FILMING EXCELLENCE — “Kansas Debate: For the Love of the Argument” has been selected to show at the Lawrence Arts Center’s Drop Your Shorts Off Film Festival on May 7. The film was produced by Kansas City native and KU senior Greg Dubinsky, along with three others students. The story is about the Kansas debate team and how they debate because they love it (hence the name). The filmmakers focused  their lens on one of the most successful and most under-appreciated teams at the University of Kansas.  The film shows the team at its best, winning the Wake Forest University debate tournament, where more than 100 teams competed. The son of Jeff and Debbie Dubinsky, Greg, who initiated and is president of KU’s Documentary Film Society, is hoping to find a production job in television and film following graduation in May. To check out the documentary, visit http://www.vimeo.com/18014967.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — A contingency of congregants from BIAV trekked to New York last month to promote the congregation and the Kansas City area at the Orthodox Union’s Emerging Communities Fair. More than 1,000 people were there to explore viable alternatives to life in the Northeast. Eva Sokol organized the BIAV presentation, and led the group, which included Rabbi Daniel and Ayala Rockoff, BIAV President Andy Ernstein, Carol Katzman and Jason Sokol. Sokol said they spoke to approximately 80 families about our community. Many are interested in finding out more about Overland Park.

U.S PREMIER — The Kansas City Symphony is presenting the U.S. premiere of a percussion concerto “Frozen in Time,” by young Israeli composer Avner Dorman Friday through Sunday, April 29 through May 1, at the Lyric theatre downtown. Dorman calls the concerto “an imaginary snapshot of the Earth’s geological developments from prehistoric times to the present day.” Dorman, who is married to Kansas City native Jenny Sherman, is receiving quite a bit of world-wide acclaim for his compositions. In “Frozen in Time” he uses several instruments that are not common in western orchestras such as tables, darbukas (a Middle Eastern drum), many types of cymbals, a cencerros (24 cowbells) and djembes (African percussion instrument). The concerto features special guest Austrian percussionist Martin Grubinger. For more information contact (816) 471-0400.

STERN  HONORED — Speaking of the Kansas City Symphony, Music Director Michael Stern will receive an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance May 7 at Spring Commencement, where he will also give the commencement address.

Stern, who is in his sixth season with the Symphony, said in a news release that he is “grateful for the invitation from the university to participate in their commencement ceremony and to receive this extraordinary award. It is made all the more special for me since I admire so much all of the meaningful and progressive momentum which has been so evident at the Conservatory of Music and Dance under Peter Witte’s leadership. I am thrilled at the partnership we are establishing between the Kansas City Symphony and the school, and I am honored to have the chance to continue to find the best ways to serve the causes of music, young talent, and our city.”

TEXTING DONATION — NCSY Alumni is making it easy to give tzedakah in this fast-paced world with its innovative new texting campaign. Following in the footsteps of many other organizations, NCSY Alumni now receives a $5 donation if someone texts a keyword to 50555. The NCSY Alumni keyword is “AMEN.” Every time you do that, your mobile phone company tacks on $5 to your bill and that money is given directly to NCSY Alumni from the phone company.

It’s a few days before Pesach. The rush is on to simmer the dates and almonds with wine for charoset, cut all the vegetables for the big pot of fava bean soup, and roast the red and green peppers for chouchouka.
What? This doesn’t sound like a “traditional” Passover menu — at least not to Jews whose grandparents came from Eastern Europe.

But if you’re Nathalie Chetrite Scharf and your parents are from Morocco and Algeria, this is exactly what you’re preparing.
Scharf, who was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, is a minority within a minority in greater Kansas City — a Sephardi Jew. The name describes those Jews whose ancestors didn’t originate in Europe or Russia, but stayed in the Middle East, the Maghreb--- (North Africa) or countries like Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav states.

When Nathalie was a little girl in France, she used to visit her grandparents in Morocco almost every summer. “The Jewish community (in Casablanca) was large and active,” she recalled. “I remember the smells and sounds of preparing for Shabbat. My grandparents had several maids, as was traditional at that time, and I would hang out with them as they went to the souk or prepared meals.” The men attended services Saturday mornings at any of Casablanca’s many synagogues while the women prepared the house for the huge meal that followed. “The traditional dish my grandmother served was dafina;  it is similar to cholent with potatoes, eggs, wheat, meat, chickpeas and cooks all night,” she added.

And while she’s not making dafina for Passover, Nathalie will be reminiscing with her mother, Michele Chetrite, who arrived at the end of March from France. “My mother was born in Fez, Morocco, and my father was born in Algiers,” she added. “My father was sent to a yeshiva in Strasbourg, France, in 1962 after Algeria gained its independence and entered law school in Aix-en-Provence. My mother left Morocco after high school to also attend the law school in Aix; that’s where they met.”

When Nathalie was 16, she came to the United States as an exchange student and lived with a family in southern California. She earned her high school diploma and stayed for another year so she could apply to California State University, Northridge. “I didn’t know anyone there and it was a huge campus with 40,000 students,” she recalled. “On the first day of school, I went to the Hillel House to meet other Jewish students.” She met the Hillel president, too — the man who would become her husband — James Scharf, whose Kansas City grandparents were Holocaust survivors Sol and Jennie Blum.

