SJL Deep South, September 2016

Pelicans sign Shawn Dawson, Israeli with strong Southern ties

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B’ham-Southern’s Football Coach Eddie Garfinkle

Southern Jewish Life THE SPORTS ISSUE HOW TWO JEWISH NEW YORKERS

BEHIND THE CHRISTMAS SONG ‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’

WROTE AUBURN’S “WAR EAGLE”

BATON ROUGE FLOODING RESPONSE CHABAD OF MOBILE’S NEW HOME HOW ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ INDIRECTLY LED TO NASCAR’S 1ST ISRAELI DRIVER September 2016 Volume 26 Issue 8

September 2016 Volume 26 Issue 9

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

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Atlanta, GA Permit No. 3592

shalom y’all shalom y’all y’all shalom The email came somewhat out of the blue.

Over the years, I’ve crossed paths with Associated Press reporter Jay Reeves every so often. In mid-August, he contacted me about a story he is working on for the 15th anniversary of September 11, in particular an event that Alabama Governor Don Siegelman had at Oak Mountain Amphitheater near Birmingham three days after the attack.

Reeves asked me about what I remember from the event, as I was one of the speakers, and my opinion of where things are now.

September 11? That seems so hazy now. That time seems so surreal now, much like our first look at the Mississippi coast a couple of days after Katrina hit.

I was the Jewish community representative at that event. Because it was a Friday, none of the rabbis were able to go, and it was also a couple of days before Rosh Hashanah, so they were all a bit busy anyway.

Back then, everyone was still stunned. David Letterman hadn’t yet asked if it was okay to be funny again.

The U.S. had been attacked. After years of hearing Israeli speakers warn that it was only a matter of time before radical Islamic groups hit inside the U.S., it happened, and the fight was brought to us.

The country unified and vowed to fight this toxic ideology. But things have changed.

Back then, the flag was a symbol of unity and first responders like the police were on a pedestal. Contrast that with today’s view of police, and controversies over the flag and the “Star Spangled Banner.”

If another Sept. 11 were to occur in the near future, would there be the unity and

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resolve we saw in 2001? Given the polarization and politicizing of the last few years, a significant proportion of people in the U.S. would not rally around the flag, which more people are seeing as a symbol of the world’s gorilla unjustly throwing its weight around the globe.

It’s a far cry from the view of the United States as the bastion of freedom, standing up and fighting for liberty throughout the world.

In 2001, some voices asked “why do they hate us,” as if Sept. 11 was something we brought on ourselves. Today, there are many more voices who are certain they know why “they hate us,” place the blame squarely on us instead of a toxic ideology that has no room for Western liberties, and would have no problem saying that we basically had it coming.

There is also a reluctance by many to judge any other ethnicity or ideology. It is stunning to see some groups give a pass to practices and philosophies in parts of the Muslim world that if, for example, a Christian in the United States espoused something even one-tenth that strong, it would elicit harsh condemnation.

We don’t want to be seen as anything-phobic.

If we had the current political climate in 1942, would the U.S. have had the stomach to go into Europe and do what was right and necessary against a toxic ideology that was threatening all of civilization? And if a similar evil emerged today — and just recently there were reports of large mass graves in areas recently liberated from ISIS rule, so an argument can be made — can we see ourselves rising to the occasion, as the Greatest Generation did?

One hopes we would. But looking back at 2001 and contrasting it with today, it is an open question. Do we continue what everyone said would be a long fight, or do we sit back and blame ourselves while evil takes advantage of our enlightened introspection?

Larry Brook EDITOR/PUBLISHER

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agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Photo by Rabbi Barry Altmark

On Aug. 26, Temple Emanu-El debuted “The Klezmer Shabbat Service,” composed by Alan Goldspiel as a tribute to the Birmingham Jewish community and in honor of the Ruth and Marvin Engel Cantorial Chair at Emanu-El. The service featured the Emanu-El Choir, Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band, Cantor Jessica Roskin and Conductor Paul Mosteller.

Uncertain future for Birmingham’s Friedman Center Facility offered for sale, Knesseth Israel discusses next move Changes are in the works at the Friedman Center for Jewish Life in Birmingham, as the building is for sale, and Knesseth Israel Congregation is looking to start its next chapter elsewhere.

In 2013, Jimmy Filler and Brenda and Fred Friedman acquired the building, which had been on the market for several months, in an effort to keep a financially-struggling Knesseth Israel from having to move.

Friedman said the last three years have been “a good try” but it was time to sell the Overton Road facility. The building has been made available for groups in the Jewish community to use over the last three years.

After it became the Friedman Center, Knesseth Israel was allowed to remain in the building for $1 per year. Last year, Temple Beth-El held a section of weekday religious school in the building, and it also has housed the Collat Jewish Family Services CJFS Cares program for those with Alzheimer’s and other memory or movement issues.

With the planned sale of the building, Knesseth Israel is discussing its next move at a Sept. 11 congregational meeting. Discussions have centered on the congregation moving into the rabbi’s house across the street, with the rabbi’s family moving to a nearby property.

The state’s only non-Chabad Orthodox congregation, Knesseth Israel moved into the new building in 2007 after several years of planning. Its previous building on Montevallo Road had numerous costly issues and

plans were originally to rebuild there, but site problems and the high cost of housing in the vicinity, hampering efforts to attract young families and newcomers, prompted a move.

In Sept. 2006, ground was broken for the new building on Overton Road. After the new building was completed, the real estate market collapsed and the old property did not sell for five years, and brought in much less than was expected. The fundraising campaign had brought in over $5.4 million.

In 2012, a letter to congregants stated that “about $8 million” was invested in the Overton Road property, and the bank was owed over $3 million. In an arrangement with the bank, the property was put on the market for $5.5 million but after a year it had not sold.

In June 2013, the sale leading to the building’s establishment as the Friedman Center took place.

A July 12 letter to congregants from Knesseth Israel President Ken Ehrenberg said the building had become “a financial burden to its owner,” prompting the current discussion to move. He said the decision “was like a weight off our shoulders” and will strengthen the congregation, as despite the low rent “we were struggling to meet the other expenses associated with our presence in such a large space.”

Friedman said he started by contacting six local Jewish organizations

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 5

BEFORE

agenda Isn’t it long past time for an update?

AFTER

and has offered to sell the building at a very low price to them. A couple said no while “a couple are talking with us, and we’ll see what happens.

Friedman said he wants to see the 18,000-square-foot building remain in the Jewish community. “I hate for it to go,” he said. “It has been a good facility” in a good location.

With the building’s uncertain future, Beth-El decided not to start classes there this year. Friedman said he hopes that whoever buys the building will allow CJFS Cares to continue to use the facility.

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Three endowment agencies in Birmingham’s Jewish community are launching a community-wide Create a Jewish Legacy program.

On Nov. 3, the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Grafman Endowment Fund and Temple Beth-El’s Foundation will hold two workshops about how to write a “Legacy Letter” to children, grandchildren or even the community.

The hands-on workshops will be conducted by Rachel Freed, an author and Senior Fellow at University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing. Legacy letters — sometimes referred to as ethical wills — originated in Biblical times and are often written by adults to transmit history, blessings, life lessons and values to those who come after them. The legacy letters can be a powerful and emotional experience for both the writer and the recipients.

One mid-day workshop will be at Temple Emanu-El, and an evening workshop will be at the Levite Jewish Community Center. Details will be announced soon.

Ginger Held, president of The Birmingham Jewish Foundation, said “We are so focused on distributing our material possessions, that our spiritual gifts sometimes are overlooked. This program will provide us with the tools to create a document for our families, friends and associates that will clarify who we are with regard to our values and life’s lessons. It is a guide to help us create legacies of our hearts and souls.”

Amy Saag, Grafman Endowment president, said “Creating your legacy begins with examining your personal values and focusing on what you hold dear to your heart… I’m excited that our Jewish community is working collaboratively to provide each of us an opportunity to begin and/or continue this meaningful process.”

An Endowment or Foundation is typically a pool of permanent money for the future, which produces income today for important current needs and programming.

The Emanu-El and Beth-El Foundations provide current funding for their congregations, while making sure they also have money for the future. The Birmingham Jewish Foundation does this same work in partnership with the LJCC, Collat Jewish Family Services, the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Knesseth Israel Congregation, Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom and a variety of general purposes such as Jewish education, general community needs and Jewish camping.

Marjorie Perlman, president of the Temple Beth-El Foundation, said “our common goal is to ensure that Birmingham remains a vibrant Jewish community in the near and distant future. The collaboration allows us to deliver a stronger consistent message to our respective congregants, students, members, clients, volunteers and donors about the value of leaving a legacy. Those who came before us did this and we must pay it forward for future generations.”

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Chabad of Mobile dedicating first facility Two years after Chabad established a presence in Mobile, a physical Chabad Center is opening in the community.

The new center, located at 812 Downtowner Boulevard, is named the Olender Chabad Center of Mobile in recognition of the support by Jack Olender.

Rabbi Yosef Goldwasser said the center will be a place “to hold events and classes, a home away from home where Jewish travelers can sit down for a hot cup of tea with a Jewish book, a place where local Jews can stop by for a chat or private class.”

The first class in the new facility was held on Aug. 29, the first of a two-part series on hot-button political issues from a Jewish perspective.

Also last month, Chabad of Mobile held a successful one-day online fundraiser, reaching a goal of $40,000.

A grand opening celebration will be held on Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m., with a dedication and mezuzah hanging, hors d’oeuvres, Jewish music, a Jewish art raffle, and introduction of future programs. The community is invited.

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Back to campus

Auburn University Hillel had a table at the Multicultural and Diversity Welcome Social on Aug. 15. Staffing the table were (front row) Elizabeth Lubin, Matt Aren Friduss, Lily Buder, (back row) Elizabeth Zimmerman and Katherine Sturim.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 7

agenda Chabad of Southern Mississippi in Biloxi will have a pre-election program on hot political topics from a Torah perspective, Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. The first session will discuss marijuana legalization and abortion in Jewish law. After a break for dinner, the second session will touch on Judaism and sexuality, gun control in the Talmud, and immigration and border security. The program and dinner are $10, and all issues will be discussed from a non-partisan religious perspective.

house Road Beach in Gulfport. The event will feature a kosher barbecue dinner, bonfire and s’mores, and games for children. The event is organized “in the spirit of Hakhel,” which was celebrated every eight years in ancient Israel as a time for the entire Jewish people to unite in Jerusalem.

The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama is sponsoring a free screening of “Rosenwald” at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery on Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. The Aviva Kempner documentary is about Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, who teamed with Booker T. Washington to help fund over 5,000 black schools in the South in the 1920s. After the 4:30 p.m. reception, the screening will be at 5 p.m., followed by a question and answer session.

Registration is open for Magnolias and Falafel, an Israel travel incentive program for community youth. The Jackson Jewish Federation and Beth Israel Congregation match an annual deposit to the account at 50 cents on the dollar, up to $100 per year per child, for eventual use toward an Israel program. Registration is open through Nov. 30.

Due to low participation, the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama cancelled its Oct. 30 mission to Israel, and conducted a survey to determine when to reschedule.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will have its first Health Expo on Sept. 19 from 3 to 7 p.m. This free event will include Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel will have The Great KI Rummage Sale, vendors from the community, demonstrating products and giving advice.

Sept. 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sept. 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. In adThe annual Delta Jewish Golf Open will be held in Greenville the dition to household goods, donated services will be sold, such as babysitting, tutoring, work related services, repair or maintenance, cooking and weekend of Nov. 19. The annual tournament is a benefit for the Henry S. Jacobs Camp and Hebrew Union Congregation, and a reunion for Jews so forth. Donations are being accepted through Sept. 14. from the Mississippi Delta area. There will be a steak dinner on Nov. 19, Chabad of Alabama will have Mexican Shabbat, with authentic Mex- and the four-player scramble tournament will be on Nov. 20. ican cuisine by Josh Haynes of Alloy Thai, on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. ReservaBeth Israel in Jackson will have a drum circle for “mindful meditation tions are $20 for adults, $10 for children and $54 maximum for a family. and contemplation,” Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. before the Shalom Group meeting.

The N.E. Miles Jewish Day School Young Adult alumni in Birming- There is no charge, and instruments are provided. ham will have an evening at Ms. Gresham’s home, Sept. 22 from 6 to 8 The OLLI learning series at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community p.m. Families are welcome, and reservations to the school are requested.

Center is having a course on Holocaust education, Mondays from Sept.

Torah on Tap with Rabbi Steve Silberman of Ahavas Chesed in Mobile 12 to Oct. 10, except Oct. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The course is free to will be on Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m., at Alchemy Tavern.

OLLI members. Each week there will be a different speaker from the BirBeth Israel in Gulfport and Chabad of Southern Mississippi will have mingham Holocaust Education Center, and a tour of the BHEC exhibit a Day of Jewish Unity on Sept. 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Court- space will be available after the course concludes.

8 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Long road to recovery

Many Jewish families among the thousands flooded out in the Baton Rouge area Two weeks after floodwaters covered large swaths of central Louisiana, a musty, moldy wet-carpet smell still permeated the air in many neighborhoods.

