Atlanta Jewish Times, VOL. XCVII NO. 12, June 30, 2021

NEXT ISSUE: PETS AND SENIOR LIVING

VOL. XCVI NO. 12

Health & Wellness and Travel Bagel Shop Owner’s Breast Cancer Fight

JUNE 30, 2021 | 20 TAMUZ 5781

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Fare Well Never has Jewish Atlanta, and the rest of the globe for that matter, appreciated good health more. And never again will we take our well-being for granted after surviving a once-in-a-century pandemic.

For more than a year the AJT has reported different aspects of health and wellness, primarily how it relates to COVID. This issue is devoted to those subjects along with the ventures of the local Jewish community into the great unknown, otherwise known as post-pandemic travel.

We begin with the struggles of a longtime bagel restauranteur against a devastating illness, and how the community came together to help support her and her business while promoting awareness about breast cancer.

We also have stories on the new respectability of psychedelic drugs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and tips on how to shed the “quarantine 15.” The AJT pulls together research about whether Jews live longer and discusses alternative treatment to diabetes.

An Atlanta gynecologist talks about osteoporosis, a mother-daughter yoga team share healthy habits, and Dr. Mark

Cohen discusses his last year as chief medical officer of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital during COVID. Making travel plans? You won’t want to miss our stories on "Jews Who Cruise" and how some Atlantans planned for their honeymoons around a pandemic. Learn about travel to Israel and how an Atlanta brother-sister duo designed luxury glamping out West. There’s also a piece on the new Jewish museum in New Orleans and another closer to home in Augusta.

So much to pack into one issue in terms of news with the passing of a former consul general to the Southeast. On a more positive note, a former Emory University professor is appointed as the new Israeli minister of diaspora affairs and former Israeli Roey Shoshan transitioned from director of Hillel at the University of Georgia to the director at the Southeast States Region of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Enjoy the Fourth of July holiday and its celebration of American independence. The AJT is taking a few days off to reboot before our next issue: our beloved pets and seniors. ì

Cover image: Carol Carola remains a survivor in her fight against breast cancer, standing in front of Bagelicious holding a pink bagel.

Photo by Nathan Posner

CONTENTS NEWS ���������������������������������������������� 6 ISRAEL �����������������������������������������14 BUSINESS ������������������������������������ 16 OPINION ��������������������������������������18 HEALTH & WELLNESS ��������������� 20 TRAVEL ���������������������������������������� 28 ART ����������������������������������������������� 36 CHAI STYLE HOME ���������������������� 37 CALENDAR ���������������������������������� 40 DINING ����������������������������������������� 44 COMMUNITY ������������������������������� 46 OY VEY ����������������������������������������� 48 BRAIN FOOD �������������������������������� 49 OBITUARIES �������������������������������� 50 CLOSING THOUGHTS ���������������� 52

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 5

NEWS Bagel Shop Owner’s Breast Cancer Fight

By Roni Robbins Carol Carola rattles off dates that mark the stages of her breast cancer and her fight against the painful disease: Jan. 25, 2013, diagnosed. Feb. 11, started chemo.

“I was cancer free for eight years and then bam, it came back again in January,” the co-owner of the Bagelicious bagel shop in East Cobb told the AJT recently. The cancer seems to have spread to her stomach, esophagus and colon, so she went to MD Anderson Cancer Center earlier this month “to see if there’s something else they can do.”

They didn’t have any promising solutions to share and more recently, she’s been in and out of the emergency room, according to close friends.

While battling the debilitating disease, Carola also has been struggling during the pandemic to preserve the business she owns with husband Tom. Not to mention her nine days in the hospital fighting COVID last year.

Big signs on the front doors boldly

Tom and Carol Carola have operated Bagelicious at the same location for 30 years

state that masks are still required (except when eating) and to “be courteous and social distance” – for good reason.

Despite her health struggles, Carola

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sat in front of her shop this weekend, greeting customers by name and thanking them for attending a community gathering in her honor to boost business and raise awareness for breast cancer. Team Boobulahs’ A Breast Cancer Schmear Campaign was organized by a local Jewish group of participants in the annual Georgia 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. To give back to Bagelicious, which has been a community gathering spot for 30 years, the breast cancer walk team Team Boobulahs decided to turn the tables on the bagel shop owner.

Selling Team Boobulahs T-shirts and promotional items in front of Bagelicious, the campaign raised nearly $5,000 toward the 2-Day walk in October, according to team leaders. Bagelicious also pledged to donate a portion of sales, which included specially prepared pink

bagels.

In the past, Bagelicious has allowed the team, among other groups, to promote themselves and fundraise in front of the store. “She has been very supportive of the team and the team is very supportive of her and her sister,” Addie Schneider, a team founder, said at the event Sunday.

Later that day, Carola told the AJT, “The support was great, a lot of old and new faces.” Her husband thanked Team Boobulahs, led by its captain. “I want to thank Bonnie [Lamberg], and the whole staff did an excellent job, and the community for all their support.” He had difficulty putting into words his emotions.

But he expressed appreciation for the community gathering, acknowledging it was “hard to wrap my heart and mind around how much all this means to me and my family.”

Among those who came to support Carola Sunday was Carol Sacks and her husband Brian.

“It’s so sad; I didn’t know her cancer had reoccurred.” Sacks, sitting outside waiting for her husband to get through the order line, said that before the pandemic, she saw Carola catering onegs at Congregation Etz Chaim after Shabbat services most weeks. “She was there a lot.”

David Schwartz, part of Team Boobulahs’ male support team, said “Carol is a fixture” in the community. “There aren’t very many Jewish families whose simchas she and Tommy have not been involved in.”

During the pandemic, Carola saw the catering business that makes up half of her revenues dry up. “I would do five temples on a weekend,” she told the AJT during a pre-event interview at Bagelicious last month. Still, the business kept all of its original employees and pivoted to curbside pickup and boxed lunches, she said.

With 30 years in a location that hasn’t changed much in that time, Bagelicious is known not only for catering simchas for Atlanta’s synagogues. The owners extend the old-fashioned honor payback system when customers don’t have the required cash or check – no

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credit cards are accepted, though there’s an ATM in back – and give donations whenever asked to local school sports teams. Pictures of those teams grace the bagel shop’s walls along with New York Yankees memorabilia supporting the owners’ beloved hometown team.

“COVID has been so devastating; we want to celebrate bringing business back,” Debra Faulk, a member of Team Boobulahs, said during the pre-event interview.

Team captain Lamberg described Bagelicious as the place family comes together. “Carol and Bagelicious were involved in every bridal show and engagement, and bat and bar mitzvah. Carol has been here for everybody. We should be here for her.”

Lamberg, a hairstylist, recalled cutting Carola’s wigs that covered the hair she lost during chemotherapy. “I cleaned up the wigs; nobody knew.” Those wigs have since been given to others battling cancer, Carola said.

The bagel shop icon admits she has good and bad days. “I live on pain medicine and patches. Last time I had a blockage, I didn’t eat for eight days. This weekend I felt like someone beat me up.

I rested and did not eat for two days” and

felt better. “I learned when the intestines kicks up I can’t eat anything, to relax and don’t eat and just drink. I had two seizures I thought was COVID in September and November. I just got my drivers license back in April.”

Carola points to a family history of cancer. Her sister’s breast cancer has spread like Carola’s and her mother died from breast cancer at 60. Carola said she also lost two maternal aunts and two maternal cousins to cancer. She added that her own genetic testing came back negative.

How does she learn to live with all the pain? She points to a silver necklace she wears around her neck to remain hopeful. It simply states: “I’m a Survivor.”

To that, Carola adds, “It’s not going to get to me. It will not get me. I have a business to run and people who depend on me. I can’t give up.”

As a testament to her determination, she holds a family dinner every Sunday and even if she’s not well enough to participate, her family gathers. “If I can’t be down there, I will be in my room.”

She finds comfort in the sounds of their laughter and banter.

In terms of the community outreach, Carola concluded during the pre-event interview, “I think it’s wonderful.” And what of the projected boost to the shop’s business? Well that seemed to tickle her pink too. ì

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NEWS JNF Talks Retail Trends Post-COVID

By Roni Robbins Big box retail stores will have to be much more creative post-COVID with the pandemic forcing consumers to e-commerce more than ever before. That is, according to a panel of Atlanta retail experts discussing trends at a recent online Jewish National Fund-USA real estate event.

JNF-USA hosted the noon panel June 15 as part of its revived Atlanta real estate division. The three panelists included experts in real estate developments ranging from shopping centers to the cutting-edge Illuminarium interactive and immersive experience set to open July 1 on the Atlanta BeltLine.

“I would say COVID changed … the way municipalities looked at rules. It changes the look of shopping centers today,” said David Birnbrey, chairman and CEO of The Shopping Center Group.

In terms of the design of shopping centers, Birnbrey practically sounded the death knoll of traditional malls and department stores because they are “functionally obsolescent.” He claimed the “barbell” layout of malls with large anchor department stores on the ends connecting to a string of retail between the anchors means some stores face backwards from the street, a setup that “doesn’t work with what people are looking for.”

Instead, Birnbrey sees shopping centers post-COVID needing curbside lanes in front of stores for quick pick-up and easily accessible parking. He said the majority of shoppers are going to buy online and pick up their products in the store, perhaps buying on impulse when inside. Delivery will also be a big aspect of shopping in the future, along with autonomous cars that do the shopping, even while consumers sleep, and for older shoppers who typically aren’t as mobile, he said.

Retail development of the future will follow a pattern set by Amazon, Birnbrey said, with a creation of a hub and spoke model, the hub being the distribution center. “If you are looking at pure play retail [e-commerce], Amazon is pure play retail. It has a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution home plate with Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go built around that.” And each of those stores will have their own distribution centers, he explained.

This nontraditional retail model is “going to create a lot of problems” for traditional developers and retail because it’s “going against the grain of how developments were developed. For instance, percent of rent [rent based on tenant’s gross income] will be a thing of the past because people will not be able to determine where the sale actually was made, so I think it’s going to be very difficult 8 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

to determine the success of brick and mortar retail.”

Painting a slightly more promising picture of shopping malls at the JNF event was real estate mogul Ron Glass, principal of B. Riley Advisory Services, a diversified financial services company. He began with a recap of retail history in Atlanta from Davidson’s and Rich’s downtown to Cobb Center, Cumberland and Town Center malls to the northeast and Gwinnett Place and Mall of Georgia to the northwest. Elsewhere, he noted the turnover in shopping malls such as Lindbergh Plaza and Sandy Springs Plaza.

Those that survive COVID, Glass said, will have the right mix of tenants, parking, visibility and ingress/egress.

“Brick and mortar retail is far from dead.” He cited a photograph he took from his

Illuminarium Experiences is expected to open this week.

A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, moderated the JNF panel.

Ron Glass gave a lesson on retail history in Atlanta.

Buckhead office showing a parking lot full of shoppers on a weekend at Lenox Square mall during COVID. “You’d think it was Black Friday.”

Phipps Plaza is similarly situated, Glass said. The two Buckhead centers are “what we call fortress malls and adaptable malls,” he said. “I don’t think those malls are gong away,

Ethan Robinson detailed the technological capabilities of the new Illuminarium.

handles business development for Illuminarium Experiences. His father A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, moderated the JNF event.

Summing up the panel discussion, Birnbrey remains optimistic about retail prospects. “I’m actuDavid Birnbrey said traditional malls and department stores will soon be obsolete. ally very bullish about our future because I believe but they are going to have to reinvent them- bricks and mortar are necessary in terms of selves with other entertainment concepts.” putting product in the hands of consumers,” Both Birnbrey and Glass recognized the Birnbrey said. “The next 10 years are going to new Illuminarium project as offering the be the best time to be a consumer. You have next wave of retail, with products based on price; you have selection; you have variety, an entertainment platform. The new tech- and you have convenience, and convenience nologically infused tourist attraction was is the ultimate goal of retail in any shape or detailed by panelist Ethan Robinson, who form.” ì

NEWS

Atlantans Protest Iranian Election

By Roni Robbins

Living Your Best Life At

added that he was a prisoner of war in Iran because of his political beliefs.

Iranian Americans also protested at the same spot in Sandy Springs before the

About two dozen Iranian Americans from across Atlanta united on Carpenter Drive in Sandy Springs June 18 to protest the casting of ballots in the U.S. for the election of the new president of their former country.

Those gathered, holding signs and Iranian flags, said they didn’t understand why voting was allowed in the U.S. or so far from Washington, D.C., for the leader of their birthplace.

The protesters also claimed the candidates were dictaPhotos by Roni Robbins // Protesters hold signs of tors. opposition to the election and Iranian flags.

A handful of candidates were running to succeed President Hassan Rouhani, according to Al Jazeera. The frontrunner is believed judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who the protesters say is known for violence. He later won the election.

Batool Zamani, president of the Iranian-American Community of Georgia, which organized the rally, commented on the election results June 20. He told the AJT, “The world must stand firmly against the ruling religious fascism, and in solidarProtesters oppose the candidates for ity with the Iranian people and their president of their former country. demand for the overthrow of this regime and the establishment of a democratic country’s 2017 election. republic.”

The protesters June 18 said they only Among those gathered June 18 and pe- saw a handful of would-be voters enter or riodically yelling at those they believed vot- leave the hotel. ing at the Comfort Inn Sandy Springs was A room off the lobby was set up for a Jewish woman from Marietta, who asked vote casting. A handful of Iranian American not to be identified. volunteers with the Interests Section of the She told the AJT she left Iran in 1993 Islamic Republic of Iran, based in Washand came to American with HIAS (Hebrew ington, D.C., monitored the voting. VolunImmigrant Aid Society) to be able to practice teer Abas Meibodi said the protesters were her Judaism. “We came because the Islamic hurling curses at those they believed were government forced us not to have our reli- voting. Still, he said of the protest, “They are gion.” She said she came to the protest Fri- free to do whatever they want.” day to learn “what kind of people” vote here.

Meibodi explained the meaning be“This is the worst regime ever, killing hind the ballot sign at the entrance to the people every day and then voting for a dicta- voting area, indicated by tables topped by tor regime, I don’t know why the voting ma- protective plastic dividers separating volchine has to be in the United States. Keep it unteers from voter, as has become the train your country,” she said, referring to Iran. ditional setup during the pandemic. The Kevin Kaveh Mehr, from Cumming, is signs state: election, great investment of the not Jewish. But he said, “Iranian people sup- people of Iran and election year 1400, the port Israel.” The Iranian “regime,” on the equivalent of 2021, Meibodi translated. The other hand, helps fund missiles for Hamas ballots contain words such as security, progand Hezbollah, according to Mehr, who ress, united and Democracy, he said. ì

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NEWS

Honoring Former Israeli Consul General's Passing

By Jan Jaben-Eilon Days after his death, members of the Atlanta Jewish community fondly remembered Arye Mekel, a long-serving Israeli diplomat who spent 1993 to 2000 as consul general of Israel to the Southeastern United States in Atlanta. He died June 20 at 75 years of age.

“We mourn the passing of Ambassador Arye Mekel, a great diplomat, writer and journalist, whose love and dedication to the State of Israel were reflected throughout his extensive career,” commented Anat Sultan-Dadon, the current consul general. “Here in Atlanta, we are grateful for Ambassador Mekel’s contribution to the bilateral relations between Israel and the Southeast while serving as Israel’s consul general in Atlanta from 1993 to 2000. Ambassador Mekel’s many contributions to the State of Israel and its foreign relations will remain a part of his legacy. We send sincere condolences to his family.”

According to The Jerusalem Post, while consul general in Atlanta, Mekel “regularly took American dignitaries on

Arye Mekel was a journalist and diplomat.

trips to Israel where he acted as their personal guide, even though there was a professional guide accompanying them.”

Atlantan Shai Robkin, who holds Israeli citizenship and heads the regional council of the New Israel Fund, recalls Mekel as “a consummate PR man. I guess

that’s because his field was communications. He was an effective advocate for Israel because, more than anything else, he had a very congenial nature and rarely, if ever, had a frown on his face.”

Steve Berman’s daughter lives in Is-

According to Frank, Mekel had “an easy going, laid-back manner, dry sense of humor, with a real twinkle. He knew a lot of people and played Jewish geography all the time. Each new consul who has come since he left has called me and said that Arye recommended they reach out to me once they get here. It is really a lovely connection with the new consul generals who come, and I have been very appreciative that he has made this kesher [connection]. It also speaks to his investment in the success of the new person coming.”

Mekel acquired the title of ambassador when, from 2010 to 2014, he served as Israel’s ambassador to Greece. Frank contended that Mekel vastly improved the relations between Greece and Israel during his ambassadorship. She recalled that when the Carmel Forest fires broke out in 2010, “Arye was instrumental in getting the Greek government to help with crushing the fire. I think they sent airplanes of water and fire retardant to the region.” Forty-four people died in that fire.

After serving in Atlanta, Mekel was

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Mekel suggested each subsequent consul general contact, said Lois Frank.

rael and he sits on the NIF regional council. He said he found Mekel “to be a most extraordinary public servant. Of all the consul generals who passed through Atlanta, Arye really was one of the best we have seen here.”

Both Mekel and his wife Ruthie, who worked at the consulate as cultural affairs director, “were the most heimisha folks I knew,” said Lois Frank, former president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the national leader of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

“It was really surprising how down to earth and unpretentious they were.” She added that Mekel’s daughter still lives in Atlanta.

Mekel was “a consummate PR man,” said Shai Robkin.

charge d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in South Korea. He had also served as consul general of Israel in New York; Israel’s deputy representative to the United Nations; foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and director general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.

Born to Holocaust survivors in Europe, Mekel spoke several languages, including Yiddish, Arabic, Russian, Polish and, of course, Hebrew and English.

Until his death, he was a senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel. ì

NEWS

Shoshan’s Mission: From Students to Soldiers

By Marcia Caller Jaffe A genuine product of the Jewish Georgia organizational fabric over the past 10 years, Roey Shoshan has been selected to replace Seth Baron as director of the Southeast States Region of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Baron will step up

Roey Shoshan expects a short learning curve in his new position.

Steve Weil, CEO of the FIDF, said Shoshan has a significant IDF background.

to head the newly merged FIDF Eastern region. Shoshan just completed three years as Hillel director at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Shoshan, who will turn 40 in August, first came to Georgia for summer camp and ended up staying, he said. “I served in the IDF from 1999 to 2002, 22 years ago; this skinny kid finished his basic training and joined the Israel Defense Forces.

“Living here, I never got called up to serve in 2006 and 2014, missing those operations there. I want to contribute. Life then took me to Atlanta, where I have stayed for the last 10 years. I have made a home here.

However, one thing I have always missed while living abroad is the ability to be in the reserves. This is {now} my opportunity

to serve, fundraise and expose people to the FIDF mission.” As Southeast region director, Shoshan will oversee five states: Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi, in addition to Georgia.

Jeremy Lichtig, former assistant director of Hillel at UGA, has been tapped to replace Shoshan.

Leaving behind his successful mission with the Hillel student body in Athens, Shoshan is proud of making great strides in rebuilding and making the organization more relevant. Among those accomplishments are increasing the student board of Hillel from seven to 40, having Shabbat dinners for 100, sending students to Israel, and a successful outreach into the Greek system.

Shoshan recalls the mentorship he received along the way. “While first working at the MJCC [Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta], I was over time able to get my green card. My progression of mentors has included Jared Powers, Janel Margaretta, Rabbi Russ Shulkes, and Elliot Karp, just to name a few. And how lucky am I to have Seth to continue to learn from while we are transitioning.” Shoshan also worked for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

Steve Weil, CEO of the FIDF, said of the new Southeast director, “Roey is an outstanding professional who cares deeply about [our mission] and everyone who he engages and interacts with. Roey has a significant background in the IDF and can convey the needs of these incredible young men and women in a way that others can’t. Roey is a passionate Jew and a passionate Zionist, who embodies the values and principles that we all aspire to achieve and internalize. “ Facing the new job with optimism, Shoshan said he was involved in lay leadership (Young Leadership) in the FIDF. He believes he understands the Israeli system and the community here to have a shortlearning curve.

“I love the mission, and it’s straightforward. I like networking and will connect social groups to our mission. Atlanta is a significant part of our region, and I also intend to focus on growing the other states.”

He concluded, “As the new Southeast states director, I will work hard to make sure the brave men and women of the IDF have everything they need in order to do the hardest job in the world – protect the state of Israel.

“I know that the work I do will make a lasting impact on the soldiers and on Israeli society. For me, this job is like being in the reserves. I’m excited to get started!” ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 11

NEWS

Augusta Jewish Museum Opens Next Month

By Susanne Katz One more reason to drive east is the new Augusta Jewish Museum the public can preview next month.

The museum involves renovation of two historic buildings in downtown Augusta for an education and cultural center focusing on Jewish heritage and tradition.

Next month the first phase of construction is expected to be completed. The project includes restoring the oldest-standing synagogue in Georgia – one of the oldest in the country – and renovating a historic building next door.

Augusta native Robyn Wittenberg Dudley, project administrator, shares the origination of the project. “The City of Augusta wanted to tear down

From left, AJM Education Center at the start of renovation.

AJM Education Center after renovation.

Rendering of the Augusta Jewish Museum Below, Original Congregation Children of Israel bimah, circa 1950.

both beautiful buildings to build a parking lot, but concerned citizens rallied, and the city agreed to lease the buildings to Historic Augusta, a private nonprofit membership orga-

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nization dedicated to the preservation of the historic-built environment of the area. AJM was given five years to open to the public with the Augusta Jewish Museum. We are meeting that deadline!”

Phase One of the project includes the renovation of the Court of Ordinary. Formerly the probate office for the city and county, the structure was built in 1860 as one of the earliest fireproof buildings in Georgia and will house the AJM Education Center. Renovations have included rebuilding the portico, replacing broken windows, restoring and cleaning the original one-inch marble flooring, and adding an accessibility ramp. A preview is planned for late July featuring a celebration, proclamation and tour by appointment.

Phase Two will restore the oldest standing synagogue in Georgia. Built in 1869, this was the original home of Augusta’s Congregation Children of Israel and is the future home of the

AJM Cultural Center. Exhibitions and programs will tell the stories of Jewish contributions to the Aiken-Augusta, Ga., area. The restored sanctuary will be a rental hall to host events. The AJM Cultural Center will feature a theater, classrooms, offices and a collective management space.

