An estimated 50,000-plus people from the metro and across the Midwest are expected to converge on Kansas City this weekend for the 4th Annual U.S. Bank Great Midwest Balloon Festival. Held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 9 and 10, on the grounds of the Great Mall of Great Plains in Olathe, the festival will feature 50 balloons, including fabulous special shape and corporate balloons from across the country.

“My husband and I attended the nation’s largest balloon festival several years ago in New Mexico and had such a terrific time that we decided Kansas City needed its own festival,” said festival co-founder Robbie Small. “Each year we get bigger and better and frankly, with Kansas City’s reputation for being a friendly, affordable destination, we are attracting more and more families and balloon enthusiasts from all across the country.”

In addition to nightly balloon glows, tethered balloon rides, special shape balloon glows (think a giant shark in honor of Shark Week!), early morning balloon fly-in competitions, carnival rides, crafters, food vendors and food trucks, the festival will also feature:

•  Charity Challenge Balloon Race —Twenty-one local charities will be participating in the first-ever race on Friday night with one charity walking away with a whopping $10,000 First Prize.

• Nightly concerts — Friday night the popular Celtic pop band, The Elders, will heat up the main stage and Saturday night; the Kansas City area’s premier new country act the Scott Peery Band will close the festival out to the best of Country’s Top 40 hits and their own rockin’ original music.

•  Culinary Challenge — Four of Kansas City’s most gifted and engaging culinary masters including KC favorites Jasper Mirabile (Jasper’s Restaurant) and Lisa Farmer (Fox 4’s Cooking with Lisa) will be competing for bragging rights of “BEST IN SHOW” during an educational and entertaining culinary competition from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday.

•  Kite Demonstrations — The KC Kite Club will show off their aerial artistry from 2:45-5:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

View the entire schedule of events at www.midwestballoonfest.org/Activities.aspx.

Festival hours are Friday, Aug. 9, 4 to 11 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 10, 1 to 11 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-12). Children 5 and under are free. Tickets are available at area HyVee locations, on-line at www.midwestballoonfest.org and from 21 area charities that may be found at www.midwestballoonfest.org/CharityChallenge.aspx. Adult tickets are $15 at the gate.

The Great Mall of the Great Plains is located at approximately I-35 and 151st Street in Olathe. All balloon activities are subject to weather permitting. Parking is free.

Presenting sponsors include Boulevard Brewing Co., Central States Beverage, Deffenbaugh Industries, The Great Mall of the Great Plains and Ferrellgas.

ATHLETES EXCEL AT MACCABIAH — The 19th Maccabiah Games ended last week and two of our young regional athletes did well at the competition. Congregation Ohev Sholom member Zack Tanenbaum placed third and brought home bronze medals in both the freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions.

Jacob Biller, a 17-year-old student who will be a senior at Manhattan High School this year and a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, was one of 16 baseball players on Team USA. Team USA baseball had two challengers in Team Canada and Team Israel. Team USA defeated Canada twice in the preliminaries (12-0, 14-0), and split with Israel, winning 15-1 and losing 5-3. Canada earned the right to play USA in the Gold Medal game by winning an 11-inning game over Team Israel in their second meeting. Team USA won the gold medal by defeating Canada 9-0.

Jacob was the starting second baseman in four of the five games and was voted team captain. He did not get to play in the gold medal game because he was hospitalized after game four due to an infection.

Jacob said he loved the Maccabiah and it was “an all around amazing trip.”

Hailing from an area where the Jewish population is very small, Jacob enjoyed being around a lot of Jewish people and meeting other Jewish kids. He is a senior this year and hopes to play baseball in college. He said he’s talked to a couple of schools already about that possibility.

VOTE FOR PRIVACY PILLOWS — Bob Cutler has created the world’s first standard-sized bed pillow that features an undetectable secret compartment to safely hold your valuables and private items. The hidden entry point features a patented safety seal that keeps items in the pillow regardless of movement. The product is one of dozens featured in 18 categories on Walmart.com that individuals and businesses hope the discount retailer will sell on its website. The products with the most votes, individuals can place one vote each day through Sept. 2, will advance to the second round of competition. Following the current audition round, the products selected as finalists will participate in a web series during the autumn. Another round of voting will select winners, which may then get the opportunity to be sold through Walmart.com. The grand champions(s) may also receive valuable marketing support. See Cutler’s video about the Privacy Pillow and vote for the product at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/13d4/The-Privacy-Pillow.

BONE MARROW MATCH — Last winter a Gift of Life drive was held prior to the Maccabeats concert at the Jewish Community Center. We were informed last week that a donor recruited at that drive has been identified as a match for a 63-year-old woman suffering from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. The email went on to say, “We are truly grateful for all you have done to help grow the Gift of Life Registry, and we thank you for being a part of our family of dedicated volunteers.”

“Oh my God, I didn’t know it could taste like this.”

