Southern Jewish Life, Deep South, September 2020

Southern Jewish Life

HURRICANE LAURA RESPONSE SUMMER CAMP 2021?

VIRTUAL HIGH HOLY DAYS September 2020 Volume 30 Issue 9

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 Temple Sinai, Lake Charles (SJL file)

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all “F--- the Jew.” That’s from history, right? Street rallies in Europe during the Holocaust?

No? Modern day? Surely, it’s neo-Nazis trying to gain attention in Europe.

Wrong again? Well, that has to be some white supremacist group. After all, they’re the real dangerous haters in society.

Wrong on all counts. That chant was heard at the end of August on Melrose in Los Angeles. The entire chant was “F-- the Jew. Kill the cop.”

Not exactly a common right-wing sentiment.

While the 2017 alt-right “Jews will not replace us” (whatever that means) is well known, the Los Angeles chant was mostly ignored.

How did we get to a point in America where one can chant something like that and not feel at least a twinge of “hey, this is wrong”?

When leading personalities fell they can freely share “their truth” that includes obvious antisemitism, often echoing the notorious “I’m not an antisemite” Louis Farrakhan, something is amiss.

When left-wing groups like IfNotNow, when they bother to acknowledge the existence of antisemitism on the left, say it needs to be ignored for the greater good of social justice or understood as the cry of the oppressed (but according to the same group, as asserted in a recent forum, when it comes from the right, it has to be loudly condemned whether real or imagined), something has gone wrong.

It is said that we Jews are the world’s all-purpose scapegoat. In a communist regime, we’re the capitalist pigs. In a capitalist system, we’re the communist infiltrators. What is the worst thing to be in society at a given time? Well, that’s what the Jews are.

Today, in many spaces, the Jews are portrayed as the epitome of whiteness and privilege.

Exploiting the poor? The Jews. Fomenting a racial divide? The Jews. Teaching American cops how to be racist and oppress people of color? Israel, which means the Jews.

All we’re waiting for now is someone to start saying “the Jews are our misfortune.”

Whatever happened to the idea that it is unacceptable to blame “the Jews” — or any

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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commentary

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games

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

It is up to us to overcome

I felt lives honored come Birmingham for on the first time and fell in love Our and tothe livestoof every person Self-quarantining andwith not just the city but the people.

You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring this planet have continued to be affected, di- social distancing are approach the JCC for Maccabi Games. rectly and to indirectly, the past few months by only two of the many Covid-19.

TheSokol basicand sense of security, stability methods proLed by the Helds, your hard-working volunteershealth were wonderful.

They partnered and have been and tofessionals recommend withnormalization your outstanding staff, ledinterrupted

by Betzy Lynch, make the 2017 JCC Maccabi games a huge hit. uprooted.

No, this I amopportunity not a physician, nor am I to of tryMaccabi and prevent I want to take as executive director USA tothe say thank you on behalf an expert ininvolved. public health. All I have are my spread and to inhibit of everyone personal values, beliefs and thoughts that have mass infection.

I had just returned from the 20th World Maccabiah games in Israel with a U.S. delegation of helped to shape my perception surrounding As Jews, one of our over 1100, who joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire these difficult times. Allow me to share some of more fundamental Jewish world were on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah. This past month with 1000 athletes and those with you.

Mitzvot is visiting the coaches from around the world being in Birmingham, you became the focal point.

The Jewish High Holy Days are once again sick. However, at a time Everyone the Jewish community the community large, including a wonderful knocking onfrom our doors.

There seems to and be no when we areatunable to physically visit and take police force, arereflect to be commended. games will in history as being a seminal ways better time to on the past These year, while caregoofdown others, we must find alternative moment for the Jewish wefuture, build to to theshow future by support providing such Jewish also looking forward tocommunity the hope ofasour our and to wonderful provide assistance memories. in the coming new year. The dramatic impact to at risk groups and individuals in our comthat this once-in-a-century pandemic has had munities. The Consulate General of Israel to Jed Margolis and will continue to Maccabi have on our lives, is beyond the Southwest is continuing to work to do just Executive Director, USA expression. That is why I think the battle against this, adapt in these uncertain times and show this virus is not only in the hospitals and in the that we are here standing with our communisupremacists would likeregion. to see pushed back suffering economies. It is in each and every one ties in the Southwest From providing On Charlottesville into a corner and made to feel lesser.

We of us: the very nature of us as human beings, take-home-meals to frontline medicalstand staff withhospital and prayworkers for the family of Heather communities, andreaction societiesto is risk. in That is and to offering warmHeyer, meals Editor’s Note: This theatevents who was there standing up tokosher the faceand of this why we all havewritten to remember thatNewman, fighting, and to senior citizens from local Israeli Charlottesville,

by Jeremy hate. hopefully defeating, the pandemic one thing. owned restaurants in the community, we are Master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi ThetaisColony Doing so, while protecting our most precious doing what we can to help of make a difference.

We recognize the essence the American at Auburn University, was shared

by AEPi values, beliefs, human character is aand differ- We continue work in fulfilling our obligation narrative as atotwo-century old struggle to rid National, whichand called it “very eloquent” ent challenge altogether. to our fellow mancorners, while keeping ourselves ourselves of such and allow those inand praised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at Rosh Hashanah the perfect opportunity safe. them the seat at the table that they so deserve.

Auburn University is and… the leadership they to others take a moment remember who we are, what is It Believe me when I say, know that there is the struggle to fulfill theIpromise of the display on theirtocampus. ” important to us, and how we can stand together are no easy solutions to address Declaration of Independence, thatthe “allchallenges men are as a community in the face of these uncertain- that we equal… currentlyendowed face. Moreover, unfortunatecreated by their Creator with White cancer on to a ly, ties, whilesupremacy nourishinghas ourbeen spirita as we look thereunalienable are difficultrights. decisions that have to be certain ” We know our work our country since its beginning, threatening brighter future. made on a finished, personal but andwe communal Our is far from know we basis. will not itsSometimes hopes, its values, and its better numbers speak forangels. themselves. morals, values, and strength are being tested to move backwards.

The events thatthat tookrelate placeto in Covid-19 Charlottesville The numbers are one the fullest extent.

When men and women, fully armed, take represented theHere worst of these cases. areofathis fewnation. figures:Those the globEven in these most challenging times, we to the streets in droves with swastikas and who marcheddeath onto the with tiki torches must al Covid-19 tollstreets has already surpassed do our part in having hope for the future other symbols of hate, it is a reminder of how and swastikas so to provoke violence and 650,000 and isdid continuing to climb.

In the U.S. and doing what we can for our community. I relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism fear. Those marched onto the did alone, over who 150,000 Americans (at streets this writing) pray to the Almighty that we all will have the are today.

It is a wake-up call to the work that so todied profess anCovid-19. ideology that harkens back to have from strength to stand up to these challenges. Let us needs to be done to ensure a better, more a bleaker, more wretched time inof ourpeople, history.we define ourselves When talking about masses as righteous. If we do so, not welcoming country.

But it should not come A time women Th many creeds, tend to when forgetmen the and individual.​ ​of at is why our only will we be doing the right thing but we will without a reflection on far we’ve come. races, emphasized and religions the wereidea far from far also be able to educatehow sages that equal everyand single our children and our Americachildren was born slave nation. century from safe in our ownwhen borders. time“Every whereone children’s person is important theyAsaid onacherishing lifeAand obeyintothe ourfundamental history we engaged in partyour Americans livedsoul under cloudaofworld ing who saves one is aasconstant if he saved Jewish in lawa war of “Love to ensure we would not continue as one. We racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive and its fullness. ​” Remembering thathate. thereThe are fellow neighbor as yourself. ” ourselves of civil events that took place in Charlottesville served real people behind these numbers is not only found I send to all ofconfronted my friendsbyinthe allissue of the Jewrights, and embarked a mission my to ensure as a reminder how painfully relevant these important, butofessential.

Honoring those who ish communities in theonSouthwest personal the fair treatment all peoples their issuesbeen are today. have taken by this horrible virus, standing greetings and hopeofthat we will no all matter be engraved skin color.

Although we’ve made great strides, side-by-side with others that continue to feel its in the Book of Life.

Auburn’s Alpha Epsilon Pi stands with the a mission we’re still grappling with today. devastating effects, of and providing aidand to those it is Shana Tova to y’all.

Jewish community Charlottesville, most vulnerable are the tasks at hand.

America was also born an immigrant with the Jewish people around the country Two of the communities Gilad Katz is Israel’s Consul General country.

As early as the pilgrims, many to the and around the most world.vulnerable We also stand with the in this pandemic the elderly wellthat as in- Southwest, in found Houston.

Hiscountry territorythe also groups andbased families in the minorities who areare targeted by theashate dividuals with underlying health conditions. covers Louisiana and Arkansas. opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, was on display in Charlottesville. We stand with the minorities of whom these white

4 September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

and be themselves. Few were met with open

July 2020 2020 September

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Richard Friedman richard@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 2179 Highland Ave., Birmingham, AL 35205 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/249-6875 TOLL-FREE 888/613.YALL(9255) ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com Jeff Pizzo, jeff@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

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

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

agenda interesting bits & can’t attend events

Auburn Hillel and members of AEPi held the annual beginning of the year Bagel Breakfast with Coach Bruce Pearl on Aug. 21.

Shell grant of $300k to help restore Louisiana Rosenwald School Shell presented a $300,000 grant to the River Road African American Museum in Donaldsonville, La., to support the restoration of the Museum’s historic Rosenwald School building.

Rosenwald Schools began in 1913, in a partnership between philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, and Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute. After the six initial schools in Alabama, Rosenwald provided seed money for communities throughout the South to build over 5,000 schools for Black students.

While over 400 were built in Louisiana, only three or four are known to still exist.

The RRAAM Rosenwald School building was built in St. James Parish in the early 1930s. It was moved to Donaldsonville in 2001 in an effort to save the building from demolition. The building, now located at 511 Williams St., is being renovated and historically restored to become part of the museum’s growing campus in downtown Donaldsonville.

When completed next summer, the structure will house the RRAAM Rosenwald School for Education, Culture and History, which will provide a modern space for museum visitors and school groups to explore the important role of

African Americans in the region’s history. The facility will also enhance the museum’s ability to provide science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) programing, healthy eating/ healthy living seminars, and culture and history events, in addition to serving as a center for genealogical research.

“The River Road AfriLeft to Right: Tyrone Smith, Shell Convent Refinery Operator can American Museum is and RRAAM Board Member; Emanuel Mitchell, RRAAM Board truly excited about the gift Member; Allen Pertuit, Shell Convent Refinery General Manager; Shell is contributing to our Darryl Hambrick, RRAAM Executive Director; Todd L. Sterling, work,” said Todd L. Sterling, RRAAM Board President; Rhoman Hardy, Shell Vice President RRAAM’s Board President.

U.S. Gulf Coast.

“Many children, members of the community, and patrons from around the 20 years,” said Rhoman Hardy, Shell Vice Presworld will be the beneficiary of the program- ident U.S. Gulf Coast. “The Rosenwald School ming, and events that the Rosenwald School will bring new resources and opportunity to our for Education, Culture and History will execute region while assisting the Museum in advancing once the building is renovated and available for its mission; one we believe deeply in. This partuse.” nership echoes Shell’s commitment to diversity “Shell’s relationship with the River Road Af- and inclusion both with our employees and in rican American Museum goes back more than the communities in which we operate.”

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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>> Editor’s Note

continued from page 3 other group of people as a group, for that matter — for the ills of society? We have seen that movie before, and we know the ending.

While Trump is condemned by many as Hitler Lite, of late, blame-the-Jew rhetoric has been coming from, and accepted by, a completely different part of the political spectrum.

Even worse, it is the part of the spectrum where the American Jewish community has traditionally felt more at home — fighting for social justice and helping others.

Now, unless we hold views that are deemed kosher — such as ignoring the centrality of the land of Israel in Judaism — we have to beg our way into those spaces. May we please march with you for women’s rights even if we’re part of the 90 percent of American Jews who favor Israel’s existence? May we stand with the LGBTQ community and not be accused of pinkwashing?

There are some successes. Certainly, the vast silent majority does not hold to such hate. But there are enough troubling outspoken examples, and their number has been increasing — and the reaction to them lessening.

As this issue is wrapping, there are also reports that the new Black Lives Matter organizational platform — as distinct from just the notion that Black lives matter — does not have the anti-Israel rhetoric that the 2016 platform had. There is still a lot of “solidarity with Palestine” rhetoric individually, but the national organizational change is at least something.

There is a lot of outreach that has to be done, a lot of change that has to happen, lest the polarization and scapegoating become worse — and more dangerous.

Lawrence Brook, Publisher/Editor

letters Regarding the Black Lives Matter editorial in the July edition: BLM is an openly Marxist destroy-America group uninterested in Black people and their problems. Why would it surprise you they’re antisemitic as well?

It never ceases to amaze me how naive you liberals can be. I guess you think Louis Farrakhan is looking out for Blacks as well.

Bruce Samuels, MD New Orleans

What do you think?

Send your letters to editor@sjlmag.com, or mail to P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 6 September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

agenda With no tourism, Jerusalem’s Alabama Shop goes online to serve Bama nation Just as most Alabama fans won’t be able to get into Bryant-Denny Stadium this year because of coronavirus, Alabama fans aren’t able to travel to Jerusalem to visit the Alabama Shop.

So Hani Imam is making it possible to get Alabama swag from Jerusalem online, through the new website bamabazaar.com.

“Covid-19 made it very difficult for us,” Imam said. “No tourists whatsoever in Jerusalem.”

The store is an unexpected find in the heart of the Arab market in Jerusalem’s Old City, and has been featured in the New Yorker and on “Conan O’Brien.”

But for Imam, who attended Alabama from 1985 to 1989 and also lived for a time in Huntsville, it’s a natural extension of his passionate fandom.

When he returned to Jerusalem in 1994, he missed the wide open spaces of Alabama and “one of the best football teams ever.” When he took over the family business, he hung a sign as a tribute to the Crimson Tide, prompting questions. He then started making Alabama memorabilia in Arabic, English and Hebrew — and certainly differentiating himself from other stores in the area.

While there are the requisite Alabama T-shirts, there are many only-in-Israel items, such as a Crimson Tide painted shofar, ceramic mezuzahs and Alabama kipot. Olive wood items include a Biblical wine cup with the Alabama logo, a Big Al made from a solid block of olive wood, Stars of David, jewelry boxes, coasters — and an olive wood framed plaque commemorating “2nd and 26,” which needs no explanation for a true Bama fan.

Silver necklaces declare “Roll Tide” in English and Hebrew. How about a ceramic Bama pomegranate for Rosh Hashanah, or a hand-made silver Alabama pendant with a 2,000-year-old authentic fragment of Roman glass?

