Will the phone ring Jan. 1? Will it be as late as Jan. 9? The staff of The Chronicle always wait and wonder when the phone will ring, or in recent years when the email will come, asking if their child could possibly be the first Jewish baby of the year.

If you know someone who may qualify as the first baby of 2012, call Chronicle Editor Barbara Bayer at 913-951-8425 or send an email to . The family of this year’s first Jewish baby will win a variety of prizes and will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Chronicle.

Ironically, the first Jewish baby, or in one case babies, was born on the same day each of the past three years. All four babies were born on Jan. 9.

Twins Hannah and Nick Small were born Jan. 9, 2009. They are the children of Lisa and David Small. David Small is now the president of MetroMedia, the parent company of The Chronicle.

Leo Covitz was born the following year, Jan. 9, 2010. Now almost 2, he is the son of Amy and Jeff Covitz.

“It was great to win prizes,” noted Amy Covitz.

“We stayed at the InterContinental hotel on our anniversary and Leo’s bris was completely catered,” she explained. That year one prize was a one-night stay at the InterContinental hotel on the Plaza and another business provided pastries and hor d’oerves, which were served at Leo’s bris.

Last year Emma Furey was born prematurely on Jan. 9, 2011. She is the daughter of Amy Ravis Furey and Brian Furey. Little Emma spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. She weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces and as she prepares to celebrate her first birthday, mother Amy Ravis Furey estimates she weighs about 16 pounds now.

“She is crawling and pulling up, right on track for almost 1,” Emma’s mother reports.

The Fureys also enjoyed a one-night’s stay at the InterContinental.

“Brian and I were able to get away just after my birthday for a concert and a night’s stay and we had a great time. There is nothing more appreciated than an uninterrupted night of sleep. Thank you for a great gift,” Furey said.

The prizes for the 2012 first Jewish baby, all provided by Chronicle advertisers, can be found on pages 14 and 15.

CHANUKAH AT THE CAPITOL — Levi Parkhurst, a junior at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, entertained at Cedar Crest, the official governor’s mansion of the state of Kansas, at a pre-Chanukah celebration Monday, Jan. 19. Representatives from Chabad House Center of Kansas City, Chabad on the Plaza and Chabad at KU, traveled to Topeka, Kan., for the party, which was also attended by Governor Sam Brownback and his wife, Mary. Levi played “Ma’oz Tsur” (“Rock of Ages”) on his violin during the ceremonial lighting of the Menorah and entertained later with another piece.

CHIEFS FAN RECOGNIZED — Gary Friedman has been a KC Chiefs season ticket holder since 1963. You often see him on NBC Action News when the station wants to interview a die-hard Chiefs fan. Through sickness and health (Gary is a cancer survivor!) he has cheered his Chiefs on hoping this would be the year they would win another Super Bowl. His loyalty hasn’t gone unnoticed as other fans and the Chiefs recognized Friedman not once but twice this season. Twice this month Friedman and his wife, were invited on the field for pregame festivities and featured on the Arrow Vision score board. As the HyVee Fan of the Game honoree, the Friedmans were awarded two roundtrip tickets to fly anywhere in the continental United States on United Airlines. Then on Dec. 18 the Friedmans were featured as one of the six nominees for the Tony DiPardo Fan of the Year Award. That award honors the spirit and enthusiasm for which DiPardo, affectionately known as “Mr. Music,” was best known. The winner was announced at the final home game last weekend and unfortunately Friedman didn’t win the big award, but he said the whole experience was great. “It was an amazing year for me to have both honors and being on the Arrow Vision twice this year,” Friedman said. While the Chiefs won’t be going to the playoffs again this year, we join Friedman’s cheering section. Go Chiefs!

SUCH A MENSCH — A regular reader wants us to know about the special work Pam Reiz does for the Russian community. Last week she organized an annual Chanukah party, as she also does for Purim and Pesach. “The parties couldn’t take place without the love and dedication Pam has for the group,” the reader pointed out. Every year she has someone help her make flyers in Russian and single handedly prepares a homemade feast of latkes, jelly doughnuts and all the accompaniments. Then she shleps it all over to Santa Fe Towers (where a large percentage of elderly Russian Jews live) with holiday paper goods and her hot plate to re-warm everything. She does this after putting in her time as a full-time geriatric nurse. “When Pam walks in, everyone in the lobby lights up, and starts calling ‘Pammy, Pammy.’” In addition to the meal, Pam provides everyone with his or her own menorah, candles, bags of gelt, Chanukah literature in Russian and dreidels, all sponsored by Chabad House. Reiz also visits these residents several times a month on her days off. You may remember her son, Rabbi Yudell Reiz, was just featured in an article in The Chronicle a couple of weeks ago.

The artistic skills and creativity of the children in the Jewish community continue to amaze the judges of the annual Chanukah Art Contest sponsored by The Chabad House Center and The Jewish Chronicle. This year more than 20 children submitted entries. The grand-prize winner of the contest, now in its 15th year, is Nina Kulikov. Nina entered a white ceramic chanukiyah.

She won an iPad2, provided by Chabad House.

“The submissions were outstanding. They were the best I’ve ever seen,” said one seasoned judge.

Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, who as program director of The Chabad House organizes the contest every year, said you can see by looking at the entries that the children understand the spirit of the Festival of Lights.

