{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/7p8tb0z761/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Lavinsky, Ira"]},"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":["2016-12-05 (creation)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky interviewed by Deborah Spector and Noah Levine on December 5, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e (general)","\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 22, 1944 to Harry and Ida Tucker Lavinsky. Ira’s grandfather immigrated to the United States from Russia. The entire family eventually came to the United States. Ira attended public elementary and high school in Brooklyn. He attended Hebrew school and was bar mitzvahed in a rabbi’s home that was converted into a little synagogue in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn. Ira studied music as a child and professionally, which led to his career as cantor. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1963, Ira left New York to attend University of South Florida and University of Tampa, where he earned a teaching degree. He became involved with Beth Israel Congregation in Tampa, where he sang in the choir. He was elected vice president of the Jewish student union at university and started the first religious service on campus, leading the service as cantor.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter graduation, he taught in Tampa for two years and continued to be active in the choir. Ira later took a teaching job at a high school in Statenville, a rural town in South Georgia, where he met his wife, Glynda. In 1970, they were married in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he remained very active in Jewish life. He served served the community by leading services as cantor and performing other duties in absence of a rabbi. Ira is recognized for his years of service as educator and cantor in the Jewish community in Fitzgerald and neighboring towns.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky passed away in Adel, Georgia, on August 20, 2017 at the age of 73.\u003c/p\u003e (bioghist)","\u003cp\u003eIra discusses his life career as a teacher and cantor. He talks about his involvement in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and the neighboring towns. He talks about growing up in the Crown Heights area in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended public school and Hebrew school at a little synagogue in a rabbi’s home in Crown Heights. He recalls that only Hebrew and Yiddish were spoken at the synagogue and that the men and women were separated. He talks about his friends from school, who were mostly Jewish, but his best friend was a Roman Catholic. He discusses how he started to sing at a young age and received praise and recognition from the rabbi who bar mitzvahed him.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra recalls that his grandfather was a very religious man and remembers attending service with him. He talks about his father, who spoke fluent English, recalling that he read the Yiddish paper, The \u003cem\u003eForward\u003c/em\u003e. He speaks fondly of his grandmother on his mother’s side, who lived with his family while she was sick. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra talks about going to college at the University of South Florida and University of Tampa, where he began to be active in synagogue and the choir. He talks about being elected as vice president of the Jewish student union and starting the first religious service on campus. He discusses his teaching degree and studying music. He reflects that it was through music and singing that he started to become active in synagogue. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe discusses teaching high school in Georgia, where he met his wife. He reflects on their marriage in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in 1970 and her conversion to Judaism. He talks about remaining in Fitzgerald, where he became more active as cantor and performing other duties in absence of a rabbi. Ira discusses the small Jewish population in rural Georgia and the challenges it has presented. He talks about his experiences there, particularly teaching, his interaction with teachers, the need for greater awareness of Judaism, and his contribution on educating others on Judaism. He reflects on the moments where he believed he was able to bring awareness through education in the schools. Ira discusses what has given him the most satisfaction living in an intimate community and what he believes was his greatest impact on Jewish life at Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation. \u003c/p\u003e (scope content)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["https://archivesspace.thebreman.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/28443"]}},{"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":["Lavinsy, Ira (personal name)","Fitzgerald, Ga (geographic term)","Brooklyn, NY (geographic term)","Tampa, FL (geographic term)","Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation (corporate name)","cantor (topical term)","Statenville, Ga (geographic term)","Bar Mitzvah (topical term)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky interviewed by Deborah Spector and Noah Levine on December 5, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 22, 1944 to Harry and Ida Tucker Lavinsky. Ira’s grandfather immigrated to the United States from Russia. The entire family eventually came to the United States. Ira attended public elementary and high school in Brooklyn. He attended Hebrew school and was bar mitzvahed in a rabbi’s home that was converted into a little synagogue in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn. Ira studied music as a child and professionally, which led to his career as cantor. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1963, Ira left New York to attend University of South Florida and University of Tampa, where he earned a teaching degree. He became involved with Beth Israel Congregation in Tampa, where he sang in the choir. He was elected vice president of the Jewish student union at university and started the first religious service on campus, leading the service as cantor.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter graduation, he taught in Tampa for two years and continued to be active in the choir. Ira later took a teaching job at a high school in Statenville, a rural town in South Georgia, where he met his wife, Glynda. In 1970, they were married in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he remained very active in Jewish life. He served served the community by leading services as cantor and performing other duties in absence of a rabbi. Ira is recognized for his years of service as educator and cantor in the Jewish community in Fitzgerald and neighboring towns.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra Lavinsky passed away in Adel, Georgia, on August 20, 2017 at the age of 73.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIra discusses his life career as a teacher and cantor. He talks about his involvement in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and the neighboring towns. He talks about growing up in the Crown Heights area in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended public school and Hebrew school at a little synagogue in a rabbi’s home in Crown Heights. He recalls that only Hebrew and Yiddish were spoken at the synagogue and that the men and women were separated. He talks about his friends from school, who were mostly Jewish, but his best friend was a Roman Catholic. He discusses how he started to sing at a young age and received praise and recognition from the rabbi who bar mitzvahed him.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra recalls that his grandfather was a very religious man and remembers attending service with him. He talks about his father, who spoke fluent English, recalling that he read the Yiddish paper, The \u003cem\u003eForward\u003c/em\u003e. He speaks fondly of his grandmother on his mother’s side, who lived with his family while she was sick. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIra talks about going to college at the University of South Florida and University of Tampa, where he began to be active in synagogue and the choir. He talks about being elected as vice president of the Jewish student union and starting the first religious service on campus. He discusses his teaching degree and studying music. He reflects that it was through music and singing that he started to become active in synagogue. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe discusses teaching high school in Georgia, where he met his wife. He reflects on their marriage in Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation in 1970 and her conversion to Judaism. He talks about remaining in Fitzgerald, where he became more active as cantor and performing other duties in absence of a rabbi. Ira discusses the small Jewish population in rural Georgia and the challenges it has presented. He talks about his experiences there, particularly teaching, his interaction with teachers, the need for greater awareness of Judaism, and his contribution on educating others on Judaism. He reflects on the moments where he believed he was able to bring awareness through education in the schools. Ira discusses what has given him the most satisfaction living in an intimate community and what he believes was his greatest impact on Jewish life at Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation. \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/000/106/416/small/Ira_Lavinsky.png?1619534147","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Lavinsky_Ira.mp3"]},"duration":3240.4898,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/106/416/small/Ira_Lavinsky.png?1619534147","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-thebreman.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/106/416/original/Lavinsky_Ira.mp3?1613988027","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mp3","duration":3240.4898,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Lavinsky, Ira [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: This is Deborah Spector. I am here with Ira Lavinsky on December 5,\n2016, at his home, 2601 Massee Post Road in Adel, Georgia. Thank you for\nagreeing to participate in the Taylor Oral History Project of the Breman Museum.\nLet's start with ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=0.0,30.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"your story about how you got involved with Jewish communal life.