Archived News

By Barbara Bayer

Editor

Religious pluralism is a phrase that’s being tossed around a lot these days. What exactly does it mean and why does the local rabbinical community, or the Jewish community at large, even care? These are some of the questions we asked several local rabbis recently, following a recent visit to Kansas City from Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Jerry Silverman.

Silverman came to Kansas City in response to a letter sent to the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City urging the agency to advocate a variety of religious pluralism issues in Israel. The letter was signed by 14 local members of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, most of whom represent the Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist movements. 

What is religious pluralism, specifically when it comes to the State of Israel? A simple explanation would be equality for all Jewish viewpoints. The rabbis’ letter explained it this way:

“We pursue our most deeply held Jewish values in the spirit of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook — the chief rabbi of Israel pre-dating the declaration of our Jewish democratic homeland. It was Rav Kook who, interpreting the words of our Sages in the Talmud, defined true peace not as a sharing of common viewpoints wherein all Jews think the same, but rather when we accommodate all views. Rav Kook articulated the need for the Shaleim of completeness — a pluralistic vision of Judaism and our Jewish homeland that will lead us to the shalom of peace.”

This issue has been brought to the attention of our Jewish community several times during the past year. Women of the Wall Chair Anat Hoffman, who is also executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, was here last May at the invitation of The New Reform Temple. In early January Ronit Peskin, founder of Women For the Wall, spoke at the invitation of Congregation Beth Israel, Abraham and Voliner. (Women of the Wall supports the rights of women to pray at the Wall. Women for the Wall focuses on preserving Jewish tradition at the Wall.) 

Why has this issue suddenly come to the front burner? Rabbi Scott White, president of the Rabbinical Association and rabbi of Conservative Congregation Ohev Sholom, said one reason is because recent developments — including the issues of who can pray at the Wall, who should be drafted to serve in the Israeli army and who can have a religious wedding ceremony in Israel — have focused the light on the issue.

Following the letter, and Silverman’s visit, the rabbis hope to keep the issue of religious pluralism in Israel on the front burner. One way of doing this is by meeting with several representatives from the Jewish Federation on a regular basis to discuss them.

“We’re getting ready to plan our first meeting, which we hope will happen relatively soon,” Rabbi White said. “It’s not an emergency situation but it’s a pretty urgent one.”

Why is this important to KC Jews?

“You cannot say to people we want the support of the entire Jewish community, and oh by the way you are not Jewish,” said Congregation Beth Torah’s Rabbi Mark Levin when asked why this issue is important. 

“By the ultra-Orthodox definition of who is a Jew, the majority of young people in Kansas City cannot marry in the State of Israel. I think that’s a very important fact,” said the Reform rabbi, who supported the Rabbinical Association’s letter to the Jewish Federation.

Just one of the reasons this is true, he explained, is because many conversions performed in the United States are not accepted by the Orthodox rabbis in Israel.

“I cannot prove to you that it’s a majority but I will bet you it’s upwards of 50 percent, even as high as two-thirds,” Rabbi Levin said.

Rabbi Beryl Padorr says it’s also about feeling welcome when we visit the Jewish state, comparing it to not wanting to visit a relative’s home if it’s uncomfortable and unwelcoming.

“You don’t want to feel because you practice Judaism one way and somebody else practices Judaism another way that you aren’t welcome there,” said Rabbi Padorr, a Conservative rabbi who was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies from American Jewish University in 2006. She is a full-time chaplain resident at Research Medical Center, works part-time at Children’s Mercy Hospital and teaches Melton classes.

As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Padorr lived in Israel for 10 months. In addition to feeling welcome, she said pluralism is about safety as well.

“What’s going to happen to me if I go to the wall and I put on my tallit and my tefillin and pray in a way that I would normally pray?” she asked. 

Rabbi Levin believes the argument over The Wall is really a symbolic one of inclusion.

“It’s not the idolatry of The Wall as one person said to me, rather it is the symbol of God’s connection to the Jewish people and has been for 3,000 years,” he said. 

As Rabbi Padorr simply states, in Genesis, God created everybody, and to her that is why pluralism is important.

“God didn’t just create you, me, a group; it doesn’t even say Jewish. God created people. God created humanity. I think it’s an obligation to respect each other as godly beings, made in God’s image, all of us,” she continued.

Israel is our homeland

Rabbi Daniel Rockoff, as the rabbi of Orthodox Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner, said as Kansas City Jews we are interested in the issue of pluralism because Israel is our homeland.

“In my community, many of our members and children and grandchildren value moving to Israel. Aliyah is a very important value for ourselves and if we’re not in Israel, than we value not just visiting but the relatives that we have there and the fact that it is our Jewish homeland. Not only do we value its existence and strength, but we also each interact with it on a regular basis.”

To some degree, Rabbi Rockoff said he faces the issues of marriage and conversion that his other colleagues face. 

“I think there is a recognition, I think on the Israeli front also, that there does need to be some development, specifically with the Chief Rabbinate, to be more open and welcoming and reaching out to Jews as opposed to closing them off. I don’t know how that’s going to work. I’m not sure that the solutions that have been proposed to this point have been satisfactory and I don’t have the answer right now, nor do I think anything has been proposed that’s perfect.”

It is here that Rabbi Rockoff points out that while Israel is a democracy, it is still a relatively young nation and it is most definitely not the same democracy as the United States.

“Israel’s mandate is to be the homeland for the Jews and has always done that for immigrants from every land, from every stream. It has not discriminated in that. At the same time, Israel is still a developing society, and developing in every which way,” Rabbi Rockoff said.

