The Response to Antisemitism Committee is working to increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism among our synagogue community as well as partners from other faith communities through education, advocacy, and programming.

We strive to educate everyone about the federal and state laws that prohibit antisemitism as well as how to identify and report antisemitic activities that threaten the safety and security of our students and community.

We work with faith leaders and diverse communities to increase their awareness of antisemitism and to help fight against antisemitic rhetoric and actions. This will be accomplished through engaging and educational programming including speakers, panels, online resources, and more.

Questions? Contact the chairs: Ken Feinberg (kjfatlanta@att.net); Helaine Lasky (br2731@aol.com); Nancy Levine (nlevine2660@gmail.com).

The mission of the Ahavath Achim Regugee Initiative (AARI) is to recognize refugees in Atlanta who are innocent victims of war, famine, hate, or economic upheaval and offer them aid through advocacy, education, and direct services.

Our recent work has been to support initiatives of local refugee agencies. (We work mostly with New American Pathways.) Past activities include setting up an apartment for an incoming Afghan family, working directly with a refugee family (through NAP's Family Friends program), hosting a coat drive, and assembling welcome kits to be given to refugee families as they arrive in Georgia. There's an ongoing need to teach ESL (in person or via Zoom). We are open to suggestions for other initiatives!

Questions? Contact the chairs: Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org); Myrtle Lewin (aagreening@gmail.com).

Embark on a transformative journey of Jewish leadership at Ahavath Achim Synagogue through the Arnovitz Leadership Institute (ALI). ALI's mission is to invigorate your leadership trajectory through experiential learning alongside a select group of aspiring congregational leaders. Engage in enriching discussions to uncover the unique aspects of collaborative leadership within Ahavath Achim Synagogue and other Jewish organizations. The program usually runs from late fall to late spring. Topics include:

• AA History
• Leadership—understanding your leadership style and harmonizing it with the leadership styles of others
• Governance and Operational Excellence
• Influence—how to effectively communicate and how to develop your personal legacy based on yourvalues and ethics
• Innovation—how people and organizations grow through creativity and problem solving and how they overcome obstacles to accomplish goals and visions
• Spirituality—understanding the unique relationship between Jewish spirituality and leadership and how to incorporate spirituality into your leadership journey

Questions? Contact the chairs: Allison Feldman (allfeldman@yahoo.com); Joel Feldman (joel.feldman@gtlaw.com).

What We Do: Ahavath Achim's Backpack Buddies (BPB) provides food insecure students at E. Rivers Elementary School with backpacks full of satisfying and healthy food for every weekend throughout the school year. Over 25% of children attending E. Rivers Elementary School on Peachtree Battle participate in the free or reduced price meal program. Many children leave school on Friday not knowing when they will eat again. Backpack Buddies provides food for these children on weekends to make sure that they stay nourished for the subsequent week.

The Process: The school first identifies students in need of the Backpack Buddies program. Food is purchased from the Atlanta Food Bank and other retail outlets and is kept in secure areas within our synagogue. Volunteers meet weekly to pack food and deliver it to E. Rivers. School counselors pack the food into backpacks supplied by Ahavath Achim. Individual backpacks are filled with single-serve, substantial foods. The backpacks are privately given to the children on Friday. The students must bring back their backpacks on the subsequent Monday in order to receive food again on Friday.

Donations: While it costs $180 per child per school year to fund Backpack Buddies, any size donation is appreciated! We also accept single-serve, non-perishable food items.

Questions? Contact the chairs: Carla Wertheimer (werth5@comcast.net); Rachel Hoffmeister (rhhoff88@gmail.com)

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The Brotherhood of AA aims to bring together the Brotherhood of our congregation through humor, inclusiveness and revelry. Join us as we bring some kindness into the world, foster connections to grow our community, and try new things together!

Chesed is holy work and is traditionally translated as "lovingkindness." Mark Twain defined the Chesed Committee's work most accurately when he said: "Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear."

