Atlanta Jewish Community Archives

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Jewish Education Tax Credit

Why One Family is Grateful for ALEF Fund

epstein school - jewish atlanta Many families would love to give their children a Jewish education but doing so can be prohibitively expensive. That’s where ALEF Fund steps in.

Here is why one family is grateful to receive an ALEF Fund Scholarship:

“After a summer working at In the City Camp, our daughter wanted to continue her education among the Jewish students that she had gotten to know. As a family, we were looking for a school community that lived out Jewish values of tikun olam, education, and kindness.

On the other hand, as a family where both parents work for social cause organizations, we didn’t have the financial means to afford the full tuition of The Weber School. That’s where the ALEF Fund stepped in; its support was quite frankly the difference maker.

With the scholarship, we were able to afford a Jewish education and our daughter is now thriving, advancing her education, and feeling even more connected to her Judaism. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and to all who support the ALEF Fund. It means so much to us.”

The ALEF Fund provides scholarships to pre-k, kindergarten, primary, and secondary public-school students who wish to attend participating Jewish private schools. This fund makes Jewish learning available to kids who otherwise would not be able to afford tuition to a private institution.

With ALEF Fund, you can support Jewish education in Georgia at virtually no cost to you. For your donation, you’ll receive a dollar-for-dollar Georgia income tax credit.

The ALEF Fund is accepting 2023 tax credit reservations now through December 31. Sign up today and get some credit for supporting Jewish education in our community.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Jewish Journeys

RootOne Sends Teens to Israel

Bess Needle is a junior in high school and is active with the Jewish Student Union (JSU). This summer, she embarked on a trip to Israel with a group of other teens from Atlanta. The cost of her journey was subsidized by RootOne, an initiative seeded by a generous gift from The Marcus Foundation and powered by The Jewish Education Project.

This was Bess’s first time visiting the Land of Milk and Honey, and many of her expectations about Israel were challenged. She knows now that Israel “is a diverse place filled with many different people, cultures, and passions. It is so different than what the media portrays.”

Each summer, RootOne helps thousands of Jewish teens travel to Israel on a journey that will shape the rest of their lives. During their time in an Israel program, 76% of RootOne alums report learning more about themselves, and 75% think about Israel differently than before. Last summer, RootOne supported Bess and 128 Atlanta teens to create lasting memories in Israel.

Bess went as part of a group from JSU and loved experiencing the country with other teens from her hometown. “It was really exciting!” She says that until this trip, she “didn’t realize how big Atlanta is or how many other Jewish teens there are. It was cool to bond about being from Atlanta while in Israel.”

RootOne journeys are highly educational, even before students step on the plane. Groups learn about all sides of Israeli life and culture, from the familiar to the nuanced. American travelers meet Israeli peers and have the opportunity to make connections that will span the globe. And RootOne trips offer a diverse and wide range of programs to fit any interest. Bess says her favorite parts of the trip were the outdoor activities, including tornado boating, ziplining, and a 3 am hike.

RootOne grants vouchers to teens to subsidize the cost of their journey. Interested students should confirm their eligibility through RootOne and then choose a supported trip provider. After completing the pre-trip requirements, RootOne sends a $3,000 voucher directly to the trip organizer, which deducts that amount from the overall cost.

Bess says she gained a “real-life perspective of what being a teen is like in Israel versus the U.S.” She recognized many similarities between their lives and significant differences, like “prepping for the army versus prepping for life post-high school.” Bess says she’s glad she went to Israel while she was still a teenager. “You get to form a real-world opinion of Israel at a younger age; not many have the chance to do that. And I got to form bonds with people, and we all got to share the experience of this trip together. And we can keep in touch more since we are in the same city.”

When asked what she learned, Bess said this trip has helped her prepare for life on a college campus when discussing Israel. This sentiment is common for RootOne alums – 81% believe it is important to be involved in Jewish life on campus, and 81% feel capable of standing up to anti-Semitism. Bess says she “…realized that other places are not always what you expect; [you shouldn’t] make assumptions.”

