Beineinu - Spring 2023

Beineinu The newsletter of Ahavath Achim Synagogue • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue •

havath Achim cultivates a Jewish community of A purposeful belonging. We inspire and support spiritual journeys by deepening relationships with one another. We believe it is at the crossroads of our spiritual paths that life’s purpose and God might be found.

Ahavath Achim creates a vibrant, inclusive, spiritual community that empowers individuals to connect Jewishly beyond themselves.

Beineinu… between you and me The Newsletter of Ahavath Achim Synagogue Funded by a grant from The Center Family Foundation

f AhavathAchimSynagogue l @aasynagogueatl y Ahavath Achim Synagogue D www.aasynagogue.org V 404.355.5222 ] 600 Peachtree Battle Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 CLERGY Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal Rabbi Sam Blustin Rabbi Neil Sandler Rabbi Emeritus Rabbi Arnold Goodman Senior Rabbinic Scholar STAFF Barry Herman Executive Director Miriam Habif Gelfond Director of Outreach and Engagement Sharon Graetz Director of Education Jackie Nix Director of Community Connection Lauren Dube Director of Marketing Chris Carr Director of Facilities Investigator Joe Jones IV Director of Security Beth Arnold Helmey Ahava ELC Director Emily Kessler Serafin Ahava ELC Assistant Director Catherine Ficke Executive Assistant to the Executive Director Jill Rosner Executive Assistant to the Rabbis Stan Vogel Finance Manager Fern Schorr Receptionist Wesley Coney Facilities Anika Johnson Facilities Ken Johnson Facilities Marcus Thomas Facilities Heidi Herman Ahava ELC Administrator Susan Goff Ahava ELC Bookkeeper OFFICERS OF THE BOARD Gary Alembik President Mark Stern Executive Vice President Josh Hanna Financial Vice President Barbara Feinberg Vice President Adam Hirsch Vice President Nikki Novotny Vice President Gerry Benjamin Immediate Past President Beth Friedman Sisterhood Co-President Brooke Rosenthal Sisterhood Co-President Avram Eli Rosenthal USY and Kadima Co-President Erin Thaler Ahava ELC President

AA embraces interfaith families who desire to be part of our Jewish community. Our spiritual community serves all who wish to connect with us.

WEEKLY SERVICE SCHEDULE Morning Minyan (Monday–Friday)

7:15 a.m.

Morning Minyan (Sunday)

9:00 a.m.

Evening Minyan (Sunday–Thursday)

6:00 p.m.

Shabbat Evening Service (Friday)

7:30 p.m.

Shabbat Morning Service (Saturday)

9:30 a.m.

ABOUT THE COVER

The cover art entitled Red Sea Miracle was created by former AA member Flora Rosefsky. The parting of the Red Sea is one of many Exodus stories retold within the Haggadah. With limited time, the Jewish people made unleavened bread, matzah, for their journey to the Promised Land. That they arrived safely became part of God’s Exodus miracle. To see more of Flora’s work, visit florarosefsky.com.

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A Message from the President My Journey

By Gary Alembik

M

y journey with A h a v a t h Achim began many years after I became a member. For years my involvement in our shul was limited to High Holiday Services, and an occasional appearance at minyan to recite Kaddish for a loved one.

I invite you to join me in bringing culture change to AA. Together we will grow our AA family and create a caring community that is welcoming and embracing to all.

I had no real connection with AA until my father passed away in 2013.

Following his death, I began attending minyan regularly to honor him and to support others who have lost loved ones. It was through this minyan experience that I was able to cultivate meaningful relationships and establish deeprooted connections with my fellow congregants.

My minyan family provides me, and all who participate in our daily minyans, with a sense of community, support, comfort, friendship, and love. It is through that experience that I discovered the importance and true meaning of belonging.

I find myself writing and speaking often about our minyans because of the impact that my minyan family has had on me, my spiritual journey, and the relationships that I have established within our shul.

Our minyans embody and embrace a culture that I desire to see adopted by all members. A warm and welcoming culture that is compassionate and accepting of all. A culture made up of caring people who offer mutual support.

We can bring about culture change by performing the simplest acts: a warm greeting, a handshake, a hug, or an expression of care.

When attending services or a shul event, I encourage all Ahavath Achim members to take a moment to reach out to those around you and offer a smile and kind words. If you see an unfamiliar face, make it a point to connect with him or her and welcome them into our spiritual home.

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A Message from the Senior Rabbi The Spiritual Search for Chametz

By Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal

O

ne of the most interesting rituals in preparation for Passover is known as the “search for chametz.” After our homes have been cleared out of products containing any of the five forbidden grains— wheat, barley, oat, rye, and spelt—we search the corners, the cupboard, and under the counters using the light of a candle and the gentle brush of a feather to find any leftover crumbs.

Physically, we are looking for crumbs, so searching with a candle and feather makes sense.

We need to look closely and brush these small specks out. But spiritually, this ritual is strange.

Chametz are those things that are puffed up, expanded, enlarged. There is a deeper symbolism in using such fine instruments, crawling on our hands and knees, searching in the smallest spaces for something that should be so obvious, so engorged, and imposing.

Searching for the chametz reminds us that the slavery in our life has both elements—the giant, enlarged and obvious causes and also the small, seemingly insignificant issues that we walk by every day and never notice. This is why we are commanded to crawl on the floor and hunt them out. It is easy to identify the grandiose things but harder to see the small culprits. This sacred ritual of searching for the tiniest bits of chametz is an important spiritual lesson of Passover.

We all have challenges ahead. There are personal metzri’em (Hebrew for “Egypt” but literally, “narrow places”) which are imposing—health calamities, relationship dysfunction, financial challenges. And there are also societal metzri’em— antisemitism, racism, war, environmental destruction, food insecurity and prejudice. Most of us can identify the big reasons for these ills, but searching for the chametz involves us also looking for the small reasons why these ailments remain persistent. These small causes are often

the ones we can actually do something about.

Questions to consider during this time: • Are we each living our best self?

• Are we making judgments from a place of knowledge and kindness or are we letting fear, bias and ignorance hold too much sway?

• Are we pointing fingers when we could be looking back at our own behavior?

• Are we building bridges or watching them burn?

• Are we evoking our sacred and difficult Jewish past to help us empathize with others who are fighting for their own dignity and salvation?

Are we using our strength and power to help them now?

The questions are too many and the problems ahead appear mammoth. However, we need to start with the crumbs around us. From there, we can cast out the big pieces, together.

Brooke, Avram Eli, Ariela, Ma’ayan, Naftali and I wish you a chag kasher veseme’ach. May this Passover be engaging and empowering.

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Please join us for our upcoming program, Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbowed, an engaging and evocative one-woman play presented by Out of Hand Theater. Through this evocative and powerful performance, we will be brought into the conversation about race and equality. This dinner performance will be followed by small table conversations about our own experiences to deepen our understanding of others and ourselves.

The evening is free and generously sponsored

by Bonnie and Michael Levine. Contributions are appreciated. If you plan to attend, RSVP to Bonnie Levine (bonnie@verselegal.com; 734.904.5240).

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A Message from the Associate Rabbi Searching for Chametz: A Journey of Self-Discovery

By Rabbi Sam Blustin

I

’ve recently become interested in the science of breadmaking.

For many of you, this should not come as a surprise. Since I arrived in Atlanta, I’ve been making challot almost weekly and have gotten quite good at it (if I may say so myself).

The recipe I adapted from a cookbook is seemingly foolproof, but I never really understood why the things worked the way they did and how to change it if, for example, I wanted to spice things up with some apples around the High Holidays. Hence my interest in the science behind it all.

Yeast, when it comes into contact with a sugar, creates the gas which causes our bread to rise.

According to Emily Buehler, author of Bread Science, “the holes in the bread were once bubbles of carbon dioxide before the bread was baked”.

Even as the gas bakes away, it leaves behind the puffed-up effects of its prior presence in the dough.

This reaction is one of the most fundamental to bread making. We probably wouldn’t buy a loaf of bread that didn’t have a good rise. But this rise, which we call chametz, is forbidden to us on Passover. It’s a fine line—we have 18 minutes from the moment we add water to the flour to the end of its baking before it becomes chametz.

As someone who has tried to make homemade matzah, this isn’t a long time!

