Atlanta Jewish Times No. 40, Oct 11, 2013

Weber high school

c0-founderremembered

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atlanta october 11, 2013 – october 17, 2013 7 cheshvan – 13 cheshvan 5774 vol. lXXXviii no. 40

the Weekly neWspaper uniting the jeWish community for over 85 years

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ben stiller’s

latestcameoPAGE 27

congregation or hadash

honors rabbis pages 20-21

page 16second annualkosher bbQ

pages 12-13

PrologueBRAD MELTZER 10.24

SCOTT TUROW 11.2

CLARK HOWARD 11.6

LILY KOPPEL 11.7 JEFFREY TOOBIN 11.7

ELIN HILDERBRAND 11.9

CHRIS MATTHEWS 11.10

ALAN DERSHOWITZ 11.16

PAT CONROY 11.17

...and 30+ more!

Featuring

PRESENTING SPONSORS: Barbara and Ed Mendel, Greenberg Traurig, PNC Bank • SPONSORS: The George Stern Family, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, Marriott Perimeter Center, PJ Library, A Caring Approach, Bessemer Trust, David L. Halpern, Northside Hospital, Georgia Humanities Council, Publix Super Markets Charities, Target, The Zaban Foundation • IN-KIND SPONSORS: Atlanta Magazine, Atlantajewishnews.com, Atlanta Jewish Times, Classic Tents and Events, Creative Loafing, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, WABE 90.1 FM, Neighbor Newspapers, Jewish Georgian, Reporter Newspapers, Scoutmob, Ali's Cookies, Goodfriend's Grill PARTNERS: ABO Global Ground Transportation, A Cappella Books, Canterbury Press. (As of press time)

Parmat Family Celebrates at Camp Barney

simchas!!special section pages 14-24

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letter to the editor

GovernmentShutdownHits Veterans

Letters to the Editor

should be sent to

[email protected]

To the Editor:

As the son of a decorated

WWII vet, now deceased,

and as one who has vis-

ited the memorial to him

and his comrades, I can well under-

stand the spiritual draw of that site

to vets who, despite their frailty,

traveled from Texas during the gov-

ernment shutdown.

Their determination in remov-

ing the barricades erected because

of the shutdown might be excusable;

this, in spite of their having fought to

defend our system of checks and bal-

ances.

However, what is entirely inex-

cusable, and disgusting, is their be-

ing aided and abetted by some of the

very Representatives of the People

who instigated the shutdown. Their

assertions of patriotism ring hollow

and mock the memory of my father.

I might add, with respect to the

shutdown in general, the time is

overdue for thinking Republicans,

who really care about the welfare of

the Republic, to heed the words of

author Leo Landry, “Eat your peas,

Louise!”

Rabbi Scott Saulson

Atlanta

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israel

‘Israel Up-Close 2014’ISRAELI DELEGATION TO OFFER ACADEMIC OVERVIEW OF ISSUES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Eytan Gilboa, director of Bar-Ilan University’s School of Communication in Israel, will lead a del-

egation of experts from the fields of political science, economics, women’s rights, law and policy-making to the U.S. in November, including a stop in Atlanta.

The delegation has joined forces to share their fresh perspectives on Israel and the Middle East with di-verse audiences, including universi-ties and colleges, religious and civic organizations, professional associa-tions, high school students and key public figures.

AJT

PrologueBRAD MELTZER 10.24

SCOTT TUROW 11.2

CLARK HOWARD 11.6

LILY KOPPEL 11.7 JEFFREY TOOBIN 11.7

ELIN HILDERBRAND 11.9

CHRIS MATTHEWS 11.10

ALAN DERSHOWITZ 11.16

PAT CONROY 11.17

...and 30+ more!

Featuring

PRESENTING SPONSORS: Barbara and Ed Mendel, Greenberg Traurig, PNC Bank • SPONSORS: The George Stern Family, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, Marriott Perimeter Center, PJ Library, A Caring Approach, Bessemer Trust, David L. Halpern, Northside Hospital, Georgia Humanities Council, Publix Super Markets Charities, Target, The Zaban Foundation • IN-KIND SPONSORS: Atlanta Magazine, Atlantajewishnews.com, Atlanta Jewish Times, Classic Tents and Events, Creative Loafing, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, WABE 90.1 FM, Neighbor Newspapers, Jewish Georgian, Reporter Newspapers, Scoutmob, Ali's Cookies, Goodfriend's Grill PARTNERS: ABO Global Ground Transportation, A Cappella Books, Canterbury Press. (As of press time)

B e g i n n i n g the first week of November, ‘Is-rael Up-Close 2014’ will pres-ent an academ-ic overview of pressing Middle East issues and trends in an ef-fort to promote open dialogue about Israel.

“We hope to paint a comprehen-sive and objective picture of the Mid-dle East and encourage audiences to view occurrences in Israel and throughout the Middle East, as well

as U.S.-Israel relations, as a significant part of a much larger story,” said Prof. Gilboa, an expert on international communication and US-Israeli relations.

“Our dele-gation will provide fresh insights and unique commentary from the region and employ academic research to put past and current Middle East events into context.”

The experts joining Prof. Gilboa on the mission include MK Dr. Aliza

Lavie, Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Israeli Knesset and a senior lecturer at the School of Communication; Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig, Deputy Director of the School of Communication and an expert on political communica-tion and new media; Hillel Schuster, Principal Head of Corporate Finance at KPMG in Israel and an adjunct lecturer in Business Administration at Bar-Ilan University; Sharon Ev-ans, Director for International Proj-ect Development at Bar-Ilan’s School of Communication.

The ‘Israel Up-Close 2014’ del-egation is scheduled to visit Atlanta from Nov. 3-6, Dallas from Nov. 6-9, and Chicago, from Nov. 10-12.

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Israeli PrideGOOD NEWS MADE IN THE JEWISH STATE THIS PAST WEEK

BREAKTHROUGH TO UNDERSTAND-ING LEUKEMIA. A mutated gene RUNX1 inherited from one parent is responsible for producing leukemia stem cells. Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered that the healthy copy of the gene from the other parent is also required otherwise the leukemia cells die.

CLEAN ENERGY MILESTONE. Half of Israel’s electricity now comes from natural gas – mainly from the new Tamar offshore gas field. Israel Elec-tric Corporation announced that this is its cleanest year ever for environ-mental quality and the production of clean, green electricity.

NEW WAKE-UP BEVERAGE WINS BIG. Israeli startup Inno-Bev’s all-natural WakeUp won “Best Func-tional Drink” at the Drinktec Bever-age Innovation Awards. Instead of a high caffeine energy drink, enjoy guarana, ginkgo biloba, elderberry and a unique apple sugar with a low glycaemic index that reduces sugar fluctuation.

WORLD OF HIGH-FLYING TECH COMES TO ISRAEL. Jerusalem is hosting the 61st annual International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine. Is-raeli technology showcased will in-clude an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and a robotic dog, both of which can evacuate wounded under fire.

UNEMPLOYMENT HITS 20-YEAR LOW. Israel’s August unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent, the lowest in two decades. At the same time, participa-tion in the labor market continues to expand, reaching 64 percent in Au-gust.

RECOVERING LOST ENERGY. Israel’s Ormat Technologies builds Recover-able Energy Generators (REGs) that turn waste energy from industrial processes into usable electrical pow-

er. It already recovers 160 megawatts in the U.S. and 595MW worldwide. It has just agreed to build a 5MW REG power plant for eBay in Utah.

WATCHING OVER THEM. An Israeli company has made a watch to keep your loved ones safe. The Foxiwatch has GPS, a mobile phone and an emergency contact button. For chil-dren or at-risk adults.

KOSHER FOR UNDER FIVE. All food and beverages at Israel’s new café chain, Cofix, will be kosher and just NIS 5 (under $1.5 or £1). Cofix plans 300 takeaway-only franchises.

ISRAELIS ARE MAGIC. An Israeli, 19-year-old Shahar Shenhar, is the 2013 Magic: The Gathering (MtG) world champion. MtG is a trading card game, which is as popular as chess among young intellectuals. The champion in 2007 was Israel’s Uri Peleg, who has five graduate degrees.

YAD VASHEM HONORS ‘RIGHTEOUS’ EGYPTIAN DOCTOR. Egyptian doctor Mohamed Helmy is the first Arab to be designated “Righteous Among the Nations” by Israel’s holocaust center Yad Vashem. Dr Helmy hid a Jewish family in Berlin from 1942 to 1944. Dr Helmy died in Berlin in 1982.

NEW TECH CAMPUS FOR TEL AVIV. A site for a new technology and engi-neering campus has been allocated in southeast Tel Aviv. The 6.75-acre site will accommodate 5,000 students, dormitories, the Afeka Academic Col-lege of Engineering, plus education institutions already in the area, such as the ORT Singalovksi School.

DIGITIZING MEDIEVAL MANU-SCRIPTS. Israel’s National Library will be digitizing the Palatina Li-brary’s collection of about 1,600 doc-uments dating to the Middle Ages. Items to go online include one of the

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israel

Idan Raichel Project Making Return PerformanceISRAELI GROUP SET TO PLAY AT ATLANTA’S RIALTO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

The interna-tionally re-nowned Idan Raichel Proj-

ect will come to the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University in Atlanta on Sun., Oct. 20, part of a 16-city U.S. tour.

The tour is the group’s first since the international release of their latest album “Quar-ter to Six” (Cumbancha) in June. It continues their 10-year streak of top-selling and critically acclaimed re-cordings.

The October 20 performance marks the highly anticipated return

AJT

of the Idan Raichel Project to the Ri-alto.

“We are excited to welcome the Idan Raichel Project back to Atlanta for a return performance at the Ri-alto,” said Opher Aviran, the Consul General of Israel to the Southeast. “Bridging borders through music and captivating diverse audiences, Idan

is an exemplary representative of the Israeli spirit.”

The leader of this inspiring collec-tive of culturally diverse musicians is Idan Raichel, a composer, keyboard-ist and producer who is now a house-hold name in his native Israel.

In 2006, the U.S.-based record label Cumbancha released a com-pilation of the group’s first two al-bums worldwide. Billboard Maga-zine called The Idan Raichel Project “One of the most fascinating titles to emerge in world music this year … a multi-ethnic tour de force.” And the New York Times selected the album as one of the top world music releases of the year.

In the past four years, Raichel has co-written numerous songs and

toured with Grammy winner India.Arie, performed at the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony in Oslo, Nor-way, and sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall and other major ven-ues worldwide.

This year, Raichel joined pop star Alicia Keys on stage as a special guest during her July concert in Tel Aviv.

Editor’s Note: Visit the Idan Raichel Project Site to learn more about the collective and sample their celebrat-ed musical stylings. For tickets and other information, call the Rialto Box Office at (404) 413-9849 or visit www.rialtocenter.org/

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Jaffe’s Jewish Jive

What’s New about Rabbi New? PUT MORE LEARN IN YOUR LUNCH AT CHABAD

BY MARCIA JAFFEAJT CONTRIBuTOR

Growing up in a small, Ten-nessee town, we were among the .most observant Jews, yet were not exposed

to traditional or Orthodox Judaism. We shipped kosher meat on a dry ice block via Greyhound bus from an At-lanta shochet; but, for example, had no knowledge of the laws of modesty.

Is it similar to the disad-vantage of not learning golf or tennis as a child, then bridging the gap to become competitive as an adult? Can one walk into Chabad at age 40 and catch up?

