Archived Opinion

In a bad light

With a great deal of surprise I read the article “NRT rabbi’s contract not renewed” (Dec. 31). As a result, I am concerned about the impact of this news on the NRT congregation, as well as on our community at large.

During conversations with members of the New Reform Temple (NRT), several people expressed total surprise, not only that Rabbi Cukierkorn had been dismissed by the board, but the way in which it was done. One elderly member, who doesn’t want to be identified, said to me, “I knew that there was some bad blood between one or two board members and the rabbi, but Rabbi Jacques has done wonderful things for our congregation. I wish they had asked my opinion before firing him.” A couple confided that their family will gladly follow Rabbi Cukierkorn to his next post.

Technically, a board is entitled to hire and fire the rabbi, but a good board seeks outside intervention, if needed, to resolve conflict. More importantly, a board worth its salt considers the impact of firing its rabbi, as a private act of the board, on the whole congregation. In effect, from the feedback I received, it appears that even transition planning was an afterthought in this event.

Personally, I’m concerned that when we do not apply the Jewish principles that we espouse, especially to our own religious leaders, it puts our community under a bad light.

Eduard de Garay
Overland Park, Kan.

Bewildering decision

Thank you for your coverage (Dec. 31) of the decision by the board of the New Reform Temple to dismiss the Temple’s rabbi of 11-plus years. Your coverage began with the announcement of the dismissal by the temple president, but I am still puzzled by the board’s bewildering action.

As you reported, the Temple has thrived under the rabbi’s leadership: Membership is up. Service attendance is up. The variety of services provided by the Temple is up. Likewise ingenuity, vivacity, intellectual challenge.

Thanks to the rabbi’s creativity, we, as congregants, have enjoyed guided tours of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art that have focused on Jewish themes. Thanks to his energy, we have engaged in lively discussions (over lunches and even during Sabbath evening services) of issues that are critical to us — as Jews, as Americans and as citizens of the world.

And, as you note, thanks to his scholarship, we, as a congregation, have benefited from the prestige that flows from having a rabbi whose literary endeavors have been translated and published for a global readership.

All this, you would think, would be dayenu ... enough. That he accomplished all this while continuing to offer the very best of the more traditional, even routine, services one expects from a rabbi: encouragement in learning, consolation in grief, companionship in Jewish life.

I have lived long enough and been blessed enough to have known some pretty great rabbis, but none as accessible, as enthusiastic, as creative, as entertaining or as pleasant as Jacques Cukierkorn.

The board, by contrast, has shown itself to be aloof, narrow-minded, arrogant and cowardly. It neither seeks the counsel of the congregation before firing the rabbi nor stoops to explain its decision after the fact.

If, as Thomas C. Barnett, board president, would have us believe, the decision to fire Rabbi Cukierkorn were truly “the culmination of a long and thorough process,” why is this the first that the congregation has heard of it? Where are the artifacts of that process? Mr. Barnett concedes “the progress the congregation has enjoyed during [Rabbi Cukierkorn’s] leadership.” But he offers no hint as to how that progress may have fallen short of the board’s expectations.

Decisions as momentous as this in the life of a synagogue should originate with the congregation and end with the ratification of the board. They should not begin and end with the board.

John LaRoe
Member, New Reform Temple 

My name is Lilach Nissim, and I’m Kansas City’s new Israeli emissary (shlichah). I arrived in Kansas this November to work on staff at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. My main job here is to educate Kansas Citians about Israel — wherever there is a need.
As you can imagine, I’m very excited to be here. And after two months in Kansas City, I understand how right it was for me to become an emissary in Kansas City. You have a warm and welcoming community, and I want to thank everyone for your hospitality and kindness.

For me, becoming an emissary is fulfilling a dream of mine. I feel that at this point in my life, I have the skills and the experience to make a contribution to your community. During the last nine years I have worked in the informal education field; from educating special needs students, to running projects that provided opportunities for students to help within their community, to ensuring adults had the proper assistance they needed to study in college. As I worked in each of these positions I learned a great deal about myself, about the importance of helping the community and about Zionism.