Visit https://rootone.org/ to learn more about RootOne and see a list of trip providers.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring

Federation Celebrates Sukkot!

Nothing says “fall” like sitting under your sukkah with your loved ones and enjoying a beautiful evening. Last week, Federation celebrated Sukkot in a variety of ways, including through Gather Grants and our social media sukkah competition!

Gather Grants are a joint initiative of three Federation Programs: Making Jewish Places, Next Gen and PJ Library Atlanta. Gather Grants award microgrants of $180 to individuals in the Atlanta metro area who are hosting gatherings in their community.

Here’s what a few people who attended Gather Grant events had to say:

“This event was very meaningful and memorable, not only did I have fun, but I also learned more about the holiday. What a beautiful event!”

“It was creative and everyone enjoyed interacting. New connections were made and it was a wonderful atmosphere in the sukkah. The hostess was well prepared with supplies and encouraged and interacted with all the participants who were of varied ages. Everyone young and old enjoyed.”

“I watched my son teach his friend how to shake the lulav. We don’t have a sukkah at home, so I had no idea he knew how! My heart is full.”

We also asked our Federation Family to send in pictures of your fall festivities for our Sukkah Competition, and you delivered. Here are our three favorites. We loved seeing the beautiful and creative sukkahs of Jewish Atlanta!

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Federation’s Festive Fall Shabbats

Federation is always striving to connect Jews around the world. No matter what part of the globe someone calls home or what other communities we are a part of, we are all family. During this fall season, Federation has been part of two special shabbat celebrations meant to bring people together.

On September 23, the Friday before Rosh Hashanah, Federation participated in a Global Shabbat service with our partner community in Minsk. Rabbi Grisha Abramovitz, who serves 12 congregations, hosted participants from all over the world in a Zoom service to usher in 5783.

Six communities from Belarus were represented on the call, as well as the chair of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) in Toronto and the VP of the WUPJ in Jerusalem. The WUPJ was founded in 1926 and promotes modern interpretation of Jewish life and identity in any place Jewish people choose to live. The organization “represents 1.8 million Reform, Progressive, and Liberal Jews across six continents, 50 countries and 1,200 communities.”

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta supports the Sandra Breslauer Beit Simcha Center in Minsk through an allocation from the Partner’s Fund. This chapter is particularly focused on engaging young people to help families and entire communities become more involved in Jewish life. Federation gives funds for summer camp programs, B’nai Mitzvah, and early childhood education.

Deborah Jacobs, of Federation’s Global Allocations Committee, attended the service and gave greetings at the beginning of the program. Following the event, she said, “The renaissance of Judaism in Minsk and Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union is inspiring. The efforts led by Rabbi Grisha are both intentional and innovative as they create multi-generational Jewish identity, worship experiences, and education.”

Susie Mackler, Peoplehood Manager at Federation, was moved by the special service. She took several screenshots during the event. She loved getting to see “their community members, just like ours—children, young adults, seniors, families with young children, a young woman celebrating her bat mitzvah tomorrow—blowing the shofar, blessing the challah. Even so far away, our communities are so similar.”

Another unique celebration took place October 7^th at Piedmont Park—Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta celebrated Pride Shabbat. While most of the country celebrates Pride in June, Atlanta’s local Pride month is in the fall.

Rabbi Joshua Lesser, who organized the evening on behalf of Federation, expressed, “This was a groundbreaking evening bringing us closer to being an unabashedly warm and inclusive community.”

Hosted by Federation and SOJOURN, the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the Shabbat experience gathered over 120 people from all over Atlanta to celebrate Shabbat in Piedmont Park. The service featured Rabbis Ariel Wolpe (Ma’alot), Joshua Lesser, Lauren Henderson (Or Hadash), Mike Rothbaum (Bet Haverim), Ruth Abush Magder (B’chol Lashon) and Elizabeth Breit (B’nai Torah).

