Compiled by Sharon Wisch-Ray
sharon@tjpnews.com
Lego Update
Photo: Linda Lavi Africans who received Legos from Congregation Ahavath Sholom sent back these photos thanking the shul for the donation.
The supersized menorah designed by Mike Lavi is the gift that keeps on giving … around the world.
In addition to the Child Study Center in Fort Worth, 2,000 Legos have been gifted to Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. In addition, 10 pounds of Legos were sent to Africa. When the Legos arrived in Africa, they were sorted by color and a photo sent back to Ahavath Sholom tracking their progress.
— Submitted by Linda Lavi
Ahavath Sholom Donor Luncheon
Nationally recognized photographer, Loli Kantor, will present her work and her newest book, Beyond the Forest, at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10, when the Ahavath Sholom Ladies Auxiliary holds its annual donor luncheon.
Kanto will discuss being the daughter of Holocaust survivors who lost nearly their entire families, and her desire to reconnect with her family’s history that first took her to Poland in 2004. As she photographed her parents’ hometowns and grappled with the destruction and grief of the past, her vision gradually widened beyond the personal to focus on the signs of the rebirth of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe.
Over eight years, she traveled in the Ukraine, as well as Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, photographing Jews in their everyday lives and listening to their stories in their homes, synagogues, and communities. Her luminous black-and-white and color images eloquently reveal how Eastern European Jews are honoring the past and building the future through such things as revived observances of the holidays, including Passover, Sukkot, and Hanukkah.
They also explore the role that artists are playing in the preservation of Jewish culture, which might otherwise have been completely lost.
Kantor’s book of photographs, Beyond the Forest, Jewish Presence in Eastern Europe 2004-2012, is published by the University of Texas Press. The book is part of the series Exploring Jewish Arts and Culture, edited by Robert H. Abzug, Director, Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, University of Texas at Austin. Including nearly 100 color and black-and-white photographs, Kantor’s book features an introduction by esteemed Polish art critic and curator Anda Rottenberg, and afterward by award-winning novelist Joseph Skibell, Emory University, Atlanta, who celebrates Kantor’s “brave vision, unblinking and unafraid.”
Photographer Loli Kantor was born in Paris, France, and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her work has been exhibited widely in the United States and internationally, and is included in significant public and private collections worldwide, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Lviv National Museum, Ukraine; Lishui Museum of Photography, China; and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Loli lives and works in Fort Worth.
Ladies Auxiliary Luncheon
The Ladies Auxiliary luncheon raises funds to support the shul kitchen and Sunday school programs. This year it helped with the Lego menorah program and will fund koshering the kitchen for Passover.
Call the shul office to make your reservation at 817-731-4721, or email Marla Owen at marlaowen@att.net. To pay by credit card directly, visit the Eventbrite link at bit.ly/1V7xbQj. A minimum donation of $50 is the couvert to attend the luncheon. However, any donation will be accepted to attend the presentation only.
— Submitted by Marla Owen
Reminder: Senior Seder
Next Tuesday, April 12 is the Isadore Garsek Lodge Annual Senior Seder. Festivities will begin at 11:30 p.m. at Beth-El Congregation. The program is free and open to the community. Please call the JFS office, at 817-569-0898, to make your reservation.
— Submitted by Hedy Collins