Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

$1.00Volume 91, Number 15www.kcjc.comApril 15, 2011

The KANSAS CITYjewish chronicleHappy Passover

Photo by Marcus cain

This wooden Passover table centerpiece holds matzah in the three shelves. The top features carvings of Holy Land scenes, a Star of David and Hebrew inscriptions relating to Passover. It was made in Palestine in the late 19th century for the tourist trade to purchase and is a part of Kansas Citian Michael Klein’s personal collection. The image is courtesy of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art and was captured during the Friends of KCJMCA Judaica Tour featured by The Dining Room Project at Epsten and Paragraph galler-ies, 2011.

page 2 The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle April 15, 2011

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HBHA Civic Service Award Dinner co-chairs David Porter and Patricia Werthan Uhlmann.

DELIGHTFUL EVENING — It looked like everyone, including co-chairs David Porter and Patricia Werthan Uhlmann, were having a wonderful time Sunday night as the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy cel-ebrated its 45th anniversary. (See more photos on pa ge 32). Two members of the original graduating class were in attendance — Debbie Sosland-Edelman and Harriet Pu-ritz Almaleh. We were all treated to a video featuring some of the found-ers where we heard the hit line of the evening, delivered by Blanche Sos-land. She reported that when they met with Hyman Brand for the very first time seeking his support, he called the group a bunch of “young punks.” Brand was so impressed with those “young punks” that in two weeks he raised enough money for the school to operate its first year.

ISRAEL ADVOCACY — The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City has launched a new Facebook page that focuses solely on Israeli ad-vocacy. Israeli emissary Lilach Nis-sim said friends of the page will be able to learn more about events that are happening, ask questions and get answers, and write their opin-ions freely. The page will also have facts about Israel and list a variety of sources for additional informa-tion. The page is called Advocacy KC Israel.

KOSHER FOR PASSOVER — I got a call earlier this week from a reader informing me that a recipe for Chocolate Chiffon Cake in the April 8 edition provided by JTA News & Features is not kosher for Passover because its ingredients include bak-ing powder. So I did a quick online search and found out that while it would seem that baking powder would not be kosher for Passover, there are actually four brands certi-fied with the OU-P available this year. Another article notes that there are many written debates as to whether or not Passover baking powder and baking soda should be permitted. If

you search online you’ll find a variety of answers. So my best (uneducated) advice regarding the use of kosher for Passover baking powder is to ask your rabbi!

SPECIAL THANKS — Marcus Cain, the cu-rator of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Con-temporary Art Epsten Gallery|Museum With-out Walls went out of his way to help us find an im-age for this week, our an-nual Passover edition. We thank Marcus for all the extra effort he put forth on our behalf !

KOLLEL CAKES — I wish I would have known that the Community Kol-lel of Kansas City was sell-ing kosher for Passover flourless chocolate cakes before I found out that pre-orders completely sold out in two days! They are be-ing baked by Marsha Pen-er Johnston. Stay tuned as they will be selling custom made kosher cakes for Shavuot as another fun-draiser. In the meantime if you want more infor-mation about this fundraiser or you wish to reserve a Shavuot cake, you can contact Rabbi Binyomin Davis at [email protected].

HOLOCAUST COMMEMORA-TION PLANNED — The annual State of Kansas Holocaust Com-memoration Service will be at 1 p.m. Monday, May 2, at the Kansas State Historical Museum in Topeka. This year’s theme is “The Holocaust: Jus-tice and Accountability,” and the keynote speaker will be Hildegard Trout, a Holocaust survivor. Musi-cal performances will be provided by the Washburn University Choir and cellist Steven Elish. They will per-form excerpts from the “Holocaust Cantata.” The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Kansas City Holocaust Commission. Seating is limited to the first 200 and the service lasts approximately 75 minutes. For more information, call (785) 272-6040.

JAPAN AID — Japan continues to be shaken by earthquakes and af-tershocks and Jewish organizations continue to help the Japanese people. IsraAID/FIRST has now sent three medical teams to work there, the most recent one delivering urgently needed medicines to the Fuji Torano-mon Hospital. IsraAID is a coordinat-ing body of Israeli and Jewish orga-nizations and other interested parties based in Israel who are active in de-velopment and relief work and are concerned about global issues.

JDC officials estimates they will raise $2 million which will provide emergency relief in the disaster stricken region. JDC has provid-ed food, water, hygiene products, blankets, tents, emergency school supplies, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. It is also working in conjunction with IRC, UNICEF, Afya, Chabad and the IDF, support-ing the field hospital in Minamisan-riku through the purchase of medical equipment and life-saving drugs.

By Barbara Bayer,Editor

April 15, 2011 The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle page 3

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This Passover, pass the fava bean soup please!By Carol KatzmanContributing Writer

It’s a few days before Pesach. The rush is on to simmer the dates and al-monds with wine for charoset, cut all the vegetables for the big pot of fava bean soup, and roast the red and green peppers for chouchouka.

What? This doesn’t sound like a “traditional” Passover menu — at least not to Jews whose grandparents came from Eastern Europe.

But if you’re Nathalie Chetrite Scharf and your parents are from Mo-rocco and Algeria, this is exactly what you’re preparing.

Scharf, who was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, is a minority within a minority in greater Kansas City — a Sephardi Jew. The name describes those Jews whose ancestors didn’t orig-inate in Europe or Russia, but stayed in the Middle East, the Maghreb--- (North Africa) or countries like Greece, Bul-garia and the former Yugoslav states.

When Nathalie was a little girl in France, she used to visit her grandpar-ents in Morocco almost every summer.

“The Jewish community (in Casablan-ca) was large and active,” she recalled. “I remember the smells and sounds of preparing for Shabbat. My grandpar-ents had several maids, as was tradi-tional at that time, and I would hang out with them as they went to the souk or prepared meals.” The men attended services Saturday mornings at any of Casablanca’s many synagogues while the women prepared the house for the huge meal that followed. “The tradi-tional dish my grandmother served was dafina; it is similar to cholent with potatoes, eggs, wheat, meat, chickpeas and cooks all night,” she added.

And while she’s not making dafina for Passover, Nathalie will be reminisc-ing with her mother, Michele Chetrite, who arrived at the end of March from France. “My mother was born in Fez, Morocco, and my father was born in Al-giers,” she added. “My father was sent to a yeshiva in Strasbourg, France, in 1962 after Algeria gained its indepen-dence and entered law school in Aix-en-Provence. My mother left Morocco after high school to also attend the law school in Aix; that’s where they met.”

When Nathalie was 16, she came to

Photo by EdméE RodRiguEz

Nathalie Chetrite Scharf (left,) and her mother, Michele Bentolila Chetrite, prepared a Shab-bat meal with a Sephardic flavor. Shown here are salade de carottes, meguina and salade cuite (chouchouka). Meguina is made with eggs, potatoes, lemon juice, parsley, green beans, carrots and spices and is almost like a crustless quiche often eaten during Passover.

see KC Family, page 11


www.jewishkansascity.org 913-327-8100

With your help, the Jewish Federation provides 245 Israeli school children with a nutritious lunch each day through the Leket sandwich program.

Copy of 14th-century Hebrew manuscript acquired by Nelson-Atkins MuseumA rare copy of the Barcelona Hag-

gadah edition, which was printed in 1992 in London through a special proj-ect with the British Museum and is the only copy in a four-state region, has been acquired by the Spencer Art Reference Library of The Nelson-At-kins Museum of Art in Kansas City. The funding to acquire the work was given by longtime Museum supporters Sybil and Norman Kahn in memory of Thomas W. Levitt, a former two-term

chairman of the Nelson-Atkins Society of Fellows.

“The gift of the Haggadah to the Nel-son-Atkins library is very appropriate, because Passover was Tom’s favorite family holiday,” said Molly Levitt, wid-ow of Tom Levitt, who died as a result of a rare neurological disease in 2009. “Our family is honored that Tom will be remembered at the Museum with this special gift through the generosity of the Kahns.”

The original Barcelona Haggadah manuscript dates from 14th century in Spain, and is named for one of the il-lustrations showing the coats of arms of Barcelona. The heavily decorated, original manuscript was acquired by the British Museum in 1844. The fac-simile edition acquired by the Nelson-Atkins is rare; there are no other copies in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa or Nebraska. The closest location to see another copy is in the University of Chicago Librar-ies.

“The gift of the Barcelona Haggadah facsimile is an important addition to the Museum because it is a prime example of an illuminated Hebrew Medieval manuscript documenting an important cultural, artistic and historical tradi-tion,” said Marilyn Carbonell, head of the Museum’s Library Services. “This facsimile fills a gap in the library’s re-search collection and strengthens our capacity to serve the entire regional

community. We are most grateful to the donors, Sybil and Norman Kahn, for this gift in memory of Tom Levitt.”

“Anyone is welcome to come to the library and ask to see the Haggadah,” Carbonell continued.

The Haggadah, traditionally used at home for the Jewish celebration of the Passover holiday, is one of the most frequently illustrated texts of Jewish literature and tells the story of Exodus. The story of the “four sons” and the ceremonies of the Passover seder are shown in the illustrations. The Hagga-dah is a narration or telling of the story and is used during the special Seder meal.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets in Kansas City, Mo. Admission to the Museum is free to ev-eryone. For Museum information and hours, contact (816) 751-1278 or visit nelson-atkins.org.

Photo by Shirley harryman

This rare copy of the Barcelona Haggadah can be viewed at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.


salute to youth

BBYO allows teen to do ‘amazing things’By Ellen R. PortnoyContributing Writer

If Adam Sitzman was to define his teenage years, it would take only four letters: BBYO. “I define my-self in the Jewish community through BBYO,” Adam said. It is through BBYO that he has met great friends and learned leadership skills. And it is through BBYO that Adam was nominated to be this month’s Salute to Youth honoree.

The son of Wendy and Jeffrey Sitzmann, Adam was nominated by Debi Tozer, BBYO program direc-tor. “Adam is fantastic,” Tozer said, “because he can see the big picture. He is very strategic in how he plans and the programs he plans with other people.”

He likes BBYO because it is “completely teen led,” he said. “It allows us to contribute to something larg-er than ourselves and gives teens the opportunity to grow as leaders. Each chapter is as good as the teens running it, which gives us a real sense of ownership and accomplishment.”

Adam’s proudest accomplishment in BBYO, where he serves as AZA Council president, is the revival of Teen Connection, BBYO’s program for Jewish middle school students.

“In the past this has been very stagnant,” he said. “Now we have a committee to plan events and a list of students who are engaged in the program.”

“Adam makes plans to work to create a strong Jewish teen community in Kansas City,” Tozer said.

Due to his dedication to BBYO, Adam was awarded the Shield of David award. Recognized on the inter-national level of BBYO, the Shield of David award is based on a teen’s involvement in the organization. Adam easily met this requirement.

He plans to stay active in the Jewish community throughout his life. In fact one day he would like to be a BBYO advisor. And his advice to other teens reflects his commitment. “Definitely get involved in BBYO,” he said, “because you can do amazing things that you could not do otherwise, and learn and grow to be a leader.”

But his commitment to his Jewish connections does not stop at BBYO. Adam is a member of JSU/

NCSY and USY. His family belongs to Congregation Beth Shalom.

“Adam is an amazing young man,” said Stefanie Williams, director of Informal Education and Youth Activites at Beth Shalom, “when you get him talk-ing about something he loves, he just lights up and is filled with an enthusiasm that you are instantly caught up in! Adam is the kind of person you want to be around — he always puts you in a good mood and gives off a positive energy! “

Two years ago he spent a month in Israel through TJJ, the Jerusalem Journey sponsored by NCSY. It was a great experience for him.

“Different groups of teens from across the country came together,” he said. “We formed great bonds from the beginning.” There were 42 students on his bus, of whom he now considers friends. “No disrespect to BBYO,” he added, “but definitely others should go on this trip.” While he was on the trip to Israel, he got to enjoy his favorite Jewish food, falafel. “It is healthy,” he said, “but at the same time great tasting and fast.”

Adam, a senior at Blue Valley West High School, is the president of the Jewish Student Union at the school. His other school activities include Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), where he has placed in competitions; National Honor Society; Spanish National Honor Society; Jagged Edge TV, re-porter for his school show. He has earned the Presi-dential Community Service Award for three years and is an AP Scholar.

Another aspect in of Adam’s life is his enjoyment in other activities. Even though his favorite sports are snowboarding and skateboarding, he still partici-pated for three years on the Kansas City basketball team for the Maccabi games which were held in Bal-timore, San Diego and San Antonio.

Adam is still undecided where he will go to college next year. But he does know that wherever he goes he will join Hillel to continue his involvement in Jewish activities.

“I am doing my best to preserve the Jewish cul-ture,” he said, “and pass it on to younger genera-tions.”

Adam Sitzman

‘Google Exodus’ tells the Passover tale via tweets, FacebookBy Sue FishkoffJTA News & Features

SAN FRANCISCO — What would the Exodus have looked like online?

That’s the premise behind “Google Exodus,” a 2-minute video that tells the Passover story using social media.

In the video, which has gone viral with more than 1 million page views since being uploaded March 31 onto YouTube, God Skypes Moses, Moses

finds Pharoah’s palace using Google maps, and he and Pharaoh engage in a heated e-mail exchange about letting the Jewish people go. Moses orders live frogs and other plagues on Amazon.com, and he tweets his success to the Israelites via Twitter.

“We view this film as a natural ex-tension of what we do, which is to reach out to Jews of every background using modern tools,” said Nechemia

Coopersmith, the Jerusalem-based chief editor of Aish.com, part of the three-man team that produced the video. “We wanted to take all the social media tools — Google, Facebook, Twit-ter, Yahoo.answers, Google street view, Skype — and weave them into the story of the Exodus.”

Aish.com is the website of Aish HaTorah, a Jerusalem-based Jewish educational and outreach organization

with branches around the world.The video opens with a CNN news

alert: “Pharoah Enslaves Jews.” As Pharaoh and Moses trade messages via gmail and iPhones — Moses’ “Let my people go!” is met with Pharaoh’s “No way!” — the lead-up to the plagues begins.

“My staff just turned into a snake! Cool,” writes Moses, updating his sta-

see Google, page 10


‘Lives well lived’

By Barbara BayerEditor

How many times have you sat with Zayde or Aunt Esther and promised yourself that sometime soon you will chat with him or her and capture all their life stories before they aren’t able to tell them anymore?

Maybe you don’t have the time to talk to Zayde about those stories your-self. Or maybe you don’t feel you have the expertise to chronicle Aunt Es-ther’s stories properly. That’s how Tru-di Galblum and Molly Shapiro can get involved. As professional writers, they will write and publish these precious stories for you. (At least one other Jewish-owned company is also produc-ing family histories. See separate story this page.)

