When time permits, Jim Sluyter, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center (The J), gets a chance to get away from his desk and stop by various programs. Here he checks out Noodles’ hot wheels at the Pooch Palooza Fashion Show and Benefit that took place Dec. 17. Noodles attended the benefit with owner Lisa Rockley Cline representing Petey’s Playhouse Pet Services. The event featured 22 ‘celebrity’ dogs with their humans.DO WE HAVE A FIRST JEWISH BABY? — As I write this it’s still 2019, but by the time you read this we might have 2020’s first Jewish baby. In case we don’t, here’s a reminder of what we do every year:The Chronicle will shower the family of the first Jewish baby of 2020 with prizes. The Chronicle’s First Jewish Baby contest is limited to residents of the five-county Greater Kansas City area (Jackson, Clay and Platte in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas), and the birth must take place in Greater Kansas City. For the purposes of this contest, The Chronicle accepts either the traditional definition of a Jewish child — one born to a Jewish mother — or the Reform definition of patrilineal descent, i.e., the father but not the mother is Jewish, and they have decided to raise the child as a Jew.To report the birth of a Jewish baby, call Chronicle Editor Barbara Bayer at 913-235-4474 or email her at as soon as possible after the child is born, preferably the day of the birth. Be prepared to provide contact information for the baby’s parent or parents. A winner may not be declared immediately, and it could take as long as 24 hours after the initial contact with The Chronicle. A hospital statement attesting to the delivery must be presented, if requested, showing birth after 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2020. The parents must agree to be interviewed and photographed along with the baby for a story in the newspaper to be awarded prizes.WONDERFUL JEWISH WEBSITES — Reading through the Temple Beth Sholom (Topeka) Bulletin, I came across a list of recommended Jewish websites. You might want to check these out and let us know if you find others to share. Also, check out Rabbi David Glickman’s suggestions regarding online learning and podcasts on page 18.aklim.org: Aklim means climate in Hebrew. This is a new Jewish climate change website with both scientific and Jewish theological information.shiva.com: This website has a lot of traditional Jewish information about sitting shiva and Jewish traditions about death, burial and mourning.hadar.org: Here you will find wonderful divrei Torah about the weekly Torah portion. It also has Jewish music and other good offerings.hebcal.com: This calendar gives you the Hebrew date for any date on the Gregorian calendar. You can also find the date for any Jewish holiday — past, present or future. It also has links to many sermons on the Torah portions.CorrectionThe article published in the Dec. 26, 2019, issue incorrectly stated when Sam Devinki was first appointed to the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial Council. He was appointed the first time in 2003 by President George W. Bush, not in 1993.