Karen Pack, immediate past president of the Vaad HaKashruth of Greater Kansas City board of directors, said she was blown away by last year’s first ever Kansas City Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival, and can’t believe how many times she heard that or something similar from festivalgoers last year.

“Their shock and amazement was really the best part of the festival,” Pack noted.

She’s not the only one looking forward to this year’s event once again organized by the Vaad. It will take place Sunday, Aug. 18, on the grounds of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. (For more information, see box Page 19)

“I am most excited about bringing the entire Jewish community together to experience the most authentic kosher barbecue competition in the country, and celebrating the role of the Vaad,” said Jason Sokol, the event’s chair for the second consecutive year and a member of the Vaad’s board.

Organizers can’t quite put a finger on how many people attended last year’s event. Vaad Executive Director Rabbi Mendel Segal thinks it was around 2,000 people. He and Vaad Board President Debbie Sosland-Edelman said they learned a lot from last year and believe they’ve made changes to improve the event.

“We are taking it up a notch in year two, building on the fabulous momentum of the first year and working diligently to make improvements in the areas where we were most challenged,” Sosland-Edelman said.

This year’s event will be sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

“We are very proud to be a part of the Kansas City Barbeque Society which I believe is the largest group of barbecue enthusiasts in the world. By being part of KCBS, we will elevate our competiof KCBS, we will elevate our competition through their rigorous certification and judging program,” Sosland-Edelman explained.

KCBS Executive Director Carolyn Wells said the society is delighted to sanction the local contest. She explained that the designation means this kosher barbecue contest will be able to use a system that has worked thousands of times, from rules and regulations, to certified judges, to professional contest representatives who supervise the judging area and tabulation of scores utilizing KCBS’s proprietary software.

“In short, it adds integrity, and keeps the organizer from having to reinvent the wheel,” Wells said.

Kosher barbecue is definitely an unexplored area for KCBS.

“For us, it is a pleasure to foster the sport and art form of competition barbecue in a non-traditional arena, in that half our regulation categories are pork, and none are normally kosher. We like new challenges and adapting to the marketplace,” Wells added.

Rabbi Segal likes the idea that the KCBS will be in charge of the contest.

“They do 400 events per year. They are awesome,” Rabbi Segal said.

Besides the actual competition, there are events for the kids, classes for adults, concessions and contests.

Rabbi Segal said parking will be increased this year to handle bigger overflow crowds and there will be a larger police presence at the event. Major changes, he said, have been made in the concession area.

“We’ve actually visited two other festivals to watch them. Then we went back to the drawing board and created a better plan,” Rabbi Segal said.

Rabbi Segal said last year more than 1,200 pounds of meat (that’s pre-cooked weight) was sold at the festival. This year 2,500 pounds of meat has been ordered.

The ordering process at the concession stands, he noted, has been simplified.

“We’re keeping it very simple with hopefully enough variety to keep people happy,” he said.

Offerings will include burnt ends, chicken legs, hot dogs, vegetarian smoked sausage and brisket — both a sliced plate and sandwiches — along with extras such as cole slaw, pickles and chips. As they did last year, they hope most people choose to pay with credit or debit, although cash will not be turned away.

Rabbi Segal has also learned how other events operate by participating in them. He recently medaled in chicken, brisket and ribs categories at the Long Island Kosher BBQ Championship.

“I already had an interest in barbecue before we ever decided to organize a contest here, but this definitely has caused me to take it up a notch. I don’t think I ever would have been in competitive barbecue if not for this,” he said.

This year 20 teams are registered to compete. Last year the event was capped at 15. Surprisingly there is a lot of interest from non-Jewish barbecuers in the contest.

“We figured there would be a genuine interest from non-Jewish teams to challenge themselves,” Rabbi Segal explained. For instance, last year’s grand champion, Smoked to Perfection BBQ, was sponsored by a Jewish-owned company, Kansas City Audio Visual, but the team members were not Jewish. It was the first time they ever cooked kosher food and the team was one of the first teams to register this year.

“There are serious barbecuers that don’t keep kosher, that aren’t even Jewish, that are excited about this event,” Rabbi Segal said.

Milton Brod, who’s been certified as a judge by the KCBS since the late 1990s, was at the event last year and intends to judge again this year. He pointed out that since barbecue contests are traditionally pork-based, this kosher barbecue competition gives participants the chance to demonstrate that great flavor and quality barbecue can be achieved with beef, chicken and lamb.

“In addition, this event brings the community together to enjoy and have a fun afternoon. The teams are awesome and most are very good with a barbecue grill. The feedback I received last year is that they all had a good time. I’m glad I volunteered last year and am looking forward to helping this year,” Brod said.

Competitors actually begin cooking for the contest right after Havadalah concludes on the night before the event, at 9:30 p.m. Because the contest is kosher and is strictly supervised by the Vaad, everything the competitors use is provided by the Vaad. Following the competition the re-useable items — such as the grills — are available for purchase or are cleaned and stored for use the next year.

Proceeds go to help the Vaad pursue more avenues for kosher foods in the area.

