A SAR-EL SOJOURN
AICCSE’S EAGLE STAR GALA
Seeing Israel Differently
American-Israeli Business Connections Celebrated
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the atlanta
TDSA Students Watch Venus Cross the Sun PAGE 17
JUNE 22, 2012 - JUNE 28, 2012
www.atlantajewishtimes.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE
JIMMY BARON MAKES KOSHER COOL
Local radio legend reconnected with roots PAGE 15
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2 Tamuz - 8 Tamuz 5772, Vol. LXXXVII No. 25
THE Weekly Newspaper Uniting the Jewish Community for Over 85 Years
Bernie Marcus Hits the Links MJCCA’s Harry Maziar Classic Honors Community Leader PAGE 3
Billi and Bernie Marcus (standing) with Nancy and Peter Brown (seated)
COMMUNITY AND LIFE LESSONS
A special d’var Torah for the yahrzheit of Andrew Silvershein, z”l Page 19
AJT
MAZEL TOV
American-Israeli Collaboration Celebrated at AICCSE’s Eagle Star Awards Gala ALPHA OMEGA, PROCTOR & GAMBLE, TEVA AND OTHERS RECOGNIZED
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he American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Southeast Region, which celebrates its 20th year, held its 11th-annual Eagle Star Awards Gala on June 11. The flagship event of the AICCSE, this year’s Gala saw Israel Company of the Year go to Alpha Omega. This Nazareth Illit-based company has its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta and develops, manufactures and markets microelectrode recording and stimulation devices for neurosurgery and neuroscience. Additionally, the Proctor & Gamble/ Teva joint venture was recognized with Deal of the Year. The two companies collaborated on PGT Healthcare, which will sell over-the-counter medicines that will combine Teva’s expertise in drug marketing with P&G’s expertise in branding to expand their presence in the $200 billion consumer healthcare industry. Also honored at the Gala were Asheville, N.C.’s Robert Deutsch (Chamber Founders Award) and the Israel Economic Mission to the U.S. South (Community Partner Award).
Top Left: Chamber Founders Award - Bob Deutsch (center) receives Chamber Founders Award from AICC Chairman Lorin Coles (left) and VP Barry Swartz (right). Top Right: Deal of the Year - Proctor & Gamble’s Director of Finance Ken Jones (center right) accepts Deal of the Year Award from AICC Chairman Lorin Coles (left), Eagle Star Gala Committee Chairman Barry Sobel (center left), and VP Barry Swartz (right). Bottom Left: Community Partner - Israel Economic Consul Roee Madai (center) accepts Community Partner Award from AICC Chairman Lorin Coles (left) and VP Barry Swartz (right). Bottom Right: Israeli Company of the Year - Alpha Omega US Branch Manager Liz Caruso (center right) accepts the Israeli Company of the Year Award from AICC Chairman Lorin Coles (left), Eagle Star Gala Committee Chairman Barry Sobel (center left), and VP Barry Swartz (right). PHOTOS/courtesy AICCSE
Greater Atlanta Hadassah Installs Executive Committee
Metulla Group of GAH Installs Officers
MARSHA KUMMINS RECOGNIZED WITH LEADERSHIP AWARD
LAURIE FUREM TO SERVE SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
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reater Atlanta Hadassah held its installation of 20122013 officers on May 16 at Congregation Etz Chaim. New committee member Marsha Kummins was further honored with the 2012 Hadassah Leadership Award, presented annually to a member who is a role model for leadership and is active in advancing and enhancing the success of the The 2012-2013 Greater Atlanta Hadassah Executive CommitGreater Atlanta chapter. tee is (left to right) Toby Parker, Diane Fisher, Gerry Taratoot, Marni Hoffman, Marsha Kummins, Elaine Clein, Eileen Cohn and President Sue Rothstein. Not pictured are Melanie Feingold and Paula Zucker. PHOTO/Ann Loventhal-Kohut
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etulla Group of Greater Atlanta Hadassah honored members and friends on June 3 at the Installation of the new board at brunch. Group president, beginning her second term, is Laurie Furem. The guest speaker, Flora Rosefksy, an Atlanta artist, spoke about journaling. The installing of the new board was done by Rachel Schonberger, M.D., former Southeastern Hadassah President.
The new Metulla board members are (left to right) Nancy Schwartz, Sheila Hertz, Sydelle Siberman, Livia Sklar, Linda Lieberman, Laurie Furem, Miriam Brodkin, Anita Otero, Stephanie Pure, Michele Weiner-Merbaum, Barbara Lang, Rhea Schwartz and Ruth Berg. Not pictured are Jeri Edelman and Ronnie Goldberger. PHOTO/courtesy Nancy Schwartz
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JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
AJT
FROM THE JCC
MJCCA presents “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age” EXHIBIT CELEBRATES BAT MITZVAH’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY
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he Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta presents a unique exhibition in its Katz Family Mainstreet Gallery entitled “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age” ongoing through September 19. This traveling exhibition features the remarkable story of how, in less than a century, individual girls, their parents and their rabbis challenged and changed communal values and practice to institute this now widely practiced Jewish ritual.
The Harry Maziar Classic Honors Bernie Marcus JCC’S ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT SETS RECORDS FOR ATTENDANCE, SPONSORS
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n June 4, the MJCCA held its annual Harry Maziar Classic golf tournament at Hawks Ridge Golf Club. This year’s tournament honored Bernie Marcus, chairman of the board of The Marcus Foundation, in appreciation of his dedication and leadership in shaping the vibrant Atlanta Jewish community. Proceeds from the Classic help the MJCCA enhance vital programs such as preschools, sports leagues, summer camps, Alzheimer’s daycare services, programming for people with developmental disabilities and much more. This year a record amount raised through generous sponsors and donations.
A collaborative project of the National Museum of American Jewish History and Moving Traditions, “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age” includes oral hisThis example from the exhibit “Bat tory recordings of bat mitzvah Mitzvah Comes of Age” shows Judith stories from around the country Ginsberg and her mother Adele Wall and across Jewish movements, Ginsburg at the former’s bat mitzvah in a timeline of relevant historical Larchmont, N.Y. in 1959. PHOTO/courtesy milestones and an interactive Judith Ginsberg component in which visitors can share their coming-of-age stories and photos.
Of the 120 golfers who competed, Jeff Greenbaum (putting contest), Brandon Downs and Caryl Paller (longest drives) and Stephen McDonnold, Matthew Prater, Dick Sullivan and Ron Whited (firstplace team, net score) were the winners. The 2012 HMC was chaired by Ron Brill and Howard Halpern. ABOVE: Harry Maziar, the namesake of the MJCCA’s annual golf tournament, is a past MJCCA president and past co-chair of the MJCCA Governance Board.
Programs corresponding with the exhibit are “A Taste of Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. – which will serve as an introduction to the teen girl group that meets monthly to discuss life lessons – and the Open House for the Lisa F. Brill Institute for Jewish Learning on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. – which will provide the opportunity for all past bat mitzvahs to share their stories. The exhibit is based on more than 150 responses to Moving Traditions’ “Bat Mitzvah Firsts” survey; participants ranged across the AmericanJewish spectrum, from secular to ultra-Orthodox and from small town to urban center.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
“Rosh Hodesh: It’s A Girl Thing!” to Focus on Life Lessons
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NEW MJCCA PROGRAM FOR SIXTH- AND SEVENTH-GRADE GIRLS
LEFT: The first-place team for this year’s Harry Maziar Classic included Stephen McDonnold, Dick Sullivan, Ron Whited and Matthew Prater of the PGA Superstore.
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PHOTOS/Heidi Morton
osh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” is a new program at the MJCCA that draws on Jewish teachings to help girls in grades six and seven (of all affiliations) navigate the complexities of adolescent life. Parents and their daughters are invited to “A Taste of Rosh Hodesh” on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m., where they will get the chance to ask questions and experience the program firsthand. The girls group will then meet one Sunday a month, Sept. 9, 2012 through May 12, 2013 at 5 p.m.
A contemporary celebration of the ancient New Moon holiday, Rosh Hodesh builds girls’ self-esteem, Girls celebrate a Rosh Hodesh opening ceremony. leadership skills and Jewish identity. The program PHOTO/courtesy MJCCA works on an intimate model, bringing together small groups of girls for monthly Rosh Hodesh celebrations, each of which will focus on specific “life lessons” that draw on core Jewish values and practices to explore such issues as body image, friendship, family, assertiveness and social action.
For more information visit atlantajcc.org/teens or call Amy Helman-Darley at (678) 812-3978.
AJT
NEWS
Ruach Atlanta Unveils Relay Logo Gorod Joins JAFI THE NER TAMID SHINES BRIGHTLY
LOCAL BECOMES ASSOCIATE VP
uach Atlanta, the separate event formed by Atlanta’s Jewish community in partnership with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, recently unveiled its logo.
he Jewish Agency for Israel is proud to announce the hiring of Randy Gorod of Atlanta as associate vice president, Israel and global philanthropy. In his new role, Gorod will educate and engage donors in the Agency’s work, which unites Jews across the globe in order to ensure a thriving Jewish future and strong state of Israel.
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The brainchild of Temple Beth Tikvah congregant and past president Sheryl Blechner, Ruach Atlanta was formed so that those observing Shabbat could participate in the iconic Relay for Life, the ACS’s flagship event. With the support of current TBT President Steve Gerson and Steering Committee member Esther Shultz and after months of diligent research and an official approval from ACS, the date was set: Oct. 14, 2012. The logo takes inspiration from the ner tamid (“eternal flame”) and
from the lessons of Rabbi Akiba. The rabbi taught that if the yod is removed from the Hebrew word for man, ish – spelled aleph, yod, shin – aleph, shin or esh, meaning “fire,” remains. Likewise, the Hebrew word for woman is ishah – spelled aleph, shin, heh and if the heh is removed, again, esh remains. Additionally, the torch or flame is used to refer to a valuable quality, principle or cause that needs to be protected and maintained. The fire inside each of us compels us to celebrate life, to remember our past and to fight back to ensure our future. For information on creating a team and signing up for the inaugural Ruach Atlanta, visit RelayForLife.org/ruachga.
