Southern Jewish Life, May 2020

Southern Jewish Life

May 2020

Volume 30 Issue 5

Havdalah at Regions Field, Birmingham

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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shalom y’all A few random thoughts…

The real story in Huntsville last month (and in Mandeville in September 2018) after the synagogue vandalism wasn’t the vandalism itself, it was the overwhelming response from the neighboring community, with churches showing up to clean and express support. It would be nice if there were no need to have such expressions of solidarity, but comforting that when something does happen, a lot of people have our backs.

There has been no lack of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic. Lately, the biggest target has been Bill Gates, who has been accused of developing the virus and a vaccine for it so he can get even richer, or he developed it as part of a global depopulation plan, or that this is part of a plan to microchip everyone on the planet.

If there is one silver lining to all those theories, it is that for once, the nuts are focusing on someone who isn’t Jewish.

It’s amazing that advocacy groups are demanding that Israel end the blockade of Gaza so medical supplies can get into Gaza to combat coronavirus. Especially since medical supplies have been and still are allowed through, the only things forbidden are dual-use items that have been diverted to build thousands of terror and smuggling tunnels into Israel and Egypt (people conveniently forget Egypt has stricter rules against Gaza). And international groups have praised the cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians in combating the spread of the virus, which hasn’t ravaged Gaza. But hey, any chance to bash Israel and sow seeds of doubt…

Many thanks to all y’all who have showed this publication some love during the coronavirus shutdown and advertising drought. Your support means a lot to us. There are still so many stories to tell, and we’re going to keep telling them as long as we can!

(And for those of you who would still like to Lawrence Brook, Publisher/Editor help... go to supportsjl.com).

On the cover: Temple Beth-El Rabbi Stephen Slater prayed for the community at Birmingham’s Regions Field on April 25 as part of a four-day community event with faith leaders, an initiative created by Mayor Randall Woodfin for the city. Sarah Metzger also led havdalah.

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12 Greater Birmingham Locations to Serve You

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I N S U R A N C E S May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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commentary

MESSAGES

Maccabi USA leader praises Birmingham Games

I have had the honor of attending many Maccabi competitions around the world. From Israel to Australia to SouthGilad America, Europe and the JCC Maccabi games around the United States Consul General Katz and Canada, I have logged many miles seeing how sports can be a vehicle to help build Jewish identity, especially in our young.

Israel at 72: Cherishing, Protecting and I felt honored to come to Birmingham for the first time and fell in love with not just the city Celebrating Jewish State but the people. You havethe taken Southern hospitality to a new level with your kind and caring

approach the JCC Maccabi Games.

During to these unprecedented and incredibly important dates in Jewish history. For me, this difficult please allow meyour to take a pause date is as significant as the dayThey that partnered the first TemLed bytimes, the Sokol and Helds, hard-working volunteers were wonderful. from the day to day news that seemsLynch, to be tople wasthe inaugurated it is written emphawith your outstanding staff, lednow

by Betzy make 2017 JCC as Maccabi gamesand a huge hit. aI part new ” the new everydaydirector life sized in the first book of Kings: it behalf came to wantoftothe take this“normal, opportunity as executive of Maccabi USA to say thank “And you on — to shift the conversation away from the un- pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after of everyone involved. certainty that we all feel today, as a result of the the children of Israel were come out of the land I had just crisis. returned from Ithe 20thlike World Maccabiah gamesininthe Israel withyear a U.S. of coronavirus Instead, would to share of Egypt, fourth of delegation Solomon’s reign over 1100, who joinedIndependence 10,000 JewishDay, athletes fromover 80 countries.

Back in July eyesisofthe thesecond entire with you, on Israel’s a perIsrael, in the month Ziv,the which Jewishenlightenment world were onthat Jerusalem and thejust Maccabiah.

This past with andof the sonal I experienced two month, that month he began to 1000 buildathletes the house coaches around the world in Birmingham, you became the focal point. years ago,from when my family and Ibeing celebrated our LORD. ” firstEveryone Yom Ha’atzmaut the United States. and the community Both dates changed Jewish ahistory dramatifrom theinJewish community at large, including wonderful As anforce, Israeli, only natural thatThese Israel’s In- will cally.

Solomon built athe first Temple, police areittoisbe commended. games goWhen downKing in history as being seminal dependence is considered to be aassacred day.to itthe was the first time in history that the almighty moment forDay the Jewish community we build future by providing such wonderful Jewish On this day, Israel gained its independence and dwelled in a permanent Jewish home. memories. sovereignty after almost two thousand years. Our When modern Israel was established, it was Jed Margolis generation has been fortunate enough to see this the first time in modern history that the Jewish Executive Director, USA goal become a realityMaccabi with our own eyes, to live people were recognized and entitled to a national the dreams of generations of Jews, who prayed home of their own, as the Balfour Declaration three times a day that they might one day return acknowledged in 1917.

Independence supremacists would likeOur to see pushed backDay, On Charlottesville to Jerusalem and live in a Jewish state. after the dayWe that Israinto aalmost cornertwo andmillennia, made to was feel lesser. stand At first, when I saw the Jewish communities el finally gained itsthe own seat at the international with and pray for family of Heather Heyer, Editor’s Note: This reaction to the together events into ob- table. Sitting alongside countries that in the past, here in the United States coming who was there standing up to the face of this Charlottesville, writtenIby Jeremy serve Yom Ha’atzmaut, was takenNewman, aback by how and hate.others in the present, did not recognize the Mastertime, of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Theta Colony much effort, and programing went into cel- legitimate rights of the Jewish people to have Weown recognize of theor American at Auburn University, was shared byOnly AEPiwhen I their ebrating Israel’s Independence Day. state, the theiressence own army, even their narrative as a two-century old struggle to rid National, called get it “very eloquent” and was able towhich personally to know the members own currency. ourselves of such allow thoseof in Ispraised “our brothers at AEPi Theta Colony at of the Jewish communities was I able to underToday, 72 yearscorners, after theand establishment them independence, the seat at the table that they so deserve.

Auburn University and… theput leadership they stand why Americans would so much atten- rael’s the existence of the Jewish It is the to fulfill thestory display their campus. ” tion intooncelebrating an Independence Day other state is a struggle natural fact.

Makethe nopromise mistake,ofthe Declaration of Independence, thatWe “allmust mennevare than their own. This discovery presented itself in of Israel is a story of great success. created by theirago, Creator with two different dimensions. er forgetequal… that justendowed two generations the world WhiteI supremacy a cancer on Jew- and First, realized thathas allbeen members of the certain unalienable rights.” of Wethe know ourpeople work sadly the vast majority Jewish ourcommunities country sincehere its beginning, threatening ish in the United States and never is far from finished, but we know we will believed in their wildest dreams thatnot Israel its hopes, values, its better angels. around theitsworld seeand Israel as their homeland. would move backwards. become an essential player in the internaThe events that took in basis, Charlottesville Many visit Israel on a place regular others invest tional community. This is why remembering this When men and women, fully armed, take represented the worst and of this nation. Those in Israeli companies start-ups, and some historic day is incredibly important. We must to the streets in droves with swastikas and who marched streets with tiki torches even decide toonto makethealiyah and become Israeli all remember that the creation of the modern other of hate, it is a reminder of how citizens themselves. is why Israel is soand dear Jewishsymbols and swastikas did soThat to provoke violence state, Israel, is something that we should relevant the issues racism and anti-Semitism and towho our hearts.

Whether youstreets live indid Isra- cherish and protect.ofWe fear.close Those marched onto the should be proud of our are today.

It is a wake-up call to the work that el or are a part of one of the Jewish communities so to profess an ideology that harkens back to one and only Jewish state, a state that contributes needs to be done to ensure a better, more here in themore U.S., wretched you are interested in what hap- to the world in so many aspects a bleaker, time in our history. of life. welcoming country.

But it should not more, come we pens in Israel.

You follow the news.

You celebrate For all those reasons and many A time when men and women of many creeds, without a reflection on how far we’ve come. its successes and bereave its losses.

Overall, you races, and religions were far from equal and far should thank God. We can also never forget all feel connected to own Israel. theAmerica Israel Defense Forces soldiers who sacwas born a slave nation.

A have century from safe in our borders. A time where Secondly, lived for the first atime in mycloud life I of under- rificed their liveswe fighting forin our independence into our history engaged a war in part Americans under constant stood, depth, what the state hate. stands for and security.

We must innocent to ensure we would notremember continue asthe one.

We racism,inanti-Semitism andJewish pervasive The and what reallyplace means.

Israel belongs served to each victims of terrorconfronted who were by murdered befound ourselves the issueonly of civil events thatit took in Charlottesville and every Jewish individual who lives on this cause they were Jewish.

It is our duty and honor rights, and embarked on a mission to ensure as a reminder of how painfully relevant these planet.

Regardless in the giant ofno ourmatter pioneers. thewalk fair treatment of footsteps all peoples theirI issues are today. of where he or she lives, their to personal beliefs, or even their political views, believe withAlthough all of mywe’ve heartmade and soul that Israel skin color. great strides, Auburn’s Epsilon standssquare with the Israel is yourAlpha home.

Those Pi 13,795 miles will thrive and in the coming future, it is continue a missiontowe’re still grappling with today.

Jewish community of Charlottesville, belong to all of the Jewish people. Theand hills and we shall all see even better days.

America wasIndependence also born an immigrant with thethe Jewish people aroundthe thefields country valleys, forests and shores, and seas Happy Israel Day! andallaround the as world. alsotostand with the are yours just they We belong the Israelis that country. As early as the pilgrims, many Gilad Katz is Israel’s Consul groups and families found in theGeneral country to thethe minorities live there. who are targeted by the hate that Southwest, based in Houston.

His territory also was on isdisplay inmy Charlottesville.

That why, in opinion, the We day stand Israel was opportunity to plant stakes, chase their future, covers Louisiana and Arkansas. with the — minorities whom these founded May 14,of 1948 — is onewhite of the most and be themselves. Few were met with open 4 May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

January 2020 May 2020

Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com V.P. SALES/MARKETING, NEW ORLEANS Jeff Pizzo jeff@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com SOCIAL/WEB Emily Baldwein connect@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rivka Epstein, Louis Crawford, Tally Werthan, Stuart Derroff, Belle Freitag, Ted Gelber, E. Walter Katz, Doug Brook brookwrite.com BIRMINGHAM OFFICE P.O. Box 130052, Birmingham, AL 35213 14 Office Park Circle #104 Birmingham, AL 35223 205/870.7889 NEW ORLEANS OFFICE 3747 West Esplanade, 3rd Floor Metairie, LA 70002 504/432-2561 TOLL-FREE 866/446.5894 FAX 866/392.7750 ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries to 205/870.7889 for Lee Green, lee@sjlmag.com Jeff Pizzo, jeff@sjlmag.com Media kit, rates available upon request SUBSCRIPTIONS It has always been our goal to provide a large-community quality publication to all communities of the South.

To that end, our commitment includes mailing to every Jewish household in the region (AL, LA, MS, NW FL), without a subscription fee.

Outside the area, subscriptions are $25/year, $40/two years. Subscribe via sjlmag.com, call 205/870.7889 or mail payment to the address above.

Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publisher.

Views expressed in SJL are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. SJL makes no claims as to the Kashrut of its advertisers, and retains the right to refuse any advertisement.

Documenting this community, a community we are members of and active within, is our passion.

We love what we do, and who we do it for.

agenda interesting bits & can’t attend events

Different from all other nights: A Zoom Passover Seder for Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge

GiveNOLA Day moves to June 2 Gift pre-scheduling already underway

L’Dor V’Dor Exhibit Now Online Two years after being exhibited at Longue Vue as part of the New Orleans tricentennial, “L’Dor V’Dor: From Generation to Generation, Jewish Women and their Impact on New Orleans” has a new home — optimized for the days of shelter-at-home.

An online version of the exhibit debuted at nolajewishwomen.tulane. edu, highlighting the critical roles Jewish women have played in shaping the New Orleans public sphere over the past 120 years. The exhibit includes contributions in the arts, education, social justice and civic enrichment. There are also video presentations with interviews and footage from programs connected to the 2018 exhibit.

The exhibit’s goals are to preserve and share Jewish women’s leadership that has made New Orleans a dynamic Southern city, capture new stories, and inspire new leadership.

In addition to the website, they have a Facebook page and monthly newsletter. On the Facebook, page, there is a weekly post highlighting influential Jewish women and organizations in New Orleans.

Those with stories to tell are encouraged to submit them on the website.

GiveNOLA Day has been moved to June 2, but pre-scheduling of gifts is already underway for the over 700 organizations taking part.

The pre-scheduling campaign kicked off on May 5, GiveNOLA’s original date, and will run until 11:59 p.m. on June 1.

The main 24-hour event on June 2, coordinated by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, benefits non-profit groups in the region, including several in the Jewish community.

This year’s participating organizations in the Jewish community include Jewish Children’s Regional Service, the Jewish Community Day School, Jewish Family Service, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, National Council of Jewish Women, Northshore Jewish Congregation, the Anti-Defamation League, Avodah, Beth Israel, Gates of Prayer, the New Orleans Jewish Community Center, Shir Chadash, Slater Torah Academy, Isidore Newman School and Temple Sinai.

Last year, there were just over 50,000 donations, raising $5.91 million for over 700 non-profits during the 24-hour online fundraiser on May 7. The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans came in first in dollars raised among small organizations for the fifth year in a row, raising $109,571 from 225 donors, earning a $10,000 bonus. The Federation surpassed the goal of $100,000 from 180 donors.

The Ogden Museum once again took top dollar honors last year, with $364,009 from 108 donors.

In all, Jewish community organizations raised around $200,000 last year.

Sponsors and donors contribute to the GiveNOLA Lagniappe Fund, May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda which is divided proportionally among the participating non-profits based on how much they raise.

There are also hourly Rock Around the Clock bonuses of $1,000, and any organization with a donation during that hour is eligible for the drawing. The minimum donation is $10.

Donations can be made at givenola.org.

Uptown Waffles on Maple closes The original Waffles on Maple, which opened as a kosher dairy restaurant near the Tulane campus in 2014, announced on April 29 that it is closing permanently.

The Metairie location, which opened in 2017, remains open for takeout and pickup.

Waffles on Maple became known for its sweet and savory waffles, crepes, omelets, pizzas and paninis. A signature item was the Heart Attack waffle, with caramelized onions and mushrooms, two fried eggs, jalapenos, mozzarella, cheddar and Muenster cheese. The Quadruple Bypass Challenge consisted of eating a stack of four, with a smoothie, in 30 minutes or less.

When it first opened, the Uptown location used exclusively Cholov Yisrael products, which are derived from milk that was milked under religiously-observant supervision. The Metairie location opened as Cholov Stam, using milk products from regular dairies. In March 2019, the Uptown location switched to Cholov Stam.

The Metairie location is currently open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for curbside and takeout, and has some patio seating.

MAKE THESE DAYS BRIGHTER! We Are Open for Delivery Orders, Walk-In or Curbside Bouquets • Bouquet Wraps • Boutonnieres Centerpieces • Vases • Aisle Decorations & Pedestals

Federico’s FAMILY FLORIST

815 Focis Street Metairie, LA 70005 504.837.6400 flowers@federicosflorist.com Larry Federico, Owner/President

6 May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Kenny Thone, Co-Owner/Vice President

Emanu-El closes Discovery School Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El announced that it will be permanently closing its Discovery School as of June 30.

