younger participants then stood on an “11” in the center of the star.

After singing “Ani Ma’amin,” Mizrahi led the crowd in “Halleleuia” and “Oseh Shalom.”

Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl led the athletes in the JCC Maccabi Games Oath after giving a locker room pep talk, encouraging the athletes to embrace and be proud of their Jewish identities.

In 2009, Pearl coached the U.S. men’s basketball team to a gold medal in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel. His son, Stephen, played on the 2009 team, and just returned from the 2017 Games with a gold medal as assistant basketball coach.

Recalling the 2009 Games, Pearl said “the experience our players had there was off the charts.”

He recalled being 7 years old in 1967, when the Six Day War broke out, going to bed “not sure that Israel would be there the next day,” and to be proud of the Jewish people’s struggles.

Pearl also noted that “this wonderful country of ours allows us to gather together… to be Jews and be free. And not everyone in the world has that freedom.”

He urged the athletes to “be that shining light… we are supposed to be different. We do have responsibilities.”

Honorary co-chairs Mike Slive and General Charles Krulak carried the torch into the arena, and used it to light an array of candles on the stage.

The Maccabi Games cauldron was outside the arena’s main entrance.

The torch lighting was preceded by a video from when the cauldron was Mike Slive and General Charles Krulak brought in the poured at Sloss Furnace earlier in the Maccabi Games torch month. After the ceremony, the cauldron was moved to the LJCC, where it will re- member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton. Most recently, Krulak retired main after the games.

Slive is former commissioner of the South- as president of Birmingham-Southern College.

The ceremony concluded with a concert by eastern Conference, and Krulak was the 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and a Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 21

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“All eyes are on Birmingham” Before the opening ceremony focused on the over 900 athletes taking part in the Maccabi Games, a reception recognized those who made the week possible.

As the athletes assembled in their delegations, several hundred volunteers, organizers and guests assembled in the Green and Gold Room.

Levite Jewish Community Center Executive Director Betzy Lynch set the “small but mighty” tone for the night, saying that “has been a theme of my life.”

She spoke of the challenge of hosting the games in a community of “less than 7,000,” but said the community’s generosity and support “is unparalleled.”

She said “we are here today because of the leaders who would not allow Birmingham to remain small” and “we did not allow size to limit our achievements.” Lynch had led the 2012 Maccabi Games in Memphis, which marked the 30th anniversary of the first Maccabi Games, which were also held in Memphis.

She praised LJCC President Allison Weil for “transforming the future of the LJCC and Jewish life in Birmingham.”

Weil recalled being called to Lynch’s office two years ago and being told to take a seat. She recalled Lynch asked “How would you like to showcase Birmingham to the world” by considering a bid for the 2017 Maccabi Games. She thought about it for “a minute or Kwami Carson makes a two.”

“This is what happens when presentation to Betzy Lynch on you take a shot and you believe behalf of Mayor William Bell that you can do it,” Weil said.

Maccabi Games Co-chair Bruce Sokol started his remarks by stating he had been put in charge of the weather. It has been a rainy summer, but the week of the Games had forecasts of sun and temperatures in the relatively-cool mid-80s.

He said this was an opportunity to be part of the “most exciting and most important event to happen in the Birmingham Jewish community in my lifetime.”

He added, “we have arrived at the promised land, and it is just outside this room,” where the opening ceremonies were about to take place.

Sokol co-chaired the games with Layne Held.

Many speakers cited the opportunity to showcase Birmingham to people who might not have otherwise had a reason to visit the city, and to change perceptions.

As the delegations arrived earlier in the day, Sokol said he heard an athlete from Dallas wonder aloud whether Birmingham had wi-fi. “I’m going to find him before these games are over,” he said.

Stephen Seiden, chairman of the Jewish Community Centers Associa-

Coming in the September issue of Southern Jewish Life:

Maccabi Games results and post-Games reflections Or visit sjlmag.com for updates 22 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

maccabi games tion, said “you talk about showcasing your city, the Southern hospitality exudes from everyone.”

Jed Margolis, executive director of Maccabi USA, said he just returned to the U.S. after being at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel with the 1,100 U.S. athletes that were part of an event with 10,000 Jewish athletes representing 80 countries.

Two weeks earlier, Margolis said, all eyes were on Jerusalem. Now, he said, “all eyes are on Birmingham.”

Alabama Representative David Faulkner presented a copy of a House resolution commending the games, noting that the week is estimated to have a $3 million economic impact on the area.

Kwani Carson represented Birmingham Mayor William Bell, who was in Poland for the 2017 World Games. Birmingham is the host for the 2021 World Games, and she explained that Bell had to be there as the only person who can sign the official documents at the close of the 2017 Games.

Carson, who used to take dance classes at the LJCC, spoke of Bell’s trips to Israel and that he wanted to be sure the Maccabi Games “are a huge success.”

She presented the Mayor’s Crystal Award to Lynch, and made additional presentations to the Sokols, Helds and Weil.

Margolis told the crowd that “you will be able to look back… with great pride” for years to come.

