SJL Deep South, October 2014

Southern Jewish Life

Wrapped in Maroon and White: Remembering Jack Cristil

MORE IRON DOME FOR HUNTSVILLE? CELEBRATION IN ALEXANDRIA EXPLORING JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS IN MOBILE MAKING PEACE IN JACKSON AT “SALAD SUMMIT” ISRAEL BONDS / BHAM FEDERATION EVENT FOCUSING ON MIDDLE EAST CHRISTIANS NASHVILLE AND BATON ROUGE JEWISH FILM FESTIVALS

October 2014 Volume 24 Issue 10

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shalom y’all shalom y’all One aspect of running a Jewish news magazine in the Deep South is that you never really know what the day is going to bring, but it isn’t only journalists for whom that is true.

When Rabbi Ted Riter decided to take a lunch break from his Rosh Hashanah preparations in Jackson less than 36 hours before the Holy Day began, he never expected to become the subject of national news coverage that afternoon, but a chance run-in with a restaurant owner took care of it.

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Anywhere Read SJL Our digital Anywhere editions are

The story of that encounter is in this issue and has been on our website. The restaurant owner’s remarks to the rabbi quickly became a hot story, going viral instantly. Starting withe local media, the story quickly spread to JTA, the Forward, Huffington Post and beyond, even to Israel.

always available Our digital at sjlmag.com. editions are You may also always available to go atchoose sjlmag.com. paperless and You may also have each choose to gomonth’s magazineand delivered paperless to your have eachinbox. month’s magazine delivered to your inbox.

As Riter pointed out, the story isn’t so much the offensive remarks, but how the people of Jackson, in the Jewish and general communities, rallied to his side and expressed outrage, saying such bigotry had no place there.

Unfortunately, the fears of many in Jackson came true — the story would be used to cast aspersions on Mississippi. A standard rule online is don’t read the comments below articles — they are often incendiary and filled with invective.

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Sure enough, many shrugged the story off with “It’s Mississippi, what do you expect?” Just another example of those yokels not knowing how to get along.

Many Mississippians pointed out just how rare this actually is (and that the restaurant owner “ain’t from around these parts”). Rabbi Valerie Cohen, who for the last 11 years served the Jackson congregation where Riter is the interim rabbi this year, said she never had any-

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October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 3

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commentary

Read SJL October 2014 Anywhere

Southern Jewish Life

Our digital editions are always available thing like that happen when she was in Mississippi. Many Jewish natives also were amazed that at sjlmag.com.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR something like this took place.

You may alsoLawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com And really, the lunch-time incident pales in comparison to what we read in Jewish papers choose to go paperless and ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING from elsewhere in the U.S. As a reminder of that, on Rosh Hashanah someone yelling “Jews, have each month’s Jews, Jews” fired shots from his car in the general direction of a group of men walking on the Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com magazine delivered street in Baltimore. to your inbox.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Compared to that, having a business owner make ignorant remarks isn’t as big of a deal, Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com

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though it may be disappointing and annoying.

It also isn’t commonplace — “even” in much-maligned Mississippi. If it were, it would not have been such a big story, as news is about what is not the norm.

Both the rabbi and the restaurant owner saw how the buzz-saw of media coverage can mushroom instantly, thanks to our social media society.

WEB EDITOR Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com

/sjlmag @sjlmag /southern /sjlmag Three days later they met for a few minutes to clear the air. What repercussions remain will jewish be up to the marketplace, and perhaps this incident can be used to further dialogue and life understanding.

It certainly is a lesson for everyone on how careless talk can become an instant nightmare. In this High Holy Day season, that’s an important lesson to keep in mind.

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4 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Rabbi Milton Grafman Endowment Fund on Sept. 12. Photo by Rabbi Barry Altmark

Federation, Bonds event to focus on Middle East Christians

BJF overcomes cuts to make campaign goal

This year’s combined annual event for the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Birmingham Jewish Foundation and Israel Bonds is turning things upside down.

Usually, such events are geared toward Jewish needs in Israel and around the world, with some help from Christian supporters. While that will continue to be the case this year, the event’s focus will highlight the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Boohaker, who has long been active on behalf of Lebanese Christians, will be the guest speaker. A leader in the national American Lebanese community, he will speak about the plight of Middle East Christians.

Over the last few months in particular, Islamist groups that have taken over areas of Syria and Iraq have decimated Christian communities, some almost 2,000 years old, forcing them to convert to Islam, pay a submission tax or leave.

The Federation has made emergency donations to organizations that assist Christians and other groups in the Middle East, standing up for those facing persecution by ISIS. Israel’s role as the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Jews and Muslims can worship and live freely will also be highlighted.

The Oct. 29 event will be at Temple Emanu-El. A reception will begin at 5 p.m., the program will start at 6:15 p.m.

The joint meeting is when all three agencies present their annual awards.

The Federation will present the Joanie Plous Bayer Young Leadership Award to Andy Saag. The Susan Goldberg Distinguished Volunteer Award will go to Sheryl Kimerling.

The Foundation will present the N.E. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award to Louise and Jim Abroms. The award is presented on the basis of long-standing service to the community and a commitment to the future by endowing an Annual Campaign gift in perpetuity.

Israel Bonds will honor Harold Ripps.

The event is free and open to the community. There will be an opportunity to purchase Israel Bonds, but it is not required.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, U.S. sales so far in 2014 tallied more than $900 million, on pace with 2013’s record U.S. sales. In August, worldwide sales surpassed $37 billion since bonds were first issued in 1951.

After the year began with some large-gift reductions, the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s annual campaign started off 10 percent down, but despite that obstacle the campaign finished by achieving the goal of $2.4 million.

Executive Director Richard Friedman called it “the largest and most dramatic annual campaign turnaround in my 32 years” in that role. He credited campaign chairs Ginger and Jerry Held, along with many others, for the achievement.

The annual campaign is the umbrella gift that is then allocated to numerous local, national and international agencies. Locally, those include the Levite Jewish Community Center, N.E. Miles Jewish Day School and Collat Jewish Family Services. Funding also goes to Israel and wherever there are Jews in need around the world.

In addition, the community raised over $500,000 in this summer’s Israel Emergency Campaign, one of the highest per-capita results in the country.

The Federation also announced that the Next 100 Years community endowment campaign went from $30 million to $40 million in commitments.

This past year, the Federation launched a leadership circle for those under age 40 who contribute at least $1800 per year, and partnered with the Birmingham Jewish Foundation to offer 21/64, which works with families on a multi-generational basis to discuss philanthropic values.

Birmingham’s Jewish community numbers roughly 5,500.

Bruce Pearl highlights Montgomery Federation event New Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl will be the keynote speaker for the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama’s Annual Campaign dinner, Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m., at the Capital City Club in Montgomery. Pearl, who formerly coached at Tennessee, was the coach of the gold medal winning United States basketball team at the 2009 Maccabi Games in Israel. The dinner is $40, and reservations were requested by Oct. 13.

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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Springhill Avenue’s Kunstadt to retire Rabbi Donald Kunstadt, who has served Mobile’s Springhill Avenue Temple since 1987, announced he will retire next summer.

In a letter to the congregation, Springhill Avenue President Alan Goldberg expressed “my appreciation to him for his excellent service, leadership and commitment to Sha’arai Shomayim for an extraordinary 28 years.”

Kunstadt’s tenure is the second-longest in the history of Alabama’s oldest Jewish congregation, second only to Rabbi Alfred Moses, who served from 1901 to 1940. He is the longest-serving rabbi of the same congregation in the state.

For a community of its size, Mobile has had a remarkably stable rabbinic presence. Kunstadt’s counterpart at Ahavas Chesed, Rabbi Steven Silberman, has been in Mobile since 1990, and with Kunstadt’s retirement will become the state’s longest-tenured current rabbi at a single congregation.

Valdosta Jewish history at Beth Or lecture For starting times and more information, call (205) 424-2368 www.bentbrook.com Follow us on twitter Like us on Facebook

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The Mobile Trialogue, a group that brings Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders together for discussions of common topics, will present an interfaith symposium on Jerusalem.

The event was inspired by the current screening of the National Geographic film “Jerusalem” at the Mobile Exploreum, along with the “Voices of Jerusalem” exhibit.

Three speakers, who were not announced as of press time, will briefly talk about the significance of Jerusalem in their religious traditions.

The symposium will be at Spring Hill College’s Gautrelet Room in the Lucey Administration Building on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. The community is invited, and refreshments “which meet the dietary restrictions of all faiths” will be served.

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Beth-El to honor Wilensky for Community Kitchens work

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Ticket prices starting at $30. Purchase tickets at RedMountainTheatre.org or by calling 205-324-2424.

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Louis Schmier, author of “Chant of Ages; Cry of Cotton,” will speak about the Jewish history of Valdosta, Ga., at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.

A reluctant Northern transplant, Schmier became part of the Valdosta community when he was asked to research the Jewish community’s history. He uncovered that the commonly assumed timeline was erroneous and there had actually been “three lost Jewish families” that moved there long before the community’s assumed beginnings.

The story of the Ehrlich, Engels and Marks families challenges the image of persecuted Jews in the South, and they became respected, prominent members of the town.

The program is part of Beth Or’s Rothschild-Blachschleger Lecture Series. Copies of the book are available at Beth Or.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El has a long-standing relationship with Community Kitchens. On Nov. 1, Eva Wilensky will be honored for 20 years of service to the agency, with a gala at Beth-El. Wilensky spearheads the congregation’s activities at Grace By Day, the kitchen at Grace Episcopal Church in Woodlawn. The Jewish community takes over on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, preparing holiday meals for the hungry.

The event will start at 7 p.m. with catering from Creative Cuisine by Roz, music and dancing. Proceeds will benefit Beth-El and Community Kitchens. Tickets are $72, and sponsorships are available.

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Camp Barney Medintz, summer resident camp of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, will present their annual new musical slide production and dessert reception in Birmingham on Nov. 6 at the Levite Jewish Community Center beginning at 7 p.m.

Camp Director Jim Mittenthal will meet with new and returning families, answer questions about the 2015 summer camp season, and provide applications for registration.

This year marks the introduction of “CBM Live!” a 2-week specialty camp with either a music and band track or a theater track.

Camp Barney Medintz is located in the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains on over 500 wooded acres surrounding two lakes just 75 miles northeast of Atlanta. According to Mittenthal, the setting facilitates “every imaginable activity”, including water skiing, wake boarding, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, leaping off the “Blob” or soaring down the 180-foot “Hurricane” water slide, horseback riding, “zipping” over 1000 feet across Lake Wendy, whitewater rafting, tennis, all land/court sports, theatre, crafts, music, Israeli culture, dance, film studio, cooking “classes”, mountain biking, climbing the adjacent Appalachian Trail and a series of high-adventure rock climbing, rappelling and ropes courses.

