SJL Deep South, August 2018

Southern Jewish Life

August 2018

Volume 28 Issue 7

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, Birmingham

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shalom y’all shalom y’all y’all shalom Longtime readers know we have often been critical of former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, going all the way back to when he was a circuit judge in Etowah County and made a name for himself defying efforts to remove a Ten Commandments plaque from his courtroom, and to end the practice of exclusively Christian prayers before court sessions.

In the midst of that, he refused to recuse himself from a custody case involving a woman in a same-sex relationship despite his very public opposition to homosexuality, and his spokesman spread the word among like-minded churches as to when the case would be heard, so the courtroom would be packed. He was eventually removed from the case, but in 1996 we called upon him to trade in his judicial robe for a pulpit robe.

As Chief Justice, he brought in a 5,300-lb. Ten Commandments monument overnight, then refused court orders to remove it from the state judicial building, leading to his ouster. A decade later he was back in that office, until he was suspended for advising county clerks to ignore Federal rulings recognizing same-sex marriages.

It didn’t help when, while running for U.S. Senate last year, the defense against (overblown) charges of anti-Semitism included having a “Jew lawyer” and fellowshipping with a rabbi — both of whom, predictably, turned out to be Christians.

And then Sacha Baron Cohen comes in and lures Moore, and several other political figures, into bogus interviews by claiming to be running an award ceremony honoring friends of Israel, when it was really to get outrageous footage for his new show. (Story, page 13).

As this issue went to press, the Moore interview was aired. It started with Cohen posing as an Israeli military figure, talking about Alabama’s support for Israel, then moving into technology — starting with detecting underground tunnels from Gaza, then saying the technology can also detect a hormone secreted by pedophiles. Cohen reacts with surprise when the device “malfunctions” with a positive reading when near Moore. While continued on page 29

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August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 3

MESSAGES

30 Years on 30A

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games

I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel to Australia to South America, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish identity, especially in our young.

I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the first time and fell in love with not just the city but the people. You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring approach to the JCC Maccabi Games.

Experienced in sales Led by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-working volunteers were wonderful. They partnered of tosecond homes with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, make the 2017 JCC Maccabiand games a huge hit.

I want to take this opportunity as executive director of Maccabi USA to say thank you on behalf investment properties of everyone involved.

I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, you became the focal point.

Everyone from the Jewish community and the community at large, including a wonderful police force, are to be commended. These games will go down in history as being a seminal moment for the Jewish community as weJ.build to the future by suchWhitaker wonderful Jewish Alice Forrester - providing Mickey memories.

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 Alexis Polack connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com

Brokers/Owners

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Zach Aaronson, Tally Werthan, Alex Bloch, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com

45 Sugar Sand Lane, Suite D Seagrove Beach, Fl 32459 supremacists would like to see pushed back

BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889

Jed Margolis Executive Director, Maccabi USA

On Charlottesville

August 2018 February 2018

into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand 850-231-5030 • 30Arealty.com with and pray for the family of Heather Heyer,

Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in Charlottesville, written by Jeremy Newman, Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi National, which called it “very eloquent” and praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Auburn University and… the leadership they display on their campus.”

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

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

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

Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the Jewish community of Charlottesville, and with the Jewish people around the country and around the world. We also stand with the minorities who are targeted by the hate that was on display in Charlottesville. We stand with the minorities of whom these white 4 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

who was there standing up to the face of this hate.

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

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

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

NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 985/807.1131 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.

To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee.

Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above.

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

Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publisher. Views expressed in SJL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the right to refuse any advertisement.

America was also born an immigrant country. As early as the pilgrims, many groups and families found in the country the opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, and be themselves. Few were met with open

Documenting this community, a community we are members of and active within, is our passion.

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

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge had a congregational trip to Israel at the end of May.

“Unconventional” path brings Rabbi Eric Berk to Huntsville’s B’nai Sholom Rabbi Eric Berk will become the new rabbi at Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom. The Reform congregation made the announcement following a July 15 special meeting.

Since 2009, Berk has been the rabbi at Skirball Hospice, a program of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, and since 2011 he has been the rabbi at Beth Knesset Bamidbar in Lancaster, Calif., visiting two weekends per month.

Berk will be the sole resident pulpit rabbi in Huntsville, as Etz Chayim, the much smaller Conservative congregation, is visited monthly by Rabbi Stephen Listfield. Mushka and Rabbi Moshe Cohen lead Chabad’s presence in Huntsville.

Berk said he looks forward to “working alongside other Jewish professionals of all the various Jewish denominational affiliations, both in Huntsville as well as the state of Alabama, with the goal of advancing our shared Jewish interests.”

He has a lot of experience with both Conservative Judaism and Chabad.

“I had applied to the Conservative movement’s Los Angeles-based rabbinical school and I strongly admire the Conservative movement’s commitment to the evolution of Jewish religious law,” he said.

He also admires Chabad’s success at outreach, and has prayed at several Chabad shuls in places where he has lived through the years.

Berk is expected to arrive in Huntsville by Aug. 15, and will lead his first service at B’nai Sholom on Aug. 17.

His “indirect” path to the rabbinate was “unconventional,” he said.

Growing up in Dallas, he “hated” religious school and refused to go on

to Confirmation after his Bar Mitzvah.

Still, Judaism was one of his passions, along with the craft of storytelling, and he came to realize how narrative had always been at the core of Judaism.

At New York University, he studied art, going to Florence to study the Old Masters. Traveling in Europe and being confronted by the vanished Jewish history throughout the continent, he was prodded to take his Jewishness more seriously.

Returning to the U.S., he started graduate studies at the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary, then finished a Master’s in Hebrew Studies at the University of Texas. Taking the next step to rabbinical school, he had a decision to make — Conservative or Reform?

Though his personal practice is more Conservative, he chose to attend Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, becoming ordained in 2008. During that time, he spent a couple of summers at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and in 2004 was HUC-JIR’s representative at the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding Annual Institute for Seminarians and Rabbinical Students.

After being ordained, he started doctoral work in modern Hebrew

August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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OFFICE OF INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

THIS IS AUBURN. “This wonderful country of ours allows us to gather together, to be Jewish and be free… I’m grateful I can be Jewish and a basketball coach in the SEC.”

— Auburn Head Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl, at the 2017 JCC Maccabi Games Opening Ceremony

WE ARE COMMUNITY. Hillel, Auburn University’s Jewish student organization, was the recipient of the 2015 AU Student Involvement Award for Overcoming Adversity. diversity@auburn.edu www.auburn.edu/diversity

6 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

agenda poetry, and was determined to have a pulpit-based rabbinate. In 2009, the hospice position was open, and “I couldn’t resist interesting and challenging” despite his strong sentiment against non-pulpit work.

His eight years there “have provided me with a wealth of valuable skills which have deeply enriched my role” as a pulpit rabbi. His time at the hospice included over 1,500 patients with families “of all religious identities and of every socio-economic level.”

Now, he wants to take the next step and serve as a full-time pulpit rabbi, “to share what I have learned while continuing to learn, to continue to expect the unexpected, and to always become better at what I do and how I do it.”

Another personal step for Berk is his upcoming wedding, to Shira Auerhahn. Both have been living in Los Angeles for 15 years, but they did not meet until March 2016 — through JDate. On the two-year anniversary of their first date, they went back to the restaurant where their first date had taken place, and became engaged.

The wedding will be Oct. 14 in Ashland, Mass., as she grew up in a small town outside of Boston.

Auerhahn works in the film industry, starting with William Morris Endeavor, then holding roles as associate producer, production coordinator and art coordinator.

They are “so very excited to be coming to Northern Alabama,” Berk said. Though they have been in Los Angeles for 15 years, “our moving to Huntsville is a revisiting of our shared but different roots, prior to living in L.A.” Berk succeeds Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar, who was at B’nai Sholom for nine years and took a new position in Jacksonville this summer.

With Berk’s arrival, two of Alabama’s Reform congregations now have found full-time rabbis. Rabbi Scott Looper is starting at Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or, while searches continue for Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El, Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El and Mobile’s Springhill Avenue Temple.

Kurtz-Lendner leaving Jackson congregation Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson announced that Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner has requested not to have his contract, which ends in the summer of 2019, renewed.

In a letter to the congregation, Kurtz-Lendner said “I will be moving my rabbinate into a different direction” starting next summer.

“Over the last two years my family and I have very much appreciated the warm welcome you gave to us,” he said. “I will always value the friendships I have shared with you, the relationships we have established, the special moments we have experienced together.”

Beth Israel President Susan Fijman said “we appreciate Rabbi Kurtz-Lendner’s service to our congregation and the contributions he has made to the Jewish community and the community in the greater Jackson area,” and they will work together on a smooth transition.

Beth Israel is the only synagogue in Mississippi with a full-time resident pulpit rabbi. Over the last two years, Kurtz-Lendner has been active in the broader community.

Kurtz-Lendner was executive director of Hillel at Tulane from 1994 to 2001, assistant director of the New Orleans Jewish Community Center from 2001 to 2004, and rabbi of Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville from 2002 to 2007.

In 2007 he became rabbi of Temple Solel in Hollywood, Fla., and was director of Jewish learning, education and outreach at the David Posnack JCC in Davie, Fla., before taking the position in Jackson in 2016.

