The Reform movement and the Central Conference of American Rabbis is piloting a new High Holiday machzor (prayer book) and Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka is one of about 70 congregations that used the new Kol Nidre service last week. No other congregation in the Kansas City area participated in the pilot.

Rabbi Debbie Stiel said this is the first major rewriting the Reform movement has done on its High Holiday prayer book in more than 100 years. The rabbi of the 110-member congregation believes it was time for the Reform movement to revise its High Holiday machzor.

“I’m grateful that this congregation wanted to give this a try,” she said.

One of the rabbis responsible for the new machzor is Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, a Kansas City native who is senior rabbi at Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Fla. As he notes in Beth Sholom’s monthly newsletter, “The Gates of Repentance,” has been the Reform movement’s main prayer book since 1978. He continued that while it had some new readings and prayers in it, “the Reform movement hasn’t put a machzor together from scratch since 1894, just revisions.”

Rabbi Stiel said she believes her congregation enjoyed the revisions.

“I think it went pretty well. Anytime you use a new prayer book there’s a certain learning curve and with this one there were so many options it was a little hard to judge how much to put in and how much to leave out,” she said.

According to the committee putting together the new machzor, this new book is expected to be the Reform movement’s indispensable manual and guide for the High Holy Days.

“We aim to create a machzor that will serve Reform Jews as they seek repentance, new direction and a sense of return to God and the Jewish people,” notes the committee in the machzor’s vision statement.

Like “Mishkan T’fillah,” the Reform machzor that debuted a few years ago for Shabbat and weekday services, this machzor is largely gender neutral and provides both traditional prayers and optional, contemporary exploration of the traditional themes.

“People seemed to really like the options and the gender-neutral language. Most of the responses we’ve gotten have been very positive,” Rabbi Stiel said.

This is the second year congregations across the country have been testing different services in the new book. Another portion of the book will be tested next year.

Several members of Beth Sholom’s Religious Services Committee saw the draft of the Kol Nidre service before it was used. Since the draft includes several options, much like “Mishkan T’fillah,” some members of this committee presented the rabbi with feedback even before the book was used at worship.

In her monthly message to members via the temple newsletter, Rabbi Stiel urged congregants to keep an open mind about the new prayer book during the service.

“Anytime we change something that becomes as standard and familiar to us as our prayer book, it takes time to adjust to it. Lots of the prayers we will say on erev Yom Kippur will be the same ones we have always said. But in some instances we will try the more interpretive options. I hope the new words will add meaningful new insights for all of us. Once again we Jews will be taking what is foundational in our faith and adding our layer to it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it,” she wrote.

The rabbi, who pointed out that the congregation’s participation in this pilot was covered by the Topeka Capital Journal newspaper, said she personally liked many of the alternative reading selections, contemporary and traditional prayers and gender sensitive translations.

“There were some nice study pieces about forgiveness,” she said. “There is also some really nice poetry and different meditation pieces that reflected on a whole range of themes, but they were great for thinking about for the High Holy Days.”

The only thing she really did not like was the translation of the Kol Nidre.

“In the Reform movement’s current machzor, ‘Gates of Repentance,’ the translation for Kol Nidre says ‘let all our vows and oaths … we incur to You, O God, between this Yom Kippur and the next, be null and void should we, after honest effort, find ourselves unable to fulfill them.’ The current draft machzor says “All vows … which we promise and swear to God … let all of them be discarded and forgiven. …” Nowhere in this new translation does it say anything about us trying first to keep our promises before discarding them. That struck me and others as a serious omission. So I hope that will change by the time the CCAR creates its permanent new machzor.

Rabbis and members of congregations who piloted the service, including some from Temple Beth Sholom, will give feedback to the committee regarding the service. Rabbi Stiel was scheduled to participate in a focus group conference call about the machzor earlier this week.

Rabbi Stiel said she believes the pilot service will be used at the temple again next year.

“We own these draft copies now so we will probably use them again next year, since people seemed to like them. Maybe we’ll pick some different selections from the book.”

“Arab Spring has now become Islamic Winter,” said Bret Stephens, the foreign affairs columnist of the Wall Street Journal, who will present the closing plenary at the AIPAC Kansas City Israel Action Forum on Oct. 21 at the Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

Stephens is an accomplished writer and commentator on Middle East affairs. In 2002, at age 28, he became the youngest editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post. After spending almost three years at the Post, he returned to the United States as a columnist for the Journal.

“I got to know Israel quite well, and my oldest daughter was born there,” Stephens said. “So my ties to Israel are permanent. But home for me is the United States. The Journal is a magnificent paper, which gives my issues broader airing.”

Raised in Mexico City, Stephens attended the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics. He was honored as the Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2004 and in 2008 received the Evie Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism.