The couple married in 1991 and moved here in 1993. James’ mother, Nata Scharf had already moved from southern California in order to be close to her parents and the rest of her KC family. “I applied to Washburn Law School in Topeka and was accepted,” Nathalie said, adding that after graduation the couple moved to New York, where their first daughter, Naomie, was born. They returned to KC for a short period, then it was on to France where daughter Kayla was born. After four years with Nathalie’s family, they returned once again to KC. Today Scharf works for the Department of Commerce, bringing in foreign investments to Kansas and assisting local businesses looking to export their products; her husband, who was a social worker, has just completed his student teaching in elementary education and special ed.

They’ve lived in Overland Park since 2003. Naomie, now 13, attends Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, and Kayla, 9, goes to Cottonwood Point Elementary. The family belongs to Beth Shalom, where Naomie celebrated her Bat Mitzvah last fall — among family and friends from France, Italy and Morocco.

“Aside from my family, I really miss the rich culture and traditions of the Moroccan Jews,” Scharf admits. It’s difficult to find some of the ingredients she needs for her Moroccan recipes, so she awaits her mother’s trips and the exotic spices, pate’, and Passover cookies she brings with her. “It is getting easier to find things on the Internet, such as harissa (a combination of spices and hot chili peppers used to flavor many North African dishes) and now couscous is everywhere.”

Her daughters are aware of their backgrounds and are interested in learning more about their Sephardic heritage. But it is a challenge in Kansas. Unlike New York, where the Scharfs had Jewish friends of Sephardic descent, here Nathalie has been asked if she really is Jewish when she didn’t understand Yiddish words!

Nathalie’s background didn’t include stories of the shtetls in Poland and Russia. Instead, one grandmother sang her Ladino lullabies — a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish, and others spoke of the fresh fruit and vegetables, exotic spices and grilled lamb featured in the North African dishes unique to each Jewish holiday.

That fava bean soup, for example, is a staple of Moroccan sederim. According to Claudia Roden, author of “The Book of Jewish Food: an Odyssey from Samarkand to New York,” “fava beans are one of the foods the Jews hankered for during their Exodus from Egypt.” Roden grew up in Egypt, so her version was made only with “salt, pepper, lemon juice and flat-leafed parsley.”

The Moroccan recipe passed down from Scharf’s Moroccan grandmother, adds vegetables and is, according to Roden, “deliciously aromatic.”

Nathalie also remembers the “Bibhilou” ceremony many Sephardi Jews perform at their sederim each year. The leader takes the seder plate and holds it over the head of each guest around the table, while everyone sings “Ha lachma anya” from Hallel, the songs of praise recited during every Jewish festival holiday: Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot.

Sephardic doesn’t necessarily mean Spanish, Scharf explained, “though my mother’s family roots are certainly from there.” She can trace her family back to Spain from before the Inquisition; they also are related to the revered Baba Sali, the late Moroccan rabbi who helped bring a generation of Jews to Israel.

“I still have a few distant relatives in Morocco, though very few remain.  Most moved to Israel, France and Canada.” She’s concerned about the recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen, and wonders if it will spread to Morocco. In 1956, Morocco was home to more than a quarter of a million Jews. Today, fewer than 5,000 live in its largest city Casablanca. Fez and Tatoun, where Scharf’s family once lived, are now home to only 100-150 Jews each.

Michele Chetrite is happy to be in Kansas City, enjoying her granddaughters and helping prepare for Passover. Nathalie trained in Aix to be a pastry chef, while James worked at the family’s hotel. So it’s her job to create the desserts, while her mother is responsible for the fava bean soup, meatballs with green peas, lamb with white truffles, carrot salad, and chouchouka — the roasted bell pepper salad.

“I feel it is my responsibility to teach my kids some of the traditions they will be able to carry-on. One of them — widely known and celebrated in Israel — is Mimouna, a festival that marks the end of Passover. It was an incredible experience in Morocco! I still remember this vividly,” Scharf recalled. “We would go from house to house partaking in special delicacies and just celebrating, playing traditional music and all wearing our best caftans. This went on until the early hours of the morning.” Scharf said the custom is to eat many sweets like maffleta, a crepe with honey, zaban — a homemade nougat with almonds, and mrouzia, a current preserve.

In addition to hosting her mother during Passover, Nathalie’s father Guy and brother, Alexandre, are flying in on Sunday as well. And her sister, Stephanie, is getting married in September in Aix. Not only will the entire family be going, but also Nathalie plans to stock up on her favorite spices, orange blossom water, and other specialties. After all, by then she’ll need them to make Gateau a l’Orange, a Moroccan orange cake served during Sukkot!

Soupe de fèves de Pessah
Fava Bean Soup for Pessah

1 kg (about 2.2 lbs) beef roast plus marrow bone
1 kg new potatoes
1 kg of fresh or frozen peeled fava beans
2 leeks
3 stalks of celery
2 carrots
cilantro
salt
pepper
curcuma (a type of turmeric)
oil
Season the meat and salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Remove the meat.
Wash, peel and dice all vegetables finely, except for the fava beans.

Sauté the vegetables (except fava beans) in the drippings from the meat, and add the meat and marrowbone. Add enough cold water to cover meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer until all vegetables are done.
Add the fava beans and cook an additional 10-15 minutes. Add the chopped coriander, salt, pepper and curcuma to taste.

Agneau aux terfasses
Lamb with white truffles

1kg lamb shoulder roast
oil
1 bunch saffron
4 garlic cloves
salt
pepper
1 kg canned white truffles (from Morocco)
Cut the meat into large chunks and season with salt and pepper on all sides.  Sauté in the oil until the meat browns.  Add a cup of water, the whole garlic cloves, saffron, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for one hour.
Add the canned truffles and simmer an additional 30 minutes.

