Fall just officially started but Hanukkah will be here before you know it. Jewish Family Services needs your help to make it a wonderful holiday for those in our community facing economic hardship and other life challenges, especially with the additional hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic.
KU grad who studied leadership takes on formal leadership roles in Jewish life
Evan Traylor may be from Oklahoma City, but he’s a point of pride for the Kansas Jewish community. A first-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Traylor graduated from the University of Kansas after studying political science, Jewish studies and leadership studies. Prior to rabbinical school, he worked at the Union for Reform Judaism for four years creating new projects and initiatives in college and young adult engagement, and he currently serves on the leadership teams for Jewish Social Justice Roundtable and Jews United for Justice.
Smaller celebrations will take place at the fall festival this year due to COVID
By Barbara Bayer
Contributing Writer
Sukkot, which begins at sundown tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 2, and concludes at nightfall on Friday, Oct. 9, seems to be the perfect holiday for the pandemic since it takes place outdoors. Still because many sukkahs are small in size it may not be as joyous for those who celebrate as it’s been in the past.
By Ruth Baum Bigus
Special to The Chronicle
We’re living in very divisive times with the negative tone of rhetoric at an all-time high. Conversations centered around the pressing issues of the day are often heated and discerning fact from fiction is more challenging than ever.
By Jane Martin
Special to The Chronicle
Staying safe in your COVID bubble is a wise move, but can leave many of us feeling bored, unstimulated or disconnected from our community. Enter MeltonKC, powered by HBHA, with a wide selection of 2020-21 courses to engage, connect and offer thought-provoking material. All while keeping students safe through virtual class sessions (MeltonKC classes will remain virtual until it is safe to return in person).
As soon as it became apparent that the pandemic would not subside before the High Holidays, B’nai Jehudah staff, led by Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, began working on ways to make this a special time, where congregants could gather (virtually, or physically distant in person) together as one community.
Barbara Unell, author and social entrepreneur, will receive the Honorary Nursing Alumna award from the KU Nurses Alumni Association on Friday, Oct. 2.
KU Hillel brought together Jewish students in a safe fashion to start 5781 in style (and good health). They held their annual Rosh Hashanah service — the first major in-person holiday service they have hosted during the pandemic. It was so important to KU Hillel to offer High Holidays experiences in a safe manner for students and staff because now more than ever, connecting with each other offline is crucial.
PJ Library of Kansas City is hosting “PB & PJ,” a peanut butter and jelly drive benefitting the Jewish Family Services food pantry. The goal is to collect 1,000 pounds of food to match the generous $1,000 donation made by the Polsky Family Charitable Foundation.
Menu for your mind
The Sarah Peltzman Educational Series consists of three educational units from 10 to 11 a.m. beginning Thursday, Oct. 15, sponsored by Congregation Beth Shalom Sisterhood through Zoom. The cost is $15 per unit or $36 for all three and is open to the entire Jewish community of Greater Kansas City. The fee for couples is $40 and includes all three units. Each unit (lasting four class sessions) will be followed by a fifth session with a “guest speaker.”
