May 2018 Vol. 52, No. 8

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1 May 2018 Vol. 52, No. 8 Shavuot is the Jewish Festival for the celebration of Matan Torah, the giving of Torah by revelation at Sinai. We are responsible for Kabbalat Torah, receiving Torah and putting it into action in our daily lives. Join with us as we observe: 3 rd Annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot: A Special Night of Saturday, May 19 Traditionally, Jews begin the festival by studying topics of Torah on Erev Shavuot in a format known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a gathering to study and learn into the night. 6:00 p.m. Erev Shavuot Service 6:30 p.m. Italian Dairy Supper 7:00 p.m. Study Session: Are the Ten Commandments Still Relevant 7:30 p.m. Cheesecake The entire evening including the meal is free of charge. However, reservations are required by Tuesday, May 15 in order to attend the dinner. Please contact the NRT office to RSVP. Shavuot Service and Confirmation Our entire congregation is invited to attend our annual Confirmation Ceremony on Sunday, May 20 at 10:00 a.m. The New Reform Temple was built on the notion that Confirmation, the celebration of 11 years of Jewish education, was to be a high point in the religious life of the synagogue. Five outstanding young people will each share with the congregation a brief reflection on important topics facing the Jewish community. Let us support these fine young people by our presence. ALICE ELIZABETH ERDNER daughter of Julie & Paul Erdner JONATHAN ALEK GREENWALD son of Lisa & Brian Greenwald SAMANTHA ROSE MASISAK daughter of Cheryl & Tony Masisak ADDISON OSCAR PHINNEY SACHS son of Julana & Adam Sachs DAVID ZANDER SWARTZMAN son of Evelina & Steven Swartzman

2 Ann L. Darke President Tom Barnett First Vice President Ann K. Baum Second Vice President Leslie Mark Secretary Tom Isenberg Treasurer THE NEW REFORM TEMPLE 7100 Main Street at Gregory Kansas City, Missouri Phone: Fax: Worship Hours Rabbi Alan Londy, D. Min. Board of Directors Daniel Fromm Michael Grossman Past Presidents Arthur L. Stern Life Director Irwin E. Blond Robert N. Epsten Bradley Freilich, M.D. Barb Kovacs Todd Lieberman Barbara MacArthur Sue McCord-Belzer Theodore Prince John Rubenstein Sarah Sosland Steven R. Unterman, M.D. May :00 p.m. May :00 a.m. May :00 p.m. May :00 a.m. May :00 p.m. May :00 a.m. May :00 p.m. Tikkun Leil Shavuot & Dinner May :00 a.m. Shavuot Service & Confirmation May :00 p.m. May :00 a.m. Our Mission Statement The New Reform Temple is a dynamic congregation that embraces a progressive and inclusive vision of Reform Judaism. While remaining deeply connected to our roots, we create opportunities for spiritual enrichment, continuing Jewish education and community engagement. We thrive on thoughtful respect for diversity of expression. Sixth Annual Reel Judaism... Explore the Modern Jewish Experience in Film Join other members of the congregation in this wonderful night at the movies. All movies are shown at the Sulgrave Condominium Screening Room at 121 West 48th Street, KCMO and begin at 7:00 p.m. The series is free. Non-members are welcome. Reservations are required, please call the NRT office at to RSVP. Do ug h Thursday, May 10, 7pm. Length: 94 minutes An old Jewish baker takes on a young Muslim apprentice to save his failing kosher bakery. When his apprentice s marijuana stash accidently falls in the mixing dough, the challah starts flying off the shelves! Dough is a warmhearted and humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places. Welcome New NRT Members! Belinda Kocen & Elliott Lillard

