SJL Deep South, October 2016

Moving forward from the Baton Rouge flood

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Rabbi Levy & President (Bill) Clinton

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Remembering Jackson’s Olde-Tyme Deli

Southern Jewish Life ENCOUNTERING THE ARK WHEN THE KLAN APOLOGIZED FOR ABDUCTING A JEW IN GADSDEN FREDERIC BRENNER: ICON SERIES IN PENSACOLA JCDS “ALL GROWN UP” AT 21

OCTOBER 2016 Volume 26 Issue 10

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All of us at Southern Jewish Life wish all y’all a happy, healthy New Year, and may all of your news be Larry Brook good.

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4 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

On Aug. 29, crews began demolishing the 50-year-old outdoor swimming pool at the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans. The facility held a Sept. 29 groundbreaking for a 14,000-square-foot expansion that will enlarge the Goldring Woldenberg Sports and Wellness Complex and add new preschool classrooms. Two outdoor pools will be part of the new Oscar J. Tolmas Aquatics Complex, and there will be an indoor teaching and therapy pool. The pools are slated for completion

by May 2017 and the entire project is expected to be finished by October 2017. An $8.5 million capital campaign is ongoing.

Six to be honored at Birmingham Federation, Israel Bonds annual event On Nov. 7, the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Birmingham Jewish Foundation and Israel Bonds will have their annual joint community event and awards presentation at Temple Emanu-El. A light reception will begin at 5:15 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:15 p.m. The evening is open to the community.

The event honors volunteers and Birmingham community leaders who have exemplified their commitment to the Jewish community through volunteering, financial support, leadership and representation.

The Susan J. Goldberg Distinguished Volunteer Award will go to long-

time community leader Cynthia Tobias. Last year, she and husband Raymond Tobias received the N.E. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award from the Foundation.

The Federation’s Joanie Plous Bayer Young Leadership Award will be presented to Natalie Solomon and Victoria Kimerling, who are now living in Israel. The award recognizes outstanding young leaders age 40 or under who are making a dramatic impact through their commitment.

This year’s honorees for the N. E. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award are Sherri and David Romanoff. This award is presented to individuals or couples who have demonstrated a lifetime of community leadership and generous support of the Federation, and who have made provisions through the Birmingham Jewish Foundation to endow their annual Federation gift in perpetuity.

Israel Bonds will honor Charles Collat, a leading Birmingham business and civic leader.

Montgomery Federation planning Rosenwald School cleanup

During Shabbat services on Aug. 25, B’nai Israel in Columbus welcomed back students with the Mississippi State University Hillel.

The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama is organizing volunteers from the river region to join a fall cleanup day in a historic Rosenwald school.

Tzlil McDonald, the Federation’s community engagement and operations coordinator, said the school in the Montgomery area “is really dangerously close to collapse and ruin in the very near future if we don’t act fast.” They plan to work with the Freedom Rides Museum, the Landmarks Foundation, Impact Christian Center and Chavurat Montgomery to access the property to cut down overgrown vegetation and clearing the area around this historic school.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 5

agenda Rosenwald Schools were built in the 1920s and 1930s throughout the South to serve black communities where school facilities were primitive or nonexistent. The partnership between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck resulted in the construction of over 5,100 schools; only a handful are still standing in Alabama.

“This is a great opportunity to be involved in a project that would help preserve this significant place of pride, opportunity, achievement,

heritage and legacy of educational excellence,” McDonald said. The group will provide supplies such as gloves, masks, shovels, picks, hammers, plywood, wheelbarrows and refreshments for volunteers.

On Sept. 11, the Federation sponsored a screening of the documentary “Rosenwald” at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery.

As of press time, an exact date for the cleanup had not been determined. Contact the Federation office for more information.

Hundreds of volunteers needed for next summer’s JCC Maccabi Games in Birmingham

Sanders Painting Residential Repaint Specialist

Organizers of the 2017 Maccabi Games in Birmingham are looking for a lot of volunteers to make the games a success.

The JCC Maccabi Games is part of the Jewish Community Centers Association, and three communities across North America host the games each summer. Roughly 6,000 Jewish teens from ages 13 to 16 participate each year in an Olympic-style sporting event. It is regarded as the second-largest organized sports program for Jewish teens in the world.

The Games began in 1982 in Memphis, and an arts festival, held at one venue each summer, began in 2006 in Baltimore.

At least 700 teens will participate in the Birmingham games, which will include sports competitions and a day of community service. The games will also attract parents and chaperones for the week.

The delegates will compete in individual sports such as bowling, tennis, track, dance, golf and swimming as well as team sports like basketball, flag football, soccer, lacrosse, softball, volleyball and baseball. The competitions will be at the Levite JCC and several additional venues in the Birmingham area.

The Birmingham Maccabi Games will be held July 30 to Aug. 4, 2017, with Layne Held and Bruce Sokol as the volunteer co-chairs.

In addition to Birmingham, the Maccabi Games will be held in the Albany, N.Y. area and

at the Alper JCC in Miami.

One major push is to sign up host families. All participating teens receive home hospitality, an are required to be at a home where at least one adult is Jewish. Over 100 families have already signed up, hundreds more are still needed.

There is also a laundry list of volunteer positions for community members who want to take part. Volunteers must be at least 17 years old for daytime shifts, 21 for evening events.

Volunteers are needed to handle registration, greet delegations at the airport, assist with crowd control and serve food at the HUB, work with the transportation system, assist greeters in coordinating with the transportation, traffic control at the LJCC and other venues, work the opening ceremonies and assist with office duties in Maccabi Central.

There are also volunteer opportunities for VIP reception, orientation and departure assistants, coordinating hospitality, staffing informational areas, safety and security, and stocking ice and water at venues for coaches and athletes.

Medical volunteers will be needed at each venue, and there will be numerous public relations and reporting duties to be filled. Each sport will also require volunteers knowledgeable in how the competitions work, such as scorers and reporting.

For volunteer inquiries, contact Spencer Lynch or Katie Hausman at the LJCC.

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On Aug. 21, Beth Shalom in Auburn hosted the annual Back to School Bagel Brunch for Auburn Hillel 6 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

agenda

Many healthy and kosher-style choices on the menu

Blessing of the Bridge Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese Restaurant and Hometown Supermarket

As part of the annual cemetery service between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have a “Blessing of the Bridge.” The 11 a.m. ceremony on Oct. 9 will dedicate the Barbara Touger Memorial Bridge, which goes over the creek that runs down the middle of Beth-El’s Block 40 in Elmwood Cemetery. The ceremony will include music by guitarist Alan Goldspiel, and presentations by the Touger Family and Barbara Bonfield.

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LJCC adds School’s Out camp for second-day Jewish holidays Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center has been holding a School’s Out camp on secular holidays in the past. By popular demand, the LJCC is now adding a School’s Out camp on the second day of Jewish holidays this month.

The LJCC is closed on the first day of two-day holidays, and opens on a Shabbat footing on the second day — such as the first two days of Sukkot, or Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

This month, camp will be available on Oct. 10 for Columbus Day, Oct. 18 for Sukkot and Oct. 25 for Simchat Torah. Upcoming dates include Nov. 11, and Nov. 21 to 23.

Camp is $45 per day, $35 for members. There will be packages for winter break and spring break. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with before care from 7 a.m. and after care to 6 p.m.

Registration information is available online at bjamjcc.org.

Proven

•

Balanced

•

Invested

Wishing all my friends a happy, healthy new year!

Judge Bentley Patrick JeffCo Circuit Court Place 22

Hadassah Shreveport will have its opening meeting on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Agudath Achim library and sukkah. Alan Sorkey, emergency room chief at the VA Hospital in Shreveport, will speak about ER services and when to go to the emergency room. A $5 donation is requested and will go toward Hadassah projects.

The Temple Beth-El Men’s Club in Birmingham will have its annual golf tournament on Oct. 16 at Highland Golf Course.

The Mid-Delta Arts Association in Indianola, Miss., will present “Driving Miss Daisy” from Oct. 17 to 20. Miss Daisy will be played by Leanne Silverblatt, with Rev. Herron Wilson as Hoke and Robert Sledge as Boolie.

Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will have Pray in Pink Shabbat on Oct. 21 in the sukkah, with guest speaker David Barranco, owner of Chappy’s Deli. Services are at 6 p.m.

Paid for by Friends of Judge Bentley Patrick, PO Box 55722, Birmingham AL 35255

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 7

agenda With Birmingham congregations holding High Holiday food drives, Collat Jewish Family Services will have a volunteer day, where people are needed to help sort, load and transport items to the CJFS food closet. The volunteer day will be Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and volunteers can do the entire day or a couple of hours. Contact the CJFS office to sign up.

Chabad of Alabama will have a Family Sukkot Extravaganza, Oct. 23 from noon to 3 p.m.

There will be a petting zoo, barbecue for sale, and a free fair with inflatables, mechanical rides, a Velcro wall, face painting and more.

The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center is launching a monthly book club, in honor of the legacy of Elie Wiesel. On Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m., Greg Odrezin and Gary Mollengarden will lead the inaugural session, discussing Wiesel’s “Night.” Reservations are requested by Nov. 7, and the club will meet at the BHEC office.

The National Federation of Temple Youth-Southern will have a regional fall conclave the weekend of Oct. 28 in Little Rock.

With the closing of the outdoor pool for the season at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, there will be one last splash on Oct. 9. The Pooch Plunge will enable four-legged members to enjoy the pool from 1 to 3 p.m. Admission is $10 and all proceeds will go toward a planned dog park at the LJCC. There will be vendors, food and music. All dogs must be current on shots and be able to play well with others.

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In November, Rabbi Barry Leff is running the New York Marathon to support Temple BethEl in Birmingham, where he is interim rabbi this year. On his crowdrise page, he has a goal of $3600, with 90 percent going to the congregation’s General Fund and 10 percent to the rabbi’s discretionary fund. In 2015, he ran the Jerusalem Marathon to benefit Women of the Wall, which advocates for egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall.

Mary Ann Neeley will visit Temple Beth Or in Montgomery on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. for the Blachschleger Library annual lecture series. Neeley is regarded as the “historian of Montgomery” and has written several books about Montgomery, from Old Alabama Town to “The Works of Matthew Blue, Montgomery’s First Historian.”

Chabad of Alabama will have Sushi and Scotch in the Sukkah, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Reservations are $25, $40 per couple and $10 for You Belong in Birmingham members. There will also be a strolling musician this year.

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Temple B’nai Israel in Panama City will welcome Sukkot with “Build it and They Will Come” on Oct. 16, followed by Shakes in the Shack with custom made milkshakes to be enjoyed inside the Sukkah.

ASK

BUBBA MEYER Q: Bubba, what’s the meaning of the Star of David windows with the letters ‘DB’ in the middle at the old Aubert Motor Car Company in downtown Gulfport?

Did a congregation meet there?

A:

Actually, that’s the original Dodge Brothers logo. The Aubert Motor Car Company hired Hobart Doane Shaw and Dean Parkhurst Woleben (whose work is also extant at the Masonic Temple in Ocean Springs) for the Spanish Revival design, and the building at 1617 25th Avenue was completed around 1928. As the only Dodge Brothers dealership in the area, Aubert showed its affiliation by installing the two stained glass windows you’ve asked about. They are still there, thanks to a careful renovation started about a decade ago by the Vaughn, Bowden and Wooten law firm, now housed in Dodge Brothers logo window, downtown Gulfport, Miss. the building.

In 1947, Pringle Motors acquired the building and it operated a Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge dealership from there until the 1960s, after which it became a furniture store. The law firm acquired the building in 2006, after it survived Katrina.

There are also a couple of medallions with the logo on the side of the old dealership in downtown Florence, Ala., now a Fred’s store at the corner of Court and Tuscaloosa.

Danielle Szostak-Viers with Dodge’s Historical Services department in Detroit clued me in on why the brothers would choose a Star of David as their symbol. Turns out, they actually didn’t. It seems the original Dodge Brothers logo from 1914 consisted of a globe over which was superimposed twin deltas – the Greek letter ‘D’, symbolizing the two Dodge Brothers, John and Horace – and the Roman letters ‘D’ and ‘B’ for Dodge Brothers intertwined.

Because the interlocked deltas appear as the Star of David, people have made assumptions that the Dodges were Jewish, or were backed by Jews with the brothers using the symbol as a sign of thanks. Another theory is that knowing how anti-Semitic Henry Ford was, the brothers used the symbol to irritate their former boss and competitor. None of it is true, but just the thought of annoying a hater like that makes me want to go back in time and buy the brothers a drink. L’chaim!

Speaking of Ford (and we’re all good post-Henry), the Israel Defense Force is testing F-350s as autonomous vehicles to monitor dangerous borders, and in August, Ford bought Israeli startup SAIPS to further their technology for driverless cars.

Have a question for Bubba? Send it to bubba@sjlmag.com.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 9

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BATON ROUGE FLOODING

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While much of Baton Rouge appears to be functioning as normal, there is still a lot of work to be done to recover from the catastrophic August flooding.

The flood, which came from up to three feet of rain falling in a threeday period, killed 13, destroyed over 60,000 houses and current estimates put the damage at $8.7 billion. Already, 73,000 homes have been approved for Federal Emergency Management Aid. In the Jewish community, 42 families have been identified with shortterm and long-term needs, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge. That includes the Federation’s executive director, Ellen Sager, whose home was flooded.

Joanna Sternberg, the Federation’s flood relief manager, said in the Jewish community, “most of the families’ homes have been gutted but are now waiting for FEMA, insurance adjusters, contractors and others.”

Meanwhile, “we have been able to offer emergency financial assistance and are processing applications for additional allocations” and the focus is on raising funds to provide as much assistance as possible to affected families.

Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, which had set up a branch in Baton Rouge after Katrina to serve New Orleanians who wound up there after the levees in New Orleans failed, is once again in Baton Rouge. This time, a case manager is working with people in Baton Rouge to assist them with paperwork and their emotions.

A 10-member delegation from IsraAID arrived in Baton Rouge to assist, as it had done 11 years ago following Katrina, its first U.S. deployment. An international humanitarian aid organization founded in 2001, IsraeAID has worked in 39 countries, with long-term activities ongoing in 19 countries.

In Baton Rouge, IsraAID worked with its U.S. partner, Team Rubicon, to help clean out homes. “This cleaning stage is crucial to avoid major health and hygiene issues from contaminated water and open sewage, as well as to build a positive momentum of rehabilitation,” the group said.

One team member was Jillian Goldberg, a Cincinnati native who is an alumna of Tulane. Active in Hillel at Tulane, she majored in Jewish studies and planned to attend medical school. After teaching in Dallas with Teach for America she moved to Israel and has just completed graduate studies in public health, emergency and disaster management at Tel Aviv University.

“IsraAID actually has their headquarters on campus and through multiple connections with them I had the honor to be invited to go on this

community mission,” she said.

“Upon arriving at a house we are met with mixed emotions, we encounter some of these people at their rock bottom and helping them begin the rebuilding process has been challenging,” Goldberg said. “We do everything in our power to support them in the progression, whether it is sorting belongings, removing debris, or talking to them, the embrace with which we have been met is overwhelming.”

One homeowner remarked, “Their workers were truly a blessing to us. I really don’t have words to express how thankful we are to the team, only God knows.”

Also on the ground is NECHAMA Jewish Response to Disaster, a Minnesota-based group that arrived within a day of the waters receding.

NECHAMA announced that its Baton Rouge deployment has been extended past its original date of Sept. 30, and they will be there through at least Nov. 1 because of unmet needs in the region. For families with flood damage, “each day that passes without receiving assistance means a heavier financial burden and a home that only becomes more overrun with dangerous mold.”

In its first month, NECHAMA has hosted 300 volunteers from around the world, with over 6,000 hours of direct service to 43 families in need. Their goal is to help 100 families by the end of October.

One family they helped was a single mother of a 3-year-old daughter, who had bought her house three weeks before the flood. They had 6 feet of water, destroying all their possessions.

NECHAMA volunteers spent two days cleaning out “every inch” of the house.

The group is still looking for volunteers and donations to help their relief efforts.

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saster Relief committee chair Harold Steinberg led a delegation to Baton Rouge to spend two days on cleanup activities. He presented NECHAMA with a $15,000 donation to help purchase another supply truck for the organization.

B’nai B’rith also donated relief funds of $4,400 to the Associated Professional Educators of Lou- B’nai B’rith presents donation to NECHAMA isiana to replace school supplies destroyed in the flood, and contributed books from the B’nai B’rith Diverse Minds Writing Challenge, a contest where high school students write and illustrate children’s books to help elementary school children celebrate tolerance and diversity.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston announced on Sept. 22 that they are donating $50,000 toward Baton Rouge flood relief. Houston’s Jewish community suffered widespread flooding in May 2015 and April 2016.

Joe Kornfeld, flood committee chair for the Houston Federation, told the Jewish Herald-Voice “Too many of us here in Houston have experienced firsthand the havoc floodwaters can bring to lives, homes and livelihoods. No one should have to go through this trauma alone, and we want the Jewish community of Baton Rouge and all of southern Louisiana to know we are here for them, just as they have been there for us in the past.”

The Jewish Federations of North America set up a national fundraiser to cover the estimated $1.2 million needed for needs in the Jewish community.

