Archived News

JEWISH SUPERFAN — I mentioned KU Superfan Matt Rissien in this column a few weeks ago, but I just can’t resist reporting that he hit the big time early this week. Matt, the son of Aaron and Shelley Rissien and a KU senior, has been dubbed KU’s superfan because he’s frequently in the front row of KU games wearing a Jayhawk fuzzy hat. Like many KU fans he traveled to San Antonio, Texas, last week to cheer for KU in the NCAA tournament. Sadly, KU didn’t win the game, and Matt, as usual, was shown on TV many times. But since KU lost for only the third time this year, and the loss ended the KU season, the camera caught Matt when he was a little down. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (or one of his writers) caught the moment also and turned it into a comedy bit for the show. He’s not mentioned by name but the show did air footage, and a few jokes at Matt’s expense. Those who are on Facebook can catch a glimpse of the video at http://www.facebook.com?#!/video/video.php?v+960284614939&commer. (I’m sure there’s another way, but I’m not techno savvy enough to figure it out!) Matt, we hope this doesn’t deter you from wearing the hat in the future!

PREPARING FOR PASSOVER — Those charged with cleaning the house for Passover, shopping for seders and eight days of breadless meals and snacks, and cooking and baking those meals would be a lot more frantic and frazzled if not for the annual OU Guide to Passover. A special issue of Jewish Action, the family magazine of the Orthodox Union, this year’s Guide, for 5771/2011, is now available to help facilitate Passover preparation and observance.
There are also many new and interesting features with beautiful photos accompanying them — and the heart of the guide remains the same: listing food and other products that are certified Kosher for Passover by the OU.
The guide has two basic lists: one with items that must have an OU-P appear on the label, such as baking mixes, baked products, beverages, candy, condiments, dairy products, matzah products, meat and poultry, olive oil, snack food, wine and liqueurs; and one with items that do not need a special Passover certification, such as aluminum foil, candles, cleansers, and paper goods, where the regular OU symbol is sufficient for year-round use.
It can be viewed online http://images.ou.org/files/Pesach2011_.pdf. Hard copies can be ordered as well by contacting or calling (212) 613-8125.

HOLOCAUST HAGGADAH — Last week’s issue (March 25) included a story about Rabbi Berhhard Rosenberg’s new Holocaust siddur. This week we learned that the Kansas City native has also published The Rosenberg Holocaust Haggadah. Like the siddur, it’s available free online. The 143-page book can be downloaded from any computer for free and printed anywhere. Prayers are included in Hebrew, Hebrew transliteration and English translation. It can now be found at www.holocausthaggadah.com.

PADDY CHAYEFSKY’S “GIDEON” — At least two local Jewish actors will be taking part in a one-time only reading of Paddy Chayefsky’s “Gideon.” (Chayefsky was Jewish as well.) It will be presented by EARTh (Equity Actors’ Readers’ Theatre) at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, at St. Teresa’s Academy, located at 5601 Wyandotte in Kansas City, Mo. This story, 3,000 years old, becomes the vehicle for exploring nothing less than Man’s relationship with God and God’s with Man. Chayefsky — the only author to win three solo Best Screenplay Academy Awards (for “Marty”, “Hospital,” and “Network”) uses his remarkable sense of language, humor, poetry and irony to examine this intricate web of faith and disbelief, of acceptance and defiance, of free will and destiny. The cast includes Ruth Baum Bigus and Victor Raider-Wexler. Admission is free; donations are accepted and encouraged. For more information contact or call (816) 289-3859.

IMPRESSIVE ACHIEVEMENTS — I was contacted by a proud parent this week who wanted me to know about the excellent showing of several local Jewish high school students at the Kansas state DECA competition held just before Spring Break in Overland Park. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs who are in high school and college for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. These students, all from Blue Valley North, finished among the top three at the recent competition: First place finishers included Andrew Borowick and his partner, Reid Waldman, in the Financial Team competition (for the third time!), Joel Perowsky in Business Services Marketing and Andrew Grin in Retail Merchandising. Sarah Raider-Wexler and her partner, Hunter Jones, finished second in Hospitality & Tourism Marketing Team competition and Ryan Shapiro and David Tauber finished in third place in Business Law and Ethics Team.

SENDING PRAYERS — As we were putting together the paper Wednesday morning, we learned of a terrorist bombing in Jerusalem, the first since 2004. Now we’re hearing from Federation Israeli Shlicha Lilach Nissim  that rocket attacks on the south of Israel are being launched from Gaza. Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sybil Kaplan and her husband, Barry, were not near that bus stop in Jerusalem that was bombed,  but they use it often. So today we send prayers for peace, comfort and healing to all who are suffering and grieving in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.


