If American Jewish history’s your thing, The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah has it covered with their November scholar in residence weekend featuring Jonathan Sarna, Ph.D.

Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, is well known for his books, especially “American Judaism: A History” and “When General Grant Expelled the Jews.” He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History.

“I think it’s really important to bring (scholars) to the Midwest,” said Mary Davidson Cohen, who is sponsoring the weekend. “We have a proud heritage, and that heritage is not just in Europe.”

He’ll focus on American Jewish history during his sermon at the Friday night service Nov. 16.

“What’s really significant is that I’m going to be talking about General Order 11 and the whole history of Jews in the Civil War,” Sarna said. “This is the 150th anniversary of the order in which Ulysses S. Grant expelled Jews from his war zone, the most notorious official act of anti-Semitism in American history, the only time Jews as a class were expelled from anywhere in the United States. Many people don’t know about it.”

Sarna said that after President Abraham Lincoln overturned the expulsion order, Grant apologized and when he was president later on, he appointed more Jews to government positions than anyone else had and went out of his way to be sensitive to Jews.

The other main topic he’ll talk about, mostly during his Saturday lunch and learn session is a letter from George Washington to the Jews of Newport, R.I.

The letter, which Sarna said champions “no sanction for persecution and insists that it’s not just toleration that will (create) religious liberty in the United States. It’s an inherent natural right.”

Sarna will tie that letter into a discussion of how Judaism developed in the early years of this country.

“I don’t think most American Jews have had the opportunity to learn a lot about their history,” Sarna said. “My sense is that many people don’t realize the extent to which Jews were a part of America’s history from the colonial period onward and what the central aspects of that history are and why that’s important.”

According to Sarna, both Washington’s letter and Grant’s order are important to consider when one examines the growth of American Judaism.

“George Washington’s letter helps shape a certain kind of America in terms of the religious character he helped to define. Similarly, General Order 11 was a central issue in the 1868 election when Grant ran for president,” Sarna said.

As a first generation American, Sarna said his interest in history was natural.

“Someone once claimed I went into the one field my father, who was a famous scholar, knew nothing about. But I’ve really been interested in American Jewish history going on 40 years,” he said. “It’s about how Jewish history in the United States was intertwined with the history of the country as a whole … Jews have a played a significant role at different moments in American history, a role that members of the Jewish community should know about (and) anyone (studying) American history should know about.”

Sarna said he’s excited to be speaking at B’nai Jehudah, as he has admired the book local author Frank Adler wrote about the synagogue’s history, which he called “one of the finest synagogue histories we have.”

“Anyone who really wants to understand the history of the synagogue can read his volume, which is based on really fabulous research,” Sarna said. “He understands the significance of the history of the congregation for understanding the history of American Judaism in general.”

Professor Sarna’s schedule of events

Jonathan Sarna will be speaking throughout the weekend of Nov. 16-17 at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Events include:

Friday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m. Sarna will give the sermon at Erev Shabbat Services.

Saturday, Nov. 17, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Morning service with a d’var Torah from Sarna. He will speak again at a Kiddush lunch and study session after worship.

Those wishing to attend the lunch and learn, which is free, should call 913-663-4050 to reserve a spot.

The religious rights of women in Israel may have just recently come to the surface of public opinion here in the United States. But women’s rights have long been one of the focuses of acclaimed artist Andi Arnovitz’s work. Arnovitz, who was born in Kansas City and moved to Israel in 1999, spent some time in the area late this summer visiting her parents, Sylvia and Marshall LaVine, and discussing her art.

Arnovitz has always been an artist, pointing out that one of her role models was her art teacher at the old Meadowbrook Junior High School. She has high praise for her high school alma mater, Shawnee Mission East, as well.

“I still think Shawnee Mission East’s art program is one of the best high school art programs ever,” she said. “The fact that we did jewelry and ceramics and print making …. That was an incredible education and a phenomenal program.”

Armed with the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree she earned from Washington University in St. Louis in 1981, Arnovitz entered the world of advertising, working for some big-name agencies such as Darcy, MacManus, Masius in Atlanta and Ogilvy and Mather in New York, where she served as art director.

Along the way she met and married David Arnovitz, and following the birth of her third child — the Arnovitzes have five children — she quit the advertising business and started “making art.” She’s made quite a name for herself in Israel, the United States and around the world.