“Certain things that were set up at the beginning of the state have changed in ways that Israel’s founders could not have anticipated. So for example the exemption of yeshiva students from the army was something that the founders of the state couldn’t see becoming a major societal issue because it wasn’t (an issue) when there were just a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand students.”

With all these issues, Rabbi Rockoff believes American Jews will have to understand that Israel works very differently than democracy works in the United States.

“Hopefully we can come to a productive resolution where Israel and the Diaspora communities can function with ever increasing harmony,” said Rabbi Rockoff, who did not sign the letter from the rabbis to the Jewish Federation but hopes to be a member of the joint committee established between the two to discuss these issues.

He believes American Jews definitely need to have faith in Israel, and support the Jewish state no matter what.

“It’s not our job to say we’re only going to support an Israel that does X or Y. We support Israel. They have to make their own decisions and we support them no matter what. Now we want to have influence and we want things that we believe strongly in and we’d like to share. There’s a lot that I think Israel can learn from American communities. However just as we need to have faith in them, Israel does need to look to us for guidance on certain issues. Certainly to the ones that relate to the Diaspora. Israel can’t start deciding how everything is going to work in America, too. There is going to need to be autonomy of Diaspora communities. And, by the way, there is an increasing recognition of that in some of the newer legislation and practices that are coming to the fore right now,” Rabbi Rockoff added.

Working together

Rabbi Rockoff points to the Kansas City Jewish community as a wonderful example of a community that has succeeded in working together with the various streams of Judaism.

“I hope that it can indeed be a shining example for other communities and for Israel as well,” he said. 

Rabbi Levin said he believes, as do the “vast majority of the rabbis in this city,” that the Jewish Federation, its Israel and Overseas committee, and the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee need to work toward an inclusive Israel.

“Now many people, like Peter Beinert, are saying if we don’t do that, the next generation is lost. I don’t want to go there. I want to say the State of Israel was founded for worldwide Jewry. We absolutely must be included in the definition, not just of who is a Jew civilly, but be able to marry, be able to be buried. But the big thing right now is marriage. And to be able to live Jewish lives in the Jewish state,” Rabbi Levin said.

He wants to credit the Jewish Federation and its Executive Director and CEO Todd Stettner and JFNA’s Silverman for understanding the issue is an important one.

“But having said that, we are not yet anywhere near the goal and Israel needs to understand that if it expects the support of North American Jewry, then they have to include North American Jewry in Jewish expression in the Jewish state. So we will marry as Jews in Israel if we choose,” Rabbi Levin said.

By Barbara Bayer

Editor

Those who know Harvey Bodker understand that he can get very emotional about the causes he deeply believes in. His newest cause is the IDF Widows & Orphans Organization (IDFWO), and he learned about it by chance on an airplane last summer.

It all started in August when Bodker, who is an active alumnus of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, was on his way to the fraternity’s 100th anniversary celebration. His plane to New York was delayed for several reasons, one being that a group of foreign students was stuck in security.

“As it turned out, there were 42 youngsters and 10 adults from the Israel Defense Forces Widows & Orphans Organization,” he said.

During the flight he chatted with two of the young Israelis and one of the leaders. The group had been at a Jewish summer camp in the Wisconsin Dells and were planning to spend the remainder of their trip in the New York area.

Coincidentally, or maybe more appropriately luckily for the IDFWO, that group was also invited to attend AEPi’s Shabbos dinner event on the USS Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier now a museum in New York. 

When Bodker first met some members of the group on the plane, he didn’t know that all the teens on the trip were orphans, in the Israeli translation of the word. That means these teens had lost one parent — usually a father — who died while protecting Israel. 

“I went to pieces, when I heard that,” Bodker said. “From then on I was bound and determined I was going to get to know them and their cause better.”

Meeting these young people, was “mind-boggling and life-changing” for Bodker. It was such a moving experience that he brought a fundraiser and an “orphan” — Daniel Tuksar, director of resource development, and Roi Schiffenbauer — here to get the word out about their organization and help them raise money. He arranged speeches at Congregation Beth Shalom, Kehilath Israel Synagogue and with the ROMEOS (a group of retired Jewish men) and organized a private event for friends to hear their story.

Tuksar was thrilled to be here, saying “it’s not every day you meet a Zionist like Harvey.” He pointed out that during the beginning, the IDFWO was a part of the Israeli government, but since 1991 it has been independently run and funded completely by private donations.

Tuksar explained IDFWO works with more than 5,000 widows and about 3,000 boys and girls who are left without a parent. Only seven professionals run the organization along with a voluntary chairwoman — a widow herself who is democratically elected by her peers.

“The bottom line for the organization is for the widows to spend time together,” Tuksar said. “This is important to them, so it’s important to us. When they get together they are able to talk, to relate to each other, cry, laugh, hug and embrace each other. We do our best to keep them connected.”

IDFWO takes women on retreats, sends presents to the widows on Rosh Hashanah, connects widows with each other, offers classes and provides emergency medical and financial assistance.

“It’s just a warm, second home to them,” Tuksar said.

But the majority of the work IDFWO does is with the children. The children continue to live with their surviving parent.

“We are there for them whenever the father is supposed to be with them,” Tuksar explained. These times include the beginning of first grade — providing them with backpacks full of school supplies — Bar-Bat Mitzvah trip to North America to Jewish communities (this is where Bodker met the kids) and a Bar-Bat Mitzvah celebration at the Western Wall attended by Israeli dignitaries who embrace the children. Camps are also held during various times during the year especially Chanukah, Sukkot and Passover vacations. The camps are for kids between the ages of 12 to 18 from all over Israel.

“We do fun stuff but we also have therapy sessions,” Tuksar said. “They are usually the only kids in their schools who have lost a parent so you can imagine how important it is to spend time with each other.”

