Southern Jewish Life 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002
Volume 26 Issue 11
November 2016
NEW ORLEANS EDITION
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
EDITOR@SJLMAG.COM
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A Lot hAs ChAnged sinCe 1942. But not the Fight For JustiCe. Larry Brook
In 1942, Muhammed Ali was born, FDR was
EDITOR/PUBLISHER EDITOR@SJLMAG.COM president, Bambi appeared in theaters, the average
Larry Brook
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 3
November 2016
Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com
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4 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events
Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg of Beth Israel in Metairie led singing and the blessing over the lulav and etrog at Safari in the Sukkah on Oct. 9 at the Audubon Nature Institute. The family event was a joint venture of JNOLA and PJ Library.
Touro going Zydeco for JazzFest Shabbat
Sunpie Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots to headline 2017 event For the first time in its 26-year history Tou- strumentalist, master accordion and harmonica ro Synagogue’s JazzFest Shabbat will feature a player, also piano, rubboard, talking drum and Zydeco guest artist. dejembe. The congregation announced that Sunpie He learned accordion from some of the best Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots will Zydeco pioneers in Louisiana, including Ferheadline the event on April 28, 2017. nest Arceneaux, John Delafose, and Clayton Bruce Sunpie Barnes is a veteran Sampy. New Orleans musician, former park He is also a current member of the Paul ranger with the National Park Service, Simon Band and finished a 58-city arena actor, photographer, book author, tour “Paul Simon and Sting Together,” which former high school biology went to 34 countries in 2014 and 2015. teacher, former college He co-authored the critically-acfootball All-American, claimed 2015 book “Talk That and former NFL player Music Talk — Passing On Brass with the Kansas City Band Music In New Orleans Chiefs. The Traditional Way.” Barnes has traveled JazzFest Shabbat incorpoto over 50 countries rates local musicians into the playing his own style of traditional Shabbat service on what he calls Afro-Louisiana the first Friday night of JazzFest. It music incorporating blues, draws a full house and has bezydeco, gospel, Caribbean come a tradition for many and African influenced rhythms Jewish out-of-towners and melodies. He is a multi-inattending JazzFest.
Sinai to install Rabbi Reimer on Nov. 18 On Nov. 18, Temple Sinai in New Orleans will have an event it hasn’t seen in many years. As part of the 6:15 p.m. Shabbat service, Rabbi Matthew Reimer will be installed as the congregation’s senior rabbi. Reimer succeeds Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn, who retired this summer after 29 years at Sinai and has become the congregation’s emeritus rabbi. A native of West Orange, N.J., Reimer was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2007. He came to New Orleans after serving as rabbi of the Shul of New York. Before being ordained, he was rabbinic intern for two years at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City, focusing on outreach to Jews in their 20s and 30s. From 2008 to 2013 he was assistant rabbi and then associate rabbi at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, N.J. The “L’Dor V’Dor” installation is open to the entire community, and a reception will follow.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 5
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On Sept. 29, an official groundbreaking was held for the Uptown Jewish Community Center’s expansion. The $8.5 million project includes a 14,000 square foot addition that will significantly expand the current Goldring Fitness Center. The Oscar Tolmas Aquatics Center will include two outdoor pools, and there will be new preschool classrooms and several other additions throughout the building. Pictured above are Richard Buchsbaum, JCC president; Brian Katz, chair of the JCC Capital Campaign; Latoya Cantrell, New Orleans City Councilperson; Edward Soll, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and Leslie Fischman, executive director of the Jewish Community Center.
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When Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros hit a 384-foot home run on Sept. 10, he made history. The former Louisiana State University player hit the 3,000th home run by a Jewish player in the major leagues. According to Jewish Baseball News, Jewish players were on a pace to set a record this year, with 106 home runs by Sept. 14. In 2012, there were 113 home runs by Jewish players. The first season with more than 100 home runs by Jewish players was 1999, with 102. The Sept. 10 homer was the eighth of Bregman’s rookie season. He was called up to Houston on July 25. He finished the season with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 49 games, and a .264 batting average. The last three weeks of the season he was slowed by a hamstring injury and missed a lot of playing time.
agenda
Steven Edwards, Music Director
Hadassah and Hinda with the tzedakah box
Getting in the tzedakah habit at Torah Academy Every day at Torah Academy in Metairie, Bluma Rivkin’s lower elementary students bring in a few coins to give to Tzedakah. The students develop their math and calendar skills by tracking their daily giving. Each day, they write down how much was given, and subsequently add up all the numbers, until they collectively raise $18. During the first month of school, once the target was reached the students voted on where to send the money. This time, they chose Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl, a non-profit organization that evacuates children from the radioactive Chernobyl region and provides them with critical medical care, a new home and an excellent education. The students were inspired by Rachel Fertel, a New Orleans native who spoke to the students last year about her experience working for this cause. Last year, Rivkin’s class collected $198 in 11 separate donations.Two of those times, the students chose to help save a baby in Efrat. One donation went to Chai Lifeline, a Jewish organization that helps children with serious illnesses by giving them fun experiences and providing support to the families of those suffering. Around Purim time, they sponsored Mishloach Manos to someone who had no friends or family from whom to receive it from. Another donation went to the Chevron fund to help American boys who go as lone soldiers to the army and were stationed in Hebron. “It makes you feel good to know that you are helping people”, said Hinda, a 4th grader who is currently the class treasurer.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 7
agenda The New Orleans Section of the National Council of Jewish Women will have a Get Out the Vote party on Nov. 7, calling members to remind them to vote on Nov. 8. The callers will gather at Propeller from 6 to 9 p.m., where pizza and beverages will be served. Call scripts and phone numbers will be provided. Callers may come for an hour or for the whole evening.