From his Florida experiences, he brought the idea of establishing a faith-based council for Mississippi, suggesting it to Governor Phil Bryant. The council melds the resources and expertise of state government with that of faith-based institutions, facilitating better distribution of services to those in need.

agenda Emanu-El “Dancing Through the Decades” Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will be “Dancing Through the Decades” while honoring past presidents of the Board of Directors, Grafman Endowment Fund, Brotherhood and Sisterhood “for their dedication to Temple Emanu-El” at its Aug. 25 gala.

The 7 p.m. event will feature “Total A$$ets,” a nine-piece band of bankers who perform tunes from the 1950s to 1980s; a piano bar featuring Pedro Mayor; a full bar and food stations by Kathy G; and a silent auction.

There will also be a Bourbon/Rye Tasting Experience with brand representative James Joseph. Old Forrester bourbons and Jack Daniels ryes will be highlighted, with light bites that pair well.

Gala tickets are $75, or $150 including the Bourbon Experience. Patron levels start at $500. Proceeds from the gala go toward the congregation’s lifelong learning and youth education.

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BHEC L’Chaim event on Aug. 19 The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s (BHEC) annual L’Chaim event on August 19 in the Jemison Concert Hall at the Alys Stephens Center will honor Joel Rotenstreich, local humanitarian, philanthropist, and fundraiser, for his ongoing commitment to Holocaust education in Birmingham.

“The work of the BHEC is very close to my heart,” said Rotenstreich, “We need more teachers teaching kids what it means to be courageous and to speak up when they see something that’s not right.”

The L’Chaim program, a combination of entertainment, education, and recognition, will feature the Steel City Men’s Chorus and special entertainment arranged by Keith Cromwell of Red Mountain Theatre Company, including vocalists Caleb Clark, Abijah Cunningham, Cantor Jessica Roskin, and student performers from RMTC’s Conservatory.

L’Chaim is the culmination of the BHEC’s annual fundraising campaign and will be Sunday, August 19, 2:30-4:00 p.m. A dessert reception will follow the program. Tickets are $50 and are available at www.bhecinfo.org.

B’nai Israel in Monroe will kick off its 150th anniversary year at Rosh Hashanah evening services on Sept. 9. The congregation, which was founded in September 1868, will have events throughout the coming year.

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Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will be “Talking About Addiction” at the 5:45 p.m. Sept. 7 Shabbat service. Joye Madden and her daughter, Morgan, will speak about their family history of mental illness and addiction, to “share emotion, vulnerability and our hearts… in hopes to provide support and space to those suffering along side of us.”

Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will have a Kosher Deli Night, with “make your own” pastrami and corned beef sandwiches following the 6 p.m. service on Aug. 10. Reservations are $18 per person and are needed by Aug. 6, and guest speaker will be Phil Ensler, president of the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El will have an Israel Trip Shabbat, to hear from some of the 20 participants in last month’s congregational trip to Israel. The service will be on Aug. 10 at 6 p.m., and there will be a covered dish dinner and slide show afterward. An Israeli-themed entrée will be served, members are asked to bring a salad, side or dessert to share.

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Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El welcomes Taylor Poslosky as the congregation’s student rabbi for the coming year. A third-year student at Hebrew Union College, Poslosky makes her first visit to the wiregrass the weekend of Aug. 12.

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August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 7

Does your security system need an update?

agenda By popular demand, Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham is bringing back Cyber-Seniors, a workshop for seniors to work one-onone with University of Alabama at Birmingham honors students, and learn how to use a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Sessions will be Aug. 23 and 24 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Levite Jewish Community Center.

There is no charge, but reservations to CJFS are required. Participants can sign up for one or both days.

Anniston’s Temple Beth-El will have its first service with Lauren Cohn of Atlanta, their new visiting rabbi, on Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

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Knoxville native Seth Fleishman, founder of Atlanta’s lecture series “World History by a Jew,” will be the guest speaker at Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel the weekend of Aug. 24. He will speak at Shabbat dinner, Shabbat morning and during the afternoon. The topics are interconnected with cliffhangers, and include “Cinco de Mayo and the Jewish Mexican Foundation,” “The Rise of Prussia and Its Jewish Bankers” and “The Dreyfus Affair and France’s Other Napoleon.” Fleishman is president of Chabad of Toco Hills and Cubmaster for Cub Scouts Pack 613. In his professional life, Fleishman works in the railroad industry, as vice president of IAT International, Inc. and holds two patents.

Chabad of Mobile announced that the Chabad Roving Rabbi program will be in the region from Aug. 6 to 15, visiting locations from Dothan to Dauphin Island.

The Temple Beth-El Men’s Club is having a Summer Social at Topgolf in Birmingham, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. A $50 reservation includes two hours of bay time, two rounds of beer, light appetizers and a cash bar.

The evening will begin with Havdalah, led by Sarah Metzger.

Beth Israel in Gulfport will have a Baseball Shabbat, with a special oneg following the 7:30 p.m. service on Aug. 10, and those in attendance are encouraged to wear the colors of a favorite team.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El is having its 11th annual poker night on Aug. 25, the congregation’s largest fundraiser. 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.

Blinds start at 25/50 and go up every 45 minutes until the break at 7 p.m., then at 30 min. intervals. 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.

Registration is now open for the third Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans Food and Wine Mission to Israel, to be held April 1 to 9, 2019. The land cost will be no more than $4,999 for double occupancy, with a single supplement upcharge of $1,379, and airfare is not included. Participants will be joined by two New Orleans chefs. Capped at only 36 participants, this is an intimate opportunity to explore the culinary landscape of Israel, from Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market to the lush hills of the vineyards in the Golan Heights. Registration will open soon. To learn more, contact Sherri Tarr at the Federation, (504) 780-5609.

The Men’s Club Kosher-Style Hot Dog Sale at B’nai Israel in Monroe, originally announced for September, has been moved to November.

The next Nite on the Town for Beth Shalom in Fort Walton Beach will be on Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m., at Giovanni’s One89.

The B’nai Israel Sisterhood in Hattiesburg is participating in the Kamper-Avenues Yard Sale, Aug. 25 from 8 a.m. to noon. The sale will be in the social hall.

Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel is having an “Everything But Clothes” Estate Sale, Aug. 31 and Sept. 2-3.

8 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

community

La. court recognizes Jews as a race

81 Church Street Crestline Village

First-time legal designation comes in employment discrimination suit against Louisiana College It’s an age-old philosophical debate: Can Jews be regarded as a race?

According to a ruling in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana, when it comes to an employment discrimination case, the answer can be yes.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Hornsby made the ruling in denying a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Pineville’s Louisiana College and College President Rick Brewer. Joshua Bonadona filed suit in February, alleging that the college discriminated against him in not hiring him as defensive Photo courtesy Hendrix College backs coach because of his “Jewish blood.” Joshua Bonadona Bonadona’s attorney, James Bullman of Baton Rouge, said this was the first instance he has been able to find where Jews are classified as a race to access the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Under Title VII, employers cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. However, private religious-based institutions like Louisiana College are allowed to use religion as a determining factor in employment, hiring only those who share their mission and worldview. Thus, Bonadona could not sue based on religious discrimination.

The July 13 ruling notes that Title VII does not define the term “race,” nor has the U.S. Supreme Court provided a definition, but a 1987 employment discrimination decision under 42 U.S.C. 1981 said when it was passed in 1870, Congress “intended to protect from discrimination identifiable classes of persons who are subject to intentional discrimination ‘because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics’ whether or not it would be classified as racial in terms of modern scientific theory.”

Hornsby noted that “Modern sociologists and anthropologists… debate whether Judaism is a people, a religion, or both. There is no doubt, however, that many people have and continue to view being Jewish as a racial identity.”

Anti-Semites are not concerned with a person’s particular religious beliefs, Hornsby said. “Jewish citizens have been excluded from certain clubs or neighborhoods, and they have been denied jobs and other opportunities based on the fact that they were Jewish, with no particular concern as to a given individual’s religious leanings. Thus, they have been treated like a racial or ethnic group that Title VII was designed to protect from employment discrimination based on membership in that group.”

Bullman said the ruling gives Jews additional protection under Title VII, which “in and of itself is a big deal for our community.”

A Baton Rouge native, Bonadona has a Jewish mother and Catholic father, and was raised Jewish. After graduating high school in 2008, he attended Southeastern Louisiana for a year, then transferred to Louisiana College, becoming a kicker on the football team.

While at Louisiana College, Bonadona converted to Christianity, and often led team devotionals. In August 2013 he was hired as special teams coordinator and assistant defensive backs coach, then he graduated that December. He continued in those positions until the summer of 2015, when he left to pursue a graduate degree and a coaching position at Southeast Missouri State.

After Dennis Dunn resigned as Louisiana College’s football coach, in 2017 new head coach Justin Charles approached Bonadona about returning as defensive backs coach. After an interview with Charles and Brewer, Charles “made a full recommendation” to hire Bonadona, pending the

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“formality” of Brewer’s approval.

It was widely known at the college that Bonadona’s mother is Jewish, and during the interview, Bonadona “repeatedly” made it clear that he is a practicing Christian.

With the assurance that he would be hired, Bonadona resigned at Southeast Missouri, but a week after the interview, Charles told him the college would not be hiring him because of his “Jewish descent.”

According to the suit, when Bonadona asked what that meant, Charles said Brewer refused to hire Bonadona because of his “Jewish blood,” though since his college days he has been a practicing Christian.

In a statement following the July 13 ruling, Brewer said Bonadona was not selected for the position because his application and interview responses revealed “he was not the best candidate for the position. And anyone who would examine my criteria for employment would readily surmise that I have not made, nor do I make any connection to race or gender in the hiring process.”