But where I really learned the most was from my most recent job in Sderot. During this time, I had the great opportunity to re-examine everything I had known up until that point.

Until this past summer, I worked for three years in Sderot. If you don’t know Sderot, it is a city in the south of Israel that has suffered from constant rocket attacks from Gaza. During my time in this devastated city, I coordinated a program for at-risk children, ran a club for at-risk teenagers, and coordinated a teenage volunteer corps in the city.

My first day in Sderot — to sign my work contract — was the first day of the biggest and most aggressive rocket attack that was yet to happen there. Back then, I understood nothing about life under attack. Although I served in the army, I never experienced a situation like that. And because I was the only one who worked in that program who lived outside of Sderot, everybody thought I was crazy to stay.

But remain in Sderot I did. And I learned many things there. I learned the meaning of the word “courage.” I learned the unity of faith. I learned that nothing is what it seems.

I saw good people opening their homes to provide shelter to those who were caught in the street during an attack. I saw strangers have a heart to heart conversation about the situation. I saw children who were braver than adults. I learned not to judge from the teens I worked with, and how love is an important component in education. Mostly I learned how we all need to take action and responsibility for the lives around us.

I learned the true value of Zionism, just like they taught us at school, when it was a distant word out of history books. I learned how an entire nation, in the Diaspora and in Israel, are joining and working together for one important cause. I learned about the strength of that nation: not just how it survived through history, but its determination and the faith of the people. In other words, our collective Jewish values.

For me, Israel is much more than fights and terror attacks. For me, Israel is not a history of death. It is a history of life. It is the burning bush. And through the burning, it will never stop prospering.

Israel’s achievements in technology, science, agriculture, and economics are great. At the same time, Israel is not a perfect country. How can we expect a state that is only 63 years old, that accepts immigration in large scales, that deals with a very difficult security situation, that has few natural resources, to be perfect? To expect Israel to be perfect is unnatural. Most countries existing under these kinds of conditions are third-world countries.

But with Israel, that is the miracle. This is how the burning bush continues, against all odds. The state of Israel leads a modern and democratic life, with successes in many areas. It even consults with other countries in economics, technology, agriculture and security. Indeed, we have a lot of work to do, but it’s possible for Israel to succeed against all odds.

As an Israeli, it is very frustrating to watch helplessly as the news reports around the world discuss what is going on in Israel. More than once, I’ve thought of the Jews around the world: What do they feel when they watch the news? Are they ashamed of the Jewish state? In spite of these thoughts, I believe that the Jews in the Diaspora truly understand that the state of Israel is a source of pride for them and how — together — we can help improve the things that need to be improved in Israel.

So I hope to see you all experiencing a little bit of Israel in Kansas City. We have many upcoming community events, including Israeli movie nights, various workshops and other Israeli activities. Please feel free to contact me with any ideas you have about sharing Israel and Israeli life in Kansas City. You can reach me at (913) 327-8124, , or on find me on Facebook, search for Lilach Nissim Shlichah.

(Editor’s note: Lilach Nissim plans to write a regular monthly column about her experiences as Kansas City’s Israeli emissary.)

A special thanks

My name is Sagi Rudnick, (a fourth-grader at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy) and I recently participated in your Chanukah Art Contest, co-sponsored by The Chabad House. I want to thank you all for having this contest not only because I was excited for the prizes, but thanks to you and your contest, I now have a beautiful new chanukiah that I actually used this past Chanukah with my family (and at Congregation Ohev Sholom’s Chanukah party).

I was so excited to make my chanukiah out of stone and glass. Therefore, I also wanted to thank Sam Nachum and Ben Nachum, of Jerusalem Stone, for welcoming me into their shop and work studio. They let me wander around and collect the stone supplies that I wanted to use for making my chanukiah.

Finally, I thank Bearden’s Stained Glass for suggesting what kind of glass I could use for holding the oil on each branch of the chanukiah. They introduced me to the art of stained glass and helped guide me to decide which paint to use to paint the glass oil-holders yellow.