I first learned about Chabad 12 years ago when my children were in col-lege. The Chabad rabbis embraced the students with home cooked meals and a family like environment. At the University of Florida, it was not unusual for Chabad to host 250 students for a gourmet Shabbas dinner with 15 varieties of challah. They often helped the rabbi’s wife with babysitting and got adjusted to sitting separately (male and female at services); the atmosphere was al-ways warm.

Many faculty members mingled in, which was an added bonus. Stu-dents even emailed the rabbi for a special prayer to do well on a par-ticular important exam! They carried their problems to the rabbi. Along the way they learned observance at vari-ous levels.

Although they attended Jewish Day School in Atlanta, my children were not among the most zealous by any means. So hanging out at the rabbi’s house in college seemed out of character initially.

Similarly at Tulane University, my son (now 31) has yet to reveal what sort of “trouble” the Chabad rabbi bailed him out of, but it was meaningful enough that he felt com-pelled to get up at 7 a.m. to attend morning minyans as part of the deal.

My children explained that I should not hug the rabbi upon meet-ing him, nor wear a mini skirt and décolleté top. So I began learning at Chabad here to be able to relate to my children.

AJT Even now in my foreign travels, I seek out the Chabad house. Let me assure you that there is one in every nook and cranny (try Bangkok or Marrakech). It feels like home base even if we only walk the neighbor-hood; and all the rabbis know each other from our U.S. towns.

Six years ago, I was assigned to a young bilingual(yiddush)

student(bocher) in the Chabad smi-cha class for a once-a-week “eye opening” session over the course of the year. What we had in common, what was worlds apart. He went to summer camp in Russia; we went to Hendersonville, N.C.

When I offered to introduce him to modest young girls in Atlanta, he explained how a formal matchmaker was already seeking an appropriate mate that he would “learn to love.” I spoke at the graduation ceremony, but by now knew not to hug him.

This, by the way, is a fascinating topic and a future column here will reveal how our Atlanta rabbis (across various sects of Judaism) met and courted their prospective wives – ar-ranged or otherwise. And ”arranged” is not as structured as one might think, though there are rules.

Traditional Judaism is grow-ing exponentially faster than other streams – yet some look at me puz-zled; “Do you really enjoy studying with a Chassidic rabbi?” The visual-ization being of something somber.

Americans’ biggest fear is of pub-lic speaking, running out of money, or having poor health. Are we secular Jews afraid of a dark suit and beard; that we will be judged, questioned or have our ignorance exposed about

our own religion which we may not understand?

Not so. After a very few min-utes, Rabbi Yossi New, the son of an Australian fabric importer, has us “learners” laughing and engaged. He has problems with his Sprint bill and anguishes over the Atlanta Braves. We immediately feel his humanity.

He is open and honest, and shar-

ing his own struggles. He giggles and mocks us combining his Aussie accent with our southern drawl. He hands out papers calling them, “Mah (my?) Paginations.”

Father of nine and grandfather of 14, he is head of Chabad of Georgia as well as Congregation Beth Teffil-lah’s rabbi and chazzan. One of his missions has been this outreach to the Jewish community at large by conducting five “Lunch and Learn” sessions per week with no link to a particular program. Many learners are actually members of other local synagogues.

Once a month Rabbi New also conducts a session in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he draws a crowd of 50! Quite a lot of hillbillies (don’t take offense, I’m from Knoxville) want to feel connected and seek an-swers to things that help us live a more meaningful life. As sophisticat-ed and urbane as we aspire to be, we all need help in connecting the dots that bring our ancient texts into the focus of our everyday, complicated lives in an effort to make Judaism more relevant.

After 30 years, we keep coming. His challenge is to relate to all lev-els of learners, to be cabalistic and intellectual simultaneously. He is not wild about questions concerning U.S. politics or comparing Judaism to

other religions.

“This is not a comparative college course,” he exclaims, “This is teach-ing about life!”

It was not always so easy. As a young rabbi, he scheduled his first lecture at Chapter 11 Book Store in Peachtree Battle Center with posters promoting, “How to be Mystical with Your Feet Firmly on the Ground.”

Setting up a large table in the back of the store, only one, lone elderly woman showed up.

Rabbi New said to his young ego, “I’ll give the lecture for one, the same as for 100,” and therein stood the meaning. The woman, who wasn’t Jewish, was seeking a connection to her deceased Jewish hus-band. The rabbi learned he was the next stop after the palm reader. He guided the woman to realize that the

Kadish connects the dead to this world and to her main relation-ships on earth. Instead of looking to the stars, he convinced her that her husband would be looking for her here.

But momentum grew, and our hero Phil Levetan, gets credit for nur-turing the longest standing “Lunch and Learn,” which has morphed into our Tuesday sessions at the Selig of-fice complex on Spring Street. Rabbi New calls Phil “a giant of a mensch.” Phil schleps to Publix and Costco to provide a delicious kosher spread.

“Phil is our anchor. He calls ev-eryone each week to personally in-vite them to participate,” says Rabbi New. “He is humble and serves oth-ers. I am touched by him.”

Phil reciprocates by compliment-ing the rabbi’s teaching style. “He brings Jewish tenants into the way we live our lives. Rabbi New is an emissary and diplomat relating to all levels.” By the way, Phil (soon to turn 90!) never turns down a hug from the ladies.

Scott Glazer, musician extraor-dinaire, thinks that Rabbi New is dynamic because he, “cuts to the es-sence liturgically, and does it with such humor.”

We learn not just about the physi-cal dimensions of the Sukkah, but how it relates to de-compartmental-

Steve Barton Rabbi Yossi Scott Glazer

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izing our lives. He shares how he pri-oritizes, saying he would take a fam-ily member’s phone call even if it was interrupting an important business meeting.

Then his cell phone rings, and he exclaims, “See it’s Bernie and Arthur calling to make a $2 million dollar do-nation, and I’m not going to answer it because you are my priority in teach-ing this class!”

We roar, “Take the call!” He laughs heartily, but we get “it.” The New’s Sukkah back home in Mel-bourne doubled as a ping pong room year round, so we learn more about things that are permanent (did you know that a sukkah’s walls can be brick?) vs the roof which has to be temporary.

“Security is not man made,” he ob-serves.

Bow tied, youthful Steve Barton, a senior VP with CBRE muses, “It amazes me how Rabbi New can take a Torah phrase and weave it into our discussions: sports, the opposite sex, some obscure song or musical group; and in some mystical way, he gives a sense that the topic is what is hap-pening in my life.

“Some of us try to ‘trip up’ Rabbi New with an off-the-wall question, but he is able to answer in a way that leaves me with that sense of ‘aha.’ What do I get out of going? It makes me a better husband, dad, son and commercial real estate broker.”

Another long-standing learner, Frederick Ravid, who himself has

taught the mystical side of Torah and studied with many spiritual masters, is related to the RAYVID, head of Jewry in Provence in the 12th cen-tury, who is considered a key link in the chain of Kabala.

“Traditional Jewish learning in-volves rigorous debate, not passive listening. I occasionally raise serious questions about what is being pre-sented which you would experience in any Yeshiva. It’s called ‘pilpul’ meaning ‘pepper,’” says Frederick our gadfly-guru. “Belief is lovely, but knowing is superior.”

“Rabbi New is a gifted speaker, offers broad perspective, and has a great sense of humor,” says Freder-ick who met Rabbi New in 1986 walk-ing down Roswell Rd. in his dark suit and beard.

Come delve into how you can be a better parent, manager, or spouse. No attendance rules. Come once a week or once in awhile. In addition to the Tuesday Selig Lunch and Learn, Rabbi New comes to the Stern- Edlin law office on Wieuca Rd early Thurs-day morning; Beth Tefillah on High-point Thursday lunch, and conducts a text for more serious learners on Friday. Lunch sessions only ask for a $5-$6 donation. Can’t beat that!

Editor’s note: to find out more, con-tact, (404) 843-2464.

Steve Levetan

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Discount Day at the Thrift StoreIF CLOTHES COULD TALK, WHAT TALES THEY WOULD TELL!

BY ChAnA ShApIRoAJT COLuMNIST

As luck would have it, I spot-ted the thrift store while en route to another destination in the area. I pulled into

the parking lot and found that it was senior citizen discount day. I had no choice: I had to go in.

The shop was filled with all sorts of alluring items, and after a fun-filled hour and a half, I made my way to the check-out counter to pay for two books, a fuzzy scarf and a curtain rod. Near the counter were a couple of racks onto which customers could hang any last minute rejects, without giving up their place in line.

There were several people ahead of me. I was number four, allowing me plenty of time to scrutinize everything hanging on those racks.

AJT What immediately caught my eye was a bright green hoodie. (I love hoodies, and I love green. Many of us consider green to be the new black, and black goes with everything. You can do the math.)

Lest I’d lose my place in line, I managed to maintain my spot while contorting my less-than supple body far enough over to check the hoodie’s label. Yep, it was huge, just my size. The line moved forward: I was now number three. The green hoodie was calling my name. Once again, I had no choice.

The woman directly in line behind me was also assessing the rack of clothing, and I noticed that she, too, was directing her gaze at the hoodie.

In order to make sure that it didn’t make its way into her hands, I reached way over again and pulled it from the rack, hanger and all.

With the senior discount, the price would be less than four dollars, but was it worth it? I slid the zipper up and down a few times and checked for stains, tears and other flaws. It was perfect.

The line moved forward. I could feel the eyes and breath of the wom-an behind me as I struggled out of the hoodie I was currently wearing (brown) and tried on the green one.

There was no nearby mirror, and I was certainly not going to give up my place in line in order to find one. What else could I do? I put it on and turned to the woman behind me.

She was about my age and size, dressed in a slinky leopard-print out-fit.

“What do you think?” I asked. At thrift stores, even if two of us desire the same object, the “winner” typi-cally enlists the honesty of the “loser”.

We’re all in the “no returns, no re-funds” boat together, and a counter-intuitive sense of camaraderie typi-cally prevails.

“Turn around. Let’s see how it looks in back,” the woman said. “The front kind of pooches.”

I resisted telling her that it was probably my stomach that was pooch-ing. I had faith in the hoodie.

“I’m not crazy about that metal zipper,” she offered. “It’s kind of old fashioned.”

“They don’t use metal zippers any-more?” I asked, hoping she hadn’t spotted the metal zipper on the brown hoodie I’d just taken off.

“Only on couture stuff,” the tiger-print woman explained. “Big metal zippers are like accessories, you know, for looks, not for zipping.”

The customer directly in front of me was readying herself for the ca-shier, but the fact that she was a teen-ager, a de facto expert of contempo-rary style, forced me to address her.

“Excuse me,” I said to the back of her head. She turned around, with an unmistakable look of annoyance. I pointed to the zipper. “Does this hood-ie look out-of-date?”

“You really wanna know what I think?”

“Is it the pooching?” I asked.

“Not really, although I do see that

pooch. But that’s probably just your stomach. No, what I think is that my grandma wouldn’t wear a bright green hoodie, especially with that big zipper. She’d say it’s too youthful.” She moved up to the counter.

Using amazing self-control, I thanked her for her candor (who did she think she was, anyway?) and quickly turned back to the equally un-supportive woman behind me, who’d been on high alert during the last in-terchange.

“That wasn’t nice!” she said, shak-ing her head. “That girl’s grandmoth-er’s probably older than you, anyway. Well, at least as old.” She paused for a couple of beats. Then, “So, you gonna buy that hoodie?”

We all moved forward, as the teen-ager paid for her faux crocodile purse and shiny stiletto boots.

“Why ask teenagers to give their opinion about anything?” I fake-laughed. But my bonhomie was weakening, along with my ego. Did I have to forego bright green clothing from now on?

“I guess I’ll leave it here,” I an-swered. The teenager had gotten to me. The color; the zipper; the pooch-ing.