Brewer added, “I believe the term ‘Jewish blood’ was cited by the lawyer in the suit for its incendiary affect (sic).”

The college’s legal counsel said Bonadona’s responses “did not comport with the College’s commitment to hire leaders and educators who reflect the College’s mission.”

Louisiana College did not fill the position until after the 2017 season, and Bonadona wound up taking “a less desirable position at Hendrix College in Arkansas for less money and fewer employment benefits.”

Bonadona filed an EEOC charge in May 2017, citing only race in the application, and in February the EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue. Louisiana College tried to get the suit dismissed, stating Jewish heritage does not qualify as a race or national origin.

After the motion to dismiss was refused, Brewer said “we intend to file an objection to the magistrate’s recommendations as being contrary to applicable law and jurisprudence. But if we must go to trial, we look forward to defending these unmerited claims and falsehoods, and the dismissal of the lawsuit.”

David Barkey, national religious freedom counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, said while the ruling is a “novel” decision that may well be upheld, it likely won’t have much effect. In the overwhelming majority of cases where someone Jewish alleges harassment or discrimination, the case is filed on the basis of religion.

The facts in this case, a Christian institution allegedly discriminating against a Christian who is of Jewish heritage, are “highly unusual… that won’t happen very often,” Barkey said, and to bring a Title VII claim against an institution that is legally entitled to “hire and fire” based on religion, “they had to find an alternate route,” that of race.

While this ruling, if it stands, may give Jews greater protection under Title VII, it also touches on “sensitivities in the Jewish community,” as the ideology of Nazi Germany and neo-Nazis today refer to Jews as a race, and an inferior one at that. “The view of Jews as a race was a justification for the Holocaust,” he said, so talk of Jews as a race is seen as a sensitive subject.

Barkey added that this is a legal decision, “not a sociological decision on what is or is not race.” He expressed concern that supremacist groups might take the decision out of context, as proof that the government agrees with them regarding Jews as a race, but isn’t certain that such a move would be that significant.

Bullman said anti-Semites “don’t need this case to justify their beliefs,” and it is far more important that the Jewish community has “an extended protection” in Title VII. “It’s a much bigger shield than it would be a sword.”

Now, pending the college’s objection to the July 13 ruling, the suit moves into the discovery and deposition phase, and Bullman expressed confidence that a jury will find in Bonadona’s favor.

Naturally, Brewer has a different opinion. “There are no facts to support the lawsuit’s allegations, which will be proved to be unwarranted and factually incorrect.”

community

Ending the uncertainty: Friedman Center under contract Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel, CJFS CARES moving into new spaces As the Torahs are paraded around the sanctuary at Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel on Simchat Torah this year, it will likely be the last time such a procession will be held in that building.

The state’s only non-Chabad Orthodox congregation will be moving out of the Friedman Center and setting up in the rabbi’s home across the street.

A congregational meeting was held on July 26 to discuss the upcoming sale of the building, ending an atmosphere of uncertainty that has existed for several years.

The building is under contract to an undisclosed buyer, and the sale is expected to close the first week of October. The congregation will have the full series of upcoming High Holy Day and Sukkot services in the building, then vacate the premises at the end of September.

Knesseth Israel moved into the Overton Road property in 2007 after several years of planning and a community-wide campaign that brought in about $5.4 million.

Since 1955, Knesseth Israel had been on Montevallo Road, but the facility had devel-

oped numerous costly maintenance issues, and being situated across from the Birmingham Country Club’s golf course, there was very little affordable housing within walking distance for young families. In December 2005, the congregation voted to relocate to Overton Road, one block from the Bais Ariel Chabad Center.

By 2012, difficulties in selling the congregation’s previous property in the midst of a real estate downturn and other financial issues took their toll. A letter went out to congregants informing them that over $3 million was owed to the bank as about $8 million had been put into the new property, and the congregation agreed to put the building on the market.

In 2013, after the building had not sold for several months, Jimmy Filler and Brenda and Fred Friedman acquired the building, which was renamed the Friedman Center for Jewish Life and was made available to the community.

Part of the agreement was that Knesseth Israel

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could remain in the 18,000-square-foot facility.

When Collat Jewish Family Services began CJFS CARES in 2015, a program for those with Alzheimer’s and other memory or movement disorders, the program was housed at the Friedman Center, and Temple Beth-El held some religious school classes there.

By 2016, the building had become “a financial burden to its owner,” according to a letter sent out by then-KI President Ken Ehrenberg, and the property was going back on the market.

Since then, there have been a couple of sales that fell through, but this time it is anticipated the deal will close.

Over the past few years, the congregation was also struggling with meeting the expenses of being in the large building, and plans to move into the rabbi’s house started being formulated.

As part of the earlier agreement with the bank, the house is owned by Knesseth Israel, free and clear.

KI President Martin Stein explained that services will be held on the first floor, and there will be an office in the basement, with Rabbi Moshe Rube living upstairs. The basement and first floor will be painted, the plumbing upgraded, and the back deck will be replaced, possibly with a space that can be used year-round.

With the move, the congregation will be able to operate at a balanced budget, putting any additional contributions above current levels into a new emphasis on educational programming.

For the long term, a building fund is being proposed, in case the congregation decides, years down the road, that it needs and can sustain a new space.

At the meeting, it was pointed out that in many heavily-Orthodox areas, shuls are the first floor of residences, with the rabbi living upstairs, so this is actually a traditional arrangement.

At the start of the meeting, Rube referenced the week’s haftorah, one of the sections of consolation in Isaiah following the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. He noted that the center of religious life is the religious community, and it isn’t good to have one’s identity based upon a building.

The move will be “a transition to a new beginning,” he said.

With the sale, CJFS CARES, which currently meets every Monday to Thursday, also needed to find new space. The agency will be partnering with St. Stephens Church in moving down the street to the former St. John’s Episcopal Church for the Deaf building on Crosshaven Drive. The program will move in September.

Lauren Schwartz, executive director of CJFS, said “We are grateful for the partnership we have shared over the past 3-1/2 years with the Friedman Center for Jewish Life, and we’re looking forward to creating a safe and comfortable space for CARES in this new location.”

community Sacha Cohen lures Roy Moore, Fla. Rep. Matt Gaetz to appear on new show Comedian uses their support of Israel, tricking them with award at fake Israel celebration Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is among those duped by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, and is threatening legal action against Showtime if the resulting show is aired.

Cohen used Moore’s support of Israel as a lure to convince him to come to Washington for what turned out to be a bizarre interview.

Cohen’s “Who is America?” is set to debut on July 15 for a seven-episode run. Cohen, who always has an alter-ego persona in his shows and films, last did a television series a decade ago as interviewer Ali G, an English rapper.

Former U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois, who is now a conservative talk show host, was also lured with the prospect of doing an interview about Israel. This week, he called for a boycott of Showtime because of Cohen’s show.

Of the first eight who said they were interviewed by one of Cohen’s characters for the show, the Israel angle was used for only one other person, Rep. Matt Gaetz of the Florida panhandle.

Gaetz told the Daily Beast he was interviewed in his Congressional office, with the conversa-

tion keeping to the topic of Israel. When asked to endorse weapons systems and hold up photos of them, he declined, saying he wasn’t familiar with the systems and wouldn’t want to talk about them.

Gaetz said he is a fan of Cohen’s other characters, and “can’t wait to see” his appearance on the new show.

Earlier this year, Gaetz was criticized by many in the Florida Jewish community for giving a ticket to the State of the Union address to altright figure Chuck Johnson, who also dabbles in Holocaust denial.

Moore said he was invited to Washington to receive an award “for my strong support of Israel in commemoration of her 70th anniversary as a nation.” He attended the Nov. 18 Leadership Gala in Decatur, organized by the Alabama-Israel Task Force.

Moore explained, “Because Alabama has always been at the forefront of support of Israel and because I share a strong belief in God as the Creator and Sustainer of all life, as does Israel, I

eventually accepted the invitation” to Washington.

He had no idea Cohen was behind this effort to “embarrass, humiliate, and mock not only Israel, but also religious conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh, and Dick Cheney.”

As an Alabamian, Moore said, “I believe in truth and honesty, which the shadowy media groups behind this illicit scheme do not. Obviously, people like Cohen who mock not only Israel but those who support Israel and the principles upon which America is based, do not share my beliefs.”

He referenced “several court cases” he is involved in “to defend my honor and character against vicious false personal attacks by liberals like Cohen.” When running for U.S. Senate last fall, several women came forward with allegations of inappropriate relationships Moore had with them when the women were underage, allegations Moore strongly denied. Moore narrowly lost the Dec. 12 election to Democrat Doug Jones.

Because of the nature of the denials, in Janu-

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community ary one accuser, Leigh Corfman, filed a defamation suit against Moore and others who defended him; Moore countersued in April, accusing the women of defamation. Moore’s suit also names Richard Hagedorn, a native of Gadsden’s Jewish community, who has known Corfman for 40 years and whose brother, David, works for the Washington Post — the publication that was at the forefront of reporting the women’s stories.

Moore’s suit also mentions that David Hagedorn is in a same-sex marriage and has criticized on social media Moore’s opposition to same-sex marriage.

Noting his current court cases, Moore said “If Showtime airs a defamatory attack on my character, I may very well be involved in another.”