welcome for the presentation, Nov. 6 at 9:30 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.
The 8th annual Turkey Train will be at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge on Nov. 13. Turkeys are TRIBE Shabbat will be on Nov. 18 at The collected and passed along the “train” for delivCourtyard Brewery. There will be schmooz- ery to St. Vincent DePaul for Thanksgiving. ing, drinks and appetizers at 7 p.m., followed Gates of Prayer in Metairie will host the first by musical Shabbat services under the stars on their patio at 7:30 p.m. TRIBE Shabbat is for monthly Evening of Interfaith Understandthe 20s/30s community and rotates locations ing on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Future evenings will be hosted at various churches and mosques in the monthly. community. The program is sponsored by the On Nov. 15, there will be a Kendra Gives East Jefferson Interfaith Clergy Association. The Back party to benefit B’nai Israel in Baton community is invited to help welcome guests Rouge. The 6 to 8 p.m. event at Kendra Scott from all faiths and engage in conversation about at Perkins Rowe will include “sips, sweets and Judaism. jewels,” and 20 percent of proceeds will go to the The Beth Israel Speaker Series in Metairie congregation. continues the weekend of Nov. 4 with “OrthoGates of Prayer in Metairie will have its an- dox Judaism and Feminism: Challenges and nual Sisterhood Gift Bazaar on Dec. 4 starting Opportunities,” with Sharon Weiss-Greenberg. at 9:30 a.m. Weiss-Greenberg is the executive director of Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will have an the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. She eight-part class, “Israel: Paradox and Prom- was recently named by the Jewish Week as a ise,” a look at Israeli current events and their person to watch as a “36 Under 36” honoree. historical context. The class starts Nov. 27 at 11 Weiss-Greenberg has served as the co-director a.m. and Orthodox adviser of the Orthodox Union After a series of sermons by Rabbi Robert Seif Jewish Learning on Campus Initiative at Loewy about aging, Gates of Prayer in Metairie Harvard Hillel, and as the first female Orthodox will host “I’m Getting Older: Relationships are chaplain at Harvard University. Services will be Changing,” with Georganna Leavesley of Home at 6 p.m. on Nov. 4, followed by Shabbat dinner Care Solutions. Leavesley is a clinical psychol- at 7 p.m. She will speak around 10:45 a.m. on ogist and an instructor in nursing. All ages are Nov. 5 as part of the 9 a.m. service.
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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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An Official Publication of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans
THE
EWISH NEWSLETTER Vol. XI No. 8
November 2016 | Cheshvan 5777
2017 NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY
MEGA MISSION TO ISRAEL
Find your track on the 2017 New Orleans Community Mega-Mission Israel, which will begin in Israel at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 5, concluding the evening of Sunday, June 11, 2017. Discover the wonders of Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo. Surf the Mediterranean. Explore Tel Aviv’s striking Bauhaus architecture. Visit Google’s Israeli campus. Commemorate the 50th anniversary of the SixDay War with friends and family. This exciting mission, chaired by Shea and Michelle Soll, allows participants to tailor their Israel experience, and is open to everyone ages 5 and up—many of the Rabbis from our community’s congregations will be joining us on this incredible mission.
For the first time ever, you’ll be able to choose from four exciting tracks: Family, Art/Architecture/Music, Medical/High-Tech, and Adventure. A wealth of information, including the latest itinerary, is available on our website at www.jewishnola.com/findyourtrack.
Learn more about this exciting opportunity at a special parlor meeting:
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 7:30 P.M. at the home of Morton and Carole Katz (6034 Hurst St., New Orleans)
Dessert and coffee will be served. If you are interested in attending, contact Sherri Tarr at sherritarr@jewishnola.com or at 504-780-5609 for more details and to RSVP.
R E G I S T R AT I O N I S N O W O P E N . To make it easier for more New Orleans Jewish community members to be a part of this special mission, a $200 discount per household is available to those who register between now and December 31. This offer is limited to the first ten households who register during this period. Register now at jewishnola.com/findyourtrack/register.