IDFWO also presents scholarships and wedding gifts to these now-grownup teens.

Roi was almost 13 when his father was killed in a helicopter training accident in Romania. He’s now a junior in high school and will join the IDF following his high school graduation. He was featured in story that aired on Israeli television, which was shown to those attending the private event. He spoke about his father, what it was like when the family heard about the accident, and why the IDFWO is important to him and his family.

“The only people that can understand my loss are the people who have experienced the same loss as me. So we have the same things in common and we can talk about our loss. It’s very nice to see someone who can understand you,” said Roi, who lives on Moshav Kidron, an area he described as “a very nice neighborhood near Tel Aviv.”

Roi explained that the organization’s activities for the widows, especially the vacations and camps for the children, are very important to them.

“It’s very hard for my mother to handle three kids during this vacation,” he said, explaining that while he and his older brother were on IDFWO-sponsored trips and activities, she could rest and care for only one child.

Roi’s older brother is now in the IDF. His younger brother just turned 12, making him eligible for IDFWO camps and trips.

“He can take the Passover trip and then the Bar and Bat Mitzvah trip to the USA,” Roi explained.

This is the second time Roi has been to the United States, the first time he came was on an IDFWO Bar-Bat Mitzvah trip. This fundraising trip lasted 10 days and took him to Key West, Fla., where they experienced “nice weather,” and here.

Roi said it was very generous of Bodker to host the Israelis in his home and called him a “very nice man.” They had a very busy few days here, visiting the Harry S. Truman Library, eating Jack’s Stack barbecue, and attending the Kansas City Symphony as well as making the four presentations. 

“This organization is very important for me and my friends. I hope people understand my needs because it’s very hard without our fathers and this organization really serves as a second home for us. It’s very, very nice to be there with my friends,” Roi said.

Tuksar pointed out that taking care of kids like Roi and their families takes money. For instance it costs $300 for first-grade supplies per child, $1,200 per child for the Bar-Bat Mitzvah celebration in Israel and $900 for the three annual retreats per child.

“If we don’t support them, who will,” Bodker notes.

Tax deductible donations may be sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave, Suite 607, New York, NY 10017. Make checks payable to: P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, stating in the memo section the donation is for IDFWO.

By Barbara Bayer

Editor

Ben Sayevich has played in a lot of concert venues over the years. Next week Sayevich will get his first chance to play at Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts when his Park Piano Trio performs. The concert, to be held at 7:30 p.m. April 4, celebrates the 10th anniversary of Park University’s International Center for Music. Stanislav Ioudenitch, gold medalist of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and founder of the ICM and his protégé and rising star — and 2009 winner of the London International Piano Competition — Behzod Abduraimov, will also perform in the special Van Cliburn Tribute Concert.

“It is very exciting. It’s definitely one of the best halls in the country, if not in the world. So we are very much looking forward to it,” said Sayevich, a professor of music at Park, in a phone interview last week.

The concert itself, Sayevich said, is an important event.

“It’s commemorating the life of Van Cliburn, a very important, great musician,” he continued. “It is very important for any musician to play a part in a concert for somebody who is so admired by so many people.”

Ioudenitch will perform in the first half of the concert. Ioudenitch is currently associate professor of music and the artistic director of the Youth Conservatory of Music at the ICM. Abduraimov will also perform in the first half of the concert. 

Sayevich is very complimentary of the young pianist.

“At 22 he’s now one of the leading pianists of his generation and he’s a student of ours at Park. He’s trained already with major orchestras such as the Boston Symphony and will play in Carnegie Hall. He’s a very distinguished young pianist,” Sayevich said.

The Park Piano Trio, consisting of Sayevich, Ioudenitch and cellist Daniel Veis, will play Peter Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Trio in A Minor.”

“This piece is very appropriate because it’s very dramatic and very long and it’s celebrating life. It’s very appropriate in memory of Van Cliburn because he won the Tchaikovsky competition in 1958. That was the first Tchaikovsky competition ever and in those days it was the height of the Cold War and he was a young American from Texas winning the gold medal in Moscow. For Russians, he was an incredible symbol of how music transcends politics and he was very much loved by everybody in Russia,” Sayevich said.

“It’s very fitting to play the Tchaikovsky piano tribute because not only is that piece in memory of a great artist, but also it is Tchaikovsky, which Van Cliburn had a very big affinity for all his life.

“Our pianist also won the Van Cliburn competition, so it’s all those connections.”

Sayevich the violinist

Sayevich moved to Israel in 1971 from Lithuania when he was 12. Nine years later, just one day after he completed his Israeli army service, he came to the United States. He’s been in this country ever since.

“I was discharged and then the next day I was in New York and started to audition for schools.”

In September of 1980 he enrolled in the New England Conservatory.

“I came here to study with this very well-known teacher Dorothy Delay,” he said. He earned the prestigious artist diploma from the conservatory and was a teaching assistant to Eric Rosenblith.

When he came to the United States to study, he really didn’t know where he would live after that. But he was offered a job at the University of Kansas a short time before he graduated. So a month after graduation he was living in Lawrence, Kan. 

“I stayed, but my two brothers are in Israel so I go there at least once a year,” said the Jewish violinist who now lives in North Kansas City with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. He was at KU from 1987 until 2006, when he joined the staff at Park.

“My background is very Jewish, not religiously Jewish, but traditionally Jewish. For example my first language at home was Yiddish. My parents talked Yiddish with each other. That was the first language I heard,” said Sayevich, who speaks four languages fluently — English, Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian. He also speaks Lithuanian and German.

