xt705q4rnf0h https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt705q4rnf0h/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2005-06 2005-07 Newspaper of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, previously named the Central Kentucky Jewish Association and Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. Published ten times annually. The Federation seeks to bring Jewish community members together through holiday parties, lectures, Yiddish courses, meals, and other celebrations of Jewish heritage and culture. They also host fundraisers and provide financial assistance for Jews in need, both locally and around the world. This collection is part of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records, 2016ms010. newsletters 2016ms010 English Central Kentucky Jewish Federation Inc  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records Jews -- Kentucky -- Lexington Jews -- History Shalom, June/July 2005 text image Shalom, June/July 2005 2005 2005-06 2005-07 2025 true xt705q4rnf0h section xt705q4rnf0h HAL

NEWSPAPER OF THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY JEWISH FEDERATION

JUNE/JULY 2005

 

IYAR-SIVAN-TAMMUZ 5765

 

Community Picnic slated for June 26

Exciting activities await attendees

Q09

By Ruth Paley

Save the date—Sunday, June 26. We’ll be at Veteran’s Park
from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. for fun, food, and festivities. Your

coed softball game for the interested
teenagers and adults. As a special
treat, our own. homegrown musical
group, The Jewgrass Boys (Seth
Noar, Ziggy Rifkin-Fish, and Neil
Kash. The fourth member of the
group, Jonathan Miller, is unavailable

CKJF Annual Meeting
will be June 22

Uriel Palti, Consul General of Israel
in Philadelphia, to be keynote
speaker

on June 26), will perform and lead a

Central Kentucky Jewish Federation is planning a summer
variety of musical activities.

picnic and we want YOU. This will be a great opportunity Program IS open to

to mingle with old friends, make some new friends,

shmooze, play, fress a little, and generally have a good time.

This picnic wiII' be the easiest one you’ll ever do. Just
bring the food; we’ll provide the rest. There’ll be no
shlepping of drinks, ice, plates, cups, and so forth. CKJF

will provide all of that plus dessert,

We’re planning games, relay races, and crafts for the
youngsters. Barbara Barr has agreed to share her
storytelling talents, which will provide some nice quiet

time in the Hthl‘st o! all the actn mes, ant: Mei? home a c,

Veteran’s Park is located off
Clearwater Way, adjacent to Pinnacle
Subdivision and just down the road
from Veteran’s Park Elementary
School. We'll be at Shelter #3; just
follow the signs.

in order for us to‘ plan properly (we
wouldn't want to run out of ice,
plates or goodies), you need to let us

1 Picnic, to

 

 

Kol Israel arevim ze b’ze

All Israel is responsible
for one another

#90

Being part of the Jewish people is
being part of a “itiislipoc/m” and
everything that comes with it. We
yell at each other; we get mad at
each other; we are sure we are right
and everybody else is Wrong. But
when push comes to shove, we
support each other. The United
Jewish Communities and its overseas
partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel
and the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee (JDC), are

magnificent examples ot these efforts. The [DC maintains
tacilities in Ethiopia to help those Jews left behind, and
the Jewish Agency (J AH) is already busy planning for the
next operation bringing the remaining Beta Israel from
Ethiopia to Israel over the next two and a half years. In
the meantime, medical clinics and feeding programs are
in place to care for them.

Switch to Eastern Europe: Many of the immigrants from
the former Soviet Union left behind elderly parents or
relatives forced to subsist on a government pension of
$20 a month; the JDC ensured that those living at a
subsistence level would receive special food packages
every month. In this way, JDC assisted 240,000 needy
Jewish elderly in, 2,980 cities, towns, and villages across

568 K01 Israel, page 22

 

Central Kentucky Jewish Federation
I050 (hinoe Road 0 Suite 203 0 Lexington, KY 40502

Change Service Requested

51 PS
Tamara ohayon

 

Non-Profit Org.
US. Postage

PAID

Lexington, KY

 

 

Permit J 719

 

*************S—DIGIT 40502

2120 Manor Dr Apt 130
Lexington, KY 40502-2626

I

 

the whole Jewish Community

‘69

Finishing another cycle is always an opportunity to reflect
and to take stock of accomplishments and unmet goats.
On hme 22 at 7 pm. at ’l'emph‘ \dath Israel the k t ntt‘ai
I\entucky Jen ish tederation will mark the end ot another year.

