Leadership Messages

 

• The Gadol of the Week for our Kitah K children
• Summer dinners at home without cheers extolling Morah Dena as the Zero Hero
• ASK staff meetings without Rabbi Friedman’s big picture thinking, looking at things from a 3,500-year historical perspective
• Scores of people at the Friedman’s table every meal of every Shabbos
• Singles events in the Lodge on Bramble Road
• Shabbos Shira without a milk carton bird-feeder
• Rabbi Friedman on video wearing black spectacles and a Groucho Marx mustache
• A shul in Dunwoody that feels like a family and models the hallmark Friedman values of hospitality and learning
• Shabbos mush
• An impossible number of rowdy, giggly clownselors concentrated in a few square meters on Westover Plantation
• Our daughters learning history from someone who deftly integrated secular history with hashkafa and teachings of Chazal
• The Jewish Educational Alliance which initiated the Kollel’s college outreach program
• And the list goes on and on…

Dear Rabbi Binyomin and Morah Dena Friedman, 

We are awed by the fruits of your labor of love - Congregation Ariel. Thirty-eight years ago, you arrived in Atlanta (at different times) to work for the Atlanta Scholars Kollel. You each found your niche and quickly became successful communal servants; Reb Binyomin became the "king of Lunch and Learns" and Morah Dena, the "queen of TDSA Kindergarten". Together you put your heart and soul into creating a s'vivah, an environment that would be a magnet for people thirsting to connect with their Creator. Congregation Ariel started with humble beginnings; first a storefront off of Jett Ferry, then a home (and matzah factory) on Sandell Drive, to several iterations of the shul on Tilly Mill. It was so successful at attracting hundreds of families that the Jewish Community Center seized the opportunity to open across the way and capitalize on the traffic coming to Ariel. 

It is difficult to summarize the mesiras nefesh of starting from scratch to build a Jewish community from literally nothing except for a handful of well-meaning Dunwoody-based Beth Jacob members. Raising your family in a totally secular neighborhood, shlepping to Toco Hill every day for school and Kollel, counting heads trying to scrape together a minyan for Shabbos morning, advertising programming before the internet, offering classes to get people in the door, opening your home Shabbos after Shabbos, Yom tov after Yom tov to dozens upon dozens of curious people who thought you were, well let's just say, a little nuts. While we may not be able to aptly describe your mesiras nefesh, we saw it, we lived it and often joined it by coming to spend Shabbos with you. It was and continues to be AWESOME. 

Your warm collective embrace of all who come within your reach has built a warm and enveloping communal family that projects that same warmth and acceptance of others. People from all walks of life, Jewish and non-Jewish, have been inspired by you, your family and your Shabbos table. Some loved the family and company, others the food, yet others the Torah (and non-Torah) discussions. No one left uninspired. Many began journeys of their own from that first taste of Shabbos. A secular Israeli woman who was in awe of your Shabbos table reflected that if she had been living in Israel, she would have never had a meal with a chareidi rabbi like you! You have used your talents, your home and your community to inspire neshomos, planting seeds and returning the hearts of so many, back to our Father in Heaven. 

May Hashem bless you with good health and long life to appreciate the awesome role you played in building individuals, a community and Torah in Atlanta! 

With great admiration, 

Rabbi Dave Silverman and Rabbi Doniel Pransky

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Rabbi and Morah Dena Friedman,

 

I vividly remember my first day at the Friedman home. Rabbi Friedman picked me up at the airport smilingly, explaining that Morah Dena was doing some last minute camp shopping. I expected chaos when we got to the house - 5 young kids whose parents were out all day! But instead I found Brach and O' in the basement painting bunk signs. I think Laibel was sitting and watching them peppering them with questions and opinions. It was calm and pleasant. Eventually Morah Dena came home in the blue station wagon. Although I was exhausted from my trip down, the Friedmans were just getting started on the next leg of that day's adventures.

 

On that day I learned many things: that husbands and wives are a team and pick up where the other leaves off - even when it's not their particular project. that children who are included in the vision are happy to work hard for the mission. that if you are really clear about your mission and what you're doing, Hashem gives you the energy to keep on going no matter how long and hard the day. And THAT was just the first day!

