A fund to support Jewish art, originally set up about 20 years ago, is being resurrected in the community. Known as the Jewish Art Fund, it is housed at the Jewish Community Foundation and is governed by a committee led by Michael Klein.

Klein said Sybil Kahn and her late husband, Norman, were behind the fund’s inception. Norman, before his death in June, also led the charge earlier this year to bring the fund back to life. The fund’s original purpose was two-fold: to purchase Judaic items for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and to bring an exhibit from the Jewish Museum in New York to Kansas City.

Klein, who was also on the original committee, said the fund did purchase one item of Judaica for the Nelson and succeeded in bringing the art exhibit to Kansas City. After that, however, it sat idle.

“Shortly before his death, Norman Kahn wanted to reactivate the fund. So a new committee was put together,” Klein said. “We’ve done a little fundraising to build up a corpus and we would like to finance projects in the Jewish community dealing with art in the the broadest terms.”

Klein said the corpus of the fund is a little more than $25,000. Grants can be made solely from the fund’s income, which isn’t much at this time.

“That’s why they are currently seeking additional donations,” he said. “We hope that as people learn about the fund, that the corpus will grow and so will the income from it.”

The fund has already made a grant to Village Shalom. It funds an art therapist who works with residents on Fridays.

“She uses that week’s Torah portion as inspiration for the art projects. I think it is a wonderful project because it involves art with the intellectual stimulation of that week’s Torah portion in a creative way to bring out the meaning of that week’s portion,” Klein said.

Before he passed away, Norman Kahn personally asked Klein to take over the fund’s leadership responsibilities.

“The whole start of that committee was really Norman and Sybil Kahn, decades ago. It’s one of the examples of Norman and Sybil Kahn promoting Jewish art in the Kansas City community. That committee is one of their legacies, as is the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art,” Klein said.

Klein said the fund would like to become a clearing house for matching funders that “would like to do something with the arts in the Jewish community or Jewish art in the general community.” “We would like the funders to call upon the expertise that people on the committee have to make the donations effective for what the donors would like to see,” Klein said.

For more information about the Jewish Art Fund, contact Beatrice Fine at (913) 327-4618.

Yoel Lavi, the mayor of Ramla, Kansas City, Mo., Israeli’s sister city, was in Kansas City last week for a “friendly visit.” The cities have had a relationship since 1995. While here he met for the first time with Mayor Sly James. His U.S. trip will also include stops in Detroit and Chicago.

Lavi said his first priority was to meet friends, including Jim Badzin and Karen Pack. He also took the time to help some Israeli friends meet with local car dealers in an effort to import cars to Israel.
Lavi, who has been mayor of Ramla for 18 years, has plenty of friends here due to the local Jewish community’s close relationship with the Israeli city.

“They take care of our society,” said Lavi. “Just a few weeks ago Karen Pack and Alan Edelman were in my office. They delivered $180,000 for afterschool programs, day care and other such programs. This help is very important for our society.”

Pack said the beauty of sister city relationships is the friendships that are formed.

“It’s not just money. It’s a relationship and these friendships last a lifetime,” Pack said.

Lavi spent Shabbat with Federation President and CEO Todd Stettner, who agreed that the relationships between the people in both cities is more than simply a business one.

“One of the nicest things about the relationship is the personal side. We’ve gotten to know people,” Stettner said. “It’s not just some anonymous community we’re helping.”

“This relationship is very special and we are very fortunate,” Lavi added.

A TIP OF OUR HAT — Loyal reader Marna Dolginoff called Monday in reference to the story about Village Shalom weathering the Water District #1 boil order July 1. A resident of The Villas, the maintenance-free homes located on the Village Shalom campus, she wanted us to know that Concierge Chris Burgos went above and beyond the call of duty delivering water to those homeowners as well. On behalf of those residents, thanks Chris!

TRAGIC ANNIVERSARY — Sunday, July 17, was the 30th anniversary of the Hyatt skywalk collapse. During a tea dance, 114 people were killed and countless others injured when the walkway at the Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed. It remains the deadliest structural collapse in U.S. history other than the terrorists’ acts in New York City and Oklahoma City.