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Prior to his hiring at the Jewish Agency for Israel, Gorod served as director of major gifts at Emory Uni-
WellStar Medical Group welcomes a new practice to East Cobb!
versity; he also served as the liaison to Jewish Studies at Emory. Gorod came to Emory after serving as the lead campaign staff member at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, where he oversaw the Federation’s most successful annual campaign, one that surpassed $18 million. Gorod’s career in development began while he was serving as executive director of Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta, a position he held for nine years. Upon leaving Etz Chaim, Randy started his own consulting firm, Pisgah Consulting, where he served congregations and small nonprofits until his hire by the Federation.
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AJT
CHANA’S CORNER
Rags to Riches RECYCLING BEFORE IT WAS “GREEN” By Chana Shapiro AJT Columnist
A
t a recent Purim meal at our home, a two-year old accidentally knocked a glass of red wine onto our brand-new wooden floor.
“It’s an ecological thing, right? Cool!” “But it’s not what you think,” I said to myself.
My first thought was relief that the glass was plastic; my second thought was to run to the arsenal where I keep my secret domestic weapons. The toddler’s mother was embarrassed, and I saw her and a couple of other guests reach for their cloth napkins, intending to absorb the liquid to save my floor.
There were no further table mishaps, and we got back to eating, drinking and debating the pros and cons of day school education. Later, as the Californian helped me serve dessert and coffee, she asked how our family got into being so “green.”
They were going to stain my linen yom tov napkins!
I looked around the table. Aside from the toddler and her father, both snoring peacefully on the sofa, all eyes were on me.
“Stop!” I cried out. “Nobody move! Don’t touch those napkins!” The authoritative tone of my voice, fortunately, had the desired effect. The napkins remained on the table, and all faces followed me as I raced toward the closet. “Good,” one of them said, “She’s getting paper towels.” But I wasn’t. “No need to fret,” I soothed, as I got down on my knees and eliminated all traces of the wine. “It would take half a roll of paper towels to do this!” I cavalierly sopped up the puddle with several swaths of highly absorbent, plaid flannel material. “What’s that, some new kind of wipe?” the child’s mother asked, relieved that she needn’t replace flooring, bleach napkins or remove her child. “New? A ‘new’ kind of wipe?” I laughed, holding my wet material aloft. “No, indeed.” My husband, sitting serenely through all of this, nodded. JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
member of the group, a college student from California as it turned out, addressed me with unbridled admiration.
“I think it’s my old pajamas,” he said. “My father’s, actually,” I noted.
Someone at the table gasped and someone tittered, but, in general, 6 there was silence. Then a youngish
“It all started at my bridal shower,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.
Rendered indolent from a surfeit of hammantaschen, the guests relaxed and gave me their full attention. Never one to pass up an opportunity to deliver an instructive tale to help my fellow humans, I cleared my throat and began… Long, long ago, in a faraway land (St. Louis, Mo.), my aunts got together to throw me one helluva bridal shower. They invited many stylish and affluent friends, each of whom hardly knew me. But I was all for it! Instead of being embarrassed at the obvious ploy to get expensive gifts, I was eager to receive as much loot as possible. This was because a previous party, arranged by my pals, had generated lots of fun, creative stuff, but not a single copper-bottomed skillet or set of matching towels; handcrafted salt and pepper shakers were all well and good, but I really needed those towels. This time I was surrounded by generous semi-strangers, women known only to my aunts. I opened one fabulous gift after another: Multiple place settings of meat and dairy dishes; a splendid whistling tea kettle; hardy, copper-bottomed Revere Ware in all sizes; plush, matching towels galore…
Everything from my bridal registry lay before me, amidst gorgeous wrapping paper and real satin ribbons too wonderful to throw away (which I didn’t, but that’s another story). I left the biggest present for last. My mother and Aunt Shirley had dragged in a gigantic box, set aside for the coup de grace of the afternoon.
were a Depression-bred pair, after all. We brought the box of rags to apartments in the Bronx and Brooklyn and three homes in Atlanta. In between, a few select pieces lived with us in Israel, where they remained to help our co-religionists in their pursuit of cleanliness.
“I left the biggest present for last. My mother and Aunt Shirley had dragged in a gigantic box, set aside for the coup de grace of the afternoon…” I had no idea what was in there, but given my family’s tendency to entertain large groups with great frequency, I expected a 90-cup stainless steel coffee urn or a fully-equipped professional Hobart mixer. I felt that a certain amount of drama was called for, even though the end result would be cumbersome and quotidian. As the ribbon was slowly untied, guests were encouraged to come closer. My Aunt Shirley had masterminded the fete, and my mother – well, she was my mother. Their joint gift deserved to be the climax of the afternoon. It was a box of rags. There were rags of every color, pattern and size, and every single one of them 100-percent cotton. One should only use 100-percent cotton rags, my mother explained; old underwear is the best. How long had it taken them to amass this hoard? More to the point, how stunned and how utterly disappointed was everyone? There was a feeling of discomfort in the room. They had expected a set of crystal vases and serving bowls at least. Then, finally, they got it and laughed; among all the glamorous gifts – it was a joke! Well, yes and no. Mom and Shirley
No spill was too sloppy, no spot too challenging for my aunt’s and mother’s remnants. To be sure, some were put to rest when they became mere shreds of their former selves, and sometimes goo or glue resulted in their demise. With sadness, we disposed of threadbare scraps. Our daughters use a few choice samples of my late relatives’ largesse. And, of course, we have made many excellent additions to the family rag repository. Over more than four decades, most of our wedding gifts have met their makers, so to speak. The Revere Ware has been replaced, we have had different meat and dairy dishes for ages, and the silent tea kettle was left in New York in the ‘70s, never learning to whistle “Dixie.” But, as the above-mentioned spilling-and-sopping-incident attests, rags remain. And, you probably guessed it: those plush, 100-percent Egyptian cotton towels? They gradually made their way, one by one, into the rag stash, right there with the indestructible pajamas. Editor’s note: Chana Shapiro is an educator, writer, editor and illustrator whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines.
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From Camp, with Love!
Calling All Jewish Campers, CIT’s and Counselors! Are you going to a Jewish Summer Camp?
Don’t forget to write “home” and tell us about your fun experiences!
We’ll publish one letter each week beginning the first week of camp through the last.
, W p i m t a h C Love m o r F
Share with your community the adventures, new friends and discoveries the Counselors!** season, and send pic**Calling All Jewish Campers, CIT’s of and tures, too! Email us (or scan your child’s letter) with subject line “From Camp With Love”: Are you going to a Jewish Summer Camp? submissions@atljewishtimes.com can also mail Don’t forget to write “home” and tell you us about your fun experiences! us your letter directly: 270 Carpenter We’ll publish one letter each week beginning the firstDrive week NE 230 of camp through the last. Share withSuite your community the adventures, new friends and discoveries of theGA season, and Atlanta, 30328 send pictures, too! Att: To Camp Email us (or scan your child’s letter) with Withsubject Love. line “From Camp With Love”: submissions@atljewishtimes.com
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Rico Figliolini ez2BSocial
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AJT
FROM MY LIPS
A Healthy Community Begins with Its Main Street PUTTING THE ‘NEIGHBOR’ BACK IN ‘NEIGHBORHOOD’ By Rabbi Marc Wilson AJT Columnist
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know that I am getting old: Aches and pains. Handfuls of pills. Agreeing too much with O’Reilly.
Less envy of big city life. More wistfulness of how life used to be in my little town. Main Street was, hands down, the source of strength that made my little town great, and the houses of worship certainly helped make it so. But everyday commerce really provided the glue. Doing your shopping or taking a stroll was not an antagonistic experience. It was friendly. It was welcoming, kind and honest. After half-a-century, let me stroll it with you one more time: First came Pete’s, “the corner store,” where you could look at comic books, nary a Playboy in sight, and go to the soda fountain for a nickel Coke. Then came Ike, a barber who knew how to give a close crew cut, my dad’s only prerequisite. At Levinson’s, a baker’s dozen for my mom, two cookies for me. Then Falk the butcher; if I looked bored as mom put in our order, Mr. Falk handed me a broom and told me to sweep the sawdust. He always had charity boxes on his counter for charities that he supported.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Max of Max’s Hardware was our scout leader. He could pitch a tent in solid granite. Next came Fahey’s
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Fixit for broken lamps, irons, whatever. In back, Jones – half-glasses on the tip of his nose – could fix anything while regaling us in stories of the Negro League. Finally, Harry Levin’s Clothiers, where I was made to look like a “fine young gentleman” in a scratchy suit that made me fidget when stuck in a pew between my mother and father.
healthy neighborhoods and welcoming Main Streets may yet lie ahead?
Well, I did. And he did. In New York City.
“Get real,” you say? What kind of earthshaking changes would the local environment have to make to build the spirit of Main Street, not merely occupy space on it?
For starters, how about businesses becoming more family-friend-
Oh, and we did have one “modern” supermarket, an IGA that was so cozy that I can still tell you the names of everyone who worked there. That was the Main Street of my little town, but let me tell you a couple of other things about where I grew up: My Main Street was Devon Avenue, and my “little town” was Chicago. My Chicago had nothing to do with Marshall Field’s and Michigan Boulevard. Those were trips to the “Big City,” dress-up occasions that were more than a little intimidating. I realize that my healthy upbringing did not come from being a “Chicagoan;” it came from having wonderful parents, of course. But it came even more from a neighborly neighborhood, a main street lined with welcoming businesses and a community with a strong sense of self-identity. You may certainly join me in reminiscing, particularly if you are caught in the eye of the massive transition of our formally rural outposts into bedroom suburbia. Dare we dream that the best days of
I think you get the picture.
It’s way too soon to toss hope of neighborhood renewal on the rerun pile with Andy and Opie. We have seen what happens when a child grows up in an indifferent community; unless s/he has had the fortune
“Dare we dream that the best days of healthy neighborhoods and welcoming Main Streets may yet lie ahead?” ly? Why will moms and dads drive extra miles to shop at mega-store A rather than mega-store B simply because the former has a supervised play area for their kids? What about incentives for employees to get more involved with their kids and neighborhoods? How about businesses giving incentives for good grades and perfect attendance? I remember that in my first days of college, I stopped for lunch in a little local deli. “Where are you going to school?” the counter guy asked.
of encountering one or two people who really care, the numbness into which s/he grows will produce more a robot than a truly human being. If we want our kids to grow up human, first we must take back our Main Street. Make it a safe, friendly, supportive place to spend our comings and goings. Neighborhood energies and resources will soon gravitate toward that nucleus, and as energies coalesce, healthy communities will be reborn. And then, I’ll treat you to a Coke at Pete’s.
