Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213
Volume 26 Issue 11
November 2016
Yes, that really is a custom Peter Max piece on our cover. In this issue, we have an interview with the iconic artist, who will be in New Orleans this month for an exhibition of his works. Our piece mentions how he started his drawing odyssey while in Shanghai, after his family left Germany in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime. By coincidence, shortly before we started working on that story, we had interviewed Ilse Goldberg of Greenwood, and learned about her years in Shanghai — where her family went after Kristallnacht and after her father had spent some time in a concentration camp, before she made her way to Mississippi. Her story, which she started sharing only recently, is also in this issue. Of course, election day is this month, and after the marathon that this election cycle has been for at least the last 18 months, the first pundit on Nov. 9 to start discussing 2020 does so at his or her own peril. We have a long-standing policy of not endorsing candidates. Most publications that endorse have an editorial board where they interview, discuss and debate, then print the consensus. For this publication, for many years it was just me, and as I try to be fair and even-handed in reporting, my goal is for readers to not be certain who I am supporting. The only times we have endorsed were special circumstances — a Holocaust denier who was running in the Republican primary for state school board in Alabama, and an atheist who became born again, started hanging out with white supremacist groups and Holocaust deniers, who ran for attorney general in Alabama’s Democrat primary. In both cases, their backgrounds were not widely known, and we endorsed their opponents. For our Louisiana readers, as is well known, David Duke is on the ballot. With 16 other candidates for U.S. Senate, it is highly unlikely he will make the runoff. But let’s make sure he Larry Brook doesn’t — geaux vote. EDITOR/PUBLISHER
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agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events
Sukkot at B’nai Israel in Florence
From Miami to the Deep South: Israel Consulate impressed on first visit Consul General visits Ala., Miss. governors; Bryant about to lead third trade mission to Israel With the recent realignment of Israel’s Consulates in the United States, Alabama and Mississippi were shifted away from the Atlanta Consulate in August and are now being served by the Consulate in Miami. That’s fine with Consul General Lior Haiat, who assumed the post in Miami in February. “We got the three best states” in terms of support for Israel. The Miami Consulate now serves Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Puerto Rico. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in January that it would be closing the Consulate in Philadelphia as a cost-cutting move. With that, a realignment was announced in April, adding Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri to the Atlanta consulate’s footprint. The shift of Alabama and Mississippi to the Miami Consulate became known mid-summer and was effective on Aug. 15. The Atlanta Consulate retained Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Louisiana and Arkansas are served out of the Houston Consulate.
Accompanied by Deputy Consul General Guy Gilady and Director of Economic and Political Affairs Lisa McClaskey, Haiat made his first visit to his two new states on Oct. 20 and 21. “We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “What we saw was impressive.” The Jewish community in both states is “amazing,” he said, remarking on how they are “so organized, so involved in community life, and the community is so involved in the community around it.” Noting that Jewish education is the key factor to maintaining Judaism in small communities, he was “really impressed” by the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham, especially the technology being used there. “I’ve been to a lot of places in a lot of Jewish communities in the world. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything close to it.” In Mississippi, he met with Governor Phil Bryant, who is about to take his third trade mission to Israel in a 25-month span. That is “probably a record” for a U.S. governor, Haiat said.
The trip, which will be from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, is being coordinated around the NEXTECH 2016 Conference for Cybersecurity and the defense sector. Held in Be’er-Sheva, it is the most significant conference and exhibition for cyber technologies outside of the United States. He wanted to be sure and meet Bryant before seeing him on the mission in Israel, and to help coordinate things for him and the companies on the trip “to make this visit the best possible.” Haiat also met with Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, and invited him to visit Israel. During his Alabama visit, Haiat was told about how Alabama was the first state to call for the establishment of Israel, through a 1943 resolution in the Legislature. The Consulate also established relationships with media outlets in the two states and a few individuals and groups that work on strong ties between the region and Israel. He noted the strong support Israel has in the Christian community in the two states. Haiat said they need to come back to the area November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 5
agenda soon, stay longer and visit with many of the smaller communities. A native of Petach Tikvah, just down the road from Birmingham sister city Rosh Ha’Ayin, Haiat served as the department director of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem for two years before arriving in Miami. He has also been spokesperson at the Israeli embassies in Spain and Argentina. As a close friend of Opher Aviran, the former consul general in Atlanta, Haiat has been getting information on the two states and “how we can maintain the great work (the Atlanta Consulate) has done over the years, and maybe find a few more topics we can work on.” He noted there are “clearly a lot of bridges that connect Alabama and Mississippi,” and his aim is to make even more connections. Israeli companies opening in the region “create jobs here and jobs in Israel. That will be the best bridge we can build, for Israel and for Alabama and Mississippi.”
Two Weeks in Mississippi
On Oct. 16, Eric Golub finished a two-week tour of Mississippi with a talk at B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg, inviting Brett Favre to the program (he did not show). He is author of “Jewish Lunacy: 6000 Years of Tradition, Pride, and Stories as Told by Someone Who Missed the First 5,690 Years.” The politically conservative columnist and comic sold “Hillary for Prison” T-shirts at the Mississippi State Fair in Jackson and spoke to groups such as the Madison County Republican Women. He started his trip to the region with a visit to Chabad of Metairie, then attended Yom Kippur at Beth Israel in Jackson, and Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot at Chabad of Southern Mississippi. 6 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
agenda
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Several CUFI programs in region Christians United for Israel, the largest pro-Israel group in the United States with a membership of over 3 million, will have several events in the region this month. A Standing with Israel event will be held on Nov. 3 at Abiding Love Church in Foley, Ala., at 7 p.m. The event is hosted by Pastors CJ and Gigi McBride, and features CUFI Central Region Coordinator Pastor Lyndon Allen of Woodmont Bible Church in Nashville as the keynote speaker. The event is free and pre-registration is required. CUFI will have its third annual Night to Honor Israel in the Chattanooga area, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Ga. Keynote speaker will be Erick Stakelbeck, director of the CUFI Watchman Project. Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, Israel’s Consul General in Atlanta, will also be at the event, along with Michael Dzik, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Chattanooga, and Pastor Allen. There will be a special appearance by Mark Bailey and the Lee University Symphonic Band. There will also be a pastor and ministry leaders luncheon on Nov. 15 at 11 a.m. at the Island House Hotel in Orange Beach, where Allen will again be the keynote speaker. The event is being hosted by Pastors Brandy and Reginald Gibson, CUFI Alabama state directors. A similar pastor’s luncheon was held on Oct. 25 in Selma. Also, after two years of organizing, a CUFI on Campus chapter has been established at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Reservations for all programs can be made at cufi.org/events.
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That’s not what the Bible really says Joel Hoffman, author of numerous books about how the Bible is misinterpreted and misunderstood, will speak at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery as part of the Blachschleger Lecture Series. Hoffman is a popular speaker on Biblical translation and is chief translator for the 10-volume series “My People’s Prayer Book,” winner of the National Jewish Book Award. In February, his most recent book was published, “The Bible Doesn’t Say That: 40 Biblical Mistranslations, Misconceptions and OthJoel Hoffman speaking at Limmud er Misunderstandings.” New Orleans in March Previous books include “And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning,” “In The Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language” and “The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor: The Holy Scriptures Missing From Your Bible.” In his books and lectures, he shows how new translation methods get past some significant mis-translations and can give readers their first glimpse into what the Bible really means in its historical context. Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College Writing under the pen name “J.M. Hoffman,” he is the author of the thriller series The Warwick Files. His talk will be on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 7
agenda Hadassah Baton Rouge is holding a community dialogue on “Water: Local Sources, Global Solutions” on Nov. 13. The panel will include Charles Groat, president and CEO of the Water Institute of the Gulf; Elizabeth ”Boo” Thomas, president and CEO, Center for Planning Excellence; and a guest speaker from the Jewish National Fund. Rabbi Barry Weinstein will moderate. The event will be at 2 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, on the 9th floor of the IBM Building downtown. Rabbi Bob Alper, who is described as the only rabbi performing standup comedy — intentionally — will be the guest speaker for Federation Shabbat at Beth Israel in Jackson. He will speak during the Shabbat service on Nov. 4 at 6:15 p.m., and a special oneg will follow. Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile will have a Wilder afternoon on Nov. 13, with a screening of Gene Wilder’s “The Frisco Kid.” There is no charge for the 2 p.m. film, and popcorn, lemonade and movie candy will be provided.
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Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center will have its 8th annual Mah Jongg Tournament on Nov. 9, with registration starting at 9:30 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Roz Feigelson Circle of Life Knitting Society. The registration fee includes a kosher lunch. On Nov. 15, there will be a Kendra Gives Back party to benefit B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge. The 6 to 8 p.m. event at Kendra Scott at Perkins Rowe will include “sips, sweets and jewels,” and 20 percent of proceeds will go to the congregation. Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will have Maccabi Shabbat on Nov. 5 at the 9:30 a.m. service. Teen participants and lay leader Martin Sher will speak about the 2017 Games, which will be held in Birmingham. Members of the Mobile Jewish community will participate in the Israel booth at the Mobile International Festival, which will be held Nov. 17 to 19. Ofir Rozenberg is organizing the Jewish community’s activities. Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom once gain has a Men’s Club. On Aug. 31, an informal lunch drew 18 members to assess the interest in reviving the organization, and at a Sept. 25 meeting it was decided to move forward. Uzi Bahar was elected president, with Jon Levin as vice president and Rodney Burt as treasurer. The first large-scale event was the sukkah building on Oct. 16. Dues have been set at $36. Church of the Ascension will host the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving in Montgomery, with participation by First United Methodist Church and Temple Beth Or, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
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Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El will host the community Thanksgiving service on Nov. 22. Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will have an eight-part class, “Israel: Paradox and Promise,” a look at Israeli current events and their historical context. The class starts Nov. 27 at 11 a.m. Mississippi State Hillel announced it has begun hosting Shabbat services at 7:15 p.m., starting Oct. 21, at the Chapel of Remembrance. The services are led by members of the Hillel executive board. Camp Barney Medintz will have an informational session at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. New families are welcome to a session of additional information at 6:30 p.m.
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The 8th annual Turkey Train will be at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge on Nov. 13. Turkeys are collected and passed along the “train” for delivery to St. Vincent DePaul for Thanksgiving. The N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham is among groups partnering with the Southern Poverty Law Center to collect books to donate to incarcerated youth. Donations of new or gently used soft-cover books, appropriate for kids with 3rd to 12th grade reading levels, can be dropped off in the NEMJDS lobby or the Levite Jewish Community Center main lobby.
agenda Women of the Wall chair Anat Hoffman to speak in NOLA Anat Hoffman, who has been a central figure in the fight for Jewish pluralism in Israel, will speak at Gates of Prayer in Metairie on Dec. 1. Hoffman chairs Women of the Wall, which holds a prayer service at the Western Wall at the start of each Hebrew month in an attempt “to attain social and legal recognition of our right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah, collectively and aloud, at the Western Wall.” Some of the services have been met with forcible resistance from Orthodox authorities at the site. This is a long-standing battle. The group’s website starts its timeline with the first International Jewish Feminist Conference in 1988, where an attempt to have a women’s service at the Wall was met with “verbal and physical assaults.” In 1989, the Ministry of Religion and the Ministry of Justice declared that “any religious ceremony at a holy place that is not in accordance with the custom of the holy site and which offends the sensitivities of the worshipers at the place” is prohibited. In 2002, Hoffman became executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, which works to promote Jewish pluralism, tolerance, and
equality and to combat racism, corruption and religious coercion. Previously, she was on the Jerusalem city council for 14 years, pushing for adequate municipal services for the Arab residents of Jerusalem, and fighting the Orthodox bloc on the council to ensure they do not dictate lifestyle choices for the secular population. Hoffman was born in Jerusalem and in her teens was an Israeli swimming champion. After army service, she received a degree in psychology at the University of California in Los Angeles and then pursued graduate studies at Bar Ilan University. As executive director, she works to secure unequivocal state recognition, funding, and equal status for Reform and Conservative rabbis, synagogues and institutions. She works to oppose gender segregation and the exclusion of women from the public sphere, protect the rights of all converts to move to Israel and enjoy equal rights, and to establish freedom of choice in marriage and equal rights in divorce in Israel. The group also combats racist incitement, particularly by public and
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 9
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religious figures who use Jewish sources to try and bolster intolerant positions. The 7:30 p.m. program is open to the community, and is being sponsored by Joanne Fried, lifetime board member of the Women of Reform Judaism, Gates of Prayer and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. Co-sponsors are Touro Synagogue, Temple Sinai, Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation, Shir Chadash Sisterhood, Northshore Jewish Congregation, Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women and Tulane Hillel.