I am really proud of the chanukiah that I made, and I am happy to live in a city and be part of a community where a 10-year-old boy who wants to make a really special chanukiah can get all the support he needs.
Todah rabah!

Sagi Rudnick
Prairie Village, Kan.

So what happens to those cranky kids who whine until mom agrees to drive through McDonalds for a Happy Meal of a burger and fries? Earlier incarnations of those whiny kids in Kansas City might have pleaded for burgers at Winstead’s original restaurant on the Plaza, or maybe even Wimpy’s on Troost. The kids grow up, eventually. And, though they later find themselves saddled with problems that loom far larger than the ones that plagued their collective youth, they still crave those burgers. Enter BRGR (4038 W. 83rd, Prairie Village), and other such establishments, that have found a way to harness the iconic burger for those of us who have grown up. Gotten older, anyway.

BRGR’s décor is well-suited to the sophisticated comfort food that the restaurant serves. The place is wide open and bustling with activity — including the kitchen at the back. Upon entering, the main dining area is to the right and to the left is a smaller cove with tables for dining amid the bar area. It can get loud and busy in here, even during a weekday night — an utter blessing for those with kids roughly 6 and under. Most of the waitstaff is dressed whimsically in a sort of auto mechanic garb, with the “brgr” where a mechanic’s name would be emblazoned. This is somehow charming, and in no way detracts from BRGR’s serious approach to food. There is precedent for this, in town. Oklahoma Joe’s serves fine barbecue from a kitchen that literally shares building space with a gas station.

A number of local spots — chains and otherwise — try to do this upscale burger thing. BRGR is one of the more complete restaurants of this sort. Having previously sampled burgers from the menu’s extensive selection, we vowed during one visit to check out some of the less “obvious” offerings Appetizer fare is solid. We sampled the Fired-Up Chicken Wings ($8), a plate of five full wings seasoned with a flavorful (though not spicy) dry rub, and a Cajun butter. It’s hard to find the full wing, these days; most places opt for those sadly diminutive “drummies.” These were a little smaller than the freakishly large, locally famous version served at the Peanut, but still good-sized, and crispy outside and moist inside. We also opted for Fried Little Asparagus ($8). It turned out that there was nothing “little” about these generous spears of asparagus, served in a crispy and lightly seasoned batter that allowed the fresh taste of the asparagus to prevail. I confess to shaking just a bit of salt on the fried spears, which were perfectly cooked — not overdone and mushy like some versions served as sides at many restaurants that seem like they were dumped from a can.

One can’t miss non-burger option at BRGR is the Wedge (Salad) ($2.50, $8) (can be ordered sans bacon). It was the best version of this steakhouse salad classic that I have had, anywhere. Atop a dense, crunchy iceberg wedge, were tomatoes, superb blue cheese dressing with a wealth of blue cheese chunks, a drizzle of olive oil and (oddly) walnuts, which themselves seemed to put this salad into another stratosphere. Why haven’t other places thought to throw on some walnuts? Such a simple touch.

Sandwich options abound outside of the traditional burger realm. One friend sampled the Portobella Mushroom ($8) (from the described “Not-So-Burgers” section). This sandwich of marinated, grilled and flavorful Portobello mushrooms was on tasty, buttered ciabatta slathered with a light herb spread and watercress salad. Another dining companion had never tried Kobe beef, and wanted to see how it compared with the American burger she had eaten her whole life. Kobe beef comes from cattle fed a special diet, pampered and raised in Kobe, Japan. She ordered the Kobe Beef Sliders ($10), three thick sliders served on truffle brioche buns with oven-dried tomatoes, onions, provolone and “special sauce” (tasting prominently of BRGR’s house-made ketchup, a rich condiment that had a slightly smoky flavor — though kids and select adults who eat here may request the more mundane and familiar Heinz version). Our companion wanted to order the sliders “well-done,” which our waitress wisely advised against. Though they compromised on “medium-well,” the sliders arrived in the ballpark of medium rare to medium. Candidly, it seemed wrong to cook the superior Kobe beef anywhere beyond that. This same waitress exhibited solid menu knowledge, paced the meal well, and was sweet and patient with our kids — even when our tired 2-year-old napped all through one dinner with his little head on the rustic table.

