Newspaper Page Text
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 19, 1986 Page 3
For der kinder
Academy given $1 million at Kaplan dinner
by Vida Goldgar
When Dr. Irving Greenberg
stepped to the microphone at
Sunday evening's Hebrew Acad
emy dinner honoring Sidney
Kaplan, he said he had an excit
ing announcement to make. That
may have been the understate
ment of the year because his new s
was the contribution by his
brother-in-law of SI million to
the Academy's building fund.
The benefactor, Al Greenfield
of Miami Beach, has been a gen
erous contributor to the Hebrew
Academy for the past several
years. What started as a $200.000
charitable remainder trust has
been added to and grown until it
totals over $750,000. On a recent
trip to Atlanta for the bat mitzva
of Jean and Irving Greenberg’s
granddaughter, he listened intent
ly to the plans for the new Hebrew
Academy building and signed a
pledge for a million additional
dollars.
Yet. it is a tribute to Sidney
Kaplan that even that moment
ous announcement did not detract
from the fact that it was an even
ing to honor him and his dedica
tion to the school. His involve
ment began in 1955. two years
after the Academy was founded.
At his side on the dais was
Kaplan’s wife Alice and in the
audience were their four child
ren. Scott. Randy, Mark and
Terri, all Hebrew Academy grad
uates. He called them “fully auto
matic and functioning naches ma
chines.” His father, Ben, who will
soon celebrate his 91st birthday,
was there, too.
In opening remarks, Linda
Bressler, who co-ehaired the
dinner with her husband Richard,
highlighted the Academy’s grow th
from a small group of students
meeting in the educational build
ing of Shearith Israel Synagogue
to 350 students today. The pro
gram includes a pre-school, ele
mentary school and middle school
and, Mrs. Bressler said, "we are
close to our dream of a new facil
ity which w ill accommodate up
wards of 500 students.”
The latest of the Hebrew
Academy’s achievements was
represented by a striking satin
banner hanging behind the dais
which symbolized the Hebrew
Academy’s selection by the De
partment of Education as one of
the 270 best elementary schools
in the country.
The honoree's role in Atlanta’s
Jewish communal life was high
lighted in greetings from Dr. Jerry
Blumenthal, Academy president;
Consul General of Israel Issachar
Katzir; Betty Jacobson, president
of the Atlanta Jewish Federa
tion; and Saba Silverman, co
in all likelihood say 'lor der
kinder’ for the children.” He
continued with a word picture ol
our forebears’ long working
hours: “Why did they deny them
selves the choice of a restful w eek-
Honoree Sidney Kaplan hears
Greenberg.
president of the Academy PTA,
and in remarks by Rabbi Arnold
Goodman of Ahavath Achim
Sy nagogue.
Dr. Ephraim Frankel, head
master of the Academy, described
Sidney Kaplan’s interest in Jew
ish education as beginning“as an
intellectual flirtation (which) de
veloped into a lifelong odyssey.”
More broadly, he traced the typ
ical story of our parents and
grandparents who endured the ar
duous path of immigration. “Ask
them why,” he said.“and they will
exciting news from Dr. Irving
end, a holiday, a vacation? They
would smile and say, 'for der
kinder.'” Then he added, “We are
the fruits of that sacrifice and
now the task remains and we,
too, have to provide for der
kinder.” How? Frankel said, “You
will make that statement in the
most tangible way possible by
building a new home for the
Hebrew Academy...we owe it to
our parents, our grandparents,
to our children and to the Jewish
com munity.”
David Minkin, an Academy
Interiors
Rita
o///-
(//m i a
RITA L. GOLDSTEIN
MOJ>.
vice president, agreed that “We
are all working for the kids” with
the new facility as a "labor of
love.” He announced that the
goal of $6.9 million had not yet
been reached, but that up to
Sunday evening $5.6 million had
been pledged. “We still need your
help.” Minkin said.
A Hebrew Academy event
wouldn't be the same without
entertainment by its talented
students. Sunday evening, Sid
ney and Alice Kaplan were es
corted to seats of honor in front
of the stage for a rousing produc
tion of “ ’S Wonderful Sidney,"
written and directed by Rose
Kessler with Dona Wise as music
director. Eighteen boys and girls,
wearing Hebrew Academy sweat
shirts with “ ’S Wonderful Sid
ney” lettered on the back, sang
and danced their way through
Broadway songs and traditional
melodies and, directed straight
to the honoree. “Thank You for
Being a Friend.”
Members of the east were;
Rachel Baum, Allison Bodner.
Evan Cohn. Ryan Cohn. Shana
Fernhoff, Cari Goldberg. Jenny
Jacobson, Adina Kalish. Jenny
Kessler, Kim Kessler, Scott
Mayer, Shauna Plasker, Suzanne
Resnick, Elana Sauer, Rachelle
Seligmann, Rebecca Sharon, Jaime
Sherman and Eileen Snow. Jenny
Kessler choreographed the show
and June Dunaphant was the
accompanist.
To Henry Birnbrey, whose
friendship with Sidney Kaplan
spans 47 years, fell the honor of
presenting the award. Surprising
ly, considering the season, he
chose Sukkot around which to
weave his remarks because “it
holds a special place for me.” He
told of the times w hen “the build
ing of a sukka was practically
unknown in this community and
Sidney was building his own
sukka.” Through anecdote and
memories, he highlighted Kap
lan’s devotion to his religion, to
the Hebrew Academy, to the
Aha\ath Achim Syangogue (of
which Sidney Kaplan is the cur
rent president), and to the com
munity.
And in the end, Birnbrey con
nected Sukkot to Hanuka as part
of the continuum of Jewish life
and Sidney Kaplan’s role in
community service.
In his acceptance remarks,
Kaplan said, “all ol us look back
on early influences that shape the
very essence of our lives. For my
family and for me, it was the
Hebrew Academy along w ith my
synagogue that defined Judaism
and gave our lives a Jewish di
rection.”
Noting that Atlanta now has a
network of Jewish schools, he
said. “The greatest tribute you
can present to me is to see that
Jewish education remains on the
high pedestal on which it stands.”
hafTM
hanuka
Happy Hanuka
3414 Peachtree Rd., N.E. Monarch Building Suite 117—Atlanta, CA 30326
New York Showrooms:
333 Seventh Avenue
Each piece within this collection is built by a single
craftsman to achieve the desired appearance that
makes your selection an original.
Interiors
INTERNATIONALinc.
DISTINCTIVE FURNITURE
674 Miami Circle
Atlanta NE 30324
Phone: 404-2319253
