{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/445h991b4n/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Gansler, Gillian"]},"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":["2025-03-17 (captured)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Gansler, Gillian (Interviewee)","Rosenberg, Robin (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum","Esther and Herbert Taylor Jewish Oral HIstory Collection","Shearith Israel's Presidents Program, Lessons in Leadership"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eGillian Gansler was interviewed by Robin Rosenberg on March 17, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e (general)","\u003cp\u003eGillian Gansler was born on May 31, 1959, in Summit, New Jersey to Jacques “Jack” Gansler and Alison Friend Gansler. Her parents also had one son, her younger brother, Douglas Gansler. Gillian’s parents later divorced, and her father remarried, Leah Calabro and they had a daughter Christine. Gillian grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian began her career working for political campaigns, including working for Senator Edward Kennedy and Congressman Edward J. Markey. She has spent much of her professional career working in early childhood education and currently works as the Director of Business Development for Teaching Strategies, LLC. In May 1988, she married Michael Kanell, and they moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. They have two children, Jenna and Vance. Gillian and her family belong to Congregation Shearith Israel. She has been active in the synagogue, serving on the education committee, board of trustees and president of the congregation. She has also served on the board and chair of the board for Rebecca’s Tent, a women’s homeless shelter that was started by Congregation Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e (bioghist)","\u003cp\u003eGillian begins the interview by discussing the years she served as president and about her and her family joining Congregation Shearith Israel. She mentions her early involvement on the education committee, and later involvement on the synagogue’s board. She recalls being asked to serve as the synagogue president, and her concern that she might not be a good fit to serve as president. Gillian discusses some of the challenges of being the president during the early years after the congregation becoming an egalitarian Conservative synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShe recounts some of the challenges she faced during the years she served as president. Gillian also reflects on what the most fulfilling parts were while serving as president and the important sense of belonging to the community. She shares her disappointments while serving as president and the process of picking a second rabbi. She talks about having to learn more about the religious parts of the Jewish faith while president. She mentioned that her background working on political campaigns prepared her for the politics within the synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian discusses what specific goals she went into the presidency with. She reflects on how time consuming being the president was and the challenge of balancing that with her family and job. She shares that she wishes she could have fixed the plumbing issues before it became a problem during her presidency. She also mentions rethinking the decision around hiring a second rabbi. Gillian discusses the individuals she sought out for advice during her presidency and working with Rabbi Norry. She reflects on the impact the presidency had on her personally and as a synagogue member.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian talks about the impact that other past presidents’ involvement had on the board’s actions. She shares what qualities make a successful president and what the synagogue should look for. She reflects on some of the challenges for the synagogue when they became part of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. She discusses the qualities needed in board members and the advice she would give to future leaders. Gillian concludes the interview by discussing the history of and her involvement with the women’s homeless shelter, Rebecca’s Tent.\u003c/p\u003e (scope content)"]}},{"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":["Gansler, Gillian (b. 1959) (personal name)","Slomka, Howard (b. 1969) (personal name)","McLaughlin, Denise (b. 1948) (personal name)","Norry, Rabbi Hillel (b. 1965) (personal name)","Zelony, Rabbi Elana (b. 1977) (personal name)","Rothenberg, Jerry (b. 1955) (personal name)","Jacobson, Ed (b. 1945) (personal name)","Fuchs, Barry (b. 1951) (personal name)","Easton, Annette Tinter (1928-2024) (personal name)","Rosen, Robin Grossman (b. 1968) (personal name)","Axelrod, Jane Lewis (b. 1934) (personal name)","Axelrod, Hebert (1931-2024) (personal name)","Duke, Sara Bookman (b. 1944) (personal name)","Duke, Dr. Marshall (b. 1942) (personal name)","Spiegel, Helen Wasserman (1923-2017) (personal name)","Spiegel, Frank (1920-2018) (personal name)","Wilson, Rabbi Marc (b. 1949) (corporate name)","Congregation Shearith Israel (corporate name)","Jewish Theological Seminary of America (corporate name)","United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (corporate name)","Rebecca’s Tent (topical term)","Conservative Judaism (topical term)","Kashrut (topical term)","Rosh HaShanah (topical term)","Yom Kippur (topical term)","Shabbos (topical term)","Shul (topical term)","Bat mitzvah (topical term)","Bar mitzvah (topical term)","High Holy Days (topical term)","Atlanta, Georgia (geographic term)","Frank, Tal (b. 1972) (personal name)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eGillian Gansler was interviewed by Robin Rosenberg on March 17, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eGillian Gansler was born on May 31, 1959, in Summit, New Jersey to Jacques \u0026ldquo;Jack\u0026rdquo; Gansler and Alison Friend Gansler. Her parents also had one son, her younger brother, Douglas Gansler. Gillian\u0026rsquo;s parents later divorced, and her father remarried, Leah Calabro and they had a daughter Christine. Gillian grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree in political science and government.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian began her career working for political campaigns, including working for Senator Edward Kennedy and Congressman Edward J. Markey. She has spent much of her professional career working in early childhood education and currently works as the Director of Business Development for Teaching Strategies, LLC. In May 1988, she married Michael Kanell, and they moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. They have two children, Jenna and Vance. Gillian and her family belong to Congregation Shearith Israel. She has been active in the synagogue, serving on the education committee, board of trustees and president of the congregation. She has also served on the board and chair of the board for Rebecca\u0026rsquo;s Tent, a women\u0026rsquo;s homeless shelter that was started by Congregation Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eGillian begins the interview by discussing the years she served as president and about her and her family joining Congregation Shearith Israel. She mentions her early involvement on the education committee, and later involvement on the synagogue\u0026rsquo;s board. She recalls being asked to serve as the synagogue president, and her concern that she might not be a good fit to serve as president. Gillian discusses some of the challenges of being the president during the early years after the congregation becoming an egalitarian Conservative synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShe recounts some of the challenges she faced during the years she served as president. Gillian also reflects on what the most fulfilling parts were while serving as president and the important sense of belonging to the community. She shares her disappointments while serving as president and the process of picking a second rabbi. She talks about having to learn more about the religious parts of the Jewish faith while president. She mentioned that her background working on political campaigns prepared her for the politics within the synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian discusses what specific goals she went into the presidency with. She reflects on how time consuming being the president was and the challenge of balancing that with her family and job. She shares that she wishes she could have fixed the plumbing issues before it became a problem during her presidency. She also mentions rethinking the decision around hiring a second rabbi. Gillian discusses the individuals she sought out for advice during her presidency and working with Rabbi Norry. She reflects on the impact the presidency had on her personally and as a synagogue member.