Southern Jewish Life, New Orleans, November 2021

Southern Jewish LifeLife Southern Jewish 3747 West Esplanade Ave. P.O. Box 130052 3rd Floor Birmingham, AL 35213 Metairie, LA 70002 Volume 31 Issue 11

November 2021

INSIDE:

THREEFOOT RISES AGAIN IN MERIDIAN NEW ORLEANS EDITION

Southern Jewish Life

shalom y’all While the world has been dealing with a pandemic for almost two years now, there is also an epidemic of stupidity.

Sometimes, it seems that it would be easier to list the politicians who haven’t compared Covid mandates to Nazi Germany.

Proof of vaccination requirements are likened to wearing a yellow star or a number tattoo if one refuses. Vaccine mandates are seen as the government taking away freedom, “just like Nazi Germany.” Show your papers…

Such comparisons are idiotic and overwrought, rhetoric that reaches an absurd end.

There have been many in this region who have made the comparison, and some have made headlines and received the requisite outrage. Many have changed their ways, though others have chosen to double down despite the criticism.

Some have been quietly approached and informed about the poor analogy, realized their error and apologized.

But is such talk, as many have charged, antisemitic?

Holocaust discussions deemed antisemitic generally happen in the context of Holocaust denial, or saying the Holocaust didn’t go far enough. Comparing Israel’s actions to Nazi Germany is also an increasingly popular form of antisemitism. In all those cases, the objective is to insult or demean the Jewish community.

Is that the motivation here? Antisemitism implies a hatred or bias against Jews.

That doesn’t seem to be the case with these politicians and activists. In a way, it is a backhanded compliment — they think they are standing up against something heinous, and the way to convey that is to hitch their star, you should pardon the expression, to the most heinous crime in human history.

For the most part, the intent isn’t antisemitic.

Nevertheless, the Covid comparisons can be seen as a form of Holocaust minimization, which can be construed as antisemitic because it trivializes the enormous horcontinued on page 17

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commentary

MESSAGES

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

Covid: The problematic “excused absence” from synagogue for American Jews

I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the first time and fell in love with not just the city pens after Covid? Will Jewish adults find their

By Gabrielle Williams but the people. You have taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring On thisto the Covid-modified Rosh Hashanah, way back to synagogue? Or will the convenience approach JCC Maccabi Games.

I did what any good Reform American Jew is of online services become the new way of norLed by the Sokol and Helds, your hard-working volunteers were wonderful. They partnered expected to do on the High Holidays: I attended malcy? with your outstanding staff, led by Betzy Lynch, to make the 2017 gamesCenter a huge Surhit.

According to JCC the Maccabi Pew Research services. The only caveat being that the services I want to take this opportunity as executive director ofof Maccabi USAabout to sayone-third thank youofonAmerican behalf vey U.S. Jews, were online. of everyone involved.

With the rise of the delta variant, my fam- Jewish adults belong to a synagogue. Of those belongintoIsrael Temples, plays had Ijust returned fromwas the a20th World Maccabiah with athe U.S.community delegation of ilyI and decided virtual safer option as whogames a significant role in their lives.

At least 20 perover 1100,towho joined 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. Back in July the eyes of the entire opposed going to synagogue.

Unfortunately, cent of Jewish adults attend services at least Jewish world were into on Jerusalem and the Maccabiah.

This past month with 1000 athletes and about 30 minutes the online service, I fell a month forthe thefocal main reasons of “finding coaches from around the world beingthat in Birmingham, became point. into a deep sleep.

So deep of a sleep I woke onceyou it spiritually meaningful” and having a “sense of upEveryone only to hear and watch fromthe theclosing Jewishsong community andthe the community atBeing large,present including a wonderful belonging. ” in the physical space zoom screen turn creating the feeling of will go down in history as being a seminal police force, are to black, be commended.

These games and connecting with family and friends is what an emptyfor pitthe in the bottom of my stomach. moment Jewish community as we build to the future byexperience providingfor such wonderful Jewish creates this most.

I never found services boring growing up. In memories.

Synagogues also provide Religious and Hefact, I even LIKED services. The music, warmth, brew schools, host B’nai Mitzvahs, and enhance Jed Margolis words, and atmosphere of a synagogue around festivities during holidays. This is all done for Executive Director, Maccabi USA the high holidays is something unique, and I althe sake of Jewish children: to teach them about ways felt happy and grateful to be part of it. Even ancestry, observe traditions, and enduring the rest of the calendar year, I’ve stayed supremacists wouldreligious like to see pushed back courage them to continue practicing Judaism On Charlottesville active in my Jewish community. It is awfully into a corner and made to feel lesser. We stand into adulthood. strange to think that less than two years ago, I with and pray for the family of Heather Heyer, Editor’s Note: This reaction to the events in Furthermore, synagogues provide a place for was teaching Kindergarteners on the weekends who was there standing up to the face of this Charlottesville, written by Jeremy Newman, Jews and often attending Friday night services simply hate. who might not attend services often, but deMaster of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony serve a religious, traditional place to observe the because I enjoyed being at Temple.

We recognize the essence of the American at Auburn University, was shared by AEPi This is when I gathered it must have been High Holidays or attend a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid National, which called it “very eloquent” and If American Jews fail to return to Temple upon the online component of services which led to ourselves of suchofcorners, andera, allow those insopraised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at the termination the Covid the lack of my napping. I asked my family if we could atthem the seat at thefinancial table thatsupport they so will deserve.

Auburn University and… the leadership they cial, spiritual and cause tend in-person services for Kol Nidre, and they It is the struggle to fulfill promise of the display on their campus.” congregations across the the nation to permanently agreed.

Declaration of Independence, that “all men switch to online services.

Once services go are onHowever, with my mask on, looking around created equal… endowed by theirhalf-heartedly Creator with line, I fear Jews will either watch a White sparsely-filled sanctuary that usuallyonbrims supremacy has been a cancer certain unalienable rights.” We know our work with thousands of members, I once again felt or skip them entirely. Synagogues may be forced our country since its beginning, threatening is far from finished, but we know we will not unbearably The social aspect of to close their doors for good. its hopes, itssleepy values,and andsad. its better angels. move backwards.

Without synagogues, any and all opportunisynagogue was took lost. place Thereinwas no hugging of The events that Charlottesville ties for religious — armed, many oftake which When men andobservance women, fully friends, kissing Bubbies on the cheek, or even represented the worst of this nation.

Those American Jews take for granted — will be seeing someone smile when they “Shanah to the streets in droves with swastikas and unwho marched onto the streets with say tiki torches available, and the decline vibrant Jewish other symbols of hate, it is of a reminder of howlife Tovah. ” and swastikas did so to provoke violence and in America will continue in its descent relevant the issues of racism and anti-Semitism The sense of marched community comesdid with fear.

Those who onto that the streets areGabrielle today. It is a wake-up to the work that Williams is acall sophomore at Tulane celebrating andthat embracing so to professholidays an ideology harkens traditions back to needs to be done to ensure a better, more University from Dallas, and is pursuing a major with other Jews has significantly changed.

For a bleaker, more wretched time in our history. welcoming country.

But it should not come in neuroscience and a minor in Jewish studies. now, we can blame it on Covid.

But what hapA time when men and women of many creeds, races, and religions were far from equal and far without a reflection on how far we’ve come.

America was born a slave nation. A century from safe in our own borders. A time where into our history we engaged in a war in part Americans lived under a constant cloud of to ensure we would not continue as one. We racism, anti-Semitism and pervasive hate. The events that took place in Charlottesville served found ourselves confronted by the issue of civil rights, and embarked on a mission to ensure as a reminder of how painfully relevant these Help Support Independent,theQuality, fair treatment of all peoples no matter their issues are today. skin color. Although we’ve made great strides, Original Jewish Auburn’s AlphaSouthern Epsilon Pi stands with the Journalism! it is a mission we’re still grappling with today.

Jewish community of Charlottesville, and

“Southern Jewish Life is a vital community asset”

We you for yourthecontinued as we America wastell also born an immigrant with thethank Jewish people around country support our stories — the stories Southern JewishAsLife! country. early as the pilgrims, many and around the world.

We also standof with the groups and families found in the country the minorities who are targeted by the hate that opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, was on display in Charlottesville. We stand and be themselves. Few were met with open with the minorities of whom these white

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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

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agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

On Oct. 31, Gates of Prayer in Metairie held a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot

Baton Rouge congregations take steps toward unification

Museum group honors Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

As the Jan. 1 unification date approaches, the two Baton Rouge congregations are taking more steps toward their merger.

The congregations, which voted overwhelmingly in August to reunite from the 1945 split, have already mostly stopped using the previous names, B’nai Israel and Beth Shalom, using forms like Synagogue New or the Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge, and referring to the buildings as Kleinert Avenue or Jefferson Highway.

During the exploration process, the congregations held a joint Shabbat service monthly. Starting with Nov. 5, the decision was made to have a single service that would alternate between locations, at Jefferson Highway on Nov. 5 and 19, and Kleinert Avenue on Nov. 12 and 26.

The board of the unified congregation elected Steven Cavalier as the first president. Scott Berg is vice president, Mitch Rayner is treasurer and Heather Folks-Givens is secretary.

Cavalier said transition teams are working on facilities, finances, ritual, education, programming and other areas, continuing the groundwork laid by the Joint Synagogue Exploratory Committee.

Suggestions for the congregation’s name are being accepted through Nov. 11, and the finalists will be revealed at Naming Shabbat on Nov. 19. Voting will follow online and by paper ballot, with congregants choosing their top three.

In-person voting will be held on Dec. 3 at the Chanukah Shabbat Shared Tailgate at Kleinert Avenue. If needed, a second round of voting will be held to break a tie.

A joint celebration event will be held in January, by which the new name will be announced.

The new Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience in New Orleans received two Gold and one Bronze award in the areas of exhibitions and technology at the 2021 Southeastern Museums Conference, the largest regional museum conference in the South.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by our peers in the museum industry,” said Executive Director Kenneth Hoffman, “and I am particularly proud of the creativity and hard work of our staff and of our design partners, Gallagher & Associates and Cortina Productions. Weaving more than 300 years of Southern Jewish experiences into engaging, accessible, and relevant exhibits — during a pandemic, no less — was quite an adventure.”

The opening core exhibition, honored with the top designation in the “Over $1,000,000 Budget” category in the SEMC Exhibition Competition, features the diverse experiences of Jews in the American South from Colonial times to today. Through interactive exhibits, artifacts, and stories, the core exhibition explores themes that connect visitors of all backgrounds, including immigration and civil rights.

The Community Quilt interactive experience won the Gold award for Gallery Installations. The expeience is based on a quilt from the Museum collection that was stitched in 1885 by the Jewish Ladies Sewing Circle of Canton, Miss. Visitors use a touch screen to express their own identity and communities using custom fabrics, patches and drawing tools to craft their own unique square. When complete, guests “stitch” their patch into the mu-

New name among current projects as first board elected

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda seum’s community quilt to create one beautiful canvas from disparate elements — a metaphor for not only the Southern Jewish experience, but also the American experience.

The orientation film shown at the beginning of the tour won the Bronze award in media production.

Curator Anna Tucker represented the museum at the SEMC Museum Technology Showcase on Oct. 26. Award winners were celebrated at an Oct. 27 ceremony in Chattanooga and will be featured in the Fall 2021 Edition of INSIDE SEMC, a digital publication of the Southeastern Museums Conference. This designation recognizes Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience’s contribution to professional standards in Southeastern museums.

Jewish-Multicultural Center announces Hispanic Heritage Month honors SUPPORT QUALITY, INDEPENDENT, ORIGINAL SOUTHERN JEWISH JOURNALISM Support Southern Jewish Life! supportsjl.com

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

The Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs announced several honorees as part of the 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month in October. The honorees were recognized for outstanding contributions to the community.

Nominations were submitted by members of the CJMA Latinx Working Group. The Working Group, which is made up of Jewish and Hispanic community members, is co-chaired by Ana Gershanik and Al Page.

AnaMaria Bech is publisher and editor of Viva Nola, an online and print outlet which “was instrumental in reporting during Hurricane Ida and ensured that the community was informed. She covered and translated press conferences for state and local authorities and conducted important interviews with key agency representatives and local community leaders.”

Daniela Bello, cross-cultural coordinator for Jefferson Parish, “did an amazing job, communicating with different Hispanic organizations, members of the Hispanic media and other organizations. In the aftermath of Ida, she shared information related to food, tarps, legal assistance, evictions and more.”

Leticia Casildo, co-founder and executive director of Familias Unidas en Acción, “has done great work in the community throughout the pandemic, particularly focusing on the needs of undocumented folks who are excluded from government resources. After Ida, they’ve continued that important work as well as directed much needed resources to the immigrant community in Houma.”

Jose Garcia, founder and president of TeleVizion and owner of MC NOLA, “is always open to helping the community and sharing his resources with all. Jose is the kind of person who never seeks recognition and likes to work behind the scenes, but he certainly deserves to be thanked.”

Valeria Kawas, news director and anchor for Telemundo 42 “has been instrumental in reporting the happenings, resources, and challenges on the ground. As soon as the station came back on air, Valeria was out doing a fantastic job.”

Ronnie and Jenny Mains, founders of CRC, We Care, We Share, “have been an example of generosity and solidarity throughout Covid-19 and once again stepped up in the wake of Hurricane Ida providing container after container of frozen and fresh food, water, and other to churches, non-profits, local authorities, and more.”