As it is already traditional, there will be a special
recognition of outgoing Board members and officers, and
‘ae .. act in n and induction of new ones. We \viIl also

present the three traditionat leadership cm aids

0 The President's Award, presented to an individual a he
has demonstrated a long—term commitment to the goals
and activities ot the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation.
Past recipients have been Leon Cooper and Ellie Cold man
(2000), Sue Ezrine and Judy Levine (2001), Rabbi Uriel H.
D. Smith (2002), David Wekstein (2003), and Marty Barr (2004i

0 The Cookie Wenneker Volunteer of the Year Award,
recognizing a volunteer who over the past twelve months
has made a significant contribution of time and
dedication to the programs and / or services provided by
CKJF. The newly renamed award honors the memory of
Cookie Wenneker, a longtime volunteer and activist of
CKJF, with a special dedication to our Jewish Family
Services. Past recipients have been Aviva Bowling and
Ruth Poley (2001), Lowell Nigoff (2002), Evelyn Dantzic
Geller (2003), and Vinnie Dubilier (2004).

0 The Young Leadership Award, presented to a member
of the Jewish community between the ages of 25 and 45
who has “stepped up to the plate” and promoted the
goals and ideals of the organi/ation. Past recipients have
been Bret Caller (2002), Lisa Miller (2003), and Rachel
Belin (2004).

At the meeting we will also recogni/e outgoing President
David I‘einberg. The nominating committee, chaired by
Ray Arch ‘r, includes (Jail Cohen, Rachel Belin, Lisa Satin,
and Mimi Kautman. They \\ ill be presenting the list ot
nominees to replace one third of the Board ot trustees,

see Annual Meeting, Jlrlft’ It)

 

 

  

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

Second annual Emilie Szekely Holocaust Awareness Award . . . .3
President's Message ............................... 4
Penny Miller receives award .......................... 4
Harold and Anita Baker ............................. 5
From the Executive Director .......................... 6
Camp Shalom: Enroll before it’s too late ................. 7
Hadassah welcomes new president ..................... 7
Rabbi‘s Corner .................................... 8
Lexington JFS represented at national conference ........... 9
Lexington History Museum opens Holocaust exhibit ......... 9
Third annual Ken Freedman Award presented on April 22 . . .1O
Shalom committee formed .......................... 10
Lex. Human Rights Commission serves our Jewish Community 11
Growing up Jewish in Bardstown .’ .................... 12
Yom HaShoah observed ............................ 13
About Kids .......... ' ........................... 14
‘ Jewish Family Services Celebrated ..................... 16
Book Review: ln the Image .......................... 16
Celebrate 350: The Storm Breaks ..................... 17
Stewart Home holds Parents Weekend ................. 17
Major Donors Event ............................... 18
B’tayavon ...................................... 19
Ohavay Zion showcases adult b’nai mitzvah .............. 19
Israeli airport technology detects intent of terrorists ........ 20
Ask JFS ........................................ 20
Hope Center hosts feast ............................ 20
B’ruchim LaChayim ............................... 21
TAI ........................................... 22
OZS ........................................... 23
Lexington Havurah ................................ 23
Community Calendar .............................. 24

 

SHALOM

Published ten times per year by the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation, Inc.

1050 Chinoe Rd., Suite 203, Lexington, KY 40502
Phone (859) 268-0672 0 Fax (859) 268-0775
email: shalom@jewish|exington.org

MAY 2005. VOLUME XII, ISSUE 5
David Feinberg, President
Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Jana LaZur, Activities Director
Stacey Heisler, JFS Director
Lori Zimmerman, Marketing and Advertising

SHALOM COMMITTEES

Editorial Board
Ruth Poley, Editor-in-Chief
Mary Heléne Rosenbaum, Editor/Administrator
Marcia Blacker, Editorial Board
Judy Levine, Editorial Board

Advisory Board
Elissa Brown, Gail Cohen, Angie Ornstein, Steve Pollack
Janet Scheeline, Mark Schneider, Rose Rita Wurmser,
and Heidi Zimmerman

JUNE/JULY CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Steve Auslander, Vivian Bitensky, David Brim, Sue Ezrine,
Marilyn Moosnick, Ruth Moser, Gloria B. Rie,
Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, PhD, Ken Slepyan, PhD, and Beth Yelowitz

Production Services by Direct Response, Inc.