2015-2016 Annual Report Corrections The following names were omitted or incorrectly listed in the 2015-2016 Annual Report. Federation is deeply apologetic for the errors. A corrected version of the Annual Report is available at www.jewishnola.com. Elene Blotner Carol & Donny Markowitz Natalia Remer Dr. Andy & Catherine Burka Gillian & Charles Marks Robert & Frances Simon Israel & Sylvia Finger Lisa & Richard Karlin Linda Usdin & Steven Bingler Jonathan & Hilary Gold Michael & Jane Katz Dr. John Weil
November 2016 • The Jewish Newsletter 25
26 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2016
November 2016 • The Jewish Newsletter 27
From Jewish Community Day School Tashlich
Bubbe’s Club
JCDS believes that children are never too young to learn about the deeper meanings of the Jewish holidays. Although they may not understand as fully as when they’re older, the values that are taught today make a lasting impression, becoming a part of the tapestry of their lives.
The Bubbe’s Club, formed by Carole Newman and Cathy Bart, kicked off their first meeting with leader Linda Brownstein, speech and language pathologist. Bubbes from around the Greater New Orleans area came together to meet, enjoy a delicious lunch, talk about their grandbabies, and learn what a vital role they play in the lives of the next generation. Brownstein specif- Cathy Bart and Carol Newman, ically touched on the effect Bubbes Bubbe’s Club Founders. can have on their grandbabies’ language skills by playing simple games and singing songs. Brownstein also shared the beauty of engaging your grandbabies in outside play. Bubbes are the ones who take the extra time to slow everything down. They’re the ones that teach us to sit down in the grass, relax and talk about things like leaves, bugs, and cloud shapes. She explained grandparents give us a window to the past. Grandparents hold the family stories, traditions, and memories that should be shared. Everyone is looking forward to future Bubbe’s Club meetings.
Each fall, JCDS children stand beside the flowing water of Bayou St. John, hosted by the school’s dear friends, Lis and Hugo Kahn. Jeremy Dvorin casts away his past Tashlich is the experiential, and year’s wrong doings (a.k.a. fish fun, part of teshuva, especially for food)! children! The students grip healthy fish food in their palms, ready to feed the fish as they “get rid of” all the times in the past year they’ve “missed the mark”. Guided by their teachers, they’ve got a plan to do better. They’ve learned that no mistake is forever, and with each mistake we make a learning opportunity emerges. JCDS wishes a sweet New Year to all!
You be the Judge! JCDS provides a selection of enriching after-school programs. Every Monday afternoon, Rabbi David Posternock leads a critical, thought provoking option. You Be The Judge gives children a chance to read about ethical dilemmas with their Jewish Rabbi David Posternock of hats on. With the rabbi, students Congregation Beth Israel discuss how to apply Jewish values to leads a thought-provoking real life situations. Children are asked discussion with JCDS students Bubbes and one Zayde listen as Brownstein discusses the important role to explore “the right thing to do.” each week. of being a grandparent. Weekly topics include dilemmas such as finding money on the ground; borrowing a bicycle with permission then a second time without permission; and stealing stolen property from a thief. Everyone will dissect these instances, then hear what the Talmud or our rabbi(s) would advise. Rabbi David states, “the kids Jewish Community Day School is gearing up to welcome especially love that, in this forum, arguing is not only acceptable but new students in grades Pre-K through 5th for the 2017/18 encouraged!” Rabbi David teaches at JCDS through a generous grant school year. The school is so excited to introduce families from Congregation Beth Israel. to all the wonderful and unique things that make JCDS an
JCDS Open House
exceptional school choice. If interested in attending, email Lauren at lungar@jcdsnola.org.
Nov. 15, 6 p.m. • Dec. 1, 9:30 a.m.
Family Fun Day JCDS hosted Family Fun Day on Sept. 18. Families from all around the community came together to enjoy food, games, and fun! Two bounce houses, kosher pizza and snowballs, and STEAM activities were just a few of the highlights. This event brought over 180 guests who can’t wait to see what’s next at JCDS! 28 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2016
From the Jewish Endowment Foundation Don’t Let the IRS Tax Your IRA! If you have a traditional IRA and are 70½ or older, you are required by law to take an annual distribution, the Required Minimum Distribution, based on your age. This could lead to an increase in your taxes.
Benefits of an IRA Charitable Rollover to the Jewish Endowment Foundation • Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.
But the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana wants you to know that now you have a choice. Thanks to tax laws passed in 2015, you can donate up to $100,000 of tax-free distributions from your traditional IRA for charitable purposes. This new and permanent provision is important because funds held in an IRA are subject to income tax when withdrawn during your lifetime or by your survivors. The IRA charitable rollover provision is a win-win for you and allows you to make wonderful gifts for worthy causes. It ensures that your taxes will not increase when you choose to distribute your IRA funds to the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana or your favorite charity or charities. To qualify, you must direct your IRA manager to transfer funds directly to the charity (or charities) that you designate and the gift must be completed by December 31.
• Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $100,000 from your IRA to JEF. • Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions. • Make a gift that is not subject to the 50% deduction limits on charitable gifts.
School, Tulane Hillel, and so many more. You may benefit one or more charitable organizations of your choice.
