xt79zw18px9t https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt79zw18px9t/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2018-02 Magazine 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 Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 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, February 2018 text image Shalom, February 2018 2018 2018-02 2025 true xt79zw18px9t section xt79zw18px9t

COMMUNITY

ISSUE 1 l FEBRUARY 2018

Contents

Rekindling Shalom in the Blugrass: A Welcome to Shalom ............................................ 1
Car/y Conatser

Jewish Family and Community ....................................................................................... 2
Babbi Moshe Smo/kin

The Jewish Sorority Girl Life at the University of Kentucky ............................................. 5
Amy Groswald

A Conversation Among Women: An Interview with Two Members of the Lexington Sisterhood of
Salaam Shalom Chapter ....................................................................................................... 8
Carly Conatser

The Lexington Jewish Romeos Lunch Group ............................................................... 11
Marty Solomon

In This Dream ................................................................................................................ 12
Susan Cob/n

A Lexington Family Honors its Rescuer ........................................................................ 14
Hanna B. Smith

The Jerusalem Kentucky Artichoke .............................................................................. 17
Jim Bido/fo

An Unlikely Community: A Drinking Club With a Bunning Problem ......................................... 19
Betty Nigoff

Young Bluegrass Jews: A Profile On Young Adult Engagement in Central Kentucky ................. 21
Daniel Baker

Love Thy Neighbor ....................................................................................................... 23
Judy Goldsmith

A Place to Belong ......................................................................................................... 25
Andrea Stang

shalom staff editorial board
Carly Conatser Editor-ln—Chief Susan Cobin

Kasey Hall Visual Designer Betty Nigott

Daniel Baker Marketing Director, JFB Hanna B. Smith

Tamara Ohayon Executive Director, JFB

H BLUEGRASS

H i \\ 'l‘hcjcwish Federation
OFT E

The Shalom Magazine staff and editorial board have the right to edit all content submitted for publication in Shalom Magazine. Writers will receive a
copy oftheir edited submrssron before publication, The articles, stories, and advertising in this publication do not represent either a religious, kashruth,
or any other endorsement on the part ofthe Federation or any other agency or organizations.

Opinions expressed in Shalom Mogazrne are not necessarily those ofthe Shalom Magazrne staff editorial board, JFB or its constituent organizations.
Shalom Magazine is partially supported by the advertisements appearing in this issue.

Magazine, at shalom ayeWishlexingtonorg.

When I first arrived in Lexington, shalom was one of
the first words someone spoke to me. It wasn’t exactly
towards just me, but the entire yoga class. Normally, I
would have expected a namaste at the end, but it was
clear, she said shalom. As I was resting in the dark, I
remember when I had wrestled with using Sanskrit
during my yoga teacher training. Wasn’t there the not
praying to idols or other gods? I had learned this in
Sunday school from Mrs. Shudmack. What was i
doing? And was it right? My Jewish friend Dara
suggested I use the Shema instead of the Sanskrit
mantra we had newly memorized. I remember barely
whispering my own mantra while everyone else’s
voices came together. But here, in Lexington, with its
Christian leanings, her shalom rang out full of
compassion, blessing, and unapologetic.
I felt so fortunate. I had stumbled into the yoga studio
with another Jewish yoga teacher. l felt a deep
connection to Brooke and she made me feel at home
in a new home. In my mind, I imagined finally having a
close connection with another Jew. While I had been
active in Jewish youth group in high school and Hillel
in college, somewhere after college, Judaism became
more private. Something that was part of my identity
and the identity of who I was in relationship to my
family, but something that remained more dormant as l
cultivated my other interests, creative writing and
yoga.
it took me a few weeks to ask Brooke about saying
shalom at the end of class. Actually, I didn’t. I
approached her at the desk after class and asked her
if she went to the temple or the synagogue. “Neither,”
she said, in the same soft but strong voice that
reached into my heart.
“I had a lot of Jewish friends growing up. | always
wanted to be. ” If she had not been so earnest, I think I
» _. -~ -would have been angry. My
, _ thoughts were little poison
‘ stars shooting through my
_ mind. Why is she taking
‘1 . something that is mine?
Something that I struggled to
own, but she has borrowed it
‘ so perfectly.
I was jealous. But in some
way, perhaps, she was or had

Carly Conatserl

Editor—in—Chief

been, too. She wanted something that l naturally
had landed in. Something about my faith and
culture resonated for her, and she was helping me
to see how much I ached for it again at this point in
my life. Shalom. Hello. Goodbye. Peace. Shalom, at
it’s simplest. Awelcoming and a parting. And finding
peace within all of that. And isn’t that what
friendship is? Someone who helps us to welcome
and release and find a space of comfort in all of it.
So, of course, I invited her over for Shabbat.
Shabbat became yoga and lunch dates and
realizing that we had the same passion for bringing
mindfulness and embodiment to other women who
need it the most. Through my friendship with
Brooke, l have also returned to another aspect of
Judaism that resonates the most for me. Tikkun
o/am, making the world better and being involved in
social justice. Together, we teach yoga and
meditation practices at The Nest. We are currently
developing a curriculum that will support women
and families working with the stresses that result
from violence, addiction, and poverty to promote
awareness, compassion, and wholeness in the
midst of transition.

