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This may be the November issue, but we’ve already been hard at work on the December issue. While the Chanukah issue is one of the two largest issues each year, next month’s magazine will be even larger as we also have a retrospective for our 25th anniversary. We’ve been going through the back issues, revisiting stories that reinforce our claim that this is a unique magazine for a unique community. Starting as The Southern Shofar in 1990, we have endeavored to cover the communities of Alabama, Mississippi, the Florida panhandle and Louisiana, providing a large-community quality publication to the smaller communities of the region. With so many technological changes in the last 25 years, we’ve changed as well, including our online presence, weekly e-news (if you aren’t receiving it, send us your email address) and active Twitter feed that just topped 5,000 followers. Naturally, there have been so many stories to tell, and we will mention many of them in next month’s issue. When this issue arrives, there should be a few days remaining before the deadline for the December issue. Please show your support for quality independent Jewish journalism in the South by placing an anniversary greeting ad in the December issue. More information is available by calling our office or online at sjlmag.com/p/greetings.html. As we get ready to embark on our 26th year, we will continue to keep the community informed and provide the original, local coverage that we are known for. Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome. Larry Brook Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! EDITOR/PUBLISHER
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Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com NEW ORLEANS ADVERTISING Jessica Thomas jessica@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 13 Office Park Circle #6 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/780.5615 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 connect@sjlmag.com ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to Lee Green, 205/870.7889 or lee@sjlmag.com or Jessica Thomas, jessica@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South. To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee. Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publisher. Views expressed in SJL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the right to refuse any advertisement. Documenting this community, a community we are members of and active within, is our passion. We love what we do, and who we do it for.
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4 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events
Members of the New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women recently surprised June Leopold, who served for three years as the organization’s president, with a special thank you celebration at the home of Linda Friedman.
Jewish Culture Month brings range of programs to Uptown JCC The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Month will bring a variety of authors and cultural performances to the Uptown Jewish Community Center in New Orleans this month. Three authors will visit as part of Jewish Book Month, and the annual Coats for Kids concert moves to the JCC this year. The celebration of Jewish authors, cinema and music will conclude on Dec. 13 with the community Chanukah celebration, featuring Listen Up! The first event welcomes American-born Israeli author and journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, author of the book “Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation.” In the book, which won the Jewish Book Council’s award for best Jewish book of 2013, Halevi interweaves the stories of a group of 1967 paratroopers who reunited Jerusalem, tracing the history of Israel and the divergent ideologies shaping it from the Six-Day War to the present. A Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Halevi’s first book was “Memoirs of Yossi Klein Halevi a Jewish Extremist,” about his attraction to and break with Rabbi Meir Kahane. His next book, “At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew’s Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land,” spoke of his spiritual journey as a religious Jew into the worlds of Christianity and Islam in Israel. He is chairman of Open House, an Arab-Jewish educational project in Ramle, and co-directs the Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative with an imam from Duke University. His Nov. 11 talk at 7 p.m. is free and open to the community. On Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., the JCC is hosting Dr. Jee-Yeoun Ko’s Coats for
Kids Concert, an annual benefit concert featuring jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Faubourg Quartet, guitarist Javier Olonda and students from NOCCA’s Classical Instrumental program. Coats for Kids was organized by cellist Ko, chair of the Classical Instrumental department at the New Orleans Jee-Yeoun Ko Center for Creative Arts and founder of the Faubourg Quartet. The organization’s mission is to provide new winter coats to children in need. While the event is free and open to the community, attendees are asked to bring a new or gently used winter coat to donate. Children’s and adult sizes are both appreciated. Cash donations are also encouraged. On Nov. 22, best-selling author Mitch Albom will be at the JCC to discuss his new book, “The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto: A Novel.” The book, which will be released on Nov. 10, talks about a factional icon, the greatest guitar player to ever walk the earth, and six lives he changed with the magical strings of his childhood guitar. Widely known for works such as “Tuesdays with Morrie” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” Albom has landed on the New York Times best-seller list multiple times and sold than 35 million copies of his books worldwide. Albom began his writing career as a freelancer and has since become a nationally-acclaimed sports journalist. In 2010, Albom was the recipient of the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Tickets to the 7 p.m. event are $27 and may be purchased at octaviabooks.com and at the door the night of the event. Each ticket admits two
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and will be exchanged for a copy of his book. Shulem Dean visits on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. to discuss his book, “All Who Go Do Not Return,” about growing up in and then leaving the Skverer Hasidic world in New Castle, N.Y., losing his wife and children. He is also the founder and editor of Unpious, an online platform for voices and views generally suppressed within Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox publications, and on the board of Footsteps, which helps those who leave the Hasidic community through what is often a traumatic adjustment to the outside world. For years he blogged as “Hasidic Rebel.” His talk is free and open to the community. On Dec. 2 at 7 p.m., Culture Month turns to the cinema with a free screening of the award-winning film “Felix and Meira,” the story of an unconventional romance between two people living vastly different lives. Felix, a man mourning the death of his father, and Meira, a young Hasidic housewife and mother, begin an innocent friendship that ultimately turns into an unconventional romance. Directed by Maxime Giroux, the film is in French and Yiddish with English subtitles. It was awarded “Best Canadian Feature Film” at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. The series ends on Dec. 13 with a 4 p.m. free community Chanukah celebration featuring a candle-lighting for the final night of Chanukah, dinner and a concert by the Chicago-based a cappella sensation, Listen Up!
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6 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
NCJW programs tackle gun violence The New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women is partnering with other local groups to host programs on gun violence in America. A test screening of “91%: A Film About Guns in America” will be screened on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m., at Café Istanbul at the Healing Center. The film will be followed by a brief discussion, and question and answer session with filmmaker John Richie. The program is presented in coordination with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. According to surveys, 91 percent of Americans favor comprehensive background checks for gun purchases, giving the film its name. The film had its first rough cut screening in Lafayette in early October. It examines the national conversation on gun legislation in light of the failure of Congress to pass a universal background check that would close loopholes in gun show and private sales of firearms despite the 91 percent support for such measures. Richie’s previous project was “Shell Shocked,” a documentary about gun violence among African-American youth and the social service organizations that are working to change it. That film was screened at Touro Synagogue in 2013. The discussion will continue on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m., at a social justice happy hour featuring a panel of women speaking on the topic of gun violence. The panel will be at Rebellion on Camp Street. NCJW’s social justice happy hour series, “Moving the Ball Forward”, celebrates New Orleans most dedicated advocates for social justice and features all-women panels sharing their experiences and expertise on issue facing the community.
agenda Tolmas Trust funding NCJW Way program The New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women announced that the Oscar J Tolmas Charitable Trust is sponsoring the 2015-16 NCJW Way: Learning to Lead program. In 2013, the local section launched an innovative leadership program, NCJW Way: Learning to Lead. This program brings together a cohort of women, new to NCJW, for an intensive year-long seminar that culminates in a trip to a national NCJW meeting. The primary goal of NCJW Way is to inspire and inform future leaders of NCJW and the local Jewish community using a multi-faceted approach highlighting education, service, and leadership training. Participants are expected to attend program sessions, a national leadership meeting, and other local meetings as well as design and participate in a community service project. In addition, they commit to a two-year term of NCJW board service following participation in NCJW Way. The 2015-2016 NCJW Way participants are
Arianna Baseman, Shayna Blum, Fran Dinehart, Maddie Fireman, Dana Keren, and Nora Udell. These women were selected by a committee this summer and represent a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. Madalyn Schenk, who initiated the NCJW Way program, expressed thanks to Tolmas fund trustees Lisa Romano and Vincent Giardina. “We appreciate their thoughtful consideration of the community’s needs, their perceptive study of NCJW’s projects, and their dedication to preserving the memory of Oscar Tolmas. We look forward to working together as we honor his legacy,” Schenk said. The Trust was established by Oscar Tolmas, who died in December 2013. His wife, Marjorie Skinner Tolmas, who died before him, was a lifelong member of NCJW. In the last year, the Trust has given numerous contributions to Jewish and general community organizations, including a $1.5 million gift to the expansion of the Uptown Jewish Community Center.
Camp Barney Medintz holding open house on Dec. 2 Camp Barney Medintz, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s summer resident camp, invites the community to attend its annual musical slide show and dessert reception on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m., at the Goldring/Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie. Camp Barney Director Jim Mittenthal, Associate Director Susan Berger and Operations Director Michael Drucker will meet with new and returning families and answer questions about the 2016 summer camp season. New programs for 2016 include Magnivim, two-week sessions in June for campers ages 10 to 12 years; and CBM LIVE!, a two-week theatre specialty camp. Camp Barney is located in the North Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains on 540 wooded acres surrounding two lakes just 75 miles northeast of Atlanta. According to Mittenthal, “the setting facilitates every imaginable activity, from typical camp activities to extreme sports.” “Celebrating our 54th summer season in 2016, Camp Barney offers a unique community that is all about adventure and self-discovery, exhilarating activities and exciting events, all within a strong, culturally Jewish environment,” said Mittenthal. “Each year, campers make lifelong friendships, and we have an outstanding group of mature, talented, conscientious, and
New Orleans campers at Barney Medintz enthusiastic staff, who make the Camp Barney experience even more memorable.” Recent additions to the camp facilities include a new cultural and performing arts complex, new sports complex, an additional swimming pool with double water slides, a Food Network-type kitchen, and the new Marcus Health Center. Construction will begin this fall on new cabins, which will be completed before campers arrive next summer. Registration is now open for next summer. Mittenthal added that inquiries about 2016 Camp Barney programs are once again exceeding previous years, and each of the two and four-week sessions will likely fill to capacity very rapidly.
Upcoming Events Saturday, Nov. 7 Center Celebration, with Johnny Lampert and Dan Naturman. Uptown JCC. 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9 “91%: A Film About Guns in America.” NCJW. Café Istanbul. 6 p.m. 92nd Street Y program with Dennis Ross and Ethan Bronner. Temple Sinai, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 Jewish Spiritual Parenting with Rabbi Paul Kipnes. Gates of Prayer. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 Veterans Day Jewish Culture Month. Yossi Klein Halevi, speaker. Uptown JCC, 7 p.m. JWV Veterans Day Program at American Legion Post in Metairie. 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 NCJW Moving the Ball Forward: Gun violence. Rebellion. 6 p.m. JCC Preschool Open House. Uptown JCC. 9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13 “Is It True What They Sing About Dixie?” Rabbi Kenneth Kanter. Temple Sinai. Saturday, Nov. 14 Touro Infirmary Foundation Gala. Mardi Gras World. 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 Jewish Community Day School Homecoming 20 Gala. Temple Sinai. 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 Coats for Kids concert. Uptown JCC, 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 Southern Fried Schmancy. Tulane Hillel. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20 Jacobs Camp Shabbat. Gates of Prayer. 8 p.m. Jewish Family Service Continuing Education. Beth Israel. 8:45 a.m. Jewish Babies Club. JCDS, 1 p.m. Friday Night Live for Young Jewish Professionals. Chabad Uptown. 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22 Jewish Culture Month. Mitch Albom, speaker. Uptown JCC. 7 p.m. $27. Hadassah Health and Wellness Expo. Metairie JCC. Noon to 4 p.m. Gates of Prayer Thanksgiving Service at St. Clement of Rome Church. 7:30 p.m. Torah Fund Brunch. Shir Chadash. Home of Joan Album. 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23 Nostra Aetate 50th anniversary event. Nunemaker Hall, Loyola University. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Monday, Nov. 30 Jewish Culture Month. Shulem Dean, speaker. Uptown JCC. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Dinner. Hyatt Regency. 6 p.m.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 7
agenda Forum on Jewish spiritual parenting Congregation Gates of Prayer and the Jewish Community Day School present Jewish Spiritual Parenting on Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. with Rabbi Paul Kipnes. The forum will be at Gates of Prayer in Metairie. Co-author of the book “Jewish Spiritual Parenting,” Kipnes and his wife, Michelle November, reveal the spiritual wisdom they have learned and the hard-won parenting techniques they developed that shaped their children as individuals and their family as a whole. Together in their book, they explore spiritually nourishing approaches to help foster essential Jewish values like gratitude, joy and honesty in children. Free babysitting will be available upon request, with advance reservations to the Gates of Prayer office. On Dec. 12, Beth Israel in Metairie will honor Roselle Ungar, current executive director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans and a past president of Beth Israel. She will speak about JFS, its mission and activities. A luncheon will follow the 9 a.m. service. The next 92nd Street Y program at Temple Sinai in New Orleans will be on Nov. 9 at 7:15 p.m., featuring Dennis Ross and Ethan Bronner discussing Ross’ new book, “Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama.” Ross has been involved in shaping U.S. policy toward Israel for 30 years. Bronner is senior editor for international news at Bloomberg. Gates of Prayer will have a Jacobs Camp Shabbat, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. Touro Synagogue will have a Taste of Limmud on Dec. 4 following the 6 p.m. service. After the oneg, there will be a choice of three presentations on Jewish learning, as a prelude to the community-wide LimmudFest 2016, which will be March 18 to 20. Sammy Bosalavage will speak about the Promise of Justice Initiative at Beth Israel’s Dec. 5 Shabbat service in Metairie. Originally from New York, Bosalavage attended Tulane and then worked with AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps in New Orleans, providing social services through PJI to those on death row and serving life sentences. She is now a paralegal and outreach coordinator for PJI. The service will be at 9 a.m.
