Yiddishe Mamas (48 page)

L
AINIE
K
AZAN:
The multitalented Ms. Kazan is known for her electric voice and superb acting skill. She hosted her own special for NBC, and opened her own rooms at the Los Angeles and New York Playboy Clubs. She has received a Golden Globe nomination for
My Favorite Year
(which she
reprised on Broadway as a musical), and her films include
Delta Force, Beaches, Harry and the Hendersons, The Associate,
and the blockbuster
My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Kazan has also received award nominations for
St. Elsewhere
and
The Paper Chase.
Her TV work includes recurring roles on
The Nanny,
and on
Veronica’s Closet.
She appears in top nightclub venues worldwide and in 1990, she received the Israeli Peace Award. On her CD,
Lainie Kazan
—
In the Groove,
she sings with her daughter, Jennifer Bena.

M
ARY
K
EATING:
Ms. Keating is an actress, singer, and composer. She is married to actor Charles Keating and has created a CD called
Song Stories for Children
that was inspired by her relationship with her grandchildren. The compositions on the CD were designed to encourage creativity and develop imagination, using the animal kingdom. Ms. Keating began her acting career at the Cleveland Play House, where she met her future husband. The couple has two sons and six grandchildren. Although Ms. Keating wrote and sang the songs, she credits her son James for arranging, performing, and producing the CD.

R
ABBI
B
ONNIE
K
OPPELL:
Rabbi Koppell was one of the first women to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States, and the first female Jewish chaplain in the U.S. military. She is assigned to the Fifth U.S. Army and is currently the guest rabbi at Beth Hagivoth and Havurat Emet, interim associate rabbi of Temple Chai, and chaplain for the center for life enrichment of the Jewish family and children’s service. She’s a full colonel in the army reserve and has received many awards, including the Global War on Terrorism medal for her service in Iraq in 2005. In 2006, she visited with the Jewish military in Kuwait and Afghanistan and spent Passover in Iraq. She is listed in
Who’s Who in Religion
and received the Celebration of Success award from Impact for Enterprising Women. Rabbi Koppell’s writings can be found in numerous publications. She is married to David Rubenstein, an internationally known astrologer, and they have two children.

H
ARRY
L
EICHTER:
Mr. Leichter considers himself an “open source researcher” who, since 1990, has created over 5,500
Jewish Webpages (mostly under
www.Haruth.com
), to educate people worldwide. To help promote his “kosher project” (to convince local store managers to carry more kosher foods), he created what is now called the
Schmooze News
(
www.schmoozenews.com
), which includes a hundred stories of Jewish interest from international news and kosher recipes, to a classified section and calendar of events for the Jewish community. The news goes out to 2,000 worldwide subscribers and gets a million and a half “hits” per month. His information is often cited by universities as part of their curriculum. Mr. Leichter and his wife have one son.

M
ALLORY
L
EWIS:
Mallory Lewis is the daughter of TV pioneer, Shari Lewis, and is an entertainer, producer, and Emmy award-winning writer. After writing and producing
Lamb Chop’s Play-Along,
Lewis assumed the responsibilities of her mother’s prime-time variety specials, and was executive story editor and producer of
The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.
Today, she appears with Lamb Chop at live and televised events, performing in more than two hundred shows in such venues as the Magic Castle and aboard the
Queen Elizabeth 2.
Mallory has also toured with the USO. She’s the author of twenty children’s novels, and her favorite reader is her son Jamie, who not only enjoys his mother’s work, but also tells “his secrets” to Lamb Chop!

J
ODY
L
OPATIN:
Ms. Lopatin, the former head mistress of an Orthodox Danish preschool, was the first Jewish president of the American Womens’ Club in Denmark and served on the board of the International American Women’s Foundation. She left Denmark as a result of growing anti-semitism, but her husband stayed behind. She is divorced, and has four grown sons.

