MOVING FORWARD — A flash mob of singers clapped, sang and danced on Friday, June 17, to Rabbi Rick Shapiro’s favorite version of Oseh Shalom to close the separation service at Congregation Beth Torah as Rabbi Shapiro moves on to another interim assignment.
For the farewell, there was gifts and appreciative words from the staff and board as well as a commissioned song (funded by congregants Boyd and Laura Bolter) composed by Choir Director Carmen Dieker that sewed Rabbi Shapiro’s favorite text based quotes regarding tikkun olam and social justice into a beautiful and moving piece that was sung by more than 50 vocal volunteers, ranging from 7 to 70 years old. The vocal volunteers had numerous rehearsals and worked hard on the piece, which was said to have touched the hearts of not only Lynn and Rabbi Shapiro but the more 220 people that attended the service to wish the Shapiros luck in the future and a safe journey to Florida.
BASEBALL PLAYER SINGLES OUT FAVORITE TEACHER —Recently Shawnee Mission East’s Joey Wentz was selected No. 40 in the Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta braves and to the All-USA Baseball First Team. Why do we care, you may be wondering … Because in his profile published in USA Today last week, Wentz said Samantha Feinberg is his favorite teacher.
“She was my 12th-grade English teacher. Her class is actually fun every day. A lot of people always ask me about baseball, but she’s not one of those people and I enjoy talking to her about other things.” As a teacher in the state of Kansas, Ms. Feinberg, as she is known around the halls at East, most likely doesn’t see a paycheck anywhere close to this particular student’s — he reportedly signed a contract worth $3.05 million — but at least he pointed out to the paper’s 2 million national subscribers the important role she played in his life. That’s a gold star for you Ms. Feinberg!
LOS ANGELES DODGERS FIRST MLB TEAM TO SIGN AN ISRAELI CITIZEN (JNS.org) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have become the first Major League Baseball (MLB) team to sign an Israeli citizen to a contract.
Dean Kremer, a standout right-handed pitcher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), was drafted earlier this month by the Dodgers in the 14th round. Last year, he made history by becoming the first Israeli drafted by an MLB team, the San Diego Padres, but he did not sign with that club.
Kremer, who was born in Stockton, California, to Israeli parents and has dual citizenship, said he has maintained deep Israeli roots his entire life.
“I was born here in the United States, but I go back and practically live [in Israel] for two months out of the year in the summer, so it’s definitely home,” Kremer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in February.