“A lot of what I’m doing now is incredibly labor intensive, so the pieces are very expensive. I would say that I sell regularly, but I’m also now a little less interested in selling and a lot more interested in participating in museum shows,” Arnovitz said.

Over the years Arnovitz has been featured in more than a dozen different articles in such publications as Christian Science Monitor and Tablet magazine. The Arnovitz home, which she and her husband built in Jerusalem and includes a third-floor art studio, has even been featured in The New York Times. In the article Arnovitz described the home as “another art project.”

Arnovitz has exhibited her work in England, the United States, Israel, Spain, Poland, Finland, France, Lithuania, Canada and Bulgaria. She has had many one-woman shows and participated in multiple group shows. Her work is in many private collections in both the United States and in Europe. She is represented in Jerusalem by several galleries and her work is currently featured at three museums: Hebrew Union College in New York, BayCrest in Toronto and the Museum of Art in Ein Harod.

When Arnovitz first moved to Israel, she created a lot of prints about Jerusalem.

“They were these romanticized, graphic collages of things that I thought were particularly seductive about Jerusalem like old buildings and arched windows and pomegranates,” explained the woman who grew up as a Reform Jew and now describes her family as shomrei mitzvot.

Arnovitz’s work now is more often centered on various tensions in Israel that exist within religion, gender and politics.

“The things that I am doing now are not pretty. They are highly conceptual. There is an aesthetic to them, but they are not easy pieces. In the very beginning it was almost like I was trying to convince myself how beautiful this place was I was living in. They were overly romanticized, attractive things to go on the wall. I don’t do that at all now,” Arnovitz said.

A lot of her work has something to do with women’s issues.

“I didn’t start out to do this, but I’m definitely a feminist artist because everything I do is from a woman’s point of view,” she noted.

One featuring a woman’s view is a series of coats devoted to agunot, the so-called “chained women.” According to Jewish law, agunot cannot remarry due to their husbands’ refusal to grant a divorce, or inconclusive evidence of a husband’s death. To make these coats, Arnovitz obtained and digitally copied hundreds of ketubot (marriage contracts), and tore them into small pieces. With thread she affixed the fragments onto massive paper coats. The sleeves, hems and collars were sewn shut, and the threads, evidence of her painstaking process, were left hanging, a metaphor for the agunah herself.

“She is completely trapped by this piece of paper. I made the coat out of paper because it’s a piece of paper (her ketubah) that’s wrecked her life and it’s a piece of paper (the get or divorce decree) she’s waiting for,” the artist explained.

She uses a variety of mediums for her art. She uses etching, digital information and various printmaking processes, as well as fabric and thread to create large-scale dimensional paper garments.

Arnovitz uses a lot of fabric and thread in her artwork, and that natural affinity for textiles can be traced back to the days of her youth when she spent time at LaVine’s Fabrics, a shop owned by her father and her grandmother, Sonia LaVine.

“There are threads in almost everything I do. There is a deep love of fiber but I think because I was an art director in advertising I’m very obsessed about ideas and concepts. So when I work I do a lot of double-checking, (determining if) this is the right media to transmit the idea. I don’t automatically go to fabric and I don’t automatically go to paper. I think, ‘which is the most powerful vehicle to carry the idea?’ ”

“Right now I am a little bit obsessed with the idea of mending in terms of repair and pushing that concept in terms of repairing realities, like political situations,” she continued.

Many of her works feature textiles and papers that she has wound, wrapped and tied. She believes those methods are quintessential Jewish acts.

“I think when you do a close investigation of Jewish ritual you will find those motions repeated over and over again. For example we roll and wind the Torah. We bind the Torah. We braid challot. We wrap tefillin. We draw the Shabbat lights toward our eyes in this motion three times,” she explained. “Even the chevra kadisha (where she was a member in Atlanta) has a very ritualized way of tying knots on a shroud. To me, a lot of what I do in my art is something that is repeated over and over again in Jewish ritual.”

When she originally went to Jerusalem in 1999, Arnovitz thought it was simply for a sabbatical. But she loves living there.

“I would say for me the most compelling thing is that we made incredible friends. For some reason Jerusalem just has incredible people, idealistic people, professors and scholars and authors and poets and artists. There’s this enormous concentration of talent in Jerusalem. We just have really interesting and great friends, and their kids,” she said.