JEF is available to assist you or your financial advisor in any way possible. Don’t let this opportunity slip away. Please contact Sandy Levy (sandy@jefno.org) or Patti Lengsfield (patti@jefno.org) at The ideal gift arrangement is to create a Designated Fund at JEF (504) 524-4559 with any questions you might have. and roll over all or part of your IRA distribution to this fund. Your The views expressed here are not intended, nor may they be relied upon, fund could benefit JEF, endow your annual gift to Federation, or as legal, accounting or other professional advice. Before making a gift decidistribute annual grants to any non-profit such as the Jewish Com- sion, you should consult your own professional advisors. munity Center, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Day
From Tulane Hillel Get the Scoop Arriving at college is an overwhelming experience, especially in a place like New Orleans. Getting to know the city and the school takes time and experience. Student leaders Elana Maiman, Carly Goldberg, Rebecca Shafron, Katie Zipkin-Leed and Lily Schwartz endeavored to ease the transition for more than75 freshman girls this year through an intimate panel discussion at the second annual “Get the Scoop!” The freshmen asked about topics ranging from classes to restaurant recommendations, and of course, Mardi Gras. Hillel provided ice cream and the participants provided all the hot topics! By the end, the freshman were ready to experience the city and had the inside “scoop” on what to do and where to go.
Green Wave Community Market The Green Wave Community Market (right) has become one of Tulane Hillel’s most popular initiatives. Over 250 attendees flowed through the Mintz Center on Sept. 18 to enjoy live music, purchase locally-produced food and crafts, and enjoy delicious treats from HK Nola. Make sure to stop by the next community market on Sunday, Nov. 13 from 12 to 3pm at the Mintz Center!
November 2016 •The Jewish Newsletter 29
From Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans Friends of JFS, Because of YOU!
Homemaker program is offered on a sliding-fee scale based on household income. Please contact Fran Dinehart, LCSW Fran@jfsneworleBecause of YOU, Jewish Family Service (JFS) assists vulnerable com- ans.com or (504) 831-8475 for more information. munity members every day. Your support of the annual Friends of JFS campaign impacts their lives and the lives of so many other people for the better, and allows JFS to offer our services on a sliding-fee scale based on household income.
Lifeline: Your connection to immediate help and assistance
Because of YOUR financial support, JFS is able to meet a growing demand for affordable and accessible social services in the greater New Orleans community including: extensive counseling and case management support for individuals, couples and families; Teen Life Counts — our teen suicide-prevention program; the Homemaker Program (see below); Lifeline, the electronic personal emergency response system, and so much more. Looking ahead, JFS strives to meet increased community demand, but we cannot do it without YOUR help. The demand to accommodate the needs of individuals and families is constant and ever growing. Please respond as generously as possible. Please visit our website http://www.jfsneworleans.org to donate today!
Clear out your garage! Donate your car to JFS Are you ready to clean out your garage? Free up room in your driveway or yard? Please consider donating your unused, unwanted or problematic car, boat, motorcycle or camper to JFS. Donating a vehicle will help JFS and will not cost you a dime. Your donation will make such an impact in the lives of others. Simply call 877-JFS-4CAR (877-537-4227) or check out the special JFS car donation page (http://www.cardonatingiseasy.org/donate/?CharityID=126) and we’ll do the rest!
Homemaker Program Homemaker is a light housekeeping and transportation service for older or disabled adults, which has been a core program of Jewish Family Service since 1975. Reliable and compassionate assistance is available for older adults in the Greater New Orleans area. Each Homemaker visit lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes, and can be scheduled on a weekly or twice-a-month basis. Services include: dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, grocery shopping, meal preparation, laundry, and transportation for running errands. The
Lifeline is a personal emergency response system providing subscribers access to emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system is easy to use and designed to reduce the risks of living alone. In the event of a fall or emergency, immediate help is available at the push of a button. Lifeline is locally installed and serviced through JFS. No contracts are required. Customized plans are available, including wireless GPS technology. For more information visit our website http://www.jfsneworleans.org/programs-services/lifeline/ or call (504) 831-8475.
Staff Update Andrea Garcia recently joined the JFS staff as Bilingual Case Manager. Andrea graduated from the University of Central Florida where she majored in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Victim Advocacy. She brings experience as a family support worker at Orlando Health Hospital and as a Case Manager for Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.
2016 Fall Professional Continuing Education Workshop Jewish Family Service is pleased to offer the following workshop for mental health professionals in the New Orleans area. Ethical Dilemmas in Mental Health Services Friday, Dec. 16, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Presented by Kathy Oqueli McGraw, PhD, MPH This presentation will cover many of the ethical dilemmas that mental health professionals may come into contact with over their careers. Case examples will be used as a part of the discussion. This workshop has been approved for 3 Ethics Continuing Education Units by the LCA and the LABSWE. Workshop will be held at Congregation Beth Israel, 4004 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie. Register by phone at (504) 831-8475 x120, or at www.jfsneworleans.org.
Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant Thinking about sending your child to Jewish sleepaway camp for the first time in 2017? Let us help you! The Goldring Jewish Summer Camp Experience Incentive Grant Program, administered by the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, offers a one-time grant of up to $1,500 per child for firsttime campers. Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to 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.