“This contest gets them thinking about what Chanukah really means, not just the material aspect of the holiday,” Rabbi Wineberg said.

Isaac Decker wins the K-4 division, submitting his creation “Dreidel Bird.” Molly Emanuel McGlynn’s “Tree of Life-Light” is the upper division winner for grades 5-8. Both of these winners will receive a digital camera, also courtesy of Chabad House.

The winning entries

Nine-year-old Nina Kulikov, the daughter of Vicky and Andre Kulikov, is a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue and is a fourth-grade student at Trailwood Elementary School. She said she chose her design, titled “Miracle of Lights,” because she wanted something simple “that wasn’t too fancy but would represent the miracle of lights.”

A student of artist Nicole Emanuel, Nina used porcelain, paint and wood to make her chanukiah. It features the two faces of God (one on each side) and four figures which represent the Jewish people celebrating the miracle of lights

Nina created the chanukiah by sculpting the porcelain clay and having it fired. Then she painted the wooden base white and glued the individual pieces to the wood. She chose to leave her creation white and unglazed, and even chose to use white candles, for what she calls a more dramatic effect.

She’s thrilled she won an iPad for her creation.

“I’m excited to see all the different apps that I can use,” Nina said.

Molly Emanuel McGlynn, the 10-year-old daughter of Nicole Emanuel and Luke McGlynn, is a fifth-grade student at Briarwood Elementary School and is the upper division winner. Molly said she chose the theme of her entry, “Tree of Life-Light,” because she’s “always been into earthy things.”

“I would take walks in the woods and my room has the same theme as my project,” Molly said. “I just thought it would be a good idea for a menorah.”

Molly originally tried to craft her tree out of cardboard and wires, but said she couldn’t get that to work. Then she decided to ask her mother for some clay.

“Before we put the clay in the kiln, I poked holes with wires so I could put the leaves in the fired clay,” she said.

Molly made the tree leaves out of tissue paper and chose LED candles for the flames, which are supported by the leaves on the tree.

Isaac Decker, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, came up with the idea for his “Dreidel Bird,” after listening to a song by the same name by the Macaroons. (It can be found on YouTube or at www.macaroons.com.) The song is about a dreidel with wings that lives in a nest.

Isaac, the son of Lainie and Jim Decker, said he used clay, plastic and wooden dreidels and a piece of wood from the woodpile to make his project. He entered the contest because he “wanted to let people see my art work.”

Being totally honest, he added, “I also wanted the prize.”

Judges noted that a variety of materials were used to create this year’s entries. Besides clay, entries were made from crayon, paint, beads, food, recycled materials and Legos.

Entries on display

For the first time, all the entries are on display in the lobby of Village Shalom and will remain on display until the conclusion of Chanukah. Entries will be returned to Chabad House and can be picked up there until the end of January. For more information, contact or call 913-649-4852.

Visitors will get a chance to view all the outstanding pieces of art. A framed series of photographs submitted by Avi Brudoley, a fifth-grade student at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy is just one entry on display.

“I like that you can see the dreidel spinning. You can tell a lot of time was spent on this,” one judge said.

Sydney Seigle, a fourth-grade student at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehdudah, submitted “Chanukah in the Heartland Menorah,” which used cans of food as the base. She noted on her entry form that she planned to donate the materials to Yachad: The Kosher Food Pantry following the conclusion of Chanukah.

“This young lady was thinking about more than just winning a great prize when she made her creation,” one of the judges commented.

Blumah Wineberg of The Chabad House visited with a parent one day as an entry was dropped off.

“She said she can’t ever get her child to do art except for this contest. She said he starts thinking about what he’s going to enter in June. That is really impressive,” Blumah Wineberg said.

If it’s Chanukah, it’s time for Rabbi Margolies to celebrate a birthday. He was born 90 years ago on Dec. 25, 1921, which was also the first day of Chanukah, in Jerusalem. So he celebrates his birthday on the Hebrew date, Kislev 25. He tells a story that he did not realize that his birthday was what many in the world know as Christmas day until he was a small boy in school, after his family had moved to the United States and had settled in New York.

Rabbi Margolies came to Kansas City in 1961 to serve as the senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom. He served as senior rabbi until 1986, when he took on the title of rabbi emeritus. In 2000, he said he became a rabbi because “American Jews needed and still need teachers and guides.”

His family and those in the Kansas City Jewish community indeed believe he has been a beloved teacher and guide through the years, as evidenced by these birthday wishes below. If you wish to send a birthday wish to Rabbi Margolies, email it to or mail it to Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, 4210 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 314A, Fairway, KS 66205. The messages will be forwarded to Rabbi Margolies.

May you follow in the footsteps of our great and revered leader Moshe Rabeinu and live to be 120.
Ruth Margolies, wife

“For many, many years, Rabbi Margolies shared his brilliant insights as a columnist for The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.
His thoughtful opinions were unequivocal, and sometimes controversial. We loved every word of what he wrote, whether we agreed with him or not.

The Chronicle is not the same without his voice. We are pleased to wish him a happy 90th birthday.

And many, many more.”

Steve Rose, publisher, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

Papa (Morris Margolies) is undoubtedly one of the greatest inspirations in my life. By witnessing his actions and engaging in conversation with him, I have absorbed an unbelievable amount of knowledge as well as learning the morals by which one should live. The world is certainly a better place because of him; we should all aspire to be like Papa.

