Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka recently celebrated Rabbi Debbie Stiel’s 10th anniversary as the congregation’s rabbi. The honor of lighting the candles and saying Kiddush at the celebration went to the Stiel family — sons Jonah (left) and Micah (third from left), husband Steve and Rabbi Stiel.
GRATITUDE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City held its 83rd annual meeting and what it characterized as its first annual gathering last week.
Pella Fingersh has chaired or co-chaired numerous events in the Jewish community over the years including Village Shalom’s Ages of Excellence Celebration in 2013. Photographed at the event are James Klein (from left), Ages of Excellence co-chairperson; Keith and Vicki Novorr; featured speaker Bob Woodward; Fingersh; and Wanda and Steve Wilkinson.
Fingersh to be honored at International Lion of Judah Conference
The epitome of strength, fortitude and generosity, Pella Fingersh has long served as a beacon of hope and perseverance for the Jewish community in Kansas City.
Rachel Hall’s collection of interlinked short stories resembles a glittering pile of tiny mosaic tesserae. The stories initially appear to be only tangentially related. Then the reader has an “aha moment” when the relationships become clear and a big picture emerges. “Heirlooms” chronicles the lives of a Jewish family from 1937 in France to the present day in the United States. Members of the family suffer greatly during World War II. Most, but not all of them, survive.
Dr. Jonathan Jacobs recently learned about the plight of Syrian and Iraqi refugees first hand while he volunteered in a refugee camp near Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. When he wasn’t taking care of patients, he spent some time interacting with children.
The plight of Syrian refugees has been in the news a lot lately. It’s a hot topic, as noted in The Chronicle’s opinion pages, as to whether or not the United States should welcome them into our country with open arms.
Lou Ramsey (front row, from left), Gary Swanson, Larry Gordon, Mike Katzman, Marv Korn and Marc Birnbaum; and (back row) Sheldon Turetsky, at the VA’s Eisenhower Domiciliary in Leavenworth in December 2015.
While members of the Jewish community are starting to think about the upcoming High Holidays, members of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America MO-KAN Post 605 are already thinking of the traditional winter holidays. Christmas to be exact. That’s because they have already begun working on the post’s annual Holiday Gifts for Vets project.
Jewish Federation president and CEO Dr. Helene Lotman will speak at annual gathering on Sept. 8.
There couldn’t be a more appropriate theme to the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s annual gathering than “gratitude.” As Jewish Federation moves through a transition in leadership, welcoming new President & CEO Dr. Helene Lotman and saying goodbye to longtime Jewish Federation President & CEO Todd Stettner, it is an appropriate time to thank all those who have made Jewish Federation into a strong community organization, while also looking into the future at what can be.
Journalist Eli Rosenberg may have left the Midwest for now, but he’s still getting a taste of some Midwestern weather! Here he is last week reporting about a tornado that hit a Boston suburb.
UPDATE — Last year Jewish Life magazine featured Eli Rosenberg, a reporter on KMBC-TV 9. In mid-July he left his hometown television station and moved to Boston, where he’s reporting for New England Cable News, an NBC-owned regional cable network based there. Starting Jan. 1st, he’ll be joining the new NBC Boston as a reporter.