While there are historical reasons that we all know that explain our unleavened bread, our rabbis also see chametz as a metaphor for the puffed-up, ego-inflated parts of ourselves.

Noting the similarity of the letters between the words “chametz” (‫ )חמץ‬and “matzah” (‫)מצה‬, the Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that the only difference is the letter “chet” (‫ )ח‬versus “hei” (‫)ה‬, which look almost identical except that the letter “hei” has a small opening on the top left side. So too, there’s a thin line between chametz and matzah

itself, with the opening in the “hei,” representing an openness to receive and to be guided by others in bettering yourself.

Like our chametz, it’s human nature to create lots of carbon dioxide through the unchecked nature of our speech and action. Through positive and negative interactions, we puff ourselves up (and are often puffed up by others) on a daily basis.

Passover is a time to self-examine and to ask for help from others, to see and notice where those puffy places are within ourselves, and to commit to a more humble and grounded relationship with the world around us. We note those places where we take up too much space and resolve to create more space for those around us. And we note the places where we don’t step up enough, resolving to do better in the coming year.

How do we do this reflection? I offer a kavannah (intention) for our sacred ritual of the burning of the chametz on the morning of Erev Pesach: As you clean and dispose of your chametz, think about what areas in your life need an ego reset.

When you’ve discerned, choose a chametz that represents what you need to reset, and start up your fire. Just before throwing this chametz into the fire, take a moment to hold the bread in your hand. Close your eyes. Feel the chametz in your fingers. Bring your attention to the part of your body that is holding onto your ego (or absence of it), and, in your mind, send your breath to that area. With each exhale, soften your resistance to whatever is going on inside you. Notice and be present with it. When you’re finally ready to let go of that puffiness, open your eyes, and cast the chametz into the fire. You can watch it until it is fully burnt.

This Passover, may we merit our freedom through the lesson of the “hei,” the little opening through which our redemption is brought into this world.

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A Message from the Rabbi Emeritus

By Rabbi Neil Sandler

I

’m taking a class in Emory University’s OLLI program.

What’s OLLI? It’s roughly an acronym for “Alter Cockers Learning Program.”

You don’t see that in the letters? Keep trying.

I recently walked out of class with one of the students. We began to schmooze as we walked to the parking lot. The “schmooze” quickly became a serious conversation. She told me that retirement had caused her difficulty. She hadn’t decided what she would like to do in retirement.

My classmate was raised to think and do in “traditional ways.” She couldn’t imagine trying some new activities. Then she asked “the BIG QUESTION”—“What would you recommend I do?” I told her I couldn’t tell her to engage in specific activities but, rather, that she needed to be kind to herself and not fret over figuring it all out. She needed to understand the potential magnitude and meaning of retirement. Eventually, I suggested, she would find herself in a better place.

discard or “sell.” Why do we then search for it?!

What do we think we are going to find?! Could it be that we need to search for something other chametz? Could it be that this search has the greater meaning?

The rabbis tell us that the search for chametz is also a “search” into ourselves. Specifically, they ask us to recognize the ways we have replaced humility (“our puffiness,” like chametz) with self-aggrandizement. The rabbis ask us to take a look inward, recognize unhelpful tendencies we reflect, and change those aspects of ourselves.

In that sense, I learned this past year that it can take a long time to honestly and productively “search for chametz.” Self-discovery can take a significant time, but it is a blessing, even if a bit painful.

All of us can learn more about ourselves. All of us can grow. May this Passover provide you with the impetus to “search for chametz” and begin the journey.

Susan, Jamie, Ariel, and Remi (how fun is that to write my granddaughter’s name!), Aliza and Matt, and Rachel and Josh join me in wishing you a happy and healthy Passover.

I listened to what I was saying to my classmate and smiled. I wish someone had been around a year ago to give me that same advice and prodded me to act on it at times when I worried or became discouraged. I learned about myself this past year, and it wasn’t pleasant. I learned that “I have issues.” I had to slow down, see the world differently, try some different activities, and determine my priorities. When I began to do that, my attitude changed. I was much happier.

My mood was lighter. It all happened, because there were eventually people who provided me with perspective and good advice. It happened, because, in time, I was able to take in information and advice that I had not been able to integrate earlier in the year.

Passover is a time of searching and discovery.

Everyone knows we are not supposed to eat chametz on Passover. Fewer of us know that it is traditional to search for chametz on the evening that immediately precedes the first seder. What a strange practice! We thoroughly clean our homes, paying attention to any chametz we might find to 5 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

A Message from the Director of Ahava Early Learning Center Spring Cleaning for the Soul

By Beth Arnold Helmey

S

pring is approaching.

I hear the birds singing each morning when I’m walking my dogs, and I hear children playing, expressing their emotions, and negotiating with each other when I arrive at school each day.

Everyone looks forward to springtime, the season of renewal and of budding and opening. The season when we feel a little more expansive and ready to explore.

Spring is the season of making space for more and clearing out the accumulated dust and debris of the long winter months.

the Israelites through the desert. This journey is a physical one as well as a spiritual one. Moses learns much about himself, and his growing selfawareness makes him a better leader than he believed himself to be at the onset of his journey.

At Ahava, as we explore the Passover holiday with children, we also use all the tools of our chosen trade to grow, to reflect, and to continue our journey of becoming more self-aware. We learn with the children, we learn from the children, and, thus, we learn together, growing in empathy and compassion for each other and honoring our collective and individual journeys.

This year, as we move further away from the pandemic restrictions of the last few years, I notice that many of us are still rusty and feeling unpracticed in our communications with each other. Life has sped up again, yet many of us are still figuring out how to incorporate the loss of the last few years with the speed at which we are moving again. I am reminded of how lucky I am for the community of children, families, and teachers at Ahava Early Learning Center. The children are the center of our community. We are here as guides and facilitators of their experience.

Therefore, it is crucial that we slow down and meet children at their speed, that we quiet our minds, that we clear the cobwebs, and that we reflect on how and what we communicate to each other and to the children in our care.

For us educators and practitioners, the journey of being self-aware is continuous. The more we understand our own responses and biases, the more we have to give to children and each other.

The more we reflect and question our reactions and interactions, the more authentic we become.

This value of questioning that is so important in Judaism aligns so well with our Reggioinspired environment. Spring is also the time we celebrate Passover and the journey of Moses and • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 6

A Message from the Director of Education Kesher’s AWEsome Students and Teachers

By Sharon Graetz

A

n interview on NPR’s On Point caught my attention one recent Friday morning as I rushed from the synagogue to Costco and back, preparing for the coming weekend of packed family events.

In this interview, the host, Meghna Chakrabarti, spoke with her guest, Dr. Dacher Keltner, about his new book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Dr. Keltner shares a synopsis of his book, a thoughtful tapestry of his recent scientific study on the health benefits of awe together with stories of awe spanning from the monumental to the everyday. “When you find a little moment of awe,” shares Dr. Keltner, “your immune system looks a little better; your cardiovascular functioning is better. You have a sense of more time; you feel less stressed and have less physical pain.” He challenges us: “Why not think about the deep sources of an emotion that’s as good for us as almost any emotion you can pursue?”

The science behind awe may be new, but the tradition of seeking awe in the everyday is embedded within our Jewish texts and traditions.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish theologian and philosopher who lived from 1907–1972, developed the concept of “radical amazement,” something that goes beyond a feeling and becomes a way of life, inspiring us to cultivate a deep sense of awe for the world around us.

Awe is a central theme in our daily prayers, a topic that Kesher’s 2nd–4th grade class has been exploring this year. In collaboration with teacher Rebecca Tullman, Rabbi Blustin taught the class that our prayers generally fit into one of four themes: “gimme” (“please help me” or “I need”), “thanks,” “oops,” or “wow” (“this is awesome”). Students worked in pairs to categorize some of our prayers into these four categories. It quickly emerged that “wow” was a common and, some even argued, the most common theme in our prayers. The following week, students made

paper-tear collages to illustrate where they see awe in the world and wrote captions for their art: • “Wow, I can’t believe that God made this sun.”

• “Wow, that tree is beautiful.”

• “Wow, I’m amazing.”

• “Wow, I’m able to eat and live.”

• “I really like art so I made something really colorful. Wow!” These seemingly simple statements contain so much depth and beauty.