Jack Steinberg, the founding chairman, was the visionary who dreamed of a museum to preserve and relate stories of the Jews in the Central Savannah River Area. In 2015, Historic Augusta, led by executive director Erick Montgomery allied with the AJM board to restore and transform the historic buildings. Although Steinberg passed away in July 2019, his dream has been carried on by the AJM board and members of Historic Augusta, a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic built environment of the area.

The AJM virtual museum, created by graphic designer John A. Kauth, introduces the mission and focuses on the four educational pillars that support the Augusta Jewish Museum: Jewish contributions, Jewish heritage and traditions, remembering the Holocaust and Israel. To create awareness about this project, the AJM also participated in the CCI Israeli Festival and Arts in the Heart of Augusta, among other community events. ì

NEWS

Atlanta Jewish Times Wins 3 Jewish Rockower Awards

Kaylene Ladinsky, editor & managing publisher at the AJT.

Freelancer Dave Schechter and EditorManaging Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky are among the 2021 winners of the Simon Rockower Awards of the American Jewish Press Association. AJPA announced the winners virtually June 24 of the national awards known as the Pulitzer Prize of Jewish journalism during its annual conference, which will be held in Atlanta next year. The awards recognize journalism published during

Dave Schechter, freelance contributor for the AJT.

2020.

Schechter won the second-place award for Excellence in News Story in the weekly and biweekly newspaper division for his Nov. 17 piece, “COVID-19 Vaccines have Jewish Links.” The story details how Emory University researchers and local volunteers in human trials played a role in testing of one of the two announced vaccines for the coronavirus. Award judges commented

that the story took “a fascinating angle on a global story.”

Schechter also won second place for General Excellence — Best Freelancer for three stories he wrote last year: ■ “Rabbis Criticize Letter on Killings, Protests." The Atlanta Rabbinical Association was one of five organizations that signed the letter, but not every rabbi agreed with its message, published June 5, 2020.

■ “Perdue Campaign Removes Ad Ossoff Called ‘Anti-Semitic.’" The Republican’s campaign said that an outside vendor was responsible for a Facebook ad that harkened back to a centuries-old anti-Jewish trope, published July 28.

■ “Weber Alumni Urge Anti-racist Education." Alumni who authored a letter recommending the greater emphasis and the school’s board of trustees say they look forward to further dialogue on the subject, published Sept. 9.

Ladinsky won an honorable mention in the Award for Excellence in Personal Essay, weekly and biweekly newspaper division, for her July 3 column “Black Lives Matters vs. All Lives Matter?” The essay shared a personal experience about discussing Black Lives Matter, white privilege and all lives matter from a Jewish perspective. Award judges commented that the column was “Clearly written about a complex and controversial issue of our times.”

Ladinsky is an executive board member for the AJPA and will co-chair the 2022 annual conference. ì AJT Staff Reports

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ISRAEL PRIDE

NEWS FROM OUR JEWISH HOME Israelis Invent New Cancer Treatment Tests By mimicking cancer cells, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a nanochip for testing a variety of cancer treatments.

Professor Mark Schvartzman, leader of

“We look at it under a microscope and see whether the treatment works when faced with ‘cancer,’ and if so, how well it works.”

Because of the repetition required for the tests, there are a variety of benefits to using nanochips for testing rather than real canIDF Spokesperson’s Unit// The four women who cer cells that vary as they are earned their IAF wings earlier this month. extracted from real patients, Schvartzman said. The development has already led to an unexpected A new class graduated in June of four women discovery about the distance required for re- and 35 men, including the first woman in ceptors to suppress cancer cells, according to nearly five years to become a fighter pilot in Israel, and only the fifth ever.

The Jerusalem Post.

The ceremony took place in Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev Desert.

Fifth Female Fighter Pilot Joins

Israeli Air Force Shutterstock//Nanotechnology used to create breakthrough cancer treatment tests. the research team, explained to The Times of Israel, “Our new chip is like an artificial cancer that can be put in a petri dish with lymphocytes that have been genetically engineered and comprise an immunotherapy treatment.

Today in Israeli History June 30, 2012 — Israel’s seventh prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, dies at age 96. Born in Poland, he made aliyah in 1935. joined the Irgun in 1937 and jumped to the more militant Lehi during World War II. He became prime minister at the head of Likud in 1983.

July 1, 1973 — Col. Yosef “Joe” Alon, an Israeli military attache, is fatally shot in his driveway in Chevy Chase, Maryland. A Palestinian radio broadcast calls it revenge for a terrorist’s killing two days earlier.

July 2, 2011 — Longtime tourism official Uri Dvir dies at age 80 in Tel Aviv, where he was born in 1931.

He planned and initiated Shvil Yisrael (the Israel National Trail), a 620-mile hiking path that runs the length of the state.

Central Zionist Archive/ Simon Wiesenthal Center Theodor Herzl, shown in Switzerland in 1901, organized and led the Zionist Congress from 1897 until his death.

July 3, 1904 — Theodor Herzl, known as the “father of mod-

14 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

A fifth female pilot is joining combat operations for the Israeli Air Force after four women graduated the program earlier this month, according to Israel Hayom via the Jewish News Syndicate. While 62 women have completed the IAF’s pilot’s course since it opened to women in the 1990s, only four women have been assigned to combat roles.

ern Zionism,” dies of cardiac sclerosis at age 44 in Edlach, Austria, seven years after he organized the First Zionist Congress. His body is reburied on Mount Herzl in 1949.

July 4, 1975 — Fourteen people are killed and 62 others are wounded when a bomb built with mortar shells and hidden inside a refrigerator explodes in Jerusalem’s Zion Square.

The PLO’s Fatah faction claims responsibility.

July 5, 1979 — Israel National Opera Company founder and star Edis De Philippe dies at age 67. A New York native and renowned singer in prewar Europe, she made aliyah in 1945 and opened the opera company in 1947.

July 6, 1973 — Otto Klemperer, a German Jewish conductor and composer, dies at age 88 in Zurich. Having visited pre-state Palestine, Klemperer first performed in the State of Israel in 1970 and gained Israeli citizenship.

July 7, 1969 — U.N. Secretary-General U Thant says he is considering withdrawing the 96 U.N. observers from the Suez Canal zone because of a state of “open warfare” there. U.N. soldiers were fired on 26 times in June.

be at the Olympics,” the 22-year-old told World Archery after clinching his spot. “I need to see on paper my name and ‘Tokyo qualification," he added in joking disbelief. Unable to practice frequently during the pandemic, Shanny used visualization to practice, telling World Archery he would stand in a hotel room with all his gear and imagine every detail of the field. “If you envision yourself in the Olympics, you’re going to get used to the idea of you being there and – as a result, maybe – change accordingly and evolve toward that goal,” Shanny said months before his visualizations became reality.

First Israeli Archer Qualifies for Tokyo Olympics Itay Shanny made history as the first Israeli archer to qualify for the Olympics, after a Paris tournament for qualification and initially placing 23rd out of 94 contenders, according to The Times of Israel. “It’s surreal.

I’m going to be the first archer from Israel to

July 8, 1989 — Judoka Yarden Gerbi is born in Kfar Saba. She wins eight national championships and, in August 2013, the world judo championship. She wins a bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Facebook // Israeli archer Itay Shanny.

July 13, 1941 — Singer-songwriter and TV and radio host Ehud Manor is born in Binyamina. He composes about 1,200 songs and translates 600 others into Hebrew. He also translates musicals and Shakespearean plays.

July 9, 1959 — Riots break out in the Haifa neighborhood of Wadi Salib, whose residents suffer from poverty and discrimination, after police shoot Yaakov Elkarif while trying to arrest him for being drunk and disorderly.

July 10, 1957 — Yiddish novelist and playwright Sholem Asch dies at age 76 in London.

He first visited Palestine in 1908 and wrote about the Jewish connection to the land. He lived his final years in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv.

July 11, 1927 — A major earthquake kills 300 to 500 people in Jerusalem, Jericho, Nablus and other cities. Although it is known as the Jericho earthquake, later research concludes that the epicenter is 30 miles away near the Dead Sea.

July 12, 2006 — The Second Lebanon War begins when Yarden Gerbi is Israel’s first judo world Hezbollah launches rockets and champion and one of mortars as a diversion for a raid five Israeli Olympic in which three Israeli soldiers medalists in the sport. are killed and two abducted.

The month long war kills 140 Israelis.

A 2009 Israeli stamp honors Ehud Manor.

July 14, 1958 — Army officers overthrow and kill Iraqi King Faisal. King Hussein of Jordan, Faisal’s cousin, condemns the coup, but the Nasser-led United Arab Republic quickly signs a defense pact with the new government.

Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

Israeli Diaspora Minister Has Atlanta Ties

By Jan Jaben-Eilon From the fall of 2019 to the spring of 2020, Nachman Shai taught dozens of Emory University students about Israeli leadership and diplomacy as a visiting professor of Israel studies. Now back in Israel, Shai was just sworn in as the new minister of diaspora affairs.

“I have dedicated the last 20 years of my career to strengthening the ties between the State of Israel and world Jewry,” Shai said at his mid-June swearing-in ceremony.

That doesn’t mean Shai’s ties to Atlanta have ended. He continues to serve on the board of the Center for Israel Education.

Ken Stein, president of CIE and director of the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, recalled why he hired Shai in the first place.

“His reputation was that of an effective media personality in terms of creating and staffing of an organization

Government Press Office // Nachman Shai, left, with Dvir Kahana, outgoing director general of ministry and outgoing minister Omer Yankelevich.

Eli Sperling was an Emory lecturer and ISMI senior academic research coordinator at the time. He told the AJT that Shai’s Emory students were “lucky to have studied with such a figure. He was definitely an asset to the community.”

Beyond Atlanta, Shai also has had

Eli Sperling said Nachman Shai was an asset to the Atlanta community.

Ken Stein hired Nachman Shai as a visiting Emory professor.

as well as being a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.” Stein was referring to Shai’s first high-profile position during the 1991 Gulf War. “He had a decade worth of Knesset experience, which gave him knowledge of how Israel works on the inside. He also had a fascinating doctoral thesis on Israel and the media, which was excellent. It’s hard to find a practitioner/scholar.”

Stein said Shai developed his own curriculum. “We decided to give him a chance to develop courses that would teach on topics I had never touched or that he was uniquely qualified for. He was meticulous as a teacher,” Stein said.

He also described Shai as “affable, unassuming, articulate and knowledgeable, without being pedantic. It’s rare to find someone who can walk into a classroom, knowing how to tell a story. And he has a bag of stories that are endless.”

deep connections to the American Jewish community. Before serving for a decade in the Knesset, or Israeli parliament, he was a senior vice president and director general of what became the Jewish Federations of North America. While he was in the Knesset, he founded the Caucus for Strengthening the Jewish People.

Sperling, who also taught with Shai at Duke University, said the issues that Shai will be dealing with as diaspora minister are “central to him in understanding the future of Israel. They have always been an area of focus for him.” Noting the politicization of Israel in American electoral politics, Sperling said that Shai will “have an uphill battle getting the right message. But he understands the issues that are important to American Jews,” especially about religion.

In fact, one of Shai’s first meetings as minister was with the leaders of the three major denominations of Judaism, ac-

cording to the Israeli government press office. “On behalf of the new government, I pledge that Israel will be open to the three religious streams and will give them full and open space and recognition. I’m looking forward to continuing to connect with Jewish leaders, communities and individuals across the Jewish world in the coming weeks in an effort to

ISRAEL NEWS build a more open and mutual relationship between Israel and world Jewry.”

This emphasis is significant because, unlike in the previous government, the new ruling coalition doesn’t include an ultra-Orthodox party. Those parties don’t recognize the Reform and Conservative movements, to which the majority of American Jews belong. Part of Shai’s new position is to convey the interests of the diaspora community to Israelis.

According to Stein, Shai can say to Reform and Conservative Jews in the diaspora that he understands their issues.

“Having someone who knows the issues and knows how to turn levers,” is a real advantage.

Sperling added, “One of Shai’s strengths is his ability to communicate across party lines in ways Israeli politicians can understand. The strategic goals of Israel include strengthening the bond” between the diaspora and Israel.

He noted that at 74, Shai is one of the oldest members of the Knesset. “For him, becoming diaspora minister isn’t a long-term career prospect. He’s a public servant and a great communicator.” ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 15

BUSINESS ‘Lizzie Pure’ Opens Kids Collection in Lenox Square

By Marcia Caller Jaffe One good turn deserves another. Epstein School mom Liz Korn, aka Lizzie Pure, was featured in the AJT in October touting that despite the pandemic, her luxury branded store Pure Atlanta in Lenox Square mall was thriving. Only she knows if a twinkle in her eye envisioned opening an adjacent children’s concept Pure Kids this month.

“For many years we have offered a curated assortment of luxury kids’ designers like Fendi, Givenchy, Balmain, Versace in our flagship store Pure Atlanta, which is a destination for well-traveled celebrities and tastemakers. We’ve had clients fly in from Vegas just to shop the Pure kid’s section.

This enthusiasm urged me to give it a separate space to build Lizzy Pure, pictured with husband Brian, opened as a separate identity.” From inPure Kids next to Pure Atlanta in Lenox Square. fant Versace crib shoes to Fendi scooters for birthday photos, Korn carefully curates every category and created this new fun space that kids want to visit.

Growing up in Davie, Fla., she graduated Florida State University and got her MBA at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. She also operates Pure stores in Houston, Miami and Charlotte, and was recently featured in Forbes magazine, “Meet Liz Korn, Owner of the Cult Retail Store Pure Atlanta” (Feb. 3).

Korn started the first kids’ section after she had daughter Esther, who is very passionate about fashion and expressing her creativity through her wardrobe. “She could be found in my closet trying on my clothes. I wanted to dress her like me, in designer looks to match my style. It was challenging to find premier designers in America, and that’s when I decided to add this category. Now we offer mainline ‘mini-me’ styles from the most coveted collections, which allow children to dress exactly like their parents.” Korn is a social media star, often seen posing with rappers and high-profile celebs.

“Now we are honored to have two stores in the luxury Neiman Marcus wing of Lenox, one of the best malls in America. We are looking forward to a time where we can celebrate the opening with friends, family, and the city we love so much.”

Mattress Maven on Top

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Ken Green operates Save Big Mattress in Smyrna and Riverdale and recently took the leap to add online sales in heavy ticket items to his business model. “E-commerce has a lot of moving parts in almost another world of retailing, which I had to get my arms around: How to balance someone walking into a store and talking to a live person versus typing it in on the computer and ‘bingo!’”

Green, who has an MBA in finance from New York University, initially went with Amazon, which approached him to sell his electric/adjustable beds. Then Green took the leap. “I learned a ton from them, but decided to do it myself, and now have 10 16 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

websites in addition to the stores.” As one of the largest dealers in Georgia, Green now oversees a mix of 80 percent retail, 20 percent ecommerce.

Green is a licensed Sealy and Sterns & Foster dealer, in addition to many other brands.

Adjustable beds, also known as “power bases,” are changing the industry.

He also sells traditional box springs, weaving around a shortage of wood and the scarcity of some materials such as foam during the pandemic. During COVID, people invested in improving their home living spaces, while Green managed to keep a healthy inventory (800 to 1,000 at any one time) to arrange a quick delivery.

Ken Green said learning e-commerce An expert marketer, was a rewarding challenge.

Green extols many innovations and trends. “There are all sorts of high-tech options to consider in buying a mattress: copper infusion, which some tout as antimicrobial, with cooling and health benefits. Bamboo materials, which wick moisture. There are high risers and some with storage underneath.

Hybrids are very popular now with the bottom half traditional coils and the top half memory foam.”

He concludes, “Bottom line, we are winning in this industry.” Joking, he adds, “Note that we are currently sold out of a hybrid bed made with CBD oil.”

Atlantan Returns to Start Therapy Practice Natalie Udwin recently returned to Atlanta and opened Sprocket Therapy, an occupational therapy practice in Sandy Springs.

The graduate of the former Greenfield Hebrew Academy (now Atlanta Jewish Academy) and Woodward Academy opened the Georgia branch of Sprocket Therapy, which offers “colorful, community-based occupational therapy services to kids and adults with a heavy emphasis on feeding therapy, primitive reflex integration and sensory integration therapy.”

“We have a strong infant development program too,” said Udwin, who operates the practice with her Natalie Udwin and wife Barb at an awards wife Barb, who is also an occupaprogram for women in business. tional therapist. The couple and their young son Ari recently moved from Nashville and joined Congregation B’nai Torah, where Udwin was a member before she left Atlanta. Ari also attends camp there.

BUSINESS

Retired Doctor Opens Dunwoody Orthopedics

JIFLA Names First Young Professional Committee

Dr. Paul Richin retired from Emory Orthopaedics in Decatur last fall only to realize there was a growing need for personalized care in Dunwoody. So at the beginning of this year, he started The Orthopedic Cortisone Injection Center in Dunwoody with his son Daniel.

The small orthopedic office caters to the needs of patients in pain that are intimidated by the big box medical practices, Paul Richin said. It offers convenience along with Father-son team Dr. Paul Richin, right, and one-on-one visits with a boardDaniel started new orthopedic practice. certified orthopedic surgeon.

The overall goal in starting the practice, Richin said, was to bring top-notch big city care while still keeping the feeling of small-town convenience and personalization. “We schedule patients for same day appointments. Convenience being one our main goals, we strive to evaluate and treat all in one visit. After a long period of social distancing, we look forward to meeting you, treating you, and welcoming you into part of our medical care community.”

Richin, a member of the Atlanta Jewish community for more than 40 years, was one of the first members of Temple Emanu-El and has continued to be an active member ever since.

Jewish Interest-Free Loan of Atlanta earlier this month announced the organization’s first-ever Young Professional Committee class, “composed of Jewish leaders and advocates from across metro Atlanta committed to the Jewish values of tzedakah (charity), gemilut hasadim (acts of kindness) and supporting the community at large. This committee will advise the organization on new loan programs, advocacy ideas, and serve as JIFLA ambassadors to other young professionals.

“Members of the inaugural class represent the diversity of our Jewish community, JIFLA stated in the announcement. This forward-thinking group of professionals will reach new audiences to share the good work of JIFLA.” The 2021-2022 JIFLA Young Professional Committee includes: Meagan Bilus, HBO finance manager; Michael Bilus, Wells Fargo financial analyst; Jacob Cynman, CDRW partner, co-founder; Jason Feldman, JMF Inc. PR & Communications Agency, founder; Eli Franco, Compass, agent experience manager; Lindsay Fried, Simply Admissions, founder; Elli Friedman, Aprio, private client services tax associate; Alex M. Joseph, GRSMB, attorney; Nir Levy, OneTable, field manager; Jonathan Newburgh, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, impact investment associate; Nata Saslafsky, Lib Properties, loan officer: and Rabbi Samuel Kaye, The Temple, assistant rabbi and committee advisor.

In addition, JIFLA also installed its executive board, including: Laura Kahn and Adrienne Litt-Bishko, co-presidents; Avi Binstock, treasurer; Debbie Kalwerisky, secretary; Merrie Edelston and Daniel Frank, loan committee cochairs; and Lisa Marks, board trustee; and Jay Kessler, board trustee emeritus.

In the City Camps Marks 10 Years, Expands Tween Space While celebrating its 10th anniversary, In the City Camps is also innovating in the tween space, offering specialty experiences in four areas – innovation, sports, performing arts, and visual arts – next month only.

Each Tween Academy is offered in collaboration with The Weber School, led by an exSoccer: Campers participate in sports at In the pert in the field and is City Camps on the Atlanta BeltLine. geared towards rising sixth through ninth graders.

In the City Camps is also “taking full advantage of Midtown’s spaces, including Ponce City Market, Chabad Intown, and the Beltline.”

Founder and CEO Eileen Snow Price started the Jewish camps in her backyard a decade ago. “This has been a dream come true for me. It’s amazing to be in the heart of the city and using spaces that give our campers a unique experience.”

The Intown location of ITC was sold out and is running through June. “We are so appreciative of the support of the intown Jewish and real estate communities for embracing us,” Price said. “Our campers are loving the experience and we couldn’t be happier.”

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OPINION Past and Present Deep in Heart of Texas

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EQ UA L HOUSING OPPOR T UNI T Y

Hiking the craggy terrain of my sister-inlaw’s ranch in Texas hill country, it is easy to imagine this land looking much the same hundreds of Dave Schechter years ago.

From Where I Sit Live oaks, Ashe juniper, and Texas madrone trees thrive in the rocky soil, despite frequent periods without rain. Likewise, the patches of grass, colorful wildflowers and other plant life that stake their place in the layers of eroded limestone.

From elevated positions there are vistas that stretch for miles, with nary a house in sight. Land is a finite resource and the acreage increasingly expensive, but despite the efforts of developers to transform this topography into an Austin exurbia, there remain stretches where the gate to a neighbor’s fenced spread may be a quarter mile or more down the road.

And indeed, as the song says, the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.

We came to visit my in-laws, whom I have known for more than four decades, back to the beginning of my professional career, when they lived in a city on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

I choose to remember my mother-inlaw as the woman who welcomed me from the first and would make rice pudding because she knew I liked it; who lived for her three daughters and son, and doted on her grandchildren; and whose paintings hang in their homes and have also brightened hospital corridors.

Dementia has silenced her voice and stilled her hands. Whether she recognized me when we visited the facility where she now lives, I do not know. There was a momentary gleam in her eyes, but then they closed.

Meanwhile, little by little, physical ailments have reduced my father-in-law’s independence. The man who ran a family business manufacturing mattresses and who enjoyed (for the most part) a round of golf and playing tennis now moves mostly with the aid of a walker or wheelchair and is reliant on caregivers who come to the ranch, where he lives in what once was his grandson’s bedroom.

Seeing them in their present circum-

stances was sobering.

There is an undeniable cruelty that has come with advanced years, as their living space has shrunk from houses to apartments and then, as necessary, to a room.

With that circumscription has come a reduction in the furnishings, clothing and memorabilia that have made these moves.

At my sister-in-law’s, we sifted through boxes, including one filled with scrapbooks that tell the family’s story over several decades. My wife brought home a photo album from our wedding, which now joins our scrapbooks and as-yet unsorted or digitized photographs.

The theme of impermanence is reinforced when we eye the stacks of a previous generations’ dishes in our cupboards, or give a thought to furniture that came from our parents’ and grandparents’ homes, or take inventory of the books that line shelves or are packed in boxes in my office closet and the basement storage room.

