January-February 2012 - The Jewish Georgian

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Page 38 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN January-February 2012 The Jews of Augusta, Part III BY Stuart Rockoff Throughout its history, Children of Israel, in Augusta, Georgia, has had numerous rabbis, with most staying only a few years. For one third of its first 100 years, the congregation did not have rabbinic leadership; during the other 67 years, it employed 25 different rabbis. A few stayed several years: Rabbi H. Cert Strauss led the congregation from 1920 to 1927, while Joseph Leiser served as rabbi from 1930 to 1939. In 1941, a young Hebrew Union College graduate, Sylvan Schwartzman, took over the pulpit at Children of Israel. Although he stayed for only six years, Rabbi Schwartzman had a profound impact on the congregation. When he arrived, Children of Israel had only 60 or so member families. Five years later, it had 105 families. Rabbi Schwartzman brought a new energy to the congregation, leading a popular adult education class and starting a regular interfaith community forum. During the war, he led services at the local military base. Rabbi Schwartzman was not afraid to push the congregation to take political stands. In 1945, the congregation sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State, urging his support for the plan to create a United Nations. Rabbi Schwartzman also raised money for the Haganah, the group fighting for Jewish independence in Palestine. Rabbi Schwartzman also led the way in convincing the congregation that it needed a new building, because the existing one could no longer hold its growing number of families. At Children of Israel’s centennial celebration in 1945, members voted to build a new synagogue. In 1946, they appointed a building committee, headed by Mose Slusky, that acquired a lot on the corner of Walton Way and Bransford Road. While it took several more years to raise the necessary money, Children of Israel finally dedicated its new synagogue in 1951. Rabbi Schwartzman, who left Augusta in 1947, came back to give the dedication address. Reverend J. Hambry Barton, of the Trinity on the Hill Methodist Church, gave the invocation during the ceremony. For the six months before they moved into their new home, the congregation met at Reverend Barton’s church. According to the local newspaper, “The symbols of both religions remained on the same altar during this entire period in a perfect example of religious brotherhood.” Rabbi Norman Goldburg arrived in 1949 and led the congregation for the next 19 years, before becoming rabbi emeritus. Under Rabbi Goldburg’s leadership, Children of Israel interior Children of Israel continued to grow, reaching 142 families by 1955. By 1963, the congregation had 103 children in its religious school, which was run by the rabbi’s wife, Rose Goldburg. By 1964, Children of Israel had outgrown its sanctuary, and members voted to build a new one, along with a new kitchen and social hall, just thirteen years after they had dedicated their then-current synagogue. Abe Friedman, a longtime board member of the congregation who served several terms as president, headed the effort to raise money for the addition. The local First Baptist Church made a donation to the building fund. In 1967, Children of Israel dedicated the new sanctuary in a ceremony that drew Augusta’s mayor and several local ministers and featured the theme of interfaith harmony. The old sanctuary was converted into an auditorium for the religious school. Children of Israel thrived in its revamped building. By 1976, the congregation had 161 member families and 61 children in its religious school. By the mid-1990s, Augusta’s Reform congregation had reached 197 member families. Adas Yeshurun grew over the years as well. In 1944, members decided they had outgrown their old and deteriorating building. Led by William Estroff, the congregation quickly raised $70,000 for the building fund. But soon, this effort stalled after the deaths of both Estroff and Rabbi Goldberger, along with growing disagreement over where to build the new synagogue. While Adas Yeshurun had always been in downtown Augusta, the vast majority of members now lived in the Hill Children of Israel (all photos: Preisler) neighborhood. While most wanted to build the new synagogue there, a strong faction lobbied to keep the shul downtown. Adas Yeshurun found a creative, if unsustainable, way to bridge this divide. One member, Pincus Silver, bought a big house and property on Johns Road, which was converted into a satellite site for the congregat i o n . Separate High Holiday services were held at the Johns Road house, with a visiting rabbi, for those who preferred the residential location to the downtown synagogue. The Johns Road house even had an optional “family seating” section, where husbands and wives could sit together, if they wished. Maintaining two synagogues was not a viable long-term solution, and Silver soon sold his property to the congregation, which had finally decided to move from its old building. In 1953, they broke ground on a new synagogue on the property, finishing it the following year. At the time of the dedication, Adas Yeshurun had 200 member families. Despite this move, Adas Yeshurun remained an Orthodox congregation, building a new modern mikvah in the late 1960s. When Adas Yeshurun celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1965, the rabbi from the Orthodox Baron Hirsch Congregation, in Memphis, took part in the ceremony. In 1970, Adas Yeshurun dedicated a new education building; Senator Herman Talmadge was the keynote speaker at the dedication. As reflected in the steady growth of both congregations, Augusta’s Jewish community peaked in the years after World War II. While 950 Jews lived in Augusta in 1937, 1500 did by 1980. The number of Jewish merchants has declined, as it has Adas Yeshurun throughout the rest of the South, but growing numbers of Jewish professionals have settled in Augusta. Dr. Robert Greenblatt moved to Augusta in the 1930s and became a renowned endocrinologist, writing several books on the subject. Dr. Sumner Fishbein came to Augusta by the 1970s and became very active at Children of Israel, serving on the board, teaching religious school, and blowing shofar on the high holidays. With this rising number of professionals, many drawn by the medical school at the Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta managed to avoid the sharp population declines that affected other Southern Jewish communities. In recent years, the Jewish community of Augusta has shrunk a bit, to 1,300 people in 2003, as growing numbers of Jews have moved to the thriving Jewish metropolis of Atlanta. Nevertheless, Augusta still supports two strong congregations with full-time rabbis, a Jewish Community Center, and an active Jewish Federation. In 1995, Adas Yeshurun officially became a Conservative congregation, joining the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Seeing an opportunity to serve Orthodox Jews, Chabad opened a house in Augusta in 1996. In recent years, as the number of children in the community has declined, the two congregations have merged their religious schools, creating the Augusta Jewish Community Sunday School. The school, which is a partner in the Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s education program, had 45 students in 2009. That same year, Children of Israel had 157 members, while Adas Yeshurun had 170. The above history of Augusta, Georgia, Part III, is a segment from the ISJL Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Readers are invited to learn more about the history of Jewish communities by visiting www.isjl.org and looking under the History tab. The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life considers the encyclopedia to be a work in progress and encourages the public to contact Dr. Stuart Rockoff at Rockoff@isjl.org with additional information related to the history of Jewish communities in Georgia or other communities of the South. Throughout the thirteen-state Southern region of the United States, the eleven-year-old grassroots organization Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) is dedicated to providing educational and rabbinic services, promoting a Jewish cultural presence, and documenting and preserving the rich history of the Southern Jewish experience.