Moufleta
3 ¾ c. flour
1-½ c. warm (not boiling) water
Pinch of salt
Vegetable (not olive) oil, as needed
Place flour and salt in bowl. Scoop out a “well” in the middle and add water there. Mix, adding a little extra water if dough seems too dry. Mix together until a light and elastic dough is formed.
Divide dough into 15 to 20 small balls. Cover with dishtowel and let stand 30 minutes on a flat, well-oiled surface.
Oil hands and on oiled surface, roll dough into thin circles.
Spread small amount of oil in frying pan and cook mufleta over medium heat. Cook both sides. Pan does not need to be re-greased before cooking the rest of the mufletas.
Place on a plate and cover with dishtowel to keep them warm. Serve warm with butter and honey.
These may be frozen and re-heated in microwave. Makes 15 to 20 mufletas.

How many times have you sat with Zayde or Aunt Esther and promised yourself that sometime soon you will chat with him or her and capture all their life stories before they aren’t able to tell them anymore?

Maybe you don’t have the time to talk to Zayde about those stories yourself. Or maybe you don’t feel you have the expertise to chronicle Aunt Esther’s stories properly. That’s how Trudi Galblum and Molly Shapiro can get involved. As professional writers, they will write and publish these precious stories for you. (At least one other Jewish-owned company is also producing family histories. See separate story this page.)

The pair work together at Trudi Galblum Communications, a company Galblum has owned since 1991. It specializes in writing for nonprofit organizations, companies and families seeking to build support, inspire hope, document achievement and preserve legacies. Over the years they have written several corporate histories, including those of Health Midwest and Menorah Medical Center.

“What we bring to this type of project is a long history of interviewing people about their lives and putting it together in an entertaining format that people will pick up and read,” Galblum said.

A creative writer as well as a journalist, Shapiro has written a number of commissioned screenplays and published a book of short stories “Eternal City,” which won the Willa Cather Fiction Prize. Her first novel will be published by Ballentine early next year.

“We’re pulling out gems of Kansas City history that are going to disappear soon,” Galblum said. “When people preserve that history by sharing their story it is a gift to the community.”

Galblum first became interested in individual and family histories almost a decade ago. She was in the process of completing Barney Karbank’s personal history when he passed away in 2002.

The fact that subjects are often in their twilight years is one reason Shapiro thinks putting personal stories and histories in written form is important to do sooner than later.

“I have several friends who’ve recently lost grandparents or parents and say they wish they would have done this when their loved one was alive because now those stories are gone,” Shapiro said.

“Trudi and I know how precarious all this is and how important it is. A lot of people, while they know it’s important, really don’t deal with it until it’s too late,” Shapiro said.

Many times, Shapiro said, people feel weird about initiating the story-telling process because that action would somehow be admitting that he or she might not be alive much longer.

They have found that while some people are hesitant to begin telling their stories, once they get started they become more comfortable with the interview process.

“This might be a person’s first and only opportunity to share their life’s journey,” Shapiro said. “It can be an exhilarating experience to have someone wanting to hear all the details of your life.”

One of the pair’s most recent projects resulted in a hardcover book about Galblum’s inlaws — Skipper and Leo Feingold. They started interviewing them about a year ago.

“What was really poignant about all this is Leo was 95 when we started and he passed away two months after we finished our interviews,” Galblum said.

The process is a little different for each subject, because every person, business or family is unique. It always includes an initial meeting and in-person interviews. The final product can include photographs, letters and archival materials in formats ranging from a simple manuscript printed on a personal computer to a published book.

“We will customize every project to meet the subject’s needs,” Galblum said.
Galblum said it’s common for a project to grow once the subject gets started and comfortable with the interview process.

“We try to estimate how many interviews it will take in the beginning,” Galblum said. “But then later they’ll ask us to interview this person and that person.”

Galblum said it’s realistic to think that a couple’s interview can be completed in 10 hours. Sessions usually don’t last longer than two hours because the subject, and the interviewer, often gets tired after that length of time.

The cost of a personal history typically ranges from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the number of people interviewed, the number of photos included, and the quantity and quality of books printed. Shapiro said histories that involve numerous people and/or a family business would likely cost more.

“I think all the old pictures add so much to it,” Shapiro said.

“We know it has to be cost effective for people, so we’re making sure to provide lots of options,” she continued.
For more information about these histories, contact Trudi Galblum at or Molly Shapiro at .

Keepsake Chronicles preserves life stories

Keepsake Chronicles is another Jewish-owned company helping people capture and preserve their life stories. Diane Wubbenhorst, a member of Congregation Kol Ami, and her business partner Jamie Thaemert, said Keepsake Chronicles has been in business since late February. The company, which holds a membership in the Association of Personal Historians, specializes in capturing, chronicling and producing people’s life stories using a unique story gathering process.

The subject, called the “star” by Keepsake Chronicles, is first assigned to fill a Keepsake Reflection Box with memorabilia that reflects highlights of his/her life including photos, medals, certificates, jewelry, etc. The interview captures the “star’s” stories surrounding the contents of the Reflection Box.

The “star” is also asked to complete fact and timeline sheets to help spark memories.
In addition, dedications and tributes from family members are collected by Keepsake Chronicles. The “star” doesn’t see the tributes and dedications until he/she receives the finished book.

Most of the company’s clients are adult children of people in their 70s and 80s, Thaemert said.

“Siblings band together to buy our service to help create a lasting keepsake and to honor their parents or grandparents.”

Wubbenhorst said Cantor Paul Silbersher piqued her own personal interest in family history. He influenced her to seek information about her parents. She started her journey with her mother’s family, who were Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.