“We’re trying to get the cost of being certified kosher down a little bit, especially the cost of kosher supervision,” Rabbi Segal explained. “If we can charge them less that helps them.”

Pack said credit for the success of this event, and the Vaad in general over the past several years, goes to Rabbi Segal.

“Because of the renewed passion for kosher in Kansas City and the talent, dedication, hard work and creativity of Mendel Segal, Kansas City has the opportunity to experience what some other communities take for granted. Now we are seeing the fruit of that in the second annual barbecue festival,” Pack said.

She said dedicated lay leaders and the Vaad’s board work very hard on the festival to bring about the resurgence of kosher in the area, and because of that the community was pleasantly surprised by last year’s event.

“Yes we had glitches last year and we’ll probably have glitches this year. But that’s not the deal. The deal is the event is happening. People are placing advanced orders online and it’s just not the same old kosher in Kansas City anymore. It’s new and it’s vibrant and it’s yummy,” Pack said.

Quick facts: Kansas City Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival

Congregation Beth Shalom closed the sale of its Wornall property to VanTrust Real Estate LLC on July 8. Congregation President Michael Abrams said the purchase price was more than $2.3 million.

Abrams said he doesn’t believe VanTrust has determined exactly what it will do with the property.

“We have been told the building will be torn down,” he said. “We understand they could use it for office space or some type of residential space.”

Abrams said considering today’s real estate market, the congregation is happy with the purchase price it received. The money from the sale will be used to pay down the congregation’s mortgage and line of credit on the building it currently occupies, located at 143rd and Lamar Avenue in Overland Park.

The sale, Abrams said, now gives the synagogue the opportunity to plan for its next phase of facilities.

“Our goal obviously is to have a sanctuary and there is a committee that is investigating what our next steps are,” Abrams explained.

Members of the Conservative congregation voted to shut down its Wornall facility in November 2010. The congregation had been operating two buildings since the school and offices moved to the new Lamar location in December 2005. The Wornall facility was used almost exclusively for worship until it closed permanently in July 2011.

Land for the Wornall building, which sits on approximately 45 acres at the corner of Wornall and Bannister roads, was purchased in 1955. The school opened in 1962 and the sanctuary wing, which included the chapel, social hall, administrative offices and library, was dedicated in 1971. Prior to that time the congregation was located at 34th and Paseo. The congregation’s history dates back to 1878.

L.J. (Linda) Kaufman is a woman with a mission: to elicit awareness of domestic violence — particularly psychological or emotional abuse. She has just published her first book, a novel, called “It’s Never a Secret,” which hopefully will start a dialogue and bring it to the forefront of people’s minds.

“Domestic abuse is a global epidemic. Education and open dialogue about the signs of abuse are powerful tools to combat the problem,” she shared in a telephone interview. “I chose the power of a fictional story to raise awareness and spotlight the complexities of domestic violence. The stigma surrounding this abuse must be removed.”

The book is a suspenseful, psychological mystery, as the main character slowly realizes the abuse she’s experiencing from her husband, with twists and turns along the way. Revenge becomes her motivation for recovery. Kaufman says she is writing a series about the main character, Erica Reinhardt, and the journey she must follow.

“I know people think of this psychological stuff as really dark,” Kaufman said. “It’s not just a dark book; it also has a lot of messages about hope and loyalty and friendship and how, when people go through difficult things and dark times, friends can step in and no matter how hard you push them away, true friendship will be there through the rocky course. So it’s not all dark and abusive. There is a message of hope and there is recovery and there is brightness to it also.”

Kaufman, who is an adjunct professor of law, political science and research and writing at several universities, says she has seen abuse firsthand through her students, friends and in society in general. It’s in the headlines when it happens to celebrities and athletes, but then it just fades away, she said.

“It’s such a horrendous problem worldwide. I kind of wanted to give it a unique perspective so that people could understand why victims do this [live with it].”

In “It’s Never a Secret,” after Erica and her husband’s daughter goes off to college, the husband’s behavior becomes more and more abusive. Erica doesn’t recognize that his narcissistic behavior has become worse; she thinks she has empty nest syndrome.

“She’s blaming it on [the belief that] she was this wonderful superstar mom and now ‘my daughter’s gone, I’m lost, I’m hopeless and feel off balance and something’s not right; it must be because I’m an empty nester.’ She’s attributing it to change of life events as opposed to the husband starting this slow, methodical destabilization of her,” Kaufman said.

Like Erica, many people are not even aware they are being abused. But Kaufman says there are visual vehicles and blogs that can help.

“We need to educate young people about what is appropriate and not appropriate behavior. There is a wonderful tool that’s been put out by the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence called ‘The Abuse Wheel,’ and everybody needs to go and take a look at it to see what different types of abuse are out there,” she said. It’s on Kaufman’s blog, which can be found on her website, www.itsneverasecret.com.

“Physical abuse is easy; you know, he hit me or she hit me, but there’s economic abuse, isolation, threats, using children against you, so you have to educate yourself.

