GOODHART WAY — Last Friday, March 22, the Brookside Shopping District renamed Brookside Plaza as Leon Goodhart Way from 63rd Street south to Meyer Blvd. Goodheart, who died June 9 at age 82, was born in Poland, survived the Holocaust and immigrated to Kansas City in 1949. He started working at the Country Club Shoe Store in Brookside with his great uncle, Jake Hyman, and continued working there the rest of his working life. As his obituary stated, “It’s fair to say that Leon was an icon in the Brookside business community and the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area in general. Literally fitting generations of kids in shoes, there were many parents that wouldn’t consider having anyone else touch their children’s feet. He owned other properties in Brookside as well and enjoyed “strolling through” the area, even after he retired.

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD — In December Overland Park native Alex Bigus had his play produced by The Barn Players. He recently returned to the area for a while and is now starring in the Leawood Stage Company’s Broadway musical review “Songs for a New World.” The production will take place Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m. It will feature performances by Bigus as well as Rene Blinn, T.J. Chaffin, Brad Clay Lauren Frazier, Courtney Koval, Andrew Lang and Ali Watson.

Seating is limited and advance tickets are strongly recommended for all three performances! Tickets are available at the Parks & Rec desk in Leawood City Hall. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact April Bishop, City of Leawood cultural art coordinator, at 913-339-6700 x157.

CELEBRATING BENNY GOODMAN — On Jan. 16, 1938, Benny Goodman took his swing orchestra to Carnegie Hall. The rest — as they say — is history. Commemorating the 75th anniversary of one of the greatest jazz concerts in history, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and guest artist Ken Peplowski will “Sing, Sing, Sing” the night away at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at Muriel Kauffman Theatre. For tickets call 816-994-7222 or www.kauffmancenter.org. This is a fundraiser for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary season.

A GOOD READ — I recently took a spring break trip and had a chance to read a book for pleasure for a change. I learned about “Brooklyn Love,” by Yael Levy and published by Crimson Romance on Jewniverse, an initiative of MyJewishLearning.com. It’s an Orthodox love story that follows three Orthodox girls in Brooklyn who fall for the wrong guys, defying parental and communal expectations. For Rachel, a hip artist, it’s love at first sight with a poor rabbinical student; Hindy fancies herself a Talmud scholar’s wife, but her heart is set on a coworker; and Leah wants to be a doctor even though her mom worries it will diminish her shidduch potential. Some of the online comments noted that the book wasn’t absolutely accurate, but it’s a novel for goodness sake. I enjoyed the book a lot. As you read it, you’ll see the relevance to the Yiddish proverb, “man plans, and God laughs,” which Levy puts at the end of her acknowledgements. It’s available in book form and e-book on amazon and at other book sellers.

“I am very proud of being a family physician,” said Joel Feder, D.O.

And family physicians are very proud of Dr. Feder. Today, Thursday, March 21, he will be presented with the 2013 Family Physician of the Year Award from the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP).

Each year every state organization of family physicians can nominate an individual doctor for this national award. Dr. Feder was nominated by the Kansas organization. A committee decides who from this list will receive the award.

“I am absolutely thrilled because this is given by my peers,” said Dr. Feder. “This means an awful lot because it shows how they feel about me, which makes it very special. I feel as if I am sharing this award with other Kansas osteopathic family physicians who cannot do what I do, who are not as lucky as me.”

Dr. Feder has been practicing medicine for more than 35 years. After he graduated in 1975 from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB), he did his residency in the Navy at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia. He served on active duty in the Navy for three years, and then served in the reserves for 35 years, retiring in 2008 as a Navy captain.

In practice in Overland Park for most of his career, Dr. Feder has remained active at KCUMB as a clinical preceptor for their students and an adjunct faculty member. In this role, he allows medical students to come and shadow him at work, allows them to take patient histories and a cursory exam, then he completes the exam and passes his findings on to the students. His efforts to help at the medical school are noticed.

“KCUMB is proud of ACOFP’s recognition of Dr. Feder’s exemplary leadership. As an outstanding osteopathic physician, teacher, community leader and active member of our alumni association, he is a highly influential role model for our medical students,” said Marc B. Hahn, D.O., executive vice president for academic and medical affairs; provost and dean, College of Osteopathic Medicine. “This accolade shines not only on him as an individual, but also on the university and the osteopathic profession.”

Besides his work as a mentor, Dr. Feder is very active both on the state level and the national level working for osteopathic family physicians. He is the president of the Kansas Society of ACOFP and is on both the program committee and the committee on federal legislature for the national organization.

In April he testified before the subcommittee on oversight of the House Ways and Means Committee on an issue in the Affordable Health Care Act.

“I testified in favor of patients not having to go to their doctors for prescriptions for over-the-counter drugs when they want to use their Health Savings Accounts,” said Dr. Feder. Currently patients can use their HSAs to pay for over-the-counter drugs; however, the new law will insist that only prescription medicine will be eligible. “It will be difficult for physicians and patients to comply with this part,” he added.

Dr. Feder enjoyed his time testifying in Washington, D.C. “It was neat to see how the congressmen interact with each other and with those testifying,” he said. “It was a marvelous experience. But you see why things are sometimes slow to get done.”

As a physician, Dr. Feder supports the Affordable Health Care Act. “We need some changes,” he said, “but overall it is a good plan.”

