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When Michael Grayman worked the footlights in Broadway as an assistant director on such productions as the revival of "Translations," he had a dream. As Andrew Parkhurst worked on his steps as the assistant choreographer for the Broadway production of "Curtains," he shared that dream. The two directed and performed on numerous productions from Broadway national tours to regional theaters, but for years they both came back to the idea of starting their own theater company.

After they considered several different locations to start their new venture, Parkhurst’s home town of Kansas City became the logical choice.

The seeds were planted, and Spinning Tree Theatre was born. Taking root last April with their inaugural production, "Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn," they are now readying their second show.

"We have been welcomed with open arms" said Grayman, who is Jewish and serves as artistic director. "The community here has been so supportive, better than we could have asked for."

"It’s a huge responsibility to start a theater," said Parkhurst, the theater’s managing director. "There are actors who are relying on you, and other artists. You in some ways represent the community. So when people say to us ‘You are doing it the right way,’ it is very gratifying."

According to the pair of New York theater veterans, the theater community in Kansas City is alive and growing.

"It’s a good thing Kansas City has going here," Parkhurst said. "When I told New York friends that we were starting a company in Kansas City, they said ‘Good. That’s nice that you are bringing theater there.’ What they didn’t know was how much theater is here already. I like to say that the theater community in Kansas City is a well-kept secret."

According to Parkhurst, Kansas City has 12 to 13 theater companies that hire Equity actors. He says that is far more than in similar cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis which have around two, and comparable to Chicago.

"The theater community here is thriving, and we just want to add to that," Grayman said. "To be a small part of that is great."

Grayman grew up in a small Jewish community in Cincinnati. He feels that this upbringing fueled his love of the fine arts.

"Growing up in a Jewish community, we were open to creativity," he said. "Culturally, I think we were in tune with the arts."

Though he said he always wanted to go into theater, these feelings where nurtured at a young age.

"When our rabbi spoke, which I think is true of a lot of rabbis, he was like an artist," Grayman said. "He had a great style, and a sense of showmanship. The Jewish heritage that we were a part of really fed into my creative nature."

Grayman said they are currently excited to work with the local Jewish community, teaching an audition seminar for the Jewish Community Center. They were also judges for the semi-finals in the Jewish Community Center’s KC SuperStar competition.

"We have worked with so many incredibly talented people and learned so much, it has been a pleasure passing some of that on," Grayman said.

Another pleasure has been the multiple kinds of theater in the area. Parkhurst said that New York puts such a heavy emphasis on commercial theater, that more personal experiences are sometimes overlooked.

"Kansas City is such a great place for farce, but it is also a place where people look to get deep theater experiences," Parkhurst said. "To come and get something deep out of their theater experience. And our new show does just that."

Grayman and Parkhurst believe that Spinning Tree Theatre’s new production, "The Year of Magical Thinking," fits that description perfectly. The play is based on the memoirs of Joan Didion and stars Peggy Friesen. The show runs from Oct. 12 to 23 at The Living Room Theatre at 1818 McGee in Kansas City, Mo.

"The show has such universal themes, everyone can get something out of it," Grayman said.

Parkhurst believes Kansas City theater, with the opening of the new Kauffman center and other developments, is on the verge of garnering more exposure nationally, and the Spinning Tree Theatre looks to be a part of that.

"Here in Kansas City it all seems possible," Parkhurst said. "That really rings true here. We feel like we can accomplish what we want to do."

Grayman agrees.

"We have scheduled two shows a year, and already we feel like that is not enough," he said. "We are looking at adding a third show. We have found that the support is there to make it happen."

SELICHOT — It was a busy weekend here in the Jewish community as more than 180 people along with our local clergy and members of the community choir attended Selichot services, sponsored by the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City Saturday night at Congregation Beth Torah. The service has been a community endeavor for many years and it continued in that tradition this year, with 10 rabbis and spiritual leaders conducting nine different study sessions prior to the worship service. The spirit of cooperation continued into the worship portion of the evening as more rabbis joined in leading the worship along with Cantor Sharon Kohn, Hazzan Rob Menes and Linda Sweenie, music director of Beth Torah.

GIVE TO UNITED WAY — The 2011 United Way of Greater Kansas City fundraising campaign is officially underway. Campaign leaders are asking those who can afford to do so to dig a little deeper this year to help those who are still struggling because of the sluggish economy. Campaign leaders announced Monday that the campaign is off to a great start. Sixteen companies who conducted early United Way employee campaigns this summer have raised nearly $6.7 million. Ron Howard, United Way’s PR director and a member of the Jewish community, reminded me that three agencies in the Jewish community are recipients of United Way funding:

• Jewish Community Center — $118,834

• Jewish Vocational Services — $120, 953

• Jewish Family Services — $183,111

The funds these three agencies receive come from allocations and designations from the fundraising campaign and United Way grant funding for community initiatives. This year United Way is also partnering with the Roasterie, which created a special "Live United" blend of coffee. The coffee is available for sale online at www.theroasterie.com/causes with 10 percent of the proceeds going to United Way. This year’s fundraising campaign is expected to conclude Nov. 18.