Midwest Center for Holocaust Education was honored Oct. 22 by Nonprofit Connect for its book, “Collective Voices.” Nonprofit Connect links the nonprofit community to education, resources and networking so organizations can more effectively achieve their missions.

“Collective Voices,” is MCHE’s writing project for children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. It won top honors in Unique Concept category, an award created just this year, at Nonprofit Connect’s Philly Award breakfast. Nonprofit Connect’s Liz Goyer said the book was honored because it “went above and beyond the mission of the organization,” which is to teach the history of the Holocaust, applying its lessons to counter indifference, intolerance and genocide.

“The judges felt the piece deserves to be honored. The Philly Awards Committee decided to introduce the Unique Concept category to make sure ‘Collective Voices,’ got the recognition it deserved. We look forward to continuing the category in the future as a special honor to organizations, recognizing organizations that use a less traditional path to create an impact for their organization and mission,” Goyer said.

Jean Zeldin, MCHE’s executive director, noted that, “To our knowledge, ‘Collective Voices’ is the only project of its kind nationally, providing succeeding generations with the opportunity to express their thoughts and experiences as children and grandchildren of survivors.”

Judges had high praise for the book, making such comments as:

“An inspiring collection of stories and other memories. There was a nice variety to the collection, including recipes, stories, and poems. The pictures were a great addition. Thank you for helping us never to forget!”

“I loved reading this. I poured over every word because the stories were so poignant. Clearly there is a huge appeal for this target audience, and hopefully, a much wider audience who could benefit from the stories being told.”

“This is an incredibly innovative and moving piece of work. I grew as a person by reading the stories, a few of which have stayed with me, and likely will for some time.”

The “Collective Voices” project was supervised by Fran Sternberg, MCHE’s director of university programs and adult education, and facilitated by Benjamin Furnish, editor of UMKC’s BkMk Press. The project was funded by the Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City. “Collective Voices” sells for $10 plus tax and is available at the MCHE office at the Jewish Community Campus on through its online store at mchekc.org.

After Hurricane Sandy, a storm of unprecedented magnitude, struck the eastern portion of the United States, the Jewish community and the Jewish Federation movement quickly took action to help with recovery and rebuilding on the East Coast.

Jewish Federation has established the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund to help with these efforts. One hundred percent of all donations to this fund will go directly to support disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

“We send our support and prayers to those affected by the hurricane, and we will stand beside them during the recovery and rebuilding through the generous emergency donations that are pouring in from many in Kansas City,” said Todd Stettner, Jewish Federation vice president and CEO.

Once the storm hit, after much prep work was done by Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), JFNA began communicating with affected Jewish Federations to assess damage and communal needs, and working with emergency response personnel from across the region. JFNA also began working with Jewish Federations across the United States — including Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City — to provide aid to contribute to recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

In conjunction with JFNA, Jewish Federations in the affected areas are working overtime with partner agencies and synagogues to help wherever possible. In the New York City area, the UJA/Jewish Federation of NY reports stories of dedication, including the Bronx Jewish Community Council’s Home Attendant Services homecare workers, who spent the night at its facility to ensure service to those in need on Monday, Oct. 29. At the same time, another partner agency, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation welcomed 19 new clients from an evacuated nursing home.

“What happened with UJA/Jewish Federation of New York reminds us how Jewish Federation remains the go-to Jewish organization during times of crisis. In New York City, thanks to support from Jewish Federation, the myriad Jewish services operated even though their headquarters were waterlogged or without power. These are simply more examples of why support from people like us, here in the middle of the country, is so vital to our network.”

To  donate online go to jewishkansascity.org, and click on the Hurricane Sandy link under the Latest News section. To donate via phone contact Gail Weinberg, director of financial resource development, at  913-327-8123. To donate via mail mail a check to Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115 Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211, Attn: Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. One hundred percent of donations to this fund will go directly to helping victims and emergency responders.

As part of its mission to sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world, JFNA and Jewish Federations are committed to care for victims of global natural disasters, and have emergency relief plans in place to aid those in immediate need. Through the network of 157 Jewish Federations across North America, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and Jewish Federation of St. Louis raised more than $250,000 to help Joplin tornado victims rebuild their lives.

Award-winning author Rita Roth, Ph.D., has just published a new book, “414 Pine Street.” It is available in both print and Kindle editions on amazon.com.