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Gates of Prayer in Metairie will have a joint Thanksgiving service at St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Guest speaker will be Sherolyn Brown, a grandmother who is formerly homeless and is now raising three children. Attendees are urged to bring blankets, comforters, mattress pads and towels to donate to help the homeless. Baton Rouge Hadassah will have a game night on Nov. 22 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Beth Shalom. Bring games and snacks to share. There will also be an installation of new officers and Chanukah vodka and latkes brunch on Dec. 6, with details to be announced. Shir Chadash in Metairie will have its annual Sisterhood Torah Fund brunch on Nov. 22 at 11 a.m., at the home of Joan Album. Minimum donation to Torah Fund is $18, and all donations go to Torah Fund, which supports the Jewish Theological Seminary. The brunch is complimentary for Torah Fund pin holders. The Anti-Defamation League will hold its annual A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award Dinner on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans. This year’s honorees are Phyllis Taylor and Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller. The Gates of Prayer Brotherhood in Metairie will present a discussion of the Mediterranean Diet on Nov. 22, at 9:30 a.m. The presentation will be given by Dr. Gordon Magonet of East Jefferson General Hospital and Tulane University School of Medicine. Everyone is invited, make reservations to the Gates of Prayer office.
agenda Art and Soul in Baton Rouge
Ambassador Varnai Shorer, Israel’s Consul General in Atlanta, had her first visit with Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant last month in Jackson. This month, she will accompany Bryant and 32 government and business leaders from Mississippi on a mission to Israel.
B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge held its Art and Soul fundraising gala on Oct. 22, with more than 60 items auctioned in person and online. Items included luxury and box-seat tickets for select Saints, LSU football and LSU baseball games, a Les Miles-signed LSU football helmet and other sports memorabilia, and a luxury chartered fishing trip off the Louisiana coast Art and Soul supports B’nai Israel’s music programs. Proceeds will help pay for new instruments, updated sound equipment and hiring and training musicians who perform during services. “Music is important to everyone because it provides direct access to the soul and spirit,” says Rabbi Jordan Goldson. “For B’nai Israel, music provides a way for us to transition from our hectic, busy lives to a peaceful frame of mind for worship.” Music was also part of the event, featuring LSU professor and jazz legend Bill Grimes. He performed with the Bill Grimes Quartet, along with vocalist Stephanie Jordan as special guest.
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November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 9
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Morgan Freeman, who grew up in the Mississippi Delta and has a residence there, visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Oct. 25. He is currently filming a National Geographic series, “The Story of God.” Freeman has played that role twice, in “Bruce Almighty” and “Evan Almighty.” He is pictured here with Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz.
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“Is it true what they sing about Dixie?” That is the question Rabbi Kenneth Kanter will tackle when he delivers the Rabbi Murray Blackman Memorial Lecture at Temple Sinai in New Orleans on Nov. 13 during the 6:15 p.m. Shabbat service. His presentation examines many popular songs about the South from 1890 to the 1930s, noting that many of them were written by Jews who had never been to the region. Songs about “Alabammy,” Georgia peaches, cotton and slavery were staples of Vaudeville. Composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern sought to transport their northern audiences to a place that so few of them had ever visited, with songs such as “Carolina in the Morning,” “Ole Man River” and “Swanee.” Kanter is associate dean and director of the rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. In 2005 he completed 13 years as the founding rabbi of Congregation Micah in Nashville. He also served 10 years as rabbi of Mizpah Congregation in Chattanooga, was assistant rabbi at Ohabai Sholom in Nashville, a Jewish chaplain and adjunct professor at Vanderbilt. His first book, “Jews on Tin Pan Alley,” was published in 1982. He also contributed to “Jewish-American History and Culture” and “The Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture.”
A bet is a bet: Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff from Chabad at Texas A&M sports a Crimson Tide shirt after losing a bet to his cousin, Rabbi Kussi Lipskier of Chabad at the University of Alabama. Alabama’s football team beat Texas A&M, 41-23, on Oct. 17.
community Beyond the headlines: New Orleans Young Leadership enjoys Israel trip While one might say that a victim of an attack was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Bradley Bain said they were “fortunate to be in the right place at the right time” participating in the Katz-Phillips Leadership Development Class trip to Israel in mid-October. The class is a two-year experience coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and a group Israel trip is a required early component for participants. In the days leading up to the trip, Rose Sher kept an eye on the news as a wave of Palestinian stabbings of Israelis continued daily. “I was not scared about my personal security, but I was concerned that our trip would be cancelled because of the situation in Israel.” Instead, the trip went on as planned, with a couple of schedule modifications. “Everything else went off smoothly and the group always felt extremely safe,” said Sheri Tarr, assistant executive director of the Federation. “During all of the free time, they were able to wander around. None of them felt that their experience was limited in any way.” Sher said “yes, our itinerary was modified. Yes, we had extra security in the Old City.
Yes, many in our group checked the Israeli news often, but the effects of the security situation on our trip ended there. We still saw all of the important and historical sites, we were still able to visit organizations supported by the Jewish Agency, and most importantly, we were still turned loose for free time, meals on our own, and evenings out in Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.” While still in Israel, Ben Caplan said “honestly, I feel safer here than in the French Quarter at night.” Bain, who had never been to Visiting with students at Begin School in Rosh Ha’Ayin Israel before, said the group was “exposed to the incredible complexity of the could feel the fortitude to which our presence situation on the ground. This is something and the knowledge that Americans were behind that our western media totally misses” in its Israel contributed,” and it underscored the portrayal that “is molded to fit a more simplistic, importance of being there and not only sending contributions. predetermined narrative.” The group started out in the north, visiting Bain said there was a sense of solidarity from government officials, IDF soldiers and Israelis communities like Caesarea and staying in on the streets of Jerusalem and elsewhere. “We Haifa. On Oct. 13 they were supposed to visit
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community the Golan Heights, but Tarr said there were “skirmishes on the Syrian side amongst the Syrians but some of the shots landed on the Israeli side,” so they instead visited an IDF base on the Lebanese border. After visiting Tzfat they were supposed to visit an Arab village to see the Galilee Circus, comprised of 60 Jewish and Arab children from the area, but an Arab “Day of Rage” had been declared, so they went to a neighboring moshav where the circus performers visited them. After visiting the Bahai Gardens on Oct. 14, the group headed to Rosh Ha’Ayin, New Orleans’ Partnership2Gether community and Israel’s music city. The visit was seen as a highlight of the trip, as the group saw older and newer neighborhoods, discussed the partnership while visiting the Begin School and planted trees in Partnership Park. At the school, they met with students and distributed Mardi Gras beads that they had brought. Sher related that the teacher told a “mortifying and hilarious joke” to the 11th graders by explaining and gesturing that they have to “do something” to receive the beads. Breaking into small groups, they had discussions with the students, who wanted to know details of Jewish life in New Orleans. Sher also told them about the circus participants they met with in the Galilee. “They told us that they would befriend Arab-Israeli children their own age, but the opportunity did not exist for them.” After a program at the Rosh Ha’Ayin Conservatory, the participants were divided up for home hospitality dinners. Peter Seltzer had dinner with a family of jazz enthusiasts, “and between the two sons, the father and the mother they formed a full band and performed jazz standards for us in their living room.” Caplan’s host family had a son who was on active duty with the Israel Defense Forces, and he got a “great perspective on Israeli day-to-day life.” The group then moved to Jerusalem, visiting neighborhoods, absorption centers and the Israel Museum. After meeting with a representative of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, they had dinner with members of the Rosh Ha’Ayin Steering Committee, followed by a late-night musical excursion to Machane Yehuda, which appeared to be less crowded than usual because of the situation. The next day included visits to Yad Vashem, lunch at the Machane Yehuda market and free time on Ben Yehuda Street before Shabbat. They had two security guards instead of one as they went to the Wall for Shabbat services at the Egalitarian Plaza. Shabbat included visits to Masada and the Dead Sea, with free time in Jerusalem after sunset. There was more touring in Jerusalem’s Old City the next morning, with the enhanced security escort. Tarr said “before leaving for Tel Aviv the group was to have time to shop in the Cardo. We could not allow that and had to leave directly after lunch” though “the group felt so safe they were disappointed that they couldn’t go shopping
Planting trees at Partnership Park in Rosh Ha’Ayin 12 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
community there.” In Tel Aviv they visited Independence Hall, then toured the Hatikva neighborhood, which is being rejuvenated. After an afternoon at leisure, there was a farewell dinner at Tel Aviv’s Old Port. Though the mission went on, the security situation did weave itself into the experience. Seltzer said a representative of the Jewish Agency for Israel related a poignant story about delivering a token financial gift the previous day to a mother whose son was seriously injured in an attack, and “the difficulty she was having in carrying out a normal life of cooking and feeding her other children.” Caplan said Jerusalem’s atmosphere was “cautious with a large military and police presence everywhere,” but he never felt nervous or threatened. They did sense gratitude from Israelis for their visit. Bain said Israelis told them “how much their spirits are raised and resolve strengthened with visitors from abroad during these tough times.” Sher said some of the Israelis apologized to the group for what was happening there. “The message that we received from these Israelis tugged at our heartstrings, and I believe made our visit more meaningful and gave our
Photo courtesy Rose Sher
Mission a greater and more special purpose,” she said. “Sherri Tarr should receive all of the credit in the world for corresponding with the Jewish Federation’s Israel team and seamlessly modifying our itinerary.” Tarr noted “the participants returned educated, engaged and inspired — all of the goals of the trip.”
A Lot hAs ChAnged sinCe 1942. But not the Fight For JustiCe. In 1942, Muhammed Ali was born, FDR was president, Bambi appeared in theaters, the average price of a family home was $38,000 and a brand new car was $1,000–and two brothers, David and Harry Herman, opened their law practice. Through their exemplary work ethic and compassion for the common man, they formed the groundwork of Herman, Herman and Katz, LLC, and earned the firm a reputation in the New Orleans community for promoting the rights of all citizens. Their ethics and passion are still the driving force of HH&K today, as we continue to promote the rights of all citizens and seek justice for all. Managing Partner of Operations– Steven Lane Managing Partner of Litigation– Stephen Herman
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November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 13
community Fulfilling a desired bequest While researching family history, Virginia woman honors grandmother’s wishes at Springhill Avenue Temple
Happy Chanukah!