Specific age groups may also participate in fencing, karate, ceramics or scuba diving.

“Camp Barney”, celebrating its 53rd summer season, has created “a unique community that is all about adventure and self discovery, exhilarating activities and exciting events, being in a strong culturally Jewish environment with special friends, all under the supervision of a carefully selected group of mature, talented, conscientious, loving, and enthusiastic staff,” said Mittenthal.

Camp Barney annually develops new construction projects to improve its mountain facility. Recent additions include a major cultural and performing arts complex, a new sports complex and “Food Network”-type camper kitchen, the new Marcus Health Center, and the construction of a new second swimming pool with double water slides.

Inquiries about the 2015 summer season are again far exceeding previous years and each of the two- and four-week sessions is likely to fill to capacity very rapidly.

For more information about Camp Barney programs, Family Camps, staff opportunities or other CBM adventures, call the camp office in Atlanta at (770) 395-2554 or local parent representatives. In Birmingham, it is Susan Lapidus, (205) 930-9185.

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Hadassah leader from Israel to speak in Birmingham Birmingham Hadassah welcomes Barbara Goldstein, deputy executive director of Hadassah’s office in Israel, for a Nov. 3 program at the home of Sherri and Jeffrey Weissman, starting at 7 p.m.

Goldstein will discuss how the new Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower at Hadassah Hospital is affecting medical care in Jerusalem and in Israel.

She will also address the current situation in the Middle East and recent research milestones in ALS, Diabetes, Lupus, IBD, MS and many other diseases.

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October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 7

agenda Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El will have Shabbat morning services on Oct. 25 at Gulf Breeze Zoo, starting at 10 a.m. The service and lunch will be in the picnic area outside the zoo, and following lunch there will be tours of the zoo.

On Oct. 24, University of Alabama at Birmingham archaeologists Sarah Parcak and Greg Mumford will speak about ancient Jerusalem at the 5:40 p.m. Shabbat service at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El. Their appearance will kick off the congregation’s Year to Celebrate Israel.

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Susan Michael, the United States director of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, will speak about the Biblical significance of Israel at two churches in northern Alabama this month.

She has served as director in the Murfreesboro, Tenn., headquarters since 1992. She will speak at Killen United Methodist Church in Killen on Oct. 26 at the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services, and at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Florence at 7 p.m. The meetings are co-hosted by the North Alabama Friends of Israel.

The Fort Walton Beach Jewish community will have its Nite on the Town at VKI Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.

Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El will travel to Israel in March 2015, led by Rabbi Joel and Andrea Fleekop. The itinerary will include Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tsfat, Tiberias and other destinations. Initial deposits are requested by Oct. 15.

The Ahavas Chesed Sisterhood in Mobile will create Judaica from the Gary Rosenthal Collection’s Hiddur Mitzvah Project at its opening meeting, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. Rosenthal, a noted Judaica artist in the Washington area, makes kits available for groups to make glass mosaic items through the Project. The mosaics are sent to the studio for finishing. One of the Project’s bigger programs was providing ritual items to the New Orleans Jewish community in 2005 to replace items lost in the post-Katrina flood.

Matisyahu will be in concert at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.

The Birmingham Jewish War Veterans Post 608 will have an Update on Middle East Events, on Oct. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Levite Jewish Community Center. Daniel Odrezin, assistant executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, will be the speaker. Light appetizers will be served. The meeting is open to the entire community, one does not have to be a veteran to attend.

The 13th annual Teens Lend a Caring Hand Day, a program of Birmingham’s Collat Jewish Family Services, will be Nov. 2. Area teens visit seniors and do several housekeeping items, including changing fire detector batteries, light bulbs, flipping mattresses, dusting difficult places and changing clocks to Standard Time.

8 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

agenda Women’s Shabbat retreat in Baton Rouge The Baton Rouge community will host a Shabbat Retreat for Women, featuring Rabbi Yael Levy of Congregation Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia. Levy is director of “A Way In: Jewish Mindfulness Center” and author of books on the Omer and Chanukah. She was also named by the Forward as one of America’s most inspiring rabbis.

The retreat, held at The Red Shoes, will begin on Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. with “Welcoming Shabbat with Gratitude and Awareness.” The weekend continues on Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with “Calling Forth the Teachings of the Torah.” The week’s portion describes women who embody strength, vision, generosity, kindness and courage, and the legacy of their stories will be explored.

The weekend is sponsored by Beth Shalom Sisterhood, B’nai Israel Sisterhood, Hadassah Baton Rouge, Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, The Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge and The Rosenson Family Foundation.

Registration is a minimum donation of $36 and includes Shabbat dinner and lunch. Reservations can be sent to Hadassah Baton Rouge, 8021 Owens, Baton Rouge 70809, or email BatonRougeHadassah@gmail.com.

Noam Shalit to speak in Alexandria Central Louisiana United Jewish Communities will host “An Evening with Noam Shalit” on Oct. 21 at Bistro on the Bayou. The free event starts at 6 p.m. with heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

Shalit is the father of Gilad Shalit, who was captured in June 2006 when Hamas operatives dug under the border with Gaza and infiltrated into Israel, then attacked Gilad Shalit’s patrol tank. The Shalit family launched a campaign to keep pressure on Hamas to release their son. On the third anniversary of his captivity, Gilad Shalit was made an honorary citizen of New Orleans by the New Orleans City Council.

On Oct. 11, 2011, Netanyahu announced an exchange deal had been reached, where Israel would release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit. On Oct. 18, 2011, he returned home after over five years in captivity.

Reservations should be sent to co-chair Tommy Wahlder, twahlder@ aol.com.

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Seeing “Through Soviet Jewish Eyes”

The Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is featuring an exhibit of over 60 images documented during World War II by Jewish Russian photojournalists. Titled “Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust,” this exhibition lends Jewish Soviet perspective to the World War II narrative, bringing to focus the many challenges that Russian aesthetics faced during the Second Great War. - PRESENTATION The exhibit features a number of striking wartime images surround- DATE: Thursday, November 6, 2014 ing Soviet-Nazi conflicts, including the first documented liberation of TIME: 7:00 P.M. prisoners from Nazi atrocity sites.

PLACE: Levite Jewish Community Center These artists, by providing a Soviet Jewish voice to photojournalism, 3960 Montclair Rd, Birmingham (205) 879-0411 tell a visual story that is entirely unique in its contribution.

Summer Resident Camp of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta The exhibit is organized by the CU Art Museum at the University of Accredited by the American Camp Association Colorado. It will be in Lafayette through Dec. 13.

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 9

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agenda Saying a virtual Kaddish An episode of the 1990s television show “Northern Exposure” was about searching the back roads of Alaska for 10 Jews so one could say the Mourner’s Kaddish at a public service. Now, Birmingham’s Temple BethEl is making that easier for those who are isolated or otherwise unable to find a minyan.

During the High Holy Days, the congregation started live-streaming services and shortly will start live-streaming its daily minyan.

The Conservative congregation has minyan twice every day, the only one in the state to have such a regular schedule.

One of the daily minyan’s important functions is allowing those who need to say Kaddish to do so, whether in the 11 months following a loved one’s death or on the actual anniversary each year. Many non-members attend the minyan at Beth-El for that purpose.

Because the Kaddish is seen as a public prayer, there is the requirement to say it at a public service.

According to a ruling by the Conservative movement’s Committee on Law and Standards, a minyan may not count a “virtual” participant as part of the quorum — there still have to be 10 or more physically present at the same location. Once that is done, however, anyone can join in via remote and say Kaddish as if they were present, even if they are by themselves thousands of miles away.

Beth-El initiated the live-streaming to benefit elderly community members who could not travel to services, and those in isolated small communities who would not otherwise have access to a service.

Beth-El’s minyan is at 7 a.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. on Sundays and secular holidays, and at 5:30 p.m. Services are accessible through the congregation’s website, templebeth-el.net.

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The Jewish Community Day School in Metairie has teamed with the New Orleans Pelicans for a Jewish Education Night during Chanukah.

Details are still being worked out, but the Dec. 16 home game against the Utah Jazz will feature students from the community singing the National Anthem. Head of School Sharon Pollin said the Pelicans will be printing Hebrew Pelicans shirts, and she hopes to have permission to light a Chanukah menorah on the concourse at halftime.

As part of the evening, the Pelicans would make a contribution for every ticket purchased through the school, $10 for lower level seating and $5 for upper level.

Pollin said she hopes to expand it community-wide and share proceeds with any other Jewish educational institution that wants to participate.

Details about ticket sales and participating institutions will be announced later. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge resumes its Terrific Tuesdays lunch and learning for older adults on Oct. 21 at 11:30 a.m., at Beth Shalom. There will be a presentation on bone health, from osteoporosis to preventing falls and fractures. Reservations are requested by Oct. 17.

The Beth Shalom Sisterhood in Baton Rouge will have its second annual Nearly New Sale on Nov. 7 and 9, and Nov. 14 and 16. Items will be accepted for the sale following Sukkot.

More Iron Dome work expected for Huntsville On Sept. 30, Raytheon Company announced it had received a contract award from Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. valued at $149.3 million to provide products for the Tamir interceptor used in the defensive Iron Dome Weapon System.

While the company did not give specifics about which Raytheon facilities would be involved in Iron Dome work, analysts expect that the work will take place in Huntsville and Tucson, Ariz.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama said there will be “significant work” in Huntsville under the contract. “Alabama’s defense industrial base is second to none. Our workforce is highly skilled and our citizens deeply support our military and our troops. Whether it’s building tanks at Anniston Army Depot or Iron Dome rocket parts for Israel’s defense in Huntsville, Alabama knows what it takes to help keep our military strong.”

Raytheon will utilize its extensive technology resources and supplier network to provide a second source of supply for essential Iron Dome interceptor components. With more than 1,000 successful intercepts, Tamir is the only combat proven counter rocket, artillery, and mortar interceptor available for U.S. and coalition partners today. It was a key component in protecting Israelis and Palestinians from random Hamas rockets from Gaza this past summer.

“Iron Dome has proven itself time and again by protecting Israel’s population from incoming rockets, artillery and mortars,” said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. “The sourcing of Tamir interceptor components in the U.S. will go a long way to ensuring sufficient volumes of available Tamir missiles for Israel’s defense.”

The award builds upon a co-marketing agreement the two companies have had in place for Iron Dome since 2011. In appropriating funding for Iron Dome, Congress required that much of the aid be spent by Israel in the United States.

