Happy Chanukah - The Jewish Georgian

November-December 2011 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 39
Communities’ wishes inspire a moving 9/11 program
By Sara Silverman
The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of
Southern Jewish Life’s (ISJL) nine education
fellows returned to their Jackson,
Mississippi, office with a lot of work to do,
after visiting 77 communities from Texas to
Virginia throughout the summer.
Several communities made the same
request, arising from the fact that the 10th
anniversary of 9/11 would, for many of
them, fall on the first day of Sunday school:
They asked for an all-school program that
would commemorate 9/11, not only for the
children, but for the larger community, too.
In response, our team of education fellows,
ISJL Education Director Rachel Stern
and Associate Director Jordan Magidson,
did what we do best. In our “think tank,” we
gathered together to discuss the overarching
goals of the program and how we could turn
these goals into an experiential learning
opportunity for all.
As a group, we felt as though it was our
challenge to not only observe with our students
the yartzheit of this horrific event but
to also teach them about what happened, as
many of them were not born in 2001 or
were too young to remember. We set our
sights on age-appropriate lessons that
would allow every student to walk away
with a sense of pride in our country, while
learning about the Jewish value of remembrance
(zachor). It was important for us to
do this in a way that placed the students’
focus on peace, rather than terror.
As our discussion unfolded, each member
of our department took a section of the
program to write and bring to life. This collaboration
led to a final product that was
In the past, parents had no way of
knowing if they were carriers of a genetic
disease that could threaten the health and
life of their children—until it was too late
and a child became sick. For Jewish individuals
of Central and Eastern European
descent, the potential danger is particularly
great, since one in five Ashkenazi Jews is a
carrier of at least one of 19 different genetic
diseases, many of which strike in childhood
and can lead to an early death.
Today, with advances in the field of
genetics, scientists have identified the gene
mutations that cause these 19 inherited diseases,
enabling healthy individuals who are
screened before pregnancy to know whether
their children may be at risk.
Making screening widely available and
affordable to potential carriers is the mission
of Atlanta Jewish Gene Screen (AJGS),
a project funded by The Marcus Foundation
and managed by the Victor Center for
Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases,
Albert Einstein Medical Center, in
then sent out to each of our 77 communities,
to use on the Sunday of 9/11.
The 60-90 minute all-school program
begins with a short interactive history lesson,
in which teachers, parents, or older students
stand before the group and show photographs
and read aloud information about
the events of 9/11. After gaining some
insight into what happened on that day, the
students move into stations. At these stations,
they learn about the significance of
the yartzheit candle and decorate their own;
learn about the importance of memorials
and create their own by tracing the outline
of the Twin Towers and writing their own
prayer for peace within the tracing; write
letters to emergency workers in their community;
and discuss the value of courage
and create their own courage awards.
Finally, the students come back together
and light their yartzheit candles, while
observing a moment of silence or singing
Oseh Shalom to conclude their day of
remembrance.
On September 12, our e-mail inboxes
were filled with positive feedback and photos
from a variety of communities throughout
our region, including several from
Georgia.
Sha’arey Israel, in Macon, responded,
“We loved this 9/11 program—it was amazing!”
The students’ artwork from the lesson
was displayed on bulletin boards throughout
the synagogue.
Rodeph Sholom Congregation, in
Rome, used the program to create an intimate
day of commemoration, with their
four students and three teachers in attendance.
Everyone was able to take part in
each activity, while learning about the
Philadelphia. AJGS is dedicated to preventing
Jewish genetic diseases through highquality
and accessible education, affordable
screening, and counseling.
AJGS was founded by Atlanta couple
Caroline and Randy Gold, whose daughter,
Eden, was born in 2008 with mucolipidosis
type 4 (ML4), a progressive and debilitating
neurological disorder beginning in infancy
with symptoms including muscle weakness,
intellectual disabilities, and retinal degeneration.
Individuals with this disease often
have shortened life spans.
Students from McAllen, Texas, participating
in the ISJL 9/11 program.
importance of the day with the help of pictures,
stories, and a moment of silence.
As an education fellow, I found it
extremely gratifying to be a part of writing
such a meaningful program for congregations
of all sizes and students of all ages.
Meeting the needs of a few of our congregations
has produced shared wisdom for all
of our schools.
The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of
Southern Jewish Life believes that all
Jewish children, no matter where they live,
are entitled to an excellent Jewish education.
Even in those communities that are
lucky enough to have Jewish professionals,
synagogue religious schools are often run
by an all-volunteer staff consisting of parents
or other laypeople. These dedicated
teachers, who typically have very busy
lives, give their weekends over to teaching
religious school. They come with enthusiasm
and commitment, and often work without
any professional support, in many
instances with limited Judaic background or
pedagogical training of their own.
The ISJL Education Curriculum is a
The Golds were screened before the
birth of their son, who is two years older
than Eden. At the time of their screening,
there were 16 preventable Jewish genetic
diseases identified for testing.
Unfortunately, Caroline was screened for
only eight diseases and Randy for two. The
Gold’s thought they did the right thing by
being tested pre-conception. However, no
one told them there were then 16 genetic
diseases for which Ashkenazi Jews should
Student from McAllen, Texas, writing
a letter to emergency workers in
the community
ISJL Education Fellow Claire
Solomon works with students from
Shaʼarey Israel and Beth Israel, in
Macon.
spiraled body of knowledge, in which students
revisit key content areas with
increased sophistication as they progress
through the curriculum, grade level by
grade level. Currently, in Georgia, congregations
in Rome, Macon, Fayetteville,
Columbus, Brunswick, Atlanta, and
Augusta participate as ISJL Education
Partners to achieve the goal of Jewish literacy
for their children. For more information,
contact Rachel Stern, MAJE/MAJCS,
ISJL Director of Education at
rstern@isjl.org.
Sara Silverman is an ISJL education fellow.
Atlanta Jewish Gene Screen can identify carriers of genetic diseases
Natanel and Eden Gold Randy, Natanel, Eden, and Caroline
Gold
be screened. No one told them that they
should be screened before every subsequent
pregnancy, since tests for additional diseases
are added as they become available.
Eden now receives 15 hours of therapy
a week. She has been in and out of doctors’
offices her entire life, with surgeries as early
as eight months. She is progressing, but
doctors say most children with ML4 never
walk or talk, have a maximum mental
capacity of 18 months, go blind by age
twelve, and die in early adulthood. All parents
want to watch their children grow and
live healthy lives, but that may not be possible
for Eden’s parents.
According to Caroline and Randy
Gold, “We have made Eden’s story public,
because we want to save other families
from suffering this preventable tragedy. No
one thinks this can happen to them, but it
happened to us, right here in Atlanta. If
See GENE SCREEN, page 41