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14 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
An inquiry to Mobile’s Springhill Avenue Temple about family history has led to a Virginia woman sending a $1,000 donation to the congregation to right a wrong from decades ago, in remembrance of her grandmother. The grandmother, Augusta Eichold, was a member of the congregation, better known then as Sha’arei Shomayim, with her husband, Emanuel. They had a daughter, Gabriella, and it was her daughter, Ann Hardy of Virginia Beach, Va., who contacted Susan Thomas, the congregation’s archivist, in June. It turned out that Springhill Avenue had some documents in the archive that Leo Drum of Montgomery, a cousin of the Eichold family, had noticed on eBay in 2011, purchased and sent to the archive. The documents included congratulatory notes from 1907 written to Augusta on Gabriella’s birth, and a letter written a few years later to Gabriella from a local physician. Thomas said Drum, who died in January 2012, said he knew that branch of the family in the 1940s but as far as he knew, Gabriella and her daughter were deceased, so Thomas was surprised when Hardy contacted her this year. Before the eBay acquisition, the archive already had an item related to the family — a letter from Gabriella, written shortly before Augusta died, stating that Augusta should be taken off the congregation’s rolls as she had become a Christian. Hardy said her mother was unstable and she was estranged from her parents for most of her adult life. “I had no idea that my mother wrote the Temple,” she said. “My family had no contact with her.” While her mother renounced her Judaism, her grandmother never did, and she knew her grandmother wanted to leave money to Sha’arei Shomayim in her will. “I found out that my mother changed the will so neither the Temple or myself would get anything,” she said. “Her Mobile lawyer informed me that her will had been changed and marked with an X,” leaving everything to her mother. In September, Hardy sent the donation in memory of her grandmother. Her grandfather, Emanuel Eichold, came to the United States at age 13, sponsored by an uncle — also named Emanuel Eichold, whose family arrived in Alabama before the Civil War and started out in Newbern before moving to Mobile. The older Emanuel Eichold died in 1904. The younger Emanuel Eichold died in 1963, and Hardy thinks her grandfather killed himself, distraught over losing so many relatives in the Holocaust. Gabriella had married Albert Ash Jr. from Birmingham. Hardy said her paternal great-grandfather, Benjamin Asch, came to America from Breslau in the 1800s. He was the first president of Congregation Emanuel in Statesville, N.C., where he changed his name to Ash. His sons Albert and Aaron moved to Birmingham and opened A&A Ash Jewelers, which closed in 2007. Her side of the family sold their interest in the business to Aaron’s side in 1946 when her grandfather, Albert Ash Sr., died. That is when her branch of the family moved to Virginia. Hardy, now 81, said her children were interested in family history, and while she had records of the Ash side, she did not know much about her Eichold grandparents’ later years. Thomas, who plans further research into the Eicholds, said, “it was just such a lucky coincidence that we had the correspondence and notes from my earlier conversation with Leo. Being able to put that together with Ann’s story was very fulfilling.”
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November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 15
RAMAH DAROM IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT LASTS A LIFETIME. Give your child the gift of camp this summer.
San Diego and Santa Clara Hillel groups worked with JDRC on projects in Alabama following the 2011 tornado outbreak
Jewish disaster relief groups merge Nechama, JDRC combining complementary efforts Two Jewish groups that came to assist after disasters in the region, such as the levee break in New Orleans following Katrina and the massive 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama, have decided to merge. The boards of NECHAMA - Jewish Response to Disaster and Jewish Disaster Response Corps announced the merger on Oct. 13, creating the only Jewish-affiliated organization for disaster preparedness, response and recovery volunteerism in the United States. NECHAMA will remain the corporate entity and the organization will continue to be called NECHAMA — Jewish Response to Disaster. As it has for its 20-year history, NECHAMA will continue to bring disaster preparedness, response and recovery services to communities across the country. With an established record in long term recovery and rebuilding efforts 12/12/2012 11:22:58 AM since it was founded in 2009, JDRC will become the recovery arm of the organization. JDRC service trips incorporate a strong service learning curriculum to provide college groups, Hillels, and other youth groups valuable opportunities in disaster recovery volunteering. “We’re thrilled to join forces with JDRC. This bold move will allow us to have a bigger impact,” said Bill Driscoll, Jr., executive director of “By combining our complementary programs, we have the New wraps NECHAMA. opportunity to increase our capacity to serve the many communities afby Echo fected by disaster and create a more robust, effective organization.” Having collaborated on several projects since JDRC’s founding, the staffs and boards are excited to see the partnership become official. New purses “This is a fantastic opportunity for both organizations,” said Elie by Baggallini Lowenfeld, JDRC founder and new NECHAMA board member. “JDRC be able to continue to provide meaningful avenues for the Jewish and Hobo will community to aid in post-disaster rebuilding efforts, now with the support and resources of another established group like NECHAMA. It’s a win-win.” The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation along with the SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration, and Bikkurim financially supported the merger and helped make the NECHAMA/JDRC collaboration a reality.
ramahdarom.org (404) 531-0801 SJLad.indd 1
Happy Chanukah!
Join us for
Mountain Brook Shopping Center 205.871.9093 16 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
Customer Appreciation Night
Nov. 12, 5-8 p.m. Free Beer, Wine, Snacks
Shop the Southern Jewish Bookshelf
Find a wide range of books about the Jewish South — from current releases to hard-to-find historic works, at
www.sjlmag.com
gift guide
chanukah
Let’s Get This Party Started IT’S NOT CALLED THE HOLIDAY OF LIGHTS FOR NOTHING. USE THOSE EIGHT DAYS FOR CHIC, SPARKLE AND SHINE.
1. WISH THEM A HAPPY HOLIDAY WITH CUSTOM CARDS
Shades of Light Your favorite shayna
SHOP VULCAN GIFTS
1123 Josephine St punim gets the cover on New Orleans personalized cards. 504/524.6500 Cost varies according to quantity ordered.
Rudman’s Gifts
741 Veterans Memorial Blvd Metairie 504/833.1286 rudmans.com Rudman’s is a gift, stationery,
New Orleans’ Best Bring this ad in for 10% off in the Vulcan® Park and Museum Gift Shop. invitation and greeting card Lighting Source is Offer valid November 1 through December 31, 2015. shop with Judaica and unique gifts, and they are especially proud to offer locallly having a retirement visitvulcan.com designed and produced Louisiana products. Individualized service is a specialty with sale through the wording design assistance on any time of personal or business correspondence, end ofand the year. andAbove, their partnership a pair of with industry leaders guarantees a top-notch finished product. Customer service bronze, bronzethey’re d’or famous for, plus free gift wrapping and at-cost UPS shipping around the country make selecting and sending any gift a pleasure. and marble Louis XVI style lamps with smocked fawn silk shades ($3,975 for the pair). Above right, a pair of mid-19th century Vieux Paris vases with bisque and tole flowers ($1,695)
A Little Something
2. REMEMBER: BLUE AND WHITE ARE TRADITIONAL FOR CHANUKAH
3168 Heights Village Birmingham There’ll be no forgetting this holiday. 205/970-2077 alittlesomethingbham.com Price upon request. A Little Something Gift Wellington & Company Fine Jewelry Boutique in the Cahaba 505 Royal Street New Orleans Heights area south 504/525.4855 wcjewelry.com of Birmingham offers a variety of gifts and Wellington & Co. Fine Jewelry’s team of accessories for every jewelry associates possesses more than half a taste and budget. Owner century of antique, estate and contemporary Carole Cain is a native fine jewelry knowledge and sales experience. Alabamian who worked At Wellington & Co., their passion for what for Southern Progress, publisher of Southern they do, combined with the store’s warm Living magazine, for more and inviting atmosphere in the heart of New than 20 years. During that Orleans’ historic French Quarter enables time, she developed them to provide visitorsafrom around the world with a unique and inviting shopping deep love of great style experience unlike any other. and gracious living. You’ll find that reflected in the products and the service you receive at A Little Something. Pictured: Jewish Words glasses.
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10/20/2014 2:21:34 AM
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 17
chanukah gifts Vineyard Vines
Neal Auction
The Summit Birmingham 205/970.9758 vineyardvines.com
Louisiana Purchase Auction™ November 21 & 22, 2015
vineyard vines, a company best known for its whimsical neckties and smiling pink whale logo, was founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard when brothers Shep and Ian Murray cut their ties with corporate America to start making ties that represented the Good Life. In addition to signature neckwear, vineyard vines offers a variety of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. Cotton Bol Tie ($85). Fleece Harbor Vest ($89.50).
Earthborn Pottery
7575 Parkway Drive Leeds, Ala 205/702.7055 earthbornpottery.net
Walter Anderson (1903-1965), “Butterflies,” c. 1947, linoleum block/cotton, 70 x 33 in., Prov.: By descent in the artist’s family; Private Collector.
Auctioneers & Appraisers of Antiques & Fine Art 4038 Magazine Street • New Orleans, Louisiana 504-899-5329 • clientservices@nealauction.com
www.nealauction.com The successful bidder agrees to pay a buyer’s premium in the amount of 25% of the hammer price on each lot up to and including $200,000, plus 10% of the hammer price greater than $200,000. LA Auc. Lic., Neal Auction Co. #AB-107, Alford #797, LeBlanc #1514
18 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
From the finest restaurants to your home (and used at last December’s JCRS Latkes with a Twist in New Orleans)… Earthborn pottery is restaurant sturdy, dishwasher, oven and microwave safe. It’s artisan work that is passed to down to generations. And Earthborn “buttons” can be made into any logo or mark… the Star of David, a Menorah, or your favorite image — custom dinnerware that’s beautiful and functional! Prices at www.earthbornpottery.net
Aunt Sally’s Pralines
810 Decatur • 750 St. Charles New Orleans 800/642.7257 auntsallys.com Send a taste of New Orleans with Aunt Sally’s Pralines, New Orleans’ most famous praline. They’re kosher (dairy) and can be shipped anywhere. Pictured: New Orleans Breakfast gift basket ($24.99)
chanukah gifts Jordan Alexander
2003 Cahaba Rd #101 Birmingham 205/868-1391 jordanalexanderjewelry.com Exciting things are happening at the Jordan Alexander showroom in English Village! Just in time for the holiday season, the Birmingham-based retailer is launching “JA Collections” — a new and thoughtful selection of curated collections from unique, handpicked designers sold alongside Jordan Alexander Jewelry in the beautiful Mountain Brook store. Featured brands include Meredith Marks, Sorellina (below), Carbon & Hyde, and Buddha Mama.
Blue Frog Chocolates
5707 Magazine Street New Orleans 504/269-5707 bluefrogchocolates.com
Designed by Birmingham local Theresa Harper Bruno, Jordan Alexander Jewelry was born of her desire to create beautiful and everyday-wearable fine jewelry in her own casually elegant style. In addition to the showroom, Jordan Alexander is sold at high-end retailers internationally and was most recently launched at Neiman Marcus in St. Louis. The collection blends ultra-femme pearls and raw, sliced gems with fine diamonds, supple leather and multiple colors of gold. Since its debut in 2010, Jordan Alexander Jewelry has been featured on the covers of Glamour, O Magazine and jewelry industry leader JCK Magazine. Editors from Marie Claire, The New York Times, Vogue Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Women’s Wear Daily, Rapaport, Robb Report and numerous other publications have featured the line in editorial content. Celebrities, prominent figures and media personalities have taken to the line, including First Lady Michelle Obama, Pink, Katie Couric, Julia Roberts, Miranda Lambert, Brooklyn Decker and Kristen Stewart.
