Remember when you danced the night away at Yom Kippur Dance, Matzo Ball, and a variety of beau and sweetheart dances? Put on your dancing shoes, relive those wonderful evenings and “Boogie oogie oogie till you just can’t boogie no more” at the Rock the Winter Dance Party to benefit Jewish Family Services and Sasone, a program for Jewish children with special needs, on Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Uptown Theater.

Rock the Winter Dance Party features three local bands who are comprised of or led by members of the Jewish community — Cheap Dates, Conviction and Guns N Charoses. Masters of Ceremonies Mike Diamond and Steve Passer will entertain between sets. Former Matzo Ball and Yom Kippur queens and candidates of years’ past, as well as former AZA sweethearts and candidates, will be honored throughout the evening.

The event, organized by Mark Edelman, Theater League founder and executive director, is expected to appeal to people who were teens in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s as well as their adult children or anyone that loves music, dancing or helping out the Jewish community. He said he came up with the idea after running into Cheap Date’s Jimmy Rosenbloom at a Bare Naked Ladies concert at the Uptown.

“I was sitting with the guy who owns the place — Larry Sells,” Edelman said. “When I introduced him to Jimmy, I jokingly said ‘Jimmy’s got a band, you should book him into the Uptown, Larry.’ To which Larry replied, ‘Hey, if you guys want to play here, just pick a date.’ ”

Edelman said he and Rosenbloom were both intrigued by the idea of playing on the same stage as some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll.

“For Jimmy and Vic and I, it’s a chance to play on a big stage with the equipment that we’ve seen some of our favorites use. That’s kind of neat,” Edelman said.

Rosenbloom is excited to play where many of the icons of rock music have played.

“We have played at the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, which, like the Uptown, is one of the coolest places to play our music. We play rock ‘n’ roll, so the bigger the space, the better,” Rosenbloom said. Cheap Dates is comprised of Max Berry, guitar and vocals; Dee Pack, guitar and vocals; Toni Dodd, vocals; Steve Cole, bass, Chip Lewis, drums and vocals; and Rosenbloom, keyboard, harmonica and vocals.

As Conviction’s Vic Bergman, a lawyer by day, puts it, “Just the idea of being on a professional stage with the sound system and lighting is an experience that most amateur musicians never get, let alone for the third performance ever. We are very blessed for this chance, and I am going to savor it.”

All members of Conviction are Jewish. In addition to Bergman, who sings lead vocals and plays rhythm guitar, members include Steve Rosenberg, M.D., on lead guitar and vocals; Steve Greenberg, bass guitar and harmonica; Reva Friedman, Ph.D., vocals, keyboard and ukulele; and Larry Bell on drums.

Rosenbloom said he is most excited by the fact that this event will benefit two incredible organizations.

“My wife, known famously as ‘Miss Sunni’ because she has been teaching preschool at Beth Shalom for 20 years, has worked with Sasone for many years,” he added.

Each band will play about 30 to 40 minutes. Guns N Charoses — featuring Alan Edelman, drums; Jack Cohn, lead guitar; Richard Green, rhythm guitar; and Mark Edelman, bass — will kick off the event. Conviction will play the middle set and Cheap Dates will be the closing band.

It’s not unusual for the Uptown to hold benefits, and Edelman said since many of the band members attend the Sasone benefit every year, they thought it would be a good cause to help.

“And when I heard about the JFS Food Pantry, we wanted to include them as well,” Edelman said.

Besides the appeal of playing at the Uptown, Edelman said putting a dance together sounded like fun because “several of us were BBYO people and went to dances when we were kids and we thought that was fun.”

“It’s the idea of getting together, dancing and having some libations … Everybody’s grown up so let’s dance again like we did last summer,” Edelman said.

Ironically, most of Edelman’s teen experiences occurred in USY, not in BBYO.

“We had dances but we always went to the AZA and BBG dances and we certainly went to the Yom Kippur Dance and Matzo Ball. Matzo Ball was always (and still is) put on by Nordaunian AZA,” he said.

Edelman thought it would be fun to honor the queens of their hearts at the event as well. His wife, Karin Lichterman, was sweetheart of Hatikvah AZA, and while Edelman didn’t meet her at the dance, he’s sure he admired her from afar.

“It’s to honor our wives and the pretty girls that we knew growing up,” he said.

Past queens and sweethearts simply need to show up to be honored.

“I’m hoping to get to U.S. Toy to find some ‘real diamond tiaras’ so that we can properly honor the still beautiful young ladies who may only have been candidates back then but they are our queens now,” Edelman said.

There will also be special tribute dances to these queens, candidates and sweethearts during every set.

“It will be fun looking back on our years as teens. A lot of the music will be dance music from the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Edelman said.

Unlike those dances years ago, participants won’t be expected to show up in formal attire.

“Although there’s no reason that someone couldn’t show up in a ball gown. Wear whatever turns you on,” Edelman said.

It’s important to note that this is not a sanctioned BBYO event and is in fact not for teens at all. Organizers are hoping about 300 will attend, and report that more than half the tickets have already been sold.

“If we sell all the tickets, we’ll make about $7,000. The theater is being donated but after expenses for the sound people and security guards … our goal is to give checks of $3,000 to each group. It’s not a big fundraiser but it’s something and it’s an opportunity for both Sasone and the JFS Food Pantry to talk about the good works they do. But there won’t be much talk, it’s almost exclusively a dance,” Edelman said.

