Standing With Israel: This Week in Southern Jewish Life, Oct. 16
Above: Serving customers at the Friedman Family Foundation Jewish Food Festival, at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center, Oct. 11.
Around the South: Week of Oct. 16, 2015
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The government of Yemen recently issued a proclamation that all Jews in the country must leave or convert to Islam. There are roughly 80 Jews left in the country. Rosh Ha’Ayin, Birmingham’s sister city in Israel and New Orleans’ Partnership2Gether community, was founded as a development town for thousands of Jews who had to flee Yemen in 1949.
This is a new one: Mississippi News Now covered the “Take It Down March Rally” calling for the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi flag. A flag supporter was quoted as saying that he thinks opponents of the flag might be doing so out of anti-Semitism.
There will be an America Stands With Israel rally in front of CNN Center in Atlanta, Oct. 18 at 3:30 p.m.
Gregory Friedman of Birmingham is working on the use of a modified herpes virus to eradicate pediatric brain cancer cells.
Esquire Magazine named its Best New Restaurant in America: Shaya in New Orleans, though seemingly going to New Orleans for Israeli food is “like going to a bordello for Bible instruction.”
The Tennessee Ledger does a profile on Nashville’s Akiva school, the community’s only Day School, which is looking to broaden its geographic reach.
“Journey of the Soul,” the new Rohr Jewish Learning Institute series, starts later this month. The course will be offered in Birmingham at Bais Ariel Chabad Center for six Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. starting on Oct. 28, or six Thursdays at 10 a.m. from Oct. 29. Registration, including the textbook, is $89. Couples taking the class together can deduct $45. In the New Orleans area, the Chabad Center in Metairie also has two schedule options for the course. Starting Oct. 27, the class will meet for six weeks every Tuesday, at noon at the Metairie Jewish Community Campus, or at 7:30 p.m. at the Metairie Chabad Center. Registration is $70.
Two grants totaling $300,000 from the Jim Joseph Foundation and AVI CHAI will provide Day School and overnight camp scholarships to families in Houston affected by the May flood.
On Oct. 22, there will be a program in Augusta to discuss the potential for a Jewish museum. Barry Stiefel will speak on “The Other House Museum: Places of Worship and the Case of Synagogues,” at Adas Yeshurun at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.
Leon Frankel, an American aviator who was featured in the film “Above and Beyond” by Nancy Spielberg, died on Oct. 7. The film about the birth of Israel’s air force was screened in recent months in Mobile and New Orleans.
A rabbi turned designer has launched a campaign to fly 1,000 Israeli flags throughout South Florida.
The English-language newscast for the Israel Broadcasting Authority has gone off the air due to budget cuts. Among the anchors of that newscast was Arieh O’Sullivan, formerly of Mississippi and Louisiana. Update: A daily bulletin will be aired starting Oct. 18.
Cotton States BBYO will have its new member weekend from Oct. 23 to 25.
Responding to Lex Rofes’ recent column on seeing an Israeli flag at a pro-Confederate Battle Flag rally in Arkansas, Max Socol writes that the neo-Confederate and ultra-Zionist “convergence is very real.”
A Florida ruling that the state’s prisons serve kosher food when requested is being implemented and is having a greater effect, as Georgia is working to conform to the ruling as well.
The 28th annual Delta Jewish Open, a reunion for the Jewish communities of the Mississippi Delta and a fundraiser for the Jacobs Camp and Institute of Southern Jewish Life, will be on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Greenville. Registration is open and one need not be a golfer to attend.
Michelle Bearman-Wolnek, executive director of Heart Gallery Alabama, is one of the 10 “smartest women in Birmingham” honorees at this year’s Smart Party 4.0, “social networking for social change benefitting the women’s fund.” The event will be at Iron City on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. The top fundraiser wins a trip to Seattle and a behind-the-scenes tour of Microsoft and Boeing headquarters.
Conexx: America Israel Business Connector will have its second annual golf tournament on Oct. 26 at The Standard Club in Johns Creek, Ga. Joel Neuman, immediate past chairman of Conexx, will be honored. Individual entry is $275, or $175 for those under age 35. Registration and lunch will be at 11:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Dinner, drinks and an award reception will be at 5:30 p.m. Sponsorships are also available starting at $500.