In the meantime, Dr. Feder continues to see patients in Overland Park.

He and his wife, Randi, have been married for 41 years. They are lifelong members of Kehilath Israel Synagogue, where their parents and Randi’s grandparents also belonged.

He enjoys his work and the field of medicine he chose to practice.

“I think, particularly the Jewish public goes to specialists,” said Dr. Feder. “But there is this entire field of family medicine. We take care of everything, from newborns to seniors. If a person needs a specialist, we will send them to one. However, we get to see everything. And I am very proud of being a family physician.”

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy is honored that the family of Rabbi Morris B. Margolies is supporting the school’s desire to dedicate its Program Book for the annual 2013 Civic Service Award Dinner to the memory of the rabbi. The book will be available to all who attend HBHA’s only major fundraising event on Sunday, April 28, at the Overland Park Convention Center.

“He was a scholar and fervent believer that Jewish education was the foundation for the future of the Jewish community,” said his eldest son, Daniel Margolies.

Although Daniel and his brother Jonathan were already in grade school when the Hebrew Academy was established, their sister Malka started first grade in 1966, the school’s opening year. She graduated in HBHA’s second commencement ceremony in 1978.

In the early 1960s, Rabbi Margolies joined a handful of community members who were actively involved in attempting to establish a Jewish day school in the Greater Kansas City area. It was his dream that a successful school be created and sustained for the future of our Jewish community.

Head of School Howard Haas said, “The rabbi stood strong in the face of some who were opposed to the idea of a day school. He promoted the idea and pleaded his case to as many civic and Jewish leaders as he could.” Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy is the result, in part, of his tenacious efforts and his strong belief in educating our children, according to Haas.

Rabbi Margolies was intimately involved in obtaining the initial funding for the school, joining forces with Blanche and Neil Sosland, Carl Puritz and Joanie Greenberg, Joan and the late Walter March, Beryl and Richard Silberg, the late Milton and Bea Firestone, and Sidney and Carol Deutch. It was through their insistence that a day school — at first the Hebrew Academy and eventually the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy — be created “to maintain a vibrant Jewish community in Kansas City,” according to Rabbi Margolies, that has persevered for more than 45 years.

Carl Puritz, whose uncle the late Hyman Brand, was the school’s first president, said the rabbi insisted the school offer both an excellent and rigorous Jewish and secular curriculum.

“He wanted our next generation equipped with the Jewish knowledge and traditions to perpetuate our religion,” Puritz said. “Through his work at Congregation Beth Shalom and at HBHA, Rabbi Margolies benefited our entire Jewish community. His wisdom, love of learning and teaching will be sorely missed.”

Rabbi Margolies was a dynamic presence within the Jewish community in Kansas City. He was an inspiration and a motivator for change and an active supporter of the state of Israel, Jewish education for young and old, civil rights and equality for women. His breadth of knowledge was expansive; he was not just a Judaic scholar but equally well versed in music, the arts, history and sports. His impact as a rabbi and teacher was far-reaching and had lasting consequences for Kansas City.

As rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom for 25 years, he guided his congregants spiritually and emotionally with powerful weekly sermons, persuasive writing and a forceful personality. Though he could be controversial at times, his passion and conviction were rooted in a strong sense of social justice.

Throughout his life, Rabbi Margolies remained an active supporter of HBHA. Daniel Margolies said his father’s commitment to Jewish education, civic service and HBHA never wavered.

“He would be proud of the knowledgeable, spiritual, well-rounded young adults who have matriculated through HBHA’s halls, including his own grandchildren — Rachel, Max, Micah, Shoshana and Jacob Margolies,” he said. “These young men and women are fulfilling his dream of giving back to the Jewish community and ‘seeding the future’ for all of us.”

Howard Haas said, “Even in his final year, the rabbi and his wife Ruth donated special books from his well-known and extensive library so that faculty and students would have the benefit of many famous writings about Torah, Jewish law and customs, authored by highly esteemed writers.”

Dinner co-chairmen Jane Sosland and Howard Jacobson said while Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy is saddened by the loss of Rabbi Margolies, it is truly an honor and a privilege to dedicate this year’s program book for the 40th Annual Civic Service Award Celebration in memory of such a “gifted and inspirational leader in our Kansas City Jewish community.”

HBHA is presenting the Civic Service Award to Joyce and Stan Zeldin and the John Weil Uhlmann Young Leadership Award to Miriam Kaseff. Community members are paying tribute to the rabbi by donating to underwrite the cost of the book, or purchasing personal ads in the book to honor his memory. These opportunities are still available.

Tickets, sponsorships and advertisements may be purchased on the school website, www.hbha.edu, by clicking on one of the topics under the “Seeding the Future” dinner logo. For additional information, contact Director of Development Kerry Cosner at 913-327-8156 or .

A FAVORITE PASSOVER DELICACY — I’ve just returned from a spring break vacation and I’m extra stressed that the first seder is in four days. I’m still planning for the seder and the rest of the holiday, but the one thing I know for sure is I will make several batches of Matzah Crunch. There are dozens of variations of this recipe. My favorite comes from Marcia Rittmaster, Congregation Beth Torah’s religious school and youth groups director who was featured in Jewish Life Magazine for her fabulous kugel a couple of years ago. When my children were preteens, the congregation used to have a chocolate seder every year. One of the items on the menu was Matzah Crunch and Marcia provided the recipe to all the willing volunteers. Since that chocolate seder many years ago, it has become a family tradition. While many families have their favorite charoset or matzah ball soup recipes, ours is for chocolate matzah and I have Marcia to thank for it. For those of you who want to try it, it’s below. But take my advice, it’s very easy and comes out delicious as long as you follow the recipe exactly.

