SJL Deep South, August 2015

Southern Jewish Life

OUR ANNUAL FOOD ISSUE MEET THE “DELI MAN” REMEMBERING KATRINA A JEWISH CAMP AT HOME IN ALABAMA CHAI MINDED SURPRISES PANAMA CITY August 2015

Volume 25 Issue 8

Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 130052 Birmingham, AL 35213 Above: Luck Be a Latke at Kenny & Ziggy’s in Houston. Story, page 25.

shalom y’all shalom shalomy’all y’all In the past two months, there have been three types of horrifying incidents. It is interesting to compare and contrast the reactions and how each is described.

On June 17, nine were killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. as a white gunman opened fire in the historic black church.

On July 16, a Muslim man killed five at a U.S. Navy reserve center in Chattanooga.

The third type came from two incidents of terrorism in Israel as we were going to press. An ultra-Orthodox man in Jerusalem who had recently had been released from jail after serving a sentence for stabbing three at a 2005 gay pride parade in Jerusalem returned to that parade and stabbed six. Hours later, two Palestinian homes in the territories were torched overnight, in what is being called a “price tag” attack, leading to the death of an 18-month-old in one of the fires.

Price tag attacks are vigilante actions by radicals who operate under the belief that attacks by Palestinians should be met with a violent action that shows there is a high “price tag” to pay for such attacks.

The Charleston attack was immediately — and accurately — seen as an act of racism. Immediately, the shooter’s background was scrutinized. What did he look at and write online?

What alliances did he have? What influences were there that led him down this path?

There was an immediate effort to purge the nation of Confederate battle flags, since that was seen as one of the items that he embraced. Now that has spread to Confederate monuments and anything named after someone involved with the Confederacy.

There was a great national soul-searching on how pervasive racism still is, and how society needs to change to prevent such hate crimes in the future.

Contrast that with the immediate reaction from the Chattanooga shooting.

When the shooter’s name was revealed, it was as if some media outlets were reluctant

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August2015 2015 March to say the name, since it sounded Muslim (one said it was an Arabic name but it was too early to determine if the shooter was Muslim).

For quite a while, it was “too early” to speculate about motivations, even though word was rapidly spreading about the Kuwaiti-born shooter’s online postings, his admiration for jihadists and downloads of speeches by al-Qaeda leaders, his lengthy travels to Jordan.

Let’s not jump to any conclusions.

Two weeks after the attack, U.S. Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson said the Chattanooga attack, and similar ones, are “violent extremism” and not “Islamic terrorism.” He said it is critical to not label it as Islamic, to “build trust” among Muslims.

Besides, the condescending mantra goes, if you call it Islamic terrorism, then the unsophisticated among us (bless their hearts) will get the idea that all Muslims are terrorists.

Immediately after the double-whammy of the parade attack in Jerusalem and the arson in Duma, near Nablus, pretty much everyone across the Jewish spectrum labeled both as terrorism.

The term “Jewish terrorism” was routinely used in coverage of the attacks and in descriptions by those condemning it.

President Reuven Rivlin issued his statement in Hebrew and Arabic and said Israel had not done enough to deal with Jewish terrorism.

Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog wrote about “Jewish terrorists, who endanger us exactly like their brothers — Islamist terrorists.”

Johnson said one should not label terrorism

by Muslims as Islamic because Islam is about peace.

And Judaism is about what, exactly? While we may cringe, we have no problem in calling out those from our own ranks who engage in such acts. Only by dealing with their motivations — their twisted, fanatical ideologies and those who teach such desecrations — can one begin to address the problem.

As for not lumping together an entire group for the actions of extremists, Hamas announced that all Israelis are legitimate targets after the arson attack. Not that they needed an excuse.

Chloe Valdary noted that while she mourns for the Palestinian toddler, she can’t shake the nagging thoughts about how things would be if it were a Jewish infant and a Palestinian arsonist.

International condemnation would be scarce. Excuses and justifications would be made for the arsonist’s motives. He would become a folk hero, candy would be distributed in the streets, he perhaps would even have parks named after him.

4 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

But this was the other way around, and as always, Jewish groups have been tripping over each other to get to the microphones and condemn what happened, and rightly so.

It must also be said that many Muslim groups in our region condemned what happened in Chattanooga.

The focus here is on how the motives, background and ideology of the Charleston shooter and the Duma arsonists are immediately explored, along with the environments that produced them, while so many want to take a hands-off approach and ignore those questions when it comes to the Chattanooga shooter.

There is a term for treating groups of people differently, holding them to different standards of conduct and decency…

What, then, of the Lafayette theater shooter? Very little was made of his background.

Except for the immediate area, that story fell off the national radar quickly. It may be because “only” two were killed (which in places like Chicago would be considered a quiet evening), or that there was no targeting of any particular group, just whoever happened to be there at the time.

Clearly, he had mental issues. That said, there was almost no mention of his odd rants, which included how he felt blacks in the U.S. are part of an “alliance of evil” destroying the country, a role that he also said is usually played by Jews in the rest of the world. But he admired Latinos and Muslims because they are “industrious.”

Regardless, he wasn’t targeting blacks or Jews at the theater, so nothing to see here, let’s all move on to the debate over guns in America.

Admittedly, we Jews do think of ourselves as trying to uphold a higher standard, as the Hebrew National commercials go. That’s not just for ourselves — the hope is that by setting an example, everyone else will up their ethical game.

What happened in Charleston, Chattanooga, Lafayette, Jerusalem and Duma are all tragedies and are all to be condemned.

The last two hit us harder because the perpetrators came from our ranks, using justifications that pervert our core beliefs. They have been correctly called desecrations of the Divine name, against everything that the Jewish people stand for.

Our mission in this world is to increase peace and understanding, not to spread hatred.

Larry Brook EDITOR/PUBLISHER

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Southern Jewish Life PUBLISHER/EDITOR Lawrence M. Brook editor@sjlmag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING Lee J. Green lee@sjlmag.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ginger Brook ginger@sjlmag.com WEB EDITOR Eugene Walter Katz eugene@sjlmag.com PHOTOGRAPHER-AT-LARGE Rabbi Barry C. Altmark deepsouthrabbi.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER Doug Brook brookwrite.com

shalom y’a

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agenda interesting bits & can’t miss events

Morning line-up at Camp Darom, an Orthodox sleeep-away camp that made its home in Blount County, Ala., this summer. Story, page 15.

BHEC to honor Friedmans, Holocaust educators at L’Chaim event The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s second annual L’Chaim mination camps and have seen, first hand, the machinery of mass death. gala will mark 70 years since the liberation of Europe, and honor Brenda As a Christian, what I saw was hugely impactful.”

Noting the education work that BHEC does, Krulak noted “The miliand Fred Friedman for their support of BHEC. “Honoring Holocaust Educators” will present innovative ways teachers tary has a saying, ‘Training is preparation for the expected, and Education are doing Holocaust education in classrooms around the state. The Friedmans will be recognized for funding scholarships for Alabama teachers to attend advanced training programs and seminars in New York, Washington, Europe and Israel.

The event will be Aug. 23 at 2:30 p.m., at the Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

The keynote speaker will be Gen. Charles Krulak, who recently retired as president of Birmingham-Southern College. Krulak was Commandant of the U.S. Marines and a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After some time in the business world, he became president of Birmingham-Southern at a time when the college was reeling from a financial crisis. He took no salary and lived with students in one of the dorms.

Last month, he also became leader of a Birmingham Jewish Federation initiative, “A Time to Respond,” a mentoring, leadership training program in Israel advocacy and combatting anti-Semitism, especially on campuses across the region.

Krulak has developed close Pastor Milton Saffold joined Interim Rabbi Dana Kaplan for Shabbat ties with the Birmingham Jew- services at Springhill Avenue Temple on July 17. Saffold, of Stone ish community, and his paternal Street Baptist Church in Mobile, spoke about racial reconciliation grandfather was Jewish. days after Nelle Harper Lee’s book, “Go Set a Watchman,” was reRecently, Krulak wrote “I leased. This was the first in an anticipated series of guest speakers have visited several of the exter- on a range of topics this year.

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 5

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The program will include a dramatic reading of “What We Saw: In The Words of the Liberators.” The piece is written by Deborah Layman, who wrote last year’s presentation “Slippery Slope.” The piece is based on first-person accounts of concentration camp liberators from Alabama — George Mitnick of Jasper and Travis Ray Carter of Gravel Springs, near Hamilton.

The reading by members of The Seasoned Performers will include music by Alan Goldspiel and Cantor Jessica Roskin.

There will also be performances by local Gen. Charles Krulak recording artist Gabriel Tajeu and the Birmingham Community Mass Choir. A dessert reception will follow.

Tickets are $50, $25 for students, and are available online at lchaim. swellgives.com.

Fultondale students donate model of Auschwitz to BHEC After meeting local Holocaust survivor Max Steinmetz, four students from Fultondale High School near Birmingham — Kynslee Cummings, Kayla Oden, Nicole Ridley, and DeAnna Talley — were inspired to build a model of a concentration camp based on Steinmetz’s experiences at Auschwitz.

Their teacher, Chris Campbell, is a member of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s Teacher Cadre and has been a recipient of the BHEC Friedman Scholarship Program. He brings his class to the BHEC office each year on a field trip.

The students built the model outside of class as their own project, not as an assignment or for class credit. They gave it to Campbell at the end of the school year and told him they wanted to donate it to BHEC, where it will be displayed.

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The Men’s Club at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery will have Biscuits Day at the ballpark, Aug. 9 at 5:30 p.m., in the Aronov suite. Reservations are required, and are $15.

Members of Beth Israel in Gulfport will check out the new MGM Park with an outing to see the Biloxi Shuckers play, Aug. 24 at 6:40 p.m. Group ticket information is available from Beth Israel.

Knesseth Israel in Birmingham will have a Wake Up to the Shofar welcome back barbecue lunch on Aug. 16. The group will meet at the Ruffner Ball Fields on Ruffner Road, just behind downtown Irondale, at 10 a.m. There will be a hike and the blowing of the first shofar of the year in a natural setting, followed by lunch.

Beth Israel Sisterhood in Jackson will have its annual brunch, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m., at the home of Robyn Pollack.

Temple Beth Or in Montgomery will have a Night of Fun hotdog dinner and Bingo on Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. The $10 admission includes dinner and two beverage tickets. Bingo cards are $5, and additional beverages are $2. Reservations are requested by Aug. 13.