I leapt out of line to rehang the hoodie on the reject rack, then stepped up to the register. I paid for my pur-chases and headed to the door.

I waved ‘goodbye’ to the hoodie and Ms. Leopard Print, who was at the counter, paying for her purchases. I glanced at the things she was buying, and sure enough, there was the green hoodie. I don’t think she even tried it on first. Why should she? I’d executed the test run.

A footnote:

Chana Shapiro hastens to assure her readers that the green hoodie incident did not ruin her day. It turned out fine, after all, because her grandchil-dren liked one of the two books, the fuzzy scarf didn’t shrink all that much when she washed it, and the curtain rod fit one of her house’s windows, even though it wasn’t the one she bought it for. Furthermore, to under-score the fact that she’d made the right decision, several stylish teenagers and other fashionable acquaintances in-formed Chana that orange, not green, is the new black.

ChaNa’s CorNer

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SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

The Helen Diller Family Foun-dation is now accepting nom-inations for the 2014 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.

The awards program recognizes up to 10 Jewish teens with $36,000 each for exceptional leadership and vision-ary actions that are helping to repair the world. Up to five teens from Cali-fornia and five from other communities across the country will be acknowl-edged for their socially-minded volun-teer service.

Visit www.dillerteenawards.org to begin the nomination process. Dead-line for nominations is January 5, 2014.

Bay Area Philanthropist Helen Diller began a major commitment in 2007 to support California Jewish teens who exemplify the spirit of tik-kun olam – a central Jewish precept meaning to repair the world.

The prestigious awards program has since expanded nationally, rec-ognizing 40 Jewish teens across the country with nearly $1.5 million to support and further their volunteer service projects and education. Last year’s recipients came from California, Iowa, New York, Rhode Island, Mis-souri and Massachusetts.

Past recipients of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards have created a wide range of projects supporting vari-ous causes, including providing clean drinking water to people living in third world countries, teen-based websites that provide tools and resources for youth to pursue their own community service projects, educational nonprofits that help those living with Autism and Alzheimer’s and many more.

Beyond bolstering national recogni-tion of the teens and their social action projects, the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards have nurtured a growing net-work of young leaders.

Awards alumni, who are already driven to make a difference, have in-spired and mobilized a “civic genera-tion” committed to volunteerism. Past recipients have been recognized by

Diller Tikkun Olam AwardsPROGRAM RECOGNIZES TEENS HELPING TO ‘REPAIR THE WORLD’

some of the world’s foremost institutions and leaders, in-cluding the United Nations Foundation, The White House and former president Bill Clinton.

“Today’s teens are tomor-row’s leaders. It is our hope that this award will recognize some outstanding young peo-ple who are already helping to repair the world,” said Helen Diller, president of the sponsoring founda-tion. “By celebrating Jewish teens committed to social action in innova-tive ways, we hope to inspire many more young people to follow their ex-ample.”

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and their network of 155 Jewish Federations throughout

the country continues to collaborate with the Helen Diller Family Founda-tion, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, to inspire and en-courage Jewish teen volunteer service nationwide.

“We are thrilled to once more col-laborate with and support the Helen Diller Family Foundation as they so

generously empower young Jew-ish philanthropists across the nation seeking to make a real dif-ference in the world,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA.

Now in its 14th year of giving, the Helen Diller Family Founda-tion has granted more than $200 million to support education, the arts, medical research and devel-

opment, leadership training programs for teens, and many other charitable endeavors.

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the Helen Diller Family Foundation and the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, email [email protected] or call (415) 512-6432.

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Photos by Sussman Imaging, www.sussmanimaging.com

Sunday October 6th 2013 was a day to remember at Congregation B’nai Torah, as the 2nd Annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ was a Huge Success! There were people that arrived from different parts of the United States to compete in the Kosher BBQ competition, and people from all over the

Atlanta Community attended to taste samplings of 19 competitors’ BBQ.

Entertainment included The Cohen Brothers Band, CBT Preschool Dancers, Davis Academy Rock Band, Nick & the Grooves and the MJCCA Dance Group. The kids enjoyed a play area that included a Mechanical Bull Ride, Hawks Bas-ketball Fun, A Bounce House, Bungee Bounce and a pickle eating contest.

This year’s Kosher BBQ Winners are:

2nd Annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ FestivalCOMPETITION AND COMERADERIE AT B’NAI TORAH

Grand Champions

1st Place – Not Your Bubby’s Brisket 2nd Place – Smokey and the Brisket

3rd Place – HOD Brisketeers

Best Brisket 1st Place – Not Your Bubby’s Brisket

2nd Place – Char-Kol Nidre 3rd Place – Meat the Press

Best BBQ Ribs

1st Place – Not Your Bubby’s Brisket 2nd Place – Smokey and the Brisket

3rd Place - B.B.Q ENTERPRISE

Best BBQ Chicken 1st Place – Not Your Bubby’s Brisket

2nd Place – Two JQ/ Rabbinical Council 3rd Place – HOD Brisketeers

Best Beans

1st Place – HOD Brisketeers 2nd Place- B.B.Q ENTERPRISE 3rd Place – For All Occassions

Best Team Name

1st Place – Char-Kol Nidre 2nd Place – HOD Brisketeers

3rd Place- Smokey & the Brisket

Best Booth

1st Place – HOD Brisketteers 2nd Place- Char-Kol Nidre

3rd Place- Ramafia

THE BRISKETEERS

NOT YOUR BUBBY’S BRISKET

KIDS’ PICKLE EATING CONTEST

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DAVIS ACADEMY ROCK BAND

THE STAR OF THE SHOW

THE COHEN BROTHERS BAND

THE ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES BOOTH

NICK & THE GROOVES

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$15 for 1 $25 for 2

Saturday, 10/12 7:30pm

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fans since 2002.”Redglare Records

2014 Event TrendsCOMMENTS FROM THE KOSHER KING

BY DAvID S. CovEllSPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Now more than ever, bat & bar mitzvahs are doing their own thing by infus-ing traditional themes

with their personality style to make it their own.

With a resurgence of Jewish pride and the availability of outstand-ing kosher caterers, we are seeing an increased demand for traditional ko-sher events integrated into a modern day approach.

First, get organized and for-mulate a budget. Remember, in order to have legitimate services rendered by your selected suppliers, you need to have a legitimate budget. Hire a planner to help you or call the office to get recommendations.

Atlanta has many highly ex-perienced and knowledgeable event planners that are out there to help you through this process. Hire one and then go find a quality and full service caterer. Everything else will fall in thereafter.

As I have said before, the best way to keep the budget down is to reduce the guest count. Cater-ers are paying at, or close, to all time highs for food and labor. They work on thin margins and so do most other vendors. As a loving Jewish dad told me many years ago, when looking to hide his wallet from his wife, he can hide it under the vacuum cleaner as she will never find it there.

We all know that budget is a factor but be realistic as to how much things cost.

Trending 2014 for Mitzvah cel-ebrations:

• Get your child involved in selecting colors and themes. Your child’s bar/bat mitzvah should reflect their personalities and interests. The menus we create often reflect the

child’s taste and can support the theme.

• Some families are mak-ing the Kiddush at the Shul, the actualy party. With a host of great menu ideas and unique decor, a Kiddush is a great way to invite everyone for the cel-ebration. You can take the out-of-towner guests out for dinner that night, but many of our cli-ents are having elaborate Kid-dush receptions for the main event. One recent client hired A capella style singers to engage her guests since amplified music is not allowed on Shabbat.

• Invest in decor that is in-teractive rather than station-ary props. We are seeing more green screens, unique video ap-plications and interactive char-acters. More DJ’s are offering dancers to join in on the fun and teach the kids (and adults) how to burn up the dance floor. This is a worthwhile addition to your entertainment budget. Digital graffiti walls are a new trend as well. Some DJ’s will also offer a live instrumental with one or two musicians.

• Small plates, small plates and more small plates. This has been a steady trend for the last several years and continues to evolve and grow as we move into 2014. Children’s menus can include family-style, passed hors d’oeuvres placed on unique plat-ters in the children’s area along with or instead of a traditional kids buffet. Other micro station ideas trending are themed ethnic station. Think Asian noodles in to go boxes with chop sticks and a street taco bar. Both with Av-enue K are Chef attended and made to order. Adults are offered elaborate adult cocktail foods along with adult beverages. This keeps the party festive and min-gling.

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• Cocktail style seating for the adults and a lounge area for the kids is becoming more popular. Furniture groupings for the kids instead of a long kid’s table is trending in 2014.

• Integrate colorful light-ing with LED lights and gobo lights for your event. Some clients have decorated our ceil-ing at The Pavillion of East Cobb Event Facility with gauze fabric and use up lighting to create the effect.

• Think about a dessert re-ception with beautiful and colorful petit fours. Chef at-tended action desserts and a candy bar. This will keep the budget down and is a unique way to host a celebration. The “Oneg” is alive and well with a unique and fashion forward twist.

• Mobile food carts are becoming popular as part of food service. Serving signature drinks, sliders and a host of oth-er items make for a fun presen-tation.

• Unique candle lighting is back in style. Honoring im-portant family members is a nice touch for life’s special moments. Integrating unique candles and props for this are trending for next year. Think handmade spe-cialty candles, ice sculptures and other creative objects to light. We even had a cupcake tower used for the candle lighting.

David S. Covell is the CEO, Saratoga Event Group and President of Avenue K-Glatt Kosher Events. The Saratoga Event Group manages four special event facilities and operates an award winning catering company, Avenue Catering Concepts. “Avenue K” is the certified glatt kosher event division of the Saratoga Event Group. David also has a background as a Certified Public Accountant in New York State and consults to the hospitality indus-try on matters of food, beverage and facilities.

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Camp Barney Hat Trick PARMET FAMILY CELEBRATES THIRD B’NAI MITZVOT AT BELOVED CAMP

AJT

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Jeffrey Parmet, the son of Lin-da and Marc Parmet, became a Bar Mitzvah on Aug. 17th at Camp Barney Medintz. The

morning services were held in the Za-ban Chapel overlooking Lake Wendy.

Jeffrey followed what has become a family tradition. His brother Andrew celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at camp in 2007 and his sister Jodie celebrated hers on a beautiful August camp day in 2009.

All three have been campers at Barney and Andrew has spent his last three summers as part of Barney’s Nature Staff. Andrew had attended Camp Barney from New Orleans prior to the family moving to Atlanta.

The Parmet family came to At-lanta after Hurricane Katrina and decided to stay. The Atlanta Jewish Community welcomed them warmly and helped make the transition less difficult. The Parmet children attend-ed The Epstein School and it was soon time to plan Andrew’s Bar Mitzvah. After hearing that the camp was a possibility, it was a natural choice.

Together, Camp Barney and The Epstein School embody the same val-ues that are important to the family – the love of the outdoors, Jewish values and traditions, the Hebrew language

and Israel. Jeffrey was joined by fam-ily and friends and a bus full of his Epstein classmates and camp friends. Grandparents Dr. Larry and Claire Schulman are from Potsdam, N.Y.; Grandparents Allen and Zara Parmet are from Springfield, N. J.

Following a beautiful and musical service the guests enjoyed lunch and then changed for an afternoon of fun. Barney staff opened camp activity areas for everyone to enjoy and then held an Apache Relay Race through camp. Mazel Tov to Jeffrey!

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Throwing a Company Holiday Bash, the Right Way SHOULD I LET MY JEWISH LIGHT SHINE?

