Election recap
Thursday, Nov. 5 (25 Heshvan 5787) — Georgia’s General Assembly will have three Jewish members when it convenes in January. State Rep. Esther Panitch, the lone Jewish legislator for the two previous terms, will be joined in the House by Adam Cleveland (District 48) and in the Senate by Kevin Abel (District 14). Both beat incumbents in Tuesday’s election.
✅ U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff handily won a second term, beating U.S. Rep. Mike Collins by 18 points.
📍 Other winners around the country include Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Illinois and Gov. Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania. In Colorado, Attorney General Phil Weiser won the governor’s race, according to AP projections.
☑️ In the U.S. House, Jewish winners include Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel, and Jared Moskowitz of Florida. Micah Lasher and Brad Lander won in New York, and Eugene Vindman won reelection in Virginia.
❤️ MomTalks Summit 2026 | Nov. 13–14 at Emory University. Two heartfelt days of panels and sessions on motherhood, teenagers, internet safety, taboo health topics, neurodivergence, and so much more. Leave supported and energized. Learn more. SPONSOR MESSAGE
The MJCCA Book Festival starts a new chapter
The 35th edition of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta is underway. Upcoming author events include:
📖 Nov. 6: “The Art of Jewish Joy” by Amanda Kingloff
📖 Nov. 7: “View from the East Wing” by Dr. Jill Biden
📖 Nov. 11: “The Vet Will See You Now” by Barak Benaryeh
📖 Nov. 16: “Zariz” by Adeena Sussman
📖 Nov. 18: “White. Blonde. Jew.” by Alyssa Rosenheck
🎟️ See the full schedule and purchase tickets here.
Refuseniks, Dissidents, and the Fight for Rights
Why did the Soviet Jewish exodus – which has been called the preeminent case of Jewish human rights activism – and the dissident movement unite, then split? Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Benjamin Nathans explores the question in the 18th Annual Rothschild Lecture.
Wednesday, November 11, 7 pm
Carlos Museum, Ackerman Hall, Emory
Free. Advance registration requested.
RSVP: tinyurl.com/emoryrothschildlecture
Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, Emory University
❤️ MomTalks Summit 2026 | Nov. 13–14 at Emory University. Two heartfelt days of panels and sessions on motherhood, teenagers, internet safety, taboo health topics, neurodivergence, and so much more. Leave supported and energized. Learn more. SPONSOR MESSAGE
At Moontower Minyan, cowboy hats meet kippot
VIA THE FORWARD
🤠 In Austin, TX, Shabbat happens in an old church turned artist collective. The singer up front wears a cowboy hat and a tallit, and the band plays Willie Nelson.
Rabbi Dan Ain and his wife, poet Alana Joblin Ain, started Moontower Minyan after Oct. 7, 2023, for Austin Jews looking for community outside a traditional synagogue. Think country ballads about Esther at Purim, prayers sung to bluegrass, and a Honky Tonk Hanukkah with two-step lessons.
🎸 Monthly Shabbats draw about 60 people, and High Holiday services were standing room only. Ain says the goal is a Jewish community that “looks and feels and sounds like us.”
🌙 The name comes from Austin’s moontowers, the 165-foot steel light towers that still stand around the city.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward here.
Look & Listen
🎙️ Historian Simon Schama talks about rising global antisemitism on the Times of Israel podcast “A Mandatory Listen.”
🗳️ More Haredi voters don’t always mean more Haredi power. Yehoshua Pfeffer explains why on “The Tikvah Podcast.”
🇮🇱 The Times of Israel’s “Daily Briefing” looks at who could lead Israel’s next government.
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
🎹 Nov. 8:Composer Marc Shaiman takes the stage.
🍽️ Nov. 9:Chef Alon Shaya on food and memory.
🌙 Nov. 10:Rosh Hodesh creativity and spirituality at Or Hadash.
🎓 Nov. 11:Historian Benjamin Nathans gives Emory’s Rothschild Lecture.
🕍 Nov. 21:Shabbat Hadasha, a new Shabbat morning experience.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Chanukah, which begins at sundown on Dec. 4.
🗓️ Bring your family to Or Hadash for Shabbat for All! Join JAccess and PJ Library Atlanta for an accessible, welcoming evening of art, storytelling, and a light kosher dinner. Fri., Nov. 6, 5:30–6:30 p.m. Come connect, create, and celebrate together.
Seen on Instagram
🍞 ChallahFest ATL comes to Ponce City Market Nov. 20-21. The Spring Atlanta is teasing pumpkin ganache-stuffed knishes, sabich, schnitzel and custard-filled donuts. Atlanta is one of seven cities on the first Global ChallahFest, along with New York, London and Tel Aviv. Grab tickets here.