Three members of the Jewish community died in the collapse — Stephen Hershman, Robert Jonas and Paul William “Pete” Winett. Sol Koenigsberg and his wife, Rosette, were among those injured the night of the accident.

Koenigsberg, a former executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, is the adviser for the Skywalk Memorial Foundation committee. He said he is certain that a memorial will be built.

“It will take a bit of time because the fundraising pace has to be picked up. We will be persistent,” he said. So far approximately $370,000 has been raised toward the $800,000 needed to build the memorial at Hospital Hill Park near Children’s Mercy Hospital. Koenigsberg said it could take a number of months before the fundraising goal is achieved.

The Skywalk Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit corporation committed to honoring and remembering the 114 people who lost their lives and those who were injured by the tragic events. Through the planning, design and construction of a permanent memorial, the Foundation also seeks to recognize and honor the emergency/medical personnel, firefighters, police officers, public servants and others who so bravely responded to this unprecedented disaster.

The memorial will feature a sculpture designed by Kansas Citian Rita Blitt. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.skywalkmemorial.org.

VOTE FOR THE DEAD SEA — The Israeli Ministry of Tourism is urging everyone to vote for the Dead Sea in the New 7 Wonders of Nature Competition. Voting will continue through Nov. 11. The New 7 Wonders of Nature Competition gives travelers, nature-lovers and all others from around the world an opportunity to name seven new wonders of the natural world from among 28 candidates, including the Dead Sea. If you don’t already know how amazing the Dead Sea is, or if you want to just re-experience it virtually, check out a new Dead Sea video from the Israel Ministry of Tourism at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xTB7bmmxCA&feature=youtube_gdata_player. Supporters of the Dead Sea can vote through social media sites at www.facebook.com/VoteDeadSea or www.twitter.com/VoteDeadSea; or through the official campaign site, www.votedeadsea.com. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: “Vote for the Dead Sea. It is very much alive.” You can also learn more about the other 27 candidates at www.new7wonders.com.

APPEARING AT STARLIGHT — Once again Grant Karpin is appearing at Starlight, this time in “Cinderella,” which will run July 25 through July 31. He is a member of the Blue Star All Star Chorus. The 13-year-old played the role of Louis Leonowens in “The King and I” earlier this summer. For ticket information, visit www.kcstarlight.com.

Correction

The Business & Professionals event with Tom and Henry Bloch on Thursday, July 28, begins at 6:30 p.m., not 6 p.m. as stated in last week’s paper.

Congregation Kol Ami began a new era on July 1 when Doug Alpert stepped to the bimah to lead Shabbat worship. That evening it was announced that Alpert had officially become the synagogue’s new spiritual leader. Alpert succeeds Cantor Paul Silbersher who retired last month after serving the congregation since it was founded in June 2003.

Kol Ami’s new president Nadine Gordon is excited about the congregation’s future.

“Kol Ami is a special community,” she said. “We’re known for being warm and welcoming, our vibrant worship ... and our fabulous music. We are an open, inclusive, evolving community, and we feel fortunate to have found a spiritual leader who not only honors what we have already created, but sees so many opportunities to expand. The fact that he has been right down the street is kind of amazing.”

For the last three years Alpert has served as the rabbinic intern for Congregation Ohev Sholom. He is completing his rabbinic studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion in Riverdale, N.Y., and will be ordained in May 2012. He also holds a master’s degree in Judaic Studies from the Siegal College of Jewish Studies in Cleveland.

Alpert is an attorney and a life-long Kansas City resident. His professional background includes work in real estate and not-for-profit management. He was the executive director of the Kansas City Jazz Commission and served as legal counsel for the International Association of Jazz Educators.

“Serving a synagogue is the fulfillment of a dream I have held for many years,” said Alpert. “My past experience with congregational life, both at Ohev Sholom and elsewhere has helped me to recognize the traits of warmth and communal connection that I think are vital to the success of any synagogue community. I recognized those attributes in the Kol Ami community from the first time I was welcomed in to lead worship and study. Our talented musicians led by Patrick Buckley, the work of Steve and Linda Sackin in our extraordinary garden, Stan and Carla Strauss’ heading up our religious school, and the incredibly involved lay leadership are all assets that will make my work easier and more joyful.”