We have a corner sofa that came from my wife’s paternal grandmother, a dining room table and chairs from the home where my wife grew up, and rattan chairs and a tea table from my maternal grandparents’ home. We have china, silver pieces, and a wooden case of flatware we rarely display, though a few of my mother’s kitchen utensils are still in use.

Then there are the books. A former sister-in-law once joked that, in my family, the idea of a good time was everyone having their own book.

I have books that belonged to my paternal great-grandfather, a rabbinic scholar with a reputation for “borrowing,” but forgetting to return books. There are also slim volumes that my paternal grandfather carried in his haversack during World War I, and countless journalism-related books that my father gifted me, some bearing sticky notes with his handwritten messages.

We — the children of aging parents and the parents of adult children — are coming to grips with the transitory nature of possessions, even family heirlooms and mementoes of our own lives. We have room for all of this now, in this house, but what about in the future?

Measurements of time, personal and geologic, were ever-present during our visit to the Texas hill country. What stayed with us was an enhanced appreciation of the independence and capabilities we enjoy today. ì

OPINION

Georgia Faith Leaders Ready to Act on Climate The Jewish faith finds great meaning in gathering together.

Births, namings, comingof-age ceremonies and love

By Rabbi Laurence are celebrated through Rosenthal c o m m u n i t y.

Learning for all ages is accomplished in community. Death and mourning are experienced in community. Justice is advanced in community. God’s presence is fully experienced in community. All these important spiritual moments, and more, were thwarted throughout this pandemic.

This past year has challenged Georgia in unforeseeable ways, but even with the multitude of crises that our communities faced, we were able to show resolve and pivot. It was on that path forward we found we can accomplish incredible things when we come together. Prayer found meaning online.

Learning for young and old was accomplished online. We mourned our loved

ones and embraced mourners even from afar. Our faith teaches us to look out for one another. And even with our accomplishments, there were still areas that we could not fully find meaningful advances.

One such area is the climate crisis.

Now more than ever, we must work for environmental justice and public health by addressing long-term threats posed by the climate crisis. With the proposed American Jobs Plan being debated in Washington, we have an opportunity to invest in the clean energy future while addressing the injustices of the past.

As members of the faith community, we again look to our religious and spiritual leaders to unite and to lead us forward through bold economic recovery and infrastructure plans that will make a difference in our community and across the nation. We must fulfill our moral obligation to leave a habitable world for future generations. With the American Jobs Plan, we can do this while providing immediate support to those who need it most.

Access to clean drinking water and clean air to breathe should not be a luxury only some enjoy. That’s why Presi-

dent [Joe] Biden’s American Jobs Plan invests in electrifying clean transportation to reduce carbon pollution and in major upgrades to ensure clean water infrastructure for all communities.

In metro Atlanta, these investments are sorely needed and popular too. A recent poll of two metro Atlanta congressional districts found that more than 65 percent of voters support investments in electric vehicles and charging stations to reduce pollution and help more Americans buy clean cars.

This [investment] package means significant improvements to our public health and quality of life. By modernizing our electric grid and expanding clean, renewable energy, we will see far fewer deadly climate disasters and extreme weather events such as floods and fires. From 2010 to 2020, Georgia experienced 46 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. We know that low-wealth communities and communities of color are among the most vulnerable to pollution and the impacts of climate change.

Notably, the American Jobs Plan places these communities at the center of this historic infrastructure package, man-

dating at least 40 percent of the benefits of investments target disadvantaged communities.

Faith leaders from across the country have united in their call for a bold recovery and an infrastructure package that will help us rebuild in a way that makes us stronger than ever before. Just as they guided us through the darkest, most uncertain moments of the past year, faith leaders can also guide our nation in building back better. That’s why I have joined over 3,400 other faith leaders in adding my name to a letter to Congress urging passage of this common-sense and essential proposal.

The American Jobs Plan is the future, and we’re counting on Congress to turn this vision into a reality. Our leaders in Washington must fully support passing this monumental legislation and help families get back on their feet while protecting our public health and beloved environment.

The AJT welcomes your letters. We want our readers to have an opportunity to engage with our community in constructive dialogue. If you would like your letter to Letter to the editor, be published, please write 200 words or less, include your name, phone number and Crowing Without Feathers (in one’s cap) email, and send it to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

Today our politicians are crowing loudly about 55 percent of targeted Amer“Israel is an apartheid state” propaganda Letter to the editor, I was pleased to see Alfred Schli- machine. He also touched briefly on the icans being partially vaccinated, and cht’s column “Anti-Jewish Attitudes in historic spread of Islam by military con- maybe 45 percent being fully vaccinated, Early Islam” in the AJT (June 15). A ne- quest, starting with the attack on Khay- as if these numbers are the equivalent of summiting Everest. farious political correctness has been bar.

Am I missing something here? At From the political left, Jews who endobstructing the free and open discussion of Islam. Like the self-flagellants during lessly rail against “western” militarism school, getting it 50 percent right would the Black Death, blaming themselves and imperialism never rail against Is- earn a student a grade of F. I get that most people don’t trust for the plague, many Jews are self-fla- lamic expansion, which spread through gellants when it comes to anti-Semitism both. We are constantly reminded of the government and most never learned masquerading as “legitimate” anti-Israel the Christian Crusades, but never are much science in school. But these social criticism. The commitment to left-wing reminded that the Holy Land was seized failures are the fault of leadership.

The founding fathers were clear politics over religion and history is so through Islamic imperialism. After 9/11, deeply embedded in many Jews (and, we endured the spectacle of George W. about what was needed for real political sadly, their rabbis) that they unabash- Bush whitewashing Islam and proclaim- leadership: knowledge, experience and edly re-write Islamic history to accom- ing to the world, “Islam is a peaceful reli- virtue (selfless personality).

The founders wanted leaders who gion.” To speak truth about Islam is to be modate their politics.

Mr. Schlicht reminded us of the his- branded an “Islamophobe.” But there is had knowledge of political science, and toric Islamic practice of dhimmitude, no “phobia” in speaking facts. The only particularly the difference between republicanism (“democracy”) and elected about which most Jews are silent, as “phobia” is fearing those facts. monarchy.

Muslims and the world marshal their Barry Kriegel, Atlanta

The founders wanted leaders who entered local public service and stayed there in a variety of capacities for a long time.

The founders wanted people who did not care for fame, fortune or control, but merely the opportunity to educate others, serve the majority, and preserve the rights of the minority.

Is there one such politician serving anywhere in the United States today?

Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross, Utah

Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal is senior rabbi of Ahavath Achim Synagogue, immediate past president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association.

Letters to the Editor

Disclamer to our readers: This section of the newspaper is a forum for our community to share thoughts, concerns and opinions as open letters to the community or directly to the newspaper.

As a letter to the editor, we proof for spelling and grammatical errors only. We do not edit nor vet the information the letter contains. The individual signing the letter is accountable for what they share.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 19

HEALTH & WELLNESS Psychedelics Get New Medical Respect A f t e r decades as a much-abused, illegal party drug known as ecstasy or molly, the psychedelic pharmaceutical MDMA may be coming into its Bob Bahr own as an accepted treatment for psychological trauma.

In early May, in what is believed to be the first such published study of a phase III clinical trial, the drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine was found to be highly effective in treating posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. The results of the research appeared in the journal Nature Medicine.

The randomized study, which included 91 patients at 15 different locations in the U.S., Canada and Israel showed that 67 percent of PTSD sufferers who took MDMA accompanied by an intensive program of psychotherapy no longer had symptoms of the disorder.

That was more than double the number who took a placebo and psychotherapy.

That was good news for physicians such

Barbara Rothbaum believes some psychedelic drugs promise a new era in medicine.

MDMA is on a fast track for FDA approval as a treatment for PTSD.

Rick Doblin has made adoption of psychedelics as legit meds a lifelong goal.

as Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, a longtime member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Dunwoody, who helps lead the clinical research program at Emory University’s School of Medicine. Until she began her research using MDMA there had not been any new treatments for PTSD for over 20 years.

“We have two FDA-approved medications, and they were approved at the end of the 1990s. They’re good treatments but they certainly don’t work for everyone.”

According to Rothbaum, MDMA not only reduces anxiety in PTSD but it also al-

lows patients to reflect on the emotions, particularly to facilitate what she described as the “extinction of fear.” In doing so, she points out, it can positively reshape the way patients think.

Rothbaum runs the Veterans Program at Emory Healthcare and the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. She actually counsels former servicemen that the drug can change the way their brain works.

“This is what we tell our veterans when they come in. We are hoping to change your brain and your body and your relationship with this trauma and this memory. And, as doctors, we absolutely think that will happen.”

PTSD, first treated after the Vietnam War, is known to lead to debilitating nightmares, hallucinations, panic attacks and even suicide.

According to Emory statistics, as many as one out of every three veterans and activeduty military that have served since 2001, or more than 2.7 million American servicemen, have either PTSD, traumatic brain injury or other such conditions.

It’s much the same in Israel, where the country has gone through some extensive military campaigns in recent history. In 2019, Israel’s Health Ministry approved MDMA for “compassionate use” in the treatment of PTSD. It is believed to be the first such country to take such a step.

The Israel drug therapy, approved at five clinical sites in that country, was supported in part by a grant from the prestigious Schusterman Family Foundation in New York, which has been a generous Jewish funder of philanthropic projects in the United States and Israel.

The success of the clinical trial results can be partly attributed to the work of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which for the past 35 years has worked for the therapeutic acceptance of psychedelics such as MDMA. The California-based nonprofit was founded in 1986 a year after President Ronald Reagan’s Drug Enforcement Administration

banned the drug for having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

Since then, MAPS and its founder Rick Doblin, who grew up Jewish in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Ill., has raised over $100 million to fund research and reposition MDMA as a valuable psychiatric tool.

At press time, Doblin, who now lives in Boston and serves as the organization’s executive director, was unavailable for an interview. But he told the JTA last year, in a lengthy profile, that his recreational use of psychedelic drugs that began in the late 1960s had a spiritual component.

His experiences with mind-altering drugs such as MDMA set him off on a lifelong quest to expand the use of psychedelics in medicine, including not just MDMA, but mescaline, a hallucinogen derived from cactus plants and psilocybin, both of which, like MDMA, are illegal drugs under U.S. law.

In November 2020, Oregon became the first state in the U.S. and the first area in the world to legalize psilocybin, a psychoactive compound made from mushrooms, for therapeutic use.

At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, research is underway in the medical uses of psilocybin at a new $17 million Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research.

Emory Medical School is also studying the use of psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy to help patients with treatment-resistant depression.

The encouraging results of the MDMA studies convinced the Food and Drug Administration to put the drug on a “fast track” for final approval in the next two years.

Rothbaum, who co-authored an introductory guide to PTSD with Sheila Rauch, an Emory professor of psychology, believes the current research in psychedelics is an important step forward for mental health.

“I believe we’re at the beginning of a new era in therapies that are based on how the brain works, how the brain forms memories and how the brain extinguishes fear memories during therapy.” ì

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Do Jews Live Longer?

By Bob Bahr Next month when Frieda Banks blows out the candles on her birthday cake, she probably won’t have much left she can wish for. At the age of 101, she’s had a long, happy, and generally healthy life. She’s still physically active, doesn’t need glasses, a hearing aid or a nursing aide to get her through the day.

She plays cards three or four times a week, enjoys being with others and smiles easily. Aside from some difficulty with her short-term memory, she easily recalls the high points in her long life and the lives of her four children, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

The power chair she uses when she leaves her apartment at Sunrise at Huntcliff Summit in Sandy Springs is one of her few concessions to advancing age. If anything, she has less patience than ever for those who complain about their aches and pains.

“I don’t like to hear all my friends talking about what’s wrong with them. I don’t do it and I’m older than all of them.”

Banks is what gerontologists like to call SuperAgers, people who are still enjoying life after their 100th birthday and have little or no experience with the life-threatening illnesses than afflict their contemporaries.

The term was coined by Dr. Nir Barzilai, an Israeli-born physician who summarized over 20 years of research about how and why we age, in a new book published last year, “Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity.”

Much of that research comes from his Longevity Genes Project at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City which has followed over 750 Ashkenazic Jews there between the ages of 95 and 109. They all reached their advanced age without having had such life-threatening illnesses as heart disease or cancer.

He chose these Ashkenazim not just because he found them to be especially long-lived but because they generally resemble one another more closely genetically than other ethnic groups.

Their genetic makeup, he believes, has been shaped by centuries of politically imposed isolation in Eastern Europe and by religious beliefs that led to marriages with Jews of a similar background.

However, when researchers looked more closely at their lifestyle, they found these Jews to have some very bad habits.

Over half of them were obese or overweight, many didn’t exercise, and over half

netics, some of the important factors that cause aging. He predicts in his book that in the future, more people will enjoy the benefits of the SuperAgers, whatever the genes we were born with.

Among the world’s leading experts on the topic, Felipe Sierra is in charge of the research into the biology of longevity at the National Institute on Aging.

He described the “major pillars An extensive study of Ashkenazic Jews and aging included Frieda Banks is almost 101 of aging” in a 2015 article in Irving Kahn, a financial consultant who lived to be 109. and has few health issues.

Science. In this publication of extraordinary energy that runs in her fam- the American Association for the Advanceily. She is a swimmer and, at the age of 98, ment of Science, Sierra summarized what she saved a struggling and much younger he mentioned as the half dozen pathways woman from drowning by pulling her and mechanisms that lead to aging more through the water to safety. quickly.

What all the research on Jews may Because of what they have learned, lead to is some important medical breakscientists believe we may be close to realthroughs. izing the previously impossible notion that Barzilai, among other scientists, wrote we can control aging. Or as Sierra mainin his book that he believes that he and his tains, once researchers more fully undercolleagues may one day soon be able to stand the genetics of aging, there’s a good start to control, through the science of gechance we will be able to control it. ì Researchers at Albert Einstein School of Medicine studied over 750 elderly Jews, including members of the Kahn family, who all lived to be over 100.

of them smoked. One New Yorker, Helen Kahn, who lived to be almost 110, smoked regularly for 90 of those years. Her brother Irving, a wealthy financial consultant who was also in the study, lived to be 109, but gave up smoking years before he died.

So Dr. Barzalai was forced to look elsewhere for his answers to what leads to a longer life.

He described what he found in “Age Later,” his first book on his research. What he learned credits longevity, primarily, to good genes.

“Despite all the external factors that might figure into longevity —- the factors that the SuperAgers have control over and often do take control over —- they believe that genes are the biggest determinant of life span. And of course, I agree,” he wrote in the book.

And so, it seems, would Banks, who remembers her mother who died at the age of 88. She was a forceful and energetic woman who lived independently and refused to allow any outside help into her home until she died, Banks said of her mother.

And she mentions that Banks’ oldest son, at 80, is a doctor, who still is actively involved in his busy practice at the three offices he runs in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Banks offers one final example of the ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 21

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Quarantine 15 Pandemic Pounds With increased time at home, sitting, loose clothing, television binging, a surge in baking, plus life’s stressors, the Quarantine 15 Robyn Spizman has reached Gerson epidemic proportions. Some of us escaped unwanted weight gain, while others packed on unwarranted pounds. Regardless of where you fit in, eating healthfully is key.

Cheryl Orlansky is a registered, licensed dietitian nutritionist at Laureate Medical Group. “Many of my patients destressed with daily cocktail hours, along with nighttime snacking, which did not lead to a good outcome over time.

On the flip side, others took better care of themselves. They found time to walk daily or do Zoom exercise classes, and family meals had an emphasis on improved nutrition overall.

To keep us motivated, Orlansky said, “This is the time to do it. If not now, when? It is the day-to-day mindfulness of your meals that impacts you the most.

Take a few little baby steps towards your goal. Meal planning is important. Have a plan for the week and go to the grocery store (or have groceries delivered) so items are on hand.

“Portion control is important,” she continued. “A daily serving of cereal is one cup, not a bowl. In the beginning, measure cereal, or the added fruit to see what a portion looks like. The best tool overall for everyone is called the portion dinner plate. Visualize half of the plate vegetables, one-fourth protein – lean fish, meat or poultry, or beans – and one-fourth starch. You won’t have to measure. But look at your dinner plate; it should be about 9 inches across — not a platter!”

Orlansky adds, “If you are eating more calories than your body is burning, you will gain weight. If you eat 100 extra calories every day, that is 10 pounds of weight gain in a year. A glass or two of wine at night along with snacking in front of the TV and several hundred calories could easily lead to the Quarantine 15. And the bottom-line is don’t be afraid to enjoy food,” she said.

“Health and wellness is a journey.

It is the day-to-day mindfulness of your meals that impacts you the most. Total abstinence from treat foods is not a sus22 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Cheryl Orlansky is a registered, licensed dietitian nutritionist.

A balanced plate: half vegetables and half protein and starch, according to Cheryl Orlansky.

tainable plan. The pandemic caused all of us to change our routines and lives.

Now let’s get back to taking care of ourselves.”

Orlansky offered the following tips: ■ Get up every hour and remember body movement is key. Do purposeful exercise, at your chair – chair exercises – but walk to the mailbox, go up the stairs or walk around the block. Exercise 30 minutes most days of the week for weight maintenance. For weight loss, 45 to 60 minutes. As we get older, it’s important to work on balance, flexibility and strength training, as well as cardio.

■ Try to eat protein at every meal.

Protein leads to satiety and helps rebuild and repair our bodies. Eat salmon, tuna; anchovies, herring, which are higher in omega-3. All fish (halibut, barramundi, cod, flounder, grouper) are lean sources of protein. Protein is also found in beans, dairy, nuts, seeds and soy products.

■ Stock up on pantry staples: canned (low sodium or rinsed) beans; light tuna in water or oil; one-minute quick oats; brown rice; quinoa; low sodium soups; marinara or pesto; artichoke

Sheryl Westermen offers helpful tips for managing your weight.

Flavorful seasoning in a cauliflower and arugula salad is suggested by Sheryl Westermen.

hearts; sun-dried tomatoes; trail mix or nuts; olives and salsa.

■ Finish eating three hours before reclining for the evening and avoid late-night snacking.

■ Avoid saturated fat and ultraprocessed foods. These foods go through multiple processes to manipulate the original food with added ingredients [including] soft drinks, some chips, candy, sweetened and colored breakfast cereal, microwave popcorn or chicken nuggets.

■ Snacks include: a small piece of fruit; trail mix; yogurt, low sugar like siggis or plain FAGE, YQ or plain lowfat Greek yogurt; whole grain crackers and peanut or almond butter; chickpeas with a little salt and olive oil, roasted; handful of mixed nuts or rice cakes; popcorn (try adding cinnamon and almond butter), a couple of graham crackers; dark chocolate or frozen bars like Outshine or frozen banana in food processor, or frozen grapes.

■ Make water appealing by making a pitcher of spa water: fresh mint, sliced cucumbers, lemon or lime.

Sheryl Westerman, a nutrition and

weight loss coach for 42 year offers her own solutions. “We all deserve to be the best version of ourselves. My motto is: ‘Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.’”

She advises: ■ Beware of designer salads: Avoid salads loaded with dried cranberries, salad dressings that are loaded with oil and mayonnaise like vinaigrettes.

■ Fruit is not a free food. Portions matter. Two cups of watermelon is one portion and 15 cherries are one portion.

■ Eat vegetables as a crunchy snack like jicama, carrots or celery.

■ Favorite seasonings include black pepper; lemon pepper; red pepper flakes; smoked paprika; sumac (Persian) spice; za’atar seasoning (Israeli); cinnamon; ginger; cumin; turmeric; Old Bay seasoning for seafood, poultry and meat; oregano/rosemary/sage/dill/tarragon; fresh garlic; fresh parsley; fresh basil; Everything Bagel Seasoning; kosher salt; and Trader Joe’s sweet chili lime seasoning. ì

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Piedmont Director’s Final ‘Unimaginable’ Year

By Bob Bahr On June 30, Dr. Mark Cohen retired after a long career as a triple board-certified cardiologist and after nine years as chief medical officer of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.

He described his work during the pandemic that has so far claimed over 600,000 lives in America as an “unimaginable experience.” One of those who was lost was

getting infected, then we’d have a disaster.

So for public health reasons, we needed to keep visitors out and separate patients from their loved ones, separate families.

We took patients and we forced them into, in essence, solitary confinement. It was terrible.

AJT: How did that affect you?

Cohen: We had to have a method for granting exceptions and the method was the chief medical officer. That was me, so

just succumbed.

AJT: And how do you view the development of the vaccines?

Cohen: The most dramatic, unbelievable gift from G-d, I would guess, is the vaccine. I mean, this mRNA vaccine platform, which was initially developed several years ago for the SARS virus and was not used very much since, was brought back out for this. It is unbelievable.

The capability now is to take a little bit

need boosters, it’ll be the exact same vaccine with just a little difference to the genetic material inside it.

AJT: How do you think you’ve done with the challenges you’ve faced.

Cohen: I’m speaking for all of health care right now and all of medicine. There are special places in heaven for these people who worked over the past year and a half. I mean, with everything that was unknown about the virus and all the dangers

The COVID vaccine is described by Dr. Mark Cohen as a gift from G-d.

Dr. Mark Cohen lost his own father to the COVID virus in February.

his own father. The AJT talked with Cohen about what he had experienced during the last 1 ½ years.

AJT: Take us back to what it was like at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital early in 2020, just as the pandemic began to develop?

Cohen: It just came on us like a tsunami, that out there somewhere this giant wave was coming and it’s going to crash down on you. The big crisis was really New York City. They had trailers in the parking lots of hospitals for the bodies, and we needed to prepare for that possibility. We stopped doing all medical work that could be delayed. We cleared out the hospital and we kept all the staff. We never let anybody go.

AJT: What were your biggest worries?

Cohen: I worried that we’d be totally overrun and unable to care for the number of patients for whom we are obligated to care. Will we be setting up beds in the lobby of the hospital and caring for people there?

Will we run out of ventilators? Will we have enough masks and gloves? Will the supply chain of the country be interrupted, and we can’t get sterile saline? I mean, I worried about everything.

AJT: Clearing the hospital must have meant no visitors, how difficult was that?

Cohen: We made that decision very early on because probably our biggest risk at the time would be an epidemic that would sweep through the hospital. So if the staff, the nurses, the doctors all start

I was the recipient of all the requests, and I was talking to patients and families, nurses and doctors. And when I look back at my role, this is the experience that I remember the most vividly, the pain, the emotional pain that families were going through.