He said Rock the Winter Dance Party will be a perfect place to come in from the cold winter.

“We’re all rock ‘n’ rollers who love the opportunity to play the songs we love for the women we love and all our buddies,” he said. “We conceived this as something that was cross generational. Our kids dance … this is for everybody. Our kids are in their 20s and early 30s and we thought this was something we could do with our kids and have them come along with their spouses, beaus and belles and dance too.”

“A sister is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.”

That quote by Margaret Mead could probably describe the relationship between Lyndsey and Samantha Agron. The two sisters are members of the cast of “Company,” the Stephen Sondheim musical, beginning its run at the White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center Saturday, Feb. 8.

Lyndsey, who works for a software company in the metro area, and Samantha, the Cultural Arts coordinator at the Jewish Community Center have performed in professional and community theater for years, but this is the first time they will have shared the stage together. Lyndsey, who plays Susan in “Company,” says she and Sam are supportive of each other. Sam, who plays Marta in the production, says it was a pleasant surprise to work with her older sister.

“It was total happenstance that we are performing together,” says Sam. “And our characters will interact on stage. This is truly a thrill for both of us!”

Lyndsey, the older sister by three years, realized her theater dream by traveling extensively following graduation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music. She performed full-time around the Midwest, East Coast and in Kansas City. But, she says, after living out of a suitcase for a while it was time to come home and be with family.

Samantha, also a graduate of the Conservatory, says her first on-stage performance was as a senior at Shawnee Mission South High School, performing in “Les Miserables” and “Godspell,” before entering the world of community theater in the Kansas City area.

The sisters say, though, they have a deep sense of gratitude toward their grandfather, Lester Kessler. Kessler, who passed away in 2010, set up college funds for both sisters that allowed them to continue their studies at the Conservatory.

“We cannot thank our grandfather enough for what he did for us,” says Sam. “He will always hold a special space in our hearts.”

Grandfather Kessler would be proud of his granddaughters during the run of “Company.”

“The Zelmenyaners” by Moyshe Kulbak translated by Hillel Halkin. Yale Univ. Press, 2013 $25

“My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner” by Meir Shalev translated by Evan Fallenberg. Schocken, 2011 $25.95

“Daniel Stein, Interpreter” by Ludmilla Ulitskaya translated by Arch Tait. Overlook, 2011 $27.95

“The Zelmenyaners” is the most recent entry in the Yale New Yiddish Library series. This satiric comic novel was published serially from 1929 to 1935 in Shtern, a Russian-Yiddish monthly journal. It was the work of Moyshe Kulbak, an author whom many saw as the heir to Sholom Aleichem.

Kulbak was portraying the new Soviet man reflected in the life of the Jewish Zelmenyaner clan of Minsk. Living around a courtyard established by the patriarch Reb Zelmele, his four sons are craftsmen — a watchmaker, a tailor, a tanner and a cabinetmaker. Like so many Jews in the 20th century, their lives have edged away from religious practice. The Zelmenyaner grandchildren are something else again — non-religious, members of the Communist party, bureaucrats, police officers, factory workers.

The reader sees how electricity is introduced to the courtyard and the wonderful advent of radio. All of these innovations are described in an understated comic manner as the life of the Zelmenyaners is turned upside down.

The author’s personal life did not end on a happy note. Kulbak was a victim of Stalin’s first great purge, which also claimed the lives of Jewish authors Isaac Babel and Osip Mandelstam. His novel, however, has been rehabilitated by its English translation. Other Russian Jews did not remain in Russia. Many were ardent Zionists and made Aliyah to Palestine.

“My Russian Grandmother and her American Vacuum Cleaner” is Meir Shalev’s memoir of his family’s early years at Moshav Nahalal. He lovingly describes his grandmother Tonia, a strong-willed, difficult woman whose obsession was with dirt — or rather the prevention of it entering her home. Doorknobs in Tonia’s home were covered with clothes so that people using them would not leave fingerprints. The bathrooms were never used. Everyone showered and used an outhouse in the yard.

The advent of an American vacuum cleaner, the gift of a brother-in-law who became rich in the U.S., became the stuff of family lore. Shalev’s charming and very funny recollections of his family’s early years in what would become Israel draws a totally different portrait of a Russian Jewish family in the first half of the 20th century than that of Kulbak. Having survived his Grandmother Tonia, Shalev went on to become one of Israel’s foremost novelists.

Finally, “Daniel Stein, Interpreter,” Ludmilla Ulitskaya’s semi-fictional exploration of Father Daniel Stein is based on the life of Oswald Rufeisen. Like his fictional counterpart Rufeisen used his linguistic abilities to become an interpreter for the Nazis and assist in the escape of 300 Jewish prisoners. Later he was briefly involved in the resistance, but found sanctuary in a monastery, converted to Catholicism and eventually made his way to Israel.

This book is comprised of letters, conversations, interviews, sermons and newspaper articles. When they are all put together, the life of a good man emerges. The reader may not agree with Father Daniel’s choices, but one cannot help admiring him. Again, this book provides a narrative about a different path to survival in the 20th century.

In all, these three titles examine the difficulty of life for Jews in the first half of the previous century. The choices made by these protagonists are dissimilar, but readers can learn from them.