I told him.
“You bring me back straight ‘A’s after your first semester, and anything on the menu is on me!”
Editor’s note: Marc Howard Wilson is a rabbi and writer in Greenville, S.C.
AJT
L’CHAIM
Tend Your Own Backyard
TIKKUN OLAM BEGINS AT HOME The “Scribbler on the Roof”
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hat’s the greatest problem facing Judaism today? No, it’s not Iran.
As I write this, we’re a few months past the anniversary of the prison break from Egypt. Hand in hand, escorted by the Lord, we escaped, and the Iranian will suffer the same fate as Pharaoh. No. Our greatest adversary is a secular culture that lures us as clover lures bees. It’s our children, our future, the Jewish culture of tomorrow that’s our stake in the game. They are the prize. And strangely enough, a kiss on the lips of welcome is more dangerous to our future than the clubs of the Cossack. You can accomplish every mitzvah – you can build a miniature temple in the backyard, go to shul minyan three times a day and not carry a penny in your Shabbos pocket – but fail to inspire your children, and Judaism dies with you. Out there in that flawed world that our G-d encourages us to repair lies the Amalekite picking off the stragglers. Only today, his weapon is not a sword, but TV, the movies and the iPad. The culture with a big booming smile is as seductive as your first girlfriend. No one said it better than a Christian poet who never went to Hebrew Day School (but had the vision of Jeremiah). A hundred years ago, he said, “The sea of faith was once, too, at the full…but now I only hear its melancholy, long-withdrawing roar.” I fear this is our current condition. That poet heard the roar of the waterfall long before Christianity’s frail raft approached the watery cliff, and the same is true of us today. All statistical meters are at the red line: intermarriage, synagogue attendance, conflicts within Judaism, an over-abundance of Rabbis. The metrics signal danger. Luckily, the salvation is not entirely institutional. Committees, meetings and structural changes will help, but not cure; even money is powerless.
The magical potion, the balm of Gilead, is not patching up a disorderly world. Fortunately, it’s entirely within your grasp: It’s your family, your kids. Show them the beauty of Judaism that friends, rabbis, and teachers rarely promulgate – point out the pride that should illuminate this cultural, racial, religious club we call Judaism. Explain our contribution not just to monotheism, but to morality.
Great Price in Grogans Bluff!
Point out that Torah, a beacon of civilization, is our exclusive gift from He who hit the switch that lighted the sun. Call attention to Jewish names in the pantheon of peace and science. Gloat over Jewish accomplishments. Read the Parsha every week and remind your kids that our prophets spoke tenderly of nature thousands of years before Wordsworth. And since we live in a Christian world, talk about our contribution to this creed that – admit it – eventually softened a harsh world. Talk about our differences, too. In short, make them proud to be Jewish. You may have to strengthen yourself first, but remember, the children are our future. Their care, their “instruction” to use a politically incorrect phrase, is our memorial to those who came before us. As the Torah says over and over – tell your children of our deliverance from Egypt; inferentially, the same mitzvah applies to all of Torah. Tikuun olam – our mission, say the sages – is a challenging assignment, a gargantuan one.
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Our family is our world. The least we can do is to tend that small patch of garden. Editor’s note: Ted Roberts is author of “The Scribbler on the Roof,” which is available through Amazon.com and www.lulu.com/content/127641. Website: www.wonderworks.com. Blog: www.scribblerontheroof.typepad.com.
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JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
By Ted Roberts
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AJT
ISRAEL
My First Sar-El Sojourn EXPERIENCE ISRAEL A DIFFERENT WAY
By Ron Feinberg For the Atlanta Jewish Times
L
ike many American Jews, Israel was an important – if quiet – part of my childhood. I learned about the Jewish State in Hebrew school, handed over my nickels and dimes to the Jewish National Fund to buy trees to replenish its forests, attended youth conventions where we sang about “David, the King of Israel” and learned to dance the hora. During my college years, I even worked on the staff of a summer camp in Western North Carolina, Camp Judea, funded by Hadassah and the Zionist Organization of America. Then I blinked, and life happened. Three decades later, I was working as a newspaper editor in Atlanta when I stumbled across a website that detailed a program, Sar-El, which had been created to enlist the help of volunteers to work on IDF bases in Israel; I was intrigued. Over the next decade, whenever I had a free moment between editing stories and attending news meetings, I would return to the website. Everything about the program seemed exciting – it was in a distant, ancient land that was part of my heritage; it involved work that was, well, menial, but important; and it was a concrete way to help Israel when often it seemed politics and world opinion had turned its back on the Jewish homeland.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
And heck, you got to wear a uniform. How cool is that?
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The program became a secret fantasy, the place where I could go when work and life became too frenzied and frantic. And then a strange thing happened: The economy soured and work and life really did become too much, and after accepting a buy-out from my struggling company, Sar-El no longer seemed a dream. It became real, something I could do to escape the tumbling economy and the litany of woes that filled the news. The time had come to reconnect with that special place that had become part of my life as a child, and that’s exactly what I did.
That first adventure began with a 12-hour flight that left me weary and sore and in search of my Sar-El guide at Ben Gurion International Airport. I was traveling with Bill, a friend and a former colleague; we had both worked for the daily paper in Atlanta for nearly three decades, and he, too, was looking for some relief from the stress of daily life and a little adventure on an Israeli army base. What Bill and I initially found at Tel Hashomer was a tiny but tidy volunteer compound in one corner of the massive installation. At first glance, it had the look of a struggling summer camp – sun-bleached huts surrounding a courtyard that was a bit frayed around the edges. No matter; I had found my home for the next three weeks, and everything I needed was at hand. The IDF embraces routine, and SarEl embraces the IDF. Our mornings began with breakfast – eggs, yogurt, salad, bread, jam, coffee, tea and, when we were lucky, chocolate milk – followed by flag-raising, news of the day and announcements and then work. On our first day, Bill and I were introduced to our daily duties when we found our way back to the warehouse area and met our boss, Barack – a tall, smiling guy with a shock of salt-andpepper hair spilling about his face. A few other volunteers – Maayan and Roxanne from the U.S. and Barbara from New Zealand – were already at work, sorting through cardboard boxes of medical supplies. Bill and I were soon dipping into similar boxes filled with some sort of IV device (I never did figure out exactly what the equipment was used for in the field). Our job was to check the expiration date on the clear, plastic bags holding the devices, then check that the bags had not been compromised. Two hours and several hundred bags later and it was time for lunch: hummus, and other similar spreads; salads, vegetables, rice or pasta; and some sort of beef, chicken or veggie surprise. Three hours and several hundred bags more in the afternoon, and it was time for dinner more hummus, more salads, more pasta.
Add a few hours of free time around lunch and dinner and a special program each evening, multiply by three weeks and subtract the weekends – in my case, long weekends that included Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – and you begin to have a sense of the ebb and flow of base life for volunteers. The numbers, however, don’t capture the heart of the program, which is the volunteers and their stories. For most, Israel wasn’t just a tourist destination or a break from the routine; for some, the journey was a calling, a mission of heavenly import, and others were driven by less cosmic considerations. “I was trying to impress a girl,” a young guy from Florida said, explaining why he was in Israel. This surprising admission was offered up during an evening program exploring why we were serving as volunteers; others talked about their love of Israel, a need to offer support or a desire to step outside the tourist bubble and interact directly with Israelis. I mumbled something about the economy, being semi-retired and having the time to give. And then I shared a story about a previous trip to Israel and visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s world-class Holocaust museum. Moments after walking through the children’s memorial there, a profoundly moving experience that recalls that 1.5 million youngsters murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, I stumbled onto a group of soldiers. They had just exited the memorial also. Inexplicably, they were joking around, laughing and chatting. At that instant, I found myself getting angry, but after a moment’s reflection, it seemed to me that there was something redemptive about the scene and the young soldiers’ behavior. In a fashion I still find difficult to articulate, the young Israelis seemed a part of a chain, one additional link that includes the heartbreak of the Holocaust and establishment of the State of Israel, ancient wars and prophesies, the patriarchs and cosmic promises. The laughing soldiers, at least on this day, were the Jewish people’s vic-
tory and future, and I realized I felt comfort in their presence. Sar-El, I told the group at Tel Hashomer, was my way of saying thanks. I’ve realized recently it was also my way of becoming an active part of the chain once again, linking me with a land, a people and beliefs that stretch back thousands of years. Editor’s note: Ron Feinberg is a veteran journalist who has worked for daily newspapers across the Southeastern United States. He most recently worked for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and now specializes on topics of Jewish interest; ronfeinberg@bellsouth.net.
The Southeast region of Volunteers for Israel – Sar El’s American recruiting organization – plans a trip for the two- or three-week (volunteer’s option) program beginning Sun. Nov. 4, 2012. For more information, contact VFI representative Leon Rechtman at leon2579@mindspring.com or (770) 328-4573.
AJT
OUTREACH
Art Is Not Just Child’s Play AILF, ROSEFSKY AND BREMAN HOST INTERFAITH ART WORKSHOP
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alking into one of the back rooms at the Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum in the middle of a recent quiet Sunday afternoon, you might have thought you had stumbled into a preschool art class. At a half-dozen large round tables, there were stacks of colored paper, glue sticks, scissors and paper cut-outs in a variety of shapes, sizes and textures. But it wasn’t child’s play that had brought the participants to this makeshift classroom.
with all your might” – into an image of religious resolve. Participants had less than an hour to be inspired and then to comment not just on what they had seen in their own work but also on what they had seen in what others had done. A Korean Christian woman chose Psalm 27, a Native American selected a quote that reminds her of an episode of television’s “Little House on the Prairie,” and a Muslim man reflected on an abstract bird of paradise. Jan Swanson, who has led Interfaith Pilgrimages to Israel, Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East cut a
Instead, two dozen or so men and women were here to engage in an interfaith dialogue sponsored by the Atlanta Interfaith Leadership Fellowship (AILF); instead of words, they were to use art to come to a better under- Session facilitator Flora Rosefsky (standing) displays a parstanding of each ticipant’s work at the Atlanta Interfaith Leadership Fellowship’s other’s religious tra- recent art workshop. PHOTO/courtesy Bob Bahr ditions and by doing so helping in some small way to avoid cascading series of hands reaching for one another to symbolize the text from the tragedies of the recent past. Leading the class was Flora Rosef- Leviticus that she feels is reflected in sky of Decatur, the immediate past the teaching of all the major religions: president of the American Guild of Ju- “Love your neighbor as yourself.” daic Art.
