Schmooze and News at AA

Shabbat Corner

Feel-Good News

Yasher Koach to Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat >>
Rabbi Sam Visits Camp Ramah Darom >>
Mazal Tov to Melissa and Jordan Rosenbaum >>
Kiddush Sponors

Sheila and Dave Adelman in honor their anniversary on 6/1

Barbara and Ken Feinberg in honor of Barbara's Birthday on 6/3

Cookie and Fred Aftergut in honor of their anniversary on 6/6

Ana and Ryan Posner in honor of their anniversary on 6/8

Sandy and Dave Abrams in honor of their anniversary on 6/25

Other Things Happening at AA

As the High Holidays approach, we invite you to honor the memory of your loved ones by including their names in the Ida Pearle and Joseph Cuba 2023–24 Yizkor Memorial "Pages of Remembrance" book. By inscribing their names in this book, you fulfill the mitzvah of giving in honor and in memory of those who have passed.

In order to meet our mandatory publication deadline, requests for inclusion must be received on time. Due to mailing constraints, the deadline to receive submissions is Friday, August 4.

Submit Names

Are you fun? Innovative? Passionate? Love kids? We are seeking exceptional 9th–12th grade madrichim (guides) to join our Kesher team. Kesher is AA's supplementary education program for students four years old through sixth grade.

If you are interested, please email our Interim Director of Education: Annsley Klehr (aklehr@aasynagogue.org). Hourly rates start at $10/hr.

Are you fun? Innovative? Passionate? Good with children? We are seeking exceptional teachers to join our Kesher team. Kesher is AA's supplementary education program for students four years old through sixth grade.

Kesher Lead Teacher Job Description
Kesher Assistant Teacher Job Description

If you are interested, please email our Interim Director of Education: Annsley Klehr (aklehr@aasynagogue.org). Hourly rates start at $30/hr.

Registration for Kesher religious school (3 Yrs–6th Grade) and Neisah teen program (7th–9th Grade) is now open! Take advantage of our early-bird rates by applying before Saturday, July 1!

Register | More Info

This year, we would like to include grandchildren in our college and graduate school outreach. In addition to letters and treats around the Jewish holidays, our rabbis will be making visits to schools with more than three Ahavath Achim connected students. Let us know where your grandchildren are studying, and we will make sure they receive something meaningful from you and your spiritual family! If you have a grandchild enrolled in college, please contact Jill Rosner (404.603.5741; jrosner@aasynagogue.org) with the student's name, email, and school housing address.

We feel blessed to have a vibrant community that believes in the power of prayer as a source of comfort, strength and healing. At every service, we take a moment to recite the names of individuals we are holding in our hearts for health and healing. Beginning January 1, 2023, all are welcome to add names to our Misheberach (Healing) Prayer List for 30 days. These names will be recited each morning during prayer regardless of their support's presence at services. At the end of 30 days, we request that names be renewed with our office receptionist, Fern Schorr (fschorr@aasynagogue.org; 404.355.5222). Without renewal, names will be removed from the list with our hope that our prayers were successful in sending strength and wholeness.

Do you know an AA congregant who is in the hospital or infirm? We are concerned about loved ones and friends who are in the hospital or infirm. Although our synagogue office remains closed, we are still working and would like to connect with you, especially in regards to pastoral care. If you have information about friends or family in the hospital or other care facilities, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org) directly. We always appreciate the opportunity to speak with anyone in need and offer support in any way we can.
 

It's time again to send the sweetest Rosh Hashanah greetings and support Ahavath Achim Sisterhood with your honey purchase. Honey is $14 per jar. Shipping is FREE for orders submitted online through Tuesday, August 1. After August 1, $7.00 per jar is automatically added for shipping.

If you cannot order online, mail your order to Janet Kupshik, Honey Chairperson, 769 West Paces Ferry Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327. Mail orders must be received by Thursday, July 20, or shipping charges will be added and charged.

Order Honey

Through our membership with the ADL's (Anti-Defamation League) Kulanu Initiaitve, our AA family is creating an antisemitism task force to partner with other communities across the country to collectively fight hate and antisemitism. Membership on the task force will require a year's commitment and involve participation in ADL virtual meetings and community of practice working sessions. Our congregation will also offer special programs, initiatives, and action steps to raise awareness, call out local and national antisemitic incidents, and build relationships with communities susceptible to antisemitic infiltration. To learn more about or to join the task force, please contact Rabbi Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org).

Ahavath Achim's Sisterhood is a dynamic organization of women of all ages with diverse experiences, talents, and interests within our synagogue, community, and the Jewish world. Every woman counts for Sisterhood to grow and thrive. Basic membership dues are $45, but we encourage you to join at a Chai-er level. Your generous dues and donations are vital for Sisterhood to continue to offer programs and projects that strengthen and sustain our Jewish values.
 
We need your involvement in AA's social action programs! Motivate your family and friends "into action" towards the betterment of our community, and envision our current programs continued for the future. Reach out to your nieces, nephews, friends, and new neighbors for new contacts and ideas to help us increase our pool of volunteers for our wonderful existing and future programs. We need you! Find out how you want to be involved by reviewing the list of social action programs in which our synagogue has been involved for many years. If you'd like to become involved, please email our Social Action Chair: Alan Wexler (alanwexler@databankinfo.com; 404.872.8880).
Are you a warm, friendly, dedicated volunteer who wants to make a difference in a fellow congregant's life through acts of loving kindness? Are you willing to make a personal call or visit to comfort and support a congregant who has lost a loved one or been ill? These caring touches – acts of loving kindness – make all the difference in the world to those receiving them. If you want to be a part of strengthening our community, then AA's new Chesed Initiative is for you! This committee will work with our clergy, staff, and lay leaders to connect members who need help with members who want to do good deeds! Additionally, 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. Help us reach out to members in need. We welcome your help and time with this important project.

In 1977 a very special Torah came to reside at AA. Czech Torah #1339 was originally written in the 1800s for the community of Plzeň, Czech Republic. The Torah survived the Holocaust, a coup, and 20 years in a basement with 1500 other scrolls before making it's way to London as part of the Memorial Scrolls Trust and eventually Atlanta. Today we are working to restore this piece of history to a usable state and welcome it into our sanctuary ark at our dedication in August. To do that, we need your help. Please consider making a donation to help restore this special Torah so it can be used for generations to come. The Czech Torah is championed by six generations of the Goldstein Family in memory of Betty and Leon Goldstein z"l and their love of Torah and learning.

Donate

Donate to the Ukraine Emergency Fund of Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta

Donate

Tribute donations offer the ability to memorialize or honor friends and family through donations to a variety of designated funds. Tribute donations can be made in honor of B'nai Mitzvah, the birth of a baby, a graduation, a wedding, or other special occasion. Donations in memory of loved ones are a thoughtful and meaningful way to remember those who have passed away. Your donation will be acknowledged with a card to the recipient of this tribute. Please note that Tribute Donations require a minimum contribution of $18.