Streets were lined on both sides with mountains of home interior remnants, waterlogged furniture, ruined personal belongings. On many streets, the sheer quantity formed a levee of trash, with routine afternoon thunderstorms replenishing the damp.

The national non-rush of stories about the historic flood in and around Baton Rouge gave way to a rush of stories on why the national media was so neglectful.

But for thousands of families in the region, including at least 40 households in the Baton Rouge Jewish community, the initial shock has given way to a new normal of temporary quarters, disrupted routines and a lengthy — and costly — rebuilding process.

Described by FEMA Administrator Chris Fugate as “a hurricane with no wind,” the storm dropped as much as three feet of rain on an already-saturated area in three days. The storm dropped three times the amount of rain that Hurricane Katrina had in 2005, and the 7.1 trillion gallons of water could fill Lake Pontchartrain four times.

Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi started flooding on Aug. 12. By Aug. 14, there were over 10,000 staying in shelters, and at least 20,000 had been rescued from their homes, mostly by neighbors with boats.

The “Cajun Navy” name was adopted by many of those who went up and down the flooded streets, looking for those in need of assistance.

There were 13 deaths from the flooding, which peaked on Aug. 15.

The Amite River is usually around 16 feet near Denham Springs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It topped the flood stage of 29 feet on Aug. 12 and did not recede below flood stage

until Aug. 17. It topped its 1983 record of 41 feet for over two days, peaking at 47 feet on Aug. 14.

The Amite flooding caused backup flooding along tributaries that normally feed into the river.

Many of the USGS streamgages were “overtopped” by floodwaters, with several destroyed.

The Red Cross said this was the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012. An estimated 140,000 homes in Louisiana were damaged, along with thousands of businesses. In Livingston Parish, 75 percent of homes are seen as a “total loss.”

FEMA has declared 20 parishes as disaster areas.

The Baton Rouge Jewish community numbers around 1,500, with two synagogues and a Chabad presence, along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge. While the Jewish institutions were not damaged, many congregants suffered losses — homes, cars or businesses.

Jessica Yellin, religious school director at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, said “Many have lost everything and didn’t have flood insurance.

Even those with insurance are displaced and without transportation.”

Both congregations and Chabad immediately set up their own funds to assist congregants and employees. At B’nai Israel, administrator Cathy Duplechin lives in Denham Springs, which was one of the worst-hit areas.

Six staffers at the Rayner Learning Center at Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge lost their houses.

The Beth Shalom fund was named the Tisha B’Av 2016 Flood Relief Fund, as the flood happened on Tisha B’Av weekend, the traditional anniversary of the worst calamities to befall the Jewish people.

The synagogues, Baton Rouge and New Orleans Federations and Union for Reform Judaism representatives met on Aug. 19 to coordinate

relief efforts. Both Baton Rouge synagogues are Reform. At that meeting, it was agreed that the main fundraising effort would be encouraged through the Jewish Federations of North America national website.

For many, the flooding came as a complete surprise, as many inundated areas were not in a flood plain and did not flood during any of the recent large hurricanes.

Because this was termed a 1,000-year flood in

Marc and Ellen Sager in their Baton Rouge home September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 9

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places that were not flood plains, most people did not have flood insurance.

Marc Sager, whose wife, Ellen, is executive director of the Baton Rouge Federation, said “never in our wildest dreams did I think I’d be wading out in my driveway.” By the time they realized that their neighborhood was flooding — which had not happened before — it was too late to get out the conventional way, as all access roads to their neighborhood were flooded.

That afternoon, they had seen the river level rise between four and eight inches an hour. In the middle of the night, the water went up the street, then up the driveway to the front door. “When it starts coming in, that’s when you have the feeling that you don’t have control any more,” he said. They had to flag down a passing boat after midnight.

They were brought to a nearby church that was serving as an impromptu shelter, then they went to his brother’s house for two days. After that, they were able to return to their neighborhood and “found what we found.”

They wound up with 22 inches of water in their home. Their home was flooded by the Amite River, which is half a mile away, and backflow into Jones Creek, which is behind the houses across the street.

Teammates from their son’s soccer team helped start the process of cleaning out the house, and by Aug. 20 their home was gutted. A week later, the din of fans and dehumidifiers still roared through the house, as the remaining material in the house has to dry thoroughly before new walls can go up.

Vicki Ferstel had told a friend who lived close to the river to come to her place if needed. Instead, a neighbor told her on the morning of Aug. 13 to leave immediately. She grabbed a couple of T-shirts, two pairs of jeans and a couple other items and left. It wasn’t until Tuesday that she was able to return and see the devastation.

The first day, she said, family members helped start the cleanup process. Then, fellow members of Beth Shalom pitched in, and they were followed by volunteers with Minnesota-based NECHAMA Jewish Response to Disaster.

Karen Carlson’s son and daughter were both flooded out. Her daughter was in Denham Springs, which was the hardest-hit area.

In urging support for Baton Rouge, Hadassah National noted that Hadassah Baton Rouge President Marilyn Martell was among those displaced by the flooding.

David Spivak and his twin 15-year-old sons had to be rescued by boat after five feet of water rushed into their house. Brian Seymour of Palm Beach, the JFNA Emergency Committee Chair, noted that Spivak was unable to save much of anything. “Outside his home now is a pile of refuse over six-feet-high that includes his furniture, drywall that volunteers have pulled out of his home, his stove, and virtually all of his possessions. His cars are destroyed. His sons cannot go back to their home.

No one knows when they can return.”

With both congregations spared, the Jewish community used those buildings as bases of operations to make meals for shelters and coordinate responses.

While many in the Jewish community started to mobilize, the flood touched a nerve in New Orleans, as August was the 11th anniversary of the levee failure that flooded New Orleans and scattered the entire community.

After Hurricane Katrina hit 11 years ago, Baton Rouge was a coordination point for the evacuated New Orleans Jewish community. When Hurricane Rita hit shortly after Katrina in 2005, Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge suffered roof damage that flooded the building.

The New Orleans Federation made an allocation of $25,000 to the Baton Rouge relief effort, and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana made a $10,000 grant from its general fund. JEF is also encouraging those with donor-advised funds to make allocations to the Federation relief fund.

Gene Jerman, B’nai Israel Rabbi Jordan Goldson, William Daroff, Brian Seymour, Dr. Rachel Hausmann, Deborah Sternberg, Anna Blumenfeld Herman, Lynn Weill, Donna Sternberg, Roselle M. Ungar of Jewish Family Services of Greater New Orleans and Hans Sternberg, at the presentation of the first relief check from the Jewish Federations of North America on Aug. 24 The New Orleans Federation collected gift cards for distribution by the Baton Rouge Federation to those who need them the most.

The New Orleans Federation is also recruiting New Orleanians who navigated through the post-Katrina bureaucracy to lend emotional support and advice to those in Baton Rouge, especially in dealing with insurance companies, paperwork and reconstruction.

New Orleans congregations also did fund drives, and Shir Chadash in Metairie put together an Emergency Response Team, spearheaded by Will Samuels, to make meals and deliver goods in places like Sorrento, French Settlement and other places.

When representatives of NECHAMA first got to town on Aug. 17, they checked in at the synagogues, where they were given lists of community members they already knew needed assistance. Then, the group started getting information from databases as to where the needs are. Organizations pool information on homeowner needs so they can coordinate responses.

Anna Blumenfeld Herman and Nadav Herman of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica arrived with a flatbed trailer filled with essentials for cleaning out flooded buildings and got to work with the other volunteers.

Anna Herman stayed in Baton Rouge through early September, staffing the Federation office while Ellen Sager was focused on her situation.

Additional staff has been loaned from the New Orleans Federation, and Jewish Family Service hired a social worker who is visiting with families in the Baton Rouge area.

Anna Herman said “there is so much going on with the needs,” and Baton Rouge does not have a large Jewish community infrastructure, such as a Jewish Community Center.

Jacobs Camp alumni also mobilized for their friends, and Anna Herman took some flooded prayerbooks from camp alumni back to Mississippi for burial.

Rabbi Natan Trief, who just began as rabbi at Beth Shalom, said “Street after street resembled a war zone, as every house vomited out all of its possessions and building materials to the curb. We hauled out tons of clothing, water-logged mattresses, refrigerators, televisions, and countless, ruined photographs.”

At several houses, they found “soaked prayer books and other pieces of Jewish literature that we brought to the synagogue for proper disposal.”

Rabbi Peretz Kazen from Chabad of Baton Rouge also went out to check on families. His wife, Mushka, was a teen living in New Orleans when Katrina came in 2005. In the weeks that followed, her parents, Rabbi Zelig and Bluma Rivkin, played a large role in the recovery, and were recognized by President George Bush for their efforts.

When the Kazens’ expected Shabbat guests for Aug. 12 started cancelling because of the weather, they decided to head to New Orleans for Shabbat and Tisha B’Av, then headed back to Baton Rouge to help after seeing the extent of the disaster.

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community munity Shabbat dinner, and Beth Shalom had a come-as-you-are musical Shabbat service “as we raise our voice in both praise and the healing power of prayer.”

Representatives of the Jewish Federations of North America’s emergency committee visited Baton Rouge on Aug. 24, meeting with local Jewish community leaders and receiving a briefing from Rep. Garret Graves.

Seymour was joined by William Daroff, JFNA Senior Vice President for Public Policy and director of the Washington Office. They visited the Sager home and three other homes, and worked on a fifth house.

They also presented a check for $112,000, the first installment of the Federation’s national flood relief campaign. The campaign has raised over $200,000, but it is now estimated that needs in the Jewish community alone will top $1.2 million.

Afterward, Seymour said “what I saw was devastation on a scale I’d never previously witnessed.”

NECHAMA is well-versed in such devastation and is working to assist as many people as possible.

Dorothy Maples, disaster response coordinator for NECHAMA, said they have three staffers on the ground in Louisiana. By the end of Au-

gust, NECHAMA was looking for an operations coordinator and a field team leader for Baton Rouge.

NECHAMA has numerous “wonderful return volunteers who keep coming back to us,” and they are trained to be team leaders, able to deploy quickly and coordinate until staff can establish a presence, Maples said.

They are currently planning to be in the Baton Rouge area through the end of September.

Three variables contribute to how long they can remain in an area — whether there is work to do, a steady stream of volunteers, and adequate funding.

NECHAMA has about 22 “residential volunteers” living at University Presbyterian Church, and daily volunteers. Maples said there have been 15 to 20 volunteers on weekdays, and as many as 80 on weekends.

On the second weekend following the flood, NECAHAMA was working on five houses, mucking and gutting, removing debris and salvaging personal possessions where possible.

“Just being in a neighborhood” generates project leads. On a typical day, two to four people “walk up to the truck asking for assistance,” Maples said.

While the second weekend’s team included 25 volunteers from JNOLA, the Jewish young

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adults group in New Orleans, others came on their own. Jonathan Green moved to New Orleans two months ago after being away from Louisiana for eight years. A member of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge when he was growing up, he remembered Beth Shalom’s Hurricane Rita flood in 2005.

Also among the volunteers were Lauren and Barry Cherny from Chicago. Their two sons are students at Tulane and they were in town to help them move in for the beginning of the semester.

Their sons had volunteered earlier in the week with a student group, so they decided to “take the day off ” when their sons had other activities scheduled at Tulane, and came to Baton Rouge themselves.

Brittany Rubin, who was in charge of that home for NECHAMA, said there had been about four feet of water inside that residence.

The walls were being torn out all the way to the ceiling, which was already showing significant mold growth.

Rubin is visiting from Virginia. A veteran of Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, she had previously volunteered with NECHAMA in St. Louis. When she heard about the need in Louisiana, “I contacted them and volunteered to come help.”

On Aug. 25, an eight-member delegation was dispatched from IsraAID to help with the

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community cleanup. “We’ve been following how the storm and flooding have been developing over the last few days.” IsraAid Global Programs Director Naama Gorodischer told Yedioth Achronoth. “With the help of our local partners, we’ve been able to get a good situation report on the extent of the damage, and the urgent need for assistance and rehabilitation.”

IsraAID has been in Louisiana before, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Three weeks after the storm, when the New Orleans Federation held a community gathering in Baton Rouge, representatives of IsraAID spoke about their post-Katrina activities.

At Shabbat evening services at Beth Shalom two weeks after the flood, numerous congregants checked in with Ferstel, seeing how she was doing and what else needed to be done.

“The silver lining in this is bringing the small community together,” Ferstel commented just before the service began.

Anna Herman said “everyone has come together regardless of Temple affiliation and regardless of whether they are affiliated” at all. Two weeks after the flood, they were contacted by a family that had previously been unaffiliated.

The Sagers found that friends were coming in and just doing for them — getting clothes to see what could be laundered, what dishware could be saved, making calls to find alternate living space until their home is repaired.

Marc Sager said when something like this happens, “you have no idea what you need. The best thing is when people didn’t ask, they just did.”

Ellen Sager said “it’s heartwarming. It makes you realize what you have behind you” in terms of community.

Carlson said she was proud of the Federation response in assisting those in need, and for her congregation’s response, “especially for the spiritual support.”

Moving forward, everyone agrees the overwhelming need is manpower and funding. Even if someone had flood insurance — which most did not — “it doesn’t wrap everything in a neat bow,” Anna Herman said.