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eGillian talks about the impact that other past presidents\u0026rsquo; involvement had on the board\u0026rsquo;s actions. She shares what qualities make a successful president and what the synagogue should look for. She reflects on some of the challenges for the synagogue when they became part of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. She discusses the qualities needed in board members and the advice she would give to future leaders. Gillian concludes the interview by discussing the history of and her involvement with the women\u0026rsquo;s homeless shelter, Rebecca\u0026rsquo;s Tent.\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/000/283/718/small/Gansler_Gillian.mp4_1753835144.jpg?1753835150","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Gansler_Gillian.mp4"]},"duration":2328.01914,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/283/718/small/Gansler_Gillian.mp4_1753835144.jpg?1753835150","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-thebreman.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/283/718/original/Gansler_Gillian.mp4?1753835138","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":2328.01914,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Gansler, Gillian [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Today is March 17, 2025. My name is Robin Rosenberg, and I am interviewing Gillian Gansler, 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 Breman Museum in recording this conversation. Gillian, thanks for taking the time to talk about your presidency. Why don't we start with the dates you served as president, how you came to the position, and a little bit about what Shearith Israel was like.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e First, thanks for having me. I'm very honored to be part of this project. It's great leadership on your part. Let's see, so I was president of Shearith Israel from 2007 to 2009 . . . My husband and I, actually, and our very young daughter at the time, moved to Atlanta in 1996, two weeks before the High Holidays, and decided that we needed to find a synagogue. We wanted a Conservative synagogue, and we wanted an egalitarian synagogue, but we looked at Shearith Israel and another one and we felt much more comfortable at Shearith Israel, even though it wasn't egalitarian at the time. Shortly, fast forward, they became egalitarian, Shearith Israel became egalitarian, and then we joined, and I became very active. I initially became very in the education committee, and then there was a moment that the education director left . . . or the executive director left and so the education person became executive director, all those kinds of things. I was continuing to be on the board and sort of moved up the ranks of the board. Then I was executive, or I think at the time it was just vice president when Howie Slomka was president.  I just got more and more involved and really enjoyed it and the community always felt so warm and welcoming and next thing I knew they were asking me to be president even though I was like no, me, no, uh-uh. Because it was kind of a not fit for me because I was raised in a very unreligious family, Jewish, from way back when, but not religious at all. I wasn't sure I was the right fit. I met with the rabbi and the other leaders at the time, and they said, \"No, you are, it's okay.\" Also, the other thing, I brought up egalitarian, because the other was the only other female president prior to me had been Denise [McLaughlin]. When I went to Denise and I kept, during my presidency I kept going and asking her, \"Well how did you handle this?\" [She said,] \"I don't know we weren't egalitarian.\" Felt like I was breaking a little new ground sometimes because some of the smaller things . . . Should I be on the bimah on the High Holidays? Should I be wearing a tallis? Should I be wearing a kippah? What should I be doing and kind of had to figure it out, because there had never been a female president when we were egalitarian. That was fun, that was new. I wasn't sure I was the one that should be breaking that ground because, again, I was not from the religious background. My husband actually had been raised in a more Conservative synagogue and so his family kept kosher, and my family didn't even know what kosher was even though they were all Jewish. It was kind of, that was a little bit interesting. But I enjoyed it, it was a great experience.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Who was the rabbi then?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=222.0,224.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Rabbi [Hillel] Norry.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=224.0,228.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Thinking back, and you may have begun to approach this, but what was most challenging, and was there a defining event or issue during your presidency? What were the big challenges?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=228.0,242.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e There were big challenges because Rabbi Norry had his own ideas about what we should do. He had brought this congregation to become egalitarian and to join the Conservative movement, which I fully supported, and I was so excited about. A lot of people agreed with me in the congregation. Then there were those that didn't. Then there were those that also weren't 100 percent sure about his style, and so there was a lot of controversy around that. There was a lot of controversy around he wanted to overhaul the religious school and make it Machaneh Shai which it still is to this day, which was great, which was part of his legacy so there were a lot those kinds of battles. Then there were the really unexciting battles like my second High Holiday. My first High Holiday actually was when there was mold in the religious school and we usually used the religious schools for children's services, and literally a couple days before we had to move everybody to a different building, and that became a whole thing. Then there were other controversies like, and you're going to laugh when I say this, but the plumbing went during my presidency. There were those kinds of, so there was the religious, which prayer book are we going to use, which Chumash were we going to us on the High Holidays. Then there was, the bathrooms aren't working level of . . . When you're president of a synagogue, you deal with all of those kinds of things. You have to, okay, we suddenly need all this money for new bathrooms. Not a very exciting thing to ask people for money for, but we had to. My second High Holiday appeal was all around plumbing. The first one was all around reforming our religious school and the building that went with it, because that's a very old building, as you know. President of a synagogue you'd be getting involved in religious issues, community issues, personnel issues, that's another thing that we had when I was president, and the building issues. Some are more exciting than others.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=242.0,377.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e What was the most fulfilling part, or I should say surprising and then fulfilling, and you may have talked about some of those things you didn't anticipate having to think about. How did it feel? What was the good part?