The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted
for publication in Shalom. The appearance of any advertising in this
publication does not represent a kashruth endorsement on the part of
CKJ; or any other agency or organization. Shalom is supported by the
advertisements appearing in the paper.

© 2005 by Central Kentucky Jew. sh Federation

2 - June/July 2005 Shalom

Looking for Simchas, etc.?

We’ve rearranged. Please see page 21 for B’ruchim LaChayim,
information about life cycle events.

 

 

 

 

 

~9999999999

Mark Your Calendars for
Sunday August 7

To go to Camp Shalom Night at the Lexington Legends
ballpark. Campers can run the bases before the 6:05 pm.
start of the game. Get your tickets now, while they last.

 

 

 

Share Your Simchas with Shalom

SEND IN PHOTOS

Have you celebrated a special event lately? Did you take pictures? Would you like to
share those pictures? Are you getting where these questions are leading?

The editorial staff of Shalom would like to publish pictures of you and your
family/friends. We especially want parents to provide the paper with pictures of their
bar or bat mitzvah. Photos of other happy events are welcome, too, as are memorial
pictures. Either electronic files (send to Dl-IFR@Bardstown.com) or prints (bring to

CKJF office) will do.

Don't be shy. You will be helping to enhance the look of Shalom and helping the
community get to know you and your family. The goal of this paper is, in part, to
bring the Central Kentucky Jewish community closer together. Getting to know each
other through stories and pictures is a good way to reach that goal.

Let us hear from you!

 

 

4N“ FEdErgtl,

ten-2a" Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

at‘

’Ial Ken‘“

CKJF President:
David Feinberg

Executive Committee:

Michael Grossman, Vice President
Phillip Berger, 2nd Vice President
Ginger Knight, Treasurer

Pat Shraberg, Secretary

Ruth Poley, Member At—Large

CKJF Board:

Ray Archer Steve Kesten
Rachel Belin Judy Levey
Marcia Blacker Art Lieber

Gail Cohen Gloria Rie

Vicki Doukas Lisa Satin
Gerald Dubilier Walter Solomon
Stanley Isenstein Carole Wilson

Odette Kaplan
Mimi Kaufman

 

Shalom Deadline

Deadline for articles for
the August Shalom is July 10.

email articles to:
shalom@jewishlexington.org

Articles submitted in hard copy
should be double-spaced.

DON’T MISS OUT!

Get this paper delivered

to your home ten times per year.
Mail your name and address to:

Shalom /CKJF

1050 Chinoe, Rd., Suite 203
Lexington, KY 40502
or email at
ckjf@jewishlexington.org

 

  

 

Second annual Emilie Szekely HolocaustAwareness Award

Essay Project winner

9 O 9
sun n \w than. a uth grade "
7k ".Hx‘titl‘t! \litltllt‘ gk‘l‘ltfl‘vl. '\ is _
-\.\ arui-u airs! prize tor 'iuttdle srrwoi
\(n s am: i aura thunk-Mn :. “in.

"‘“ftklt‘ siiiuerit at ilenr\ (flea iiiC'i

 

school. won first prize in the “ "
«hoot division of the annual Fn‘iiie
miekeiv Holocaust Awareness Essa;
i’roiect. \shlyn, a student of .\'lrs.
Sheila DeVary, wrote a wonderful
contemporary—style poem and lnura
a thoughtful and moving essay,
according to a distinguished panel of
judges. Laura Derrickson is the
student of Mrs. Pat Hale. Each
student received a cash prize (Laura
Derrickson donated hers back to the
fund), an award certificate, and a CD
of Emilie Szekely’s interview with
Steven Spielberg’s Shoah
Foundation. The award ceremony
took place on May 4, 2005, at the
Holocaust Remembrance Service
held at Temple Adath Israel, where
the students read their works.

Daniel Chejfec, director, said that the

CKJF is proud to sponsor the essay
project as an animal event in the

6th Grade

Essay Winner

 

Who Are You...

Who are you to judge
Who is cool

And who is not?
Who are you to say
Who is right

And who is wrong?
Who are you to decide
Who is in

And who is out?
Who are you, Hitler,
To kill people

You don’t even know?
You are cruel

You are hurtful

You are heartless
And you, Hitler,

Are evil.

