Archived News

It’s not unusual for KU Chabad to look for ways to change the world one step at a time. Its latest Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) campaign is one such example.
Late last year, after multiple shootings in which three young people were killed outside a bar in downtown Lawrence, KU Chabad began encouraging random acts of kindness. Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, who is co-director of the Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Life at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, said KU students and others in the area “were seeking to create a movement encouraging kindness.”
This led them to start the Good Card Campaign, through which cards were left in various public places with written instructions to people who would find them to “commit a random act of kindness.”

Dr. Jonathan Jacobs is an internist who practices at Menorah Medical Center. He wants you to spend more time getting to know your family.
Your health could depend on it, and Thanksgiving is a great time to start. This quintessentially American holiday — a day to gather with family, enjoy a feast and count your blessings — also is National Family History Day, part of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative.
The U.S. surgeon general and other agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly launched the initiative and designated Thanksgiving as National Family History Day in 2004 “to encourage all American families to learn more about their family health history,” according to the HHS website. Many common diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and rare diseases such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, are known to sometimes run in families.

Entries for the 2018 Hanukkah Art Contest, co-sponsored by Chabad of Leawood, The J and The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle are due at The J next week. Entries may be dropped off at The J’s reception desk beginning Monday, Nov. 19, through Wednesday, Nov. 21. The reception desk is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
The grand prize winner will be featured on the front cover of The Chronicle Dec. 6. All artwork will be displayed at The Glass Gallery at The J from Dec. 5-10. A student is not eligible to win the grand prize two consecutive years. The first Hanukkah candle will be lit on Sunday evening, Dec. 2.

‘BIG SONIA’ ­DOCUMENTARY NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD, iTUNES — It’s a big week for ‘Big Sonia’ the film and Sonia Warshawski. Sonia will celebrate her 93rd birthday on Sunday, Nov. 11. And now you can watch ‘Big Sonia’ in the comfort of your own home. The DVD became available Tuesday and can be purchased on the ‘Big Sonia’ website, bigsonia.com/shop.
There’s more. You can now download the film at iTunes. The ‘Big Sonia’ folks are asking that after you download the film, take two minutes to rate and review it “to help us spread the #soniaeffect far and wide!”
That’s the good news. Unfortunately Netflix continues to pass on the film, despite a record-breaking run in Kansas City and 21 awards.

OP KRISPY KREME NOW ­KOSHER — Last week the Vaad confirmed Krispy Kreme on 103rd and Metcalf is fully kosher compliant. Anything manufactured at this shop, from donuts to drinks, is fully kosher. (The Vaad takes no responsibility for bottled drinks sold through this business, only products prepared by Krispy Kreme.) If you are a fan of kosher donuts, take a minute to express your appreciation to Dennis, the manager at Krispy Kreme, next time you are there.

GET YOUR HANUKKAH STAMPS NOW (JERUSALEM JTA — Israel Post and the U.S. Postal Service have issued a joint stamp for Hanukkah.
The stamp also is meant to celebrate 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United States, Israel Post said in a statement.
The new stamp design was launched simultaneously in the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, the oldest synagogue in the United States, and at the American Center in Jerusalem.
The stamp art features a Hanukkah menorah created using the technique of papercutting, a Jewish folk art, by artist Tamar Fishman. Behind the menorah is a shape that resembles an ancient oil jug representing the miracle of the oil that burned in the candelabra in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after its sacking and recapture for the eight days necessary to resupply. Additional design elements include dreidels and a pomegranate plant with fruit and flowers.
The stamp is being issued in the United States as a Forever stamp, which will always be equal in value to the current first-class mail one-ounce price. It will sell in Israel for 8.30 shekels, the cost of a regular first-class stamp. Hanukkah begins at sundown on Dec. 2.

REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR ­ANNIE — Thought you were done voting for a while? Think again. Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy eighth-grader Annie Fingersh still needs your vote in the Uncle Ben’s Beginners™ Contest. Five grand prize winners will get a $15,000 cash prize and a $30,000 makeover for their school cafeteria, in this case the Ram’s Café.
Voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 11. To vote, which you can do once a day, visit beginners.unclebens.com/finalist-gallery. Annie’s entry is Spanish Rice with Bread-Crumb-Encrusted Cod.

Two organizations at the Jewish Community Campus — Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and the Jewish Community Center’s Child Development Center — recently installed SafeDefend, a proactive crisis response system. This system uses multiple communication methods to alert security, faculty, students and visitors within seconds of a crisis situation occurring. It also sends an immediate detailed message to local police.
The installation of this security notification system, which was made possible by a security grant from the Morgan Family Foundation, is one of the Jewish Community Campus’ newest security enhancements. The system was installed after a thorough review of the Campus’ security needs by Chuck Green, communitywide security director for Kansas City’s Jewish community

The first Hanukkah candle will be lit this year on Sunday night, Dec. 2, and that’s less than a month away. Since Hanukkah is so close, it’s time to announce the 22nd annual Hanukkah Art Contest, co-hosted by The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, Chabad of Leawood and The J.
Submit an original piece of artwork or poetry that relates to the story or celebration of Hanukkah. The art contest is open to all students in grades Pre-K-8. There are three age categories: Pre-K through first, second through fifth and sixth through eighth.

