Atlanta Jewish Community Archives

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Thou Shalt Eat Ice Cream! (And Other Shavuot Observances)

This year the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (literally, the festival of weeks) which celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, falls on May 17-18. We wanted to give our readers a heads up on what Shavuot means and how you might observe it here in Atlanta.

What’s it all about? Shavuot falls seven weeks after Passover at the end of the counting of the Omer. In biblical times, Shavuot was one of three pilgrimage festivals in which all the Jewish men would go to Jerusalem and bring their first fruits (usually grain) as offerings to God. Today, we celebrate Shavuot by going to synagogue to hear the recitation of the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth. Check the websites of individual synagogues to see what they have planned for Shavuot this year.

Holiday Highlights & Traditions: Many people invite friends for festive meals of dairy foods which evoke the nourishment of the Torah as “mother’s milk.” Blintzes filled with cheese are the quintessential Ashkenazi Shavuot treat. Some Sephardi Jews serve flaky cheese-filled pastries called bourekas.

Monday, May 17, join the Chabad Intown Community for Thou Shalt Eat Ice Cream, an outdoors ice cream party. Gather at Chabad Intown on the BeltLine (outdoors) at 5:30 pm to hear the Ten Commandments followed by ice cream, snacks, and a light dinner for the kids! This event is free of charge. RSVP here.

Stay Up Late & Learn: Many people follow the custom of staying up all night to study Torah texts, including mystical tractates of the Zohar where the tradition of midnight study comes from.

Sunday, May 16, the Atlanta Rabbinical Association will offer a free virtual Evening of Shavuot Learning, 6 pm to midnight. Choose from a wide range of sessions featuring teachers from across the community and representing multiple points of view. Registration is required.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring

Raising Up Great Leaders

A cohort of twenty organizational leaders representing fourteen organizations across Jewish Atlanta will soon complete an intensive leadership and board development program called OnBoard, brought to our community in partnership with a national foundation. But their “graduation” from the program is really just the beginning of their leadership journey. OnBoard is a leadership launching pad that challenges and stretches each participant’s capacity to be effective inside their current organizations and in any future roles.

Their training is right in step with Federation’s role as a Community Champion. Raising up strong leaders has an amazing ripple effect within an organization, and ultimately on our entire Jewish ecosystem. By investing in leaders, we strengthen the community’s collective capacity to meet current challenges, to ensure stable succession planning, and to be ready for the future.

The OnBoard program is uniquely invested not just in the development of the fellows, but also in increasing organizational capacity at the organizations in which they serve. In addition to intense seminar and Jewish learning and coaches who work individually with OnBoard fellows, the board of each organization engaged in a self-assessment process, and each organization was granted $10,000 to work with an outside consultant on a project identified as an area of opportunity to strengthen their board functioning. At the conclusion of the formal learning part of the program next month, each organization will now also apply for a 1:1 matching challenge grant of $100,000 for projects that increase organizational capacity. If all our participating organizations are successful in meeting their challenge grants, Jewish Atlanta will see an infusion of more than $1.5 million of outside dollars coming into the community for substantial impact!

Wally Levitt, CEO of Ramah Darom values his OnBoard experience. “In these challenging and unusual times, every non-profit leader is turning to their board of directors more than ever for support and guidance. Ramah Darom is so appreciative to be part of the OnBoard program, providing valuable training and guidance to our board members and professional leadership. The topics covered were relevant, and the quality of the speakers has been exceptional. We know that this experience will help ensure Ramah Darom continues to thrive.”

Representing The Breman Museum as a fellow, Adam Koplan also feels his organization has benefitted from an OnBoard consulting grant. “We used the grant for taking a hard look at our board and asking how we might be an even more effective tool for growing The Breman. We created an action plan to revitalize and optimize board participation around a target set of priorities: re-aligning the whole team around our future vision and strategic plan, reviewing committee structures and charters, creating a board matrix of skills and strengths, and increasing our awareness around Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

“We also benefitted from personal training with wonderful national experts on fundraising and board structures/governance. We meet monthly in intensive four-hour training blocks for an MBA style class in these key areas of non-profit leadership. The training has already made me more engaged and knowledgeable in this board revamp process and successful fundraising strategies over time,” Koplan said.