Imam has two prayers — “better days in the near future” with tourists able to return, and of course, “a national championship season.”

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Sidewalk cancels this year’s Birmingham Jewish Film Festival On Aug. 19, the Sidewalk Film Festival announced that the Birmingham Jewish Film Festival scheduled for this November is being cancelled, “with hopes of producing an even bigger and better Festival in 2021,” said Sidewalk Development Coordinator Catherine Wright.

“We know that we all wanted this festival to happen,” she said; “however, the pandemic has made this and many other nonprofit events impossible to pull off.”

The first Jewish Film Festival was held last year, the first specialty festival produced by Sidewalk, which has become one of the top film festivals in the nation.

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Happy New Year!

We’re new in the neighborhood

and would love to meet you

Jewish Federations from across North America will be coming together for a “Communal Kvell,” a national online program of inspiration, storytelling and entertainment. The event will kick off campaign years across the country and will be a taste of the first-ever Virtual General Assembly for the Jewish Federations of North America. The free event is Sept. 16 at 12:30 p.m. Central, and registration is at jewishfederations.org.

The Grafman Legacy Program at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will be an online “Tonight Show” chat with Michael Saag interviewing Cantor Robert Wittner, who is new to the community. The 11:30 a.m. interview on Sept. 10 will be available on the congregation’s Facebook page or the Hess Chapel webcast.

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You Belong in Birmingham and the local congregations are holding a Shofar picnic on the field at the Levite Jewish Community Center, Sept. 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Participants should bring their own picnic, a cold drink and a blanket or chair and enjoy the sound of the shofar and complimentary honey sticks. The shofar will sound at 1:15 pm. Masks are requested at all times, except for when eating or drinking, and households and set picnics at a six feet distance from others.

B’nai Israel in Pensacola is doing Rosh Hashanah To Go, with round challahs, matzah ball soup, chopped liver, along with a complete boxed dinner including beef, dried fruit compote, roasted potatoes and carrots, sautéed spinach, apple cake and cinnamon raisin challah rolls. The boxed dinner is $20, and a complete Rosh Hashanah in a Box with the soup and chopped liver is $40. Orders must be in by Sept. 10 and can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sept. 18.

Krispy Kreme Round-Up at Ahavas Chesed in Mobile continues with a gathering outside on Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. While it usually meets every other week, there isn’t one scheduled on Sept. 27 just before Yom Kippur.

Cantor Richard Shavei Tziyon of Israel will be in a pre-High Holy Days concert with Rabbi Moshe Rube of Knesseth Israel in Birmingham, Sept. 13 at noon, on Zoom.

On Sept. 11, the monthly joint Shabbat service in Baton Rouge will be hosted in the Beth Shalom Zoom at 6:30 p.m. B’nai Israel Rabbi Batsheva Appel will deliver the drash.

Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile will host Bert Eichold for a talk about Covid-19, Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m.

Collat Jewish Family Service in Birmingham will offer a new virtual bereavement support group, starting on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m., facilitated

by Gail Schuster. Registration is required and the group will decide on the most convenient time for future meetings. The group is free, thanks to a grant from the Birmingham Jewish Foundation.

Louisiana State University legendary baseball coach and athletics director Skip Bertman will be one of the guests on the online Maccabi USA Sports Show, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m., hosted by Donna Orender, former WNBA president, and Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans CEO Arnie Fielkow. The show will also feature Ken Babby, owner of the Akron RubberDucks and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp AA baseball teams.

Birmingham’s BBYO chapters will start the year with a Movie Night Under the Stars, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Levite Jewish Community Center field. The event is open to all Jewish teens, grades 8 to 12. Registration is requested, and lawn chairs are recommended.

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The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which will open in New Orleans early next year, is hosting “Growing Up Jewish in the Delta: A Conversation with Deborah Lamensdorf Jacobs,” Sept. 13 at continued on page 41

community

Lake Charles, Alexandria face long road of post-Laura rebuilding For further developments since press time, check sjlmag.com.

While damage is still being assessed throughout western and central Louisiana, it is already clear that two synagogues face major repairs, and the small communities will need help accomplishing the task.

Hurricane Laura came ashore near Cameron around 2 a.m. on Aug. 27, with winds of about 150 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm and the strongest to hit the state since the mid-19th century.

On Aug. 31, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans convened a statewide Zoom call to formulate Outside Temple Sinai, Lake hurricane response. Ellen Sager and Charles Bethany Sorkey, who head the Federations in Baton Rouge and North Louisiana, were on the call, along with Rabbi Raina Siroty of Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, one of the two synagogues that was damaged.

Michael Goldman represented Lake Charles as treasurer of Temple Sinai.

In Lake Charles, some members of the Jewish community reported “total devastation” of their homes, according to Goldman. “Most have damage but are handling the damage.”

The historical 1904 Temple Sinai building suffered roof damage, all windows in the social hall were blown out and there is water damage from the rain, all the files in the classrooms were soaked and the air conditioner was hit. There is also damage to the ceiling in the sanctuary.

The anticipated storm surge did not materialize, so the building did not flood; the water damage came from the rain.

The congregation’s Torahs had been moved to Abbeville, and on Aug. 31 were being transported to Touro Synagogue in New Orleans for safekeeping.

Goldman said that since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, insurance companies have instituted a “named storm deductible” of 5 percent of the insured amount, which means the 50-family congregation is facing a deductible of almost $80,000, which Goldman said “is a tremendous figure.”

The water system is “totally out” in Lake Charles, and a chlorine plant fire after the hurricane went through made breathing difficult. Most in the Jewish community have evacuated, Goldman said.

Rabbi Barry Weinstein reported that the congregation’s immediate past president lost her home, the incoming president needs a new roof, and the current president needs a new roof and had heavy damage at his downtown office.

Weinstein, who retired from B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge in 2008, has served Temple Sinai as visiting rabbi since 2010. This summer, the 55-member congregation announced that he would move to Lake Charles and become the resident rabbi.

Weinstein said his Baton Rouge condo was “99 percent packed up” in preparation for the move, but his new home was “seriously damaged” by Laura and needs a new roof. With the prospect of no electricity in Lake Charles for weeks, at age 78 and having undergone extensive medical procedures four years ago, he said the Sinai leadership has insisted he stay in Baton Rouge for now. While he understands the logic, he admitted “I’m torn spiritually.”

Siroty said that despite being so far inland, Alexandria had 100 mile September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

per hour winds. Power outages were still widespread, and those who still had water were being advised to boil it.

“People had trees hit their roofs, a lot of people have structural damage,” she said. Many in the local Jewish community have century-old retail establishments that were damaged or otherwise affected.

Gemiluth Chassodim had windows blown out in the front of the building and in the sanctuary, and roof damage in the sanctuary. A full assessment has not been made “because there is too much going on” and they only know about damage based on where rain collected in the sanctuary and social hall.

“The symbol that stood at the base of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the 7-branched menorah, that framed the top of the synagogue windows is now bent from the force of the winds,” Siroty said.

Those without power and water have gone to stay with friends or relatives in New Orleans or Baton Rouge. Siroty said there will be a lot of cleanup and recovery needed in the area, and a high priority is making sure families will be able to rebuild and stay in Alexandria.

The Alexandria congregation serves families from a wide area, including Fort Polk, Opelousas, Natchitoches and other towns, with about 120 families. There is also a small Conservative congregation.

Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh said a tree went through her father’s roof in Alexandria and damaged support beams, and his pier was washed away. She said he commented that this was the worst storm he had seen in the area in his 88 years.

In Shreveport, the two synagogues did not even lose power, and Sorkey said they were able to serve as a place for people to assemble during the storm. She said there were a lot of trees down but little significant damage.

The congregations in Lafayette and New Iberia reported no significant damage.

In New Orleans, part of the mobilization is to help evacuees who are being housed in downtown hotels. On Aug. 28, Federation staff coordinated with the Sheraton and did a Sam’s Club run to provide needed items to evacuees. Cait Gladow, Federation marketing and communications director, said “it was alarming” to see evacuees with just a trash bag filled with what they could grab before having to leave their homes.

Arnie Fielkow, Federation CEO, said they are planning a “multi-layer” response, establishing a central address to combine efforts in the Jewish community, see where needs are that can be filled, mobilize volunteers and work with other existing agencies that are already providing services.

In the immediate aftermath, the Federation’s first recommendations were Second Harvest for

volunteers and donations, and the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana.

“There are a lot of areas we can help with” based on their post-Katrina experiences, Fielkow said, and in coordinating efforts.

In consultation with the Jewish Federations of North America, it was decided that the New Orleans Federation would be the recipient for hurricane relief contributions, with the partnership of the state’s two other Federations and the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana.

A donation portal has been set up on the New Orleans Federation website.

Goldman said the most pressing immediate need in the area is cash. Without electricity and Internet, credit and debit cards are useless, and ATMs aren’t operating. “Cash is the only way of getting items they need,” he said, including food and water, or hotel rooms.

Based on Baton Rouge’s experience with the 2016 floods, Sager said gift cards will be an important element of relief as people try to repair their homes and replace what was lost.

Roselle Ungar, executive director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, said they will have case managers and social workers to provide referrals and support. After the Baton Rouge floods, they helped many people with the lengthy paperwork needed for financial assistance requests.

Though the agency is in New Orleans, Ungar noted it is the only JFS in the state “and we’re here to help all the communities in the state.”

Down the road, JFS will offer its tele-mental health support. “The overwhelming majority of people going through this now are not thinking therapy sessions, they’re worried about putting a tarp down,” Ungar said.

Ned Goldberg, director of Jewish Children’s Regional Service, said the agency checked in with many in the affected areas. The agency works with families who have children with special needs, and Goldberg said those with ongoing needs should contact the agency.

Will Samuels has been collecting information on relief efforts and volunteer opportunities, and posting them as a slide show on the Shir Chadash, Pizza Nola and King Cake Hub pages.

Nechama: A Jewish Response to Disaster sent a team from its Minnesota headquarters to Lake Charles on Aug. 31 “to perform assessments of the area and determine how we can best serve those affected by Hurricane Laura.”

Nechama was on the ground in Louisiana after Katrina in 2005, and in 2016 was in Baton Rouge for an extended time following severe flooding. According to the agency, which recruits volunteers to help gut and repair flooded homes, “we have received calls from communities we have assisted in the past, wanting to help, and others requesting assistance.”

community Putting threats of antisemitism in context Former FBI official Pomerantz speaks at NOLA NCJW webinar

By Richard Friedman A former high-ranking FBI official shared thought-provoking and nuanced insights regarding antisemitism and hate crimes on an Aug. 30 webinar hosted by the Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, urging his audience not to “cower” in the face of reports showing antisemitic incidents increasing nationally, but also to take proactive security measures.

“Jews by virtue of being Jewish stand a greater chance statistically of being a victim of a hate crime or an act of terrorism… and that is why I am speaking to you today,” Steven Pomerantz said at the start of his remarks.

Yet, he added later, “When you talk about hate crimes, particularly against the Jewish community… the numbers do not necessarily reflect the condition of the threat to the Jewish community.” The overwhelming number of reports, he explained, are crimes against property — swastikas and hate symbols painted on synagogues, dormitories and other physical institutions. “Most of these do not involve serious crimes,” he said, though stressing that he was not suggesting that such antisemitic acts are not unsettling and disturbing.

He noted that we live in a country of 350 million people and that during one recent reporting period, there were 39 physical assaults against Jews. “When looking at the threats to your lives and communities, we have to put them in context,” he said while clearly not minimizing the horrible physical attacks against Jews that have occurred recently, such as the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.

Pomerantz, a former assistant director of the FBI, stressed throughout the hour-long program that his goal was to bring perspective and context to the Jewish community’s concern over the high number of reported antisemitic incidents.

In May 2020, for example, the Anti-Defamation League, one of the agencies that partnered with NCJW on this program, reported in its annual audit that “the American Jewish community experienced the highest level of antisemitic incidents last year (2019) since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States.”

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community Pomerantz has represented the FBI and the law enforcement community on many occasions. He is known as an expert in the areas of terrorism and criminal justice information. During his 27-year tenure, he served three tours of duty at FBI Headquarters, including as chief of the counterterrorism section. In that role, he was responsible for supervising all FBI counterterrorism investigations, both domestically and abroad.

Pomerantz, who is Jewish, began his FBI career in Alabama going after the Ku Klux Klan.

A desire to educate and combat the recent surge in antisemitism has prompted New Orleans NCJW to develop an illuminating four-part series under the banner “The Plague of Antisemitism.” The program with Pomerantz was the third in the series. Hadassah New Orleans, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the South-Central region of the Anti-Defamation League partnered on the series. Aaron Ahlquist, ADL regional director, moderated the Aug. 30 program.

Along with his view that the growing number of incidents should be viewed in context, the long-time lawman shared some additional observations which were unvarnished and unsettling.

He is concerned about the stresses and turmoil taking place today in America; from the frustration and anxiety that the Covid pandemic has triggered to the racial turmoil that has erupted in the streets to what is expected to be a bruising presidential election. “This is a volatile mix,” he said, suggesting that historically when there is “volatility and turmoil” Jews are caught in the maelstrom.

Good Relationships

Throughout his remarks, Pomerantz stressed that in addition to strengthening security, which, he noted, can be a deterrent to those who seek to harm a community, Jewish communities should develop good working relationships with local law enforcement, something, he noted, that the New Orleans Jewish community has done. “This is so important.

I think that sometimes when I talk to community leaders, they say things like ‘We don’t want to be a pain in the rear end.’ I say ‘Stop — these people are not doing you a favor. They are public servants — that is their job.’”

Today, Pomerantz said, antisemitism can emanate from the far right, the far left and Islamic extremists. He noted that one increasingly hears French spoken in Israel, a reflection of the growing number of French Jews who have left their country to immigrate to Israel because of the influx of radical Muslims.

Common thinking is that the growth of the Internet has been a major factor in the growth of antisemitism, though this is an assumption this veteran FBI official questioned. “I think we sometimes exaggerate the influence of the Internet,” he contended, noting that hate groups would distribute printed material before the Internet.

As he finished his remarks and took questions, he offered an unnerving view of the future. Referring to violent confrontations that have taken place recently between demonstrators and anti-demonstrators, he said that these results were “absolutely predictable.” The stronger the protest movement became, the stronger the anti-protest movement would become. “The worse this gets, the more violence we will see,” he predicted.

As the webinar concluded, Pomerantz was asked if he was concerned over the prospect of the upcoming presidential election resulting in violence. His viewers could see that this hardened ex-FBI agent was anguished as he pondered his answer: “I don’t want to even imagine that… I am a lot more worried about violence and extremism just as a result of the climate we are in… armed groups on both sides… nothing good can come of this.”

“I can see it continuing regardless of the outcome of the election, and that scares me.”

