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Posts by Barbara Dab

Jewish Federation Helps Israeli Evacuees Arriving in Nashville

Over 200 Israeli evacuees arrived at Nashville International Airport recently on a hastily arranged chartered flight. The group included some from the orthodox community who had little time to make plans for kosher food or housing for Shabbat. The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville was o…

Vanderbilt Students Light up the Night at Vigil for Israel

Several hundred Vanderbilt University students, faculty, and community members joined in prayer, song, and speech in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. The vigil was organized by students from Vanderbilt Hillel and Vanderbilt Chabad, with leaders from the two…

Jewish Federation Launches Historic $2 Million Campaign to Support Israel

The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville has launched an emergency campaign to raise two million dollars to provide for critical needs on the ground in Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack. Jewish Federation CEO, Rabbi Dan Horwitz, says the unprecedented terror atta…

Real People, Real Stories: Educate and Upift Stories of Trans Community

Rori Picker Neiss’ 12-year-old son meets President Joe Biden.

According to a recent study by UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute, Tennessee is home to more than 30,000 transgender people over the age of 13, amounting to just over 1.25% of the state’s total population. And last year…

Sharsheret: Linking Nashville’s Jewish Women to Health Empowerment

Dina Gluck, 35, learned she was a carrier of the BRCA gene mutation, the gene mutation linked to breast cancer, by chance. Although she does not have an extensive history of breast cancer among the females in her family, her doctor wanted to perform the test. “My biggest risk is that I am …

Standing Together: Learning to Recognize and Respond to Hate Crimes

Nashville’s Jewish community is witnessing an increase in antisemitic activity, and it is not alone. According to a 2022 report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, crimes against the LGBTQ community doubled in the prior two years. The rise in these incidents has led many people to …

Two of the Tennessee Three Share Stories of Inspiration and Faith

Tennessee State Representatives Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones attend Shabbat evening services at Congregation Micah.

“Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly.” Those words from Micah 6:8 are the guideposts of Congregation Micah where on a Friday evening last month, two of three of Tennes…

Editor’s Note September 2023

It has been a while since I shared my thoughts with all of you directly. First, I want to thank everyone who reached out to congratulate me on my Simon Rockower Awards and my new expanded role as Director of Communications for the Federation. Second, and even more important, I want to draw y…

Rabbi Joshua Kullock Named to Prestigious Shalom Hartman Leadership Program

As a high school student in Israel, Rabbi Joshua Kullock listened to lectures given by Rabbi David Hartman for the first time. He was inspired by Hartman’s teachings on Jewish pluralism and Torah. And now, after a lengthy application process, Kullock will join the eighth cohort of rabbis t…

Nashville Jewish Day Schools See Record Enrollment

Students from Kehila High School start the school year with a visit to an escape room.

School bells are ringing again in Nashville and the local Jewish day schools are reporting a record 150 students enrolled. That number includes Akiva School, Jewish Middle School (JMS), and Kehila High …

West End Synagogue Searching for Long Lost Neighbors

West End Synagogue’s Social Action committee is seeking former residents of the Whitland Ave. and surrounding neighborhoods.

 

West End Synagogue has occupied its current site on West End Avenue since the cornerstone was laid in 1950. Through the years, many congregants and members of N…

Jewish Family Service to Highlight Volunteers at Upcoming Event

Golden Lunch Bunch Purim Party. Pictured left to right: Beth Barnett, Jamie Maresca, Liat Zilberman.

“Have a great day and better tomorrows.” According to Liat Zilberman, this simple phrase has encouraged her, sustained her, and inspired her. It was uttered by her friend Mario, one of t…

DHS Identifies Nashville for Continuing Engagement

The Biden administration recently released a report detailing a national strategy for combatting antisemitism. The report highlighted the fact that although Jews account for just over 2% of the U.S. population, they account for 63% of religiously motivated hate crimes. The report includes mo…

Local Teens Spend the Semester in Israel

This past spring semester, four teens from Nashville’s Jewish community participated in the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program. For four months the teens, Eden Rice, Max Lapidus, Jackson Schneider, and Ben Poster, studied, traveled, and experienced life in Israel. The program foc…

A Rabbi and a Doctor Walked into Berlin…

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the official Holocaust memorial of Germany

A rabbi and a doctor, each the only child of Holocaust survivors, walking buddies, longtime friends, and a 20-year age difference between them. Each searching for signs of the life their parents were force…