REPAIR THE WORLD

Jews honor ex-justice

At Tikkun Olam awards event, federation lauds Tuck for her work

As sun set on the Sabbath, the Jewish Federation of Arkansas hosted the 12th annual Jane B. Mendel Tikkun Olam awards ceremony and dinner recognizing community-minded Jews from congregations as far north as Bentonville and south as McGehee.

"This is actually one of my favorite nights of the year," said host Steve Bauman, "when we come to celebrate with fellow Jews from all over the state ... our Jewish heritage ... our religious freedoms in this great country ... the important work of the Jewish Federation of Arkansas, and ... those among us who've gone above and beyond in service to their Jewish communities."

"The large number of non-Jewish friends here tonight is extraordinary," he added. "Also, there might be as many lawyers here tonight as Jews."

In all, 14 Jews were honored Feb. 21 with Tikkun Olam awards: Rhonda Bensen of Little Rock, Michael Margolis of Little Rock, Jim Pfeifer of Little Rock, Michelle Malashock of Bentonville, Cynthia Rephan of Hot Springs, Lindsay Mindlin and Blair Schneider of Hendrix College in Conway, Rita Fagan of Little Rock, Jo Lawton of Little Rock, Rabbi Jacob Adler of Fayetteville, Sonia Burris of Hot Springs, Steven Lane of Little Rock, Hagit Grenman Gregory of McGehee, and Jane Kominek of Fort Smith.

The keynote presentation and award was presented to the former state Supreme Court Justice Annabelle Imber Tuck by Sheila Bronfman.

Tuck said her history as a lawyer and judge led her in retirement to volunteer giving legal counsel to poor Arkansans, and that in turn made her aware of the dire situation of those Arkansans not covered by health insurance through their employer or the state, which "led me to get involved in the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, the exchange by which almost 300,000 Arkansans have signed up for health insurance" in its first year, she said, to the heartiest applause of the night.

These are the two efforts by which she most patently "repairs the world," the English translation of the Hebrew phrase "tikkun olam."

-- Photos and story by Bobby Ampezzan

High Profile on 03/01/2015

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