Archived News

SAFE IN MOORE — Things could have been disastrous for K.C. area native Aaron Elyachar, who works in Oklahoma City and lives in Moore, Okla. His mother Gloria Elyachar reports that the tornado touched down about 500 yards north of his apartment building last Monday, May 20. Thankfully he was at work at the time, so he wasn’t in the path of the tornado. His apartment wasn’t damaged either, but  he wasn’t allowed to get any of his things from his apartment until late Wednesday and he still wasn’t allowed to stay there until Friday night. He works in commercial real estate and moved to Oklahoma 11 months ago. The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City is still accepting donations for tornado victims. Donations may be made via the website, www.jewishkansascity.org or by calling  913-327-8123. Checks may be sent to Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115th Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211, Attn: Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund.

KUDOS TO VILLAGE SHALOM — Village Shalom is featured not once but twice in a special section on “Aging” published in the May 24 issue of The Forward. Perhaps the oldest and best-known national Jewish newspaper in America, The Forward highlights Village Shalom’s long-running Torah Portion Art Therapy, led by art therapist Sherri Jacobs, and Mitzvah Garden, run by Ken Sonnenschein, as two of “America’s 7 Best Aging Programs” for Jewish seniors. The Forward dubbed Sonnenschein “a psychologist by weekday and farmer by weekend” but he is in fact a psychiatrist.

The continuing-care retirement community is the only organization to merit dual recognition in the article. Among the sponsors of the programs   deemed the “seven best,” Village Shalom also is the only one located in the nation’s interior and not within the Jewish-population corridors along the East and West coasts.

The article appears in the print edition of The Forward as well as online at http://forward.com/articles/176704/americas--best-aging-programs/.

EVERYBODY LOVES A SALE — Congregation Beth Shalom is getting rid of the contents in its old building on Wornall. Executive Director Elaine Levine tells us that the public is welcome at a Wornall Open House Sale conducted by Busy Beever Sales, which  begins on June 4. The congregation will try to dispose of the remaining items that it could not take to the Lamar site, including dishes of all sizes and prints, children’s desks, tables, pews, couches, odd chairs, stage lighting, stage curtains, and playground equipment.  The sale ends on June 7. For more information, call Beth Shalom at 913-647-7279.

REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL — KC native, KU graduate and Harvard professor Robert S. Kaplan has recently published a second book, “What You’re Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). Drawing on his years of experience, Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving your goals. He outlines specific steps and exercises to help you understand yourself more deeply, take control of your career, and build your capabilities in a way that fits your passions and aspirations. The book discusses the critical issues you need to address in order to reimagine your future and achieve your dreams. We wrote about Kaplan in late 2011 after he published his first book, “What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011). You can watch a short video interview with Kaplan about his book by visiting http://bigthink.com/users/robertskaplan. Kaplan, the son of Florence and the late Meyer Kaplan, is the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration and senior associate dean for external relations. He is also co-chairman of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm, as well as chairman and a founding partner of Indaba Capital Management LLC.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz officially resigned as senior rabbi at Kehilath Israel Synagogue last week. Congregation President Steve Osman made the announcement at the shul on Saturday morning, May 18.

The Chronicle’s attempts to contact Rabbi Yanklowitz were unsuccessful. When asked, Osman declined to comment about the situation.

Prior to the May 18 announcement, the only public comment made about the rabbi’s absence was that he was on vacation. The 31-year-old rabbi joined the congregation in August 2012 and served it for approximately nine months.

According to his Facebook page, Rabbi Yanklowitz is currently living in his hometown of Chicago. He also posted on Monday that he just published a new book, “Epistemic Development in Talmud Study,” which is available on Amazon.com.

Two weeks ago Osman said Rav Jeffrey Shron, who serves as the congregation’s cantor, will provide any rabbinical services the congregation needs in the interim. The congregation’s board of directors has not yet made a determination as to how it will proceed to fill the senior rabbi’s position.

Children frolicking in the Jewish Community Campus lobby is not an unusual sight. But when they are drawn figurines adorning the new glass walls that surround the Child Development Center’s newly expanded space, they become a work of art.

