In like a lion
March 20 (20 Adar 5785)
🎬 There’s a buzz right now about the film “October 8,” a film about the explosion of antisemitism that happened on college campuses the day after the murderous attack on Israel in 2023.
In Atlanta, the film is playing at Phipps Plaza and Avalon. North DeKalb’s showings ended yesterday.
The “October 8” website explains, “Through meticulous investigation, the film also uncovers how over decades, Hamas created sophisticated networks in America to permeate U.S. institutions and examines the tsunami of online antisemitism, propaganda, and disinformation unleashed by Iran, China and Russia – with the sole purpose of dividing American society.”
Go see it while you can.
🌼 The city of Atlanta is the largest participant in The Daffodil Project. Downtown Atlanta and The Daffodil Project announced planting the one millionth daffodil bulb.
Enjoy the springtime weather, and Y’alla,
Logan
🎉 Your child can experience Jewish connection all school year long at Jewish Kids Groups! 2025-2026 registration is open for JKG’s Weekday Afternoon Community (K-5th grade, 4 locations, Transportation from school), B Mitzvah (6th-8th grade), and Teen Leadership Academy (8th-10th grade). Learn more. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Weber School students raise awareness for kibbutzim
🎤 Thanks to a last-minute matching grant from the Marcus Foundation, the “Concert for the Kibbutzim” organized by the students at The Weber School is on its way to making a difference in Israel.
The Atlanta-based Marcus Foundation offered up to a $50,000 matching grant, with 100 percent of all funds raised going to support Kibbutzim Nahal Oz and Nir Oz – which were both attacked on Oct. 7, 2023.
Headlined by Weber house band, Broken Glass, the concert included other students and musicians from the Atlanta Jewish community.
Atlanta Symphony Concertmaster David Coucheron Features in Springtime Concerts
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎶 David Coucheron has been the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster for 14 years, and this spring is a great time to see him shine in concerts where he steps into the spotlight.
First, he takes on the role of the storyteller in Scheherazade, which brings to life the many tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights. This symphonic poem features sensuous violin solos, conducted in concerts next week by Music Director Laureate Robert Spano. Watch David discuss it here.
🎻 Then, he joins his sister Julie Coucheron and fellow ASO musician Daniel Laufer as a trio featured in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in concerts conducted by Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann.
Mom’s night out
🍷 On March 27, moms of young kids (0-8 years old) are invited to attend “Seder and Sip: Crafting Your Passover Table” with PJ Library and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.
Leave the kiddos at home for a night of creative Passover prep, wine, and light bites. Connect with other moms in a warm and welcoming setting.
Learn the art of tablescaping: Hedi Toub of The Shu Shu will share tips on how to create a beautiful and meaningful Seder table.
Paint your own Elijah or Miriam cup: Robin Singer will guide participants in adding a personal, artistic touch to the Passover celebration.
Passover memories
🤫 “I come from a family of Reform Jews who celebrate the High Holidays, Passover, and Chanukah. At seder one year, someone commented that the gravy was thin – obviously because there was no flour in it. In my early teens, I followed my aunt (mid-40s) into the kitchen and watched her start adding flour to the gravy. I shouted, “You can’t do that!” but it was too late. We started saying every prayer we knew over the gravy, and she brought it back out to the table. We never told anyone, we just laughed about it for years.”
– Jen W., Alpharetta
❓We all have a funny Passover memory! Send yours in, and we will include it next week.
Passover baseball at Truist
⚾️ The 22nd Annual Spring Classic is a night of “Good Ol’ Fashioned Hate” when Georgia Tech plays the University of Georgia baseball team at Truist Park. GTHG!
Held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, the event will benefit the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Truist is allowing patrons to BYO Passover food. One bag of food in a clear, gallon-sized plastic bag and one sealed plastic bottle per ticket will be permitted. Bags will be subject to additional inspection before entry.
Blooper, Buzz, and Hairy Dawg will all be in attendance.
See these Jewish films
👑 Sabbath Queen will run at the Tara Theatre on March 22-23.
Following its AJFF debut, “Sabbath Queen” is a deeply personal, groundbreaking journey of faith, identity, and transformation on the big screen. Filmmaker Sandi Simcha Dubowski is appearing for exclusive Q&As. More details here.
😱 Bad Shabbos (pictured) is playing at the Springs Cinema & Taphouse from March 28-30.
After wowing a packed opening night audience at Cobb Energy, “Bad Shabbos” returns for the first metro Atlanta stop of its theatrical run. It’s an outrageous, heartfelt comedy that brings together chaos and tradition at one unforgettable Shabbat dinner. Get tickets.
Jewish coaches head to NCAA’s March Madness
⛹🏻♂️ The JTA reports, as the most exciting time in college basketball begins, Jewish coaches are in the spotlight.
For much of the season, four coaches — Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, Duke’s Jon Scheyer, Florida’s Todd Golden and USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb — have been at or near the top of the game. And on Sunday, March 16, all of them were rewarded with No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
🏀 Follow the bouncing ball and get the full story on the Forward.
😂 Laugh and Learn! BeWellATL, an initiative of JF&CS, and comedian Pamela Schuller team up for a hilarious, insightful and free two-part event on March 23-24. Teens, parents, and guardians—join us for comedy, connection, and conversations on mental health. Register today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Look & Listen
✡️ This Passover seder plate at Anthropologie is perfectly lovely.
💰This week, Google bought Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz for a record $32 billion. That’s billion, with a B.
📝 A writing contest for Jewish teens is accepting entries until May 1.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🌳 March 22: Interfaith Shabbat and nature walk.
🧒🏽 March 22: Tot Shabbat at Or HaDash.
🎹 March 23: Musical trio Mazel! performs Yiddish classics. Tickets.
🎸 March 23: Nefesh Mountain’s “Beacons” at Eddie’s Attic.
🗣️ March 25: “How Oct. 7 Changed the Jewish World” at the Dupree. (Waitlist only.)
🥧 March 26: Restauranteur Tal Baum speaks at Chabad Intown.
🎶 March 27: Singer-songwriter Dov Rosenblatt at Eddie’s Attic.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Passover. It begins at sundown on Saturday, April 12.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 7:32 p.m.
🗓️ Finding Belonging in Jewish Community. Jewish identity takes many paths. Every family’s journey is unique. Join Or Hadash and JInterfaith on March 21 for Jewish+ Families Shabbat & Dinner, a warm, welcoming space for interfaith, multicultural, and Jewish+ families. Details/RSVP.
Before you go…
🎒 As we move into Passover and reflection of being expelled from the land of Egypt …
Ken Stein, a leading scholar of Israel based out of Emory, wrote this thoughtful piece explaining that Israel was not born of the Holocaust.
“A deep and penetrating look at the origins of modern Israel and recent scholarship on Israel’s evolution reveal that the infrastructure for a Jewish State existed in 1939 and that Arabs in Palestine were already being dislodged from traditional socio-economic moorings — that is some sixty years after the first Jewish immigrants arrived in Ottoman Palestine,” he writes.