HOLY COINCIDENCES — It was a week of chance meetings for Devra Lerner when she recently travelled to Israel for her niece’s Bat Mitzvah. As she checked into Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem, the first person she ran into was Jonathan Edelman, who was just leaving Israel to return to Kansas City for his cousin Leah Sosland’s Bat Mitzvah.
Later Devra met with former HBHA teachers Ilana Dickman and Na’ama Nagar, and Wendy Claster, the mother of four HBHA graduates for a reunion. They were talking about HBHA as they enjoyed a hummus dinner in a small restaurant on Diezengoff, when a woman from another table approached them and asked if they were from Kansas City. “Yes,” was the response. “Were you talking about Hyman Brand?” was her follow-up question. “Yes. And who are you?” the group questioned. “I’m Diane Fields.” She is the wife of Rabbi Phil Fields, a past headmaster of HBHA. The women learned the former headmaster, his children and grandchildren all have made aliyah to Israel.
Finally, while at the King David Hotel, Devra and her brother-in-law, Dr. Speedy Zweiback, ran into the Hon. Daniel B. Shapiro, the American Ambassador to Israel. Hailing from Champaign, Ill., he recalled his days as a youth-grouper in MoVFTY.
GOVERNMENT BLESSINGS — Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at KU believes we were blessed with an extra day last week on Feb. 29. He was determined to make that gift worth its value, so he accepted the honor of serving as Chaplain of the Day at the State of Kansas House of Representatives. At the invitation of Jewish Rep. Lana Gordon of Topeka, he gave the invocation as the legislators prepared to begin their day. It included in part, “Beloved G-d, bless the members of this House of Representatives and guide their deliberations, that they may govern this great state with wisdom and justice, grace and compassion, bringing honor to your name and your blessing to humankind.” Describing the experience, Rabbi Tiechtel told me, “As the State of Kansas boasts a vibrant and growing Jewish presence, there is no doubt that having a prayer recited by a representative of the Jewish faith is a great way of expressing our Jewish pride and presence in the Sunflower State.” Amen!
ROCKCANROLL FOOD DRIVE — During the month of March, “rockCANroll,” a non-profit hunger relief organization that collaborates with rock concerts, schools, corporations and individuals to collect healthy and nutritious non-perishable food for distribution to local food pantries, will be partnering with Manischewitz in a nationwide effort to collect food. Yachad: The Kosher Food Pantry and Congregation Beth Torah have signed on for this special project. During the month of March, you’ll see a food collection bin made to look like a Manischewitz soup can at Beth Torah. Deposit donations into these special bins and Manischewitz will match donations by sending kosher canned goods to Yachad! Visit www.rockCANroll.org for more information.
WOMEN IN THE ARTS — The exhibit “Vanguards and Visionaries: Kansas City Women in the Arts” will continue through April 21 at The Leedy-Voulkos Art Center (2012 Baltimore, Kansas City, Mo. 64108) in celebration of the UMKC Women’s Center’s 40th anniversary. This exhibit honors some of the local women artists who have been instrumental in shaping the visual arts landscape of Kansas City. Featured artists include two Jewish artists — Rita Blitt and Shea Gordon-Festoff — as well as Philomene Bennett and Janet Kuemmerlein. These four women have all made a strong impression on the visual arts in Kansas City for the past four decades. Each of these seasoned artists was asked to select another artist whose work she feels embodies the same artistic voice that she has. Exhibiting side-by-side with these artists will be Jane Booth, Cheryl Toh, Karen McCoy and Jessica Kincaid. In keeping with the Women’s Center’s 40th Anniversary theme, “Telling Our Stories for 40 Years,” the “Vanguards and Visionaries” exhibit celebrates the woman’s voice in the visual arts — its past, present and future.