Jacob Margolies, grandson

Papa taught me everything I know about Torah and Judaism. He has been an inspiration to me for my entire life.

Shoshana Margolies, granddaughter

Special wishes on your 90th birthday for a year of good health and intellectual prowess for which you are so renowned.

Fondly,
Rabbi Herbert and Barbara Mandl.

Mazel Tov Rabbi, friend, scholar, teacher, spiritual and communal leader. Since 1961 you have been a treasured resource in the greater Kansas City Jewish and general community. Elinor and I toast you on this special birthday.

L’Chaim,
Gustave Eisemann, M.D.

While my tenure at Beth Shalom has spanned more than 20 years and includes many recollections, what stands out are the weekly study sessions that we shared for a number of years. We learned Midrash together and I greatly benefitted from these weekly hours of study and the insights I got both from the text and Rabbi Margolies’ insightfulness. They were rewarding sessions. “Ad meah v’esrim” — “until 120!”

Rabbi Alan Cohen

I would like to wish my father-in-law a happy birthday from his “buddy,” Deborah (Salkov).

Dear Grandpa,

Happy birthday and happy Chanukah! What a milestone! Although we cannot be there to share this special birthday with you in person, I have very fond memories of past birthdays and Chanukah’s shared with you. In fact, one of my first memories of lighting the menorah was at your house with our family, you and grandma. I always looked forward to our holidays spent together singing songs, playing games, learning, and sharing good food. Recalling sitting on your lap during an enthusiastic round of benching still makes me smile, thinking about our many learning sessions spent together still gives me inspiration. To that end, I cannot thank you enough for being not only my teacher and mentor, but also my loving, caring grandfather. Sharing dvrei Torah and giant hugs, deep thoughts and silly jokes, I feel truly blessed to have grown up just a short drive away from my grandparents. My family joins me in wishing you a very happy birthday and Chanukah. We love you, Grandpa.

Love,

Your granddaughter, Rachel, grandson-in-law, Ari, and great-grandchildren, Leora, Ezra, and Adina

To my Abba, my friend, my teacher. I am the luckiest daughter in the world to have you as my father. Your passion for Torah and justice has inspired me every day of my life. Mazel tov on reaching your 90th birthday. I love you Abbale.

Your loving daughter,
Malka (Margolies)

I had the unique opportunity for most of my growing years to attend a classroom of one with my father as teacher. As I was the only child of my parents to attend public school exclusively from grade one through 12, Dad was the singular source of my Jewish education and he tirelessly poured his soul into the effort to teach me Torah, Jewish history, halachah and literature. I am ever grateful to him for the Jewish knowledge that I still retain today and for his constant love and devotion as my father.

Jonathan Margolies, son

Rabbi Morris Margolies had a profound influence on me and many of my contemporaries who grew up at Beth Shalom. Having lived through the turbulent 1960s, we wrestled with many issues — Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, the Six Day War, the search for meaning and identity. If you did not have an inspiring spiritual guide through this chaos, you generally ended up dropping out of Jewish life, and many did. But listening to Rabbi Margolies make sense of the events of the day and relate them to Jewish values, clearly influenced us in profound ways. Rabbi Margolies taught us to stand up for what is right and pay attention to the needs of every individual. Everything I have tried to do in my professional and personal life has been motivated by what this man gave me during a most impressionable time in my life.

Alan S. Edelman, associate
executive director, Jewish
Federation of Greater Kansas City

Wishing my Uncle Murray, better known to many in the community as Rabbi Margolies, a very happy birthday! He has always been a special uncle to me, present at so many meaningful life events for me — including officiating at my wedding and at the Pidyon Haben of my son. I even remember what he spoke about at these moments because he took care to choose words of Torah and tradition that were pertinent to my life. When my father passed away suddenly, he and my aunt took pains to plan their flight so it would coincide with ours and took time to comfort us along the way. I remember well the first words of his eulogy to my father, What a useful, useful life!, and those words resonate with me to this day, 20 years later. In all my interactions with my Uncle Murray, he has always taken the time not only to teach me, but to listen to me, and occasionally to learn from me as well. He has shown me and my husband (a weekly participant in family Shabbat shiurim) and children by his own example how to live a joyful, thoughtful, committed and purposeful Jewish life. Happy 90th birthday to my Uncle Murray, whose love for his family, his community and his tradition is reflected back to him so resplendently on this special day.

From his niece and nephew, Shari and Michael Sokol, and our children, Alexander, Felicia and Amanda

Dear Abba,

Thank you for the love and passion you put into rearing your daughter, my wife. Also thank you for embracing me and the love you have showered on our son, Gavriel. Mazel tov on your 90th birthday and we hope to celebrate many more with you. Love from your son-in-law.

Walter Scott

You have done a beautiful job of transmitting your Jewish teachings and traditions to your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Your legacy will continue to thrive and live on in each successive generation.

Diane Margolies

Dear Rabbi Margolies,

You have been our teacher, mentor and a beloved friend. You have celebrated with our family on every major occasion. You have given us strength in times of sorrow. You have inspired us to learn and develop in our Jewish knowledge.

We are thrilled to be able to celebrate you as a Nonagenarian!!