Ahavas Chesed in Mobile is restarting its Gan Shalom preschool.

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge will have its End of Summer Pool Party on Aug. 16 at the Bocage Racquet Club, from noon to 2 p.m.

The next Nite on the Town for Beth Shalom in Fort Walton Beach will be on Aug. 29 at 5:45 p.m. at Joey’s Italian Grill and Bar in Niceville.

Reservations are requested by Aug. 26.

The L’Chayim League will have a summer champagne luncheon on Aug. 30 at 12:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Musicians Kurt McKinney and Barbara Blanks will entertain. Reservations are $16 by Aug. 23.

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The Ahavas Chesed Sisterhood in Mobile is being revived, with the charge being led by Jean Harper and Manette Silberman. A questionnaire is being sent to all of the congregation’s women, looking for input and suggestions. There will be a wine and cheese reception on Sept. 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. as a kickoff to the revived group.

B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge will have an open house and Sunday brunch on Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., for members and those who might be interested in membership.

The Sisterhood at Temple Beth Or in Montgomery is reopening its gift shop with a wine and cheese reception on Aug. 28 at 5 p.m., before Shabbat services. Raffle tickets will be given to customers for every $10 spent.

The eighth annual Temple Beth-El Poker Tournament in Pensacola will be on August 15. The event will be held at 800 Silver Strand Court, Gulf Breeze, a change from the original announcement. Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. and no-limit hold’em play begins at 6 p.m. The buy-in is $100 for the first 100 who pre-register, or $110 at the door. Re-buys of $100 are taken until 8 p.m. Registration and re-buys are for $3,000 in chips, and there will be a one-time add-on of $5,000 in chips at 8:15 p.m. for $100.

There will be free food and a cash bar. The top nine players will receive non-monetary prizes, with first place being a Large Green Egg and second place being a flat-screen television.

Beth Israel in Gulfport will have a general membership meeting on Aug. 23 at 4:30 p.m. with a speaker from the Jewish Federations of North America.

The Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham is hosting a Pancake and Pajamas breakfast in the LJCC auditorium on Aug. 16 from 8 to 10 a.m. The community is invited to attend — in pajamas.

Thousands of gifts are wrapped by volunteers in New Orleans, and 200 to 250 individuals will receive a bag of at least eight gender, age and interest-specific gifts.

Planning ahead: JCRS registering Chanukah program recipients Though the High Holy Days are still weeks away, Jewish Children’s Regional Service is looking ahead to Chanukah.

The New Orleans-based agency is now registering Jewish children, youth and institutionalized adults for complimentary Chanukah gifts.

Typical recipients are children and youth from families who cannot afford gifts, are socially isolated, or are dealing with individual or family challenges. This year, Jewish families affected by recent flooding in Texas and Oklahoma are also encouraged to apply.

Families and individuals must live in the states that JCRS serves, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. In recent years, 200 to 250 overall recipients have received gifts.

All recipients receive at least eight small, wrapped age and gender appropriate gifts, one gift for each night of Hanukkah. Typical gifts range from stuffed animals, books and toys for younger children, to books, jewelry, grooming and travel supplies, sporting goods and school and art supplies for older youth. Some gifts carry Hanukkah or Jewish themes.

Institutionalized adults receive gifts based on needs and descriptions of interests.

All parents and guardians must fill out and submit a registration form where there is space to check off sample gifts or write in a child’s or adult’s overall interests.

Early registration helps ensure priority consideration on gifts, as thousands of gifts must be acquired, sorted, bagged, wrapped, re-sorted by family and shipped by mid-November.

Recently, JCRS announced the Chanukah Gift Program has been named for the late Oscar B. Tolmas, whose Trust made a significant gift to support the program. The agency accepts cash donations, but is very selective regarding what new, actual gifts it can accept as donations for distribution.

Registration forms are available by emailing ned@jcrs.org, or by calling (800) 729 5277.

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This isn’t New Orleans 2005 — it’s Houston, June 2015, following the late May flood that affected an area where much of Houston’s Jewish community lives.

NOLA community aids Houston The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans announced that it had raised a total of $52,470 for flood relief in Houston.

Much of New Orleans’ Jewish community took refuge in Houston in 2005 after the levees broke. In late May, heavy rains of up to 11 inches in one night led to flooding in parts of Houston, with two synagogues flooded and many in the Jewish community losing everything.

The damage at United Orthodox Syagogues of Houston topped $1 million, and an estimated 500 Jewish homes were damaged.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston is planning on an 18-month recovery, at a cost of $3.5 million.

The New Orleans contribution includes $27,470 from donors throughout Louisiana. The Force Family offered matching funds of $2,000, and the Goldring and Woldenberg Family Foundations did a match of up to $25,000.

Free Rick Recht concert in Birmingham A pioneer of Jewish rock music will be in concert in Birmingham on Aug. 15.

Rick Recht will perform at a free community show at the Levite Jewish Community Center, starting at 8:30 p.m. with Havdalah.

Recht plays over 150 concerts a year and is the national music spokesman for PJ Library. He is also the founder and executive director of Jewish Rock Radio, which is available online and on an app.

He shared the stage with acts including the Guess Who, Chris Rock, America, Supertramp and Three Dog Night. He released two acclaimed secular albums, then shifted to Jewish music in 1999. Now he is artist-in-residence at United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis.

He also founded Songleader Boot Camp, a leadership training program for clergy, Jewish educators, religious school teachers and song leaders. Recht plays at Jewish day and overnight camps from coast to coast including Ramah, URJ, BBYO, JCC and private camps garnering a feverish following among the national Jewish youth movements.

The evening is organized by Robin and Hilton Berger in celebration of their children’s B’nai Mitzvah that morning at Temple Emanu-El, Mason, Adison and Kyra. Additional support comes from the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, LJCC and N.E. Miles Jewish Day School.

10 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

Ten years later: New Orleans Jewish community remembering the storm When word came down to evacuate New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, most in the Jewish community figured they would be away for a few days at most.

Instead, the entire community was uprooted as the levees failed and the city was inundated with floodwaters. It took weeks for parts of the city to reopen, and in the parts that did reopen, services were extremely limited. A few days turned into weeks, months — and a large percentage never went back.

Those who returned began a years-long odyssey to rebuild, in the Jewish community and in greater New Orleans. They were joined by a wave of idealists attracted by the idea of helping resurrect a city that is unlike Beth Israel in Lakeview was flooded, and the Torahs later had to be any other in America. buried with hundreds of other unusable Judaic items As the 10th anniversary approaches, the Jewish community is holding several programs to look back — and look forward. recognize community leaders and professionals who contributed to the rebuilding effort.

The Jewish community commemoration will be “The New New OrAfter that part of the program, there will be a kosher New Orleans leans: Celebrating Strength and Community,” Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. at the meal, with jambalaya, brisket debris po-boys, Cajun corn and potatoes, Uptown Jewish Community Center. and other treats, catered by Kosher Cajun.

The Uptown JCC served as a FEMA staging area for several months Entertainment will be by Sunpie and the Louisiana Sun Spots. Regulars after Katrina. at JazzFest, Sunpie and his band combine the musical styles of Blues, CaThere will be a brief commemoration by the New Orleans Rabbinic ribbean, Gospel, Funk, Zydeco and West African rhythms. They call their Council. Bobby Garon, who was president of the Jewish Federation of music “Bouje Bouje,” meaning to move, and it’s tailor-made for dancing.

Greater New Orleans before Katrina, will speak, as will Allan Bissinger, The event is free and open to the community, sponsored by the 19 local who became Federation president immediately after Katrina. They will Jewish organizations and synagogues.

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 11

community As part of the evening, school supplies and other items are being requested for at-risk youth in the community, through the Youth Empowerment Project. A “wish list” is on the JCC and Federation websites.

Beth Israel, the only synagogue in New Orleans that had to completely rebuild after the flood, will have a Katrina at 10 weekend from Aug. 21 to 23. Rabbi Uri Topolosky and family will be visiting from Maryland.

Topolosky arrived in New Orleans the summer of 2007, leaving in mid2013 to become rabbi of Beth Joshua in Maryland and rav ha-Kehillah at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, where he is an alumnus.

During his tenure in New Orleans, the congregation met at Gates of Prayer, and also combined with Shir Chadash on programming, drawing international attention as a model of cooperation among Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations.

Beth Israel’s new building was dedicated in August 2012, next door to Gates of Prayer.

On Aug. 21 there will be a Shabbat service at 7 p.m., followed by Shabbat dinner. Reservations are due by Aug. 18, and are $18 for members, $9 for children over 5. For non-members, it is $25 per person, $18 for children.

On Aug. 22, the 9 a.m. Shabbat service will be followed by a Kiddush sponsored by the congregation’s past presidents. At 7 pm., there will be a Seudah Shlishi sponsored by the Sisterhood, followed by Ma’ariv and a musical Havdalah.

On Aug. 23, there will be a memorial service at the Beth Israel cemetery at 10 a.m. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a commemorative dinner and presentation, “Ten Years Forward: An Evening of Retrospection and Vision.” Reservations are $54, with sponsorships at $180. A portion of each ticket will be donated to the United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston for flood relief.

Gates of Prayer in Metairie will host a Katrina remembrance at the final joint Reform Shabbat service of the summer, held with Temple Sinai and Touro Synagogue on Aug. 28 at 6:15 p.m.

Sinai Rabbi Edward Cohn will speak about what happened, Gates of Prayer Rabbi Robert Loewy will address the response, and Touro Rabbi Alexis Berk will reflect on where the community is today.

Cantors Joel Colman and David Mintz will be joined by Cantorial Soloist Victoria May in providing music for the evening.

“Katrina’s 10th anniversary will be somewhat like a yahrzeit,” Loewy said. “It will mark a point in time of loss. For many there will be hurt and sadness, as we remember those difficult and challenging times. Yet with the advantage of perspective we can also feel a sense of triumph, knowing that we successfully built upon that experience.”

At B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, the 10th anniversary will be marked at Shabbat services on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m., with prayers “for those who suffered loss” and gratitude “for the strength and courage to recover.”

Commemorations kicked off in June with a panel at Touro Synagogue about women’s leadership during the hurricane and beyond, and the state of Jewish women’s leadership in New Orleans today.

