Sarah Bassin started thinking she might want to be a rabbi while she was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah 16 years ago. Ordained last month by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, she isn’t going to be a pulpit rabbi or an educator. Instead, she will start July 1 as the executive director of NewGrounds|A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change in Los Angeles.

Before her official duties begin she’ll be making a trip home to Kansas City to visit her family — her parents, Leah and Leonard Bassin and her brother’s family, Zack and Lindsey Bassin and their son, Jonah. While she’s here, she’ll participate in the Shabbat service on Friday night, June 17, at Congregation Kol Ami.

Rabbi Bassin is one of at least 15 people who were educated at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, to become a rabbi. She became a Bat Mitzvah and was confirmed there, and also served as a volunteer B’nai Mitzvah tutor, which started immediately following her own Bat Mitzvah.

During that time she formed a close relationship with Cantor Paul Silbersher, who was the cantor at B’nai Jehudah when she was a young teen and who just retired as spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami. The Bassin family joined Kol Ami when it was formed in 2003.

“I actually continued a relationship with Cantor Silbersher throughout college and beyond,” said Rabbi Bassin. “When I started rabbinic school he was very supportive of my journey.”

She chose to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. It has a small population, she estimates about 10 percent of the student body, of Jewish students. In 2004 she graduated with honors and summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies and history.

“At my Bat Mitzvah I started throwing around the idea of becoming a rabbi. Throughout my high school experience in BBYO and my Hillel experience in college it just became more and more affirmed for me that that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.

“At the same time I become more certain that I didn’t want to go into congregational work. I knew I wanted to be a rabbi, but that wasn’t the incarnation of rabbi that I wanted to be,” she said.

Following graduation and before entering rabbinic school, she spent two years working at Princeton University’s Hillel. But it was a summer college internship with the American Jewish Committee in Chicago in 2003 that inspired her “to start pursuing the track of interfaith relations.”

Her interest in the field was reaffirmed during her first year of rabbinic studies in Jerusalem. There she worked with programs where she encountered Palestinians and learned more about Muslims and Islam.

“Once I started down that track I became much more passionate about pursuing Jewish-Muslim relations and focusing less on Jewish-Christian relations. That’s because it seemed to be a stronger and more pressing need to bridge the gap between Jews and Muslims.” Rabbi Bassin said.

She’ll be the first executive directly of the newly independent NewGrounds|A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. It was used to be a partnership between the Progressive Jewish Alliance and Muslim Public Affairs Council. In fact the website, http://newgroundproject.weebly.com/, still describes the organization that way. Updating the website will be one of Rabbi Bassin’s first tasks as its director.

“The project is geared specifically toward young professionals of both communities and builds cohorts of Muslims and Jews who do intensive dialogue and relationship building with one another,” the young rabbi explains.
Rabbi Bassin said NewGrounds is becoming independent of its parent organizations because it’s been “a very successful project and has enough energy to go independent. So a number of people invested on both sides, both Muslim and Jewish, decided to form it as its own 501(c)3.”

She is happy that some of the program staff from the original organization is staying on, giving the organization’s new incarnation some continuity.

Another exciting change for NewGrounds is that it will have an office at the Los Angeles City Hall.

“We have the mayor’s encouragement and support,” she said.

Rabbi Bassin said she is “beyond” excited for her new job, but working in that field is not new to a young rabbi.

“For the last couple of years I have been working on Muslim-Jewish relations here in Los Angeles. My rabbinic internship has been with an organization called the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.”

She said she has grown really passionate about the need for good Muslim-Jewish relations.

“I was just really lucky that at the same time I was getting ordained this position opened up and somebody that I knew through the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement encouraged me to apply for this position,” she said.

She said that the rabbinic program at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles is great for teaching rabbis, but it doesn’t necessarily train people well for non-profit management. So she had the foresight to pursue a certificate in Jewish non-profit management as well, earning it last year.

“That will hopefully give me a running start on the fundraising and the organizational management,” she said. Rabbi Bassin also holds a master’s degree in Hebrew Letters, which she earned in 2009.

Sarah Bassin started thinking she might want to be a rabbi while she was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah 16 years ago. Ordained last month by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, she isn’t going to be a pulpit rabbi or an educator. Instead, she will start July 1 as the executive director of NewGrounds|A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change in Los Angeles.

Before her official duties begin she’ll be making a trip home to Kansas City to visit her family — her parents, Leah and Leonard Bassin and her brother’s family, Zack and Lindsey Bassin and their son, Jonah. While she’s here, she’ll participate in the Shabbat service on Friday night, June 17, at Congregation Kol Ami.

Rabbi Bassin is one of at least 15 people who were educated at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, to become a rabbi. She became a Bat Mitzvah and was confirmed there, and also served as a volunteer B’nai Mitzvah tutor, which started immediately following her own Bat Mitzvah.