At the end of the day, though, this is a burger joint — albeit a rather fancy one. BRGR serves half-pound burgers of Certified Angus Beef, ground fresh daily. On one visit, I had the Out-N-In Burger ($8), stuffed inside with fontina cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions, topped with the same “special sauce” served atop the Kobe sliders. These are quality burgers. “Grown up” burgers. I ordered mine medium, and it was just slightly charred on the outside, and had a little bit of pink on the inside. Another good “stuffed” burger, aptly listed within a section of “historical burgers,” was the Jucy Lucy ($8), mixed with Worcestershire sauce and stuffed with American cheese, on a Kaiser bun This rendition emanates from a burger battle that has its roots on one street in South Minneapolis where two different bars claim to have invented the sandwich — of distinction for putting the cheese within instead of atop the burger. Any burger on the BRGR menu can be upgraded to a bison or Kobe burger for $2. A fried egg can be added for a buck. An over-easy fried egg enhances many burger options, and just about anything else, for that matter.

Bag chips will commonly do for an outdoor cookout or barbecue, but not at a place like BRGR; nor would basic, run-of-the-mill fries suffice — although they exist, here. BRGR Fries ($2.50), were perfectly fine and crispy — maybe slightly thicker than McDonald’s fries — and will be satisfactory for kids (and most adults). But three other side options were noteworthy. My favorite was the Truffle Tater Tots ($4), a gourmet version of this treat that may obliterate one’s ability to eat these from the freezer at home ever again. Sweet Potato Fries ($2.50) were dusted lightly with sugar, cooked to a crispy finish, and could almost be eaten for dessert. The Onion Rings ($4.50) were large, thick-sliced onions with a crunchy, well-seasoned batter. A good approach is The Combo ($7), which affords the opportunity to sample three different options from the “Fries, Rings and Tots” section.

During our last visit to BRGR, I was struck by the diverse clientele that filled the place: two young professionals in business suits, six middle aged men attired in nostalgic collegiate motif, a family with two children under 5 — perched atop high chairs and slurping milk, and dipping fries in the ketchup that had surely not been made in-house. BRGR is about reaching across generational lines on the basis of the comfortable food on which we can all agree. Burgers. Fries.
And all that other stuff.
Food:♦♦♦ ½
Atmosphere: ♦♦♦ ½
Service: ♦♦♦½
Out of four stars

The struggle for civil rights for all Americans was a pivotal time in our history.  Now you can witness with your own eyes the places that history was made. 

You may have seen the televised footage of the fire hoses and the dogs turned against Black southerners and those who chose to stand with them.  The scenes from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the courage of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are etched in the life of our country — and for some of us, in our memories. 

The Jewish community was deeply involved in that effort. It was a time when we stood together — brothers and sisters — facing the forces of bigotry and racism. Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner gave their all with their colleague James Chaney as they tried to register Black people to vote. When Dr. King was preparing for a march, he would say to an organizer, “Get me a couple of rabbis to walk with us.” And they came; Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel linked arms with Dr. King as they marched from Selma to Montgomery. They walked to fulfill the words of the Torah: Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue.

You can gain an understanding of that experience. Congregation Beth Torah, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee and The Kansas City Globe are sponsoring a historic opportunity for Black and Jewish adults to make that trip together.

At a recent meeting at St. James United Methodist Church, members of the Black community expressed sincere interest in sharing this journey with the Jewish community. The response was heartwarming and rewarding. We need an equal response from the Jewish community to make this trip a reality.

