When Ariella Ben-Aharon and her husband Roy became engaged they knew they wanted to have a kosher wedding reception.

Ariella Ben-Aharon said she and her husband keep kosher, but even if they didn’t, they wanted a kosher option available for their guests.

“For all of our family and friends that keep kosher it was very important to us,” she said.

Since the couple wanted to serve meat at their reception they had to have a non-dairy cake. Finding a baker to make a dairy free cake, Ben-Aharon said, became a daunting task.

“We tried a lot of people,” Ben-Aharon said. “Nobody was interested in tackling a non-dairy wedding cake.”

Then they heard that a friend of her parents’ neighbor might be up for the challenge. So Ben-Aharon called the recommended baker, Nancy Stark.

“At first I was skeptical that she would be interested in doing it,” Ben-Aharon said.

But Stark, a pastry chef with 25 years experience, eagerly accepted the challenge.

“Nancy was willing to take it on with a smile,” Ben-Aharon said. “It was really a good experience.”

Ben-Aharon’s wedding took place March 18. Stark had never done a kosher wedding before, but she said she wanted to learn the skill.

“I learned a ton doing this one cake,” Stark said. “I like a challenge. I like to learn new things.”

Rabbi Mendel Segal, executive director of the Vaad HaKashruth of Kansas City, assisted Stark through the kosher process. The Vaad HaKashruth supervises caterers and other venders to ensure that food for Jewish events is kosher.

“One of the big concerns among those who keep kosher, especially with weddings, is that they tend to serve meat meals. So the wedding cake needs to be 100 percent dairy free,” Rabbi Segal said.

Stark the pastry chef said she experimented with recipes to find the perfect non-dairy combo for a wedding cake.

“I picked recipes that I thought would be really good without butter and they were amazing,” she said. “I don’t think that you would be able to tell the difference.”

In the end, Ben-Aharon and her husband went with a lemon chiffon cake with butter-free vanilla “buttercream” frosting and an almond cake with butter-free chocolate “buttercream” frosting.

“It was really moist and it was really fresh,” Ben-Aharon said. “It was so good that we didn’t have any leftovers. We didn’t even have our cake topper to take home.”

Stark said she enjoyed the process and appreciated all the help she got from the Vaad.

“They just made it so easy for me,” Stark said. “They lined out for me what kind of things I would have to do.”

Stark prepared the cake in a kosher kitchen at the Torah Learning Center of Kansas City.

“I’m ready to do it again if anyone asks me,” she said.

Stark is one of a handful of bakers who Rabbi Segal recommends for brides who want a kosher wedding cake.

“She was great, she was really good to work with,” Rabbi Segal said.

Rabbi Segal also recommends Sherrie Ortiz of Sherrie’s Cake Magic. Ortiz has made wedding cakes for the past 26 years. She made her first kosher cake this January.

“I had considered doing it before, but I didn’t really have any connections,” Ortiz said. “It was fun, there was a lot to learn.”
Baking a kosher wedding cake requires specific steps, such as baking it in a kosher kitchen and using all kosher ingredients. But Ortiz said she didn’t find the process harder than baking a typical wedding cake.

“It was just a matter of finding the correct kosher products,” Ortiz said. “There were quite a few options that were non-dairy.”

For Ben-Aharon, the benefits of having a kosher wedding were worth any extra time spent to create the kosher meal and cake.

“I definitely think it added something just to know that I could cater to anyone or any preference in the community,” she said. “It was really nice to not exclude anyone.”

Rabbi Segal said the kosher meal adds to the spirituality of the sacred event.

“I do enjoy weddings more than lots of other events that we do because there is that excitement,” Rabbi Segal said. “It’s a happy occasion.”

Rabbi Segal encourages brides who want kosher weddings to contact him as they start the planning process.

“The best place to start is by going to our website (www.vaadkc.org),” he said.

Ben-Aharon said she recommends Stark to any bride.

“Kosher or non-Kosher I would suggest her either way,” Ben-Aharon said. “She was really great.”

The Girl Scout slogan urges its Scouts to “do a good turn daily.” Seventeen-year-old Sarah Herman has taken that to heart.

Sarah, a senior at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, has embraced the Jewish and general communities with her many and varied extra-curricular activities.

She plans to channel her interest in recycling toward her Girl Scout Gold Award project to make a rain garden.

“It’s a garden that collects (excess rain run-off) and instead of going into the sewer, which kind of ruins the sewer water, it makes a garden out of it. It’s really pretty,” she said.

A Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. Herman got her Silver Award two years ago for teaching younger Girl Scouts about Judaism to help them earn their Bat Or Award.

“I taught them in five sessions about Jewish events and discussed them, and we had to do an art project,” she said.
Her favorite part of Scouting, however, is going to camp.

Sarah attended Camp Winding River from the seventh grade, and since then, she has volunteered as a horse wrangler in training, teaching safety to the younger Scouts, and as a riding instructor.

