FEDERATION NEWS - The Jewish Georgian

July-August 2012 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 21
Jewish
THE
Georgian
Chassidic rabbi is also a Pop artist
By Ron Feinberg
Rabbi Moully
Sometimes, a little creativity works out
much better than tossing loads of money at
a problem. That’s exactly what the energetic
staff at Jerusalem’s Abraham Hostel
have done, when figuring out how best to
pull together Shabbat dinner for their
guests each week.
To understand the problem, you probably
need to know that Jerusalem, both the
capital and spiritual center of Israel, is one
of the few places in the world that takes
Shabbat seriously. The city essentially
shuts down for the Jewish Sabbath, a period
that stretches from Friday afternoon
until three stars appear in the sky on
Saturday evening.
That means if you’re a tourist, you’ll
have plenty of time to rest and relax; it also
means that you’d better plan ahead if you
want to eat on Friday night and throughout
the day on Saturday. Just about everything
in the city closes—retail stores, public
transport, museums, and theaters; restaurants,
cafes, fast-food joints, mega-supermarkets,
and mom-and-pop groceries.
If you’re staying at one of Jerusalem’s
luxury hotels, you don’t need to worry.
Generally, along with the high cost of your
Abby Sosin with Moullyʼs Kiddish Cups
Ron Feinberg helps prepare
Shabbat dinner
room, you’ll be wined and dined in fine
style over the Sabbath. Most 5-star hotels
offer up a smorgasbord of delights—soups,
salads, and fishy appetizers; beef, chicken,
and fish; veggies and baked goods; vintage
wines and dessert! Needless to say, you
won’t go hungry.
That’s not the case if you’re staying in
By Leon Socol
Abby Sosin arrived in Atlanta at
the tender age of one and has grown
up to be a beautiful young lady with
a talent for art. She wanted to be an
art curator, and last January, she got
her chance, when she accepted a
position with the Emory Marcus
Hillel to plan exhibitions and educational
programs that promote Jewish
studies. It was a big undertaking for
the aspiring curator.
Although she is an artist herself,
Abby had little experience curating,
but she was given the project of
bringing an artist to the Emory campus
who would appeal to the students.
An Internet search turned up
See POP ARTIST, page 22
Special Shabbat in Jerusalem with friends and strangers
a 3-star hotel or hostel. Most of these places
provide a hearty—if limited—breakfast.
Otherwise, plan ahead or fast...unless
you’re booked into the Abraham Hostel. I
stumbled across it online, when planning
my most recent trip to Israel. It looked
interesting, and the reviews were mostly
good.
The price was certainly right—$20 for
a bed in a dorm and $60 for a private room
and bath. Once I figured out the location
was just about perfect—it’s on Jaffa Street
in the heart of the city, a block or so from
the Jewish Market and the pedestrian mall
on Ben Yehudah Street and an easy 10minute
walk from the central bus station—
I decided to try it out.
Turns out you get what you pay for!
When traveling solo, I don’t mind roughing
it a bit. I’ve stayed in 3-star hotels and the
occasional hostel. The hotels, without
exception, have always been fine—clean
and neat, safe and affordable. The hostels
have also been safe and very affordable;
unfortunately, they’re generally a little
seedy around the edges.
The Abraham Hostel was light, bright,
and filled with secondhand everything—
See SHABBAT, page 23
Sam Massell
reflects on his
passions and
careers
By George Jordan
One morning in January, I woke up and
started to think about who would be an
interesting interview for The Jewish
Georgian. We have lived in Atlanta for 40
years and somehow the name of Massell—
that’s Sam Massell—came to mind. Sam
served as mayor of Atlanta from 1970 to
1974 and, to date, is Atlanta’s only Jewish
mayor. So I placed a call to his office and
was able to arrange for an interview. Below
are the highlights.
Sam Massell
I understand your father was a publisher of
a local Atlanta newspaper. Were you
involved in the newspaper business?
Actually, after the depression, my father and
his brothers (Ben and Levi) split up, and he
went into law, but he did publish a monthly
paper—The Atlanta Democrat—as a hobby.
And I did pitch in, selling ads, handling circulation,
and doing some writing, and at one
time was named editor.
Did you ever think about following in your
father’s footsteps?
See MASSELL, page 23