Several Jewish volunteer groups have come to Baton Rouge, mostly working with NECHAMA. Among the groups were Chabad of the North Shore in Massachusetts, Yeshiva University, Ma’ayanot and New Jersey NCSY, and Temple Sinai in Atlanta, where the husband of their new rabbi is the new rabbi at Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge.

Several New Orleans groups, including AVODAH, Moishe House and JNOLA, have made numerous trips to volunteer in Baton Rouge.

Among the relief efforts, Chabad of Baton Rouge announced an anonymous out-of-town donor was covering half the cost of replacement mezuzahs for Jewish households affected by the flooding, as long as the mezuzahs were up on new or temporary homes by Rosh Hashanah.

community BATON ROUGE FLOODING

Thankful despite the material losses “Blessed” and “thankful” may not be the first words that come to mind when considering the reactions of those who had their homes flooded in Baton Rouge in August, but a month after the flooding, that was the prevailing sentiment for three members of the Jewish community who gathered to discuss the flood in the library at Beth Shalom.

Despite everything, “I feel blessed and I feel thankful,” said David Deitch, whose home flooded.

“We made so many great friends, both Temples have come together and everybody has helped tremendously,” said Gail Sherman, whose home had four feet of water in the flood.

“I wouldn’t want to do it again, though,” added Deitch.

Deitch said there probably isn’t a single person in Baton Rouge who wasn’t affected directly or indirectly. Those who weren’t flooded had friends or relatives stay with them, or had a business interrupted by the flood, or have someone close to them who was affected.

There is never a good time for a disaster. Sherman and Nancy Singer had both just bought new beds; Deitch had just put in a new wood floor.

Sherman said they had just sold their daughter’s townhouse. Not only was all of her daughter’s furniture in their house — and thus destroyed — the townhouse would have been a place for them to live temporarily until their house is repaired. “This really stinks,” she commented.

As it looked like Deitch’s house was going to flood, Kim Deitch told their daughter, Dara, to move her dress for her October wedding. “She lost all of her bedroom furniture, her clothes, she had to get new everything,” but the dress was safe.

Singer’s home had “just” 5 inches of water, but her husband’s shop had 18 inches. When the flooding came “we were trapped” because waters were 8 to 10 feet above the bridge into her neighborhood.

Singer said she never thought her house would flood, “but my husband had the great idea to raise the furniture.” Still, to protect the carpet, she wanted to put rags underneath the cinder blocks.

Because they had just 5 inches of water, “just enough to make your life miserable,” the raised furniture was protected, but they lost a few items, their refrigerator and dryer — and of course, that carpet.

Sherman’s refrigerator had floated away and was on its side against the laundry room door.

When cleanup starts, Sherman said there are so many things one wants to keep, but “you don’t know how much bacteria there is on there.” She noted, “All the yearbooks, the scrapbook I made for Kali’s first 13 years of life… is gone.”

When the crane came to pick up the pile outside, Deitch said, it was “24 years of your stuff getting picked up” and put into a container.

Deitch said his family started demolition immediately after they were able to get into the house, even using steak knives to cut out sheetrock.

“That’s all we had.”

The next day, when NECHAMA came by, “we had already done 75 percent of what they would have done,” and he told NECHAMA that the best way to help him was to go to his sister’s house and help her.

The groups that came to Baton Rouge “helped in more ways than they realize.”

Sherman was in Arizona taking their son to college and had to cut short the trip. Her car had been moved to higher ground at a Target parking lot, but while she was still in Arizona her daughter in St. Kitts sent her a news image she had seen of the car in the flooded parking lot. They wound up losing all four cars in the family.

In the aftermath, they said, it is the assistance of others and the little things that are most appreciated.

Deitch said a worker came to his door, looking for someone named

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Craig; clearly he had a wrong address. At the time, Deitch had managed to remove his new wood floor but the tile floors in other rooms were a huge challenge. The visitor, noticing Deitch working with something completely ineffective, brought in a machine of his that was able to remove the tile easily.

Because he wouldn’t be able to meet with the person he was looking for, he offered to leave that machine so Deitch could use it, and pick it up in two hours. When he returned to retrieve it two hours later, Deitch had just finished the last floor. “I would have paid that guy anything at that point,” he said, but “he said it would be a sin if he let that machine sit for two hours and no one could use it” with so many people needing help, and all he would accept was a couple Cokes.

Another “little thing” that mattered was when a woman who had moved out of that neighborhood came back with a stack of pizzas from Little Caesar’s for everyone.

Sherman said that when her congregation and NECHAMA came to her house, “I was just so thrilled there were so many people helping out.”

They mentioned that non-Jewish neighbors were impressed and a bit jealous, saying that their churches hadn’t sent anyone to help them.

“Granted,” Sherman said, “I lost everything, but I was so thrilled there were so many people who came together and helped.”

She especially marveled at Nadav Herman from the Henry S. Jacobs Camp. “He is a workhorse. What he lifted, three people couldn’t lift.”

Deitch and his family are staying in his printing business, which did not flood, though some sheds on lower ground behind the building — where he had stored personal items from the house — did flood. He had previously installed a full bathroom at the shop, and the first few nights after the flood they were sleeping on the floor before they could turn it into more of a temporary home.

Singer stayed with neighbors next door, whose home did not flood, until electricity was restored to the area about a week and a half later and they could return to their house.

Five weeks after the flood, the Shermans were moving into a small apartment that will be home while their house is being repaired, which will take 6 to 8 months.

Deitch said the studs in his house, five weeks after the flood, were still not dry enough to start work. With the funds he got from FEMA and some of his own funds, “if I do everything myself I can get really close” to getting everything back together, but “the process for me is going to take longer” since he won’t be able to hire a contractor. Of course, there’s also his daughter’s wedding this month.

Aside from being thankful, they were also determined to move forward. Singer said “you can feel sorry for yourself, but that doesn’t get anything done.”

Deitch said his biggest fear is that once the initial flurry of publicity wanes, though “the need is still going to be great,” perhaps not for him but for others, “people will have forgotten about it and move on.”

Recovery “is going to be a long road,” he concluded.

On Sept. 7, Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge held a forum to provide expertise and discuss experiences in dealing with flood recovery

Creating the Ark

What is a Jewish visitor to think of the life-size replica now open in Kentucky — and how it presents the Biblical story?

After years of controversy, a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark opened in northern Kentucky this summer.

Answers in Genesis, led by Ken Ham, developed the attraction as a way of promoting their view of Biblical inerrancy from a Christian perspective, and to bolster their argument that the Earth is just 6,000 years old and was created in six 24-hour days.

It is also a vehicle for them to spread the gospel, and reassure those who already believe.

Jews worldwide will be reading the story of Noah during Shabbat on Nov. 5 — but don’t expect the Jewish perspective at Ark Encounter.

With its evangelical slant on what was originally a Jewish story, what should a Jewish visitor make of it — if one decides to go ahead YOUNG EARTH and visit?

CREATIONISTS Like the original ark, this replica INSIST THERE was built amid WERE DINOSAURS controversy. In 2010, ON NOAH’S ARK Answers in Genesis and Ark Encounter, a for-profit corporation, announced they would build a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark near Williamstown, Ky., to strengthen arguments that the Biblical account of the ark was true and physically feasible.

The park’s opening phase cost $100 million, with $36 million from donations and $62 million from a bond offering by Williamstown.

The project also received tourism tax incentives. Initially, the state said Ark Encounter was not eligible because of hiring practices that required employees to sign a statement of faith in Christianity, young-Earth creationism, and against homosexuality.

The ark sued, and in January a federal judge overturned the rejection, and also upheld the ark’s right to have a religious views test in hiring.

The park opened on July 7, corresponding with the verse in Genesis where Noah and

his family entered the ark. About 30,000 visitors toured the ark during the first six days, according to Answers in Genesis.

On opening day, about 150 protestors stood at the Interstate exit ramp to oppose the attraction.

Atheist groups and Ham have battled over attendance figures, with opponents showing photos of vast empty spaces in the 4,000-car parking lot, while Ham said attendance in the first month was over 240,000 visits for the ark and his Creation Museum. The museum is located about 45 minutes away, just west of Cincinnati on the Kentucky side of the river.

In mid-September, figures for the first nine weeks showed 300,000 visits to just the ark, which Ark Encounter said was well ahead of projections.

Atheist groups have also battled with the ark over school field trips, saying the evangelical message is unsuitable for public school trips.

Ham responded by offering admission of $1 per student, with teachers free, for schools that want to visit.

A one-day admission is $40 for adults, $31 for seniors and $28 for children age 5 and up.

Because there is “so much to see” they urge visitors to get a two-day admission or even a $99 seven-day unlimited pass.

There is also a combo pack that includes admission to the Creation Museum. They also sell annual passes that includes free parking, which otherwise is $10 per visit (Disclosure: Southern Jewish Life was given complimentary press passes).

For the first “40 days and 40 nights” after the grand opening, the park was open until midnight each day, before settling into its normal closing time of 6 p.m.

After going through the ticket line, one boards a shuttle bus for the one-mile trip to the ark complex. After bring dropped off by the guest services building, there are two paths around a small pond that sits between the bus stop and the ark.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 15

Currently, there is a snack spot, the Ararat Ridge petting zoo, Screaming Eagle Zip lines, and Emzara’s Kitchen. Future plans include a theater between the ark and the petting zoo, and a “walled city” by the bus stop. A Tower of Babel is also planned, as a warning against racism.

The restaurant is named for Noah’s wife — at least, her presumed name from sources outside the Bible.

Future planned food offerings include items like kebabs, but for now the menu at the 1,500-seat Emzara’s is an un-Middle Eastern mix of concession-stand style burgers, chicken fingers, pan pizzas, wraps and the signature dish, a decidedly unkosher “two by two” double cheeseburger.

One enters the ark at the other end from the restaurant, filing through a lengthy maze underneath the massive structure while a looped video showing the ark’s construction plays on numerous screens. Filing through the long line can take an hour or so, plenty of time to memorize the video.

Church and Christian-interest T-shirts are definitely in abundance on those visiting.

The ark, which sits on a series of concrete pillars — thus the waiting area underneath — is 510 feet long and 85 feet wide. As in the Biblical account, there are three levels inside, and construction required 3.3 million board feet of lumber.

At the top of the ramp entering the ark there is a green screen and photographers taking posed pictures of the guests, so they can buy photo packages when they depart. While it may be annoying to think you’ve stood in a lengthy line just to have your picture taken — and once you get up the ramp, you can bypass the photographers — that process does seem to keep the crowds from overwhelming the inside of the ark.

Upon entering the ark on the bottom level, one sees rows of wood cages for smaller animals, rows of clay urns for food storage. A display shows Noah leading his family in prayer at the beginning of the flood.

After that, the displays become descriptive, putting forth the attraction’s point of view.

One major argument used in the Ark Encounter was that Young dinosaurs on the ark there were very few species that needed to be on the ark. One example is a “skeptic’s question” about keeping polar bears cool on the ark. A display states that not only do polar bears not need to be kept cool, they weren’t on the ark. “Polar bears are members of the bear family,” the sign states. Because bears can interbreed, “the various bears of the world belong to the same kind,” and the two bears on the ark are “the ancestors of the many bears in the world today.”

A similar argument is made regarding the different kinds of dogs 16 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 17

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around the world, and how they adapted to their new environments as they spread across the globe. Just don’t call it evolution — call it adaptability, using God-given talents to do so.

Another item that has been a source of controversy is the assertion by Answers in Genesis that there were dinosaurs on the ark, and many of the cages have types of dinosaurs depicted inside.

Young Earth creationists insist that dinosaurs had not died out by the sixth day of creation, when man was created, and they coexisted for centuries. The scientific consensus is that dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, while the earliest human ancestors appeared about 6 million years ago.

Science aside, an immediate objection to dinosaurs on the ark because of their size is also anticipated. As with many other larger animals, the displays argue, Noah did not need full-grown adults, as smaller, younger animals took up less room and would still have plenty of reproductive time ahead of them after the flood.

On the second floor, a display recounts the pre-flood world and its excesses. It starts with panels of the six days of creation, then the perfect world of creation — until man messes it up through the “rebellion” of Adam and Eve, leading to the corruption of man’s God-given talents, which were used for evil.

The pre-flood section ends with an admonishment that Jesus said the world just prior to his return would be similar to the world just before Noah.

In several spots on the ark, while the story starts with Noah, it clearly ends with Jesus as the antidote to the sins of humanity. As one reaches the third level, the first thing one sees on the landing is a mural depicting the crucifixion, with five panels explaining the painting and a sixth inviting the visitor to “examine your heart” and “don’t wait until it is too late.”

The third floor also contains the living quarters for Noah’s family, with the introductory panel answering “why are the living quarters so nice?” and how they used artistic license for that section of the ark, making “educated guesses.”

One room contains a display of dozens of children’s books and toys about Noah’s Ark, often depicting smiling cartoon animals looking out from the top of the ark. But the room isn’t about popular images, it’s a condemnation of such “fairy tale ark stories.”

The abundance of “whimsical” books and toys “attacks the truthfulness of Scripture,” according to the display, and “distort” the real message of “the righteous and holy God judging an exceedingly sinful world with a cataclysmic Flood.”

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community On the wall of the fairy tale room, a serpent circles a sign saying “If I can convince you that the flood was not real, then I can convince you that heaven and hell are not real.”

Showing a motive for the entire project, Ham has said that if Noah’s Ark isn’t true, then Jesus was a liar, which to him simply can’t be the case.

Some exhibits get into more neutral topics, like construction methods, or who Noah was.

Other displays tout Answers in Genesis’ world-view, such as the large display criticizing the “naturalistic evolutionary model” in favor of the “Biblical creation model.”

One panel argues that the Grand Canyon could have been formed in days rather than over eons. Another argues that there was only one ice age, and it came about because of the flood.

The day after the ark opened, Bill Nye the Science Guy visited, and said children seeing the ark were being “brainwashed.”

Nye said every single science display in the ark was “not just misleading but wrong,” and said the Ark is a danger to science education in the U.S. The Ark Encounter does mention that there are dozens of flood stories in civilizations around the world, showing a map with the names of such legends.

But the exhibit states that “it makes much more sense to believe the biblical account reveals the true history of the Flood while the legends tell a distorted version of the same event,” since the Bible “is accurate in all that it records.”

The ark is also housing “The Voyage of a Book: Personal Stories of Taking the Bible Around the World,” from the Museum of the Bible.

The first item displayed is a Torah from 19th-century Persia, open to a section detailing the building of the tabernacle. It sits behind plexiglass on a reader’s table that goes back to 1907 Poland.

There is another Torah from 19th century Russia, a case for the scroll Noah releases the dove of Esther, pages from a 14th-century Karaite prayer book from Cairo and a 1655 London polyglot Bible page in Chaldean, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Arabic and Latin.

The main emphasis of the exhibit, though, is how individuals took the Bible around the world, to spread Christianity.

To do the Ark Encounter, one definitely needs comfortable shoes. The ark measures one-tenth of a mile, and there are exhibits on both sides of each of the three levels, plus long ramps to go from one level to the next, and another set of long ramps to go back down.

So, given that the Ark Encounter is an evangelical Christian version of a Jewish story, with plenty of approaches that aren’t taught in Hebrew School, should Jewish travelers make their way to the 800-acre site just south of Cincinnati?

If you want to see the structure itself, which is impressive, and know exactly what you’re getting into with how the story is presented, stop by.

If you’re a student of comparative religion, this is definitely a viewpoint that attracts its share of adherents.

If looking at the displays will annoy you and the idea of giving a dime to a group that espouses this type of ideology sickens you, you may want to spare yourself the aggravation.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 19

community Jewish perspectives on Noah’s Ark Literal? Allegorical? We asked around for perspectives from a variety of Jewish viewpoints, and here are some responses:

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Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg, Beth Israel (Orthodox), Metairie There is certainly rabbinic precedent for getting into the detailed aspects of how the ark functioned on a literal, and quite prosaic, level. My favorite example of this is the gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin, 108b, which notes that the different levels of the ark had different functions — the upper for humans, the middle for animals, and the bottom for dung!

But I believe that focusing on the more narrow question of the practical feasibility of the ark occludes the larger lessons of the Noah story. These include questions of Noah’s leadership: he is compared to Avraham by the sages, but unlike Avraham, he does not argue in favor of saving humanity.

One modern rabbi has noted that Noah displayed righteousness, but not leadership.

Another important lesson of the Noah narrative is that of its parallel to modern events.

Elie Wiesel famously referred to Noah as “the first survivor”, and it is no surprise that Noah’s first activity after leaving the ark is to plant a vineyard: he needs an escape from all of the horror he has witnessed. There are also lessons of environmental responsibility to be drawn, especially in the age of global climate change.

In sum, while questions of practicality and reality of the ark are of some interest, it is the deeper questions and values that the story teaches which are of lasting value and beauty.

Rabbi Robert Loewy, Gates of Prayer (Reform), Metairie At some time in antiquity a great flood very likely impacted the world. From that event stories have arisen in different cultures to help explain it. Chapter 6:9-9:17 is our story.