When I spoke with Kesher teachers about awe, they reminded me that seeing the world through our kids’ eyes is one of the draws of teaching.

Kids are naturally curious, quick to find awe where grown-ups see the mundane. They also bring a sense of awe to our narratives, often sharing mind-blowing and original commentary on familiar texts. One of my favorite moments this year was overhearing a kindergartner make sense of the rainbow that God shows Noah after the great flood. The rainbow famously symbolizes God’s promise to us to never flood the earth again.

This kindergarten class had recently studied the value of tzedek (justice). The boy I overheard suggested, “maybe tzedek is our promise to God, just like God made a promise to us.” I am sure that this simple, yet incredibly deep, connection between the story of Noah and the value of tzedek was made possible by awe.

When we prepare for Passover, we empty our homes of chametz, leavened bread, just as we are commanded to do in the Torah. Our rabbis later extended this practice to encompass a spiritual cleansing, searching deep within ourselves to eliminate the things that leaven our souls, like arrogance and other self-serving traits. One barrier that often impedes us from seeing awe in the world is the chametz within us, our selfish character traits, because, when we focus on ourselves, we cannot see the beauty and awe that surrounds us. As we clean our souls of chametz this year, may it be an opportunity to get in touch with our most child-like selves and encounter more moments of awe, and in doing so, may we become healthier and happier.

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A Message from the Executive Director

By Barry Herman

A

s I look back over the last three years, I am amazed and inspired by how much forward momentum our beloved community has experienced.

Despite the challenges, our congregation has risen to the occasion and stepped up their support and generosity.

From our numerous initiatives, outreach programs, learning opportunities, thriving youth programs, inspiring services, innovative Ahava preschool, membership growth (over the last six months in particular), the expected completion of our spectacular new sanctuary, and so much more, we have a lot to be proud of and grateful for.

However, there are still many challenges ahead that face not only our congregation but nonprofits in general. Philanthropic studies state that if 20% of its operating budget is not coming from endowment by 2030, an organization will likely be in fiscal crisis. While our endowment has grown significantly in the last three years, we are a long way from the 20% mark, and it is imperative that we meet that goal.

An endowment is a fund in which the principal balance remains intact and the interest generated is used to support the annual operating budget and/or special initiatives, making the institution more sustainable. The endowment thus becomes an added revenue stream. The Ahavath Achim Endowment corporation was established several years back to ensure that we meet those goals and continue to thrive in the future.

Legacy giving is a way for philanthropic individuals to support nonprofits through various instruments to include cash, appropriated securities or stock, real estate, life insurance, a retirement plan, a donor-advised fund, or any other giving vehicle which can benefit both the organization as well as the donor. Some legacy gifts provide lifelong income to a donor, others have tax benefits for both estate and heirs while also maximizing their gift to the institution.

Over thirty of our congregants, including current officers and past presidents, have already committed to leave a legacy, naming AA as a beneficiary in their estate plans. Many other congregants have independently acted upon their own convictions and made provisions to include AA in their estate planning. Some of these bequests have come as surprises after the congregants have already passed on. While such gifts are always deeply appreciated, advance notice of these provisions provides the synagogue with greater clarity for the future and allows AA to make prudent investment choices. If you have made, or will consider making, such a gift, we would appreciate it if you reached out directly and completed a declaration of intent.

Through your legacy gift, our many traditions and our newer innovations alike will be passed l’dor v’dor… from generation to generation. We would also very much like to include and recognize you as a member of AA’s Legacy Society to show our appreciation for your generosity.

For more information, please feel free to reach out to me directly (bherman@aasyangogue.org; 404.603.5746). You can also reach out to our Director of Community Connection: Jackie Nix (jnix@aasynagogue.org).

Several years back, the AA joined the communitywide program, Create a Jewish Legacy, and is now proud to be part of the community-wide Life and Legacy program in partnership with the Atlanta Jewish Foundation. Legacy, or planned giving, represents a major growth opportunity. With a wealth transfer of nearly $30 trillion currently underway in the U.S., there has never been a better time to make a legacy commitment to our beloved community to fund an endowment.

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Thank you to our current donors!

Endowment • Gary Alexander • Vicki and Gerry Benjamin • Adolphus and Eileen Coolik in honor of Max and Helen Kuniansky • Marilyn Ginsburg Eckstein • Sharon Funk and Josh Hanna • Robert Kagan and Paula Sunshine • Ann Kaplan • Sanford Orkin • Beth and Gregg Paradies • Barbara Schatten z”l • Mona and Philip Sunshine • Ilene Sunshine • Ann and Steven Sunshine Legacy • Anonymous • Anonymous • Anonymous • Anonymous • Anonymous • Dr. Jessica Arluck and Dr. Douglas Ander • Vicki and Gerry Benjamin • Tova and Mark Cohen • Stanley Cristol • Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein • Margo and Larry Gold • Betty and Leon Goldstein z”l • Charlotte and Harry Gordon • Steven Grossman • Heidi and Barry Herman • Marilyn Ginsberg Eckstein • Celia S. and Col. Donald M. z”l Gilner • Ann and Theodore Kaplan Endowment Fund • Shirley z”l and Ivan Millender • Lori and Stephen Oppenheimer • Rosalie and Carl Rosenthal • Ralph Sacks z”l • Betty Ann Shusterman • Debra and Philip Siegel • Arnold Whiteman z”l • Sherri and Robert Wildstein

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A Tribute to Rabbi Arnold Goodman Our Spiritual Leader, Intellectual Mentor, and Beloved Friend

I

n Patterson, New Jersey, it was Temple Emanuel for the high holidays, prep for my Bar Mitzvah, and life cycle events. When I arrived in Atlanta, Elisa and her family were members of Ahavath Achim, led for a half-century by a learned, respected, rigid rabbi named Harry H. Epstein. Scion of a long line of Lithuanian rabbis, Epstein held a Ph.D, a law degree, and numerous other religious and academic accolades.

Stiff and formal—he never moved away from the podium during a sermon. Not exactly a magnet for me. When he retired, AA, like most southern institutions, conservative in outlook, surprised me by hiring his polar opposite, Arnold Goodman, a tall, gangling, lawyer from Minnesota.

Both men were intellectuals, but Rabbi Goodman also proved himself open-minded and compassionate, a spellbinding orator who moved front and center. A fierce egalitarian, he encouraged women to read the weekly Torah portion, to seek positions of authority in the synagogue, to attend rabbinical school. He was wise in both spiritual and worldly matters.

Before meeting Rabbi Goodman, my dealings with the Jewish community essentially involved sporting activities at the JCC, but I found myself showing up to hear Goodman’s sermons, not just for Jewish opinion, but also for his learned and cogent arguments on every issue.

I remember him holding forth on the dismantling of the Berlin wall, the near-miraculous story of Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan adopting Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday, the ascents of Sandra Day O’Connor and astronaut Sally Ride.

By the end of the century, AA was facing a diaspora of young families. Youth was in demand. In his early 70s, Goodman was named Senior Rabbinic Scholar and fulfilled his dream of making “Aliyah” in Jerusalem. We visited him there on a few occasions, the last in November of 2019. At 90, he was honored as sandek (“companion of the child”) distributing blessings from his throne of honor at a family brit milah. When I reached my turn in line, he said with a twinkle in his eye, “Bobby, I’m the sandek. This is the blessing of all blessings.” And then he blessed our friendship.

Our friendship had grown deeper with time and distance. In his late 80s and early 90s he’d still happily board a jetliner in Tel Aviv, fly to family in Boston or Atlanta, even catch an Uber to get around. He and I established a ritual: When he was in Atlanta fulfilling his Scholar-in-Residence duties, I would pick him up, and we would head over to the General Muir in Druid Hills—our new favorite deli—for a schmear and unparalleled conversation.

The lectures he delivered at the synagogue were sharp, well-argued, not to be missed. “He’s still got it!” members would whisper. He’d seen so much, cared so much, was so happy to share his knowledge. How blessed Elisa and I are, to have had such a friend and mentor in our lives.

—Elisa and Bobby Ezor

Away from the pulpit, Rabbi Goodman maintained a certain professional distance, understandable given his open minded, progressive politics, and the many old-guard families, uncomfortable with any whiff of change.