We will leave Kansas City on Thursday evening, Feb. 10, and visit historic sites in Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Ala., as well as Atlanta. We will join with our fellow Kansas Citians at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, at the 16th Street Baptist Church, the King Center for Non Violent Change and the Rosa Parks Museum. The itinerary also includes attending services at the Ebenezer Baptist Church

The cost for the weekend includes travel from place to place in a luxury bus, three-nights in hotels, meals and entrance to all sites. The land costs are $650, double occupancy, (single supplement $130). Air travel round-trip from Kansas City is approximately $300.

Please consider being part of our group; you will not be disappointed in the experience. What better time than now to come together in the spirit of that time in our history?

For more information, including an itinerary, contact Sarah Levinson, JCRB/AJC assistant director, . You may also contact me at .

The time is short; a deposit of $100 is due by Jan. 1 and final payment is due by Jan. 15. I look forward to seeing you!

Judy Hellman recently retired as the associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee.

QUESTION:  I recently attended a funeral and noticed the “black ribbons” on extended family.   By that I mean they were being worn by grandparents, aunts and uncles and other relatives who do not sit shiva.  Is that inappropriate?  Secondly, I also heard at a different funeral the rabbi announce that anyone could join in the Kaddish in memory of the loved one who had passed as long as they had lost a parent.  What is all that about?

ANSWER:  You are absolutely correct.  The people who cut kriyah, the cutting of one’s garment that one does at the time of the loss (or the black ribbon that one wears if one is more liberal) is performed only for shiva relatives.  By shiva relatives I mean those loved ones that we lose for whom we sit shiva.  That would include a spouse, a mother or father, son or daughter, and a brother or sister.  Any other relatives even if we feel very close to them such as grandparents or grandchildren or aunts and uncles or in-laws are not officially mourned nor do we sit shiva for them.  It would therefore be inappropriate for those people to wear black ribbons or cut their garments.  Some liberal rabbis meaning well for the purpose of inclusion in trying to make the extended family feel better at such a time of sorrow often will include other members of the family in the “ribbon wearing.”  Halachically, or according to Jewish law, that is inappropriate.  Shiva is reserved for only those relatives for whom official mourning is dictated by Jewish law.  As a matter of fact, very few of the mourning laws are found in the Torah.  Ironically the laws of cutting one’s garment and whom one sits shiva for are found specifically spelled out in the Torah.

The saying of Kaddish is an entirely different subject.  Kaddish is obligated in Jewish law only for a parent, a blood mother or father.  Any other relative even if it is a shiva relative such as a brother or sister or spouse does not mandate the saying of Kaddish.  Many individuals opt to say Kaddish for the full eleven months for a spouse or a brother or sister or other relatives.  That is very meritorious but not mandated by Jewish law.  One can say Kaddish for anyone as long as they are of the Jewish faith.  We had a member of our congregation who said Kaddish for an entire eleven months for a close friend — that is what I call commitment!  It needs to be spelled out however that all these examples of saying Kaddish for friends or distant relatives is by choice and not mandated by Jewish law.

If one understands a little bit of the history of the mourner’s Kaddish then perhaps I can more easily answer your question about Kaddish being reserved for those people who have lost a parent.

Originally the mourners Kaddish was known as “the orphan’s Kaddish.”  In Hebrew it is still called that.  The Kaddish was designed specifically for a pre-Bar Mitzvah youth to be able to say memorial prayers for his late parent.  Since children could not lead services or do anything else that adult mourners could, the mourners Kaddish was created as a child’s prayer for their late parent.  Knowing that we now understand that this Kaddish that we call the “mourners Kaddish” is really a Kaddish for someone who has lost a parent.  It was only in later years the the saying of Kaddish for other relatives was added.

Because of that the tradition developed that one does not say Kaddish if one’s mother or father are both still living out of respect to them.  An exception is made if one asks permission of both one’s mother and father that they do not object to one’s saying Kaddish, it can then be recited.

Jerusalem — All week we had been watching with horror the scenes on television and reading about the Carmel fire in the newspapers, the 10,465 acres destroyed and 43 victims.