BABKA AT PANERA — Our friends at Panera have changed its menu to a more autumn theme to reflect the current season. Now, in addition to bagels there is another Jewish twist on the menu. Panera is introducing Chocolate Pecan Babka. Babka is the Polish name for grandma — and it’s also the name for the rich, buttery, yeasty bread that Eastern European immigrants brought to America in the 19th century. For Tom Gumpel, Panera Bread’s head baker and former associate dean at The Culinary Institute of America, the introduction of Panera’s babka is an opportunity to help spread the word about international breads — something he’s always been passionate about.

"Unless you’re from New York City or Chicago, or grew up in a Polish or Jewish family or neighborhood, most Americans might not know what a babka is," says Gumpel. "I’m excited to bring a personal favorite of mine into the homes of those who may not have otherwise experienced the intricacies of the babka." Panera Bread skilled bakers artfully create each babka with a brioche-type dough with a buttermilk flavor to craft sweet egg bread that is marbled with a chocolate-flavored filling and toasted pecans.

SHOFAR FACTORY — Rabbi Benzion Friedman has been helping people, mostly youngsters, make kosher shofarim for more than 20 years. Before the activity begins, he gives a short lesson about shofars. Here he shows what the horns would look like if they were still attached to the animal they came from.

Rabbis in Kansas City are proud of the fact that across the board they get along well. Many will tell you it’s highly unusual for rabbis of very different spiritual beliefs — from Chabad to Reform to Orthodox — to support each other in one organization such as the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City. The local rabbis want to take that support for each other a step further and begin finding ways for their congregations to collaborate more in an effort to build a more vibrant Jewish community for the future.

The concept of collaboration is not new said Rabbinical Association President Rabbi Herbert Mandl of Kehilath Israel Synagogue.

“The whole concept of collaboration between synagogues began at the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City. It is my hope that many synagogues will have joint ventures between them in the year ahead,” he said.

Over the years the Rabbinical Association has planned communitywide events to help bring the community together, most notably the upcoming Selichot service which will be held at Congregation Beth Torah Saturday night, Sept. 24, the all-night Shavuot program and the Day of Discovery which kicks off the education season.

The idea of collaboration is becoming more important, according to several local rabbis, because of the changing Jewish community.

“Nobody knows how many Jews there are in this city, but we know that the current situation is very different than it has been in the past,” said Beth Torah Rabbi Mark Levin. “There isn’t a religious school in the city that has as many kids in it as it once did and we think there are fewer Jewish kids overall.”

Todd Stettner, Federation executive vice president and CEO, echoed Rabbi Levin’s comments that the community is smaller than it is in the past. Because fewer people are joining congregations and affiliating with Jewish agencies and organizations, there is also less money to go around. He said the Federation agencies have been working together for a while to find ways to cut expenses and collaborate as a way to continue to offer high-quality programs and services to the community.

Rabbi Levin said most experts don’t believe the Jewish future will look like the Jewish past. Because of that, the Jewish community will have to have a new vision to make the Jewish community “the most creative and vibrant Jewish community it can be.”

As The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah’s Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff sees it, congregations here can no longer afford to be isolated silos “who are only looking out after what makes us the best and what makes everybody else be less.”

“We have to change that way of thinking into one of how can we make this community the strongest, most vibrant Jewish community that Kansas City has ever seen,” he continued. “We need to get rid of our institutional egos and we have to begin work together that will ensure not just the survival of the Kansas City Jewish community, but help it thrive.”

Rabbi Alan Cohen, who is serving as interim rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom, believes that community is strengthened by groups working together, as opposed to working at opposite ends or at overlapping or competing purposes.

“Additionally the state of the economy means we can use our resources better, not just monetary resources but human resources as well if we work collaboratively,” Rabbi Cohen said.

Working together, Rabbi Cohen believes, is a great way to strengthen the community.

“We will strengthen each other if we have one program with 15 people attending rather than three programs that attract five people each,” Rabbi Cohen said.

As we move toward more collaboration, Rabbi Cohen said we will have to overcome the issue that members of one congregation are often reluctant to attend programs at other congregations. He hopes that the rabbis will begin promoting as many Jewish programs in the city as possible.