Andrea Kempf is a retired librarian who speaks throughout the community on various topics related to books and reading.

25 YEARS OF SERVING JEWISH BOYS — In September 1988, Jill and Ted Goldstein organized Cub Scout Pack 3153 as the “Kansas City Jewish Community Cub Scout Pack” along with its chartering partner Kehilath Israel Synagogue. Beginning with a handful of first-grade boys, the Pack grew to 21 boys in its first year under the leadership of Jill Goldstein, Cubmaster; Roger Eisenberg, assistant Cubmaster; Natalie Cohen and Suzanne Hankin, Den Leaders; and Ted Goldstein, Pack Committee Chair.

Since that time 448 individuals have been directly involved with Pack 3153, including 322 youth and 126 registered adult volunteer leaders. Currently about 35 boys are active in the Pack, which consistently earns the gold level recognition in Scouting’s Journey to Excellence (Quality Unit) program. The Pack offers the full Cub Scouting program while maintaining a Jewish flair — such as its annual Sukkah Camp-in Overnight event. The Pack is Shabbat and holiday observant, and is strictly kosher at all meetings and events including camp programs, which are subsidized by the K.I. Men’s Club.

Leadership of the Pack consists of fully Scout-experienced adult volunteers who have been trained in youth protection and leadership Scouting skills. Its current Cubmaster is Elly Goldstein.

Pack 3153 will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in grand fashion, beginning with Scout Shabbat on Feb. 8 in the K.I. Sanctuary, followed by a Kiddush reception sponsored by the K.I. Men’s Club and the Pack. The big celebration will conclude with the Blue and Gold Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 16, in the K.I. Social Hall. Pack alumni, members of K.I. and the community are invited to attend both functions.

This year, through the Pack’s religious award workshop program, a record 19 boys have completed the requirements for the two Cub Scout Jewish Religious awards, the Maccabee medal and the Aleph medal. These boys will be acknowledged at the Feb. 8 Scout Shabbat service, and will participate in the service along with the rest of the Pack, its leadership, alumni, friends and fellow Scouts.

The Blue and Gold Banquet and program will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, and this year will feature adult and alumni recognition. The White Cloud Indian Dance Team of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, one of Scouting’s honor programs, will perform following the dinner.

Questions and additional information regarding Scout Shabbat should be directed to Ted Goldstein at 913-642-8023 or . Questions and reservations for the Blue and Gold Banquet should be directed to Jennifer Conoley, Blue and Gold chairperson at 816-516-8290 or . Cub Scout Pack 3153 alumni (youth and adult leaders) are urged to contact Jill Goldstein at 913-642-8023 or . Cubmaster Elly Goldstein can be reached at 913-544-2354.

VIOLIN WITH A HISTORY — Joshua Bell will be performing with the Kansas City Symphony March 7-9, when he will be playing Lalo’s “Symphonie espagnol.” Only a few tickets remain to see the Jewish violinist. Those who are lucky enough to have tickets to one of his performances will likely see him play his 300-year-old Gibson ex Huberman violin. Believed to be one of only five or six instruments made in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, the violin has belonged to many, including the English violinist George Alfred Gibson. It is its connection to Bronislaw Huberman that drew Bell to this particular instrument. Huberman was a Jewish Polish violinist who lived from 1882-1947.

During Hitler’s rise to power, Huberman had the foresight to realize he could save many Jewish artists while fulfilling his desire to start a Palestinian Orchestra. Huberman auditioned musicians from all over Europe. Those selected for the orchestra received contracts and, most importantly, otherwise impossible-to-get exit visas from their homeland to Palestine. Huberman raised the money for the musicians and then their families, even partnering with Albert Einstein to set up an exhaustive U.S. fundraising trip in 1936. By the end of that tour, the money for the orchestra was secured and 60 top-rate players had been chosen from Germany and central Europe. All in all, it was a fantastically successful tour, barring one particular performance at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 28, 1936. That night Huberman chose to play the second half of his concert on his “other violin,” a Guarneri del Gesu. Following the performance he was informed that his Stradivarius had been stolen from his dressing room. Huberman never saw it again. Learn more about the violin’s history on Bell’s website, www.joshuabell.com. For ticket information, visit https://tickets.kcsymphony.org/single/psDetail.aspx?p=5421.

HAIFA SYMPHONY COMING TO KC — We learned late last week from the Israeli Consulate to the Midwest that the Haifa Symphony Orchestra of Israel, featuring standout Israeli pianist Roman Rabinovich, will be at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Harriman-Jewell Series Saturday, March 1, at 8 p.m. The performance is part of the Orchestra’s first U.S tour, which includes 26 cities from coast-to-coast. We hope to have more on that in the future. For ticket information, visit https://tickets.kauffmancenter.org/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=6472 or call 816-415-5025.

Some college students choose to relax during their winter break and vacation at a beach resort. Then there are others, such as a group of 20 students from KU Hillel who took part in the KU Hillel European Leadership Mission, choosing to wake up earlier than they do during a school day to learn all they can about the global Jewish community.