“We must always work to help defend Israel and her people, and this announcement comes as further proof of our commitment to that mission, while also helping provide more good-paying jobs here in the U.S.,” Rogers said.

“The partnership between the Missile Defense Agency and the Israeli Missile Defense Organization has been extraordinary,” said DiDi Yaari, chief executive officer of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. “We’re very appreciative of the U.S.’s support for this life-saving system. Maintaining Iron Dome’s supply gives Israelis great peace of mind.”

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U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana met with Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, in early September. Scalise said “we must and will continue to stand with our nation’s trusted ally and friend.”

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In 1974, Mary and Paul Filben were asked by Bishop John May to start a dialogue group between the Catholic Church of Mobile and the local Jewish community. Self-described “post-Holocaust Catholics,” the Filbens, who have both died in recent years, built the Mobile Christian-Jewish Dialogue into a major part of interfaith life in the city.

Based on that reputation, the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations is holding its annual national meeting in Mobile this month, with Ahavas Chesed hosting some of the events.

The council is an association of centers and institutes in the United States and Canada devoted to enhancing mutual understanding between Jews and Christians. It is dedicated to research, publication, educational programming, and interreligious dialogue that respect the religious integrity and self-understanding of the various strands of the Jewish and Christian traditions. Long-time Dialogue participants Rickie and Larry Voit have attended CCJR events for years.

Mobile’s Dialogue continues under the auspices of Spring Hill College.

Ahavas Chesed Rabbi Steve Silberman said “This is a significant feather in the cap of Mobile, this congregation and Spring Hill College “ The convention will be housed at the Mobile Marriott. After registration, the first event will be Shabbat services and dinner at Ahavas Chesed on Oct. 24, starting at 6 p.m. They will also attend Shabbat morning services on Oct. 25, starting at 9:30, followed by lunch and an afternoon of dialogue with the leadership of the Dialogue. The day will wrap up with Havdalah.

On Oct. 26, the day begins with Catholic Mass, followed by a Christian liturgy at 9:15 a.m., both at the hotel.

After a bus tour of Mobile, there will be panels at Spring Hill College. A 2 p.m. panel for conventioneers will discuss Pope Francis and the future of dialogue.

At 4 p.m. there will be a public panel, “Beyond Intolerance and Hate: Interreligious Relationships in the South.” Panelists will include Scott Douglas III, executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries; author Roy Hoffman, who has written extensively about the Southern Jewish experience; and Mark Potok, Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

That evening’s dinner includes the organization’s Shevet Achim Award ceremony, with Mary C. Boys as the honoree. A long-time advocate of Christian-Jewish dialogue, she is Dean of Academic Affairs and Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary, and an adjunct faculty member of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she received one of her many honorary doctorates.

On Oct. 27, the final panel will be on “American Catholic, Jewish and Protestant Interactions over Middle East Issues, at the Marriott at 10:15 a.m. Speakers include Adam Gregerman of Saint Joseph’s University, Peter Pettit of Muhlenberg College and Emily Soloff, associate director of interreligious and intergroup relations at the American Jewish Committee.

While overall registration for the weekend was due by Sept. 15, additional information on the events can be found at ccjr.us/annual-meeting.

BR Hadassah holds Sukkot fundraiser Baton Rouge Hadassah is holding its big fundraiser for 2014, Dinner in the Sukkah Under The Stars, on Oct. 12 at the home of Liz Chubb, Mitch and Abby Raynor. The gourmet event will feature recipes from the Jerusalem Cookbook. Tickets are $36 in advance. For information, email BatonRougeHadassah@gmail.com.

Marking the occasion

Alexandria congregation dedicates National Historic Register sign, celebrates 155th On Sept. 21, Gemiluth Chassodim, known as the Jewish Temple in Alexandria, celebrated two milestones just before Rosh Hashanah — the congregation’s 155th anniversary and its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

The national recognition is for the congregation’s current building, which was built in the 1950s and is seen as an “outstanding example” of “Mid Century Modern” architecture.

The event started outdoors with the unveiling of a historic marker. Harry Silver and Myron Wellan, two surviving members of the building committee, participated in the ceremony.

Also participating was Jerry Heinberg, son of the building’s architect, Max Heinberg. The elder Heinberg had served as congregational president.

Current president Art Williams welcomed the crowd, which assembled under a giant

live oak tree that had been planted by the congregation in 1950.

After the marker was dedicated, the event moved indoors, where the shofar was sounded. Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy gave remarks and reminisced about the congregation, as did Silver and Heinberg.

Historical Preservation consultant Paul Smith, who worked on obtaining historic status for the building, says that when examining the building closely “one begins to realize the genius of design that combines extraordinary functionality with artistic sensitivity and even subtle symbolism.”

He noted “the division of sacred from secular,” including the light well of the Ark area, which brings in the natural light from above. He Judy and Rabbi Arnold Task said it “directs the sounds of worship within toward the source of that light.”

The building, he said, “is an extraordinarily well executed expression

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of faith, hope and optimism, in the all-too-often rigid medium of architecture.”

The design incorporated elements closely associated with Frank Lloyd Wright, and reflects an architectural style embraced by Percival Goodman and Eric Mendelsohn in the mid-20th century that envisioned synagogues as “temples of light.”

Built by congregant Barnet Brezner, the original part of the building in 1952 included the social hall, kitchen and classrooms. The sanctuary, officJerry Heinberg, es, additional classrooms and interior Howard Oppenheimer and courtyard were built in 1960. It feaRobin Freedman tures floor-to-ceiling art glass panels that create a stained-glass effect in a non-traditional way.

As part of the anniversary celebration, a portrait of Rabbi Emeritus Arnold Task was unveiled. Task served the congregation from 1989 to 2011, and the portrait will hang in the Task Garden Room.

A reception was held in Hinchin Social Hall, named for Rabbi Emeritus Martin Hinchin, who was rabbi at Gemiluth Chassodim from 1956 to 1988. Last year, Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman became the 25th rabbi to lead the congregation.

The congregation began as the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Rapides in October 1859. Fundraising for the first building, at Third and Fisk Streets, began in 1870, and in 1873 the congregation became one of the original congregations forming the Reform movement.

The congregation’s second building was completed around 1908 at Fourth and Fisk Streets.

Jewish studies program now at Arkansas The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas announced the formation of a new program in Jewish studies.

Launched by an ambitious interdisciplinary group of scholars, the Jewish Studies Program has already received external funding from the Jewish Federation of Arkansas and has sponsored a repertoire of lectures and programs for the university and wider community ranging from Yiddish cinema, biblical women and biblical archaeology, to the history of Jews in Arkansas.

The Jewish Federation of Arkansas awarded the 2014 Tikkun Olam prize to Jennifer Hoyer, a faculty member of the Jewish Studies Program, in recognition of her pioneering work in Jewish studies. Marianne Tettlebaum, director of the Federation, said “a Jewish Studies Program will enrich not only the intellectual and cultural life of the university, but also Jewish life in Arkansas, by raising awareness of Judaism and Jewish life here and thereby helping to attract those interested in Judaism and Jewish culture to Arkansas.”

Several years ago, Jacob Adler, who teaches philosophy, and Hoyer, who teaches world languages, literatures and cultures, began exploring the potential for consolidating Jewish studies interests across campus and creating an articulated, degree-granting program that would allow Arkansas students access to Judaism and Jewish cultures, histories, and lifeways as an academic discipline.

In an effort to raise awareness of the relevance for Jewish studies as an area studies program at the University of Arkansas as well as the long-standing presence of Jewish life in Arkansas, Adler and Hoyer began exploring potential grants that would support opportunities to offer courses and create public outreach events.

A roundtable on “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Diversity in Jewish Studies” was scheduled for Oct. 1, and additional programs are in the works.

Rosh Hashanah in the Region Right, Rosh Hashanah morning services at Adath Israel in Cleveland, Miss.

Katherine Levingston of Clarksdale led the congregation in Oseh Shalom. She is the daughter of Jennifer and Jon Levingston, and is one of the NFTY Southern Region song leaders for 2014-2015. She is pictured with Rabbi Harry Danziger.

Below, students from Hillel at LSU have Rosh Hashanah dinner at DeAngelo’s.

They also attended services at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge.

Above, Rabbi Levi Weinbaum from Chabad of Alabama brought the Shofar Factory to Montgomery. Below, Chabad of Louisiana has a Shofar Factory for Young Jewish Professionals.

Tashlich at Emerald Lake in Dothan

James Futterman, Kyle Weber, Josh Becker, Andrew Dubin and Justin Franco were among the 160 students having Rosh Hashanah dinner at the University of Alabama’s Bloom Hillel.

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 15

16 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

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Mississippi State Bulldogs remember legendary announcer Jack Cristil Jacob Sanford “Jack” Cristil, the long-time voice of Mississippi State University athletics, died on Sept. 7 at the age of 88.

“As a lifelong Bulldog, my heart is heavy at learning of the passing of legendary MSU broadcaster Jack Cristil,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “Jack’s deep love of this university was always evident in his words and in his deeds. He was a tireless ambassador for Mississippi State and he brought great honor and distinction to our university as one of the most revered radio announcers in American history.”

When he retired in 2011 because of health concerns, his 58 years as the radio broadcaster for Mississippi State was the second-longest in the nation. He announced his retirement in the post-game show following the basketball team’s 84-82 loss to LSU, saying his medical treatments would not permit him to represent the university “the way it should be represented.”

He was known for his on-air quips, especially in games where the Bulldogs were being trounced. Victories were hailed with his signature “You can wrap this one in maroon and white.”

Cristil’s love for broadcasting came at an early age.

Cristil noted years ago that his parents spoke Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish but allowed only English to be spoken in the house. His mother was a Russian revolutionary who escaped the czar’s forces.

When he was six years old, his parents bought the family’s first radio and he discovered sports broadcasting. The idea that he could be sitting at home in Memphis and hear someone in a stadium far away telling him about a game “enthralled” him and he knew that would be the path he would eventually take.

He started bouncing a ball in the street outside his home and doing play-by-play of imaginary games.

After graduating high school, he served in World War II, as an aircraft engine mechanic in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

He then briefly studied broadcast journalism at the University of Minnesota before returning to Tennessee and starting as the radio announcer for the minor league baseball team in Jackson, Tenn. He would announce baseball for teams in Anniston, Memphis and Clarksdale, joking that he worked his way up to Double-A baseball.

While in Clarksdale he sent audition tapes to then-Mississippi State Director of Athletics C.R. “Dudy” Noble, having never been to Starkville.