G
il
M
ANN:
Mr. Mann is a journalist and self-made entrepreneur. He adeptly uses both of those careers to help others understand their Judaism. His book,
How to Get More Out of Being Jewish Even If: A. You Are Not Sure You Believe in God, B. You Think Going to Synagogue Is a Waste of Time, C. You Think Keeping Kosher Is Stupid, D. You Hated Hebrew,
has been critically acclaimed. He lectures and conducts an online bulletin board
called “Why Be Jewish Anyway?” After three years as a fellow of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, Mr. Mann decided to learn more about unaffiliated Jews. He saw that “the product is excellent but sales haven’t been so hot.” He also wanted to know what other Jews think of Judaism. So he asked and continues to ask. Mr. Mann publishes the
Being Jewish
magazine that goes to about 100,000 homes. (
BeingJewish.org
)

S
TACEY
M
ARCUS:
Stacey Marcus is a senior contributing editor at
New England Bride
and
New England Corporate Events,
and has been a popular columnist for the
Jewish Journal of the North Shore.
She is also a freelance contributor to many area publications in the Boston area. Ms. Marcus owns and operates Grapevine Communications, which provides public relations and marketing counsel for nonprofit organizations and small businesses. She and her husband, Mitchell, reside in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with their two daughters, Rachel and Emily.

M
ICHAEL
M
EDVED:
Mr. Medved, an Orthodox (or “Observant”) Jew, is a nationally syndicated conservative radio talk-show host, film critic, and author. He left Yale Law School, to serve as a Democratic campaign consultant and worked for Robert Kennedy’s election. After that he had a brief stint for Congressman Ron Dellums of California, which pushed him away from the “left.” Mr. Medved then worked for the election of Ronald Reagan and became a vocal supporter for conservatism and the Republican Party. Medved has reviewed movies for CNN and the
New York Post
and was also cohost of
Sneak Previews,
on PBS. He is on the board of contributors to
USA Today
and does op-ed pieces for the
Wall Street Journal.
His daily three-hour talk radio program reaches 140 markets. In 2005, he published his autobiography,
Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life.
He’s also written the bestseller
What Really Happened to the Class of ’65,
as well as
The Shadow Presidents
and
Hollywood vs. America,
among others. He collaborated with wife, Dr. Diane Medved, a clinical psychologist, on
Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence.

S
HARON
M
ELNICER:
Ms. Melnicer is a freelance writer, visual artist, and teacher living in Winnipeg. She is also a regular contributor to the
Jewish Post and News,
the
Winnipeg Free Press,
and other publications.

M
ARILYN
M
ICHAELS:
Ms. Michaels is the winner of an Outer Critic Circle Award and a Drama League Award for her work in
Catskills On Broadway.
The woman “of a thousand faces and voices,” she was a star of the Emmy-winning series
The Kopykats.
Today she performs in clubs from New York to Las Vegas. But then what would you expect from a child of the theater, whose mother was the famed female cantoress, Fraydele Oysher, and her uncle, the legendary Moishe Oysher? Ms. Michaels is also an accomplished artist whose paintings and celebrity artworks have appeared in fine galleries. Her new art poster, the Fabulous Blondes, depicts filmdom’s movie goddesses. Her son, Mark, who is also in “the family business,” can be heard on her CD,
A Mother’s Voice.

R
ABBI
Y
OCHEVED
M
INTZ:
Rabbi Mintz has been involved in Jewish education as teacher and principal for over forty-five years. She was ordained in 2004 and is the spiritual leader of the Valley Outreach Synagogue of Las Vegas, Nevada’s only Reconstructionist congregation. She is a member of the board of rabbis of southern Nevada, the Clark County Ministerial Association, and the Interfaith Council of southern Nevada. Rabbi Mintz is also managing director of the Las Vegas Jewish Center for Education, Media, and the Arts. Her other memberships include: the Chevra Kaddisha, president of the Academy for Jewish Religion/CA Alumni Association, and associate member of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. She is also on the board of OHALAH, the Rabbinical Association of the Renewal Movement. Rabbi Mintz is the eighteenth generation of rabbis on her paternal (Porath) side. She is married to physician and entrepreneur Dr. Alan Mintz. They have four sons and thirteen grandchildren.