WRITE YOUR OWN HAGGADAH — About 20 years ago I met a man who put together his own Haggadah. Before that time I assumed a Haggadah had to be written by a rabbi or someone who was considerably more knowledgeable than I. Soon after, I compiled my own Haggadah and then continued to revise it every couple of years with ideas I borrowed from other people. So I was intrigued this year to learn about ways to put together a Haggadah using the Internet. Behrman House Publishers has a custom Haggadah you can personalize online and get professionally printed. Jess Gurtman of Berhman House said it’s easy to use and allows you to upload and place photos to use along with the basic text from the “Family Haggadah,” a popular and child-friendly Haggadah that guides you through a seder of 30-45 minutes. Time to order for this year is running out. For more information go to www.behrmanhouse.com.


PERSONALIZED HAGGADAH PART II — I did get a chance to check out the new website Haggadot.com. It allows individuals or groups to create customized Passover Haggadot. The site pools non-copyrighted texts and graphics, inviting Jews of all backgrounds and from all over the world to share their traditions and carve their place in the Passover conversation through the seder’s central text. It is the brainchild of Eileen Levinson, a Los Angeles designer and artist. The seed money was provided by ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators, the project of philanthropist Lynn Schusterman.


SAVE THE PLANET — If you are interested in helping your congregation save the earth, check out a Green Teams Rally on Thursday, March 31, sponsored by the Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition. David Nachman, a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, and Barry Dicker, a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue, both serve on the board of SSC, an interfaith nonprofit that helps congregations care for the earth. The rally will be at Unity Church of Overland Park located at 103rd and Antioch. The purpose of the rally is to build community and collaboration among green teams from area churches and synagogues. The free program includes networking, sharing of resources and green initiative ideas, problem-solving about challenges, a prayer ritual, snacks and door prizes. To register, contact Kate Becker at or call (816) 223-2101.

A NEW THEATER EXPERIENCE — Spinning Tree Theatre will premier its first production April 1 called “Make Me A Song.” One of the two founders, Michael Grayman, is Jewish and relocated here from New York City in the fall to open the theater with Andy Parkhurst. My friend Ruth Bigus, who is a theater aficionado, reports that Spinning Tree plans to produce a variety of works, including ethnic and Jewish pieces. You can learn more at http://www.spinningtreetheatre.com/Spinning_Tree_Theatre/Home.html.

SEDER CD — Paul Zim, who at one time sang at Congregation Ohev Sholom, called last week to suggest our readers purchase his new CD called “Let’s Make A Seder.” It’s a one-hour recording that teaches the important highlights of the Passover seder. The CD contains the music of the seder and brief explanations in the same format as the Passover Haggadah. He said it is available locally at synagogue gift shops.

FEATURING SETH RUDETSKY — When Betty Buckley performs “For the Love of Broadway,” at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Music Hall, she will be accompanied by musician and comedian Seth Rudetsky. As a pianist, he has performed in more than a dozen Broadway shows, including Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. He is also the host of Seth’s Big Fat Broadway on Sirius Satellite Radio. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com and the Music Hall box office. For more information, check out www.PianeProductions.com.

Forty-four members of the Jewish community returned from Israel early last week after taking part in the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s latest mission to Israel. No matter how many times the participant had visited Israel, it was a memorable trip.

Federation President Bill Carr, who has been to Israel five times and four times in the past five years, said this trip made him feel closer to the Jewish people than ever. A Shabbat visit to the Wall, where he was able to pray alongside Jews of all denominations, especially made an impression on him.

Pete Levi, who has been to Israel six times, but not since 2000, said, “It’s easy to get renewed when you are in Israel.”

“Praying at the wall, being surrounded by fellow Jews from all around the world and seeing what they’ve done with the state of Israel is just a marvelous feeling,” he said.

First time visitor Susan Hammer, who was joined on the trip by her husband, Steve, “absolutely loved” visiting the Mahane Yehuda outdoor market in Jerusalem. A visit to Yad Vashem also made an impression.

“To be in Israel and to see the memorial for the high-minded Gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews is such a reminder of those heroic people,” she said.

But it was those extras that come with participating in a Federation mission that made her trip extra enjoyable. Hammer said they especially enjoyed traveling with Federation leaders, such as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Stettner and Debbie Granoff, special campaigns projects director, who have been to Israel numerous times and were able to help guide the first-timers.

Levi said Federation trips are a great way to see Israel.

“It’s great to see what the Federation does for Israel, for communities and individuals in the country. The number of people who were there for the first time remarked about that at the end of the trip,” Levi said.

