Stars of David

January 01, 2009 - Michael Elkin, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Eve Biskind Klothen

Father Time is taking the year off -- something about a vacation strolling down memory lane -- and his responsibilities are now being handled by that babe in the woods -- 2009. But, for some, old interests mean new accomplishments and honors. Take the case of Eve Biskind Klothen of Swarthmore. No one has a pro bono to pick with the Rutgers School of Law/Camden assistant dean for pro-bono and public-interest projects: She's just been named winner of the 2009 Father Robert Drinan Award, and will receive it Jan. 8 in San Diego when its presenter, the Association of American Law Schools, holds a meeting for its division of pro-bono and public-service opportunities. Among Klothen's closetful of accomplishments: She's past prexy of Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

Tamar Dalya Erlbaum

Hair today, gone tomorrow -- mitzvah for eternity! That's the selfless decision made by Tamar Dalya Erlbaum, the first-grader at Torah Academy with a first-class outlook on life. The beautiful 6-year-old (okay, 6 1/2; at that age, she doesn't mind the add-on; ha, wait till later!) just had her hair cut at the Millennium Hair and Day Spa, in Wynnewood, with a snip of tzedakah targeted in the process: The daughter of communal leaders Amy and Daniel Erlbaum -- and whose grandparents Vicki and Gary Erlbaum are a cut above as well -- ponied up her pigtails to benefit Locks of Love, "a public, nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis," with donations used "to create the highest quality hair prosthetics." With Albert Torelli of Millennium playing Edward Scissorhands, Tamar took a hand in starting the new year with golden -age values: No hair in her eyes as the clear-visioned kid explained, "The hair will be made into a sheitel for a child who doesn't have hair because of the [medicine given for] cancer sickness." Kids, who can tell what's wrong with these kids today? Obviously, Paul Lynde never met this young adorable altruist.

Dr. Chad Gordon

Face time: The extraordinary news out of the Cleveland Clinic last month about the nation's first transplant involving nearly the entire face certainly opened eyes internationally. But it also put a smile on the lips of those who know Chad Gordon, D.O., one of the interdisciplinary team -- he's a fellow in the clinic's department of plastic surgery and a highly respected pioneering writer/editor on the topic of composite tissue allotransplantation, who earned his med degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine -- that took part in the 22-hour operation. Especially hanging on Chad's kudos are his delighted folks, local real estate moguls Jeff Gordon and Paula Hartman.

Richard Kind

"Every Land Is Full of Thee and Every Sea," filled with the photographic art of localite/world traveler Laurence Salzmann, is being showcased at the Old City Jewish Art Center, with a meet-the-award-winning-artist reception scheduled Jan. 18.

Hey, peoples! Here's a blast from the past: Aliza Kashi, one of Merv's faves (and if you have to ask who Merv is, well, you probably don't know who Arthur Treacher is, either), and whose performances at the old Latin Casino, in Cherry Hill, N.J. (and if you have to ask

never mind!), is guesting on this Sunday's Barry Reisman show. Tune into the WNWR program around 4 p.m. to hear the Israeli songbird (Kashi, not Reisman) and remember why she once was the Madonna of the moshav set.

What better way to end the first column of the new year than with a Kind word: Richard Kind, whose Jersey roots prove that what Trenton makes, the world takes, is taking on a new role in Jeffrey Sweet's "Flyovers," which starts previews in New York on Jan. 29. Good way for the popular and talented Kind man to start off 2009 -- off-and-running off-Broadway.