“They migrated to England in approximately 1887 during difficult times in their homeland of Lithuania,” she said. “They were deeply rooted in the tailoring business.”

Wubbenhorst, a graduate of the Florence Melton adult Jewish studies program who performs with the Tikvah Dancers, began searching for another career after being laid off by Sprint in 2009.

“I was blessed to find that my friend of 20 years, Jamie Thaemert, was also passionate about capturing family history,” she said.
Wubbenhorst likens the importance of creating a lasting family history to a quote from the television show “The Wonder Years,”

“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

Keepsake sells three main products: The Klassic Book (portrait format, hardbound) sells for $1,295; The Kontemporary Book (landscape format, hardbound) sells for $1,325 and the Keepsake Video (voiceover narration, interview footage, still photos and photo gallery slideshow) sells for $965.

For more information, you can visit the website at keepsakechronicles.com or e-mail Keepsake Chronicles .

Edna Levy is a bundle of energy. In the classroom she curls up on a chair, feet tucked underneath, as she asks the women in her recent “Sheroes of the Bible” class to look at the text. “What’s the Hebrew used for the basket carrying Moses?” she asks. A student finds the word ‘teva’ and recalls it was used in the portion about Noah. It’s not just “a basket” Levy agrees, but something sturdier. Maybe there’s a parallel between Noah’s “saving humanity” and Moses’ potential “saving of the Jewish people.”

“Was it luck or chance?” Levy asks next, as she unwinds her legs and sits astride the arm of her chair. One responds, “There’s serious calculation here.”

Levy’s style has some serious calculation as well; as a Jewish educator her goal is to make her students see beyond the “old Hebrew school version” that most adults have to overcome. “I have found that there is some odd coincidence between what I sign up to teach, and what my own personal Jewish soul-journey is searching for,” Levy admits. “So I have always ended up learning as much or more than I am teaching, or being more influenced than I expected.” Yet she didn’t start out to become a teacher.

Growing up in a household as the oldest daughter of Sephardi parents who emigrated from Iraq to Canada to the United States, Levy’s formative years included teenage rebellion — but made her appreciate her heritage and want to learn more. “When I was a kid, those who didn’t have that Ashkenazi background might have said ‘I don’t have the right story’,” Levy explains. “So I sometimes feel left out whenever I hear Yiddish — as my grandparents spoke Arabic. Yet overall I do feel included in Yiddishkeit.”

Levy’s parents, Claudette and Nouri Levy, live here now, mostly to be near their daughter and son-in-law, Jacob Schreiber (executive director of the Jewish Community Center) and their three children: Gavri, 16, Maya, 12, and Simi, 9. It’s the first time since those teen years in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, that she’s lived in the same community with them.

“My mother, younger brother and sister became more observant when I was in high school,” Levy recalls. She rebelled, but instead of their religiosity driving her away from Judaism, it “sparked my Zionism and learning.” She looked for meaning in Judaism, practicing what years later she would learn was Rabbi Brad Hirschfield’s philosophy: “You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right.”

She felt a strong connection to the land of Israel, which led her to a long visit at age 19, where she lived with her Iraqi cousins, learned Hebrew and worked. She returned to Israel after graduating from Queen’s University in Canada. And that’s where she met Jacob Schreiber, a young New Yorker who had just made aliyah.

“It was a whirlwind romance,” she says with a grin. Five months later, Levy left for graduate school at the University of California at Irvine and for Jacob, it was “lose her or follow.” Luckily he found a job there while Levy completed the course work toward her doctorate in political science. Israel beckoned again, and the couple returned, now as a married couple, when the Anti-Defamation League hired Schreiber in its Jerusalem office.

That allowed Levy to finish her dissertation about gender and militarism in Israel. “My thesis came from frustration with women’s status in Israel,” Levy says. “It pits the myth of equality against what it means to be an Israeli, through service in the army.”

The couple spent four years in Israel before Jacob accepted a position in Rochester, N.Y., as assistant director of the JCC. That started Levy on a path as a Jewish educator. A local temple had an opening for a part time director of Jewish education. “I had a Ph.D.,” Levy recalls, “and was already an educator, but I didn’t have the experience in Jewish content.” That job allowed her to develop those skills.

Her Rochester stint gave Levy the credentials she needed when the couple moved to Atlanta. She taught Melton courses, and staffed summers at local Jewish camps. The last two years there, Levy became director of the Lisa Brill Institute for Lifelong Jewish Learning at the JCC.

And since moving here in the summer of 2009, she’s enjoying – and expanding – her role as a Jewish “coach.” Levy describes her role as “Sort of a ready-to-tailor-make-hands-on-Jewish-educational-experiences for individuals and families. She adds, “The title somehow conveys that I can teach Jewish-ness — beyond the classroom and beyond the right-and-wrong-how-to’s.”

Levy is coordinating “Ayeka” — a series of spiritual, or personal growth, workshops. “Ayeka is less about Jewish education and more about Jewish transformation. It is a way of increasing awareness, gratitude, presence in the everyday, through Jewish texts,” she adds. Ayeka’s founder, Rabbi Aryeh Ben-David, is coming to KC as a Scholar-in-Residence in May.

And she is facilitating Foundations — Jewish Values for Parents. “It’s a Melton-created class,” she explains, with “lots of discussion and text study for parents of all backgrounds and perspectives.” She’s even taught a Skype-version with a parent group in Wichita.