\n\nLAVINSKY: As a youngster, like many others, I went to Hebrew school. I went to\nHebrew school after I got out of public school, where you just go from one to\nthe other. It wasn't just me, it was all of my basic friends. I lived in Crown\nHeights in Brooklyn, New York, which was a very ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=30.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"religious area. I went for two\nhours. I didn't go every week. I wasn't really active in Jewish life at that\ntime, but when I went on to college in Florida, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=60.0,90.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I started to get more involved\nwith synagogue. It was just before Rosh Ha-Shana and Yom Kippur, so I did want\nto go to services for the High Holy Days. I started to go in Tampa, Florida,\n[at] Beth Israel Congregation. The president of the synagogue was across the\nstreet from university. I didn't drive, so he would drive me there and drove me\nback. There was a family in Tampa that were very friendly with me. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=90.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"They would\ngenerally have me over to their house just about every Friday night for Shabbos\nmeal, which I appreciated. Then, unfortunately, I don't remember which one of\nthem had a relative who passed away. Then I tried to come a lot more often. So,\nI was going to synagogue maybe... even though I was a college student...\nwhenever I didn't have class. I was probably going five times per week so they\ncould say Kaddish. As I was going to synagogue, the rabbi noticed because I had\na singing voice. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=120.0,150.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I've had some professional training too. Even as a youngster,\nmy parents sent me to a school for music, singing, and stuff. In college I took\nprivate lessons also. At Beth Israel, I joined the synagogue choir. I was at the\nUniversity of Tampa for a year and a half, and then I transferred to the\nUniversity of South Florida in Tampa. I joined the new Jewish ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=150.0,180.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"student union.\nThey just started up a new Jewish student union. I was elected the vice\npresident of the Jewish student union there. I was really shocked, because the\nperson who organized the Jewish student union ran against me. I started the\nfirst religious service because I could sing. The University of South Florida at\nthat time was so isolated from the world and didn't really have a ton of Jewish\nstudents, but I started a religious service on campus. I started conducting\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=180.0,210.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"services at the University of Tampa. Excuse me, at the University of South\nFlorida, I started conducting religious services. That was the first religious\nservice South Florida ever had on campus. It was long before they had Hillel or\nanything like that. The rabbi at the time, Rabbi Samuel Mallinger, taught me a\nlot of the melodies and stuff. I learned such beautiful melodies. I use many of\nthem still today. He gave me books and everything that the congregation, Beth\nIsrael, weren't ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=210.0,240.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"using. That was the start of really getting active in life.\nAfter I graduated college, I taught in Tampa for two years. I continued to\nattend at Beth Israel and joined there. Again, I was active in their choir. Then\nI taught for two years, as I was a school teacher in Brandon, Florida. I taught\ntwo years of school in student teaching. I was looking for a job up north. I was\ncertified. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=240.0,270.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I thought I wanted to get back closer to home. I was certified in New\nJersey and Massachusetts but not in New York. In all honesty, being single and\npicky, I really didn't want to teach something I really wasn't interested in.\nThe only jobs I was offered were in world history and geography. I didn't feel\nit was my background, and I didn't want to teach it. I wound up taking a job,\nwhich was almost like a misunderstanding. I ended up take a job for a teaching\nagency in Georgia. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=270.0,300.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"This is how I came down here. When I took this job, it turned\nout... I was a high school certified teacher, and this job turned out to be\nsixth grade elementary. I couldn't stay with the state certification I had. This\nwas in Statenville, Georgia, where I met my wife, Glynda. My wife is from\nStatenville, Georgia. She was a principal's secretary when I first came down,\nand that is how we met. Then I started going to services... ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=300.0,330.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I rode a couple of\ntimes to Waycross [Hebrew Center] because I knew Waycross synagogue was there. I\ndidn't know about the Fitzgerald [Hebrew] Congregation. There were two Jewish\nfamilies in Alma [Georgia] who attended services in Fitzgerald where I was\nteaching in Alma that year. One of them is the president of our synagogue, the\nsynagogue I go to now, Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation. Brett Fielding was his\nname. Mr. Fielding brought me to this congregation here. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=330.0,360.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Then, my wife and I\ndecided to get married. In all honesty, Glynda was not Jewish. I had to have her\nconverted. My parents were opposed to the idea. My parents told the rabbi at\nValdosta [Temple Israel/Valdosta Hebrew Congregation] not to convert her. When\nwe went to Fitzgerald, the rabbi at Fitzgerald agreed to convert her. That's is\nhow we started. The whole thing worked out for the best. That is how we started\nat Fitzgerald. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=360.0,390.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"We started Fitzgerald in 1968 or so. We were married in 1970 in\nFitzgerald congregation. There has only been one wedding since 1970. Rabbi\n[Nathan L.] Kohen married us. There have only been two weddings since 1970 at\nFitzgerald. That's been it. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=390.0,420.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"At that time, the rabbi was still alive for a few\nmore years, so I just attended services. After the rabbi passed away and after\nAbe Kruger passed away... Abe Kruger acted as the cantor there for many, many\nyears. I don't know how many years he was cantor before me. Krugers go back a\nlong, long time in that congregation, as you know. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=420.0,450.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Abe was a wonderful person.\nAnyhow, after he stopped doing it, I took over. Being a small congregation, we\nfelt that maybe we couldn't afford a full-time rabbi. So, I sort of took over\nthe duties, not only of cantor but more or less as rabbi as well because if\nsomebody had a situation... for instance, I remember Isaac Perlis. Their father\ndied and their mother died, the Hellers, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=450.0,480.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"and others. They wanted at least to say\nKaddish every week. I would come. We're 55 miles from here...55 miles from the\nsynagogue each week. I would drive 110 miles every week so they could say\nKaddish. They always appreciated it. If I hadn't done it, no one would have done\nit. That was when I really started conducting services there. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=480.0,510.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Around 1973-74,\nsomewhere in there, is when I really started actively doing this full time. Over\nthe years, I continued doing it at Fitzgerald and in Valdosta ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=510.0,540.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"since Fitzgerald\nonly has services once a month. I'd go to Valdosta some, as well, if the rabbi\nwas on vacation. Sometimes Georgia honor high school students would come to\nValdosta and attend services, where the rabbi explains Judaism to them. I've\nalso done services when the rabbi wasn't there, for him. They have been coming\nto Valdosta for about five or six years. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=540.0,570.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The rabbi asked me to cover for him\nbecause he usually goes to Israel every year. He has a son living there. His\nfamily is there. When he retires from here, he going to live in Israel full\ntime. I've done services for them. He is going back. I've done services for\nthem. I've never done services for Waycross, but I've done services for the\nrabbi in Valdosta a number of times, with him and without him. I've done\nservices ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=570.0,600.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"in Tampa. I used to do it in college. The other place, which is a cute\nlittle story. We were on vacation, and we went to St. Augustine [Florida] for\none day. St. Augustine had a synagogue. Now it is probably a lot bigger, but\nthey did not have a rabbi in St. Augustine at that time. They do now, but this\nis going back a lot of years. St. Augustine didn't have a rabbi, and we were\nthere. I introduced myself and said I do services at Fitzgerald. So, they asked\nme to do the services. I did the services for them in ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=600.0,630.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"St. Augustine, and they\noffered me the job for High Holy Days at St. Augustine. I had to turn them down.\nI said, \"I appreciate it, but I'm at Fitzgerald.\" I said, \"I can't do that.\"\nThat was a long time ago.\n\nSPECTOR: Do you remember when you were at the university, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=630.0,660.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"what years when you\nfirst went down to Florida?\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes. I was at the University of Tampa from 1961 to about 1963. Then I\nwas at the University of South Florida... it was a state college, from 1963\nthrough when I graduated in 1965. I stayed in Tampa two more years and taught in\nTampa. That was when I joined Beth Israel. Beth Israel, unfortunately, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=660.0,690.