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PAGE 20 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE July 25, 1986
Obituaries
George Brownleader
Other survivors include a son,
Jeffrey Brownleader of London;
daughter, Doreen Swartz of Pen
sacola; sisters, Esther Brownleader,
Eva Thau and Hettie Mendik, all
of New York, and Sonnie Burger
of Manchester, England; and five
grandchildren.
Donations can be made to the
Hospice of Northwest Florida, 2001
North Palafox Street, Pensacola,
Fla. 32504; or the American Cancer
Society.
Dr. Mark S. Hoffman
Dr. Mark S. Hoffman, 39, of
Atlanta died Saturday, July 19.
Private graveside service was held
July 23 at Mount Nebo Cemetery
in Miami.
The son of the late Harry L.
Hoffman, he was a graduate of the
Emory University School of Den
tistry. He had a practice in Atlanta,
prior to his retirement three years
ago. He was a member of the
American Dental Association, the
Northern District Dental Society
the Georgia Dental Association
and the Fifth District Dental Asso
ciation.
Survivors include his mother,
Mrs. Evelyn Hoffman; and mater
nal grandmother, Mrs. Bertha
Freisinger; both of Atlanta.
Mrs. Mary G. Teplis
Mrs. Mary Gitis Teplis, 88, of
Atlanta died Sunday, July 20.
Graveside service was held Mon
day, July 21, at Greenwood Ceme
tery, with Rabbi Harry H. Epstein
and Cantor Isaac Goodfriend offi
ciating.
She was a member of Anshe
S’Fard Synagogue and Pioneer
Women.
Survivors include her daughter,
Mrs. Leo (Belle) Frank of Atlanta;
sons, Nathan Teplis and Dr. Paul
Teplis, both of Atlanta; seven
grandchildren and one great-grand
child.
Donations can be made to Pio
neer Women or the Jewish Home.
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George Brownleader, 83, of
London, England, died Wednes
day, July 16.
Private graveside service was held
Sunday, July 20, in Pensacola,
Fla., with Rabbi Erwin Halpern
officiating.
He was the grandfather of Stacy
Swartz of Atlanta.
For the past 30 years he lived in
Llangafni, Anglesy, Wales. He was
retired from the operation of abat
toirs in Anglesy. He was a frequent
visitor to Atlanta.
Mrs. Rose Oser Medevene
Mrs. Rose Oser Medevene, 81,
of Tampa, Fla., formerly of Atlanta,
died Tuesday, July 22.
Survivors include her daughter,
Dr. Joyce Johnson of Tampa; sis
ters, Mrs. Sylvia Oser Rich of
Atlanta and Mrs. Helen Duchin of
Linden, N. J.; brother, Maurice Oser
of Denver, Col.; granddaughter,
Hillary Johnson of Tampa; and
grandsons, Greg, Kenneth and
Mark Solloway, all of Tampa.
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Hassan
Continued from page 1.
tion. which Peres accepted, to
Morocco’s desire to improve its
relations with the United States.
Washington has been concerned of
late by a Moroccan flirtation with
Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi.
The analysts suggest that Morocco
may feel that a rapprochement
with Israel would boost its stand
ing with the Americans.
Hassan had been scheduled to
visit Washington this week but
postponed his trip for health rea
sons. He is believed to be hoping
for increased U.S. military and
economic aid. Morocco’s ongoing
war with the Polisario rebels in the
Sahara has been draining its re
sources.
Morocco has always maintained
warm ties with Israelis of Moroc
can origin. They are allowed to pay
visits to their native country with
out undue bureaucratic difficulties.
Members of the small Jewish com
munity still living in Morocco—
about 18,000, mainly in Fez—are
permitted to visit Israel and many
do so quite openly.
This attitude is unique in the
Arab world and has earned Hassan
special affection in Israel. Many
Israelis from Morocco speak fondly
of their former home and stress the
atmosphere of tolerance and cor
diality which generally prevails be
tween Jews and their Moslem neigh
bors in Morocco.
“Relations were generally good,
even when disturbing events such
as wars were taking place outside,”
Labor M K Yaacov Amir, who was
born in Morocco, said Tuesday. He
attributed this to King Hassan and
the king’s late father.
Epstein
Continued from page 1.
“We have notified the leadership
of Ahavath Achim Congregation,”
Snyder said, “that we will be relo
cating the Epstein School to the
Underwood Hills location in Sep
tember 1987, and we have invited
the congregation to participate in
the move and to conduct any pro
gramming it deems appropriate at
the Underwood Hills location.”