During that time she formed a close relationship with Cantor Paul Silbersher, who was the cantor at B’nai Jehudah when she was a young teen and who just retired as spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami. The Bassin family joined Kol Ami when it was formed in 2003.

“I actually continued a relationship with Cantor Silbersher throughout college and beyond,” said Rabbi Bassin. “When I started rabbinic school he was very supportive of my journey.”

She chose to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. It has a small population, she estimates about 10 percent of the student body, of Jewish students. In 2004 she graduated with honors and summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies and history.

“At my Bat Mitzvah I started throwing around the idea of becoming a rabbi. Throughout my high school experience in BBYO and my Hillel experience in college it just became more and more affirmed for me that that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.

“At the same time I become more certain that I didn’t want to go into congregational work. I knew I wanted to be a rabbi, but that wasn’t the incarnation of rabbi that I wanted to be,” she said.

Following graduation and before entering rabbinic school, she spent two years working at Princeton University’s Hillel. But it was a summer college internship with the American Jewish Committee in Chicago in 2003 that inspired her “to start pursuing the track of interfaith relations.”

Her interest in the field was reaffirmed during her first year of rabbinic studies in Jerusalem. There she worked with programs where she encountered Palestinians and learned more about Muslims and Islam.

“Once I started down that track I became much more passionate about pursuing Jewish-Muslim relations and focusing less on Jewish-Christian relations. That’s because it seemed to be a stronger and more pressing need to bridge the gap between Jews and Muslims.” Rabbi Bassin said.

She’ll be the first executive directly of the newly independent NewGrounds|A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. It was used to be a partnership between the Progressive Jewish Alliance and Muslim Public Affairs Council. In fact the website, http://newgroundproject.weebly.com/, still describes the organization that way. Updating the website will be one of Rabbi Bassin’s first tasks as its director.

“The project is geared specifically toward young professionals of both communities and builds cohorts of Muslims and Jews who do intensive dialogue and relationship building with one another,” the young rabbi explains.

Rabbi Bassin said NewGrounds is becoming independent of its parent organizations because it’s been “a very successful project and has enough energy to go independent. So a number of people invested on both sides, both Muslim and Jewish, decided to form it as its own 501(c)3.”

She is happy that some of the program staff from the original organization is staying on, giving the organization’s new incarnation some continuity.

Another exciting change for NewGrounds is that it will have an office at the Los Angeles City Hall.

“We have the mayor’s encouragement and support,” she said.

Rabbi Bassin said she is “beyond” excited for her new job, but working in that field is not new to a young rabbi.

“For the last couple of years I have been working on Muslim-Jewish relations here in Los Angeles. My rabbinic internship has been with an organization called the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement.”

She said she has grown really passionate about the need for good Muslim-Jewish relations.

“I was just really lucky that at the same time I was getting ordained this position opened up and somebody that I knew through the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement encouraged me to apply for this position,” she said.

She said that the rabbinic program at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles is great for teaching rabbis, but it doesn’t necessarily train people well for non-profit management. So she had the foresight to pursue a certificate in Jewish non-profit management as well, earning it last year.

“That will hopefully give me a running start on the fundraising and the organizational management,” she said. Rabbi Bassin also holds a master’s degree in Hebrew Letters, which she earned in 2009.

School’s out and college kids often look for jobs where they can get some real-world learning to enhance their classroom studies. Starting Monday, June 13, seven lucky Jewish students will spend their summer vacations working at a variety of Jewish agencies as part of the Daniel L. Brenner Leadership Summer Internship Program.

This is the ninth year for the program, which is administered by Karen Gerson, director of the CAJE/Jewish Federation’s Learning for Life Program. College students get paid while working for a Jewish institution. Interns have worked a variety of Jewish institutions over the years including Congregation Beth Torah, Congregation BIAV, Kansas University Hillel Foundation, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, The Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Joint Committee, Jewish Community Center Summer camps, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Community Foundation, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and Village Shalom.

Gerson said the program makes an impact on the community, and both the interns and the institutions benefit from it. Howard Jacobson, who has been involved from the beginning as a funder and a mentor, agrees.

“Before they serve as interns, most of them have very little concept of how things work in the Jewish community,” said Jacobson, who over the years has held many leadership positions in the community including serving as president of the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Campus.

“We have found that they gain a much better understanding of the Jewish community during their internships. After they return to our community or their own community, almost all of them have gotten active in various Jewish organizations. So it’s really been a win-win for the community as well as the students,” he continued.

Jay Lewis, executive director of KU Hillel, said his organization sees benefits from both sides of the coin.