Mary Moran, co-founder and executive director of Our Voice Nuestra Voz, “stayed during the storm and was out there in the community, helping folks out from Day 1. She focused a lot on the East and other heavily affected and typically ignored areas.”

Brenda Murphy, founder and editor of Jambalaya News, “is a wellknown community leader who works tirelessly to connect the communicontinued on page 20

agenda New series of virtual Israel tours begins The Atlanta Jewish Coalition is bringing back its popular “Re-Discovering the Land of Israel” virtual tours, with tour guide David Sussman.

The series of five Sunday tours is produced in partnership with the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeastern U.S., Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Atlanta Jews of Color Council.

Sussman visited Israel in 2001 and never left.

In 2009, he became a licensed tour guide after graduating from the Archeological Seminar’s two-year course. A combat lone-soldier in the Second Lebanon War, he had a near death experience, where he realized the importance of teaching people about Israel.

The first tour, on Nov. 14, will be Israel’s Hula Valley and the Great Bird Migration. The Hula Valley divides the Golan Heights from the Naftali Heights and the city of Tzfat, with biblical archeology like Tel Dan, and over five million birds pass through it every migration season.

This tour is during the migration season, exploring its national parks, biblical archeology, and beautiful nature.

The Nov. 28 tour is Ancient Caesarea. Built over 2,000 years ago by King Herod, this was the first-ever man-made port. Built to compete with Athens, it could fit over a hundred ships at a time. It made Caesarea one of the most important cities along the Mediterranean shore during the Roman period.

Masada will be the focus in Dec. 12. The fortress in the Judean Desert is one of the most popular places to visit in Israel. People from all faiths and walks of life visit this mountain even though there is no mention of it in the Bible.

The session will explore the reason for Masada’s popularity, and recount the final moments of the great revolt and the fall of Masada.

The Jan. 9 session visits Eilat, the Southern port to Asia, which has amazing nature, modern history, innovative farming, and great museums.

The series concludes on Jan. 23 with Haifa, the location of Mt Carmel, the Bahai, the Druze and so much more. The holy site for the Bahai, the world’s newest monotheistic faith, is in Haifa, and the tour will include a visit to meet the Bahai.

Registration is free and is available at bit.ly/ TourIsraelWithAIC. One may select one tour or all five, and all tours are at 8 a.m. Central.

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agenda Limmud New Orleans announced that there will be a “Food For Thought: Dinner with a Purpose” event in New Orleans in March. The evening will include 12 kosher dinners in 12 private homes, with 12 Limmud presenters and a maximum of 12 participants at each table. Planners and hosts are currently being recruited.

from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

briefing with University President Stuart Bell, an inside look at Bryant-Denny Stadium and a late night party on The Strip. Details and registration will be announced soon, but the Hillel website already has a priority registration form to express interest and receive updates.

Moishe House New Orleans will have a Paint and Sip Night, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m., with wine, painting on canvases and screening the new documentary, “Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed.” A $5 donation to the We Are campaign is suggested.

Chabad at Tulane will have a Homecoming Weekend Challah and Cocktails event, Nov. 12

The next News and the Jews at Touro Syna-

There will be a Kosher Day at Winn Dixie on Tchoupitoulas, Nov. 21 and Nov. 22, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Shir Chadash in Metairie will have a Nola Nights Musical Torah event, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Shir Chadash sukkah. All adults are welcome, as Meryl Zimmerman will lead Chabad of Louisiana is writing a Torah a jazzy musical exploration of the parsha. Regdedicated to health care heroes. The comple- istration is $10 to cover appetizers and drinks. tion is scheduled for Dec. 19, with details to be Gates of Prayer in Metairie will have a Live announced. from the Lot performance with the Quinn Touro Synagogue in New Orleans was one Steinberg Trio following services on Dec. 3. of 16 congregations in 2020 to receive a grant The next Jewish Medical Ethics program from the National Fund for Sacred Places, and the only Jewish congregation. The grant from Touro Synagogue in New Orleans will be of at least $125,000 will be the seed for an up- on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The ongoing coming capital campaign. Partners for Sacred series is designed for medical professionals, Places will work with the congregation on the but open to the community at large. project, and on Nov. 14 at 9:30 a.m. there will As part of the We Are Moishe House nabe an opportunity to meet Gianfranco Grande, tional fundraising campaign, Moishe House who will introduce his consulting team to the New Orleans will hold a Moishe Market thrift community. sale in the backyard, Nov. 14 from 2 to 5 p.m.

With everyone staying home because of Local artists will be there, along with live muCovid, the Jewish Federation of Greater New sic and baked goods. Donations of items can Orleans put together a series of virtual mis- be dropped off before the 14th. sions, visiting Jewish communities around On Nov. 19, Congregation New in Baton the world. Over the summer there were visits Rouge will have Naming Shabbat during to Copenhagen and Budapest, but a planned the 6 p.m. service at the Jefferson Highway Mission to India was postponed because location, for community members who either Covid spikes there made it difficult to orga- don’t have a Hebrew or Yiddish name, or who nize the program. The mission has been re- would like to change theirs. Others will affirm scheduled for Dec. 5 at 9:30 a.m. The mission their names in a ceremony during the service. is free and open to all. Zoom links will be sent The finalists for the joint congregation’s new to those who register. A virtual mission to name will also be revealed.

Bahrain is also being organized.

Chabad Uptown will have An Evening of Eruv expert Rabbi Stephen Belsky has been Inspiration, in honor of the 19th of Kislev, on consulting with the Metairie community on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. The gathering will be led by what it will take to make the eruv in the West native New Orleanian Rabbi Eliyohu Rivkin, Esplanade area kosher again, and repairs are who is now with Chabad of Northridge, Calif. being planned. Problems with the route along The Uptown New Orleans Community the levees has rendered the 10-year-old eruv Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be unsuitable for now. An eruv allows the carrying of items outside of homes on Shabbat or on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal holidays. A new eruv in Uptown was tempo- Church. rarily down following Hurricane Ida. The Jewish Composer Lecture Series at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans continues Hillel at the University of Alabama is holding its first-ever Jewish Alumni Weekend, for on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., with “Milk and Honey: The alumni of all eras. The weekend will be held Life and Music of Jerry Herman.” The event is in April 29 to May 1, and include campus tours, a person and livestreaming.

continued on page 43

agenda Tobiasse exhibit opening in Monroe “Textural Emergence,” a long-awaited exhibit of the art of Theo Tobiasse, will open at the Masur Museum in Monroe on Nov. 19.

Tobiasse is a French Jewish artist whose family was forced into hiding during the Nazi occupation of France. His works are influenced by surrealism, expressionism, and modern primitivism, and his paintings explore themes of mythology, Biblical stories, exile and his own past.

The exhibited works come from his later years and are part of the permanent collection at the Alexandria Museum of Art. B’nai Israel in Monroe is hosting the screening of “The Woman in Gold,” starring Helen Mirren, on Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Monroe Civic Center. The film depicts an Austrian woman’s journey to reclaim a family portrait seized during the Nazi occupation. After the film, there will be a discussion with Brian McGown and B’nai Israel member Ron Israel.

Other complementary programs planned for the exhibit include a Jewish film series, lectures on Jewish holidays and symbolism, and a presentation by the son of Holocaust survivors. Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh of B’nai Israel will lead a lecture tour in January.

The exhibit runs through Feb. 5.

ORT America planning centennial celebration weekend in New Orleans For an anniversary party, what better place than New Orleans? ORT America will celebrate its centennial with a celebratory mission to New Orleans, Jan. 16 to 18.

The weekend will include visits to the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, National World War II Museum, Whitney Plantation and Touro Synagogue. There will also be a l’chayim on Bourbon Street.

While the MSJE visit will be a major highlight of the trip, Tova Kantrowitz, ORT America director of communications, said the World War II Museum visit “is particularly significant for our organizations as survivors of the war were given a second chance after receiving ORT training at DP camps in Europe before coming to the U.S. to start new lives.”

There will also be a meeting with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and many other leaders in the local Jewish community, a lunch at Rimon in Tulane Hillel, and an optional service project.

The idea for the mission came from Austin Center in Chattanooga, a national board member who touts the Jewish history of the South.

The approximate per person cost, not including travel to New Orleans, is estimated around $1600.

ORT was founded in 1880 in Russia to teach Russian Jews essential trades and professions. Now in over 30 countries, ORT schools teach skills to empower people and strengthen communities, with high-level science and technology education, “bridging the gap between ability and opportunity.”

For more details and to register, visit www.ortamerica.org/new-orleans. Because of the uncertain times, there is a no-commitment pre-registration form available.

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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A New Hotel in a Threefoot Space New life for long-vacant Mississippi Jewish landmark A Jewish landmark that is the tallest building in eastern Mississippi has finally reopened its doors after languishing for years.

The Threefoot Hotel, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel, opened at the beginning of November after several years of renovations.

Ascent Hospitality Management of Georgia purchased the building “as is” in 2015 for $10,000 and committed to a renovation costing at least $14 million.

John Tampa of Ascent Hospitality said “We are proud to give the Threefoot new life as downtown Meridian’s cornerstone luxury hotel.”

They sought to preserve the building’s Art Deco style and position it as a throwback to the “Golden Age of Travel” while offering modern amenities. “Through the preservation and restoration, we have prioritized creating a property that serves the community as well as her visitors,” Tampa said.

Jeremy Campbell, area director of sales, said a major emphasis of the project is telling the story of Meridian. The Jewish community plays a large role in that story, he said, and

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

they are eager to tell it.

In the early 20th century, Meridian was the largest city in the state, with five rail lines and 44 daily trains.

Originally, the Threefoot was destined to be a Courtyard

by Marriott, but Campbell said that earlier this year, Marriott changed the designation, making it easier to tell a local story.

Tribute properties have much more flexibility to adapt to the historic nature of buildings, while Courtyards are more regimented and standardized.

“It allows us to tell our story, the story of the Threefoot building, the railroad history,” Campbell said.

The hotel has 110 regular rooms, 19 suites and two 14thfloor presidential suites with balconies. One meeting room is available.

The colorful exterior mosaic and terra cotta work were preserved in the renovation. The elevators feature the original etched brass doors, and the elevator lobby has its original marble wainscoting, flooring, mail chute and the original art deco light fixtures.

Even the sidewalk pavers are historic, original bricks from when the streets in the area were brick. They were excavated in recent road projects and preserved.

Campbell said they are working on using the mail chute to offer guests a chance to send a card down, where it will be postmarked by the hotel as a souvenir of the visit.

Two vestibules feature original 1929 Victorian era brass lanterns with frosted and cranberry glass accents. The directory from the building’s days housing offices is in the lobby and is being utilized as a fundraiser for the Threefoot Preservation Endowment for the Temple Theater. Former tenants, businesses and occupants can contribute at least $200 to the fund and have their name in the directory.

Tampa offered the premium space in the directory to the preservation group, which had just established its fund for the theater. The society announced on Oct. 7 that the first nomination for the directory is Samuel Abraham Threefoot.

The property includes two restaurants. At street level, 601 Local is casual upscale, with breakfast and dinner service.

A farm-to-table establishment, 601 Local will have a Southern progressive menu, emphasizing fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

A wall in 601 Local has a historical display about the building, the Threefoot family and their griocery business.

Located on the 11th floor roof, The Box Car offers small plates and a bar, with views of the city that most people in the city have never seen. Part of the nearby view is the Threefoot Brewing Company, which is unrelated to the hotel project.

For train enthusiasts, the Box Car offers a view of the entire railroad route through Meridian. The train heritage continues with numerous touches throughout the building, such as having the check-in desk behind a metalwork screen reminiscent of railroad ticket booths.

For history buffs, Meridian is also known as the Queen City.

While many assume it is because it is where Kelly Mitchell, Queen of the Gypsies, is buried, the city had that designation before her funeral.

community Mitchell, 47, died during childbirth in 1915 in west Alabama. About 20,000 Romani came to the funeral, and from one of the 14th floor suite balconies, one can see the entire story, from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where the funeral took place, to the entire procession route past the funeral home and up to Rose Hill Cemetery in the distance.

Campbell said the Threefoot is the final piece of a major downtown revitalization that has taken place over the last several years. A block away is the Art Deco touches in 601 Local Riley Center, which was developed in the old Marks-Rothenberg Building, another site with Jewish history.

The Threefoot Building was immortalized by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not as “a 15-story building on a three foot lot,” playing off the name of the family that developed it.

Abraham Dreyfus immigrated from Germany, and his name was transformed into Threefoot. He made shoes for the Confederacy, then he and his brothers arrived in Meridian to sell fine saddles and harnesses, then get into the wholesale grocery business. Later, the family went into the cotton brokerage business.

In 1890, Abraham’s two sons married into Meridian’s noted Rothenberg family, combining their grocery businesses.

In the 1920s, Sam Threefoot built what was Meridian’s only skyscraper, completing it in 1928 on the previous site of the Threefoot Brothers Wholesale Company. At the time, it was the tallest building in the state.

Campbell said the building cost $750,000, which would be the equivalent of just over $12 million today.

In the late 1920s, the Jewish community of Meridian numbered about

Views of Meridian from The Box Car November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

575 and the downtown was filled with Jewish names on buildings.

The Great Depression depressed the building’s occupancy rate. The building became a drain on the family’s finances, and the family lost the building.