It begins with Noah, a righteous man in his generation, who stood out from all others. Our story takes us from destruction to renewal. The new Code of decency that arises afterwards makes the statement that all humanity must act in a moral, decent way and is specific as to what that means. The message of the text is what is important. For those who want to believe there was an actual flood and ark, they are free to do so. My faith as a Jew neither requires it or is enriched by seeing a replica.

However, I can imagine that similar to visiting the replica of the “Old Woman Who

Lived In A Shoe,” at Storyland in City Park, seeing an Ark can bring the story to life.

Rabbi Mendel Rivkin, Chabad of Louisiana, New Orleans Dr. Wilhelm Reich (a disciple of Freud) once posed the following question at a lecture. Why does every culture have a flood story in its lore? He and his audience proposed various Freudian theories to explain this phenomenon. An observant Jewish psychologist, Dr. Homnick, asked to speak and said, “perhaps the reason that every culture has a flood story in its history is because there was one.” The audience gasped at the “blasphemous” consideration that the Bible is true.

While the Torah contains layers of deeper meaning and allegorical messages for life, we believe that the narratives are also (literally) true. The belief in the truth of Biblical narratives also provides “teeth” or gravitas to the lessons and messages contained therein.

Rabbi Nancy Tunick, B’nai Israel (Reform), Florence There are many differing opinions within Judaism as to the historical accuracy of the account of the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark as read in Genesis. Regardless, the Torah is a roadmap for our journey as Jews and as people in modern day. Each Parshah has layers of wisdom relating to how we live our daily lives.

Through this lens, Noach or the story of Noah’s life, serves to remind us that we are each responsible to take action to save the world.

Noah was a righteous person, but being a good person and even a person of faith was not all that was necessary in order to preserve life on earth. Noah had to pick up tools and embark on a monumental construction project, and then, after the rainbow lit the sky, he had to begin the slow and challenging job of rebuilding civilization on dry land. He had to listen to G-d’s will, but then he had to take significant and challenging action in order to achieve it.

Just like the Torah as a whole speaks to each of us individually, the account of Noah’s Ark leads us to ask what actions are needed today to save the world and preserve life on earth. It may be in its impact on our world today and tomorrow that the account of Noah’s ark remains a vital part of history, rather than as an object of historical focus on the past.

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community Q&A with Rabbi, Rear Admiral Robinson Thoughts on Jews in the military, 2016 election At the Democratic National Convention in July, Linda Verin of Birmingham interviewed Rear Admiral and Rabbi Harold Robinson, who stood on stage at the Democratic Convention with General John Allen while the Allen gave a speech endorsing Hillary Clinton.

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Robinson is a retired chaplain who was in charge of all 600 clergy serving in the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. He asked, “Where else but America could a rabbi be in charge of all the clergy of so many different faiths for three branches of our military?”

Robinson stated it is unusual for members of the military to express political views, but once you are re- Rear Admiral and Rabbi Harold tired, you may do so.

Robinson at B’nai Zion Robinson served as rabbi of B’nai Zion Congregation in Shreveport from 1998 to 2006, and in Gary, Ind., and Cape Cod. He has served on many boards including the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism and the Resolutions Committee of Reform Judaism. Robinson currently is the Director of the Jewish Welfare Board-Jewish Chaplains Council.

Robinson’s military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Naval Commendation Medal with two Gold Stars, and the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Deployment Ribbon.

Verin: You have served synagogues in different parts of the country. What regional differences stood out the most?

Robinson: In Gary, Indiana, the rabbi was expected to speak out on social issues; in Cape Cod that was also true. In Shreveport the rabbi was expected to maintain a lower profile and not make waves. Surely I was given some latitude but not as much as in other areas. There is more caution and anxiety in the South about being the “other.”

What do Jews know about the current U.S. military?

Most American Jewish kids don’t know anyone in the military unless a grandparent served. Less than 1 percent of people serve today. Just 10,000 Jews are on active duty in the U.S.; we have 1,300,000 active military personnel and 800,000 reserve personnel. 1,000 Americans fight in the Israeli army.

The South, as you know, is conservative; what would you say to our part of the country about Donald Trump?

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I am honestly afraid of Trump being commander-in-chief. As president, there are few limitations under the War Powers Act. The president can involve us in a military conflict and ask permission later. Trump seems to operate with no facts; he is mercurial and egocentric. I believe

community most military leaders share my perspective. (Note: This interview was conducted before Trump challenged the Khan family, the Muslim father and mother that lost their son fighting for America.)

Also, a country that is open to diversity is a country that is better for Jews. If someone is telling a racial joke, the next one is likely to be anti-Semitic. Trump is not a champion of diversity.

What about Trump’s lack of support for NATO? I have served in Africa, Asia and Europe. Our armed forces cannot function without strong alliances. In 1971 there were 1,400,000 Navy troops; today there are 400,000. It would be immensely more difficult to fly battalions of Marines to a hot spot without landing to refuel in foreign countries. We must have troops in South Korea due to North Korean instability; we need troops in Japan. When we station people around the globe the truth is we are less likely to develop trouble spots in those areas so actually fewer military are deployed.

Many people interrupted former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta when he spoke at the Democratic Convention with shouts of “No more war.” Comments?

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The United States is unique in that we are sent to war by civilian leadership. I believe they do the best they can to keep us out of war. What people never see are the wars that are avoided through negotiation and diplomacy. The Prime Minister of Israel said Iran was six months away from a nuclear bomb. Now it has been a year and Iran’s reactors are filled with concrete. That is definitely a war that has not happened yet.

When we go to war, no one can predict the results. It is like a kaleidoscope. You turn it and never know the outcome. With the Iraq War we got a Middle East we liked even less than before.

You stood up on the stage with General Allen as an endorsement of Hillary Clinton; what about Benghazi?

The Marines provide security around the world to our embassies but the ambassador is ultimately in charge. The decision to travel to Benghazi could only be made by the ambassador. The State Department was not consulted in advance about the trouble in Benghazi by either the RSO (regional security officer) or the ambassador. Still, even if the Marines had been taking off when the attack occurred they could not have been there in time to prevent the deaths. Yet $18 million and 18 months were invested by Congress to search for wrongdoing that simply wasn’t there.

A good question might be why has Congress invested so much time and money in investigating Secretary Clinton. They’ve come up with nothing but the emails, which was hugely stupid but not illegal.

What is it about Hillary Clinton that causes such a visceral reaction from so many?

Hillary Clinton has always been an unconventional working woman.

Studies have shown the public has great respect for her when she is actually holding a job; when she is running for a job they don’t like her nearly as well.

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But one need not be in Starkville — anyone looking to support Hillel can make a $7 donation per certificate, plus $3 for processing and mailing, by going to the Hillel GoFundMe account at https://www.gofundme. com/missstatehillel. After doing that, send a message to the Hillel Facebook page with the mailing address. The certificates do not expire and may be redeemed at any Krispy Kreme location.

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by Sally Friedman This is an important anniversary for the Birmingham Jewish Foundation — we just celebrated our 5th anniversary of working with Camp Dream Street to help them grow their endowment. Dream Street is a free camp for special needs children on the grounds of Henry S. Jacobs camp, the Union for Reform Judaism’s camp in Utica.

We at The Foundation Miracle Buckley love working with Dream Street. They have wonderful teen volunteers who serve as counselors.

They have incredible doctors, nurses, therapists and other professionals from throughout the country who also volunteer their time. They have generous supporters and their volunteer Board and professional leadership set new standards for dedication. Most of all, the kids are an inspiration — the joy and magic that is created each summer at Dream Street is hard to describe.

I received the following letter from Miracle Buckley, former camper and current staff member. She lives in Jackson and is a student at Holmes Community College in Ridgeland. What she wrote best illustrates why my office and my leadership are so thrilled with our partnership with Dream Street: “I always knew that I wanted to help people; I just did not know in what capacity. I was born with sacral agenesis, which is a rare disability that mainly affects the development of the vertebrae and the tailbone. This disability led to the amputation of my legs when I was seven. The doctors used the bones from my legs to build a makeshift spine.

Being born with a disability is not an easy feat. It definitely adjusts a person’s meaning of “normal” or it can eliminate the word entirely. However, my parents always believed in teaching me to have a “can-do” attitude. My parents’ encouragement over the years was one of the reasons that when I was seven, they allowed me to go to Camp Dream Street. Dream Street is a five-day, four-night camp for children with physical and some mental disabilities. This camp gives children with disabilities the opportunity to experience “normal” activities, such as swimming, boating, horseback riding, etc. I attended Camp Dream Street as a camper for 10 years, five years on the staff and two years as an occupational therapist assistant.

When I started out as a camper, I always felt at home. I did not have to worry about people staring at me or thinking I was odd because every camper there had a disability. I never wanted to miss a year, which is why I went on to do the Great Expectations program. GE is a program for the older participants in high school. This program gives the older participants a chance to be role models for the younger group. Even after my two years of this program I still was not ready to let it go. Not every camper gets the privilege to be on the staff, but I was one of the lucky ones to get to see the behind the scenes of camp. It was very different from being a camper, but it was a chance for me to help give these kids the same joy and similar experiences I had. It was not until my second year on the staff Sally Friedman is executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Foundation

community at Dream Street that I finally knew my calling.

At the camp, there is a song session when all campers are allowed to use some musical instrument. There was one camper who was not able to bend her hands, but she had the ability to move her arms up and down. All she wanted to do was play hand bells. The occupational therapist (OT) at camp would help campers participate in all of the activities. The OT saw what the camper wanted and she had the brilliant, yet simple idea to use Velcro on the bells so they could be slipped over her hands. The smile on her face was beaming and she almost cried because she was so happy, and all the camper had to do was move her arms up and down and she was able to play the bells. When I saw her smile and felt her happiness I knew that that kind of joy was something I wanted to help children with disabilities achieve.

After camp that year, I changed my major and started on the journey towards becoming an occupational therapist. This year I was accepted into an OTA program and will continue until I reach my goal. This camp helped shape and mold me into the person I am today. Even though it is only once a year, that is one week where a person does not get to think of themselves. It is not about our issues, it is about giving all of those children a chance to forget about their disabilities and to remind them that they are just kids, no matter what their impairment might be.”

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For more information on Camp Dream Street, visit dreamstreetms.org.

To contribute to the Camp Dream Street Fund at The Birmingham Jewish Foundation, contact Sally Friedman sallyf@bjf.org or (205) 803-1519

AIPAC holding NOLA community event The American Israel Public Affairs Committee will feature Grant Rumley, research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, at its annual New Orleans Community Event.

Rumley focuses on Palestinian politics, and is the author of the 2015 FDD report “The Race to Replace Mahmoud Abbas: Understanding and Shaping Palestinian Succession.”

Prior to joining FDD, he was a visiting fellow at Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, where he authored “Back to Basics: The Evolution of the Palestinian UN Campaign.”

While in Jerusalem, Grant also founded and edited The Jerusalem Review of Near East Affairs.

The program will be Oct. 27 at the Uptown Jewish Community Center. A reception will kick off the evening at 6:30 p.m., with the event to begin at 7:00 p.m.

For online reservations visit www.aipac.org/ nolacommunityevent.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 25

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26 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

community Walter Isaacson, Carroll Suggs this year’s ADL Torch of Liberty honorees The South-Central Region office of the Anti-Defamation League announced that Walter Isaacson and Carroll Suggs will be honored at this year’s A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Awards event.

“Award recipients are people who care not just about themselves today, but about the children and grandchildren of tomorrow,” said Jonathan Lake, ADL South-Central Regional board chair. “They care about the greater good and translate that caring into action, they strive to build a brighter future in which all people share the fruits of democracy.”

Isaacson and Suggs “have touched all corners of our community,” said Allison Padilla-Goodman, ADL South-Central regional director. “They lead through grand visions of our community’s possibilities, and then work steadfastly to bring these dreams to life. They make New Orleans a better place for everyone, and they live the values ADL holds dear: inclusivity, acceptance, standing up for others, and speaking out for what’s right.”

Isaacson is a graduate of Isidore Newman School who began his career at the New Orleans Times-Picayune and is now moving back his beloved New Orleans.

Isaacson is president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies institute. He also is the author of several widely acclaimed books including “The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution,” “Steve Jobs,” “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” and others.

After his time at the Times Picayune, Isaacson served as the CEO of CNN and the editor of Time magazine. He also has held many important government roles, including vice-chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, member of the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and chairman of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership venture capital fund. He is chair emeritus of Teach for America and sits on several boards, including United Airlines, Tulane University, the Overseers of Harvard University, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Society of American Historians, the Carnegie Institution for Science and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.

Suggs has a long and varied list of awards and board involvement concentrating on civic leadership and social change. Suggs currently sits on the boards of Taylor Energy Company LLC, Iberia Bank, the Jefferson Parish Ethics and Compliance Commission, the Louisiana Women’s Forum, the National World War II Museum Board of Trustees, various LSU boards, the Metropolitan Crime Commission, Family Services of Greater New Orleans, and the New Orleans Federal Alliance.

Her awards include many related to public safety and the military, entrepreneurship and business leadership, and she has been recognized as a role model. In addition to her long history of civic engagement, Suggs successfully led Petroleum Helicopters Inc., a company providing worldwide helicopter transportation and emergency medical services to the offshore oil and gas industry, government agencies, and other institutions.

Suggs is an alumna of Louise S. McGehee School and Louisiana State University.

The Torch of Liberty dinner will be at the Sheraton New Orleans on Dec. 6. Isaacson’s dinner chairs are Allan Bissinger and Tim Francis, and Suggs’ dinner chairs are Odom Heebe and Phyllis Taylor.

Based in New Orleans, the ADL South-Central region covers Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Tickets are available by contacting the local ADL office at new-orleans@adl.org or (504) 780-5602.

community “Fair Labor Lawyer” author Trestman has several presentations across region Marlene Trestman, a New Orleans native who wrote the biography “Fair Labor Lawyer: The Remarkable Life of New Deal Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate Bessie Margolin” will be in the region for several events in the next two months.

Margolin grew up at the Jewish Children’s Home in New Orleans and became a champion of wage and hour rights for workers, who argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was instrumental in many provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, drafted the original regulations under which the post-World War II Nuremberg trials took place, and was an attorney for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Trestman, who was assisted by the home’s successor agency, Jewish Children’s Regional Service, pursued a legal career and became friends with Margolin, partly from their similar backgrounds.

On Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m., she will be part of a presentation at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. “From Bargaining Table to Side Table: Two Lives in Pursuit of Fair Labor” at the Nashville Public Library will feature Trestman and Phil Cohen, author of “The Jackson Project: War in the American Workplace” about a labor dispute at a west Tennessee textile mill in 1989.

Trestman will be at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge on Oct. 29. The schedule was not available as of press time.

On Nov. 5, she will present “Jewish Orphans of the Southern Hinterland: The Geographic and Social Journeys of the Children Who Lived in New Orleans’ Jewish Orphans Home, 1856-1946,” about her research for an upcoming book. The presentation is part of the Southern Jewish Historical Society conference in Natchez.

On Nov. 6, she will speak at the Houston ERJCC annual Jewish Book and Arts Fair, then at the Marcus JCC Book Festival in Atlanta on Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m.

On Dec. 18 at 2 p.m., she will speak at the Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South at the Memphis JCC.

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The Greater New Orleans Section of National Council of Jewish Women is the new home of Sisters Chaverot, a group founded in 2010 as a local grassroots forum for professional African American women and professional Jewish women.

The group is committed to authentic dialogue among its participants and to enriching the connections between the local African American and Jewish communities. Every other month, this group of women come together to discuss triumphs and life struggles that both Black and Jewish women face within the workplace, social encounters, and other experiences. The get-togethers take on a variety of forms, usually social and often dialogue-based.

Originally hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Sisters’ move to NCJW-GNO is an opportunity to share, learn, laugh, and grow in a circle of old and new friends. “Participating provides an opportunity to establish a broader and deeper environment to continue the important conversations about our lives, the world, the importance of a safe environment, and freedom of expression in which to be ourselves,” said Sisters Chaverot Chair Robin Goldblum.

In November there will be an event especially designed for interested community members to meet and engage.

New Moishe House in New Orleans

Mara Abramson, Lisa Tencer and Jillian Lansey celebrate the opening of the new location for Moishe House in the Bayou St. John section of New Orleans on Aug. 27. Moishe House has homes throughout the world with residents who turn the facilities into hubs of activity for young Jewish adults, from socials to social action and study sessions.

28 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 29

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On July 18, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed publicly told a group affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement that his city would continue to allow the Atlanta Police Department to be trained by the Israel Police in spite of the group’s demands to cease the training relationship due to their treatment of the Palestinians.

The decision by Reed comes amid nationwide protests and counter protests over police treatment of minority groups. Despite this heated environment, criminal justice experts and organizers behind U.S. police exchange programs with Israel believe that these claims by BLM groups are unsubstantiated, and that it is vital to maintain cooperation with countries like Israel at a time when police officers face dealing with an increasing number of terrorism incidents.

“I happen to believe that the Israeli police department has some of the best counter-terrorism techniques in the world and it benefits our police department from that long-standing relationship,” Reed said after the ATLisReady group demanded a “termination to APD’s involvement in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program that trains our officers in Apartheid Israel.” In fact, that is the first demand listed on the ATLisReady website.