The preschool has been closed since March 16 due to coronavirus considerations. The next day, parents and faculty were informed of the board’s decision.

In an April 20 message to the congregation, President Al Cohn explained that the school’s task force presented a motion to the board at the March board meeting, recommending the closure of the school, which “has been facing significant financial challenges during this academic year,” he said.

This followed an examination of the school budget “as a separate entity, apart from the general Temple budget, over the last two fiscal years,” and it became evident that unless enrollment was over 65 students consistently, the school could not cover the required teacher salaries to adhere to student-teacher ratios.

The Discovery School was the second of the community’s preschools in Jewish institutions. Emanu-El opened a preschool over 25 years ago with staff that had left the longstanding preschool at the Levite Jewish Community Center. Chabad of Alabama later opened Chai Tots, and the LJCC program continues as the Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center.

In the summer of 2014, the Emanu-El program was transformed from the half-day small-enrollment Temple Tots to the Discovery School, under the guidance of Rabbi Laila Haas, who left in 2018. It has been a fullday, year-round program for ages 4 months to 5 years.

“This decision has been an extremely difficult decision with every effort made to critically analyze opportunities to keep the school viable and operational,” Cohn said. Noting that a Jewish preschool experience is part of Emanu-El’s mission, “it is our plan to reflect on lessons learned from the Discovery School, and re-evaluate how we can best provide this service in an intentional, thoughtful manner that is both designed for the needs of our families and sustainable for the Temple’s long-term support.”

Seventy-one years after Israel fought for its independence, Magen David Adom is helping the country battle a different enemy.

The coronavirus pandemic is indeed a war. Even if Israel can keep mortality rates for those infected to 1 percent, it will still mean the death of more than 30,000 people — more than all of Israel’s wars combined.

Magen David Adom has been on the front lines against the coronavirus, but the fight has taken an extraordinary toll on MDA’s resources. We need your support to keep saving lives.

Observe Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s independence day, by keeping the people of Israel strong.

Give today to our Coronavirus Emergency Campaign at afmda.org/corona-campaign

afmda.org/corona-campaign May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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agenda Yom Limmud Day will be May 24, with some of the best scholars in North America. The day of virtual learning will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Mayim Bialik kicking off the event. There is a variety of onehour workshops every hour. Registration is $25 by May 8, $36 after, at www.limmudna.org.

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life is coordinating a virtual Jewish Culture series for 15 smaller communities in the region. On Thursdays at 7 p.m. from May 7 to 21, Bible scholar Joel Hoffman will lead sessions on “Jewish History: From King David to Modern America.” The series is being coordinated by ISJL with sponsorship by the Jewish Federation of Northwest Louisiana, the Jewish Federation of Chattanooga and the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. The Network of Independent Communities is also sponsoring the series for Federations in Mobile, Montgomery, Pensacola, Tallahassee, The Villages (Fla.), Columbus (Ga.), Macon, Jackson, Brevard, Charlottesville, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Corpus Christi, McAllen and Waco.

For the Zoom link, contact a participating Federation or Ann Zivitz Kientz with ISJL. On May 14 at 7 p.m., Esther Levy will present “My Mother’s Story: Tobi Komornik Gerson,” a Holocaust survivor from Poland. Levy’s presentation is part of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s “Bearing Witness: Stories of the Holocaust” Zoom series.

Continuing education continues at Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans. On May 15 there will be two Zoom sessions. At 8:45 a.m., Christine Ebrahim will lead “Now What: Common Ethical Dilemmas and How to Solve Them.” The session is approved for three eth-

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Over 3,000 cars, trucks and SUV’s across New Orleans!

ics hours by LCA and LABSWE. At 12:45 p.m., Marvin Clifford will lead “Addiction: General Definitions and Descriptions, Diagnosis and Assessment, Planning for Treatment, Skills and Best Practices.” The class is approved for three diagnosis/clinical hours by LCA and LABSWE. Pre-registration is $70 each or $130 for both, or $80 and $140 respectively for same-day registration.

The Jewish Community Centers of North America developed a video for Giving Tuesday on May 5 — it started with Birmingham’s Levite JCC and ended with the New Orleans JCC. Of the other four mentioned, there is the Lawrence JCC in San Diego, led by former Levite JCC Executive Director Betzy Lynch.

The Hadassah Tri-Region “Plug In and Power Up” conference that had been scheduled for Atlanta will be held virtually. The conference brings together the Southeastern, Southern and Southern Seaboard regions. The virtual meeting will be on May 17 from 10 a.m. Eastern to 12:30 p.m., via GoToTraining. The event will feature Rhoda Smolow, Hadassah’s new president, and Steven Frank, Hadassah social media expert. There is no charge, but registration is required.

The National Council of Jewish Women’s New Orleans Section will hold its closing event via Zoom on May 17 at 11:30 a.m. The event will include the presentation of the Harold Salmon Award to Susan Kierr.

Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar, who served at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville for nine years until 2018, has been named the new rabbi at Beth Israel in Macon, Ga. She most recently has been rabbi at The Temple, Ahavath Chesed, in Jacksonville, Fla. About $50,000 was raised for the Second Harvest Food Bank by the New Orleans Jewish community, through the Passover Kol Dichfin Food Drive established by the New Orleans Clergy Council.

According to the Birmingham Jewish Federation, over $129,000 has been raised thus far in the BJF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, with donations going to Collat Jewish Family Services, Israel World Jewry Bureau of the BJF, the Levite Jewish Community Center, N.E. Miles Jewish Day School and the United Way Community Crisis Fund.

On May 17 at 1 p.m. Central, Jewish Women’s Theatre will present “Jewish Nonprofits: Making Mitzvot Across America, featuring Michele Schipper, CEO of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, as one of the panelists. There will also be a performance of “The Accidental Activist.” The theater group toured the region in a series of programs coordinated by ISJL. Beit Ariel Chabad in Birmingham is doing Thai Shabbat, take-out style, on May 15. Chef Josh Haynes is preparing orders that can be picked up curbside on May 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Orders must be in by May 11.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El will Daven with the Neighbors. Originally scheduled for May 8 but moved to May 15 because of the weather, the service will be held in the Highland Park Avalon condominium parking lot, where some Friday night concerts have been held with social distancing. Rabbi Stephen Slater was invited to do the service there after concert organizers heard the Hebrew singing from his porch. The 5:45 p.m. service will be on the Beth-El YouTube channel and Facebook page, rather than the usual livestream.

Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh of B’nai Israel in Monroe will host a Healing Service, May 16 at 1 p.m. on Zoom.

www.RayBrandtAuto.com 8

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

JNOLA will host a virtual happy hour with the Young Adult Division of Shalom Austin, May 14 at 5:30 p.m.

community

Two Louisiana synagogue fires in two days

Timing Was Everything

New Iberia’s Gates of Prayer “lucky” to be standing after apparent lightning strike Gates of Prayer in New Iberia is “very lucky” to still be standing after a fire was sparked the morning of April 29, apparently by a lightning strike.

That’s the assessment of Fire Chief Gordan Copell. The New Iberia Fire Department arrived at the synagogue around 9:30 a.m., right after the lightning strike was reported.

Employees at Schwing’s Insurance across the street heard the boom and called the fire department upon seeing smoke. The fire department, located four blocks away, was on scene almost immediately.

“If this would have happened at 2 or 3 in the morning when these streets are mostly vacant, by the time we would have got here it would probably be a total loss,” Copell said. “We were able to put a lot of people and a lot of equipment on it pretty quick.”

The fire was contained to the attic over the bimah. A couple of ventilation holes were cut into the roof to help battle the blaze. By 10 a.m., the scene was under control.

Robert Lahasky, congregational president, said there is an electrical box in the attic, over the bimah, that apparently was struck by the lightning and “basically blew up.”

Lahasky arrived as the fire trucks were pulling up. He, the fire chief and others went into the building to retrieve the Torahs before water was put on the building. They were also able to retrieve ritual items, such as the shofars, candlesticks, Kiddush cups and the podium, as well as artwork that had been done by local artists. Mayor Freddie DeCourt also helped with the effort.

Lahasky said Schwing’s “offered to store our stuff and protect it until we are ready for it.”

Adele Wormser said “I was blown away by what a community effort it was.”

Outside the attic, “everything in the structure is perfectly fine, except

Inside Gates of Prayer in New Iberia

for water damage,” Copell said. There are some burnt beams in the attic, he added.

Lahasky said there was some water damage between the back wall of the synagogue and the religious school annex that was added later.

“Nothing of significance was damaged,” but they will need to redo the roof structure and the electrical system.

Because the fire crew had to break through the doors, Lahasky and Larry Miller had to secure the building before the evening, Wormser said.

The next day, a crew was working on the water damage.

Within two hours, numerous churches had contacted Lahasky to offer their facilities while Gates of Prayer undergoes repairs. Others have inquired about donating, but at this point the congregation does not know what may be needed. The building is insured.

Because nobody is holding in-person services, Temple Shalom in Lafayette invited Gates of Prayer to take part in their virtual services, and offered to house the Torahs in their ark. By coincidence, the next day, a vacant building in Lafayette that formerly housed a since-reunited breakaway congregation from Temple Shalom burned to the ground (see page 10).

Gates of Prayer was built in 1903, with the assistance of the local Catholic community. When the congregation peaked at around 50 families, a wing with a social hall and classrooms was added in 1950. The congregation has never been large enough for a local, full-time rabbi, and currently has 24 members.

A student rabbi visits monthly to conduct services and lead Torah study, while lay leaders conduct services other weekends.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its age also likely contributed to its surviving the fire, Copell said, noting that older structures “were made out of solid materials… older structures do have more durability.”

SJL file photo “It could have been a lot worse,” Lahasky said.

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Wishing you well during these difficult times

Remember that Election Day will be on July 11

Photo courtesy Lafayette Fire Department

Firefighters on scene at the old Yeshurun building

Former Lafayette Temple burns Building had been empty for several years

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One day after lightning apparently caused a fire at Gates of Prayer in New Iberia, a fire destroyed a vacant former synagogue building just up the road in Lafayette.

Firefighters responded to a call at 5:58 a.m. on April 30 and found the building “fully involved,” with flames extending above the surrounding tree line. The two-alarm fire involved seven apparatus and 30 firefighters, and it took about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control. No cause has been listed, and there have been no reported injuries.

The building had originally been built by the long-defunct Temple Yeshurun in the 1500 block of Kaliste Saloom Road. Lafayette’s historical congregation was Rodeph Shalom, founded in 1881. In 1973, a more traditional group broke off and formed Temple Yeshurun, and they completed their building in 1975.

The congregations reunited in 1992, with the combined congregations taking the name Temple Shalom. While the combined congregation continued to own the building on Kaliste Saloom for many years, they established themselves in the older Rodeph Shalom building on Lee Street, then sold the Temple Yehsurun property.

A different religious organization started using the building in 2010, but the building has been vacant since 2016. The building originally sported a large Star of David on the front, but for at least a decade there has been nothing on the building indicating it had ever been a synagogue.

The property is now owned by Investstar Bank and is currently on the market. The utilities to the building were shut off four years ago.

According to the Lafayette Fire department, the building was surrounded by overgrown brush and trees, and “was considered blighted property with graffiti on the exterior.” Neighbors had reported seeing individuals entering the property in the past, and “there was evidence found in the burnt structure indicating the possibility of someone possible squatting inside.”

Lafayette fire investigators, Louisiana State Fire Marshal investigators and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms examined the scene, and determined that the fire began inside the unsecured building. The investigation is ongoing.

As a precaution, security patrols were increased at Temple Shalom and the Jewish cemetery in Lafayette.

Temple Yeshurun building in 2006 SJL file photo

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community

Student swastika video sparks controversy in Mountain Brook Footage of high school students joking around and drawing swastikas on a student’s back has led to an examination of antisemitism at Mountain Brook High School.

The footage that was posted to the What’s Happening in Mountain Brook Facebook page by Caroline Gill came from a Snapchat video that had been uploaded by a student at Mountain Brook. Rachel Simms made that screen recording of the video after she saw a friend, who is a former Mountain Brook student, watching it on her phone.

In the footage, there were several students, apparently at a party. The shirtless student had two large swastikas and the word “Heil” on his back, written in Sharpie. According to many who viewed the video, the student is either currently or was recently a student at Mountain Brook High School, and at least three of those in the video are students there. The original video was apparently made by his sister.

Simms, a rising senior at Indian Springs School, said when she saw the video, she recorded a copy of it “to share disapproval.”

Gill, the only Jewish student at Pelham High School, said Simms “showed it to me and we decided we’re going to post it.”

Located just outside Birmingham, Mountain Brook has by far the largest Jewish student enrollment of any school in Alabama, and possibly as many as every other school in the state combined.

Mountain Brook has the largest Jewish community in the state. It is said that one historical reason is that when members of the Jewish community, like so many others, started moving “over the mountain” there was an “unwritten understanding” in the 1950s and 1960s that Jews moved to Mountain Brook but “did not” move to neighboring Vestavia.

While that has changed over the decades, Mountain Brook is still the primary location for Jewish families in the area.

In a media release that was also emailed to parents in Mountain Brook, the Mountain Brook School System said they have “been in touch with the Mountain Brook Police Department, Birmingham Jewish Federation, and local faith leaders regarding this incident.”

The school system “condemns all hateful ideologies and actions. The conduct exhibited in the video is in direct conflict with the values of the school system. MBS is in the process of investigating the incident and determining the legal parameters for actions occurring outside of school.”

The statement concluded by saying Mountain Brook Schools “strives to foster a culture of inclusion, connection, and care. The school system is steadfastly committed to strengthening that culture and continuing to develop solidarity in the Mountain Brook community.”

Federation CEO Danny Cohn said he and Mountain Brook Superintendent Richard Barlow have been discussing the incident, and Cohn May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community hopes Mountain Brook will adopt the “No Place for Hate” curriculum developed by the Anti-Defamation League. The regional ADL office in Atlanta said it is working with the Federation to address the issue.

“We share in the public’s disappointment in the actions shown and are working towards a swift remediation,” Cohn said. He added that

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

the incident should prompt people “to take a hard look at the community internally and say how did we get to where these children — and they are children — would have even thought that putting a swastika on their back with the word ‘heil’ was appropriate.”

Simms said she is tired of being in a culture where “people consider it to be almost rude to call

people out or bring attention to issues like this because they are afraid of the backlash that could come from standing up for what they believe in.”

While Gill said they have received some pushback from peers, she was especially concerned by classmates who asked why this was a big deal.

“There is no education surrounding the Holocaust” except in the honors course, and many of the students who weren’t in the honors course had no idea what a swastika was, she said.

But overall, she has received a very positive response for posting the video and shining a light on the situation.

Gill, a rising junior, lived in Mountain Brook while attending Altamont and Indian Springs, and moved to Pelham before the most recent school year. She said she tried to post it to other community Facebook pages, but it was removed from Homewood’s page.

Last year, Gill went to a national leadership program with BBYO, where they had a Holocaust memorial program one evening. She said there were 102 of them in the room, with everyone crying as a note written by two teens in the Holocaust was read.

It hit her that had it not been for Nazi Germany, “there could have been so many more teens in the gym” with them, and she felt that “something had been stolen from me,” and it became personal.