If you’ve noticed a lot of self-serve frozen yogurt shops popping up around town in the last year of so, you’re not alone. One of the more popular ones in Overland Park, Yogurtini, is owned by a Jewish man.

Perry Kessler owns the Yogurtini located at 12021 Metcalf Ave. He’s also a part-owner of Yogurtini on the Plaza in the Plaza Colonnade center as well as one in Zona Rosa.

Yogurtini offers up to 16 rotating healthy and fat-free frozen yogurt flavors and more than 70 toppings. Yogurtini only serves real yogurt that contains live and active cultures approved by the National Yogurt Association. Kessler pointed out that the frozen yogurt served at the shop is certified kosher by the supplier and the majority of the toppings are kosher as well.

It’s a self-serve shop that allows customers to make their own frozen yogurt creation. Flavors include such classics as Ultimate Chocolate, Classic Vanilla, Chelsey’s Cheesecake and Peanut Butter. Those with more adventurous palates might enjoy Northshore Pineapple Tart, Island Coconut or Green Apple Tartini. Toppings include granola, fresh fruits, candies and cereals. Specialty items include espresso beans, and even Sriracha hot sauce. The finished product is weighed and customers pay for it by the ounce.

“Our product is truly frozen yogurt and the highest quality product that we’re able to buy. Our toppings are also the highest quality toppings that we are able to find,” Kessler said.

Kessler points out that in today’s health conscious world it’s very possible to eat a healthy treat at Yogurtini.

“I get plain yogurt and I’ll top it with blueberries or mango. Or sometimes I’ll get raspberries, because they are so good. And that makes it healthy,” he said.

He first became associated with Yogurtini after visiting the original location in Tempe, Ariz., on the advice of “a friend of a friend.”

“They had a really cool concept and a great looking store,” said Kessler of his interest in Yogurtini.

After falling in love with the store, he and a business partner “met the founders (Natasha and Chelsey Nelson) and struck up a deal to provide the resources to help them go from a single store to have the ability to franchise.”

Now Kessler is both one of the franchisors as well as a franchisee. In addition to the stores he has ownership or co-ownership here in Kansas City; he also has a stake in stores in Salina, Kan., and plans to open at least two more in Colorado soon. (One other store is Lee’s Summit is owned by a different franchisee.)

Kessler has only been in the yogurt business for about a year and a half. His primary business is PKC Construction Co., a construction company based here that specializes on building retail spaces all across the country. His expertise in building restaurants helped him understand what it would take to build, and open, a yogurt shop.

“I’d been watching it from one side of the fence for decades and I finally decided to jump to the other side of the fence and try my hand at owning and running quick serve restaurants,” Kessler explained.

So far Kessler’s Yogurtini shops have been meeting and exceeding sales expectations, which he thinks is due to the “excellent locations, wonderful staff and top-quality product.”

“The response in Johnson County has been tremendous,” he said of the Overland Park store, which opened the first week of May.

“During our opening promotion, we gave away free yogurt to 1,000 customers in four hours.”

An errant raccoon in a Johnson County Water District No. 1 pumping station and the resulting water main break recently forced a boil order for most of the county just as the Independence holiday weekend was beginning. Among the 400,000 persons affected by the sudden unavailability of drinkable tap water were 228 residents at Village Shalom.

A situation of this nature can have an especially large impact on a facility like Village Shalom, a continuing-care retirement community that, like any other residence, relies on potable water for a variety of uses. Serving three meals daily to residents in its assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care areas, Village Shalom suddenly had to find other sources of clean water for lunch and dinner on Friday and for breakfast and lunch on Saturday.

“When I first heard about the warning, I immediately jumped into my car and headed to Costco, where I bought 20 cases of water,” said Sharon Lab, director of dining services. She also called the Village Shalom’s primary food supplier, Sysco, which has a standing agreement to provide additional stock in an emergency situation. Village Shalom’s driver picked up another 30 cases of water from Sysco’s warehouse.

Upon learning of the boil order, Village Shalom staff immediately notified all residents of the situation and promptly delivered bottled water to their apartments and rooms.

“Many of the residents had nothing in their rooms, so we tried to send them away from each meal with a lot of water,” said Lab. Residents and staff alike had access to plenty of fluids, including bulk supplies of bottled juice that Village Shalom regularly keeps on hand.