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maccabi games Matisyahu slammed for shoving teens Reggae star Matisyahu is facing criticism for shoving teenage fans off the stage during his performance to close out the JCC Maccabi Games opening ceremony in Birmingham on July 30.

Matisyahu’s appearance at the ceremony had been a closely-guarded secret before the event. At one point during his show, a couple dozen teens had made their way onto the stage, unhindered by security, and started dancing behind and around him. One of the athletes was standing to Matisyahu’s right and hit a beach ball into the crowd. The central Florida delegation had been bouncing the ball through the venue all evening.

A moment later, when an athlete was walking toward where Matisyahu was sitting, Matishayu got up from his seat and shoved the teen into a monitor at the edge of the stage. While some have reported that one of the teens had knocked Matisyahu’s hat off of his head, it is unclear in the video whether that happened or if the hat fell off during the shove.

Another teen who was getting on the stage during that time started walking past Matisyahu, who had just put his hat back on. The singer grabbed the teen by the shirt and did a two-handed shove off the stage and into the crowd. Matisyahu then shoved another teen who had been walking by toward the back of the stage. None of the three teens who were shoved engaged him further.

As the third teen was shoved, security personnel started clearing the rest of the dancers from the stage. Many had already started to back away as Matisyahu continued his performance.

Rabbi Barry Leff, interim rabbi at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El, said the teen who was shoved off the stage was his daughter, Devorah, who was participating on the Birmingham girls volleyball team. “Fortunately, all she got was some minor scrapes,” he said. “But it’s unbelievable what Matisyahu did.”

He was infuriated that a grown man would treat a teen girl that way.

He added that he has an uncle who was killed by a head injury when he fell the wrong way.

Some questioned why security had not prevented the athletes from being on stage, and noted that spectators who do go onstage at concerts are often forcibly removed. Others say this was a celebration instead of a formal concert.

Leff said “If the kids had crowded the stage with the other performer, Cantor Alberto Mizrahi, I’m sure he would have given them hugs instead of violence.”

The opening ceremony was held in Bartow Arena. After the conclusion of the formal ceremony, when Matisyahu started performing, the roughly 900 athletes came down from their seats and gathered in front of the four-foot high stage to dance and watch the performance.

The Jewish Community Center Association issued a statement saying “We are disappointed and dismayed that our opening concert performer, Matisyahu, forcibly removed some of our teen participants from the stage, and we will cooperate with any police investigation. Violence is never acceptable…

This is contrary to what we instill in our participants and in what we believe.

We are relieved that the participants involved were not seriously injured.”

Local Maccabi organizers, while disappointed by shat happened, want the focus to be on the positive aspects of the game and are letting the national organization handle the incident.

Leff noted, “It’s disappointing that the opening ceremony of the Maccabi Games here in Birmingham was marred by this — the ceremony itself was really well done.”

While many who were at the event are calling for an apology to the community, there has not been any response from Matisyahu at press time. Aside from the shoving, many have remarked that Matisyahu’s performance was brief and uninspired.

Ironically, in a 2011 concert in Birmingham, Matisyahu brought a large proportion of the audience onstage during his final encore.

food & dining an annual SJL special section Curbing their enthusiasm at the ASBEE Kosher BBQ Contest

Doing the kosher Southern food festival circuit Barbecue, hot chicken among offerings While championship barbecue is a big deal in culinary circles, the pork-centered nature of those events has excluded many in the Jewish community, and kosher barbecue contests have also inspired kosher-friendly competitive versions of other regional cuisines..

This summer and fall, 11 communities around the country are holding kosher barbecue contests. Plans are also being discussed to revive the When Pigs Fly contest in Birmingham next year.

The festival that started it all, the Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth World Kosher BBQ Contest, will have its 29th annual event in Memphis on Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The annual event was started as a kosher response to the famous porkbased Memphis in May world barbecue championship, and has grown over the years. Last year, the festival had 45 teams and over 3,000 in attendance.

The barbecue contest includes best brisket, best beef ribs, best beans, best chicken, best booth and best team name. In addition, there is a three-on-three ASBEE Grizzlies basketball tournament, 3-point shooting contest and free throw contest. University of Memphis basketball players and the Memphis Grizzlies mascot will be in attendance. There is also a pickle eating contest.

Children’s activities include a bounce house, train ride, face painting, petting zoo and more.

To compete, team registration is $150, plus $25 if requesting a third grill. Applications and kosher ingredient preorder forms are due by Oct. 3.

Also on Oct. 22, the Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival celebrates its fifth year.

“This year’s festival is going to be even bigger and better than anything we’ve ever done,” said festival chair Jody Pollack. “Our little Kosher BBQ Competition that started in a parking lot 5 years ago has grown into the premier Kosher BBQ event of the year for the entire Atlanta community.”

The Hebrew Order of David International expects over 20 competing teams and over 4,000 families to attend the event at Brook Run Park in Dunwoody. The competition is judged by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, and is under supervision of the Atlanta Kosher Commission. All attendees may taste each team’s samples for a dollar per taste.