The annual Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth World Kosher Barbecue contest will be Oct. 18 in Memphis. This is the 27th year for the contest, which last year drew 40 teams and 3,000 spectators.
Bidding has begun online for auction items at the B’nai Israel Art and Soul gala in Baton Rouge. The event is Oct. 22, but bids for a wide range of items are already being taken. Items include merchandise and gift certificates from some of the area’s most popular restaurants and retailers, along with artwork, luxury and box-seat tickets for select Saints, LSU football and LSU baseball games, a Les Miles-signed LSU football helmet and other sports memorabilia, and a luxury chartered fishing trip off the Louisiana coast. In addition, several vacations are available to destinations like Crested Butte, Col., and Woodstock, N.Y.
Alabama
Artist Mordechai Rosenstein will visit Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El for an Artist in Residence weekend. His highly colorful works concentrate on the “flowing forms” of Hebrew letters, illustrating the concepts behind familiar Hebrew phrases. On Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. there will be a Painting and Pinot session, working on a personal art project under his direction. Fee is $36 and reservations are required. He will speak on his journey as an artist during the Oct. 23 service, which starts at 5:45 p.m. At the Oct. 24 9:30 a.m. Shabbat service, he will speak on ‘The Art Within Shabbat and Torah.” At 7 p.m. he will have “A Retrospective of Inspirational Art” at 7 p.m., at a coffee and dessert reception. The presentation will showcase influential art, including synagogue stained glass and a work that was commissioned for Pope Benedict XVI.
Collat Jewish Family Services, Knesseth Israel and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Pastoral Care Department are presenting a Bikkur Holim mini-conference, Oct. 25 at the Friedman Center. Drexel Rayford, director of the Support Team Network at UAB, KI Rabbi Eytan Yammer and Pam Leonard, program director for CJFS CARES, will be featured speakers. The conference will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and breakfast and a light lunch are included in the $10 registration.
Camp Barney Medintz, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s summer resident camp, will present its annual musical slide show and dessert reception at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29, at the Levite Jewish Community Center of Birmingham. Camp Barney Director Jim Mittenthal, Associate Director Susan Berger, and Operations Director Michael Drucker will meet with new and returning families and answer questions pertaining to the 2016 summer camp season. New programs for 2016 include: MAGNIVIM, two-week sessions in June for campers ages 10-12 years; and CBM LIVE!, a two-week theatre specialty camp. Registration is now open for returning campers, while open registration will begin at 10 a.m., Oct. 18. The Birmingham parent representative is Susan Lapidus.
The annual joint program for Israel Bonds, the Birmingham Jewish Federation and Birmingham Jewish Foundation will be on Oct. 28 at the Levite Jewish Community Center, with a 5 p.m. reception and 6:15 p.m. program. Israel Bonds will honor Gen. Charles Krulak, who recently retired as president of Birmingham-Southern College. The Federation’s Joanie Plous Bayer Young Leadership Award recipients are Rabbi Eytan Yammer of Knesseth Israel and Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar of Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom. The Susan Goldberg Distinguished Volunteer Award will go to Richard Pizitz Jr., and the Foundation’s N.E. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Cynthia and Raymond Tobias.
The Birmingham Community Youth Group will have a Mr. Magic City Service Auction and Fundraiser. Live and silent auction items will be available, including services by Mesch AZA members and gifts provided by the Levite Jewish Community Center and the greater community. The Oct. 18 event will be at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School. Silent auction starts at 2 p.m. with the live auction at 3 p.m. Admission is $5, or $3 with a canned goods donation.
Jeffery Cohen, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, will speak on Judaism and Vegetarianism, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Friedman Center in Birmingham.
The annual TLC Day, Teens Lend a Caring Hand, will be on Nov. 1 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Coordinated by Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham, teens in grades 7 to 12 will meet at the LJCC for pizza and then go to homes of senior adults and do seasonal tasks. Teens are asked to register by Oct. 19.
Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will have a Shabbat service with Geralyn Lucas, author of “Then Came Life.” The book is about resiliency and reinventing one’s self. Her previous book is “Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy.” The service will be on Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m., and is held in conjunction with the Joy to Life Foundation.
Daniel Schenker will teach an Introduction to Judaism: Tanach class at Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m., Nov. 1 to 29. Schenker is a retired English professor from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. No prior Biblical knowledge or Hebrew knowledge is required for the class. There is no fee, but registration is required by Oct. 26 to B’nai Sholom.
Huntsville’s Etz Chayim is hosting a National Jewish Outreach Program class in Hebrew Reading for Beginners. The first class is Oct. 21 at 7 p.m., and will meet into December. Course fee is $20 for class materials. No prior Hebrew knowledge needed.
The Collat Jewish Family Services monthly Caregivers Support Group will meet on Oct. 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. CJFS Clinical Director Robin McMilin will discuss Managing Care.
The Mitzvah Misfits resume league play on Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. at the Dothan Bowling League.
Agnes Tenenbaum, a Holocaust survivor living in Mobile, will speak at the Oct. 30 6 p.m. service at Springhill Avenue Temple.
The Sisterhood of Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery will have an Israeli lunch for its opening program, Oct. 18 at 12:30 p.m. Eli from Eli’s Jerusalem Grill in Birmingham will be the speaker and is preparing the lunch.
Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood will have its Autumn 2015 pancake breakfast for the entire congregation on Oct. 31 at 9:30 a.m. with guest speaker Ron Owen, chief medical officer of Southeast Alabama Medical Center.
The Etz Chayim Sisterhood in Huntsville is taking part in the Worldwide Challah Bake on Oct. 22.
Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-El will have a family Food Trucks Friday on Oct. 23, following the 5:40 p.m. service.
The Atlantic Institute in Hoover will have a Table of Abraham program on the role of women in the three Abrahamic religions, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. Speakers are Emily Hausman of Temple Beth-El, The Ven. Dr. Louise Thibodaux, Deacon at St. Thomas Episcopal Church; and Imam Muhammad Izhar ul Haq, Anniston Islamic Center. The event is free, but reserve here.
“Rosenwald,” a documentary about a partnership between Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, and Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute, will screen at the Edge in Birmingham the week of Oct. 23.
On Oct. 20, the Atlanta office of the Anti-Defamation League will co-host a lunch discussion, “Anti-Semitism and Extremism in Europe,” at Birmingham’s Levite Jewish Community Center. The 11:30 a.m. event will feature a panel including two diplomats stationed in Atlanta, French Consul General Denis Barbet and German Deputy Consul General Thomas Wülfing. The event is free, but registration is required by Oct. 17. Send RSVPs to (404) 262-3470.
You Belong in Birmingham will have a Torah Texting study session at Parkside Cafe in Avondale, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
Birmingham Hadassah will have its annual Bubbe Club meeting on Oct. 18 at 2 p.m., at the Friedman Center for Jewish Life on Overton Road. The program will be “Up Close and Personal with Vinaigrettes,” with Susan Green of the Birmingham Bake and Cook Company. Inspired by the season, the discussion will be sparked by a seasonal salad of mixed greens with almonds and dates, tossed in a tangerine vinaigrette with a honey-drizzled goat cheese crostini. Bubbe Club dues are $25 and includes a listing of all grandchildren in the Hadassah Directory.
The 7th annual Levite Jewish Community Center Mah Jongg tournament in Birmingham will be held on Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Friedman Center for Jewish Life. Registration is $30 and includes a kosher lunch and prizes. Proceeds benefit the Roz Feigelson Circle of Life Knitting Society.
Families with preschoolers are invited to the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School’s Kids Club, celebrating holidays monthly with crafts, stories and singing. The next Kid’s Club will be Oct. 18 at the Day School, starting at 10:30 a.m.