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"that is a\nsad story. I don't know because I left. Apparently, there was a fall out between\nsome of the members and the rabbi. What happened, they built another\ncongregation across the street and next block over. The rabbi moved, and they\nbuilt Temple of David. Temple David has actually survived, and Beth Israel did\nnot. I think Beth Israel became some housing there now. Temple David ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=690.0,720.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"became\nChabad synagogue [Bais David Chabad] in Tampa now. I think Chabad took it over\nway after Rabbi Mallinger died. I wasn't down here, so I'm not sure. My cousin\nwas a rabbi at Rodeph Shalom for a few years. Rodeph Shalom had a rabbi who was\nfairly well liked. Unfortunately, the man died in a plane crash [Rabbi Kenneth\nBerger]. He was loved. I told my cousin, \"Don't you take that job.\" He said,\n\"Why?\" I said, \"Because the man is like a legend down there. No matter how good\nyou are, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=720.0,750.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"they aren't going to like you.\" He was there, I think, for four years.\nHe had a contract. Then he had to leave and [he] moved on. He is a rabbi now in\nPhoenix, Arizona at a very big congregation there for about 14 years now. He has\nfound his place where he really likes. I told him, unfortunately, of my having\ncancer. I told him that I'm hoping he can make it down because I want him to do\nmy funeral if he can. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=750.0,780.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"My father wanted him to do his, and he couldn't. My cousin\nand I have been pretty close. I'm probably as close to him as anybody. He told\nme that he would try his darnedest to get down here and do the funeral for me.\nSo, it's nice. I've had a lot of moral support with different rabbis. Rabbi\nMoshe Elbaz from Valdosta called yesterday. My cousin has called me twice in the\nlast couple of weeks. I've had about five or six different rabbis contact me.\nAlso, old student rabbis. A few of them are in New York. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=780.0,810.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I've had a call from\nArizona, which was nice. It makes you feel you still are appreciated.\n\nSPECTOR: Sure. Would you like to take a break?\n\nLAVINSKY: Just a second, yes. I'm dehydrated.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: Is there anything unique to Jewish life in South Georgia, different\nthan places you grew up in, New York or Florida? ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=810.0,840.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Can you say what is unique to\nthe way the Jews participate or are involved in South Georgia?\n\nLAVINSKY: That is a very hard question. I'm not sure I can answer because in\ncertain areas it is different. For instance, at Fitzgerald the Jews have had\nmany Jewish businesses for a long, long time. Unfortunately, most of the\nbusinesses now are all closed or the people have all died out. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=840.0,870.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In Fitzgerald,\nthere never was any type of discrimination because you are Jewish. In Valdosta,\nto some degree, a lot of people know Jews, and there is a fairly good\nrelationship between the Jewish community and others. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=870.0,900.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Because, for instance, the\nlast rabbi spoke at different civic organizations and at churches too. There are\na lot of churches interested. So the Jews haven't experienced mass\ndiscrimination that I hear of in some other places in the south. I don't know if\nthat is the best way I can answer that to you.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: Did they participate in ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=900.0,930.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jewish activities? Jewish seders? Religious\nschool and youth group?\n\nLAVINSKY: Unfortunately, by the time I came to Fitzgerald, most of the kids were\ngone. To be honest with you, most of them have gone back to Atlanta. I've seen\npictures of previous seders with 30 to 40 children. You can see where they had\ncommunity seders, where there was over one hundred people, easily. Now the only\ntime you get a hundred people is for Rosh Ha-Shanah. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=930.0,960.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I did teach Sunday school\nfor a few years, but now all the children are gone. I did teach Sunday school\nfor only a few children. Valdosta has an active Sunday school, where Fitzgerald\nstill doesn't have that. In Valdosta, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=960.0,990.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"now we're trying to start teaching groups,\nencouraging them to learn Hebrew and learn about the Bible. The rabbi has been\nconducting classes in lieu of a service on Saturday mornings. He has been doing\nthese things here. Apparently, it was hard to get people to attend once every\nthree weeks on Saturday. In fact, Valdosta has never been able to get, that I\nknow of, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=990.0,1020.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"people to attend on Saturday morning. Now they are getting enough\npeople, but just for study. At our synagogue, what we do now, Friday night we\nhave our services. Saturday night we have an adult service. We have an adult\nstudy session. The rabbi picks a topic in advance and brings information on it,\nand we have a round-table discussion. It goes on a long time. On Saturday\nnights, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1020.0,1050.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"we usually start around 8:00 and don't get home until around midnight.\nIt is a very interesting discussion, and people seem to enjoy what we're doing\nover the years now. People enjoy talking about general topics relating to\nreligion, not necessarily politics, but general topics on what things mean and\nthings like that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1050.0,1080.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: How often do you have Shabbot services at Fitzgerald?\n\nLAVINSKY: In Fitzgerald, we try basically once a month. Sometimes we'll have it\ntwice a month. Sometimes we won't have it for a month and a half. We try to have\nit at least once a month now. When a student rabbi comes down from a Jewish\ntheological seminary, he and I conduct services Friday night, and I don't do\nanything Saturday night. He does it all Saturday night other than sing along. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1080.0,1110.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"He\nconducts Saturday nights himself. Friday nights, I probably do the majority of it.\n\nSPECTOR: You mentioned when we spoke on the phone, that you had some family\ncoming to Fitzgerald this weekend.\n\nLAVINSKY: Hopefully, yes. I mean, they are coming for sure.\n\nSPECTOR: Twenty-six down here?\n\nLAVINSKY: Twenty-six down here.\n\nSPECTOR: Can you tell us something ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1110.0,1140.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"about your family? Where your family was\noriginally from and how they got to Crown Heights in Brooklyn. Where were your\ngrandparents from?\n\nLAVINSKY: This is going to be hard for me because I was so little. The\ngrandparents on my father's side were born in Russia. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1140.0,1170.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"They are Russian. They\ncame to the U.S. How they got here, I really don't know the story. My father was\nborn in the U.S. One of his brothers and one of his sisters, by a previous\nmarriage, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1170.0,1200.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"were born in Russia. When I say previous marriage, apparently, my\ngrandfather was married. From what I understand, my grandfather was married and\nsomething happened. His wife died very young in her 20s. He was married to my\ngrandmother for over 50 years. The grandpa that I know. My grandfather was very\nreligious. I remember that. He was Orthodox. I remember one time ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1200.0,1230.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I rode with him\nto services. He said to me, \"Do you need the book?\" It was Friday night. I\nthought I had to have a prayer book but know it by heart because you are\nsupposed to look at the book in case you make a mistake. You might not be\nperfect. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1230.0,1260.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"My other side, I never met my grandfather on my mother's side. I'm not\nsure if she came from Poland or if she came from Russia. I think she might have\ncome from Poland. I don't want to swear on that. I'm not sure. I remember my\ngrandma. I was very close to my grandma on my other side because she lived with\nus for probably about 11 years until she just got too sick. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1260.0,1290.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Then one of my\nmother's brothers took her for a while. They finally had to put her in a nursing\nhome where she died less than a year later. My grandma lived with us. That's why\nI remember the little Yiddish that I picked up from my grandma. She would talk\nin Yiddish. My father spoke fluent English, but he could read Yiddish. My father\nused to read the Jewish paper in Yiddish paper every day. The Forward, I guess.\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1290.0,1320.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That was written in Yiddish at that time. He used to be able to read it in\nYiddish. This doesn't relate to this, but this will be an interesting story that\nyou can laugh at, which is true, though. Otherwise you probably won't hear this.\nGoing back to my bar mitzvah... this is really an interesting story to tell you.\nI told you I went to Hebrew school for a number of years. For my bar mitzvah I\nwanted to do a good job. I wanted to a ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1320.0,1350.