Located on Colewood Way near
River Valley Road and Riverside
Drive, the Underwood Hills facil
ity comprises 52,645 square feet
with 10.31 acres of land. A com
mittee will be formed to make
recommendations with respect to
interior and exterior renovation of
the building to adapt it to the
Epstein School’s needs, including
playground equipment and athletic
facilities.
Snyder said the location was
chosen as the most logical site,
based on the Atlanta Jewish Fed
eration’s demographic study; “We
felt the Underwood Hills location
would best accommodate not only
our current student population,
but projected student population.
We expect our enrollment to quickly
grow from 316 students for this
year to 500 students within the
next few years, serving the two-
year-old program through the
eighth grade.” It is believed that
approximately 80 percent of the
student population lives within a
15-minute drive radius of the Under
wood Hills location.
Snyder said, “We feel that it is a
major community event to be able
to relocate a school of the size and
substance of the Epstein School to
a location which will be able to
fulfill the educational needs of so
many Jewish children in such a
favorable geographic location, in
cluding the North Fulton, Ros
well, East Cobb and Sandy Springs
areas.”
Asked whether the purchase of a
property had been considered,
Snyder said, “We considered pur
chasing a site and we considered
acquiring land for future develop
ment, but the opportunity to lease
an existing Fulton County school
building was the most favorable
financial package that we could
find at the current time.”
Snyder agrees that the Epstein
School growth is part of an overall
return to Jewish education in this
country but adds, “The appeal of
the Epstein School is its affiliation
with the Solomon Schechter move
ment. Our parents feel comforta
ble with the educational opportun
ities and programming that are
offered regardless of their religious
or synagogue affiliation.”
The additional space available
at Underwood Hills will provide
for expanded art, music, physical
education, computer and ulpan
programs, which have been limited
at the present location.
Although Rabbi Harry H. Ep
stein, for whom the school is named,
was out of the city when The
Southern Israelite called to ask for
his views, he has often said that the
development of the Epstein School
is the most important achievement
in his career. He was a moving
force in its formation and remains
actively involved with it.
Snyder says, “We expect the
rabbi’s involvement to continue at
the new location and plan to have
an additional office for him there
so he will be an integral part of our
programming and the continued
development of the school.”
Especially excited about what
the new site will mean to the school
is Cheryl Finkel, headmaster. Now
in her fourth year at the helm of the
school, Finkel says; “Moving the
school brings great opportunities
for outreach and growth. With a
larger facility, more staff and more
students, we will be able to provide
some new creative programming
that we have been dreaming about.”
She added, “Of course, high qual
ity Jewish and general education
will continue to be the main pur
pose of the Epstein School in the
new location as it is in our current
one.”
Snyder credits Headmaster Fin
kel with being “very instrumental
in terms of the success and growth
of the Epstein School in the last
four years. She has done a remark
able job as headmaster in areas of
curriculum development, program
ming, parent relations and teacher
training.”
Both agreed that with its own
facility, the Epstein School will be
able to enhance its independence,
without for a moment forgetting
that it was Ahavath Achim and its
leaders who made the establish
ment of the school possible, and
whose continuing interest will play
a vital part in future plans.
by
Rabbi Samuel J. Fox
Jt A
Why is it required to redeem
every male who is the firstborn of
a Jewish mother?
This requirement is mentioned
in the Bible. In one place in the
Bible it is associated with the plague
of the firstborn of the Egyptians
when the Pharoah refused to release
the Hebrews. This was the last of
the plagues visited on the Egyp
tians at that time.
While the firstborn of the Egyp
tians died, the firstborn of the
Hebrews were spared. Therefoie
the firstborn of the Hebrews are re
deemed today to show how thank
ful we should be that the Almighty
redeemed them during the plague
which struck the Egyptians (Exo
dus 13:15).
Some sources explain that the
firstborn require redemption to
show that whatever we gain belongs
to the Almighty. Therefore it is
required to go through the redemp
tion ceremony to claim the first
born or any subsequent children as
our own.
The same idea refers to the first
of the crops from which tithes are
taken for the same reason. The
mystics (e.g., Zohar, Genesis Ua)
claim that the redemption of the
firstborn is a means of redeeming
him and future children from the
power of the Angel of Death who
threatens human life, especially the
newborn.
Why is the Torah scroll which is
read publicly in the synagogue written
without vowels and without punc
tuation?
Vowels and/or punctuation limits
the meaning and interpretation of
the text. It was an accepted tradition
that biblical texts could have more
than one meaning. Often, one finds
statements in the Talmudic literature
which state, “Don’t read it (the word)
this way but read it that way.”
This makes the text applicable
to a variety of human conditions
instead of restricting the text to
one limited kind of circumstance.
In this way, the Bible doesn’t become
outdated or inapplicable to con
temporary situations.