At their March 10 annual luncheon, the Brotherhood of Kol Rinah plan to honor their Man of the Year and Youth of the Year. All honorees have demonstrated a commitment to Jewish values and work towards the betterment of the world around them.
Kol Rinah’s Brotherhood is honoring Dr. Ralph Graff for his many contributions and his longstanding support. He is a past president and treasurer of B’rith Shalom Kneseth Israel (BSKI) prior to its merge with Shaare Zedek and a board member of Kol Rinah. Graff says he is proud of his involvement in helping put up the BSKI and Shaare Zedek memorial plaques in Kol Rinah and for participating in the adult education program over the last 20 year. He is currently a professor of surgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine as well as the director of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory.
Grace Cooperstein, daughter of Dave and Alisa Cooperstein, and Rebekah Simmons, daughter of Karen Kern, are the Youth of the Year at Kol Rinah. Grace is a teaching assistant for KoREH religious school, working with first, second, and third graders since 2021. She is a junior at Whitfield School where she is the editor-in-chief of the yearbook and rock climbs with the school club. Grace also performs with various theater companies in St. Louis. Rebekah is a junior at Dayspring Arts & Education, where she is involved with the student council planning events for the school. She has volunteered at many synagogue holiday events and other programs. Rebekah is in her third year as a madricha, for KoREH, working with pre-schoolers and kindergarteners.
