If it’s Chanukah, it’s time for Rabbi Margolies to celebrate a birthday. He was born 90 years ago on Dec. 25, 1921, which was also the first day of Chanukah, in Jerusalem. So he celebrates his birthday on the Hebrew date, Kislev 25. He tells a story that he did not realize that his birthday was what many in the world know as Christmas day until he was a small boy in school, after his family had moved to the United States and had settled in New York.

Rabbi Margolies came to Kansas City in 1961 to serve as the senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom. He served as senior rabbi until 1986, when he took on the title of rabbi emeritus. In 2000, he said he became a rabbi because “American Jews needed and still need teachers and guides.”

His family and those in the Kansas City Jewish community indeed believe he has been a beloved teacher and guide through the years, as evidenced by these birthday wishes below. If you wish to send a birthday wish to Rabbi Margolies, email it to or mail it to Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, 4210 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 314A, Fairway, KS 66205. The messages will be forwarded to Rabbi Margolies.

May you follow in the footsteps of our great and revered leader Moshe Rabeinu and live to be 120.
Ruth Margolies, wife

“For many, many years, Rabbi Margolies shared his brilliant insights as a columnist for The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.
His thoughtful opinions were unequivocal, and sometimes controversial. We loved every word of what he wrote, whether we agreed with him or not.

The Chronicle is not the same without his voice. We are pleased to wish him a happy 90th birthday.

And many, many more.”

Steve Rose, publisher, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

Papa (Morris Margolies) is undoubtedly one of the greatest inspirations in my life. By witnessing his actions and engaging in conversation with him, I have absorbed an unbelievable amount of knowledge as well as learning the morals by which one should live. The world is certainly a better place because of him; we should all aspire to be like Papa.

Jacob Margolies, grandson

Papa taught me everything I know about Torah and Judaism. He has been an inspiration to me for my entire life.

Shoshana Margolies, granddaughter

Special wishes on your 90th birthday for a year of good health and intellectual prowess for which you are so renowned.

Fondly,
Rabbi Herbert and Barbara Mandl.

Mazel Tov Rabbi, friend, scholar, teacher, spiritual and communal leader. Since 1961 you have been a treasured resource in the greater Kansas City Jewish and general community. Elinor and I toast you on this special birthday.

L’Chaim,
Gustave Eisemann, M.D.

While my tenure at Beth Shalom has spanned more than 20 years and includes many recollections, what stands out are the weekly study sessions that we shared for a number of years. We learned Midrash together and I greatly benefitted from these weekly hours of study and the insights I got both from the text and Rabbi Margolies’ insightfulness. They were rewarding sessions. “Ad meah v’esrim” — “until 120!”

Rabbi Alan Cohen

I would like to wish my father-in-law a happy birthday from his “buddy,” Deborah (Salkov).

Dear Grandpa,

Happy birthday and happy Chanukah! What a milestone! Although we cannot be there to share this special birthday with you in person, I have very fond memories of past birthdays and Chanukah’s shared with you. In fact, one of my first memories of lighting the menorah was at your house with our family, you and grandma. I always looked forward to our holidays spent together singing songs, playing games, learning, and sharing good food. Recalling sitting on your lap during an enthusiastic round of benching still makes me smile, thinking about our many learning sessions spent together still gives me inspiration. To that end, I cannot thank you enough for being not only my teacher and mentor, but also my loving, caring grandfather. Sharing dvrei Torah and giant hugs, deep thoughts and silly jokes, I feel truly blessed to have grown up just a short drive away from my grandparents. My family joins me in wishing you a very happy birthday and Chanukah. We love you, Grandpa.

Love,

Your granddaughter, Rachel, grandson-in-law, Ari, and great-grandchildren, Leora, Ezra, and Adina

To my Abba, my friend, my teacher. I am the luckiest daughter in the world to have you as my father. Your passion for Torah and justice has inspired me every day of my life. Mazel tov on reaching your 90th birthday. I love you Abbale.

Your loving daughter,
Malka (Margolies)

I had the unique opportunity for most of my growing years to attend a classroom of one with my father as teacher. As I was the only child of my parents to attend public school exclusively from grade one through 12, Dad was the singular source of my Jewish education and he tirelessly poured his soul into the effort to teach me Torah, Jewish history, halachah and literature. I am ever grateful to him for the Jewish knowledge that I still retain today and for his constant love and devotion as my father.

Jonathan Margolies, son

Rabbi Morris Margolies had a profound influence on me and many of my contemporaries who grew up at Beth Shalom. Having lived through the turbulent 1960s, we wrestled with many issues — Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, the Six Day War, the search for meaning and identity. If you did not have an inspiring spiritual guide through this chaos, you generally ended up dropping out of Jewish life, and many did. But listening to Rabbi Margolies make sense of the events of the day and relate them to Jewish values, clearly influenced us in profound ways. Rabbi Margolies taught us to stand up for what is right and pay attention to the needs of every individual. Everything I have tried to do in my professional and personal life has been motivated by what this man gave me during a most impressionable time in my life.