Many in the group, including the Hammers, were moved by a visit to Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, where Loeb Granoff read the group a letter he received in 1947 from his father, A.J. Granoff. The letter was about a visit that took place in Washington, D.C., between A.J, Eddie Jacobson and President Harry S. Truman. The purpose of their visit was to thank the president for his “contribution toward a Jewish state...”

“I was watching the faces of the young adults who were on a Birthright Israel trip who were listening to Loeb reading the letter and they were mesmerized by him,” Susan Hammer said. “It was truly something I will long remember.”

Hammer also enjoyed spending time with Trish Uhlmann. Uhlmann, who is on the board of the Joint Distribution Committee, who explained to some of the travelers “what Israel is dealing with socially, economically and politically.”

“It was most enlightening,” she said.

Politically speaking the Middle East is a hot zone right now, but Carr said the current tensions did not affect the travelers from Kansas City. In fact, when he asked several Israelis about the Egyptian situation, he learned that they believe the situation “will need to sit for about six months.” He said no one seemed alarmed at this time.

“I never felt any unease,” Carr said.

A vibrant economy

A booming economy caught the attention of the Kansas Citians.

“There are more construction cranes in Israel — everywhere, in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem — than I would guess are in Denver, Kansas City and Chicago. It looks like Israel is in good economic shape,” Carr said.

Levi was also struck by the economic vibrancy of the country.

“The modern buildings that we were in would rival anything in the United States. The economy seemed to be bustling, particularly compared to when I was there in 2000 right before the Intifada. You can really see the results of the growth of commerce and industry in Israel and the reinvestment in the state of Israel in the populated areas and in the cities,” Levi said.

Hammer, Levi and Carr were all impressed by a visit to the Ayalim Program, which is comprised of young Israeli men and women who want to continue giving back to Israel after they have completed their military service. They work in border regions, helping mentor young kids in the areas. The Federation group visited an Ayalim group in the Negev, where, Levi said, they are working together to bring the Negev into greater prosperity.

“It’s kind of like Obama’s internal peace corps,” Carr said.

The program is described as a student-run association that is a modern example of the pioneering spirit that helped build the state of Israel in its early days.

“We had lunch with these students. You can feel their energy and their enthusiasm for both the country and what they are doing,” Carr said.

Carr went to Ma›aleh School of Television, Film & the Arts in Jerusalem in Jerusalem and viewed short, student-made films about controversial issues in Israel. He found them enlightening and would recommend that they be shown here in Kansas City because he feels they would lead to good discussions. For instance one short film he saw focused on the problem Israel is facing with illegal immigrants from the Philippines.

“Many of them serve as inexpensive helpers for the elderly,” he said. “In the end the elderly Jew protected the Filipino from detection by the police. It was interesting and it’s an issue I knew nothing about.”

Quality medical care

Hammer was also impressed by the Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, which is affiliated with the School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University as was Levi. Unfortunately after the official visit, the Levis saw the hospital from a patient’s point of view.

Levi explained that it was raining the day of that visit and his wife, Enid, slipped and fell in the parking lot and hit her head on the pavement. At the time the Levis were in two different groups, so he wasn’t close to his wife. Two bystanders, who happened to be Arab, stopped to help her and drove her back to the hospital.

“We witnessed some really outstanding, high-quality medical care,” Levi said. “She had a CT scan and full blood work and an EKG and was seen by a whole team of doctors and nurses. She’s fine now and all healed.”

Besides what he called extraordinary care, he noticed that the hospital cared for a cross section of people, including immigrants, and “they were all given excellent care.” He was also surprised by how reasonably priced the care was for what amounted to a two-hour visit to the emergency room.

“I was handed a bill and I thought it said $968. I thought that’s pretty cheap in dollars, but actually it was shekels. So the total cost of the medical care was around $250,” he said.

Once again Jewish Family Services is preparing for its annual Passover Holiday Project. This year approximately 140 families, or a total of about 300 people, will get a food basket to help them celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Sondra Levy Atherly, JFS’ project coordinator, says that number is about the same as last year, “but it’s not necessarily the same families getting help.” To put these numbers in perspective, when Atherly joined the staff at JFS five years ago, only 60 families received holiday food baskets.

The project, which also helps families at the High Holidays and for Chanukah, is a huge undertaking.

“It involves the entire JFS staff, there are 20 of us, and I currently have a list of 20 volunteers. We’ll probably have another five to 10 volunteers before all is said and done,” Atherly said.

The community and these particular volunteers help the project in three ways. The community, with the help of several congregations and the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, conduct food drives and donate food to be included in the baskets. The volunteers help bag the food and deliver it to the recipients. Monetary donations are also needed to purchase food, especially fresh protein. Yachad — The Kosher Food Pantry provides both food stuff and money. Liberty Fruit donates all the fruits and vegetables.