The mission of the Chesed Initiative is to connect with and support AA members during times of transition and need. Members partner with our clergy in caring for the entire congregation, because visiting the sick or bereaved is something each of us can and should do. A Chesed volunteer's visit with an ill congregant fortifies their will to recover. When we visit those who grieve, we comfort and strengthen them. Members also bring baby blankets, hand-knit by our congregants, to new babies in our congregation in a new program called Welcome Baby.

The Chesed Initiative is supported by the Susie and Morris Habif Chesed Fund and the Bikur Cholim (Visiting the Sick) Fund. Consider donating to these funds to honor and remember friends and loved ones. If you are a warm, friendly, dedicated volunteer looking to strengthen our community and make a difference in people's lives, then this Initiative is for you.

Caring touches make all the difference in the world to those receiving them. If you know of a congregant who is facing personal difficulties related to health, loss, or grief, please contact Fern Schorr (fschorr@aasynagogue.org; 404.355.5222) to let us know.

Questions? Contact the chairs: Linda Bressler (lindafb@bellsouth.net); Amy Landrum (amystrevelandrum@gmail.com).

What? Chevra Kadisha, literally "Holy Society," is the group of Jews entrusted with performing the Taharah, or spiritual purification. This time-honored mitzvah allows the deceased to leave this world with the same sacred purity, physical cleanliness, and divine innocence with which he or she entered it.

Who? AA's all-volunteer Chevra Kadisha is a group of dedicated men and women congregants who compassionately believe that attending to our own in death truly honors the lives of the deceased. While remaining largely anonymous, these individuals quietly serve our congregation preserving modesty and dignity even in death. A Taharah for a male is performed only by men, while a Taharah for a female is performed only by women.

Why? To honor each deceased congregant by respectfully preparing their body for burial in accordance with Jewish tradition and custom. The Taharah, a centuries-old communal responsibility, fulfills the intent of the verse from Ecclesiastes 5:14, "as we come forth, so we shall return."

Questions? Contact the chairs: Delcy Pardo Harber (delcyharber@comcast.net); Bob Tepper (rctepper@gmail.com).

The Cultural Arts Committee is comprised of members who assist in organizing cultural arts programs at the synagogue. Members are involved in program selection, dissemination of event marketing, fundraising, and encouraging participation in events. Being part of this committee is an incredible opportunity to share some of the city's (and world's) greatest musicians with the congregation and community at large. Anyone who wishes to participate in this endeavor in any way is welcome to join the committee. There are no formal meetings, and the group communicates primarily through email and phone.

Questions? Contact the chair: Ivan Millender (ivanmillender@earthlink.net).

With so many amazing things happening at the AA, it would be a shame to keep it to ourselves! The Engagement Committee is actively working to build relationships with prospective, new, and long-standing members. Through engaging events surrounding holidays to small neighborhood gatherings to programs for both young and old(er), the Engagement Committee hopes to find a place for everyone to join in and belong. Everyone at AA is part of the Membership Committee because YOU are the best representatives of all AA can offer. Please continue to talk about how many great things we offer, brag to your friends, and encourage them to come and sit with you at events and services. If you'd like to help more formally, we are always looking for those who would like to be an official part of our committee, welcome prospective members with a phone call or coffee, host a Shabbat dinner, or help personally drop off items to remind members that we are here for them. If you know of anyone who should be on our prospective member list or should be contacted by leadership in any way, please let us know! Thank you for your good word and promoting what Ahavath Achim—the Synagogue of Brotherly Love—has to offer!

Questions? Contact chairs: Bethany Smith (bethanyarin@gmail.com); Marcia Spielberger (maspielberger@comcast.net).

Some of the hardest working people in shul business, the gabbaim, are those precious, mission-driven, and determined souls who work tirelessly throughout our prayer experience to help distribute honors to all of us sitting in the pews, to increase participation and to keep the experience moving. A crucial part of our davening (prayer) service, the gabbaim are a small but dedicated group of individuals (both men and women) who make it all happen and who help our Rabbis, Cantorial Soloist and leadership look good.

