{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/154dn41k1s/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Arbes, Jake"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/082/original/TheBreman_SecondaryMark_Horizontal_Blue_Black.png?1713640889","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2025-03-11 (captured)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Arbes, Jake (Interviewee)","Rosenberg, Robin (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum","Esther \u0026amp; Herbert Taylor Jewish Oral History Collection","Shearith Israel's Presidents Program, Lessons in Leadership"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eJake Arbes was interviewed by Robin Rosenberg on March 11, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e (general)","\u003cp\u003eJake Arbes was born July 9, 1951, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the only child of Max and Genia Arbes. Both of his parents were Holocaust survivors who later came to the United States. His father worked as an electrician in Indianapolis, and he passed away in 1955. Jake and his mother later moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Central High School in Chattanooga. Jake earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his master’s degree from Princeton. He then earned his law degree from New York University.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake has worked as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Georgia. He currently has his own law firm that focuses on criminal defense, parole and probation, criminal appeals, and post-conviction remedies. He has been involved with various legal associations including the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Georgia Innocence Project. Jake has also been active in the Anti-Defamation League and served president of Congregation Shearith Israel from 1991-1993. He and his wife, Tina Perchik Arbes have two sons, Ross and Max.\u003c/p\u003e (bioghist)","\u003cp\u003eJake begins the interview by discussing the challenges Congregation Shearith Israel was facing when he became the congregation’s president. He shares how he ended up becoming president during this difficult time. He reflects on the steps he initially took when he became president, and the steps taken to improve the synagogue financial position. Jake also recalls some of the initiatives he took while president. He recalls the unique approach he took to the annual Yom Kippur appeal. He remembers the changes he made to help the board meetings run more smoothly. He also talks about his working relationship with the rabbi and executive director.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake shares what memory stood out to him during his presidency. He reflects on the goals he had and lessons he took away from serving as president. He spoke about the on-going financial challenges and some of the actions that have been taken over the years to improve that. Jake recounts some of the initiatives he tried to get going, but they didn’t take off. He described the people that he turned to for advice and counsel when he needed it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake discusses what lessons he learned during his presidency and how that helped him in other professional endeavors. He shares some of his frustrations and lessons he learned while serving as president. He talks about the qualities he thinks are important in a board member and how boards should function. He reflects on the fact that the synagogue’s board has moved more onto a business-like path over the years. Jake discusses some of his frustration with board leadership over the years and the need to look to past presidents for their wisdom and experience in leadership. He mentions some of the missteps he thinks have occurred by the board over time. \u003c/p\u003e (scope content)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["https://archivesspace.thebreman.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/29354"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, recorded by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written consent of the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["Arbes, Jake (b. 1951) (personal name)","Wilson, Marc (b. 1949) (personal name)","Kogen, Judah (b. 1949) (personal name)","Rotter, Martin (b. 1946) (personal name)","McLaughlin, Denise (b. 1948) (personal name)","Kunis, Mark (b. 1948) (personal name)","Aronoff, Terry (b. 1960) (personal name)","Axelrod, Jane (b. 1934) (personal name)","Zimmerman, Benjamin (1915-1999) (personal name)","Duke, Sara (abt. 1944) (personal name)","Krick, Edward (1916-2000) (personal name)","Tuck, Leon (1923-2021) (personal name)","D’Agostino, Josh (b. 1976) (personal name)","Zelony, Elana (personal name)","Congregation Shearith Israel (corporate name)","Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta (corporate name)","Emory University (corporate name)","Georgia Institute of Technology (corporate name)","Georgia State University (corporate name)","Anti-Defamation League (corporate name)","Conservative Judaism (topical term)","Orthodox Judaism (topical term)","High Holidays (topical term)","Shiva (topical term)","Yom Kippur (topical term)","Kol Nidre (topical term)","Bar Mitzvah (topical term)","Bat Mitzvah (topical term)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eJake Arbes was interviewed by Robin Rosenberg on March 11, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eJake Arbes was born July 9, 1951, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the only child of Max and Genia Arbes. Both of his parents were Holocaust survivors who later came to the United States. His father worked as an electrician in Indianapolis, and he passed away in 1955. Jake and his mother later moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Central High School in Chattanooga. Jake earned his bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree from Harvard University and his master\u0026rsquo;s degree from Princeton. He then earned his law degree from New York University.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake has worked as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Georgia. He currently has his own law firm that focuses on criminal defense, parole and probation, criminal appeals, and post-conviction remedies. He has been involved with various legal associations including the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Georgia Innocence Project. Jake has also been active in the Anti-Defamation League and served president of Congregation Shearith Israel from 1991-1993. He and his wife, Tina Perchik Arbes have two sons, Ross and Max.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eJake begins the interview by discussing the challenges Congregation Shearith Israel was facing when he became the congregation\u0026rsquo;s president. He shares how he ended up becoming president during this difficult time. He reflects on the steps he initially took when he became president, and the steps taken to improve the synagogue financial position. Jake also recalls some of the initiatives he took while president. He recalls the unique approach he took to the annual Yom Kippur appeal. He remembers the changes he made to help the board meetings run more smoothly. He also talks about his working relationship with the rabbi and executive director.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake shares what memory stood out to him during his presidency. He reflects on the goals he had and lessons he took away from serving as president. He spoke about the on-going financial challenges and some of the actions that have been taken over the years to improve that. Jake recounts some of the initiatives he tried to get going, but they didn\u0026rsquo;t take off. He described the people that he turned to for advice and counsel when he needed it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJake discusses what lessons he learned during his presidency and how that helped him in other professional endeavors. He shares some of his frustrations and lessons he learned while serving as president. He talks about the qualities he thinks are important in a board member and how boards should function. He reflects on the fact that the synagogue\u0026rsquo;s board has moved more onto a business-like path over the years. Jake discusses some of his frustration with board leadership over the years and the need to look to past presidents for their wisdom and experience in leadership. He mentions some of the missteps he thinks have occurred by the board over time.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, recorded by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written consent of the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/082/original/TheBreman_SecondaryMark_Horizontal_Blue_Black.png?1713640889","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/272/559/small/ArbesJake.mp4_1747056302.jpg?1747056307","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Arbes_Jake.mp4"]},"duration":4223.57635,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/272/559/small/ArbesJake.mp4_1747056302.jpg?1747056307","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-thebreman.