“For KU Hillel, the interns we have had over the past few years have helped us reach out to and engage hundreds of incoming freshmen each summer. For our students who work as interns across the Kansas City Jewish community, the internship is a fantastic professional and leadership development program that connects our best and brightest to the Jewish community,” Lewis said.

Gerson explained that the internships show these students how they can make a living in the Jewish community, as well as the role volunteers play. In the short-term, they also get to meet new people their own age and network with them when they meet weekly for a seminar.

The seminars are presented by a variety of professionals and lay leaders in the community. Gerson said the presenters often talk about how they first got involved in the community as young adults. As a mentor, Jacobson also offers to meet with the interns in smaller groups if they desire more insight into the community.

Up until this year, the main funder of the program was the Sam and Helen Kaplan Memorial Fund, which is directed by Jacobson. It will still fund a small portion of the program this year, but now the majority of funds come from the Daniel L. Brenner fund.

“Daniel Leon Brenner expressed his religious faith throughout his life in his devotion to education, justice and charitable service to others. This program combines all three of his passions, as well as his heartfelt belief in passing on these values to the next generation,” noted Barbara Unell, Daniel Brenner’s niece. “He would be honored to be among those supporting the important life lessons integrated in the experiences of the participants of the program,” she said.

A portion of the funding also comes from the institutions, which Jacobson thinks is important.

“If the organizations don’t have any stake in the program, then they aren’t going to appreciate it. So we pay for part of it and they pay for part,” he said.
Gerson believes the agencies benefit from the interns “fresh, new perspectives and their fantastic ideas.”

Jacobson pointed out that the interns are matched with positions that fit their interests. They are in charge of at least one project for the summer and have access to the executive director, board meetings and committee meetings to really get an insight into the inner workings of the institution.

Gerson and Jacobson believe the program has been a huge success. Of the 42 alumni, 12 work in the field of Jewish communal service or fulfill volunteer roles in their Jewish communities. From last year alone, two are in rabbinic school and one is pursuing a master’s degree in Jewish communal social work.

DISASTER RELIEF MISSION — BIAV and Congregation Beth Torah have organized a trip to Joplin, Mo., for Sunday, June 12. In cooperation with the American Red Cross, participants will spend the day helping the residents of Joplin rebuild their city and their lives. The group will leave from the parking lot of BIAV at 7 a.m. and return to BIAV at about 7 p.m. that evening. The event is being coordinated by Tuvia Brander, a BIAV intern from Yeshiva University, and Aaron Nielsenshultz of CBT. Volunteers should sign up in advance before Shabbat begins today, Friday, June 10. Contact Brander at (561) 271-4148, or Nielsenshultz at (913) 206-0383, . More information is also available at https://spreadsheets0.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&formkey=dElFUnVfZUZOUko5dWRLa2NWcGwtdlE6MA#gid=0.

AJC ON THE GO — On the recent Greater Kansas City Chamber trip to China, JCRB|AJC’s Marvin Szneler was a guest at the Israel Embassy to China in Beijing. They gave him a gift of the 12 episode TV documentary series “The Road to the Jewish Civilization. Walk into Israel-The Land of Milk and Honey” produced for the China Central Television (CCTV), an official China television network. They proudly pointed out the American Jewish Committee logo on the back of the box and said the documentary would not been possible without support of AJC.

UNDER THE STARS — Starlight Theatre opened its season Monday night with “The King and I,” which continues through Sunday, June 12. The first musical of the season features Leawood resident Grant Karpin as Louis Leonowens. The 13-year-old son of Mimi and Kevin Karpin previously performed at Starlight in 2009 as a local orphan boy in the touring production of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” His theatre experience includes roles in the Kansas City Lyric Opera’s productions of “Charlotte’s Web” and “Three Little Pigs.” He has received extensive training at Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice and regularly performs throughout Kansas City in the school’s productions. He was last pictured in this column in December when he was among a select group of students that performed as dancers and vocalists in 2010’s televised Plaza Lighting Ceremony. He has received additional training at Camp Broadway in New York City. Grant will be in seventh grade this fall at Community School #1 in Mission, Kan.

COMMEMORATING A CENTURY OF SERVICE — Village Shalom is approaching 100 years of caring for the senior adults of Kansas City’s Jewish community. To commemorate a century of service in 2012, Village Shalom is seeking individuals and/or interesting stories with a connection to any of its predecessor organizations: the Moshav Zkeinim (“old-age home” founded in 1912), the Michael Appleman Home for Jewish Aged (1919-1950) and Jewish Geriatric & Convalescent Center/Shalom Geriatric Center (1950-2000).

If you or someone you know had noteworthy involvement with any of these organizations, or if you have photographs, memorabilia or historical artifacts from any of these facilities, please contact Linda Salvay, Village Shalom communications manager, at (913) 266-8119 or .

