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atlanta april 12, 2013 – april 18, 2013 2 iyar – 8 iyar 5773 vol. lXXXviii no. 15
the weekly newspaper uniting the jewish community for over 85 years
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“got a gun”PAGE 24
SPRING SIMCHASCreating a Truly Special Event, pgs. 11 - 21
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israelAJTIsraeli PrideGOOD NEWS MADE IN THE JEWISH STATE THIS PAST WEEKUNESCO ISRAEL TO BUILD MODERN HOSPITAL IN BULGARIA. A modern medical center for bone marrow transplantation with the know-how of Hadassah Hospital of Jerusalem will be opened in Varna, Bulgaria by the end of the current year. Also, a University of Haifa program will al-low third-year Israeli students to fin-ish their diplomas at the new facility.
CONSTRUCTING A HOUSE FOR THE SUSTAINABLE OLYMPICS. Thirty Is-raeli students have built an energy-self-sufficient four-room house that will compete in the Solar Decathlon event in China in August. It is solar-powered as well as handicap acces-sible and will feature the renewable energy products of several Israeli companies and a garden irrigated by recycled water.
UNDERGROUND ENERGY FOR INDONE-SIA. Israel’s Ormat Industries has designed a 330-megawatt geother-mal power plant in Northern Su-matra. It will also supply its Ormat Energy Converters, for which it will receive $254 million. The first phase of the plant will be ready for opera-tions in 2016.
PAMPER YOUR POOCH. When Israelis go on vacation, they no longer have to consign Fido to a kennel. Kelev-Land – a one-of-a-kind dog hotel with elite accommodations – gives pooch-es the best possible treatment: from mineral water on tap to tummy rubs and acupuncture (and the Israeli-de-veloped DogTV, of course).
ANCIENT WINE PRESS DISCOVERED. Israel Antiquities Authority work-ers have discovered a 1,500-year-old wine press during the construction of a wedding hall near Hamei Yoav, a city east of Ashkelon in southern Israel. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a Byzantine-era wine-making facility.
“MARCH” DRAWS THOUSANDS. Elev-en-thousand youngsters from more than 50 countries are taking part in this year’s “March of the Living” pro-gram, which began with a Yom HaS-hoah observance at Auschwitz on April 8 and will conclude on Israeli Independence Day in Jerusalem on April 16. A group of nearly 500 Holo-caust survivors will accompany them and relate their experiences.
CHINESE FILM TO BE SHOT IN ISRAEL. A 22-member Chinese production company is arriving in April to shoot scenes in Israel for a Chinese epic called “Old Cinderella.” It is expected to be a blockbuster movie, thanks to stars such as Zhang Jingchu (“Rush Hour 3”) and director Lu Chuan.
RIHANNA RETURNS TO THE JEWISH STATE. Rihanna will be performing a concert in Tel Aviv as part of her “Diamonds” world tour. Although
not yet official, the concert is expect-ed to be on October 22, in Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park. Her last visit to Is-rael was in 2010.
INVITED TO TEDMED. For the first time ever, a country other than the U.S. will be officially represented at this year’s TEDMED medical tech-nology conference. The annual sum-mit is normally an American-only event, but this year Israel will also showcase their achievements in bio-
technology. And on the final day, a satellite TEDMED event will be held in Israel.
This list courtesy Michael Ordman and verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com.
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from the editorAJTHigh-tech Hijinks in the Land of IsraelFIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE WITH SABRA INNOVATION
BY RON FEINBERGWEB EDITOR
I stumbled across a report re-cently that detailed how vari-ous countries around the world are dealing with economic woes
brought on by the global recession. It turns out that while many nations have struggled in recent years, Isra-el’s economic engine has continued to chug along mightily.
All the important indicators – job growth and earnings, the Consumer Price Index, industrial production and GDP – are sharply up and con-tinue moving in the right direction. Analysts, as they often do, offer a mixed bag of reasons for Israel’s suc-cess; but almost all agree that it’s the country’s high-tech sector that has fueled the Jewish homeland’s eco-nomic expansion.
It only takes a moment and a quick look around the web to see that
virtually all the major players in the high-tech world – Intel, IBM, Google, Cisco Systems, Microsoft – have ex-pansive research and development facilities in Israel.
The country also boasts a num-ber of homegrown companies that have been hugely successful, includ-ing Zoran Corporation, CEVA, Inc., NICE Systems and Radware. This group of innovative companies – along with dozens of others – make up a region that has come to be known as the “Silicon Wadi.”
I mention this all now as a long and rambling preamble to my per-sonal introduction to the high-tech vibe that spills across Israel. It was a dozen or so years ago, during a trip to Israel with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, that I almost crashed and burned after bumping
up against a digital wall of my own making.
My problems started on a high note when I decided it might be fun to mix a little business with plea-sure. I met with a colleague, the edi-tor handling international news for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and pitched a few story ideas. We came up with a workable plan, but then I needed to be taught how to file stories and photos back to Atlanta on deadline.
Today, that would probably mean I’d be handed a laptop and a smart-phone, spend five minutes with an IT specialist and be told to stay in touch. A decade ago, though, the dig-ital world was in flux, and staying in touch involved a complicated series of websites, dialup modems, pass-words, phone numbers and mistakes waiting to happen.
After a few days of fun spent most-ly in Tel Aviv and an evening spent covering Ariel Sharon sharing his vi-sion for the future, I found myself in a tidy pressroom set up for journal-ists inside the Binyenei HaUma, the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.
It was filled with the usual stuff: desks and chairs; paper pads and pens; a few TVs, lots of phones, and some desktop computers. I was home!
Well, not really. “Home” was on the other side of the world, and I needed to figure out how to get my stories and photos onto the web and back to the newsroom in Atlanta.
I had a set of instructions. They had made sense when the IT special-ist ran me through the list only a few days earlier. Now they looked like Greek.
I managed to download a series of photos onto my laptop and even ac-cess the stories I had written earlier that morning. But each time I tried to call up the special modem set up to retrieve information, I would be disconnected.
Can you say “frustrating” in He-brew?
Eventually, a couple of Israeli teens noticed I was having a prob-lem (I think slamming my computer against a nearby wall is what cap-tured their attention). It turns out
they had been hired by the conven-tion center to help with digital is-sues, and they offered to work me through the list of instructions that now seemed to have been written by the Marquis de Sade.
I recall them whispering and pointing a bit, then suggesting I ditch the instructions and try anoth-er series of steps. I politely and dip-lomatically explained that my bosses back home had stressed that I was to follow their instructions to the letter!
To this, they smiled, said b’seder (“OK”), and went about trying to hook me up to the web. They, too, ended up where I had started – which is to say, exactly nowhere!
This madness went on for an hour, and my deadline was quickly approaching. Finally, one of the kids disconnected a cable connecting my laptop with a nearby phone and punched it into a port on the front of my desk. He then tapped a few keys on my laptop and, magically, I was home – at least digitally!
It turns out, much to my surprise and far beyond my ability to com-prehend, that the entire pressroom came complete with dedicated lines linked to the internet. By simply moving the cable from the phone to the waiting port, I was essentially skipping over the first several pages of instructions I had been given in Atlanta and connecting directly with the necessary website. Who knew?
I’m pretty certain that Ilan and Reuven (those two teens) helped me make deadline that day, but they also taught me that sometimes it’s necessary to simply hand a man a trout instead of teaching him how to fish – especially if the clock is tick-ing and the man doesn’t even under-stand the point of a fishing pole.
But I’ll save that bit of wisdom for another day.
Meanwhile, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Ilan and Reuven are liv-ing the good life today in Israel’s Sili-con Wadi, just two of the high-tech wizards pushing the country forward and making life better for all of us.
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educationAJTA Piece of Pi at GHATHE HOLIDAY THAT EDUCATESBY LEah LEvYAJT COnTRIBUTOR
The Greenfield Hebrew Academy celebrated Pi Day on March 14, and although a great time was had by all, there wasn’t a single pastry
involved.
In honor of the irrational mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circum-ference to its diameter – and approximated as 3.14 – the fifth and sixth grades at GHA participated in a special program designed by their math teacher, Jennifer Klein. Af-ter a week studying the concept of pi and the geometry of the circle, students kicked off the special day by designing their own pi-themed t-shirts, including such gems as “Cutie-Pi” (by Annie Intro) and “Pi-romaniac” (by Gideon Levy).
Then, while sporting their new duds, students rotated among the activity stations their teachers had set up. Sarah Topper, science teacher, presided over a table where students used measuring equipment to determine the diameter of York Peppermint Patties (which then disappeared, seemingly a scientific impossibility).
Meanwhile, Shari Sokol, who teaches language arts, assisted students in composing “pi-ku” poetry. The poets made use of the haiku form, but the sub-ject was pi all around.
Also, Klein created a color code for each of the numbers 0 to 9, and using this code, fifth graders made a paper-chain representation of pi up to the 1,000th digit, while sixth graders used the code to make pi necklaces of col-ored beads.
Asked which activity was their favorite, students had many different re-sponses. Bar Stern was proud of her pi-ku (“Pi is on the brain/Pi is on the plate—dessert!/Three-point-one cheese pie”).
Jaren Linowes said that he felt the chain was a really fun way to learn about pi.
“My t-shirt helped, because I decorated it with the first digits of pi, and I could just look down to see what came next,” he said.
Eliana Goldin valued all of the day’s festivities.
“What I thought was really cool,” she said, “was how we took all the differ-ent things we’re learning in school and connected it to our pi studies. And I memorized the first nine digits, too.”
Leah Levy is a paraprofessional at GHA and the author of “The Waiting Wall,” a Sydney Taylor notable Book for 2010.
Sixth grade GHA studentGideon Levy designs a shirt to
wear on March 14, Pi Day.
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communityAJTGetting to Know AYJANTHE ATLANTA YOUNG JEWISH ATTORNEYS NETWORKSTAFF REPORT
The Atlanta Young Jewish At-torneys Network (AYJAN) is an organization focused on promoting relationships be-
tween Jewish attorneys of all ages in Atlanta. AYJAN’s bi-monthly meet-ings provide an outlet for sharing information about job openings and community events as well as “war stories,” current projects and recent articles authored by fellow Jewish attorneys.
The organization was founded by Atlanta-based attorneys Jody Brown, Taylor English Duma, LLP; Raanon Gal, Ford & Harrison, LLP; Eric Fisher; and Jeffrey Fisher, Kil-patrick Townsend. The founders, such as Fisher and Brown, here of-fer details about this unique group as well as their personal thoughts on AYJAN.
Purpose and Founding
AYJAN was started in an attempt to promote relationship building
among young-ish (age 40 and under) Jewish attorneys in and around At-lanta.
We realized that the profession-als with whom we meet in court or across a table negotiating a deal are likely going to be the people we see at our children’s school events, com-munity functions and other social gatherings. Thus, AYJAN provides another platform for these individu-als to get to know each other outside of the office.
One Member’s Personal Interest
According to founder Eric Fisher:
“During a particularly contentious business litigation dispute, I was em-barrassed to learn that one of my ad-versaries was not only involved with many of the same community ac-tivities as me, but knew many of the same people as I did. Once we found this common ground, the litigation became much more civil, and all par-ties benefitted.
“By expanding the number of at-torneys I know, particularly those who are my contemporaries and share common interests, I believe be-ing a member of AYJAN will be bene-ficial to my clients, decrease the level of stress in my daily work and expose me to community events of which I was unaware. [And] in the past year, through AYJAN, all of this has come to fruition.”