Through that experience, she feels a stronger need to defend Israel and call out antisemitism.

After Gill posted the video to the Mountain Brook page, many non-Jewish readers reacted with shock and horror, while many current Jewish students and alumni — recent and going back to the 1970s — detailed problems they experienced at the schools, from swastikas and slurs that were brushed under the rug to overt Christian missionizing in the schools by visitors and by fellow students.

Many Jews who posted said they had no negative experiences at Mountain Brook schools, while others gave their examples and expressed frustration that these problems continue to be unaddressed, especially when the perpetrators come from powerful families.

There was also an overall sense on the Facebook board that the lack of diversity in Mountain Brook exacerbates the problems.

In March 2019, a social media video of students at Spain Park High School in Hoover, a few miles south of Mountain Brook, caused a similar stir as it contained numerous racial and antisemitic slurs.

While schools can institute educational programs, in both cases, there are questions of how much disciplinary action can be taken by schools for activities that do not take place on campus or during school hours.

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Rep. Dodie Horton, inset, discusses HCR58 with Rep. Blake Miguez on May 6

La. Rep: “Nazi Germany” comparison misconstrued, taken out of context Louisiana State Rep. Dodie Horton is pushing back against media reports that claim she compared the state’s stay-at-home restrictions due to COVID-19 to living under Nazi Germany, saying a phrase was lifted out of context from a much longer conversation.

The exchange happened during a House and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on May 6 that was discussing House Concurrent Resolution 58, which would strip the governor of powers to enforce criminal penalties for violations of the stay-at-home orders in areas where local communities are ready to open businesses and restart their economies.

In asking Rep. Blake Miguez, who introduced HCR58, about the extent of the measure, Horton said she had complied with the restrictions the governor had instituted in mid-March, and had not even gone to the grocery store, but said it was time to let areas of the state open up, as “our small businesses can control their environments” and “we as Americans have to take personal responsibility.”

After being told that the new guidelines for phase 1 of reopening call for churches and businesses to operate at 25 percent of previous capacity, Horton asked if the fire marshal would still be able to “go in and close a business down” if someone calls a hotline and reports them. “Our tax dollars, are they paying for that? I mean, are we in Nazi Germany?”

Aaron Ahlquist, regional director of ADL’s South Central Region, said “to make a comparison of the Governor’s order to protect the health and welfare of the residents of Louisiana to a brutal regime that intentionally tried to exterminate the Jewish people and other vulnerable communities, is not only inaccurate, but cheapens the horror of Nazi Germany, and the losses experienced by its victims. We call upon Representative Horton to apologize for her comments, and to reflect upon her word choices in the future.”

Horton said the media took a sound bite out of context “and made their own narrative… my comparison with Nazi Germany had absolutely nothing to do with self-isolation regulations or the Holocaust. My comparison had everything to with the events leading up to those horrific events.”

Horton, who attends a Baptist church in Houghton, said “as a person of Jewish descent, I would never speak of the Holocaust in a frivolous way. My own family members were victims of the atrocities committed under Hitler’s regime and I would never disrespect their legacies or those of any of the other millions of victims.”

She said the Nazis “used the unsuspecting public, “secret police” and government resources to force their will,” and she was alarmed at the link

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on the governor’s OpenSafely.LA.Gov website to report businesses and churches that were in violation of the order.

The day after the exchange at the legislature, she claimed victory in a posting on Facebook, saying that the link had been removed from the governor’s site, and she referred to the link as the “snitch portion” of the site.

While she said public safety is paramount, “many questions have been raised about the legality and constitutionality of some of the measures that were put into place to ‘protect’ citizens” and people should be wary of creating a public “secret police” to enforce rules that “did not go through our democratic process.”

That was the comparison she was making, she said. “In teaching about the Holocaust, we must also educate future generations about the tyrannical processes that led to those events” and call out any actions “that could compromise the liberty of our citizens.”

Horton told Southern Jewish Life that she apologizes “to those who I have unintentionally offended. My intent was never to compare the current global health pandemic to the Holocaust.”

Nazi imagery has been seen at numerous protests across the country, as groups demand that states loosen their shutdowns, and make overt comparisons to the Nazi era. In Illinois, a protestor had a sign criticizing the governor, saying “Heil Pritzker.” J.B. Pritzker is Jewish.

Another sign had the Auschwitz gate, with the expression “Arbeit Macht Frei,” “work makes you free,” perhaps the oddest contextual usage of that phrase.

In Michigan, a “Heil Witmer” (sic) poster with a backwards swastika was spotted, protesting the stay-at-home orders of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In Idaho, State Rep. Heather Scott made an overt Nazi comparison, saying that the government was telling businesses if they were essential or non-essential, “and the non-essential workers got put on a train.” She also said people were referring to Governor Brad Little as “Little Hitler.”

There has also been pushback against the popular online comparison of the stay-at-home orders to what Anne Frank had to go through, saying it minimizes the Holocaust.

In Colorado, Republican House Minority Leader Patrick Neville referred to Governor Jared Polis’ stay-at-home order as having a “Gestapo-like mentality.” Polis is Jewish and lost family in the Holocaust, and Neville later apologized for his wording.

In condemning that “Nazi-Germany name calling,” the Gazette in Colorado Springs also pointed out that it isn’t just one side of the aisle that misuses Nazi analogies — many opponents of the Trump administration decry his policies as echoing those of Nazi Germany, or at least being similar to the early stages of how the Nazis took power.

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Rev. Melissa Patrick, executive director of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, lights memorial candles at this year’s Birmingham commemoration, which was held virtually from Temple Emanu-El on April 26.

All Together Now $10 million challenge matches donations to help summer camps weather the storm

A Summer Without Camp The unthinkable becomes reality as coronavirus restrictions make normal sessions unworkable With the uncertainty over what the loosening of restrictions on public gatherings will look like, and whether anything that involves crowds will be able to happen, the Reform camping movement and the Conservative movement’s Ramah Darom announced today that there will not be any in-person camp sessions this summer.

The Reform movement’s 15 summer camps include the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, and Camp Coleman in Georgia. The movement also cancelled its annual Israel youth trips and in-person youth activities, affecting about 25,000 campers and participants.

On May 15, Camp Barney Medintz announced the “gut-wrenching” decision that it would not be having summer sessions this year. There were attempts to figure out a way for the camp to come together later in the summer, but “ultimately, Camp Barney is the opposite of social distancing,” said Jim Mittenthal, camp director. “It was about the known and the unknown about COVID-19.”

Camp Judaea and Camp Blue Star have not announced a decision. The Ramah camps in Colorado and Wisconsin announced a delayed opening to at least the first of July, while Canada cancelled its summer and New England has cancelled the first session thus far.

For camps in the South, decisions needed to be made earlier, because the Southern school schedule means camps in the region begin much earlier than in other parts of the country. Many camps begin in the first part of June, because many school systems begin the second week of August.

The messages to parents generally began with “broken hearts” in relating the news.

Anna Herman, director of Jacobs Camp, said “if at any point new information emerges and conditions change that lead us to be able to provide some other form of in-person gatherings, we will do so as a top priority.”

Ramah Darom is exploring the possibility of alternative programs, and “as soon as we are able to safely bring people together at Ramah Darom, we will.”

Possibilities include aidah reunions, special retreats and other new experiences throughout the year.

The URJ camps decided to make the announcement to cover the entire summer, because “there are too many known and unknown risks for us to create an acceptable pathway forward for this summer.”

Herman said “it has become clear that the risks posed by COVID-19 threaten our most sacred value — the health and well-being of our children, staff, and faculty that attend camp — along with their communities back home.”

In a note to the camp community, Ramah Darom Director Geoffrey Menkowitz said “at this time, State of Georgia ordinances do not permit us to operate.” While there may be the legal possibility to operate as things continue to open up, “the guidelines provided by medical professionals, industry

The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, a major supporter of Jewish summer camping, announced a $10 million matching grant opportunity for Jewish camps across the country, including several in this region.

All Together Now will leverage gifts to Jewish camps, matching every $2 raised with an additional $1, as the Jewish camping world faces uncertainty over this summer’s programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign was announced before the Union for Reform Judaism announced its camps would be closed this summer, as did Ramah Darom in north Georgia.

According to the Foundation, “without significant community support, many Jewish summer camps could fold” as many don’t have endowments or reserves that can make up for revenue shortfalls if this summer is cancelled.

“As a community, we must not let that happen,” the Foundation said. “Jewish summer camp is a transformative experience for more than 90,000 children and young adult counselors each summer and is important to our Jewish community’s future.”

The Foundation foresees a need for more scholarship funds than usual if camps do open. If they can not have the usual summer sessions this year, “it will cost the community around $150 million to keep them solvent,” and if camps go bankrupt, it will cost far more to reestablish them in the future.

“The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting camps especially hard. We don’t yet know the full extent of the resources the camps will need to weather this storm, but we know they need extra cash flow now and their needs will be significant if the camps can’t open this summer,” said founder Harold Grinspoon. “We hope that this new $10 million commitment will inspire others to help with needed funds to protect and sustain Jewish camp at this critical moment.”

Individual donors or foundations can make gifts directly to the camp of their choice among approximately 100 qualifying camps.

Gifts can also be directed to camps in a particular region or to a particular “movement,” such as URJ camps or Ramah camps, or camps the Foundation has identified as in greatest need.

If a camp can’t operate this summer, or a camper withdraws, families can choose to donate their tuition and that donation would be eligible to be matched by this grant on a 1:1 basis.

Among the eligible camps in the region are the Henry S. Jacobs Camp, Camp Barney Medintz, Camp Judaea, Ramah Darom, URJ 6 Points Sports Academy and Camp Coleman.

Unrestricted gifts may be made to camps by Dec. 31, and the Foundation will match the gift when it is received. Donations can also be sent to the Foundation to boost the initial pool of $10 million so more gifts can be matched. Each camp has a maximum grant level based on size and utilization.

Cash and cash equivalent gifts are eligible, in-kind contributions or gifts for specific purposes are not. Regular Federation or agency allocations are not eligible, but increases or special gifts are.

A briefing will be held on May 7 at 11 a.m. Central to explain the program and answer questions from prospective donors.

Andrés Spokoiny, president and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network, said they hope the grant “is the first of many community efforts to evolve for camp and the other organizations we cherish.”

Around 60 Jewish camps don’t qualify for the All Together Now effort, and Jewish day camp needs will also have to be addressed.

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community experts and government authorities all indicate that any camps opening this summer must plan to experience some level of infection.”

Not wanting to expect to manage a COVID infection in camp, the Ramah Darom medical committee recommended to the board that camp not operate, as “we have deemed the many risks involved with exposure to COVID untenable.”

In his video message, Menkowitz said “We have been holding onto hope that it might be possible for us to still get back to camp this summer... It has become clear that camp as we know it and love it is not possible right now.”

A week after the announcement, two counties just south of Ramah Darom saw a spike in coronavirus cases.

Ramah Darom and Jacobs Camp held a series of meetings for parents, explaining the decision-making process.

Camps are generally giving parents the option of making the 2020 camp payments into a donation, a payment toward 2021 or available for refund. Tuition payments that are converted into a donation are eligible toward a $10 million Grinspoon Foundation challenge match for Jewish summer camps.

According to the Foundation for Jewish Camp, there are about 300 Jewish overnight and day summer camps serving 180,000 campers annually, and the system-wide financial hit could be $150 million.

Herman said that as tuition payments arrive during the year, they are used to prepare for the summer. At this point of the year, about 50 percent of anticipated camper fees have been used to prepare for the summer, with everything from the year-round team, site maintenance, insurance, utilities, recruitment, planning for the summer and more.

In anticipation that there might not be camp this summer, the camps immediately started cutting expenses where possible.

Having started attending summer camp at the age of 10, Herman said “The thought of a summer without song sessions or evening programs or Maccabiah is one that I can’t really comprehend — and honestly never thought to be a possibility.”

Ramah Darom and Jacobs Camp have been providing an extensive array of online gatherings for campers since the shutdowns began, especially Shabbat and Havdalah programming.

The URJ said “In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, we’ll share additional information about Movement-wide opportunities to participate in regional and specialty camp programming focused on creative arts, science and technology, sports, Jewish learning and worship, songleading, and more,” noting that over 400 online youth programs had already taken place since shelter-in-place orders started.

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Dream Street another COVID cancellation As Jewish summer camps grappled with the decision on whether to open, have a partial season or shut down for 2020, the first announcement was that Camp Dream Street, which is held at the Union of Reform Judaism’s Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, will not be held this year.

Established in 1975, Dream Street is a five day, four night camping program for children from the general community with physical disabilities, and is sponsored by the National Federation of Temple Youth’s Southern Region. The camp is generally held in late May. Campers are primarily from Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and West Tennessee, and are between the ages of 8 and 14. Campers have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, limb deficiencies, spinal cord injury, communicative disorders or other developmental disabilities.

In an online posting, Program Director Aimee Adler and Assistant Program Director Ashley Rubinsky said “based on the current situation, we are deeply saddened and disappointed” that the camp will not take place. “The health and safety of staff and campers is always our highest priority, and… our Dream Street campers are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and the risks associated with this pandemic.”

Instead of in-person camp, “we are committed to continuing Dream Street activities in different ways this summer” because of how the camp “extends beyond physical locations and buildings.” Dream Street leaders are exploring other ways to provide Dream Street programming online, “as well as new and exciting ways for counselors and other staff to connect to the Dream Street community.”

Details will be posted on the Dream Street website and social media as plans are developed. To bring Dream Street Magic into homes of campers this summer, donations are being requested so boxes of activity supplies and surprises can be sent. A donation of $50 covers a box, but any amount is appreciated. Donations can be made at www.dreamstreetms.org/give.

The decision came a week before it was announced that Jacobs Camp would not operate this summer.

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Community Makes Plans for Responsible Reopening Samantha Dubrinsky. “Implementing a careful, considered approach to reopening is one important way that we’re serving our members.”

On May 11, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey updated the Safer At Home order to allow fitness facilities to reopen, but the LJCC “made the difficult decision to keep our building closed.”

Dubrinsky cited Mark Wilson of the Jefferson County Department of Public Health, who said “just because you’re allowed to do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do,” and urged establishments to keep from having 10 or more people together in any setting for two more weeks.

Dubrinsky also said the LJCC needed time to train staff in the new guidelines, and said while the new orders allow facilities to open, they do not allow for normal operations as before. “A delay provided the time we needed to properly equip our team and adjust our structure and facilities.”

On May 15, the LJCC announced it will reopen on June 1, as long as state guidelines continue to allow it.

The LJCC has already opened Levite Field for members, with the restriction that no more than 15 may be on the field and social distancing must be used. Also, there are no organized sports allowed on the field.

The tennis courts are open for single private lessons, with participants bringing their own equipment. The walking trails are also open for members, with social distancing.

Child care will be available with approval from the Department of LJCC Reopens June 1 Health. The virtual fitness classes, approximately 60 per week, will con“We’ve been working on a ‘responsible reopening’ plan since the day tinue to be offered. we closed,” said Levite Jewish Community Center Executive Director As of June 1, the building will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. MonWhile states in the region are slowly starting to reopen, with restaurants able to serve with limited capacity, and other types of businesses allowed to open with appropriate distancing and sanitary procedures, Jewish institutions aren’t rushing to throw the doors open.