He concluded, “As for Mr. Cohen, whose art is trickery, deception, and dishonesty, Alabama does not respect cowards who exhibit such traits! It’s been a long time since I fought for my country in Vietnam. I’m ready to defend her again!”

Details of the Israel award ruse were given in a series of tweets by Walsh, who said he had been contacted by “an Alexis Rothe from “yerushalayimtv.com” and a “Alexis Sampietro,” who was randomly CC’ed on an email thread.”

At press time, the website in question was nonexistent, a web archive from January was a blank page. A Google search for the site resulted in a description of “Broadcasting to people of the Jewish faith and Jewish communities worldwide. Satellite, digital, cable and online.”

Like Moore, Walsh was flown to Washington and expenses were paid. Walsh posted the receipt for a $499 room at the Hay-Adams Hotel, apparently paid for by Daniel Nuzzi of Los Angeles.

“The producers said they needed to film a pre-interview that would air as a part of Israel’s 70th birthday celebration,” Walsh said. “I was rushed to the studio, production was a mess, I sat down and we started talking pro-Israel stuff, Israeli defense, and then out of left field the interviewer starts talking about how children should defend themselves against terrorist attacks.”

The interviewer showed Walsh several articles about children stopping terrorists, and wanted him to read off a teleprompter. “I stopped and questioned their direction,” Walsh said. “And just like that producers rushed me out of the studio as an apparent fight broke out. Strangest interview of my life — don’t think they spoofed me very much — but I did get this award,” and he posted a picture of the award he was given.

Sarah Palin was tricked into an interview, purportedly for a documentary honoring American veterans, and the interviewer was dressed as a disabled U.S. serviceman in a wheelchair.

On her Facebook page, she wrote “I sat through a long ‘interview’ full of Hollywoodism’s disrespect and sarcasm — but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out.”

She wants Showtime and Cohen to donate the show’s proceeds to a charitable group “that actually respects and supports American Vets.”

Dick Cheney was also interviewed, and was asked to sign a large milk jug that was referred to as a “waterboarding kit.”

Cohen apparently responded through the character of Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., who interviewed Palin, saying he didn’t claim to be a war veteran, but was in the service — United Parcel — and fought for his country when he shot a Mexican who came onto his property.

He claimed former admiration for Palin “telling the truth about Obama’s birth certificate and the location of Russia,” but accused her of “bleedin’ fake news” and demanded an apology from her.

“Ruddick” has a new website, truthbrary, filled with sendups of conspiracy theories.

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community Tulane President Fitts visits Israel to explore expanded collaboration With a large Jewish student population, Tulane University has always had close ties with Israeli institutions. In June, Tulane President Michael Fitts made his first visit to Israel as part of a 17-member delegation of university presidents, seeking to further boost bilateral academic research and exchange opportunities while learning about Israel’s technological innovations.

Organized by the American Jewish Committee Project Interchange, the trip encourages university presidents from the United States to exchange ideas with their Israeli counterparts and explore opportunities for collaboration similar to such academic partnerships as the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute and the University of California and Israel Innovation Authority Partnership.

“I’ve been all over the world,” Fitts noted.

“Israel is a source of great education and great research, so it’s a natural place to develop relationships.”

While Fitts is a Quaker, his wife and daughters are Jewish. His wife has been to Israel several times, and a daughter has done Birthright, so when he was invited to be part of this delegation, “I figured I should go.”

He said he has always been fascinated with how a country that has no natural resources has been so successful, “and it didn’t disappoint… it’s an economic juggernaut and its universities are incredibly strong.”

He said the trip was “an exciting opportunity to explore ways in which Tulane can collaborate with Israeli universities and other institutions around the world to address longstanding societal problems in the environment, healthcare, energy and numerous other areas.”

Robin Levenston-Kudisch, AJC Project Interchange Executive Director noted, “The worldclass research and educational facilities at Israeli universities and colleges provide a fitting setting for great minds to share information, discuss research partnerships, and explore opportunities for mutually-beneficial collaboration.”

According to the AJC, the trip was designed to provide “a variety of perspectives from Israeli Jewish and Arab experts across the political and social spectrum,” and discussions on “Israel’s high-tech and entrepreneurial landscape, security challenges, diversity in Israeli society and Israel’s approach to global humanitarian aid.”

The delegation also included the presidents of Cornell, California State-San Bernardino, Northern Arizona, Illinois Institute of Technology, Sonoma State, Tufts, Minnesota, San Diego and Vermont.

They visited the Technion, “the MIT of Is-

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rael,” where Tulane already has relationships through its graduate students.

They also visited Ben Gurion University, which Fitts noted is “deeply involved in startups.”

The university, Beersheva and the prime minister’s office are developing CyberSpark, a major cyber innovation community bringing together academia, government and business. “It’s something we’re looking at here at Tulane,” he said.

The delegation also visited Bar Ilan University and Tel Aviv University, and met with members of the Knesset.

Fitts noted that it is rare to find a U.S. university that is as young as those in Israel but has achieved such a level of excellence in such a short time.

Tulane’s existing exchanges and study abroad programs “have been extremely valuable for us,” Fitts said. As the university expands its emphasis on science, engineering and medicine, the benefits of international partnerships will be even more helpful, he added.

Tulane has been involved with several universities in the U.S.-Israel Energy Research Initiative. In the summer of 2017, the planned U.S.-Israel Energy Research Innovation Center was jump-started by a $100,000 gift from Tulane parents Stuart and Suzanne Grant.

“This is letting us build bridges between institutions, both within the U.S. but also between the U.S. and Israel in a way that would have simply not been possible without it,” said Daniel Shantz, who holds the Entergy Chair in Clean Energy Engineering and is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane.

The Grants’ gift enabled Shantz to travel to Israel in May 2017 to meet with academics and government officials there. The gift also allowed Tulane student Imri Frenkel, then a rising senior majoring in chemical engineering, to participate in a summer internship in the Segal-Peretz lab at the Technion, working on ultrafiltration membranes for water purification, building on his research experience in the Albert lab at Tulane.

Tulane also has the Mandel-Palagye Program for Middle East Peace, where 15 students are selected for the summer program. “The students start here and take several classes on various aspects of the Middle East” for two weeks, Fitts

said, then they spend three weeks in Israel and Jordan, living at Hebrew University.

Not everyone was pleased to learn about Fitts’ trip. In a letter to the student newspaper, Tulane Students for Justice in Palestine said Fitts’ visit to Israel was “a hypocrisy of Tulanian values and a regressive step away from expanding diversity among our student body,” saying Israeli universities “support racist and Islamophobic violence” and charging Tulane with being “an unsafe home for Muslim students” who are being “forced to invest in their own oppressors.”

Fitts said that as a university president, “I’m interested in partnerships with great universities wherever they are. I’d meet with presidents of Palestinian universities as part of that.”

The delegation traveled to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leaders. They met with Elias Zananiri, vice-chairman of the PLO Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, and Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, which does surveys of the general populace to try and figure out ways to reach a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis.

A highlight of the trip, Fitts said, was being able to meet with Israelis and Palestinians, and listen to their stories.

They visited a kibbutz near Gaza, where a woman who grew up there spoke about staying there despite constantly being under attack from Hamas in Gaza. They also visited with a Palestinian in the West Bank, who spoke about how he was born there. “You had a sense of deeply rooted connections with the land on all sides,” Fitts said.

He added, “to an outsider, it sounds like they ought to be able to reach an agreement, but obviously there’s a lot to get to between here and there.”

Aside from the academic angle of the trip, Fitts said it is “exhilarating” to visit the area, especially seeing how religions from every part of the world interact, for better or worse — he visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw how three different sects lay claim to the site that is holy for Christians.

He added that in the United States, seeing something 100 years old is remarkable, but in Jerusalem, 2,000 years is commonplace.

Jam4Sam benefit takes the stage on Aug. 26 The annual Jam4Sam, produced by Birmingham’s Mesch AZA, will be on Aug 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Red Hills Brewery in Homewood. The event features local bands and benefits the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, and AZA’s programming.

The event remembers Mesch member Sam Lapidus, who died in November 2008, just before his 15th birthday. He had been diagnosed 16 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

with Ewing’s sarcoma at age 9.

Supported by the Levite Jewish Community Center, AZA is an international Jewish high school fraternity, with its counterpart B’nai B’rith Girls.

The LJCC’s annual Thanksgiving Day Montclair Run was also named after Lapidus and benefits the cancer center.

Tickets to Jam4Sam are $10 at the door.

community Baton Rouge’s B’nai Israel plans 160th birthday celebrations B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is kicking off the celebration of its 160th birthday, with three major events in the coming months.

The first event is “A Taste of Southern Jewish Hospitality” with Chef Alon Shaya from Saba in New Orleans, on Sept. 30. There will be a discussion and dessert at 7 p.m., with a wine and cheese cookbook signing.

Another option is the 5 p.m. cocktails and conversation, featuring a tasting of recipes from his cookbook, “Shaya: An Odyssey of Food,” along with signature cocktail and wine pairing. Tickets to the 5 p.m. event are $75 and include reserved seating for the 7 p.m. program. Tickets for 7 p.m. are $30, and the cookbook will be available for $30.

On Oct. 21 from noon to 3 p.m., “Bubbe’s Kitchen and Zayde’s Bar: A Jewish Food Festival” will serve nosh-sized samples of traditional Jewish foods, from congregants’ family recipes. There will also be an egg-cream soda bar. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children under age 12.

Advance tickets to both events are available only to members through Sept. 3, then will be available to the community.