50

Everyone

Stop judging

Stop deciding

For others

Stop now

Before you

Become evil

Too.

Ash/yn Swihart

 

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armitting .emarkat‘te essa} s ullLl
{ut‘li'll
Kls. if't=\'ar_\ of Cram fora \liddie
\‘hozi, when notified of the award,
said, " l loved Mrs. Szekely and the
memorable times we spent together
during her many Visits with the
children at Crawford.” Emilie
Szekely, one of the two remaining
local survivors of the Holocaust, was
in the death camps of Auschwitz and
Bergenbelsen. She was a quiet
women who spent her retirement
conducting over one hundred
Holocaust lectures and presentations
in schools across the state. Many

- school children, college students, and

church groups heard her story from
her birth in Budapest, through an
escape from Communist Hungary, to
her experiences under the Nazi horror.

I’ve studied the Holocaust in several of
my classes in the past. I've learned
facts about the concentration camps at
Auschwitz and Birkneau, and about
famous survivors such as Anne Frank
and Elie Weisel. l have studied the
Holocaust to the extent that I thought I
knew almost everything I needed to
know and didn’t need to learn anymore
about it. This was my outlook on the

recently, when all of that changed.

As a freshman at Henry Clay High
School, it is part of our curriculum to
study the Holocaust. To fulfill that
requirement, our class read the book
Night, by Elie Weisel. We were
assigned to read the book over winter
break and then we would discuss It in
class when the break was over. I read
a little bit of the book each night,
going to bed uneasy, more aware of
the awful events that took place during
this terrible time. Of course I had
heard of the gas chambers and ovens,
but Elie Weisel told about that babies
that were thrown in the air and used
for target practice and the irrational
beatings of prisoners. I heard about
the public hangings and horrible tests
and experiments the refugees were put
through. Considering the conditions
they were subjected to, l have no idea

 

 

 

George Smite/y presents award to As/ili/ii Sruilmrt; Lillll‘il Derricksmz looks (in at right.

    

 

subject whenever it was mentioned until

Daniel Chejfec and Dr. George
Szekely, Emilie’s son, started the
essay project with the help of
generous contributors to the CKJF
essay fund. ”We learned a great deal
about running a successful essay
project the first time around,” said
Szekely. “We had excellent co-
operation from Fayette County
schools, and enthusiastic support
from many teachers such as Ms.
DeVary, Ms. Hale, and Mr. Mark
Russell of Morton Middle School. Mr.

9th Grade Essay Winner

Contemporary lessons of the Holocaust...

how anyone could survive. Imagine
waking up every morning, starving and
sick without anyone left in the world
you love because they’ve been
murdered, not knowing what awful
thing is gong to happen to you that
day, or if you will even live until the
next. There was no way to predict the
Nazi's killings because they killed at
random. All you could hope for was a
sudden stroke of luck to save your life.
It was very hard to maintain any hope
of survival.

After reading this book I suddenly had
a whole new outlook on the Holocaust.
Sure, I had previously thought it was
horrible, one of the worse things that
has happened in history. However, I
never really took into consideration
what the refugees went through and ‘
how they felt. I had sympathy, but no
empathy. I had studied facts and
events but never really got to learn
about the feelings of the prisoners.

So now with my eyes opened to the
Holocaust, they were soon opened
even wider. Our class watched the
movie, War and Remembrance, which
truly affected me. i know some may
think just watching a movie can't affect
you that much, After all, the actors are
just acting. But seeing the group of

Russell’s student Charlotte Burchett
received an honorable mention in the
contest. We will be expanding the
contest next year to the entire
Bluegrass Region. Next year we will
start to compile the many fine essays
into an illustrated publication.
Brochures about next year’s contest
will be mailed to schools in
September. To honor Emilie Szekely’s
work, we hope the essay contest will
be a lasting program of education
against racism and discrimination.” Q

 

prisoners being shoved into the gas
chambers is something that a person
can never forget, even if it is just on TV.

I think the reason that l have never
really been truly affected by reading
about the Holocaust is because what I
was reading was so horrible it almost
didn't seem real. I would never think
that something like that could happen
in our world today. But after seeing
that movie, it become real to me and I
could then comprehend what the
prisoners went through.

