Time is a thief
Nov. 13 (22 Heshvan 5786)
🚗 Are we there yet? The fall feels like a race through back-to-school season, the Jewish holidays, and Halloween celebrations. Now, Thanksgiving is sneaking up quickly. My to-do list includes ordering a turkey, donating to food banks, and volunteering.
🦃 Speaking of turkey day, join American Jewish Committee, Daily Chew, and Rough Draft for the Friendsgiving Dinner at Rina on the Beltline on Thursday, Nov. 20. Get tickets here.
🍩 Alton Brown made a splash at the MJCCA Book Festival this week. December promises a party with The Spring and Foodish with details forthcoming. I must be hungry, because this issue of Y’alla is shaping up to include a lot of food news!
As always, thanks for reading.
Y’alla,
Logan
Bagel Rescue celebrates 5 years
🥯 The five year anniversary of Bagel Rescue brought together 150 guests and 80 volunteers to package 36,940 bagels. The Bagel Bash created 6,155 family packages for those in need in coordination with 35 partner agencies
“Bagel Bash was a huge success! It was full of energy and impact for things that truly matter – keeping good food out of landfills, supporting those experiencing food insecurity, and coming together to make a difference as a community, for the community,” said Bagel Rescue Founder Erin Stieglitz.
🫶🏼 To volunteer with Bagel Rescue, click here.
Celebrate the Season with Wonder at Fernbank Museum
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM
🎁 Looking for the perfect gift? Something that sparks joy, incites hugs, induces smiles, and warms the heart?
Share a year of exploration with a Fernbank Membership—unlimited daytime general admission to exhibits, films, and nature adventures. Members enjoy 75 acres of outdoor fun in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest, plus three floors of hands-on science exhibits indoors. Seasonal activities, canopy walks, and nature play areas await.
🎉 And don’t forget: Fernbank is unveiling new museum experiences over the next two years, starting with Our Place in the Cosmos in late 2025.
Israel by bicycle
🚲 Four Atlantans participated in the Israel Ride with Arava Institute from Oct. 28-Nov. 3: Lenny Franco, Stacey Kalberman, Jodi Mansbach, and Morris Maslia. It was the first ride since Oct. 7, 2023.
As the team captain and four-time rider, Maslia said the bike ride from Jerusalem to Eilat was “transformational.”
“The Israel Ride with Arava Institute is the only organization that has demonstrated success in environmental cross-border cooperation, peace building, and development of future environmental leaders for the region. We do so by person-to-person contact and cooperation that builds life-long friends and mutual respect, regardless of political or religious beliefs,” Maslia said.
✨ Maslia said his participation helps the Arava Institute keep going and keeps the “glimmer of hope alive.”
Wanna go to summer camp?
☀️ The Jewish Camp Fair is Sunday, Nov. 16 from 12:30-2 p.m. in Sandy Springs. Explore day and overnight camps, meet camp directors and staff, learn about programs, activities, and schedules, scholarship opportunities, and more. Kids are welcome.
🧳 New this year: Visit the Camp Gear Shuk to find pre-loved overnight camp essentials donated by the camp families, aka camp experts.
Deep thoughts with Or Hadash
🥡 Or Hadash is thinking outside the box with two new series. Both are free and open to all.
😇 Marc Gary (pictured) is diving into what Jewish sources say about resurrection and immortality of the soul and what modern Jewish thinkers conceive of an afterlife. It started on Nov. 6, and will meet again on Nov. 13 and 20. Register here.
👩🏼🏫 Rabbi Lauren Henderson is teaching “Introduction to Hevruta Study” to discuss Jewish learning in small groups without a lesson plan or teacher. Classes meet Dec. 11 and 18. Register here.
RELATED
📍 Nov. 14: Pop-up Torah study in Chamblee.
📍 Nov. 16: Artist workshop with Robyn Diamond.
Why Tucker Carlson actually sat down with Nick Fuentes
😡 The uproar over Tucker Carlson’s decision to host Nick Fuentes, a notorious Holocaust denier and white nationalist, for a friendly chat on his popular online talk show last week focused on the need to maintain a firewall between mainstream conservatives and antisemites like Fuentes.
😮 Carlson is recognizing that the firewall is collapsing, and conservatives like himself need to figure out how to harness the movement Fuentes represents to achieve their many shared political goals, including shifting America’s posture toward Israel.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward.
Be a mensch
💛 One Good Deed is seeking volunteers to visit seniors. Bring meaningful companionship to older adults living with dementia, offering social engagement while helping their caregiver rest and recharge.
⚾ Pinch Hitters is a family-friendly volunteer opportunity. A beloved Atlanta tradition, the B’nai B’rith Pinch Hitters “go to bat” for the Jewish community and non-medical hospital and care-facility staff on Dec. 25, Christmas Day, giving them the chance to spend the holiday with their families.
🎁 Donate an item to JFCS Holocaust Survivor Services from this wishlist by Nov. 15. Atlanta Holocaust survivors will receive the gifts at their Chanukah party.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🎥 Nov. 19: AJFF’s student filmmaking event.
🎬 Nov. 19: “One Day in October” screening.
🛝 Nov. 22: Family Shabbat at Brook Run Park.
🇮🇱 Dec. 4: “Counterculture and Catalyst” at the Dupree.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Chanukah on Dec. 14.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 5:16 p.m.
🗓️ Find your Shabbat rhythm with Or Hadash! 🎶 Pop-Up Torah Study in Chamblee Friday morning, Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night, uplifting services Saturday, and Men’s and Women’s Group gatherings Sunday. Step in and experience Or Hadash. See our calendar for details!
Before you go
🖊️ Barbara Kimmel, an Atlanta-based children’s book author and playwright, is hosting interactive Hanukkah Hippity-Hop (Kar-Ben Publishing) storytimes.
🥁 Hanukkah Hippity-Hop is a lively rhyming board book that invites toddlers to move — from spinning like dreidels to marching like Maccabees — while learning about Hanukkah.
📚 Catch her starting Dec. 2 from 5-8 p.m. at The Temple Chanukah Market and Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m. at Peachtree Library.