Dr. Ed Goodman to receive Bnai Zion award at Nov. 1 gala
Bnai Zion, celebrating “100 years of Making a Difference,” has named Dr. Ed Goodman, respected board certified specialist in infectious diseases, the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Bnai Zion Humanitarian Award. The honor will be given at the Bnai Zion gala on Nov. 1 at the Westin Park Central Hotel.
Dr. Goodman has been at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas since 1975 where he serves as the chief of infectious diseases and medical director of infection prevention and antibiotic management. He is a core faculty member in the hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program and is also a clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Of Dallas. A Columbus, Ohio native, he attended Cornell University and its Medical College. He also served in the United States Army Medical Corps at Fort Hood.
Dr. Goodman has been honored by election to Fellowship in the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America. He has served as president of the Texas Infectious Disease Society. In addition to various professional awards and designations, Dr. Goodman has served the community as a translator for new Americans, and is a board member of Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, chairman of the Teacher Learning Center of the Jewish Education Committee and a member of the board of the Dallas Foundation for Psychoanalysis.
In 2002, Dr. Goodman became co-chairman of the Emergency Response Group (ERG) for the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, Israel. Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation’s Partnership for Israel, this program trains non-Israeli health care workers in disaster response so they can better serve their home communities. In addition, these professionals train as replacements for their Israeli counterparts in the event of a military crisis and mobilization of Israeli health care workers. The ERG includes health care workers from 12 communities across the United States and Europe. Dr. Goodman has participated in nine ERG programs in Israel to date.
This year’s gala will also honor celebrated educator and righteous friend to Israel, Monica “Posy” McMillen, who will receive the Bnai Zion America-Israel Friendship Award. Her award will be presented by prominent Dallasites, Toni and Harold Gernsbacher. Civic leader, philanthropist and businessman, Harmon “Hymie” Schepps, will receive the Bnai Zion Community Service Award. Schepps will be presented his award by Dallas’ renowned citizen, Pete Schenkel. Philanthropist and civic leader, Ross Perot, is the honorary chairman of this year’s annual event. The Honorable Tom Leppert, mayor of Dallas, will give a presentation. For more information on securing tickets or to place a congratulatory ad in the Tribute Book, please contact Bnai Zion Regional Director Avrille Harris-Cohen, 972-918-9200.
Josh Greenfield to play ‘Snug’ in Shakespeare work at DTC
Josh Greenfield, son of Nancy and Richard Greenfield, was recently selected to be in Dallas Theater Center’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare, directed by Kevin Moriarty. The production will be the opening DTC show for the brand-new Dee and Charles Wyly Theater in the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Josh plays the role of Snug and is one of five students at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts who were selected to be in this special production. This will be Josh’s first professional role. The show runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 22.
JCRC presents MK Uzi Landau
Join the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas on Sunday, Oct. 26 for a special evening featuring Israeli Knesset member, Uzi Landau, minister of national infrastructure. Minister Landau is an insider on diversifying Israel’s energy resources and Israel in the context of the Middle East. He will discuss the current situation in the Middle East and the problematic potential of a nuclear Iran.
This special program is open to the Jewish community but RSVPs are required to attend.
Please RSVP your attendance to Meghan Traxler, JCRC program associate, at mtraxler@jfgd.org or 214-615-5254.
Israeli dance: not just for Israelis!
Depending on what day you stop by Congregation Beth Torah in Richardson, you might find the people there in prayer, gathered to address congregation business or, on Wednesday nights, filling one of the largest rooms in the synagogue with Israeli folk dance. The first hour, instructor Linda Kahalnik teaches those new to Israeli dance, moving slowly through the basic steps which are common to many of the dances. Throughout the evening, the dances grow progressively more difficult, although most beginners move beyond the simple ones within a few months.
Each year, RikuDallas hosts a special weekend event with internationally renowned dance instructors, and this year’s event, the weekend of Oct. 30, will feature Yoni Carr, a choreographer and instructor of jazz, ballroom, ballet and Israeli dance. The RikuDallas annual workshop typically attracts about 50–70 attendees of all ages, and the plan this year promises to be another memorable weekend. It includes a day and a half of instruction by Ms. Carr, dinner, a Saturday night party and dancing until the wee hours of the morning, and more.
Israeli dance is an entertaining, high-energy folk dance, upbeat and fun for people of any or no faith tradition, and geared to dancers at any level of experience. The community is invited to this fun-filled weekend with Yoni Carr, as well as to the Wednesday night sessions at Congregation Beth Torah.
Registration for the weekend activities is required prior to the event. For questions and registration information, contact Linda Kahalnik at rikudchik@gmail.com or 972-867-7780.
Rabbi Zvi Berger to discuss Israeli Masorti movement
Congregation Shearith Israel is proud to welcome, direct from Israel, Rabbi Zvi Berger, who will be with the congregation for Shabbat Lech Lecha (Oct. 30–31). This special Shabbat program, sponsored by MERCAZ and the Jewish Agency for Israel, is part of their Link to Israel Month. Rabbi Berger will offer divrei Torah during Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat morning services and lead a teaching session, “Difficult Dilemmas — Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State.” Following a Kiddush lunch from 12:45 to 1:45, he will deal with issues like the question of the place of halachah in the public sphere (i.e. businesses being open or closed, public transportation being available on Shabbat, etc.), religious pluralism in Israel, our relation to non-Jewish Israelis (specifically Israeli Arabs) and much more. Rabbi Berger will also bring in the particular perspective and involvement of the Masorti movement in reference to such issues.
For the last 11 years, he has served as the rabbi of HaMinyan HaMishpachti HaMasorti, the Masorti Family Community, in Kfar Vradim, a village in the Western Galilee. In addition to his work with the congregation, Rabbi Berger actively promotes interfaith dialogue between Jewish and non-Jewish communities in the region, and lectures on Jewish holidays and traditions at Nes Ammim, a nearby Christian village. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Rabbi Berger worked for many years as a Jewish educator in Israel before being ordained a Conservative/Masorti rabbi in 1996. He is pursuing a doctorate in Israeli Jewish education at Haifa University. Rabbi Berger will also speak this coming weekend at Beth Torah in Richardson.