3 Your Rabbi Needs You by Rabbi Alan D. Londy The traditional role of the rabbi as it emerged 2000 years ago in ancient Palestine was the role of scholar. The key role of the rabbi was to study the sacred texts of Judaism, to become an expert in Jewish law and to guide people in the study of the law. I believe that this role is still extremely important. The foundation of my rabbinic education was the study of ancient Jewish texts so that I could be able to interpret them and to teach them. This is the reason that I chose to study 5 years in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Yet, the curriculum was much more than Jewish law. Practical Rabbinics were also important. We had courses in education, life-cycle events, homiletics and pastoral counseling. When I entered the rabbinate and started my first job as an assistant rabbi in Baltimore, Maryland, I discovered that the role of the rabbi was more complicated than I had been taught. Little did I know the pressure of creating a new sermon every week. I was personally working with 75 Bar/Bat Mitzvah students every year. Programing was happening all the time which I needed to plan and execute. I was attending the daily minyan and offering words of Torah at those daily services. But, I quickly learned that pastoral care and counseling was the most rewarding aspect of my work. I loved doing it but I quickly realized that I needed more training. When I moved to the New York Metropolitan area, I spent 5 years working on my Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral counseling. Over the past 7 years in Kansas City, I have been enriching my professional skills through acquiring Clinical Pastoral Education units. I have complete three and I intend to finish my fourth by next year. Beyond being a perpetual student who realizes that there is a constant need for continuing learning, I have acquired this extra education so I can use these skills in the congregation. Pastoral care and counseling are extremely important to my rabbinate. If I can help, comfort, or counsel people, I truly feel that I am doing God s work. But, I need your help. I know that there are people in our congregation who are shut- in or live in care facilities of various sorts. I want to make sure that I know who they are and where they are so that I can visit them on a regular basis. This part of the rabbinate is extremely important to me. I am here to help, to support, to counsel and to listen. Don t think that because I am the rabbi that I know things. I am not clairvoyant. I don t know if important things are happening in our congregational families lives unless I am told. Please tell me who you think would like a visit from the rabbi. Call Chris in the office or call me directly. Our congregation seeks to be a caring congregation where people are intimately connected with each other. This connection is central to becoming a holy and vibrant community. Again, let me know when you need me. Let me know who you think would benefit from a rabbinic visit. When you do this, you are helping me to become the rabbi that I want to be. We are all in this together. Let us help each us nurture a culture of caring within our Temple. Spiritual Checkup Make an appointment for a Spiritual Checkup with Rabbi Londy. The rabbi invites each member of the congregation to come to see him privately for a yearly spiritual checkup. This checkup is a low-key opportunity to reflect upon various dimensions of your life. Rabbi Londy wrote his doctoral thesis on this subject and has carried out these checkups for a variety of people in the congregations that he has served. If you have any interest in finding out more about the checkup, contact Rabbi Londy at the temple: or by at alanlondy@gmail.com DVD Movie Drive Have any DVD s at home that you don t watch anymore? Place them in the bin located in the Temple s front lobby so that they may be donated to Operation Breakthrough, Youth Ambassadors, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This DVD drive is organized by Visualize KC, a foundation which aims to introduce underprivileged kids to the film industry by hosting movie nights and facilitation discussion.

4 Principal s Corner Updates from the Marion and Henry Bloch Religious School Happy spring from the Marion and Henry Bloch Religious School! Despite it snowing the past few Sundays, it is in fact spring. We are closing in on the final few weeks of the school year, but we are not slowing down. The past couple of Sundays have included some exciting activities, events, and special guests. On April 8 th, the confirmation class and middle school students had a guest, Marlene Katz, who dressed as and impersonated Anne Frank. It was an informative presentation and led to an interesting and thoughtful discussion amongst the students. Students in all grades learned about Israel in preparation for Yom Ha atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. We even had the pleasure of face-timing with Rabbi Londy s daughter in Israel during our end of day service. She told us all about what it s like to celebrate the holiday in Israel. At the end of the day, a few students beautifully sang the Hatikvah for the rest of the school, with Brendan s lovely accompaniment on the guitar. Finally, please mark your calendars for Sunday, May 13 th. This will be our last day of Sunday School and it is Mother s Day, so we plan to celebrate both with a family pancake breakfast! We are so excited to end the year with a bang, honoring our amazing mothers, and eating lots of pancakes. The Torah Tots are invited to attend for their final session of the year. We look forward to the entire school being together for the last time until September. See you there! All the best, Becky Poskin