Not only has he taught music for many years, he has concertized extensively throughout North America, Europe and the Far East, and has appeared on radio and television as a soloist and chamber musician. He is featured as the soloist in a recording of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. One of the most important works in his repertoire is the Violin Concerto by Alban Berg, for which he was chosen to play at the New England Conservatory’s celebration of the composer’s centenary. Sayevich’s interpretation carries the tradition that comes down directly from the composer, through his work on the piece with the late Louis Krasner, the commissioner, dedicatee and the violinist at the work’s premiere.

He said he plays strictly classical music, but “sometimes I play Klezmer music just for fun.”

Sayevich is currently in London playing with the London Chamber Music Society, something he has been doing since 2002 “two, maybe three times a year.”

Tickets for the Van Cliburn Tribute Concert are available through the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts at www.kauffmancenter.org, 816-994-7222 or at the Kauffman Center’s Box Office, 1601 Broadway.

SPARKLING ON THE RED CARPET — Eliana Schuster may have received the best Bat Mitzvah present ever from her uncle, Michael Lawson. Lawson is a publicist in the movie industry and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As her Bat Mitzvah gift, Uncle Michael took Eliana to the Oscars earlier this month. The Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy eighth-grader got to miss a couple of days of school to spend the weekend in Los Angeles and attend the Sunday ceremony that most of us will only ever see on TV. Wearing a beautiful eggplant purple dress, she got to hang out on the red carpet (getting there about 3 p.m. Pacific time) and met actor Zac Efron. Eliana, who became a Bat Mitzvah at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah on Sept. 21, 2013, said the whole day at the Oscars was something she couldn’t imagine ahead of time, it was so crazy. “It was really, really fun and exciting and an amazing experience.”

“FOLLIES” AT THE BARN — Not one but two members of the Jewish community — Ruth Baum Bigus and Ray Zarr —will perform in Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Follies,” opening Friday, April 18, at The Barn Players in Mission. The production runs through May 4. The musical has won eight Tony Awards and tells the story of a reunion of past performers from “Weismann’s Follies,” held in a crumbling Broadway theater about to be torn down and features the music that won our hearts between the World Wars. “Follies” is considered one of Sondheim’s finest musicals with songs including such Broadway classics as: “Broadway Baby,” “I’m Still Here,” “Losing My Mind,” “Rain On The Roof,” “Beautiful Girls,” “Could I leave You?,” “One More Kiss” and a host of others. Tickets may be purchased on the theater website, www.thebarnplayers.org, by calling 1-800-838-3006, or at the box office the date of the performance; discounts for seniors and students.

MODEL MATZAH BAKERY ON TAP — Have you ever baked matzah before? You can have your chance to try baking this ancient food called “bread of faith” by the Kabbalists at Torah Learning Center’s Model Matzah Bakery. The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 6. Folks young and old can stop by to learn the art of making round, hand-made shmurah matzah. Participants will bake their own matzah, plus learn all about the laws, history and facts of this ancient Passover food. This free event includes a video presentation as well as crafts for the kids. Displays will feature both a Seder table and Haggadahs. Kosher-for-Passover matzah will be available for purchase plus afikomen gift items will also be on sale. TLC is located at 8800 W 103rd St., Overland Park, KS 66212. Call 913-385-5770 for more information or visit www.torahkc.org to RSVP online.

By Ellen Portnoy

Special to The Chronicle

“Prayers are about compassionate positive experience,” said Rabbi Samuel Intrator, who will be the Caviar Family Jewish Scholar in Residence at Kehilath Israel Synagogue on April 4 and 5. 

“Prayer can create language of spiritual commonality,” he added. “We, as a people, need a common experience. Israel no longer is the common unifying force in Judaism, so I am now suggesting that should be prayer as unifying force.”

“We all quest for deeper meaning and greater inspiration from our prayers,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Shron of K.I. “Rabbi Intrator will not only give us the tools and the knowledge to accomplish these goals, but he will create a genuine spiritual happening at K.I.”

Rabbi Intrator will lead the Friday night service at 6:15 p.m. April 4. This service will include singing and dancing in the style of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Rabbi Intrator was his assistant for many years and took over his synagogue in New York when Rabbi Carlebach passed away. Currently he leads a congregation in Miami Beach and heads the Kavanah Life Institute.

“I do a service the way he did a service,” Rabbi Intrator said. “But while there is a lot of singing and dancing to create a spirit, I also interject in the middle of the service a short running commentary of what the congregation is singing and dancing to. When you know what you are reciting it makes the service more meaningful.”

His sermon on Friday night will focus on “The Spiritual Power of Speech.” The Torah portion that week deals with leprosy.

“Rabbis attribute leprosy to negative speech, he said.  “I want to delve into the power of positive speech. In communication with each other we should focus on the power that creates with positive speech, and think about how bad negative speech is to others.”

“Through speech God created world and through speech we can destroy the word.  If speech is misused, it can destroy,” Rabbi Intrator added. “I want to show through various ways the power of speech. And remind people to be careful and mindful of that power.”

After the service, there will be a Friday night dinner that is open to the public. Reservations are required. Cost is $10 per adult, with children under 13 free with a parent. Reservations are due by March 27.

The Scholar in Residence program continues at Shabbat morning services. Rabbi Intrator will both lead the service and speak on “Why so Few Jews in the Pews: Bringing More Meaning to Prayer.” He will also lead the Mussaf service.

“Most people don’t understand the prayers because they speak English not Hebrew,” Rabbi Intrator said. “So they cannot relate to it. We must make it so we relate to prayer. The words of prayer are ancient, mystical and poetic. So even a good translation cannot explain it well. Commentary is written to decode the prayers, which send a positive message about life, making prayer more relevant.”

