February 20, 2004

Vol. LXXXIII No. 25 Omaha, NE

SPECIAL HOME & GARDEN ISSUE

Beth Israel Makes the Move West

JELS Organizing Jewish Film Festival

by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of The Jewish Press Stepping over piles of snow and leaning into 30 mph winds, a group of about 35 braved the cold last Thursday afternoon to walk Beth Israel’s Torahs from the Jewish Community Center through the Leawood neighborhood into the congregation’s new synagogue on 126th and Pacific. “It’s not every day that a community gets to participate in an occasion like this,” said Dr. Howard Gendelman, who organized the procession. The group of men danced with the Torahs on the bima of the new sanctuary, as the women looked over the layout of the pews on their side of the mechitza. “I think this is where I’ll sit for now,” said Janet Kohll, wife of congregation President David Kohll, choosing a seat on the aisle, about halfway back. “That way I can watch my children when they’re on the bima, too,” she added, eyeing her son Max as he climbed up the Rick Katzman, left, Joe Shyken, Pacific. The Torahs were ceremoniplatform. Though Executive Director Beth Cohen Marvin Kohll, and Jack Kozlen, ously walked from the JCC. More photos on page 12 as well called this winter’s opening of the new were among those who carried the as a related story about the synaTorahs into Beth Israel’s sanctuary building, a “soft opening” with a larger comgogue’s art. at the new building on 126th and munity-wide dedication set for later this spring, the celebration did continue on Saturday with Shabbat “out West” to attend the opening Shabbat, the installation of a new Sisterhood Board of Directors along with several members of other synagogues. Cohen noted that a Shabbat minyan in the 52nd St. and a Shabbat lunch, attended by about 80 people. Several of the Shomer Shabbos families from the the Chapel will continue to be provided on Friday evenings “old neighborhood” of 52nd and Seward Streets, spent Continued on page 12

Trev Alberts to Headline B’nai B’rith Sports Banquet by HOWARD BORDEN and GARY JAVITCH Preview and NFL Preview during the season. for B’nai B’rith Henry Monsky Lodge Outstanding as a student and a player, Alberts capped To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its charity ban- one of the finest seasons for any defensive player by quet, B’nai B’rith announced that winning Nebraska’s first Butkus ESPN College and Pro Gameday Award, and became one of the most Analyst, Trev Alberts would be their decorated defensive players in the guest speaker. annals of Nebraska gridiron. During “Alberts, a former Cornhusker allhis college career, Alberts helped star, will bring a unique insight to lead the Cornhuskers to three Big our dinner,” says Gil Cohen, Eight titles and three Orange Bowl Banquet Chairman.” berths and was named a First Team The Lodge annually honors the All-American by every major publimost outstanding Metro area high cation. school male and female student-athOff the field, Alberts was also lete of the year and presents them highly recognized, earning the with their prestigious Bert Render NCAA’s highest honor, the Today’s and Earl Siegel Memorial Awards. Top Six Award, in 1993. He was And, new this Golden Anniversary also a three-time Academic All-Big year, the award recipients will each Eight honoree. Alberts turned pro receive a $1500 scholarship providfollowing his 1994 first round seleced by sponsor Waitt Media. tion by the Indianapolis Colts for Another highlight of the May 12 whom he played through the 1996 evening event features the return of season. popular Omaha media personality, “As last year, the Henry Monsky Otis XII, who will reprise his insightLodge of B’nai B’rith will hold the ful and humorous role as Master of event at the Holiday Inn Convention Ceremonies. Center Ballroom,” Cohen added. Trev Alberts Alberts is primarily seen on ESPN’s The cocktail hour begins at 5:45 College and Pro Gameday as a lead analyst, reporting p.m. with the dinner following an hour later, according on all aspects of the game. Before his current assign- to Cohen. Tickets are $100 and are available by calling ment, Alberts served as an analyst for CNN/Sports the B’nai B’rith Office at 334-6443. Special VIP recepIllustrated, appearing on both CNN’s College Football tion/dinner tickets are $150.

Inside

This Week: Home & Garden Section Starts on Page 11 Group Initiates Women’s Seder: Page 3

28 Shevat, 5764 February 20, 2004

John Kerry’s Jewish Brother: Page 5

by GARY KATZ Assistant Librarian, Kripke Jewish Federation Library The highly acclaimed film--Moments, Israel--will open this year’s Jewish Film Festival in Omaha on Sunday, March 14, 7 p.m., in the theater at the Jewish Community Center. Moments is a collection of film shorts by some of Israel’s most gifted directors. They were commissioned to contribute 17 films, three minutes in length each, to premiere at the 2002 Jerusalem Film Festival and for broadcast on Israeli television. Matar-Plus, the producer explained that “we felt we had to do something about the situation. The films in this audio-visual essay are a wide range of genres, techniques and issues; documentaries, satire and personal statements. This variety is a faithful reflection of the almost unbearable complexity of our feelings and interpretations, as Israelis, to the present reality.” The shorts in Moments, Israel attempt to deal with ordinary people, with ordinary lives, attempting to bring order and reason to the chaos and madness of Israel’s daily existence. Immediately following the film, the audience is invited to participate in a panel discussion with Prof. Moshe Gershovich, Ruth Margalit, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Naava Naslavsky. The panelists have a unique perspective because they are either Israeli citizens or have visited the country recently. Guy Matalon, Executive Director of Jewish Educational and Library Services, noted, “This year’s festival is going to be bigger and better than our first one. The committee screened many, many films and chose the best out there. It will be an exciting series and should stimulate the viewers. The films will strengthen and deepen the viewers’ Jewish identity.” Jennifer Glazer, Chairman of the Film Festival Committee added, “We are very excited about the films we selected. The committee worked very hard to find something for everyone in the community to enjoy. We are thrilled to be able to share these films with everyone.” Tickets are $5 each and are available at the door or by calling the Kripke Library at 334.6462. A combopack is also available for $15 for all films. Upcoming films include: The Believer, Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m.; Nowhere in Africa, Saturday, March 20, 8 p.m.; Kids Matinee & Crafts, Sunday, March 21, 2 p.m.; Double Feature: Secret Lives: Hidden Children and In Vienna They Put You In Jail, Thursday March 25, 7 p.m. The 2004 Jewish Omaha Film Festival is presented by Jewish Educational and Library Services and the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. For more information, contact either Iris Ricks at JELS, 334.6445, or me, 334.6462.

Next Month: Salute to Beth Israel’s New Building on March 5 Judaism and the Environment: Page 13

ADL Offers Guide to Viewing The Passion: Page 20

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

‘Purim Program Planning Party’ Sets Mood of Revelry at Beth El

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by DIANE AXLER BAUM for Beth El Synagogue The joy of Adar is getting an early start at Beth El this year, where holiday preparations are taking the form of “Purim Program Planning Parties,” complete with song, dance, and gourmet snacks. The first planning party took place at the synagogue earlier this month, and the second is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6:30 p.m. Anyone unable to arrive at the beginning will be welcome later, said program director Harriet Einziger, who is conducting the events with Cantor Gastón Bogomolni. Beth El’s Purim Program on Saturday evening, March 6, will re-create the color, style, rhythm, and beat of the incomparable 1960s. “We’re calling it ‘The Purim Megillah a la Beatles Karioke’, and it will be nothing short of fabulous,” Einziger said. The planning parties are setting the mood and offering “previews of what’s to come,” Bogomolni pointed out. For one thing, he will share the hilarious Purim parodies of favorite Beatles songs. “We All Pray in a Yellow Synagogue” and “Hey Jews!” are just two examples. After the food and fun, the planning event will turn to a discussion of work to be accomplished and specific assignments. Artistic volunteers will be needed to help create and set up intricate decorations, including “a 1960s tent city in Shushan.” History buffs will develop “pathways of the decades.” Others will carry out a gala costume parade, initiate games and activities, serve

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20 USY Winter Shabbaton Camp Chi, Wisconsin Feb. 20-22 Temple Israel OTYG Social Action Workshop, Feb. 20-22 Tot Shabbat Service 6 p.m. at Beth El Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Earl Grollman, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel

C SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21 L HAZAK Kiddish & Speaker Terry Clark, noon at Beth El I Scholar-in-Residence Earl Grollman, 2 p.m. at Temple Israel P BESTT “Family Flick Night”, 7 p.m. at Beth El

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Scholar-in-Residence Earl Grollman, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel S Bible Study Group, 11 a.m. at Beth El A BBG Powderpuff Basketball, 1 p.m. V Girl Scout Troop Meeting, 3 p.m. Boy Scouts Blue & Gold Banquet, 3:30 p.m. E ADL Kolit Music Program, 7 p.m.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 YES Program, 10 a.m. “Soul of the Text” Adult Ed. Class, 11 a.m. BEAM Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El JELS Teacher Training Program, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 Adult Education, 8:30 a.m. at Temple Israel BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Adult Education, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel Federation Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Federation Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 JELS Program “Jewish Thinkers on Jewish Subjects”, 10 a.m. “Patter” Program, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Crash Course in Hebrew Reading, noon Middle/High School Teacher Meeting , 5:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Adult Education 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Middle/High School Parents Book Club, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Adult B’nai Mitzvah Classes, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 S Walk-in Drop-in, 10 a.m. A Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel V “Jewish Wisdom for the 21st Century” with Rabbi Levin, noon at Beth El E Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. LOVE Auxiliary Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

S A V E

All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events.To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING,VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

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refreshments, and undertake a number of other tasks. The regular evening service, Minha, will start on Saturday, March 6, 6:10 p.m., followed by an abbreviated reading of the Megillah, at approximately 6:45 p.m. While the Purim Program unfolds in the social hall, a full reading of the megillah will take place in the Chapel, starting at 7:30 p.m. The fun will continue into Sunday, with Beth El’s ever-popular Purim Carnival, March 7, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds of the affair will benefit United Synagogue Youth’s Tikkun Olam (“repair the world”) donation. New this year, the teens will use a portion of the earnings to start and maintain a USY Scholarship Fund to assist with chapter dues and the cost of attending regional conventions. As in past years, the teens are selling tickets for the Purim Carnival Raffle. In addition, this year they are working on a number of new activities to assure that participants of all age groups will have options for enjoyment during Carnival hours. Also, with the help of Sisterhood, the teens will be preparing pareve baked goods and will hold a bake sale at the Carnival. Beth El Youth Advisor Rachel Katskee, expressing pride in the teens’ initiative and energy, said a “Hype Up Night,” Thursday, March 4, will provide final preparation for the many responsibilities they have undertaken. To offer your help with the Purim Program, or obtain further information, please call or click Harriet Einziger, 492.8550 or programming@bethel-omaha.org. For more on the Purim Carnival, call Rachel Katskee, 740.6005.

Community Action to Be Focus of UJC’s Washington 14 Conference by ERICA BARTON UJC Media Relations NEW YORK--Creating positive social change starting at the local, community level will be a major focus of the United Jewish Communities (UJC) Washington 14 Conference, taking place March 21-23 in the nation's capital and expected to attract nearly 2,000 young Jewish leaders from across North America. Among them will be Omahans: Forrest Krutter, Jake Slosburg, Brad Green, Gil Cohen, and Bob Goldberg. However, Sharon Kirshenbaum, Director of the Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership program, said, “There’s still time to register. While the deadline is coming up--March 1--we still have funds available to assist young Jewish adults who want to participate in this conference. If you’re interested, please call me right away at 334.6485 and we’ll get your registration to UJC immediately.” The conference theme, “We Can Make a Difference”, underscores the power of the next generation of Jewish leaders, collectively and individually, to practice tikkun olam, repair of the world. “To bring participants’ activism to the most tangible of levels, Washington 14 will be infused with a strong community action component,” said conference CoChairman Jonathan A. Mayer of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and a member of the UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet. “In addition to having strong social Jewish programming, as well as bi-partisan political programming, we will provide participants with tools to bring home with them, resulting in ongoing involvement and participation in their local Jewish communities. Already, in various communities, community action programs taking place before the conference are energizing people to get involved at a grassroots level,” he added. One highlight of Washington 14 will be a community action center, where attendees may sponsor a Passover seder and personalize Pesach cards for needy Jewish families in Argentina, the former Soviet Union, Cuba, Poland and Israel. To help foster the development of meaningful community programs throughout the federation system, six Jewish communities--Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Phoenix--will showcase community action projects implemented prior to the conference. The programs, which range from planting trees, to vis-

iting the elderly, to helping immigrants feel welcome in their new home, will be featured on the UJC website at www.ujc.org/w14. “These communities were selected to engage participants, and help them to recognize the value of being involved and connected to their local Jewish community,” said conference Co-Chairman Judith T. Sydney of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and a member of the UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet. “In my community, we are holding a senior prom for the elderly residents of the Golda Meir House. The event will provide an opportunity for the residents to dance and celebrate life with the younger attendees.” Attendees may also list themselves in a bone marrow registry through the Gift of Life, an organization that facilitates bone marrow transplants for patients by increasing the representation of Jewish people in the bone marrow donor pool. Conference programming will include major sessions, workshops, and interactive breakout sessions designed to inspire and empower attendees. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak out and talk to their representatives on Capitol Hill about key issues affecting the Jewish community. Speaking at Washington 14 will be a bi-partisan lineup of top American, Israeli and Jewish political, media and community figures, including: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY); Senator Bill Frist (R-TN); political humorist Al Franken; Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.; Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Mark Mellman, one of the nation’s leading public opinion researchers and communication strategists; Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV); Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA); Steven Emerson, award-winning author and commentator on national security, terrorism and Middle East affairs; Rabbi Shoshana Gelfand, Vicepresident and acting director of the Wexner Heritage Foundation; Rabbi Irwin Kula, President of CLAL; Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University; Dennis Prager, radio talk show host on KABC in L.A.; and Dr. Sabi Shabtai, internationally recognized authority on terrorism. Program and registration information is posted at www.ujc.org/w14 or call Kirshenbaum at the Federation offices, 334.6485.