Ana Robbins, Executive Director of Jewish Kids Groups said, “High functioning boards drive impactful organizations. OnBoard has been a learning accelerator for our whole organization, positioning us for new heights and greater impact.”

OnBoard is strengthening our local leaders right where they are, right on the job. Several fellows have become board chair of their organization in the midst of the program. These investments in rising leaders and organizations positions Jewish Atlanta to become an even stronger and more impactful ecosystem.

Participants in the OnBoard cohort:
Atlanta Jewish Academy: Leanne, Kaplan, Pia Koslow Frank
The Epstein School: David Poline
Jewish Kids Groups: Sara Watson
Camp Coleman (URJ): Myndi Carter, Jackie Dalton
Ramah Darom: Angela Cohen
Hillels of Georgia: Kara Adler
The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum: Adam Koplan
Jewish Family & Career Services: Rashelle Berry, Zak Koffler
Jewish Home Life Communities: Andrea Lipman
Jewish Fertility Foundation: Lynn Goldman
Congregation Bet Haverim: Barry Golivesky, Amy Price
Congregation Ohr Ha Torah: Marci Joel, Raanon Gal
Temple Beth Tikvah: Todd Boehm, Robert Rickles
Congregation Shearith Israel: Blair Rothstein

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, People in Need

Pandemic Learning: Humans Crave Connection

May is mental health awareness month, and a good time to look more closely at Federation and Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) recent COVID-19 Jewish Community Self-Care Study. The study revealed that two particular age groups in our community experienced the greatest stress and anxiety during the pandemic year. Many mental health issues, including substance abuse, surfaced from the survey, but the deep need for activities that support human connection was evident across all age groups.

Under 24–year–olds reported high levels of anxiety and loneliness because they couldn’t be with their friends. They also worried about the vulnerability of older loved ones to the virus. We know that a robust social life is core to this age group.Those under 24 lack the life experience to cope and understand that this too will pass. As we think about responses to their needs, a core question for this age group is how do we help them build resilience skills and stronger self–care practices?

35-44–year–olds, especially parents who were homeschooling their kids, were deeply affected by the combined stressors of meeting their responsibilities to their families and doing their jobs. They feared the illness, were anxious about supervising their childrens’ education, and felt high stress around taking care of others. Core questions for this age group: TV watching, visiting in person, exercise, being outdoors, and cooking sustained this group. How can we balance their family responsibilities with their need for personal care?

Dan Arnold, Director of Clinical Services at JF&CS believes the stress we are experiencing may not subside any time soon. He cites the “Shadow Pandemic” where mental health concerns are expected to follow even as COVID cases decline, “We’re in the midst of a collective trauma,” Arnold says. “Trauma often overwhelms the ability to cope and diminishes the ability to feel a full range of emotions. Clinicians need to understand the sense of betrayal, confusion, and loss that so many are feeling.”

Amy Glass, a director in Federation’s Community Planning and Impact helped design and field the self-care survey. She feels there’s a strong community call to action coming out of the results. “I hope every Jewish professional will think creatively about how their programs can enhance mental health resilience. I want us to come together to mine new responses from our organizations that address supporting good mental health. The survey showed that people want exercise buddies, and activities that bring people together — they want to feel connected!”

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, Jewish Journeys, People in Need

Conquering Shame, Cultivating Trust

A recent Jewish community survey on self care during the pandemic revealed that people age 25 and under have experienced some of the highest rates of anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicidal thoughts. It was surprising to some, but not to the professionals who lead JumpSpark, our community teen initiative. JumpSpark conducted its own anonymous teen survey on mental health and has been creating programming and opportunities for group work around these issues since the beginning of the pandemic. JumpSpark has provided a safe place for teens to talk and share their feelings during this time.

Lili Stadler, a senior at The Weber School, is part of JumpSpark’s Strong Women Fellowship. She spent the summer and fall of 2020 interning with the Blue Dove Foundation which addresses mental health through a Jewish lens. Lili has been passionate about mental health advocacy her whole life, and her curiosity about her peers led her to create a mental health survey for the Atlanta Jewish teen community.