“In a way it’s saying not only do we approve of their programs, but we are encouraging our members to attend them,” Rabbi Cohen said.

Moving ahead

There are several collaborative ventures already taking place. For example, beginning this fall Beth Shalom and Beth Torah entered into an agreement that allows Beth Torah families to enroll their children at Beth Shalom’s preschool at a reduced rate. As part of the agreement, Beth Torah’s Rabbi Vered Harris now has an official presence at the preschool.

In August the city’s newest Reform congregation, Temple Israel, began renting space from the Conservative Congregation Ohev Sholom. The two rabbis, Scott White and Jacques Cukierkorn, have both publicly stated they expect to plan activities together.

“When you measure Jewish demographic trends against the amount of bricks and mortar and staff that has to be maintained in this town, growing collaboration between congregations is the wave of the future. It’s already well under way in terms of holding combined programs, and I’m excited that my congregation is facilitating another stage,” Rabbi White said.

While many rabbis point out that combined worship between congregations of different movements is unlikely, the two largest Reform congregations — B’nai Jehudah (1,050 families) and Beth Torah (650 families) — plan to worship together on Sept. 30.

Adult education appears to be one of the first avenues where collaboration will be heavily explored because, as Rabbi Cohen explained, “we all have a fundamental commitment to Jewish learning.”

“The Day of Discovery is a beautiful example. We’ve been successfully working together on adult Jewish education for many, many years,” he said. “It is something that would be very beneficial to the community where we can take advantage of the demographics and the shrinking economic resources.”

“I think there’s no doubt that we will have combined study for all the institutions in the city and in all likelihood led by the Jewish Community Center,” noted Rabbi Levin. “I don’t think that’s going to be too hard to achieve and I would hope that the city would provide some sort of funding for it so we can make that happen.”

Indeed the first step toward that has been taken by the Jewish Community Center and the Federation this summer when they produced a brochure, “Jewish Life & Learning for the Curious Mind,” which they call “Your KC Guide to Jewish Events and Classes.” It was done because staff members from both organizations agreed “that we could accomplish more by working together than we do alone.”

Stettner said that the JCC and Federation, through its educational arm CAJE, will continue to collaborate on more than just brochures in hopes of expanding the educational offerings in Kansas City.

Rabbi Levin said successful collaborative efforts will take time and won’t happen overnight.

“When it does happen there will be much greater variety and great expertise at less citywide expense,” Rabbi Levin said. “How we get that done is another question, but I think that’s something that we can all look forward to.”

In the spirit of cooperation and collaboration, the two largest Reform congregations in town —The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah and Congregation Beth Torah — will worship together for the first time at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at B’nai Jehudah. The service will follow B’nai Jehudah’s ritual and, at the invitation of B’nai Jehudah’s Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, Beth Torah’s Rabbi Mark Levin will give the sermon.

Rabbi Nemitoff always invites a guest speaker to share the pulpit on Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. He said it is not an accident that the joint service is taking place on that Shabbat.

“This first-ever event speaks directly to the themes of our High Holidays: joining as one people with common hopes and dreams,” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

“It’s not about repentance, it’s just about a new beginning,” Rabbi Levin said.

As Rabbi Nemitoff explained, Beth Torah and B’nai Jehudah have a very interesting history. Rabbi Levin began his rabbinical career as assistant rabbi of B’nai Jehudah in 1976. In 1988 he left B’nai Jehudah and became the spiritual leader at Congregation Beth Torah, a congregation he helped start and where he has served ever since as its only pulpit rabbi.

Rabbi Nemitoff grew up at B’nai Jehudah and returned as its senior rabbi in 2003. He said it has been incredibly important to him since that time to find ways for the two congregations to collaborate and move beyond that history.

Rabbi Levin points out that the congregations, as well as the entire Jewish community, are very different than they were two decades ago.

“That’s 23 years ago. That’s a very, very long time ago,” Rabbi Levin said. “It is history, but the facts are very much the facts of the past. I don’t think there is any emotional context to those facts at all anymore.”

The two Reform rabbis have thought about doing things together for a while. They felt the perfect opportunity arose when Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman was tapped to speak at the communitywide Shavuot service this spring. Rabbi Hoffman, a big supporter of the power of collaboration, was asked to share his thoughts on that issue, and North American Jewry in general, to a joint session of both congregations’ boards of directors. It was the first time either board had gathered together.

Based on the comments the rabbis heard after that meeting, the joint board session was a success. The result has been the creation of smaller groups who have been meeting to find more ways to collaborate. Already the congregations have gotten their youth groups together for planning sessions and programs.