February 20, 2004

NJHS to Premier Film on Lost Synagogues in April by RENEE CORCORAN NJHS Director On Wednesday, April 14, 7 p.m., in the Theater of the Jewish Community Center, the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society will be presenting the award winning film, The Lost Wooden Synagogues of Eastern Europe. For decades, the world believed all the wooden synagogues of E a s t e r n Europe were lost. A few years ago, a team from H e b r e w University discovered six wooden synagogues still standing, miraculously surviving the Holocaust and 50 years of neglect. Under the auspices of the Judaic Collection of Florida Atlantic University, Albert Barry took an award-winning film crew and traveled to Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. While on location Barry and his film crew discovered four additional synagogues that were not known to exist. The winner of five awards at film festivals, this documentary tells the story of the synagogues, the life that surrounded them before the war and what happened to them in the last 50 years. The executive producer of the documentary Albert Barry will present the film narrated by Theodore Bikel. Barry has researched and collected rare photographs of the Eastern Europe wooden synagogues for the past forty years. He was a photojournalist for years and his photographs have appeared in Time and Life magazines. Barry has lectured around the country and appeared in a four part series on public television. The admission to this program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact me at the NJHS office, 334.6442.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Starting a New Tradition: The Women’s Seder by ALLISON LATENSER for the Women’s Seder Committee On March 17, Jewish women from Omaha and the surrounding area will gather together at the Jewish Community Center to create a new tradition: the first city-wide women’s seder. This unique Passover experience will be lead by Rabbi Amy Katz of Kansas City, KS. She’s the Director of Adult Jewish Learning for the Central Agency for Jewish Education and for the JCC of Overland Park, KA. Ordained at the Jewish Theological seminary, Rabbi Katz has a doctorate in education from Michigan State University. Rabbi Katz has found a women’s seder to be a fulfilling experience. “(It’s) a new way to look at an old story,” she explained. “It’s an opportunity for women to come together and celebrate the Passover story, specifically focusing on the role of women in the Exodus. A women’s seder is an invigorating evening and gives us a chance to prepare ourselves spiritually. “When I think of preparing for the seder,” she added, “I think ‘grocery store, grocery store, grocery store.’ But there’s another kind of preparation.” Rabbi Katz will be accompanied by Yachad, the Traveling Tefillah Band, a Kansas City-based ensemble of eight vocalists and musicians. They’ve been bringing a refreshing new spirit to Jewish worship since 2000. Yachad means “together” and tefillah is prayer in Hebrew. According to the group’s spokesman, Devra Lerner, “Our group doesn’t ‘perform’, but rather encourages participation at the services we lead. The band’s goal is to pray together with the congregation, lifting everyone’s spirits.”

Left: Rabbi Amy Katz; above, Yachad, the Travelling Tefillah Band, all of Kansas City. Since March of 2002, Yachad has been travelling the country, sharing their unique style of liturgical music and enhancing worship at the congregations they visit. Linda Salvay, vocalist and guitarist for the band, had this message for Omaha: “We are truly excited to participate in this wonderful experience with your community.” What can Omaha women expect to experience on March 17? Beverly Jacobson is Director of the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation in Kansas City and has been involved with women’s sederim for the last six years. “You’ve got a wonderful evening ahead of you. Rabbi Katz and Yachad do a fabulous job of uniting all participants in a truly energizing and spiritual seder experience. There are no bystanders at their sederim-Yachad’s rousing music and Rabbi Katz’s insightful commentary bring the Passover story to life.” Cost for the seder includes a Hagaddah and a selection of Passover desserts. Adults are $12; teens and preteen youth are $10. For more information, contact Ducky Milder, 397.2093. The Women’s Seder is co-sponsored by the Women of Reform Judaism, Beth El Sisterhood, National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, the Women of Beyt Shalom and Jewish Women International.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

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by JOAN K. MARCUS tistics computations for various Harvard Even at Central High School, Martin J. personnel.” Graetz marched to his own drummer. He He added, “The agent of choice for could always be found reading a book this work was an IBM 704. To a generaand he had a profound interest in sci- tion whose concept of a computer is ence, math and science fiction. founded on the Z80 chip, it may be hard A search for Graetz found him in to visualize a 704 or to comprehend the Acton, Massachusetts, where he is an place it held in the public imagination as independent contracting technical writer. the type specimen of what a computer Over the years, he has worked at was: a collection of mysterious hulking Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of gray cabinets approachable only through Technology, Digital Equipment the intercession of the operator.” Company and an “obscure” startup comHe remembers that the operator set pany called Masscomp. switches, pushed buttons and examined His memories of Omaha include: panels of flashing lights while his assisstreetcars, farmland and a real down- tants attended to various whirring, clanktown--none of which remain! ing and chattering devices. They rushed While still in high school, Graetz par- to and fro with stacks of cryptically printticipated in Photo-Lab Club, Science- ed paper, decks of weirdly punched Math Club, Junior Academy of Science, cards and reels of recondite brown ribOmaha University bon--all to the backScience Work-shop and ground hum of the entered into the National machine. Science Talent Search. “Add a little incense He helped to develop the and a few candles and science fiction club. you could have been for“I never thought about given for thinking that what I wanted to be these were the rites of when I grew up,” he some oracular shrine!” he explained, “but I knew I laughed. wanted to be a scientist When Graetz and his or a spaceman. I was a team invented the game, classic underachiever ‘Spacewar’, it was to be and I tried to do as little used as a demonstration as possible in high program to demonstrate school!” as many of the computMichael Graetz In addition to his interer’s resources as possible est in science, Graetz loves classical and to tax those resources to the limit. music and is a pianist. In later years, he They said that it should be interesting, studied at Longy School of Music. involve the onlooker in a pleasurable He was born in 1935 to Saul and and active way--and it should be a game. Esther Spar Graetz. Saul worked at They needed action and some kind of Brodkey Jewelry most of his life and skill level. They needed for it to be a Esther was a traditional homemaker. game where the player moved things However, she was an active volunteer around--like spaceships. They wanted who translated books and other materi- an explorer game--a race-a contest... a als into Braille for people who are blind. fight. They all shouted, “Spacewar!” Martin, his parents and two sisters took Whenever, he is able, Graetz travels to many outdoor vacations and from that, England to participate in Morris he developed a great love for the out- Dancing--a form of ritual folkdance. It doors. Since leaving Omaha in 1953, he originated in the Cotswold region in has done much backpacking in the western England, between Oxford and White and Adirondack Mountains and the Welsh border. It is a ritual--as has hiked in Colorado with the Buffalo opposed to social dance. Boys. He is also a member of his local The dance is done with purposes cycling club. beyond fun--although it is also fun! All of Family members say that Martin was the dancing is done to live music, tradinever without a book in his hand. “He tionally performed on instruments such had good grades--not top ones! as pipe and tabor (a small drum), button However, his interests were such that he accordion, fiddle, etc. Since this type of was able to get into MIT. And, when dancing is a living tradition, new dances they built their first computer lab, Martin are being written all the time, to tradiwas there!” Saul added. tional or new tunes. According to Martin, “Although I have There are now teams of Morris received no special awards, honors or Dancers around the world and more recognition, ‘computer geeks’ know that, than 100 in America--as well as Australia, in 1961, I helped to invent ‘Spacewar’, Hong Kong and Canada. Dancers travel considered by some to be the first inter- to England and elsewhere so that they active computer game.” may share dances, music, beer and conIn an article in Creative Computing viviality with their fellow and sister Magazine in 1981, Graetz was quoted as dancers. saying, “We were all working at Harvard In the 50 plus years since Martin University’s Littauer statistical laboratory. Graetz left Omaha, he has certainly A large part of our jobs was to run sta- “done it his way!”

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“Kolit: Voices of the Generations” will perform this Sunday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m., in the Jewish Community Center’s Theatre. Open and free seating will begin at 6:30 p.m. “Kolit,” the Hebrew term for “voices” is an Israeli musical group from the Ghetto Fighters’ Kibbutz of the Western Galilee. The group comes to Omaha as part

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emorial Plaques from Beth Israel Synagogue have been moved into our new building. Simcha Boards, the Endowment Tree and some other plaques have also been moved. There are some plaques and art items that will move into the new building when the 52nd Street building is sold. Other items, such as plaques on the back of pews, will be made available to the families who dedicated them when the building is sold.

M

Beth Israel

A workman carefully screws into place one of the hundreds of yahrzeit plaques moved from the 52nd Street building to Beth Israel’s new location on 126th and Pacific.

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of Partnership 2000 and in conjunction with the Institute for Holocaust Education, a division of the ADL. Partnership 2000 is a program of United Jewish Communities and the Jewish Federation of Omaha that pairs up American Jewish communities with those in Israel. For more information, please contact Beth Dotan at 334.6575

February 20, 2004

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

John Kerry’s Jewish Brother Cam Kerry and His Detroit In-laws Get Up Close and Personal About the Democratic Frontrunner

AMERICA DECIDES 2004 by SHARON LUCKERMAN Detroit Jewish News, an affiliate of Jewish Renaissance Media DETROIT, MI--When Cameron Kerry fell in love with Oak Park, Michigan, native Kathy Weinman, he chose to convert from Catholicism to Judaism. Little did he know that he already had a strong Jewish connection. His father's parents were Jewish--a fact uncovered last year when the Boston Globe hired a genealogist to check into the family roots of his brother, John Kerry, the Democratic presidential frontrunner thought by many to be of Irish background. The Kerry family was traced back to a small town in the Austrian empire, now part of the Czech Republic. There, the paper discovered that before immigrating to America, the Kerrys changed their name from Kohn and converted from Judaism to Catholicism. “It was mind-blowing,” says Cam Kerry about first learning his grandparents’ true history from the newspaper story. Also surprising to him was the number of Jews in his synagogue who came up to him with similar stories. “It’s an American story,” he says. It also could be a powerful Jewish story if John Kerry wins the White House. He would be the first president of the United States with Jewish roots.

“If my zayde (grandfa- daughter worked in Iowa and volunteered ther) could see this elec- for the Kerry campaign last summer. tion,” says Anne Weinman, Cam, 53, has taken time off from his law Cam’s Farmington Hills firm, Mintz Levin in Boston, and from his mother-in-law, who with position as an adjunct telecommunications her husband, Joe, originally law professor at Suffolk Law School there, emigrated from Eastern to work on his brother’s presidential camEurope. paign. Prior to the Michigan Democratic “Joe, and I are first-generation caucuses on Feb. 7, he was in Detroit Americans; it was inconceivable back stumping for his brother. He stayed with then that we could be connected to the his in-laws in Farmington Hills, where, president of the United States.” Anne says, she keeps a kosher kitchen, and Cam’s wife, Kathy Weinman, adds, “We Cam, who is knowledgeable of Jewish have to pinch ourselves once in a while. dietary laws, is one of the few people she It’s amazing trusts in it. to have a Cam’s wife, ringside seat Kathy, 49, to history in attended Oak the making.” Park High She and School and their two went to daughters, H e b r e w ages 13 and school at 17, also have Congregation participated in B’nai David in this history. Southfield, MI. They were in Her mother is N e w a former Hampshire E n g l i s h during the priteacher at mary. Her Berkley High daughters and her father campaigned was part for their owner of uncle, knockM u r r a y ing on doors, Lighting in making calls At a recent campaign rally, Sen. John Kerry stands with Detroit. The and holding Harold Schaitberger, president of the International W e i n m a n s up signs. Association of Fire Fighters, the first major union to back the now belong to Credit: IAFF Congregation Their elder Massachusetts Democrat.