Alan S. Edelman, associate
executive director, Jewish
Federation of Greater Kansas City

Wishing my Uncle Murray, better known to many in the community as Rabbi Margolies, a very happy birthday! He has always been a special uncle to me, present at so many meaningful life events for me — including officiating at my wedding and at the Pidyon Haben of my son. I even remember what he spoke about at these moments because he took care to choose words of Torah and tradition that were pertinent to my life. When my father passed away suddenly, he and my aunt took pains to plan their flight so it would coincide with ours and took time to comfort us along the way. I remember well the first words of his eulogy to my father, What a useful, useful life!, and those words resonate with me to this day, 20 years later. In all my interactions with my Uncle Murray, he has always taken the time not only to teach me, but to listen to me, and occasionally to learn from me as well. He has shown me and my husband (a weekly participant in family Shabbat shiurim) and children by his own example how to live a joyful, thoughtful, committed and purposeful Jewish life. Happy 90th birthday to my Uncle Murray, whose love for his family, his community and his tradition is reflected back to him so resplendently on this special day.

From his niece and nephew, Shari and Michael Sokol, and our children, Alexander, Felicia and Amanda

Dear Abba,

Thank you for the love and passion you put into rearing your daughter, my wife. Also thank you for embracing me and the love you have showered on our son, Gavriel. Mazel tov on your 90th birthday and we hope to celebrate many more with you. Love from your son-in-law.

Walter Scott

You have done a beautiful job of transmitting your Jewish teachings and traditions to your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Your legacy will continue to thrive and live on in each successive generation.

Diane Margolies

Dear Rabbi Margolies,

You have been our teacher, mentor and a beloved friend. You have celebrated with our family on every major occasion. You have given us strength in times of sorrow. You have inspired us to learn and develop in our Jewish knowledge.

We are thrilled to be able to celebrate you as a Nonagenarian!!

We pray God will bless you with many more years to share with your family, friends and community. You are deeply loved.

Happy 90th birthday, Rickie and Edward Haith

Grandpa, I love you so much! I look forward to planning your 95th birthday party (and many more after that!). You are the best grandpa ever and thank you for teaching me the game of baseball.
Love,

Gavriel Scott, grandson

We are so pleased to be able to wish Rabbi Margolies a very Happy Birthday on the occasion of his 90th. Rabbi Margolies was “our rabbi” at Congregation Beth Shalom for almost a quarter century and he remained active as our teacher, spiritual mentor and friend long after his retirement. An inspirational community leader, he never hesitated to take unpopular stances when he thought that was the right direction to pursue. He provided important support to the founders of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy during the crucial and often very difficult period before the school opened and his was the key role in the creation of its high school. An extraordinarily learned scholar both in Jewish and secular subjects, he is always eager to teach and to challenge us continually to expand our breadth of knowledge. Our wish for you, Rabbi, is bis a hundred und zwantzig.

Blanche and Neil Sosland

We pay tribute to our colleague and teacher, Rabbi Morris Margolies, as he reaches age 90, a number denoted in Hebrew by the letter Tzadee, the first letter in the word Tzadik, a righteous person. For half-a-century, ever since Morris and Ruth brought their family to Kansas City, the name Margolies has stood for the centrality of righteousness in the Jewish heritage. Record and age now fit in perfect harmony. Mazel tov!

The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City

A memory: Two or three days after Yom Kippur 1973. A standing-room-only crowd in Beth Shalom’s Sanctuary, the atmosphere fraught. Israel is getting trounced. Is this it? Rabbi Margolies steps to the lectern, anticipation in the air. He instills hope — more than hope: faith. As only he could. Israel would live. Mazel tov to my teacher, Rabbenu Moshe, as he reaches 90.

Rabbi Harry “Scott” White, Congregation Ohev Sholom

Dearest Rabbi,

Wishing you good health and strength on your 90th.

Betty Brand and family

During the 10 years I’ve worked for The Chronicle, by far the most controversial pieces we have published were Rabbi Margolies’ columns. They were sure to stir people up — whether you agreed or disagreed with him. He generated a lot of Letters to the Editor!

I loved typing in those columns each week. I found them enlightening, informative, educational and very interesting. And about 99.9 percent of the time I completely agreed with the great rabbi.

Each week he would drop off his hand-written piece for me to transcribe. People would ask me why he didn’t just email them. I told them he did not have nor would he ever have email; that’s just the way it was. Although, I admit I had to call him occasionally to help me out a little with a word or two here and there.

When he brought his column in each week, he would usually stay awhile and visit. The Chronicle staff had some pretty interesting conversations during those times on a variety of subjects, and I truly miss seeing him come walking in to our office every Monday or Tuesday.

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Rabbi Margolies until after his retirement, but certainly wish I had known him when he gave his Torah classes. I’ve heard so many people say how much they learned from those classes. But I am fortunate to have several of his books, which I very much enjoy.

Have a great 90th birthday, Rabbi!

Marcia Horn Montgomery, community editor, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

Strike up the music — there’s a new performing arts group in town. The Kinnor Philharmonic, a new Jewish-themed symphony orchestra, will make its debut New Year’s Day with a 3 p.m. concert at Congregation Beth Torah.

The 45 to 50 members of the orchestra include “men and women, people from all sorts of backgrounds, some professional musicians, some semi-professional. We have people who have played for a long time but who may have a different vocation other than music,” said Christopher Kelts, Kinnor’s music director.

The latter group includes Kinnor’s president of the board Robin Onikul, who has played violin in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra for 14 years and was chair of their board for 10 years. Onikul is also head of pediatric dentistry at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The philharmonic has both Jewish and non-Jewish members and likewise will not play exclusively Jewish music. However, their goal is to structure concerts around Jewish themes.

Onikul likens it to an old advertisement for Levy’s Rye Bread: “You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this music and this experience,” she said.