“I’m not a water person, and all the other Girl Scout camps were mainly water-based, so when I heard there was a horse-riding one, I wanted to do that,” she said. “I mainly like it to hang out with the little kids, but I like the horses too.”

The daughter of Congregation Beth Torah members Vickie and Mark Herman, Sarah has applied her love of helping younger kids as a madricha in the congregation’s Hebrew school for the last three years.

“I use what I learned at the Academy, all my Hebrew skills to help them there. That’s really fun, because at first the kids are like, ‘I don’t really want to go to Hebrew school,’ but we help make it fun. We play games and make it into competitions. The kids really like it,” Sarah said.

Sarah also worked at the Barney Goodman summer camp last year at the Jewish Community Center as a junior counselor for fifth- and sixth-grade girls.

“The best part of being a counselor is giving the kids as good a time as I had when I was a little kid. When I was a kid, the counselors made it awesome,” she said.

This year, she’s changing things up and spending six weeks in Israel with the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program. While there, she’ll earn high school credit as well as six college credits.

“What Muss teaches you is that one day you learn in class about sites and history, and the next day, you go out and see it. I think that’s really important that you’re not just seeing the sites to see them. You’re actually learning about them,” she said.

At school, she’s co-president of the Go Green program, which encourages recycling, in addition to being on Academy teams for soccer, basketball and cross-country.

Sarah has also been the Op-Ed editor of the newspaper and the people section editor for the yearbook, while also managing to balance being student council secretary last year. She’ll be the vice president of service on the 2012-13 student council.

As a member of the National Honor Society, Sarah makes weekly group trips to Roesland Elementary School in the Shawnee Mission School District during the school year to work with the kids as a community service project.

“We play with them and read with them and (are) their mentors. We went almost every Wednesday, and they loved us. I hope we’re going back next year,” she said.

Laura Hewitt, the Academy’s NHS sponsor, was impressed with how Sarah interacted with the children.

“Sarah worked with first-graders. Every time she walked into the room, the kids were so excited to see her. First-graders before lunch can be restless, but she could keep her group contained and on task,” Hewitt said. “What I really admire about Sarah is that she does everything and demonstrates leadership in such a quiet way. Everything she does the other students admire and respect and want to emulate her.”

GOMEZ IS JEWISH — The musical “The Addams Family” debuts at Starlight July 3 and continues through July 8. It stars Douglas Sills, a Tony Award nominee for his role as Percy in “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” who plays Gomez Addams. Sills is Jewish and grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community in Ann Arbor, Mich. When asked recently about the Jewishness of the play he replied: “He (Gomez) is definitely of Jewish style as I am,” Sills said. “Family is first and foremost to him.” His Broadway resume is long, including “Little Shop of Horrors.”  Tickets for “The Addams Family” at Starlight Theatre are on sale now and are available online at www.kcstarlight.com or by calling 816-363-STAR (7827).

A STITCH IN TIME — The Lebovitz family recently took an excursion to the Kansas City Garment District Museum, located at 801 Broadway. The museum is showcasing Eugene Lebovitz’s designs from when he worked for YouthCraft. The company relocated Lebovitz and his family here from New York City in 1959. A few years after that, Fashionbilt courted Lebovitz to be that company’s head designer. For more than 20 years, his designs were deemed successful. He retired from Fashionbilt in the ’80s after suffering a heart attack and owned Abe’s Taylor Shop, known by many as “the tailor’s tailor!” Over the years Lebovitz also made and showed intricate thread sculptures, tapestries, banners — one of which hung in Jerusalem for the city’s 25th anniversary — and in the late ’70s he made a robe for Jerusalem’s chief rabbi. The Kansas City Garment District Museum is open to the public on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or for private tours by calling 913-205-8520.

TRADITION CONTINUES — Several members of the Jewish community, including Melynn Sight, Jeff Goodman, Fred Goodman and Lynn Intrater, are busily preparing for the 21st annual Star Spangled Spectacular event in Corporate Woods sponsored by the Overland Park Rotary Club. Overland Park’s July 4 fireworks tradition raises funds for local charities Marillac Center, Ozanam and the Rotary     Youth Leadership Institute.

The Star Spangled Spectacular is an old fashioned Fourth of July celebration for all ages, and includes free live concerts, food, beverage and fun. The event takes place on the Fourth of July at Corporate Woods in Overland Park and many local businesses and individuals contribute to the event. For more information about the event, to become a sponsor or to volunteer, contact Intrater at or 913-385-9996.

KANSAS SENATOR SUPPORTS ISRAEL — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) welcomed Israeli Ambassador Dr. Michael B. Oren to the U.S. Capitol June 19. During the meeting, Moran and Oren discussed a range of topics, including the recent escalation of rocket attacks from Gaza, improved anti-ballistic missile defense technology, security issues along Israel’s border with Egypt and the P5+1 talks with Iran in Moscow. They also discussed their support for continued cooperation between the United States and Israel on security issues, including cyber threats. “The deep friendship that exists between the United States and Israel is a result of our shared values,” Moran said. “The strength of that special relationship is critical at this time as Israel faces threats in Gaza, Egypt, Syria and Iran. I expressed my support to the Ambassador and pledged to stand with Israel as it confronts the challenges of our time.”

