Vol. 42, No. 1
Tevet-Shvat 5780
January 2020
Time is Running Out to Get Your Tickets to Hear Best-Seiling
Author Mitch Albom Speak at the 2020 Main Event
Tickets are selling briskly for
The Main Event, the Federation’s
highest profile event of the sea
son ... the event that kicks off our
community’s 2020 Annual Cam
paign. On Sunday, January 26,
please join us at Temple Israel,
7 PM, to hear best-selling author,
Miteh Albom speak on “Have a
Little Faith: How Trusting Others
Can Change the World.”
Mitch Albom is an internation
ally renowned and best-selling
author, sportswriter, sereenwriter,
playwright, radio and television
broadcaster, and musician. His
books have eollectively sold more
than 39 million copies world
wide, have been published in 49
Jewish Federation
OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
territories and in 45 languages
around the world, and have been
made into Emmy Award-winning
and eritically-acclaimed televi
sion movies.
While nationally recognized
for his sports writing, Albom
is perhaps best known for the
themes of hope and kindness
that weave through his books,
plays, and films. In his talks
and presentations, he brings the
same inspiring message of com
munity building, giving, and
purpose. Expanding on themes
already developed in his bestsell
ing books Tuesdays With Mor-
rie and The Five People You Meet
In Heaven, Mitch Albom weaves
a captivating and uplifting mes
sage about the potential in all of
us for a giving, meaningful life.
Main Event tiekets are $36
eaeh and are available online at
www.jewishcharlotte.org, by
phone at 704-944-6757, or at the
rWit,:nliC'2£
\\\-
door on January 26.
Everyday, the Jewish Federa
tion of Greater Charlotte, together
with you, our donors and partners,
enriehes lives, builds eommunity,
and fosters a thriving Jewish fu
ture locally, in Israel and around
the world. We are always at work
empowering the community and
your Jewish experience in ways
you might not think of, in places
you would never expect. This is
your moment to help. Join us at
the Main Event, and be the start
of something powerful. You will
also have the opportunity to make
your pledge to the 2020 Annual
Campaign.
The Main Event with Author Mitch Alhom
Sunday, January 2G, 7 PM, Temple Israel.
Tickets: SSG; www.jewishcharlotte.org;
7D4-g44-G757
For more information about
the Main Event, please contact
the Federation office at 704-944-
6757 or info@jewishcharlotte.
org.
The mission of the Jewish Fed
eration of Greater Charlotte is to
raise and distribute funds to sup
port and enrich the lives of Jews
locally, nationally, in Israel, and
worldwide. Through education,
planning, and community build
ing, the Federation’s mission en
sures that Jewish values, goals,
traditions, and connections are
preserved for current and future
generations. ^
The Jewish Federation of Greater Chariotte
supports programs and services that have real
impact on Jewish life each and every day, in
Charlotte, Israel and around the world.
Turn to pages 8 & 9 to see how your dollars
^ have powered our community!
YidLive! By YidLife Crisis Opens the 2020
Charlotte Jewish Film Festival
Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman of YidLife Crisis Bring Their Angst and
Neuroses to Charlotte
By Amy Krakovitz
Can you have a mid-life crisis
when you are still in your 30s?
Well, it happened to Eli Batalion
and Jamie Elman, two Montreal
comedians who say theirs was a
“crisis of Jewish identity.”
“We grew up in a very Jewish
neighborhood,” says Eli. “We
went to a high school that taught
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us the Yiddish language. In the
next 18 years after high school,
we ended up doing nothing that
had anything to do with that.
So at a certain point, we decid
ed we should reconcile our very
Jewish upbringing with our very
non-Jewish lifestyle and that be
gat this project.”
“This projeef’ is YidLife Cri
sis, a web series of short episodes
almost entirely in Yiddish where
characters Leizer (Batalion) and
Chaimie (Elman) discuss food,
tradition, rituals, philosophy,
their place in the world, and Yid-
dishkeit, all with a caustic yet
charming sense of humor.
But why Yiddish? Many peo
ple learned Spanish or French in
high school, but they don’t create
web series in those languages.
“Yiddish is a few things to us,”
explains Jamie. “It’s symbolic
of the upbringing that we had in
Montreal which was filled with
Yiddish and Yiddishkeit because
Montreal is a bastion of Yiddish
culture. There was and still is a
Yiddish theater, a Yiddish public
library, and we learned Yiddish at
Bialik High School. So this is part
of our upbringing.
“We also recognize that there’s
a Jewish comedy tra
dition that is rooted in
Yiddish language and
Yiddish inflection and the
musicality of Yiddish that
found its way into Amer
ican comedy in the last
century. By the way,” he
adds, “when we tell this
story on stage, it’s a lot
funnier.”
Appealing to an Inter-
generational Audience
“Part of the appeal of
Yiddish,” Jamie contin
ues, “is the nostalgia. On
the other hand, young audienc
es get a kick out of hearing two
young-ish guys speak Yiddish.
We see grandparents bring their
grandkids to our shows and vice
versa. It’s an intergenerational
experience. And the sense of hu
mor is certainly intergenerational.
(Continued on page 27)
After what will be 22 years of editing
The Charlotte Jewish News, our editor has
elected to put down her red pen. We are
seeking applicants for the position of
editor. Please go t [> jewishcharlotte.org
for the job description and
information on the application process.