“We’re talking about what we can do for other things as well,” Rabbi Levin said.

Rabbi Nemitoff noted that the point of these collaborative talks is not to merge the congregations.

“My sister congregation is one-half mile away. We do the same things, we pray from the same prayer book, we belong to the same movement, and we have many of the same values, so why aren’t we doing things together?” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

Rabbi Nemitoff firmly believes this is the perfect time for the two congregations to begin their collaborative relationship in earnest.

“I asked Rabbi Levin if he would honor us by speaking and giving this important message. Then I asked the more difficult question — would you be willing to have your congregation come and pray with us. He was incredibly gracious and said absolutely on both counts. We are very, very excited about it.”

Just as a caterpillar spins her cocoon and slowly changes into a beautiful butterfly, Back in the Swing is undergoing a major metamorphosis as it emerges from its first decade of retail therapy and enters its second decade with a revised program of parties and learning.

When Back in the Swing was founded in 2000 by Barbara Unell, her focus was on raising funds to help breast cancer survivors answer simple questions like, “How should I exercise? What should I do to help my immune system? What do I do to get back to life?” At the time there were very few resources for breast cancer survivors.

“People did not talk about the survivors 11 years ago,” said Barbara, “now we can. An almost unthinkable gap in care existed then. They (medical system) cared for cancer but not the survivor.”

But Back in the Swing changed that in the Kansas City area. Over the years “retail therapy” was embraced by many supporters throughout the area, raising more than $2 million. Today there are several post-treatment centers for breast cancer survivors in the area.

“It was exciting,” said Barbara, “People knew about our organization, but they thought we only did shopping cards. When we did research about people’s knowledge of what we did, they did not know about the care we give.”

“Two things have changed in 10 years,” said Bob Unell, who helped found the organization with Barbara. “When we started we were the only card…. It was unique. But now a shopping card is not unique. And dynamics have changed for everyone because of the economy. So retail therapy had to change as well.”

‘A Cause for Celebration!’

Back in the Swing Parties will focus on “providing access to cutting-edge, survivorship education for local oncology nurses, as well as clinical care and research,” according to promotional materials about the change. Instead of purchasing discount shopping cards, this year more than 200 parties will be held throughout the Kansas City area.

“We saw things happen at the grassroots level,” said Bob. “People had parties or shopping events. We were given time to come up with a program and provide education. So we thought, ‘Wow if we want to educate and celebrate … could and would the parties work?’”

Thus the theme for the parties this year is “A Cause for Celebration!” Over the winter the Unells spoke to their supporters and individuals about holding parties where people could sometimes shop, but always gain education about breast cancer survivor services.

Three types of parties will be held. The first are retail parties. Most of these will be held between Oct. 10 and 16.

“Retailers are creative,” Bob said. “For example Crate and Barrel is calling their event ‘Crate Big Pink Party.’” They plan to have 10 stations around the store with food, demonstrations, decorating and education. People will buy tickets with the proceeds going to Back in the Swing. Crate and Barrel could never participate in the shopping cards, but they can have a party for the survivorship celebration.

Home parties will also be held. A teacher is having one to honor her fellow teachers who have survived breast cancer. She is inviting staff and parents. The school is coming together to support Back in the Swing. People will make a donation to come to the party. In return they will get treats and party favors, as well as education about survivorship programs.

Finally there are corporate parties. One law firm invited clients, partners and staff and is having EBT restaurant provide food. Representatives will come and talk about how Back in Swing has helped them get healthy. “The young man who organized it is so excited about doing something that will bring his company together and raise money for the cause,” Bob said.

People will learn about the parties through special sections in two local newspapers. There will be 200 parties in 20 days … and these parties are open to the public. “Everyone can come to any event,” Barbara said. “They are not private, they are open to the public. You don’t need to be invited.”

Bob said funding from the events will go to two tracks — oncology nurses and survivors. Back in the Swing has provided the initial funding for a new curriculum entitled “Delivering Survivorship Care” as part of the “Cancer Survivorship Training for healthcare Professionals.” It will address 12 survivorship nursing care content areas, including: Emotional Issues and Cancer, Exercise and Energy Balance, Fatigue and Cognitive Difficulties, Fertility Preservation, Genetic issues and others. Members of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, the Unells are aware of the importance of understanding your genetic situation to help prevent breast cancer.

The parties will kick off with a special event from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at Dean and Deluca in Leawood. There will be discounts throughout the store as well as free samples to taste from the “Back in the Swing Cookbook: Recipes for Eating Great and Living Well.” (To be published by Andrews McMeel.)