Levy describes Ayeka, as “a heart-centered way of learning Jewish texts and ideas.” She says she has found herself “more open to, wrestling with, thinking about the questions and issues.” And so perhaps that’s why this energetic Jewish teacher adds, “this may be one reason why I enjoy teaching and find it fulfilling — I love grappling with texts or ideas along with other learners — it’s my way of making meaning for myself.”

If Adam Sitzman was to define his teenage years, it would take only four letters: BBYO. “I define myself in the Jewish community through BBYO,” Adam said. It is through BBYO that he has met great friends and learned leadership skills. And it is through BBYO that Adam was nominated to be this month’s Salute to Youth honoree.

The son of Wendy and Jeffrey Sitzmann, Adam was nominated by Debi Tozer, BBYO program director. “Adam is fantastic,” Tozer said, “because he can see the big picture. He is very strategic in how he plans and the programs he plans with other people.”

He likes BBYO because it is “completely teen led,” he said. “It allows us to contribute to something larger than ourselves and gives teens the opportunity to grow as leaders. Each chapter is as good as the teens running it, which gives us a real sense of ownership and accomplishment.”

Adam’s proudest accomplishment in BBYO, where he serves as AZA Council president, is the revival of Teen Connection, BBYO’s program for Jewish middle school students.

“In the past this has been very stagnant,” he said.  “Now we have a committee to plan events and a list of students who are engaged in the program.”
“Adam makes plans to work to create a strong Jewish teen community in Kansas City,” Tozer said.

Due to his dedication to BBYO, Adam was awarded the Shield of David award. Recognized on the international level of BBYO, the Shield of David award is based on a teen’s involvement in the organization. Adam easily met this requirement.

He plans to stay active in the Jewish community throughout his life. In fact one day he would like to be a BBYO advisor. And his advice to other teens reflects his commitment. “Definitely get involved in BBYO,” he said, “because you can do amazing things that you could not do otherwise, and learn and grow to be a leader.”
But his commitment to his Jewish connections does not stop at BBYO. Adam is a member of JSU/NCSY and USY. His family belongs to Congregation Beth Shalom.

“Adam is an amazing young man,” said Stefanie Williams, director of Informal Education and Youth Activites at Beth Shalom, “when you get him talking about something he loves, he just lights up and is filled with an enthusiasm that you are instantly caught up in! Adam is the kind of person you want to be around — he always puts you in a good mood and gives off a positive energy! “

Two years ago he spent a month in Israel through TJJ, the Jerusalem Journey sponsored by NCSY. It was a great experience for him.

“Different groups of teens from across the country came together,” he said. “We formed great bonds from the beginning.” There were 42 students on his bus, of whom he now considers friends. “No disrespect to BBYO,” he added, “but definitely others should go on this trip.” While he was on the trip to Israel, he got to enjoy his favorite Jewish food, falafel. “It is healthy,” he said, “but at the same time great tasting and fast.”

Adam, a senior at Blue Valley West High School, is the president of the Jewish Student Union at the school. His other school activities include Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), where he has placed in competitions; National Honor Society; Spanish National Honor Society; Jagged Edge TV, reporter for his school show. He has earned the Presidential Community Service Award for three years and is an AP Scholar.

Another aspect in of Adam’s life is his enjoyment in other activities. Even though his favorite sports are snowboarding and skateboarding, he still participated for three years on the Kansas City basketball team for the Maccabi games which were held in Baltimore, San Diego and San Antonio.

Adam is still undecided where he will go to college next year. But he does know that wherever he goes he will join Hillel to continue his involvement in Jewish activities.
“I am doing my best to preserve the Jewish culture,” he said, “and pass it on to younger generations.”

Asher’s is the face that immediately popped into my mind when I heard a school bus from Sha’ar HaNegev High School was hit by an anti-tank missile last Thursday (April 7), critically wounding Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old student.  (Editor’s note: At press time, Daniel Viflic’s condition had worsened. He went into a coma and has been unresponsive, in spite of exhaustive medical care.)

I visited the high school, located about 3 miles from the Gaza strip, a little more than two weeks ago as part of a Jewish Federation mission for marketing directors. Admittedly, I was nervous about visiting Sha’ar HaNegev and neighboring Sderot. Especially since rockets had fired on the very same areas just the week before our arrival.

That said, even with its campus dotted with bomb shelters, and the knowledge that blue painted walls marked the fortified rooms created to withstand the rockets that almost daily bombarded the area two years ago, I soon forgot about anything but the people at Sha’ar HaNegev High School. There was Aharele Rothstein, the school principal, whose main focus is to teach the students not to hate — in spite of the fact that they spend much of their time on the receiving end of rocket fire. And, of course, Asher and his group of ninth-grade friends, who toured us around their campus.

As my small group’s tour guide, Asher told us about the high school and what made it so great. He also talked about the things he likes to do in his spare time: hang out with friends, play sports, and play his guitar — mostly rock music.

Like the rest of his classmates, Asher doesn’t have a political agenda. He wants the same things most other teens want: a chance to grow up and live a good life, and a chance to make his own mark on the world.

In fact, Asher reminds me of my 14-year-old nephew, Jared: Except Jared doesn’t have to worry about staying close to a bomb shelter when he’s hanging out with his friends. Nor does Jared have to use a laptop to do coursework, sequestered in a bomb shelter as rockets rain down on his school. (The laptops are provided by Jewish Federation’s partner agency, World ORT, and are made possible through donations to the Jewish Federation’s annual campaign.) The bomb shelters and armed guards that are a part of Asher’s daily school life are not something my nephew will ever experience.