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=377.0,392.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e The most fulfilling thing, so I was thinking about this when you asked me that question. The most fulfilling part was that Shearith Israel is a really special place and a very old community. There are so many families that have been there for decades, generations, and I wasn't part of that. I was a new kid on the block in some ways, even though we've been a member now for 30 years. But that's new kid on Shearith Israel terms. The most fulfilling part, though, was being part of that community and leading that community in a lot of ways. I was thinking the other day about there was a past president who died when I was president, who was part of a big, extended, multi-generational family at Shearith Israel. I think the fourth generation there just had their bar mitzvahs there. Going to shiva at their house and feeling I was part of the community and everybody knew who I was because I was president of the synagogue, that was so fulfilling was to be included in those kind of conversations and to be including in that level of community as well as the big community. The hundreds of people on High Holidays but then the smaller community. This wasn't a small shiva because they were members for four generations. Those kinds of things, the community aspect was the most fulfilling to me personally because also, because again, I wasn't from a religious background, and I didn't have that sense of community in my own upbringing. Because a lot of my family intermarried and a lot them, so when somebody passes away in our family, it's a small little crowd. Then there's discussions about where are they going to be buried, what are we going to do? Whereas in Shearith Israel, it like, especially in a family like that. There's no question your part of this community and I liked that a lot. That was really fulfilling to be considered part of that community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=392.0,513.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e How about disappointments? Were there a few?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=513.0,517.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Sure, there were disappointments. People that I asked for money and said no because I don't want to give you money for the plumbing . . . There was some, a lot of contentious board meetings. One of the things that happened when I was president is we made the decision that we needed a second rabbi. The board made a decision we needed a second rabbi. How do we go about that? It wasn't a unanimous decision. I'm not going to stretch that, but they made a decision they needed a second rabbi. I went with Rabbi Norry up to New York to JTS [Jewish Theological Seminary]. I paid my own way. He paid his own way. We . . . were doing this to see who we could find, and that was actually really exciting. That was a learning experience to me, because there was a time in my youth where I wanted to be a rabbi. That really exciting, because we had, I'd go from these really contentious board meetings where everybody was screaming and yelling at each other about whatever the issue of the day was. They were a lot more heated in those days than my understanding is that they are now. I'd go from that, and then I went with him to JTS, where he was somewhat of a rock hero. Everybody knew who he was, because he had led us to become Conservative. We had the most number of applicants wanting to be the assistant rabbi under him. It wasn't because we were such a wealthy or well-known congregation, it was because they wanted to be mentored by him. We had this huge number of applications, and a lot of them were women, because of the whole egalitarian thing. That was really a wonderful experience to me. We spent like two days locked in a room, interviewing assistant rabbis over and over and over again. Finally settled on our final three people. We invited them to Atlanta and then we ended up hiring Rabbi [Elana] Zelony, which was a great hire. She was fabulous. But that process was interesting to me, it was a lot like speed dating. Like one after another, and wait, were you the one that does this? But that was a great experience also. Seeing JTS, I'd never been on the inside of JTS. I had driven by and seen what it was like but seeing it from the inside. Because we got up each morning and went to minyan. We did the whole JTS experience, and that was fascinating for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=517.0,658.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e What do you think that you uniquely brought to the role, and I'll ask this in two ways. How were you prepared? What did you have to learn, and did you bring some specific skills into the position?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=658.0,678.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e What I had to learn was the religious side. Had to learn more about kashrut, even though at the time my house was kosher. I had to learn more about how to make sure that anything we did at the synagogue was kosher to a higher standard. I had to learn a lot about the religious aspects, kashrut, and prayer books. I went to all the ritual committee meetings to try and learn. Not to sway them one way or another, just to learn. That was what I wasn't prepared for. Like I remember, there was one time on one of the High Holidays where Rabbi Norry just stood up and he was like, \"I'm going to lead the davening, I need you to be calling out the page numbers.\" I was like, \"Oh, okay.\" I think Howie recognized it within the first couple of sections that I was kind of in over my head and so he looked at me and he motioned to me, \"Do you want me to come up there?\" \"Yes.\" He came up and bailed me out because that was what I was not prepared for. I was not prepared for the senior rabbi just standing up and telling me I was in charge, and because I don't know how to run a High Holiday service. I don't remember if it was Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur, but it was a big deal. All I had to do was call out pages, but you've been at the Shearith Israel, you flip around, you go here, you go there. Yes, it was a little overwhelming. That was what I was not prepared for. But I think I was a little more prepared for, because my background is in politics, I'd worked on a lot of political campaigns, so the politics of the synagogue are different, but not. I was a little more prepared for some of that, even though I think it got more intense than I was prepared for. The other thing that I did not enjoy is all the hiring and firing, the staffing stuff. I tried to turn it all over to a personnel committee, but then they said, \"You have to be on the personnel committee because technically, if you're the head of the board, you are the supervisor of the rabbi, the executive director, all of the senior staff.\" That was more of a challenge than I bargained for because there were some issues when I was president, and we had a changeover in executive directors and all of that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=678.0,824.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Did you go in with a specific goal in mind?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=824.0,828.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e I went in with the specific goal in mind that I've got two years to do the most that I can do and bring the synagogue to the next level whatever that meant, so it depended on what the issue is. I remember it was like having a second full-time job. At the time actually, I remember telling a friend of mine I work 30 hours a week for my paid job. Now I'm full time but at the time I had two young children. I have 30 hours week at my paid jobs and 30 hours per week at Shearith Israel and that's exactly what it was. It was a balance. I would work at my regular job and then at night I would be president of the synagogue. We started, one of the things that I started was doing weekly e-blasts instead of a paper on Shabbos for what's going on this week and whose birthday is it or whose bar mitzvah is it or whatever. Because I'd started, I did it because no one else had figured out the system until eventually I was like, okay, somebody else needs to do this. But so, I would be doing that most nights is gathering, having everybody send me information and putting it in template of whatever we did. Now we use a different system now. But so, it was having a second job, very much having a second job.