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"private tutor, so my parents got me a\nprivate tutor for a year, which was nice. My father went to one of these little\ntiny synagogues. Of course the men and women were separated. Basically, it was a\nrabbi's home, which was converted into a little synagogue in Crown Heights. I\ndidn't like going to services there because the service was in all Hebrew, and\nthe sermon was all Yiddish, so I couldn't understand anything. This is one\nreason why I got away ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1350.0,1380.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"from the movement when I first turned 13 until I went to\nTampa. But this was the funny thing. I always told you I could sing. So, I did\nhaftorah, and it was beautiful. The rabbi comes up to me and says, \"You do a\ngreat job.\" I said to him, \"I didn't know you spoke English.\" That is a funny\nstory, but that is absolutely true. It was the first time I ever heard a little\nEnglish spoken in that synagogue. I had no idea he spoke English.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1380.0,1410.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: That's wonderful. Do you remember your grandmother's family name?\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes. My grandmother's family name was Tucker. T-U-C-K-E-R. Of course,\nmy father's was Lavinsky.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: When were you born? What day?\n\nLAVINSKY: I was born April 22, 1944, at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1410.0,1440.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: You went to junior high school and high school in...\n\nLAVINSKY: Brooklyn in the Crown Heights area. And elementary school.\n\nSPECTOR: Besides school and Hebrew school, what interests did you have? What was\nfamily life like? ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1440.0,1470.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I know you mentioned that your grandmother lived with you for\na while.\n\nLAVINSKY: Right. My mother's mother.\n\nSPECTOR: Did your brother and sister come over from Russia or did they stay in\nRussia? Did they live with you?\n\nLAVINSKY: You got confused. I told you my father I was born in this country. I\nhad a sister. My sister was born in this country.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1470.0,1500.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: So, you sister was born here.\n\nLAVINSKY: Right. We didn't have anybody born outside the U.S. except my father's\nbrother and sister, Uncle Jack and Aunt Faye.\n\nSPECTOR: But they stayed in Russia?\n\nLAVINSKY: They came. My whole family came to the U.S. I know one of them... They\nall came here.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: What did your father do?\n\nLAVINSKY: My father was a ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1500.0,1530.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"wholesaler in a hardware line. He worked independently\nfor himself. Today you would call him a peddler, I guess. He would go from store\nto store selling. He had his regular customers. That is what he did for a\nliving. He also worked for Armstrong racing sheet. I don't know if that is still\naround. He did that for a morning job, distributing racing papers. I remember that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1530.0,1560.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: I don't know if they are around or not. It would be interesting to find out.\n\nLAVINSKY: Armstrong was called Daily Racing Sheet.\n\nSPECTOR: Racing was very big. When you left New York and went to Florida, how\ndifferent was it for you, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1560.0,1590.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"coming from Brooklyn and going down into south Florida.\n\nLAVINSKY: That is a hard one. It would be easier to answer... Georgia was more\nof a culture shock to me. Tampa was a metropolitan area. You had Jewish people.\nWhen I came down here, in all honesty, my dorm was almost half Jewish. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1590.0,1620.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"This was\nin Tampa. When I transferred to University of South Florida, that was a\ndifferent story. When I transferred to University of South Florida, it was still\na new school, but there were very few Jewish students. On campus, I think there\nwere only 50 Jewish students, period. Maybe another 50 coming that lived off\ncampus. Again, I was so isolated. I didn't have a car. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1620.0,1650.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In New York, the driving\nage was 18. I left New York when I was 17, so I never could drive. I didn't have\na car. The only difference is, I really didn't associate, except for the Jewish\nstudent union, as much with Jewish people. In my dorm, I was the only Jewish\nperson on my floor. The guys... we all got ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1650.0,1680.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"along very well. We were close, but\nthey just weren't Jewish. Even when I was living in New York and living in\nBrooklyn, my best friend at school happened to be Roman Catholic. Even though my\nschool was primarily Jewish, my best friend was a Roman Catholic. He just called\nme up a few days ago. We keep in touch. In fact, he was down here a few months\nago visiting. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1680.0,1710.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"If you are at university, you are so isolated anyhow from\neverybody. I didn't have a chance to really get in the culture. I didn't get\ninto the culture until I came down here. This was a culture shock.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: How so?\n\nLAVINSKY: In many ways. When I first came down here... even in Valdosta, they\nknew about Jews already. When I first came down here to Statenville, there were\nno Jewish people in Statenville. Period. That's where my wife lived. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1710.0,1740.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I got this\nthing one time, \"Why don't you go back to live where your people are.\" That came\nfrom the principal I was working for.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: You were teaching sixth grade at the time?\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes, just for that one year. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1740.0,1770.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That was a culture shock because\nStatenville is very rural. When I came down, there was no place to even live in\nStatenville. They had one traffic light, and it wasn't working. I thought there\nwas no electricity when I first came down. Then I went to the school when I\nfirst came down... this is what I mean about culture shock. This is why I say I\nsaw it in Statenville. I didn't see it in Tampa as much. There was some in Tampa\ntoo. We'll go back. It is reminding me now. Here, I went ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1770.0,1800.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"to the school. I went\nthere to teach, and they started to laugh. I said, \"Why are they laughing? I\ndidn't say anything that funny.\" I found out they have a black school and a\nwhite school. I went to the black school. I didn't know from a black and white\nschool in New York City. I always attended integrated... I shouldn't say that.\nElementary was probably all white. They used to go by ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1800.0,1830.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"where you lived, and my\nneighborhood was all Jewish. So, elementary school was all Jewish. When I went\nto high school, I went to the first integrated high school in New York. I was\nused to being around people who were not Jewish. I had one African-American\nfriend, and we got along very well. We were very friendly from high school. Then\nI had, I told you, my best friend was Roman Catholic. We still keep in touch.\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1830.0,1860.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That was a culture shock down here when I saw things like that. I didn't\nexperience a whole lot of prejudice, but it was little things. A different\nprincipal I had down here... she and I got along. I got along very well with\nher, but there were still some differences. One day she was talking and made\nthis statement, \"I Jewed them down,\" when she was talking ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1860.0,1890.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"to the teachers. I\nsaid to her, \"Why did you say that?\" She was embarrassed. She said she was sorry\nfor the remark. But still, it was made. But this was serious. In Georgia, I did\nexperience this somewhat. I was fortunate. I lived in Lowndes County, which is\nthe next county over. This is Cook County? This county is south of Lowndes. I\nwas very fortunate, it's the only school ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1890.0,1920.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"in South Georgia, the only school even\nto this day that beats the national average every year. Every year. It beats the\nschools in Macon. Everybody. I mean, the only schools that come any closer are\nAtlanta's. Not in the city, either. But still, there are no Jews in Lowndes\nCounty schools. There were no Jewish teachers. To this day, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1920.0,1950.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"we've only had one\nJewish teacher I know of... he is a music teacher, since I've been here all\nthese years. Anyhow, this is where we had a problem. We always had a Christmas\nprogram and always had a door decoration. My particular class never had one\nbecause I didn't help with it. I said, \"Do you want to have it?\" Fine. It never\nstopped them. They can put up whatever they want on the door. They can put up\nwhatever they want. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1950.0,1980.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I don't care. They're children, you know. I didn't\nparticipate, but I'll let them do whatever they want. We don't have any Jewish\nstudents. First time, Jewish student comes to my classroom. Of course, she was\nJewish. In fact, they weren't supposed to probe her like that, but they gave her\nto me because they knew she was Jewish. Which is nice. What happened, she wanted\nto put up a Hanukkah decoration. She put up some Hanukkah decorations, which of\ncourse was ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1980.0,2010.