In the Jewish community, Marc Sager said, “maybe five or six” of the Jewish families had flood insurance. With 40 households in a community of 500 flooded out, that’s a significant percentage, he noted.

Both congregations have flood liaisons assigned to families, regardless of affiliation. Joanna Sternberg has been hired as flood relief manager at the Federation in Baton Rouge to help the community recover.

“Baton Rouge still finds herself in dire straits and is in urgent need of monetary and labor support,” Trief said. “Along with this support, Baton Rouge’s unity, grit, and determination will ultimately enable the city to recover and to heal.”

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community Area chapters sent groups to Hadassah national Close to 1,000 delegates attended the 98th annual Hadassah National Convention in Atlanta in late July with a focus on the “power of dreams.”

At her opening night talk, Hadassah National President Ellen Hershkin touched on how the Power of Dreams is contagious, ending with a powerful charge toe go “from strength to strength” and “from dream to dream...for women everywhere.”

“In understanding what Hadassah does, I feel that I should be the one honoring YOU all,” actress, advocate, and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow said when honored ‪with Hadassah’s Power of Our Dreams Award. Paltrow talked about her family heritage, which includes more than 30 rabbis, and her own spiritual connection to Judaism.

There were numerous panels on medical advances from Hadassah research, Jewish identity and feminism, views on Zionism and other topics.

A panel about “Advocating for Gender Equity in Medicine” featured Phyllis Greenberger, Pamela Ouyang and Nanette Wenger. After the panel opened with a video about Hadassah advocacy, Hershkin honored Wenger, a Hadassah

Clockwise from above: Birmingham, Dothan, Baton Rouge and New Orleans delegations

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Life Member since 1962 and professor of medicine-cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, and described her as “an innovator, a role model, and a friend and champion of women’s health and empowerment. “ Wenger is the mother of Birmingham’s Deborah Wiatrak.

Henrietta Szold 2016 Awardee Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, talked about his “relationship with Hadassah… a love affair that has spanned 40 years,” he said. “Thank you for all that you do, all the time.”

A service project for the convention was co-organized by Lee Kansas of New Orleans.

The committee reached out to Kids in Need, an Atlanta program that distributes hundreds of thousands of pounds of brand-new school supplies to teachers in low-income schools in the Atlanta area.

The program manager said they could always use pencils, as a typical student goes through 75 during a school year.

As pencils are lightweight and easy to pack for those who were flying, a drive was started to collect 10,000 pencils. The effort brought in 22,000.

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Dinner at Jackson’s in Pensacola becoming a Rosh Hashanah tradition

For the past seven years, Jackson’s in downtown Pensacola has been the place to be for Rosh Hashanah dinner.

In addition to the regular menu, there is a $29 per person Rosh Hashanah menu that Chef Irv Miller prepares on the first night. The dinner starts with challah, red and golden delicious apples along with tupelo honey; then a first course of Yukon gold and arugula potato latkes with apple-artichoke jam and sour cream. The entrée is chermoula-rubbed and slow-cooked beef brisket with caramelized onions and aged-balsamic marmalade, Mom’s kugel and glazed carrots.

Last year and this year, the first night has fallen on Sunday, when Jackson’s is usually closed, so it opens especially for the Rosh Hashanah meal.

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JFNA honoring Anne Lowenburg The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that Anne P. Lowenburg will be the recipient of the 2016 Jewish Federations of North America Endowment Achievement Award. This award is given in recognition of an individual who has demonstrated leadership, vision, and dedication to the Jewish community’s endowment program.

Lowenburg has been a longtime supporter of JEF. She and her late husband, Richard, established the Lowenburg Family Donor Advised Fund at JEF in 1986. In 2000, she endowed three additional funds at JEF. She established a Lion of Judah Endowment to perpetuate her annual gift to Federation as well as two other funds to endow gifts to Temple Sinai in New Orleans and Springhill Avenue Temple in her hometown of Mobile.

When she established these funds, Lowenburg said, “Richard and I thought that it was important and vital that we support JEF in order that our Jewish community remain a living force for future generations… we wanted to be a part of JEF.” JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy said “Anne has not only been generous, but it has always been her intention to promote JEF and our Jewish community. She is a modest, quiet philanthropist who leads by example.”

The award will be presented at the Federation/JEF Annual Meeting on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Audubon Tea Room.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 15

NOTES FROM THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

Checking in with Southern Jewish delegates

by Linda Verin Special to Southern Jewish Life

(Editor’s Note: Linda Verin of Birmingham caught up with Jewish delegates from the Deep South at the Democratic National Convention, held July 25 to 28 in Philadelphia.)

From the top: Felicia Kahn, Larisa Thomason (middle) and Michael Adelman at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

16 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

Felicia Kahn grew up in New Orleans at a time when women were to marry and have children. If they ventured outside the home, it was for charity work.

Kahn is a lifelong member of Temple Sinai, a ‘progressive’ congregation. Her grandfather served on the 1926 building committee, the year she was born, and her father was president of the Temple.

For a long time, the rabbi did not wear a tallit or yarmulke.

She remembers attending a 1949 lecture there

by Ralph Bunche, the African-American diplomat who won the Nobel Peace Prize. It was one of the first events in New Orleans with an integrated audience.

She learned in Sunday School that you always need to give back; she has found it a privilege to participate in her community. As a young married woman, Kahn did as expected, working with the League of Women Voters, the NCJW, Hadassah and the local thrift store.

After reading Betty Friedan’s book, “The Feminine Mystique,” she realized women could be leaders too. She joined the Democratic Party, ran for the Legislature twice, held party leadership positions and has attended 10 national conventions.

Now 90, at the convention she had breakfast with Senator Cory Booker, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu sent her a 90th birthday declaration.

Kahn said she knows some have been disappointed with President Obama’s stance on Israel.

Because Hillary Clinton has a long history with Israel, she believes more people will be happy with her position. Kahn said because of Hillary Clinton’s experience in government, there will be no learning curve.

“A woman President will prioritize equal pay, child care and health care,” she said. “My main issue is women have to speak up and step up to leadership positions. At all levels we need to elect people who know something about public policy.

Private enterprise has different goals than public entities.”

Now that this convention has passed, she is preparing for the next one in four years.

Michael Adelman moved to Hattiesburg from the Midwest to be a labor lawyer 50 years ago and

is still fighting the good fight. He has handled groundbreaking desegregation cases, equal facilities cases for black and white schools, securing a baseball field and Advanced Placement classes, and much more. He also successfully fought Mississippi Power, winning substantial refunds for consumers.

His Judaism has him wired to give back, to fight injustice and social and economic inequality.

He went to the convention as a strong Bernie Sanders supporter, but agreed with comedian Sarah Silverman, who chided the “Bernie or Bust” crowd as being “ridiculous” after Hillary Clinton secured the nomination.

Adelman says he will vote for Clinton because “Trump is a monster,” and he prefers her to be in charge of Supreme Court appointments and Legal Aid services.

Adelman said President Obama didn’t help with pro bono legal services. In Mississippi there are only 14 attorneys serving 83 counties. He said Hillary Clinton will be the best thing that ever happened to free legal services, “she is committed to the cause.”

Larisa Thomason from the Huntsville area was a Bernie Sanders delegate. She fervently believes Jews are called to make the world a better place, and there are a number of ways she personally does this.

She has taught religious school for over 10 years, served on synagogue boards, and is about to start her sixth year as co-principal of the community religious school in Huntsville.

Politics has been her passion since she had an Albert Brewer for Governor sticker on her book bag in first grade.

Rabbi Steven Jacobs was the person who showed her how politics and Judaism fit together. When he was rabbi at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville, one of his favorite phrases was “to be a Jew is to be a big mouth!” Thomason says she’s never had any trouble with that, and thanks Jacobs for giving religious sanction to her rabble-rousing.

A history of being a “pot stirrer” attracted her to Sanders’ insurgent candidacy. “It was his ideas and the clarity with which he outlined the problems we have in this country — not his Judaism — that earned my support. Even though he’s a pretty secular Jew, he’s also a ‘bigmouth,’ in that Jewish tradition,” she said.

“Sanders is also a leader and a gracious loser,” Thomason noted. “I was so proud to cast my delegate vote for him, and I hope the younger people he inspired stay active and engaged.”

Still, “I’ve been doing this since 1984, and I’m ready for a new generation to take over.”

Touro Synagogue working on history museum With almost two centuries of history, Touro Synagogue in New Orleans has a lot of artifacts, and in the coming months will open the Touro Synagogue Museum.

The museum will be in a room near the chapel. A museum committee is being chaired by Adrien Genet, and the committee is collecting items or documents for the museum.

The collection includes a ledger from 1833, listing marriages, births and deaths. There are renderings of the progression of the dome as it is being built, and yearbooks from the large Sunday School population of the 1950s and 1960s Other documents explain economic problems post-Civil War, identification records of families who made New Orleans their permanent home so many generations ago, recognitions of boards and clergy, and numerous other historical pieces.

Touro Synagogue was an amalgamation of two previous congregations, Congregation Gates of Mercy, established in 1828, and Dispersed of Judah, founded in 1846. The merger of these two congregations in 1881 helped to strengthen the center of Jewish life in New Orleans.

The current Touro building dates back to 1909.

The congregation was named for Judah Touro, a New Orleans businessman and a benefactor of the Jewish community, who had settled in New Orleans from New England. His father had been leader in Touro Synagogue In Newport, R.I., America’s oldest synagogue.

One item in the collection is a fork that was given by Touro to Rezin Shepherd shortly before Touro’s death. They had fought together in the War of 1812, and when Touro was wounded and thought to be dead, Shepherd tended to him and saved his life.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 17

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community Aronovs given national ZBT recognition The University of Alabama was highly-represented in the international awards at the International Convention for Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity in Atlanta.

The Aronov family of Montgomery was honored with the 2016 Heritage Award for outstanding commitment to the Jewish community.

Owen W. Aronov, Psi (University of Alabama) ’74, accepted the award on behalf of his brother Jake F. Aronov, Psi (University of Alabama) ’70, and their father, the late Aaron M. Aronov, Pi of Kappa Nu (University of Alabama) ‘42, at the award ceremony on July 22.

“Because of all the good ZBT does for so many young people, my family and I are pleased and humbled to have received this wonderful recognition. I personally cherish my time in the fraternity during college and the abiding friendships I’ve made through ZBT. My father would have been truly honored and very proud,” Owen Aronov said.

The Heritage Award is presented to a member of the Jewish community who distinguishes himself or herself in a communal, philanthropic, artistic or professional endeavor.

University of Alabama Chancellor Robert Witt was presented with the Riegelman-Jacobs Award for his efforts to grow Jewish enrollment at Alabama when he was university president. Between Witt and the Aronovs, Alabama was represented in two of the six awards.

“The Aronov family legacy is involvement and philanthropy. They have established a heritage that positively impacts Jews worldwide and will continue to do so for generations. We could not be more honored to celebrate this great ZBT family,” said Zeta Beta Tau Foundation President Bruce H. Weinstein, a 1970 alumnus of Alabama.

Aaron Aronov established Aronov Realty more than 60 years ago. Led

by Owen and Jake Aronov since their father’s death in 1992, the company has developed more than 35 million square feet of real estate in 17 states and 86 communities throughout the country. Today the company has grown to become the largest privately held, full-service real estate company in the Southeast.

The brothers have served as directors of various banking financial institutions and served in leadership roles for organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the American Heart Association, United Way as well as multiple public and private independent schools, among other organizations.

Aaron Aronov was the first Jewish person to serve on the University of Alabama board of trustees, and his sons continue his legacy in their roles supporting the university. Aaron Aronov was instrumental in endowing the Chair of Judaic Studies, now named in his honor. Many academic scholarships bear the Aronov name.

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Birmingham, New Orleans delegations compete in St. Louis Maccabi Games Delegations from Birmingham and New Orleans competed in the annual Jewish Community Centers Association Maccabi Games in St. Louis last month.

Roughly 6,000 Jewish teens from ages 13 to 16 participate each year in the Olympic-style sporting event. It is regarded as the second-largest organized sports program for Jewish teens in the world, and three communities host the games each year.

For Birmingham, it was a chance to see the games in action before Birmingham is one of the host cities for next year’s games. The delegation brought home several souvenirs in the form of medals.

Adison Berger of Birmingham was teamed with Molly Morris of Dallas, Lindsay Weingart of San Antonio and Shoshana Rosenthal of Greater Washington for swimming relays in the age 13-14 category. They took silver in the 200-yard medley and gold in the 400-yard free. In all, Berger earned three silvers and one gold.

Birmingham’s Talia Fleisig and Hannah Halpern brought home numerous medals in the dance competition, winning gold for “Crazy in Love” in the Duo/Hip-Hop 13-14 year old category, silver and bronze for solo contemporary, and gold for solo ballet.

Birmingham and New Orleans were paired with Chicago in flag football, but the trio went winless, losing to St. Louis, 39-14; Phoenix, 22-6; Denver, 39-22; and Phoenix again, 38-0.