Although the cookbook will not be published until fall of 2012, it is an important part of the future plans of Back in the Swing. Written by Barbara Unell and Judith Fertig, the book will feature not only 130 recipes, but will be a resource for nutrition, exercise and relaxation for the breast cancer survivor.

“The book is not talking just of cancer,” said Barbara, “but of improving and protecting health … getting back in swing. We focus on wellness, not the illness of it.

The cookbook will be helpful for people who have been through the experience as well as those who want to keep healthy. “

They hope that the book will become a major fundraiser for Back in the Swing as it will have international distribution and a part of all profits will go to the organization.

As Back in the Swing changes, Barbara said, “This shows that our organization is not only interested in breast cancer, we are interested in wellness and health and healthy living.” They would like an end to breast cancer reoccurrence and improved health for all.

Just as a butterfly brings beauty to the world, they hope the book and the parties will bring healing and joy to women throughout the world.

Today (Thursday, Sept. 22) is Ann and Isak Federman’s 65th wedding anniversary. The two moved to Kansas City only months before they married. Coming to the center of the Midwestern United States is still one of Ann’s most treasured memories of their 65-plus years together.

“Coming here and being free after the horrors of the Holocaust was absolutely wonderful,” she said recently from their home in Prairie Village.

Ann and Isak credit respect for one another as just one of the many reasons they’ve lived a happy life together. She said the warm welcome they received from the Jewish community when they arrived helped get them started on the right track.

“We were on the second ship out of Germany,” she recalled. “We didn’t know what we were doing or where we were going to go and after we got to New York, they sent us to Kansas City.”

“The Jewish Federation, HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and all the agencies that were responsible for us, and the entire Kansas City Jewish community, outdid themselves taking care of us.”

Their story

Ann Warszawski Federman is from Bendzin, Poland. In 1942 she was sent to a labor camp in Czechoslovakia along with her sisters, Gertrude and Lola. Ann was 20 when she was liberated in 1945.

Isak hails from Wolbrom, Poland. During the war he was imprisoned in 17 different concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen. Sick and weighing only 80 pounds, Isak left Bergen-Belsen following the liberation.

A Jewish doctor in the British army took Isak under his wing. After spending a couple of months in a British hospital, Isak decided to return to Bergen-Belsen.

Following the war, Ann, Gertrude and their brother, John Warszawski, also went to the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp to search for other family members. (Lola did not survive the Holocaust. Both of Ann’s parents died shortly before the Holocaust.) Isak and John had met during the Holocaust, and found each other again at the DP camp. It was through John that Isak met his beloved Ann.

“We became acquainted, and I think we sort of liked each other,” Ann said.

It was Isak’s idea to come to the United States. Ann, on the other hand, thought they were going to go to Palestine.

“We didn’t think anyone wanted us. After all, we went through hell,” she said.

Isak, Ann and their traveling party — totaling 10 people — were on the second ship to the United States after the war. The voyage took about 10 days. HIAS and the Joint Distribution Committee welcomed them when they arrived in New York.

“They took the 10 of us to a hotel, and they told us that we were going to Kansas City because Kansas City is a nice place,” Isak said.
“They felt the community would be really welcoming to us, and I have to say they turned out to be just wonderful,” Ann said. “The Jewish community was very helpful with housing and with jobs and everything that was necessary.”

In fact the Jewish community helped find Isak a job in the furniture business. Eventually he opened his own business, Superior Upholstery Furniture Co. He sold it several years ago and is now retired.

“We came here in June 1946 with gornisht (nothing),” Isak explained. “We were taken care of so beautifully.”

The wedding

Soon after they arrived in Kansas City, Isak became friendly with Rabbi Tibor H. Stern of Kerem Israel Synagogue. (Kerem Israel eventually merged into Kehilath Israel.) Within a couple of months, the rabbi suggested to Isak that it was time to marry Ann.

As Ann remembers it, it was the rabbi who actually proposed to her.

“He called me and asked me when is a good time to get married. I said anytime. So we did,” Ann said.

Because they were set to be the first Holocaust survivors to marry in Kansas City, the entire Jewish community was invited to the wedding. More than 500 people attended the ceremony on Sept. 22, 1946, three months after they arrived here. Ann was 21 years old; Isak was 24.

“So it’s our special privilege to invite the community to celebrate this special anniversary of our wedding with our family,” said Ann, referring to the Kiddush luncheon the family is sponsoring in honor of their anniversary at KI on Saturday morning, Oct. 1.

The ceremony itself wasn’t as joyous as the couple had hoped. In fact, Ann doesn’t even like looking at her wedding photo, because she always remembers people were crying tears of sadness at the wedding. That’s because Rabbi Stern chose to focus his speech on the horrors of the Holocaust, not the happiness of the day or the happy times that would be ahead for the couple.