5 We Gratefully Acknowledge the Following Contributions to The New Reform Temple To the Marion & Henry Bloch Religious School Henry Bloch To the Music Fund To the Rabbi s Discretionary Fund David Goodman To the Shabbat Flowers Irv Belzer & Sue McCord-Belzer Steve & Suzy Block Howard & Judith Boasberg Arnold Brown Bibie Chronwall Chris Crenner & Kathy Levy Edward Kander Adele Levi Allen & Debra Parmet Bob & Caro Rock Lester & Myra Siegel Arthur & Barbara Stern Paul & Liz Uhlmann, III Steven Unterman & Ellen Murphy Steve Weneck To the Temple Kenny & Ann Baum Deedee King Barb Kovacs In Memory of John Goodman Jeff & Stevi Brick Jeff & Carole Rosen Rick & Paula Shteamer Craig & Carol Wilson In Memory of Dorothy Schoenfeld Margaret Schoenfeld In Honor of Beth Thompson s Birthday Andrew Starr To the Tree of Life To the Yahrzeit Memorial In Memoriam The Temple extends sincere sympathy to the bereaved family and friends of John Goodman 04 John & Ann Brendle 08 David & Mara Colbert 18 Terry & Lynn Coleman 18 Tom & Ann Isenberg 01 Lynn Barnett 01 Sarah Epsten 02 Grant Auer 02 John Starr 03 Keith Weisz 04 Robert Epsten 05 Lynn Poskin 05 Sheila Wien 06 Heather Bortnick 06 Beatrix Colbert 06 Cissy Copilevitz 06 Jessica Stamey 07 Lucy Arneson 07 Carol Barnett 07 Jaden Hill 07 Morton Sosland 08 Bert Berkley 08 Mark Cohen 08 Aliyah Racette 09 Jason Brendle 11 Lisa Glassman 11 Adam MacArthur 12 Jeff Rosen 13 Barbara Stern May Anniversaries 20 Rick & Barbara MacArthur 22 Tom & Mary Bloch 24 Mark & Gaye Cohen 28 Jon & Meredith Angrist 29 Keith & Heidi Durwood May Birthdays 14 Dan Dubrava 15 Ethan Angrist 16 Nathan Barewin 16 Suzanne Block 16 Steve Colley 16 Estelle Sosland 16 Liz Uhlmann 17 Barbara Brown 17 Jacob Spertus 18 Glenn Haynes 18 Hannah Smith 21 Mark Brennan 31 Irv & Sharyn Blond 31 Jim & Joyce Hess 31 Adam & Julana Sachs 31 Fred & Cathy Seligson 21 Josh Wilson 22 Beth O'Bryan 22 Cecilia Platt 22 Mary Jo Ward 23 Wayne Auer 24 Doloris Benjamin 24 Judith Boasberg 24 Shelley Copaken 24 Lester Siegel 25 Sara Honeck 25 Arlene Rubenstein 26 Mark Baum

6 YAHRZEITS The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing. May 4 Katherine Alpert Bernard M. Belzer Roy Darke Rose Epstein Florence Fels David Hershfield Walter Hiersteiner Merwin Reisler Brent Edward Roberts Leon Joseph Rosenberg Henry H. Schoenfeld Joseph Smith Etta Snower Richard V. Stern Barbara J. Winkler May 11 Dorothy B. Benjamin William L. Berlau Bernard H. Brown Sam Brown Byron Cohen Walter J. Cole Richard L. Epstein Bert W. Epstein Sonia Golad Stuart Levinson Helen Poisner William A. Sight Eleanor Slosburg Melvin Spitcaufsky Frank Strauss May 18 Ben Bergson Eugene D. Brown Bernard Burdman Constance Weill Emery Evelyn R. Freilich Margaret Esther Jacob Louis Manko Dorothy O. Mier Samuel A. Montague Dorothy Haase Newburger Dan T. Rosen Harriette H. Silberman Adele Pollock Vogel May 25 Irvin D. Atlas Sheldon Braude Ethel Firestone William M. Fredkin Erich Friedberger Taylor Haydu Albert J. Holzmark Milton Michael Kohn Bert J. Sanditz Irwin Shifrin