News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community |
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024
Hadassah and The Inquirers Book Club will honor our beloved past president Victoria Cohen-Crumpton, who has moved to Brasstown, North Carolina, on Sunday, July 11 @ 4pm via Zoom. Victoria was president of Nashville Hadassah from 2009-2012.. She was also the president of The Inquirer's Book Club which is in it's 71st year. It is the second oldest Jewish Women's book club in Nashville. The Inquirer's Book Club, which was started in 1950, is a spin-off of the Magazine Circle, which began in 1898. Victoria was president of The Inquirers from 2017-2019. Please rsvp by 7/9 to Sarah Ruden @ spm5222@gmail.com or to Deana Goldstein @ 615-438-5225.
Congregation Micah’s Religious School is the home and heart of joyous and progressive Jewish education, bringing the best of formal and informal study to our families. Our weekly family service fills our sanctuary with music, prayer and playful participation in the ever-present and unfolding Jewish story.
The Janet Levine March Gallery will feature the work of Lauren Karp. Lauren is a nature photographer who specializes in artistic wildlife photos. Raised in the bucolic countryside of Pennsylvania, Lauren spent her childhood in lush fields, meandering creeks and scenic farmlands. Amid this backdrop, she pursued many forms of creative expression including painting, calligraphy and clothing design. Her artistic journey continued as an art director for an international print and poster company. Having been inspired by world-renowned photographers, she combined her love of art and nature with a passion for photography. Exploring with her camera at her side, Lauren now travels extensively, capturing her vision of the beauty in the natural world. Her images capture a snapshot in time, giving viewers a quiet moment of emotive contemplation.
The most recent Pew Study of American Jews reports that the vast majority, more than 75%, believe that remembering the Holocaust is essential to being Jewish. Additionally, more than half of those surveyed report experiencing antisemitism in the last year, either by seeing some sort of anti-Jewish graffiti, being harassed online, being personally attacked or some other sort of discrimination. It is the intersection of those two experiences that sparked an outpouring of shock and anger after a Nashville hat vendor used a yellow Star of David with the words, “Not Vaccinated,” in the middle to protest what she believes is government overreach in fighting the COVID19 pandemic. The incident centers around a social media post by HatWRKS shop owner Gigi Gaskins who says she was selling the patches as a means of expressing solidarity with the Jewish victims in Nazi Germany who were marked for deportation to concentration camps and forced to wear the yellow star. “I did not make it up,” she says, “I saw videos of protests in Israel and other countries using the star to protest the vaccines, so there is precedent there. I am on the side of those who experienced the atrocities.”
By Alyssa Trachtman
The Temple Announces Ambitious Outreach Plans to Deliver Synagogue Programs and Services to Emerging Jewish Population Centers and Communities.
The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee is promoting two of its long time staffers to leadership positions, both within the Financial Resource Development team. The changes reflect both the professional growth of the two staff members, and a more finely tuned approach to the organization’s development strategy. In making the announcement, Jewish Federation CEO Eric Stillman says, “As rising professionals within our Federation, Carolyn Hyatt and Shannnon Small have been promoted with increased responsibilities in recognition of their important contributions toward Financial Resource Development.”
Children of all ages attend the Revere jewish Montessori Preschool. Starting at 12 months children learn to use their fine motor skills, then go on to build, to write and read In English and Hebrew, to count, to plant, to sing, and to dance, and to become wholesome healthy people, being educated with the method of Maria Montessori. To register your child at the Revere Jewish Montessori Preschool call 615-646-5750." Space is limited, call.
Last month, the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and Congregation Micah sponsored a program with writer Bari Weiss to discuss antisemitism across America. Professor Shaul Kelner, of Vanderbilt University, was a masterful moderator of the event, navigating the panel of Rabbis from four locations across the country. His personal background and expertise were evident in his thoughtful and insightful comments and questions, and Ms. Weiss was incredibly engaging and energetic as she shared her perspective on the vexing problem of antisemitism. After the program, Ms. Weiss provided us an extensive reading list for further and future consideration.
Sharing stories, exploring family history, listening to real life recordings of those who changed the country; that is the goal of the newly opened Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. Located in a historic building in downtown New Orleans, exhibits will explore the many ways Jews in the American South impacted and were impacted by the communities in which they lived. The MSJE covers 13 states and over 300 years of history from Colonial America through the Civil Rights Movement. “We are excited to announce an opening date after a pause as a result of the pandemic,” said museum chair Jay Tanenbaum, in a press release. “Jews in the south formed bonds of deep friendship and community-building with their non-Jewish neighbors. These stories show how people of different backgrounds come together to create the American experience. This can be a bridge to a better understanding and future for all of us.”
By Rabbi Laurie Rice
The Covid19 pandemic has both triggered and highlighted the need to change the conversation around mental health issues. According to a recent survey of adults by the Centers for Disease Control, more than one-third of those responding reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, over 10 percent reported having started or increased substance use, more than one quarter reported stress-related symptoms, and over 10 percent reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past 30 days. All of these numbers are nearly double the rates expected before the start of the Covid19 Pandemic. These increases are tied to risks of suicide, substance abuse, loneliness, food insecurity, just to name a few. Locally the need for mental health services has risen and social workers at Jewish Family Service say that while they are working to respond to the need, there is still stigma around asking for help. Toni Jacobsen, Clinical Director for JFS, says, “It’s important to change the way we talk about mental health. People are not at fault for needing help. They need compassion and understanding about the trauma that happened to them.”