“Filming the Camps” exhibit ancillary programs continue in Mobile As the exhibit “Filming the Camps” continues its run at the History Museum of Mobile, there are several ancillary programs this month. “Filming the Camps” depicts the experiences of major Hollywood directors in the 1940s and how they were called upon to document history as Allied soldiers liberated concentration camps. Much of the material was used as evidence during the Nuremberg trials. The exhibition, curated by historian and film director Christian Delage, was designed, created, and circulated by the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, and made possible through the support of the SNCF. It is in Mobile through Jan. 16. A film series at Spring Hill College LeBlanc continues with “Night and Fog” on Nov. 13 and “Son of Saul” on Dec. 4, in collaboration with the Mobile Jewish Film Festival. The screenings are at 2 p.m. Paul Bartrop will speak on “The British Dimension: Filming the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945,” at the University of South Alabama’s Marx Library auditorium, on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. First Baptist Church of Mobile will host “Conversations on Holocaust Liberation and Rescue” on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m., and Ahavas Chesed will host “Memories of Agnes Tennenbaum,” a Holocaust survivor who died in Mobile on May 30, on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. The museum, at 111 Royal Street, is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $7.50 for ages 13 to 17, $5 for ages 6 to 12 and free for ages 5 and under.
Having more than a few friends over for Rosh Hashanah dinner Chabad at Tulane had a very welcome problem — its Rosh Hashanah dinner turned out to be very popular. The week before the Oct. 2 dinner, Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin consulted with Rabbi Leibel and Mushka Lipskier as reservations hit 150. Lipskier was sure everyone could fit in the main floor of the Shabbat dining hall. Going into the weekend, there were over 200 reservations, so they started talking about an overflow room in the student lounge upstairs, adding capacity for another 60 or so. Lipskier said the morning of the dinner, reservations were at 225, which he knew they could handle. But Rivkin said during the day, every time he checked his email, another 10 had signed up. “By late afternoon, there were over 300 RSVPs,” he said. Lipskier, noting that Chabad never turns anyone away, decided to start another overflow area outside. In all, 385 students showed up, with close to 200 on the main floor, about 100 upstairs and another 100 outside. “We served every bit of food that we had prepared for the entire holiday, including 110 pounds of brisket,” Lipskier said. They dipped into the freezer to be ready for the 200 who showed up for dinner on the second night of Rosh Hashanah. “I cannot say enough about the amazing work that Leibel and Mushka did to make Rosh Hashana wonderful for so many Jewish students,” Rivkin said.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 11
Every day is art: The works of Peter Max For many artists, a gallery show of over 100 works is a significant percentage of the portfolio. Not so for Peter Max, one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century — compelled to create, he is never at a loss for material. Max’s show, “A Neo-Retro-Kaleido-spective Exhibition,” will open at the Angela King Gallery in New Orleans on Nov. 11, with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m., which Max will attend. The exhibit will be displayed through December. With so many iconic images going back to the 1960s, Max is one of the most recognized artists in the country, from posters to postage stamps, commercial products to non-traditional media. Recent works include portraits of the four judges on NBC’s “The Voice,” 100th anniversary Frank Sinatra posters, the program for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the 41st Beatles Fest poster. Max was born Peter Max Finkelstein in October 1937 in Berlin. His father, Jacob, had five clothing stores, and his mother, Salla, was a fashion designer. In 1938, his parents had the “intuition” to flee the Nazi regime and were able to get from France to China, where they were part of the 30,000-member Jewish community taking refuge in a part of Shanghai that became known as Little Vienna. They lived in a pagoda house, with a Buddhist monastery on one side and a Sikh temple on the other. As a child, each morning he would watch the Buddhist monks painting Chinese characters on vast sheets of rice paper with large bamboo brushes, and at night he would listen to the sung prayers of the Sikhs. His mother, who volunteered with HIAS, left art supplies on all four porches of the pagoda, to encourage his creativity. When he was three, his parents asked a street artist to teach him how to draw, but the artist instead sent his nine-year-old daughter to teach him. After he completed a painting, the girl would throw it away and tell him to make another one, to push his skills forward. “She said only to draw nonsense, not to make real drawings,” to be12 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
come familiar with the different ways his hand would go. He still will sometimes draw nonsense as an exercise or to warm up. In 2012 he returned to Shanghai for the first time in 60 years, and has tried to locate her, but did not know her name. The family spent some time in Tibet, then heard about the coming revolution led by Mao Tse-Tung. Shortly after Israel was established in 1948, a large ship was sent to Shanghai to collect all of the Jews who wanted to leave the Mao regime. The Finkelsteins left everything behind to go to Israel. He attended school in Haifa and took private lessons from Professor Honik, an Austrian painter who taught him about light, shadow and color. He was particularly entranced by the style of American comic books. While he was studying art, something else captured his imagination. A visit to an observatory on Mount Carmel made a huge impression and he asked to enroll at an evening astronomy course at the Technion. He started studying astronomy and art simultaneously, and outer space still is an influence in his work. “The universe is a huge hobby of mine,” he said. When he was 16, the family left Israel and he took classes at the Louvre in Paris for a few months, discovering the world of Picasso and Chagall, then in 1953 they joined other relatives in New York. He studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan, learning realism from Frank J. Reilly. Max started a graphic design studio in 1961, getting a break when a record company art director saw his work at a place where Max was getting copies of his works made. That led to his award-winning cover for an album by blues pianist Meade Lux Lewis and many more commissions. He started working on collage to capture the counterculture of the 1960s, then saw the introduction of four-color web presses opening up new possibilities. His posters exploded in popularity, and he became the artist who most successfully captured the era. By 1969, he was on the cover of Life magazine with an eight-page spread inside, was a guest on “The Tonight Show.” Before long, his work was licensed by 72 companies, “from General Electric clocks to Burlington
community Mills socks.” In three years, those products had sales of over $1 billion. In 1976, Max started a tradition of painting the Statue of Liberty every year on July 4. Lee Iacocca, who headed the 1980s effort to restore the statue, saw the series and used the images as part of the campaign. He has done portraits of Israel’s flag and was the official artist of the 2013 Celebrate Israel parade in New York. He also did a series called “36 Rabins” in memory of the former Israeli prime minister. In 1998, Max was named the official artist for Israel’s 50th anniversary as a nation. “I have been asked to become official artist for many events in sports, music, ecology, etc., but becoming official artist for Israel’s 50-year anniversary was the most special as it not only celebrated my own Jewish heritage, but also the wonderful time I had spent there as a young boy,” said Max. Max’s ventures into the sports world include being the official artist of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the official artist for five Super Bowls, World Cup USA, The U.S. Open, The Indy 500, The NYC Marathon and The Kentucky Derby. He also painted a car for Dale Earnhardt in 2000, the year he also was official artist for the “Subway Series,” the World Series between the New York Yankees and Mets. After the Sept. 11 terror attack in 2001, he did portraits of each of the 356 firefighters who died in New York, and presented them to surviving family members at a ceremony. His relationship with New Orleans began in 1988 when he was invited to paint a gift for Ronald Reagan in his final year of office. The young Republicans group presented Max’s painting of the U.S. flag with a heart to Reagan during the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans. His relationship with the Angela King Gallery started that year, and he has continued to visit New Orleans every year. “His presence in New Orleans is one that will be remembered by all who had the good fortune to enjoy,” King said. In New Orleans, Max has attended Super Bowls, Jazz Fest and major conventions where he was invited to speak, including as the keynote speaker for the International Digital Design Conference. He designed the 1994 Jazz Fest poster and has done several paintings of places around New Orleans. The year after Katrina he painted and gave four portraits to Heroes of the Storm including Mitch Landrieu, animal rescuer Missy Jackson and journalist Chris Rose. He has created and donated paintings for New Orleans fundraisers supporting animal rights, green projects, musicians, art in education and countless other humanitarian causes, King added. His art has adorned the exterior of a Continental Airlines Boeing 777 and a Norwegian Cruise liner, and he has done portraits of six U.S. presidents. After all these years, Max paints “a few” works every day. “The best time in the world is when I’m in the studio. I love it,” he said. While he has many commissions, about 80 percent of the time “I just paint. Abstracts, compositions… hundreds of subjects, constantly.” Because of all his studio time, he also enjoys going to art openings around the world and interacting with fans of his work. He does as many as 140 gallery openings per year. “I am so lucky to do what I love,” he said. “Every day of my life is art.”
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 13
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Fron Shanghai to Greenwood: Ilse Goldberg’s escape from Germany Ilse Goldberg, owner of the historic Goldberg’s in Greenwood, has been such a presence in the Mississippi Delta town for so long, many people assume she has been there forever. A few years ago, that changed as she talked publicly for the first time about her experiences fleeing the Nazis after Kristallnacht and spending several years as part of the Jewish refugee community in Shanghai, China. After that address at Greenwood’s First Presbyterian Church, she received several “beautiful” notes from people in the community. “They didn’t even know I wasn’t born here in this city,” she said. “It was news to them.” For a long time, “I couldn’t talk about it,” she said, because she did not want to relive it. At the church, “all my grandchildren were there, and that was the first time they ever heard my story.” This past May, there was a Day of Remembrance at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta, where she told her story. The interfaith event, led by Rachel Myers of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, also paid tribute to American soldiers who liberated the concentration camps. Goldberg was born in Reichenbach, Germany, the only child of Erna and Richard Markus. Her family had been in the scrap metal business for generations. When she was 9, they moved to Breslau to be closer to her grandparents. Then the Nazi restrictions started against Jews in the region, including a requirement of wearing the yellow star. In late 1938, her parents were instructed to catalog their belongings, especially things like the china, silver and furniture, and turn the list in. On Nov. 9, the Nazis came to their home and loaded up everything, then drove off. “They robbed us of everything we owned,” she said. After the war, her mother had a thick stack of papers listing everything the Nazis had taken in 1938. A few years ago, Goldberg decided to shred it. “What good does it do?” she figured. “Just heartache.” But now that she has been working on paperwork for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, “I’m sorry I did it.” The morning after the Nazis hauled everything off, she awoke to a city of smoke, with the synagogue and her school on fire, Jewish businesses demolished. It was Kristallnacht. The next morning, Nazi soldiers came to arrest her father. On the way out, he instructed her mother to bring him some papers, which he took with him. He spent five weeks at Buchenwald, until an announcement went out for all men who fought for Germany in World War I and had their discharge papers with them to step aside. “Those were the papers my dad
community had with him,” she said. “He received the Iron Cross and many honor medals” and had shrapnel in his head from a war injury. Goldberg said her father was lucky to have those papers; a friend at the camp had used his for personal hygiene the day before and wound up in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. After her father was released, he had to check in with the Gestapo daily until he could get out of Germany. There was no way to get a visa to the United States, so “we had no choice but to accept the Shanghai solution” as no visa was required. Her grandfather arranged passage to Italy, where they boarded a ship to Shanghai. Two weeks later they arrived, stripped of their citizenship. “It was a shocking experience,” she said. “We were loaded on trucks and taken to a refugee camp” with primitive, unsanitary conditions. They slept in a hall with 30 to 40 others. After a few months, her father found work and they were able to move to a better place, though it had only cold water, no flush toilets and no gas, just electricity that was too expensive to use often. She was able to enroll in the American School in Shanghai and was permitted to leave the ghetto only for that.
A cousin in Memphis that they had never met started helping them financially, and her parents opened a small grocery store in part of their living quarters. After six months, her parents contracted typhus and were taken to a hospital. At age 13 she was alone and working to keep the store open for the five weeks until her parents were able to return. She finished school at age 16 and was hired by the American Joint Distribution Committee to teach homeless and underprivileged children. After eight years in Shanghai, they received word in 1947 that they could go to the United States, sponsored by their cousin. She was more than ready to go. After two weeks at sea, they had to spend two more weeks just outside San Francisco because of a case of cholera on board. Finally, they docked, and upon seeing the Golden Gate Bridge “we deeply felt freedom in our hearts after so many years of hardship.” For the next four days, they traveled by train to Memphis and finally met their cousin, then went immediately to the employment office. Her father worked in the metal business, her vin Goldberg. A friend from Mississippi, Jay mother did alterations and she started working Piltz, was visiting and brought Ervin with him. for Eagle Lion Films. After she was out late on a date with Ervin, In Memphis, she met Greenwood native Er- her parents told her that she wouldn’t go out
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 15
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with him again, “but they soon loved him more than they loved me,” she laughed. They married in 1950 and she moved to Greenwood. She became a U.S. citizen as soon as she could, in 1951. In Greenwood, there was a prominent Chinese family that was pleasantly surprised when they learned she was from Shanghai. They would come by and speak Chinese with her. Many in Greenwood were surprised at how much she knew about the different small towns in the Delta, but she explains that while working for the film distributor, those were places where the films went. Goldberg’s was founded in 1921 by Morris Goldberg, having been a shoemaker in Eastern Europe. He and his oldest son, Harry, came to the United States through Galveston and made their way to the Delta, stopping in Lexington and Tchula. Harry learned English and wound up valedictorian at Greenwood High School, after which he went into the family business. His four siblings also came to Greenwood, and his two brothers joined the store. Ervin died in 1989, at which point they closed the shoe repair aspect of the business, as they couldn’t find skilled people. In the 1970s, they noticed that people weren’t buying expensive dress shoes. They were the first in Mississippi to start offering a new brand called Adidas, shifting their emphasis to athletic shoes. They have continued to stay on top of the trends, along with an emphasis on customer service to keep going in the Internet age. With almost a century of history, there are many fourth- and fifth-generation customers. The Manning family, football royalty in the state, were all fitted at Goldberg’s. Ilse Goldberg’s sons, Mike and Jerome, operate the family’s stores. Jerome leads the Goldberg’s locations in Greenwood and Indianola, and Mike runs Conerly’s Shoes with wife Gail. The family acquired Conerly’s in 2003. The Goldbergs are a significant proportion of Greenwood’s Ahavath Rayim, the last historically Orthodox congregation in the state. For many years, they would have kosher meat shipped in by the truckload from Chicago; wider availability in Memphis makes it more convenient today. After High Holiday services and many other times during the year, they host meals in their “holy garage” at their home. Often, student groups touring Jewish sites in Mississippi will visit the synagogue and garage. Three years ago, a Hillel group visited, and one of the students mentioned she had a grandfather who had also been in Shanghai. That night, Goldberg checked her memory book from that time, and the next day showed that student a message her grandfather had written in the book, all those decades ago.
