March 14, 2008

Vol. LXXXVII No. 27 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 87 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

7 Adar II, 5768

March 14, 2008

Sokolof Funds bring A Cantor’s Tale to the JCC, plus the cantor “in person”

Facing threats from within and without, Israel offers a grim intel estimate

by JANET HENTHORN Jewish Federation Foundation Associate This is not an April Fool’s joke!

World renowned Cantor Jacob Mendelson will sing at the Jewish Community Center theater on Tuesday, April 1, 7 p.m. Singing the meoldies he holds so dear, Cantor Mendelson will also show his award-winning film, A Cantor’s Tale, in which “Jackie” as he is affectionately called, explores the tradition of Eastern European Jewish cantorial music.

Striving to keep this music alive and well in modern-day America, the film captures Cantor Mendelson singing with other cantors. It also includes footage of comedian Jackie Mason, singer/songwriter Debbie Friedman, and attorney and author Alan Dershowitz. (Who knew he could sing?)

A Cantor’s Tale has Cantor Jacob Mendelson been honored with both judges’ and audience awards in film festivals in New York, Houston, Miami, San Diego and Tel Aviv.

During this special evening, the winners of the Ruth and Phil Sokolof Merit Scholarships, as well as the Outstanding Jewish Teacher, will be honored. A reception will follow the program, which is free and open to the community.

According to Cantor Wendy Shermet of Temple Israel, “Cantor Mendelson is a wonderful hazzan, teacher and human being. I was privileged to study with Continued on page 2

by LESLIE SUSSER Internal Security Minister JERUSALEM (JTA) -Avi Dichter and the intelLast week’s terrorist ligence assessment say no. attack at a Jerusalem Dichter says there is no yeshiva and the new evidence of it, and the Israeli national intelliassessment says the probgence assessment presentability of a widespread, ed to the Cabinet on sustained Palestinian Sunday underscore the uprising in the West Bank acute security problems is low.

Israel faces this year and But the report added an beyond. important caveat: A new The terrorist shooting intifada could erupt if spree in the Mercaz Jewish extremists attack Harav yeshiva, which left Muslim holy sites on eight students dead, Temple Mount, or if new raised questions about IDF actions in the Gaza the vulnerability of Jews Strip cause a high in western Jerusalem to Palestinian death toll. terrorists emanating from The fact that last week’s the mostly Arab eastern gunman was from eastern part of the city. The gunJerusalem has been espeman was from Jabel cially concerning here.

Mukhaber, a Palestinian There are no barriers or village on the southeastcheckpoints to stop ern outskirts of the capiJerusalem’s Arabs from Bullet holes at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem a day after crossing into western tal.

While the new intelli- the attack there that killed eight students and wounded nine.

Jerusalem.

Credit: Brian Hendler gence assessment downSince Israel officially played the risk of war in 2008, it painted a gloomy pic- annexed the eastern portion of Jerusalem in 1968, Arabs ture of an Iranian-sponsored missile buildup by Syria, from eastern Jerusalem carry Israeli ID cards, making it Hezbollah and Hamas. It also said Iran is expected to easier for them than for West Bankers to slip through pass the point of no return on creating a nuclear bomb police or army cordons. That is why Jerusalem often is in ’09. seen as a soft target for Palestinian terrorism.

As if all this were not enough, Israelis had another, On the flip side, the Palestinian standard of living in more immediate concern: Did the terrorist attack in Jerusalem is higher than in the West Bank. Moreover, as Jerusalem herald the start of a third Palestinian intifada? Continued on page 2

Blumkin Home new addition: a moving experience Phase two renovation of northwest wing underway along with health care delivery and nursing home design -- had changed since the Home was built in 1982.

With that in mind, the New Beginning project, from its inception, was far more than an exercise in wallpaper and paint.

“We were determined to create a culture change at the Home,” explained Mike Silverman, RBJH executive director. “A change that would move the current building from its traditional institutional-like feel into a dramatically transformed environment, One of several lounge areas of the Blumkin Home’s sensitive and responnew addition, this one boasts bookshelves as well as sive to the residents’ well-being -- both a large screen television. physical and emotionThis ‘splendid’ result was al -- and pleasant for visitors, volunteers no accident. The Blumkin and staff. We’ve achieved our mission.”