With ever-shifting guidelines as to what is permissible, agencies and congregations are closely monitoring the situation and adapting plans, exercising caution.

Though Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said houses of worship are among those who can open in a limited fashion starting May 15, Rabbi Sydni Rubinstein of Agudath Achim in Shreveport said “just because we may reopen our physical space does not necessarily mean that we should reopen,” and they will remain virtual through at least the end of May. B’nai Israel in Florence decided to continue with online services until at least the end of June. They have been regularly attracting over 300 viewers on Facebook.

Anshe Sfard in New Orleans is looking to possibly reopen for Shavuot on May 29. The small congregation is planning a Zoom meeting on May 19 to discuss the restrictions that would need to be in place.

The largest institutions affected by the shutdowns have been the Jewish Community Centers, with both New Orleans locations and Birmingham shut down since mid-March.

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day to Thursday, 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.

“On June 1, our members will return to a familiar place with an adjusted experience, designed with expert guidance from infectious disease specialists,” Dubrinsky said.

Members will be screened upon entering the building at the main lobby, including a temperature check. Everyone above the age of 8 must wear a mask while in the building, except when exercising or swimming, and there will be six-foot social distancing. All staff will be masked.

Hallways will be one way, and the building’s exit will be at the fitness center door that had previously been closed for security reasons.

All members will need to sign up for a time slot 24 hours in advance for fitness equipment and the indoor and outdoor pools. To help with distancing and enable more members to use the fitness equipment, it has been moved into the wood-floor gym and group fitness studio. Group fitness classes will continue to be virtual, with about 60 offerings per week.

The fitness center will close every two hours for cleaning with CDC-approved products.

Towel service, locker rooms, water fountains, vending machines and the Kids Club will not be available.

Also, even though there has been interest from non-members, to accommodate those who are already members at a time when capacity is limited, the LJCC is not going to be taking new memberships for the time being. Dubrinsky said this move is “unprecedented.”

The Birmingham Jewish Federation is convening calls three times a week with agencies and synagogues to evaluate community needs and reopening plans.

New Orleans Reopening May 26

In New Orleans, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans has been convening regular calls with agencies and synagogues, working with medical professionals, local and state authorities and national groups on reopening plans. Aaron Ahlquist of the Anti-Defamation League and the Federation’s Mithun Kamath are heading the group, which has produced recommended reopening guidelines covering a range of topics.

The New Orleans JCCs will open the cardio, weight room and personal training studios at both locations on May 26, using social distancing and sanitary guidelines. Adult lap swimming will be available at the Uptown location. In all cases, there is a restriction to 25 percent of original capacity.

Because of the capacity restriction, anyone looking to do cardio or

On April 21, Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center was a mobile drive-thru pantry site for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, distributing 300 boxes of food that had been assembled the day before.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community strength workouts, or personal training or lap swimming, advance reservations are requested.

Under phase 1, contact sports and group exercise classes are not allowed, so the basketball courts and back fields will remain closed. Live fitness classes are being offered through the JCC Facebook fitness group.

The Jewish Community Campus in Metairie will undergo a deep cleaning before reopening to the public at 5:30 a.m. on May 26. Temperature checks will be required to enter the building, and masks will be required in all public areas. The building will have hourly maintenance and enhanced disinfecting of shared surfaces, and a weekly deep cleaning.

To help streamline things and minimize costs, the Federation has coordinated a bulk purchase of masks for local agencies and congregations to have available as they reopen.

State guidelines allow for the opening of fitness clubs at 25 percent, but it is up to the facility whether to reopen at all. Also, local guidelines are permitted to be more stringent than the statewide guidelines, so it is possible for the Metairie location, in Jefferson parish, to be under different guidelines for the Uptown JCC in Orleans parish.

The JCC day camps in New Orleans will be vastly different from normal. At the Uptown JCC, the plan is for a summer program only for nursery school students who were enrolled this past year, and their siblings who had already enrolled in camp. That will happen only when the city allows it, but Executive Director Leslie Fischman said “with the ever-changing landscape, we are not able to make any guarantees.”

Over 400 campers had already enrolled for the summer, but Fischman explained that the Center for Disease Control recommends classrooms of 10 children or less, until more testing is available or the virus is eradicated. “We do not have adequate classroom space to provide this and other forms of social distancing necessary to ensure the health of our campers and staff,” she said, and they were unable to find suitable additional space at nearby schools or universities.

At the Metairie JCC, the CDC guidelines are about 50 percent of the camp’s previous capacity. As of March 15, enrollment in Metairie was around 50 percent, so those who had enrolled by then will be able to attend, and there may be some spaces for those who enrolled afterward.

The Taglit Teen Camps will not be offered.

“A summer at the J without a day camp is almost unimaginable,” Fischman said. “If health conditions positively change at some point during the summer, our remarkable camp staff stands by, ready to serve your families.” Camp staff is also working on ways to stay connected through the summer.

For those who the camp will not be able to serve, deposits and prepaid camp fees will be returned by May 31. Camp is scheduled to start on June 8.

When the Uptown JCC reopens, it will be “cleaner than it has ever been before” as the down time was used for cleaning and repairs.

A reopening date has not been set for the Green Preschool at the Jewish Community Day School.

Baton Rouge’s Rayner Center, the pre-school at Beth Shalom, is anticipating a phased reopening in mid-May, with limits on the number of children able to attend.

May is also a month for synagogue annual meetings. Many of them will be held on Zoom, while others have been postponed.

B’nai Zion in Shreveport is holding its annual meeting on May 17 at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom.

Temple Beth El in Pensacola’s will be May 17 at 3 p.m. on GoToMeeting, while B’nai Israel in Monroe will have its at 2 p.m. on Zoom and limited in-person attendance.

Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El moved its meeting from May 15 to June 12, Beth-El moved its from May 31 to June 14, and Temple Beth Or in Montgomery postponed its meeting indefinitely from May 21.

While most everyone is still adhering to the idea of safer-at-home, there are still dreams about when some semblance of normal life can return.

Leon Minsky, president of Temple Emanu-El in Dothan, said he is ready for in-person services and Onegs, and “when we are able to open up on a Friday night, we will have a special oneg for that night… I would like to have the biggest possible turnout for this special Friday night.”

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community

A tasteful partnership Jewish groups, caterers providing 800 take-home meals weekly for health care workers in New Orleans After spending a long shift treating patients with coronavirus, who wants to think about cooking?

On April 20, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans announced the launch of the Greater New Orleans Jewish Community Healthcare Workers Take Home Meal Program.

The program was developed in partnership with the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, Humana, Metairie Bank, and the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest, which is based in Houston.

This program started with Tulane Medical Center, Touro Infirmary and Ochsner Health System. On May 4, it was announced that East Jefferson General Hospital would be added.

Over the program’s eight weeks, this program will serve over 6,000 take home meals to frontline medical staff and healthcare workers.

“There’s a Jewish value — tikkun olam — which means that we’re all asked to do our part to repair the world, Jewish and non-Jewish alike,” said Arnie Fielkow, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. “From helping area small businesses to tending to healthcare workers too exhausted to cook, this program allows us to help so many people in a unique way, across three major healthcare systems in our community. Every meal is a step

The Sisterhood and congregation at B’nai Israel in Panama City brought a donation of groceries to the Family Service Agency of Bay County, which has seen an increase in demand during the pandemic. The congregation plans additional shopping trips to keep filling the shelves.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

towards repairing the world.”

Joshua Force, chair of the Federation’s board, agreed, noting that, “The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that we truly live in one, interconnected world — and that the needs created by this difficult time create an opportunity for us to collaborate creatively with area partners and businesses to solve problems.”

Three local kosher restaurants and caterers — Kosher Cajun, Rimon at Tulane Hillel, and Dvash Catering — started cooking 200 meals for the three hospital campuses each Tuesday evening, for a total of 600 meals per week, beginning April 21. With the addition of EJGH, preparation of the additional 200 meals per week is being rotated among the three providers.

The program has been funded by JEF, Humana, Metairie Bank, the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest and the Federation, with the Federation managing the logistics of implementation.

“Recognizing that we have all been impacted by this pandemic, the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana is pleased to support a program that shows our solidarity with the wider New Orleans community,” stated JEF Executive Director Bobby Garon. “Our board and staff are tremendously grateful for our frontline workers and first responders.”

“This meal program not only allows us to express our appreciation to healthcare workers, but also supports local restaurants and business owners, and hopefully inspires others to work together during this time,” added Larry Lehmann, JEF president.

The Jewish Federation is accepting donations to keep the program running past the expected eight-week window.

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Tzedakah Relief Fund addresses COVID-19 needs Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans announced that an anonymous donor has given the social service agency a $15,000 matching gift, meaning donors can double the effect of their gifts. Donations made to JFS are matched dollar for dollar through the COVID-19 Tzedakah Relief Fund and will enable the agency to provide life sustaining support to clients.

While the agency’s other COVID-19 response initiatives focus on immediate need, their Tzedakah Relief Fund prepares JFS to sustain support of their current and new clients.

“Our agency launched several initiatives, such as our COVID-19 Emergency Financial Assistance Program funded by the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, to address needs occurring in our community right now,” explained JFS Executive Director Roselle Ungar.

“We expect COVID-19 related needs to continue as well as grow, even once social distancing phases out.”

Many JFS clients won’t have jobs to return to, while it is anticipated that others may lose major support systems, such as family members who help with childcare or bills. “None of us budgeted for a global pandemic, so our agency needs our community’s help to support our most vulnerable clients,” Ungar said. “The symptoms of this disease extend beyond the havoc it wreaks on the body of those infected. We’re preparing now for what we know will be a need like we haven’t seen since 2005.”

The agency’s work “extends beyond putting money in the hands of our neighbors in need,” said JFS Director of Clinical Services Rachel Lazarus Eriksen. “Our Case Managers work with each of our clients individually to ensure their whole being is cared for, not just their bills.”

JFS exists to help clients sift through complex needs “and find not only stability, but well-being,” she added.

The COVID-19 Tzedakah Relief Fund will enable the agency to provide material and emotional support to members of the Greater New Orleans community with mental health and socioeconomic vulnerabilities.

The agency also maintains a page of COVID-19 resources at jfsneworleans.org.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Controversy after gift of N95 masks to Mobile mis-attributed to Yair Netanyahu A gift to the city of Mobile that was initially attributed to Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is being put to good use, though it drew some controversy in Israel initially, due to a misunderstanding on where the masks actually came from.

On April 14, the city of Mobile uploaded a video of Jim Jewell, Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presenting 1,000 N95 masks to Mayor Sandy Stimpson.

Jewell said the masks came from Yisroel Stefansky of ASTI Advanced and Yair Netanyahu, who had visited Mobile last summer. “They wanted to offer the city of Mobile a token of thanks,” Jewell said. “We at the FBI of Mobile just happened to be the recipient of the shipment, he sent it to me directly to provide to the city’s first responders.”

A nonprofit established in 2003, Advanced Security Training Institute works to educate American emergency agencies on the latest techniques to ensure safety and security from terrorism and other threats.

Stimpson said Stefansky “was working with our first responders, with the FBI, trying to understand what we were doing and also encouraging us to come over and learn some of the strategies and tactics that they have” in Israel. “Not in our wildest dreams did we think they would remember us during this crisis and send us these masks to be distributed to our first responders.”

The initial social media posts from Mobile, which have since been edited or deleted, indicated the masks were given by Netanyahu, which led to criticism in Israel, where — as is the case all over the world — masks and other protective equipment are in short supply. Critics accused Netanyahu of putting Alabama ahead of Israel, even claiming he had taken the 1,000 masks from Israeli supplies to send them overseas.

A spokesperson for the Netanyahu family said he had “nothing to do with the delivery of the protective masks,” and “he learned about them from the media.”

The masks had been sent by a “private American organization that Yair worked for” and the group “sent the masks in the name of Yair, without his knowledge, as part of a pro-Israeli PR campaign.”

On April 19, ASTI tweeted that last summer, Stefansky and Netanyahu “met with U.S. leaders, interested in discussing ASTI’s mission to ensure the safety of Americans, especially the most vulnerable, our children.”

The tweet then said ASTI was “solely responsible” the N95 masks, and “Yair Netanyahu was not involved in any way with this transaction.”

Mayor Stimpson “simply misunderstood who sent the masks,” ASTI said.

Netanyahu thanked ASTI for issuing the clarification, and thanked Stimpson “for your true friendship and support towards Israel and the Jewish people! I look forward seeing you again in Mobile, Alabama, or in our eternal capital — Jerusalem.”

Stimpson responded, “Thank you my friend. Look forward to seeing you again soon. We treasure our relationship with Israel.”

On April 19, Stimpson issued a release clarifying the situation. “We are grateful to the Advanced Security Training Institute for making this donation. In expressing our appreciation, we credited Yair Netanyahu for being part of the donation. This was incorrect and we regret the error.”

He added, “ASTI has an important mission to help American communities become safer by sharing expertise learned in Israel, and we are grateful for their interest in supporting our first responders,” he added.

“On behalf of the City of Mobile, we wish to thank Yisroel and ASTI for donating the masks which are sorely needed in the fight against COVID-19. We are blessed by our friends in Israel and the Jewish community. Our prayers are with them all people at such a time of crisis

community

Photo courtesy City of Mobile

Jim Jewell presents the N95 masks from ASTI to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson on April 14 around the world.”

Carrie Simms, chief operating officer for ASTI, said they have built “incredible relationships” with many communities in the U.S. Because “we must support our First Responders with the medical supplies required to keep them safe, as they focus on keeping us safe,” ASTI reached out to communities to see what their needs were, and Mobile indicated they could use more masks.

She said Netanyahu traveled with Stefansky last summer “as a private citizen” because he wanted “to learn more about the great relationship between American and Israeli First Responders.” Netanyahu gave a presentation on supporting Israel at a large church in Mobile.

On April 15, 250 of the donated masks were presented to Charles White, chief executive officer of Franklin Primary Health Center, which has been doing a drive-through testing site and needed masks to keep the workers safe while administering the tests. “We are just so thankful, because one of the thing we have been running short of is PPE,” White said. “My people can not provide care without them.”

Stimpson also said that Crowne Health Care expressed an urgent need for protective masks, “so we immediately made arrangements to deliver 500 N95 masks to Crowne Health Care.”

As an example of the mask scarcity, Mobile Fire Chief Mark Sealy and his family had spent Easter Weekend repairing over 200 damaged N95 masks that had defective dry-rotted straps.

As of April 17, Mobile had 627 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths attributed to the virus. On May 4, the toll had increased to 1,222 cases and 66 deaths.

Southern Jewish Historical Society postpones 2020 conference The boards of the Southern Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina announced on April 30 that this year’s conference, scheduled for Oct. 22 to 25 in Charleston, S.C., will be postponed to October 2021.

“The course of the COVID-19 pandemic is unclear, with the possibility of a second spike in cases in the fall,” said SJHS President Phyllis Leffler.

“Given these health uncertainties, we feel it is unwise to plan a program and make the necessary commitments for a conference this coming October.”

The board is working on other programs, through digital and print venues, that will allow the members to interact even though there won’t be a conference for the first time in 45 years.

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We often turn to our school and institutional leaders for guidance in times of crisis, hoping that they may have a vast knowledge base that we do not. There may be a “Dr.” at the front of my name, but I have no illusions about what that means. I’m not an M.D., and I am as much at the mercy of what the experts tell us as anyone else. I’ve been in education a long time, though, and I know what I know.