community With new name, New Orleans Jewish War Veterans plan recruitment push A few years ago, the New Orleans Post of Jewish War Veterans of America was regarded as the fastest-growing in the country. Now, with a name change, the Post is looking to expand its membership rolls further. A recruitment drive and unveiling of the new banner for Ben Katz Post 580 will take place on Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. at Shir Chadash in Metairie. The son of a Russian immigrant who was a kosher butcher, Katz was born in Erie, Pa., and briefly attended the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force, rising to the rank of sergeant. After basic training, he was assigned to Keesler Field in Biloxi, where he met his future wife, Miriam, at a USO dance where Jewish girls were brought in to meet the Jewish soldiers. “The rest of their story is classic ‘Biloxi Blues’,” said son Michael Katz. After the war they returned to Erie, then moved to New Orleans in 1960. In New Orleans, Katz became a charter member of the JWV Post, then became commander around 1985, when he was close to retiring. He also was regional commander. Judge Sol Gothard, current commander of the New Orleans JWV Post, said Katz was always on the lookout for Jewish generals and admirals to speak to the Post. “He continued to serve as Commander until 2005, when he was devastated by Hurricane Katrina,” Gothard said. “In his absence, as was also the case with other Veterans organizations, membership went spiraling downward.” The Post that had been established with 85 charter members was down to just 13 paid members in 2009. Gothard led an effort to revitalize the Post, with many new members working to attract others. Today, the Post has 89 veterans as members, and 72 patrons. Jewish veterans of allied countries, especially Israel, are eligible for membership. Anyone can be a patron, and over 25 of the Post’s patrons aren’t Jewish — including a Kurd from Turkey. “We have or have had members that served in the armed forces of Israel, England, Poland, Ukraine and Russia,” Gothard said. Each year, the Post places flags on Jewish graves at Memorial Day and holds a Veteran’s Day program. They have been involved with numerous special events at the National World War II Museum, including an evening program in conjunction with the museum’s 2011 exhibit, “Ours to Fight For: Jewish Americans in World War II.” The Post’s Color Guard has also participated in numerous community events, and the Post has held programs at most area congregations and was the only veteran’s group to march in the Martin Luther King Day Parade. “We are the sight and sound of Jewish Americans that have served and are now serving in the armed forces of the United States,” Gothard
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community explained. The Post recently had a noteworthy event in the wedding of Kristin Pepper and Sgt. Jacob Ginsberg at the home of Susan and Harley Ginsberg in Metairie. Gothard officiated the wedding while wearing his JWV Commander’s cap in Sgt. Ginsberg’s honor. “You make me and everyone else in this room today, proud and grateful to you for defending us,” Gothard said during the ceremony. In his 44 years as judge, Gothard has presided over numerous weddings, but this was the first time he had officiated for a member of the Judge Sol Gothard officiated the wedding of Kristin Pepper armed forces on active duty. and Sgt. Jacob Ginsberg Ginsberg joined the Post and Afghanistan. his father joined as a patron. Upon his return to the U.S., he was promotA New Orleans native, Ginsberg graduated from Tulane in 2012, then enlisted in the army, ed and joined the most elite aviation unit, the earning the occupational specialty of 15T: UH- 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Pepper, also a New Orleans native, graduat60 Black Hawk Helicopter Maintainer. After being assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky., as part ed from Jacksonville State University and the of the 101st Airborne Division, he had a nine- Loyola University Masters of Criminal Justice month deployment to Nangarhar Province in program.
JWV programs around the region for Veteran’s Day In Birmingham, JWV will host a talk on Nov. 6 by Dominique Linchet. A native of Belgium, Linchet is foreign language department chair at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and teaches an elective course in Holocaust studies. Through the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center she attended the Belfer Conference on Holocaust education in Washington, and is also an expert on the Battle of the Bulge. Her talk will be at 10 a.m. in Carol Berman the Levite Jewish Community Center board room. There will be a light brunch of coffee and bagels. The community at large is invited and one do not has to be a veteran to attend. Some members of the Birmingham JWV Post will participate in the annual Peace Luncheon and the Veteran’s Day Parade, which is the oldest in the nation, on Nov. 11. On Nov. 12, Veteran’s Day Shabbat will be observed at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El during the 9:30 a.m. service. As with all Beth-El services, it will be livestreamed online.
will have a Veteran’s Day program at Shir Chadash in Metairie, co-sponsored by Beth Israel Congregation. The Nov. 13 program will feature “A Jewish Soldier in a Hostile War Zone” and “Jewish Defenders of Freedom Throughout the Ages,” with Major Carol Berman and Judge Sol Gothard. Minyan will be at 9:15 a.m., followed by the 10 a.m. program and continental breakfast. The Post’s color guard will present the colors, and veterans, Post members and active duty personnel are encouraged to wear uniforms, JWV caps or service caps. The community is invited. The annual Veterans Day Dinner at B’nai Israel in Pensacola is planned for Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. In previous years, the dinner was organized by Bill Allen, who died in June. His niece, Kate Lollar, is organizing this year’s dinner in his memory and hopes to keep it going in the future.
The Fred Sklar JWV Post of Northwest Louisiana will place new flags at the graves of Jews in the Shreveport area who served in the military. There will also be a Shabbat service for Veterans The JWV Ben Katz Post 580 in New Orleans Day with details to be announced.
18 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
community School project in Arkansas leads to sukkah fruit hanging solution For anyone who has struggled to keep fruit hanging in a sukkah, help is here, courtesy of a woman in Arkansas who did not know what a sukkah was two years ago. Teresa Clark, who came up with the new sukkah fruit and pomander hanger, is a Little Rock native who moved to Rogers to be closer to her husband’s family. “I tinker a lot,” she said. “When one of the kids’ toys breaks, they bring it to me.” Two years ago, she was making pomanders, a centuries-old practice of putting whole cloves in oranges or other fruit to hang as a decoration and to scent the home. She tried to tie traditional ribbons around the pomanders, but the slick round sides and weight made her efforts fruitless. After much struggle she finally got them to stay. “It was a chore,” she said. But her careful work lasted only until her son came home from school and they became instant tether balls, sailing across the room. Inspired by her husband’s fishing hooks, she started experimenting with different ways to hook into the fruit. The first efforts were promising, though unsuccessful, as the barbs were too small to hook the fruit and the hooks were too sharp to be safe in households with small children. Working with pliers and paper clips, she eventually came up with a spiral-shaped insert to hang fruit, and a product was born — but not one that she figured would be of interest to many people. Each spring, the local school has a World Experience Day, and that year Israel was the focus. Clark explained that the school is transformed
into the featured country and there are student art projects incorporated into the displays. Her sister was in charge of doing a sukkah as part of the display of a traditional Jewish household. “She recruited me. To be honest, I didn’t know a lot about the Jewish faith and traditions” and they had no idea what a sukkah was. She spoke with some Jews in the area and researched online. The stu-
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dents were painting ceramic fruit for the sukkah, but it was a familiar story for her — the fruit would not hang. “They’d plop out of the string and yarn.” If they were using real fruit, she thought, she could use those hangers she had invented. She learned that in a sukkah, one typically uses real fruit — so they did. “This was my Eureka moment,” she said. “I realized that my pomander hooks could benefit not just me but a lot of people.” Having experience with the process of patenting and marketing something new after her husband invented a fishing lure a few years ago, she went to work. She decided to try and market the product, and looked online for Jewish craft stores. She contacted a large Internet Judaica site based in California, but the owner was in the process of retiring. She was referred to J. Levine in New York, one of the largest Judaica stores in the country. While J. Levine was interested, for a small inexpensive product it only made sense if it came through a distributor, and they suggested three that they use. Alef to Tav in Brooklyn was interested and now distributes the hooks through the New York area. Next year, she plans to start marketing earlier, so gift shops and Judaica stores can carry them before Sukkot. Currently, they are available at several stores in the New York City area, and in the Fayetteville-Bentonville area. They are also at Gifts of Arkansas and 4square Café and Gifts in Little Rock. They are also available on her website, clarkridgecompany.com, along with her pomander crafting kits. A package of eight reusable hooks is $2.49 plus shipping. “I hope it can be useful to people,” she said, “to make life a little easier, a little more convenient.”
New venue offers room for Memphis Israel Festival to grow The Memphis Friends of Israel are holding the 9th annual Israel Festival in a new location. The Nov. 13 event will be at the Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove Road, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Memphis Friends of Israel is a pro-active, non-denominational, non-political, non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the Mid-South community about the positive aspects of Israeli society and about the value of American support for Israel. The biggest event each year is the Israel Festival that draws as many as 7,000. “We are excited about hosting our event this year at the Agri-Center,” says Scott Baum, President of Memphis Friends of Israel. “The Agri-Center will allow us exciting opportunities to grow the Israel Festival. We are expecting this year to be our largest and most exciting Festival to date.” Educational tents include Ask the Rabbi, Ask the Israelis, travel information, famous and interesting Israelis, places and things. There will also be information about Israeli advancements in technology, medicine and agriculture. For children, there is a moon bounce, rock climbing wall and slide, face painting, camel riding, an archaeological dig, crafts and a petting zoo. A Jewish Food Tent is a combined effort of all the Memphis synagogues and local kosher restaurants to cook Jewish, Mediterranean and European foods. The main tent will feature the Bornblum Jewish Community School choir at 10:30 a.m., followed by Israeli folk dancers, a falafel eating contest and the Wachtel Klezmer Band. The final performance of the day will be Naqshon’s Leap blues music.
community The education tent will feature Jonathan Feldstein, Israeli Deputy Consul Ron Brummer from the Atlanta Consulate and Temple Tours with Rabbi Joel Finkelstein. Earl Cox, an Israel goodwill ambassador, will speak about why standing with Israel matters, author Bill Koenig will speak about the practical versus the Biblical regarding a two-state solution, and Professor Abe Hank will speak about threats facing Israel and the Middle East. Tatiana Becker of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America will speak about what is and is not in the media when it comes to Israel. At 2 p.m. there will be a Stand With Israel All-Festival Rally in the main tent. Admission is $5, ages 12 and under are free.