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"fine with me too. The principal saw it and told her she had to take\nit down. I said, \"No way.\" I told the principal, \"You make her take it down,\nthat is fine with me, I'll take it down. But I guarantee we won't have Christmas\ndecorations up there either. I'm just not going to allow it. I'm not going to\nhave it.\" She said to me... We got along very well. We really liked each other.\nIn fact, I was at her funeral when she passed away. I thought the world of her.\nShe and I got along very well. Her name is Mrs. Peggy Griffin. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2010.0,2040.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"But I told her, I\nsaid, \"No way.\" She said, \"Ira, you've been here. We've worked together for four\nyears. You've never ever objected to doing Christmas.\" I said, \"Mrs. Griffin,\nI'm an adult. These are children.\" I said, \"It's not my holiday. I don't believe\nin it, but I let them have it because their holiday. I'm not going to take it\naway from them.\" I said, \"Surely, you are not going to take away my Jewish\nstudent's holiday. I'm not going to take it away from them.\" Surely, they are\nnot going to take away my Jewish student's holiday either. You're not going to\ntake that away.\" This went to superintendent of schools. The superintendent ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2040.0,2070.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"was\nmy former principal, who got I along with very well. He had been out in\nCalifornia, where there were a lot of Jewish people. He left teaching for a\nwhile and was selling medical supplies. He knew. He told her that you have to\nallow Christmas decorations. He said, \"I also allow you to have Hanukkah\ndecorations.\" He knew that, but we had to fight for that. That, to me is\nprejudice. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2070.0,2100.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"It's also ignorance. It wasn't so much prejudice as much as there is\nignorance. There is a lot of that that still goes on in South Georgia. In Tampa,\nit's hard to say. In Tampa, it's more sophisticated. It is a bigger city. Even\nthough I was isolated at University of South Florida. I've been back to Tampa\nand I know. Tampa isn't that way, I don't think. It's just too big a city, but\ndown here, where there is such a small amount of contact with Jews... It's\nimproved a lot because of this particular rabbi we've had ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2100.0,2130.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"down here in Valdosta\nfor about ten years. They really love him. He is good. He can get along with\neverybody. He's also very active with the church groups. It makes for a better\nrelationship. But when I first came down here in Valdosta... it wasn't\nprejudice. It was ignorance. Now every year in the newspaper, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2130.0,2160.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"they would ask the\nrabbi on Hanukkah... Every year during Hanukkah, there is an article, a big\narticle, a few pages, on Hanukkah in the local paper here in Valdosta. I don't\nthink there was as much down here in this area. There were also some Jews that\nmoved here that I got along with. I think there is a little ignorance. Just like\nteacher organizations. It always annoyed me every time I went to meetings... I\nwas active ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2160.0,2190.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"in the local teacher organization when I was a teacher... They would\nsay a blessing in Christ's name. I hated that. Finally, when the old president\nwas elected, a friend of mine, I said to him, \"Ron, I need them to cut that\nout.\" Ironically, that whole year they didn't do it. They don't think. It's not\ndone out of ignorance. It's done out of just not knowing any better. People need\nto be educated. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2190.0,2220.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"That's the way I feel about it.\n\nSPECTOR: It sounds like you made a significant difference.\n\nLAVINSKY: It takes time. You have to know how to do it. As I said, Fitzgerald\nnever really had that problem.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: You did it in a non-confrontational way.\n\nLAVINSKY: Right. I tried to be non-confrontational.\n\nSPECTOR: It sounds like it was very positive and started a long, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2220.0,2250.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"necessary process.\n\nLAVINSKY: I think so.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: Was Zionism important to the Jewish community at Fitzgerald or the\nJewish community at Valdosta?\n\nLAVINSKY: I don't think so.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: Morris Abram...\n\nLAVINSKY: Morris Abram was from Fitzgerald, but he was gone for so many years. I\nnever met him. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2250.0,2280.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I know of him. I don't hear much of Zionism. I haven't heard the\nterm in a long time.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: Did you celebrate Israel's Independence Day when you were involved\nat Fitzgerald?\n\nLAVINSKY: We generally didn't have a special celebration for Israel's\nindependence. They have had a few in Fitzgerald's service. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2280.0,2310.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I don't think the\nValdosta congregation does that. I don't want to say.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: The Holocaust...\n\nLAVINSKY: We do mention that every year. I think it is mentioned in both synagogues.\n\nGLYNDA LAVINSKY: Didn't they have some kind of program this year?\n\nLAVINSKY: Fitzgerald had some kind of a program. That was done mostly by ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2310.0,2340.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Penny\n[Penson] and Claudia Kaminsky. They did that, which was very interesting\nsituation, too.\n\nGLYNDA LAVINSKY: Wasn't it like a church?\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes. Claudia, since she has been down here, has done a lot for that\nsynagogue. Claudia is not Jewish. Claudia never converted, to my knowledge.\nClaudia does a lot for that synagogue, a lot more than anybody else the last few\nyears. Of course, she is a little younger, which helps ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2340.0,2370.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"too. Most of the\ncongregation is my age or older. I'm one of the younger ones. Unfortunately, I\nhave cancer now. She does a lot, but she never converted. She cooks a lot of\nJewish stuff. Just this past month, she cooked me a kugel. What else did she\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2370.0,2400.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"bring me? She made me extra stuff to give me. She knew I was sick.\n\nGLYNDA LAVINSKY: She is from Brazil. She made us flan.\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes, which is very good. It's funny because one of the members in our\ncongregation the last couple of years has done so much also for the\ncongregation, who is not Jewish, which is very interesting.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2400.0,2430.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: I noticed in your You Tube videos your Hanukkah decorations.\n\nLAVINSKY: I was going to take them down, but I haven't. I keep the dreidels here\nall the time. I have some Jewish things over there. All my Hanukkah stuff is out\nthere. I have a building out there. Not this building here, but the one other\nthere. I used to use as an office when I was teaching. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2430.0,2460.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I also bar mitzvahed a\nchild there -- not at the house but in the Valdosta congregation when they\ndidn't have a rabbi. They had a cantor. A nice one too. That is why I have some\nsort of relationship with Valdosta too. They had a cantor coming down once a\nweek, I think it was, from Jacksonville [Florida]. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2460.0,2490.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The cantor probably couldn't\nget along with this child. This child was very disabled. He had a conflict. He\nmight not be a professional teacher like I was. That's my thing. He couldn't get\nalong with the child. The child was disabled, and he couldn't teach him. The\nparents came to me and asked if I would teach him. They said, \"Can you teach him\nmaybe one prayer ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2490.0,2520.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"or maybe two for the bar mitzvah?\" His sister was a very\nintelligent girl. [She] went on to college. His sister did the whole service.\nEverything, which is what most of the children in Valdosta do now. They do\neverything. When I was growing up, we didn't do everything. We just did\nhaftorah. Now they do it all. Basically, they said, \"Can you teach him enough to\ndo one or two paragraphs. I told them, \"I'll teach him to do everything.\" They\nlooked at me like I'm insane. I told you he was learning disabled. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2520.0,2550.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"When we\nstarted, I found out very quickly that the child couldn't read. I didn't realize\nit was a real problem until he got started. I told the parents, they can come to\nmy house, that building twice a week, and I will teach him for an hour and a\nhalf. I didn't charge them. I said, \"I'm not going to charge you for that.\" I\nsaid, \"That's a mitzvah.\" What happened was... First of all, the prayer books ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2550.0,2580.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"in\nthose days weren't transliterated anyhow. They have one or two prayers\ntransliterated. I tried to teach him a transliteration prayer, but he couldn't\nread the transliteration. That's when I knew. What I had to do, I had to take\nevery prayer I transliterated... I had to break down the words into small\nportions so that he could pick it up. He couldn't pick up the reading. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2580.0,2610.