Shmuel Adler, son of Ruth and Steve Adler, is engaged to Daffy Glatzer. They are planning a fall 2009 wedding and will be living in Beersheva where both of them will be going to school.

From Rita and David Geffen...12/13/2009, 2009

Dear Marjorie

Hope all is well with you and your family

Please let everyone know that on February 21 2010 at at 7PM at the Yedidya
Synagogue in Jerusalem a Memorial Symposium will be held for Rabbi Tobias
Geffen z'l
The evening will mark three milestones in 2010
Fortieth Yahrzeit of Rabbi Geffen - February 2010
Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Coca Cola Responsa-Teshuva Summer 2010( First published in his book Karnei Hahod 1935 and republished with English translation in Lev Tuvia ed. by Joel Ziff(grandson) in 1988)
100th anniversary of arrival in Atlanta to be spiritual leader of Shearith Israel synagogue(December 26, 1910). Began his rabbinate on January 1 1911.

Paraticipants in the Symposium will be noted professors of American Jewish history:
Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, Kimmy Caplan of Bar Ilan University
Family members:
Grandchildren: Rabbi M. David Geffen, Phd, Ruth Ziff Adler MSW( who is editing a Hebrew translation of Rabbi Tobias Geffen's autobiography, first written in 1951), Dr. David Wilensky
Great-Grandson Rabbi Jay Adler ( ed. of Pri-HaGeffen with his brother Noam Geffen - writings of Rabbi Tobias Geffen)

This symposium is open to the family and general public - please contact me for more details

Also - please indicate that anyone who has memories of Rabbi Tobias Geffen or his family - please write and send them to me....maybe some new pictures will surface as well
Shortly, after our son Avie scans it - will send you an early picture of Rabbi Tobias Geffen and a noted rabbi either in Kovno or in Slobodka

Not sure he has been in touch - my cousin Dr. Heschel Raskas of St. Louis, Annette's son, was installed as the national treasurer of the Jewish Federations of North America. This body is the descendant of the original Council of Jewish Federations of the United States and Canada and the UJA and funnels money raised in USA and Canada to Jewish Agency in Israel, other bodies helping Jews around the world plus using money for local needs
Dr. Raskas in the last few years was President of the St. Louis Jewish Federation

His brother Stanley Raskas, whose wife Sherry passed away earlier this year, is active in many agencies. Currently, he is chairing the annual dinner of Yeshiva University in New York. He is the Secretary of the Board of the Yeshiva. He had a recent reunion with Ruth Ziff Adler and her husband Judge Steve Adler in Scarsdale. Judge Adler, the President Judge of the National Labor Court of Israel, was a visiting professor at Cornell University Law School for a two month period this fall.

Do not know all the details but Professor Ben Ravid, Jane's husband, will be giving the
annual Simon Ravidowicz(his father) memorial lecture at Brandeis in the spring

Professor Dov Levin spoke at the conference "100 years of Yiddish Literature"at the Hebrew University last week. I happened to be there. Dov spoke in Yiddish and gave examples of
popular Yiddish literature which was created in Kovno before and after Worl War 1. Dov and his wife Bilha became grandparents again - first son, Omri David, for the Levin's son Zvika and his wife in Tel Aviv..

Personally, had the opportunity in 2009 to publish articles in the Jerusalem Post about
the journey on foot from Vilna to Palestine of Dov Levin in 1945, my scoutmaster, Josiah Benator of Atlanta who at age 87 still active and was chosen a pillar of wisdom by the AARP in its summer magazine, American rabbis'silence about the Hitler invasion, on Rosh Hashanah in 1939,
the odyssey of Bert Lewyn(Dov's cousin) who survived in Berlin and was brought to Atlanta to renew his life in 1949 by his his great uncle and aunt Rabbi Tobias and Sara Hene Geffen.
Bert and his wife Esther, an Atlanta native, have five children. Their oldest grandson, Jacob, is a freshman at Emory University attended by by his mother Andrea, his grandmother, Esther, 6 of Rabbi and Mrs. Geffen's grandchildren, a grandson, David, Arthur Geffen, Wendy and others

We have two grandchildren playing basketball in Israel - Lyron Burg(mother our daughter Elissa0 is 17 and plays for the Katzrin-Golan team - fifth year he has been on the team - in one game earlier
made 5 3-point shots.. His sister Eden had her Bat Mitzvah in November -

A younger cousin Daniel Geffen(Tuvia's son) plays on one of the Ramat Hasharon teams for his age
Last night at our house in Jerusalem had a Chanukah party for all our children and grandchildren
Orit, Avie, Yari, Elissa, Chemi, Ori, Lyron, Eden, Keren, Tuvia, Daniel, Maya and Adam

Pictures were taken - hope to get them to you

Signing off after all this - hope to hear from you when you have a chance
Love
Rita and David

David Geffen celebrated his 70th birthday with family and friends in Jerusalem. His grandson Ori prepared a wonderful video. In the film speaking are Robert Geffen, David Geffen, David Wilensky, Allen Hoffman, Ruth Ziff Adler,
Ellie, widow of Daniel Ziff, David's wife Rita ,their children and some of their grandchildren. Click here to watch the video. (Takes several seconds to load)

Yari Geffen, daughter of Avie and Orit Geffen and granddaughter of David and Rita Geffen, celebrates her first birthday on July 6th. Click here to see photo.