It continued on as an office building, but suburban development in the 1960s and 1970s led to downtown’s decline and it became vacant.

In 1979 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006 there was a proposal to develop the building into a hotel, but it fell through during a change of city leadership. In 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

In 2013, a volunteer group called the Threefoot Preservation Society started meeting under the leadership of Amos Jones to try and stabilize the building in hopes it might attract a developer. At the time, there were “weeds, grass, debris of all kinds” on both sides of the building. Every month they would do basic restoration and preservation work.

Once renovations were underway for the hotel, Campbell said it was a challenge. “You have an old building that has sat vacant for 30 years.”

They retained as much of the historical details as possible and created “a showpiece.” He added, “this has been a long time coming, and to see it in its final stage is incredible.”

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New mikvah to open in Mobile For the first time in at least two generations, Mobile will have what many consider to be a cornerstone of Jewish life — a mikvah.

Chabad of Mobile is currently constructing a mikvah to serve the area, with plans for it to be open in the next couple of months.

Mobile was part of an online effort by Chabad emissaries to raise $1.5 million for the establishment of mikvahs in seven small communities that have not had access to a mikvah. In addition to Mobile, the Bring Mikvah Home campaign benefited Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan; Fargo, N.D.; Kelowna, British Columbia; Arcata, Calif.; and Salem, Ore. Mobile’s goal, the second smallest of the seven, was exceeded, raising just under $220,000.

Fundraising began at the end of January, and ground was broken in April.

Rabbi Yosef Goldwasser said many people have said that even though they won’t use the mikvah themselves, “they feel privileged to make it happen, because a community is not complete without one.”

Having a mikvah “brings an extra level of purity to the city, it’s a very spiritual thing,” and its presence allows for the observance of a more traditional life.

The Mobile mikvah will be used by women for ritual purity, not for conversions.

Typically, one visits a mikvah before getting married, and women visit it monthly for “family purity,” when marital relations are able to resume a week following menstruation.

While some have regarded that practice as archaic, there has been a renewed interest in the mikvah among non-Orthodox women as empowering, and giving attention to the reproductive cycle.

Traditionally, “mikvah is the cornerstone of Jewish family life,” Goldwasser said.

Goldwasser said some long-time Mobilians recall a mikvah at the Conti Street location of Ahavas Chesed, which, like most Conservative congregations in the region was considered Orthodox until the 1950s.

The congregation moved from Conti to Dauphin Street in 1956, then to its current location in 1990.

Currently, there are four mikvahs in Alabama. In Birmingham, they are at Chabad of Alabama, Knesseth Israel and Temple Beth-El. In Montgomery, there is one at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem. Chabad in Huntsville hopes to establish that community’s first mikvah before long.

There are plans to build a community mikvah in New Orleans that would adhere to the most traditional standards, but would be available for any purpose, including conversions.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

Summer camp scholarship applications now available Applications are now open for 2022 summer camp assistance in the region.

The Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant program, administered by the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, provides up to $1,500 for a Jewish child attending a Jewish not-for-profit sleepaway summer camp for the first time.

Jewish Children’s Regional Service, based in New Orleans and covering a seven-state region, has a new option in its popular need-based scholarship program.

The Incentive Grant, underwritten by the Goldring Family Foundation, is open to every Jewish child in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle who has never attended a not-for-profit Jewish sleepaway summer camp. It is not need-based.

Since 1999, this program has helped send 1,632 children to Jewish summer camps. Deadline for next summer is March 1, and more information is available at jefno.org under the Youth and Camping tab.

The Jewish Endowment Foundation also oversees the RoseMary and Saul Brooks Fund for Jewish Youth Engagement, which provides scholarship assistance to Jewish campers who are full-time residents of Louisiana but outside of a major metropolitan area, such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The rural Louisiana scholarships are for those entering grades one to 12, and the application deadline is March 1. Recipients can re-apply for future years.

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The roof of the new mikvah structure has been completed, and work is continuing on the interior.

When one visits the mikvah, nothing is to come between the person and the water — clothing, makeup or jewelry. Preparation rooms have a shower so one can properly prepare for the immersion.

There will be two preparation rooms with completely separate entrances to the mikvah, also ensuring that only a mikvah attendant would see someone.

The mikvah water has to come from a natural source, rather than a tap. Usually, mikvah water is collected from rain, which should not be a problem in Mobile. Modern mikvahs have filtration and disinfecting systems, and heaters. Many mikvah facilities are built to resemble day spas.

After giving the bathrobe to the attendant, the person going into the mikvah goes down the steps and submerges completely, as many as three times to be sure every part of the body has been touched by the water.

Goldwasser said as the building nears completion, there will likely be a small campaign for furnishings and to cover the first year of operations.

R

The longstanding JCRS summer camp scholarship program provides need-based award based on family circumstances. Last year, JCRS provided partial scholarship funding to over 300 campers.

This year, the JCRS is introducing a short form with a $250 grant, or the traditional longer application with the possibility of a larger amount, to be determined by the award committee on a case by case basis.

The JCRS scholarships are for those in third to 12th grades, residing in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas. Camps must be non-profit, and programs in Israel or other countries are not eligible.

The priority deadline for applications is Feb. 15, and the application process is done online at jcrs.org.

JCRS also does need-based college aid, special needs programs and a Chanukah gift program for children in challenging situations.

community Effort launched to bring Ninja playgrounds to communities near Gaza Spearheaded by Birmingham’s Michael Duvdevani, who grew up two miles from the border When conflict broke out yet again between Israel and Gaza, Birmingham’s Michael Duvdevani wanted to come up with something the community could do for Israel, “specifically for the kids living in the communities surrounding Gaza, in the moshavim and kibbutzim.”

In those areas, routinely bombarded by Hamas rockets fired randomly from Gaza, when a rocket is detected one has about 15 seconds to reach a shelter or safe space. Even in times without open conflict, there have been waves of balloon arsons, where incendiary devices are attached to balloons or kites and even made to look like children’s presents, to set fire to Israeli fields and communities.

Duvdevani, owner of Complete Feet, knows about the Gaza border communities, having grown up in one — Moshav Talmei Yosef, where his parents still live.

His brother also lives there with his three children, and “all my childhood friends live there with their families,” so doing something there “is close to my heart,” as “I know first-hand what their children have gone through.”

He is now spearheading an effort to raise funds and build a new type of playground in 50 border communities, “not like any regular playground,” but one which “will challenge the kids and really make a difference from a personal growth and believing in themselves… as they accomplish the challenges.”

Ninja Champion is a company established by two friends in Israel who wanted to develop a playground based on the “Ninja Warrior” competi- The Ninja Champion “Hurricane” playground

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

15

community

The Latest News… www.sjlmag.com

tion television show. They now manufacture the playgrounds in Bat-Yam, near Tel Aviv.

The playgrounds are designed to always have something new to do — a new challenge or task, or a previous best time to beat. Among the 17 challenges are fire rings, monkey bars, Olympic rings, a Solomon ladder, fly board, bungee grip, iron finger board and hanging cones.

After the conflict in Gaza this past May, where Hamas launched over 4,000 rockets into Israel, Ninja Champion offered to place their largest model, the “Hurricane,” in three communities near Gaza, to help the children living under the threat of rocket attack, both physically and emotionally.

In a Facebook post, they asked for community nominations, and within 24 hours there were 43,000 views and 50 communities nominated. According to the company, parents “commented with emotional and painful messages that revealed their children’s suffering, and their feelings of helplessness in coping with the terrible effects of war on their children.

Parents shared their stories of severe emotional distress, fears of leaving the house, using the toilet alone, of children sleeping in bed with their parents at night, and of their kids need for psychiatric drugs.”

They decided to try and install the “Hurricane” in all 50 communities.

Duvdevani, who also saw the Facebook post, contacted the company and agreed with the plan, then set out to raise funds for the project.

The kids, he said, “suffer from PTSD symptoms” from having rockets fired at them all the time. Not only will these playgrounds, which are different from any they are used to, help build their confidence, they will “lower the stress and tension they experience on a daily basis.”

He noted that current teenagers in those areas have lived under this threat their entire lives.

Duvdevani said that because this is a grass-roots fundraiser, there is no overhead and everything raised goes directly into funding the playgrounds, supporting the communities and an Israeli start-up company.

The company installs the playground in a central location in each community.

“They’re really not that expensive,” Duvdevani said. The “Hurricane” generally sells for about $4,600, but the company is making the 50 playgrounds available, completely installed, for about $3,500 each, making the total project about $175,000.

Thus far, seven of the 50 playgrounds have been installed, and there has been “great feedback from the moshavim and kibbutzim where we have installed them,” Duvdevani said.

The situation there was not always as stressful. In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza completely, uprooting a couple of Israel communities and leaving behind the communities’ economic infrastructure for the Palestinians to use. Instead, the Palestinians demolished it.

The next year, Hamas forcibly took over Gaza and began hostilities toward Israel, including digging “terror tunnels” under the border with the idea of abducting Israelis. Faced with a regime in Gaza that is sworn to the elimination of Israel, Israel had to reinforce the border and limit the importation of materials that could be used to further hostilities. Egypt similarly closed its border with Gaza in an even more restrictive manner.

It is far different from when Duvdevani was growing up there. “The fence between us and Gaza was one that looked more like the fence in your backyard,” including the occasional holes, he said. “When I was young, we’d go to Gaza, to the markets, to the beach” and visit friends.

Today, Gaza is “the most secure border in the country… it’s unbelievable.”

Nevertheless, he is still in touch with Gazans who used to work at the moshav, calling them when there are hostilities to make sure they are safe.

“Regardless of our national conflicts, we still have really good and really close interpersonal relations with individuals.”

To participate, contact Duvdevani at michael@completefeetusa.com.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

community >> Commentary

continued from page 3

rors of what happened alongside World War II and takes that mantle for a much lesser cause.

But they don’t see this as a much lesser cause, they see it as a societal disaster, the first steps on the road to totalitarianism and the crushing of dissent. The comparison isn’t to the concentration camps, but to the earlier days of the Nazi regime as increasingly restrictive laws were put into place. It is a reaction that isn’t far removed from those who wondered if the Trump years were 1938 all over again.

Nevertheless, the idea that we could be on the road to rounding up and executing those who refuse a lifesaving vaccine is beyond ludicrous.

And even the freedom argument is a stretch. There is no such thing as absolute freedom in a society, for that would be anarchy. We are in a pandemic that has killed millions in the world, the best defense currently is a vaccine which has been scrutinized heavily and billions of doses administered. Some can’t receive it and rely on the rest of us to build a herd immunity to make Covid go away. Yes, there is a “needs of the many” aspect to it, but that doesn’t make it Marxist or totalitarian.

Why can’t I drive 110 miles an hour on the left side of the road? What are you worried about, since you have airbags and seatbelts that you say are safe and effective.

You can’t smoke in public because of the health effects on others. You may claim the freedom to park where you want, but unless you have the proper tag, you’ll get a ticket if it’s in one of the spaces near the door.

Of course, using the Holocaust for political activism is nothing new.

The Middle Passage of slave ships going from Africa to the Americas is also often referred to as the Black Holocaust.

For decades, anti-abortion activists have referred to the procedure as America’s Holocaust. One of the more bizarre scenes along those lines played out in a University of Alabama at Huntsville lecture hall in the mid-1990s where a prominent Holocaust denier was holding forth, and a couple dressed in what looked like concentration camp uniforms sat quietly in the front row. When the time for questions came, one of them stood up, revealing a huge yellow star on the back of the uniform — with the drawing of a fetus inside it. He praised the denier for his bravery to speak unpopular views and hoped he would have the same courage in his anti-abortion crusade.

It is beyond amusing to see many anti-abortion activists suddenly advocate the idea of “my body, my choice” when it comes to the Covid vaccination. Keep the government out of your arm? Okay, sure…

When part of Holocaust education is to apply the lessons of that time and make them more universal, one might expect comparisons to be made, no matter how much we remind people that it was a unique event in history.

Finding true, blatant antisemitism in some quarters of the anti-vax movement isn’t difficult. After all, if there’s a conspiracy to be had, it’s only a matter of time before the Jews are brought into it. One such conspiracy talks about Jews getting rich off the vaccines, or putting things into the vaccines to control everyone else. Or the Jews were behind the shutdowns. Or Israel has some nefarious role. Or the virus is a hoax that is being perpetrated by the Jews, or it’s real and being spread by the Jews. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were people urging others to cough on Jews, to spread the virus, or expressing the hope that more Israelis would get Covid.

Whether or not comparing vaccine or mask mandates to Nazi Germany is antisemitic, the fact remains that it is an idiotic thing to say, and it is highly offensive.

To anyone thinking of doing so: Just don’t.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

17

Chabad on Campus

Right, Chabad at Tulane held a Freshman Challah Social, which included a challah making class.

Below, on Oct. 17, Chabad at the University of Alabama held a Girls Night Out, with warm tea and tie-dyeing.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

community Miraculous encounter leads to novel about sisters murdered in Holocaust Retired Mississippi teacher discusses life-changing educational project Sometimes, writing an article can be life-changing for a journalist.

Joy Lucius of Tupelo said two girls who were murdered in the Holocaust unexpectedly “changed my life and they’ll change yours.” Their story is detailed in her new book, “Rose and Odette,” which was published this summer by the American Family Association, where she is a staff writer.