“Part of it is being with friends and being in a community and saying, hey I see something you can’t see and perhaps bringing that awareness to the person or at least giving the person the right professional resources to deal with it,” she continued.

Given her background, it would seem more logical that Kaufman would have written a non-fiction book about abuse, but with fiction, the book will receive a wider audience. And Kaufman says she loves to write.

“I’ve always liked writing and I’ve always liked the creative part of writing. I just never really thought about making it a profession until later in life,” said the 55-year-old. “I have written short stories as a creative outlet most of my adult life. As my ideas for stories became more intertwined, I decided to weave them into a novel.”

She said it took several years to write the book and lots of creative writing classes with local writing clubs. She also shared her writing with professional writers and publishers.

Kaufman continues to practice some law and teaches at Avila University, University of Phoenix and Brown Mackey College. She lives in Overland Park with a rescue dog and attends Congregation Beth Shalom.

Matt Rissien of Overland Park, a 2005 graduate of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and University of Kansas alumnus who recently moved to Chicago, has been named to the second annual “Double Chai in the Chi: 36 Under 36” list of young Jewish movers and shakers in Chicago.

(The letters of the Hebrew word “Chai,” which means “life,” also represent the number 18.)

Presented by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Young Leadership Division (YLD) and Oy!Chicago (www.oychicago.com) — an outreach website for Chicago 20- and 30-somethings — the list shines a spotlight on the faces of Chicago’s Jewish future and recognizes the contributions of this generation. The young professionals featured are noted for making a difference through their work, giving back in their free time, and earning notoriety in the Jewish community and beyond.

“We were blown away by the high quality of the nominees this year,” said Stefanie Pervos Bregman, founding editor and blogger-in-chief for Oy!Chicago. “The 36 people on this year’s list are truly shaping the landscape of the Jewish community and bringing innovative ideas to Chicago.”

“This list is an excellent way to recognize the inspiring contributions of young leaders of the Chicago Jewish community and to bring awareness to their impressive accomplishments,” said Brandon Prosansky, one of last year’s winners. “Each of this year’s 36 Under 36 has demonstrated the vision and dedication to not only make the list, but, more important, to make a difference.”

The 26-year-old Rissien serves as director of youth activities at Congregation Beth Shalom, a large Conservative congregation in Northbrook, Ill. He and the other “36 Under 36” young leaders will be honored at YLD’s “WYLD on MagMile” party Thursday, Aug. 15. The son of Kehilath Israeli Synagogue members Shelley and Aaron Rissien, he said this past year has been an opportunity for him to grow and learn what it really takes to work with youth within the Jewish community.

“I’m incredibly honored to have been chosen to have been part of this amazing list of people. I think what really got me to this point was being brought up in the Kansas City Jewish community where we have a mentality of being a close knit community that welcomes anyone,” he said.

Each honoree is profiled on the Oy!Chicago website. Here’s a peek at Rissien’s:

Matt Rissien

Not many people can say their original Purim rap music video has more than 18,000 views on YouTube — but Matt Rissien can. In addition to his work as a fun-loving and dedicated youth director at Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook, Ill., Matt is musically gifted, and known for his talented singing voice and original rap videos about Jewish holidays.

His girlfriend, Brittany, described him as genuine, creative and humorous and says his enthusiasm for his work is contagious: since he started his job in August, he is responsible for recruiting 30 new teens to join his USY chapter. “Matt is dedicated to making the kids feel comfortable and happy,” she said. “I have never seen so many kids who love spending time at shul so they can hang out with him.”

Already a Jew everyone knows in Kansas, where he grew up and attended college (he’s an avid Jayhawks fan, and trust us, that’s putting it lightly), Matt, who moved here about a year ago, is focused now on becoming an involved member of Chicago’s Jewish community. He looks forward to meeting new people and learning more about what his new community has to offer — beyond the kosher food joints he often frequents. Coming soon: his original Chanukah rap video!

On the side:

Make Jewish Rap YouTube videos; currently working at Z Frank Apache Day Camp in Northbrook as the Israel Experience Specialist; will be starting the Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies program at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies this fall.

Relationship status:

Taken

Describe yourself in 10 words or less:

Funny, outgoing, friendly, passionate, spontaneous and huge Kansas Jayhawks fan.

Celebrity doppelganger:

Mario Lopez or Adam Sandler

How do you Jew in Chicago?

Aside from working at Congregation Beth Shalom and running our USY chapter, I very often frequent the fine dining at Milts BBQ, Ken’s Diner, Mizrahi Grill and the Sandwich Club.

Passions:

My biggest passion is my Judaism. It is not the easiest thing to engage the younger generation, but that is what drives my passion — finding fun and creative ways to connect youth/teens of all ages to Judaism. I also love singing/rapping on the side. Lastly, while I know many Illini fans are bitter about Bill Self leaving, I will proudly freely admit that one of my biggest passions is the Kansas Jayhawks. Don’t worry though; I like the Cubs and Blackhawks as well.