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=828.0,903.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Is there anything that you wish you could have done over? How would you have done something differently if you had a chance?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=903.0,910.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e I would have gone back 20 years and fixed the plumbing before it broke. Because literally, we had to close some of the bathrooms on the High Holidays that year, because we were worried that there was going to be a huge problem when you put 1,000 people in a building with plumbing that's going on Saturdays, not working on Saturdays. Then I started digging and found out that actually there were a lot of people that were aware that that was a problem a couple of decades before. Everybody just kept kicking the can down the road, and all of a sudden it was at my feet. Yes, would I have . . . I don't know if I would have gone about the hiring of the second rabbi the same way, because I feel like we did the right thing. We did what we needed to do at the time, because we were a growing synagogue and we needed more support. I might have turned over the newsletter to somebody sooner than I did because I kept doing it even after I was president for another two years and then I just decided I can't. I have another job. I have a family. I can be spending every Thursday night up until midnight doing the synagogue's what's going on this week.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=910.0,980.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Some of these are pretty significant problems to solve. When you were faced with that, who did you seek out for counsel or advice? Who did you count on? How supported were you and kind of by whom?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=980.0,997.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Mostly I sought out Howie, because he had done it, the term before me. But he and I didn't always see eye to eye about what should be done, but he was very helpful in a lot of the religious stuff. I sought out my husband, because was helpful in the religious thing too. I sought Jerry Rothenberg, because coming in after me, and I was like, you need to be aware of what's going on. I sought out Rabbi Norry, he spent a lot of time talking through things with me because that's just the kind of person he is. He was very supportive and he spent a lot time and we would have these meetings where he would be counseling me about things and then we'd end up getting angry at each other and then, we had an agreement that no matter what, even if I was saying one thing and he was saying another, we walked out that door, we were on the same page. I'm not sure that's always necessarily the case with a rabbi and a synagogue president. We just had an agreement that we were going to agree to disagree if it came to that. A lot of things, obviously, he was the final word. I wasn't going to argue with him about which prayer book we used. That wasn't my . . . but I might argue with him about which plumbing contractor we're going to hire or roofing contractor or what we're going to do with. We did change our staffing model when I was president. In the end, that maybe wasn't the best thing to do. It worked out, but we tried to split the executive director's job in two because we felt like it was too much for one person, just like being the rabbi was too much for one person. We struggled with finding who was that right second person. In the end, it came back to just an executive director.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=997.0,1103.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Yet the rabbi was involved in plumbing issues?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1103.0,1105.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e No, he was involved in building issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1105.0,1107.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e I mean building issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1107.0,1109.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e He was more involved than, not really deeply involved, but he was more in involved in saying, from a big picture, this is how we're going to structure it. This is how we’re going to structure, how we are moving forward in terms of building issues and life cycle issues and those kinds of things. No, he didn't choose the plumber. I didn't choose the plumber. I gave that to someone else.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1109.0,1135.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e You've talked about this a little bit already as well. What impact did your presidency have on you personally? Kind of your personally as a community member, as a synagogue member.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1135.0,1148.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e It's interesting, a lot of synagogue presidents, when I was becoming president, people would say, \"Oh, once you're done being president, you're never going to come near this place again.\" Because there were a lot of synagogue presidents, you look at that picture of all of them and there were some that by the time they were done being synagogue president, they were done, and they stopped coming to shul. Maybe they went to a different place, maybe they didn't, but I think they stopped coming. I stayed very, very involved for the first couple years afterwards. Then there were a lot of other political things within the synagogue that I was like, I need to take a break. I did take a break and stopped going to board meetings and wasn't going every Saturday. That kind of came back around. You get in where people are complaining to you about what kind of tuna fish you serve on the kiddush or something like that. I was, like, I don't care about that stuff. At some point it became too contentious, and I didn't want to have arguments with people about those kinds of things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1148.0,1206.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e I haven't asked this question of other people, but it occurs to me, so you continued on the executive committee as immediate past president was that correct?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1206.0,1217.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e We didn't have that at the time. I continued on the board as immediate past president and then we didn't have the council past presidents at the time which actually that was one of the things I wanted to do. I wanted to rewrite the bylaws, and I went through a whole bylaw thing, and it didn't work and so we didn't have that. I wish we had, because that is such a smart thing. Because we would have the past presidents, they would all show up at one meeting, or no one would show up. They'd all show obviously at the meeting where they wanted to weigh in on something, and so that was really disruptive as the president to have them be in and out. I think the council past presidents was a really smart thing, which I did try to do and unsuccessfully, and so, I wasn't. I was still on the board because all past presidents were technically on the board forever, for their life. It was a lifetime thing. Like actually the family that I mentioned where a past president passed away, he had been in a board meeting maybe a week or two before. You were there. Once you were past president, you where there. You could come any meeting you wanted to and not come any meeting you wanted. I still went to some meetings and then at some point I decided I don't need to be going to the meetings. It's time for Jerry to do this.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1217.0,1296.