About three weeks into it, in early April, I realized that I had become incapable of saying “no.” I just couldn’t do it anymore, and I went to the chief nursing officer, and I said, ‘I don’t cry uncle very often, but I need to give this to you. I’m not doing the job that the hospital needs anymore.’

Emotionally, I couldn’t do it. I was crushed.

AJT: How has it turned out?

Cohen: It turned out that we never were overrun the way we were afraid we would be. Our peak number of COVID patients at any one time was about 110.

AJT: How would you describe the progress you’ve made in treating patients with the disease?

Cohen: I think we’re way further ahead than we were 16 months ago. Antiviral therapy has been dramatically advanced. You have an infectious illness in your lungs and part of what’s killing you is your body’s own immune response. So we actually treat you with steroids to reduce your body’s inflammatory response. However, there still isn’t good primary therapy.

We have the convalescent plasma, the antibodies that can be administered to people, steroids, supplemental oxygen, but fundamentally it’s supportive care.

My father, who was 88, came down with COVID in February of this year before he could be vaccinated. He was treated with totally contemporary care in a hospital in Miami and everything was done that could be done, but fundamentally his body

There’s still much to learn about treating COVID-19 in hospitals, Dr Mark Cohen believes.

of genetic material that will fight the virus, stick it into these little, tiny, microscopic carriers and inject it into you. So if we all

they faced, these people put on their gowns, their N95 masks and their gloves every day and they saved so many lives. ì

Here’s to lots of reasons to SMILE in 2021!!

We are honored to care for so many of yours!

Harris B. Siegel, DMD, FAGO Arthur H. "Skip" Dolt, Ill, DDS, FAGO Marc “Chas” Plaisance, Jr., DMD

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Siegel Bones Up on Osteoporosis As Blythe Only walking is not enough, she said.

Danner waltzes The most effective exercise regime should across the teleinclude multidisciplinary combinations, vision screen which could include yoga, walking, carin seemingly dio, bodyweight resistance such as planks, nonstop Prolia Pilates, barre, light weights, and push ups. commercials, Exercises that focus on balance are very imgynecologist portant for fall prevention, Siegel continued.

Gabriela Siegel Once the diagnosis is made, Siegel evalcounsels pauates pharmaceutical options with first-line Marcia tients on prevenmeds, bisphosphonates such as Actonel and Caller Jaffe Daily calcium, such as from dairy products, is tion and strate- Dr. Gabriela Siegel’s own mother Fosamax. She cautions, “After long-term use a key ingredient in fighting osteoporosis. gies to manage suffers from osteoporosis, so she of these (five to 10 years), there have been inis extra vigilant and proactive. osteoporosis, defined as a skeletal disorder cidences of atypical long bone fractures, so characterized by loss of bone mass that could we may choose to switch to Evista or Prolia, “Not every fracture is an indication of osteoporosis. increase vulnerability to fracture. the former for younger patients. Other meds like Forteo are The best line of defense is exercise in a multi-focal exercise Siegel stated, “Ten million Americans have it. Women plan, focused on weight-bearing, and daily calcium intake, on the market, but not in our first line tool kit. The caution is are five times greater than men to have the disease. Six per- physical activity and adequate nutrition. Calcium intake is if one comes off the meds, the condition will regress. Medicacent of men do have osteoporosis; 25 percent of women over best achieved by eating three to four servings daily of some tion groups work on different mechanisms. It’s a calculated 65 have osteoporosis, 52 percent have osteopenia. Women form of dairy or calcium-fortified foods. We need to gauge decision to make with your doctor.” have two times the fracture rate than men. It’s really about dairy intake like cheese, milk even skim, and a cup of calAs a gynecologist, Siegel treats osteoporosis, but not all lifestyle plus genetics.” such specialists do. When patients do not respond to these cium- enriched orange juice, which typically has 25 percent In terms of diagnosing, current guidelines recommend of the daily requirement. Vegetables are good as a little extra, courses of treatment, they can be referred to a rheumatolostarting testing at 65, unless there are other risk factors. A like broccoli, but you’d need to eat way too much to equal a gist or endocrinologist. bone density test (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) typi- glass of milk.” Children need 1,300 milligrams a day, 1,000 for Although bone pathways may be genetic, peak bone cally focuses on the lumbar spine and hip areas as those are those under 50, and 1,200 for those over 50. Siegel also says mass is reached around age 20. She lamented, “After that, it’s the most common fracture sites. Sometimes the forearm is to add Vitamin D 600 to 800 IUs (international units) a day, all about prevention. We see rapid loss beginning about one also checked. year before menopause as estrogen levels begin to decline, especially for those 70 and up. and continues for three years, then might plateau. Some who have taken hormone treatment may have better bone health but is not prescribed for osteoporosis treatment because of other risk factors like stroke or breast cancer.”

Siegel grew up in Washington, D.C., and trained at George Washington University Medical Center. She moved to Israel in 1995 and practiced obstetrics-gynecology for eight years at the regional hospital Assaf Harofeh, directing an outpatient high-risk obstetrical clinic. In 2003 she and her scientist husband moved to Atlanta where she practices at Atlanta Women’s Obstetrics & Gynecology. They have three children ages 22, 26 and 30. She enjoys cooking, baking, hiking, theater, museums and lots of exercise.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Mother Challenges Diabetes Protocol In 2013, at the age of 4 1/2, Matan Fleishman was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The Mayo Clinic defines type 1 as juvenile diabetes Chana Shapiro or insulindependent diabetes, a chronic condition typically identified during childhood and adolescence in which the pancreas does

with their daughter (they are religiously observant Jews) and rotated night shifts to be with Matan and to receive training to manage his care.

According to the National Institutes of Health website, type 1 diabetes may be triggered by environmental factors, such as viruses or by genes. Recently, Nataly Fleishman, a sixth-generation Israeli, discovered that diabetes existed in her family several generations earlier, but that wasn’t known when Matan was diagnosed.

Matan immediately started receiving insulin shots.

Fleishman, whose husband’s job demanded frequent travel, managed Matan’s treatment and scrupulously followed the doctor’s guidelines. And Matan’s preschool teachers worked with his family to control his blood sugar and learned to administer insulin shots.

Fleishman describes this regimen as “a terrible roller coaster ride. Matan’s blood sugar was inconstant, often vacillating between too low or too high. I didn’t really sleep for three years,” she said.

“I was responsible for Matan’s insulin shots through the night if he was high, or to feed him glucose if he was low. Matan wasn’t thriving, and I dedicated myself to learning everything I could about type 1. I Nataly Fleishman and son Matan, whose blood sugar believed there had to level is now better than most non-diabetics. be something better not produce enough insulin for glucose than the standard treatment.” to enter cells and produce energy.

In 2015, the Fleishmans moved to Matan’s parents were concerned Atlanta for their children to attend Jewabout their son’s excessive drinking and ish schools through high school, and they urinating, and his mother, Nataly, took sought a local endocrinologist. Simultahim to their doctor in Norfolk, Va., for neously, Nataly learned about a highly tests. She was shocked when they were recommended Israeli endocrinologist instructed to go straight to the hospital. working at the Boston Joslin Diabetes That night, the holiday of Sukkot be- Center, billed as the world’s largest diabegan. The following days, Seth and Nataly tes clinic, research and education center.

Fleishman, who was seven months preg- Matan was almost 7 years old when Seth nant with twins, walked to the hospital Fleishman brought him to Boston. Nataly

followed up by sending summaries of his daily blood glucose measurements to Joslin every few weeks.

The Fleishmans, by then the parents of four children, were required to bring Matan to Boston every few months, but they were increasingly convinced there had to be a better plan. In the meantime, Nataly discovered that she had autoimmune conditions and she and her older daughter were pre-diabetic. (According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, A1C measures blood sugar levels over periods of three months. An A1C over 5.7 is pre-diabetic, and over 6.5 indicates diabetes.)

Fleishman continued to research and learn. From an Israeli friend, she heard about TypeOneGrit, an over 3,000-member Facebook group. TypeOneGrit follows a diet and lifestyle program devised by Dr. Richard Bernstein, an 87-year-old physician with type 1 diabetes. To participate in this online community, one must first read his book, “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars.” It recommends an ultralow carbohydrate diet along with treatment protocols outside the norm. Fleishman explained, “Not only do you have to read the book, but there’s a test to pass!

Reading this book was life changing. The Bernstein carbohydrate protocol differs from the standard treatment, and we finally found Atlanta endocrinologists who support Bernstein’s methods.

“Most mothers fear going off the standard treatment, but I took responsibility for my son. If anything goes wrong, it’s on me. When Matan was 8 years old, I had finally changed his diet and insulin regimen. With his full consent and willingness, I told him, ‘You can lead a life of

complications forever or you can prevent suffering and be normal. I can’t do it for you; you have to take charge.’ Where there’s food that our children know is unhealthy for them, most of the time they choose to eat better food I have waiting for them at home instead. Sometimes I send appropriate treats with them. No one is deprived because I know how to provide healthful, tasty food.”

Matan’s blood sugar depends on the type of carbs he eats. His diet is high in protein, moderate in fats and low in carbohydrates, and the carbs are mainly from vegetables and low-carb foods. He gets an insulin injection before every meal, and basal insulin when he wakes up and goes to sleep. He wears a continual monitoring device on his arm, which is connected to Fleishman’s cell phone.

She elucidates, “Matan eats 30 grams of carbs a day, divided into 6 for breakfast, 12 for lunch, and 12 for dinner.

His blood sugar is now stable. Since December of 2017, Matan’s A1C is below 5, on par or better than most non-diabetics, a rarity in the diabetic world, but it’s a never-ending commitment.”

Fleishman’s non-traditional management of her son’s diabetes improved her family’s health; they now all follow a low-carb diet. Learning to cure her own pre-diabetes and autoimmune problems, Fleishman subsequently created a free Facebook group to support healthy living, https://nataly.mastermind.com/masterminds/20948, and she developed a seven-week online course Breathe Health for people with autoimmune conditions, laying out her extensive research and three-year journey. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 25

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Day Grinding or Clenching: Are You Guilty?

Dr. Ronald E. Goldstein

Dr. Toni Salama

Few times in our history have we seen so many people under so much stress. In fact, three out of four Americans report experiencing at least one stress symptom in the last month, according to the American Psychological Association. Dr. Goldstein estimates that 80 percent of people clench or grind their teeth at some point during their lifetime.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in extensive time in quarantine, plus lost jobs, lost income and businesses loss. Not to mention the volatile election year and overall rapid shift to a new normal. We are seeing more symptoms such as constant headaches, neck and other body strains, losing patience, road rage, tempers and general unhappiness with one’s life, plus problems causing stress among friends and family.

But some of the problems of stress can also result in teeth clenching or grinding called bruxism. These are a relatively common habit but can affect the need for dental treatment.

Restoration failure, such as material chipping and fractures, is an unfortunate and costly occurrence that can happen as a result. Changes around your teeth such as widening of the ligaments that help your teeth stay in place, tooth mobility and recession may also occur.

A strong correlation exists between temporomandibular disorders and bruxism.

Whether bruxism causes TMDs is undetermined, but there is support to show that day bruxism exacerbates TMD symptoms,

including headache, muscle and joint pain, plus jaw locking. The activity of bruxism results in muscle hyperactivity, particularly the jaw muscles, many times causing muscle spasm as well as temporal headaches.

Compounding the problem, there is a lack of awareness specific to awake tooth clenching and grinding. If you are aware of the problem, chances are you have visited your dentist and even have had treatment to help you stop, or at least control what has become a harmful habit. Many patients have visited numerous physicians to help solve their headaches but are still seeking a cure.

This article is about unconscious day grinding or awake bruxism and the affect this has on the overall problem. Most people do this at some time or another, but are totally unaware they are doing it, nor the damage as we have pointed out, not only in their teeth but also in the temporomandibular joint and associated surrounding muscles.

While they both stem from the same medical condition called bruxism, grinding and clenching are different. Clenching can occur during sleep or while you’re awake, and can transpire during physical or athletic activities or periods of stress where your teeth are pressed hard together but don’t move from side to slide. Grinding tends to happen subconsciously during sleep, although it can and does happen, too often, during the day.

In a 2017 article by Drs. Goldstein and Wendy Clark on “The Clinical Management of Awake Bruxism,” published in The Journal of the American Dental Association, the authors acknowledge statistics vary considerably about the prevalence of bruxism. However, Goldstein estimates that more than 80 percent of people grind or clench at some time during the day and are completely unaware of it. So if you are still getting headaches, we suggest you

tures. Patients may require a day or night guard to help control the problem. However, other problems such as sleep apnea may need diagnosing.

Sleep apnea is when breathing repeatedly stops and starts and often is associated with loud snoring, gasping or choking and when abruptly awoken and awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat. It can also be related to clenching or grinding teeth.

In addition, we recommend lifestyle changes. A concrete plan of patient education is a first step to solving the problem of awake bruxism. Once aware of the bruxism events, you can begin to make the necessary change in behavior.

If behavior change is not successful, we recommend a daytime appliance, not only to prevent damage but also to promote awareness.

Courtesy of Goldstein Garber & Salama // A person tends to be more aware Before and after photos of a patient of clenching or grinding when he treated for teeth-grinding issues. or she bites on an appliance rather than the opposing teeth. have your dentist examine your internal facial When possible, it is always best to premuscles, plus possible tooth wear.

In addition to taking a complete history vent the need for extensive dental treatment of the various symptoms, an exam of the fa- due to advanced tooth wear. Inhibiting bruxcial muscles is necessary to locate patterns of ism, both awake and sleeping, is in the patooth wear and the cause. There was a famous tient’s best interest. Thus, it is imperative for Bob Newhart video in which he plays a psy- the dentist, hygienist and dental assistant to chiatrist and after listening to the many habits educate and reeducate the patient during the patient has, his treatment plan consisted and after any restorative treatment. This also of three words: “Just Stop It!” That treatment should include a possible need for a night would be great if it could work with clenching guard to protect any new porcelain veneers or and grinding, but it takes much more to help crowns. ì cure, or at least control the habit of “awake Ronald Goldstein is an Atlanta cosmetic bruxism.” dentist. Toni Salama is a dental specialist in periTo begin with, a cephalometric X-ray odontics and implant dentistry. Both are with may be required to show a side view of the Goldstein Garber & Salama, GoldsteinGarber. face, which allows the dentist to see the temcom. poromandibular joint and surrounding struc-

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Mother-Daughter Generational Health

By Marcia Caller Jaffe What does a 75-year-old retired cantor have in common with a 41-year-old pregnant woman?

Diane Nathanson, classically trained musician and cantor, retired to Atlanta to stay fit and have fun with daughter, health guru Desiree Nathanson, who operates Interfusion Fitness. Both are certified yoga instructors.

Diane, who served as a cantor in Sarasota, Fla., got interested in health and wellness when her then-37-year-old husband and Desiree’s father had a devastating stroke, which left him with impaired speech and activity range. Diane said, “Desiree was only 1 when he became extremely limited, and she began observing and studying us staying physically active through the Nautilus workout method and thus, understanding the me-

Photo by Rupa Kapoor //Diane and Desiree are both certified yoga instructors.

Photo by Beth Intro Photography // Mother and daughter practice what they preach in healthy mind and body lifestyles.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

COVID, she was a member of the ATL Silver Classix Crew, over 50 dancers, for the Atlanta Hawks. Also impressively, Diane twice sang the national anthem at Hawks games in front of an audience of more than 20,000. Note that when the opposing team was from Canada, she sang “O Canada,” their national anthem, as well.

For other healthy habits, in addition to working out with Desiree, Diane eats many small meals throughout the day and likes to combine simple foods such as an avocado and egg sandwich duo.

Living in Toco Hills, she serves as a docent for the Michael Carlos Museum on the Emory University campus.

Daughter Desiree has a master’s degree in nutrition. Her Interfusion Fitness hosts seven virtual classes a week since her studio closed during COVID in March 2020. Classes include prenatal and postpartum workouts.

Desiree was featured in the 2013 AJT “Nachas in the NBA” about her performance as a Hawks dancer, where she eventually headed the senior dance team in which Mom participated. As a graduate of the University of Florida, Desiree was part of their acclaimed Dazzlers dance team.

She concluded with a bit of fitness advice: • Find something you love to keep moving. If you find jogging to be a chore, for example, you won’t stick with it.

• Don’t stress over exercise nor make it an obsession.

• Allow for rest and recovery between work outs.

• Remember health is body and mind. Care for yourself emotionally in a holistic approach.ì

Diane Nathanson blew shofar while a cantor in Sarasota before moving to Atlanta.

chanics and equipment. Now she teaches seven classes a week while expecting her second child.”

Diane is a graduate of The Hartt School of music at the University of Hartsfield, Conn., with a masters in classical music. Later, in the '70s and '80s, she starred in summer theater performances such as “A Little Night Music” and “The King and I.” She said, “My operatic training and cantorial singing have much in common.”

After moving to Sarasota, she was inspired by her rabbi, who was a cantor originally, and others like Rabbi Nathan Witkin, to serve over two decades as cantor for Temple Beth Sholom. Diane continued. “I started as an apprentice and

dedicated myself to ‘lain Torah’ [reading Torah] two days a week over many years.

By the way, Rabbi Witkin was quite a presence as he served under President [Jimmy] Carter and others for 30 years as a chaplain for the U.S. Armed Forces and their families in the Panama Canal.” After the death of her husband in 2014, she moved to Atlanta. She recalled, “I did sing at his funeral.”

In terms of keeping in tip-top shape, Diane took a pole dancing class with five other women. “That was more for fun than fitness. It was about freedom of movement, working on that fireman’s pole. It helps to be fit to swing around.”

As a ballroom dancer, she likes the Viennese waltz, tango and cha-cha. Pre-

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TRAVEL Jews Who Cruise It has been over a year since the last cruise line canceled due to the pandemic that paralyzed its ability to set sail from U.S. Stephanie Nissani ports, leaving cruisers scrambling to receive refunds and rebook their previously scheduled trips for a later date.

Due to mass cancelations in 2020, the cruise industry is now allowing cruisers to book voyages into 2023 with some cruise lines already starting to resume sailings.

Travel consultant Tamara Jacobs explained, “Cruise lines have put out their 2023 schedule because so many people pushed their trips to the end of 2021 and 2022, since people did not want to schedule too soon from fear of their trips getting canceled [once again].”

Another problem the industry encountered, Jacobs said, was adhering to the mandates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that govern “over the United States and its ports,” not allowing ships to set sail. Instead, “people were flying to St. Martín and the Bahamas to catch their next cruise from there.”

The CDC recommends that, “Since the virus spreads more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high. It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises.”

Jacobs, a certified travel consultant with Destinations by Tamara, hopes that cruise lines will stick to the final decision of reopening U.S. ports, such as Seattle and Texas by mid-July, while adhering to the CDC protocols of “updating sanitary guidelines of cleanliness, ship capacity and 95 percent of employees who must be vaccinated.”

While activities and food buffets will continue as normal, “employees will be the ones serving people, rather than the individual serving himself, … promoting a better way of avoiding contact where each person ends up touching the serving utensils.”

Jacobs said it’s up to the individual cruise line whether vaccinations will be 28 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

The Vitale family in Amber Cove City in the Dominican Republic.

its excursions [once the ship docks], not allowing travelers to wander off on their own, or use another company for their off-ship tours,” Jacobs said.

For some avid Atlanta cruisers such as Varda Cheskis Sauer, it is less of a problem. “I’ve been cruising for years.”

In her experience, there are two types of cruises.

“There is cruising if you are going to travel.”

Just like the time she sailed to New Zealand, Australia, the Baltics in Russia or the British Isles. “These voyages are different. The ships are bigger, you enjoy the ocean and every morning you wake up in a different coast,” she said.

“But then there are the relaxing cruises where you just relax and have fun. You hang out on the ship, sit inside the

Norm and Nancy Miller sip cocktails on a cruise deck.

mandatory or not. For instance, “Royal Caribbean has reversed its initial decision of mandating 100 percent of their employees and cruisers to be vaccinated.”

Another restriction cruisers may find daunting is that “lines are making it mandatory for cruisers to partake in

hot tub and enjoy.”

Sauer believes the travel cruises are the most exciting ones. “It’s just great waking up in a different city.”

A teacher for 24 years at North Springs High School, Sauer admits that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Solstice

are her two favorite cruise lines.

During the pandemic, the retired teacher did away with the refund offered and instead accepted cruise credits for whenever the ships decide to set sail. “I didn’t have the option of a refund because it was so unclear as of how it was working, and it came to the point where I knew that there is no way I’m getting on a cruise ship in August.”

Sauer is one of the lucky ones. She pushed her trip to the end of 2021 and in return, got a deluxe suite and a 12-night cruise to the Caribbean Islands. “But not on the trip of her dreams, Alaska.”

So far, Sauer and her husband have travelled to Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Copenhagen, Denmark. “And the cruise that went to the Baltics was the most incredible destination I’ve ever been on,” she recalled, “I would do it again.”

Despite her optimism about cruising, Sauer shared one concern about traveling. “We are going to sit at a table for two; we will not go into big party areas. In the theaters and concerts, I will wear a mask and will keep my distance,” since she admits owning a variety of facemasks. “Although I am a social butterfly, I will have to keep to myself.”

In terms of those who aren’t vaccinated, Royal Caribbean stated on its website that some of its ships will keep the engagement of non-vaccinators to a minimum, have strict mask mandates and require tables be reserved at designated times in the main dining. For instance, Freedom of the Seas ships, leaving from the port of Miami, require unvaccinated guests to “undergo additional COVID-19 testing at their own expense” and follow specific health protocols based on CDC guidance.

“If you do not wish to undergo or pay for additional testing, or adhere to these health and safety protocols, we are happy to provide you with a refund,” Royal Caribbean states on its website.

A well-traveled Wendy Vitale of Marietta shared how she sails on special family occasions, such as a birthday or anniversary, or even just for the fun of it. The next trip the Vitale family had planned was a cruise to Alaska. It was canceled due to the pandemic that spooked the rest of the world, but Vitale secured a refund.

“We booked the Alaska trip with Holland America Line in January 2020, and right about February or March, Canada had closed its ports for the rest of 2020.

TRAVEL

Varda Cheskis Sauer leaves the Miami port on the Norwegian Getaway to Western Caribbean.