How do you give back?

I give blood when I can, recycle, and always cut the plastic that holds soda bottles together so it won’t strangle birds (learned that from “Happy Feet”)!

Fill in the blank: If time and money were limitless, I would:

Open a center that provides weekly Shabbat services and meals that accommodate each sect of Judaism, so we can all join together in one place. There aren’t enough times and places where we can embrace our differences and come together. Every Jew enjoys Shabbat, so this would be a place where we could all celebrate together.

Chicago’s Jewish community in 10 years:

In 10 years, I expect the Jewish Community to have grown even more, but to be more unified. I moved to Chicago this past year because of its vibrant Jewish community. I’ve found that Chicago is so large, that even some Jewish organizations don’t know about one another. Every few weeks I find myself learning about really amazing organizations I didn’t know existed. The Jewish community in Chicago isn’t going to slow down, and I expect they will come up with ways to create even more opportunities for Jewish networking, so we can all work together to unite the Jewish community of Chicago.

Me in 10 years:

I’m a Midwest guy, so I’m planning on staying somewhere around the Chicago area. I can’t get enough of the Jewish community here. I even walked into Dairy Queen in Northbrook yesterday and saw a Bar Mitzvah catalog in the front window. Hopefully, I’ll still be working at Congregation Beth Shalom, but if not at least I know there are a lot of options out there of great Jewish organizations I could work for. This year I made my first Jewish music video with Purim Thrift Shop, and I would love to keep coming out with more Jewish raps, songs and music videos ... I’m working on an original Chanukah rap right now!

RARE LIFE HONOR — SuEllen Fried is up for another honor. Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon Whisky is honoring those with a passion for excellence with The Rare Life Award. The award was created to allow people to share amazing, inspirational stories about amazing people. Seven of those stories each year are awarded money to be donated to the charity of the winning nominee’s choice. Their stories are published on the website eaglerarelife.com and readers can vote for their favorites. Eagle Rare will donate $40,000 to the winner’s charity of choice and donate $44,000 to the other six finalists. Submissions will be accepted until Jan. 7, 2014. Last week Fried was one of 85 nominees so far. Her story is titled “A champion of children, an advocate for kindness, and a believer in the impossible.”

CROCK POT VERSION THREE — Reader Sam Kocherov, who now lives in Blue Ash, Ohio, sent in this tidbit to add to the continuing sage of the Crock Pot©, Rival Manufacturing and their ties to Jewish Kansas City.

In the 1960s, the news photographer for WDAF-TV, Sammie Feeback, invited Nate Accardo and Sam Kocherov, two fledgling photographers of the newly established Contemporary Illustrators studio, to a barbecue at his farm and an opportunity to meet his neighbor, Harry Truman.

Through Truman, they also were invited to meet Henry Talge, the original owner of the Rival Manufacturing Co. At that time, Talge, a World War I buddy of Truman, sponsored annual birthday parties for Truman at the Muehlebach Hotel.

Accardo and Kocherov were asked to photograph segments of those birthday parties for several years. They subsequently met Al Coleman and the Rival’s catalog production crews and an opportunity to provide catalog and sales sheet photographic services for Rival. Talge left Rival and started the Dazey Products Company. He was a noted benefactor of many fundraising activities in the Kansas City area.

NEW MANISCHEWITZ® APP — Yosef Silver of This American Bite has at least one recipe, Vegan Polenta & Black Bean Tamale Pie, featured on the Manischewitz® Company’s new free Kosher Recipe App, now available for download on all Apple® and Android™ devices. Notable chefs, cookbook authors, and everyday home cooks submitted hundreds of recipes for the app, which spans many occasions including Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Chanukah, Thanksgiving, Shabbat and Shavuot. Other categories of recipes include gluten-free, everyday meals, lunches, side dishes and desserts. In addition all recipes from finalists and winners from all past Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off Contests are included.

Besides being kosher and easy to prepare, all the recipes feature some of the most popular Manischewitz® products, including all natural broths, noodles, matzo, matzo meal, honey, and many more. It is very easy to find recipes by typing in keywords or searching through the categories. The app will be an easy way for families to find new favorite recipes that can be shared and enjoyed at holiday and everyday meals. Download it for free from the App Store for Apple® devices, and the Google Play Store for Android™ devices.

For more than a year Congregation Beth Shalom searched for a person of many talents who could complete its clergy staff. It appears the Conservative congregation may have found exactly what it was looking for in Hazzan Tahl Ben-Yehuda, who began serving as Beth Shalom’s director of congregational learning on July 1.

The congregation’s clergy staff has been short-handed since Rabbi David Glickman came on board as senior rabbi last summer. Rabbi Glickman explained Hazzan Ben-Yehuda will oversee the congregation’s “award winning Polsky Religious School, have a presence on the bimah, and work toward creating relationships between the families in our religious school, the CBS families at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and our regular worshippers.”