Questions? Contact the gabbai captain: Barry Prusin (barryprusin@mindspring.com).

Guided by Jewish values, we work to foster environmental awareness in the AA community. We invite you to lend a hand with our gardening initiatives, support our recycling ventures, collaborate on environmental issues, work to preserve our amazing urban forest setting, maintain the daffodil garden in memory of children who died in the Holocaust, and more.

We do activities with Ahavah Learning Center kids (lots of fun!) and Kesher. We've built in both recycling and food composting as central to the synagogue's operations. Fun fact—We've diverted over 30,000 pounds of food waste from landfills with our composting program!

We work with both Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and the national Jewish environmental organization, Adamah, where we are a member of their Atlanta hub.

With Adamah, we host a Reverse Tashlich river cleanup every year before the High Holiays and a Tu B'Shvat tree planting with Trees Atlanta.

Questions? Contact the Greening Group chairs: Myrtle Lewin (aagreening@gmail.com); Mark Papier (papier.mark@gmail.com).

Greeters: Everyone who walks through our doors on Shabbat and holidays is met with a warm greeting. This is due to the dedication of our valuable greeter team. Being a greeter is an easy and fun way to connect with other congregants, meet new people, and become an integral part of the synagogue. All you need to do is smile and say "welcome." Greeters welcome our attendees in the foyer at the onset of services on Shabbat and holidays.

Ushers: The Shabbat usher is at the doorway of the service and directs congregants to specific seats if they are part of a B'nai Mitzvah group, if they know they will have an aliyah, or if they need to find the restroom during the service. Ushers also step forward to deal with any assistance that a member or guest may need such as a medical emergency, a mobility issue, or a request for a large-print Siddur. The usher is on duty with a smile and "Shabbat Shalom" until the end of the service.

Questions? Contact the chair: Mark Fleishman (markfleishman@aol.com).

"Make for yourself a rav (teacher); acquire for yourself a friend (haver); and judge every person on the positive side." (Pirkei Avot 1:6)

The Havurah Initiative connects each of us to others by engaging in small groups where we can share in Jewish ritual, conversations, and celebrations. Together we create an "extended family" within the AA community. The Havurah Initiative encourages us to support each other, learn with one another, and perform acts of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

Questions? Contact the chair: Shelly Dollar (dollarshelly@gmail.com).

The Inclusion and Belonging Initiative seeks to empower people of all abilities by creating physical, emotional, and spiritual space so that all people who want to be part of our community feel welcome and belong. We do so by making physical changes necessary to achieve these goals, providing consultation and interaction with AA committees, seeking best practices from other spiritual institutions and task forces with similar mandates, developing pathways of communication inside our synagogue related to inclusion and belonging, instituting education initiatives, and more. Always looking for more ideas to make sure that everyone who desires to be part of our community is able! If you have specific needs or requests to make your participation in our shul easier, we will do our best to advocate for you.

Questions? Contact the chair: Shelly Dollar (dollarshelly@gmail.com).

The Interfaith Inclusion Committee (IIC) serves as a welcoming committee and support group for those individuals and families who are exploring Judaism and its rich traditions. We offer welcoming opportunities to help introduce and share the traditions and customs of Judaism with families and individuals who would like to find a connection with Judaism for them, their families, and their friends. We plan activities and opportunities to make our synagogue a warm and open environment and hope you will join us in this endeavor!

Questions? Contact the chair: Julia Bernath (bern4151@bellsouth.net).

"Love your Neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).

For too long, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community has been marginalized, demonized, and ostracized by cultural bias and religious ignorance. Today we stand together as a congregation ready to welcome all members of our community into their spiritual home. AA will not stand idly by as our brothers and sisters are pushed aside and disregarded. The LGBTQ+ Inclusion task force seeks ways of engaging our LGBTQ+ community members and helping to open the door to the spiritually rich and welcoming congregation we have created together. Over the short life of the LGBTQ+ Task Force, we have tackled some of the more difficult issues including HIV/AIDS advocacy and anti-bullying initiatives. Join the LGBT Inclusion task force for a powerful year of learning, growing and living together as one community.