Blue Frog provides a unique and eclectic collection of interesting, delicious, and high quality confections selected from around the world. Kosher chocolates are available, along with Chanukah themes — and they can ship. Above: Solid Milk Chocolate Pizza with confection toppings ($23.95); Gift Box Assortment (1 lb) of delectable Blue Frog Chocolates ($28); Nancy’s Truffle Assortment Tray ($26); Hand Dipped Truffle Assortment (9 Piece) ($26). Current Flavors: Bread Pudding, Traditional Dark, Salted Caramel, Mexican Spiced, Cafe Au Lait.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 19
chanukah gifts Homewood Toy & Hobby
2830 18th Street So. Birmingham 205/879-3986 homewoodtoy-hobby.com
With 60 years in business, Homewood Toy and Hobby has everything for kids and grown-ups, from model trains to Playmobil, Melissa & Doug and the largest selection of remote control items in the area. Above, the Yuneec Q500+ quadcopter with 4k camera. This is a professional grade camera, with 2 batteries, a steady grip controller and travel worthy case ($1299.99). Right, the Explorer 2.0 car. It has an aluminum frame, with adjustable bars and adjustable seat as the child grows. Maximum weight is 155 lbs. ($284.99). Free gift wrapping for almost any item over $10.
Backstreet Treasures
2820 Petticoat Lane Birmingham 205/502.7996 Mtn. Brook Village Backstreet Treasures is a new store that takes customers back in time. Owner Carol Ogle describes Backstreet Treasures as a store filled with “antiques, uniques and collectibles.” Ogle had booths in antiques shops before opening her own store. She said she looks for old wood, silver (in the photo is a silver horn that resembles a large shofar), chandeliers, clocks, old globes, antique lamps, crystal and things that are unique. “I want to bring back and preserve these treasures. They don’t make things like they used to. We want people today to appreciate these things from yesterday.”
!
y Happ
ukah Chan
Chocolate -the Perfect Holiday Gift Favors, Party and Corporate Gifts We Have Kosher Chocolates • Shipping Available
5707 Magazine Street • New Orleans www.bluefrogchocolates.com 504-269-5707 20 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
A’Mano
2707 Culver Rd Birmingham 205/871.9093 amanogifts.com
Amano offers the most unique hand-made products from area artists in a convenient and caring atmosphere. Pictured here is a selection of R. Wood pottery.
November 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 21
22 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2015
From Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust gift expands JFS partnership with JCDS, other Agency programs
Teen Life Counts, our teen suicide-prevention program; to Homemaker, which offers light housekeeping and transportation services for older adults; to our extensive counseling services for individuals, couples and families; to Lifeline and Passover baskets, among others. We ask that you please respond Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans is pleased to as generously as possible and visit our website to donate today! announce a generous gift from the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable http://www.jfsneworleans.org. Trust. The donation will provide funding for a 1-year programmatic expansion of clinical services which include the agency’s partnership with the Jewish Community Day School in Metairie JFS consecrated its new office space on Oct. 20. Sponsorships, and Girl Power Program, a self-esteem and social skills group for including dedications for the mezuzot that will be affixed to each 8- to 14-year-old girls. doorway as well as space-naming opportunities, are available. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to build upon the Contact us soon because only a limited number are left! success of these two programs,” said Executive Director Roselle Ungar. “Increasing our presence at the Day School will provide the counseling support they need at this time and will enable JFS is looking for volunteers to help with several program arus to accommodate many more clients.” JFS currently offers eas including Teen Life Counts (or TLC), which offers suicide workshops for JCDS parents and leads group sessions with each prevention workshops at public, private and parochial schools grade level. Funding from the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust in Orleans, Jefferson and surrounding parishes; Lifeline, a will underwrite a part-time counseling position at the Jewish personal emergency response system, needs volunteers to call Community Day School. It will also support the expansion of subscribers to remind them to test their equipment; and Bikur JFS’s Girl Power, enabling the agency to offer additional group Chaverim which pairs volunteer Visitors with Friends in order sessions. to reach out to those who are homebound or partially homeFor more information, please contact Jewish Family Service: bound. For more information on volunteering with JFS please (504) 831-8475 call (504) 831-8475.
New Offices Campaign
Volunteer Opportunities
Friends of JFS Campaign under way! The annual Friends of JFS appeal is the Agency’s most important campaign of the calendar year. Because many of our services are offered on a sliding fee scale, we depend on Friends of JFS contributions to underwrite our programs for the coming year for individuals who are facing urgent, critical needs or simply seeking to improve their quality of life. Programs at JFS serve people of all ages and all faiths — from
Discover
Jewish Family Service Fall Continuing Education Workshops Integrating DBT Skills into Clinical Practice Presented by Marvin Clifford, Ph.D., LCSW and Helen Stavros, Ph.D., LCSW Friday, Nov. 20, 8:45 a.m.-noon Location: Congregation Beth Israel, 4004 West Esplanade Avenue (Note new address!) Each workshop has been approved for 3 General Continuing Education hours by the LCA and for 3 Diagnosis hours by the LABSWE.
NEW ORLEANS JCC NURSERY SCHOOL AND PRE-K
Pre-registration (up to 24 hours before) $60 for 1 event Day-of Registration: $70 per event For more information or to register, email jfs@jfsneworleans.org or call (504) 831-8475
OPEN HOUSE: Thursday, November 12, 9:30 AM WEEKLY TOURS: Wednesdays, 9:30 AM RSVP for the Open House online or by calling the JCC at 897-0143.
www.nojcc.org
November 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 23
From the Jewish Endowment Foundation Dependable Income for Retirement with a Charitable Gift Annuity As financial markets go up and down from one day to the next, many donors are turning to the Charitable Gift Annuity program at JEF as a dependable source of lifetime income. They know they will receive the same amount from a JEF charitable gift annuity every quarter, every year. They like the other features too — attractive rates (up to 9%), payments that are partially tax-free, and the charitable deduction to claim on their income tax return. Most importantly, they like the fact that they are helping JEF and the Greater New Orleans Jewish community. Charitable Gift Annuities are available for married or single people. Once we know your age and the gift amount you are considering, we can prepare a personalized gift illustration. It will clearly show how much you will receive for the rest of your life, what portion of the payment amounts will be tax-free, and the amount of your income tax charitable deduction. We will also show you how it benefits JEF in the future. Example: Mr. and Mrs. Cohen are 78 and 79 years old, respectively, when they give $40,000 to JEF to set up their CGA. The annuity rate for their ages is 5.5 percent, which means they will receive $550 every quarter, or $2,200 annually. (Note: Annuity rates vary, depending on the age of the annuitant, and JEF uses rates cur-
rently recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities.) The Cohens can count on getting these fixed payments for the rest of their lives. Even when one of them dies, the surviving spouse will continue to receive the same amount for life. Plus, the payments are backed by the assets of JEF, so they can have confidence that their gift annuity payments will always be there for them. For more information, you can contact Sandy Levy (sandy@jefno.org) or Patti Lengsfield (patti@jefno.org) at (504) 524-4559. We look forward to working with you.
From Tulane Hillel There’s still time to get Schmancy at Tulane Hillel! The Southern Fried Schmancy Gala will bring a taste of New York to the South at the Mintz Center on Nov. 19, bringing together local leaders and members of the New Orleans community. Last year, Schmancy and its supporters raised over $75,000, making the first annual gala a great Along with Matt, Tulane Hillel announced 8 other leaders success. This year will be filled with entertainment, great food in the local community who will receive Leading Forward and amazing people. Awards. The Leading Forward Awards acknowledges leaders Tulane Hillel will be honoring Matt Schwartz with the sec- who have made giving back a priority in their busy lives. See ond annual “Big Pastrami Award.” Matt is a Tulane Alumnus page 41 to learn more about this year’s honorees. and a co-founder of the Domain Companies. The Domain Attendees at the event will be lucky enough to enjoy a terrific Companies specializes in real-estate development, investments mix of Southern-style soul food and New York Deli cuisine caand management in large-scale community development projects. Matt has given back enormously to the two communities tered by Chef Harveen Khera of HK Nola. New Orleans’ own he calls home; New York and New Orleans. The “Big Pastrami COOT will show off their New Orleans flair with their original Award” will recognize Matt for his commitment to helping rock ‘n’ roll tunes, and be prepared for tons of other surprises! For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www. revitalize the city of New Orleans, and for being an excellent tulanehillel.org role model to the Tulane Students. 24 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2015
From the Jewish Community Day School JCDS Auctioning Trips Around the World at Nov. 15 Gala! The JCDS Gala “Homecoming 20! — Looking Back, Moving Forward” celebrates the school’s 20th anniversary of providing academic excellence and Jewish values. Superb Silent Auction items have been lined up for this milestone event on Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. at Temple Sinai. There are many trips, including airfare and accommodations, to a wide range of locations The Homecoming 20! Gala Honorary Chair is Joan Beraround the world, including: enson. Co-Chairs are Lis and Hugo Kahn and Dashka Roth San Francisco Wine Country: Explore the quaint streets of San Lehmann and Larry Lehmann. The featured entertainer is Atlanta singer and songwriter Rabbi Micah Lapidus. Francisco and the rolling hills of Napa Valley. France: See the excitement and beauty of Paris and visit the chateaux and vineyards of the finest wine region of France.
For tickets, visit jcdsnola.org.
Heels, Wheels and Deals: This Italian vacation includes the fashions of Milan, the romance of Tuscany and the pride and prestige of Ferrari. Castles of Ireland: An eight-day exploration of Ireland with stays in grand castles and manor homes. Panda Adventure: The wonders, mysteries and ancient traditions of China. Greek Island Adventure: Soft sands and crystal-blue seas off the beaten path. Alaska: See what life is like at the edge of the Northern Wilderness sailing the Inside Passage. James Bond Hideaways: A different way to see Europe, living the secret agent life in secret locations and with martinis. You’re going to Hollywood: And it’s for the Emmy Awards, brushing elbows with the biggest stars. South Africa Photo Safari: A 10-day trip to Cape Town includes visits to the wild animal preserves of South Africa, but enjoy fine wines when not seeing the animals. Airfare not included in this package.
Students at the Jewish Community Day School observed the four holidays during the Hebrew month of Tishrei, including Sukkot. They made decorations for the outside sukkah built by willing parent volunteers. JCDS friends and familes enjoyed a beautiful Sukkot dinner — good food, good company, and some cool lava glitter light sun catchers. The older students, along with special guests Rabbi Gabe Greenberg and Rabbi Bob Loewy, visited the sukkah at Torah Academy.
Additionally a fine diamond and pink sapphire ring donated by Rothschild Diamonds and appraised at $2,650 will be raffled off at the end of the evening.
JCDS Jewish Babies Club Welcomes PJ Library!
JCDS will honor Bill Norman and Judy and David Fried. Norman is a passionate Jewish Day School advocate, current board member and founder of NOJDS, the predecessor to JCDS. Judy Fried is a teacher in the school’s innovative Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade Early Childhood program and a member of the school’s first faculty. David Fried was a longstanding JCDS treasurer for nearly 20 years. Their children, Haley and David, are JCDS alumni.
Babies 1 month to 3 years of age and parents are invited to attend the JCDS Jewish Babies Club monthly for free special activities with a Jewish foundation. Each activity is designed to build baby’s social and cognitive development while connecting with Judaism and bonding with parent and baby. PJ Library Story Time with Bonnie Lustig is this month’s featured program on Nov. 20 from 1 to 2 p.m., in the 2nd floor Beit Midrash at JCDS, 3747 West Esplanade. Join Bonnie, our regional PJ Library affiliate, for a special Shabbat story time with a story and activities. To RSVP email Lauren Ungar at Lungar@jcdsnola.org.