The book is the first in a planned series, “Priceless Pennies,” which ties in to how this odyssey began.

Two years ago, Lucius went to Memphis to interview Diane McNeil, who heads the Unknown Child Foundation. The foundation grew from an effort by two students at Horn Lake Middle School in Mississippi to teach their middle school students about the magnitude of the Holocaust by collecting 1.5 million pennies, to represent the Jewish children who were murdered by the Nazis.

The Pennies Project, which was successful, grew into plans for a children’s Holocaust memorial.

In preparing for the interview, Lucius went through photos of child victims of the Holocaust, and one photo in particular struck her — that of sisters Rose and Odette Aboulafia, who were deported from Paris, where the family had immigrated to from Turkey, and executed at Auschwitz. “I couldn’t let go of it, because it reminded me of my sister and myself,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine a life without my sister.”

She printed it out and kept it with her, then later she took a tour of the Unknown Child exhibit at the Desoto County Museum in Hernando.

McNeil said that part of the exhibit is a looped recording of about 80

to 100 names of children killed in the Holocaust. Rabbi Levi Klein from Chabad in Memphis and a student from one of the local Jewish schools did the recording after consulting with Yad Vashem.

Toward the end of the tour, they realized that the tape had not been playing.

“Just as they were apologizing because the sound wasn’t working, the soundtrack came on,” Lucius said — and the first two names that came over were Rose Aboulafia and Odette Aboulafia.

“I screamed, stop, stop!” she said.

“We didn’t know what was happening,” McNeil said, until Lucius rifled through her purse and brought out the picture that she had been carrying.

“Out of 1.5 million children, there were only two names I heard that day, and they were the names of the two Sephardic Jewish girls from Paris,” Lucius said.

She knew then that she had to learn more about the family. While she

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life 19

community

Southern Jewish Life Thanks, Giving

At Southern Jewish Life magazine, we are grateful for a lot — especially during this Thanksgiving season.

Thanks to advertising revenue, donor contributions and our determination to sustain the Deep South’s only nationally-honored Jewish publication, we continue to not only weather the pandemic but also to grow.

Through our online and print publications, we‘ve expanded our coverage of Jewish personalities, trends and happenings in our four state region.

We also continue to unite Jewish communities and connect Jewish readers throughout the Deep South by sending our monthly print magazine free to every known Jewish household in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and NW Florida.

More than 150 donors have made financial contributions this past year ranging from $18 to $1800.

So if you’d like to say THANKS to Southern Jewish Life for GIVING you quality independent Jewish journalism that enriches Jewish life throughout our region, please consider becoming a Southern Jewish Life donor.

Just send a check to Southern Jewish Life, P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213, or go to https://sjlmag.com/contribute/ (Donations to Southern Jewish Life are not tax-deductible.)

As we say, “More Dollars=More Pages=More Stories.”

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

had previously dismissed the idea of writing a book about them, the museum encounter “was a clear sign from God. Right then, I knew I had to write this book.”

The young-adult novel echoes Lucius’ own journey, giving the Aboulafia sisters’ story through current-day fictional sisters in a small Southern town who have a school project on the Holocaust. Their research changes their lives, and those of the previously undocumented Aboulafia survivors.

During her research, Lucius found that the sisters had two older brothers who were smuggled out of Paris in the bottom of a garbage truck.

Both survived the war and moved back to the area, and there are six known living survivors of that family.

Though she had been a teacher for 23 years, she said it was “humbling” to realize how much she did not know about the Holocaust.

She is now working on the next book, about two boys, and also researching and writing about children who were on the MS St. Louis, the ill-fated 1939 voyage of 937 passengers, almost all of them Jewish refugees, who were refused entry into Cuba, the United States and Canada, and were forced to return to Europe. Of them, 254 were killed in the Holocaust.

Meanwhile, the Unknown Child Foundation is continuing to work on plans to establish its memorial on the grounds of the Circle G Ranch, which is best known as Elvis Presley’s honeymoon retreat. McNeil said this is part of the growing acknowledgement of and respect for Elvis’ Jewish ancestry.

Lucius said “as a retired school teacher from Mississippi and as a Christian, I’m just honored that God has given me another assignment in this stage of my life.”

Her goal is to help “the next generation of Americans know that we have to remember, we cannot forget, or there will be more stories and more little girls who never got the chance to grow up and live happy, productive lives.”

According to a release from the American Family Association leadership, “These two little French girls were so important to God that He miraculously introduced them to a retired Mississippi schoolteacher, a grandmother who lives a world and a lifetime away. Rose and Odette mattered to God, they matter to me, and I pray they will matter to you.”

>> Hispanic

continued from page 6

ty to resources and her hands-on reporting style delivers information to the grassroots segment of the community.”

Mayra Pineda is president and CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, which “has worked tirelessly, not only through Covid-19, but also Hurricane Ida by providing critical first hand information to its membership and the community. They have advocated and represented before state and local authorities, and shared important resources to assist the business community rebound from the impact of Ida.” Lisa María Rhodes is founder and executive director of ALAS, which “have been tirelessly fundraising to provide undocumented families with economic relief since they’re ineligible for FEMA or other federal funding.”

Alfredo Salazar of Unión Migrante has been “collecting and distributing funds and resources to undocumented families.”

Fr. Sergio Serrano, OP, director of the Hispanic Apostolate and his crew of volunteers “helped the community by providing food, water and support. In addition, this crew is offered help to individuals in need of help to remove or lift damaged items from their house.”

Rafael and Claudia Shabetai, producers of “Suplemento,” a weekly cultural and news radio show, “have used their time on air to actively share information from all sources and featured important interviews.”

Sabina Trejo, organizer of the Seafood Workers’ Alliance/NOWCRJ, “has been on the ground in Houma helping folks rebuild and access resources.”

An Official Publication of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans

THE

DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by Southern Jewish Life belong solely to the publisher. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of any other person; or the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, its constituent and beneficiary agencies, or any other entity.

JEWISH NEWSLETTER November 2021 | Kislev 5782

Vol. XVI No. 5

We can’t wait to see you.

Tha nk yo u !

Because of YOU, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans celebrated another successful year by raising over $2.6 million through the 2021 Jewish Federation Annual Campaign to support the strength and longevity of our Jewish community—an increase over last year’s Campaign.

Because of YOU, over 1,200 donors joined in support to the Federation you love.

Because of YOU, under the steadfast leadership of Campaign Co-Chairs Mara Force and Josh Rubenstein, our campaign volunteers were able to connect, engage and bring Federation’s work to life.

Because of YOU, our community partners will receive substantial funding to fulfill their missions.

Because of YOU and during these uncertain times, Federation’s mission to secure a safe and thriving New Orleans Jewish community for future generations is still just as important today as it has always been.

Thank you. We hope you’ll join us to applaud our community on December 8 at our Annual Celebration – invitations will drop this month.

November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

21

Sherry & Alan Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families Announces Community Grant Program Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and grant requests may be fulfilled up to $2,000 A 2020 Pew study notes that over 60% of marriages in the Jewish community since 2010 are interfaith marriages - and that diversity in the Jewish community is increasing year by year. The Sherry & Alan Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families is pleased to announce the creation of a groundbreaking Interfaith Programming Grant Program, designed to empower community organizations by facilitating brand new programming and outreach initiatives for interfaith households.

These micro-grants - $2,000 yearly maximum - create opportunities for synagogues and other faith-based organizations to identify and invest in new experiences that connect interfaith individuals, couples, families, and children to one another and to their faith communities.

Funding must be used for new programming targeting the interfaith community, and may be used for a single event or ongoing programs. Funding is open to Jewish and non-Jewish organizations.

“With ongoing thanks to Sherry and Alan Leventhal for their generosity, we are delighted to announce the Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families micro-grants,” said Leventhal Center Co-Chairs, Teri Hunter and Alex Gershanik, in a joint statement with Arnie Fielkow, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. “These grants of up to $2,000 per year will offer opportunities for synagogues and other organizations to further the impact and reach of the work of the Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families. For those who already are creating intentional space for programming and connection for interfaith couples, individuals, families, and children, we hope that these grants will be an inspiration to continue to do so in ever deepening and impactful ways. For those who are not yet providing such experiences, we hope that these grants will be a catalyst to do so. We are excited to offer these grants as a means to identify and invest in new experiences that help interfaith families connect to each other and to their community.”

We invite any organization in the greater New Orleans community to apply for funding as outlined in the application, which is available on the Federation homepage at www.jewishnola.com. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and reviewed monthly.

Contact Erica Golden, Leventhal Center Executive Director, at erica@jewishnola.com with questions or for more information.

Winter Holiday (Zony) Mash Up: Blending Winter Traditions Join the Leventhal Center for Interfaith Families’ Winter Holiday Mash Up on November 14 at Zony Mash Beer Project (3940 Thalia St, New Orleans).

Swing by at 6:45 p.m. to schmooze, grab a beer (or Zony Pop seltzer) on us, and join our panel discussion beginning at 7:00 p.m. Guided by the stories of local interfaith households, you’ll hear how families of differing backgrounds bring their traditions together to create their own meaningful holidays every year.

Please note, all participants are required to have proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID PCR test results dated within 72 hours of this event.

Register at jewishnola.com/wintermashup.

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November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans wraps program to feed New Orleans’ frontline workers The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans recently completed four additional weeks of the Greater New Orleans Jewish Community Healthcare Workers Take Home Meal Program, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.

This program served staff in COVID units at New Orleans East Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and Ochsner Health System. This program also supported small Jewish businesses in our community in a way that reflects our Jewish values - a reflection of our commitment to tikkun olam (repairing the world). Three local kosher restaurants and caterers – Kosher Cajun, Rimon at Tulane Hillel, and Dvash Catering – provided healthy, delicious meals for the three hospital campuses each week. Thank you to our anonymous donor, catering partners, and incredible community volunteers.

JNOLA sets sail with “Not To Be Missed” On Saturday, November 6 from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m., join JNOLA to toast to achievements, birthdays, and well, everything we all missed over the past eighteen months.

Board the Riverboat starting at 6:00 p.m. (with a 7:00 p.m. departure) dressed for whatever event you want to celebrate. Did you have a birthday party planned?

Wear what you would've worn! Miss your favorite band in concert? Rock that outfit! Had to elope? Show off your wedding dress or tux! Missing Mardi Gras? Wade through the cobwebs of your costume closet and throw on your wildest outfit! The evening will start with a tasty kosher-style dinner buffet and open bar followed by live music, all for only $25!

Purchase your tickets at www.eventbrite.com/e/not-to-be-missed-jnola-gala-tickets-189826725847.

Important notes: • Proof of vaccine is REQUIRED to attend this event. Masks must be worn unless you're eating, drinking, or outside on the deck.

• JNOLA and its events are for members of the Louisiana Jewish community between the ages of 21-39.

• There is limited space so tickets are first come, first serve.

JNOLA is proud to partner with the New Orleans Children's Health Project, a partner of Crescent Care, for a food and gift card drive benefiting patients and their families who struggle with issues such as chronic health conditions, family separation, and economic instability.

Help them by bringing one of the items below to the Gala or donate an amount that JNOLA will put on a Visa gift card to give them.

"Not to be Missed" is presented by Hancock Whitney, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, and Metairie Bank. Questions? Contact JNOLA Director, Tana Velen, at tana@jewishnola.com. JNOLA is generously sponsored by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust.

November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

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Join us next summer in Israel - and the UAE The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans is excited to announce a unique mission to Israel from July 12-18, 2022, with the opportunity to also to add on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from July 18-22.

By expanding our traditional cultural exchange approach to include a multi-sector trade and business development mission, the 2022 Federation Mission is designed to strengthen Louisiana’s economic ties with Israel by helping to increase exports to the country, build strategic relationships, and explore new business opportunities. Costing information and registration will be available later this month.

The trade mission includes an all-star lineup of sponsors including Jones Walker, LLP as the Title Sponsor, Ochsner Health, NFP, the New Orleans Business Alliance, Tulane University, GNO, Inc., Louisiana Economic Development, and the World Trade Center New Orleans.

The mission features an Explore Israel track open to the entire Louisiana Jewish community, as well as four industry tracks in sectors for which Israel is among the world leaders in business and innovation (participants may only register for one track):

• • • • •

Explore Israel Medicine/Biotechnology/ Healthcare Energy/Sustainability Transportation/Port/Maritime Cybersecurity/Innovation

The mission includes visits to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and industry specific places of interest for each of the four business tracks.

The delegation is expected to include approximately 200 business, community, education and government leaders.

Participants will also enjoy an exclusive opportunity to take part in the Opening Ceremonies of the Maccabiah Games, the third largest sporting event in the world.

Registration will open this month at louisianatoisrael.com. Questions? Contact Aaron Bloch at aaron@jewishnola.com for information about the business and innovations tracks, and Sherri Tarr at sherritarr@jewishnola.com for information about the Explore Israel track.

24 November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

Jewish Endowment Foundation Prepare Now for Potential Tax Law Changes Fund trusts with appreciated assets If you are like most people, you give to charity because you want to make an impact on the world or to support a cause, but how much Calculate the tax deduction based on full value and pay no and when you give is typically a financial decision. With factors such tax on the long-term capital gain when funding the trust as Covid-19, Hurricane Ida and proposed tax law changes, it is not too Re-visit the CARES Act of 2020 early to start preparing for next year’s tax return.