I remember his compassion, wisdom, and generosity bursting forth when Elisa and I confronted the debilitating stress, exhaustion, and occasional despair, associated with the unimaginable loss of our premature twins. Rabbi Goodman was there for us, at the hospital, talking to me by phone every day for weeks. Gently guiding me through psychic shoals where even my own dad, God rest his soul, could never go.

Thirteen years later, the rabbi was at our side for our son Zachary’s bar mitzvah, and again for our daughter Danielle’s bat mitzvah.

Bobby Ezor and Rabbi Arnold Goodman enjoying a meal in Jerusalem

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I

t is a difficult task to sum up what any one person means to you or a community. Rabbi Arnold Goodman was the Rabbi of Ahavath Achim Synagogue for 25 years. He was present for Shabbat, life cycle events, and holidays year after year for so many of us. I will never be able to do him justice.

Rabbi Goodman was a man of faith and a man of justice. He was a scholar, a rabbi, and a lawyer.

He was a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather. An only child, he and his wife Rae built a family that stretches across oceans and continents. As a Rabbi, he left a legacy of strong communities of faith in Minneapolis and Atlanta.

He will long be remembered as a consummate speaker. The image of him centered on the bimah, tallit unfurled on extended arms, speaking with conviction and strength, weaving a sermon that left each of his listeners with a bit of Torah or something to reconsider, stands firm in my memory. I can still envision the Rabbi walking across the bimah, a Neiman Marcus shopping bag in his hand, one Rosh Hashanah. He had returned from visiting his mother’s apartment after she passed away. His sermon that day wove Torah and personal history—What would he take from his mother’s apartment?

What would I take from Rabbi Goodman’s apartment? A pen, a clock, and a telephone.

Why a pen? Rabbi Goodman was a man of words. His sermons are legendary, his books and columns of MaNishma always thoughtprovoking. It is moments at AA board meetings that remain remarkable for me. Many-a-time

“The Sandek,” Jerusalem, November 2019

when a discussion commenced during an AA board meeting, a decision could not be reached or talking would not cease. The Rabbi would stand, and with a tempered voice, he would pull a phrase from that week’s parsha. Within a few minutes, his words would lead the group to a measured give-and-take and a point of consensus. Without planning or notice, he always had the right words for the right moment. Week after week, year after year, Rabbi Goodman found new ways to instill breath in the ancient words of wisdom.

Next, as he did, I would select a clock, because there is never enough time with those we admire and those we love. Time is not a commodity; it is a blessing. Rabbi Goodman said, “There are no happy pictures, only pictures of happy times.”

Moments must be seized, and memories must be made to be savored.

Finally, I would take a phone because well beyond the years he was a pulpit Rabbi, Rabbi Goodman remained my Rabbi and became my friend. Though I could not bring myself to call him Arnold, he truly was a grand and faithful friend. We spoke many times on the phone after he and Rae moved to Israel and many more times in the last two years when our daughter, Aubrey, became ill.

When there were no words, his presence in our lives came across miles to comfort us.

There are no words to sum up such a man as Rabbi Arnold Goodman, but there are moments and memories to last well beyond his lifetime.

—Marianne Garber

The oldest synagogue, Izmir, Turkey, 1997

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Meeting Ezer Weitzman, President of Israel, 1997

Ephesus, Turkey, 1997

Israel Bonds Dinner, October 1998

Mount Scopus, Israel, 1997

Prior to Rabbi Goodman’s passing, he was asked to write a piece for this issue of Beineinu. Below is his contribution.

A Message from the Senior Rabbinic Scholar Casting Aside Our (Spiritual) Chametz in Challenging Times

By Rabbi Arnold Goodman

M

uch has been written about how searching for chametz is parallel to the introspection of ourselves, our souls. We want to find our faults and use the bdikat chametz candle to enlighten our characteristics and values. This is indeed true for all of us as individuals and is also the case for communities large and small, nations, synagogues, and families.

There is more. At times we are faced with a new and challenging episode in our lives. This can be a career change, a family matter, or a health decline.

The chametz symbolism and the candle are the search for approaching the new problem and, piece by piece, finding what can or needs to be done to solve each issue as it appears. As in bdikat chametz, we do not search alone.

We are accompanied by the family members of all generations who love us and help us with the candle and the feather.

And before the bdika we recite a bracha, praying for the Kadosh Baruch Hu to be at our side. Pesach kasher to all.

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AAACTS

By Linda Bressler and Margie Eden

O

ur journey of self-discovery t h r o u g h participation in the Ahavath Achim Synagogue began eight years ago when we attended an event at the synagogue. That evening a program on child sex trafficking in the metro Atlanta area was presented. After hearing the atrocities committed against children in our own backyard, we could not just walk away. Learning that DMST (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is modern-day slavery reminds us of the Passover story of when we were slaves in Egypt. What could we do to protect our children and eliminate this insidious crime?

In response, we launched AAACTS (Awareness and Action to Abolish Child Trafficking for Sex), a task force to address three key areas of Atlanta’s DMST problem: awareness and education; advocacy and lobbying; and action and service projects.

Our response to eradicate this evil lit a fire in all of us that fueled the hard work, passion, and commitment of these last eight years.

Helping us to achieve these goals and realize our mission, we had the constant support and involvement of the clergy, members of our committee, and the staff of our synagogue. Our outreach activities and committee membership were open to the entire Jewish community. Later, as our membership grew, individuals from the non-Jewish community joined our ranks. AAACTS became recognized and highly regarded in the community in the fight against DMST in the Atlanta area.

and groups regardless of their religious beliefs. We fostered relationships with advocacy groups, law enforcement, and human rights organizations, deepening our commitment to rid our community of this $300 million industry in Georgia.

As AAACTS grew in number and programs, we also grew as leaders and participants, gaining insight into ourselves and those affected. We are constantly inspired by the work of those rescuing and rehabilitating these young survivors and are also grateful to the many involved in prevention.

The resilience, strong faith, and work that survivors put into their restoration is an incredible and heartening inspiration.

As we are commanded to rid our homes of chametz at Passover, AAACTS has helped to rid our community of this modern-day slavery. As we have engaged in this holy work, we feel we are carrying out God’s command and freeing children from a terrible fate. Working on the task of making our community a safer, healthier place for children has been a life-changing event in our lives. Horrified by what is going on, we now understand what it means to be a slave in these modern times. Now that we know about this horrible crime in our society, our eyes and our hearts have been opened, and we have committed ourselves to help repair the world, tikkun olam.

Our passion for these children will be forever with us. We know that there is a long road ahead before we can completely rid this from our society, but the small wins along the way truly warm our heart and give us hope.

As we learned more about this issue, interacted with numerous non-profits, and met and listened to survivor stories, our passion for this work increased. This journey was often difficult but also very rewarding as we saw great strides being made in this fight, especially in our legislature with new and tougher laws against the buyer and the seller and recognizing the child as a victim.

We helped raise awareness, not only of our Ahavath Achim family, but to many individuals • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 14

Czech Torah Restoration Fundraiser

By Mark Stern

I

f you have walked by the Sylvia G. Cohen Museum in our hallway next to Ellman Chapel at any time during the last 46 years, you have seen a Torah on display. This special Czech Holocaust Torah was acquired on a permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust in 1977. It was rescued from a town called Plzeň located near Prague, Czechoslovakia. With one of only 1,500 scrolls saved from the destruction of the Nazi regime, we now have a beautiful and meaningful opportunity to restore our Torah for use in our newly renovated sanctuary. The symbolism of bridging our Jewish past with our synagogue’s future and breathing new life into this Torah and our sanctuary is very meaningful.

action, cultural arts, minyan, services, and so much more.

To learn more about the history of the Czech Torah and how you can participate in its restoration, please visit our website at aasyn.org/czechtorah-restoration-fundraiser.

Thank you to our current donors!

Torah • Goldstein Family in memory of Betty and Leon Goldstein z”l and their love of Torah and learning Book • Genesis—Gerry and Vicki Benjamin First and Last Parsha • Vezot Ha Brach—Ruth Gershon and Sanford Cohen

Special Parsha • T’rumah—The Alembik Family in memory of • Aaron Alembik Our special Torah, written in the 19th century, • Vayera—Judith Finkel and Family in loving was used in Plzeň Czechoslovakia, roughly an memory of Paul Finkel hour west of Prague. In 1942, the Jews of Czech • Va’etchannan—Nikki Novotny packed up the Torahs Scrolls and finials within the country and sent them to the Jewish Museum Parsha in Prague where they were cataloged by the Nazis.

