Kol Kehillah - June/July 2024

Rabbi's Blog:

As long as Zionism has existed, people have debated what it is, what it means, and how central – or not – it is to Judaism and Jewish people.

The Jewish connection to the land of Israel is ancient. According to the Torah, the Jewish story begins 4,000 years ago when God promised land to Abraham. And then nearly 3,500 years ago, the Twelve Tribes of Israel established themselves in that land.

CONTINUE READING HERE

President's Blog:

Thank you for your confidence in electing me to be your President. Becoming president of any organization is an extreme honor, but serving as president of our congregation carries both symbolic and practical significance.

CONTINUE READING HERE

News From the Mitzner Family Religious School

We had a wonderful end-of-the-year celebration on May 5 to close out the 2023-24 SUPER year at Religious School! I am so excited to see everyone back next year - school resumes on August 18. Theme to be announced soon!

Our final day took our Superheroes in Training through four activities to discover their super powers. They learned about helping the environment, cheering on their friends, working together, and their own strength. Together with the superhero leaders (madrichim), they learned how to use Jewish mitzvot to make the world a better place! We hope they take these learnings into summer to continue to be superheroes at home.

We said goodbye this year to 2 madrichim and 2 teachers: Carey Grucza has led our 4th grade class for three years (and numerous years as a teacher previously) and Robin Shafer has been a Hebrew tutor for two years. They are both leaving staff for other committments. Thank you to both of them for their hard work and focus on our students.

Additionally, we have two graduating senior madrichim - Carli Dewrell who is off to Columbia University next year and Hayleigh Wright who is heading to University of Tennessee but is first spending a year abroad in Seveille, Spain, and Prague, Czech Republic. Mazal Tov to to both of our seniors!

We had a SUPER year at MFRS - learning about Torah, Mitzvot, Israel, and Jewish history. We welcomed our third Shinshinit from Israel, Matan, who taught our kids about life in Israel and Jewish holidays. He will spend time at camp this summer and then head back to Israel to serve in the Army.

Finally, our tzedakah program donated over $1,200 to the following charities:

Kibbutz Be'eri
Friends of the JJC Kracow (to support Ukrainian refugees)
Ronald McDonald House
Keep On Riding
Drake House
Our Pals Place
Bagel Rescue
Magen David Adom

I cannot wait to see what next year brings! Don't forget to register for next school year here!

SEE MORE HERE, including next year's calendar!

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT:

The Drake House

The Drake House has been providing resources and support for single women and their children experiencing homelessness in the North Fulton area since 2004. TKC has supported those efforts from Day One, and we continue to do so each month. We sponsor an apartment in the Drake Village, which allows a mother and her child(ren) a clean, safe place to live while they gain the skills and resources to be on their own again. They receive education, resume services, and budget coaching to aid in the transition to stable housing.

Community sponsors and events like Miss Mary's Ice Cream Crankin' Festival help support these programs. Not only do we financially sponsor an apartment, TKC also provides regular donations from our Religious School tzedakah funds, and we have members who volunteer as budget coaches for the residents.

This year our 7th graders will be supporting The Drake House as part of their mitzvah project as well.

Mazal Tov to Ian Hirsch, the TKC 2023-24 Hadassah Chesed Award Winner!

The Hadassah Chesed award annually honors a teen in our program who has outstanding contributions to the Kehillah while also maintaining academic and other achievements. These teens are recognized at the Hadassah Chesed Award Luncheon in May.

Ian Hirsch has been a madrich in our Religious School for 3 years, always helping where needed. He currently serves on the board of RAFTY as Treasurer and went to DC on the L'Taken trip in 2023. Additionally, he is a Boy Scout, Senior Patrol Leader of his troop, and working toward his Eagle Scout. He is a member of the Milton HS Varsity Tennis team and was previously the Boys Captain of the JV Tennis Team in 2022-23. He does all of this while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Congrats to Ian and the Hirsches for this amazing honor! We are lucky to have you as part of our kehillah.