Taking the standard deduction — Receive an above-theOf course, with Congress challenged to pass a bill, there are still line reduction of income for gifts to charity up to $300 for many unknowns with any tax or economic reforms. Regardless of what individuals and $600 for partners. the future holds, you should review your current tax strategy to make Itemizing deductions — This year, you may still take an sure you take advantage of existing planning opportunities: unlimited deduction of cash gifts to charity up to 100% of Harvest Long-term Capital Gains Adjusted Gross Income. Prior law limited deducting cash Realize some and donate some to supplement or establish gifts to charity up to 60% of AGI (with carryovers). a donor advised fund at JEF The Jewish Endowment Foundation staff can help you maximize Donate securities for an immediate tax deduction and your gift to our Jewish community, but we do urge you to meet with avoid taxes on long-term capital gains your professional advisors to review your investment portfolio and discuss how charitable giving can take your holistic financial plan to the Evaluate the use of a Trust next level.

Consider Charitable Remainder or Lead Trusts which are For more information, contact Bobby Garon (bobby@jefno.org) or Debbie great charitable tools for succession planning Berins (debbie@jefno.org) at (504) 524-4559.

Tulane Hillel Welcome Back Bagel Brunch After the successful start to the school year in August, students once again found themselves leaving the University and New Orleans due to Hurricane Ida. Upon their return, members of Tulane Hillel’s Tulane Jewish Leaders program wanted to share their return to campus with friends and classmates in a warm, welcoming environment.

during this challenging semester.” Students were excited to reunite and schmooze with friends, share with each other where their hurricane travel stories, and many expressed how excited they were to be back on campus and in the city.

To stay up to date with all things Tulane Hillel, visit us online at The Tulane Hillel team came together with student leaders to tulanehillel.org, like our page at facebook.com/tuhillel, and follow us re-welcome their peers back to the city. And, what a better way to say on instagram @tuhillel. “welcome back” than with a bagel brunch?

More than 205 students came by for delicious bagels and matzah ball soup (or Jewish penicillin) catered by Rimon.

Because Hurricane Ida created so much disarray in campus life, especially after the uncertainty of the last 18+ months, many students were in search of comfort while missing home after displacement, dealing with stress, or simply in need of laughter and a good meal. Attendees either grabbed a bagel and headed straight on to class, or ate on the Mintz Center balcony, hung out with friends, and enjoyed the beautiful fall New Orleans weather!

Junior and TJL member Hailey Gersh said that “coming to the bagel brunch gave me a sense of home I really needed November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

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Jewish Community Center Learn Something New in Our Adult Classes Our adult classes are back in person and filling quickly. At the Uptown JCC, art students are enjoying Introduction to Painting in Acrylics on Wednesday nights with instructor Miriam Lilje. The next session, which is open to new and returning students, starts after Thanksgiving.

es are designed to appeal to both beginning and experienced students.

Learn to Play Mah Jongg has been so popular we’ve added a November session in Metairie and have already started filling Uptown’s December class. Meeting six times over two weeks, this fun class is perfect for mah jongg Two brand new art classes will begin in early beginners or those needing a quick refresher.

November: Introduction to Oil Painting and All of these classes are open to JCC members Introduction to Abstract Painting. Taught by and non-members. Details and registration local artist Rebecca Birtel Madura, these class- links are available at nojcc.org/adultclasses.

Celebrate Chanukah at the JCC Come celebrate Chanukah at the JCC with holiday treats and a live concert by The Maccabeats! Popular with all ages, The Maccabeats are a premier a cappella group and YouTube sensation known for their beautiful harmonies, catchy rhythms, and creative lyrics and videos.

We are thrilled to have them return to the Uptown JCC on Sunday, Nov. 28 for this fun, family-friendly celebration out back on Bart Field. Beginning at 2 p.m., this event is free and open to the community, but advance registration is required. Proof of vaccination is required for all guests ages 12 and older. Register at nojcc.org.

Special thanks to the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Greater New Orleans, the

Bringing Change Through Food A film about hope, synergy and mouthwatering fare, “Breaking Bread” follows the A-Sham Arabic Food Festival in Haifa, which was founded by the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s Master Chef as part of her quest to make social change through food. At the festival, Jewish and Arab Israeli chefs collaborate on mouth-watering dishes, working together to transform traditional recipes. Celebrating their unique cultural heritages and their common love of cooking, the chefs prove that there is no room for religion and politics in the kitchen.

Join us at 2 or 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16 for “Breaking Bread,” which was declared “an award-winning love letter to the food of the Middle East,” by The Jewish Chronicle. As part of the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series, this event is free and open to the community. Advance registration, masks and proof of vaccination are required. Reserve your seat at nojcc.org/culturalarts.

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November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

Spring 2021 Jewish Cultural Arts Series

Franco Family Fund and the Feil Family Foundation for sponsoring the Chanukah celebration, and to Cathy and Morris Bart for their A celebration of Jewish authors, music and continued support of Jewish programming. films, the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series returns to the JCC with an outstanding and diverse lineup. Details are available at nojcc.org/culturalarts.

January 13 The documentary “Holy Silence” looks at the Vatican’s reaction to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the years leading up to World War II. Father Buddy Noel, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, will provide commentary.

February 3 and 10 The Israeli television series “The New Jew!” explores American Judaism with the help of comedian and actor Guri Alfi.

March 10 Jake Cohen shares his New York Times bestselling cookbook, “jew-ish Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch.”

April 7 Shira Haas won Best Supporting Actress for “Asia,” the story of a rebellious teen dealing with a progressive illness and a fraught relationship with her free-spirited mother. This poignant drama also claimed Ophir Awards for Best Film and Best Actress.

May 12 Winner of four Ophir Awards, “Here We Are” is a tender drama about a protective father’s road trip with his autistic son, Uri, and the anguish of separation both feel as they prepare for Uri to move out of his father’s home and into a specialized facility.

Jewish Family Service All Jews are responsible for each other

Mental Health Professionals: Don’t miss our upcoming CEUs!

Kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh Our Friends of JFS campaign provides life-saving support for our community’s most vulnerable members. Crisis intervention, emergency financial support, long-term holistic care, and so much more are made possible through this campaign and kind donors like yourself.

Essential services are rendered through our Financial Resource Center, Counseling, and Case Management programs. These services stave off homelessness, untreated mental illness, neglect, and other negative outcomes that result from gaps in institutional safety net programs.

Remarkable transformations made possible through YOUR generosity Donnie* spent his youth shuttled between foster homes.

Often, he felt alone, abandoned, and unloved. His depression and anxiety went long untreated. At 22, he was homeless, unemployed, and wondering what his life was worth. Our Case Management and Counseling programs showed him that he was invaluable. By ensuring Donnie a stream of income, health care, and a stable living situation, our team was able to address his anxiety and depression through counseling.

November 12 Perfectionism, Shame and Self-Compassion with Lauren Miller, DSW, LCSW

The content of this presentation will root itself in self-compassion theory and building resilience for the client through the specific antidote to perfectionism — a fear and shame-based human experience. This CEU will allow individuals to walk away with tangible skills to increase self-compassion and ultimately increase resilience to shame and fear-based experiences that show through perfectionistic characteristics. Approved for 3 General/Clinical hours

by LCA & LABSWE

Donnie’s case manager sought to meet more than just his basic necessities but to help him live a full and enriched life. “JFS not only helped me find a place I could afford to live, but they helped me find a degree of peace. They guided me toward hope.” *pseudonyms to protect client privacy

Support our Friends of JFS Campaign by: Mail: 3300 W. Esplanade Ave. S., Suite 603 Metairie, LA 70002 Note “FOJFS” in the memo Online: jfsneworleans.org/donate

Phone: (504) 831-8475

Donating your vehicle to JFS is a convenient and easy way to support our programs and services, earn a tax deduction for yourself, and get rid of that old car. For more information, visit jfsneworleans.org/vehicle-donate

December 10 Parenting Anxious Children Using the SPACE Program with Mark Schexnaildre, Ph.D.

Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is a new evidence-based treatment for childhood anxiety disorders.

It involves parenting skills aimed at increasing support and decreasing accommodation. Approved for 3 Diagnosis/Clinical hours

by LCA & LABSWE. November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

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Jewish Community Day School A Special Havdalah Guest

By Rabbi Michael Cohen

We conclude each Monday morning meeting with Havdalah, a ceremony designed to say goodbye to Shabbat and welcome in a new week. A key element of the service are the bisamim — or spices — that we smell. Traditional spices include cinnamon or cloves with their sweet scents evoking a sweet new week. In the spirit of that tradition, our JCDS students are making their own scent jars to smell on Monday mornings while we say Havdalah. With a

JCDS Art Teacher Abby Wetsman creates her own line of sensory kits for children. Shown here is her Spice Box Kit which contains a mortar and pestle, bamboo plate, and a selection of botanicals used to create a customized spice blend for Havdalah.

Amanda Gorman Stands Up To Bullying

choice of 20 different essential oils, our students get a chance to create a scent that inspires the emotions they want to feel when they are starting a new week.

On Oct. 6, my class and I watched a webinar for the national No Place for Hate Kick-Off Event. No Place For Hate is a program led by the ADL to stop hate in To help students schools. A few different think through this ADL leaders spoke at process, we invited perthe Kick-Off. Amanda fumer Kathleen Currie Gorman, the poet who to speak during Tefilah Kathleen Currie performed her poem at on a recent Wednesday.

Joe Biden’s inauguraThe founder of her own perfume company and tion, was the main speaker. She talked about an aromatherapist, Ms. Currie gave an overview her new book, “Change Sings.” on how you can use essential oils to encourage a To prepare for the Kick-Off, students from certain mood and mindset. Lavender is great for calming down while lemongrass is wonderful for across the whole country wrote down queswaking up. Sandalwood is calming and ground- tions we had for Amanda Gorman. We were ing while rose is warming and satisfying. She told Amanda Gorman was going to answer helped students imagine how they could com- questions from students at the Kick-Off. Then bine different oils to create a scent that channels ADL chose a few questions, and mine was one of the ones chosen. how they would like to start a new week.

During the hurricane break, I Zoomed with Going all the way back to the incense that someone from ADL to record me asking it. was burned in the Temple, Judaism has long acknowledged the unique power smell has My question was: “Why did you choose to in channeling our memories and emotions. name your poem ‘The Hill We Climb’?” She Someday far in the future, JCDS students will said that when she was looking for a name, catch a whiff of something in the air that re- she came across a part of her poem that had minds them of their scent jar, and they will be the phrase “the hill we climb” in it, and she transported back to our JCDS Havdalah and liked the idea of using that as the name of the the feeling of starting a new week in this place poem. It was very exciting to watch her answer my question in front of all of the No Place for that means so much to them.

Hate Schools in the country.

Agamographs Create A Different Perspective Fifth and sixth graders in Ms. Eliza’s (Kase) class just finished “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio. The book is about a boy named Auggie who was born with a craniofacial abnormality. The 5/6 theme this year is “Empathy,” so reading “Wonder” gave students a chance to learn more about what it might be like to have a craniofacial disorder like Auggie’s.

-Benny, 5th Grade

narrators may experience (and tell) the exact same story. Later this year, Ms. Eliza’s students will continue to explore this idea when they pair up to write the same stories from different characters’ perspectives.

After finishing “Wonder,” fifth and sixth graders created Agamographs, images that look different, depending on the angle from which they are viewed. Each stu“Wonder” is told through several points of view, dent’s Agamograph portrayed two different characters including Auggie’s, his sister’s, and his classmates’. from “Wonder.” This was a fun way for the students to This allowed students to see how differently various continue to play with perspectives, literally.

Students were also thrilled to learn that the term “Agamograph” is derived from the name of Israeli artist Yaacov Agam!

Student Agamographs 28

November 2021 • The Jewish Newsletter

JCDS Graduate Max Vizelberg, and wife Avital, received a special gift in the mail.

Our Hebrew Who Dat Tees traveled all the way from New Orleans to New York City.

community Life insights of a soccer legend

Growing up in 1950s-60s Birmingham propelled Preston Goldfarb forward

By Richard Friedman In smaller Southern Jewish communities such as Birmingham, there is a sense that longtime Jewish residents know one another.

That’s true in many cases — but not all.

Yes, we may know one another, but we don’t always know about one another, which is the main thing that makes Preston Goldfarb’s new book, “Tenacity of Purpose,” so interesting to read.

Subtitled “Coach Preston Goldfarb’s Journey through life, loves and soccer,” this book is more than an autobiography. It’s a compendium of insights from a guy who is still embracing new challenges as he turns 74 in December and who is continuing a seemingly never-ending trajectory that has touched countless lives around the world, both on and off the soccer field.

One recurring theme is Goldfarb’s pride in his Judaism, a commitment forged through the crucible of encountering antisemitism, particularly while growing up in Birmingham in the 1950s and 60s, and “how it propelled me to go forward.” He details several powerful and transformative incidents.

The book also is the story of how a young man from Birmingham, whose first sports love was basketball, gravitated toward soccer with some colorful encounters along the way, including actually enjoying his military service and interviewing for the CIA. Over time, Goldfarb’s name would become locally, nationally and

internationally synonymous with soccer.

He mainly built his legacy as head coach of Birmingham-Southern College’s soccer team for decades, but also for leading the U.S. men’s team to unprecedented backto-back gold medals in the Maccabiah Games, a worldwide Jewish athletic competition held in Israel every four years.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Goldfarb’s book, like his approach to soccer, is straightforward, even blunt at times. Over and over, he emphasizes his core philosophy: “Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread with a glass of milk.”