Food preparation required a slightly different approach than normal, Lab explained. All water used to wash fruit and vegetables, and to prepare lemonade and iced tea, first was boiled for at least two minutes.

“I didn’t notice anything different at meals,” remarked one resident about the staff’s response to the boil order. “Signs were posted in the hallways and in each of our rooms. They gave everyone water. Under the circumstances, they handled the situation extremely well.”

In addition to meals, other routines were adjusted to accommodate the tap-water hiatus.

“We had to remove all pitchers at residents’ bedsides and replace them with bottled water,” said Tina Munger, director of nursing. She added that medications were dispensed to residents with bottled water instead of the usual cup of water from a pitcher, and residents were advised to use bottled water for brushing their teeth. Each residential area of Village Shalom is prepared with an emergency kit stocked with non-perishable food items and cases of drinking water, should the need arise.

“We have a detailed policy in place in our emergency manual,” Munger noted, “so it was pretty easy to make it happen. Staff was very quick to respond to the situation, and we had plenty of water for everyone — staff as well as residents.”

JERUSALEM — George Lebovitz was born in a displaced persons camp in Italy, the son of Holocaust survivors Eugene and Kate Lebovitz. A 1963 graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School, he recently completed the six-month training course at Yad Vashem, the Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority and official Holocaust memorial in Israel, to be a guide.

“I was looking for a volunteer venue and with my history, this was the natural thing,” said George. “I remember my father crying at my Bar Mitzvah because my grandparents were not there. I wanted to continue the memory of my grandparents. Deciding to be a guide was a very emotional thing.”

How did he get from the suburbs of Kansas City to the suburbs of Jerusalem? It all began when he fell in love on his first trip to Israel.

Right after graduating high school, when he was still 17 years old, George went to Israel as part of the very first Greater Kansas City Pilgrimage led by Joe (now deceased) and Tzivia Gaba. The group had free time upon their arrival in Jerusalem at the beginning of the trip. So three girls in the group went for a walk, met three Israeli girls and proceeded to introduce them to other members of the Pilgrimage. That was when George met Aviva Ben-haim, a 17-year-old seventh-generation Israeli.

The two teens immediately liked each other. So while the group was still in Jerusalem, they went out on group dates. The Kansas Citian even met some of Aviva’s family.

One free weekend, George returned to Jerusalem and wanted to see Aviva again. He visited her sister’s home and learned that the young lady was in the hospital following minor surgery. Of course he went to the hospital to see how she was doing.

Not having any place to stay in Jerusalem, a friend of Aviva’s family made arrangements for George to stay at the hospital. That gave him extra time to spend with Aviva.

“I’m not sure it was love at first sight,” said Aviva. “We hardly knew each other but when he stayed in the hospital, I thought, here was a guy who took time to visit me and spent the whole time in the hospital. I thought, this is a very special guy.”

Before his summer trip ended, George made arrangements to see Aviva again.

“I didn’t know if he would ever come back,” Aviva said.

George attended the Jewish Theological Seminary/Columbia University program in the United States. But he decided to return to Israel, this time on a year program for youth leaders from abroad called Machon l’madrichei chutz l’aretz.

He dated Aviva once again, although George says, “when we fell in love is hard to pinpoint!”

They got engaged in December 1964, married in April 1965 and returned to the Kansas City area in June 1965. Here, they began teaching at Congregation Ohev Sholom.

George went back to college, this time attending the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Aviva taught preschool at Kehilath Israel Synagogue. While going to school, he became tween director at the Jewish Community Center and then KI youth director; both worked at Barney Goodman camp and taught at KI.

In 1968, they were the leaders of the Greater Kansas City Pilgrimage to Israel.

“I felt when you get, you have to give back,” said George. “I was hoping to give those kids a love and attachment to Israel like I had gotten on the pilgrimage five years before.”

After their return, while George was still in school, their two children, a son and a daughter, were born.

George received his Bachelor of Arts and master’s degrees from UMKC, meanwhile working for the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. The Lebovitzes continued working in Jewish education after they moved to Cincinnati in 1972 and Aviva began to work in real estate. He worked for the day school and she earned her college degree. George continued his education as well, earning a doctorate in educational administration.

