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Atlanta Jewish Community

Jul 11 2022
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Have a Jewish July

By Atlanta Jewish Community

We’re in the dog days of summer, and while it’s tempting to chill out by the pool or stay cool in your air-conditioned digs, there’s also a tempting array of Jewish activities in metro Atlanta. Check out what’s happening around town and take some time to connect with the rich social and cultural Jewish community just outside your door. Here are just a few options—for other ideas, see our online calendar of happenings at Atlanta Jewish Connector.

Dive Into Shabbat — July 15 and July 29 at 5pm. Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta invites everyone to celebrate Shabbat with an open swim followed by songs and blessings with Rabbi G at 6 pm. Bring your own food; drinks available for purchase at the Snack Bar. For information call the MJCCA at 678-812-4000.

Hillel Tour D’Ice Cream — July 12, July 19, and July 26 at 2 pm. It’s Hillel of Georgia’s answer to cooling off this summer! Meet Hillel at a different ice creamery Every Tuesday through July. July 12 is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Westside; July 19 is Big Softie, Summerhill; July 26 chill down at Roll It Up Ice Cream, Buford Highway. RSVP at hga.engage.hillel.org

Chabad of North Fulton Workshop — Thursday nights at 8 pm. Explore Jewish Spirituality and Mysticism during this weekly workshop designed to create meaningful personal growth. Phone: 770-410-9000

Shabbat Learners’ Service — July 16 (second Shabbat of each month) from 10:45 to 11:45 am. Bathe in the spirit of Shabbat in a warm, friendly setting. Enjoy inspirational stories, discussions, moving prayer and intelligent commentary. After the main service and Musaf, there is a Kiddush luncheon. Intown Jewish Academy, 730 Ponce de Leon Place, NE, 30306. RSVP at www.intownjewishacademy.org/shabbat

Book Festival of the MJCCA — July 26, 2022 at 7:30 pm. Daniel Silva, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel, in Conversation with Nadia Bilchik, CNN editorial producer, author, and speaker. $40. Become a Patron, Pacesetter, or Sponsor of the Book Festival to receive a complimentary ticket and pre-signed book. Tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/daniel-silva-portrait

Splish Splash Shabbat — July 30 at 12 pm. Bring your little ones for a Kiddush lunch followed by water play at Congregation Etz Chaim. Learn more at www.etzchaim.net/event/splishsplash.

Sojourn’s Drawing from The Well – Every Friday from 12 to 1 pm. SOJOURN, the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity, holds a weekly LGBTQ+Jews+Allies Meetup via ZOOM. Gather with an all-inclusive community and connect around the Torah, holidays, and relevant happenings around the world. LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/992253992⁠

CIE’s 21st Annual Educator Workshop — From July 24, 2022 at 11 am until July 26, 2022 at 3:30 pm. Sponsored by The Center for Israel Education helps build a comprehensive understanding of modern Israel’s history, politics, economy, and culture with a focus on curriculum enhancement. Get 14 hours of learning over three days. Registration: $150. Register at israeled.org/workshop. Questions? Contact workshop coordinator Heather Waters at heatherwaters@israeled.org.

Jul 11 2022
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Working Hard to Have Fun at Camp

By Atlanta Jewish Community, Jewish Camp Initiative

By Allyson and Mark Tibor
Our daughter, Rachel, has attended Camp Barney Medintz since she was a rising 3rd grader. There was no two-week session for her, as she was ALL IN from the very beginning. (She was so excited to have a vacation from her brothers!) Camp quickly became her true happy place.

Rachel entered 10th grade last Fall, along with her twin brother. She was returning to school in-person, like so many other kids, after a year and a half of remote learning. Unfortunately, this school year would prove to be very different. The pandemic had taken its toll, and it became evident that she would need extra assistance, and likely also summer school.

Panic began to set in, since her whole world revolves around camp and the friends she’s made there. She was devastated to learn that she might not be able to go. This summer she would be a JIT, which is the last year teens are eligible to be campers. Her friends were all registered and chattering about camp. But our hands were tied—with only a month or so left in school, nobody had any hope that she would pass her classes.