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Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield. After graduating from the University of Michigan law school in 1979--magna cum laude--Kathy got her first job at a law firm in Washington, D.C. At the same firm she met Cam, also a magna cum laude graduate (of Boston College Law School). The two were married in 1983. Though brought up Catholic, he decided to convert to Judaism before the marriage. “I was influenced by Kathy,” says Cam. “Judaism is deeply held and meaningful to her. Early on, we established we would raise any children we had as Jewish. So it flowed from that. To be a full participant in their religious education, I would convert.” Cam says what appealed to him about Judaism was the role of study in the religion, that it valued learning and intellectual pursuits, which were comfortable and a part of his upbringing. He adds that standing on the bimah for each of his daughters’ bat mitzvahs as a full participant made his religious commitments well worth it. “Judaism is central to us,” says Kathy, who is active in her suburban Boston synagogue, Temple Israel in Brookline. “Judaism is a core of my life and important to our family.” When asked how the Catholic and Jewish sides of the family relate, Kathy replies, “It’s a terrific relationship.” She says that candidate Kerry was supportive when his brother converted to Judaism. He and his family have attended both nieces’ baby namings and b’nai mitzvah. Kathy says she is very close to John Kerry’s two daughters. Continued on page 7

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Burke High School presents Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat on Feb. 26, 27, 28 at 7 p.m. The popular musical features Sarah Spooner; Daniel Davidson and Brent Saltzman are part of the technical crew. Tickets are $7. For reserved seating, call the Burke Bookstore, 557.3232. The Jewish Federation of Lincoln will be among the sponsors of a concert by Yair Dalal on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m., at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. in Lincoln. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. (Federation members may purchase tickets at the door for $10 by stating that they are Federation donors.) Dalal, who is making a return visit to Lincoln, plays Middle Eastern music on the oud in an evening of uplifting music inspired by the desert winds of the Negev. He creates a contemporary take on ancient themes in a fusion of traditional and classical Jewish and Arab music. On Monday, Feb. 23, 10:30 a.m., Dalal will lecture and demonstrate the oud at Southeast Community College. You can also listen for Dalal’s interview on KZUM-FM on Feb 24, 10:30 a.m., and hear a lecture at UNL Student Union that day at 3:30 p.m. A re-broadcast of Nebraska ETV Live Forum provides Dialogue on Diversity is Sunday, Feb. 22, 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 28, 10 p.m. An outreach initiative of the Nebraska ETV Network, in partnership with the University of Nebraska (NU) and organizations and institutions throughout the state, explored where Nebraska is on issues surrounding race, gender and class. Moderators and a panel of regional experts led a discussion with a studio audience. Ben Gray from Omaha television station KETV and Bonnie Coffey, Executive Director of the Lincoln/Lancaster Women’s Commission, moderated the program, which was hosted by Nebraska Public Radio Network (NPRN) announcer Hope Stockwell. The Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra’s (UNO’s Concert Orchestra) and UNO’s Chamber Orchestra will perform on Sunday, February 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students and seniors. Please call 554.3427 for tickets and information. Omaha Central High School presents Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, featuring Angela Friedman and Sara Cowan, tonight and tomorrow, 7 p.m.; Feb. 21 and 22, 2 p.m. Tickets are $8; call 557.2223 for reservations.

ORGANIZATIONS Y.E.S. Members will meet Monday at the JCC. Come play bingo at 10 a.m. with Eileen Remer or exercise with Stacey Paskert at 10:30 a.m. Bring articles to share for the new “YES Talk” at 11 a.m. Following lunch at noon, Taguila Brown, a senior at North High School will sing. For transportation call Dee Dee at 330.4272.

according to Marty Ricks, Chairman. Gendler is a Sarpy County Juvenile Court Judge, and will discuss the CASA program (court appointed special advocate). He will also talk about Drug Court and the status of funding for these programs. Cost is $9 for lunch and $2 for beverage service only. Breadbreakers is open to the community.

WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the day trip to the Bluffs Run Casino on Thursday, please meet at the JCC main entrance by 8:45 a.m. For transportation call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

CAMP SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE APPROACHES Do you want to create memories for your child that will last a lifetime? If so, send your child to a Jewish camp this summer! If you are in need of financial assistance, please contact Iris Ricks, Assistant Executive Director of Jewish Educational and Library Services, at 334.6445 or at iricks@jewishomaha.org for information or an application. Camp applications are due in the JELS office by April 1. Scholarships are available for both Jewish residential camp and the JCC camp.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Want to have a “Freylichen Tog”? Come to the Lomir Redn Yiddish meeting at the JCC in the Social Hall on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638 for information. VISIONS Reminder: In Search of Shangri La is on Friday, Feb. 27, 2 p.m. at the Joslyn Art Museum. At noon, lunch is on your own at Le Cafe Durham. Note: Following lunch, the group will view a Gallery Preview on “Fabulism”, a showing of five artists. Membership dues to Visions are due. Please mail your $5 check to Gilda Pieck, 6955 Cuming, Omaha, NE 68132. JELS The Tuesday Lunch and Learn with Guy Matalon and Bob Wolfson will resume on Tuesday, March 2, noon. The popular “Guy and Bob Show” meets in the Kripke Library and features lively discussions about Israel, the Middle East and other topics of interest to Jews around the world. The group will also meet on the following Tuesdays: March 9, 16, 23, and 30. Bring your lunch and a friend and join us! OMAHA CENTER FOR TORAH LEARNING “Hidden Dimensions of Psalms,” organized by Shirley Goodman meets at the home of Annette Fettman on Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m. Rabbi Tuvia Hoffman will explore the meaning of Psalms. A crash course in Hebrew Reading with Rabbi Hoffman also meets Wednesdays at noon in the Federation Conference Room; Advanced Hebrew Comprehension meets at 7 p.m. at the OCTL Beis Midrash; call 981.0569 for more information. B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Judge Larry Gendler will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Feb. 25, noon, at the Park Inn Regency,

BIRTH Stacey and Brett Atlas announce the Jan. 20 birth of their son, Zachary Evan. Grandparents are Carl and Zoë Riekes, Ron and Lauren Atlas of Wilmette, IL; Ellen Atlas Israel and Don Israel of Wheeling, IL. Great-grandparents are Dorothy and Henry Riekes, Nathan Meltzer of Mission Viejo, CA, Thelma and Gerald Atlas of Chicago, IL, and Sol Ender of Chicago.

ENGAGEMENT DANN/EWOLDT Janey and Jerry Dann announce the engagement of their daughter, Robin Michelle, to Michael W. Ewoldt son of Myrna and Wayne Ewoldt of Bentonville, AK. She is employed with Peak Performance as the buyer and operations manager of their five stores. Her fiancé is the coowner of Peak Performance Fitness Gear stores in Nebraska, Iowa and Utah. An Aug. 12 wedding is planned at Snow Mountain Ranch, CO. The bride’s uncle, the Honorable Judge B. Michael Dann, will be officiating.

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Kerry’s Jewish Brother Continued from page 5 And the Weinman and Kerry families have become mishpachah (family), says Anne Weinman. Cam’s late “blueblood” mother, Rosemary, whose heritage goes back to colonial times with family names like Winthrop and Forbes, and his late father, Richard, were wonderful people proud of all four of their children: Peggy, John, Diana and Cam. She adds that the Kerry family -including Cam’s parents and John--were present when Cam and Kathy's daughters were named at the temple. “Religion has never been an issue between Cam and his [side of the] family,” Kathy says. “John’s always loved participating in our happy occasions. He’s always been there and part of our family.” The Weinmans say they are very active in the Kerry campaign. They support the candidate because of his stand on the environment and education, Anne says. “I have a greater appreciation for the early caucus

and primaries and the role they play,” Kathy says. “Our country is so big and it’s impossible for everyone to know the candidates. But the Iowans and the people of New Hampshire get that opportunity. We saw them get to know my brother-in-law and his opponents. They made their judgment from the place of knowledge and understanding.” Of course, when asking Cam or the Weinmans why people should vote for Kerry, you won’t get a strengths-and-weaknesses kind of answer. However, the warmth and intimacy of the reply gives another insight into this political family of diverse backgrounds. “There's nobody else I want by my side in a tough situation than my brother,” says the easy-going Cam, who has been at his brother’s side for all of John's campaigns for office. “In times of war and great economic challenge, he’s the kind of leader we need.”

Beth El Eighth Graders ‘Stomping Out Hunger’

Jr. Maccabi Team “Plunges” Ahead

by DIANE AXLER BAUM for Beth El Synagogue Eighth Graders in Beth El Synagogue Talmud Torah (BESTT) are performing the mitzvah of Ma’akhil R’evim (the commandment to feed the hungry) as part of this year’s classroom focus on mitzvot. As Purim approaches, the teens in Deborah Kronick’s class are encouraging their congregation and community to “Stomp Out Hamen and Hunger.” To launch the project, they brought “Haman” into Beth El’s Community Court. Then they began requesting donations of canned goods and other non-perishable food items to “weigh Haman down by covering him completely.” In actuality, Haman is a figure drawn by classmate Henry Ginsburg. Shortly before the celebration of Purim, March 6 and 7, the students and their teacher will deliver the collected food items to Jewish Family Service for the agency’s Jewish Food Pantry. “We are depending on our Beth El Family and other caring members of the community to provide the Jewish Food Pantry with ‘mana from heaven’,” Kronick said. From March 8 through April 4, she added, her class will continue a similar effort by requesting donations of unopened chametz to coincide with preparation of homes for Passover. At the conclusion of Passover, they will take the donated chametz to Jewish Family Service. For more information on “Stomping Out Hamen and Hunger,” please call or e-mail Deb Kronick, at 697.5050, or Mrs.K022@aol.com.

by RACHEL KATSKEE JCC Assistant Program Director On a Saturday night in January, the Jr. Maccabi team went to see the exciting Omaha Mavericks hockey game against Western Michigan at Qwest Center Omaha. Joey Kahn, Molly Noodell, Jeffrey Libov and Mitchell Sanford met at the Jewish Community Center for a spirited Havdallah service before the game.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

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Mitchell Sanford, left, Joey Kahn, Jeffrey Libov and Molly Noodell enjoy a Mavs game at the Qwest Center. Jr. Maccabi is a club for Jewish fifth-seventh graders. Every Wednesday, 3:30-5:30 p.m., is “Hangtime” at the JCC. This is a chance for Jewish youth to come “hang out” with each other in the JCC Leon Fellman Teen Lounge. Kids can play pool, ping-pong and complete in Playstation2 tournaments, enjoy snacks and make friends. Jr. Maccabi also plans monthly activities such as athletic events, field trips, Judaic programs, and community service opportunities throughout the year. This month, in the spirit of our record snowfall, Jr. Maccabi will be going snow tubing at Mt. Crescent on Sunday, Feb. 29 , 1-5 p.m. For more information on Jr. Maccabi please call me at 334.6403.