Since there was no yeshiva high school in Cincinnati for their son, Yaron, they moved to Los Angeles in 1981, still working in the fields of Jewish education and real estate.

In 2007, they moved again, this time to San Antonio, Texas, to complete some real estate business while preparing to make aliyah.

Three years earlier Yaron, now a doctor, had made aliyah. While visiting him, Aviva says, one day she asked herself, “what are we doing in Texas?”

So the following year, in August 2008, 45 years after George participated in that first pilgrimage and met Aviva in Israel, and 43 years after they got married, George made aliyah and Aviva returned to her native country.

“I believe this is the place to be,” Aviva said. “I loved Israel. I am amazed how changed Israel is and we are enjoying being here. I wish we would have come before.”

Becoming acclimated to living in Israel was much easier for George and Aviva because they both spoke Hebrew and their son and his family had come before them.

Aviva keeps busy as a volunteer at Yad Sarah, “an organization that offers free medical equipment for sick people.” She also takes classes and spends a lot of time with their six grandchildren, ranging in age from 20 to 1 month old.

“For us, this is something new, to have our grandchildren so close. That is a treat!” Aviva said.

Both Aviva and George participate in learning weekends — with Eretz Ahavati (I love the land) and Avot u’meyasdim (fathers and founders) and are both avid bridge players. They also still have their business in Texas, which George administers.

“This is the place for the Jews,” says George. “If people come with the right attitude, adjusting is not difficult.”

JEWISH PROVERB: Today’s words of wisdom are provided by a faithful reader, who got it from a friend:
A Jewish wife will forgive and forget, but she’ll never forget what she forgave.”

BUILDING HAS JEWISH ROOTS — Eric Schultz, a Chronicle subscriber and a multimedia journalist at NBC Action News, called last week after a wall collapsed at the Cain Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church. While there NBC Action News staffers, including multimedia journalist John Batten who graciously supplied us with this photo, discovered the Hebrew words -------beit ha midrash ha gadol------- on another wall. With some help from our friends at Kehilath Israel Synagogue, we were able to ascertain that the church, located at 1701 E. Linwood was once the home of Beth Hamidrash Hagadol synagogue. KI’s Rabbi Herbert Mandl said that congregation was a predecessor of BIAV. Sam Gould reminded us that there were several Jewish institutions located on or near Linwood Avenue, including the Jewish Community Center. Sam said the teenage boys who regularly played basketball at the JCC, including him, were often pressed into service when Beth Hamidrash Hagadol didn’t have 10 men to make a minyan. Upon further research we learned that, according to “Mid America’s Promise” by Joseph P. Schultz, Beth Hamidrash Hagadol was one of 10 synagogues in the Kansas City area who all joined a federation called the United Synagogues of Greater Kansas City. The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle called it a “feat of far-reaching significance, which should be indelibly recorded in the annals of Kansas City Jewry …” Coincidentally, Joseph Schultz is Eric Schultz’s father.

FUTURE STAR — Emily Waldberg is another young member of the Jewish community who is doing well in her athletic endeavors. Her volleyball team won every tournament they played in this year except one. Her team, Dynasty, recently competed at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships in Atlanta where they played teams from California, Atlanta, Kentucky, Delaware, New York, Ohio, St. Louis and Colorado. During the tournament Emily and her teammates were interviewed by USA Volleyball Magazine, and their picture was featured on the magazine’s website. The daughter of Dan and Brenda Waldberg, she is 13 years old and will be an eighth-grade student at Overland Trail Middle School in August. The family belongs to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.





HEARING MOTHER’S           VOICES — Andrea Katzman, who hails from Lawrence, Kan., believes in the strength of mother’s voices and the power of their stories. That belief is so strong she co-wrote “Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit” with Tania Elfersy. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations and is full of short messages “that invite you to reflect on the complexities of motherhood, inspire you with the words of other mothers and encourage you to create your own stories.” Andrea is currently a preschool teacher at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island and is a wife and mother of two. The book can be purchased at amazon.com. 