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/272/559/original/Arbes_Jake.mp4?1747056292","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":4223.57635,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Arbes, Jake [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Today's March 11, 2025. My name is Robin Rosenberg, and I'm interviewing Jake Arbes, past president of Congregation Shearith Israel, as part of Shearith Israel's President's Program, Lessons in Leadership. We're delighted to collaborate with the Bremen Museum in recording this conversation. Thanks for coming. Thanks for taking the time out to talk about your presidency. Why don't we start with the dates that you served and a little bit about what the synagogue was like then and maybe how you came to this role.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e First of all, I want to thank Robin Rosenberg for doing this. She is an incredible volunteer for the synagogue, and her efforts are greatly appreciated. I'm delighted to participate. With respect to my presidency and all of that jazz, I believe, I was actually trying to look that up. I think it was sometime in the mid-1990s. Do you have the exact date because I don't remember?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=36.0,68.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e I believe it was 1993 to 1995.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=68.0,72.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e Something like that. That sounds about right. I was president at a very interesting time because prior to my presidency I had been, I think, membership director of the board and I had become involved in the board when Rabbi [Marc] Wilson had been the rabbi there. Rabbi Wilson as I'm sure you have heard was an ultra-popular rabbi who was extremely inspiring, and he certainly inspired me to be on the board. Then when he ran into problems and he left, I think by that time I was membership . . . chairman, something like that, and things became quite tense at the synagogue. At that point he was replaced by Rabbi [Judah] Kogen. Now, Rabbi Kogen was a very, I guess, divisive figure in the synagogue in the sense that there were some people that very much liked him and some people who very much did not like him. He was more of the mainstream Conservative movement, and he was a lot more low-key than Rabbi Wilson. Of course . . . it would be impossible to look good after Rabbi Wilson because he was just such a magnetic figure. In any event, during his rabbinate, as I said, people became very divided about him. There were some people that were just intent on kicking him out, and there were some people who were intent on making sure he stayed. Most of the people that wanted him to stay were most of the sort of left-winging type folks at the synagogue, and the people who wanted him gone were more on the right-wing, I guess you would say. Some people just didn't like the guy, and some people really liked the guy. What happened was that I happened to get along well with both of these factions, and it was very unpleasant. The factions really did not like each other at all. It was a very nasty time so when the time came to select the next president of Shearith Israel. I was not . . . the chairman-elect or anything like that but when we were trying to decide who would be the president of the board the people from the left asked me to be president and the people for the right asked me to be president. Then they said, \"If both sides want him to be president, we really ought to get him to be president.\" It's not like an idiot; it's not like I wanted to be President. You'd have to be an idiot to want to be president. But it just turned out that because of both factions wanting me to sort of quote run as their representative, things smoothed out very quickly and I was asked to be the president and I reluctantly agreed after having my arm twisted by my predecessors who were Denise and Marty [Rotter]. Denise Rabinowitz [McLaughlin]  and Marty. When I became president, Rabbi Kogen had left and they had brought in Rabbi [Mark] Kunis, so I was president when Rabbi Kunis first got there. What I tried to do was try to just make the synagogue feel better about itself because it was deeply, deeply divided over Rabbi Kogen. He had left under . . . very bad vibes, let's call it. The synagogue was also not in great financial condition, and the long and short of it was, it was pretty much a mess. Whenever I've been fortunate enough or misfortunate enough to be chairman of a number of committees, president of a number of boards, my strategy when I become chairman or president, the very first thing I do is pick my successor. Because if I'm going to work hard and try to get things moving, I don't want it to fall apart as soon as I leave. I want help doing what I'm doing to begin with. We were extremely fortunate to have at the synagogue, a young attorney named Terry Aronoff and Terry Aronoff was extremely capable. He was a civil attorney, so he was good at contracts and things like that, things that you actually need as opposed to me who's a criminal lawyer. Although that could have been used at our synagogue a few times. But in any event, he was outstanding and was very loyal in the sense that he worked with me and let me sort of be the face of things while he actually did a lot of the grind work and never complained about it. I cannot say enough terrific things about Terry Aronoff. The first thing that I did when I was chairman or president of the board was, I made sure that people that were unhappy were put on the board as opposed to outside the board, so it sort of brought them into the tent. I think that diffused a lot of different things and I was a forceful enough person where they weren't a threat to me and in fact it was helpful to have everybody under the same tent. The next thing that I had to deal with was a real financial problem. Shearith Israel, all synagogues, many synagogues, have financial problems all the time. The trick was to try to raise money without raising dues. That's always the challenge. In the past, what had happened was that our executive director for many years, Jane Axelrod, who was just unbelievable, whenever there was a crisis, she'd call somebody like Benny Zimmerman and say, \"Benny, we need some of this,\" then Benny would send a check over and something like that. That's great, but that's not the way to have long-term success at a congregation. When I was president, it was very fortunate that Kroger for sure, and maybe Publix, were running programs, which at Kroger, it was called Kroger Cash. What would happen is you could designate different non-profits . . . Kroger would pay a percentage based upon what you bought. I came up with the idea that everybody has to eat, that . . . people had a choice, they could either designate Shearith Israel as their charity to which they wanted their Kroger cash to go, or they could pay an increase in dues if they didn't want to participate in that program. That was kind of a, if I say so myself, an ingenious no-brainer because everybody eats. At Shearith Israel, they eat more than at most places. As a result, we were able to raise a tremendous amount of money without having to raise any dues. Those people that . . . just didn't want to mess with that, which were very few, could just do a dues increase. I don't think there was anybody that did that because again like I said everybody eats so it's kind of a no-brainer. That immediately put the synagogue in a much better financial situation than it was before. Then another thing that I did was whenever there was a life cycle event, especially a death, I always, without exception, made a shiva call on behalf of the synagogue. Whether I knew the people or not, there were a number of times when I would make a shiva call, and the people had no idea who I was. There was little chatter, \"Who's that?\" But I thought it was important to sort of show the flag. I think that generated some nice feelings and I also attended every funeral during my administration.  I remember we had a fair number of Russian immigrants who nobody knew. We would have trouble sometimes getting ten people at the burial and I would be a pallbearer for these folks, I didn't even know who they were.  But I think that word got around, and I think that created some good vibes. Then another thing that I did was when kids got bar mitzvahed, a lot of people just wanted to sort of plow right through those ceremonies. They just wanted it to get to the kiddush. I'm a big fan of kiddushes, but I recognize the importance of the day for families of bar and bat mitzvahs. What I started doing was whenever somebody was about to be bar or bat mitzvahed, I would track down, usually their teacher and would talk about an hour or so with their teacher about them and learn what they liked and what they didn't like and fun facts and what kind of people they really were. Then so when . . . the president gave the gifts I didn't just hand them the gift and say, \"Make sure and come to the synagogue and we'll give you another Chumash when this wears out,\" knowing that they're never going to open the Chumash again. I would get there and put my arm around them and tell the congregation a little bit about them and sometimes question them. Again, it was very good vibes. It just created a nice feeling with the family, especially with visitors, visitors very much like that. I'm not sure everybody at the synagogue liked it because it lengthened things a little. It's not like I would talk for 15 minutes, but it would go three to five minutes, you've got to say something. I think that also increased the good vibes. You don't change the feelings at a place overnight it takes some time, and so we did that. Another thing that I did that I think really helped turn things around was that during Yom Kippur appeal. At Shearith Israel what would happen is on Kol Nidre, the president would get up and would beg for money from the synagogue. That would be the major fundraiser for the year. I was trying to come up with something a little bit different and what happened was I had my two kids, one of whom was, I think about eight years old, and the other was like five years old. When the time came for the Yom Kippur appeal, I think this was my first year. The rabbi finished saying whatever he said, and he sat down, and there was just nothing. Usually, the president would get up and give the pitch, and just nothing, so everybody's sort of starting to murmur, and everybody's looking at everybody else. Then all of a sudden, my oldest son, Max, comes up on the bimah, and gets on the stage. He said, and we had written all this out ahead of time, he says, \"I'm very sorry but my father just won't give the Yom Kippur appeal this year, he just thinks you guys are too cheap and it's just not worth it.