Installed earlier this year, the mural was drawn by artist Risa Kleban, with input from Jacob Schreiber, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center; Maxine Benson, CDC director of programs; and Brian Spencer of RDG, the architects who designed the new space. Because the art is attached to the glass, it allows the light to filter into the CDC as well as out to the lobby.

“Our Child Development Center children certainly identify with the life-sized kids they see dancing and playing on the glass,” said Schreiber.

“And just as important, this glass art wall really helps bring our Jewish Campus lobby to life. It’s illustrative of our belief that Jewish education, culture and activity is imaginative and fun, and that when we approach it that way, we enrich our children and they, in turn, inspire us with their Jewish exuberance and creativity.”

Schreiber had the idea for the original glass art wall, but it was Kleban the artist who brought it to life.

“I received a lot of direction from Jacob at our first meeting in Kansas City,” said Kleban, who now lives in the Chicago area. “He had a concept and a good idea. He wanted to depict realistic children interacting with Jewish objects and symbols.”

It would be easy to say, “Like father, like daughter.” Or, you could say she’s following in the footsteps of her older sister. But it might be best to paraphrase Frank Sinatra and say Salute to Youth honoree Ally Grant became a leader by doing it her way.

Ally is the daughter of Bob and Evie Grant and graduated Sunday night from Blue Valley North High School. She was honored as a member of National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, earned the Presidential Service Award all four years of high school and maintained a 4.0 or better GPA every semester as well. On top of that, this past year she served as president of Congregation Beth Shalom’s USY chapter, was named the Howie Stillman Leadership Award winner earning her a scholarship to her final USY Kinnus (convention) and served as captain of the BVN girls’ tennis team.

Ally was nominated by two staffers at Beth Shalom, Polsky Religious School Coordinator Patti Kroll and Youth Director Stefanie Williams. Williams characterized Ally as “an exceptional leader” each of the three years she has served on the KCUSY chapter executive board — first as communications vice president, then membership vice president and finally president.

“In each position, she has exceeded all expectations and raised the bar for those who follow her. She is dedicated to creating meaningful programming and experiences for all those around her,” Williams said.

Ally became interested in USY at an early age as she watched Williams, who at the time was her third-grade religious school teacher, and her madrichim (teachers’ assistants) do fun things associated with USY. Then her older sister Roni joined the syngogue’s youth group.

“So I knew USY would always be something that I would do,” said Ally, who also served as a madricha at the Polsky Religious School as a high school student.

For a while she was a member of both BBYO and USY, but USY — which has about 80 members here — was more attractive to her.

“What kept me going back to USY was I liked that there was a really strong Jewish aspect to it while at the same time a social aspect,” she explained.

Through the years she has come to love the different mix of people in the Jewish youth group.

“Everyone can be themselves,” she said. “Especially at conventions you’re encouraged to be yourself and be as Jewish as you want to be, which is really cool to me.”

As she climbed the leadership ladder, Ally said she doesn’t feel like she was ever ordering anyone around. Instead she was able to communicate to the other members of the board what was going on and what they could do together.

“Each member of the board was more than happy to step up and plan programs and do what their responsibilities called for,” she explained.

Williams said Ally is successful because she “always has a positive attitude and inspires everyone to work hard.”

“She has helped to create an amazing, fun community within the walls of our youth lounge and beyond! Ally is passionate about making our world a better place, and working with her has made me a better director,” Williams said.

As evidenced by her choice of activities, Ally said Judaism has always played a big role in her life. When she attends American University in Washington, D.C., in the fall, she hopes to take part in activities sponsored by the university’s Hillel that serves one of the largest Jewish populations of any private university in the nation.

“I want to continue to have a Jewish aspect to my life. I don’t know how strong it will be in college, but I definitely want to continue to practice Judaism and have the morals and values that I’ve learned through USY and through religious school,” said Ally, who plans to study public health and possibly minor in Spanish.