The New Orleans 14-under boys soccer players were paired with Los Angeles, but did not make it out of pool play, losing to Denver/Minnesota, 8-0; Chicago/Milwaukee, 7-1; Atlanta, 5-2; and Kansas City/Greater Washington, 8-3.

In tennis, New Orleans participant Caroline Koppel went 1-2, with both losses to the eventual champion. Maddie Canter went 2-1 before losing in the bronze medal round. However, both were given Midot med-

Building Bridges Invite Karim Shamsi-Basha to speak at your Synagogue or event.

Karim will share his upbringing as a Muslim Arab, taught to hate the Jews. He will also reveal how he has come to love the country and the people of Israel, and how to work towards understanding each other and living in peace.

Karim is an award winning writer/photographer in Birmingham whose work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Sports Illustrated, People, Time, Southern Living, The New York Times, and many others.

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September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 19

community als for sportsmanship.

On Aug. 1, the New Orleans/Portland 16-under boys basketball team started strong, with a 58-25 win over Jacksonville and a 63-25 win over Omaha/ Dallas. On Aug. 2, they edged Boca Raton, 72-70, but lost to San Antonio/San Diego, 56-47. On Aug. 3, they lost to Chicago, 77-51, and missed the semi-finals.

Birmingham was paired with Dallas and Milwaukee for volleyball, but went winless against Denver/ Hudson, Los Angeles Westside and Boca Raton.

Team Birmingham conAdison Berger of Birmingham with her sisted of Adison Berger in medals swimming, Talia Fleisig and Hannah Halpern in dance, Zach Hagedorn and Ruben Stein in flag football, and Clara Lapidus, Marlie Thompson and Lielle Berger in volleyball.

The New Orleans team consisted of Maddie Canter and Caroline Koppel in tennis, Yehuda Potash in flag football, Eli Jaffe and Ethan Katz in soccer, and Alistar Cunningham, Reese Koppel, Samuel Murray, Douglas Schmidt and Michael Schmidt in basketball.

The JCC Maccabi Games is co-sponsored by the JCC Association of North America, Maccabi World Union, Maccabi Canada, and Maccabi USA/Sport for Israel.

LJCC Jewish Food Festival on Sept. 25 The annual Levite Jewish Community Center Friedman Family Foundation Jewish Food Festival will take place on Sept. 25 at the LJCC. The event, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature a range of traditional Jewish foods, including brisket and kugel, corned beef sandwiches, cabbage rolls, falafel, matzah ball soup, potato burekas, hummus and pita, Black and White Cookies, and much more. Food items are prepared under the supervision of Chabad of Alabama.

The family-friendly outdoor event will be held on the Levite Field where there will also be a market place for local vendors and craftsman to sell their wares, children’s games and activities, as well as live music.

The festival is open to the community, and admission is free.

20 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

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Edwards Chevrolet celebrates 100 years as family dealership

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by Lee J. Green A Birmingham homegrown and family-owned dealership, Edwards Chevrolet celebrates its milestone 100th anniversary in 2016 with a century of successes through excellent customer service and top American-made automobiles.

William Sterling Edwards Jr. came to Birmingham in the early 1900s from Gadsden riding a motorcycle he rebuilt himself and purchased because he could not afford a car.

He started working in a bank and went to business school at night to further his education. But he always wanted to sell automobiles and learned all about them growing up.

Edwards finally won a chance to sell cars for Brownell Ford in the Ensley section of Birmingham from 1912 to 1916. He was so successful that he was able to start his own business on Aug. 5, 1916 in a small building in downtown Birmingham.

He signed a contract with the Chevrolet Motor Company, which was founded in 1911 by buggy manufacturer William Durant and race-car driver Louis Chevrolet.

From this humble beginning grew a business that has sustained itself for 100 years in the same family for generations. William Sterling Edwards Jr.’s son Leon was the dealership owner for many years and handed it down to his son, Lee. Lee Edward’s sons, Lee and Sterling, are both 16 years old. They are already working at the dealership and hope to take the reins one day.

“My father had the American dream,” said Leon Edwards of the company’s founder. “He started with nothing but made something out of nothing with hard work and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Today Edwards Chevrolet has two state-of-the-art full sales and service dealerships in downtown Birmingham at 13th Street and 3rd Ave. North, as well as Highway 280 across from the Lee Branch Shopping Center.

General Manager Marty Phillips said as they celebrate their rich history, the focus is also on today and tomorrow as it pertains to both Chevrolet innovation as well as ensuring the best car buying process possible.

“We know a lot of people love Chevrolet,” said Phillips. “But what sets Edwards Chevrolet apart is its focus on customer service.

Having a family-owned dealership is very important to us and we want our customers to know they can trust us 100 percent.”

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For several years running, Lexus of Birmingham has been the top-ranked luxury automobile dealership for all lines in the state of Alabama.

General Manager Bobby Bailey said it’s their customer-centric approach, combined with high-quality vehicles that drives in those positive numbers.

“We’re focused on the customers. We want to make buying a car an enjoyable, convenient experience,” said Bailey.

Lexus of Birmingham is one of more than 100 dealerships in the Sonic Automotive Group, based out of Charlotte. Sonic has continued its full-scale implementation of a totally-customer-centric approach that streamlines the car-buying process and gets customers the lowest possible price based on their needs.

“It’s a change in the culture. New Sonic technology currently being implemented will soon allow a customer to complete the buying process in 45 minutes or less,” said Bailey.

He said Lexus continues to be on the forefront of new technology implementation as it pertains to vehicle performance and safety. In 2007, Lexus introduced the first car able to park itself. Today many features such as lane control, lane assist and backup cameras come standard on most Lexus vehicles.

In 2016, the Lexus RX, LX and GX SUVs were redesigned. Coming in 2017, Lexus will introduce a third row of seating in the RX and will launch a high-performance LC 500 sports car that is generating much buzz already. It will be in the $100,000 price range.

At Lexus of Birmingham, Bailey said the SUVs are outselling the passenger cars. Lexus offers four SUVs — the entry-level NX to the RX, which is the number-one seller of all vehicles at Lexus of Birmingham, the GX and ultra-luxury LX. “People love SUVs. They are so versatile and since we have four of them there is a range of prices and sizes,” said Bailey.

Lexus also has the number-one luxury Certified Pre-owned vehicle in the United States according to AutoTrader.com, with the highest value retention levels in the industry among luxury vehicles.

Another thing Lexus is known for is its award-winning service, Bailey added. Lexus of Birmingham offers “the most trained auto repair experts out there.” The service department includes 38 repair bays and a fleet of 70 loaner cars.

There is also a complimentary café.

“It all goes back to that customer-centric focus,” said Bailey. “It is how we think and a part of everything that we do.”

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Jack Ingram Motors was the first dealership in Montgomery to sell foreign-made automobiles and the first in the Southeast to sell Mercedes-Benz.

But at the root of the dealership that today sells Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen is an all-American, family-owned success story.

“We sell some incredible vehicles, but what we’re most proud of is our employees over the years who have been dedicated to delivering the best customer service and have been a part of our extended family,” said Jack Ingram Motors’ General Manager David Ingram, whose grandfather started the dealership in 1959.

His grandfather had a road construction business but went bankrupt during the depression.

During World War II he would build landing strips at Gunter Air Force Base when he was told about an opportunity to sell Fords.

It turns out he was a natural salesman. He quickly joined the ranks of the Ford 500 club for selling 500 Ford vehicles in a year. Not long after, he decided to start his own dealership but he

didn’t want to go with the pack and opted with Mercedes-Benz.

The dealership started on Bell Street in downtown Montgomery, then would move to a much larger location on the Eastern Bypass — adding Volvo and Nissan in the 1960s, followed by the others.

“People at the time thought it was a crazy idea because Mercedes offered a car for $12,000. That was the average home price in Montgomery at the time,” said Ingram.

Today Ingram’s father, Ray, owns the dealer-

automotive

Your Friend in the Car Business ship. The 82-year-old still comes in daily to Jack Ingram Motors and still is very active. He plays tennis and works out regularly. Ray Ingram even flew helicopters into his 60s.

David Ingram said in today’s information age, the automobile buying process has changed in some ways. Consumers are more informed and have a better idea what they want in most cases.

“Years ago people would visit four or more dealerships before purchasing a vehicle and now it’s two. The internet has changed things for sure,” he said.

He lauded European vehicles for their commitment to innovation, especially as it pertains to combining performance with fuel economy and safety.

“Gas prices have remained high for years in Europe so the manufacturers had to really be innovative with designing quality vehicles that would get improved fuel economy,” he said. “And the Europeans have always been the leaders in safety technology.”

He cited the new Volvo S90. Long known as the safest vehicle, the new Volvo offers the same power with better fuel economy and a sleek new look. “It’s odd to call a Volvo sexy, but this one is,” said Ingram.

Many of the vehicles come standard with or have safety options that allow for semi-autonomous driving. “The car senses an object and applies the brakes. Volvo states by 2020 they will build an autonomous-driving vehicle and one in which no one will be killed or seriously hurt,” he said.

Ingram said Jack Ingram Motors also takes great pride in its community involvement. The dealership annually donates $100,000 for charitable events and causes.

He added that making the dealership run successfully is hard work, but he loves coming in every day. “What can I say? I get to work in a toy shop.”

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Mazda “luxury at a low price” Luxury at a low price defines the 2016 CX9 SUV, which has been a hot seller at Med Center Mazda, just south of Birmingham.

Top Med Center Mazda salesman Bobby Bloomston said the three-row SUV features a SKYACTIV-G 2.5 T turbo engine technology that gives the vehicle more power while also achieving some of the best fuel economy in its class.

“It’s extremely luxurious but not at a luxurious price. I have been with Mazda for many years and I have never seen a vehicle like this that can offer so much to so many,” said Bloomston.

The CX9 can now come in the Signature package, which features Nappa leather-trimmed seats, genuine aluminum and Rosewood trim.

In early 2017, Mazda will release its new design on the popular Mazda 3 sports sedan, and its true sports car, the Miata Fastback.

On many of its vehicles, Mazda offers Mazda Connect for hands-free communications. “Mazda wants its customers to drive safely and enjoy the ride,” he said.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 23

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by Lee J. Green Just as specialty doctors can give the best health care in their area of expertise, Rob’e Mans auto repair in Homewood can be considered the best car doctor for one’s Asian automobile.

Launched in 1983 by owner Eddie Cleveland, Rob’e Mans hasn’t met a car problem they can’t fix. “We buy the factory programs from the Asian automakers so we have their direct diagnostics.

We get the best equipment and all the information from the automakers,” he said. “This way we can do repairs quicker, faster and cheaper. We’re not guessing at what is wrong with a car.”

For the first 12 years, Rob’e Mans focused only on Honda, then added Acura when that line was created. Then came Toyota and Lexus, followed by the others. “It seems that more than half the vehicles we see on the roads are Asian vehicles.

They are popular cars for their reliability, performance and resale value,” he said.

Cleveland recommends taking in one’s vehicle for seasonal check-ups and oil changes to extend the life of the vehicles.

“Today’s vehicles are made better than they ever were before. If a car is well-maintained, at 100,000 miles it is just getting warmed up. Cars lasting 200,000 miles or more is not abnormal these days,” he said.

For those vehicles with 100,000 miles or more there is usually the need for more expensive repairs to the timing belts and water pumps. “We’ll straight-shoot with everyone and tell them if we recommend the repair or recommend getting

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There’s much new at Benton Nissan — not only nice new vehicles, but also a new dealership location in the Birmingham area.

Benton acquired the former Moore Nissan in Bessemer and now is spread across central Alabama in Hoover, Anniston and Bessemer.

Nissan believes a sports car can have four doors, and its 2016 Nissan Maxima is proving that. It has a 300-horsepower engine and increased fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon on the highway.

Some of the Maxima’s safety features include predictive forward collision warning, forward emergency braking, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, rearview and all-around-view monitors.

Another popular vehicle at Benton Nissan is the mid-sized crossover SUV, the Murano. It was redesigned in 2016 to have a sportier look.

Also redesigned for 2016 was Nissan’s popular Titan truck.

a new car based on the value of the car,” added Cleveland.

There are still some myths out there about auto repair that need to be de-bunked, he said. Many people think the cold weather wears out batteries more, but Cleveland said it is the hot weather that actually kills more batteries.

He also said they get their share of customers coming in saying that their car is making a certain noise and they try to replicate that noise.

“The more symptoms they can tell us and the times the vehicle is making the noise, the easier it is for us to get to the root of the problem,” said Cleveland.

King Acura has redesigned luxury 7-passenger MDX

by Lee J. Green Acura’s luxurious, top-of-the-line MDX SUV is even more luxurious for 2017, but also places importance on safety and fuel economy.

Birmingham’s King Acura has the new seven-passenger MDX in stock and General Manager Reed Lyles said that initial sales are already strong.

“The MDX has been redesigned for 2017 with a brand new grill, refined interiors and an even more luxurious look,” said Lyles. Plus, the MDX gets an estimated 28 miles per gallon on the highway.

The MDX now comes standard with the Acura Watch Package. Those safety features include adaptive cruise control, which keeps a vehicle at a set distance from the vehicle in front of it at all times. It also features cameras that provide lane-keeping assist and advanced blind spot monitoring and warning.