“Liberty Fruit is incredibly generous and donates a substantial amount of fruits and vegetables. Everything you need to make soup, and then some, and everything you need for a seder plate. Arnie (Caviar) is terrific,” Atherly said.

“The volunteers are especially helpful in doing the deliveries and seem to enjoy that,” Atherly said.

Volunteers can’t always handle all the aspects of programs such as this because of sensitive confidentiality issues. In some cases Atherly said volunteers sign confidentiality agreements. In all cases the recipients have to approve a volunteer coming to their homes.

“If they are not comfortable with that, a staff member will deliver the items,” Atherly said.
Sometimes JFS staffers do the deliveries simply because they know the recipient will be more comfortable that way.

“Anna Feldman delivers all the food to the Russian clients,” Atherly said.
The project hopes to provide families with enough Passover food for the entire week. But Atherly said “in reality it’s going to be close.”

Each family receives two major meats, almost always a chicken and then either a second protein, which is either a frozen chicken, ground beef or stew meat. They also get cheese, gefilte fish, horseradish, matzah and fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Those who like to bake will get cake mixes and brownie mixes and matzah meal and those who don’t will get some sort of dessert item either marshmallows or fruit jells or a chocolate bar,” she said.

As Passover draws closer, JFS is still in need of monetary and food donations to make the project a success.

“We need dessert items. Those little Elite chocolate bars are expensive. We also need gefilte fish. And we need cash for the chickens, the meat and the proteins,” Atherly said.

If your family could use some assistance this Passover, please call Sondra Levy Atherly at JFS at (913) 327-8265 or . All information will be kept confidential. Donations may be made by sending a check to Jewish Family Services Holiday Project, 5801 W. 115th St., Suite 103, Overland Park KS 66211, by calling (913) 327-8250 with your credit card or by logging into the Jewish Family Services website at www.jfskc.org.

KC Kosher Co-op is also lending a hand to JFS in this endeavor. The co-op has set up a function on its website that allows people to make a donation of $18 or $36 to JFS when they make a purchase and go through the check-out. The donated amount is matched by KC Kosher Co-op. Please visit the site at www.kckoshercoop.com.

We caught up with Jonathan Edelman, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy senior, as he was getting ready for the school’s spring formal last Sunday. Edelman said he was honored to be selected as the recipient of the first Head of School Shining Light Award.

“The Hebrew Academy is an extension of my family. When you attend a small school with the same people, from age 4 or 5 through graduation, you end up knowing one another like a brother or sister — it’s one for all and all for one. We can always turn to each other in times of need, just like we would our families.”

Jonathan will receive the Head of School Award at the Academy’s 45th Anniversary Celebration, Everything’s Coming Up Roses, on Sunday evening, April 10, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center. Maria Devinki and Fred Devinki, of blessed memory, are the recipients of the dinner’s 2011 Civic Service Award. Sponsorships and tickets are available by calling Kerry Cosner at (816) 327-8156.

Howard Haas, HBHA head of school, said Jonathan was the perfect first recipient of the award.

“At HBHA, we are all about our kids! Since our founding families first discussed their vision for a Kansas City Jewish day school, we have focused on preparing students for fulfilling lives as Jews and honorable, contributing citizens. We are proud to say we have graduated hundreds of accomplished students who exemplify the values of Torah, mitzvah and tzedakah. Now seemed like the perfect time to salute one individual who embodies all of these attributes. Jonathan is a dynamic leader and I can honestly say I will miss him.”

Jonathan’s academic career was not always stellar. In ninth grade he struggled with mediocre grades and realized that this wasn’t the person he wanted to be. He sought help from his teachers and turned things around dramatically.

“Jonathan knew what he needed to do and took the steps necessary to achieve his goals,” Haas said. “He sets a terrific example for our younger students.”

Jonathan likens the Shining Light Award to a lighthouse, a beacon of leadership, which reinforces Haas’s comment about the example he sets.

Jonathan is most proud of his involvement in HBHA’s Naarot, Go Green program, which he was instrumental in developing under Elisa Pener’s vision.

“We are accomplishing something good for our environment. The first year, we had 10 people join, then 30, then half of the school. The program was implemented throughout the JCC campus so now we impact our entire community.”

Jonathan also remarked on the importance HBHA places on tzedakah.

“It started in kindergarten,” he said, “when we were encouraged to bring coins to school to put in those little metal boxes. We learned about giving back and it became ingrained in who we are.”

