November 2015
The Reform Jews of Simferopol,
Crimea Need NRT’s Support
Rabbi Alan Londy
Kol Yisrael Aravin Zeh be Zeh ! All Jews are
responsible of each other. From Abraham’s first
encounter with God, it was understood that the
Jews would be a people, spread throughout the
world, to teach ethical monotheism. In order for
Jews to survive as a people, it was also clear that
a strong bond of inter-connection, concern, and
solidarity must exist among any people. Jewish
history teaches us that some Jewish
communities have thrived in the Diaspora and
others have been persecuted and repressed. Our
Jewish way of viewing the world obliges us,
who live in freedom and prosperity, to be
concerned for Jews and Jewish communities
wherever they are and whatever they need.
Today, World
Jewry is united
in its concern
for the safety
and prosperity
of the State of
Israel where the
majority of
Jews live today.
Over the course of its existence, Jews from all
over the world…. Russia, Poland, Germany,
Greece, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia…. have
been absorbed by the State of Israel in order to
create an amazing mosaic of Jewish life, culture,
and ethnicity.
Of course, many Jewish communities in the
Diaspora continue to thrive. Strong Jewish
communities exists in Canada, the United
States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
Vol. 50, No. 3
Germany, France, Australia, and Argentina. The
existence of both diaspora Jewish communities
and Israeli Jewish communities creates a
dynamism among the Jewish people.
However, there are Jewish communities in
world that are threatened. I am an active
participant in the Rabbinic Cabinet of the World
Union of Progressive Judaism. This
organization unites all Reform and Progressive
Jewish communities in the world. All Reform
synagogues are members of this international
organization. The New Reform Temple and I
have been called upon to assist a struggling
Jewish community in the Ukraine.
Simferopol is
in Crimea, not
far from
Sebastopol.
The Jewish
population
grew in the
19th century,
and today
about ¼ of the 50,000 residents are Jewish.
They have endured waves of anti-Semitism. Ner
Tamid is a Reform synagogue in Simferopol
struggling to survive. Their rabbi needed to
depart the community because of the Russian
invasion and the ensuing violence. One
community worker Kira Grublite came to
Simfiropol and is now working as a full-time
community worker. Since Kira started in her
position as community worker, the number of
youth in the community increased. They hold
regular Shabbat and Havdallah services and
celebrate all Jewish holidays and memorable
dates of the Jewish people.
Continued on page 2
THE NEW REFORM TEMPLE
7100 Main Street at Gregory
Kansas City, Missouri 64114
Phone: 816-523-7809 Fax: 816-523-2454
E-Mail: [email protected]
Rabbi Alan Londy, D. Min.
Board of Directors
Daniel Fromm
President
Irwin E. Blond
Michael Braude
Robert N. Epsten
Bradley Freilich, M.D.
Donna Holmes
Tom Isenberg
Leslie Mark
Edward Porter
Theodore Prince
Diane Robinson
Beth G. Thompson
Steven R. Unterman, M.D.
Craig V. Wilson
Ann L. Darke
First Vice President
Ann K. Baum
Second Vice President
Bill Wien
Secretary
Howard Barewin
Treasurer
Michael Grossman
Past President
Arthur L. Stern Paul Uhlmann, Jr.
Life Directors
Worship Hours
November 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m.
November 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m.
November 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m.
November 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m.
NRT Book Club
The next NRT Book Club will be
held on November 11 at 7:00 pm
at the home of Ellen Murphy and
Steve Unterman.
Meet with other congregants for
an evening of thought provoking
conversation, friendship and fun
to discuss the book The Jew
Store, by Stella Suberman. Space
is limited, so please RSVP to the
Temple office by November 9.
The Reform Jews of Simferopol,
Crimea Need NRT’s Support
continued from page 1
The synagogue building "Ner Tamid" was returned
to the Progressive religious community in
Simferopol in 2000. With the support of WUPJ, the
congregation was able to have a number of
renovations done on the synagogue facade, prayer
hall, and have telephones installed. “Ner Tamid"
currently has between 20- 100 members. The
synagogue has a community library, reading room,
"Netzer" youth center, and a women's club. The
congregation also organizes meetings with famous
people in Crimea, and hosts guests from other
Crimean communities and abroad.