In his monthly message to congregants in the synagogue newsletter, he noted that when they were crafting this job description, they didn’t know if it was possible “to find just the right combination of education vision, passion for Jewish spirituality and musical talent.”

“We feel blessed to make the match with Hazzan Ben-Yehuda. We know that we will all grow from her talents and inspiration, and we hope that this will be a place where she can spread her wings and find spiritual and professional fulfillment.”

“I look forward to partnering with Hazzan Ben-Yehuda as we continue to build on a vision of growth rooted in community, spirituality and education for Congregation Beth Shalom,” he concluded.

Hazzan Ben-Yehuda, who was one of four cantors invested by the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music in May, is thrilled to be on board at Beth Shalom. She describes herself as a hazzan who is an educator.

“My title is hazzan because I earned it,” she explained, “I’m an educator with strong cantorial and rabbinic leanings and a lot of cantorial rabbinic training, which makes me a good rabbi’s partner.”

As Rabbi Glickman already pointed out, the rabbi and the hazzan will work closely together at Beth Shalom and that was very important to Hazzan Ben-Yehuda as she was looking for a position.

“I wanted to be in a position where I would primarily be responsible for the education aspect in a synagogue, but where I would very much be seen as the clergy partner. I didn’t want my own pulpit because I’m no longer a 25-year-old woman who thinks she can do everything. I want to be able to do the things that are important really, really well. In order to do those things that are important really, really well I want to partner with somebody who also wants to do the important things really, really well,” she explained.

In addition to Rabbi Glickman, she will work with longtime Polsky Religious School Director Patti Kroll, who will be reducing her hours but continue to work with the school, and Stefanie Williams, director of informal education and youth activities. One of her first goals will be “creating an environment in the school where we’re able to communicate to the parents that it is a meaningful and engaging education that the kids are getting.”

Hazzan Ben-Yehuda makes a point to say she doesn’t have any preconceived notions about how to run the educational department at Beth Shalom.

“I don’t want to jam anything down anyone’s throat. Because what works in Riverdale (N.Y.) is not likely to fit the bill here,” she said.

Becoming a cantor

The road to becoming a cantor was a winding one for Hazzan Ben-Yehuda. From a very early age she wanted to be a physician and worked hard toward that goal as an undergrad at Cornell University. There she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual major in biology and Near Eastern studies.

She said she “worked like a dog” to get good grades and scored an interview at the Stoney Brook School of Medicine on Long Island, N.Y. During the interview she was asked what she would do if she wasn’t admitted to medical school. This was the first time she realized she wanted to do something other than medicine.

“Becoming a doctor is all I ever wanted in my life … except that there was this bug in me that said you need to go to New York City and you need to go to the Jewish Theological Seminary and you need to get a pulpit. I think that’s called a calling,” she said.

When she said she would go to the seminary and become a cantor, a rabbi or maybe both, the interviewer simply wished her luck.

But Hazzan Ben-Yehuda wasn’t yet ready to commit to a path to the pulpit. Instead she worked for five years in a lab in Ithica, N.Y., all the while trying to ignore her calling.

“I knew it meant being at the beck and call of the community that I would work with and for,” she said, noting that such a life is not easy for the clergy’s spouse or children.

Eventually she decided to become a rabbi and attended the Jewish Theological Seminary, hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps. But rabbinical school didn’t work out for Hazzan Ben-Yehuda at that time. She was getting married and wanted to have a family. Instead she concentrated on working in Jewish education, serving at Brotherhood Congregation as its interim director. Then she was passed over for the permanent job because she didn’t have a degree in Jewish education.

Determined this would not happen to her again, Hazzan Ben-Yehuda got a degree in Jewish education. Unfortunately there were no jobs available in New York City where she lived. So she “cobbled something together and worked in three different communities,” doing such things as tutoring B’nai Mitzvah students and serving as a USY director while being a mother as well.

Working multiple jobs was tough and she was also going through a divorce. A close friend helped her realize that she was burning the candle at both ends and it was time to seek her calling, whether that be medical school, rabbinical school or cantorial school.

“My friend woke me up. I said oh my God I have to do this, I have to get moving because pretty soon I’ll be too exhausted to do anything,” she said.

She thought about returning to rabbinical school, but that wasn’t the right fit for her because it wouldn’t accommodate her role as a mother.

The dean of the cantorial school, however, was much more understanding of her needs to stay in Riverdale, N.Y., care for her children and work a paying job to meet expenses. She worked hard, taking about 27 credits each semester. Even though she was told during the interview process that no one had ever graduated from the cantorial school in three years, Hazzan Ben-Yehuda did just that. It was no easy task.

“It was harder than the pre-med curriculum for me. It was very, very challenging,” she said.

Always a music lover

A violinist as well as a singer, Hazzan Ben-Yehuda said even when she thought she would be a doctor, music ran through her veins.