The new addition, designed as a Special Home has a well-earned reputation as the best long-term Care Unit for residents with dementia, is care facility in the area, but currently being used as a skilled nursing RBJH professionals and lay unit until the next two phases of the Josh Gurock and Judy Josephson help move items into a res- leaders recognized that the Blumkin renovation are complete. ident room. philosophy of health care -Earlier this year, Silverman met with

by OZZIE NOGG After 15 months of construction (and anticipation), Phase One of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home New Beginning was dedicated and open for residents late last month.

Inside

The verdict? “The new addition is splendid without splendor, without ostentation,” said resident Rabbi Myer Kripke. “Of course, the Home has always been nice, but this is more spacious.

Brighter. It’s splendid.”

This Week: Spring Home & Garden Issue starts on Page 11

See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 16

Performing Arts Series concludes with theater group: Page 3

residents and their families to discuss details of the new addition and logistics for the upcoming move.

“This is a change for the residents and for the staff,” Silverman told the group.

“We want to make sure there are no surprises for anyone.”

The meeting included a virtual video tour that showed residents the amenities they would find in the new unit -- longer, lower windows that give a view of the outside even to the bedridden or those in wheelchairs; enlarged bathrooms with ceramic tile floors, ample counter space and cabinetry for personal items; the carpeting with subtle woven-in rose design, the writing desk, shelves and nooks for photos in each resident room; the sunroom, spa and TV lounges; the communal dining room and kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

Silverman described the enhanced lighting and separate thermostats that give residents control over the individual temperatures in their rooms. “Before the move we’ll help you decide what personal items you want to take to your new quarters,” he said. “We want you to bring your own furnishings. This is your space.

We want to help you make it your own.”

Continued on page 10

Coming Next Month: Israel@60 on April 18 U.S. elections grab attention in Europe: Page 13

Campaign Mission pairs emerging and seasoned leaders: Page 20

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Israel offers a grim intel estimate

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, MARCH 14 Understanding Jewish Mysticism, noon A Look at Jewish Mysticism, noon at Temple Israel Visions Luncheon Meeting, 12:30 P.M. Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to You, 4 p.m.at Remington Heights Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, MARCH 15

C Out of Sight Saturday Night, 6:30 p.m.

L Pour-em Wine Tasting, 8:15 p.m. at Beth El I SUNDAY, MARCH 16 P Reading the Rambam Class, 9:45 a.m at Beth Israel

C L I P

Bible Study Group, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mornings, 10:15 a.m. at Chabad & Mishpacha Purim Carnival, 11:30 a.m. at Temple Israel RBJH Intergenerational Orchestra, 1:30 p.m.

Beyt Shalom Religious School, 1:30 p.m. at JCC Kids’ Crafts, 3 p.m. at Beth Israel

S A V E The Art of Purim, 9:30 a.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 17

& S A V E

Iran, Jews & Israel by Dr. Moshe Gershovich, 7 p.m.

Jewish Press Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 18 Visions at Western Heritage Museum, 10 a.m.

Eye on Israel, noon Hebrew Lunch ‘n Learn, 12:15 p.m. at Temple Israel BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

Yachad Vocational Skills Class, 6 p.m.

Parshah Roundup, 7 p.m. at Chabad Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Temple Israel BESTT Talmud Torah Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19

C Friedel Academy Kindergarten Round-up, 10:30 a.m.

L Parsha for Kids, 3:45 p.m. at Chabad House NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

I THURSDAY, MARCH 20 P Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel

& Insights and Values from the Torah, noon at Beth El S A V E

Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. at Kripke Library Yiddish Group, 1 p.m.

Women’s Book Group, 1:15 p.m. at Beth El Purim Family Megillah Reading & Dinner, 5:45 p.m. at Beth El Purim Spiel and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel Purim Mania, 6:30 p.m. at Chabad House Purim Celebrations, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Class with Rabbi Gross, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel 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)

This Space For Rent Call Robyn Belgrade 334-6559

C L I P & S A V E

Gaza as a holy mission.