With healthcare costs and life expectancy on the rise, the fear of outliving retirement resources is a very real concern for seniors today. Village Shalom’s Ages of Excellence event offers a unique opportunity to raise funds for residents who have exhausted their financial resources while promising an evening not to be missed.
This year’s Ages of Excellence event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza. Community members can extend support to the Financial Assistance Program by attending or sponsoring this year’s Ages of Excellence Celebration. The event begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m.
“We are so excited to have David Gergen join us with his political insight just days after the mid-term election. Attending Ages is an amazing opportunity for our guests to hear him speak while offering support to such an important cause,” said 2018 Ages of Excellence co-chair Allison Berey. “Village Shalom’s level of care is incomparable. The Financial Assistance Program keeps Village Shalom’s mission alive.”

The growing Jewish movement for refugees was strongly evident in hundreds of communities across the country in mid-Otober.
In 33 states and Canada, at nearly 300 gatherings, Jews came together Oct. 19-20 to observe HIAS’ National Refugee Shabbat. In synagogues, churches, JCCs and other spaces, thousands dedicated sacred time and space to raising awareness about the global refugee crisis. Whether you were in Portland, Maine, or Bristol, Tennessee, Salt Lake City, Utah, or Santa Monica, California, there were multiple opportunities to learn, reflect and ultimately take action for refugees and asylum seekers.

AS I SEE IT

It was fire and brimstone at its finest. It looked more like a pep rally than a vigil, except the 11 yahrzeit candles placed right in front of the podium made it crystal clear why we were assembled. Approximately 3,000 people gathered at Kehilath Israel Synagogue Monday night for the Kansas City Community Vigil, two days after 11 Jews were gunned down in their Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, synagogue during Shabbat services, to tell the world that our “hearts were broken,” “our sense of security was shattered” and — by far the most important message of the evening — HATE WILL NOT WIN.

MCHE CELEBRATES 25 YEARS  — “I feel brown shirts breathing down my neck,” said actor Henry Winkler to a crowd of almost 500 gathered at Starlight Theatre to celebrate 25 years since the founding of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Winkler, the son of Jews who escaped Nazi Germany and moved to the U.S. in 1939, added, “It is up to us to make sure that civility and sanity stays in the world.”
Winkler’s presentation did not dwell on the shooting that killed 11 Jewish people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue the day before nor was it the theme of speeches given by the chairs, honorary chairs, etc., but the shooting was mentioned several times during the evening. As MCHE Executive Director Jean Zeldin pointed out, one of the lessons the Holocaust teaches us that is still relevant today is “when one group is targeted, we are all at risk.”
MCHE was founded by best friends Jack Mandelbaum and Isak Federman (of blessed memory) to keep the lessons of the Holocaust alive. A letter written by Mandelbaum, who is retired and lives in Florida, was read and it said, in part, he and Isak chose to focus on education because a brick and mortar building can’t talk. As the founders intended, the organization, through its staff, programming and volunteers, works tirelessly applying the lessons of the Holocaust to counter indifference, intolerance and genocide. The two honorary co-chairs — Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of President Harry S. Truman, and Mary Jean Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower — were chosen as representatives of two great men who did so much to help the Jewish people when the camps were liberated at the end of World War II and establishing the State of Israel. MCHE has good working relationships with both the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.
MCHE estimates fewer than 50 survivors now live in Kansas City. To those in attendance and to those who could not be there in person, Zeldin said, “You teach us, you humble us, you inspire us. Tonight we honor and celebrate you.”
Even under the unfortunate shadow of the rise of hate in our world, it was indeed a wonderful celebration showcasing an organization whose work is not done and deserves the support of the entire Kansas City community.

VOTING WORDS OF WISDOM — Our own Harry S. Truman had this to say about voting: “It’s not the hand that signs the laws that holds the destiny of America. It’s the hand that casts the ballot.” Kansans can vote now, either by mail or advance voting. All registered voters in the metro can vote beginning at 6 a.m. in Missouri and 7 a.m. in Kansas on Tuesday, Nov. 6. VOTE!

MITZVAH GARDEN HARVEST — Mitzvah Garden KC has completed its harvest for the year and its garden yielded 12,600 pounds. It truly takes a village of volunteers to produce this bounty, including Chair Ken Sonnenschein, Garden Planner Chuck Luchen, Volunteer Coordinator Gay Handler and Orchard Steward Greg Raymond for all they did to make the garden so productive this season. Some volunteers have already planted all the garlic, wheat and barley crops to get ready for next season. In addition, Morris “Moshe” Leibschutz configured the water capture system, “Project Matar,” in a way that it could be winterized without antifreeze. A tip of the sun hat to all those who spend time working on this throughout the year to make this one of the community’s jewels.