Several people inspired Ally to become a leader in the Jewish community. Two of them are her grandparents from Des Moines, Iowa, who she affectionately calls Oma and Opa, the German names for grandma and grandpa.

“I’ve always looked up to them,” Ally said. “Judaism played a huge role in their lives and they inspired me, my sister and my cousins to continue to practice Judaism and to keep it a big role in my life.”

She noted that both of those grandparents are Holocaust survivors. Oma is from Munich and went on the Kindertransport with her sister and brother. Opa is from Berlin and escaped with his parents to Shanghai.

She continues to be motivated by her father, who is the immediate past chairman of the Jewish Community Center, and her sister, who served as USY president three years ago.

“I think that seeing how both of them took on those leadership positions with such passion for what they were doing inspired me to continue to look for my niche as a leader. It just so happens that I thought my niche was as USY president,” Ally said.

This summer she will continue being a leader, this time to a group of young girls for eight weeks at Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisc. Last year she was an ozo (counselor-in-training), and spent six summers as a camper. The only summer she missed was before her junior year in high school when she participated in a four-week USY Israel experience in Israel.

“I’m really excited. It’s going to be really different than my past summers at camp but I think it will be really cool to be in that position and have that leadership role,” Ally said.

She doesn’t exactly know what the future holds for her, but it’s a sure bet she’ll continue to seek out her niche in the Jewish community.

“I don’t know where I’ll be … but I could see myself continuing to be a leader within the Jewish community.”

World-class artists continue to perform with the Kansas City Symphony, and the May 31-June 2 concerts are no exception.

Virtuoso violinist Gil Shaham and his 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius will be featured in a three-concert series with the Symphony under the baton of Music Director Michael Stern.

“We’re delighted to welcome back Gil Shaham,” said Frank Byrne, executive director of the Kansas City Symphony. “He is one of the most celebrated and brilliant violinists of our time. While he has performed with us in the past, it will be his first time in Helzberg Hall. We anticipate that the unparalleled clarity of Shaham’s playing will be realized as never before in Kansas City.”

The Illinois-born, Israeli-raised musician has enchanted audiences with his exquisite violin performances for more than three decades. At the age of 18, opportunity knocked for Shaham. The young prodigy made headlines — and essentially got his first big break — when he stepped in last minute to replace legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman who had been slated to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra. From then on, Shaham went from performing only a few concerts a year to a pace of about 40-50 concerts annually.

Kansas City’s Stern not only considers Shaham a consummate artist but also his friend.

“My friendship with Gil goes back a long time,” Stern said. “Some of my happiest music making has been in performances we’ve shared. He is, of course, a complete player; one could really say a violinist’s violinist. He is obviously a master, producing as captivating a sound on his instrument as anyone I’ve ever heard, and a searching, intelligent, wonderfully communicative musician. But for me, even more than all these gifts, is Gil’s unfailing ability to be perfectly in the moment in any phrase he is playing, and to radiate nothing but joy at the same time. That indeed is very rare.”

For his upcoming Kansas City visit, Shaham will play Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, a haunting piece dedicated to the composer’s young friend, beautiful girl and promising actress, Manon Gropius, who succumbed to polio in 1935 at age 18. Manon was the daughter of Alma Mahler (widow of composer Gustav Mahler) and architect Walter Gropius.

Inscribed on the concerto’s title page, “In Memory of an Angel,” Berg intended to “translate characteristics of the young girl’s nature into musical terms” in the first portion of the composition while evoking her suffering and metamorphosis in the conclusion. Berg’s work incorporates musical influences from Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique, the Viennese waltz, Carinthian folksong and Mahler’s music.

“Gil is very close to this music, which I think is so spiritually beautiful and deeply human,” Stern said. “For a successful performance, the concerto requires a great player who understands the Viennese lyricism, which informs every bar of this 20th century masterpiece. With Gil, the music is in great hands.”

