Day of Discovery will bring the community together for a day of Jewish learning and study from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23. This collaborative program provides adult members of the community an opportunity to get acquainted and learn from local and talented Jewish teachers, educators and clergy as they “discover” the wonderful teachers we have in our community and to be further motivated to continue studying with these individuals in the future.
To ensure the safety of all participants, this year’s program will be entirely virtual using the platform Zoom, and will be held in partnership with Limmudna, a national organization that connects Jews of all backgrounds with transformative learning and with each other.
Register by Aug. 19 at register.limmudna.org/event/day-of-discovery-kc. Visit the Rabbinical Association website, kcrabbi.org, for information. Space is limited and advance registration is required. The cost to participate in “Day of Discovery 2020” is $18 per person for the day.
Classes will be offered throughout the day on a wide range of topics and facilitated by Kansas City’s gifted Jewish educators, rabbis, professors, experts and cantors. For information and a link to the registration website and complete list of classes, visit kcrabbi.org. Below is a sampling of the thirty class offerings.
Gavriela Geller, executive director, JCRB|AJC, will explore the COVID-19 pandemic’s implications on fighting anti-Semitism in the United States.
Abby Magariel, educator/curator Michael Klein Collection, The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, will take participants on a guided virtual tour of highlights of the Klein Collection of Judaica, now housed at B’nai Jehudah.
Henry Bial, professor of theater and dance at the University of Kansas, will present “Jewish on Demand: Representation and Difference in the Streaming Era.” Contemporary examples (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Transparent,” “Unorthodox”) will be considered in relation to the longer arc of film and TV history.
Alana Muller, a networking speaker, workshop facilitator, coach and author will discuss “Networking in Place” and how to maintain meaningful relationships while social distancing.
Dr. Mark Nanos, a Jewish historian with a research focus on the Apostle Paul, will explore “What was Paul Contesting about the Role of Torah in His Letter to the Galatians?”
Lara Steinel, music director for Congregation Kol Ami, will lead “Jump-Start Your Jewish Meditation Practice.”
Rabbi Beryl Padorr, Congregation Ohev Sholom, will discuss how we can look at ourselves with mindfulness as we age and stay safe in today’s world.
Barbara C. Unell, co-author, “Discipline with Love and Limits” and co-founder of the Raised with Love and Limits Foundation; Sondra Wallace, Mental Health Coalition and You Be You coordinator; Molly McGurk, LCSW, LSCSW, director of Mental Health Jewish Family Services, welcome parents and grandparents to a discussion about “Be a Safe Place for Them to Come Home to — Be a Safe Place for Them to Fall Apart” — how our kids of all ages are wired and how to help them thrive, right now … and for a lifetime.
Discover “Fantastical Stories of Midrash: Credible or Incredible?” with Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi, director, Vaad HaKashruth.
Debby Winkel, community volunteer and passionate cook will share how to preserve our Jewish heritage through Jewish food.
Bill Greenberg, retired Army officer and teacher, Fort Leavenworth, will discuss “Hezbollah-Israeli War 2006: Setting the Stage for Today’s Middle East.”
Prof. Vitaly Chernetsky, associate professor of Slavic languages and literatures, University of Kansas, takes participants on a journey through Jewish life as reflected in Russian and East European film.
Shelly M. Cline, Ph. D., historian and director of Education for the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education will discuss “Propaganda and the People: Lessons from Nazi Germany.”
Learn Religious Zionism 101 with Rabbi Moshe Grussgott, Kehilath Israel Synagogue.
Discover “The Cairo Genizah: Sacred Trash and Treasures” with Rabbi Javier E. Cattapan, Congregation Beth Torah.
Join in an interactive discussion to learn tools, strategies and resources that will help you navigate these unprecedented times and learn how to take care of YOU with “The Importance of Emotional Wellness During these Challenging Times” with John Pryor, LPC, Jewish Family Services, and Susie Hurst, M.A., director of Family Life Education, Jewish Family Services.
Learn how teachers address issues of current anti-Semitism and relevance in 2020 with Jessica Rockhold, executive director, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.
What are the ethics of blurring the line between technology and “real life?” Explore some of the most challenging and unexpected questions we will face in the near future. Does Judaism have anything to say about androids and uploads? Rabbi Neal Schuster, senior Jewish educator, University of Kansas Hillel, will facilitate a discussion about technology, ethics and the essence of humanity.
Rabbi Herbert J. Mandl, Ph.D., Rabbi Emeritus, Kehilath Israel Synagogue, will talk about “Pope Pius XII — Friend or Enemy of the Jews?”
Explore humor as it is — sometimes surprisingly — expressed in Judaism and other world religious traditions with Sarah Aptilon, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious studies at Johnson County Community College in “The Cosmic Joke: Judaism, Mysticism and Comedy.”
Rebbetzin Esther Friedman, co-director of Torah Learning Center and director of KC Kosher Meals on Wheels, will discuss “An Insider’s View of Netflix’s ‘Unorthodox’” as she examines and discusses the hit Netflix miniseries and unpacks some of the stereotypes in the show’s depiction of Chassidic life. Learn more about Jewish religious practices and rituals discussed in the show.
Ira Kirschner, assistant director at KU Hillel, will lead “Israel LGBTQ+: Queer Issues in Israeli Society.”
Alan Edelman, Ahmed Awad, Ameneh Paziresh, Sheila Sonnenschein and Ken Sonnenschein will present “Conversation with Your Palestinian Neighbor!” The five panelists are leaders in the Jewish and Muslim communities who participated in an interfaith peace pilgrimage to the Holy Land last February. They will discuss how and why we, as American Jews, can and should get to know our Palestinian neighbors.
This program is co-sponsored by The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City in partnership with Limmudna, The J KC, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Jewish Family Services, Tribe KC, Village Shalom and area congregations.
For additional information contact Annette Fish, administrator/program director, Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, by email at or by phone at 913-327-4622.