JOKE — Heard this week. Could be old, but it’s new to me:
How does Moses make tea?
Hebrews it.
CHABAD UPDATE — Following last week’s flood of Indian Creek, Gan Chabad Preschool has a new temporary home. The preschool obtained the necessary license from the state of Kansas and opened its doors at Kehilath Israel Synagogue on Monday. The school’s teachers and volunteers helped get it all together and Congregation Beth Shalom hosted children again last week as it did following the first flood.
As for progress on the cleanup effort of the Chabad House on Indian Creek Drive, stay tuned.
MEMORABLE LECTURE — Sol Koenigsberg’s lecture “Doors Open, Doors Closed, Doors Open: Jewish Immigration to the United States” has been accepted by the Library of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The written version of the lecture will soon be available to researchers and scholars. The actual lecture was delivered on July 17 at the annual Village Shalom University program.
Koenigsberg said the lecture presented United States immigration policies as they affected Jews. Here’s a brief summary of his lecture: “In the peak years of immigration to the USA, the late 1800s to 1924, 2 million Jews arrived in this country. After a new law was passed in 1924, immigration was restricted, mainly limiting the entry of Jews and Italians. When Hitler threatened Jews, very few were taken in, despite conferences participated in by many countries. Millions of Jews could not find safe havens. Special legislation had to be enacted to allow Holocaust survivors to immigrate here. Displaced persons camps were not completely emptied until 1952, seven years after the war ended in Europe.”
WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS — At least two members of the Jewish community were recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal last week in its annual “Women Who Mean Business” feature that honors top-ranking women in Kansas City businesses who also take an active role in the community and in helping other businesswomen. Since the program began in 2000, it has recognized 450 women.
Allison Berey is the chief marketing officer of Polsinelli PC. She is a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah and Congregation Beth Shalom. Samantha Weiner Hammontree is senior vice president and COO of The Gerson Cos. and is a member of Congregation Beth Torah.
DAY OF DISCOVERY — More than 300 people, including me, attended all or part of this year’s Day of Discovery, exploring the joy of learning in Kansas City! Many of the programs interested me, but I chose to attend one of the new programs, the Lunch and Learn discussion about The Changing Status of the Separation of Church and State in the U.S. with panelists Rabbi Doug Alpert, attorney and professor David Achtenberg and ACLU Kansas Executive Director Micah Kubic. I learned that those laws are a lot more complicated than I ever knew, and that these men could have spent hours trying to explain it instead of the hour or so they were allotted for the discussion. Thanks to the Rabbinical Association along with the other event sponsors and funders for making this event possible. I heard rave reviews from the other sessions!