First-Year Highlights
According to founder Jody Brown:
“In this difficult job market, attor-neys have used AYJAN’s events as a venue to explore job opportunities, and have found success in doing so. From new graduates who are simply looking to land interviews to gov-ernment employees who are ready to transition into the private sector and even experienced attorneys are simply hoping to find a new firm – an AYJAN event can and has proved fertile ground to learn about all of these options.”
Goals, Second Year and Beyond
AYJAN started this year with an event called “Pro Bono Work and Vol-unteerism in 2013” and would like to focus more on getting attorneys ex-posed to work they can do outside the office – both with legal and Jewish nonprofits. As membership contin-ues to grow, the group members will naturally develop bonds with more of their contemporaries.
And in addition to providing fun events, AYJAN would like to mobi-lize members to get more involved with community events. Participants believe this group will truly become a force for positive change in the At-lanta legal community as well as the Atlanta Jewish community.
Editor’s note: More information can be found on the group’s LinkedIn page at linkedin.com/groups/AY-JAn-4257314/about?trk=anet_ug_grppro.
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if you ask meAJTAbraham the HebrewWHAT DID HE STAND FOR?BY EuGEN SchOENFELdAJT COnTRIBUTOR
Recently, we gathered as families and friends to cel-ebrate Passover. The seders of this festival begin with
the Abraham saga: his migration
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from his home, G-d’s prophecy that his seed would be enslaved for 400 years in Egypt and that they would eventually be redeemed.
But who is this man that we call our father? Was he a real person, or is he merely a part of our existen-tial legend, like Job, who the sages
declared to be an exemplar? Is Abraham our Romulus and Remus – someone who we designated as the exemplar of our ethnic pater famili-as?
Honestly, whether Abraham is a real figure in history or merely a leg-end is immaterial. What is important is that Abraham became the “ideal” Jew. He personifies (at least in my view) the three dimensions that con-stitute the essence of being a Jew.
The Ethnic Dimension
Indeed, Abraham is the first per-son to ever be identified with the word “Hebrew.”
When the kings of Sodom and Go-morrah were defeated in a battle and the victors looted the city, they also enslaved Lot, Abraham’s nephew who dwelled in Sodom. A survivor of the violence, the Bible relates, came and “told Abram [whose name was later changed to Abraham] the He-brew” of the event.
Admittedly, some scholars con-tend that the word ha’ivri could have also meant that Abraham was a stranger who came from across the river Jordan rather than a “Hebrew.” For instance, Professor Robert Wolfe proposed that in Abraham’s case, the word “Hebrew” does not reflect an ethnic identity, but rather comes from Habiru, a nomadic people who lived in Egypt.
I, however, choose to associate the word “Hebrew” with a unique iden-tity, as I consider the Hebrews as an ethnic group and a nation descend-ing from Abraham Ha’Ivri. Of course, one’s acceptance of this Hebrew iden-tity – that is, tying his link to that golden chain of ethnic identity –ne-cessitates a willing declaration that is performed through the bris: When he circumcises his son, each father attests that with that act he ties his son to the historical continuity that was started by Abraham.
As for the value in making this connection, noted 11th-century com-mentator Rashi tells us that the maintenance of the Jewish identity during the Egyptian enslavement merited the Hebrews’ redemption. To wit, they kept their modes of dressing, their language and their customs, which kept them from as-similation into the Egyptian major-ity.
The Faith Dimension
Perhaps no other story has had as compelling an affect as did the Ake-dah – the Binding of Isaac. Accord-ing to the tale, G-d demanded Abra-ham take his son Isaac to sacrifice in the mountains of Moriah.
Abraham’s willingness to do so is taken as a sure example of Abra-ham’s unquestioning faith. He did what he assumed was G-d’s com-mand because it was just that: G-d’s command.
That story is, for Jews as well as Christians and Muslims, a reason to claim attachment to Abraham as the ideal “person of faith.” Jews have traditionally believed that Abra-ham’s unquestioned faith brought merit not only to him but also to his progenies; after all, He declared to Abraham afterwards: “…because you were faithful, I shall make your descendants as many as the stars in heaven.”
Meanwhile, Christianity – which proclaims that the principal road to salvation is faith alone – also sees Abraham as the epitome of the “faithful man,” as his faith brought him salvation. What’s more, Abra-ham became an archetype of the true Muslim, too, and not because he was the father of Ishmael, but because Abraham’s unquestioned faith led him to submit to G-d’s will which is a teaching of Islam (specifically, sub-mission to Allah’s will).
Personally, I cannot accept the primitive view of G-d as a deity who needs and depends on our faith. To me, it is strange that G-d, who is suf-ficient unto himself, needs to be as-sured of his power and needs to test his faithful so that He can prove to himself (and sometimes to others, as in the case of Job) the love and faith-fulness of his subjects.
I believe that when we define Him in this manner, we do not enhance G-d; to the contrary, we diminish Him. We endow Him with a quality that is detestable even among hu-mans. Do we really want to believe that, like man, G-d seeks to satisfy his ego?
Yes, we need faith, but not as the means of proving anything to G-d. Rather, faith is the source of hope in hopeless times. We need to have trust that life has meaning, espe-
Continued on next page
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if you ask meAJTcially in times when nihilism seems to rule our point of view. We need to have faith in the existence of the transcendental force that gives us love and trust in the continuation of a future and He does it freely not for his sake but for our sake.
Thus, to me the Akedah does not represent G-d’s need to test our faith, especially not through the sacrifice of children. In fact, I believe in the be-lief set forth by Isaiah: that G-d does not need nor does He want any sacri-fice at all.
Of course, my opinion begs the question: What, then, is the Akedah? What does the story tell us?
In my eyes, it stands for the re-jection of the common practice: the worship of Molech, the cruel and unloving god who demands the flesh of children. The Akedah should be taken as a warning of accepting any faith that advocates inhumanity in any form.
The Moral Dimension
To me, the most important lesson that the Abraham saga teaches is the importance of morality – not only in human inter-personal relationships, but also in the relationships that we have with animals and the natural world. This is a part of the covenant that we undertook at Sinai – in ef-fect, the essence of Judaism – and was foretold by G-d to Abraham.
Foreshadowing the events still to come at Mt. Sinai, G-d basically tells Abraham that the foundation of monotheism lies in morality. The Torah relates that G-d, musing unto himself, said:
“For I have known him [Abraham] to the end that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice…”
For, in the end, the future of hu-man life is not determined through prayer and faith alone, but first and foremost by our relationship with each other and with the world in which we live.
Jumping a few years into the fu-ture to the covenant, we see that it is founded on the principle of morality and, like all covenants (which are es-sentially contracts), it is defined by a reciprocal relationship. That is, if G-d demands us to be moral, we in turn can demand G-d also to be mor-al.
Abraham understood the recip-rocal nature of man’s relationship
with G-d, hence he had the courage to challenge Him with regard to his plans for Sodom. He questions God’s intent:
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?”
Abraham thus set the path for our ancient prophets. They became the social critics of their time; it was their task to challenge those in pow-er and judge whether they were mor-al. It was their task also to challenge the nation on whether we maintain the dictum to be our brother’s keep-ers.
Of course, while loving one’s neighbor is a desirable act, it is sec-ondary to the principle of justice. Our sages told us in one of the midrashim that when G-d created the world, He chose it to be founded on the princi-ples of justice and mercy. And did not Micah and Isaiah declare that three qualities that God wants in man are justice, mercy and humility?
This perspective, I propose, was the way of Abraham. He dared to challenge God: “Are your judgments based on the principles of justice?”
Following this reasoning, let me
suggest that all those who seek to identify themselves with Abraham must first and foremost accept Abra-ham not as the man of unquestioned faith, but as the proponent of human morality based on justice. This world cannot survive neither by love and faith alone – it depends primarily on action based on justice.
Eugen Schoenfeld is a professor and chair emeritus at Georgia State Uni-versity and a Holocaust survivor. For more on the thoughts expressed in this article, see his book, “Faith and Conflict.”
Continued from previous page
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simchasAJTHints from the “Housewives”COMMENTS FROM THE KOSHER KING BY davId cOvELLSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
“Honey, he’s only turn-ing 7. This is not his bar mitzvah!”
I had to remind my wife that while we might be in the business of putting on beautiful special events, this birthday is just the midway point (more or less) to our son’s 13th birthday. Still, in the course of overproducing our family celebration, people around the of-fice nicknamed my better half “Pha-edra,” after the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” personality who, in a recent episode of the show, went egregious-ly over-the-top with her own child’s party.
Then, amazingly enough, my wife actually bumped into Phaedra at a clothing store in Vinings on the day before the party. The two started chit-chatting about the show, life around Atlanta and, of course, pull-ing out all the stops for their kids’ birthdays. In the blink of an eye, they’d spent 45 minutes discussing events (and clothing) and sharing ideas for blowing out an event for a young person without the hefty price tag.
Want in on their wisdom? Here are a few hints:
1. Hire a special event planner. Even if you settle for just a “day-of” planner, it will make all the differ-ence.
Whether you hire a person with 20-plus years of experience or some-one new to the Atlanta market, this is the start of creating an event built for success. These professionals help with all the details and will be there to assist on the big day. Hiring a planner will allow you to be a “guest” at your family celebration.
2. Instead of paying a fortune for an elaborate design package, be aware that you can obtain a festive look by renting colorful linens for the event. Linens are priced by the piece, but will make a tremendous impact on the presentation.
If you have the budget for a more elaborate or sophisticated design schematic, please make sure your designer, caterer and planner have a detailed meeting so that nothing falls “through the cracks.”
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3. Don’t forget about lighting. Again, this is about creating a mood in the facility your event is held.
Lighting is something that will help in creating the guest experience you’re trying to achieve. Lighting behind the buffets/chef-attended sta-tions and along the walls and corners can be a dramatic addition to your event.
4. Give thought to the food and beverage for the adults. While some clients are not interested in the quality and presentation of the food, rest assured that their guests will be very focused on the food and service.
Remember that while it may be a kids party, you need to make sure there is appropriate adult food of-fered and presented in an adult way. Plus, make sure alcoholic beverages are offered for the adults.
Even for my son’s seventh birth-day, my one requirement was that there was great food and a Bloody Mary bar for the adults. After all, everyone could appreciate a tasty Bloody Mary on a Sunday afternoon.
5. Select your caterer based on reputation and take the time to go meet with them before signing a contract. Catering, which includes service (service, and service!) and cui-sine, are the backbone of the event.
Caterers work hard for their cli-ents, and you should work hard in getting to know which caterer is ap-propriate for your event.
6. Kids love dessert. While you may not want to have an elaborate spread for the kids (we recommend spend-ing that money on the adults), you should not overlook the desserts.
A “candy bar” with apothecary jars filled with favorite sweets can be a big hit. Let’s face it: The kids are jacked up already, so let’s get them jacked up a little more on sugar; then you can happily send them home to their parents.
Meanwhile, a chef-attended des-sert station for the adults is also a nice touch.
7. Entertainment should be not just about the kids, but about the adults too. A combination of music that is good for all guests will be well-re-ceived.
A great DJ that knows how to en-tertain the kids will be a great way
to keep up the momentum, and that would be a substantial savings over some of the more expensive enter-tainment companies that are on the bar mitzvah circuit.
Remember to enjoy the ride! Life goes by quickly, and we need to thank G-d for all of life’s precious moments.
