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Old 09-09-2008, 04:47 PM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
1,618 posts, read 4,763,444 times
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I was wondering if anyone had information about Dothan, and specifically the Jewish community there.

I read in the paper today that a reform synagogue in Dothan has funding for up to $50,000 per family to try to encourage growth of their Jewish community.

I have a friend in California with two small children - like many families they truly do struggle to make ends meet with the astronomical cost of living there. She is a very active congregant and observant reform Jew, who has in the past lived in a smaller community in Texas, and hates living in California but feels stuck there, so I couldn't help but think that this might be an excellent opportunity to relocate her family to someplace with a lower cost of living.

Anyone have any personal stories or insights about Dothan for a young family, and/or about the Jewish community there? What kind of work is available there? I've looked at Temple Emanu-El's website and such but curious about any personal accounts.
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Old 09-09-2008, 07:40 PM
 
28,896 posts, read 53,932,532 times
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I saw that story myself. I'm not Jewish, but live within 500 yards of two temples in Mountain Brook. How are you finding the climate in Alabama?
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Old 09-09-2008, 08:05 PM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
1,618 posts, read 4,763,444 times
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I am perfectly happy with the climate, but I live in North Alabama.. and my city of origin in California was a bit inland where it gets super hot during the summer, so it's not as much of a climate shock as people who envision San Diego weather.The summer here has been milder than what I've had to deal with in California.
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Old 09-10-2008, 10:38 AM
 
28,896 posts, read 53,932,532 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zenjenn View Post
I am perfectly happy with the climate, but I live in North Alabama.. and my city of origin in California was a bit inland where it gets super hot during the summer, so it's not as much of a climate shock as people who envision San Diego weather.The summer here has been milder than what I've had to deal with in California.
Sorry. I meant the figurative climate for people of your faith in Alabama. I read that article, and the rabbi went through great pains to assure people that we don't wear sheets on Saturday night and burn crosses.
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Old 09-10-2008, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
1,618 posts, read 4,763,444 times
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Oh Dorky me.

It's funny, when we were considering moving to Alabama, one of the first things I did was call the local rabbi and have that very discussion with him. To which he responded:

(try your best to imagine this said in a very sarcastic northeastern Jewish voice)

"Oh, don't worry about it. The KKK only ignites the bonfire in the synagogue parking lot once a month. It's really not that intrusive."

Cracked me up.

The Jewish community here is definitely smaller than California, but I've personally always been a fan of smaller communities - it means each individual member/family of the congregation has to take ownership in the community and really participate. There's no free ride. I've only been here less than a year and I'm already a religious school teacher for the Jewish religious school in Huntsville (which is combined Conservative/Reform - neither congregation is large enough to sustain a religious school by itself.), as well as pitching in in other regards. Now, I was active in my California congregation too, but here it seems like everyone else is invested as well and you get a lot more support. Part of that is the smaller size of the congregations but also of the city. It is much easier to maneuver around in Huntsville than some of the commutes people had to deal with in California. Also, even though Southern Jewry isn't as highly religious in the same way Southern Christians are, there is a general embracing of religious life that I think makes people of all faiths more apt to participate. For example I think my husband's employer is MUCH more sympathetic for him taking time off work for a synagogue activity or religious event than his employer in California.

On the flipside, the smaller size of the Jewish community does have drawbacks, most notably, there are limited service times, etc. For example, during the High Holy Days which are coming up, a bigger congregation has an elaborate young children's program while their parents attend services - there is no such thing here - just not the people or the funding to do it. A Yom Kippur service is just WAY too much for my 3 yr old for example. There is a family service that is shorter and that's what we'll do. That's just an example. There's only so much a limited number of people can do.

In terms of other people, I have had no problem. I do know secular friends who do feel a bit out of place in the South in terms of being asked what church they are affiliated with - which is a MUCH more common question here in Alabama than California or many of the other places relocatees are from. That question has never made me uncomfortable because I simply say "we're affiliated with Etz Chayim synagogue" and people accept that and it ends the conversation, or they might ask a few polite and sincere questions about Judaism - it doesn't result in any additional church-talk or invitations that make some secular people uncomfortable.
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Old 09-10-2008, 03:01 PM
 
28,896 posts, read 53,932,532 times
Reputation: 46662
Quote:
Originally Posted by zenjenn View Post
Oh Dorky me.

It's funny, when we were considering moving to Alabama, one of the first things I did was call the local rabbi and have that very discussion with him. To which he responded:

(try your best to imagine this said in a very sarcastic northeastern Jewish voice)

"Oh, don't worry about it. The KKK only ignites the bonfire in the synagogue parking lot once a month. It's really not that intrusive."

Cracked me up.