Speaking about “In the Eye of the Storm: Israel and the New Middle East,” Stephens has strong views about what is happening in the Middle East and the role of the United States, as well as the recent issues surrounding the “movie trailer” that has caused an uproar in many Muslim nations. His thoughts regarding a variety of subjects follow.

Current uprisings in the Muslim world over the movie trailer:
Stephens: “In this issue of the Mohammed movie trailer … you have an administration that has publically apologized for a video that is not really the cause of the violence. The video was an excuse. The U.S. should explain what free speech is about, not apologize when a vulgar piece attracts attention. … This is NOT ‘yelling fire in a theater,’ this is an inevitable happening in a free society where you have 314 Americans expressing their views in a non-stop cacophony. That a little movie, which might not even be a movie, is the real cause of this uprising is not right. This was a pretense for people actively seeking a reason to murder Americans and denounce the U.S. Free speech often has to be defended precisely at that moment when it is the most indefensible.”

Syria uprisings:
“What is happening there is both an abdication of American principle and is at variance with our best interests in the regions. Thousands of people are being massacred, while we refuse to do there what we did in Libya. Syria has become the proving ground between the West and its allies, and Iran. Iran invests itself in Syria. If it loses Assad (Bashar al-Assad), it (Iran) will lose touch with Hezbollah. So they are doing what they can to protect their interests through Assad. They do not want him to fail.

“The US has the ability to create a no-fly zone and prevent acts like the aerial bombing of a gas station and of Lebanon. Obama is not doing this, and it would take little to create a no-fly zone.”

Iran:
“The fundamental challenge that Israel faces is Iran and its bid to be a nuclear weapon state. A case for stopping Iran is a moral case. A country that can put a stone in its right hand and stone a woman to death cannot have a weapon in its left hand that it can use against its victims. The case for acting against Iran is a hawkish, conservative view. But it should be a liberal view because you don’t want the most homophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic regime in the world to have access to these weapons.”

Israel security:
“Israel’s security situation has become much worse. The southern front is now a problem. There are loose chemical weapons in Syria. Iran might be able to tip toe across the finish line of nuclear weapons. The formal peace agreement with Egypt is almost a dead letter. Turkey is not an ally anymore. Israel is in a very perilous state.

“But it is also a very powerful, resourceful and intelligent country. Am I worried about Israel’s security prospects, yes. But, I am confident Israel can take care of itself.”

U. S. relationship with Israel/Egypt:
“I do not think on balance that the policies of this administration have been helpful to Israel.

“I think the Obama administration thinks of themselves as friends of Israel and are sincere about it. But I wish I could persuade them that they could be better friends with their policies.

“I think in the long run, the United States and Egypt will not have a productive relationship. The attitudes of the Muslim Brotherhood are deeply hostile to the United States.”

Efforts to delegitimize Israel:
“This delegitimize bit, which is its own form of anti-Semitism because it singles out the Jewish nation, has become tragically a popular cause among those who call themselves progressive and liberal. And no real progressive and liberal can be anything but a supporter of the only country in the Middle East that supports progressive values like democracy, free speech, women’s rights, judicial fairness and accountability for rulers.

“Israel makes an effort to combat issues. It is not a utopia. But it is a country where people have a reasonable chance to make a difference for their country. Liberal democracies are not perfect, but can fight for a more perfect union.”

AIPAC:
“I think it (AIPAC) is an organization that does extremely important work. The people involved are exemplary citizens for promoting, on a bipartisan basis, to ensure a bond between the United States and Israel. I appreciate the caliber of my audience and the intelligence of the questions. The real satisfaction is that the people who come really get what is going on. They give me more than I am able to give them in terms of feedback and insight.”

About AIPAC Forum

Noted Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and Baptist minister the Rev. Dee Dee Coleman will headline the AIPAC Israel Action Forum from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Advanced registration is preferred. For more information or to register, call Tali Jubelirer in AIPAC’s Chicago office at 312-253-8984 or email . To register online, visit: www.aipac.org/KCForum2012.

Great films with a Jewish twist will be featured at the 14th annual Kansas City Jewish Film Festival, which kicks off Saturday night, Oct. 13, and continues through Sunday, Oct. 21. All films will be screened at the White Theatre unless otherwise noted. Seven narrative and documentary films were chosen. Guest speakers include KU Hillel’s Rabbi Neal Schuster and Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

The 14th Annual Kansas City Jewish Film Festival program is posted in its entirety at www.kcjff.org, along with preview clips and links for ticket purchase.

Tickets for individual films or a festival pass are available online at kcjff.org or by calling the box office 913-327-8054. Box office hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. All films are general admission; festival pass holders are seated 10 minutes before general public.

For further information contact Krista Blackwood, director of cultural Arts at 913-327-8073 or .

