THE
Jewish
OBSERVER Vol. 89 No. 8
www.jewishobservernashville.org
AUGUST 2024 26 Tamuz - 27 Av 5784
From the Campaign Trail By JASON SPARKS
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o, no, not that kind of campaign. The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville’s 2024 Annual Campaign! So, here we are, halfway through the year, and as it happens, we are halfway to our annual campaign goal. Next year, by this point I’d like to be further ahead in the process, and we will be starting the year with a big kickoff. But one thing that I am learning in my role here at JFed Nashville is that I cannot do it all today – many of these pieces take time. A few things have been going on behind the scenes to set us up for success for 2025. The first is that we are rebuilding a multi-generational team of lay leaders that will help Federation close out the 2024 Campaign and set us up for success in 2025. My simple ask is that if you would like to participate in that process, which several folks have already volunteered to do so, please don’t hesitate to reach out – the more the merrier. And, if someone reaches out to you to participate, I would simply ask that you answer the call. Our newly promoted Chief Impact and Strategy Officer, Michal Ezkenazi Becker, has already formed her Grants committee and has begun the process of reviewing grants that will fund all of the great work throughout the community. And to be clear, these grants are only made possible by your generous donations. And while I don’t want to end on a down note, the events of the last several weeks and months have only underscored just how important the role of Jewish Federation is in our time. The reality is that no country club, museum, or nonprofit is going to come to our aid in the times we are experiencing – we have to work together and support each other. As we experience hate speech in our streets and an unprecedented rise in antisemitism, it is critical for us to support and secure our Jewish Continued on page 3
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Jewish Federation Unites Nashville Community to Combat Antisemitism and Hate By BARBARA DAB
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pproximately 1200 people from all walks of life in Nashville joined together last month to send the message that antisemitism, hate, and intimidation are not welcome in the city. The event was planned in the wake of a spate of demonstrations, marches, and disruptions nationalist groups that had set themselves up in town for several weeks.
During one particularly tense Metro Council meeting, where members of the group attempted to disrupt the public comment portion and were promptly ejected from the meeting, Federation CEO Rabbi Dan Horwitz called on the Council to do more to help Metro Police enforce existing ordinances that could help curtail these types of demonstrations. “We have been warning our local and state elected officials to act, and thus far insufficient
action has been taken to enforce our current laws,” said Horwitz, “We very much appreciate the efforts of law enforcement to disrupt these activities to the extent possible, and we now call on our elected officials to use the full force and effect of our local and state laws.” The Nashville Together event was immediately organized and despite the punishing heat and threat of thunderContinued on page 10
Local Scholars Offer Historic New Translation of Maimonides’ Seminal Work By BARBARA DAB
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n unlikely pairing of scholars is at the heart of the groundbreaking new translation of Maimonides’ classic work, The Guide to the Perplexed. Lenn Goodman is a professor of philosophy and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt University and Rabbi Phil Lieberman is also a Vanderbilt professor as well as a Navy chaplain and former Wall Street investment banker. “Lenn and I come from very different places,” says Lieberman, “He is not someone who works on the history of ideas; he is Israel Teens Visit Nashville, Create Lifechanging Connections, and Make Memories, page 4
Professor Dr. Lenn Goodman
Rabbi Phil Lieberman
working on the ideas themselves. So, he is in dialogue with Aristotle and mediAugust in the Gordon JCC Galleries: Featuring the work of the Nashville Artist Guild and a Yart sale, page 20
eval Muslim philosophers or Rambam himself. I’m a historian to the hilt, just figuring out what happened and what the world of the past look[ed] like.” Nevertheless, the two came together to create what is being hailed as groundbreaking work and one that is accessible to even the lay reader. Rabbi Saul Strosberg of Congregation Sherith Israel says, “I also struggle with philosophy. But when you read the new translation of the Guide to the Guide (a prologue of sorts), it really comes easy. Part of it is their approach to translation which is novel Continued on page 17 All Things Seniors Special Section, page 21