Congregation Kol Ami is giving its building back to Bank of Prairie Village. Kol Ami President Nadine Gordon said the decision was made at a special board meeting held May 6.

Gordon said the congregation has to vacate the premises by the end of June and the last Shabbat worship service will be held June 29. The official papers returning the building to the bank will be signed July 2.

The building was purchased in the summer of 2005 from Zion Lutheran Church for $1.1 million. In April The Chronicle reported that the congregation had put the building up for sale with an asking price of $1.4 million. The 16,000 square-foot building is located at 7501 Belinder Avenue in Prairie Village.

“The bank has been great to work with,” Gordon said. “Other members may not feel that way but I’ve been integrally involved with them and feel that they have bent over backwards to work with us,” Gordon said.

Officials from the Bank of Prairie Village did not answer requests for comment for this story by The Chronicle.

For the immediate future, Gordon said the congregation will hold services in members’ homes, backyards and in parks. Negotiations are taking place with All Souls Unitarian Church, located at 4501 Walnut Street in Kansas City, Mo., to rent space for Friday night services and larger events such as High Holiday services. A board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, after The Chronicle goes to press, where further decisions could be made.

For the time being, those wishing to learn where Kol Ami is conducting services may email . Arrangements are currently being made for a mailing address and an answering system. Once plans are finalized, an announcement will be made.

This decision was made a few short weeks after the congregation decided to sell the building. Gordon said maintenance costs for the building — for example the boiler was 40 years old — was more than the congregation could afford.

“Those costs have been eating us alive and the majority of the board felt that they couldn’t wait any longer. We also had some congregants who kept saying they no longer wanted to pay their dues if they had to continue to see that. They want to see that their money goes for the rabbi and for programs,” Gordon said.

Even without their building, Gordon said all regular programming at the Reform congregation, which now has 85 member units, will continue.

Rabbi Doug Alpert, who has a contract with Kol Ami through June 2013, reinforced Gordon’s comments that the congregation is still very much in business.

“While there is certainly an understanding that there are a lot of good memories that are carried with the building and this transition is a difficult one, the congregation is very excited about the future. They see real possibilities opening up,” he said.

“We’re looking at locations more in the midtown area, Brookside, the Plaza, and we’re very excited about it,” Rabbi Alpert continued.

Kol Ami also rented space in the building to three tenants — Mercy Church, a Montessori school and a daycare. Those tenants will remain in the building after Kol Ami vacates. Gordon understands that Block & Company, Inc., the real estate broker the congregation hired to sell the building, will be retained by the bank in the same capacity.

The congregation was established in 2003 and met in a variety of locations before purchasing the former church in Prairie Village. It began conducting programs in the building in the late summer of 2005.

Almost four years ago Rabbi Binyomin Gonsher, a Kollel rabbi, saw a need in the local Jewish community. He and Allan Gonsher, who happens to be his father, started Ahoovim, a group for Jewish adults with special needs to enjoy social events and to learn more about Judaism.

“Ahoovim is open to anyone 18 and older who would like to get together to not only learn about Judaism, but also to make social contacts with other young Jewish adults,” said Nan Kanter, the program’s community liaison.

The group’s name, Ahoovim, means beloved ones. Kanter helps to coordinate Ahoovim’s monthly programs along with Rabbi Elchanan Schulgasser, the Kollel rabbi who took over leadership of the program after Rabbi Gonsher moved to Florida a couple of years ago. Then they seek volunteers to help at each event.

“We wanted to address an important need in the community of young adults with special needs to connect in a positive Jewish way with other young adults,” Rabbi Schulgasser said. “They are involved in other programs, like Special Olympics, but this involves a Jewish component. We wanted it to involved Jewish identity in their peer group.”

The programs sometimes have a tie in to a Jewish holiday, like a sukkah hop for Sukkot. But when there is not a holiday, events are still held.

The events are usually held in the homes of volunteers and sometimes at the homes of relatives of the members, who are young adults in their 20s and 30s. For Purim, the group made hamantaschen at Rabbi Schulgasser’s home. But sometimes they go outside of homes, making seder plates at Paint, Glaze and Fire; or taking a nature hike.

This summer, the group hopes to hold a barbeque and a games day.

Ken Malashock has been active in the group for the past two years. His mother, Gina Malashock, says, “Every program is planned around a Jewish holiday or a Bible story. They do the blessings before they eat; all the food is kosher; and it is great exposure for Ken. He has gotten so much out of it!”

That’s exactly what Kanter and Rabbi Schulgasser would want for the 16 members on their mailing list. An average of eight to 12 people attend each event.