It sounds like it could be the beginning of a joke. “A rabbi and a president go into the woods…” But it was no joke when Andrew Kaplan, who became president of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah June 1, suggested that he and the congregation’s senior rabbi, Arthur Nemitoff, get to know each other better by hiking along the Appalachian Trail in the Georgia mountains. Last month they took that journey, hiking 27 miles over a four-day period.

Rabbi Nemitoff has been a rabbi for 30 years now and while he’s bonded with many presidents over the years, usually by “praying together and socializing together,” at meetings and meals, this was the first time he’d ever entertained such a request.

He said he immediately accepted the offer, partly because it was intriguing, and certainly not really understanding what it involved.

“I felt it was a unique opportunity and something I’ve personally never done before,” Rabbi Nemitoff said. “I know Andrew is a passionate person about those things in which he believes and it was clear in listening to him that this was a passionate desire of his. So therefore I needed to trust him.”

Kaplan is a hiker and he suggested the adventure because he understands the “power of the shared experience and the campfire.”

“I have experienced no better way to develop a true relationship than to share the pain of a near impossible uphill hike with the pleasure of watching the sun set in the middle of the woods around a roaring campfire.

Both venues, altogether different, are where you really learn about a person,” Kaplan said.

So for nine months the two planned and prepared for the trip. Kaplan, who had hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail several times in the past, planned it. The goal was to start at the beginning of the trail in Georgia, at Springer Mountain, and walk north, perhaps getting as far as Blood Mountain, 40 miles to the north

As part of the preparations, Kaplan suggested Rabbi Nemitoff exercise to get in shape. The rabbi did just that, walking on a treadmill with an incline because “there aren’t too many mountains in Kansas.” Eventually he added carrying a 25-pound backpack to his regimen. But nothing really prepared him for the trip, both physically and emotionally.

Rabbi Nemitoff said they ended up hiking about 27 miles, because they went slower on the hike than Kaplan had anticipated. Along the way, the rabbi said he learned that one person’s stroll is another person’s struggle.

“Andrew has hiked this portion of the trail before and he is in much better physical condition than I am. I would say that half of the trip went very well and I struggled with the other half, basically the uphill portion. Andrew was incredibly patient and supportive as I struggled through it. But we did it,” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

Although they encountered no bears or blisters, and their backpacks worked fine, there were challenges. Rabbi Nemitoff had not fully realized what carrying a 40-plus pound backpack during six hours of walking up and down mountains was really like. Kaplan had not fully anticipated the series of introspective questions the rabbi challenged him with throughout the journey.

Along the way, they met a cast of characters, including Jewish teens from Cleveland who were led by a 21-year-old Israeli working for the local JCC camp, a dental appliance salesman, an ex-Cobra helicopter pilot and a Jr. ROTC instructor. And, while they didn’t quite make it to Blood Mountain, they accomplished their goal: to get to know one another in an environment free of all artifice — no phones, no emails, no tables — just two guys relying on one another, cooking their food over an open fireplace, sleeping out under the stars, and walking and talking for hours at a time.

“We developed a real and strong personal connection which will help in our professional connection. You can’t get there any other way then to struggle because the struggle is where we grow,” Kaplan said. “This was about developing personal relationships. The base of everything we do, whether in business or in pleasure, starts with a personal relationship and if you have trust and respect, that’s the foundation you have to build on. Without that, you’ve got nothing.”

Rabbi Nemitoff added that the journey was their destination.

“The goal was not to get 40 miles up and down the mountain. The goal was to spend time together and get to know each other. I’d venture to guess no rabbi and president have ever done this before. It was incredibly wise on Andrew’s part and incredibly insightful that he asked,” Rabbi Nemitoff said.

Others may not need to take such a journey to forge business, or in this case congregational relationships, but Rabbi Nemitoff recommends taking such a step for everyone.

“You never know what is just around the next bend,” he said. “Sometimes we have to be willing to take the next step to see what’s around the bend. It might be more glorious and more magnificent than you’ve ever imagined. You have to have the courage to take the next step.”

As he’s told this story to others around town, Rabbi Nemitoff has been urged to share it across the country because it is a model for partnership.

“Whether it’s walking the trail or not is irrelevant. It’s creating those moments where there’s nothing artificial in between those two individuals in order to develop that close, intimate relationship where you learn how to trust one another,” Rabbi Nemitoff said. “As Andrew said, when you are able to be around the campfire or on the trail you have to trust one another, shut off all of our defenses and reveal who we really are to one another.”