• Tamar and Mark Stern Following the war in the late 1940s, after the • Hal and Dorita Arnold communist coup, 1,800 of the Torahs were moved • Mark, Sara, Avery, and Micah Papier to the basement of a 16th century synagogue for safekeeping. In 1963, the Czech government Column transferred the scrolls to the Memorial Scrolls • Irene Aronin Trust in England. From there, the scrolls were • Ken and Barbara Feinberg allocated worldwide on permanent loan to synagogues within the diaspora.

Sentence • Allison and Joel Feldman In 1977, Ruth Singer z”l, from our shul, sent a • Heleen and Steve Grossman letter requesting a scroll, and scroll #1339 was • Mandy and Adam Hirsch and Family sent to Ahavath Achim Synagogue.

Word We are fortunate that the many generations of the • Mimi Hall and Russel Gottschalk Goldstein family who have thrived as members • Josh Hanna, Sharon Funk, and Family of our shul are championing this restoration in • Brandon Goldberg memory of Leon and Betty Goldstein z”l and their • Cathy and Ronny Miller love of Torah and learning.

• Bethany, Taylor, Holland, and Meyer Smith • Allen and Judy Soden It is the obligation of every Jew to participate in the writing of a Torah, and what could be more Letter meaningful than to write in a Holocaust Torah?

• The Klehr Family With this restoration, sofers (scribes) will come to • Lynn and Barry Prusin Atlanta and facilitate all those who wish to help • Rabbi Laurence and Brooke Rosenthal write and restore a letter in the Holocaust Torah.

• Benjamin and Ava Smith • Gail Solomon Our hope is that you too will help us in raising • The Sokol Family the funds necessary for this restoration and help enhance many of our other programs in our shul, List as of 3/15/23 such as religious school, adult education, social 15 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Sonia Project

By Rabbi Sam Blustin

W

hen I was 16, I went to Israel on an Alexander Muss High School in Israel trip for three months.

One Shabbos, in Jerusalem, I found myself in a bomb shelter at a tiny shul in the Nachla’ot neighborhood. In this drab, windowless space, prayer and harmony echoed around the room.

The individuals gathered there poured out their hearts and raised up their voices. The davening was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I wanted more.

This experience inspired a search for me that continues to this day and became a beacon of what prayer could feel like in a community. I wondered, even back then, if that sort of prayer community could be found or created in the States.

So, I started creating: a musical Kabbalat Shabbat at Hillel, camp t’fillot, and services in the round in suburban synagogues. It wasn’t until I moved to New York for rabbinical school and created Shira B’dira, a spirited, egalitarian, apartmentbased Friday night minyan, that I finally found it: a souls-on-fire kind of davening right here in the States. Creating something with a select group of young Jews in New York was one thing. Could a storied, urban congregation undergo that sort of transformation? Could they learn to lift up their hearts in song?

As it turns out, y’all were asking the same question. Could Ahavath Achim renew its spirit as it moved into the next phase of its existence?

The answer, I’m pleased to announce, is yes. On Shabbat Shira, in the beginning of February, our community gathered some 80 strong for a musical, meditational, candlelit service in the round.

We lifted up our voices in a song-filled service the next morning. That Shabbat, we achieved a milestone that we’ve been building towards for a few years now: a synagogue filled with joyous and heart-felt song.

of song in and around our prayer community.

Through two “artist-in-residence" weekends (for which I was chosen by the committee as the first year’s artist), we strengthened our core community of singers who help create space for holiness in our midst, as Sonia did. We also, hopefully, gave some permission to those who are reticent to open up their mouths and begin to sing out by teaching melodies and the importance of lifting up our voices during services and after meals singing, around the table, no matter the quality of their voices. These weekends have so beautifully built upon our weekly Shabbat gatherings and our previous artist-in-residence weekends.

By the time this writing gets into your hands, I’ll have gathered some musicians in the studio to bring some of my own liturgical compositions, many of which we regularly sing, to life. It’s scary, certainly, to bring these melodies into the world, but I am so grateful for the trust of my incredible Sonia Project Committee and our larger community. Once the music is ready, we will gather one more time to celebrate song more broadly in our beautiful new sanctuary.

The Sonia Project, while core to our spiritual vision, is just one important part of how we continue to lift up our voices, and, through it, our community.

Our monthly candle-lit services in the round, our Chodesh Tov new moon meditations, and our incredible Elul artist-in-residence weekends (which have featured Rabbi Josh Warshawksy and Coleen Dieker), will continue to deepen this important spiritual practice throughout the year.

I want to give a big thank you to all those who helped build and contribute to our Sonia Project: Barbara Feinberg, June Neumark, Sarah Cohen, Eric Miller, Larry Gold, Joe Alterman, and Scott Glazer. I couldn’t do it without you all!

That weekend was part of a yearlong initiative called “The Sonia Project”. In memory of Sonia Fishkin z”l, this initiative seeks to train and transform our congregation through the power • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 16

Arnovitz Leadership Institute

By Brandon Goldberg and Allison Feldman

A

recurring moment of self-discovery, this is the gift of co-chairing the Arnovitz Leadership Institute (ALI). Each session, we observe and share in the experience of the Institute’s participants exploring new ways to envision their role and involvement at Ahavath Achim. As co-chairs, this provides us with a unique window into the future of the Synagogue itself. We’re seeing how future leaders are learning the very skills and understanding that will guide them for years to come. As the past and current Arnovitz participants transition into more senior roles within the Synagogue, we witness the entire life cycle of them using their learned skills to change the methodologies of our committees and overall community as they seek to strengthen our spiritual home. This process, in turn, energizes us as Co-Chairs. As we follow along with the Institute’s participants, learning the same lessons and studying the same approaches they use, we are driving to match their discovery and use it in our own community leadership. ALI gives us the opportunity to constantly refresh our leadership skills, a gift we do not take for granted.

two Jews, three opinions. But there’s a new core being developed; a deeper understanding of the issues and the potential conflicts, of how to work together, regardless of differing perspectives.

ALI provides a unique opportunity to familiarize us with the many important committees and initiatives at AA. We see leadership skills at their most basic levels, and for many participants, leaders at the start of the next phase of their journey. While most of them are not new to leadership roles, there’s still the excitement of seeing their leadership origin story. For us to be part of that adventure, well, it’s hard to not look within ourselves and be inspired to stand forward as well.

Each session brings in a different topic and skill set; thus, the moment of discovering something new about themselves occurs again and again. The “ah-hahs,” “ohhhhs,” and “interestings” are as constant as they are varied, which is its own level of reward. That doesn’t mean these moments come easily. The classes are as challenging as they are engaging, requiring discussion, analysis, and even debate. As each session progresses, the instructor navigates the participants through the background of the topic, the various scenarios that they may encounter, and the pros and cons of approaches they may consider. But asking them to decide on a singular resolution? Well, it’s still 17 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

YALLA A New AA Community for Jews in Their Late 20s, 30s, and 40s

By Allison Goldman

M

ost good things in life come with some sacrifice. When I met the world’s cutest rabbi at a conference last year and he asked me to marry him soon after, the cost of saying “yes” was moving across the country and giving up a community I loved. In Los Angeles, I had found myself at home within a thriving community of young Jews who gathered regularly around music, Torah study, and the consistent practice of Shabbat. It gave me the sense of connection, groundedness, and purpose I’d always longed for.

the first night of Chanukah, as well as singing circles, and many Shabbat dinners in our home.

Thanks to the encouragement and support of the broader AA community and leadership, I’m excited to announce the official launch of this new community geared toward those in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s (especially those who are single or without children).

YALLA events will center around intentional embodied ritual and invite in a sacred playfulness that nourishes the mind, body and soul. There is no official membership necessary beyond belonging to the specified demographic. By leaning into the depth of our tradition, we hope to offer the emerging generation a way in to accessing the depth and richness of our community and traditions.