There are two important issues about prayer according to Rabbi Intrator. The first is that the words of prayer speak to congregants and help them in their lives to get a more positive attitude to life, both spiritual life and meaningful life.

“People will look at pray and say that is something I should get into because it changed my spiritual life and general life.”

The second important issue is that he believes prayer brings people together. 

“There is a language of spiritual community that can heal the divisiveness of the Jewish Community,” he said.

Shabbat services are open to the public and will be followed with a Kiddush luncheon.

Rabbi Intrator’s final program will be a Shabbat Mincha/Havdalah service at 6:50 p.m. He will keep us inspired and lead us in Havdalah and then an uplifting musical experience that will include storytelling and dancing.

“We are welcoming the entire community to come to create a joint experience and bonding between all congregations,” said Rabbi Intrator about the Mincha/Havdalah service. The joy of prayer and meaning of prayer will be the focus.

For more information or to make a reservation, call K.I. Synagogue at 913-642-1880.

By Marcia Montgomery

Community Editor

Rachel Sweenie has traveled a great distance in her 25 years. She was born in Chicago and moved to the Kansas City area with her family when she was in first grade. After graduating from KU, she moved to Washington, D.C. Now, via the Peace Corps, she lives and works in Swaziland, Africa, where she has been since June 2013.

Sweenie says she can’t share the name of her community in Swaziland, “but I can share that it is very rural and very beautiful. I live in the mountains where the weather is generally temperate. I stay with a wonderful host family and have my own house on the homestead.”

The daughter of Congregation Beth Torah Music Director Linda Matorin Sweenie, Rachel Sweenie says life in Swaziland is quite different than the 9 to 5 job she had in D.C.

“No day is ever the same. I am very fortunate to have electricity in my house and running water on my homestead,” she says. “The biggest differences for me are hand washing clothes, not always understanding what people are saying — English is everyone’s second language here — and getting used to cultural differences like wearing skirts most of the time and not using my left hand as a sign of respect to the King.”

She and other Peace Corps volunteers spent their first eight weeks in training learning SiSwati (the native language), studying Swazi history and culture, and preparing for the types of projects they would implement in their communities.

Health Issues

According to research, Swaziland is critically affected by HIV and AIDS. The CIA World Factbook reported in 2012 that 25.8 percent of all adults are infected with HIV and the life expectancy in Swaziland is 50 years. An estimated 5,500 people of an approximate population of 1,185,000 dies from AIDS every year. In 2004, the Swaziland government acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis, with 38.8 percent of tested pregnant women infected with HIV.

Tuberculosis is another significant problem, with a mortality rate of 18 percent. Eighty-three percent of tuberculosis patients are co-infected with HIV.

“There are indeed a number of health issues in Swaziland,” Sweenie says. “The government and many NGOs (non-government organizations) have been working hard to combat these issues. Treatment is free and widely accessible, and in the past few years there has been a big push for prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

“All pregnant women are tested when they come in to the hospital for prenatal care, and those who test positive are provided with anti-retroviral treatment (ARVs) to prevent the disease from passing to the fetus.”

HIV/AIDS education is nothing new in Swaziland, Sweenie says. “In fact, it has been drilled into the youth, both in school and through the disease’s impact on every person’s life. I think it is safe to say there is not a single person in this country who hasn’t been affected in some way.

“That said, my work is more focused on life skills and empowering people, whether that’s encouraging young girls to stand-up for themselves or teaching someone who takes ARVs how to keep healthy.”

Sweenie says she’s not exactly sure what she expected from the Peace Corps; she tries to live her life without expectations. She did think, however, that she would be more involved in HIV/AIDS education — her official job title is community health educator — but the work is varied.

“Gender-based violence and inequality are also big issues. A large part of what we do as Peace Corps volunteers is try to empower youth, particularly girls, to stand up for themselves and make good choices with regard to sexual and reproductive health.

“Right now I spend time in the schools doing life skills — activities designed to address self-esteem, decision making, goal setting, health, etc. — and library time, as well as work with an HIV support group,” she explains “A friend and I are also in the process of starting clubs and support groups to address issues of teenage and unplanned pregnancies, which are quite common in our rural community. Some days are incredibly busy, while others are not. The pace of life is much slower here — people refer to it as ‘Swazi time.’ ”

What’s Next?

Sweenie’s degree is in human biology, with a psychology concentration. In D.C., she worked as a research assistant at Children’s National Medical Center. The research focused on the psychosocial aspects of living with and managing Type 1 diabetes in children, teens and young adults.

When she returns home to the States around August or September 2015, she says she plans to continue pursuing a career in pediatric psychology, working with youth with chronic illnesses.

For now, she is happy to be gaining experience working on health issues in a different culture.

“It is easy to get caught up in the notion that Swaziland is a poor country that has been devastated by the HIV/AIDS crisis. While this is true according to statistics, one of my goals is to get people to see past the numbers,” Sweenie says. “Swaziland is a beautiful, vibrant country, and Swazis are some of the friendliest, most kind-hearted and jovial people I have ever met.

“Yes, they have faced and continue to face a multitude of hardships that most of us will never experience in Kansas City. Despite this, I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to live and work in this wonderful country.”

The hit musical “Fiddler on the Roof” will open the 10th season at the White Theatre. A partnership with The Theatre in the Park, “Shrek,” will close it. Of course there will be all sorts of variety in between, announced JCC Director of Cultural Arts Krista Blackwood.

“ ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and ‘Shrek’ will make great bookends to our 10th season in the Lewis and Shirley White Theatre,” Blackwood said.