The pair work together at Trudi Galblum Communications, a com-pany Galblum has owned since 1991. It specializes in writing for nonprofit organizations, companies and families seeking to build support, inspire hope, document achievement and preserve legacies. Over the years they have writ-ten several corporate histories, includ-ing those of Health Midwest and Meno-rah Medical Center.

“What we bring to this type of proj-ect is a long history of interviewing people about their lives and putting it together in an entertaining format that people will pick up and read,” Galblum said.

A creative writer as well as a jour-nalist, Shapiro has written a number of commissioned screenplays and pub-lished a book of short stories “Eternal City,” which won the Willa Cather Fic-tion Prize. Her first novel will be pub-lished by Ballentine early next year.

“We’re pulling out gems of Kansas City history that are going to disappear soon,” Galblum said. “When people preserve that history by sharing their story it is a gift to the community.”

Galblum first became interested in individual and family histories almost a decade ago. She was in the process of completing Barney Karbank’s person-al history when he passed away in 2002.

The fact that subjects are often in their twilight years is one reason Shap-iro thinks putting personal stories and histories in written form is important to do sooner than later.

“I have several friends who’ve re-cently lost grandparents or parents

and say they wish they would have done this when their loved one was alive because now those stories are gone,” Shapiro said.

“Trudi and I know how precarious all this is and how important it is. A lot of people, while they know it’s impor-tant, really don’t deal with it until it’s too late,” Shapiro said.

Many times, Shapiro said, people feel weird about initiating the story-telling process because that action would somehow be admitting that he or she might not be alive much longer.

They have found that while some people are hesitant to begin telling their stories, once they get started they become more comfortable with the in-terview process.

“This might be a person’s first and only opportunity to share their life’s journey,” Shapiro said. “It can be an exhilarating experience to have some-one wanting to hear all the details of your life.”

One of the pair’s most recent proj-ects resulted in a hardcover book about Galblum’s inlaws — Skipper and Leo Feingold. They started interviewing them about a year ago.

“What was really poignant about

all this is Leo was 95 when we started and he passed away two months after we finished our interviews,” Galblum said.

The process is a little different for each subject, because every person, business or family is unique. It always includes an initial meeting and in-per-son interviews. The final product can include photographs, letters and archi-

val materials in formats ranging from a simple manuscript printed on a per-sonal computer to a published book.

“We will customize every project to meet the subject’s needs,” Galblum said.

Galblum said it’s common for a proj-ect to grow once the subject gets start-ed and comfortable with the interview process.

“We try to estimate how many in-terviews it will take in the beginning,” Galblum said. “But then later they’ll ask us to interview this person and that person.”

Galblum said it’s realistic to think that a couple’s interview can be com-pleted in 10 hours. Sessions usually don’t last longer than two hours be-cause the subject, and the interviewer, often gets tired after that length of time.

The cost of a personal history typi-cally ranges from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the number of people interviewed, the number of photos in-cluded, and the quantity and quality of books printed. Shapiro said histories that involve numerous people and/or a family business would likely cost more.

“I think all the old pictures add so much to it,” Shapiro said.

“We know it has to be cost effective for people, so we’re making sure to pro-vide lots of options,” she continued.

For more information about these histories, contact Trudi Galblum at [email protected] or Molly Shapiro at [email protected].

One of the family histories written by Trudi Galblum and Molly Shapiro is ‘Who is Happy? Skipper and Leo Feingold: Roots of a Kansas City Family.’ The photo was taken on their wedding day in 1945.

Galblum and Shapiro team up to write family histories

Keepsake Chronicles preserves life storiesKeepsake Chronicles is another

Jewish-owned company helping people capture and preserve their life stories. Diane Wubbenhorst, a member of Con-gregation Kol Ami, and her business partner Jamie Thaemert, said Keep-sake Chronicles has been in business since late February. The company, which holds a membership in the As-sociation of Personal Historians, spe-cializes in capturing, chronicling and producing people’s life stories using a unique story gathering process.

The subject, called the “star” by Keepsake Chronicles, is first assigned to fill a Keepsake Reflection Box with memorabilia that reflects highlights of his/her life including photos, medals,

certificates, jewelry, etc. The interview captures the “star’s” stories surround-ing the contents of the Reflection Box.

The “star” is also asked to complete fact and timeline sheets to help spark memories.

In addition, dedications and tributes from family members are collected by Keepsake Chronicles. The “star” doesn’t see the tributes and dedications until he/she receives the finished book.

Most of the company’s clients are adult children of people in their 70s and 80s, Thaemert said.

“Siblings band together to buy our service to help create a lasting keep-

see Keepsake, page 10


Edna Levy: The Jewish education energizerBy Carol KatzmanContributing Writer

Edna Levy is a bundle of energy. In the classroom she curls up on a chair, feet tucked underneath, as she asks the women in her recent “Sheroes of the Bible” class to look at the text. “What’s the Hebrew used for the basket carry-ing Moses?” she asks. A student finds the word ‘teva’ and recalls it was used in the portion about Noah. It’s not just “a basket” Levy agrees, but something sturdier. Maybe there’s a parallel be-tween Noah’s “saving humanity” and Moses’ potential “saving of the Jewish people.”

“Was it luck or chance?” Levy asks next, as she unwinds her legs and sits astride the arm of her chair. One re-sponds, “There’s serious calculation here.”

Levy’s style has some serious cal-culation as well; as a Jewish educator her goal is to make her students see be-yond the “old Hebrew school version” that most adults have to overcome. “I have found that there is some odd coincidence between what I sign up to teach, and what my own personal Jewish soul-journey is searching for,” Levy admits. “So I have always ended up learning as much or more than I am teaching, or being more influenced than I expected.” Yet she didn’t start out to become a teacher.

Growing up in a household as the oldest daughter of Sephardi parents who emigrated from Iraq to Canada to the United States, Levy’s formative years included teenage rebellion — but made her appreciate her heritage and want to learn more. “When I was a kid, those who didn’t have that Ashkenazi background might have said ‘I don’t have the right story’,” Levy explains. “So I sometimes feel left out whenever I hear Yiddish — as my grandparents spoke Arabic. Yet overall I do feel in-cluded in Yiddishkeit.”

Levy’s parents, Claudette and Nouri Levy, live here now, mostly to be near their daughter and son-in-law, Jacob Schreiber (executive director of the Jewish Community Center) and their three children: Gavri, 16, Maya, 12, and Simi, 9. It’s the first time since those teen years in Kingston, Ontario, Cana-da, that she’s lived in the same commu-nity with them.

“My mother, younger brother and sister became more observant when I was in high school,” Levy recalls. She

rebelled, but instead of their religios-ity driving her away from Judaism, it “sparked my Zionism and learning.” She looked for meaning in Judaism, practicing what years later she would learn was Rabbi Brad Hirschfield’s phi-losophy: “You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right.”

She felt a strong connection to the land of Israel, which led her to a long visit at age 19, where she lived with her Iraqi cousins, learned Hebrew and worked. She returned to Israel after graduating from Queen’s University in Canada. And that’s where she met Jacob Schreiber, a young New Yorker who had just made aliyah.

“It was a whirlwind romance,” she says with a grin. Five months later, Levy left for graduate school at the University of California at Irvine and for Jacob, it was “lose her or follow.” Luckily he found a job there while Levy completed the course work to-ward her doctorate in political science. Israel beckoned again, and the couple returned, now as a married couple, when the Anti-Defamation League hired Schreiber in its Jerusalem office.

That allowed Levy to finish her dis-sertation about gender and militarism in Israel. “My thesis came from frus-

tration with women’s status in Israel,” Levy says. “It pits the myth of equality against what it means to be an Israeli, through service in the army.”

The couple spent four years in Is-rael before Jacob accepted a position in Rochester, N.Y., as assistant director of the JCC. That started Levy on a path as a Jewish educator. A local temple had an opening for a part time director of Jewish education. “I had a Ph.D.,” Levy recalls, “and was already an educator, but I didn’t have the experience in Jew-ish content.” That job allowed her to develop those skills.

Her Rochester stint gave Levy the credentials she needed when the couple

moved to Atlanta. She taught Melton courses, and staffed summers at local Jewish camps. The last two years there, Levy became director of the Lisa Brill Institute for Lifelong Jewish Learning at the JCC.

And since moving here in the sum-mer of 2009, she’s enjoying – and ex-panding – her role as a Jewish “coach.” Levy describes her role as “Sort of a ready-to-tailor-make-hands-on-Jew-ish-educational-experiences for indi-viduals and families. She adds, “The title somehow conveys that I can teach Jewish-ness — beyond the classroom and beyond the right-and-wrong-how-to’s.”

Levy is coordinating “Ayeka” — a series of spiritual, or personal growth, workshops. “Ayeka is less about Jew-ish education and more about Jewish transformation. It is a way of increas-ing awareness, gratitude, presence in the everyday, through Jewish texts,” she adds. Ayeka’s founder, Rabbi Aryeh Ben-David, is coming to KC as a Scholar-in-Residence in May.

And she is facilitating Foundations — Jewish Values for Parents. “It’s a Melton-created class,” she explains, with “lots of discussion and text study for parents of all backgrounds and per-spectives.” She’s even taught a Skype-version with a parent group in Wichita.

Levy describes Ayeka, as “a heart-centered way of learning Jewish texts and ideas.” She says she has found herself “more open to, wrestling with, thinking about the questions and is-sues.” And so perhaps that’s why this energetic Jewish teacher adds, “this may be one reason why I enjoy teach-ing and find it fulfilling — I love grap-pling with texts or ideas along with other learners — it’s my way of mak-ing meaning for myself.”

Photo by EdméE RodRiguEz

Edna Levy engages students in a recent ‘Sheroes of the Bible’ class.

Rabbi Mark Washofsky scheduled to be Beth Torah’s visiting scholar in June

This year’s Congregation Beth To-rah Shabbaton will kick off June 3 at the synagogue.

While the Shabbaton itself is lim-ited to Beth Torah members, all in the community are welcome to attend 6:30 p.m. services on Friday, when visiting scholar Rabbi Mark Washofsky will address the topic that in today’s world,

“All Jews are Jews By Choice.”Following Friday night services,

Rabbi Washofsky will join congre-gants and guests for Shabbat dinner at the synagogue. Dinner tickets and pricing will be available soon through the Beth Torah office, (913) 498-2212.


Keepsake Chronicles preserves life storiessake and to honor their parents or grandparents.”

Wubbenhorst said Cantor Paul Sil-bersher piqued her own personal inter-est in family history. He influenced her to seek information about her parents. She started her journey with her moth-er’s family, who were Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.

“They migrated to England in ap-proximately 1887 during difficult times in their homeland of Lithuania,” she said. “They were deeply rooted in the tailoring business.”

Wubbenhorst, a graduate of the Florence Melton adult Jewish stud-ies program who performs with the Tikvah Dancers, began searching for another career after being laid off by Sprint in 2009.

“I was blessed to find that my friend of 20 years, Jamie Thaemert, was also passionate about capturing family his-tory,” she said.

Wubbenhorst likens the importance

of creating a lasting family history to a quote from the television show “The Wonder Years,” “Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

Keepsake sells three main products: The Klassic Book (portrait format, hardbound) sells for $1,295; The Kon-temporary Book (landscape format, hardbound) sells for $1,325 and the Keepsake Video (voiceover narration, interview footage, still photos and pho-to gallery slideshow) sells for $965.

For more information, you can visit the website at keepsakechronicles.com or e-mail Keepsake Chronicles [email protected].

from page 8

Shown at right are Jamie Thaemert (left) and Diane Wubbenhorst, owners of Keep-sake Chronicles.

‘Google Exodus’ tells the Passover tale

tus on Facebook. Later, a YouTube vid-eo shows a plague of locusts descend-ing on a field.

When the Jews leave Egypt and reach the Red Sea, viewers get up close and personal as the waves part when Google maps zooms in for a “street view.” The scene is of Charlton Heston in “The Ten Commandments.”

“Google Exodus” is proving a huge hit, steering a tremendous amount of web traffic to Aish’s Hebrew and Eng-lish websites. The video also was re-leased in Spanish on the organization’s Spanish-language website. This week, the video ranked fourth on the UK Guardian’s Viral Video Chart.

“With Passover coming up, this film is a fun way to reach people who might otherwise not be interested,” Shraga Simmons, senior editor of Aish.com and a member of the production team, told JTA. “ ‘Google Exodus’ enables us to communicate Jewish values in a lan-guage that everyone can understand. And the cool thing is that it is spread-ing via the same web tools featured in the video.”

If Christianity evolved out of Juda-ism, this Exodus video was inspired

by the birth of Jesus — specifically a Christian video released last December called “Digital Story of the Nativity,” which narrates the baby-in-the-man-ger tale using the same social media tools employed by the Aish.com team.

The big difference?“Google Exodus” uses a jazzy or-

chestral version of the Passover seder song “Dayenu,” while Digital Jesus rocks along to “Jingle Bells.”

Coopersmith says the Nativity video was itself inspired by a popular Google ad that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl telling the story of a Parisian-American love affair conducted via Google tools.

That ad only used Google, Cooper-smith said, whereas “we wanted to ex-pand and use every social media tool possible.”

The Aish team is now busy on its next project: a social media-rich video for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Indepen-dence Day. It should be up on Aish.com a week before the May 9 holiday, Aish officials said.

from page 7

Presidents Conference tapsRichard Stone as chairman

(JTA) — Richard Stone, the chair-man of the NCSJ, was elected unani-mously as the next chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Stone, a New York attorney, was elected Monday at a meeting of the Presidents Conference in New York. He will assume his new position on June 1, succeeding Alan Solow.

NCSJ, formerly known as the Na-tional Conference on Soviet Jewry, advocates for the Jewish communi-ties in the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Stone said his goals as chair of the Presidents Conference, an umbrella organization of the American Jew-ish community focusing on national and international issues, includes prioritizing the fight against the dele-gitimization of Israel, strengthening ties with Israel and promoting unity among the American Jewish com-munity.

“I look forward to working with all of the members of the Conference of Presidents to advance the U.S.-Israel

relationship and address the press-ing issues that face the Jewish people throughout the world,” he said.

Stone has served as vice president and on the Executive Committee of the New York Jewish Community Re-lations Council and currently chairs its Government Relations Commis-sion. He was the chairman of the In-stitute for Public Affairs, the public policy arm of the Orthodox Union, from 1992 to 2002, and served on the board and executive committee of Jewish Council for Public Affairs from 2005 to 2009.

He currently serves as a mem-ber of the board of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, the America-Israel Friendship League, the American Zionist Movement and the New York Metropolitan Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty.

Stone is on the faculty of Colum-bia University Law School, where he has held the Wilbur Friedman Chair in Tax Law since 1991.