Read on to see what Lili learned through her internship and from her friends, the statistics she has mined, and what she has to say about the emotional struggles she and her peers are dealing with.

With a school counselor as my mom, I have always known the importance of mental health. Talking about my feelings had never been a problem; in fact, it was normal in my household. Therefore, I brought that mindset into elementary school, which wasn’t anything necessarily special, considering crying and complaining were daily occurrences for most children trying to understand how to share, create friendships, and express themselves. I pretty much had one best friend who knew every thought that went through my head throughout middle school. She was practically my sister, so I didn’t feel any need to keep anything in. Sharing our thoughts and expressing our emotions were normal, everyday tasks. Again, unleashing this vulnerability was a regular and uneventful occurrence in my day-to-day life.

When I got to high school, I was shocked that, after getting acquainted with my peers through surface-level discussions about our previous schools and favorite nail spots, they weren’t openly sharing their deepest, darkest secrets. Now that we are seniors, my friends are aware that I am not afraid to show or talk about my emotions. After realizing not everyone is comfortable with talking about those feelings, I have learned to normalize mental health in my personal life. Most of the time, I encourage my friends to understand that feeling any type of emotion is normal, and you do not have to feel ashamed of it.

Because of the pandemic, I have become very aware of my own mental health needs as well as the mental health concerns of those around me. The effects of isolation have been clear: Not only have I become personally acquainted with both anxiety and depression; I have seen most of my friends struggle. One thing we can agree on in these times of turmoil in our country is that now, more than ever, is the time to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health.

Fortunately, I have had the unusual opportunity to view and interpret real data on the state of teen mental health in the Jewish community through an anonymous survey I created during my internship at the Blue Dove Foundation. One hundred fifty-four respondents, most of them Jewish, from both public and private schools across Atlanta provided insight into teen mental health issues. Some of the information was pleasantly uplifting; however, some statistics reflected the growing concerns society faces regarding mental health. For example, it was shocking to see roughly half the people who took the survey have experienced depression in the past six months, potentially propagated by COVID-19. Although I know, statistically, depression is pervasive among teens, it almost seems unreal that so many people have experienced it, considering I have had very little experience with people close to me opening up about their depression.

Additionally, about 29 percent of respondents engage in solo or group drinking or drug use when feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed, which seems like too large of a number. When asked what they would worry about most when confiding in someone for emotional support, about 12 percent of respondents expressed that they do not have anyone they would trust to tell, and about 15 percent wouldn’t even want their friends/family finding out they are struggling.

Many things struck me as concerning in these statistics. For example, 86 percent of participants have had a friend confide in them about their mental health, yet 44 percent of those respondents were told not to tell anyone about that discussion. Further, 43 percent said they feel as if they do not know how to help their friends’ mental health issues, and 41 percent of respondents don’t open up to others about mental health, because they do not want to burden others with their problems.

Teens are clearly underprepared to effectively help their peers with mental health, yet most respondents said they would go to a friend before talking to an adult about their mental health issues. Because the difference between the number of people who would most trust a friend and the number of teens who feel ready to handle someone’s mental health concerns, it is clear to me things need to change. It is extremely difficult to know the right steps to take regarding someone else’s personal struggles, and there is a lack of resources to point teens in the right direction. From these statistics, it is clear that most teens are “driving blindly” while trying to help their friends with their problems.

By encouraging data-driven education and advocacy, Blue Dove aims to increase awareness about mental illness and make all of us feel less alone in our mental health journey. When giving teens the opportunity to share and listen to one another’s experiences without judgement, and by dedicating the time and resources needed to teach helping skills, vulnerability and understanding, Jewish youth organizations and day schools can simultaneously help end the stigma and increase the emotional intelligence and resilience of our teen population.