His announcing career for the Bulldogs began with a 34-6 win over then-Memphis State in his Tennessee birthplace on Sept. 19, 1953.

Cristil called 636 football games since 1953, or roughly 60 percent of the football games played in the history of the institution. He was in his 54th season as the men’s basketball play-by-play voice, having described the action of almost 55 percent of all the men’s basketball games played at the school.

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In all, Cristil delivered game descriptions to Mississippi State fans across the Magnolia State and around the world for more than 1,500 collegiate contests.

“Jack Cristil connected with generations of Bulldog fans and remains an icon for all who love the Maroon and White,” MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said. “No school’s broadcaster was as synonymous with their institution as Jack Cristil was with Mississippi State. Jack’s passing leaves a large void, but I think all Mississippians appreciated his dedication and talent, and Jack will always be the Voice of the Bulldogs.”

Cristil was most recently presented the Lindsey Nelson Award, given annually to the nation’s premier sports broadcaster. He was honored with the prestigious College Football Foundation Chris Schenkel Award in 1997 for excellence in college sports broadcasting. Nelson and Schenkel were longtime national award-winning broadcasters.

In 1992, Cristil received the Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters.

That same year, he was also the first non-coach/non-athlete to ever be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Cristil was inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

A winner of the Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year Award a record 21 times, Cristil was named the Southeastern Conference’s Broadcaster of the Year in 1988.

In a tribute to Cristil on the Senate floor in 2011, Sen. Thad Cochran noted that the university’s basketball team ignored an unwritten state rule in the 1963 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which forbade any state university team from playing integrated teams. The team snuck out of town in the middle of the night to play Loyola in Michigan. “This was a significant blow to segregationist sentiment in Mississippi. Jack was right there with the team as it defied its own Governor to help move our State forward,” Cochran noted.

After his retirement, Cristil participated in the production of a biography called “Jack Cristil: Voice of the MSU Bulldogs.” The book, written

by MSU journalist in residence Sid Salter with a foreword by author and MSU alumnus John Grisham, sold 10,500 copies and raised over $170,000 for the Jacob S. “Jack” Cristil Scholarship in Journalism at MSU. Earlier, Jack and Mavis Cristil had established a need-based scholarship in their name to benefit Lee County students at MSU with academic talent who needed help with tuition, books and fees.

“Jack Cristil was a courageous, tenacious man possessed of a great love for Mississippi State University,” said MSU Chief Communications Officer and Cristil’s biographer Sid Salter. “His tired body finally failed Jack, but his keen mind and that great staccato baritone voice never failed him.

I count his friendship as a tremendous gift to me and to my family. We all loved him.”

It wasn’t just the broadcast field that enjoyed his vocal talents. He frequently was lay leader of Shabbat services at Temple B’nai Israel in Tupelo.

In June 2011, a stretch of U.S. Highway 82 in Starkville was named the Jack Cristil Highway, along the route he would take to Starkville from his Tupelo home.

On April 28, that home was damaged as a tornado went through Tupelo.

Learfield Sports put together a tribute by radio voices from around the Southeastern Conference and played it on the pregame show for the Sept.

13 game against South Alabama. The team also sported helmet stickers with a large radio microphone in tribute.

Cristil is survived by daughters Kay Cristil Clouatre of Baton Rouge, and Rebecca Cristil Nelson (Andrew) of Tupelo; grandchildren Jake Clouatre of Baton Rouge, and Lindsey Newhall of Tupelo. He is also survived by two sisters, Zelda Cristil Esgro of St Louis, and Miriam “Mimi” Cristil Lapides of West Palm Beach, and a number of nieces and nephews.

Cristil was preceded in death by his wife of 33 years, Mavis Kelly Cristil, in 1988. He was also preceded in death by his parents, Mollie Kabakoff Cristil and Benjamin Herman Cristil of Memphis, by a sister, Charlotte Cristil Hiller, and by brothers Harold Cristil and Stanley Cristil.

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“Salad summit” attempts to defuse jarring situation Jackson rabbi reported being thrown out of restaurant amid anti-Jewish slurs While Rabbi Ted Riter said the Jewish and greater communities in Jackson have given him a “great welcome” since he arrived in July, he was “caught off guard” at lunch on Sept. 23 when he was thrown out of a local restaurant after the owner used an anti-Jewish slur.

On Sept. 26, he and the owner sat down together for a brief meeting to clear the air, during which Wraps owner John Ellis said the rabbi had misunderstood him.

Riter said he was ordering a lunch special and a Greek salad to go at the small Greek-style restaurant not far from Beth Israel Congregation and the Institute of Southern Jewish Life office.

The person taking the order, who Riter figured was the owner, asked if he wanted a “full size or a Jewish size.” Riter, who had not identified himself as Jewish, asked what that meant. “It’s small. Jews are cheap and small, everybody knows that” he was told.

When Riter, in disbelief, asked if the person had really just said that, he was asked, “What, are you a Jew?” When Riter said yes, he said the owner “used a lot of F-bombs and a lot of expletives and told me to get out. So I did.”

Ellis said he did have a Jewish salad, with potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and other ingredients. The salad was not listed on the menu, though. He stated that the rabbi must have misunderstood when he mentioned the Jewish salad, and that he did not know that Riter was Jewish or a rabbi.

Ellis had said that when Riter was there on Sept. 23, the restaurant was very busy and Riter was “indecisive.” He also told local media outlets that Riter had disrespected the restaurant.

Riter posted the exchange to his Facebook page, not mentioning the name of the restaurant until other commenters identified Wraps.

Riter noted that there is anti-Semitism in the world, and then there are phrases that have simply become “parts of speech for some people.” Often when someone uses that phrase in front of a Jewish person, they don’t realize the offensive nature and background.

“But this was really pointed” in that rather than apologize or try to minimize it, the owner told him to leave. He added. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

Every so often, the phrase “Jew down” or some variant makes the news.

Its roots are in an anti-Jewish stereotype of being cheap, though many who are caught saying it state they never made that connection to actual Jews.

In 1987, Alabama Governor Guy Hunt was criticized for a speech to the Chilton County peach farmers where he noted that he never tried to “Jew with them.”

In July 2013 a commissioner in Franklin County, in the Florida panhandle, tried to end a debate by saying the council should “not to be up here Jewing over somebody’s pay.”

Reviews on the Eat Jackson website refer to Wraps’ owner as “Jackson’s equivalent to Seinfeld’s ‘Soup Nazi’.” Many commenting on the rabbi’s Facebook post said the owner has a reputation of being difficult.

Conversely, a worker at the restaurant told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the owner “has no racial problems” but “has his own sense of humor.”

When Southern Jewish Life contacted the restaurant, we were told that a comment about the incident “was not going to happen” and the man who answered the phone hung up.

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Riter said the incident was a “disappointment,” especially given that it happened the day before Rosh Hashanah begins. “We’re thinking about teshuvah, thinking about forgiveness of others, we are digging so deep, and certainly that is where my mind is right now” in preparing for High Holy Day services. “Going somewhere to simply get a lunch and to be blindsided by that was certainly a surprise.”

The incident has not colored his view of Jackson, where he is serving as interim rabbi at Beth Israel this year. And many life-long Jews in Mississippi told him they have never encountered an incident like that, and some have already started posting negative comments about Wraps on restaurant review sites.

Riter and Ellis met the day after Rosh Hashanah, where Ellis asserted that he had been misunderstood, and apologized.

“Sometimes we are under a lot of stress... I work by myself primarily, and speed is of the essence, and maybe that’s what my problem sometimes is,” Ellis said. “My sincere apologies.” He also wished Riter a happy new year.

Ellis offered to name a salad after Riter, but Riter said he did not want that. That day, “Miriam’s Jewish Salad — with kosher pickles” was on the menu board.

After the meeting, Riter said “I didn’t change the world today, but perhaps we took one small step toward healing, wholeness and peace.”

News of the encounter spread across the country and to Israel. Jackson Clarion-Ledger cartoonist Marshall Ramsey did a drawing that had Obama referring to the incident in his speech before the United Nations.

Southern Jewish panel among Tulane speakers Tulane University’s Jewish Studies Department has several speakers lined up in the coming months.

On Oct. 17, Steve Whitfield of Brandeis University opens the season with “Franz Boas and the Struggle Against Racism.” Boas is regarded as the “Father of American Anthropology,” arguing against theories of racial distinction among humans and culminating in his theory of relativism, that discredited the notion that Western civilization is superior to simpler societies. He will speak at 7 p.m. in the Jewish Studies conference room.

On Oct. 29, there will be a panel discussion on Jewish life in the Mississippi Delta, featuring Tulane’s Michael Cohen, author Carol Mills and Anny Bloch-Raymond of the University of Toulouse.

Cohen teaches American Jewish history, with current research focusing on Jewish merchants in the Gulf South after the Civil War. Mills is author of “The Forgotten Jews of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.” Bloch-Raymond is author of “Des Berges du Rhin aux Rives du Mississippi,” about the Jews from Alsace-Lorraine who settled in small towns along the Mississippi River in Louisiana during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The 7 p.m. panel will be at LBC Stibbs, room 203.

On Nov. 4, Michael Stanislawski of Columbia University will speak on “The Jewish and Muslim Enlightenments in Imperial Russia: A Comparison.” Co-sponsored by the history department, his address is this year’s Byron Strug Memorial Lecture. His presentation will be in the Jewish Studies conference room at 7 p.m.

Rosh Ha’Ayin Torah returning to Day School In advance of Simchat Torah, Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School will have a homecoming for the Birmingham community Torah.

In 1983, shortly after the Birmingham Jewish community was paired with Rosh Ha’Ayin under Israel’s Project renewal, the Yemenite development town presented Birmingham’s Jewish community with a Yemenite Torah. For most of the time since then, the Torah has been housed at the Day School.

This summer, with major renovations taking place at the school, the Torah was removed for safekeeping. On Oct. 15 it will return with a parade from the Levite Jewish Community Center lobby to the school, starting at 11 a.m.

20 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

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Birmingham natives Lolly Friedman Miller and Tracy Stein will be honored this month at the 10th annual Houston Hadassah Women of Courage Awards.

The daughters of Karl Friedman and the late Gladys Friedman, Miller and Stein will be recognized for their leadership in numerous organizations and how they “have courageously faced their own individual challenges with breast cancer.”

The award recognizes women “who have focused on important issues in the community and gone the extra mile to make a difference in the lives of others.” The timing of the luncheon during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month also is a reminder of Hadassah Medical Organization’s “groundbreaking work in discovering the mutation which triggers breast cancer and the development of the blood test which reveals its presence.”