WRJ Friendship Tea Provides Opportunity to Learn for Church Members by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Approximately 150 people from area churches attended the Women of Reform Judaism’s (WRJ) opportunity to learn about Jewish holidays, rituals, customs, and traditions. Visitors to the annual Sidney H. and Jane Brooks Friendship Tea also heard from Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Craig Marantz, and Cantor Wendy Shermet and had the chance to ask them questions after listening to WRJ members explain the rituals and customs of Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Passover, and life cycle events. Jane Brooks introduced the guests Gretchen Radler, right, describes the traditions associated with to the Torah as they sat in the Passover to a group of visitors to Temple Israel’s annual Sidney chapel. H. and Jane Brooks Friendship Tea on Feb. 8.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

To Fight or to Boycott? Israel Decides to Skip Fence Hearing in The Hague by DAN BARON Efraim Halevy, a former TEL AVIV (JTA)--If you can’t Mossad and National Security beat ’em, boycott ’em. Council director, warned That’s how Ariel Sharon against allowing the could have summed up Israel’s Palestinians to take every attitude to the upcoming heargrievance to court, and recomings at the International Court mended that Israel respond by of Justice on Israel’s West Bank halting peace talks. security barrier--had the prime “I do not think the court minister discussed it openly. should be dealing with issues Instead, as if to drive home between us and the Israeli vexation over proceedPalestinians,” Halevy told ings that many anticipate will Israel Radio. “It should be be irretrievably pro-Palestinian, made clear to them that if they Sharon’s office made do with a take the judicial path--as is terse statement Thursday. their right--other routes will “The International Court of not be open to them.” Justice has no authority to disOthers emphasized the cuss the counter-terrorism fence’s role as a security barrifence since it concerns Israel’s er already credited with stopbasic right to self-defense,” the ping at least two dozen statement said. The office Palestinian suicide bombers. added that an affidavit to this Israel’s boycott is not stopeffect, filed at The Hague last ping U.S. and European Jewish month, would suffice in stating organizations from protesting An Israeli border policeman stands guard near a sign the event. Several groups plan Israel’s position. The decision was no surprise showing a swatstika on a Magen David on the securi- to hold press conferences or to the Palestinians, not least ty fence that separates the Arab village of Abu Dis rally outside the courthouse, CREDIT: Brian Hendler/JTA where Jewish leaders say they because Israel's misgivings had from Jerusalem. been echoed by the United States and European expect to face as harsh a display of anti-Israel rhetoric nations worried that the case will set a precedent for as that at the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against foreign judicial meddling in their own internal affairs. Racism in Durban, South Africa. With hearings set to open Feb. 23, Palestinians “The Jewish organizations were correct to be in remain optimistic that the proceedings will damage the Durban,” said Amy Goldstein, director of U.N. affairs Jewish state’s prestige. for B’nai B’rith International. “They were correct to bear “I hope this Israeli decision will not affect the court’s witness to what happened there, and we will do the endeavor to carry out its obligation,” Palestinian same thing in The Hague.” Authority Labor Minister Ghassan al-Khatib told “It is important for the voice of the Jewish people to Reuters. be heard outside the Peace Palace,” Goldstein said, The Arab-led lobby at the U.N. General Assembly referring to the name of the building that houses the sent the issue to The Hague last year in a bid to halt a International Court of Justice. “It is critical for the fence Palestinians say is designed to steal West Bank Jewish community to sit inside of the Peace Palace and land that belongs to them and lay down a de facto bor- observe and monitor exactly what is being said in the der. attempt to strip the Jewish people of their basic human The ruling of the 15-judge tribunal will not be bind- right of self-determination and self-defense.” ing, but a finding against Israel could spur punitive resThe Jewish Agency for Israel is coordinating a olutions at the U.N. Security Council. demonstration of nearly 2,000 European and Israeli stuIsrael traditionally has sheltered beneath U.S. vetoes dents, who will wear placards with the faces and names at the Security Council, and it already is working to of Israeli terrorism victims. secure Washington’s support for the fence by redrawIn addition, Zaka, the emergency response society, ing the route to hew more closely to the pre-1967 plans to set up a bombed-out bus outside the courtboundary--known as the Green Line--that many foreign house. On Feb. 12, an Israeli travel agency began offernations say should be the border of a future Palestinian ing cut-rate tickets to The Hague for the opening of the state. hearings. But many in Israel believe the court should be boy(JTA Staff Writer Rachel Pomerance in New York cotted on principle, regardless of the fence’s route. contributed to this story.)

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by DINA KRAFT JERUSALEM (JTA)--Conservative rabbis from around the world have taken a stand in support of Israel’s West Bank security barrier--while urging that it be built in a humane and ethical way. A resolution in support of the fence passed with an overwhelming majority last week at the close of the Conservative movement’s annual Rabbinical Assembly, held this year in Jerusalem. The fence had been the most controversial item at the conference--not usually known for taking up political hot potatoes--and a revised version of the resolution passed after a debate over language. The rabbis say that in their home congregations they must deal with the controversy almost daily, as the fence dominates conversations around Shabbat dinner tables, in sermons and in synagogue hallways. The version of the resolution that ultimately passed stresses Israel’s right to self-defense while cautioning that Israel should do all it can to “avoid unnecessary hardships to innocent Palestinians” and maintain “the Jewish and democratic character of the state.” Israel has been excoriated internationally for constructing the fence by critics who say it strangles Palestinian freedom of movement and cements Israel's grip on the West Bank, harming future prospects for peace. Some 200 of the 350 rabbis who attended the assembly went to see a section of the fence south of Jerusalem on an organized tour led by the Israel Defense Forces spokesman’s office. Many more wanted to go, but there wasn’t enough room on the buses to accommodate everyone, conference organizers said. In some areas, the fence is being built roughly along the pre-1967 boundary between Israel and the West Bank but in other places swings out to include swathes of West Bank land. Most of the barrier is a network of hi-tech wire fences ringed with barbed wire and lined with security roads. In a few areas, it consists of cement walls as high as 28 feet. The fence is designed to keep out suicide bombers and other terrorists trying to enter Israel from the West Bank. “We wanted to emphasize that Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens with a fence,” said Rabbi Tsvi Weinstein, Chairman of Rabbis for Human Rights. But, he added, “the route should not adversely affect innocent Palestinians.” Rabbi Reuven Hammer, outgoing president of the Rabbinical Assembly, said his colleagues were trying to take a stand not as a political statement but as “an ethical value...It’s a question of saving Jewish lives.”

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Tastes of Jewish Tradition by J. Hirsh, I. Goodman, A. Goldenholz & S. Roth

R EAD IT AND EAT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN Calling all kids and their mommies, bubbies and teachers, who’ll love this delightful, award winning book created by an impressive group of Milwaukee educators, artists and cooks. They combined their backgrounds in modern Hebrew literature, Jewish education and studies, social work, fine arts and cooking to write this book “in the spirit of our mission of encouraging the transmission of Jewish traditions, values and rituals from parents to children.” Published as a project of the Harold and Terry Nash Parenting & Family Center of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee, This cookbook can be ordered on line www.jccmilwaukee.org for $26.95 plus postage and handling. Readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic move over for cookin’, creatin’ and celebratin’ for kids and people of all ages with all levels of Jewish knowledge. Eleven holidays...Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Tu B’shevat, Purim, Passover, Lag B’Omer, Yom Ha’atzmaut, and Shavuot...are offered with food for thought on the introduction page. Whether it is to slow down and take the time to smell the challah at Shabbat, or to savor the change in the air and celebrate our bounty and uniqueness as fall and Rosh Hashanah arrive to an awareness of the inheritance from Abraham and the celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), the holidays come with more than just recipes. Discover the traditions and selections of texts with sidebars offering unique features, learn of fascinating food facts and menu suggestions. A “Kids in the

Kitchen Recipe”, “Read-Aloud-Story” and more than 100 crafts projects (with several pages of templates of designs) and activities are included. The crafts and activities projects are for younger and older children with adult supervision and have detailed, easy-to-follow numerical directions with variations, safety and helpful hints and notes. What a resource! Terrific graphics and helpful sketches are scattered throughout the book. All this and over 130 recipes, too, marked pareve, meat, dairy and Passover with Chef’s tips, consecutive, brief instructions for parents to use are guides and allow them to supervise children in cooking. For Purim, create Jewish rituals and Jewish identify and an instant kitchen maven with this craft. MISHLO’ACH MANOT BASKETS On Purim we are obligated to send gifts of food to friends and give to the needy. This provides a great opportunity to perform a mitzvah with your children. The tradition is to make and give away at least two containers filled with hamentaschen, candy, at least two pennies and whatever else you choose. Plastic Woven Baskets Materials: Plastic strawberry or cherry tomato baskets from the grocery store 10 or 12 colored pieces of yarn and ribbon each cut at least 12 inches long Multi-colored pipe cleaners Directions: Weave ribbon, yarn and pipe cleaners through the holes in the plastic boxes, making sure to tuck in or wrap around the lose ends of pipe cleaners. Pieces of ribbon and yarn sticking out all around add to the charm. Attach two pipe cleaners twisted together to two sides of the basket to use as a handle. Fill with goodies, and deliver to friends and neighbors. Lois Friedman can be reached at: ReadItAndEat@yahoo.com.

120th Birthdays and Rites of Passage

THE HISTORIAN’S F OOTPRINT by OLIVER B. POLLAK Karen and I were born in 1943, 17 days and 4,000 miles apart. We turned a collective 120 in November 2003. In 1964, I contemplated becoming an anthropologist. I had an exciting instructor and read Arnold van Gennep’s Rites of Passage (1909). But the magnet of leather and dust in the library was stronger than the lure of insects and huts in the bush. In 1964, if I had a question of fact or history, I would turn to my favorite reference work acquired through the Book of the Month Club, the massive single volume tome, The Columbia Encyclopedia. Today I click on to Google. How do the words celebration, party, birthday, and simcha resonate? The simchas of the synagogue that result in an aliya on the bima, not all of which are remembered, include: Circumcision and naming, B’nai Mitzvah, aufruf and wedding, wedding anniversaries, departing or returning from a journey, birthdays, recovery from illness, and yahrzeit remembrances. We enjoy and console each other on these occasions. Biology includes 16, 21, and anything with a zero in it, plus 75, Silver, Golden and Diamond. There is also paper, wood, china, leather,...etc., just look in the back of your Hallmark calendar. The solar and lunar calendar and astronomy offer solstice, equinox, eclipses and the seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall. Our surrounding Christian culture gives us Christmas and Easter. The Jewish tradition provides minimalist Jews the observance of Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Our American Heritage gives us the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans of the Great War ending on Nov. 11, 1918, number less than 1000. Most World War Two veterans are over 80. The most wildly celebrated holiday is Halloween. These events cannot be observed or celebrated alone.

A “party” is an individual or group which participates in a transaction or agreement. The recitation of Mourner’s Kaddish takes a minyan. Milton, politically corrected is, “no person is an island.” And how do you celebrate without food and spirit? At the end of the Noah story, there is a libation of fermented nectar. We have BBQ’s, picnics, turkeys, eggnog and beer and wine. Thus our humanity marks time. While elephants never forget, it is not a petty conceit that they don’t have a whole lot to remember. When we read Gail Sheehy’s, Passages, Predictable Crises of Adult Life in 1976 we were 33. Aging parents, friends dying, cholesterol, decaying knees, and rising health care costs were not yet on our generation’s radar. I started to write this reflection 10 years ago when turning 50. The half century mark seemed to have significance. It’s in my files, not under narcissism, no doubt in WordStar rather than Word. I never finished it. Perhaps I did not have the hubris or temerity to come out of my youthful closet. Karen and I used to be in a group and identify ourselves as the youngest people there. That still happens when we go to a senior citizen group. Today at a theatre or other gathering Karen and I tend to identify ourselves as the oldest people in the group. I asked my mother, Que sera, sera, what does it feel like to have a 60 year old son. She responded that my turning 50 was more traumatic. Parties generate speeches, toasts, gift giving, reciprocity, mementos, party favors. Potlatch in Chinook means “to give.” At the tribal ceremonial feast the host gave gifts to his guests. The gifts could be material things like blankets and furniture, but also food. Potlatches celebrated birthdays, weddings, naming ceremonies, and funerals. They could last several days. People sang, danced, prayed, and held ceremonies. Our “potluck” comes from potlatch. Potlatch has a gender aspect. Carrie Bradshaw, in “Sex and the City,” complained that she was giving more than she received. She was professionally single and often invited to bridal showers, weddings and baby showers. She wanted reciprocity, gifts for anniversaries of singledom. Do Manola Blahniks provide enough space for bunions. Oliver Pollak is an attorney and historian. He can be reached at: OBPOmni@aol.com.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

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If you watch a lot of television, and your span of attention is short and you tend to switch channels often, you most likely have seen some of those shows which “trade houses and redecorate”. Do you know the ones I mean? Mind you, I can’t even imagine participating in any program which invites me to change places with my next door neighbor, then give that person complete permission to paint my walls and/or replace furniture--in other words, to impose their taste on my personal environment! Yes, I know those programs assume the recipient of that alteration project goes next door and wreaks whatever havoc on the home of those who are playing Interior Designer. You’d be surprised how many actually get involved and gladly go on one of those tv programs. Some, when all is finished, scream in delight. I have, however, seen expressions which could only translate to “good heavens, this is hideous! Who said you could change my precious such-and-such?” In all fairness, sometimes clever ideas are put into formerly dull and uninteresting rooms, but often when the sum of money to be spent is severely limited, the result can appear to have come from Tchatkas-R-Us. Also to be taken into consideration is the time limit usually permitted for the project--from start to finish often just one day. That’s not much when people sometimes rip up carpeting and paint walls, to say nothing of reupholstering couches or replacing all the kitchen cupboard doors! I don’t really know who thought up the premise--that old “trade places” shtick. There have been legitimate

shows featuring professional interior designers who demonstrate some of the tricks of their trade for the benefit of those who are interested. I guess these programs were too tame for the folks who have to think up new ways to attract the attention of the viewer holding the remote control. Obviously, somebody someplace thought it was a good idea and since the first of those kinds of shows appeared, many copy-cats have been introduced. I can only tell you this much--I value the help, taste and opinions of the professionals and have availed myself of their expertise more than once. But would I let the guy next door come in and tell me the pictures of my grandkids or my mom’s amethyst water pitcher or my Hanukkah menorah were inappropriately placed? Not in two million years I wouldn’t! First of all, I’m a stubborn mule and am not easily swayed from what I consider “right”. That’s for openers. Secondly, I couldn’t handle the chutzpah on the part of a neighbor who believed he/she knew better than I how my house should look. Really! Give me a break. Beats me. But who am I to say that a programming maven with a big tv channel is wrong? These people get paid for promoting new ideas. And furthermore, they have ways to actually measure how many people are watching. It seems reasonable to assume if the program isn’t being watched, it won’t survive. You know what that proves? Neither do I, except if somebody should ask me if I want to play “exchange places”, you could place a large bet that I’d say, “No, thank you.” What about you? Would you let the world see that purple carpeting in your bedroom, or that disreputable lounge chair in the den? Or the chair that the Goodwill probably wouldn’t take, but is the most comfortable on the planet? Or would you too, say, “No, thank you. I like everything just the way it is.” Uh huh. That’s what I thought. Bert Lewis can be reached at: Bertelewis@aol.com.