View the full survey results.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Federation Innovation

2021 Community Award Winners

Jada Garrett
As a Black Jew, Jada Garrett seeks to amplify voices and experiences of Jews of Color. She provides leadership and organizational diversity training workshops with a Jewish lens, consulting and public speaking. Jada is active at Congregation Shearith Israel, with Be’chol Lashon, and participates in multiple Jews of Color focus groups. She is also a member of the Jews of Color Fed Network, a community network made up of Jewish People of Color that serve as a resource for the broader Jewish communal landscape.

Adam Hirsch
Adam Hirsch epitomizes the definition of leadership within the Jewish Community. He is on the executive board of American Jewish Committee, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, and is a former board member of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and Jewish Family & Career Services. He has also served on the steering board of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. He was awarded the Young Leadership Award by ORT and was recently honored by Hillels of Georgia for his contributions both personally and professionally. Adam has also told the Jewish Atlanta story through various documentaries, including most recently, “Atlanta, The City Too Busy to Wait.”

The Gerald G. Cohen Community Development Award — Jennifer Korach
Jennifer Korach may be new to Atlanta, but she has a long history with Jewish Federations. She was an active leader in Cleveland, holding many positions in the general campaign, women’s philanthropy, and was a member of Young Leadership Cabinet. Jennifer is a premier worker (and excellent fund raiser), serves as liaison to JFNA, and has served on allocations committees. Jennifer has co-chaired events and Pop Ups.

The Marilyn Shubin Professional Staff Development Award — David Welsher
David Welsher is currently serving in his fourth academic year at The Epstein School and was recently named the Associate Head of School effective fall 2021. He is an inspired innovator, a gifted educator, and a compelling leader, who is enthusiastic about sharing his passion, vision, and knowledge. David’s educational philosophy sees each student as a whole child capable of learning and growth. Traditional academic learning is seen alongside the social, emotional, and spiritual growth of each student.

Mary & Max London People Power Award — Lauren Harris
Lauren Harris has served on JF&CS’s Board for over 10 years. She created The Artists’ Collective; an innovative, volunteer led and run inclusion program bringing community artists twice a month into IndependenceWorks, JF&CS’s day services program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This program gives clients who love art the ability to experiment with a variety of mediums and to interact with artists who are experts in their medium. Some of the items produced have been sold at JF&CS’s signature event, the Tasting, a fundraiser that supports these programs.

Tikkun Olam/Community Impact Award — Mimi Hall
Mimi Hall was a founder and early organizer of Concrete Jungle, an organization launched in 2009 with the innovative idea of harvesting fruit and nuts from abandoned/underutilized urban trees. Concrete Jungle makes that produce a year-round food source for food banks, shelters, and people in need. The organization has now grown to a multi-pronged food justice advocate. Concrete Jungle organizes fruit picking events. It partners with other food justice organizations mobilizing volunteers for food delivery to needy families.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, Jewish Abilities Atlanta, People in Need

A New Blueprint for Inclusion in Jewish Atlanta

In early 2020, the Jewish Abilities Alliance (JAA) engaged in a study of disability inclusion in Jewish Atlanta with an organization called Matan. Matan works with Jewish professionals, communities, and families to create and sustain inclusive Jewish settings for people with disabilities. The study was an opportunity to reflect on our community’s past efforts and to re-evaluate needs and areas for deeper focus and support.

Then came COVID-19. As the pandemic began to unfold, the study took on even more importance. It was clear that individuals with disabilities were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, facing increased social isolation, cuts in crucial services, and increased vulnerability to their health and wellbeing.

Thanks to the consulting team from Matan, we now have identified a framework that promotes and enhances a vision of a Jewish Atlanta that is fully inclusive of individuals with disabilities and their families across the lifespan. Here are some of the ways how we hope to close the gap between what currently exists and what the community aims to accomplish:

Establishing and supporting coordinated communal inclusion efforts and unified community goals
Prioritizing funding for inclusion across the lifespan and ensuring sustainability
Creating a shared communal vision of acceptance and support for individuals of all abilities
Training for all community professionals and lay leaders to create an even landscape of inclusion knowledge and capability

We look forward to sharing the outcomes of this study and our road map for the next several years as we deepen our work alongside our community partners, in making Jewish Atlanta a place where people of all abilities are welcomed, included, and embraced in all aspects of Jewish life.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, People in Need, Young Leadership Division

Hillels of Georgia Partners with JF&CS on Student Mental Health

Elliott B. Karp, CEO of Hillels of Georgia, could see that Jewish college students across Hillel’s eight Georgia campuses were feeling isolated, anxious, and depressed. Requests for on-campus counseling services were pushed to their limits.