This article isn’t about the science or the epidemiology of this tragic pandemic, or about the lives lost and spared. That is a story I am illequipped to tell, so I will focus instead on the oft-idyllic little world of the students of Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans. This is a story about crisis management in a school and about how teachers and parents have banded together to maintain continuity of education and community across distances.

The week of March 9 started out with just a hint of the surreal as we planned for the possibility of distance learning before we had even learned of the first documented case of COVID-19 in Louisiana. The likelihood of school closures accelerated from a remote possibility at the start of the week to a real possibility by Thursday morning, and I was determined to stay ahead of events before they overtook us.

After spending the day in meetings and on the phone, I could read the tea leaves. Campuses would be closed on Monday, but no school wanted to be the first to announce. I had been on the phone with our board chair a couple of times that day, and so she was prepared for the text I sent her as I evaluated all of the expertise I had gathered that day… “I think we need to go ahead and announce.” of a few places with some degree It was obvious of Short exposure to the virus, no area school schools would had yet announced that they would be for quarantine. If it was as inevitahave to close closing ble as I believed at that point, I was willing — but nobody to trade the cover of being one of a crowd in order to have a full school day to truwanted to ly prepare our families, both practicality and devices to take home, etc.) and announce first (books emotionally. After first warning the faculty via text message, I sent an email out to parents at 9:55 p.m. As is customary with school closings, I notified the local TV channels to add us to their list in case anyone missed their email.

I did not expect news crews requesting interviews the next morning, or a Nola.com article criticizing our action as being contrary to public health officials’ instructions. I told the reporters that one school closing would not be news in a few more hours. Off camera, reporters asked me if I really thought their kids’ schools would be closed, too, earnestly hoping I knew more about the direction the state was taking than they did.

Mid-day, I was starting to worry whether I had acted too rashly. JCDS had an air of cautious excitement, like the day before a hurricane evacuation. The limb I had gone out on to announce the night before was seeming more and more precarious. Then, finally, in the early afternoon, the governor announced the closing of public schools. A few hours later, as we said our goodbyes at Kabbalat Shabbat, the other independent schools started announcing the same.

The same Nola.com reporter quoted our messaging in another article, Brad Philipson is the Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School Chair at Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans in Metairie.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

now citing my words as part of the explanation why almost all area schools would be closing.

We were all in the same boat, but JCDS had gotten a jumpstart on the preparation.

Most schools planned on taking several days of planning before beginning to work, but our teachers and families jumped right into it. It was a wondrous disaster. That is, as we should have known, no matter how many trial runs in the classroom, no matter how diligently planned we were, we had gone from controlling all external factors while our students learned to none of them. Parents needed some help and some trial-and-error to learn how to best help their students successfully engage in distance learning, and our teachers needed feedback from a live environment to determine what worked and what didn’t.

More than anything, the prototype/trial phase of distance learning taught us just how much work we really do at school and in our offices. In my own house, I was hitting the laptop for a couple of hours while everyone still slept, then passing the baby back and forth between my wife and myself while we both tried to keep up with work, often only getting close to caught up in the evening hours.

Parents everywhere discovered just how much attention it took to keep their kids focused on their work. Teachers stayed in close touch with families, and parents gave us feedback on what they needed. We increased the number of live class meetings and community events, and I increased the planned frequency of my pep-talk videos to three times a week.

The school rabbi discovered that he could enlist his preschool-aged daughters as helpers and make some pretty fantastic cooking videos for Passover and beyond. We added live art classes and Kabbalat Shabbat services.

Parents were still struggling. Social media across the country was filled with backlash from parents frustrated with trying to balance their own work obligations, parenting obligations, and facilitating their child’s distance learning.

Especially in the context of the sometimes nonexistent participation requirements from public May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community schools, it seemed easy to cast it all aside. On the Friday before Passover, I thought it time to share some of the lessons I had learned as a young teacher in 2005. Our national dialogue is too quick to extremes, failing to recognize the vast distance between poles wherein the truth often lies. I endeavored to explain a nuanced approach to the task at hand. “Distance learning is an important tool to keep your children in routine, to give them some sense of normalcy, and, yes, to continue their academic progress,” I wrote. I continued: “While most of what we’re experiencing now is entirely new, I’m seeing some very familiar patterns in our community that are reminiscent of the months after Hurricane Katrina, during which I spent my evacuation teaching in a program for New Orleans kids living in Houston. There may be a lot about our current crisis that is different than Katrina, but a lot is similar, and there are lessons learned from that. They include: • Concentration will not be what it was prior to the crisis.

• Kids will miss out on some of their education because of the crisis.

• Health, including mental health, comes first.

• Those kids turned out okay.”

I addressed my earlier attempts to assuage parental worry, and I went on to explain:

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“Our wonderful teachers work so hard and give the work they give because they care and want what is best for your child, including when that means not doing everything they’ve assigned. It doesn’t make anyone a bad parent if their child misses an occasional Zoom meeting or an assignment or two. Our Green Preschool resources are also wonderful, and I share a lot of those activities and stories with friends around the country, but I’m not going to feel guilty that my wife and I are busy trying to balance work and childcare and don’t have time to do as many creative things as we’d like with our daughter.

“What is most important is health, and that includes mental health. As teachers, we read the room and make adjustments as needed. We’re not in your home with you, but we trust your discretion. As a parent, you need to decide when the child needs to be pushed a little and when the child needs to be let off the hook. Sometimes kids need routine. They need structure. Sometimes they need to set that structure aside to go chase butterflies, whether literally or figuratively. I’ll share a hard-learned lesson from Katrina here.

Sometimes, it’s the adults who need to chase butterflies more than the kids, and that’s okay, too. Kids feel your stress. Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of them.”

The funny thing is, and this is another Katrina lesson, water finds its level. What seemed impossible at first became manageable upon our return from Passover break. Parents are still stressed — I’m still stressed — but as we settle in for these final weeks of the school year, wrapping up our curriculum and hoping that the gradual return to normal will begin soon, much like 15 years ago, I am completely blown away by the incredible resilience of our families and our students. They are learning, they are engaging with one another online, they are participating in birthday parades, and, I repeat, amidst all of this, they are still learning — and in some way learning many lessons that could not be taught in a traditional classroom.

I’ll close this piece with the same words I used in that email to parents I cited: “Enjoy the moments you would not otherwise get with your family…

There are memories being made amidst the tragedy, moments happening that we cannot and should not miss. I may be writing this at 9:30 at night because trading off the baby with my wife during the normal workday didn’t afford me the time to do it earlier, but I also spent more time on the floor of the nursery with an eight-month-old attempting to use my face as PlayDough today than I ever thought possible, and I didn’t hate it.”

community

Finding Community Virtually Here are some online activities being organized nationally and by congregations in our region. We will continue to update at sjlmag.com as we learn of more opportunities.

Because of the prevalence of Zoombombing, we have removed all Zoom links. Check the congregations’ websites or Facebook page for links. Some links are also available on the Southern Jewish Life website.

Unless otherwise stated, all times are Central.

National: PJ Library is hosting Storytimes and Craftalongs, weekdays at 10 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. There are also Virtual Field Trips at 11 a.m. Family activities are also available.

Hillel has launched Hillel@Home for college students, with meetups on various topics and many scheduled speakers.

Camp Ramah Darom continues its Ramah Darom at Home programming.

The Henry S. Jacobs Camp has launched HSJ365, with numerous community events along with events tailored to individual age groups.

BBYO has launched BBYO On Demand, a “Jewish Netflix” of livestreamed activities, programs and content that any Jewish teen or young adult, regardless of BBYO membership or affiliation, can tune into and enjoy from anywhere in the world. There are many activities, discussions and presentations each day.

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KCET-TV has made “Dreams of Hope,” the documentary about the Violins of Hope concert at Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, available for streaming. Violins of Hope belonged to musicians in the Holocaust and have been restored by Israeli violin expert Amnon Weinstein. The documentary debuted nationwide in February.

The Hadassah Tri-Region “Plug In and Power Up” conference that had been scheduled for Atlanta will be held virtually. The conference brings together the Southeastern, Southern and Southern Seaboard regions. The virtual meeting will be on May 17 from 10 a.m. Eastern to 12:30 p.m., via GoToTraining. The event will feature Rhoda Smolow, Hadassah’s new president, and Steven Frank, Hadassah social media expert. There is no charge, but registration is required.

The National Museum of American Jewish History is closed, but has virtual tours available, as well as tours of current and past exhibits, and videos of lectures and presentations.

CKids is doing a virtual Chabad Hebrew School, Sundays at 10 a.m. (time zone is not specified, it may be 9 a.m. Central)

In The Region: Alabama Beth Shalom in Auburn will be livestreaming service via Zoom on Fridays at 7 p.m. and Torah study on Saturdays at 9 a.m. Book Clubs will meet on May 17 at 3 p.m. (“Up From Orchard Street”).

Danny Cohn, the new CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, does a children’s story time online, Mondays at 2 p.m. on the Federation Facebook page.

Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center is offering virtual activities. At 8 a.m., the Early Childhood Learning Center holds Circle

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community

Gates of Prayer, Metairie

Agudath Israel/Etz Ahayem, Montgomery

Chabad of Pensacola

B’nai Israel, Florence

Beth Shalom, Auburn

Beth Israel, Metairie

24 Chesed, May 2020 Mobile • Southern Jewish Life Ahavas

Time and ECLC Storytime at 4 p.m. Also, members and the general community can access Les Mills International virtual fitness classes.

The Circle of Life Knitting Club meets on Zoom Tuesdays at 11 a.m. On Fridays at 11 a.m. there is Coffee and Conversation for seniors. Over 60 virtual fitness classes are available from the LJCC each week. Equipment needed for some fitness classes can be checked out. The LJCC is also offering Netflix and Kibitz, Mondays at 8 p.m. Additional activity suggestions are here.

Chabad of Alabama is offering numerous online classes taught by Rabbi Yossi Friedman, Mondays to Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., and the Jewish Course of Why on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El is livestreaming services for Shabbat, Fridays at 5:45 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. Minyan is being done on the Beth-El Facebook page by individual members, mornings at 7 and afternoons at 5:30. Virtual Havdalah is on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. on the Facebook page. The congregation is offering Zoom classes, JewCurious with Bethany Slater, Wednesdays at 7 p.m.; and Beit Midrash 2.0 with Rabbi Stephen Slater on Thursdays at noon. Contact Beth-El for Zoom information.

Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham is streaming services on Fridays at 5:45 p.m. Zoom classes include Torah study on Wednesdays at noon and Saturdays at 9 a.m.Coffee with the Rabbi is Tuesdays at 10 a.m. A Pirkei Avot class is on Thursdays at 7 p.m., starting on April 2.

Knesseth Israel in Birmingham is Zooming Kabbalat Shabbat, up to Mizmor Shir, Fridays at 6:30 p.m. A virtual community Havdalah is at 8:30 p.m. Saturdays. On Sundays, there is a “Revival of the Dead” Talmud class at 9:30 a.m., and the Science and Torah Club 2nd Edition, discussing “The Great Partnership: Science, Religion and the Search for Meaning” by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, at 2:30 p.m.

Etz Chayim in Huntsville is not livestreaming, but encouraging members to check out services at Temple Beth-El in Birmingham or Agudath Achim in Atlanta.

Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville is streaming Shabbat services at 7 p.m. on Zoom and Facebook, and the first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m. Torah study is held Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. Coffee with the Rabbi is 10 a.m. Sundays. Adult Happy Hour study is 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. After the May 29 Shavuot service at 7 p.m., there will be a Streaming Shavuot Sundaes at Sundown Social Oneg.

Shavuot services will also be held May 30 at 11:30 a.m.

Ahavas Chesed in Mobile will stream Shabbat services on their Facebook page, Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. Shabbat candlelighting will also be streamed, Fridays at 7 p.m. Torah study will be held Mondays at noon via Zoom, and the Tuesday pizza and beer study will take a hiatus, meeting virtually at 5 p.m. A two-minute morning meditation is Mondays at 10 a.m., and a Thoughtfulness message is Thursdays at 10 a.m. Storytime for Kids and Others is 4 p.m. Thursdays. “No More Matzah” lunches are Friday at noon with Rabbi Silberman.

Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile will be conducting services via Zoom, Fridays at 6 p.m. Tea and Talk with the Rabbi starts on May 4 at 3:30 p.m. and meets on Mondays. Torah study is Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem will broadcast services through its website on Fridays at 6 p.m., Saturdays at 9:30 a.m., and Mondays and Thursdays at 7:15 a.m. Virtual Havdalah is 8 p.m. Saturdays on Zoom. Torah study is Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Downloadable siddurim are available on the website.

Temple Emanu-El in Tuscaloosa is now holding Zoom Shabbat services on Fridays at 6 p.m. Virtual Torah study is Sundays at 10 a.m.

Birmingham’s Collat Jewish Family Services is holding Zoom sessions of its Demen- Florida tia Caregiver Support Group, Thursdays at Chabad Emerald Coast in Destin will 7:30 p.m. have its weekly Torah class by Zoom, contact Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El is broadcasting Chabad for the link. There is also a pre-Shabservices via Zoom on Fridays at 7 p.m., Torah bat service, Fridays at 6:45 p.m. study on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. On Tuesdays, B’nai Israel in Panama City will have Virtual there is a different Virtual Fun Night at 7 p.m., Shabbat weekends, with Rabbi Bruce Aft on starting with comedy night on May 5. On May May 22 at 7:15 p.m. On May 23, Aft will lead a 14 at 7 p.m., there will be virtual adult educa- Lunch and Learn at 11:30 a.m. and Havdalah tion with Cantor Neil. Shavuot Yizkor will be at at 7:15 p.m.

10 a.m. on May 30.

Chabad of Panama City Beach is holding B’nai Israel in Florence is livestreaming ser- Zoom Torah classes with Rabbi Mendel Havlin, vices on Fridays at 7 p.m. via Facebook Live.

Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

community Temple Beth El in Pensacola is holding services Fridays at 7 p.m. by Facebook Live and GoToMeeting. Torah study on Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on May 2 and 16, Havdallah at 7:30 p.m. “Two Jews, Three Opinions” discusses two articles with different perspectives of the same issue, Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. A Pirkei Avot Happy Hour will be on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

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Louisiana Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria will have virtual services over Zoom, Fridays at 6 p.m. Coffee with the Rabbi is Wednesdays at 10 a.m.

Chabad of Baton Rouge is holding interactive virtual classes, Mondays at 11 a.m. on the Torah portion, and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. on the Jewish Course of Why, on Facebook Live.

Beth Shalom in Baton Rouge will have virtual services and classes, Fridays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. There will also be an interactive Tot Shabbat on Fridays at 11 a.m. Zerem Young Professionals Virtual Game Night and Happy Hour will be on May 13. Old Fashioned Judaism will take place on May 16 at 7 p.m. Israel Institute returns on May 17 at noon. The Miriam Meeting will focus on the Zohar, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. There will also be a virtual oneg following services on May 22.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge is holding services via Zoom on Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m.

Temple Sinai in Lake Charles is streaming services on its YouTube channel, Fridays at 6 p.m.