We pray God will bless you with many more years to share with your family, friends and community. You are deeply loved.

Happy 90th birthday, Rickie and Edward Haith

Grandpa, I love you so much! I look forward to planning your 95th birthday party (and many more after that!). You are the best grandpa ever and thank you for teaching me the game of baseball.
Love,

Gavriel Scott, grandson

We are so pleased to be able to wish Rabbi Margolies a very Happy Birthday on the occasion of his 90th. Rabbi Margolies was “our rabbi” at Congregation Beth Shalom for almost a quarter century and he remained active as our teacher, spiritual mentor and friend long after his retirement. An inspirational community leader, he never hesitated to take unpopular stances when he thought that was the right direction to pursue. He provided important support to the founders of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy during the crucial and often very difficult period before the school opened and his was the key role in the creation of its high school. An extraordinarily learned scholar both in Jewish and secular subjects, he is always eager to teach and to challenge us continually to expand our breadth of knowledge. Our wish for you, Rabbi, is bis a hundred und zwantzig.

Blanche and Neil Sosland

We pay tribute to our colleague and teacher, Rabbi Morris Margolies, as he reaches age 90, a number denoted in Hebrew by the letter Tzadee, the first letter in the word Tzadik, a righteous person. For half-a-century, ever since Morris and Ruth brought their family to Kansas City, the name Margolies has stood for the centrality of righteousness in the Jewish heritage. Record and age now fit in perfect harmony. Mazel tov!

The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City

A memory: Two or three days after Yom Kippur 1973. A standing-room-only crowd in Beth Shalom’s Sanctuary, the atmosphere fraught. Israel is getting trounced. Is this it? Rabbi Margolies steps to the lectern, anticipation in the air. He instills hope — more than hope: faith. As only he could. Israel would live. Mazel tov to my teacher, Rabbenu Moshe, as he reaches 90.

Rabbi Harry “Scott” White, Congregation Ohev Sholom

Dearest Rabbi,

Wishing you good health and strength on your 90th.

Betty Brand and family

During the 10 years I’ve worked for The Chronicle, by far the most controversial pieces we have published were Rabbi Margolies’ columns. They were sure to stir people up — whether you agreed or disagreed with him. He generated a lot of Letters to the Editor!

I loved typing in those columns each week. I found them enlightening, informative, educational and very interesting. And about 99.9 percent of the time I completely agreed with the great rabbi.

Each week he would drop off his hand-written piece for me to transcribe. People would ask me why he didn’t just email them. I told them he did not have nor would he ever have email; that’s just the way it was. Although, I admit I had to call him occasionally to help me out a little with a word or two here and there.

When he brought his column in each week, he would usually stay awhile and visit. The Chronicle staff had some pretty interesting conversations during those times on a variety of subjects, and I truly miss seeing him come walking in to our office every Monday or Tuesday.

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Rabbi Margolies until after his retirement, but certainly wish I had known him when he gave his Torah classes. I’ve heard so many people say how much they learned from those classes. But I am fortunate to have several of his books, which I very much enjoy.

Have a great 90th birthday, Rabbi!

Marcia Horn Montgomery, community editor, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

Strike up the music — there’s a new performing arts group in town. The Kinnor Philharmonic, a new Jewish-themed symphony orchestra, will make its debut New Year’s Day with a 3 p.m. concert at Congregation Beth Torah.

The 45 to 50 members of the orchestra include “men and women, people from all sorts of backgrounds, some professional musicians, some semi-professional. We have people who have played for a long time but who may have a different vocation other than music,” said Christopher Kelts, Kinnor’s music director.

The latter group includes Kinnor’s president of the board Robin Onikul, who has played violin in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra for 14 years and was chair of their board for 10 years. Onikul is also head of pediatric dentistry at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The philharmonic has both Jewish and non-Jewish members and likewise will not play exclusively Jewish music. However, their goal is to structure concerts around Jewish themes.

Onikul likens it to an old advertisement for Levy’s Rye Bread: “You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this music and this experience,” she said.

Kinnor also accepts high school students with sufficient musical skill. One already in the philharmonic is violinist Levi Parkhurst, who attends the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.

The orchestra’s upcoming performance centers on the traditions of the Viennese arts scene in the late 1800s, in which Jews were a vital part of the mix. In addition to some Strauss polkas and the Blue Danube Waltz, there will be a selection of Broadway tunes from Fiddler on the Roof and the music of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein.

In July, the philharmonic will perform a concert entitled “From Ellis Island to Kansas City” showcasing music of the American Jewish experience.

“There’s a Jewish backbone running through it. We’re playing Strauss polkas — they’re not Jewish, but we’re bringing in the vibrant history of the Viennese Jews at that time,” Onikul said.

She started seriously thinking about creating the philharmonic when the Jewish Community Center built the White Theatre.

“That’s when the impetus started. It just took a while to percolate into reality. We have the musical theater series; it would be nice to have a concert series,” Onikul said. “Now that the (Kansas City) Symphony doesn’t come down to Yardley Hall, people who don’t get downtown don’t have a place to hear symphonic music.”

Kelts, a member of Congregation Ohev Sholom, has the musical bona fides to lead the artistic direction of the group. An assistant professor of music and director of orchestral studies at Washburn University, Kelts is also the music director and conductor of the civic orchestra and has a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s conservatory.