“I’ve been thinking about writing a book for a long time, but I wasn’t sure if it was for adults or young people,” Roth said in a recent interview.

Roth spent 20 years as an associate professor in the Education Department of Rockhurst University. During that time she wrote “The Power of Song and Other Sephardic Tales.” It was published by the Jewish Publication Society and received the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish family literature in 2007.

While the new book is classified as fiction, the author said it is “to some extent,” an autobiographical work.

“It’s really a memoir,” she said.

It is about a Jewish family who emigrated from Eastern Europe to a small town in Pennsylvania. The heroine Hannah is 9 years old in the book and was born in the United Staes. Like the author, Hannah’s three siblings — 13-year-old Frankie, Esther (Et for short), 17, and an older sister were born in the old country. The older sister is in New York, studying to be a nurse. The story focuses on the problems the family faces during the Depression.

“I was trying to capture what it was like in a small town during that time period.”

And capture she does in a very well-written, interesting novel for 9- to 12-year-olds.

“It was unusual in that the town was so open as far as different backgrounds went,” said Roth. “It was an ideal way to grow up in a very difficult time. Because of that, we all helped each other.”

In the book, the family shares resources and holds on to meaningful family projects as a way of coping with the tough times. They also turn to bartering. For example the family makes sauerkraut and hosenblozen (crispy twists of sweet dough deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar) to give and barter to the neighbors. They come home with watermelon rind, sugar cookies, spearmint candies, hard candies and oranges.

The family’s strength lies in the relationship between the mother and father and the projects they do together as they deal with adjustment to living in America, a small town and a community.

Roth said she’s received a lot of feedback already. “Adults who lived through that period felt very connected to the book.”

Roth volunteers at a local charter school and students there have heard sections from the book. The author said they can relate to the themes.

“Many of the children are in families where their parents have lost their jobs, so they understand some ideas about the economic situation in the book,” she said.

Roth’s own five grandchildren, ages 9 to 17, have also read or are reading the book.

“Kids are very aware today and are exposed to so much stuff, they’re pretty savvy about what’s going on,” Roth said, noting the book appeals to both children and adults.

TEDx ENERGIZES COMMUNITY — The license holder for TEDx in Overland Park is a Jewish woman, Sherri Jacobs. Jacobs, an art therapist by trade, said the independent events are part of a global movement devoted to bringing “Ideas Worth Spreading” to communities around the globe. The widely popular events are meant to inspire conversation, prompt innovation and create connections in the areas of technology, entertainment and design. All the speeches are recorded and placed on the TEDx website, www.ted.com. The Oct. 17 event featured Jay Lewis, KU Hillel’s executive director, as emcee and Alana Muller as one of the five featured speakers. Several members of the steering committee are also Jewish: Kristin Schultz, Celeste Aronoff, David Horesh, and Lainie Decker.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE — We’ve reported on Dr. Jordan Metzl’s activities several times now. This past Sunday the Kansas City native who is one of New York’s most respected sports medicine docs expected to run his 30th marathon. Instead he organized more than 1,000 runners to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy in Staten Island, N.Y. They passed out food, water, batteries, flashlights and prepaid mobile phones to people affected by the biggest storm in Atlantic Ocean history. More than one national news organization, including Bloomberg.com and NBC news, covered Dr. Metzl’s efforts.

HOME TOUR FEATURES CHANUKAH — Chanukah will be featured in one home at the Johnson County Young Matrons 21st Annual Home for the Holidays Tour, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. The upper floor of the home located at 16120 Lucille in Mills Farm will be decorated for Chanukah. The first floor will feature New Year’s decorations. “Putting on the Glitz,” a special event dinner and fashion show is scheduled the night before the tour. To purchase tickets visit the website at www.jcym.net.

ISRAELI CLARINETIST COMING TO KC — Israeli jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen has released her sixth album as a bandleader. “Claroscuro” takes its title from the Spanish word describing the play of light and shade (chiaroscuro in Italian). The new album features Jason Linder, Joe Martin and Daniel Freedman as well. With this new CD, the Pittsburgh Tribune said she breathes new life into the jazz clarinet and is rapidly becoming one of the best clarinetists in jazz. The album is available on her own label, Anzic Records, or at amazon.com. Voted Clarinetist of the Year by DownBeat readers in 2010 and 2011, she will perform in Kansas City on Dec. 14 at the Folly Theater. For ticket information, visit www. follytheater.com or call 816-474-4444 .

