MENORAH’S NEW RITA BLITT GALLERY — Menorah Medical Center hosted an artist’s reception at the hospital last week to show off a donation of art from renowned artist Rita Blitt. The event showcased the new gallery at the hospital featuring 31 of the artist’s original works.
“The opening of the gallery within our hospital allows patients and guests to get away from the stress of being in a hospital and gives them the opportunity to see the beauty in the incredible pieces that Rita has created,” Menorah Medical Center CEO Charles Laird said. “We are honored to have her work in the hospital to help with the healing process for patients and family members.”
He also noted that the hospital, established in 1931, “offers world-class health care from our oncology services to neurology, orthopedics, women’s services, weight loss surgery and more.”
“We’re now happy to have a world-renowned artist as a focal point in one of our busiest areas of the hospital for the enjoyment of our patients, family members, guests, employees and physicians,” Laird said. “Conversation around art is a part of the healing process, and Rita’s work is now a part of that process at Menorah Medical Center.”
Blitt is an internationally renowned, award-wining painter, sculptor and filmmaker whose words “Kindness is contagious. Catch it!” have inspired people all over the world. The daughter of Dorothy and Herman Copaken, she was the first baby born at Menorah, then known as Jewish Memorial Hospital, at its original location on Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
Blitt’s work celebrates love of nature, music, dance and the spontaneous flow of movement captured in the drawn gesture. Her deeply felt drawn lines have become paintings up to 33 feet wide, sculptures up to 60 feet tall and the inspirations for her films. When making her lines, she feels as though she is “dancing on paper.”
In late 2017, the Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden opened at Mulvane Museum on the Washburn University campus in Topeka, Kansas. This is the home of the Rita Blitt Legacy Collection of drawings, paintings, sculpture and film.
The art is displayed on the lower level of the hospital near the Breast Center at Entry B.
BROADWAY DELI GETS FORWARD MENTION — Last week (July 11), The Forward published an article “The Jewish Deli Revival Is In Full Swing,” saying “a new day of national Jewish delis has dawned.” Our new local deli only gets one line and a photo, but that’s what other delis in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland and as far away as Tokyo also get. I’m not a restaurant reviewer, but I give Broadway Deli five stars. I particularly enjoyed the matzah ball soup! To read the whole story, go to forward.com and search Jewish deli revival.
‘PLASTIC-BAG’ LAW IN ISRAEL SLASHED BAG WASTE IN 2017 (JNS) — The Environmental Protection Ministry lauded the success of a “plastic bag law” that has led to a drastic drop in the use of plastic grocery bags by Israeli consumers.
A law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2017, which required supermarkets to charge customers 10 agurot (2.8 cents) per plastic bag. Consumers were encouraged to buy large, multi-use bags for shopping, which were also to be made available at grocery stores, and thereby avoid paying the small additional cost.
Officials said the new regulation led to an 80 percent drop in the use of single-use grocery bags and saved more than 7,091 tons of non-recyclable plastic in just one year. Plastic-bag usage accounted for approximately 7 percent of Israeli waste prior to the legislation, according to the ministry.