Continued from page 1 Its rabbis and students are highly critical of the Olmert Israeli residents, the Palestinian Arabs in eastern Jerusalem receive Israeli health care and unemployment government’s attempts to negotiate a territorial settleservices. Many are loath to put their relatively comfort- ment with the Palestinians, which they believe flies in able lifestyle at risk with a campaign of terrorism. the face of the divine order.

Nevertheless, 20 percent of Jerusalem's 220,000 That strong anti-government sentiment was reflected Palestinians have been involved directly or indirectly in in an angry confrontation Sunday with Education terrorism, according to Israeli police sources.

Minister Yuli Tamir, who was jostled and heckled when The special status of Palestinian Arabs from eastern she visited the yeshiva to offer her condolences. Tamir Jerusalem makes measures against would-be terrorists left quickly after some students called her “murderer.” difficult. Dichter says he would deport to the West Bank Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later was told by yeshiva all Jerusalemites involved in terrorism and their accom- leaders that he, too, would not be welcome at the plices. But legal experts say that because the Arabs in school. eastern Jerusalem qualify as Israeli residents, Israeli law Israeli police fear right-wing extremists might take the does not allow such deportations. law into their own hands and wreak vengeance against Danny Yatom, a member of the Labor Party and for- eastern Jerusalem’s Palestinians. Already this week, mer Mossad chief, advocates building a fence between police blocked right-wing activists from heading to the Jerusalem's Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. But right- terrorist’s mourning tent in Jabel Mukhaber. wing critics say that would be tantamount to acquiescThe alienation of religious Zionists from government ing to divide Israel’s capital.

-- both because of Olmert’s willingness to negotiate In the wake of last week’s deadly attack, the situation with the Palestinians and perceived past government in Jerusalem is even more volatile due to the nature of betrayals, including Ariel Sharon’s withdrawal of troops the target. from Gaza in August 2005 -- have Israeli police worried The one with glasses and a wide smile was the broth- about Jewish right-wing violence. er of a friend, the one with blue eyes and side curls the Jewish threats aside, Israeli security’s main focus is on son of another. In the close-knit world of religious the external threats to Israel. They were summed up Zionism, no one feels removed from the grief for eight harshly in the intelligence assessment on Iran. young people gunned down while studying Gemarah in their Jerusalem yeshiva.

The images of blood-soaked prayer shawls and glass doors riddled with bullet holes, then the eight coffins lined up in a row, have horrified an entire country. But the pain cuts especially deep in the national religious Zionist community, having been specifically targeted.

Now its members search for a way their faith can guide them through the mourning.

“Since the attack there is a sense that a darkness has fallen over Jerusalem when usually there is joy in our neighborhoods,” said Tal Weider, 17, a high school student and leader in the local Bnai Akiva youth group.

It was not by chance that the attacker Thousands of mourners attended funeral services in Jerusalem for the eight targeted Mercaz Harav, the main yeshiva students killed in Thursday’s attack at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in of national religious Zionism and a birth- Jerusalem. The attack also left nine wounded, some of them critical.

Credit: Brian Hendler place of the settler movement.

“It is a central place because it is a symbol of religious The Israeli estimate is that without any preventative Zionism, and so it feels like we have been attacked per- measures, Iran will be capable of producing a nuclear sonally,” Weider said. “It feels like everything has weapon in late 2009 or early 2010. This, the intelligence changed. They [the terrorists] knew the meaning of agencies agree, constitutes the gravest existential threat Mercaz Harav, and they wanted to show that the power Israel faces. is in their hands. But as one of the rabbis said, nothing In addressing the threat, the agencies suggest Israel is will shatter us, we will not let this break us.” more or less on its own. They do not expect any U.S. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the gunman struck military action against Iran, and they argue that internathe yeshiva as a deliberate ideological blow to Israel. tional sanctions are having no effect on the pace of “It was not a place the killer just happened upon while Iran’s nuclear program. looking for would-be victims,” he told his Cabinet in The assessment has a wide regional sweep, providing a broadcast statements Sunday, calling the seminary “the country-by-country and issue-by-issue accounting of the flagship of national religious Zionism.” updated “threat map” as seen by Israel’s intelligence Mercaz Harav yeshiva, founded in 1924 by then-Chief agencies. The main points include: Rabbi Avraham Isaac Hacohen Kook, is religious • Lebanon: The Lebanese government is tottering Zionism’s most influential theological seminary. It is one and a real danger exists that Hezbollah will take over the of the prime sources of messianic Jewish settler ideolo- country. If that were to happen, Israel would find itself gy, which sees Jewish settlement of the West Bank and Continued on page 3

Sokolof Funds bring A Cantor’s Tale

Holocaust exhibit opens in JCC Gallery next month

Continued from page 1 him at Hebrew Union College, both privately and as part of a class. His knowledge and incredibly funny sense of humor made learning from him a terrific experience,” Cantor Shermet added.