“Use the scissors as an extension of your hand,” she told the group, many of whom probably hadn’t done anything like this since they were in grade school. “Cut directly into the color.” She encouraged participants as they cut the colored paper into abstract forms meant to carry a message of faith. To spark the imagination, Rosefsky prepared a handout with a broad cross-section of quotes from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Baha’i, Native American and Jewish religions. The idea, she explained, is not to think too much but to just allow one’s self to be led by whatever feelings are brought up by the quotes. For example, cut and paste the admonition from the Shema – “to love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
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That, Swanson believes, is essential to our understanding of the divine and coming to terms with the future.
“If we can’t see the human or the God-spirit in the other person, no matter what their faith, we can’t see God,” she said. It’s an idea that resonates in the tragedies of recent Jewish history. As Bill Voss, head of the AILF, commented, “The Breman plays a vastly underrecognized role in helping us remember the great tragedy of the Shoah. “My prayer is: ‘Never again, not only for the Jewish community, but also for all of mankind.’” Editor’s note: Bob Bahr is teaching a six-week course on “The Modern Search for Meaning In A World of Film” starting June 25 at PALS at Temple Sinai.
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JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
By Bob Bahr AJT Contributor
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AJT
ARTS & LIFE
Enriching Jewish Identity in San Francisco AN AJT WRITER’S VISIT TO THE WEST COAST By Jessie Miller Editorial Intern
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cross the continent from my East Cobb home, San Francisco is a completely different world: The hills are steeper, the seafood is better and the people are a bit more unique. But one aspect the Golden Gate
City and “Hotlanta” have in common is their Jewish community. Both have prominent synagogues, active federations and community centers, Jewish film festivals and museums dedicated to educating the community of their Jewish roots. Located downtown near the financial district, the Contemporary Jewish Museum appears to be a rectangular brick building set at the back
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of a square. However, a closer look reveals the “contemporary” aspect of the building; slightly to the left and behind the main building is a modern, cubic structure.
Also on display at the Museum is “Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought,” both a sharp contrast to the history-filled area of the museum and a showcase featuring many examples of contemporary artwork with significant symbolism to Judaism.
Architect Daniel Libeskind was commissioned in 1998 to create an innovative attachment to the original building, previ The name of ously a power the exhibit, station. The de“Do Not Design is based on stroy,” is acthe Jewish word tually taken PHOTO/Bruce Damonte, courtesy Contemporary l’chaim (“to life”), from a comJewish Museum, San Francisco and the shape mandment of the new building is based on the in the Torah and alludes to the role Hebrew letters chet and yud, which trees play in Judaism and their spirimake up the word chai. tual significance, a value also evident Currently on display is “Califor- in the holiday of Tu B’Shevat. nia Dreaming: Jewish Life in the Bay Area from the Gold Rush to the Present.” The exhibit features many prominent and influential Jews from San Francisco who shaped the city, information on the history of the local Jewish community and a discussion of the hippie Hasidic Jewish community and their House of Love and Prayer. I thought one of the most interesting parts of the exhibit was the profiles on individuals who helped create San Francisco. During the California Gold Rush, Levi Strauss found success not through gold but by selling goods to the miners, most famously denim; Strauss went on to fund many philanthropic causes in San Francisco and also joined the local Temple El-Manuel. Perhaps San Francisco’s most recognizable landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge came to fruition due to the contributions of three Jewish architects: Joseph Strauss, Charles Ellis and Leon Moisseiff. Another historic S.F. locale, the Sutro Bath Ruins located along the Pacific Ocean, were part of Adolph Sutro’s plans to beautify the city. When I visited the site of the Ruins, I was struck by the beautiful views of the ocean and photographs of the extravagant pool house that was sadly destroyed by a fire in 1966. In its prime, the Sutro Bath was a popular place for San Francisco residents.
The first piece I saw when entering the exhibit also turned out to be my favorite: Placed in a large circle in the floor, tiny cutouts of trees stood lined up; their black color made them appear like shadows compared to the stark, white floor. I studied the trees for a few minutes and their intricate detail then began to walk away.
However, the museum guard called out to me and said I wasn’t finished looking yet; he told me to come around the other side and look at the trees from there. The reverse angle revealed rows of colorful trees that created a much lighter and whimsical atmosphere. The dichotomy of the two sides of the trees reminded me that things are not always what they seem and that behind darkness can be found light if you look in the right direction. After five days, I was sad to leave the city, but knew that someday I would return. Not only did I get to experience a completely different culture, but visiting the Jewish Museum provided a few hours of Jewish learning and artwork. On the last day of our trip, we ended up stopping at a beach along the Pacific Ocean, and the immensity of that moment has stuck with me since. It was liberating to stand next to the ocean, wind whipping my hair and sand crunching between my toes, and be able to think about my life and what it means to be Jewish, wherever you are in the world.
AJT
ARTS & LIFE
Kosher Movies: Proof of Life (2000) DIRECTED BY TAYLOR HACKFORD By Rabbi Herbert Cohen For The Atlanta Jewish Times rabbihjco@msn.com
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ver my years as a rabbi, I have done some marital counseling. One standard piece of advice I give to couples of all ages is never go to bed angry, to never leave a problem hanging and allow it to fester overnight; the consequences can be far-reaching and potentially devastating. My wife and I do not agree on everything, and we probably never will. But we both understand that it is foolish not to resolve a divisive issue as soon as possible. We have learned that there are three very important phrases in any marriage: “I’m sorry,” “Forgive me” and “I love you.” “Proof of Life” is about a marriage under stress. On its surface an action film about a kidnapping in a South American country, the film introduced me to something that, thank G-d, I know little about: How a hostage release is negotiated with a kidnapper. It is scary, but fascinating.
al background that the kidnapping takes place. What ups the ante is the fact that Peter’s company has no insurance coverage for kidnapping, placing his wife Alice in the unfortunate position of personally hiring a hostage negotiator to achieve her husband’s release, all the while knowing that Peter feels ambivalent about the marriage. After a false start, she engages Terry Thorne, an expert in kidnapping and ransom cases, to help her. The beginnings of rapprochement and reconciliation occur when Peter
asks his captors if he can take a picture of his wife out of his wallet to bring with him on his trek into the wilderness. It is a photo that both comforts and inspires him throughout his ordeal. Alice, too, begins to sense that her husband still loves her when a prisoner who has escaped tells her of Peter’s devotion to her and how it enabled him to survive pain and humiliation. Peace between husband and wife is the bedrock of a Jewish home. So precious is spousal harmony that the Bible
speaks of a ritual in which G-d’s holy name is erased in order to promote marital harmony and save a marriage in peril. Moreover, the Talmud says that the classic dictum of “loving your neighbor as yourself” refers specifically to the relationship between husband and wife who are not only lovers but the best of friends. The titular “Proof of Life” on one level refers to the proof that the hostage negotiator wants before transferring money to kidnappers. On another level, it refers to the deep love that asserts itself when marriages are being tested. Resolving disputes and expressing daily love in word and deed to one’s spouse are affirmations that, in spite of adversity, love will endure. Love itself is proof of life. Editor’s note: Rabbi Cohen, former principal of Yeshiva Atlanta, now resides in Beit Shemesh, Israel. koshermovies.com.
Based on a true story that appeared in Vanity Fair magazine, the movie recounts the tense ordeal of Alice Bowman and her husband Peter, who is kidnapped by guerilla rebels and taken into the country’s mountains for a number of months. But what makes the kidnapping especially worrisome is the conversation that Alice and Peter had the night before.
Peter, angry at his lot in life, tells her to take a break and leave the country alone; he will stay in South America. It is an emotionally wrenching scene to watch as the fabric of a relationship between a once-devoted and still-loving couple begins to unravel, and it is against this emotion-
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Peter’s company is in financial straits, and yet Peter wants to stay in the country. Alice, who suffered a miscarriage when the couple were stationed in Africa, is emotionally spent and wants to return to the States.
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AJT
LET IT BE READ
First-Time Author Richard M. Dressler Publishes “The Protector” “A FATHER’S INSIGHTFUL AND PASSIONATE JOURNEY THROUGH FAMILY CRISES” By Sallie Wolper Boyles For The Atlanta Jewish Times
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hen Richard (Dick) Dressler met his love-atfirst-sight on a singles getaway in the Poconos, he knew with certainty that he and Judy were destined to marry and have children. Eternally optimistic, the young man in love overlooked the obstacles: The two not only lived in separate cities, but Judy also had a serious boyfriend. With a clear vision of their future together, he pursued the sheltered yet spunky beauty from the Brooklyn with everything to gain. Why not? Dick had love on his side, as Judy was equally smitten. Love and optimism propelled them to marry and shortly thereafter to relocate from Hartford, Conn. to Atlanta, where a promising career opportunity awaited Dick. Children were the only missing elements, Dick and Judy believed, to live happily ever after. Those prayers, too, were eventually answered with the adoption of a first and then a second infant son, and years later, with Judy’s surprise pregnancy and the birth of baby boy no. 3. On the surface, Dick – the devoted family man, respected financial services professional and sociable fellow who loved any excuse to celebrate his family and friends – appeared to have it all.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Easily approachable and kindhearted, he did not fit the profile of someone who had numerous encoun-
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ters with drug dealers, prostitutes, law enforcement authorities, parole officers and criminal defense attorneys. Dick’s life of turmoil, however, included many such characters, though they reflected only half of his story; the rest entailed his efforts to save his loved ones from the psychological and physiological diseases that plagued them. No matter the cause, one of his three sons stood at the heart of nearly every family crisis: The two eldest, adopted at birth, became addicts, and the youngest, the baby born against all odds, suffered with cystic fibrosis. While demonstrating an uncanny ability to remain positive and strong, Dick faced countless circumstances that were too awful to describe, even with words like “horribly shocking,” “tragic” or “maddening.” Still, he found reasons to be uplifted and inspired by his experiences. When he first decided to write a book, Dick knew that he wanted to help others, but he didn’t have a clear-cut strategy until he felt a tremendous catharsis from talking about his challenges in detail. “Segments of my life played like one of those bizarre television movies
of the week – too crazy to be believable,” he explained. “And more often than not, I was juggling more than one crisis at once. I didn’t have much time to reflect or see the big picture until my ghostwriter, Sallie Boyles, began to interview me. “When she gave me the words and structure to sort everything out, I gained perspectives that I’d lost in the fray along with greater fortitude to turn the negatives into positives.” At the same time, with the book underway, Dick began to talk about it with colleagues and casual acquaintances who were previously unaware of his personal struggles. “Suddenly, they would open up to me, revealing their own painful truths, usually about children in crisis,” he said. “That’s when I connected the dots and realized that my candor could encourage other parents to speak openly about their problems and to seek support rather than blaming themselves and suffering in silence.” Acknowledging that some harsh realities – such as having a child with a
terminal illness – will never go away, Dick strives to inspire individuals and families to seek positive methods of coping as well as to find peace and create joy in their lives. “I have spoken for a number of groups – from professional organizations to support groups,” he said. “Above all, audiences most appreciate a motivational talk I give about living life fully with passion. No matter our circumstances, we each have a choice to be passionate about something and to accentuate the positive in every day. “I don’t have an answer for everyone, and quite a few have criticized the choices I’ve made in an effort to do whatever I could to protect my primary passion, my family. But even my harshest critics tell me that they aspire to adopt my philosophy of viewing the glass as half full, not half empty. “Well, if I can remain a positive person in light of what I’ve faced, then anyone can.” Editor’s note: Dick’s book, “The Protector, A Father’s Insightful and Passionate Journey through Family Crises,” is available online through Amazon, AuthorHouse and Barnes & Noble. Based in Atlanta, he is also available for speaking engagements: Richard@ ProtectingMyLovedOnes.com. Sallie Wolper Boyles, owner of Write Lady Inc., is a freelance ghostwriter, copywriter and editor based in Duluth, Ga.: writelady.com or info@writelady. com.