\" There was this like hush and murmur and then all this nervous laughter and so we did this very clever speech that I'm very proud of, and that he, I think we rehearsed it one time, he did a fantastic job. Then he concluded it by saying, \"If you guys don't step up and really contribute, then this is what could happen to our future generations.\" I had my youngest son, Ross, come up with, he had placard that was misspelled in Hebrew, I don't know what it said, but it was clear that he was Hebraically illiterate and so we said this is what's going to happen to our next generation if you don't step up and give. We raised more money that year than any time on a Yom Kippur appeal up to that point. It caused quite a buzz in the community. It went very well. Again, all this time things are changing, and people are feeling much better about themselves, much better the synagogue, and things were moving along quite nicely. Then during the board meetings, the board meetings had frequently been very contentious, and it used to drive me crazy that we would talk about things for hours and that we would never get anywhere. It was really a problem so what I did was I had an executive committee that I hand selected that wasn't voted that was me picking from the board. I got very capable people to be chairman, chairwomen, chairmen of all these different committees and . . . we would have our executive committee meetings prior to board meetings and I had a rule, I said, \"We're going to talk everything out during this executive committee meeting and you're free to give whatever opinion you want and we're going to listen to each together. Then at the end though of the meeting, we're going to take a vote on whatever the issue was, and I expect everybody here to back me on this vote. No exceptions. You say whatever you want. You get heard during the executive committee meeting. I come with an open mind on everything. But, when we decide and we go to the board, we're going to let the board say whatever it is they want to say. Everybody will get their say, but then when we vote, everybody votes what we agreed the vote was going to be unless I raise my hand and change something based upon what was said at the board meeting.\" Now I'm a big believer in democracy, and I believe everybody ought to have their say. But if you want to get something done, you have to be a little authoritarian, and I had no problem doing that because I'm not exactly a shrinking violet. We would have these executive committee meetings, it worked very, very well. Everybody had their say. We would vote, or usually we didn't even have to vote, we just agreed on everything, and then we would have the meeting before the board. During the board meeting, this is the issue, what do you think? I called on everybody. Anybody could say whatever it is that they wanted. But at the end, I would say, \"Now, this is what I'm hearing, and this is sort of the motion. I'm going to put it in the form of a motion.\" Of course, this was already pre-written based upon the executive committee meeting. I said, \"This is the motion and we're going to vote on it one way or another.\" Everybody, I think, during the board meeting felt they had their say. Then when we voted, we never had a vote that went against me, against the motion, not one during the whole time I was there. The board meetings usually lasted an hour, an hour and a half, and it's kind of the trains ran on time. It worked very, very well, so that was good. I think that at some point we ran into a bit of a problem with Rabbi Kunis in the sense that Rabbi Kunis . . . the one thing that I've learned from being involved in synagogue and synagogue politics are that rabbis are human. Because I always, as a kid, had put rabbis on a pedestal and believed they could do no wrong. But after seeing Rabbi Wilson and Rabbi Kogen and Rabbi Kunis and all that, I pretty much realized that they were just like everybody else. With Rabbi Kunis, Rabbi Kunis saw this, the being a rabbi as his profession. When I think that at some point during my term, we were discussing his next contract. Either I became president I think when he had been rabbi for a year and then this was this three-year contract or whatever. Just the way I did all these other things. I said, \"Look, Rabbi, just tell me what you want, and here I'm going to tell you what we can do. Either we do it or we don't do it, and we don t have to have a big conflict about this or whatever.\" I think that he looked at it as sort of a business negotiation, which sort of offended me. Again, I don't begrudge somebody a living, but I just think that being a rabbi should be something different, although as I just said, it's really not. I think that things began to sour a bit with Rabbi Kunis during these contract negotiations and I think that he was eventually renewed that time, but I think it was the beginning of some bad feeling with regard to him. During Rabbi Kunis' time we had sort of moved away from just being the right-wing Conservative to a kind of a new movement, traditional movement. They had a conference, and I went to the conference, and it never really got off the ground, but it was actually very similar to where we were. It was kind of the right wing of the Conservative movement, somewhere between right wing Conservative and Orthodox, and there were a lot of people like that at Shearith Israel. Anyway, that was sort of percolating in the background, but during the time I was president, I worked very, very hard being president, but what was weird was I think that in my professional life it had never been better. It was like I was being rewarded or something for the work I was putting in with the synagogue. It was just, it was very weird. Some people didn't want to be president. They were president, they didn't like being president. They didn't liked being whatever it was after president. I wasn't that thrilled about becoming president, but I had a great time being president, and when my term was over, and Terry Aronoff became the president, he did a fantastic job. I felt as though I made an impact in terms of having better feelings at the synagogue, it was better off financially. It was just, you kind of, you measure success or failure by saying, is this better than it was when you got here? I felt as though it was much better, and I was very proud of that and very pleased about that. Then I continued as past president, you remain on the committee. I saw that Terry was doing a fantastic job. At some point, I just became more and more distanced from that because you got . . . to let it go. Things have gone up and down since then. I've been pleased, disappointed, whatever. But like I said, I had a very good time being president. I enjoyed it immensely. Another thing that I enjoyed was dealing with Jane Axelrod, who was terrific as executive director. We had a fantastic relationship. But what was weird about Jane is, I tried to put the synagogue on a better financial footing and said, \"Jane, who do we have this contract with,\" insurance or something. \"We have it with this . . .\" I said, \"Don't you think we ought to get a few different estimates.\"  \"No, no, we've had this with them forever. I trust them, and if something G-d forbid, happened, they'd be there for us.\" You really couldn't get her to budge . . . and who would want her to budge? I just, I would defer to her because her heart was in the right place. She knew what she was doing. But I did sort of note that was weird. She had her ways, and they almost always worked. But still, you always had to wonder what was going to happen when she retired, because a lot of this stuff was in her head. A lot of this was based on her wonderful, wonderful personal connections with people.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e It sounds like it was quite an adventure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1640.0,1642.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e It was a fun adventure. I had a great time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1642.0,1645.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm going to back up and make a correction because I think that you were president in 1991 to 1993, not 1993 to 1995.