Miller became involved with Hadassah as a pre-teen member of Young Judaea in Birmingham. She has been recognized with the Houston Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Award, the ADL’s first Young Leadership Award, and National ADL’s Daniel R. Ginsberg Leadership Award.

Currently, she sits on M.D. Anderson’s Cancer Survivorship Steering Committee and its Clinical Care Workgroup, which have created and are continuing to develop the hospital’s system for delivering medical care and support to the ever-growing cancer survivor population.

Miller was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 and underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The next year she had a stem cell transplant and a prophylactic hysterectomy a few years later when she tested positive for the BRCA-2 mutation.

Stein was by her side the whole time. With a family history of breast cancer and her sister’s diagnosis she opted for prophylactic mastectomies.

Stein has been active in Federation, ADL, Vanderbilt Hillel and the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency of Harris County. She was president of the American Jewish Committee in Houston and is currently on its national Board of Governors and Board of Project Interchange. She also started the annual campaign for Beth Yeshurun Day School and cochaired the first Collage Luncheon with Miller and her in-laws.

The luncheon will be at the Houston Westin on Oct. 19, with a silent auction starting at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $118 with patron levels starting at $500.

Charlie Gamarski of Dothan was presented with an Associates Degree from Troy University at Dothan.

Gamarski had returned to school to earn a social work degree so he could become a counselor, but after two years of study he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Treatment was ineffective and he had to discontinue his studies. After Gamarski’s condition was determined to be terminal, his advisor at Troy, Jeff Waller, arranged for a two-year degree and dressed in full academic regalia presented it to Gamarski, who died a week later.

Waller and Gamarski are pictured here with Gamarski’s partner, Chela Kaplan. Rabbi Lynne Goldsmith of Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El said Waller’s actions showed “there are indeed angels, and these angels are human beings doing God’s work.”

health & wellness an annual SJL special section

The Joy to Life Foundation’s Walk of Life in Montgomery

Battling colitis, Huntsville’s Shapira pushes expanding CBD oil legalization On April 1, after a major public push, Governor Robert Bentley signed what is known as “Carly’s Law,” allowing the use of cannabidiol, known as CBD oil, a derivative of the plant that marijuana comes from, in treating children with “debilitating” epileptic seizures.

While that was going on, Huntsville’s Itamar Shapira was dealing with his own debilitating condition, one that could have been helped by CBD oil, but because he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, not epilepsy, he could not legally obtain the substance.

Now he is looking to draw attention to other uses for CBD and push for its legalization, even though his condition has deteriorated beyond the point where CBD would have helped.

Shapira was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease last September, just after Rosh Hashanah. By January he had ulcerative colitis, a painful disorder which produces ulcers in the colon that make it difficult for the body to absorb food.

It is one of the genetic diseases that is common to Jews of Eastern European descent. Shapira, now 21, moved to Huntsville from Israel with his family when he was two.

Shapira was a cross-country runner at Grissom High School, but his condition has made it difficult for him to get around.

He studied biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt, finishing his degree in three years because “I wanted to go out and do something with my life.” Instead, his diagnosis was “a big blow… instead of doing what I wanted, I came back home to be sick.”

With his background, he knew that his early treatments would not be effective. He researched his condition during the school year

and came across information on CBD oil in treating colitis. Research on CBD has been taking place in Israel for decades, showing a reduction of inflammation in the colon with no side effects, and a beneficial effect on other drugs used to treat the condition. The research “was very impressive,” he said.

The oil is derived from a variety of the cannabis plant, generally hemp, but has no psychoactive properties. He said while medical marijuana contains CBD, CBD “unto itself does not contain any medical marijuana.”

Because marijuana can contain CBD, access to CBD oil is less important in states where marijuana is legal.

Ironically, one can currently buy CBD as a non-medical nutritional supplement. Shapira said he can buy hemp oil online, but while it contains CBD it is in a very low concentration and as such is not practical for his needs.

The problem is that “the legal status is so murky, it’s not about what the law is but how it is enforced.” He could get stopped and arrested for having CBD, depending on prevailing attitudes in the jurisdiction.

Carly’s Law set up a study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, through which children with debilitating epileptic seizures can obtain the oil. The law expires in five years, and the study is set to begin this fall after UAB gets Federal approval. Until then, no CBD oil can be distributed to any of the children who have signed up.

The bill also states that parents and caregivers of children in the study can not be prosecuted for possession of CBD oil, but that protection is not extended to anyone else.

While the bill is a start, Shapira said the study

is not “an academic pursuit, it is a political tool” to “get these kids CBD. “The research is out there,” Shapira said. “Alabama does not need to start researching CBD.”

When Carly’s Law was being debated, Dustin Chandler, father of the girl for whom the law was named, said “With UAB behind this study there is no doubt they will find CBD oil to be useful not only in epilepsy, but other disorders as well. There is still work to be done even if the bill passes. This is a bigger step in the right direction than anyone believed could happen.”

With Alabama being in the heart of the Bible Belt, many thought the chances of any law allowing for any medical use of cannabis would be impossible. Chandler noted “Carly’s Law is better than anyone could have imagined not only for the people wanting to use CBD oil, but October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 23

health

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also for the state. Alabama can lead the way in finding many uses of this true medicine.”

Rep. Mike Ball, who fought to get the law passed, has said the bill’s scope had to be narrowed to get anything passed, and he hasn’t seen a good reason why CBD should be illegal.

Shapira said at this point, use of CBD oil is probably too late for him.

“This treatment takes a long time,” and while he is currently doing better thanks to a new antibiotic, he has been told the effect is likely temporary and in a couple of months he will face surgery.

Shapira is continuing the CBD fight because “there are other people with IBD, MS, even epilepsy. Children who don’t qualify for the study can’t get access to this. And that’s ridiculous.”

Shapira has tried to get meetings with Governor Robert Bentley and Attorney General Luther Strange, unsuccessfully thus far.

“If Moses can argue with God, why should I not argue with the governor?” Shapira asked.

While he wants to see the legislature expand legal availability of CBD oil — preferably by allowing doctors to prescribe it — “if I do nothing else with this, I want to show people the face of one person who could have benefited from this.”

Cellular therapy as a viable alternative to surgery

by Lee J. Green Kevin F. Darr, M.D., of Covington Orthopedic is one of the region’s leaders in Combined Cellular Therapy, which utilizes cells from different parts of one’s own body to decrease pain and inflammation in joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. CCT has been utilized to treat a variety of tendon and ligament injuries in lieu of surgery and also as a biological augmentation post-surgery, such as with rotator cuff tears.

“I got interested in this a few years ago. What led to my interest was the lack of conservative treatment options in these musculoskeletal, orthopedic cases,” said Darr. “The only other option was surgery with a long and difficult recovery process.”

Darr has had much success helping patients through combined cellular therapy since beginning the treatment just over a year ago. “What sets us apart from others who might be doing combined cellular therapy is that we track all of our results,” he said. “We’ve had a very high level of satisfaction.”

“Grade 2-4 osteoarthritis sufferers would be good potential candidates for CCT, with knee, shoulder and hip joints being most common,” said Dr. Darr. “In milder cases of tendonitis and arthritis, I might recommend platelet-rich plasma therapy.”

He said that the cells used are the patient’s own natural cells. Cells from animals or any harmful chemicals are never used in combined cellular therapy or PRP. “The procedure has very few risks and has shown to be effective,” said Dr. Darr. “Patients can potentially avoid the prolonged recovery that surgery often requires.”

For those patients for whom surgery is the best or only option, they can rest assured that Darr is board certified in Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Darr earned his medical doctorate in Orthopedic Surgery from Louisiana State University. He has been practicing orthopedic medicine for more than 20 years.

“We can customize a treatment to best suit the patient,” said Darr. “At Covington Orthopedic, we take a comprehensive approach to musculoskeletal care.”

health Should all Ashkenazi women get routine BRCA screenings?

Many found to have breast cancer gene mutation A new study recommends that all women of Ashkenazi backgrounds receive routine screenings for the BRCA mutation that causes breast cancer.

Until now, Ashkenazi women have only been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes if a close blood relative developed breast or ovarian cancer, or was identified as a carrier of the gene.

Professor Ephrat Levy-Lahad, director of the Fuld Family Department of Genetics at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, was the senior author of the study, which was published on Sept. 5 in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

“This should be offered as a universal screening test,” said Levy-Lahad.

“We should be testing people who are still healthy at a stage when we can prevent the disease.” Many of the women identified by the researchers in Israel would never have known they were mutation carriers, if they had not received screenings as part of the study.

But leading oncologist Prof. Tamar Peretz, director of Hadassah’s Sharett Institute of Oncology in Israel, rejects universal testing. “Jewish women without a family history of breast and ovarian cancer should not feel pressured to undergo the BRCA test for breast and ovarian cancer.

The implications of the BRCA test are complex. Many women will get results without being able to discuss them with a qualified clinician. I fear that without using discretion in administering this test, and without coupling it with genetic counseling by an experienced health professional, the search for BRCA gene mutations can harm more lives than it saves.”

Touro program provides support for cancer survivors beyond treatment There are many things that will likely be on a patient’s mind after finishing cancer treatment. Emotional and psychological concerns often surface following treatment.

Cancer survivors may find themselves unprepared to deal with such concerns, therefore it is important for them to contact their doctor to get the help they need. It’s important to be prepared for what life may be like after cancer treatment.

Tips to cope with challenges after cancer treatment include: • Take time for yourself as you try to get your daily routine back on track.

• Participate in activities that you enjoy.

• If experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety, it is important to get the help needed from a medical professional.

Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are keys to successfully overcoming these mental health conditions.

• Focus on taking care of your body and keeping yourself healthy by exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet and limiting alcohol use.

• Attend a support group — share your thoughts and feelings and hear from others who are going through a similar experience.

Near the end of cancer treatment, it is normal to feel many emotions ranging from hope to happiness to uncertainty and fear. With the Cancer Survivorship Program at Touro, the patient’s health and wellbeing are the main focus when moving forward into the survivor stage of their cancer journey. Patients get the chance to meet one-on-one with the survivorship nurse and will receive an individualized survivorship care plan and treatment summary.

The survivorship appointment will include a treatment summary, needs assessment and personalized care plan.

To learn more about the Cancer Survivorship Program at Touro, or to schedule an appointment, contact Paula Harrelson, RN, at (504) 897-8970.

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October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 25

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Integrated Pain and Neuroscience, with six clinics in the New Orleans, including a recently opened one in Metairie, takes a holistic and multi-specialty approach to helping patients rid themselves of pain.