Goldring first-time sleepaway camper grant increases to $1500 The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana announced that the Goldring Family Foundation is increasing the amount for a Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant to $1,500. “We are excited to be able to offer this additional help to families sending a child to Jewish sleepaway camp for the first time,” said JEF Executive Director Sandy Levy, “and, of course, we are grateful for the extraordinary generosity of the Goldring Family Foundation.” The Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience is administered by JEF. This program, which helps families provide their children with a first-time camping experience at a Jewish sleepaway camp, was established by JEF in 1999 and has been funded by the Goldring Family Foundation since 2001. Since its inception, almost 1,300 children have received grants to attend Jewish summer camp. Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to create positive Jewish identity and develop children’s commitment to living Jewish lives is to expose them to a camp experience where they will meet other Jewish boys and girls and savor the precious heritage of Jewish traditions while enjoying wholesome summer fun and sports activities. The Goldring Family Foundation makes this camp program available to every Jewish child in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle by giving a one-time-only grant of up to $1,500 per child to attend a nonprofit Jewish summer camp. Programs costing less than $1,500 will be funded up to the amount of camp tuition. “We are grateful to the Goldring Family Foundation for their continuing generosity and their commitment to making a Jewish camping experience available to so many children,” states JEF President Andi Lestelle. “This program benefits not only the individual campers, but our entire community.” To meet the criteria for funding, children must be first-time campers at a nonprofit Jewish sleepaway camp, currently in grades 1 through 9, and residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or the Florida Panhandle. Grants are not based on financial need. Both parents need not be Jewish. Synagogue affiliation is not required. The deadline for applications is March 31 and early application is strongly suggested. Award notification will be made by May 31. For more information and an application form, contact Ellen Abrams at JEF at (504) 524-4559 or ellen@jefno.org. The application can also be downloaded at www.jefno.org.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 21
Events, venues announced as Maccabi Games planning continues Volunteer, housing and athlete recruitment are priorities for 2017 Games in Birmingham On Sept. 28, there was a large gathering of those organizing the 2017 JCC Maccabi Games in Birmingham to announce numerous details of the huge athletic competition, including event venues and guests for the opening ceremony. The JCC Maccabi Games is part of the Jewish Community Centers Association, and three communities across North America host the games each summer. Thousands of Jewish teens from ages 13 to 16 participate each year in an Olympic-style sporting event. It is regarded as the second-largest organized sports program for Jewish teens in the world, and Birmingham is the second-smallest Jewish community to host the games since they were founded in Memphis in 1982. In addition to Birmingham, the 2017 Maccabi Games will be held in the Albany, N.Y. area and at the Alper JCC in Miami. An estimated 700 teens will compete in Birmingham. The Birmingham Maccabi Games will be held July 30 to Aug. 4, 2017, with Layne Held and Bruce Sokol as the volunteer co-chairs. The leadership meeting included 50 committee heads and organizers, and honorary chairs Mike Slive, former commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, and General Charles Krulak, retired U.S. Marines Commandant and former president of Birmingham-Southern College. A countdown clock kept winding on the edge of the auditorium stage during the THE LJCC PLANS meeting. TO INCLUDE TEENS The Games will open with a public FROM OTHER ceremony on July 30 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Bartow ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI Arena. The opening ceremony includes COMMUNITIES IN THE a parade of delegations, much like the HOST DELEGATION Olympics opening ceremony, and a torch lighting. Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl and Olympic Gold Medalist Jennifer Chandler-Stevenson will be among the speakers at the opening ceremony, along with Slive and Krulak. Renowned Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi will perform, and Robert Levin, the voice of the University of Alabama Million Dollar Band, will emcee. There will also be a tribute to the 11 Israeli athletes who were murdered at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. One of the athletes, David Berger, was a graduate of Tulane. Anna Harwood noted Chandler-Stevenson, who competed as a child at the LJCC, medaled in diving at the 1976 Olympics, the first summer games after the 1972 terror attack. The LJCC and Chabad of Alabama will serve as hubs for the games, with athletes being picked up and dropped off at those locations each day. Maccabi Central and Medical Central will be at the LJCC, and the LJCC will be the site for lunch each day and “hang time” for those not competing. 22 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
community Hang time venues will include socializing, charging stations and events like yoga, drum circles, discussions of Jewish topics and small Tzedakah projects. For medical needs, the Games will partner with the sports medicine team at Children’s Hospital. David Nomberg announced that the competition venues will be the LJCC, Altamont School, Birmingham-Southern College, UAB and the Birmingham Crossplex. The Crossplex is a relatively new world-class facility that has a six lane oval hydraulic track and eight 60-meter lanes for sprint and hurdle events. The facility also features a 50-meter indoor Olympic swimming pool. The hydraulic track features a Mondotrack surface and is one of only four in the United States and one of six world-wide. Nomberg said this is likely the first time a Maccabi Games has been able to hold an indoor track-and-field meet. The three host cities don’t have an identical slate of competitions, and Birmingham will be the only host for track-and-field, which attracts a significant number of competitors. Other competitions will be in soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, table tennis, flag football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball and dance. Every year, the Games also include a social action component. Because Tisha B’Av falls on Aug. 1, that will be the day for JCC Cares, and athletic competitions will be pushed to the late afternoon and evening. Visits to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Street Baptist Church are planned, and delegations will bring school supplies that will be assembled into backpacks for students in Birmingham city schools. Additional projects are in the planning stages. On Aug. 2, there will be an evening street party at the McWane Center. Plans include blocking off 19th Street for entertainment, and providing access to the Food Hall at the Pizitz Building. The closing ceremony on Aug. 3 will be at the LJCC field, with entertainment and the passing of the torch to the 2018 venue. Red Mountain Entertainment, which organizes concerts and festivals in the region, is coordinating entertainment for the evenings. Dan Tourtellotte, who led the LJCC’s first Maccabi delegation in 1988, said roughly 1,000 volunteers will be needed to help the Games run properly. Job descriptions are being developed in numerous categories, and outreach is planned to nearby churches whose members also want to help. Volunteers must be at least 17 years old for daytime shifts, 21 for evening events. “Sports commissioners” are being recruited to run the competitions, with a need for those experienced in scorekeeping, judging, timekeeping and so forth. Volunteers are needed to handle registration, greet delegations at the airport, assist with crowd control and serve food at the HUB, work with the transportation system, assist greeters in coordinating with the transportation, traffic control at the LJCC and other venues, work the opening ceremonies and assist with office duties in Maccabi Central. There are also volunteer opportunities for VIP reception, orientation and departure assistants, coordinating hospitality, staffing informational areas, safety and security, and stocking ice and water at venues for coaches and athletes. Medical volunteers will be needed at each venue, and there will be numerous public relations and reporting duties to be filled. At the meeting, marketing chair Stephanie Salvago showed the “sizzle reel” being used to promote the games to potential sponsors. Layne Held said they have already secured over $250,000 in cash and in-kind sponsors toward a goal of $600,000, from individual donors and the corporate community. “The city of Birmingham is benefiting from this event and we feel it is a compelling story,” he said. Over 3,000 people will be coming to Birmingham when considering
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athletes, coaches, spectators and support staff. All participating athletes must identify as Jewish and have home hospitality in a household where at least one adult is Jewish. Maureen Halpern said the housing committee is recruiting at all LJCC events and will be reaching out to the community soon. There are already 150 host families, at least 300 are needed. Locally, recruitment is already underway for the host team, and there are hopes to field a team of 75 athletes. In a host city, athletes must be between the ages of 12 and 16 as of July 31, 2017; visiting delegations start at age 13. Local athletes are required to house two or more visiting athletes. The host delegation may be called Team Alabama, as organizers want to reach out to teens in Deep South communities that do not have a JCC, such as the rest of Alabama and Mississippi. Sam Dubrinsky said they are also planning outreach to the Birmingham Sister City Commission to see about recruiting Jewish teens from Birmingham’s sister cities around the world. In addition to Rosh Ha’Ayin, Israel, Birmingham has sister cities in Japan, China, Italy, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, among others. The Embassy Suites will be the hotel for delegation heads and coaches, with other hotels available for parents and other chaperones. Venues and hotels will be stocked with local snacks. For security reasons, anyone connected to the games, from athletes to volunteers, will need to have a credential with them at all times, and security is being coordinated with multiple local agencies. Spencer Lynch said the Games are “going to be a phenomenal event next year.” Those interested in competing, hosting athletes, volunteering or sponsoring the Games can express interest at jccmaccabibham.org.
Delta Jewish Open set for Nov. 20 The 29th annual Jay Mosow Memorial Delta Jewish Golf Open, a fundraiser and “family reunion” for the Jewish communities in the Mississippi Delta, will tee off on Nov. 20 at the Greenville Country Club. Sponsored by members of the Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville, the tournament has raised over $90,000 for the Henry S. Jacobs Camp and Institute for Southern Jewish Life. In addition, the weekend has become a time for Jews who are originally from the Delta to come back and visit with old friends. One does not need to be a golfer to enjoy the festivities, and there are many non-golfing regulars. The open begins with the evening party, held at Hebrew Union Congregation on Nov. 19. A social hour begins at 6:30 p.m. with an open bar and hors d’oeuvres, while members grill steaks behind the building. During the dinner, which starts at 7:45 p.m., mulligans may be purchased and teams are announced. There are also prizes and drawings, and a Calcutta auction. The scramble-style tournament begins at 9 a.m. on Nov. 20. A shofar blast signals time to tee off. Lunch is available afterward, dutch treat. The winning team gets $500, with $280 going to the second-place team and $160 for third place. A hole-in-one on the 14th hole wins $10,000, while there will be other prizes for holes in one on all par-3 holes. There will also be “closest to pin” and “longest drive” prizes. Registration is $120 for an individual golfer, $135 for a golfer with a non-golfing date, and $195 for golfing couples. A non-golfing couple is $75, a non-golfing individual is $40. All donations are welcomed. Tee box sponsorships are also available, for $100. A sign will be placed at the tee box. Registration can be sent to Barry Piltz, 1129 Oxford Place, Greenville, MS 38701. Registration deadline is Nov. 14. More information: Alan Silverblatt, (662) 887-5878, or Barry Piltz, (662) 332-3322.
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Mobile’s Jewish artists featured in exhibit The Mobile Arts Council will be featuring an exhibit of works by artists from Mobile’s Jewish community this month, in the Skinny Gallery. Lucy Gafford, program coordinator for the council, said the exhibit is an opportunity “to appreciate, celebrate, and share the abundant creativity of Mobile’s Jewish community. “ The show will feature works in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, writings and drawings. Participating artists include Frances Mutchnick, Judy Aronson, Sharon Sokol, Marjory Slavin, Sandy Holberg, Odette Sternberg, Jennifer Altmayer, Margie Altmayer, Emily Fink, Jim Conlon, Joanne Conlon and more. There will be a Meet the Artists reception during ArtWalk, Nov. 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. Ahavas Chesed Rabbi Steve Silberman has scheduled a wine and cheese reception on Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. “It will be an occasion whereby all of us may view the artwork, schmooze with our artists and take stock of the gifts that are within our community and the capacity to creatively touch Mobile,” Silberman said. The council’s facility is at 318 Dauphin Street, and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays when the Market on Cathedral Square is active. 26 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
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In its 14 years of existence, the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center has never had a past president. That will change on Dec. 31, as founding president Phyllis Weinstein retires. “It has been 14 years, and at upcoming age 96, I think it is time,” she said. Also, long-time treasurer Max Herzel announced he will be stepping down. Rebecca Dobrinski, executive director of BHEC, said “The leadership and commitment to the BHEC that both Phyllis and Max have shown throughout the years since the organization was formed is unparalleled. Phyllis and Max have been friends and mentors to so many and we all love and appreciate them for this.” Weinstein has been involved in Holocaust education in Alabama since the beginning of formal efforts to commemorate and provide educational opportunities. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council was formed in 1980, and in 1983 Alabama Governor George Wallace began a Holocaust Advisory Committee, which coordinated the first Alabama commemoration in 1984 at the governor’s mansion. In 1999, the committee became the Alabama Holocaust Commission through an act of the state legislature. Through Weinstein’s efforts, the BHEC was created as a regional branch of the commission in 2002 after the annual commemoration was held in Birmingham that year. Weinstein also served as chair of the Alabama Holocaust Commission for over a decade. In 2015 she was succeeded by Dan Puckett, who recently wrote a nook about Alabama’s Jewish community during World War II and its response to the Holocaust. The BHEC coordinates a wide range of educational activities. They hold a film and lecture series at libraries every year, large regional teacher training workshops on Holocaust education, and the organization provides scholarships so area teachers can take advanced Holocaust education courses in Washington, Israel and Europe. The BHEC also tours “From Darkness Into Life,” an art and photography exhibit about the lives and experiences of Holocaust survivors who made Alabama their home after the war. Some of the survivors and their descendants speak at schools and civic groups, coordinated by BHEC. In 2013, BHEC held its first-ever major fundraiser, now an annual event, and in May, the BHEC dedicated a new art installation in its office in honor of Weinstein’s 95th birthday. Plans are currently underway for a Holocaust memorial in downtown Birmingham, in the theater district. A native of Evansville, Ind., she married Leon Weinstein of Birmingham in 1940. After moving around to army bases during the war, they permanently moved to Birmingham after World War II and she first joined the Sisterhood of Temple Beth-El, then Hadassah Birmingham, and served as president of both. She founded the Southern Region of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, and the region’s top award has been named for her since 1975. The Southern “Branch in Training” was formed in 1958 as a way of separating from Florida, and at the first conference in 1959, Weinstein
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community became the first president. The branch was officially accepted into WLCJ in 1960. Weinstein was also president of the Birmingham Jewish Federation and chair of Jewish Community Relations Committee. Weinstein, Abe Kaplan and Hal Abroms are seen as the founders of Birmingham’s N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, which opened in 1973. In a 2012 tribute, Abroms said “our leadership really was Phyllis. She had the vision, she had the energy… she was the glue who kept us together.” This year she continued a 44-year tradition of bringing doughnuts for the first day of school.