“The rabbi gave a eulogy at our wedding,” Ann said.

Their past was indeed horrendous. All of Isak’s immediate family — two sisters, one brother, his mother and his stepfather — perished in the Holocaust. Several members of Ann’s family did survive the Holocaust and eventually two brothers and a sister — John (whose wife, Sonia, still lives and works in Kansas City), Aron (who changed his name to Warren) and Gertrude (who married and became Wolowski), moved to Kansas City. All of Ann’s siblings are now deceased.

Together Ann and Isak had three children. Arthur and his wife, Diane, live in Kansas City. Rachel, who is married to Avrom Altman, and Lorie live out of town. Their children have blessed them with five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

As an effort to give back some of what they received, the Federmans became hard-working volunteers in the Jewish community. Isak co-founded the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in 1993, along with his friend Jack Mandelbaum, who traveled with him to Kansas City some 65 years before.

Among those organizations that benefitted from the Federmans’ devotion were Kehilath Israel Synagogue and the Jewish Federation.

“The Federmans have been a wonderful addition to the Jewish community of Kansas City these past 65 years. Both Isak and Ann have been leaders at Kehilath Israel Synagogue,” noted Rabbi Herbert Mandl.

Isak said it’s been wonderful being married 65 years and it’s been especially joyous raising a beautiful family.

Together, Isak and Ann built a beautiful life in Kansas City and they are grateful to the Kansas City Jewish community for it.

“We are grateful for so many here for their friendship and support in the years since we arrived,” Ann said. “Coming to Kansas City turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to us.”

BRAVO — The opening events of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts were the talk of the town this weekend and early this week. It was designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safi, and the buzz is it’s magnificent. Many local Jews were involved in opening-weekend activities. One was Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy junior Avery Parkhurst, who plays violin in the Kansas City Youth Orchestra and performed Sunday in Helzberg Hall. Greg Azorsky had a booth outside the Kauffman Center during the open house Sunday selling one of his KC Cool shirts, which is an expansion of his Meshugge Shirts featured in the paper earlier this year. The design, “Move Over, Sydney,” sold well. Describing the design, Azorsky said that “the Sydney Opera House has been such an iconic building for the performing arts and now we have this new building here that may very well become another such building. I had a lot of people come up to our tent who said ‘That is just what I was thinking.’ ” Even Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern purchased a shirt! If you didn’t get a chance to see Kauffman Center last weekend, check it out when Marvin Hamlisch performs Nov. 3 in honor of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education’s 18th anniversary.

MENORAH MILESTONE — Menorah Medical Center hasn’t been a Jewish hospital since it was purchased by Health Midwest in 1994. Now a for-profit hospital owned by HCA Midwest Health System, we feel it would be in poor taste for us not to recognize the hospital’s rich Jewish history as it celebrates its 80th anniversary. It opened its doors on Sept. 7, 1931, but Jewish doctors began calling for a Jewish hospital way back in 1882. Funds became available to start building the hospital in 1917, but other things in the community took precedence and the Jewish Memorial Hospital Association wasn’t formed and incorporated until 1926. By 1931, its name had changed to Menorah Hospital and ground was broken on 14 acres south of Brush Creek from Troost to Holmes and north of 50th Street. Sixty-three years later in 1994 the complex called Menorah Park opened at 119th and Nall to take advantage of the Jewish migration to southern Johnson County. In 1996 the Missouri location was closed entirely as a new Menorah Medical Center opened in Kansas. We salute everyone who was instrumental in getting the hospital open and making it an institution the entire city can be proud of.

UMKC’S BLOCH BUILDING — Henry Bloch has donated $32 million — the largest outright gift in UMKC’s history — to fund a state-of-the-art building to house the Henry W. Bloch School of Management’s (Bloch School) graduate and executive programs. Bloch has been a lifelong advocate of education and began supporting the UMKC School of Business Administration when he endowed the school in 1986. Most recently The Princeton Review recognized the Bloch School’s undergraduate and graduate programs among the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the country. Only 11 schools nationwide have both undergraduate and graduate programs included in this ranking.

TWEETING WITH THE WHITE HOUSE — Earlier this month Kansas City native Chloe White, who now lives and works in Washington, D.C., was selected to attend the White House Tweetup briefing with Press Secretary Jay Carney. Those interested in attending applied and White was one of only 12 people selected to attend. Members of the group were given the opportunity to ask questions about President Obama’s speech on creating jobs and growing the economy. They also got to take a tour of the White House and had a chance to meet with other White House officials. After the event, the group was encouraged to tweet all about it. White said it was a fantastic experience to get the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the White House and talk to senior officials about the issues of the day. She even got to pet Bo!