The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Archive, Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, and included clips from the Archive’s oral history collection, “Katrina’s Jewish Voices.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans scheduled a Jewish Community Service Project Day on Aug. 9, with dozens of volunteers working with the St. Bernard Project to help rebuild several homes in Orleans Parish.

In early August, Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans hosted a reflection and discussion group for those dealing with stress and emotions connected to the 10th anniversary. Groups were led by Stephanie Crowder, LPC, LMFT and Chenoa Moten, Social Work Intern. JFS was a lead agency in distributing aid and assistance to those in need for months and even years following the storm.

12 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

Above: Hurricane Katrina’s damage to Beth Israel in Biloxi. Below, the congregation’s new building, much further inland in Gulfport.

Mississippi community taking low-key approach to Katrina anniversary For Brad Kessie, the president of Beth Israel in Gulfport, the Hurricane Katrina 10th anniversary “can come and go as quickly as possible.”

Beth Israel will mark the anniversary at its Aug. 28 Shabbat service.

The first part of the service will be held at the congregation’s former location, the corner of Camellia Street and Southern Avenue in Biloxi, at 7 p.m., then proceed to the new location in Gulfport for the rest of the service and a special Oneg.

Storm surge from Katrina flattened structures along the Mississippi coast, often leaving just a concrete slab. Beth Israel was two blocks from the beach, and while the building still stood, much of the brick façade was peeled away and water that flooded in made the building a moldy, unusable mess.

One month later, Rosh Hashanah services were held at Keesler Air Force Base, the first services since the storm. The congregation met at Beauvoir United Methodist Church until a new building — several miles inland in Gulfport — was completed in April 2009.

Kessie said the congregation, Mississippi’s only Conservative congregation, had about 65 members before Katrina. At the time of the dedication, there were about 45 members, currently about 50 families are members.

Many older members passed away soon after Katrina, losing some of the congregation’s institutional memory, but Beth Israel has “more children at this point than we did before, which is exciting.”

The new building has many items rescued from the old building, including the Tree of Life, some of the stained glass windows and the Ten Commandments that hung over the entrance of the old building. “We have enough of the past sprinkled in that we haven’t lost too much of who we were, but at the same time we’re moving forward.”

Many in the congregation lost their homes in Katrina, but after 10 years “everybody has been able to put their lives back together,” Kessie said. “We don’t think much about Katrina any more. It’s there. It’s always in our minds but we don’t talk about it.”

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 13

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community Congregations offer introductory classes The annual Introduction to Basic Judaism class at Temple Sinai in New Orleans will kick off on Aug. 23. Rabbi Edward Cohn teaches the 20 informal 75-minute classes on Sundays at 9 a.m. There is no charge, and the classes are open to anyone interested in exploring Judaism, including interfaith couples, those considering conversion, and Jews who are looking for a refresher into the faith of their birth. Classes will include Jewish theology, prayer, holiday observances and life cycle rituals. Registration is requested through the Temple Sinai office.

ReJewvenation will meet this year at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham. Taught by Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller, the class is open to Jews who want to understand their heritage better, committed Christians who want to learn about Judaism, interfaith couples and those exploring conversion to Judaism. The classes meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the LJCC, except for an Oct. 22 session at Emanu-El where Cantor Jessica Roskin will lead a session on Jewish music, worship and ritual objects. Sessions start on Aug. 20 and run to Nov. 5, with a reunion on Jan. 7 at Emanu-El. Registration is through the Emanu-El office.

Basic J, the Introduction to Judaism class at Gates of Prayer in Metairie, starts on Aug. 5 and meets on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. throughout the year. The course is taught by Rabbi Robert Loewy and Rabbi Alexis Pinsky, and is open to all interested in learning primary beliefs and practices in Judaism, especially those interested in being supportive of a Jewish family or conversion.

Rabbi Jordan Goldson will be teaching Intermediate Hebrew at B’nai Israel, Baton Rouge, on Wednesdays from Aug. 19 to Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.

The class will include Hebrew grammar and verb forms, and is for those who know some Hebrew but want to be on a higher level. Fee is $36 for members, $65 for non-members, plus $35 materials fee for those who do not already own the textbook.

Barbara DiBartolo is teaching a Hebrew Crash Course at Temple Sinai in Lake Charles. The first semester is Aug. 15 to Dec. 19, with the second semester from Jan. 3 to May 28. The class meets from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and there is a maximum enrollment of 10 students. The class is for adults with little to no Hebrew reading experience, or those who want to reinforce their Hebrew skills.

Independent Presbyterian celebrating centennial — at Temple Emanu-El On Aug. 28, Birmingham’s Independent Presbyterian Church is hosting an Oneg Shabbat as part of its centennial celebration.

The oneg will follow the 5:40 p.m. service at Temple Emanu-El. The church’s centennial committee stated it is to recognize that the church’s history began in 1915 in Emanu-El’s sanctuary. “We could not have done it without our friends in faith at Temple Emanu-El.” In 1915, Rev. Henry Edmonds resigned from South Highland Presbyterian Church, which is across the street from Emanu-El. South Highlands had met at Emanu-El in 1914 while the church building was being completed.

Rabbi Mayer Newfield urged Edmonds to remain in Birmingham, and with some church members urging Edmonds to form a new church, Newfield offered Emanu-El as a meeting place.

Because of World War I, it took seven years before Independent Presbyterian could establish a permanent home, with a parting gift from Emanu-El of two seven-branched menorahs.

In 1992, there was a fire at Independent Presbyterian. While firefighters battled the flames, Emanu-El representatives showed up to invite church officials to “come home” to Emanu-El during the building’s restoration, which they did.

Camp Darom finds new home in Alabama For years, Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi have been home to Jewish sleepaway summer camps. For the first time, Alabama has joined the list.

On July 8, about 60 campers from across the region made their way to northern Blount County, about 15 minutes from Oneonta, for this year’s session of Camp Darom. A banner declaring “Camp Darom Our Second Home” hangs on the fence by the softball field.

A project of Baron Hirsch in Memphis, Camp Darom was founded by Rabbi Rafael Grossman in 1976. This summer, the camp’s session runs from July 8 to Aug. 3 at the Woodmen of the World Camp.

For the last few years, the camp has been located near Grenada, Miss. The camp rents a facility each summer, and last fall asked facilities for proposals.

Camp Director Rabbi Avichai Pepper said “we’re a camp that serves the Southern Jewish community, so any place in the South works.”

Rabbi Mordechai Harris, the camp’s educational director, and business director David Fleischhacker toured potential sites in February.

Harris said this camp was well-maintained and had a lot to offer. Their previous site was

more rustic. “Compared to our last space, this is kind of a hotel.”

Pepper noted the ropes course and the immensely popular long water slide, adding that though the location is further from their home base in Memphis, it is more centrally located for the communities they serve. “It’s really a great spot.”

Setting up the site for a kosher, Shabbatobservant camp wasn’t a huge challenge. Pepper said the kitchen wasn’t difficult to kasher, and setting up an eruv was not a big deal. The camp was already fenced on two sides, and he ran thick pink fishing line along the other sides.

In the first week of camp, though, a large owl got stuck in the eruv, and a massive windstorm blew a tree onto another section of it the night before their camping trip.

Many camps in the region are run by Christian groups and have Christian symbols throughout, but this one is non-sectarian.

Pepper said there is room to expand their enrollment by 20 or 30 campers. With staff and families, there are about 95 at camp this summer.

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community and an emphasis on Israel, including an IDF training day that included basic self-defense classes.

While there are some activities that take place every day, Pepper said campers “never know what to expect.” There are daily services and Torah study, but there are also classes in everything from knitting to rugby to juggling. Naturally, there are plenty of sports, swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts and singing.

Evening activities vary, with the older campers staying up later and often doing sports-based activities, including capture the flag in the dark, or night volleyball with balls that have LEDs in them.

After the traditional weekday morning service, the entire camp lines up in front of three flagpoles, with the U.S., Israeli and Alabama flags.

After the Pledge of Allegiance and Hatikvah, they sing the camp song, which includes “Camp Darom in Alabama, a second home for me and you,” before going in for breakfast.

Naturally, Shabbat takes on its own festive atmosphere.

Rising third through seventh graders come as traditional campers. For rising eighth and ninth graders there is Teen X-Treme, which includes overnight trips. Rising 10th graders become staff assistants, and rising 11th and 12th graders can become junior counselors or other staff positions.

Side trips this summer have included an afternoon at Regions Field in Birmingham to watch the Barons play and a camping overnight in Cleveland, Tenn., after visiting the Paper Clips Holocaust memorial in Whitwell, followed the next day by whitewater rafting.

In 2012, their proximity to the Reform movement’s Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica allowed for a joint Independence Day celebration. The camps have played each other annually in basketball, but Darom’s new home is over five hours away from Jacobs, making the trip impractical.

“We’re looking for another victim,” Pepper said, then he admitted that Jacobs usually is victorious. But “this was our year to win,” he lamented.

He is looking to approach some of the Jewish camps in northern Georgia. Geoff Menkowitz, director of the Conservative movement’s Ramah Darom near Clayton, Ga., commented, “bring it on!”

Pepper has been camp director since 2008 and his wife, Alanna, is camp administrator. During the year, Pepper is Director of Student Programming for the Lower School at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Md. Pepper is also the rabbi of the Teen and Youth Minyan at Young Israel Shomrai Emunah .

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As Ramah Darom, the Conservative movement’s summer camp and retreat center in north Georgia, celebrates its 18th year, it has launched a VISION 2020 Capital Campaign.

“The goal of the campaign is to garner financial support for expanded programming and facility enhancements that will enable us to accommodate more people in our programs and meet our community’s needs,” said Sharon Rosenfeld, Ramah Darom Development Director. “The Vision 2020 Capital Campaign will ensure we have an even stronger impact on the future.”

The campaign has a goal of $5 million, with $2 million raised before the announcement.

Facility enhancements will include a basketball court and programming pavilion on the Mountainside campus; a lake house for changing rooms, shelter and storage for equipment; and a new guest lodge for senior camp leadership, to house expansion of Family Camp and other special events, and for year-round retreats.

The campaign will also benefit the new, inclusive Tikvah program for teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A new Tikvah House will be designed specifically for those campers.

In addition to summer camp, the facility is used year-round for conferences, Shabbatons, winter family camp and a Passover retreat that attracts hundreds.