Rabbi Judy Caplan Ginsburgh, who serves B’nai Israel in Monroe, leads virtual services Fridays at 6 p.m. over Zoom. She also does a Tot Shabbat on Fridays at 4 p.m. on her Facebook page. She will also lead Zoom and Schmooze on Sundays at 10 a.m. The congregation is exploring having a large screen in the multi-purpose room so those unable to access online services can come and view at a social distance.

Shir Chadash in Metairie is livestreaming Thursday minyan at 8 a.m. and Sunday minyan at 9:15 a.m. Kabbalat Shabbat is on Fridays at 6:15 p.m. Havdalah is planned on the Shir Chadash Facebook page at 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The congregation is also doing a Family Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday at 4:30 p.m., consisting of songs and stories, candle lighting and Kiddush. A Sisterhood Tanach class meets Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Yoga with the Rabbi is Tuesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m.

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community Beth Israel, Jackson

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Touro Synagogue, New Orleans

B’nai Sholom, Huntsville

Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham

Chabad of Alabama

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Temple Beth El, Pensacola

Beth Israel in Metairie is holding classes virtually, with Rabbi Josh Pernick leading a Talmud class via Zoom on Mondays to Thursdays at 4 p.m. On Thursdays at 11 a.m. he is leading “Tanach Chabura: Divided Kingdoms.”

Beth Israel is also doing a livestream pre-Kabbalat Shabbat at 6 p.m. Fridays and Havdalah on the Beth Israel Facebook page, at 8:45 p.m.

Minyan is livestreamed Sundays at 9 a.m., and at 10 a.m. Pernick leads “Jews in the News.”

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m., Bubbe Susan Green leads arts and crafts. Jordan Lawrence leads Youth Learning on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. On Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Pernick leads “Shtisel 101: Season 2.” The congregation is also promoting Kavod-19, an effort to reach out to 19 people every week while the social restrictions are in place, preferably by phone or Facetime, or by text or email.

Gates of Prayer in Metairie holds Women in the Bible with Rabbi Lexi Erdheim on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., The Top 10 with Rabbis Erdheim and Gerber, Shabbat services on Fridays at 6 p.m., Torah study Saturdays at 9:15 a.m. and Havdalah at 6 p.m. Because services will not be in the sanctuary, the usual livestream does not work, one must use Zoom or Facebook Live. The Louise Hayem Manheim Center for Early Childhood Education will have 9:30 a.m. activities, including Song Session with Miss Tory on Tuesdays, Hebrew with Rabbi Lexi on Thursdays and Shabbat with Rabbi Gerber on Fridays. Rabbi Story Time is also available on YouTube. The congregation also instituted Drive In Movie Night on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

Chabad of Louisiana is offering a Quarantine Kaddish Service, so Kaddish can be said in one’s memory even if the person saying Kaddish can’t make it to a minyan. Virtual morning services are held weekdays at 8:30 a.m. A Farbrengen is held at 9:15 p.m. on Saturdays. Sholom Rivkin leads a class in Jewish law, Mondays to Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.

Breakfast with Maimonides is Sundays at 9:30 a.m., and the Kabbala of Second Chances is Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Malkie Rivkin has led a daily gathering online at 9 p.m., and Chabad in Metairie is doing a Five Minute Inspiration at 2 p.m. daily.

Kenneth Hoffman, executive director of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, will be the speaker at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center’s Morris Bart Lecture Series, May 11 at 12:30 p.m. via Zoom.

He will speak on “Everything You Wanted to Know About the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (but were afraid to ask).” He will speak about the museum’s progress, show some recent acquisitions, and do a Southern Jewish quiz.

Agudath Achim in Shreveport is having Likrat Shabbat streamed on YouTube Live, Fridays at 6 p.m., Morning services led by Rabbi Sydni are Sunday to Friday at 10 a.m. There is an Overview of Judaism class on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Shavuot will be observed on May 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. with a program in the style of the traditional all-night learning, as congregants will do 15 to 30 minute presentations on a range of topics. Use the Facebook link to get YouTube links to individual events.

Anshe Sfard in New Orleans will have minB’nai Zion in Shreveport is streaming its yan via Zoom on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. services and classes on its YouTube channel.

Touro Synagogue in New Orleans is lives- Services are Fridays at 6 p.m., with a Zoom treaming services, Fridays at 6 p.m. and Sat- oneg at 7 p.m. On May 15, historian Gary Dilurdays at 10:30 a.m. Virtual Shabbat Rocks is lard Joiner of the Red River Regional Studies at 9:30 a.m. Past services are archived. Rabbi Center will speak, and on May 22, Josh ParSilverman leads “Exploration of the Megillot,” nell, director of the history department at the Tuesdays at 8 p.m., May 5 to 19. Rabbi Bauman Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern leads “News and the Jews” on Thursdays at Jewish Life, will speak. The Bible Players are noon, except May 28. On Thursdays at 7 p.m., doing streaming improv comedy events at 3 Cantor Margolius leads “Short Stories by Sho- p.m. on Sundays. A virtual version of Together lom Aleichem, Peretz and Malamud,” except Tuesdays will be at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday May 28. There will be a Tikkun Leil Shavuot on of the month. On Wednesdays at 4, Rabbi Judy May 28 at 7 p.m.

Caplan Ginsburgh holds music lessons.

Temple Sinai is livestreaming services, Fridays at 6:15 p.m., after a 6 p.m. Shabbat Schmooze, and Saturdays at 10:15 a.m., following 9 a.m. Torah study. Past services are archived. There are various events on Sundays at 10 a.m., including Sinai Connect and a Sisterhood meeting on May 10. Rabbi Sherman leads open conversations at Wednesday Night Live, at 7 p.m. At noon on Thursdays, there is Thursday Lunch with the Rabbi.

Mississippi Beth Israel in Jackson will livestream services on Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. Torah study will be at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. Tot Shabbat with Rabbis Rosen and Dreffin will be at 8 a.m. Refuge Meditation is on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., and Mussar classes will be led by Rabbi Rosen on May 7 and 12 at 5 p.m.

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Who is Re-Opening?

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Bobby Carl’s Table: Much of the regular menu available for takeout and curbside. Lunch only starting May 12, patio curbside also available, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Bright Star: Open for takeout and curbside pick-up orders, call to order. Wine and six-packs of beer also available. Online ordering available -- note that the lunch specials change daily. Starting on limited inside dining at 50 percent capacity on May 14, curbside will continue.

Taj India: Reopening May 12 for inside dining, with 6-foot distances.

Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Instead of the popular lunch buffet, they are offering a Thali platter for $8.99. Curbside still available.

Classic Wine Company in Homewood: Offers FaceTime ordering through a virtual tour of the store, pay by credit card via FaceTime and then drive up to receive your order. Virtual Wine Tasting events held regularly.

Bistro V: Reopened on April 30 for curbside, Monday to Saturday, 4 to 8 p.m. Orders may be placed daily after 2 p.m.

Nabeels: Curbside pickup and third-party delivery, with full menu and new family dinner option for 6 to 8 people. The market remains open and fully stocked. Beer and wine available curbside, along with takeout DIY cocktails such as the John Daly (vodka/sweet tea/lemonade), Gimlet (Gin/simple syrup/lime) and Bee’s Knees (Gin/honey/ lemon) for $6 ea. Takeout orders include a 10 percent off coupon for dine-in when the dining room is able to reopen. New line of housemade frozen pizzas available.

Makarios: Carryout and delivery available. They will endeavor to keep normal hours. Phone in orders for pickup.

Fish Market: Full menu available for pickup, curbside service and delivery. Limited inside dining available as of May 11. New family-style meals of Greek chicken or Athenian snapper available. New grab-andgo items added, the fresh seafood market remains open, and the regular grocery items are still available.

Pies and Pints Birmingham and Montgomery now open for indoor or outdoor dining, parties of 8 or fewer. Carry-out, curb-side and delivery still available. Normal hours, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sun-Thu, to 10 p.m.

Fri/Sat. Watkins Branch Bourbon and Brasserie on Culver Road in Mountain Brook is open for curbside service, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. In addition to the entrees, there are three family-style options available on their Facebook page.

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

31

community Niki’s West on Finley has curbside lunch with a limited menu from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Orders can be placed by phone or curbside (they “strongly” recommend curbside), the day’s options will be posted on their Facebook page.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

try through online ordering.

Avenue Pub: Offering curbside and to-go Monday to Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Reopening noon on May 16 as limited to-go restaurant under Phase 1 restrictions with some outdoor seating after placing an order at winEli’s Jerusalem Grill is doing family-style dow. Must purchase a food item to order an dinners, with six combinations available, from alcoholic beverage. $37.50 to $49.50, serving four to six people.

Shaya reopening on May 16. Taking lunch Barkan Israeli wine is also available for $25 a and dinner reservations for the limited capacbottle. Regular menu also available for curb- ity. side, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m. to Fury’s reopening May 18 for takeout and 7 p.m. Sundays. limited indoor dining, by reservation.

New Orleans area:

Tartine: Family-style heat-and-serve dinners for five. Menu changes daily, check website to order, and they do sell out. Pickup at Tartine or Toast Gentilly between 1 and 2 p.m., or for delivery 1 to 3 p.m. in New Orleans or Metairie, or 3 to 5 p.m. in Algiers Point. Wine also available from Toast Gentilly. Orders being taken for Mother’s Day picnic baskets.

Saba: Reopened delivery and curbside on May 8, from 4 to 8:30 p.m., except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Nola Bean Queen popup on May 18 starting at 3 p.m. Daily specials, family meals available. Saba pita and hummus available at Rouse’s downtown, including lunch and Mondays.

Compere Lapin at The Old 77 Hotel: Curbside available as of May 10.

Dorignac’s is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and has dedicated hours for seniors, Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., before the store is opened to all shoppers.

Retail: Four Seasons Gallery: Limited in-store hours. Shop online, holding daily virtual Shop With Us features.

M&M Jewelers: Normal hours resumed on May 4.

Vineyard Vines: Reopened in Birmingham on May 6, Mondays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 Kosher Cajun: For dining, open for pick- p.m. up orders, they will bring items to the car. A Applause Dance Wear: Storefront open small number of outdoor seats are available. with social distancing guidelines. Summer On Friday, they offer sushi and fried chicken in hours 12-6 Mon-Thu, 12-5 Fri, 10-3 Sat. Online addition to the regular menu. Grocery is open ordering also available. and fully stocked. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mon Ami: Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., also curbMon-Thu, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Sunday. side and free local delivery. Items also availAcropolis: Offering no-contact curbside able online. service, to-go orders or free delivery in a fiveHemline: Open weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., mile radius of the Metairie location, Monday Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with limitations of to Saturday. Inside dining opening at 25 persocial distancing. Also offers shipping, curbcent capacity on May 15, call upon arrival and side. Carrying JohnnyWas facemasks and Nola wait in car for a table to open. Uptown locaBrewing sanitizer. tion reopens for curbside on May 14.

Chateau Drugs, Metairie: Open.

Galatoire’s: Reopening both restaurants on Federico’s Family Florist: Open for delivMay 20 with limited capacity. Reservations encouraged. Curbside on hold temporarily as ef- ery, curbside or walk-in, Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 1 forts go into reopening. Some items continue p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to noon. to be available at Rouse’s on Veterans-CauseClosed For Now: way, Tchoupitoulas and Carrollton.

Apolline English Tea Room, Covington: Starting inside seating by reservation on May 18 with Riccobono’s Peppermill: Planning for midsocial distancing and 25 percent capacity, also May reopening. offering outdoor seating. Offers curbside and Rimon at Tulane Hillel. delivery in a five-mile radius from 10 a.m. to 5 Casablanca: Had planned for carryout and p.m. Ships 225 different teas across the coundelivery, but decided on March 17 to close until further notice.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community NJBeats founder becoming new cantorial soloist for Gates of Prayer Jordan Lawrence succeeding Tory May

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

Jordan Lawrence has always connected to her Judaism through music.

Now, as the new cantorial soloist for Gates of Prayer in Metairie, she will have plenty of opportunities to connect, and help others do so in the process.

Her selection was announced in a video from Gates of Prayer on April 17.

A New Jersey native, Lawrence arrived in New From the Gates of Prayer announcement Orleans as a first-year Tu- video on April 17 lane student in 2015, becoming involved in campus Jewish life, and musically.

When she got to Tulane, she thought it was incredible that a university with so many Jewish students did not have an a capella choir, as her brother’s university had. That led to the formation of NJBeats, where she was music director for the first two years.

“It was a wonderful experience to provide that for the Tulane community, as well as the greater New Orleans Jewish community,” she said, adding that a mini-album will be coming out soon.

A lot of people misinterpret the group’s name, she said — it is a riff off NJB standing for “nice Jewish boy,” and despite her origins, has nothing to do with New Jersey. Though, she added, “a lot of Tulane students are also from New Jersey.”

She is excited about directing the choir at Gates of Prayer, as she was a self-described “choir nerd” in high school, when she also was on the Bergen County choir and the state choir.

At age 9, she started attending Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake in New York. “Camp is one of the biggest things that provides happiness for me,” she said. In 2015 she started working at Sprout Lake, starting as a counselor and Israeli dancing specialist. She continued to take on more responsibilities, putting on a musical one year as a transition into running the performing arts program. “It was a very hard decision not to go back” this summer, she said.

A musical theatre major, by her junior year she knew she wanted to stay in New Orleans, and “finding my place here in the Jewish community was extremely important.

For the last three years, Lawrence has been a Shabbat morning educator for students at Beth Israel. She said that is part of how she finds “my niche in every community,” having grown up in a Reform synagogue, attending a Conservative Jewish day school, attending a pluralistic summer camp and having a modern Orthodox rabbi as a brother.

In a sense, her hiring is another part of the connection between the Reform Gates of Prayer and the Orthodox congregation Beth Israel that has developed since Beth Israel was flooded after the levees broke in 2005.

Beth Israel met at Gates of Prayer for several years before building its new facility next door on land purchased from Gates of Prayer.

She noticed that in New Orleans, a lot of people are part of more than one congregation. “It’s not something I grew up knowing,” and “it has been really cool to learn about it and be involved.”

Beth Israel has been “such a wonderful community to me,” especially as

community she does not have family in New Orleans. “They have been so welcoming and inviting.”

Since the shelter in place order, she has done Zoom lessons for Beth Israel on Mondays and Wednesdays.

This year, she has also been a teacher at the Uptown Jewish Community Center’s preschool, and the Jewish enrichment coordinator, “involving music and movement.”

She also did a run of “Oliver” at Rivertown Theatre this year, which by coincidence was the first musical she had ever done. When she was in fifth grade, her brother’s high school had an open audition for younger kids.

More recently, she was to be part of the May production of “42nd Street” at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society. “We had just started rehearsals the week we found out” about the shelter-in-place restrictions.

Now that the show is being rescheduled to November, she won’t be able to take part because of her new responsibilities.

When she saw the opportunity at Gates of Prayer, “I thought it would be a perfect fit… this kind of opportunity is great to explore things I love so dearly.”

She will also be the director of family engagement. Lawrence said she “always had a very large interest in creating events and programs for families and children” and envisions more collaboration between the early childhood center and the congregation in general — some programs for holidays, and others that “are just fun Jewish cultural things.”

“The fact I get to do music as part of my job is thrilling to me,” Lawrence said. She is “extremely excited to continue the existing musical culture” at Gates of Prayer.

That history was highlighted in the congregation’s announcement.

Rabbi Lexi Erdheim said that though styles change, “one thing that remains constant, especially in a place like New Orleans, is music.”