KC family prepares traditional Sephardic sederthe United States as an exchange student and lived with a family in southern California. She earned her high school diploma and stayed for another year so she could apply to California State University, North-ridge. “I didn’t know anyone there and it was a huge campus with 40,000 students,” she recalled. “On the first day of school, I went to the Hillel House to meet other Jewish students.” She met the Hillel president, too — the man who would become her husband — James Scharf, whose Kansas City grandparents were Holocaust survivors Sol and Jennie Blum.

The couple married in 1991 and moved here in 1993. James’ mother, Nata Scharf, had already moved from southern California in order to be close to her parents and the rest of her KC family. “I applied to Washburn Law School in Topeka and was accepted,” Nathalie said, adding that after graduation the cou-ple moved to New York, where their first daughter, Naomie, was born. They returned to KC for a short period, then it was on to France where daughter Kay-la was born. After four years with Nathalie’s family, they returned once again to KC. Today Scharf works for the Department of Commerce, bringing in foreign investments to Kansas and assisting local businesses looking to export their products; her husband, who was a social worker, has just completed his student teaching in elementary education and special ed.

They’ve lived in Overland Park since 2003. Naomie, now 13, attends Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, and Kayla, 9, goes to Cottonwood Point Elementary. The family belongs to Beth Shalom, where Naomie cel-ebrated her Bat Mitzvah last fall.

“Aside from my family, I really miss the rich cul-ture and traditions of the Moroccan Jews,” Scharf admits. It’s difficult to find some of the ingredients she needs for her Moroccan recipes, so she awaits her mother’s trips and the exotic spices, pate’, and Passover cookies she brings with her. “It is getting easier to find things on the Internet, such as harissa (a combination of spices and hot chili peppers used to flavor many North African dishes) and now couscous is everywhere.”

Her daughters are aware of their backgrounds and are interested in learning more about their Sep-hardic heritage. But it is a challenge in Kansas. Un-like New York, where the Scharfs had Jewish friends of Sephardic descent, here Nathalie has been asked if she really is Jewish when she didn’t understand Yid-dish words!

Nathalie’s background didn’t include stories of the shtetls in Poland and Russia. Instead, one grand-mother sang her Ladino lullabies — a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish, and others spoke of the fresh fruit and vegetables, exotic spices and grilled lamb featured in the North African dishes unique to each Jewish holiday.

That fava bean soup, for example, is a staple of Moroccan sederim. According to Claudia Roden, au-thor of “The Book of Jewish Food: an Odyssey from Samarkand to New York,” “fava beans are one of the foods the Jews hankered for during their Exodus from Egypt.” Roden grew up in Egypt, so her ver-

sion was made only with “salt, pepper, lemon juice and flat-leafed parsley.” The Moroccan recipe passed down from Scharf’s Moroccan grandmother, adds vegetables and is, according to Roden, “deliciously aromatic.”

Nathalie also remembers the “Bibhilou” ceremo-ny many Sephardi Jews perform at their sederim each year. The leader takes the seder plate and holds it over the head of each guest around the table, while everyone sings “Ha lachma anya” from Hallel, the songs of praise recited during every Jewish festival holiday: Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot.

Sephardic doesn’t necessarily mean Spanish, Scharf explained, “though my mother’s family roots are certainly from there.” She can trace her family back to Spain from before the Inquisition; they also are related to the revered Baba Sali, the late Moroc-can rabbi who helped bring a generation of Jews to Israel.

“I still have a few distant relatives in Morocco, though very few remain. Most moved to Israel, France and Canada.” She’s concerned about the re-cent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen, and wonders if it will spread to Morocco. In 1956, Mo-rocco was home to more than a quarter of a million Jews. Today, fewer than 5,000 live in its largest city, Casablanca. Fez and Tatoun, where Scharf’s family once lived, are now home to only 100-150 Jews each.

Michele Chetrite is happy to be in Kansas City, enjoying her granddaughters and helping prepare for Passover. Nathalie trained in Aix to be a pastry chef, while James worked at the family’s hotel. So it’s her job to create the desserts, while her mother is responsible for the fava bean soup, meatballs with green peas, lamb with white truffles, carrot salad, and chouchouka — the roasted bell pepper salad.

“I feel it is my responsibility to teach my kids some of the traditions they will be able to carry-on. One of them — widely known and celebrated in Israel — is Mimouna, a festival that marks the end of Passover.

It was an incredible experience in Morocco! I still re-member this vividly,” Scharf recalled. “We would go from house to house partaking in special delicacies and just celebrating, playing traditional music and all wearing our best caftans. This went on until the early hours of the morning.”

In addition to hosting her mother during Passover, Nathalie’s father Guy and brother, Alexandre, are fly-ing in on Sunday as well. And her sister, Stephanie, is getting married in September in Aix. Not only will the entire family be going, but also Nathalie plans to stock up on her favorite spices, orange blossom water, and other specialties. After all, by then she’ll need them to make Gateau a l’Orange, a Moroccan orange cake served during Sukkot!

Soupe de fèveS de peSSahfava Bean Soup for peSSah

1 kg (about 2.2 lbs) beef roast plus marrow bone1 kg new potatoes 1 kg of fresh or frozen peeled fava beans2 leeks3 stalks of celery 2 carrotscilantrosalt peppercurcuma (a type of turmeric)oil

Season the meat and salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Remove the meat.

Wash, peel and dice all vegetables finely, except for the fava beans.

Sauté the vegetables (except fava beans) in the drippings from the meat, and add the meat and mar-rowbone. Add enough cold water to cover meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer until all vegetables are done.

Add the fava beans and cook an additional 10-15 minutes. Add the chopped coriander, salt, pepper and curcuma to taste.

agneau aux terfaSSeSLamB with white truffLeS

1kg (about 2.2 lbs) lamb shoulder roastoil1 bunch saffron4 garlic clovessalt pepper1 kg canned white truffles (from Morocco)

Cut the meat into large chunks and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Sauté in the oil until the meat browns. Add a cup of water, the whole garlic cloves, saffron, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for one hour.

Add the canned truffles and simmer an additional 30 minutes.

from page 5

Nathalie Shcarf’s grandmother, Suzanne, wears a traditional caftan.


From oranges to artichokes, using seder plate as a call to actionBy Sue FishkoffJTA News & Features

SAN FRANCISCO — Passover, which commemorates the Jewish peo-ple’s liberation from slavery, has a po-litical message at its heart. So it’s not surprising that the seder — especially the seder plate — has been pressed into the service of all kinds of freedoms.

The country’s first Freedom Seder, held in a Washington church on the third night of Passover on April 4, 1969, marked the first anniversary of the as-sassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Participants used a Haggadah focused on black-Jewish solidarity that was rewritten by the Shalom Center, a Jewish peace group. The 800 guests included blacks and whites, Jews and Christians.

Since then, Freedom seders have focused attention on women’s rights, the environment, anti-war protests, interfaith dialogue, Jewish-Muslim dialogue and labor issues, as well as black-Jewish relations.

Last week in Tel Aviv, nearly 500 Af-rican migrant workers joined Israeli supporters at a “refugee seder” near the city’s central bus station, a neigh-borhood populated by many illegal workers. A spokesman for the work-ers told reporters that many could not attend the event last year, which was held closer to Passover, because they were busy cleaning Jewish homes for the holiday.

In the 1980s, some American Jews added a fourth matzah to the three tra-ditionally placed on the seder table to symbolize Soviet Jews who were not free to celebrate Jewish holidays. Simi-larly, some Haggadahs added a fifth child to the traditional Four Sons, rep-resenting a child who died in the Holo-caust and was not able to be present at the seder.

Instead of refashioning their entire seder, many people add items to the seder plate in the name of one cause or another.

The traditional seder plate contains an egg, shank bone, karpas, charo-set and maror. Some also make room for the hazeret, another kind of bitter green. But other fruits and vegetables have showed up recently, represent-ing everything from solidarity with oppressed Jewish communities to wel-coming the intermarried.

Miriam’s cup, used to symbolize the feminist presence in Jewish liturgy and ritual, first appeared in Boston

Rosh Chodesh women’s groups in the 1980s and quickly moved to the seder table.

More commonplace at liberal seders today is the orange, which has come to symbolize the power of Jewish women — from female rabbis to the role played by Jewish midwives in the Exodus sto-ry.

But when Dartmouth College Jew-ish studies professor Susannah Hes-chel first plunked down a tangerine on her seder plate in the early 1980s, it was in the name of gay and lesbian inclu-sion, not women’s rights in general.

“During the first part of the seder, I asked everyone to take a segment of the orange, make the blessing over fruit, and eat it as a gesture of solidarity with Jewish lesbians and gay men, and oth-ers who are marginalized within the Jewish community,” she wrote in 2001 on Miriamscup.org. “In addition, each orange segment had a few seeds that had to be spit out — a gesture of spit-ting out, repudiating the homophobia that poisons too many Jews.”

A few years ago, olives started show-ing up on the seder plate as a call for peace between Israelis and Palestin-ians.

In 2008, Jewish Voice for Peace pro-moted putting an olive on the seder plate as part of its Trees of Reconcili-ation project, which sought to donate 3,000 olive saplings to Palestinian farm-ers to replant trees torn down to make room for Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The Shalom Center suggests that celebrants include both an olive and orange on their seder plates.

“Why this olive?” reads the group’s 2009 “Freedom Seder for the Earth” Haggadah. “Because for millennia the olive branch has been the symbol of peace, and we seek to make peace where there has been war.

“Why this orange? Because in olden days there was no orange on the seder plate and it was said that outsiders — gay men and lesbians, transgendered people, converts, those who lack some important ability or skill, the un-learned — all these no more belonged in the community than an orange be-longs upon the seder plate. So we place an orange to say firmly, all these be-long in our communities.”

How about an artichoke? Rabbi Gee-la Rayzel Raphael suggests this prickly vegetable with the soft heart for the interfaith-friendly seder plate.

“Like the artichoke, which has

thistles protecting its heart, the Jew-ish people have been thorny about this question of interfaith marriage,” she writes on Interfaithfamily.com.

Hunger is a popular cause during Passover, focused as the holiday is on dietary restrictions.

In 2010, according to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, more than 40 “hunger seders” focusing on the nu-tritional needs of low-income children and adults were organized in 30 sepa-rate cities.

The Progressive Jewish Alliance, which has branches in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, took up that banner last year with its Food Des-ert Seder Plate, which was designed to alert Jews to the lack of access to fresh, healthy food in many low-income neighborhoods.

Instead of a nice, crisp lettuce leaf, they suggest a rotten piece of lettuce to remind participants that inner-city grocery stores often carry only spoiled produce. A potato chip instead of the potato often used for karpas alludes to the fact that high-fat, low-nutrition potato chips are cheaper and easier to find in such neighborhoods than whole, raw vegetables.

This spring, chocolate and cof-fee beans will show up on some seder plates as part of a campaign by Fair Trade Judaica to highlight Jewish con-cern for forced child labor in those in-dustries.

A Haggadah supplement prepared by Global Exchange, one of Fair Trade Judaica’s partners in this campaign, includes the following proposed ex-change between the seder leader and participants after the Maggid, or tell-ing of the Passover story, and before the blessing on the matzah, bitter herb and charoset:

Leader: Once, we were slaves in Egypt.

Assembled: Today, young children are toiling in the West African cocoa fields.

Leader: Just as Moses grew up in the house of the Pharaoh, we have in-fluence over those who exploit children in the cocoa fields.

Assembled: We can walk in Moses’ footsteps. We can have the courage to ask the Pharoahs of today to let the children go.

JTA phoTo provide by progressive Jewish AlliAnce

A piece of rotten lettuce and a dollar bill are some of the items the Progressive Jewish Alli-ance suggests placing on the seder plate.


celebrations

Allison D. Stolper andMichael T. Hearne

Engagement

Dan and Jennie Stolper of Overland Park announce the engagement of their daugh-ter, Allison Debra Stolper, to Michael Thomas Hearne, son of Tom and Leanne Hearne of Modesto, Calif.

The bride-to-be is the granddaughter of Bob and El-lie Navran of Leawood and Philip and Nancy Stolper of Muskogee, Okla. She gradu-ated with honors from Indiana University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and history. She also earned a Master of Sci-ence degree in integrated mar-keting communications from the Medill School of Journal-ism at Northwestern Univer-sity. She is a senior interactive promotion planner at General Mills Inc. in Minneapolis.

The future groom is the grandson of the late Leo and Lois Christensen of Hurley, S.D., and Jean Hearn and the late Dr. Thomas Hearne, Sr., of Melrose, Mass. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana Univer-sity, with majors in market-ing, supply chain management and international business. A former logistics demand plan-ner at General Mills, Inc., he is attending Harvard Business School where he is an MBA candidate in the Class of 2012.

A summer 2011 wedding is planned.

Bat Mitzvah

Janice Pinson and Jeff Pin-son announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Hannah Pinson, at 10:30 a.m. Satur-day, April 16, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Hannah is the granddaughter of Myron and Harriette Good-man of Overland Park, Kan., and Ron and June Pinson of Monmouth, Ill. Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush following the ser-vice.

honors

birth

Amy and Greg Harding of Arlington, Va., announce the birth March 5 of a daughter, Mayim Hope Har ding. Ma-ternal grandparents are Har-riet Garten of Cary, N.C., and Sam Garten of Raleigh, N.C. Paternal grandparents are Benny and Susan Harding of Leawood, Kan. Paternal great-grandmother is Mrs. Dorothy Harding of Kansas City, Mo.

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy seniors Molly Oberstein-Allen, Jonathan Edelman and Maggie Her-man have all recently been honored.

Molly was honored March 8 at by the Johnson County Library. At a recep-tion at the Central Resource Library she read her poem, “Driving,” which has been published in elementia, the library’s teen magazine.

Jonathan won first place in the photography ses-

sion of the Shooting Stars Scholarship competition last month. The Shooting Stars Recognition, Scholar-ship and Awards Program celebrates Johnson County high school seniors who have excelled in the arts and is sponsored by the Arts Council of Johnson County. His award-winning photo, “Life from Death,” was tak-en on the 2010 March of the Living. An exhibit of partici-pating visual arts finalists is currently hanging in the

Nerman Museum of Con-temporary Art through the month of May.

Maggie is this year’s HBHA Champion of Char-acter recipient. She received her award at the men’s NAIA National Basketball Tournament. Eligibility for this award includes demon-strating the traits of integ-rity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and leader-ship both on and off the field.

Three HBHA seniors recognized

Molly Oberstein-Allen

Jonathan Edelman

Maggie Herman

LeadershipDevelopment

Award presentedBeverly Levine Newman is the recip-

ient of the Beth Shalom Sisterhood Past President’s Leadership Development award for 2010-11. Along with a certifi-cate she will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the Intercontinental Region Con-ference May 15-17 in Minneapolis.

Newman is a native Kansas Ci-tian and a lifelong member of C o n g r e g a -tion Beth S h a l o m , where she was a Bat M i t z v a h and Confir-mand. She is currently editor of The Scroll. In 2010, Newman was honored as Kallat Torah during Simchat Torah.