A recording of the program is available from NCJW, ncjwneworleans. org. The final webinar in the series, “Is today’s Anti-Zionism the latest form of antisemitism?” with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, will be on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community

Congregations prepare for a socially distant High Holy Days

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Most in region going virtual-only for services Those who are used to traffic jams, remote parking and large crowds for the High Holy Days may have a sense of withdrawal this year, as most congregations in the region will have services online because of the restrictions on gatherings due to coronavirus.

Even congregations that will have in-person options are instituting strict limits on the number who can attend in person — generally 50 or fewer.

As Rabbi Daniel Sherman of Temple Sinai in New Orleans said, “this is no one’s first choice, but it is the right choice for this year.”

Every congregation doing in-person services will require social distancing, no socializing, wearing masks, bringing personal items such as books, tallesim or kipot, temperature checks, and a recommendation that older members not attend in person. Also, anyone feeling even slightly under the weather should not show up.

ISJL Regional Service

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which provides rabbinic services and programming to communities in a 13-state region, will produce High Holy Days streaming services. The tentative schedule is for Rosh Hashanah at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18, 10 a.m. on Sept. 19.

On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27, then services at 10 a.m. on Sept. 28, a prerecorded Yizkor service at noon, a live Yizkor at 4:15 p.m., and concluding service at 5 p.m. The services will use “Gates of Repentance.” Registration is required to receive login information.

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The South East Chavurah, located on the Mississippi and Alabama coast, will have a Zoom service on Sept. 19 at 10:30 a.m. Call (228) 6230279 for login information.

This list will be updated on our website, sjlmag.com, as more congregations release their information. Check with individual congregations as needed for Zoom links and service times.

Alabama The congregations involved in the joint Alabama Havdalah each week — Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery, Emanu-El in Dothan, Beth Shalom in Auburn and Ahavas Chesed in Mobile, will have a Selichot service on Zoom, following the 7:30 p.m. Havdalah on Sept. 12.

Temple Beth-El in Anniston announced that all High Holy Day services would be cancelled.

Beth Shalom in Auburn will have virtual services led by Rabbi Arturo Kalfus and his wife, Phyllis Meyers. Rosh Hashanah services will be 7 p.m. on Sept. 18. Times for Sept. 19 and 20 have not been announced. Kol Nidre will be Sept. 27 at 7 p.m., and likely at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sept. 28.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will not have in-person services, but will have a meditative Prayer Walk for the mornings of the High Holy Days, with a pre-set course for masked and socially-distanced groups.

Rather than just having a virtual service, Rabbi Stephen Slater said this would be an opportunity to see others in person for the first time in six months. A video stream of the program will be made available for those who cannot venture out.

The walk will include stations along the course where certain prayers or reflections will be done. A portable ark will be brought to the course and the Torah reading will be broadcast.

The paths will be about an hour in length, and on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, several pastors and leaders in the Black community have been invited to take part. The walks will be held on both mornings of Rosh Ha-

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community shanah and on Yom Kippur. Reservations are required, and the location will be given when reservations are made. Evening services will be done over YouTube and Facebook.

Beth-El’s services will be Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., then the walking services will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 19 and 20. Tashlich will be set up during the Sept. 19 service. A virtual garden service will be online at 9:30 a.m.

Online afternoon services will be 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, and 7:40 p.m. for Havdalah on Sept. 20. In-person Tashlich will be at Avondale Park on Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will stream from the sanctuary at 6 p.m. on Sept. 27. The outdoor walking service will be from 9 to 11 a.m., with a virtual service at 9:30 a.m. Afternoon services will begin at 5:45 p.m. Before the first Rosh Hashanah evening service and Kol Nidre, a Zoom “Hallway Channel” will be open for meeting virtually.

For those unable to attend the walks, there will be a drive-by Shanah Tovah in the Beth-El parking lot on Sept. 17 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Beit Ariel Chabad in Birmingham is planning outdoor services for the High Holy Days, under a tent. All participants will be required to wear masks, and there will be social distancing between individuals or families. Each morning there will be three one-hour services with time to disinfect between services. The 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon services will be by reservation only due to capacity limitations. There will be a family Shofar in the Park on Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m. in Chabad’s backyard, socially distanced with Rosh Hashanah munchies.

Knesseth Israel will have in-person services, with strict limits on attendance due to space. Information is available from the congregation.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will not have in-person High Holy Day, Sukkot or Simchat Torah services this year. Services will be on Livestream, Facebook and YouTube. The Sept. 18 service will be at 7:45 p.m. A contemporary service will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 19, with the regular Rosh Hashanah service at 10:30 a.m. There will be a family shofar service in person at Veterans Park in Hoover at 4:30 p.m., with social distancing required.

On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will be at 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 27. A family service will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 28, with the traditional morning service at 10:30 a.m. The afternoon service begins at 1:30 p.m., followed by a program with Julian Resnick, founder of Journeys Making Meaning: Guiding the Jewish Story in Israel and Around the World, at 2:45 p.m.

A healing service will be at 4 p.m., followed by Yizkor and the evening service at 4:30 p.m.

At Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El, Zoom services continue but as of Aug. 7, an in-person option for those willing to take the risk was available, with social distancing. The Shabbat services were being used “to work out the kinks” enabling in-person options for the High Holy Days.

B’nai Israel in Florence will have virtual services “for the health and safety of everyone,” said Rabbi Nancy Tunick. She will broadcast from the B’nai Israel sanctuary rather than her home in Nashville, “to bring everyone a service that feels closer to what we typically experience during the High Holidays.” Services will be on Facebook Live and the web link, along with some Zoom breakout rooms to socialize. There will also be opportunities to participate in readings during the live broadcast.

Etz Chayim in Huntsville will have mostly virtual services, with members picking up books and New Year booklets on Sept. 13. Virtual services will be held on Sept. 18 at 7:15 p.m., Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. There will be an in-person Tashlich and shofar blowing at Aldridge Creek at Weatherly at 4 p.m. Yom Kippur services will be virtual, Sept. 27 at 6:15 p.m., and Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. A masked sukkah build will be held on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.

Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville announced that “it is most prudent to worship virtually” rather than have High Holy Day services in the sanctuary. The congregation has contracted with Cantor Ted Labow, who is working with Rabbi Berk on planning the services. The congregation is 14

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community working on procedures to provide “loaner” copies of the High Holy Days prayerbook, and has links to discounted physical copies and Kindle editions that congregants can purchase. B’nai Sholom members were asked to submit a Shana Tovah family video of 5 to 8 seconds for a montage that will be played during the Zoom service.

Ahavas Chesed in Mobile will hold services over YouTube, at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18, and 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 and 20. Kever Avot will be on Zoom, Sept. 27 at 12:30 p.m. Yom Kippur starts online at 6:30 p.m., then continues on YouTube at 10 a.m. on Sept. 28, with a combined healing and Torah service with Agudath Israel in Montgomery on Zoom at 4:30 p.m. The afternoon service will be on YouTube at 5:30 p.m.

Rabbi Natan Trief, formerly of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge, will lead virtual High Holy Day services for Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile.

The service will be broadcast from the Springhill Avenue sanctuary for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, while the intermediate Shabbat will be led from his home in Atlanta.

Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will be holding its services online. On Yom Kippur afternoon, Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m., there will be a Zoom joint healing service and Torah reading with Ahavas Chesed in Mobile.

Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or will have services livestreamed on its website, Facebook Live and its YouTube channel.

Tuscaloosa’s Temple Emanu-El announced it will not have in-person High Holy Day services, “in the best interest for the safety and health of our temple family.” Virtual services will be held via Zoom and on the congregation’s private Facebook page.

Florida Panhandle Chabad of the Emerald Coast in Destin will hold the traditional Rosh

Hashanah service for a smaller group than usual, and then there will be a family outdoor shofar ceremony with individually-packaged traditional Rosh Hashanah foods, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Morgan Sports Center pavilion. The picnic is open to all, reservations are required.

Beth Shalom in Fort Walton Beach will hold services in person and on Zoom. All those planning to attend in person must sign up online.

There is a maximum of 50 allowed in the building for each service, and each service is a separate request. Masks are mandatory, anyone who does not arrive with one will have to leave. The in-person slots will be for members, though on Sept. 11 any remaining slots will be available for non-members. Prayer books will be lent to members, with pickups from Sept. 14 to 16 and returns from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. There will be a sign-up sheet for those borrowing books. Rosh Hashanah Services will be held Sept. 18 at 8 p.m., Sept. 19 at 10 a.m., and Tashlich at AJ’s on the Bayou at 1 p.m. Yom Kippur services will be Sept. 27 at 8 p.m., and Sept. 28 at 10 a.m., 3:15 p.m., Yizkor at 4:20 p.m. and Ne’ilah at 5:15 p.m. There will be no communal break-the-fast.

B’nai Israel in Panama City will have services conducted by Rabbi Bruce Aft, as well as a student rabbi, and B’nai Israel’s cantorial soloist, Daniel Sternlicht. Virtual services will be conducted from within the Temple and several remote locations via Zoom conference link. There had been plans for a limited number of members attending in person, but the board decided that given the situation in Bya County, services would be virtual only.

After a survey of members, B’nai Israel in Pensacola will open for in-person services during the High Holy Days, with assistance from a new member who is a former CDC epidemiology surveillance officer.

Thirty-nine signed up for in-person services in the 264-seat sanctuary, and guests will be limited to invited military and selected extended family.

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community For those attending, masks are required and there will be no handshakes or hugs. Seating will be arranged in advance. The Torah will remain on the bimah, those with aliyot will recite them from their seats.

Services will be at 6:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. for Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur services will be at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, then 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sept.

28. All services other than the High Holidays will remain on Zoom.

Temple Beth El in Pensacola will hold its services virtually, on the Beth El website and Facebook Live. A schmooze will be on Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. on Zoom. Services will be at 7 p.m. The morning service will be at 10 a.m. on Sept. 19. A discussion group will be on Zoom at 1:30 p.m., and an in-person family service and tashlich is planned for Bayview Park at 5:30 p.m.

Kol Nidre will be Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. The morning service will be at 10 a.m. on Sept. 28, followed by Zoom discussions on Avinu Malkeinu at 1 p.m. and the Book of Jonah at 2:30 p.m. An in-person Yizkor is planned at the Beth El cemetery at 4:15 p.m., which will also stream on the website and Facebook. Concluding services will be at 6 p.m.

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria will broadcast “physically apart, spiritually connected” services over Zoom. Previously-announced in-person options will not take place due to hurricane damage.

Services will be Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 19 at 10:30 a.m. for Rosh Hashanah, 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 for Kol Nidre, and 10:30 a.m. on Sept.

28 for Yom Kippur, with a 1:30 p.m. Torah study session and 4:45 p.m.

Yizkor. Additional services will be Shabbat Shuvah on Sept. 25, Sukkot on Oct. 2 and Simchat Torah on Oct. 9, all at 6 p.m. via Zoom.

B’nai Israel and Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will have a joint Selichot service, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is planning to hold High Holy Day services virtually. Services will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18, followed by “coming together as community” at 8:15 p.m. On Sept. 19, B’nai Israel will host a youth service for both congregations at 8:45 a.m., followed by the morning service at 10 a.m. Tashlich will be Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27. The 8:45 a.m. joint youth service on Sept. 28 will be hosted by Beth Shalom, followed by services at 10 a.m., the Book of Jonah with Rabbi Batsheva Appel at 1:30 p.m. afternoon service at 3 p.m., Yizkor at 4:30 p.m. and Neilah at 5:30 p.m.

Beth Shalom will have a maximum of 15 members in-person for services. Reservations are required, and only one in-person slot per member.

They will have Rosh Hashanah evening services on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. over livestream. The morning service will be livestreamed both days at 10 a.m., an on Sept. 20 there will be in-person Tashlich at 3 p.m. at United Plaza Lakes. Yom Kippur will be livestreamed at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27. On Sept.

28, services will be at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on livestream, and a 5:30 p.m.

Yizkor on Zoom.

Beth Shalom is also offering 10-minute slots that can be reserved in the sanctuary for contemplation or meditation, seated or in front of the ark.

Slots are on the half hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Aug. 25 to Sept.

15, and a few evening slots will be available. Advance signup is required.

With Hebrew Union College holding its fall classes entirely online, student rabbi visits will also be virtual. Temple Shalom in Lafayette is working out a virtual High Holy Day schedule with Student Rabbi Shirah Kraus.

Temple Sinai in Lake Charles will have services led virtually by Rabbi Barry Weinstein in his home, with vocalists from the congregation.

B’nai Israel in Monroe started doing in-person services in mid-August, along with the virtual option. Reservations are required for those who want to attend in person, so social distancing precautions can be taken.

B’nai Zion in Shreveport is holding virtual services, and is working on other creative options. Times will be announced for Rosh Hashanah and

community Yom Kippur services.

At Agudath Achim in Shreveport, there will be in-person services as well as a livestream on the congregation’s website. The Rosh Hashanah evening service will be on Zoom, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. Morning services are 10 a.m. both days, and there will be a family experience with Eliana Light at 2 p.m. on Zoom both days. Second night services are at 8 p.m. Sept. 19.

Kol Nidre will be at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27. Services on Sept. 28 will be at 10 a.m., 6 and 7 p.m., and a 2 p.m. family experience on Zoom.

New Orleans Area Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville will hold its services continued on page 18

Mother, daughter linking their congregations Steigmans pair Northshore with St. Joseph, Mo.

While Ellen Steigman has been the soloist at Northshore Jewish Congregation in Mandeville since 2004, for this year’s High Holy Days she will be bringing in some professional help — her mother, the rabbi.

Rabbi Linda Steigman of Temple Adath Joseph in St. Joseph, Mo., will take part in a joint virtual High Holy Days joining both congregations. During this time of the pandemic, the two congregations will share Rabbi Linda Steigman virtual services with a focus on uniting their congregants in spiritual reflection and prayer, while the Steigmans will work at what they both love, bringing the best of Judaism to their congregations.

Rabbi Steigman was ordained from the New York Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2004. She has served congregations in Michigan, Texas and Alaska as a student rabbi, and in Virginia and Pennsylvania after being ordained. She moved to Kansas City in 2008 and has been the rabbi at Adath Joseph from 2009 to 2011, and again since 2013.

Before rabbinical school, Rabbi Steigman served as the outreach director for the Pennsylvania Region of the Union for Reform Judaism, working with interfaith couples, and then worked in New York as the director of programming for National Hadassah.

Since coming to Kansas City, Rabbi Steigman has completed chaplaincy training, and has worked for hospice and now visits seniors on behalf of one of the large congregations in the area, as well as providing a Lunch and Learn for seniors on the Jewish Senior Campus.