The Temple Beth Or Guest Author Series in Montgomery will feature Tuvia Tenenbom, whose recent book, “Catch the Jew!” uses humor, charm and a skewer to explore life in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority. He spent seven months assuming identities from Tobi the German to Abu Ali, to get the unvarnished inside experiences. The book is a best-seller in Israel. The program will be Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
The Temple B’nai Sholom Sisterhood will participate as a team in the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run in Huntsville, on Oct. 17. Funds from the run are used to buy equipment related to the detection of breast cancer for Huntsville’s and Madison’s hospitals, plus other services. Registration is available here.
On Oct. 25, the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood in Birmingham is hosting “Sisterhood Fashion Show and Tablescapes — It’s All About Style.” The event is open to the community and includes a fashion show produced by Gus Mayer and jewelry by Regina. The 10 a.m. brunch and mimosas program is $18 for members, $25 for non-members. Reserve by Oct. 16.
The Temple Beth-El Men’s Club in Birmingham is postponing its annual golf tournament, which was to take place on Oct. 18.
Springhill Avenue Temple will have its “First Annual Blessing of the Pets” in honor of Helen Small. All members of the Jewish community are invited. The event will be on the Temple’s front lawn on Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m. (rain date is Oct. 25). All pets must be on a leash or in a crate or box because of the busy street.
The Temple Beth Or Sisterhood in Montgomery is doing a cheesecake fundraiser, with cheesecakes from the Carnegie Deli in New York. Orders must be received by Oct. 30, and can be picked up on Nov. 17 or 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Six-inch cheesecakes are $25, while 8-inch cheesecakes are $35.
Florida
Tickets are on sale now for the annual B’nai Israel Veterans Day Dinner in Pensacola. The dinner will be on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m., and tickets will be sold through Oct. 30. Call (850) 433-7311 for tickets. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 8 and under.
The Temple Beth-El Sisterhood in Pensacola will have “Mensches in the Mafia,” with Rabbi Joel Fleekop leading a discussion about the Jewish Mafia and its surprising contributions to Jewish life. The Oct. 21 event will be at 11:30 a.m. at Ever’mans.
The Music for the Soul concert series will present “Irony and Courage: Schnittke, Brahms and Shostakovich,” Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. at Gadsden Street United Methodist Church in Pensacola. Featured musicians will be Leonid Yanovskiy on violin and Read Gainsford on piano, in preparation for a Nov. 25 performance at Carnegie Hall. There will be a special appearance by Christopher Conger. Suggested donation is $15.
The next Chai discussion group in Pensacola will be on Oct. 20 at noon. Sponsored by the Pensacola Jewish Federation, the theme will be “Who Owns the Temple Mount.” It will be at the office of Terry Gross on Palafox.
B’nai Israel Sisterhood in Panama City will have a presentation on breast cancer, by Michelle Kraut, on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. Everyone is invited.
Tal Itzhakov, the Pensacola Jewish Federation Shilcha for 2015-2016, will speak about Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, at the Café Israel program on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. It will be at the Cactus Flower Café.
Temple Beth El in Pensacola will have a Havdalah outreach social for new, current and potential members, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. — contact the office for location. Bring a heavy appetizer.
The second annual Temple B’nai Israel Sisterhood Rummage Sale is taking place in Panama City on Oct. 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
New Orleans/Louisiana
A pioneer of Jewish rock music will be in concert in New Orleans on Oct. 18. Rick Recht will perform at a free family show at Touro Synagogue at noon. There will be a community lunch at 11:30 a.m. with a suggested donation of $5. The Touro Religious School students will join him on stage. Recht plays over 150 concerts a year and is the national music spokesman for PJ Library. He is also the founder and executive director of Jewish Rock Radio, which is available online and on an app. JEWCCY will have a bake sale at Touro starting at 11:30 a.m.
Northshore Jewish Congregation will have its annual Taste of Art and Jazz gala at the St. Tammany Art Association Art House on Oct. 24 from 8 to 11 p.m. There will be a dessert reception, silent auction, artists with works for sale and an exhibit from the New Orleans Museum of Art. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door.
The next Baton Rouge Terrific Tuesday Lunch and Learn will be a meet and greet for Rabbi Mark Glickman, who is the interim rabbi for Beth Shalom this year. He has served congregations in Ohio, Washington state and Colorado. The lunch will be on Oct. 20 at 11:30 a.m. at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, lunch reservations are requested at the Federation office by Oct. 16.