Newman has been a member of Sis-terhood for more than 40 years and is a current and past member of the board of directors. She was an original stu-dent of the Sarah Peltzman Adult Edu-cation Program. For the past five and a half years, Newman has been Sister-hood treasurer.

She is also a member of Brandeis National Committee, a life member of Hadassah and life member of National Council of Jewish Women, where she received the Service to Section Award in 2009.

Newman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts degree in education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In her professional life, she was a teacher and a librarian.

Newman has been married to Peter for almost 45 years and they are the parents of Neil (Cathy) and Felice (Dr. Joshua Saxe). They are the grandpar-ents of Emily and Ethan Newman and Sarah, Heather and Courtney Saxe.

“Unless the reformer can invent something which substitutes attractive virtues for attractive vices, he will fail.”

— Walter Lippmann

Beverly Levine Newman


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Israeli culture takes center stage at Israel Independence Day celebrationYom HaAtzmaut takes place from

5:30 to 8 p.m. May 10, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue, 10501 Conser, Overland Park.

In celebration of Israeli culture, all area families are invited to get creative with this year’s Yom HaAtzmaut Fam-ily Art Contest.

“We felt this would be a fun way for people to show their creativity, while pushing the boundaries on what you can do with recycled material,” said Li-lach Nissim, Israel emissary to Kansas City. “Since Israel has taken on such a green focus, we thought this was a great way to showcase this piece of our culture.”

Prizes will be an authentic Israeli dinner for six, Royals tickets and movie passes.

• Artwork submitted should be:• Created out of 100% recycled (or re-

cyclable) materials • Created with an Israel theme• Sized no larger than 2 feet x 2 feet

x 2 feetSubmissions may be dropped off at

Kehilath Israel Synagogue, 10501 Con-ser, Overland Park, on the following

dates/times: Sunday, May 8, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Monday, May 9, 4 to 8 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 10, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All artwork must be submitted by no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10.

The blind judging of artwork will be at 7:30 p.m. during the Yom HaAtzmaut celebration.

Music, dancing and More

In addition to the art contest, the evening will be infused with other forms of cultural arts to create the feel of Israel. Beyond the delicious falafel that will be available for dinner, Tiz-moret Orchestra will be on hand for some fun, Jewish music.

Tizmoret Orchestra, founded 19 years ago by pianist Milla Portman, brings the unique styles of Klezmer and Jewish Broadway music to life through the talents of area musicians Portman, Steve Max, Mike Goldman, Bryn Dekosky, Ben Koven, James Sing-er (Nissim) and Chazzan Jeffrey Shron.

In addition to the music, Yom HaAtzmaut will feature Israeli danc-

ing, fun Israeli comedy skits and crafts and games for children.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, go to www.jewishkansascity.org.

The event is hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and

Kehilath Israel Synagogue. It is spon-sored in part by Teva Neuroscience and Herb and Bonnie Buchbinder. It is co-sponsored by area Jewish commu-nity organizations, agencies and syna-gogues.

Yom HaShoah Memorial Service May 1The community is invited to attend

the 2011 Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Me-morial Service at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at the Jewish Community Campus. In commemoration of the 70th anniver-sary of the destruction of the “Jewish Heartland” — the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe — this year’s pro-gram will feature readings from first person accounts of Jewish life before the Holocaust.

Steve Cole, son of survivors Ilsa Dahl Cole and the late Walter Cole, is serving as chair. The Hyman Brand He-brew Academy Choir will participate, as will Boy Scout Troop 61 and the Jew-ish War Veterans.

The moving candle-lighting ceremo-

ny will include Holocaust survivors, children of survivors, grandchildren of survivors, Jewish War Veterans, March of the Living participants, and a representative of the Jewish Commu-nity. Six candles will be lit in memory of the 6 million Jews who perished. The service also honors those who survived the Nazi genocide.

Coordinated by the Jewish Com-munity Center, Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee and Midwest Center for Ho-locaust Education. Local Jewish orga-nizations are co-sponsors. The entire community is invited to attend at no charge.



Friends of Sheffield make progressTo enable more accessibility to the

Sheffield Cemetery grounds, new hand-rails have been installed due to a gener-ous contribution from Orven Schanzer, from Los Angeles, said Rickie Haith, president of Friends of Sheffield Cem-etery.

Schanzer saw this important need the last time he visited the cemetery, she said. His father and brother are buried there.

“We are very grateful for his contri-bution and without Orven pointing this out, we would not have thought of this as a priority,” Haith said

An additional handrail was installed on the right to complement the one on the left when the concrete steps were finished in 2009.

“We want to thank Steve Rothstein, BIAV cemetery chair, for overseeing this project. It is so gratifying to see our progress,” Haith said.

Haith also said unfortunately the cemetery will remain wheelchair inac-cessible because of city codes.

In addition to handrails, these are the improvements completed by

Friends of Sheffield to date: a profes-sional lawn company has been engaged; the irrigation system has been updated; and trees trimmed, debris removed and grounds cleared for additional burial sites. The grounds have been beautified with landscaping and the restoration of the World War II Memorial located on the grounds, commemorating our fallen soldiers (2006-07).

Most of the broken cement walks and stairs presenting a safety hazard have been repaired. Gravestones have been aligned and restored (2009).

The two front gates have been re-stored to their original luster (2010).

For more information about Friends of Sheffield Cemetery, call Haith at (913) 341-8707.

To make a donation in honor or memory of someone, send a check made payable to Jewish Community Foundation-Friends of Sheffield and send to Jewish Community Founda-tion, Attn: Marty, 5801 W. 115th St., #104, Overland Park, KS 66211.

Have precious metals appraised;make money for Jewish Archives

Excitement builds as the price of gold increases (over $1,400 an ounce as of the week of March 6) while the board of the Jewish Communi-ty Archives of Greater K a n s a s City pre-pares for its Pre-cious Met-als Fund-raiser at 10 a.m. Sun-day, May 1, at the Jew-ish Com-munity Center, Conference Room C. A continental breakfast will be served, followed by Scott Krigel of Krigel Ad-visors Certified Appraisers, who will

present the history of the Jewish pio-neer families that made Kansas City a major center of the jewelry trade.

Each item of fine jewelry brought to the fundraiser will be appraised for its meltdown monetary value. Krigel Advisors will offer a fair and realis-tic bid, which you may then accept or reject. Photo identifications must be submitted by the attendees upon ar-rival.

Laurel Rogovein, president of the Jewish Community Archives of K.C. said “Passover is next week and as you spring clean, look for those unwanted or broken pieces of jewelry that you would like to sell, and bring them to the Precious Metals Fundraiser.”

Reservations are required. To get on the reservation list, call Sheldon Wishna, chairman, at (913) 327-7535, or Judy Parelman, executive director, at (913) 484-8186.

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Ten timely tips to get feet ready for warm weatherFrom slogging through snow, ice and slush to being

confined in heavy boots to fight the cold — if your feet could talk, what a tale of winter woe they might tell. You may be tempted to pull your sandals out of the closet and stuff your heaviest hosiery to the back of the sock drawer, but before you set your soles free to savor spring and summer, some preparation is in order.

Being cooped up in cramped footwear during winter months can cause feet to suffer from a variety of ail-ments, from dry, flaky skin and discolored toenails to pesky corns and unsightly calluses. Pampering your feet can help them look and feel their best now that warmer weather calls for donning flip-flops and peep-toe shoes.

“Caring for your feet not only promotes good hygiene, it can alert you to any problem areas that may need at-tention before slipping into sandals this spring,” said Dr. Michael King, president of the American Podiatric

Medical Association (APMA). “Plus, it’s a good way to relax and de-stress after a tiring winter. When your feet feel good, you’re more likely to feel good all over.”

The APMA offers these 10 tips for getting your feet summer-ready:1. Start with a soak. Immerse your feet in warm water

with Epson salts, herbal soaks or oils for at least 10 minutes.

2. Use a pumice stone or foot file to gently remove thickened, dead skin build-up (calluses) around the pre-soaked heels, balls and sides of the feet. Never use a razor as it removes too much skin and can easily cause infection or permanent damage if used incorrectly.

3. Eliminate dry, flaky winter skin on the soles, sides and tops of the feet by using an exfoliating scrub.

4. Massage a generous amount of emollient-enriched skin lotion all over your feet. This hydrates the skin

and the massaging helps to promote circulation. Be sure to remove any excess moisturizer from under your toenails or between toes; build-up in those ar-eas can provide a breeding ground for bacteria.

5. Use a straight-edge toenail clipper to trim nails to just above the top of each toe to ensure nails don’t become curved or rounded in the corners.

6. Help lock in moisture by wearing a pair of poly-cotton blend socks at bedtime.

7. Forgo nail polish if your nails are not healthy. If you have healthy nails, remove polish regularly to keep them in top condition.

8. Wash your feet daily with soap and water. Dry care-fully, paying extra attention to the area between your toes.

9. Inspect last spring and summer’s footwear. Throw away any shoes or sandals that appear worn.

Continued on page 20


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There’s no place like home! That’s why most people want to stay there as they age. However, sometimes people need in-home care to help them continue living at home. The Home Team of Kansas is com-mitted to providing quality care for your aging loved one, enabling them to live a productive life at home.

“Being independent even in times of need is essential to happy living. Our goal is to al-low each person the ability to determine how much or how little care they would like to re-ceive,” said John Daigh, director of HTK.

Because everyone’s needs are different and unique, HTK caregivers take the time to sit down with each person to determine where they can best meet their goals of independent living. Its staff has more than 85 years of com-

bined service in the homecare industry and is dedicated to providing the most effective and affordable services. The staff is highly trained in treating every individual with the compas-sion, respect and dignity that they deserve.

In addition, HTK can help clients utilize their long-term care insurance, coordinate VA benefits and assist with Kansas Medicaid payments. The Home Team of Kansas LLC is a licensed home health agency in the state of Kansas. It is a member of the Kansas Home Care Association, the Private Duty Associa-tion and the Better Business Bureau.

Affordable packages are available to fit every budget. Contact The Home Team of Kansas at (866) 395-2041 or visit www.hom-eteamks.com to learn about a customized package to fit your individual needs.

Meeting your home care needsLaser Sharp Fitness is a small, private,

personal training studio in the heart of Leawood. It is located at 135th and Briar streets, one block east of Nall Avenue just behind Starbucks.

The studio offers one-on-one personal training, small group training, boot camps and nutrition services. Each client receives individual attention based on their specific goals. Whether your goals are to lose weight, build muscle, learn how to eat healthy, get ready for your wedding day, or even train for a fitness event such as a triathlon or 5K, Laser Sharp Fitness has highly qualified per-sonal trainers able to help you reach your goals.

Laser Sharp Fitness specializes in func-tional strength training and nutrition coun-

seling. Open since June 2010, this personal training studio has helped many clients learn how to eat healthier and incorporate fitness into their lives. The road to a healthy body and mind begins with education.

Laser Sharp helps clients learn the tools necessary to making healthy food choices and working exercise into their daily lives. The facility is the perfect size to come and learn how to lift weights and utilize cardio machines in a unique, individualized set-ting. The professionals at Laser Sharp Fit-ness believe every client is different so they tailor nutrition and exercise plans specific to you. Stop by for a free training session and see what this personal training studio is all about. Laser Sharp Fitness: “Come Change Your Life With Us.”

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Although yesterday may not be remembered,today can still be meaningful.

Hearts At Home brings compassionate care to you and your loved ones

Mark and Leslie Schmitz know what it’s like when a family member is sick and needs a little extra assistance in their home. Both faced that situation with their own mothers, and now the couple is helping others who find themselves in a similar situation.

Using more than 40 years of combined cus-tomer service and management experience, Mark and Leslie founded Hearts At Home two years ago. Hearts At Home provides a variety of non-medical services to people, such as companionship, household chores, errands and transportation, meal preparation and feeding, medication reminders, and bathing, hygiene and dressing assistance. The compa-ny’s compassionate and experienced caregiv-

ers are thoroughly screened, bonded and in-sured to provide these services in your home, retirement community or hospital – wherever home may be.

Hearts At Home is an independently owned Overland Park-based business that offers qual-ity care from one to 24 hours a day throughout the Greater Kansas City area; a two-hour mini-mum is not required. Mark and Leslie person-ally hire all employees, introduce caregivers to clients, and tailor care to meet people’s needs.

“It (not being a franchise) offers a lot of flex-ibility to work with our customers,” Mark said.

Over the course of the past two years, Hearts At Home has helped 100 clients and earned a reputation of providing professional and compassionate care.

“We feel like we have something special,” Leslie said.

For more information, call Hearts At Home 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (913) 440-4209 or visit www.HeartsAtHomeUSA.com.

Get feet ready Continued from page 18

10. If any skin or nail problems ex-ist, see a podiatrist for a medical diagnosis.

Today’s podiatrists are physi-cians, surgeons and specialists trained to diagnose and treat con-ditions that affect the foot, ankle and related structures of the leg. To find a podiatrist near you, log on to www.todayspodiatrist.com. ARA


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Liz Kampschroeder, ACE Certifi ed Personal Trainer913.221.3595

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Looking to lose weight? Build muscle? Learn how to eat healthy?Get ready for your wedding day? Train for a triathalon or 5k?

We have helped many clients learn how to eat healthier, and incorporate fi tness into their lives.

The road to a healthy body and mind begins with education. At Laser Sharp Fitness we help clients learn the tools necessary to making healthy food choices and work exercise into their daily lives. Our facility is the perfect size to come and learn how to lift weights, and utilize cardio machines in a unique individualized setting. We believe every client is different so we tailor nutrition and exercise plans specifi c to you.

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Rehabilitation patients sometimes find they have a painful and difficult-to-heal wound that may delay their return home.

To address this issue, HCR-ManorCare Health Services of Overland Park has a wound care specialist nurse on staff who performs a skin assessment on all new patients when they are admitted, works to determine the source and treatment of patients’ wounds, and serves as a refer-ence to other nurses at ManorCare.

The nurse, Pam Brown, is a certified wound care associ-ate with the American Academy of Wound Management.

HCR-ManorCare Health Services of Overland Park, 5211 W. 103rd St., is a 240-bed facility with 135 beds dedicated to post-acute rehabilitation patients. ManorCare accepts patients who have been discharged from any hospital and for any con-dition, such as those who need rehabilitation following neu-rological, cardiovascular and orthopedic hospital treatment.

David Edalati, MD, a physician on staff at ManorCare, serves as a wound care consultant to Brown. Common wounds are pressure ulcers, vascular ulcers, arterial ul-cers, surgical wounds and diabetic ulcers.

“People come to us with wounds, and it is up to us to get them healed,” said Jerry Lindenbaum, administrator at HCR-ManorCare Health Services of Overland Park.

To enhance healing properties in patients, the facility can use Shortwave Diathermy and High Volt Pulsed Cur-rent technology.