Jewish Federation pride

I’ve spent the last three years on staff at the Jewish Federation describing what the organization does. I’ve told stories about how we are helping our fellow Jews in Kansas City recover from economic despair during the U.S. economic crisis. I’ve explained how we are providing elderly Jews in the Former Soviet Union with basic necessities such as food, shelter and medication.

And now, I’m proud to talk about another partner agency, Jewish Agency for Israel and its Fund for Victims of Terror: A fund supported by Jewish Federation dollars. This fund helps victims like Daniel Viflic during their physical recovery. It helps people like the bus driver, found hysterical at the scene of the attack; recover from the psychological trauma of seeing Daniel lying, unconscious, with severe head injuries. It helps the families learn how to cope with the damage inflicted on their loved ones.

I feel helpless as I worry about these Israeli children, thousands of miles away. But at least I proudly carry with me the knowledge that, in my small way, I am making a difference in their lives through my work at — and my annual gift to — the Jewish Federation.

Jane Blumenthal Martin is the director of strategic marketing for the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. She and her husband, Joseph, have two children.

DELIGHTFUL EVENING — It looked like everyone, including co-chairs David Porter and Patricia Werthan Uhlmann, were having a wonderful time Sunday night as the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy celebrated its 45th anniversary. Two members of the original graduating class were in attendance — Debbie Sosland-Edelman and Harriet Puritz Almaleh. We were all treated to a video featuring some of the founders where we heard the hit line of the evening, delivered by Blanche Sosland. She reported that when they met with Hyman Brand for the very first time seeking his support, he called the group a bunch of “young punks.” Brand was so impressed with those “young punks” that in two weeks he raised enough money for the school to operate its first year.

ISRAEL ADVOCACY — The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City has launched a new Facebook page that focuses solely on Israeli advocacy. Israeli emissary Lilach Nissim said friends of the page will be able to learn more about events that are happening, ask questions and get answers, and write their opinions freely. The page will also have facts about Israel and list a variety of sources for additional information. The page is called Advocacy KC Israel.

KOSHER FOR PASSOVER — I got a call earlier this week from a reader informing me that a recipe for Chocolate Chiffon Cake in the April 8 edition provided by JTA News & Features is not kosher for Passover because its ingredients include baking powder. So I did a quick online search and found out that while it would seem that baking powder would not be kosher for Passover, there are actually four brands certified with the OU-P available this year. Another article notes that there are many written debates as to whether or not Passover baking powder and baking soda should be permitted. If you search online you’ll find a variety of answers. So my best (uneducated) advice regarding the use of kosher for Passover baking powder is to ask your rabbi!

SPECIAL THANKS — Marcus Cain, the curator of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art Epsten Gallery|Museum Without Walls went out of his way to help us find an image for this week, our annual Passover edition. We thank Marcus for all the extra effort he put forth on our behalf!

KOLLEL CAKES — I wish I would have known that the Community Kollel of Kansas City was selling kosher for Passover flourless chocolate cakes before I found out that pre-orders completely sold out in two days! They are being baked by Marsha Pener Johnston. Stay tuned as they will be selling custom made kosher cakes for Shavuot as another fundraiser. In the meantime if you want more information about this fundraiser or you wish to reserve a Shavuot cake, you can contact Rabbi Binyomin Davis at .

HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION PLANNED — The annual State of Kansas Holocaust Commemoration Service will be at 1 p.m. Monday, May 2, at the Kansas State Historical Museum in Topeka. This year’s theme is “The Holocaust: Justice and Accountability,” and the keynote speaker will be Hildegard Trout, a Holocaust survivor. Musical performances will be provided by the Washburn University Choir and cellist Steven Elish. They will perform excerpts from the “Holocaust Cantata.” The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Kansas City Holocaust Commission. Seating is limited to the first 200 and the service lasts approximately 75 minutes. For more information, call (785) 272-6040.

JAPAN AID — Japan continues to be shaken by earthquakes and aftershocks and Jewish organizations continue to help the Japanese people. IsraAID/FIRST has now sent three medical teams to work there, the most recent one delivering urgently needed medicines to the Fuji Toranomon Hospital. IsraAID is a coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish organizations and other interested parties based in Israel who are active in development and relief work and are concerned about global issues.

JDC officials estimates they will raise $2 million which will provide emergency relief in the disaster stricken region. JDC has provided food, water, hygiene products, blankets, tents, emergency school supplies, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. It is also working in conjunction with IRC, UNICEF, Afya, Chabad and the IDF, supporting the field hospital in Minamisanriku through the purchase of medical equipment and life-saving drugs.

Plans are currently underway to launch a new reform congregation in Kansas City. Its new spiritual leader will be Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, who just severed his relationship with the New Reform Temple. (For more information, see below.) Known by the name Temple Israel for now, it held services for the first time Friday, April 1, at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Overland Park. Rabbi Cukierkorn said services would be held there again tonight, Friday, April 8, at 6 p.m. at 12251 Antioch Road in Overland Park, and for the foreseeable future. For more information, contact Rabbi Cukierkorn at (913) 940-1011.

The 43-year-old native of Brazil came to Kansas City 10 years ago to serve as the rabbi for The New Reform Temple. Following several months of negotiations, that relationship ended last week.

“We reached a mutually agreeable deal. Sadly, it wasn’t the outcome that we wanted, but we are very pleased that we will be able to stay in town,” Rabbi Cukierkorn said this week.
Another key component of the agreement, which remains confidential, allows the Reform rabbi to serve another synagogue here in the city.