AJT
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Catching Up with a Local Legend JIMMY BARON MAKES KEEPING KOSHER COOL
New management. New programs. Upgrades everywhere.
By Jason Apple AJT Columnist
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few weeks back, I sat down with Atlanta radio legend Jimmy Baron at one of his favorite kosher restaurants in Atlanta, OU for U Café in Sandy Springs. Baron, former DJ at 92.9 Dave FM and 99X, has been keeping kosher since the late ‘90s. He’s seen the kosher food scene in Atlanta change drastically – from one or two places with limited kosher menus to a wealth
Keeping the Faith I’ve always wondered about the struggles of keeping such a high-profile life while remaining true to the traditions and values of Judaism. During our wide-ranging conversation, Baron talked about returning to the Jewish faith in late 1988 after having what he recalled as a lovely Shabbat dinner with friends. “Full of dancing and singing, this was not the Shabbat that I remembered [from growing up],” he said. Baron is passionate about the culture and traditions of Judaism, and he strives to share that with folks around him through everyday conversations. He hopes to share that passion with members of younger generations, such as his five-year-old son Micah, to remind them that Judaism can be a fun and moving part of our lives.
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“So many young Jewish kids see Judaism as a burden,” he said, though he hopes more kids will see it as a gift.
“So many of the kosher restaurants now think outside the box,” he said, which he believes makes “keeping kosher much easer in this big city.” We had the opportunity to eat at OU for U, which offers a fresh take on kosher food, just after a renovation. This was my first time here, but Baron seemed to know his way through the menu. The food was delicious and the staff was so accommodating – I was very impressed. The falafel was fresh and accompanied by crisp lettuce and tomato; it was nothing what I had imagined kosher food tasting like.
Also, when you have some time, check out Baron’s new venture Stories of Life. These inspiring video stories of older love ones can be found at storiesoflife.net. Editor’s note: Jason Apple is an Atlanta native and a lover of food. When he’s not running around town trying everything the Atlanta food scene has to offer, he works at Kitchen Fronts of Georgia, a kitchen refacing company, and writes a local food blog, “The Kitchen Man Can.”
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
of restaurants and cafes offering full kosher menus.
Baron recommends checking out the vast array of kosher restaurants in Atlanta to see that the true gift of being Jewish can be found in food. Baron’s favorite place is Fungo Mundo in Sandy Springs, which offers fresh fire-roasted fare.
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AJT
EDUCATION
Eagles “Run Away” with Top Epstein Seventh-Graders Get Top Placements in MAAC Championship Ranks in Duke TIP Program BECKY ARBIV COMPETES AT STATE LEVEL
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From left to right, Epstein athletes Julia Stern, Becky Arbiv, Ian Neil and Zahava Feldstein. PHOTO/Coleen Lou
he Epstein Eagles Track & Field Team ended the season on a high note. Seventh-grader Becky Arbiv competed in the 2012 Georgia State Middle School Championships, placing second in high jump, second in pole vault and sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. Additionally, three eighth-grade Eagle athletes who competed at the 2012 Metro Atlanta Athletic Conference League Championships placed in the top three of their events. Zahava Feldstein took home the gold
with a first-place finish in the pole vault; Ian Neil placed first in the long jump, first in the 200-meter dash and third in the 100-meter dash; and Julia Stern earned silver honors in the pole vault. Coach James Battoglia, affectionately known as “Coach B” said, “I could not have asked for a better group of kids to work with. They worked very hard and have natural skills that any coach would only hope for. “We are very proud of all of our MAAC Track & Field Champions.”
SIXTEEN QUALIFY, THREE RECEIVE GRAND RECOGNITION
Qualifying for the Duke TIP Program with outstanding ACT scores were (left to right, back row) Tamara Kaplin, Noah Weinstein, Noah Platt, Benny Soran, Becky Arbiv, Noah Lampert, Yoel Alperin, (middle row) Jennifer Friedman, Sari Leven, Shaun Regenbaum, Sarah Peljovich, Maddy Dorfman, Jenny Lee Judenberg, Nathan Cohen, (front row) Sabrina Kaplan and Chase McGrath. PHOTO/Coleen Lou
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ixteen Epstein School seventh-graders scored high enough on the ACT test to receive State Level recognition and/or be eligible to participate in Duke University’s Center for Summer Studies or Academy for Summer Studies. Three of the sixteen – Jennifer Friedman, Noah Weinstein and Noah Platt – qualified for Grand Level recognition. Duke University’s Talent Search is the largest program of its kind in the nation, garnering participation from 6,000 junior high and middle
schools in the Duke Talent Identification Program 16-state region. The Search is designed to identify academically-talented seventh-graders based on standardized test scores. “We are very proud of the extraordinary achievement of these students,” Epstein Head of School Stan Beiner said. “This is a wonderful reflection on the high-caliber of our students, exceptional academic quality of a bilingual education at The Epstein School and the commitment of our professional educators.”
YA Math Team Wins Region SENIOR SHAI WEENER POSTS IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUAL SCORES
A JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
t athletic contests across the state, a cheer often heard from fans and cheerleaders goes something like this: “Two times four is half of 16, all for our team stand up and scream!”
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Recently at Yeshiva Atlanta, this cheer took on new meaning, as the YA Math League Team was recognized as Regional Champion. The Math League, which was formed in 1977, sponsors annual math contests for more than 1 million students from the United States and Canada.
Every contest has questions from different areas of mathematics; the goal is to encourage student interest and confidence in mathematics through solving worthwhile problems. Schools compete in statewide or multistate league competitions that, instead of pitting teams headto-head in single events, are conducted as a series of challenges. The Yeshiva Atlanta Math Team competes in a Georgia region composed of both public and private schools, and this year’s YA Math Team outscored teams from prestigious high schools such as Druid
Hills, Lakeside and Paideia in being named Regional Champion. YA Honors Math students took six six-problem tests over the course of the year, each one lasting 30 minutes. The top five scores from each round of testing comprised the team score; at the close of the competition, the YA team had the 10th-highest cumulative score in the state for the six test series. Shai Weener, a member of YA’s graduating class of 2012, had a perfect score on two of the six tests. He also had the fifth-highest cumulative score for a student in the state.
Shai Weener
AJT
EDUCATION
TDSA Students Watch Rare Solar Crossing “DR. SCIENCE” SHARES WONDERS OF NATURAL WORLD By Leslee Morris For The Atlanta Jewish Times
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n the evening of June 5, Dr. Alan Feingold – known within the Torah Day School of Atlanta family as Dr. Science – hosted a once-in-alifetime viewing of the planet Venus crossing in front of the Sun. Armed with x-ray film designed to be held in front of one’s eyes, Dr. Feingold explained to his students that the teeny black dot at the one o’clock position on the Sun was Venus. While the planet was barely visible to most viewers, the excitement and interest among the small crowd gathered at the Toco Hills Shopping Center at North Druid Hills was clearly evident. Families gathered with the intent of sharing the excitement that the students at TDSA are privileged to experience weekly with Dr. Science. “I love to share science with the children,” Feingold said. “They see things with open eyes and do not
have the biases that many adults have. I was just as excited to see this once in a lifetime experience as were the children and their parents.” In addition to teaching a comprehensive science curriculum to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, Dr. Feingold also teaches an after school class consisting of about 20 budding scientists. He’s taken the students on nature walks, showed them a variety of bones from animals and fish, performed a variety of experiments and shared his love of gardening and his keen interest in just about anything living. “We are extremely fortunate that someone of Dr. Feingold’s caliber in knowledge and commitment has made the conscious decision to share his boundless energy and love of science with our students,” Mrs. Linda Rabinowitz, TDSA’s general studies principal, said.
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Editor’s note: Leslee Morris is office administrator/admissions director at Torah Day School of Atlanta.
RIGHT: Torah Day School science teacher Dr. Alan Feingold, a.k.a. Dr. Science, loves sharing his passion for science with students. BELOW: TDSA students prepare to safely watch Venus cross the Sun.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
PHOTO/courtesy Leslee Morris
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AJT
TELL & KVELL
Graduations
Births
Emily Brooke Meddin
Dr. Avery Jaffe Dr. Avery Jaffe, daughter of Dr. Dennis Jaffe and Marcia Caller Jaffe and a graduate of the Epstein School and Riverwood High School, received her doctorate of dental surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Southern California. She plans to head back to the East Coast to practice dentistry in South Florida.
Michael May Michael May, son of Rick and Cindy May, graduated from Weber High School on June 3. He will attend the University of Alabama in the fall.