I don’t understand why the Holocaust
had to happen.» What did Hitler have
against Jews and all other people that
were killed? I have no idea and I
don’t think we will ever know. What I
do know is that for me studying the
Holocaust changed my outlook on life
as well as our world's history. I think
that everyone should learn about this
devastating event so that it might be
prevented from ever happening again.
The Holocaust was one of the worst
events that has ever happened in the
history of mankind. Reading one small
book, watching a movie, or just talking to
someone about this event can enrich your
life and make the world a better place.

Laura Derrickson

 

 

June/July 2005 Shalom - 3

 

 

 

 

  

President's Message

 

Reflections
0 4 +

I am at the end of my two—year term
as CKJF Board president. While I
certainly plan to continue my
involvement with the Board, it is a
natural time to look back and reflect.
The first order of business is to thank
the people who have done much of
the heavy lifting for the Federation. I
wish to thank our executive director,
Daniel Chejfec, for his tireless work,
his enthusiasm, his strong
commitment to Jewish causes, and
his sense of humor. He has made my
term a wonderful experience. Also, I
need to acknowledge Jana Lazur and
Lori Zimmerman for their behind-
the—scenes hard work. Individuals
working with them in the
committees know how hard they
work to implement the programs
developed by the Board. Our
community does not see how much
they accomplish and how committed
they are to the Board's programs.
Our Jewish Family Service director,
Stacey Heisler (like Fran Morris
before her), is to be commended for

David Feinberg

her quiet and confidential
professional work.

I have to say that this experience has
not been anything like what I
expected. There was the normal
growing process while getting used
to the job. I had old hands like Stan
Saxe and Marty Barr to mentor my
early efforts. I have had the benefit of
the support and direction of the
Board and the executive Board to a
level I had not anticipated. People
have been welcoming and helpful. I
always knew there was plenty of
talent in the community. Seldom
when I (or the Board) went to an
individual and asked for help were
we denied. The cooperativeness and
helpfulness were very gratifying.

I cannot say that I am completely
satisfied by what I have been able to
accomplish. It is wonderful that our
campaign is strong and that our
programs are so well attended. I am
appreciative that we have more
volunteers than ever before. I must
confess a particular excitement at
people attending and participating
who were not previously at all

involved in the Jewish community.
Inevitably, there are goals yet to be
attained. We can always improve and
grow. I am delighted that we are
fully staffed. I would like us to think
more widely and have a bigger
Vision of our corner of the Jewish
world. We have gotten good at what
we know and what is tried and true;
it is time we move to the next level.
Much of that next level will involve
grants and innovative programming.

To paraphrase Lou Gehrig, I feel that
I am the luckiest man in the world.
My experience as Board president
was wonderful; thank you all very
much. 2::

 

 

 

 

 

  

jfé

 

m JEWLS
UNDERGROUND

JewLS will be going to Mammoth Cave
for a 2 hour tour.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Everyone is to bring c1 dish to share for the picnic
which follows the Tour.
We will leave Lexington at 8 Chm.

Please RSVP to Stacey at 859.269.8244

‘ew

Jewissr Lexington Singles

   

436‘“ F defer/8.00

S 499 L___l:

I” r al Ken‘odfi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 - June/July 2005 Shalom

Penny Miller receives award

Martin School of Public Policy & Administration
and the Department of Political Science
host event

§§§

On May 5, Penny Miller received a
very special public service award
from the Martin School of Public
Policy & Administration and the
Department of Political Science. The
award is presented annually to a
person associated with UK who has
contributed significantly to the
university, the community, and or
the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The
ceremony, which was attended by
her husband, Stuart Harris, her

children, and her grandchildren, was,

she said, ”a delightful event. The
Lyons Award is especially
meaningful to me since it is in
memory of a very dear colleague.”

Miller added, “My career at UK is
coming to a close. The semester has
ended, and I have begun packing up
my office. I will miss the teaching,
advising, and supervising of interns.
But I look forward to my new life
endeavors. Stuart and I have
wonderful plans, including an
exciting trip to Japan and China this
summer.”

The text of the pamphlet
accompanying the ceremony follows:

Of all of the honors Dr. Penny M.
Miller has received in her
distinguished career, none is more
fitting than the William E. Lyons
Award. Public service is the very
essence of Penny Miller’s vision
and character.