“Our model makes us unique. We are a multi-specialty clinic with professionals in neurology, psychology, anesthesiology, medical acupuncture, counseling and soon weight loss, nutrition and yoga,” said Eric Royster, who started IPN at its Uptown location in April 2013 after serving as a director over the pain management programs at a local hospital. “This multi-disciplinary, holistic approach allows us to provide real solutions to our patients.”

While IPN has made great advancements and helped patients with pain management and alleviation in various areas, the most common are with spine and lower back pain, fibromyalgia and treating migraine headaches, said Royster.

He also said acupuncture has been successful where other therapies and treatments have failed to eliminate the pain. Aaron Friedman leads IPN’s acupuncture programs.

“About the only thing we don’t offer here is physical therapy, but we do work with some patients who weren’t progressing with physical therapy and we help them to alleviate their pain so they can get back on track with their recovery,” he said.

Royster graduated from medical school at the University of Arkansas and first moved to New Orleans for his residency specializing in pain management at Ochsner Medical Center.

As for pro-active measures people can take, he advised keeping one’s weight down and eating right, including a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as stretching before exercise.

“Some injuries and pain just happen. It can’t be prevented. But there are various treatments available. No one should have to just live with the pain,” he said.

Don’t self-diagnose or just “live with” incontinence The key to treating urinary continence issues in women is to first identify the type of incontinence and the root causes, said Margie Kahn, the Section Head of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Tulane Medical Center.

“There are several different categories for incontinence in women and once we can identify which one a patient falls into, we can work out the most effective treatment protocol,” said Kahn.

Some people think “stress incontinence” is caused by stress. But it is named for the stress that is placed on the bladder with physical activity — leakage that may occur during coughing, laughing and lifting or with running, jumping or hitting a ball.

“Urge incontinence” is a type of overactive bladder accompanied by leak. Those who suffer from it worry about making it to the bathroom in time. They may suffer “key-in-lock” incontinence, running to the bath26 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

health room as soon as they enter the house.

For some women, the bladder does not empty all the way when urinating so there is not as much reserve in the bladder, causing an “overflow incontinence” and perhaps urinary frequency.

Some debilitated women can suffer from “functional incontinence.”

The issue might not be with the bladder, but other medical conditions that make it more difficult to make it to the bathroom in time such as arthritis or dementia.

Menopause may cause or worsen incontinence. “Estrogen increases the blood flow to the anterior vagina, urethra and base of the bladder; the tissue becomes healthier and thicker. With the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause comes a higher likelihood of irritation and women feeling that they haven’t emptied their bladder each time,” said Kahn. Vaginal estrogen reverses these changes.

She said patients don’t have to self-diagnose, though. Tell your doctor.

She said several prescription medications have proven to be effective as well as kegel exercises along with physical therapy. A mid urethral sling for stress incontinence can be performed as a 20-minute outpatient operation.

If primary care treatment fails, doctors who are board-certified in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery can help. First, reversible causes such as urinary tract infections or uncontrolled diabetes are identified and treated. Pressure studies of the bladder called Urodynamics can give a more precise diagnosis for tailoring treatment.

“Most importantly, women don’t have to live with incontinence. Women should be able to enjoy a normal life without fear or leaking through clothing or having to map the location of the closest bathroom. They can communicate anything to me and we will help them in any way we can,” she said.

HE ONCE MADE INSTANT PUDDING ALL BY HIMSELF, HID HALF OF IT IN A LAUNDRY HAMPER AND THEN PROCLAIMED HIMSELF “A BIG BOY.”

Eye Do touts contact lens “breakthrough”

by Lee J. Green The words “I Do” signify a vow in marriage and are almost always accompanied with tears of joy. Those tears of joy could also come from patients of Eye Do who get monthly-wear contact lenses that provide eyes with the “best moisture and breathability together on the market.”

“I have been on research committees for contact lenses and have recommended them to my patients for years and I can say (Ultra by Bausch and Lomb) are the best lenses that have been made in 20 years,” said Eye Do Optometrist/Owner Ami Abel Epstein. Earlier this year she moved her practice to Sunview Drive in Cahaba Heights, just south of Birmingham.

She said Ultra contact lenses are made from long and short chain silicon along with PVP, creating the MoistureSeal technology. The lenses keep one’s eyes hydrated, especially for those who tend to get dry eyes more frequently, and are “super breathable. These lenses are unusual in that you feel better with them in your eyes than without lenses in” as far as moisture levels go.

Over the next two years there are plans to release the Ultra contact lenses in multi-focal and a toric. Currently they are available just to correct farsightedness and nearsightedness. Eye Do does offer multi-focal, toric and daily disposable contact lenses.

Epstein said Eye Do’s expanded new location has given them more space to bring in more designer eyewear. Recently added to the roster of stylish eyeglasses and sunglasses include BMW, Robert Graham, Badgley Mischka, Eddie Bauer and Matisse.

She said that with so many eyewear and contact lens options available to consumers, Eye Do can custom fit its patients with eyewear or a combination of eyewear that best fits their lifestyles.

“We have some people that want to wear glasses some of the time but then contact lenses for sports, such as for tennis. Or they can wear two different lenses — one for playing sports (that get dirtier but are worn less) and one for more regular wear,” said Epstein. “We can offer them whatever works best for them.”

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October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 27

health

How bad is it when your child has a fever?

Photo by Laura Taylor, Creative Commons license

Advice from Children’s Hospital of Alabama Many parents have experienced waking in the middle of the night to find a child flushed, hot and sweaty. His or her forehead feels warm.

One immediately suspects a fever, but is unsure of what to do next.

Should one get out the thermometer? Call the doctor? Visit an emergency room?

Fever occurs when the body’s internal “thermostat” raises the body temperature above its normal level. This thermostat is found in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus.

In kids, fevers usually don’t indicate anything serious. Although it can be frightening when one’s child’s temperature rises, fever itself causes no harm and can actually be a good thing — it’s often the body’s way of fighting infections. And not all fevers need to be treated. High fever, however, can make a child uncomfortable and worsen problems such as dehydration.

“Fevers are the number one reason parents bring their child to the emergency room,” said Mark Baker, an emergency medicine physician at Children’s of Alabama and Assistant Professor at UAB. “They account for 20 percent of all patient visits, and typically, can be treated at home.”

So how should a child’s fever be treated? When is it appropriate to seek medical attention? Here are three recommendations:

1 – Simply monitor a child at home

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Kids whose temperatures are lower than 102 degrees often don’t require medication unless they’re uncomfortable. There’s one important exception to this rule: If a parent has an infant three months or younger with a rectal temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, call a doctor or go to the emergency department immediately. Even a slight fever can be a sign of a potentially serious infection in young infants.

The illness is probably not serious if your child: • is still interested in playing; eating and drinking well • is alert and smiling • has a normal skin color • looks well when his or her temperature comes down And don’t worry too much about a child with a fever who doesn’t want to eat. This is common with infections that cause fever. For kids who still drink and urinate normally, not eating as much as usual is okay.

2 - Contact a physician or visit an emergency room In the past, doctors advised treating a fever on the basis of temperature alone. But now they recommend considering both the temperature and a child’s overall condition.

If a child is between three months and three years old and has a fever

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 29

health

of 102.2 degrees or higher, call a doctor to see if he or she needs to see your child. For older kids, take behavior and activity level into account.

Watching how one’s child behaves will give you a pretty good idea of whether a minor illness is the cause or if your child should be seen by a doctor, says Baker.

Sometimes kids with fever breathe faster and may have a higher heart rate. A parent should call the doctor if your child is having difficulty breathing, is breathing faster than normal, or continues to breathe fast after the fever comes down.

The exact temperature that should trigger a call to the doctor depends on the age of the child, the illness, and whether there are other symptoms with the fever.

3 - Visit an Emergency Room

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Seek emergency care if your child shows any of these signs: • inconsolable crying • lethargy and difficulty waking • rash or purple spots that look like bruises on the skin (that were not there before the child got sick) • blue lips, tongue, or nails • stiff neck and or severe headache • difficulty breathing that doesn’t get better when the nose is cleared • seizure • abdominal pain For more information on this or other health and safety topics, visit www.childrensal.org.

Your dentist can help you sleep better

by Lee J. Green New Orleans dentist Tim Delcambre can help patients to sleep better in two ways — through working with patients who have sleep apnea issues and through medical and cosmetic dental procedures that will help them feel more rested and confident.

Delcambre, who has 30 years of experience in the dental field and has owned his own practice in New Orleans since 2000, said “sleep dentistry” has been around for several years but recently its important role in helping those with sleep disorders has come more into focus.

“We can help by moving one’s jaw forward and with altering the alignment of the teeth to open up the pharynx more to allow patients to breathe more easily while sleeping,” said Delcambre. “Through research, more effective treatments have been uncovered and have been widely successful.”

In addition to improving a patient’s sleep issues, altering the alignment of their teeth has another benefit. “Aesthetic improvement is a fantastic by-product of a medical procedure such as this. If teeth are crowded together, they are harder to keep clean and one could run the risk of getting gum disease,” said Delcambre.

He advises patients with sleep disorders to first see their primary care physician. A polysomnogram can determine if the problem is neurological or obstructive. If it is obstructive and mild to moderate, Delcambre can help.

Delcambre graduated with a Masters of Health Administration from Tulane University and after dental school did a two-year residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans with a concentration on dentistry for the medically complex patient. He was also a professor for 10 years with the LSU School of Dentistry, primarily out of Charity Hospital.

“I work with patients who have medically complex situations — special needs patients, those who have had neck and head cancers, diabetics, those with liver issues… though I see all types of patients, including those without pre-existing conditions,” he said.

30 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

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

“The Sturgeon Queens” is in the Nashville and Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival lineups

Nashville holds annual Jewish Film Festival in November

Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival announces 2015 lineup

For the 14th year, the Nashville Jewish Film Festival will present a range of movies depicting the broad scope of Jewish experience.

A program of the Gordon Jewish Community Center, the festival brings educational, entertaining and thought-provoking Jewish-themed films to the Nashville Community and the region. Along with special guests, panels, and Opening and Closing Night celebrations, the festival is an annual event dedicated to the awareness and celebration of Jewish life in contemporary society.

Through the screening of both feature films and documentaries at several venues over an 8-day period the festival attracts an audience of over 1000 people.

The festival also has a student film competition for short films. Finalists for the $1,000 cash prize will be screened at the festival and the winner will be screened at the Nashville Film Festival in April 2015.

Screenings are at the Belcourt Theatre in downtown Nashville, the Noah Liff Opera Center and the GJCC, and the Franklin Theatre in downtown Franklin.

Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and $5 for students with ID. An all-festival pass is $200 and is good for all films and special events. Tickets may be purchased at belcourt.org and franklintheatre.com.