Eric Korsten simply loves bees.

Korsten has been interested in bees since childhood. He was able to take that interest to a new level when in 2002, as a surprise, his brother, Gerald, enrolled him in a beekeeper class. With these new insights, Korsten was able to turn his intuitive love for honey bees into an almost full-time hobby.

Today Korsten shares his beekeeping skills with the Jewish community. He helped place a beehive at the Mitzvah Garden KC at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, which he and other volunteers tend, and at Chabad House Center, where besides tending to the bees he gives demonstrations to the preschool children. The hives at Chabad House provide product for Yachad-The Kosher Food Pantry, the only place where the public might receive some of Korsten’s honey.

Korsten immigrated to the United States with his parents, Karla Korsten and the late Henry Korsten after World War II and moved to Kansas City in 1957. His parents and extended family worked in the garment industry and he followed in their footsteps — once working for Brand and Puritz and Chocolate Soup. After he retired, he put away the fabrics, needles and threads and purchased his first batch of beekeeping supplies, which included a large package of 12,000 bees that weighed more than 2 pounds. The initial investment to build the beehives, which are actually wooden boxes, and purchase the bees is about $300.

A package of 12,000 bees, Korsten explained, usually grows into a community of as many as 50,000. Each hive is a family with its own queen. A first-year hive might produce just a “shmear” of honey. As much as 250 pounds of honey can be extracted from a mature hive. Once the honey is extracted, the beeswax is spun, filtered and screened, before it can be jarred and ready for distribution.

Honey is the only food that never spoils, and Korsten said it can be eaten raw straight from the hive. A honey-producing bee usually only lives six weeks before it “works itself to death.”

Korstein said this hot summer has been disastrous for his bees. Bees like to eat flowers and because many died in the heat, he had to feed all those bees sugar water instead. That, in turn, keeps them from eating their product.

Korsten’s wife, Carol, (the daughter of the late Dr. Walter P and Margaret Jacob) helps process the honey but stays far away from the bees because she is violently allergic to them.

“So much so,” Korsten says “she swells up in a very unforgettable state.” In spite of her allergy, Carol helps produce the little jars of wonderful honey.

Korsten has been stung many times. But he explained, “The ‘sting’ in my body acts as a shot of cortisone … why I do not know, but it is part of my DNA and a plus for a beekeeper.”

Korsten, in keeping with his Jewish values, does not, and will not, sell the product. He gives it away and the beneficiaries distribute it as they see fit. His pleasure is knowing others benefit from the “work” of his bees.

While he’s retired from the garment industry, he now works driving a bus for the Blue Valley School District. Besides donating his honey to Jewish concerns, he and his wife serve as volunteers for the Simcha Box program coordinated by Yachad and Jewish Family Services and participate in and support Chabad programs.

While growing up in New Jersey, Victor Finkelstein, a member of Congregation Beth Torah, dreamed of performing and being on television. Though life took Finkelstein in a different direction, he has helped start a new program to give kids that are facing difficult times more resources to follow their dreams.

Finkelstein, along with Kansas City attorneys James Roswold and Heather Lottmann, has launched a new program through their law firm, Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. The program, “No Fee For Kids,” will benefit children who have suffered injuries in a motor vehicle collision in Missouri or Kansas. The No Fee For Kids program is for kids 12 or under at the time of the incident. For those kids, the law firm will charge them no fees, and attempt to get them the best settlement possible.

“We want to take the lead in helping kids,” Finkelstein said. “We want to make sure they had what they needed to recover.”

Finkelstein says this is a unique program in the area. He says this is an opportunity for children and their families to incur no attorney’s fees if the case can be settled before a lawsuit is filed. A fee will be charged only if a lawsuit is filed. The firm will be reimbursed for costs and advanced expenses, such as obtaining medical records and bills or obtaining reports from medical experts, only if the injured child recovers or a court directs.

“When children are involved in a car accident, they are particularly innocent,” Finkelstein said. “The accident happened through no fault of theirs. They were the passenger and there is an expectation of safety there. The driver is expected to drive safely. Other drivers are expected to drive safely. The children are as innocent as innocent can be.”

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), approximately 250,000 children sustain injuries annually in motor vehicle collisions. In fact, the most common type of accident causing injury to children is a car accident. This translates to approximately 700 motor vehicle-related child injuries occurring daily.

Finkelstein said the No Fees For Kids program ties into another initiative the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys are involved with, the Roswold Foundation for Injured Children.