Kinnor also accepts high school students with sufficient musical skill. One already in the philharmonic is violinist Levi Parkhurst, who attends the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.

The orchestra’s upcoming performance centers on the traditions of the Viennese arts scene in the late 1800s, in which Jews were a vital part of the mix. In addition to some Strauss polkas and the Blue Danube Waltz, there will be a selection of Broadway tunes from Fiddler on the Roof and the music of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein.

In July, the philharmonic will perform a concert entitled “From Ellis Island to Kansas City” showcasing music of the American Jewish experience.

“There’s a Jewish backbone running through it. We’re playing Strauss polkas — they’re not Jewish, but we’re bringing in the vibrant history of the Viennese Jews at that time,” Onikul said.

She started seriously thinking about creating the philharmonic when the Jewish Community Center built the White Theatre.

“That’s when the impetus started. It just took a while to percolate into reality. We have the musical theater series; it would be nice to have a concert series,” Onikul said. “Now that the (Kansas City) Symphony doesn’t come down to Yardley Hall, people who don’t get downtown don’t have a place to hear symphonic music.”

Kelts, a member of Congregation Ohev Sholom, has the musical bona fides to lead the artistic direction of the group. An assistant professor of music and director of orchestral studies at Washburn University, Kelts is also the music director and conductor of the civic orchestra and has a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s conservatory.

Making the orchestra friendly to the Jewish community was important to Onikul and Kelts.

“Our rehearsals and concerts do not conflict with Shabbat and festivals. Everyone in the Jewish community could attend our concerts — everyone from Chabad Lubuvitch to the most reform of Jews,” Kelts said.

The new musical group has gotten local backing. In-kind donations from businesses such as Spin Neapolitan Pizza, Panera and Royal Liquor, combined with monetary support from several groups in the Jewish Community Foundation, including Louis and Frances Swinken Supporting Foundation and the Earl J. and Leona K. Tranin Special Fund. Onikul said Kansas City Strings has also been very supportive of their efforts.

“I would hope that this group becomes a part of the artistic fabric within the Jewish community, and that means support on all levels — people coming out to enjoy our music and people who believe in our mission to promote Jewish education and love for symphonic music,” said Kelts.

The idea of a Jewish-themed orchestra is new to the Midwest, according to Onikul.

“We are really excited about this,” she said. “It’s a unique thing; the only places that have something similar are on the East Coast and in LA, but I don’t think there’s any in the Midwest.”

Kinnor’s inaugural concert

The Kinnor Philharmonic will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, at Congregation Beth Torah. Tickets are $18; or $12 for those under 12 or over 60. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling (913) 469-0759.

In Jewish households, cooking often brings mothers and daughters together. That especially occurs at holiday time. So Bonnie Rabicoff, the host of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie,” decided to have her mother, Ida Mour, in the kitchen with her for her holiday show this year.

“I learned to cook from my mother and she hers. Together we have three generations of knowledge,” Rabicoff said.

This episode of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” is a departure from the norm. Usually the show is produced at the restaurant of the celebrity chef and the chef does the cooking.

“We discuss the chef’s journey, his or her inspiration for cooking, plating it … all things about food,” Rabicoff explained.

The show highlights food products, preparation, presentation, beverage pairings, a behind-the-scenes chat with the chef and features a celebrity taster. The show, which has been on the air for about a year and a half, has featured such local celebrities as Michael Stern and Bryan Busby.

In fact, Rabicoff, who serves as the producer as well as the host, said this will be the first time the show has ever been produced in her kitchen.

“The production team and the staff will be the tasters for this episode,” she said.

Mour is proud of her daughter, noting that “she calls me every day. She’s a fabulous cook.”

The 85-year-old Mour, who is a Jewish educator, is happy to be helping her daughter with this episode.

“Potato latkes are very healthy. They’re just eggs and potatoes, not a bunch of junk. They are so luscious and were used in those days for sustenance. Potatoes were very important in their diet,” she explained.

Mour, who described herself “as a pretty good cook” as well, pointed out that food is important to the Jewish people.
“We don’t have a holiday without food,” said Mour, who has taught religious school at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Kehilath Israel Synagogue, Congregation Beth Shalom and the old Community High School. A member of B’nai Jehudah, she still tutors Torah and chanting to Bar and Bat Mitzvah students.

Before the actual cooking demonstration begins, Mour will tell the story of Chanukah. She said she will explain that the holiday is really a celebration of religious freedom.

“It’s a festival, not a holy day,” Mour said.

The Rabbicoff-Mour potato latke recipe is old fashioned and simple. It uses ground potatoes, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, baking powder and matzah meal or flour.

“It’s not the ingredients, it’s the technique,” explained Rabicoff. “And we don’t use schmaltz anymore, like my grandmother did, but the flavor is just as good.”

The pair will demonstrate the technique on the television show. But it’s not a technique Mour particularly loves these days.

“I won’t grind the potatoes. You grate them, and I’ll make them,” she said.

However, Rabicoff said she has made more contemporary versions of potato latkes.

“Besides onion, we have used scallions. The little specs of green give it a little brighter flavor. We’ve used shredded potatoes and green onions to give it a bright, fresh taste,” Rabicoff said.

The family has always favored serving the latkes with sour cream, not applesauce. To make that more contemporary, they have added chives to the sour cream mixture.

While this show will feature family, a celebrity will also be included in the “At Home for the Holidays” special. Tyler Florence will share a sweet potato casserole recipe.

