On April 26, KU Hillel hosted its first ever Mr. Hillel competition where six Jewish men participated in various activities that were ranked and voted on by student audience members. From stand-up comedy to trumpet and guitar performances to an original rap song written about Hillel and Judaism, the talent portion of the evening proved to be quite entertaining.
For teens today, life is like a pressure cooker — demands at home, school, from peers and constant bombardment of messages from social media. Kansas City and the country as a whole is facing a mental health crisis with our teens. For some, those pressures tackle teens self-worth, lead to depression and in a growing number of situations, lead to suicide.
Rachael Klein Miller found her purpose in life when she realized she wanted to become a rabbi.
GO FUND ME CHILDREN’S ALBUM — Our friend Matt Rissien, who now lives and works in the Chicago area, is hoping to write and record a Jewish children’s album this summer!
Cantor Sharon Kohn, who for the past three years has served as chesed/pastoral care director, will leave B’nai Jehudah when her contract expires June 30. She came to B’nai Jehudah 14 years ago in July of 2003 as the Reform congregation’s cantor. There is no longer funding in the B’nai Jehudah budget for the chesed position, so it is being eliminated.
Jewish life continues to grow in Lawrence and now the University of Kansas School of Law has a club with a Jewish heart.
“My life has revolved around Judaism since I was little,” said Taylor Poslosky, who is studying to be a rabbi at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. “The synagogue was my first home; I spent more time there than anywhere else.”
Javier Cattapan took an unusual path to the rabbinate. A native of Argentina, he was raised Catholic and was active in church serving as an altar boy. But when he was 16 years old and began writing a paper on religion, he concluded he didn’t necessarily believe all the Catholic theology.
I get invited to a lot of events. In an effort to keep some sanity in my life, I try to rotate the events I attend. If I don’t make it one year, I try very hard to make it the next. One event I never miss is the Yom HaShoah Community Holocaust Commemoration. Now in its third year, I can say the same is now true for SevenDays.
Despite retiring from Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) at the end of April, Martha Gershun’s mission to serve the abused/neglected children helped by CASA will continue through the Martha Gershun Legacy Fund for Older Foster Youth.