After 35 years as a pediatrician in Kansas City, Dr. Michael Blum is hanging up his stethoscope.

He and his wife, Jenifer, initially came to Kansas City so he could attend medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. They left for an internship in New Jersey but returned when he landed a residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

“Kansas City provided a lot of opportunities for me,” he said.

Since he retired this summer, Blum has seen an outpouring of affection from former patients — some of whom had brought their own kids to him when they needed a pediatrician.

“Many of the kids brought old pictures … many patients sent me thank you notes and well wishes with a lot of their stories over the years ... about how I have affected their lives and the lives of their children,” he said. “I’ve had second generations of families come to me. That’s an exciting part of my journey.”

Other fond memories he has include performing magic tricks for children, both in office and in hospital wards, and having an impact on safety issues for kids. Twelve years ago, he appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show to promote his program that gave free gun locks to families.

“If you have the opportunity, you can talk to a child about wearing a bike helmet or brushing their teeth or eating the right foods or getting exercise. You can influence their life at a much earlier age,” he said.

He is proud of the practice he’s built, Pediatric Partners, that will continue to function under the guidance of other doctors, and the effect he’s had on the health of children in the community.

“Oftentimes during my career, I would have to attend a delivery or come and see a very sick newborn, and being able to fix the problem and being able to tell a family that their baby is going to do well … is an exciting experience,” he said.

Blum, also a mohel in the community for about eight years, will maintain his medical licenses in Kansas, Missouri and Texas so he can continue providing the community with that service.

Although Blum was already performing circumcisions as part of his pediatric duties, he first came to the attention of then-director of Reform Judaism’s Brit Milah program Rabbi Neal Schuster while pursuing adult education in Judaism through the Melton courses. Rabbi Schuster encouraged him to take a course in the religious aspects of the procedure.

At the time, the Kansas City area only had one mohel, and Rabbi Schuster was looking for someone who knew the medical procedure and was really interested in Judaism.

“This is a guy who is a mensch. He’s serious about his Judaism, and he’s really skilled at circumcision,” Rabbi Schuster said. “I couldn’t imagine someone who would be more of an ideal person to become a mohel. He really is able to connect with people in a way that not only sets them at ease and makes them feel very comfortable throughout (the process) but gives them a sense of meaning.”

In addition to being a mohel, Dr. Blum has been very active in the Jewish community. A member of many area synagogues, he’s been president and is currently on the board of Congregation Beth Torah, stayed involved with the Melton adult education programs, done guest lectures for the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and worked with Boy Scout Troop 61 at Congregation Beth Shalom.

“When Jenifer and I came to Kansas City in 1969, we didn’t know anybody, and we’ve been able to become involved with not only the Jewish community but the many parts of the greater Kansas City area,” he said. “I just want to thank everyone for their help in making our journey through Kansas City and in pediatrics be as memorable, fun and successful as it has been.”

The Blums will stay in the Kansas City area, but he plans to spend more time visiting his two children, Deanna and Steve, and five grandchildren, all in Dallas, and focus on some of his hobbies, including magic and photography.

Rabbi Avraham (Avi) Weiss, the founder and president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School and senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (New York), will be Kehilath Israel Synagogue’s scholar in residence the weekend of Nov. 9. This is the first weekend of the new Caviar Family Jewish Scholar in Residence Series.

For the fifth consecutive year, Rabbi Weiss was named among the top 50 influential rabbis in the United States by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, ranking him No. 11 in 2012. The magazine noted that as senior rabbi at the 850-member Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Rabbi Weiss is considered the father of “Open Orthodoxy,” which maintains strict observance while also expanding its definition. He founded YCT in 1999 and one of its graduates, K.I.’s new senior Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, was also listed among the 2012 top rabbis in the country at No. 40. In 2009 he founded Yeshiva Maharat, the first seminary for Orthodox women spiritual leaders.

Rabbi Weiss is no stranger to activism and served as the National Chairman of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, and is the National President of AMCHA — the Coalition for Jewish Concerns. He has also authored two books: “Women at Prayer: A Halakhic Analysis of Women’s Prayer Groups” and “Principles of Spiritual Activism.”