Sometimes I don’t know which led me to which.
Judaism to yoga, yoga to Judaism. Ironically, it was
at the Youngstown JCC where | first took a yoga
class. I now know that while something in me that
had wanted them to be separate, in my world, they
work better together. Complementary practices that
affirm and enrich the other.

In this issue, you’ll encounter others struggling with
and finding identity and community. Stories of
conversion, of questioning, of travel, of
remembering and forgetting. It is my hope that you
will find yourself in someone else’s words or worlds
and remember to choose connection rather than
separation as I did with Brooke, and as I did within
my own self.

Shalom is a kaleidoscope in which shifting creates
beauty, the complex patterns of feeling. The dance
of greeting and leaving only to return again. One
word, or one person can be a doorway. And that is
my hope for what this magazine can be. A gateway
into yourself and into our community.

C’W’Et

In 1948 after 2,000 years of longing and living in
distant lands, the modern State of Israel was created.
Whether they came from Ethiopia, India, Iraq,
France, Turkey, Britain, Argentina, Australia, or the
United States, Jews came from across the globe and
returned to Eretz Yisrael, to the Land of Israel.

Israel is rich with diversity: with several nationalities,
political orientations, races and religious views. This
richness has added to the vibrancy of Israel, though
there have certainly been times of friction. Ashkenazi
and Sephardic Jews have had major conflicts.
Secular and religious Jews have fought over the
nature of the country. The political right and the left
have had intense arguments over the best ways to
care for society and to achieve peace. Yet in spite of
the conflicts, one of the things that I loved best about
living in Israel was the fact that I often felt I was
among family.

The feeling of family in Israel can be both wonderful
and challenging. Sometimes the interactions can
feel intrusive, but there is also great comfort and
warmth. Even when people gave me unsolicited
advice, I knew it came from a place of caring
because people saw me as part of their family.

That sense of mishpachah, that sense of family, is
vital in bolstering community. It is that sense of
family that has kept Jews united throughout the
millennia. It is that sense of family that can unite

Jewish communities in Israel, and

Lexington has such an incredible Jewish community,
and one of the things that makes it so beautiful is our

ful
an
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19

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sense that we are part of one Jewish family. We
love one another and take care of one another. We
attend each other’s celebrations and support each
other in times of sorrow. We learn together (like at
Global Day of Jewish Learning), and we create
connection (like we are doing now through Shalom
Magazine).

Certainly there are differences. Members of our
community span the political spectrum. We have
different practices of Jewish observance. We have
different understandings of God and Judaism's role
in our lives, and yet we are part of a family.

That sense of family, that sense of love for one
another is crucial. It means that we are committed
to one another, and that though we have variety of
approaches and opinions, we are devoted to taking
care of one another and to keeping the family
together.

It could be easy to break apart. One group of Jews
might say that the mezuzah must be vertical.
Another group might demand that the mezuzah be
horizontal. We could easily break into factions, but
no, here we compromise and allow the mezuzah to
be diagonal.

It could be easy to break apart. One group of Jews
might say that we sit for Kaddish. Another group
might insist that we stand for Kaddish. We could
easily break into different groups, but no, even
within one congregation there can be found people
who stand and people who sit.

There are times where our Jewish community could
have broken apart forever, but because we are
family, we hold together. We are part of a single
Jewish community.

Sure, there are different congregations. That’s
good. It enables us to have our individual ways of
praying and practicing. There were twelve tribes of
Israel, each with their own emphasis, but all were
tribes of Israel, all were part of the family. So too, in
our Jewish community there are different ways of
expressing our Judaism, and yet we are all linked
together as one community.

In Judaism, a diversity of approaches is often seen
as a blessing. The Talmud is filled with multiple
approaches to topics, and our sages say that there
are 70 ways of viewing Torah. By hearing and
understanding the different points of view within our
community, we deepen our respect and love for our
family and come to a greater understanding of how
we as a Jewish family connect with one another and
with God.

May God continue to bless us with the insight that
we are part of the Jewish mishpachah, the Jewish
family. May our knowledge of one another and our
respect for one another continue to grow. May our
community continue to brighten our world, showing
kindness and compassion. And may we reach the
time when all people realize that they are sisters and
brothers in one human family where each of us is a
child of God.

Rabbi Moshe Smo/kin is in his 9th year as the rabbi of Ohavay Zion
Synagogue. He holds a BA. in Mathematics from Brandeis University
and a M.A.T in Mathematics Education from Tufts University He
taught high school math for five years before attending the Ziegler
School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University in Los
Angeles, California. While in rabbinical school, he interned as an
interfaith chaplain at UCLA Hospital. He also spent a year learning in
Jerusalem. During the last two years of rabbinical school, he interned
at Mishkon Tephi/o in Venice, California. After being ordained in

2009, Rabbi Smo/kin and his wife Talia moved to Lexington. Rabbi
Smo/kin and Talia have been blessed with two wonderful children,
and are immense/y grateful for our warm and caring Lexington Jewish
community.

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