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Rabbi Chuck Simon, executive director of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, will help kick off the Keruv program at Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El the weekend of Nov. 17 with “Understanding Intermarriage.” The Keruv Initiative is aimed at creating a welcoming, inclusive environment in Conservative synagogues for interfaith families, and was formed by the national group in 1999. The Initiative has facilitated in-depth discussions at over 60 congregations in North America, also conducting rabbinic think tanks and lay consultant training. According to FJMC, the Keruv program “recognizes intermarriage as a reality that congregations must confront as they face the future,” as more than one-third of American Jews are married to non-Jews, and close to half of “recent” marriages in the Jewish community are between a Jew and non-Jew. The initiative is not about conversion or preventing intermarriage, it focuses on congregational and communal approaches once intermarriage occurs, and how to be more welcoming to those couples. For years, the Conservative movement has grappled with the issue of how to encourage in-marriage yet remain welcoming to those who marry non-Jews, and what level of participation in congregational life should be reserved for those who are Jewish, and to what extent a non-Jewish spouse can participate. The Rabbinical Assembly’s guidelines state that a Conservative rabbi may not officiate an intermarriage. Simon will lead an educational session for the Beth-El executive committee and board on Nov. 17. On Nov. 18 there will be a lunch session for the Beth-El Ritual Committee, which determines congregational policy on a wide range of issues. A meeting will follow with the executive director, president, clergy and staff. At 5:45 p.m., there will be the monthly Shabbat Ruach service, followed by a traditional Shabbat dinner catered by Oven to Table by Tamara Goldis. Reservations are due by Nov. 9 and are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5 to 13. On Nov. 19, there will be a breakfast and educational session, “Intermarriage and the Future of Our Community” at 9 a.m. Services, led by supporters of the Keruv program, will begin at 9:30 a.m., with an open conversation on intermarriage, led by Simon and Rabbi Barry Leff, during the service. A Kiddush lunch will follow, catered by Roz Bloomston. At 12:30 p.m., there will be an educational session, “Grandparenting in an Intermarried World.” Havdalah will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Rushton Park, across from Rojo Restaurant. After Havdalah, there will be a social evening at Rojo, with dinner, a cash bar and door prizes. The evening is an adult program, and reservations for $10 are due by Nov. 9.
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3800 Colonnade Parkway Suite 600 Birmingham, AL 35243 205-440-4619 tdoobrow@financialguide.com
Jackson Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch offers team approach
Wishing You a Happy 5777!
by Lee J. Green In the South, fall and football are synonymous. When it comes to effective wealth management for its clients, the Jackson Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch in Birmingham believes the comprehensive team approach is key to helping a client achieve his or her financial and life goals. “We take a team-based, holistic, broader-picture approach to working with our clients,” said Jackson Wealth Management Group CEO Tommy Jackson. Jackson’s team is comprised of those with financial, legal, operational, marketing and business/life development experience, who work together the client on a comprehensive approach to wealth management. “We work together to do a comprehensive analysis of their current situation and goals. We take into account personal and business, education planning, tax planning, philanthropic giving along with multi-generational planning,” said Jackson. “We focus a client’s life, not just the markets, to build a diverse portfolio that best fits with the client.” Jackson said they believe all asset classes are important and should be looked at when building a portfolio. That could include bonds, real estate investments, insurance, equity and other commodities. “We look at all asset classes across the board,” he said. “There are tremendous opportunities outside of the stock market world.” The Jackson Wealth Management Group launched in 1986 and in 2009 chose Merrill Lynch as their partner. “This relationship gives us all of the resources, technology and research we need but also gives us the autonomy we need,” he said. Mimi Dunn, the most senior financial advisor on the Jackson Wealth Management Group team, said the group had been with Wells Fargo before the switch to Merrill Lynch. In less than two months after the switch, 98 percent of their previously held assets had come over with the group to Merrill Lynch. Jackson added that in the past two years, Barron’s magazine ranked the Jackson Wealth Management Group as the number one financial advisory team in the state of Alabama. With many clients in the Jewish community, they have developed strong bonds. “I have learned a lot about the Jewish faith and the strength of the Jewish community in this area,” said Jackson. “The community is very embracing and powerful. A strong focus is put on faith and family. These are things that mean a lot to all of us as well.”
MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. Todd Doobrow is a registered representative of and offers securities through MSI Financial Services, Inc., Member SIPC. OSJ: 3800 Colonnade Pkwy, Suite 600, Birmingham, AL 35243. 205.970.9782.
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Todd Doobrow stands out in a crowded financial services landscape. Doobrow, a Certified Financial Planner, Retirement Income Certified Planner and Investment Advisor Representative with Wealth Solutions Group LLC, a member of the Mass Mutual Financial Group, focuses on the big picture for his clients and insists on looking at “all of the tools in our toolbox to create solutions.” “It is always about customizing a portfolio to meet a client’s needs and looking at all of the opportunities that are out there,” said Doobrow, “Too many others are consumed with selling a product or taking short-sighted views. I look at what life is like now for a client and where they want to be down the road, then try to design the best way to get there.” To better advise his clients, Doobrow recently earned his Certified Financial Planner and Retirement Income Certified Planner designations. “I am always learning more so I can pass on that knowledge to my clients.”Doobrow said he often works with clients to utilize investments that may also provide protection for an investor’s family — such as life insurance products — that earns them significant returns as well as tax breaks from philanthropic giving such as with endowments and annuities. “Being Jewish I know it’s important to protect your family financially and to also give to the community,” he said. “We have growth options that can provide for that.” Doobrow said Wealth Solutions Group LLC can cull from the vast resources and funds of the MassMutual Financial Group but is not limited to what that company has to offer. “We have selling agreements with 84 different insurance companies and I currently hold multiple securities licenses. That provides me with a wide range of options I can employ to tailor a portfolio that works best for my clients,” he said.
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Birmingham-native Jared Cohen won the Maccabi Games gold medal for tennis in 2009, and today he works with clients to help them achieve success in the arena of financial independence. The recent University of Alabama graduate with a double major in Finance and Economics serves as a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual in Birmingham. “I help clients save for retirement and on the risk management side with life insurance, disability insurance, annuities and long-term care,” said Cohen. “I enjoy helping people reach their financial and life goals.” Cohen graduated from Mountain Brook High School, and while at Alabama, was a founding father of the AEPi Jewish fraternity. He is currently an involved member of Chabad of Alabama as well as Hillel in Tuscaloosa. Cohen is the son of Gary and Mindy Cohen, the senior and adult activities director at the LJCC. In addition to helping clients achieve financial wellness, Cohen wants college students to know about internship opportunities with Northwestern Mutual. “I went through the program and it helped get me to where I am today. We’re looking for aspiring financial advisors in college for our internship program,” he said. Cohen can work with clients regionally and nationally, being able to meet with clients in person if they are in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa or Atlanta.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 31
32 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
community On the front lines pushing the boundaries of Western medicine Hadassah orthopedic surgeon to speak at Birmingham, New Orleans events Israel is known as the start-up nation, and Joshua Schroeder is at the intersection of hightech innovation and medical breakthroughs. Schroeder, a senior orthopedic surgeon at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, will speak in Birmingham and New Orleans as part of a tour that will also bring him to Atlanta, Nashville and Richmond. For Hadassah, Schroeder is truly a homegrown talent, as he was born at Hadassah Hospital-Mount Scopus. An officer in the IDF, Schroeder is an expert in spinal robotics and the use of stem cells to speed healing. He is the lead surgeon in multidisciplinary spine surgeries at both of Hadassah’s campuses. He is part of the trauma team of Jewish and Arab surgeons who deal with terror attacks and road side accidents, and treat patients from all backgrounds. In his practice, “We see cases that people don’t usually see in the Western world, and we give them first-level care.” Many involve more than one medical specialty and require a collaborative effort among doctors to find the best solution.
They can “bring things together that really push the limits of Western medicine,” because they have “good resources and a very interesting patient population.” Earlier this year, his team saved a three-yearold Palestinian boy from Gaza from permanent paralysis in a highly unusual six-hour surgery. The child had developed a large, rare tumor in his chest that had wrapped around the spinal cord, deforming his spine and causing respiratory problems. Schroeder used weights to stretch the spine, making access to the tumor easier, then removed the benign tumor and one vertebra, then realigned and straightened his spine. He said no one in the West would have a tumor get to be that size without treatment, but many areas in the Middle East do not have easy access to good health care. Another recent case that made the news was a six-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome, who fell and injured her neck, paralyzing her hands and legs. A surgical fusion procedure elsewhere after her fall led to pressure on the spine, causing the paralysis. Schroeder and the head of
surgery at Hadassah, Leon Kaplan, developed a multi-stage plan involving a procedure that only Kaplan does. It included cutting away part of the spine, releasing the previous fusion and performing a new one. She can now walk again. “You get these cases and say ‘what do you do’,” Schroeder said. Such cases aren’t coming in ev-
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 33
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ery day, but they do get more than their share of them. “There are plenty of backaches around, but these cases keep things interesting.” They also get a lot of cases where they are the second opinion. His practice sees a high proportion of Palestinians because so many work in the construction industry, with its higher rate of injury. They also see children who are injured by falling off unfinished buildings, as the Palestinian areas have different building standards. He cautioned that medicine is still far from repairing paralysis and spinal cord damage, but they are working on different treatments. Over the next 20 years there will be tremendous change in medicine and surgery, he said, with computer-based surgery and different types of navigation being developed. Innovations like robotic cars are “coming from our part of the world,” along with virtual reality, augmented reality, three-dimensional printing — all of which can have medical applications. “Take your imagination to the next level,” he said, and “push things forward.” He said the main benefit to robotic surgery is accuracy and reproducibility. “Surgery has always been considered an art more than an exact science, but when it comes to surgery we want to try to reproduce results as equal as possible.” The computer and robotics can “direct you where you need to go with a high degree of accuracy.” Though today’s procedures seem very advanced, “20 years from now today’s robotics will seem primitive.” On Nov. 12 he will speak at the Hadassah Birmingham centennial Tzedakah event, held at the Grand Bohemian Hotel at 2 p.m. In New Orleans, he will be speaking at private homes. All three presentations — Nov. 16 at 3 and 7 p.m., and Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. — are open to the community. The evening event is a dessert reception where local orthopedic doctors are also invited. For locations, contact Charisse Sands, (504) 231-6464.
JCRS now serving over half of New Orleans Jewish youth Jewish Children’s Regional Service has now achieved a new service record in Greater New Orleans, by serving over half of all the Jewish youth in the metropolitan area. In the 12 months ending Sept, 30, 2016, JCRS funded and served 545 unduplicated Jewish youth from Greater New Orleans, ages 17 and under. Based on a count of 840 affiliated Jewish youth in September 2016, and estimating 20 percent more without affiliations, JCRS figures there are 1008 youth in Greater New Orleans and the agency served 54 percent of them during that period. JCRS Executive Director Ned Goldberg explained the growth of JCRS services in Greater New Orleans, throughout Louisiana, and across a seven-state service region that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. “As many know, after Hurricane Katrina, JCRS made a concerted effort to develop new programs, upgrade existing services, and perform a great deal of outreach to Jewish families, locally and throughout the service region,” he said. It has taken years for the number of children in Greater New Orleans to rebound, “but we are seeing it now. Whether it is a scholarship service, a PJ Library subscription, or a gift package for Chanukah, JCRS has proven itself to be the ‘go-to’ Jewish organization in New Orleans.” The agency starts with PJ Library book subscriptions for newborns, continues with need-based summer sleepaway camp scholarships and finishes with need-based undergraduate college aid. “Along the way, there are additional services that many Jewish youth and families take advan-
community tage of,” Goldberg said. This fall, JCRS has scheduled numerous PJ group programs in Greater New Orleans. Shortly, forms for overnight camp scholarships to Jewish camps will be available. This past summer, 29 Jewish youth in the New Orleans area received needs-based awards from JCRS. Before the end of the year, many Jewish youth from lower-income families will receive Chanukah gift packages from the agency. This year, the number of Jewish youth receiving gift packages in the Greater Baton Rouge area will increase significantly, as a result of the severe August flooding. All JCRS services are funded through donations. To apply for aid from JCRS, or to become a volunteer or supporter, contact the JCRS office at (504) 828-6334, or email info@jcrs.org.
HE ONCE UPDATED HIS DAD’S SMART PHONE, TABLET AND LAPTOP IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. ALL WITHOUT LEAVING THE COMFORT OF HIS FOOTIE PAJAMAS.
It wasn’t a wrap
High demand leads to second JCRS Chanukah event On Sept. 25, Jewish Children’s Regional Service held its annual gift wrapping event for the Oscar J. Tolmas Hanukkah Gift Program, where volunteers wrapped gifts that will be distributed to children and youth in the program. Though 170 sets of gifts were wrapped, this year there is a much higher demand and a second wrapping event has been scheduled for Nov. 13 at the Goldring/Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie. Wrapping starts at 8:30 AM and will continue until all bags are completed . At least another 40 to 50 bags will need to be completed. The program will provide gifts to at least 250 children, youth and state hospital residents from the JCRS’ seven-state region for Chanukah. JCRS volunteers in Dallas will provide wrapped gifts and delivery for at least another 40 to 50 JCRS clients who live in Greater Dallas. Recipient families include those Jewish youth known to JCRS throughout the year, as well as those affected by natural disasters, such as the 2016 flooding in Louisiana and Texas. Each gift bag contains at least eight age, gender, and interest-specific gifts for each client . All gifts and wrapping supplies are supplied by JCRS. Refreshments will be served throughout the event. If all the gifts are not wrapped well before noon, JCRS will show the Saints game on television and a pizza lunch will be served.