30 The Jewish Newsletter • November 2016
The criteria for this program are simple. To be eligible your child must be: • A first-time camper at a not-for-profit Jewish sleepaway camp; • In grades 1 through 9 (in 2015-16 school year); • A resident of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or the Florida Panhandle. Grants are not based on financial need. Both parents need not be Jewish. Neither temple nor synagogue affiliation is required. For more information or to request an application, contact Ellen Abrams at JEF at 504-524-4559 or ellen@jefno.org. The application can also be downloaded at www.jefno.org.
From the Jewish Community Center Last Chance for Fall Savings
Jewish Cultural Arts Series Continues
The Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural There are just a few days left to take advantage of the Goldring-Woldenberg JCC’s fall membership special. Join today and Arts Series continues this month with talks pay just $45! With no initiation fee, it’s the best deal ever, offering by two outstanding authors. On Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., Jonathan Rabb will present “Among savings up to $114! Experience the difference certified trainers, top-of-the-line equip- the Living,” his moving novel about a Czech ment, and a supportive environment can make in achieving fitness Holocaust survivor’s unconventional journey and wellness goals. Members enjoy free group exercise classes each to a new normal in 1940’s Savannah, Ga. Set week and gain access to registered dieticians, sports leagues and during the last gasp of the Jim Crow era in an array of specialty classes including boot camps, indoor cycling, America’s post-war South, the novel deals with TRX, Zumba, yoga, and mat Pilates. Ample parking, monthly con- questions of identity and belonging, revealing tracts and babysitting services that are offered in the mornings and commonalities in the experiences of black and Jewish lives.
Author Bill Lasher comes to the JCC on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., to share his book “Eve of a HunThis offer ends Nov. 14 and applies to all new Gold Metairie dred Midnights: The Star-Crossed Love Story memberships. Stop by the JCC today or contact Membership Diof Two WWII Correspondants and Their Epic rector Stephanie Krell (504) 887-5158, stephanie@nojcc.org, to Escape Across the Pacific.” Based on the true-life learn more about this joining special. romance of two American reporters who fell in love in Asia during World War II and survived a harrowing escape from Manila, it is a tale of an The JCC is pleased to host Dr. unquenchable thirst for adventure, of daring reJee-Yeoun Ko’s annual benefit conporting at great personal risk, and the immense cert, Coats For Kids. Featuring jazz power of love. Both talks are free and open to the community. pianist Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, pianist Michael Pellera, guitarist Javier Olondo and the FauThe JCC is partnering with the Jewish Community Day School bourg Quartet, this incredible conof Greater New Orleans to present a Kindergarten Readiness Focert will be held Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. rum on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Uptown JCC’s Mintz Auditorium. Jee-Yeoun Ko Come early to enjoy special perforDesigned to demystify the kindergarten enrollment process, which mances by some very talented students in NOCCA’s Classical In- can often be confusing and stressful for families, the event will be strumental Program, who will per- moderated by Sharon Pollin, Head of School at the Jewish Commuform at the Uptown JCC’s front nity Day School, and features panelists from the public and private and back entrances beginning at school realm who will talk about all areas of the kindergarten en6:30 p.m. rollment process. While the event is free and Topics include the New Orleans Public School OneApp process, open to the community, attendees faith-based school choices, private school admissions testing, and are asked to bring a new or gently kindergarten readiness. After the presentation, panelists will be used winter coat to donate. Chil- available to answer individual questions. While the forum is dedren’s and adult sizes are both ap- signed for parents currently looking at kindergarten options, the preciated. Coats will be donated information will be useful to all families of young children who to Firstline Schools, which oper- have questions about the application and enrollment process. The Ellis Marsalis ates five open enrollment public evening is free and open to the public. charter schools in New Orleans. evenings all make it easier than ever to work out.
Coats for Kids Benefit Concert
Kindergarten Readiness Forum
Coats For Kids was organized by cellist Dr. Jee-Yeoun Ko, chair of the Classical Instrumental department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and founder of the Faubourg Quartet. The organization’s mission is to provide new winter coats to children in need. Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Save The Date
Celebrate Chanukah with a performance by a cappella group Six13 at the JCC’s 11th annual Community Chanukah Celebration. Held on Sunday, Dec. 18, at the Uptown JCC, hot dogs and latkes will be served at noon and the concert will begin at 1 p.m. Six13 is a young, six-man vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hiphop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City based group sound like a full instrumental band — while using nothing but their voices. All ages will enjoy their fun, high energy performance! As part of the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series, the Community Chanukah Celebration is free and open to the community.
November 2016 • The Jewish Newsletter 31
32 The Jewish Newsletter • 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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34 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
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
Community.
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At Earthborn Studios • 7575 Parkway Drive, Leeds, Ala. (east of Birmingham) Email for more information: cahabaclayworks@yahoo.com • earthbornpottery.net 36 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
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.
gift guide
chanukah
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1. WISH THEM A HAPPY HOLIDAY WITH CUSTOM CARDS Your favorite shayna punim gets the cover on personalized cards. Cost varies according to quantity ordered.