“We take our MDX to see family in Florida. It makes it so easy when you have a vehicle such as this that is so ideal for traveling long distances,” added Lyles.

King Acura’s inventory includes the ILX sports sedan, TLX luxury sedan, RLX luxury flagship sedan, RDX luxury crossover SUV, the MDX and the NSX next-generation sports car.

Overall, SUV sales are trending up for King Acura, which first opened its doors in 1986. He said that these days thanks to the internet, customers come in more educated.

“We prefer a consultative selling approach.

We ask them questions to determine what they are looking for so that we can find a vehicle and package that meets their needs,” said Lyles. “We’ll give them the best price we possibly can and find the perfect vehicle match for them.”

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community Celebrating community in Arkansas The Jewish Federation of Arkansas will recognize its volunteers at the 13th annual Jane B. Mendel Tikkun Olam Awards ceremony, Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Little Rock Marriott Downtown.

Richard Williams will be the Grand Honoree at the “Celebrating Community” event. An attorney at Mitchell Williams, one of the largest law firms in the state, Williams was a co-chair of the 150th anniversary celebration at Little Rock’s B’nai Israel.

A Texas native, Williams got into law by accident after taking an international law class while working as a campus reporter. After graduation, large law firms in Houston did not want to interview Jewish graduates and Dallas firms had a quota system. He then rejected the idea of practicing law in Texas, opting for his wife’s hometown of Little Rock.

He was president of the Federation during the Six Day War, and has been active with numerous non-profits in Arkansas and is an educator at LifeQuest, a continuing education group for seniors.

Also being honored are Terri Cohen of Agudath Achim in Little Rock; Muriel Lederman of B’nai Israel in Little Rock; Helene Carter of Etz Chayim in Bentonville; Anita and Dennis Williams of House of Israel in Hot Springs; Kathy Pearson and Leonard Smith from Lubavitch of Arkansas; Gene Tweraser of Temple Shalom in Fayetteville; Maria and Richard Horowitz of United Hebrew Congregation in Fort Smith; Rachel Dranoff of Ati’Day Yisroel Early Childhood Center in Little Rock; Jim Wiltgen of Hendrix Hillel; Mark Krain, Rickie Lockwood and Susan Strauss of the Jewish Federation of Arkansas; and Richard Sonn of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The Jane B. Mendel Tikkun Olam Awards, established through the TRG Foundation, were created to enable the Federation to honor outstanding members of the Jewish community in Arkansas.

Marianne Tettlebaum, Federation executive director, said “From scholarships to Jewish camp to Caregiver Support to the Jewish Food and Cultural Festival, everything we do is intended as a celebration of our community.”

Single tickets to the event are $125, sponsorships start at $500.

NOLA’s Temple Sinai to broadcast, stream High Holy Days services The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that High Holy Days services at Temple Sinai in New Orleans will be accessible on the radio and internet for members of the Jewish community who are unable to attend services.

The Ferber Family of Houma Foundation, a supporting foundation of JEF, has been underwriting radio broadcasts of Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre services since 1998. Dora Ferber, who was a native of Houma, but had many friends in New Orleans and was a member of Temple Sinai, started funding the broadcasts during her lifetime. “Although Dora is no longer with us, the legacy she created continues to support this project,” said JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy.

Services will also be live streamed at www.templesinai.org by Sandy Levy, her son Jonathan Levy, and daughter and son-in-law Lauren and Scott Neustadter through the Levy Family Donor Advised Fund at JEF. “When we realized that homebound community members could have the opportunity to not only listen to these services, but also be able to view them live on the internet, my family and I jumped at the chance to

L’Shanah Tovah

26 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

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help make this happen,” said Sandy Levy.

“We are grateful to the Ferber Family of Houma Foundation and to the Levy family for their generous underwriting of this project,” said EllenRae Shalett, Executive Director of Temple Sinai.

Audio broadcasts will be on WRBH-FM (88.3) or wrbh.com on Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. for Rosh Hashanah and Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. for Kol Nidre.

Live streaming at templesinaino.org will be on those dates, as well as the 10 a.m. service and 2 p.m. young family service on Oct. 3 for Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur live streaming on Oct. 12 will begin with the morning service at 10 a.m., young family service at 2 p.m., afternoon service at 3 p.m. and Yizkor/Neilah at 4 p.m.

CURE

Terezin survivor to speak at North Ala. Inge Auerbacher, the only child survivor from the State of Wuerttemberg who was deported to the concentration camps, will speak at the University of North Alabama in Florence as part of the Distinguished Events series.

Auerbacher was 3 years old during Kristallnacht and spent three years in Terezin, from 1942 to 1945. Despite her father earning the Iron Cross in World War I, he was deported to Dachau. In all, at least 13 members of her immediate family and many distant relatives were killed during the Holocaust.

After the Holocaust, she came to the United States with her parents and battled tuberculosis for many years. She later earned a degree in chemistry, working for 38 years with many renowned researchers.

She is the author of six books, ranging from the Holocaust to the discovery of streptomycin. Many of her poems have been published and set to music.

In 2013, she received the Medal of Merit from the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the Medal of Merit from the city of Goeppingen, and the Federal Cross of Merit given by the president of Germany, for her work in teaching tolerance and reconciliation.

She will give two presentations, “Memories of a Child Survivor of the Holocaust,” on Sept. 15. The first, at 9 a.m., will be mainly for college, high school and middle school students. The second presentation will be at 7 p.m., and will be preceded by the UNA Collegiate Singers performing Auerbacher’s “Who Am I.” Both talks will be at the Norton Auditorium. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

At 6 p.m. on Sept. 15, there will be a pre-conference lecture, “Understanding the Holocaust,” by Jeffrey Bibbee, chair of the UNA History Department, in the GUC Loft.

Auerbacher will also speak following the 7 p.m. Shabbat service at B’nai Israel in Florence on Sept. 16. On Sept. 17 at 4 p.m., she will give a talk with a slide show at B’nai Israel.

Before her visit, there will be a display at the Collier Library, presented by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, from Sept. 12 to 14.

The Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders is committed to finding a cure for Matthew and the more than 1,500 children who come to us for care each year.

As a founding member of the Children’s Oncology Group,* Children’s of Alabama and UAB combine research and innovative therapies to help save the lives of children down the street and around the world.

Although the cancer cure rate has risen from 50 to 84 percent in just 20 years and strokes in patients with sickle cell disease have decreased 90 percent through standardized screening processes, we are actively working toward a TOTAL CURE for children and adolescents like Matthew.

Mobile rabbis teaching ESILL courses Both of Mobile’s congregational rabbis will be teaching Eastern Shore Institute for Lifelong Learning courses this month. Ahavas Chesed Rabbi Steve Silberman is teaching “Walking the Bible: What Does the Hebrew Bible Say About the Messiah,” on Wednesdays from Sept. 7 to 21 at 5 p.m. in Daphne.

Springhill Avenue Temple Rabbi Dana Kaplan will give a course about the Dead Sea Scrolls, Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. from Sept. 15 to 29, at the Fairhope Library. Tuition is $27 for either course and registration is required.

*The Children’s Oncology group is a clinical - translational trials organization with more than 9,000 experts worldwide dedicated to finding better cures and improving the outcomes for all children with cancer.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 27

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A Catholic school educator from Lake Charles joined colleagues from across the country for an educational expedition to Israel in July. Middle and high school educators from 12 states participated in the Anti-Defamation League’s nationally acclaimed Bearing Witness Advanced program, which aims to provide an advance course of study on anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Catholic-Jewish relations.

The participants toured the country, visited Jewish and Christian holy sites, heard firsthand accounts and information from Arab-Israelis, Israeli journalists, Jewish community leaders, a survivor of a suicide bomb bus attack, residents of kibbutz on the Gaza border, interfaith experts and scholars including representatives of the Israeli government, The Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, the Aramaic Christian Association, and the Interfaith Association.

Diane Oden, who teaches at Our Lady Queen of Heaven School in Lake Charles, represented ADL’s South Central region. She said the trip was “the best learning opportunity of my life… The wide variety of speakers, the places we visited in every part of Israel, the rich culture is a gift I treasure and will share with my students.”

Her most memorable experience was meeting and listening to Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick while visiting Yad Vashem. Pick spoke of her childhood friendship with Anne Frank from Kindergarten to sixth grade, and their experiences as they both wound up at Bergen-Belsen.

Since its inception in 1996, ADL Bearing Witness: Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Contemporary Issues has trained more than 2,000 Catholic school educators across the U.S. about the historical relationship between the Jewish and Catholic communities and the impact of that relationship on Catholic teaching, catechesis and liturgy.

In 2005, the ADL initiated Bearing Witness Advanced — endorsed by the National Catholic Educational Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — to allow Bearing Witness graduates to extend their learning and travel to Israel.

“This is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for Catholic educators to directly experience the breadth and diversity of today’s Israel,” said Lindsay Baach Friedmann, ADL South Central Director of Education. “Our goal is that these remarkable Catholic teachers will take their memorable experiences on the ground in Israel back into their classrooms, ultimately having a positive impact on their students. The Catholic and Jewish communities have reached an important crossroad, with Pope Francis elevating and placing a significant emphasis on relations between our two communities. Such a mission is extremely timely.”

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community Kosher spice: Nashville Kosher Hot Chicken Festival scheduled The second Nashville Kosher Hot Chicken Festival will toast taste buds on Nov. 6 at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville.

Admission is free, but food tickets are being sold for the event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Two local establishments, including Bolton’s Hot Chicken and Fish, will have meals available in hot and mild, with sides. There will also be chicken tenders available.

The competing teams will also have samples available for a people’s choice award, and there will be awards for team name and booth décor.

A panel of judges will award top three prizes in mild and hot chicken categories. The Grand Champion will receive a trophy and new fryer.

The team entry fee is $150 and organizers are planning for 10 teams.

While several hundred attended the festival last year, there were only two

30 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

amateur teams competing.

For traditional hot chicken chefs, the kosher version is a challenge because buttermilk, bacon grease and lard are common aspects of preparation.

Nashville Hot Chicken is famous for being incredibly spicy. For example, at the famous Prince’s, which was recognized by the James Beard Foundation with an American Classic Award for inventing it, spice levels start with a “mild” that is often hotter than most fast-food restaurants’ spicy. The heat increases with medium, hot and extra hot, which some writers have likened to a religious experience, and after which diners must wash their hands before touching anything else, especially their eyes.

Nashville hot chicken is generally served on top of white bread with pickles, with a heaping helping of cayenne in the recipe.

For decades, hot chicken was largely unknown outside of Nashville’s black neighborhoods. In 2007, the Hot Chicken Festival began and raised its visibility. Over the last few years, hot chicken places have migrated across the South from Nashville, and KFC came out with a pale mass-market imitation.

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

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

sports a SJL Special Section

A capacity crowd fills the stands of Jordan-Hare Stadium to cheer on the Auburn Tigers

Allen & Stillman’s “War Eagle”

How the two Jewish New Yorkers behind “Home for the Holidays” scored big for Auburn How is it that the Jewish authors of the Christmas standard “Home for the Holidays” also wrote “War Eagle,” one of Auburn University’s most beloved songs?

That’s an easy answer for Patty Allen, as she described her late husband, Robert Allen, as a true “renaissance man.” And she’s accustomed to getting calls about the Auburn fight song from ESPN and others, as she’s the copyright holder after the Auburn Alumni Association somehow neglected to renew it in 1983.

Undoubtedly, the lives of the Jewish composer and lyricist pair of Allen and Al Stillman changed forever after they were given a one-day deadline in 1954 to write what would become one of the world’s most treaured Christmas songs.

It was around the same time Allen and Stillman were working on that Perry Como hit that wealthy Auburn booster Roy B. Sewell decided Auburn needed a new fight song, and calling professionals in New York was the way to go about it.

The existing song, “Auburn Victory March,” included lines like “We’re the drilling, shrilling, thrilling, willing Auburn boys” and “We are game, all the same, Are we down hearted boys? Well I should say “No!” After giving the fans and students a try at coming up with something more contemporary, Sewell gave up and called New York, to commission two of the most respected, successful songwriters, “to express the spirit which has sparked the Tigers’ amazing football comeback.”

Allen and Stillman already did have an amazing reputation.

Stillman had collaborated with a number of notable composers, including George Gershwin, was a staff writer for Radio City Music Hall, co-wrote “I Believe” for Jane Froman’s show, which became the first hit song ever introduced on TV. He also co-wrote “Jukebox Saturday Night,” a hit for Glenn Miller. He did the scores for “Virginia” and a number of other stage ice spectaculars that were so popular in the late ‘30s and through the ‘40s.

Allen started writing for television shows, composing for “The Colgate Comedy Hour,” and is credited with the closing song for “Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall” and “Sing Along” for Mitch Miller’s “Sing Along with Mitch.”

Still, he attained his greatest success through his collaboration with Stillman. Como’s “To Know You (Is To Love You)” reached No. 19 on the Billboard charts.

Their greatest initial project, “Home for the Holidays” was no theological issue for Allen, it was just a job. His wife Patty explained that Allen had an

Photo courtesy AU Photographic Services

unfortunate experience with a bigoted neighbor when he was age five, and he remained strong in who he was.

