Bustling weekend
Nov. 6(15 Heshvan 5786)
🗳️ The 2025 election results are in. Despite two letter writing campaigns by rabbis in New York, Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out in the Jewish community.
🍗 Closer to home, the Atlanta Kosher BBQ festival is back, The Temple’s Kristallnacht concert is Nov. 9, and JStreet’s annual meeting on Nov. 10 brings Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, to Atlanta.
🗞️ Keep reading for a story on Greenwood Cemetery, a new mahjong book for kids, and much more.
Y’alla,
Logan
Atlanta officials explore taking over dilapidated Greenwood Cemetery
🗣️ Greenwood Cemetery on Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta has fallen into disrepair under private ownership, and city officials are actively pursuing conversations about taking over the property.
The city has held meetings in recent months with stakeholders, including families of those buried at the 121-year-old cemetery, as well as Chinese, Greek, and Jewish community leaders.
Greenwood is known for the Memorial to the Six Million, a site on the National Registry of Historic Places, which holds annual events to commemorate those who perished in the Holocaust.
👉🏼 Read the article here, and let us know about your experience at Greenwood. Rough Draft is closely following this story.
Italian Ruins to DIVE for!
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM
🌊 Journey beneath the waves with Sunken Treasures, Ancient Seas at Fernbank Museum.
You won’t want to miss this immersive journey beneath the Mediterranean Sea to uncover ancient shipwrecks, artifacts, and lost worlds. Featuring real relics found off the coast of Italy, HD video explorations, and more, this exhibition reveals how underwater archaeologists bring the past to light.
➞ This exhibit is open daily, or you can swing by for after-hours during select special events! On view now until Jan. 11, 2026.
Mahjong books for kids
🀄 Mahjong players are skewing younger and younger. Atlanta Jewish parents and mahjong enthusiasts Gabby and Mark Spatt have co-authored Bubbe and Bams and Grandma Dottie’s Dots. Aimed at three to eight year olds, it’s two versions of the same story: one is for Jewish-curious audiences and one is secular.
The Spatts grew up watching their respective mothers and grandmothers play mahjong. Gabby and her business partner have taught 2,000 people to play mahjong.
The self-published books are based off a poem Mark wrote. Gabby said she didn’t want to spend two years going through the traditional publishing route. They pulled in illustrator Daria Smyslova from Odessa, Ukraine to give it a loving touch.
📕 Gabby’s first book is Shabbat and Sunday Dinner, co-authored with Candace Bazemore, about classmates’ cultural differences and similarities.
RELATED
🧒🏽 On Nov. 11, Miriam Udel, associate professor of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Emory University, will discuss her latest book, “Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children’s Literature.” Reserve a seat.
Opinion: When Rabin was assassinated, Israel changed before my eyes
🚐 The minibus was crammed with Jordanians making their way from the south of the country to Amman. I couldn’t help but wonder why everyone looked so grim. I hadn’t studied any Arabic yet so I couldn’t make out the conversation beyond a smattering of place names: Tel Aviv, Washington, Amman, Al Quds — the Arabic name for Jerusalem.
I listened to the radio, keeping my ears open for more proper nouns. Peres. Clinton. Hussein. Rabin.
It wasn’t until I walked into the lobby of my hotel in Amman and saw a TV screen showing a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, along with the text “1922-1995,” that I realized something terrible had happened.
➡ Read the full story on the Forward.
Look & Listen
💃🏼 Singer/dancer/director Montana Tucker is teaming up with Israel ParaSport Center.
🎙️ Josh Levs’ podcast “They Stand Corrected” breaks down two hot topics: White House and Zohran Mamdani.
🥳 The Atlanta Jewish Storytelling festival returns in January.
📚 The Book Festival of the MJCCA is back! Now until Nov. 16, the 34th annual festival features an impressive array of authors, including Debbie Gibson, Jake Cohen, Sanjay Gupta and more. Checkout the lineup and get tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
What’s doin’ around town
SPONSORED BY CONGREGATION OR HADASH
👻 Nov. 6: Jewish views of the afterlife series.
📜 Nov. 7:Pop-up Torah study.
🎸 Nov. 7:Adam Klein performs in Avondale.
🦸🏻♂️ Nov. 9:SOJOURN youth group kicks off.
🎻 Nov. 10:Songs of Suffering and Silence.
🎨 Nov. 16: Workshop with artist Robyn Diamond.
😹 Nov. 20: Comedian Daniel-Ryan Spalding performs.
🫶🏼 Nov. 20: Friendsgiving dinner at Rina.
✡️ The next Jewish holiday is Chanukah on Dec. 14.
🕯️ Light Shabbat candles this week at 5:21 p.m.
🗓️ Step out of your week and into Shabbat with Or Hadash! Join us for Pop-Up Torah Study in Sandy Springs Friday morning, then a joyful, musical Kabbalat Shabbat and community dinner with R’Lauren and the davening team. RSVP today!
Before you go
🎗️ On Sunday, Nov. 2, a few dozen members of Congregation Shearith Israel and friends walked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in memory of Manny Pargman.