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e When you think about the requirements to be a successful president. What comes to mind? What do you think we should look for in a president?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1296.0,1311.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Somebody who's passionate about the community, passionate about improving the community. Somebody who is willing to stand up to congregants who want to tell you what to do. It's a little bit, some would tell you they wanted more of this and the same, and then some would tell you that they wanted less of whatever . . . and so you can't please everybody. You have to have somewhat of a thick skin and do what you think is right. You have to be that kind of person. I would not recommend it to somebody who has very young children. I know that Tal [Frank] struggled with that because my kids, when I said they were young, my daughter was in high school, so that was okay. But somebody who's got toddlers at home, I can't imagine. Yes, it was also hard because we were still going through, even though I was not the first president when the egalitarian Conservative change happened, but we were going through a lot of growing pains over those issues. Like when my daughter had her bat mitzvah, there were still a lot of questions and a lot of could she do this, could she do that. She was actually, though, the first female to read from the Torah at the bimah on her bat mitzvah on Saturday. But I wasn't president yet. I was just, at that point, just on the board. But there were still a lot of growing pains over that issue. It was a hard one for Shearith Israel. Really hard.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1311.0,1398.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e . . . Did the shul immediately become part of USCJ, the United Synagogue [of Conservative Judaism]?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1398.0,1405.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Not under, not when I was president. I'm pretty sure that was either Howie or maybe even Ed [Jacobson]. It was before. Actually, I think it was Barry Fuchs. I think was before, it was before my time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1405.0,1414.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Probably as soon as Rabbi Norry came?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1414.0,1417.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes. They hired Rabbi Norry with a specific goal, they meaning the board hired Rabbi Norry with a specifically goal of leading us to become egalitarian and being part of the Conservative movement. That was his charge that he was given. Which that particular move wasn't as bumpy as one might have thought because by that time the synagogue was ready for it. It was all the other things, you make the big move and then all the small things and I was still dealing with some of the small things, like how much authority does he have to run our religious school? How much authority does have to tell us how we're going to structure our staff? Is he the boss of the staff or is he not, not him personally but is the rabbi whether it's a male or female, are they the CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of the synagogue? There was a lot of controversy about that. He thought that they were, a lot of people thought that they aren't. There was a lot of controversy around those kinds of questions, which fell out of the, are you part of the Conservative movement?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1417.0,1479.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Those had to be pretty tough to resolve. Were those resolved during your term, that issue?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1479.0,1486.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e No, I tried. That was another one I tried. It wasn't resolved. I'm not even sure it was resolved in the next couple of administrations.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1486.0,1497.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e When we look at board members and making decisions about who to invite to join the board, what do you think we should be looking for? What qualities?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1497.0,1506.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e I think a commitment, I think some, I don't think you want everybody that's been there for years and years because that was a lot of board meetings you get, \"Well, when I was president\" or \"I was here 50 years ago, and this is what we did.\" You don't want people there pulling you back, but you don't want everybody rushing forward either. You want a blend. I feel like you need some new folks to push you forward because particularly families onto the board, families with young children. But you do need the history, you got to honor the history because we come from a long, proud history. Over a hundred years, that's a long time for a synagogue to have gone through what we went through, all the ups and downs and all the splits and all that kind of stuff. You need people that can reflect on that and can bring that to the table. That was one of the things I thought Rabbi Norry was good at because his family had been in Atlanta for a long, long time, so he knew the history. He wasn't coming in saying, \"This is what we're going to do,\" without acknowledging the history. He did do a lot of this is what we're going to do, but he acknowledged the history because his family had been part of that history and that was really, I think that's valuable both in, on the board to have people that acknowledge and respect and value that history as well as people that are going to move you to the next stage. One of the good things, USCJ, when I was president, USCJ, we finally started to pull them in to help us with some of these issues because we're not unique. We think we are, but we're not that. A lot of folks have gone through these issues and that was one of the things that I did that there was a woman, Shelly, who has since retired but she started coming in and I asked her to. When you asked about counsel, she was also somebody that I asked for counsel. How do other synagogues deal with when they [are] newly becoming part of USCJ? How do they deal with this issue or that issue? I don't even remember what some of the things I asked her, but she was another person that was good to rely on because she could give you a perspective. She was only the USCJ person for the synagogues in the Southeast so she could give you perspective about people that had grown up in a synagogue that had been in the Southeast, not necessarily somebody who was a New York synagogue that didn't struggle with some of the issues we struggle with. That was good counsel also.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1506.0,1650.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Using your wisdom and experience, and you've got a lot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1650.0,1651.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e I don't know about that wisdom. Experience, yes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1651.0,1657.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Think about Shearith Israel's strengths and challenges and maybe point to some of those and the advice that you could give to Shearith's future leaders.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1657.0,1668.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, that's a hard one because what Shearith Israel has as its strengths, over 100 years of history, a lot of longtime families that have been there for generations, and that's wonderful thing. Their children, their grandchildren are all raised there and all having their b'nai mitzvahs and all of that. That's just such a wonderful thing, and I feel like you have to value that and keep that in. But as I said, you can't let it hold you back. Because if we need to move in a different direction, then we need to move in a different direction. Maybe not all at once. Maybe baby steps are okay. That's the kind of, I would advise future presidents, don't come in like the bull in the China shop. Don't come in saying I'm going to change everything. Because I think when I first became president, I thought I was going to come in, and I've got two years I can make all these changes. Then I realized, the reality is you can make a few, and that's good. Then feel successful about those few and then what I was saying there were some that I tried to make, and I didn't and that's okay too because that's left for the next people to make.