Louis and Michele Meddin of Roswell announce the birth of their daughter, Emily Brooke, on Feb. 16, 2012. She weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce. Emily is the granddaughter of Dr. Stanley and Bunny Pollock of Atlanta and the late Roger and Ethel Meddin, who lived in Savannah. The simchat bat was performed by Rabbi Shalom Lewis on Apr. 28 at Congregation Etz Chaim. Emily was given the Hebrew name Etta Bracha in memory of Ethel Cohen Meddin and Bertha Berky Golub. A baby naming was also performed for relatives by Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz on May 13 at the Chabad of North Fulton.
Rachel May Rachel May, daughter of Rick and Cindy May, graduated from The Weber School on June 3. She will attend Indiana University in the fall.
Jaclyn Nicole Turner Shabbat Candle Lighting Times
Friday, June 22, 2012 Light Candles at: 8:34 p.m. shabbat blessings
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Blessing for the Candles Baruch Arah A-do-nai,El-o-hei-nu Melech Haolam Asher Kid-shanu b’mitzvotav V’zivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat
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Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of time and space. You hallow us with Your mitzvot and command us to kindle the lights of Shabbat.
Shabbat, June 23, 2012 Shabbat Ends: 9:35 p.m. Blessing for thw Wine Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu Meelech Haolam, Borei p’ri hagafen Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine. Blessing for the Bread (Challah) Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu Melech haolam, Hamotzi Lechem min haaretz. Our Praise to You Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.
Jaclyn Nicole Turner has graduated from North Springs Charter High School. She is the daughter of Carole and Stanley Turner of Sandy Springs and the granddaughter of Lea Turner and the late Arthur Turner and William and Hilda Kurtz. Jaclyn will be attending the University of Maryland this fall and plans to major in both journalism and American studies. Jaclyn was involved in BBYO, USY, Mock Trial and served as co-chair of Amy’s Holiday Party. She was also active in the National Honor Society and in the drama magnet program.
D’VAR TORAH
GOLD
D’var Torah: Parsha Korach COMMUNITY AND LIFE’S LESSONS By Nancy Seifert Gorod For The Atlanta Jewish Times On June 19, 2011, Andrew Silvershein, a 16-year-old camper at Ramah Darom, drowned in an accident during a camp rafting trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. This d’var Torah was written just days after the accident; it is in memory of Andrew on his Yartzheit that I dedicate this d’var Torah.
“C
ommunity” – a megaword of our faith. We all know what it can do for us, both the positive things and the negative things. And in these times, community has a whole new meaning – we are part of a global community, a local community, a virtual community. With Facebook, Twitter, texting, and other social networks, our communities are larger and more diverse than ever before. Some deride Facebook and what it is doing to our cultural fabric regarding privacy. But for me, Facebook is another way of community living, and it can be used for good and for the not so good. Let’s look at this week’s Torah portion, when Korach and his followers were looking to plan a mutiny around the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Imagine if you will… Korach’s Facebook page features a status that reads “Please join me in showing Moses that he and Aaron have gone too far. Rise up!” Korach gets 250 “Likes” on his status. The “wall-to-wall” between Moses and Korach begins with the latter posting: “All the community is holy, all of them, and God is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourself above God’s community?” Moses then posts on Korach’s wall in response: “Isn’t it enough that God has set you apart as
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Levites and given you access to him and to the Mishkan? Now you want more?” In this scenario, through his Facebook page, Korach was able to assemble 250 people to join him in a rebellion. In Torah time, it looks like it took no time at all: Between Verse 2 and Verse 19, the forces were rallied, the people were in place at the front of the ohel moed, the “Tent of Meeting,” and they were ready to rumble. But in real time, how long do you think it would have taken to prepare for this? Technology has given us the tools to be able to accomplish in literally split seconds what before this decade would have taken us days or even weeks to do. This is a blessing and a curse. One strike of a “Send” key and you have done your work. Lashon hara has never been this easy. But community these sites and networks are nonetheless. Our virtual community can often provide the same things a flesh and blood community can do, sometimes in tandem when necessary. One year ago this week, our Southern Jewish community experienced a terrible tragedy. It does not matter that we all were not physically present during this tragedy; the effect was like ripples in the water – concentric circles beginning with all the teenagers who were on the river that day, emanating outward to points unknown. A horrible accident occurs in Tennessee, and within moments, people in several states and even other countries are experiencing grief, shock, profound sadness, and countless other emotions that are too numerous to name here. This event on the Ocoee River during a rafting trip by Camp Ramah Darom’s Gesher age division changed many people’s lives forever. A terrible accident in which a 16-year-old boy drowned transformed many of us, particularly the Ramah Darom
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community and our own children, and has raised the concept of community to new heights. What ensued after the tragedy was an amazing outpouring of love and support within the structure of camp. Camp had no practice in this (thankfully), but what is ingrained in our tradition, what we want all of our children to learn, was brought to life and action in full throttle in the mountains of North Georgia. The amount of support, love and counseling that occurred over the course of that week amid the sadness and grief was phenomenal; a support system is part of the camp structure. Different activities serving as outlets for the teens and overseen by caring staff – who also had to deal with their own grief and shock – were put into place. Other Ramah camps offered beautiful letters of support, and former staff people rallied to their side and came up to camp to mourn and support and offer condolences. Meanwhile, we as parents were dealing with our own emotions at home, unable to hug our own children during this heartbreaking time. But what got us through this was the knowledge that our children were in the best possible environment and with the best possible people to deal
with what they were going through. This is community, and when our kids came out on the other side of this, they had experienced the most profound community building. The parents of Andrew Silvershein, z”l, through their grief also saw the beauty of our Ramah community. They set up a memorial scholarship fund in his honor, because they too know what this Ramah community can do to our youth and for our youth. Taking advantage of community for not-so-savory reasons will still go on, as it did in this week’s Torah portion. But taking advantage of community in the way we experienced that week, in the face of that terrible tragedy – this is what we need to teach our children and each other. Shabbat Shalom. Editor’s note: Nancy Seifert Gorod provides customized learning, resources and support for individuals and families who seek to enhance, deepen or broaden their Jewish experience. She can be found at YourJewishLife.com. She is a member of the education staff at Camp Ramah Darom.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
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SPECIAL INTEREST
Questing for Jewish Identity DIFFERENT TODAY THAN IT WAS YESTERDAY By Eugen Schoenfeld AJT Contributor
I
n the last 64 years – that is, since I arrived on the shores of this country – I have heard frequently repeated, “Jewish people are losing their identity.”
We no longer attend services and we no longer consider ourselves to be a part of kelal yisrael (“the Jewish community”), and all of this occurred decades after the Holocaust. For more than two millennia we confessed a belief in echod – that Judaism, like the Torah and God, is one and indivisible, but in the last two centuries Judaism has become fragmented. I would like to comment on this observation, but before I do, I must declare the following caveat: In the history of Judaism, there was but one Hillel who was capable of reducing the essentiality of Judaism to one sentence. I do not have this capability, and yet I have chosen this topic, one that is so complex that volumes could be written on it. Still, I feel the need to examine the break down of Jewish homogeneity and the rise of heterogeneity and to begin the search for a common denominator that will unify us.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
One fundamental tenet in the Jewish religious perspective of last 2,000 years is the belief in eternality of God and the Torah. When we celebrate Shavuot, the time when according to tradition the Torah was given to all the Jews, I am reminded of a rabbinic legend.
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On the sixth day of Sivan, when we stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, all Jews – those of the past, present and of the future – were united and in unison declared naase v’nishmah, “we shall obey and listen.” With these words, we accepted the yoke of the Torah; but, of course, the Torah is subject to interpretation and thus is relevant not only for the past but for all times and conditions. Contrary to the dictum expounded by the author of Ecclesiastics that “there is nothing new under the sun,” both the social and the physi-
cal worlds are constantly changing. Nothing stays the same, all religions proclaim that; and our view of God is not exempt from this change.
the Temple that was destroyed, one of the key factors in Judaism becoming a prayer-centered religion rather than a cultic one.
But there remains a difference between proclaimed eternal ideals and reality. Jacob Neusner in his book “The Death and Births of Judaism” reinforces this view and writes that throughout its long existence, Judaism has evolved and assumed many different forms.
By the year 70 CE, Judaism as a cultic religion ceased to exist, but even before the destruction of the second Temple, another new form of Judaism rose: Rabbinic Judaism. From the first through the third centuries, the Talmud (also called the Oral Law) and its collateral interpretive literature such as the Sifre, Sifra and Mekhilta defined Judaism as a system of beliefs and behavior that was governed by pre- and proscriptions.
Judaism Through Different Lenses Some forms of Judaism have disappeared, and new forms have been born. As Judaism changes, so change the requirements for identity, namely the beliefs and behavior that one professes and manifests if one wishes to retain his membership in the collective.
Together with the various legends, the Talmud became the source that determined Jewish life. For popular use these laws and associated customs (minhagim) were condensed into the books of Yoreh Deah, which
“The significant question today is: Can we find another force that will bring back our commonality and, with it, our unity?” In one example of these changes: Judaism began as a cultic religion consisting of practices that were centered around a temple, and in this religion, the man-to-God relationship was believed to be achievable through sacrificial offerings. From an anthropological perspective, sacrifice is based on the principle of reciprocity. Through offering sacrifices, similar to gift-giving, people sought both to please and, at the same time, to control God. The idea was that if I give God a gift and please Him, He surely is beholden to me until He repays the gift. When in 348 BCE some of the exiled Jews under the leadership of Ezra the Scribe returned to Israel and began to rebuild the destroyed Temple, they also brought along with them a new religious institution developed in Babylon, the beth haknesseth, the synagogue. The synagogue developed in Babylon to substitute
was further abbreviated in the Kitzur Shulchan Aaruch, a book that became the guide for being Jewish and for determining what behavior is or is not permissible. The content of faith was summarized in Maimonides’s 13 principles, which became the Jewish catechism. To be a Jew – that is, for a person to define himself a Jew and to be accepted into the Jewish community – one had to accept and be committed to Jewish laws, rituals and faith, and thus the Jewish people by and large existed as a homogenous people with little or no deviation permitted. The Dilemma of the Modern Era In the late 18th century, there were significant changes in Europe that affected Jewish life. Ghetto life, with its demand for Jewish and Christian segregation, was ending. The Frankfurt Ghetto – one of the
largest – opened its gates in 1796, and the Jews of the city began to migrate to the great business and cultural centers of Germany. The social forces that brought these changes to Jewish life were industrialization and the French Revolution. Increased education and unfettered interaction among people of different religions, Jewish life and, collaterally, Jewish identity changed. Thus broke down the high degree of Jewish homogeneity that characterized ghetto and shtetl life while increased interaction between various cultures (especially between Jews and non-Jews) increased Jewish heterogeneity. Jewish people began to adopt perspectives and behavior of the people with whom they lived; they began to see that goodness and truth is not limited to Judaism alone. Meanwhile, more accessible and higher-quality education led to increased secularization – that is, the degree to which Jewish laws and customs affect behavior has not only lessened but in many instances became immaterial. Life was no longer guided by Halacha. In short, Jewish commonality became fractured, and that led to ever-increasing differences among Jews. The significant question today is: Can we find another force that will bring back our commonality and, with it, our unity? In this regard, I agree with Professor Isaiah Berlin. He asserts that in a world that is generally becoming more secular, religion is losing meaning and no longer provides answers to existential questions that people seek. Instead, Prof. Berlin proposes that “all Jews who are at all conscious of their identity as Jews are steeped in history.” The single most powerful factor that unites Jews and in fact makes the rest of the world recognize Jews as a people is their “historic sense, a sense of continuity with the past.” It is therefore most important that we change the primacy of being Jewish from religion and invest it into the teaching of history – that is, the sense of our historical continuity.