YALLA means “let’s go” in Hebrew. It is intended to create a space of welcome for those who historically may not have found a place or community in our larger synagogue space. If you have a young person in your life who has not historically been keen on synagogue events, I would love to be connected.

Moving to Atlanta meant leaving all that behind— the synagogue community I prayed with, my group of friends who hung out on Shabbat afternoons, my Rosh Chodesh circle of girl friends, the special Torah shiurs my friend Nili hosted on Monday nights, and the Wednesday night bonfires my friend Erez would organize on the beach. As Wishing everyone a happy Passover. May we all grateful as I was for the warm welcome at Ahavath find freedom from the things that constrain us.

Achim, I mourned the loss of what I left behind.

If there is one thing our tradition teaches, it is that situations always change. Summers fade and the air becomes cold but also darkness reliably turns to light. I was lucky to discover communities in LA where I could just show up and find gatherings waiting for me. Now that I’m in this new place, surrounded by a new community of builders, I’m realizing that it’s my turn to step up and create the sorts of community and events I long for. The chametz inside of me that I’m preparing to burn this Passover season is that desire to find the things I’m looking for already made, waiting for me to join.

Over the past few months, my beloved Rabbi Sam Blustin and I have been hosting events for young Jews who are looking for deeper connections within the Atlanta area. We hosted a story-slam on the topic of miracles to celebrate

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Passover FAQ What foods require rabbinic supervision?

Matzah, noodles, candies, cakes, beverages, canned and processed foods, butter, jam, cheese, jelly, relishes, wines, liquors, salad oils, canned vegetables, gelatin, shortening and vinegar. The Kosher L’Pesach label or tag without rabbinic signature is of no value. This applies to products made in America, Europe, or Israel.

Proper Passover Observance in the Home What is Chametz?

If wheat, barley, oats, rye or spelt come in contact with water after being cut off from the ground, it becomes fermented or chametz. The term chametz also applies to dishes and utensils that have been in contact with chametz food during the year.

What is Matzah?

Matzah is made from the same five grains listed above as chametz. But, unlike chametz, matzah is one of these same flours mixed with water and baked in less than 18 minutes. Matzah is both the bread of affliction and the bread of freedom Why must we clean our house thoroughly?

The rule against chametz during Pesach applies not only to eating but also to enjoyment (hana’ah), and so involves removing all the chametz from one’s home. No chametz is even allowed to be in the possession of a Jew during Pesach. To facilitate this cleaning, the following rituals are part of Pesach preparations (the text for the ceremonies can be found in a Haggadah).

What foods can not be used during Pesach?

All these foods are considered chametz and can not be used during Pesach: leavened bread, cakes, biscuits, crackers, cereals, wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt, rice, peas, dried beans and liquids which contain ingredients made from grain alcohol.

What foods require no certification?

Pure, natural coffee-instant or ground, sugar (not confectioners or powdered brown sugar), saccharin, tea, salt, pepper, vegetables (dried beans and peas are forbidden, string beans are permitted), pure garlic, onion powder, dried fruit, honey, Hershey’s cocoa, pure unadulterated safflower or soy bean oil, nuts (except legumes), dish detergents and scouring powders. These items should be bought before Pesach and remain unopened until Pesach.

Fruits and vegetables are permitted for Pesach when packaged in water or their own juices. Avoid cans or packages containing added ingredients.

Can we eat legumes (kitniyot)?

In the fall of 2015, the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards passed two responsa which permit the consumption of legumes (kitnyot) by Ashkenazim. For specific guidance, please consult the rabbis.

Can tuna and salmon be used?

Oil packaging introduces an uncertain element Bedikat Chametz: Search for Chametz possibly contain­ i ng additional ingredients.

Tuesday, April 4 Therefore, use the “packed in spring water” variety We search for chametz using a candle, feather, and and purchase it before Pesach. Tuna with vegetable disposable spoon. We renounce ownership of any broth is not permitted. chametz that we may have inadvertently missed.

Biur Chametz: Burning of Chametz Wednesday, April 5 After the burning of chametz, we recite the biur chametz declaration. From this moment on, the entire house should be “Pesachdik.” No chametz dishes, utensils or pots may be utilized.

Can milk without Hechsher be used?

With modern production, there is little chance for milk to contain any chametz. Milk produced before Pesach is permitted, so buy milk before noon on Thursday, April 6. Milk may be frozen.

Can I continue to take my medicine?

Since chametz binders are used in many pills, the Mechirat Chametz: Selling of Chametz following guide­lines are followed: if the medicine We are not always able to destroy or get rid of all is required for life-sustaining therapy, it may be the chametz. It may be economically disastrous. used for Pesach. In all cases, caplets are preferable.

So the rabbis ordained a symbolic sale and later buy-back of chametz.

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cleaning and then placing a dish of water in the oven and allowing it to boil.

Dishwasher Thoroughly scour with boiling water and then run it empty for two cycles, one with soap and one without.

Ovens Every part that comes in contact with food must be scrubbed and cleaned thoroughly. Then the oven should be heated as hot as possible for half an hour. If there is a broil setting, use it. If it has a self-cleaning cycle, use it, too. Continuous cleaning The process of kashering utensils depends on how ovens must be kashered in the same manner as the utensils are used. According to halacha, leaven regular ovens. can be purged from a utensil by the same process in which it was adsorbed in the utensil. Therefore, Electrical Appliances utensils used in cooking are kashered by boiling. If the parts that come in contact with chametz are Those used only for cold foods are kashered by removable, they can be kashered in the appropriate way. If metal, follow the rules for metal utensils. If rinsing. the parts are not removable, the appliance cannot be koshered. All exposed parts should be cleaned Earthenware/China China, pottery, etc., can not be kashered. However, thoroughly. fine trans­lucent china which has not been used for over a year may be used if scoured and cleaned in Refrigerator Remove all chametz food and opened pack­ages. hot water.

Clean thoroughly with boiling water and scour the racks. Frozen chametz foods should be put in a Silverware Silverware made entirely of metal may be kashered special closed-off section and should be sold with by scouring thoroughly and then immersing in chametz. boiling water. They are then “Pesachdik” and parve.

Which Utensils Can Be “Kashered?”

Tables, Closets, Counters Glassware All table glassware is permit­ted after thorough If used with chametz, they should be thor­oughly scouring. There is also a practice of soaking cleaned and covered. They may then be used. glassware for 72 hours before Pesach.

Kitchen Sink If used with chametz, thoroughly clean and cover.

Detergents If permitted during the year, powdered and liquid Then it may be used. If, however, dishes are to be detergents do not require a “Kosher L’Pesach” label. soaked in a porcelain sink, then a dish basin must be used.

Pots and Pans Pots and pans wholly made of metal and used for Chametz and Non-Passover Utensils cooking purposes only (not for baking) must first Non-Passover dishes, pots and chametz (whose be scrubbed thoroughly, cleaned and completely ownership has been transferred) should be immersed in boiling water. Pots should have water separated, locked up, covered and marked to prevent boiled in them which will overflow the rim. Utensils accidental use. should not be used for a period of at least 24 hours between the cleaning and immersion in boiling water.

Tie a string around the utensil and im­merse completely in boiling water. For small items, a cord-netting can be used to dip several at once.

Microwave Ovens These present a special case since the inside surfaces do not become hot. We recommend a thor­ough • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 20

Mechirat Chametz and Maot Chitim The Torah commands us that chametz shall not be found in your dwelling places during the Festival of Passover. The literal meaning is that all chametz food and utensils must be cast away. This poses a great financial hardship. Hence, we “sell” the chametz (mechirat chametz) to a non-Jew who would then own the chametz for the duration of the holiday. It is customary to appoint an agent, usually a rabbi, to sell the chametz and then repurchase it.

It is also customary to include a contribution to our community’s maot chitim (wheat money). Maot chitim is an ancient custom in which Jews provide funds to other Jews in need for the purchase of Passover food. Inspired by the passage from the Haggadah, “All who are hungry, let them enter and eat; all who are in need, let them come celebrate Pesach,” Jewish Family and Career Services (JF&CS) supports a group of dedicated volunteers who have taken on the responsibility of Maot Chitim in Atlanta. They coordinate distribution of food and financial assistance for Jewish families. To appoint a rabbi, please complete the online form at aasyn.org/sell-chametz-2023 or complete the form below, and mail it to the synagogue with attention to Jill Rosner. Sale of chametz will not be accepted after 8 am on Tuesday, April 4.