An article in the New York Times said, “Cantor Jacob Mendelson is a documentary filmmaker’s dream. Jovial, rotund and prone to impromptu bursts of song, Mendelson is a celebrated teacher and practitioner of liturgical music. He has dedicated his life to preserving the form’s traditional vocal stylings. And judging by this charming film, he’s succeeding.”

Mendelson is married to a Reform cantor and serves as cantor at Conservative Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY. He also teaches at the Reform movement’s School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion in New York.

The program is sponsored by the Sokolof Funds, administered by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

by LISA LIEB Federation Communications Director The Jewish Federation and the Institute for Holocaust Education present “All That Remains”, a Holocaust exhibition in fiber, by artist Leslie J. Klein, from Friday, April 4 through Monday, April 28, in the Gallery of the Jewish community Center. Join us for an artist’s reception on Wednesday, April 16, 5-7 p.m. Group tours are available; for information, contact Beth Seldin Dotan, director of the IHE, at 334.6575.

March 14, 2008

A grim intel estimate Continued from page 2 facing a significantly enhanced Iranian forward base on its northern border. In any event, Hezbollah is preparing for another missile war against Israel, possibly on two fronts: Lebanon in the North and Gaza in the South.

• Gaza: Hamas is building up its rocket capacity, training personnel in Iran and preparing for a showdown with Israel.

• West Bank: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas needs to be able to show his constituency achievements on the ground, such as the removal of Israeli checkpoints, if he is to make progress in peace talks with Israel.

• Israeli Arabs: There is a worrying radicalization among Israeli Arabs, evident in demonstrations and stone throwing in response to Israeli military operations against Hamas rocket crews in Gaza.

• Syria: The regime is stable, with President Bashar Assad firmly in control.

Assad is focusing on a long-range rocket buildup in an attempt to reach a measure of strategic parity with Israel in the event of peace negotiations between the two countries. He may be ready to break with Iran and the axis of evil in return for a peace deal with Israel that entails the return of the Golan Heights to Syria and massive U.S. economic aid.

• Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia: Despite ongoing radicalization in the Middle East, there is no threat to the stability of these so-called moderate regimes.

Tzachi Hanegbi, the chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, described the threat map as the “most serious in Israel’s history.”

Still, Olmert told his Cabinet he is confident that Israel can meet whatever challenges it faces.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Performing Arts Series concludes with free theater program for Omaha women Bonnie Bloch, Committee Chairman

by LISA LIEB Federation Communication Director for the Performing Arts Series notes that After three outstanding performances the group is known for its originality and seen by hundreds of enthusiastic contemporary approach to theater.

Omahans, the Jewish Federation’s “Lech Lecha (Go Forth),” was written Partnership with Israel Performing Arts and will be performed by an all-female Series will conclude with a performance cast. Three Israeli women will take the by the Akko Women’s Theater Center. This special performance is open to the women of the Omaha Jewish community and will take place on Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center Theater.

The Akko Theater Center was founded in 1985 by a group of actors inspired by the need for artistic autonomy. The theater is located in the Old City of Akko in the Western Galilee, which has a large Arab population and offers fertile ground for the development of relations between the actors and the community. Its members have set for themselves two goals: the creation of a unique theatrical language, and active social involvement in the community.

After more than 20 years, the Center is seen today as a unique and important phenomenon in the arena of The Akko Women’s Theater Center performs in Omaha Israeli culture, featuring this month. actors known for their innovative work audience on a journey through their disand sincere connection to the world coveries about life, culture, conflict and around them. finding their place in this chaotic world.

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Through music, movement and dialogue, they will explore the constructs of their identities in relation to the current conflict in their country.