Wendy Vitale with sons Alex and Jeremy at Mameyes in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico

“I couldn’t go next year because I already planned a cruise to Greece,” said Vitale, a senior manager at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). “It’s too hard to plan two cruises in one year when you have to work.”

Vitale anticipates sailing soon but raises some doubts. “My concern is that they will cut down on the services.”

She said her favorite cruise lines are Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian. “I like how Disney did their cruise,” Vitale said. She hopes to find other cruise lines that offer the same high standards for adults. “There is good and bad in all

The Vitale family in Amber Cove City in the Dominican Republic.

Cruise specialist Barbara Diener was frustrated with the cruise lines.

cruises; ships can be crowded at times and service may be lacking for some.”

Cruise specialist Barbara Diener found that the rules and cancelations during COVID erratic. “Cruise lines have been impossible, making promises that they can’t keep,” she said. A land and cruise specialist from Cruise Planners, Diener recalled that just last week a cruise line canceled her trips. She said that it is “exhausting, disappointing, and it is a lot of work for absolutely nothing.”

Typically, when an agent calls the industry to rebook, it takes up to two hours of wait time for anybody to an-

Tamara Jacobs with her daughter on a Mexico excursion.

swer, she continued. “Once you do get someone on the line, they send the paperwork, they get it all wrong and now you find yourself calling them again,” she said.

Nancy Miller has cruised more than a dozen times. The family started making it a priority to cruise together on a regular basis. “In 2015, it was our first grand cruise where we traveled to the Mediterranean Sea, waking up in Spain, then Greece,” she recalled. Miller, who is a paralegal and a retired preschool teacher, said what she enjoys most about sailing is “you just get a small taste of

each place. … We got the last taste of it before it all got canceled.”

She booked an Alaska trip for July 2020 — it was on her bucket list — and waited in the hopes it would happen, until it got canceled. Then she rebooked another cruise for the winter with insurance, airfare, excursions and other items on a typical cruise-planning checklist.

“We are prepared for anything; … we will never reach herd immunity vaccinations and if we wait for that, we will be quarantined for life.” So Miller is holding out once more, preferring to enjoy and explore the world than stay put. ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 29

TRAVEL

Romantic Honeymoons on the Horizon A f t e r L i n d s a y and Jacob Schwartz were married March 20, an AJT wedding announcement noted how the couFlora Rosefsky ple after their small outdoor wedding reception in Young Harris, Ga., “mini-mooned” in a Blue Ridge cabin and expected to honeymoon in the near future. The Schwartzes and other metro Atlantans share how they chose to celebrate their honeymoons. The AJT also consulted with a travel agent for tips on honeymoon travel and Honeymoon Israel, which is based in Atlanta.

Primo Plans For Punta Cana The Schwartzes decided that their honeymoon, now slated for August, would be in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. After sifting through numerous photos and online reviews, as well as finding added perks available for honeymooners, they booked directly

they chose is all-inclusive, yet they upgraded to the Excellence Club option for additional lounges, private beach and additional dining.

It wasn’t until early May, after they

Alli Allen previews Sydney, Australia, for honeymoon travelers.

The Schwartzes planned a mini-moon in the Blue Ridge mountains.

through the hotel Excellence El Carmen, and scheduled their flights through Delta.

They originally planned a European trip, but Lindsay said, “As the pandemic went on, with most countries still not allowing Americans, we decided to stick closer to home.” They both wanted a “primo experience – all the bells and whistles. A swim-up suite or private pool was a must,” she said. The resort

were both fully vaccinated, that the couple began discussing travel, when and where they would feel safe going away.

Later that month, they planned for their first air trip since the pandemic started.

“The honeymoon seems like such a crucial part of the ‘getting married’ process and the official ‘closing’ of that chapter. It’s time, and we’re really excited to officially feel like ‘the newlyweds’!”

30 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Courtesy of Honeymoon Israel //Atlanta’s Honeymoon Israel group at Ahava (love) sculpture in Jerusalem last year.

Honeymoon a Year to the Date The pandemic not only affected Valerie Kulbersh’s small wedding July 1 in the backyard of her husband’s grandmother. But COVID also impacted

mals awaiting them on their bed each night. At the time, the couple contemplated taking an exotic honeymoon in the near future.

Initially the couple was thinking of Iceland or the Greek Islands for their honeymoon but wanted to hold off until COVID was behind them, so they could “experience the destinations in their full glory,” Kulbersh said.

Puerto Rico became a “no-brainer” to be their honeymoon trip, planned for next month, on their first anniversary, Kulbersh said. The location fit their wish list to experience culture and history, have outdoor adventure and also just relax.

After San Juan, they’re heading to El Yunque National Forest for a day of hiking, then to the island Vieques for some beach time and to visit Mosquito Bay, which Kulbersh claims is the “brightest bioluminescent bay in the world.” The couple also wanted to stay in the U.S. because of COVID travel restrictions.

Not having a traditional honeymoon after their wedding, celebrating a year later seemed a logical conclusion.

“This past year seems like it has both

Corey and Hilary Sloane on their HMI trip in Israel last year.

Kulbersh and husband Benjamin Myers ending up with a non-traditional honeymoon at his parents' house in Savannah right after their wedding. Situated on the water, Kulbersh said that home transformed to become a cruise ship. Her in-laws took orders for breakfast. The newly marrieds had private, romantic dinners on the dock, were served drinks and even played Bingo.

Plus they had custom-made towel ani-

lasted a decade and flown by in five minutes, so our first anniversary snuck up on us. We went full speed ahead with honeymoon plans.” That is, with help from Amy Rosen, a vacation consultant with Expedia Cruises in Alpharetta.

Honeymoon in Israel Based in Atlanta, Honeymoon Israel takes couples with at least one Jewish partner to the holy land. Before the pandemic, three trips set out from Atlanta

TRAVEL to Israel each year, including couples from 20 American cities. The last Atlanta trip was in January 2020 and the last HMI trip, a month later. HMI hopes to resume its trips in the fall.

Couples spend nine days exploring Israel with 19 other couples from their city. The trip includes visits to the Western Wall, Jerusalem’s Old City and the beaches of Tel Aviv, along with meals with local families and meetings with

home to reflect on our experience and begin to bring new Jewish traditions into our family.

“We also had outdoor, socially-distanced get-togethers with our HMI cohort that kept us from going stir crazy during quarantine! I’d say the highlight of the trip was having the HMI community to come home to so we could all be there for each other during a rough year. Additionally, through past trips

Visiting Valerie Kulbersh’s family in Israel was the couple’s first big trip in 2019.

Emerging Destinations Alli Allen, an adviser with Travel Edge in Atlanta, specializes in planning luxury travel.

She said travel advisers are especially valuable lately because travel now involves carefully navigating COVID testing requirements and protocols, which differ depending on the destination and change often. Travel advisers stay current on the news, trends and

country, losing your luggage, or having to cancel last minute, forfeiting your travel investment – especially while on your honeymoon.”

To research honeymoon adventures and travel in exotic places, Allen visits destinations and vets hotels and itineraries in places such as Australia, Europe and Namibia, an emerging travel destination in southern Africa.

Allen said splurges especially popu-

The day after their 2020 wedding, Valerie Kulbersh and Benjamin Myers had a picnic at a park.

policies that affect travel around the globe, “ensuring that one’s honeymoon will be seamless and worry-free,” she said.

Honeymooners can benefit from the flexible cancellation/refund policies currently in place due to COVID’s influence on the travel industry, Allen said. However, Allen always recommends purchasing travel insurance because it covers travelers both before and during your trip. “No one wants to deal with getting sick or injured in a foreign

lar with newlyweds include “treating yourselves to a private plunge pool, staying in an over-water bungalow, enjoying a yacht transfer, or booking a private cooking class.”

Lindsay Schwartz summed up how making honeymoon plans with her husband felt. “I hope this will be the first of many of our post-pandemic adventures together.”

Other newlyweds arranging honeymoon travel in the coming year might also agree.ì

NEW IN DUNWOODY! Alli Allen tracks elephants in Namibia.

The Villenas exploring on their Honeymoon Israel trip.

high-level public officials and business leaders.

Hilary and Corey Sloane were part of the last HMI Atlanta trip to Israel before the pandemic, in January 2020.

Hilary said, “While this trip would have been life-changing at any time, we are unbelievably grateful that we had the chance to go on HMI Atlanta in January of 2020 before the world shut down because of COVID. We had the last year at

to Israel, I have created my own connection to the country, but this was my husband’s first time. Watching him experience a country I love for the first time was so special and brought us even closer than we were before we left,” said Hilary, who recently began working with HMI. “The romantic views, delicious restaurants, and beautiful hotels made this a honeymoon experience we will never forget!”

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TRAVEL

Southern Jewish Museum Opens in New Orleans One man’s dream was to save other people’s memories.

When Macy B. Hart was camp director of Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Mississippi, he Susanne Katz began to see that small congregations in the South were closing. Hart decided there was an urgent need to save the artifacts and religious memorabilia and memories of these once-thriving Jewish communities.

Macy gathered arks, Torah scrolls, eternal lights and in 1998, a large exhibition opened at the camp in Utica, Miss. In 2000, after collecting over 3,000 artifacts, Macy left the camp, and started the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

More recently, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience opened May 27 as a nonprofit in New Orleans.

Atlanta resident Jay Tanenbaum is chair of the MSJE board and a member of its founding executive committee. “As former chair of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, when we decided to close the original museum, I felt an obligation to

This permanent gallery includes sacred texts, images and symbols that explore Jewish holidays, lifecycles and beliefs of Southern Jews. // Photos courtesy of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

cultural, political and economic landscape of the American South. The museum highlights bonds of friendship that developed between Jews and gentiles in the South with multi-media and interactive exhibits.

An introductory film unfolds the history of the South in the early 1700s and the early 1900s immigration to America through

This Victorian community quilt from 1885 was made by the Jewish Ladies’ Sewing Circle in Mississippi.

Food exhibits present a look at Southern and soul cuisine, with recipes, photos and advertisements showing how Jews balanced the marriage of Jewish and Southern traditions.

The Civil Rights and Activism exhibition follows stories of the Southern Jewish activists demanding equal rights for all

Courtesy of the Rubel Family Collection // Members of the Rubel family in Corinth, Miss., circa 1880s.

Courtesy of the Crosby Family Collection // The Jewish Orphans’ Home in New Orleans, circa 1915.

build on what had been started. This was an opportunity to create something wonderful that could strengthen the future of the Southern Jewish South and its ties to the larger community.”

The museum’s permanent collection now includes 4,000 artifacts and traces the history of Jewish contributions to the 32 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Galveston, also known as “the Ellis Island of the South.”

The collection focuses on popular culture, and includes musician Kinky Friedman’s album, a Bill Goldberg wrestling figurine and a glittered, lacquered bagel from a Jewish Mardi Gras krewe, Krewe du Jieux, focused on defeating Jewish stereotypes.

people throughout the 20th century. Photos, artifacts and oral histories explore the wide range of roles and perspectives held

by Jewish activists.

Rarely seen images introduce the post-World War II phenomenon of Jewish intellectuals moving to the South to teach at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as a result of anti-Semitic quotas at many institutions.

Jewish beliefs, traditions and celebrations include an introduction to sacred texts, symbols and sounds, with nearly 50 stained glass window reproductions from Southern synagogues.

“The cumulative histories of Jews who settled in the South is a remarkable testament to the possibilities of America,” Tanenbaum said. “In telling these stories, we hope to show how people of different religions and cultures can come together to build better communities and how we can unite for a better future.”

The museum will host a photography exhibition featuring works by Bill Aron, curated by Anna Tucker and Vicki Reikes Fox. Tanenbaum continued, “Over 30 years ago, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience launched an ambitious initiative with project director Vicki Reikes Fox and photographer Bill Aron to capture images of rural and urban Southern Jewish communities. One trip turned into a 14-year-project, resulting in a time capsule of Southern Jewish life in the 1980s and 1990s.

“These images present us with a sense of continuity, perhaps even surprising us with a feeling of familiarity. This exhibition provides one interpretation of an unfolding and everchanging narrative, preserved in snapshots of a past time that compels us to examine the present.”

A gala celebration is planned for early October. ì The museum is located at 818 Howard Ave. in New Orleans, open daily Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Tuesday and select holidays.

TRAVEL

Atlantans Need Patience to Travel to Israel C h e r i Scheff Levitan is among the first Atlantans to travel recently to Israel after more than 15 months in which the country essenJan Jaben-Eilon tially shut its borders to noncitizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, even Israeli citizens struggled to get permission to fly to their country.

But while the doors are beginning to crack open, there is definitely not a huge “welcome sign” for the rest of the world.

Israel may be ahead of the majority of countries in getting its citizenry vaccinated and being successful, for the most part, in controlling the virus. But it is definitely hesitant to allow in travelers from around the world who might bring in variants of the virus that could stoke the pandemic again.

Just ask Alex Gandler, deputy con-

Cheri Scheff Levitan visited Makhtesh Ramon with her tour group.

Alex Gandler said Israel wants to be a safe tourist destination.

“Israeli bureaucracy is alive and well,” said Cheri Scheff Levitan.

sul general of Israel to the Southeastern United States, who one day received a call telling him that – along with his regular duties – he was required to give his permission for every single non-Israeli wanting to travel to Israel. “We weren’t staffed for this,” he said. He noted how he receives dozens of emails a day plus daily phone calls, including on Shabbat, from non-Israelis wanting him to approve their travel to Israel.

These contacts weren’t just from nonIsraelis in the seven states covered by the Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta.

“One person contacted all nine consulates

in the United States,” essentially begging for permission to fly to Israel.

To receive approval and that precious signature from Gandler, Atlantans must meet an extensive list of criteria that are enumerated on the consulate website.

Students attending recognized yeshivot are among those who procure approval, as are non-citizens who have a first-degree relative living in Israel. But even those people must jump through several hoops, and Gandler warns that the situation changes constantly.

“Our turnaround time is 10 days, but things change all the time,” he said, and emergency approvals may jump the line.

Although Levitan has two sisters living in Israel, she received her exception to go there in June because she was traveling for business purposes. She is the CEO of Kenes Tours, an Israel-based tour operator. Just weeks ago, the Israeli ministries of tourism and health announced a pilot program that allows tourist groups of five to 30 people to travel to the country, under strict guidelines.

According to Levitan, the group must land together, eat together, along with the bus driver and tour leader. And, of course, they must be vaccinated and get COVID tests before they embark and after they land, along with a test that proves they have antibodies. Until that test comes back positive, they must stay in their hotels, essentially quarantined. Levitan said it took more than 24 hours to get her notification. “Israeli bureaucracy is alive and well,” she said, tongue in cheek.

Under this pilot program, participants “must stay with their group. They can’t visit their uncle,” Gandler warned.

“They are banning people from Israel for 10 years and there’s a heavy fine,” he said.

He added that he’s surprised how seriously the authorities are enforcing these restrictions.

Because Gandler can’t guarantee anyone his signature, especially within a certain time period, he recommends that prospective travelers buy tickets they can change. “We can’t get to everyone because we deal with life and death emergencies

several times a week.

“Israel is trying to protect itself,” he underlines. “COVID traveled by airplane.”

The airplane experience has certainly changed as a result. Delta Air Lines interpreter Isabelle Shavit told the AJT, “today, we are almost back to our full beverage and food service.” Still, Levitan said she had to pre-order her meal. “To get a snack between meals, passengers had to go to the galley for them,” And, Levitan noted, “you can’t even sleep without your mask on.”

Levitan joked that Israel “is not quite ready for prime time,” but there is talk of opening up the country more in August.

Gandler said, however, that he hasn’t received that notification and that Israeli hotels are not officially open for tourists yet.

Referring to all the required COVID testing, Gandler explained, “I don’t think this will change for a long time because there are new variants and the vaccination rate in some countries” isn’t that great. “Israel is one of the few countries in which you can walk around without a mask.”

Unquestionably, Gandler looks forward to life after COVID. “Then all this work will get off my shoulders. This is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, a historical moment. Israel is trying to be a tourist destination,” emphasized Gandler, “but we are trying to find a way to make it a safe destination.”ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 33

TRAVEL

Feinberg Heads West with Dome Resorts

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Hal Feinberg’s parents Fred and Susan introduced Hal and interior designer sister Marni to unique travel experiences at a young age. Today he is designing and opening Clear Sky Resorts, glamping domes that take “wow” to a whole new level.

Co-owner Hal "gave birth" to resorts recently at both Glacier National Park and Grand Canyon just two weeks apart. Guests sleep in private domes unspoiled by nature with the tag: “Explore the land without sacrificing creature comforts.”

After a bar mitzvah at Temple Sinai and while at Riverwood High School, Feinberg played competitive tennis, allowing him to visit far-reaching areas of the U.S. to enhance his appreciation for travel. Post college, he published a European travel magazine to further cement his travel bug.

“Through these experiences I had an interest in accumulating ideas to culminate in a luxury resort that had themes of stargazing and swinging chairs. My goal is to have guests “draw drop” beginning when they enter our check-in welcome dome.”

With the help of sister Marni Ratner, they created a spectacular lobby dome, which includes a 26-foot-tall ceiling, an 800-square-foot panoramic window, oversized swinging chairs, and a beautiful Instagram wall at each location, making for memorable experiences.

The Grand Canyon location, which has 45 guest rooms, opened May 28, and Glacier National Park with 16 rooms opened June 10. Costs range from $295 to $575 per night.

In terms of seasonality, Glacier is only open four months a year, and Grand Canyon six months. To moderate weather, there is heat and air conditioning in each luxury unit, an HVAC with mini split climate control. Domes are constructed of

34 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

parks travel since they are not going out of the country. This has opened up a lot of new travelers who otherwise wouldn’t have discovered the beauty of national park travel.”

Feinberg fulfilled his dream of unique activities on site. Grand Canyon has a glowin-the-dark frisbee golf course, lit animal night walk, projection dome for 360-degree movie viewing, jump pillow, trike track, playground, volleyball court, oversized chess, oversized Jenga, s’mores by the firepit nightly, a bar/lounge in the spectacular welcome dome, live music, a-stronomy viewing and outdoor movies on varied nights.

Nearby is the famous Route 66 in Williams, Ariz., 25 minutes away and includes Bearizona.

At Glacier, they have a plethora of yard games, live music and movies certain nights a week, oversized chess and more.

Proud parents Fred and Susan Feinberg attend grand opening, bookending Ratner, featured in the AJT Chai Style their children, Clear Sky partner Hal Feinberg and Marni Ratner.

Aug. 2, 2018, helped design the welcome dome and crafted the layouts for each guest dome.

She recalled, “A couple years ago while on a family vacation, Hal shared his vision for the Geodome resort.

He pulled out a napkin sketch of a typical dome.

Guests can marvel at the pink sky in a Grand Canyon dome.

A drone shot shows the big expanse of Grand Canyon domes.

I said, ‘let me put it into AutoCAD, it steel bars with an insulated mylar material will take 10 minutes!’" covered by PVC canvas.

Three and a half days Grand Canyon has a food truck with a later, after collaborating dining dome and Glacier has a restaurant. with him 24/7, they deDining is onsite, but cooking is not supportsigned, tweaked and reed inside individual domes. tweaked the typical domes While Glacier is 97 percent full for and added a staff dome and giant welcome dome as the ultimate “design/ build” project. Ratner’s staff at Studio M Interiors then replicated the Glacier concept with full construction plans for Grand Canyon. She concluded, “This Dome interiors are inspirational and thematic. was definitely our most unusual project yet, and the season with a few remaining openings, experiencing it in person recently [at the Grand Canyon is filling up quickly, having grand opening] was amazing.” just opened bookings.

Clear Sky is fielding requests for wedComing out of COVID, Feinberg said, dings, putting them on hold until 2022 “People are anxious to get out. Domestic due to COVID. They are booking family retravelers are way up from normal, while unions. foreign travelers are down until things open Clear Sky Resorts tout: “Happiness is up more. 2022 should be very busy as many starry skies and dusty boots.”ì Americans have newly discovered national

TO TEACH

IS TO TOUCH A LIFE

FOREVER

The Jewish Education Collaborative is proud to announce the 2021 Sylvia Newman Memorial Teacher of the Year Award honoring two outstanding educators for their commitment to excellence in supplemental Jewish education programs. Congratulations to this year's Sylvia Newman Memorial Teachers of the Year Award recipients, Josh Needle and Kimberly Reingold.

JOSH NEEDLE

KIMBERLY REINGOLD

SEVENTH GRADE

THIRD - FIFTH GRADE

CONGREGATION GESHER L’TORAH

CONGREGATION OR HADASH

Thank You to ALL of Atlanta’s Talented Teachers in Part-Time Jewish Education!