BOWLING FOR CHARITY — My friend Barb Mendelsohn organizes a bowling tournament every year called “Bowling with Barb.” She’s the Barb, not me. The 2011 version is planned for Sunday, July 10, at the Ward Parkway Lanes. This year we thought it would be fun if we had a mini BBYO reunion at the same time. We are looking for people who were in BBYO in the early to mid-1970s, who may have known me, Barb Mendelsohn or her sister, Sharon Mendelsohn Altman, to join us. We’ll welcome any BBYO alum no matter what the year! It’s a great way to raise money for mitochondrial disease, which Mendelsohn has been living with for more than 20 years. A lot of people bowl, but many, like me, simply chat the afternoon away. If you want more information about the event, contact me at The Chronicle, , or find any of the three of us on Facebook. If we get enough interest, maybe we can organize an even bigger BBYO reunion in the future! So as Barb (the other one, not me) always says: “May you always have love to share, health to spare and friends that care.”

School’s out and while summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21, the Mitzvah Garden KC crew has already been working for months in hopes of growing a bumper crop of foods that will help the less fortunate in Kansas City.

“We hope Mitzvah Garden KC creates an environment of nurturing to provide physical and spiritual sustenance throughout our Jewish and wider community,” said Ken Sonnenschein, who serves as co-chair of the garden along with Larry Lehman and Andrew Kaplan. “As our motto says, it takes a garden to grow a community.”

This is the second year for the newly expanded Mitzvah Garden KC. Sonnenschein said it all started in the fall of 1999 when volunteers from Congregation Beth Torah built 10 raised beds for gardening at Village Shalom as part of their mitzvah day. Last year the garden expanded to include ground at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

“We have gone from 840 square feet to 10,000 square feet and now 15,000 square feet,” explained Lehman. “It has been wonderful synergy among the leaders and the various Jewish organizations who have participated by donating time and equipment and funds to make Mitzvah Garden KC possible.”

The goal of the Mitzvah Garden KC is to provide healthy food alternatives to those less fortunate in the community; to create a sense of community among the Jewish congregations of Kansas City; develop a self-sustainable and long-living charitable program for all ages; and to create an experiential learning environment for both religious and secular studies. Plantings include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkins, onions and gourds.

Mitzvah Garden KC sells some of its produce to help buy seed and plants for the next year. But most of the produce is donated to help others in the Jewish community through the Simcha Box Program a collaborative effort between Jewish Family Services and Yachad: The Kosher Food Pantry.

“Last year we also donated produce to pantries at Center of Grace and St. Anthony’s. We estimate that we were able to produce over 3,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables last year and we hope to produce even more this year,” Lehman said.

When the garden expanded last year, it also expanded its scope of both volunteers and funders. Sonnenschein, who has been involved with the garden since its inception, said those expansions have been “awesome” and has allowed the garden to grow in every way.

One of the major funders of Mitzvah Garden KC is the Herman Levikow fund of the Menorah Legacy Foundation, which is under the guidance of Gayla Brockman.

“The condition of the funding was that we participate in the foundation’s Beans&Greens Program, which enables people with Snap cards (food stamps) to receive $2 of fresh produce for every $1 they spend at nine different farmers markets. Last year we participated in the Sunday market in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City, Kan., which is an area without a grocery store that is known as a food desert,” Lehman said.

This year, Beans and Greens has a mobile market. So instead of staffing booths at farmer’s markets, the mobile unit will pick up produce from growers like Mitzvah Garden KC, store it and deliver it to the markets.

“Our hope in participating in this is that it will help provide us enough ‘seed’ money for planting next year,” Sonnenschein said.

The garden has several new things this year. One is a gourd house that people will be able to walk into that will have gourds hanging from the walls and ceiling. Also new this year, Sonnenschein said, are birdhouses at the gardens which will encourage insect-eating Purple Martins to make their homes there.

“We already had one family move in, but their home was damaged by wind,” he said.

In addition a vineyard has been planted at the entrance to the garden to compliment the fig trees already growing there.

“We are moving toward having a demonstration of the seven species (shivat haminim) mentioned in the Torah,” Sonnenschein said.

Another exciting thing, Sonnenschein said, is the work taking place “toward creating a sustainable irrigation system using collected rainwater to water the garden and be a demonstration project for other community and home gardeners.”

Lehman said that last year the garden had some raised beds that were available for preschoolers to plant flowers and vegetables, which are being reconstructed for use again this year.

Along those lines, Lehman said one of the garden’s essential components is education. He explained that Jewish holidays related to planting and harvesting are often celebrated at the garden. Study sessions related to planting and the Torah are also held.

“It has been wonderful for children who visit us to understand the original significance of horseradish, the seven species, corners of our fields and other important agricultural lessons,” Lehman said.