Mignon Faget, whose jewelry and Rudman’s Gifts accessories are often inspired by her native New Orleans, teamed with iconic brand 741 Veterans Memorial Blvd Haspel, originator of the seersucker look, to design Metairie a 7-piece collection that epitomizes classic Southern style. 504/833.1286 rudmans.com Manufactured in New Orleans the collection consists of pieces that are designed to last using sterling silver. The Haspel Rudman’s is a gift, stationery, clothing line was re-launched in 2014 by Laurie Haspel, with invitation and greeting card classic, authentic clothes that celebrate living in the moment, shop with Judaica and unique gifts, and they are especially vintage vitality, Southern hospitality, and gutsy ingenuity fromproud to offer locallly designed and produced Louisiana products. Individualized service is a specialty with Bourbon Street to Broadway.
wording and design assistance on any time of personal or business correspondence, Youngblood andEdmonson their partnership with industry leaders guarantees a top-notch finished product. 1903 Cahaba Road Birmingham Customer service they’re famous for, plus free gift wrapping and at-cost UPS shipping 205/900-8243around finetraditions.net the country make selecting and sending any gift a pleasure. Located in the heart of Mountain Brook’s English Village, Edmonson Youngblood is a traditional lifestyle shop with a collection of ladies and men’s clothing, home furnishings 2. REMEMBER: BLUE AND WHITE along with artwork. ARE TRADITIONAL FOR CHANUKAH “The shop is a wonderful example of a shopping experience for those of like mind There’ll no forgetting seeking life’s refinements and finding enjoyment in finebe traditions — ven- this holiday. turing to new paths carrying the best of yesterday’s memories and the ap- Price upon request. preciation of all life’s worthwhile pursuits,” they said. & Company Fine Jewelry For Chanukah,Wellington Edmonson Youngblood recom505 Royal Street mends Christy’s Hats. Christy’s of London began all New Orleans the way back in 1773 when Miller504/525.4855 Christy decidedwcjewelry.com that making quality men’s hats was his calling. Today, Christys’ of London produces a wide &variety of fine Wellington Co. Fine Jewelry’s team of headwear. From bowlers and top hats to ivy caps and jewelry associates possesses more than half a everything in between, Christys’ takes pride in proestateway. and contemporary viding quality hatscentury of statureofinantique, the traditional fine jewelry knowledge and sales experience. In that vein of tradition, the store carries fragrancAt Wellington & Co., their passion for what es from Floris of London, the second-oldest retailer of perfumes and toiletries world. Floris reptheyindo,the combined with the store’s warm resents both classicand andinviting contemporary tastes, and is heart of New atmosphere in the the only perfumer appointed to HM The Queen. Orleans’ historic French Quarter enables A more recently formed company that has prodthem to provide visitors from around the world with a unique and inviting shopping ucts at Edmonson Youngblood is Vicomte A, a French experience unlike any other. clothing brand created by two brothers. The company won its first contract to make ties for the Paris, France, delegation as they competed and bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The brand is based on a resolutely chic yet playful aristocratic aesthetic.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 37
chanukah gifts
Homewood Toy & Hobby
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.
Visit Sevierville 888/738-4378
Sanders Painting Residential Repaint Specialist • Interior/Exterior Painting • Wood, Plaster, & Sheet Rock Repair Family Owned and Operated
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38 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
visitsevierville.com
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.
Opening November 2016 in Five Points South easy walking distance to Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El & incredible dining and shopping
Homewood Suites
1016 20th Street South Birmingham
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 39
chanukah gifts
Jordan Alexander Wednesday, November 16
WorkPlay Bar opens at 4PM for Happy Hour Doors open at 6PM • Show at 7pm
For tickets, visit www.workplay.com
Also performing in Oxford • Jan. 28, 2017, 5 p.m. Men’s Basketball Ole Miss vs Baylor • The Pavilion at Ole Miss
Mum’s the word
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.
bellingrath.org 251.973.2217
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
Check out the new CX9 Luxury at Low Prices
Monkee’s of Mountain Brook
2006 Cahaba Road Birmingham 205/783-1240 monkeesofmountainbrook.com
Bobby Bloomston SALES & LEASING
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Handmade in Alabama scarves & afghans for adults baby blankets For more information, call Beverly 334/333-4243
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
1825 29th Ave. S Birmingham 205/900-8889 dk2gallery.us
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Original works of art make the most thoughtful, everlasting and unique Holiday gifts. From traditional landscape paintings to bold abstract works or glass ornaments and sculptures, dk2 Gallery has something for every budget, interest and age. dk2 Gallery brings the best of today’s contemporary fine artists to Birmingham.