“Each of the participants look forward to the events that we plan,” Kanter said.

“We vary the events from month to month hoping to spark the interest in a variety of settings. The participants all enjoy learning more about their Jewish faith.”

“I think it gives them a sense of belonging,” she added.

Malashock would agree.

“Ken loves to go. This has really enhanced and continued his religious studies,” she said. “He was not able to find a situation where he could learn when he was younger. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s 10 years too early. Now there is so much more experience, as well as ideas to help him.”

“We are dedicated to doing a fun program with Jewish content,” Rabbi Schulgasser added.

Both Kanter and Rabbi Schulgasser hope that others will join the group. “I think there are other individuals in the Jewish community who would benefit from our program and enjoy the many activities that we offer,” said Kanter.

“I would recommend this program for others, 1,000 percent,” Malashock said. “I am thrilled it is here.”

Ahoovim is supported by both the Kansas City Kollel and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. Ahoovim does give information to the synagogues to be passed along to families who might be interested.

For more information about Ahoovim, contact Nan Kanter at 913-486-1881 or .

Jewish Employment Services (JES), a joint program of Jewish Family Services and Jewish Vocational Service, has a new entry point for job seekers. The effort is called JumpStart and it’s aimed at getting a smart start on the job search.

Many job seekers aren’t sure where to start when they find themselves in a job search. JumpStart is a two-hour session that gets job seekers started on the essential aspects of their job search. A career coach leads participants through exercises to think about their accomplishments and strengths in preparation for developing a resume. Participants also work on creating a 30-second networking commercial to succinctly explain what type of work they are seeking. They also begin writing a summary and accomplishment statements for creating a resume.

JumpStart sessions are done weekly and are kept small to maximize job seekers’ comfort.

After attending a JumpStart session, job seekers are assigned to a career coach for individualized career counseling. In these one-on-one meetings, the job seeker gets assistance in resume completion, cover letters, creating a LinkedIn profile, interviewing practice, networking and computer skills, job search strategies and connections to employers.

“The JumpStart session exceeded my expectations,” said job seeker Mike Shapiro. “It was very helpful. And since I’ve been working with a JES coach on my resume and cover letter I have had five interviews! My coach continues to support me in my endeavors. I know it’s because of my new resume that I’m getting results.”

“I think it was a great first step, and I am looking forward to additional help on resume and networking,” said another job seeker who recently attended a JumpStart session.

“Thank you so much for such a helpful and informative session,” said job seeker Marla Duck. “It was awesome and I think everyone took something away from this meeting.”

JES JumpStart sessions take place weekly. To work with JES on your job search, send an email to to get dates and times of upcoming sessions. Include a resume if you have one.

In addition to the JumpStart sessions, JES coaches provide job seekers with guidance and support throughout the search process.

“Looking for a job or making a career change is a stressful experience for most people,” said Gayl Reinsch, JES director. “And many times it is a result of an involuntary job loss so emotional issues like rejection and despair need to be worked through. There is usually much more involved in a job search than preparing a resume and cover letter. We try to work holistically with clients so they feel empowered by having the skills and mental outlook needed to land a job,” Reinsch said.

JES is funded by The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, the Jewish Heritage Foundation, the Lowenstein Brothers Foundation, the Morgan Family Foundation and the Sosland Foundation. For more information about the JES program, contact Reinsch at or 913-327-8278.

STANDING ROOM ONLY — Sunday night’s fundraiser for Friends of Sheffield, presenting Ed Asner as “FDR” was a smashing success by all accounts. Friends of Sheffield President Rickie Haith announced to the crowd that they turned away patrons that evening because the White Theatre was full. Even more exciting was the announcement that the group, which was incorporated in 2003 to restore honor to the burial sites at Sheffield Cemetery, reached its fundraising goal and will begin work this summer renovating the chapel so that it can once again be used for funerals and meditation. Asner was wonderful in his portrayal of FDR and he told the crowd following his performance that he was impressed by the cemetery that he visited earlier in the day and “what you are doing to take care of the cemetery is a marvelous achievement.” He also said he exults in being a Kansas Jew and in his Kansas friends and family who made him “more clever than I was supposed to be.” Rickie Haith was presented with an award that evening by the Friends of Sheffield board and the fundraising committee for her selfless dedication in making sure those who went before us are honored appropriately.

ATTENTION 1977 PILGRIMS — A reunion is in the works for members of the 1977 K.C. Youth Pilgrimage to Israel. It will be held Saturday night, Aug. 4, at the home of Jim Gerson. Organizers are still missing contact information on a few participants. If you have not received any official information regarding the reunion, or know someone who was a member of the group and you want to make sure he/she is getting the proper info, send email addresses or other contact info to Rachel Krantz at or Sandi White Fried at . The group left K.C. almost exactly 35 years ago on June 27, 1977.