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1668.0,1738.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e You have continued to be involved with Shearith Israel. Talk about that relationship after you were president. I know some of it is very dear to your heart.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1738.0,1750.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes, so I still kept being involved, and I kind of shifted my involvement to Rebecca's Tent, which is the shelter that the synagogue started. We were the first synagogue in the country to start a shelter for people experiencing homelessness that was located on site and managed by the rabbi and the volunteers that started it. I became involved with Rebecca's Tent initially, like a lot of people did or do at Shearith Israel and other Jewish community. I'd bring meals and at the time we were having people sleep overnight so I slept overnight a couple times. I brought meals, I was just involved as a volunteer and then at one point, I still remember this so vividly. I had seen when I was coming one morning to the synagogue for something, I can't remember, I'd seen all the women leaving Rebecca's Tent early in the morning walking up the hill with all their belongings and it was cold and it was raining and everything like that. Then Annette Easton had been annoying me. She had been asking me multiple times to get more involved, and would I be on the board. I was like I don't have time to be on the board, and I was just president of the synagogue. I don't have time; I've still got children at home. Then I saw all those women and I'm like who am I to say that I can't help them. I'm going home to my nice warm house with my family and a stocked kitchen and who am I to say I can't help them. I finally went back to her, the next time she asked me, she asked me three or four times, and said, \"Okay, I'll do it. I'll be on the board. Won't do anything leadership wise, but I'll be on board.\" Gradually I became involved more in Rebecca's Tent and less on the board of Shearith Israel. I still came on Shabbos, and I still was involved in Shearith Israel, still contributed and still did something if I was asked. But I became less involved in the Shearith Israel community in the board, the structure, and more involved in Rebecca's Tent. For the last, somebody asked me the other day, for the last nine years I've been the board chair for Rebecca's Tent. I actually was, I did four terms as the board chair, and then this last year, I've been the co-chair because I believe for the organization's sake that it's time for somebody else to do it. Even though Rebecca's Tent has tended to have, Rebecca's Tent has been around for over 40 years, and we've had maybe four board chairs. We tend to, people sign on for two years and then the next thing you know they're there for eight or 10. That's been the trajectory, but I feel like after eight, it is time for someone else to take over. Robin Rosen has been my vice chair for the last few years and so I asked her to step up next year when my term is up, and she said she would if I did the co-chair with her for a year so she could kind of learn the ropes of, because there is a lot of stuff behind the scenes that the board chair is involved with so because Rebecca's Tent is so small and we can't afford a lot a staff and we can't have a lot women because of the lack of space. The board is very hands-on, much more than a lot of shelter boards are. There's a lot of stuff that the board chair is holding that you need to be transitioning to somebody else.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1750.0,1949.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Shearith Israel and Rebecca's Tent have a really interesting relationship, and it's a point of pride, I think, for the shul, that that's where it began. Can you talk a little bit about how it came to be?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1949.0,1962.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Sure. Rebecca's Tent was started in 1983. The rabbi at the time, it was Rabbi [Marc] Wilson. It was a particularly harsh winter, like we had this past winter where there was snow and ice and everything. He was seeing what I saw that day, of women on the streets right around in the synagogue neighborhood and turned to some volunteers at the time. It was Jane Axelrod. People are still involved. It’s Jane and Herb Axelrod. It was Sara and Marshall Duke. It was Annette Easton. It was Helen and Frank Spiegel were his initial core of people that he turned to and said, \"We got to do something. We at least, we have space downstairs, we at least have to provide shelter and meals for a small number of women for just the two weeks that are really bad around here.\" The Christmas, New Year's, because everything's closed, they have nowhere to go, people are on the streets, and it's cold, and its icy. They started, it was like five families and the rabbi just started and said we're going to we'll do this for two weeks. We'll have an overnight shelter and we'll . . . get our community to make meals and we put some cots in there and let folks stay. That was 1983, so 2025 we are still around. We have expanded our services. How many women we serve. How many months we go. What we can offer. But it's been gradual. We didn't hire a staff person until 2011 was our first full-time executive director. Up until that point it was all volunteers and volunteers applied for government grants and got some grants. We . . . could only stay open at night if we had what I would call supervision or some kind of oversight and so we had volunteers. People would sleep on the couches in the shelter while the women slept in the cots in the back room. All of our meals for the 45 years have continued to be donated. Our synagogue, other synagogues, now we've got churches, Boy Scout troops, sororities . . . All of the meals are donated. We have a little sign-up sheet on the website, which there was no website in those days. We've continued to grow. We are closing this coming Friday, so we're now open from mid-October to mid-March. Every year we add more days, because it's really driven by money. We now have paid people that stay overnight. There are people that work at other shelters or work during the day as social workers or whatever that'll take a night or two and they stay overnight. We've a paid executive director. We have hired, this year was our first year, we just hired a contract grant writer. The shelter was initially for many, many years was part of Shearith Israel. It's called the Night Shelter for Homeless Women at Shearith Israel. In the early 2000's, we started to realize that we were shut out of a lot of funding sources because we were associated with a religious institution. We couldn't get government grants from either federal, state, or local. That was our initial reason, but then there were other reasons we decided that we needed to become a separate organization, so we became a separate organization. It was right after my presidency, it was like 2010, that we split off. Because I remember when I was president that the person who was the board chair of the shelter at the time would . . . call me up and come over to my house so I could sign things because I had to sign a lot of their grants because the shelter was technically part of the synagogue and as the president of the synagogue I had to sign a lot paperwork. We split off and became a separate organization which has been good for the funding but we're not a separate organization. We're still there, we're in the same space. Most of our big donors, most of our volunteers, our Shearith Israel members. But one of the things that I've done as chair of the board of Rebecca's Tent is tried to expand, because we are a community shelter, tried to extend the board of the shelter. We now have a lot of people on the board who are members of local churches. We actually, one of things that we did a couple of years ago is we added somebody, a board seat that is reserved for somebody who was a former resident. Somebody who was homeless and . . . who's living in their own apartment with their own job and everything like that. We have a seat there because that person keeps us grounded when we say, \"Okay, we just got this grant for X. Should we spend it on this?