Spring Cleaning Your Yard by PHIL PALEY Paley Landscaping As I sit in my apartment looking out at the mounds of snow, I begin to think about “spring”, “Passover”, and “spring cleanup.” When you think about spring cleaning, you need to think big! Sit down and make a list of everything you would want to do this summer to make your yard spectacular. Now, getting back to spring clean-ups, I said before, think Big...It’s true, when you do your spring cleaning, raking leaves and mowing the lawn doesn’t cut it. Everything you do to your lawn in April will bear results for the rest of the year. April is a great time to put down strong weed-killer, which can be called pre-emergent. Pre-emergent kills weeds that are beneath the surface and undetectable before they pop up.

Another action you need to take is to aerate the lawn in April. This allows more oxygen and moisture down under the surface, which will help you to have a greener, healthier, stronger lawn into October and November. Don’t thatch the grass; it tears out good healthy grass and doesn’t reach down as far as an aerator does. As we look at the snow and think about that trip to the Bahamas we would love to take, make that wish list for the upcoming summer of what we want to do to the outside. Now that we’ve thought about spring clean up, pick two things on the list, even if it’s only mulching the front of the house and planting a blanket of annuals by the front door. But now is the time to plan, prepare and plant. Remember, think big!

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

Beth Israel Moves West Continued from page 1 any redesigns, and actual construction of the 18,000 and Saturday mornings. That building is currently on square foot facility. the market, listed at $850,000; Beth Israel also has a “We’re not done yet, either,” she added, noting that contract through May with the Montessori school pieces of art work were still on back order, the endowhoused there. In April, Cohen added, the Board will ment and Simcha boards were yet to be installed, and evaluate whether or not to continue the 52nd St. Chapel more boxes needed to be unpacked. minyan, depending on how many people in the “old neighborhood” attend Shabbat services there. In the meantime, Beth Israel is forging ahead with events in the new building. A Purim Megillah reading is slated for Saturday night, March 6, and includes a free dairy dinner. The Purim “seudah” or meal, cosponsored by Chabad of Nebraska, is scheduled for Sunday, March 7, 6 p.m., following the 5 p.m. reading of the Megillah. Dinner is $10 for adults and kids under 12 are free. “This has been a huge amount of work,” commented Ann Moskovits, a Vice-president Above: members of Beth Israel and the Jewish community set off from the of the congregation and Chairman of the JCC on their walk through the Leawood neighborhood to the new Beth Building Committee. Her committee was Israel building. Right: Dr. Howard Gendelman, who organized the procesresponsible for every detail of the design, sion, puts Torahs away in the Aron Kodesh.

“Of course,” she beamed, “when you look around, it’s worth all the hours we put in!” In addition to the Torahs, one other long-standing feature of the old building was moved last week: Beth Israel’s phone number, 556.6288, remains the same!

Synagogue Artist Returns to Omaha by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of The Jewish Press It’s been seven years since ornamental Hebrew calligrapher Jonathan Nix has been to Omaha. In 1997, he was hired by architect Marty Shukert to design and install five panels in Beth El Synagogue’s addition to its social hall. Shukert “discovered” Nix at an annual meeting of the Council of Jewish Federations (now United Jewish Communities). Nix returned to Omaha in August for a design meeting and then a few weeks ago--again hired by Shukert, whose architechtural firm, RDG Crose Gardner Shukert, drew up the plans for Beth Israel’s new synagogue at 12604 Pacific. Prior to the “soft” opening of Beth Israel this past Shabbat, Nix drew, painted and then applied gold leaf to a frieze, a long string of Hebrew words, that begins in the women’s section of the new santuary, past the Aron Kodesh--the ark--before ending in the men’s section. The Hebrew on the southeast (right) wall, from Deuteronomy 30:11-14, means “If you will keep my Covenant, you shall be precious to me” and on the northeast (left) wall, it means “You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Painted in oil in tones of deep and deep tan, with azure sky and a band of orange, the verses are very familiar to Nix, as they’re from his daughter’s Torah portion, recited at her Bat Mitzvah.

Shukert also came up with the idea of using the following verses in the stained glass of the “menorah windows, behind the Aron Kodesh: “Nor is it across the sea, [for you] to say, ‘Who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?’” and on the right window: “It is not in heaven, [for you] to say, ‘Who can ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us so that we can listen to it and perform it?’”And finally, and on the Aron Kodesh itself is inscribed: “Rather, the thing is very near to you--in your mouth and your heart--to perform it.” Nix, who lives in Waltham, MA, (his wife works at Brandeis University), noted that he was delighted to be summoned back to Omaha and has enjoyed his visits here, especially working with an “artistically sensitive architect” like Shukert. “Marty’s beyond that--not only artistic, but spiritual,” Nix added. Perhaps Nix will make yet another visit here; he had dinner last week with a member of Beth Israel’s construction team--someone who just happens to be on Temple Israel’s new building committee! Top right: Jonathan Nix mixes paint for the finishing touches on the frieze in the sanctuary of the new Beth Israel Synagogue. Bottom right: Under the stained glass windows facing south, workmen install a wooden “frame”, a border than runs above and under Nix’s frieze, in preparation for the first Shabbat in the new building which opened last week.

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Page 13

Judaism and the Environment PEOPLE OF THE

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by MARK MIETKIEWICZ Is it a mitzvah to be green? Is it a sin to wear fur? And what should we do with used yahrzeit glasses? The Torah teaches hundreds of commandments, customs and traditions. But is being green--and caring for the environment--among them? In tribute to the special Home & Garden section of the Jewish Press, a look at Judaism and the environment. Although Judaism has many commandments that require a respect for nature, one famous verse may seem to imply otherwise. In Genesis 1:28 we are told to “…be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it; have dominion over… every living thing…” [http://makeashorterlink.com/?W2FE61747] Rabbi Saul Berman of Yeshiva University suggests that the real problem “has nothing to do with people’s excessive observance of the command of ‘subdue it!’ … The real problem is the “human failure to heed religious teachings about the exclusive importance of material goals … Only such a reorientation, in which material excess is replaced with deep spiritual awareness of the ultimate partnership between humanity and the Earth in the achievement of God’s goals, can lay the foundation for a new and more healthy relationship between us and our environment.” [www.usisrael.org/jsource/Environ-ment/berman.html] In “How Green is Judaism?” the University of California’s David Vogel has written a detailed article that looks at some of Judaism’s key beliefs about nature and explains what seem at first to be contradictions in the law. Why does Judaism prohibit cutting down fruitbearing trees when waging a war but allow other trees to be cut down? “Why are we then allowed to destroy them? Are they not equally innocent? Are they not valued for their own sake?”

Vogel suggests that these laws illustrate the middle path that Judaism takes toward the environment. “God does not want us to live in a world in which we are forbidden to chop down all trees since such a prohibition would make the preservation and sustaining of human life impossible. At the same time, neither does God want us to assume that the entire world exists to satisfy our material needs.” [http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/vogel/judaism.-pdf] Speaking of trees, Britain’s Noah Project has put together some thought-provoking quotes about trees, some of which may surprise you: • If a man kills a tree before its time, it is as though he has murdered a soul. (Nahman of Bratzlav) • Rabbi Jacob says, “If someone is studying as he walks along the road and interrupts his study and exclaims: ‘How lovely is that tree! How lovely is this field!’ Scripture considers that he had harmed his own soul.” (Pirke Avot 3:9) • If you’re planting a tree and you hear the Messiah has come, first finish planting and then run to the city gates to tell him shalom. (Yochanan ben Zakkai). [www.noahproject.org.uk/Education/education.ht ml]

From flora, let’s turn to fauna. Richard H. Schwartz and Dovid Sears ask if fur is a “Jewish issue”. They point to the many examples of concern that our ancestors had for animal welfare. “Rebecca was judged suitable to be a wife of the patriarch Isaac because of her kindness in watering the ten camels of Eliezer,

Abraham’s servant.” Schwartz and Sear suggest that while “Judaism puts human beings on a higher level than animals and indicates that animals may be harmed and even killed if an essential human need is met,” they wonder if wearing fur falls in that category. [www.ivu.org/jvs/] For more about Judaism and the environment, I recommend visiting the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life website. COEJL has become one of the most active organizations trying to convince Jews to live a greener lifestyle. Its participating organizations include a who's who of Jewish communal life including Hadassah, the Orthodox Union, the Jewish War Veterans and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. [www.coejl.org/] Earlier, I asked what we should do with used yahrzeit glasses. Would reusing as drinking glasses be considered sacrilegious? Or just a bit ghoulish? Rabbi Binyomin Adilman says reusing them would actually be a wonderful deed. He explains that the Jewish concept of “recycling” dates to the time of the Gemarah. Rather than throw away articles that were used to perform mitzvot, Judaism has always encouraged their reuse. For example, a lulav isn’t just thrown away, but is kept to be use fuel to burn the chametz for Passover. An etrog is poked full of cloves and used as the fragrance during the Saturday night havdalah service. The chupah from a wedding ceremony becomes the groom’s talit. Even leftover challah is used to make a kugel for the following Shabbat. Rabbi Adilman suggests that using yahrzeit glasses as drinking glasses should not be considered macabre. Rather, it would be a wonderful way to encourage us to use these objects for another mitzvah as we fill them with a drink and “thank the Creator with an appropriate blessing!” [www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/jenvttoc.html] Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be reached at: highway@rogers.com.

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Items to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal by GARY KUKLIN Spring is a time to start planning those projects to update your home’s curb appeal. Whether you are just sprucing up your home for your own enjoyment or getting it ready to sell, here are some areas to consider that will add beauty and potential value to your home: Painting: A little bit of color goes a long way in creating instant curb appeal. Landscaping: Grasses, flowers, waterfalls or ponds can add value and enjoyment to any home. Porches & Entryways: Create that inviting front entry with a new front door, steps, walkway or maybe a new patio. Windows: Whether it’s cleaning, replacing, or repainting your windows will enhance your view both from inside and outside the home. Driveways: Fill those potholes, widen or completely redo your drive.

Mailboxes: Changing your existing mailbox to a lighted brick, super-size brick or making it part of a brick wall will help enhance your curb appeal. Yard Lighting: Your home or lawn can be highlighted with yard lighting. Plus, yard lighting can also be added as a security feature. Accessory Ideas: Make your home’s outdoor environment more inviting by adding: gazebos, permanent barbecues, outdoor furniture or planters. The first step is to stand back from your home and view it from the eyes of a visitor and then organize your “curb appeal to-do list”. Just picking one of my suggestions will start to make the difference you’re looking to achieve. For more curb appeal information or a Free Market Analysis of your home, contact me at 402.697.4303 or gary@garykuklin.info.

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by Jewish Press News Service For 30 years ABC Seamless Siding has been improving homes across the country. When ABC Seamless of Omaha opened their doors in 1989, area homeowners saw a whole new ‘side’ to home improvement. “We take great pride in each and every home,” said Bruce Harding, general manager of ABC Seamless of Omaha. He's seen the popularity of seamless steel siding explode over recent years. “Once people see the quality of our products, they're amazed. The beauty, durability and energy-efficiency are second to none.” ABC Seamless of Omaha specializes in seamless steel siding. The siding is produced on site and installed by factory-trained professionals. There are no unsightly cracks or seams, regardless of the length needed, leaving each home beautiful and maintenance-free.

