HAVE QUILL, WILL TRAVEL: SOFER RESTORES VILLAGE SHALOM TORAHS — Rabbi Gedaliah Druin, a sofer (scribe) from Sofer On Site based in Miami, recently spent several days at Village Shalom to make repairs to the retirement community’s three Torahs.
The Torahs are read during Shabbat and holiday services in Village Shalom’s Appleman Synagogue. Their regular use had rendered some of the lettering worn, and caused other issues affecting the readability and kashrut of the scrolls.
A number of Village Shalom residents enjoyed the rare opportunity to observe the process and learn more about the work of writing and restoring Jewish holy texts.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER — Long-time Chronicle subscriber Esther Loeb celebrated her 96th birthday last week on Friday, March 8. About 20 members of her family, including relatives who traveled from New York, Canada and California, attended a dinner in honor of the happy occasion. She estimates she has been a loyal reader for more than 50 years!
FRIENDS OF JFS — Last week I had the honor of attending Jewish Family Service’s annual “Friends of the Family” Breakfast. It was lovely and a great way for those in attendance to learn about the variety of programs JFS currently provides. You can get a quick overview of the agency by watching the agency’s new 60-second video that debuted at the breakfast. Catch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td77x-EsXkM&feature=youtu.be.
AN ACT OF LOVING KINDNESS — A couple of years ago we published a story about Dr. Andrew Kaufman, a neurosurgeon who spends about a month each year volunteering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This time while he was there, he assisted an American citizen who suffered a severe injury to her spinal cord while traveling in the far eastern part of Ethiopia’s Somali Region. A few weeks ago Dr. Kaufman received a personal thank you letter from Donald Booth, the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. It said, in part, “Your efforts, I am told, will probably ensure that this young woman has a full recovery and will live a full and vibrant life, instead of being confined to a wheelchair.
“I sincerely want to thank you for all you did. … For us at the embassy, you represent what is truly best in our great country — a spirit of commitment and a willingness to help. … I would love to shake your hand and thank you for your service to this American citizen in distress.”
AUTHOR PHILIP ROTH TURNS 80 — PBS celebrates Philip Roth’s 80th birthday in a new 90-minute documentary airing locally on KCPT at 9 p.m. Friday, March 29. It will rebroadcast the show at 1 a.m. Saturday, March 30, and 2 a.m. Monday, April 1. American Masters explores the life and career of Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning novelist Philip Roth, often referred to as the greatest living American writer. Reclusive and diffident, Roth grants very few interviews, but for the first time, allowed a journalist to spend 10 days interviewing him on camera. The result is “Philip Roth: Unmasked,” a documentary that features Roth freely discussing very intimate aspects of his life and art as he has never done before.
ARLO GUTHRIE TO APPEAR AT JCCC —Arlo Guthrie, son of folk icon Woody Guthrie, will bring his “Here Comes the Kid” show to Johnson County Community College on Sunday, March 24. Guthrie, known for songs that include “This Land is Your Land” (written by Woody), will appear at 7 p.m. in the Carlsen Center’s Yardley Hall. He will be honoring his father’s memory by marking his 100th birthday with stories and tunes from a long list of favorites. Tickets are available through the college box office at 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries.
A POWERFUL AND INSPIRING KANSAS CITY PREMIERE — In conjunction with the “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945,” exhibit on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Heartland Men’s Chorus is presenting “Falling in Love Again.” It examines the lives of gay men before and after the Holocaust and features the Midwest premiere of Jake Heggie’s “For a Look or a Touch,” a stirring dramatic tale of two lovers sent to the Nazi concentration camps — one who is exterminated and one who lives to recount a love lost and unspoken. Concerts are at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 23, and 4 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at the Folly Theater. Order tickets online at hmckc.org or 816-931-3338.