Published by the Jewish Community of Louisville, Inc. www.jewishlouisville.org JEWISH LOUISVIllE INSIDE Mosaic marvel Louisville artist creates Israel at 70 mural COMMUNITY STORY ON PG. 10 FRIDAY Vol. 43, No. 8 | 13 Elul 5778 | August 24, 2018 Teachers, Jewish Israel in Louisville leaders hope to influence how Shoah is taught By Lee Chottiner Community Editor With mandatory Holocaust and genocide education about to become law in Kentucky, a group of teach- ers and Jewish leaders are organiz- ing to influence the way the subject is taught. This committee has drafted a ra- tionale statement for the project, which must be approved by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). They also plan to work on rec- ommendations for pedagogy – the method and practice used for teach- ing the subject. A number of curri- cula, including those developed by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Mu- seum and Yad Vashem, have already Young and old alike danced to Israeli melodies at the August 19 Israel Experience at The J. Hundreds of people attended the festival, which celebrated the State of Israel’s 70th birthday, learning about the country’s culture, tasting Middle Eastern food and, of course, dancing. See photo gallery, page 24. (Community photo by Tara Cocco) been OK’d for use by the KDE. Metro Council overturns Anshei Sfard landmark ruling By Lee Chottiner ments of the building, including its stain Community Editor glass windows, would be preserved, and that the mikveh directly behind the syna- By an overwhelming margin, Louis- gogue would stay open until a new ritual ville Metro Council overturned the land- bath is constructed and ready for use. mark designation for Anshei Sfard syna- He said the vote reinforces “the “sanc- gogue Thursday, August 9, clearing away tity” of a congregation’s right to make its a major hurdle to the sale of the five-acre own decisions about its property. property to the Jewish Community of Still, he noted that JCL’s offer for the Louisville. Metro Council’s vote to overturn Anshei Sfard’s landmark property, which was made on the con- The JCL hopes to make the synagogue designation could clear the way for the synagogue’s sale dition that the landmark designation is property at 3700 Dutchmans Lane part of to the JCL. (Community photo) overturned, would not be executed as a larger, modern Jewish campus, though its efforts to sell the building and real long as there is a chance for an appeal. Fred Gross shakes hands with state Sen. Morgan no firm plans have been announced. estate, threatening the future of the The petitioners have 30 days from the McGarvey on March 21 shortly before the Kentucky Senate passed the Ann Klein and Fred Gross Council voted 21-1, with two members 126-year-old congregation. date of the decision to file one. Holocaust Education Act. Now an effort is underway abstaining and two not voting, to over- The members no longer worship in the Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith, to influence how the subject is taght in public turn the March 22 decision of the His- synagogue, instead meeting for services who proposed the resolution to overturn, schools. (Community photo by Lee Chottiner) toric Landmarks Commission, which in the nearby Shalom Towers. In time, said the council’s planning, zoning & an- narrowly approved the designation. The they hope to build or buy a synagogue nexation committee reviewed the case “The curriculum is the what; the one no vote came from Councilman that better fits their needs. and determined that it did not meet five pedagogy is the how, and the ratio- Brent Ackerson (D-26), in whose district Had council upheld the designation, of the nine criteria for designation, and nale statement is the why,” Goldberg the synagogue is located. Davis said, it would have meant “de- that the landmarks commission, by a 5-4 said. Meryl Davis, the first woman president struction,” for Anshei Sfard. vote, approved it over the objections of The participants held a conference of Anshei Sfard, Kentucky’s only Ortho- But Avram Kahn, one the petitioners the property owner. call this week to discuss how best to dox congregation, said council’s reversal for the landmark designation, criticized She said that the synagogue is an ex- proceed, but Goldberg stressed that of the designation represents a new be- the vote, saying council gave no reason ample of the mid-century architecture, the process is still in its early stages. ginning for her members. for overturning the commission’s ruling. but that the design style is “ubiquitous,” The KDE already has a web-based “We have a chance to have a future,” He left open the possibility of a court and the building’s features alone are not “portal,” a collection of resources, in she said. “The synagogue is still in ex- appeal, but he also said the petitioners enough to merit a landmark designation. place through which middle and istence and we have every intention of were willing to “negotiate.” Council’s vote is the latest develop- moving forward.” Jon Fleischaker, chair of the JCL Board ment in a story that has received Anshei Sfard had opposed the land- of Trustees, hailed the ruling as a “ma- See TEACHERS on page 31 marking all along, claiming it impeded jor victory,” noting that the historic ele- See ANSHEI SFARD on page 30 High Holy Days Section Pages 17-20 2 Community Y AUGUST 24, 2018 Y 13 ELUL 5778 THE DASHBOARD D’var Torah Snapshots Power corrupts: On fear, power, politics and abuse By Rabbi David Ariel-Joel So what does a For Community king do all day? The king will sit The Torah portion of this week, Shof- and study Torah tim, deals with the political structure of all day from the an ideal society. It tells us, “Justice, jus- priests and Levites. tice you shall pursue.” The king must This adage ought to be the pillar of our obey the laws of the society. It establishes the political struc- Torah; the Torah ture of the ideal state, describing the role however does not of judges, law enforcement and political say that the people power. Rabbi David Ariel-Joel must obey the king. It tells us that fear is the real danger If the king follows to justice and a just society. People are all these restrictions, not bad, but terrified people tend to do he will stay in power for many years. unjust things. Basically, the king is not in control; the Fear is the real danger to a just society. laws of the Torah control the king. When we are terrified we abuse power, This portion establishes the paradigm and when we abuse power we become of what is power and politics in an ideal corrupt. state. Our portion deals with politics and po- The Torah teaches us that in order to litical power, it is the only place in the stay in power, it is necessary to restrict Torah that deals with appointing a king one’s power. Anyone who abuses power to Israel. The people of Israel did not will then lose it. have to appoint a king; only if they chose It also teaches us that in a just society, to be like the other nations, then were the leader should have as limited power they allowed to choose one. as possible. Power, we are taught, cor- Basically, the Law of the King is about rupts. restricting the power of a monarch. The The paradox of power is that when king may not have many horses (restrict- not abusing power, one gets to hold their ing his military force). The king may not power, when a leader and a society start accumulate a lot of gold and silver (re- to abuse their power, it will be lost. stricting taxes). He may not have many wives (restricting diplomacy of biblical (Rabbi David Ariel-Joel is a senior rabbi times), and he may not be a judge or a at The Temple.) priest. Contacts Got a story idea? A letter? A gripe? A Administrative Coordinator Kristy Bene- kudo? field can handle all circulation questions. Send it to Community Editor Lee Kristy can be reached at kbenefield@ Chottiner at lchottiner@jewishlouis- jewishlouisville.org or 502-238-2770. ville.org. You can also call Lee at 502- Got an item for the Community eblast? Ben Carter, the instructor for The J’s new Olympic weightlifting workshop, coaches his wife, Kat, 238-2783. Send it to weeklyupdate@jewishlou- as she lifts more than 100 pounds of weight overhead. The workshop, which meets Wednesdays, Not getting your paper? Want to sub- isville.org. runs through October 24. 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