More information about our Passover services and programs will be available on our website at aasynagogue.org.

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Authorization of Agent to Sell Chametz I, , hereby authorize Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal to act as my agent to sell all chametz that may be in my possession, whether at home, at place of business or elsewhere in accordance with the requirements and provisions of Jewish law.

Signature:

Home Address:

Business Address:

21 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Thank You to Our Generous Donors Donations listed below were given between July 1, 2022 and February 17, 2023 and include tribute donations, Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Champaign donations, and other fund donations. Donations made to the Capital Campaign and Sisterhood are not included. We apologize in advance if anyone was excluded or placed in the wrong donation level.

Chai

($1–$499) Douglas Adair Sheryl Adair Stephanie and Brian Aftergut Rhona Albright Ann and Herb Alperin Elizabeth Alterman Marty and Richard Alterman Judith and Samuel Appel Julie and Mark Arnold Phyllis and Eliot Arnovitz Amy Ashe Frances Astren Dana and Greg Averbuch Jane and Herbert Axelrod Bernice Bach Charlote and Michael Baer Marcia Ball Claire Balser Pat and Jack Balser Lauren and Ben Barden Janet Barnett Louise and Stanley Baum Juli and Billy Bauman Marcia and Emil Baumring Cindy and Bruce Becker Elaine Beeber Linda and Bruce Beeber Betty Behr Karina and Josh Belinfante Gloria Benamy Cynthia Berger and Howard Schulman Renee Berman Julia and Terry Bernath Alfred Bernstein David Bernstein Diane and Marvin Bernstein Goldie and Louis Bertone Jane Horowitz Bick Toby Block and Jerrold Greenberg Matt Blum Elaine and Jerome Blumenthal Mona Blumenthal Barbara Bock Rita and Arthur Bodner Sara and Lance Borochoff Leigh Boros and Robert Hilliard Phyllis and Melvin Boros Marilyn Bravman Susan Bravman Margaret and Joel Breiner

Suzanne and Adam Bressler Helen Browdy Ellen and Jonathan Brown Linda Brown Paula and Mark Budnitz Amy and Adam Caplan Charlenne and Richard Carl Elaine Carp Deedee Chereton Dawn and Aaron Chevinsky Mark Coan Barbara and Alan Cohen Heidi and Jan Cohen Jay Cohen Marcy Cohen Sarah Cohen and Michael Litzky Susan and Doe Cohen Terri and Rodney Cohen Rachael and Jonathan Colton Eileen and Adolphus Coolik Frannie Spector Coplan Suzanne Corbett Myrna and Paul Cott Evelyn and Paul Crane Brenda and Stanley Daniels Andrea Davis and Walter Davis Jr. Jasha Delfiki Margo and Douglas Diamond Linda and Michael Diamond Susan and James Dichiara Nancy and Morton Dimenstein Harriet and Sam Draluck Amy Drooker Jeanne East Jane and Mark Eden Suzanne and Seth Eisenberg Stuart Eizenstat Debra Elovich Marcia Epstein Carole and Marvin Epstein Terrry Erbesfield Linda and Abram Estroff Sally and Jerry E. Fanburg Allison and Joel Feldman Muriel Feldman Robin Feldman Diana Fiedotin Rosi Fiedotin Patricia and Robert Fine Marc Fink Judith Finkel Michele and Bob Fischbach Robert Fischbach Nina Fishman Donna and Mark Fleishman Lori and Jordan Forman

The Frank Soifer Foundation Michele and George Fox Jody and Ramon Franco Renee Franco Genie Freedman Jane Freedman Nancy and Stephen Friedberg Sandi and Gerald Friedman Lynn Friedman Sylvia Friedman Gloria Frisch Frost-George LLC Jane Fryer Karen and Bruce Galdin Marianne and Stephen Garber Stacy Blumberg Garon and Jon Garon Barbara Geldbart Todd Gershon Suzanne and Ervin Gerson Maury Gerson Darriel and Ronald Gerson Arlene Rosenthal-Gill and Ed Gill Celia Gilner Lauren Gilsten Liza Gilzenrat Madeleine and Kenneth Gimbel Joshua Ginsberg Marlyn Ginsberg Barbara Friedland Gold Carolyn Gold Brandon Goldberg Elsa and Jay Goldberg Sarah Goldberg Allison Goldman and Sam Blustin Marni and Daniel Goldman Liz and Bobby Goldstein Marsha Goldstein and Robert Fine Elise and Philip Goldstein Karen and Steven Goldstein Susan Goldstein Arnold Goodman Joy Gordman and Alex Pollack Jacquelin and Edward Gotlieb Marilyn Gottlieb Edward Greenberg Ruth Greenberg Lynne and Thomas Greenfield Susan and Leon Gross Rose and Mike Haber Nancy Habif and Scott Kleber Sherry Habif Valerie Habif and Neil Wasser Charles Hacker Beverly Halpern Steven Hamburger

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Meryl Hammer Natalie and Marvin Harris Beatrice Hartman Dorothy and Burt Haskins Sarah Heckenberg and Donald Heckenberg Jr. Edna Helfer Linda and David Hendelberg Sheree Henry Andrea and Bruce Hershatter Amanda and Adam Hirsch Gladys Hirsch Rae and Bruce Hirsch Rosalie Hirschberg Phyllis Hoffman Gail and Gilbert Holzer Toby Holzer and Larry Pike Barbara and Michael Horowitz Martin and Michael Itzkowitz Jean and Gary Jackson Barbara and Steven Jacobs Arlene Jacobson Tanya and Scott Jacobson Lillie Janko Raizi Janus Shoop Aliza and Matthew Jay Leah and Paul Silberman Jenner Daniel Johnson Mira Josowicz Rhalda Kahn Susan and Robert Kahn Frances M. Kaplan Sally and Philip Kaplan Anita Karnibad Estelle Karp Hazel Karp Miriam Karp Catherine and David Kasriel Jean and Richard Katz Barbara Kaufman Megan and Adam Kaye Jill Kersh Elizabeth Kessler and Dennis Gilbride Janet and Paul Kirschbaum Rita and Ronald Klee Annsley and Benjamin Klehr Lanny and Ricki Kline Bobbie Knopf Judy and Martin Kogon Sara and Ross Kogon Sandra and Jay Kohlenberg Devra and Walter Kolesky Roslyn and Darryl Konter Meghan and Todd Koransky Phyllis Kraft Cheryl and Russell Kramer Lana and Richard Krebs Jana and Michael Kreisberg Mark Kresch Barbara Krinsky Lori and Lee Krinsky Janet and Hilton Kupshik Mildred and Martin Kwatinetz Evan Landis

Amy and James Landrum Alyson and Brian Lapes Julie and Nate Leibu Gayle Leitman Liane Levetan Deborah and Jay Levin Bonnie and Michael Levine Esther and Michael Levine Nancy and Marshall Levine Phyllis Levine Rita and Michael Levine Stephanie Levine Brita and Alvin Levy Myrtle Lewin Harriet Lewis Lori Lewis Vicki and Robert Lieberman Naomi and Paul Liebman Wendy and Steven Light Barbara Lincoln and Gary Rosenshein Linda Nathanson-Lippitt and Alan Lippitt Patsy and Bill Little Douglas London Lisa and Alan Lubel Peggy and Llyod Marbach The Arlene Lipsky Marcus Revocable Trust Esther Margol Mindy and Andy Margolis Rhoda and Stephen Margolis Charlotte Marks Natalie and Robert Marmer Erna and Lawrence Martino Julie Ann and John David Mayberry Suzanne Mazel Charlotte and Rap McBurney Berta and Lev Mebel Robin and Philip Medintz Lyudmila and Mikhail Melomed Joanne Mendel Barbara Michalove Cathy and Ronald Miller Harriet Miller Glenda and David Minkin Shirley and Alvin Minsk Susan Moray Jennie and Macy Moret Lynne Moscow Melanie Nathanson Sloane and Howard Neiman Shari Neumann June and Gerald Neumark Dana Neuwirth Herbert Neuwirth Sara Fran and Wayne Neuwirth Judy and JC Newton Kenny Orkin Marcelle and Allan Oxman Hilly Panovka Sheri and Alon Panovka Annice Parker Judy Paul Peggy Perling