When the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet l’Yisael, see box at right) invited foreign correspondents to tour the Carmel with the professional foresters of KKL-JNF to learn about the fire damages and rehabilitation plans, we were eager to go.

In a few short hours, we were following the giant leaps the fire had taken a few days before. The smell was in my nostrils, the black embers were under my tennis shoes and the puffs of smoke were still smoldering in a few places by a house in Kibbutz Bet Oren and in the Carmel Forest, four days after the Carmel fire was declared suppressed.

Standing first at an observation point below Haifa University, where the main command post had been established, Israel Tauber, director of forest management for the KKL-JNF, told us this was the worst wild fire ever experienced in Israel in terms of "intensity, size and casualties."

Michael Weinberger, director of the supervisor’s office of forests in the Western Galilee, told us how he saw the mushroom over the Druze village of Isafiya, at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2, and decided to bring on the northern region fire crews and the duster airplane, feeling "this would be a huge fire," since it seemed to be running a mile per hour. One hundred and twenty men and 12 fire engines, 70 percent of the country’s forces, were called up to assist what seemed to be man-made, probably due to neglect, which had started at Isafiya.

Kalil Adar, director of the forest department for the northern region of JNF, showed us maps, as we stood 1700 feet above sea level, pointing out how the fire appeared on the peaks of the ridge then to the west and northwest. The strong, dry eastern winds, low humidity and lack of rain for the past eight months contributed to the intensity. «I›ve never seen such a situation regarding intensity and crazy behavior,» said Adar. Seeing the black hills made the fire even more real to us.

Our next stop was Kibbutz Bet Oren. In 1934 the kibbutz was settled as part of a watch tower and stockade camp then after an Arab attack two years later, it was abandoned, only to be refounded in 1939. In 1999, members petitioned the High Court of Justice to classify it as a cooperative society, and today it has gone privatized and is a community village. It operates a hotel and spa, horse riding center, lead factory, glass work shop, membership-based swimming pool, a pub with live bands and a mountain-bike store offering bikes, repairs and guided trips.

We climb a hill and meet Yohay Cohen, born on the kibbutz and now co-owner of the spa attached to the hotel. Yohay explained that although the village had created an emergency team several months ago, they had no special uniform or identification to show to those who were part of the official fire-fighting crews, so when they received a call at 11:30 calling for evacuation, buses came first to remove the children and the elderly. The rest of the people were also evacuated, leaving only the emergency team. The Haifa Police Chief Deputy Commander, Ahuva Tomer, then came and told them to evacuate.

She continued to the road, across the valley, where the bus of prison service cadets was traveling. It was consumed by fire and she too was fatally burned in her car, while following the bus.

Yohay relates how he stood on the road of the kibbutz, looking across the wadi 600-700 meters in the distance. He could see the bus coming on the road as it hit the fire. «I asked myself, who would send a bus of people into the fire?"

On the kibbutz, Yohay explained how "the fire came down the mountain, its fumes were very strong, it went past the road and burned the [kibbutz] night club." It continued on, consuming 15 buildings containing 40 apartments.

He walked us down the road, past the yellow ribbons, further into the kibbutz. We were shocked to see the burned-out apartment buildings where smoke is still smoldering. Right off the path there was a pile of burned objects taken from the destroyed apartments. I was so touched by toys, a doll, a bath tub. Further on were two burned-out skeletons of cars. The kibbutz was unable to get water to the burning areas because the water pumps were electrically controlled and the electricity had been interrupted, he told us.

In one burned-out building they found a room, unknown to the kibbutz, where the Haganah had stored weapons, prior to 1948.

Kalil Adar, director of the forest department for the Northern Region of KKL-JNF, explained how the falling missiles in the 2006 Second Lebanon War created fires, "but we confronted the fires. You didn’t see the enemy; you didn’t know when the next missile would fall and for the first time, we had the feeling we might die because of the missiles falling. As commander of the crews, I can tell you, the people were very brave and very strong."