He will attend Clark University in the Fall of 2012, where he was awarded a merit scholarship. It is his Uncle David Sosland’s alma mater and Jonathan plans to follow in Sosland’s footsteps and study photography. But next fall he will participate in a GAP program, called Kivunim. The program is based in Israel but includes regular travel to other countries, including Russia, Morocco and India.

Kansas City native Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg has published the “Rosenberg Holocaust Siddur.” It is currently only available online and can be downloaded for free at http://www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/YOM%20HASHOAH/.The 143-page book can be downloaded from any computer and copies can be printed anywhere. Prayers are included in Hebrew, Hebrew transliteration and English translation.

Rabbi Rosenberg is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth-El in Edison, New Jersey, and an associate professor at Yeshiva University. He has just been named chaplain of the Edison, N.J., township. The child of Holocaust survivors, he has wanted to do this project for a long time.
“A world without Holocaust survivors is not far away. Yet, very little has been done to create a liturgy to commemorate that most catastrophic event in Jewish history,” Rabbi Rosenberg explained. “I am deeply concerned the Holocaust will be forgotten.”

He believes that without a framework for commemoration, remembrance will not long endure.

“For more than 3,000 years, Jews have been reminded every spring of the Exodus from Egypt, at a date firmly implanted on the Jewish calendar that is observed with seder rituals. Will the Holocaust, like the Exodus, be remembered beyond the generations of our grandchildren’s grandchildren? Very likely not — if no halachic agreement is reached on a specific day for remembrance, with prayers, readings and rituals adapted for the occasion.”

Rabbi Rosenberg, hopes the siddur he has compiled will fill that void. It includes poems, essays, songs and Ma’ariv services.

“Only by linking the Holocaust to ritual will the memory of the Holocaust survive other than just being a mere date in history,” Rabbi Rosenberg believes. “I am doing this now because time is running out as the last of the Holocaust survivors pass away.”

He explains that one may choose any of the numerous readings, poems or essays to incorporate into a seder or Holocaust remembrance service.

“There are so many that it is easy to create numerous different Holocaust programs from the vast amount of literature presented,” he said.

While the book is currently only available online, he is hoping he can publish it in a traditional book format.

“There are pictures of my parents and myself in the Internet version, but no art work. I would love to see art work in a hard-bound edition,” he explained.

The siddur is dedicated to Rosenberg’s parents, who were married in a displaced persons camp and eventually settled in Kansas City to be near other family members in the area.

“My father first opened a fruit store, then worked for Wilson Meat Company. Eventually he went into real estate. My mother worked in the garment industry. I attended public schools and Kehilath Israel Synagogue religious school. Early on, I decided to become a rabbi because of what had happened to my family during the Holocaust. ‘Never Again’ became my mantra. I would do my best to fight prejudice and hatred and prevent another genocide from ever happening again,” he explained.

Orli Gil, the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, will be in Kansas City on Tuesday, April 5, to speak to the community about “Israel’s Challenges in a Changing World.” The event, which is free, is presented by Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee, Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, and Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.

Because the events in the Middle East are changing so rapidly, she said this week that she can’t say exactly what she will discuss.

“The new developments in the Middle East do carry some chances for new regimes and more democracy but it has a lot of risks with it,” she said in a phone interview from her Chicago office.

She said Israel “used to see Egypt and Saudi Arabia as a balance to the new axis of Iran and Turkey. Now the least radical side of the equation has its uncertainties.

“I don’t know what the future of Egypt will be. I can only guess and hope but certainly I cannot foresee it.”

One thing Israel is concerned about, Gil said, is that Iran will try to use some of these changes for their own benefit “to increase their influence in the area.”

Gil said she plans to talk about some events that haven’t gotten a lot of media attention, such as “the horrible massacre that took place in Itamar,” on March 11. She is referring to the brutal murders of the Fogels, 36-year-old Udi and 35-year-old Ruth and three of their six children — Yoav, 11, along with Elad, 4, and Hadas, 3 months.

A group called the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade of Imad Mughniyeh claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeli forces combed the area after the attack, and the Palestinian Authority agreed to participate in a joint investigation to find the killer or killers.

Gil may also discuss the seizing of the Liberia-flagged cargo ship Victoria by Israel’s navy on March 14 “which was full of dangerous, advanced weapons to be used by Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”

“These were Iranian weapons that were aimed to reach the Gaza strip and shows that Iran is doing everything it can to help the terrorist organizations operate in this very fragile situation in the Middle East right now,” Gil said.

In a reference to the instability of Egypt, Gil pointed out that “the Egyptian army used to attempt to stop the arming of Hamas. We really don’t know what’s going to happen from September on.”

Gil would also like to remind Kansas Citians that Israel is not only about strategic issues in the Middle East.