As a postscript to this story, when Kaplan suggested the trail and Rabbi Nemitoff agreed, he added a caveat: that Kaplan join him in some adventure of the rabbi’s choosing. Kaplan also agreed. That trip is still to be planned, but will occur sometime in 2012. Where? The rabbi has not yet decided.

Four lessons learned on the trail

Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff never did any serious hiking before his trip to the Appalachian Trail with The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah President Andrew Kaplan. In a sermon to the congregation June 24, he explained four lessons he learned that overshadowed anything physical.

Lesson 1: “Carry only what you need. Everything else is excess burden.”

Rabbi Nemitoff explained his backpack was heavy and as he struggled with that weight, he began to understand a little better that we also go through life with extra baggage we don’t need.

“We carry stuff in our lives in terms of tsuris (troubles), and pain and angst and all it does is weigh us down. It doesn’t allow us to go where we need to go as fast as we need to get there. If we can figure out a way, unlike me on the trail, to shed that excess stuff in our lives, our lives would be a lot easier.”

Lesson 2: “Support doesn’t imply weakness but rather wisdom. Stability and balance come with help.” “One of the things that Andrew told me was when we got on the trail we would find ourselves walking sticks,” Rabbi Nemitoff said. He explained that after walking around with a 40-pound backpack a hiker needs extra support.

“Smart people on the trail use a walking stick and the same is true in life. In life we think sometimes that getting help from someone implies weakness on their part.” But, according to Rabbi Nemitoff, it’s just the opposite.

“When we allow people to help us it gives us the support we need to have balance and stability in our lives. We live in a world, in a country, that is self-reliant. That is counter intuitive to the Jewish tradition. The Jewish tradition says allow people to help you. Let people be your support so you can achieve balance and stability.”

Lesson 3: “Walk right and live happy.”

On more than one occasion, Rabbi Nemitoff was in awe of the world around him and the magnificence of nature he was seeing.

“This world is an incredible gift and we can mess with it as much as we want … but it’s only going to get as good as we allow it to be,” he said. “We should allow ourselves to discover how to have a smaller footprint in this world, to have less of an indent in it to allow it to be here for the next generation and the next.”

Lesson 4: “One person’s struggle is another person’s struggle.”

“I came to love Andrew Kaplan. …What was easy for him was incredibly difficult for me, but we did the same thing.”

Rabbi Nemitoff said the lesson here is the need to always be aware of experiencing what the other person is experiencing.

“We need to be sensitive to their needs as well as ours ... (Andrew) was incredibly patient and stayed with me every step of the way. And recognizing that in return, I realized that I was keeping him from working himself out and I tried to be sensitive to that as well.”

There are several famous Jewish author couples currently writing in the United States. Faye and Jonathan Kellerman are known for their mysteries. Ayelet Waldman and her husband, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon, have received accolades. In Kansas City we have our own author duo, Sunie and Lee Levin. Both in their 80s, this couple have been writing for more than 15 years, as they keep busy during their “retirements.”

The first of the couple to have a book published, Sunie started writing as a natural growth from her life as a mother and an educator. This Paseo High School graduate was an educator before she married and had children. When her children were young, she went back to the University of Missouri-Kansas City and earned a master’s degree in special education and remedial reading.

For 22 years she owned Midwest Reading and Dyslexia Clinic, which helped children with dyslexia. She also taught Hebrew school at Congregation Beth Shalom, where they continue their membership.

Over the years her three daughters’ families increased, and now Sunie and Lee have a combined 15 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was the grandchildren who inspired Sunie to write her non-fiction books. The first was “You and Your Grandchildren,” published in 1991. It was soon followed by “Mingled Roots,” which focused on raising interfaith grandchildren.

“I was inspired to write because there was nothing out there that had the information I was interested in,” Sunie said. “When I wrote ‘Mingled Roots,’ I spoke to rabbis and priests. I interviewed people and looked up information.”

She credits her research in making her books so well read because they fill a void for the public.

“These books help people,” she said. “I have people come up to me and say things like, ‘you inspired me to make peace with my daughter in law.’ It makes me feel good … absolutely … really good.”