A PAT ON THE BACK — We hear a lot of stories about how lazy and self-centered teens are today, but the following is just the opposite. Judy Lanes, a friend and colleague of mine here at The Chronicle, was at the Jewish Community Campus last week preparing for the Friends of Sheffield fundraiser. She needed to shlep a lot of items into the building and she asked if anyone could lend her a hand. While a lot of teenage boys chose to ignore her, Corey Minkoff stepped up to help her out. So here’s to Corey for helping out another member of the Jewish community while hanging out at the Campus. We hope others notice the fine example you are setting!

JEWS IN THE NEWS — Kansas City native Rabbi Sarah Bassin was recently featured in a report aired on Southern California Public Radio. The Chronicle reported last year that she was ordained by the Reform movement and is executive director of NewGrounds|A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change in Los Angeles. As her position might suggest, she believes in the need for greater Jewish and Muslim dialogue. The story was done by Ruxandra Guidi on June 8 and it’s called “Jewish temple and mosque collaboration seeks to become a national interfaith model.” The entire story has been posted on the Muslim News Digest website, www.muslimnewsdigest.com. Look for it under the June 15 date.

JEWS IN THE NEWS PART II — The Topeka Capital Journal featured Adam Karol in its Sunday, June 17, edition. Adam grew up in Topeka and is the son of Rabbi Larry Karol, a K.C. native who served as the rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom for many years. Adam lives in New York now, works full-time for the Union for Reform Judaism, and is part of the singing duo Adam Karol and the Hotness. They specialize in old-school and rhythm-and-blues music. You can read the whole story online at cjonline.com. The headline is “Topeka natives making mark in New York.”

JOKE OF THE WEEK — Every week I read the congregation and organization’s various email blasts. Here’s another joke of the week, borrowed with permission from the Torah Learning Center’s weekly email:

A Jewish man calls his mother in Florida. “Mom, how are you?”

“Not too good,” says the mother. “I’ve been very weak.”

The son says, “Why are you so weak?”

She says, “Because, I haven’t eaten in 38 days.”

“Mama,” the man says, “that’s terrible! Why haven’t you eaten in 38 days?”

The mother answers, “Because I didn’t want my mouth to be filled with food if you should call.”

Rabbi Alan Londy believes formal beginnings are important, especially as a way to establish the sacredness of a relationship. His sacred relationship with The New Reform Temple will officially begin Friday night, June 22, when he is installed as the congregation’s rabbi at worship services. The celebration weekend will continue Saturday night at Oakwood Country Club.

On March 2 the congregation approved the board’s recommendation to offer Rabbi Londy a three-year contract as its permanent rabbi. Rabbi Londy began serving the Reform congregation, which now has 225 member units, on an interim basis on July 1, 2011.

Rabbi Londy said he looks at the interim year as exactly that. So while he’s been at NRT almost a year, his installation signals a new beginning for him and the congregation.

Ordained by the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1983, Rabbi Londy, 55, said many things originally drew him to the rabbinate.

“At that moment in my life I found that studying Judaism and living Judaism was the most compelling thing I could possibly think of doing,” he said. “You go to rabbinical school with certain ideas and aspirations and at the end of the process you have other expectations and aspirations. I just couldn’t think of anything that would be more rewarding to do.”

Rabbi Londy believes a rabbi is most importantly a teacher. Like many others in his profession, he also enjoys public service and building relationships with people. His passion is the survival of the Jewish people.

“I feel a real responsibility as a Jew to make sure that the Jewish people continue and survive. I don’t know exactly where the depth of that commitment comes from, but probably from my childhood and the influences growing up. It matters to me deeply that the Jewish people and Jewish religion continue,” he said.

Growing up, the rabbi attended a classical Reform congregation, becoming both a Bar Mitzvah and confirmand at Congregation Berith Sholom in Troy, N.Y. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell in Near-Eastern studies. He also holds a Doctor of Ministry in pastoral counseling from Hebrew Union College in New York City.

As he has grown and evolved as a rabbi over the years, he notes that NRT, as an institution, has evolved as well. Some of that is visible to the Jewish community by the fact that Rabbi Londy has been photographed at NRT wearing a tallis and yarmulke. He has also instituted a Torah study class, which he said is popular with both congregants and other members of the Jewish community.

“The New Reform Temple is clearly the most liberal of the Reform congregations in the community. And the founders had a very clear vision of what they wanted. But they also recognize, not that they want to move away from their founding philosophy, that there needs to be a greater openness,” he said.

Rabbi Londy said he has told the congregation it needs to be inclusive of both sides.

“What I like about The New Reform Temple is that it’s a big tent. There are people who are very committed to a very strict interpretation of the classical Reform, but even that is not the case, because the congregation has never really been classical Reform. People here have always been pro-Zionist and many other things. Let’s say that is the founding vision but even the founders recognize that we need to hold on to that and yet we need to evolve. As I explained to them about wearing a yarmulke and the tallit, it’s not a statement to them about what I’m asking them to do or want to do. It’s a statement about what I feel comfortable with. I think there is agreement that we need to be a tolerant and inclusive place,” he said.