C H I L D R E N A M A Z E U S E V E R Y D AY and at Children’s of Alabama we want to see every child grow up and live to their fullest potential. That’s why we recruit, train and retain the most inquiring minds, the most skilled hands and the most compassionate hearts in pediatric medicine. 1600 7TH AVENUE SOUTH BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233 (205) 638-9100 ChildrensAL.org
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 35
community Films announced for Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival
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The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival announced its lineup for this January’s festival, which will be held at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Performing Arts. Opening night will be Jan. 11 at 7 p.m., with a double-feature. The short “Blue Like Me” is about artist Siona Benjamin, an Israeli who was born in India, and how she fuses Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, Muslim and Zoroastrian iconography. That is followed by “400 Miles to Freedom,” a film about identity and religion, concentrating on a quest for African, Asian and Latino Jews. On Jan. 12 at 7 p.m., “Fever at Dawn” will be screened. A Hungarian Holocaust survivor is diagnosed with lung disease, so he spends his last six months looking for love by writing to 117 Hungarian women at hospitals in the Nordic country, claiming to have known them. Through that, he found the woman of his dreams, and this film was made by his son. “Rock in the Red Zone” (below) is a portrayal of life in Sderot. The town, which has been under fire from Gaza for years, and has a partnership with Alabama through the Alabama-Israel Task Force, used to be known for its rock music scene. Through the musicians, the film shows a snapshot of real life in Israel, persevering despite the challenges. The film will be on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. “Sunday Shorts” will be on Jan. 15 at 3 p.m., a 90-minute selection of short films from 5 to 18 minutes each. Every year the Festival, in association with the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, presents a Holocaust educational program for junior high and high school students. This consists of a feature film or documentary with a Holocaust theme. The film is followed by a short talk from a speaker who has first-hand experience with the Holocaust. The festival also sends teachers to the annual Belfer Conference for Educators in Washington, to learn about approaches to teaching the Holocaust in middle and high schools. More information about the festival, purchasing tickets and how to be a patron can be found on the festival website, brjff.com. Tickets are $8.50 per show.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37
chanukah gifts
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2830 18th Street So. Birmingham 205/879-3986 homewoodtoy-hobby.com The temperatures are starting to cool and Chanukah is around the corner, but several hot toys for this holiday season allow kids to build things and control them with an iPad or smart phone. Homewood Toy and Hobby General Manager Tricia McCain said that in the Birmingham area, kids seem to be interested in science. Their robotic build toys are very popular especially with boys ages 8 to 14. “The science teachers must be doing a great job getting the kids interested because those seem to be among our most popular toys. They let the kids be creative and incorporate smart phone/app control with some of them,” she said. One example is the Robotics Smart Machines. These are kits that let kids build their own robots and control them with an ipad or smart phone. There’s also the Meeper Bot 2.0 for ages 6 to 12. It’s the base of a car onto which Legos can be added. Those cars built by kids can be controlled by a downloaded app. Keeping with the robot theme but a different type of toy is Bumper Bots. This is a game that can be played by up to four players. Each player tries to get their small circular discs via a slingshot-type mechanism out of their space and into the others. Especially popular among younger girls are the classic Calico Critters, with their new Ballet Theatre. Kids can make the critters and animals dance around. The toy plays music from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, or other music can be played from one’s phone. For the younger set there’s Pop! Pop! Piano for ages 1 to 3. This instrument features pieces that can be moved from one place to another while it makes noises and sounds. Then there’s Migoga Junior, which is a 22-piece marble run toy. The jumbo marbles cannot be swallowed. Homewood Toy and Hobby, which has been an institution in the area since 1950, offers a few options of Chanukah wrapping paper as well.
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38 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
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What could be better than saying hello Dolly and buying some great Chanukah gifts on a trip to the Sevierville Tennessee area this fall? Visit Sevierville, the tourism bureau for Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Kodak, Tenn., recommends a diverse array of gifts from various shops and artisans — and of course, a visit to the Dollywood amusement park. Sevierville’s own artist Robert A. Tino creates watercolors, oils and acrylics of the Great Smoky Mountains, wildlife and historic structures in the area. His art is on notecards, ceramic tiles, framed canvas or one can invest in an original. The Apple Barn and Cider Mill, also in Sevierville, offers baskets that can include apple butters, scented candles, apple home décor and candies. They can make and shop custom baskets. For the flight enthusiast, check out the gift store at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. From flight jackets to die-cast historical aircraft to novels and biographies, many unique gifts can be bought there. Speaking of unique gifts, Smokey Mountain Knife Works specializes in rare gifts from kitchenware to sporting goods to toys and relics. Some of the most popular shopping in the Smokies is at Tanger Outlets Sevierville. You’ll find everything from Coach to Michael Kors, Under Armour, North Face and more at outlet prices.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 39
chanukah gifts
Jordan Alexander Wednesday, November 16
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Also performing in Oxford • Jan. 28, 2017, 5 p.m. Men’s Basketball Ole Miss vs Baylor • The Pavilion at Ole Miss
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2003 Cahaba Rd #101 Birmingham 205/868-1391 jordanalexanderjewelry.com Located in the heart of English Village, JA Collections is home to Birmingham’s only fine jewelry designer, Theresa Harper Bruno. As she began envisioning a future for a showroom in Birmingham, she created a store that not only meets the needs of her beloved community but also gives them something new. Something special. Something curated for their lifestyle. JA Collections will be an ever-changing, ever-evolving experience for the Birmingham clientele. Theresa’s initial fine jewelry line, Jordan Alexander, will continue to be featured along with her newly designed, accessible collection, Andrew Harper. Additional jewelry collections created by designers throughout the United States will also be showcased, including: Sorrellina, Buddha Mama, Sara Weinstock, Victor Velyan, SetiRom, and Nan Fusco. The designs range from the vintage-inspired, to the bold, modern edge, to the feminine and classic. JA Collections will also offer designs and accents for the home inspired by Theresa’s world travels. Always in search of all things beautiful and unique, she personally selects the hand-crafted materials, fabrics, and finishes that ultimately make up each unique piece. It is Theresa’s perspective and vetting of each collection – home and jewelry – that set her apart from other stores in Birmingham. It’s about the experience that she creates when you walk through the door. You want to stay, have a chat, peruse through the cases, and have a coffee or a cocktail. JA Collections is always luxurious, ever classic, and curated for your lifestyle.
This November, witness the largest outdoor display of cascading chrysanthemums in the country. Visit bellingrath.org for peak bloom times.
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Earthborn Pottery
7575 Parkway Drive Leeds, Ala 205/702.7055 earthbornpottery.net From the finest restaurants to your home… 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 40 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
chanukah gifts
Canal Furniture Liquidators
3534 Toulouse St. New Orleans 504/482-6851 canalfurnitureliquidators.com Canal Furniture Liquidators is New Orleans’ best kept secret to find quality pre-loved, affordable furniture. At their Mid-City warehouse, you’ll find thousands of great treasures from hotel and office liquidations to a well-curated selection of items from estate sales and consignments. And in house at the new Makers Studio, they are on a mission to reduce the environmental impact in the community by teaching the art of upcycling these great finds. They offer workshops, group and private lessons in chalk painting, gilding, gold leafing, mosaics, upholstery, fabric block printing and more. Email cflmakerstudio@gmail.com or call for more information or to register. As they say, life is too short to live with bad furniture.
Vulcan Park and Museum
1701 Valley View Drive Birmingham 205/933-1409 visitvulcan.com Those who love Birmingham’s famous Iron Man and gifts featuring Alabama and from local artists can find everything they want at The Anvil — the new gift shop at Vulcan Park and Museum that opened in August. The store’s mantra is “gifts forged in Alabama, loved everywhere.” It is three times as large as the previous one and has expanded its stock to include more non-Vulcan-related gifts by Alabama artisans. Of course, who could resist Chanukah gifts such as a Vulcan Bobble-Butt Doll and Vulcan socks?
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 41
chanukah gifts
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Those who to come to English Village’s Holiday Open House on Nov. 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. can enjoy jazz, free refreshments and buy some perfect Chanukah gifts at Monkee’s of Mountain Brook. Owner Melissa Cunningham-Campbell said they have several new recent lines at the women’s clothing, accessories and gift boutique including Diane Von Furstenberg; a washable silk line of clothing from Crosby by Mollie Burch; jewelry by Elisabeth and James, as well as Kelly Wynne handbags from Texas. Monkee’s also has clothes from a fashion line started just six months ago by a Jewish fashion blogger from Los Angeles – Emily Schuman. The line is Cupcakes and Kashmir. Another Jewish designer, David Lerner (out of NYC), also is featured at Monkee’s. The store also has coffee mugs depicting tourism attractions and historical locations across Birmingham as well as a few other cities across Alabama. Alice & Trixie Dress $363, Rowen Daisy Shoes $185
dk2 Gallery
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42 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
SJL Online: sjlmag.com
community Holocaust memorial to be dedicated at Jackson’s Beth Israel Jackson’s Beth Israel announced that Nov. 13 will be the dedication of the Gus Waterman Herrman Holocaust Memorial Garden. The large art installation was designed and constructed by Pearl River Glass Studio, under the direction of Andrew Young, will Bill Heimer serving as project manager and Beth Israel board trustee Peter Zapletal coordinating the project. “We are all deeply moved to have such a significant and poignant art structure and memorial garden at our place of worship for all to experience,” said Beth Israel President Michele Schipper. The installation consists of seven sets of large glass structures on concrete columns surrounding a raised pulpit. The abstract sculptures represent seven “key points of the Holocaust,” Young said: “The Ghetto,” “A Temple Menorah,” “Kristallnacht,” “Book Burning,” “Disappearing Village,” “Chai” and “a Striped Cloth” illustrating events or symbols of the Holocaust. “The abstract images allow each viewer the freedom to experience the Holocaust Memorial for themselves,” said Young. The “Temple Menorah” panel
The serial number tattoo of the late Gilbert Metz, Mississippi’s only concentration camp survivor, is depicted in the glass panels. The pulpit is reached by a spiral walkway with a railroad motif, alluding to the trains that transported Jews to the concentration camps. Ground was broken on the memorial on June 6, 2015, by Beth Israel then-president Howard Katz, and Rabbi Ted Riter, who was interim rabbi for Beth Israel. Herrman was a businessman and philanthropist in Lexington, Miss., and was involved in the now-defunct Temple Beth-El there. He served in World War II, and moved by the atrocities
made a bequest to Beth Israel for Holocaust remembrance observances and programs. Herrman is also known for making the largest single gift to Hebrew Union College. Between his and his brother’s bequests, HUC received over $10 million. Other Beth Israel members also made contributions toward the garden. The 4 p.m. dedication service and unveiling will include state and local dignitaries, Mississippi clergy, members of Beth Israel and invited guests. Music will be provided by the Clinton High School Choir along with the Beth Israel Shirim Choir, both under the direction of Carol
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community Joy Sparkman. “We hope Jews and non-Jews alike, will visit the Gus Waterman Herrman Holocaust Memorial Garden to reflect and to contemplate this dark period in the history of the world, and that those who visit will be inspired to advocate for world peace now and for future generations,” Schipper said. Other Holocaust memorials currently being developed include one in downtown Birmingham’s theater district, and the Unknown Child memorial project planned for the grounds of the Circle G Ranch in Horn Lake, Miss., a site once owned by Elvis Presley.
How does success think? New JLI course at Chabad centers in region draws from Jewish wisdom This month, Chabad centers in the region will offer a new six-session course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, called “How Success Thinks: Jewish Secrets for Leading a Productive Life.” “How Success Thinks is designed to help people get more of what they want in life, and less of what they don’t,” explained Rabbi Zalman Abraham of JLI’s Brooklyn headquarters. “Throughout the course we explore ways to cultivate people’s signature strengths, adopt a growth mind-set, access their inner creativity, deal with weaknesses, and overcome procrastination and other obstacles that get in the way of their success.” At the core of “How Success Thinks” are six key productivity concepts, from motivation and goal setting to creativity and relationship building, which explain why some people get so much done. Drawing on 3000 years of Jewish wisdom — as well as some of the latest findings and case studies from neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics — this course explains that the most productive people on earth don’t merely act differently; they view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways. “Most people don’t have a clear picture of what they want to achieve in their lifetime,” said Rabbi Mendel Ceitlin of Chabad Jewish Center in Metairie. “In the course, participants will have a chance to explore their own definition of success, and then create a road map to equip themselves with the tools they’ll need to make that goal a reality.” “’How Success Thinks’ is a unique offering that links success to sustainable outcomes for all our stakeholders in the community,” said Andrew Kakabadse, Professor of Governance and Leadership at Henley Business School in Reading, U.K., and author of “The Success Formula: How Smart Leaders Deliver Outstanding Value… This course provides an empowerment of the mind, the heart and the sharing of experience across community: the very elements which make up a positive and flourishing society.” “How Success Thinks” is accredited for continuing education for medical and mental health professionals. Like all JLI programs, this course is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship. In Birmingham, the course will be offered on six Wednesdays at 7 p.m., starting Nov. 9, and six Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., starting Nov. 10. Registration is $89. Chabad of Mobile will offer the course on six Sundays, starting Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. Registration is $40 plus a $10 book fee. The course will be offered on Tuesdays starting Nov. 15 at noon at the Jewish Community Campus in Metairie, and at 7:30 p.m. at the Chabad Center in Metairie. Registration is $70. Interested students may cvisit www.myJLI.com for registration and for other course-related information. 44 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
community Seeing Mississippi’s “Miss Daisy”
The Mid-Delta Arts Association presented “Driving Miss Daisy” from Oct. 17 to 21 in Indianola. Leanne Silverblatt of Indianaola played the lead roll of Daisy Werthan. Pictured above are Alan Silverblatt, Larry and Karla Back of Little Rock, and Leanne Silverblatt. Others from the Delta attending the show, below, were Barbara Levingston, Nancy Chiz, “Miss Daisy,” Gail Goldberg, and Terry Routman.