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 17

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The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta announced that it is the new home for Savannah’s Jewish archives.

The Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History will house the substantial collection of approximately 175 linear feet of material, 6,000 photographs and 150 oral histories all pertaining to Savannah and the greater Chatham County Jewish Community from the 1750s to the present.

This addition increases the size of the current Breman Museum archives by approximately 20 percent.

Gottlieb’s Kosher Delicatessen, Savannah. Gottlieb’s Savannah is one of the most histor- was located at Whitaker and Duffy streets, before movic Jewish communities in the United ing to Bull and 43nd streets, and was one of several States. When the original group of locally owned Jewish delis.

Jewish immigrants arrived in 1733, Savannah became the largest Jewish settlement is the ultimate win-win. Savannah’s tremendous in the New World. Established in 1735, Mickve historical documents will gain a broader audiIsrael was the third Jewish congregation estab- ence and the Breman will be able to tell a more lished in what would become the United States, comprehensive story of Jewish life in Georgia.” though a building was not erected until 1820. says the Breman Museum’s Collections ComThe Savannah Jewish Archives and Savannah mittee Chair, Judith Taylor. “There are so many Jewish Federation, in an effort to increase access families in Atlanta that have Savannah roots and to their holdings, began a search for an appro- vice versa. We’re proud and honored to have this priate venue. After an extensive review process collection as a jewel in our crown.” the Breman was selected. “After much deliberTo ensure the future of the Archives, the ation” stated Kaye Kole, one of the founders of Breman has established the Savannah Jewish the Savannah Jewish Archives, “we determined Archives Fund to address expenses related that the logical choice was the Breman Museum to the preservation, processing, digitization, in Atlanta which collects Jewish historical items promotion and growth of the collection. Kole from all over the state of Georgia.” commented, “We would like to maintain our Jeremy Katz, Director of the Cuba Family Ar- membership base, with money going toward chives at the Breman, commented “The Breman the costs of maintaining and growing the colMuseum will provide Jewish oversight to the col- lection.” She has encouraged those in Savannah lection in a facility where it will be a major ad- to continue to support the Archives with memdition. It will be highly regarded and publicized berships or make contributions in honor or in and featured in exhibitions highlighting Jewish memory of others. contributions to the history of Georgia. AddiOnce the Breman integrates the Savannah tionally the collection will be made available to material into its own archives, the museum researchers, genealogists, scholars, historians hopes to draw upon the collection for in-house and students in Georgia and around the world.” exhibitions and programs as well as on-line exBreman Board members Judith Taylor, Lau- hibitions so these critical stories of Jewish hisra Dinerman and Jerry Rosenberg guided this tory from the South can be explored by people process over the last eight months. “We feel this around the world.

For continuing coverage of Katrina at 10 events and background Go to our Website, sjlmag.com Additional coverage will also be in the September print edition

community Anonymous Chai Minded adds Panama City to list of recipient congregations Chai Minded went to the beach.

In July, Panama City’s Temple B’nai Israel received a contribution from the anonymous donor who travels the country visiting Jewish congregations. When he or she finds a welcoming congregation, from Reform to Orthodox to Chabad, a donation follows. Currently, the checks are for $10,368, or 576 times Chai.

According to the Chai Minded website, the contributions are large enough to be useful but small enough in case they are not used wisely.

It is anonymous and each congregation is eligible only once because “in the past I have made a few large donations that were misspent” and the more one gives to a charity, the more the donor is pressured to give down the road.

“Chai Minded can be an effective model for Jewish philanthropy, if one is willing to give up name recognition.”

Chai Minded writes that “In my experience each synagogue is unique, but they all provide a spiritual haven and comforting community for members and guests. I want to help as many of these communities as possible.”

This month, the Panama City congregation will discuss what to do with the “windfall,” whether to put it in a rainy day fund, put it toward a new ark, expand on-site time for visiting rabbis or some other use.

President Sarah Farkas asked the congregation, “What pressing needs does our small Jewish community have that we were not able to address because we lacked the funds?”

In early 2014, Tuscaloosa’s Temple Emanu-El was a recipient. At that time, there had been 81 congregations that had received a donation.

As of late July 2015, that number was 193. Several Florida congregations have been recipients but B’nai Israel is currently the only one in the panhandle.

In Alabama, the congregations receiving contributions are B’nai Israel, Florence; Etz Chayim, Huntsville; Ahavas Chesed, Mobile; Chabad of Alabama in Birmingham; and Tuscaloosa’s Emanu-El. In Arkansas, Etz Chayim in Bentonville, Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas in Fayetteville and House of Israel in Hot Springs received donations.

Georgia recipients include Young Israel of Toco Hills, Atlanta; Temple Israel, Columbus; B’nai Israel, Fayetteville; Rodeph Sholom, Rome; and Temple Israel Valdosta Hebrew Congregation.

Louisiana recipients are Gemiluth Chassodim, Alexandria; B’nai Israel, Monroe and B’nai Zion, Shreveport. Mississippi congregations are Beth Israel in Jackson and the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

In Tennessee, B’nai Zion in Chattanooga and Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth in Memphis are listed.

The visits are done anonymously and the gifts follow some time later.

Panama City’s only advance notification came when the congregation’s treasurer was asked to verify the congregation’s non-profit status. There is no application process.

“We will have no problem meeting the donor’s requirement to use the gift for the betterment of our shul and members,” Farkas said.

Carol Kleinman of House of Israel in Hot Springs said their donation last year enabled the 65-family congregation to accomplish much-needed roof repairs.

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 19

features “Deli Man,” Israeli documentary among Sidewalk offerings

by Lee J. Green Several films with Jewish connections will screen at Birmingham’s 17th annual Sidewalk Film Festival, Aug. 28 to 30, including “Do You Believe In Love?,” “Stinking Heaven” and “Deli Man” (see page 25).

“Do You Believe In Love” is a documentary directed by Israeli Dan Wasserman and produced by Barak Heymann. It centers on a matchmaker named Tova, who is paralyzed because of muscular dystrophy, but she has had great success finding perfect matches for people with disabilities.

People flock to her apartment in Israel where her husband, daughter and housekeeper weigh in as she divines matches. Tova offers a tough-love approach but her passion for her work is undeniable. The film is dePhoto courtesy Heymann Brothers Films scribed as “funny, heartwarming and endlessly entertaining.”

Wasserman said he met Tova more than 10 years ago while working as a journalist on a story about the rights of the disabled. This is the first documentary film he has made, and it has been screened at numerous Jewish film festivals around the world. It will be at the ASFA Black Box Theater on Aug. 29 at 1:35 p.m.

“Hers is a very interesting story that I am happy to be able to tell through film,” said Wasserman, a native of Haifa who still lives in the Mount Carmel section of the city. “She tells her clients she doesn’t believe in love, but it was easy to see the love she shared with her husband and all the people she matched up who found love.”

He said there were some challenges to making his first film, but he culled upon his journalism experience to hash it out. “I am lucky to have an experienced producer in Barak to guide me and to distribute and promote the film,” said Wasserman. “You could say this was a labor of love for me.”

His next film will be a documentary that explores dying and how humor can help people to cope, called “The Last Lesson.”

Also featured at Sidewalk will be Jewish filmmaker Nathan Silver’s latest narrative feature “Stinking Heaven,” at the ASFA Lecture Hall, Aug. 29 at 3:45 p.m. Set in the early 1990s and shot on lo-fi video of the era, this raw ensemble piece goes inside the walls of a suburban safe house for recovering addicts, where rituals and reenactments serve as group therapy and residents share a boundless intimacy.

When the arrival of a mysterious new member disrupts order at the commune, the ever-encroaching handheld camera bears witness to its turbulent demise.

This is Silver’s sixth film. His “Uncertain Terms” made it into Sidewalk in 2014, and his mother won an acting award for her appearance in it.

His parents’ experiences on an ashram in update New York in the 1960s influenced the idea for “Stinking Heaven.”

“There is something unique about that communal living and the variants that go into it. I wanted to do something that showed people with ideals and how they deal with those ideals getting crushed. It is like things are every day, even if their daily living environments wouldn’t be classified as normal,” said Silver, 32, who is originally from Massachusetts.

Silver wanted to be a poet and spent a year in France before realizing he could best pursue his education, career and dreams in the U.S. He started out at New York University learning to be a playwright until a professor recommended he go into screenwriting. “I wrote, directed and produced my first film just after graduating from NYU and haven’t looked back.”

20 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

food & dining an annual SJL special section

A display case at Three Brothers’ Braeswood location

Rising from the Holocaust, Three Brothers deliver a sweet legacy in Houston A fixture of Houston’s Jewish community is Three Brothers Bakery, named for twin brothers Sigmund and Sol Jucker, and Max Jucker.

While Three Brothers Bakery is a fifth-generation family business going back 190 years, most of its history hasn’t been in Houston — it was a history interrupted by the Holocaust.

On May 8, 1945, the brothers were liberated from Waldenburg concentration camp, and exactly four years to the day after that, Three Brothers opened on Holman Street in Houston, relocating to its current Braeswood location in 1960.

The family business began in Chrzanow, Poland, around 1825 in a building where Naploeon had spent the night. Bobby Jucker, the son of Sigmund and the fifth generation owner of Three Brothers, said his family wasn’t in the building when Napoleon was there, “but that was their claim to fame.”

The Polish bakery was last known as Morris Jucker’s Bakery. In 1932, when Sigmund and Sol were 10, they went to work in the bakery because of a bakers’ strike.

When the Germans came in 1939, the brothers hid in the floor of a house for months, then Sigmund escaped to Russia, finding work with a baker. His family called on him to return, which he did, just before Jews were rounded up for execution in that Russian town.

A few weeks later, the Juckers were taken by the Nazis. The parents were sent to Auschwitz, where they died, and the siblings were assigned to work camps. Sigmund bribed a soldier to get them into a “better” camp. He made the rounds of eight camps before his sister, Jeannie, managed to get all four of them into the same work camp.

On Liberation Day, seeing that the guards had fled in advance of Russian troops, Sigmund cut the wires on the gate.

After liberation, they were in a repatriation camp for a year, baking for the U.S. Army. Jeannie married and moved to Houston. The brothers “were supposed to go to Colorado Springs and my aunt said no, come to Houston” and got them sponsorships to move there, Bobby said.