The rabbi will make five presentations at K.I. The schedule, and his topics, include:

Friday night, Nov. 9: 7 to 7:30 p.m. — “Spiritual Activism!”

Shabbat morning sermon, Nov.10, 10:30 a.m. — “Love & Growth: Human Relationships!”

Shabbat afternoon (se’udah shlisheet), 5 p.m. — “Open Orthodoxy”

Saturday night kumzitz (songs and story-telling), 6 to 6:30 p.m.

Sunday morning, Nov. 11, 10 to 11 a.m. —“Challenges facing the Jewish people today”

All events are free and open to the entire community. For more information call the K.I. office at 913-642-1880.

“Physics Can Be Fatal,” by Elissa D. Grodin, Cozy Cat Press, available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com in paperback, Kindle and Nook

Meet Edwina Goodman, a young university physics professor, and Detective Will Tenney as they solve the death of esteemed visiting physics professor Alan Sidebottom in “Physics Can Be Fatal,” by Elissa D. Grodin.

This is Grodin’s first adult novel, after having written several children’s books, and the book is getting good reviews on Amazon.

“I always wanted to be a novelist, but for mysterious reasons I don’t really understand, I did not find a voice for [adult] fiction until very recently,” Grodin said in a telephone interview from her home in Connecticut.

Grodin said Edwina Goodman is her alter ego (notice they even have the same initials). She chose a university physics department as the setting of her novel because “it’s different … I wanted to try to do something a little bit original.”

“As a girl, I wanted to be an astronomer, but I really stink at math because my brain just won’t go that way,” she said. “I’m kind of a physics buff. I love cosmology and physics and astronomy; it gets me very excited. So if I couldn’t be one myself, I was going to create a character who was smart enough to do it.”

The daughter of Stan Durwood, founder of AMC Entertainment, Grodin grew up in Prairie Village. While not observant Jews, she said her family observed holidays with their cousins, who belonged to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Passover seders were a highlight of her childhood, she said.

“We had our seders at Oakwood Country Club; that’s a great memory.”

Grodin said it was fun being Durwood’s daughter. She and her five siblings got to see lots of free movies, including screenings of movies not yet released.

“The most striking thing about him was his life drive. He was just the most driven and full of life guy I think I’ve ever met in my life,” Grodin said. “That was exciting because it’s contagious. It’s exciting to be around someone who has such a strong life drive.”

Writing children’s books came about serendipitously, Grodin said. She had written a manuscript of poetry for children, which she also illustrated, and a publisher saw the manuscript.

“They didn’t ask me to publish it, but they asked me to do some books for them and that’s how the children’s books came about,” she said. “I was very, very happy to do those … but adult fiction is what I’ve always wanted to do, so I’m really grateful that it finally came out of me.”

For her first adult novel, she chose mystery because she loves the genre and believes it is underrated.

“My mother was a huge mystery buff and so I think it has something to do with that. It’s a way of being attached to her,” Grodin said. (Her mother passed away two-and-a-half years ago.) “She introduced me to Agatha Christie when I was a teenager. [And] somebody like Wilkie Collins, it doesn’t get any better than that. He and Agatha Christie are sort of at the top of the mountain for me. But I love a good story and that’s really the reason.”

The Durwood household was full of storytelling. Grodin said either her parents were reading to their children or they were going to movies.

“So there were just stories, stories, stories. There has to be a really good page-turningly good story and that’s what I love [about mysteries],” she said. “In college I was a kind of pseudo-serious literature student, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to value a great story over something that’s just very highly literate. I hope that’s not sacrilegious.

“If it’s good, you will learn something about human nature and that is the ultimate; that is the point of all art, to learn something about human nature. Because the more you learn about that, the more tolerant you become and the better world it would be.”

Grodin says she tries to incorporate the Jewish idea of tikkun olam (repairing the world) into her writing.

“If everybody did their thing with a view to improving their little corner of the world, how great would that be? So I try to do that with my work,” she said. “I don’t like gory, graphic forensic stuff because I just find it gratuitously violent. A good mystery can be uplifting, you just feel good somehow. It’s my little tiny microscopic way of doing good.”

In addition to loving physics, Grodin said she also is fascinated with academic life, which comes from teaching at University College London and working as a research assistant at Dartmouth College. She said academics is “so pure. It’s kind of like the ideas or the commodity gets them excited and I like that quality in people.”