This year’s festival begins on Nov. 5 with “Return of the Violin” at the Noah Liff Opera Center at 7:30 p.m. An opening night cocktail supper is at 6 p.m., and is $75 per person or $140 per couple.

The film details the story of a Stradivarius violin that was stolen from musical prodigy and Israeli Philharmonic founder Bronislaw Huberman in 1936 from Carnegie Hall. It was rediscovered in 1985. Disturbed that such an instrument would remain silent, virtuoso Joshua Bell purchased the Huberman Stradivarius and now plays it during his concerts.

On Nov. 6 at noon, “Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love” will screen at the GJCC. With exclusive access to Hamlisch’s personal archival treasure trove and complete cooperation from his family, Dramatic Forces and THIRTEEN’s American Masters explore his prolific life and career. The film debuted on PBS last December.

On Nov. 6 at 7 p.m., “Aftermath” screens at the Belcourt. The 2013 Polish film is the story of brothers who are sons of a poor farmer. In the 1980s, one of them immigrated to the United States and cut off all ties with his family, returning only when his brother’s wife shows up. He discovers his brother has been ostracized from the community and threatened, and they eventual

The ninth annual Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival announced its lineup for the 2015 season. Held at the Manship Theatre, the festival will be Jan. 14 to 18. Mobile will have its Jewish Film Festival from Jan. 11 to 22, with the lineup of eight films to be announced. Jewish Cinema Mississippi will be Jan. 21 to 25 in Jackson.

Four of the six films will also be screened at the Nashville Jewish Film Festival — “The Sturgeon Queens,” “The Lady in Number 6,” “Quality Balls” and “Under the Same Sun” (film profiles are in the accompanying article).

“Sturgeon Queens” will be the opening night film on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. Guest speaker will be Louisiana native Susan Rosenbaum, who moved to New York in 1989 and conducts Enthusiastic Gourmet Food Tours.

The Jan. 15 double feature includes “The Lady in Number 6” and “Hitler’s Children.” The latter is a documentary of how family members descended from high-ranking Nazi officers of Hitler’s inner circle struggle with the last names they carry, such as Goering, Himmler and Hoess.

On Jan. 14 and 15 there will be student screenings of “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus,” a Jewish couple from Philadelphia who traveled to Vienna in 1939 and rescued the single-largest group of children allowed into the U.S. during that time. The screenings will be at Independence Park Theater.

On Jan. 17, “The Wonders” is about a slacker, a private investigator and a femme fatale who join forces to rescue an abducted holy man. The film, which explores the idea of messianic cults that misuse funds finagled from followers, uses hand-drawn animation to show the protagonist’s overactive imagination with Jerusalem as a Wonderland.

The festival concludes on Jan. 18 with a double feature of “Quality Balls” and “Under the Same Sun.” Tickets are $8.50, available online or at the Manship Theatre box office.

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 31

culture

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ly uncover a dark secret about their family and hometown.

The film won the Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Polish nationals have accused the film of being anti-Polish propaganda, as well as a distortion of a sensitive piece of Polish history, leading the film to be banned in some Polish cinemas.

On Nov. 8 there will be two films at the Belcourt — “It Happened in Saint Tropez” at 6 p.m. and “Peace After Marriage” at 8:10 p.m. “Saint Tropez” is “a veritable chocolate box of family dysfunction,” opening with a wedding and a fu-

Tulane holding Israel Film Festival The Jewish Studies Department at Tulane University and the Stacy Mandel Palagye and Keith Palagye Program for Middle East Peace will hold an Israeli Film Festival at Tulane on Oct. 26 and 27.

Shai Ginsburg, the Andrew Mellon Assistant Professor for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Duke University, will be the main speaker. His field is in Israeli and Jewish cinema.

The festival begins with “Life in Stills” at 5 p.m. and “The Hangman” at 7 p.m. Both films will be in LBC Stibbs, room 203.

“Life in Stills” is about a 96-year-old woman in Israel and how she joined with her grandson in an attempt to save her late husband’s life work — about one million negatives depicting Israel’s defining moments — when “The Photo House” was slated for demolition. It won Best Film at the Israeli Films Competition in 2011.

“The Hangman” is the story of Shalom, a Sephardi prison warden who was the hangman for Adolf Eichmann following the Nazi officer’s conviction. He later became a ritual slaughterer, but continued to carry “a national burden that dramatically shaped his life.”

“The Garden of Eden” will be screened at noon on Oct. 27, followed by “Life Sentences” at 2 p.m. Both films will be in the Jewish Studies conference room.

“The Garden of Eden” is a 2012 film about the Sakhne, one of the largest and most-visited parks in Israel. The film progresses through a year of season changes and looks at the wide range of Israeli society through the stories of people who work there and who visit.

“Life Sentences” won Best Documentary at the 2013 Jerusalem Film Festival. It is about an Arab man who marries a Jewish woman, living quietly with their children. It is later discovered that he was behind numerous mysterious terror attacks in the late 1960s, prompting the woman to flee with their young children, eventually landing in Montreal’s Orthodox community. The film centers on identity and the son’s eventual journey back to Israel and shedding of all labels.

culture FA M I LY

neral, as well as an extreme case of sibling rivalry between austere religious violinist Zef and his brother Roni, a lapsed Jew and hedonistic gem mogul.

“Peace After Marriage” is an ethnic comedy about a Palestinian in Brooklyn who bargains his U.S. citizenship into a marriage with a woman looking for a green card, never expecting that he would wind up marrying an Israeli.

The festival’s religious school screening will be “The Other Son,” about two young men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who discover as the Israeli prepares to go into his military service that they were switched at birth. Which is more disturbing to the families — that their sons were raised by the enemy or that they were raised in a different religion? The screening will be at the Belcourt at 9 a.m. on Nov. 9.

At 4:30 p.m., “Go Go Boys” will be screened. It is the story of two Israeli-born cousins who produced over 300 films and became the most controlling independent film company in the world, Cannon Films.

At 7 p.m., “The Jewish Cardinal” tells the story of Jean-Marie Lustinger, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants who converted to Catholicism and eventually became Archbishop of Paris, while maintaining a Jewish cultural identity. He wound up being a mediator between the communities when a group of Carmelite nuns wanted to build a convent at Auschwitz.

The Monday Matinee Box Lunch on Nov. 10 precedes a 12:15 p.m. double-feature of “The Lady in Number 6” and “The Sturgeon Queens” at the Belcourt. The $25 admission includes both films and a box lunch from Jason’s Deli at 11:30 a.m.

“Number 6” is an Oscar-winning documentary about Alice Herz Sommer, a 109-year-old Holocaust survivor and the world’s oldest pianist, discussing her story on how to achieve a long and happy life.

“Sturgeon Queens” is about four generations of a Jewish immigrant family and how they maintain Russ and Daughters, a Lower East Side lox and herring emporium.

At 7 p.m., “Under the Same Sun” will screen at the Belcourt. It follows a Palestinian businessman and an Israeli businessman as they try to forge a business relationship, dealing with unique personal and political challenges in a society where there is a strong stigma about working with “the other.”

“Magic Men,” at the Belcourt on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., is about the journey of a 78 year old man and his religious Chasidic rapper son to Greece, searching for an old magician who saved the father’s life.

On Nov. 12, the Belcourt will screen “Little White Lie” at 7 p.m. Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical Jewish home in New York though often was asked how she had such dark skin. At 18 she found out it wasn’t because of a Sicilian grandfather but because her mother had an affair with a black man.

After her biological father dies, she starts to try and reconcile her identities.

“Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force” will screen at the Franklin Theatre on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., and Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Belcourt. The documentary details how Jewish American pilots smuggled planes from the U.S., trained in Czechoslovakia and flew to Israel to fight in the 1948 War of Independence. Producer Nancy Speilberg will be at both screenings.

The closing night film will be Nov. 15 at the GJCC. A supper and wine bar will be available at 6 p.m., with admission at $35 per person Transforming a Nazi fighter plane including the film.

“Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story” will screen at 7:30 p.m.

Steinberg directed some of the most successful situation comedies of the last 20 years, including “Seinfeld,” “Mad About You,” “Golden Girls” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Backstage stories are told by Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Larry Charles, David Bianculli, Bob Einstein and others.

Registration for the dinners and the box lunch are required by Oct. 28.

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October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 33

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When Goldie Simcha doesn’t joyfully throw open her door to welcome everyone in to her apartment for a meal of her famous cholent, her neighbors wonder what could be wrong. Little Lali Omar knocks on the door to 5-A, only to learn that Goldie was feeling too sick on Friday to cook, and everyone knows you can’t make cholent in a hurry, right away, chik chak! But it just isn’t Shabbat without cholent. What can her neighbors do to save the day? In an uplifting story that warms more than your heart, Chik Chak Shabbat offers a cholent recipe that keeps Goldie’s sharing spirit alive.

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As a sign of affection for their warm-hearted rabbi, the families of the congregation make Rabbi Benjamin a special holiday vest, complete with four shiny silver buttons. Throughout the year — Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Chanukah, and Passover — the rabbi celebrates with his congregation, unable to resist their delicious homecooked food. But with each holiday his vest grows tight, tighter, until... POP! 34 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

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Friedman Family Foundation Jewish Food Festival This year, the annual Friedman Family Foundation Jewish Food Festival at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center moves outdoors to Levite Field and expands into more of a fall festival. The usual lineup of items such as brisket, noodle kugel, stuffed cabbage, matzoh ball soup, corned beef sandwiches, white fish salad, falafel sandwiches, potato burekas, Israeli salad and more will still be available.

There will be local craft vendors, the Owls Hollow Market, a pumpkin patch with pumpkin decorating, pony rides and children’s activities. Challah from Ricki’s Bakery in Memphis will be sold, and the Ori Naftaly Band, a soul/blues band from Memphis will perform. There will also be a cornhole tournament open to the public. The festival will be Oct. 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

COOKBOOK

THE GEFILTEFEST COOKBOOK: Recipes from the World’s Best Loved Jewish Cooks Gefiltefest founding patron, the renowned cookbook writer Claudia Roden, penned the foreword here in support of the British food charity that aims to “celebrate, promote and revive worldwide Jewish culinary traditions.” More than 65 chefs around the world, including Tori Avey, Claire Berson, Poopa Dweck, Sue Fishkoff, Jamie Geller, Faye Levy, Gil Marks, Joan Nathan, Denise Phillips, Michael Ruhlman, Paula Shoyer and Tina Wasserman contributed recipes for this, the organization’s first cookbook. Among the offerings, Simi Goldberg’s Iraqi culture influences her recipe for a roasted paprika chicken, and Silvia Nacamulli’s Italian heritage gives us Pollo Ezechiele — the prophet Ezekiel’s chicken.