Decades later, Allen collaborated with black artists in Detroit and saw first-hand how they were discriminated against when hoteliers wouldn’t let them stay in the same establishment. He didn’t put up with it.

In the late 1950s Allen went on to have huge hits with Johnny Mathis, including “Chances Are,” “It’s Not for Me to Say” and “Teacher, Teacher.”

The Shirelles took “Everybody Loves a Lover” to No. 19 on the charts in 1962. Billie Holiday recorded her take on “It’s Not for Me to Say” in 1959, and it’s since been covered dozens of times, from Paul Anka to Barry Manilow, to She & Him just two years ago.

A long career in music followed, with soundtracks, more album compositions, and the score and production of a 1963 benefit album for the United Nations which included Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby and Carol Burnett. His work was included in the soundtracks of “Tin Men,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Chances Are” and “Goodfellas,” among others.

Today, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers presents the annual Robert Allen Award to aspiring songwriters in the pop or jazz genres. Allen was a recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award in pop music.

Without a doubt, Sewell knew, after gaining permission from officials at Auburn (then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute), that calling the man Newsweek magazine had proclaimed “the most popular songwriter in America” would result in a hit, even if it wasn’t meant to appear on any Billboard chart.

He was footing the bill, after all. And sure Photo courtesy Robert Allen estate enough, when Allen and Stillman delivered Robert Allen “War Eagle,” Sewell declared it “a peach of a song.”

While Sewell heartily approved, legendary coach Shug Jordan’s reception of it was reportedly a little more tepid — and the Montgomery Advertiser deemed it “anemic” and better suited “for the Ladies’ Aid Society, not Auburn.”

Hubert Liverman, who was then the head of Auburn’s music department, agreed with Sewell about its merit. His opinion was that it was “very, very good — extremely good — and that we ought to use it.”

Though “War Eagle” made its first major debut at the AuburnChattanooga game on Sept. 24, 1955, it was performed by the Jordan

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 31

sportssports

Vocational High School band of Columbus, Ga., as classes at API did not begin until Sept. 26 that year.

John H. “Pete” Mosley, class of 1958, wrote to Auburn Magazine in 2012 that he was there when then-director Burton Leidner passed out the music to “War Eagle” for the first time.

Mosley and his classmates had been loyal to the old Auburn Victory March and were reluctant to try the new tune. He said it was Program from the September 24, 1955 “none too exemplary for a peppy Auburn-Chattanooga game, where and winsome tune. In fact, the “War Eagle” was first performed words had the expression, “give ‘em hell, give ‘em hell, stand up and yell.” But as they played it over and over, faster and louder, “it began to take on new life... it was apparent that we had found an Auburn treasure that would resonate around the world.” Even today, the arrangement the band plays is faster and more staccato than the original.

After each score (and countless other times during each game), the Auburn University Marching Band performs its official fight song, “War Eagle,” and the Photo courtesy AU Photographic Services Samford Hall carillon on Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton jumps campus rings it each day into the stands after a home victory, as fans at noon. But today, few cheer and sing the fight song. among the thousands who sing “War Eagle, win for Auburn, Power of Dixieland!” on any given fall Saturday would imagine that those words came from a couple of northerners who were best known for writing pop music standards.

NOLA native Jeremy Bleich named to Israel’s World Baseball team New Orleans native Jeremy Bleich, currently a reliever with the Somerset, N.J., Patriots, has been invited to join Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament, which will be held in Brooklyn from Sept. 22 to 25.

The Israel team will start against Great Britain on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. (Central). Pakistan and Brazil are the other teams looking to gain the last spot in the 2017 tournament, which will begin in March.

Bleich had to certify that could to play for Team Israel by being eligible for Israeli citizenship. He told MyCentralJersey that being on Team Israel would also be a tribute to his grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors.

An alumnus of the Isidore Newman School, Bleich attended Stanford and was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees in 2008. He has played with the Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations, including the last three seasons at the Triple-A level.

He is the son of Caron and the late Stan Bleich.

32 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

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For the first time, an Israeli driver was behind the wheel at a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and a Florida attorney hopes it will be inspiring for the Jewish community.

With a boost from Sarasota’s David Levin — and indirect assistance from Duck Dynasty — Alon Day was behind the wheel of the MBM Motorsports No. 40 Dodge on Aug. 13 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Course.

He finished 13th, leading to media buzz over his “impressive” debut.

Before the race, Day said with his equipment he figured to finish between 15th and 20th in the 40-car race, starting from the 22nd position.

Rainy conditions on the road course played to his strengths, as he said he had extensive experience in rainy conditions in European racing.

An environmental and waterfront property attorney, Levin is a “huge football fan,” as is his wife. She has also been a long-time NASCAR fan, and about 12 years ago when he was looking for something to follow after football season ended, she suggested he try NASCAR. He noticed an “absence of Jewish participation behind the wheel” and was looking for a way to rectify that in a sport with a fan base that is seen as overwhelmingly Christian.

In early April, he was watching the broadcast of a race at the Texas Motor Speedway, and saw Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson give the invocation, which included a prayer “that we put a Jesus man in the White House.”

Levin said that prayer “was a kick in the butt.” Many who give invocations understand the audience is diverse and do non-denominational prayers, he said. “Those that don’t, you just accept that. I thought that one was a little over the top.”

At Talladega on April 30, he sponsored a car in the Xfinity series, which is one step lower than the Sprint Cup series. The Florida Waterfront Law car was driven by Johnny Jackson.

The Xfinity series is a mixture of newcomers and experienced drivers trying to make the Cup series, but some Cup drivers also choose to compete there.

While there, Levin reached out to the team owner, “that if he would find a qualified Jewish driver I was certain there would be plenty of corporate support for him.”

It would also attract interest from the Jewish community. “Even my mom would tune in to watch that,” he said.

Shortly after that discussion, NASCAR named its NASCAR NEXT participants, with Alon Day as one of the 11 selected drivers. The program identifies and develops up-and-coming drivers.

A few weeks later, Levin met and interviewed Day in Charlotte. “He was such an impressive personality,” he said.

A native of Ashdod, Day began as a Go Kart racer as a teenager, finishing second in the Israel Karting Championship. He then set off for Europe, competing in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and the German Formula Three Championship, where he placed in the top 10 in

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both of his seasons.

He came to America to race briefly in Indy Lights, then returned to Europe and started racing in the FIA GT series in 2013.

In 2015 he started racing stock cars in the Whelen Euro Series. Despite having to learn about stock cars, he finished second in the series and won the Junior “Jerome Sarran” Trophy as rookie of the year. Over the last two seasons, he won five races in the European series.

Levin identified seven Xfinity races as a plan for the fall. The first two are road tracks — Day’s debut in Ohio, and Aug. 27 at Road America in Wisconsin. After the first two, NASCAR will assess his results and determine if he can go on to other races.

“After his successful fall debut, our plan is to have him run a full season in 2017,” Levin said. By limiting him to seven races this year, he would still be regarded as a rookie next year.

But the first, biggest hurdle is financing. Levin pulled $60,000 from his retirement account to guarantee Day’s first two races and has been looking for sponsors to ensure the other five.

Unlike basketball or football, where the team pays the athlete, in racing, the driver secures a spot behind the wheel by paying the team through the sponsorships they get on their own. And fielding a competitive car “is incredibly expensive.”

Levin said it has been a “hugely uphill battle” convincing the many Jewish-owned companies he has contacted to sponsor something they have “never seen on their marketing radar.”

He said there is a perception that NASCAR is “solely a Southern, Christian redneck sport,” and aren’t aware of the fans’ demographics.

Studies have shown that NASCAR fans are the most fiercely loyal to sponsors, much more than football, basketball or other sports.

He is promoting the “unique” opportunity to capitalize on what would undoubtedly be a human interest story. “There will be a lot of attention focused on Alon.”

And there isn’t a lack of Jewish fans for NASCAR. A Jewish law professor who is a NASCAR fan recently called Levin to thank him for his efforts.

Levin hopes publicity about Day’s first races will help lead to sponsorships, or “his racing career will be very short-lived.” Day was mentioned frequently during the Aug. 13 broadcast on USA Network .

The car featured Levin’s website, flwaterfront.com, and had the U.S. and Israeli flags on the hood. Other logos on the car included the AntiDefamation League and the Jewish Federations.

In the Aug. 13 race, Day was in the top 10 most of the time, peaking at third. He was bumped in the last lap when he was running ninth, making it difficult to drive the car. He had to settle for 13th, but said the race was “an amazing feeling.”

Day can become a sports role model for Jewish children, Levin added, and the Jewish community needs to step up and support Day. He has also set up a GoFundMe page.

Another angle for gaining support is through evangelical Christians who are NASCAR fans and passionate about Israel. Levin said he is just starting to learn about that.

While many national journalists covering NASCAR are Jewish, Birmingham’s Rabbi Barry Altmark was a photojournalist covering NASCAR for five years and Birmingham’s Eli Gold was the long-time voice of NASCAR before parting ways with the Motor Racing Network this spring, there have been very few Jews on the track.

In 2007, Jon Denning started 20 races in NASCAR’s entry-level Whelen American Series, finishing first four times. Unable to find sponsors, he mostly left racing.

Denning reportedly had to deal with crew members who insulted Jews and minorities, and others who tried to convert him to Christianity.

In 2012, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame as the only member of the Auto Racing category.

sports

Israeli basketball player signs with with Pelicans to pursue NBA dream

by Lee J. Green By making the New Orleans Pelicans’ 12-man roster to start the 201617 NBA season on Oct. 26, Israeli basketball all-star Shawn Dawson would fulfill a lifelong dream of his and his Tuscaloosa-native, Israel-basketball-legend father, Joe. Dawson, who had led Maccabi Rishon Lezion to an historic Israel professional basketball league championship earlier this year, signed a contract with the Pelicans and begins training camp with the team this month with the aim of becoming Israel’s third-ever NBA player. After playing for the Washington Wizards’ summer league team in Las Vegas, he hopes his stay with the Pelicans is not brief.

“Ever since I was a kid it has been a dream of mine to play in the NBA,” said Dawson, 22, who said his idol growing up was Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Allen Iverson. “It’s almost hard to grasp that I am this close. I plan to work as hard as I can to make the Pelicans and make New Orleans my new home.”

He was to arrive in New Orleans on Aug. 27, having signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract. Training camp opens on Sept. 24.

Both of the other Israeli NBA players also have a Pelicans connection.

In 2009, Omri Casspi became the first Israeli player in the NBA when the Sacramento Kings picked him in the first round of the draft. In July 2014 Casspi wound up with the Pelicans as part of a three-team trade, was waived and returned to Sacramento, where he continues to play.

In 2013, Gal Mekel from Ramat HaSharon signed with the Dallas Mavericks. On Nov. 1 of that year, the first NBA game featuring Israelis on opposing teams occurred, as Casspi was with the Houston Rockets at the time. After a mid-season injury and time in the Developmental League, Mekel was waived by Dallas.

The Pelicans signed Mekel in December 2014, but he was waived after playing in four games. He has since played for teams in Russia and Serbia.

As Dawson embarks on his new chapter, he said “I feel like I have all of Israel behind me. My coaches, teammates, family and friends have all been very supportive. I am playing for all of them and me.”

His father, Joe Dawson, was born in Tuscaloosa and became a legend at the University of Southern Mississippi, which named him to the M-Club Hall of Fame in 2011. After a tryout with the former Kansas City Kings he played in the Continental Basketball Association for four years, followed by five years in Europe and South America. In 1991, he signed with an Israeli team and played there for 16 years.

While in Israel, Joe met an Israeli woman, got married and had two kids, the elder of whom is the 6-foot-6 Shawn.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 35

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“My dad has been my biggest teacher my whole life,” he said. “The best advice my dad ever gave me was that no matter who I play with or against to just be myself and play my game. He has helped me with the mental aspects of the game.”

Growing up in Israel the son of a Jewish Israeli mother and an African-American Christian father from Alabama, Shawn Dawson said he “had the best of both worlds celebrating all the holidays together with both sides of the family.”

His agent, Daniel Hazan, is a Yeshiva University graduate and says Dawson keeps his Judaism “very close to his heart.” Dawson said he is “so proud to represent my family and my country when I put that NBA logo on my chest.”

Though 22, Dawson is in his fifth year of professional basketball. At age 18 he signed with Maccabi Rishon Lezion, becoming a starter and the league’s Most Improved Player in his second season.

In 2014-15 he was named a starter to the AllStar Game and won the Rising Star Award. He got some notice in advance of the 2015 NBA draft but was not selected. That summer he played for Israel in the Eurobasket tournament.

This past season, Rishon struggled early but made a run leading into the playoffs. Dawson helped lead the team to its first-ever league championship, with 21 points in the decisive fifth game in the championship series against defending champion Hapoel Jerusalem.

“After making the national all-stars teams the past couple of years I started getting calls from the NBA. That’s when I knew that this was real and I had a chance to make it in the greatest basketball league in the world,” he said. “I have some good experience as a professional in Israel

but it’s a different game in the NBA. I plan to work very hard and do whatever the Pelicans’ coaches ask of me.”