ELM, funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s Israel and Overseas Committee, is a high-level trip for top Jewish student leaders at the University of Kansas. The goal of ELM is to give students a deeper understanding of the economic and social issues that the Jewish communities in Bulgaria and Romania experience on a daily basis. The trip was led by KU Hillel Executive Director Jay Lewis, KU Hillel Director of Development Carly Stein and Jen Berman, an alum of KU Hillel who works for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

This is the seventh time the Jewish Federation has funded KU Hillel’s leadership mission — the previous six to Israel. All leadership missions are intended to give these students insight into the global Jewish community.

“It’s an investment in the future of our Jewish community,” Lewis explained.

Eastern Europe was chosen for this year’s leadership mission instead of Israel because the Jewish Federation is deeply invested in these communities as well as Israel. The change in venue would also give students a different perspective on global Jewry.

“The American Jewish education system does a nice job educating about Jewish life in the United States and what it means to be Jewish in the United States. We also learn a lot about Israel. But generally the only thing we learn about Jewish life outside the United States is Holocaust history,” Lewis explained.

“We think this was an opportunity to prepare these emerging leaders in our Jewish community and help them better understand Jewish global peoplehood and Jewish life outside the United States and Israel,” he continued.

This investment in KU students has proven to be a valuable one to the Jewish Federation, said its Associate Executive Director Alan Edelman.

“Our tradition teaches, ‘kol Yisrael areivim zeh la-zeh/ all of Israel (the Jewish people) are responsible for one another.’ The KU Hillel leadership seminar in Bulgaria and Romania, and in the past to Israel, operationalizes this important dictum by offering a service learning opportunity for these emerging Jewish adults who want to make an impact in overseas Jewish communities. By providing the funds to support the students participating in this program, the Jewish Federation shows its commitment to our overseas partners as well as to these students, who will become tomorrow’s Jewish communal leaders. An important aspect of being a ‘total’ Jewish leader is an awareness of world Jewry and taking action on their behalf,” Edelman said.

In Eastern Europe the group did a tiny bit of touring so it could better understand the history of the area. The majority of the trip was devoted to community service work within those Eastern European Jewish communities. They did such things as visit with seniors in their homes as well as senior living facilities and adult day care centers. They also visited with school students and Jewish leaders, both young and old. They visited three cities, the capitals of Bulgaria and Romania, Sofia and Bucharest, where the majority of the Jewish people live and Brasov, Romania, where the Jewish population is only about 200.

Lewis said the trip was transformative for every participant in probably 20 different ways.

“They absolutely got a good understanding about the Jewish community and what Jewish life is like in Romania and Bulgaria,” Lewis said.

Everyone, Lewis said, was inspired to see how hard people are working in Romania and Bulgaria to make sure Jewish life thrives there. Pearl Sonnenschein, a sophomore from Overland Park, said the third day of the trip while they were in Bulgaria had the greatest impact on her.

“We learned traditional Bulgarian dances with the elderly in the morning, and in the afternoon we visited senior citizens in their homes to learn about their lives during the communist era and the Holocaust. That day was the most impactful day for me because I gained a newfound respect for the elderly. I learned that every generation in the Jewish community is important to look after. We tend to give special attention to the younger ones because they are the next generation and will soon be the leaders in our community, but we must not forget the older generation. Their stories, experiences and life lessons are ones not to forget,” Sonnenschein said.

Stephanie Pollack, a senior from Overland Park, said the trip had a huge impact on her perception of Jews living around the world.

“This trip had an incredibly humbling impact on me. It opened my eyes to the connection Jewish people have with each other, near and far. Our visit to the Rosen Home in Bucharest, Romania, showed me just that. An elderly woman, Silvian, held my hand and cried when I told her I was Jewish traveling with a group of Jewish students my age. Her love for Judaism was almost as strong as mine, regardless of her age or geographical location. Now and in the future, I will be able to relate to a complete stranger across the world. Using the mitzvot of ‘loving a stranger,’ as the people in Romania and Bulgaria did for us,” she said.

Lewis said the students are all asked to “do something” after the trip is over.

“There is not one normative. It’s a short-term expectation, but it’s the long-term expectation that we put very clearly to the students. The reason why the Federation subsidized their trip and why KU Hillel is doing this and investing in them is that we are anticipating that they are going to be leaders in the Jewish community for the next 30, 40, 50 years. They need to bring this experience to their leadership roles and we are expecting them to be engaged and invested in the Jewish community,” Lewis said.

Having watched those who participated in six other leadership missions, Lewis believes that plan is working.

“They are definitely engaged in Jewish life wherever they are. Many of them tell us that out of all the things they did Jewishly at KU, this was the most impactful,” Lewis said.

Pollack, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, said this experience will spur her to provide more for her Jewish community.

“These communities rely not only on their leaders but the young adults working as madrichs (teaching assistants). These people sometimes volunteer their time to make programs better and help the children or elderly enjoy each day being Jewish. This has inspired me to keep a closer eye on the problems we have here and be able to find a solution using the assets we have available. There are many things I hope to do in the future in Kansas City and Lawrence for my last semester at KU, the ideas coming from what I experienced in Bulgaria and Romania. The inspiration the leaders of their communities have given me is timeless and I am so thankful I was able to be a part of this mission trip,” Pollack said.

Sonnenschein hopes to share the information she learned on the trip with others in the Jewish community.

“We learned about how the JDC and the Jewish Federation of Kansas City have helped both Jewish communities in Romania and Bulgaria. Without them, the Jewish communities over there would basically have nothing,” Sonnenschein said.