AJT
MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A BLESSING
Esther Brenner 88, ATLANTA Esther Bredosky Brenner, 88, died on Mon., June 11, 2012 of lung cancer. She and her twin sister, Lillian Bredosky, were born June 14, 1923 to Rebecca Mendelson Bredosky and Samuel Bredosky in Rome, Ga. She is preceded in death by her husband, Malcolm A. Brenner, Jr. and her six siblings: Nat Bredosky, Harry Bredosky, Alice Bredosky, Fay Bredosky Lewitz and Lillian Bredosky, all of Atlanta, and Solomon Max Bredosky of Rome. Esther is survived by her three nieces and their husbands: Sandra and Richard Pressman, Atlanta; Joan and Allan Morris, Birmingham, Ala.; and Charlene and Irwin Galanti, Atlanta; six great-nieces: Amanda Pressman-Smoot, New York City; Stephanie Pressman, Hollywood, Calif.; Rebecca and Meredith Galanti, Atlanta; Amy Strickland, Birmingham; Dr. Jennifer Morris-Roberts, Woodbine, Md.; three great-nephews: Gabriel Pressman, Atlanta; Stuart Thompson, Eagle, Colo.; Cary Thomson IV, Aspen, Colo.; and nine greatgreat-nieces and nephews. Esther graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State College (now University), where she met her future husband, Malcolm Brenner. She was inducted into Delta Mu Delta International Honors Society in Business. Esther became the third woman and first Jewish woman to pass the CPA exam in Georgia. She became a partner in the accounting firm of Malcolm Brenner Co. She eventually married Malcolm in 1981. They enjoyed working, bowling and traveling around the world together until his death in 1988. Esther and her sister, Alice Bredosky, spent countless hours volunteering at Shearith Israel Synagogue, where they both received the Joe Cohen Memorial Distinguished Service Award in 1997. Sign online guest book at edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shearith Israel Women’s Shelter or Weinstein Hospice. Graveside services were held at Crest Lawn Cemetery, 2000 Marietta Boulevard, Atlanta, GA at 11:30 a.m. on Wed., June 13, 2012. Immediately following the service the family received guests at Congregation Shearith Israel (1180 University Drive, Atlanta, GA 30306). Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.
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Atlanta Synagogue Directory CHABAD
Non-denominational
Congregation B’nai Torah 1633 Hwy 54 E Jonesboro, GA 30238 www.bnai-israel.net 678.817.7162
Chabad Israel Center 5188 Roswell Rd. Sandy Springs, GA 30324 www.cicatlanta.com 404.252.9508
Atlanta Chevre Minyan Druid Forest Clubhouse North Crossing Dr. Atlanta, GA 30305 www.atlantachevreminya.org
Congregation Dor Tamid 11165 Parsons Rd. Johns Creek, GA 30097 www.dortamid.org 770.623.8860
Chabad Jewish Center 4255 Wade Green Rd. Suite 120 Kennesaw, GA 30144 www.jewishwestcobb.com 678.460.7702
Congregation Shema Yisrael 6065 Roswell Rd., #3018 Atlanta, GA 30328 www.shemaweb.org 404.943.1100
Congregation Ner Tamid 176 West Sandtown Rd. Marietta, GA 30064 www.nertamidonline.com 678.264.8575
Guardians of the Torah P.O. Box 767981 Roswell, GA 30076 www.guardiansofthetorah.org 770.286.3477
Temple Beth David 1885 Mcgee Rd. Snellville, GA 30078 www.gwinnetttemple.com 770.978.3916
Nediv Lev: the Free Synagogue of Atlanta 3791 Mill Creek Ct. Atlanta, GA 30341 My.att.net/p/PWP-NedivLev 770.335.2311
Temple Beth Tikvah 9955 Coleman Rd. Roswell, GA 30075 www.bethtikvah.com 770.642.0434
Chabad of Gwinnett 3855 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Suite 770 Norcross, GA 30092 www.chabadofgwinnett.org 678.595.0196 Chabad of North Fulton 10180 Jones Bridge Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.chabadnf.org 770.410.9000 Congregation Beth Tefillah 5065 High Point Rd. Atlanta, GA 30342 www.chabadga.com 404.257.9306
Conservative Ahavath Achim Synagogue 600 Peachtree Battle Ave. Atlanta, GA 30327 www.aasynagogue.org 404.355.5222 Congregation Beth Shalom 5303 Winters Chapel Rd. Atlanta, GA 30360 www.bshalom.net 770.399.5300 Congregation B’nai Torah 700 Mount Vernon Hwy. Atlanta, GA 30328 www.bnaitorah.org 404.257.0537
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
Congregation Etz Chaim 1190 Indian Hills Pkwy Marietta, GA 30068 www.etzchaim.net 770.973.0137 Congregation Gesher L’Torah 4320 Kimball Bridge Rd. Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.gltorah.org 770.777.4009 Congregation Or Hadash 6751 Roswell Rd. Atlanta, GA 30328 www.or-hadash.org 404.250.3338
Orthodox Anshi S’Fard Congregation 1324 North Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306 www.anshisfard.com 404.874.4513 Congregation Ariel 5237 Tilly Mill Rd. Dunwoody, GA 30338 www.congariel.org 770.390.9071 Congregation Beth Jacob 1855 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.bethjacobatlanta.org 404.633.0551 Congregation Beth Yitzhak 5054 Singleton Rd. Norcross, GA 30093 770.931.4567 Email: anatoliy@bjca.com Congregation Ner Hamizrach 1858 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.ner-hamizrach.org 404.315.9020 The Kehilla of Sandy Springs 5075 Roswell Rd. Sandy Springs, GA 30342 www.thekehilla.org 404.913.6131 Young Israel of Toco Hills 2074 Lavista Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.yith.org 404.315.1417
Reconstructionist
Congregation Bet Haverim 2676 Clairmont Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.congregationbethaverim.org 404.315.6446
by Kathi Handler (bookssss@aol.com)
Reform
Chabad Intown 928 Ponce De Leon Avenue Atlanta, GA 30306 www.chabadintown.org 404.898.0434
Chabad of Cobb 4450 Lower Roswell Rd. Marietta, GA 30068 www.chabadofcobb.com 770.565.4412
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Congregation Shearith Israel 1180 University Dr. Atlanta, GA 30306 www.shearithisrael.com 404.873.1743
JEWISH PUZZLER
Temple Emanu-El 1580 Spalding Dr. Atlanta, GA 30350 www.templeemanuelatlanta.org 770.395.1340 Temple Kehillat Chaim 1145 Green St. Roswell, GA 30075 www.kehillatchaim.org 770.641.8630 Temple Kol Emeth 1415 Old Canton Rd. Marietta, GA 30062 www.kolemeth.net 770.973.3533 Temple Sinai 5645 Dupree Dr. Sandy Springs, GA 30327 www.templesinatlanta.org 404.252.3073 The Temple 1589 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30309 www.the-temple.org 404.873.1731
SEPHARDIC Congregation Or VeShalom 1681 North Druid Hills Rd. Atlanta, GA 30319 www.orveshalom.org 404.633.1737
Traditional Congregation Shaarei Shamayim 1810 Briarcliff Rd. Atlanta, GA 30329 www.shaareishamayeim.com 404.417.0472
Crossword Clues Across 1. Zim carrier 5. Hubs for Tsahal 10. Starter bet for B. Greenstein 14. Dance 15. Einstein specialties 16. “Maude” Producer 17. Minor Prophet 18. Shofar’s sound 19. “__ 18”’ Uris novel 20. Like the men of Chelm 22. Bases of sandals 23. Angel of Death path 24. Ham, Shem and Japhet 25. Stone or Lawrence 28. Abraham, once 32. Bagel centers? 33. Israeli lira 34. 551 35. E’er to Lazarus 36. Imitating Nizer? 37. Spoken 38. Sixth day creation 39. Daven (Eng) 40. Barry Greenstein game 41. Hebrew overlords 43. Meshugge 44. Batman creator 45. Chad Gadya 47. Covet 49. Kahn and Midler 54. Like Goliath 55. Zaftig (Eng) 56. Chazzan’s concern 57. Funt or Greenspan 58. Extent 59. “Founders and Sons”, author 60. Minyans 61. Dogpatch resident 62. Observe Shabbat Down 1. Israeli political party 2. Casa to Marrano 3. “__ Dome”, Israeli defense 4. Chag Ha’aviv 5. History of the Israelites 6. Yiddish theater star 7. Galilee and Dead 8. Hamantaschen? 9. Tel-Aviv to Ashdod (dir)
10. Mandl bread flavoring 11. “Laughter in the Rain” singer 12. “Bambi” by Salten 13. Roman and Messianic 21. Eight to Chanukah 22. Like chametz on Passover 24. Imitated Manilow 25. Stooge 26. Feldshuh, Golda’s Balcony actress 27. Supreme Court Justice 28. Shekels 29. Emulate Wiesenthal 30. Gentile? 31. Kol__ 33. Exodus midwife 36. Teva product 37. Randy Newman 39. Walking aid 40. Tu B’Shevat planting? 42. Birds of the ark 45. Neil Simon milieu 46. Seder 47. Schmooz (Eng.) 48. The Golden __ 49. Ishmael progeny 50. Lieberman’s state 51. Sandal base 52. Seth’s boy 53. Transmitted 55. Top for Gottex
Last week’s answers
AJT
WHAT’S HAPPENING
This Week’s Highlighted Events
Friday
JUNE
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FIDF Atlanta Women’s Brigade Night at the Shooting Range. Wed., June 27, 7 p.m. Sandy Springs Shooting Range. ginny. adams@fidf.org.