Awards will be given for best brisket, best beef ribs, best beans, best chicken, best booth and best team name. There will also be a people’s choice award.

The event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., will feature kosher vendors, a beer garden, live music and a children’s area. There will also be a pickle eating contest and a genetic screening booth.

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Team applications are $550. Profits from the festival will benefit Helping Feed Atlanta, Jewish Education Loan Fund and the Cobb County Police Department. A kosher food drive for canned items is also being planned.

In Nashville, hot chicken is the signature local menu item. On Nov. 5, the Kosher Hot Chicken Festival will be at the Gordon Jewish Community Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nashville hot chicken is known for its extreme spice level. The contest will judge two levels — mild, which would be regarded as spicy anywhere else, and hot, which some liken to either a religious experience or a gut buster.

Hot chicken is generally served atop white bread with pickle slices.

The legend for the dish’s origin states that in the 1930s Thornton Prince was known as a womanizer. After being out all night, he returned home and wanted breakfast. Upset at his wandering ways, his then-partner made him his favorite meal, fried chicken — but with the spiciest things she could find in the kitchen.

Certain that it was inedible and would be a painful experience, she served it to him. Instead, he loved it and shared it with friends. He soon turned it into an idea for a restaurant.

Because the chicken is prepared with buttermilk, lard and bacon grease, many in Nashville’s Jewish community had to settle for the lesser-known Nashville Hot Fish. Making it even more challenging under kashrut, the usual antidote for extreme spice, dairy products, is forbidden.

An idea was hatched to “celebrating our town’s favorite dish, make it Kosher, ask every person we know to come a taste what all the fuss is about, see if they can’t follow the Kosher rules, try their hand at making their own version good enough to take home bragging rights, and generally have a good time surrounded by Jews and their friends,” said organizer Evan Nahmias.

In 2015, the first kosher festival was held in Nashville, with the cooperation of Bolton’s Hot Chicken and Fish, drawing about 300 enthusiasts.

Last year, Bolton’s was joined by Slow Burn and seven teams signed up for the second festival, which drew 500. The Hebrenero Peppers won best name and best booth, but the men of Athens of the South AZA took the overall prizes and the deep fryer.

Nahmias said there will be participants from “fellow Jewish hub” Pittsburgh, an outgrowth of the recent Stanley Cup finals rivalry between the two communities. Crews from the Atlanta and Memphis barbecue festivals are also expected to try their hands at hot chicken.

The teams will be judged on mild and hot chicken, team name and booth decoration. An overall grand champion will be named, and a people’s choice award will be given.

Festival-goers will be able to purchase tasting tickets to sample the teams’ efforts. For vegetarians and vegans, there will also be mock chicken available.

Team registration is $250, with an early bird special of $199 by Sept. 15.

On Sept. 4, the second Kosher Red Beans and Rice cookoff will be held at Torah Academy in Metairie from noon to 2:30 p.m.

In the inaugural event two years ago, Hadassah New Orleans took first place among the six teams with a recipe that included kosher chorizo.

With that win, the red beans and rice sold at this year’s festival will be from their recipe.

The cookoff was started by Alan Smason and Crescent City Jewish News and was a fundraiser for Torah Academy. This year, Jewish Community Day School is also participating in the benefit for Jewish education in New Orleans.

Teams of three to seven members will assemble at Torah Academy on Sept. 3 at 4 p.m. to start prep work. Entries are prepared in a 6-quart crock pot with pre-requested ingredients, and teams can check their entries starting at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 4. Irma Thomas will be among the guest judges.

The team entry fee is $100 and includes two meal tickets.

food and dining

Always something new brewing at Cahaba

by Lee J. Green Every day is a hoppy day at Cahaba Brewing in Birmingham and there is always a reason to celebrate with a quality craft beer.

Later this month, Oktoberfest cans return to the brewery and stores in central and north Alabama, and coming this fall, Cahaba will start making its own wine for those who come to its 51,000-square-foot production facility, tasting room and event space in Avondale.

“We make good, clean, consistent, tasty beer.

Our love for making quality beer that people want is why we got into this business. That is our core,” said Cahaba Brewing Company Managing Partner and Brewmaster Eric Myers.

“But there are some people that come in here that are wine drinkers and we can provide them with those options. We will likely do Pinot Noir, Cabs, a couple of red and white wine offerings.”

Cahaba’s craft beers are sold in cans, growlers, crowlers and on draft at the brewery as well as locations across Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. They plan to widen their distribution area to other parts of Alabama soon.

A few of Cahaba’s large batch beers are in stores, including American Blonde, Liquidambar, IPA and Kiwi Kolsch, soon to be rejoined

by Oktoberfest. This past spring they had their new seasonal Dry Irish Stout in the stores, and it is still at the brewery. Their canning system allows them to change labels so they can add more smaller batch and seasonal beers.

“We want to make sure that everything we serve is quality. We might hit it just right the first time on a new beer or variation of a current beer. Sometimes it may take 40 tries or more,” said Myers.