But Rachel became a machine, churning out her work and staying after school. Two weeks before school got out, she had brought up all her grades, and even passed an online course to make up for a science class from the Fall. I had always told her that if she could make it happen, I could make it happen. So now it was my turn.

I kicked it into high gear, much like she had. I made calls, completed paperwork, and prayed. I hoped the donors in our community would want a deserving young girl to have the opportunity to go to camp. Camp Barney was very understanding, supportive, and generous. The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Jewish Camp Initiative placed the last piece into the puzzle. Though we were very late in making our request, they understood our predicament and played a big role in “making it happen.”

Rachel attended Camp Barney’s first session, making new friends and participating in experiences that she could never have had anywhere else. This was the year for “solo,” in which she had to survive alone for 24 hours. She was so proud of herself for not only surviving but thriving! The confidence she gained from that one activity will surely serve her well in the future. If she could do that, she will have faith in herself, knowing what a strong woman she is becoming.

We are forever grateful to our Jewish community for assisting our child in having this life-changing opportunity. She was truly happy, and it showed in all the photos and letters from camp!

Jul 11 2022
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Inside the Allocations Process

By Atlanta Jewish Community, CARING, People in Need

By Avery Kastin

I’ve always heard that a gift to Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta supports the entire Jewish community. But what process ensures that those funds are wisely distributed? It seemed so opaque from the outside. It wasn’t until I became a volunteer on Federation’s Allocations Committee that I saw firsthand the incredible work we do.

See how we make allocation decisions.

The scale of our work is vast: Over 60 volunteers plus numerous Federation staff work year-round to identify and evaluate those organizations that will 1) take care of Jews in need and 2) build a stronger Jewish community today and tomorrow. Everyone is committed to the same goal: making informed decisions on how best to allocate the dollars Federation has raised.

The work of our committee is year-round: we have detailed discussions and site visits with partner organizations, address overlooked needs within our community, identify future issues that could impact our neighbors, and study best practices and trends in the Jewish world. Last year, those efforts culminated in our Allocations Committee distributing over $23 million in Jewish philanthropy to over 70 partner organizations!

Yes, the community has entrusted us with an enormous responsibility, but it is also the most wonderful and rewarding volunteer job. We facilitate all the good made possible by our collective Federation dollars. Together we create a more caring, more connected and stronger Jewish Atlanta.

We need your help to further our sacred work. Pease consider joining the Allocations Committee, a pearl of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, and help us shape our future together.

Avery Kastin is Vice Chair of the Community Planning and Impact Cabinet

Jul 08 2022
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A Sanctuary for our Children

By Atlanta Jewish Community

By Matt Bronfman, Federation Board Chair
It is summer, which for many of us means Jewish summer camp. More than ever, camp is a sanctuary for our children and many of us remember our camp days as some of the happiest and most carefree times of our lives. Federation’s targeted fundraising plays a key role behind the scenes to make sure that camp is accessible, dynamic, and safe for our children.

This summer we have provided over $1M in aid to eliminate financial barriers for over 700 campers. We are on the ground training camp staff to work with children who have disabilities. We also make camps better by providing grants that support inclusion, as well as obtaining and disbursing outside grants. Federation awards Innovation Grants that launch and develop new programs like In the City Camps.

Most importantly, Federation makes sure that camp is safe. We provided additional Covid relief funds to overnight camps to help with testing and other preparations. On the security front, we have trained over 340 overnight staff and provided security assessments for multiple camps. Through your generosity and support, we are providing the infrastructure to make summertime for Jewish Atlanta better. I hope you enjoy your summer!

Jun 28 2022
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Pride Reflections

By Atlanta Jewish Community

Pride lives in the present moment. It draws breath through whole-hearted people, here and now, celebrating the joy of love, and the freedom to do so without fear.

I want to take a step beyond the present moment of Pride and honor the struggles of those who led us here in their daring willingness to imagine an impossible future.

L’dor’v’dor (from generation to generation). I pass it on. I can imagine a future in which the freedoms I have as a white-passing queer woman surrounded by a community who accepts me are the norm. A future in which inclusive and safe workplaces like the Jewish Federation are standard. A future in which the brutal attacks on the rights and lives of trans and gender non-conforming people, particularly People of Color, have given way to a reality in which fear, and hatred melt into acceptance, even compassion. A future in which gender and sexual diversity open the door for every person to explore the multitudes within them, free of judgement, and released from the binds of other’s expectations.