The events culminate in the 160th birthday party, held during Chanukah on Dec. 7. The Shabbat service will be followed by a celebratory oneg, birthday cake and music from the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars.

No tickets will be needed for the Dec. 7 event.

The older of Baton Rouge’s congregations, B’nai Israel was founded in 1858 as Hebrew Congregation of Baton Rouge, one year after the Jewish cemetery was established, as six local Jews died in the Yellow Fever epidemic.

After the war, the congregation was re-established as Shaare Chesed

Alabama Hillel set to dedicate expansion Just in time for the new semester, the University of Alabama’s Bloom Hillel will dedicate its expanded facility on Aug. 26. With Jewish enrollment rising every year and participation at Hillel tripling since the facility opened in 2011, an expansion was needed, and Hillel launched a $1 million fundraiser. Hillel averages 110 for Shabbat dinner each week. The building, located in the university’s “God Quad,” was expanded by 50 percent, with the main room’s new capacity at 250. The dedication will start with a donor recognition brunch at 12:30 p.m., the dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m., and a Welcome Back barbecue at 2 p.m., featuring live music from the Voodoo Saints, lawn games and more. The event is open to students, the university community and friends of Bama Hillel.

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community and met at Dalsheimer Hall. The Ladies Hebrew Aid Association was established to raise money for a permanent home, which was dedicated in 1877. After a legal dispute over title to the property, they re-incorporated as B’nai Israel in 1885, having also switched from Orthodox to Reform in 1879.

The congregation moved to its current facility in 1954.

JCRS signing up Chanukah gift recipients It may be August, but it’s time to think about Chanukah. New Orleans-based Jewish Children’s Regional Service is preparing for this year’s Oscar J. Tolmas Hanukkah Gift Program, where Jewish families with minor children, for whom the holiday presents major economic challenges, are eligible for Chanukah gifts and Walmart gift cards.

Interested and eligible families are urged to apply online at jcrs.org.

Those children who are registered by the end of August are not only guaranteed the early selection of gifts, but they will also be guaranteed Walmart gift cards. Parents will have an opportunity to describe the interests of each child in the application.

Families who live in the seven states served by JCRS — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas — can receive eight small, age and interest-related gifts, one for each night of Chanukah. While the extensive scholarship programs provided by JCRS require family income documentation, the process to register for Chanukah gifts does not require income documentation.

Over the program’s 20 years, thousands of Jewish children and youth have been served. Participating families have faced a wide variety of short-term or long-term economic challenges, as well as natural disasters.

Baton Rouge celebrates Israel

On June 10, Hadassah Baton Rouge celebrated Israel’s 70th anniversary at Congregation B’nai Israel. Speakers included Gil Shaul, who talked about growing up in Israel in a Yemenite family, and recounted funny and poignant stories about her childhood. Program host Sue Freedman spoke about high-tech achievements Israel has made, especially in the last 20 years. And chapter president Marilyn Martell told the crowd about some of Hadassah’s newest programs and welcomed everyone to join in celebrating both Israel and Hadassah. The speakers were followed by a buffet of Israeli food, and then a session of Israeli folk dancing, led by David Kirshner.

18 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

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Montgomery favorite Mis’ Rubin’s Magic seasonings live on throughout the region The legacy of beloved seasoning blends from the Hanan family of Montgomery continues to expand, as Mis’ Rubin’s Magic works its way around the region.

Julia and Rubin Hanan, who were part of Montgomery’s Sephardic community, owned the Penny Profit Grocery Store, and long-time Montgomerians remember with fondness the store’s Black Magic and White Magic seasoning rubs — which are now available in numerous stores and online.

Robert and Ashley Landers are the driving force behind the seasonings’ revival. Rachel Raybin, daughter of the Hanans, said “We’re thrilled that the legacy continues.”

Julia’s father, Eliezer Cohen, was one of the first Sephardic men to immigrate to Atlanta. In 1912, Julia was born in Atlanta.

Rubin had left Rhodes and wound up in Montgomery in 1925 to pursue an education, but wound up also pursuing Julia. In 1935, they were married in a traditional Sephardic ceremony.

With both of Julia’s parents gone, the new couple moved to Atlanta, but after their infant daughter died at the age of 8 months, they moved back to Montgomery for a new beginning.

Rubin and Julia opened the Penny Profit Grocery Store, which quickly became the premier meat market in Montgomery.

Julia was known as “Mis’ Rubin.” Raybin explained that customers “thought Rubin was our last name.” That name would soon appear on seasonings Julia developed, to make their meats stand out from the competition, especially the A&P across the street.

Julia’s “claim to fame was her cooking,” Raybin said, which was ironic — growing up, she was regarded as “a little princess and didn’t cook.” It was Rubin’s mother who taught Julia how to make the traditional Sephardic dishes, which would be assembled in Julia’s cookbook, “Dulce Siempre,” in 2001.

The only way to get Black Magic was to buy the steak it would go on. For favored customers, Rubin would give a little extra to take home.

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food and dining Rehab Reality...

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Here’s A Testimonial We Had To Share We don’t make up testimonials and many times we don’t share them, no matter how good they are. But this is one that had to be shared. This young man went to many rehabs over the years, so his experience and perspective is something you should know if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction.

“The staff at Bayshore Retreat is the most friendly and caring people I have ever met at a treatment facility. I have been to five previous treatment centers and none of the others ever catered to my needs the way Bayshore has.

“I have had problems with ADHD and never had the time to go get tested. They scheduled me an appointment with a psychologist and took me to get tested within a day.

“There was also a time when I needed dental work done. They scheduled an appointment and took me back and forth to the facility. I have not been to one place that would have done that for me.

“At previous treatment centers I had to mold into their program, but at Bayshore they mold to us, the clients. The time I spent at Bayshore was one of the top life experiences I have ever had. Thank you Bayshore for showing me a new and better way of living.”

When we say that we take the “Fear Out of Rehab,” this is what we mean. Most places treat everyone the same, as if they are the same. The addiction might be the only thing they really have in common, this why they need individual attention to beat it.

20 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

Black Magic was developed for red meat, while the White Magic is designed for poultry, seafood and vegetables.

Landers explained that to properly use it, one is to pour the Black Magic on, coating the steak “until it scares you that you’re going to ruin it” by using too much.

“I remember daddy closing the store at night and he’d have these big vats of seasoning,” Raybin said. “The store always had that smell, the garlic and the onion.”

He also bottled spaghetti sauce at the store.

Rubin was very politically involved, especially on issues involving senior citizens.

In 1961 and 1971, he was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, “which was amazing for a guy who spoke broken English,” Raybin said. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the Advisory Committee for Older Americans.

Being in Montgomery, Raybin said, many political figures came to the store. “He tried to push through legislation over the meat counter.”

He was also very involved in the Lurleen B. Wallace Cancer Hospital. “At one time, his name was on it,” Raybin said.

As the Hanans got older and Rubin had health issues, they made the decision to sell the store. “It was a big deal,” Raybin said.

That’s where the Landers family entered the picture. Landers said his father was a “good customer, regular customer for many years,” and bought the store with a business partner.

He bought it “with an eye on the seasoning,” Landers said.

Landers had also worked in the store during the summer when he was in high school, helping with the butchering. “We’d spend all day trimming fat off the pork tenderloins,” he said.

“It was brutal.”

Those tenderloins had long been one of the most popular items at the store, he said. Rubin called them “Poor Man’s Filets.” Landers explained that the store had regular beef filets, which “were priced accordingly,” but the much less expensive pork tenderloins, wrapped in bacon and slathered in Black Magic to resemble the beef filets, “used to fly.”

Unfortunately, Landers said, before long the partners split up, and the store closed for good in the early 2000s.

Rubin died in 1996, and Julia moved to Birmingham, where most of the family was residing. She died in 2005.

But her seasoning continued. Landers explained, “My grandmother kept the seasoning part going for a few years, out of her house,” selling it at a couple of places in Montgomery.

Soon, Landers and his wife were moving from San Francisco to Pittsburgh, and he decided that he wanted to take the burden off his

grandmother. He set up a toll-free number to take orders for the seasoning, and had a “pretty constant” response, with people saying “so glad I found you” and “how do I get it?”

He worked on the seasonings as a sideline to his full-time job, then in 2014 decided that “the potential has always been there.” He relaunched the company, focusing on distribution in Alabama even though he was physically in Pennsylvania.

Last year, they moved back to Birmingham.

“It’s been amazing to be back here and be in the local stores, getting to know the managers and employees.”

He has also been doing demos at the stores, enjoying how customers come up and relate memories of Penny Profit and the Hanans.

“Hopefully, we can honor their legacy by preserving a part of what they created. It’s pretty unbelievable that people still go crazy for these spices so many years after Julia first mixed them,” he said.

Raybin added, “It’s so exciting to walk into a Publix and see Mis’ Rubin’s seasoning on the shelf.”

In addition to the retail packaging, Landers recently started doing 32-ounce packages for restaurants and high-volume kitchens.

Distribution continues to expand, Landers said. A list of stores where the seasoning is available throughout the region is on the website, misrubins.com. It is available at Publix in Alabama and Mississippi, with Florida on the way; and soon it will also be carried by Rouse’s in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Alabama, many Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie locations also carry it.

It is also available at the Trey’s Produce farmer’s market outside Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center.