Highly sought after by top orchestras and conductors throughout the world, Shaham frequently elects to perform major violin works from the 1930s, which is a continued area of focus for him. Several notable composers, such as Barber, Prokofiev, Berg, and Stravinsky, produced significant violin concertos within that decade. Shaham also has recorded more than two dozen concerto and solo albums — many bestsellers and award-winning records, including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Shaham collects many accolades from the media, too. The New York Times has called him “one of today’s preeminent violinists.” Violinist.com put it bluntly, “The man has serious chops…” The San Francisco Chronicle has called his playing, “limpid and tonally resplendent.”

When not touring, Shaham has found opportunities to work on musical projects with his family. Most recently, he collaborated with his sister and pianist Orli Shaham to release “Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies” on his own label, Canary Classics. The recording showcases both traditional and modern Jewish music, including the world-premiere recording of Israeli composer Avner Dorman’s work “Nigunim,” which the New York Times praised for its “explosive energy.”

As part of the Kansas City Symphony three-concert series, Music Director Michael Stern will begin with a piece for muted brass, Ruggles’ “Angels,” and then each concert closes with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, “The Great.” Tickets to Schubert’s Ninth and Gil Shaham on May 31, June 1 and 2 are available through the Symphony Box Office by calling 816-471-0400, or select seats online at www.kcsymphony.org. Tickets start at $22. Group and senior discounts are available. Students 25 and younger with a valid I.D. may purchase tickets for $10. The Symphony performs at Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, located at 1601 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.

IRENE BLEND AT THE BARN — The award-winning play “Sordid Lives” will be presented by the Barn Players May 31 through June 16. “Sordid Lives” is a black comedy about white trash. Set in a small Texas town, chaos erupts when Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lover’s wooden legs in a motel room. It features local Jewish “star” Irene Blend in two roles, Juanita, a bar fly who is always drunk, and Dr. Eve Bolinger, a pill-popping, alcoholic therapist. Ticket information for the play, suggested for adult audiences only, is available at thebarnplayers.org or by calling 913-432-9100. Performances take place in Mission, Kan., at 6219 Martway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARLENE — The happiest of birthdays to Marlene Capito, who turned 80 on Monday. Capito has worked at the Jewish Community Center for 63 years. She currently works part time in the membership department as the membership retention coordinator.

SHALOM OPHIR — The Jewish Federation’s Shlicha Ophir Hacohen is returning to Israel to prepare to attend university classes in Jerusalem. The community will say lehitraot (we’ll see each other again) at a farewell party from 2 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, May 26, in the Galleria at the Jewish Community Campus. Her last day on the job here will be June 3. I know she will be greatly missed by students here and at KU, volunteers and most of all the Federation staff!

MISSING SOME FAMILY HISTORY? — Historian Frank Adler has photocopies of four wedding certificates signed by Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf between 1885 and 1887 while he was the only rabbi serving in Kansas City. The originals were not received by those for whom they were intended. The originals are at Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, a suburb of Philadelphia, where Rabbi Krauskopf served after leaving Kansas City in 1887.

The names of the four bridal couples are: Samuel Pettigrew Ancker Jr. of Chicago and Miss Sadie Kahn of Kansas City; Samuel R. Lipsis of St. Louis and Miss Jeanette Hammerslough of Kansas City; Jacob Strauss and Miss Tillie Hahn, both of Topeka; and Daniel H. Brown of Atchison and Miss Florence Tobias of Kansas City.

Relatives may arrange to pick up these copies after calling Adler at 913-381-6000.

A panel of three arbitrators unanimously ruled April 18 for The New Reform Temple, denying Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn’s breach of contract claims against the congregation. In addition the arbitrators ruled in favor of NRT’s counterclaims for breach of fiduciary duty and for fraud.

The ruling is binding and means NRT will retain funds the congregation placed in escrow it had slated for payment to Rabbi Cukierkorn to satisfy the terms of the separation agreement signed in March 2011. The rabbi was informed in December 2010 his contract with the congregation would not be renewed when it expired in June 2012. He joined the congregation in 2000. Additionally, the panel ruled that Rabbi Cukierkorn was to repay severance payments previously made and has ordered him to make restitution to the Discretionary Fund of the Temple.