“This has been our home for 10 years. Our kids have grown up here, and one of our daughters was born here. I’m glad a group has asked us to stick around,” he said. He and his wife, Denisse, and their two daughters live in Overland Park.

Forming new ties

Congregants have helped shaped new synagogues here in Kansas City several times in recent history. Congregation Beth Torah was established in April 1988 following a leadership struggle at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Another rabbinic shuffle in the community helped create Or Hadash, a Reconstructionist congregation formed in June 2003 (which folded in the spring of 2010), and Kol Ami, which was established in June 2003.

Rabbi Cukierkorn, who serves as vice-president of the Society for Classical Reform Judaism and is a former president of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, said about 50 people attended services last week with just one day’s notice. Approximately 50 families to date have expressed interest in helping form the new congregation.

“We want to form a congregation that is truly inclusive and welcoming and diverse. We will welcome people who have different levels of commitment to Judaism,” he said.

He stressed that absolutely nothing about a new congregation has been finalized yet, including the congregation’s name. In the first draft of the congregation’s proposal, it states, “As a congregation-oriented organization, the vision, mission, governance, services and even the name of our temple or synagogue will be determined through discussion and consensus.”

Rabbi Cukierkorn expects that the congregation will look for a more permanent site to meet in the future. Many of the families who attended the first service have been affiliated with The New Reform Temple, which is located at 7100 Main in Kansas City, Mo., but Rabbi Cukierkorn stated that he is not “aiming to take anyone from The New Reform Temple.”

“Some may leave and follow me, some may leave and go elsewhere and some may stay. My aim is not to hurt the congregation,” Rabbi Cukierkorn said.

The rabbi was able to organize the first service last week on such a short notice with a little help from his friends. A colleague, The Rev. Gar Demo at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal, offered the meeting space. Rabbi Cukierkorn already owned a Torah, and he learned that Debby Simon still had an ark from her days as an Or Hadash board member.

“I asked her if she would lend it to me, rent it to me or sell it to me,” Rabbi Cukierkorn said. “She said she ran into many obstacles when she was trying to organize Or Hadash and that only one rabbi offered support: me! So, she said she would be honored to give it to us as a gift.”

Rabbi Cukierkorn has many ideas he hopes to incorporate, with input from other organizers, in a new congregation. For instance, instead of running a traditional, standardized religious school, he proposes congregants be given the opportunity to develop their own IJPs, or Individual Jewish Plans to promote life-long Jewish learning.

“In schools children get IEPs (Individual Education Plans). We will work together to set education goals and focus on experiential learning and community building,” he said. “As a rabbi I am certainly capable of running a religious school, but I have come to believe that religious school alone can be detrimental to a Jewish education. With an IJP, we will work together to set educational goals, where congregants can learn on their own, with the rabbi or as part of study groups, according to their schedules. Our shul will focus on experiential learning and community building,” he said.

His vision calls for Sundays to be mostly family days. Instead of gathering together every Sunday morning at religious school, he hopes families will celebrate Shabbat at home and together at services every Friday evening. Then, several times a year, he proposes a day-long activity for congregants, allowing both learning and social components.

The rabbi, who has published several books, is also known for his work with interfaith families and his travels to help people learn about Judaism in Latin America and Europe. He hopes to be able to continue working in those areas at a new congregation and make this international outreach an integral part of the new congregation identity.

“We have lots of ideas. But most importantly we want to engage the whole family and make Judaism meaningful for them.”

A Facebook page for Temple Israel has already been created. It can be viewed by searching Temple Israel in Kansas City.

NRT searching for new rabbi

The New Reform Temple and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn officially severed their ties to each other at the end of March. In December the Reform congregation’s board of directors told the rabbi that his contract would not be renewed when it expired at the end of May 2012.

In the last few months the congregation and the rabbi began negotiations to cut their ties sooner. NRT congregants were notified via e-mail last week once the confidential agreement was reached.

In the e-mail, NRT President Tom Barnett said the congregation was working toward quickly identifying an interim rabbi “who can step in to provide continuity of key services to our membership and begin to bring our temple community closer together.” NRT has already been in contact with the Union for Reform Judaism to begin the search for an interim rabbi according to Dan Fromm, a member of NRT’s board of directors.

Fromm reports that regular congregational life continues to take place at the temple.

“Of course we are continuing to hold regular Shabbat services and religious school services,” Fromm said.

Several local rabbis have reached out to NRT to offer their help in the interim if needed, especially for lifecycle events for members.

“We really appreciate our temple community and the broader Kansas City Jewish community pulling together to offer their help,” Fromm said.

After plans for an interim rabbi are made, Barnett said the congregation will turn its attentions “to outlining what we want in our next permanent spiritual leader.”

“This is an exciting time and we are looking forward to what’s next for the temple,” Fromm added.

Want to learn how to experience your Judaism in a new light. Check out what Rabbi Sharon Brous, The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehduah’s guest scholar has to say tonight and tomorrow (April 8 and 9).

Rabbi Brous is the founder and rabbi of IKAR, a vibrant new Jewish spiritual community in Los Angeles. For the past four years she has also served on the faculty of REBOT, a network of Jewish trendsetters, thinkers and activists, and is involved in several justice-oriented initiatives with the Progressive Jewish Alliance. She will speak at erev Shabbat services tonight at 6 p.m., and Shabbat morning services tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. She will also present sessions at Shabbat dinner Friday night, Kiddush lunch on Saturday and a Havdallah reception. Reservations are required for the meal events. For more information visit www.bnaijehudah.org or call (913) 663-4050.

