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VIDEO: SJV meets Beth Scherer-Smokey and Martin Stein

The second season of Southern Jewish Voices continued on March 20 when interviewer Margaret Norman sat down with Beth Scherer-Smokey and Martin Stein from the Knesseth Israel leadership team.

While Beth was not raised in an observant Jewish household, once she ended up in Birmingham she found herself attending weekly Shabbat at Chabad of Alabama. As she delved more deeply into Orthodox Judaism, she found herself attracted to its structure and tradition.

Meanwhile, Martin grew closer to Judaism through the Livnot U’Lehibanot program in Israel that helps strengthen Jewish identity. Also significant was the decision made by him and his wife to raise their adopted son as Orthodox.

Today Beth and Martin work to keep their KI congregation engaged in the community, and Beth was instrumental in getting KI’s new Holy Crepe food truck on the road. She hopes the enterprise will serve as a model to help other small Orthodox congregations grow and sustain themselves.

Watch the full interview:


Next up:

  • April 17: Miriam Friedman, director of the Jo Ann Hess Morrison Chai Tots Preschool
  • May 22: Rabbi Adam Wright, spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El

Special thanks to funding from the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Ted and Marjorie Levite LJCC Fund at the Birmingham Jewish Foundation for their support of this program.