The brothers worked briefly for the Henke & Pillot grocery store, but “they said ‘we can do this ourselves’,” and opened their own bakery. “It’s all they knew,” Bobby said, and they “made it into a viable business” themselves — it was 1968 when they hired their first employee.

At first they did what they knew in Poland — challah, rye bread, pumpernickel, bagels, bialys, hamantaschen. With American preferences for sweeter things, cakes, cookies and pies eventually followed.

Today, they are also known for wedding and birthday cakes, and even “extreme cakes.”

Many of the recipes used at Three Brothers date back to the beginning in Poland, especially the challah and other breads. Their gingerbread is a recipe that was modified in 1960.

The four siblings had 10 children, most of whom worked in the bakery.

Bobby became the bakery’s next generation after unsuccessfully seeking a career in petroleum at a time when the oil industry in Texas went bust.

He and wife Janice met at a BBYO regional event in high school, but married in their late 30s. They run the business now, with their Aunt Estelle, Sol’s wife. Sigmund, the last surviving brother, now 93, comes in every week for lunch and to visit.

Hurricane Ike took the roof off the bakery in 2008, prompting a major repair and renovation that shut the store down for 10 months, though the employees were paid during that time. With Ike hitting two weeks before the High Holy Days, that caused a major shortage of round challahs as

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 21

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their planned run of 3,000 was out of the picture.

The sudden shortage was front page news in Houston.

“We had no idea we were such a staple for the Jewish community in Houston,” Bobby remarked.

The store also flooded in 2001 during Tropical Sigmund Jucker and Bobby Jucker Storm Allison, and again in the Memorial Day flood this year. The 2001 and 2008 storms are the only times since 1949 that they have had to “restart our sour” that is used in the rye and French breads.

While the bakery’s roots may be two centuries old, it has been modernizing in recent years. In 2010 Country Living said Three Brothers had the “best mail-order pecan pie America has to offer.” Many of its items are available for shipping.

Janice recently wrote a piece about the importance of using Pinterest and other forms of social media to promote business.

A second location opened in the Memorial area in 2012. In March 2014, they opened a third location, on Washington Avenue. This location introduced a dessert and coffee bar and a patio, and made-to-order cake parfaits.

Additional locations are being planned, perhaps in other areas of Texas.

The original location in Braeswood is certified by the Houston Kashruth Association, the other two are not.

Food Network has featured their Pumpecapple Piecake on “Outrageous Food” and they competed in the “Food Network Challenge: Extreme Pirate Cakes.”

The Pumpecapple Piecake is called the Turducken of baked goods. It has three layers — a pumpkin pie baked into a pumpkin spice cake, a pecan pie inside a chocolate cake and an apple pie inside a spice cake. The finished creation is 11 inches tall and weighs almost 24 pounds.

Establishing and growing this Houston institution “took a lot of hard work,” Bobby said. “I’ve never seen three people work like my father and his two brothers.”

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Area retailers keep expanding kosher offerings Winn-Dixie

by Lee J. Green Supermarkets across the Southern Jewish Life coverage area continue to increase their kosher food selection and to cater to those with specialty dietary needs.

Publix Supermarkets

Publix stores in Alabama and Florida continue to expand their kosher food product offerings, especially as a major Jewish holiday nears, according to Publix Public Relations Director Brenda Reid.

“Publix carries a broad selection of products for customers who keep kosher. Stores offer a selection based on customer demand. We encourage customers to inquire with their store manager to confirm that a specific item will be available or to ask the store to order the item,” said Reid.

Publix stores are stocked with everything from candles to gefilte fish to tea biscuits to matzah ball soup to chopped liver to grape juice to kosher meats. Reid said products for the High Holy Days will arrive in late August. Publix also offers a selection of high-quality kosher wines at stores in areas where it is of high demand.

The Publix bakery is known for its fresh baked breads, cakes and pies.

Reid said Publix will offer fresh-baked round challah bread during the season.

The meat department will offer a variety of kosher poultry including turkeys and chickens.

For those who want to travel to Atlanta, Publix has an authentic kosher bakery and deli at its Toco Hills location in North Druid Hills.

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World-renowned Jewish food personality Jamie Geller, who founded the Kosher Media Network and is the face of the “Joy of Kosher” cookbook, magazine and online community, will speak and provide live cooking demonstrations along with recipes at one of the Winn-Dixie stores in Birmingham prior to Rosh Hashanah.

The date and location were not confirmed as of press time, but those interested in the program can visit Jamie Geller https://www.winndixie.com/kosher and http://www.joyofkosher.com/category/winn-dixie for more information.

“This is one of the ways we cater to our kosher customers, by providing them with all the products, recipes and ideas ” said Winn-Dixie Kosher Category Manager Ahron Scharman.

Scharman said the average Winn-Dixie store has more than 1,000 Winn-Dixie branded quality kosher products, and has in recent years significantly expanded its kosher meat and bakery sections, especially at stores in areas where there are greater Jewish populations.

“I think one of our biggest accomplishments this year has been growing our selection, so we have the right products in the right markets,” he said.

“We want to bring in as many fresh and frozen kosher products. What is

AL | P: 205-970-9758

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 23

food & dining

interesting to note is that we are seeing growth in the number of non-kosher consumers who are (requesting and buying) kosher products, since those products may meet their special dietary needs such as vegetarian, gluten-free or lactose intolerance.”

One of those new products is Winn-Dixie family brand kosher almond milk, in regular and vanilla. “It is ideal for those who keep kosher or are lactose intolerant or both. People say it tastes as good or better than regular milk to them,” said Scharman.

Other new products include Winn-Dixie family brand kosher pareve French fries, Prestige ice cream, Chek soda, and kosher macaroni and cheese. Fresh challah with other pareve and dairy bakery goods are also available at select stores.

They have also revamped the kosher assortment in most stores. “This includes traditional and millennial; as well as cross-over items for kosher, Gluten free and ethnic customers,” said Scharman.

Scharman said Winn-Dixie’s focus is also on creating the most convenient shopping experience for its customers. Select stores will soon feature new shelf tags that have been created to help shoppers easily identify Winn-Dixie brand kosher products, instead of having to find the certification on the product itself.

Customers can also download the Winn-Dixie app and register to receive coupon offers. Customers can select on their smart phones which coupons they want to use on their next visit and when that item is scanned, the discount will automatically be factored in. “It’s all about convenience and service,” he said.

Dorignac’s Supermarket For more than 60 years, Dorignac’s has been serving the New Orleans community. With tradition also comes expansion and renovation as the Metairie supermarket renovates and grows its current location, along with enhancing its kosher product selection.

“Dorignac’s has become over the years a New Orleans tradition. We want to honor that and also bring in new customers through giving our store a fresh new look… along with expanding the specialty foods that we carry,” said Dorignac’s President Ronnie Dawson.

The renovations are being done in phases and everything should be complete by the end of the year, Dawson said. He added that most of the work is being done during the hours the store is closed so it has not affected normal operations.

The enhancements include an updated bakery, produce section, cafeteria, new floors, lighting, ceilings and improvements that are both aesthetic and functional.

Dorignac’s has well over 100 different types of kosher products has gained a reputation as having the best selection in the area of kosher lamb, Dorignac’s has been undergoing a turkey and chicken. renovation this year Dorignac’s many kosher products include lemon-pepper salmon, blintzes, latkes, Hebrew National hot dogs, gefilte fish, soups, macaroons, Dr. Brown’s Root Beer and much more.

In addition to the store expansions, Dorignac’s will also be enhancing its website and social media presence. They will announce a special grand re-opening celebration once all of the store renovations are completed.

Joe Dorignac started the grocery store on Jackson Ave. in 1947, and in 1963 moved to the current location on Veteran’s Memorial Boulevard.

24 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

food & dining

Kenny & Ziggy’s provides Texas-sized bite of Jewish deli tradition Ziggy Gruber is focus of “Deli Man” documentary

The Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham (also see page 20) is showcasing a film this month that is guaranteed to leave audiences hungry.

“Deli Man,” which explores the shrinking world of Jewish delis, is slated for two screenings at the world-renowned festival.

“Deli Man” is the third in a series of Jewish cultural documentaries by Erik Greenberg Anjou, following “A Cantor’s Tale” and “The Ziggy Gruber, left, at Kenny & Ziggy’s in Klezmatics — On Holy Houston Ground.”

It is estimated that there are no more than 150 classic Jewish delis in the country. In the last 85 years, the number of listed kosher delis in New York’s five boroughs has gone from 1,550 to about 21 — the latter figure including the non-kosher ones.

While most Jewish deli nostalgia points to New York City, the film’s main guide is Ziggy Gruber of Houston’s Kenny & Ziggy’s.

Gruber, who grew up in the deli world, opened Kenny & Ziggy’s 15 years ago. A few years ago, Anjou stopped by for a meal and started chatting with Gruber about delis.

About a year and a half later, Anjou contacted him and spoke about making a movie about Jewish delis and asked Gruber to participate.

Gruber, who had seen one of Anjou’s previous films, figured it would be about kosher deli traditions and was surprised to find that it focused mostly on him. He asked Anjou about it, and was told that he was the biggest character in the industry.

The documentary includes visits to Carnegie, Katz’s, 2nd Avenue Deli, Nate ‘n Al and Langer’s. Many great mavens, comedians and connoisseurs of deli, including Jerry Stiller, Alan Dershowitz, Freddie Klein, Dennis Howard, Jay Parker (Ben’s Best), Fyvush Finkel and Larry King are included. The documentary also includes some of the new shining lights in the deli biz, including Wise Sons’ in San Francisco and Caplansky’s in Toronto.

Anjou will speak at the Aug. 30 Sidewalk screening, which is 7:45 p.m. at the Alabama School of Fine Arts Recital Hall. An additional screening will be at noon on Aug. 29, at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Gruber said the film is “very positive for not just the deli industry, but for Yiddishkeit in general.”

He said the Jewish community needs to embrace and support “our culture and our history” and not take it for granted.

Since the film was released in February, Gruber has made numerous appearances across the country. Some JCCs are flying him out for screenings, and in October he will be at the JCC in Memphis.

The DVD was released in early July and it is also available on streaming services.

“We’re doing the best we can” to continue this Jewish culinary legacy, Gruber said. Those in the deli business “are all of the same mindset, try-

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ing to perpetuate this.”