“Hillels of Georgia is committed to the wellbeing of our Jewish college students including their mental health,” Karp said. “Even before the pandemic, today’s generation of college students already exhibited the highest rate of mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and unfortunately, suicide. COVID-19 only exacerbated this reality for our students. Given our commitment to being a Jewish ‘home away from home’ for our Jewish students, we felt an urgency to create Be Well With Hillel as a collaborative partnership with JF&CS.

Thanks to a generous $25,000 grant from Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, Be Well With Hillel is now providing free, virtual, confidential counseling services by a licensed clinician from the Frances Bunzl Clinical Services of JF&CS to any Jewish college student in Georgia.

Susan Fishman, the JF&CS clinician providing services, has an extensive background in college student counseling. She has found that virtual therapy works better than she imagined. “This is a modality that works especially well for college students. I’ve discovered that the stigma attached to mental health issues has dialed down a bit during the pandemic. Suddenly it’s OK to ask for help. Students are doing it earlier, not letting things build up to a crisis.”

Be Well With Hillel will continue to offer services throughout the summer, with a focus on transitioning to college in July and August and will provide group webinars on mental health and other issues as a way of providing support to Jewish students. Learn more here.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, Jewish Journeys

First Came Oliver, Then Rosemary

The Blessings of Our Fertility Journey
by Scott Anklowitz & Sarah Ashton

Scott: When Sarah and I met as colleagues at AT&T, we clicked right away. We dated for a year and a half, and when we married, Sarah was 36 and already concerned about her ability to conceive. We knew we had to get started trying right away. Little did we know there would be fertility issues on both sides. We began to see fertility doctors in Atlanta and for the next year it was bad news after bad news.

Both of us turned out to be cystic fibrosis carriers. I had a rare chromosomal translocation, so we were both infertile for multiple reasons. After two unsuccessful rounds of IVF we did not produce healthy embryos. Our doctor was frank: “You can keep doing this, but the costs and emotional and physical stress are going to be intense.” It was. We took a break for a few months.

The unexpected turning point came when our financial advisor, Elie Engler, shared his personal experience working with the Jewish Fertility Foundation (JFF) to build his family. Elie was absolutely pivotal in directing us to JFF’s Fertility Buddies program. Connecting with JFF, especially as an interfaith couple, introduced us to other wonderful resources and opportunities in the Atlanta Jewish community. JFF partners with PJ Library, 18Doors, and with organizations that help build families. It has reconnected me to Jewish life and given our family a deep appreciation of Judaism we never imagined.

Sarah: Ultimately, we went the egg donor route and had success right away. Oliver was born in 2019 and then came Rosemary in September 2020. We are so thankful that JFF and Elie pulled us into something warm and embracing. Elie guided us that being Jewish is different for everyone and it was up to us to define what that means for our family – this made us feel embraced.” JFF found us, and it has become a real source of passion and strength.

During COVID we hosted a JFF virtual wine and cheese tasting with 18Doors, which works with interfaith families. Our gathering included other interfaith couples, couples dealing with infertility, gay couples, and other nontraditional families. Rabbi Malka, who leads 18Doors is now part of our life. We’ve talked about trying to make this gathering an in-person event, a couple of times a year.