November 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 25
From the Jewish Community Center Simple Savings. Big Benefits. It’s the best deal of the year! Join the JCC in November and December and pay just $60. Period. No initiation fee and no dues until mid-January. The sooner you join, the more you save! Experience the difference certified trainers, top-of-the-line equipment, and a supportive environment can make in achieving fitness and wellness goals. Members enjoy 75 free group exercise classes each week and gain access to the day spa, massage services, registered dieticians, and sports leagues, plus an array of specialty classes including boot camps, indoor cycling, TRX, Zumba, yoga, mat and reformer pilates. Babysitting services are offered in the mornings and evenings, making it easier than ever for busy parents to work out. This offer ends December 31, 2015 and applies to all new, Gold memberships. Stop by the JCC today, or contact Carolyn (Uptown, 504-897-0143) and Stephanie (Metairie, 504-887-5158) to learn more about our joining special.
The Cathy and Morris Bart JEWISH CULTURAL ARTS MONTH Big names are coming to the J! Jewish authors, cinema and music will be highlighted at the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Month, held Nov. 11 through Dec. 13 at the Uptown Jewish Community Center. This annual celebration of Jewish culture offers events for a range of interests and ages. Almost all of the events are free and open to the community. For more information, see page 5.
Visit the JCC Nursery School and Pre-K Come see what makes the JCC Nursery School and Pre-K so special at an Open House for prospective parents Thursday, Nov. 12, at 9:30 a.m., at the Uptown JCC. The JCC offers an outstanding curriculum in a Jewish environment for children ages 13 months to 5 years. Complete the online form at www. nojcc.org to RSVP for the Open House. For those who cannot make the Open House, or would like to learn more about the program, weekly tours are offered each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and do not require a reservation. For additional details, contact Adrienne Shulman, Director of Early Childhood Education, at (504) 897-0143 or adrienne@nojcc.org.
JOIN THE J
$0 INITIATION FEE
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www.nojcc.org *Offer expires December 31, 2015. Valid on new Gold memberships.
26 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2015
November 2015 • The Jewish Newsletter 27
28 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2015
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community
years of Southern Jewish Life
One Latke, Three Muses… Jewish Children’s Regional Service will kick off the Chanukah season with Latkes with a Twist, a fundraiser on Dec. 3 at Bellocq, starting at 8 p.m. Chef Daniel Esses of Three Muses will stock a complimentary latke bar while a silent auction goes on. There will be drink specials and live music by Israeli soul singer Eleanor Tallie. Tallie moved to Memphis two years ago. She originally studied cello in Israel, then after graduating from high school in 2005 started writing songs and performing as a vocalist. She was the soloist for the Ori Naftaly Blues Project, performing in 180 shows in 30 states in an 18-month Photo by Anthony Earl tour. She left the band to work on her Eleanor Tallie first solo album in March, and did a pre-release tour in Colorado and Nebraska this fall. Her upcoming album will be Indie Funk and was recorded at Royal Studios with Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and Uriah Mitchell co-producing. Tickets are $25 and are available at jcrs.org or at the JCRS office. Funds raised through the event will support the PJ Library program, which provides free monthly gifts of books and music to Jewish children through age 8. In addition, proceeds from the event will enable JCRS to directly assist greater numbers of vulnerable Jewish youth and families with college aid, Jewish summer camp grants, and assistance to families with children with special needs.
Established 1990 as The Southern Shofar Renamed Deep South Jewish Voice, Sept. 1999 Reformatted as Southern Jewish Life, August 2009
Join the celebration of 25 years of independent Jewish journalistic excellence! Special 25th Anniversary Issue in December 2015
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Wrapping for Chanukah
On Oct. 11, volunteers came to the Jewish Community Campus in Metairie to wrap over 1500 gifts for the Jewish Children’s Regional Service Oscar J. Tolmas Chanukah Gift Program. Over 200 gift bags were assembled for Jewish youth in the region. The program provides eight gifts, one for each night of Chanukah, to youth in need in the agency’s seven state region, which includes Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 29
community New Orleans interfaith gathering to mark 50 years since Nostra Aetate The 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate will be marked in New Orleans with a program coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the Jewish Community Relations Council in partnership with the Archdiocese of Greater New Orleans. Rabbi Michael Cook of Hebrew Union College and His Excellency Gregory Michael Aymond, archbishop of New Orleans, will discuss the landmark document on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Nunemaker Hall at Loyola University. The program, which is free and open to the community, will celebrate the relationship cultivated between the Jewish and Catholic faiths during the past half century, and look toward the growth of collaborative efforts. Cook is the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo-Christian Studies, and Professor of Intertestamental and Early Christian Literatures at HUC in Cincinnati. Regarded as the only rabbi in North America to hold a full professorial Chair in New Testament, he has keynoted hundreds of Institutes for Christian Clergy across the country, and was one of sev- Rabbi Michael Cook en scholars selected by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to assess the accuracy of the advance script of Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ.” Aymond is the first native New Orleanian to serve as archbishop in the over 200-year history of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He became auxiliary bishop in 2007, then coadjutor Bishop of Austin in 2000. In 2009 he was elevated to Archbishop of New Orleans. He has served as chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People and the Committee on Divine Worship, and currently chairs the board of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Nostra Aetate, which is Latin for “In Our Time,” was passed by the assembled Catholic bishops on Oct. 28, 1965 by a vote of 2,221 to 88, under the direction of Pope Paul VI, toward the end of the Second Vatican Council. The declaration, which was made in five parts, starts by affirming the unity of the origin of all people, then clarifies the church’s relations with other world religions. The fourth section deals with the Jewish people, and speaks of the bond that “New Covenant” people, namely Christians, have with the descendants of Abraham. It repudiated the centuries-old charge that all Jews were responsible for deicide in the death of Jesus, as well as the notion that Jews are “rejected or accursed by God.” The document continues, “In her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” This was seen as a major break with church-sponsored theological anti-Jewish teachings throughout the centuries, which had led to numerous mass murders, forcible conversions and expulsions of Jews. In commenting on the 50th anniversary, Pope Francis stated “Since Nostra Aetate, indifference and opposition have turned into cooperation and goodwill. Enemies and strangers became friends and brothers.” After the declaration, over two dozen centers for Christian-Jewish understanding were set up at Catholic institutions in the United Sates. It also had an effect on local levels, such as the Mobile Christian-Jewish Dialogue, which started when Bishop John May asked Mary and Paul Filben to approach the Jewish community for a series of joint programs. 30 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
jewish book month an annual SJL special section
Golden wasn’t silent: Remembering an outspoken Jewish newspaper pioneer When I started attending national Jewish newspaper conventions in the early 1990s, when people found out where I was from, I was often asked if I knew fellow Southerner Harry Golden, with a tone that indicated they were speaking about one of the giants of our profession. One really should know the trailblazers, but I knew next to nothing about Golden, except a vague notion of a publication in the Carolinas, though he was a household name in the 1950s and 1960s. His newspaper, the Carolina Israelite, folded in 1968, Charlotte is a six-hour drive from Birmingham — not exactly next door — and Golden died in 1981, when I was doing a newspaper… as a sixth grade student at the Birmingham Jewish Day School. So, no, I did not know Golden. In “Carolina Israelite: How Harry Golden Made Us Care about Jews, the South, and Civil Rights,” Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett preserves the story of a writer and publisher who is “a bit of a Forrest Gump tale,” having a front-row seat to a wide array of major historical events and never shying away from giving his opinion about them, regardless of what others thought. Daughter of a transplanted Southerner, Hartnett said she grew up reading Golden’s books and her mother said she had worked for Golden at one THE LEO FRANK time. While researching her book, she LYNCHING GREATLY came across a folder among the Harry AFFECTED GOLDEN’S Golden papers at North CarolinaCharlotte that contained notes in her VIEWS ON RACE, mother’s handwriting. EQUALITY “Once I learned a bit about Golden I realized he was exactly the sort of person I love to read about—an unlikely and very flawed hero. He was a writer who used his celebrity to fight on behalf of others,” she said.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 31
jewish book month
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Born in 1903 in what is now Ukraine, Golden immigrated to New York with his family in 1907. Goldhirsch, as his family name was back then, peddled newspapers on the New York streets. In 1915 at the age of 12, he was greatly affected by the front page story about the lynching of Leo Frank in Atlanta. Hartnett points out, “For the rest of his life, Golden was something of a student of what we now call ‘hate crimes’.” Fifty years later, Golden would write a book about the case, “A Little Girl is Dead.” He would be influenced by storytellers and “showmen” publishers, such as “Little Blue Books” publisher Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, who would take sleepy classics and change the titles to something provocative, then list only the title in a mail-order catalog. But at the time that was a peripheral influence, as he was on Wall Street during the roaring 1920s — until he was sentenced to five years in prison for mail fraud involving stock scams, with Virginia Methodist Bishop and political activist James Cannon Jr. as one of his major clients. After his term in prison, he sold advertising for a New York newspaper, then flopped at an ad venture tied to the World’s Fair, and was still involved in sketchy enterprises. In 1943, he was arrested in Birmingham after writing the Tutwiler Hotel that a representative of the “Advertising Trade Service Inc. of New York City” would be visiting and asked for “all courtesies” for the representative. While the Tutwiler was apparently happy to comp rooms and meals to someone they though was legitimate, they called the police when he started bouncing personal checks. Traveling around as a writer and salesman, he wound up in Charlotte, which turned out to be a great fit. It was a small enough place where he could have a large effect, but large enough to have a vibrant journalism community. It was in the South, which was on the verge of a major societal change that meshed with his cheering of the underdog and passion for advocating equality. He launched the “improbably titled” Carolina Israelite, spinning yarns and tackling controversial issues head-on. “He exposed racism in all its guises and deconstructed antiSemitism, and he did it with wit and originality,” Hartnett said. Often, he castigated the Jewish community for inaction, which was not uncommon in Southern communities where the Jewish community was caught in the middle in the civil rights struggle. “Horrified” was a routine reaction in the Charlotte Jewish community to his writing. Golden “introduced whites to blacks, Gentiles to Jews. His endless stream of anecdotes gave
jewish book month northerners a glimpse of Dixie and Southerners a sense of the Lower East Side,” Hartnett said. Once he got his reader or listener to laugh — and it never took long — he could get them to question the status quo. In the process, he amassed a huge number of celebrities and politicians as friends, though none as close as writer Carl Sandburg. Golden would often add a prominent person to his mailing list, and then mention in print that the unknowing individual was a subscriber, as a way of attracting other subscribers. “It’s amazing how often this led to real friendship,” Hartnett said. At one point, his newspaper claimed 55,000 subscribers. In 1958, a collection of his tales from growing up on the Lower East Side, “Only in America” became a surprise runaway best-seller. He followed it with one book per year, many of them also becoming huge sellers and earning him entrée to the “Tonight Show” couch. It also led to the unmasking of his past, with the revelation of his fraud convictions — but the public shrugged off the scandal and in 1973 he even managed to get a Federal pardon from the Nixon administration. As self-promoter, storyteller and humorist, sometimes his works fell flat as he played fast and loose with reality. Some of his more scholarly books are viewed with skepticism today, and when Life magazine hired him to cover the Eichmann trial, they discontinued his reports after the first one. His writing included “Golden Plans” to change society, often absurd but pointed, such as his argument that if Jim Crow laws said mixing races was fine as long as people were not seated together, then schools should remove chairs from the classrooms. When Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his Letter from Birmingham Jail, he listed Golden among the “too few in quantity” whites in the South who “have written about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms.” As noted in the book, Golden certainly had comments to make after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, and Bloody Sunday in Selma. But that was also the beginning of a demoralizing time for Golden. He would still travel and do lectures, but much of the grind of the paper was too wearing. Also, elements in the civil rights movement were transitioning from equal rights to black power, a shift that alarmed him. The assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy were also a heavy load for him to bear. Golden’s life “encompassed some of the most fascinating and telling events in America’s modern history,” Hartnett said. “Anywhere big news was breaking, Golden seemed to be there.”