‘Remembrance’

Saturday, Oct. 13 — 7:30 p.m.
Director: Anna Justice | Germany/Poland/USA 2011 | 105 min
English, German and Polish; English subtitles
Sponsored by Deb and Mike Gill
Free dessert reception to follow film

In this epic romance spanning three decades, a Polish partisan and German Jewish woman forge an unshakeable bond in the dark shadow of the Holocaust. After a daring escape from a Nazi death camp, Tomasz and a pregnant Hannah are forcibly separated in the chaos of war, each convinced the other has died. The events of 1944 Poland are crosscut with 1976 Brooklyn, where an older Hannah — now a married mother — glimpses a television interview that rocks her to the core. The stunning realization that her lost love may still be alive triggers a spiral of unresolved emotions and moral ambiguities as Hannah must now confront her unresolved past. Based on actual events, ‘Remembrance’ is a heartfelt journey told with restraint and compassion.

‘The Rescuers’

Sunday, Oct. 14 — 2 p.m.
Discussion Following: Scott Miller, Director of Curatorial Affairs,United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Director: Michael King | USA 2012 | 94 min | English
Sponsored in honor of Dr. Jonathan Chilton

Many heroes defied the Nazis to save countless Jews, chief among them the 12 diplomats whose efforts are documented in this riveting documentary from award winning filmmaker Michael King and Producer Joyce D. Mandell. The film traces the journey of Stephanie Nyombayire, a young Rwandan anti-genocide activist who teams up with Sir Martin Gilbert, the renowned Holocaust historian, to travel across 15 countries and three continents interviewing survivors and descendants of the diplomats who rescue tens of thousands of Jews from the unspeakable horrors of the Nazi death camps. While Nyombayire embarks upon this quest in an effort to uncover potential solutions for the ongoing genocide in Darfur and elsewhere, what emerges from their journey is a testament to the ways in which the inherent good in the human spirit can trump institutional evil.

‘A Serious Man’

Monday, Oct. 15 — 7:30 p.m.
Discussion following featuring Rabbi Neal Schuster, KU Hillel
Directors: Ethan and Joel Cohen | USA 2009 | 106 min | English
Sponsored by Robin and Bill Carr

Imaginatively exploring questions of faith, familial responsibility, delinquent behavior, dental phenomena, academia, mortality and Judaism — and intersections thereof — “A Serious Man” is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity. It is 1967 and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, facing a myriad of challenging difficulties, struggles to find balance. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person — a mensch — a serious man?

‘Jews and Baseball — An American Love Story’

Wednesday, Oct. 17 —7 p.m.
Discussion following featuring  Bob Kendrick, president, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Director: Peter Miller | USA 2010 | 91 min | English
Sponsored by Scott Slabotsky

“Jews and Baseball” explores the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, our nation’s most iconic institution. More than a film about sports, it is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, traditions and the shattering of stereotypes.


‘This Is Sodom’

Saturday, Oct. 20 — 8 p.m.
Directors: Adam Sanderson and Muli Segev | Israel | 2010 | 88 min | Hebrew with subtitles
Sponsored by the Alon family in memory of Michal Alon
This film will screen in the Social Hall

The biggest box office hit in Israel in 25 years, “This Is Sodom” is a raucous and bawdy comedy. As God’s wrath draws closer, Abraham, Lot, the Sodomites and even the avenging angels are seduced by the decadent delights of the most famous Sin City in history. Skewering everything from religious figures, reality TV, game shows, musicals and vapid celebrities to contemporary Israeli culture, the cast of the comedy troupe Eretz Nehederet (the Israeli “Saturday Night Live”) leaves no sacred cow unslaughtered.

‘The Yankles’

Sunday, Oct. 21 — 4 p.m.
Director: David R. Brooks | USA 2009 | 115 min | English
Sponsored by Trudy and John Jacobson

Back by popular demand, “The Yankles” is the story of an upstart, Orthodox yeshiva baseball team that earns a ticket to compete in the college world series. Their coach, Charlie Jones, is an ex-major league center fielder on parole and desperate to fulfill his community service. While “The Yankles” strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships, and, in the process, finds redemption.

‘Le Concert’

Sunday, Oct. 21 — 8 p.m.
Director: Radu Mihaileanu | France/ Russia 2009 | 119 min
French and Russian with subtitles

Thirty years ago the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra was fired for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a janitor at the Bolshoni, he mops the stage where he once conducted. One day he intercepts an invitation for the Bolshoi to play in Paris and decides to gather together his old orchestra musicians to perform in Paris in the place of the current Bolshoi orchestra. “Le Concert” is a crowd- engaging, emotionally stirring film that will leave you cheering!