ATLisReady is only one example of a BLM activist group criticizing U.S. police departments for getting training by Israeli police officers over the unsubstantiated claim that U.S. police departments would learn how to kill black youth in the same way Israeli police officers kill Palestinians.

“I would not make that comparison at all, the histories are significantly different,” Robert W. Taylor, a professor of Criminology and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Dallas and the director of the school’s Justice Administration and Leadership Program, told JNS.org.

Dr. Robert Friedmann, director of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange and professor emeritus of Criminal Justice at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies of Georgia State University, told JNS.org that some BLM-affiliated groups claim “Israel is an apartheid state” in which law enforcement officers are taught how to control the Palestinian people. As such, these groups allege that this Israeli training teaches American police officers to control other marginalized groups such as African Americans, Hispanics and others. Thus since Israel is an apartheid state, the groups argue, the training from Israeli police is “ultimately racist”.

But Friedmann said that not one member of any of these activist groups has actually tried speaking to him about the GILEE program to verify whether such arguments had any credibility.

GILEE is a joint public safety partnership project of GSU and local, state, federal and international law enforcement agencies, whose “mission is to enhance law enforcement executive development and international cooperation for the provision of better law enforcement services and public safety through the protection of civil rights,” the project’s website states.

For 24 years, GILEE has trained over 1,300 law enforcement officials in more than 300 intensive programs, and more than 25,000 public safety and corporate security officials have participated in its special briefings and seminars. The program has received numerous awards, including the Georgia Governor’s Public Safety Award in 2008.

“If somebody would’ve come to me and asked me to talk about the program, I would’ve done with them, what I do exactly with you. I don’t mind talking about the program… They have never interviewed me, never interviewed Steve, my associate director, and they never interviewed any one of the participants (in the program),” he said.

Friedmann added that two years before the Black Lives Matters move-

community ment officially began in 2012, there were already student groups demanding that the president of GSU shut down the GILEE program because of its collaboration with Israeli police officers. These were radical groups supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, such as the group Students for Justice in Palestine, which has been trying to get Black Americans to support the Palestinian cause.

“They believe that if programs like mine are going to be closed, Israel is going to collapse,” he said.

Friedmann also told JNS.org that community policing is about providing public safety while protecting human and civil rights.

“The most important thing to me is to treat human beings as human beings. In my book police officers are human beings as well because if they’re mistreated, they’ll mistreat others and if they are not well trained they will not provide good service,” he said.

Every year GILEE sends top U.S. law enforcement officials to Israel, and works with more than 20 countries such as Argentina, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. The officers learn “valuable security tactics” from “peers who frequently handle bombings and other terrorist activities” in training that focuses on various subjects including technology, communication, logistics, community policing and more.

Taylor — who has experience working with international programs, including in Cambodia and Turkey, related to police training — said that activists from BLM who oppose Israel police training “are ill-informed.”

“I can guarantee you that the leaders of BLM have no knowledge of what kind of training is going on,” said Taylor.

Even though Taylor has not worked with GILEE himself, he believes that the APD and other U.S. police forces benefit greatly and can “gain significant amount of experience, knowledge and intelligence” from working with other countries, especially Israel “who works extensively terrorism and anti-terrorism, particularly, Islamic terrorists.”

The APD told JNS.org in a statement that it receives training in Israel in several areas including security preparedness for the Olympics, fighting terrorism, personnel training, handling crime scenes, community policing and leadership development training. Officers have also traveled for training in Timor-Leste, San Salvador, Nigeria and Thailand through the State Department’s INL Bureau training program.

The APD said it believes “the training received in Israel is beneficial in several areas of modern policing,” but that “homeland security concerns prevent us from going into details on this program.”

Taylor also believes the BLM movement has gained traction through validation via comments by the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and President Barack Obama, and many activists associated with the movement have been “trying to insert themselves into the decision-making /policy-making area of policing and it’s just not an appropriate place for them to be at all.”

“You want to have a dialogue about improving police services? You will not find a better partner than myself. You want to demise and do away with a program or a country? You will find somebody who will resist them. I will not negotiate my existence,” Friedmann said.

“I can tell you that I’m a second-generation Holocaust survivor, 40 members of my family were murdered in the Holocaust. I don’t want somebody who has a sense of being abused telling me what being abused is all about. I do not go around to kill humans because I feel aggrieved. I don’t go around and I do not kill British people because my father was for six months in Cyprus because he was caught making what was known at the time as illegal immigration, and this was after he survived Auschwitz,” he said.

Friedmann added that no democracy is perfect, including Israel, and he would be the “first to dispel that myth; but between being imperfect and between advocating the demise of a society, I say that there is an unbridgeable gap. To me that is what is unacceptable.”

“It is demonizing those who want to provide better public safety service to the citizens that are being served by police. I am hard-pressed to understand what’s wrong with that,” he said.

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 31

community “Legacy Letters” are a bequest beyond material possessions

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32 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

An interactive workshop in Birmingham will promote a “missing piece” in estate plans — legacy letters, often called ethical wills.

Birmingham’s three Jewish community endowment organizations, the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, the Rabbi Grafman Endowment Fund of Temple Emanu-El and the Temple Beth-El Foundation, are co-sponsoring two workshops, “Writing Your Legacy Letters.”

A Legacy Letter is a way to share values and wisdom with the next generations. It is not a legal document, but is instead a heartfelt written expression of what truly matters most in one’s life.

The ethical will dates back to Biblical times when Jacob gathered his children to give them blessings and instructions in going forward. Another example is when Moses addresses the community and tells them to be holy and teach their children. In later centuries these messages developed into letters.

To give as many community members as possible a chance to attend, there will be two sessions available — a lunch meeting at Temple Emanu-El at 11:30 a.m., and a 5 p.m. hors d’oeuvres event at the Levite Jewish Community Center.

Both sessions will be facilitated by Rachael Freed, a nationally known expert in legacy letters.

In the workshops, Freed will explain the importance and history of legacy letters and then participants then will have the opportunity, with her guidance, to work on their own documents for their family and/or community.

Freed, founder of Life-Legacies, provides legacy-related programs throughout the country. She is a senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, a licensed clinical social worker, and marriage and family therapist. She is the author of six books, her most recent is “Your Legacy Matters: Harvesting the Love and Lessons of Your Life.”

Freed said “I believe it both a privilege and a responsibility to record and communicate the legacies you’ve received and the experiences you’ve lived that make you who you are. Preserving your wisdom and your love establishes a link in the chain of generations and passes on a legacy for those of tomorrow’s world.”

Jann Blitz, executive director of the Grafman Endowment, has attended a workshop led by Freed and “it was incredibly inspiring. It is not about death and dying, but rather an inspirational session that really gets you thinking about what is important to you and what you would want future generations to know.”

Sally Friedman, executive director of The Birmingham Jewish Foundation said, “I think it is important and wonderful that our community endowments are able to come together to present this. We all want to encourage people to think about the messages they leave for those who come after us.”

Reservations can be made by email to LegacyLetters@bjf.org, or (205) 803-1516. The organizations ask that participants consider a $10 couvert.

Hadassah Baton Rouge holding water forum Hadassah Baton Rouge is holding a community dialogue on “Water: Local Sources, Global Solutions” on Nov. 13. The panel will include Charles Groat, president and CEO of the Water Institute of the Gulf; Elizabeth ”Boo” Thomas, president and CEO, Center for Planning Excellence; and a guest speaker from the Jewish National Fund. Rabbi Barry Weinstein will moderate.

The event will be at 2 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, on the 9th floor of the IBM Building downtown.

Attorneys & Judges Agree Keep FRENCH on the BENCH Photograph likely taken around the turn of the century, courtesy Gadsden Public Library, Historic Scarboro Photograph Collection.

Nadler Store at Chestnut St and 4th St in Gadsden, Alabama

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CEMETERY’S “WALK THROUGH TIME” DETAILS GADSDEN’S NADLER FAMILY... AND A KLAN APOLOGY

Although it may seem odd that an infant buried in what was the Jewish section at Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden would be featured as having a story to tell in the annual “A Walk Through Time” event, Marguerite Nadler indeed does. And while little Marguerite is close to the graves of the Reichs and the Hagedorns, none of the rest of her family is there. The story is why they felt a need to leave Gadsden, leaving her alone in the cemetery.

Marguerite’s father Jacques was born in 1869 in Fassy, Romania. On an August 1889 voyage aboard the Champagne from Havre, France, he met his future wife Berthe, a French-born Catholic running away from a convent in France with plans to become an au pair in America. Census and passport records give varying dates, but it’s clear that after spending some time in Savannah, the young couple settled in Gadsden. Before the turn of the century, four children were born to them. In all, there were five in quick succession, beginning with Clara in 1894, followed by Marguerite, Lucile, Solomon and Charlotte.

Court records show that Nadler, who went by Jacques, Jacob, Jack, and Jake, went into the furniture business.

In 1903, 10 Jewish families organized a religious school for their children at the Nadler home, at 5th and Cherry Streets. Nadler and Hugo Hecht conducted the first services for what would become Congregation Beth Israel in a room over the old Gadsden National Bank. The growing congregation later met at the Odd Fellows Hall, then in the annex at First Methodist Church.

Between “house cuts” of the weekly card game proceeds, played by city businessmen of all faiths, sandwich sales put on by the Sisterhood, and contributions, members raised enough to break ground for their new synagogue on Chestnut Street in 1922 and enjoy its formal dedication on Feb. 23, 1923.

In those years, Nadler was a busy entrepreneur. Beside the furniture store, in 1915 he established the Nadler Mattress and Bedspring Company, to be the only “comfort” factory in the south. He owned rental property in the area as well.

Gadsden had a reputation as being a fine place for Jews to live: there had been a Jewish president of the Country Club, the downtown businessmen enjoyed a good rapport, and when the Gadsden High School listed outstanding graduates from each year in its yearbook, Lucile Nadler represented the class of 1914, Herman Frank represented the class of 1921 and Sam Bloch the class of 1924. Nadler was one of three Jewish Masonic Lodge officers that laid the cornerstone at the new Beth Israel. The stained glass window installed above the front door read “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.”

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The Ku Klux Klan was gaining steam, though. In June 1924, the Gadsden Times reported the KKK setting crosses on fire along a route that went on for miles, and on another night that month, they went on parade “in full regalia through three towns.”

The headline of the July 7 paper reads “Nadler Taken from Car by Masked Gang”Supported in which theyBy report that when400 returning to his home on 5th Street, More Than Practicing Attorneys he was rushed by masked men who had been hiding in the bushes. His Managed Over 4,000 Cases as Sitting Judge Since 2010 son-in-law, Louis Gold, was knocked to the ground when trying to rescue Practiced Civil Litigation forwife, 14 Years Nadler, and guns wereComplex held on Nadler’s daughter and who fainted.

Nadler was stuffed into one of three waiting cars, blindfolded, and taken Endorsed by Fraternal Order of Police and Labor Unions west of Attalla, where he was “lectured and freed,” having to find his way Former President of Alabama Lawyers Association home in the middle of the night.

The Gadsden Times later editorialized that “The Times Newspaper Graduate of National Judicial College holds no brief for Mr. Nadler or his acts and knows nothing of the alleged Member of considered Living Stones Temple thing which the masked gang justification for its intimidating methods.

Thistopaper does, G. however, standFrench, for the right of an individual Married Attorney Courtney Mother of Three to pursue his activities under the constitution.”

On July 8, the paper headlined “Arrests Expected in Mob Outrage” and noted that Nadler had since been threatened over the phone with the instruction that if he did not follow orders, “we will get you tonight.”

Soon after, the Tri-city Klan passed a resolution condemning the action against Nadler and even offered a $100 award for apprehending the offenders. Signed by W. W. Penn, Personal Representative Great Titan and notarized, the proclamation notes, “we denounce the act... in the most emphatic and un-mistakable terms, as a Crime, and those who participated in it as Criminals, of a deep and despicable dye... and call upon the Circuit Judges to assemble a Grand Jury to indict and bring to speedy justice each one of said marauders” along with instructions that a copy of this resolution be furnished- Brett to each judge and both Steven D. Altmann - Harold Apolinsky Bloomston Above the doors at Beth Israel: local newspapers.

The Attalla Klan Joseph Bluestein - Steven Brickman – Daniel J. Burnick “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself” reported –to the Friedman Times-News that Charles L. Denaburg - Linda Friedman Rachel they Samuel “heartilyD.endorse the-resolutions. ” - Dan Goldberg – Jack Held Friedman Henry Frohsin Gadsden Commerce directors and even theNiedenthal Kiwanis Club Jerry HeldChamber - Alex R. of Hirschfield - Ronald A. Levitt - Craig spoke out, condemning the kidnapping of Nadler.

The Ovson Rotary Club called Bernard Nomberg - David Nomberg –David Nadler “oneAndrew of our Saag prominent and L. most highly – Maurice Shevin – F.respected Don Siegalbusinessmen” and urged an “anti mask resolution. ” Adam J. Sigman – Bradley Sklar On August 21, it appeared that Nadler had enough and the paper announced “Nadler will Close Out Retail Store” after 30 years in business.

Later that year, one of the suspects indicted by the grand jury attempted Paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect French a train conductor. suicide. The main case, though, was against John Judge Hopwood, P.O. Box 59016, Birmingham, AL 35259 That trial began on Nov. 19. Things got off to a rocky start when the judge asked potential jurors if they were in secret organizations including the Klan, and several stood.

Fairness

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Attorneys Endorse Judge Elisabeth French

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 33

Wishing You A Sweet and Happy New Year Please Vote November 8 to Keep Judge Bobby Bynon • Experienced District Judge (2003 to present) • Special Circuit Judge Photograph likely taken around the turn of the century, courtesy Gadsden Public Library, Historicin Scarboro PhotographService Collection.

• Active Community Nadler Store at Chestnut St and 4th St• in Gadsden, Alabama Dedicated to Justice

EVENT

CEMETERY’S “WALK THROUGH TIME” DETAILS GADSDEN’S NADLER FAMILY... AND A KLAN APOLOGY

Although it may seem odd that an infant buried in what was the Jewish section at Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden would be featured as having a story to tell in the annual “A Walk Through Time” event, Marguerite Nadler indeed does. And while little Marguerite is close to the graves of the Reichs and the Hagedorns, none of the rest of her family is there. The story is why they Paid feltbyatheneed totoleave Gadsden, her aloneALin35202 the cemetery.

Campaign ReElect Judge Bobby Bynon leaving • PO Box 12801 Birmingham, Marguerite’s father Jacques was born in 1869 in Fassy, Romania. On an August 1889 voyage aboard the Champagne from Havre, France, he met his future wife Berthe, a French-born Catholic running away from a convent in France with plans to become an au pair in America. Census and passport records give varying dates, but it’s clear that after spending some time in Savannah, the young couple settled in Gadsden. Before the turn of the century, four children were born to them. In all, there were five in quick succession, beginning with Clara in 1894, followed by Marguerite, Lucile, Solomon and Charlotte.

Court records show that Nadler, who went by Jacques, Jacob, Jack, and Jake, went into the furniture business.

In 1903, 10 Jewish families organized a religious school for their children at the Nadler home, at 5th and Cherry Streets. Nadler and Hugo Hecht conducted the first services for what would become Congregation Beth Israel in a room over the old Gadsden National Bank. The growing congregation laternetwork-based met at the Odd Fellows Hall, then in the annex at First Alscan’s new security Methodist systemsChurch. can be monitored and Between “house cuts” of the weekly card game proceeds, played by city controlled from anywhere, so businessmen of all faiths, sandwich sales put on by the Sisterhood, and you can hold down raised the fort contributions, members enough to break ground for their new wherever you go synagogue on Chestnut Street in 1922 and enjoy its formal dedication on Feb. 23, 1923.

In those years, Nadler was a busy entrepreneur. the testing furniture Now available!

Israeli-developed employee Beside integrity store, in 1915 he established the Nadler Mattress and Bedspring Company, to be the only “comfort” factory in the south. He owned rental property in the area as well.

Gadsden had a reputation as being a fine place for Jews to live: there had been a Jewish president of the Country Club, the downtown businessmen TM enjoyed a good rapport, and when theisGadsden High School listed outstanding Our Business Minding Yours graduates from each year in its yearbook, Lucile Nadler represented the class CCTV ACCESS CONTROL PERIMETER of 1914, Herman Frank represented the class of 1921 and PROTECTION Sam Bloch the class of 1924. Nadler was one of three Jewish MasonicBirmingham Lodge officers that laid the Atlanta cornerstone at thewww.alscaninc.com new Beth Israel. The stained glass window installed above • 800-951-0051 the front door read “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.”

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34 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

Gadsden’s Temple Beth Israel, now home to the Etowah Youth Orchestra

The Ku Klux Klan was gaining steam, though. In June 1924, the Gadsden Times reported the KKK setting crosses on fire along a route that went on for miles, and on another night that month, they went on parade “in full regalia through three towns.”

The headline of the July 7 paper reads “Nadler Taken from Car by Masked Gang” in which they report that when returning to his home on 5th Street, he was rushed by masked men who had been hiding in the bushes. His son-in-law, Louis Gold, was knocked to the ground when trying to rescue Nadler, and guns were held on Nadler’s daughter and wife, who fainted.

Nadler was stuffed into one of three waiting cars, blindfolded, and taken west of Attalla, where he was “lectured and freed,” having to find his way home in the middle of the night.