The industry has numerous challenges, some of which are true of all types of restaurants. Rising costs from Obamacare and skyrocketing food prices are but two of the issues making it “more difficult for delis to operate.”

Recently, he said, food costs have gone up 30 percent per year. In March, the New York Times reported that brisket prices went up 47 percent since 2013, and was already up 14 percent in the first three months of 2015.

Gruber doesn’t have to look far to know why. A tight beef supply, brought on by drought in Texas, is seen as the primary cause.

Recent rains helped, but won’t be reflected in lower wholesale prices for another year.

“People want to know, why am I paying $15.95 for a pastrami sandwich.

This is the reason why,” Gruber said.

The 300-seat deli has an extensive menu, from the standard corned beef and pastrami to kreplach, kishka, Ukrainian meatballs, chopped liver, whitefish salad, borscht and matzah ball soup. Naturally, the portions are huge, as befitting a New York deli — or an establishment in a state that claims everything is bigger there.

A large number of the specialties can be ordered online and shipped throughout the country.

In February, Gruber did a deli event at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, and another is in the works for next year. His wife, Mimi, is from Baton Rouge and they were married in 2013 at the Dohany Synagogue in Budapest, where his grandfather, Max, had his Bar Mitzvah ceremony, and where 50 of his relatives’ names are on a Holocaust memorial.

In the early 1900s, Max Gruber immigrated to New York from Budapest and worked in several delis. In 1927 he and his brothers-in-law opened the Rialto, the first deli on Broadway. They followed with Berger’s on 47th, Wally’s Downtown and the Griddle on 16th.

Gruber’s father, Eugene, started in the business at age 12 and later opened Genard’s on Madison Avenue.

By the time Gruber was 8, the family had moved to Spring Valley, N.Y., where his father and uncle had the Cresthill Kosher Deli. His grandfather threw an apron at him, and he started learning the deli business — and learned Yiddish. After his grandfather died, Gruber entered the Cordon Bleu in London, rising to the top of the class. While he enjoyed cooking in three-star Michelin restaurants for a couple of years, and cooked for Queen Elizabeth, his heart was in New York.

He accompanied his father to the Delicatessen Dealers Association of Greater New York annual dinner, which was attended by a small number of men in their 60s and 70s. Wondering who would continue the legacy, he went to his father and uncle the next day and said he was leaving the fancy restaurants behind and coming back to the deli business. He returned to the Cresthill, running it with his father.

In the early 1990s he opened Ziggy G’s on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, attracting numerous stars as regulars. In 1999, he was approached by former Carnegie Deli owner Freddy Klein with the opportunity to partner with Kenny Friedman on bringing New York deli food to Houston, where Kenny’s father, Lenny, grew up. Since then, Kenny & Ziggy’s has been a taste of New York in Texas.

food & dining

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The Fish Market/Yellow Bicycle roll out new items

by Lee J. Green The Fish Market has become a Birmingham and Southeast tradition for the past 33 years by offering some of the freshest seafood around, including several exclusive catches to the Magic City.

What’s also fresh are some new menu items and an option for a bit more formal dining. “We are always trying to re-invent ourselves. We are keeping all our old favorites but we’re always adding so we can give people a dining experience like nothing they have ever had before,” said Owner George Sarris.

Many of those menu additions are kosher-style, including Loup de Mere, Mediterranean Sea Bass, Fresh Tuna Nicoise Salad, Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad, Wahoo, Monk Fish and King Mackerel.

The Fish Market can also do kosher through its catering company Yellow Bicycle. Kim Zakarin, who is in charge of catering and events for The Fish Market and Yellow Bicycle, spent a year in charge of planning and ordering food at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School before joining the company.

“Our first big event was doing kosher catering for the Night on the Town in Greece annual fundraiser for the Day School a few years ago and it blossomed from there,” said Zakarin. “We have catered for many Jewish weddings, rehearsal dinners, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and community events over the years.”

The events can be large or small and menus can be customized as a client desires. Last month, they catered an event for the City of Birmingham for 2,500 people and another one recently for the Greater Birmingham Ministries that catered to 1,000 people.

Sarris said, “we can make anything kosher-style or kosher. We can work with people and all of their special dietary requests.”

Zakarin said The Fish Market has its own seafood market opening at 8 a.m. “We have several Jewish customers that call ahead and we prepare some fresh seafood for them they can cook in their kosher kitchen at home,” she said.

Along with the menu additions, The Fish Market will be expanding upon its recent option for order-from-the-table, more formal dining by incorporating nicer, ceramic plates to replace the melamine. “We will still have more casual dining options, but we want to give people more choices,” said Zakarin.

The Fish Market will also feature live music six nights a week from 7 p.m. until close. It will be mostly jazz and blues, with Dixieland music on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.

Thanks to the new pastry chef and enhancements to the kitchen at Yellow Bicycle, The Fish Market will now carry its own line of freshbaked cakes and pies to sell at the restaurant. They will also serve their homemade Focaccia bread with olives.

The Fish Market also sells many products in its store inside the restaurant that are either made by The Fish Market or by friends and family members. Several rare items are also imported from Greece. Some of these items for sale to take home include herbs, spices, cheeses, sauces and Sarris’s own brand of extra virgin olive oil.

Sarris feels both a closeness with as well as an affinity for those in the Jewish community.

“Bob Marcus and a few other of my Jewish friends were instrumental when I started up The Fish Market. Bob still comes my regularly and we are still very good friends,” he said.

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 27

food & dining

Golden Flake adds limited-time products, expands distribution

by Lee J. Green Birmingham’s Golden Flake is just a chip off the old block. But there are new products and increased distribution from the chip-making company that bills itself as the flavor of the South.

Marketing Coordinator Mary Jane McAllister said this past spring, Golden Flake launched its first-ever Limited Time Offer products — Tangy Pickle BBQ and Buffalo Ranch.

“They came out in May and both have been so popular,” said McAllister. While the original plan was to have them available for six months, their popularity ensured that they will become part of the permanent lineup. Both are kosher and will receive their official certification when they become permanent later this year.

Also new for Golden Flake are its nacho chips and new machines for making popcorn, which has allowed the company to expand its lines of popcorn.

McAllister leads social media for the snack maker and said Golden Flake continues to enhance its presence and activity in that area. The more-interactive, expanded website launched last month at www.goldenflake.com.

“We’ve also modernized some of the bags. At Golden Flake we want to honor our tradition and keep putting out the same great products that people love, but we also want to keep up with the times and give customers new things they are asking for,” she said.

Golden Flake continues to be a regular sponsor of the Birmingham Barons, Alabama, Auburn, UAH, Mississippi State, Miles College and additional SEC schools, along with Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama. They also have tailgating recipes incorporating Golden Flake chips. “Golden Flake and tailgating go hand-in-hand,” added McAllister.

Most Golden Flake products are kosher certified — obviously not the pork skins. A rabbi comes once a month to the Birmingham and Ocala, Fla., plants to ensure that all kosher procedures are being followed.

Golden Flake distributes across the South and then some. Its footprint goes into Texas and a bit into the Midwest. “We even have a few stores in Los Angeles and Las Vegas that we send products to because they love Golden Flake so much,” said McAllister.

Entrepreneurs Mose Lischkoff and Frank Mosher started Golden Flake in 1923, taking it from “two gentleman and a sack of potatoes” to a company with more than 1,200 employees using 100 million pounds of potatoes each year to make its potato chips.

The Bashinsky family bought the company in 1946 and Golden Flake went public in 1968.

28 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

sports an annual SJL special section

Home Depot’s Blank driving for major retail success in golf industry

Welcome to a World FULL of Relaxation

by Lee J. Green Jewish entrepreneur Arthur Blank has always been driven to succeed and to give back.

At Blank’s new Birmingham PGA Tour Superstore — its first interactive golf retail store in Alabama — they are also focused helping golfers succeed with their drive… and their putting, along with all other aspects of their game.

Blank, the retired co-founder of The Home Depot as well as owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, is controlling owner and chairman of Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc., which owns and operates PGA Tour Superstore.

“We are equipped to serve a broad range of golfers with an emphasis on offering the industry’s best brands and providing the broadest array of services to meet each customer’s needs,” said Blank. “We make it easy to get in and stay in the game. We are happy to bring the PGA Tour Superstore to Birmingham, and to be a positive contributor to the community.”

Part of that giving back involves the PGA Tour Superstore funding a new “Introduction to Golf ” physical education program at nearby Inverness and Greystone elementary schools to “help inspire the next generation of golfers to learn how to play golf.”

The Birmingham store is the largest and most interactive experiential golf store in the state. It features certified golf pros and personalized golf lessons; four swing simulators for lessons and custom club fittings; three performance bays with swing analysis; a 1,500-square-foot putting green, and a wide array of golf apparel, shoes along with equipment from all the leading brands.

The Roswell, Ga.-based retailer seeks to double its presence over the next four years with more than 40 locations across the U.S., up from the current 24, adding one million square feet of new golf and tennis retail space.

Blank said PGA Tour Superstore fits well with him since it’s all about sports, education and giving back. His Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has donated more than $300 million to causes from childhood education to green space, the arts, teaching teens leadership skills and financial support for Jewish foundations, organizations and community centers.

He said the model for success with PGA Tour Superstore is the same one that propelled The Home Depot.

“We’re using the same philosophy that drove Home Depot’s success and revolutionized the home improvement industry,” said Blank, 72. “We want to dominate each market with the variety of products at value prices, excellent service and the ability to attract the best associates to provide that high level of service that keeps customers coming back because they love the experience.”

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SEC football hopes for new championship streak

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The national champion in college football achievements in competition and in the classhailed from the Southeastern Conference for room translate into success in life after college.”

The SEC launched the SEC Network last Auseven consecutive years, ending with the 2012 gust, which now is broadcast in more than 90 season.

For the 2015 season, the SEC hopes to start a million homes, with content including live sportnew streak of championship success and anticipa- ing events, news programs, documentaries and tion continued to build during SEC Media Days other features. Two of its regular commentators, last month at the Hyatt Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. Paul Finebaum and David Pollock, are Jewish.

Last season was also the first with the college In June, Commissioner Mike Slive retired after football four-team playoff. an impressive 13 years of serThe Alabama Crimson Tide vice leading the conference. The predicted order of finish, won the SEC championship Slive and his wife, Liz, along as selected by the SEC media over the Missouri Tigers and with their daughter and her writers: were seeded number one family, will remain involved SEC West in the playoff but lost to the in the Birmingham area Jew- 1 – Alabama Crimson Tide eventual champion Ohio State ish community.