The fall holiday season has been a wonderful time to think about our connections—to Atlanta Jews, and to Jews around the world. In this season of holidays and commemorations, it is important to be intentional about our relationships and to celebrate together.

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Welcome to the PJ Library Library!

This new resource was created to allow educators greater accessibility to PJ Library books. We’ve collected and organized hundreds of books donated back by our subscribers. The books are sorted by topic making it easy to search for a particular lesson or holiday. We often have multiple copies of one book which gives educators an opportunity to get a set for their classroom. This can also be beneficial for organizations with multiple locations across the city so that all their teachers can use the same resource and have synchronized educational goals.

It has been really exciting to formally launch the PJ Library Library to Atlanta’s educators this year via the Jewish Education Collaborative and Jewish Early Childhood Council of Atlanta (JECCA) and we look forward to sharing it with more of our community partners. If you are interested in utilizing the library to add PJ Library books to your programs or facility, please email Pam Cohen, Family Engagement Coordinator at pcohen@jfga.org.

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October 2022 Legislative Update

Leslie Anderson, Executive Director, JCRC

As part of a nationwide effort to engage the Jewish community in protecting the electoral process, JCRC Atlanta, Congregation Etz Chaim and Congregation Shearith Israel have all partnered with the nonpartisan A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy with each group focused on different areas of civic engagement: recruiting poll workers (JCRCA), recruiting more Jewish places to be polling locations (Etz Chaim), and election protection through poll watching and legal assistance (Shearith Israel).

This is proposed as an on-going effort to bring the Jewish community together around civic values for future election cycles. Please reach out to jdn@jcrcatlanta.org or 770-366-7686 if you would like to learn more about these efforts for this election or in the future.

Tuesday, Oct. 11 is the last day to register to vote and early voting runs from Oct. 17-Nov. 4th. Most metro Atlanta counties have Sunday voting, but check your county for times and locations as these vary. JCRCA has a nonpartisan webinar discussing the implementation of the new election laws available for organizational use.

JCRCA is restarting our Community Council meetings starting in January. JCRCA has been going through a strategic planning process that puts the input and consensus of the Jewish community organizations at the forefront of our work and setting goals for our communal impact at the start of the Georgia Legislative session. Please join us on Thurs., Jan. 26 at 12 p.m. at the Federation for lunch, networking and discussion. RSVP at info@jcrcatlanta.org.

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Happy New year and Hag Sukkot Sameach!

By Rich Walter

Sukkot is my favorite holiday because of its timing in the calendar, its emphasis on welcoming guests, and its deep connection to the land of Israel. At its core, Sukkot’s origins as a harvest and pilgrimage festival, reinforce the importance of Israel to the Jewish people as a religious and cultural center.

This spring, we will be celebrating the remarkable achievement of the State of Israel turning 75. Federation is amplifying and spearheading several communal efforts around marking this historic milestone, including our community journey which will take place in April.

Last month, we convened a steering committee made up of representatives from several community partners. The committee is focused on a few large-scale community events which are in the visioning stages with some initial planning being done: a community program to be held at the Marcus Jewish Community center on Sunday April 30th and a community reception hosted by the Israeli consulate for leaders in the Jewish, political, and other faith communities preferably on the evening of Yom Ha’atzmaut. We also want to amplify other community programs which will celebrate Israel’s 75th year and as such have organized working groups on marketing, fundraising, and each of the events mentioned above. If you or someone from your organization would like to join these efforts, please let me know at rwalter@jewishatlanta.org.

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 JFF Celebrates Sukkot with 10 Local Jewish Organizations 

On October 2, the Jewish Fertility Foundation (JFF) came together with 10 local Jewish organizations to create the largest family event of the season. What began as an idea to connect JFF alumni families became a reality and more extensive and festive than the organizers could have imagined. Over 750 individuals attended this early Sukkot festival.

JFF’s partners for this event were the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA), PJ Library, In the City Camps, Jewish Kids Groups, Atlanta Jewish Academy, Davis Academy, the Epstein School, Honeymoon Israel, Chabad of Dunwoody, and Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah (MACoM). 

