‘Latke Road’ by Danielle Freiden was the People’s Choice Award winner for 2019. (Denise Elam)
This year the 24th Chanukah Art Contest will go virtual. Contestants will upload a photo or a PDF of their project along with a video (up to one minute in length) describing the submission and its relevance to Chanukah. Instructions about how to submit artwork will be available soon on The J’s website, thejkc.org. Submissions must be uploaded by Monday, Nov. 30.
As the days get shorter and our temperatures grow colder, we journey into winter with its longer periods of darkness and the potential for downward slopes in our emotional and spiritual paths. Hanukkah and the Jewish calendar provide the opportunity to consider our responses to the darkness, including the light we can yet make and find in our world.
In a year as unpredictable as this one, generosity brings people together. Generosity gives everyone the power to make a positive change in the lives of others.
The small virtual classrooms of the Ofek Hub program encourage interaction between students and teachers, as well as among students. (Courtesy of Israeli American Council)
By Michele Chabin/JTA
When the first wave of coronavirus infections reached the American South, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, knew the synagogue’s religious school’s classes would have to move online.
The lobby of the new Staenberg Family Recreation Complex features a beautiful, backlit J logo and subtly displays The J’s five values — Welcoming + Inclusive, Building Community, Enriching Mind + Body + Soul, Passing on Jewish Culture + History and Treat Others As You Wish To Be Treated — on a white backdrop. The lobby provides access to the indoor turf field, new gym, plus the hot yoga and dance studios on the left and the racquetball courts, gym and fitness floor to the right of the Membership Experience Desk.
By Barbara Bayer Contributing Writer
Wow!
That’s the reaction people have when they see the expanded and renovated Jewish Community Center — The J.
As the Jewish community advocate for combating anti-Semitism and pursuing justice representing the Jewish communities in Kansas and Western Missouri, Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC knew that Jewish students in the region reported facing anti-Semitism in their schools. However, JCRB|AJC did not know how widespread this experience was, nor what anti-Semitism looked like day-to-day for students.
A string art menorah by sisters Aviya and Noya Matta won the Judges’ Grand Prize in the 2019 Chanukah Art Contest. (Denise Elam)
By Barbara Bayer Contributing Writer
The pandemic has cancelled a lot of things in 2020, but not the annual Chanukah Art Contest. For the 24th year The Shul-Chabad of Leawood, along with the Jewish Community Center (The J) and The Chronicle will sponsor the contest for students in grades pre-K through eighth grade. The winning entries will be revealed on the first night of Chanukah in the Dec. 10 issue of The Chronicle.
These are tough times. Experts say between the lingering coronavirus pandemic and the toxic political environment, there has been an uptick in both anxiety and depression.