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 35

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he stopped in a Jordanian restaurant to get something to eat. The man at the store said they were closed for a private family for their grandmother’s birthday. But almost immediately the grandmother invited Holland in to dine with them.

“She was so excited to see this punk rockloving American kid chow down on their family recipes. It’s not just people sharing a meal, it’s people with different cultures, cuisines and values making a connection,” he said. “I think about that connection when I make new connections through food at my restaurant. It’s an awesome feeling. It makes the long days and nights all worthwhile.”

Even as a high schooler, Holland would come up with and test recipes, and come up with names and cuisines for a restaurant he would someday own. His senior year he started working at the Whistle Stop Café in Kennesaw, Ga. The owner recognized Holland’s passion and vision, taking him under his wing.

Shortly after, he and his mom would move to Birmingham. “I was shocked at the food scene here and how much more of a food culture there is here than Atlanta. I did not expect that in a smaller city,” he said.

For a few years Holland led the catering for Cahaba Heights staple Yankee Pizzeria. When the place closed down, he thought the timing was right to start up an area eatery of his own.

“I would do some things outside of pizza/ Italian and developed a good following,” he

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John Holland grew up in foodie family and figured out early on he had a passion for experiencing and sharing new taste sensations.

This past May he achieved a long-time dream of opening his own restaurant with The Fig Tree Café and Catering on Cahaba Heights Road in Birmingham. He describes the restaurant as “Southern cuisine with an upscale flair but without the upscale price points.

It’s food for the people in a relaxed, friendly environment,” said Holland.

Holland’s grandfather was a professor at the University of Bangkok in Thailand and Holland’s father grew up there. Holland is from Atlanta and his dad was a professor at Morehouse College.

“I had various culinary influences and exposure growing up — Thai, Asian, Southern, Cajun/Creole. My family educated me from a young age about food and how to appreciate it.

I would always try to help out in the kitchen.

My mom is from the South and taught me to take pride in Southern cooking. It’s a fabric of our culture,” said Holland.

When he was 17 years old and on his way to visit a friend in the hospital in Alpharetta,

Eggs 4 eggs Bring water to boil and crack eggs into the water. Turn down to low heat for four minutes.

Lay cream corn out on each plate and place the fish filets on it. Remove eggs from pan with slotted spoon and place each one on each filet. Garnish with diced green onions.

Continued from page 38

who sounded like Miss Piggy with a chest cold?

Not originally. He started out six-foot-five and blond. See how you look and sound after three days inside a whale.

Anything else lost in the translation?

But you have to admit that there’s nothing overtly Plenty. For example, Jabba the Hutt was realJewish in any of the films. ly Jabba the Sukkah. The films translated their There is, in a way. The Jawas, the local traders, name to be better understood by mass audiwere an homage to the local Jewish traders ences. The Sukkah name shows that Jabba was living and working in the desert. They were destined to be important, yet nothing more than portrayed as a relatively inoffensive, nomadic a temporary obstacle. people, speaking in a quick language that But youunderstands. have to admit there’s nothing nobody But, that unfortunately, they overtly Jewish in any ofasthe films. and devious, so were also portrayed scrawny There in to a way.

The Jawas, local tradwe don’tis,like talk about it verythe much. ers, an you homage to thetime. localI Jewish traders Well,were thank for your have just one living and working in the desert. They were pormore question for you. trayed as aabad relatively I’ve got feelinginoffensive, about this. nomadic people, speaking a quick that people nobody What words doinyou have language for the Jewish if understands. we never find But, peaceunfortunately, in the Middle they East?were also portrayed scrawny and devious, weisn’t don’t Hopefully,aswe will find peace.

But ifsonot, it like to talk The about it very obvious? wars will much. be with you… always.

Well, thank you for your time. I have just one Doug Brookfor is you. a writer in Silicon Valley who more question once bulls-eyed a womp rat this. in his T-16 back I’ve got a bad feeling about home. They’re not much bigger than two meters. words do you have for the Jewish people HisWhat Genesis satire, “Original Synergy, ” premieres ifthis we never in theChevruta.

Middle East? monthfindatpeace Theatre For past Hopefully, wewritings, will findand peace.

But visit if not, isn’t columns, other more, http:// itbrookwrite.com/. obvious? The wars will be with you… always.

For exclusive online content, follow Dougfacebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who once bulls-eyed a womp rat in his T-16 back home. They’re not much bigger than two meters.

His Genesis satire, “Original Synergy,” premieres this month at Theatre Chevruta. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http:// brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/the.beholders.eye.

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The Fig Tree Café has a small dining room, so reservations are recommended. It is open Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. (10 p.m. Friday), 10 a.m to 3 p.m. brunch and 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10a.m. to 3 p.m. for Sunday brunch. It is closed on Monday.

The café has several kosher-style items on the menu including pan-seared grouper or red snapper with eggs and jalapeno cream corn, blackened chicken with Hoppin’ John, fish tacos with mahi, jerk tuna ceviche, steak frites and some salads. Holland has also catered several events in the Jewish community.

Holland came up with The Fig Tree name when he was doing some catering before opening the café. “I was doing a lot of Southern food and Mediterranean food. There are a lot of fig trees in the Mediterranean countries and in the South. The name tied those together. It is simple and easy to remember,” he said.

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the beholder’s eye • doug brook

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In the beginning, there was a An Exclusive Interview question.

It was a warm, sunny, summer Shabbat morning, A short timewhen ago, in an a Starbucks not far, far away… unsuspecting woman was …it was realized that Starbuck, being central character in Bat- that approached in a synagogue parking lot,aand asked the question tlestar Galactica, was causing a mixing of franchises.

So, the short would launch a thousand quips. time ago moved to a Peet’s, slightly less far, far away...

“Do you think you know four rabbis who would prefer people sleeping through sermon, rather than talking duringfranchise, it?” She said, “probably.” … the where the elder statesman of an iconic Obi-Wan From that came the headline, sleeping during sermon.”

Kenobi, sat down for a cup“Rabbis of coffee,prefer and for a major revelation…

In that first fateful column, 18 years ago, her innocuous “probably” was the basis of the scientific assertion that four out of five rabbis prefer Thank you for taking the time. Might I say, you have quite a glow about sleeping during a sermon. From where came the fifth rabbi? Simple: you.

When was the last time five rabbis agreed on anything? Thus, four out I get that a lot these days. of five.

Let’s right to it.integrity What’s your revelation?

The get journalistic and major investigative skills demonstrated there Billions people operated forcareer decades under a false assumption. could haveofeasily ledhave to a prestigious today in covering the Middle The Jedi Order that is so well-known, is actually The Rabbi Order. every East for most major news outlets. But instead, this column labored month Excuse(except me? for the ones that were missed), and sometimes twice monthly, to almost several to second its almost several readers.

Of course.bring I believe it’s past thelaughs counter, door on the right.

It rode the sound waves of The Southern Shofar though, despite How is thisstipulation, possible? never rode in the seat behind a Southern contractual For thousands of years, suffered things being lost Chauffeur.

It then spoke the in Rabbis its ownhave Deep Southfrom Jewish Voice, before in translation.

It’s an all too common mistake. settling in to Southern Jewish Life‘s hind end — unless you read the magazine right to left,inwhich doesfar, not far make most of the today You’re saying that, a galaxy away, there arenews rabbis whomake run more, orinless, sense. around cloaks, wielding lightsabers to keep order?

OverExcept the years, thislightsabers column presented of the That recentlyYes. for the on Shabbatthe—wisdom no electricity. prodiscovered, Mishnah tractate Bava Gump among hibition doeslong-lost cause some problems — pretty easy to which, know when to other gang things, teaches bereligious kosher. school classes are much more up on us.

But, onhow theshrimp positivecan side, The column retold the legendary adventures of the beloved young orderly. kabbalist, Harry Plotzer, and his adventures with The Sanhedrin’s Stone, So, it wasn’t the Jedi who were wiped out, but all the rabbis? through The Chamber of Shpielkis, and with The Prisoner of Ashkenaz Another exaggeration. Of course, there have been times in history and The Gabbai of Fire, though not yet getting to The Deadly Challahs. when rabbis were targeted. After one particularly bad instance in time, I Occasionally there were guests, such as the recurring one due to a harewent into hiding. I changed my name and went into a self-imposed exile brained rabbinical typo, Ask the Rabbit, as well as Gurb the Caveman until the time was right to return.

Rabbi, and the occasional special report from The Oynion.

You didn’twere change your name very much.

Explored calendar anomalies and events, real and surreal, such as It was enough, though, wasn’t it?Nidre I was the never found untilChrisnukah, I wanted to Thanksnukah, Mezuzapalooza, Kol 13th, Purover, be found. You like Rosh the name change —and it’s Day the strongest evidence Yomtober, andshould the pirated Hashaarrrnah of Aarrrtonement. of my Theroots. chorus of “Bubbe’s Been Run Over By a Reindeer” was sung, the Rebbe got his bell rung, and the Grinch who hated Jew-ville How at dothe youBat mean? had his hatred I simply wentunstrung. by the name of Ben Kenobi — son of Kenobi.

In case it wasn’t apparent, this is the 18th anniversary of this space So,being the stories fromInthe six films so far aren’t entirely accurate to seem what not for rent. honor of this Chai anniversary, it would actually happened? appropriate to toast it with some chai tea.

That’s These drashrabbinic you’re looking Exceptcorrect. that chai teaaren’t has the baffled scholarsfor… for hundreds of seconds. (“Should we have seconds?

Is one cup enough? Let’s drink on Can you give an example? it.”Luke’s ) Afteroriginal all, chai is not isn’t pronounced Chai, though cup of chai training at all whatlike I intended.

I was asimply telling makes easierYom to pronounce Chai. And some say that chai has properties him to it attend Kippur services. that help to extend one’s life, one’s Chai.

How is that even possible?

And what is chai tea’s relationship to Thai Iced Tea? Is there such a Common misconception. I didn’t say to him, “You will go to the Dagothing as Thai Chai Tea? If there is, are its effects best described as tai chi bah system. There you will learn from Yoda…” I said, “You will go to the for the digestive system?

Day of Atonement service. There you will learn from Yonah…”

These are questions to ponder during this High Holy Day season, Are youperhaps saying that biblical prophetonJonah a tiny little guy though not the late afternoon Yomwas Kippur.

Thisgreen column continued on on theprevious previous page continued

38 Southern Jewish Life • October 2014

October 2014 • Southern Jewish Life 39

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