Matzah Crunch

Matzah

1 cup butter (or margarine if you insist!)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Cover cookie sheet and sides with aluminum foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

2. Line up the matzah to fill the pan, breaking extra pieces as required to fit the space.

3. In a saucepan combine butter and brown sugar.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil.

5. Boil for 3 minutes (use a timer; this is important), stirring constantly.

6. Remove from heat and pour over the matzah, covering completely.

7. Place the baking sheet in a preheated 375-degree oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

8. Bake for 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure the mixture is not burning (if it seems to be browning too quickly, remove the pan from the oven, lower the heat to 325 degrees and replace the pan).

9. Remove pans from oven and sprinkle immediately with the chocolate chips.

10. Let stand five minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the matzah. While still warm, break into squares or odd shapes.

11. Place pans in freezer to chill until set.

SHALOM SESAME — Families with young kids might want to set their DVRs for 9 a.m. March 22 and March 26. KCPT will air “Shalom Sesame: It’s Passover Grover!” at 9 a.m. each of those days. In the episode, it’s almost time to celebrate Passover and there is no horseradish to be found. Grover, Anneliese and Avigail put their heads together to track it down, but things get tricky when there is an Oofnik involved!

Rabbi Mark Levin has been a rabbi for nearly 37 years. During that time he has never performed an interfaith wedding ceremony. That’s about to change. The pulpit rabbi at Congregation Beth Torah informed his congregation earlier this year that he has revised his policy. He will now officiate at marriages, exclusively for families who are members of Beth Torah, for couples who will commit to supporting the Jewish community throughout their lives and who have no other religious affiliation or commitment.

(Other rabbis in the area also perform interfaith marriages. See related storiy on page 7 for more.)

This is not a change that happened overnight for the Reform rabbi.

“I have been absolutely consistent with this decision over the years, even with some deeply meaningful circumstances,” he said in a recent interview.

“There have been plenty of people I have wanted to officiate for and I couldn’t,” he continued.

He explained his decision in the congregation’s February newsletter:

“The interfaith marriage rate among Jews in greater Kansas City is, by my estimate, well over 50 percent. Fewer and fewer intrafaith marriages take place in the city annually, particularly among young people. Whereas I continue to agree with my religiously principled previous position, another set of religious facts has emerged, i.e.: Many of our young people are marrying without regard to the Jewish status of their spouse, but not without regard for Judaism. They are raising Jewish children, and receiving a commitment from their spouse prior to marriage that the family will support Judaism and the Jewish community.”

Over the years he has noticed that he was officiating at fewer and fewer weddings, which factored into this change of heart. Another thing that influenced him was that his friend and colleague Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, who held similar beliefs, changed his position on the matter.

According to Rabbi Levin, Rabbi Hoffman thought Rabbi Levin’s stand against marrying interfaith couples was wrong.

“Larry also has the same approach to religious analysis as I do, which is an anthropological approach to the understanding of religion,” he explained.

“His feeling was there have been plenty of changes in Jewish life over the centuries. He believes this is another change involving very sincere people who intend to build up the Jewish community, who believe they are marrying within the Jewish community. And, indeed, in this congregation those folks have been included in the Jewish community absolutely consistently,” Rabbi Levin said.

Now, Rabbi Levin said he will officiate at the weddings of people who believe they are marrying into the Jewish community.

“That is to say people are coming into the Jewish community but they won’t make a commitment to be a Jew,” he explained.

He gave this example of a couple he met with recently. The bride-to-be grew up at and was very active at Beth Torah. Her fiancé is not Jewish.

“He said to me, ‘I know that our values are the values with which (my fiancé) grew up and I am joining, but I am not Jewish,’ ” said Rabbi Levin.

In the past the rabbi would not have officiated at “this very significant life-cycle event for people who were going to spend their lives in the Jewish community.” After they were married, however, he would welcome them as members of the congregation with open arms.

In the future, Rabbi Levin will “no longer demand that both partners assert their Judaism, if both can affirm their absolute commitment to a Jewish life for their family and support for the Jewish community that gives context to the marriage.”

When he has conversations with couples regarding this issue, Rabbi Levin isn’t worried that the non-Jewish half of the couple will tell him what he wants to hear just so the rabbi will officiate and to make the Jewish half of the couple happy.

“By and large people absolutely tell the truth because what they are saying is here’s what my life is about. But, believe me, we will have a very serious discussion,” he said.

Interfaith couples who hope to be married at Beth Torah by Rabbi Levin will read — and sign — the statement that was published in the congregation’s newsletter.

“I will make sure that they understand what the implications are, that they see themselves as holding Jewish values that uphold the life of the Jewish community and that their intention is to participate, as though they were Jews, in the life of the Jewish community,” he said.

This change of stance does not mean Rabbi Levin will marry any interfaith couple. For instance Rabbi Levin does not plan on co-officiating at a wedding with a clergyperson of another faith.

However, the Reform rabbi is still considering what he will do if the couple’s stance on religion is not quite black and white.