Questions? Contact the chair: Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org).

The Mature Active Adult Community (known as mAAc for short) is for Ahavath Achim's Active members 60 and older.

mAAc is for active adults aged 60 and older who are committed to living their best lives—with purpose, wisdom, connection, and most of all—FUN! If you are looking to fill your leisure time by socializing with your peers, participating in exciting social activities, and/or attending insightful educational programs, this group is for you!

mAAc is a membership group. The minimal cost of $18 per person, per year for AA members is used to help defray the administrative expenses such as postage, printing, and publicity. Non-AA members can join mAAc for $36 per person, per year. mAAc members also get a reduced rate for most events.

mAAc programs have included annual brunches, tours of popular Atlanta attractions such as The Atlanta History Center and Cyclorama, a bus tour of the BeltLine, Plays at the Fox and City Springs Theaters, educational speakers, and much more. Enjoy attending these events with your friends.

Questions? Contact the chair: Gail Solomon (solgail.627@gmail.com).

Every day of the week, our minyan opens the spiritual heart of AA, one of few Atlanta synagogues that offers a minyan twice a day. Both congregants and community members are invited to join the services for prayer and fellowship as well as to observe yahrzeits on the anniversary of the death of loved ones. The daily minyanim at AA continue a rich tradition going back over 100 years. They allow us to greet each morning with gratitude for our well-being and to renew our spirit and energy for the day ahead. Each evening, we close our day with prayer and camaraderie, an opportunity to reflect on our efforts, accomplishments and aspirations. The morning minyan service runs approximately 45–60 minutes, and the evening minyan service runs approximately 30 minutes. Join us in person or online! Click here for more information.

Are you up early on Shabbat Morning? Do you love to sing? Then come and be a part of the P'sukei D'zimrah Squad. Each morning, our prayer service starts with a warm-up of psalms and other traditional liturgical selections as a way of opening our minds and hearts to prayer. Led by a cadre of prayer enthusiasts, there is always a spot for you to learn how to lead this opening morning prayer service and to lead our congregation in song and devotion. Good singing voices are not a requirement, only enthusiastic souls and a willingness to learn and offer one's heart before God.

Questions? Contact the Ritual Coordinator: Jordan Forman (jforman@aasynagogue.org).

Did you know that there is an official AA softball team? If you did, you were one of the few! The AA Softball team is one of the best-kept secrets of the Ahavath Achim Synagogue. Our team has been playing in the Atlanta-area synagogue softball league for years, and it's time to support their efforts and root for the home team. Softball season takes place in late spring/early summer. Offer up some AA love by bringing a family picnic, forming a cheering section, or just showing up!

Questions? Contact the chairs: Emanuel Fialkow (esf@fialkow.net); Philip Siegel (philip_siegel@bellsouth.net).

At the center of our worship experience, the Torah and Haftara readings are our congregation's chance to hear God's word spoken in the ancient traditional cantillation (trope). The readings of Torah and Haftara (weekly selections from the prophetic liturgy) have their roots in ancient Israel going back all the way to Temple times. Learn how to read, chant and be a part of this most holy experience.

Questions? Contact the Ritual Coordinator: Jordan Forman (jforman@aasynagogue.org).

Ahavath Achim is committed to providing a community of adult Jewish learning. We believe adult learning fosters a lifelong commitment to personal spiritual growth, expanding Jewish intellectual society, passing Jewish literacy, and learning from generation to generation. Lay leaders, rabbis, and congregants facilitate weekly Torah Study sessions, leading lively discussions about the weekly parashat.

The Torah Study Committee is responsible for finding facilitators, assisting the facilitators, and streamlining the technology.

Questions? Contact the chair: Michael Miller (mgmiller@sloan.mit.edu).