“We have a wonderful democracy and culture, literature and high tech. This is actually the essence of Israel, not wars and fears and strategic challenges.”

She points out that so far tourism to Israel hasn’t been hurt by the most current Middle Eastern tension.

“It’s been one of the best years in tourism that we’ve known in 2010 and the beginning of 2011. Right now there are no signs of slowing tourism,” she said.

Camping season is just around the corner. Prime spots at many Jewish overnight camps are already taken. Enrollment is currently underway or will soon begin at the local Jewish day camps. One thing is for certain. If you want your child to be affiliated and stay connected to the Jewish community as an adult, one of the best ways to ensure that is to find a way to send him or her to summer camp.

For years experts have been saying just that. Earlier this month a study on the long-term impact of Jewish overnight camp was released, concluding that those who have attended camp are more Jewishly engaged as adults.

Certainly professionals who specialize in both formal and informal Jewish education be an essential part of a Jewish child’s life.

“Children who attend Jewish day or residential camp are comfortable being immersed in Judaism,” said Karen Gerson, director of informal education for CAJE, the education arm of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. “They thrive in these summer environments and as adults look toward friendships and associations with other Jewish people and organizations.”

It’s hard to say exactly how many Jewish children in the area attend Jewish camps, but Gerson said the number could be around 350. It’s been difficult for some families to afford the luxury of sending a child away to camp in the downward economy we recently experienced, but scholarships are available for those who search for them. The deadline has already passed for the Gershon Hadas Guardian Society for Children scholarship. However Gerson said money is still available from the Federation and The Foundation for Jewish Camp for a One Happy Camper grant.

“It is a $1,000 incentive for those who are attending Jewish residential camp for 19 days or longer for the first time,” said Gerson, who said more information is available on the Federation website, www.jewishkansascity.org.

Wider Jewish world

Marcia Rittmaster, Congregation Beth Torah’s religious school and youth groups director, knows the value of camp from both a parental and an educator’s standpoint. Her children attended day camp. She has attended overnight camp along with many of her students during the last 10 years.

“Without hard data, I can tell you that I’ve seen exactly those results since I became involved in promoting Jewish summer camp,” said Rittmaster, who has attended Goldman Union Camp Institute in Indiana as a staff member.

“The kids who had the opportunity to attend a Jewish camp are more likely to be involved in youth group and later in Hillel, marry Jewish, raise Jewish children, become religious school teachers, adult volunteers in Jewish organizations and even become rabbis,” Rittmaster said.
She thinks residential camp is especially important for Midwest students because it widens their Jewish world.

“I can’t tell you how often I hear that young adults are still friends with people they met at camp. They run into them in college and the business world. At camp they don’t really think about being Jewish, they just are. Their days and weeks are governed by Jewish cycles (praying before and after meals, a set time for daily worship and most particularly the way Shabbat is totally set aside and different,” she said.

She attends camp for many reasons, one being it makes the Beth Torah parents comfortable she’ll be keeping an eye on their children for a couple of weeks.

“I go because I love seeing our kids grow as individuals and become comfortable in the camp culture. I go because it gives me a special bond with the kids (and families) that go with me. I go because I, too, have made camp friends with other faculty members and we study, learn and work together in a manner that can’t be duplicated at a weekly or monthly get together,” Rittmaster said.

Staying at home

Bridey Stangler, the interim director of Jewish Community Center camps, was both an overnight and a day camper and is sold on the importance of both in a child’s life.

“Camp creates this long-term Jewish identity. I’m proof of that. I have friends who are proof of that. Everybody I was on the board with at KU Hillel all have Jewish camping experiences,” said Stangler, who attended Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, a Reform camp in Wisconsin for five years.

"I think sleep-away camp is particularly important because having time away from your parents gets you the opportunity to create your own beliefs and your own opinions about Judaism."

She’s spent more than a dozen summers as a counselor or programmer at various JCC camps. She notes this year the JCC alone offers six different camping options for children in preschool through middle school. Other local options include preschool camps offered by Congregations Beth Shalom and B’nai Jehudah as well as a camp for children in kindergarten through eighth grade put on by The Torah Learning Center.

Stangler said the JCC is hoping to recreate overnight camp as much as possible at its day camps, without the actual cabin and bunks.

“Day campers aren’t living, breathing and sleeping with the same people for weeks. But here our kids are grouped into sub groups and we do everything we can to make their own communities,” she said. “It’s a little family by the end of the summer.”

Regardless of what camp a child attends at the JCC — it could be Barney Goodman (general), sports, theater, art or even outdoor adventure — Judaism is infused in every way possible.