Each of the five self-produced shows will feature a different production team with talent including Steven Eubank, the artistic director of Egads! Theatre Company, Paul Hough, the former director of production for the American Heartland Theatre, Tim Bair, the producing artistic director of Theatre in the Park, Bill Christie, a veteran of American Heartland Theatre, Barb Nichols, who directed the White Theatre’s 2013 production of “Les Misérables” and Daniel Doss, who most recently has been the associate conductor for the international Broadway tour of “The Addams Family.”

“We’re pleased to welcome these well-respected directors and music directors to our facility, and we look forward to a vibrant community theater season under their talented leadership,” says Blackwood.

The season will open with a rousing “L’Chaim!” as Steven Eubank, with musical direction by Daniel Doss, bring “Fiddler on the Roof” to life. In January, Barb Nichols will direct the Tony award-winning Charles Busch comedy “Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.” In February, Paul Hough will bring “From Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage” to Kansas City area audiences, a cabaret production for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. In April, Bill Christie will take the helm of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and in July Tim Bair will direct “Shrek,” a co-production with Theatre in the Park.

“It is shaping up to be a 10th season to remember,” says Blackwood. “Of course, our community theater productions are only part of our season. We will announce our Visiting Artist series at a later date and we are very excited about the great collaborations we’ve cooked up. Stay tuned!”

‘Fiddler on the Roof’

Nov. 8 – 23

Book by Joseph Stein

Music by Jerry Bock

Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

Based on Sholem Aleichem’s stories by special permission of Arnold Perl 

Directed by Steven Eubank

Musical Direction by Daniel Doss

“Fiddler on the Roof,” has captured the hearts of people all over the world with its humor, warmth and honesty. Based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem, “Fiddler on the Roof” features timeless songs such as “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” Join in the tears of laughter, joy and sadness as Tevye, a poor milkman, tries to keep his family’s beloved traditions and faith strong in a changing world where life can be as precarious as a Fiddler on the Roof.

Rated PG

‘Tale of the Allergist’s Wife’

Jan. 10 – 18, 2015

By Charles Busch

Directed by Barb Nichols

Marjorie Taub, a middle-aged Upper West Side doctor’s wife, is engulfed in a life crisis of Medea-like proportions. She tries to lose herself in a world of art-galleries, foreign films and avant-garde theater, but nothing shakes her lethargy. Marjorie’s spirits suddenly soar when Lee Green, her fascinating and somewhat mysterious childhood friend, appears on her doorstep and turns her world upside down.

Rated PG-13

‘From Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage’

Feb. 14-March 1, 2015

Music by Kurt Weill

Lyrics by Maxwell Andersen, Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Jacques Deval, Michael Feingold, Ira Gershwin, Paul Green, Langston Hughes, Alan Jay Lerner, Ogden Nash, George Tabori and Arnold Weinstein

Text and format by Gene Lerner

Musical arrangements by Newton Wayland

Originally directed by Donald Saddler 

Originally produced by Gene Lerner and Hank Kaufman

This production revised by Paul Hough and Joe Van Slyke

Additional arrangements by Scott Harlan

Directed by Paul Hough

“Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill” is a joyous and moving celebration of Kurt Weill, a cantor’s son and one of the most extraordinary composers of the 20th century. Weill’s greatest theater songs are presented in a fluid blend of music and story, spanning 20 eventful years, from Von Hindenburg and Hitler in Germany to Roosevelt and Truman in the United States. Weill created some of the most popular and daring musical theatre pieces of his day, collaborating with a dazzling array of literary giants — Bertolt Brecht, Langston Hughes, Maxwell Andersen, Alan Jay Lerner and Ira Gershwin — blurring the boundary between “serious”and “popular” music. This revue artfully mixes cabaret and commentary to tell Weill’s story, featuring timeless hits like “Mack the Knife,” “Speak Low” and “September Song.”

Special on-stage cabaret seating

Rated PG-13

‘Of Mice and Men’

April 11-19, 2015

By John Steinbeck

Directed by Bill Christie

The Nobel Prize-winning American writer John Steinbeck brings his birthplace, California’s Salinas Valley, to memorable life in this touching and tragic play. Two friends, George and Lennie, drift from farm to farm, dreaming of owning a piece of land to call their own. When Lennie runs into trouble, George must choose between his friend or staying the course to fulfill his dreams. A story of friendship, loneliness, racism and the struggle for personal independence, “Of Mice and Men” is the tale of the poignant journey of two people striving for a better life and a little piece of the American Dream.

Also includes student matinee performances

Rated PG-13

“Shrek”

July 11–26, 2015

Music by Jeanine Tesori

Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire

Based on the DreamWorks Animation motion picture and book by William Steig

Directed by Tim Bair

In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when a swamp-dwelling ogre — not a handsome prince — shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a wise-cracking donkey, a villain with a short temper, a cookie with an attitude, and many other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there’s one on hand … and his name is Shrek.

Featuring a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, “Shrek The Musical” is part romance, part twisted fairy tale, and complete irreverent fun for everyone!

Most everyone has heard of Thomas Wolfe’s well-known book “You Can’t Go Home Again.” That may be the case for some, but not for Maayan Jaffe. Jaffe, raised in Leawood, has come home to be the first full-time director of philanthropy for the Jewish Community Center.

In her new role, Jaffe is partnering with the CEO and board of directors to systemize and grow the JCC’s annual, capital and sponsorship campaign, while enhancing donor development and recognition, special events and legacy campaign activities.

“We’re pleased to add Maayan to the JCC’s staff of experienced and energized professionals,” said Ken Sigman, JCC’s chairman of the board. “Maayan’s experience in the fundraising arena is another important component in ensuring our Jewish Community Center will continue to provide wellness, meaning and joy now and into the future.”