\" That person can say, \"You know what? When you're experiencing homelessness, this is more important than that.\" It's not about painting the walls or something. It's about spend the money on social work or services or those kinds of things. That's been a good thing and having more churches represented on our board has been a good thing . . . Half the board is still Shearith Israel members. But we would get into these conversations, are you going to minyan tomorrow? My aha moment of that board was when somebody said, raised their hand who was not Jewish and said, \"What's a minyan?\" I realized, \"Oh, we've got to stop doing that.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e This has been great. Lots of excellent information so is there anything else that you want to share. You want to leave us with some, any pearls of wisdom.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=2276.0,2286.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, I don't have any pearls of wisdom. I feel like being a president of the synagogue was a great, great experience. It was great. It wasn't without its stresses and it's, there were some tears, but it was a great experience. It was because being a part of a great community, long-standing community like Shearith Israel gave a lot to me. I hope I gave a lot back to the community. It was just a great experience and so I encourage people to do it, to get involved. Because you get as much as you give.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=2286.0,2322.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eROSENBERG:\u003c/strong\u003e Thanks Gillian, thanks for your time and all of you who had to contribute.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=2322.0,2326.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/transcript/82009/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eGANSLER:\u003c/strong\u003e Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=2326.0,2327.0"}]},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Annotations [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/49","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/154682/file/283718#t=1.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/50","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/154682/file/283718#t=1.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/51","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/154682/file/283718#t=1.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eKashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jews are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér, meaning \"fit\" (in this context, \"fit for consumption\"). In colloquial English, kosher often means \"legitimate,\" \"acceptable,\" \"permissible,\" \"genuine,\" or \"authentic.\"\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eJewish men cover their heads during prayer with a small skullcap called a yarmulke (Yiddish), kippah (Hebrew) or yamaka (Yiddish). Orthodox Jewish men wear it at all times to remind themselves of G-d’s presence.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eA tallit or tallis is a prayer shawl fringed at each of the four corners in accordance with biblical law. The wearing of tallit at worship is obligatory only for married men, but it is customarily worn also by males of bar mitzvah age and older. In non-Orthodox congregations, women may also wear the tallit if they so choose.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/55","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/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/56","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/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHoward “Howie” Slomka (b. 1969) is a native of Florida. He attended Princeton and Georgetown Law School. He is a partner at Busch Mills, a law firm in Atlanta. In 1992, he married Andrea Seidel, and they have three children. Howie has served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel and serves on the boards of various community organizations.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAn egalitarian is someone who believes in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. In the context of Judaism, the discussion of “egalitarianism” usually revolves around equality of roles between men and women in the synagogue. As of 2022, most Conservative synagogues espouse egalitarianism for women in the congregation.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/59","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/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/60","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/154682/file/283718#t=40.0,222.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Hillel Norry (b. 1965) is a Conservative rabbi born in Rochester, New York. He studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. From 2002 until 2015, Norry served as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, certified firearms instructor, and plays guitar and harmonica.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=224.0,228.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eMachaneh Shai is the core curriculum at Congregation Shearith Israel religious school. It focuses on three content areas: Hebrew, the Torah and Israel. The program believes that parents and families are a key part of their child’s education and provides many opportunities for the children and parents to learn together.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=242.0,377.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/63","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/154682/file/283718#t=242.0,377.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/64","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/154682/file/283718#t=392.0,513.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/65","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. Shiva, 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/154682/file/283718#t=392.0,513.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City. Founded in 1886, It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=517.0,658.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Elana Zelony (b. 1977) 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/154682/file/283718#t=517.0,658.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eA minyan refers to the quorum of 10 Jewish adults required for certain religious obligation. While traditionally only males counted toward the quorum, in many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan. A minyan is needed in Jewish communal prayer for certain components of the regular daily or Shabbat services, reading from the Torah and haftarah portions in synagogue, and saying Kaddish, among other things. \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=517.0,658.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/69","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/154682/file/283718#t=678.0,824.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRosh HaShanah [Hebrew: head of the year] begins the cycle of High Holy Days. It introduces the Ten Days of Penitence, when Jews examine their souls and take stock of their actions. On the tenth day is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The tradition is that on Rosh HaShanah, G-d sits in judgment on humanity. Then the fate of every living creature is inscribed in the Book of Life or the Book of Death. Prayer and repentance before the sealing of the books on Yom Kippur may revoke these decisions.