“Our personal injury attorneys,” Finkelstein said, “are founders of an injured children’s foundation and feel that children are special. If a child’s auto accident case can be settled without filing a lawsuit, that child would benefit significantly if not charged an attorney fee.”

Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys have the stated goal of being the go-to resource for injury victims in the Kansas City area. James was recently admitted to the Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Firm, one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers of which less than one percent of lawyers in the U.S. are members. Roswold is licensed in Missouri. Lottmann and Finkelstein are licensed in both Kansas and Missouri.

“It’s an honor to help people through these difficult situations, to be there and try and comfort people through a very stressful, emotional time,” Finkelstein said. “And it’s our job work to obtain a really good settlement for them.”

Finkelstein has dealt with several cases that have involved tragic occurrences, including children suffering brain trauma from their accident.

“My heart goes out to them,” he said.

Finkelstein said that attorneys generally charge around one-third of the total recovery when a child’s car accident case is settled with the insurance company before a lawsuit is filed. More than a civil service, Finkelstein feels the program is a spiritual one as well.

“I feel that by helping the youngest victims of motor vehicle accidents to recover from their injuries, by helping to facilitate optimal treatment, and by helping them and their parents recover financially, and not charging a fee, I feel that we are performing gemilut chasadim, acts of loving kindness, which is one of the tenets of Judaism,” Finkelstein said. “When one does something to help someone with no expectation of getting something in return, this is gemilut chasadim.”

The only qualifications are that the child be 12 years of age or younger and the accident happened in either Kansas or Missouri. For more information call Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys at 816-471-5111.

Hannah Caplan is a special person. Her parents know this; Laura Hewitt, who nominated her as a Salute to Youth honoree knows it … and now the rest of the Jewish community can learn why.

“I have known Hannah since she entered kindergarten,” said Hewitt, the director of testing and teacher development for the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. “I have watched her grow into a remarkable young woman. Hannah has demonstrated leadership inside and outside HBHA.”

As a leader, Hannah served for a year as the president of her Saadia BBG chapter. She had no intentions of becoming a leader when she joined, but found it an organization she loved.

“A few of my friends and I joined thinking that it would just be for fun,” Hannah said, “but when the seniors only had a year left and there were no juniors to take higher positions, we all decided to choose our best-fitting roles. By this time, I loved Saadia and was ready to make a further commitment to the chapter and the girls in it.”

Hannah’s experience as president was important to her as it taught her how to work with others and to delegate responsibilities. From this experience she has taken on other leadership roles. She has worked as a camp counselor at Barney Goodman camp and also led Shabbat services for children.

Volunteering is important to Hannah. She helped with the Ally’s Runway event during her freshman year of high school. Due to her efforts, four girls from HBHA participated in the event which is sponsored by the Ali Kemp Foundation, with the help of the Natalie M dress store.

She is also a volunteer at NewHouse, a domestic violence shelter. Her favorite activity there is to work in the daycare center. But she has also done other jobs at the shelter in the two years she has been a volunteer including preparing bags for events, sorting used cell phones to ship off for recycling and the annual house parties.

“I just help out with any tasks that they need done,” she said.

A senior at HBHA, Hannah credits her experiences there and her parents for her commitment to volunteering.

“My parents are a major reason I volunteer,” she said. “I have watched them participate in tons of the events in our synagogue (Kehilath Israel) for years, and I think it rubbed off on me. It got to a point where I saw them doing so much, so I wanted to do activities with them. Now they don’t have to ask me to do it. Now I choose to do it on my own.”

Hannah’s parents, Cathy and Craig Caplan, are proud of her as well.

“Hannah is a wonderful, very special person and I don’t just say this because she is my daughter,” stated Cathy. “She truly is!”

Besides her volunteering and work, Hannah is also an athlete. She has lettered in both soccer and basketball for the HBHA, and is running cross country this year.

“Soccer is the sport I do for fun and to stay in shape in the off-season,” Hannah said. “My true love is basketball. I have always played basketball. I really enjoy it because of the competition and because I love being able to put my physical energy into something.”

A member of the National Honor Society, Hannah writes for both the school’s yearbook and the Academy Voice, the school newspaper. She also tutors lower school students.

“I take what I do seriously and I work hard to do my best,” Hannah said, “but I couldn’t do half of the things I do without the support of my family and friends.”

Hannah is looking to attend college somewhere in the southeast, but has no definite plans just yet. She thinks she might like to study athletic training. While she doesn’t know where she wants to attend college, she does know what she wants to do for a while after college and it involves staying in the volunteer spirit. She and a friend have promised each other they would find a volunteer activity in Africa and spend some time there helping others.