Editor’s note: David S. Covell is CEO of Saratoga Event Group and President of Avenue K-Glatt Kosher Events. He also has a background as a Certified Public Accountant in new York and offers consulting in the hos-pitality industry.
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simchasAJTW Atlanta-Midtown: Hot Spot for Bar and Bat MitzvahsTRENDS, VIEWS AND MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR BIG DAYFROM W hOTELSSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
There aren’t many places that can offer views from a pent-house ballroom; kosher-style catering and delicious menu
options; customized and personal-ized décor capabilities; and a turnkey operation that can make your child’s bar or bat Mitzvah both impressive and easy.
But the W Atlanta-Midtown can offer all of these.
Hosting any special event at this hotel makes for a seamless ex-perience. The service and cu-linary teams are composed of seasoned veterans, all well-versed in their crafts. Plus, you can reserve a dis-counted block of rooms for your out-of-town guests, who will love staying in Midtown.
Our location is in the vibrant cen-ter of the city and within walking distance to some of Atlanta’s top at-tractions, including Piedmont Park, the High Museum, the Atlanta Sym-phony Orchestra and the Atlanta Bo-tanical Gardens.
Bar mitzvah planning experts say that the current trend is customiza-tion – making your event person-alized – and W Atlanta-Midtown specializes in this. Staff are able to take simple ideas and turn them into dazzling productions; for example, the hotel’s event planner, Gaylene Moldt, suggests creating a logo for the event.
This can then be used for every-thing from napkins and stickers for favors to “GOBOs,” a lighted image projected onto the wall.
“The logo can be as simple as the child’s name or initials in a nice font treatment, along with the date,” said Moldt. “You can give that to us, and we can have our A/V company turn it into a GOBO, which can then be projected in the child’s favorite color onto the wall of the ballroom or even in the lobby of our hotel. It makes an
Vosamo [email protected]
www.Vosamo.com404-966-2007
impressive statement.”
Creating a club or lounge feel is also a prominent trend, and what bet-ter way to achieve it than in a 27th-floor “penthouse” ballroom? Views of Buckhead, Midtown, Downtown and Piedmont Park set a dramatic back-drop; add a colorful lighted dance floor, illuminated bar, soft seating and a DJ booth for the most exclu-
sive lounge in town.
W Atlanta-M i d t o w n ’ s planning team loves to help with creative p l a n n i n g , down to the party favors.
“ A n o t h e r trend we’re seeing is with creative give-aways,” con-tinued Moldt.
“Here’s one really fun and thoughtful idea: We can set up a coffee/hot choc-olate station and as guests exit the event and hand them a customized tumbler – maybe with the event’s logo or just the child’s initials and the date – filled with the warm bev-erage of their choice.
“Guests will appreciate the thoughtful gesture for their ride home, and they’ll continue to use the gift.”
Finally, don’t forget about the pre- and post-mitzvah events. W Atlanta-Midtown is perfect for hosting “wel-come-to-town” dinners for visiting family members with its on-premises Spice Market restaurant; “getting ready” parties for the bat mitzvah girl and her friends at Bliss Spa or in a private suite; a day-after pool party in our WET Deck cabanas; or a simple brunch in one of the myriad event spaces.
Editor’s note: To learn more about the possibilities for your child’s bar or bat mitzvah (or wedding or other special event), call (404) 724-2588 or email [email protected].
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simchasAJTWhat to Look For in an Entertainment CompanyTIPS FROM THOSE WHO DO IT BEST
FROM vIBE ENTERTaINMENTSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
Just like with most services we buy today, finding what you’re looking for in an entertain-ment company for your next
event begins with knowing what you want…
Do you want an established com-pany with a great reputation, or a new company that promises some-thing different? Are you working with a planner or going it alone?
In any case, looking for a company that’s easy to work with, that your planner knows, and/or one that adds value to the planning process is the best idea. For suggestions, ask your family, ask your friends, and ask the catering manager at your venue; check-in with all available sources of information; and, most importantly, check-in with yourself.
Make sure you are comfortable with any company you work with. To figure out if you’ve found the right one, consider these questions:
• Does the company have a great reputation?
• Is the company experienced in bar/bat mitzvah/wedding/(insert your type of event here) entertain-ment?
• Are company employees re-sponsive and flexible in meeting with you?
• Is the company able to ac-commodate changes or even their own potential business disruption?
• Do they have the talent to ensure a great party, even if there happen to be lots of parties on your date?
• Are they insured, depend-able and good at what they do?
The answers to these questions will help you identify the right company for you.
Here’s an Idea
For 10 years now, Vibe Entertain-ment has been the top simcha enter-tainment company in metro Atlanta and the Southeast.
Vibe believes every event is spe-cial, and every client deserves the
best service we can provide. We’ve supported thousands of events – from charity programs like Amy’s Party, school dances and temple gatherings to the wonderful celebrations that the company is uniquely able to sup-port.
One of our strengths is top talent, including MC’s Jamal, Kahlil, Philli, Omar and Chris – the hottest danc-ers and DJs. We also provide the best customer service in the business;
anyone who has ever worked with Brenda will be quick to tell you so.
In fact, referrals are the most common way Vibe comes onboard for new events, and the company values each and every one.
Vibe is one of the best resources to start your party planning. With a decade of experience, we know all the resources you’ll need to have a fan-tastic event. What’s more, we con-tinue to offer new and exciting party
options to keep up with the trends, from lighting systems and games to party themes and talent.
Editor’s note: Call Vibe today at (404) 257-0206 and mention this article to hear the company’s special offers. Also stay tuned for some exciting announcements from Vibe later this year.
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simchasAJTHow Not to Be Surprised by Your SimchaMAKING SURE THOSE BILLS DON’T SNEAK UP ON YOU
BY davId PERLISSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
The sounds of our daughter’s first cry were still audible in the delivery room, but my wife Robin was already men-
tally designing the “Save the Date” cards for this child’s bat mitzvah. After all, the cards would have to be sent out no later than 12-and-a-half years from that moment!
As usual, Robin was on the right track in getting the jump on this important task. Planning ahead is probably the most critical factor in preparing for any simcha, and an-swering the vital question of “how are we going to afford this?” is one of the first decisions you have to make.
Essentially, there are two basic ways to pay for a major lifecycle cel-ebration, whether it’s a bar/bat mitz-vah or a wedding: save, borrow – or use a combination of the two. And as you’re picking your poison, remem-ber that you’ll likely be planning more than one simcha in coming years.
Realistically, you need to be think-ing how you’ll budget your financial resources to serve multiple events. In other words, some financial restraint and discipline will be in order.
If you decide to begin a savings plan for a forthcoming event, start-ing early is key. Break down your savings goal into “bite-size” pieces; for example, you might say to your-self, “If I contribute $200 per month to my daughter’s bat mitzvah fund, by the time she is 13, I will have saved $28,800.”
I also recommend opening a sepa-rate account for each simcha. It helps you clearly track your progress rela-tive to your goal. And in addition to that measure, I strongly recommend having the contributions to each of your “simcha accounts” made auto-matically on a periodic basis.
We all know that things come up, and we can always find an excuse for not putting the money aside like we said we would. Periodic transfers between accounts on a weekly or monthly basis is a basic service that most banks offer at no charge, and this automated approach is crucial to insuring that your fund will grow no matter what else you have going on in your life.
Our other option, financing or bor-
rowing money to pay for your event, is also a fair choice, and a home eq-uity line of credit is a good way to do this. If you already have an equity line in place, no new application pro-cess is necessary; because this type of loan is a revolving line of credit, you have the ability to draw on it as funds are needed.
That suits this purpose perfect-ly, as you won’t have to borrow the funds and pay interest until you need to use those funds. So when that deposit is due to the caterer or the event facility 18 months prior to the big day, you can take the amount from the line of credit.
And even better, the interest paid on a home equity line of credit is of-ten tax deductible.
The most important thing to re-member about planning and paying for your upcoming celebration is not to put your family into a financial bind with an event that is unreason-able given your family’s financial resources. Rest assured that your simcha will be special whether you choose to have a seated dinner at a large hotel or 12 kids over to your house for Stouffer’s cheese lasagna and a movie.
This past January, our fam-ily celebrated the bat mitzvah of the youngest of our three daughters. Our family sat in the front row of Temple Sinai, and our daughter Caroline beamed as she chanted the last lines of her haftarah.
I was imagining fireworks shoot-ing out of the ark as I realized that we had successfully made it through our third and final bat mitzvah. Then my wife leaned over and said:
“You know we have three wed-dings to save for, so you need to open an account for that on Monday!”
Editor’s note: David Perlis ([email protected]) is a group vice president with Signature Bank of Georgia and has worked in the bank-ing industry in Atlanta for 25 years.
Gala Tuesday May 7 2013
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inspiring stories by idf soldiers and parentscompelling remarks by our keynote speaker
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abe schear .
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visit: www.fidf.org/atlantagala or call: 678-250-9030
THIER JOB IS TO LOOK AFTER ISRAEL. OURS IS TO LOOK AFTER THEM.
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simchasAJTMaking the Marriott Your ChoiceNOW BETTER THAN EVER!FROM MaRRIOTT hOTELSSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
The 341-room Atlanta Mar-riott Perimeter Center wrapped up a multi-million-dollar redevelopment project
recently, revealing elegantly rede-signed guest rooms and suites, a new greatroom and restaurant; 3,600 square-feet of ad-ditional meeting space; a revitalized concierge lounge; and an enhanced new exterior.
This meeting retreat welcomes guests through a smoked glass fas-cia entry, set amidst lush landscap-ing in route to a new front desk and lobby, the epicenter of the hotel and a hot spot for mingling with friends and business associates. This unique venue also boasts diverse and mul-tifunctional social spaces including personalized work stations.
Guests can enjoy lunch and din-ner or grab their favorite libation at the day-to-night bar. What’s more, the new Twisted Oak Restaurant, located adjacent to the greatroom, compliments the multitude of ameni-ties by serving a daily buffet break-fast and delicious breakfast menu.
Completely redesigned and re-fined guest rooms and suites are decked out with wired and wireless internet access, plug-in technology, 37-inch HDTV, and an array of up-scale features; and the revitalized Concierge Lounge now features a window dining counter and plush soft seating. Complimentary break-fast, evening refreshments and Wi-
Fi are enjoyed by all concierge-level guests.
The addi-tional gathering areas were added to the lobby level, increasing the ho-tel’s total to 18,400 square-feet of dis-
tinctive and versatile function space. The two newly added meeting rooms were designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to welcome in natural light.
Ideally located in the heart of Pe-rimeter Center, the hotel is within walking distance of Perimeter Mall and the Dunwoody Marta station and only 15 minutes from Downtown Atlanta.
Editor’s note: For more information or to book a meeting or special event with Atlanta Marriott, call (770) 394-6500, or visit atlantamarriottperim-eter.com.
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simchasAJTMake Your Fantasy Wedding a RealityTHE MANY DRAWS OF LAKE LANIER ISLANDS RESORTFROM LakE LaNIER ISLaNdSSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
Lake Lanier Is-lands Resort welcomes the chance to cre-
ate the wedding of your dreams. We can adhere to cultural and religious dictates or venture into utterly unchartered ter-ritory so that your spe-cial day is completely and uniquely “you.”
Whether you elect to host an ex-traordinary afternoon affair or an ex-tended “destination wedding” event that takes place over the course of several days, we can assure you that your special day will be truly one-of-a-kind.