Rabbi Steigman said “I have visited NJC both as Ellen’s mom and as a visiting rabbi, and have enjoyed rekindling relationships on Zoom and meeting additional members of the congregation.”

While this year’s holidays will be a new experience, she encourages members “to surround yourselves with Jewish objects and art as you try to create a sacred space around your computer. We will all will miss the physical comfort of our congregations’ sanctuaries, but we will be safe from infection as we remain in our homes. A bittersweet resolution to be sure, but Ellen and I will endeavor to make it a sweet New Year for all of us.”

Ellen Steigman regularly leads Friday night services and tutors B’nai mitzvah students at Northshore. She teaches English at Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville. Prior to her teaching certification, she worked for a variety of Jewish organizations including Hadassah, Hillel of New York, the New Orleans Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Day School in Metairie. She and her husband John Valentino moved to Mandeville in 2001.

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virtually, with Rabbi Linda Steigman and soloist Ellen Steigman. The schedule will be posted soon.

Shir Chadash in Metairie will stream its services for the first time ever, as a response to the pandemic and in coordination with rulings from the Conservative movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Shacharit services will be broadcast from an outdoor location, and the Torah and Musaf services will be broadcast from the sanctuary. A “holding minyan” of volunteers is being assembled in advance so there is an in-person minyan allowing for Torah reading and the repetition of the Amidah.

A shofar and Tashlich service will be broadcast from the levee on the second afternoon of Rosh Hashanah.

Selichot will be done over Zoom, and children’s services will also be livestreamed. Members will receive a High Holy Days gift bag with a machzor, Yizkor book and program book, and additional materials for families with children. Yizkor will be held on Sunday morning over Zoom between the holidays.

Beth Israel in Metairie will hold in-person services with limited attendance, and services on Zoom and streaming where Halachically possible.

Plans are for Yizkor to be on Sunday morning before Yom Kippur, Sept.

27 after the 8:30 a.m. minyan, and Kol Nidre at 4:30 p.m. so they can be broadcast. There will also be a pre-Rosh Hashanah Seder with apples, honey and a cooking activity at 4 p.m. on Sept. 18, on Zoom.

Members have been asked to submit a request form for in-person services, with the understanding that a request does not guarantee a seat.

Children approaching Bar and Bat Mitzvah age need to get approval from Rabbi Pernick, younger children will not be admitted. Those 65 and older are not prohibited but are being discouraged from attending, due to health risks. In-person services are both evenings of Rosh Hashanah, along with morning and afternoon services. Yom Kippur in-person services are in the evening, morning, musaf, afternoon and concluding.

There will be a kids’ tashlich on Sept. 20 around 2:30 p.m. by the levee.

Gates of Prayer in Metairie starts the season with a Selichot concert with Jordan Lawrence, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Reservations are required, and the concert will be livestreamed. All services will be available online, but there will be an in-person component with a maximum of 50 in attendance, for as many as five sessions per service, assuming Jefferson Parish is in Phase 2 or 3 — services will be online only in the event of Phase 1.

The sanctuary wall will be removed so social distancing can go into the social hall. Social distancing and masking restrictions will be observed.

Reservations are required for all in-person services, which will last 40 minutes. Rosh Hashanah evening services will be on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. If there is demand, additional services will be added at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., then 8 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sept. 19. Rosh Hashanah morning will be at 10:15 a.m. online, 11 a.m. in person. If there is demand, services will be added at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., then 11 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Sept. 20. Tashlich will be in person with Rabbi Bob Loewy at Bonnabel Boat Launch, Sept.

19 at 4 p.m. An in-person Yizkor and healing service will be Sept. 25 at 8 p.m., with additional services at 5 and 7 p.m., then 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sept. 26.

Kol Nidre will be on Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. online, 7 p.m. in person. Additional services as needed would be at 8:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and 4 p.m. Yom Kippur morning starts at 10:15 a.m. online, then 11 a.m. in person, with added services at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Online services continue with Tikkun Midot Hanefesh on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m., a

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community healing and Torah service at 3 p.m., then Yizkor and Neilah at 4:30 p.m.

Chabad at Tulane will have services and Rosh Hashanah dinner in the backyard at the Rivkin home on Sept. 18 and 19 at 6 p.m. Space is limited to 50, and dinner will be under tents. Rosh Hashanah morning services will be at Anshe Sfard. On Sept. 20, there will be an outdoor shofar sounding in the Rivkin backyard at 2:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., Chabad and Tulane Hillel will have a joint Tashlich and shofar service at Audubon Park.

Chabad in Metairie will have an indoor evening service on Sept. 18 at 6:45 p.m. Full Rosh Hashanah morning services will be 9:15 a.m. indoors, and a 45-minute outdoor service under a tent at 9:30. On Sept.

20, there will be an adult outdoor service and a family service at 6 p.m., and Tashlich by the lake at 6:30 p.m. On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will be indoors at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27. Services on Sept. 28 will be indoors at 9:15 a.m., Yizkor at 11:30, mincha at 5:15 p.m. An outdoors Neilah and Yizkor will be at 6:15 p.m. There will be limited space, Covid protocols will be followed and reservations are required.

At Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, major services will be broadcast on WLAE-TV and on the Touro Facebook page. There will also be Zoom sessions and a few small outdoor, in-person gatherings, with all of the in-person events requiring reservations on the Touro website.

Selichot services will be held in person, outdoors, by reservation. Services are Aug. 23 at 10 a.m., Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. and Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. The Sept. 1 service will also be livestreamed. On Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. there will be a brief Selichot for Racial Justice at Bowsky Garden. Attendance will be limited, and the service will be livestreamed.

Rosh Hashanah services will be on television and online, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. There will be no in-person attendance. At 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., there will be Tashlich gatherings at City Park. Rain date is Sept. 20.

On Shabbat Shuvah, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. on Zoom and Livestream, Prof.

Jonathan Judken of Rhodes College will speak on “Judaism in the Age of Black Lives Matter.”

Yom Kippur services will be televised and online, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 28 at 10 a.m., and the concluding service starting at 4 p.m. There will be several afternoon programs, including a “congregational voices” afternoon service at 3:15 p.m. on Zoom and Livestream. From 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., members can reserve a 20-minute block to sit in the sanctuary for personal reflection. There will be limited capacity, temperature screening and masks required, and seats will be used only once over the course of the afternoon.

Learning sessions on Zoom and Livestream start at 1 p.m. with “The Biblical Origins of Yom Kippur” with Jason Gaines, “Guilt, Shame and Self-Compassion: Creating a Path Toward Self-Forgiveness and Everyday Holiness” with Joseph Bodenmiller at 2 p.m., and at 3 p.m., “How People Change” with Kevin Wilkins.

Sukkot will be in person and Livestream on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m., and will also be a celebration of Rabbi Todd Silverman. An outdoor Simchat Torah will be Oct. 9 at 6 p.m., and an online Yizkor will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 10.

Though the sanctuary at Temple Sinai in New Orleans has been redone during the summer, there won’t be a huge High Holy Days reveal, as most of the services will be done online via livestream, Zoom and Facebook Live. Because of the size of the sanctuary, they will offer an in-person option for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur evening services, with limited seating and social distancing. There will be no choir, and those attending in person will need to sing more quietly than normal, but aside from that their goal is to have services “as comfortable and familiar as possible.”

Services will also be broadcast on WRBH-FM (88.3), Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 19 at 10 a.m., Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 28 at 10 a.m.

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B’nai Israel in Columbus will announce its service schedule soon.

In Gulfport, Beth Israel will have virtual services just before sunset, and in-person services during the holidays, with reservations available on the congregation’s website. A pre-holiday Zoom program will be at 5 p.m. on Sept. 18 and Sept. 27. For Rosh Hashanah, services will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18, with a light Kiddush to follow. The morning services will be on Sept. 19 and 20 at 10 a.m., with a light Kiddush to follow.

On Sept. 20, there will be an early shofar service at 9 a.m. in the Jack Goldin Memorial Garden for those unable to attend services inside.

Kol Nidrei will be at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.

Yom Kippur services will be at 10 a.m., with Yizkor at 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Neilah will start at 6 p.m. For those unable to attend, there will be an early morning Yizkor at 9 a.m., also in the garden.

There will be children’s programs and babysitting at all daytime services.

Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville will have services on Zoom.

B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg remains virtual for services. Rosh Hashanah will be 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 and 10 a.m. on Sept. 18. Yom Kippur will be at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, 10 a.m. on Sept.

28, with a family service at 2 p.m., afternoon service at 3 p.m., memorial service at 4 p.m. and concluding service at 5 p.m.

Beth Israel in Jackson was the first congregation in the region to definitively rule out in-person services. The June 24 announcement was made by the congregational board and Rabbi Joseph Rosen. “We will be sure to be diligent in seeing that our congregation will be well equipped to offer a quality spiritual opportunity,” Rosen said.

The Jewish Federation of Oxford will hold virtual services and programs with student rabbi Ezra Leventhal. A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Leventhal is a second year student at Hebrew Union College in New York, but currently distancing from Santa Rosa. The Zoom services will be on Rosh Hashanah evening, then the next morning. A children’s service will also be held. Yom Kippur services will include Kol Nidre, morning services and neilah, with an emphasis on readings. Service times have not yet been set.

community Albright, Pearl speak at BHEC L’Chaim on importance of Holocaust education

By Richard Friedman The powerful words of a former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, coupled with emotional reflections from Auburn University’s Jewish basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, highlighted the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s annual fundraiser August 23 as these two speakers reflected on the importance of Holocaust education.

“We can share the testimony of survivors, including those who have enriched the life of communities across Alabama,” said Albright.

“That is the most we can do, that is the least we can do — it is what we owe to the past, it is our hope for the future and, in a larger sense, it is the hope for the world.”

Albright served as Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton. She has said she did not learn until age 59 that both of her parents were born into and raised in Jewish families. Her parents, while living in Europe, converted to Catholicism in 1941 to avoid anti-Jewish persecution. They later immigrated to the U.S. Speaking to the BHEC audience, the former Secretary said, “As the Holocaust reminds us, we must never allow the distinctions that define us to obscure the common humanity that binds

us.” Striving for this goal reflects what Holocaust education is about, she said, and achieving this goal is more important now than ever. This appeared to be a reference to the tumultous times in which we are living, which have been marked by increasing antisemitism as well as increased racial tension.

“We can remember the Holocaust and vow ‘Never Again’… We can make certain that the dead shall never be forgotten from our hearts,” Albright emphasized as she thanked the audience for supporting BHEC. Pearl, interviewed during the program by Tricia Skelton, 6th grade teacher at Opelika Middle School who has benefited from BHEC training for educators, reflected on the organization’s continuing and successful efforts to train teachers to teach the Holocaust. Said Pearl, “We need to teach our teachers how to teach one of the world’s greatest tragedies of all time, to children who have never been exposed to it, and who have no idea what the Holocaust is about — and then help them relate it to things that they are going through in their own lives.”

The Auburn coach became emotional when he talked about his grandfather fearing the destruction of Israel in 1967 and Jews again

becoming vulnerable, as they were during the Holocaust when they were defenseless and had no place to go. “He made me promise him that the words ‘Never Again’ would actually mean something to me, and I promised him that I would do the best I can,” said Pearl.

Pearl reflected on growing up in the Boston area during a time of racism and antisemitism.

“I couldn’t understand why people were scared by the things that make us different. So much of this stems from a lack of exposure… As we grow older we develop prejudices and become ignorant because of lack of exposure and fear of the unknown,” the coach said, adding, “the answer is education and exposure.”

During his long career as a coach, Pearl has made efforts to educate his players about the Holocaust and also has aspired to take his Auburn team to Israel.

Remembrance, Celebration The annual BHEC program, known as “L’Chaim,” which in Hebrew means “to life,” was held virtually because of the current COVID pandemic. It included remembrances of the Holocaust, musical and dramatic inspiration, powerful commentary, and the solemnity of

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community reflection coupled with celebration of BHEC’s achievements. Like most of BHEC’s annual fundraising events over the years, this one, despite it being virtual, was tightly woven, creatively framed and successful at communicating the importance and impact of BHEC’s work.

Particularly moving was a short video message from BHEC founder Phyllis Weinstein, a legendary Jewish community volunteer, who is now 99 years of age. “In 2002, when we began as the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee (now Center), we never dreamed 18 years later that we would be welcoming national speakers such as Madeleine Albright and Bruce Pearl. I am indebted to the volunteers, professional staff, you (the audience) and many others,” she said.

Not only was the event a fundraiser and showcase for the importance and success of BHEC’s work, it also was to honor local businessman, civic leader and philanthropist David Silverstein and his wife Susan. They were honored for supporting and promoting BHEC’s mission: “Keeping the history and lessons of the Holocaust alive.“ The tribute to the Silversteins was highlighted by an uplifting video, which reflected their commitment to Holocaust education and also included comments from their adult children. “My parents have always taught us the importance of education and memory,” said one of the children.

“I want my children to understand what happened,” David explains in the video. “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Another moving component was a dramatic monologue performed by a Birmingham Jewish teenager, Kyra Berger, of the Red Mountain Theatre Company. Her dramatic reading was set in Europe as the Holocaust was unfolding and it expressed the fear and confusion through the mind and heart of a Jewish teen. “Being Jewish is a good thing… what have we done wrong?” she anguished. “Now they hate us, just because we are Jewish… they want us to suffer, they want us to die… What have we done wrong, I don’t understand. Is evil stronger than good?

How can this be so?”

The monologue was written by long-time BHEC leader Deborah Layman.

BHEC Executive Director Rev. Melissa Self Patrick spoke at the conclusion of the program, reflecting on the organization’s achievements over the past 10 years. Honorary co-chairs were volunteers Kate Cotton, Cathy Friedman and Jim Richardson. Jeff Eliasoph, an anchor/reporter for WVTM 13 News, was emcee for the event.

As the program concluded, it was announced that the fundraising had approached $370,000, an amount that has increased since the event.

The video can be viewed at https://bheclchaim. swell.gives/#!/login.

community Songs of Triumph Selections at BHEC event were personal

By Richard Friedman Talking to Juna Givhan about her singing is like being wrapped in a song. A powerful song.

She laughs, she dreams, she emotes and inspires, as she reflects on the two songs she sang at the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s late August fundraiser. The power of her words and the presence of her energy draw you in, weaving you like a thread into her tapestry of reflections.

This African-American singer, who believes a performer’s songs should leave an imprint on her audience, was deeply imprinted herself after being given what she calls “the honor” of performing at this year’s BHEC program. She came to the experience knowing about the Holocaust. She emerged from it with a heightened appreciation for the resilience and redemptive triumph of the Jewish people.

“I wanted to pay homage to the Jewish experience. I also wanted to capture the heart and resilience of the Jewish community,” Givhan said in an interview. She did both. And, as a performer and a person, she “wanted to establish a connection. I was honored by the opportunity to sing and I wanted to show my appreciation.”