AHAVATH ACHIM SYNAGOGUE Sharon Graetz* Dani Dysch Abigail Gray Erin Johnson Matthew Kaplan Shulamit Leibou Hope Lindner Jacki Nix Adam Strater CONGREGATION BET HAVERIM Kate Hennessey* Harrison Bleiberg Deb Hussey Henry Lewis Jess Scheer Sky Scheer CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM Linda Zimmerman* Jodi Beck Kendra Fabry Gail Foorman Irit Perlove Fred Rich Dodie Sachs Miryam Bendicoff TEMPLE BETH TIKVAH Suzanne Hurwitz* Carrie Bickwit Adam Boehm Leah Faupel Ela Ellsworth Bobbee Griff Robin Karlin Musia Oren

Rhonda Povlot Jay Weiner Rachel Wilson Forrest Wolff CONGREGATION B’NAI TORAH Elizabeth Bloch* Beverly Barnhard Marilyn Perling Merideth Cohen Jana L Kogon Yali Philipson Josh Owens Maya Tau Nadav Ribak Hagar Baruch Jodi De Graaff Ron Rodan Ilan Lieberman Yulia Litvin Idan Tau CONGREGATION DOR TAMID Molly Peled* Landy Gonzalez Susan Grossman Ruth Hartman Lori Herman Stacey Jahanfar Limor Kolt Maya Peled Marci Risner Annette Schulman Lisa Skyer Allyson Tibor TEMPLE EMANU-EL Beth Blick* Laura Drukman Mira Eden

Michelle Foster Jessica Goldberg Allie Goodman Evelyn Grinberg Denise Jacobs Rossi Klompus Dvora Miller Nikki Pollack Julie Schneider Jaime Schwartz Ilan Weismark Orna Willis Eric Wittenstein Sigal Tzoref CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM Debbie Deutsch* Allison Barchichat Liam England Lauren Gilsten Debbie Isbitts Kyle Jacobs Faith Kart Esti Kleinman Delores Lazerson Fern Meharg Sara Fran Neuwirth Emma Okrent Roz Reiss Elaine Schwartz Rachel Slomovitz Dana Sobel Sarah Ziskend CONGREGATION GESHER L’ TORAH Rebecca Gordon* Erica Kaiser Anita Freedman Leah Stinson Caryn Young

Abbey Adler Wendy Bendit Erin Benis Sharon Freeman Josh Needle Tracie Bernstein CONGREGATION OR HADASH Amy Robertson* Kayla Engle-Lewis Avery Frank Evelyn Grinberg Rachel Jenks Rachel Lazarus Ziva London Musia Oren Amy Price Kimberly Reingold CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL Nancy Gorod* Shoshana Goldshmidt-York Isabella Cantor Ethan Feldman Rebecca Fox Melanie Kaplan Gabe Samuels Ester Shimon Elana Titus Anna Wachspress JEWISH KIDS GROUPS AFTERSCHOOL Sivan Abada* Debbie Denenberg* Joey Heyman* Gabe Monett* Ben Alpert

Roni Cola Samuel Durham Alexandra Fuchs Jeanette Holley Tammy Kaiser Marius Karolinski Sophie Kieffer Linda Leman KT Lipsiner Kendall McMahan Jennifer Michaeli Grant Mooney Casey Rosner Yosef Samuel Gabrielle Stearns Rachel Wansker JEWISH KIDS GROUPS SUNDAY Nikki Berne* Ben Alpert Danielle Amrani Helena Asherian Binny Frenkel Manny Goldin Lindsay Kraun Linda Leman Kendall McMahan Madison Neidorf Jonny Nooriel Gabby Oquendo Adva Oshri Sydney Popsuj Noah Prout Ruthie Stolovitz TEMPLE KEHILLAT CHAIM Michelle Erste* Tom Bryant Amy Bryson

Laura Dreffin Lori Dreffin Emily Glatter Carey Grucza Debbie Lutchen Bruce Miron Suesan Phillips Paige Simunek Michelle Wallace Elliot Weiss Morasha Winokur TEMPLE KOL EMETH Hope Chernak* Linda Ames Korrina Corley Rhonda Davidson Lauren Davis Harli Gottesman Lily Herman Susan Herman Emma Horton Steve Kerbel Lisa Mallis Janet Melnik Jody Miller Rae Portnoy Max Ruth Lisa Sandler TEMPLE SINAI Marisa Kaiser* Rachel Moldovan* Anthony Baker Samantha Berinsky Daniel Berke Yishai Bloch Rose Capin Rabbi Lauren Cohn Leah Coonley Heather Dittus Zavi Feldstein

Donna Jaffe Rachel Jenks Tarece Johnson Sydney Kaltman Sophie Kieffer Cindy Livingston Alexa Miller Jody Miller Alexandra Rachman Keren Reizis Rebecca Rivera Ana Rodriguez Shoshanna Rosenthal Susan Saddawi-Schmidt Hannah Schafer Ande Teeple Jessica Weinberger Miriam Ziskind Or Zolti THE TEMPLE Rabbi Steven Rau* Elizabeth Foster* Rebecca Good* Noah Aronson Reli Barkoni Zachary Bernath Ari Bogotch Addison Dascher Scott Edlein Ariela Ehrens Cathy Filson Lorie Flacker Miriam Goodfriend Ellen Harrison Ana Hazanov Leah Hiller David Hoffman Rachael Jacobson Lisa Kepler Debra Kraar Erica Lansky

Samuel Latzsch Meg Lazarus Matt Levy Marcia Lindner Joanne Lipshutz, RJE Debbie Maman Jenny Marks Rabbi Dan Medwin Jacqueline Morris Tania Moser Sydney Pearlstein Amy Peskin Sylvia Poretsky Marilyn Price Julie Rau Rebecca Ries Ayer Ryden Gabby Seligman Dawn Siegel Hannah Simon Rosalyn Sommers Colette Walker Sonata Woodard *Director(s)

ART Horizon Theatre’s Play Marks AIDS Anniversary

By Robyn Spizman Gerson

ago.

As COVID dominates the landscape of infectious diseases, a dedicated group that includes Congregation Bet Haverim shared a critical dialogue and awareness that HIV/AIDS persists.

On June 26, in keeping with Pride Month, a free community wide event and virtual play, “Love, M.,” reflected on the early days of HIV/AIDS epidemic. Bet Haverim, Positive Impact Health Centers and Horizon Theatre Company partnered on the event to bring attention to the 40th anniversary of the onset of HIV/ AIDS. It’s a disease that persists in Atlanta with some of the highest infection rates in the country. “Love, M.” was the centerpiece of the event followed by a panel discussion featuring those working on the front lines to bring an end to this disease.

The event was initially designed for Bet Haverim, founded by members of the LGBTQIA community 35 years

Marjorie Osheroff, board chair of Horizon Theatre, is a member of Bet Haverim. “I am very proud of the powerful play by playwright Clarinda Ross … produced by Horizon Theatre during COVID. This was a perfect vehicle for introducing audiences to life during those early days of the AIDS crisis,” Osheroff said. “‘Love, M.’ is a collection of letters that reveal the stories of two mothers and their sons during those days before AIDS was well understood, as families found out their sons were sick before they even knew their sons were gay. Using the arts to open minds and hearts is very effective.”

Playwright Ross, quoted on the Horizon Theatre website, explained “‘Love, M.’ is based on extensive conversations with mothers from the last pandemic, as I wanted to understand those mothers and their stories before we lost them. Ultimately, I came home to a very personal story full of humor, humanity & the healing power of love,

Congregation Bet Haverim members march in the 2018 Pride Parade.

acceptance, and the thing we all crave – connection. This play is able to personalize the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the way that great stories are able to do.”

As a longtime member of Bet Haverim, Osheroff said she learned from such leaders as Joshua Lesser, now rabbi emeritus of the Reconstructionist synagogue, how to best advocate and speak out when folks are marginalized. “I used my voice Horizon Theatre Company’s “Love, M.” is and took action to instreaming through the end of the year. form the community about this issue and the healthcare inequities that were easy to see when the response to spepervasive in the story of HIV care cific health issues can be very politiand treatment. To me Rabbi Josh is cally motivated, creating healthcare a great source of inspiration. Over inequities. I felt outraged when I retime, Bet Haverim has supported the alized it had been 40 years since the Pride movement and the rights of LG- onset of HIV/AIDS and there is no BTQIA people, marching together and vaccine or cure while COVID-19 boasts with the expanded Jewish community four vaccines produced in under one in the Pride Parade when Rabbi Josh year! I wondered why this was the Lesser was chosen as one of the grand case.” ì marshals leading the parade in 2018, “Love, M.” is free to stream through and to this day the march continues.”

Osheroff added, “Years of working the end of the year at https://www.horias an oncology social worker made it zontheatre.com/love-m/ 36 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Above, The downstairs incorporates vivid colors starting with the area rug. Both ends of the room are anchored by refinished church pews.

Right, Emilie Haas dotes on pups Cutie Pie and Maggie. //Photos by Howard Mendel

Chai Style Home

Jewish Renaissance Meets Mediterranean Emilie Posner Haas was born and raised in Buckhead before spreading her wings in the New York City fashion industry. She Marcia did marketing Caller Jaffe and public relations for designers Perry Ellis, Georgio Sant’Angelo and Daniel Hechter. She started her career at Rich’s here in 1968. Fast forward to marriage and family before uniting with urologist Dr. Joe Haas (who passed away in 2018) after a 32-year break, initially meeting at The Temple Sunday school. “‘Unique’ is a great way to define how Joe and I got engaged at The Varsity, had Krispy Kreme donuts, then married in Vegas."

After retiring from a career selling residential real estate, Haas remarked, “When Joe and I stepped into the front door here in 2005, we both gave the thumbs up, even before looking around.”

The result is a home design that comes out swinging, captivatingly offbeat in a swirl of Old-World Romance. The arched doorways have unique moldings into expansive rooms.

Tour Old Roma: Jaffe: What about this property “sold” you?

Haas: The house is 7,000 square feet, and the master is on the main level.

I was most impressed to find a level walkout backyard in Brookhaven. We created paradise with a pool and total privacy. We enclosed the loggia, which has the original bricks from the house used as the floor.

Jaffe: Many incredible things were included when you bought the house?

Haas: Barbara Ames was the builder and former resident.

Much of the lighting was here: the amber chandelier in the dining room, drapes and farmhouse sinks. The unusual beams in the “keeping room” are actually plaster, not wood. Joe did contribute the Waterford chandelier in the master bedroom from his former house.

Jaffe: What goes on in this elongated 35-foot kitchen?

Haas: Certainly not me cooking. We have a tongue-in-cheek print of The Last Supper, and then various Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable.

Jaffe: Your daughter is a Hollywood actor?

Haas: I spent seven years in California with my daughter, Alyson Hannigan, helping pursue her career in acting.

In Los Angeles, she has had roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and the “American Pie” trilogy. She is presently the host and a producer of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.” Jaffe: Describe the ambiance here.

Haas: I answer to “quirky or unique.”

There are things from David’s Interiors, estate sales, Goodwill, an antique roll top desk, armoires and mid-century modern mixed in. There is a framed Hermes scarf ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 37

CHAI STYLE

Living room- The vases of Emilie’s grandparents Esther and Hyman Mendel have been turned into living room lamps. The roll-top desk is from David’s Interiors.

from Central Park, a collage made of beeswax and sticks purchased at the Piedmont [Park] Arts Festival. I love a painting by [former U.S. Attorney General] Griffin Bell’s daughter Melanie and a colorful wall hanging once owned by the consul general from South Africa.

The unusual beams in the keeping room are made of plaster, not traditional wood.

Jaffe: Elaborate on the family pieces you have.

Haas: My grandparents Esther and Hyman Mendel were one of the founders of Ahavath Achim Synagogue in late 1890s. Their vases have been turned into our living room lamps. One of my favorite possessions are the Shabbat candlestick holders that belonged to my late and wonderful aunt and uncle, Helen and Dr. Irving H. Goldstein.

Speaking of family, my late sister Marie Posner Saxe lived in Manhattan and did the interior design

here. By using the house plans and photos of each piece of furniture, she created a book with instructions of where to place every item. That was incredible. We were settled in in two days.

Jaffe: Your lower level is stylistically in contrast to the rest of the house.

Haas: The terrace level has 13-foot ceilings and had no walls. We added lots of them. The archway to the wine cellar and sauna rooms open with a vintage elevator gate from Paris purchased at Paris on Ponce. The wine cellar has the doors from Joe’s former house and the sauna room has the original Moorish front doors from this house.

The downstairs incorporates vivid colors, starting with the area rug. Both ends of the room are anchored by original church pews. We designed the

Above, Emilie enclosed the sunroom/loggia, keeping the original brick floor.

Below, The home has a private enclosed backyard pool area.

Master bedroom- The Waterford chandelier was brought by Joe from his previous house. Most of the other lighting was left by builder Barbara Ames.

38 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

CHAI STYLE recliners and had them made in Norway. The exercise room has 90 framed old album covers.

The guest bathroom is black and white art deco tile and has the same sink and mirror Elton John has in his bathroom. We both bought them from Atlanta Fixture.

Jaffe: You are in the accessories business?

Hass: I maintain a booth and a glass case at Antiques & Beyond on Cheshire Bridge Road, selling eclectic items that I constantly change out, including original art, fine and costume jewelry, crystal, furniture and my own “tchotchke art.”

Joe and I traveled all over to small towns and brought back collections of vintage toys and other interesting things, which we built into towers or framed. My favorite is yard art we built from Joe’s broken Alfa Romeo muffler.

A special one in the lower level here is a 7-foottall original anesthesia machine with an artfully painted fishbowl.

Jaffe: What are your volunteer activities?

Haas: I’m a big supporter of the Brookhaven Police Department and creating a gift shop in the new Brookhaven Public Safety Building to benefit the BPD Foundation. I’m also a volunteer in the Visitor’s Center at Oakland Cemetery.

On a lighter note, I am starting a singles group for 65-plus through The Temple with a goal of mixing, mingling and making new friends. Previously I have introduced 15 couples who have married. That reserves my spot in heaven! ì

The 35-foot-long kitchen has a tongue-and-cheek print of The Last Supper, with various Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable.

The wood master bath vanity is an antique chest converted to a makeup station.

Joe and Emilie made this 7-foot-high sculpture with an original anesthesia machine and painted fishbowl.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 39

CALENDAR

JUNE 30 – JULY 13 less! The only prerequisite is the ability to sound out Hebrew words. Get Zoom link by visiting https://bit.ly/3xJqCty.

TUESDAY, JULY 6

THURSDAY, JULY 1

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30 Double Income, Kids – Streaming online. A year in the life of an Israeli gay couple on their way to parenthood plays out in “Double Income, Kids.”

The documentary, from filmmaker Hendrik Schäfer, follows the men who want twins. To both become fathers, they enlist the help of an American surrogate mother. Take a closer look at Israel’s society and the mainstream gay baby boom. Get the link from Atlanta Jewish Film Festival at https://bit. ly/3qk5UOb. Talmud Class with Dr. Sam Kessler – 5 p.m. Join Congregation Ahavath Achim every Wednesday evening for a Talmud class led by Dr. Samuel Kessler as he guides us on a journey through the spiritual mind and rabbinic process, which gave us the Jewish lives we have today. No prior Talmudic learning is necessary. Bring an open mind and a genuine interest in how our spiritual ancestors walked and thought through the world! Get the Zoom link by visiting https://bit.ly/3jaKcum.

Biblical Hebrew Class – 7:30 to 9 p.m. Join Congregation Ahavath Achim every Wednesday for Biblical Hebrew Class led by Hebrew instructor Jim Dricker.

In this class, we will cover all aspects of grammar and a well-rounded basic vocabulary. Students set the pace of the program, and we will proceed as fast or as slow as the majority of the class requests. We might take two years to complete, … maybe more, … perhaps

Lunch and Learn with Miriam Rosenbaum – 12:30 p.m. Why was Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, chosen as the first king of Israel? There are hints in the text of Samuel, but is that the whole story? This will be a wide-ranging study using various parts from the Tanach. Congregation Etz Chaim will look at overlapping themes, but also at tribal connections, the State of Israel during the time of the judges and the pros and cons of monarchy, particularly in the case of the people of Israel.

RSVP at https://bit.ly/3cpwgsq.

SATURDAY, JULY 3 Story Time with Rabbi Jordan – 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. Join Rabbi Jordan Ottenstein for storytime on Facebook. For more information, https://bit.ly/3xNafw1.

#EndJewishHatred – 6 p.m. Join Chery Dorchinsky, Elliot Friedland and Alicia Post on Clubhouse to discuss advocacy, anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and the like. This is a place to learn strategies and more. Visit https://bit.ly/3fmEpyw for link.

FRIDAY, JULY 2 Shabbat Splash & Sing – 5 to 5:30 p.m.

Songs and blessings at the pool with Rabbi Brian Glusman at Marcus JCC of Atlanta in celebration of Shabbat. Available for those who have made pool reservations at https://bit. ly/35KqduQ.

Find more events and submit items for our online and print calendars at:

www.atlantajewishconnector.com

Calendar sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Connector, an initiative of the AJT. In order to be considered for the print edition, please submit events three to four weeks in advance. Contact community relations director Diana Cole for more information at Diana@atljewishtimes.com.

40 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

First Friday July – 7 to 8 p.m. We are getting together for Shabbat dinner! Join the best of the best Atlanta young Jewish professionals for a three-course, sit-down dinner. YJP Shabbat dinners are infused with meaning, Jewish insight and practical Torah wisdom, and the opportunity to mingle with other Jewish professionals from all walks of life! Reserve your tickets at https://bit. ly/3zPrqi8.

SUNDAY, JULY 4 Kabbalah & Coffee – 9:30 to 11 a.m. Discuss, explore, and journey through the world of Jewish mystical teaching and learn how to apply these profound teachings to your daily life. This ongoing class from Intown Jewish Academy probes the esoteric through a unique program of English text-based study. No prior Kabbalistic experience required. Remember: The best part of waking up is coffee in your cup and Kabbalah in your “kop” (head in Yiddish)! Find more information at https://bit.ly/3kN0vMO. 4th of July Community Celebration – 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Congregation Ariel of Dunwoody proudly celebrates the 245th birthday of the United States of America and what it means to be a Jew in this great country. RSVP at https:// bit.ly/3j0NVL0.

Virtual Job Search Workshop – 10 to 11 a.m. Join Jewish Family & Career Services for a free 1-hour job search workshop where we will explore strategies to conduct a successful job search that will help you secure employment more effectively. Register at https://bit. ly/327apk9.

mAAc Meets – 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Join us for Tuesdays@AA (Ahavath Achim), now part of the congregation’s Mature Active Adult Community (mAAc).

Every Tuesday, one of our rabbis will begin the class with a one-hour discussion. The second hour of the class will be led by another member of the group. Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal will teach on the first Tuesday of the month on the topic “Finding our Footing in Prayer;” Rabbi Neil Sandler will teach on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month on the topic “Current Events in the Jewish World;” and Rabbi Sam Blustin will teach on the third Tuesday of the month on the topic “Mussar of the Month: Living Well.” Get Zoom link by visiting https://bit.ly/2TOx0kp.

Brain Boot Camp – 1 to 3 p.m. If you are recognizing symptoms of cognitive changes or have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, our fun and social class can help you strengthen your mind and body to stay sharp, especially during these times. The class will combine gentle physical exercise, including yoga and exercises to help reduce stress and anxiety along with a full hour of brain exercises in a nonstress and engaging way. To sign up, contact Georgia Gunter with Jewish Family & Career Services at 770-6779421, https://bit.ly/39hGqsM. Real Estate Symposium – 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Gather to hear from Atlanta’s seasoned and up-and-coming real estate developers along with Chabad Intown. An evening of phenomenal networking opportunities, an open wine bar and dinner. RSVP at https://bit. ly/2TWI9zC.

CANDLE-LIGHTING TIMES Pinchas

little ones and their caregivers enjoy a hands-on musical experience showcasing songs of love, then creating their own Tu B’Av keepsake. RSVP at https:// bit.ly/3wdYSwR

Friday, July 2, 2021, light candles at 8:34 p.m.

Saturday, July 3, 2021, Shabbat ends at 9:35 p.m.

Matot-Masei

FIDF Live - 8:30 to 9:15 p.m. Moving stories, exclusive base visits, donor spotlights. Bringing the men and women of the IDF directly to you. Find more information at https://bit.ly/2QP5xhn.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7 Yiddish “Vinkl” (The Yiddish Corner) – 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A fun discussion group with the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Yiddish (mostly) to learn vocabulary and popular idioms. No prior Yiddish knowledge required. Register at https://bit. ly/3gO9bRD.

Friday, July 9, 2021, light candles at 8:32 p.m.

Saturday, July 10, 2021, Shabbat ends at 9:33 p.m.

partners and/or significant others of those struggling with addiction. This group is intended to help those in an intimate relationship with a person who has or had an issue with alcohol or other substances. Members will find support in others, learn about the disease of addiction and develop coping skills such as setting healthy boundaries to move them toward their own healing process. Register at https://bit. ly/3t53zr5.

Think Different – 8 to 9 p.m. Study the single most transformative Jewish spiritual text written in the last three centuries with master Tanya teacher Rabbi Ari Sollish and Chabad Intown.

Register at https://bit.ly/2MGGxq1.

FRIDAY, JULY 9 Torah Studies – 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Intown Jewish Academy’s acclaimed Torah Studies program brings you the tradition of classical Jewish learning in a series of inspiring and engaging weekly classes. The lessons probe the depths of contemporary Torah thought, with a special focus on issues surrounding spirituality, the human psyche, love and relationships. Register at https:// bit.ly/3sQA9MQ.

Splish Splash Shabbat – 5 p.m. Welcome Shabbat with Temple Beth Tikvah.

Water play, Shabbat blessings, pizza dinner and more. RSVP at https://bit. ly/2SQoNfr.

Torah Queeries, Mussar teachings, holidays and happenings in the world. Get the Zoom Link at https://bit.ly/34YpvJS

SATURDAY, JULY 10 Etz Chaim Rosh Chodesh Minyan Dates – 7 to 8 a.m. Everyone is welcome at this women-led morning minyan service held in support of Women of the Wall, which is fighting for equal prayer rights for women in Israel. Find the Zoom link at https://bit.ly/3bdOcGR Tot Shabbat – 10 to 11 a.m. Join Kayle Engle-Lewis and Rabbi Lauren Henderson for Shabbat songs and prayer in the courtyard. The program is geared toward children 3 to 6 years old, but all are welcome. Get more information by visiting https://bit.ly/3xO022t

Significant Others of Addicts Support Group – 1 to 2 p.m. Join licensed professional counselor Sally Anderson and Jewish Family & Career Services for a weekly free support group for spouses,

SOJOURN’s Drawing from the Well – 12 to 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome to experience the magic of inclusive community during Drawing from the Well, SOJOURN’s inclusive weekly meetup for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies. Participants gather in community to discuss and connect around resources from

Uncoupling: a Divorced and Separated Support Group – 1 to 2:30 p.m. Jewish Family & Career Services bimonthly group providing support and resources and a safe place to process and share experiences related to divorce and separation. Open to men and women of mixed ages. Issues explored are trust, rejection, custody, holidays, in-laws, infidelity, finances, communication, letting go, and what is brought up. For more information, visit https://bit. ly/3v4As87.

MONDAY, JULY 12 Outdoor Tot Shabbat – 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Come join Temple Emanu-El of Atlanta outdoors for a Tot Shabbat. Registration and masks are required. Please bring a blanket to sit on. Visit https:// bit.ly/320hx1n to register.

SUNDAY, JULY 11 THURSDAY, JULY 8

Popsicles in the Park – 11 a.m. Join your Congregation B’nai Torah friends for some fun in the sun and a sweet treat. For families with children birth to 5. Siblings are welcome. Register at https://bit.ly/3x064fV

Mini Cubs: Tu B’Av A Celebration of Love – 10 to 10:45 a.m. Love is in the air! Tu B’Av, the Jewish day of love, is an ancient, joyous holiday marked with dancing and festivity. Today, Tu B’Av is celebrated with loved ones and togetherness. Celebrate with The Davis Academy’s Mini Cubs (birth to 2) outdoors in the beautiful nature sanctuary as

American Red Cross Blood Drive – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The American Red Cross and blood banks throughout the country have seen blood supplies significantly dwindle. Every 2 seconds someone needs blood, and your donation can make sure that happens. Help support our community and assist in restocking our blood supply. Your donation at Congregation B’nai Torah of a single pint of blood can save up to three lives. Register at https://bit. ly/2SYONoO. Naomi’s Book Club – 10:15 a.m. Join Ahavath Achim’s Sisterhood one Monday per month for a lively book discussion.