Breathe in the crisp air of our lakeside grounds and marvel at the wooded surroundings that create an idyllic backdrop for your ceremony. Our 1,500-acre property boasts ex-pansive vistas, scenic hideaways canopied with pines and majestic yachts for your ideal outdoor or in-door wedding.
Beyond the stunning setting, the unparalleled excellence of our staff and the variety of lodging choices for a destination wedding make Lake Lanier’s offerings beyond compare. From the regal rusticity of our flag-ship Legacy Lodge to the lavishness of private concierge service at our Legacy Villas to the cottage coziness of our Lake Houses, we believe the entire guest list deserves their own fair share of sweet dreams.
Activities and amenities abound at Lake Lanier Islands. With an end-less array of delights and distrac-tions that dot our lakeside landscape, guests of all ages can be entirely en-tertained. A well-spent morning at Tranquility the Spa, an afternoon of golf at Legacy on Lanier, an evening exploring the waters of the lake or an entire day spent splashing and laughing at LanierWorld – the pos-sibilities are endless!
And if you’re hoping for an event so magical you can taste it, you’ll need to look no further than the fantastic food and beverage team at Lake Lanier Islands Resort. Wheth-er crafting a deliciously delightful menu for a rehearsal dinner, deliver-ing sinful late-night snacks to over-night guests, or putting out a spread that will make the reception attend-
A COMING OF AGE CELEBRATION,
PERFECTLY PLANNED.
A convenient location near local synagogues and free shuttle service within two miles
of the hotel. Newly refreshed event spaces, restaurants and lobby. Expert catering
and event planning professionals dedicated to upholding your time-‐honored traditions
ensuring a flawless celebration. Customizable packages and exclusive upgrades
including double Marriott Rewards® points and complimentary event lighting. From
Friday night dinner to Sunday morning brunch — and everything in between — here
you’ll find all you need to bring your vision for your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah to life.
Contact Drew Taylor at 770.730.2678 or visit AtlantaMarriottPerimeter.com to learn more about our exclusive Bar/Bat Mitzvah offers and start planning the perfect celebration today.
ATLANTA MARRIOTT PERIMETER CENTER
246 Perimeter Center Parkway NE Atlanta, Georgia 30346 Phone 770.394.6500AtlantaMarriottPerimeter.com
© 2013 Marriott International, Inc.
ees believe they are in the presence of royalty, Lake Lanier chefs strive to impress.
What’s more, Lake Lanier Islands also offers exclusive kosher wedding packages that include lakeside cer-emonies, a variety of reception loca-tions and your choice of outside ko-sher-catering partner. We welcome your preferred vendor or are happy to recommend one of our own.
Regardless of your preference, expect impeccable service, a setting that will please your guests and an experienced team of wedding special-ists to guide you through all of the details of your perfect day.
That first step a bride takes down the wedding aisle marks the begin-ning of a very exciting journey. At Lake Lanier Islands Resort, we be-lieve all beginnings should be entire-ly memorable, exceptionally beauti-ful, and completely magical – like a dream come to life.
Imagine that step being taken down a stone path, bordered on ei-ther side by lush green grass, lined with chairs strung in flowers and rib-bon. On either side of the aisle, the faces of loved ones are a mixture of beaming smiles and tear-filled eyes.
At the end of the aisle – set against a backdrop of blue skies, cotton ball clouds, and emerald waters – stands the groom framed by a majestic stone and timber arbor. A gentle breeze carries with it the scent of roses from the bride’s bouquet and an undeni-able air of enchantment…
At Lake Lanier Islands Resort, we feel fortunate to bear witness to the realization of dreams on a daily ba-sis. Every bride and groom has a spe-cial story to tell of their own “dream come true” right here on our shores.
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simchasAJTDo I Really Need an Event Planner?YOU BETCHA…AND HERE’S WHYBY ShERI SaNdSSPECIAL FOR THE AJT
Spring has sprung, and it’s time to party. Do you have a wedding or a bar/bat mitzvah on the horizon? What about a
business event?
Whether it’s your first time or your 10th to host an event, you might want to consider hiring an event planner. A professional plan-ner might seem like an unnecessary expense, especially on a tight budget. But it’s not.
Here are six great reasons why:
1. You’ll Save Time!
Event planners take care of all the details. You may have a great idea and a big vision of how you want this special day to be, but then reality sets in: You’ll need a caterer, venue, A/V equipment, chairs, tables, linen rentals, decorations, invitations, entertainment, DJ, band, videogra-pher, photographer and on and on?
Because there are so many de-tails, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. An event planner has the experience and contacts in all of these areas to save you hours of time on the phone and endless driving around Atlanta meeting with potential vendors.
Once you have shared your dream for your special event, they can get to work making the phone calls, visit-ing location sites and seeking out the best value and atmosphere to create your perfect event.
2. Believe It or Not, You’ll Save Money!
This might be the opposite of what you would expect. You think because you have to pay the event planner, you’ll be spending more money, right?
Not so; their experience becomes your savings!
Once your planner knows your dream, priorities and your budget, they can work with vendors to save you money on all kinds of things. They have existing relationships with vendors already, so it’s easier for them to negotiate rates. They also have the experience and know-how to ask for special discounts and negotiate the extras that your event deserves.
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3. You’ll Have a More Impressive Event
With so many details to handle, it’s easy to have your creative ener-gy sapped, and it’s also easy to get caught up in all the technical and practical needs and miss the am-bience altogether. The right event planner will know how to make a room look great and capture that feeling you had in mind.
There are tons of details and decorating “tricks” that your plan-ner can use. Your planner will know how to incorporate your color scheme throughout the entire space, how to set up the venue to give your event the right flow and how to accent the entertainment, guests and food!
4. You’ll Have the Right Location (Location, Location)!
The right event planner has host-ed parties and events all over Atlanta and can help you achieve your goals for the type of event you are hosting. Your planner will help you choose a venue that can actually meet your goals for your event, be it a simcha, party, fundraiser, awards dinner or business planning session.
Choosing the right location and space can affect attendance, sales, your expenses and a whole bunch of other elements. The right space can actually save you money and impress your guests at the same time.
5. You’ll Take Away the Fear of the Unknown
Your event planner has had ex-perience with all types of vendors, networks with other professionals in the field and knows who the best is. This takes away the guesswork and fear of wondering if the service staff will all show up or if the caterer will produce exquisite food.
You can know that you have good people doing good work!
6. You’ll Get to Enjoy and Social-ize with Your Guests
When you’re planning an event, doing everything yourself is a very big job and can get extremely stress-ful. But as soon as you hire an event planner, you can breathe. You can spend your time focusing on your guests and the things you do best.
Then, when it’s time for the event, your planner will focus on the details, orchestrate the vendors and handle any “unplanned” or “unexpected”
tasks, so you will look like a star and actually enjoy the event, guests and entertainment! Your guests will have a great time and it will be a day to remember.
So remember: If you find yourself asking, “Can I plan, organize and manage this event on my own or should I hire an event planner?”, the answer is simple.
“Maybe I could do this on my own…but, if I hire a professional
planner, I will probably not only save money and time but also have an op-portunity to really enjoy the event and guests that I want so much to impress.”
Editor’s note: Sheri Sands writes for Atlanta’s Impress Express, greater Atlanta’s event management and pro-motional service specialist. Contact AIE for your next event via (404) 563-2227 or atlantasimpressexpress.com.
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simchasAJTWoodstock Gets Bigger, Better Event FacilityVENUE 92 OPENS TO POSITIVE RECEPTIONFROM vENuE 92SPECIAL FOR THE AJT
Venue 92 is metro Atlanta’s newest special events facility for life’s special cele-
brations. Whether it’s a wed-ding ceremony or reception, bar/bat mitzvah, shower, re-hearsal dinner, anniversary celebration, birthday party or corporate event, our place is suited to your event. The commodious building is lo-cated only 30 miles north of Atlanta proper in Woodstock.
The facility has just un-dergone a complete renovation and is a modern space reminiscent of an elegant downtown loft or art gallery. With 9,600 square feet of indoor area and a covered terrace adjacent to the first floor, many different arrange-ments for tables and event layouts are possible. The inside space alone can accommodate up to 300 guests
for a seated dinner.
Venue 92’s unique design high-lights include polished cement floors, exposed ductwork, all-brick exterior,
interior brick accents, large catering kitchen, built-in custom bar, silver chiavari chairs, natural wooded cer-emony space, an appointed bridal dressing room, gar-den complete with a seven-foot-tall fountain and a huge covered cocktail terrace with Italian string lights – not to mention plenty of free park-ing.
How Did Venue 92 Come to Life?
The owners of Venue 92 had pre-viously operated Stylish Stems Flo-ral Design for 10 years. In that time, they visited almost every venue in the metro Atlanta area, and they realized there were not many mod-
ern or large options when it came to event spaces.
Thus, when the commercial prop-erty where the facility now exists was discovered, it was quite the find. In terms of a name, the owners knew that it had to be memorable and res-onate with the building’s location off Highway 92, and so Ven-ue 92 was born!
What Are People Say-ing about Venue 92?
Of those who have visited Venue 92 in the past few months, guests’ choice for the most stand-out feature of the building varies. The bridal dressing room on the sec-ond floor seems to be garnering the most compliments, though; with its soothing pale blue walls, the space plays off the popular Old English rhyme: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, some-
thing blue.” The room offers a place for brides to relax with bridesmaids and get ready for the big day.
Another favorite feature is the two-level design connected via an open staircase. As many families plan their bar/bat mitzvah celebra-tions at the facility, the levels al-
low for a dedicated adult space upstairs while the younger crowd dances the night away on the main level.
And unanimously, everyone who has stepped through the doors has agreed that Woodstock has been in need of a large special events facil-
ity for a long time and is glad that Venue 92 has put down roots north of Atlanta.
Editor’s note: Visit venue92.com or call (770) 330-2672 for more informa-tion on booking your event at Venue 92.
Venue 92’s two-level design
The “Something Blue” Room
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simchasAJTCelebrating GirlhoodLOCAL BUSINESS CATERS TO LOVERS OF ALL THINGS FABULOUSSTAFF REPORT
Diana Hayes-Moore, current owner and founder of Dunwoody’s Sweets ’n Dreams, began her career in the corporate world. But she eventually
found out the coporate lifestyle wasn’t for her.
This entrepreneur had bigger aspirations, specifically in the form of one day owning her own business; she just needed that one big idea.
A mother of two, her inspiration came in the form of her daughters. She went on to create Sweets ’n Dreams – metro Atlanta’s haven for all things “girly,” with bright splashes of hot pink and indigo, under a rainbow of makeup.
Describing the business as family-focused, Hayes-Moore has worked with her mother, sister and brother to help bring Sweets ’n Dreams to life. Part-bakery, part-salon and part-play center, the business has had each family member leave their mark, whether it be in the cupcake recipes or party packages – of which there are six, including a Dream Spa Party and American Idol-themed activities.
Young girls can enjoy makeup sessions, imitating their favorite princess or pop star or a “mani-pedi.” And as a bakery, the facil-ity also caters to the client’s sweet tooth with cookie and cupcake decorating lessons, but this isn’t just any sugar rush, as the offerings range from classic Marble and Confetti Cupcakes to specialty Carrot and Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes and a variety of bars.
What’s more, Sweets ’n Dreams also offers advance orders for any baked treat your heart desires. And best of all, the facility offers daycare and drop-ins for playtime even without the party!