Sunie does her writing on a built-in hallway desk just off her kitchen. She works six to seven hours a day when working on a book.

“I am always thinking about the next book and what to do,” she said. “It helps to keep me young.”

Turning 80 this year did not slow Sunie down. She just pushes health issues to the side and moves on.

“I have never in my live been bored,” she said smiling. “Some people my age say they are so bored. My favorite expression is, ‘You can’t hit a moving topic.’ So if you are active and interested in things, you stay young.”

Her latest book came about when she and Lee started going to Naples, Fla., for the winters.

“Many were having a hard time making new friends,” she said. “Some were shy, some didn’t know what to do. So I wrote ‘Make New Friends, Live Longer….A Guide for Seniors.’ ”

Her next book will continue with topics for seniors. It will deal with the next stage of life that she herself is looking at, how to pick and adjust to a retirement community.

Although Sunie and Lee do not give each other ideas for an original book, when they proof they do offer suggestions, critiques and comments, mostly done through e-mails they send each other. Sunie’s hallway desk is across the house from Lee’s office, lined with bookcases and windows.

After 59 years of marriage — they met at the Jewish Community Center when it was located on Linwood — they work well together.

“He’s a male chauvinist,” Sunie says with a smile when explaining why he has the office. “It’s the generation.”

HISTORICAL FICTION SPECIALIST

Lee, 83, is a veteran of the Korean War. Although he worked as an insurance executive, he always wanted to be a writer and had a great interest in history. In 1978, while working, he arranged his schedule so he could go back to school, and earned a master’s degree in history from UMKC.

When he is working on one of his historical fiction books, he locks himself away in his office.

“I always write in the mornings,” Lee said. “I seem to be more alert then.”

His first book almost wrote itself.

“I wrote ‘King Tut’s Private Eye’ very quickly, in about 90 days,” Lee said. “It seemed to be on auto pilot. The other books took longer. This last book took three years, mainly on research.”
‘King Tut’s Private Eye’ came about because Lee loves murder mysteries.

“I wondered who wrote the first mystery,” he said. “I know Edgar Allen Poe … but what if someone did it before him. So I came up with the idea of a really ancient murder mystery, and an archaeologist who discovers the scrolls in Egypt.”

Lee also researches every book. Although he doesn’t stay in the library to work, he relies heavily on the library and inter-library loans. The newest book, ‘The Messiah of Septimania,’ came about while he was doing research on a different book, which now is forgotten.

“It was the result of pure accident,” he said. “I ran across information on the Jewish kingdom of Septimania. Then I discovered this incredible story about a Jewish kingdom in medieval France. It is all historically true. This king brought the Babylonian Talmud to the West; he was the Jewish uncle of Charlemagne. The Jewish Kingdom of Septimania lasted 140 years with six very able Jewish kings.”

By necessity, Lee fictionalizes the life of this king. He knows that it has happened through his research, but he does not know the how or the why. That is where the fiction came through.

The Levins Jewish roots do impact some of their writings.

“I was brought up in an Orthodox home and kept kosher,” Sunie said. “I think being Jewish is part of my writing, because I am curious about everything and I want to help.”

Lee admits being Jewish had no impact on his early writings, but the newest book is different.

“ ‘The Messiah of Septimania’ was entirely formed by my being Jewish,” he said. “It really told the story of how brilliantly and effectively Jews were able to express themselves and their culture when they had a chance to do it. This kingdom was a forerunner of Israel. It was able to be a peer of the Christian kingdoms around it, including having an effective army.”

Writing is not the Levins only professions. While their earlier books were published by well-known publishers, they have joined the growing trend of authors who are forming their own companies. Their company is Royal Heritage Press. Their most recent books are available at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.

“Fewer and fewer books are getting published by hard cover publishers,” Lee said. “They just want best sellers because of the change in the publishing industry.”

Besides writing and publishing, Sunie also wants to inspire others.

“Lee spoke to the ROMEOs, and someone came up to him and said he was bored,” Sunie said. “Well they should write their memoirs, write ethical wills for their grandchildren, write a journal for their children. I want to inspire people that even though they are in their 80s they can leave something for the next generation.”