July’s book is “Fifty Words for Rain” by Asha Lemmie, and the discussion will be led by Madeleine Gimbel. Questions, visit https://bit.ly/3qkzy5P. ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 41

A Life of Meaning – 12 to 1 p.m. A Life of Meaning: Embracing Reform Judaism’s Sacred Path. Join Temple Beth Tikvah and welcome Rabbi Oren Postrel who will be teaching the class. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3x7mwe7.

Monday Night Parsha – 7 to 8 p.m.

Chabad of North Fulton’s new annual cycle of Torah reading. Join this new class by Rabbi Gedalya Hertz on the weekly parashah. Visit https://bit. ly/3vLU5Sf to join with Zoom.

MJCCA Literary Book Club – 7 to 8 p.m. Join former Atlanta JournalConstitution book reviewer and book club facilitator Greg Changnon for one of Atlanta’s most interesting and thought-provoking book clubs. This group meets each month to discuss a critically acclaimed piece of literature. This program is online on Zoom.

Participants will be sent the Zoom information prior to the start of the program. The book this month is “The Cold Millions” By Jess Walter. Register at https://bit.ly/3wQ3BVt Judaic Needlework Meetings – 7 to 9 p.m. The Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework is an international organization devoted to needlework traditions through the sharing of handcrafted items for both Jewish ritual and everyday cultural use. We are novice to experienced quilters, crocheters, fiber artists, weavers, knitters, needle pointers, beaders, cross-stitchers and more. Our members enjoy workshops, lectures, tours, making projects and needlework challenges throughout the year. More information found at https://bit.ly/3d1vceB.

TUESDAY, JULY 13 “Mengele: Unmasking the ‘Angel Of Death’” Book Talk – 2 to 8 p.m. Perhaps the most notorious war criminal of all time, Josef Mengele was the embodiment of bloodless efficiency and passionate devotion to Nazism. Join the Museum of Jewish Heritage for a program exploring Mengele’s story.

Author and former museum director David G. Marwell will be part of the conversation with Andrew Nagorski, an award-winning journalist and author of “The Nazi Hunters and 1941: The Year Germany Lost the War.” For tickets, https://bit.ly/34Xru1e The Archaeological Claim to Jerusalem – 8 p.m. Join Israel archaeological expert Rabbi Avrohom Stolik along with Intown Jewish Academy for a journey back in time to reveal the Jewish claim 42 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

to the Holy Land and discover your Israelite roots in the land of our ancestors. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3cCIZbi. Daniel Silva, The Cellist – 8 to 9 p.m. 2021 Book Festival of the MJCCA patron kickoff event. A special evening with the master of international intrigue, bestselling author Daniel Silva. Purchase tickets at https://bit.ly/3gRaD5F.

JF&CS - Telehealth Counseling Services – Now offering telehealth options via phone or videoconference for current and new clients to help our community during this crisis.

For more information about our therapy services or to make a telehealth appointment, email us at therapy@jfcsatl.org or call 770-6779474.

JF&CS - Telehealth Older Adult Services – Aviv Older Adult staff are there to help provide resources, care plans and support for you and your family. Call AgeWell at 1-866-AGEWELL (1-866-243-9355) to find out how they can help. For more information, www.bit.ly/2wo5qzj.

Community Services: Anti-Defamation League – The Coronavirus Surfaces Fear, Stereotypes and Scapegoating: A blog post from ADL to help provide accurate information, explore emotions and, most importantly, play a role in reducing stereotyping and scapegoating. To read more, www.bit.ly/3dp5a3t.

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Resources – The unsettling, fast-moving and unpredictable world of life with COVID-19 is upon us. As we’re all discovering, a worldwide pandemic disrupts everyone on an unprecedented scale.

For updates and more information, www.bit.ly/3ahrNVM. Please send Community Service Opportunities to diana@atljewishtimes.com.

Atlanta Community Food Bank Text for Help SMS Function –The ACFB’s mission to provide nutritious food to the people who need it has reached a major milestone toward access to food for all. The Text for Help is ‘findfood’ (no space). Responses will include a list of three different nearby pantries and their contact information. For more information, www.acfb.org.

Israeli American Council – IAC @ Home brings you the most innovative content online while helping build a national community with Israel at heart. With activities for kids, teens, young professionals and adults, you can stay connected to Hebrew, Israeli and Jewish heritage, online activism and to one another.

IAC @Home lets you enjoy a coastto-coast community right from your own home. For more information, www.israeliamerican.org/home.

JF&CS - Emergency Financial Assistance – JF&CS is here to provide emergency aid for individuals and families. Please call 770-677-9389 to get assistance. For more information, www.bit.ly/2wo5qzj.

Congregation Beth Shalom’s Virtual Services – Erev Shabbat, Fridays at 6:30 p.m., Shabbat service, Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. Zoom minyan Sunday at 9:30 a.m. For more information, www. bethshalom.net.

Congregation Etz Chaim – Erev Shabbat Musical, Fridays at 6:30 p.m. Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. Join in for weekly livestream Shabbat services. To join, www.bit.ly/3gWL02s.

Congregation Or Hadash – Shabbat services Friday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday morning services at 9:15 a.m. Minyan Sunday and Tuesday mornings. To participate and get Zoom link, www. or-hadash.org.

Congregation Shearith Israel – Daily and Shabbat services will continue at regular times through Zoom. They are counting participants in these Zoom services as part of a minyan, allowing members to recite full prayer services including Mourner’s Kaddish. To participate via phone, dial 929-205-6099 and then enter the meeting code 404 873 1743. To be a part of services, visit the Zoom link, www.bit.ly/2wnFWlD. Temple Beth David — Kabbalat Shabbat services every Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Shabbat morning service and Torah Study every Saturday at 11 a.m. on our YouTube channel, (https://www. youtube.com/channel/UC2GcbAI_ HdLRSG5hhpi_8Cw).

Temple Beth Tikvah Livestreaming Services – Fridays at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays at 10 a.m. To join on Facebook, www. facebook.com/TempleBethTikvah/ or www.bit.ly/2ZlCvrr.

Temple Kol Emeth Services – Shabbat services on Fridays at 8 p.m. View our services on www.kolemeth.net or www.facebook.com/Temple Kol Emeth-Marietta, GA. Temple Sinai Livestream Services – Temple Sinai has live Shabbat services on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. For more information and to view services, www.bit.ly/2BXRfTF.

Synagogue Livestreaming Services:

The Temple Livestreaming Services – Find live streaming services here, www.the-temple.org.

Ahavath Achim Synagogue – Shabbat evening services at 6:30 p.m. Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. To watch and for more information, www.bit. ly/38dS4Ed.

Check the Atlanta Jewish Connector for updates: www.atlantajewishconnector.com. ì

Please send Synagogue and Temple Streaming Services to diana@atljewishtimes.com.

CONNECTOR CHATTER Directory Spotlight www.atlantajewishconnector.com

ORT America - Atlanta Region

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Atlanta

In conversation with Rachel M. Miller, director

In conversation with Julie Katz, assistant director

How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

ORT America – Atlanta Region has been in Atlanta since 1970, while the history of World ORT goes all the way back to 1880.

How do you cater to the younger members of the community?

ORT offers special online programs in cybersecurity and animation to students of local Jewish elementary and middle schools. Pre-pandemic, ORT planned to bring Israeli Kadima Mada staff and students to five Jewish camps in the Southeast to provide creative and fun STEM-related activities. This cooperation between ORT and Jewish camps will restart in 2022.

By creating curricula and opportunity, ORT prepares students to live socially responsible lives. ORT students develop an increased understanding of moral and ethical issues beyond their geographic boundaries, allowing them to make better-informed choices for themselves and for society.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

We will continue educating the local community about the important work that ORT does outside of the U.S. ORT will offer multiple formal and informal interactive educational opportunities for elementary through college and adult learning.

Examples: 1)Connecting American students with students at ORT schools in Israel, South America, and Europe to increase educational opportunities and partnerships. 2)Investing in educators from all over the world by creating training co-ops to share the latest educational developments and implementation strategies. 3)Providing tools that help students of all ages discover and nurture their Jewish identities.

How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

77 years How do you cater to the younger members of the community?

AJC’s ACCESS is a community of young professionals who are passionate about Jewish advocacy and promoting pluralism. For over 30 years, ACCESS has provided tools and opportunities that enable young Jews to become effective local and global leaders and advocates.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

We hope that in 10 years, the Jewish people will be living in safety and security without fear of violence or antisemitism. As the premier global Jewish advocacy organization, we understand that protecting Jews requires building relationships and educating about issues that affect the Jewish people.

Throughout the next 10 years, we look forward to continuing to expand our relationships with local, national and international leaders to provide a greater understanding of the Jewish community and our priorities.

How does your organization help the community?

AJC believes in ensuring the well-being of the Jewish people and defending democratic values for all. As the Atlanta office of AJC, we connect our community to AJC’s global advocacy work. Our local access to diplomats, elected officials and ethnic and religious leaders advances AJC’s broader global priorities: combating antisemitism, promoting Israel’s place in the world, and promoting pluralism and democratic values.

Serve the Moment In conversation with Kate Belza O’Bannon, chief strategy officer How long has your organization been in Atlanta?

Repair the World Atlanta launched in fall 2018, in partnership with Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta to build a thriving local Jewish community through service and learning infused with Jewish values. We began with a year of site development to build relationships, pilot and test programming, conduct anenvironmental scan and assess local needs.

How do you cater to the younger members of the community?

Our target population is Jewish young adults and their communities in the Atlanta area who are seeking to live out their values through service in support of social change. Through the Fellowship, Service Corps and episodic service, we aim to offer a variety of accessible opportunities and entry points for individuals to serve in a way that best meets their needs and interests.

Where do you see your organization in 10 years?

We will build thriving Jewish community and meaningful Jewish service in support of social change across the Atlanta community. We will continue mobilizing thousands of volunteers each year to serve and learn to meet pressing local needs.

How does your organization help the community?

Serve the Moment is mobilizing volunteers to show up for local partners, build bridges across lines of difference and live Jewish values. In this time of uncertainty, our volunteers have overwhelmingly shared that Serve the Moment helped them at a time when they were feeling alone or without meaning, and that they have found a sense of meaning, community and connection to Judaism through their service experiences. In doing this work, we are also engaging the next generation of Jewish leaders to live their Jewish values, explore Jewish wisdom and learning and build bridges within the Jewish community, grounded in the civic and social issues that we know Gen Z cares deeply about.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 43

DINING Flavors of Spain and Italy Blocks from Fox

By Marcia Caller Jaffe Lyla Lila is a self-described southern European restaurant in the heart of Midtown. Experienced restaurateurs Billy Streck and Craig Richards, who is also the chef, are navigating the bumpy road impacted by COVID and seeing a way out to fulfill their mission of a creative menu based on seasonality, made-in-house pasta, wood-fired entrees, fresh seafood, unusual desserts such as affogato corretto rhubarb amaro gelato with chantilly cream and well-chosen wine slanted towards “old world” flavors.

Think Midtown Peachtree; think Midtown Manhattan.

The name of the restaurant comes from the coincidental and alliterative names of the owners’ daughters: Lyla and Lila.

The wood grilled tuna with watercress and strawberries was a table favorite.

The restaurant is located on ground level with indoor and outdoor dining in a converted apartment building a few short blocks north of the Fox Theatre.

Currently without valet parking, we parked by a side street meter, while there are surrounding Fox parking lots. Certainly, when concerts and events resume normally, Lyla Lila would be a wonderful dual evening walking plan. The interior is bohemian and chic with wood textures, imaginative lighting and well-positioned art. The bar is front and center upon entering. Part of the fun is people watching. This parade did not disappoint on a Saturday night. Motorcycles, tattoos, magenta hair and more traditional tourists sauntered by.

Chef Craig noted, “Things were go44 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

having trouble hiring new employees.

Richards mused, “We’re not getting much response to our ads, but we’re slowly growing our team. What’s surprised me is how difficult it has been to hire new employees. I don’t think it’s just unemployment, … much more complicated than that. We’ve seen diners prefer more comfort food dishes, and we provide that. We don’t have any plans right now to reopen for lunch.”

What we went crazy over: Starters Wood grilled tuna, yuzukōsho aioli, watercress, strawberries, radish, sorrel, $18. Favorite preparation worth fighting over!

Chef Craig on the front patio displays his house-made artichoke ravioli with mushrooms.

Bottom- An artful red snapper was wrapped in zucchini with basil pistachio pesto. Top - Grilled asparagus side.

ing really well before COVID; we were exceeding sales goals; then the pandemic hit. In hindsight, I think we handled it well and held onto a lot of regular clientele. With more people vaccinated and the weather improving, we’re certainly busier. The Fox reopens Aug. 25, and we’re eagerly awaiting that. With 10 percent takeout, patrons are mostly regulars and neighbors while business travelers during the week are picking up.” They rent out a private room with food and beverage minimums.

Lyla Lila employs 19 people with a smaller kitchen team executing the same number of dishes before COVID. Chef de Cuisine Stuart Rogers normally “runs the pass” during service, and Richards floats between the dining room and kitchen, working about 60 hours a week. They are

Crispy artichokes, lemon-mint aioli, charred lemon, petite greens, $15. Intense

mind-changer with intense sweet tart flavors.

French lemon cake: lemon glaze, strawberries, black pepper. Worry not, the pepper speaks softly.

On the list to order next time: Snapper crudo, satsumas, chilies, carrot, aji amarillo, carrot, radish, thai basil, $18.

Roasted baby carrots calabrian chili honey, smoked ricotta, $10.

Olive oil cake, mandarin oranges, wildflower honey cream, $8.

Note that the menu changes with seasonality and best of market choices.

Chef Craig shares cooking tips: • Always salt your pasta water; don’t add any oil, just salt.

Desserts- (Top) French lemon cake with black pepper.

(Bottom) Intense natural flavor in passion fruit sorbetto.

and rich, perfect for sharing.

Side Wood grilled asparagus, black truffle aioli. We “86ed” the cured egg yolk topping.

• If you’re sautéing onions, add salt right away to prevent coloring and so they release their water quickly.

• We grill our tuna over high heat for about a minute on each side for a crispy exterior and rare middle.

His advice on oils: “We use three different kinds of olive oil. One bulk Italian oil for vinaigrettes, a Tuscan oil for finishing grilled items, and a Sicilian oil for finishing more delicate items, like raw fish. We do our high heat cooking with a canola/olive oil blend.” His favorite dessert is tiramisu, and favorite cocktail is Monk’s Repose. ì

Desserts Passion fruit sorbetto, $8. Not normally a fan of passion fruit, this was a

Lyla Lila is located at 693 Peachtree Street and its hours are Tuesday through Saturday 5 to 9 p.m.

Mains Artichoke caramelle ravioli, mushrooms, ramp salsa verde. Light yet filling, certainly not a dish one could make at home, $26.

Red snapper in squash, basil-pistachio pesto, meyer lemon butter. An artistic bundle; think ribbons of zucchini, $34.

SIMCHAS SIMCHA SPOTLIGHT

Mazel Tov

Madeline “Maddie” Lampert

Madeline “Maddie” Lampert of North Springs High School became a STAR student recently and chose Gwen Kaminsky as her STAR Teacher as part of the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program. In small-world Jewish geography, this studentteacher relationship was not the first for the Lampert and Kaminsky families.

Lampert’s mom taught Kaminsky’s son Seth in pre-K at The Epstein School.

Stephanie Lampert is now director of The Schiff School, which is part of the Marcus JCC. Maddie also received a prestigious National Honor Society scholarship for $3,200. Kaminsky sponsors the North Springs chapter of NHS. She also taught Maddie’s sister Danielle and brother Noah at North Springs.

To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score on one test date on the three-part SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Nominees’ SAT scores must be equal to or higher than the latest available national average on the three sections. Maddie scored a 1530 on her SAT, had a 4.0 GPA and graduated third in her class. Maddie will be attending Emory University in the fall. .

Birth Announcement Oakleigh Aria Balan

Proud parents Sascha and Rostislav (Ross) Balan welcomed their baby girl into the world on the lunar eclipse May 26, 2021. Oakleigh weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches.

Overjoyed grandparents are Terry and Fred Segal of Roswell and Raisa and Boris Balan of Lilburn. Oakleigh is adored by her big brother Hunter Segal, her Aunt Sage, Uncle Aaron, and cousin Willow, as well as her Uncle Jordan and Aunt Malia. Out of town Aunt Evelina and cousin Daniel, can’t wait to meet Oakleigh.

Bat Mitzvah

Lauren Pearl Cohn Lauren Pearl Cohn became a bat mitzvah June 5, 2021, at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell.

Lauren is the daughter of Marlene and Michael Cohn of Marietta and little sister to Evan. She is the granddaughter of Ruth and Lee Zendel of Rochester Hills, Mich., and Harry Cohn of Boynton Beach, Fla., and the late Pearl Cohn, (z’’l).

Lauren is a rising eighth grader at Dickerson Middle School in Marietta where she has been on

the Principal’s Honor Roll consistently for the past two years. She is excited to be back at Camp Coleman this summer. In the past year, Lauren learned how to bake challah from scratch and spent several Fridays baking challahs, putting together Shabbat bags, and delivering them to Jewish seniors in the community. While COVID limited volunteer opportunities, Lauren found ways to help others by assembling toiletry kits and back-to-school bags, and making fleece blankets for the homeless.

Lauren also participated in Yad Vashem’s twinning program and carried on the memory during her service of Perla Vurms, a young girl from Poland who perished during the Holocaust and did not live to become a bat mitzvah.

B’nai Mitzvah Gabrielle Claire and Tyler Benjamin Swartz Gabrielle Claire and Tyler Benjamin Swartz, children of Kimberly and Jonathan Swartz and younger sister and brother to Maddie, became a bat and a bar mitzvah, respectively, May 29, 2021, at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs.

Rabbi Bradley Levenberg and Cantor Beth Schafer officiated.

In attendance were proud grandparents Gail and Ed Gershon of Miami, and Linda and Bill Swartz of Denver, as well as close family and friends. Other friends and family joined via Zoom.

The twins’ original b’nai mitzvah date was May 30, 2020, but was postponed a full year due to the pandemic. An evening celebration was held on the Ponce City Market rooftop with many friends and family in attendance.

Gabi and Tyler are rising eighth graders at The Davis Academy. For their mitzvah project, they both participated in programs that raised money to send less fortunate kids to Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer this summer. Gabi and Tyler have spent seven summers at camp and want more children to be able to experience sleepaway camp. Camp helps children grow in self-confidence, independence, resilience, and the ability to learn new skills and make new friends. Tyler used his sailing expertise to race Sunfish sailboats with Kim in the William J. Adams IV Regatta. He raised close to $2,000 to send deserving boys to camp.

Tyler was recognized in front of the entire camp for his fundraising accomplishments. Gabi joined her mom and sister to run in the annual Charleston Half Marathon and 5K with a team of camp friends and counselors. Their Run A Kid To Camp team raised enough funds to send several girls from single-parent households to camp. Participating in their mitzvah projects was a rewarding experience for Gabi and Tyler and they plan to continue volunteering with camp and other philanthropies in the future.

Photo by Chuck Robertson Photography

B’nai Mitzvah Notices Kaleb Roland Kessler, son of Veronique and Rad Kessler, June 5.

Carter Lucas Klein, son of Renee and Zach Klein, June 12 Sophia Jordin Oliver, daughter of Kate and Phillip Oliver, June 19. ì

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 45

COMMUNITY Galambos and Cohen Provide Free Uplift

By Marcia Caller Jaffe While some were lamenting the extra pounds put on during the pandemic, spiritual self-awareness coach Sarah Galambos and chiropractor Ben Cohen of Excel Chiropractic put their heads together to provide a free series of uplifting activities in Sandy Springs.

H.E.A.L. (Heal, Evolve and Lead) was conceived at the start of the pandemic as a way to create community connection and collaboration. Sarah and Ben first met in the Leadership Sandy Springs class of 2019. There they learned the importance of community leadership and they embody that philosophy through HEAL. The activity series now defines itself as a networking collaborative for smallto medium-sized businesses to increase their visibility and connection with the citizens of Sandy Springs.

At the onset of the pandemic, Galam-

Sarah Galambos, a spiritual selfawareness coach, leads retreats with husband Michael, a doctor.

bos recalled, “My colleague Ben Cohen and I were seeing our clients and network of small- to medium-sized business owners begin to panic and isolate.

We wanted to create a space for them to feel a sense of connection and support as their worlds seemed to be falling apart.

“During the shutdown, Ben and I worked diligently to build the foundation for HEAL and gather solid sponsors/partners; so when restrictions were finally lifted, we had mindful events in place to offer the community.”

Their first series, Free Outdoor Fitness, was touted as a huge success, according to Galambos.

Each Wednesday evening in June, HEAL gathered at Heritage Park amphitheater to showcase and connect local small- and medium-sized health-con46 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

After HEAL events like this yoga class, folks stay behind and mingle.

Sarah Galambos and Ben Cohen wanted to do something helpful during the pandemic and beyond.

The Galambos family: Rachel Weiland; Alexis Galambos Rosengarten, Lily Maslia, Sarah Galambos, Michael Galambos, Jeff Rosengarten; Julian and Ari Rosengarten.

Part of the connection activity is bringing the community together.

scious businesses to those interested in self-care, awareness and well-being.

The first class started with 20 people, the second drew 30 (on a rainy night) and the third class had 45 people doing yoga in sync as the sun set over Sandy Springs, Galambos said.

“It was beautiful seeing the sun set.

People are loving it and it’s been awesome to watch people linger after class to chat with the businesses and each other as they make new friends. Our only complaint so far: Why doesn’t everyone know about this?

“We have two more events in the series; strength training and Dance Fit Cardio. With some PR and growing interest, it’s our hope to expand to more locations, dates and classes.”

HEAL is actively planning the next community connection event, Pumpkin Patch with a Purpose for Oct. 2 in collaboration with Solidarity Sandy Springs and North Springs United Methodist Church.