Just as the notes and lyrics she sang likely remained in the hearts of her audience once the online program was over, her own emotional takeaway was a deeper understanding of the similarities of the tragedies that the Jewish and African-American communities endured: The Holocaust, in which Adolf Hitler and his Nazis murdered 6 million Jews, and slavery, the kidnapping and enslavement of more than 12 million Black Africans.

For her though, the most important aspect of these horrific experiences are the ways that Blacks and Jews have triumphed and redeemed themselves by refusing to allow these tragedies to define them permanently.

This triumph, even with the common oppression and brutality, is what truly unites the two communities, she believes. This became clear to her through her role in the Holocaust program: “Jews, like Black people, have moved beyond their tragedy and embarked on a path forward.”

Yet, Givhan treads gently. “I am careful in what I say because it is so sensitive, as with anybody who has endured any level of trauma. We cannot let it define us in a negative way. What we can do as Black and Jewish people is to move forward and create a better path for our families and our children.”

Continues Givhan, “It doesn’t mean systemic racism doesn’t exist, but even still there is hope. Even with things at times stacked against our two communities, we must remain strong enough to always follow the path forward. Otherwise we won’t be able to live life to its fullest.”

Reaching Deep Equally powerful was hearing Givhan describe the way she embraced the two songs she was asked to sing. She applied all of her talent and energy to probing the nuances of every word and the creases of every note, determined to reach deep into the music to say, as an African-American performing for a heavily-Jewish audience, “I understand, I care and together, we are people of hope.”

“Hope,” in fact, was the title of the first number she sang, written by Jason Robert Brown: “I sing of hope/And don’t know how/So maybe I can

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community substitute strength because I’m strong/I’m strong enough/I got through lots of things I didn’t think I could/And so did you/I know that’s true/And so, we sing a song about hope.”

A perfect choice for the program, “Hope” had the power to resonate universally while reflecting thematically the essence of BHEC’s work, “Keeping the history and lessons of the Holocaust alive.”

What the audience didn’t know was that a profound personal dimension also animated Givhan’s rendition. On the very day that she pre-recorded “Hope” for the online program, her father, locked in a struggle with serious illness, was expected to pass within 48 hours. He defied the medical predictions and one month later, on the day this interview was conducted, Givhan was able to share the news that her father is still alive.

“He is still here,” she said softly with a tear in her eye. “So it goes to show that we have modern medicine, yet time is in the hands of God. But on the day we recorded, it was a challenge for me.”

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Music may be a universal language. However, in the view of this artist, it is no substitute for conversation.

Despite the commonality of the two tragedies, and general compatibility between African-Americans and Jews even with the periodic stresses that capture the headlines, this long-time Birminghamian, who grew up on the western edge of the city, senses there is not enough conversation between the two communities. In fact, the BHEC program was her first real interaction with the Jewish community despite the fact that she has lived in Los Angeles and Atlanta, two cities with large Jewish communities.

Now that she has returned to Birmingham, she has become affiliated with the Red Mountain Theatre Company, which has provided a venue for both her singing and acting talents to flourish. These are her passions, pursuits that began when she was a freshman at Birmingham’s Ensley Magnet High School. And indeed, passionate she is.

This came through as she talked about the second selection she performed at the BHEC program. Melissa Self Patrick, executive director of BHEC, suggested the first song, and Givhan thought that would be her only number. Then Keith Cromwell, RMTC executive director, who helped develop the program, asked her to sing a second song — “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow” by The Grand Tour/Jerry Herman.

“I saw this as an amazing song as well. I could see it all come together even though I had not been privy to the logistics and planning. I saw it through the lyrics of the song.” Her energy and passion kicked into high gear as she talked about that second song.

“I saw the lyrics and the melody — I saw it all, and I wanted to make sure that I put in the time not only needed to prepare for the performance but also to create a meaningful and lasting experience. I have never been one to sing just to sing. I always want people to leave with something.”

Here’s what she left them with: “So let the skeptics say/Tonight we’re dead and gone/I’ll be here tomorrow/Simply going on.”

Givhan’s two songs intersected perfectly, providing a springboard for the exact message she wanted to impart.

“These songs put you in the space of remembering, but not in sadness,” she said. “You remember what happened, but you’re also encouraged that you have made it this far. What happened doesn’t permanently define you, no matter how horrific it was. Even now, as we find ourselves in a dark world living in a deeply divided nation, I still have hope that tomorrow is going to be better.”

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community In Alabama’s Senate race, which candidate is better for Israel?

By Richard Friedman In the United States Senate race in Alabama between Doug Jones and Tommy Tuberville, which candidate would be better for Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship? It comes as no surprise that the spokesmen for two national pro-Israel political organizations, the Republican Jewish Coalition and Democratic Majority for Israel, had dramatic differences in their answers — though in both cases, relations between the candidates and President Donald Trump dominated the conversation.

Tuberville, a Republican, is a former Auburn University football coach who is running to unseat Democratic incumbent Jones in the Nov. 3 election. Jones was elected in late 2017, narrowly defeating controversial GOP candidate Roy Moore, in a special election to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Jeff Sessions, who Trump had appointed as U.S. attorney general. Jones became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama since 1992.

Mark Mellman, president and CEO of the Democratic Majority for Israel, maintained that it is crucial to have Democrats in the Senate, such as Jones, who are strong supporters of Israel.

He cautioned against electing candidates such as Tuberville who say in advance they are going to support Trump, because, Mellman contends, Trump is erratic and some of his policies in the broader Middle East have frayed America’s standing.

“Doug Jones has been a very strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship and Democrats need more of these strong supporters in the U.S. Senate, not fewer,” said Mellman. “So it is very important from a pro-Israel point of view to keep Sen. Jones in the Senate and the Democratic caucus.”

He added, “I think it is also fair to say that Jones represents the values of the Jewish community very effectively. What has made the Jewish community successful in this country is our nation’s commitment to pluralism, and Doug shares that commitment.“

Strong Supporter Neil Strauss, spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, analyzed Tuberville’s candidacy this way: Tuberville is a strong supporter of Trump, who Strauss believes is the most pro-Israel president in history, and Tuberville also is a strong supporter of Israel himself.

Jones, Strauss said, not only voted to impeach Trump but he also is a member of a political party that Strauss contends has increasingly turned its back on Israel. Therefore, Strauss maintained, Jones can’t be relied on to support Israel as strongly as Tuberville would.

“On one side, you have Tuberville, who is an ardent supporter of the president and his ‘Peace to Prosperity’ plan and a great supporter of a strong U.S.-Israel alliance, and then you have Jones, who obviously does not support the president, which puts him out of alignment with the people of Alabama,” Strauss said. Alabama is considered to be a heavily Republican state.

Strauss maintains that one of the reasons Trump is so popular in Alabama is his support for Israel. That’s a reference to Alabama’s large and influential Christian evangelical community, which tends to be pro-Israel.

Legislatively, Jones is considered as having a strong record of support when it comes to initiatives affecting Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship. He also is endorsed by the bipartisan Pro-Israel America, which has endorsed four Democrats and 11 Republicans in the Senate, and 29 Democrats and 12 Republicans in the House.

Jones also worries that support for Israel is becoming politicized. “I’m concerned the relationship with Israel is beginning to see some cracks for

community political reasons,” Jones said last year at a program to promote business ties between Alabama and Israel. “What I’m seeing is that the relationship with Israel is now being used as a political weapon to try to divide people for political gain. It’s happening here, and it’s happening in Israel. Our alliance is too important to allow that to happen.”

Tuberville’s campaign has put out a strong position paper on Israel and the former football coach has consulted with the Republican Jewish Coalition’s legislative director.

Last year, Tuberville told ALReporter.com, “Since being the first country to recognize the Israeli State in 1948, America has served as one of Israel’s most trusted allies. This strong relationship has bolstered our nation’s national security, economic innovation, and technological advancement. The U.S. and Israel have a unique bond.”

Not A Given Of course, it is not a given that Trump will be re-elected, even though it was the candidates’ relationship to the president that dominated the conversation with the representatives from the Republican Jewish Coalition and Democratic Majority for Israel.

Republican Strauss maintained that Trump’s Democratic opponent, former VP Joe Biden, will be less steadfast on Iran than Trump, and suggested that Jones likely would support Biden’s positions on Iran, which could weaken Israel. Biden was vice president when the Obama administration negotiated the controversial Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. withdrew from the agreement under Trump, who saw it as flawed and inadequate.

Biden has indicated he would like to re-enter the agreement.

In a statement to this publication, Jones said “though the Iran Nuclear Agreement was not perfect, it was carefully crafted with international

allies and adversaries alike to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity, while monitoring progress using the International Atomic Energy Agency, therefore ultimately limiting the breakout time that Iran would need to develop a nuclear weapon. While there were no guarantees what would happen at the expiration of the treaty, there would have been time for the U.S. and its allies to adapt to changing world circumstances to ensure that Iran never attained nuclear capabilities.”

Jones added, “I remain concerned about pulling out of this agreement, especially given that the U.S. had fulfilled our end of the bargain and from all indications Iran was in compliance. Reneging on a treaty of such global importance isolated the United States, alienated other parties to the agreement, heightened the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, and most significantly, increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran and in the region creating instability that threatens Israel’s security.”

Meanwhile, as August heads into September and more and more people begin focusing on Alabama’s Senate race, this question will be front and center: Can the former Auburn coach, who defeated Sessions handily in the Republican primary, unseat Jones, who barely won in 2017 against a candidate that many, even Republicans, thought was flawed?

It remains to be seen.

What is certain is that the Jones-Tuberville race will intensify as the nation, including Trump, Biden and national political funding sources, keep a watchful eye on Alabama to see if Democrat Doug Jones can hold on to his seat for a full term, or if it will become Republican once again.

In either case, both candidates have affirmed their support for Israel and reflect an appreciation for the strong ties that exist between the U.S. and this crucial Middle East ally.

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community Lauren Sobel killed in rock climbing accident Lauren Sobel, an Alexandria native and former Henry S. Jacobs camper and staffer, died in a rock climbing accident in New York on Aug. 9.

She was 25.

Sobel, a resident of Brooklyn, was leading a climb with two friends around 3:30 p.m. at the Trapps Trailhead area of Mohonk Mountain Preserve when she lost her grip while setting protection gear about 70 feet up the rock face, according to a New York State Police report. Three additional safety measures all failed. She fell about 50 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her older sister, Ellie Sobel Whitcher, said on Facebook that Sobel was “an incredibly amazing, bright, brave, and kind person who loved and was loved by many.”

Whitcher said “Helping others, people with disabilities, and especially veterans, to inclusively participate in climbing was very rewarding for Lauren. We are grateful that at the end of her life, she was pursuing her passion.”

Sobel was a municipal research strategist with Bank of America, specializing in transportation infrastructure.

Her father, David Sobel, told the New York Post that she had always been adventurous and looking to experience new places. As a teen, she wanted to visit France, so he told her it was a deal if she made straight As and became fluent in French. She did, winning the state French convention.

An alumna of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, she graduated from Tulane with a degree in political economy. At Tulane, she was a research assistant in the political science department, helping Mark Vail research his book, “Liberalism in Illiberal States: Ideas and Economic Adjustment in Contemporary Europe.”

She was in the Columbia University Post-Baccalaureate Business Program and the Cal-Berkeley Extension’s Financial Planning and Analysis Professional Certificate program, which she was to complete this December.

A certified climber, Sobel volunteered with Adaptive Climbing Group of New York, which helps those with disabilities to climb. She also worked with Crux Climbing, which expands access to rock climbing for the LGBTQ community.

She first started climbing while helping military veterans who were amputees climb at indoor facilities. For her volunteer work with veterans, she was recognized with a volunteerism award from Bank of America.

She was a camper at Jacobs Camp from 2001 to 2009, and on staff in 2011.

Adaptive Climbing Group held a virtual memorial on Aug. 11, with assistance from the Climbers Grief Fund of the American Alpine Club.

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

When you can’t go on the road…

Virtual cultural events part of ISJL’s pandemic pivot So many of the programs coordinated by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson provide in-person Jewish experiences to communities throughout the region. But what happens when the country shuts down and in-person events aren’t possible? The Institute had to quickly change its method of delivering its programs.

Ann Zivitz Kientz, director of cultural programming, said she had to pivot and “bring our performers into new rooms… through Zoom.”

Each department had to adapt. The education department, which oversees the standard religious school curriculum developed by the Institute for dozens of congregations around the region, could not send Education Fellows on the road to congregations that weren’t meeting in person. They developed ways to deliver the curriculum online, and the annual educators conference in June — a requirement for each participating congregation — was held virtually and drew 300 participants.

The Heritage and Interpretation department developed virtual Southern Jewish road trips, and recently introduced Virtual Vacations, a weekly gathering to explore a Southern Jewish place or topic. The Rabbinic Services department also could not travel to communities as usual, so streaming services and support for congregations trying to navigate the virtual waves became the mission.

Kientz explained how her department shifted from in-person to virtual experiences, providing numerous events over the summer. “We first experimented with multi-community-performance experiences over Zoom in May, with four Federation partners on board to work together and offer high-quality Jewish programming virtually,” she said.

In June and July, there were three Thursdays of programming each month, featuring scholars and musicians, and closing the summer with a Dan Nichols concert that drew over 225 families in 12 communities.

These events have all had stellar attendance, with between 85 and 250 households participating in each event,” she said.

Kientz said more programs are in the works for the rest of 2020 and into 2021 and will be an-nounced soon.

“These past four months, we have been privileged to work with many congregations, Federations and JCCs across 12 of the 13 states in our region,” she said. “Despite the pandemic, we’ve helped communities come together through shared-expense cultural programs.”

Participating communities co-sponsor an event, then the Zoom link is distributed to that community’s members. “The ISJL’s shared-expense model for programming isn’t new,” Kientz said, “but being able to share the expenses all on one evening over Zoom makes it possible for almost everyone to participate.”

The events also help support Jewish artists and scholars at a time when they aren’t able to tour or travel for lectures.

Programs have featured Jewish Blues musician Saul Kaye, scholar and author Joel Hoffman, comedian Benji Lovitt, musician/storyteller Batsheva, comedian Joel Chasnoff, folksy band The Ruach, the Los Angeles-based Jewish Women’s Theatre, and composer and musician Dan Nichols. The final event of the summer, scheduled for Sept. 3, features Jewish Americana musician Joe Buchanan.

Congregations or communities interested in taking part in future programs can contact Kientz at akientz@isjl.org.

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community

Happy New Year!

Roving in Place New ISJL traveling rabbi looks forward to hitting the road

Kirk Talbot

10th District Louisiana State Senate

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

As the new director of rabbinic services at the Jackson-based Goldring/ Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, Rabbi Caroline Sim was hired to travel to Jewish communities in a 13-state region that are underserved and unable to maintain their own rabbinic presence.