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1645.0,1654.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e I don't know, but all I know was that I think it was Denise and then Marty and then me and then Terry Aronoff. Whatever that is, I think sometime in the 1990's.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1654.0,1667.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e You've talked a lot about what you enjoyed doing. Is there an incident, is there something in particular that was just great fun . . . Success is fun for sure. Is there something else that really was a great experience in particular or anything that was a big surprise? Anything that was particularly challenging?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1667.0,1690.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e I think that the incident that is the high point in my mind was the Yom Kippur appeal because it was extremely successful. I got to do it with my kids, and it was just a lot of fun. I think in terms of answering those questions, I've kind of talked about all of that in what I said before, so I don't know that there . . . that was a particular incident, but it was more just a matter of two years during which I felt as though things were getting better, people were acting more civil with and to each other, financially things were better, I thought that the congregants' needs were being met better, so I don't know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1690.0,1751.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e I think you've addressed this but I'm going to ask it as a question anyway. Did you have a specific goal when you came in? What do you think you uniquely brought to the role and I'm asking it because I think we are calling this lessons in leadership and those seem to be things that most presidents want to think about as they take the job.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1751.0,1776.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e Because I had done this before, I'd given this a lot of thought before. Being involved in different organizations and have been involved in other organizations since then. As I indicated before, I felt as though I had a template to get things done. What that template required was organization and fairness and firmness. This was not, as I said, this was not a democracy in the sense that everybody just sort of talked and something happened because somebody just finally got tired of talking. During my term, I tried to make sure that every issue that came up was dealt in a thoughtful, organized way, where we made sure that everybody got their say, but we didn't leave it for the board. You've been in lots of boards and a lot of board meetings, and you know that the way they are handled in a lot cases is there's a lot talk, and then, \"Would someone like to make a motion?\" Something like that. Then you have the strangest, most inane motion in the world, and then you spend another hour and a half tailoring it and arguing. That was not what we did. What we did was we had the motion ahead of time. We had it word for word. When I let everybody speak during the meeting and brought the motion up, that motion was predetermined and because it was specific, the board could either vote for it or vote against it, but it was there. It had what we were trying to get done in the motion and it was clear, and we were organized in the sense that before the vote happened, I knew I had the votes.  I think the key is to be organized, to be forceful, but not to trample over people's feelings. I think that we did, we went forward, I can't think of anything specific, but I'm sure there were motions, issues that went forward that maybe I personally, it was not my position, but I followed the rule, I followed my rules. We would have this executive committee, and we would agree on what that was going to be and whether I liked it or not, that was the motion and that's why it always carried and that is why everything procedurally was run very efficiently. I thought that in the course of the long and storied history of Shearith Israel there have been a lot of different presidents and different presidents have done things different ways. I was always most attracted to presidencies in which people tried to run it, run the board like a business. That's the way it has to be run, but a business with heart. You can't just say, \"Financially, this is the best thing for our shareholders or whatever.\" You got to do, what is the best for us and our relationship with God and whatever, helping people, blah, blah blah. Even though maybe financially, sometimes you take a bath, but you still, you shouldn't do things in such a stupid way that you do take a bath financially. You have to make sure . . . that one of the things the board has to do is to use the money that the congregation gives it wisely. You can't just do things because you want to do them. You have to make hard choices about what is necessary and what you do down the road. One thing that has been a problem at Shearith Israel always is that of because they're always on the verge of financial collapse, you always kick the can down the road. You're just trying to keep your head above the water for a certain period of time, and that's been a real problem. We just, many times, have not been organized well enough and have not financially sound enough where we can have big picture looks at things and think about how things should be down the road. One of the things that I did, there were a few things that were frustrating to me when I was president in terms of trying to get things done. One thing was that I tried to get from Federation a list of people in our zip code. In our area that . . . identified as Jews and that we could do some marketing to in order to try to attract them to Shearith Israel, and they would not cooperate with that and to this day, I don't understand why. If I ask for it, it doesn't mean another shul can't ask for if they want it. What's the big deal? That was very aggravating. Another thing is that I thought then that there were ways to increase our financial stability very easily. Just like the Kroger cash, nobody had to do anything but what they were already doing, which was eating. I'm thinking, why don't we have something where people include us in their wills. That was something I was pushing, and that's what we've done now. Denise has done a wonderful job. Denise Rabinowitz [McLaughlin] has done a wonderful job getting that program moving, but 30 years ago I proposed that, and we just couldn't get people to head it up. I think that was the problem. It's hard to get folks like Denise and you and folks like that, that will actually do something. But to me, that was, like, obvious. Everybody's going to die and a lot of people, when you're thinking about dying, want to get in better with God, and this might be a way by making contributions to the synagogue, to leave what Denise and her program calls a legacy. But like I said, I tried to do that many years ago. I thought that was a very good idea. Another thing is at the time I was president, it was not a foregone conclusion that we were going to remain on University forever. I think that it wasn't really bubbling that we're going to move, but on the other hand, it's clear that there was a movement to the suburbs back then in the 1990's, and it wasn't out of the question that Shearith Israel would move. After all, they'd moved before from downtown to where we are now. I thought that we should really try to take advantage of where we were being in town and that we were like at an incredible advantage of being centrally located between Emory, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State. I really wanted to become sort of the intellectual leaders of Judaism in town, and I thought that we could do that. But again, you have to have inroads into Emory and Georgia State and Georgia Tech and all that. At that point, again, that's something again that has happened since my presidency, under the incredible leadership of Sara Duke . . . Now that is one of these adult education programs in which you bring in folks from all these different schools, primarily from Emory, but other schools as well. That's incredible. It's very well attended. It's very interesting, and that's the way we should go. Again, when I was president, it wasn't clear that in town was going to be the place. I think it is now, but that could change, things go back and forth. But I did think that given our location, we should take advantage of where we were and reach out to especially Emory, but also Georgia Tech and Georgia State. Another thing I thought was when every now and then there would be Jewish athletes or . . . someone that was quote famous and that we should reach out to those people because they'd usually probably be living in the downtown area and try to get them to come to our synagogue. That was another thing that was discussed but it never really took off because we just couldn't get our hands around that we didn't . . . you'd read about somebody in a newspaper, maybe they were Jewish, maybe they weren't, it's hard to just give them a cold call,  something like that, but that was something else just to create some buzz and get things going, so.