Based upon the panel’s findings, NRT was awarded the sum of $267,215.44 to be paid by Rabbi Cukierkorn. NRT’s lead attorney, Jeffrey Hanslick of Husch Blackwell, said the rabbi has already paid the congregation.

In addition, the panel found that NRT did not disparage Rabbi Cukierkorn by the way it notified the membership about the suit or violate the agreement in any other way by its handling of the case. According to all parties involved, no parts of the ruling are appealable.

This is an Interim Arbitration Award. By agreement, the parties asked the panel to convert the Interim Arbitration Award to a Final Arbitration Award. At press time, that has not yet occurred, but the parties expect it will shortly.

The panel ruled in favor of Rabbi Cukierkorn on two claims. The panel found that NRT did not prove the elements of its negligent misrepresentation claim. It also found that NRT did not prove the elements of its conversion/misappropriation claim.

In a written statement, NRT’s President Michael Grossman said, “This has been a very regrettable situation for all affected by it. The board felt obligated to defend the Temple’s interests due to the improper conduct involved. The congregation and its leaders are pleased with the arbitration panel’s findings and eager to focus its attention on improving the experience at NRT for the membership. The Temple has received full restitution plus return of severance and is relieved to have this unfortunate episode over.

“While we have managed this situation as a board, we purposefully tried to keep it from being a focal point of our Temple’s proceedings, choosing instead to move the Temple forward. The board is happy to now have this matter behind us,” Grossman concluded.

Rabbi Cukierkorn also issued a written statement regarding the panel’s ruling.

Got teens? If you do, tell them about J-Serve: Jewish Teens Serving Kansas City set for Sunday, June 2.

The all-day event begins and ends at the Jewish Community Campus and takes place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Teens — incoming ninth- through 12th-graders along with just-graduated seniors — will eat, socialize, help others and play at the Jewish Community Center outdoor pool. The event is free and all Jewish teens and their friends, regardless of affiliation to any of the sponsoring organizations, are welcome to attend.

J-Serve is being coordinated by Amy Ravis Furey, Learning for Life associate at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, and Taly Yeyni, program director of Kansas City Council BBYO. It is being convened by Jewish Federation and it’s Learning for Life Program in partnership with Congregations Beth Shalom, Beth Torah and B’nai Jehudah, BBYO, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Student Union, Kansas City Interfaith Youth Alliance, North American Federation of Temple Youth, Panera and United Synagogue Youth.

Furey and Yeyni explained that J-Serve provides teens with the opportunity to fulfill the Jewish values of gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), tzedakah (just and charitable giving) and tikkun olam (the responsibility to repair the world).

“It’s important for teens to come together to give back to the community that supports them,” Yeyni said.

Furey added, “The community has invested their resources in teens and this is a chance for teens to invest their time and energy in making the community a better place.”

J-Serve is an event that has taken place all over the globe the past couple of months. The June date was chosen locally for a variety of reasons, one being this is a good way to kick-off the summer before teens take off for vacations and summer camps.

“During the school year it’s hard for teens to give up an entire day on Sunday when they have homework and other things pulling at their attention,” Furey said.

Teens will get to choose from six different projects in which they can make a difference in the community.

“The idea of having six projects was to give people the choice of what was interesting to them and what they are passionate about,” Yeyni said. Furey hopes that each teen who registers will get his/her first or second choice.

It was important to the teens on the planning committee, Furey pointed out, that the projects they were involved in were not just one-time events. Therefore each of the six projects has a history with one of the sponsoring organizations. The six projects will benefit or take place at:

The Mitzvah Garden of Greater Kansas City

Mitzvah Meals to benefit Independence Boulevard Christian Church

reStart Inc. an interfaith ministry for homeless persons

Ronald McDonald House, providing a home away from home for parents to remain close to their hospitalized children

SAVE Home, the first AIDS-specific hospice in the state of Missouri

Craft and advocacy project to benefit Operation Breakthrough

By choosing projects with which local Jewish organizations already have a history, these teens could have the possibility of volunteering at the same place in the future, and, as Furey put it, helping them feel “part of a bigger something.”

