Israel Bonds and Pomegranate Margaritas 
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Israel Bonds and Pomegranate Margaritas 

Rabbis Sam and Natan Trief were honored at Temple Sinai alongside an appearance by Adeena Sussman, cookbook author.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe October 25, 2023, 10:56 am Edit

After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.

  • Rabbi Sam’s mother (left) came in from New York to honor the couple, Sam and Natan.
    Rabbi Sam’s mother (left) came in from New York to honor the couple, Sam and Natan.
  • Brad Young, Israel Bonds executive director, chatted with Chuck Berk outside the Temple Sinai sukkah.
    Brad Young, Israel Bonds executive director, chatted with Chuck Berk outside the Temple Sinai sukkah.
  • Co-chair Debbie Lieberman chatted with guest author Adeena Sussman and local restaurateurs Melanie and Michael Shemtov.
    Co-chair Debbie Lieberman chatted with guest author Adeena Sussman and local restaurateurs Melanie and Michael Shemtov.
  • Asha Gomez had just returned from Israel on a culinary tour as the only American. Shown here with son, Ethan.
    Asha Gomez had just returned from Israel on a culinary tour as the only American. Shown here with son, Ethan.
  • Event co-chair Mark Spatt, posed with Bret and Alyssa Chaness.
    Event co-chair Mark Spatt, posed with Bret and Alyssa Chaness.
  • Debbie Lieberman conducted an in-depth and convivial interview with Adeena Sussman.
    Debbie Lieberman conducted an in-depth and convivial interview with Adeena Sussman.

On a perfect eve of Oct. 5, the Temple Sinai sukkah was alive with Israel Bonds supporters eager to pay tribute to Rabbis Sam and Natan Trief, and to learn and dine with one of the world’s most talked about chefs, Adeena Sussman, ready to autograph her new book, “Shabbat Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours.”

Honoree Trief said, “Israel Bonds is our go-to institution for marking simchas as well as aligning our dollars with our values. Supporting Israel Bonds transcends governments and fleeting coalitions; it is an enduring investment in the Jewish people and our eternal homeland.”

Brad Young, Israel Bonds executive director, chatted with Chuck Berk outside the Temple Sinai sukkah.

Bradley Young, Executive Director of the Southeast for Israel Bonds, told the AJT, “Buying bonds helps Israel and allows us to have events like this.”

Event co-chair Debbie Lieberman, who had a personal connection to Sussman, interviewed her both in the cocktail hour and later at the main event dinner.

Before leaving the sukkah, Sussman did a live demo preparing sparkling burgundy pomegranate sumac margaritas. She said, “Pomegranates are at their peak now in Israel, and they have significance around the Jewish holidays. Drink with your eyes. Always rim the salt before the ice goes in, and zest before the juice.”

The bill of fare for the more than 220 guests was prepared from recipes for the Shabbat cookbook — slow roasted tomato tarts, feta artichoke pea dip, grape and labneh toast with spicy thyme honey. The family-style dinner was roasted vegetable barley salad, butternut squash pasta, sweet potatoes with miso tahini, seared broccoli, roasted salmon with tomato jam. Dessert was cardamom berry crisp.

Co-chair Debbie Lieberman chatted with guest author Adeena Sussman and local restaurateurs Melody and Michael Shemtov.

Event co-chairs Debbie and Ryan Lieberman, Talia and Jeremy Schube, and Gabby and Mark Spatt welcomed the crowd and also closed the event. Temple Sinai Senior Rabbi Ron Segal said, “Israel Bonds confirms our ties to Israel and unquestionable sense of community to demonstrate our unflagging support in a timely way and one that is meaningful to the Triefs.”

After a video touting Israeli technology and successes, Chuck Berk, former chair of National Israel Bonds Campaign Council, explained that he started investing in Israel Bonds 25 years ago. He reminded, “Bonds are safe and pay a great rate — 6.24 percent (depending on category) — keep us connected to Israel, and easy to give as gifts.”

Young noted that bonds were not political, but a simple expression of our democratic values and solidifying our future. “No one has ever lost money in an Israel Bond, and it makes us a direct partner and stakeholder.”

Debbie Lieberman was seated on the stage across from Sussman, with whom she has a personal connection. The prolific Sussman channeled her heartfelt Shabbat family experiences, growing up in Palo Alto, Calif., imagining her father singing “Shalom Alechem” as “Shabbat was our North Star of life. We pulled out all the stops.”

She explained the leveling field of Shabbat not having to live up to anyone else’s expectations.

“It can be in driveways or going out. At times, we slow down and listen, and show gratitude.”

At her home one Shabbat, she hosted the chief rabbi of France as spontaneous guests just showed up.”

Sussman shared that she married late (now living in Israel) and went from “single to safta (to stepchildren)”, adding, “I moved to Israel for love, but stayed because of the Carmel Market and all its differing cultures and produce stalls.”

Event co-chair Mark Spatt, posed with Bret and Alyssa Chaness.

Sussman will appear at a lunch event for the Book Festival of the MJCCA on Friday, Nov. 17.

Local treasure Asha Gomez, chef and author best known for her mix of cooking traditions from the American South with her native Kerala in Southern India, chatted with the AJT about her return from Israel on a culinary tour where she was the only American.

Young, concluded, “We sold over $850,000 in Israel Bonds that evening and are encouraging those who didn’t invest to consider doing so now that we have launched an international campaign to raise funds for Israel at war.”

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