AJT

BY KAYlEnE RuDYAJT CONTRIBuTOR

The holidays are here and you’ve decided to do some-thing nice for your employ-ees and clients to show your

appreciation by throwing a company party. In a recent national survey, 81 percent of business owners indicated that they have planned and will throw some kind of year-end bash.

Sounds Fun, Right? Not so fast… the Key to a successful party is in the planning. To start, here are some im-portant preliminary issues that need to be addressed.

How much am I willing to spend?

When planning an office party, your first consideration is going to be cost. How much do you want to spend on this event? If your first reaction is to go cheap, don’t.

Instead of asking what’s the least you can spend, you should be ask-ing what’s the most you can afford to spend and then do it. If you can’t af-ford to put on a nice party, skip the party all together until you can do it right.

The average amount spent on holiday parties, according to a recent survey of business owners is about $75-$100 per guest. The one thing to

overspend on is food. A holi-day party without enough food quickly leads to unhappy guests. It’s better to have a modest party location with too much food than to have a nice party location without enough food. Make sure that you are using a reputable ca-terer.

Where will the party location be?

You will need to decide where you are going to have your event. It is nice to get your staff out of the office for a party, especially if you are planning to serve a meal. Some business owners consider to host the office party at your residence. This may not be a good idea.

Depending on the size and loca-tion of your home it could give your employees the wrong idea of your own earnings. A much better idea is to re-serve space at a restaurant or venue.

Make sure that you make reserva-tions now. If you wait until the last minute to make reservations, the chances of getting the venue or res-taurant of your choice are slim. These places fill up fast during the holidays.

Who will be invited?

It’s tempting to try to keep the cost

of the holiday party down by invit-ing employees only — no spouses or guests. That’s a mistake.

Holiday parties are already hard enough without creating additional problems. This is when you get to earn the favor of your employee’s spouses and close clients. This will also enhance the social mood of the event and introduce some fresh faces to the gathering.

Theme and décor- Do I let my Jewish Light Shine?

This one’s tricky. A holiday party is a business event, but it’s also a social event. If you’re Jewish, do you add a Jewish tone to your event theme and décor?

Depending on the size of your

company and whether or not you have business partners or board mem-bers that would object; I say - Absolutely! Let your Jewish light shine. There are many ways to share a small part of your Jewish culture with your employ-ees and clients.

This is who you are. Celebrating the holidays and sharing a personal piece of your foundation can build a bond with oth-

ers, especially with those that may only know you as the boss or the own-er that just signs the checks.

The best way to let your Jewish light shine is to share some Jewish culinary cuisine your event menu. Most importantly, it’s the end of the year and it’s time to reflect on all the success and accomplishments and to recognize those that make it all pos-sible.

Kaylene Rudy is the owner of Atlanta’s Impress Express and specializes in events and promotions. To learn more, visit www.atlantasimpressexpress.com or call (404) 563-2227.

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What’s the Message You’re Sending?THINK ABOUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT WHEN PLANNING LIFE-CYCLE EVENTS

simChasAJTBY RABBI nEIl SAnDlERSPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Are you one of the more than 960,000 people – okay, 960,000 hits – that have seen “Sam’s Bar Mitzvah”

on YouTube?

For those who haven’t seen it, go to youtube.com and take a look. You’ll see a Las Vegas-style dance review, featuring Las Vegas-style showgirls, starring Sam Horowitz, a 13-year-old

who became Bar Mitzvah earlier that day in a Dallas congregation.

Sam literally descends to the stage from behind a dazzling circular cur-tain and proceeds to join the showgirls in a dance routine. Hey, the kid is a pretty good dancer and obviously en-joys what he is doing on stage.

At the end of the routine, amidst the applause of the party-goers, Sam takes a well-deserved, and quite pro-fessional, bow.

I wonder if any of those who wit-nessed this spectacle in person won-dered that evening, “Is this really an appropriate way to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah?”

People who saw the video of Sam’s Bar Mitzvah on YouTube certainly had some things to say about that question. The propriety of Sam’s Las Vegas-style dance number was debat-ed quite widely across the internet.

In fairness to Sam and his family, we learned from his rabbi who wrote a response to a particularly stinging criticism of Sam and the Horowitz family that the family is quite active in both congregational and communal Jewish life in Dallas.

The Horowitz family visited Israel prior to Sam’s Bar Mitzvah, and Sam asked his Bar Mitzvah guests to send tzedakah, in lieu of Bar Mitzvah pres-ents, to the Ben Yakir Youth Village in Israel.

He raised $36,000 in support of the youth village! Sam Horowitz is quite an impressive young man and his family is sharing some very positive values with their children.

But the question remains, “Is this really an appropriate way to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah?”

Most of us don’t have the financial resources to have a Las Vegas-style review at the B’nai Mitzvah celebra-tions of our children. Yet, still, we may spend thousands of dollars on aspects of our celebrations that will be quickly forgotten and, if we are to be honest, will be silently and rightly questioned by some who attend those celebrations.

Celebrations that follow our life-cycle moments in the lives of our chil-dren – particularly B’nai Mitzvah and weddings – speak volumes without ever sharing a word. They tell our loved ones, friends and community

what matters most to us beyond the love we have for and the pride we take in our children.

As you plan for the celebrations of your children’s life-cycle moments, especially their B’nai Mitzvah, I urge you and your children to have a dis-cussion that will move beyond ordi-nary party-planning details like party themes and colors.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah party planning is an opportune time to talk about values you and your child feel should inform the party and be apparent to anyone who attends it. Are you us-ing this celebration as an opportunity to pay back social obligations? Will those present at the party feel it is “over the top?”

Conversely, will those who share in the celebration of your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah walk away with the clear understanding that tzedakah and act-ing to ensure the well-being of those in need is an integral part of your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience? Will your guests be invited to honor your child by donating to some worthy cause in his/her name?

There are numerous ways that you can enhance the meaning of your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah through the manner in which you choose to cel-ebrate this wonderful life-cycle mo-ment.

Just remember: Your celebration will speak loudly.

Let it proclaim worthy values and priorities that help set an ennobling path for your child as he/she contin-ues a journey toward full Jewish re-sponsibility and participation in our community.

Mazal Tov as you prepare for this special moment in the life of your child and family!

Rabbi Neil Sandler is the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Ahavath Achim in At-lanta. He’s also the president of the At-lanta Rabbinical Association, a mem-ber of the national board of trustees of MERCAZ, and a member of AIPAC’s National Council. Rabbi Sandler is married to Susan Hart Sandler, a so-cial worker with Weinstein Hospice, and they have three children, Ariel, Aliza and Joshua.

MENTION ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES FOR COMPLIMENTARY UPLIGHTING IN YOUR EVENT SPACE

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU. YOUR BAR OR BAT MITZVAH. YOUR PERFECT EXPERIENCE. th

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WATLANTAMIDTOWN.COM

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Decorating For a Good CauseJEWISH FAMILY & CAREER SERVICES’ RENTERPIECES

AJT

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Are you looking for a unique and beautiful way to embellish your upcoming event? Consider Renterpieces, decorative centerpieces and large bima-sized decorations you can rent for virtually any oc-casion.

The best part about using Renterpieces to adorn your event setting is that the funds generated help support the JF&CS Kosher Food Pantry and other programs and services for those in need.

“I worked with Betsy at Renterpieces to order bima decorations for my son’s Bar Mitzvah in 2012,” said Janet Beard of Alpharetta. “It was so easy! We chose the style and colors, and they delivered two beautiful arrangements to our synagogue. What a great way to brighten the bima for our big day while at the same time supporting Jewish Family & Career Services! And, I just placed another order for my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in January 2014. Simple, stress-free and supports a great cause!”

Available in three sizes, Renterpieces are made to order and can be cus-tomized to your event’s color scheme or other specifications.

Beautiful Renterpieces, all made by JF&CS volunteers, will be on display at the 2014 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Expo, Sun., Nov. 10 at the Westin Atlanta Pe-rimeter North. Come get ideas about what Renterpieces can make for you!

Editor’s note: for more information on rentals or to volunteer to decorate cen-terpieces, please email [email protected] or call (770) 677-9337.

Share your Celebrations with Your Atlanta Jewish Community for Free

Send your story, announcements and celebrations with pictures today to Kaylene Rudy, [email protected] or call 404-883-2130 x100.

• Birth Announcements• Weddings• Bar/Bat Mitzvahs• Celebrations of all types• Anniversaries

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Congregation Or Hadash Celebrates Tenth Anniversary SPECIAL EVENT FOR RABBIS DR. ANALIA BORTZ AND MARIO KARPUJ

AJT

Compiled and submitted for the At-lanta Jewish Times by Congregation Or Hadash family, friends, and spe-cial guests with gratitude, love, and devotion to a remarkable shul and extraordinary spiritual leadership

October 6, 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a pivotal event in the history of Is-

rael, in which the country recovered from a stunning blow to keep a na-tion’s vision alive. On that same day, Congregation Or Hadash (COH) hon-ored Rabbis Dr. Analia Bortz and Ma-

rio Karpuj, who led a group 10 years ago in establishing a new spiritual vi-sion for a segment within Atlanta ’s burgeoning Jewish community.

In addition to inspiring COH’s milestone celebration, the number 10 is significant in many ways in Juda-ism. This afforded an opportunity to link everyday life with a meaningful

religious connection – a hallmark of the beloved rabbis of this congrega-tion.

“The event was a vibrant reflec-tion of the vision of our rabbis and our founding members,” said Sherry Frank, a past president of the congre-gation and chair of the event. “With our rabbis, we sought to create a com-munity that could feed the soul with spiritualism and music and challenge the mind through education and dis-cussion.”

Rabbis Dr. Analia Bortz and Mario Karpuj and have shared their spiritu-al, geographic, personal and profes-sional journeys for over 20 years. Born and raised in Argentina, they met as teenagers and married in 1990. In 2000, they moved to Atlanta to serve Congregation Ahavath Achim, and in 2003 became the founding rabbis of Congregation Or Hadash.

Over the past 10 years, the rabbis have helped Or Hadash grow from its initial 50 member families to the current membership of 400 families. Their benevolence of spirit and firm belief in diversity and inclusion, have permeated their relationships with Jewish and non-Jewish communities locally and internationally.

Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, Syna-gogue Educator, delivered the invoca-tion, expressing gratitude for the past 10 years of COH led and inspired by extraordinary leaders. She implored congregants to, “let not our celebra-tion be a milestone upon which we rest - merely to revel in what we’ve accomplished thus far, rather let this occasion be a spark that kindles an ever increasing desire to do the work of God’s will – bringing healing to one another and to our all too fractured world.”

In response to, and apprecia-tion for the accolades, recognition, and love from the congregation they founded, Rabbis Analia and Mario acknowledged the journey of the past and their hopes for the future.

“Like dreamers, we have all built this Kehillah Kedosha (Holy Congre-gation). Like dreamers we have craft-ed a family based on the centrality of our love for Israel, joy of music and commitment to Tikkun Olam. Like dreamers we have all established a

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welcoming mish-pacha opening our tent to receive those who seek a spiritual home. ‘Lech Lecha,’ Go for Yourself, says our Torah portion, we have started a beautiful journey of seekers and we look forward to keep growing spiritually, emotionally and in-tellectually in the fu-ture,” said Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz.

Rabbi Mario Karpuj added, “We are grateful and humbled by the blessings surrounding us and the op-portunity to ‘be a blessing’ to others. Our wish is for the continuity of our community - to grow and renew our resolve to be champions for Israel, and for what will better and strengthen our greater Atlanta Community.”

Congregation Or Hadash was fortunate to welcome journalist and author, Yossi Klein Halevi, as guest scholar to provide a glimpse of the complexity of the issues facing Israel. The child of a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Halevi grew up in Brooklyn N.Y. and moved to Israel with his wife in 1982.