“Our hope is this is just the beginning of their passion about service and it sparks some ideas of what they do in the future,” added Yeyni, who pointed out participants will earn about five community service hours that day.

The local Jewish community has conducted a J-Serve event before, but not in the past couple of years or to this extent. Organizers of this J-Serve hope 100 teens will attend and it will become a yearly event.

“In the prophetic tradition of Jews hearing the call to work with God, the next generation of Jews is stepping forward to take their place in what we hope will become a long standing tradition in our community,” said B’nai Jehudah’s Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, who will kick-off the event.

Each project has a teen group leader.

“Our goal is to empower them to feel connected to the organization they are serving, to share that with other teens and to lead the reflection,” Furey said.

Teens will lead short advocacy sessions at each session. All teens will participate in a reflection of the day after returning to the Campus. The swimming party is optional, Furey said, “but it is really a celebration of our hard work so we hope people will join us.”

All the sponsoring organizations, as well as members of the planning committee, are recruiting teens for the event. Teens planning J-Serve are looking forward to it.

“I think it’s really cool when Jewish teens gather for the purpose of bettering the world,” said BBYO Council President Allison Ullman.

Morgan Krakow, secretary of BBYO’s Saadia BBG, added, “I think that J-Serve is going to be really fun and I hope that a lot of teens attend.”

Registration for J-Serve is required. Breakfast will be provided by Panera; a kosher option is available upon request. Each teen needs to bring a sack lunch as no lunch will be provided at the service sites. Each participant will also receive a free T-shirt. Registration is available on the Jewish Federation website, https://jewishkansascity.org/Events/2013-Events/June/JServe-2013/J-Serve-2013-RSVP-and-Service-Project-Selection. For more information contact or call 913-981-8801.

Adam Glass, along with two other student chefs from Johnson County Community College, won top honors in two categories at an international culinary competition held in New Zealand in March. Glass, along with Sophia Elmer, Sophie Buell and Coach Felix Sturmer, JCCC professor of hospitality management, represented the United States in the third International Colleges Culinary Competition hosted by Wellington Institute of Technology in New Zealand March 18 to 22.

The students prepared a three-course menu demonstrating sustainability awareness, product knowledge and cooking skills using New Zealand food items. Competing against teams from New Zealand, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom and Australia, the JCCC students won the best entrée (appetizer) and best main course category.

Glass, who graduated this week with an applied science degree after completing a Chef Apprenticeship Program, said he and his teammates have been cooking in culinary competitions all over the country for the past couple of years. He explained that JCCC budgets for an international competition every two years and he got lucky that this was the year for that.

“Our team has done pretty well in competitions,” Glass said.

Mix in the fact that Coach Sturmer “had some pretty good connections” and, Glass said, “We were lucky enough to get an invite” as the only team to represent the United States.

“Only one team per country was allowed to compete in this competition,” he explained.

The team learned about the invitation in November and got to work earnestly after winter break researching, developing and writing menus as well as practicing preparing the menu items. All this was on top of the regular team competition prep, school assignments and his work as an apprentice at Dean & Deluca in Leawood. He said it was a lot to balance all at once.

“It was a ton of work. But the thrill and reward of just stepping off the plane in New Zealand made it all worth it. And the cooking part is amazing. I love cooking to begin with and to be able to cook on this stage in a country on the other side of the world made all the work worth it. I’ll sacrifice waking up early to be at school at 6 or 7 a.m. for the chance to cook in New Zealand anytime,” he said.

In the entrée category, which Glass explained is more like an appetizer here in the States, the rules required the team to prepare items with New Zealand salmon. So they developed what they called a quartet of salmon — a beet-cured with apples and onions salmon, a soy-marinated smoked salmon belly (he said “it’s a fattier piece that’s good for smoking”), poached salmon with a truffle and salmon mousse and an Asian salmon tartar.

There were no rules for what they could prepare for the main course, so the trio settled on New Zealand lamb.