Little did she expect to be arriving at a time what that travel would be Rabbi Caroline Sim impossible due to coronavirus.

Unable to hit the road, Sim said the pandemic gave the Institute “an opportunity to think about the things we have always done, in a new way.”

She said, “I can’t go to communities and I miss that, but it has given me the opportunity to interact and dialogue with more people across the board.”

There have been meet-the-rabbi Zoom meetings, and she is also connecting with communities remotely. “I can’t get to every single community, so it would be nice to do that” through virtual events.

Usually, the Institute’s rabbi goes to a smaller community to conduct High Holy Day services. “Now I am helping a lot of communities for their High Holidays,” providing resources and assistance for congregations that have to figure out the world of online services.

But going online isn’t the entire answer. “With congregations aging – even if you have Zoom and ways of connecting digitally, that’s not necessarily a viable solution for everyone,” she said. There is still a lot of additional outreach work “even if I can’t physically be there.”

With the timetable for getting back on the road uncertain — and likely not soon — “we are looking more on what we can do now” to expand outreach and services.

For Sim, joining the Institute was a return to the region, as she served two congregations in the ISJL region while a student rabbi — Temple Israel in Paducah, Ky., and Temple Emanu-El in Dothan. “I’m really happy to be back.”

She also served congregations in Ohio and Michigan. “I loved Dothan,” Sim said. “It was a really warm, loving and inclusive community.”

“I had never seen cotton actually growing until I got to Dothan,” she added. Being from Ohio, “I’m used to corn.”

Sim grew up in the Cincinnati area and “in the back of my head” always felt that being a rabbi would be a path for her. “I was one of those kids that loved Sunday School and Judaism from a very young age.”

She graduated from Ohio State with a degree in English, French and European studies. She was then a teaching assistant in English classes for elementary school students in Paris.

She considered enrolling in rabbinical school, but “didn’t feel comfortable as a 22-year-old” giving life advice. Because the economy tanked after she graduated, she tried a few different endeavors, but “one thing that had been consistent, I always taught in some capacity” since high school.

She taught Sunday School at the congregation where she had gone since Kindergarten, and one day when listening to advice the rabbi was giving to a family, she knew “this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

She earned a graduate certificate in Judaic studies from the University of Cincinnati, spent six months teaching herself Hebrew and applied to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, conveniently right there in Cincinnati.

Most students take student pulpits for one or two years, or just the High Holy Days, she said, but she had student pulpits all four years. “I wanted to experience different cultures, different ways of being Jewish, different

community ways of being an American Jew.” She also was figuring that eventually, she would teach part time and be a part-time rabbi in a smaller community.

“I always had a small pulpit in mind.”

Serving smaller communities as a student rabbi “has been incredibly enriching and joyful,” Sim said. “These communities might be small, but they are still very important.”

She was ordained in May at HUC-JIR, and is working on becoming a soferet, a scribe.

She was not aware of the opening at ISJL until a friend mentioned it to her. “The more I read, the more I was intrigued,” she said. Knowing the outgoing ISJL rabbi, Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky, she called him to learn more about the position. Stucker-Rozovsky just began as the rabbi at Beth El Congregation in Winchester, Va. She found a “real sense of community” at the Institute, “another thing I look for when I think about being Jewish.” There is also a “wonderful family feeling” among ISJL “alumni,” and “I really value that mentality” as it also benefits the communities served by the Institute.

Moving to a Mississippi was never a question, as “I knew there were a lot of communities like Dothan and Paducah that are here. Having been to Dothan, learned and grown with them, gave me a better idea of what Southern Judaism looks like, and I don’t think you can get that from a book.”

Driving all over the region does not faze her, as she drove five and onehalf hours to Paducah. “You see a lot more” by driving rather than flying, she said.

Of course, it will be a while before she gets to do that. “I am looking forward to getting back on the road,” Sim said, “but until then we still have a lot to do.”

ISJL organizes Virtual Vacations With vacations interrupted this year by the Covid pandemic, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life has instituted a weekly Virtual Vacation, featuring interactive digital events with museums, historic sites, scholars, chefs and more from across the region.

The 11 a.m. Tuesday sessions will be on the ISJL Facebook page, and started with an Aug. 25 discussion of “Why Study Southern Jewish History,” with ISJL Director of History Josh Parshall.

For those who sign up, every Thursday there will be an email with resources, links and educational materials. The weekly updates will be about the week’s theme, with a video or song about the program, a recommended article, a home activity and additional links.

The Sept. 1 session was a virtual visit to Mississippi’s oldest Jewish community, Natchez. Sept. 8 will be an exploration of Summer Camp Magic, Sept. 15 will be Jews and civil rights, and on Sept. 22 there will be a virtual visit to Selma’s historic Jewish community. Additional sessions are being planned, and the series will continue as long as there is demand for further sessions.

“Our goal is to introduce people to key ideas, themes, moments, places, and people in the Jewish South through engaging, interactive programs that draw on our network of historians, scholars, museum professionals, and others,” ISJL Director of Heritage and Interpretation Nora Katz said.

In September and October, there will be a particular emphasis on the history of southern Jews and Civil Rights, “with an emphasis on contemporary organizing for voting rights and civic engagement.”

In addition to the Virtual Vacation, ISJL offers an online Virtual Road Trip through the Jewish South.

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Next Year In… Utica Clayton Cleveland Hendersonville

After summer of shutdowns and fiscal uncertainty, regional camps determined to open for 2021 On a typical Friday night in the summer, campers dressed in white follow a guitar-wielding song leader near Utica, singing their way to welcoming Shabbat.

On Saturday evening near Clayton, Ga., hundreds fill the amphitheater for a Havdalah service that turns into a lengthy, high-energy Israeli music dance party that would exhaust a Zumba instructor.

This summer, though those sounds did not echo in the valleys or across the fields, as most summer sleepaway camps cancelled their sessions due to the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Anna Herman, director of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, said that all summer, “walking from the house to the office, I had to put blinders on and pretend” that the camp wasn’t empty. “It was so depressing.”

Also depressing for camp supporters was the thought, back in the spring, that without a summer session, many camps could be forced to close permanently. But camps in this region report that though the year has been a huge struggle, they are in decent shape heading into what they hope is a more normal 2021.

Camps in the region instituted several measures to ensure that

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their doors would be able to open in 2021 and beyond, from asking parents to roll over their 2020 tuition to the 2021 session rather than ask for a refund, or even make the 2020 tuition an outright donation, to launching fundraisers, participating in a major matching grant program from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and seeking other grants. The camps also received allocations from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Though the bulk of activity is during the summer, camps are yearround operations, with staff expenses, recruitment activities and continual maintenance and insuring of facilities. By the time summer starts, a substantial portion of the year’s revenue has already been spent.

Jacob Fijman, development manager at Jacobs Camp, said in April they forecasted that the camp would lose $850,000 by cancelling summer sessions.

Herman said “not having summer revenue could potentially close the camp forever… we are so beyond lucky to have a community that says we will not let that happen to Jacobs Camp.”

On Aug. 27, they announced their Sustainability Campaign had raised over $980,000, and they were the first camp in the Reform

community movement system to meet its campaign goal. Now, the camp is shifting focus to 2021 scholarships and Covid protection supplies through a “Road to Welcome Home Campaign.”

Jacobs Camp staff also had three weeks of furloughs and pay cuts to help make it through.

At Ramah Darom, which is set up as a summer camp and year-round retreat center, 80 percent of the annual income comes from camp and the Passover Retreat, both of which were cancelled this year.

Because of the “substantial impact” of the shutdown, Ramah Darom CEO Walter Levitt said they launched an emergency fundraiser, and “many generous foundations, donors and Ramah Darom families have helped us weather the storm.”

Camp Barney Medintz, located in Cleveland, Ga., said the summer was “a serious challenge.” The sleepaway camp of the Jewish Community Center in Atlanta relied on their close ties with the Grinspoons, help from the Atlanta Jewish Federation, camp families, alumni and foundations from around the country.

Camp Barney Director Jim Mittenthal said “we are extraordinarily grateful for the support we received” and they are in “a good place” for operating in 2021.

In addition to the fundraising, Ramah Darom decided to generate activity by holding Mishpachah B’Ramah, a series of physically-distanced family getaways. The two, three or five night all-inclusive kosher getaways were held throughout August and are being planned for Sukkot, Thanksgiving, Winter Break, New Year’s, King Weekend and President’s Day Weekend. There will also be a women-only weekend in November and an adult-only Shabbat in February.

The retreats are limited to about 50 people, who maintain distancing outside of their own family units, but the entire camp facility is open to participants.

Geoffrey Menkowitz, Ramah Darom director, said the getaways were designed as “a respite in a safe place for families in need of a break and change of scenery.”

With so much uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic, Jacobs and Ramah Darom cancelled their sessions on April 30; Camp Barney followed two weeks later.

According to the American Camp Association, between 20 and 30 percent of overnight camps nationally opened this summer.

Not every opening was successful. Camp directors throughout the region noticed the experiences of YMCA Camp High Harbor in north Georgia, located just a few miles from Ramah Darom. That camp required only a negative test within 12 days of arrival, and though social distancing was promoted, masks were not required for campers. Two days after the camp opened, a teen counselor who passed the initial screenings came down with symptoms and tested positive. They started sending campers home, and the camp closed six days after opening. Out of 344 from the camp for whom test results were available, 260 tested positive.

Seth Herschthal, third-generation owner of Blue Star Camps in Hendersonville, N.C., which did have a session this summer, simply said “our approach to opening was different from theirs.” (See story, page 36).

With the cancellation of summer sessions, the camps were thrown into a world “that hasn’t been our core business,” Mittenthal said — providing an online connection.

Camps are “experts in in-person immersive programming, and we just ran into this new remote space,” Herman said.

About 200 Barney staff and alumni started working on a summer of virtual events several days each week, including a major weekly event, such as a concert. One week, Mittenthal interviewed Rich Recht, who then did a concert for the camp families.

They launched a S’Bread The Love challenge to bake challah for friends and neighbors, and had a community art project to decorate leaf temSeptember 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community plates for a community tree art project. There was also an Israel Day and a Virtual Color War. Ramah Darom did Kayitz BaBayit, “Summer at Home,” with four weeks of online events coordinated by age groups. Most days there were live small bunk activities or community programs, and on Tuesdays a range of pre-recorded activities were uploaded. Camp-wide Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah were centerpieces each week.

In all, 435 campers and 90 volunteer staff participated in the virtual camp. Audra Kaplan, associate camp director, said “that far exceeded what we were planning,” and it really brought the community together.

The oldest campers, Gesher, had their own programming and leadership development sessions. Over 40 of them became counselors in training to assist with the younger camper programming, and Kaplan said that gave the Gesher campers hands-on professional development they would not have otherwise had.

When Ramah Darom cancelled, one of the most common questions was about Gesher and the campers who would miss their final year as campers. “Our hope is to bring them back to campus at the start of the summer, before the Israel Seminar,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan said it “was really touching” to see how many staff volunteered to coordinate parts of the virtual programming.

Ramah also did a virtual session for Camp Yofi, their program for campers with ASD. Jacobs Camp launched HSJ365, with a range of activities by age group.

Herman said virtual experiences are here to stay, “no matter what happens in the future,” as the remote experiences also had the power of community and can continue year-round.

Kaplan said Ramah Darom will continue with camper engagement

during the year, picking back up after the holidays. A centerpiece will still be Havdalah, with camp families volunteering to host each week.

Each year, Camp Barney has a dozen events at JCCs around the region.

Mittenthal said this year, the reunion and presentation may have to be done virtually, or later than the usual November timeframe.

The lack of camp also affected the Israeli shlichim who spend summers interacting with American kids at camp.

The Jewish Agency for Israel and The iCenter launched Shlichim.IL to keep these cultural ambassadors as a central, meaningful part of the camp community.

“The bonds between shlichim and campers are incredibly special, and often very deep, even after just one summer,” says Lapid Levi, director of the The Jewish Agency for Israel Summer Shlichim Program. “These personal relationships not only are an integral part of the camp experience, but they are proven to be some of the most meaningful Israel engagement and education. Our shlichim and camps are working together to make sure campers continue to have these memorable experiences.”

Though participation had to be done online, there were still 81 Israelis who engaged in the usual training and were assigned to camps.

Danny Herz, director of 6 Points Sports Academy in North Carolina, said “Mai Ziegel has been amazing, all while recovering from the virus, and did great work bringing Israel to our campers. Guy Noga was fantastic and really showed why he is so awesome and why we and our campers love him so much. I am so happy Shlichim.IL worked out, and am so appreciative that The iCenter and Jewish Agency for Israel made this happen.”

Now, attention is shifting to a 2021 season, whatever it looks like.

Herman said the camps will “really lean on” the national organizations

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community for best practices, especially the experiences of camps that did open this summer. They will also learn a lot by watching how schools are reopening this year.

“We are all deeply committed to a 2021 camp season. We believe it can happen” with advances in testing and treatment, Herman said.

On Aug. 26, the Center for Disease Control released a study of four Maine camps that had successful summers, explaining how they were able to operate safely.

Mittenthal said nobody can talk about next May with 100 percent certainty, but “we are driven to do everything we can.”

Many camps are opening registration this month for returning families. “It will be fun for people to start thinking about next summer,” Kaplan said, and for kids to have something to look forward to. Over 200 Ramah Darom families rolled over their tuition from this year to next summer.

Mittenthal said they are working on a playbook with different scenarios for how next summer would look, based on the amount of progress made in the fight against Covid. “By design, we are a community that is opposite from social distancing. The concept of separating people is goofy at overnight camp.”

The plan for next summer “isn’t just to get people on Camp Barney soil, it’s to have this meaningful and exciting experience, as close as possible to normalcy.”

From staff, families and campers, Mittenthal said there has been an attitude of doing whatever it takes, as they consider camp “essential in their lives, not just a place where they spend a couple weeks or a month each summer.”

Herman said “people missed camp and we missed them,” and she expects next summer to sell out.

“Nothing will be as sweet as our first opening day, when we have the kids back home” at camp, Herman said.

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

On Aug. 1, the Five Year and Ten Year campers celebrated at Blue Star’s Friendship Service.

Blue Ridge Bubble How Blue Star was able to hold a camp session this year Lauren and Seth Herschthal, third-generation owners of Blue Star Camps in Hendersonville, N.C., may have 73 years of family summer camp experience to draw on, but even for them, the summer of coronavirus was unprecedented.

Nevertheless, while around 90 percent of sleepaway camps nationally decided to shut down this summer, they assembled their leadership team, consulted with a wide range of medical experts and decided that they would try to move forward with summer camp in some form.