Making the orchestra friendly to the Jewish community was important to Onikul and Kelts.

“Our rehearsals and concerts do not conflict with Shabbat and festivals. Everyone in the Jewish community could attend our concerts — everyone from Chabad Lubuvitch to the most reform of Jews,” Kelts said.

The new musical group has gotten local backing. In-kind donations from businesses such as Spin Neapolitan Pizza, Panera and Royal Liquor, combined with monetary support from several groups in the Jewish Community Foundation, including Louis and Frances Swinken Supporting Foundation and the Earl J. and Leona K. Tranin Special Fund. Onikul said Kansas City Strings has also been very supportive of their efforts.

“I would hope that this group becomes a part of the artistic fabric within the Jewish community, and that means support on all levels — people coming out to enjoy our music and people who believe in our mission to promote Jewish education and love for symphonic music,” said Kelts.

The idea of a Jewish-themed orchestra is new to the Midwest, according to Onikul.

“We are really excited about this,” she said. “It’s a unique thing; the only places that have something similar are on the East Coast and in LA, but I don’t think there’s any in the Midwest.”

Kinnor’s inaugural concert

The Kinnor Philharmonic will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, at Congregation Beth Torah. Tickets are $18; or $12 for those under 12 or over 60. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling (913) 469-0759.

In Jewish households, cooking often brings mothers and daughters together. That especially occurs at holiday time. So Bonnie Rabicoff, the host of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie,” decided to have her mother, Ida Mour, in the kitchen with her for her holiday show this year.

“I learned to cook from my mother and she hers. Together we have three generations of knowledge,” Rabicoff said.

This episode of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” is a departure from the norm. Usually the show is produced at the restaurant of the celebrity chef and the chef does the cooking.

“We discuss the chef’s journey, his or her inspiration for cooking, plating it … all things about food,” Rabicoff explained.

The show highlights food products, preparation, presentation, beverage pairings, a behind-the-scenes chat with the chef and features a celebrity taster. The show, which has been on the air for about a year and a half, has featured such local celebrities as Michael Stern and Bryan Busby.

In fact, Rabicoff, who serves as the producer as well as the host, said this will be the first time the show has ever been produced in her kitchen.

“The production team and the staff will be the tasters for this episode,” she said.

Mour is proud of her daughter, noting that “she calls me every day. She’s a fabulous cook.”

The 85-year-old Mour, who is a Jewish educator, is happy to be helping her daughter with this episode.

“Potato latkes are very healthy. They’re just eggs and potatoes, not a bunch of junk. They are so luscious and were used in those days for sustenance. Potatoes were very important in their diet,” she explained.

Mour, who described herself “as a pretty good cook” as well, pointed out that food is important to the Jewish people.
“We don’t have a holiday without food,” said Mour, who has taught religious school at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Kehilath Israel Synagogue, Congregation Beth Shalom and the old Community High School. A member of B’nai Jehudah, she still tutors Torah and chanting to Bar and Bat Mitzvah students.

Before the actual cooking demonstration begins, Mour will tell the story of Chanukah. She said she will explain that the holiday is really a celebration of religious freedom.

“It’s a festival, not a holy day,” Mour said.

The Rabbicoff-Mour potato latke recipe is old fashioned and simple. It uses ground potatoes, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, baking powder and matzah meal or flour.

“It’s not the ingredients, it’s the technique,” explained Rabicoff. “And we don’t use schmaltz anymore, like my grandmother did, but the flavor is just as good.”

The pair will demonstrate the technique on the television show. But it’s not a technique Mour particularly loves these days.

“I won’t grind the potatoes. You grate them, and I’ll make them,” she said.

However, Rabicoff said she has made more contemporary versions of potato latkes.

“Besides onion, we have used scallions. The little specs of green give it a little brighter flavor. We’ve used shredded potatoes and green onions to give it a bright, fresh taste,” Rabicoff said.

The family has always favored serving the latkes with sour cream, not applesauce. To make that more contemporary, they have added chives to the sour cream mixture.

While this show will feature family, a celebrity will also be included in the “At Home for the Holidays” special. Tyler Florence will share a sweet potato casserole recipe.

Rabicoff has worked in television for more than 20 years. Before beginning the show, she spent 11 years as the vice president of development for KCPT Public Television. Prior to her work at the station, she was the director of marketing for The Barstow School where she founded and coordinated “The Barstow School Organic Farmers’ Market and Chef Series.” Her career began administering social services for youth at risk under Mayor Richard Berkley’s Youth Council.

About ‘In the Kitchen with Bonnie’

The episode of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” featuring Bonnie Rabicoff’s mother, Ida Mour, will be broadcast Dec. 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. This multi-media “foodie” series can be seen on education television channels in the Kansas City metro area and at www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com website. A complete schedule of show times can be found on the website. The show is available on the Time Warner and Comcast cable systems in both Kansas and Missouri and Surewest in Kansas.

The one-hour broadcast of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” can also be heard on Radio Bach Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. (1660 AM, 96.5 FM in HD and streaming on the Web at RadioBach.com). It can also be heard at 7 p.m. Sunday evenings on KMBZ (NewsRadio 98.1 FM, NewsRadio 980 AM and streaming on the Web at KMBZ.com).
The entire series is available on the “Show Archive” page at www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com.