“It’s a balance. We want to be creative and to also respond to customer demand. But getting the best craft beer we can to our customers is more important than growing our distribution or putting something out there we’re not 100 percent happy with,” he said.

Fellow owner Andrew Pharo said they regularly add new small batches at the brewery. “We want to give people reasons to come here regularly. They know they can count on great beers and a fun environment along with some new things to try,” said Pharo.

He said they have been proud to host numerous events and celebrations for those in the Birmingham area Jewish community.

At the Magic City Brewfest July 29, Cahaba featured an Imperial Blonde and bourbon-barrel-aged beer they will test out as small batches to see how well they are received, said Myers, a Huntsville native.

“We try to tailor what we do based on customer response. We let them decide what they want as much as possible,” he said.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 27

food and dining Residential and Commercial Services

Organic advice

by Lee J. Green Organic Harvest is much more than a Birmingham area neighborhood market that focuses on organic, gluten-free, kosher, vegetarian and other specialty foods and supplements. Its trained staff happily offers advice on wellness so its customers can reap the benefits.

What started as a 1,200-square-foot store on Highway 31 in Hoover back in 2005 has now grown into a 10,000-square-foot space with another Hoover location opening within the next few months, as well as another couple possible ones in the Birmingham area over the next few years.

“The vision of our owner Kenny Camp was to have a full-service natural and organic market to offer foods and supplements that meet special dietary requests and are free of additives as well as preservatives with most everything we carry,” said Sherry Murer, supplement manager for Organic Harvest, who joined the company less than a year after the store opened.

Murer said much has changed with organic and natural products since 2005. Some diets have come and stayed around. Other diets and products did not have staying power. The Organic Harvest staff makes sure they stay on top of the latest news, trends and even brings in experts to educate them and their customers.

“It’s a big challenge for us to stay ahead of the curve and learn as much as we can to help educate our customers. We also learn from them about some remedies, supplements and foods that have worked,” she said.

Murer said that their employees are not licensed health care providers, but they do refer to nutritionists, doctors and other specialists.

They also have some come in to speak about everything from superfoods to skin care.

She also said that there are more products today and more resources to get them in the store.

When Organic Harvest started 12 years ago there were not a lot of farmers doing organic but today they are able to “go as local as possible” with the farmers they work with. “Supporting our local economy is very important to us,” added Murer.

Organic Market encourages its customers to recommend products they would like to see them carry if not already on the shelves. Murer said they can typically order a product and have it in within a week.

Organic Harvest also includes a café at which everything is made from scratch. The menu features several items that are kosher, gluten-free, or vegan/vegetarian.

“We do our homework and go the extra mile to help our customers live a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

28 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

food and dining

Utz and Golden Flake have something for all snack lovers Zapp’s, also in the Utz family, won best overall chip award

by Lee J. Green Golden Flake, a chip off of the old block known as the flavor of the South, has enjoyed the synergies of being in the Utz Quality Foods family of companies that also includes Zapp’s, “the little chippery in Gramercy” that is part of Louisiana culture.

“We now have a much broader-based portfolio for our snack-loving consumers here in the Deep South and across the nation” with the Utz family of brands that also includes Good Health, Zapp’s, Snikiddy and Dirty Potato Chips, said Jim Ward, Sr., director of marketing for Golden Flake and Zapp’s. “We have snacks for every desire.”

Utz bought Zapp’s in 2011, and Birmingham-based Golden Flake completed its sale to Utz last October. The marriage has allowed Golden Flake to expand outside of its current primarily Southeast distribution area.

Other Utz family products not previously available in this region have hit the shelves, including pretzels and lobster-flavored kettle cooked potato chips — which are indeed certified kosher, as are the crawfish-flavored Zapp’s Cajun Crawtators.

“We’ll always be the flavor of the South and have our great products” such as Sweet Heat, Corn Chips, Sour Cream and Onion, Buffalo Ranch BBQ, Tangy Pickle BBQ, he said. “But now we can introduce Golden Flake to others and introduce those in this region to a great variety of quality snacks from Utz.” Of course Zapp’s is already well-known in this region and its Kettle-Style Mesquite BBQ potato chips was named grand champion “Best Overall Chip” at the 2017 National Chip Festival. The Golden Flake Tortiyahs! was named best tortilla chip, and the runner-up for best “anything goes” was Zapp’s Voodoo chips.

Like Golden Flake, Utz has been around for many years, having started in 1921, and started as a family-owned company in Hanover, Pa. The majority of their products, and within the family of companies, are OU kosher-certified.

“In addition to appealing to a variety of tastes we want to meet special dietary needs with the products including kosher and gluten-free,” said Ward.

Golden Flake also continues to be an active part of the communities in the Deep South. They were a proud sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games held in Birmingham July 30 to Aug. 4.

“We think the Maccabi games are a big deal and very important for our community,” said Ward. “That’s a successful week of activity and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

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Houston’s Kenny and Ziggy’s institutes national New York Deli Month The famed Carnegie Deli in New York is no more — unless you count its Las Vegas outpost.