Hayes-Moore and crew describe their mission thusly:
“To capture your daughter’s heart. Be it our delicious pastries, the eupho-ria of our parties or the feeling she’ll get just walking in the door, it’ll be an experience she never forgets.”
Editor’s note: Sweets ’n Dreams is located on 5500 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd., Ste. 5A, Dunwoody 30338. To book a play date or party – or even to just order cupcakes – call, (770) 674-8477.
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let it be readAJTGraubart’s “Curious Vision”LONGTIME BOOKSTORE OWNER BECOMES FIRST-TIME AUTHORBY aLLEN RaBINOWITZSPECIAL FOR THE ATLAnTA JEWISH TIMES
It’s not hard to imagine Cliff Graubart as a major character in the “great Jewish-American novel” – perhaps an opus by
Philip Roth, who happens to be one of the former’s favorite writers.
In this hypothetical work, Graubart would be the host of a liter-ary salon where authors brag about their recent best-seller or complain about the difficulty of their latest work in progress. In the middle of a smoke-filled room, glass of port or sherry in hand, Graubart would act as the mediator of a literary dispute; or laugh with gusto as one of the scribes retold a humorous incident bound for a short story.
Imagining this scene is easy because, for a quarter century, Graubart served in the role of host for Atlanta’s literary community, holding gatherings dedicated to cel-ebrating authors and literature. As the proprietor of the Old New York Book Shop in midtown, his auto-graph parties often brought out the crème de la crème of the city’s best writers, including Pat Conroy, Terry Kay and Anne Rivers Siddons.
Sitting in his Dunwoody living room on a sunny and crisp late-win-ter afternoon, Graubart reminisces
about those bygone days as if they happened last week instead of two decades ago. Surrounded by tomes of many of those author-friends, he also talks about his own recently pub-lished work of fiction: “The Curious Vision of Sammy Levitt,” a collection featuring the title novella and five short stories.
At the age of 71, he is a first-time published author. Although he had written a number of magazine articles over the years, the “Levitt” collection was a slow-growing project.
“I wrote the stories a long time ago, then put them away,” he explained. “My friend Dan Sklar in New York asked how the book was going, and I told him I had written everything I could about the Sammy Levitt story, but it was too short.
“But then, when I called it up on the com-puter, it was pointed out to me that it was all in single-spaced; so I actu-ally had 100 pages instead of the 50 I thought that I had. When I realized I needed to have one more piece, I wrote ‘Short Timer,’ a military story, last year.”
Graubart’s initial idea was to
write a screenplay.
“But then I thought to myself, ‘Are you stupid? Who gets a screenplay done? It’s not going to happen,’” he laughed. “If it’s great, they’ll steal it and you’ll see it on the screen under somebody else’s writing credit.”
Though he was born in Brook-lyn, N.Y., Graubart’s family moved to Washington Heights in northern
Manhattan when he was 10. The mostly Jew-ish neighborhood of his 1950s boyhood serves as the background for much of “Sammy Lev-itt.”
In the novella, the titular character is be-ing tutored for his bar mitzvah in the family synagogue’s new build-ing when he spots a paint pattern on the rabbi’s new office door that, to Sammy’s eye, looks like the face of Je-sus. When he seeks the advice of a local priest,
an uproar ensues that continues un-til his calling to the Torah.
Admitting that the character of Sammy was based on himself at that age, Graubart adds:
“I thought it would be a funny idea, and then I started writing it, and it became a coming-of-age sto-ry with some funny things in it. It turned out to be a little sadder be-cause the kid has issues: horrible in school, no friends, etc.
“Then, instead of going to a rab-bi, the kid goes to a priest. What a schmuck!”
A Family Affair
Graubart proudly says that he isn’t the only published writer in the house. His wife, Cynthia, is a cook-book author who has written several tomes on Southern cuisine, includ-ing a few with noted chef Nathalie Dupree, whose television programs Cynthia produced.
Also on the topic of family, Graubart says his main inspiration to complete this collection was his children: son Norman, a textbook editor in New York, and daughter Rachel, who is studying dance at the Boston Conservancy.
“My kids kept asking me when I was going to finish the novel,” he
said. “It was important for me not to leave it undone, and [then] they find a box full of papers after I’m dead of something I tried to do but couldn’t finish.
“So I did [finish it].”
Graubart credits author and long-time friend Terry Kay with an assist in getting “Sammy Levitt” published.
“Terry was essential,” he claims. “He read it and sent it to Mercer Uni-versity Press. Although it’s a Bap-tist-oriented publishing house, the guy who runs it is a theologian who studied the Hebrews, and he said ‘I love all Jewish fiction.’”
The structure of the book is mod-eled after Roth’s “Goodbye, Colum-bus” in that it’s a novella and a se-ries of short stories each exploring an aspect of Jewish-American life in a particular place and time. Like Roth, Graubart tackles the ever-changing cultural warfare between the differ-ent factions.
For example, in the story “Inno-cence Off Broadway,” a schism be-tween two groups is explored as part of the American Jewish experience. The main character is a first-genera-tion American at the turn of the 19th century who leaves his father’s flour-ishing business in San Francisco to follow his muse to New York and write for the Yiddish Theatre.
While the young playwright wants to write about the contemporary ur-ban life that recent immigrants are experiencing, the older producers tell him that their audiences are more in-terested in sentimental stories about the shtetls in Eastern Europe.
The story reflects the intergenera-tional strife of the new-versus-old as well as the divide between affluent German Jews – represented by the producers – and their poorer rela-tions from the East, upon whom they looked down.
The Geographic Gist
Although he’s spent more than four decades in Atlanta, the city plays no role in the story collection.
“It’s not me,” Graubart explained. “That’s for someone who grew up here to write about; it’s in their blood, while I’m just passing through. It’s hard for me to write about my child-hood in Atlanta, because I didn’t
Cliff Graubart
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let it be readAJThave one. I can’t write about what it was like growing up as a Jew in At-lanta in the 1950s or ’60s.
“People can write about space ships or racing cars in Italy, but I don’t trust myself to do that. I don’t think I’m a great writer, but details in my work connect with people.”
He may not venture into the realm of fantasy, but Graubart is commit-ted to writing fiction.
“Fiction frees you up to say any-thing you want to say,” he said. “Peo-ple would say ‘Why don’t you write about the store?’ But I didn’t want to write about the store; I wanted to make things up.
“It gives you freedom – you don’t have to ex-plain what hap-pened. This is what happened, because I just said it.”
Before moving to Atlanta in 1971, Graubart attend-ed the University of Toledo, served in the Army and then graduated from Georgia State University. He moved back to New York for two years to work with his father in the family business as a furrier. But in the late 1960s, the fur business was dying.
Thinking that Atlanta was a city ready to boom, he came back and opened the Old New York Book Store, patterned on the used-and-rare book shops in lower Manhattan’s Fourth Avenue second hand book district.
“I had a picture of that kind of store in my head when I opened,” he said of the store’s original Piedmont Avenue location. “I had pictures of New York all over the place because I had more room than books – I really didn’t have enough (stock) to start.”
That problem didn’t last long, and his overstuffed business soon moved to the Juniper Street building.
Changing, Yet Remaining True
Of all the Southern writers he’s known, he speaks of closeness with Pat Conroy, author of such bestsell-ers as “The Great Santini,” “Lords of Discipline” and “The Prince of Tides.” Graubart says Conroy had a
significant impact on his own work.
“Pat walked into my store in 1973, about two years before he published ‘The Great Santini,’” Graubart re-called. “I showed him some of my writing, and he said I should try to get it published, but I didn’t.”
Still, Conroy and Graubart be-came good friends. Today, they are partners in a publishing company that does reprints of Conroy’s books as well as those of other Southern writers who took part in the gather-ings at Graubart’s store.
“Pat wrote a chapter about me in his book ‘My Reading Life,’ which
was about the books in his life,” said Graubart. “The chapter is titled ‘Old New York Bookstore’ and is about au-tograph parties at the bookstore.
“It [my store] became the cen-ter for the literary community of At-lanta for 20 years. There were al-ways a lot of folks – like Pat, Stuart Woods and Terry Kay – there.”
Although he sold the book shop in 1996 when the owners of Ein-stein’s restaurant
made him “an offer [he] couldn’t re-fuse” on the Juniper Street property, Graubart still keeps his hand in the business through booths at rare book shows and via e-commerce. Unlike many in the book business, Graubart has adapted to changes in technol-ogy.
The publishing industry has changed greatly over the last decade, with reading devices such as the Kin-dle, the iPad and the Nook supplant-ing books as the American reading public’s primary means of experienc-ing literature.
“Nobody [in publishing] knows, and they’re terrified,” Graubart said of the current state of the industry. “E-books are the new paradigm. It’s not a matter of whether you like it or not, this is it. You don’t like com-puters, I understand, but computers are a part of our life now. I was in my late 50s when computers came in and I realized I had to get into it.
“[So] I sell my books online now. I have a few thousand books in my basement, and I sell books to Austra-lia, I sell books to Oshkosh.
“There are people in my business who are angry and are proud of the fact they don’t have a computer – [but] not many of them. I understand it. They’re smart people, but they can be very stupid in certain situations.”
No matter what the future may hold, Graubart believes the hard-cover book will endure. Though ex-cited about the potential of e-reading machines and the capabilities they provide for educating the reader, he
nonetheless has faith in the physical copy.
“It’s like when television came in; they said movies would go out. Books will perhaps become gifts – you’ll read an e-book and love it, then go out to buy the hardback.
“I truly believe there will always be hardback books.”
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arts & lifeAJTKosher Movies: The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012)FACING THE REALITIES OF OUR WORLDBY RaBBI hERBERT cOhENAJT COnTRIBUTOR
During my time as principal of Yeshiva High School of Atlanta, I had a conversa-tion with a board mem-
ber who was a Holocaust survivor concerning the Holocaust Museum being built in Washington, D.C. He shared with me his feeling that the construction of the Museum was an unwise use of community funds and claimed that money would be better utilized to support Jewish day school education.
I empathized with him, since part of my job was to raise money for the school; I too felt more community money should be directed towards Jewish education.
Then, a couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with this friend again. It was then that he shared with me his change of heart about the Holocaust Museum. He now felt glad that the Museum was here to teach many subsequent gen-erations about the Holocaust.
Years ago, he never envisioned there would be such a thing as Holo-caust deniers, or that anti-Semitism would be alive and well in the world after the atrocities of the Holocaust. Never could he have imagined lead-ers of so-called civilized nations call-ing for the annihilation of the Jewish state.
Along these lines of coming to terms with a new and more compli-cated world, director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy of films presents a fascinating metaphor in which evil is real and ubiquitous. The reality of “bad” in these narra-tives undercuts our assumptions about the basic goodness of man and leaves us on edge.
The second and third films – “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Ris-es” – present two villains who are the personifica-tions of evil: the Joker and Bane. The former rep-resents the cha-otic nature of evil, while the latter represents the committed terrorist, for whom death and destruction are liberating consequences.
Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, begins with a conventional understanding of the Joker’s criminal mind. He tells his butler Alfred:
“Criminals aren’t complicated. I
just have to figure out what he’s af-ter.”