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=678.0,824.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eDavening is the act of reciting Jewish liturgical prayers during which the prayer sways or rocks lightly.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=678.0,824.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/72","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/154682/file/283718#t=828.0,903.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eJerry Rothenberg (b. 1955) is an Atlanta native. He graduated Briarcliff High School and Georgia Tech. He works as a project manager for a software company. Jerry has served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel and on several committee’s including human resources committee. He and his wife Amy have a daughter.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=997.0,1103.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/74","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/154682/file/283718#t=1148.0,1206.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/75","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/154682/file/283718#t=1148.0,1206.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eTal Frank (b. 1972) attended Columbus Academy in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University. He has worked for PhysicianLoans since 1997 and has been president since 2013. Tal served as president of Shearith Israel and also served as the co-chair of the Men’s Club for synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1311.0,1398.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eTorah [Hebrew: teaching] is a general term that covers all Jewish law including the vast mass of teachings recorded in the Talmud and other rabbinical works. “Sefer Torah” refers to the sacred scroll on which the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) are written, but it is often shortened simply to \"Torah\" in casual speech and writing.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1311.0,1398.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/78","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/154682/file/283718#t=1311.0,1398.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America. It is the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. The organization works closely with the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the international body of Conservative rabbis. The organization was founded in 1913.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1398.0,1405.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eEd Jacobson (b. 1945) lives in Decatur, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech. He is married to Gloria Jacobson. Ed is very active in Congregation Shearith Israel where he has been president, served on various committees, lead minyan and Shabbat services. In 2020, he was awarded the Joe Cohen Distinguished Service Award.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1405.0,1414.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eBarry Fuchs (b. 1951) was born in New York City. He and his wife Paulette live in Atlanta, Georgia and they have two children. He has served as president of Congregation Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1405.0,1414.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eB’nai mitzvah is the plural term or generic term used for the celebration of a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. B’nai mitzvah is often the term used when two people have the celebration at the same time, such as for a set of twins. The b’nai mitzvah is the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony that traditionally marks the tradition into adulthood for boys and girls.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1668.0,1738.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRebecca’s Tent, Spiegel Women’s Shelter at Shearith Israel is a shelter supported by in Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia. Rabbi Mark Wilson began it in 1983 with the help of Holocaust survivors Helen and Frank Spiegel. Originally, it provided hot meals and beds to women experiencing homelessness during winter months. Today, its services include workshops, career and financial coaching and a year-round case management program that provides former residents with ongoing support and resources.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1750.0,1949.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAnnette Tinter Easton (1928-2024) was an Atlanta native and daughter of Simon and Rae Zimmerman. She attended Girls High School. In 1948, she married Stanley Tinter, and they had four sons. Stanley died of leukemia, and she raised her four sons as a single parent. She later married Albert Easton She worked as a real estate agent. Annette was very involved at Congregation Shearith Israel including Chevra Kadisha, volunteering at the homeless shelter, served as president of Sisterhood and created needlepoint Torah covers.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1750.0,1949.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRobin Grossman Rosen (b. 1968) was born in New York. She attended the University of Virginia. In 1991, she married Micah Rosen and they live in Atlanta, Georgia. She works for Southern Gas Company. Robin serves as co-chair of the board for Rebecca's Tent.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1750.0,1949.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/86","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 attended Henry Grady High School and was a member of the Beta Club and DOZ Clube. She and her husband, Herbert Axelrod in 1953. They 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/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/87","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/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHerbert Axelrod (1931-2024) is an Atlanta, Georgia native. He attended Boys High School and the University of Georgia. He served in the US Army and served in the Korean War. In 1953, he married Jane Lewis, and they had two sons and a daughter. He and Jane were a member of Congregation Shearith Israel and were involved with the women’s homeless shelter Rebecca’s Tent.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eSara Bookman Duke (b. 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. She was a co-founder, along with Helen Spiegel, of the Shearith Israel homeless shelter for women, now known as Rebecca’s Tent.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eDr. Marshall Duke (b. 1942) attended Rutgers University and Indiana University where he earned his PhD. in psychology. He is a professor at Emory University. In 1964, he married Sara Bookman, and they have three children. They have been members of Congregation Shearith Israel since the 1970's.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHelen Wasserman Spiegel (1923-2017) was born in Nuremburg, Germany, immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1938 after Kristallnacht, and moved to Atlanta in 1946. She was a co-founder, along with Sara Duke, of the Shearith Israel homeless shelter for women, now called Rebecca’s Tent. She was a supporter of the Hebrew Academy; founding member of Congregation Beth El; chapter and regional president of Hadassah; and board member of the Jewish Home. She was a docent and educator of the Holocaust for the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718/annotation_set/1957/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eFrank Spiegel (1920-2018) was born in Fuerth, Germany. He left Germany in 1937 when he applied to the Jewish Agency to be relocated to Georgia. He was able to help his family escape Nazi Germany and they moves to Atlanta in 1941. He served in the Army during World War II, and later worked as a traveling salesman. He and his wife, Helen were married for 71 years and had three children. He and Helen were active in the Jewish community and helped establish the women’s shelter, Rebecca’s Tent at Shearith Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/154682/file/283718#t=1962.0,2276.0"}]}]}]}