A small, but devoted, core group of individual who volunteer their time at the garden on a regular basis. At the end of last year’s planting season, Mitzvah Garden KC chose two “extraordinary volunteers who made special contributions to the garden” by awarding them with the Golden Trowel Award. Last year’s Golden Trowel winners were Gayla Brockman, Emily Greenbaum, Brenda Ruppel and Ben Sharda.

Sonnenschein added that there is always an open invitation for anyone to come and help.

“The groups who have helped us this year and last have been essential in our bigger projects that have involved construction and planting. We are usually in the garden on Sunday mornings and as the weather warms up our starting time will be earlier,” Lehman said.

“There is no limit to our capacity to grow the good in our world,” Sonnenschein added.

To be placed on the Mitzvah Garden KC mailing list, which is already sent to more than 240 members of the community, contact .

Mara Strom Sachs watched helplessly as footage of the recent tornado damage in Joplin, Mo., rolled across the television. A blogger and author of Kosher on a Budget, Sachs is aware of the power of social networking.

So after contacting Ariel Boxman, Joplin’s student rabbi at United Hebrew Congregation, Sachs immediately posted information on her blog and e-mailed members of Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner with a list of how people could help.

“The devastation from the tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and Reading, Kan., is heart-breaking and incomprehensible. Since I live just a few hours north of Joplin, the tragedy is even more palpable. I desperately want to help,” she wrote. “And I know you do, too.”

According to Sachs, Boxman arrived in Joplin on May 25, just two days after the tornado struck. The synagogue is standing, but professionals need to assess structural and internal damage. Contact has been made with all of the UHC congregants and there have been no reported fatalities within the Jewish community.

“However, many of the UHC congregants lived in the area of Joplin that suffered the worst damage. The homes of the president of the synagogue, many board members and a number of congregants were completely destroyed,” Sachs added. “These families are now staying in temporary shelters and area motels.”

UHC has been named a center for distribution of supplies to those within — and beyond — the UHC community. This initiative is being called “Yesh Tikvah – There is Hope!”

To coordinate the program from Kansas City, Sachs enlisted the help of BIAV’s Rabbi Dani Rockoff and President Andy Ernstein. BIAV will serve as a drop-off point for needed supplies, such as over-the-counter first aid supplies and medications, especially ibuprofen and/or Advil, disposable diapers (all sizes), baby wipes, diaper rash cream, baby food including baby cereal, jarred food and baby formula — especially the ready-made kind. Sachs noted that “water in Joplin isn’t potable right now, so finding safe water to mix with formula can be a major issue.”

In addition, donations of baby bottles and nipples (new only), personal care items, such as shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other items, as well as new pillows and blankets are needed.
Sachs also said that $10 gift cards to Walmart would be welcomed. “While most of the big box stores in Joplin were destroyed by the tornado, there are two Walmarts still standing. Gift cards will be donated to UHC so that families may replace their belongings that were destroyed.”

The plan is to pack all like items together to make it easier for distribution. And Sachs’ readers at her blog, www.kosheronabudget.com, have already begun to send donations. So in addition to the items listed, boxes are needed.

When Congregation Beth Shalom’s summer camp opens on June 6, families also can drop off items for Yesh Tikvah at the Lamar location as well. “A huge thank you goes to Judy Jacks Berman, director of the Rose Family Early Childhood Center, for her incredible support and enthusiasm for this campaign,” Sachs added.

“The plan is to gather donations and drive them down personally to Joplin on Sunday, June 19. Three weeks from now, the needs will be just as urgent, but the media and national attention will have moved on,” Sachs added.

Boxman, the Joplin student rabbi, is also accepting monetary donations for the congregation. Make checks payable to UHC and mail them to United Hebrew Congregation, P.O Box 661, Joplin, MO 64802.

Many other organizations are accepting donations as well. Checks and credit card donations can be made out to Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund, (marked Yesh Tikvah), Congregation BIAV, 9900 Antioch, Overland Park, KS 66212, or call Barry Rubin at (913) 341-2444 to donate by credit card. Checks and credit card donations for tornado relief are being accepted by a variety of organizations including: Union for Reform Judaism (www.urj.org); Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City (www.jewishkansascity.org), Orthodox Union (www.ou.org) or Heart of Missouri United Way (www.uwheartmo.org).

In addition to the Yesh Tikvah project, those wishing to help can check out the Federation’s list of volunteer opportunities, including putting together basic care kits and donating blood (type O is the most urgently needed).

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is being called an “it” rabbi.

He’s been named by Newsweek magazine as one of the top 50 rabbis in America. As co-founder of Mechon Hadar, an education institution seeking to empower Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning, prayer and service, he is gaining quite a following.

“You’ve got to read his book,” said Jill Maidhof, the associate executive director of the Jewish Community Center who is also serving as interim head of its adult Jewish learning department.