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"By doing\nthat, by translating every single prayer for him in this way, they were amazed.\nThey just couldn't believe it when they heard what he could do in the end. He\ndid the whole thing with a special transliteration. At least he was able to do\nit. There was one condition... he lives in Valdosta. They said, \"What is the one\ncondition?\" \"He has to be bar mitzvahed in ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2610.0,2640.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald.\" I said, \"He is not going\nto Valdosta synagogue.\" That was my condition. He, of course, was bar mitzvahed\nat Fitzgerald. They have remained friends to this day. I was going to try to go\nthis past Friday to Valdosta, but I just didn't feel good. He is now an adult,\nand he and his wife come to Valdosta to host the one this week. His parents were\nalso there this week. I am sorry that I couldn't attend. He turned out to be\nrelatively ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2640.0,2670.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"successful. He's making a decent living. It's a happy ending story.\n\nGLYNDA LAVINSKY: His uncle lives here.\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes. His uncle lives here, which makes a good relationship between his\nuncle and me.\n\nSPECTOR: That started because you worked with him?\n\nLAVINSKY: Yes, right. I bar mitzvahed him. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2670.0,2700.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"There are a few stories like that in\nValdosta. I did a funeral for the rabbi in Valdosta when he was going to be\ngone. It wasn't one from his congregation. It was somebody else. I did a funeral\nfor him in Valdosta. I've done other services. For our congregation, I've done a\nfew unveilings. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2700.0,2730.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Valdosta congregation has a rabbi now. They have a very nice\nrabbi there. A lot of members are back now. Our congregation spoke with the\nValdosta congregation to get the services of a rabbi because we didn't have a\nrabbi for funerals ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2730.0,2760.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"so we would always know we would have a rabbi available\nunless the rabbi is out of town. For years, we had to go finding rabbis for\nfunerals. So, we have a working relationship. We pay a few thousand dollars a\nyear, I believe it is. The rabbi comes and does funerals for us or can do\nunveilings for us. I've done some of the unveilings too. Some people prefer that\nI do an unveiling because I know the people. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2760.0,2790.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"But the rabbi does come and do\nfunerals for us. That is going to bring the synagogues a little closer together.\n\nSPECTOR: Any other thoughts or reflections on being involved?\n\n[End Disk 1]\n\n[Begin Disk 2]\n\nSPECTOR: This is Debora Spector. This is ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2790.0,2820.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"the continuation of my oral history\ninterview with Ira Lavinsky.\n\nNOAH LEVINE: For all the years that you have been involved, what would you say\nis your greatest impact on Jewish life at the Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation?\nWhat gives you most satisfaction?\n\nLAVINSKY: In all honesty, right now I get the most satisfaction... ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2820.0,2850.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I never\nknew... I mean, a fair amount of people... we're a very close knit people. We\nall love each other. But, I never knew how much people cared. Especially now.\nUnfortunately, I found out that I'm dying, I'm getting these letters, emails,\nand phone calls from people. In Fitzgerald, we are a close-knit community, and\nyou would expect that. But other people not from around here, people that I\ndon't see ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2850.0,2880.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"but once a year. This is just happening now. It is a shame that you\nhave to be dying to find out how much you're appreciated. I never realized the\nimpact I made on people. When you are a man and married. I've been married about\n27-28 years. That to me has been a wonderful feeling, all the letters of\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2880.0,2910.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"appreciation and people telling me how much I'm appreciated. You just don't\nrealize it. The most satisfaction... that is a personal satisfaction. The most\nsatisfaction I've gotten with the job of cantor per se... I guess you could say\nthe most satisfaction I get is when I can help the people when I have to say\nKaddish. I don't know what they would have done without me, to be honest with\nyou. They wouldn't have been able to do it without me. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2910.0,2940.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"People that live, like,\nin Cordele [Georgia], there is no synagogue nearby. They would have to go to\nmaybe Macon or Atlanta. It's things like that. That to me is... I always felt it\nwas important to do that. If people have needed me for services or someone isn't\navailable, I could do it. That has been good. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2940.0,2970.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I don't want to do this, don't get\nme wrong. I would not have someone die. I know is it serving an important\npurpose. I always appreciate doing it for people.\n\nSPECTOR: Is there anything else that you would like to express, either to the\ncongregation or to the community, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2970.0,3000.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"as they are transcribing your scripts, about\nthe enormous touch that you have had through your interaction and your work with\nthe Fitzgerald congregation? Also, Valdosta. The effect that you have had on the\nintroduction and better acceptance of ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3000.0,3030.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jewish students and Jewish people in the\ncommunities that you have been involved in, not only when you were serving as a\ncantor but also when you were teaching. I wonder if there are any other thoughts.\n\nLAVINSKY: That question is hard to answer. At Fitzgerald, ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3030.0,3060.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I appreciate that. The\npeople were always very kind to us and always very friendly. It was a love\naffair. I guess that is... the congregation are friends. That is the best way to\ndescribe it -- as friends. Because I have the knowledge that others didn't have,\nI was glad to share it. I like to teach ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3060.0,3090.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"by example. I always try to be fair as\nfar as being Jewish, especially in schools with no Jews. If students I taught\nasked me questions about Judaism, I would answer them honestly. I didn't preach\nit, but I certainly answered any questions honestly. Children have questions. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3090.0,3120.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I\nnever had a parent, over the years I taught, come up and complain that I said\nsomething to their child from a religious standpoint that they disagreed with. I\nhave parents come up with other things to complain about, but I've never had a\nparent complain that I've said something from a religious standpoint that they\nobjected to. I tried to be very careful of other people. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3120.0,3150.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I didn't preach it. I\ndon't discuss it in class, but if it were asked, I would answer. That's the way\nI tried to handle it, that education was helping people understand, that I think\nthey should have an awareness, and that it is not only a Christian country, as\nmany preach. It's not a Christian country. It is supposed to be a non-sectarian\ncountry, by definition anyhow. ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3150.0,3180.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"People need to be aware of other people's\nfeelings. I always try in a nice way to let them know if there was something\nthat I felt was offensive to me. I would let them know. Most of the time, I\nnever felt that things were done maliciously. Things were done from ignorance.\nIt's always good if you can try to teach ","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3180.0,3210.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/transcript/23692/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"that way, to eliminate that ignorance.\nThat is about the best way I can describe it.\n\nSPECTOR: That's beautiful. This is Deborah Spector. I am signing off with my\noral history interview with Ira Lavinsky. Thank you so much for your thoughts\nand your time and your hospitality.\n\nLAVINSKY: It was a pleasure. I hope this is what you wanted.\n\nSPECTOR: It's beautiful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=3210.0,3240.0"}]},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Lavinsky, Ira [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRosh Ha-Shanah is Hebrew for ‘head of the year,’ i.e. New Year festival. The cycle of High Holy Days begins with Rosh Ha-Shanah.  It introduces the Ten Days of Penitence, when Jews examine their souls and take stock of with Rosh Ha-Shanah.  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 Ha-Shanah, G-d sits in judgment on humanity. Then the fate of every living creature is inscribed in the Book of Life or Death. These decisions may be revoked by prayer and repentance before the sealing of the books on Yom Kippur.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=90.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eYom Kippur is Hebrew for ‘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/37400/file/106416#t=90.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe two High Holy Days are Rosh Ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=90.0,120.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eShabbos (Yiddish) or Shabbat (Hebrew) is the Jewish day of rest and is observed on Saturdays.  Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities, often with great rigor, 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/37400/file/106416#t=120.0,150.