Rabicoff has worked in television for more than 20 years. Before beginning the show, she spent 11 years as the vice president of development for KCPT Public Television. Prior to her work at the station, she was the director of marketing for The Barstow School where she founded and coordinated “The Barstow School Organic Farmers’ Market and Chef Series.” Her career began administering social services for youth at risk under Mayor Richard Berkley’s Youth Council.

About ‘In the Kitchen with Bonnie’

The episode of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” featuring Bonnie Rabicoff’s mother, Ida Mour, will be broadcast Dec. 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. This multi-media “foodie” series can be seen on education television channels in the Kansas City metro area and at www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com website. A complete schedule of show times can be found on the website. The show is available on the Time Warner and Comcast cable systems in both Kansas and Missouri and Surewest in Kansas.

The one-hour broadcast of “In the Kitchen with Bonnie” can also be heard on Radio Bach Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. (1660 AM, 96.5 FM in HD and streaming on the Web at RadioBach.com). It can also be heard at 7 p.m. Sunday evenings on KMBZ (NewsRadio 98.1 FM, NewsRadio 980 AM and streaming on the Web at KMBZ.com).
The entire series is available on the “Show Archive” page at www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com.

Yosef Silver enjoys food — eating it, preparing it and sharing it with others. He enjoys it so much that he recently started writing about it on his own blog. (A blog is defined as a website containing a writer’s experiences, observations, opinions, etc.) The blog’s focus is on kosher, local and affordable home-cooked meals.

While he’s been writing less than five months, his blog, “This American Bite,” (www.thisamericanbite) is already nominated as a Best Kosher Food Blog by the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine and website (www.joyofkosher.com). Voting is taking place now and continues through Jan. 11 on the Joy of Kosher website. The winner will be announced Feb. 1 in the magazine and on the website.

As of early Tuesday morning (Dec. 20), more than 50 blogs had been nominated, including Silver’s. He had accumulated more than 133 votes and ranked in the middle of the nominees. The top vote getter had more than 1,200 votes. Attempts to reach the magazine regarding the prize package for the winner were unsuccessful.

Silver is not just a newcomer to blogging, he is also a newcomer to the Kansas City area. He and his wife, Daniella, moved here with their young son, Ethan, who will be 2 in February, this past summer. He said they found Kansas City by accident in the summer of 2008.

“We spent six weeks here as directors of a summer program for the American Jewish Studies Service, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and living on blow-up-beds on the floors of Ohev Sholom,” he said in a recent interview.

“We went back home to Jerusalem and we really missed everything about Kansas City. So once our son was born we decided we wanted to move back to the States, and once we made that decision we decided we wanted to make it work in Kansas City,” Silver said.

He feels that Kansas City has a strong Jewish life and people in other parts of the country don’t know that.

“My blog gives a little extra exposure to the New Yorkers and Californians that think there is no Jewish life between the coasts. The other bloggers that have been nominated hail from large Jewish population centers — I want them to see and hear about life in Kansas City,” Silver said.

Silver grew up in England and lived in Israel for five years. His wife is from Los Angeles.

“There’s no place we would rather call home than Kansas City,” he said.

Because he likes both writing and food, he decided he would blog about it.

“My primary motivation was I would cook and then I would want to make the same thing again and I wouldn’t remember what I made. So I started jotting down what I was cooking. Then friends started asking me for recipes and it just seemed like a natural progression to post it on a blog,” he said.

Silver doesn’t know how he got nominated, but he assumes a reader nominated the blog. The Joy of Kosher website has featured one of his posts in the past and has asked him to write again later this month.

He is excited about the nomination.

“It’s nice to be recognized so early in the adventure. I haven’t been doing this very long and I feel like it’s an endorsement. I get a lot of satisfaction sitting at the table and entertaining people and watching them enjoy a meal and this adds on to that. I get to entertain with food through the Internet,” he said.

Before the nomination, which happened about two weeks ago, his blog was getting about 50 views a day. Last week he said that had jumped to about 200 views a day.

“Now those aren’t necessarily unique people, but it is growing week by week and people are subscribing,” he explained.

He said his wife is a good cook also.

“My wife also writes for the blog now and again. Some of the recipes there are hers,” he said, including one of the most popular, a chocolate avocado mousse.

“The dessert is very good and it’s very popular.”

The Silvers keep a kosher home and are members of BIAV. They also try to eat organic and locally produced food.

“Especially since our son was born, we’ve been very conscious not to give him processed food. A lot of the recipes on the blog are produce based. I don’t buy packages and I don’t buy things that are pre-made. It all has to do with feeding our son nutritious food and I think I reflect that in my recipes,” he explained.

He believes his approach to food, and his blog, has helped him through a weight-loss journey he began when he moved here.

“I’ve lost 23 pounds since May and people at my Weight Watchers meetings are enjoying the blog and talking about it,” he said.

“I feel like the blog helps me be accountable. I want to demonstrate that you can eat good food and eat really well and still reach a goal of a healthier weight.”

A fan of the podcast “It’s an American Life,” he came up with the name “This American Bite,” while listening to the show.

“I was playing with names and I thought this has a ring to it, ‘This American Bite.” That’s a little spin on buying local food, buying American food. I thought it really had a good ring,” he said.

He hopes people continue to enjoy the blog.