The Gadsden Times later editorialized that “The Times Newspaper holds no brief for Mr. Nadler or his acts and knows nothing of the alleged thing which the masked gang considered justification for its intimidating methods. This paper does, however, stand for the right of an individual to pursue his activities under the constitution.”

On July 8, the paper headlined “Arrests Expected in Mob Outrage” and noted that Nadler had since been threatened over the phone with the instruction that if he did not follow orders, “we will get you tonight.”

Soon after, the Tri-city Klan passed a resolution condemning the action against Nadler and even offered a $100 award for apprehending the offenders. Signed by W. W. Penn, Personal Representative Great Titan and notarized, the proclamation notes, “we denounce the act... in the most emphatic and un-mistakable terms, as a Crime, and those who participated in it as Criminals, of a deep and despicable dye... and call upon the Circuit Judges to assemble a Grand Jury to indict and bring to speedy justice each one of said marauders” along with instructions that a copy of this resolution be furnished to each judge and both Above the doors at Beth Israel: local newspapers. The Attalla Klan “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself” reported to the Times-News that they “heartily endorse the resolutions.”

Gadsden Chamber of Commerce directors and even the Kiwanis Club spoke out, condemning the kidnapping of Nadler. The Rotary Club called Nadler “one of our prominent and most highly respected businessmen” and urged an “anti mask resolution.”

On August 21, it appeared that Nadler had enough and the paper announced “Nadler will Close Out Retail Store” after 30 years in business.

Later that year, one of the suspects indicted by the grand jury attempted suicide. The main case, though, was against John Hopwood, a train conductor.

That trial began on Nov. 19. Things got off to a rocky start when the judge asked potential jurors if they were in secret organizations including the Klan, and several stood.

Although Nadler had refused to give the Times details about the “lecture” he was given the evening of his kidnapping, in court he reveals that it was demanded that he pay $10 for a previous grievance Hopwood had with him, and that he surrender a lease Hopwood had signed. Nadler complied with all the requests.

The sheriff testified that Hopwood had come to him before the night of the event and asked about an idea he had to give Nadler “a good scare.”

Further damning the defendant, it was brought out that Hopwood’s hat, which had his name on the inside, was found in the gutter outside Nadler’s home. Hopwood even went to the police department the day after the incident looking for his hat.

Hopwood denied ownership of the hat but refused to try it on when the prosecution asked him to.

On Nov. 25, the hatbox had been given to the jury while they were deliberating, but it was found that in the interim hours while the hatbox had been in possession of the sheriff ’s office, the lining and sweatband with Hopwood’s name had been torn out. Although the jury had seen the hat with Hopwood’s name in it already, the judge declared a mistrial owing to tampered evidence.

In a second trial, in which more Klan members were identified, the jury found Hopwood not guilty. Curiously, Marguerite Nadler’s monument at records show that one of the Forrest Cemetery jury members may have been fellow Beth Israel member Isadore Zemmuray.

In February 1926, Nadler sold his home and moved to Birmingham.

While his retail store was closed, he continued to return to Gadsden as a representative for the United Mills lines. He passed away on a visit there in 1950 while staying at Adolph Reich’s Printup Hotel.

On March 25, 1960, 16-year-old Jerry Hunt threw a molotov cocktail into the Gadsden synagogue as it met to celebrate and dedicate the new wing donated by the Zemurray family to provide space for a new kitchen and religious school classrooms. Alvin Lowi and Alan Cohn ran outside to catch the criminal and both were shot with Hunt’s .22 caliber rifle. While Lowi’s wound was to his hand, Cohn’s aorta was hit and he required 22 pints of blood to survive.

The girl who plays Nadler’s daughter Marguerite at Forrest Cemetery dresses as a musician, even though she died as an infant. That’s still appropriate, as two of Nadler’s other daughters went on to be accomplished with their instruments — Lucile became a charter member of the Gadsden Music Club in 1916 and studied in New York with famous pianists Hans Barth and Ernest Hutcheson. Sister Charlotte was well known for her talent on the violin.

Further, when Beth Israel closed in 2011, the building was offered to the city for use in cultural programs, and today it is home to the Etowah Youth Orchestra.

Alan Cohn’s widow, Charlotte, sponsors the role of Marguerite at each year’s performance of “A Walk Through Time” at the cemetery.

This year’s event will be held Oct. 16 from 2 to 5 p.m., with a rain date of Oct. 25. Visitors should park at the Old Gadsden High School, 12th Street between Chestnut and Walnut Street, and ride a trolley to the cemetery, as no cars are allowed inside that day. There will be portrayals of more than 20 people interred there, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, a daredevil high diver, a woman who was buried three times, and little Marguerite.

Special thanks to Charles Centerfit Hart for sharing his extensive research.

Special thanks to Charles Centerfit Hart for sharing his extensive research.

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Rabbi Ruttenberg reminds us in a modern, sometimes messy, I-canrelate-to-that way that there are worlds of information in Jewish texts to help us get out of our own heads: raising children is much more than what’s for lunch or how to fit in after-school activities. This book is a call for mindfulness in the everyday, to see how things fit in the big picture, how parenthood is a spiritual practice. And the word ‘practice’ seems especially apt, as we all flat-out screw up sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we’ve ruined everything. Raising children is an effort, something that we try to do our best at, and that striving is a holy task.

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by Deby Eisenberg

For 12-year-old Paige Noble, life in Chicago was idyllic, until that day in 1962 when she woke up in a hospital bed, having survived a random gang attack that claimed her parents and brother. Her only known relative, an uncle who was a photographer in Europe, takes her in and eventually starts to tell her about her family’s true history, including Jewish roots her mother tried to deny. Then Paige stumbles on her mother’s diary, with stories of loss and turmoil from the Holocaust. She and her uncle set out on a quest to locate one surviving family member and deal with a family legacy of suffering and survival that Paige’s parents wanted to protect her from.

A resident of Chicago and Florida, Eisenberg has spoken nationally as part of the Jewish Book Council author tour, and her first novel was “Pictures of the Past,” about an Impressionist painting at the Art Institute of Chicago that an elderly woman challenges as a Nazi theft.

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 35

CHARLES TODD

community Renowned surgeon to speak at Hadassah Birmingham 100th

Vote November 8, 2016

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World-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Josh Schroeder will speak at a Hadassah Birmingham medical forum on Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook.

The event will be a celebration of Hadassah Birmingham’s 100th birthday. The chapter’s past presidents will be honored during the program.

Scroeder will discuss breakthroughs supported by Hadassah and Israel in his field of medical expertise.

“For our small country of 7 million, we have a truly remarkable and impressive hospital,” said Schroeder. “I believe we have more work to do informing everyone about Hadassah, its history and all the good it does.”

He was born at Hadassah Hospital-Mount Scopus and grew up in Jerusalem to American-born parents. He served as an Israel Defense Forces officer and now serves as a reserve medical doctor.

Schroeder is part of Hadassah’s trauma team that deals with terror attacks and road accidents. The orthopedists are a mixed team of Jewish and Arab surgeons who treat patients from all backgrounds.

As part of Hadassah’s orthopedics team, he has become an expert in spinal robotics and spine biology, including disc regeneration and the use of stem cells to speed healing in complex fractures. He is a lead surgeon in multi-disciplinary spine surgeries that involve experts from many different departments.

Schroeder explained that one of Hadassah’s greatest breakthroughs is finding ways to heal fractures quickly through stem cell therapy. He also will discuss the robot-guidance Mazor surgical technology developed in Israel that is being used successfully by Dr. Robby Carruba and Neurosurgical Associates at St. Vincent’s in Birmingham.

New B’ham Homewood Suites opening within walking distance of Temples

by Lee J. Green For those staying at or having events at the newest hotel when it opens in Birmingham’s Five Points South in November, life will be “suite.”

The $20 million, seven-story Homewood Suites by Hilton is excited to serve the Jewish community, especially considering its proximity to both Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El. “The Jewish community is one of the strongest communities there is and we want to serve them with this hotel, including room stays and event-hosting for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, community events,” said Hina Patel, director of sales for the Homewood Suites by Hilton Five Points. “Guests can walk to and from events at the synagogues on Highland Avenue.”

All 105 rooms in the hotel are suites and 33 of those are premium suites, including one top-of-the-line presidential suite on the top floor.

Homewood Suites by Hilton Five Points General Manager Michael Lively said the hotel offers numerous amenities included in the price of the room.

It includes an indoor pool, outdoor courtyard area with grills, a workout facility, on-site parking, free airport shuttle, business center with free WiFi, valet laundry service, complimentary breakfast, grocery pick-up service (every room has a kitchenette) and evening reception Monday to Thursday with dinner options as well as free drinks.

For those hosting events or meetings, the hotel offers a space that can accommodate approximately 100 people.

“We want something that is as all-inclusive and all-encompassing as possible,” said Lively. “This hotel will be an attractive option for all business and leisure travelers.”

Location is key, say Patel and Lively. “There is so much going on in downtown and Southside. This is convenient for everyone who wants to do things in Birmingham downtown,” said Patel.

She said Wyatt Construction is building the hotel in a mid-century Art Deco style. “The hotel is very much keeping with the historical nature and architectural style of the surrounding area,” added Patel.

36 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

community Numerous events planned around Holocaust exhibit in Mobile As the exhibit “Filming the Camps” continues its run at the History Museum of Mobile, there are several ancillary programs this month.

“Filming the Camps” depicts the experiences of major Hollywood directors in the 1940s and how they were called upon to document history as Allied soldiers liberated concentration camps.

Much of the material was used as evidence during the Nuremberg trials.

The exhibition, curated by historian and film director Christian Delage, was designed, created, and circulated by the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, and made possible through the support of the SNCF. It is in Mobile through Jan. 16.

Dan Puckett of the Alabama Holocaust Commission and author of “In the Shadow of Hitler: Alabama Jews, the Second World War and the Holocaust,” will give a presentation on “Alabama and the Holocaust” on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Spring Hill College.

On Oct. 20, Roger Grunwald, the child of survivors, will present his one-person drama “The Mitzvah Project” at 7 p.m. at Spring Hill College’s Mitchell Theater.

A film series will start on Oct. 23, with screenings at Spring Hill College LeBlanc at 2 p.m. “Imaginary Witness” will be screened on Oct. 23, with “Night and Fog” on Nov. 13 and “Son of Saul” on Dec. 4, in collaboration with the Mobile Jewish Film Festival.

On Oct. 24, Matt Rozell will present “Photographs from a Train Near Magdeburg” at the University of Mobile’s Ram Hall, at 11 a.m.

David Meola will present “Reflections on a Concentration Camp: Encountering Bergen-Belsen” on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m., at Mobile Public Library.

Paul Bartrop will speak on “The British Dimension: Filming the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945,” at the University of South Alabama’s Marx Library auditorium, on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

The museum, at 111 Royal Street, is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $7.50 for ages 13 to 17, $5 for ages 6 to 12 and free for ages 5 and under.

New Chabad center in Mobile

Chabad of Mobile dedicated its first facility on Sept. 21. There was a video presentation about future programs and greetings from Rabbi Yossi Posner of Chabad of Alabama in Birmingham. The ceremony included a shofar blowing and affixing the mezuzah, and a raffle of “Loyal Doves” by Michoel Muchnik.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37

community Schmancy moving to Yulman Stadium Tulane Hillel is changing the venue for Schmancy, its annual gala, and honoring Staci Rosenberg with the Big Pastrami Award.

The Big Pastrami Award recognizes leaders in the city of New Orleans who have made an impact on the community. It will be presented at the Nov. 10 event, which will be at the Jill and Avram Glazer Family Club at Yulman Stadium.

A patron event will be at 6:30 p.m., followed by Schmancy at the Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

A Pittsburgh native, Rosenberg attended Tulane and never left, becoming a successful commercial real estate attorney.

In 2000, she founded the Krewe of Muses, an all-female Mardi Gras Krewe that has become one of the largest and most popular carnival organizations in the city. The Krewe of Muses was the first to initiate an open and public membership process, ensuring access to Mardi Gras parading for women of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Rabbi Yonah Schiller, executive director of Tulane Hillel, said her “impact on the city of New Orleans speaks for itself. She founded, and still captains, an all-female Mardi Gras organization that gives back to the entire region not only through its phenomenal parade, but also through charitable endeavors throughout the year, benefiting women, children and the arts.”

Kevin Wilkins, president of Tulane Hillel’s board of directors, said Rosenberg “redefined the notion of who can participate in Mardi Gras, New Orleans’ oldest tradition. With open membership and a non-traditional approach, the Muses have helped bring our city’s classic traditions into the 21st century. She is a dynamic and forward thinking leader and I am thrilled to celebrate her this November.”

Three Leading Forward awards have been announced. Benjamin Cappiello, co-founder of Bioceptive, is the inventor of the company’s flagship IUD insertion system, which is currently undergoing a large clinical trial.

Sarah Covert is founder of Sarah’s Pet Care Revolution, a team of 10 pet experts who make life easier for pets and their people by providing at-home pet sitting, dog walking, training and socialization. She is also active in NCJW’s social advocacy.

Chandler Nutik is founder of Community Works of Louisiana, which benefits youth in Community Works academic and social programs across New Orleans, building partnerships and securing grants.

The evening will feature catering by H.K. NOLA, cocktails, and live entertainment.

Tickets are $120, $72 for young professionals age 35 and under. Patron levels start at $325.

38 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

health & wellness Help find cures for Crohn’s & colitis at two great events!

an annual SJL special section Touro Infirmary, 1904

Touro Infirmary: A Pillar of Strength, Caring for New Orleans for 165 Years

by Louis Good III Chairman of the Board, Touro Infirmary

On August 26, Touro Infirmary celebrated a milestone anniversary as the hospital enters its 165th year of service. For 165-years, Touro has had a special place in the hearts of the New Orleans community, just like it has in my family. I was born at Touro, both of my parents and my grandfather served on the Touro governing board, and my children and grandchildren are Touro babies. I know firsthand the important role that Touro has played in caring for our community throughout its long history.

Touro was founded in 1852 by Judah Touro, a Jewish philanthropist.

Touro recognized the need for medical care for newly-arrived German and Irish immigrants, slaves, and thousands of sailors who came to the port each year. He decided to open a 28-bed hospital to address these needs. In 1882, Touro moved to its current location on Prytania Street to accommodate the influx of patients following the yellow fever epidemic of 1878.

In 1922, Touro Infirmary Maternity Service was established, and Touro became the place “where babies come from.” The maternity unit delivered 3,500 babies in 2015, the most of any unit in Greater New Orleans. In 2013, Touro expanded its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to better care for the tiniest patients; followed by an expansion and renovation of the Family Birthing Center in 2014.

Touro has been at the forefront of innovation for decades, providing state-of-the-art care. In 1923, Touro was one of only 15 hospitals in the country approved to use insulin to treat patients. In 1929, Touro was one of the first hospitals in the United States and the first in the city to have a physical therapy department, which paved the way for our nationally recognized rehabilitation center. Today, Touro Rehabilitation Center offers specialized inpatient and outpatient programs for patients experiencing catastrophic injuries and neurological disorders and diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and cancer.

In 2009, Touro and Children’s Hospital partnered to form LCMC Health, a non-profit, community-based system providing a complete continuum of care from birth to geriatrics. In the following years, LCMC Health has expanded to include University Medical Center, New Orleans East Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center. Today, Touro joins its partner hospitals in dedication to the community through a focus on economic development, advanced research, teaching and clinical excellence initiatives.

The Joint Commission recently awarded Touro a three-year reaccreditation and an Advance Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. Touro

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 39

health & wellness

has made it a priority to deliver high quality care to all patients affected by stroke. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities has accredited Touro in six specialty rehabilitation programs.

Today, Touro and its subsidiaries employ more than 2,200 people offering a full range of services. Together, with a medical staff of over 550 doctors, we represent a wide variety of specialties, including emergency services, preventive diagnostics, surgical care, women’s services, cardiology, cancer treatment, rehabilitation, imaging, orthopedics, stroke care and more.

In its 165-year history, Touro Infirmary has cared for generations of New Orleanians. Our patients and the community can count on our ongoing commitment to the health and wellbeing for generations to come.

St. Vincent’s group experienced treating breast cancer

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Birmingham Breast Care, located at St. Vincent’s hospital in Birmingham is the only group in Central and North Alabama performing Hidden Scar Surgery for breast conserving surgery or lumpectomy.

“We place the small incision in an area where it can be cosmetically covered up so the incision scar is not in plain sight,” said Dr. Princess Thomas, who recently joined Birmingham Breast Care. “Removing the entire cancer with a negative margin is our top priority but we can also do some things with Hidden Scar Surgery and breast reconstruction (for mastectomies) that makes it look like nothing was done.”

Thomas said if they see an abnormality they can do a needle biopsy and in most cases can have same-day results to the patient.

Her partner, Dr. Susan Winchester, has 26 years of experience as a breast surgeon with St. Vincent’s. She teaches Hidden Scar Surgery to others along with practicing and teaching nipple-sparing mastectomies.

“The nipple defines the breast. Sparing the nipple can be done in patients without significant ptosis (or drooping) and when the cancer is at least two centimeters away from the nipple areolar complex,” said Winchester.