“We are so excited to have Rabbi Brous teach at our temple this weekend as she is one of the country’s leading voices for social justice and this is a core belief at our congregation. We hope to get a greater understanding of what we need to do to effect real change in our community,” said Adam Herman, event chair.

In a phone interview, Rabbi Brous said the weekend will focus on the themes of appreciation, agitation and transformation.

“These are spiritual steps that can be taken for communal and social change,” Rabbi Brous said.

For instance, one subtopic will be “Bringing Heaven Down to Earth: Your Material Needs are My Spiritual Needs.”

“We will discuss how social justice and communal obligation and global obligation are not liberal, 21st century innovations but are actually very deeply rooted in the Jewish theological foundation and also are very much a part of Jewish spiritual practice,” Rabbi Brous said.
Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner noted that B’nai Jehudah is really trying to make social justice a part of its spiritual practice.

“The brokenness in our world is staggering. The members of our congregational family are asking for ways to make meaning out of chaos; to find relevance between Jewish tradition and the ‘real world’ issues facing us every day. The social justice work taking place at B’nai Jehudah comes from a place of commitment to confront this brokenness and to bring tikkun, healing, to our world,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said.

“From the Mitzvah Garden to Mitzvah Day, from The Hunger Banquet and on-going partnerships with Olathe Food Ministry and Independence Boulevard’s Micah Ministry to the day-to-day work of chesed we are striving to respond to the Divine call for tzedek, righteousness in our community. And yet, many of us are still asking ourselves the same questions: Are we doing enough? What more can we do to effect tikkun olam, to heal the world around us?” she continued.

Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said that Rabbi Brous is a rabbi who is responding to these questions in a way that deepens our connection to Judaism.

“She also brings a message that helps us to find the relevance that we all crave. By bringing Rabbi Brous to our community, it is our hope to learn from richness of her experience and to forge the next steps in our on-going sacred engagement today and into the future,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said.

An estimated 1 billion people in the world go to bed hungry every night. That’s one in every seven people.

Most people can’t comprehend such a large number by just reading about it. So the Social Justice Committee of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, is hoping people will understand the issue better, and make a commitment to do their part to help solve it, on Saturday night April 16, when it presents the Hunger Banquet. Co-sponsored by B’nai Jehduah’s religious school, it’s a part of the congregation’s annual Saturday Nite Live program. It’s underwritten in memory of Shirley and Alfred Kohlman and is open to all members of the Reform congregation.

Karen “Gustie” Herman, who is chairing the event, pointed out that the Hunger Banquet is for members of the congregation and invited interfaith guests. Those interested in learning more may contact her at (913) 217-7865.

She explained that the Hunger Banquet will be an interactive dramatization of food inequalities around the world. Guest will be assigned roles that represent different income levels. What each person receives for dinner will depend on their role, so some will have a lot to eat and others won’t have enough. (For this reason young families and seniors may want to eat before attending.)

The committee has teamed with Harvesters, The Hunger Project and United Community Services of Johnson County to plan this event. The keynote speaker will be Karen Herman (who coincidentally has the same name as Hunger Banquet chairperson Karen “Gustie” Herman) who represents The Hunger Project, an international non-governmental organization that has been working since 1974 to address hunger issues across the globe. Valorie Carson, the community planning director for United Community Services of Johnson County will also speak about the many effects of hunger on homeless individuals and families here in Johnson County.

Karen “Gustie” Herman explained that the Hunger Banquet was designed by Oxfam, an international organization that works to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. This particular program teaches about the inequalities of food in the world.

Herman noted that only 15 percent of the people in the world are classified as high income, making more than $9,386 per year. Another 30 percent of people in the world have per capita incomes between $766 and 9,285 per year. Those who make less than 765 per year — living on less than $2 per day — make up 55 percent of the world’s population.

“The Hunger Banquet emphasizes that inequity because here in Johnson County, we don’t understand that reality,” Herman said.

“A lot of people think everybody is rich in Johnson County,” added Joann Kinney, a member of the Hunger Banquet committee.

In fact, according to United Community Services of Johnson County, poverty in Johnson County has more than doubled from 2000 to 2009.

“Suburban poverty has increased at a higher rate than urban poverty,” Kinney said.

An interactive experience

Kinney said that people who attend the Hunger Banquet will be given a card when they arrive which describes their role for the evening.

“The people who are playing the role of upper income people will go to a table set with a table cloth, china, crystal and flowers and they’ll be served a three-course meal,” Kinney said. “Those in the middle income will sit at a plain table and they will get a bowl of rice and beans and water. Lower income people will sit on the floor and eat rice.”

The room will be divided according to the hunger statistics. That means 15 percent will be high income, 30 percent will be middle income and 55 percent will be low income. Arrangements have been made for people with disabilities and those who have difficulties sitting on the floor to still be able to participate in the program.

Those who are middle and lower income will at times be uncomfortable, the organizers pointed out.

“It will be a wonderful visual of the inequalities of food and teach everyone, there will be a lot of children there as well as adults, what it’s really like to be hungry and not to have enough to eat,” Herman said.

Following dinner, participants will attend three 18-minute break-out sessions to learn more about hunger — hunger in the world and Israel, hunger in the United States and Johnson County as well as a craft project. Religious school teachers are designing all the craft sessions.

B’nai Jehudah’s social justice committee has several ongoing programs to help the hungry throughout the city. Before the evening concludes, Herman and Kinney said participants will have an opportunity to make a personal commitment to help stamp out hunger.