“I also welcome any feedback. If there’s a dish people would like me to make I would be happy to and I welcome people to follow me on Facebook. I have a Facebook page with the blog and you can also get my blog post by email.”

SAD NEWS — Kenny Hilton, the caretaker for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah’s Rose Hill Cemetery, died Sunday, Dec. 17, following a brief struggle with cancer. Jeanne Kort Adler, the congregation’s executive director, reports that Hilton was a second generation caretaker of Rose Hill and worked in the cemetery and funeral industry for 38 years, most of which he spent at Rose Hill. She said he was known for the care and professionalism he brought to work each and every day. “His loss will be felt throughout the B’nai Jehudah family,” she continued. An email to B’nai Jehudah members noted that Hilton worked as an employee of the congregation longer than any other person on staff. Rabbi Nemitoff said he “was there for hundreds — if not thousands — of B’nai Jehudah families, as we mourned and buried those whom we cherished. With quiet dignity and professionalism, he was there to help us perform the final act of chesed (loving kindness) for our loved ones.” The funeral was expected to be held at 1:30 p.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 22) at Louis Memorial Chapel. A complete obituary may be found at www.louismemorialchapel.com.

MEETING DIGNATARIES — As members of the international press corps in Israel, our own Sybil Kaplan and her husband, Barry, were invited to the Foreign Ministry for an evening of appetizers and schmoozing. They met Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon, who hosted the evening along with Deputy Director General for Cultural and Scientific Affairs Raphael Gamzou. They also had a chance to talk with diplomats from Sri Lanka, Honduras, Kenya, Argentina, Phillipines, Mexico and China. They even spoke to a man from Moscow, who took the time to learn Hebrew before he came to Israel. Kaplan said “it isn’t often that one gets invited to a social evening at the Foreign Ministry, so we were eager to attend.” By reading her notes, it sounds like the Kaplans were not disappointed.

IF I WERE A RICH MAN — As I hum the song I’m happy to report that “Fiddler on the Roof,” the Broadway smash and Tony Award winning musical that has captured the hearts of people all over the world, will be on stage two nights in January at Johnson County Community College.
The production will be presented at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, and at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at the Carlsen Center’s Yardley Hall. Tickets, which are $50 and $40, are available at the college box office at 913-469-4445 or on line at jccc.edu/TheSeries.
Audiences will see Jerome Robbins’ original Broadway direction and choreography, starring veteran actor John Preece in the role of Tevye. Preece has performed in “Fiddler on the Roof” more than 3,400 times. More than 1,700 of those appearances were in the role of Tevye. This production marks Preece’s 10th national tour of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Bagel Bash, the party for young adults in their 20s to 40s held annually on Christmas Eve, has been around for nearly two decades. Once the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City took over planning the event several years ago, it became a springboard for more popular programming for young adults.

“We want as many people as we can draw. Our goal is to outdraw last year,” said Steven Levy, who is co-chairing the event with Roy Ben-Aharon, Rachel Nachum and Alan Widman.

Since the event is always a success, drawing about 200 annually according to Widman, that is a huge goal. Of course attendance is sometimes influenced by the weather.

“Two years ago when we had that huge Christmas Eve blizzard, we still had 90 people show up,” Widman said.

It’s always a fun night, said Widman, who has been involved with Bagel Bash for more than 10 years. He continues to help plan Bagel Bash for one simple reason. He likes putting on parties.

“I’ve always wanted to give everyone a party that they can expect is going to be great every year,” he said. “We’re going to give them everything they want. We’re going to give them a good location. Good food. Good price. We’ve got a band now. We’re giving them everything they could want so they can never complain.”

Widman said as long as he’s been involved, the party has been well received. Since it’s geared to people in their 20s through 40s, he points out that college kids are also invited, as long as they are over 21.

“We want them to start coming out to Jewish Federation events. Since they are always looking for things to do while they are home for break we want them to know they are welcome at Bagel Bash,” Widman said.

He said it’s good to introduce young people to Jewish Federation activities while they are still in college.

“When they get out of college and they are looking for something Jewish they can say, ‘Hey, Federation has a lot of good things to offer,’ ” pointed out Widman, who said he’s been involved in Jewish activities all his life beginning with BBYO in high school.

Levy is co-chairing Bagel Bash for the first time this year because he enjoyed the party last year. He’s only been in Kansas City for four years, and last year was his first Bagel Bash.

“It’s a great opportunity to gather young Jewish singles, couples, professionals. It will be a lot of fun and we’re meeting on a night when we’re typically not doing anything,” said Levy, who is from Dallas originally.

Nachum, who is also co-chairing Bagel Bash for the first time this year, agreed.

“I think it’s really important for our community to bring young Jews together and being a part of that movement is something I really enjoy doing,” said the 25-year-old Nachum.

“Bagel Bash and Federation Business & Professionals activities are a great way to meet other Jewish people in the community. I have met a ton of people through these various events that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. I think just meeting other young Jews is really nice and these types of events are a fun way to do it,” Nachum said.

Because fun events for young people are good ways to get people interested in Jewish Federation, Widman said the organization has made d big effort over the past few years to plan Business and Professionals programs, as well as other young adult-focused programs that can be considered “can’t miss events.”

B&P started planning good speakers at good locations. We want them to be events that you don’t want to miss because your friends are going to be there. It’s going to be a good place to meet people and get to know people,” Widman said.

Levy said he enjoys going to B&P events.