New Orleans Hadassah will have a Mad Hatter Tea Party and Silent Auction on Oct. 18 at the Pavilion of Two Sisters at City Park. This year’s champagne jazz brunch will highlight all of the great works of Hadassah and honor the memory of Libbye Katz Gordon. Funds raised will help continue and improve upon Hadassah’s breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiac disease, pediatric cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and neurological diseases. In keeping with the theme, festive hats are encouraged. Music will be by the Or Shavaly Trio. The brunch will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $180, or $100 for age 36 and under, and are available here.
TRIBE will be hosting “Shabbatsana,” “a morning of mindfulness and movement as we discover how to express and deepen our understanding of Judaism and spirituality through the practice of yoga and meditation” at City Park on the Great Lawn at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 24. No experience necessary and bring a mat if possible.
Beginning Oct. 22 at the Gertler Law Firm in downtown New Orleans, Beth Israel will hold study sessions over lunch every other Thursday. Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg will lead the exploration of a chapter of the Talmud that deals with how people should relate to public spaces, and the tort law that emerges when people fail to act properly. This series will be appropriate for those who have little to no Talmudic background, as all texts will be provided in English translation, and all material will be explained in depth. Lunch will be a deli meal, and a $10 contribution is requested.
The New Orleans Jewish Community Relations Council will discuss upcoming initiatives on Oct. 27 at the Uptown Jewish Community Center. The 7 p.m. forum will be a discussion of collaborative efforts with the Urban League and the Archdiocese, and opportunities to get involved. The community is invited.
Temple Sinai in New Orleans will have Jacobs Camp Shabbat on Oct. 23 at 6:15 p.m., with special musical guest Nick May.
The Touro Infirmary Foundation and Touro Tomorrow will host L’dor V’dor, a post-gala party benefiting Touro Infirmary’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, on Nov. 14 from 9 p.m. to midnight at Mardi Gras World’s Mansion Room. Open to the community, the evening will feature live entertainment by Flow Tribe, signature dishes from La Cocinita, Mobile Memories Photo Booth, over 200 young professionals around the community and an open bar. Proceeds from L’dor V’dor 2015 will be used to support improvements to Touro Infirmary’s NICU and help provide the latest and most cutting edge equipment and care to the smallest and sickest infants. Tickets are $50/person, $90/couple.
On Oct. 24, Rabbi Brian Zimmerman will lead “An Evening of Jewish Ghost Stories” for Temple Shalom in Lafayette at 8 p.m. The evening will explore “Judaism’s rich but rarely discussed centuries old tradition of ghost stories, superstitions and spooky tales.”
The New Orleans Jewish Community Center is having Member Appreciation Day on Oct. 18, kicking off a week of giveaways and deals on gold membership.
Lauren Ungar will lead the Jewish Community Day School’s Jewish Babies Program on Oct. 30 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the 2nd floor Beit Midrash. Ungar uses sign language to promote language development with her children, and will introduce it during this special baby sign language play-time. She will teach basic signs and songs, and Shabbat related signing songs. This is a free program for children 1 month through three years of age.
The next Jewish Family Service Fall Continuing Education Workshop will be “Left to Their Own Devices: The Prevalence of Gaming, Sex and Social Media as Behavioral Addictions.” It will be presented by Leslie Todd, LCSW-BACS, ACSW, on Oct. 23, 8:45 a.m. to noon at Beth Israel in Metairie.
Temple Sinai Sisterhood will present “Tales Told Out of Shul,” a viewing of the exhibit on 145 years of Temple Sinai history from the Tulane University Louisiana Research Collection. Cathy Kahn will speak about the exhibit, which she organized, on Oct. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.
N.O.S.H.: New Orleans Shabbat Hospitality will host a Shabbat service and dinner for young professionals at Anshe Sfard on Oct. 16. Services are at 7 p.m., followed by dinner around 8 p.m. The main course gumbo and dessert will be made from recipes by recently-deceased New Orleans culinary legend Paul Prudhomme.