She said technology and knowledge for diagnosis and treatment has improved dramatically since she started.

“It used to be that every mammographic abnormality had to be removed. Now the standard of care is to needle biopsy first and get immediate diagnosis,” said Winchester. “Another big change is that years ago a surgeon would lop out the breast tissue and leave the breasts with a loss of contour. Now we can do advanced oncoplastic surgery to elevate the skin and tissues to return the contour and one’s natural look.”

She said that most women have dense breasts, prompting the need for even stronger imaging tools as 3-D mammography. Traditional mammograms are two-dimensional. MRIs are stronger and more sensitive but can produce some false positive results.

“We need more 3-D mammograms out there. That’s the best option,” said Winchester. She also added that Birmingham Breast Care also offers cryoablation to ablate benign nodules.

Thomas said they advise women to start getting mammograms annually starting at age 40. If someone in a woman’s immediate family had breast cancer, they should start getting mammograms 10 years earlier than the age the family member was when they got the diagnosis.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, though men do get it too. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Birmingham Breast Care offers standard of care breast techniques to all patients while focusing on caring for patients’ body, mind and spirit.

health & wellness

Hadassah takes aim at Lou Gehrig’s Disease, other ailments

by Lee J. Green Through the support of Hadassah, important tools have been discovered that could be used to treat degenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cord.

World-renowned neurologist Dr. Dimitrios Karussis of the Hadassah Medical Organization has conducted the world’s first clinical trial using patients’ own bone marrow stem cells to treat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Karussis was also the first to inject patients intrathecally — directly into the spinal cord fluid — with an infusion developed by an Israeli/U.S. biotech company. He described the results as “very encouraging.”

The procedure has been shown to inhibit the progression of the fatal neurological disease in 87 percent of patients it was used on.

“While this is absolutely by no means a cure, it is the first step in a long process in that direction,” said Karussis.

ALS is a disorder that affects the function of nerves and muscles. Eventually all muscles under voluntary control are affected. Individuals lose their strength and the ability to move their arms, legs and body.

HE ONCE BEAT HIS DAD FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES IN CHESS. AFTERWARD, HE CELEBRATED WITH SOME ORANGE SLICES AND A BOOK ABOUT WIZARDS.

Bayshore treats addiction personally, holistically By focusing on the holistic, spiritual, medical and psychological treatment of addictions in a warm, home-like environment, Bayshore Retreat reports many success stories in as little as 30 days.

“We wanted to create a home environment. Bayshore is in a house in a residential neighborhood of Destin. There’s no sign on the outside of the house. Our staff doesn’t wear uniforms. We only work with six people at a time,” said owner and director Judy Butler. “From experience, we know that is the best way to treat addictions.”

Bayshore Retreat was created from Butler’s experience trying to find quality help for her son, Jeff. He graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 1989, and after several DUIs came to the realization that he needed help for an alcohol addiction.

They did some research and found a small facility in Destin. Jeff ended up living and working there for four years, getting treatment. But he disagreed with some of the things they did at that facility so the two sought to “do it right.”

“Every person is different and every addiction is different. There may be some commonalities but a program needs to be tailored for an individual that is something they are encouraged to stick with,” said Butler.

The Bayshore program is built around physical health, exercise, food, vitamins and mental health, with various counselors and life skills coaching.

In July 2010, Judy and Jeff bought the house in Destin and began putting their extensive operation manual together and did everything needed to obtain their licenses and permits. They got licensed in 2011 and began treating people.

Typically, a patient goes through the Bayshore program in 30 to 35 days, but some are there for 60 and even 90 days.

“It seems that when we’ve been contacted by or about someone who has a need for our program, we have a space available,” said Butler. “God has blessed us since day one.”

She said what makes everything worthwhile is being able to treat people and they become like family. Butler said she regularly gets calls of thanks and has reunions with patients they have treated over the past five years.

“That’s the best part. When we see them kick the addiction and go on to be successful with their lives, well, there is no greater reward,” she said.

C H I L D R E N A M A Z E U S E V E R Y D AY and at Children’s of Alabama we want to see every child grow up and live to their fullest potential. That’s why we recruit, train and retain the most inquiring minds, the most skilled hands and the most compassionate hearts in pediatric medicine.

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10:20 AM October 2016 • Southern Jewish2/8/16 Life 41

health & wellness CCFA helps those with Crohn’s, Colitis

by Lee J. Green

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Pensacola • Panama City • Tallahassee • Mobile • Dothan 42 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

Those with Ashkenazi Jewish heritage are five times more likely than the general public to have Crohn’s Disease and Colitis.

But the good news is that there is support, education and a research push toward the development of new treatments as well as a cure.

The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization serving Alabama and northwest Florida with its office in Birmingham and Louisiana/Mississippi with its office in New Orleans.

Karen Rittenbaum, the CCFA Area Executive Director for the Southeast based out of Atlanta, said “the million dollar question” is why those numbers are so high.

“And we want to continue to raise millions of dollars to find the answers,” she said. “We need more support for research to search for better treatments and perhaps one day, the cure.”

The prime factor leading to Crohn’s and Colitis is genetic, but focus has also been on dietary as well as environmental factors. “We’re on a path to discover the cause and then that would lead to discovering the cure. The treatTake Steps events: ments are becoming more sophisticatOctober 19 ed and effective.”

Fairhope Pier, Ala. Rittenbaum joined CCFA 10 years Highland Road Park, Baton Rouge ago and has been in her current position for the past five years, primarNovember 10 ily charged with leading fundraising Regions Field, Birmingham efforts for programs, support and research. “We’ve got a great story to tell and people are listening. Ten years ago CCFA was a $6 million organization and today we’re a $72 million organization,” she said.

Emily Richter of CCFA Alabama/Northwest Florida said the chapter will hold its sixth annual Casino for a Cause fundraiser at Regions Field in Birmingham on Nov. 10. Admission includes dinner, drinks, silent auction, entertainment and great prizes. Proceeds will support CCFA programs including education, Camp Oasis for children with Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, and additional support for Alabamians living with these chronic digestive diseases.

Before that event, both Baton Rouge and Mobile will host “Take Steps” walks that help to raise awareness and funds. The Baton Rouge event will be Oct. 19 in Highland Road Park, and in the Mobile area on Oct. 19 on the Fairhope Pier.

Richter said previously it seemed that Crohn’s and Colitis symptoms developed almost exclusively among those in their 20s and 30s, but today the fastest-growing population being diagnosed are kids.

She said sometimes Crohn’s and Colitis symptoms can include joint pain or skin problems. Those are also consistent with sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, so enough testing needs to be done when those symptoms pop up.

She said CCFA’s support and education for sufferers and their families include educational programs, monthly support group meetings and information on demand at www.ccfa.org.

“Some of the best information and help comes from people who have Crohn’s and Colitis helping others who have the diseases. It’s nice to have others to share experiences with and to share what has worked best,” she said.

One of those success stories is Birmingham native and current Georgia Tech junior physics major Aaron Aizenman.

He first had symptoms of Crohn’s Disease on his first day of school in seventh grade. His parents and his doctor first thought it was a stomach bug but Aizenman kept losing weight, and was having a hard time digesting and keeping down food. By the middle of November 2007, he

health & wellness Best Wishes for a Joyous, Prosperous, and Healthy New Year weighed only 80 pounds.

In January 2008 he had blood drawn for a colonoscopy and the doctors discovered he had Crohn’s.

“When I got the diagnosis I knew the disease was serious but manageable. I put it in perspective. I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life,” he said.

Aizenman put the weight back on and was able to come up with a medicine and diet regime that worked effectively for him. He has the occasional flare-up but mostly has the Crohn’s under control.

“I am in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at Georgia Tech. A few of my brothers are also of Ashkenazi descent and have Crohn’s or Colitis.

We share stories and help each other. I also look for opportunities to help others by sharing with them what worked for me,” said Aizenman.

This past winter, he enjoyed his second visit to Israel, this time with Birthright Israel. “It was such an incredible experience. Plus I was able to eat just about anything over there,” he added.

From the Board and Staff of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana

Create A Jewish Legacy • Secure A Jewish Future

Tips for keeping kids’ teeth healthy

by Lee J. Green With more than 17 years of experience as a pediatric dentist and as a mother of four children, Birmingham’s Dr. Angela Rohner understands that every child is different.

But there is some common medical advice that can keep parents and their children smiling.

“It is very important for everyone to brush their child’s teeth two times a day and floss at least once a day until they are at least 8 years old,” she said. “Children begin to grow in a lot of permanent teeth starting around age 6, and most children do not have the manual dexterity to do a good job with their teeth until after age 8.”

She said they illustrate to kids and their parents how to properly brush and the importance of flossing. Since toothbrushes can’t reach between teeth, the only way to remove the maximum amount of plaque and debris that causes cavities as well as bad breath is through flossing.

“Another important factor in helping children to develop healthy oral habits and strong healthy teeth is to limit cavity-causing foods and beverages,” said Rohner. “The biggest misconception that we see regarding good food choices is in regard to fruit juices and sugar-containing beverages. Fruit juices are high in sugar and our damaging to our teeth.”

She said she and the staff encourage parents to feed their children whole fruits rather than providing fruit juices, and to try and limit their children’s beverages to primarily water and milk throughout the day and with meals.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 43

health & wellness

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Crescent City Physicians’ Dr. John Colfry is planting the seeds toward more effective identification, treatment and removal of breast cancer.

Dr. Colfry has mastered the innovative surgical technique of radioactive seed localized lumpectomy. The fellowship-trained surgical oncologist and New Orleans native specializes in the surgical treatment for breast cancer including lumpectomy, mastectomy, breast conservation techniques and oncoplastic surgery.

“Breast cancer is no longer a vanilla diagnosis. From a biologic standpoint, every cancer behaves differently and we have to treat each one with that type of attention,” said Colfry. Crescent City Physicians is a subsidiary of Touro Infirmary.

Colfry’s radioactive seed technique is at the forefront of progressive breast oncologic surgery. Many doctors still impale a woman’s breast with a guidewire prior to lumpectomy. But Colfry and Crescent City Physicians are the only ones in the Louisiana/Mississippi Gulf Region to employ tiny radioactive seeds, which are the size of rice grains.

The seeds do not kill the cancer but rather serve as the “GPS” to locate the cancer so it can be more precisely removed. The process takes out much less tissue and is a lot less invasive than using the wire. The cosmetic results are fantastic.

“After a small, focused lumpectomy, I combine oncology and plastic surgery to reconstruct the breast. In most cases it looks so nice you can hardly tell there was any surgery at all,” said Colfry.

Colfry earned his pre-med degree from Louisiana State University and did post-graduate training at the famed MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas.

“My goal was to bring MD Anderson-quality, advanced medical care to my hometown,” added Colfry.

The best advice for women is to not skip a mammogram. Early detection is so important, he said.

“Breast pain is normally hormonal changes, but if someone feels a firm mass under the skin that is painless, it could be the sign of a possible tumor,” said Colfry.

He also advised breast self-exams and to know one’s family history.

Only 10 percent of cancers are attributed to genetic factors or family medical links, but those cancers tend to be the more aggressive ones.

“We can do genetic testing to catch it early or do preventative surgery,” said Colfry.

Save on Medicare Part D through CJFS consultation With Medicare Part D enrollment beginning on Oct. 15, Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham is offering consultations during the open enrollment period, which runs through Dec. 7. Last year, CJFS Case Manager Amy Peetluk saved clients over $66,000 through the free consultations.

For an appointment, call CJFS at (205) 879-3438.

Monthly mobile clinic at LJCC

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Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will host a monthly visit by the Be Well Mobile Clinic for those needing a primary care physician. The Be Well Mobile Clinic is a full doctor’s office on the go.

The first visit was Sept. 20, and the next visit is Oct. 18. Appointments can be scheduled online at calendly.com/be-well-mobile

health & wellness As long as

streetcars roll along St. Charles Avenue, Touro will be a part of New Orleans.

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 45

health & wellness

Tulane doctor specializes in pituitary tumors

The healing powers of the Dead Sea are here in Birmingham

by Lee J. Green

a space to relax your mind, body and soul 4851 Cahaba River Road Birmingham

205.518.0800

www.elementsfloatspa.com

Birmingham-Southern College presents

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF BSC’s first-ever production of the beloved musical theatre classic, starring music professor and baritone Jeff Kensmoe as Tevye.

• Oct. 19, 20 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m.

• Oct. 27-29 at 7:30 p.m.

To reserve tickets online, go to www.bsc.edu/academics/theatre or call the College Theatre Box Office during regular hours (MondayFriday, 1-4:45 p.m.) at (205) 226-4780.

For a full list of theatre, music, and visual arts events, visit www.bsc.edu.

BSC 46 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

Birmingham-Southern College

Endoscopic pituitary surgery conducted by Dr. Ricky Medel, the co-director of Cerebrovascular, Endovascular and Skull Base Surgery at Tulane Hospital, has proven a successful, minimally invasive treatment for pituitary tumors.

Medel, also an assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, is one of only a select few neurosurgeons in the country dual-trained in both traditional open microsurgery and minimally-invasive endovascular neurosurgery for vascular disorders of the brain as well as the spine.

“Most of these pituitary tumors (in the glands) are benign,” he said. “With this endoscopic surgery we can remove the tumor more easily and since it is less invasive the recovery times are shorter. These have been very successful.”

The tumor is removed through a process of putting the endoscope camera through the nose. If it is a benign tumor and all of it is removed, the tumor usually does not re-occur with the hormone levels going back to normal.

Medel said changes in hormone levels can be a warning sign of pituitary problems and it is wise to get an MRI to see if those are being caused by a tumor.

Some people develop Cushing’s Syndrome as a result of long-term exposure of the body to elevated cortisol levels. This can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease among other serious ailments. If this is discovered, the source of the increased cortisol must be determined, he said.

“It can come from the excess secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or from long-term use of oral steroid medication,” said Medel. “If the source is determined to be a tumor in the pituitary gland, the options for treatment includes endoscopic transphenoidal surgery for resection, radiosurgery, or medical treatment for cases that are resistant to the other options listed.”

He said warning signs of pituitary tumors could include unexplained weight gain, hands or feet increasing in size, and diabetes. Usually there isn’t pain associated with the presence of a tumor.

“We work with a patient’s endocrinologist and primary care physician to diagnose and set the best course of treatment. The hormone levels in the blood should be tested. As always, the sooner we can identify and treat, the better the long-term prognosis,” said Medel.

nosh for the love of the deli

BOOKS

PASTRAMI ON RYE:

An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli

by Ted Merwin While there’s nothing in this book on the now-shuttered Olde-Tyme Deli in Jackson or Browdy’s in Birmingham, there is very brief mention of Southern institutions like Rosen’s Delirama in Memphis which declared itself in the 1960s “the largest, most modern, and most complete strictly Kosher Food Mart in the country” and New Orleans’ Pressner’s with its “kosher smorgasboard” of pastrami, tongue, salami, liverwurst, bologna, and an “assortment of appetizing items such as smoked fish, herring and lox.”

“Pastrami on Rye” is a loving history of an institution: the deli and the its significance to our cultural heritage. Our Jewish identity.

Although the emphasis is on the New York deli phenomenon, the book abounds with interesting bits for any deli lover: the fight against Teddy Roosevelt for Sunday sales; the role of the deli as Photograph courtesy Bill Aron, from his Shalom Y’all collection “secular synagogue”; what happens when delis experiment with ethnic food Judy and Irv Feldman at Jackson’s Olde-Tyme Deli (Bernstein’s developed salami fried rice, egg foo yung with chicken livers, and Chicken Bernstein, a half chicken stuffed with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and pastrami).

What’s to come of the deli, the Jewish deli? The author has his ideas, but DELI LOVE mostly it’s up to those who still frequent the deli and see its value — not just in feeding us, but feeding our identity.

Turning Back the Hands of Time: Jackson, Mississippi’s Olde-Tyme Deli

RHAPSODY IN SCHMALTZ:

by Amy C. Evans

Yiddish Food and Why We Can’t Stop Eating It

“When I was a little girl, your father would always give me a cookie.”

This is the kind of story that people still share with Michele Schipper, daughter of Irv and Judy Feldman, owners of Olde-Tyme Deli in Jackson.

The deli closed in 2000, but for 39 years it served Jackson-area Jews and

by Michael Wex non-Jews, as well as Jewish communities across Mississippi. Sixteen years Here, i’s not only what we’re eating but why, how after Irv and Judy served their last Reuben, people still mourn the loss of this many hours between, and that we’re still partaking family-owned restaurant that was truly one of a kind. in conversations on rules that were taking shape Judy Feldman grew up in Clarksdale, where her parents, Shelda and Mike hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Binder, owned a dry goods store. Judy left the Delta as a young woman and That’s the first part of the book, though. Later on, we get to the tasty bits, and you know you’re getting there when the first line of landed in St. Louis, Mo., where she worked for a medical records company chapter four begins, “It all comes down to schmaltz.” Okay, now we’re talking. at a local hospital. There, she met Irv, a St. Louis native who worked in retail.

Although there are no recipes and this is no beach read, a completely They fell in love, married, and moved to Memphis, where they each continued thorough, academic history of Yiddish dishes is represented. Kreplach gets in their chosen professions, and had the first of their three children.