Built for Life by Jewish Press News Service “We specialize in customizing our classic floor plans to create a unique home environment for each client. We’re not the biggest home builder in Omaha, and we like it that way. Each homeowner receives my personal attention,” says Charlie Sullivan. In 1995, Sullivan and his wife, Louri, moved to Omaha from Dallas to start their family and to start Sullivan Homes. Charlie has an extensive real estate background and Louri grew up in a family of real estate and development professionals. By 2002 and four children later, Sullivan Homes had bought Royal Homes located in Huntington Park, developed Charleston Woods

(a high-end, gated community overlooking Happy Hollow Country Club) and has been named as one of Omaha’s 25 fastest-growing companies by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce three years in a row. Sullivan Homes recently began a new development at 195th & Pacific, called Pacific Pines, to break ground this spring. The Sullivan Homes philosophy is embodied in Charlie’s quote. The company's focus on client needs and quality construction has given it a real foothold in the market, with much of its growth coming from client referrals. Sullivan Homes’ office is located in Huntington Park at 16014 Bedford Avenue in Omaha.

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February 20, 2004

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 15

Home Improvement, Jewish Style

According to the Book of Exodus, even The Almighty had very specific ideas about how His house should look. Make for Me a mikdash (sanctuary) and I will dwell in their midst, God instructed Moses. Then, from Mount Sinai, God handed down detailed blueprints that Moses, in turn, gave to the construction firm of Bezalel & Oholiab, Inc., and their crew of wise and skillful workmen. When the sanctuary was finished and the decorating complete, the structure featured an ark of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold, tapestries of blue, purple and crimson twisted linen, embroidered curtains, ram-skin coverlets, bronze chests, copper basins as well as solid gold tables, jugs, ladles, bowls and lamps. Impressive, to be sure. This conveniently portable mikdash (which eventually evolved into the Temple in Jerusalem) accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings, and it was to this sacred place that the people came to celebrate festivals and holidays, to give thanks to God and to be in His presence. Tradition tells us that when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Shechinah (God’s presence) was exiled from the mikdash and took up residence not in the synagogue but in the Jewish home, thereby making each one a mikdash me’at, a little sanctuary. A place where every Jew could celebrate and observe Jewish tradition, give thanks to God and be in His presence. But short of going into hock to duplicate the golden accessories of the original sanctuary, what sorts of

improvements must we make in order to turn a house into a mikdash me’at? We can, easily enough, decorate our homes with all manner of Jewish ritual objects--mezuzot, ketubot, Shabbat candlesticks, kiddush cups, menorahs, seder plates, Jewish books plus collections of dreidels and spice boxes. Impressive, to be sure. But no amount of conspicuous “Judaiconsumption” will win you “The Best Mikdash Me’At In Town Award”. Nope. In a mikdash me’at, what you have is not as important as how you behave. Simply put, if we want our homes to truly be Little Sanctuaries, we must create spaces where human needs are expressed and met. Were there a manual titled: How To Build A Mikdash Me’At, it might include the following instructions: • To qualify as a mikdash me’at, a home must be a place of safety, comfort and refuge, where the hungry find food, the weary find rest and the stranger finds warmth and welcome. In order to be a true mikdash me’at, a home must be a place where many voices are allowed to sing--in harmony or in disagreement. To qualify as a Little Sanctuary, a home must be a place where people are free to say anything, be anything. To laugh, cry, pray, think their own thoughts in stillness and quiet. • When erecting a mikdash me’at, place it on a solid foundation of compassion, generosity, modesty, humility and positive spiritual values. Trust, and the ability to forgive, are also critical building blocks. • To make a home a mikdash me’at, you must take nothing for granted. When you rise up, give thanks for the new day and the opportunities it brings. When you lie down, give thanks for the day that is past and the lessons it taught you. • A mikdash me’at is built on respect--to spouses, partners, parents and children. In a Little Sanctuary there must also be respect for the people who work in the home. Pay

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them fairly and treat them kindly. Be good, also, to pets. • Remember. Hospitality is as important as divine worship. In a mikdash me’at, food is shared in joy with others. At the table, speak words of wisdom and kindness. Do not gossip. Even if you are alone, do not be distracted by television during meals. • To qualify as a mikdash me’at, a home must be a place where each family member is appreciated and considered special. Where each is encouraged to grow and learn in different ways. In this place, people listen to one another with open hearts. In this place, spiritual values are instilled, the importance of study and tzedakah are taught, memories are created and a sense of belonging begins. • Important! To qualify as a mikdash me’at, there must be peace in the home. Shalom Bayit. If not every day, then at least on Shabbat. On this one day, at least, try to shut out the stress and cares of the week. Replace tension and argument with words of sweetness and love. Be patient. Be generous with hugs. A calm atmosphere is especially beneficial for children whose sense of security depends in large measure on what they receive at home. Perhaps peace in each of our Little Sanctuaries could bring peace to the entire world. And there you have a crash course in Home Improvement, Jewish Style. Turning your home into a mikdash me’at is the perfect do-it-yourself project. So what if it will takes longer than a weekend? Jewish observance is often a work in progress. Sacred work, at that. In the meantime, may all who dwell in your home live in harmony and enjoy lives of blessing and good health. May all who enter be blessed with peace and happiness. Amen. Ozzie Nogg is a freelance writer whose syndicated features take a slightly off-beat look at Jewish holidays, festivals and life-cycle events. Check out her website: www.rabbisdaughter.com.

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Page 16

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

Opinion There Is No Place Like Nebraska! We’re tough here! We don’t let 26” of snow on the ground stop us from: attending a BBYO event to raise funds for suffering shopkeepers in Israel, viewing several satellite broadcasts--“Live from the 92nd St. Y”--at the JCC, or walking Torahs from the JCC to the new Beth Israel Synagogue. And with temperatures in the mid-40s this week, we encourage those of you who are complaining of cabin fever to come to the Jewish Community Center this Sunday for a free performance by Kolit, a group of musicians and singers from Omaha’s Partnership 2000 Region in Israel’s Western Galilee. What else can you look forward to as the weather warms up? Here are a few ideas: • Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Earl Grollman speaks at Temple tonight, tomorrow and Sunday (check the schedule on page 18); • In Lincoln--the annual Federation meeting on Sunday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Omaha’s own Marty Ricks, Executive Director of the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, and his wife, Iris Ricks, Assistant Director of Jewish Educational and Library Services, will speak at the event; • Purim events at your synagogue on Saturday night, March 6, and Sunday, March 7 (get your costumes ready and stop by Nobbies for bags, wrapping paper and candy to fill your Mishloach Manot bags); • Shabbat Across America, once again coordinated by BBYO Director Rachel Blum for members of all of Omaha’s Jewish youth groups, but this time hosted by Beth Israel at their new building on Friday, March 12; • The opening of JELS Jewish Film Festival

(Founded in 1920)

on Sunday, March 14, 7 p.m., in the JCC Theater with Moments: Israel; • And finally--another “Live from the 92nd St. Y” broadcast on Tuesday, March 16, featuring a panel discussion on Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion.... By mid-March, everyone will be thinking about Passover anyway--our local supermarkets will be filled with all sorts of kosher-forPassover products, invitations will have gone out to newcomers in the community who need a place for a seder (and anyone who would like to host newcomers or be hosted should contact Janie Murow, the Federation’s Director of Community Development, at

334.6566); of course, the Jewish Press staff will already be working on production of the multi-section Passover issue: this year entitled, “A Jewish Adventure in the Arts”, to be published on April 2. (Advertisers--take note: if you want to be included, please call your ad rep, Allan Handleman at 334.6451, or Ray Pred, 334.6559, immediately, so you’re not left out of this “keeper” issue!) So, no more complaining, Nebraskans! There’s plenty to do here even if we do get more snow. Besides, before you know it, it’ll be tornado season!

About Those Israeli “Settlements” BEHIND THE H EADLINES by DANIEL PIPES Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, has broken with decades of his own history and declared an intent to withdraw all Israeli habitations from Gaza, plus some from the West Bank. Doing so raises a basic question: Just how important are these “settlements” in the grand scheme of Palestinian-Israeli relations? (I use quotation marks around settlements because the dictionary defines this word as “a small community” or an establishment of people “in a new region.” This inaccurately describes the Jewish habitations in question, many of which boast tens of thousands of residents in place over several decades.) Some analysts consider Jews living in the West Bank and Gaza to be one of the leading obstacles to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For example: • Thomas Friedman, The New York Times: “Israel must get out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as soon as possible and evacuate most of the settlements. I have long advocated this, but it is now an urgent necessity. Otherwise, the Jewish state is in peril. Ideally, this withdrawal should be negotiated along the Clinton plan. But if necessary, it should be done unilaterally. This can’t happen too soon, and the U.S.

should be forcing it.” • Jean A b i N a d e r, Arab American Institute: “the settlements are the major political obstacle” to a resolution. • Dennis Kucinich, Democratic presidential candidate: “Israeli settlements are a significant obstacle to a viable peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” I disagree with this argument, and for two main reasons. First, it assumes that Palestinians seek only to gain control over the West Bank and Gaza, whereas overwhelming evidence points to their also aspiring to go further and control Israel proper. Therefore, pulling Israelis from the territories does no good. In fact, it probably does harm. Imagine that Israelis were uprooted and the Israel Defense Forces pulled back to the 1967 boundaries--what then? Friedman, AbiNader, and Kucinich assume the Palestinians would be grateful and reward Israel by tending to their own gardens, permitting Israel quietly to go its separate way. But I expect a quite different reaction: Palestinians will see a pullback signaling that Israel is weak, appeasing, and vulnerable. Far from showing gratitude,

they will make greater demands. With Jenin and Ramallah in the maw, Jerusalem will be next on the agenda, followed by Tel Aviv and Haifa. This implies Israel is fated to stick with its towns and communities in the West Bank and Gaza. They might be a tactical and political liability, but they must be retained and defended. To do otherwise is to indicate to the Palestinians that open season on Israel has begun, spurring yet

Once the Palestinians do fully, irrevocably, in deed as well as in word, accept the existence of a Jewish state, all sorts of possibilities for ending the conflict open up. more violence than the twenty or so incidents now taking place daily. Second, Sharon’s intent to uproot Israeli habitations assumes that they pose a large, perhaps insuperable, barrier to a Palestinian-Israeli resolution. In contrast, I see them as a minor obstacle. Once the Palestinians do fully, irrevocably, in deed as well as in word, accept the existence of a Jewish state, all sorts of possibilities for ending the conflict open up. • Adjusted borders: As Sharon himself suggested last week, the “triangle” area in northern Israel, with its large Arab population, might be up for

trading. • Non-contiguous sovereignty: Jews living separate from Israel proper could live under Israeli rule. • Palestinian sovereignty: Once Palestinians truly accept the Zionist presence, then Jews in the territories could live under Palestinian rule. Such schemas, admittedly, sound like cloud-cuckoo land at present. But when Palestinians finally undergo a change of heart, when they accept Israel’s existence and renounce the use of force against it, all sorts of positive developments can take place to sweep aside today’s seemingly intractable issues. And to the question, “How will we know when that change of heart takes place?” my reply is: When Jews living in Hebron (on the West Bank) have no more need for security than Arabs living in Nazareth (in Israel). Until that happy day arrives, the issue of Jews living in the territories is perhaps the least significant one facing strategists and would-be diplomats. Instead of focusing on this political triviality, they should devise ways to induce the Palestinians to accept the existence of a sovereign Jewish state called Israel. Until that happens, no other initiatives will do any good. Daniel Pipes is Director of the Middle East Forum and author of Miniatures (Transaction Publishers). He and be reached at: www.DanielPipes.org.

Joanie Jacobson Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Ray Pred Account Executive Timothy J. Ketelsen Bookkeeper Lori Kooper-Schwarz Production Assistant Jewish Press Committee Howard K. Marcus, Vice-Chairman; Bobbi Leibowitz, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Finance Chairman; Steve Simon, Treasurer; Fred Tichauer, Immediate Past-chairman; Jean Duitch; Penny Endelman; Kip Gordman; Stanley Mitchell; George Quittner; Linda Saltzman; Joey Shyken; Nancy Skid; and Melanie Weinstein. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Educational and Library Services, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press and the Foundation are constitional committees of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, noon, eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $35 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132nd St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.