FOOD PANTRY NEEDS VOLUNTEERS — Jewish Family Services new food pantry opens this week and it still needs volunteers to help sort the food that was donated during the High Holiday Food Drive. Anyone interested in volunteering can call JFS at 913-327-8250 or email JFS staff member Adrienne Kizer () to sign up for a time to sort starting on Oct. 10. The JFS Food Pantry will offer both a Vaad-supervised kosher food option and a non-kosher option. JFS is also accepting financial contributions, donations of non-perishable food, and there are terrific volunteer opportunities as well. If you can’t volunteer Oct. 10, there are plenty of other volunteer opportunities available so please, give Adrienne a call!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY — A gala last weekend at Johnson County Community College marked the 20th anniversary of the Oppenheimer Collection, now housed at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. For the past two decades, Marti and Tony Oppenheimer, who graced the cover of our own 2010 Guide to Jewish Life, have donated more than 150 major works of contemporary art to the college. “The Oppenheimer Collection is now synonymous with the Nerman Museum,” said Bruce Hartman, the museum’s executive director. “It is the foundation upon which our permanent collection rests. Do-Ho Suh’s sculpture ‘Some/One’ is an icon for the museum just as Jonathan Borofsky’s ‘Walking Man’ is a signature work for the entire campus.”

CULINARY GENIUS — The Johnson County Community College culinary team won the grand prize in the International Foodservice Expo 2012 student team competition held during the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show last month in Orlando, Fla. Team member Adam Glass lives in Overland Park and is a member of the Jewish community. Ten teams competed in the competition and it included a knife skill and butchery test, followed by preparation of a four-course hot meal for four people, done in 75 minutes in front of American Culinary Federation certified judges including two master chefs.

The presidents of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City have jointly announced that the Jewish Heritage Foundation has become a supporting organization of the Jewish Community Foundation. In making the decision to reorganize itself as a supporting foundation and create a formal affiliation with the Community Foundation, Heritage Board President Merilyn Berenbom said, “As we move forward, we will have the opportunity to significantly increase our grants and further our mission. The Jewish Community Foundation will help us maximize our potential. That will result in much-needed positive dividends in our community.”

Jewish Community Foundation Board President Ron Goldsmith added that, “this affiliation will maximize the core competencies of both organizations and will promote a creative collaborative environment that will enhance grant-making in the Kansas City Jewish community. We look forward to a long and happy partnership.”

As part of this affiliation, Heritage Foundation staff will become employees of the Jewish Community Foundation and will office on the Jewish Community Campus. The move became official on Sept. 19. The Jewish Heritage Foundation may be reached at 913-981-8866.

Since 1959, the Jewish Community Foundation has been at the forefront of charitable giving in Kansas City. The Foundation has partnered with individuals, families and community organizations to help them achieve their philanthropic goals and to increase current and future support for a vibrant and secure Jewish community in Kansas City, Israel and around the world. During fiscal year 2011, the Jewish Community Foundation distributed more than $17.2 million in 2,800 separate grants to different Jewish and secular charitable organizations.

Created in 1994 when Menorah Medical Center joined Health Midwest, the Jewish Heritage Foundation remains deeply committed to Menorah’s tradition of healing and compassionate service. Over the past 16 years, the Jewish Heritage Foundation has distributed more than $37 million, with the majority of the funds going to Jewish agencies and programs.

“Whether we operate as a private foundation or a supporting organization,” Berenbom stated, “we are always Heritage. We will continue to operate with the values that have been inherent in our foundation and our predecessor, Menorah Hospital.”

For more information, contact the Jewish Community Foundation at 913-327-8245 or www.jcfkc.org; or the Jewish Heritage Foundation at 913-981-8866 or www.jhf-kc.org.

Effective Oct. 1, Dr. Daniel L. Scharf will be joining Saint Luke’s Cardiovascular Consultants, a division of the hospital’s award-winning Mid America Heart Institute, bringing with him his more than three decades of clinical cardiology experience. Many of Dr. Scharf’s more than 1,500 cardiology patients have been anxious to hear where they can continue to see him since his departure from his previous practice. He will primarily see patients at Saint Luke’s South, located at 12330 Metcalf in Overland Park, but will also be seeing patients at Saint Luke’s Plaza location at 4330 Wornall Road.

“I want to be available to as many of my patients as possible including those who live closer into town as well as those farther south,” said Dr. Scharf, who has been a cardiologist here in the Kansas City metro area for 35 years.

Dr. Scharf expressed his excitement for the move, citing Cardiovascular Consultants and Saint Luke’s track record of excellence in the field of cardiology.

“They have enormous capabilities in a wide variety of cardiovascular disciplines. I’m particularly impressed by the sheer volume of clinical research that is done regularly at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, which places them on a par with the great academic medical centers in our country.”

Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute publishes more academic papers than any other cardiology group in the region. The Mid America Heart Institute also features one of the 10 largest transplant programs in the country, staffs the largest team of cardiologists and surgeons in the region and has pioneered more than 115 cardiovascular research trials.

“Their advanced research capabilities will allow me to offer many of the new technologies available in cardiology to my patients and that is something that greatly appealed to me in making my decision to join Cardiovascular Consultants,” Dr. Scharf said.

Dr. Scharf first came to Kansas City in 1977 after serving two years in the United States Navy as a lieutenant commander. He founded Midwest Cardiology Associates in 1981, and during his career he has pioneered many major advances in heart care in this region. He introduced the first electrophysiology laboratory for studying and treating complex heart rhythm disturbances, the first two-dimensional echocardiography laboratory for studying structural heart problems and participated in the area’s first heart transplant as medical coordinator. He has been a leader in advancing the care of patients suffering heart attacks using angioplasty balloons and stent procedures to open clogged heart arteries. He is looking forward to working with his new colleagues at Saint Luke’s to further advance cardiovascular care for his patients.

Dr. Scharf earned his medical degree in a combined program at Albany Medical College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., in what was one of the first six-year medical school programs in the country. He completed his internship and residency at New York University-Bellevue Hospital and did his cardiology fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania.

Over the years Dr. Scharf and his wife Miriam have dedicated a significant amount of their time to the Kansas City Jewish and general communities. Dr. Scharf has served on the boards of the Jewish Heritage Foundation (president from 2006-2008), the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and the Jewish Community Foundation. He has been the chairman of the Council on Aging and also the chairman of the Special Task Force on Education for the Funder’s Council. Miriam Scharf is the current president of the Greater Kansas City Jewish Federation.

Appointments to see Dr. Scharf may be made by calling 816-751-8445 or by visiting the website at www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/slcc.

When Jessi Glueck was looking for summer opportunities, she wasn’t sure going to Israel was the best fit for her. After all, the Blue Valley North Senior had already been to Israel with her family 10 times. But it turns out The Bronfman Fellows intensive five-week program of study and travel in Israel, designed to develop future community leaders committed to Jewish unity, was an experience she loved and will never forget.

Jessi, a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue and the daughter of Miriam and Robert Glueck, said it’s hard to describe the program and the experience succinctly. She’s also quick to point out that anything she says about the Bronfman experience is strictly her personal opinion and nobody else’s. Throughout the five weeks, much time was spent discussing and debating various viewpoints on a variety of Jewish texts and Israeli issues and, more often than not, agreeing it is OK to disagree.

“Any attempt to represent this experience is hard because 26 different people went on it starting in 26 different places and we all ended up in 26 different places,” she said. “The way I tell it is my personal and individual experience of it. I loved it and I feel like I learned a lot, but I want people to realize that what I say about Bronfman is hardly the absolute truth. … We all have different interpretations of it.”

One thing she learned about the world and how she sees it is that no matter how much she’s seen and done, her ideas “are still narrow and still need to be broadened by different perspectives.”

Following a competitive application process, this year’s Bronfman Fellows came from 12 states across the United States and Canada. They represent diverse Jewish backgrounds, including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, unaffiliated and non-denominational.

“We have the privilege of working with young participants who are already leading in their communities. We, in turn, instill in them a love for learning Jewish texts, a commitment to pluralism, and a sense of social and Jewish responsibility,” said Rabbi Mishael Zion, co-director and director of education of The Bronfman Fellowship.

Bronfman’s commitment to pluralism is probably one reason Jessi was chosen from among more than 200 applicants, and the same reason she thought she probably wouldn’t be accepted, or even be an appropriate fit for the summer program.

Jessi said that before she went to Bronfman, she didn’t have much interest in exploring her Jewish identity; but after a summer spent analyzing Jewish texts and ways of Jewish life, she has realized the importance of Judaism in her world. She began to get an inkling that the program would be a good fit during her interview with Rabbi Zion.

“He asked me to analyze a story told by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov about Shabbat. I loved that I was being asked to analyze a story on the spot. I really like literary analysis. I came up with an interpretation that he really liked and we had a great conversation about that and a number of other things,” Jessi said.

During the virtual orientation she had the feeling she would really like the program when she was given some texts from Pirkei Avot including, “Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend,” by Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Perachya.

“We had a very long, intense debate about what it means to make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend. People were brilliant and had all these interesting ideas. It was a fascinating discussion and this is a group unlike anything I’ve been a part of before. These kids are really smart and really want to engage with texts and really want to engage with big philosophical questions,” Jessi explained.

Rabbi Zion noted that the organized Jewish community is often very centered around the large communities on the East and West Coast, but in Bronfman’s recruitment for this year’s fellowship they discovered some of the most creative young thinkers came from the Midwest.