I am fortunate in my career with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta to be able to work toward a regenerative future. Through my role on the Atlanta Jewish Foundation team, I get to help re-imagine what a community-wide support system can look like, and to serve those doing the work to realize this vision.

I want to be clear that though my instinct is to express a positive and hopeful outlook, I am absolutely terrified for the future. The right for trans people to simply exist in the world, let alone thrive, is under legal attack, as are the rights to bodily autonomy for anyone with a uterus. I lead with hopefulness and positivity, but I am also angry and afraid.

What gives me hope is parents raising children to understand and respect consent at an early age. I find hope in children who have no issue accepting gender and sexual diversity, because they were never taught the restrictive narratives to begin with that we are as a society are having to claw our way out of. Change and transformation are core tenants of nature. As queer activist, poet, and comedian Alok Vaid Menon so beautifully puts it: “Nothing in this world is fixed. Everything is constantly moving. And that’s the vibrancy and the joy of being alive.”

L’dor’v’dor. I cannot wait to learn from future generations.

Kaylin B.
Foundation Operations Manager

Jun 27 2022
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Never Underestimate the Power of Jewish Day Camp

By Atlanta Jewish Community, Jewish Camp Initiative

By Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez, 
There is no question that summer is in full swing in Atlanta and summer means day camp for so many of Atlanta’s families. Each summer, approximately 3,000 children will attend Jewish day camps, where they will experience unique joyful Judaism and experiential education which they get to bring home to their families each evening.

“Jewish Day Camp is where my children can be most proudly, happily and authentically themselves,” says Eliana Leader. “They can be joyfully and loudly Jewish, explore their creativity, take chances, and expand their horizons. As a parent I love seeing the connections my kids make with their counselors as cool Jewish role models.”

Another day camp parent shared that they love that their children get to meet kids from a wide array of Jewish backgrounds, while other parents love that the language of Shabbat and kashrut is interwoven throughout the programming.

Jewish Atlanta is blessed to have so many phenomenal day camps to meet the needs of the diversity of our community. We know that the impact goes beyond the summer as these connections continue throughout the year and into the future summers and their families’ collective Jewish journeys.

Jun 27 2022
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Meeting the Moment Together

By Atlanta Jewish Community, CARING, Federation News

Summer is here and July lies before us with its promise of fun, family, travel, and leisurely light-filled nights. Friends, we have earned it! As Campaign 2022 closes, I am buoyed by the satisfaction of knowing that our Jewish community has again gone above and beyond to meet human needs in Atlanta and around the world.

It wasn’t easy. This year, unanticipated issues hit us relentlessly — the refugee crisis in Ukraine, deadly antisemitic acts in the U.S. and around the world, serious challenges that continue to face us in the aftermath of COVID-19, and the opportunity to reunite Ethiopian Jews with their loved ones in Israel.

None of these issues are “over.” All of them will require ongoing philanthropic support. But there is no denying that in 2022, Jewish Atlanta met the moment! Here are the incredible numbers:

  • The Partners Fund, which supports local, Israel, and overseas needs, is to exceed its ambitious goal of $14.2M.
  • Thousands of you stepped up to raise more than $2.6M supporting the urgent needs of Ukrainian Jews through the Ukraine Emergency Response Fund.
  • Today, as Ukrainian evacuees make their way to safety in metro Atlanta, you continue to support them through Atlanta Ukraine Relief Assistance AURA, in collaboration with our partner, Jewish Family & Career Services.
  • Atlanta Jewish Foundation fundholders sent grants of more than $51.7M to 1,169 grantee organizations. Atlanta Jewish Foundation fundholders directed 80% of their grants to Jewish organizations, and 70% of those dollars stayed local.
  • Funding for special projects in education, mental health, housing for older adults, support for Holocaust survivors, feeding the hungry, responding to antisemitism, and more, added significant revenue to Federation this year.
  • We tallied $23.5M in total philanthropic dollars, which includes direct fundraising, incoming grants, and donor advised funds.