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February 20, 2004

Page 17

For Survivors in Ex-Soviet Lands, Golden Years Are Difficult Times

BEHIND THE HEADLINES by LEV KRICHEVSKY DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA)-For Holocaust survivor Maya Petrova, the fall of the Soviet Union hasn’t been so wonderful. A retired hospital clerk from Dneprodzerzhinsk, Petrova, 77, is living on a monthly pension of $25--about the average in her country--with utilities and medicines consuming the bulk of her income. Her biggest dream now is to save enough to repair the roof in the old wooden house her family built in 1911, where she still lives with her husband. “Thank God, we always lived a decent life. Only lately has it become really bad,” Petrova says. The fall of communism has brought a cruel paradox to the lives of Holocaust survivors in the Soviet Union. They can now be open about their wartime ordeals as Jewish victims of the Nazis, but in the post-Communist world, they have no government-sponsored Social Security-type system to rely upon when they reach the age of retirement. The Communist government did not allow the Soviet victims of the Holocaust to receive any compensation from Germany. After the fall of communism, Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union became eligible for compensation. But most never lived long enough to get any money. Decades ago, a Social Security-type program was not all that important to Soviet survivors. They were young and energetic enough to rebuild their lives--quite often in the same places where they survived the occupation and where the rest of their families fell victim to Nazis. But now, with no meaningful government safety net in place, most of the aging survivors in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union live on or beneath the poverty line. “Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union are among the poorest Jews on earth,” says Steven Schwager, the Executive Vice-president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a group that provides a wide array of social services to the population of survivors in the former Soviet bloc. Many are embarrassed that they cannot live in dignity. “When I needed to buy a new pair of stockings last month, I had to give up fresh fruits and vegetables from my daily ration for two weeks,” says an 80-yearold survivor from Dnepropetrovsk who identified herself as Maria. Sonya Khaikina, another survivor from

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Dnepropetrovsk, says she hasn’t lived us later,” he says bitterly. this poorly since World War II. Survivor advocates argue that different During the war, Khaikina, then a standards should be used to evaluate the teenager, had to hide from the Nazis, remaining survivor population in the forwho killed the rest of her family. She mer Soviet Union, and Schwager says a spent a few weeks hiding in an aban- broader definition exists: Holocaust vicdoned house’s attic on a diet of straw, tims who fled or lived under occupation. which later caused her to lose all her In the last several years, tens of thouteeth. sands of needy elderly Jews who do not “Blame it all on my age,” she says, meet the German requirements for pentrying to smile. ” I got a whole bouquet sion eligibility have been benefitting of diagnoses.” from social and charitable services proA retired clerk, Khaikina now receives vided by the Jewish community, mostly a monthly government pension of $24 through the JDC. and has no relatives to help her. Raisa Bukhman, 85, is among them. Claims Conference officials in New Born in Dnepropetrovsk, she was evacuYork say there are only about 9,000 ated to eastern Russia before Germany Jewish survivors left in the former Soviet occupied her native city. When she came Union who meet the strict requirements back after the war, she found out that her for lifetime pension set by Germany: grandparents were killed, their heads cut those who survived at least six months in off and buried in the yard of their house. a concentration camp or spent no less Today, Bukhman--who worked until than 18 months in a ghetto or in hiding. retirement at a food store and cafe--is livA large portion of them live in Ukraine, ing in a cramped room in a dilapidated home to half the 2.8 million Soviet Jews old house, the same house she was born killed by the Nazis. in and where her grandparents were Some criticize the German requirements brutally murdered. for eligibility Utility payIn the last several years, tens of thousands of as unfair ments for the when applied needy elderly Jews who do not meet the German small apartto the Soviet requirements for pension eligibility have been benement, which Union, where doesn’t have most ghettos fitting from social and charitable services provided... a bathroom, existed for mostly through the JDC...(one woman) is living in a consume less than 18 cramped room in a dilapidated old house, the same almost half of months. In her $23 fact, about 40 house she was born in and where her grandparents monthly penpercent of were brutally murdered. Utility payments for the sion. She Soviet Jewish small apartment, which doesn’t have a bathroom, receives daily citizens killed hot meals consume almost half of her $23 monthly pension. during the from the local H o l o c a u s t She receives daily hot meals from the local Hesed Hesed center, died in the center, which is run by the JDC. which is run first six by the JDC. months of Nazi occupation. “Without this help I would have long Alexander Gurevich was 14 when he been gone,” Bukhman says. and his family became inmates of a The JDC, the primary agency for proJewish ghetto in Kharkov. viding these social services to Jews, gets In December 1941, he narrowly escaped funding for Hesed’s $60 million annual a mass execution at Drobitsky Yar, a budget from a number of recent ravine on the outskirts of this city in east- Holocaust-era settlements. The bulk ern Ukraine, where 15,000 people died. comes from the Claims Conference in He escaped from the Kharkov Ghetto the form of grants paid out from proafter most of the residents--including his ceeds from the sale of unclaimed Jewish mother--already had been killed. properties in former East Germany. The When Gurevich applied for a German JDC also gets money from the pension a few years ago as a survivor of International Commission on Holocaust a Nazi ghetto, it turned out he was shy a Era Insurance Claims and the Swiss few weeks of the minimum requirement banks settlement. for former ghetto inmates. The JDC says it serves about 125,000 “I think it’s unjust. They should have survivors in the entire former Soviet taken my circumstances into considera- Union, a number that includes all those tion. Had I escaped a few weeks later, who fall under the broad definition of then the Nazis should have started killing victims of Nazism.

They receive food, home care, medications, socialization and various supplementary services through a network of 174 JDC-operated Hesed centers that opened in the last decade across the former Soviet Union. Grigoriy Kolodach, a young director of a JDC Hesed center in Dnepropetrovsk, oversees services to some 7,500 needy Jewish clients, including about 5,000 wartime victims. “Every person who was born before the war on the territory that fell under German occupation automatically counts here as a Nazi victim,” Kolodach says. “All these people get a special priority from us when it comes to services.” For victims of Nazism who depend on government aid for survival, the JDC is a lifesaver. “The aid--I don’t even know how would I live without it,” says Vladimir Tereschenko, 67, a retired construction engineer. “You can’t live on a pension alone.” The average Jewish senior who gets aid receives about $25 worth per month in services. Most of the former Soviet republics heavily tax cash aid, so aid to survivors there is channeled through the JDC in the form of social services. Menachem Lepkivker, the JDC’s representative in eastern Ukraine, says the JDC only is able to provide the bare minimum. “There is not enough medication, and we could give more food,” he says. “Now many people have to divide the daily lunch they get from Hesed into three parts to live the whole day on it.” Ironically, though the JDC’s money for these survivors is set to start drying up in seven or eight years, the group believes that the death of Holocaust survivors will shrink the population requiring aid. Life has improved recently for Khaikina--making it much better than her straw-eating days. She moved to a new Jewish old-age home in Dnepropetrovsk, one of only three such facilities in the former Soviet Union. Opened two years ago and run with funds from Jewish charities, the state-ofthe-art Beit Baruch Assisted Living Facility is home to 50 residents, aged 75 to 98. Most of them are Holocaust survivors. “I should be happy,” Khaikina says of her new home. “We are getting free soap here. We have hot water around the clock so I can bathe as many times a day as I wish. One should enjoy life in such conditions and never die. But I’m just so tired and cannot enjoy it anymore.’’

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Page 18

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org

Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 http://welcome.to/beytshalom/

Chabad House An Affiliate of the Worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch Movement 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com

Congregation B’nai Jeshrun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 jewishnebraska.org

Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org

Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org

If you’re looking at this space, so are others! YOUR AD CAN GO HERE... to reserve space, call Allan Handleman, 334-6451, or Ray Pred, 334-6559.

February 20, 2004

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. FRIDAY: Join us for a musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service in the Chapel, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. a service of music, prayer, stories and an Oneg Shabbat. SATURDAY: Morning Services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Beth El Synagogue. Evening Services, 5:55 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Weekdays, 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAY, 10 a.m. Session three of eight-week Hebrew Crash Course, in the library; 11 a.m. Adult Bible Study Group, with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, continues with The Book of Samuel, in the library. WEDNESDAY, 7 p.m.: Adult B’nai Mitzvah class with Cantor Bogomolni. THURSDAY, noon: “Jewish Wisdom for the 21st Century” with Rabbi Levin. Optional lunch available at 1 p.m. For more information, call the synagogue. FEATURED PROGRAMS PATTER (Toddlers & Parents Torah, Exercise, Recreation) session with Helen Epstein, Wednesdays, 10:45 a.m. HAZAK sponsors lunch and learn after Shabbat morning services, Feb. 21. Dr. Terry Clark will speak. Cost is $7.50 for Hazak members, $9.50 for others. RSVP to Natalie Rubin 334-5893. COME & DANCE! Israeli Dance for everyone (no experience required) Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. For information, Cheryl Lerner, 334.8430 or cldancer@aol.com. FAMILY FUN FLICK For BESTT families, SATURDAY, 7 p.m., is movie night. Movies to be shown are Finding Nemo, Freaky Friday, and Out of Time. If you are 35-50, join the people of ESP. Our first event is Bowling Bonanza at Western Bowl, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. RSVP necessary. Call Harriet Einzinger

492.8550. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP The influence that fathers have on daughters is the theme for this meeting, Monday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. with refreshments at 7 p.m. at the home of Margie Gutnik with co-host Judy Brookstein.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Monday- Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Howard Kutner. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Services, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shachrit, 8:45 a.m.; Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Learn-A-Lot-A-Lot Shabbat Program, 10 a.m. Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored in memory of Rabbi Isaac Nadoff and Frank and Elsie Simpson by Jane Cohen, Toba Cohen-Dunning, Eric Dunning, Eleanor Dunning, Michael and Karen Cohen, and Lily Cohen. SUNDAY: Shachrit, 9 a.m.; A light breakfast will be served; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:45 p.m. Weekday Shachrit, 7 a.m.; and a light breakfast will be served everyday after minyan. Weekday Ma’ariv, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Game Night at the Simon’s, 6 p.m.--board and party games with a dairy dinner. Call the Simons at 330-4695 or OmahaNCSY@hotmail.com for more information. Services will take place in the new building with the 52nd St. Chapel Minyan for Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbos morning services.

BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Family Shabbat, 7 p.m SATURDAY: Beyt Shalom will be leading Shabbat morning services at the Blumkin Home, 9 a.m. SUNDAY: Religious School, 3 p.m.; Tikkun Olam Project at Mohm’s Place, JCC, 4 p.m.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Monday-Friday, Morning services, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Mamarim class, 9 a.m.; Services, 9:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Services, 8:30 a.m.

Mishneh class, 9:30 a.m. MONDAY Halacha Intermediate level, 7 p.m.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Rabbi Debbie Stiel will be in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays, all day. You may reach her 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays at 416.2321 (local for Lincoln), or at rabstiel@aol.com. FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg to follow. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. led by Rich Lombardi and Robert Rickover. SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Youth group “shul-in” for 7-12 graders at Tifereth Israel. SUNDAY, Feb. 22: Megillah Practice, 1-4 p.m. TUESDAY, Feb. 24: Adult Ed.: Gates of Prayer, 7 p.m. THURSDAY, Feb. 26: Megillah Practice, 7-9 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Services, 7 p.m.; led by Nancy Rips SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.; led by Beyt Shalom Reconstuctionist Congregation

Friday, February 20, 5:45 p.m. at the Shabbat Morning Service. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY: Text study with Rabbi Azriel on The Guide for the Perplexed, the writings of Maimonides, 8:30-10 a.m. WEDNESDAY: “History of Israel” with Prof. Moshe Gershovich, 6:45-8:30 p.m.; join Gary Kaplan & Mike Walts to learn classics of Jewish Rock & Roll, 7-8:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy with Rabbi Azriel, 1011:30 a.m.. Prayer Hebrew and Music with Cantor Shermet, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. OTYG SPAGHETTI DINNER SUNDAY, Feb. 22: Silent auction begins at 10 a.m.; dinner and live auction at 5 p.m. Cost is $9 for adults, children (ages 312), $4 Proceeds benefit Omaha Temple Youth Groups (OTYG, JYG, Club 56 and Club 34), Camp Rainbow, and Camp Co-Ho-Lo. SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE RABBI EARL GROLLMAN FRIDAY: “Turning Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones”, 7:30 p.m., followed by Oneg. SATURDAY: “Dealing with the Inevitable Losses of Life”, 3 p.m. followed by a Healing Havdalah Service and refreshments. SUNDAY: “Children Mourning”, 10 a.m. How parents, family, and the community can help children cope with loss.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Male members of Temple Israel are invited to a weekly informal get together at Spirit World, 7517 Pacific. Join us for relaxation and conversation, 11:45 a.m.; Shabbat comes to you with Rabbi Craig Marantz and members of the Temple Youth Group 4 p.m. at Remington Heights. Shabbat Evening Service, 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Marantz and Cantor Wendy Shermet will officiate; Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Earl A. Grollman will speak; Oneg Shabbat is sponsored by the Women of Reform JudaismOmaha. SATURDAY: Bagels and Sacred Books, 9:30 -10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Avery Lehr, daughter of Sandy and John Lehr, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah

Temple Israel and St. Paul United Methodist Choirs to Sing Together for Psalm Services by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator For the third year in a row, choirs from Temple Israel and St. Paul United Methodist Church will blend their voices, this year in a psalm service. They’ll sing at Temple Israel during a Kabbalat Shabbat Worship Service on Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. On Sunday morning, Feb. 22, at the 9:45 a.m. and 11:05 a.m. services, they’ll sing at the church. All three services are open to the community. Cantor Wendy Shermet will sing and Jerry Brabec, who conducts the church choir, will conduct the 40- to 45-voice

Candlelighting

joined choirs. They plan to sing Psalm 71 by Zingarelli, Adonai Ma Adam, Psalm 23 by Fromm, Psalm 98 by Braun, and Psalm 121 by M. Schlitenhard. “It’s a marvelous experience for everyone involved,” remarked Brabec who is the Minister of Music at the church. “The most important thing is the exchange of good will on the part of the two worshipping communities,” he added. Brabec conducts Temple’s choir, Kol Rina, during the High Holidays. Cantor Shermet described Brabec as “a great musician and a fine conductor.” She also enjoys his “wonderful tenor voice and sense of humor!”