“Jessi was an inspiring fellow. She is a gifted writer, a thoughtful presence and someone who was especially keen to understand the relationship between Israel and America. We are excited to see where Jessi will take her talents — and the questions she began asking at Bronfman — to the next stage, and to the benefit of the Jewish future,” Rabbi Zion said.

The diversity among the teens in the group, and her professors, were two of the things she enjoyed most about the experience.

“A lot of learning about these issues consisted of just talking to one another. They had people from very diverse backgrounds. We had two people from Teaneck, New Jersey, which is a very, very observant Orthodox Jewish community where everyone practices essentially the same kind of Judaism,” Jessi said.

Several teens on the program considered themselves atheists.

“We explored the possibilities of how one can be Jewish and consider himself or herself to be an atheist. I didn’t think it was possible, but it apparently is,” Jessi said. “I heard a lot about what it means to feel a connection to the Jewish community without necessarily feeling a connection with God. It was very interesting.”

She said she came home from the experience changed in a number of ways.

“I realized that I actually really cared about Israel and it’s not just an idea that I inherited from my parents,” she said, referring to the fact that her parents are active supporters of Israel and Israeli causes and have spent many summers living in Israel.

During the Bronfman program, she began forming her own opinion of Israel separate from what she has experienced with her family.

“When I got there this time I did feel a connection to Israel and I didn’t even quite realize the strength and reality of that connection before,” Jessi said.

She also believes she’s become more spiritually connected with Judaism, but that may not change how she practices the religion.

“I’m a lot more interested in learning about Jewish topics than I was and I’ve discovered that there are some really great Jewish philosophers like Rabbi Nachman and Rashi who I am actually really interested in learning about and who I would not have picked to study before I went on this program.

“It means I certainly know a lot more about Judaism then I did and I certainly feel a deeper connection with certain aspects of the actual religion itself then I did. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to start going to synagogue every Saturday morning or even most Saturday mornings. If there’s one thing that I take away from Bronfman it’s that it’s OK to be confused. It’s OK to be a little bit hypocritical or contradictory in terms of your practices. It’s OK to do whatever feels right to you and I think I’m going to do that.”

Providing students at public high schools a more in depth and serious study of Judaism is the focus of the Scholars Program developed by the Jewish Student Union. JSU is an organization for students in Kansas City public schools and serves approximately 150 students.

Fifteen students will be chosen, based on their applications, to become a JSU Scholar. The scholars will attend 10 programs beginning on Oct. 15. They will have dinner together and then discuss a topic with an assigned mentor. Each session will also feature a short presentation related to the evening’s topic from a local Jewish leader — possibly a rabbi or a Jewish educator or a professional such as a doctor or lawyer who is active in the Jewish community. Students interested in becoming a Scholars Program participant should go to the website at www.KCJSUSCHOLARS.org and complete the application.

The Scholars Program is a continuation of JSU’s efforts, which began six years ago. JSU strives to connect Jewish teens who attend public schools in the Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission school districts with Jewish activities. Each school has a local school sponsor, but the after school events are facilitated by the teens. Hillel Goldstein, the Kansas City director of the program who also heads up the NCSY program in Kansas City, helps as well.

“We try to reach out to the unaffiliated teens,” Goldstein said, “and get them connected and involved in other Jewish activities.”
Goldstein was encouraged to initiate the new scholars program following incidents involving students at Blue Valley North and Blue Valley Northwest high schools last year that produced cries of anti-Semitism. Because of the JSU program, teachers know Goldstein at those schools and went to him for advice.

“Teachers at Northwest approached me to discuss the issue,” Goldstein said. “We were very involved in it because people know us.”

Those incidents also inspired area students to request “more serious learning than was provided involving very practical questions,” Goldstein said.

“I saw a need in the community,” he continued.

Luckily for JSU and Goldstein, the Jewish community’s Funders Council was offering a grant for new learning initiatives in the community at that time. A JSU grant request for funding was accepted.

Goldstein hopes to limit the enrollment in the Scholar Program to 15 students to provide better relationships with the mentors and with each other. The 10 sessions will be held on Mondays, from Oct. 15 until Dec. 17. It is geared toward high school juniors and seniors. However, Goldstein said that any interested and motivated high school student can apply. The cost for the program is $25.

During the two-month program, Goldstein expects to discuss several topics including: “Why do we pray for the government?”; “Can one violate Shabbat to save a life?”; and “Why do we need to give charity, it’s my money?” JSU also plans to hold a second session beginning in January for another group of students.

As an added bonus all participants who complete the program will be eligible for scholarships to attend a follow-up Jewish experience. Students can receive $125 to attend a weekend trip to a BBYO, NCSY or other Jewish youth organization weekend convention. They are also eligible for a $250 scholarship to go on an Israel trip.