Chabad of Louisiana will have a TGI Shabbat for Young Jewish Professionals, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Uptown. There will also be Kabbala and Dinner for Young Jewish Professionals on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. After dinner together, the men will study the Kabbala of Tefillin while the women will do the Kabbala of Challah and challah baking.
The Jewish Women’s Circle will present Loaves of Love, a challah-baking class at Chabad of Baton Rouge, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The JCC will present its annual Kindergarten Readiness Forum on Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Uptown JCC’s Mintz Auditorium. Designed to demystify the kindergarten enrollment process, which can often be confusing and stressful for families, the event will be moderated by Dr. Bob Berk, founding head of school of Cypress Academy, and features panelists from the public and private school realm who will talk about all areas of the kindergarten enrollment process. Topics include the New Orleans Public School OneApp process, faith-based school choices, private school admissions testing, and kindergarten readiness. After the presentation, panelists will be available to answer individual questions. While the forum is designed for parents currently looking at kindergarten options, the information will be useful to all families of young children who have questions about the application and enrollment process. The evening is free and open to the public.
Expectant moms and dads are invited to the NOLA Bump Bash, Oct. 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Uptown JCC. The event is to connect with other parents and parents-to-be at this informative evening that includes mock-tails and conversation. There will be special giveaways and experts will be on hand to share parenting tips and to discuss topics such as sleep training, breastfeeding and more. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. So siblings aren’t left out, babysitting is available for $5 per child and includes dinner. Pre-registration is required. Contact Liba Kornfeld, Director of Jewish Family Life, with NOLA Bump Bash questions and for babysitting reservations.
Shir Chadash in Metairie will have a congregational family retreat at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, Oct. 23 to 25. A bus will leave Shir Chadash at 2 p.m. on Oct. 23 and leave camp at 1 p.m. on Oct. 25.
Roslyn Weiss will present “The Transcendent God of Goodness,” a Judeo-Christian Studies public lecture, at Tulane on Oct. 22. Weiss is the Clara H. Stewardson Professor of Philosophy at Lehigh University, where she has been teaching since 1991. She is the author of books on “Plato’s Crito,” “Plato’s Meno,” the “Socratic Paradox” and most recently, “Philosophers in the Republic: Plato’s Two Paradigms,” along with numerous articles and presentations on the Hebrew Bible, Maimonides, and other medieval Jewish thinkers. The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. at Rogers Memorial Chapel. It is open to the community.
Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans will consecrate its new office space on Oct. 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 3300 West Esplanade, Suite 603, in Metairie. The community is invited to attend. Sponsorships, including dedications for the mezuzot that will be affixed to each doorway as well as space-naming opportunities, are available.
Jewish Community Day School in Metairie is holding an Open House for prospective students and parents every Thursday this month, at 9 a.m.
The Temple Sinai Brotherhood in New Orleans will host New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams for dinner and conversation on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. He will discuss the Oct. 24 elections, and the progress and challenges facing the city. The dinner is free to current Brotherhood members, $18 for all other Temple Sinai members. Reservations are requested to the office.
Rabbi Alexis Berk of Touro Synagogue will have a twice-monthly lunchtime study group, News and the Jews, discussing current events through a Jewish lens. The noon sessions are open to the community at the Mautner Learning Center. Upcoming dates are Oct. 22, Nov. 12 and 19, Dec. 3 and 17 and Jan. 7 and 21.
Rabbi Jordan Goldson is teaching a Taste of Judaism class at B’nai Israel in Baton Rouge, on Oct. 14, 21 and 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism, the free outreach class is for Jews and non-Jews.
Mississippi
Federation Shabbat will be held on Oct. 16 at Beth Israel in Jackson, at the 6:15 p.m. service. Services will be led by Rabbi Wylen, and Douglas Bloomfield will be the guest speaker. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He has served as legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC, guiding strategy on Capitol Hill to obtain $3 billion in military and economic aid for Israel.
Beth Israel in Jackson will start a monthly Bagel Brunch for families with preschool children. The interactive session on Oct. 18 at 9:30 a.m. will feature Sukkot. The Nov. 15 session will discuss Shabbat.
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