Rabbi Danny Friedlander, the president of the
World Union of Progressive Judaism, asked me to
raise $15,000 to support this community. These
funds will be used directly to support the
community worker who is sustaining this
synagogue.
A devoted member of our congregation who wants
to remain anonymous has raised $7500 for this
project from a group of our members. The World
Union of Progressive Judaism and our congregation
have made an application to the Jewish Federation
of Greater Kansas City for the other $7500 to
support this project. There is no certainty that we
will receive these funds. In any case, we must fulfill
our obligation to this community. We cannot let this
struggling Jewish community down. If you would
like to contribute to this vital project, you can send
funds earmarked for this project to the Rabbi's
Discretionary Fund. We Jews are responsible for
each other. Let us show that, at The New Reform
Temple, we take this Jewish value seriously.
Welcome New NRT Members!
Aimee Patton and daughter Amelia
Jeff & Carole Rosen and sons Danny & Sam
Cory & Krissie Spitcaufsky and sons Evan & Eli
From the Henry & Marion Bloch
Religious School
At NRT School, we definitely have embraced the fall
holidays with so many activities and most of all
learning about each other. For me, the highlight of
the past few weeks was the holiday of Sukkot. For
the first time, the students decorated the hallway
upstairs so that we could hold on to the joy that
Sukkot represents. Everyone worked together and as
always it was truly heartwarming to watch the older
students help the younger students hang his or her
decorations. The week after we had our traditional
pancake breakfast and the weather cooperated for a
beautiful morning. My personal joy was to watch our
new families mingle with our NRT and Kol Ami
families as I watched our new students and their
parents feel the hospitality and warmth that surrounds
our students in the school every week.
That being said, I would like to introduce to you our
new students at our school.
1. Sabine and Cleo Federlein: These adorable
Kindergartners are daughters of Ben Federlein and
Erin Fishman.
2. Joshua Lishnack is a new 6th grader from Long
Beach California. Joshua went to Torah school for K5 and is now living north of the river. He is the son of
Michael Lishnack.
3. Beatrix Colbert is our new student in the second
grade. She is the daughter of Mara and David Colbert.
4. Jeff Antoniewicz and David Saul are the parents of
three handsome boys. Two third graders Shaun and
Maury also have a 4th grade brother Raymond. You
can’t miss them, they have the coolest glasses in the
place!
5. Olivia Lieberman is a new Kindergartner. She is
the daughter of Erika Saleski and Todd Lieberman.
If you see these wonderful families on Sunday
morning or at services, please introduce yourselves
and make them feel part of our heart!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I would like
to take this opportunity to thank all our amazing
teachers, Patti Greenbaum, Adryan Steinberg,
Adrianne Applebaum, Civia White, Melissa Mallin
and Tom Barnett, who work so hard to create
engaging lessons and take their charge of instilling a
love for Judaism in to your children very serious. To
Devra Lerner for making the words come alive and
helping us to feel the prayers, not just say the words.
To Chris in the office, I owe immeasurable thanks
for her organization talents and her advice. To
Rabbi Londy, for week after week of inspiration,
knowledge and advice. Last but not least, to our
NRT school families who surprise me every Sunday
with their smiles, their appreciation and their
validation that Sunday mornings are filled with
miracle.
I found this poem that I put away for this
Thanksgiving and I would like to share it with all of
you and wish you all a peaceful and healthy holiday
with a continuation of all the things you are thankful
for and then some for the new year.
For the laughter of the children,
For my own life breath,
For the abundance of food on this table,
For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For the freedom to pray these words without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her
inhabitants.
Thank You, God, for giving us all these.
Amen. Rabbi Naomi Levy
Shelley Rissien
Religious School Director
Sukkot Pancake Breakfast