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e You talked about the wisdom, I think, that you collected in your executive committee. When you had other hard issues, and sometimes presidents have issues that they don't want to share very widely . . . Who did you find to go to? How did you seek out good counsel and advice beyond your, or did you, or was that the best group?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2441.0,2470.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e That actually is an excellent question, as are all your questions, but that's particularly an excellent question because that's a problem, who are you going to turn to? I think that I held Marty and Denise, my prior past presidents, in great esteem and would not hesitate to talk with them. As you have heard, I held Terry Aronoff in great esteem and would not hesitate to talk with him . . . It wasn't as though, I wasn't really friendly, I wasn't unfriendly, I just didn't know the financial heavy hitters at Shearith Israel. They would know me because I was president, they would say hello and things like that. But Shearith Israel is very interesting in that there's a lot of families that have extended families and they're Shearith Israel. It's not like they're better than anybody else or prominent, but there's lots of them and they've been connected to the synagogue a long time. I felt as though sometimes, I don't know that I ever did this, but I feel as though I could have gone to some of these folks. Jane Axelrod, you could talk to her about anything, and she had a very good sense of what was going on. But I don't know, I was extremely confident, I am extremely confident. I believed in my initial reactions to things. There were some things I just didn't have a history on where I would try to get that history by talking, for instance, with Ed Krick. I used to love to talk with some of these folks that were past leaders of the synagogue. I would sit with them at the Kiddish and just pick their brains and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that so much. Most recently with Mr. Tuck, Leon Tuck, you could just listen to him for hours and that was very helpful to me in sort of putting things in context. But having said that and trying to specifically answer your questions, I don't know that there were any earth-shattering issues during my presidency that required me to do anything out of the ordinary. I just relied on my own instincts and the counsel of people that I trusted, including immediate past presidents, Terry, and Jane. That was sort of the, I guess, the brain trust or whatever. But on the other hand, I wouldn't hesitate to contact and discuss issues with old timers, like I said, like with Ed Krick and folks like that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2470.0,2682.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e As you had the gift of having been in leadership positions before, but were there things that you brought away, were there things that you learned about yourself or this is a different kind of role maybe, things that had an impact on you as member of the synagogue, as a member of the community, your own skill set things you have to share","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2682.0,2708.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e I think that that's just a growth issue, a personal growth issue. You learn from all your experiences. I think all the experiences I had had up until that time made me do a better job there. My experience there later helped me do a better job in other leadership things that I was involved in. One thing that isn't exactly on point with your question but is sort of . . . I was pretty young when I was president of the synagogue. I . . . think I was very young for presidents, what was it, I was 40 years old, late thirties, early forties, something like that which, that's pretty young, not the youngest. But I just felt as though when I had these experiences it just helped me have experiences later on, like when I was a prosecutor I threw my hat in for the U.S. Attorney's position, not knowing that, I knew that it was very political, but I didn't know that one of the people that had also applied had been the legislative intern to the senator making the decision. You would think that he had the upper hand, and he did, and he did an excellent job. But I didn't know that at the time. When I'm being interviewed for the U.S. Attorney's position and they're asking about experience, one of the things I talked about was having been president of a synagogue. I said, \"You think running the Northern District of Georgia is difficult, try to run a synagogue.\" Everybody laughed, of course, and all of that. But you do learn things from that. I think it made me more attuned to listening to other people. Like I said, I'm confident and I do what I do, but I think having been president of the shul and listening to what other people said. Also it was very touching to me like when I'd go to these life cycle events and that had sort of a personal impact on me . . . and when things sort of went well for me professionally when I was doing this synagogue stuff, it sort of made me feel there was a connection there. It sort of touched me spiritually, but on the other hand it also hardened me a bit. As I said, I didn't hold rabbis in the same esteem that I had before because I sort of saw the daily machinations of a rabbi and a synagogue. One thing that sort of annoyed me was having been president at a young age, as I was saying. Federation had me participate in this Goldstein program. What I was struck about with the Goldstein program was that this could have been a Unitarian organization or Episcopalian or whatever. These were a bunch of folks taken from the Jewish community whose hearts were in the right place, but with almost no religious content. There weren't folks from Orthodox shul, or if there was, I don't recall them. These were people that were just professionally good guys. They would just contribute to this organization and contribute to that organization, but maybe they'd go to synagogue during the High Holidays, maybe not. That sort of shook me a bit because I thought, if you're in a Jewish organization like Federation or whatever, there ought to be Jewish content to it, and there really wasn't much. That sort of struck me, and it was just interesting from having been president to sort of see how Jewish organizations worked in Atlanta. It was an interesting experience to see this when Rabbi Kunis was trying to get this national movement going on traditional Judaism. It made me think about things like that in a broader concept. When you're chairman of this or chairman of that, you're just trying to get things going and get things doing. But when you are president of a board and it's dealing with lifecycle events, that's the big thing, lifecycle events. It sort of makes you think a little more philosophically about Judaism, about yourself, about things like that. It is like running any other board, but it's not. But I learned a lot from that. Like I said, I think I brought past experiences to the table, and I got experiences there, that I took away, that were helpful to me later on in other things I did.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2708.0,3071.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e If you were thinking about specific qualities that board members should have, or the president should have. There are some things that maybe you think are really most important to do those jobs well and they're a little bit different, so I think they require different emphasis on different qualities.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3071.0,3099.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e I think to be a board member you have to be committed to the goals of the board. One thing that I have done in different organizations that I've been head of, I said we need a mission statement, and I want the mission statement in front of your seat every time. Because, for instance, I'm involved in the ADL [Anti-Defamation League] Civil Rights Committee. I've been on it a long time, and I just find it incredibly fascinating. But what we discussed during these meetings, on a number of occasions I've said, \"I thought our mission was to reduce or eliminate antisemitism in the world. Let's do that and then let's get back to this other stuff.