The book is “Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities.” The author will be the keynote speaker at three events June 12 and 13 when the JCC launches the expansion of its adult education program, to be known as the Department of Jewish Life and Learning.

Rabbi Kaunfer is a graduate of Harvard College. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also completed a master’s degree and is pursuing a doctorate in liturgy. He is also a Wexner graduate and inaugural Avi Chai fellow.

The rabbi believes Jews who are engaged in the Jewish community are those who will see that it thrives in the future. Engaged Jews, he said, are people who are invested in taking their lives seriously and are not simply spectators.

“Some of the nature of engagement in the name of Jewish life is very passive these days. Show up and listen. Show up and sit. But not really take full control in terms of diving in to what it means to be an active, participating Jew,” he said.

Those who are truly engaged, he explained, are people who have a sense that their Jewish practice and expression actually is important and impacts their lives.

“As a result they want to find full expression of what it means to be Jewish,” he said.

One way people are expressing their Jewishness is by forming or participating in what Rabbi Kaunfer calls independent minyanim. These are independent communities that meet with some frequency, usually once a month or more. They are also independent endeavors run by volunteers, not clergy, and are not affiliated by any existing denomination.

Some may think these minyanim sound a lot like chavurahs, but Rabbi Kaunfer said there are significant differences. One is that the chavurahs of the ‘60s and ‘70s often began as a counter-culture movement and made significant modifications in the words and modes of prayer.

Today’s independent minyanim movement, he said, are by and large using a traditional service.

“The innovations they are making in the prayer mode are less about the words from a change standpoint and more about focusing on participatory singing and striving for an excellence in quality that indicates a high level of engagement with what it means to be praying,” he said.

“There’s obviously a lot of similarities between independent minyanim and chavurahs and we don’t see ourselves as doing something uniquely new,” he continued. “That’s the beauty of being Jewish. It’s continuing a line of traditional innovation.”

In fact independent minyanim is an old Jewish practice, the rabbi said. Most function as a Jewish community, where they invite each other over for meals and have a communal as well as a prayer aspect.
Rabbi Kaunfer believes independent minyanim can enhance the organized Jewish community, as opposed to being a detriment to it.

“The people who are motivated to start these minyanim are, by their nature, engaged and seeking Judaism and are living a Jewish life and practice. I think that’s important for the future of Judaism,” he said.

In fact, depending on where you live in the United States, Rabbi Kaunfer said people who are active in an independent minyan are also active in a synagogue.

If you’re still a little confused about what an independent minyan is and how it can enhance a community, Rabbi Kaunfer put it another way, comparing starting an independent minyan to starting a blog. Say you don’t like the way NBC News, for instance, reports the news, so you start your own news blog.

“Your blog doesn’t really put NBC News out of business or even diminish the contributions of what it does,” the rabbi said. “But it does allow people to say I want to jump into to this game myself and bring my own self to the expression of what I think is important.”

In still other words, he explains it’s just a whole different way of approaching what it means to be Jewish.

“One model we have allows us to select from existing options and either complain about it or love it. The other approach is to take a look at the existing options and see in what way you can contribute to expand the options. That’s what independent minyanim do.”

Leah Jordan, a rabbinical student from Kansas City who interned at Congregation Beth Torah, loved studying with Rabbi Kaunfer this past year at Yeshivat Hadar, the egalitarian yeshiva he co-founded in New York City a few years ago, and thinks members of the community will enjoy hearing him speak.

“Rav Elie, as he’s known at Yeshivat Hadar, has great insight into independent minyanim and what Judaism and Jews want and need in prayer and community in the modern world,” Jordan said.

The Jewish Community Center’s Department of Adult Jewish Learning is becoming the department of Jewish Life and Learning. It will be formally launched Sunday, June 12, when Rabbi Eli Kaunfer will be featured at three events.

Following Rabbi Kaunfer’s speech on June 12, (see below for details), Jill Maidhof, the JCC associate exectuve director, explained that the JCC will offer a taste of the education options it will offer this fall.
“We are providing modules, sort of like speed dating, where people can choose between 20 different modules and preview what learning opportunities will be offered in the fall,” she said.

Maidhof said the JCC is excited to be offering a larger variety of choices this fall. The class offerings reflect what was learned during surveys taken this past winter, including “the silos that we’ve identified as being spirituality and personal wellness.”

That includes Ayeka – which means in Hebrew where are you — and has already begun.

“It has to do with exploring our personal relationships with God and bringing God into our everyday lives,” Maidhof said. “We have formal adult education and informal experiences, family programs, current events and contemporary history, Israel and Hebrew on the agenda as well.”

That’s not all.

“In addition to Melton, we will be offering guided meditation, a cooking activity and we’re doing a current events. We’re excited to have Milton Katz, who is teaching a wonderful program about exploring the Holocaust through art,” she continued.