“For those people who say, ‘Look, I want to maintain my religious affiliation but if you’re wondering if I’m going to be supportive of life at Beth Torah, you betcha. I’m going to be there with my children and with my spouse ... I’m going to be fully supportive. This is going to be their culture, this is going to be their religion, but theologically I’m going to remain a Christian…’ I’m just not clear yet how that’s going to come out.”

Rabbi Levin noted that Beth Torah has families like that now, who attend services and are active participants.

“I am much more concerned with the people who say, ‘I don’t get this Judaism thing. That’s her thing. Yes I am going to continue to go to my religious tradition. I don’t see myself as a member of the Jewish community but I’m perfectly happy to have a Jewish family.’ ”

He can’t see himself officiating at weddings for those couples.

“But I think that there may potentially be some people who object and ask, ‘Where did you draw that line? It’s not particularly clear to me.’ ”

The rabbi added, “It’s a line that’s clear to me, personally, and I’m hoping that it will be clear to other people as well. And frankly, that’s a reason not to have changed … I am convinced I am not being arbitrary. I’ve taken great pains to write it out completely. The differences in some cases may be subtle and I can understand the fact that some people may not make the distinctions that I believe are very real.”

Several local rabbis also perform interfaith ceremonies

Interfaith wedding ceremonies are conducted by several rabbis in the area. Rabbis Arthur Nemitoff and Jacques Cukierkorn have each been performing them for 19 years.

“I go out of my way to accommodate couples and enable them to make Jewish choices for their new family,” said Rabbi Cukierkorn of Temple Israel, who has performed such ceremonies since he was ordained.

“I believe I have succeeded overall since many of my temple members are couples I married and they have chosen to live Jewish lives,” Rabbi Cukierkorn said.

Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, senior rabbi of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, has been a rabbi for 32 years. His choice to start officiating at interfaith weddings about 19 years ago was not originally based solely on his own beliefs. At that time he was moving to Columbus, Ohio, to serve a congregation that had a tradition of marrying interfaith couples.

“In fact all the Reform rabbis in Columbus did interfaith marriage ceremonies,” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

Besides the fact that he felt it was unfair to members of his congregation for him to not follow this tradition, he said he realized that even though there was no solid data showing that performing interfaith marriage ceremonies brought more Jews into the fold, he felt it was the case anecdotally.

“The more we said no, the harder it was on families. The more we can say yes, the more welcoming we can be,” he said.

Over time, Rabbi Nemitoff has created an interfaith wedding ceremony he is comfortable using “that is like a Jewish wedding ceremony with subtle differences.”

He said there are three things that are a part of a Jewish ceremony that are not a part of the interfaith ceremony he conducts. First, he will not use the phrase, “with this ring be consecrated unto me as my wife or my husband in accordance of the laws of Moses and the people of Israel.”

“That phrase, the laws of Moses and the people of Israel, is a unique statement. It says everything I hold as a Jew and all my Jewish background, I hold as a surety pledge for you. If the couple is not both Jewish, you can’t make that statement,” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

Along those lines, he does not offer a ketubah to an interfaith couple.

“A ketubah by definition is a Jewish document. We use something else that is similar,” he said.

Finally, he doesn’t do all the blessings over the wine.

“The first blessing really says, ‘Thank you God for telling us who we can and can’t marry,’ meaning we can’t marry people who aren’t Jewish. It’s inappropriate to do that in an interfaith marriage ceremony, so I just eliminate that blessing.”

Over the years, Rabbi Nemitoff has come to believe it’s important to perform interfaith marriage ceremonies and show that these couples are being embraced by the Jewish community. He also lets the couple decide whether it is appropriate to be married in a Jewish ceremony.

“No one likes to be told yes or no. No one likes to be given permission. I’ve turned it around and I describe who I am and what my values are. You need to decide what your family life is going to be like and if it matches who I am. If it does, then I’m the right person to help you. If it doesn’t, then somebody else is the right person to help you,” he explained.

None of the Orthodox or Conservative rabbis in town will officiate at an interfaith wedding.

“To be clear,” Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Rockoff of BIAV noted, “if the non-Jewish party converted to Judaism, (then) it would be allowed.”

In the Conservative movement, Rabbi Scott White of Congregation Ohev Sholom pointed out that performing “intermarriages violates the Rabbinical Assembly’s standards of practice, and constitutes grounds for expulsion.”

While Conservative rabbis in Kansas City don’t perform interfaith marriage ceremonies, Rabbi David Glickman pointed out that Congregation Beth Shalom welcomes interfaith families.

“We have a number of interfaith families in our synagogue and religious school. We also welcome members who choose to convert to Judaism in all areas of synagogue life,” Rabbi Glickman said.

The issue of organ donation is one that is often misunderstood in the Jewish community. The next speaker in the Caviar Family Jewish Scholar in Residence Series at Kehilath Israel Synagogue will be here the weekend of March 22 to help dispel Jewish presuppositions about the halachic validity of organ donation.

“A lot of people believe that Jewish law requires you to be buried whole and that’s clearly not true. Saving a life is more important than just about any commandment in the Bible,” said Robby Berman, the founder and director of the Halachic Organ Donor Society. He will speak on Friday night, March 22, and twice on Saturday, March 23.

K.I’s Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz has known Berman since they were both attending graduate school at Harvard.

“It became clear that his passion emerges in all he does,” Rabbi Yanklowitz said.