R
AHEL
M
USLEAH:
Ms. Musleah is an award-winning journalist, author, singer, storyteller, and educator. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including: the
New York Times, Family Circle, Publishers Weekly, Hadassah
magazine,
Reform Judaism,
and
Jewish Woman.
Her books include:
Apples and Pomegranates: A Family Seder for Rosh Hashanah, Why on This Night? A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration, Sharing Blessings: Children’s Stories for Exploring the Spirit of the Jewish Holidays, B’Kol Arev: Songs of the Jews of Calcutta,
and
Journey of a Lifetime: The Jewish Life Cycle Book.
She has also created the CD
Hodu: Jewish Rhythms from Baghdad to India.
She was born in India, and is the seventh generation of a Calcutta Jewish family. Ms. Musleah also presents programs on the Jewish communities of India.
www.rahelsjewishindia.com
.

D
R.
R
ENA
N
ORA:
Dr. Nora is a preeminent expert in gambling problems. She is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, former chief of psychiatry at the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System and the Mike O’Callaghan Federal Hospital, and commissioner on the Nevada’s governor’s Commission on Mental Health and Developmental Services. She serves on the Nevada Board of Examiners for Drug, Alcohol, and Gambling Counselors, and is medical advisor for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (Nevada) and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. She has published numerous articles on suicide, problem gambling, and mental health issues, Dr. Nora, a retired Lt. Col. U.S. Army Reserve, is known for her impressive ability to manage the roles of mother, physician, teacher, administrator, writer, researcher, and community leader.

A
LLYSON
R
ICE:
Ms. Rice is co-owner and director of Earth-Heart. She is a gifted, intuitive individual who works with others using the body as an energetic map of life experiences and as a vehicle for healing. She facilitates workshops, quests, healing retreats, and women’s retreats around the country. Ms. Rice is a former actress, who was a star of
As the World Turns,
and has since had extensive training in advanced energy healing based in ancient Native American and Tibetan healing arts. She is an internationally certified kundalini yoga instructor through the Kundalini Research Institute. She has a private energy healing practice in the Los Angeles area and is a powerful and compassionate teacher, dedicated to unleashing the awareness and creative potential of her clients.

M
ARTA
S
ANDERS
: Ms. Sanders is the recipient of the Outstanding Female Vocalist award from the Manhattan Association Cabarets. She comes a family that loved to perform. Her mother and two aunts were regulars on
Major Boles
and two of her siblings (Jay O. Sanders and Fred Sanders) are successful actors. Her father’s career in education and social service brought the family to Bogotá, Colombia, where Marta took voice lessons in classical music. At nineteen, she moved to New York and attended the American Music and Dramatic Academy. She appeared in
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
and today, she is a world-renowned cabaret artist. Her current performances include her one-woman show
It’s a Mother,
which incorporates songs of the great mamas of Broadway. Ms. Sanders is also producing a Spanish CD of Latin ballads. She and her husband have two daughters.

D
R.
E
LIEZER
S
EGAL:
Dr. Segal, originally from Montreal, is a professor of religious studies at the University of Calgary and specializes in Judaism. He also holds a PhD in Talmud from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His primary areas of research include rabbinic literature, Jewish law and homiletics, and comparative biblical interpretation. His publications include scholarly monographs, popular scholarship, a children’s book, and many articles and book chapters. He also maintains an extensive Web site, ucalgary.ca/~elsegal. He is married to Agnes Romer Segal, and has three sons and two “extraordinary” grandsons.

K
AREN
L. S
MITH:
Ms. Smith, MSS, LSW, is a clinical social worker and director/founder of Full Living: Resources for Celebrating Body/Self, which offers national consulting services to organizations, schools, and clinics. She speaks nationally on the topics of eating disorders, body image, sexuality, sexual orientation and gender, and maintains a private outpatient practice in Philadelphia.