Marlene Wexler Perlman Robert Pitchersky Barbara and Richard Planer Stanley Pollock Norma Postnieks Jana and Harvey Rabinowitz Lynn and Glenn Rainbow Lynne Raphael Ralda and Martin Reish Linda and Howard Reisman Vickie and Bruce Reisman Lois and Alan Reitzfeld Michelle and Craig Rich Shirley Rich Jennifer and Harvey Rickles Denise and Frank Rindsberg Renee and Robert Rinzler Karen and Scot Rittenbaum Julie and Gary Roberts Evelyn and Orvis Roberts Harold Rosenbaum Ann and Charles Rosenberg Barbara and Ishayahu Rosenblit Joanne Rosenthal Rosalie and Carl Rosenthal Dena Rosenzweig and Richard Grossman Jill and Robert Rosner Susan Rothschild Corrine and Daniel Rousso Karen Routman Nadine and Barry Rubin Susan and Gary Saidman Alice Sanders Franeen Sarif Adrian Sasine Karen and MIchael Saul Betty Schaffer Cathy and Jeff Schaffer Janet Schatten and Richard Friedman Lou Schloss Jill and Jay Schlosser Robert Schneider Susan and Ray Schoenbaum Fern Schorr Jocelyn Schorvitz Gladys and Robert Schussel C. M. Schwartz Joan and Alan Schwartz Michelle Schwartz Paula Schwartz Jill and Joseph Segal Linda and Stephen Selig Charles Shainker Marilyn Shaw Sherry Shaw Iris and Louis Shemaria Karen and Richard Shmerling Karen and Brian Shonson Marilyn Shubin Betty Ann Shusterman Linda and Dennis Siegel Mimi Siegel Richard Siegel

23 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Jeffrey Siegelman Eileen and Milton Silberstein Barry Silver Carla and Arthur Silver Susan Silverboard Martha and Barry Siverman Sherry and Alan Silverman Saba and Victor Silberman Dara Simmons Tracy Simpson Joanne Singer Joyce and Zale Smilack Bethany and Taylor Smith Tammy Smith Janet Snider Gary Snyder Susan and Morris Socoloff Rebecca and Michael Sokol Gail Solomon Sherri and Moe Soriano Deborah Spector and Jeffrey Victor Rosalind Spector Nancy and Theodore Spetnagel Iris and Benjamin Stein Judy and Stanley Stein Meryl and Robert Stein Patty and Donald Stein Marilyn and Stanley Steinberg Gayle and Toby Steinberg Merrill and Michael Stern Nica and Lee Tallman Susan and Stanley Tanenbaum Francie Teitelbaum Alan Teperow Betsy Teplis Louis Teplis Paul Teplis Jeannie and Bob Tepper Suzan Dollman Tibor Heather and Mitchell Tonik Robin Torch Sharon and Ken Torreyson Joan Vitner Dena and Stanley Vogel Bonnie and Bruce Walkes Betsy Wash Elaine Wecksler Lynne Weiner Aurélie and Randy Weinstein Ellen Weinstein Lauren and David Weinstein Reene Weinstein Beth Weiss Cheryl and Michael Weiss Goldie Weiss Rae and Ronald Weiss Aletta and Greg Weitz Nanette Wenger Carla and Howard Wertheimer Adam Wexler Alan Wexler Andrew Wisenberg Adele Winburgh Susan and Jonathan Winner Karen and Eli Wise

Ruth and Herschel Wisebram Sara Wishnick Irene and Alex Wolchansky Pepi and Alan Wolkin Susan and Larry Wolkin Honey and Howard Workman Jane Yates Janis Zagoria Brenda and Andrew Zangwill Barry Zipperman Leona and Donald Zvitz Hollie and Barak Zukerman Jeannette and Michael Zukor

Patron

($500–$899) Sandy and Davis Abrams Sheila and David Adelman Jessica Arluck and Douglas Ander Spring Savitt Asher and Tom Asher Linda and Richard Bressler Melissa (Lisa) and Walter Cohen Taylor Davis Helen Scherrer-Diamond and David Diamond Jay D’Lugin and Tyler Curtain Tzeryl and Eli Ebrams Norman Estroff Richard Franco Beth and Jared Friedman Frances and Stuart Galishoff Renie and David Geller Melinda Gertz Scott Glazer Kim and Adam Goldstein Bernard Goldstein Heleen and Steven Grossman Helen Hersch Kahlil Iny Rachael and Michael Joseph Shelley and Scott Kaplan Leslie and Marilyn Keman Harold Lefkoff Michelle and Jonathan Lerner Renay and Alan Levenson Barbara Levitas Sandra and Bob London Corinne and John Mateyak Tally and Stanford Plavin Ann and Morris Podber Ana and Ryan Posner Bonnie Puckett Ryne Raymond Ruth Reynolds Barbara and Bruce Ribner Lori Rich Brooke and Laurence Rosenthal Susan and Neil Sandler Virginia and Milton Saul Susan and Stuart Schlansky Lisa and Jon Schnaubelt Marcia Spielberger Merna and Allen Stein

Meredith and Marshall Sunshine Karla Tievsky and Seth Kirschenbaum Renee Unell Harold Vrono Mark Waldinger Jeffrey Wasserman Rina Wolfe

Bronze

($900–$1,799) Dolores Berlin Pamela and Alan Cohen Diane and Harold Cohen Stanley Cohen Barbara and Kenneth Feinberg Margo and Lawrence Gold Marlene and Mark Haber Caryn Hanrahan and Andy Siegel Sherry Halpern Jillian and David Kantor Alison and Jeff Kaufman George B. Kaufman Foundation Lori and Ronald Kirschner Elaine and Alan Kolodkin Helaine and Andy Lasky Miriam Strickman Levitas Ivan Millender Barbara and George Nathan Donna and Philip Newman Sally and Alan Pinsker Bonnie and Gary Richamn Julie and William Segal Debra and Philip Siegel Tamar and Mark Stern Mona and Philip Sunshine Lynn Sussman Mark Weinstein Neal and Gabriel Yarm Susan Ellman-Zweig and Arnold Zweig

Silver

($1,800–$2,399) Lorraine (Cookie) and Fred Aftergut Irene Aronin Diane Bessen and Steven Weiner Erica and Andrew Cozewith Paul Feldman Stacy and Emanuel Fialkow Barbara and Jay Halpern Marsha and Michael Kalson Harriet Landau and Nathan Segal Lori and Stephen Oppenheimer Sara and Mark Papier Dorothy Rosenthal and William Nerenberg Judy and Alan Schulman Debbie Smith and Joel Lobel Judy and Allen Soden

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 24

Sherri and Robert Wildstein

Gold

($2,400–$3,599) Marlene Gelernter Besser Lois and Laurence Frank Jennifer Glazer-Malkin Gail and Michael Habif Sherry and Harry Maziar Jo Pichulik Cathy and Richard Swerdlin Jill and Jeffrey Vantosh Zoe and David Zelby

Leader

($3,600–$5,399) Judith Alembik Susan and Hadley Endelhard Sharon Funk and Joshua Hannna Carolyn Oppenheimer Jusy and Michael Orkin Rebecca and Andrew Zager

Benefactor

($5,400–$9,999) Gary Alembik and Stephen Graves Dorita and Hal Arnold Beth and Gregg Paradies Lynn and Barry Prusin Betty and Alan Sunshine Sheila and Larry Wilensky

President's Circle ($10,000–$19,999)

Ellen Arnovitz and Michael Plasker Tova and Mark Cohen Elisa and Robert Ezor Jimmy and Dale Glenn Doris and Martin Goldstein Gail Heyman and Lyons Heyman Jr. Michal and Jack Hillman Stuart Harvey Hillman Ann Kaplan Nikki Novotny

Rabbi's Circle ($20,000+)

Vicki and Gerald Benjamin Marilyn Ginsberg-Eckstein Sanford Orkin Donald Reisman

25 • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Spring 2023 • Passover Issue • 26

AHAVATH ACHIM CONGREGATION 600 PEACHTREE BATTLE AVE NW ATLANTA, GA 30327

FIRST-CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID MARIETTA, GA PERMIT NO. 7