Jewish judge leaving the bench
Jan. 22 (4 Shevat 5786)
⏰ A long weekend always messes with my sense of time. It is indeed a Happy Thursday!
🆘 Kveller’s Daci Platt wrote about attending an “upstander” event at her Minneapolis synagogue. “It’s eerie,” she wrote. “Armed ICE agents are driving down my street, showing up randomly at construction sites and restaurants.”
🎗️ International Holocaust Remembrance Day is Sunday, Jan. 25. If you can’t make it to The Breman for “Bearing Witness,” try the virtual commemoration “Hope and Humanity.” Kennesaw State University Museum of History and Holocaust Education is holding a program on Monday, Jan. 26 from 1-2 p.m. at Gritters Library.
🌍 The first global virtual gathering of Jewish grandparents is Tuesday, Jan. 27.
🌲 Read on for how to celebrate Tu B’Shvat, the new year for the trees.
Y’alla!
Logan
🎼 Be immersed in old-world elegance with Prague Philharmonia, led by Emmanuel Villaume, Sat., Jan. 23 at Sandy Springs PAC. Hear an early Mozart violin concerto, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Dvořák’s bright, lyrical Symphony No. 8. Get tickets. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Judge leaving DeKalb for Jewish Federation
👩🏼⚖️ Judge Stacey K. Hydrick will leave the bench for the last time at the end of February after 14 years of serving DeKalb County courts. In a letter of resignation, Hydrick said she will serve as the director of a new antisemitism response initiative at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
“While I had not planned on retiring any time soon, in December I learned about a new position that aligns closely with my Jewish identity and my desire to be of greater service to the Jewish community. I knew immediately this position is what I’m meant to do next,” she wrote.
Hydrick was appointed to the DeKalb County State Court by Governor Nathan Deal in April 2011 and to the DeKalb County Superior Court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019.
Hydrick said that serving as a judge was the highlight of her legal career, but during “the current climate of surging antisemitism” she could not turn down the opportunity.
➡️ In February 2025, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Georgia (CAIR-Georgia) filed a formal complaint against Hydrick after she posted about Gaza on social media. The post has since been deleted. Hydrick stepped down as investigative chair of the state’s judicial watchdog agency.
Rebuilding a stronger Israel
SPONSORED BY JEWISH NATIONAL FUND-USA
🤝 Join Jewish National Fund-USA as we celebrate our extraordinary work rebuilding and reimagining a stronger Israel. We are dedicated to transforming lives and uplifting individuals, families, communities, and entire regions across Israel’s underserved North and South.
We will introduce you to one aspect of our work with the Galilee Culinary Institute, Rosenfeld School of Culinary Arts—a primary driver of job creation and tourism in Israel’s North. Chef Lior Lev Sercarz will introduce you to a bold and diverse culinary tradition, creating the new food hub of the Middle East.
➞ RSVP at jnf.org/hirsch.
Celebrate Tu B’Shvat
Celebrate our “City in a Forest” with a Tu B’Shvat seder, tree planting, or an activity.
Wed. – Fri., Jan. 28-30
🍏 Pick up a seder to-go at the MJCCA.
Sunday, Feb. 1
🍏 Adamah tree planting from 1-4 p.m. in Atlanta.
🍏 Preschoolers are welcome to this birthday party for the trees.
🍏 Make crafts, eat fruit, and plant daffodils with PJ Library at Or V’Shalom.
Wednesday, Feb. 4
🍏 Enjoy music and dinner at a Tu B’Shvat seder with Adamah at The Temple.
How an ‘all-American boy’ became a Mississippi arsonist
🤲 Parishioners pass under large banners reading “Embrace Diversity” and “Serve Others” as they file into Sunday mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church just north of Jackson, Miss.
The church is where Stephen Spencer Pittman, the 19-year-old arrested for starting a fire at Beth Israel Congregation, was confirmed and where his parents and younger brother still belong.
“Nobody had any idea what was going on or what would happen,” Monsignor Elvin Suds said during his sermon a week after the attack.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward.
🎼 Be immersed in old-world elegance with Prague Philharmonia, led by Emmanuel Villaume, Sat., Jan. 23 at Sandy Springs PAC. Hear an early Mozart violin concerto, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Dvořák’s bright, lyrical Symphony No. 8. Get tickets. SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🎞️ Jan. 22: “Picture of His Life” screening at The Tara.
📖 Jan. 24: SciFi Book Club at Or Hadash.
👧🏼 Jan. 24: Sandy Springs parents and tots join Hangout and Havdalah.
🇮🇱 Jan. 29: Exploring Zionism series with Rabbi Lauren.
❓ Feb. 4: “Why do Jewish?” for parents and grandparents.
🚸 Gather your littles and join Or Hadash in the Sandy Springs area for a Tot Families Hangout and Havdalah! Saturday, Jan. 24, 5-7 p.m. Enjoy nosh, playtime, and parent connection, then close Shabbat together. Bring a snack. RSVP for details!
We remember
🎗️ Herschel M. Bloom of Atlanta died on Jan. 18. He was 82 years old.
Originally from Clarksdale, Miss., Bloom graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University and Cum Laude from Harvard Law School. He was a top tax attorney who spent his career at King and Spalding law firm in Atlanta.
💛 Bloom was married to Rita Krachmer, the love of his life, for 59 years. He is survived by his sisters, Ronna Bloom and Andrea Bloom; his sons, Lawton (Brettne) and Robert (Courtney); and his five grandchildren, Jordan, Eloisa, Mason, Anna, and Owen.