“Jewishly we do Shabbat every week no matter what camp they are in,” Stangler said. “I think that’s the one time of the week when the kids feel more separate from the everyday hubbub of camp and I think that’s the most like overnight camp.’

“We also incorporate gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) and try to exemplify Jewish values in every way possible,” she continued.

Stephanie Katzif, who served as the director of all JCC camps for 22 years and will work with several specialty camps this summer, truly believes in the importance of any kind of Jewish camp. On a personal note, one of her daughters married a man who she met at overnight camp. And she points out that two of her former staffers — Jay Lewis and Kim Davidow Lewis — met while working at Barney Goodman, eventually married and both work as a Jewish communal professional.

She’s proud that the JCC has taken steps to expand on what it offers its campers and their parents — such as daily access to camp photos online, adding more field trips and more part-time options — while retaining the camp’s tradition of excellence.

“We know the experiences of overnight camps make people more likely to join synagogues and stay involved in the Jewish community,” Katzif said. “I think that we do the same things in day camp by showing that saying the motzi is a natural thing, that giving tzedakah is a natural thing and always thinking of others is important.”

The camp is full of counselors who were once campers, and during interviews Katzif said those prospective counselors always mention how important the camp was to them.

“Working at a camp as a counselor is important, too. It keeps them connected with the Jewish community as well, and now with all the social networking these counselors really do keep in contact with each other long after the camp session ends. It’s all a part of Jewish geography.”

Let all who are hungry come and eat.

That’s one of the shortest, and most memorable, lines in the Haggadah used in many seders. It was one of the themes of last year’s Community Second Night of Passover Seder sponsored by the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City and held at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

The second night seder will once again be held this year at B’nai Jehudah on Tuesday, April 19. (See below for more information.) Last year participants literally helped feed the hungry by preparing food for the needy prior to their own feast. This year the theme is “Experience an interactive journey from slavery through the 15 steps to freedom.”

The seder will be led by B’nai Jehudah’s Senior Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff as well as Rabbi Robert Tobin, Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, Rabbi Scott White, Cantor Sharon Kohn and Hazzan Rob Menes. As the host congregation’s rabbi, Rabbi Nemitoff explained that the community seder is special because it brings people together.

“Seders traditionally are meant to be held in one’s home. We recognize that there are plenty in our community who lack the capacity to either prepare a seder or don’t have other family or, quite honestly, don’t have the energy to do a second or a first seder. This is an opportunity for the community to open up the community’s home,” he said.

It’s rare, Rabbi Nemitoff said, for a person to attend a seder that is conducted by multiple members of the clergy.

“It’s a unique opportunity to learn from all these clergy,” he said.

In the past the community has sponsored two community seders in an effort to encompass various levels of religious observance. This year the only seder will be the one offered at B’nai Jehudah, but Rabbi Nemitoff believes any Jew would be comfortable at the seder.

“It will try to create a balance between an experience that people will recognize as a seder and also be something contemporary, modern and engaging for people,” he explained. “Most members of the Jewish community will find their level of practice and observance accommodated within our seder experience.”

For instance, when last year’s group broke into smaller groups to prepare food for the homeless, Rabbi Nemitoff explained that those who didn’t feel comfortable participating for religious or other reasons were simply able to choose not to participate.

“Our community is remarkable because as a community we recognize everybody’s needs and we do our very best within a communal setting to provide for those needs and at the same time provide a unique and original interpretation of the seder experience.”

One reason the seder has so many interpretations, Rabbi Nemitoff explained, is that while the commandment to observe Pesach, written in the book of Exodus, is very clear, the rest is not.

“The story of remembrance is the same, but the way in which we do it with the meal, with the Haggadah and the elaborate traditions connected to that meal are not in the Torah,” he said.

Those traditions, according to Rabbi Nemitoff, come from the Greco-Roman period. “The Greco-Roman banquet is what the model was for our seder meal. So throughout history we have accommodated and changed, based on both our current experiences and the current necessities,” he said.

Last year many participants commented on the engaging way Rabbi Tobin chose to present the maggid, the telling of the Passover story. He is expected to play that role again this year. The two cantors will pass along the message of Passover through music.

While the details for this year are still being worked out, Rabbi Nemitoff said the goal is for the evening, including the actual meal, to last between two and two and a half hours.

Over the years many have enjoyed the community seder and attend on a regular basis. Comment cards are always distributed to see what participants like and how the event can be enhanced. Last year’s comments were complimentary.

“My kids loved it and had a great time and thought it was the best seder ever so that makes me happy,” wrote one participant. “One theme my family found most interesting is that we take care of feeding all who are hungry. I loved that and thought it was the best message for my kids and for me.”

Many others also enjoyed the mitzvah project and complimented the food, one calling it “superb.”