Tova Twersky, the volunteer program coordinator for the Scholars Program, hopes the students “develop an understanding of the Jewish perspective on important and life relevant areas, and that they come to appreciate the intellectual and spiritual depths of their religion.”

Twersky grew up in St. Louis and previously helped run JSU clubs in Kansas City in 2009.

Goldstein is also searching for five or six young adults, preferably in their 20s or 30s, to serve as mentors to the students in the Scholar Program. He is hoping to pair no more than three students with each mentor. The mentors must be able to commit to all 10 sessions. Mentor applications are also available on the www.KCJSUSCHOLARS.org website.

Daniel Rosenthal, who grew up in the Kansas City area and attended the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, has already agreed to be a mentor.

“When Hillel asked me to be a mentor, I was very honored,” said Rosenthal. “I hope these students learn as much from me as I know I will from them. I know these students are going to be strong leaders of the Jewish community, and I look forward to being a part of their growth.”

Rosenthal has volunteered with JSU for the past few years, helping with some of the sessions at Blue Valley North High School and Shawnee Mission East High School. He sees the new Scholars Program as an asset to JSU.

“The JSU Scholars Program is an awesome opportunity for these students to shine as future leaders of the Jewish community,” Rosenthal said. “I am very excited to be a part of this program.”

Cinema lovers in Greater Kansas City do not need to travel to Cannes, Toronto or Sundance to attend a first-class film festival. Opportunity knocks starting next weekend when local audiences can find their very own slice of film nirvana in Overland Park at the 12th annual Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF). KIFF will take place Oct. 5-11 at the Glenwood Arts Theatre located inside the Metcalf South Shopping Center.

This year’s festival will premiere more than 45 films over seven days. The lineup contains an eclectic mix of dramatic features and documentaries with many filmmakers in attendance. High profile major studio releases premiering at KIFF before their regular fall openings include “The Sessions,” “Smashed,” “Butter” and “A Late Quartet.”

Five films will have a distinctive Jewish flavor. They are “Remembrance,” “Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald,” “A.K.A. Doc Pomus,” Within the Whirlwind,” and “Policeman.”

“Remembrance” is a romantic war drama spanning three decades inspired by true events. A German Jewish woman and a Polish partisan forge a passionate bond in the dark shadow of the Holocaust. After a daring escape from a Nazi death camp and surviving a treacherous journey through the woods to freedom, Hannah and Tomasz are separated during the chaos at the end of the war. Each is convinced that the other has died. The events of 1944 Poland interchange with 1976 Manhattan, where an older Hannah — now a happily married 52-year-old mother — accidentally glimpses a television interview that leads her to a stunning revelation. She is forced to confront her unresolved past. The dialogue is partially in German, Polish and Russian with English subtitles. It will be shown at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. My rating 3 stars out of 4). [Editor’s note: This film will also be shown at the Kansas City Jewish Film Festival on Oct. 13 at the White Theatre.]

“Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald” is a documentary about four men who, as young teenage boys, were imprisoned by the Nazis in the Buchenwald concentration camp. They along with other Holocaust survivors return to commemorate the 65th anniversary of their liberation on April 11, 1945. The true hero of the story is Antonin Kalina, a Czech communist who served as the block elder. He committed himself entirely to saving 1,000 Jewish children that he barely knew. At this time, Yad Vashem is still considering Righteous Among the Nations status for this courageous patriarch. Writer/director Rob Cohen has crafted a stirring history lesson of traumatic childhood memories utilizing black and white archival footage provided by Steven Spielberg’s Film and Video Archive and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Jewish actor Liev Shreiber (“Defiance”) is the narrator. The documentary is partially in Hebrew and German with English subtitles. It screens at 5:25 p.m. Monday night, Oct. 8. My rating 4 stars.

“A.K.A. Doc Pomus” is a touching and emotional biographical documentary about Brooklyn-born Jerome Solon Felder, better known as blues singer and songwriter Doc Pomus. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants. This heavyset Jewish kid contracted polio at age 6. Although confined to crutches and a wheelchair, he demonstrated a lot of chutzpah by living more during his 65 years than others could experience in several lifetimes.  He made a difference in the world as the lyricist of more than 1,000 songs, including “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” ”Suspicion,” “Can’t Get Used to Losing You” and “Viva Las Vegas.” His endearing tunes were recorded by the giants of the music industry including Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan. This documentary is packed with incomparable music, rare archival footage and celebrity interviews. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. It will be shown at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7. My rating 3 1/2 stars.

“Within the Whirlwind” (7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8) is a biopic based on the memoir of Eugenia Ginzburg (Emily Watson), a Jewish educator, journalist and university administrator. During Stalin’s reign of terror, she was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with deprivation of political rights and confiscation of all her personal property. She was sent to a gulag in Siberia. Having lost everything, and no longer wishing to live, she meets the camp doctor who probably saved her life by recommending her for a nursing position. The film has previously shown in Jewish film festivals in Boston, Atlanta, Barcelona and New York. My rating 2 ½ stars.