He has served as a key journalis-tic voice for American audiences in communicating cultural, social, and political happenings in Israel. He has written for the Jerusalem Report, The New York Times, The Washing-ton Post, and the New Republic. Since 1995, he has authored three books.

His most recent book, “Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusa-lem and Divided a Nation,” has re-ceived accolades for its penetrative look at key figures who have shaped the Jewish nation and who have been shaped by the nation’s critical events and challenges. In a discussion forum with the rabbis, Mr. Halevi shared his perspective on a variety of topics.

Also paying tribute to Rabbis Ana-lia and Mario, were their two daugh-ters, Tamar and Adina Karpuj - who have followed their parents in a love of learning, commitment to giv-ing back, and devotion to f a m i l y . The girls described their unique ex-

perience of growing up with parents, both of whom were rabbis:

“In our home, and within our fam-ily dynamic, ‘rabbi’ was always the adjective, and ‘parent’ always the sub-ject,” said Tamar Karpuj. “In addition to meeting the needs of the congrega-tion or the community, family dinners were always a special and sacred time that they preserved just for us.”

“We are extremely grateful to our parents for all that they have provid-ed to us. They have taught us that our ordinary lives are, in fact, extraordi-nary, and have served as a constant source of guidance, friendship, and unconditional love,” said Adina Kar-puj

Children occupy a special place both in the hearts of Rabbis Analia and Mario, and in the culture of Con-gregation Or Hadash. One of COH’s younger members, 13-year-old Lily Schneider, was tasked with the labor of love of creating a photo montage of some of the sweet memories that to reflect “the Jewish people had light, gladness, joy and honor” (The Book of Esther).

Current President, Fred Wachter, summarized: “As we reflect on our growth over the past 10 years, we ex-press our thanks for the many bless-ings that our two devoted rabbis have generously shared with all of us. They include; the gifts of music, hospitality, humor, intellectual excitement and curiosity, openness, inclusion, and gratitude.”

Rabbi Bortz, Yossi Klein Halevi and Rabbi Karpuj

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A Great TraditionBABY HEALTHY, WIFE DOING FINE, FATHER IS THE MOHEL – PERFECT!

AJT

BY RABBI AShER YABloK SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

I was not at all prepared for the emotions I experienced when the moment finally arrived.

It’s rare that one has the opportunity to bring his own child into the covenant of Abraham, but that was just the beginning of the uniqueness of the event. Though I have trained extensively and per-formed the procedure hundreds of times, doing so to my son, flanked by my father and father-in-law, was an entirely different experience.

Allow me to explain.

I always knew that my namesake had been a mohel. Early on in my childhood, my father had taken out the instruments he used to use and told me a little bit about the man I was named after.

I would be lying if didn’t admit

that I dedicated more time to collect-ing Ken Griffey Jr. cards and listen-ing to Pearl Jam, but the image of my great-grandfather and the person that he was stuck with me.

Carrying his exact name only add-ed to the impact his identity had on my development during my years in yeshiva, and I was reminded of it ev-ery time I was called up to the Torah. At the same time, even as I studied the laws of circumcision for rabbinic ordination, I never pictured myself as a mohel. Ever!

Enter my wife, Shira.

It sounds cliché to say that she completes me, but that is exactly what she does (and in more ways than I could have imagined when we first met).

She thinks I can do anything and when someone suggested I become a mohel, having seen me peel an orange with a knife, she thought it

was a great idea. I thought she was just being nice, and a little bit silly, but the truth is that it reminded her of her grandfather, Rev. Noah Wolff.

Shira’s grandfather has been a mohel in the Midwest for 61 years and, having performed over 20,000 circumcisions, is Chicago’s most pro-lific mohel. He had performed the cir-cumcisions on two of my sons, not the only ones of his great-grandchildren he has brought into the covenant of Abraham.

She said he peeled oranges the same way. Although I was unde-terred from my focus on Jewish Ed-ucation, I began to imagine what it would be like to be the next link in both of our families’ traditions.

Fast forward to the morning of July 24th 2013, the eighth day of my newborn son’s life.

I was standing before my son pre-paring to bring him into the covenant of Abraham Having received the instruments from my wife’s grand-father and trained with renowned mohel Rabbi Michael Rovinsky, I felt totally prepared and completely fro-zen.

I had done hundreds of proce-dures before and studied the requi-site laws numerous times, but noth-ing prepared me for the emotions I felt at that moment. And yet this is exactly the way it was done the first time in Jewish history when Abra-ham was instructed to circumcise his son Isaac.

It wasn’t that I doubted my abili-ties, nor did my family; it was the big picture that overwhelmed me. Here I was presented with the opportunity to personally transmit a tradition, my tradition, which has been trans-mitted parent to child since the time of our forefather Abraham.

Moreover, it is a tradition that signifies the unique partnership man has with his maker in perfecting the

raw materials with which he is pro-vided in this world. As Rabbi Pay-sach Krohn writes:

Food, clothes, and even our places of habitat are all commodities that we put together from what we are pro-vided with by our generous Creator … man, too, needs to be perfected. The act of ritual circumcision brings man to that perfection. The Bible it-self uses the word ‘perfect’ in record-ing God’s command to Abraham that he circumcise himself. “Go before Me and become perfect,” (Genesis 17:1) is the way the topic of ritual circumci-sion is introduced.

My wife and I certainly aspire to perfection, however elusive it may be, and know that we will continue to do whatever it takes to nurture our children towards reaching each of their own versions of perfection.

In my case, performing this great ritual has taught me how big of a role each and every one of us plays in achieving that goal, regardless of the outcome. The bris and the ceremony that followed was a beautiful celebra-tion and took just about every ounce of emotional energy my wife and I had left after the labor and delivery of our son.

In retrospect, I can’t imagine ever considering passing such an awe-some opportunity and remain genu-inely inspired by the special bonds doing so on my own has created.

It has always been my privilege to represent others in performing a rit-ual that has bound the Jewish people throughout its history. Doing so for my own child reminded me, all the more so, of the tremendous power, beauty and sanctity of our great tra-dition.

Rabbi Asher Yablok is the Dean of Judaic Studies at Yeshiva Atlanta.

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simChas

Local Bar Mitzvah Video Becomes Youtube HitDANIEL BLUEMN’S “SAVE THE DATE” TAKES OFF

AJT

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Daniel Blumen celebrated his bar mitzvah on May 11, 2013 at The Temple. In anticipation of the event, Blumen wanted to create a unique way to share the happiness and excitement of this simcha with the invitees, and created a special “Save the Date” video invita-

tion.

Although the video invitation was sent only to the several hundred invited guests, nearly half a million others have viewed the save-the-date video on-line and have shared his joy and pride in this event vicariously.

The service was officiated by Rabbi Peter Berg and Cantor Deborah Hart-man. Daniel attends Pace Academy where he is currently in the eighth grade. His parents, Rick Blumen and Liz Price, along with grandparents, Lawrence and Ceile Blumen and William and June Price, were in attendance.

Blumen is supporting the Humane Society of Atlanta in his bar mitzvah project and has managed to talk his parents into adopting a puppy for his bar mitzvah, as well.

Editor’s note: view Blumen’s video online, found at the uRL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sWoZJGCTQT.

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Bat MitzvahGabrielle Lewis

Gabrielle Lewis will become a Bat Mitzvah October 19.

Gabrielle is the daughter of Greg and Erica Lewis of Atlanta and sister to Har-rison Lewis; granddaugh-ter to Ellen and Dan Katz of Atlanta, Cathy Selig of Atlanta and Roger Lewis of Los Angeles. She is also the great-granddaughter of Lillian Weber of At-lanta. Gabrielle is in the 7th grade at The Epstein School. For her Mitzvah project, Gabrielle made the holidays possible for four local families in need. She will be called to the Torah at Congregation B’nai Torah.

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eduCatioNAJTKvelling at Gesher L’TorahALPHARETTA SYNAGOGUE HONORED WITH TWO SPECIAL AWARDS

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Gesher L’Torah managed to beat out some 200 oth-er synagogues in the U.S. and win two Centennial

Schechter Awards for excellence in education.

The Alpharetta synagogue won both the Centennial Schechter Ye-sode-Foundation Award and a Cen-tennial Schechter Commendation.

The Yesode-Foudation Award was for a “Virtual Israel Classroom” (VIC), created by Carla Birnbaum and Josh Needle. The VIC is aimed

Business Administration student Bruce Bochicchiorecently received a first place $10,000 National Executive Women International ASIST scholarship.

Furthering Your Education Takes Courage.

Be Fearless.

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at 7th grade students and helps them experience everyday Israeli life, inte-grating virtual resources with cur-riculum and instruction.

Students are immersed in all as-pects of Israel. With the aid of the high-tech classroom, they Skype with people who live in Israel; ex-

plore videos and photos of modern Israel daily activities and debate Is-rael’s responses to its challenges.

The program helps cultivate a special bond between Gesher L’Torah students and Israel by giving stu-dents the opportunity to have an au-thentic Israeli experience.

Students get a real-life glimpse into the country through lively ex-periential activities that encourage students to examine Israeli life and are encouraged to embrace Israel’s unique strengths and qualities.

The Centennial Schechter Com-mendation was for Gesher L’Torah’s Pre-school’s Shalom Sing program, created and implemented by Carla Birnbaum. The program helps pre-schoolers learn prayers and their spiritual meanings.

Every month, youngsters study a specific mitzvah and learn Hebrew words associated with the mitzvah theme. The children are also exposed to big Jewish ideas, such as Shabbat, G-d, and Mitzvot.

Each week, the pre-school cre-ates a positive, upbeat tone, yet one that requires kavod (respect) and ke-hillah kedosha (holy community) in the sanctuary. Students are selected to lead prayers, and join the Judaic Studies Coordinator on the bima.

The goal of the program is to ad-dress the whole Jewish child and pave the way for a positive, warm Jewish identity, while learning Jew-ish prayer.

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eduCatioN

‘Commitment to Education Award’ORT TO HONOR LOCAL EDUCATORS FOR SERVICE, IMPACT ON STUDENTS

AJT

SPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Three Atlanta educators, Steve Chervin, Marshal Duke and Moira Frank, will be honored by the Atlanta Region of ORT America with the 2013 Commitment to Education Award.

Chervin is the director of the Jewish Encounter, Duke is an Emory University Psychology professor, and Frank is the former director of Congregation B’nai Torah’s preschool.

The award ceremony, set for Oct. 24 at Congregation Or VeShalom, will be emceed by CNN Reporter Nadia Bilchik and focus on the theme, “Inspiration is Contagious.”

ORT, one of the largest education organizations in the U.S., has been training students since 1880.

At a glance

Event is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation OVS, 1681 N. Druid Hills Road, Atlanta and will include an hour of networking, cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction. For additional information or to purchase tick-ets, visit www.ortatlanta.org/EducatorsEvening.php

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arts & lifeAJTCoMpIlED BY ElIZABETh FRIEDlY

Ben Stiller Teams Up with Bono for Music Video

Ben Stiller recently joined fellow come-dians, plus musician Bono, to cameo in the band Arcade Fire’s 22-minute film / concert performance, “Here Comes the

Night Time.” Both Stiller and fellow Jewish actor James Franco make appearances – Bono and Stiller are kicked off stage. The film, meanwhile, debuts tracks off the band’s upcoming album, “Refleck-tor.” It seems Stiller’s made a habit of lending his star power to music videos. He’s appeared in some truly notorious ’90s hits, such as Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin.” Stiller also starred in Sean Comb’s (P. Diddy) “Bad Boy for Life,” indie group Travis’ “Closer,” as well as directed and starred in “Taylor” by Jack Johnson.