 

My first summer in camp I was astonished by how open and affectionate the campers were. They were constantly wanting to sit on my lap, be next to me while watching presentations etc. I asked Morah Dena if this was normal for their age, or for this community. Her response was that these were very well loved children and that's why they were so comfortable asking for so much connection. To this day, I don't know if she meant it or not, but I think often of that mindset - if we would all just love the children around us, how would that impact them? what would they be like?

 

Camp Shamayim is where I gained an appreciation of the value and power of being a Jew. Morah Dena constantly maintained that although camp is and should be fun, the goal is love and joy of being a Jew. Camp Shamayim gives children something they can not get from the broad world around them: love, joy of being alive, and of being a servant of Hashem.

 

The younger counselors demonstrated leadership and commitment at a level way beyond their years. I knew they must have exceptional role models who not only lived the way they wanted their children to lead, but also believed in them and their ability. Moreover, they had taught their young daughters that life (and happiness) is about giving rather than consuming. At 20 years old (or so) I had figured that out on my own, but to see it in such young people was exceptional.

 

Although I spent the majority of my first summer in Toco, the counselors occasionally made themselves mini-Shabbatons in Dunwoody.  Once Shabbos came in, I was equally impressed to see that camaraderie extend to the older women as well as teenage girls who were members of Ariel at the time.  The acceptance and connection with which the women of Dunwoody responded to these counselors, was inspirational to see. This was the magic of the Friedman home. Everyone was welcome and valued.  That is indeed the model for how Hashem wants us to interact with and feel towards every Jew. 

Mrs. Chashy Alterman

 

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Dear Rabbi and Dena Friedman,

It’s hard to believe that after 30+ years of devoted leadership, you are beginning a new
chapter. As we reflect on the journey of Congregation Ariel and our family’s connection
to it, we are filled with deep gratitude for everything you have done to build, nurture, and
sustain this incredible community.

From its earliest days, Ariel was more than just a place of worship—it was a home, a
family, a foundation for Jewish life in Dunwoody. And at the heart of it all was you,
Rabbi, with your wisdom, guidance, and unwavering commitment to Torah and to each
and every member of the congregation. And, of course, Dena, whose warmth and
kindness welcomed so many into her home week after week for Shabbat meals,
creating a spirit of chesed and connection that defined our community. The way you
opened your home so freely and made everyone feel like family is something truly
special, and it has left a lasting impact on so many lives.

Our own family’s journey at Ariel is filled with cherished memories. We still picture
Shaun as a little boy, running around the back of the shul, completely at home in the
warm and welcoming space you helped create. And his upsherin—the very first one
held in the newly built shul—was such a special moment, one that tied our family to the
history of Ariel in such a meaningful way. From that moment to the bar and bat mitzvahs
of Ilan, Kelli & Shaun, you have been there for us, guiding, celebrating, and supporting
us through every stage of life.

Your leadership has shaped not only the shul but the lives of so many individuals and
families who were fortunate enough to call Ariel their spiritual home. Though it is hard to
imagine Ariel without you, your legacy will always remain in the walls of the shul and in
the hearts of everyone you have touched.

We wish you both a retirement filled with joy, good health, and endless nachas from
your family. You have given so much to this community, and we are forever grateful.

With deepest love and appreciation,
Allan and Robyn Regenbaum

 

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In Tribute to Rabbi Friedman

Back in the ‘90s, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, a young, fresh, black-haired (and black-bearded!) rabbi named Friedman from the Atlanta Scholars’ Kollel drew the short straw and got the job of trying to introduce Torah to engineers at Georgia Tech. Perhaps the only ones there with a harder job there were the poetry professors. Yet he proved himself up to the task, even researching fermentation so he could convince us that wheat really did start to become chametz at around 18 minutes. Bringing food to college students didn’t hurt either.

Even before Ariel acquired its current property, I merited helping him to form the short-lived, but remarkably successful NCSY chapter. More due to his efforts and the gentle nudging from Morah Dena than anything I did, we were able to help several teens connect to their Jewish heritage and Jewishly survive the teenage years. One became a full-time learner; two of them married each other and are an asset to the Toco community; one has become a renowned kiruv rabbi in Ohio; and then there’s little old me, living here in Israel, preparing to observe Shabbat tonight with my wife and enjoying our Jerusalem-born grandson. 

Kol hakavod to Rabbi Friedman on these and all your other accomplishments!

Bobby and Julie Weinmann