HAMSA PRESENTED TO TREE OF LIFE — When our Jewish community faced tragedy in April 2014, a hamsa was sent to the Jewish Community Center (The J) by students from Congregation Mount Sinai in New York. Following the tragic shootings at Tree of Life * Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, our local Jewish community held a community vigil at Kehilath Israel Synagogue where that hamsa was on display and the 3,000 people in attendance had the opportunity to sign cards of support to members of Tree of Life.
Now that hamsa and the more than 1,000 cards of support have been delivered to Tree of Life by Ed and David Porter, former members of the congregation who now live in Kansas City. In fact, David Porter became a Bar Mitzvah at Tree of Life. Eventually the hamsa and cards will be part of a collection of materials associated with the Tree of Life shooting, which will be displayed at Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center.
THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT — This week the nation honors the memory of President George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Volunteerism was important to him during and after his presidency and during his inauguration he said: “I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the nation, doing good.”
In 1990, President Bush created the Daily Point of Light Award for individuals making a difference. From the White House, he formally recognized more than 1,000 volunteers as “points of light,” highlighting the volunteer movement that became a defining mission of the Bush administration. SuEllen Fried, who was the 900th person to be honored as Point of Light, has been invited to take part in funeral ceremonies for the former president in Washington, D.C.
Points of Light reinstated the Daily Point of Light Award in 1998, with a mission to honor those who take action to create change in their communities. We were reminded this week that Congregation Beth Torah’s youth program was a recipient of that prestigious award sometime in the 1990s. During that time, CBT youth organized Halloween parties for children living at the reStart shelter, cooked meals at reStart, served as counselors and conducted fundraisers for Camp Rainbow, participated in Martin Luther King Jr. Day programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City and volunteered at both SAFEHOME and Save Inc. The recognition came with a certificate signed by President Bush. The organization still exists today, and nominations are accepted for the Daily Point of Light Award at pointsoflight.org.
SHINING BRIGHTLY AT NEW YORK’S ROCKEFELLER CENTER — Many of us know that some of the most well-loved Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers and songwriters, including “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin; “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks; and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Edward Pola and George Wyle.
You may not know that the brand-new star on top of the Christmas tree at New York’s Rockefeller Center was created by Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind. It weighs 900 pounds and has 70 spikes and 3 million Swarovski crystals on it. The tree will be on display through Jan. 7.
Libeskind is the son of Polish Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel from Poland in 1957 and then moved to New York in 1959. Liebeskind’s buildings include the reconstructed World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Danish Jewish Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark.
PRESENTATION AVAILABLE ONLINE — In November, Congregation Beth Torah and the United Methodist Church of Resurrection (COR) co-sponsored a program featuring an Orthodox rabbi and a Palestinian who shared their personal stories on how they are working together to build a better future for their peoples through the organization ROOTS / SHORASHIM / JUDUR. The presentation is now available on COR’s website at cor.org/leawood/discipleship/lecture-series.