lifecycles B’nai Mitzvah Amber Steigelfest will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on Sat., Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. at The Temple. Amber was born on Aug. 5, 1999. Her parents are Jill and Eli Steigelfest. Her grandparents are Nina Amber and Steve Steigelfest of Steigelfest Brooklyn, N.Y., and Beth and Michael Gordon of Plantation, Fla. Her great grandmother is Luba Wengersky of Brooklyn. A seventh grader at Harpeth Hall, Amber’s special interests include acting, writing, martial arts, rock climbing, reading, debating, traveling and hanging out with family and friends. For her mitzvah project, Amber chose to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Austin Jack Malow Pert will be called to the Torah on Sat., Feb. 11, at 10:30 a.m. at Congregation Micah. He is the son of Stephen Pert and Beth Malow, and the brother of Daniel Pert. He is the grandson of Teresa and Monroe Malow of Austin Jack Delray Beach, Fla., and Malow Pert the late Joan and Donald Pert of Covington, La. A seventh grader at Woodland Middle School in Brentwood, Austin’s favorite school subject is social studies, and he is interested in all varieties of sports. He is an avid tennis player and serves as manager of the Woodland basketball team. For his service project, Austin is volunteering with the Special Olympics. Lillie Yalowitz will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on Sat., Feb. 11, at 11 a.m. at The Temple. Lillie was born on Feb. 11, 1999, in Chicago, Ill. Her parents are Julie and Jay Yalowitz. Her grandparents are Elizabeth and Larry Linkon of St. Louis, Mo., and Nancy Yalowitz of Evanston, Ill.
A seventh grader at the University School of Nashville, Lilllie’s special interests include horseback riding, Chippewa Ranch Summer Camp and spending time with her Lillie Yalowitz friends. For her mitzvah project, Lillie has been baking weekly for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House as well as buying supplies for the home. She will also be a S.O.S. sponsor which means for a month, she will be making a donation of supplies and snacks to the Family Room at the hospital.
Professional notes Miriam Leibowitz has been asked to be on the opening panel for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Little Rock, Ark., Jan. 20-21, and to lead a workshop on Community Organizing for Food System Change. In December, Leibowitz’s piece, “From Shul Garden to Kitchen,” was published on The Jew and the Carrot blog (http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/ 14717/). She is also working with the Tennessee State Health Department on the Food, Faith and Health Summit Steering Committee. The Summit is anticipated to take place Spring 2012. Miriam began working with Kevin Alexandroni at SOVA Catering in October 2011 as the new director of sales and marketing. Sara Lubow Fried, owner and principal planner of Fête Nashville, was awarded the 2012 “Best of” Wedding Planners by TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com. She was the only winner chosen in this category from the state of Tennessee. Fried specializes in upscale wed- Sara Lubow Fried dings and is widely known for transforming a couple’s vision into their dream day. Paul Sternberg, M.D., chair of opthalmology and visual sciences at Vanderbilt and director of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, has been elected president-elect of the 30,000-member
National Conference on Jewish Affairs-Nashville The National Conference on Jewish Affairs is dedicated to supporting the rights and safety of the Jewish people in America, in Israel and around the world under the Rule of Law by providing strong Jewish leadership, advocacy and education to respond to and counter the growing, orchestrated demonizing of Israel, Jewry, and America.
American Academy of Opthalmology. He becomes president after one year. Patricia Straus has joined the RE/MAX Elite top agent roster. She spent the last four years at Fridrich and Clark, a small boutique-style real estate firm where she maintained a multi-million dollar production level, year after year.
Sympathy . . . to the family of Jack W. Kuhn Jr., 62, who died suddenly on Jan. 13 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He was born Aug. 10, 1949, in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Kuhn is preceded in death by parents, Lois H. Kuhn and Jack W. Kuhn Sr. Survived by sister, Carol Silver (Steve); brothers, Jeffrey Kuhn (Pam) and Walter Kuhn (Beth); niece, Karen Lerman (Josh); nephews, Josh Kuhn, Zack Kuhn and Jake Kuhn; great niece, Alexa Lerman. Mr. Kuhn spent much of his life in the mental health industry. He was in case management for Henderson Mental
Health Center, Nova Southeastern University and South Florida State Hospital all in Ft. Lauderdale. Mr. Kuhn was the owner of The Greenery Garden Center and personnel director of Kuhn's Big K. Stores in Nashville. He was also a rehabilitation therapist for South Florida State Hospital and Simple Dreams, Inc. Mr. Kuhn had many professional accomplishments including: board member, Henderson Mental Health; NAACP Award for Effective Leadership in Case Management; Case Manager of the Year, 2001 City of Fort Lauderdale; Case Manager of the Year 1998; National Association of Case Management Award for Heroism; Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services, 1993; Certificates of Recognition South Florida State Hospital, 1991, 1992 and 1993; member of the Association of Case Management. Memorial contributions may be made to Henderson Behavioral Health, 4740 North State Road 7 #201, Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33319 or the charity of your choice.
Top-notch college grads forgo U.S. job search to teach in Israel
F
ollowing a successful pilot year that placed 68 Jewish North American young adults as volunteer teachers’ aids in Israeli public schools, Masa Israel Journey has opened 200 spots for next year’s Israel Teaching Fellows (ITF) program. Launched by Israel’s Ministry of Education and Masa Israel Journey, ITF was created to address the widespread underperformance of youth in low-income communities. Masa Israel Journey is a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Government of Israel, which runs service, internship and academic programs in Israel. With the lingering economic challenges in the U.S., ITF has seen a surge in applications from high caliber recent college graduates who are forgoing the job search for meaningful service opportunities abroad. Following a two-year stint in healthcare, Harvard graduate Julia Kingsdale left Boston to teach in Israel’s periphery. “There’s something sort of spontaneous, albeit chaotic, about Israel,” said Kingsdale. “Teaching in Israel requires a mindset shift where you can’t intensely plan every detail; you need to focus on the situation at hand, which is something I find really refreshing.” For Teach for America alumnus Chris Harty, who taught in Southern Louisiana, the Israeli classroom experi-
ence has expanded his professional insights. “I came to Israel because I wanted to see how a different education system works,” said Harty. “I’ve learned that in Israel, students can run through the hallways and still show up to class on time and ready to learn.” In addition to teaching for 20 hours a week, Teaching Fellows receive ongoing pedagogical support, enroll in Hebrew courses, live alongside peers in their communities, and develop secondary volunteer programs. After teaching John Lennon’s “Imagine” to his class, Emory-graduate Brian Levenson volunteered to prepare a few of his students to sing it at their school-wide talent show. Kingsdale, who now wants to pursue a career in teaching, is launching an after-school reading program. “Today one of my students, who could barely identify English letters at the beginning of the year, matched colors with their English words,” said Levenson. “It feels good to make a difference.” For more information about Israel Teaching Fellows, visit: www.israelteachingfellows.org . To speak with an Israel Teaching Fellow from your community, contact Masa Israel’s North American Director of Public Relations Rachel Trager Sales at 212/339-6048, 917/3715569 or racheltr@masaisrael.org. c
join us by sending your name and email to ncjanashville@gmail.com http://nationalconferenceonjewishaffairs.org/ http://www.ncjanashville.org/ Chazak Achsav!-Strength Now!
To access the Community Calendar, go to www.jewishnashville.org and click on “Calendar.” Every community event is listed for your convenience. The Observer January 20, 2012
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