For reasons the family isn’t quite sure of, Judy’s parents decided that they three pages, gefilte fish gets eight.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 47

nosh

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48 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

wanted to leave Clarksdale and move down to Jackson, the state’s capitol, and open a restaurant. They invited Judy and Irv to join them. Together, they opened Olde-Tyme Deli in Jackson’s Highland Village Shopping Center in August 1961. Their goal was simple: Provide the dishes they know best with a commitment to service, courtesy and quality. With plenty of retail experience and family recipes under their collective belt, their new venture was sure to thrive. By catering to Mississippi’s Jewish community, it soared.

“For the Jews, the deli was like Mecca,” Michelle recalls. “If you were dropping your kids off at Jacobs Camp in Utica or driving through Jackson on your way to New Orleans, the deli was a regular stop.” Of course, this was before specialty food products were available at your local Kroger. “The Deli was it,” she says. “You couldn’t buy Passover foods in the grocery store, so Jewish families would send orders from congregations all over Mississippi.

The Manischewitz deliveries were big. My father would ship orders out by bus!”

But the Olde-Tyme Deli was more than corned beef and kugel. It was also known for fresh pastries, Louisiana gumbo and, to the shock of some, pork.

When asked if her parents and grandparents ever considered operating a strictly kosher deli, Michelle laughs, “Not at all. It wouldn’t have made sense.

There were maybe two families in Jackson that kept kosher, and my dad would make special orders for them from Chicago. But I think it was just a matter of them recognizing where they were, and they “ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES didn’t ever consider being IS OF A WOMAN WHO CAME strictly kosher.” And they were INTO THE DELI WANTING TO right, because most of Jackson PURCHASE A KOSHER HAM. SHE didn’t even know what kosher THOUGHT ‘KOSHER’ MEANT THAT meant. “One of my favorite stories is of a woman who IT WAS BETTER.” came into the deli wanting to purchase a kosher ham,” Michele says. “She thought ‘kosher’ meant that it was better.”

Michele’s parents and grandparents not only introduced Mississippians to traditional Jewish foods, they established an environment that really brought people together — a place where regulars met every morning for coffee, and generations of families enjoyed a particular brand of hospitality.

“When people remember my family’s place, I think what they’re missing is a piece of community,” says Michele. And that community extended to the employees. Some Olde-Tyme Deli staff worked for the family for a decade or more and even enjoyed a profit-sharing plan. According to Michele, when the deli closed, there were five or six long-term employees who left with a comfortable sum. A handful of those same employees keep a standing date with Irv, who turned 90 this year, at Congregation Beth Israel’s Annual Sisterhood Bazaar, where they meet over bowls of matzah ball soup and talk about the old days at the Olde-Tyme Deli.

Sixteen years after the deli closed its doors, the annual Sisterhood Bazaar is the only opportunity that Jacksonians have to enjoy some of the traditional Jewish dishes that Irv and Judy and their family shared with Mississippi. It’s the one moment during the year that Jacksonians can turn back the hands of time.

ap you

bes est

B

Bir

Ste sta

be

Mike Binder died in 1963, two years after the deli opened. His wife Shelda passed away in 1978. Irv’s wife Judy worked in the deli until it closed; the an family said goodbye to her in 2003. Today, Michele, her sister Amy and Ne brother Alex all live in Jackson and enjoy careers outside of the deli business. we And they, too, rely on the annual Sisterhood Bazaar to enjoy the traditional Jewish dishes that their family is known for.

From the back of an original Olde-Time Delicatessen menu: “The intention of the Olde-Tyme Deli is to turn back the hands of time! Back to that era: …..Where here every man’s word was his bond; …..Where every dollar purchased quality merchandise.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 49

nosh wanted to leave Clarksdale and move down to Jackson, the state’s capitol, and open a restaurant. They invited Judy and Irv to join them. Together, they opened Olde-Tyme Deli in Jackson’s Highland Village Shopping Center in August 1961. Their goal was simple: Provide the dishes they know best with a commitment to service, courtesy and quality. With plenty of retail experience and family recipes under their collective belt, their new venture was sure to thrive. By catering to Mississippi’s Jewish community, it soared.

“For the Jews, the deli was like Mecca,” Michelle recalls. “If you were dropping your kids off at Jacobs Camp in Utica or driving through Jackson on your way to New Orleans, the deli was a regular stop.” Of course, this was before specialty food products were available at your local Kroger. “The Deli was it,” she says. “You couldn’t buy Passover foods in the grocery store, so Jewish families would send orders from congregations all over Mississippi.

The Manischewitz deliveries were big. My father would ship orders out by bus!”

But the Olde-Tyme Deli was more than corned beef and kugel. It was also known for fresh pastries, Louisiana gumbo and, to the shock of some, pork.

When asked if her parents and grandparents ever considered operating a strictly kosher deli, Michelle laughs, “Not at all. It wouldn’t have made sense.

There were maybe two families in Jackson that kept kosher, and my dad would make special orders for them from Chicago. But I think it was just a matter of them recognizing where they were, and they “ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES didn’t ever consider being IS OF A WOMAN WHO CAME strictly kosher.” And they were INTO THE DELI WANTING TO right, because most of Jackson PURCHASE A KOSHER HAM. SHE didn’t even know what kosher THOUGHT ‘KOSHER’ MEANT THAT meant. “One of my favorite stories is of a woman who IT WAS BETTER.” came into the deli wanting to purchase a kosher ham,” Michele says. “She thought ‘kosher’ meant that it was better.”

Michele’s parents and grandparents not only introduced Mississippians to traditional Jewish foods, they established an environment that really brought people together — a place where regulars met every morning for coffee, and generations of families enjoyed a particular brand of hospitality.

“When people remember my family’s place, I think what they’re missing is a piece of community,” says Michele. And that community extended to the employees. Some Olde-Tyme Deli staff worked for the family for a decade or more and even enjoyed a profit-sharing plan. According to Michele, when the deli closed, there were five or six long-term employees who left with a comfortable sum. A handful of those same employees keep a standing date with Irv, who turned 90 this year, at Congregation Beth Israel’s Annual Sisterhood Bazaar, where they meet over bowls of matzah ball soup and talk about the old days at the Olde-Tyme Deli.

Sixteen years after the deli closed its doors, the annual Sisterhood Bazaar is the only opportunity that Jacksonians have to enjoy some of the traditional Jewish dishes that Irv and Judy and their family shared with Mississippi. It’s the one moment during the year that Jacksonians can turn back the hands of time.

Mike Binder died in 1963, two years after the deli opened. His wife Shelda passed away in 1978. Irv’s wife Judy worked in the deli until it closed; the family said goodbye to her in 2003. Today, Michele, her sister Amy and brother Alex all live in Jackson and enjoy careers outside of the deli business.

And they, too, rely on the annual Sisterhood Bazaar to enjoy the traditional Jewish dishes that their family is known for.

…..Where every customer deserved and received courtesy and service.

Our purpose is not to be critical of the rush and zoom of the Twentieth Century, but to recreate, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of mass merchandizing, in some small measure — the years of yesterday. This replica of an old-time Williamsburg store is for those who wish to browse in leisure, shop with discrimination, dine on quality foods, and take advantage of the sincerely proffered commodity called “personal service.” …Not an empty gesture at the past, the Olde-Tyme Delicatessen is a solid promise to the future — a promise that you, our customer, shall have the service, courtesy, and quality you rightfully deserve.

So… let’s turn back the clock! Turn back the hours. Pleasant shopping. The best of eating! Where the hands of the clock, and the hands of everyone in this establishment, are dedicated to… making the “tyme” you spend here satisfying.”

Birmingham’s Max’s Deli closes Max’s Deli closed abruptly this summer, ending an era of Jewish deli in Birmingham.

Known for its deli sandwiches and burgers, Max’s was opened in 2009 by Steve Dubrinsky. He sold it to Kyung Chung in early 2013. Though the menu stayed mostly intact after the change, sales declined sharply.

Dubrinsky said he was trying to help the current owner find a buyer, but before that could happen the owner shut the doors in mid-July.

In 2011, Dubrinsky made headlines during the contentious debate over anti-immigrant laws in Alabama, when he was quoted in the Birmingham News expressing concern for the effect on his kitchen staff, all of whom were legal.

Beth Or selling Carnegie cheesecakes

Temple Beth Or in Montgomery is once again selling cheesecakes from From the back of an original Olde-Time Delicatessen menu: Carnegie Deli in New York as a fundraiser.

“The intention of the Olde-Tyme Deli is to turn back the hands of time! Back A tradition since 1937, the cheesecakes come in 6-inch and 8-inch sizto that era: 251.973.2217 • 800.247.8420 es, at $25 and $35 respectively. Orders are due by Oct. 28 and may be …..Where here every man’s word was his bond; picked up on Nov. 15 or 16. …..Where every dollar purchased quality merchandise.

50 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

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

Lesley Silver’s Attic Gallery in Vicksburg, the oldest independent art gallery in Mississippi, is celebrating its 45th anniversary with a “Still Standing” event on Oct. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. Artists will be giving their interpretations of the theme for the event. “I have been truly blessed to be able to do what I have loved doing — bringing art and artists and people together in a very special place and sharing their energy and talent,” she said.

DATES

CALENDARS FOR 5777 The Jewish Museum Calendar 2017 Featuring 16 of some of the most compelling pieces from The Jewish Museum, New York, the calendar includes images of an Austrian Chanukkiah and works by a broad variety of artists such as Max Weber and Meichel Pressman Hebrew Illuminations: 2017 Calendar Jewish artist Adam Rhine’s latest calendar makes up the first in his new two-part illuminated letter series. The designs are especially light and fresh. This year, he also produces a Coloring Calendar in which users can make their own art using his Jewish motifs, and a separate Coloring Book available with 38 pages of patterns paired with verses to encourage calming meditation

The Jewish Eye: 2017 Calendar D. Yael Bernhard’s 2017 calendar includes many new works, with ‘The Seder’ and ‘The Burning Bush’ being especially noteworthy Jewish Celebrations Paintings by Malcah Zeldis Fans of Malcah Zeldis’ memory paintings will be pleased with this year’s calendar, featuring images of Jewish tradition along with a charming piece on baseball great Hank Greenberg

Frédéric Brenner, Portrait of Roy Lichtenstein on Ellis Island, 1996. Print. Collection of Joan Olden.

EXHIBIT

FRÉDÉRIC BRENNER: ICON SERIES at the Pensacola Museum of Art

An opening reception will be held on Oct. 14 at 5:30 p.m. for the “Frederic Brenner: Icon Series” exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of Art. On view through Dec. 31, the series is made up of more than 40 black-and-white portraits of iconic American Jews, staged at Ellis Island.

Among those included are Roy Lichtenstein, Betty Friedan, Arthur Miller and Ralph Lauren.

Now in his 50s, the Paris-born artist has been photographing since his late teens, with his first project based in Mea Shearim. Since that time, he has explored the Diaspora, telling The Forward in 2014, “I put into light the typology of acculturation, how far the Jews came to the defining the ‘other’ in Europe and everywhere, and how far they remain themselves.”

This exhibit explores iconic American figures, and is on loan from the private collection of Joan Olden.

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 51

culture Rabbi Levy writes memoir about friendship with President Clinton

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52 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

When you’re a rabbi in a relatively-small Jewish community in a state capital, it isn’t unusual to encounter the governor frequently.

If that governor eventually winds up being president, that’s a whole different level of memories.

Rabbi Eugene Levy, who led B’nai Israel in Little Rock from 1987 to 2011, recently published “A Privileged Encounter: My Unique Experience with President Bill Clinton, 1987-2000.”

The book, which is arranged chronologically, “would have been considered a blog” if that sort of thing had existed in those years, Levy said.

He had an idea to write something “and hand it down to our kids so they would have a historical context of this generation.”

For years, Levy had a drawer in his desk with his notes and diary from his different encounters with Clinton. When there was a small fire at B’nai Israel, “I rescued the Torahs and the Clinton material,” he said.

After retirement, he started putting the material together. “It just developed into a memoir,” he said, and “as long as I’m going to make three copies for the kids, might as well make some more.” He gave copies of the privately-published book to his extended family and those who helped him put the book together, especially the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.

Levy has already done four or five appearances and book signings in Little Rock and Dallas.

His first encounter with Clinton came in late 1987, shortly after Levy moved to Arkansas from Tyler, Tex. Then-Governor Clinton was a speaker at an NAACP board meeting in Little Rock, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the desegregation of Central High School. Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, was there as an NAACP board member, and was already a close friend of Clinton’s.

They would cross paths many times in the buildup to the 1992 presidential race, with childhood friends of Clinton telling Levy about Clinton’s close ties with the Arkansas Jewish community since childhood.

In 1992, he would write to rabbis across the country before their states’ primaries to “introduce” Clinton to them, especially “skeptical rabbis in the northeast and midwest and west coast.”

Levy would frequently be invited to events in Washington, and the Washington Jewish Week ran a photo of him on the cover, stating he was “Bill Clinton’s rabbi. One of them.” Among the events he attended were the peace treaty signings between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993, and Israel and Jordan in 1994.

The tone of the book is generally positive — various Clinton scandals are mentioned only in passing. “I didn’t want to dwell on them, but I didn’t want to omit them either.”

He unwittingly became part of one scandal — the Lincoln Bedroom controversy, which alleged that overnight stays in the White House were being dangled as an incentive to campaign donors.

When a list of those who stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom was published, his presence on the list was noted in media accounts. In 1996, he was invited to spend the night at the White House — not because he was a donor, he noted. The family of David Ifshin, who was active in the 1992

culture campaign, was staying in the Lincoln Bedroom that night, as Ifshin had terminal cancer and wanted his family to have the experience of staying in the White House before he died.

Levy signed a guest book outside the Lincoln Bedroom but overnighted in a different room, upstairs. Levy’s signature on the guest book led to his being interviewed for “Jews in the Lincoln Bedroom” when the scandal broke.

As the impeachment process against Clinton gained momentum in 1998, Levy wrote an editorial, “The Zealotry of Impeachment” to “address the hypocrisy.”

He was part of a group of clergy in Little Rock who were “very concerned about what would happen” and noted that many of those pushing for impeachment “didn’t have clean backgrounds.”

The group met with Congressman Asa Hutchinson, who is now governor of Arkansas.

“We wanted to make sure if he was going to proceed with this, then it would be done in a just and fair manner,” which did not happen, he said.

After 2000, as Clinton was more involved with the Clinton Foundation, Levy “would see him from time to time” but not particularly often. In 2012, Clinton was the keynote speaker and honoree at a Jewish Federation of Arkansas event, but as Clinton is mostly in New York, “for the most part” they don’t communicate much.

He did hear from Clinton after the book was published.

In 2002, on the way back from Israel, Levy was in New York on the six-month anniversary of Sept. 11, and was able to visit with Clinton in his Harlem office.

The final photo in the book is of Levy “and the theoretically two Clinton presidents.”

While he saw Clinton many times, “very rarely” did he see Mrs. Clinton over the years.

He has the charm, Levy said, and she is “more of the student.”

While she was a senator from New York, Levy met with her for about 10 minutes in her office while at a conference in Washington. He was accompanied by two rabbinic colleagues who were “amazed I could get an audience with her that quickly.”

The difference between the 1990s and now is that Clinton’s headquarters was in Little Rock, leading to an endless stream of press and political figures — many of them Jewish — in 1992 and 1996, while Mrs. Clinton’s base is New York. “They’ve been gone for a while.”

He chose to concentrate the book just on the period when Clinton was governor and president, and focus on Clinton “the person.”

He notes that “I was lucky to have been in the right place at the right time,” and “any other rabbi in my place would probably have had many of the same experiences and good fortune that I did.”

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 53

L’Shana Tovah

How a scrawny, shy Jewish kid from Birmingham with an operatic voice became a wrestling star…

Book Signings

Friday, Oct. 21, 1 p.m. • Barnes and Noble, Destin, Fla. Saturday, Oct. 22, 1 p.m. • Barnes and Noble, Seaside, Fla.

“The Unmasked Tenor”

by Sam “The Great Kaiser” Tenenbaum Jr. with TJ Beitelman

Now Available at Select Bookstores and Amazon.com

culture Nick May releases first Jewish music EP Songleader and musician Nick May of New Orleans has released his first studio album, “This Beauty.”

Soon to graduate from Louisiana State University in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, and Sociology, May is also in his first year serving as the Baton Rouge Federation of Temple Youth advisor.

He has been songleader at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica for three summers and spent this past summer as songleader at JCC Camp Sabra in Rocky Mount, Mo. He has been travelling around the Deep South singing with different communities for Shabbat services, educational programs, as well as National Federation of Temple Youth events for the past four years.

“Growing up going to camp every summer I always looked forward to having people like Dan Nichols and Rick Recht visit and sing with us and from a young age I knew that I wanted to be like them,” May said.

He has made numerous connections through Jacobs Camp and nationally through the annual Hava Nashira event in Wisconsin for Jewish songwriters, but coming out with an album “gives me a chance to connect with people beyond those audiences” and “make an impression on the Jewish music community.”

He does vocals and guitar on the album, while his father, Robert, does backup vocals and bass, and additional backup vocals come from his mother, Tory May, cantorial soloist at Gates of Prayer in Metairie. Richard Bird of The Boogiemen is on percussion, organ and guitar.