2 – Auburn Tigers Buckeyes.

Slive’s right-hand-man 3 – LSU Tigers Most prognosticators beGreg Sankey, 51, becomes the 4 – Arkansas Razorbacks lieve that Iron Bowl rivals AlSEC’s new commissioner after 5 – Ole Miss Rebels abama and the Auburn Tigers working as an associate com- 6 – Texas A&M Aggies will fight it out for the SEC missioner with the confer- 7 – Mississippi State Bulldogs West title, with the winner ence for the past 13 years. He SEC East also winning the SEC chamknows he has big shoes to fill. pionship.

“The universities of the 1 – Georgia Bulldogs The competiveness of the SEC represent the greatest 2 – Tennessee Volunteers SEC was showcased in the ancombination of academic and 3 – Missouri Tigers nual media voting at SEC Meathletic excellence and I am 4 – South Carolina Gamecocks dia Days, as for the first time honored to follow Mike Slive 5 – Florida Gators in the 23-year history of the as the commissioner of the 6 – Kentucky Wildcats poll, media were divided on Southeastern Conference,” he 7 – Vanderbilt Commodores the divisional champion and said. “Mike was instrumental in so many important, positive developments overall SEC champion.

By a narrow margin, Auburn was picked to win academically and athletically during his tenure.

The SEC is poised to make a difference in the lives the SEC championship over another rival, the of student-athletes for generations to come. We Georgia Bulldogs. Alabama, however, was picked must ensure that the lessons they learn from their to win the SEC West Division.

Bumper Nets owner wins national table tennis medal

by Lee J. Green Bumper Nets owner and founder Homer Smith and his doubles partner claimed the silver medal last month in the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Smith was participating in his 47th straight U.S. Open Table Tennis tournament and claimed second place in national doubles with his partner Richard McAfee of Denver, Col., in the 65-and-older category.

“I was very happy with the way we played and really glad I could also keep up my long streak of competing in the U.S. Open,” said Smith. “I am also very proud of my son, Adam, who won the 21-and-under national title in the Hard Rubber

category,” named for the type of paddles that differ from the more cushiony ones that are more common today. “He is a chip off the old block.”

Bumper Nets, with three locations at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, hosts Friday night table tennis tournaments as well as open play. It is America’s First Table Tennis Store and this month celebrates its 16th anniversary.

In addition, Bumper Nets is the second largest pinball place in the nation, based on sales and rentals, along with pool and billiards, foosball, arcade and other games of chance.

They host parties large and small as well as offering play, clinics and equipment sales. For more information, go to www.bumpernets.com.

Playoff pairings announced for Synagogue Softball The Synagogue Softball League playoffs in New Orleans were scheduled for Aug. 2 at Miley Field in Metairie, weather permitting. The date was pushed back two weeks due to rainouts during the season.

The 8:30 a.m. match paired second-seed Shir 30 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

Chadash with third seeded Gates of Prayer. Top seed Temple Sinai met fourth-seed Beth Israel at 10 a.m. The higher seeded team is the home team.

The championship game was to follow the 10 a.m. game. Last year, Gates of Prayer won the championship over Touro Synagogue.

sports

Jewish catcher lands in Atlanta with the Braves

by Lee J. Green Ryan Lavarnway has lived and played in the west as well as the northeast. Now he is in a Brave new world as Atlanta’s back-up catcher.

As of press time, the 27-year-old Lavarnway had been in Atlanta with the major league Braves for only a few weeks, but he’s enjoying the South.

“I like it here in Atlanta. The community is nice and I really like the people with our organization,” said Lavarnway, who was born in Burbank and raised in Woodland Hills, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles. “Plus I get to learn a great deal from a successful veteran major league catcher in A.J. Pierzynski.”

Lavarnway’s mother is Jewish, and while he was growing up the family celebrated all of the major holidays. He started going to temple more regularly in high school. “I have always identified as being Jewish and I am proud to be Jewish… but I was not Bar Mitzvahed,” he said.

When he was only 5 years old, Lavarnway started playing baseball and fell in love with the sport immediately. His dad has played softball over the years and encouraged young Lavarnway when he showed interest in the game.

“Early on I loved the game and practiced diligently so I could improve. We also went to Dodgers games and I would emulate some of the players,” he said. Lavarnway would go on to star for his El Camino Real High School team.

He was recruited to play baseball at Yale University and was excited for the opportunity, despite it being all the way across the country from southern California.

“I always worked hard and earned good grades in high school. I took going to an Ivy League university very seriously. I saw it as a great opportunity to learn and excel there,” said Lavarnway, who was a philosophy major. “I learned how to balance athletics and academics.

It’s about being present in the moment whether you are on the baseball field or in the classroom.”

The Boston Red Sox drafted Lavarnway in 2008 and he made his professional baseball debut in nearby Lowell, Mass. He would move up the ladder and in 2011 he started in Portland (Maine) Double-A, but midway through the season was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, R.I. He excelled there as well. Then late in the year after a Pawtucket game, he and other players were watching the major league club when David Ortiz injured himself.

“I had a premonition or a hope that perhaps that would open the door to my call-up to the big leagues. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a teammate tapped me on the shoulder and said the manager wanted to see me. He gave

Photo courtesy Pouya Dianat/Atlanta Braves

me the good news and the feeling was indescribable. It was the culmination of everything I had worked so hard to achieve in my baseball career to that date,” said Lavarnway.

The Red Sox flew his parents out to Boston just in time to see Lavarnway get his first hit in his second big-league game. He would spend parts of 2012, 2013 and 2014 with the big league club, appearing in 97 games, shuttling back and forth several times from Boston to Pawtucket.

In April of this season, the Baltimore Orioles signed him to a minor league contract. He was released and the Braves picked him up in May. Lavarnway spent a couple of weeks in Triple-A for the Braves at nearby Gwinnett, then was called up in early June to the major league club.

“I am doing whatever the Braves need me to do to help us be as successful as possible. I am thankful for the opportunity to be here in Atlanta,” he said.

Lavarnway met his wife, who is from the Denver area, through a mutual friend at Yale who was also from Denver. His wife is Jewish and the two married a few years ago at a synagogue there. They have a permanent residence in Englewood, Col., with their “dog son.”

Just before the All-Star break, the Braves played the Colorado Rockies in Denver, so his wife got to see him play as a Brave.

“Ever since my wife and I have been together, we’ve gotten more involved in the Jewish community and going to services when we can,” though for him that generally means the off-season. Lavarnway welcomes any Jewish fans to talk to him when he is available. “It is a source of pride for me.”

He is one of 15 Jewish active major leaguers as of mid-July. One of those players is Los Angeles Dodgers’ centerfielder Joc Pederson, who is currently the leading candidate for National League Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Star Game.

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 31

sports

Huntsville’s Kaplan represents U.S. in European Macabbi Games

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Jarrett Kaplan, a rising senior at Grissom High School in Huntsville, is representing the United States at the European Maccabi Games in Berlin.

Kaplan, who was named to the U.S. Maccabi basketball team, said “I am so honored of this invitation because it is a celebration of Jewish unity, culture, and heritage through athletic competition.”

The 14th European Maccabi Games were scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 5. The 2011 Games were held in Vienna and were said to be the largest Jewish gathering there since the Holocaust.

In 2012, Kaplan was part of the Birmingham team in the JCC Maccabi Games in Memphis. That team won the first-ever gold medal in basketball for Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center.

His father, Jim Kaplan, said JJ’s first word was “ball” and he was playing with a basketball hoop as soon as he could stand.

He started playing rec basketball at age 6 at the Y, and AAU ball at age 10. Kaplan said his natural talent is for baseball, but his passion is for basketball, which he wants to pursue to the professional level.

“He has an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time for rebounding, and has always been a great defense player,” Kaplan said. “It was in 9th grade that his offense game began to take hold.”

Kaplan said they are hoping the trip will have an effect similar to Birthright trips to Israel, while playing the game he loves. While Kaplan grew up in a large Jewish community in the Twin Cities, JJ and his siblings are the only Jewish kids in their grades. “To be somewhere where there are going to be over 2,200 other Jews is quite exciting.”

He is also playing AAU basketball this summer, and the U.S. team was scheduled to have five days of practice in New York before heading to Europe. The college recruitment process has started and some schools have already expressed interest.

Auburn rugby player makes Maccabi team Zach Getson of Dallas, who plays 8-man rugby for Auburn, will be on the U.S. rugby team in the 2015 Pan Am Maccabi Games in Chile.

A rugby player since his sophomore year in high school, Getson tried out for the Maccabi team in 2012 but “wasn’t in the shape I needed to be in.” Aside from being young, he had two ACL reconstruction surgeries.

During the summer he plays sevens with the Griffins in Allen, Tex. He is also a Founding Father of the newly-revived Alpha Epsilon Pi colony at Auburn.

The Pan Am Games Maccabi Games will be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Santiago.

Sponsored by the Latin American Maccabi Photo courtesy Auburn University Rugby Confederation, the international multi-sport event is held every four years.

As a participant, Getson has a fundraising page online with a goal of $5,000 for his trip.

32 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 33

sports FA M I LY

EYE

CENTER

Spare Time enhances bowling, entertainment center experience

by Lee J. Green

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3125 Sunview Drive

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Birmingham, AL 35243 Phone 205-977-2777

From the professional bowler to the experienced amateur to the families just seeking a good time on the lanes, the significantly enhanced Spare Time Trussville should be right up their alley.

Formerly Lightning Strikes, the new ownership group invested just under $5 million to renovate the bowling lanes and entertainment center that now includes a full-service Americana restaurant, a VIP room for celebrations, parties and corporate events, professionally-certified bowling lanes, an enhanced arcade and laser tag venue.

“Just about every inch of this place has been updated to offer the most unique bowling, dining and entertainment experience to those of all ages,” said Spare Time Trussville General Manager Nate McGinnis. He said that the Birmingham area Spare Time is one of 16 bowling centers in the Bowl New England family, a family-owned business for 45 years.

“The company is family owned and cares about family. Our location and the other Spare Time locations are tailored to suit the interest of the local customer base. We’re always here and we ask them what we can add to make their experience with us even better,” said McGinnis. “Spare Time’s Owner Dick Corley is 77 years old and visited (recently). I give him our customers’ feedback and he gives us the resources to continue to make enhancements.”