A transplant to Kentucky upon

marriage to a native Lexingtonian,

Penny Miller immediately
immersed herself in community
and civic affairs. As a young

woman, she founded the Metro
Group Homes, served on the
board of the Baby Health Service,
and devoted countless hours of
service as a “professional
volunteer.” Most importantly,
Penny and the late Robert S.
Miller raised two children,
Jonathan and Jennifer, taught
them the importance of public
service, and felt rewarded that
both pursued it as a career.

When her children were nearly
grown, Miller threw herself back
into her passion for inspiring
future community leaders.
Having earned her BA. and MA.
in political science from the
University of Kentucky, Miller
returned to the department to
earn her PhD in 1986. After three

. years teaching at Temple
University, Miller returned to UK
in 1990, ultimately becoming the
political science department’s
Director of Undergraduate
Studies in 1993.

As a respected professor, Miller
made her mark on the
community, the Commonwealth
and the nation. The author of
several books on Kentucky
politics, Miller became active in
the process. She served on the
Mayor’s Local Government Ethics
Advisory Committee, chaired the
state’s Commission on Women,
and was a member of the
Kentucky Long Term Policy
Research Board and the Kentucky
Center for Public Issues. She is a

see Penny Miller, page ll

 

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 Harold and Anita Baker

Living—and serving—the good life in Lexington

#99

By Marilyn Moosnick

It was love at first sight. At least,
that’s the way he tells it. Not quite
that way for her, she says. But
anyway you look at it, it’s a true
hometown love story. And, 59 years
later, the reel is still in play on Adair
Road, Lexington.

Harold Baker was 16 when he first
laid eyes on a newly moved-in
neighbor on Irvine Road. ”No
question about it. From the very
beginning, she got under my skin.”
Quite a ”looker," Anita Roos was 14
and not too interested in romance
yet. She would go on to graduate
from Henry Clay High School, get
her degree in public school music
education from the University of
Kentucky in 1944, sing in the
University Choristers, become active
in the Phi Beta music and dance
fraternity, and ultimately go to New
‘iork City to study vocal music
before our story would start to look
like a tale of “happily ever after."

Sometimes love stories reinforce the
absence-makes-the-heart-grow-
fonder theorv “
seryice tduring World War 11 ) when
.I knew he was the one,” Anita said
recently in her attractive kitchen,
sitting near a view of the garden and

Harold 'w as awa\ in

mobile outdoor sculpture. Having
graduated from the University of
Kentucky in its ROTC program,
Harold had entered the Air Force. By
the time he was ready to court Anita
in Manhattan, his rank made it
possible for him to fly cross-country
to take her out on the town. Picture a
dashing young captain with a
beautiful young singer on his arm,
strolling down Broadway and
dancing in the Starlight Room at the
Waldorf. On his fourth trip East, she
said “Yes.” Vintage World War II
romance storyline.

They were married on February 3,
1946, Harold in his captain’s
uniform, at Anita’s family home on
Hart Road, several blocks from the
street where they first met and
several from the home they built
together in 1959 on Adair Road and
still call home. Rabbi Milton
Crafman returned to Lexington from
his Birmingham rabbinate to perform
the ceremony before a small
gathering of friends and family
including the two then—rabbis of
Temple Adath Israel and Ohavay
Zion Synagogue. Also there \\ as
Anita’s first cousin and lifelong best

friend, Barbara Winters of Paris, Ky,
who married Eugene Straus the
following year. Anita and Barbara
through their youth traded Visits
between Lexington and Paris on the
Interurban streetcar or caught rides
with family friend Jay Weil when he
visited the Paris stockyards.

The role of their Jewish root and
their devotion to Judaism and its
institutions loom large in both
Bakers’ lives. “I grew up in the
Temple (Adath lsrael),” declared
Anita. The facts bear it out: she
taught Sunday School there
beginning after her confirmation and
during her high school and college
years, teaching Phyllis (Straus) Scher,
Charles Stern, Dolly Urbach, and
several others for five years; her
salary during those years was $1.00
per Sunday. She sang in the Temple
choir, beginning in high school and
continuing until 1985, including
many years as mezzo soprano
soloist. After her marriage, she
became a lifelong leader in the
Temple Adath lsrael Sisterhood,
serving as secretary, treasurer,
parliamentarian, andFatter terms in
all vice-presidential offices

 

as
president. She didn't stop there: she
became president, after many vice—
presidential stints, of the Ohio Valley
Federation of Temple sisterhoods
(1960—1963). She remains active and
Sisterhood and she is still a regular at
Adath Israel Shabbat services.