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 33
jewish book month Great Kaiser forged his own path through wrestling, music What does a thin Jewish kid growing up in Birmingham who has an obsession with opera and aspires to be the next Enrico Caruso wind up doing? If you answered “become a professional wrestler,” then you clearly have met Sam Tenenbaum Jr. His autobiography, “The Unmasked Tenor: The Life and Times of a Singing Wrestler,” was recently released, and it describes how he went from a weak kid to a star of the regional wrestling circuits in the Southeast, as the masked Great Kaiser. As a child, he loved music and developed quite a voice, but he also was a target of school bullies and not a great student. His parents sent him to Marion Military Institute to get some discipline. Interacting with other students there, he quickly learned that he needed to develop some fighting skills. That, plus a regimented training system , meant that when he came home he was a different person, physically and mentally. He went to the University of Montevallo to pursue a music career — though with a “safe” liberal arts degree to fall back on, but which did not interest him at all. Working out at the downtown YMCA in Birmingham, he met Joe Honeycutt, an established wrestler who saw potential in Tenenbaum and offered to train him. His parents were skeptical, and insisted that he not wrestle in Birmingham, where they were known to everyone, and have a stage name on the road. Soon, Tenenbaum had his first wrestling appearance, in Oneonta. He let Honeycutt choose a name, and he “almost had a stroke” when he got to the venue and found that he would wrestle as “The Jewish Angel.” Nick Carter, a wrestling promoter and Tenenbaum’s opponent in the ring that night, gave him the name for showmanship and controversy. Bitten with the bug. Tenenbaum continued getting onto wrestling cards, generally as the newcomer who was cannon fodder for the established wrestlers. He chose the innocuous name of Bob Kaiser as his stage name. He worked his way onto televised cards out of Atlanta, worked Florida and the Carolinas, building his reputation and persona. In 1975, bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Birmingham with Sally Field for the filming of “Stay Hungry.” Regulars from the YMCA assisted with the production, none more enthusiastic than Johnny Peebles III, who Tenenbaum had recently met. Schwarzenegger told Tenenbaum that the name Bob Kaiser was too small for him, and he needed a name with “Great” in it. Soon, the masked Great Kaiser was born. No longer in the role of getting run over in the ring, the Great Kaiser upped his showmanship with Peebles by his side as manager. Tenenbaum noted that they definitely turned heads — it wasn’t just a 280-pound wrestler in a mask, but he was accompanied by a long-haired manager in a white tuxedo. His most famous match was a semi-stunt “feud” with local sportscaster Herb Winches that ended in the ring. Years later that would be replicated 34 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 35
jewish book month to a lesser degree with Paul Finebaum. Tenenbaum also discusses how Vince McMahon transformed professional wrestling into a national obsession, to the detriment of the regional circuits where the Great Kaiser made his name. As his wrestling career wound down, aside from the occasional publicity bout, he turned back to his music while caring for his aging parents, who eventually came around regarding his wrestling career — especially his mother’s reaction to his being inducted into the Birmingham chapter of the National Wrestling
Alliance Hall of Fame. On occasion the two worlds did mix. The Great Kaiser’s theme song was “Edelweiss,” and he was known to sing it occasionally in the ring at matches. Written in the first person, not only is the book a window on growing up Jewish in Birmingham and venturing into a world that has little Jewish participation, it also gives a perspective of the athleticism needed to make it in wrestling, along with the showmanship and storylines. Tenenbaum will have a book signing at Little Professor in Birmingham on Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
Clifford Celebrates Hanukkah by Norman Bridwell Emily Elizabeth and Clifford are excited to learn about the Festival of Lights from Melissa and her family at their home (and of course, Clifford likes sufganiyot!). Later, when everyone goes out to watch the lighting of the menorah in the town square, they learn that doing something nice turns out to be the best Hanukkah gift of all.
The Miracle Mitzvah Moose by Dawn Wynne, illustrated by Gloria Pineiro Abbey finds that getting settled in to her new home in Alaska isn’t easy, and looking for the familiar on the first night of Hanukkah doesn’t turn out the way she expects. When a moose appears outside her window, his antlers sparkle like a menorah. Thinking of miracles and how we show appreciation, the mitzvot Abbey sets out to do warm the heart of everyone.
36 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
jewish book month
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Longue Vue House and Gardens by Charles Davey and Carol McMichael Reese Substantial enough in size and comprehensiveness of content, “Longue Vue House and Gardens” is destined for display rather than to be shelved away and will be the book to give and receive this holiday season. Those interested in the New Orleans landmark’s architecture and landscape will appreciate the biographies of the planners and details of how elements came together as well as letters of appreciation from Edith and Edgar Stern, the original owners. The home was built between 1935 and 1942 with eight acres of gardens. Quality, large-scale photography abounds in the book, including that of plant specimens conveniently paired in text with their nomenclature. Ellen Biddle Shipman’s planting plans (even the spring, summer planting plan for the portico garden) along with lists of each variety used as in the Japanese Iris area, and other plans with each vegetable enumerated with its place in the vegetable garden are especially noteworthy. Beside seeing the home in person at an event or as part of a tour, the images of the interior — along with architectural and furniture plans — show how timeless the the furnishings, fabrics and millwork truly are alongside the inventiveness the Sterns incorporated such as built-in bathroom scales, elevator, a dark room, and the first integrated central air conditioning system in the area. Those familiar with Louisiana architecture will especially appreciate how so many elements of the home are inspired by other landmarks such as the Beauregard-Keyes House, the Uncle Sam House in Convent, and Shadows-on-theTeche in New Iberia.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 37
jewish book month There is also a section on the Sterms. His family was in the cotton factoring business in New Orleans, while she was the daughter of Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck & Co., who also bankrolled efforts to build thousands of rural schools for blacks throughout the South. The book details the couple’s philanthropic endeavors in the New Orleans area, in the Jewish and general communities. They were instrumental in the formation of Dillard University and Flint-Goodridge Hospital, though the book notes the Sterns had to be “resourceful” in discussing the institution because of rigid racial social codes of the day. A launch party for the book was scheduled for Nov. 4 at Longue Vue.
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The latest novel by Steve Stern, winner of the National Jewish Book Award for fiction, is set in a historical Jewish neighborhood in Memphis. “The Pinch” is set in an area of the same name centered on North Main Street. By the 1960s, when the story takes place, the once-thriving Jewish community is down to a single tenant, Lenny Sklarew. The scrawny Sklarew tries to avoid the draft, selling drugs and working in a used bookstore, until he notices a musty book about the rise and fall of the neighborhood — and discovers that he is a character in the book. The 50-year-old history, written by Muni Pinsker, was written not only about the neighborhood’s past but what its future would become. As Sklarew reads the book, the past and present come together. Stern teaches fiction and literature at Skidmore College in New York, but grew up in the Reform community in Memphis. He recalls that the Pinch was something he knew nothing about growing up, and he didn’t really think much about Judaism until he was in his 30s, living on a commune in the Arkansas Ozarks. Sparked by portrayals in literature, he began to explore Jewish folklore, especially magical and mystical traditions. He also started transcribing oral histories at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, which included Jewish remembrances of Beale Street and interactions between Jews and blacks. The Center made him ethnic heritage director of a “Lox and Grits” project, and it was then that he started learning the history of the Pinch, and writing stories that were set there. His previous novels include “The Book of Mischief ” and “The Frozen Rabbi.”
Rick Recht performed at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans in a free community concert on Oct. 18. Recht plays over 150 concerts a year and is the national music spokesman for PJ Library. He is also the founder and executive director of Jewish Rock Radio, which is available online and on an app.
38 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
financial an annual SJL special section
As lending law changes, Sirote’s longstanding practice adapts by Lee J. Green In 1946, Birmingham Jewish community members Morris Sirote, Edward Friend, Jr. and James Permutt began practicing law together at a small law firm. Soon thereafter, Karl Friedman joined the firm. Almost 70 years later, Sirote & Permutt, P.C. is one of the largest and most respected full-service firms in the Birmingham and Florida markets, with offices in Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Pensacola, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Samuel Friedman, one of the newer Sirote partners in the Business and Financial Services practice group, is an involved member of the Birmingham Jewish community. He describes himself as a “general business lawyer” with a practice that focuses on three areas: complex real estate deals, commercial lending transactions, and consumer finance law compliance. On the first two, he explains that the Sirote real estate and banking “teams” handle some of the biggest as well as most complex transactions in the region. But, his eyes really light up when talking about the third focus of his practice. “I’m not sure my own family understands what I do,” he explains of his practice. “But, I promise it is really interesting — at least to me.” Friedman, together with law partner Maurice Shevin, advises financial institutions, particularly non-bank lenders, on how to comply with federal consumer financial protection laws. Since the economic crash and Great Recession, Friedman notes that much has changed from a regulation and compliance standpoint in just a few short years. “We don’t live in the same financial world we did 10 years ago. It’s a brave new world,” he said. “In 2015, financial institutions can’t operate the same way they did 10 years ago. And, that’s where Sirote has expertise.” Five years ago, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 — the most significant overhaul of financial services regulation in the United States since the Great Depression. The Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new agency of government designed to protect consumers in the financial marketplace. That, Friedman says, is where his practice took an unexpected turn. “I didn’t graduate law school thinking I would be a federal consumer finance expert. But in the practice of law, you have to adapt to your clients, and our clients needed that expertise.” Since then, particularly over the last two years, Friedman and Shevin have written, lectured and given interviews as national experts. “In this brave new world, it has become so much more complex for financial institutions to navigate the waters of federal compliance, which has made it even more important for them to work with legal professionals who know the ins and outs of the new regulations,” said Friedman. And the landscape is ever-changing. Discussing next year’s election, he feels that these new regulatory changes and the CFPB in particular are here to stay regardless of who wins the White House. “There could be a change in the funding mechanism or governing format of the [CFPB], but in my opinion, it’s not going away,” he said. “I think I’m going to be doing this for a long, long time.” When asked for the single most important piece of advice for financial institutions, Friedman replied without hesitation, “That’s easy. Don’t ignore the law. It’s that simple.”
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6 p.m. Reception in South Wing
Refreshments provided by Wenonah High School Tourism & Hospitality and Alabama Crown Beverages
7 p.m. Orchestra Performance
8:30 p.m. VIP Event, 2nd Floor Gallery
For our full listing of Veterans Day events
visit southernmuseumofflight.org
4343 73rd Street North • Birmingham Call 205.833.8226 to schedule a group tour or special event southernmuseumofflight.org “Supporting the South’s Future in Flight”
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 39
financial Caring for our Community
Businesses need to ensure they are insured for when disaster strikes
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by Lee J. Green Following Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans law firm of Herman, Herman & Katz, LLC helped businesses and individuals recover through making sure they got the insurance benefits they were entitled to. Founded in 1942 by brothers Harry and David Herman, the diverse law firm hopes through proactive education and consultation they can help others to ensure the best coverage along with protection from loss. “We recommend that any business review your insurance policies with your provider as well as an experienced attorney before signing,” said partner Brian Katz. “It is better to know for sure that you are protected ahead of time versus trying to handle something after a disaster or work stoppage has occurred.” Katz said most of the businesses they worked with had flood insurance protection, but most policies have caps on them. Most also had business interruption insurance. “But just because you have it doesn’t mean you are covered for everything and every situation,” he said. Business interruption insurance protects a business from the profit they would lose when a
disaster happens. That protection can cover everything from business interruption from flood to fire to computer network malfunctions. Harry and David Herman were born at the turn of the 20th century to immigrant parents who settled in the Irish Channel area of New Orleans. Their personal injury practice quickly took on the tough and gritty characteristics of their immigrant upbringing. Katz said Herman, Herman & Katz’s practice today is broad. The firm served as lead or colead counsels on segments of the BP case, the Chinese drywall case and Zarelto case. The firm also handles business and construction litigation; personal injury litigation and family law. After earning his B.A. from the University of Alabama, during which time he served a year as president of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, Katz received his J.D. in January 1996 from Tulane University School of Law. The New Orleans native served on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the New Orleans Jewish Community Center. He is a past president of the NOJCC and past co-chair for the Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership.
