Over the last two years, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education staff have worked to preserve audio and videotaped testimonies of local Holocaust survivors and to make them accessible to the public on the MCHE website. These testimonies cover the geographic range of European Jewish experiences in the Holocaust as well as a variety of circumstances, including forced labor, hiding, death camps and emigration in the 1930s. This collection, available at www.mchekc/survivors, includes:
Jo Feldman was 19 years old when she first became associated with The Second City almost 10 years ago. Feldman is one of the six-member cast of the Fully Loaded company that will perform The Best of Second City on Saturday, Nov. 14, for the 39th annual Grand Givers event.
Rabbi Vered Harris, formerly the education rabbi at Congregation Beth Torah and now the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has long been committed to social justice. Her latest project is two-fold and it involves her long, blond hair.
Our Jewish Cub Scout Pack 3153 learned a little about empathy at its recent pack meeting. The theme was bravery and the Cubs made condolence cards for the families of firefighters Larry Leggio and John Mesh, and thank you cards for the two firehouses that suffered the losses after a building on fire collapsed on Independence Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, on Oct. 12.
GRAND GIVERS DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF SAM GOULD —Many people in the Jewish community loved Sam Gould, and he was well known for his love of baseball, sports, the Jewish community in general and Kehilath Israel Synagogue in particular. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gould, who insisted I call him Sam, until a few years ago when K.I. celebrated its 100th anniversary. To honor Sam, K.I. announced last week that its Grand Givers event, the congregation’s major fundraiser of the year set for Nov. 14, will be dedicated in his memory. I am told that Sam always supported Grand Givers and bringing in well-known talent to K.I. He also led K.I. in many capacities, including as K.I. president in 1973 and 1979 and as an active K.I. board member for most of his life. The Lucy and Sam Gould Charitable Fund for Kehilath Israel is covering the cost of The Second City, which has produced premier comic talent for over 55 years. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes entertainment, prizes, appetizers, desserts, drinks, and more! For more information, see the story on Page 3 or contact Elizabeth Peden, K.I. executive director, at 913-624-1880, ext. 203.
Rita and Irwin Blitt at the announcement of the Rita Blitt Archive at Washburn University's Mulvane Art Museum.
World-renowned award-winning artist Rita Blitt and her husband Irwin have selected Washburn University’s Mulvane Art Museum as a permanent home for a significant body of her life’s work. Blitt’s work — she’s a painter, sculptor and film maker — bridges the world of visual art, music and dance, and creates unique opportunities to explore and celebrate art where vision, sound and movement intersect.
My quest for a Hebrew Kansas City Royals shirt started at the end of last week when a loyal reader emailed me and said, “You should find that Lo Cain shirt I saw on TV.”
One of the popular classes for Jewish studies students at the University of Kansas is Intermediate Hebrew I.
Students at the University of Kansas can now officially earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish studies. The decision was finalized last month. Professor John Younger, director of KU’s Jewish studies program, said this week that four students have officially declared a Jewish studies major and a fifth may declare shortly.
Photo by Scott Fishman. Chavie and Rabbi Ari Adler with their children, Tzipporah, 5 years old (from Left), Yehoshua Baruch, 3 years old, Temina, 1 and a half years old, and Sara, 3 months.
The Kansas City Community Kollel said goodbye this summer to two of its veteran, eight-year employees this summer — Rabbis Elchanan Schulgasser and Binyomin Davis. The Kollel now operates with one part-time rabbi and his wife and several adjunct staff members.
The 19th annual Hanukah Art Contest is open for entries. Deadline for entries is 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24. The first candle will be lit on Sunday, Dec. 6, and a photo of the winning piece of art will be published in the Dec. 3 edition of The Chronicle.
RABBI PAUL C. SILBERSHER RETIRES — On Oct. 5, Rabbi Paul C. Silbersher retired from Temple Sinai. After serving the members of Temple Sinai for three and one-half years, Rabbi Silbersher notified President Larry Gelb and the board of directors that he was retiring. After 62 years of service, as a student cantor to the present time, Rabbi Silbersher has served thousands of individuals as a cantor, rabbi and social worker. Gelb says, “The congregation was able to enjoy and find meaningful his skills and knowledge as a cantor and a rabbi.” To show how much his service to Temple Sinai was appreciated, the congregation is conferring on their spiritual leader the title of rabbi emeritus. Temple Sinai is continuing on with lay leaders, as the congregation searches for a new spiritual leader. Shabbat services are held every Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Colonial Church, 71st Street and Mission Road. Torah Study meets on Thursday morning at the same location at 10:30 a.m.