To promote and celebrate the idea of the traditional Jewish deli, Ziggy Gruber of Kenny and Ziggy’s in Houston collaborated with Jay Parker of Ben’s Best Deli in New York to establish August as New York Deli Month nationally. This year, the second such month includes about 30 delis across the country, including Noshville in Nashville.

Each deli has a special menu celebrating traditional deli foods, with portions of the proceeds going to local charities. Ten percent of the $37 fixed price three-course special menu at Kenny and Ziggy’s goes to Holocaust Museum Houston.

Of course, if you can’t make it to Houston to celebrate the month, Kenny and Ziggy’s is available through online ordering and shipping.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 29

food and dining Look for our summer seasonal:

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The Acquistapace family has been a staple in the New Orleans grocery business for more than 150 years, but there is still much new in store, especially with the new store.

Steve Acquistapace’s mother was born above the family’s corner store in New Orleans. The business evolved from a “mom and pop” operation into a supermarket through the decades, but still always maintained the “family operation feel.”

In 1963, Acquistapace’s Covington Supermarket opened on Claiborne Hill. The family moved the store to its current location in 1985.

Current Owner Adam Acquistapace wanted to serve more of the Northshore with a new store in Mandeville, which opened just over a year ago.

Acquistapace’s specializes in providing customers with some of the finest produce, meats, cheese, prepared foods, wine, beer and spirits. The new Mandeville location puts even more focus into its diverse selection of cheese, beer, wine and spirits. The huge selection includes some Israeli beers and wines.

“We talk to our customers and they tell us what they like about the stores and what they would like us to bring in,” said Acquistapace. “We have many items for special dietary needs including kosher, gluten free and vegetarian.

“For us this business is a family tradition and we feel that our customers as well as our employees have become a part of our family,” he added.

•

This Pig does kosher, and Piggly Wiggly Birmingham proudly sponsored the JCC Maccabi Games held in town this month.

“Piggly Wiggly is honored to be selected to provide kosher products for the competing athletes in the games knowing what a tremendous community effort it is to make this successful,” said Piggly Wiggly Birmingham stores co-owner Andy Virciglio. He gave much credit to Maccabi Games Co-chair Layne Held, who worked with Virciglio’s sons Andrew and Austin, both of whom have leadership roles within the Piggly Wiggly Birmingham family.

“Our in-store kosher selections continue to expand and we encourage each store manager to listen closely to what our customers want,” Virciglio said. “We try hard to have the right product mix… that meets our customers’ needs.”

The Virciglios said they ask customers what products they want in the stores. If there is a kosher product not currently on the shelves at their Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Homewood or Forest Park locations, they can order it and usually have it in within a week or so.

Opened last year, the new Piggly Wiggly Crestline Village location increased the previous store location’s retail space by 40 percent.

Andrew Virciglio said the expanded store has more than 30 linear feet of shelf space devoted to traditional kosher foods on a regular basis. They also have a great reputation for their kosher meats.

“I grew up in this business and it’s all about family,” he said. “Our customers have become like an extended family and we want to make sure they have everything they need.”

food and dining

Rimon sets Aug. 9 opening Tulane Hillel announced that Rimon, a new kosher restaurant concept by Chef Daniel Esses, would be opening for brunch and lunch on Aug. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. As the school year begins, the hours will be expanded.

The goal is to be open year-round and be available to cater events in the community. The restaurant, located inside Tulane Hillel, is open to students and the general public, and in addition to dining in, there will be an emphasis on grab-and-go meals.

Esses said the goal is to provide dishes that are farm-to-table, homemade and locally sourced as much as possible.

St. George Middle East Food Festival in Sept.

Preparation for the Saint George Melkite Catholic Church’s annual Middle Eastern Food Festival starts with 2,000 falafels.

The eagerly-awaited Birmingham event is in its 36th year, and attracts thousands of visitors from the area over a three-day period. This year’s festival is Sept. 14 to 16.

Falafel chair Hilweh Shunnarah said they use 100 pounds of dry chick peas for the falafel, using a family recipe. “We have to have 80 pounds of onion, 15 pounds of garlic, 5 boxes of fresh parsley and hot peppers too!” said Shunnarah.

Parishioners spend late summer preparing foods such as Kibbee, a meat entrée made with ground round of beef, onions, cracked wheat and special spices; Rolled Grape Leaves, grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat and special spices and cooked in lemon juice and water; Meat and Spinach pies, made with a homemade yeast dough filled either with a lemony spinach filling or a meat and cream cheese filling. Favorite desserts include baklawa, a delicate pastry filled with nuts; Hareeseh, a homemade farina butter cake drizzled with rose water flavored syrup; Zalabieh, a homemade fried doughnut prepared freshly on site.

Activities include church tours, which are conducted throughout day until 8 p.m.; live entertainment on several occasions, and the sale of handmade crafts and items from the Middle East.

Proceeds will benefit local charities, including Three Hots and A Cot, Pathways of Birmingham, and Habitat for Humanity. The Food Festival also enables the parish to feed the homeless, prepare hot meals for women in shelters, provide diapers and other paper products to local charities, and sponsor an “Angel Tree” at Christmas.