In addition to the “infomercials” participants will hear June 12, a brochure featuring all the class offerings will be mailed to members of the Jewish community, to both members and non-members of the JCC, at the beginning of August.

“We hope it will go out to anyone who has ever been serious about Jewish life and learning,” Maidhof said.

Following the taste of Jewish Life and Learning, Rabbi Kaunfeer will conduct a short question and answer period. As the afternoon winds down, he will meet with those who have made reservations to attend a dinner where he will continue to speak about empowered Judaism.

Beside his public presentations, arrangements have been made for Rabbi Kaunfer to meet with agency and congregational leaders as well as the local rabbis.

Maidhof said with the expansion of its Jewish education program, the JCC hopes to become more collaborative with other agencies and congregations. The coordination of conversations between the various organizations is one way to begin the collaboration.

“We think this is a great model and a very exciting series of conversations, which we hope will lead to future conversations and collaborations. This is just the beginning,” she said.

Maidhof, who is currently serving as the interim director of Jewish Life and Learning, said the JCC is currently conducting a nationwide search for a permanent director of the department.

“We are accepting resumes. There is no time frame for hiring that person. We are more committed to hiring the right person than to meet a convenient time frame,” she said.

Empowered Judaism events planned

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer will speak at three events sponsored by the Jewish Community Center’s Department of Jewish Life and Learning.

The first event will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Jewish Community Campus. After Rabbi Kaunfer gives the keynote address, “How Can I Pray What I May Not Believe?, participants can choose from more than 20 interactive previews of fall programming, presented by the faculty of the new Department of Jewish Life and Learning. Topics will include Jewish spirituality, guided meditation, text study, history, books discussion, ethnic cooking, Israel, current events and more. For a listing of previews, visit jcckc.org. The program is free and child care is available on a space-available basis.

At 5 p.m. that same day, dinner with the rabbi begins. Rabbi Kaunfer will share remarks and respond to questions about his book, “Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities.” Pre-paid reservations, at $10 per person, are required. No child care is provided for this event.

Monday, June 13, Rabbi Kaunfer will give the keynote address, “Cutting Class for Moral Reasons: When Jewish Texts Conflict with My Values,” followed by commencement exercises and dessert bar at the Community Celebration for 2011 Melton Graduates. The free event begins at 7:15 p.m. at the Jewish Community Campus and is open to the public. Child care is available on a space-available basis.

Reservations for any or all of these three programs, and childcare, may be made by contacting Gail Odgers at (913) 327-8002 or .

This week marks the second month in a row that Randal Strong-Wallace has an exhibit opening featuring his model roller coasters. “Project 31: The Roller Coasters of Worlds of Fun,” opened Wednesday, June 1, at Union Station. The exhibit is free and will be displayed at Union Station until Aug. 11. It will be open during normal Union Station hours, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The exhibit features hand-built working models of all five coasters that were at Worlds of Fun in 1980 (31 years ago, hence the Project 31 title). The five coasters are: the Orient Express, Screamroller, Schussboomer, Zambezi Zinger and even the park’s kiddy coaster, the Silly Serpent. The scale models are 1:48 scale, which is the same scale as Lionel trains.

In addition to the models, there are historic photographs of the coasters; an actual wheel from the Orient Express; an original 1980 park map and copies of the original blue prints for the Zambezi Zinger.

Strong-Wallace, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, has been making roller coaster models since he was a young boy, and working models since 1990. The exhibit is dedicated to his late grandmother, Thelma, who took him to Worlds of Fun for the first time in 1979 when he was 11 years old. They made the trip from Wichita, Kan., where they both lived.

He explained his grandmother is also responsible for his interest in building roller coasters.

“She was attempting to make me a roller coaster cake for my birthday when I was in fifth grade, long before any of these cake building shows were popular. She made a coaster car out of construction paper, but it didn’t work for the cake. I found it and asked if I could keep it,” Strong-Wallace said.

Then he built a paper track and structure to go along with the car and played with it for hours.

“I kept making paper and balsa wood models throughout my teen years,” he said.

Besides the local exhibits, people can see his creations on his website, www.modelcoasters.com.

“A few years ago I decided to put a model coaster I had just finished, ‘The Flash,’ on YouTube. It became quite popular. Then the questions came, like ‘How did you build your model?’ and ‘What materials do you use?’ So late last year I started the website to provide info regarding my creations,” Strong Wallace said.

On the website you will find a photo gallery of his models and links to You Tube videos. Soon he hopes to implement a ‘how to build a model section,’ which will include video tutorials and resources for supplies.
The Project 31 exhibit debuted early last month at the Blue Djinn Gallery in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. It happened almost by accident, Wallace-Strong said.

“I had wanted to have an open house so my friends could see the roller coasters,” he said. “But I thought there would be too many people for my house and for my neighborhood.”