Harold’s personal history in the
Jewish community is a different one.
His grandmother, Bella Wides, gave
Torah crowns for one of the first
Torahs at Ohavay Zion Synagogue,
after its beginnings in 1913. And his
parents, Idah and
Morris Baker,
were strong
lifelong members
of Ohavay Zion.
Harold became
Bar Mitzvah
under the
tutelage of Rabbi
Jacob Danziger in
1934. In a move
similar to that in
a number of
synagogue
families in
roughly the same
time period, the
Bakers, at the
urging of
Harold/s sister,
Evelyn Hymson,
also joined the
Temple so Evelyn

ltm'oltl tllltl Arum Baker

 

839.231.0464

 

could attend services with her closest
Jewish girlfriends. Here is the
beginning of double membership in
Lexington.

Harold candidly credits the
popularity of a young, personable,
energetic rabbi, Milton Grafman, a
graduate of Hebrew Union College
and newly appointed rabbi of Adath
Israel in 1933, as a major catalyst for

 

 

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this phenomenon. He elaborated, in a
conversation at his kitchen table, on
the lure of a spanking new Temple
building, opening in 1925, and
actually beginning the paradigm of
local Synagogue youths attending
Temple Sunday School. He believes
Jewish newlyweds, moving to
Lexington immediately after World
War II and finding permanent jobs
here with the University and new
businesses, were drawn to Adath
Israel because Rabbi Grafman
imbued the Temple Board of
Directors with the desire to
relinquish leadership in Temple
affairs to young, recently acquired
members. President of Adath Israel’s
Board of Directors from 1961 to 1963,
Harold had already served the board
as secretary, treasurer, and vice-
president. He had been president of
the Lexington Chapter of B’nai Brith
and a member of the Regional Board
of the Anti— Defamation League by
the time he served on a committee of
Jewish leaders to organize what has
become the Central Kentucky Jewish
Federation.

Thirteen days after the newlyweds
arrived home from their New

Orleans honeymoon, in early 1946,
Morris Baker died, leaving his only

see Harold 6' Anita, page 10
June/July 2005 Shalom 0 5

 

 From the Executive Director

Daniel Chejfec
/

This model came down to us
by the hand of Moses

How was he chosen to be a leader? was a reluctant leader, but he
Against his wishes. When Moses accepted the burden.
confronted the burning bush, he was

 

 

 

 

§ § § not thrilled about taking on the task God told Moses what to do. He The .

God asked of him. He tried to find a told him that he would have to has 5

It is a self-evident truth that the quintessential model for thousand and one pretexts why he go to Pharaoh and demand the freedom of the Israelites. stor\

leadership in Jewish tradition is the figure of Moses. We should not be the one: ”I am slow of Moses had a vision in the sense that he had a goal. He staff

don’t know whether this figure is the actual historical speech,” “How would I get the knew where he was supposed to go and what he was the t

Moses, or even if such a historical figure did indeed exist, people to listen?” and so on. One by supposed to achieve. We could conclude that leaders are knm

but it exists in our literature and in our tradition so, in a one, God destroyed not mere leaders, but the (

sense, is more real than the historical fact. The figure of his excuses to the leaders for a purpose. (cou

Moses as described in our texts has become a model of point where Moses One inescapable conclusion from the We learn from the end take

behavior. It stands to reason, therefore, that if we want to was left with no story of Moses is that being a leader is of Moses’ story that,

understand Jewish leadership we need to understand the options but to take not about knowing or about having while he was the Alth

Moses of the text. the role. We could power, but about being responsive to the appropriate leader to just

interpret this to mean needs of those under our leadership, free the slaves and lead Qhal

Who was this man? He came, not from a family of that true leaders do white making sure we stay on track to them in the desert, he sure

princes, but from an offshoot of the tribe of Levy, as it is not take on the role the goats we have set. was not considered the also
written, “A Levite man took for a wife a Levite woman." for personal benefit, WW appropriate one to lead

His origins were humble, from which we could conclude rather the role is them into Canaan. From A m

that you don’t have to be special to become a leader. bestowed upon them to perform