She also learned that help doesn’t come solely in the form of money.

“Spending time with the communities there is another form of service, and a very important form of service. I learned that there are Jewish communities all over there world — some that are as prosperous as ours in the United States, and others that are on their way to being prosperous, like in Eastern Europe. But, as the saying goes: wherever you go, there’s always someone Jewish. And you have a special connection with that person, even if you live a million miles away from them.” Sonnenschein said.

Based on everything she’s learned, Sonnenschein, who is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, said she plans to take on a greater role in the Jewish community here, especially after she graduates.

“Even though we have a fantastic Jewish community in the Greater Kansas City area, there is always room for improvement, and I want to be able to help with those areas,” she said.

The participants kept a blog during their trip. You can read more of their impressions while they were in Eastern Europe at Kansashillel.blogspot.com. Lindsey Havens, a sophomore from Chicago, also wrote a commentary about the trip in the University Daily Kansan, published Jan. 20. You can read it at http://kansan.com/opinion/2014/01/20/havens-service-trip-teaches-meaning-of-living-and-surviving-2/.

Imagine spending your entire career doing something you absolutely love to do. That’s the enviable position of Judy Jacks Berman, director of Congregation Beth Shalom’s Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center. She is celebrating 20 years with the school this year.

Jacks Berman’s “career,” began even before she graduated from high school. She and Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff of Congregation B’nai Jehudah, both at age 15, became the youngest senior counselors at the JCC’s Barney Goodman summer day camp. She’s been working with “little people” ever since.

Her professional career began 38 years ago after graduating from KU where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human development and family life.

She married Steve Berman, now executive director of Congregation Ohev Sholom, the summer before her senior year. After graduation they moved to Los Angeles so Steve could attend graduate school.

Jacks Berman has worked with children ages 6 weeks to 5 years in preschools, as a summer camp director, for HeadStart and in a day care center.

“Very few people get to say that they love going to work every day and I’m still lucky that I do,” she says.

Her fondness for working with children began at Barney Goodman.

“The very first summer I worked as a camp counselor, I had 7-year-old girls and I loved it. They were great, they were fun, I loved them. Then the next summer they put me with 4-year-olds and … I fell in love with that age because they are such sponges and you can just watch them absorb and learn and explore and they’re so excited about anything you do,” she comments. “Their excitement is contagious. So once I worked with the little ones, that was it; it stole my heart and there was never any looking back.”

She says pre-K children are developing rapidly and it’s satisfying to know you’ve had an impact on their lives.

“The best thing about having been here for 20 years is to see the former kids, too, and they all remember me and they all come up and give me hugs. It’s so much fun to see where they are now and to hear about their lives.”

Jacks Berman believes Kansas City is lucky to have four “fabulous” Jewish preschools so that parents have options. But, of course, she thinks Beth Shalom is the best.

“I think our parents have chosen us because they really want an environment that’s warm and inviting and nurturing and where their kids feel like they’re really special, and I feel very fortunate that they have chosen us,” she says “We have the best faculty in the city. Our teachers are second to none and that definitely makes us so amazing. Our families are such committed parents, it really feeds it.”

Dana Schwartz, whose children attended Beth Shalom’s preschool, says Jacks Berman understands the developmental stages of children and the personality of each child.

“Judy has the keen ability to relate to all ages! Her smile, kiss on a child’s head, a huge personalized and loving ‘Boker Tov’ makes each person and parent feel like they are the most special person in the world, all the time, every day,” Schwartz says.

Marla Brockman’s children also attended Beth Shalom’s preschool.

“I was the early childhood education chair for seven years,” she says. “Kansas City has had some excellent preschool directors, but Judy Jacks Berman is the first early childhood professional who has come in and utilized the best practices in her field. She has professionalized the Beth Shalom program and has motivated her already outstanding faculty and staff to ever greater successes.”

Jacks Berman says half of the preschool comprises Beth Shalom congregants and the other half are either members of other congregations or unaffiliated. There are also a few non-Jewish families.

“They understand that we do the Jewish curriculum, so the kids learn all about Jewish holidays, traditions and customs, and they love the fact that  their kids are learning,” she says.

Changes in Preschool

Over the span of her career, Jacks Berman has seen many changes in preschool. She says expectations on preschoolers are much greater now because more is expected from kindergartners and they have to be prepared.

“What they used to expect of kids in first grade is now what they expect of them in kindergarten,” she says. “When I first got in the field 38 years ago, you never expected pre-K kids to read at all. … Now they have sight-word vocabularies that they expect them to come into kindergarten with and they expect them to know all their letters and all the sounds and how to count to 100. Years ago, they expected kids to be able to count to 10, now it’s to 100.”

So in anticipation of these objectives, Beth Shalom has instituted a new curriculum this year for math, literacy, handwriting and science, and in so doing had to increase the hours of preschool as well.

“I felt very strongly that I wasn’t going to give up the play that I felt was so essential and I really wanted there to be plenty of time for all of our Judaica programming, and I wasn’t going to give up any of the arts, so we had to increase our day,” Jacks Berman says. “Luckily, most of our kids have been in preschool for four years, so by pre-K, they really can handle a little longer day just fine. The kids have adjusted to it beautifully; they’re doing great and I feel like I didn’t have to sell my soul or something; I can still do everything that I totally believe in and enhance everything we’re doing.”