About the second seder

When: Tuesday, April 19
Where: The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah
Time: 6:30 p.m.

The food will be kosher-for-Passover and prepared under the supervision of the Vaad Hakashruth of Greater Kansas City. The cost for an adult meal (chicken or vegetarian) is $33; $13.50 for children between the ages of 4 and 9 and free for children under 4. Reservations are mandatory and are due by April 11. Financial assistance is available. For more information, contact Annette Fish, administrator/program director, at or (913) 327-4622, or visit the Rabbinical Association’s website at www.kcrabbis.org.

Maggie Herman is a diminutive teen, yet she’s strong enough to train younger girls in the art of horseback riding. She’s very social, too. As a senior at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, she’s on the staff of the student newspaper and yearbook and is Student Council vice president. But she’s also a Girl Scout “troop of one” as she puts it. She’s athletic — playing varsity basketball and running cross-country in track — but academics are her priority and she maintains a 3.92 GPA. She says, “I have high expectations of myself,” but also knows she “wants to help people.”

So who is this 17-year-old and what is it about her that qualifies her as this month’s Salute to Youth honoree?

According to Todd Clauer, college guidance director at HBHA, “Having known Maggie Herman for nearly seven years, there is little doubt that the grace and humility with which she has demonstrated each year has been a unique honor to witness. Maggie’s kind, attentive and happy exterior contributes to every situation she enters, while her fierce internal determination has helped her grow into an outstanding thinker and leader.”

Soft spoken, Maggie articulates her goals and passions. It’s not that she downplays her achievements — Girl Scout Gold, Silver and Bronze Award Winner, President’s Volunteer Service Award — four years in a row, National Honor Society, International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program Certificate of Completion, academic letter and Wellesley College Book Award — she’s aware that it doesn’t tell her whole story.

Helping people is at the top of her list, which is why she applied to universities with strong pre-med programs. She also wanted schools that were “academically challenging, but not overwhelming.” She’s looking to “find the balance” between academics, maintaining a Jewish life on campus and yes, having fun! College applications, she said, were “the hardest thing I’ve ever done so far.” Since Maggie is close to her family — parents Mark and Vicki Herman and younger sister, Sarah, a sophomore at HBHA — the thought of going away to school next fall does concern her.

She loves KC and her grandparents live nearby — in Jefferson City, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb., “I don’t think there’s another community like it,” she says about Kansas City. “It’s close-knit and supportive.” But her ultimate goal is to become a doctor, so even though she’s been accepted to universities out of state, she hasn’t ruled out coming back to KC for additional training and a medical career.
Maggie also applied to schools that have large Jewish populations and strong Hillels, because her family’s involvement in Judaism is personally important to her. If she has any advice for her younger sister, who accompanied her on recent tours of college campuses, it’s this: “Take the opportunities presented to you. “You never know when an organization will help you learn more about what you could do in your future.”

She’s been to Israel three times — once with her extended family when she was in sixth grade, again on the HBHA ninth-grade trip and then on March of the Living, a trip that combines a week of Holocaust education and visits to concentration camps in Poland, followed by a week in Israel.

Despite the difficulty of seeing the camps and hearing horrific accounts from survivors, Maggie said the week in Israel was the “most fun” she’s ever had. Being there on Yom HaAztmaut (Israeli Independence Day), she could see that “everyone around me was happy. It was one of the most joyous events I have ever participated in,” she adds. “I don’t think I have even been prouder to be a Jew.”

She’s been at HBHA since first grade and an active participant at Beth Torah, where she was confirmed and still volunteers as a madricha (teacher’s assistant). “I like the support from students and teachers at HBHA,” Maggie notes, “Judaism is so important in my life and I enjoy learning about it.”

Maggie also feels great support from her family, and sees her mother as a role model. “She is one of the hardest working people I know. She knows how to get things done, but she does so with such grace. Watching her has really had an effect on the person I am today. She is also a great motivator and throughout the years has always pushed me to get involved and try new things.”

Because Judaism is so important to her, she makes going back to Herzl Camp year after year a high priority. Maggie had to choose between the Girl Scout’s Winding River Camp, where she’s been volunteering for years, and Herzl. While she’s no longer earning badges, she has served as a “wrangler in training” teaching safety around horses to younger Scouts, and then as a riding instructor, helping Scouts learn “horse skills.”

She’s been everything at Herzl — camper, OZO, C-I-T, and now counselor before she begins college. “I’ll be supervising a group in Tzofim — girls going into seventh and eighth grade,” she explains. Maggie says she’s also looking forward to “hanging out with my friends” from Herzl, Twin Cities girls she now considers “life-long friends.”