Spring has sprung
March 13 (13 Adar 5785)
🥳 This weekend the Atlanta Jewish community will continue celebrating Purim, delivering mishloach manot, and searching for the perfect hamantaschen recipe. I keep wondering why I bought so many gluten-y snacks at Costco, when it feels like Passover is minutes away.
🫢 Passover starts in four weeks (to be more accurate), but are you even Jewish if you don’t start talking about matzah weeks ahead of time?
🧹 Along that vein, email me your funniest Passover memories. I’ll compile them, and we can all have a laugh while we eat vending machine bagels and find every last crumb of chametz.
Y’alla,
Logan
😂 Laugh and Learn! BeWellATL, an initiative of JF&CS, and comedian Pamela Schuller team up for a hilarious, insightful and free two-part event on March 23-24. Teens, parents, and guardians—join us for comedy, connection, and conversations on mental health. Register today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Second and third generations recount Holocaust history
💝 At an intimate gathering in Sandy Springs, second and third generation Holocaust survivors reflected on the grueling history of the 1930s, 1940s, and beyond.
Moderated by Cherie Aviv, dedicated Holocaust volunteer and chair of the Holocaust Survivor Support Fund, the March 12 panel featured child survivor Barry Seidel, second generation survivor Sue Weingarten Levy, and her son Ben Levy, who spoke about Sue’s parents Izak and Helen Weingarten.
The gathering was organized by 3GATL led by Emily Yehezkel who talks to school children about finding her own voice through the telling of her grandfather’s story.
👉🏼 Continue reading this article.
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🗓️ Attend Zikaron BaSalon on April 3 at the Breman with 3GATL and the Federation’s Young Leadership Division in honor of Yom HaShoah. RSVP is required.
✡️ On Sunday, April 27, Eternal Life-Hemshech is holding the 60th Yom HaShoah commemoration at Greenwood Cemetery, 1173 Cascade Circle SW, Atlanta.
Embark on a prehistoric adventure!
SPONSORED BY THE FERNBANK MUSEUM
🦖 Journey through time at Fernbank Museum to discover what made dinosaurs that once roamed the Southern Hemisphere unique from their better-known relatives in North America. With stunning skeletal displays and augmented reality, the new exhibit Ultimate Dinosaurs reveals how the breakup of Pangaea shaped the evolution of dinosaurs. See life-sized casts, fossils, and hands-on specimens like Eoraptor and Giganotosaurus.
➡ Visit the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit daily during regular hours, plus select after-hours events until May 4. Plan your visit today and step into the prehistoric world!
Panitch for World Zionist Congress
➡ Georgia State Rep. Esther Panitch is running for World Zionist Congress.
The World Zionist Congress functions as the “parliament of the Jewish people” and oversees over $1 billion in annual spending to support strengthening Jewish communities, expanding Jewish educational opportunities, fighting antisemitism, and fostering Jewish identity.
Elections happen once every five years. In the 2020 election, ultra-Orthodox slates gained significant power for the first time.
🗳️ American Jews can vote between March 10 and May 4 for one of 21 different slates running for seats in the WZC. Vote here.
Running season
🏃🏽♀️ Strap on your running shoes, and sign up for a springtime 5k.
The Daffodil Dash is being held on Sunday, March 30 at Brook Run Park in Dunwoody. Support Holocaust education and help children suffering modern day crises. Participate in person or virtually. Sign up here.
The Friendship 1k/5k for inclusion is sponsored by Chabad and AA Synagogue on Sunday, April 6 at Brook Run Park. Run, walk, roll, or cheer on the sidelines at this event to bringing together a community of all abilities. Sign up here.
Selma’s 60th anniversary
👨🏻🤝👨🏾 Anat Sultan-Dadon, the Israel Consul General to the Southeastern U.S., attended a commemoration in Selma, Ala., on Sunday, March 9 — also known as Bloody Sunday.
Sultan-Dadon wrote on social media: “It was a beautiful opportunity for Dr. Babs Onabanjo to be recognized by the White Rose Society for his support of Israel and the Jewish people, especially since Oct. 7, 2023. Sixty years after that historic march for justice, including Black and Jewish leaders marching together, marching in unity today is as vital as ever.”
✔️ Onabanjo is the CEO of A.D. King Foundation.
Trump says Chuck Schumer is ‘not Jewish anymore’
✡️ President Donald Trump escalated his attack on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, March 12, suggesting that America’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official has denounced his identity.
“Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned,” Trump told reporters. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”
Journalist Julia Ioffe pointed out on X the problematic nature of a “non-Jew who determines who is and is not a good enough Jew.”
➡ Read the full story on the Forward.
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📌 Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, posted neo-Nazi talking points about Jewish lynching victim Leo Frank last year. Read more here.
🍷 JF&CS presents The Tasting Experience. An evening of wine and spirits, delicious food from your ATL favorites, and a chance to make an impact in our community. Join us on May 1 at The Stave Room. Get tickets here!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Clearing spiritual chametz
🌏 Join McKenzie Wren (Ma’ayan Yehudit) in “Clearing Your Spiritual Chametz With the Elements” for a four-week course from March 19 to April 9. Held on Wednesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m., the class costs $180.
Use the ancient ritual of removing chametz from your home by discovering how to release what no longer benefits you. Through the perspective of the four Kabbalistic worlds – Assiyah (earth), Yetzirah (water), Briyah (air), and Atzilut (fire) — participants will explore and clear their spiritual chametz in preparation for Passover.
👋🏼 All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants, but live attendance is encouraged. Sign up for the online immersion here.
☀️ Make this summer unforgettable with an MJCCA Summer Membership! From May 16–Sept. 15, enjoy three pools, water slides, a splash pad, plus access to the fitness center, pickleball, tennis, and more! Enroll in 4+ weeks of camp, get one FREE! Learn more here!
SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around town
🎵 March 15: Concert to support Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Tickets.
🪘 March 15: L’Dor V’dor intergenerational drum circle.
🕊️ March 22: Jewish Fertility Foundation’s Havdalah and Hope. Register.
📕 March 27: Amanda Knox speaks at the JCC.
🥘 March 29: Havdalah potluck in Candler Park. RSVP.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Purim. It begins tonight, Thursday, March 13.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 7:27 p.m.
❓Did we miss an event? Submit calendar items here.
💙 Jewish+, interfaith, multi-heritage – however you describe yourself, every member of your family is welcome and wanted at Or Hadash. Join us and make new connections at our special Shabbat dinner and service on March 21. SPONSOR MESSAGE
