⛵ Yacht Rock at the JCC
Jewish news you can use July 10 – (14 Tamuz 5785) We are sending our love to the victims of the Guadalupe River flooding, which includes ranch workers, summer camp staff, and campers in Texas Hill Country. Chabad of Boerne has been working to get supplies to first responders. About 120 Jewish families live in the affected area. Mazel tov to Rabbi Sandra Lawson, a Black LGBTQ+ community member, who is celebrating one month as the executive director of Carolina Jews for Justice. Professor Jonathan Sarna, nicknamed “The Everything Bagel of Jewish history” is retiring from Brandeis University after 35 years. The historian shined a unique lens on antisemitism in the U.S., and he presciently pushed back on those who claimed that antisemitism was fading as a problem. Friends of IDF is under fire for its alleged toxic culture and financial abuses, according to this JTA article. The charity is known for raising hundreds of millions of dollars with promises to support the IDF. Atlanta has its own FIDF chapter, which has not made a statement. United Airlines has announced it will resume flights to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv from New York/Newark on July 21, with twice-daily flights returning the next day.Y’alla, Logan Machaneh Shai (Hebrew for “Camp Shearith Israel”) is Congregation Shearith Israel’s religious school, serving kids 3 years old through 7th grade. Our approach blends tradition, creativity, and community to create a joyful and meaningful Jewish learning experience for students and families alike! Learn more and enroll now. SPONSOR MESSAGE Screenshot from the Georgia capitol Gov. Kemp commits to standing with Israel Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp made a promise to stand with the Jewish people and the state of Israel on July 10 when he met with an Israeli whose brother has been held hostage by Hamas for 643 days. Kemp held a press conference on the steps of the Gold Dome, welcoming Ilay David to recount the story of Evyatar David, one of the Israeli hostages who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, while at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border in Israel. He has been held by Hamas for 21 months. Read what Gov. Kemp promised. Mythic creatures meet modern art! SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM Step into a world where mythology and art collide! “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles“ brings vibrant, hybrid animal sculptures to life in Fernbank’s WildWoods. These whimsical sculptures blend Zapotec culture and contemporary art, each representing spirit guides tied to personality and destiny. Designed by renowned Oaxacan artists, this exhibit offers a soulful journey through indigenous culture, identity, and the natural world. Open now through August 3 with special after-hours viewings on select nights. Don’t miss this magical experience! Provided by Yacht Rock Listen to the music As far as we know, Yacht Rock Revue only has one Jewish-adjacent member – drummer Greg Lee – but the band will be on Jewish ground when they perform ‘70s and ‘80s soft rock hits at the JCC’s new outdoor stage. The concert is Sunday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. A few rules to note: No outside food and drinks are allowed, but they will be sold onsite starting at 5:30 p.m. All event parking is off-site at First Baptist Atlanta with shuttles running to the JCC. Finally, general admission is BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair). Buy tickets: Courtyard seats are $72 and general admission is $36. Shabbat Shalom, hey! Shabbat Ba’Beltline Ba’Kayitz (summer edition) is meeting on July 25 at 7 p.m. Join the soulful, musical, community-driven Shabbat experience on the Atlanta Beltline. The gathering will begin with a potluck-style dairy kosher or kosher-style dinner. Sign up for the potluck. Interested in helping lead the service? Love an audience? Show off your leadership skills you haven’t used since Jewish summer camp. Sign up to help lead. Organizers encourage people to bring a friend, partner, or family member. RSVP. We are family Ma’alot has two summer events coming up for families. Gather in the Garden is a musical, nature-based Shabbat series for all ages. It will feature Ma’alot’s first-ever Torah-Drama: an interactive, theatrical experience in which participants step into the Torah story as it unfolds.The event will take place at an intown community farm at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 12. An indoor kiddush lunch follows the service. RSVP for the location. Souper Soulful Shabbat is an evening to support the Zadie Project, Souper Jenny’s nonprofit to feed hungry kids and families.The Friday, Aug. 1 event includes a vegetarian buffet dinner, Shabbat service with acoustic music, and a hands-on giving project with We Repair and Beis ATL in Decatur.The cost is $20 for dinner and donation. Space is limited. Grab your spot. Via @BlueJays Put me in, coach Jewish baseball star Kevin Pillar (pictured) announced his retirement after being released from the Texas Rangers. He spent most of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays and earned the nickname “Superman” for his diving catches. Jordan Harris, the NHL’s lone Black-Jewish player, has signed with the Boston Bruins, where he will be teammates with Jewish goaltender Jeremy Swayman. It’s a homecoming for Harris, a Boston-area native who played for Northeastern University. Star quarterback Jake Retzlaff is reportedly planning to transfer from Brigham Young University. Retzlaff popped onto the scene last season with a splashy sponsorship deal with Manischewitz. He’s now facing a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, which he denies. Keep in mind that BYU’s honor code prohibits premarital sex. Max Homa finished fifth, David Lipsky finished third, and Ben Silverman was cut from the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. last weekend. The next tournament to watch is the ISCO Championship at Hurstbourne in Louisville, KY, starting today. Provided by Jeremy Perlin In other sports news… Jeremy Perlin, executive director of The Temple, stopped to take a selfie in front of the famed Atlanta synagogue while running this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race. Credit Forward/Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Rabbis can now endorse political candidates. But will they? Rabbi Joe Hample has spent years threading the needle: teaching Jewish ethics, challenging injustice, but never telling his congregants how to vote. Now, as he prepares to retire after 16 years in the pulpit, that line feels blurrier than ever. “There’s something to be said for maintaining at least the fig leaf of non-partisanship,” said Hample, who leads the Tree of Life in Morgantown, West Virginia — a blue city in a red state. His restraint — long shared by clergy across faiths — may soon become optional. This week, the Internal Revenue Service said religious leaders can now endorse political candidates to their congregants without risking their status as a tax-exempt nonprofit. Read the full story on the Forward. Machaneh Shai (Hebrew for “Camp Shearith Israel”) is Congregation Shearith Israel’s religious school, serving kids 3 years old through 7th grade. Our approach blends tradition, creativity, and community to create a joyful and meaningful Jewish learning experience for students and families alike! Learn more and enroll now. SPONSOR MESSAGE Look & Listen This Boston artist found a Hebrew typewriter and made cool art. She’s also selling a mahjong piece in studio. Let’s play: Taylor Swift or Torah? What’s doin’ around town SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH July 10: Summer Torah Tour begins. July 10: Legacy of Leo Frank at Atlanta History Center. July 13: PJ Library’s Splash Around Town. July 14: Mah Jongg Monday. The next Jewish holiday is Tisha B’Av on Aug. 2. Light Shabbat candles this week at 8:32 p.m. Curious about Or Hadash? Find your family’s Jewish home—where learning is joyful, community is real, and everyone belongs. Discover Machon Hadash, our kid-approved Saturday K–7th program, at our August 8th Open House and musical Shabbat service. Details here. Before you go Tickets to the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival gala concert are now on sale. The event celebrates 25 years of the AJFF on Monday, Oct. 20 at the Woodruff Arts Center, presented in partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Turner Classic Movies. The post ⛵ Yacht Rock at the JCC appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