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Montclair Run turns 40 It isn’t the same as being in the desert for 40 years, but every Thanksgiving for 40 years, runners have been wandering down Montclair Road. The Levite Jewish Community Center’s Sam Lapidus Montclair Run celebrates its 40th anniversary on Nov. 24, with the annual 10-kilometer race sponsored by Levy’s Fine Jewelry and the recently-added 5-kilometer run sponsored by Schaeffer Eye Center. Those races begin at 8:30 a.m. and are followed by a 1-mile Fun Run at 9:45 a.m. Last year, 1,200 runners participated. The event was renamed in 2008 in memory of Sam Lapidus, who loved fitness and working out at the LJCC. He was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma at age 9 in 2003, but refused to let it alter his plans. He died in November 2008, just shy of his 15th birthday, and Bruce Sokol urged the LJCC to name the event in his memory. Proceeds from the race benefit the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama and the LJCC Fitness Program. The Center for Childhood Cancer donations help children in Alabama by enhancing services, building new programs, and recruiting new physicians and researchers. Registration is already open online and at the LJCC. There will be RFID chip timing and awards to the top three overall finishers and by age group in male and female categories. All entrants will receive a T-shirt, and the course is certified by USATF.
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Although Nadler had refused to give the Times details about the “lecture” he was given the evening of his kidnapping, in court he reveals that it was demanded that he pay $10 for a previous grievance Hopwood had with him, and that he surrender a lease Hopwood had signed. Nadler complied with all the requests. The sheriff testified that Hopwood had come to him before the night of the event and asked about an idea he had to give Nadler “a good scare.” Further damning the defendant, it was brought out that Hopwood’s hat, which had his name on the inside, was found in the gutter outside availability andafter Nadler’s home. Hopwood even went to the policeFor department the day Located on the historic Continental Gin campus, rental information, the incident looking for his hat. Cahaba Brewing Co. offers a unique and please visit Hopwood experience denied perfect ownership memorable for your next event. cahababrewing.com/ of the hat but refused to try it event-rentals. on when the prosecution asked him to. 4500 5th Avenue South On Nov. 25, the hatbox had Building C been given to the jury while they Birmingham, AL 35222 were deliberating, but it was found that in the interim hours cahababrewing.com while the hatbox had been in possession of the sheriff ’s office, the lining and sweatband with Whether you’re planning a celebration, fundraiser, Hopwood’s nameorhad been torn business meeting wedding reception, we think out. Although the jury had you’ll find our taproom to beseen the perfect venue. the hat with Hopwood’s name in it already, the judge declared a mistrial owing to tampered evidence. In a second trial, in which more Klan members were identified, the jury found Hopwood not guilty. Curiously, Marguerite Nadler’s monument at @cahababrewing Photos by Mason Fischer records show that one of the Forrest Cemetery jury members may have been Defending YourIsadore Back Yard fellow Beth Israel member Zemmuray. In February 1926, Nadler sold his home and moved to Birmingham. Start enjoying your back yard today without the threat of While his retail store was closed, he continued to return to Gadsden as a mosquitoes or other biting insects! There’s never been representative for theconvenient United Mills method, lines. He passed away on a visit there in a more effective, and our botanical 1950 while staying at Adolph Reich’s Printup Hotel. insecticide is sprayed automatically while leaving no residue. On March 25, 1960, 16-year-old Jerry Hunt threw a molotov cocktail into the Gadsden synagogue as it met to celebrate and dedicate the new wing donated by the Zemurray family to provide space for a new kitchen and religious school classrooms. Alvin Lowi and Alan Cohn ran outside to catch the criminal and both were shot with Hunt’s .22 caliber rifle. While Lowi’s wound was to his hand, Cohn’s aorta was hit and he required 22 pints of blood to survive. The girl who plays Nadler’s daughter Marguerite at Forrest Cemetery dresses as a musician, even though she died as an infant. That’s still appropriate, as two of Nadler’s other daughters went on to be accomplished with their instruments — Lucile became a charter member of the Gadsden Music Club in 1916 and studied in New York with famous pianists Hans Barth and Ernest Hutcheson. Sister Charlotte was well known for her talent on the violin. Further, when Beth Israel closed in 2011, the building was offered to the city for use in cultural programs, and today it is home to the Etowah Youth Orchestra. Alan Cohn’s widow, Charlotte, sponsors the role of Marguerite at each year’s performance of “A Walk Through Time” at the cemetery. This year’s event will be held Oct. 16 from 2 to 5 p.m., with a rain date of Oct. 25. Visitors should park at the Old Gadsden High School, 12th Street between Chestnut and Walnut Street, and ride a trolley to the cemetery, as no cars are allowed inside that day. There will be portrayals of more than Alabama’s Mosquito Control 20 people interred there,Premier including a Pulitzer Prize winner, a daredevil high diver, a Contact woman who us was buried three times, and little Marguerite. today for your free quote!
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46 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
BOOKS
MAMALEH KNOWS BEST: What Jewish Mothers do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Marjorie Ingall
Jewish mother. The weight that comes with those two words. And indeed, it’s not even past page seven when the author gets into the full stereotype: “What’s the difference between a Jewish mother and a Rottweiler? A Rottweiler eventually lets go.” But that’s not where Marjorie Ingall goes. Rather, after pointing out a list of Jewish accomplishments despite being less than 1 percent of the world’s population (Nobel Prize winners, anyone?), she asserts that we have been doing this kind of parenting based on ethics and success and nurturing and menschlichkeit, and it’s just that recipe that explains our collective over-achievement. Composed of the wisdom of rabbis, psychologists and research studies along with funny stories and pieces of real-world modern insight, ‘Mamaleh Knows Best’ comes across as loving advice from a savvy friend who’s been there. Things aren’t always awesome, but here’s the best way to look at it, turn it around or sometimes just deal. In the meantime, Jewish mothers go on raising pretty terrific kids.
treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw by Elissa Altman
Let’s start this way: Elissa Altman can write. For some, the topics she discusses are going to come across as, well, treyf. From sex to food to religious practice, there are so many complications, so much confusion, so much contradiction that this book could be a mess. But it’s not, because Elissa Altmann pens her memoir in such a beautifully meticulous way that every bit, and particularly the parts about food about which there are many, is completely delicious to read. Growing up, the author navigates how to be Jewish and modern, how to fit in as American but not let go of a past, and how to bow to what’s expected when needed yet learn to accept and love one’s self. Elissa Altman throws shame off its rails, and loves with a full heart. Nothing about that is treyf.
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
NOT THIS TURKEY!
by Jessica Steinberg
As new Americans, the Silberklangs were accustomed to celebrating holidays with stuffed cabbage and noodle kugel. But when Papa wins a raffle for a Thanksgiving turkey, the family thinks that this holiday might be completely different. What they don’t expect is how many things stay the same and what exactly it means to be thankful.
THE FLOWER GIRL WORE CELERY by Meryl G. Gordon
Little Emma is asked to be a flower girl, and has visions of what kind of flower she would be - and is excited to see what a ‘ring bear’ will look like, too! When she arrives with her family at the synagogue, she learns that the ceremony is of two brides marrying each other. While there’s no groom, the wedding goes off as any other (though there are two wine glasses to stomp!). Emma embraces the day’s surprises and deems it all a “very good wedding!”
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Chabad building outreach at LSU In the summer of 2015, Chaya Mushka and Rabbi Peretz Kazen moved to Baton Rouge to establish a Chabad presence and conduct outreach to students at Louisiana State University. “This year, we are taking it to the grounds” after getting to know the students over the previous year, they said. Rabbi Kazen said “there is a lot of excitement and involvement.” They had a late lunch and shofar blowing for Rosh Hashanah, and for Sukkot they brought a mobile sukkah to the grounds. “Students could stop by on their way to class, grab some matzah ball soup and shake the lulav.” “This is just the start,” he added. Mushka Kazen said their goal is to creat a home away from home experience for the students, “a place to come for all their needs and more specifically their Jewish needs.” Sarah Cohen of New Orleans was elected president of the Chabad at LSU board, and a year of activities is being planned. Students and parents can keep up with activities through their Facebook page or the Chabad at LSU email list. An estimated 350 Jewish students attend LSU. Rabbi Kazen has served Jewish communities in Japan, Virgin Islands, Ukraine, Greece and Arizona. His father, the late Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Kazen, was regarded as the “Father of the Jewish Internet,” helping develop the Chabad presence online and serving as a “virtual rabbi” worldwide. Mushka Kazen is the daughter of Rabbi Zelig and Bluma Rivkin, founders of Chabad’s presence in Louisiana. They had been sent to New Orleans in 1975 to establish a presence near Tulane.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 47
community Gershaniks receive Hannah Solomon Award from New Orleans NCJW
Happy
Hanukkah!
from Vulcan Park and Museum
COME VISIT THE NEWLY EXPANDED MUSEUM STORE
The National Council of Jewish Women Greater New Orleans Section recognized Ana and Juan Gershanik the 2016 Hannah G. Solomon Award, the Section’s highest honor. The Gershaniks were honored at the award luncheon on Sept. 26 at The Westin New Orleans Canal Place. Ana Esther Gershanik is writer of the “Nuestro Pueblo” weekly column for the Times Picayune. Juan Jorge Gershanik is a physician and medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at West Jefferson Medical Center and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. Both are current and past officers and members of many civic and charitable organizations at the local, statewide and national levels. Ana Gershanik said she was a young mother of two in Shreveport when a friend introduced her to NCJW. “I was inspired by Hannah Solomon’s example and motivated by all the accomplishments of NCJW in so many areas,” she said. She said NCJW was “a perfect fit” for her, “as it provided me with the strong training as a volunteer and prepared me to advocate and work with passion for the causes in which I believe.” In Shreveport, she helped with “education of the underserved,” and after moving to New Orleans in the 1980s she worked with the resettlement of Soviet Jews and the Marielitos, as well as working with jailed adolescent girls and helping mothers in the Hippy program to work with their children. “There are still lots of issues to be solved, in the areas of education, poverty, domestic violence, child abuse, the plight of undocumented immigrants, women’s equal pay and so many more, especially in our state,” she said. Seventeen past recipients were in attendance. The award has been presented annually since 1966 to community leaders who exemplify the qualities of Hannah G. Solomon, founder of NCJW. NCJW is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Some of its signature community service programs include Alzheimer’s Care and Enrichment, which provides activities at the Jewish Community Center for patients and caregivers; the Fox 8 Defenders broadcast consumer advocacy program; Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), a home-based program for disadvantaged parents which offers education enrichment for preschool children; and the Irma M. Isaacson Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides college financial aid scholarships to deserving New Orleans students.