Stiller has also been gearing up for a new release, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and was recently filming in New York with Naomi Watts for their new dramedy, “While We’re Young.” Stiller is the son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. His father comes from a line of Polish-Jewish immigrants and his mother converted to Reform Judaism after marriage. Stiller had a Bar Mitzvah and grew up celebrating Hanukkah alongside Christmas. His career took off as a young actor after he made a “mockumentary” of one of his co-stars in the play “The House of Blue Leaves.” The parody was entitled, “The Hustler of Money” and was Stiller’s ticket to catching the attention of the bigwigs at Saturday Night Live.

JEWS MAKING NEWS

Rachel Weisz Debuts on Broadway in ‘Betrayal’

Rachel Weisz makes her Broadway debut this month in “Betrayal,” a play set in reverse chronological order about a wife (Weisz) and her affair with her hus-

band’s best friend and agent. The slighted husband is played by none other than Weisz’s real-life husband, Daniel Craig, of James Bond fame. This is Weisz and Craig’s first time appearing on Broadway as a couple. This is Craig’s second time, starring in “A Steady Rain” in 2009. Weisz, meanwhile, is rumored to be involved in the making of a film adaptation of Jennifer Gilmore’s novel, “The Mothers”. The novel details the author’s semi-autobiographical struggle to be-come a mother and her ultimate choice to adopt. The actress has starred in a number of films, most notably “The Mummy” franchise, as well as

written and directed the 2003 short film, “The Thief.” Weisz’s parents, George Weisz and Edith Ruth Teich, fled Austria shortly before World War II and escaped to England. George Weisz was raised Jewish, while Teich, whose maternal grandfather was Jewish, converted from Catholicism.

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oNe maN’s opiNioNAJTSocial Status in the Shtetl‘YICHUS’: WHAT YOU OWN, WHO YOU KNOW AND PROTECTING YOUR PLACE IN THE WORLD

BY EuGEn SChoEnFElDSPECIAL FOR THE AJT

Next to parnosseh (liveli-hood) and gesundheit (health), yichus (social honor) was the third most

desired attribute sought by members of the shtetl community.

Yichus reflected a person’s quality of life, determined who your friends were and how you’d be treated at Synagogue. It also determined who you associated with and, especially important, how frequently one would be called to the Torah.

But most importantly, one’s yichus determined the shiduchim, who would marry whom.

A young man from a high yichus family could expect to marry into

his social milieu and receive a high dowry. For instance, a young Mr. Kaplan who sat next to my family in the synagogue at the Eastern wall, displayed the two special gifts he re-ceived from his new father-in-law on the Shabbat after he wed.

As a person from a high yichus family, he had received a beautiful talit with a beautiful and intricate silver atarah decoration; he also showed off a platinum Schaffhausen pocket watch which, indeed, was a very special gift.

These symbols reflected not only Mr. Kaplan’s wealth but made it clear where he fell in the communi-ty’s pecking order.

Mr. Kaplan belonged to a mod-ern orthodox community, he adhered

to the commandments but was also worldly, hence the talit indicating his religiosity and the platinum watch indicating worldliness.

In contrast, when a young high-yichus Chassid married the symbols that he displayed were different. Before marriage, a Chassid wears a traditional black suit and a Beaver Hat. However, after he marries he displays more expensive Chassidic clothes.

Instead of a hat he now wears a shtraymel, a fur hat, and instead of a black suit he wears a bekeshe, a silk caftan. Of course the higher the sta-tus the purer and more intricate was the caftan’s silk and more expensive the fur of the shtraymel.

The foundation of one’s yichus was – and still is – the construct of one’s wealth, the family’s achievements, such as the number of noted rabbis in the group or, in the more modern community, the number of profes-sionals like physicians, lawyers, and noted learned men in the family.

In the beginning, the Schoenfeld family was not high on the yichus list. Although my great-grandfather, Rabbi Naftuli Schoenfeld was a scholar, author and publisher of reli-gious books, he was killed early in his life.

My grandfather Layzer Yaakov began his life as a dealer of onions and garlic. But towards the end of the 19th century, times were diffi-cult and he, like so many others, left Munkacs for America to seek his for-tune.

Since he didn’t have any special skills he became a cigar roller in New York City. I doubt that a cigar roller earned great sums of money. Still it seems that he made enough because he systematically sent some of it back home.

My grandmother became the custodian of the money. It was held in trust and was designated as the means by which she hoped to enable her family to escape from the Yid-dische Gass, essentially the ghetto.

Four years later, after his return from the States, it was decided (a

collective decision) that the money would be used to buy a book and sta-tionary store and my grandparents designated my father as the propri-etor.

Thus, the firm of Schoenfeld Hen-ryk was established. My father was a hard-working young man, a lik-able person who already in his 20s achieved some degree of note. At a young age he became politically in-volved in Munkacs and was elected to the city council.

The book and stationary store, my grandmother hoped, would be the key that unlocked the ghetto gates and lead our family to a higher sta-tus and social respectability. The idea not only flourished, but provided enough money to move the family to a more respectable home.

It also enabled my grandfather to send another son, Alexander, to med-ical school; to open a watch repair fa-cility for his older and handicapped brother and, above all, provide his daughter with a substantial dowry.

Louise, my father’s sister, mar-ried a banker and the family was on its way to establish a “yichus”.

Grandmother – there’s no other way to say it – was a social climber. Having achieved upward mobility, she wanted to make sure that the en-tire family’s behavior was appropri-ate and that we accumulated the nec-essary “status symbols” to maintain our standing in the community.

After my paternal grandmother’s death, her son – my uncle Alexander, the physician – became the guardian of the Schoenfeld family’s status. His task was to be the arbiter of what was appropriate behavior. It was his duty, or so he thought, to make sure that the members of the family behave appropriately and that their behavior didn’t tarnish the family’s name so that our yichus would be maintained.

His concern, like that of his moth-er, was to insure and enhance the family’s social status. For instance, when his older brother became a wid-ower, Alexander defined whom his brother should marry.

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As the arbiter, he lived by the Yid-dish phrase: “Wus se past oder wuss es past nisht” – what is or isn’t ap-propriate.

At the top of the list is whom one should or should not associate, espe-cially whom one is permitted to mar-ry. He and I had our disagreements, most of them revolving around the definition of appropriateness.

My disagreement with my uncle really with began when I was a teen, about 16-years-old. One Friday night he made a special trip to our home What was so urgent that it mer-ited the disturbance of our Shabbat peace?

He disapproved to the girl I was dating – especially her family. He felt she was “flawed” because her father was a cobbler and for this reason alone he declared the relationship “se past nisht”, inappropriate.

He felt our family’s social status – our yichus – was endangered!

Indeed, at this time we had achieved such a lofty status – well, truth to tell not all that high, but high enough – that I was always identified as being Chayim Schoenfeld’s son.

The concern with the family’s social position continued even after many of us survived the Holocaust and resettled in the U.S.

My uncle’s worldview didn’t change.

He continued to view himself as the guardian of the family’s yichus and felt it was his duty to select my future wife, a woman that would fit in and enhance the family’s social po-sition in St. Louis.

I refused his offer and the tension that began in the shtetl between the two of us continued.

I pursued my life to suit me. In 1973, after a long struggle of re-es-tablishing my life, I finally achieved my goal and settled in Atlanta. I in-vited my Uncle Alexander to my old-est daughter’s wedding. He came.

I was now a full professor and chairman of a department at Geor-

gia State University. My daughter was marrying the son of a doctor and the groom himself was about to enter medical school.

My uncle, sitting in the living room of my new, expansive home and meeting my machatunim, was

pleased with my achievement and my social status. He was happy I hadn’t disgraced the family and gave me his stamp of approval.

“Tuli,” he said, “this is truly baal-batish.”

Yes, even after my constant dis-agreements with him, he was gra-

cious since I enhanced the family’s social status. I had contributed to the family’s yichus.

Eugen Schoenfeld is a professor and chair emeritus at Georgia State uni-versity and a survivor of the Holo-caust

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iN the momeNt

Weekend of Music and MeatWHAT DO HIP-HOP AND KOSHER BBQ HAVE IN COMMON?

AJTBY BRAM BESSoFFAJT COLuMNIST

All kinds of smoking were going on this weekend in Atlanta, home to two very special events: The A3C

hip-hop festival, the biggest in the country, and the 2nd Annual Kosher BBQ Competition held in the B’Nai Torah parking lot.

Somehow I powered through both and am now feeling the effects of my marathon that began last Wednes-day.

I’m making a career shift in the music industry. For the past six months I’ve been training to become a live music producer. Like the re-cording process, a live show benefits from having someone help the artist “produce” the project.

It’s much more than stage pres-ence. Producers work with artists to

turn their shows into unforgettable moments for the audience; in essence I help artists create life-changing ex-periences for their fans.

I give talks at music conferences and industry associations on the sub-ject and presented my latest talk at A3C this past Friday. About 50 or so hip-hoppers and me stuffed outselves into a tiny conference room with very little AC – it was hot, sweaty and smelled like a Bob Marley concert.

We hashed out how to win audi-ences over and sell more “merch” at shows – and they got it! People left thanking me, telling me how much this information could change their career and how badly indie hip-hop needs better live shows. Between this and helping artists chart on Bill-board, it’s a satisfying job.

Some highlights from A3C outside

of the spotlight included two smaller artists that played an early showcase opening night at Space2 (connected to Soundtable) in the Old 4th Ward. Check out Dynasty the “Dream Pusher” and Wordsmith at reverbna-tion.com. Both know how to put on a great live show.

A bright light goes off, and since A3C founder Brian Knott and I go way back to working on Atlantis Mu-sic Conference together, this is my “in” to make that connection between the black and Jewish cultures of At-lanta.

Many of you may not know it, but Atlanta and the AJMF are home to some great Jewish hip-hop artists. Here’s some of our favs:

So called www.socalledmusic.com

Fourth Ward Afro-Klezmer Or-chestra , Y-love, Drake, Mac Miller Kosha dillz, Kosherbeets, Darshan.

Music to Meat

Has everyone heard about the An-nual Kosher BBQ?

I sure hadn’t until the AJT invited me to help out with their team this year. Why doesn’t the whole town know about this event?

I had no idea what I was getting into when I agreed to bring my fam-ily down Saturday night and pull an all-nighter smoking kosher brisket, chicken and beef ribs.

We pulled into the B’Nai Torah parking lot and it looked like a full on festival was in the works with party tents, inflatables, a stage and about

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20 competitors setting up their BBQ pits.

All meats had to be smoked on a Weber classic grill, but you could use any charcoal you wanted and choose from a vast array of ingredients to prep your meats. The entire social hall was the prep room and the pan-try accessible to the competitors was like something out of Master Chef.

A refrigerator truck was brought onsite to hold the hundreds of pounds of kosher meat, two palettes of Kings-ford charcoal and three diesel gen-erators. We quickly set up camp and got down to the hard work of drink-ing and socializing.

We literally stayed up all night bouncing from tent to tent, meeting professional and amateur BBQers from as far as Connecticut and St. Louis; drinking, schmoozing and smoking (mostly meats).

The kids slept wonderfully in the tent. I passed out around sunrise on a cot under the trees and my wife fi-nally napped in the back of the car around 10 a.m. G-d must have want-ed this event to be a success because we had a starry night and a beautiful day.

It got crazy fast; somehow I wound up in a tent, only to be woken to urgently break down camp and get grilling. The next moment I’m wear-ing fire gloves and grabbing racks of meat right off the grill.