“a familiar face and a familiar name”
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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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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 43
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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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 45
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 Scenes from the Hannah G. Solomon Awards Luncheon
Photos clockwise from left: NCJW President Susan Kierr, Hannah G. Solomon Chair Loel Samuel and committee members Tricia Kirschman and Sue Singer; Carol Wise and Joan Berenson; Yolanda Gershanik, Alex Gershanik, honorees Juan and Ana Gershanik and Dr. Esteban Gershanik; Miriam Waltzer, Flo Schornstein and Barbara Kaplinsky; Phyllis Nitzkin, Barbara Greenberg, Myra Soboloff and Millie Kohn
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 49
culture Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan headlines MASNO Gala
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The Musical Arts Society of New Orleans will feature Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan at its Noctorne XIV annual gala and concert this month. Established in 1980, MASNO supports music education, provides mentorships and manages the New Orleans International Piano Competition, as well as bringing top classical artists to area stages. Barnatan is one of the world’s most in-demand keyboard artists. He has performed with many important orchestras, including those of Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009, he is now in his third and final season as the New York Philharmonic’s first Artist in Association. Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert calls him “the complete artist: a wonderful pianist, a probing intellect, passionately committed, and a capable contemporary-music pianist as well.” Born in Tel Aviv in 1979, Barnatan started playing the piano at the age of three after his parents discovered he had perfect pitch, and he made his orchestral debut at 11. In 1997 he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music and currently lives in a converted warehouse in Harlem. His album “Darknesse Visible” was named one of the best of 2012 by the New York Times, and his most recent album is a live recording of Messiaen’s 90-minute masterpiece, “Des Canyons Aux Etoiles,” “From the Canyons to the Stars.” The Nov. 20 gala will be at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans with a festive champagne reception at 5 p.m., an intimate performance by Barnatan at 6 p.m., followed by a multi-course gourmet dinner. Patron level tickets include preferred seating during the recital and a private reception with Barnatan after the dinner. Tickets, which are available at masno.org, are $200, with patron tickets at $500. Half-tables are $1,000 and full tables of 10 are $2,000. Many donors purchase tickets for area musicians and music students, and sponsorships are available. In addition to Nocturne and the piano competition, MASNO events include the New Orleans Piano Institute and Keyboard Festival, Concerto Showcase in collaboration with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Salon Concerts, and MASNO Artist Masterclasses and Lecture Performances at area schools. Thousands of Louisiana student and concertgoers have attended MASNO events over the past 36 years. Nocturne XIV is sponsored by the Arts Council of New Orleans, Hall Piano Company, Mignon Faget, Steinway and Sons, 89.9 WWNO and The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans.
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Using children’s books to teach math How can every child’s book be a math book? Reasoning and problem-solving are rooted in mathematical thinking that is acquired at a young age. PJ Library and Torah Academy welcome Rochelle Effron for a parent workshop on using PJ Library books to foster mathematical thinking in young children, on Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. at Torah Academy in Metairie. Effron will demonstrate techniques with popular PJ Library books. A mathematics educator for over 40 years, she currently serves as a math education consultant and has a private tutoring practice. Her special interest is developing mathematical thinking in young children through literature. Participants are invited to bring a favorite PJ Library book to discover its potential for teaching mathematics. There will be a concurrent children’s program with games, story-reading, and a Bouncy House. Suggested donation is $10 per family.
We consign, buy & sell pre-loved furniture and other cool stuff.
On Sept. 24, members of Touro Synagogue took part in the NO/ AIDS Walk, raising $811 for the NO/AIDS Task Force. This year’s walkers were Brian and J.K. Bain, Lisa Keleher, Susie Allen, Mark Densen, Cathy Lazarus, Ann Fishman and Scott Saltzman.
Torah Academy holding Open Houses
Judge Regina Woods for Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal
Torah Academy in Metairie will have two Open Houses this month for prospective parents to see the school. Rivkie Chesney, director of development, said the Nov. 1 and Nov. 30 events will be at 9 a.m., “during school hours, because the best way to get to know our school is to see it in action.” Torah Academy offers a progressive infant program, early childhood program, as well as an elementary that runs from Kindergarten through eighth grade. The school offers an advanced general studies curriculum coupled with comprehensive Judaic studies for those from all backgrounds of Judaism.
Hadassah BR hosts water forum
Please remember to vote November 8
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.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 51
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Chef Zachary Engel, chef du cuisine at Shaya, hosted a cooking demonstration and tasting for Tulane students recently. The event, organized by Tulane Hillel’s Israel Fellow, Inbal Sason, was a gathering of 60 former and future Birthright Israel trip participants. The students were able to learn about each other’s experiences in Israel and got a sneak peek into Chef Engel’s Jewish heritage and his journey to becoming an Israeli chef in New Orleans. The discussion was bolstered by the shakshuka that Chef Engel prepared in a live demonstration. Student Jamie Palefsky said “We got to reminisce about our trip, while indulging in the delicious food we ate together while in Israel.” The night brought back memories of Israel and inspired others to experience the same through their own Birthright trip, all with full bellies.