Alfred wisely responds:
“You don’t fully understand. Some men aren’t looking for anything logi-
cal, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or ne-gotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
Bruce is am-bivalent about how to deal with the Joker and Bane, and it takes him a long time to un-derstand how vicious they are and how he must change his preconceptions about the nature of evil people. This perhaps can
give us some understanding of the biblical approach to unfettered evil, such as we find in Amalek – the arch-enemy of the Jews who attacked the old and weak as they were leaving Egypt.
The Bible tells us to eradicate this evil, but for the compassionate Jew, this is a hard business. On Pass-
over at the seder, we are bidden to spill out drops of wine from our cup when we recount the 10 plagues, as our cup of joy is never full when oth-ers have suffered; even when justice triumphs, we feel for the victim who suffers.
Also on this topic, the Ethics of the Fathers cautions us not to rejoice over the fall of the wicked, even though he is deserving of punishment. And fi-nally, the Talmud recounts the story of Beruriah, the wife of Rabbi Meir: When her husband wanted to harm bullies who were constantly harass-ing him, she exhorted him to pray not that they die, but that these sin-ners repent.
The Batman trilogy comprises a brainy thriller. It asks us to leave our simplistic notions of good and evil at the door and to recognize that, in our new and dangerous world, we cannot ignore evil.
To be naïve in the face of abso-lute terror and evil places us at great risk.
Rabbi Cohen, former principal of Yeshiva Atlanta, now resides in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Visit koshermovies.com for more of his Torah-themed film reviews.
JEWS MAKING NEWS
Natalie Portman’s newest film, the Western “Jane Got a Gun,” has been making headlines – but for all the wrong reasons. In a seemingly unprecedented period of bad luck, the movie
lost its director as well as both leading men.
Director Lynne Ramsay quit after a dispute over de-lays, particularly in regards to her contract. Jude Law then followed suit and abandoned “Jane,” citing Ram-say as the reason he’d signed on. Finally, to top it off, Michael Fassbender was forced to withdraw due to time conflicts with his upcoming “X-Men” sequel.
The “Star Wars” prequel trilogy and “V for Vendetta” leading lady is set to both star in and co-produce “Jane.” The movie now features Joel Edger-ton taking over the role of her co-star and Bradley Cooper as the villain. And within 24 hours of Ramsay’s departure, director Gavin O’Connor also stepped in to helm the project.
Portman, meanwhile, just finished up filming for “Thor 2: The Dark World”; the comic book sequel should appear in theaters this November.
Born Natalie Hershlag, Portman holds dual citizenship with the United States and Israel, her place of birth. She is the only child of Avner and Shel-ley Hershlag (who now works as her agent). Her paternal great-grandpar-ents died in Auschwitz during WWII, while her maternal great-grandmother served as a spy during the war.
Portman Keeps “Jane” Afloat
Seth Rogen – of “Knocked Up” and “50/50” fame – excited fans with the release of a trailer advertised as “Pineapple Express 2,” a supposed sequel to his 2008 hit which he both starred in and co-wrote.
But then we checked the date: April 1.
The prank “Pineapple” reunion of Rogen with James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and writing part-ner Evan Goldberg turned out to be a home-movie style promo for the group’s upcoming movie, “This is the End.”
The clip bills the film as the “most anticipated sequel in human history,” but shows some of comedy’s biggest names goofing off with fake weapons in poorly staged action sequences.
Of course, the actual film isn’t much more serious: “This is the End” be-gins with Franco’s character hosting a party which goes awry thanks to the arrival of a global apocalypse. The actors will all play fictional versions of themselves.
Rogen began his stand-up career at 12, performing for bar mitzvahs and other gatherings. He grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia with his par-ents Sandy and Mark Rogen – the two of whom met at an Israeli kibbutz.
Goldberg and Rogen’s own friendship began while attending bar mitzvah classes together before Rogen relocated to L.A. for his “Freaks and Geeks” TV role at the ripe age of 16.
Rogen Pulls an April Fool’s Prank
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out & aboutAJT“The Experiment”: Progress at the Quarter-Year MarkFOLLOWING DR. JANET PAGE’S “GET MARRIED THIS YEAR”
BY aNdREW SINGLEMaNAJT COLUMnIST
Maybe it’s the computer programmer in me, but when I boil it all down, I see life as all about sim-
ple arithmetic. We’re either trying to add or trying to subtract things from our life, and the solutions to prob-lems seem to be a function of this ad-dition and subtraction.
How do I get more free time in my day? Having more disposable in-come is a function of subtracting or decreasing expenses, increasing in-come, or both. And of course, there’s the ever-present “I want to lose weight” mantra – which is a matter of subtracting unhealthy foods from my diet, adding the healthy ones and adding an exercise regimen.
Naturally, my relationship with Rachel (and relationships in general) are also subject to this concept. I’ll start with the subtractions. Follow-ing Dr. Page’s principles, if you want to have love in your life, you’ve got to first identify, then remove (“sub-tract”) your “love blocks.”
Love blocks are those habits, be-liefs and/or attitudes that are block-ing love from being in your life. Are you wasting time in a bad relation-ship? Are you overly negative, a perfectionist, a hoper as opposed to a doer, or keeping old baggage and emotional clutter? These are just a few of the love blocks that need to be addressed.
In my case, there was some bag-gage and a bad habit or two that needed to be addressed. This column isn’t the forum to discuss those, suf-fice it to say I identified an area or two for improvement and went to work on it.
While it was easier said than done – some days were more successful than others – my efforts were, in gen-eral, successful and have helped.
Then, there are the additions: the things of which we want more. In Dr. Page’s exact words from “Get Mar-ried This Year”:
It’s important to not just give what
Editor’s note: Our anonymous columnists, Andrew Singleman and Ellen Mazelman, are reading Dr. Janet Page’s “Get Married This Year” and following the steps therein on their dating journey. It’s been three months, and we have good progress on both fronts.
The Simple Arithmetic of RomanceBY ELLEN MaZELMaNAJT COLUMnIST
How ironic that my article this month would end up in the “Simchas” issue. Don’t get too excited, it
hasn’t happened that fast; but maybe it is a sign of good karma and what is yet to come.
As I write my fourth installment, I’m listening to Bruno Mars’s “Marry You.” Music just breathes life into your home and makes everything flow better and feel happier. And by the way, if you haven’t seen the flash-mob marriage proposal on YouTube, (Issac’s Live Lip Dub Proposal to the aforementioned tune) make sure you tune in; a little over-the-top, but very fun, and it just breathes love!
Speaking of which, since my last article, I have made great personal strides to share with you. Not nec-essarily about getting married, but personal conquests just the same. Of course, I haven’t read Dr. Page’s book yet and haven’t updated my JDate or Match profile (I promise, both by the next article!), but I did take some other very important steps.
I attended Dr. Page’s workshop and took some friends along for the ride. And the most incredible, com-plimentary and endearing thing hap-pened: A woman at the workshop, not knowing who I was or that I was in the room, said she was there be-cause she read my last article. May-be I really have become the 50-year-old Carrie Bradshaw!
My editor said the only thing that would have made it better is if this person had been tall, dark and hand-some and wanted to take me out. Honestly, that didn’t matter to me; I was just so flattered and felt very celebrity-ish!
Also in the last few weeks, I went on a trip to Europe to visit my son, who is studying abroad for six months. Now, to say that I am not a good flyer would be an understate-ment, and the thought of an eight-and-a-half hour flight across the pond (and then another coming back) seemed, well…unfathomable!
But I did it! And not only did I ac-
Flight of Faith
you think you should give, or give one big thing here or there, but [instead] to learn what your significant other likes, wants, and needs on a daily ba-sis.
As part of this project, I am fortu-nate enough to meet with Dr. Page once a month. During one of our more recent sessions, she advised me that Rachel and I should take the “5 Love Languages” test.
This was a great idea! If I wanted to communicate to someone just how I felt about them, the best thing to do was to learn what actions they would respond to the most. What’s the point of buying someone gifts if what they really want are verbal affirmations or physical contact?
Rachel and I already have a lot in common and have been doing very well together, and the results of the test underscored that. We both have the same primary “Love Language.” What is most important to us and what we seek the most in a relation-ship is spending quality time togeth-er.
So my addition has been to spend more time with the woman I already enjoy being with and want to spend time with. Lucky me!
With the arrival of spring, we’ve decided to get together at least twice a week to walk outside, agreeing we could both use the exercise. In ad-dition, we’re looking into taking a mini-vacation or two together this summer. I’d say it all sounds like time well spent.
So the simple math in my life is to decrease the negative interactions and increase the positive ones. Hope-fully I’ll earn a Ph.D. in simple math sooner rather than later.
complish that, but I had a magical time. I spent wonderful time both by myself and with my son.
But let’s get to the crux of things. In my last article, I talked about be-ing fair to someone in my life who cared for me more than I cared for him; coming to him with honesty and handling the situation as best I could. It was something new to me after 20 years of not being in the dat-ing world.
The exhilaration I felt making that trip to Europe and the personal conquest of the air travel made me realize that I can do anything. It gave me my voice and the courage to end a relationship that I knew wasn’t working. Both were liberat-ing; I know that is was hurting an-other person that I did care about, but in the end, I know I did the right thing for him and me.
I have since also made a pact with my single girlfriends to get out and put ourselves out there. Even when we would rather stay home and put on our pajamas or just go for sushi, we instead go someplace where we might meet people, as Dr. Page sug-gests.
In fact, we were out this past Fri-day night. We attended Shabbat on the Rocks, an event put on by the JCC for Jewish singles at The City Club of Buckhead. It was surprising-ly enjoyable: new people, nice people, wonderful rabbi and lovely service. It does pay to go out of your comfort zone!
I also went out the rest of the weekend, once again being friendly and outgoing. I must say, I’m feel-ing lighter and more confident in my step these days. Hopefully this means good things are on the hori-zon!
In summation: Thank you to my son for a priceless trip and to my friends for the pact. Both of these two events have helped me in my quest to find my voice and make posi-tive changes for the future.
Until next Month,
Your Fiftysomething Carrie Bradshaw
And remember, if you know me, it’s between you and me.
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matZah ball souP for the soul
BY RachEL LavIcTOIREAJT COLUMnIST
According to Nielsen, a company devoted to con-sumer research, the aver-age American last month
watched 144 hours and 54 minutes of television, spent 28 hours and 29 minutes surfing the internet, and played on a gaming console for 6 hours and 26 minutes.
That’s a total of 179 hours and 49 minutes, or 25 percent of the month. If you factor in eight hours of sleep per night, these numbers sug-gest that average Americans spends about 37 percent of their waking hours watching television or playing on their computers or gaming con-soles.
And how much of this media-filled time is filled with junk? How many of the games are rated “T for Teen” or “M for Mature” and reward players for the number of “kills” they man-age in a game? How many seconds pass between TV scenes filled with seduction and scandal?
Our daily lives are unfortunately filled with nonsense. I was hit with this reality while babysitting last year.
After having dessert, the kids wanted to watch some TV. Fine, I
thought. We’d spent the night flying paper airplanes, having drawing con-tests, and building Lego cars – sure-ly an hour of being couch potatoes wouldn’t hurt.
The boys flipped through their Comcast channels, skipping over “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Fair-ly OddParents” before settling on what they told me was one of their favorite shows, “Victorious.” It was your average Nickelodeon program: a group of teens (including a boy and girl who really like each other, but won’t admit it) doing funny things in school.
I watched with the boys, eager to get updated on a favorite childhood channel’s current lineup. I took a minute to get acclimated with the characters: The show was about Tori, a 16-year-old girl, and all of her friends. They attend a performing arts school in Hollywood and, rather than algebra and chemistry, these kids were taking classes like dance and songwriting.