He thought it would be nice to make arrangements to have a First Friday exhibit in the Crossroads district. But that was easier said than done.

With no exhibit space secured, Strong-Wallace just continued his daily activities. While he was shopping at Doc’s Caboose — a local model train store he frequented — he started a casual conversation with the store’s owner, Doc Snyder. Snyder just happens to also own the Blue Djinn Gallery in the same building. Coincidentally, an artist had just cancelled an exhibit at the gallery, so there was a spot for Strong-Wallace. Even better, the space was offered free of charge.

“I owe Doc Snyder a huge thank you for providing a special place to kick off the Project 31 exhibit in Kansas City,” Strong-Wallace said.

The Union Station exhibit also happened by accident. Tony Cook, Union Station’s marketing and public relations manager, learned about the Blue Djinn Gallery from Snyder. He invited Strong-Wallace to move the exhibit to Union Station for June and July. Strong-Wallace jumped at the opportunity.

“I wasn’t looking forward to taking the models home and Union Station is a great place for people to see them,” Strong-Wallace said.

The first exhibit was greeted with great enthusiasm.

“Doc doesn’t have exact records, but we know we had 100 to 150 the first night. He believes that’s either the biggest or second biggest opening the gallery has ever had,” Strong-Wallace said. “I thought I’d know just about everyone who came, but I only knew about half of the people. The others read about it in the Star or The Chronicle.”

Strong-Wallace spent every Saturday during the exhibit at the Blue Djinn Gallery. He enjoyed meeting the people and said “it was a blast” discussing his roller coasters and answering the visitor’s questions.

When the exhibit leaves Union Station, it will be on display one more time this summer at Worlds of Fun. The one-day exhibit is Aug. 13 during Coaster Mayhem. The exhibit time has not yet been announced.

“I never dreamed this hobby would get to be so big,” Strong-Wallace said.

Strong-Wallace builds the models strictly as a hobby and he never imagined in his wildest dreams he would have public exhibits.

“My website is for fun and to showcase my models. I don’t build models for anyone else. I think it would take some of the fun out of my hobby.”

He won’t go as far to say he’d never build models for anyone else. But he’s still happy to build them for his own enjoyment.

And yes, he still loves Worlds of Fun, the park that’s the backdrop for this exhibit.

“I am a season pass holder and I go an average of twice a week,” he said.

JOPLIN IS STILL IN OUR HEARTS AND ON OUR MINDS — We have more information about the Jewish community in Joplin in today’s issue. Joplin is the focus of Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn’s regular column this week. The main focus of the other article is on an effort being organized by blogger Mara Strom Sachs. But I need to point out that many, many members of the Jewish community — both professionals and volunteers — are working tirelessly to help both the Jewish community and all the Joplinites that have been affected by the killer tornado. When you read these articles, you might think that they are somewhat contradictory. It reminds me of the often quoted saying if you have three Jews, you’ll have three opinions. (By the way, Rabbi Scott White will be teaching such a class at the Jewish Community Center this fall!) One person says the best way to help is this way. Another expert says you should help another way. There’s still a lot of confusion in Joplin and the bottom line is there is more than one way to help in this situation. If you like to give money, it will be appreciated and there are many different avenues in which you can do so. If you feel better donating goods, do that. If you prefer a hands-on approach, I’m sure there will be an organized Jewish effort for that sometime soon as well. (Maybe there already is and we just don’t know about it.) The bottom line is you should do whatever it is that makes you feel good. As the Nike commercial says, just do it!

A HAIRCUT TO REMEMBER — Gabrielle Fulford, who will be a second-grade student at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy in the fall, recently cut at least eight inches of her hair and donated it to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program. The hair will be used to create a real-hair wig, which will be distributed for free through American Cancer Society wig banks across the country.

Gabrielle is the daughter of Michelle Cohen and Mark Fulford. Cohen said this is the second time her daughter has done this and probably will do it again in the future. “We talk about doing mitzvot and it’s not necessarily donating money and donating your time but it’s donating something that you have that can benefit someone who needs it. It’s a relatively easy thing to do and a very meaningful thing for her to do,” Cohen said. Meanwhile Gabrielle is getting a lot of compliments on her new short do.


JCF NOW ACCEPTS ONLINE DONATIONS — The Jewish Community Foundation, which generally specializes in long-term and not emergency funding, now accepts credit card donations through its website, www.jcfkc.org. Donations may be made in any amount to any of JCF’s 700 funds, including agency and congregational funds, Donor Advised Funds and B’nai Tzedek Funds. Virtually every Kansas City Jewish agency has a fund at the foundation and now it’s even more convenient to give tzedakah to the causes close to your heart. J-LEAD membership may also be paid online. MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover are all accepted. Secured charitable gifts can be made by visiting www.jcfkc.org.