Doing project research for professors was like solving a mystery, Grodin said. “It was so much fun. So, I guess I was a detective from way back.”

Grodin said she plans to make “Physics Can Be Fatal” the first in a series of books with Edwina and Will. “I’m working on the second one … and for this one I’m going to bring in all my movie background. The working title is ‘Murder at the Film Society.’ ”

Grodin is married to Charles Grodin, actor/writer/CBS radio news commentator. They met when she interviewed him for American Film Magazine. She said at the end of the interview, he asked her to marry him. “It must have been beshert,” she said, because they’ve been married for 29 years. They have one son, Nicholas, 25, and live in Connecticut and New York City.

KOLLEL GETS ITS OWN PLACE — The Community Kollel of Kansas City was formed in 2007 and up until now the group of rabbis — now consisting of Rosh Kollel Rabbi Yehuda Sokoloff, Rabbi Binyomin Davis, Rabbi Elchanan Schulgasser and Rabbi Avi Feigenbaum — wandered throughout the Jewish Community Campus. The organization held classes at the Campus and studied and had office space at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. But now the Kollel has a home of its own. Its new office suite is located at 6400 W. 110th Street, Suite 204, very near the Overland Park Convention Center. The Kollel rabbis are now studying in their own beit midrash, which is home to one of the best Talmudic libraries in the Midwest thanks to a gift from Aaron Robinow. Weekly classes will now take place in the conference room at the new Kollel center. To see a complete schedule of Kollel classes, visit www.kckollel.org.

REACHING OUT FROM WITHIN TO HONOR FRIED — For 30 years, SuEllen Fried has helped prison inmates find ways to change their lives to become better spouses, parents, neighbors and citizens. In 1982 Fried co-founded Reaching Out from Within, along with Greg Musselman (who is now deceased), and since that time thousands of incarcerated men and women have participated in weekly discussions with a curriculum about child abuse, spouse abuse, addiction, anger management and other topics that touch the roots of violence in their lives. Fried will be honored for her 30 years of dedicated service to Reaching Out from Within at 6 p.m. Nov. 15, at the Overland Park Sheraton. For more information regarding tickets, table sponsorships, or the organization visit http://www.rofw.org.

CHANUKAH ART CONTEST — Students in grades K through eight are encouraged to enter the 16th annual Chanukah Art Contest sponsored by The Chronicle and The Chabad House Center. The grand prize is an iPad. Entrants will be divided into two age categories — grades K-4 and 5-8. Students must live in the greater Kansas City or surrounding areas (Lawrence, Topeka and St. Joseph) to be eligible. Photos of the winners will be published in the Dec. 6 edition.

All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26. Art projects must be original and relate to the story or celebration of Chanukah. They may be either two- or three-dimensional (for example painting, drawing, craft or sculpture). The top finishers in each of the grade-level categories will be awarded an iTouch. A student is not eligible to win the grand prize two consecutive years.

Entries must include the student’s name, grade, religious school name (if applicable), home address and telephone number. Entries will not be returned. Entries will be available for pickup until the end of the year at Chabad House.

Entries may be dropped off now through Nov. 26 at Chabad House Center of Kansas City: 6201 Indian Creek Drive, Overland Park, KS 66211.

The decision of the judges (staff members of The Chronicle and Chabad House) shall be final.

For questions or more information, visit www.ChabadKC.org or call the Chabad House, 913-649-4852 or email .

WRJ SH’MA SMACKDOWN AT BETH TORAH — In response to the arrest last week of Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, for leading prayer in a tallit at the Western Wall, the Union of Reform Judaism’s Women of Reform Judaism has stated that, “If government officials in any other corner of the world tried to prevent us from praying in our own voice, wearing our chosen ritual garb or worshipping freely, we would not be silent. We certainly will not tolerate it from Jewish extremists who have been empowered by the government of Israel to wrest control of our holiest site.” As a public response WRJ is suggesting women take part in a Sh’ma Smackdown by creating a video of women (just yourself or a small group) saying the Sh’ma. Send your videos and photos to WRJ at , where they will be compiled and posted on the WRJ Facebook page. After worship tomorrow night, Friday, Nov. 2, Congregation Beth Torah will video every woman who wants to participate in the Sh’ma Smackdown, wearing a tallit and singing the Sh’ma. Beth Torah will send the video to the WRJ, IRAC and the government of Israel.