That philosophy of just sticking to the basics with nothing fancy is reflected throughout his book. He is direct, unvarnished at times and seems to cut to the chase in every situation he encounters.

“Tenacity of Purpose” also contains a substantial amount of “soccer talk” — which might not be familiar to those who aren’t attuned to the

Where do babies come from?

Babies come from the swamp!

Tell her the truth. Babies come from Touro.

Whether you are thinking about starting a family or looking to add to it, Touro is here to deliver. Our team of OB/GYNs, midwives, and nurses will partner with you to create a personalized care plan that best fits you and your family. The Family Birthing Center at Touro has welcomed generations of New Orleanians and is proud to welcome the newest member of your krewe.

Learn more at touro.com/fbc

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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community

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

intricacies of the sport. However, he explains them in such a way that you not only get a sense of the dynamics of his strategy, but also the overall picture of what he is trying to achieve, particularly in motivating his players to buy into what Goldfarb calls “his system.”

Like a coach, as an author he never loses sight of his mission: to interest the reader in his own personal story and to share the lessons he’s learned which, though varied, reflect an unyielding determination to prevail coupled with a willingness to embrace thoughtful risks.

A crowning achievement, which Goldfarb pridefully recounts, is his election to three Halls of Fame — Birmingham-Southern’s, where the soccer field is named in his honor; the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame and the Jewish Sports Heritage Hall of Fame.

Today, though retired from Birmingham-Southern, the energetic Goldfarb keeps on kicking.

Goldfarb clearly has built his life driven by the words with which he has entitled his book: “Tenacity of Purpose” — and in getting to know the long-time coach even better from reading his new autobiography, you can sense that for him the game is far from over.

“Tenacity of Purpose” is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

Touro Infirmary Foundation holding in-person events This year, the Touro Infirmary Foundation is returning to live events for the Judah Touro Society Award presentation and gala, but to limit the number of guests at one time in the age of Covid, the two events are being separated.

The award event will be held on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Audubon Tea Room, honoring Fr. Doug Brougher. The evening includes a seated dinner, music and the award presentation.

On Dec. 9, the gala will be done as a casino night, also at the Audubon Tea Room, with a silent auction and raffle prizes.

Both events benefit the new Breast Care Center at Touro, which was announced at the Pampered and Pink event on Oct. 14. The center will not only provide the region with a state-of-the-art facility with advanced treatment options for breast cancer, but will bring a Breast Cancer Center of Excellence to a community in need.

The Napoleon Imaging Center will be transformed into the new center, boosted by a $3 million campaign chaired by Phyllis Alltmont.

A New Orleans native, Brougher is being honored for almost 60 years of ministry. He studied in Rome as Vatican II was taking place, and was ordained in December 1962.

In New Orleans, he has served numerous congregations, most recently Good Shepherd Parish.

He began the chaplaincy program at Touro Infirmary 35 years ago, working solo for 15 years before being joined by a second chaplain. While working with those of all faiths, he also started the Eucharistic ministry program, which now has almost 20 volunteers serving the Eucharist to Catholic patients six days a week.

Tickets to the casino night start at $150, or $250 per couple. The awards gala is $200 per person.

Higher levels are available at $1,500 for the Judah Touro Society and $2,000 for the Bensadon Physicians Giving Society, which will include two tickets to each event.

This Week In Southern Jewish Life To Subscribe, send an email to subscribe@sjlmag.com

gift guide

chanukah

Let’s Get This Party Started IT’S NOT CALLED THE HOLIDAY OF LIGHTS FOR NOTHING. USE THOSE EIGHT DAYS FOR CHIC, SPARKLE AND SHINE.

Do Your Chanukah Shopping At…

Located in Congregation Gates of Prayer 4000 West Esplanade Ave • Metairie Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am - 1pm Sunday: 9:30am - noon

by appointment, sisterhood@gatesofprayer.org 1. WISH THEMOr A HAPPY HOLIDAY WITH CUSTOM CARDS

NOLA Gifts &Your Decor favorite shayna 5101 West Esplanade Ave. the cover on punim gets Metairie personalized cards.

504/407.3532 Cost varies according to quantity ordered. nolagiftsanddecoronline.com

At this locally-owned Rudman’s Gifts 741isVeterans boutique, there a wide Memorial Blvd Metairie range of New Orleansinspired home décor, 504/833.1286 rudmans.com gifts and accessories, Gates Gifts is an affiliate of ModernTribe Judaica as well asRudman’s Jolie Home is a gift, stationery, Orderscard made through this link benefit Gates of Prayer’s giftshop Paints. Alonginvitation with year-and greeting round items, there are https://moderntribe.com/pages/gatesofprayer shop with Judaica and unique gifts, and they are especially proud to offer locallly plenty of seasonal options, designed and produced Louisiana products. Individualized service is a specialty with including Chanukah merchandise, wording andasdesign assistancetowels. on anyThere time of personal correspondence, such these Chanukah is also plentyorofbusiness LSU, Tulane and their partnership with industry leaders guarantees a top-notch finished product. and Saints items for gift-giving, and New Orleans-themed masks, Customer service they’re famous for, plus free gift wrapping and at-cost UPS shipping including many local schools. Orders can be placed online for around country make opened selecting sendingbut any gift a pleasure. shipping. A secondthe location recently in and Destrehan, was temporarily closed following Hurricane Ida.

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2. REMEMBER: BLUE AND WHITE Four Alabama locations, six in Mississippi, and Shreveport ARE TRADITIONAL FOR CHANUKAH hollywoodfeed.com There’ll be no forgetting this holiday.

Price upon request.

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Hollywood Feed Mississippi Made Donut Dog Beds Limited Edition At Wellington & Co., their passion for what Fabrics — $84.99 - $149.99 the store’s warm The Mississippi Made Donut Bed gives they your do, pet combined the comfortwith of the and inviting atmosphere in the couch with the durability of high-quality, USA Made fabrics. The unique heart of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter enables donut shape allows your pet to snuggle, burrow, and curl up for the ultithem to provide visitors from around the world with a unique and inviting shopping mate rest — bedtime, naptime, and in between. Both the outer plush ring experience unlike any other. and the baffled inner pillow retain their fluff for many relaxing ZZZZs. The removable, machine washable cover allows for easy cleaning to keep your pet’s bed fresh.

3200 Severn Ave (@19th Street) Metairie 504-841-9145 HEALTH4NOLA.COM November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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chanukah gifts

Chateau Drugs and Gifts

3544 West Esplanade Avenue Metairie 504/889.2300 chateaudrugsrx.com Chateau Drugs and Gifts has been a pharmacy since 1977, but it also has a diverse selection of gifts, including art and handmade pottery, clothes (mostly sweaters, robes, pajamas), lamps, purses, small luggage, kids’ costumes, New Orleansthemed gifts from Jax Frey as well as Purple Pumpkin, Beatrice Ball, toys, bath and body products, wine charms, as well as much more.

Chateau’s Judaica gifts include menorahs and mezuzahs from Michael Aram, “Jewish History of New Orleans” books from Images of America, along with a nice selection of greeting cards for Chanukah and other holidays and B’nai Mitzvah celebrations, along with a few options for wrapping paper and gift bags.

Ritual + Shelter

2900 18th St So Homewood 205/388.8793 ritualshelter.com Visitors to a unique store in Homewood can find a different style of gifts for Chanukah, including local art, mirrors, pillows, candles, wellness products and even books about Kabballah.

“Our aesthetic is ethereal, mystical and spiritual,” said Jennifer Dorman, owner of Domicile and Ritual + Shelter. “About 95 percent of our artwork is local and we want to have products that fit well with our vibe.”

For Shabbat, with a Rosh Chodesh motif?

This large match bottle has images of the monthly lunar cycle.

This matte black metal trimmer is handy for keeping wicks at 1/4 of an inch, allowing candles to burn cleaner and longer. To minimize smoke & odor, our matching snuffer easily extinguishes a flame.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

chanukah gifts

Pebblehurst Golf and Putter Lab 2915 Linden Avenue Homewood 205/769.6867 pebblehurst.com

Ron Smith’s drive and “fore”-titude led to a dream realized when he opened the Pebblehurst Golf and Putter Lab brick-and-mortar store in Homewood this past April.

“I have loved golf ever since my grandad got me started when I was very young,” said Smith, who started off the business with a website in 2016. “Opening up a shop and helping others who love the game has been a lifelong dream of mine.”

It was earlier that year that Smith and his grandfather visited two iconic golf courses — Pinehurst in North Carolina and Pebble Beach in California.

“The name Pebblehurst came from combining those two course names,” said Smith. “My grandfather passed away a few years ago and I thought this would be a great tribute to him. I know he would be proud of this.”

With Pebblehurst, Smith said he wanted to do something no one had done before. The store carries more than a dozen brands exclusively to Alabama and is the only one in the U.S. to sell Fujimoto.

In addition to equipment, Pebblehurst offers a wide selection of clothes, accessories, some outdoor gear and even Theragon percussion therapy devices.

“We want Pebblehurst to be so much more than just a shop. It’s an experience,” said Smith. “And since putter is in our name, one of the things we specialize in is custom putter fittings and lessons. Putting is 40 percent of the game, yet it is something that you don’t see focused on very much at other places.

They also allow customers to test equipment and PGA-certified professional instructor Garrett Powell — who worked for more than five years at Shoal Creek Golf Course — gives lessons to interested golfers.

And for those who to play 18 holes at Pebble Beach, Pinehurst or other legendary courses, they need only to travel to the Homewood store.

“We have an advanced golf simulator and party room that can be rented by the hour,” said Smith. “It’s great to be able to play 18 holes in an hour, especially when it’s raining or you have limited time. It recreates every detail of these courses and it’s about as close to the real deal as it gets.”

M & M Jewelers

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Perfect for: Birthdays • Group Outings • B’nai Mitzvah • Team Building

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Riverchase Galleria Mall • Birmingham • 205-987-2222 Mon-Thu 10am-7pm • Fri-Sat 10am-8pm • Sun 11am-6pm November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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A

chanukah gifts ONE STOP

KOSHER FOOD SHOPPING Dine In — Take Out — Catering

Chanukah Is Early This Year!

Order Your Catering Now!

Hanna Antiques

2424 7th Avenue South Birmingham 205/323.6036 hannaantiques.com

-3pm Mon-Thu 10am-7pm • Fri & Sun 10am (Closed Saturday)

10 3519 Severn, Metairie (504) 888-20 www.koshercajun.com a?

Outside the New Orleans are ! you to er ord r you p shi l wil We

No supply chain issues — these antiques were already over here! Visit Hanna for 27,000 square feet of antiques and curiosities, to find something a little different for this year’s gift giving.

English Tea Room

734 East Rutland St. Covington, LA 985/898.3988 englishtearoom.com

A slice of England in Louisiana, the English Tea Room does a full-service breakfast, lunch and High Tea every day from Monday to Saturday, with authentic English dishes and popular cheese boards. The venue is also available for special events and private parties. Not going to be in the Covington area? That’s fine, English Tea Room has over 200 varieties of premium tea that can be shipped nationwide.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

chanukah gifts

Earthborn Pottery

7575 Parkway Drive Leeds, Ala 205/702.7055 earthbornpottery.net Though palate and palette have different spellings, food and art have a lot in common.

Earthborn Studios provides artistic pottery plates, bowls and related functional artwork to restaurants around the world.

“I think there are a lot of similarities between culinary art and ceramic art,” said Tena Payne, who in 2006 opened Earthborn Studios in Leeds.

“We both make creations. We put them in the oven. What comes out is something so beautiful and expressive. Plus, it’s like alchemy — there is both art and science in our processes.”

Their clients range from the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to Alabama Power.

Payne said Earthborn pottery is organic by nature and design. The clay they use is durable, and the abrasive-resistant glazes are industrial dishwasher safe. Their pottery can be used in the microwave and in the oven.

The pieces she has commissioned are custom works and most employ her trademark design element of an Ammonite fossil. “It is that spiral shape and flow that symbolize the continuation of time, life and art,” she said.

Payne said it’s a family affair at Earthborn — her husband, Wynn, and son, Nathan, both work at Earthborn in the production of the pottery. “It makes it more special and something we can share in,” she said.

Their big annual event also hosts artists of various media the second weekend of December. The Blue Light Special on Dec. 11 and 12 features more than 50 artists who not only bring their best work, but the show also gives them the opportunity to sell some of their artwork with imperfections, whether nicked or slightly damaged in some way, at a discount.

As a part of the Blue Light Special event, attendees can also give back to those in need. Empty Bowls is a hunger-prevention endeavor pairing local potters and local chefs, who will be providing lunch. For a donation of $25, attendees get hot soup and bread served in handmade Earthborn bowls, which they can keep. Proceeds go to First Light Women’s Shelter.

“Giving back is an important part of my philosophy,” said Payne.

“There is so much we can do to make a difference in someone’s life.”

Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience 818 Howard Avenue New Orleans 504/384.2480 msje.org

Every museum now exits through the gift shop, but if you haven’t made it to the new Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience in New Orleans yet, you can check out the merchandise online at msje.org, and get some Southern Chanukah inspiration.

Wearables include MSJE Shalom Y’all shirts and Mardi Gras socks. There’s a museum quilt puzzle, an MSJE dreidel and Chanukah cards depicting the museum’s regional footprint.

