Twenty-eight classes will be offered throughout the day at this year’s community-wide “Day of Discovery — Explore the Joy of Jewish Learning in Kansas City.” The program will be held on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jewish Community Campus.
“This event is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together to learn, study and discover some of our community’s finest Jewish educators, rabbis and cantors who will lead sessions on a wide range of topics,” commented Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association administrator/program director. “We have an outstanding group of presenters from a variety of fields of knowledge and orientations and we are grateful to all of our presenters for giving of their time to be part of this program.”
The program begins with registration and a continental breakfast from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. Study sessions start at 9:30 a.m. and lunch will be served from 12:15 to 1:10 p.m. A dessert reception with door prizes will conclude the day.
Planning for the Day of Discovery began seven months ago and includes a task force with professional and lay representatives from each congregation and sponsoring agency.
“It is a delight to work with this remarkable group of dedicated and committed individuals who work tirelessly over the summer to make this event possible,” Fish said. “Several task force members have been part of the planning of this event since we began offering the program five years ago.”
Online registration along with a listing of classes and information related to the day can be found at www.kcrabbis.org. Space is limited in many of the sessions and participants are asked to register in advance.
Class and lunch payments should be made by check or cash and must be received by Aug. 19; after Aug. 19, registration fees increase and classes are open on a space-available basis. Registration brochures are available at the Jewish Community Campus, area congregations and Village Shalom.
At the end of each session, participants are asked to complete an evaluation that provides valuable feedback about the day and assists the task force in planning future Day of Discovery programs. A sampling of comments received last year includes:
“All the presenters I listened to were excellent, well-prepared and informative. I know I learned a great deal.”
“Each session was impressive. My first year attending — looking forward to future events.”
“Each class was outstanding.”
“Presenters kept the audience engaged and I learned new ideas and food for thought.”
“I loved today and learned so much about Judaism and the community.”
“Each presenter that led the class had participation and expressed their views.”
“Thought provoking and each presenter shared knowledge and presented viewpoints for discussion.”
“I learned that Day of Discovery is so great — I’ll always attend.”
“Each one of my courses taught me something I didn’t know, and were very interesting.”
“I learned a lot — thanks.”
“Presenters were informative and introduced a variety of sources on the topics.”
“So many good things to choose from.”
“Pretty darn good — I can’t think of it being much better. They get better every year.”
“I learned interesting things in all three of my sessions; all were excellent presenters.”
“The length of the day was just right.”
“Good job by all concerned.”
“The quality of the sessions was excellent. My only complaint is that there were too many choices that I wanted to attend in each session.”
The cost to participate in “Day of Discovery” is $12 per person, which includes classes, a continental breakfast and dessert reception. There is an additional charge of $8 per person for a kosher box lunch from Rachel’s Cafe. Free childcare is available for children 6 months to 3 years. Fees increase after Aug. 19.
The program is co-sponsored by The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Community Center’s Department of Jewish Life and Learning, CAJE/Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Village Shalom and area congregations. Generous funding has been provided by the Community Legacy Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
For additional information, contact Annette Fish, at or 913-327-4622.
