Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: A Message From the Executive Director

Posted on by Lauren Dube

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

A Message from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As we are become more aware of the COVID-19 Virus and its potential effects, we wanted to reach out to you all and share some of the steps that we have put in place to ensure that that everyone remains as healthy as possible. We are actively monitoring COVID-19 and are gathering best practices from the CDC, the Georgia Dept of public Health, as well as surrounding communities and organizations. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our response accordingly as we become aware of new developments.

According to the CDC, this virus is very limited (104 known cases on March 3, 2020) in the United States, and the immediate health risk from coronavirus remains low. Accordingly, we are not planning on cancelling any services or upcoming events at this stage. As we protect our students, congregants, staff and visitors from potentially dangerous sicknesses spreading through our community, we are making sure that we have the appropriate protocols in place. These include:

  • We are using specialized products to disinfect our facilities each day.
  • We will be placing hand sanitizer at our main entrance, the reception area, social hall, Cohen Pavilion and near main restrooms. These hand sanitizer stations will be clearly marked with signage.
  • If there is a confirmed case among one of our student or member families or anyone known to have been in our facility, we will immediately evaluate next steps, which may include cancelling all activities until the building is disinfected.
  • We will closely monitor the CDC, Georgia Department of Health and the Fulton County Schools websites for updates.
  • We ask that if you or anyone in your family presents with flu-like symptoms, please do not attend services or come to the Synagogue building

We encourage all of our congregants to redouble their use of personal hygiene and prevention measures to stay healthy and reduce chances of transmission of all illnesses. While the full impact of an outbreak cannot be predicted, we are committed to doing our part to help minimize the impact of COVID-19 on our community. At this point, much of our effort in preventing a spread or outbreak relies on your self-governance. In line with our values, we are depending on you to support our wonderful community by not putting your fellow congregants at risk.

B'Shalom,

Barry Herman
Executive Director

Associate Rabbi Search

Posted on by Lauren Dube

Associate Rabbi Search

The search is on! After months of planning and a ten-hour day of interviewing candidates at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Ahavath Achim's Associate Rabbi Search Committee has invited two young rabbis to visit Atlanta and get to know our AA community. Just as important, these visits will be our congregation's opportunity to get to know each candidate and give feedback to the search committee.

We are excited to bring in these two intelligent, well spoken, and incredibly knowledgeable candidates. They both share a desire to be part of a traditional Jewish community and use their talents and enthusiasm to inspire us to deepen our relationships with one another and with God. Both value the power of music to move us spiritually, lift our voices in prayer, and join together in song.

We need your participation and help in selecting our next Associate Rabbi. These candidates are interviewing us as much as we are interviewing them. Therefore, we must put our best foot forward. During the interview weekends, there will be several opportunities for you to participate in services and conversations with our rabbinical candidates. Whether you are at AA weekly or participate occasionally in AA activities, your moment to impact the spiritual leadership of our congregation is now. Please review this schedule of visits when you can meet the rabbis and form your opinions.

Rabbi Rachel Salston will visit AA this weekend, from February 28 to March 1.
Rabbi Samuel Blustin will visit AA the following weekend, from March 6 to March 8.

During each weekend, the candidate will participate in Friday morning and evening services, Saturday Shabbat morning service followed by the Rebbe's Tish, and Saturday evening Havdallah service. Specific events will introduce the candidates to young families, Kesher kids, and HomeBeis@AA families and our Education Committee.

Take advantage of all these opportunities to meet the candidates. You will be asked to participate in an online congregational survey (check the website and Wednesday eblasts) to give us your thoughts on each candidate's performance, how likely you would be to hire each person, and how you would feel about the candidate's leading prayer and services.

Your participation in the selection process is incredibly important to the search committee's success in finding the right rabbi for Ahavath Achim. We urge you to be part of this critical conversation. This is a genuine spiritual journey. Don't miss it.

Sincerely,

Ahavath Achim Associate Rabbi Search Committee

Meet the Candidates

Rabbi Rachel Salston

Rabbi Rachel Salston received her Rabbinic Ordination and MA in Rabbinic Studies from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in May 2018. A native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, Rabbi Salston currently serves as a Chaplain at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she is also completing her final unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, the formal training program for chaplains, an educational and spiritual journey that she began even before entering rabbinical school.

Rabbi Salston received her BA in Neuroscience with a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. She has learned in several yeshivot, including Hadar, Drisha, the Conservative Yeshiva, and SVARA.

Alongside her full-time work in the hospital, Rabbi Salston serves as a rabbi at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, the synagogue of her youth. Last year, Rabbi Salston served as Ritual Director of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, coordinating the spiritual life of the synagogue. As a rabbinical student, she served as Rabbinic Intern at Burbank Temple Emanu-El in Burbank, CA and taught prayer and the spiritual practice of Jewish art and calligraphy in several Los Angeles Jewish education programs.

A Soferet Stam (Ritual Scribe), Rabbi Salston operates a Torah and Tefillin repair business and teaches seminars for people of all ages about how our sacred scrolls are written, constructed, and maintained. In completion of her rabbinical school concentration in Talmud and Rabbinics, Rabbi Salston researched the history of and laws regarding Jewish amulets. She designs modern amulets for those seeking a physical representation of the prayers of their hearts.

Strongly committed to social justice and global human rights, Rabbi Salston has traveled extensively in the Global South with American Jewish World Service and the Joint Distribution Committee. In her spare time she enjoys baking, crochet, needlepoint, sewing, Jewish and other podcasts, leading Daf Yomi (the daily page of Talmud), yoga, and running.

Did you meet Rabbi Salston? If so, please take 3 – 5 minutes to complete this survey.

Rabbi Sam Blustin

Sam Blustin is a fifth-year rabbinical school student who cares deeply about building communities where people feel seen and at home. Sam is passionate about creating meaningful prayer communities in which the opportunity for transformation and openness is present. He is currently writing his thesis on the theory and art of creating meaningful prayer experiences.

In addition to his studies, Sam serves as the gabbai for the Women's League Seminary Synagogue (for the third year) and is the Youth Director at Ansche Chesed. He co-founded Shira b'Dira, a monthly traditional egalitarian singing and prayer community, and started Shomer Achi, a group for male-identified rabbinical and cantorial students at JTS to discuss how masculinity plays a role in how we lead and how we can better be an ally for women and non-binary individuals in our communities. Sam is also a musician, composer, and songwriter, composing mainly for liturgical settings.

Did you meet Rabbi Blustin? If so, please take 3 – 5 minutes to complete this survey.