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eKaddish (Hebrew for ‘holy’) is a hymn of praises to G-d found in the Jewish prayer service that is recited aloud while standing. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of G-d's name. Along with the Shema and Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the most important and central elements in the Jewish liturgy.  Mourner's Kaddish is said at all prayer services and certain other occasions. Following the death of a parent, child, spouse, or sibling it is customary to recite the Mourner's Kaddish in the presence of a congregation daily for 30 days, or 11 months in the case of a parent, and then at every anniversary of the death. It is important to note that the Mourner's Kaddish does not mention death at all, but instead praises G-d.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=120.0,150.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is a Jewish campus organization.  Its mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich Jewish people and the world.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=210.0,240.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe synagogue of the Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation was originally used by the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The building was converted to a Hebrew synagogue in 1939 when the northern and southern branches of the Methodist Church united. It is one of very few synagogues in South Georgia serving several other communities, in addition to Fitzgerald.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=330.0,360.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eRabbi Nathan Kohen (1908-1975) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  His first rabbinate was at Keneseth Israel in Monessen, Pennsylvania.  In 1945, he accepted the pulpit at Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation, where he stayed for the next 25 years.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=390.0,420.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe chazzan (cantor) is the official in charge of music or chants and leads liturgical prayer and chanting in the synagogue.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=420.0,450.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/118","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eChabad is a Hasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=720.0,750.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/119","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eSeder (meaning “order” in Hebrew”) is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evening of the fifteenth day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar throughout the world.  Some communities hold seder on both the first two nights of Passover. The seder incorporates prayers, candle lighting, and traditional foods symbolizing the slavery of the Jews and the exodus from Egypt. It is one of the most colorful and joyous occasions in Jewish life.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=930.0,960.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/120","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Forward (Yiddish: Forverts) also called The Jewish Daily Forward, is an American newspaper published in New York City.  The Forward began publishing in 1897 as a daily, left-leaning Yiddish language newspaper. The organization publishes two newspapers weekly in English and biweekly in Yiddish.   \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1290.0,1320.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/121","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHebrew for ‘son of commandment.’  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/37400/file/106416#t=1320.0,1350.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/122","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe haftorah is a series of selections from the books of Nevi’m (“Prophets”) of the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice. The haftorah reading follows the Torah reading on each Sabbath and on Jewish festivals and fast days.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1380.0,1410.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/123","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Daily Racing Form was a publication established in 1894 by Frank Brunell.  America's horse racing enthusiasts relied heavily on the information and statistics provided.   The Form started as a tabloid with regional distribution and was purchased by Moses Annenberg in 1922. Triangle merged the regional editions into a single broadsheet in the early 1970s when it moved operations into a new facility in Highstown, New Jersey.  The Daily Racing Form was one of Triangle's most profitable publications. A sister newspaper, The Morning Telegraph, was closed by Triangle during a strike.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1560.0,1590.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/124","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eHebrew for ‘dedication.’ An eight-day festival of lights usually falling around Christmas on the Christian calendar.  Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees in 165 BCE over the Seleucid rules of Palestine, who had desecrated the Temple. The Maccabees wanted to re-dedicate the Temple altar to Jewish worship by rekindling the menorah but could only find one small jar of ritually pure olive oil.  This oil continued to burn miraculously for eight days, enabling them to prepare new oil. The Hanukkah menorah, or hanukiah, with its nine branches, is used to commemorate this miracle by lighting eight candles, one for each day, by the ninth candle. \u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1980.0,2010.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/125","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eZionism is a movement which supports a Jewish national state in the territory defined as the Land of Israel. Although Zionism existed before the nineteenth century, in the 1890’s Theodor Herzl popularized it and gave it a new urgency, as he believed that Jewish life in Europe was threatened and a State of Israel was needed.  The State of Israel was established in 1948 and Zionism today is expressed as support for the continued existence of Israel.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2250.0,2280.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/126","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eMorris Berthold Abram (1918-2000) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist, and leader in the Jewish community who grew up in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Defending civil rights workers in Georgia in 1963, Abrams won decisions that helped overturn the state's insurrection and illegal assembly laws, which had been used against civil rights demonstrators. Over the years, Abram helped bring civil rights cases to the United States Supreme Court. President John F. Kennedy named him the first general counsel to the Peace Corps in 1961. President Lyndon B. Johnson made him United States representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, co-chairman of the Planning Committee of the White House Conference on Civil Rights and a member of the Committee on the Office of Economic Opportunity. Abrams served as President of Brandeis from 1968-1970. He was the Representative of the United States to the European Office of the United Nations from 1989 to 1993. In 1993 he founded United Nations Watch while he was Honorary President of the American Jewish Committee.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2250.0,2280.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/127","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eMany Jewish Americans remember Israel’s Independence Day, also known as Yom Ha’Atzmaut.  Celebrations are annually held on or around the fifth day of the month of Iyar, according to the Jewish calendar.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2280.0,2310.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/128","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eThe Hebrew word ‘mitzvah’ refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God. It is used in rabbinical Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments given in the Torah at Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later for a total of 620.  In its secondary meaning, the Hebrew ‘mitzvah’ refers to a moral deed performed as a religious duty.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2550.0,2580.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/annotation_set/370/annotation/129","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eWithin the first year after the passing of a loved one, mourners and their family gather at the gravesite for a ceremony called the unveiling, the placing of the tombstone. At this event, a grave marker is put into place and the monument is formally dedicated. There are a variety of specific customs that revolve around the gravesite to honor the person who is now deceased.  These gatherings are generally smaller and more intimate than funerals.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2760.0,2790.0"}]},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Ira Lavinsky  [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/130","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Beginnings of involvement with Jewish communal life","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=0.0,654.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/131","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: Let’s start with your story about how you got involved with Jewish communal life. \nLAVINSKY: As a youngster, like many others, I went to Hebrew school.  I went to Hebrew school after I got out of public school, where you just go from one to the other.  It wasn’t just me, it was all of my basic friends.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=0.0,654.