Several books detail the Southern Jewish experience, and there are glass mezuzahs from New Orleans artist Andrew Pollack.

Of course, a museum membership also makes a great gift!

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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chanukah gifts

Chanukah Gifts!

Prints Charming

1903 Cahaba Road Birmingham 571/214.9586 printscharmingsoho.com

Mon-Fri 10am-6pm Sat 10am-4pm METAIRIE 5101 W. Esplanade Ave at Chastant

DESTREHAN 3001 Ormond Blvd.

Temporarily Closed due to Ida

504-407-3532 nolagiftsanddecoronline.com

Chateau Drugs & gifts

A visit to Birmingham’s Prints Charming Soho is like taking a trip across the world and back in time.

Opened in October 2020 in Mountain Brook’s English Village, the art antiques store uncovered rare treasures from across the world, dating back to the early 1500s.

“I love finding things that are old, rare and unique,” said Prints Charming Soho Co-Owner Ari Millner. “I’ve always been into history and through years of antiques dealing, I’ve developed some good connections to help procure these treasures and sell them at reasonable costs.”

Those art antiques range from wax seal collections to old lithographs, including one of King David, music sheets, trade catalog pages and ads from the 1800s, schematic drawings for stained-glass windows, pillows and antique furniture.

“Most of what we have is from Europe — with a specialized focus on England and France,” said Millner. “But we also have rare print plates from an Audubon book on birds dating back to the 1840s.”

Prints Charming Soho also sells pre-1850 “wanderbooks.” These “early resumes” were held by trades workers and were stamped by a master of the guild once they completed their jobs.

Millner is originally from New York City and was making a living as an art antiques dealer. In 2017, he was at a show in Nashville when he met the creative director for Victoria magazine, who wanted to do an article on Millner’s collection.

The magazine was part of Birmingham’s Hoffman Media group.

He and Jordan, a Montgomery native and Auburn University graduate, hit it off and began a long-distance relationship. Millner moved to Birmingham in November 2019, and the two got married just more than a week before opening Prints Charming Soho.

“We have very similar tastes in art and antiques,” said Millner. “Prints Charming Soho has really become a labor of love for the both of us from the beginning.”

He said they are always on the lookout for new finds locally, nationally and internationally, rotating their stock on a regular basis.

Currently the oldest items they have in the store are wood-cut engravings from early 16th century Italy. “We’ve developed a niche and bring in things that pair well with our aesthetic,” said Millner.

“The support we have gotten from the local community here has been very encouraging and it’s exciting to connect with those who share a love for these rare art antiques,” he said.

Gates Gifts

4000 West Esplanade Avenue Metairie moderntribe.com/pages/gatesofprayer

Unexpected Elegance 3544 West Esplanade Ave., Metairie Between Severn and Hessmer Aves.

889-2300 • chateaudrugsrx.com

M-F 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-5pm

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FREE GIFT WRAP

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

The only remaining congregational gift shop in the New Orleans area is stocked for Chanukah, from Judaica to games and gifts for all occasions. For an even wider selection, or if you can’t get to the shop during regular hours, shop online through ModernTribe Judaica — use the address moderntribe.com/pages/ gatesofprayer, and orders placed on that page benefit the gift shop.

chanukah gifts

Kosher Cajun

3519 Severn Avenue Metairie 504/888-2010 koshercajun.com Have lunch and get your Chanukah shopping done — in addition to the extensive grocery selections, Kosher Cajun has its Chanukah shop open with a wide range of gifts and decor. And don’t forget to get the catering orders in early!

GOURMET & GIFT STORE IT'S TIME TO THINK HOLIDAYS - BRING US YOUR LIST! GIFT SETS - CHARCUTERIE COMBOS COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WRAP

Ramah Darom

70 Darom Lane Clayton, Ga. 404/531.0801 ramahdarom.org

What is the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Sometimes, the best and longest lasting gift is that of a meaningful memory, an experience to treasure for a lifetime.

Ramah Darom, a Jewish summer camp and retreat center in the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains just two hours north of Atlanta, is a place where children, adults and families come to create priceless memories all year long. Campers and staff were so grateful to be back together running Covid-cautious experiences during retreat season for all to enjoy, and the array of options means there is something at Ramah Darom for everyone! Whether it is bonding time with family at Winter Break Family Camp or the Passover Retreat, celebrating Jewish joy with children at Book it to Shabbat with PJ Library, exploring passions and one’s Jewish journey at LimmudFest and more — experiencing the magic of Ramah Darom is the gift that keeps on giving.

An adventure at Ramah Darom is not complete without a walk to the onsite waterfall, incredible meals from the Executive Chef, coffee in a rocking chair on the porch and a comfy rest at the end of the day in cabin, hotel or cottage accommodations. Ramah Darom takes pride in Southern Hachnasat Orchim, that unique blend of regional and values-based hospitality which reflects an authentic desire to take good care of everyone and make them feel at home.

Check www.ramahdarom.org to learn more about the gifts of exceptional Jewish experiences that await!

261 RELE ST. LANE PARKE ~ 205.703.9003 SHOP US ONLINE - SHIP OR PICK UP IN STORE MOUNTAINBROOKOLIVE.COM

Vulcan Park and Museum

1701 Valley View Drive Birmingham 205/933-1409 visitvulcan.com

Give your loved ones some stunning Vulcan ceramics from Tena Payne of Earthborn Studios, located in Leeds. These products are dishwasher safe, microwave safe and handmade.

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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financial Gyro • Shawarama Falafel • Hummus Fresh Saj Bread

Over 70-½?

You Can Still Benefit Donating from your IRA… and also a nonIRA Charitable Tax Tip

By Barry Dreayer, CPA

2530 Canal Street Inside Red Zone

One Block from the VA Hospital

(504) 766-6519

In December 2019, the SECURE Act changed the law so that you can wait until age 72 before you are required to take money out of your IRA (called RMDs or Required Minimum Distributions).

What did not change is if you are age 70 ½ or older you can still make charitable contributions directly from your IRA. You do not have to wait until you are age 72 to take advantage of this tax-savings opportunity that most taxpayers should utilize.

With the increase of the standard deduction beginning in 2018, most taxpayers are not able to receive a Federal tax benefit for their charitable contributions. However, if you make donations directly from your IRA once you have reached age 70 ½ (or older) you will be able to remove that money from your IRA tax-free. It is one of the few times where you receive a tax benefit at the time you put money into an account but do not have to pay taxes on that money when it is taken out.

Here are three items to consider with regard to donations from your IRA: • If you are over 70 ½ and you are about to write a check for a charitable contribution, stop and consider making it from your IRA. • You cannot donate more than $100,000 in a year from your IRAs. • As our dear friend, Birmingham Jewish Foundation Executive Director Sally Friedman always emphasizes, donations during your lifetime from an IRA cannot be made to Donor-advised Funds such as those at the Foundation. But donations to those funds outside of your IRA can provide similar tax savings that you might want to pursue.

Finally, in 2021 even if you will not be itemizing your deductions on your Federal tax return and instead using the standard deduction, you still will be able to receive a tax benefit for donations made up to $300 ($600 if married filing jointly) outside of your IRA. So don’t miss out on the Federal government “subsidizing” your generosity during this year.

Be sure to discuss the above with your tax and financial advisors for its direct impact on you.

Barry Dreayer is a CPA with Bruce Downs CPA in Birmingham.

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

Gus Mayer continues Pizitz family legacy

By Lee J. Green The Pizitz family has forged a tradition of retail success and community leadership in Birmingham, dating back to Louis and Minnie Pizitz’s arrival in the city in 1898.

Two years later, the first Gus Mayer opened on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans, and eventually there were 20 locations in the region, including a Birmingham store that opened in 1922. In 1976, when the stores were being sold individually, the Pizitz Management Group purchased the Birmingham store, followed by Nashville in 1986, and those are the only two remaining. They moved the Birmingham Gus Mayer to its current 15,000-square-foot space at The Summit in 2011.

“The secret to our success is our people. We consider our employees and customers family,” said Jeff Pizitz, president of the Pizitz Management Group. “That has helped us to pivot and overcome challenges.”

Perhaps the most significant challenge has been the Covid-19 pandemic. Gus Mayer closed for more than two months in the spring of 2020, while developing a re-opening plan.

“Being a smaller operation that has always been focused on providing a high level of customer service helped us to pivot and navigate through,” said Pizitz. “We added an athleisure department and grew our accessories department,” including designer masks.

Gus Mayer President Chuck Mallett said that they reached out to their customers, doing curbside and even doing some home delivery.

“We have the most phenomenal service-oriented team,” said Mallett.

“That allowed us to respond and not change the model, but accentuate it.”

Pizitz and Mallet said that 2021 has been the best sales years to-date for Gus Mayer. “We have really seen a pent-up demand for dresses and more formal wear,” said Mallett.

He said Gus Mayer has significantly grown its selection of gift items for the season, including Michael Aram menorahs, candles and cutting boards, as well as products by other companies including gold and silver seder plates and mezuzahs.

Last year, Gus Mayer also started a kids’ department, featuring some upscale clothes, accessories, toys and gifts for girls.

“We feel good about the robust business trend continuing,” said Mallet.

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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community “We’re also already preparing for the spring of 2022. There has been a greater interest in mood-lifting colors and prints this year and we expect that to continue into next year.”

Retail growth and community involvement

Louis Pizitz opened the Louis Pizitz Dry Goods Company 1899 in downtown Birmingham.

In 1923, he opened the flagship Pizitz department store in an eight-story building he had constructed. A second phase was completed in 1925 to comprise 225,000-square-feet of retail storage space, making it the largest department store in the city.

Louis Pizitz was legendary for his support of the city. During coal miner strikes, he sent truckloads of food to the striking miners. During a slump in cotton prices, he helped farmers by buying their crop at well above market rate, with the idea that he would sell the cotton when the price rose — and share any profit with the farmers. World War I soon followed, causing a major spike in demand for cotton.

When an underfunded school board paid teachers in scrip, his store accepted the scrip the same as cash, without being certain that the school board would ever be in a position to make good on it.

The Pizitz store was very popular and years later a significant expansion plan progressed. Pizitz opened its first store outside of Birmingham in Bessemer in 1956 and other locations would be built in several Alabama cities. At its peak in 1986, Pizitz operated 13 department stores across the state before selling to McRae’s Department Stores the same year.

But while the Pizitz family was building a successful retail business, they took greater pride in supporting the Birmingham Jewish community and overall communities they served.

Louis Pizitz led the fundraising drive that built Temple Beth-El and served as Beth-El’s first president. The Pizitz family also donated land for the middle school in Vestavia that would be named Louis Pizitz Middle School in 1972.

Michael Pizitz, Louis Pizitz’s grandfather and Jeff Pizitz’s father, joined the Pizitz organization in 1955 after graduating with a degree in sociology from Harvard University, and would work his way up to president of Pizitz Inc. He has been a longtime member of Temple Emanu-El and has supported numerous causes in the Jewish community and the Birmingham area.

“We’re on our sixth generation here in Birmingham. We are proud of our long history of involvement in and support of the Birmingham (Jewish and greater) community,” said Michael Pizitz, who is currently a vice president with Gus Mayer. “We’ve had three family members serve as president of the Birmingham Jewish Federation and we have supported many charities that are close to our heart.”

Every year (with the exception of 2020), Gus Mayer sponsors charity events in Birmingham and Nashville. Last month, The Club in Birmingham hosted the 62nd annual Linly Heflin Scholarship Fashion Show.

Gus Mayer brought in a professional team to produce a New Yorkstyle runway show. It showcased the fashions sold at Gus Mayer. Funds raised help women in need get scholarships to attend Alabama colleges and universities. The Nashville fashion show this past spring benefitted the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

“We are proud to continue to legacy of my grandfather, who believed so strongly in giving back,” said Pizitz.

SUPPORT QUALITY, INDEPENDENT, ORIGINAL SOUTHERN JEWISH JOURNALISM Visit supportSJL.com to contribute 40

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

health care focus November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

By Amanda Mason, MSW, LCSW November is National Hospice Month and the theme this year is “It’s About How You Live.”

When someone hears the word hospice, they automatically associate it with death.

However, people who have been fortunate enough to experience using hospice services know it is not a death sentence. Instead, they realize that hospice is allowing people to have a choice in how they choose to live.

In 2005, my Aunt Theresa passed away from colon cancer. In 2010, my grandmother Mary peacefully passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease. Both profoundly impacted me, but it was not until 2015 after my 36-year-old brother Jesse passed away from cancer that I found my professional calling as a social worker. It is because of the respect and compassion shown to me by the hospice team during this difficult and intimate time that I was guided in a new professional direction.

Since 2016, I have been working as a hospice social worker in the Greater New Orleans area.

Every day I can help patients and their families navigate hospice services while maintaining their dignity. Since I have prior personal experience with hospice, I can truly understand the emotions and challenges of having to decide if hospice is the right decision.

Hospice is an interdisciplinary team made up of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and certified nursing assistances who collectively follow the patient’s plan of care with the goal of comfort at the end of life. While addressing the patient’s physical needs, the team also assists in ensuring the patient and family’s spiritual and psychosocial needs are met.

Although hospice is defined as “a medical service provided to terminally ill patients who are no longer seeking aggressive treatment,” it is also a choice. It is a choice made by the patient and/or their family on how they choose to live out their final days.