Rabbi David Gerber said “we know the power of a melody and its ability to bring the words of prayer to life. We know that the sounds of our sanctuary are nothing short of divine.”

He said with Lawrence’s “love for our traditions, her commitment to creating and strengthening Jewish community and her extraordinary musical talents, we are confident that our amazing musical tradition is in good hands.”

Lawrence succeeds Tory May, who is retiring the summer after serving as cantorial soloist since 1987.

“I am eager to enrich the already wonderful musical culture at Gates of Prayer,” Lawrence said.

Tribute to May will happen — at some point Originally, Gates of Prayer in Metairie was planning to hold a retirement weekend for Cantorial Soloist Tory May the weekend of June 12, including a special Shabbat evening service and a Saturday concert.

With coronavirus putting schedules into doubt, along with questions of when large gatherings will be possible, the congregation is now saying the celebration will be “as soon as our community is able to gather in full,” according to Rabbi David Gerber.

Rather than have a celebration subject to limitations, “we are determined to honor Tory for her years of service here in the most appropriate way possible,” Gerber said in a video message to the congregation, and “give Tory the celebration she deserves” with the choir, congregation and broader New Orleans community.

“We just can’t tell you exactly when it will be yet,” he said, speculating it could be late summer or early fall. Pictures and messages are also being collected for a “tribute gift” that will be presented at that time.

There are also plans for a wedding celebration, as May married Jeff Lust on April 26, with matching “bride” and “groom” masks, then held a Zoom reception with relatives.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

When Robert Wittner, who is one of seven cantors being ordained this month at Hebrew Union College in New York, placed on his resume that he is receiving the Cantor Brian Miller Memorial Prize for academic excellence, he did not anticipate that upon graduation, he would be assuming the pulpit where Miller served from 1996 to 1999.

That entry certainly attracted the attention of the search committee at Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El, which informed him of the connection during the interview process.

The congregation announced on April 14 that Wittner would become the congregation’s new cantor this summer, succeeding Jessica Roskin, who resigned last fall.

Wittner has lived his entire life in New York City, aside from college and the HUC-mandated year studying in Israel. His only concern about moving to this much smaller Jewish community? The heat — though he quickly adds that New York City can get quite hot in the summer.

He said he felt the sense of community in Birmingham, and “hadn’t experienced a community that was so bonded” in New York. “It was so tight knit and loving, and engaged with all that is going on.”

He will start at Emanu-El on July 1, but because of social distancing, it will be a very different process in getting to know the congregation.

Because of how coronavirus has shut down so many things, especially in New York, he said he and his wife, Alex, may wind up coming to Birmingham earlier than planned.

Many cantors have their roots as songleaders at Jewish summer camps, also honing their skills through high school youth groups. Wittner, though, had a different path, referring to the cantorate as “definitely the right choice for me” after “a ride full of many twists and turns.”

He grew up at the Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation of Washington Heights, but “I didn’t grow up at that synagogue being particularly engaged.” He went to sleepaway camp for just one summer, so when he started cantorial school, it was a “challenge at the beginning” because he had no liturgical background or the summer camp experience of current Jewish music. “I had to catch up.”

In college, he studied microbiology at Hamilton College, with minors in music and religious studies. Though he was likely to get accepted to medical school, by his junior year “there just wasn’t enough passion there” and he “needed to find a new path.”

He said he spent more time on music than in science in school, so he started considering possibilities in music. “I didn’t know what that would mean, besides opera.” He felt opera would not be a good fit, because he envisioned himself as a family person who would settle down, and “if you want to succeed in the opera world you have to put yourself out there.” He studied with opera great Jon Fredric West while in college.

The summer after graduating from college, he ran into the president of his childhood congregation. “He apparently had overheard that I sing,” and told him that the cantor would be out of town that next weekend, would Wittner be willing to lead Shabbat services?

community “I hadn’t been to a Shabbat service in a number of years” and had no idea what to do. For the next week, the congregational president taught him the liturgical details, choreography and music.

As a musican, Wittner was “not surprised it went well musically,” but he was surprised “at how spiritually engaged and how communally engaged I felt in that experience.” That planted a seed, but he spent a year and a half doing a desk job at a medical office.

Realizing he needed to do something different, on the advice of the congregational president he visited Hebrew Union College, not knowing what Reform clergy would be like and whether he would fit in. Noting the diverse backgrounds and levels of observance, “it felt like a wonderful fit right away.”

Lacking Hebrew knowledge and knowing that would be part of the admissions process, he quit his job and did an Ulpan and got private tutoring. Then it was off to Israel, “which was wonderful” — and because he had not done Birthright, the required year in Israel for HUC was his first time there. It was eye opening, both in what Israelis face — he was in the Old City when a terror attack happened and they locked down the area — and the complexity of the situation with the Palestinians.

But for him, the biggest challenge was that he was in a serious relationship but not yet engaged, and the relationship had to be long-distance for the year. “We regarded the year as a test of sorts,” a test that they clearly passed.

The entire time at HUC, his internship was at his childhood congregation, something which is very unusual. He saw it as “an opportunity to truly do the kind of community building and engagement one would do in a real cantorial situation,” building programs and getting to know people. “That is what the position is about.”

Because of his lack of prior experience, he had “to catch up” on understanding Jewish liturgy, Hebrew, “things you would pick up in the NFTY experience or camp,” and he was “able to use my classmates as my teachers as well.”

Wittner said much of the instruction at HUC is still in the classical style, though as a movement, the music is tending toward folk and rock influences. He leans classical, “but I recognize that isn’t where the movement is as a whole.” He noted that Emanu-El has “a vaunted history of classical music,” and anticipates that for the High Holy Days he will be doing most of what has been done at Emanu-El musically for the last 50 years — whether services are in person or virtual “I’m a big fan of basically all of the composers they use.”

If services have to be virtual, “that could require some changes,” especially if there is no choir, a possibility he feels would be “really unfortunate.”

This month, HUC will have what they are calling a “consecration” for his class, with the idea of doing a formal official ordination at a later date.

Whatever the ceremony is, “I’m just happy to be getting ordained.”

When looking at openings, a lot of the congregational profiles were “very robotic, all said the same thing.” Emanu-El, on the other hand, was very well organized. “They were so invested in getting a new cantor,” and he got a “sense of kindness… I’ve been to the South, the Southern hospitality was overflowing from this document.”

He said Emanu-El wants innovation, but with an understanding that innovation requires experimentation, and not everything will succeed.

The atmosphere was also “more relaxed than many northeast congregations, which was quite attractive.”

During his first year, “the most important thing is getting to know the congregation, then you can build the most appropriate vision.”

He already knows there is a lot of desire for a kid’s choir, which will be implemented in the next year or two. He added that Tot Shabbat has always been a favorite of his, and “the kids were wonderful” when he did one during his interview in Birmingham.

The welcome to Birmingham has been “overwhelmingly kind,” with many offers to assist. “I’m sure I won’t have any trouble if I need advice.”

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience names Tucker new curator The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience announced on May 6 that Anna Tucker has been promoted to curator.

Located in New Orleans, the museum will explore the many ways Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage of their communities.

An October 2020 opening is anticipated, partly dependent on the coronavirus situation at the time.

As curator, Tucker will oversee the preservation and expansion of the museum’s collection of over 4,000 items. She is currently working on the opening exhibitions, which will feature stories from 13 states and 300 years of history, including Colonial, Civil War, World War II and the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibitions will include artifacts from MSJE’s collection and partner institutions.

Following the opening, she will focus on the special exhibitions gallery and continuing to build the MSJE collection.

“I plan to put an emphasis on selecting artifacts that preserve and explore Southern Jewish history in conversation with our diverse communities,” said Tucker.

Previously, Tucker was the Special Projects Museum seeks wedding Curator for the Department of Museums, Arphotos, windows chives and Rare Books at Kennesaw State University. Prior to that, she was in management Kenneth Hoffman, executive director of and curating at the Museum of History and the Museum of the Southern Jewish ExperiHolocaust Education and served as the Comence, emphasizes that the museum belongs munications Manager for the opening of the to the Southern Jewish community, and as Bentley Rare Book Museum and the Bernard A. such, there are a couple of projects for the Zuckerman Museum of Art. communities in the museum’s 13-state covBeyond her work at MSJE, Tucker also serves erage area. as co-curator of The Temple’s 150th-anniversaOne display will show the importance ry exhibition in Atlanta, and co-author of the of Jewish summer camp, and the museum forthcoming companion book at the William wants couples in the region who originally Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. met at camp to submit two photos — one of “Anna is an expert within the museum space the two of them at camp, and one from their and specifically Jewish history as it pertains to wedding. the South,” said Kenneth Hoffman, executive Another display will highlight stained director. “Her experience speaks for itself and glass windows from synagogues in the rewe are thrilled to welcome her as the museum’s gion. While Louisiana and Mississippi are curator.” well represented, places like Virginia, the MSJE will be located in the city’s popular Carolinas, Kentucky and Oklahoma are un“Museum District,” in proximity to the National derrepresented. The museum is looking for WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southphotos, not the actual windows. ern Art and the Contemporary Art Center — conveniently located on the historic St. Charles between the museums and the Oretha Castle Avenue streetcar line and on the walking path Haley redevelopment.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community ADL: Antisemitism hit record levels in 2019 Increases seen in many Southern states Much to nobody’s surprise, the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents showed the highest level of antisemitic incidents last year since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States.

“This was a year of unprecedented antisemitic activity, a time when many Jewish communities across the country had direct encounters with hate,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “This contributed to a rising climate of anxiety and fear in our communities. We are committed to fighting back against this rising tide of hate and will double down on our work with elected leaders, schools, and communities to end the cycle of hatred.”

The audit, released on May 12, showed a 12 percent rise in overall incidents in 2019, with a 56 percent increase in assaults. More than half of the 61 assaults nationwide took place in the five boroughs of New York City, with 25 in Brooklyn.

There were also 919 vandalism incidents, up 19 percent from 2018.

There were 1,127 incidents of harassment, up 6 percent.

ADL’s Center on Extremism identified 234 incidents targeting Jewish synagogues and community centers in 2019. This included the white supremacist shooting at a Chabad center in Poway, California, which killed one worshipper and injured three others.

There were incidents reported in every state, except Alaska and Hawaii.

The states with the highest numbers of incidents were New York: 430, New Jersey: 345, California: 330, Massachusetts: 114 and Pennsylvania: 109. Combined, these states account for nearly 45 percent of the total number of incidents.

“It was an extremely challenging year for Jewish communities across the United States, and American Jews are feeling anxious about the current climate” said Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman, vice president of ADL’s Southern Division in Atlanta, which also covers Alabama and Tennessee.

“We are fighting all forms of hate and the rise of antisemitism harder than ever, and working with communities and leaders to end the cycle of hatred. The disturbing data on rising antisemitism is particularly important to reflect on during this pandemic.”

“What we saw in the South Central Region tracks with what we have seen nationally,” said Aaron Ahlquist, regional director of ADL South Central office in New Orleans. “With 2019 reflecting the highest number of antisemitic incidents ever recorded by ADL across the nation, this region has not been immune. From antisemitic extremists disrupting a Holocaust remembrance ceremony in Russellville, Arkansas, to an antisemitic assault on a man in Lafayette, Louisiana, we have seen acts of hate threaten not just the Jewish community, but the entire community.”

The South Central region includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where there were 24 incidents in 2019, up from 15 in 2018.

“We will continue to work with our community partners, law enforcement and elected officials to counter these acts of hate,” said Ahlquist, “and build a more just and inclusive society, that is safe not just for Jews, but for all communities that find themselves vulnerable to hate.”

A major event in the region was when members of the white supremacist Shield Wall Network showed up at a Holocaust remembrance event in Russellville, Ark., in May, trying to shout down the outdoor event. This came after a Jewish professor publicized that a scholarship at Arkansas Tech had been named after a deceased professor who dabbled in Holocaust denial. The head of Shield Wall, a former student of that professor, launched a harassment campaign against the professor, who was a keynote speaker at the Holocaust event.

Overall, Arkansas had 10 incidents, up from three. The New Jersey European Heritage Association posted anti-Israel stickers saying “Open May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community Borders for Israel” in Fayetteville and Bentonville in May, in Harrison in September, in Tontitown in November and in West Memphis in December. In Booneville, a building was vandalized with a swastika and SS bolts in September. In December, a Chanukah display was vandalized in Hot Springs.

In Helena, a Jewish individual was the recipient of antisemitic harassment and threats in December.

The Daily Stormer Book Club, small crews of young white men who follow and support Andrew Anglin and his neo-Nazi website, The Daily Stormer, distributed antisemitic literature at churches in numerous states, including in Alabaster, Ala.; Florida and Georgia.

Alabama had six incidents, down from nine in 2018, which had been as many as the previous three years combined. A harassment incident in New Brockton led to a Jewish employee being fired in April. In Huntsville in January, a tenant was a victim of antisemitic discrimination from an apartment manager. In Mobile, someone faxed antisemitic messages to an academic department at the University of South Alabama in January.

In March, a non-Jewish student made antisemitic comments to a Jewish student in Mountain Brook.

A Facebook post in May about abortion legislation included a comment to “STFU” because “you are jewish.” There were also many white supremacist leafletings that weren’t necessarily antisemitic.

Louisiana’s count dropped from 12 to 10 this year. In February, a home in Prairieville was vandalized with “f---- you Jew” spelled in plastic cutlery, among other antisemitic messages. In Lafayette, a Jewish student was told in March to “go back to the concentration camps” and in November a Jewish middle school student in Lafayette was told to “go back to the ovens” when she remarked that she was cold. Also in Lafayette, in June a man attending a business convention had his yarmulke slapped off his head by a presenter.

In New Orleans, a student at an elementary school reportedly did the Sieg Heil in April. In May, a swastika was etched into the pavement by a synagogue, and in November an abandoned building was vandalized with a swastika and a Star of David. Also, an October column in the Hullabaloo, the student newspaper at Tulane, linked Zionism to white supremacy.

In Mandeville, a Jewish teacher’s desk was etched with swastikas in September, and another harassment incident in Mandeville in May is listed as “confidential.”

Mississippi had reported zero incidents in 2018 but had four this year.

In McComb in August, during a race equity training, a Jewish participant was told by an instructor that Jews are white supremacists. In October, an individual in Batesville was harassed by his supervisor after mentioning he attends a synagogue. The New Jersey European Heritage Association posted anti-Israel stickers in Tupelo in August.

The online summary of the audit mentions swastika vandalism at Mount Evergreen Cemetery in Jackson last June, attributing it to Mississippi, but the cemetery in question is in Michigan.

Tennessee had nine incidents, while Georgia had 29, similar to last year.

In Florida, which had 91 incidents statewide, the ADL has a white supremacist incident in Panama City and Panama City Beach, where Patriot Front distributed propaganda at rallies for Andrew Yang and Donald Trump.

There was also the Dec. 6 shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, where Mohammad Saeed Alshamrani killed three and wounded eight others, in what is being called an Islamist incident.

Padilla-Goodman said “We know that historically, antisemitism flourishes in times of economic and social insecurity, and so in this time of fear and uncertainty, we must unite as a community to stop the rise of hatred as we work for global stability.”