\" I think that you have to have a mission as a board. I think that you have to be very clear about what that mission is. You want to have people on the board that are committed to that. I think that when you're developing a board, to me, there are two types of boards. Either you have a board, what I would call a financial board, where that the whole purpose of that board, the only purpose of the board, is to get behind the executive director that's running the entity. In a synagogue, that would be the rabbi and the executive director, mostly the rabbi . . . One vision would be raise money so that the vision of the rabbi supported by the executive director can come true. The other board is a board that runs things, and that the rabbi, the executive director, they are cogs in that mechanism, just like the board is. But when push comes to shove, it's the board that makes the decisions. Also, the president of the board, as the president of the board, that sort of, leads the way. If you're going to have a financial board, and I'm not speaking against that, I'm just saying there are different kinds and you got to decide which you're going to be, ideally, it's a hybrid. But if it's a financial board, and I've seen plenty of those, then all you do is you get the heavy hitters, you get the people with the money, and you tell them they don't have to do any work. They just have to come to the meetings and bring their checkbook. Alot of people are okay with that. But if you're going to be a board in control, then you have to have people that can actually run things. You can't, you got to have a treasurer that knows how to keep books and what money means, how to do a budget. You can't just have some Joe Schmo, that's the treasurer because he's a volunteer, she's a volunteer, nobody else will do it, I'll do it. You got to actually know what you're doing if you're a treasurer. If you're going to be head of membership, you got to have someone that can actually deal with people and that can connect with people. If you’re going to have somebody that's in charge of your physical plant, you have to have that. When you're, to me, if you're having a board that's running things and I believe that's really what you should be doing, then you want to go into your population and pick people that actually know how to do these things, whether they would normally have been volunteers or not. We need somebody that's human resources. This is what you do in real life. Be our human resources person. I think that it's very important, much more now than it used to be, that you have a paradigm where you are actually picking a board of people that have the skill sets that you need in order to run a sophisticated organization. One of the best things that happened over time was that I thought that we had a run, and I won't go into this, but of not such good presidents. But I think that at some point we had, I'm having an elderly moment. Who's the fellow of the car parts.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3099.0,3459.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Josh.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3459.0,3460.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e D'Agostino. I didn't know Josh, Josh didn't know me, but I very much admired him because I think that he really put the board on a business-like path. I think his was the first board in a long time where he tried to professionalize the board and that's what I tried to do when I was president. That's what I think always should be done is that it's run professionally. I thought he did a very good job doing that. I think since he was president, I think that the quality of the board has gone up and up and up and I think that quality of board now is outstanding . . . Still, you have presidents, some presidents are better than others. But you want to have a framework where the board can continue. I thought Josh did a very good job in professionalizing the board, which I think is very important. Again, strategy for having a board that actually does something is getting people that know what they're doing and putting them in slots where their expertise can be used. You want a few people on the board that are financially heavy hitters. That's fine. You want a few people on the board that are just, they're smart, just because you don't have money doesn't mean you're smart and vice versa. You want to have just well-rounded, and you want people that are not yes people. You want to have people that will challenge you. I think that's very important. I never hesitated bringing in people that disagreed with me. Now there's a difference between people that disagree and disrupters. There are some people that are disrupter and they're just never happy. They're just Debbie Downers and you just don't need them. But there's amazingly few of those. I'm always struck that there [are] more better people than not better people . . . I also think board size is important. I don't think that you need a board with 500 people on it. I think that your need a lean, mean board. I think the best way to do it is the way I tried to do it, which is to have basically a board within a board. The executive committee is the board within the board. There's very few people, what's there's five or six people, they're really running things. Then you have a bigger board that's more of a sounding board than a do something board. That's very important because those five or six people could get it wrong and even if they don't get it wrong, there's some interesting insights that are brought from the general board. Generally speaking, I believe in extremely strong leadership from the top. I believe it is a small executive committee, basically running things. I believe in a bigger board that is composed of people that have certain skills that are needed, that act as a soundboard, that relying on their expertise to make things happen. I've found that everything that I've ever participated in, that has always worked for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3460.0,3705.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e That's great. I'm going to ask one last question really, which is an opportunity to, using your wisdom and experience and thinking about Shearith Israel's strengths and challenges, is there anything you haven't mentioned, anything you haven t offered that you want to close with.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3705.0,3726.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e I hate to close on a negative note, but I've been really annoyed over the years about various things that have happened, and I haven't been too thrilled about the leadership at various times. I won't go into specifics, but one thing that I very much relied on and believe in is the wisdom of the past presidents. I believe that, like I said, not all past presidents were good, but all of them, there was something that caused them to be a president. There's been one or two that they became president only because they volunteered. Those are the worst presidents, the ones that volunteer. What you want is someone that's good. They won't necessarily volunteer, you have to persuade them. If they volunteer it doesn't necessarily mean anything good. It doesn't necessarily mean anything bad, but I don't go just based on volunteers. But in any event, with regard to past presidents, I think there's a lot of wisdom there. I think that Shearith Israel has made many mistakes over time where if they had relied more on the experience of the past presidents, they would not potentially have made those mistakes. I don't necessarily blame the board, I blame the past presidents, including myself as well. After my presidency, after the two years that I was immediate past president and all that, I was sort of burned out and I purposely, certainly didn't leave the shul because I go to shul every Shabbos, I purposely left the leadership. I remember being extremely upset about various things that would happen because people didn't rely on the experience of past presidents. One thing that I thought was just a terrible mistake that we made was the group, the Jewish kids. What's the name of it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3726.0,3891.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Jewish Kids Group.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3891.0,3892.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e Jewish Kids Group, is that what it's called? Anyway, I wasn't on the board then, but my understanding is that the head of that came to the board, Anna Fuchs, and wanted to establish that at our synagogue. To me, that's a no-brainer. I don't know how you'd not do that. I don't know what the logic was in renting it out to a non-Jewish daycare or school or whatever like that, where you could have a Jewish entity that could potentially feed membership through the parents taking their kids there. I don't know how you don't see that. I think that had past presidents been more involved in that decision, that decision might not have been made that way, but I was very upset by that. I think history has proven me right because that's been extremely successful, and I just am still really irritated by that. Also, I think that in terms of something that's maybe timely now is the selection of a second rabbi. That is always a very complicated issue. We had a very, very unfortunate situation with Rabbi [Elana] Zelony, where she was just a wonderful, wonderful person. She was brought on board, and that the past presidents were brought in on that decision. There were many of us that were very opposed to hiring, not her, because she was fantastic, but any second rabbi, because any idiot could look at the books and see we couldn't afford that. What you do is you get enough money and then you get a second rabbi. You don't get a rabbi with the argument, we're going to get this second rabbi and from having a second rabbi, we will create more membership . . . I believe ongoing with facts on the ground. That to me was an extremely bad decision. I think it was made when the past presidents were given inaccurate information and even with the inaccurate information there was a lot of negative pushback to that hiring. When she was hired, she did like an outstanding job, but because there wasn't money to renew her, it became a very sad situation that I think reverberated for quite a while. Now even more recently in dealing with the issue of a second rabbi and all that, I think some decisions were made that had they gone to the past presidents, things might have been different. I don't want to be too mysterious, but when some of these things were brought to the past presidents, and they made their positions known, things changed. I think had they been notified to begin with, we might have had something different. That's why, and we can conclude with this, one of the most irritating things to me was when the way we were set up at the board was that the past presidents were members of the board with half a vote. It was decided that there would be no more past presidents with half a vote. Instead, there would a council of past presidents, and there would be one representative that was a past president. I thought that was a terrible mistake because I thought that there was a lot of wisdom among the past presidents that had that wisdom been brought on a month-to-month basis to the board meetings. Of course, not all the past presidents would participate, but if they wanted to, they could. I thought that would have prevented some mistakes that have been made. I think that is an illustration of what I believe are the importance of the past president, and that's why you want to be able to rely on their past knowledge.