While he played for the Wizards this summer, basketball reporter David Pick explained in the New York Jewish Week why Dawson could not continue with them. The Wizards have filled their 12 guaranteed spots, and Dawson’s Israeli contract states he can not go to the NBA’s Development League. If he does not make an NBA roster this year, he would return to Israel as the franchise player for Rishon.

The Pelicans also currently have 15 players

on guaranteed contracts for 2016-17, so making the roster will be a challenge.

On Oct. 4, Dawson and the team will travel to China for 10 days, including a couple of games against the Houston Rockets.

Dawson has been to the United States a few times before, especially to visit family still in Tuscaloosa, but the last time he was in New Orleans was when he was 8 years old.

“I am looking forward to getting to know the city and the fans,” he said. “The New Orleans Pelicans get great support and I can’t wait to hit the courts.”

Miss. State’s Cohen gets coach of the year honor It was 1989 all over again in May as the Mississippi State baseball team won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship and Coach John Cohen was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

The last baseball championship and Coach of the Year recognition for Mississippi State was in 1989 — when Cohen was a player under legendary Coach Ron Polk.

Cohen received the award on May 23, two days after his team completed an unprecedented feat in winning the title after finishing last the previous season. The team set a school record for SEC wins with 23 and had series wins in nine of 10 series, including all five on the road.

After sweeping the NCAA Starkville regional, Mississippi State made the Super Regional for the second time in three years.

Cohen also became one of only two coaches in SEC history to win Coach of the Year at more than one SEC school, having won it at Kentucky in 2006.

A Tuscaloosa native, Cohen’s first head coaching job was at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. On July 29, the university announced that Cohen had signed a four-year contract extension through 2020, also becoming associate athletic director. He has been at Mississippi State since 2008. A former player for Mississippi State, he is one of eight coaches to lead his alma mater to the NCAA College World Series as both a player and a coach.

“I am grateful for every opportunity here at Mississippi State,” Cohen said. “It’s been a tremendous journey so far, and I am excited about our future as we strive for more championships.”

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“CB” celebrates 25 years broadcasting the Barons

by Lee J. Green Birmingham Barons Broadcaster Curt Bloom wasn’t in the Olympic Games last month, but he was nevertheless awarded silver.

The Double A Southern League team honored their long-time radioman with a special ceremony earlier this summer and thanked him for 25 years of service.

“It was a new thing for me getting the recognition, not giving it. It was an incredible, humbling experience. It’s a great feeling to get recognized for doing a good job at something you love,” said Bloom, who is affectionately known as CB and is also an involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community.

“It seems like 25 minutes, not 25 years. That means I have really enjoyed my stay with the team, and I look forward to many more great years,” added CB. He said in those 25 years there have been many special moments he has been a part of, with Southern League championships being at the top of the list.

“It’s extra special when you consider that no one in any other sport has a grind like those in

baseball. We play 140 games in 150 days. We average two days off a month. So when the Barons have won it all, that makes all the hard work worthwhile,” he said.

In those 25 years, Bloom has missed only a handful of games and in each case had a good reason — graduations of daughters Chloe and Brittany, passing a kidney stone, Yom Kippur.

“There has not been one day that I called in sick or said I just did not want to work,” said Bloom. “I was talking about this with two other Jewish longtime broadcast journalists, Paul Finebaum and Eli Gold. They feel the same way.

I can’t remember the last day they just took a day off when they were needed at work. It’s a passion and a dedication.”

When baseball season is over, Bloom will go back to being the play-by-play voice of Samford football for his second season and women’s basketball for his fourth season.

“I had done some Super 6 high school football radio announcing but I was a neophyte with football before starting last season with Samford,” he said. “It was a challenge. You feel that extra pressure since football is almost like a religion in the South.”

“But as I got to know the players I got more comfortable, and this season I know the returning starters. I work with former Samford Bulldogs’ quarterback Ben Neil. He is the analyst.

I feel that it is my job to steer the ship to make Ben the star,” added Bloom.

During the baseball season he is busy working and also on the road a great deal. But in the off-season, even with his football and basketball duties, Bloom plans to be more involved in Temple Emanu-El, community and family activities.

Last month his wife returned to teaching at the University of Montevallo. Daughter Chloe is a physical therapist in Birmingham and Alexis works for a hotel.

“Any chance we have to spend together, we take advantage of it. It’s all about having a balance and loving life,” said Bloom.

“I was amazed at how beautiful the campus is here at The University of Alabama. I knew it was the right fit for me. There is a great Jewish population, and I have met so many friends through Bama Hillel. It’s a great place to go on Friday nights, to meet others and socialize, as well as have dinner and celebrate Shabbat.”

–Jared

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37

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Garfinkle anticipates up-tempo season at Birmingham-Southern

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Birmingham-Southern College Head Football Coach Eddie Garfinkle knows the Division III school doesn’t have athletic scholarships to dole out, only academic scholarships.

So when recruiting, he looks for high-character, intelligent players with a passion to continue their playing careers on the collegiate level.

“Our number one criterion is a good student making good grades. Then we look at him as a football player and how he might meet our needs on the team. It’s a different approach than the Division I schools have,” said Garfinkle, who enters his ninth season leading the Panthers. “We tell our guys all the time that they are gifted and talented. Not everyone has that gift.”

Garfinkle said that with recruiting and camps in the spring and fall, “there is never an off-season.” He also added that in some ways, Birmingham-Southern has to compete with the University of Alabama and Auburn University to get recruits.

“When they ask me who our biggest competitors in recruiting are I say Alabama and Auburn. We go after some talented high school players who were not offered scholarships at Division I schools but they might have such a passion for those universities that they go to school there and give up football,” he said.

Garfinkle closed the 2015 season by earning his 40th career win at home by beating Berry College out of Rome, Ga., 14-7. He said he is excited by the 2016 team’s prospects.

“Out of all of the teams I have coached here, this one has the most speed of any one we have ever had. We will continue to go no-huddle and do whatever we can to control the pace of the games,” he said.

Garfinkle grew up the son of a high school coach and teacher. His dad was at a high school in Miami for many years, and they were members of Temple Israel in downtown Miami.

Coming out of high school, Garfinkle was not offered any major college football program scholarships but wanted to walk on somewhere and earn a spot at a small college program.

He wrote to several programs and East Carolina University was the only one to write back. It was 1976, and their coach at the time was Pat Dye, who went on to have many successful years at Auburn.

Dye said they would pay one year of Garfinkle’s tuition, but then he was on his own. “We could not afford it after that year so I went home and worked but still had the dream of going to and playing at a small college in the South,” he said.

Some of his friends were at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, and Garfinkle was offered a tryout. He played linebacker for three years at JSU, then was hired as an assistant coach for the Gamecocks after earning a BS in education and while working on his masters degree in education.

During his tenure as JSU defensive coordinator, the Gamecocks made it to the Division II finals three times and a few times his teams led Division II in total defense.

He would then go on to coach defense at Georgia Southern and Spain Park High School in Hoover before arriving at Birmingham-Southern in 2007. Garfinkle served as defensive coordinator that year, the Panthers’ first year of playing football since 1939. He was named BSC head football coach in February 2008, succeeding Joey Jones.

Garfinkle and his wife Jan are members of Temple Emanu-El. Garfinkle has spoken at some synagogue and Jewish community events. He

sports

also assists in helping grow the Jewish student enrollment on Birmingham-Southern’s campus.

“I want them to know that I am not just here for our football players but for anyone that I can help in any way,” he said. “At Birmingham-Southern College, we’re all about molding young men and women so that they can become successes in the workforce and in life.”

Jewish starting center hopes to lead Georgia Bulldogs to the SEC East title

by Lee J. Green

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Georgia Bulldogs’ starting center Brandon Kublanow is a smart student and he hopes that new head coach Kirby Smart can bring championships to Georgia similar to those that Smart won under head coach Nick Saban while serving as defensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“Coach Smart has been amazing. He recruited me when he was at Alabama,” said the senior from Marietta, Ga. “There is a sense of renewed excitement in the program and Coach Smart believes a very strong work ethic is the biggest key to success.”

That is what Kublanow lives by. He earned the award in spring practice for his work ethic, given to one Bulldog every year. He started all 13 games last year, anchoring the Bulldogs’ offensive line and being named to the AP’s All-SEC second team.

Kublanow’s mother is from Israel and came to the United States when she was 17 years old. She met his dad in New York City and together they ran a shop there for many years.

Before Kublanow was born they moved to the Atlanta area. “My brother and I were always very involved in Maccabi sports and I went to Camp Barney Medintz for several years. I have always loved to be active and play sports,” he said.

He began playing football at age seven and started on his high school teams in Marietta. He was one of the nation’s highest-ranked center/offensive lineman recruits coming out of high school.

Kublanow said he is very focused on doing anything it takes to help to lead the Georgia Bulldogs to an SEC and national title. He also balances athletics with academics well and has a high GPA with a major in real estate.

“My mom has been a successful real estate agent for more than 25 years and I had a real estate internship over the summer. It’s something that I for sure want to pursue for a career,” he said. Unless, of course, the NFL comes calling first.

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SEC Football 2016 predictions The Alabama Crimson Tide won its 16th national championship and fourth title in the past seven years in the 2015 season.

At SEC Media Days in Hoover this past July, the media predicted that the Tide would win the 2016 SEC Championship. Here are the predicted standings for the conference.

SEC West SEC East 1 – Alabama Crimson Tide 1 – Tennessee Volunteers 2 – LSU Tigers 2 – Florida Gators 3 – Ole Miss Rebels 3 – Georgia Bulldogs 4 – Texas A&M Aggies 4 – Kentucky Wildcats 5 – Arkansas Razorbacks 5 – Vanderbilt Commodores 6 – Auburn Tigers 6 – Missouri Tigers 7 – South Carolina Gamecocks 7 – Mississippi State Bulldogs

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 39

sports

Skip Bertman statue in the works at Louisiana State University

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In late May, two honors were announced for legendary Louisiana State University baseball coach Skip Bertman — a statue on campus and an endowed scholarship fund in his name.

The Skip Bertman Endowed Scholarship Fund was announced by the Tiger Athletic Foundation, as part of the Foundation of Champions Scholarship Endowment Program, which began in 1999. It provides a perpetual source of financial support for athletic scholarships, with earnings from the fund offsetting the cost of scholarships for athletes.

There is also an academic scholarship in Bertman’s name, through the LSU Foundation, that is awarded to undergraduates who exhibit leadership in high school.

Skip Bertman at the dedication “Coach Bertman always stressed of Skip Bertman Field at LSU in to his players that the ultimate goal 2013 was to be a winner in the game of life,” said TAF President and CEO Rick Perry. “The two scholarships represent his belief in the vital role education plays in achieving that goal and his dedication to Louisiana State University and Tiger athletics. We thank all the donors who funded these scholarships honoring Coach Bertman and whose generosity will impact LSU students for generations to come.”

Plans for the statue were announced by the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, with details forthcoming. The field at Alex Box Stadium was named for him on May 17, 2013.

When Bertman arrived at LSU as coach in 1983, average attendance was around 500 per game. The team now regularly leads the NCAA in average attendance, with more than 10,000 per game.

Bertman is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to win five national championships. His teams won seven SEC championships, six SEC tournament titles and had 11 College World Series berths. His overall career record from 1984 to 2001 was 870-330-3, the highest winning percentage all-time among SEC coaches.

Thirty-one of his players made it to the Major Leagues, and he was National Coach of the Year six times.

He served as assistant coach on several U.S. national teams and the 1988 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, and was head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympics Team in Atlanta that won the bronze medal.

In 2001 he became athletics director at LSU, overseeing a time of tremendous growth in LSU sports. It was during that time that Alex Box Stadium was built.

“I can think of no LSU athletic figure more deserving of a statue than Skip Bertman,” said LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva. “He is arguably the greatest coach in college baseball history with an amazing portfolio of championships and honors. However, what distinguishes Skip the most from other coaches is the impact he made upon the sport on a nationwide level. He had a clear vision of how to make college baseball both popular and profitable, and today the game enjoys unprecedented recognition.”

culture art • books • apps • music • television • film • theatre

Hannah Chalew, Between, 2010. ballpoint pen and ink on paper with thread and pins

EXHIBIT

HANNAH CHALEW’S ‘BETWEEN’ in the Ogden’s /’pāpәr/ exhibit Through Nov. 6, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans has on display its /’pāpәr/ exhibit, showcasing the collection’s range, manipulated by cutting, painting, collage, printmaking, book arts and the like.

Works by artists including Robert Rauschenberg, Benny Andrews, Dusti Bongé, Walter Anderson and William Dunlap are displayed, and featured prominently at the entrance to the gallery is “Between” by New Orleans’ Hannah Chalew.

Chalew explains that her freshman orientation fell on the weekend Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and when she returned to living in the city after college, she explored those changes by drawing.

“My work explores the zones of our urban spaces that exist as thresholds of control in between cultivated and wild, order and entropy, what was before and what will come after, known and unknown. These landscapes are necessarily in flux, subject to the cycles of time that dictate the change of seasons and our own mortality. It seems only fitting to choose a substrate for these works that is subject to the same forces.”

Hannah recently graduated with an MFA from Cranbrook in Detroit and is engaged to marry Sam Langberg in New Orleans this fall. They hope to move to New Orleans permanently next summer.