Festival hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with a drive through from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and lunch delivery downtown on Sept. 14 and 15 for orders over $75.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 31

community “There Are Jews Here” part of Capri festival “There Are Jews Here,” a film about disappearing Jewish communities in Laredo, Tex.; Latrobe, Pa.; and Butte, Mont.; contrasted with the Dothan Jewish community, will be part of the Capri Cultural Film Festival in Montgomery on Aug. 20, and will be screened in Shreveport in September.

The festival showcases different ethnic groups in Montgomery, as seen in motion pictures. The festival kicks off at noon with “Trail of Tears” and photographs from the Hugh Rozelle Collection, presented by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

At 1:30 p.m., “There Are Jews Here” will be screened, presented by the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama. Film producer Brad Lichtenstein said it was eye-opening to realize that there are 1 million Jews in smaller American communities, with a vastly different experience than he had living in Atlanta, Milwaukee and New York.

The filmmakers spent a great deal of time in Dothan, chronicling the life of Temple Emanu-El and detailing the incentive package that lures Jewish families to the area in an effort to keep the community vibrant.

“There Are Jews Here” debuted last summer at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. This is the first theatrical screening in Alabama, and it is also scheduled to be shown at Agudath Achim in Shreveport on Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

The festival concludes with the little-known but significant 1964 film “Nothing But A Man,” presented by Jacqueline Allen Trimble, chair of the Department of Languages and Literatures at Alabama State University, at 3:30 p.m.

Admission to the film festival is $5, and advance tickets will go on sale on the Capri’s website at noon on Aug. 13.

Emily learns about Sukkot at Temple Emanu-El in Dothan, in the documentary “There Are Jews Here.”

32 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

community Musician Todd Herzog at Jackson’s Beth Israel for Aug. 25 service Beth Israel in Jackson will host contemporary Jewish musician Todd Herzog at its Aug. 25 service, starting at 6:15 p.m.

Based in Phoenix, Herzog has worked with some of the top songwriters in the world, including Burt Bachrach, Dave Koz and Craig Taubman. His voice and music have been featured on numerous television shows, and he has been a featured performer at the Union for Reform Judaism biennial.

In high school, he played violin in a community orchestra and sang in a rock band. In college, he sang a cappella with the Tufts Beelzebubs, and studied philosophy.

After losing a girlfriend to Leukemia, Herzog began a search for deeper meaning and spirituality. “I questioned everything. This was not the way I thought life was supposed to turn out, especially for someone so young.”

His search for answers resulted in his first album, “What I Wouldn’t Give,” which talks about grief, healing and coming through the other side of a dark emotional time. While the album did well, after that he went through a period of writer’s block. “After composing songs about life and death, nothing else seemed to be important enough to talk about, and so I simply stopped writing.”

After meeting his future wife, Karen, he started teaching instrumental music in a Jewish high school. “I thought I would play Klezmer music with the kids, but I soon found out that they were more interested in playing Greenday, Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy. I knew I had to try something different to get through to them.” He ended up using his composition skills to write music with the students that connected Jewish texts and ideas to the kind of music that the younger musicians could relate to.

“We began writing some really interesting pieces, and at a certain point I

started to question if maybe I shouldn’t be giving myself the same kinds of assignments that I was giving my students.”

That led to his “Proverbs” album, which takes texts from the Bible and other philosophical texts and puts them into a modern context.

He became cantorial soloist at Temple Solel in Paradise Valley, Ariz., leading to his first “Jewish” album, “Bridging the Gap,” which won Best Jewish Album of 2009 in the Just Plain Folks Music Awards.

He followed that with “Everyday Blessings,” based on the book “What’s Jewish About Butterflies?” The album debuted at the URJ Early Childhood Education conference.

His song “You And I,” performed by saxophonist Michael Lington, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Charts.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 33

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The 19th-annual Sidewalk Film Festival, a downtown Birmingham celebration of new independent cinema, will roll Aug. 22 to 27 and includes several films of Jewish interest.

The festival draws audiences from around the world and has been rated by several sources as one of the top 10 independent film festivals in the U.S. Over 260 films will be screened, from full-length features and documentaries to shorts, animated shorts, music videos, kids shorts and teen films.

Sidewalk will screen films in 11 venues within Birmingham’s historic Theatre District, including the Alabama Theatre — a 2,200-seat movie palace built in 1927 — and the newly restored Lyric Fine Arts Theatre, built in 1914 for the Vaudeville circuit.

The festival also includes the SHOUT film festival, devoted to showcasing independent films and filmmakers in the LGBTQ communities.

One of the selected feature films in this year’s Sidewalk Film Festival is “Menashe,” which will be screened at the Alabama Theatre on Aug. 27 at 2:45 p.m. The drama by director Joshua Weinstein and writers Alex Lipschultz and Musa Syeed debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.

As it has an all-Hasidic cast and is in Yiddish, it is unusual as a foreign language film that was made in the U.S., and is a rare glimpse into a little-seen aspect of Jewish life.