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3892.0,4215.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Jake, I want to thank you for taking the time, for sharing your ideas, your insights, and very much appreciate it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=4215.0,4221.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/transcript/79482/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eARBES:\u003c/strong\u003e Thanks.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=4221.0,4223.57635"}]},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Annotations [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRobin Yudelson Rosenberg (b. 1950) is an Atlanta, Georgia native, and daughter of Harold and Jane Zion Yudelson. She attended Northside High School and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1981, she married Fredric Rosenberg. She has worked in commercial real estate for 40 years. Robin has been active at Congregation Shearith Israel, serving as secretary, co-chaired Rabbi Kaiman’s installation, and on the shul’s strategic planning and social committees. She has also been active with various community organizations including president of the Epstein School.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eFounded in 1904, Congregation Shearith Israel began as a congregation that met in the homes of congregants until 1906 when they began using a Methodist church on Hunter Street. After World War II, Rabbi Tobias Geffen moved the congregation to University Drive, where it became the first synagogue in DeKalb County. In the 1960s, they removed the barrier between the men’s and women’s sections in the sanctuary and officially became affiliated with the Conservative movement in 2002. As of 2022, the current Senior Rabbi of the congregation is Ari Kaiman.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta celebrates and commemorates Jewish history, culture, and art through events and museum spaces. The Breman also contains the Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History, which houses thousands of manuscripts, oral histories, and photograph collections, related to southern Jewish history and the Holocaust. \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eA synagogue is a Jewish house of worship where the congregation meets for religious services and instruction.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Marc H. Wilson was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1949 and was a rabbi at Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta from 1975 to 1985. He received a bachelor's degree from De Paul University, and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Theological College in Chicago. He was the founding principal of Morton Grove Community Hebrew School in Chicago in 1970. After leaving Shearith Israel, he served as rabbi for Temple Israel in Charlotte and Beth Israel in Greenville, South Carolina. He is the author of columns and commentaries published in the Atlanta Jewish Times, Columbia State, Reader’s Digest, the Washington Post, Philadelphia.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Judah Kogen served as rabbi for Congregation Shearith Israel during the late 1980s. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1949. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and received undergraduate and graduate degrees from there as well as a graduate degree from Columbia University. He also served as a rabbi in numerous other Conservative congregations in cities including Linden, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Swampscott, Massachusetts, Larchmont, New York, Newington, Connecticut, and Wichita, Kansas.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAlso known as Masorti Judaism, Conservative Judaism is a form of Judaism that seeks to preserve Jewish tradition and ritual, but has a more flexible approach to the interpretation of the law than Orthodox Judaism. It attempts to combine a positive attitude toward modern culture, while preserving a commitment to Jewish observance. In general, Conservative congregations also observe gender equality (mixed seating, women rabbis, and bat mitzvah). The governing body for Conservative Judaism in the United States is the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), formerly known as the United Synagogue of America.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eMartin “Marty” Rotter (b. 1946) is an Atlanta, Georgia native, and son of David and Dorothy Rotter. He attended Grady High School and Emory University. Marty attended graduate school at Georgia State University. He worked in healthcare and later as a business consultant. In 1970, he married Sheila Doobrow from Charleston, South Carolina. He and Sheila are members of Congregation Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eDenise McLaughlin (b. 1948) graduated from St. Joseph’s Infirmary School of Nursing in 1969, and attended school to become a midwife. She worked for more than 40 years as midwife and lead the Emory Nurse-Midwifery Educational Program. She has served as a board member and officer for Planned Parenthood of Atlanta. Denise was the first female president of Congregation Shearith Israel and has served as the Life and Legacy chair. In 2022, she received the Joe Cohen Award from the congregation. She is married to Dr. Michaal Robinowitz.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Mark Hillel Kunis (b. 1948) is the head of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim in Atlanta. He was previously the rabbi for Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta from 1989 to 2002. Rabbi Kunis has been a former President of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, the founder of MORASHA, The Rabbinic Fellowship of the Union for Traditional Judaism and President of the Federation of Traditional Orthodox Rabbis.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eTerry Aronoff (b. 1960) is an Atlanta native. He attended Briarcliff High School and Northwestern University. He attended law school at the University of Georgia School of Law. He has worked as an attorney at Kilpatrick in Atlanta and is a partner at Schwell Wimpfheimer and Associates. He is a past president of Congregation Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eJane Lewis Axelrod (b. 1934) was born in New Jersey and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She and her husband, Herbert Axelrod, were members of Congregation Shearith Israel, where Jane served as Executive Director for 25 years.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eBenjamin Zimmerman (1915-1999) was an Atlanta, Georgia native, and son of Robert and Pauline Goldstein Zimmerman. He was a partner in Gate City Table Company. He served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel and the Progressive Club. He was active in Yaarab Shrine Temple, and the Jewish Home. Benny was married to Jeanette Cohen, and they had three daughters. Jeanette passed away in 1973 and he later married Dorothy Cohen Horowitz.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Kroger Company or Kroger is an American retail company that operates grocery stores and multi-department stores throughout the United States. The company was founded in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio by Bernard Kroger.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003ePublix is a supermarket chain that was founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins. It is headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. As of 2024, it has 1,361 stores in the Southeastern United States.