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Honorees Juan and Ana Gershanik and event chair Loel Samuel
community Maccabi values permeate LJCC Cultural Series Homegrown comedian returns for the opening event With the Maccabi Games coming next summer, the Levite Jewish Community Center’s Jewish Book Month events in Birmingham will feature the Six Midot (Values) of the Maccabi Games. The cultural series will consist of several film, comedy and book events in De- Amanda Marks cember. The series starts the value of “Rina,” joy, with a homecoming performance for comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks. A Birmingham native who attended the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, Marks has performed stand-up comedy at The Atlanta Improv, Jerry Farber’s Sidedoor, Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, Java Vino and The Local. She has done “minor” voice-over work for Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies. She also played Young Bedelia on Adult Swim’s live-action pilot Stiff and recently was a guest on FishCenter Live. Marks is also the co-host of The Walking Dads web-series and ModernTribe’s Jewify. She will perform on Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cahaba Brewery. Tickets are $15, $10 for You Belong in Birmingham members. On Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. at the LJCC, there will be a free Childrens’ Chanukah Scavenger Hunt with the author of the Shira’s Series children’s books, Galia Sabbag. The “Lev Tov” (big heart) event will include information about holidays, Hebrew words and Jewish values. The event is geared toward ages 3 to 6. Books and DVDs will be available for purchase. For “kavod,” respect, Zoe Fishman will talk about her newest book, “Inheriting Edith.” The novel is about a single mother who inherits a beautiful beach house with a caveat—she must take care of the ornery elderly woman who lives in it. As Maggie helps Edith resolve the aftermath of a long-held secret—and confronts both the roots and repercussions of one of her own—
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 49
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www.elementsfloatspa.com 50 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
each woman embarks on a path to forgiveness, acceptance, and a life-changing friendship. Fishman is the author of “Driving Lessons,” “Saving Ruth” and “Balancing Acts.” Her talk will be on Dec. 4 at 2 p.m., and there will be a book signing afterward. “Amit Yehudit,” Jewish peoplehood, will be exemplified in the screening of “400 Miles to Freedom” on Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Sally Friedman,executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, will moderate a discussion. There is a suggested donation of $5. In 1984, the Beta Israel, a secluded 2,500-yearold community of observant Jews in the northern Ethiopian mountains, fled a dictatorship and began a secret and dangerous journey of escape. Co-director Avishai Mekonen, then 10 years old, was among them. In this film, he breaks his 20-year silence about the brutal kidnapping he endured as a child in Sudan during his community’s exodus out of Africa. This life-defining event launches an inquiry into identity, leading him to African, Asian and Latino Jews in Israel and the U.S. “Ga’ava,” pride, will be exemplified by Sam Tenenbaum, who will speak on Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. Tenenbaum’s autobiography, “The Unmasked Tenor: The Life and Times of a Singing Wrestler” details how he picked himself up by the bootstraps of an awkward childhood in mid-20th century Birmingham, and forged an unlikely path through the roughriding, anything-goes early days of professional wrestling in the American South — all while nurturing his Judaism and pursuing, on the sly, his first true love: operatic singing. A book signing will follow. The film “Dough” will demonstrate “tikkun olam,” repairing the world. The warmhearted and humorous story is about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places. Curmudgeonly widower Nat Dayan, played by Tony award-winning actor Jonathan Pryce, currently in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” clings to his way of life as a Kosher bakery shop owner in London’s East End. Understaffed, Nat reluctantly enlists the help of teenager Ayyash, who has a secret side gig selling marijuana to help his immigrant mother make ends meet. When Ayyash accidentally drops his stash into the mixing dough, the challah starts flying off the shelves and an unlikely friendship forms between the old Jewish baker and his young Muslim apprentice. There is adult content. The screening will be at 3 p.m. on Dec. 11, but there will be an opportunity to sample flavored challahs starting at 2:30 p.m. — though the signature ingredient in the film’s challah will not be served. There is a suggested donation of $5. During the cultural series, Oy Toys, And Thou Shalt Read and Bow Wow Mews will have a Holiday Sale in the LJCC lobby, from Dec. 4 to 9.
community Chanukah is part of the celebration at Red Mountain Theatre’s holiday show by Lee J. Green Chanukah gets some love from some talented young Jewish performers in Red Mountain Theatre Company’s Holiday Spectacular, Dec. 2 to 18. There are a couple of songs with a Chanukah theme in the show, including “We Are Lights.” And three of the talented youth performers are Jewish — Abby Cohn, Kyra Berger and Alex Perlman. Cohn is a sixth grader at Brookwood Forest Elementary and has been involved with RMTC for five years. “Red Mountain Theatre Company is a fun, inspiring and supportive group of people. It is a place for me to by myself and express my love for theatre with others who feel the same as I do. I am proud to be involved with this amazing organization,” she said. Berger is in her third year with RMTC and began acting and singing in “Annie Jr.” at the Levite Jewish Community Center when she was 7 years old. “Red Mountain Theatre Company works with me at a professional level and encourages me to be the best that I can possibly be. They are like my second family,” said Berger. Perlman is a senior at Mountain Brook High School and is also a member of the MBHS Chamber Choir. He became involved with RMTC during 2012’s Broadway Bootcamp. In “The MLK Project” he portrayed David Ruben, a Jewish student at a public school who acts out due to the isolation he feels as a Jew. He also played the role of Stuart in 2015’s RMTC musical “Band Geeks.” “RMTC has played an important role in shaping me as a person. I of course developed my skills in musical theatre, but also in time management, organization, work ethic and communication. Without RMTC, I’d be a completely different person,” he said. Though there are two Jewish-themed songs, “the entire production is secular in nature. Songs such as ‘Secret of Giving’, ‘Winter Wonderland’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish’ create themes of giving and being with family,” said RMTC Marketing Manager Jessa Pease. “Classic songs will be performed in parodies about eating too much or re-gifting for humorous note.” Keith Cromwell directs Holiday Spectacular and Katie Holmes is the musical director. RMTC Conservatory students, in four groups based on ages from 6 through 18, perform alongside some of Birmingham’s best artists — Lonnie Parsons, Amy Johnson, Brandon McCall and Kelly Dodd. The RMTC Conservatory is designed to educate, train and polish the performing arts skills of young artists through professional training and performance opportunities. The Conservatory is an audition-only, tuition-based program and the students rehearse year-round.
BEFORE
Isn’t it long past time for an update? AFTER
Atlanta’s Breman celebrates 20th
Roofing
The Breman Museum in Atlanta, the only Jewish museum in Georgia, will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Dec. 5 with the opening of “Atlanta Collects.” The exhibit highlights diverse pieces from Jewish art collectors in and around Atlanta. The goal of this special exhibition is to showcase the breadth and depth of Jewish-owned collections. The exhibition, which runs through June 11, will feature paintings, sculpture, glass and non-traditional art from different periods to show the wide array of holdings in private collections. In addition to “Atlanta Collects,” the Breman Museum features its permanent exhibition, “Absence of Humanity: The Holocaust Years 19331945” and “EIGHTEEN ARTIFACTS: A Story of Jewish Atlanta” told in objects and stories. On Dec. 3, there will be a preview of “Atlanta Collects” as part of a 20th anniversary celebration. Jarvin Levison will be honored as the visionary whose work with Elinor and Bill Breman was instrumental in the founding of the museum.
Painting Remodeling
PMP Construction Paul Pedersen, Owner
Happy to do work throughout central Alabama
205-541-4822
pmpconstruction@att.net
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 51
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Ingredients: 3 medium tomatoes 1 large red pepper 1 medium onion 1 jalapeño pepper (optional) 2 eggs Olive oil Seasonings: Salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and chili powder Directions: Place olive oil in pan on medium heat, add peppers (jalapeño is optional) and tomatoes. Cook until soft. Add onions and all seasonings. Cover and let simmer on medium heat for five minutes (adding water as needed). Break two eggs on top, cover again and continue to simmer, on low heat, until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
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As the song says, “everything’s great when you’re downtown.” Just more than two years after Eli’s Jerusalem Grill opened on Highway 280 in Birmingham and became Alabama’s Israeli restaurant, a second location will open some time in December in the Pizitz Building downtown, on the corner of 19th Street and 2nd Ave. North. “We had several of our customers who said they wished we had a downtown location and this seemed like a perfect-fit project for us,” said Eli Markshtien, who founded and owns Eli’s Jerusalem Grill with his wife, Laurel Wurthmann-Markshtien. The Pizitz Building will feature a Food Hall with a shared dining area and a few international or unique cuisine restaurants. Developed by Bayer Properties, the project will also include approximately 150 apartments and an independent film theater run by the Sidewalk Film Festival leaders. The menu at the downtown location will be virtually identical to the current Eli’s menu, which features many unique, authentic, fresh-madecontinued on the next page
Continued from page 54
again wipe out the entire earth with a flood. Despite the unfortunate loophole that portions of the earth could still be flooded (coastal cities, malls on Black Friday) it was, in fact, the original Arc of the Covenant. For generations, horseshoes have been considered lucky. For horses, they’re a symbol of being able to afford footwear. Unattached, they’re a symbol of good luck for people, originally because this indicated they were not attached to a horse when playing horseshoes. In ancient times, the Israelites were required to remove their shoes before entering holy places, such as the tabernacle. This was back in the day when places of worship did not allow horsing around. Israelites considered themselves lucky to be in the presence of a holy place that required removal of shoes. Perhaps modern day attendance would improve with Shoeless Shabbat. Doug Brook didn’t write about the election because no single biblical or historic precedent could do justice to the injustice of this year’s unpresidential campaign. The only thing we have to fear is 11/9 itself, and what we’ll wake up to. To read these or any other past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, like facebook.com/rearpewmirror. As seen at the Eastwood Publix in Birmingham, the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School has received over $16,000 from the Publix Partners program. Cards for the program are available at the school.
ONE STOP KOSHER FOOD SHOPPING
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Sushi and Fried Chicken Friday
daily recipes that go back a few generations in Markshtien’s family. “We don’t have a freezer. We make everything fresh daily. Some of the items are from Israel and we work with local farmers as much as possible,” said Markshtien. His wife added “we serve organic, grass-fed and a large selction of gluten free items.” “It’s wonderful to see adults and children trying and enjoying new things,” said Wurthmann-Markshtien. “They discover how delicious Israeli cuisine can be and also have the health benefits.” In Birmingham and the Deep South, fall is all about football. Eli’s Jerusalem Grill is offering tailgating carryout options for parties that can score with football-loving foodies. Markshtien adds, “this is a great healthy option” Eli’s Jerusalem Grill also offers family meals to go, with four options that feed a family of four to six. “We want to give people options of dining in, taking out or catering,” said Wurthmann-Markshtien. Markshtien said people come from all over to Eli’s and “it’s like a community meet-up place. We love seeing people who are regulars then they bring their friends.” “Customers have told us that eating at our restaurant reminds them of when they visit Israel,” Markshtien said. “That is our goal, to be authentic in every way.”
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 53
Re-Elect
Jones
rear pew mirror • doug brook
Judge Clyde
Jefferson County
Circuit Court Judge Place 14
• Jefferson County Circuit Judge, Criminal Division — since 2002 • 35 Years combined experience as a Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, and Circuit Judge in criminal cases. • Graduated Cumberland School of Law, Samford University — 1979 • National Judicial College Graduate and Faculty • Alabama Law Institute — Criminal Rules Committee • Alabama Sentencing Commission — Former Member • Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure Committee Member • Deacon and Past Trustee, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church
www.judgeclydejones.com Pd. for by the Committee to Re-Elect Judge Clyde Jones P.O. Box 10005 • Birmingham, AL 35202
Luck of the Jewish Welcome to the year 5777 — the luckiest year in the Jewish calendar in the next thousand years, and in the last thousand. Given the history of the Jewish people, the ratio of one lucky year out of every 999 is about right. Seven is a widely held lucky number. Of course, Judaism can’t have just one answer to anything, so it has many important numbers, which could potentially be considered lucky: 7, 10, 13, 18, 40, 120, 1969, and 867-5309. Luck doesn’t stop with numbers, though. The world is replete with lucky objects, specific to different cultures. Familiar ones include fourleaf clovers, rabbit’s feet, pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and blue diamonds. But, Sandy Koufax to one side, how many Jewish good luck charms come to mind? Yes, Judaism has a long history of luck, if you count bad luck. But without bad luck, would the Jewish people really have no luck at all? The next time someone nearby looks over a four-leaf clover that they’ve overlooked before, take heart. Then take a moment to think of Sukkot, and Judaism’s own four-piece vegetation. While not usually thought of as a good luck charm, the four species of the lulav — the lulav (palm frond) itself, hadas (myrtle), arava (willow), and etrog (lumpy lemon thing) — symbolize luck in many ways. Foremost, shaking the lulav during Sukkot indicates having survived another High Holy Days and, more important, another series of High Holy Day sermons and services. It also means we survived sukkah assembly with a minimum of frayed sheets or frayed nerves, and we got hammered rather than SYMBOLS OF hammering ourselves. LUCK ABOUND (Editor’s note: The preceding passage initially IN JUDAISM, mentioned screws instead, but some people’s IF YOU KNOW mothers read this column.) (Editor’s note: The preceding editor’s note WHERE TO didn’t actually come from the editor. Neither did LOOK this one.) Some people carry a rabbit’s foot, seemingly to symbolize having more luck than the rabbit did. Similarly, at Passover each year, the seder plate has a shank bone. The Haggadah respects baseball season by talking about how it symbolizes a sacrifice. However, the shank bone’s true origin – and good luck lineage – comes from a ballgame of a different color. In ancient times, after a kicker shanked a punt for 15 yards or less, a “shank bone” was removed from his leg. The team would then need a new kicker, thus bringing the prospect of better luck to the team. That might sound barbaric by today’s standards, but ancient coaches made no bones about it. It also explains why few NFL teams go through the expense of drafting kickers. Some people carry a lucky coin. Judaism. Money. Financial advice: Spending time regurgitating those jokes is a bad investment. (Also good career advice.) The rainbow is the most famous arc since Noah’s ark, and it originated right after that odiferous voyage. It’s considered lucky in many cultures, whether infused with droughts (California) or draughts (Ireland). It was created by the Big G as a symbol of promise to Noah to never continued on previous page
54 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
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56 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016