Michael Weinberger, director of the supervisor’s office of forests in the Western Galilee, says that since those fires, 20 fire trucks were purchased but without the planes sent in to help this time, the damage would have doubled from this fire.

We board the van, drive down the hill and out of the kibbutz and then across the wadi to the road to drive past the site of the bus burning. There is bumper to bumper traffic with people stopping to gaze at or add to a memorial by laying flowers and candles at this location. It is so unreal to be where this happened.

From here, we drive up to the Carmel forest across the road from the luxury Carmel Spa resort. The smell is strong as we stand among the burned embers. We hear how the area was engulfed in smoke last Friday night and they saw the fire coming toward the hotel. This is one of the only spots where you could get to the fire from fire engines.

In this mixed forest with pine trees and oaks, we learn how rehabilitation of the forests will take place. They hope the area will have pine seedlings in three to four months and the natural oaks will grow on their own. Every section will be planned because the area is sensitive and the issue is sensitive, but it may be 30-40 years before there is a forest. In the meantime, people will not be allowed to walk in the area while the young seedlings take root.

Dr. Omri Boneh, director of the KKL Northern Region and with KKL for 28 years, speaks to us while we stop for lunch in a picnic area. Trails, picnic areas and sites, located in the burned areas, will need to be rehabilitated. On a happier note, all of the animals in the nearby Hai Bar wild life refuge were saved.

Israel Tauber, director of forest management for the KKL-JNF, tell us "there were no forests or vegetation before the state was established. Bringing back the forests was a kind of national goal."

Kalil Adar, director of the forest department for the Northern Region of KKL-JNF adds that, "to the KKL crews, the forest is our day-to-day life. A few battles were won but not the whole war."

About KKL-JNF

Keren Kayemet l’Yisrael

At least monthly people walk into my congregation, The New Reform Temple in Kansas City, Mo., and tell me they have never been inside the building before. Some are newcomers to Kansas City, some have lived here their whole lives. I am sometimes amazed at how little most of us know about other congregations as well as Jewish Kansas City sites and personalities in our area.

In March 2002, at the request of my friend and editor of "Hadassah" magazine, Alan Tigay, I wrote a piece about Jewish life in Kansas City. The piece compared Jewish life in Kansas City to the lives of Jews in China. The piece was titled "Jews in the Middle Kingdom." In it I exalted our Jewish community and institutions. I also acknowledged that most people outside of Kansas City are totally unaware of our existence or how good we really have it here. Every one of us is likely to have been asked by a surprised fellow Jew: "Really? There are Jews in Kansas City?"

Kansas City is not only a great place to live, but it has places and personalities that are relevant for Jews nationwide as well as worldwide. We also have institutions that represent major Jewish thoughts, ideas and ideals. We are blessed with a multitude of congregations as well as chapters of national and international Jewish organizations.

In this column, which will run the first and third weeks of every month, I hope to explore the many Jewish treasures in Kansas City as well as the ideas and historical processes that led to the shaping of our Jewish community. Thus I call the column "Jewish places, Jewish times."

I am honored to be associated with the Jewish Community Archives because it is a repository of our collective Jewish memory. It also gives me great joy to lead people on Jewish tours of Kansas City.

There are so many unknown Jewish treasures, such as former synagogues and communal buildings, a myriad of sites and people associated with President Harry Truman as well as cemeteries where some interesting and noteworthy individuals are buried. In Eudora, Kan., located near Lawrence, sits the oldest Jewish cemetery in this part of the world. It was created by the earliest Jewish pioneers in 1859 and is still used today by the Lawrence Jewish community.

The now defunct Jewish community in Leavenworth, Kan., was the first white settlement in the Kansas Territory. Today only the former temple building, transformed into the Temple Apartments, and the cemetery remain in the Kansas City area. Elmwood Cemetery on Truman Road was the first dedicated Jewish burial ground. Recently a book was written highlighting some of the burials. They include the first Jewish settlers in the area, the first rabbi and the founder of Sears Roebuck.