Hadassah tri-region holds Turkey Trot The three regions of Hadassah’s Super South are holding a Turkey Trot in support of Hadassah Medical Organization heart disease research.

The walking, running or trotting virtual 5-kilometer event can be done at any point during November.

Participation can be done solo or as a team.

Registration begins at $36 and is available at www.hadassahsupersouth.org/turkeytrot.

The three regions are Southern, Southeastern and Southern Seaboard, from West Virginia to Louisiana.

The South’s Most Comprehensive Weekly Jewish E-Newsletter Stay Informed Between Print Editions

To subscribe, email subscribe@sjlmag.com

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Hillel at Miss. State responds to Nazi imagery in Covid protests

Happy Chanukah

42 November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

Hillel at Mississippi State University issued a statement on Oct. 26 that “strongly condemns” the use of Nazi imagery, especially swastikas, by those opposing the university’s Covid mask mandate and vaccine mandate for faculty.

The Hillel executive board stated that as a “vowed” apolitical organization, it is unusual for them to speak out “on ongoing political matters and debates” but felt compelled to do so in the face of current anti-mandate protests.

Anti-mask signs were posted around the research park and Drill Field, saying “Heil State” with a swastika in place of the s, criticizing University President Mark Keenum with “Hitler, Stalin, Biden, Keenum” or stating “F--- Keenum” with a swastika replacing the k and a Soviet hammer and sickle replacing the c. The signs “are not political activism,” the Hillel statement read. “They are blatant examples of anti-Semitism and wholly inappropriate,” poorly serving the messaging of anti-mask activists.

In the Facebook post announcing the statement, Hillel said “Being required to wear a mask in campus buildings is not at all akin to the horrors of Nazism, and those horrors must not be belittled in this way.”

They cited how Mississippi State hosted Holocaust survivor Sam Steigmann two years ago, and that the university as a whole “has been extremely welcoming and accepting of its growing Jewish population,” along with setting up the first Jewish student scholarship in the state.

They added, “Mississippi State University is one of the most ideal universities a Jewish student can attend in the SEC.” In the statement, the Hillel leaders said anti-Semitic sentiment is “exceptionally rare” on campus, but “it is vitally important” to renounce the imagery on the signs. “To those who posted the signs, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the egregiousness of the Holocaust in order to understand why the inclusion of Nazi imagery is unreservedly inappropriate in your political messaging,” and though those who made the signs may have been ignorant of the context, “you have unnecessarily shaken the Jewish students of our campus.”

It is estimated that there are a couple dozen Jewish students at Mississippi State.

community >> Agenda

continued from page 8

gogue in New Orleans will be on Dec. 8 at noon on Zoom.

Reshet Ramah, the alumni group for the Camp Ramah system in the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, has released its “Ramah On Campus 2021 survey of “Top Ramah colleges” attended by the 1,300 college-age staffers who worked at the Ramah camps, including Ramah Darom in Georgia, this summer. Tulane University ranked eighth, with 17 students. Topping the list was Michigan, with 33, followed by Maryland and Binghamton with 29 each. Florida and Emory also were listed as having at least 10 Ramah staff this past summer.

Chanukah Events

Temple Sinai in New Orleans will have its Lights and Latkes Chanukah on the Avenue, outdoors on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m., followed by a Chanukah family service inside at 6:30 p.m. On Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m. Rabbi Daniel Sherman, Rabbi Edward Cohn and Cantor Joel Colman will light the menorah for the final evening at St. Louis Cathedral, in a celebration that is open to the entire city.

Chabad of Baton Rouge will hold its annual Chanukah at the State Capitol, Dec 5 at 4 p.m. There will be a hot latke bar, face painting, chocolate gelt drop and Kona ice. The event is free and open to the community.

The united Baton Rouge congregation will have a Shabbat Chanukah tailgate with latke bar, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Kleinert Avenue location.

On Dec. 5 at 11:30 a.m., there will be a Chanukah event with a Café DuMonde truck serving beignets, hot chocolate and Café au Lait, in the Metairie JCC/Shir Chadash parking lot. The event is co-sponsored

by Beth Israel, Shir Chadash and the Jewish Community Day School.

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Beth Israel in Metairie will have a Chanukah dinner on Dec. 3 following the 6 p.m. service, catered by Dvash. Reservations are $18 for members, $9 for under age 12. For non-members, adults are $25, children are $18. The annual Chanukah celebration with dinner and a gift auction will be Dec. 5 at 5 p.m.

Chanukah at Riverwalk in New Orleans will be on Nov. 28, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The “From Generation to Generation” event will include a Chanukah story trail, latkes, dreidels, children’s activities and more.

Touro Synagogue in New Orleans will have its Chanukah celebration with its Consecration service for Kindergarten and first grade, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.

Chabad Uptown will have its Mobile Menorah Parade on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Gates of Prayer in Metairie will have a Chanukah Around the World celebration, with communities from around the world joining virtually and sharing their experiences of being Jewish in their countries. The event will be Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m., and all are welcome to participate and bring their menorahs. On Dec. 5 at 1 p.m., there will be a virtual cooking class with Melanie Blitz, combining Chanukah and New Orleans by making Chanukah beignets. The Zoom class is for ages 6 and up, and reservations are required by Dec. 1.

The Uptown Jewish Community Center’s Chanukah celebration will feature a concert by the Maccabeats. The celebration will be on Bart Field starting at 2 p.m. and is free and open to the community. Advance registration and proof of vaccination for those age 12 and older are required.

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life 43

community Reaching across the aisle for a Louisiana Jewish Coalition discussion While support for Israel has historically been a bipartisan affair in Washington, recent political infighting has threatened to turn Israel into just another “political football.” On Aug. 22, the Louisiana Jewish Coalition hosted a bipartisan discussion on why that should not be allowed to happen.

The coalition, a new collaboration of the Jewish Federations across Louisiana, hosted a series of three online events. The third, an Aug. 29 event entitled “Looking Toward the Future” with a discussion between Israeli and Palestinian Parents Circle participants, followed by a journalistic perspective from Herb Keinon of The Jerusalem Post, was postponed

by Hurricane Ida and will take place on Nov. 28 at 10 a.m.

The Aug. 22 event featured Democratic U.S. Representative Elaine Luria, a Birmingham native with New Orleans ties, who served for two decades in the U.S. Navy, retiring as Commander. She was joined by Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee who served in the Army and spent six hours interrogating Sadaam Hussein after the former Iraqi leader was captured.

The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Ilana Kwartin, who made Aliyah from the former Soviet Union in 1987, moderated the discussion.

Both emphasized the strong bipartisan support in Congress for the U.S. alliance with Israel, with Luria saying there are “a few very loud voices that have sought to undermine that relationship,” and others trying to exploit the existence of those few to paint with a broad brush.

Though a Democrat, she attended the signing of the Abraham Accords that were done under the Trump administration. “These are truly bipartisan, non-partisan things.”

Green said there are tensions “in both parties, and it’s one of those things… there are people in both parties who, honestly, are racists, and

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November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

we have to push that down in our country.”

He said Trump came in and did a re-thinking of how Middle East policy could happen, leading to the Abraham Accords. Green also expressed appreciation for President Biden’s support of Israel during the Hamas conflict in May. Luria said it important to be “very strong voices against antisemitism in our communities,” and to continue working together on consensus issues, like the Iron Dome defensive system. She said working with Israel on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is “another opportunity for research and cooperation in our shared experience.”

When asked about the recent quick withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Luria stated she was “very concerned about the withdrawal,” having visited Afghanistan a year and a half earlier. She said the small number of forces the U.S. had there helped gather intelligence, had a vital role in supporting subcontractors and allowed the maintenance of a status quo.

She said the withdrawal was “rushed” and the list of questions is long, with the Taliban taking control and terrorists once again having “safe harbor” there. Most important, she said, is providing “every resource to get Americans out, to get allies out,” and the civilian evacuation should have been done before the military left.

Green was much less measured in his emotional remarks, asserting the withdrawal was “an absolute failure of the president,” putting “potentially 10,000 Americans at risk, and the flippant attitude of getting them out has been disturbing to me.”

He said the withdrawal was a Department of State failure, as the Department of Defense did its mission, and allies are wondering about U.S. resolve and faithfulness.

community >> Rear Pew

9 5 #

continued from page 46

Teacher: It is easy. As soon as you make it not be so difficult anymore, it’s very easy.

Student: You’re very poetic. *** Student: I don’t know what “afflicted” means.

Teacher: Do you know what “inflict” means?

Student: Yes. Teacher: Someone inflicts something at someone who becomes afflicted by it. Like how I inflict my jokes on you and you become afflicted by them.

(Instant understanding achieved.) *** Teacher: Why didn’t you do verse 13?

Student: I don’t like verse 13.

Teacher: You might like it more if you get to know it better. *** Student: Is it a kadma or a pashta?

Teacher: Yes, it is a kadma or a pashta. *** Teacher: Let’s do that again because it sounded soooo confident.

Student: Was that sarcastic?

Teacher: A little.

Student: Was that, too?

Teacher: Yes. *** (Note: The Hebrew word “sof ” means “end.”)

Teacher: Remember, the word isn’t “vayecheSEF,” it’s “vayecheSOF.” Student: Oh, yeah.

Teacher: Right? The sof of “vayechesof ” is “sof.”

Student: Right.

Teacher: Now get out of here, I have to come up with a joke about Sofie’s Choice. *** Teacher: Which trope symbol is that?

Student: Umm...

Teacher: Okay, and how do you say ‘umm’ in Hebrew? *** Teacher: Oh, c’mon. That was funny. <one 5th grader laughs> Teacher: Thank you. See? Student: I laughed, but it wasn’t funny.

Student2: It was like a granddad joke.

Teacher: Wow. You won’t even give me dad joke. You’re sending me straight to granddad.

Student3: I get it, but it wasn’t funny.

Student4: I don’t think even my father would make that joke.

Teacher: When I put this on Facebook later, 150 people are going to agree with you all. They don’t think I’m funny, either. *** Student: “Look, I drew you running on top of a basketball and then an arrow for where you’ll eventually fall off into a pool of sharks.”

Teacher: “That’s how I feel every Sunday.”

Doug Brook might, by the time you read this, be newly available as a religious school instructor. Listen to the new Rear Pew Mirror podcast at anchor.fm/rearpewmirror or on any major podcast platform. For past columns, visit http://rearpewmirror.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

Our Children, Our Community, Our Future

Saturday, November 13 Early Voting Oct. 30 - Nov. 6

VOTE 2021 My Agenda Priorities: • Crime/Community Policing

To promote the hiring of new and trained officers, promoting community policing.

• Infrastructure

To fight and advocate for funding for streets, better utilities structures and changing from monopolies to choices and working with State and Federal Representatives to deliver the financial capital addressing our needs.

• Economic Development (A) Work with Education Institutions and AFL-CIO to offer Career, Vo-Tech and Apprenticeship Programs, training Students and Parents for higherpaying employment.

(B) Streamline the Permitting processes to make it easier for Businesses/Developers and Small Entrepreneurs to do business with the City of New Orleans.

• Accountability

Holding the Companies doing business in the City of New Orleans, using taxpayers’ monies, ACCOUNTABLE. NO EXCUSES.

“Lawes For The Cause…”

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life 45

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The Talmud says, “find yourself a teacher.” The rabbis might have been in a tall mood when they said that, but they probably didn’t have in mind what these poor religious school students endured with the teacher they found.

Weep for the future of the Jewish people while reading these actual, real-life accounts of interactions with fifth through seventh graders. *** Teacher: For next time, just one thing to do. Be perfect.

Student: Oh, okay, no presh.

Teacher: Right. No “presh.”

Student: Oh. Umm. Ok. You had to do that. Bye...

(Moral: Teachers aren’t hip enough to say “presh.”) *** Student: <mispronounces “tziVAH” as “tzi-OOH”> Teacher: <corrects student> Student: What does tzivah mean?

Teacher: It means “commanded.”

Student: What does tzi-ooh mean?

Teacher: It means you pronounced the word wrong. *** Teacher: Those four verses were so good you can add the fifth.

Student: And if I’d done them really badly…

Teacher: …you’d still be adding the fifth. *** Student (online): My dad said hi.

Teacher: I’d ask you to tell him how I said you’re doing, but you’ll tell him I said you’re doing great.

Student: Dad, he said I’m doing great!

Dad: I don’t believe him. *** Teacher: Is that letter a Samech or a SHamech?

Student: A shamech?

Teacher: Are you sure?

Student: Why? Teacher: There’s no such letter as a shamech. *** Teacher: I bet you didn’t know your haftarah (from the book of Jeremiah) mentions California.

Student: No, it doesn’t.

Teacher: Sure it does. Right there it says “Carmel by the sea.” Really.

Student: I don’t think they meant the same one.

Teacher: Are you sure?

Student: You’re going to get fired if people start believing you. *** Student: Are we meeting in the chapel?

Teacher: Yes. (Sings:) “We’re going to the chapel, and we’re gonna do Torah reading…” *** Student: Wait, what word am I on?

Teacher: You’re at “v’et mizbach.” Not to be confused with “v’et mizbeethoven.”

(No, the student didn’t get it. Yes, schools need more arts instruction.) *** Student: You make it sound so easy.

Hebrew School was never like this…

continued on previous page 46

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

November 2021 • Southern Jewish Life

47