The Jewish camp successfully opened for a four-week “Super Session” and then held a family retreat week.

Seth Herschthal said “we engaged our entire camp community and there was a surprisingly high number of overall families who not only were willing to wait as long as they had to for us to make a final decision, but also expressed a willingness to do what it would take in terms of advanced protocols and procedures, for their children to have some sense of normalcy for some period of time, some way just to be kids as the reality of virtual school and staying at home continued to wear on all of us.”

With seven decades of connections and expertise to draw from, they went through a 10-week process of scenario analysis, financial modeling, pro-forma budgeting, “just trying to figure out the different ways we could operate during the summer.” They consulted with medical experts at places like Emory, the University of North Carolina and Miami, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and the American Camp Association.

“This was difficult, because there was a lot of noise that all of us were navigating through the spring, trying to tune out some of the more emotional based information and stay focused on the facts,” Herschthal said.

“It is not to say that Lauren and I weren’t nervous.”

But he said their medical team was confident that, if they could secure robust testing and adequate protective equipment, “we could do it.” As a family-owned camp, it was their call.

Several smaller sessions were discussed. There was also a proposal, if the camp could not open, to make it available as triage space if local hospitals needed additional space from an outbreak, but the hospitals never had a need for extra space.

They decided to open the camp for one four-week Super-Session in the middle of the summer. “The idea was open, create a bubble, close, done,” he said. “Once we did all the work to get the staff and campers into our bubble, nobody left until camp was over.” Those parameters were far more strict than a typical summer.

Normally, the camp has a capacity of 700 campers for each of the two sessions. The Super-Session had 350 campers, half of the usual housing capacity, and because some campers usually come both sessions, only about 25 to 33 percent of the usual number of campers for the summer.

community The Herschthals, who have camp-age kids of their own, never left their house in Raleigh until it was time to drive to camp.

Immediately upon arrival, the staff, leadership, kitchen workers — everyone at the camp — used a throat swab test, with the results coming back in 48 to 72 hours. The counselors, who had been asked to do a home quarantine 7 to 14 days before arrival, also were tested when they arrived.

Usually, counselors have a seven-day orientation before camp starts.

This year, echoing CDC quarantine guidelines, they had a 14-day “quorientation.” A week after arriving at camp, everyone was tested again, so by the time opening day hit, everyone had at least two negative tests.

Campers were sent a saliva-based test a week before opening day, with the camp and their parents receiving the results at the same time. As with the staff tests, there were no positive tests, and all campers and their families were told to quarantine until camp after taking the test.

On opening day, the campers were assigned a time to arrive by individual car — no group transportation or flights. Opening day was off camp property, about 5 to 7 minutes away, where the families were greeted by medical team members “in full alien-looking PPE.” All families were masked and stayed in their car as a Quidel Sofia test was administered, with results coming back within 15 minutes. At the same time, there was a finger-stick antibody test administered, “just to have extra data for potential contact tracing onsite.”

Once the results showed negative, parents were able to drive to the camp gate, where the campers were dropped off without the family driving into camp. Aside from the staff already there, “no adult set foot on our campus,” Herschthal said.

There were two campers from different families who tested positive at the off-site location. They were re-tested, and both the re-test and antibody test were positive, so they were not able to go to camp. Herschthal said they had been open with all families beforehand that this would be the case for anyone testing positive, and they kept in touch with those families during the session.

He added that this was the reason for having the arrival screenings off-site.

For the first week of camp, all activities were done solely with one’s bunk. The half-filled bunks had eight campers and two counselors. Herschthal said this was “unusual” for a camp that operates under “camper choice” for activities, but necessary. “We had to reinvent our entire daily schedule.” But pandemic or not, looking at everything periodically is “a healthy overall exercise,” though stressful under these circumstances.

After the first week, all campers and staff were tested again, and after everyone tested negative the restrictions loosened somewhat, with units of three cabins able to do activities together. Masks, hand-washing and social distance protocols remained in place through the rest of the session.

“We put a lot of time, energy and resources” into making the camp a safe environment. Hand-washing stations operated by foot pedals proliferated.

Every year, the camp promotes a theme, such as kindness or the environment. This year, mask wearing and hand washing became the themes, including “making a real time ongoing camp style PSA.” Led by staff modeling, masks became “catchy and cool,” with tie-dyeing masks, sports rivalries on masks. “It became an accessory.”

A concern had been whether the summer would still feel like camp, and Herschthal said once the session started, it did. “Yes, it was different, there were no field trips, our staff days off were on the mountain… The overwhelming feeling during it and after was campers and staff just feeling grateful to be able to have some freedom, be with their friends, be doing stuff, have a break from their parents, their house and their screens.”

After the session, there was a break for a few days as the camp was deep cleaned, then they welcomed 15 to 20 families for Catskills and Camp Blue Star, a four night, five day family retreat at the camp.

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community at a loss for the year,” Herschthal said. But “we’re going to be okay” moving forward. The camp received funding from the Paycheck Protection Program, but because it is not a non-profit, Blue Star has been unable to participate in many of the fundraising programs that have helped other camps cope with the year.

Many “very understanding camp families” rolled over their tuition money to the 2021 season, and for the next several years the heavy investment in capital improvements will be at “a much more modest amount.”

Herschthal said there are a lot of family-owned multi-generational camps in the area, and the pandemic led to a lot of best-practices sharing and new relationships among the camps.

Lessons from this summer can be applied toward next year’s camp experience. “We learned a lot from this past summer,” Herschthal said.

Now, they are planning different scenarios for whatever next year will look like — and looking forward to the camp’s 75th anniversary in 2022.

Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) National Organization of Forensic Social Work

Judge Richard Ware Award for Child Abuse Prevention (2014) Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund Board

Louisiana lawyer since 1978 Child abuse/domestic violence victim advocate — 42 years B.S. Tulane 1974 • J.D. Loyola Law ‘78 • LL.M. (advanced law degree) Loyola Chicago Law 2011.

Earned law degree while a probation officer in the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court Created program to give lawyers to abused kids Appointed special assistant DA in 19 parishes Tried cases in 50 Louisiana courts Argued in every LA appellate court Tried cases in 45 other states Admitted also in PA, the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. 3rd , 4th, 5th and 9th Circuits Courts of Appeals; and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Midwest and Western Districts of LA, the Northern and Eastern Districts of TX, the Northern District of OH, the District of CO, and the Western District of PA Wrote over 25 laws for child abuse/family violence victims, and to prevent infanticide

Trained lawyers, judges, police and psychologists at national and state programs for the ABA., the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, domestic violence coalitions, child welfare agencies, and law schools Honored by Justice for Children, The Northern Plains Tribal Inst., The National Association of Social Workers, the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA, The LSU School of Social Work, the Louisiana Foster Parent Association, and the United Way Preeminent “A-V” highest rating from lawyers and judges for ethics and ability — 30 years U.S. Supreme Court win for sexually abused kids Adoption and foster care reform work Defended state in roadway suits Proud father of 4 and grandfather of 3 Cases and writings cited in legal textbooks Staunch defender of due process and First Amendment rights Extensive civil, criminal, and appellate experience nationwide.

Elect

RICHARD DUCOTE

Judge, Div. J, 22nd Judicial District (St. Tammany & Washington Parishes)

Early voting October 20-27, Election Day November 3 Paid for by Richard Ducote

38

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

La. supremacist’s Trump campaign contributions receive media attention The Popular Information website revealed on Aug. 31 that Morris Gulett, a Louisiana-based white supremacist, donated over $2,000 to the Trump re-election campaign in a series of almost 30 donations from 2017 to 2020, with none of the donations exceeding $100.

Gulett was among those vying to succeed Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler. In 2010, after serving time for conspiracy to rob a bank, he established the Aryan Nations by its other name, the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, in Converse, La., about an hour south of Shreveport and half an hour west of Natchitoches, near the Texas line.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he is now in Mansfield, half-way between Shreveport and Converse. Mansfield, according to the 2010 census, is 77 percent Black.

In 2015 he apparently left the Aryan Nations and established the Church of the Sons of YHVH. The now-defunct website said they “stand on the principles of racial segregation and White racial supremacy,” that “Through miscegenation and integration, we have become an abomination to He who created us” and “We understand that the Jew is the literal child of Satan and is the natural enemy of the White race, the Children of God.” The Forward, which also reported on the donations, had first mentioned Gulett’s contributions in July 2018, but the Trump campaign did not respond to the Forward’s inquiries.

Stein-Mart files for bankruptcy, closing stores

National retail chain’s story began with a Jewish peddler in the Mississippi Delta Stein-Mart, a 283-store retail chain with roots in Mississippi’s Jewish community, announced on Aug. 12 that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close “a significant portion, if not all,” of its stores, which are in 30 states.

“The combined effects of a challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic have caused significant financial distress on our business,” Chief Executive Officer Hunt Hawkins said in a statement.

“The Company lacks sufficient liquidity to continue operating in the ordinary course of business” and determined the best course of action would be to liquidate its assets in a going out of business sale.

The going out of business sales are expected to begin this weekend, with stores closing by the fourth quarter.

There are eight locations in Alabama, seven in Louisiana, six in Mississippi, and locations in Pensacola and Destin.

The release said that “any and all strategic alternatives” are being evaluated, including the sale of its e-commerce business and intellectual property.

In June, the company had indicated in a regulatory filing that with the pandemic, there was “substantial doubt” the company would make it into next year.

Over 40 major retailers have filed for bankruptcy this year, up sharply from last year.

The company closed its retail locations on March 18, reopening its stores with reduced hours starting in April. But in the first quarter,

before the pandemic kicked in, sales had fallen to $124 million from $314 million in the same quarter a year earlier. In February, the chain had 9,000 employees, and as of May 30 there were 8,400 employees, with 5,200 furloughed.

Total sales in 2019 were $1.22 billion, down from $1.36 billion in 2016.

A planned merger that had been agreed to in January was terminated in April.

Sam Stein immigrated from Russia to New York in 1905, fleeing from the czar and his disapproving family, with $43 in his pocket and settled in Greenville, Miss. As with so many other new Jewish arrivals, he started off as a traveling peddler, selling to farmers throughout the Delta. He eventually was attacked, shot in the arm and robbed on the way to Vicksburg.

After recovering, Stein sold jewelry in front of Finlay’s Drug Store in Greenville, and having attracted backers, opened a clothing store, known as Sam Stein, in downtown Greenville in 1908.

Unlike other merchants who sought a high-end clientele, Stein stayed with his peddling roots and offered affordable merchandise to less-affluent whites and blacks.

Stein’s four children helped grow the store, with Jake taking the reins in 1932. Jake Stein was president of the Chamber of Commerce and the city’s minor league baseball team, and served on the city council. He struck a deal with Saks Fifth Avenue to receive their returns and unsold merchandise, and transitioned the store from general goods to being a discount retailer, with hefty discounts off department store prices.

When Jake Stein enlarged the store, he wanted to give it a new name. An uncle referenced a friend in Arkansas who was using the “mart” suffix to his name, Sam Walton.

Jake’s son, Jay, attended the retail sales program at New York University, then came back to succeed him as chief executive officer in the 1970s.

Jay and Jake would clash over the idea of expanding, but Jay saw the volume of sell-off goods from high-end retailers and figured there would be other cities besides Greenville that would like a shot at those items.

In 1977, Jay Stein opened a temporary second location in Memphis, which was a huge success.

The Memphis location was followed soon by Nashville. Regional growth continued, with a focus on upscale brands at bargain prices, and in 1984 the company’s headquarters moved to Jacksonville.

In 1992, there were 45 Stein-Marts and it became publicly traded on the NASDAQ. Jay Stein stepped down as CEO in 2001, but returned in 2011 to revitalize the stores. Stein retired again in 2016.

A 2013 profile in USA Today noted that Stein-Mart was thriving at a time when regional stores were closing or being acquired. The article referred to Stein-Mart as having the feel of a smaller Macy’s but with prices like TJ Maxx.

In 2003, a historical marker was erected at the site of the first Stein store in Greenville, and a history of the chain, “Stein Mart: An American Story of Roots, Family, and Building a Greater Dream” was published in 2004.

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Major gift for Tulane Center for Sport The Tulane Center for Sport, which is devoted to the study, research and support of all areas where sport engages society, has received a $5.5 million gift from the Douglas Hertz Family Foundation.

The Hertz Family Foundation fund will support initiatives for current faculty members and leadership, attract prominent faculty members, visiting professors and adjunct instructors to the center while continuing to support and expand its existing nationally recognized programs, along with building on emerging industry sectors.

The gift will also assist with an administrative position that will oversee the planning, coordination and implementation of sports law competitions, the Tulane Sports Executives Club, the Tulane Center for Sport Speaker Series, career services opportunities and other initiatives.

The Center explores the role of sports not only as entertainment or competition on the field of play, but in human health, complex legal issues, labor agreements, sports marketing and finance, media, data analytics, venue architecture and much more.

“This generous gift continues the Hertz family tradition of providing transformative support to the academic mission of Tulane,” said President Michael Fitts. “This gift will strengthen the Center for Sport’s role as a national leader in the study of athletic competition and its far-reaching impact on so many aspects of the human condition.”

“Our family is thrilled to support the vision of interdisciplinary studies on a subject that has become so important in the daily lives of many Americans,” said Doug Hertz, a Tulane graduate who is the immediate past chair of the Board of Tulane.

Hertz, his wife Lila Loewenthal Hertz, daughter Amy Hertz Agami, son Michael J. Hertz and sister Patricia Jill Hertz Reid each graduated from Tulane.

The Hertz family established the Lila L. and Douglas J. Hertz Endowed Chair in Psychology in 2007, named the Doug and Lila Hertz Center in 2011, were lead donors to Yulman Stadium, donated to the A. B. Freeman School of Business and the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute and has made numerous other significant contributions in support of Tulane.

Doug Hertz has been president and CEO of United Distributors, the largest alcoholic beverage wholesaler in Atlanta, since 1984. He serves on numerous boards, is a past president of The Temple, and a limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons.

The Hertz Family: Front row, left to right, Zach Agami, Jill Agami, Noah Agami, Elle Hertz; Second row, Ronnie Agami, Amy Agami, Doug Hertz, Lila Hertz, Emily Hertz, Michael Hertz and Jennings Hertz. (Photo courtesy of the Hertz family) 40

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community 7 p.m. The program is free, but registration is required for Zoom. The program will also be on Facebook Live.

The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama will host comedian Joel Chasnoff for his “Jokes On Us” online show, Sept. 13 at 2:45 p.m.

B’nai Israel in Monroe is planning to hold a baseball exhibit in spring 2021, celebrating members of Monroe’s Jewish community, such as Saul Adler and William Louis Bendel, who had substantial contributions to sports in the area. Anyone with memorabilia for the exhibit is asked to contact Sandra Blate at the congregation.