JEWISH PRESS DEADLINES The regular deadline for all ads, articles and photos is noon, eight (8) days prior to publication. For more information or for early holiday deadlines, call 334.6448.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Stanley M. Rosenbaum. Minyan, Monday & Thursday, 7:15 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 8 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Annual Progressive Dinner, 7:30 p.m. with dessert at the home of Barb and Steve Seglin, 9 p.m. WEDNESDAY: The Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., the Jewish Federation of Lincoln will sponsor a return appearance by Yair Dalal at the Sheldon Art Gallery. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. Federation Shabbat. SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, March 13, 7:30 p.m., for the third annual ARTrageous Evening of Art.

BAR MITZVAH Zachary Harris, son of Jim and Marti Harris, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 28 at T e m p l e Israel. Zachary is a seventh-grade honor student at Beveridge M a g n e t School. He was selected to participate in the Duke University Talent Identification Program. He enjoys soccer, basketball, and spending time with friends.

For his Mitzvah Project, he raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Zach has a sister, Leanne. His grandparents are Maureen and Sid Rosenblatt and Janice and Shelley Harris. Great-grandparents are Anne Rosenblatt and the late Edwin Rosenblatt, the late Ann and Aaron Epstein, and the late Rae and Joseph Rosen.

February 20, 2004

The Jewish Definition of Ethics

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MENDEL KATZMAN Parashat Mishpatim “What exactly is morality?” asks this week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim. What are we Jews supposed to do with the Torah we received at Mount Sinai with so much fanfare in last week’s Torah reading? What are the Torah’s commandments really about? First of all, let’s look at the name of the portion itself-Mishpatim--which means “statutes.” The 613 commandments in the Torah are generally divided up into three categories: “chukim,” laws which are entirely beyond our comprehension; “eydut,” laws which human intellect alone would never have reached, yet once the Torah legislated them, we can understand their necessity; and “mishpatim,” simple and uncomplicated laws which are logical and easily understood. In other words, mishpatim are those laws which mankind would have instituted to govern the world (such as the prohibition against stealing, murder, etc.), even without the Torah having been given. In fact, most of this week’s Torah portion deals with those types of laws that govern man’s relationship to his fellow man. At first glance, the fact that an entire portion is dedicated to these simple laws is surprising. One would think that the Torah would be distinguished by those special and unique laws which differentiate it from all other systems of law established by the nations. Why did G-d have to personally give His Torah on Mount Sinai, only to inform us that we should not kill?

LINCOLN CENTER Lincoln to Celebrate Federation Shabbat The Jewish Federation of Lincoln will sponsor a community-wide Shabbat, Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m., at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. All members of the Jewish community are invited and child care will be provided. Shalom Aleichem will be sung by the children from Temple B’nai Jeshurun and Tifereth Israel religious schools. Marty and Iris Ricks will talk about the Torah reading and how it relates to tzedakah as well as the community building goals of the Federation. Marty is Executive Director of the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, and Iris is the Assistant Executive Director of the Jewish Educational and Library Services. They were on the Omaha mission to Israel last November. There will be an oneg following services.

Camp Scholarships Available Register your children for Jewish summer camps. Only a few requests have been made so far for money from the Lincoln Jewish Federation Campship Fund. There are funds to help send many more children. Please contact Rabbi Debbie Stiel at B’nai Jeshurun or Jaine Graham at 481.8499 for more information.

Would we not have reached the same conclusion without Divine revelation? The fact of the matter, however, is that by giving preeminence to these rational statutes, the Torah means to teach us how we should relate to all of Torah law in its entirety. We do not obey even laws which are readily understood by the human intellect simply because our reasoning compels us to; rather, all mitzvot must be performed with the same measure of faith in G-d and desire to do His will. In other words, we refrain from stealing only because G-d has commanded us not to, and not because our intellect has decided that stealing is immoral and unethical. We do not base our morality on what our limited wisdom can understand. Human logic is intrinsically flawed as it is subject to the whims of the individual's will. History proves how just about any action can be justified and rationalized, and even turned into a “mitzvah!” As people also differ from one another in their intellectual capacity, logic alone would dictate a different code of behavior for each person if it were the only criterion. The foundation of a Torah way of life, however, is the belief that all the Torah’s commandments were given to us by G-d at Mount Sinai and thus are equally binding as the will of G-d. Furthermore, G-d is not limited by our understanding of Him, as even the simplest mitzvot have deeper significance than we can ever hope to understand. Performing a mitzvah only because it makes sense to us misses the whole point. Morality, then, is based on our acceptance of the Torah’s commandments as G-d's will, which is the Jewish definition of true ethics.

DEATH LEWIS BERLOWITZ Lewis Berlowitz died Feb. 11 in Lincoln at the age of 80. Services were held Feb. 17 at Butherus, Maser & Love Funeral Home; Rabbi Debbie Stiel officiated. Berlowitz, a World War II veteran, was the former owner of Lew’s Food Store and a Lincoln realtor. He served as President of the Sunrise Optimist Club and was a member of many other volunteer organizations in both the Jewish and Lincoln communities. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Berlowitz; daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Peter Larimar; daughters, Judy Jones of Omaha and Lisa Yost of Overland Park, KS; son and daughter-in-law, David and Julie Wunibald of Lincoln; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Ruby and Lou Sferazo of Seaford, NY; and sister, Barbara Finegold of Clovis, CA. Memorials to Shriners Hospitals for Children or the South Street Temple (B’nai Jeshurun).

To submit an obituary, synagogues, funeral homes and/or the family of the deceased should fax the information to the Jewish Press at 402.334.5422, e-mail it to the editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org, or mail it to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. For more information, a copy of the obituary form or guidelines, call the editor at: 402.334.6450.

Beth El Course to Present a Jewish Perspective on Jesus by JILL BELMONT for Beth El Synagogue Mel Gibson's new movie, The Passion of the Christ, has created new interest in the relationship between Jesus and the Jews; it has also raised concerns that one of the bases of anti-Semitism has been revived--the belief that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. What is the Jewish perspective on Jesus? Was he a disciple of rabbis, a rebel who went astray and enticed others to follow in his ways, a practitioner of sorcery or a teacher of morality and ethics? The life and teachings of Jesus, as well as parallels between the historical Jesus and Judaism of the Second Temple period, will be discussed during “A Jewish Perspective on Jesus,” a mini-course to be presented by Rabbi Mordechai Levin at Beth El Synagogue on March 4, 11 and 18, noon. “In this course, the teachings of Jesus will be compared to Jewish literature of his time or prior, including

the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha, the Mishna and a selection of Jewish prayers,” Rabbi Levin said, adding that “we will also address the trial and death of Jesus, as well as the concept of the Messiah, a Jewish idea later transformed into something different by the founders of Christianity.” Noting that Jesus was a Jew, Rabbi Levin cited Professor Brad Young, a Christian scholar who wrote that, “The Jewish religious heritage of Jesus impacted his life in every dimension of his daily experience. The attacks of the Church against the Synagogue have stripped Jesus of his religious heritage. As Christians, we have been taught wrong prejudices about Jews and Judaism. Jesus is Jewish, both in his ethnic background and in his religious thought and practice.” Rabbi Levin’s mini-course is open to members of the Omaha Jewish community; to reserve a place, please contact Beth El Program Director Harriet Einziger at 492.8550.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 20, 2004

Why We Are Concerned About Mel Gibson’s Film by I. ROBERT WOLFSON and SARA JUSTER Executive Director and President of the Plains States Region, Anti-Defamation League On Wednesday, Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday, Icon Pictures will release The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s version of the last hours and death of Jesus. The film has been of concern to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for many months. Knowing the history and traditions of Passion Plays, we at the ADL are wary, because Passion Plays often have blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus. Unfortunately, multiple screenings of the film have not allayed ADL’s concerns or fears. On the contrary, the film version shown in Houston, TX, in August and the version previewed in Orlando, FL, in January, only deepened those concerns. After the Orlando screening, ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman, and Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, the ADL’s Interfaith consultant, wrote an oped piece which declared, “In Mr. Gibson’s film, there is absolutely no ambiguity as to who was responsible for the death of Jesus--it’s the Jews. Roman soldiers are seen bribing Jews to come out en masse to his trial by the Sanhedrin, in the Jewish Temple, and at night.” The piece continues, “The Jews are portrayed continually as bloodthirsty and vengeful.” The ADL is concerned that the movie could re-ignite latent anti-Semitism in people who hold Jews responsible for the death of Jesus, despite pronouncements by numerous Christian leaders,

including the Second Vatican Council, that Jews were not to blame. Though we have concerns, it also is important to remember that this film may have a powerful impact in the Christian community. We should be sensitive to the fact that in past screenings, while one movie was shown, two movies were seen. Most Jews who have seen the film have been troubled by the film’s depiction of the Jews being blamed for Jesus’ death. The Christians who have seen the film have said they did not see any anti-Semitic aspects of the film, only Jesus’ suffering for all people. We hope our fears are unfounded. But we want you to be prepared in case you are met with anti-Semitism after the release of the movie. What follows is a guide to parents to deal with the movie, Passion Plays in general and any antiSemitic comments or incidents that may occur, whether as a result of this movie or something else. A GUIDE FOR PARENTS Whether or not you decide to see or let your children see The Passion is a personal decision. The movie has received an ‘R’ rating, which means children under the age of 17 will not be permitted in without an adult. If you do allow your child to view this movie, be mindful of the following: • The film is extremely graphic and violent. This may not be appropriate for younger viewers. Prepare your child by talking about the Passion Play in an ageappropriate manner. Make sure you are knowledgeable about the subject. In the aftermath of the film’s release, if you or your child are confronted by antiSemitic behavior, here are some things to

remember: • There are no absolute rules; everyone responds differently; • It is okay to be angry or upset; • Remember that you have done nothing to provoke this situation; it is not your fault; • You are not alone; there is support and help if you ask for it; call ADL in Omaha at: 330.1303, or call your rabbi; • Words never justify violent behavior; do not resort to violence. What to say to yourself: • Think before you respond or react; • It’s often more effective to be calm, polite and hold your head high; • Is this something you should respond to or walk away from? • Do you know enough to respond or do you need more facts? • It may be better to take someone aside to talk outside of a group; • If you aren’t sure whether to do something, discuss it with others; • If you can’t manage to respond right away, can you do something later? What to say to others: • Let the other person speak, then respond; • Talk clearly and deliberately, but don’t raise your voice; • Try to express how a comment made you feel; • Focus on the offensive words or behavior, but don’t attack the person; • Tell someone you trust about the incident (a friend, parent, teacher or rabbi). What to do if you see something which could be against the law--a hate crime: • Call the police or ask an adult to call

for you; • Leave all evidence alone; don’t remove anything, but take photos if possible; • Tell as many people as you can until you get a response; • Try to write down everything you saw or heard; and finally, • call us at the ADL at 330.1303. Several publications are available through the ADL. On the Death of Jesus: Jewish and Christian Interpretation, was co-written by Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, Associate Director and secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, and Rabbi Leon Klenicki, Consultant for interfaith Affairs for the ADL. The two men also co-wrote Parish Passion Plays: What Do They Teach? and The Death of Christ. Both men contributed to A Primer on Passion Plays, along with Leonard Swidler, Gerard Sloyan and the Bishop’s Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious affairs. The ADL has also published its own guide, Confronting AntiSemitism...Myths and Facts. And last year, ADL National Director Abe Foxman published Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism, available at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. The ADL has also made available for teachers its guide: ADL Resources for Classrooms and Community, which lists publications, posters and videos for public and private school teachers as well as religious school and day school staff and community organizations. For more information, contact the ADL staff in Omaha at 330.1303.

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