Rabbi Londy said one of the reasons he chose to stay on with NRT following the interim period is the dedication of its founders. The congregation was formed in 1967 and many of the founders are still very involved with the congregation.

“I believe that the founders in the congregation understand I am very respectful of the founding vision. But of course every rabbi puts their own style or flavor of Judaism to the congregation. So I think the New Reform Temple is obviously the most liberal in the community and yet it is exploring what it is and what it wants to be.

“I think perhaps you could say at this time in the New Reform history, there is an openness and that we want the congregation to thrive and to grow,” he continued.

For the next three years, Rabbi Londy would like to concentrate on NRT’s educational agenda.

“The Reform concept of lifelong learning, which is really the educational philosophy of the congregation, is something that I see as essential. We need to offer things that will make our members more aware Jewishly to really be a center of Jewish wisdom and knowledge,” he said.

As what he calls “one of the best kept secrets” in the area, Rabbi Londy would like re-introduce NRT to the rest of the community.

“I don’t think it’s the same congregation that it was 20 years ago,” he said.

He would also like to continue to build a sense of harmony within the congregation.

“We have some incredible people in the congregation and it’s important for me to engage them so that they can be more actively involved in the congregation,” he said.

The rabbi believes one of NRT’s strengths is its commitment to social action.

“I’m very proud of the evolution of the social action committee this past year. I want the New Reform Temple to be committed to being part of the community and helping the community around us to become stronger. Kansas City has challenges and members of our congregation want our congregation to be involved in strengthening the community,” he said.

As with any congregation today, Rabbi Londy said NRT faces challenges.

“We have a unique niche. We are geographically separate. I think we recognize the stronger we are programmatically, in terms of our worship life, what we do publicly in the community, we’ll get our fair share of members,” he said.

“But congregational life today is very challenging. There is less formal affiliation everywhere. One of the things that we are discovering, especially among 20- and 30-year-olds, is that they are not joiners … so the question in a congregational model based on joining is how do you engage people whose instinct is not to join? That’s our dilemma and that’s everyone’s dilemma.”

NRT’s installation celebration

Rabbi Alan Londy will be installed as the rabbi at The New Reform Temple at Shabbat worship services at 8 p.m. Friday, June 22. The installation ceremony will be conducted by Rabbi Londy’s friend and former colleague, Rabbi Floyd Herman, rabbi emeritus of Har Sinai Congregation near Baltimore. The community is invited to attend and a special Kiddush and Oneg Shabbat will follow worship.

On Saturday morning, June 23, Torah study will be led by Rabbis Londy and Herman beginning at 9 a.m.
Music for the weekend, which includes an installation celebration on Saturday, June 23, at Oakwood Country Club, will be provided by Sheera Ben-David, one of the soloists at Temple Israel of the City of New York. A former colleague of Rabbi Londy’s in New York, Ben-David will perform her cabaret show at Saturday evening’s event.

For more information, call The New Reform Temple at 816-523-7809.

Rabbi Dani Rockoff has been trying to get Rabbi Kenneth Brander to visit Kansas City for three years, since the inception of the Yeshiva University Kansas City Summer Experience internship program began. This year, with two of Rabbi Brander’s children in the program — son Tuvia, leading the group for the third time, and daughter Tehilla as a participant — Rabbi Brander unhesitatingly agreed.

Rabbi Brander will highlight this last Shabbat of the interns’ four-week stay in the Greater Kansas City Jewish community, serving as a scholar-in-residence for Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner. Only 10 interns were accepted this year from an applicant pool of 56, said Tuvia Brander, a rabbinical student at the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of YU, who serves as the 11th member of the group and serves as program director and rabbinic intern at BIAV.

“It is Rabbi Brander’s vision and ongoing support that made this program into the successful model into which it has grown. Other cities, such as Houston, Chicago and South Bend, have created similar models,” said Rabbi Rockoff, the spiritual leader of the modern Orthodox synagogue. “As we look to building our community, there is no greater voice to learn from than that of Rabbi Brander.”

Hosting Rabbi Brander is quite a coup, added Rabbi Rockoff. Because Rabbi Brander’s position takes him away so often from his family and community in Teaneck, N.J., he normally does not accept many speaking engagements. But the success of the K.C. internship program not only gives him a chance to see it in action but will also help him build the growing repertoire of programs and initiatives of YU’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF), which he leads.

“Obviously the internships are critically important. One aspect to the value of attending Yeshiva University is our ability to help our undergraduates with their professional growth by giving them unique internships and research opportunities in companies and facilities around North America,” Rabbi Brander noted. “Furthermore, the Torah learning with community members in the evening, after their internships, models the lifestyle we wish for them to emulate — engagement in society through work and recognizing their responsibility to be leaders in the Jewish communities they reside in.”