Past performances of the Performing Arts Series include November’s KeshetEilon violin concert, January’s Halil BaGalilee “Flutes Around the World,” and last month’s performance by the Kibbutz Gaaton dance group.

According to Bloch, these performances have been very well received. “We’ve been so pleased with the terrific response to these earlier programs and look forward to another great show,” she said.

Funding for the Performing Arts Series is being provided by the Herbert Goldsten Trust, the JCC Theatre Program Endowment Fund, the Sokolof Music Fund, a Special Donor-Advised Fund, the Esther K. Newman Memorial Fund, the Myron (Mike) Milder II Memorial Fund, the Morton A. Richards Endowment Fund, and the Samuel and Bess Rothenberg Memorial Endowment Fund. There is no charge to attend this event, and women who reserve their place by March 20 are invited to attend a complimentary dinner with the cast following the show.

Bloch hopes to see a large turnout for the Akko Women’s theater program.

“This program is a wonderful way to end the series, giving the women of our community a unique opportunity to come together. And the opportunity to have dinner with the cast will be a great way to end this special evening.”

For more information or to reserve space, contact the JCC at 334.8200.

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For reservations or more information call 516-3617

On Tuesday,April 1 at 7:00 p.m.,the community is invited to the JCC for a live concert given by Cantor Jacob Mendelson and a screening of A Cantor’s Tale, the movie about his life. A reception honoring the Sokolof recipients will follow.

Steven Bloch, President Martin C. Ricks, Executive Director

10220 Regency Circle, Omaha, NE 68114-3766

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Relationship between Israel and China goes back 800 years

by AMIR GILAT, PH.D. Communication and Media Relations at University of Haifa Commercial links between the Land of Israel and China existed as early as the 13th century. A new study has found that ceramic vessels, from the Crusader period found in Acre, originated from countries along the Mediterranean Sea -- such as Italy, France and Spain -and even China.

Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries -- during the time of the Crusades -ceramic vessels reached Acre from: Mediterranean regions, the Levant, Europe, North Africa, and even China -reveals new research, which examined trade of ceramic vessels, conducted at the University of Haifa.

This research, conducted

by Dr. Edna Stern under the direction of Prof. Michal The port of Akko.

Artzy and Dr. Adrian Boasz, examined pottery found during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority of Crusader period Acre and pottery found in shipwrecks around the Mediterranean coast. According to Dr. Stern, during these centuries, Acre (also known as Akko) -- in addition to being the gateway for Christian pilgrims into the Land of Israel, was one of the busiest commercial ports in the Latin East that had commercial links to Europe, the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire.

The study found that the majority of the ceramic wares that were imported to Acre included glazed tableware, predominantly bowls and plates. Other vessel forms that arrived in smaller numbers include containers, jars, bowls and cooking wares. 44.5% of imports arrived from the Mediterranean regions of Cyprus, Greece and Asia Minor.

There were also strong commercial links with the neighbors in Syria and Lebanon where 29.3% of the imports arrived from.

Western Mediterranean regions -- such as France, Catalonia and Tunisia, were the source of some 3.3% of ceramic vessels and even Chinese pottery arrived in Akko -- 0.2% of the imported pottery arrived from China.

Credit: Jack Hazut According to Dr. Stern, in contrast to the notion that ceramic wares were imported to Akko and surrounding ports as luxury items, the findings of her study revealed exactly the opposite.

“Pottery that arrived in Akko, and other sites around the Mediterranean Sea, did not arrive because of their high value, rather it seems that they were imported by commercial shipping companies for the long and medium term as secondary items as ‘space fillers’ for the more expensive items that were shipped,” she concluded.

Are you ready to do a Mitzvah? Join us for Teen Mitzvah Day

by ZOHAR WINER Community Shlicha April is here and that means it’s time for “Teen Mitzvah Day.” On Sunday, April 6, 12:30 p.m., Shiputznick will hold its fourth annual Teen Mitzvah Day, where Omaha’s Jewish teens will perform community service projects all around town to try to repair the world one job at a time.

This year we teamed up with J-Serve, a national day of service for Jewish teens, which is held in conjunction with Youth Service America’s Global Youth Service Day. Like in past years, all Jewish teens are invited to participate in different projects in the Jewish community and other organizations in Omaha. Some of these projects include: cleaning Temple Israel cemetery and painting for Youth Emergency Services shelter, which offers a safe place for young people in crisis.