The hours for pre-K are now 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon on Friday.

Jacks Berman also feels there’s a downside to the greater expectations on children.

“Unfortunately, I think there’s so much more competition in our society and it kind of ripples down to the kids somewhat. The kids aren’t competitive with each other, but the parents are competitive — what do their kids know; what have their kids achieved — and that’s a little bit sad to me that that’s trickled down even to the little kids,” she explains. “But unfortunately our society has gotten much more competitive. That’s probably one of the saddest changes.”

A special anniversary celebration will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Congregation Beth Shalom to celebrate Jacks Berman’s 20 years and to honor teachers at Beth Shalom’s Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center. Approximately 30-40 teachers (former and current) will attend the special Shabbat event, and alumni of the preschool, ages 5 to 25, are expected to visit with their former teachers and classmates.

“I’m just so honored that the synagogue is recognizing the last 20 years and I’m so thrilled to share this celebration with my teachers and to celebrate with all the kids that have been through the school. It makes it so special for me,” she says.

Jacks Berman and her husband Steve have two sons, Joseph, a rabbi in Boston, and Jeffrey, a lawyer in Los Angeles, whose wife Courtney is a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College.

Are you one of those who thinks when you’re watching the Olympics on television …. “I wonder if he (or she) is Jewish?” Wonder no more because at least one athlete, cross country skier Noah Hoffman, is Jewish. And for those who play Jewish geography, he also has ties to the Kansas City area.

The 24-year-old skier is the son of Mike and Sharon Hoffman who live in Aspen, Colo. Mike Hoffman grew up in the metro area and is a graduate of Pembroke Country Day School. Mike went to college in Colorado and never moved back to the K.C. area. The skier’s grandmother, Hildy (nee Cohen) Flanigan, continues to live in the area as does his aunt, Martha Hoffman. He is the grandson of the late Edward Hoffman.

The 2014 USA Cross Country Olympic Team was officially announced Monday. On his blog (noahhoffman.com), Hoffman, who is currently training with the team in Italy and will be competing in his first Olympics, said he is excited to be a member of this team.

“I am impressed with the incredibly high level across the board of the athletes on the team,” said the skier who spends most of his time when he’s not competing training in Park City, Utah. He has been a member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2008 and is also a member of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Team Homegrown.

Chris Grover, the U.S. head cross country coach, said, “We have a unique opportunity to make history in Sochi. Our team speaks to years of dedication, experience and hard work with veterans setting the stage to turn that work into great results. Additionally our younger athletes are fighting for results and have shown that they have earned their spots on this team. We’re ready for the challenge ahead.”

Hoffman is expected to compete in the skiathlon on Sunday, Feb. 9, (televised from 4:30 to 8:30 a.m. CST on NBC Sports Network and highlighted on the NBC broadcast from 1 to 6 p.m.); 15 kilometer, Friday, Feb. 14, (televised 4 to 6:30 a.m. on the NBC Sports Network); Sunday, Feb. 16 4 x 10 kilometer relay (televised live from 4 to 6:15 a.m. on NBC Sports Network and highlighted on the 6 to 10 p.m. NBC telecast); and Sunday, Feb. 23, 50 kilometer freestyle, 1 to 5 p.m. on NBC.

In an article published by FasterSkier on May 17, 2013, Hoffman admitted he may not medal this year.

“The Olympics are big in the U.S., and big for any skier’s career, but I believe it would be a shock to win an Olympic medal for me this year,” he said. “I have other very lofty goals that I hope to achieve, and only one of them, to be honest, has to do with the Olympics. I want to continue improving next year and continue striving towards my goal and continue reaching the top of the sport. One of them is to win an Olympic medal, but I don’t think that’s going to happen in Russia; more in South Korea [in 2018].”

On his website, Hoffman says his career goals are to win an Olympic Gold Medal, a World Championship, the Tour de Ski, and an FIS World Cup Distance Globe (the best distance World Cup skier for an entire season). He has postponed college in order to focus on skiing.

SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY HAS KC CONNECTIONS — There’s been a lot written in the past week about the documentary “Selfie” that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. “Selfie” was produced by Sharon Liese, a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Cynthia Wade and underwritten by Dove and a grant from the Sundance Institute. The movie “reveals how we have the power to redefine what is beautiful in all of us.”

Liese said Wade invited her to enter a competition that was offered to 60 filmmakers. “The challenge was to pitch a 3- to 7-minute documentary film about how women traditionally define beauty and how women of this generation are uniquely poised to redefine beauty because of social media.” She said she was attracted to the project because she had produced “High School Confidential,” a documentary television that chronicles the lives of a group of high school girls from freshman year to graduation.

“It’s pretty safe to say that I love documenting teenage girls through transformative times. This project gave me another opportunity to follow women and create something meaningful and empowering for women,” she said.

There are actually two versions of the film. Earlier this week the 7-minute film had almost 500,000 views and the shorter 3-minute version had close to a million hits. Watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkm1Hg4dTI.