The church’s Youth Ministry’s Pumpkin Patch will host a “good, old fashioned” fall festival.

HEAL will also promote a food drive to stock the pantry at Solidarity Sandy Springs and a portion of vendor/sponsor fees will go to the Youth Ministry in gratitude for sharing their space, equipment and time.

As viable sponsors are key, the medical practice of Sarah’s husband Michael, Digestive Healthcare of Georgia, is the founding sponsor. He holds a special love for Sandy Springs as the city his mother built. Eva Galambos was the first and founding mayor of Sandy Springs, who also happened to be Jewish. Eva, of German descent and known as a trailblazer, was also an activist and economist who died in 2015. She held a doctorate in economics from Georgia State University, where she taught, along with Clark College, and was considered an expert on rent control in Atlanta.

“Eva was passionate about her daily exercise, a true believer in fit body, fit mind,” Sarah Galambos said.

Another founding sponsor is Resurgens Orthopaedics. “Stephanie Pilger, their regional marketing director, had been looking for such an event in Sandy Springs, but couldn’t find one. She’s walked every step of the way with us, creating the PowerPoint that eventually convinced the city to allow us to hold the event.” ì

COMMUNITY

Are You an Optimist? each other and are happy for each day.

In life, there are gonna be bumps in the road. We don’t live in La-La Land.

With help from Upstairs and a positive attitude, we have to do the best we can. Ain’t easy. My adorable Daddy, of blessed memory, had a cute sense of humor. Many times, he reminded me, when someone asks “you how’re you doing?” just smile and say, “Vunderfu!”

(My European parents usually pronounced the letter “w” as a “v”).

Now, when I meet someone and am asked how I’m doing, I have a choice.

I can either give them copies of my Xrays and MRI reports or I can smile and say, “Vunderful. Good to see you.” If I have unlimited time, I can ask, “And, how’re y’all doing?”

I have faced many disappointments, trials and scares, including orders for infantry in Vietnam (changed at the last minute), downsizing after 20 years of work at 57 (hired for 12 years elsewhere), and requiring a kidney transplant (bless my local donor). In every case, I and my optimism were restored. If I believed that the world depended only upon humankind, I would be pessimistic. Five years with a new kidney, though, teaches me that every day is a blessing from Hashem and an opportunity to improve myself and the world.

understand the idea of finding light in the darkness more than we do; we don’t focus all our energy on the negatives.

We find a way to stay positive, and the positivity we put into the world always comes back to us.

By Chana Shapiro Four Atlantans talk about the origins, goals and results of their decisions to be upbeat.

Rabbi Jeffrey Francés, Jewish educator

Michele Hirsch, parent and volunteer.

Jonathan Levin, retired software developer and business analyst.

Shirley Brickman, partner in Team Brickman.

I am an optimist. From the time I was a little girl, my precious Momma, of blessed memory, often said, “People will like you more if you always greet them with a smile. No one likes a kvetch (complainer).” That was a good lesson, and you know what? Momma was right.

My husband, Perry, and my children are optimists or very good actors.

“Everything Is Gonna Be Alright” is our theme song. We feel darn lucky to have

You dare ask a curmudgeon if he is an optimist? Amid the horrible state of the country and the world, pandemics, murders, anti-Semitism, racial strife, and total disregard for objective truths, how should I respond? I think that despite all that, there is opportunity for optimism. I was guided by a Pollyanna of a mother whose stories never saw a villain or serious difficulty, and a Great Depression-influenced father. Both gained strength through doing whatever was needed and smiling through it.

They were no-nonsense educators who were always short on money, but who valued taking their boys on family road trips over cleaning the house or buying niceties.

I try to look forward to life with an optimistic approach. Optimism isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a daily conscious decision. My family and I have a motto: BOTO, meaning “Be Open To Outcome,” because no matter what we plan for, things can — and often will! — change.

We look forward to the meaningful events in life, the bar and bat mitzvahs, the weddings, the sleepaway camps, but we are prepared to take things in stride.

Life has a way of throwing things at us that we aren’t thrilled about, like, say, a global pandemic, and we can’t control that.

I don’t think something good has to come out of every challenge, and we can’t control the outcomes any more than the obstacles. But we can control how we react to challenges, and sometimes optimism is the only option. Why choose to focus on the bad? As Jews, I can’t think of a group of people who

Rabbi Akiva optimistically said, “All that God does is for the good.” I’m confident that, as a rabbinic leader living under Roman rule in the post-Second Temple era, he wasn’t a naïve idealist. So what is the “good” of which he speaks, and how do we remain optimistic, even under adverse circumstances?

We need to acknowledge that the “good” may not be what we expect or desire. We often become frustrated when trying to impose our definition of “good” on a world where human control is limited. We can consider probabilities and trends, analyze statistics and even try to control others, but ultimately, we can only control our own choices.

To live with Rabbi Akiva’s optimism we must strive to make the bestinformed, thoughtful and intentional choices we can, fully aware that we can’t always control the outcome. It’s critical to be mindful of that throughout daily life. And sometimes when things are hard, we conclude that “it’s not good.”

But assuming that what R’Akiva said is true, our conclusion is likely not reality, and we must adjust our expectations and continue to seek the good. If that’s optimism, then I suppose I’m an optimist. ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 47

OY VEY

JEWISH JOKE

OY VEY! HAVE I GOT A PROBLEM...

Dear Rachel, last few years, I’ve i, for years. During the om Na , nd bow frie se clo a d I’ve ha er if it’s time for me to onship and sadly wond ati rel our ing exion m est fro s qu started gold. But she suffer omi truly has a heart of le out of the friendship. Na le. If we’re running a litt for makes me uncom tab it , tly nes ho d d an an ty, ng xie mi treme an her way, it is all-consu and if a problem comes ’s in late, she goes ballistic, omi’s company when she r scale. While I enjoy Na hte Ric the lly on tica 10 ma a res dra measu e this dynamic that anything can chang uld be “normal” mode, knowing of me. I know Naomi wo top a cloud perched on g vin ha e and lik is her ly out den ab and sud . I care deeply And I would suffer, too ye. db goo to say I lth if hea rt l hu nta terribly ow my own me of my life. But I can’t all rt pa ng bei her ss mi would suffer, can I? Please advise.

Sincerely, Naomi’s Friend

Dear Friend, What a tough dilemma! Severing a longstanding, treasured friendship would certainly leave you in pain, in addition to causing Naomi hurt, which you are loath to do. Before we jump to that option, perhaps there are other avenues to explore.

Is there a way to put a stronger fence around the friendship? Perhaps if you get together with Naomi less frequently, your time together won’t feel as challenging. And I wonder if you can bolster your own capabilities so you can better handle her anxiety.

For example, imagine you are taking Naomi to the airport, and you run into a traffic jam. Naomi starts to hyperventilate, and you bite your lip and feel your heart begin to drum hard and fast. Can you take a deep breath to calm yourself and simply say, “Naomi, a traffic jam doesn’t have to result in a missed flight. In fact, most of the time, it doesn’t. It may mean more of a rush in the airport. But how about we decide to think positively and assume you will probably make your flight?”

Depending on what Naomi is obsessing about, can you try to help her consider other possibilities? Ask her if she can assess the likelihood of her worry coming true on a scale of 1-10. This simple exercise may jolt her out of her unnecessary angst.

Humor is often a great tactic to diffuse a tense situation. If you can get her laughing, you’ll both feel better.

Here’s another thought, but it will take courage and contains an element of risk.

“Naomi,” you say, “I think about you a lot. You know how much I treasure you. But I’m worried about your anxiety; it’s not good for you. Have you considered getting help so that you’ll feel better?”

Naomi may appreciate your caring and respect you enough that she will consider your suggestion. Or she can get angry, lash out, and may even break up your friendship.

If you have tried these steps, and Naomi’s anxiety continues to affect you adversely, it may be time for some serious introspection.

1. Can I handle the way this relationship is affecting me?

2. If the answer is no, can I gently close the door and tell Naomi that I am not available when she wants to get together?

3. The third option is to be blatantly honest. “Naomi, I care deeply about you. But your anxiety is pulling me down. I hope you can get help to manage your feelings. For right now, I need to take a break from spending time together. But I’ll be here waiting for you…

Clearly, you cannot engage with a friend who has a negative effect on your wellbeing.

You want to be the best you can be, for yourself, your family, and your community. If an outside force is impeding your goals, it may have to be removed from your vicinity.

I hope you can find a way to help Naomi. In my idealistic vision, I see you helping her, directly or indirectly, to triumph over her anxiety so that she can be her best self. And as a side benefit, your friendship will be that much richer.

Wishing you all the best, Best of luck, Rachel Atlanta Jewish Times Advice Column Got a problem? Email Rachel, a certified life coach, at oyvey@atljewishtimes. com describing your problem in 250 words or less. We want to hear from you and get helpful suggestions for your situation at the same time!

48 | JUNE 30, 2021 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Always Late Sarah was always late to work no matter how much she tried to be on time or how many times her boss scolded her. She just could not wake up on time. Her boss said she would fire her if it did not stop.

Sarah decided to seek the advice of her doctor. He prescribed her some medication and told her to take one pill before going to sleep.

She did and she woke up before the alarm clock sounded and headed into work feeling well-rested. Sarah told her boss about the doctor’s prescription and how well it worked.

Her boss said, “That is great, Sarah, but where were you yesterday?”

Source: Chabad Naples Jewish Community Center

YIDDISH WORD OF THE MONTH Tsuriasis n. A psychogenic skin disorder; literally, a worry wart.

Sandy says she has poison ivy but, with her fighting with her mother, I bet it’s tsuriasis.

From the old Yiddish tsuris, meaning troubles, and the emotional state these troubles put a person in. And from the English psoriasis, meaning a skin disease that produces red, itchy patches. ' Source: “Schmegoogle: Yiddish Words for Modern Times” by Daniel Klein.

BRAIN FOOD

Independence Day

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1. Goes for a run 5. Boy or man 9. Any day now 13. Furry George Lucas creature 14. Mother of Ivanka 16. Dr. Jones who dug in 14-Across, to friends 17. Jewish rock band formed in 2001 whose name in Hebrew would be T'chaylet 19. Bird house 20. Hebrew for "convert" 21. Controversial Neturei 23. Every enemy of Israel has essentially waved one 27. Show pain 31. Many, many moons 32. Mai ___ 33. Female sheep 35. "Have some" 36. Panhandles 38. Bad QB pass 40. Hank and Paul 42. Many Jewish sacrifices… or popular items on 70-Across?

45. The Mailman Karl 48. Chair part 49. Brewski 53. Be behind 54. Notable time period 56. N.L. East city 58. "___ won't be afraid" 59. Clean up, in a way 61. Parah Aduma

64. Sitting item 66. African grazer 67. Items on some shoes 70. The starts of 61, 23, and 17- Across are associated with it … or an alternative title for this puzzle 75. Plan 76. Contemptuous look 77. Like the passage of time for many on the 9th of Av 78. Irritable 79. First bond film 80. Sports award

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Israeli native. During his new administration, Netanyahu will visit the neighboring Arabs states and travel to the White House to meet President Bill Clinton for further peace negotiations.

10 Years Ago// June 24, 2011

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, wanted to move up the ladder to the U.N. General Assembly because the U.S. under Barack Obama’s presidency, “condemned any unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state.” Other Palestinian supporters in the West advised Abbas to drop his U.N. initiative for the sake of salvaging the PA-U.S. relationship.

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Remember When

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Nanette Wenger was named the new president of the Atlanta Bureau of Jewish Education.

Congregants at Congregation Dor Tamid recruit volunteers to harvest “fresh, healthy food for those in need” for the new Gan Tamid (the Eternal Garden). Linda Barton started the garden in 2009 to raise food for the hungry in keeping with the concept of tikkun olam, along with co-chair Betsy Bier and Dan Rosen. Dor Tamid preschoolers are active participants of this garden, helping the vegetables sprout to feed those in need.

25 Years Ago// June 28, 1996 Benjamin Netanyahu was elected as the new prime minister of Israel under the new law that allows citizens to vote directly for their new leader. Netanyahu’s endeavors during his time in office will include new peace treaties with neighboring Arab nations and with the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu, like Yitzhak Rabin, is a (tzabar), an

Atlanta Yad voted to potentially merge with UGA Hillel. Yad officials rejected the offer a year ago but reconsidered when the Atlanta Jewish Federation incentivizing the deal with $74,000. Though the merger is not final, the Yad board will vote on it after its next board meeting.

50 Years Ago// June 25, 1971

Dr. Nanette Wenger was named the new president of the Atlanta Bureau of Jewish Education during its annual meeting. The purpose of the Jewish education program, directed by executive director of the bureau Dr. Leon Spotts, is to broaden the Jewish education in Atlanta with an emphasis on tours to Israel in the ulpan and honors programs for the Atlanta High School of Jewish Studies.'

Dr. Donald C. Siegel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Isadore M. Siegel of Atlanta, received an award by the Chicago Surgical Society for his research paper on “The Pulmonary Effects of Asanguinous Resuscitation from Hemorrhagic Shock in the Primate.” The research was sponsored by the U.S. Army and Navy to improve the outcome of wounded troops in the field and their chances of survival. ì ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 49

OBITUARIES Paul Joshua Kastin 77, Atlanta

Celina Rossler Koperwas 73, Sandy Springs

Paul Joshua Kastin died June 12, 2021, at age 77. Born in 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Isadore and Ruth, he was the youngest of two sons.

Paul attended Columbia University, where he majored in art history and played on the Columbia Men’s Tennis varsity team. Graduating Columbia after three years, he then studied at the University of Chicago earning his MBA. Upon graduation, he was hired by Dubuque Packing and later by Smithfield Foods in Smithfield, Va., where he distinguished himself and attracted the attention of an entrepreneur in Atlanta, who called on him to run his new company.

In 1981, he leveraged his previous executive experience and formed Service Marketing, Inc., a commercial meat brokerage business.

Paul was a man who relished life’s wonders and opportunities. He held a variety of interests and lived life to the fullest. He was a voracious reader, avid golfer, patron of the arts and world-class traveler. Accompanied by his wife Rosthema, not only did he visit every corner of the world, but would recall the most detailed element of those experiences, which inspired so many of his friends and family to pursue the same wonderful experiences.

Paul also had a wide network of lifelong friends whom he cherished, including those of his Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Columbia. He was a longtime member of The Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta Symphony, Spivey Hall and numerous other artistic and cultural venues. He was also a member of The Standard Club and more recently, the Druid Hills Golf Club.

He is survived by his beloved wife Rosthema Kastin of Atlanta; daughter Leslie Rubin (Dr. Tod Rubin) of Marietta; son Dr. Darren Kastin (Bonnie Kastin) of Deerfield, Ill., and son Avery Kastin of Atlanta; and by his four grandchildren Harrison Rubin of New York City, Jeremy Rubin of Boston and Spencer and Elliott Kastin of Deerfield, Ill. He also is also survived by his brother Dr. Abba Kastin (Dr. Wei Hong) of Sedona, Ariz.

Memorial services were held June 15 at The Temple with graveside services following at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta or the Emory Winship Cancer Institute’s leukemia fund. Arrangements

by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.

Celina (Lin) Rössler Koperwas, 73, of Sandy Springs, passed away June 22, 2021, after a seven-year battle with ovarian cancer that she fought courageously with grace and dignity. Lin loved life with her one true love, her husband of 23 years Bob. Lin and Bob moved in 2005 to Sandy Springs, where Lin soon became an active member of her community, a community they adored and called home.

After a very successful career culminating as vice president of merchandising, Lin went back to school, where she studied nutrition and started a second career as a dietician.

Lin was loved by many and was a dedicated, devoted and loyal friend to all who knew her. Lin will be dearly missed.

Lin is the beloved wife of Robert Koperwas; loving mother of Shanni Novak and George Doneson; grandmother of Kainan Doneson; and sister of Noemi Rössler. Funeral services were held June 24 at Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care’s chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the Ovarian Cancer Institute, 1266 W. Paces Ferry Road, Suite 339, Atlanta, Ga. 30327. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999 Obituaries in the AJT are written and paid for by the families; contact Editor and Managing Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky at kaylene@atljewishtimes.com or 404-883-2130, ext. 100, for details about submission, rates and payments. Death notices, which provide basic details, are free and run as space is available; send submissions to editor@atljewishtimes.com.

Clarification: Photo Reprint Phyllis Lipton Glassman, 92, of Ellijay, passed away May 27, 2021.

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ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JUNE 30, 2021 | 51

CLOSING THOUGHTS I’ll Be Seeing You For the last few days I have been haunted by a song that just showed up in my head. I am not a good singer, but I know the melAllen H. Lipis ody and most The Bottom Line of the lyrics.

The melody is so beautiful and the lyrics so lovely and so longing for a person that I had to see the movie in which the song fits the story.

The song is “I’ll be seeing you,” written by Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain, and here are the lyrics: I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places That this heart of mine embraces all day through In that small cafe, the park across the way The children’s carousel, the chestnut

trees, the wishing well I’ll be seeing you in every lovely summer’s day In everything that’s light and gay I’ll always think of you that way I’ll find you in the morning sun And when the night is new I’ll be looking at the moon But I’ll be seeing you When I sing those lyrics, it tells me that I am saying goodbye to someone I know when I am not sure when or whether I will see that person ever again. But it is more than that. It is a love song, a hurt inside for a longing to be with a person you love greatly, and a desperate feeling that the picture you have of the one you love will never be seen again. And so the memory lingers on in the morning sun and continues with the evening moon.

The song is famous, and I have sung it to myself many times. It popped into my head as I attended the bar mitzvah of my grandson more than a year ago. So many family members and friends came,

and it was such a beautiful time to enjoy being with so many of them, knowing full well that many are getting older and live far away from my home. Who knows if I will ever see some of them again?

I remember the movie in which the song and story so moved me emotionally. The movie is “Shining Through,” and stars Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas. It’s a romantic espionage thriller set in World War II in Germany. When Douglas is gone on a secret mission for six months and Griffith, who is deeply in love with him and does not know if she will ever see him again, sees him entering the dance hall and realizes that he is alive, but with another woman, the camera focuses on her face as Deirdre Harrison sings the song, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” There is something very emotionallly moving for me as I watch this part of the movie for 30 seconds. I have seen it many times. It reminds me of so many people I love who I will never see again, and even those who are alive but live so far away. It reminds me of my family in Berlin, for much of the movie takes place there.

My daughter sent me a gorgeous picture of my three grown children together in a single pose. I know that their smiling, beautiful faces all together in the photo will be all I have to look at until we get together again, which thankfully will be soon.

We live each day talking to only a few people in our lives. If you miss the ones you love, make it a point to talk to them often and see them in person as often as you can. Don’t miss out on any celebration. If you are committed to attend a funeral, then certainly you should be more committed to attend a simcha. You may have a wonderful memory of times past, but it doesn’t measure up to living in the present.

If you want to see the scene I described, you can watch it on your computer by putting in the name of the movie and the name of the song. Even better, watch the 1992 movie when Griffith and Douglas were in their prime. They don’t make this kind of great storytelling very often.

The bottom line: Embrace your memories, but it is much better to make new ones. ì

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After hundreds of mediations, the goal remains the same: to help spouses avoid the pitfalls, trauma, and expense of litigating their divorce in court.

Dr. Breiner is a Clinical Psychologist and a registered Divorce Mediator with the State of Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Dispute Resolution.

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“Best handy service and home contractor I have ever worked with.”

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Barbara is waiting for your call!

Barbara Diener Land & Cruise Specialist

770-740-9099

bdiener@cruiseplanners.com www.travelsmartdreambig.com BarbaraDienerCruisePlanners

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by Jewish Times Readers

MY EXPERTISE IS YOUR TICKET TO AN AMAZING JOURNEY! • Land Tours • Ocean and River Cruises • Custom Planned Itineraries

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w w w. At l a n ta J e w i s hTi m e s.c o m F O R M O R E O F W H AT YO U N E E D CARE GIVER Experienced Caregiver with 30 years’ experience Can live in or live out. Salary negotiable.

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You spoke. We listened.

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Development Corp. for Israel | 404-817-3500 Eleventh Series Jubilee Bonds 2.23% Eleventh Series Maccabee Bonds 2.08% Eighth Series Mazel Tov Bonds 1.90% Eighth Series eMitzvah Bonds 1.90%

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PERFORMANCE UPGRADES2019 WILL BE DONATED TO APPLE DEVICE SUPPORT

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Call me to test drive any of our new or used cars!

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SENIOR SERVICES

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Loneliness and isolation take a toll! Our daily contact can make a difference in their life.

as well as many other issues...

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Closets, pantries, garages, offices and more!

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Brian C. Spaner

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Arborist Services Tree Removal Cabling Planting

Permits Pruning Pest Control Consulting

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for Angie’s List members

55 OR OLDER, UNEMPLOYED AND LOOKING FOR WORK?

WE CAN HELP! For more than 50 years, AARP Foundation Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) has provided people over age 55 with opportunities to fill entry-level and mid-level positions with employers in their communities.

HOW IT WORKS SCSEP trainees are placed in a variety of community service activities at nonprofit and public facilities like day care and senior centers, schools and hospitals.

This on-the-job training experience can be a bridge to find employment opportunities outside of the program.

Participants work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid the highest federal, state or local minimum wage.

WHO’S ELIGIBLE? You must be age 55 or older, unemployed and financially qualified. Please contact your local office to learn more about the financial qualifications.

SCSEP is funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

INTERESTED? Contact your local SCSEP

OTHER BENEFITS We provide participants with training and support services that are important for funding future employment. The services include Individual Employment Plan (IEP) development, specialized training to prepare for placements, wages and fringe benefits, annual physicals and assistance in securing future employment.

WHAT KINDS OF JOBS ARE AVAILABLE? You could be placed in a wide variety of community service positions at both nonprofit and public facilities including day care and senior centers, governmental agencies, schools, hospitals and libraries. These training assignments help build the skills and experience needed to obtain future employment. Additional training through lectures, seminars, one-on-one instruction, training programs and community colleges may also be provided

L earn more at aarpfoundation.org

AARP Foundation Senior Community Services Employment Program 1718 Peachtree St., NW, Suite 991 South Atlanta, Georgia 30309 (404) 892-4446 office (404) 892-4464 fax 4319 Covington Highway, Suite 204 Decatur, Georgia 30035 (678) 919-8283 office (678) 949-5126 fax