EVENTS

NOMA’S LOVE IN THE GARDEN The New Orleans Museum of Art’s annual LOVE in the Garden event will be held on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Mojeaux, and DJ Nikki Pennie will entertain while 10 of the city’s most talented bartenders take part in the LOVE Cocktail Challenge. Tickets may be purchased from the noma.org site.

Patron Party cuisine includes delicacies from 60 different restaurants, including Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Elizabeth’s, Maurice French Pastries, and Mandina’s. Late-night goes a little more casual, with Crêpes á la Cart, Diva Dawg, Morning Call and Nola Snow among those bringing the treats.

his large-scale installation, “Remember the Upstairs Lounge” that first appeared at Prospect.1 in 2008, and hosted his first solo museum show in 2009, “Youth Manifesto,” for which over 1000 people attended opening night. This summer, Defend New Orleans hosted his “Rock, Skate, Trash” show of posters and shirts, and he was active in helping open the city’s first official skateboard park, The Parisite.

Gene Koss, professor at Tulane, started the glass program there. His works, some of which are terrifically large-scale weighing up to eight tons, appear in many prominent collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. Arthur Roger Gallery presented his “From a Distance” mixed-media exhibit earlier this year. Many see his work regularly at Touro Synagogue, where he was commissioned to make the sculptural rondels for their stained glass windows.

Alexa Pulitzer, who relocated with her husband to Birmingham for Elenora Rukiya Brown, Skylar Fein, Gene Koss, Ashley Longshore, some time after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, lost 90 percent of Alexa Pulitzer, and Josephine Sacabo will be the six artists honored at her inventory in a flooded warehouse. Since returning home, her custom the event. stationery designs have become even more highly sought after, and her Skylar Fein, who moved to New Orleans in 2005, first made his mark company has private label collections for Bergdorf Goodman, Tory in the city with his work as half of the “League of Jewish Carpenters,” Burch, Mignot Faget, NOMA, Anthropologie and others. Finer retailers making art by repurposing items trashed by the levee failures, and others around the world carry her stationery items. Pulitzer was most recently made to look as though they had been from debris. NOMA acquired asked to design a logo for New Orleans’ 300th anniversary in 2018.

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 41

Helen Frankenthaler, Mount Sinai, 1956. oil on canvas. 30 1/8 x 30 in. (76.5 x 76.2 cm). Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, Gift of Roy R. Neuberger, 1969.01.13. © 2016 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Jim Frank. Courtesy American Federation of Arts.

EXHIBIT

“WHEN MODERN WAS CONTEMPORARY” at the Mississippi Museum of Art

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42 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

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Roy R. Neuberger lived to 107, and was described by the New York Times as a stock trader who “built up one of Wall Street’s most venerable partnerships and one of the country’s largest private collections of 20thcentury masterpieces.” It’s part of that very collection that the “When Modern Was Contemporary: Selections from the Roy R. Neuberger Collection” traveling exhibition of 52 works comes from, and Jackson’s Mississippi Museum of Art was chosen for as the first venue.

Neuberger collected copious amounts of art beginning in the 1930s with the idea that he would only purchase what he truly enjoyed. He kept his acquisition details in a notebook, and one of the more interesting objects in the exhibit is the journal that has the ledger account of Neuberger’s relating to the Jackson Pollock “Number 8” that’s also included in this show. Careful with the details, he dutifully specified medium, dimension, date, position of signature, gallery, cost and insurance valuation for his acquisitions.

The specifics of his purchase of Jackson Pollock’s “Number 8,” in 1949 included the price of $800. In 2013, Pollock’s “Number 19” was sold at a Christie’s auction for over $58 million.

In 1965 an anonymous offer of $5 million, later discovered to be from Nelson A. Rockefeller, was made to purchase Neuberger’s collection, but was rejected as Neuberger believed in keeping art available for public access. Rockefeller later offered to have New York build a museum, and the first 108 pieces became the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College State University of New York, now home to a permanent collection of more than 6000 pieces. The museum opened in 1974, and the exhibit at MMA comes from that original gift.

Neuberger gifted works he acquired to more than 70 institutions.

The pieces now on display at the MMA through Oct. 30 include important artists such as Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Georgia O’Keefe, with at least 17 pieces by Jewish artists, including Rothko, Lee Krasner, and Max Weber. Bonus: admission ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 students) includes entry to “Reflections: Works by Modern Masters from the Collection” with pieces by Ben Shahn, Hale Woodruff, Rauschenberg, and Warhol.

culture Shakespeare Festival’s “double mitzvah” As new season announced, Laurie Jean Weil touts educational benefits

by Lee J. Green Alabama Shakespeare Festival Board President Laurie Jean Weil says the Festival’s mission statement focusing on education and entertainment demonstrates a “double mitzvah.”

“The Alabama Shakespeare Festival brings national high-quality theatrical entertainment to Alabamians who might not have had the opportunity prior to experience it,” said Weil, who has been involved with the board off and on since 1993.

“Education is a huge part of what we do. Every season more than 40,000 students get to come to matinee performances to learn and enjoy.

The ASF is creating the future of theatre and theatre-goers,” she added.

The Festival’s 2016-17 season opens Sept. 10 with the classic tale “Charlotte’s Web” through Oct. 20, then the Agatha Christie popular murder-mystery “The Mousetrap” from Sept. 22 to Oct. 9.

“The Gravedigger’s Tale” tells the story of Hamlet from the Gravedigger’s perspective, on Oct. 14 and 15. The popular “A Christmas Carol” wraps up 2016, from Nov. 20 to 24.

Kicking off 2017, “Because of Winn-Dixie” (Jan. 27-Feb. 12) is about a dog who brings new life into a family as they settle into a quirky Southern town full of characters. Tony-winning songwriter Duncan Sheik (for “Spring Awakening”) and Tony-nominated “Legally Blonde” lyricist Neil Benjamin based the show on the Newberry-winning children’s book of the same name. It was announced that the show will hit Broadway after its Jan. 27 to Feb. 12 run at the ASF. The Shakespeare classic “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” hits the ASF stage from Feb. 11 to May 13. An adaptation of “Sherlock Holmes” shows March 9 to May 13.

The world premiere of “Dauphin Island” opens March 23 and runs through April 9. This production by Jeffry Chastang developed by the Southern Writer’s Project focuses on a man from Detroit en route to a new job on Dauphin Island who interrupts the self-imposed isolation of a woman in the Alabama woods — dramatizing the risks involved when two displaced souls intertwine.

Another beloved Shakespeare show runs April 20 to May 14 with “The Tempest.” The 2016-17 season wraps with the Disney classic musical “Mary Poppins,” July 5 to 16.

A Montgomery native, Weil participated in school and community theatre when she was younger. “The magic of the theatre has always fascinated me. I also was involved in theatre at Smith College in Massachusetts. Theatre has given me lots of opportunities to be involved and lead,” she said.

In her current role, Weil works with the board and the theatre to fundraise, promote educational opportunities and community partnerships.

“Our artistic director Jeffrey Sherman does a fantastic job selecting the shows and keeping our artistic vision,” she said. “It is our job as a board to find as many ways as possible to support the theatre and expose this incredible professional theatre to as many people as possible.”

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival started out just doing Shakespeare in a high school auditorium in Anniston.

“Today people are amazed at what a beautiful campus we have here and what beautiful theatres we have,” said Weil. “The shows appeal to a variety of interests but we know Alabama is a family state and we want these shows to reflect that.”

Upcoming Shows:

9/17 Pat McGee Band 9/21 David Ramirez 9/24 Green River Ordinance with The Roosevelts and Castro 9/25 Big Easy Playboys

9/29 Lettuce’s “Sounds Like a Party” tour with Michael Menert 9/30 Willie Sugarcapps with Blue Mother Tupelo 10/5 Yonder Mountain String Band

… and we cater!

September 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 43

You’re Invited!

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November 4th-6th 2016 F ffull For ll program, online registration, travel and lodging information visit: www.isjl.org/sjhs-natchez-program.html Registration closes October 1st 2016.

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But with the arrival of football season, more goal lines will be crossed with the kickoff of new events, menu items and RICE TULANE partnerships.

“We know how big football season is in Birmingham. We have one season under our belts and we learned what we can do better; continue to do well and what our guests would like us to add,” said General Manager Laura Feeback.

U OF FLORIDA

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The Hickory Tavern sports restaurant in Birmingham’s Brookwood Village has scored some serious points and continues to build upon its fan base.

Hickory Tavern Birmingham, which opened in the spring of 2015, recently entered into some partnerships with Samford University as an athletic program sponsor, and Flip Flop Wines for wine-tasting events involved with their Thursday pint nights. “We want to be as involved and supportive as possible of the Birmingham area community,” said General Manager Laura Feeback.

The sports restaurant features 64 high-definition, flat-screen televisions and some very tasty eats. Feeback said the food truck appetizers menu will rotate somewhat, including the new Nashville Hot Chicken Wings, with new options being added for the fall.

Hickory Tavern Birmingham has upgraded its fish tacos, and for those who want some lighter, healthier fare they offer an Acai Bowl. This features a super fruit puree topped with super fruits and granola.

For college football viewing on Saturdays, they will offer special deals on 32-ounce “personal pitchers” of beer as well as two signature shots — The Bear (for Alabama fans) and The Shug (for Auburn fans). “We want to be your favorite bar,” she said.

During the summer on Thursdays, Hickory Tavern also starting doing some ladies nights that included specials and events including wine-andart as well as wine and beer tastings.

“We want to appeal not just to fans of all teams, but to some people that aren’t big fans of sports,” said Feeback. “The Hickory Tavern is so much more than a sports bar and we want to be the first place people think of when they are making plans to watch the games on television. We want to create your craveable experience.”

Of course, for those who sometimes want to host parties at their own homes or bring something to someone else’s home viewing party, the Hickory Tavern has amped up its catering business — specializing in many varieties of wings, nachos and other ideal “game” foods.

Continued from page 46

Will you need to rinse your eyes with Listerine Forget with a bottle of wine?

If I get moved up onto page three Would you look for more?

Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four?

You’ll be older too And if you read my words They will stay with you

Titillate with things that no one else would say Your last brain cells, wasting away Giving no answers, lacking in form Now or evermore Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four? *****

It has been handy, tending the muse When all light has gone You can read about it by the fireside Sunday mornings minyan at nine Back to the Garden, or Sea of Reeds All to re-explore Will you still need me, will you still read me When I’m sixty-four?

In conclusion, A Day in Southern Jewish Life

I wrote the news today, oy yoy; It was a funny man with modest grades And though the jokes were rather sad Well, you just had to laugh I wrote by telegraph

I’d love to learn you one…

Woke up, under my bed Dragged a kippah on my head Fell my way downstairs and re-woke up And looking up, for minyan I was late Wrote a joke and that was that Then I thought if it fell flat Found my way using mirrors and smoke In case you might’ve thought it’s not what it might seem I wrote the news today, oy yoy; Four thousand holes in this week’s sermon here And though the holes were not so small They didn’t count at all Still don’t know how many holes it takes to fill the Western Wall

He wrote his mind and went too far; He didn’t notice that the times had changed A crowd of readers stopped and stared I’d love to learn you one…

Every column comes out of a journey to the Isle They’d seen his jokes before Nobody was really sure if he was from the of Write Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who House of Lord…

When things get unclear premiered this column in The Southern Shofar in Kosher shrimp’s okay?

I saw a film today, oy yoy; September 1996. He would like to say thank you With kings who number three The day no army had to go to war on behalf of the banned, and hopes he passed the Sol’mon, Saul, and Dave.

A crowd of people turned astray audition. To read these or any other past columns, But I just had to look I’ll still be a card, in every line visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online Back to Habakkuk Skewing points of view content, like facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

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rear pew mirror • doug brook

Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned

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It was 20 years ago today Southern Shofar let this column play It’s been going on without no style And no guarantee to raise a smile So, may I impose on to you The hack you’ve read for all these years…

Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned!

We’re Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned We hope you will enjoy the prose Hazzan Pepper’s Lonely Column Banned Sit back and let your good taste go.

It’s wonderful to write here, It’s certainly no quill, You’re such a lovely readership, We’d love to take you home with us, We’d take you both right home…

I don’t really want to stop the flow But the editor thought you should know The writer’s gonna write more wrong And he wants you all to read along… ***** What would you think if I write like a loon, Would you turn the page away from me?

Lend me your eyes and I’ll lead you along And I’ll try not to strike the wrong key.

I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem.

What do you do when my column’s astray?

(Does it worry you to read alone?)

How do you feel when you put it away?

(Are you glad ‘cause so much was unknown?)

No, I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem.

(Do you read anybody?)

I read this column enough (Could it be anybody?)

I want this column enough

(Would you still read if I wrote it at night?)

Yes I’m certain that I’d read it all the time (What do you read when you turn out the light?)

I can’t read then, ‘cause I would go blind Oh, I get by with a little help from Hashem I just write with a little help from Hashem You survive with a little help from Hashem. ***** Looking ahead to the end of the next 20 years…

With my jokes older, greying your hair, Many years from now continued on previous page 46 Southern Jewish Life • September 2016

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