Seasoning packages can also be ordered at the website, and there is a 25 percent discount for Southern Jewish Life readers, using the code SJLMAGIC.

food and dining

Golden Flake, Zapp’s maintain regional identities

by Lee J. Green Golden Flake, founded in Birmingham 1923 by entrepreneurs Frank Mosher and Mose Lishkoff, continues to grow its brand but will always be a chip off the old block representing the flavor of the South.

Two years ago, Utz Quality Foods purchased Golden Flake, having already bought Louisiana-based Zapp’s in 2011. William and Salie Utz founded Utz in Hanover, Pa., in 1921.

The move has allowed both to maintain their brand identities and geographic coverage areas while allowing them to expand in other areas across the country that have a demand for some of their products.

“We are a national company built on regional brands,” said Golden Flake Director of Operations Jim Ward. “This is a perfect marriage. We have some products that are in demand in the north that Utz doesn’t already have out there, and they complement what we have in the South with products such as Utz pretzels.

“But Golden Flake will remain Golden Flake and the flavor of the South,” he added.

And the flavors keep expanding. This month,

Golden Flake will add Salsa Verde and Zesty Ranch chips to its family of snacks. Zapp’s recently debuted Spicy Creole Chili chips.

Soon Golden Flake will launch a new style of their Tortiyahs, which debuted a couple of years ago. This version will be a different cut and more lightly seasoned.

“We will add these to the current Tortiyahs.

The new style will be more like tortilla chips you would get in a Mexican restaurant and called cantina-style,” added Ward.

Because they include such beloved Southern flavors, Ward said their most popular potato chip at Golden Flake is usually the Sweet Heat BBQ. Ward said that if a Golden Flake product someone wants isn’t available at a store near them, they can order it from the website at www.goldenflake. com.

“We have customers across the country and across the world enjoying our snacks,” he said.

“It’s a great way to make a connection.”

Last year, Golden Flake connected with hundreds of Jewish youth from around the country, as they were sponsors of the JCC Maccabi Games, with various Golden Flake products widely available for the athletes at all of the venues.

USE PROMO CODE :

SWEETSUMMER 20% off online praline purchases only *Restrictions Apply

Cahaba Brewing continues to expand offerings New series takes advantage of local seasonal produce

by Lee J. Green The good times and good beers keep flowing for Birmingham’s Cahaba Brewing company, which this month launches its popular Pale Ale in cans across north and central Alabama.

The Pale Ale joins Oka Uba IPA, Blonde and Irish Dry Stout as varieties in cans year-round, as well as being available at the brewery and many points around Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Auburn.

“Irish Stout started out as a seasonal, and it was so popular that is became a year-round beer,” said Cahaba Brewing Marketing/PR Director Christy Johnson. Current seasonal releases in cans include Oktoberfest and the currently-available Kiwi Kolsch.

The brewery’s beer menu also includes some small batch and special limited release beers. A special Imperial Stout that has been aging more than seven months in bourbon barrels is planned for release this fall.

Cahaba is also partnering with Alabama farmers to produce a limited-edition collection of beers featuring local, seasonal produce.

The Proximity Series beers are in collaboration with REV Birmingham’s Urban Food Project, which works with Alabama farmers and stores to increase access to healthy foods.

The series’ first batch, a strawberry blonde, sold out quickly in June. Last month, a blackberry Dunkelweizen was available at Cahaba and a few

restaurants.

Cahaba Brewing Founder Eric Meyer said, “At Cahaba, we’re built on community support and it’s a core value that we give back to our community at every opportunity. The Proximity Series is the perfect platform for showcasing our state’s local growers and an awesome nonprofit that supports these hardworking farmers each day.”

Future small batch seasonal brews in the Proximity Series include flavors from peaches, pumpkins, apples, sweet potatoes, kiwis and satsumas.

August is a big month for Cahaba Brewing. In addition to the Pale Ale release, they will host some events and participate in Birmingham Restaurant Week, Aug. 10 to 19. Cahaba is the official beer for the Sidewalk Film Festival, which will run from Aug. 22 to 26 across downtown Birmingham.

“Starting Aug. 7 and on every Tuesday, our live trivia will go from just a local event to linking in with a live trivia national network, linking in with others’ sites,” said Johnson. “These will be bigger events and better prizes.”

In the coming months, Cahaba plans to be the “football headquarters” for college and pro games. They will have game-day specials Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

Cahaba continues to get more entrenched in its current markets and is looking at new potential markets in Alabama as well as across the region.

“We recently got into Costco and the sales have been very good,” said Johnson. “That has been a nice boost to our sales and visibility.”

A U N T S A L LYS .CO M

August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 21

food and dining Aunt Sally’s Pralines are a New Orleans tradition

by Lee J. Green

Pale Ale now in cans!

Also try our Proximity Series limited batch beers made in partnership with Alabama farmers

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Everyone at Aunt Sally’s Pralines continues to live the sweet life as they honor New Orleans’ history while making some delicious history of their own.

Newlyweds Pierre and Diane Bagur opened the first Aunt Sally’s Praline Shop in a commercial strip of the French Quarter known as the French Market. They sold hand-made pralines along with a collection of retail merchandise representing New Orleans culture and Creole traditions.

Though Aunt Sally’s Pralines have vastly increased their offerings; have both a flagship store on Decatur Street in the French Quarter as well as the newest store and corporate headquarters on St. Charles Avenue in the Warehouse District and are sold worldwide, the pralines are still made by hand.

“We are very focused on quality. Nothing is more important in food production than consistency,” said CEO Mary Jo Webster.

“We have various quality-control check points across the supply chain.

Our employees take great pride in the work they do. As much as Aunt Sally’s has grown and will continue to grow, it’s most important that we maintain that quality that are founders started the company with,” she said.

An important part of that process is kosher certification. Director of Operations Lenny Zichichi said they go through a very through process.

“We check in with all of our vendors to make sure they are keeping with kosher standards,” he said. “A rabbi comes in regularly for inspections and we consult him any time we might consider adding a product or a new process, however small it might be.”

The certification is overseen by the Louisiana Kashrut Committee.

Zichichi and Webster regularly attend conferences and learning opportunities about customer trends in the industry, as well as new products and processes.

Aunt Sally’s sells New Orleans gifts, souvenirs, cookbooks, housewares, specialty foods and even art. But of course, the pralines are the stars.

There are two kinds of pralines — Creole and Creamy. Creole uses the original family recipe, cooked and poured entirely by hand with no preservatives. It is a thin, slightly crispy candy with a balanced, nutty sweetness, made in original and chocolate flavors.

The Creamy praline follows a recipe invented by Aunt Sally’s in 2000. It is a thicker, fudge-like candy made in five flavors.

While the delicate Creole candy is best enjoyed within two weeks of being made, the Creamy varieties have an eight-month shelf life.

A few years ago, they added the popular Sugar and Spice praline, made with another New Orleans institution — Tabasco sauce.

“We will continue to add flavors and products based on what our customers want as well as what is trending,” Webster said. “We also plan some more seasonal offerings. But whatever we do, we know it needs to fit with our high standards.”

The famous pralines are created from a short list of ingredients, including Louisiana pecans, Louisiana cane sugar, milk and butter. They’re cooked over an open flame in large, bowl-shaped copper pots because of copper’s even heat conduction and their ability to maintain the exact temperatures required at the various stages of cooking.

Of course, Aunt Sally’s praline recipes are kept secret, but they do have many recipes on their website, www.auntsallys.com, where Southern Jewish Life readers can save 20 percent off online orders with the promo code SWEETSUMMER. Webster had owned a restaurant in New Orleans for many years and has much experience in the retail food industry.

“I grew up loving Aunt Sally’s,” she said. “This is my dream job.”

food and dining

SAVE THE DATE Expanding Organic Harvest benefits anyone seeking a healthy lifestyle

Benny Friedman In Concert

by Lee J. Green

Bais Ariel Chabad Center Birmingham

Organic Harvest Community Grocery and Cafe is “more than a natural and organic foods store. It’s a lifestyle.”

The current store on Highway 31 in Hoover will be accompanied by Organic Harvest Market, a new store concept that will open in September on 2nd Avenue North and 20th Street in downtown Birmingham. Another Organic Harvest Community Grocery and Café, modeled after the original location, opens in the Brock’s Gap area of Hoover early next year.

“We have very high standards with the products we bring in and we do a lot of research,” said Hoover Store Manager Sherry Murer. “We also are happy to give our customers health and wellness advice. We learn from our customers too about remedies, foods, supplements, oils and things that have worked for them.

“We’re more than a natural and organic food store,” she added. “It’s a grocery store for anyone who wants to live a healthy lifestyle.”

While the new Organic Harvest Market concept in downtown Birmingham will provide customers many of the same offerings as the Hoover store, there will be some variations.

Downtown Store Manager Jeff Weaver said “we will have the store and the café. But we will focus even more on those who have busy lives and need the convenience of fresh-prepared, healthy family meals for pick-up.”

Brian McFarlin, founding partner of Method Marketing, a local marketing firm contracted

by Organic Harvest, has been a customer of the Hoover store for more than a decade “because the focus is on quality products.

“As a long-time customer, I can offer a sincere testimonial. I have dealt with some rather significant autoimmune disorders for most of my life.

I’ve been able to prevent it from getting worse — and even made some real improvements, by following a specific dietary plan. Shopping for groceries and supplements at Organic Harvest has allowed me to truly change my life. I was beyond thrilled when they chose to hire our firm because I knew I could speak to others from a place of personal experience,” he said.