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community Defending Israel

Sisterhood Centennial While nobody back in his native Birmingham could get a haircut due to coronavirus restrictions, Avi Goldstein went to great lengths to get one in Israel. On April 30, the day after Israel Independence Day, he was inducted into the Israel Defense Forces. His mother, Jessica Goldstein, said he has talked about it since he was 14, figuring that every Jew is obligated to help Israel in some way, and he wanted to do it physically. He made the decision on his Birthright trip, spoke with Asaf Stein, a fellow Birminghamian who served in the IDF, and made Aliyah a year ago on Holocaust Remembrance Day. After Ulpan, he lived and worked in Jerusalem.

The Sisterhood at Temple Beth El in Pensacola held a centennial celebration at the Feb. 28 Shabbat service. Sisterhood members participated in the service, with a special recognition of past presidents. A dinner preceded the service. Above, three generations of the Vigodsky family lit the Shabbat candles.

Sufa new interim consul general in Miami Shlomit Sufa has been named the new interim consul general at the Israeli consulate in Miami, which serves Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

With the recent political uncertainty in Israel, the consulate has had a series of interim consuls general since Lior Haiat left early last November to become the new spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Ishmael Khaldi, Israel’s first Bedouin diplomat, took over in Miami, followed by Jonathan Peled and most recently, Ambassador Marco Sermoneta.

A lawyer by profession, Sufa joined the Foreign Ministry 20 years ago.

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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community “I’m With Mike” — at home The Mike Slive Foundation’s fourth annual I’m With Mike Prostate Cancer Awareness 5K run/1-mile walk is going virtual, due to social distancing.

“Adapting to changing situations is something my father did beautifully well. He was a tremendous leader, especially during challenging times.

I know he would be proud that we have found a way to still come together as a community to support prostate cancer survivors and bring awareness to a cancer that affects one in nine men,” said Anna Slive Harwood, executive director of the Mike Slive Foundation.

The virtual event will be on Father’s Day weekend, June 20 and 21, honoring prostate cancer survivors and raising funds for prostate cancer research and awareness.

Participants should register at ImWithMike5K.com by May 26 to guarantee shirt and size selection. Registration is $30, $25 for prostate cancer survivors. The I’m With Mike shirt will be shipped so it can be worn during the run or walk over Father’s Day weekend. The Foundation requests that participants take a picture wearing the shirt during the run, walk or ride, and post it on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, tagging the Foundation @MikeSliveFdn, and using #ImWithMike.

Gold level sponsors of the I’m With Mike 5K race include ARC Realty, Burton Advertising, Karl Storz, Urology Centers of Alabama and Vituro Health.

Presenting sponsors of the Mike Slive Foundation include Medical Properties Trust, Burton Advertising, Regions Bank, UAB and Urology Centers of Alabama.

Slive was commissioner of the Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA and the Southeastern Conference. An active member of Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El, he died in 2018.

“Taking our race virtually allows our friends and supporters across the nation to come together on Father’s Day weekend, connecting survivors, supporters and their families together,” Harwood said. “Just think how amazing it could be to have hundreds of runners, walkers and cyclists in all 50 states come together to support prostate cancer research and awareness! We will adapt and stay the course, just as my father would have wanted us to.”

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville put out an appeal for funds to deliver 30 lunches from Lyn’s Gracious Goodness for employees of the Huntsville Hospital Fever and Flu Clinic, and if enough came in, another 20 lunches for the Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital Main. In a week, they raised double their initial goal, so on April 30, Rabbi Eric Berk and B’nai Sholom President Dana Averbuch delivered the lunches.

community ISJL going virtual with education, culture programming

A week before everything shut down across the country, the Confirmation class at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge was able to take its trip to Washington, where they toured the Holocaust Museum, Lincoln and King Memorials, the Kennedy Center, the Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism, and many other sites.

The trip is sponsored annually by Brenda and Lee Berg.

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson can’t hit the road during the shelter-in-place restrictions, so the Institute is adapting its offerings to congregations throughout the region.

The Institute has a Connection in the Time of Coronavirus page on its website, linking to several offerings. There is a Facebook livestream every weekday at 11 a.m., along with Shabbat and holiday streams. With the Passover Road Trip cancelled, they had 432 attend a streaming Seder.

There is a Virtual Road Trip Through the Jewish South, with articles and videos exploring communities throughout the region, with bits of Jewish history and a few stops at mainstream attractions along the way.

A major event for the Institute is the three-day annual Educators Conference for all of the congregations using the ISJL standardized religious school curriculum. The conference will be held virtually on June 28 via Zoom.

With religious schools not meeting, the Institute has developed downloadable “easy at-home Jewish learning opportunities” in four age ranges, from ages 3-to-6 to teens.

Instead of visits by the education fellows and rabbinical services, “community virtual visits” are taking place for congregations throughout the region. The website has a list of congregations that are streaming services.

There is also an ISJL Spotify station for Southern and Jewish soundtracks, and online cultural offerings.

The agency is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and still working on its matching challenge for new or increased gifts this year.

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Sinai Celebrates 150 Years in New Orleans Just before everything shut down, Temple Sinai in New Orleans was able to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a Roaring Twenties gala on March 7, with the theme paying tribute to completion of its current building in 1928.

Liz Yager, executive director of Temple Sinai, said they were “very fortunate to have celebrated at our gala and given our members a memory that will help sustain us through these tough times.”

Rabbi Daniel Sherman said the evening was a time to “honor the past, to embrace the present, and celebrate and look forward to an even brighter future together.”

Over 175 attended the event, which included a red carpet entrance, live music by Meryl Zimmerman and a commemorative video of Sinai memories. The multi-tier cake was cut by Sinai President Tracey Dodd.

Before the gala, there was a patron’s event at the home of Joan and Julian Feibelman, Jr., with Cantor Joel Colman and Dr. Marcus St. Julien performing show tunes.

Photos by Michael Maples

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

obituaries

In Loving Memory…

Rene Lehmann, 94, died at Passages Hospice on April 21 in New Orleans. Married to the late Razele Midlo Lehmann for almost 55 years, survived by his children Lawrence (Dashka Roth) Lehmann of New Orleans; Rabbi Allan (Joanne Schindler) Lehmann, Newton, Mass.; Dr. Barbara (Richard Stocker) Lehmann, St. Paul; and Carolyn (David Karesh), Houston; his grandchildren Dr. Emily Lehmann Levin (Dan Levin) Saline, Mich.; Hannah Hofrichter (Michael Hofrichter), Houston; Rabbi Elie Lehmann (Anya Manning), Cambridge, Mass.; Jacob Karesh, Los Angeles; sisters-in-law Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Guanajuato, Mexico; and Elizabeth Lehmann, Palo Alto, Calif.; many great grandchildren, nephews and nieces, and is mourned by the many people touched by him.

In addition to his wife Razele, Lehmann was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Marie (Landau) Lehmann, his brother Henry Lehmann, his grandson Rafi Lehmann, and his friend and companion Margot Strauss Garon.

He was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. His grandparents hailed from Germany, Alsace, and Galician Poland. Lehmann spent his childhood with his parents and brother in Leipzig, Germany, from where he began his family’s refugee journey from Nazi Germany. His family was forced to sell their egg distribution business, then they fled to Nice, France, in 1937. Because the quota for Germans immigrating to the U.S. was filled, from there, they went to Sao Paolo, Brazil, and after two years an opportunity opened up to go to the U.S. He and his family arrived in New Orleans in March 1941, and decided to stay in New Orleans.

Lehmann was educated in New Orleans schools, Fortier High School, and received his BA at Tulane (Phi Beta Kappa). After college, Lehmann taught economics at Southwestern Louisiana University and served as an educator in the U.S. Army before earning a law degree from Tulane (Order of the Coif) in 1949.

A New Orleans lawyer for over 70 years, specializing in tax, Lehmann joined his father-in-law Herman L. Midlo’s firm to form Midlo and Lehmann, later Lehmann, Norman and Marcus. Among his pro bono work was helping refugees and Holocaust survivors to seek reparations. For many years, he was an adjunct instructor at Tulane Law School in the fields of real estate and succession law.

He was a founder of the New Orleans Friends of Music in 1955 and a charter member of The Conservative Congregation of New Orleans, now Congregation Shir Chadash, in 1960. He served as president of both organizations. The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana honored him with its Young Family Award for Professional Excellence and Tzadakah Award. He was a fluent and voracious reader in several languages and a self-taught Judaic scholar, mentor and companion to generations of rabbis and lay people of the Jewish community. His Friday noon Talmud class, examining many aspects of classical Jewish law, met in his law offices for many years.

Two years after being widowed, Lehmann lost his Lakewood South home in Hurricane Katrina, but he returned to New Orleans a few short weeks later, moving Uptown and resuming his Jewish, legal and cultural activities. Late in life, he became a regular at the fitness center at the JCC, where he inspired younger people by his regular exercise program. He was respected by many and inspired many to remain active in many ways even in his tenth decade.

For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to Congregation Shir Chadash or the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana.

Interment at Chevra Thilim Memorial Gardens.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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obituaries

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Ted Roberts, 89, of Huntsville, died on March 2 after a brief illness.

A native of Memphis, in recent years he was known as the “Scribbler on the Roof,” publishing stories and columns in many Jewish and secular publications around the country.

He graduated from the University of Memphis and went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology from Iowa State University. Working for a number of defense contractors, he managed the implementation of missile defense projects. He lived all over the country and in Israel before settling in Huntsville in 1976.

But more than work, he was passionate about the world of words. He collected thousands of books, most of which he read. For the past 40 years, he wrote stories, poems, song lyrics, and a children’s book on the origin of numbers, “Oodles of Noodles.”

Roberts published his stories in a collection, “Scribbler on the Roof,” and can be found online at wonderwordworks.com.

His stories, usually humorous fables on Jewish themes, daily life and sports, were published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Forward, Hadassah magazine, Reader’s Digest, the Huntsville Times and numerous Jewish newspapers. His column ran weekly in the Hebrew Watchman in Memphis. For years, he read his humorous commentaries for WLRH, Huntsville’s public radio station.

A longtime member of Etz Chayim, he taught Bar and Bat Mitzvah lessons as a volunteer for over 35 years. He also volunteered at the Clearview Cancer Institute, where he had been a cancer patient. In addition, he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Roberts married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Goldberger Roberts, in 1951. Their first child, Bruce, died in 1971.

Besides his wife of 69 years, Roberts is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Reva Roberts, Memphis; son and daughter-in-law Russell and Sharon Roberts, Potomac, Md.; daughter and son-in-law Lisa Harris and Shawn Wood, Memphis; son and daughter-in-law Joe and Jennifer Roberts, Memphis, nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Services were held March 4 at the Sam Abraham Chapel, burial in Baron Hirsch Cemetery in Memphis. Memorials to Etz Chayim in Huntsville, or the Clearview Cancer Institute in Huntsville.

Rabbi Raphael Ostrovsky, 82, of Munster, Ind., passed away on May 3. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Cynthia Ostrovsky; his son, Joel (Julie) Ostrovsky, his daughters, Barbara Ostrovsky and Cara Klausner; grandchildren, Mitchell, Sammi, Noa, Ari, Talia, Max, Elliana, Mason and Nathan; sisters, Diane (late Joel) Simon and Judy (Louis) Morris; many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cantor Akiva and Helen Ostrovsky.

Ostrovsky was born in Jerusalem in 1938 and raised in Birmingham, where his father served as cantor for 36 years at Temple Beth-El. He received a Master’s Degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1962, and was ordained as a rabbi in 1965. For 11 years, he served two major congregations in New York. In 1976, he became the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Munster, where he served for 32 years. In June 1983 he did his doctoral studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary where he received his Doctorate of Ministry. He became rabbi emeritus on his retirement. Burial at Kneseth Israel Cemetery in Hammond, Ind. Memorials to Beth Israel or the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana.

As Southern Jewish Life resumes its print editions, we plan to start running obituaries for the region. Stay tuned for information on how to submit them.

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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Today’s briefing of the Cairo Virus Task Force — so named because the group is based in Cairo — quickly devolved into a question and answer rally. It was described by some as “spirited” in part because, thanks to the latest wave, by the end of the briefing several participants were no longer among the living.

Pharaoh began by citing the latest nationwide numbers from the crisis.

“We have done millions of tasks,” Pharaoh reported. “So many tasks. You wouldn’t believe the tasks. Anyone who wants a task, gets one.

“If you’re in Memphis and you want a task, you get one. Some people don’t want them so much. And that’s good, too. It’s all organized. We have task masters everywhere.”

When a reporter started asking a question, barely four words had come out when Pharaoh began to answer.

“Look, I drained the Nile,” said Pharaoh. “I got rid of all those whining toadies. Not my toadies, the other ones. But the media doesn’t talk about any of that because it makes me look good.

“Look at those pyramids. The biggest pyramids, the strongest pyramids. When I rose to power, one of my chariot captains, one of my many, many warriors, said to me, he said, ‘Sire.’ They call me Sire. ‘Sire, we just don’t have any pyramids.’

“So, what did I do? What did I do to save our great nation? I came up with the biggest, most beautiful pyramid scheme the world has ever known.”

When asked whether a pyramid scheme was in the best interest of the nation at this time, Pharaoh replied, “I never said pyramid scheme. Do your homework, don’t make up things I never said. But speaking of pyramids, have you seen how much progress we’re making on the construction I promised down in the desert?”

Yesterday’s unprecedented eastward wind, which lasted through the night, brought locusts numbering in the thousands of thousands. They quickly inundated the entire country.

“The hail is gone,” said Pharaoh, cutting off a reporter from the Cairo News Network. “Are you ready? You ready? You blamed me for the boils, and then came hail. It was beautiful hail, the biggest hail. And it washed the boils away. And you all hailed the hail… more than you hail me, but that’s okay. But instead of thanking me, you decided to complain about the hail.

“So, now the hail is gone and you’ve found something else. Nasty question. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

When asked about his administration’s response to the newly arrived locusts, Pharaoh said, “they’re bad, very bad. I saw 15 of them, but then I closed my eyes and they went down to zero. Of course, the fake news are saying ‘never before has there been such a plague of locusts, and there never will be again.’

“These murder locusts — some people call them that, you can call them that, or murder hornets, or flu — the fake news says they’re covering everything and eating everything. There’s no green. Nothing green left. I like green. I just don’t hear it. But they’ll be gone soon. They will

Don’t fall for the fake news, the plagues are under control…

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May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

community just go away.

“It will be like a miracle.”

Pharaoh didn’t provide any details on the source or nature of the miracle he predicts, instead falling back to what his administration previously did.

“We got rid of the vermin,” Pharaoh emphasized. “Everyone was complaining we needed something to get rid of the vermin. Drain the vermin. Look at what I did.

“Now we are the king of verminators,” said Pharaoh, once again trumpeting the still-inprogress response to the third plague, which weeks ago was already trumped by wild beasts and cattle disease before the more recent waves of boils, hail, and now locusts.

“It’s been just eight plagues,” recounted Pharaoh. “It could have been much more. They said it would be 2.2 million plagues. It’s been only eight. Do they thank me? No, but that’s okay.

But everyone is thanking me. Everyone knows who beat this Invisible Enemy.”

At this point, the room inexplicably went dark.

Doug Brook is a writer who is sheltering in place to avoid any impact from those who are out of place. To read past columns, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/rearpewmirror.

May 2020 • Southern Jewish Life

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