Ayeikah – Where Y’At?

Southern & Jewish

Southern & Jewish celebrates the stories, people, and experiences – past and present – of Jewish life in the American South. Hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, posts come from educators, students, rabbis, parents, artists, and many other “visitors-to and daily-livers-of” the Southern Jewish experience. From road trips to recipes to reflections, we’ll explore a little bit of everything – well, at least all things Southern and/or Jewish. Shalom, y’all!

What’s Jewish about…

• The N’awlins phrase “Where Y’At?”
• Eating cheese grits soufflé in Alexandria, Louisiana?
• Cheering “Roll Tide” on Wednesday, “Go Tigers” on Sunday, and in between, enjoying an interfaith gathering at a Methodist Church in Pensacola Friday?

Well, those expressions and experiences were all part of the twelve-lecture, ten-day, four-state tour covering 1,200 miles that I embarked on with Dr. Ron Wolfson last month.  In New Orleans, “Where y’at?” is a question that starts many conversations … and in the Torah, the first question is “Ayeikah?” – most often translated as “Where are you?” but in N’awlins, it’d be “Where y’at?”

Moments like that one, connecting Jewish learning, community, and Southern hospitality, were hallmarks throughout the trip.

There is nothing that can’t be accomplished when we keep in the forefront of our minds that all Jews are responsible for one another and share our resources, working together to make greatness happen for everyone involved.  The January lecture tour of Ron Wolfson through the South, exemplified
Klal Yisrael
 and the regional, communal programming approach of the ISJL .

The cooperative spirit was contagious, and along the way Dr. Wolfson addressed over 750 people, across four states in ten days including Jews and Christians, in tiny congregations like Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Louisiana (88 members) up to large Southern congregations like Temple Sinai  in New Orleans, LA (700 members) and everything in between.  The youngsters in 4^th – 8^th grade in Birmingham, Alabama were every bit as enthralled with his afternoon Be Like God workshop as their parents and grandparents were with the evening lecture, God’s To-Do List.

What makes Ron so brilliant is his ability to touch everyone and leave them with a renewed awareness of what it means to be made in the image of God, as well as what we can do to honor that in everyday life at home, in our synagogues and in our communities.  He is joyful with everyone, greeting each individual with a handshake, which begins breaking barriers before he is even introduced.

Ron doesn’t deploy heavy handed preaching, or one definition of God.  Christians, Jews, and even those without a particular faith learn from him.  The overwhelming feeling at the end of each lecture – renewed and refreshed, so glad to have been there and thirsty for more!

Speaking of “more,” I am thrilled that Dr. Ron Wolfson is spending some more time with Southern communities this coming week; you can see the schedule for his Virginia tour here.

That’s where I’ve been recently … so, where y’at?