In the episode we were watching, the group was working to prove that their friend’s song was worth an “A” grade instead of the “B” it had re-ceived.
At first, the show seemed to be filled with a hodgepodge of tradi-tional themes offered up by Nick for years: “friends help friends,” “you can do anything as long as you set
your mind to it” and “always try your best.” But I was stunned by the last scene of this particular episode.
Four girls stood atop a staircase in matching robes and called for the attention of the whole student body. A band emerged out of nowhere and began to play. Then, after the first few notes, the girls stripped to reveal mismatched outfits: short skirts, short dresses, long socks, and low-cut shirts.
They sang, danced and harm-lessly charmed their classmates as they strutted through the halls. Ob-viously, the teacher heard it, saw the excitement, and changed the song’s grade to an A.
But why make the change? Did it have anything to do with the song?
If I was an 8-year-old boy watch-ing the show, it would seem to me that several cute girls wore clothes that made them look even cuter and then excited their classmates, so the teacher changed the grade.
I realize I’m being critical, but I’m simply trying to make a point: The creation of a strong moral life starts early. In recent years, it seems it’s all being pushed off-track by bizarre messages focusing on sensuality and the importance of being popular un-der the guise of living a “normal” teen life.
There are so many novels, so many classic works that focus on the dramatic fall from innocence expe-rienced by every human being. But I’m not sure we experience that any-more; we can’t fall from a height to which we never climbed.
On the subject of innocence, this week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzo-ra, outlines a series of laws pertain-ing to purity. First, we read about a woman giving birth. It says:
“If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days…and on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And for thirty-three days, she shall remain in the blood of purity (Leviticus 12:2-4).”
The passage continues to say that when those 33 days are over, the woman is required to give an offering to G-d in order to be freed from the source of her blood and considered pure. The succeeding laws outline purification after sickness, menstru-ation and ejaculation.
Specifically on the purification of a woman after her menstrual cycle,
the Torah instructs:
“She shall remain in her state of menstrual separation for seven days…and on the eighth day, she shall take for herself two turtle doves or two young doves, and bring them to the kohen…and you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they will not die on account of their uncleanness (Lev 15:19-31).”
Such a law, at least in my opin-ion, is absurd. It seems unnatural to require a woman to purify herself due to a biological process. Related oddities of halacha – although quite different in practice – include laws regarding food, funeral services, and marriage.
Now, traditionally, the laws are meant to bring us closer to the spiri-tual state of taharah, or purity; es-sentially, closer to G-d.
But I’m a Reform Jew – I don’t bathe in a mikvah, nor do I pass on a good lobster. And I’m also a 21st-century American teenager, hooked on crime shows and online shopping. So how is it that I may ever reach this eventual state of taharah?
The answer, as far as I’m con-cerned, is in following the tradition, even if it’s not done through precise law.
To explain: Maybe I don’t keep kosher, but I clear my head to say thanks to G-d before cracking the shellfish in my hands. And maybe I don’t partake in spiritual baths, but I instead recognize my morning face-wash as the refreshment I need in order to greet the beautiful day that G-d has given me.
The bottom line? At least for me, it seems I can reach purity through meaning, rather than law.
Rachel LaVictoire ([email protected]) is a graduate of the Davis Acad-emy and Westminster High School, recipient of the prestigious nemerov Writing and Thomas H. Elliott Merit scholarships at Washington Univer-sity of St. Louis and an active mem-ber of Temple Emanu-El and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. She was recently named to the board of St. Louis Hillel.
AJTTaharah TodayEVOLVING EXPECTATIONS
Shabbat CandleLighting Times
Friday, April 12, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:48 pm Shabbat, April 13, 2012 Shabbat Ends: 8:45 pm
Friday, April 19, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:53 pm Shabbat, April 20, 2012 Shabbat Ends: 8:51 pm
Friday, April 26, 2013 Light Candles at: 7:59 pm Shabbat, April 27, 2012 Shabbat Ends: 8:57 pm
SHABBAT BLESSINGS
Blessing for the Candles Baruch Arah A-do-nai,El-o-hei-nu
Melech Haolam Asher Kid-shanu b’mitzvotav
V’zivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat
Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of time and space.
You hallow us with Your mitzvot and command us to kindle the
lights of Shabbat.
Blessing for the Wine Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu
Meelech Haolam, Borei p’ri hagafen
Praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe,
Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessing for the Bread (Challah) Baruch Atah A-do-nai, El-o-hei-nu
Melech haolam, Hamotzi Lechem min haaretz.
Our Praise to You Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe,
Who brings forth bread from the earth.
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trees of the tribeAJTTools for Exploring the PastSPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS & UPCOMING EVENTSBY GaRY dEuTSchAJT COLUMnIST
One great thing about ge-nealogy is that nothing changes; even when you need to take a break for a
while or life “gets in the way,” the past remains unchanged. I mean, as far as I know, none of my ancestors moved or remarried while I wasn’t doing research!
Sound appealing? If you’re a be-ginning genealogist, don’t overlook Special Interest Groups as a re-source. SIGs, as they are more infor-mally known, allow researchers to share information regarding a com-mon interest. To get you started, jew-ishgen.org hosts many SIGs.
Most of these SIGs are geographi-cally based, but some are more topi-cal. Two that fall into that latter cat-egory are the “Rabbinic Genealogy” and “Yiddish Theatre and Vaudeville Research” groups. I’m not quite sure what the latter’s schtick is, but there is obviously enough interest that it exists – and I guess that’s why they call it “Special Interest”!
So, what are these groups about? Each SIG has a website which serves as a hub for all information that could be pertinent to members. Re-sources on these sites typically in-clude specific databases, shtetl-spe-cific info, Yizkor books, maps and ongoing projects.
Personally, I have always found getting involved in the projects to be very rewarding. So much of the avail-able genealogical information on the internet is prepared or made avail-able by volunteers, so when I can, I join projects. You don’t need to be an expert by any means; you may be able to lend a hand just by indexing records or checking someone else’s work.
Also, most of these SIGs have a listserv – a discussion group utiliz-ing automated emails – for sharing hints, new releases of data and, most importantly, asking and answering questions. I recommend setting up your participation in “digest” form; by doing so, you will receive a sum-mary of all the emails, as opposed to individual emails.
Note that you don’t even need to ask questions in these discussions to benefit from the emails. By reading other people’s questions and the ac-companying answers, you will typi-cally pick up something.
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Finally, one more parting tip, for both those getting started and those experiecned: The Jewish Genealogi-cal Society of Georgia will feature Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO of Family Tree DNA, on April 28 at 2 p.m. at The William Bre-man Jewish Heritage Museum. Our guest will be speaking on using DNA to settle family disputes, connect to long-lost relatives and to garner an appreciation for where your ances-tors came from and where they jour-neyed since our departure from Af-
rica.
Greenspan’s visit is sponsored by the Georgia Tech’s School of Compu-tational Science and Engineering, Center for High Performance Com-puting, and Center for Bioinformat-ics and Computational Genomics. He will also deliver a research talk, “The Genomic Revolution Thirteen Years Later: Genetic Genealogy and Be-yond,” on April 29 at 11 a.m. at the Georgia Tech College of Computing.
Happy digging!
Gary Deutsch is a former president and current webmaster of the Jew-ish Genealogy Society of Georgia. He hopes to provide readers with high-level news, tips and tricks for begin-ners in the field of genealogy. If you have questions or comments about Jewish genealogy, please feel free to email him at [email protected]. He is happy to provide guidance and suggestions but unfortunately cannot provide research at this time. For Greenspan at the Breman: Adults $12, Seniors $8, Students $6. Park-ing is Free. To RSVP for April 28, visit atbreman33.eventbrite.com.
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what’s haPPeningAJTFRI., APRIL 12
KSU Museum of History & Holocaust Education, the story of Kitty Weich-herz as told through the journal, “In Her Father’s Eyes: A Slovak Child in the Shadow of the Holocaust.” Exhib-it opens Fri., April 12. The East Cobb Library. (770) 509-2730.
Friday Night Fever, sushi and scotch after service; a spirited night of sing-ing and dancing. Fri., April 12, 6:15 p.m. Congregation Beth Tefillah. (404) 843-2464.
SUN., APRIL 14
B’nai Torah Artist Market, local artist display and sell original works; Good-friend’s BBQ available for purchase. Sun., April 14, 11 a.m. Congregation B’nai Torah. (404) 257-0537.
Food Roots with Farmer ‘D’ and Souper Jenny; growing, cooking and sharing healthy foods. Sun., April 14, 2 p.m. Free for members, $12/non-members, $8/seniors, $6/kids. The Breman Museum. RSVP via whatscooking1.eventbrite.com.
Memorial Day for Israel’s Soldiers and Victims of Terror, a memorial service by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast. Sun., April 14, 7 p.m. Ahavath Achim Synagogue. (404) 355-5222.
TUES., APRIL 16
10th-Annual Jack Hirsch Memorial Breakfast, also celebrating Israel In-dependence Day; presented by the JNF. Tues., April 16, 7:30 a.m. RSVP required. The Temple. (404) 236-8990 ext. 851.
Israel at 65 Celebration, celebrat-ing Israel’s independence; kids’ ac-tivities, choir performances, Israeli dancing and more, with food avail-able for purchase. Tues., April 16, 5 p.m. Free. MJCCA. (678) 812-4000.
Dr. Eugen Schoenfeld Speaker, shar-ing his stories of survival in various concentration camps for Holocaust Remembrance Month. Tues., April 16, 6:30 p.m. Free. The East Cobb Li-brary. (770) 509-2730.
The Blue & White Party, a communi-ty-wide event hosted in part by AJC Atlanta; kosher food provided by Pita Palace. Tues., April 16, 7 p.m. $10/registered, $15/at door. W Hotel in Buckhead. [email protected].
WED., APRIL 17
Wednesday Night Live, presentation on Jewish communities from the Indian sub-continent with Emory’s Gil Ben-Herut. Wed., April 17, 7:30
p.m. Congregation Shearith Israel. [email protected].
THURS., APRIL 18
“Night” Book Discussion, author Elie Wiesel writes about his experience with his father in the German con-centration camps. Thurs., April 18, 11 a.m. Free. The East Cobb Library. (770) 509-2730.
“The Changing Relationship Between the American Jewish Community and Israel,” third of the “Celebrating Is-rael at 65!” four-part series, featur-ing speaker Richard Walter. Thurs., April 18, 7 p.m. $10/per session. Marcus Hillel Center at Emory Uni-versity. Info via (678) 812-3723 or at-lantajcc.org.
FRI., APRIL 19
Slam into Shabbat, serve, volley and slam on the tennis court with pro athlete Juan Arico and his skilled coaches; blessing by Rabbi Glusman. Fri., April 19, 5 p.m. Free and open to the community. MJCCA. [email protected].
“Miss Saigon” Opening, a play per-formed by the North Springs Drama Department featuring a live pit or-chestra. Fri., April 19, 7:30 p.m. $15/adults, $10/seniors and students, $20/VIPs. For tickets, visit north-springshigh.com.
SUN., APRIL 21
OVS Men’s Club Trip to Sharp Shooters, gun range outing. Sun., April 21, 3 p.m. $60-$80. Sharp Shooters on Al-pharetta Hwy. orveshalom.org.