I’m not super religious but everyone has made me feel welcome. Scott became a Fertility Buddy and joined the JFF board. We’ve been to JFF CEO and Founder Elana Frank’s house for Shabbat dinner. I’m enjoying exposing Oliver and Rosemary, and my own parents, to this tradition. We read PJ Library Books every night to Oliver. None of this would have happened if not for our infertility journey. We have finally found a community of people that feel like “our” community through JFF.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, Jewish Abilities Atlanta, People in Need, Philanthropy

Doing the Work to Close the Inclusion Gap or A Framework for an Inclusive Jewish Atlanta

Community Study on Disability Inclusion

Annie Garrett, Jewish Abilities Alliance Manager

In early 2020, the Jewish Abilities Alliance (JAA) engaged in a community study of disability inclusion in Jewish Atlanta. The study was an opportunity to reflect on our community’s past efforts with disability inclusion and to re–evaluate needs and areas for deeper focus and support. Shortly after we embarked on this work, the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold. As we started to understand the impact of the pandemic, this study took on even more importance. Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, facing increased social isolation, cuts in crucial services, and increased vulnerability to their health and wellbeing. This study has shed light on our community’s most current and pressing needs and will provide crucial data and direction to continue lifting disability inclusion as a priority across all aspects of Jewish life.

JAA worked closely with a consulting team from Matan, spending many months interviewing Jewish communal professionals, lay-leaders, self-advocates, caregivers, and family members. As a result, we have identified a framework that promotes and enhances a vision of a Jewish Atlanta that is fully inclusive of individuals with disabilities and their families across the lifespan. This framework identifies several areas of inclusion work over the next several years to close the gap between what currently exists and what the community aims to accomplish:

Establishing and supporting coordinated communal inclusion efforts and unified community goals
Prioritizing funding for inclusion across the lifespan and ensuring sustainability
Creating a shared communal vision of acceptance and support for individuals of all abilities
Training for all community professionals and lay leaders to create an even landscape of inclusion knowledge and capability

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Atlanta Jewish Foundation, Philanthropy, Young Leadership Division

Because It’s Our Turn: Thoughts on NextGen Philanthropy

Jonathan Arogeti always heard his parents and grandparents say that giving back to the community was a central family value. “They told us, you have three options with money — spend it, save it, or give it away. And they believed by far that giving it away, if you are able, was the very highest value. During this time in my life, I’m doing all I can to encourage my peers to get involved in philanthropic giving. It’s our generation’s time to build on and sustain this incredible Atlanta community.”

Arogeti vividly remembers how his family’s support for Hillels of Georgia brought the commitment home. “We all attended the dedication ceremony of the new Hillel building at Emory,” Jonathan says. “It was just a few years after my grandfather’s death, and there was so much meaning to see my grandmother’s pleasure at the depth and impact of this gift. I was in college, and it felt so relevant to my stage of life.”

Now, when he can direct his philanthropic giving, Jonathan works closely with Staci Eichelbaum, Atlanta Jewish Foundation’s Director of Philanthropic Advising. He serves as a mentor to Atlanta young adults who have grown up blessed with family resources. With Eichelbaum, Arogeti has led two cohorts of a four-month NextGen Legacy group that helps NextGen donors clarify their own philanthropic interests — and equally important, teaches them to initiate discussions about where they would like to see family resources allocated and how they can participate.

Arogeti explains, “When you are coming of age in a family with the capacity to be generous, we want you to think about what your philanthropic interests look like from a structural and decision-making standpoint. In the group, we ask, ‘Does your family let you speak up and participate in philanthropic decisions? If not, how can you get more involved?’ “

He adds, “When the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund was gearing up last year, we encouraged our Legacy participants to ask their parents if they were participating. Some had never asked about these decisions before.”

Arogeti also empowers the NextGen Legacy groups to be very specific about their personal priorities. “For example, tell your family, ‘I’m interested in environmental projects that lower carbon footprint. How can you support me in that?’” Jonathan is a founding member of the Repair the World Advisory Council and makes his own gift, but he also asks his family to make a gift to amplify the commitment. “They do it because I asked them,” he says. “It’s tremendously empowering!”

“We’re a fortunate group, but we agree that talking about money is always hard — even with your parents. The idea is to get these conversations started. The first thing I ask each new group is, ‘How many of you told your families that we asked you to participate in NextGen Legacy?’ I’m frequently surprised by how many have not! Having peers on the same journey as you takes away some of the hesitancy and helps you learn what is possible.”

To learn more about NextGen Legacy, and upcoming cohorts, contact Staci Eichelbaum, Director of Philanthropic Advising, Atlanta Jewish Foundation.