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eShiva, literally “seven,” is the week-long mourning period in Judaism for first-degree relatives: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister and spouse. The ritual is referred to as “sitting shiva.” Immediately after burial, first-degree relatives assume the status of “mourner.” This state lasts for seven days, during which the family members traditionally gather in one home and receive visitors. At the funeral, mourners traditionally wear an outer garment, a ritual known as “kerish.” This garment is worn throughout shiva. \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eA bar mitzvah [Hebrew: son of commandments; plural: b’nai mitzvah] is a rite of passage for Jewish boys aged 13 years and one day. At that time, a Jewish boy is considered a responsible adult for most religious purposes. He is now duty-bound to keep the commandments, he puts on tefillin, and may be counted to the minyan quorum for public worship. He celebrates the bar mitzvah by being called up to the reading of the Torah in the synagogue, usually on the next available Sabbath after his Hebrew birthday.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eKiddush [Hebrew: sanctification] is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. In many synagogues congregants gather for Kiddush reception after the Friday night or Saturday morning service to recite the blessing over wine or grape juice and have something to eat.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eA bat mitzvah [Hebrew: daughter of commandments] is a rite of passage for Jewish girls aged 12 years and one day according to her Hebrew birthday. Many girls have their bat mitzvah around age 13, the same as boys who have their bar mitzvah at that age. The bat mitzvah girl is now duty bound to keep the commandments. Synagogue ceremonies are held for bat mitzvah girls in Reform and Conservative communities, but it has not won the approval of Orthodox rabbis.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003e“Chumash” is another word for Torah or the Five Books of Moses of the Hebrew Bible.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eYom Kippur [Hebrew: “day of atonement”] The most sacred day of the Jewish year. Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast day. Most of the day is spent in prayer, reciting yizkor for deceased relatives, confessing sins, requesting divine forgiveness, and listening to Torah readings and sermons. People greet each other with the wish that they may be sealed in the heavenly book for a good year ahead. The day ends with the blowing of the shofar (a ram’s horn).\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eKol Nidre is an Aramaic declaration recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHebrew for “platform.” The bimah is a raised structure in the synagogue from which the Torah is read and from which prayers are led.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eOrthodox Judaism is a traditional branch of Judaism that strictly follows the written Torah and the oral law concerning prayer, dress, food, sex, family relations, social behavior, the Sabbath day, holidays, and more.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=72.0,1640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eJewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is a regional branch of Jewish Federations of North America. It is an organization that focuses on serving the Atlanta Jewish community through philanthropic endeavors such as supporting infrastructure, including schools and synagogues. Federation supports the Jewish community but also welcomes people of various backgrounds, including interfaith, LGBT+, and multiracial people and families.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eShul is a Yiddish word for synagogue that is derived from a German word meaning “school,” and emphasizes the synagogue's role as a place of study.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eEmory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as \"Emory College\" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of higher education in Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eGeorgia Institute of Technology, which is commonly referred to as Georgia Tech is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta. It was founded in 1885 during Reconstruction as part of the plan to build an industrial economy in the post-Civil War South.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eGeorgia State University is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1913 and today has seven campuses around the Atlanta metro area. It is part of the University System of Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eSara Bookman Duke (abt. 1944) is from Englewood, New Jersey. She has worked as an Educational Consultant. In 1964, she married Dr. Marshall Duke, and they have three children. Sara and Marshall have been members of Congregation Shearith Israel since the 1970’s. She has been active with the synagogue’s membership committee at various time over the years.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=1776.0,2441.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eEdward “Ed” David Krick (1916-2000) was one of three children born in Atlanta, Georgia to Isaac Krick and Etta Levin Krick. Ed grew up in the Washington-Rawson neighborhood. He started out in the grocery business with his brothers and later went into real estate. He and his wife, Gertrude Fierman Krick, raised two children and were active in the Atlanta Jewish community. As a young man he was active in the Shearith Israel Juniors, a chapter of Young Judaea. Ed served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel, and on the boards of the Atlanta Jewish Federation, the Atlanta Jewish Community Center and the Zionist Organization of America. Ed was also a co-founder and later president of the Greenfield Hebrew Academy, where Gertrude served as assistant principal in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Ed and Gertrude’s papers and oral histories are housed at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2470.0,2682.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eLeon Tuck (1932-2021) was an Atlanta, Georgia native and son of Joseph and Libby Kantor Tuck. He attended Hoke Smith High School and the University of Georgia. Leon married Rhina Shaffer in 1957, and they had two sons and four grandchildren. He was a member of Congregation Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2470.0,2682.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Northern District of Georgia is the United States District Court that serves the residents of 46 counties in northern Georgia. Appeals from cases brought in the Northern District are to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2708.0,3071.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eUnitarianism is a nontrinitarian sect of Christianity. They affirm the unitary nature of God as the singular and unique creator of the universe, believe that Jesus Christ was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and that he is the savior of mankind, but he is not equal to God himself. They sit outside of traditional mainstream Christianity.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2708.0,3071.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Episcopal Church is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination. It is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It was founded in 1785 after the American Revolution, when it separate from the Church of England over the requirement of clergy to swear allegiance to the British monarch as the leader Church of England.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2708.0,3071.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe High Holy Days are the two holiest times of the Jewish calendar: Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=2708.0,3071.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” ADL fights antisemitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals, and protects civil rights.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3099.0,3459.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAntisemitism is prejudice against, hostility to, or hatred of Jews.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3099.0,3459.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eJosh D’Agostino (b. 1976) is an Atlanta, Georgia native. He attended Riverwood High School and Tufts University. In 1998, he graduated from the University of Texas, Austin. He currently is President and CEO of Mighty Auto Parts. He served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel from 2013 to 2017 and as president and vice president for Inman Park Cooperative Preschool from 2009-2013.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3459.0,3460.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eShabbat (Hebrew) or Shabbos/Shabbes (Yiddish) is the Jewish Sabbath and is observed on Saturdays. Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday night and is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting a blessing. It is closed the following evening with the recitation of the havdalah blessing.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3726.0,3891.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559/annotation_set/1894/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Elana Zelony is from Sunnyvale, California. In 2009, she was ordained at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Education from American Jewish University. She served as Assistant Rabbi at Shearith Israel in Atlanta and Director of Congregational Learning at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Franisco. She is currently the rabbi at Peninsula Sinai in Foster, California.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/148247/file/272559#t=3892.0,4215.0"}]}]}]}