Southern-style pork barbecue? In Israel?

Margaret Norman, engagement and collaboration coordinator at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El, will have an online workshop and cooking demo on kashrut, barbecue and what food reveals about life in Israel and the American South. In 2017, she went to Israel to explore the Truck de Luxe and its “American Style” barbecue and reported on it for the Southern Foodways Alliance. The workshop on Oct 7 at 6 p.m. will discuss her podcast, “Going Whole Hog in Israel,” and include a vegan barbecue demo. Registration is required for the event link and detailed recipe.

After successful programs for Jewish high school students in Birmingham, “Words to Action: Empowering Students to Address Anti-Semitism” will be held for 7th and 8th graders, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. The interactive education program for middle, high school and college students is designed to empower and equip them with constructive and effective responses to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias, especially at school. Led by the Anti-Defamation League, the program is presented by the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Birmingham Jewish Foundation and Levite Jewish Community Center. Registration is available through the Federation.

The Masur Museum in Monroe has rescheduled its exhibit of French-Israeli artist Theo Tobaisse. The exhibit will open on Dec. 10 and run through February. Ancillary events include a presentation by Rabbi Judy Ginsburgh and several movie screenings, including one at B’nai Israel in Monroe.

The regional Zoom Havdalah changed to 8 p.m. starting Aug. 22. The weekly gathering is centered at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery, but also includes Cantor Neil Schwartz and Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El, Selma and Rabbi Steve Silberman of Ahavas Chesed in Mobile, along with Auburn’s Turia Stark-Williams and Miriam Whyman. Participants from around the region are welcome.

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Coming Soon…

community

Most Jewish publications publish some kind of annual Community Guidebook.

Fighting antisemitism from a different perspective

Southern Jewish Life’s Guide is different.

SJL’s Guide is more than a listing of organizations, institutions and congregations… it is a portal to the history of the Jewish communities of the Deep South, and a guide to the present. And it will be mailed to every known Jewish household in the region.

It will also be made available throughout the year at select stores and institutions, for those looking for information about the region, and especially for newcomers and those who are contemplating a move to the region.

SJL’s Guide gives a history of each institution, and finds the often-overlooked sites and fascinating stories in communities throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle.

This is a first-ever keepsake edition that will be widely read and referred to…

Reserve your ad space today!

Deep South Lee Green, (205) 870-7889 New Orleans Jeff Pizzo, (504) 432-2561 42

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Jewish group taps Christian woman with Mississippi roots

By Richard Friedman The bad news for the American Jewish Committee is that its business — anti-Semitism — is booming.

The good news is that AJC has made a bold decision in response — to send Holly Huffnagle, a 33-year-old Christian, with family roots that course through the Deep South, to the forefront of this battle.

If energy, determination, knowledge and a fresh point of view can help turn back this growing scourge, then AJC, one of America’s oldest Jewish advocacy groups, has picked the right person to lead the charge.

Huffnagle’s promotion earlier this year from assistant director of AJC’s Los Angeles office to its U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism has caught the attention of many, mainly because Huffnagle is not Jewish.

“My goal is to bring a perspective from outside the Jewish community,” she explains. “I just happen to be Christian.” Antisemitism, she emphasizes, is not just a Jewish problem; when it erupts it endangers the broader society as well.

Her Jewish colleagues at AJC have applauded her appointment.

Huffnagle has built an impressive resume as a leader in the fight against antisemitism. She’s taught American Christians about antisemitism and its link to anti-Zionism; worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and served in the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.

She also has spent extended time in Poland studying the Holocaust.

She does acknowledge that her Christian upbringing has been a factor in her wanting to combat antisemitism because, she believes, so much of the haHuffnagle’s tred and violence against Jews over grandmother the centuries played violin has stemmed from Christian for services at attitudes, actions Temple Beth-El in and teachings, even if Christian Lexington, Miss. anti-Judaism is no longer such a pervasive contemporary source. “Many of the antisemitic tropes and conspiracies used by the far-left or Islamist extremists today are borrowed from Christian anti-Judaism and medieval Christian Europe,” notes Huffnagle.

“I think where I got started working on Jewish issues and anti-Semitism was really through learning about the Holocaust while studying in

Europe with Westmont College,” explains Huffnagle. “For me, as a Christian, I had a hard time understanding how the Holocaust — the murder of 6 million Jews — could have happened in Christian Europe. I did not know the history of Christian anti-Judaism — it was a big wake up call.”

Southern Roots

Huffnagle, who grew up in California, is descended from ancestors who arrived in the port of Charleston in the late 1600s. Her family history on both sides runs through the South.

Her forebears would make lives for themselves in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, among other Southern states, as their journey in America unfolded.

The family’s roots in Mississippi made a deep impression on Huffnagle while growing up. Through summer visits, seeds were planted that would play a role in who she would become. As a result of these visits, she began delving into her family’s Southern history, some of which made her proud and some of which made her uncomfortable.

She speaks with pride about her Mississippi grandfather, a personable Baptist preacher, standing up for the rights of Blacks and sticking his neck out when it wasn’t easy. Explains Huffnagle, “My grandfather saved a Black man from being lynched in the 1940s. He was young — in his 20s. And his father-in-law, my great-grandfather, risked his life to help Black Mississippians vote in the 1960s. He was older — in his 60s — but it was a cause he had been passionate about for most of his life.”

At the same time, there’s an acknowledgement that other ancestors were segregationists, fought for the Confederacy and owned enslaved human beings. “Yes, my family history is quite complicated, and not everyone acted righteous-

community ly, and even those who did, didn’t do so all the time.”

One story she tells reflects her journey in coming to grips with her family’s past. One of her relatives on her mother’s side was the famous Confederate General J.E.B. (James Ewell Brown) Stuart, a member of a slave-owning family.

“I had an interesting experience in October 2017,” explains Huffnagle. “There was a high school in Falls Church, Va., which bore the name of J.E.B. Stuart. That October, the school board voted to change the name to Justice High School.” The name change was in response to Stuart being a Confederate general and an association with slavery.

“I thought about it — my relative’s name is being removed from a high school,” remembers Huffnagle. “Should it make me sad? Angry?

I think it might have, if I hadn’t been so exposed in my work to the necessity of understanding the perspectives — and the pain — of the other.”

This Week In Southern Jewish Life The South’s Most Comprehensive Weekly Jewish News Email To Subscribe, send an email to subscribe@sjlmag.com

Jewish Friendships

Huffnagle also discovered her family had connections to the Mississippi Jewish community. Her grandmother played the violin at religious services at Temple Beth-El in Lexington.

Her grandfather was given a leather-bound Jewish Publication Society edition of “The Torah” as a gift from Jewish friends. In a recent virtual interview, she showed the book as well as a printed program from the synagogue featuring her grandmother’s name.

While that keepsake program is a source of pride for Huffnagle, as a student of the Holocaust she noted its additional significance: “The program was from June 1941, the same month as ‘Operation Barbarossa,’ a turning point in Adolf Hitler’s expansion of power.”

In her new role at AJC, Huffnagle will coordinate and track her organization’s efforts to combat antisemitism nationally. Her job additionally allows her to develop and initiate new projects and campaigns.

She will soon be moving from California to Washington, because her job also entails working with the federal government on antisemitism issues.

While Huffnagle’s assignment is dreadfully serious — helping to combat the worst antisemitism since the Holocaust — she remains upbeat, energetic, fresh and inspiring. These traits, coupled with her knowledge, passion for her work and uncompromising sense of purpose, create a formidable mix.

So much so that this young and determined national leader clearly is primed and ready to tackle the booming business of anti-Semitism, and not just on behalf of AJC but on behalf of concerned people everywhere.

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Blueroot

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Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and ½ cup of the pecans in a large bowl.

Stir together almond milk, syrup, vanilla, egg and 3 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a separate bowl. Add oat mixture to milk mixture; stir to combine.

Fold in half of the berries. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish.

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Blueroot wants to be a forerunner in growing Birmingham’s “fast-casual, local, fresh, whole foods culinary movement.”

“We have an incredible culinary ecosystem with some amazing talent in Birmingham,” said Jennifer Ryan, who opened up the Blueroot Outpost in Mountain Brook Village in July. “Our goal with Blueroot is to offer healthy, tasty, high-quality foods in that fast casual environment.”

Ryan grew up in southern California. Her family was always into healthy living and her mom cooked just about every night. “I harnessed early lessons about eating whole foods for energy and sustenance,” she said.

She would go on to participate in NCAA Division 1 athletics at a university on the east coast before moving to New York City to work in finance. In 2016, she and her husband moved to Birmingham.

“We had never done anything related to foods or restaurants, but we saw a need for the concept and decided to test the waters,” said Ryan.

A year and a half ago, she hired Robin Bashinsky, who has worked in Birmingham and across the country with fine dining restaurants and continued on page 45

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community >> Rear Pew Mirror

continued from page 46

Finally, Yom Kippur from home has some serious challenges. Contrary to various interpretations revolving around sadism, the intent of fasting and being in synagogue all day is simply to eliminate all distraction so one can reflect, unless one is a vampire.

Houses house a plethora of distractions. Fasting, with the kitchen right there. Focusing, while the interwebs lurk right behind that Zoom window. This column, sitting right there on the coffee table waiting to be read again. Good luck. I’ve got nothing.

May you be inscribed in the Big G’s upcoming 5781 best-seller, entitled “The Book of Life But Only If Next Year Doesn’t Suck Like This One.” Doug Brook will look forward to the High Holy Days until the fourth dimension forces him to look back on them. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/ rearpewmirror.

>> Blueroot

continued from page 44

has won a couple of James Beard awards. Bashinsky also worked with Cooking Light magazine.

“He is a really-talented, creative and innovative culinary artist who understands the heartbeat of Birmingham,” said Ryan.

They started Blueroot, selling at the Pepper Place Farmers Market in the spring of 2019 and opened a pop-up shop there last summer. It is at that same spot they will open a 1,700-square-foot brick-and-mortar eatery by early 2021 that will serve as their flagship location.

“We’ll have a serving line where people can customize fresh, seasonal salads, proteins and other specialties,” she said. “We plan indoor and outdoor seating, plus we’ll do meals to go and catering.” They’ll serve breakfast, lunch and take-home for dinner.

At the Blueroot outpost, customers can order via phone, online or walk-up for carryout. “We’re very committed to healthy foods and living.

That carries over into our commitment to keeping our customers safe.

Everyone is masked and gloved-up. We do temperature checks and contactless pick-up,” said Ryan.

The current menu at Blueroot includes their farmstand salad, chipotle quinoa bowl, Greek salad, family meals including chicken with quinoa and roasted vegetables, chili-lime sweet potatoes, grilled summer curried tomato soup, summer strawberry ginger granola and dark chocolate tahini brownies.

“We’ll transition soon to our fall menu and will bring in some new, fresh, seasonal items,” added Ryan.

She said Blueroot is proud to be a part of the community. They’ve teamed up with two organizations in Birmingham — Frontline Heroes and Meals for Healthcare Heroes — to help feed those on the front lines.

On their website www.bluerootco.com and in their e-newsletters, Blueroot offers tips ranging from healthy eating and living to fun, safe things families can do in the community.

Interfaith panel explores teachings on race The Birmingham Jewish Community Relations Council and the Levite Jewish Community Center are co-hosting an interfaith discussion on “Hate and Racism; What Our Faiths Teach Us.” Moderated by Bethany Slater, Director of Programming and Jewish Education at Temple Beth El, the virtual event will be Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Panelists include Rev. Taylor Bell from Baptist Church of the Covenant, Rabbi Yossi Friedman from Chabad of Alabama, Rev. Dollie Howell Pankey of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and Ashfaq Taufique, president emeritus of the Birmingham Islamic Society.

Advance registration is required.

1in 5 At some point in our lives, one in five of us will have a serious mental health issue.

If you are suffering, there is help.

The Jewish Mental Health Initiative is a community-wide collaboration sponsored by Collat Jewish Family Services and the Birmingham Jewish Foundation.

For more information, call 205.879.3438 or visit https://cjfsbham.org/ jewish-mental-health-initiative-.htm September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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rear pew mirror • doug brook

Bye Holy Days

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September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Nearly both readers of this column have no doubt joined their fellow humans in eagerly anticipating the end of 2020. Some people’s reasons are different than others’ reasons, and some of them are even right about it. Just ask them.

Regardless, this it-can’t-end-soon-enough sentiment has been prevalent throughout society amid 2020’s ever-growing pandemics of Coronavirus and corruption, onset of sheltering in place and feeling out of place, and departure of Barbara Walters from the airwaves. It didn’t even wait, as it does most years, until the Mets were eliminated from postseason contention two weeks before the abridged baseball season began.

While Nov. 3 is popularly — as well as electorally — circled on calendars nationwide, so is Dec. 31. To find the last time when the end of a year was this eagerly anticipated by this many people, one must go all the way back to 2019.

But why wait four more months until next year? The Jewish calendar has a New Year’s Day much sooner, in September. In fact, it has two days of it, so there’s plenty to share. There are many resources that legitimately explain the High Holy Days, so instead of re-explaining them here, the following expounds on uniquenesses that are unique to this unique year.

This year’s Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will be unlike any that came before. In some ways, it might actually be good; in others, less so.

One difference is that, to get a head start on next year, those who take the rare opportunity to attend services in person this Rosh Hashanah will receive a form for how they want to appear in next year’s yahrtzeit book.

For everyone who will be home-shuling this holiday season, it will be tempting to not dress as they would if going to synagogue. This is a great and terrible thing.

First of all, please dress. In something, at least. It’s a time for baring our souls, but not our soles — or anything above them.

More to the point… On the one hand, when attending from home instead of together, it is even more incumbent to do whatever we can to create Never has a a sacred space for ourselves in respect to new year been ourselves, each other, and the Big G. After all, houses aren’t synagogues, and this is the season of seeking forgiveness and inso eagerly scription in next year’s Book of Life. anticipated On the other hand, the Big G is likely to get in several giggles because of people wearing a dress or shirt, tie, coat, and slacks, along with slippers once featured at Kids ‘R’ Us. And, yes, you should pick up the place a bit. Nobody’s Wednesday socks have ever been on the floor in the room next to Rosh Hashanah services. Come on; it’s Saturday already. (Thursday socks are understandable.)

A benefit of online services is that there is far less consternation about someone sitting in another person’s seat in the sanctuary. The preferred location on the couch is a different matter, but at least is an internal matter to resolve rather than a family feud that could end up before the synagogue board and mediated by Steve Harvey.

The onset of remote services raises some issues of cybersecurity but the good news is that it addresses various issues of synagogue security. With everyone tuning in from home, it’s thankfully far more difficult for an assailant to carry out a mid-service mass shooting. continued on previous page

September 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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