We dubbed the AJT “Meat the Press” . Our team included me and my family: Anne, Lola, Riley and our designer-dog Lucy. Also the AJT own-er & publisher, Cliff Weiss, and his son Gabriel; Jay and Jake Bischoff, the night shift; and the morning crew led by last year’s grand prize winner Charles Goldberg as our pit master; Al Shams, Kaylene & Bradley Rudy, and Caleb Heller.

The competition included four stages -- beans, chicken, ribs and brisket. We began with the beans and finished with the brisket.

It was just like one of Gordon Ramsay’s cooking competition shows but with beer.

Although many teams were ruth-

lessly competitive, we made good friends with several of them and I did my best to trade taste tests with as many as I could. In the end we took honorable mentions for team name, beans and a third place trophy for our Brisket.

Live entertainment was provided by the Cohen Brothers and AJMF veter-ans Nick Edelstein and the Groove. Next year I plan to get the Atlanta Jewish Mu-sic Festival more involved and create even more syn-ergy between the music and the meat.

I’ve got plenty of pics from both events on my facebook @bramrocks and twitter @bram_rocks pages; check them out and send me some comments and thoughts.

Meanwhile, mark down the 3rd Annual Kosher BBQ Competition for fall of 2014. This year’s was one of my more favorite cultural events of the year so far.

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sports

Amazing, Yet True!FIRST PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER, LIPMAN PIKE, WAS JEWISH

BY BRuCE WEInSTEIn SPECIAL FOR AJT

Baseball has always been my passion. I can’t recall not being involved with the game in some fashion.

As a kid, I played Little League and Babe Ruth ball and I continued playing in high school. At the Uni-versity of Alabama, I played on my fraternity’s team – ZBT – and when I moved to Atlanta I played in the JCC leagues.

I coached in the BBYO leagues at the old JCC downtown and when I had kids (Harris, Brooke and Mi-chael), I coached all three of them from ‘T’ ball until the eighth grade on teams at both the JCC and Mor-gan Falls. I then coached their BBYO teams.

One of my greatest thrills was to share the experience of taking my two boys to Cooperstown and visit-ing the Hall of Fame. Years later, my good friend Ron Blomberg, who played for the New York Yankees, took me to a Hall of Fame induction where I was able to meet some of the legends of the game.

Ron, as many people know, was a major part of baseball history when on April 6, 1973, he became the first ever designated hitter.

Even today, I still coach ‘T’ ball every year at the MJCCA with my close friends, Steve Friedberg and Howie Hyman. We are now coach-ing the kids of kids that we originally coached years ago. Our contempo-raries are the grandparents of our players. It turns out that time really does fly by.

AJT

In the early 1990s, I went with my friend Jay Kulkin to the New York Yankees Fantasy Baseball Camp for a week and had the time of my life. I have a complete collection of Topps baseball cards from the late 1950s and early 1960s that I saved as a kid and that my mother didn’t throw away – thanks, Mom!

I also have over 100 autographed baseballs, many of the players now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In ad-dition, I share Braves season tickets and go to as many games as I can. Did I mention that my wife, Germaine, is a saint?

I think all of this – the playing, coaching and collecting – qualifies me as a baseball fanatic. And over the last several years I have become interested in the history of baseball; in particular, the history of Jews in the game.

I recently mentioned to some friends that the first professional baseball player ever was Jewish. They were as amazed as I was when I first learned this bit of baseball his-tory. They made me promise to share this story with others, perhaps by writing an article.

I’m hoping that those of you now reading this story enjoy it and that, in some small way, it adds to your sense of pride in our heritage.

Lipman Pike was born in 1845. His parents were from Holland and moved to Brooklyn where “Lip” was born.

He was a tremendous athlete even as a youngster, and was known for his superb speed. There were many competitive baseball teams at the time, but the players were amateurs and unpaid. Because of his athletic ability, he was recruited by many of the area teams.

He actually played for his first team in 1858, one week after his Bar Mitzvah. In 1866, he was playing for the Brooklyn Atlantics. The Philadel-phia Athletics badly wanted him to play for them.

To entice him, they decided to do something never done before: they of-fered him $20 a week, which in 1866 was a large sum of money. He ac-

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cepted, thus becoming the first-ever professional baseball player. It’s also worth nothing that the first full-time professional baseball club was start-ed three years later in Cincinnati.

Lip became an instant star for the Athletics, even though he only played for them one year. He hit six home runs in one game, when most players didn’t have that many in a season. He moved around from team to team, becoming a star player / manager wherever he went.

In the era of the dead ball, Lipman always was a star hitter. When he re-tired in 1881, he had a career batting average in the National League of .304.

One of the most athletic attri-butes of Lipman Pike was his amaz-ing speed.

Besides playing baseball, he ran competitively. In 1873, he won the Maryland 100 yard championship for a $100 prize. He ran it in 10 sec-onds flat, which broke all the existing records. Another time, he actually raced against a horse and won, re-ceiving a $250 prize.

So, in addition to all his baseball accomplishments, he was also the first Jewish track champion in the U.S.

Unfortunately, his life was cut short. Pike died of a heart attack in 1893. He was only 42.

Bruce Weinstein is an active mem-ber of the Atlanta Jewish community and serves on the boards of the Jew-ish Federation of Greater Atlanta, the Marcus Jewish Community Center, Hillels of Georgia, and the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity National Endowment board. He is a Principal with Your Wealth Partners, and specializes in insurance, retirement, estate and fi-nancial planning.

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matZah Ball soup for the soul

An Argument for the Obstacles of AdulthoodEASY DOESN’T ALWAYS EQUAL BETTER

BY RAChEl lAvICToIREAJT COLuMNIST

Total belief and devotion to G-d and to Judaism is prob-ably one of the only concepts that’s easier for a child than

for an adult. When we’re young, it’s simple. The logic is so cut and dry. As children, we know G-d exists be-cause:

1). People have been believing in G-d for a very long time and 2). Our world had to be created by something, and since nothing could have existed before creation in order to do the cre-ating, it must have been G-d, finally 3). We have a big book filled with stories about G-d and his miraculous events, and obviously G-d is the only being that can perform miracles.

But then we go though life, devel-oping in all sorts of ways – socially, academically, philosophically and professionally. It starts slow. We hear about this thing called evolu-tion, and get briefed on the theory of the Big Bang.

We learn words like “realistic” and “rational,” and start to use them in our conversations about the Torah. We read books about the Holocaust and start thinking about how many prayers were left unanswered.

And it seems that the older we get, the more difficult it becomes to say with unwavering confidence, “Yes, I believe in G-d and in the teachings of Judaism.”

That beautifully simple logic we used as a child no longer applies, be-cause so many variables have been

added to the equation: what about science, what about other religions, and what about Jewish laws in mod-ern times?

Connection to Our Reading

By the time we’re introduced to Abram in the Torah, he’s already lived a full life. The Talmud recounts his early days: Abram was born in Mesopotamia. He was the son of Ter-ach, an idolater, and he and his fam-ily lived in a kingdom ruled by King Nimrod.

Abram was a philosopher, an as-trologer, and an outspoken opponent to the worship of idols. He married Sarai and moved to Haran. It is not, however, until the age of75, that he makes an appearance in the Torah. He, therefore, has obviously out-grown his naïve and simplistic views of the world and is well into his years of complex thought.

This week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, begins with that exact ap-pearance:

“And the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name and you shall be a blessing’ … And Abram went, as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy five years old when

AJThe left Haran” (Genesis 12:1-4).

This was the command that started it all—lech lecha, go forth. Abram went, physically removing himself from Haran in order to travel to the land of Canaan where G-d ap-peared to him and promised the land to Abram’s descendants. There, the covenant was made between Abram and G-d. It was there, in the land of Canaan, that Abram built an altar to G-d.

But what made the move so sig-nificant? The answer is just a few words: eretz, moladtecha, and beit avicha. These are the places from which Abram was told to leave—his land, birthplace, and father’s house. While, yes, Abram did lech, did phys-ically “go” to another land, there was also a metaphorical journey going on.

Starting with the words them-selves, if not taken for their literal definition, eretz, moladtecha, and beit avicha each carry a second pos-sible meaning. Eretz, or land, could be understood to represent one of two things: one’s possessions wealth, or, based on its Hebrew root, it could be taken to mean ratzon or “will” and “desire.” (Choosing between the two seems a rather unnecessary task at the moment, but it’s important to rec-ognize both options.)

Additionally, moladtecha, “birth-place,” refers to one’s home and soci-ety. And finally, beit avicha, “father’s house,” refers to one’s intellect and rational mind.

From there, we’re lead to consider what might happen to our thoughts

and beliefs if we lech lecha away from our physical possessions, our homes, and our rational minds? Would we, too, feel compelled to build an altar to G-d—rather, compelled to fully de-vote ourselves to the Lord, our G-d?

Most likely, the answer is yes. Without the distractions and compli-cations of adolescent and adult life, dedicating yourself to Judaism would most likely be a fairly simple task. But it would also be an insincere one.

To believe in something only when it’s convenient is not to believe in it. This is why I think there may be just one more underlying metaphor at play here. We don’t lech lecha, “go forth”; we separate, or compartmen-talize. My belief in G-d doesn’t al-ways mesh with the other variables in my life, but there’s something about the innate feeling of connection to G-d that makes me feel like I can have both at once.

Even if the realities of the adult world don’t agree with my lifelong belief in G-d, it’s my beliefs that can lech lecha—that can continue pro-gressing, aside from my possessions, my desires, my society, and my ratio-nal mind.

Rachel LaVictoire ([email protected]) is a graduate of the Davis Academy and Westminster High School, recipient of the prestigious Nemerov Writing and Thomas H. Elliott Merit scholarships at Wash-ington university of St. Louis and an active member of Temple Emanu-El and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. She was recently named to the board of St. Louis Hillel.

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Following a Path to PeaceABRAHAM’S BELIEF IN COMPROMISE REMAINS IMPORTANT LESSON FOR ALL OF US

BY RABBI JuDITh BEInER FOR THE AJT

In Parashat Lech Lecha, Abra-ham receives a call from G-d, and his journey begins.

A lot of ground, literally and figuratively is covered in these chap-ters. Abraham and Sarah travel from their home, collecting both people and property along the way. G-d so-lidifies a covenant with Abraham and the future Israelites, and Hagar gives birth to Ishmael.

Abraham and his nephew Lot fare well as they both grow wealthy, ac-quiring large flocks of animals. Quar-rels among the herds and handlers ensue, as it becomes clear that shar-ing land and close proximity of the two households is no longer tenable.

“Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, be-tween my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen.’” (Genesis 13:8)

Rabbi Ismar Schorch teaches:

“Abraham, the source of Lot’s good fortune, chooses not to pull rank. He suggests instead separating their families and magnanimously grants Lot first choice as to where he would like to settle: ‘If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.’ When Lot grabs the most fertile land, Abraham still does not demur. At no point in this narrative does he assert authority to impose his will on his disrespectful and greedy nephew. For whatever reason, be it a desire to avoid conflict or because he is blinded by love, he refuses to resolve the dispute by force… what strikes me is the extraordinary dis-play of restraint.”

Abraham acts with restraint, for the sake of peace. Whether or not he was aware of it, Abraham was in the stronger position, and could have dic-tated the outcome.

Rather than exercising his power and potentially inflaming the situa-tion, Abraham chose not to take ad-vantage. He allowed Lot to choose and in so doing, followed the path to peace.

Think about how frequently we witness the opposite: The power grab,

an immediate reaction with yelling, anger and impatience.