Yosef Silver enjoys food — eating it, preparing it and sharing it with others. He enjoys it so much that he recently started writing about it on his own blog. (A blog is defined as a website containing a writer’s experiences, observations, opinions, etc.) The blog’s focus is on kosher, local and affordable home-cooked meals.

While he’s been writing less than five months, his blog, “This American Bite,” (www.thisamericanbite) is already nominated as a Best Kosher Food Blog by the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine and website (www.joyofkosher.com). Voting is taking place now and continues through Jan. 11 on the Joy of Kosher website. The winner will be announced Feb. 1 in the magazine and on the website.

As of early Tuesday morning (Dec. 20), more than 50 blogs had been nominated, including Silver’s. He had accumulated more than 133 votes and ranked in the middle of the nominees. The top vote getter had more than 1,200 votes. Attempts to reach the magazine regarding the prize package for the winner were unsuccessful.

Silver is not just a newcomer to blogging, he is also a newcomer to the Kansas City area. He and his wife, Daniella, moved here with their young son, Ethan, who will be 2 in February, this past summer. He said they found Kansas City by accident in the summer of 2008.

“We spent six weeks here as directors of a summer program for the American Jewish Studies Service, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and living on blow-up-beds on the floors of Ohev Sholom,” he said in a recent interview.

“We went back home to Jerusalem and we really missed everything about Kansas City. So once our son was born we decided we wanted to move back to the States, and once we made that decision we decided we wanted to make it work in Kansas City,” Silver said.

He feels that Kansas City has a strong Jewish life and people in other parts of the country don’t know that.

“My blog gives a little extra exposure to the New Yorkers and Californians that think there is no Jewish life between the coasts. The other bloggers that have been nominated hail from large Jewish population centers — I want them to see and hear about life in Kansas City,” Silver said.

Silver grew up in England and lived in Israel for five years. His wife is from Los Angeles.

“There’s no place we would rather call home than Kansas City,” he said.

Because he likes both writing and food, he decided he would blog about it.

“My primary motivation was I would cook and then I would want to make the same thing again and I wouldn’t remember what I made. So I started jotting down what I was cooking. Then friends started asking me for recipes and it just seemed like a natural progression to post it on a blog,” he said.

Silver doesn’t know how he got nominated, but he assumes a reader nominated the blog. The Joy of Kosher website has featured one of his posts in the past and has asked him to write again later this month.

He is excited about the nomination.

“It’s nice to be recognized so early in the adventure. I haven’t been doing this very long and I feel like it’s an endorsement. I get a lot of satisfaction sitting at the table and entertaining people and watching them enjoy a meal and this adds on to that. I get to entertain with food through the Internet,” he said.

Before the nomination, which happened about two weeks ago, his blog was getting about 50 views a day. Last week he said that had jumped to about 200 views a day.

“Now those aren’t necessarily unique people, but it is growing week by week and people are subscribing,” he explained.

He said his wife is a good cook also.

“My wife also writes for the blog now and again. Some of the recipes there are hers,” he said, including one of the most popular, a chocolate avocado mousse.

“The dessert is very good and it’s very popular.”

The Silvers keep a kosher home and are members of BIAV. They also try to eat organic and locally produced food.

“Especially since our son was born, we’ve been very conscious not to give him processed food. A lot of the recipes on the blog are produce based. I don’t buy packages and I don’t buy things that are pre-made. It all has to do with feeding our son nutritious food and I think I reflect that in my recipes,” he explained.

He believes his approach to food, and his blog, has helped him through a weight-loss journey he began when he moved here.

“I’ve lost 23 pounds since May and people at my Weight Watchers meetings are enjoying the blog and talking about it,” he said.

“I feel like the blog helps me be accountable. I want to demonstrate that you can eat good food and eat really well and still reach a goal of a healthier weight.”

A fan of the podcast “It’s an American Life,” he came up with the name “This American Bite,” while listening to the show.

“I was playing with names and I thought this has a ring to it, ‘This American Bite.” That’s a little spin on buying local food, buying American food. I thought it really had a good ring,” he said.

He hopes people continue to enjoy the blog.

“I also welcome any feedback. If there’s a dish people would like me to make I would be happy to and I welcome people to follow me on Facebook. I have a Facebook page with the blog and you can also get my blog post by email.”

SAD NEWS — Kenny Hilton, the caretaker for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah’s Rose Hill Cemetery, died Sunday, Dec. 17, following a brief struggle with cancer. Jeanne Kort Adler, the congregation’s executive director, reports that Hilton was a second generation caretaker of Rose Hill and worked in the cemetery and funeral industry for 38 years, most of which he spent at Rose Hill. She said he was known for the care and professionalism he brought to work each and every day. “His loss will be felt throughout the B’nai Jehudah family,” she continued. An email to B’nai Jehudah members noted that Hilton worked as an employee of the congregation longer than any other person on staff. Rabbi Nemitoff said he “was there for hundreds — if not thousands — of B’nai Jehudah families, as we mourned and buried those whom we cherished. With quiet dignity and professionalism, he was there to help us perform the final act of chesed (loving kindness) for our loved ones.” The funeral was expected to be held at 1:30 p.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 22) at Louis Memorial Chapel. A complete obituary may be found at www.louismemorialchapel.com.