“Menashe” is based on the real-life issues Menashe Lustig faced. A widower, he finds that the community leadership has declared his home unfit for his son until Menashe remarries. While asking why someone else has to determine how his house is run and how his personal life should look, he has to navigate remaining part of the community while being a parent in a difficult situation.

Two documentaries feature Jewish subjects who should be better-known than they are. “Bang! The Bert Berns Story,” Aug. 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Red Mountain Theatre Company’s Cabaret Theatre, tells the story of a noted 1960s songwriter and record producer. The film, by his son Brett Berns and Bob Sarles, premiered at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival.

Born to Russian Jewish immigrants, Berns had rheumatic fever as a child, damaging his heart and leading to his death at the age of 38 in 1967. He was also known as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd.

Berns founded BANG Records and the R&B label Shout Records. A 2016 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Berns’ writing credits include “Twist and Shout,” “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” “I Want Candy” and “Hang On Sloopy.”

Producer credits include “Under the Boardwalk,” “Piece of My Heart”

Forman to preview Sidewalk Filmmaker Michele Forman will preview the 2017 Sidewalk Film Festival at a Hadassah Birmingham program, Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. at the Levite Jewish Community Center.

Forman is director of the media studies program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, having co-founded the program in 2003 after working with Spike Lee on several projects, including as associate producer on the Academy Award nominated “4 Little Girls,” about the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham.

The Sneak Peek is open to the community. There is a $10 charge, and refreshments will be served.

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Menashe and “Brown Eyed Girl.”

“The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography” will be screened on Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. at the Lyric Theatre. Since 1980, Dorfman has done portraits with one of only eight large-format Polaroid cameras ever made, using 20x24 film. Polaroid went out of business in 2008, making her photography more challenging.

Her portraits are done with a plain white background, and she takes two pictures. The subject then gets to choose which one to keep. Dorfman keeps the other one, “the B-side,” which often have a blink or less enticing expression.

Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris has known Dorfman for decades, and after spending an afternoon with her looking at the Polaroids and hearing her stories, he knew there was a movie to be made.

A “nice Jewish girl from Boston,” Dorfman was at MIT to pursue a career as a teacher when she was handed a camera, and she was hooked. She took portraits of local writers and became friends with Allen Ginsberg.

After discovering the large format camera, which she pestered Polaroid to let her borrow, she continued as a portrait photographer, not doing photography for gallery shows.

“Lemon,” on Aug. 26 at 7:40 p.m. at the Alabama Theatre, is a quirky piece directed by Janicza Bravo and written by Bravo along with Brett Gelman.

Gelman plays Isaac Lachmann, an off-putting lead whose blind girlfriend of 10 years leaves him, causing more of a downward spiral. He tries to woo another, and one lengthy scene is an eccentric Passover Seder with his family.

Jewish director Nathan Silver’s “Thirst Street” will be at the RMTC Cabaret Theatre on Aug. 26 at 7:40 p.m. In it, Gina, an American flight attendant emotionally paralyzed by her lover’s suicide, falls in love with a Parisian bartender on a layover, only to find herself tangled in a web when an old flame of the bartender suddenly returns.

The opening night film Aug. 25 will be “Step,” a documentary about a charter high school for low-income girls in Baltimore, focusing on improving the students through a step dance team.

The closing night film Sunday night is “My Friend Dahmer,” about the teenage years of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 35

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Miss Dot’s Chicken Salad 8 boneless fried chicken breasts 1 cup of mayo 4 stalks of celery Black pepper to taste Rough chop celery. Pull the chicken. Mix all ingredients and enjoy.

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36 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

by Lee J. Green Farm-to-table Southern comfort foods in a family-friendly environment that feels like home hits the spot at Miss Dot’s in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village.

Located next to the new Piggly Wiggly, Miss Dot’s opened late December 2015 and has added much to its menu since then.

Co-owners John Cassimus and Tyre Stuckey came up with the concept of Miss Dot’s, along with the inspiration herself — Miss Dot, a.k.a. Leola Rogers. She was Cassimus’s chef at his Sawtooth Plantation bed and breakfast in Russell County, and he loved her recipes, especially her spicy chicken and chicken salad.

“They wanted more people to be able to enjoy Miss Dot’s delicious, Southern comfort food original recipes and they came up with the concept for the restaurant,” said Miss Dot’s General Manager Diva Reese.

Cassimus, a former Alabama Crimson Tide football player, chose the Crestline Village location that is not far from his Zoe’s Kitchen. He also owns Maki Fresh and Jinsei.

Reese said Miss Dot is just over 60 years old and recently went skydiving. She still works in her native Hurtsboro near the Alabama/Georgia line and makes some regular visits to the Birmingham restaurant. “They call her Miss Dot since she dots around all the time and is always busy doing something. Miss Dot is one of the sweetest people you ever want to meet and one of the best chefs ever,” she said.

Miss Dot’s started with a small menu of just a few chicken dishes and salads. They tried out some other recipes such as wings and some more healthy chicken items that were so well-received they stayed on the regular menu.