He wanted to bring Berman to Kansas City since he is leading “one of the most important life-saving movements in the Jewish community today. I have been shocked at how few people are informed about the Jewish approaches to end-of-life issues and organ donation responsibilities.”

Rabbi Yanklowitz is sure all who attend these discussions with Berman will be “inspired and informed about the halachic approaches to organ donation and the global impact of our choices.”

Berman was an American journalist living in Israel when he quit his writing job in 2001 and started HODS. With essentially no experience running a not-for-profit, today HODS is gaining international recognition for its important message and mission of saving lives by increasing organ donations from Jews to the general population (Jews and non-Jews alike).

The organization’s goal are:

• To educate Jews about the different halachic and medical issues concerning organ donation.

• To offer a unique organ donor card that enables Jews to donate organs according to their halachic belief.

• To provide rabbinic consultation and oversight for cases of organ transplantation.

• To match altruistic living kidney donors with recipients. (For more information, visit www.hods.org.)

Berman decided to start HODS after writing a story on organ donation.

“I was researching a story on organ donation trying to figure out why Israel has the worst organ donor registration rate in the Western world. I discovered it is because although most Israelis are secular, when it comes to major life issues like death they become religious and superstitious. Since they perceived that halachah, Jewish law, prohibits organ donation they weren’t donating. I, as an Orthodox Jew, felt an obligation to rectify this and it would not be done by writing an article,” Berman explained.

Berman has a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a Master of Business Administration degree from Baruch College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yeshiva University in economics. He is also a graduate of Gruss Kollel and Yeshivat Hakotel. Berman has been a social activist for many Jewish causes, and before establishing HODS was a freelance journalist who had articles published in New York Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Week, Moment Magazine and the Jerusalem Report.

The HODS office is in New York, but Berman lives in Jerusalem.

“So I hate it when I hear people complaining about their 45-minute commute,” he joked.

K.I. is billing Berman’s Friday night presentation, “Paying for Organs is Illegal — Is it Immoral?” as a fun audience debate. So the question posed to Berman was, “Can there really be a fun debate about organ donation?”

“It’s fun because it’s not a lecture. Lectures can be boring. Who cares about my opinion? People should listen to their own internal voice and bounce it off other people. Sharing ideas is always fun,” he explained.

In Berman’s opinion, debates about serious issues can be entertaining as can question-and-answer sessions.

“The question I most often hear comes from married women,” he said. “They want to know if they can donate their husbands’ organs before their husbands are actually dead. This would be halachicly problematic.”

As an Orthodox Jew, he does take halachah very seriously. But halachah is not clear on the issue of death. That’s why HODS created a unique donor card.

“It allows the card holder to define death either as brain-death or as cessation of heartbeat, which is the major debate in Jewish law,” Berman said.

Halachic organ donor cards are available online. It takes about five minutes to complete the form and a small registration fee is required. Cards are available on the HODS website.

Berman points out that regardless of whether you have a secular donor card or a halachic donor card, the decision to donate organs is ultimately made by your loved ones.

“Ultimately your family will make the final decision for you, so after you fill out this form please inform your family of your decision to donate your organs,” he noted.

Robby Berman details

Robby Berman, the founder and director of the Halachic Organ Donor Society, will speak at Kehilath Israel Synagogue on Friday night, March 22, and twice on Saturday, March 23.

Friday, March 22: “Paying for Organs is Illegal — Is it Immoral?” 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 23: Shabbat Services, “Organ Donation in Halachah and What is Going on in Israel,” 10:30 a.m.

Mincha-Maariv, “When is the Moment of Death?” the brain death controversy, 7:30 to 8:15 p.m.

Like many Jewish women, I have been thinking about Passover. The first seder is less than two weeks away and I have barely begun planning. I’m lucky that as the editor of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle things come across my desk and into my email box that help me prepare for the holiday.

Since it’s really time to start preparations, the first thing I did was call Rabbi Mendel Segal, the executive director of the local Vaad HaKashruth and the man I always turn to with kosher questions, to see what new products he had heard about or seen in his travels. Surprisingly, he said he has seen more interesting things than he expected to see this year.

One thing that intrigued him, even though his wife personally bakes from scratch each Passover, was the refrigerated packaged macaroon dough Manischewitz came out with this year.

“It’s something that will be fun to do with the kids and then you can still get that fresh-baked taste,” Rabbi Segal said.

He thinks cooks will be happy to find Blanchard & Blanchard chili sauce as well.

“A lot of people like to make their brisket with chili sauce and on Pesach they have to improvise,” Rabbi Segal said. He saw the product at Hen House. He said Blanchard & Blanchard also makes a nice selection of salad dressings.

The new Hy-Vee at 95th and Antioch in Overland Park is beautiful and has a nice kosher section. It’s probably too late to get anything special ordered for this year, but keep in mind if you want something special next year and you think about it early enough, the employees there say they can take care of you.

Kosher department manager Meir Anton said the store’s Passover selections have been popular and they’ve already “sold out on some items.”

“Because of that, we have a new Passover shipment due to come in (today, March 14), weather permitting, from our distributors.”

“We also have kosher for Passover lamb and beef that comes in every week,” Anton added.

Before Minyomin Mazer left his position as kosher deli manager at Hen House two weeks ago, he told me that the deli was scheduled to be closed earlier this week so that its kitchen could be converted for Pesach. If all went as scheduled, it should have re-opened, all ready for Pesach, yesterday (March 13.)