With passion and purpose, Jewish Atlanta demonstrated its ability to pivot, to raise funds, and strengthen our people. I have never been prouder of us. Thank you.

 

Jun 09 2022
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Atlanta Jews of Color Reflect on Juneteenth

By Atlanta Jewish Community

Juneteenth (the 19th of June) commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, and also is a celebration of African American culture. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865. This is the second year that Juneteenth is an official federal U.S. holiday.

Atlanta Jews of Color Council will be co-hosting a local hybrid (in-person and Zoom) Juneteenth Celebration on June 17. It will center the voices of Jewish spiritual leaders of Color. All denominations and faiths are welcome to join for this cross community building experience to raise awareness about the multiplicity of Jewish identity. We’ll honor the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States through a Jewish lens. Services will be led by Rabbi Sandra Lawson, Rabbinical student Koach Baruch Frazier, Rabbi Joshua Lesser, and Victoria Raggs.

The in-person event will be held at The Distillery of Modern Art in Chamblee. The virtual event is free, but registration is required at Eventbrite.

We asked several local Jews of Color to reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth.

Jada Garrett is a consultant to Be’chol Lashon, an organization that strengthens Jewish identity by raising awareness about the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity of Jewish identity and experience.

Juneteenth is a reminder that the end of slavery was not about a moment in time but rather about a process of liberation. 157 years later, that process is still ongoing. As Jews who understand the power of the stories of the past, we need to learn from history and remain committed to changing the future.

Dr. Tarece Johnson, EdD serves on the Gwinnett County Board of Education. She is a womanist, entrepreneur, diversity and inclusion expert, poet, artist, author, activist, and advocate. This poem, “Juneteenth,” is from her book #ResilientHope

As we bask in the jubilation of freedom from slavery may we also reflect on the actions we need to take to continue to be FREE.

May we focus inwardly to accept and love ourselves. May we reach outwardly to authentically connect with one another and collaborate to build and maintain strong communities together.

May we deliberately seek to relearn our history to understand our truths and celebrate our contributions to the world. May we honor our ancestors and value our own beauty and glory.

May we reconnect with our motherland and rebirth the spirit of redemptive love, empathetic unity, purposeful peace, and resilient hope.

Victoria Raggs is Co-Founder & Executive Director of Atlanta Jews of Color Council. She is a cultural innovator, global justice strategist and consultant. Victoria also serves on the board of Jewish Family & Career Services.

To me, Juneteenth is a time for rejoicing and a time for our country to reckon with a very painful historical legacy that continues to impact our society today. Gaining a deeper historical analysis around this national holiday is useful for everyone experiencing true equity, justice, and liberation. The Jewish dimension of Juneteenth is that no people exist in isolation. Because our liberation is bound together by our shared humanity, no group is free until we all are free.

Jun 09 2022
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18Doors Offers Innovative Wedding Tool

By Atlanta Jewish Community, CARING

18Doors helps interfaith couples build confidence in their relationship with Jewish tradition. They have now created a brand new, first-of-its-kind wedding tool and script builder. It is designed specifically for interfaith couples who have chosen to have a friend or family member officiate their wedding ceremony— a growing trend among engaged couples today.

The script builder was actually piloted by 18Doors Atlanta, with a Propel Grant from Federation. After months of research, prototyping and development, it’s now available for free! While this tool will help interfaith couples bring Judaism into their wedding ceremonies and their lives, in Atlanta, 18Doors’ very own Rabbi Malka Packer-Monroe is available to interfaith couples as they plan their weddings and other lifecycle events, and when they seek to engage in Jewish life and community.

Jun 09 2022
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SOJOURN Celebrates Pride in Atlanta

By Atlanta Jewish Community, Federation Innovation

Atlanta is a bit of an outlier when it comes to celebrating national Pride month in June. In Atlanta the Pride parade and related events happen in October. Nevertheless, SOJOURN, Atlanta’s Jewish advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ issues, has two exciting events happening during June for national Pride month.

The first is a special edition of our Words Matter Book Club, which will be reading The Soul of the Stranger by Joy Ladin. Joy will lead a virtual discussion on June 22 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. There will also be a Pride Outside musical celebration. Registration details for both events can be found at www.sojourngsd.org/upcoming-events.

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