Sun., July 15
Fri., June 22
AAbsolute Unplugged, come to UNwind, UNderstand, and UNplug from the ordinary, in a new prayer experience. Fri., June 22, 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Ahavath Achim Synagogue. www.AASynagogue.org.
Sunday
JUNE
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Sun., June 24
Congregation Ner Tamid at Kennesaw Mountain, come with your family and friends for some fresh air, a hike or a run; includes picnic, summer games and discussion. Sun., June 24, 10 a.m. RSVP requested. Kennesaw Mountain. (678) 264-8575. Get Screened, get tested for 19 Jewish Genetic Diseases. Sun., June 24, 10 a.m. $25 maximum fee. Advanced registration required. Atlanta Women’s Health Group. http://www.atlantajewishgenescreen.org. Janice Rothschild Blumberg Book Talk and Signing, author of “Prophet in a Time of Priests” speaks, moderated by Gail Evens. Sun., June 24, 2 p.m. $12/adult, $8/senior, and $6/student or teacher. The Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum. Annual Meeting, dinner and childcare will be provided. Sun., June 24, 6 p.m. Gesher L’Torah.
Wednesday Wed., June 27
JUNE
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Israeli Scout Friendship Caravan, boys are invited to come and watch the caravan preform. Wed., June 27, 12 p.m. Chabad Israeli Center. (770) 587-3019 or lisa@malli.com.
Family Fun Night at the J, poolside karaoke, bounce house and food available for purchase. Thurs., July 12, 5 p.m. MJCCA’s Zaban Park. brian.glusman@atlantajcc.org.
Friday
JUNE
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Fri., June 29
Dive Into Shabbat, open swim followed by poolside song and prayer with Rabbi Brian Glusman. Sat., June 29, 5 p.m. MJCCA’s Zaban Park. brian.glusman@atlantajcc.org
Sat., June 30
Resources for Spousal Caregivers with the North Metro Atlanta chapter of the Well Spouse Association. Sat., June 30, 1:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Roswell Branch Library. (404) 579-6782.
Go Green and Help Our Planet, recycle electronics with Jewish Family and Career Services, A to Z Information Services and ePlanet-eWaste. Sun., July 15. JF&CS on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. bfiske@jfcs-atlanta.org.
National Jewish Retreat, “Experience Heaven on Earth” with the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Tues., July 31 through Sun., Aug. 5. Hyatt Bonaventure in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (877) 573-8732 or jretreat.com.
Burgers, Boeries & Beer with the CBS Men’s Club, plus Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. Sun., July 15. Congregation Beth Shalom. bshalom.net.
Tues., July 17
Thurs., July 19
Yeshiva University’s Atlanta Beit Midrash Program, sponsored by YU’s Center for the Jewish Future and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Activities from Thurs., July 12 through Sun., July 22. Young Israel of Toco Hills. nunterma@yu.edu.
Tues., July 31
Pathways in the Park, join the MJCCA and other interfaith families and adults for dinner, hike, crafts and more. Sundays July 15, 23 and 30, 5 p.m. $18/family or $5/individual. Morgan Falls Park. suzanne.hurwitz@ atlantajcc.org or (678) 812-4160.
Havdallah Wine & Cheese, come and experience the joy of the havdallah ceremony with music and friends. Sat., June 30, 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. Temple Kol Emeth. denisejacobs@kolemeth.net or (770) 973-3533.
Thurs., July 12
Safe Sitter, class for 11-to-15-year-olds offering babysitting skills. Sun., July 29, 9 a.m. MJCCA. linda. citron@atlantajcc.org.
God and the Brain: Mind, Body & Soul, class with Steve Chervin and the Lisa F. Brill Institute for Jewish Learning. Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. beginning July 31. Congregtion Beth Shalom. (770) 399-5300.
ORT Honey Drive, wish family & friends a sweet and healthy new year with this gift. Order deadline Tues., July 17. $10/jar, includes shipping & handling. orthoney.com/BTG.
Bet is for Baby, come learn about the transitions to parenthood, creating a Jewish home and more. Sundays, July 8, 15, and 22, 10 a.m. Free and open to the public. Ahavath Achim Synagogue. skaufman@ AASynagogue.org or (404) 603-5741.
Sun., July 29
Ice Cream Social, come and enjoy this family event. Sun., July 15, 4 p.m. All are welcome. Temple Kol Emeth. denisejacobs@kolemeth.net or (770) 973-3533.
Prime Timers’ Pot Luck Dinner, for the Prime Timers of Congregation Dor Tamid. Sun., June 30, 7 p.m. Private residence. grandmacaren1011@gmail. com.
Sun., July 8
interfaith families. Tuesdays July 24, Aug. 21, Oct. 16, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4, 7 p.m. MJCCA. suzanne.hurwitz@ atlantajcc.org.
Life Line Screening, a stroke screening. Pre-registration is required. Thurs., July 19. Congregation Beth Shalom. 1-(800) 324-1851 or (770) 399-5300.
Sun., July 22
Essentials for Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond, presentation with guest speakers, Mayim Bialik, PhD, midwife Ina May Gaskin and other parenting specialists. Sun., July 22, 11 a.m. Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter. www. belliestobabiesfoundation.org. CBS Night of Baseball, Gwinnett Braves v. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Sun., July 22, 5:05 p.m. (770) 804-9721 or office@bshalom.net.
Tues., July 24
The Grandparents Circle, five-session course for Jewish grandparents and grandchildren growing up in
Wed., Aug. 1
Siyum Hashas 2012, the 12th cycle of the worldwide Daf Hayomi Program celebrating the completion of the entire Babylonian Talmud. Wed., Aug. 1. Check of $54 reserves a seat in Congregation Ariel’s section. MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.). (770) 390-9071.
Thurs., Aug. 2
Camp Sunday Open House, check out the Camp Sunday program (pre-K through 2nd) that begins in September. Thurs., Aug. 2, 5 p.m. MJCCA. (678) 8123881.
Ongoing
Support Through Divorce for 50 and Under, facilitated by Elisheva Funk, LSCW of JF&CS. First and third Tuesdays, 7 p.m. (eight sessions). MJCCA. allison.feldman@atlantajcc.org. Jewish Alcoholics Chemically Dependent Persons And Significant Others Meeting, calling all Jewish persons with a desire to get help with their own addiction or with a loved one’s addiction. First and third Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Congregation Etz Chaim. (770) 928-2523 or georgiatraveler@att.net.
THE MARKETPLACE 404-883-2130 ext. 104 Multi-Platform Advertising Professional
COMPUTER
REAL ESTATE We’ve always been here when you needed a mortgage, and we’re here for you now. Ask us how we can help you. At SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., we’ve made it our business to put your best interests first. We’re confident we can help qualified home buyers with the financing to meet their individual needs. Call today!
Excellent interpersonal, communication skills, are highly motivated. We know our people are our greatest asset. • Work in a collaborative team environment! • Engage in all stages of the sales cycle, from prospecting to developing customer rapport, closing business and servicing accounts. • Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to drive new business as well as protect and increase existing advertising. • Thrive in a fast-paced, deadline oriented environment.
Jay Givarz Loan Officer 678.832.9386 jay.givarz@suntrust.com NMLSR# 203728 Equal Housing Lender. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., 901 Semmes Avenue, Richmond, VA 23224 is licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act; is an Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee; is a Lender in Massachusetts having Mortgage Lender license #s ML1216, ML0133, ML1432, ML1914, ML1913, ML1815, ML2411, ML1214, ML2442, ML2491, and ML2538; is licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department; is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, toll free 1-800-330-4684; is a licensed lender in Rhode Island; and is doing business in Arizona as Crestar Mortgage, 7250 N. 16th Street, Ste. 100, Phoenix, AZ 85020. ©2011 SunTrust Banks, Inc. SunTrust, SunTrust Mortgage, and Live Solid. Bank Solid. are federally registered service marks of SunTrust Banks, Inc.
Previous sales experience required. Computer skills (Microsoft Word, Excel) necessary. Knowledge of advertising sales software CRM preferred.
CONSULTANT
Need Architectural Advice?
Generous Commission Structure!
Before you remodel – Call me! Let me help you stay out of trouble with your remodel. First meeting – FREE! Reduced Rates!
Please send your resume to mgreene@atljewishtimes.com
No phone calls, please. The AJT is an equal-opportunity employer.
Earl Komesar- Architectural consultant- 404-255-4085
NANNY SERVICE
Nanny for Hire / Run Errands REAL ESTATE
▪ Available for Atlanta Families ▪ Own transportation ▪ School Activity Pick up and Drop off ▪ Shop / Run Errands ▪ 10 years Experience
OFFICE CONDO FOR SALE East Cobb/Paper Mill Village – 1,000+/-sq.ft 3 large offices, reception area, secretarial station, conference room, private restroom, kitchen $119,900 Call 770-317-1767
LEGAL NOTICE
404-468-5427
NOTICE OF INTENT TO INCORPORATE Notice is given that Articles of Incorporation which will incorporate Acro, Inc. will be delivered to the Secretary of State for filing in accordance with the Georgia Business Corporation Code. The initial registered office of the corporation will be located at 5465 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Chamblee, DeKalb County, GA 30341, and its initial registered agent is Dale M. Schwartz.
JUNE 22 ▪ 2012
We’ll create your WEBSITE, put you on FACEBOOk, YOUTUBE, lINkEDIN, TWITTER AND OTHER SITES THAT MAY WORk FOR YOU. We’ll claim your YElP & kUDZU and other review listings. Other Services: Video Production, Photography, Graphic Design for brochures, custom magazines (print and digital) and other print products. 24
ez2BSocial 678.358.7858