Mazer said the Hen House deli would offer the majority of its regular items during Pesach.

“We won’t have fried chicken or egg rolls or cookies, but most everything else will be offered,” he said.

In addition he said the deli will be able to supply items needed for seder plates, including shank bones.

I stopped by the Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 95th and Mission last week and, while I have no idea if it is a new product, I saw individual bags of Glicks Fine Potato Chips in two flavors — original and spicy BBQ, which are easy to pack in lunches during the Passover week.

In fact Mark Winslow of Cosentino’s Food Stores, which owns several Price Choppers in the area including the ones at 95th and Mission and 103rd and State Line, reported that the stores have several new products on their shelves for Passover including the following: Streits mac and cheese; Streits instant potatoes; Gefen olive oil; Kedem red, white and balsamic cooking wines; Manischewitz gluten free pastas; Manischewitz potato stix; Seasons sardines in tomato sauce; Rokeach Gefilte fish No. 10; and Streits sugar free candies.

All the grocery stores in the area that carry Passover dairy goods expected them to be on the shelves no later than the end of this week.

If large sizes are what you are looking for, you can still find both matzah and gefilte fish at Costco at 121st and Blue Valley Parkway. Last weekend 5-pound boxes of Manischewitz matzahs were still in stock as well as 4-pound jars of Rokeach gefilte fish.

This year the Manischewitz company has in fact introduced dozens of innovative and new products this Passover season (Streits did not answer a request for similar information.) Many of the new products feature the Manischewitz Health and Wellness Icon. The icon communicates the healthier attributes of the products, such as all-natural and an excellent source of fiber, low sodium, no MSG, sulfite-free, no artificial preservatives or ingredients.

The Vaad’s Rabbi Segal also said that so far this year, he hasn’t heard there will be any product shortages — such as matzah — as there have been in the past.

Several area commercial kitchens are also being prepared for Passover. Rabbi Segal said it is a “huge undertaking” to get ready for the holiday. Besides making sure the Hen House kosher deli has been properly prepared for the holiday, Rabbi Segal said the Heritage Center’s kosher kitchen is kashered because they serve meals during the middle days of the holiday. The Vaad is also supervising the food preparation for the community’s annual second seder, which will be held this year at Congregation Beth Shalom as well as changing over the kitchen at Village Shalom.

“Just like the general Jewish population, Village Shalom has more people who keep kosher for Passover than who keep kosher all year long, so it gets really busy there during Passover,” Rabbi Segal said.

Like many Jewish women, I have been thinking about Passover. The first seder is less than two weeks away and I have barely begun planning. I’m lucky that as the editor of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle things come across my desk and into my email box that help me prepare for the holiday.

Since it’s really time to start preparations, the first thing I did was call Rabbi Mendel Segal, the executive director of the local Vaad HaKashruth and the man I always turn to with kosher questions, to see what new products he had heard about or seen in his travels. Surprisingly, he said he has seen more interesting things than he expected to see this year.

One thing that intrigued him, even though his wife personally bakes from scratch each Passover, was the refrigerated packaged macaroon dough Manischewitz came out with this year.

“It’s something that will be fun to do with the kids and then you can still get that fresh-baked taste,” Rabbi Segal said.

He thinks cooks will be happy to find Blanchard & Blanchard chili sauce as well.

“A lot of people like to make their brisket with chili sauce and on Pesach they have to improvise,” Rabbi Segal said. He saw the product at Hen House. He said Blanchard & Blanchard also makes a nice selection of salad dressings.

The new Hy-Vee at 95th and Antioch in Overland Park is beautiful and has a nice kosher section. It’s probably too late to get anything special ordered for this year, but keep in mind if you want something special next year and you think about it early enough, the employees there say they can take care of you.

Kosher department manager Meir Anton said the store’s Passover selections have been popular and they’ve already “sold out on some items.”

“Because of that, we have a new Passover shipment due to come in (today, March 14), weather permitting, from our distributors.”

“We also have kosher for Passover lamb and beef that comes in every week,” Anton added.

Before Minyomin Mazer left his position as kosher deli manager at Hen House two weeks ago, he told me that the deli was scheduled to be closed earlier this week so that its kitchen could be converted for Pesach. If all went as scheduled, it should have re-opened, all ready for Pesach, yesterday (March 13.)

Mazer said the Hen House deli would offer the majority of its regular items during Pesach.

“We won’t have fried chicken or egg rolls or cookies, but most everything else will be offered,” he said.

In addition he said the deli will be able to supply items needed for seder plates, including shank bones.

I stopped by the Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 95th and Mission last week and, while I have no idea if it is a new product, I saw individual bags of Glicks Fine Potato Chips in two flavors — original and spicy BBQ, which are easy to pack in lunches during the Passover week.

In fact Mark Winslow of Cosentino’s Food Stores, which owns several Price Choppers in the area including the ones at 95th and Mission and 103rd and State Line, reported that the stores have several new products on their shelves for Passover including the following: Streits mac and cheese; Streits instant potatoes; Gefen olive oil; Kedem red, white and balsamic cooking wines; Manischewitz gluten free pastas; Manischewitz potato stix; Seasons sardines in tomato sauce; Rokeach Gefilte fish No. 10; and Streits sugar free candies.

All the grocery stores in the area that carry Passover dairy goods expected them to be on the shelves no later than the end of this week.