As much as possible, Organic Harvest focuses on offering products that are natural, organic and don’t have additives. They specialize in providing for those with special dietary needs, including kosher, Paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan.

“We have a good selection of kosher products, but more than that, we want to bring in kosher products that are natural, high quality and perhaps are harder to find around here,” said Murer.

For example, they carry Dandies Marshmallows, which are gelatin-free, thus vegan and kosher.

“Some of these products check several boxes and

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August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 23

food and dining

those are ones we like to have.”

Organic Harvest provides a good selection of mostly craft beers and wines, most without sulfates. One of their wines, Fit Vine, describes itself as “wine for a healthy lifestyle.”

Murer and Weaver said Organic Harvest’s managers and employees are always learning from suppliers and trade shows, sharing research and keeping their knowledge base about healthy living constantly growing.

“That’s what drives us. We love helping others and ourselves,” said Murer.

“We tell customers who want to start to live healthier and are committed to that lifestyle that we will help them as much as we can.

“We’re not licensed medical practitioners and they need to consult with their doctor for certain things, but we can help. It can be hard to make a big change, but we encourage subtle changes and then building upon that,” she said.

Some of Organic Harvest’s oils and supplements have produced immediate better-health results for customers and employees, especially in some situations where medications did not work as effectively.

Weaver said his wife would get regular headaches, but peppermint oil cured them in just a couple minutes. McFarlin said elderberry really kept him well when many were getting sick with a big flu epidemic last winter.

“Sometimes you can be proactive, other times you can only be reactive,” he said. “But these supplements, vitamins and oils really do work. People are surprised at how many holistic remedies that are available and that work.”

Other examples include aloe water and ginger making upset stomachs feel better, as well as some oils and sprays that have worked wonders for those suffering with joint pain.

Organic Harvest employee Becky Gentry had dealt with kidney stone attacks and related issues for eight years. Earlier this year, she started taking vitamin K-2 and aloe water. Now she is symptom-free.

“If people had a true understanding of natural, organic and holistic, they would realize that this healthy lifestyle is good for everyone, and it’s easy to live,” added McFarlin.

Keeping Birmingham in high spirits

by Lee J. Green R&R Liquors wants to keep its customers in high spirits with a large selection of beer, wine, liquor and advice on food pairings.

The store opened in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village a year ago. The owner, Beau Roarke, also has an R&R Liquors in Calera.

During the hot summer, store manager Thomas Warren said rose’ wine and margarita mix, along with a good tequila, have been popular sellers at the Crestline store.

“With craft beers we have a really strong local beer culture,” said Warren. “Right now we’re seeing more of the pale ales, blondes and fruity IPAs. As we get to fall and the temperatures drop, we’ll see more of the fall, pumpkin, dark, stout beers.”

The transition to the fall brings football season and increases the popularity of bourbons and whiskeys. While those from Kentucky are hot sellers, so too are ones from Japan.

When pairing food and wine, Warren said there are exceptions and variations to every rule, but one that usually holds true is “if it grows together, it goes together.”

“One of my favorite pairings, oddly enough, is fried chicken and chardonnay. You want the food and the wine to complement each other; to co-exist, not have one dominate the other,” he said. “But most times you have to decide ‘is wine the star or is the food the star’.”

Other recommended pairings include spicy Thai curry and a high-acid Riesling, as well as salmon with pinot noir.

R&R Liquors has an extensive stock of beer, wine and spirits. If they don’t have something in the store, chances are they can get it in within a couple of weeks.

24 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

culture

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“Love, Gilda” among Sidewalk Film Festival offerings

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Several Jewish-themed films, filmmakers at Sidewalk Film Festival

Independent Living

by Lee J. Green

Assisted Living

When the 20th annual Sidewalk Film Festival rolls in downtown Birmingham from Aug. 20 to 26, several feature and short films will have Jewish connections.

Director Nathan Silver has films that have made it into several Sidewalk Film Festivals. His latest is “The Great Pretender,” which examines the lives of a French theatre director and her ex-boyfriend through the lens of the two actors who play them. This “tangled and darkly funny” movie is set in the New York City theatre world and offers much irony as well as plot twists. It will be screened at the Alabama School of Fine Arts on Aug. 25 at 5:45 p.m.

The documentary “306 Hollywood” centers on two Jewish siblings on an archeological excavation of their late grandmother’s house. They embark on a “magical-realist” journey of what remains when one passes on, traveling from New Jersey to ancient Rome in search of the life remaining in objects that are left behind. The film will be screened at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s Steiner Auditorium.

“Love, Gilda,” on Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. at the Alabama Theatre, is a documentary about Gilda Radner in the late Jewish comedienne’s own words.

This film by Lisa Dapolito features recently-discovered audio tapes, interviews with Radner’s friends, rare home movies and diaries read by modern-day comediennes such as Amy Poehler.

Another documentary at Sidewalk, this one by Jewish director Billie Mintz, is an investigative work set in Las Vegas that exposes allegations of corruption with the Nevada Guardianship and Family Court System. “The Guardians” tackles “legal kidnapping of elderly people” by court-appointed guardians who take control over seniors’ healthcare and financial decisions. It will be at the Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret, Aug. 26 at 2:10 p.m.

“Three Identical Strangers” tells the true story of three Jewish triplets who were adopted at birth by three different families and are reunited many years later. Secrets with radical repercussions are revealed when they all meet. Tim Wardle directs the film, which explores a controversial “nurture vs. nature” study coordinated by the Child Development Center in New York, using the Louise Wise Adoption agency to distribute twins and triplets to different families.

The Center later merged with the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, which has tried to stonewall inquiries into the never-published experiment. The film will be at the Alabama Theatre on Aug. 25 at 12:15 p.m.

Additionally, a couple of short films in the Sidewalk Film Festival’s first block of documentary shorts have some Jewish connections. They will screen at the Alabama School of Fine Arts on Aug 25 at 10:30 a.m.

Joanne Feinberg directs “Broken/Fixed.” The film revolves around

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culture a conversation with the director’s 83-year-old mother and 17-year-old daughter about their complicated, complex relationships with their Jewish noses.

“Death Metal Grandma” is the surprising true story of Inge Ginsberg, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor who rose to fame as a songwriter for legendary musicians such as Doris Day, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole.

The short film follows Ginsberg’s journey to break out as a performer of death medal music as she prepares for an “America’s Got Talent” TV show audition. The short documentary “interweaves the rich personal history of Inge’s life as she attempts to merge her personal lyrics with the contemporary genre of death metal.”

Sidewalk’s opening night feature film, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. at the Alabama Theatre, will be “White Tide: The Legend of Culebra.” Directed by Theo Love, the movie tells the larger-than-life story of a desperate Florida family man who goes on a wild treasure hunt for $2 million worth of cocaine.

The documentary is described as a “stylish, fun, poignant and fast-paced rollercoaster ride.”

For more information on the 20th annual Sidewalk Film Festival and its venues/schedules, go to www.sidewalkfest.com.

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The Brisket Belt Stand-Up Comedy Tour is returning to Alabama, with Amanda Goldstein Marks, David HT Rosen and the Kind, and Jerry Farber bringing their Southern Jewish comedy to Birmingham and Huntsville.

The Huntsville show will be on Aug. 16 at Stand Up Live. The Birmingham show is Sept. 8 at the StarDome Comedy Club’s Broadway room. At each venue, tickets are $15, doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show at 7 p.m.

A January Brisket Belt show at the StarDome sold out early.

The tour is co-produced by Marks and Rosen, modernizing Borscht Belt shtick with a Southern twist. Veteran Atlanta performer Jerry Farber round out the core trio for the tour.

A Birmingham native and fifth-generation Alabamian, Marks does stand-up comedy and emcees throughout the country, with her comedy blending being a Jewish mother with the Southern experience. Marks recently opened for comedian Judy Gold at The City Winery in Atlanta. She and her sister Alison Lebovitz of Chattanooga host the Sis & Tell podcast, voted “Best Podcast” for Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta 2017.

Marks’ television credits include Adult Swim’s live-action pilot “Stiff,” “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Squidbillies” and as a guest on “FishCenter Live.” She also is known for her “Mom Cam in the Minivan” videos.

Rosen is a Pennsylvania native who was inspired to do comedy by his father, Al Rosen. He spent his college years in Alabama, touring with several bands, but the comedy bug bit and brought him out from behind the drums. He also does a two-man show with Jordan Stylez, “A Jew and a Black Guy.” He has added a full backing band, the Kind, to his comedy act.

Farber is a radio and television personality and a comedy legend in Atlanta, with decades of entertaining. He performs at comedy clubs across the country and does charitable and corporate functions. His own night club in Atlanta made international news for being the first non-smoking night club.

The Huntsville show will also feature Garett Hayes, an Atlanta comedian who hosts the Well-Crafted Comedy Series, a weekly showcase at Gate City Brewery. Birmingham’s show will include Brian Stoltz.

Ernie Kennamer, who emceed the January show, will reprise that role in Birmingham, and he will also perform in Huntsville.

The tour has also stopped in Atlanta, Nashville, Tallahassee and Charlotte.

culture Want a smile like Cathy’s?

Chassidic star Benny Friedman in concert at Birmingham’s Chabad One of the top voices in Jewish music will be in Birmingham on Sept. 4 for a performance of “Songs and Stories of the High Holidays.”

Benny Friedman will be in concert at the Bais Ariel Chabad Center, with time and ticket information to be announced.