McGinnis said after some lulls and a 15-year downturn, bowling has made a resurgence. “About 20 percent of the bowling centers closed.

Bowling was popular in the 1970s and 1980s, but mainly among males as a night out for the guys,” he said. “Now there is a renewed focus on making bowling cool again for the kids and a fun family activity as well.”

The Birmingham and Jefferson County high schools have recently added bowling back to their curriculum and Spare Time is the host center for high school bowling teams, as well as for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s bowling team when it resumes competition in 2016.

McGinnis said they are bidding on hosting some regional and national Professional Bowling Association events, the first of which could come in 2016. Spare Time will be the official host for bowling in the World Games to be held in Birmingham in 2021. Meanwhile, Spare Time hosts an abundance of adult and youth leagues.

Spare Time also has everything for simchas, celebrations, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, corporate events and birthday parties. Every lane has its own LCD television that can be programmed to include everything from videos and photos of the celebrating boy or girl to movies that can be watched while party participants are bowling.

The VIP room seats 218 people and holds 320 for standing room. It includes four completely new bowling lanes, bowling balls with billiard ball graphics on them, a private bar, advanced audio/video equipment, plush leather seating, lighting that can be customized and a customized menu from Spare Time’s restaurant.

“That’s another thing that makes us unique. The restaurant was the biggest upgrade to the center. It was concession food and a smoke-filled bar at the previous place. At Spare Time we have an executive chef who cooks up a traditional Americana menu in a casual upscale space. We have more than 80 menu items from pastas to salads to steaks to salmon to fried pickles,” said McGinnis.

While Spare Time offers much good food and some diverse entertainment, bowling is at its core. McGinnis said they strip and oil the lanes to the strictest professional and NCAA guidelines, ensuring that the lanes meet the highest of quality standards.

“We want to be many things for many people, but we are first and foremost a bowling center, so we want to do anything we can to ensure that the quality of play and environment are always top-notch,” he said.

L’Shanah Tovah

34 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

sports

Barons’ Bloom adds teaching to his busy broadcast schedule

by Lee J. Green Birmingham Barons’ baseball Director of Broadcasting and involved Jewish community member Curt Bloom continues to “add to his collection of hats” with the adding of the title “professor” to his resume this year.

Bloom, who is in his 28th year of sports broadcasting and 24th with the Barons, started teaching radio broadcasting and production classes this past January at Miles College.

“I think it is a great way for me to give back. It is very enjoyable to be able to teach young men and women who are interested in going into the field of broadcast journalism,” said Bloom, who resumes teaching this month at Miles while continuing with his radio duties with the Chicago White Sox’ Double-A affiliate. “I hope opportunities at other universities in the Birmingham area also come along.”

The field of journalism has certainly changed in recent years with the rise in Internet media as well as social media. Bloom said he has adapted with the changing times.

“The game between the lines is what is always first and foremost. But in these days of instant gratification there is value and importance in posting and tweeting right away when there is something that warrants it,” said Bloom, citing specifically Barons’ pitcher Frankie Montas’s no-hitter earlier this season.

Bloom said he is “constantly evolving” his skills and his broadcasts. “I regularly listen to my broadcasts and look for ways I can improve. People are listening on the radio or online so you want to paint the picture of

what is going on and every aspect during a game,” he said.

In addition to being the Barons director of broadcasting and teaching, Bloom also is the radio broadcaster for Samford University’s women’s basketball games, starting full-time with them in the 2014-15 season.

“There are really great people there. I am lucky to be there and lucky to be here with the Barons,” he said. “I was happy with the response I got from the Samford folks. It is for sure a very different dynamic calling women’s collegiate basketball games, but I sure have enjoyed it.”

When not at work, Bloom enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Laura, who teaches Early Childhood Education at the University of Alabama, and two daughters. Chloe will be entering her senior year at Alabama, majoring in Occupational Therapy. Younger daughter Alexis recently graduated from high school in Pelham.

Bloom said with his busy schedule, especially during baseball season, it can be a challenge to make it regularly to services.

“But I will continue to say that my religion is always in my head and in my heart. I am always close to God anywhere I am,” he said.

August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 35

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After soaking plank, heat char grill to 425 degrees. Remove plank from water and spread 1 Tbsp. olive oil on top of it.

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Season the salmon with the pecan rub and place on the oiled cedar plank. Place plank directly on the grill grates and close the grill lid (you want the plank to smolder, which means a lot of smoke; this is where the smoked cedar flavor comes from).

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Cook to desired doneness, at least 15 minutes.

Be sure to keep an eye on the plank so it does not catch fire and burn the salmon. If the plank catches fire, spritz the plank with water from the spray bottle until extinguished.

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by Lee J. Green

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36 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

Sports fans who also crave good food can score big at a new restaurant in Birmingham’s Brookwood Village, featuring high-quality cuisine in a family-friendly environment with 64 flat screen televisions.

Hickory Tavern opened its first Alabama location in April and has already garnered many cheers from customers.

“We’re excited. The place has been very well-received thus far,” said Hickory Tavern Birmingham GM Richard Chrestin. “This is the place you can catch a game or a sporting event and have great food with family and friends.”

Hickory Tavern started off as a sports bar in Hickory, N.C., about an hour from Charlotte, where the company is currently headquartered. In 2003, they expanded it into a restaurant concept and began adding new locations across the Carolinas. Now there are 21 locations, with Birmingham as the first one outside the Carolinas.

Why Birmingham? “The people in Birmingham, Alabama and the Deep South are very passionate about their sports,” said Chrestin. “People have asked us who we root for here. We say ‘don’t make us choose between Alabama and Auburn.’ We were wise not to pick a side with the continued on page 37

Continued from page 38

between sundown on Friday night and sundown on Saturday night is not to be consumed.

To work around this rule, special vending machines are equipped where you can deposit your money on the Sabbath, and during the week redeem your purchase. It just requires planning ahead.

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Pareve

Pareve food isn’t dairy and it isn’t meat. It’s the dietary equivalent of a compromise. In this world, the rabbis never disagreed and therefore compromise has never been necessary in rabbinic law. Therefore, no pareve food is required as part of kashrut. Therefore, no non-dairy or non-meat food is allowed to be consumed.

As was stated earlier, those who are lactose intolerant can take it up with the Big G. Vegetarians, take a number in the same line.

This is just a taste of the opposite of kosher.

How does that bacon cheeseburger sound now?

Doug Brook is a writer in Silicon Valley who expects almost several of you, after reading this, to be disgusted into trying to keep kosher just a little more. For past columns, other writings, and more, visit http://brookwrite.com/. For exclusive online content, follow facebook.com/ the.beholders.eye.

>> Hickory Tavern Duke and North Carolina basketball rivalry.”

The Birmingham location was the first to launch Hickory Tavern’s new menu. It includes numerous kosher-style items including seared tuna, cedar plank salmon, Caribbean salad, fiesta salad, burgers, 10 different styles of wings, blackened tilapia fish sandwiches and Hickory Tavern-homemade hummus. A couple of the favorites are not kosher, such as the lobster roll and French Dip sandwich.

Hickory Tavern also offers a “Food Truck” tapas portion of the menu with “street food” from several U.S. cities and states. The list includes Mediterranean chicken and rice, Shreadheads (from Colorado; essentially potato skins balled up), soft pretzels from Philadelphia and pot stickers inspired by San Francisco.

Chrestin said some items can be customized to be kosher-style and Hickory Tavern also offers a make-your-own salad option.

For those who love a good beer while watching some sports, Hickory Tavern offers 32 beers on tap, with 12 being local or regional craft brews, and 68 by the bottle.

“We want to please everyone so we welcome customers to let us know what we can do to make their experience at the Hickory Tavern a winner every time,” he said.

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August 2015 • Southern Jewish Life 37

rear pew mirror • doug brook

The Unkosher: Going whole hog

Cravings old as time. Longings old as thyme. Dairy served with beef.

It’s the beautiful beast that lurks inside many a Jewish soul. That one unkosher delight that we just can’t indulge in. Or only occasionally. Or all the time, and who bothers with all those rules anyway?

The wondering about what chicken parmesan would be like if it weren’t a pareve chicken. The dreaming of just once trying a shrimp cocktail, with shrimp.

What if you didn’t have to wonder or dream anymore?

Imagine if the world worked in opposite. What if, in these cat days of summer, you found yourself in a world where the rules of kashrut were replaced? Not secretly with Folger’s Crystals, but the exact reverse from what we all know and lov… are familiar with. Let’s find out…

Dairy and Meat

Whenever you eat meat, it is required that you eat something dairy with it. If you’re lactose intolerant, you’ll have to take it up with the Big G. Similarly, if you eat something dairy, it must be accompanied by a meat product.

After eating meat, you must eat something dairy before six hours elapse.

Similarly, you must eat meat within one hour of eating dairy. At least you won’t starve. And you DO YOU THINK must go swimming within thirty minutes after KEEPING THE every meal.

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Animals

Of the animals of the land, you can eat only those who do not chew their cud and have split hooves. Of all other animals you can partake, unless they have been ritually slaughtered.

Among the fowl animals, you can eat only those that are birds of prey.

This means you cannot partake of chicken or turkey, unless you happen to find one reciting the Shema. Such birds of pray are welcome, and go great with provolone.

Of the animals of the sea, you can eat only those that do not have fins and scales. It is acceptable to partake of animals that are weighed on a scale before purchase.

Dishes

You must have a single set of dishes for dairy and meat. As above, you can’t eat one without the other anyway, but even your serving dishes can’t provide one without the other.

When you use a serving utensil, you must dip it both into a dairy and a meat product at the same time. Otherwise, neither food item is allowed to be consumed.

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205.989.0053 38 Southern Jewish Life • August 2015

KOSHER IS ANY EASIER?

You are not allowed to eat any food whose packaging has the letter K on it, in any form. For example, Kellogg’s is developing a special cereal brand: “Ellogg’s Special J.” Similarly, you may not partake of any foods that contain the letters O-U on them. Flour is exempt from this limitation. The rabbis argued that nobody partakes of flour itself – that it’s merely an ingredient. Some modern scholars believe that the real reason is they all liked their wives’ challah too much.

Shopping

All foods must be bought during the Sabbath. Any food not purchased continued on previous page

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