Pianist Jeffrey Siegel Performance & Program, the concert will include “Keyboard Conversations,” a series of unique, concert-plus-commentary followed by audience Q & A. Sun., April 21, 4 p.m. $20-28/ person. MJC-CA Morris and Rae Frank Theatre. Tickets via (678) 812-4002 or atlan-tajcc.org.
Children of the Holocaust, from Am Yisrael Chai Atlanta, with keynote speaker and survivor Andre Kessler; featuring an exhibit, book signing and student accounts of March of the Living. Sun., April 21, 5 p.m. Free.
Congregation Beth Tefilah. RSVP via (888) 608-4988 or [email protected].
WED., APRIL 24
Curious Tales of the Talmud, “Finding Personal Meaning in the Legends of our Sages,” a six-week class with Rabbi Yossi New. Wed., April 24, 7:30 p.m. $85/after April 10. Chabad of Georgia. Register via myjil.com.
THURS., APRIL 25
NCJW Spring Bargainata, gently-worn, designer women’s and men’s clothing and housewares; proceeds benefit programs for Atlanta’s women and families. Thurs., April 25, 11 a.m. (continues April 28; preview night April 24, 7 p.m.). Hilderbrand Court Shopping Center, Atlanta. Info via (404) 843-9600 or [email protected].
High Ground Annual Meaningful Con-versations, “Violence and the Re-sponse of People of Faith.” with Rev. Joanna Adams, Imam Plemon El-Amin, the Rev. Joseph Roberts and Rabbi Alvin Sugarman. Thurs., April 25, 6:30 p.m. St. Luke’s. RSVP via trainingandcounselingcenter.org.
“The Jewish Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities within Israeli Soci-ety,” fourth of the “Celebrating Is-rael at 65!” four-part series, featur-ing speaker Dr. Shelley Buxbaum. Thurs., April 25, 7 p.m. $10/per ses-sion. Marcus Hillel Center at Emory University. Info via (678) 812-3723 or atlantajcc.org.
FRI., APRIL 26
“Boy in the Striped Pajamas” screen-ing, film based on the New York Times bestselling novel. Fri., April 26, 4 p.m. Free. The East Cobb Li-brary. (770) 509-2730.
SAT., APRIL 27
Garden Faire, N.F. Master Gardeners’ “Swing into Gardening” event featur-ing pass-along plant sale, vendors, food and speakers. Sat., April 27, 9 a.m. Bulloch Hall in Roswell. (678) 397-0571.
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may their memories be a blessingAJTBertha Kritz92, OF ATLANTABertha Kritz, 92, of Atlanta, died April 4, 2013. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harry Kritz, and is survived by her daughter, Bella Kritz-Doebeli and son-in-law, Ernst; and son, Alex Kritz. Graveside services were held on Sun., April 7, 2013 at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Jewish Towers, 3160 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30327. Arrangements by Green Lawn Jewish Funeral Services at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel.
Wendy Heyman Levin75, OF ATLANTAWendy Heyman Levin (Bubbe), 75, of Atlanta died Thurs., March 28, 2013. Born in Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 1, 1938, to Herbert and Evelyn Holtz, Wendy fought through a difficult childhood marked by the loss of her father when she was 10 years old. That didn’t stop her pursuit for education; she graduated from Wheelock College in 1959. Somewhere along the way, she picked up a love of laughter and inanimate frogs, building a collection of many dozens. In between laughs, she took a break from teaching and birthed two sons, John and Andy, after marrying her first husband Ben Heyman in 1959. In 1969, the family moved from New Jersey to Atlanta, where she raised her two boys. She became an avid volunteer, including stints as Boy Scout den mother, Little League team mother and president of ORT (Organization for Re-habilitation through Training). The absence of pure teaching represented a hole she decided to fill, as she returned to school to get her teacher’s certificate for Georgia at the age of 45. She then returned to her calling as a schoolteacher for the rest of her life. After marrying her final love, Merton Levin, in 1994, she finally overcame her fear of flying, traveling to many places around America and Europe. She also loved going to plays with her girlfriends, splurging on fried chicken and ribs, and continu-ing education. Bubbe’s true passion, though, was her grandchildren who survive her from the Heyman family: Bentley, Tyler, Eli, Talia and Charlie. She is also survived by her sons, John Heyman (and his wife Erin Heyman) and Andy Heyman; her step-daughter, Rina Wolfe, and her husband Jack; her sister, Mary Udell, and her hus-band Dan; and 63 frogs that line her shelves around her home and jewelry box. An online guestbook is available at edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wendy Heyman Levin Scholarship Fund (contact Shellie at [email protected]). The funeral service was held at 1 p.m. Sun., March 31, 2013 at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30327, with Rabbi Brad Levenberg officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.
Charles V. Litt69, OF CUMMING, GA.Charles V. Litt, 69 of Cumming, Ga. and Hollywood, Fla., died March 30, 2013. Mr. Litt was originally from Hillside, N.J. and graduated from Rider College in Trenton, N.J., later earning his law degree from Samford Law School in Birmingham, Ala. He worked as an at-torney by trade in the commercial finance industry for many years. Mr. Litt and his family were founding members of Temple Emanu-El and are currently members of Congregation Dor Tamid. He is sur-vived by his wife of 46 years, Barbara W. Litt; daughter, Aimee Litt; son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Becky Litt; grandchildren, Hudson and Benja-min Litt; and cousin, Norma Temple. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to American Cancer Society’s Gwinnett County Relay for Life in support of Aimee Litt (relayforlife.org) or Embracing Hospice of Cumming, 8013 Majors Rd, Cumming, GA 30041. Funeral services were held April 2, 2013 at 2 p.m. at the chapel of H.M. Pat-terson and Son, Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Rd, NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 with Rabbi Michael Weinstein officiating. Interment followed at Arlington Memorial Park.
Leona Rothstein94, OF ATLANTALeona Rothstein, age 94, of Atlanta, passed away peacefully April 4, 2013. Survi-vors include her son and daughter-in-law, Martin and Sandra Rothstein of New York City; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Alan and Sue Rothstein of Marietta, Ga.; and grandchildren Roger Rothstein, Sonnie Elahna Rothstein, Andrea and Cory Reavis, Sandy Rothstein and Greg Rothstein. Mrs. Rothstein was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel Rothstein, parents Reuben and Gussie Lisman, and brothers Jack and Irving Lisman, of blessed memory. A graduate of Hunter College in New York, Mrs. Rothstein was a career teacher who taught at PS173 in New York City for more than 30 years. During World War II, she moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the federal government, where she met her future husband, Sam. While Sam was on convoy duty during the war, she moved back to NYC, where she and Sam later made their home and raised their family. Mrs. Rothstein was a life long New York Yankees fan and keen observer of people. She moved to Atlanta in 2005 and enjoyed spending time with her Southern children and grandchildren. In her later years, her caregivers were all impressed with her quick wit, strong will and engaging smile. She passed away one month short of her 95th birthday. Sign online guestbook at edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the William Breman Jewish Home or Weinstein Hospice. A graveside service was held Sun., April 7, 2013 at 1 p.m. at Cedar Park Cemetery in Emerson, N.J. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.
Esther SmithWIFE TO RAYMOND SMITHEsther Smith died March 31, 2013, just a few days after her 67th wedding anniversary. She was born in 1920 in Atlanta, the daughter of David and Deborah Almeleh. She worked for the government as a member of the rationing board in her earlier years prior to moving to Dayton, Ohio for her loving husband Raymond. She was instrumental in gaining rights for victims of polio in Dayton, a cause she whole-heartedly took on after her daughter was stricken with the virus. She was a life member of Hadassah and an active member of Beth Abraham Synagogue in Dayton and Con-gregation Or VeShalom of Atlanta. She had terrific style and loved to entertain. Her presence was always felt, and she had the ability to make others laugh and smile. She loved to travel and play tennis and bridge. She returned to Atlanta to be closer to her family, who were her greatest priority. She is survived by her husband, who was the love of her life, Raymond Smith; as well as her two daughters and their spouses, Deborah and Bruce Nelson and Barbara and Tom Ziff; her two grandsons, David Ziff and Zachary Nelson; her granddaughter and her spouse, Erin and Jake Slosburg. The funeral service was held Wed. April 3, 2013 at 1 p.m. at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, officiated by Rabbi Kassorla. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Congregation Or VeShalom, 1681 N. Druid Hills Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30319.
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ACROSS 1. Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo5. “Ten Stupid Things Women Do to ___ Up Their Lives” by Laura Schlessinger9. Early JTS Chancellor Adler14. ___ Mare (whence Satmar Hasidism)15. “___ Undercover” (Rhea Perlman children’s book series)16. Ganef’s job17. Blue hue18. “Nes Gadol Hayah ___”19. Congressman Eliot (D-N.Y.)20. Author, “Eichmann in Jerusalem”23. ___ and Jaron (Jewish pop duo)24. Swellings28. Evening prayer31. ___ Nagila33. Choose34. Israeli historian (“Rethink-ing the Holocaust)36. ___ large extent: 2 wds.37. Lay tefillin38. One of Teddy’s successors39. Lerner and Loewe’s 1958 hit musical40. Ben-Hur was chained to one41. Hungarian sage who said “Anything new is forbidden by the Torah”45. Numbered highway: Abbr.46. 53, in old Rome47. Czar’s edicts48. Lower in dignity50. To a tiny degree
51. He created the “wedge bob”57. Levi Strauss material60. River to the Rhine61. Bok choy’s kin62. Arm bones63. “The Times They ___-Changin”’ (Bob Dylan)64. “___ the jackpot!”65. Mixture66. Central ___ (coffee-shop on “Friends”)67. Letters on dreidels
down 1. “Kiddush HaShem” writer Sholem2. Rudolph of “Saturday Night Live”3. ___ early age4. Second-place finisher5. Jewish camp in Wild Rose, Wisconsin6. “Fargo” director Coen7. “___ Trek” (Shatner/Nimoy franchise)8. “___ Enchanted Evening” (“South Pacific” song)9. Monterey Jack, for one10. Anatevka matchmaker11. Predetermine illicitly12. Treat as a tool13. Arch city: Abbr.21. Rarin’ to go22. ___ Ilan (moshave west of Jerusalem)
JEWISH PUZZLERby David Benkof
Last week’s answers
25. Musical themes26. Zenith27. The Empire State Building’s 1,86028. “I say!”29. Add fizz to30. “Lost in ___” (Abbott-Costello film)
31. Half of Hispaniola32. Torah ___ (publishers of “Being Torah”)35. Part of BBI39. Flask material41. Insisted on42. Rear
43. Sadat’s successor44. Enjoys Mt. Hermon, perhaps49. French location of a Holocaust refugee conference50. Potok’s “My Name is ___ Lev”52. Not give ___ (care less)53. Attract54. Senator Brian Schatz represents it, among other islands55. “Enemies, A Love Story” Oscar nominee56. After-taxes totals57. Do some tape editing58. Pipe angle59. Direction of NYC’s uptown
CHESS PUZZLE OF THE WEEKby Jon Hochberg
Challenge: Black to move: Checkmate in 2 moves
LAST PUZZLE’S SOLUTION.1) Nf5+, KxNf3
2) Bd1#
JON HOCHBERG is a chess instructor who has been teaching in the Atlanta area for the last 6 years. Currently, Jon runs after school chess programs at several Atlanta schools. He always welcomes new students, and enjoys working with children who have no prior chess knowledge. Jon can be reached at [email protected] to schedule private lessons.
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