Look who ran into each other at the Royals vs. Cubs game at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Matt Rissien (far left), who now resides in the windy city, just by chance bumped into Morrie Bronstein, Brandon Cosner and Josh Graham. Graham and Rissien both attended HBHA, and the four know each other from the KC area.

RABBI AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS TITLE OF REFORM JEWISH EDUCATOR — Rabbi Rebecca Reice, associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Torah, has been granted the prestigious title of Reform Jewish educator by the Reform Jewish Educator Title Granting Commission. 

The much-coveted title of Reform Jewish educator is awarded only by the Reform Jewish Educator Title Granting Commission composed of representatives of the constituent bodies of Reform Judaism. These include the American Conference of Cantors, the Association of Reform Jewish Educators, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Commission on Jewish Education, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish institute of Religion and its School of Educations and the Union for Reform Judaism. 

 

The title is granted to those educators, rabbis and cantors who have fulfilled extremely stringent academic requirements in the areas of education/educational administration and Judaic studies plus a supervised educational internship.

Rabbi Rebecca Reice

Mazel tov Rabbi Reice! We will miss you when you join your husband in Austin, Texas, later this month. 

Binyomin Wineberg

AN IMPRESSIVE ATTENDANCE STRING! — Just as the final bell for the year was about to ring last week at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy we learned that this young man, Binyomin Wineberg, represents the Wineberg family’s 41st year of consecutive attendance at the day school. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}He will be in sixth grade in the fall and is the son of Rabbi Mendy and Devory Wineberg. What a perfect example of l’dor vador (from generation to generation) at HBHA!

JEWISH ACTRESS TO BE FEATURED AT FESTIVAL — New York stage, screen and voice actress Barbara Rosenblat will star as The National Audio Theatre Festivals (NATF) returns to the Kansas City for the third year of HEAR Now: The Audio Fiction and Arts Festival June 11–14.

“It’s the only festival of its kind in the U.S. dedicated to the art of recorded and live audio storytelling in all its many genres and forms,” according to Festival Director Cynthia Allen. “Barbara is the epitome of the caliber of performer featured in this year’s festival. We are delighted to have her aboard.”

The actress, who stars as Miss Rosa in the Netflix television series “Orange is the New Black” and as a bartender in Fox’s “Gotham,” will appear throughout the festival as both performer and lecturer.

HEAR Now — an audio version of a film festival — celebrates the skills that create contemporary audio drama and storytelling. This four-day festival offers a multi-faceted program showcasing the many forms of audio fiction and sound art storytelling. It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity to educate your ears and your imagination with audio fiction programs that epitomize a tradition of craftsmanship and technological innovation. 

For more information about festival programming, visit www.hearnowfestival.org, find it on Facebook or follow it on Twitter at @HEARNow.{/mprestriction}