“My parents are both musicians. My father is a singer. My mother is a pianist. Music was always playing. My father had a hi-fi in every room in the house. The only time it was off was if my mother was giving a piano lesson,” she said.

She said it’s not just the music that brings her to this field.

“In a way the music is where I have the greatest growth potential, which is the positive way of saying it’s probably the weakest part for me. Music theory and getting to know all of the cantors and all of the composers is where I need to keep going with my professional education. But I’m excited about it.”

Jewish education is also in her blood. Not only is her father a rabbi, her mother and grandmother were educators. Her great-grandfather, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, is considered the founder of the Modern Hebrew language. She is also the vice-president of the Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Foundation, whose goal is to educate about the life and mission of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.

Hazzan Ben-Yehuda doesn’t consider herself a second-degree professional because she’s been doing pulpit work since she was 16 years old.

“God willing I’ve been getting better at it and I’ve been doing biology since I was a kid and I am no longer doing that professionally. Basically that has become my hobby,” she explained.

Her daughters Sara Saidel (10) and Eliana Saidel (12) will attend the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy in August. A big challenge to her as a mother is training Eliana for her Bat Mitzvah.

“Eliana said to me I want to study with you for my Bat Mitzvah but you have to treat me like your other students,” she explained. “I have to be more patient with her than a mother usually is with her daughter. That is the hard part for me.”

She believes she has a great rapport with kids, which is one of the reasons she applied for the job at Beth Shalom.

“I didn’t want a job as just a cantor. I needed this job, the director of congregational learning. I needed to be a partner to the rabbi because there are a lot of aspects to my calling and if I took a job that couldn’t give me an outlet for most of those aspects I probably would be ridiculously unfulfilled.”

What do you do if you are a lifelong Jayhawk basketball fan and you find out the original 13 rules of basketball, penned by Dr. James Naismith — the father of modern basketball — are up for auction? If you are Josh Swade, you find a way to make sure they end up in Lawrence, Kan. At the same time you film a documentary about the experience. Finally, you write a book about it, “The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan’s Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball.”

“The whole thing was an awesome experience and the book was fun to write,” Swade said.

The book should hit book shelves Aug. 1. Sprinkled throughout are names and places KU fans and Jewish Kansas Citians will recognize such as Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff and Kehilath Israel Synagogue. There’s also a cute story about Larry Brown and Swade comparing their Bar Mitzvahs.

Swade, 38, grew up in Overland Park, was a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, and graduated from Blue Valley North High School in 1993. His parents, Mark and Rhonda Swade (who now reside in Monterrey, Calif.) were high school sweethearts and both graduated from the University of Kansas. Thus Swade grew up a KU fan and set off for Mount Oread in the fall of 1993.

After only one year in Lawrence, an internship took Swade to New York where he has lived ever since. While he doesn’t have a degree from KU — he graduated from Baruch College — his heart is still there, at least in Allen Fieldhouse. That’s why he got so excited when he learned that Naismith’s original rules, written in 1891, would be auctioned off by Sotheby’s in New York City on Dec. 10, 2010. Upon hearing the news that Naismith’s grandson, Ian Naismith, had offered the rules for auction, Swade could not accept the notion that this sacred document could reside with just some stranger or in a random home or hall. He resolved to ensure that the rules be returned to Naismith’s spiritual home of 40 years, the University of Kansas. There was only one issue.

He did not have $4.3 million.

Spanning the course of 39 frantic days, Swade embarked on a fanatical journey that would take him across the country. His nearly religious obsession brought him face-to-face with NBA players Paul Peirce and Steve Nash, NBA greats Jerry West and Larry Brown, and many others who knew the importance of this relic. With multiple hurdles ahead of him, the book chronicle’s Swade’s efforts to find the money and support to purchase the rules. Along the way he met David Booth, who purchased the rules for $4.38 million, setting a new record for the highest price of sports memorabilia ever sold.

Booth plans to have the original two-page document displayed at KU in a $18 million facility the university plans to build that will connect to Allen Fieldhouse. The new building will be known as the DeBruce Center in honor of Paul and Katherine DeBruce, who donated the bulk of the building’s private funding.

Before Swade wrote the book, the production company he works for, Maggie Vision Productions, completed the documentary “30 for 30: There’s No Place Like Home.” It aired on ESPN last October and can now be viewed via Netflix. The documentary itself, which Swade directed, has gotten mixed reviews on Netflix. This reviewer liked it:

“Josh Swade shows how sometimes fans can take fanaticism to a whole other level. Yes if you don’t follow college basketball or you hate the Kansas Jayhawks you probably won’t enjoy this ‘30 for 30’ as much, but it is a cool movie following a fan who wants to make sure that this treasure of sports ends up in what he believes to be its rightful place.”

The basketball fanatic that he is, Swade is stumped by the release date of the book. To him it would make more sense for it to come out as basketball season gets underway, which is always in October. In fact this year the annual Late Night in the Phog for both KU men’s and women’s basketball is set for Friday, Oct. 4, in Allen Fieldhouse.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t able to convince his Sports Publishing Group to move the book’s release date, Swade is still thrilled he got it published and chose to write it because the documentary is only an hour long.