In addition, ManorCare has three lymphedema-certified therapists on staff who can assist patients with the drain-ing of swelling in their extremities through massaging or wrapping.

For more information, call (913) 383-2569 or visit www.hcr-manorcare.com.

HCR-ManorCare of Overland Park helps rehab patients with treatment of wounds

There’s no such thing as a healthy tan, say ex-perts, especially among kids and teens.

“Children need to be protected from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, even on cloudy days,” said Dr. O. Marion Burton, president of American Acad-emy of Pediatrics (AAP). “Parents should make sure kids and teens are using a waterproof sun-screen with an SPF of 15 or higher when outdoors.”

The AAP also strongly cautions teenagers against using tanning salons. While it may be a growing fad among teens today, artificial tanning is not risk-free and can cause skin cancer and eye damage just like sun tanning.

For more information, visit www.healthychildren.org.

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JCC’s Adult Jewish Learning program makes plans for next season’s classesPlans are under way for the next sea-

son of the Jewish Community Center’s adult Jewish learning classes, with the popular Melton Mini-School courses a key component of the program.

Results from a recent survey of cur-rent and past participants in the pro-gram indicate more than 80 percent satisfaction with the Melton curricu-lum. Henri Goettel completed the core curriculum several years ago and has been taking courses ever since.

“I’ve taken all four of the shiv’im panim modules and they’ve been in-valuable to me in several ways,” Goet-tel said.

The shiv’im panim (70 faces of wisdom) courses are part of a larger curriculum developed by the Melton Mini-School in order to provide gradu-ates with additional opportunities to engage in “Melton-style” learning. Though prerequisites are not required, some background in text-study affords participants the chance to delve deeper into the material. Additional courses of this nature fall into a category of Jewish civilization and focus on con-temporary topics with less emphasis on sacred texts.

“These courses remind me of To-rah text that I’ve forgotten or not paid much attention to in my weekly para-shah reading,” Goettel said. “They’ve

helped me understand and/or put into context Torah text that I’ve found par-ticularly challenging or not particular-ly meaningful. And they’ve introduced me to post-biblical Jewish texts and commentators and helped me to appre-ciate their various contributions to our body of literature.”

Jeff Goldenberg, the JCC’s director of adult Jewish learning, said partici-pants were satisfied with a number of aspects of the program. However, there were areas that needed improvements.

Some of the findings include:• Making improvements in mini-

course offerings as well as Hebrew classes

• Including informal discussion in classes

• Classes of shorter duration — a 1.5-hour class period, and courses of shorter duration — two months or less

• Lunch as the most popular time for classes followed by evenings

• More consistency in the quality of instructors

• High interest in classes about art, culture, history and current events

• Desire for classes that can be ap-plied to participants lives

Goldenberg said the results of the survey are invaluable as the program moves forward with its planning ef-forts. Recommendations the depart-

ment will pursue include assembling and retaining a consistently superior faculty. Planners will look to develop a core survey course for people with some knowledge of Judaism who want to make a long-term commitment to learning about a variety of Jewish top-ics.

“For 2011-12, we plan to offer first year Melton students the opportunity to enroll by trimester, 10 weeks at a time,” Goldenberg said. “The commu-nity was very clear in its feelings about the Melton curriculum and its contin-ued utilization as a core component of our program. The changes forthcom-ing will reflect a need to modify its packaging and accessibility.”

Other plans call for shorter units and the development of highly chal-lenging courses that require a sub-stantial level of Jewish literacy. The department wants to provide a year-round schedule of fun, experiential, Jewishly-engaging activities for people who don’t want to participate in formal

or informal educational programs.“We also need to be highly collab-

orative with our synaogues and other Jewish organizations in terms of sup-porting each other’s events, coordinat-ing scheduling and holding events in others’ facilities,” Goldenberg said.

If you would like more information about the survey or upcoming courses and programs, contact Jeff Golden-berg, director of Adult Jewish Learn-ing, at (913) 327-4647.

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City provides pro-grams and activities that provide well-ness, meaning and joy to people of all ages, religions, races and backgrounds.

The Jewish Community Center’s facilities include a high-tech Fitness Center with Olympic-size pool, youth and adult sports leagues, basketball/racquetball/tennis, senior services, childcare, summer camp and a state-of-the-art theatre.


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A ‘moving’ art exhibit Village Shalom

residents recently enjoyed a “Spring Art Walk” with a bit of a twist: No walk-ing was required. Instead, a group of fi fth-graders from Hyman Brand He-brew Academy took the art “on tour,” presenting their own colorful, spring-themed drawings to residents who were relaxing in their rooms. The ambulat-ing exhibition gave students an oppor-tunity to strike up conversations about their creative efforts with Village Shalom Health Center short-term-rehabilitation residents.

“Our art teacher had us draw pic-tures of spring fl owers so we could come share them with the residents,” said fi fth-grader Sarah Caplan. The art walk was a collaboration between HBHA art teacher Kelly Reichman and

Village Shalom social services intern Matt Reifschneider, who conceived the idea.

“The kids were kind, loving and outgoing,” Reifschneider commented. “They really brightened the day of the Health Center residents.”

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy fi fth- graders Julia Paul (left) and Sarah Caplan share their artistic creations with Village Shalom resident Edith Pinsky. The girls discovered that they have more than art appreciation in common with Mrs. Pinsky; they are school-mates with several of her grandchildren.

B’nai B’rith Bowlin g scoresThe following bowlers on the

B’nai B’rith Men’s Bowling League achieved high scores on Sunday, April 10.

510 Series:Ron Rubin (662: 188, 267, 207), Mi-

chael Shapiro (652: 205, 229, 218), Lar-ry Cohen (643: 216, 211, 216), Rick Katz (632:195, 202, 235), Mark Lehr (626: 215, 183, 228), Gary Friedman (620: 235, 200, 185), Ted Simon (605: 190, 176, 239), Marion Potts (598: 246, 171, 181), Jeff Sander (588: 209, 203, 176), Ben Nathan (582: 219, 192, 171), Michael Altman (582: 224, 152, 206), John Cole-man (582: 181, 223, 178), Steve Green-berg (582:179, 193, 210), Chuck Berlau (574:169, 195, 210), Steve Weissman

(573: 190, 166, 217), Stuart Pollack (565: 201, 202, 162), David Lehr (563: 160, 152, 251), Scott Hecht (558: 201, 159, 198), David Katz (554: 169, 191, 194), Morty Rock (541: 181, 178, 182), Ed Klein (540: 184, 153, 203), Kent Verden (535: 166, 169, 200), Richard Retrum (533: 222, 158, 153), Bruce Singer (521:149, 200, 172)

170 Game: Carl Herman (199), Jeff Martasin

(198), Phil Rogoff (186), Steve Eisman (179), David Grodowitz (174), Mike Katzman (172), Alan Goldberg (170)

Anyone interested in joining, con-tact Tom Balke at (913) 648-0326 or [email protected].

WBT sets 2nd Hand Roseand Bake Sale

Women of Beth Torah will have its 2nd Hand Rose and Bake Sale from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 7. The group is seeking donations of gently used acces-sories and baked goods.

There is a box outside of the offi ce at Congregation Beth Torah for dona-

tions, which can be dropped off any time on or before Saturday, May 7. You may store baked goods in the freezer in the kitchen with a label for Bake Sale.

All baked goods donations should have the donor’s name and whether the ingredients include nuts.


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Gregg Shields started his home-painting business in 1987 as an unemployed college graduate who was living in his parents’ base-ment. Twenty-four years later, Shields Custom Home Painting is still in business and prides itself on doing all the little things that make a big difference in the finished product.

Paying attention to detail and doing all the necessary preparatory work have become hall-marks of this Kansas City-area business. The company’s mission is to provide the best paint performance value to local homeowners.

Shields Custom Home Painting focuses primarily on painting the exteriors and inte-riors of new and existing homes. In recent years, Shields has added deck restoration as an area of expertise.

To every paint job, the company brings the total package of experience, insurance and warranty to give customers “more bang for the buck.” Customers will also notice Shields’ attention to detail in areas such as caulking and the oil priming of bare wood.

In addition, Shields Custom Home Paint-ing only uses paint that is guaranteed for more than 25 years, and it is one of the few painting companies in the area to offer a seven-year warranty, which includes free labor and materials to fix any application defects.

Painting houses may be an easy business to start, but Shields has seen many compa-nies come and go in the past 24 years. His experience and college degree set his busi-ness apart.

“I have made this more of a business than just painting houses,” he said.

Shields Custom Home Painting offers free, no-obligation estimates. Shields said he spends a lot of time with potential customers in giving them a bid so they are educated in case they should go with another company or do the work themselves.

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Semi-ÿ nalists selectedfor KC SuperStar

Twenty area high school students have been selected to compete in the next round of KC SuperStar, which is an “American Idol”- style competition to choose Kansas City’s high school singer. More than 200 high school stu-dents representing 58 different schools auditioned for KC SuperStar during the two weekend sessions. The semi-fi nalists were cho-sen by a panel of judges and will now move on to a Mon-day, May 9, event at the White Theatre in the Jewish Community Campus, 5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park.

Admission to the semi-fi nals is free to the public with a suggested donation of paperback books for the U.S. military serving in Afghanistan.

The fi nal competition to “crown” KC’s SuperStar will take place on Aug. 28 in Yardley Hall at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. A panel of professionals in the enter-tainment fi eld will judge the Finals; ac-tor Jake Ehrenreich is the emcee for the Finals. The fi rst prize winner will re-ceive a $5,000 scholarship and his or her high school will get a $1,000 donation to its Fine Arts department.

The semi-fi nalists include:Malena Marcase — Blue SpringsJose Salinas — RaytownChristian Owen — Shawnee Mission

WestJillian Miller — Olathe NorthwestChloe McFaddin — Shawnee Mis-

sion North

Jillian Jamison — Olathe EastKendall Schoenekase — Blue Valley

WestRachael Feeley — HomeschoolAlyssa Scharnhorst — Blue Valley

Southwest Monica Sigler — Olathe EastJohn Paterini — RockhurstMichaelan Burns — Blue SpringsCarter Ellis — Lee’s Summit NorthJake Swaney — Park HillBrianna Griffi n — Archbishop

O’HaraTalya Groves — Park HillCourtney Dearing — Blue Valley

SouthwestGersom Ibarra — Shawnee Mission

NorthAnna Stastny— Blue SpringsJill Williams — Lee SummitChristian Youth Theatre will re-

ceive a $500 donation for sending 17 students to the preliminary audi-tions. For more information about KC SuperStar,econtact Tammy Ruder, ex-ecutive producer, at [email protected] or (913) 327-8073.

Contestants wait their turn during the preliminary auditions of KC SuperStar.

Israel sees fi rst civil unionJERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli couple was mar-ried in a civil union for the fi rst time. The wed-ding Tuesday follows the passage last year of a civil union law, which allows couples in which both partners are not Jewish to have a civil mar-riage. Twenty-fi ve Israeli couples have already met the criteria, The Jerusalem Post reported, and all have been questioned by local religious authorities to make sure they are not Jewish.

Iran boasts of nuclear advancesWASHINGTON (JTA) — A top Iranian nuclear offi cial is boasting of advances in the country’s nuclear program. In statements over recent days, Fereydoun Abbasi, who directs Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, has said that Bush-ehr, the country’s fi rst commercial reactor, will be operational by May; that Iran plans to launch four to fi ve research reactors in the next several years; and that the country has modernized centrifuges for enriching uranium.


Jewish culture and heritage event:An evening filled with fiction, nonfiction, poetry and song

W r i t e r s of Jewish heritage will share poetry, stories and songs that reflect their rich culture and tradi-tions at 7:30 p.m. Satur-day, April 30, at The Writ-ers Place in Kansas City, Mo.

In addition, Jeanie Wilson, wife of acclaimed Jewish writer Thomas Zvi Wilson, will read his works in tribute to all his accomplishments and contribu-tions to the metropolitan writing com-munity. Linda Salvay, an accomplished guitarist and singer will close the eve-ning with stirring songs in English, Hebrew and Yiddish. Also, Ben Fur-nish will add his insights as Master of Ceremonies. Guests will enjoy an array of favorite noshes: deli foods, challah, bagels with “shmears,” kugel, pastries and more.

The words you hear will reflect the

enduring spirit of the Jewish people. Ron Zoglin, a professional, widely-known storyteller will read with Deb-orah Shouse, author of “Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey.” Shouse’s writings have appeared in dozens of “Chicken Soup” books and a myriad of popular periodicals. Of Israeli and Czechoslovakian descent, Hadara Bar-Nadav will read from her works. She is the author of two collections of poetry and was awarded the 2009 Midwest Po-ets Series Awards.

A descendant of Polish rabbis and born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Rabbi

Jacques Cukierkorn will share his unique perspectives. He co-authored, with Bill Tammeus, the inspirational book, “They Were Just People” about the Holocaust. Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg will read from her collection of 10 books. Tina Hacker will read from her new poetry chapbook, “Cutting It.” She is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and New Letters Poetry Competition finalist.

Jeanie Wilson will read from Thom-as Zvi Wilson’s works. Both are accom-plished writers and co-wrote the po-etry book, “The Door into the Dream.” Linda Salvay taught Jewish music in

local congre-gations and belonged to performing groups such the Chai Singers and Yachad — The Travel-ing Tefillah Band. Ben F u r n i s h a u t h o r e d , “Nostalgia in Jewish-A m e r i c a n

Theatre and Film, 1979-2004,” and con-tributed to several notable publications such as Encyclopedia Judaica.

This reading is presented under the sponsorship of The Writers Place, Kan-sas City’s community literary center. Admission is $5 regular / $3 for Writ-ers Place members. The Writers Place is located at 3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, Mo. For information on this event or membership, call (816) 753-1090 or check the website at writer-splace.org.

Deborah ShouseRabbi Jacques CukierkornCaryn Mirriam-GoldbergTina HackerLinda Salvay

The fun place to be this summerCamp Gan Israel is now open for

summer 2011 registration. The camp will be held at Kehillath Israel Syna-gogue for ages 2 – 12 and will run from June 27 to July 22.

Camp Gan Israel is part of an in-ternational network of Jewish camps created to provide Jewish children with a comprehensive and meaningful summer program. The daily schedule includes a fun and engaging mix of sports, field trips, swimming and ac-tivities to foster the growth of children — emotionally, socially and Jewishly.

The goals of Camp Gan Israel in-clude:

• Providing a fun, enriching, edu-cational, rewarding and unforgettable experience.

• Teaching children the importance of and the many ways to show caring and sharing, and practicing patience

and collaboration with others • Providing opportunities for Jewish

learning and living, to be experienced in a fun, multifaceted way.

• Providing elementary instruction in sports, swimming and crafts, as well as daily opportunities for healthy ac-tivities and exercise.

• Foster appreciation of nature, the environment, healthful living and ecol-ogy.