Jaffe comes to the Jewish Community Center with nearly two decades of experience in the fields of marketing and communications, journalism and nonprofit programming and management. Most recently, she served as editor-in-chief and director of marketing for Clipper City Media (Baltimore Jewish Times) and WJW Media Group.

Jaffe served as managing editor of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, breaking news editor of the Jerusalem Post, marketing account executive at Kvutzat Koteret, a Tel Aviv PR firm focused on the high-tech arena, capital campaign consultant for Talmudical Academy, and as marketing and communications manager at The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

Jaffe received her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her master’s degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. 

The JCC will use Jaffe’s skills to provide overall strategic direction for the fundraising functions and priorities of the agency, and professionalize and systemize the agency’s fundraising functions to be more responsive, effective and efficient.

“I see the JCC as a builder of Jewish identity and as the agency best poised to bring Jewish life, values and culture to the broader Kansas City Jewish community,” said Jaffe. “I am looking forward to partnering with our vice chair of development, Robin Sterneck, to form fundraising and other committees, to maximize the participation of lay leaders and solicitors in the JCC and ensure its future sustainability.”

Jaffe, her husband Yitzchak and their four children — Shlomo, Netanya, Devarya and Shai Hadar — have settled in Overland Park. Jaffe is the daughter of Sharon and Stuart Pase; she has a sister Rachel Sosland and brothers, Adam and Josh Pase. She is the granddaughter of Gertrude and the late Sam Epstein.

Barbara Bayer, Editor

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEREAN — Gerean Rudnick recently celebrated her 80th birthday at Village Shalom. The family hosted a reception for her, sending very few invites via email and posting a notice on her online care page. Gerean’s daughter Melynn Sight reports that “200 friends and family came to honor her for her birthday, for her care and the way she has embraced so many people in this city for her whole life.” Through the years Gerean’s passion has been Children’s Mercy Hospital. “She has made loads of donations to various areas of the hospital. We have donated new toys to the hospital in her honor. Her birthday was no exception. She was honored by dozens of donations to the Gerean Rudnick fund at CMH.” Gerean was surprised when Jane Lampo, managing director of philanthropic gift planning and regional giving at CMH, presented her with a certificate of appreciation for her years of grants to the hospital. Lampo said, “Gerean is one of our most loyal and enthusiastic supporters and advocates. For over 30 years, she has shown her dedication to the children and families we serve in the same way she has approached life: with a smile on her face and a genuine and determined desire to help others. Gerean is one of a kind, and we love her!”

MAZEL TOV ALEXANDERS — This week on our Celebrations pages, you will see engagement announcements for Edward and Cheryl Alexander’s two daughters, Michelle and Shana. Michelle is getting married on May 25 and Shana is getting married on Aug. 31. We don’t generally deviate from the way these announcements are written, but we wanted to share with you a little of Ed Alexander’s humor. He writes: “G-d does have a sense of humor — he is giving us two sons in one year at our age!” May they all be blessed with good health, happiness and easy wedding planning!

SO LONG GEOFF — It was fun while it lasted, having a Jewish player on the Kansas City Chiefs roster. Last week offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz signed a four-year deal with the New York Giants. Yahoo.com reported he signed a four-year deal guaranteed at $6.2 million and could be worth up to $16.8 million. Just a few days before he officially became a Giant, he married his sweetheart in a beach ceremony. Shalom Geoff, and mazel tov on your marriage!

JEWS AT THE GEM — In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the world-renowned Newport Jazz Festival® (Aug. 1-3), the “Newport Jazz Festival®: Now 60” Tour makes a stop at “Jammin’ at the Gem” at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Kansas City’s Gem Theater, 1615 E. 18th Street. Publicist Phil Hermanson tells us that both clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, bassist Larry Grenadier, are Jewish. They will be featured with vocalist/pianist and former KC resident Karrin Allyson, pianist Peter Martin, guitarist Mark Whitfield, trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Clarence Penn. The band has been receiving rave reviews since it kicked off a 17-city tour on Feb. 8 in Atlanta. The first leg of the tour winds down March 30 in St. Louis and will continue with more dates during June, July and August in North America and Europe (including a set at its namesake festival on Aug. 2). For tickets and information, call 816-474-6262 or visit www.americanjazzmuseum.org or www.ticketmaster.com. 

By Barbara Bayer, Editor

In the seven years Howard Haas has served as head of school at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, he has been calling the area’s only Jewish day school the jewel of the Midwest. He, along with the school’s students, teachers and parents, will get a chance to show how the school, and the Kansas City area, sparkles and shines when HBHA hosts, for the first time, the annual Moot Beit Din, sponsored by RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network. More than 80 students and their advisers will travel here for the competition that takes place March 27-30 at the Kansas City Airport Marriott. 

Haas said HBHA has wanted to bring the Moot Beit Din here for several years. He’s happy the event is giving the school a chance to showcase itself and the city.

“We have a treasured Jewish community here, and I think it’s one of the best kept secrets around. We’re moving out of that mentality now because we have some programs at the school and in the city which are really unique and are getting national attention,” he said.

“My hope is that some of the young people who come here might put a thought in their head and heart that Kansas City might be a great place to spend time.”

Moot Beit Din challenges Jewish high school students to examine the ethical and moral dimensions of halachah through creative engagement with contemporary situations. Combining the best of debate with legal analysis, Moot Beit Din exposes students to the vitality of the Jewish legal system and its relevance to their own lives. Teams of students are given a contemporary dilemma and asked to write a judgment using Jewish texts. The teams then come together for a weekend Shabbaton where they meet their peers for four days of Jewish learning, community-building, prayer and fun, all within a pluralistic Jewish environment.

Lisa Inberg, RAVSAK’s student programs coordinator, said this is always an exciting week for the RAVSAK network.