Older Adult Speaker Series continues
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On Sept. 21, Carole Neff spoke about estate planning at the Jewish Family Service/Jewish Community Center Older Adult Speaker Series at the Metairie JCC campus. The next talk in the series, “Releasing Your Treasures of a Lifetime,” will be on Nov. 17 at noon, at the Uptown JCC. Cheryl Frager, owner of Smooth Transitions of Louisiana, will be the speaker. The talk is free and open to the community, but reservations are recommended. For more information or to RSVP, call Jennifer Schneider at (504) 8318475, ext. 138, or email jennifer@jfsneworleans.org.
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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.
How to Raise a Mensch, Part 2
By popular demand, Mark Sands is leading “How to Raise a Mensch II,” a new parenting series this fall. Sands, the director of psychiatry at Mercy Family Center, is chair of the Jewish Children’s Regional Service Special Needs Committee and psychiatric consultant to Jewish Family Service. The series draws on his 28 years of experience as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. This series will be held on Monday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Goldring/Woldenberg Jewish Community Campus in Metairie. The first three sessions, from Nov. 7 to 21, will focus on pre-school through elementary age children, and the second three sessions from Dec. 5 to 19 will focus on tweens and teens. There will be a Biblical component with examples of parenting from the Torah. Initiated by Hadassah New Orleans, How to Raise a Mensch II is co-sponsored by PJ Library, JCRS, Chabad Center of Metairie, Torah Academy, Jewish Community Day School, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Center Nursery School, Gates of Prayer Nursery School, Mercy Family Center and Shir Chadash Sisterhood. The content being presented is applicable to parents, teachers and others who work with children as well as grandparents and anyone else who is interested in the topics. The series is open to the entire community, Jewish and non-Jewish. Cost is $10 per session.
Debate postpones “Israeli Cuisine” Due to a conflict with the presidential debate, the film “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” originally scheduled for Oct. 19 as part of the Cathy and Morris Bart Jewish Cultural Arts Series, has been moved to the spring to coincide with Yom Ha’atzmaut. The JCC will have a celebration of Israel’s Independence Day on May 1 with Israeli food and this feature-length documentary film. A portrait of the Israeli people told through food, “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” puts a face on the culture of Israel. Free and open to the community, the film screening will be held at the Uptown JCC.
November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 53
rear pew mirror • doug brook
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 64 Southern Jewish Life • November 2016
calendar Nov. 5
Nov. 16
Touro Infirmary Foundation Gala
Coats for Kids Benefit Concert
Mardi Gras World Uptown JCC, 7 p.m. 6 p.m. Patron cocktail house, 7 p.m. dinner and presentation, 9 p.m. Jee-Yeoun Ko’s annual benefit concert, Coats For Kids, features jazz L’Dor V’’Dor post-gala party pianist Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, pianist Michael Pellera, Judah Touro Society Award presented to Stephen Kupperman guitarist Javier Olondo and the Faubourg Quartet.
Nov. 9
Nov. 20
Temple Sinai, 7 p.m. Kohner is founder and CEO of Voices of the Generations, Inc. Her mother, Hanna Bloch Kohner, was one of the first Holocaust survivors to tell her story when she was featured on the TV show, “This is Your Life,” in May 1953.
Ritz-Carlton 5 p.m. Champagne reception, 6 p.m. salon concert, 7:30 p.m. dinner, 9 p.m. patron and artist reception. Gala event featuring Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan.
Kristallnacht program with Julie Kohner, speaker
Salute to Israel with Consul General Eitan Levon Beth Israel, 6 p.m.
Nov. 10
Schmancy at the Stadium
Yulman Stadium, Tulane 6:30 p.m. Patron pre-game, 7:30 p.m. kickoff The Big Pastrami Award will be presented to Staci Rosenberg; Leading Forward Awards will also be presented at this gala for Tulane Hillel.
Nov. 13
Musical Arts Society of New Orleans Nocturne XIV
“21 Fabulous Years” Jewish Community Day School Gala
Dec. 1
Anat Hoffman talk
Gates of Prayer, 7:30 p.m. Hoffman chairs Women of the Wall and is executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, which fights for Jewish pluralism and gender equity in Israel.
Dec. 6
Gates of Prayer, 5:30 p.m. ADL A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Dinner Lis and Hugo Kahn will be honored as the school celebrates its 21st Sheraton New Orleans, 6 p.m. birthday. Honorees will be Walter Isaacson and Carroll Suggs.
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November 2016 • Southern Jewish Life 55
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SCHMANCY Stadium
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Recapture that “old college feeling” at the third annual Schmancy gala, supporting Tulane Hillel! Join us (in a hot new location) for a fun-filled evening of live entertainment, classic cocktails, and delicious food by Hillel’s Kitchen. Presenting the Big Pastrami Award to:
sTACIrOSENBERG rOSENBERG sTACI Also honoring Ben Cappiello, Sarah Covert, & Chandler Nutik with Leading Forward Awards.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2016 Patron Pre-Game 6:30pm || Kick-Off: 7:30pm The Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium 6323 Ben Weiner Drive New Orleans, LA 70118 Complimentary Parking Available
Tickets: $120 || Dress: Party attire with a Schmancy twist
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