Camp directors Rabbi Simcha Mor-genstern and his wife, Simmy, both have extensive experience in organiz-ing and directing camps and educat-ing Jewish youth. Rabbi Morgenstern holds a master’s degree in educational administration.

For more information or to receive registration forms, call (913) 948-2200 or e-mail [email protected]. Also, check out the website at www.cgikansas.org.

C a m p Gan Israel is a project of the To-rah Learn-ing Center. TLC has served the Jewish com-munity for the past 13 years with events and p r o g r a m s such as adult educa-tion, coach-ing and counseling, H e b r e w School, Camp Gan Israel, Bar and Bat Mitzvah lessons, holiday celebrations,

Jewish Women’s Circle, one-on-one adult learning and more. For further information, go to www.torahkc.org.

Sefanie Shemitz (from left), Charli Ernstein, Chavale Morgenstern and Shoshana White have fun visiting the Deanna Rose Farmstead while at Camp Gan Israel.


Friday | April 15

Candle-lighting timeNissan 11, 7:38 p.m.

‘That’s My Pan!’ fundraiserToday is the last day to order top quality, person-

alized bakeware from the Women of Beth Torah so you never again have to worry about having your pans returned. These quality pans are on display on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings and in the gift shop during posted hours. They make excellent shower, wedding, birthday and Mother’s Day gifts. For information on this fundraiser, contact Betsy Wanger at [email protected].

Yiddish CircleJoin Ray Davidson each Friday for some Yiddish

learning, conversation and lunch (minimal charge). Held in the Bride’s Room at Congregation Beth To-rah. Noon.

Kabbalat ShabbatKCUSY will lead Kabbalat Shabbat services at

Village Shalom. 4 p.m.

Shabbat ChadashErev Shabbat Chadash services will take place at

B’nai Jehudah beginning with a Bisseleh Nosh at 5:30 p.m. and services at 6 p.m. A special birth-day blessing will be given to those in attendance who are celebrating their April or May birthday. To be included, contact the synagogue offi ce.

Simchat ShabbatCelebrate Shabbat with Beth Torah tonight,

when the topic will be “The Telling — Your Way.” Shabbat begins with a nosh at 6 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat singing is at 6:10 p.m., followed by a Rabbi’s Tisch and children’s activities at 6:30 p.m. Worship is at 7 p.m., followed by an Oneg. Babysit-ting is always available in Classroom 1. Get ready

for a night of renewal and ruach.

Saturday | April 16

Kansas Poet LaureateCaryn Mirriam-Goldberg, the Poet Laureate of

Kansas 2009-2011, will speak in the Hudson Au-ditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College. “Find-ing Our Way Home to Ourselves and This Land: A Reading of Poetry and Prose with Kansas Poet Lau-reate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg” is the title of her

presentation. A reception follows in the Atrium of the Regnier Center. The event is free and open to the public. 4 p.m.

Sunday | April 17

Adult Education: TravelogueIf you were interested in the Women’s Trip to

Israel, but couldn’t make it, consider making this travelogue a way to enjoy the sites and spirit of the Jewish homeland. Rabbi Vered Harris will be joined by women who went on the trip, showing pictures

and sharing some of what they experienced. Youth Lounge. 11 a.m. to noon.

Kosher diningBring your family and friends and participate in

a pre-Pesach kosher dining experience at Princess Garden Chinese Restaurant, 8906 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Mo. Reservations are recommended and takeout is available. Call Princess Garden at (816) 444-3709 for reservations and information and be sure to request kosher. For information about kashrut and other kosher dining opportuni-ties, visit the Vaad Hakashrut website, vaadkc.org. 5-8 p.m.

Pre-Passover Pasta DinnerCongregation Ohev Sholom will serve dinner at

5 p.m. in Asner Hall. Dinner includes pasta, salad, dessert and soft drinks. Cost for adults is $9; chil-dren 3-12, $4.50; under 3, free. Make reservations by calling the synagogue offi ce.

Monday | April 18

Fast of the First BornFirstborn are invited to join Beth Shalom at the

Wornall Campus for services and a siyyum (cele-bration) as a tractate of Talmud is completed. The siyyum is sponsored by Arnold Kort and Michael Rogovein and their families in memory of their fathers, the late Sidney Kort and the late Thomas Rogovein. See the fl yer on the website, www.beth-shalomkc.org, for more information or call the ritual offi ce at (913) 647-7281. 6:45 a.m.

Tuesday | April 19

Passover servicePassover services at B’nai Jehudah are at

10:30 a.m.

important dates

CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL ABRAHAM & VOLINER | 9900 Antioch • Overland Park, Kan. 66212 | (Orthodox) | Rabbi Daniel Rockoff | (913) 341-2444 | www.biav.org CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM | 9400 Wornall Rd. • Kansas City, Mo. 64114 | 14200 Lamar Ave. • OP, Kan. 66223 | (Conservative) | Rabbi Robert Tobin, Rabbi Adam Stein, Chazzan Robert Menes | (913) 647-7279 | www.bethshalomkc.org CONGREGATION BETH TORAH | 6100 W. 127th St. • OP, Kan. 66209 | (Reform) | Rabbi Mark Levin, Rabbi Vered Harris | (913) 498-2212 | www.beth-torah.org THE TEMPLE, CONGREGATION B’NAI JEHUDAH | 12320 Nall • OP, Kan. 66209 | (Reform) | Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, Cantor Sharon Kohn | (913) 663-4050 | www.bnaijehudah.org CHABAD HOUSE | 6201 Indian Creek Drive • OP, Kan. 66207 (Lubavitch) | Rabbi Sholom Wineberg, Rabbi Mendy Wineberg | (913) 649-4852 | www.chabadkc.org KEHILATH ISRAEL | 10501 Conser • OP, Kan. 66212 | (Traditional) | Rabbi Herbert Mandl, Rabbi Jeffrey Shron, Cantor (913) | 642-1880 | www.kisyn.org CONGREGATION KOL AMI | 7501 Belinder • Prairie Village, Kan. 66208 | (Reform) | Cantor Paul Silbersher | (913) 642-9000 | www.kolamikc.com THE NEW REFORM TEMPLE | 7100 Main St. • KC, Mo. 64114 | (Reform) | (816) 523-7809 | www.nrtkc.org CONGREGATION OHEV SHOLOM | 5311 W. 75th St. • Prairie Village, Kan. 66208 | (Conservative) Rabbi Scott White | (913) 642-6460 | www.ohev-sholom.com TORAH LEARNING CENTER | 8800 W. 103rd St. • OP, Kan. 66212 | (Lubavitch) | Rabbi Benzion Friedman, Rabbi Chonie Friedman | (913) 385-5770 TEMPLE ISRAEL | Currently meeting at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, 12251 Antioch Road. • OP, Kan. 66213 | (Reform) Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn | (913) 940-1011 VILLAGE SHALOM | 5500 W. 123rd St. • OP, Kan. 66209 | (Non-denominational) | (913) 317-2600 | villageshalom.org

Outside the Kansas City area:TEMPLE ADATH JOSEPH | 102 N. 17th St. • St. Joseph, Mo. 64502 | (Reform) | Rabbi Linda Steigman | (816) 279-3179 TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM | 4200 SW Munson Ave. • Topeka, Kan. 66604 | (Reform) | Rabbi Debbie Stiel | (785) 272-6040 | www.templebethsholomtopeka.org

directory of congregations

COURTESY U.S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Helen Keller’s work, ‘Wie ich Sozialisten wurde’ (‘How I Became a Socialist’) was banned by the Nazi regime. “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings,” opens at the Wyandotte County Historical Museum on April 20 and will run through June 17. Spe-cial Exhibition Hours are: Monday-Saturday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.-5 p.m.Closed Easter weekend and Memorial Day weekend.


Community Second Night of Passover SederThis second night seder will take place at Con-

gregation B’nai Jehudah. Bring your family and friends and enjoy a complete Passover seder meal without the preparation. Experience an interactive journey from slavery through the 15 steps to free-dom. To RSVP and for cost information, or to inquire about confi dential assistance , contact Annette Fish, administrator/program director, Rabbinical Associa-tion, (913) 327-4622; [email protected]; or visit the website, www.kcrabbis.org. 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday | April 20

‘Fighting the Fires of Hate’The Wyandotte County Historical Museum, 631

N. 126th Street, Bonner Springs, Kan., will open the

exhibit “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings.” It provides a vivid look at the fi rst steps the Nazis took to suppress freedom of expression and the strong response that occurred in the United States. Running concurrently with this ex-hibition is “Our Jewish Past,” highlighting contribu-tions made by the Jewish community to the county’s history. Both exhibitions will run through June 17. For more information on the exhibition and guest speakers highlighting the exhibits at the Wyandotte County Historical Museum visit www.wycomuseum.wordpress.com.

Bible studyTaught by B’nai Jehudah clergy, this popular week-

ly “drop-in” study session is a chance to get to know the clergy on a more personal basis while enhancing your knowledge of Judaism and Torah. 10 a.m.

Thursday | April 21

Dementia Caregiver Support GroupMonthly support group for families whose lives

have been affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, call Pat Conway, (913) 383-3514. Village Shalom Family Conference Room, 2nd Floor. 9:30 a.m.

Have I Got a Story for You

Joanie Kort recounts the life and career of Hol-lywood star Jack Lemmon. Gerson Social Hall at Vil-lage Shalom. 2 p.m.

Depress ion/B ipolar Support Group

Are you coping with de-pression, bipolar or other mood disorders? Everyone needs support to allow us to share experiences, personal feelings, informa-tion and strategies for living successfully with mood disorders. Consider attending the weekly meetings of the Johnson County chapter of DBSA (Depres-sion Bipolar Support Group). Meetings take place at Congregation Beth Torah every Thursday. For more information, call Paige (913) 327-7716 or e-mail [email protected]. 7-9 p.m.

Friday | April 22

Candle-lighting timeNissan 18, 7:44 p.m.

Yiddish CircleJoin Ray Davidson each Friday for some Yiddish

learning, conversation and lunch (minimal charge). Held in the Bride’s Room at Congregation Beth To-rah. Noon.

Saturday | April 23

Mindfulness-Based Stress ReductionThere will be a free introductory session to

learn about this internationally renowned, clini-cally proven program, ongoing at more than 250 medical centers in the United States. More than 19,000 people have taken this course at UMass Medical alone to learn lifelong skills using the wisdom of the mind and body to more successfully cope with stress, pain and illness. The session will be at Sastun Center for Integrative Health Care in Corporate Woods. Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Lisa Pinsker, M.A., (913) 789-9696 or www.mindfulness-matters.com. 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Sunday | April 24

B’nai Jehudah annual meetingEveryone is invited to Congregation B’nai Je-

hudah’s annual meeting. Light refreshments will be provided. B’nai Jehudah will be honoring the Shomrei Yerusha, Guardians of the Legacy. These are people who secure B’nai Jehudah’s long-term fi nancial well-being by contributing to the endow-ment fund. For more information, contact Debra Goldstein, director of development/endowment, (913) 663-4050, ext. 209, or [email protected]. 10 a.m.

Children unite for peace The community is invited to a grand Pesach Tzi-

vos Hashem kids’ party at Chabad House Center, 6201 Indian Creek Drive. This is for children 5-12 and will feature a safe fi re juggler. Cost is $2 per child. Pesach refreshments will be served. RSVP to [email protected]. Noon to 1:30 p.m.

Monday | April 25

Yizkor servicesB’nai Jehudah Passover Yizkor services will take

place at 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday | April 27

JES Job FairThe Jewish Employment Services Spring Job Fair

will be held in the Galleria at the Jewish Communi-ty Campus. The free fair is aimed at introducing job seekers to employers and, as with JES, the job fair is targeted to the Jewish community. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Thursday | April 28

Women’s Division Annual Meeting“Celebrate Women’s Strength: The Power to In-

spire” at this year’s Women’s Division Annual Meet-ing at Oakwood Country Club, honoring incoming president, Bari Freiden, and outgoing president, Sarah Beren. Co-chaired by Michele Kaplan and Beth Kaplan Liss. Cost is $15 per person. For more information or to RSVP, go to www.jewishkansasci-ty.org or contact Nicole Fe ldman at (913) 327-8111 or [email protected]. 7 p.m.

Saturday | April 30

Jewish culture and heritage eventWriters of Jewish heritage will share poetry,

stories and songs that refl ect their rick culture and traditions at The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsyl-vania Ave., Kansas City, Mo. Performances will be by Jeanie Wilson, wife of acclaimed Jewish writer Thomas Zvi Wilson; Linda Salvay; Ron Zoglin; Debo-rah Shouse; Hadara Bar-Nadav; Rabbi Jacques Cuk-ierkorn; Poet Laureate Caryn Merriam-Goldberg; and Tina Hacker. Master of Ceremonies is Ben Fur-nish. Admission is $5 regular / $3 for Writers Place members. For information on this event or member-ship, call (816) 753-1090 or check the website at writersplace.org. 7:30 p.m.

important dates

JackLemmon


Learn more with KC Kollel

On Sunday, April 10, dozens of people of all ages packed the JCC for lunch and learning. There were two adult groups focused on insights into the seder, and a craft room where children could paint stained glass Kiddush cups, make a Passover placemat, design their own sunglasses and decorate matzvah covers. Pictured is Ilana Fingersh decorating a Kid-dush cup.

Welcome!

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah Judaica Shop could not get along without these dedicated women-buyers, shop manager Joan Dwork (from left), Sharon Lund and Alayne Mooney. Here they are showing one of the many Passover seder plates available in the Judaica shop. Also available are Elijah’s Cups, Miriam’s Cups, wine goblets, salt water urns, and candle sticks for your seder table. Don’t forget the children with toys and mock plagues. There is also a selection of gifts for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, wedding and baby namings. B’nai Jehudah’s gift shop has the largest selection in town. The Judaica shop is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. Monday, April 18, the hours will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Here come the ‘bride and groom’

Beth Shalom’s sixth-grade class held a mock wedding on Sunday, April 3. Pictured are Sarah Blachar (from left), teacher Amanda Riss, Sophie Levine, Miriam Adler, Mackenzie Bohen, Josh Eisemann, and teachers Donna Riss, Steve Shalinsky, Sunni Rosenbloom (partially hid-den) and Tanya Kramarovsky holding the poles of the Chupah.

Send us your snapshotsThe Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

has a feature called Snapshots, in which we gather all the best photos submitted to the paper each week on a single page. We offer a forum here for your photos that depict the life of the Jewish community. Besides, we can’t be everywhere, and this is the essence of what journalists call “reader-gener-ated content.”

Digital technology makes it easy, so, please, e-mail us photos of your youth-group activity, family celebration or holiday observance, for example, and

we’ll publish the best ones each week. All we ask is that the photos be high quality, sharply focused and that you include identifying information for ev-eryone shown.