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/132","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Beth Israel Congregation","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Brandon, Florida","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Brooklyn, NY","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"cantor","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"chazzan","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"High holy days","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Judaism","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Kaddish","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rabbi Nathan Kohen","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rabbi Samuel Mallinger","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rosh Ha-Shana","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Shabbos","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"St. Augustine, Fl","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Statenville, Georgia","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tampa, Florida","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"University of South Florida","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Valdosta, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Waycross Hebrew Center","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Yom Kippur","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=0.0,654.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/133","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"University Education","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=654.0,826.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/134","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: Do you remember when you were at the university, what years when you first went down to Florida? \nLAVINSKY: Yes.  I was at the University of Tampa from 1961 to about 1963.  Then I was at the University of South Florida...","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=654.0,826.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/135","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Bais David Chabad","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Beth Israel Congregation","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rabbi Kenneth Berger","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rabbi Mallinger","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rabbi Moshe Elbaz","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Tampa, Fl","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"University of South Florida","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"University of Tampa","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Valdosta, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=654.0,826.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/136","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jewish life in South Georgia","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=826.0,1115.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/137","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LEVINE: Is there anything unique to Jewish life in South Georgia, different than places you grew up in, New York or Florida?  Can you say what is unique to the way the Jews participate or are involved in South Georgia? \nLAVINSKY: That is a very hard question.  I’m not sure I can answer because in certain areas it is different.  For instance, at Fitzgerald the Jews have had many Jewish businesses for a long, long time.  ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=826.0,1115.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/138","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jewish life","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Judaism","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Rosh Ha-Shanah","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"seder","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Shabbot services","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"South Georgia","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Valdosta, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=826.0,1115.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/139","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Family history","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1115.0,1428.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/140","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: Can you tell us something about your family?  Where your family was originally from and how they got to Crown Heights in Brooklyn.  Where were your grandparents from?  \nLAVINSKY: This is going to be hard for me because I was so little.  The grandparents on my father’s side were born in Russia.  They are Russian.  They came to the U.S.  How they got here, I really don’t know the story.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1115.0,1428.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/141","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"bar mitzvah","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Brooklyn, NY","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Crown Heights, Brooklyn","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Forverts","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"haftorah","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Orthodox Judaism","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Poland","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Russia","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Forward","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Jewish Daily Forward","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1115.0,1428.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/142","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Childhood and more family history","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1428.0,1576.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/143","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LEVINE: When were you born?  What day?\nLAVINSKY: I was born April 22, 1944, at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn.\nSPECTOR: You went to junior high school and high school in...\nLAVINSKY: Brooklyn in the Crown Heights area.  And elementary school.\n","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1428.0,1576.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/144","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Brooklyn, NY","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Crown Heights, Brooklyn","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daily Racing Sheet","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Hebrew School","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1428.0,1576.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/145","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Southern culture","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1576.0,2255.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/146","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"SPECTOR: When you left New York and went to Florida, how different was it for you, coming from Brooklyn and going down into south Florida.\nLAVINSKY: That is a hard one.  It would be easier to answer...Georgia was more of a culture shock to me.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1576.0,2255.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/147","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"anti-Semitism","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Christmas","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Hanukkah","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Statenville, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=1576.0,2255.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/148","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Zionism and Holocaust education in Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2255.0,2429.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/149","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LEVINE: Was Zionism  important to the Jewish community at Fitzgerald or the Jewish community at Valdosta?\nLAVINSKY: I don’t think so...\n\nLEVINE: The Holocaust...\nLAVINSKY: We do mention that every year.  I think it is mentioned in both synagogues.  \nLAVINSKY: Didn’t they have some kind of program this year?\nLAVINSKY: Fitzgerald had some kind of a program.  ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2255.0,2429.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/150","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Holocaust","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Holocaust education","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Zionism","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2255.0,2429.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/151","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"More work in the Fitzgerald Jewish community","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2429.0,2819.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/152","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LAVINSKY: I also bar mitzvahed a child there – not at the house but in the Valdosta congregation when they didn’t have a rabbi.  They had a cantor.  A nice one too.  That is why I have some sort of relationship with Valdosta too.  They had a cantor coming down once a week, I think it was, from Jacksonville [Florida].  ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2429.0,2819.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/153","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"bar mitzvah","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2429.0,2819.0"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/154","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Lavinsky's impact on Jewish life in Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2819.0,3240.4898"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/155","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LEVINE: For all the years that you have been involved, what would you say is your greatest impact on Jewish life at the Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation?  What gives you most satisfaction?\nLAVINSKY: In all honesty, right now I get the most satisfaction . . . I never knew . . .  I mean, a fair amount of people . . . we’re a very close knit people. ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Partial Transcript"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2819.0,3240.4898"},{"id":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416/index/47741/annotation/156","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"cancer","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"correspondence","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald Herbrew Congregation","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}},{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Fitzgerald, Ga","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Keywords"]}}],"target":"https://thebreman.aviaryplatform.com/collections/994/collection_resources/37400/file/106416#t=2819.0,3240.4898"}]}]}]}