“It was an orange- and rosemary-crusted lamb loin,” explained Glass, adding that it was served with an oregano and fig reduction sauce, lentils, lamb sausage and a medley of vegetables.

This was the 23-year-old chef’s first international competition. The school paid for a large portion of the trip. The rest was paid for by scholarships given to the students by Wolfgang Puck, who was at JCCC earlier this year for a charity dinner.

“We helped him out so much he gave us all scholarships,” said Glass, the son of Norman Glass and Linda Glass. “We just had to pay our food and spending money.”

The chef apprenticeship program at JCCC features formal course work along with the opportunity to actually practice such skills as baking, menu planning, food purchasing, beverage control and food preparation. Students, including Glass, are registered by the Department of Labor and are officially indentured to supervising chefs for 6,000 hours. Before he began working at Dean & Deluca, he worked at the Raphael Hotel on the Plaza.

He enjoyed spending time in New Zealand, where they had a chance to sightsee as well as compete. At some point in the near future, Glass hopes to return and work there “for six months or a year.”

“While I was over there I made some pretty good contacts. I’m trying to put the pieces together right now. It’s looking pretty promising,” Glass said.

Prior to beginning the chef apprentice program at JCCC, he studied psychology at the University of Kansas before he realized the field wasn’t for him.

“I was always into cooking and it just seemed to make sense to go to the culinary school. The rest is history as they say,” he said.

Now, he said, his friends and family ask him to cook for them all the time.

“I don’t mind it. I think it’s fun,” Glass said.

He especially enjoys international cuisine.

“I really liked the advanced food class where you (prepare food) from countries all over the world,” he said. “I love French cooking. It’s probably my favorite.”

With the economy’s peaks and valleys over the past several years, it’s easy for many in the Jewish community to tune out the economic news. But not for the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. In fact, demand for its Chesed Fund is as high as it has ever been since the assistance fund was created in 2007.

“It is imperative we continue to ask for help, as more and more people in our community need our assistance,” said Shari Stimetz, assistant director of the Jewish Federation. “The amount of money we’re dispersing every month is beyond belief. At this rate, we will need more than $300,000 for assistance by the end of 2013, and this is for people who have nowhere else to turn.”

The Federation’s Chesed Fund helps Jewish residents living in the five counties of Greater Kansas City address chronic financial challenges. These are situations that typically involve extended job loss and medical issues that can’t be helped with one-time emergency assistance.

“All Chesed Fund recipients start out at Jewish Family Services,” said Stimetz. “Once the intake process is completed, the case managers at JFS determine whether or not an individual or family meets the criteria for assistance. Sadly, with the economic problems that have faced our country in the past few years, more and more JFS clients are meeting the Chesed Fund criteria.

“In the first few months of 2013, we have already distributed more than half of what we distributed in all of 2012, and we are facing serious shortages for the fund,” continued Stimetz, who noted $300,000 was distributed by the fund last year.

Chesed Fund is surprisingly spread among a variety of individuals and families — all facing unique issues. The money helps everyone from seniors on a small fixed income to people who cannot work because of chronic illness, to single parents who are not receiving the child support they were awarded upon divorce.

Kansas City is fortunate that the Federation has been able to help area Jews in need to the extent that it has.

“The Federation established the Chesed Fund in 2007 because even then we saw a rising need among people with chronic financial challenges,” Stimetz said.

Chesed Fund also has donors who, as Stimetz puts it, “care about people in need — especially Jewish people right here in our own community continued and understand why it’s critical at this time to give above and beyond their annual gift.

Stimetz encourages others to join the ranks of Chesed’s donors.

“Helping people and saving lives is the highest value in the Jewish tradition,” she said. “And that’s what these funds are doing. Saving lives. Literally!”

To make an online donation to the Chesed Fund, go to jewishkansascity.org/givedignity2013. To make a donation by phone, contact Gail Weinberg, director of financial resource development, 913-327-8123. Or send in a check to Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115 Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211, Attn: Chesed Fund 2013.

One hundred percent of donations will go to Chesed Fund.