“For Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, there is value in bringing a wide network of students together for collaborative and fun learning,” Inberg said.

“The (out-of-town) students will be shown the highlights of Kansas City and be able to appreciate the uniqueness of Kansas City’s Jewish community. Furthermore, the program offers an opportunity for the various community shuls and organizations to come together to support the school and the Moot Beit Din program,” she continued.

Weekend events

The Moot Beit Din participants will travel to HBHA bright and early Friday morning, March 27, for a variety of activities, beginning with breakfast. While at HBHA, they will participate in the weekly all-school Taste of Shabbat, attend a learning session, “Women and Tefillin,” taught by HBHA’s Head of Jewish Studies Rabbi Avi Weinstein, and then have lunch.

“Breakfast and lunch here at HBHA is being made possible by a generous donation from Susie and Ron Goldsmith,” he added.

When they leave the school, Haas said, “They will visit the World War I Museum and the Nelson-Atkins Museum and then they will do some walking and shopping at the Plaza.” The students will return to the hotel prior to Shabbat for the remainder of the weekend. 

Many members of the Kansas City Jewish community are helping to make this event run smoothly. At HBHA, Michal Cahlon, the middle and upper school Jewish studies chair, is the team’s adviser. Jewish studies teach Zohar Flacks is coordinating the event for the school along with a committee of parent volunteers. Caterer Kim Matsil will handle the preparation of the kosher food, which will be Vaad supervised, for the event. The food will be prepared off site and transported to the hotel. 

“We couldn’t do this without all our wonderful volunteers,” Haas said.

“They are a tremendous help,” added Flacks. “They will be there during the entire event. We are very fortunate to have them.”

Cahlon, who has attended several competitions with HBHA students, noted that on Shabbat participants will participate in either a traditional or an egalitarian minyan. After lunch students will attend their choice of Torah-learning sessions. 

“The students will also have time to hang out and get to know other young people from the school throughout the United States and Canada,” said Cahlon. “There are usually four to a room and they will room with students from other schools since the rooms are by gender.”

Following Havdalah, Cahlon said the students will disperse so they can do some last-minute preparations for their Sunday-morning oral presentations.

The Moot Din

This year’s Moot Beit Din focuses on animal welfare, ethical farming and its economic impact through a halachic lens. Teams from 20 different school will compete in one of three divisions in the competition. The HBHA team consists of Ariel Brudoley (9), Lainie Kaseff (10), Jacob Katz (10), Lindsey Paul (10), Hannah Pinson (10), Ezra Smith (11) and Leah Sosland (9). Only four students — Jacob, Hannah, Lindsey and Ezra — can actually represent HBHA during the competition’s oral presentation. Cahlon said the non-presenting team members have been an integral part of the preparation process all the way through, “and the hope is that they will continue with Moot Beit Din and possibly be our presenting team in a future year.”

HBHA is participating in the sourcebook only division, where students are allowed to use just this one source. Two other divisions are offered, one where students can use the sourcebook as well as do additional research. Those participating in the third division do all the research and are not provided with a sourcebook.

“This is a really exciting way for students to see how the halachah can be used to explain and guide modern questions and problems,” Cahlon explained.

Each division is judged by a panel of three judges. The nine community leaders serving as judges are: Michael Abrams; Brauna Doidge; Rabbi David Glickman; Rabbi Mark H. Levin; Ayala Zoltan Rockoff, Ph.D.; Rabbi Daniel Rockoff; Rabbi Elchanan Schulgasser; Rabbi Berel Sosover; and Rabbi Scott White. Their bios can all be found on the RAVSAK website, www.ravsak.org.

“We have a set of really quality judges lined up,” Cahlon said.

The first stage of the competition calls for the students to create a 10-page legal brief, which is submitted anonymously to the judges ahead of the actual Moot Beit Din event. The judges score the brief, worth 50 percent of the final score, and return it to the teams.

The oral presentation takes place at the Moot Beit Din event. Each team gets approximately 20 minutes to present their case, 10 minutes for the brief itself with the rest of the time devoted to questions from the judges.

“It’s possible for a team to do a spectacular presentation, but if their initial brief wasn’t strong, they may not win. Or a team could have an excellent brief, but their oral presentation was not strong, yet they might still place based on the strength of that brief because that gave them a boost over other teams,” Cahlon explained.

“There is always an element of mystery when you are sitting there on the final day waiting for the judges to announce their decisions because you saw 50 percent of what generated the decision. The judges are the only ones who actually see the whole picture,” she continued.

Jacob, who competed last year with three other freshmen — Lindsey, Hannah and Jed Shaffer — really enjoys taking part in Moot Beit Din.

“Last year we came in second and that’s the best the school has ever done in the Moot Beit Din. We were an all freshmen team and we are very proud of ourselves,” Jacob said.

Lindsey said it’s cool to get to meet kids from the other Jewish schools.

“We don’t have many other opportunities to do that. It’s also fun to solve a case our own way,” Lindsey said.

Hannah said the competition helps them learn to use sources and interpret them in a way similar to an American law case.

“It’s interesting to see how they are connected,” Hannah said. “The work experience is really valuable. We learn to manage our time and work as a team and meet deadlines.”

Adviser Cahlon is excited for the event.

“For me, Moot Beit Din is a culmination and a celebration: a culmination of my students’ hard work in wrestling with the Jewish sources and applying them to the contemporary issues of the case, and a celebration of the joy of Torah study, multiplied when shared with their peers from across North America.” 

The event is open to the public and HBHA organizers hope many members of the Kansas City Jewish community attend the competition, to be held from 9 a.m. to noon, to show their support. The competition is also being streamed live on the RAVSAK website Sunday morning.