MEETING DIGNATARIES — As members of the international press corps in Israel, our own Sybil Kaplan and her husband, Barry, were invited to the Foreign Ministry for an evening of appetizers and schmoozing. They met Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon, who hosted the evening along with Deputy Director General for Cultural and Scientific Affairs Raphael Gamzou. They also had a chance to talk with diplomats from Sri Lanka, Honduras, Kenya, Argentina, Phillipines, Mexico and China. They even spoke to a man from Moscow, who took the time to learn Hebrew before he came to Israel. Kaplan said “it isn’t often that one gets invited to a social evening at the Foreign Ministry, so we were eager to attend.” By reading her notes, it sounds like the Kaplans were not disappointed.

IF I WERE A RICH MAN — As I hum the song I’m happy to report that “Fiddler on the Roof,” the Broadway smash and Tony Award winning musical that has captured the hearts of people all over the world, will be on stage two nights in January at Johnson County Community College.
The production will be presented at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, and at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at the Carlsen Center’s Yardley Hall. Tickets, which are $50 and $40, are available at the college box office at 913-469-4445 or on line at jccc.edu/TheSeries.
Audiences will see Jerome Robbins’ original Broadway direction and choreography, starring veteran actor John Preece in the role of Tevye. Preece has performed in “Fiddler on the Roof” more than 3,400 times. More than 1,700 of those appearances were in the role of Tevye. This production marks Preece’s 10th national tour of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Bagel Bash, the party for young adults in their 20s to 40s held annually on Christmas Eve, has been around for nearly two decades. Once the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City took over planning the event several years ago, it became a springboard for more popular programming for young adults.

“We want as many people as we can draw. Our goal is to outdraw last year,” said Steven Levy, who is co-chairing the event with Roy Ben-Aharon, Rachel Nachum and Alan Widman.

Since the event is always a success, drawing about 200 annually according to Widman, that is a huge goal. Of course attendance is sometimes influenced by the weather.

“Two years ago when we had that huge Christmas Eve blizzard, we still had 90 people show up,” Widman said.

It’s always a fun night, said Widman, who has been involved with Bagel Bash for more than 10 years. He continues to help plan Bagel Bash for one simple reason. He likes putting on parties.

“I’ve always wanted to give everyone a party that they can expect is going to be great every year,” he said. “We’re going to give them everything they want. We’re going to give them a good location. Good food. Good price. We’ve got a band now. We’re giving them everything they could want so they can never complain.”

Widman said as long as he’s been involved, the party has been well received. Since it’s geared to people in their 20s through 40s, he points out that college kids are also invited, as long as they are over 21.

“We want them to start coming out to Jewish Federation events. Since they are always looking for things to do while they are home for break we want them to know they are welcome at Bagel Bash,” Widman said.

He said it’s good to introduce young people to Jewish Federation activities while they are still in college.

“When they get out of college and they are looking for something Jewish they can say, ‘Hey, Federation has a lot of good things to offer,’ ” pointed out Widman, who said he’s been involved in Jewish activities all his life beginning with BBYO in high school.

Levy is co-chairing Bagel Bash for the first time this year because he enjoyed the party last year. He’s only been in Kansas City for four years, and last year was his first Bagel Bash.

“It’s a great opportunity to gather young Jewish singles, couples, professionals. It will be a lot of fun and we’re meeting on a night when we’re typically not doing anything,” said Levy, who is from Dallas originally.

Nachum, who is also co-chairing Bagel Bash for the first time this year, agreed.

“I think it’s really important for our community to bring young Jews together and being a part of that movement is something I really enjoy doing,” said the 25-year-old Nachum.

“Bagel Bash and Federation Business & Professionals activities are a great way to meet other Jewish people in the community. I have met a ton of people through these various events that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. I think just meeting other young Jews is really nice and these types of events are a fun way to do it,” Nachum said.

Because fun events for young people are good ways to get people interested in Jewish Federation, Widman said the organization has made d big effort over the past few years to plan Business and Professionals programs, as well as other young adult-focused programs that can be considered “can’t miss events.”

B&P started planning good speakers at good locations. We want them to be events that you don’t want to miss because your friends are going to be there. It’s going to be a good place to meet people and get to know people,” Widman said.

Levy said he enjoys going to B&P events.

“They allow me to learn about some of the businesses in the city and in the area as well as meet other Jewish people who work at these businesses. I can create contacts for whatever purposes I may need in the future. I also make friends,” Levy said.

These events, Widman said, should not be confused with singles events. But they can be places for single people to meet each other.

“It’s just another place where young people can meet. You have a great mix of people, great happy hour and get to hear a great speaker. Who knows, maybe you can make a great connection for your future,” Widman said.

B&P events are also a good way to promote Jewish Federation.

“We obviously want to promote what Federation does and hopefully create people who want to be involved in Federation the rest of their lives. The only way you can connect people to Federation is to give them a reason to start attending events,” Widman said.

As for Bagel Bash, Widman reiterates that it’s simply a fun event.

“Maybe you’ll get to see some of your old friends from high school or college or someone you haven’t seen forever and then connect with some of your current friends. It’s just a good night out,” he said.

At 45, Widman is at the upper end of the age range for attendees.

“I always joke that I get grandfathered into all the young adult events forever since I’ve been involved for so long,” he said.