Estate Planning is Life Planning by Lisa Finn
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40 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
Proper estate planning isn’t just about what happens when one dies. To do it properly, one must take into account all the important life and death decisions, including child care, incapacity during life, near-death considerations, post-mortem financial planning and tax consequences, including but not limited to income, estate, and capital gains tax. Proper estate planning means that in the event that an individual is unable to manage his or her own affairs, he or she has already decided who will take over caregiving responsibilities and oversee assets, rather than a judge making that decision. Through revocable living trusts, powers of attorney and living wills, Louisiana families are relieving their loved ones of the burden, both emotional and financial, of making life and death decisions, and allowing their loved ones to avoid the time delays, costs and publicity associated with a Louisiana Succession. There are several things to examine when selecting an attorney to entrust when working on
these most important life and death decisions. His or her practice should be exclusively an estate planning and estate settling practice. Proper estate planning definitely touches upon important tax issues. The tax code is not a place one wants to just happen upon; and the law changes every year. It is important to be able to rely on someone who can keep up with these changing laws. And, the attorney one chooses must be able to explain everything in an understandable manner. Lisa Finn is an estate planning attorney with Rabalais Law in New Orleans. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Florida State University College of Law in 2001. Then, to further her knowledge in estate planning and taxation, Finn returned to law school, and earned a Master of Law degree in Federal Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law in 2006. She is licensed to practice law in both Louisiana and Florida, and can be reached at: (504) 274-1980 and (504) 274-9431, and contacted by email at: lisa.finn@rabalaislaw.com.
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To make sure your milestone is included, email the information to editor@sjlmag.com, or mail to P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham AL 35213. Photos are welcome.
community Hillel names eight Leading Forward honorees Presentation at Southern Fried Schmancy on Nov. 19 Tulane Hillel announced eight outstanding New Orleanians will be honored with Leading Forward Awards at its Southern-Fried Schmancy gala on Nov. 19. These honorees are: Julie Finger, Sheila and Tim Gold, Brad Gottsegen, Jorie Kirschbaum, Adam Mejerson, Leann Moses and Erica Woodley. Tulane Hillel previously announced that Matt Schwartz, a Tulane alumnus and leader in community development, will receive the Big Pastrami Award. The Leading Forward Awards recognize individuals who exemplify leadership and community involvement, providing an excellent example for the student participants in the Tulane Jewish Leaders initiative. The goal of the Leading Forward Awards is to engage and honor individuals who expand the notion of Jewish community involvement and serve to inspire the vibrant New Orleans community. In announcing the recipients, Rabbi Yonah Schiller, executive director of Tulane Hillel, said “Leading Forward is the name of our student leadership incubator, and it was a natural extension to create community-wide ‘Leading Forward’ Awards. As we inspire our student leaders to make an impact in the local community, we are thrilled to showcase local leaders, across a wide variety of professions, who have made community involvement a priority.” Co-chairs Mara and Joshua Force added “Each of these recipients has demonstrated commitment and dedication to the New Orleans community. As a collective, they represent leaders in a wide range of areas, including health and wellness, leadership development, philanthropy, and more. We are so pleased to recognize these eight honorees as role models for our Leading Forward students and look forward to celebrating them, along with our Big Pastrami recipient Matt Schwartz, at Southern-Fried Schmancy!” Finger, an assistant professor at Tulane Medical School, is a pediatrician who specializes in adolescent medicine. She has worked extensively with local youth via school-based health centers at high schools, vocational schools and at Tulane, and sees patients at the Drop-In Clinic, which serves underinsured and homeless youth. She also currently serves on the boards of Shir Chadash and Jewish Family Service. Gottsegen, of Gottsegen Orthodontics, provides orthodontic services to children in need through Boys Hope, Girls Hope, a residential facility for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. He is also a past board member of Tulane Hillel. Sheila and Tim Gold are longtime leaders in the New Orleans community. Sheila is a longtime board member of Jewish Children’s Re-
gional Service and is currently co-chairing its annual gala, a member of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp Committee, past president of Temple Sinai, and a past board member of Tulane Hillel. Tim is the current president of Temple Sinai’s Brotherhood, a member of the Upper Hurstville Security District, and past president of the Newman’s Dads Club; served on the board of the Jewish Endowment Foundation; and was the first chair of the Jewish Federation’s JGrad program. They are graduates of the Federation’s Lemann-Stern Leadership Development program. Professionally, Sheila is the Director of Enrollment Management and Admissions for the Tulane School of Social Work, and Tim is a senior insurance broker with Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency. Kirschbaum, development director for Liberty’s Kitchen, works to create opportunities for young people to learn important life skills and become self-sufficient. She is also an active volunteer with the Federation and a graduate of Lemann-Stern. Mejerson, a graduate of Loyola University of New Orleans, founded FitLot, a non-profit organization that seeks to build outdoor fitness parks in communities across America. After a successful fundraising campaign, FitLot’s first fitness park will be built on the Lafitte Greenway in the Treme-Lafitte neighborhood. Moses, a partner with the Carver Darden law firm, sits on a number of non-profit boards that serve both the New Orleans Jewish and broader communities. She is a past president of the Anti-Defamation League’s South Central Region, is a member of Women of the Storm, and serves on the boards of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the ADL, and Second Harvest Foodbank of Greater New Orleans, among others. Woodley, assistant vice president for student resources and support services in Tulane’s Division of Student Affairs, works to support Tulane undergraduates in their health and wellbeing. She created the university’s behavioral intervention team, responds at all hours to student crises, and deftly manages all sorts of emotion-packed student issues. Southern-Fried Schmancy will be held at the Goldie and Morris Mintz Center for Jewish Life, and will be co-chaired by Mara and Joshua Force. Tickets are available for the 7:30 p.m. celebration, which will feature live entertainment by New Orleans’ own COOT, food by Hillel’s Kitchen, signature cocktails, valet parking and many surprises throughout the evening. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.schmancy.org or by calling (504) 866-7060.
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Early Childhood growing at Torah Academy Torah Academy in Metairie is reporting that enrollment has doubled in the school’s early childhood program, and credits the program’s new director, Naomi Smith. Originally from New Iberia, Smith completed an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, and a master’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana with a specialty in early childhood development and special education. A great deal of her educational experience is in early intervention and early childhood development. Smith has revised the curriculum and built up the supplies and equipment to enhance the learning experience for early childhood students. The recently completed Torah Academy playground enables kids to learn as they play, building teamwork and creative skills. In discussing Smith’s hire, Michelle Stross, a board member at Torah Academy, mentioned her 15 years of childcare and early childhood education experience. Smith “is qualified and experienced in creating a learning environment that meets the academic, social, cognitive, emotional, sensory, fine motor and gross motor developmental needs of all children.” This is important to Torah Academy as all of their children have a wide range of strengths. The mixed-age classroom of 3- and 4-year-olds has children at different stages of academic and social development. “The board wanted a director who understands the dynamic needs of our kids and our school. Her early childhood development experience made her a unique and perfect choice for Torah Academy.” For Torah Academy, Smith is working on creating a curriculum that incorporates Jewish holidays and observances based on the principles of the Reggio Emilia style of teaching. Reggio Emilia is an Italian community where the study was founded. This form of education dictates that a child should be educated in a natural setting where they can learn through discovery and the environment. It is an individualized approach that assesses where each child is and where do they need to be. Torah Academy also has a strong Hebrew language program. Teaching two languages is not an easy task, as this requires students to learn and develop a language other than English, but Torah Academy does it with the help of two native Hebrew speakers on the Early Childhood staff. A new addition to the school family, parent Julie Gillis says that she is “very satisfied with Torah Academy for my three-year-old daughter. In just a few short weeks of school, she is flourishing.” Gillis said her daughter Tamar “is learning her colors in Hebrew and English. She is constantly singing the songs she is learning at school. Every day, she is happy to get up and go to school. The teachers and administration are highly professional, yet very loving at the same time. They just know what they’re doing, and this is reflected in my child’s positive attitude toward school.” Gillis added that she has “[never] seen a better physical facility than Torah Academy. The building and playground are bright, beautiful, and brand new. Torah Academy’s early childhood program is a gem that I feel will soon be discovered by our community, and when it is discovered, the program will have a real opportunity to grow.” For more on Torah Academy’s growing program, visit the Torah Academy Facebook page, or the website at www.torahacademynola.com
nosh
jewish deep south: bagels, biscuits, beignets
Southern holiday tradition: a Greenberg turkey from Tyler, Texas
THANKSGIVING
A Texas Tradition, Delivered: Greenberg Smoked Turkeys When S.I. Greenberg was serving as the kosher butcher in Tyler, Tex., in the 1930s, little could he have imagined that what he was doing would set the groundwork for enhancing tens of thousands of Christmas celebrations across the region. It’s the busy season for Greenberg Smoked Turkeys, which will sell over 200,000 turkeys in the next two months, at its smokehouse in east Texas and through an extensive mail-order operation. In 2006, Texas Monthly said the turkeys are such an ingrained tradition for many families, they’d sooner give up their Christmas trees than their Greenberg turkeys. In the last few years, Greenberg has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and was listed as an “Oprah’s Favorites Under $100” in Oprah magazine as “the best turkey I’ve ever tasted.” Forbes magazine described it as “like a ham with ambitions toward flight.” It all started from a tin smoking shed that S.I. Greenberg built on their dairy farm, as was common in the area. He had arrived in Galveston from Eastern Europe in 1903, becoming the leader of Ahavath Achim in Tyler. Aside from being a shochet, he was also a mohel and had a blacksmith shop downtown. While neighbors smoked hams, he smoked turkeys. Friends started asking him to smoke birds for them. After a few years, there was a request in 1942 for six birds from friends in Dallas. Son Zelick Greenberg figured out how to pack them for shipping and sent them by rail, leading to more mail orders. Because of war shortages they had to improvise by repurposing boxes
from the local grocery store. The operation grew, with Zelick adding more smokehouses as time went on, but there was a major setback in 1951 on Christmas Eve, after the last orders for the season had been filled. Ashes that turned out to still be smoldering had been put on a trash pile and caught fire, burning everything down, said Sam Greenberg, Zelick’s son and the third Greenberg generation in the business. Zelick “built back what is the heart of the plant that we have today,” he said. The processes are the same, Sam Greenberg said, “we just do it a little more and a little faster.” He runs the plant with “right-hand man” Tracy Lisner. While most people identify turkeys with Thanksgiving, November isn’t the busiest time of the year for Greenberg. Roughly one-third of their annual business is for Thanksgiving, while two-thirds is for Christmas. “After December 25, we’re basically finished until next September,” he said. While they do sell a small number of turkeys the rest of the year, “this is the only time of the year for us.” The turkeys are spice rubbed and smoked from three hickory-wood fires in one of 20 pit houses, with no gas or electrical heat, just wood. “They’re not baked, they‘re not ‘kind of ’ smoked,” he said. The rub comes from a recipe by Jenny Greenberg, S.I. Greenberg’s mother, Sam’s great-grandmother. The smoking gives it a dark brown color, which might initially surprise someone used to golden brown turkeys. Also, because of the smoking pro-
COOKBOOK
THE NEW KOSHER: Simple Recipes to Savor & Share by Kim Kushner
Kim Kushner has a great background for composing interesting flavors: she was born in Montreal, was taught to cook from her Moroccan-born mother, spent time in Israel, and now lives in New York. Professionally, she graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education and went on to develop recipes for “Food & Wine” before becoming a highly-sought instructor. Although she’s a cookbook author, she explains that her favorite part comes not in the cooking, but the sharing of the meal. This makes perfect sense when reviewing recipes, as most of them are composed of a handful of common ingredients with simple instruction which results lowering the stress of preparation and putting forth straight-forward, flavorful dishes. Perhaps the strongest section is that on salads, which seem super-fresh, new and light: pomelo salad with red onion, mint & cilantro and another of kohlrabi, edamame & carrots in ginger-miso marinade. There’s not much on holiday-specific foods, so think of this as a weeknight what-to-make-for-supper guide, from roast chicken to “bowl of crack” quinoa. But when Purim rolls around, don’t forget her idea for hamantaschen with rocky road filling, either.