“There was a whole lot more that wasn’t told in the documentary that would be great for a book. It seemed like a challenge and I’m always one to like a challenge,” Swade said. It took about six months to write the book after the documentary was completed.

He said even before the documentary aired, there was a “ton of interest” in a possible book.

“Some people felt that the best way to release the book would be in unison with the film. The film was on ESPN but once I told them I had to finish the film there were still a handful of people interested in publishing the book. At that point I wanted to go with the one that would allow me to write the book the way I wanted to write it” he said.

Even though the book is specifically about the rules and KU basketball, Swade thinks the story itself is universal because it’s about excessive fandom.

“I think people, regardless of the team they are obsessed with, can relate to that. I do think there is universal appeal in that respect. It also is about a journey, a mission,” Swade said.

“I’m also a realist and I realize that people are inundated with content and people don’t have a lot of time anymore. So I think at the end of the day it will be Kansas fans who are most interested in this,” he continued.

He said it’s hard to pick just one thing he enjoyed the most about his quest to get Naismith’s original rules of basketball back to Kansas.

“Winning the auction is the obvious answer. It was so exciting to be in the room with David when all that happened, it was like when KU won the national championship,” Swade said.

The journey gave him the opportunity to meet a lot of people, such as coaches and players that he has looked up to over the years.

“That’s been unbelievable. So has been getting to meet fans,” he said.

What will Swade tell his grandkids about the project when he’s old and grey?

“The thing that fueled it in the first place. James Naismith is a huge part of KU basketball history. He started the basketball program there. With these rules coming to KU, I think in a lot of ways that cements his legacy there. He’s buried there and KU plays on James Naismith Court on Naismith Drive. Having the rules I think is the perfect finishing element. In 30 or 40 years I’ll just tell my grandkids I played a part in that, and that’s pretty cool. The credit obviously goes to David Booth. I still can’t really believe he did that. Knowing that I played a part in that is something that I’ll cherish.”

Having a hard time spending quality time with your children? Maybe Chabad Jewish Children’s Library is for you. The library began in February and is becoming increasingly popular, meeting on the first Sunday of each month for children ages 3 through 10.

A special program from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, commemorating the six-month anniversary is open to the entire Jewish community: parents, grandparents and children. The theme is “My Jewish Birthday.”

“We wanted to do something connected to Rosh Hashanah, which is coming up, so we’re focusing on the Jewish birthday and the birthday of the world,” explained Blumah Wineberg, who heads up the program. “We have different activities for the kids and we’ll have a little book sale for parents to purchase Jewish books. It’s a program open to the whole community to create more awareness of the library. It will give people a chance to take a look, see what it is and get the word out.”

During the Aug. 4 program, there will be all kinds of crafts, gifts, games and storytelling on the theme. Children will be able to receive a certificate on the spot for their Jewish birthday.

Wineberg said she is hoping to have local author Rita Roth Poisner as the storyteller. Poisner recently donated two sets of her books to the library. Her book “The Power of Song and Other Sephardic Tales” won the National Jewish Book Award from the Jewish Book Council.

Parents or grandparents can honor their child/children and help the library grow by donating $20 per child for the child’s name to be placed in “his or her book.” Proceeds go toward the purchase of new books.

“We did that initially [at the first program] and many parents signed up for it, which was great,” Wineberg said. “It’s really exciting for the children when they come into the library and see their book and say ‘That’s my book.’ ”

The Jewish Children’s Library has the complete set of Hachai, a publisher of quality Jewish children’s books, from which children can choose. Each child receives his or her own library card free of charge. Wineberg said she has been in touch with another publisher of Jewish books, CIS, and hopes to purchase books for older children.

“Hachai is primarily for the younger children. Our next goal is to purchase books that would be for children 10 to 12, so we’re going to expand it into the next age group.”

The library has just added another component to make it more parent friendly. If parents are unable to leave small children at home, the library will provide childcare so quality time can be spent reading books and doing crafts with the older children. Wineberg said as many as 20 to 30 children attend each program.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for parents and children to interact in a Jewish environment,” she said. “First, they work with the children on a project after we prepare them, and do a sample, but basically the children and the parents work together. It opens it up for an activity the parents can do with their kids.”

After the activity comes the storytelling. A storyteller reads to the children, and the children get to check out a book from the library. Then parents and children sit and read for a while.

“It’s so beautiful,” Wineberg said. “In this day and age when kids are on Nintendo or other games all day, you walk in and you’re watching a mom sitting there, or a dad or grandparent, maybe they just finished their project. They’ll go in the library, pick out a book and just sit and read.

“It’s really heartwarming. And you know they’re reading good quality Jewish literature.”

The Chabad Jewish Children’s Library is located at the Chabad House Center, 6201 Indian Creek Drive, Overland Park. For more information, send email to or call 913-940-1113.