How much more appealing is a response characterized by restraint, taking a deep breath, counting to 10, a moment of regrouping to think. When a reasoned response takes place, discussion, compromise and good will can result.

Nobody is left angry or ashamed or feeling shortchanged.

While pursuing peace is a lesson for the ages, it feels particularly rel-evant today in the midst of a govern-ment shutdown, with intransigence, mudslinging, and vitriolic reactions the norm in the public sphere. When everyone yells and nobody compro-mises, there are no winners, only los-ers.

Peace can never be the outcome.

Paul Schenk, a local clinical psy-chologist has written “Great ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation”. It is a short readable book in which he illustrates how common words and phrases and various language traps ultimately and consistently block di-alogue between co-workers, parents and children, partners and friends.

Schenk notes that when you can’t have a dialogue, both sides cannot be heard or understood, and conflict and enmity result. Schenk’s book is required reading in my household. And while our conversations are not always perfect, they are much, much more peaceful.

While we may not be able to change our public official’s behavior until the next election, we can work on our own in the meantime. Abra-ham stands as a model of one who ‘used his words’ thoughtfully and carefully. We are taught in the book of Proverbs: Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths peaceful (3:17)

May we learn to use our words in the pursuit of peace.

Rabbi Judith Beiner, a board mem-ber of the Atlanta Rabbinical Associ-ation, is the community chaplain for JF&CS.

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what’s happeNiNg

Sun., Oct. 13“Behind the Doors of Beth Din: Jewish Financial Law and Modern Times,” a class that gives an in depth taste of the real-life Halachik issues confronting Judaism today and how they are resolved in the Beth Din. First of a six part course with in-structor Rabbi Michael Broyde. Sun., Oct. 13, 9:45 a.m., Atlanta Dayanut Institute.

Blessing of the Pets, conducted by Rabbi Glusman along with memorial prayers and prayers for healing. In-dividual blessings will follow. Adop-tions available by Angels Among Us Pet Rescue. Sun., Oct. 13, 12:30 p.m. Free. Brook Run Dog Park, Liane Le-vetan park at Brook Run.

MOn., Oct. 14“Celebrating Interfaith Together,” to honor World Pilgrim Participants and others. Dinner program hosted by Brenda Woods of WXIA, 11 Alive News. Presented by Interfaith Com-munity Initiatives. Mon., Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m. Temple Sinai. Advance res-ervations at eventrsvp.weebly.com.

AJT“Isaiah’s Unforgettable Monologue to G-d,” part of a six part course with instructor Avi Shlomo, covering Jewish civil Law, Choshen Mishpat. Mon., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Day-anut Institute.

tueS., Oct. 15“Famous Women Zionists,” pre-sented by Greater Atlanta Hadas-sah with speaker Gabriella Licsko, Israeli lecturer, historian, and radio host. Tues., Oct. 15, 10 a.m. Free. Hadassah Chapter office Perimeter Center. RSVP, [email protected] or [email protected].

“The Secret Ingredient in Jewish Per-severance,” with instructor Rabbi Avi Shlomo.Tues., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Dayanut Institute.

“Talmudic Thinking,” Appreciating the depth of Talmudic logic (Talmud Bava Kama) with instructor Rabbi Sender Lustig. Tues., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Dayanut Institute.

Wed., Oct. 16“What is Bothering Rashi?” with instructor Rabbi Yossi New. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, Franc) is the pre-eminent commentator to both the Torah and the Talmud. This three part course will study some of Rashi’s underlying principles and show how he combines beautiful simplicity with immense depth. Wed., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Tefillah.

Fri., Oct. 18Shabbat on the Rocks: Wine Tast-ing & Shabbat Networking, all adults (ages 40+) are invited to enjoy beauti-ful views, a wine bar, gourmet chal-lah and vegetarian hors d’oeuvres. Shabbat prayers by Rabbi Glusman. Fri., Oct. 18, 6 p.m. $15/person. City Club of Buckhead.

Sun., Oct. 20Cohen Home Open House, visit The Cohen Home for a delicious brunch and open house. Learn about the ac-tivities, volunteer opportunities and personalized care services. Sun., Oct.

20, 10 a.m. The Cohen Home. RSVP, [email protected] or (770) 475-8787.

Atlanta Radio Theater Company, the MJCCA is pleased to welcome the ARTC for two shows, featuring, “War of the Worlds: The Untold Story” by H.G. Wells. Audience members can watchhow the technicians craft sound effects live. Sun., Oct. 20, 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. $10-$15/person. Morris and Rae Frank Theater. www.atlantajcc.org/boxofficce

tueS., Oct. 22Atlanta Aliyah Planning Workshop, a dynamic, informational program giv-ing you the opportunity to learn more about living in Israel, immigrant rights, employment, education and more. Hosted by Marc Rosenberg, from Nefesh B’Nefesh. Tues., Oct. 22, 7 p.m. Doubletree Hotel Atlanta, North Druid Hills. Register, nbn.org.il/jnbncal/main/2/5376.

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may their memories Be a BlessiNgAJT

Felicia Weber66, Atlanta

Felicia Penzell Weber, co-founder of the Doris and Alex Weber Jewish Community High School, passed away peacefully early Monday morning surrounded by her family and friends. The cause was multiple infections following a serious car crash. She will be remembered as a lifelong com-munity activist, with great personal warmth and charm. Felicia was born on January 13, 1947 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Joseph and Helen Penzell. She studied at the Hebrew University in Je-rusalem and received a Masters in Education from Northeastern University, after graduating from Wheaton College with a major in English Literature. Moving to Atlanta in 1976 with her husband and 2 year-old daughter, she co-founded the organization, Mothers to Mothers - a sup-port network for first-time mothers living far away from family. In the early ‘90s, along with others, Felicia responded to the need for an interdenominational Jewish high school in Atlanta and worked tirelessly to help launch the Weber School. She remained committed to the success of the school and its growing body of students and graduates. Felicia is survived by her husband, Joe Weber; her children and their spouses: Molly Rubin (Zach), Jacob Weber (Amy), and Rachel Weber (Ephraim Pelcovits); and five grandchildren: Yael, Akiva, Rosa, Alexander and Lev. An online guestbook is available at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Weber School, 6751 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, GA 30328, www.weberschool.org. Ser-vices were held 11 a.m. Wed., Oct. 9 at The Weber School with Rabbi Ephraim Pelcovits officiat-ing. Burial followed at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, (770) 451-4999.

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Dr. Sanford Shmerling85, Atlanta

Dr. Sanford Shmerling, 85, of Atlanta died Friday, October 4, 2013. He was born in Au-gusta, Georgia. He is preceded in death by his parents, Morris and Lena Shmerling, his first wife, Martha Copeloff Shmer-ling, and his second wife, Bev-erly Bernstein Shmerling, all of blessed memory. He was a member of the AA Synagogue and the American Medical As-sociation. He is survived by his sons, Gary Shmerling and Richard Shmerling; daughter-

in-law Karen Schatten Shmerling and daughter Catherine Co-peloff Shmerling; sister and brother-in-law, Sylvia and Lou Py-gan, Ca., sister and brother-in-law, Arlene and Joe Berman of Atlanta. He is also survived by his stepchildren, Didi Conn and Ben, Andrew and Richard Bernstein, and 12 grandchildren. Sanford was known for his great sense of humor and his com-mitment to the care of his patients and the less fortunate. He graduated from Boys High of Atlanta, Emory University and The Medical College of Georgia. He was an Emory Fellow and a teacher and mentor for medical students and young doctors for many years, as well as the Medical Director of the William Bremen Jewish Home for 34 years. Sanford was an avid reader. He loved learning and watching and participating in sports. He also loved music, dance, theater, opera, comedy and movies. He was an animal lover, a gardener and a long time member of the AA Men’s Choir. Dr. Shmerling served as a captain in the United States Air Force during the Korean conflict. He loved America and the principles for which it stands. Sanford Shmer-ling will be remembered by all of those he touched for his com-passion, his medical expertise, his commitments to justice and service and his ability to seek and find joy and humor in life, no matter what the circumstance. Services were held at Green-wood Cemetery, Sun., Oct. 6, 2013 at 1 p.m., with Rabbi Neal Sandler officiating. Please sign our online guest book at www.edressler.com. Donations may be made to The Alzheimer’s As-sociation or the AA Synagogue. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, Georgia, (770) 451-4999.

Marvin Brown87, Decatur

Marvin Brown, 87, of Decatur, passed away peacefully on Mon-day, October 7, 2013. He was born to Sadye and Abram Brown, of blessed memory, in Saratoga, N.Y. Marvin graduated from Skidmore College and served in the Air Force during WWII, before enjoying a successful career selling insurance for Mu-tual of Omaha. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Harriet; his daughters, Robyn Ripps and her husband Scott, and Jodie Brown; his grandchildren, Emma and Jacob Ripps; and his sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Bob Pletman. An online guestbook is available at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Shearith Is-rael Morning Minyan Fund or The Temple Bremen Religious School Fund. Graveside service were held at 3:30 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 9 at Crest Lawn Memorial Park with Rabbi Loren Lapidus officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, (770) 451-4999

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ACROSS1. Locust, e.g.5. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)9. Egyptian resort where Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams met13. Theory of Relativity, e.g.14. Bible’s first grandkid15. Celestial body with a tail16. “Cosmos” creator18. Capital of Russia?19. Talmudic tractate about the census20. Hospital signs21. Rabbi Dov ___ of Mezeritch22. Strove for23. “Pajama Game” composer28. Computer programmer Swartz29. Photographer Goldin and others30. A son of Noah33. Be aware of34. Bava ___ (Talmudic trac-tate)36. “From a long ___ of rabbis”37. Uri Geller talent, supposedly38. Lerner and Loewe’s 1958 hit musical39. ___ and lox40. It was annexed in 198143. Bais Yaakov and Solomon Schechter

46. Give an uzi to47. Borneo beasts48. Game plan53. Tier at Teddy Kollek stadium54. Behrman House competitor55. Swoon over56. “You go not till ___ you up a glass”: Hamlet57. B’nei ___ (Heavily Orthodox city)58. Fabulous flyers59. Kinley, e.g.60. Szechwan sauces

Down1. What Spielberg makes, for short2. ___ HaChareidis3. Like the Negev4. ___ radio (Dennis Prager’s medium)5. Undercoat of paint6. Surround7. Author/linguist Chomsky8. US IRS ID9. Promoter10. “I’m mean and green, and I ___” (“Little Shop of Horrors” lyric)11. “Lost in Yonkers” character12. “This is only ___!” (radio message)

JEWISH PUZZLERby David Benkof

Last week’s answers

15. Woody Allen’s “___ and Misdemeanors”17. Forbes 400 member Haim ___20. Home of a famous Gaon22. Month before Nisan23. Garden implement24. Kinsler and Ziering25. Kibbutz output, often26. First word of “Blowin’ in the Wind”

27. Memoirist immigrant Mary30. Rosh Hashana is this kind of holiday31. Janis Ian album “Working Without ___”32. Brooks and Blanc34. Graham and Maher35. “It’s___!” (wow!)36. ___ Ba’Omer38. Sergey Brin’s company39. Synagogue platform

40. Hopeless causes41. The ADL fights it42. Second-edition section43. Kind of year that isn’t lunar44. The “Ani Maamin” (I believe), e.g.45. Total chaos48. Shrug-eliciting, maybe49. Word processor settings50. Shekel alternative51. Ashen52. Won’t be quiet54. Opposite of ‘tain’t

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Atlanta Jewish Times No. 40, Oct 11, 2013

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Transcript of Atlanta Jewish Times No. 40, Oct 11, 2013