Send those e-mails to our main address: [email protected], and we’ll reply when we receive them. Here’s a hint: The fewer lineups and the more candid shots you send, the better. Thanks in advance for doing your part to make The Chroni-cle a better newspaper.


ask the rabbi

Why does the seder have to begin after dark?

QUESTION: Why does the seder on both of the first two nights of Passover have to start at or after dark? Also why

do we use four cups of wine as well as a cup of Elijah?

ANSWER: The Exodus from Egypt took place in the dark of night. The seder is a reliving of that experience that we have been doing for thousands of years. Jewish law mandates that the seder take place at night as the Exodus took place at night. Furthermore, Jew-ish law for more than a thousand years

has required that the four cups of wine be consumed at night. The very first cup of wine is the Kiddush which is re-cited as the very first ingredient in the seder ceremony; therefore, the Kiddu-sh has to be also recited after dark for one to fulfill the mitzvah or command-ment of the four cups of wine.

Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules — nursing home residents, ill individuals, people who have excep-tional circumstances in their lives — all have leniencies extended to them by Jewish law.

I do find it rather ironic that indi-viduals who can stay to the 13th or 14th inning of a ball game out at Kauffman Stadium until midnight or later find it inconvenient to stay up for a seder. This is a once or twice a year experience that should be performed according to

the Jewish tradition that we have been observing for more than 3,000 years!

As far as children are concerned, Jewish law over a thousand years ago was concerned about kids staying awake for the seder. So, instead of mov-ing the seder to an early hour in viola-tion of the tradition, the thought was to feed the kids a little early and then give them games to play so that they can re-ally share the experience. Show me a child who does not want to stay up late at night anyway.

As far as the four cups of wine are concerned, in Exodus, Chapter 6, G-d promises that He will take the Jews out of Egypt and redeem them and save them. In that narrative G-d uses four words to talk about the Exodus and His redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. The rabbis then said that

the four cups of wine represent those four terms of redemption that we find in our Bible.

There was some controversy about a fifth term which speaks about G-d then bringing the Jewish people into the land of Israel, their promised heri-tage. The final decision about whether to have five cups of wine or four was resolved as being four. But a fifth cup of wine, the cup of Elijah, would be utilized for that fifth term. Further-more, since that fifth cup of wine rep-resents being brought into the land of Israel and future redemption, Elijah is the perfect individual who heralds the coming of the Messiah and the final redemption as being the source of that fifth cup of wine.

By Herbert J. MandlSpecial to The Chronicle

commentary

Has seder gone cutesy?By Yam ErezSpecial to The Chronicle

When I read the article in The Forward (Blood and Boils and Beasts, Oh My! Telling the Story of the 10 Plagues, Without Scaring the Kids, published April 6, http://www.forward.com/articles/136789/#ixzz1JK7SOifV)

I thought I’d plotz: Now we’re supposed to be con-cerned about the 10 Plagues’ psychological effects on our delicate little tatelehs? I give you a few excerpts from this absurd piece:

“It leads me to wonder,” says Nussbaum. “Is it pos-sible to engage with the Seder’s graphic illustrations of God’s might without leaving the kids emotionally or spiritually scarred?”

Oh, please. This is clearly an attempt to find a “fresh angle” to a festival about which — admit it — everything’s already been said.

“Some of the things [in the Haggadah] sound amazingly scary and awful,” said Miami-based psy-chotherapist and author M. Gary Neuman.

So now we’re consulting psychotherapists about the Haggadah’s effect on the kinder? Spare me.

Then we have psychologist Clark Goldstein help-fully advising parents to:

“…take their cues from their children, paying attention to the child’s age and disposition … If the child brings up concerns … address them. Try not to ask leading questions, like, ‘Does that section scare you?’ Let them lead with any concerns or questions

they might have.”Dear God. Was this quote lifted from some

Parents’ Guide to Divorce or God Forbid, Death? Have we lost our minds? This is nothing less than a meshugah stop along the coddling continuum. Disturbing? We were shown “Night and Fog” at Hebrew School at age 9, and I don’t recall ever even considering approaching my parents about its, shall we say, disturbing aspects. And now we’re supposed to add “Possible Effect of 10 Plagues on Yankeleh’s Sensitive Psyche” to our list of 21st-century Parent-ing Concerns, underneath Exposure to Germs and Abduction by Sex Predator?

Later on, Neuman adds: “Seder’s focus ‘should be about the children, and connecting to them.’ ”

Says who? Actually, if I hear one more person say this, I’m going to throw myself into a vat of locusts. Let’s take a minute to realign our tires here: The Haggadah was compiled between 160 and 360 CE. Granted, the Mishnaic concept of “engaging children” is obviously light years from ours; and certainly no one wants to return to the days of Uncle Moishe or Zayde droning through the Haggadah so tediously that a vat of locusts would actually have been a relief from your boredom, but does that mean we have to go to the other extreme and turn seder into an episode of Sesame Street?

Cannot seder be lively and thought-provoking without having to dodge whizzing stuffed frogs and Styrofoam hail? In short, where is it written that engaging has to equal fun? Fun is what Purim is for.

Fun is what birthdays are for. Not everything that occurs in the presence of children has to be fun.

The Haggadah tells of a solemn, dramatic event, and the telling thereof should be appropriately solemn and dramatic. One of the major themes is to “tell your sons [i.e., children] of the Exodus. I’d venture that the reason Seder is so central to Jews’ collective memory is precisely because of its solem-nity and drama. Do we want our kids’ memories of Seder to be no more impactful than an afternoon at Discovery Zone?

Next, I looked up the product pictured with the article, Passover Ten Plagues Finger Puppets. Here’s my Amazon review thereof:

“...products like this are a turn-off for me. First of all, a basic ‘requirement’ for me to buy any Jewish-themed product is the inclusion of Hebrew. Where’s the Hebrew? So right away I’m not buying it. The other turn-off is that I’m loath to add anything to the seder that’s not already there, especially if it’s something cutesy. You can have a good time at seder and include the kids without turning it into a nurs-ery school. This is pushing it too far in that direction for me.”

It’s not the commercial aspect to which I object; I’m certainly in favor of clever, enterprising innova-tion. But to purport to sell a Jewish product sans Hebrew? Veto from here: Hebrew is what held us together for more than 2 millennia in the Diaspora; I

see Seder, page 33


Torah commentaryBy Rabbi Benzion Friedman, Torah Learning Center

Acharei Mot — Leviticus 16:1-18:30

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol (the Great Shabbat) because of the great miracles that happened to our ancestors prior to our exodus of Egypt. On Shabbat, the 10th of Nissan, we were commanded to take a sheep, keep it in our houses for four days, then slaughter it and eat its meat with matzah and maror. The Egyptians worshipped sheep. Yet, this dangerous, politically incorrect move, miraculously, caused no harm.

I would like to share with you the story of my father A”H whose yahrtzeit was on Thursday, the 10th of Nissan, and the great miracles that he experienced.

My father, Reb Yakov Moshe, and his family were among the many Jews who escaped from Poland before the Nazi invasion and made their way to Russia. As a teenager, my father was taken with my grandfather to a Siberian labor camp. To spare his father from working on Shabbat, my father worked a double shift.

During the war, his family wan-dered from place to place until finally reaching Tashkent, Russia. Already during this period of rampant hunger and poverty, my father demonstrated his love for a fellow Jew, which he would become known for.

After the war, my father postponed his move to the States and remained in Prague to work for the rescue organization founded by Dr. Jacob Griffel. Thousands of refugees were streaming into the city and needed exit visas so they could leave for the United States, Canada, South America and Israel. This was very dangerous work, necessitating forged documents, the smuggling of people across borders and bribery of govern-ment officials. My father established contacts with high level officials and was able to supply documenta-tion and passports to thousands of Jews, including the previous Rebbes of Skver, Nadvorna and many other Rabbonim.

When the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe sent his son-in-law to rescue and transport a group of Lubavitcher families to Paris, my father worked diligently night and day, and obtained the required documentation.

At a certain point, the Guatemalan and El Salvador governments granted him the status of a government em-ployee and he was given the consul’s official stamp and stationery to use as needed.

One of his main functions was to rescue Jewish children entrusted to non-Jews during the war whose parents had perished. During one such daring campaign, he success-fully transported 500 children from an orphanage in Poland to Vienna and from there to Israel. As a result of these activities, he was arrested twice by the communist government in Prague and brutally interrogated. Although put under great pressure, he did not release a single name or address.

Due to much pressure from res-cue organizations, and thousands in bribes, my father was released and emigrated to the United States with my mother and my three older siblings.

My father never discussed his activities, but in reference to those days, he once said, “We worked night and day, and we merited heavenly success.”

My father was a humble man. In the United States, my father could have received the greatest honors, but he refused.

Prior to our redemption, Hash-em wanted us to reveal the inner strength we possess to overcome all difficulties and adversity. We showed the Egyptians we are a proud people and nothing will stand in the way from preventing us in fulfilling G-d’s will. My father had that strength and determination and nobility of spirit. And what was most impactful was that he did it with joy.

Wishing everyone a kosher and happy Passover.

commentaryJewish parentingBy Alan Edelman, CAJE/Jewish Federation

It has often been said that the fifth question at every seder is when do we eat? This is the case because many sedarim are the same year af-ter year and participants find it chal-lenging to get into the true meaning of the Passover seder. A wonderful book, “Creating Lively Passover Sed-ers, Second Edition,” was recently released and I want to share three ideas from David Arnow’s book that will hopefully catch people off guard and make the seder portion of your celebration more meaningful.

The seder plate includes foods that represent every major theme of the Passover seder: the matzah (some have a separate tray), charo-set, bitter herbs, roasted egg, salt wa-ter, green vegetable, roasted shank bone and lettuce. Instead of reading about each food and its meaning for the seder, ask your guests to explain in their own words how these foods relate to the Passover story. You might also think about adding some-thing to the seder plate that repre-sents freedom or other themes of the holiday and ask people to figure out why you added that symbol.

David Arnow points out some-thing that I discovered a few years ago. Despite the fact that one of the 14 “steps” of the Haggadah is “Magid/The Telling,” most Hagga-dot don’t actually tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and how we became slaves in the first place! This is a wonderful opportunity to ask those around the table pointed ques-tions and test their knowledge of the events. Fortunately, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s smash musical hit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat has made more people aware of the story. You can ask questions such as: Who was Jacob? How many sons did he have? Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him? Why did they sell him into slavery? How did he get to be the second most important per-son in Egypt? How did he happen to reunite with his brothers after many years? Why did the family leave Ca-naan (the Promised Land) and move

to Egypt? Why did the next Pharaoh enslave the Children of Israel? How did he treat the Israelites (especial-ly the children)? How was Moses saved? How did Moses become the person to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt? Was Pharaoh will-ing to let the people go after Moses asked the first time? What did it take to convince Pharaoh to let the people go? The entire group, especially the children, have been engaged in tell-ing the story and now you are ready to read about the 10 plagues and spill a little wine from our glasses. Then we sing Dayeinu!

The last suggestion involves a dis-cussion about redemption, a major theme of Passover. Arnow points out that the phrase “in every genera-tion” occurs twice in the Haggadah: First it says, “In every generation they rise up to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand.” The second time it says, “In every generation, each individual should feel as though he or she has gone out of Egypt.” Ar-now then presents three questions for discussion: What similarities and contrasts do you find between these two passages? How would you com-pare the roles of G-d and the Jewish people in each passage? What are the differences between feeling as though you were taken out of Egypt and feeling as though you went un-der your own steam? He then pro-vides a paragraph to read after the discussion. In the first passage, G-d acts and we are acted upon. In the second passage, when the Hagga-dah expresses its core goal, we see ourselves as independent actors in the story. The differences in the lan-guage highlight the point that G-d and humanity both participate in the redemptive process: “You can’t have one without the other.”

Hag Pesach Sameach/May your Passover celebration be filled with joy and the understanding that each of us must work for the redemption of every human being still enslaved!

Shabbat Hagadol Spice Up Your Seder


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AboutTown

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy

45th Anniversary CelebrationEverything’s Coming Up Roses

Photos by susan McsPadden

At the podium Howard Jacobson, a former honoree, prepares to present Maria Devinki, who was accompanied by her grandson David Pack, with the Civic Service Award.

More than 450 people attended the Hyman Brand He-brew Academy’ annual Civic Service Award dinner Sun-day, April 10, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotel. Maria Devinki, along with her late husband Fred, were honored as the 2011 Civic Service Award honorees. Bren-da Althouse and Mirra Klausner were recognized as the John Weil Uhlmann Young Leadership Award winners and Jonathan Edelman received the Head of School Shin-ing Light Award.

Michael Ingersoll (left) and Aaron Towle escort Eleanor Hinchman, one of the original teachers at the Hebrew Academy. Joan March (from left), Gertie Epstein, Anne Bratt and Carla and Tiberius Klausner enjoy

the program.

Elisa Pener (back to the camera), Rabbi Yehuda Fleischmann, the school’s first principal, Carl Puritz and Cynthia Ellis visit before the dinner.


opinion

Helping teen victims of TerrorBy Jane Blumenthal MartinSpecial to The Chronicle

Asher’s is the face that immediately popped into my mind when I heard a school bus from Sha’ar HaNegev High School was hit by an anti-tank mis-sile last Thursday (April 7), critically wounding Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old student. (Editor’s note: At press time, Daniel Viflic’s conditioned had wors-ened. He went into a coma and has been unresponsive, in spite of exhaustive medical care.)

I visited the high school, located about 3 miles from the Gaza strip, a little more than two weeks ago as part of a Jewish Federation mission for marketing directors. Admittedly, I was nervous about visiting Sha’ar HaNegev and neighboring Sderot. Es-pecially since rockets had fired on the very same areas just the week before our arrival.

That said, even with its campus dotted with bomb shelters, and the knowledge that blue painted walls marked the fortified rooms created to withstand the rockets that almost daily bombarded the area two years ago, I soon forgot about anything but the people at Sha’ar HaNegev High School. There was Aharele Rothstein, the school principal, whose main focus is to teach the students not to hate — in spite of the fact that they spend much of their time on the receiving end of rocket fire. And, of course, Asher and his group of ninth-grade friends, who toured us around their campus.

As my small group’s tour guide, Asher told us about the high school and what made it so great. He also talked about the things he likes to do in his spare time: hang out with

friends, play sports, and play his gui-tar — mostly rock music.

Like the rest of his classmates, Asher doesn’t have a political agenda. He wants the same things most other teens want: a chance to grow up and live a good life, and a chance to make his own mark on the world.

In fact, Asher reminds me of my 14-year-old nephew, Jared: Except Jared doesn’t have to worry about staying close to a bomb shelter when he’s hanging out with his friends. Nor does Jared have to use a laptop to do coursework, sequestered in a bomb shelter as rockets rain down on his school. (The laptops are provided by Jewish Federation’s partner agency, World ORT, and are made possible through donations to the Jewish Fed-eration’s annual campaign.) The bomb shelters and armed guards that are a part of Asher’s daily school life are not something my nephew will ever experience.

