Vol. LXXXIII No. 26 Omaha, NE
Temple Israel Scholar to Use Poetry to Explore Israeli Life by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator From music, literature, politics, and history, adult education students at Temple Israel have immersed themselves in a serious study of Israel this year. Visiting scholars have presented topics ranging from the Bible to what the future holds for the Jewish state. During the third weekend of March, Rabbi William Cutter, director of the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health, will use poetry to illuminate themes in modern Israeli life. As a scholar-in-residence, March 1921, he will bring to light how Israeli politics and issues Rabbi William Cutter of war and peace affect Israeli culture, particularly poetry and pop culture. The general theme of his residency will be “Israel: Realizing the Ideal and Idealizing the Real.” Originally from St. Louis, MO, Rabbi Cutter is a graduate of Yale University. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1965. In 1971, he earned his doctorate at UCLA in modern Hebrew literature and comparative literature. At UCLA, “I studied novels in which the protagonist was a kind of ‘counter hero’ as we used to call them,” Rabbi Cutter recalled. They were called ‘the uprooted,’ characters who neither belonged to the Jewish community nor could adapt to the general community.” Since 1965, Rabbi Cutter has taught at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles, CA. He is the Paul and Trudy Steinberg Professor of Human Relations, professor of education and modern Hebrew literature, and lecturer in chaplaincy, helping students learn how to work with people who are ill. Part of HUC-JIR, the Kalsman Institute serves as an educational and training center for HUC-JIR students and alumni and for all people who are committed to spirituality and healing. The Kalsman Institute provides a meeting ground of dialogue, interpretation, and progressive practice, and embodies the deepest values of Judaism and the Reform Movement. In 1970, Rabbi Cutter helped found the Rhea Hirsch School of Education where he has served as the assistant dean and director. The Hirsch School offers fulltime degree programs in Jewish education and a joint degree program with the Irwin Daniels School of Jewish Communal Service. In selected areas, the school provides undergraduate courses for practicing teachers and educators. Rabbi Cutter also serves on the advisory board to the UCLA Medical Center Department of Spiritual Care. Concentrating his current research on the development of modern Hebrew literature at the turn of the twentieth century, Rabbi Cutter also studies the ideological place of the Hebrew language in modern Judaism. While he is here, Rabbi Cutter will explore the tension Israel has experienced accelerating into the modern world and how Israel has developed into a modern secular culture when Jewish identity and expression had always been grounded in religious tradition. Rabbi Cutter’s scholar-in-residency, open to the community, is sponsored by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning.
Inside
Celebrating 83 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center Earns NAEYC Accreditation by COREY KIRSHENBAUM Accreditation,” said Mark CDC Director Ginsberg, Ph.D., The JCC Pennie Z. Executive Director of Davis Child DevelopNAEYC. “By earning ment Center has recently accreditation, the Pennie earned accreditation Z. Davis Child Developfrom the National ment Center of Omaha Association for the has become a leader in a Education of Young national effort to raise the Children, the nation’s quality of early childleading organization of hood education, and to early childhood profeshelp give all children a sionals. better start.” “We are proud to be NAEYC accredited proaccredited by NAEYC,” grams demonstrate a said Jeffrey Aizenberg, commitment to providing Executive Director of the a high quality program Jewish Community for young children and Center, “and recognized their families. While the for our commitment to NAEYC accreditation reaching the highest pro- Above: CDC teacher Barb Giller works with preschoolers Reid process examines the fessional standards. Gates and Andrew Wine on a project. total program, greatest NAEYC Accreditation lets families in Omaha know that emphasis is placed on the quality of interactions among children in our program are getting the best care and staff and children, and the appropriateness of the curearly learning experiences.” riculum--what really happens to the children. Approximately 10% of the country’s early childhood Health and safety, staffing, staff qualifications, physprograms are accredited by NAEYC, and the CDC is ical environment, and administration are all reviewed one of only 26 facilities certified in Omaha. during accreditation, but primary consideration is given “In recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of to the nature of the child’s experience. child care and preschool programs earning NAEYC Continued on page 3
Beth El to Present “Pop! Goes the Cantor” by JOANIE JACOBSON for Beth El Synagogue Looking for a whole lot of fun? Feel like a little flamenco, country, rock ‘n roll, samba, folk, Broadway and American pop Jewish music? Want to help kids at Beth El? If you answered “yes” to any or all of the above, you’re going to love “Pop! Goes the Cantor!, the 2004 Cantor’s Youth Scholarship Concert, to be presented on Sunday, March 28, 7:30 p.m. The concert is rated “G”-“great” for general audiences! All proceeds from the concert benefit the Youth Scholarship Fund and provides young people the opportunity to attend Jewish summer camp, visit Israel or participate in a youth group conclave or convention. We’ll “sweeten” the evening with a delicious dessert reception featuring the best from the Best Little Bakers at Beth El, and as the saying goes, “It doesn’t get any better than that!” “Pop! Goes the Cantor!” will star our very own Popular cantor Gastón Bogomolni, singing his way into your heart with Jewish Pop hits from Morocco, Israel, South America and the United States. The cantor will
This Week: Monthly Calendar: Pages 6-7 Demonstrators Outside The Hague: Page 2
5 Adar, 5764 February 27, 2004
Federation‘s Community Connection Column: Page 3
share the stage with vocalists Ozzie Nogg and Nancy Rips; Mark Sanford; The Bocher Boys: Steve Denenberg, Jim Fried and Gary Nachman; and soloist Dacia Jabenis. Also featured will be Beth El’s “Pop Top Chorus” (David Adler, Andy Greenberg, M’Lee Hasslinger, Jerry Katskee, Susi Levin, Ozzie Nogg, Annelise Ocanto, Nancy Rips, Eadie Tsabari and Holly Weill); the “Junior POP Tops” (a group of over 25 spirited young singers); Beth El musicians Jill Belmont, and Liatte Dotan; a ninepiece band from the professional musician population; our own” band of merrymakers” from USY, and one or two other surprises... “I love to surprise people,” said Bogomolni. “ I love to break the mold and do something a little different. “A lot of times, people get a certain idea in their minds when they think of a cantor’s concert. Of course, cantorial music is very beautiful, but Jewish music has many expressions that are very rich in variety, mood, rhythm, rhyme, melody and history. So I asked myself, ‘What should I do for my first cantor ‘s concert at Beth El?’ Continued on page 4
Next Week: Salute to Beth Israel’s New Building Homemade Treats for “Esther’s Holiday”: Page 5
Two Views on The Passion: Pages 8-9