Congratulations 2024 Graduates!!

Noah Amsterdam is graduating from UGA Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Economics and International Business and a minor in International Affairs. He plans to work in Atlanta before going to law school.

Amanda Glatter is graduating from Yale University with a Master of Public Health, with a focus in Epidemiology.

Matthew Hirschland is graduating from Georgia Tech with a Masters Degree in Data Sciences. He will work for Google, where he has been participating in a virtual program.

Devyn Hlavek is graduating from Roswell High School and will attend the University of Georgia, majoring in Journalism.

Andrew Lampert is graduating from Innovation Academy and will attend The University of Alabama Honors College, majoring in Economics.

Jason Lampert is graduating from Innovation Academy and will attend Yale

University, majoring in Political Science and History.

Henry Litman is graduating from St Louis University with an MBA.

Morgan Lowe, granddaughter of Audrey & Jim Kopple, is graduating from high school as Valedictorian and will attend Illinois State University, majoring in elementary education.

Alexa Phillips graduated from Kennesaw State University with a BS in Psychology and minors in Child Advocacy Studies and Applied Data and Statistics. She will pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology following a volunteer program in Israel.

Everett Vershel graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors in Statistics and Business Analysis. Everett is now working in Tallahassee for the Florida Department of Education.

Nathan Waller is graduating Magna Cum Laude from Kennesaw State University and starting a Business Masters Program at KSU.

Milestone Anniversaries and Birthdays!

June:

Birthdays

Roberta Malavenda

Danielle Hahn

Corey Brinn

Catherine Rosing

Randy Zimler

Rose Persky

Anniversaries

Corey & Hallie Brinn -10

Alex & Joanne Gross - 20

Michael & Tina Vershel - 25

Robert & Roz Rosenburg - 45

July:

Birthdays

Griffin Finkelman

John Cannon

Gigi Morton

Barry Benator

Aden Andelman

Anniversaries

Phil & Sue Danneman - 45

David & Debbie Lutchen - 25

Wendy & John Fitzgerald - 40

Jim & Audrey Kopple - 55

We mourn the recent passing of:

James Gisonna

Carilyn Arkin

Ernest Garry

Miriam Winokur

We are so thankful to our donors who help us get the work of the Kehillah accomplished. To see the most recent Donation List, click on the list.

DONATION LIST

UPDATES FROM OUR AUXILIARIES

SISTERHOOD

Sisterhood’s Women’s Seder had 60 in attendance, with quite a few family generations as well! Thank you to Shari Naman for the wonderful facilitation again.

Sara Polikov is transitioning off of the Sisterhood Board. We thank her for her time and creativity as well as her friendship.

The new Sisterhood Board is:

Stacy Lampert, President

Kathy Starr and Lori Dreffin

Vice Presidents

Debbie Lutchen, Treasurer

Save the date for 2024-25 events will be forthcoming.

Be sure to check the Facebook TKC Sisterhood page for some fun "pop up" events for the summer.

BROTHERHOOD

Now is the perfect time to join Brotherhood with many exciting events in the coming months.

Our first event is July 27 at noon. This is our annual river rafting trip through Cherokee Rafting Company in Ocoee, Tennessee. We will be rafting the middle Ocoee River and lasts around 3 hours. Price is $52 per person and can be done through the website cherokeerafting.com.

If you would like to go please email us at tkcbrotherhood@gmail.com so we can get a headcount.

Brotherhood dues are only $36 for the year. We are excited to see you for this and future events.

More Information Here!

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

Our youth groups wrapped up the year with a variety of events. RAFTY held a mitzvah day, where they cleaned the headstones in the cemetery next to TKC. JYG had a scavenger hunt around Canton Street. Klub345 held a water day, filled with lots of W E T activities outside in the parking lot! Look for youth group registrations at our Annual Picnic in August! Have a great summer!!

MORE UPDATES HERE!

Looking for something you don't see here? Check out our website! Lots of information is posted there, including upcoming events, candle lighting times, Yahrteitzs, and more.