The EP consists of six songs, five of which are his original compositions.

“Hinei Mah Tov” is a collaborative effort with Australia native Shannyn Gelbart at Hava Nashira.

The album can be purchased online at nickmaymusic.squarespace.com.

Nick May at Jacobs Camp

UNBROKEN

by Joe Buchanan Have you ever thought what ‘Shalom Aleichem’ really needed was some slide guitar?

Well, you just got your wish, because Houston’s Joe Buchanan released his new ‘Unbroken’ album, full of pure country goodness.

Buchanan’s country/folk take on traditional and original Jewish songs is so fun — and so American — we can’t help but thinking it makes for the official soundtrack of sitting in the sukkah this year.

54 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 55

BOOKS

NURTURE THE WOW:

Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting

by Danya Ruttenberg

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Danya Ruttenberg, rabbi, wife, mother of three, wonders how the minutae of everyday life - the diapers, the lost things, the daily little battles - along with the truly big things like lifecycle events - can be tethered to Jewish tradition.

Rabbi Ruttenberg reminds us in a modern, sometimes messy, I-canrelate-to-that way that there are worlds of information in Jewish texts to help us get out of our own heads: raising children is much more than what’s for lunch or how to fit in after-school activities. This book is a call for mindfulness in the everyday, to see how things fit in the big picture, how parenthood is a spiritual practice. And the word ‘practice’ seems especially apt, as we all flat-out screw up sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we’ve ruined everything. Raising children is an effort, something that we try to do our best at, and that striving is a holy task.

No parenting instructions here, rather the wisdom that comes from sources like Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Fred Rogers, historical Jewish texts, and lots of contemporary writers of both sexes that relates not just to what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago but how we can use those nuggets of wisdom to inform and serve us today with our own little people. Serious knowledge, lighthearted delivery.

Truly, nurturing the wow.

PROTECTING PAIGE

by Deby Eisenberg

Isn’t it long past time for an update?

AFTER

Roofing

For 12-year-old Paige Noble, life in Chicago was idyllic, until that day in 1962 when she woke up in a hospital bed, having survived a random gang attack that claimed her parents and brother. Her only known relative, an uncle who was a photographer in Europe, takes her in and eventually starts to tell her about her family’s true history, including Jewish roots her mother tried to deny. Then Paige stumbles on her mother’s diary, with stories of loss and turmoil from the Holocaust. She and her uncle set out on a quest to locate one surviving family member and deal with a family legacy of suffering and survival that Paige’s parents wanted to protect her from.

A resident of Chicago and Florida, Eisenberg has spoken nationally as part of the Jewish Book Council author tour, and her first novel was “Pictures of the Past,” about an Impressionist painting at the Art Institute of Chicago that an elderly woman challenges as a Nazi theft.

COOKBOOKS

THE NEW MEDITERRANEAN JEWISH TABLE: Old World Recipes

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pmpconstruction@att.net 56 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016

Early 1900s Jewish immigration to the United States came in large part from Ashkenazi areas, thus those foods like brisket, chopped liver, and matzah ball soup often are first to come to mind. But because Mediterranean communities came in smaller numbers, their cuisine is still to this day lesser known, though the flavors of Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and others are what our contemporary American palates are more drawn to. Although there are no photographs, this 468 page collection is a comprehensive volume of those dishes bound to become our new traditions. Make way for tasty lamb flatbreads, Syrian chicken, and saffron rice pudding.

culture Nashville Jewish Film Festival schedules 15 features over four weeks Fifteen new films have been selected for the 16th annual Nashville Jewish Film Festival, which will be held from Oct. 19 to Nov. 12.

A program of the Gordon Jewish Community Center, the festival aims to bring “educational, entertaining and thought-provoking Jewish-themed films to the Nashville community” and “create a forum for the wider Nashville community to understand the complexity of issues surrounding Jewish life in contemporary society.”

In 2005, the festival also began an annual world-wide Kathryn H. Gutow Student Film Competition. Finalists are screened during the festival, with the winner receiving a $1,000 prize and a showing at the Nashville Film Festival in April.

The opening evening begins with a 5:30 p.m. cocktail dinner at Cabana, followed by the screening of “To Life!” at 7:30 p.m. at the Belcourt Theatre.

Most of the screenings will be at Belcourt.

Several films will include post-show discussions. Mark Schiff, actor, comedian and writer, will follow the screening of “Last Laugh” on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. with a discussion as to whether

it is possible to joke about the Holocaust.

Alice Zimmerman, noted Nashville art dealer and collector, will talk about Peggy Guggenheim following the 12:15 p.m. matinee of “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict” on Nov. 7.

Eli Adler, the producer of “Surviving Skokie,” a documentary about the impact of a proposed march through Skokie, Ill., by the American Nazi party and how it changed the lives of the

8000 Holocaust survivors who lived in the suburban Chicago village, will speak after the 7 p.m. screening on Nov. 2.

David Blu, professional basketball player and member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team, will speak following the screening of “On the Map” on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. Blu appears in the film.

Michael A. Newton, professor of the practice of law at Vanderbilt University, will talk about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials of 1963 to 1965, in which 750 of 789 SS officers charged were

convicted, following the showing of “Labyrinth of Lies” on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. The trials were significant because the charges were brought under the West German criminal code.

“Fever at Dawn” will be on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. and “Moos” will be shown on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

On Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., Atom Egoyan’s “Remember,” starring Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau, will screen.

The family-friendly “Rock in the Red Zone” will be shown on Oct. 30 at 9:15 a.m. at the Gordon JCC. On Nov. 3 at noon, the JCC will also host “Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem.”

“Cloudy Sunday,” based on the book and music of George Skarbodonis, will be on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m., and on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. “Frank vs. God,” starring Henry Ian Cusack, will be screened.

The Israeli film “The Nemtwich Syndrome” will be on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., and the festival will conclude on Nov. 12 with “The Pickle Recipe” at 8 p.m. at the JCC. A deli dinner and pickle bar will be available starting at 6:30 p.m.

There will also be a Holocaust lecture series address on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt University’s Langford Auditorium. Father Patrick

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 57

culture Desbois, head of the Commission for Relations with Judaism of the French Bishops’ Conference, and consultant to the Vatican, will speak about Yahad-In Unum, an organization he founded to locate the sites of mass graves of Holocaust victims. Desbois’ grandfather was a French soldier deported to the Nazi prison camp Rava-Ruska on the Ukrainian border with Poland.

Reservations for the opening night dinner are $75. A box lunch for the Nov. 7 matinee is $25, and the deli dinner on closing night is $40. All prices include admission to the film.

Film tickets are $12, or $8 for students and seniors. A festival films-only pass is $150.

More information about each film and the festival can be found at www.nashvillejff.net.

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It’s a first time for “Once”; a return to the BJCC Concert Hall stage for the classic “Phantom of the Opera” and a pre-Broadway musical based of a classic movie about a Jewish family visiting the Catskills — “Dirty Dancing” — highlighting the 2016-17 Broadway in Birmingham season.

Theater League runs the Broadway series in Birmingham and its president, Mark Edelman, said the current season was selected based on what the audiences wanted to see as well as what has been well-received in the past.

“We are here to serve our season ticket holders and our patrons. We look to bring Tony-award-winning shows, new shows and beloved classics in a mix that can please everyone,” said Edelman. “The survey results we get in from our season ticket holders go a long way in our decisions.”

Edelman said they don’t start the Broadway in Birmingham season until mid-December to not conflict with high school, Alabama and Auburn football. They also now have Sunday matinees for those who cannot attend the shows on the Sabbath.

“Broadway Christmas Wonderland” hits the stage Dec. 16 to 18.

Edelman said the show is more like a collection of holiday classics from Broadway shows.

Then on Jan. 13 to 15, nobody better put Baby in a corner with “Dirty Dancing,” the musical. Based on the popular movie staring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, the musical has not yet been on Broadway but is scheduled to be, so those in Birmingham can experience it before it hits the Great White Way. Then the Tony-award-winning musical “Once” makes its Birmingham debut Feb. 24 to 26. Also based on a film, this show is about an Irish street singer who falls in love with a Czechoslovakian woman who inspires him to further his music career.

The play takes place mainly in an Irish pub, so for this production, like the one on Broadway, an Irish pub will be set up on stage. Twenty minutes before the show and during intermission, show-goers can come up on stage to get a drink and listen to Irish folk tunes.

“We invested in the original Once show when it was off-off-Broadway and it’s such a fun, passionate show with an unexpected ending,” said Edelman, promising no spoilers for those who haven’t seen it.

“The Phantom of the Opera” swoops back into town April 5 to 16 for a special, prolonged engagement and Edelman promises “a bigger, more elaborate production than ever before. It’s a classic.”

A special season add-on or swap option is the international percussion and dance sensation “Stomp,” Feb. 21 to 22.

For more information and to order tickets, go to www.theaterleague. org.

culture

L’Shanah Tovah from my family to yours

Birmingham-Southern presents “Fiddler”

by Lee J. Green The classic musical about a family seeking acceptance and a place to call home will highlight homecoming festivities later this month at Birmingham-Southern College.

In a joint collaboration between the University’s theatre and music departments, Birmingham Southern College presents “Fiddler on the Roof ” Oct. 19 to 29, with six shows at 7:30 p.m. and one 2:30 p.m. matinee.

“We’re always looking for something valuable to say on the stage,” said “Fiddler” director and BSC Theatre Professor Michael Flowers. “’Fiddler’ is still very relevant today. It’s about refugees trying to find a home; family roles and tough life decisions. In recent years we have done several pop and rock modern musicals. This time we wanted to get our hands on something traditional.”

BSC Opera and Voice Professor Jeff Kensmore, also an equity actor, will play Tevye. BSC alumna Hannah Ellington will play Golda and professional actress Kristin Stakowski will play Yenta. Carl Peoples plays Lazar Wolfe and the production also features talented local theatre actor and BSC alumnus Nathan Merritt.

The other roles and much of the crew are current BSC students. In all, there are 57 cast and crew members.

“Jeff Kensmore’s wife, Natalie, was in the classic traveling Broadway ‘Fiddler’ production and is helping us to learn the original staging and choreography so we can do something that honors the 1964 original,” said Flowers. “Lester Seigel has also helped us out a lot to learn more about the significance of the show and making community connections.”

There will be a Provost Forum on Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. in the BSC Theatre.

It is free and open to the public. “People can learn more about our production and what it entails,” said Flowers. “This is a story we are proud to tell and invite everyone to experience the show.”

For more information and tickets go to www.bsc.edu.

From a 1931 Belzoni Banner newspaper in Belzoni, Miss., “the catfish capital of the world.” In 1937 there were fewer than 40 Jews in the small Delta town, though they were a huge presence in the town’s retail. With proximity to Greenwood there never was a congregation in Belzoni, and today, only Goldberg’s still operates.

VOTE NOVEMBER 8, 2016 TO KEEP JUDGE SHERA GRANT

Pd for by Committee to Elect Shera Grant; PO Box 2802; Bham, AL 35202

October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 59

Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

Birmingham: 808 Green Springs Hwy mrchenshomewood.com 205.942.5000

Ingredients: 1 pound chicken breast cut-up into ¾ inch slices 2 teaspoons corn starch 1 teaspoon dry sherry (Shaoxing wine is the original ingredient) 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon chili sauce ½ teaspoon minced garlic 1/3 cup unsalted chicken broth ½ garlic leaves cut into ½-inch pieces (green parts only) 1/3 red bell pepper 1/3 green pepper ½ cup cabbage chunks 1 teaspoon rinsed and drained black eye bean

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Heat three tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color then remove from the wok with a slotted spoon.

Drain all but three tablespoons of oil from the wok then return it to medium heat. Add the garlic and black beans (stir-fry until fragrant) and add chili sauce then hoisin sauce.

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Directions: In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, sherry/wine, cornstarch, soy sauce and one teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Stir to combine.

•

For those just expecting to get some fresh, unique Chinese and Asian foods at Mr. Chen’s restaurant in Homewood, there’s so much more in store — as in more than 20,000 items in the Birmingham area’s largest Asian, as well as Middle Eastern and Mexican, supermarket.

So one can either have the Chicken with Black Bean Sauce entrée in the restaurant or buy the ingredients in the supermarket and make it at home.

“Before Mr. Chen’s came around we had to go to Atlanta and come back with carloads of Asian foods to get the foods we remembered from back in China,” said General Manager Linda Li, who has been in the U.S. for 20 years. “Now we can get everything here with fresh foods and low prices.”

Mr. Chen’s Asian Supermarket and Restaurant opened in the former continued on the next page

Continued from page 62

May you reach your second star to the right sooner than morning.

May your skies be blue, your traffic lights green, and your last banana still yellow.

May your expenses be reduced, starting with laughter at your expense.

Instead of writing long letters, may you have the time to write short ones instead.

May your government actually be here to help.

May you sing in key, never lose your keys, and find the keys to your success.

May your flights be on time, your legroom sufficient, and the child in front of you unconscious.

May your grass grow greener without making others green with envy.

May the drivers in front of you signal lane changes. In advance.

May your procedures be legal, your starts not be false, and groundings unintentional.

May your profits grow, and your time to read the prophets increase.

May your only losses this year be a loss for words.

May you be responsible with your social media, and the media be socially responsible.

May you appreciate and preserve the past without being stuck in it.

May your May be lusty, your June bust out all over, and April come.

(She will.)

May your team win the national championship, as long as that team is Alabama.

Doug Brook sinned against you by promising 700 words and delivering only 697. Until these three. To read these or any other past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/ the.beholders.eye.

Bregman hits historic home run

When Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros hit a 384-foot home run on Sept. 10, he made history. The former Louisiana State University player hit the 3,000th home run by a Jewish player in the major leagues.

According to Jewish Baseball News, Jewish players were on a pace to set a record this year, with 106 home runs by Sept. 14. In 2012, there were 113 home runs by Jewish players. The first season with more than 100 home runs by Jewish players was 1999, with 102.

The Sept. 10 homer was the eighth of Bregman’s rookie season. He was called up to Houston on July 25.

>> Mr. Chen’s Mazer Furniture space on Green Springs Highway in April. The whole building with the market and the restaurant is 40,000 square feet.

“The owners and we had some people come to our Hoover location saying they wanted a location in Homewood closer to where they lived and they wanted a more extensive selection of groceries,” said Li. Mr. Chen’s also has locations in Tuscaloosa and Montgomery.

Co-owner Sherri Chen said they have a wide variety of specialty foods, many kosher items and even fresh seafood in the market. “We have 300 fruits and vegetables, for example, including several ones found only here. And if we don’t have it on the shelves, we can order it,” said Chen.

The restaurant has approximately 150 different menu choices, many of which are kosher-style. Both the supermarket and the restaurant are open seven days a week.

The Chicken with Black Bean Sauce has been a popular item in the restaurant. Hot sellers in the store include almond milk and moon cakes.

“We have buyers who specialize in getting in hard-to-find items for the store,” said Chen. “And we work with local farmers as well to get some of the freshest items we can.”

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October 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 61

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High Holy Days – in 700 words The High Holy Days are about two things: Long services, and longer lists — about tense subjects… past and future.

We recount the things we’ve done wrong, and wish well upon ourselves.

Ironically, we don’t say anything about the things we have done or will do right.

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We have sinned against you by letting our minds wander during services.

We have sinned against you by texting while driving.

We have sinned against you by splashing while diving.

We have sinned against you by not rinsing the pans.

We have sinned against you by being Y*nkees fans.

We have sinned against you by deciding some are stupid because of their politics.

We have sinned against you by assuming some are smart because of their politics.

We have sinned against you by lacking remorse.

We have sinned against you by forgetting the code of Morse.

We have sinned against you by ignoring all the signs.

We have sinned against you by using near rhymes.

We have sinned against you by not reading what’s on our shelves.

We have sinned against you by sinning against ourselves.

We have sinned against you by not knowing how to dial rotary phones.

We have sinned against you, now with flying drones.

We have sinned against you by loudly not taking Hall’s.

We have sinned against you by not ignoring robocalls.

We have sinned against you by not bringing a World Series championship to Chicago’s North Side, again.

We have sinned against you through excessive screen time and scream time.

We have sinned against you by texting or talking during the play, film, or service.

We have sinned against you by being patronizing (which means talking down to).

We have sinned against you by not understanding.

We have sinned against you by not staying standing.

We have sinned against you by not stealing second.

We have sinned against you by going for seconds.

We have sinned against you by settling for second.

We have sinned against you by wasting thousands of seconds.

And, now, lest we forget the future…

“Birmingham’s finest scratch bakery since 1939” Cookies, pies, breads, pastries, cakes, and more — baked fresh on site daily Open Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2916 18th St S Birmingham

205-871-4901 savagesbakery.com

May your mind wander during services, to new places of enlightenment.

May your home be without leaks, and your confidences not leaked.

May your only race controversy be a photo finish in the 200-meter dash.

May your stock rise, your stock portfolio go up, and your stockings stay up.

May you find your tall ship, and a star to steer her by.

May you not be accused of ascribing gender roles based on your use of pronouns for inanimate objects.

May you get tickets to Hamilton.

After spending all that money to see it, may you get Hamilton. continued on previous page

62 Southern Jewish Life • October 2016