JFF is the Jewish response to infertility and offers access points to Jewish life and community building. By supporting clients emotionally and financially throughout their fertility journey, JFF helps to build a vibrant, strong, and engaged Jewish community. Families grappling with infertility can often feel alone in their struggle. The support JFF offers families as they attempt to have children goes beyond medical intervention; they understand how vital social support is.  

The Sukkot event allowed JFF families to meet each other while connecting to Judaism in fun, out-of-the-box ways. Activities included a mobile petting zoo, bounce house, musical performance by Rabbi Glusman, face painting, Sukkah art projects (even edible ones!), Kona Ice, and food from Kosher Touch Catering. 

Sharon Feingold, a JFF Mom, said, “The magnitude of what [JFF] has done—and just how many lives [they have] changed—in the span of just a few years was clearly apparent yesterday as 700+ people enjoyed not only festival fun on a gorgeous fall morning, but a newfound sense of camaraderie. What was once quiet and buried is now all about community, empathy, and joy.” 

For more about JFF,  visit their website. 

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Global News, Jewish Journeys

 ”A New Perspective in Israel” – An Onward Hillel Blog

This summer, Georgia Tech rising junior Talia Segal explored Israel through the Birthright Israel and Onward Israel programs. After enduring anti-Israeli and antisemitic comments from a roommate her sophomore year, Talia approached her summer in Israel as an opportunity to “solidify my Zionism, strengthen my relationship to Israel, and make sure that the next time I encountered a similar situation, I would be prepared to face it head-on.”

Onward Hillel allows Jewish students to build their resumes through a high-level internship while developing a strong personal connection to Israel. The program, organized by Hillels of Georgia and funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, is an 8-week metro Tel Aviv internship program. It places current college students in an authentic Israeli workplace based on their skills, interests, and future career goals.

Read more about Talia’s experience with Onward Israel, her subsequent career growth, and the new perspectives she gained in Israel here.

jewishatl In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, People in Need

Atlanta Created Federation’s Model for Disaster Relief

You probably know that the Jewish Federations of North America are uniquely poised to respond to domestic disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, and terrorist attacks. But did you know that the infrastructure for this rapid response was developed in Atlanta? 

Barry Swartz and his family arrived in Atlanta in July 1989. Now, Barry is the Vice President of Conexx, the America-Israel Commercial Alliance, but at the time he worked for the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF). In September, just before the High Holidays, Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, South Carolina. Hugo affected approximately 2 million people in and around Charleston; 67 people lost their lives, and the storm inflicted $11 billion in damage.

The continental Jewish Federation system quickly discovered they had no plan to respond to domestic emergencies. Lois Frank, a senior volunteer leader at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, traveled with Barry to Savannah, where they connected with a small group of national Federation leaders. The group then drove to Charleston to meet with community leaders and view the devastation first-hand.

Barry worked with Marilyn Shubin and David Sarnat from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta to coordinate the delivery of needed supplies. Thanks to Barry’s national Federation ties, Atlanta became the Jewish epicenter for providing material aid to the region. Power tools, industrial generators, kosher food, and challah for Rosh Hashanah were all transported to the disaster zone. The Charleston Jewish Community Center became the American Red Cross distribution hub for the entire area for food, water, diapers, and other necessities. The idea of using Jewish facilities as a hub for the community as a whole would be modeled in many other emergencies over the next thirty years, including Hurricane Andrew in South Florida. 

The national Jewish community raised millions of dollars for the general relief effort and to repair Jewish institutions. The area was rebuilt thanks to the generosity of Jews throughout the country. And crucially, Jewish Federations developed a method for responding to domestic disasters that is still used today. 

We are thankful for the work of these leaders so many years ago as our friends and family in Florida recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. While the storm has passed, the cleanup efforts will be ongoing for months. You can donate to the national Federation recovery effort and be part of getting Jewish Florida back on its feet.