YAD VASHEM CONFERENCE — Monday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day and with that thought in mind we report that the Ninth International Conference on Holocaust Education is planned for July 7-10 in Israel. “Through Our Own Lens: Reflecting on the Holocaust from Generation to Generation” will take place at the International School for Holocaust Studies of Yad Vashem. This conference will bring together Holocaust survivors, scholars, educators and artists from three generations. It will provide a venue for those of the first, second and third generation, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who will engage in an educational, intergenerational and multicultural dialogue on how we will preserve the legacy and grapple with the challenges of Holocaust education in the years to come. Approximately 350 participants from 50 different countries are expected to attend. For more information visit https://secure.yadvashem.org/education/intl_conference/index.asp.

FAVORITE FOODIES — “In the Kitchen with Bonnie,” a multi-media foods series, is now available via podcast. Audiences can listen to the show, on-demand, at http://inthekitchenwithbonnie.com/favoritefoodies/ or download at iTunes. “The podcasts enable us to deliver programming 24/7 via the computer and all mobile devices,” said Bonnie Rabicoff, producer and host. “We are pleased to provide an additional connection to show content.” “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” is a television, web, podcast and print production that takes place each week in the kitchens of Kansas City’s many celebrated chefs. The series began in June 2010 and highlights food products, preparation, presentation, beverage pairings and a behind-the-scenes chat with the chef. “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” can be seen on Educational TV, Time Warner’s “KC On Demand” (TV Channel 411), inthekitchenwithbonnie.com and Youtube. Audiences can listen to the series at the website and on iTunes. “In the Kitchen” is also featured each month in Eating Well in Kansas City, a magazine devoted to local, organic and seasonal foods.

Those who are passionate about Jewish social justice, listen up. Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the executive director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, will be at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah this weekend (Friday night, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25). The rabbi is widely recognized as the leading voice on Jewish social justice in the country. All events are free and open to the public. (See complete schedule below.)

Rabbi Jacobs has been executive director of T’ruah since April 2011. It is an organization of rabbis from all streams of Judaism that acts on the Jewish imperative to respect and protect the human rights of all people. Its mission statement states it is grounded in Torah and the Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The organization advocates for human rights in Israel and North America and was originally known as Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, which was founded in 2002. It was renamed T’ruah in January 2013.

Rabbi Jacobs has been named three times to the Forward’s list of 50 Influential American Jews, to Newsweek’s list of the 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America every year since 2009, and to the Jerusalem Posts’ 2013 list of Women to Watch. She holds rabbinic ordination (2003) and a master’s degree in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary, a master’s of science in Urban Affairs from Hunter College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. Prior to joining T’ruah, she worked at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and at Jewish Funds for Justice. She lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.

Rabbi Jacobs believes she is considered a leading voice on Jewish social justice because she thinks “there is a hunger for voices that connect contemporary social justice concerns with Jewish text and tradition in a way that is deep and authentic. This is what I strive to do in my rabbinate.”

The way Rabbi Jacobs connects Jewish text and tradition to tikkun olam is a big reason why B’nai Jehudah is bringing her here to speak.

“B’nai Jehudah and the Jewish community have a long history of engagement with the idea of tikkun olam, the things we do to make the world a better place. All of our congregations have been involved in things like helping to make our new JFS food bank real and viable. We all volunteer at various organizations and our heart has a very strong ethic toward repairing our world. And that’s wonderful and that’s good. But that’s one layer,” explained Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner.

Over the years Rabbi Shuval-Weiner has read about Rabbi Jacobs’ work, and heard her speak a couple of years ago. She was impressed by Rabbi Jacobs’ presentation and ideas, and how she adds another layer to tikkun olam.

“This idea of what it means to be people who live out a justice ethic became so clear to me that we are only beginning to scratch the surface in our community,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said.

“As we within a congregation are trying to understand what it means to do justice work, it just seemed that Rabbi Jacobs was the perfect person to come and teach us so that we could then engage in this conversation on a much deeper level and then figure out how do we become a congregation, a people who really live out the values that we profess to have.”

Among the things Rabbi Jacobs will teach about this weekend, Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said, include “what it means to live in this world in a manner that we understand God wants us to do.”

As Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff explained in his weekly e-blast to B’nai Jehudah members, it is Rabbi Jacobs’ goal “to call us to be an ‘Am Kadosh,’ a holy people.”

“Rabbi Jacobs and T’ruah sound the shofar to the human ills in our midst … and offer us ways to heal the brokenness we see,” he wrote.

T’ruah supports a variety of human rights issues. Right now Rabbi Jacobs said the Jewish community as a whole is at a critical moment in the question of where Israel fits into Jewish social justice.

“Most organizations that work in the realm of social justice focus on either Israel or the United States. But increasingly, Jews — especially young Jews — want our commitments to justice in the U.S. and our commitments to justice in Israel to go hand-in-hand. There’s a need for those of us who live here, but have deep commitments in Israel, to find ways to bridge these two commitments by dedicating ourselves to justice in both places,” she wrote in an email while visiting Israel last week.

The rabbi is, of course, honored to be recognized as such an influential woman among American Jews and notes there are many other “incredible rabbis and Jewish communal professionals and volunteers who don’t end up on these lists because their work is less public.”

“While it’s nice to see T’ruah’s work recognized, there are so many others who deserve recognition for the work they do day in and day out for the Jewish people and for human rights,” she said.

She’s looking forward to visiting Kansas City and hearing how members of this community think about human rights and Judaism, “and to share the work that T’ruah is doing to bring Judaism alive as a moral voice on the most pressing issues of our time.”

Community Editor Marcia Montgomery contributed to this article.