“They allow me to learn about some of the businesses in the city and in the area as well as meet other Jewish people who work at these businesses. I can create contacts for whatever purposes I may need in the future. I also make friends,” Levy said.

These events, Widman said, should not be confused with singles events. But they can be places for single people to meet each other.

“It’s just another place where young people can meet. You have a great mix of people, great happy hour and get to hear a great speaker. Who knows, maybe you can make a great connection for your future,” Widman said.

B&P events are also a good way to promote Jewish Federation.

“We obviously want to promote what Federation does and hopefully create people who want to be involved in Federation the rest of their lives. The only way you can connect people to Federation is to give them a reason to start attending events,” Widman said.

As for Bagel Bash, Widman reiterates that it’s simply a fun event.

“Maybe you’ll get to see some of your old friends from high school or college or someone you haven’t seen forever and then connect with some of your current friends. It’s just a good night out,” he said.

At 45, Widman is at the upper end of the age range for attendees.

“I always joke that I get grandfathered into all the young adult events forever since I’ve been involved for so long,” he said.

About Bagel Bash

Bagel Bash 2011 begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, at the Record Bar, 1020 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo. The cover charge includes open bar, heavy appetizers (Vaad supervised food available), and live music. Register online at jewishkansascity.org for a discounted price of $20 by noon on Dec. 23. Walk-ins are welcome for $30 at the door.
For more information, go to jewishkansascity.org, look up Bagel Bash on Facebook, or contact Vicky Kulikov at or 913-327-8112.

Bagel Bash is a collaborative effort among Jewish organizations in Kansas City. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Bagel Bash is brought to the community in cooperation with AIPAC, BIAV, B’Not Or Hadassah, Congregation Beth Shalom, Congregation Kol Ami, Friends Next Dor (Congregation Beth Torah), Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation’s Business & Professionals group, and Kehillah KC/The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

Molly Shapiro’s first novel, “Point, Click, Love,” is being published Dec. 20. The novel is already available for pre-order on both Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble. She’s also been chosen as an emerging author by Target. Needless to say, she’s excited.

“Target is going to carry the book in all of its stores. I’m really excited about that,” said Shapiro, who said the book will also be available at independent booksellers.

The book is being described by the publisher as a fun and sexy debut novel about four women who try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates and other high-speed connections. It’s also getting good buzz throughout the world of publishing.

“Point, Click, Love is a thoroughly engaging debut novel about a group of Midwestern women grappling with the mysteries of love, marriage and children. Molly Shapiro writes with wit, insight and a light touch,” said New York Times bestselling author Tom Perrotta.

The book, a trade paperback, is being published by Ballantine, a division of Random House. It will be available for e-readers including Kindle and Nook and is being discounted by the major retailers.

“It’s nice having this big publishing house behind me. This is my first novel. I’m an unknown. There are resources that I just wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said “Point, Click, Love” is based in Kansas City because it’s a place she knows well. She notes one character works at Sprint and those familiar with the locale will recognize other little things throughout the book.

“They’ve promoted it like Sex in the City meets the Midwest, but it’s about older women. These women don’t lead glamorous lives like Carrie Bradshaw, but they have interesting lives nonetheless. I think they are more relatable to ordinary people,” she explained.

Each of Shapiro’s characters has a particular relationship with digital communication. One character is dating using the Internet.

“Another character is anti-Facebook because her husband is just obsessed with it and it drives her crazy,” Shapiro said.

A third character is hooked on celebrity websites and the fourth is looking for a sperm donor online. Generally the chapters alternate, focusing on one character at a time.

“There are four different storylines that go all the way through, but then there are scenes when they all get together. So the book explores their friendships as well,” the author explained about the book that took about a year to conceive and write.

About the author

Shapiro explained she’s “been writing forever.” Originally she thought she would become a screenwriter and studied film at Brown University.

“I had some success. I did some screenplays for a small producer in New York City. I wrote the ‘Bob Marley Story,’ and that looked like it was going to be made for a while. But it didn’t happen,” she said.

After a while Shapiro got disillusioned by the Hollywood scene.

“I knew I didn’t want to live in LA. I knew I didn’t want to be a part of that world. And I knew that I didn’t want to depend on 100 different people to ever get anything done,” she said.

Shapiro said she decided to write fiction because she thought it would be easier to sit in her room alone and write books.

“That would be an outlet for me and I thought it would be easier to get a book published then get a movie made. So after working for a while in technical writing I decided to go to Columbia University and get my MFA in creative writing,” she said.

While she was at Columbia in 1997 she wrote a book of short stories, “Eternal City.” It was the winner of the Willa Cather Fiction Prize.

“Eternal City” was described by the Kansas City Star as “a sophisticated, polished, taut, cool, funny and sometimes quietly scary collection of stories. …it’s the first published work by Shapiro and a virtuoso performance.”

Shapiro is proud of those stories, but notes that they weren’t widely read. She’s also written two other novels that weren’t published. This time she wanted a book that would be read by more people.

But Shapiro doesn’t solely concentrate on fiction. She is a full-time professional writer who works for a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. She also ghostwrites fundraising and policy emails for political candidates.

“It’s hard to find time with all that to write fiction, so when things slowed down a bit during the economic downturn; I took the opportunity to write the novel. Things have since picked up again, but I’m doing my best to find the time to write my follow up novel,” she explained.

She chose to write about love in an online world because of her own personal experiences.