Jewish Federation pride

I’ve spent the last three years on staff at the Jewish Federation describ-ing what the organization does. I’ve told stories about how we are helping our fellow Jews in Kansas City recover from economic despair during the U.S. economic crisis. I’ve explained how we are providing elderly Jews in the Former Soviet Union with basic necessities such as food, shelter and medication.

And now, I’m proud to talk about an-

other partner agency, Jewish Agency for Israel and its Fund for Victims of Terror: A fund supported by Jewish Federation dollars. This fund helps victims like Daniel Viflic during their physical recovery. It helps people like the bus driver, found hysterical at the scene of the attack; recover from the psychological trauma of seeing Daniel lying, unconscious, with severe head injuries. It helps the families learn how to cope with the damage inflicted on their loved ones.

I feel helpless as I worry about these

Israeli children, thousands of miles away. But at least I proudly carry with me the knowledge that, in my small way, I am making a difference in their lives through my work at — and my annual gift to — the Jewish Federa-tion.

Jane Blumenthal Martin is the direc-tor of strategic marketing for the Jew-ish Federation of Greater Kansas City. She and her husband, Joseph, have two children.

Jane Martin (right) and her tour guide Asher, a ninth-grade Sha’ar HaNegev High School student. A bus from that high school was hit by an anti-tank missile April 7.

Has seder gone cutesy?refuse to patronize any Jewish enterprise that omits it. Even if the recipient doesn’t know Hebrew — and I’m aware that most Jews don’t — the visual of the Hebrew words for the plagues does have its effect, however small, and does transform the product into something that if not holy, is special: It’s not just another toy in the kids’ collection.

To that end, I wrote to both companies to ask: Where’s the Hebrew? Perhaps if others followed suit, the manufacturers would be convinced to add it; certainly no one would be opposed to its addition, and who knows? It might even boost sales.

I’m not calling for a boycott, here; Lord knows there are more important products to boycott; I sim-ply seek to call attention to the fact that Hebrew is not just another language: It’s our “brand,” without

it, we become “generic.” And I’ll jump into a vat of locusts before I let 5,000 years of history go down the drain like so much chametz.

Yam Erez, formerly Miriam Reiz, is a Kansas City native now residing in Ketura, Israel.

from page 29

It helps the families learn how to cope with damage inflicted on their loved ones.


obituariesJAMES BERKSON

James Berkson, 90, died Tuesday, April 5, at his home in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Berk-son was born in Atchison, Kan., to Har-ry and Mary Berkson. He was a World War II Army veteran who earned a b a c h e l o r ’ s degree in music edu-cation from the Universi-ty of Kansas and a Juris Doctor degree from Pacific Coast University.

Mr. Berkson was an executive at CACI, a company that provides profes-sional services and IT solutions need-ed to prevail in the areas of defense, intelligence and homeland security. He joined the company in 1966 as vice president, treasurer and secretary and retired in 1987 as executive vice presi-dent, treasurer, secretary and a mem-ber of the board of directors.

Prior to joining CACI, Mr. Berkson served as treasurer of System Develop-ment Corporation and also as the head of corporate projects for the Aerospace Corporation.

Mr. Berkson was a long time direc-tor of the National Contract Manage-ment Association and was a member of the California and District of Columbia Bars.

He was a longtime supporter of the

Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Berkson was predeceased by his sisters, Elizabeth Glass, Frances Jacob-son, Mina Rose Seff and Margo Burke.

He is survived by two sisters, Betty Kopin and Shirley Steinberg, both of Overland Park; one brother, Myron Berkson of Las Vegas; and several nieces and nephews.

Contributions may be made to the The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehu-dah or a charity of one’s choice.

DR. MICHAEL GRINBERG

Dr. Michael Grinberg, 60, passed away Tuesday, April 5, in Maui, Hawaii.

He was born May 26, 1950, in Kansas City, Mo., to Shirley Sandler and the late Robert Grinberg.

Michael was president of the first graduating class of Shawnee Mission South. He attended Brandeis Universi-ty on a full scholastic scholarship, and graduated with honors. He received a degree in psychiatry from the Univer-sity of California, San Diego. He then completed his psychiatric residency work at the Veteran’s Hospital, La Jol-la, Calif., then practiced psychiatry in the San Diego area for 20 years before moving to Hawaii.

His wife, Marta Grinberg, prede-ceased him in 2010. He is survived by his mother, Shirley Sandler; daughter, Hailey Dideriksen; brother, Gary Grin-berg and his wife, Nancy; and sister, Rhonda Bloom, two nephews and a niece, all of Encinatas, Calif.

Graveside services were held April 7 in Maui. Memorial services will be

held at Congregation Ohev Sholom at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 1. A brunch will follow.

LOUIS S. ROGERS

Louis S. Rogers, 98, of Raymore, Mo., passed away Saturday, April 9, at Foxwood Springs.

A grave-side service was held M o n d a y , April 11, at Mount Car-mel Cem-etery. The family sug-gests contri-butions to the Ararat Shrine Tem-ple.

Mr. Rog-ers was a 1935 graduate of the Univer-sity of Missouri, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in electri-cal engineering. He was a sales asso-ciate for Sunray Lighting Co., Kansas City, Mo., from 1963-1969. Mr. Rogers was then an electrical engineer for Sunshine Lighting Co., Kansas City, Mo., until he retired at age 89.

He was born in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Abraham and Ethel Rogers.

Mr. Rogers was a former member of Congregation Beth Shalom, and was a member of Heroine Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite Bodies, Ararat Shrine and was a VIP of Ararat, Lake Lotawa-na Shrine Club.

He was preceded in death by his

parents; his first wife of 20 years, Jean Gaines Rogers, in 1957; brother, Mar-tin Rogers; and sisters, Goldie Siegel-baum, Muriel Rose, Jean Brockman and Sarah Pittel.

Mr. Rogers is survived by his wife of 52 years, Vera Lee Tyler Rogers, of the home; sons and daughters-in-law, Rob-ert and Barbara Rogers, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Rodney and Susan Rog-ers, New York, N.Y.; daughter, Benita Margolis, Olympia, Wash.; eight grand-children; 12 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Nieces and nephews also survive.

Mr. Rogers loved to work and lived to work. He was a generous and kind man. Mr. Rogers loved his family and was a true gentleman who will be greatly missed. He was a true loving husband and friend.

Online guest book at www.louisme-morialchapel.com.

Arr: The Louis Memorial Chapel, (816) 361-5211.

MIRAH L. ROSTOV

Mirah L. Rostov, 88, passed away on Friday, April 8, at her home at Village Shalom in Overland Park, Kan.

Funeral services were held Sunday, April 10, at The Louis Memorial Cha-pel, with burial at Mount Carmel Cem-etery.

Mirah had a ready smile, gracious and caring manner and love of people. She was passionate about her family and faith, as well as her many friends, and was pleased to serve on the board of Congregation Beth Shalom, where

see Obituaries, page 35

Bieber says logistics stalled meeting with kidsJERUSALEM (JTA) — A spokesman for Justin Bieber told JTA that the pop star is not meeting with children from Israel’s rocket-beset south because of logistics, not politics.“Justin welcomes the chance to meet with kids facing difficult circumstances, regardless of their background, and in fact, he had already invited children from the Sderot area to join the 25,000-plus other fans at his concert in Tel Aviv on Thursday night,” the spokesman told JTA.Bieber was enjoying his first trip to Israel, the spokesman said, “despite some logistical chal-lenges.”The pop star has complained on Twitter that the Israeli paparazzi have forced him to hole up in his hotel room.“I want to see this country and all the places

I’ve dreamed of and whether its the paps or being pulled into politics its been frustrating,” he tweeted Tuesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu report-edly canceled a meeting with Bieber set for Wednesday, a day before the concert, after the singer refused to meet with children from southern Israel, Israel’s Channel 2 reported. Ne-tanyahu reportedly had invited children living in communities that have been hit by rockets fired from Gaza to join the sit-down. Bieber and his manager had asked for the meeting with Netanyahu, according to reports.Some 700 children from southern Israeli com-munities that have been hit by rockets and mis-siles from Gaza were given free tickets to the concert. The tickets, as well as transportation, are a gift of The Schusterman Foundation-Israel, The Morningstar Foundation and ROI Commu-nity of Young Jewish Innovators.

Report: Palestinian Authoritywants $5 billion to build stateJERUSALEM (JTA) — The Palestinian Authority is asking Western countries for nearly $5 billion in order to develop a Palestinian state.PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was set to make the pitch to representatives of Western countries during a meeting Wednesday in Brus-sels, Reuters reported.The plan, obtained by Reuters, calls for $1.467 billion in 2011, $1.754 billion in 2012 and $1.596 billion for 2013. It reportedly will be presented formally to donor countries at a pledging conference in June.“The journey has been long and arduous, but the end is now in sight. We are now in the home stretch to freedom,” Fayyad wrote in the plan’s introduction, according to Reuters. “Now it is time for us to be the masters of our own

destiny in a state of our own.”The plan calls for a private sector-led economy and increasing spending on development.A United Nations report issued Tuesday found that the Palestinian Authority is ready to oper-ate as a sovereign government by September, the target date of independence for a Palestin-ian state. Similar declarations came last week from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.The Palestinian Authority has said it will ask the United Nations in September to declare an independent state on all areas captured by Israel in 1967. Israel continues to insist that the only path to statehood is to restart peace negotiations, which the Palestinians walked out on last September. The U.N. report said a restart of peace talks is necessary to continue the reform process.


she was co-founder of the Chesed Com-mittee, which provided volunteer com-panions for ill congregants and others in need. Mirah was a loving mother and wife.

She was p r e c e d e d in death by her parents, David and Rose Lieber; her first hus-band of 14 years, Ber-nard Belzer; her brother, Balfour Li-eber; and by Stanley Ros-tov, her hus-band of 40 years.

She is survived by her children, Irv (Sue) Belzer, Judy (Mark) Belzer-Weitzman and Will Rostov; and her grandchildren, Michael and Jeremy Belzer. Mirah is also survived by her brother, Herb (Suzanne) Lieber and her in-laws, Gene (Barb) Rostov, Alice Bordy and Fay Belzer; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-neph-ews.

The family would appreciate contri-butions to Congregation Beth Shalom, 14200 Lamar, Overland Park, KS 66223, or Village Shalom, 5500 W. 123rd St., Overland Park, KS 66209. The family acknowledges and thanks Village Sha-lom and Kansas City Hospice and Pal-liative Care for the caring and nurtur-ing environment they provided.

Online condolences may be shared at www.louismemorialchapel.com.


IRVING C. RUBIN

Irving C. Rubin, 89, of Prairie Vil-lage, Kan., passed away Wednesday, April 13, at Kansas City Hospice House.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. today (Friday, April 15) at The Louis Memorial Chapel, 6830 Troost Avenue. Burial at Mount Moriah Cem-etery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to a charity of one’s choice.

Mr. Rubin was a graduate of Brown University, Providence, R.I., where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, was a James Manning Scholar, John Hay Scholar and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corp, serving as a trainer during World War II. He married Anna Lee Strauss in a military wedding at the Oakwood Country Club in 1945.

Mr. Ru-bin began his distin-guished ca-reer with A s s u r e d Realty Cor-poration as a salesman, 1 9 4 6 - 1 9 4 9 , and vice p r e s i d e n t , 1 9 4 9 - 1 9 6 0 , and as presi-dent, 1960-1963. He was then president of Irving C. Rubin & Associates, Inc. (successor to Assured Realty Corp.), 1964-1986, and then was managing partner of Irving C. Rubin Associates (affiliated with the Yarco Companies as management con-sultant), 1987-1990.

Mr. Rubin was a member of the City Planning Commission of Kansas City, Mo., 1960-1965; licensed real estate bro-ker in Missouri and Kansas since 1949; member and former director of Metro-politan Kansas City Board of Realtors; member of Johnson County Board of Realtors; former member of American Society of Appraisers; holder of Cer-tified Property Manager designation as awarded by Institute of Real Estate Management; past president of Kansas City Chapter of Institute of Real Estate Management; former chairman of City Central Executive Committee of Amer-ican Legion Posts of Kansas City, Mo.; former member of American Legion Trust Association; member of board of directors of American Bank, 1960-1987; member of board of directors and au-dit committee of Ameribanc, Inc., 1987-1992; former member of board of direc-tors of Oakwood Country Club, where he was also a member; past president of Shalom Plaza, Inc.; former member of Board of Directors of Shalom Geri-atric Center; and was a former member of the board of trustees at Menorah Medical Center. He was a member of The New Reform Temple; a member of Ducks Unlimited and enjoyed hunting, fishing and golf. Mr. Rubin was also a member of the Darwin Institute in the Galapagos, Ecuador.

He was preceded in death by his par-ents, Jacob S. and Esther (Ostroff) Ru-bin and his sister, Edith Davis.

Mr. Rubin is survived by his wife of

65 years, Anna Lee Rubin, of the home; son, Charles E. Rubin, Kansas City, Mo.; daughter, Linda T. Watson, Mis-sion Hills, Kan.; brother-in-law, Nathan Dondis, New Bedford, Mass.; grand-children, Michael Watson, Fairway, Kan., and his fiancée, Beth Lindquist, Meg Carr and husband Adam, Minne-apolis, Matthew Rubin, Denver, Joanne Edwards and husband Brandon, Over-

land Park; and one great-granddaugh-ter, Alyssa Edwards, Overland Park.

Online guest book at www.louisme-morialchapel.com.


Once again, it is time to gather for thissacred celebration of Passover.

Linking and bonding the past with the future.Hag Sameach from our family to yours.

6830 Troost Avenue • Kansas City • 816-361-5211www.louismemorialchapel.com

Louis Memorial ChapelKansas City’s Jewish Funeral HomeProudly Owned And Operated By The Epstein Family

Kansas CityMonument Company

Serving the Jewish Community Since 1888

Jeffrey & Sarah Miller6842 Troost

Kansas City, MO 64131

The Monument Specialist

816-333-0075

obituaries

UnveilingsIn memory of Leo Feingo Ld

at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 17, at Mount Carmel Cemetery.

In memory of Bar Bara “Bo B-Bie” Sue Fri Scher at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 17, at Mount Carmel Cemetery.

from page 34


Our story has been told since we were slaves in Egypt. Each year we recount the signs and wonders that accompanied our people on their journey to freedom. By making a bequest or other planned gift you can help ensure that future generations will continue to tell our story and that the day will come when all people everywhere live in peace and freedom.

what will your legacy be?

Create a Jewish Legacy Diane Azorsky, DirectorBushman CommunityEndowment Program

913.327.8121 jcfkc.org/legacy

Documents

Kansas City Jewish Chronicle