About Bagel Bash

Bagel Bash 2011 begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, at the Record Bar, 1020 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo. The cover charge includes open bar, heavy appetizers (Vaad supervised food available), and live music. Register online at jewishkansascity.org for a discounted price of $20 by noon on Dec. 23. Walk-ins are welcome for $30 at the door.
For more information, go to jewishkansascity.org, look up Bagel Bash on Facebook, or contact Vicky Kulikov at or 913-327-8112.

Bagel Bash is a collaborative effort among Jewish organizations in Kansas City. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Bagel Bash is brought to the community in cooperation with AIPAC, BIAV, B’Not Or Hadassah, Congregation Beth Shalom, Congregation Kol Ami, Friends Next Dor (Congregation Beth Torah), Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation’s Business & Professionals group, and Kehillah KC/The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

Molly Shapiro’s first novel, “Point, Click, Love,” is being published Dec. 20. The novel is already available for pre-order on both Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble. She’s also been chosen as an emerging author by Target. Needless to say, she’s excited.

“Target is going to carry the book in all of its stores. I’m really excited about that,” said Shapiro, who said the book will also be available at independent booksellers.

The book is being described by the publisher as a fun and sexy debut novel about four women who try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates and other high-speed connections. It’s also getting good buzz throughout the world of publishing.

“Point, Click, Love is a thoroughly engaging debut novel about a group of Midwestern women grappling with the mysteries of love, marriage and children. Molly Shapiro writes with wit, insight and a light touch,” said New York Times bestselling author Tom Perrotta.

The book, a trade paperback, is being published by Ballantine, a division of Random House. It will be available for e-readers including Kindle and Nook and is being discounted by the major retailers.

“It’s nice having this big publishing house behind me. This is my first novel. I’m an unknown. There are resources that I just wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said “Point, Click, Love” is based in Kansas City because it’s a place she knows well. She notes one character works at Sprint and those familiar with the locale will recognize other little things throughout the book.

“They’ve promoted it like Sex in the City meets the Midwest, but it’s about older women. These women don’t lead glamorous lives like Carrie Bradshaw, but they have interesting lives nonetheless. I think they are more relatable to ordinary people,” she explained.

Each of Shapiro’s characters has a particular relationship with digital communication. One character is dating using the Internet.

“Another character is anti-Facebook because her husband is just obsessed with it and it drives her crazy,” Shapiro said.

A third character is hooked on celebrity websites and the fourth is looking for a sperm donor online. Generally the chapters alternate, focusing on one character at a time.

“There are four different storylines that go all the way through, but then there are scenes when they all get together. So the book explores their friendships as well,” the author explained about the book that took about a year to conceive and write.

About the author

Shapiro explained she’s “been writing forever.” Originally she thought she would become a screenwriter and studied film at Brown University.

“I had some success. I did some screenplays for a small producer in New York City. I wrote the ‘Bob Marley Story,’ and that looked like it was going to be made for a while. But it didn’t happen,” she said.

After a while Shapiro got disillusioned by the Hollywood scene.

“I knew I didn’t want to live in LA. I knew I didn’t want to be a part of that world. And I knew that I didn’t want to depend on 100 different people to ever get anything done,” she said.

Shapiro said she decided to write fiction because she thought it would be easier to sit in her room alone and write books.

“That would be an outlet for me and I thought it would be easier to get a book published then get a movie made. So after working for a while in technical writing I decided to go to Columbia University and get my MFA in creative writing,” she said.

While she was at Columbia in 1997 she wrote a book of short stories, “Eternal City.” It was the winner of the Willa Cather Fiction Prize.

“Eternal City” was described by the Kansas City Star as “a sophisticated, polished, taut, cool, funny and sometimes quietly scary collection of stories. …it’s the first published work by Shapiro and a virtuoso performance.”

Shapiro is proud of those stories, but notes that they weren’t widely read. She’s also written two other novels that weren’t published. This time she wanted a book that would be read by more people.

But Shapiro doesn’t solely concentrate on fiction. She is a full-time professional writer who works for a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. She also ghostwrites fundraising and policy emails for political candidates.

“It’s hard to find time with all that to write fiction, so when things slowed down a bit during the economic downturn; I took the opportunity to write the novel. Things have since picked up again, but I’m doing my best to find the time to write my follow up novel,” she explained.

She chose to write about love in an online world because of her own personal experiences.

“The thing that inspired me was that I found myself single after getting divorced in 2007,” she said. “I was in this new world that I wasn’t really prepared for. I noticed that online communication was something that was really significant at that point. When I was a married woman with kids I wasn’t thinking about Facebook and Twitter and I certainly wasn’t thinking about online dating.”

As the mother of two, she felt limited in the options she had to meet people. She wasn’t excited about being fixed up and she didn’t want to go to bars or join a bunch of new clubs.

“So I decided that my only option was to go online because that way I could choose myself. It wouldn’t be time consuming. It wouldn’t take me away from my kids. So that’s what I did,” she said.

The experience was interesting for Shapiro, and she ultimately met someone she’s been with for more than four years.

“I got a glimpse of a world that I never would have seen otherwise. I felt that at that point I had some things to say about my experience with divorce and my experience with online dating.

I just felt like I wanted to write a novel about it,” she said.