The Jewish community here is definitely smaller than California, but I've personally always been a fan of smaller communities - it means each individual member/family of the congregation has to take ownership in the community and really participate. There's no free ride. I've only been here less than a year and I'm already a religious school teacher for the Jewish religious school in Huntsville (which is combined Conservative/Reform - neither congregation is large enough to sustain a religious school by itself.), as well as pitching in in other regards. Now, I was active in my California congregation too, but here it seems like everyone else is invested as well and you get a lot more support. Part of that is the smaller size of the congregations but also of the city. It is much easier to maneuver around in Huntsville than some of the commutes people had to deal with in California. Also, even though Southern Jewry isn't as highly religious in the same way Southern Christians are, there is a general embracing of religious life that I think makes people of all faiths more apt to participate. For example I think my husband's employer is MUCH more sympathetic for him taking time off work for a synagogue activity or religious event than his employer in California.

On the flipside, the smaller size of the Jewish community does have drawbacks, most notably, there are limited service times, etc. For example, during the High Holy Days which are coming up, a bigger congregation has an elaborate young children's program while their parents attend services - there is no such thing here - just not the people or the funding to do it. A Yom Kippur service is just WAY too much for my 3 yr old for example. There is a family service that is shorter and that's what we'll do. That's just an example. There's only so much a limited number of people can do.

In terms of other people, I have had no problem. I do know secular friends who do feel a bit out of place in the South in terms of being asked what church they are affiliated with - which is a MUCH more common question here in Alabama than California or many of the other places relocatees are from. That question has never made me uncomfortable because I simply say "we're affiliated with Etz Chayim synagogue" and people accept that and it ends the conversation, or they might ask a few polite and sincere questions about Judaism - it doesn't result in any additional church-talk or invitations that make some secular people uncomfortable.
Why thank you for that. I'm curious because we're in a neighborhood that's popular, due to our proximity to synagogues, but never really had the gumption to ask.
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Old 09-10-2008, 11:43 PM
 
4,739 posts, read 10,373,633 times
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Quote:
Being outside the Christian majority was never a problem, Nomberg said, even six decades ago: She won the Miss Ozark beauty pageant at 14 and sometimes attended church with friends after sleep-overs.

...

Rabbi Lynne Goldsmith didn't know quite what to expect when she moved to Dothan a year ago to serve as pastor at Temple Emanu-El, which was founded in 1929. She came with her husband, who directs the Jewish community services group.

A Connecticut native, the rabbi halfway expected the Alabama of old with wide-open racism and dirt roads.

"The Northeast has a really warped perception of what the South is all about, and I found out it was all wrong," she said. "The South is a wonderful place to be. The people are warm and friendly. There's very little traffic. And best of all, there's no snow."
Wanted: Jewish families | Jewish Features | Jerusalem Post

zenjenn - I thought of your family when I saw that article...

I'm sure you know, but people ask you where you go to church in order to invite you to share their faith; while some are offended, I (now) see this as a compliment / outreach / witness. As long as you have -some- kind of faith, their need for outreach is satisfied, but woe to the unchurched

"...there is a general embracing of religious life that I think makes people of all faiths more apt to participate. For example I think my husband's employer is MUCH more sympathetic..."

My example: I've worked at places with Muslims who were pleasantly surprised that employers were very willing to make accomodations for their faith (scheduling work / meetings around prayer, working around holidays).
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Old 09-11-2008, 10:41 PM
 
1 posts, read 4,756 times
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You will love Dothan. My father and grandmother are from the city and I visited often from 1967-1995 when our last relative there passed. The people are open, friendly, and want you to enjoy yourself. I would live there except for the fact that my wife, from CT., does want to be that Southern. The impressions of the Rabbi are correct. It is friendly, and the cost of living is really nothing compared to any major city. Anti-Semitism will be a non-issue. If they offer 50,000 to Methodists I might be able to get my wife to change her mind.
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Old 09-12-2008, 09:45 AM
 
4,739 posts, read 10,373,633 times
Reputation: 4186
“Shalom, y’all!”

Quote:
The story has been published in hundreds of newspapers and linked on more than 700 blogs, according to a Google search. Since then, the Blumberg Family Jewish Community Services of Dothan Web site has received more than 150,000 hits and the office has received 500 contacts from Jewish families across the country. More than 100 have filled out an online information form.
Local Jewish center swamped with inquiries | Dothan Eagle

A little history:

Quote:
...Judah Benjamin was elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana in 1852. When the slave states seceded in 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him Attorney General, making Benjamin the first Jew to hold a Cabinet-level office in an American government...
Judah Benjamin, The Jewish Confederate (http://www.ajhs.org/publications/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=222 - broken link)
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Old 09-14-2008, 07:20 AM
 
1,645 posts, read 4,564,377 times
Reputation: 267
Not only do they give allowances for religious faith, but I believe football time in the south is holier than all and this means less homework for the students on game weeks. Wednesdays are slow, too. Hallelujah!
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