If large sizes are what you are looking for, you can still find both matzah and gefilte fish at Costco at 121st and Blue Valley Parkway. Last weekend 5-pound boxes of Manischewitz matzahs were still in stock as well as 4-pound jars of Rokeach gefilte fish.

This year the Manischewitz company has in fact introduced dozens of innovative and new products this Passover season (Streits did not answer a request for similar information.) Many of the new products feature the Manischewitz Health and Wellness Icon. The icon communicates the healthier attributes of the products, such as all-natural and an excellent source of fiber, low sodium, no MSG, sulfite-free, no artificial preservatives or ingredients.

The Vaad’s Rabbi Segal also said that so far this year, he hasn’t heard there will be any product shortages — such as matzah — as there have been in the past.

Several area commercial kitchens are also being prepared for Passover. Rabbi Segal said it is a “huge undertaking” to get ready for the holiday. Besides making sure the Hen House kosher deli has been properly prepared for the holiday, Rabbi Segal said the Heritage Center’s kosher kitchen is kashered because they serve meals during the middle days of the holiday. The Vaad is also supervising the food preparation for the community’s annual second seder, which will be held this year at Congregation Beth Shalom as well as changing over the kitchen at Village Shalom.

“Just like the general Jewish population, Village Shalom has more people who keep kosher for Passover than who keep kosher all year long, so it gets really busy there during Passover,” Rabbi Segal said.

HAVE QUILL, WILL TRAVEL: SOFER RESTORES VILLAGE SHALOM TORAHS — Rabbi Gedaliah Druin, a sofer (scribe) from Sofer On Site based in Miami, recently spent several days at Village Shalom to make repairs to the retirement community’s three Torahs.

The Torahs are read during Shabbat and holiday services in Village Shalom’s Appleman Synagogue. Their regular use had rendered some of the lettering worn, and caused other issues affecting the readability and kashrut of the scrolls.

A number of Village Shalom residents enjoyed the rare opportunity to observe the process and learn more about the work of writing and restoring Jewish holy texts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER — Long-time Chronicle subscriber Esther Loeb celebrated her 96th birthday last week on Friday, March 8. About 20 members of her family, including relatives who traveled from New York, Canada and California, attended a dinner in honor of the happy occasion. She estimates she has been a loyal reader for more than 50 years!

FRIENDS OF JFS — Last week I had the honor of attending Jewish Family Service’s annual “Friends of the Family” Breakfast. It was lovely and a great way for those in attendance to learn about the variety of programs JFS currently provides. You can get a quick overview of the agency by watching the agency’s new 60-second video that debuted at the breakfast. Catch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td77x-EsXkM&feature=youtu.be.

AN ACT OF LOVING KINDNESS — A couple of years ago we published a story about Dr. Andrew Kaufman, a neurosurgeon who spends about a month each year volunteering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This time while he was there, he assisted an American citizen who suffered a severe injury to her spinal cord while traveling in the far eastern part of Ethiopia’s Somali Region. A few weeks ago Dr. Kaufman received a personal thank you letter from Donald Booth, the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. It said, in part, “Your efforts, I am told, will probably ensure that this young woman has a full recovery and will live a full and vibrant life, instead of being confined to a wheelchair.

“I sincerely want to thank you for all you did. … For us at the embassy, you represent what is truly best in our great country — a spirit of commitment and a willingness to help. … I would love to shake your hand and thank you for your service to this American citizen in distress.”

AUTHOR PHILIP ROTH TURNS 80 — PBS celebrates Philip Roth’s 80th birthday in a new 90-minute documentary airing locally on KCPT at 9 p.m. Friday, March 29. It will rebroadcast the show at 1 a.m. Saturday, March 30, and 2 a.m. Monday, April 1. American Masters explores the life and career of Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning novelist Philip Roth, often referred to as the greatest living American writer. Reclusive and diffident, Roth grants very few interviews, but for the first time, allowed a journalist to spend 10 days interviewing him on camera. The result is “Philip Roth: Unmasked,” a documentary that features Roth freely discussing very intimate aspects of his life and art as he has never done before.

ARLO GUTHRIE TO APPEAR AT JCCC —Arlo Guthrie, son of folk icon Woody Guthrie, will bring his “Here Comes the Kid” show to Johnson County Community College on Sunday, March 24. Guthrie, known for songs that include “This Land is Your Land” (written by Woody), will appear at 7 p.m. in the Carlsen Center’s Yardley Hall. He will be honoring his father’s memory by marking his 100th birthday with stories and tunes from a long list of favorites. Tickets are available through the college box office at 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries.

A POWERFUL AND INSPIRING KANSAS CITY PREMIERE — In conjunction with the “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945,” exhibit on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Heartland Men’s Chorus is presenting “Falling in Love Again.” It examines the lives of gay men before and after the Holocaust and features the Midwest premiere of Jake Heggie’s “For a Look or a Touch,” a stirring dramatic tale of two lovers sent to the Nazi concentration camps — one who is exterminated and one who lives to recount a love lost and unspoken. Concerts are at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 23, and 4 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at the Folly Theater. Order tickets online at hmckc.org or 816-931-3338.

The Jewish community and Israel supporters here in Kansas City are wild about Harry, President Harry S. Truman that is.