January-February 2012 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN — KASHER LIVING Page 39 Kosher Affairs BY Roberta Scher Once again, I ate my way through Kosherfest, the world’s largest kosher food trade show. The 2011 event was held at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Exposition Center, and it set new records for both exhibitors and attendees. I am sharing Kosherfest’s official 2011 New Product Award winner, selected by a show panel, followed by my personal list of “bests.” KOSHERFEST 2011 NEW PRODUCT AWARDS • Best Overall: Tishbi Passion Fruit and Strawberry Champagne Preserves • Beverage: Sparkling Ayala’s Herbal Water • Bread, Grain, Cereal, or Cracker: Sliced Artisan Slider Rolls from Tribeca Oven • Candy: Rabbi Mints Classic Kosher Mints • Desserts/Baked Goods or Sweets: Mango Gourmet Italian Ice from Gianni New York • Dips, Spreads, Salsas: Sabra Guacamole • Frozen Entrée: Ta’amti Meat Flavor Meatless Bourekas • Giftware or Novelty Item: The Royal Challah Silicone Bakeware Pan • Jam or Preserve: Tishbi Passion Fruit and Strawberry Champagne Preserves • “Kosher for Passover” Product: MIKEE Mango Duck Sauce • Meat/Seafood/Poultry Item: Jack’s Gourmet Jamaican Style Jerk Chicken Sausage • Pasta, Rice, Beans, or Soup: Gezunt Gourmet Pastas • Savory & Salty Snack Food: Bamba Halva Peanut Snack with Sesame Cream Filling • Savory Condiment, Spice, Sauce, Oil, Vinegar, Dressing, or Marinade: Fresh Frozen Pesto Cubes from Dorot Foods • Wine, Beer, or Spirit: Fincas Marumatok Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec • Cheese or Dairy Item: Sugar River Cheese from Anderson International Foods MY PERSONAL KOSHERFEST FAVORITES • Jerk Chicken Sausage: The newest flavor from Jack’s Gourmet Sausage. What makes Jack’s unique is that it is made without artificial ingredients, fillers, by-products, or MSG. • Moses Date Vodka: A new “kosher for Passover” spirit, this sweet, smooth vodka is good enough for year round. • Tishbi Passion Fruit and Strawberry Champagne Preserves: A sophisticated and delicious spread with crackers and perhaps a creamy soft cheese • Zelda’s Apple Caramel Cake and Lemon Poppy Cake: Moist cakes with fruit flavors that shine through. Zelda’s also introduced a new specialty for Passover—chocolate locusts, a companion to its popular kosher-for- Passover chocolate frogs. I am happy to note that Zelda’s cakes are available locally at Thechosenknish.com. • Schmerling Hazelnut Chocolate Bar: Rich, luscious chocolate available in parve and dairy • Challywood: Even the name is fun! These challah loaves and rolls can be ordered online in many flavors. Shipping is free on orders over $50. Among the flavors are onion, raisin, blueberry, apple cinnamon, chocolate—and, of course, plain. Tempted? Find even more at Challywood.net. • A note about cheese: There were hundreds of cheeses at the show—many brands from countries worldwide and from the U.S. as well. Take note, Atlanta retailers. ————— On the night before Kosherfest, KosherEye co-founder Lois Held and I coordinated a special journalist/social media dinner event at Manhattan’s Solo Restaurant. The menu, presented by Solo Executive Chef David Kolotkin, was spectacular, and it reflected the expanding boundaries of kosher food. I am sharing the mouthwatering menu (yes, there was a choice in each category): • Appetizers: big-eye tuna tartare, mushroom risotto, or crispy veal sweetbreads, along with a tasting of crispy vegetable spring rolls, Buffalo chicken lollipops, and sliders • Entrees: pan-seared organic Scottish salmon, one-half roasted chicken, or pan-seared black Angus filet, along with a tasting of tacos, roasted fingerling potatoes, and Japanese eggplant • Desserts: Mandarine crème Chiboust brûlée, molten chocolate cake, passion fruit meringue Royal Wine, the largest importer and distributor of kosher wines in North America, presented a tasting of two champagnes: Drappier Carte-D’Or Brut and Drappier Carte Blanche, products of a new joint venture with Champagne Drappier, the highly regarded French Champagne house. See KOSHER AFFAIRS, page 40
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January-February 2012 - The Jewish Georgian

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