“Policeman” (5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8) is an Israeli drama about the members of the most dangerous unit in the Israeli police. They clash with a group of young radical revolutionaries, who take three billionaires hostage at a wedding reception. The slow and methodical pacing may put you to sleep. The dialogue is in Hebrew with English subtitles. The movie was nominated for seven awards by the Israeli Film Academy (equivalent of the Oscars) including best film, director, screenplay, cinematography and actor. My rating 2 ½ stars.

Full festival passes, which cover admission to all KIFF films along with special advance seating privileges, are priced at $60. Individual tickets are $6.50 before 5 p.m. and $8.50 for evening shows. Seniors 60 and over pay $6.75 anytime. Discounts are available for Film League members. Tickets may be purchased at the Glenwood Arts. For the complete schedule and more information, call 913-642-4404 or visit www.kansasfilm.com.

Former Kansas Citian Jason Barnett is an officer in the Israel Defense Force. While his parents, Lori and Paul Barnett, were longtime supporters of Israel, it was only when Jason made aliyah that they realized their commitment needed to be deeper.

“We pray for peace, but we know that a well equipped Israeli Army is a deterrent,” said Paul Barnett.

He and his wife are not only Synagogue Ambassadors for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, but they agreed to chair the Israel Action Forum Host Committee.

“By supporting AIPAC, we are supporting Israel and our son and all the sons and daughters who are committed to Israel’s defense,” he added.

Noted Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and Baptist minister the Rev. Dee Dee Coleman will headline the annual event from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at B’nai Jehudah.

“We really care about the future of Israel,” Barnett added. “Our visits there gave us a feeling of belonging; each time we returned, that feeling grew stronger. My service on the Federation’s Israel and Overseas committee was born out of a desire to serve the Jewish community. But until Jason told us he was making aliyah and joining the IDF, we had no idea how much our love for Israel influenced him.”

The Barnetts attended their first AIPAC Forum in 2011. “Promoting the partnership between our native country and our ancestral homeland seemed right,” Barnett said. “AIPAC helps preserve that partnership, just as strongly as Jason is committed to protecting Israel.”

When Ari Lubowicz was asked to take on a newly created role for AIPAC here, he, too, responded: “Yes!” Lubowicz will be the new ambassador chair, overseeing volunteers who work with temples and synagogues.

“My new role fits into what has become one of my passions,” Lubowicz explained. “My wife Marlene and I had debated attending AIPAC’s policy conference in D.C. After a rewarding weekend at last year’s K.C. forum, we decided to go. More than 13,000 people with different backgrounds and experiences congregated because of their support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. I am excited (about) continuing the good work of the K.C. leadership in bringing AIPAC and its mission to more people.”

Now in its fifth year, the AIPAC Israel Action Forum has been reformatted — with two major speakers, a streamlined program and a new cadre of volunteers.

Larry Nussbaum has served as K.C. Council chair, while John Isenberg and Bonnie Siegel chaired the forum since 2009. With Siegel now heading the K.C. AIPAC Council, Nussbaum serving as advisory chair, and Isenberg taking on donor development, Debbie Graham and Carol Katzman will oversee the forum.

Their team includes political co-chairs Miriam Glueck and Steve Graham and community outreach chairs the Rev. L. Henderson Bell and Larry King. Netta Krashin chairs community liaisons; Jeff Horen, public relations; Efi Kamara, Israeli outreach; Jonas Barrish and Ariella and Roy Ben-Aharon, young adults; Nathan Lipsky, college students; Hillel Goldstein, high school students and youth groups; Stan Zeldin, community agencies; and Michal Cahlon, Hyman Brand students. Lubowicz oversees Ambassadors Vic Bergman, Howard Ellis, Barry Kaseff, Brenda Rosenthal and the Barnetts.

Chairing the Saturday night Leadership Reception are Jenny Isenberg, Ronna Nussbaum and Kathi Rosenberg; both AIPAC guest speakers will be there. (The reception is open to all AIPAC Club members; to learn more, contact AIPAC’s K.C. Area Director Brad Fahlgren in the Chicago office at 312-253-8997 or email .)

Master Sergeant Jason Barnett just completed the IDF Command Course and is a paratrooper.

“We are so proud of Jason and (yet) we are concerned,” added Barnett. “When the U.S. supports Israel with defense funding, Lori and I are less worried knowing that Jason and his compatriots are well equipped.”

For more information or to register, call Tali Jubelirer in AIPAC’s Chicago office at 312-253-8984 or email . To register online, visit www.aipac.org/KCForum2012.