Named Dean, Rabbi Brander officially launched the CJF in 2005. According to YU’s website, its goal is to help “YU’s efforts to shape and effectively impact Jewish life and the Jewish future. Collaborating with YU colleges, schools and affiliates, CJF helps to build programs and initiatives, which actively develop future Jewish lay and professional leadership.”

Prior to accepting the position, Rabbi Brander led Florida’s Boca Raton Synagogue. He was also the founding dean of the Boca Raton Community Kollel as well as founder of the Weinbaum Yeshiva High School of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. During his 14 years of service there, he oversaw its explosive growth from 60 families to some 600 families. Under his leadership, the Hahn Judaic Campus was built to include the Boca Raton Community Mikvah, a sanctuary, library, social hall, a youth and senior center and a yeshiva high school.

“More than any specific topics, I look forward to visiting with the community, spending some time with Rabbi Rockoff and the leadership, learning from your wonderful work and seeing if I can be helpful in anyway,” explained Rabbi Brander. “I will be spending time with the group of YU students. I want to help them process and realize the wonderful opportunities that there are for young people to live in communities like K.C.,” added Rabbi Brander, who will be accompanied by his wife, Ruchie, and 7-year-old son, Yitzhak. Two other sons, Yoni and Yosef, are at Camp Stone in Sugar Grove, Penn.

The interns — five men and five women who hail from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio and Michigan — are busy interning at such diverse businesses and non-profits as Blue Star Benefits, the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Family Service, the Urban League, as well as shadowing health professionals from eye surgeons to geneticists. They major in academic areas from marketing, math, art history, Judaic studies and political science to physics, English lit, biology and Jewish education. Two have already graduated YU and will begin working in their fields this summer; the rest will be entering their junior or senior year at Stern College for Women or Yeshiva University.

“I saw an opportunity to really learn from a unique community and combine that with real work experience,” said Samantha Feldman, a recent graduate from Lancaster, Penn. She’s been working in the development department at the Urban League, helping to design and organize some upcoming fundraisers. “Every day is another day of meeting fantastic people and learning new things,” she added.

Noted Alan Avitan of Cleveland, who is interning at Blue Star Benefits: “We get to be integrated in a totally new Jewish community other than our own and are given the opportunity to meet and learn with completely amazing people. We also go on trips that really show us all that Kansas has to offer.”

Both agree that without the YU KC Summer Experience they probably would not have had the opportunity to work at such high level jobs, nor would they have been able to explore what communities like Kansas City have to offer. Credit goes to Margie Robinow, finance vice president of BIAV, who raised the funds needed to support the program.

“We want to grow Kansas City Jewishly,” said Robinow. “These are very bright young people — and we have jobs here. Let’s teach the rest of the world that Kansas City is a great place to live — and a great place to live Jewish.”

“The Mystical Identity of Shabbat” will be the topic of Rabbi Brander’s d’var Torah at 9:45 p.m. this Friday evening, June 15, at the Robinow home. During Shabbat services on Saturday at BIAV, he will discuss “The Future of Orthodoxy: Challenges and Opportunities.” Rabbi Brander will conclude with “Beit Ha’Mikdash, Beit Ha’Sefer and Mikdash Ma’at: Exploring the Contemporary Role of a Synagogue and School” at 6:45 p.m. Saturday evening, prior to Mincha.

Rabbi Brander will be the second speaker in the last month to come to BIAV to discuss the future of the Jewish community. Dr. Steve Savitsky, chairman of the board for the Orthodox Union, addressed the congregation about “Major Issues that Face the Jewish Family in the 21st Century.”

“Mr. Savitsky has long championed what he terms ‘Emerging Communities,’ something he coined to change the perspective of those living in large metropolitan areas,” said Rabbi Rockoff. “For years he has seen that the future of the Jewish community cannot be sustained only in New York, LA, or Chicago. There need to be thriving communities everywhere. His visit is a sign of his support of communities such as ours to join the growing network of cities growing into viable options for Orthodox families around the country.”

“This YU summer experience allows our students to see larger the Jewish community and that there is a wonderful quality Jewish life past the New Jersey Turnpike,” added Rabbi Brander.

The summer interns  have definitely been able to experience life outside a large Orthodox community.

“Between learning from the staff and services of Jewish Family Service to learning with and from the people of BIAV, I have seen what it means to live a life dedicated to one’s professional life as well as dedicated and passionate about one’s community,” said intern Miriam Barth of Detroit.

Tehilla Brander, a junior at Stern, majoring in biology, added, “The program seemed like the perfect balance of what I would like to do in my adult life — mainly, having the balance between a career while also being involved in the community.”

For more information about the YU KC Summer Experience or Rabbi Brander’s visit here, call Congregation BIAV at 913-341-2444.

Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. was fortunate to have a mentor, and a famous Kansas City businessman at that. That mentor was Ewing Marion Kauffman, affectionately known as Mr. K, the founder of Marion Laboratories and owner of the Kansas City Royals.