Reese said everything at Miss Dot’s is made from scratch, including all the entrees, sauces, the pies and even frozen screwdrivers. They work with several local farmers and suppliers.

The restaurant’s décor is reminiscent of a farm in the Deep South. “It’s all about great food and a great environment together that make for the best dining experience,” she said.

Some of Miss Dot’s kosher-style menu items include fried pickles, cole slaw, several chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, several salads, the lean chicken bowl and the chicken, rice and gravy bowl.

They can customize dishes, and also happily do custom catering, delivery and meals-to-go pick-up. Reese said the restaurant seats 125 and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Continued from page 38

State of the Art Medical Imaging for Women, by Women been lost to history, as should have been…

Surfganiyot

The short-lived presence of the Surfganiyot was unexpected. In between the events of the Maccabiad’s middle days, some specatators took to the nearby waters. They floated lazily on improvised, rounded apparatus.

As they rode the gentle current, dozens of jellyfish arrived, attacking the frightened floatsam through the center holes of their improvised inner tubes.

The result was a race for shore that was universally observed to be the most spirited and energetic of the entire Games. At least, by those who survived, who were barely more in number than the designated catchers in...

The Hammer Throw

To commemorate the Maccebees — the original Hebrew Hammers — competitors threw a hammer for distance. Unlike the contemporary construct based on the Greek Olympiad, there is no spinning and no cable.

A straightforward metal hammer is hurled for distance, much like a carpenter does when he realizes his union break should have started 10 minutes ago, and thus he missed the beginning of the day’s match in…

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Quidditch

Millenia before Rowling’s Ravenclaws fantastically flew around on brooms, Quidditch swept through the First Maccabiad. Hard to believe, until one realizes there’s a well-known reminder on every Shabbat: The Quidditch Cup. Doug Brook is posthumously renaming his college computer in honor of the grades it helped produce: Mac-of-B’s. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

> > Commentary be vigilant against it, so a Holocaust does not happen again. That’s pretty much the point every Holocaust education program tries to make.

One may quibble with Higgins over the forms vigilance should take, and certainly filming inside the gas chamber was ill-advised. But in the pantheon of insults and slights seen in recent months, from the Jews kicked out of the Chicago Dyke March and other left-wing causes, to anti-Semitic attacks, ongoing terrorism and other items that should draw the community’s attention, this well-intentioned if improperly done video should be far down the outrage list.

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August 2017 • Southern Jewish Life 37

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Games of the First Maccabiad As Birmingham collects its breath after hosting the 2017 Maccabi Games, it’s interesting to reflect on how many people this columnist knows who have teens who competed in it, while he, on the other hand…

Editor’s Note: “Interesting” was a typo. The more apt adjective is not repeatable in this space, and resulted in an appointment scheduled with an analyst. Therefore, the rest of this column will be a special feature on the competitive events held in the ancient, first-ever Maccabi Games.

The Games of the First Maccabiad were held many centuries ago, several years before ancient times. They pre-dated the more commonly publicized Olympic Games which, like many a successful venture in the modern world, stood on the shoulders of someone else’s good idea and ultimately becoming better known than its originator.

Unfortunately, the First Maccabiad was also long before the advent of lucrative television rights. Fortunately, this means it was spared commercial breaks, and live streaming on the internet.

Regardless, the Games were played. It was a different era: Football before the invention of the concussion, and baseball before the invention of the equally damaging Designated Hitter.

The First Maccabiad was scheduled to take just one day. However, the oil from the Maccabic torch kept it lit for eight days. This required the sudden creation of additional competitions to fill the extra week. These improvised sports were inspired by the origin story of the famed family who shared their names with the games.

Running of the Elephants

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THE EVENTS IN THE FIRST MACCABI GAMES ARE QUITE DIFFERENT FROM TODAY’S

The first Running of the Elephants was more dramatic than it sounds. Elephants aren’t very fast. However, neither were some of the competitors.

While runners in Pamplona who get caught might be gored, runners caught by a running elephant would be pancaked, which diminished some spectators’ interest in…

Competitive Latke Eating

The Latke Eating competition had several flavors. While all latkes were heated, different heats featured the rapid consumption of latkes with applesauce, sour cream, applesauce and sour cream, nothing, or SPAM. Unlike modern competitions for eating hot dogs or White Castles, the First Maccabiad’s consumption contest was twofold. The first part was won by whoever ate the most latkes. The second part was won by whoever took the longest to regurgitate the first part.

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Dreidelalon

Modern minds would find a variety of potential competitions revolving around the Chanukaically ubiquitous souvenir from Frankie Valli and The Four-Sided Tops concerts. None of these notions were part of the Games of the First Maccabiad.

Instead, there were 10 challenges, all based on the dreidel: The running dreidel jump, 100-meter dreidel, shot dreidel, dreidel jump, 400-meter dreidel, 110-meter dreidels, dreidel throw, dreidel vault, javelin dreidel, and the 1,500-meter run — while spinning like a dreidel.

Unfortunately, how the dreidel was incorporated into each event has continued on the previous page

38 Southern Jewish Life • August 2017

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