“Without President Harry S. Truman, without his determination always to do the right thing even when often it wasn’t politically expedient, it’s difficult to imagine what the course of world history might have been,” said Truman admirer Loeb Granoff.

One of the things Granoff is referring to is Truman’s role in the establishment of the Jewish state. But that’s not the only reason Kansas Citians are wild about Harry. Karen Pack, who along with her husband Steven is chairing the 14th annual Wild About Harry! event, which benefits The Harry S. Truman Library Institute located right here in Independence, Mo., explains why they admire Truman.

“At the end of 1944, Steve’s father, Louis Pack, was a Naval officer serving in the Pacific. At the same time, my parents (Maria and Fred Devinki) were hiding in a bunker under a barn in Poland. Thanks to President Truman’s heroic leadership, World War II ended soon after that — sparing our parents’ lives, along with the lives of countless others,” she said.

And of course, there is his recognition of Israel.

“In 1948, President Truman’s senior advisers strongly encouraged the president not to support the U.N. resolution to recognize a small state in the Middle East. Amidst tremendous negative pressure, on May 14, 1948, President Truman released a statement recognizing the State of Israel — forever changing the lives of the Jewish people.

“These two decisions impacted our families in ways beyond measure,” Pack said.

Two community leaders and philanthropists, brothers Morton Sosland and Neil Sosland, are the honorary chairs of Wild About Harry!, which takes place on Thursday, April 11, at the Muehlebach Tower-Kansas City Marriott Downtown. While Truman’s presidential library is one of 13 official presidential libraries across the country that receives federal funds, those funds don’t cover the library’s educational programs.

“Each year, proceeds from the Wild About Harry! dinner make it possible for the Truman Library Institute to educate thousands of students and teachers from our area and beyond. And thanks to scholarship funding from ‘The Bus Stops Here’ Field Trip Grant Program, local elementary, middle and high school classes can access the institute’s unique educational programs and resources free of charge,” Pack said.

Truman supported the creation of a Jewish state beginning in 1947, when he instructed the State Department to support the United Nations plan to end British rule and create a Jewish state, an Arab state and an international zone around Jerusalem. His support continued into the next year. According to the library, “At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed the new State of Israel. On that same date the United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the new Jewish state (de jure recognition was extended on January 31). The U.S. delegates to the U.N. and top ranking State Department officials were angered that Truman released his recognition statement to the press without notifying them first.”

The Jewish connection

Truman’s support of Israel can be attributed, at least in part, to lobbying efforts made by two Kansas Citians — Eddie Jacobson and A.J. Granoff (Loeb Granoff’s father). The senior Granoff was close friends with Jacobson, a modest haberdasher who was Truman’s former business partner and World War I buddy. Both Jacobson and A.J. Granoff, “played a pivotal role in making the miracle of Israel’s rebirth happen,” Loeb Granoff explained.

“It should give us a feeling of humility and pride that two Kansas Citians,” had such an impact, he added.

Loeb Granoff was in college at the University of Missouri-Columbia when the Jewish state was born. Through letters and conversations with his father, he had the unusual opportunity of learning about Truman’s support for the Jewish state firsthand.

“It became Eddie and Dad’s mission and passion to convince President Truman of the justice of a Jewish homeland at that moment, following the Holocaust, of our people’s greatest and most desperate need,” he said.

Loeb Granoff often shares with people who want to know about Truman a handwritten letter sent by his father to him a few days after the passage of the U.N. Partition Resolution of Nov. 29, 1947. Granoff said his father and Jacobson had gone to Washington simply to thank the president for his support of the resolution.

“A number of interesting subjects were discussed,” the father wrote his son.

“When the truth is finally told, I may say here about Harry Truman’s contribution toward a Jewish state, his name above all others in the Christian world, will by the Jewish people everywhere be blessed in their temples and synagogues. About this I’m as sure as anyone could possibly be. What’s more, his contribution was the vital factor which swung the U.N. General Assembly toward the 33 to 13 vote on November 29th — and in the face of heart breaking complications and problems.”

The letter from the father to his son continues to explain that Truman decided to support the establishment of Israel, because it’s in the best interests of the United States to do so.

“ ‘There was not the slightest semblance toward currying the favor of Jews or anybody else. It was best for the United States’ — and he lets it go at that — while others are claiming the credit,” A.J. Granoff wrote.

Granoff hopes members of the American Jewish community don’t forget how important Truman’s role was in the establishment of the Jewish state, and hopes educators remember to teach it. Karen Pack agrees.

“President Truman wasn’t a media seeker, he wasn’t a showman and he didn’t have a scandal. He was just a good man who wanted to do what was best for our country,” Pack said.

“Even though many often don’t realize it, he really did change the course of history and this country,” she continued.

Chairing this fundraising event as an adult has reminded Pack of things she experienced as a child.

“I have relatives that moved to Israel after the Holocaust,” Karen said. “I remember when they would come and visit, we always took them to the Truman Library because Truman was so important to the establishment of the State of Israel.”

She hopes she can share the knowledge she has gained with others.

“The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum is an extraordinary gift to our community. It gives us direct access to an individual and a moment in history that changed countless lives,” she said.

“This is something very valuable right under our noses that we shouldn’t take for granted,” she continued. “With everyone’s help and support, we will be able to learn from and enjoy the library for generations to come.”

The Truman Library, Pack noted, is something the previous generation took great pride in and hopes that with everyone’s help, it will be there to educate ours and future generations to come.