A Minneapolis, Minn., native, Friedman is the son of Rabbi Manis Friedman, and younger brother of Rabbi Yossi Friedman of Bais Ariel Chabad.

At the age of 13, Friedman began performing at small local events, drawing acclaim for his dazzling voice. He spent four years working with elite Hollywood vocal coach Seth Riggs, splitting his time between recording his debut album “Ta’amu” and making appearances all over the country.

The highly-anticipated “Ta’amu” became 2009’s album of the year, and demand for Friedman skyrocketed.

His second studio album, “Yesh Tikvah” was released and quickly became the hottest Chassidic album in the world and one of the top selling CDs of the last decade. The YouTube video of the title track now has more than 8.2 million views.

Friedman released a Shabbat collection album in 2013, “Bnei Heichala — Children of the Palace,” which is a staple on Erev Shabbat radio playlists around the world.

“Kol Haneshama Sheli” set new sales records, with hit’s like “Toda!” which has over 6 million views, “Bum Bum”, and “Fulfill Your Teffilah.”

His most recent studio album, “Fill The World With Light” was released in December 2016.

The video of “Ivri Anochi,” “I’m a Jew and I’m Proud,” already has over 9 million views since being released in February 2017.

Friedman lives with his wife and children in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients

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Chester’s

7801 Crestwood Blvd 2 lb chicken breast (boned and 205/470.3725 skinned) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup fine coconut powder 1 teaspoon fine pepper 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Chili powder to taste 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 cup cream of coconut 1 teaspoon coriander powder Pinch of saffron 3 medium tomatoes, deseed and pureed Cut the chicken breast in 2’’ pieces and bake the chicken by spreading on pan in pre-heated oven, 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

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In a pot, put the pureed tomatoes (canned tomato puree can be used), cumin powder and coriander powder. Place on the stove for 5 minutes, then add cream of coconut and saffron. Heat at medium heat for 5 minutes.

Put the baked chicken in the pot and bring it to a boil. Add in the salt, pepper and chili powder, along with coconut powder. (Note: If you are using kosher chicken, you may not want to use the additional salt).

Let it simmer for 5 minutes at low heat. Add Garam Masala, and let it simmer for a minute.

Serve with rice or Naan bread.

Most of the ingredients can be bought at any Asian grocery store.

Taj India and Chester’s Chicken

by Lee J. Green For many years, Taj India has been a staple in the Birmingham cuisine scene.

Now its owners, Aman and Navi Judge, want to introduce Birmingham to Chester’s Chicken. Founded in Birmingham in 1952, Chester’s has over 1100 locations nationwide, but the one the Judges opened in April in the Eastwood area is the first Magic City location.

They also want to introduce Chester’s customers to some tastes of traditional Indian cuisine through chicken tikka masala, spinach, eggplant and other wraps they make fresh every day at Taj India, then bring over to Chester’s Chicken.

“We think that both restaurants complement each other very well,” said Navi Judge. “Taj India is the only restaurant we have owned. We have been successful by providing consistency, quality and personal customer service. We always make our customers feel welcome.” While most of the cuisine is different at Chester’s than at Taj India, “those things carry over.”

Chester’s is located in the Shell station owned by Aman’s brother, Mike.

Many of the Atlanta and Southern locations are in Love’s stations.

The Shell “was a perfect location for us,” said Navi Judge. “The owners of Chester’s wanted us to make this first Birmingham location unique.

28 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

Continued from page 30

not stop Rabbi Selfon from saying to bar Seegnal, “you try it.”

Noah bar Seegnal was accustomed to this kind of reaction. He apparently had a reputation as a catalyst for poor reception. As for Selfon’s call to arms, bar Seegnal dialed back his rhetoric slightly by saying that there was no point in him trying it by himself because the true reward would come only when all the people tried it, together.

No such attempt was ever made. One of the tenets of Shabbat is that you can violate any rules of Shabbat to save a life. Rabbi Telfon declared that this means people should be allowed to preserve their own lives by breathing. And by having the freedom to sleep through the sermon.

Doug Brook isn’t holding his breath. To read past columns, visit http:// brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

>> Editor’s Note

Continued from page 3

Cohen acts perplexed, viewers know full well that during last year’s campaign, Moore was accused of pursuing underage girls decades ago, a charge he strongly denies.

After a very uncomfortable moment or two, Moore ends the interview.

While in the last few years, Israel has attracted more friends in the world, it is still a contentious issue and friends of Israel should not to be taken for granted, especially in an age when certain segments of U.S. society are drifting in the other direction.

Among actual anti-Semites, Jews are seen as conniving, deceptive, and looking to take advantage of non-Jews. Using a Christian’s deeply-felt love of Israel to lure him into a setup with the sole intent of publicly embarrassing or humiliating him plays into those stereotypes, and to put it mildly, doesn’t help.

This wasn’t an Allen Funt practical joke to be taken in good fun, and was it really an insight of who America is?

In ending the interview, Moore’s final comment was “I support Israel. I don’t support this kind of stuff.”

We’ll conclude with three words that perhaps nobody ever expected to see in this column: Amen, Roy Moore.

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>> Taj India Ours is the only one that has other recipes and items. It is a good way we can also introduce some of our Indian cuisine to people in Crestwood who haven’t been to Taj India yet.”

In addition to fried chicken, baked chicken sandwiches, chicken strips and wraps, Chester’s includes some unique items such as livers, gizzards and fried corn. Judge said those items have been very popular so far at the Birmingham location.

Chester’s is open from 6 a.m to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. They serve breakfast in the morning, including chicken biscuits, egg biscuits and gravy biscuits, chicken tenders and more. They also do catering and family meals to go.

As for Taj India, they launched a full menu page of new items earlier this year.

Much of their menu is kosher-style. New items include Haryali Chicken flavored with dry spices and mint leaves; Fish Pakora, a crispy savory fish with yellow lentils and a tangy sauce; a northern Indian specialty of baby corn simmered in spiced spinach; and Kadhi Lamb – a boneless lamb cooked in a rich, tomato-based masala sauce.

“We will continue to add new recipes to Taj India and Chester’s to give customers more options,” said Judge. “We really enjoying sharing these cuisines with people.”

August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 29

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Right alongside Newton’s laws of gravitation and motion is the empirically confirmed fact that for every two rabbis there are at least three opinions.

Despite that truism, it might surprise some people that the Talmud is not a straightforward set of rules. It’s actually a long litany of debates, with multiple sides represented by rabbis who are often best characterized by Abbott and Costello’s starting infield of Who, What, I Don’t Know, and I Don’t Give a Darn.

With that in mind, it should be no surprise that scholars recently discovered a shocking, dissenting opinion in the long-lost Mishnah tractate Bava Gump. Theologians are used to this tractate being dominated by the opinions of Rabbi Telfon, the Great Communicator. However, much like his better-known predecessor, Rabbi Tarfon, Telfon had his share of Talmudic detractors. In particular, one of Telfon’s major challengers was Rabbi Noah bar Seegnal.

Little is yet known about bar Seegnal, except that he’d often try to put Telfon’s rulings on hold. Bar Seegnal would outright block people from picking up anything from Telfon’s colleague, Rabbi Selfon.

For example, it’s commonly known that there are restrictions from doing almost anything on Shabbat, all in the name of rest. This blesses us with walking instead of driving. Waking up for services instead of sleeping in.

Of course, rest is good. Regularly stepping back from this crazy world is cleansing. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot, even though one of the things you can’t do on Shabbat is watch reruns of “Cheers.”

One of the more notorious Shabbat restrictions is against making fire.

This translates in modern times as not using electricity, and in any way honoring Jim Morrison’s request to light his fire.

Bar Seegnal extrapolated this to include another restriction: on Shabbat, one cannot create carbon dioxide.

Why? Carbon dioxide is created in nature by a combustion reaction.

(Bar Seegnal knew Advanced Placement science well before there were A.P. courses. Or science.) Of course, combustion is the act of burning something. Making fire is prohibited, and fire is combustion, therefore anything created by combustion is prohibited. Mathematicians call such equations the Transitive Property of No Internet on Shabbat.

This begs the question of how, if they abide by this prohibition, anyone is supposed to survive the traditional day of rest without it becoming the day of their A TALMUDIC final rest. After all, this rule would quickly SHABBAT turn the end of every week into a 24-hour remake of “Waiting to Exhale.”

ARGUMENT Also, what is rest without sleep? On Shabbat, there are many opportunities to THAT REALLY sleep: During the night, during the afterPUTS ON AIRS noon, during the sermon. But how can someone sleep yet be consciously mindful to not exhale?

Bar Seegnal’s guidance is clear on this point. “To ensure that you do not exhale in your sleep, you shall not sleep from sunset to sunset, from the start to end of Shabbat. This precept is a blessing in disguise, as it enables you to remain conscious so that you can enjoy every moment of rest to be had throughout Shabbat.”

This ruling had the potential to let the air out of Shabbat for Jews everywhere, but it was not questioned by many rabbis. For one thing, at the time, none of them knew what carbon dioxide was. However, that did continued on the previous page

30 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018

August 2018 • Southern Jewish Life 31

MY DOGS EAT BETTER THAN I DO

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At Hollywood Feed, we have always believed in doing what is right for our customers. That’s why we stand by our Hollywood Feed Promise if a customer is ever unhappy with a purchase for any reason."If your pet doesn't love it, or you don't love it, we'll gladly replace or refund it."

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32 Southern Jewish Life • August 2018