Our treasures are not limited to sites or buildings. There are many people in our area who have lived interesting, eventful and meaningful lives. Loeb Granoff, for instance, has shared with me vivid memories of the events that led to President Truman’s recognition of Israel. We have in our community both Holocaust survivors as well as soldiers who liberated concentration camps. We have Jews who have served in our military, as well as in Israel’s. There are families in our community that descend from the earlier pioneers who arrived in Kansas City when the city was still called Westport Landing as well as descendants of people who settled the Jewish agricultural colonies created in the Kansas Territory at the end of the 19th century.

There is so much to explore and to learn about! We only need curiosity and willingness. I hope you are as excited as I am to do some of the exploring of our rich and diverse community with me.

Mental illness isn’t fun. And, nothing in my 56 years of experience prepared me for dealing with mental illness when it struck my family. Seemingly out of the blue, our loved one’s puzzling behavior began disrupting our lives in ways we could have never imagined. It took us more than seven years to untangle the fact that she was suffering from anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, all of which had been triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder that had emerged during her college years. Compounded by addiction to prescription drugs, our loved one’s journey took literally dozens of specialists to discover her underlying illnesses and find adequate resources to develop a path to recovery.

Mental illness stinks. And, understanding what mental illness is or how these brain disorders can affect your loved one and your family takes a lot of effort on your part. This is due to two factors. First, stigma about mental illness and substance abuse is still pervasive in the 21st Century, stifling our ability to talk openly about these things and suicide.

Second, our fractured health care system poorly supports the identification and treatment of brain disorders like anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. In fact, Kansas earned a "D" from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2009 in their report entitled: "Grading the States: A Report on America’s Mental Health Care System for Serious Mental Illness." We weren’t at all prepared for this fractured and substandard level of care – not in the country that has the "best health care in the world." And, I’m an educated, upper-middle class individual who has access to health insurance. What happens to those families who don’t have the education or resources to advocate for help in their time of crises?

Mental illness stinks. And, it doesn’t just stink for me, my loved one and my family. We are not unique. In fact, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found in a 2009 survey that over 45 million of us had experienced serious mental illness in the preceding year. Additionally, more than 20 percent of those who struggled with mental illness in 2008 were also suffering from a serious substance use disorder (abuse or dependence on alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs). And, if we weren’t the ones suffering, we were likely to be the ones supporting those who are suffering.

Yes, mental illness stinks for all of us. But, it doesn’t have to. Get busy talking; get educated, get the facts and get help for your loved one and for yourself. In fact, DEMAND IT! And, one of the best places to begin is NAMI (www.nami.org), the largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization in the country. Through educational programs like the upcoming Family-to-Family program, you can find help and hope for developing a path to recovery for your loved one and your family. We did!

So take that first step toward mental health. Join me and my co-facilitators for the program and make a difference in your family’s life.

If you would like to register for the Family-to-Family program, contact Susie Hurst with Jewish Family Services, (913) 327-8250 or email her at .

Joy Koesten holds a doctorate in communication studies from the University of Kansas and teaches graduate courses in health communication, research methods, interpersonal and organizational communication at KU’s Edwards Campus. She is also a certified teacher for the Family-to-Family course through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Koesten will facilitate this free course in partnership with Jewish Family Services beginning Jan. 10, 6:30-9 p.m. in Conference Room B at the Jewish Community Campus.

As you can see, we’re making changes at The Chronicle. In addition to the ownership changes, I’ve been appointed editor. But we’re making more than just personnel and ownership adjustments.

The biggest change is that we will no longer put the bulk of our news deep inside the paper. If there’s an important local news story or event happening, most likely you will see it on pages 1, 2 or 3. From now on you’ll find letters to the editor and opinion columns toward the back of the paper.

We’ve heard that you want to see more stories about local Jewish people. We will try to accomplish that by telling you about your neighbor’s new business, our children’s academic accomplishments and your friend’s latest community honor. And we’ll focus on photos. We show our preschoolers, religious school students, teens and seniors having fun on a beautiful fall day or performing service projects within our community.