“The thing that inspired me was that I found myself single after getting divorced in 2007,” she said. “I was in this new world that I wasn’t really prepared for. I noticed that online communication was something that was really significant at that point. When I was a married woman with kids I wasn’t thinking about Facebook and Twitter and I certainly wasn’t thinking about online dating.”

As the mother of two, she felt limited in the options she had to meet people. She wasn’t excited about being fixed up and she didn’t want to go to bars or join a bunch of new clubs.

“So I decided that my only option was to go online because that way I could choose myself. It wouldn’t be time consuming. It wouldn’t take me away from my kids. So that’s what I did,” she said.

The experience was interesting for Shapiro, and she ultimately met someone she’s been with for more than four years.

“I got a glimpse of a world that I never would have seen otherwise. I felt that at that point I had some things to say about my experience with divorce and my experience with online dating.

I just felt like I wanted to write a novel about it,” she said.

Young and old, the members of the Kansas City Jewish community are important to Shoshana Margolies. The 17-year-old senior at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy regularly tutors younger students at the school and helps leads kabbalat Shabbat services at Village Shalom.

“I really like working with younger kids,” she said. “I had some trouble in school when I was younger, and when others helped me, it was really beneficial to me. I want to give somebody the chance to improve their skills (through the tutoring).”

She helps second through sixth grade students with their reading and writing skills. On Fridays, she and her brother Jacob go to Village Shalom to lead services.

“Hyman Brand students have been leading kabbalat Shabbat services for many years. A spot opened up when I was a sophomore, and I signed up right away,” she said. “I’ve made a close bond with a few of the residents there. I have about five or six people who are regulars (at services) and know me by name. I really like getting to know other members of the Jewish community. They’re really wise, and I like learning about their lives.”

Shoshana, who is a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue, says her school is a major reason she’s become involved with Jewish community activities like the Village Shalom worship services. Within the school, she participates in many different groups. In addition to being president of the student council, Shoshana is also the yearbook editor, manager of the basketball team and has been both an actress and assistant director for the drama society.

“She has a lot of responsibility. (The students) know she’s not afraid to step in and do grunt work when it needs to be done. She helps people do things to contribute to the school environment,” said Todd Clauer, the college guidance director and student council advisor at the Academy. “She is an incredibly determined, focused and honest person in the way she does everything. She rarely seeks accolades or the spotlight for what she does. She almost downplays the work that she does to help other people.”

According to Shoshana, her work with the student council has helped her learn better time management skills while also allowing her to form closer bonds with both the students and staff at the Academy.

As yearbook editor, Margolies has also made her mark.

“The yearbook adviser feels as if Shoshana has … been able to set very firm deadlines with staff members to get work completed in a way that hasn’t been done in the last five years. She’s able to set an example for others on a consistent basis,” Clauer said.

Margolies hopes to attend either the University of Michigan or the University of Wisconsin to study either history or English and eventually work in law or business. However, before she goes to college, she plans to spend a year in Israel through a Young Judaea gap year program.

There, she’ll spend three months each in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Negev studying Hebrew and other Judaic topics while also doing volunteer work.

“I feel like it’s really important to keep the Jewish spirit alive, especially in America, when we’re involved in a lot of secular activities. It’s important for kids my age to remember our heritage and what we’ve been through … it’s sort of my generation’s duty to pass that on,” she said.

She credits both of her parents, Diane and Jonathan, and her grandfather, Rabbi Morris Margolies, for encouraging her to take a keen interest in Israel

“Everything I do, my family’s responsible for that. They always push me to do more,” she said. “It’s hard to think I won’t be living at home next year, (but) I feel like I’ll be prepared. I’m really enjoying my time at home right now, though.”

Clauer has confidence that Margolies will continue to make an impact wherever she goes.

“I just think she has great potential to be a leader after high school, and she will do that with a sense of values and compassion that is nice to see,” he said. “She has a strong set of principles she lives her life by, and I think those will be appreciated and embraced by people in her future.”

MORE KC-LAS CRUCES CONNECTIONS — Last week when we told you about Rabbi Larry Karol’s installation service at Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces, N.M., we neglected to mention that its rabbi emeritus also has ties to Kansas City and The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Rabbi Gerald Kane, who served as B’nai Jehudah’s rabbi educator from 1988-1998, went on to serve as rabbi of Temple Beth-El and has been its rabbi emeritus since 2007. Rabbi Kane also participated in Rabbi Karol’s installation ceremonies earlier this month.
Since his retirement, Rabbi Kane has continued to be an active part of the Las Cruces community. Along with Rabbi Karol, Rabbi Kane continues to serve as a member of the New Mexico State University Interfaith Council. He has taught a course in the NMSU English Department, “Jews on Screen” for the past two years. His reviews of local theatre and the Santa Fe Opera and Chamber Music Festival appear in the Las Cruces Bulletin, and he serves as a member of the patron board of KRWG FM and TV, the NPR and PBS stations in the community.
In addition, Rabbi Kane offers occasional classes at Temple Beth-El and assists Rabbi Karol on the pulpit, when needed.

TRUTH ABOUT REFUGEES — Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has produced another video. This one, “The Truth About the Refugees” addresses both the Palestinian refugees in Israel and Jewish refugees from Arab lands. The first two videos, “The Truth About the West Bank” and “The Truth About the Peace Process” became a viral success with almost 760,000 views. You can see the video at www.dannyaylon.com. The video was produced in cooperation with StandWithUs, an international education organization that strives to ensure that Israel’s side of the story is told in communities, campuses, libraries, the media and churches through brochures, speakers, conferences, missions to Israel and thousands of pages of Internet resources.

