Lodge Bezalel News

The Brother of Business Innovation
Bro Russell Gottschalk at Our Next OLM – Feb. 18

Native Atlantan and founding director of the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival (AJMF), Brother Russell Gottschalk has always shown an interest in creation whether it’s art, a business, or community. Now as Innovation Manager at Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta (JFGA), he is fortunate to help other entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs create every day. He is also Vice President of Lodge Magen David.

During a discussion about innovation at our Feb. 18 OLM, Russell will share his views on creation, his experiences in the field, his generation’s proclivity for building outside of legacy institutions, and how JFGA can lead Jewish Atlanta’s innovation ecosystem into the future. Come with questions and learn how you can get involved.

Schmooze at 7 p.m. OLM at 7:30 p.m. Guests and dinner at 8:30 p.m.
Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Dress Code: Business Casual

Register Now so we have Enough Food!

Prospective Member Coffees

We have two Prospective Member Coffees coming up at the home of our IPP Wor Bro Barry Simon. The dates are:
·        Feb. 10

·        March 2

Starting time is 7:30 p.m. for both. If you have vetted candidates, please contact them with an invitation and let Bro David Weingast, our Membership Chairman, know who’s coming on which date. If you have a candidate for HOD membership please send David a short note with the candidate’s name, occupation, Jewish community involvement and family info (spouse and kids). Move quickly; the vetting process requires two weeks from the time our Scribe, Bro Ryan Simmons, notifies HOD of a candidate’s nomination.

Get Up Close and Personal with the Atlanta Queens of the Roller Derby

Looking for something different? How about Roller Derby? Join us for an informal gathering for Atlanta Roller Derby, Feb. 29. The bouts are held at Yaarab Shrine Center at 400 Ponce De Leon in Midtown, and our official gathering will be at 7 p.m. by the beer tent and food trucks at the center. The bout is at 7:30 p.m., and it’s the second one for the evening. You can get full information about tickets and bout times from Atlanta Roller Derby ‘s website. If you’re interested in going or want more information, contact Bro Steve Tabb. He’ll have updated information and can make arrangements for us to meet outside or inside the arena. If reserved seats are available, Steve will coordinate the purchase of a block if that’s what the brothers attending want.

R Ranch Retreat – April 17-19

The R Ranch Retreat for Bezalel bros and friends is back by popular demand – from Friday night, April 17, through the following Sunday morning, April 19. All food and snacks are kosher, and your Shabbat observance starts with dinner and continues as you feel inspired. The cost is $100 per person. Click here for more information and to sign up.

New Member Initiation March 17

What better way to celebrate a day of good cheer than by welcoming new brethren into Lodge Bezalel and HOD? Our next initiation is set for Tuesday, March 17.

If you have a candidate for HOD membership please send a short nominating note to Bro David Weingast, our Membership Chairman. Your note should include the candidate’s name, occupation, Jewish community involvement and family info (spouse and kids). The info will be circulated by our Scribe, Bro Ryan Simmons, to lodges in Atlanta and throughout HOD to make sure nobody has an objection. Vetted candidates are then invited to a Prospective Member Coffee to learn about Lodge Bezalel and HOD. Move quickly; the vetting process requires two weeks.

As always, we schmooze at 7 p.m. and begin the meeting and initiation ceremony at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Or Hadash, 7460 Trowbridge Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. The difference? Dress Code for the initiation is a dark suit and tie.

Get Involved with Lodge Bezalel

Join one of our committees and make your mark on Lodge Bezalel. Our committees and chair contacts:

Social: David Weinberger and Paul Flexner
Community Service: Alan Wind
Membership: David Weingast
Table Lodge: Ron Scheinzeit

Read Our Meeting Minutes

Click to read the minutes from our last OLM and mintues from all 2020 and 2019 OLMs.

Service Projects Update

Lodge Bezalel has two on-going service projects with new ones being added as our brethren expand our involvement.

• Zaban Pardies Center Serve dinner and dine with guests at Atlanta's couples' shelter that helps homeless couples transition to independent living. We are arranging to serve dinner on three occasions during January, February and March. The center is located at The Temple. We'll be serving dinner on two nights, March 5 and 25. Contact Alan Wind to volunteer.
• Voter Registration  We work with a variety of places, from high schools to senior living facilities to help register new voters and assist voters with updating their addresses and other information to remain on the voter roles. Read about our Voter Registration Project. Contact Paul Flexner for more info.
  

Wine Tasting Event

Our popular Wine Tasting is back – this time on a Sunday night, May 3, at 7 p.m. at the New Bedford Clubhouse, 900 Forest Pond Drive, Marietta, GA 30068. 

It’s a wine tasting with a competition to see who brings the best wine. Anyone wishing to participate needs to bring 2 identical bottles of red or white wine. One of your bottles will be wrapped and numbered for a blind tasting by all attendees who wish to participate. The other one will be put in the vault. During the evening, everyone who wishes to do so will have the opportunity to taste and rate each wine in the competition by assigning numerical values.

We’ll judge the reds and whites separately and tally the scores for each. Whoever brought the best red and white wine, as determined by the voters, will receive all of the unwrapped bottles in the vault – color-coded, of course. Last year’s winner of the “red competition” took home 20 bottles.

Lodge Bezalel Calendar
January 30, 2020

See Pics from Our Jazz Concert with Joe Alterman at Berman Commons