Legendary pianist Leon Fleisher has performed in Kansas City before. But he’s never performed at Helzberg Hall at the relatively new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a concert hall he hears is both amazing and extraordinary. That’s not the only thing that excites him about coming to Kansas City and performing with the Kansas City Symphony. He finds it a great pleasure to work with its music director, Michael Stern.

“I’ve known him since he was a toddler. I’m enormously fond of him. I was very fond of and rather to close to his father, whom I miss very much,” said Fleisher in a recent interview from his home in Baltimore.

“I think you’re very lucky in Kansas City to have him as your music director.”

Fleisher will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, Feb. 7 and 8, and 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Feb. 9. He will also host a piano master class at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, in Helzberg Hall. For ticket information, call 816-471-0400.

Stern said Fleisher has been one of his heroes for a long time.

“Of course, he has cast an enormous shadow over the entire course of music in our country for almost 70 years. I grew up with his legendary recordings, like so many others, but for me, the connection is more personal. I suppose his long friendship with my family when I was growing up, personal and professional, made it natural that he should be such an inspiration to me as a young student when I was developing my musical thinking. But that might have happened anyway — several generations not only of pianists but of all musicians in our country were lucky enough to have been inspired by him,” Stern said.

The Symphony’s music director went on to say that more than a pianist, Fleisher “is that incredibly rare artist who always combined unusual and truly original insight with a breathtaking ability to deliver the intent of the music on the page.”

“When Leon touches the keyboard, something magical happens, in the sound, in the weight of the notes, in the humanity of his communication. And when he is not at the piano, whether on the podium or in the teaching studio, that inspiration is no less palpable,” Stern said.

“It would be easy and accurate to see him as a link to a golden era of great musicians. But what is great about him is here he is, today, an incredibly vital musical force (with a wonderfully irreverent sense of humor) still making unforgettable music. When I officially assumed the post of music director of the Kansas City Symphony in 2005, he was our dream soloist in my inaugural concert. To have him back for the first time in Helzberg Hall, playing the Ravel Left Hand concerto as only he can, is a deeply moving moment for all of us onstage, an incredibly meaningful celebration of his 85th birthday and of his extraordinary musical spirit.”

Fleisher made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1944, and in 1952, he became the first American to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition, establishing himself as one of the world’s premier classical pianists. At the height of his success, he was suddenly struck silent at age 36 with a neurological affliction later identified as focal dystonia, rendering two fingers on his right hand immobile. Rather than end his career, Fleisher began focusing on repertoire for the left hand only, conducting and teaching. Not until some 40 years later was he able to return to playing with both hands after undergoing experimental treatments using a regimen of rolfing and “botulinum toxin” (Botox) injections.

He’s been making music virtually his entire life and, he said, “it’s my life. It’s what gives me the greatest pleasure.”

He likes every facet of his work, whether it be playing, conducting or teaching. He said simply, “they are all different aspects of the same thing.”

He chuckles when he tells two stories about how he became a pianist. When he was very young, around four and a half, he remembers his mother giving him a choice — become the first Jewish president or a famous concert pianist.

“After careful consideration it struck me that being a musician was more accessible and I had a better chance of success,” Fleisher said.

While his parents owned an upright piano, Fleisher said neither of them were musical.

“But they were attracted to music and it was a manifestation of a certain kind of culture, I think. It spoke to them, I think, on a deep, emotional level,” he said.

Since his brother was older by five and a half years, he was given piano lessons. But Fleisher said his brother was never really interested in the instrument.

“He was rather cool about the whole thing, but it fascinated me. Those were the days when both doctors and music teachers came to the house and when he had his lessons I used to hide away in the corner and listen and watch very intently. Then when the lesson was over and he went out to the school playground to play ball, they tell me I went to the piano and did all the things that he couldn’t do that the teacher had asked of him. So they figured they were giving lessons to the wrong kid, so they gave them to me,” Fleisher explained.

The world-class pianist has received numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2007. In 2006, he was the subject of the Oscar and Emmy-nominated short documentary film “Two Hands.” In 2010, Doubleday published his memoir, “My Nine Lives: A Memoir of Many Careers in Music,” which he co-wrote with Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette. The book has received rave reviews, including this one by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

“Most musicians’ skills lie in their ability to be expressive in this non-verbal medium; Leon has the additional gifts of communicating ideas and concepts tactilely, viscerally, emotionally, spiritually and verbally. Generations of musicians, including this one, have been truly blessed to hear him perform and receive his teaching. In this candid memoir, Leon describes the many lives he has led and conveys one of the most significant of lessons: transforming adversity into triumph — and into wisdom.”

Fleisher’s bio notes that he is “85 years young,” which embarrassed the pianist when he heard the phrase. No matter how you describe his age, he said he has not yet considered retirement.

“I’m doing what I love, why should I stop it?” said Fleisher, who admitted he doesn’t travel and perform as much as he used to. “But it’s still probably too much.”

“I have students here at the conservatory, I teach at Peabody, which fittingly is the oldest conservatory in the country. I give about 40 to 50 concerts a year. We try to group cities within the same general geographic area.”

Before he comes to Kansas City, he will play in Galveston, Texas. When he leaves here he will return home for a few days before going to Rochester, N.Y., for a performance.

“God willing I’ll see you in Kansas City.”