A HOLIDAY CAROLE — Another Jewish singer has release a holiday CD. Carole King’s newest, “A Holiday Carole” features “Chanukah Prayer.” The CD was produced by King’s daughter Louise Goffin. King is quoted as saying “Louise had the brilliant idea to take the Chanukah prayer that I learned from my parents, and they learned from their parents, and back through generations.” The result is a warm, jazz-inflected tune that brings together three generations on vocals: Carole, her daughter and her grandson.

LEVINS IN THE NEWS — Earlier this year we featured Lee and Sunie Levin, who had both recently published new books. Last month the couple was featured in the Naples Daily News about their writing and lecturing. You can read about them at http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/nov/17/he-writes-she-writes-north-naples-couple-keeps/. You can read Sunie’s latest advice on grandparenting within an interfaith family in this edition on page 37. Her book on the subject, “Mingled Roots,” was written 15 years ago and then revised 10 years ago at the request of the Union for Reform Judaism (then the UAHC).  Sunie reports URJ still uses the book in workshops around the country.

Rabbi Avremi Lapine may have grown up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., but he always had a soft spot in his heart for the Midwest. After all, his father, Dennis LaPine, grew up in Overland Park and his grandparents, Erwin and Janice LaPine, still live in the area. So he was considered the perfect match when it came to selecting the Lubavitch emissaries who would run the new Chabad of MU and Mid-Missouri, located in Columbia, Mo. The 25-year-old rabbi and his wife, Channy, serve as co-directors.

The couple, who were married in 2010 and have a 10-month-old son, Mendel, moved to Columbia and began getting settled in a rented two-story house about a month ago. They hosted their first official program, a Shabbat dinner for 10 students.

Rabbi Lapine is eager to begin programming in earnest when the students return to Columbia for the spring semester in January. He believes there are about 750 Jewish students among the 26,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students at Missouri’s flagship public university. He guesses there are also close to 100 Jewish students attending nearby Stephens College and another handful at Columbia College.

“We’re still getting our feet wet,” he explained in a telephone interview this week. For instance the website, www.jewishtigers.com, is up, but local content isn’t available yet. And he’s meeting the students slowly but surely.

“We’re finding them and they’re finding us by word of mouth,” he said. “I learned about one student from the rabbi in Oklahoma City. Lots of students are attracted to MU and come from out of state because of its journalism school.”

The local Chabad House, headed by Rabbi Sholom Wineberg, who is also the regional director of the Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters for Kansas and Missouri, was instrumental in selecting Rabbi Lapine for this particular post and paving the way for the Columbia location.

“This was the next logical location for us. We like to spread Jewish awareness and identity wherever we see the need,” said Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, Chabad House’s program director. Two other Chabad Houses are also based in the Kansas-Missouri Region, Chabad Lubavitch of Midtown and Downtown Kansas City and Chabad Center for Jewish Life Serving KU & Northeast Kansas Communities.

“Rabbi Lapine was the perfect candidate for the Columbia position,” Rabbi Mendy Wineberg said.

The young rabbi has studied in New York, England and Australia. He was ordained in 2010 in New Jersey. They checked out the Columbia area while they were here during Passover visiting the rabbi’s grandparents.

“Channy and I always wanted to join the Rebbe’s army,” he said, referring to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, who began sending rabbinical students to campuses to serve as a resource for students more than 50 years ago. Now Chabad on Campus is a home-away-from-home for tens of thousands of Jewish Students. Chabad Student Centers are active on more than 165 campuses and Chabad offers varied activities at an additional 150 universities worldwide.

Chabad Centers are sponsored by the Rohr Family Foundation, which has helped to establish Jewish centers around the world, including in the countries of the former Soviet Union and even in Israel, according to the Chabad on Campus website.

“When we got married, we decided we wanted to dedicate our lives to helping other Jewish people,” Rabbi Lapine pointed out.

The Chabad website states that its campus centers anticipate and serve the needs of the campus community on a social, educational and spiritual level. As such, Rabbi Lapine said he and his wife like to think of their Chabad House as “as the students’ home away from home.”

“We want to make sure that all the student feel comfortable here. We will always feed them and they can always talk to one of us. The boys can feel comfortable talking to me and the girls can be comfortable talking to Channy,” he said.

“No matter what, we want them to feel comfortable being Jewish and experience their Judaism whichever way they feel comfortable.”

Channy stressed that the atmosphere at Chabad House will always be warm and welcoming.

“We’ll have programs and Shabbat dinner. Most importantly we want the students to feel Jewish. They will be able to feel good about themselves and feel like they are at home where they can be themselves here,” she said.

Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel of KU Chabad said KU students were excited to learn that a Chabad had arrived at MU.

“Many of them have friends across the border who have been greatly anticipating their arrival. We believe it was surely divine intervention that just one day after the arrival of the Lapines, MU announced it will be moving from the Big 12 to join the SEC. The Jewhawks and the Tigers will now be breaking challah together,” Rabbi Tiechtel said.

While MU’s defection from the Big 12 has officially ended the rivalry between the two schools, at least for now, Rabbi Lapine said it will still exist in his family.

“My father went to KU. We’ll have a special room for him in our basement to keep up the rivalry,” he laughingly said.

Those who have students in Columbia who wish to contact Rabbi and Channy Lapine can do so at 573-442-5755.