January-February 2012 - The Jewish Georgian

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Page 24 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN January-February 2012 Anshi S’Fard’s Centennial Celebration Rabbi Chaim Lindenblatt, who has led the shul for the past 10 years addressing the group as his son, Shalom, stands by. Anshi S’Fard, known as the little shul with the big heart, celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 27, 2011. Rabbi Wilson and Rabbi May Efrom Prater with Rabbi and Mrs. Wilson Blimie Lindenblatt and Regine Rosenfelder holding a photo of her grandfather at the shul on his 90th birthday On November 13, in front of a large crowd at Augusta’s historical Imperial Theatre, the talented spiritual leader of Adas Yeshurun, Rabbi David Sirull, performed his newly penned composition “There’s No Place Like Augusta.” Shortly thereafter, he received numerous comments suggesting that it become the city’s official theme song. Sirull was joined by colleagues and old friends Rabbi Bertram Kieffer and Cantor Irvin Bell for an evening of diverse song. From the traditional end of the spectrum to Sirull’s original and whimsical YouTube hit “Jewish Redneck,” the crowd was thoroughly entertained by the Three Ronnie and Jerry Frostig Sheila and Joe Accortt, Ed Leader, David Freedman and Rabbi Lindenblatt enjoy brunch by Goodfriendʼs Catering Eli Rivka Monheit with their children and Marla Netze, grandmother A new theme song for Augusta? Rabbi David Sirull Kosher Singers. “It was great to see people from so many different corners of our community come out to support our event,” the rabbi said. “Its purpose was to celebrate my congregation’s 120th anniversary, but it really accomplished even more than that.” When asked how he felt about “There’s No Place Like Augusta” becoming the city’s theme song, he remarked that he hadn’t thought about it, but based on the extremely positive feedback, “If that’s what our city’s folk want, then so be it. I’d be honored.” “There’s No Place Like Augusta” can be viewed on YouTube or at www.davidsirull.weebly.com. The single is
January-February 2012 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 25 Joining forces for Jewish education in Augusta The Augusta Jewish Community Sunday School (AJCSS) is a combined religious school consisting of students from the Reform congregation, Congregation Children of Israel, and the Conservative congregation, Adas Yeshurun. There are 39 students in the school and six dedicated teachers. The AJCSS boasts seven high school madrichim and five middle school students. Elliot Price has been the principal of the school for the past three years. According to Principal Price, the religious schools of the two congregations merged eight years ago. Because the number of children in each program was dwindling, they decided to share resources and provide an environment where all Jewish students had the opportunity to interact with one another socially. Additionally, for the past five years, the AJCSS has participated in the Goldring Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) education program. This partnership has enabled the small but mighty religious school to use the ISJL curriculum, a 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. AJCSS also enjoys broad support from ISJL professional educators. For example, AJCSS is visited by an ISJL education fellow three times per year, in the summer, fall, and spring. In the summer, second-year Fellow Lauren Fredman led teacher trainings that focused on teaching to different student learning styles, as well as how to create classroom community. More recently, Ms. Fredman had the honor of giving a D’var Torah at both Augusta congregations. She also led two separate allschool programs focusing on Israel and Israeli culture. Yet another event for the students was an all-school program of Jewish Values Maccabi Games at a local park. “There are many different ways to teach Jewish knowledge, and it makes a big difference if a child is motivated at religious school. We have a very positive environment at the AJCSS, and there is a lot of excitement about being at religious school,” Principal Price says. “We are always looking forward to the events that the ISJL brings to us. The lock-ins, Jewish Values Maccabi Games, and teacher and madrichim trainings have made a significant difference in our ability to meet the goals of our Sunday school.” The ISJL is currently recruiting the Grandmas never leave us By Lindsey Light Kuniansky On November 11, my dad, Billy Light, and I spoke about his book, Grandmas Never Leave Us, at the Book Festival of the MJCCA. We spoke of how it came about, how we designed it, how it became self-published. My dad wrote this book over 20 years ago, when I was only seven years old. I’m 30 years old and happily married now. I remember my grandmothers being very sick at the same time and in different hospitals. My brother, Andrew, who was four at the time, and I would draw pictures and get-well cards for our grandmothers to be posted on their hospital room walls, because our dad told us how happy it made them, and we wanted them to know they were always on our minds. Sometimes, we would sing on a cassette tape that my parents could play for them on their daily visits. It was such a sad time, but I remember thinking we were helping our grandmothers feel better. Surely, they were the most popular grandmas in the whole hospital! Having grown up without our grandmas, my brother and I always talk about how we missed out on the experiences our friends had. I still remember when my dad had me draw pictures for his story, because at the time I wanted to be an artist. It was fun to draw the pictures and remember all the good times, but it was also a learning experience. During the process, we asked all kinds of questions about my grandmothers and what was happening to them. My dad tried his best to explain to us why they were sick, as only a parent can do, to his still-developing children. Then my grandmothers died. My dad’s story had been hiding in a drawer for over 20 years. My husband, Michael, and I put it into book form for my dad’s birthday, and to see my dad’s tears of happiness when he read it was so amazing. We were able to bring the story back to life. If only we could do the same for my grandmas! Today, I see with grateful eyes my dad’s commitment to Andrew and me as children and now as happily married, young adults—me with my husband, Michael, and Andrew with his wonderful wife, Molly. We are exceptionally lucky to have such great parents and friends in our mom, Lynn, and our dad. Our parents are our friends and biggest role models. My dad and I hope that by sharing our story with adults and children alike, we can help others get through what we know is a very tough time. Experiencing loss is never easy, but what my dad did over 20 years ago definitely helped us, and we will always have a beautiful reminder of our beloved grandmas. ISJL Education Fellow Lauren Fredman (back right) gets ready to read Sammy Spiderʼs First Trip to Israel by Sylvia A. Rouss, during the Pre-K-2nd grade Israel program. (All photos: Elliot Price) next class of education fellows, to begin June 2012. The Forward described the fellowship as “a mobile Jewish Teach for America.” Visit www.isjl.org for more information, or contact ISJL Director of Education Rachel Stern, at rstern@isjl.org. In addition to the Augusta congregations, other Georgia congregations participating as ISJL Education Partners are in Rome, Macon, Fayetteville, Columbus, Brunswick, andAtlanta. Billy Light and Lindsey Light Kuniansky Lauren Fredman (left), teachers, madrichim, and 3rd-7th-grade students with an Israel Candy Topography map, completed during the Sunday Israel program Students do a team building activity during the Jewish Values Maccabi Games, March 2011 And it reminds me, too, of how special my dad, Billy Light, is to me, to our family, and to our friends. Please visit our Facebook page at Grandmas Never Leave Us, and visit our website, www.GrandmasNeverLeaveUs. com. Check us out on YouTube, too—type in “Billy & Lindsey 11/11/11,” and you can watch several brief video excerpts; amazingly, we have had over 1,100 total views so far. Thank you, MJCCA Book Festival friends, for allowing us to share our story. I am very proud of you, Dad. We did good!
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January-February 2012 - The Jewish Georgian

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