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 43
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cess they recommend not eating the skin, just the flavorful meat inside. Fans say that stock made from the turkeys is perfect for gumbo and jambalaya, and the first recipe listed on the Greenberg website is for a smoked turkey and Andouille sausage gumbo. The turkeys average 8 to 10 pounds, a 10-pounder sells for $57.70, though larger ones are available. UPS Ground shipping adds about $12 or so to the bill. The turkeys are shipped in the signature Greenberg white box that, like so much about the company, has not changed in decades. The turkey arrives ready to eat — but if you don’t tear into it right away it should be refrigerated. They recommend eating it within 6 to 8 days, and serving it chilled or at room temperature, not reheated. Though Greenberg keeps things the way they have always been because he doesn’t want to mess with so many families’ cherished holiday traditions, there have been a few changes over the years, including online ordering. In 2009, the website started accepting credit cards, instead of
just sending an invoice with the shipments. Another change came with the end of supplying kosher turkeys. “We always had a small quantity of kosher birds, keeping true to our heritage,” he said. But in the 1990s, the inability to get a reliable supply of quality kosher turkeys led him to discontinue them. “That was not a decision that came easily to me,” he said. But it was “not worth risking our reputation” on sub-par birds, and he noted that there was one load of kosher turkeys that the USDA would not even allow into his plant. Still, “the roots of this business are deeply embedded in the Jewish community of Tyler.” He also said “The people of Tyler are the people who put my grandfather and my father in business. Regardless of religion, background, race — people around here enjoyed what my father and grandfather did. “Tyler and east Texas have made us what we are and we can’t thank them enough.” More information: gobblegobble.com
Mad Hatters come out for Hadassah event The New Orleans Chapter of Hadassah went down the “rabbit hole” for its Mad Hatter Tea Party champagne jazz brunch on Oct. 18. Held at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park, the event was to raise awareness and funding for medical care and cutting-edge research at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem. At the event, Julie Schwartz led a tribute to Libbye Katz Gordon, who died in March. Gordon was a life-long devotee of Hadassah who was responsible for a large portion of the Life Memberships and Associates in the New Orleans chapter. “She became absolutely legendary,” Schwartz said. “Despite the fact that New Orleans is not a big city” she was recognized nationally for recruiting the most life members in a single year. “Libbye probably recruited more life members than Hadassah’s founder, Henrietta Szold,” Schwartz said. Schwartz noted that Gordon received numerous tributes on her 90th birthday, but greetings from Hillary Clinton, Rosanne Barr, the New Orleans Pelicans and the cast of “The Bold and the Beautiful” paled in comparison to hearing
44 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
from the national president of Hadassah. As a teen, Gordon was queen of the Young Judaea ball. She was president of Junior Hadassah, the New Orleans chapter, recipient of the Woman of Valor award and one of only three women to become an honorary lifetime vice president. Gordon’s legacy “is not just an office wall covered with awards or a drawer filled with pins or even a room full of life members and associates. It is what those things and people make possible,” Schwartz concluded. Members dressed in decorative hats and took part in an auction led by Master of Ceremonies Randall Feldman, retired president and general manager of WYES. Event Chair Rachel Blackman Frank designed whimsical table decorations of branches decorated with tea cups, flowers and butterflies. The Or Shavaly Trio played as members dined and enjoyed a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar. The Mad Hatter theme was a different twist for the gala, which for the previous two years had been called “Bra-Veaux” to mark breast cancer awareness month and Hadassah’s role in cancer research.
Continued from page 46
There is also a one-person version of this, sometimes played in some synagogues on certain slow Saturdays. It’s called “The Rabbi’s Sermon.” One game that has been lost in time features a field reporter interacting with two news anchors. The reporter can’t see the breaking news he’s reporting on, but the anchors can. From what the anchors say, the reporter has to figure out what’s going on. It seems innocuous enough, so why is it never done? The name of the game set up an unintended expectation: “Jews Flash.”
ONE STOP KOSHER FOOD SHOPPING
Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who once brought down the house on USY Israel Pilgrimage doing a Switch game, flipping back and forth arguing the pros and cons of shilshul. It was an audience suggestion. Look it up. Better yet, don’t. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook. com/the.beholders.eye.
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Israel Bonds holding December dinner
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Hugo Kahn and Alvin Samuels will be the recipients of the Star of David Award at this year’s New Orleans Israel Bonds dinner. The award is presented for commitment to Israel Bonds and the New Orleans Jewish community. The event will be at the home of Alice and Kurt Gitter on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. Couvert is $50 and reservations are requested to the Israel Bonds Atlanta office by Nov. 30. Guest speaker will be Bernd Wollschlaeger, author of “Against All Odds, Change is Possible.” The son of a Nazi tank commander, at age 14 he asked his parents why the 1972 murder of Israeli Olympic athletes was referred to as Jews being killed “again” in Germany. After his father insisted there was no Holocaust, Wollschlaeger sought out the local Jewish community, met survivors and attended a peace conference for Jewish and Arab youth. Estranged from his parents, Wollschlaeger eventually converted to Judaism, moved to Israel, then later to Florida where he is a physician.
Proud to be part of the New Orleans Jewish Community Nobody does local coverage like
Southern Jewish Life
NCJW opens year with City Park history The Greater New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women held its Opening Brunch on Oct. 4 at the home of Susan and Bill Hess. The event was catered by Melanie Blitz. Bob Becker, CEO of City Park, presented the park’s history, including its Jewish connections, and shared details of its renaissance since Katrina. Named recently as one of the “Heroes of Recovery” by New Orleans Magazine, Becker is credited not only with repairing the catastrophic damage done by Katrina but also remaking it into one of the Top Ten public parks in the country, now visited by 14 million people annually. Since the storm, Becker has put together a public/private financing plan that has raised over $122 million. Before coming to City Park, he was the Senior Vice President for the Audubon Nature Institute and was the Executive Director of the New Orleans City Planning Commission during most of the 1980s. Brenda Brasher, Susan Hess, Bob Becker and Susan Kierr Photo by Linda Friedman
November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 45
rear pew mirror • doug brook
Jew’s Line is it Anyway?
Welcome to “Jew’s Line is it Anyway,” the game where, like Midrash, everything is made up and, come Yom Kippur, the points don’t matter. Yes, they matter as much as Jimmy Carter at a pro-Israel rally. Four performers make up everything you see, right on the spot, like some Torah readers on Shabbat morning. Everything they do is based on suggestions from the congregation and what’s written on cards that they’ve never seen before. The first game is called “Questions,” or in its original Jewish form, “Rabbinic Answers.” In this game, the contestants are allowed to speak only in questions, thus answering each other’s questions with nothing but more questions, like the rabbis of yore (and evermore). Get it? “Let’s Make a Shidduch” is a dating game, where one contestant asks questions of three blind dates, to try to determine who they are. The three are given an outlandish persona to enact as they answer the contestant’s questions. For example, one bachelor might be, “the cool kid who always won at ga-ga, 30 years later.” Another could be, “that annoying song leader from summer camp.” (Not that they all are annoying, but THAT one.) The third might be, “that guy who dozed off and missed that the Red Sea parted.” It’s always an eclectic group, but more appealing than any three bachelors one might find in real life. Perhaps the most popular game IT’S THE GAME is “Scenes from a Kippah.” In this, WHERE EVERYTHING congregation members get to write (before Shabbat) a one-line description IS MADE UP AND of a scene. These are pulled at random THE POINTS DON’T MATTER, LIKE JIMMY from a kippah — preferably a large, Bukharan kippah, because the papers CARTER AT A fit better. The contestants must make as PRO-ISRAEL RALLY many brief scenes as they can from the description. The descriptions can be anything. For example: “Things to not say at the end of a bris.” “Holidays that aren’t on the Jewish calendar, but should be.” “Prayers we say in our daily lives, but not in services.” “What not to say to the new rabbi.” “Things you can say about services, but not about your spouse.” In “Kiddush Quirks,” one contestant gets to experience what most rabbis do each week after services: Meet very strange people and try to figure out what their deal is. For example, one kiddush guest could be Moses, smashing everything in sight, trying to get water to come out of it. Another could be a specific animal, going through other kiddush attendees to find a mate so he can get the last seat on Noah’s Ark. The third might be a mosquito sampling and judging every dish at this week’s bar mitzvah kiddush. What is one of the greatest Jewish pastimes, hearkening back all the way to the 40 years in the desert? Complaining. In “World’s Worst,” the contestants offer one-line suggestions for things like: “Worst blessing a parent could give a bar mitzvah kid.” “World’s worst pitches for the annual campaign.” “World’s worst things to include on a seder plate.” “World’s worst titles for a High Holy Day sermon.” In the game “Jew’s Line,” two performers are given a subject to work from. They’re also given several slips of paper, each with a single, random line of Talmud. At spontaneous times during the scene, they pull out a slip and say whatever line is on the slip and make it fit into what they’re saying. continued on previous page 46 Southern Jewish Life • November 2015
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November 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 47
The Cathy and Morris Bart
JEWISH CULTURAL ARTS MONTH A Celebration of Jewish Authors, Cinema and Music NOVEMBER 11 – DECEMBER 13, 2015 NEW ORLEANS JCC – 5342 ST. CHARLES AVENUE
YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 7:00 PM Free and open to the community
American-born Israeli author and journalist, YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI discusses Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation.
SHULEM DEEN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 7:00 PM Free and open to the community
SHULEM DEEN presents All Who Go Do Not Return, his memoir about growing up in and then leaving the Hasidic Jewish world.
DR. JEE-YEOUN KO’S COATS FOR KIDS CONCERT
MOVIE: FELIX AND MEIRA
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 7:00 PM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 7:00 PM
Free and open to the community Please bring a coat for a local child in need
The JCC is pleased to host Dr. Jee-Yeoun Ko’s annual benefit concert featuring Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Faubourg Quartet, Javier Olondo and NOCCA students.
MITCH ALBOM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 7:00 PM Tickets available at octaviabooks.com and at the door Each ticket admits 2 and will be exchanged for a copy of his book
Best-selling author MITCH ALBOM introduces his new book, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto: A Novel.
Free and open to the community
Winner of Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto festival, Felix and Meira is a story of an unconventional romance between two people living vastly different lives.
COMMUNITY CHANUKAH CELEBRATION SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 4:00 PM Free and open to the community
Celebrate the eighth night of Chanukah with dinner, a candle lighting, and performance by a cappella sensation LISTEN UP!
For more information visit www.nojcc.org