Helzberg and Mr. K maintained a mentoring relationship for 23 years, until he passed away almost 20 years ago. One day, Helzberg thanked Mr. K for his help and support and Mr. K replied, “That’s okay, you’ll help someone someday.”

Indeed he has. In the preface of his new book, “Entrepreneurs + Mentors = Success: 22 Convincing Stories” (Rockhill Books, 2012, written along with Deborah Shouse), Helzberg writes that Mr. K’s comment certainly helped inspire the creation of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (HEMP). That program, in turn, spurred the publication of this book.

“The purpose of this book,” he writes” is to encourage entrepreneurs (who are open to mentoring) to select a mentor and also become a part of a networking group. It may also encourage the startup of entrepreneurial mentoring programs.”

Helzberg owned and operated Helzberg Diamonds, working in the family business for 39 years before selling it to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 1995. That same year he founded HEMP. HEMP matches seasoned, successful entrepreneur mentors with less-experienced entrepreneur mentees. HEMP is dedicated to strengthening entrepreneurial leaders through excellence in mentoring.

The book includes the stories of 22 of Helzberg-described HEMP heroes. The mentee stories show exactly what the mentees, and their businesses, gained from the HEMP program. In one case, the mentee-mentor relationship went so well (after a somewhat rocky start), the couple married after the official HEMP relationship ended.

“When we started this program someone said we should document it. We put these stories in a book to show people how it works,” Helzberg said.

Readers will recognize the names of many members of the Jewish community mentioned in the book. At least two Jewish mentees, Joe Lieberman and Missy Love, have their stories featured.

Helzberg is such a believer in the mentoring process that he wrote the book simply to “spread the gospel of mentoring” and promote mentor programs in general.

“I’m not trying to make money,” he said. “The real deal is promoting networking and peer mentoring.”

The book will sell for $14.95 and will be available at a variety of book outlets. He said an online version will sell for 99 cents. Those who purchase the hard copy of the book will also get a free version of the ebook. Proceeds from the book will benefit HEMP.

Helzberg also hopes the book will be used at colleges that have entrepreneurship programs.

“The goal of the book is to convince people that mentors can help and want to help,” said Helzberg, who has also written “What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company,” and co-authored “I Am Loved,” with his wife, Shirley Bush Helzberg.

Over the years he’s learned that mentors want to help others and love and enjoy doing it.

“You’ll read how these mentors and HEMP have saved businesses. It’s created employment,” Helzberg said.

The HEMP program, Helzberg reports, is full. He said he’s been a “stick in the mud” about expanding the program because he would like it to stay workable. It’s grown over the years to include about 160 people now.

“Originally we said it was a three-year program. Then we found that we couldn’t get rid of the alumni. They wouldn’t leave. So we have fellows. They participate, they come to meetings, they contribute financially. It’s been a great experience for me,” he said.

Helzberg said through HEMP he’s met a lot of people he never would have known.

“I was in one business for 39 years, now I would say I’m in 40 businesses,” he said.
Surprisingly, he said he doesn’t believe he himself is a good mentor.

“I’m a mentee. I don’t even volunteer to be a mentor anymore. This started not because I’m a mentor but because I’m a mentee,” he said.

While he’s not an official mentor, Helzberg is always available to speak to any mentee who has a challenge.

“I love being that kind of a mentor,” he said.

Another thing he enjoys about his involvement with HEMP is attending small lunches with mentees known as Lunch with the Big Guy.

“I was the smallest kid in class all my life but now I’m the Big Guy,” said Helzberg, who is taking a sabbatical this year from teaching at Rockhurst University.

Because of a “code of confidentiality” that goes hand-in-hand with the Lunch with the Big Guy program, he said the attendees have really learned a lot about each other.

“We agree nothing goes out of the room without permission, so the HEMPers really open up. Basically there’s been no breach. These lunches are six to eight people …. We’ve heard some amazing stories, good and bad,” he recalled.

He often shares with others what he believes is the best advice he received from Mr. K.

“Most people tell you pay as little as possible. I would go to (Mr. K) and actually talk about payroll and we would enjoy raising salaries. That’s not the attitude of most business people. It made me think I wasn’t an idiot. He had this attitude of sharing and I think that was really dramatic for me. He said ‘share the wealth and enjoy doing it,’ ” Helzberg said.

KC Library book discussion features Helzberg, Kemper

No matter what the business problem, there’s usually someone who’s dealt with it before.

Over the last 17 years that philosophy has made a rousing success of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program, which pairs up-and-coming men and women of business with veterans willing to share a lifetime of knowledge and insights.

Author and businessman Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. and Library Director Crosby Kemper III will hold a public conversation with some of the local entrepreneurs profiled in Helzberg’s new book “Entrepreneurs + Mentors = Success: 22 Convincing Stories,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at the Kansas City Public Library, 14 W. 10th Street.

Admission is free. The event will be preceded by a 6 p.m. reception. RSVP online at kclibrary.org or call 816-701-3407.