We will also help out in the Uta Halee and Cooper

Village, which assists struggling youth, with a therapeutic program, clean back yards for elderly people with the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging and shop for needy families with Jewish Family Services.

The day will end with a free BBQ dinner at 5 p.m. at the JCC pavilion for all the volunteers and chaperones (Kosher hotdogs will be served). New participants will receive a free Shiputznick t-shirt with our logo on it and past participants should plan on wearing their Shiputznick t-shirt that day.

Shiputznick is a volunteer group of Jewish teens who volunteer in the community all year long. Teen Mitzvah Day is the highlight of the project where we try to bring together as many Jewish teens as possible to do a mitzvah, all in one day.

If you are interested in volunteering (teens and adults as chaperons), please contact me, for more information at 334.6403 or zwiner@ jccomaha. org.

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No such thing as a lazy Sunday at Beth El

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Virtually every nook and cranny of Beth El was bustling with activity the morning of Sunday, March 2: meetings, classes and baking volunteers packed the synagogue with enthusiastic and engaged congregants of all ages. Photos from top: among the activities were Men’s Club President Scott Simon, right, welcomed Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn, who spoke at a special Men’s Club meeting; BESTT art teacher Daniel Christensen assisted preschoolers in a craft project honoring Israel’s 60th anniversary; and teens Dayna Cohen, left, and Noam Margalit helped Sisterhood members bake hamantaschen for Purim.

March 14, 2008

Israeli filmmakers, supporters vow Oscar victory next year

by TOM TUGEND LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- Disappointed but not downcast, Israeli filmmakers and their supporters vowed to come back strong next year after the country’s entry Beaufort lost out in the Oscar race for best foreign-language film.

“We have shown that Israel can make very good movies and we will prove it again next time,” Eli Eltonyo, one of ‘Beaufort’s’ actors, told a cheering crowd of some 350 attending an Oscar party at the Hollywood night club Avalon.

An ebullient Yaakov Dayan, Israel’s consul general in Los Angeles, went further, shouting, “We’ll have a bigger party next year and we’ll take the Oscar, I promise you.”

Beaufort lost out to The Counterfeiters, which probes the moral dilemmas facing a special group of Jewish concentration camp inmates.

Stefan Ruzowitzky, director-writer of The Counterfeiters, with his newly won Oscar last month.

Credit: Matt Petit/©A.M.P.A.S. From its arrival three days before the Oscar ceremony, the Beaufort contingent became a celebratory rallying point for the large Israeli expatriate and general Jewish communities in Los Angeles, akin to a reception for Israeli athletes competing for Olympic gold.

At the Oscar party, hosted by the Israeli consulate, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the StandWithUs organization, guests included Israeli pop idol Ninette Tayeb and 10 teenagers from Sderot here to participate in a benefit concert for the Negev town targeted by rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

Beaufort director Joseph Cedar, lead actor Oshri Cohen, and producers David Silber and Moshe Edry were accompanied by more than a dozen Israeli television reporters and hosts.

The intense coverage reflected the country’s pride that after a hiatus of 23 years, an Israeli film had made the list of five finalists among 63 foreign entries, as well as in the contents of the film itself.

Beaufort depicts the windup of the first Lebanon War in 2000 not in the glory of a 1967 victory, but in an indecisive and exhaustive ending -- a small Israeli unit evacuates the medieval Beaufort fortress.

The film’s strength lies in presenting its protagonists not as super warriors but rather as young men who acknowledge and face their fears.

The euphoria and high hopes Beaufort triggered were explained partially by Israel’s current mood and the apparent validation of Israel’s new standing on the international film scene.

“We Israelis are going through our regular manic-depressive cycle,” explained Ron Leshem, who wrote the book on which the film is based. “We’re hungry for good news.”

The renaissance has been certified by a slew of awards at the most prestigious European and American film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice,

Sundance and Tribeca for pictures such as The Band’s Visit, Jellyfish, Lemon Tree, Walk on Water and Jossi & Jagger.

In this year’s Oscar stakes, the five finalists for the foreign-language honors were the films put forward by Austria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland and Russia, but it seemed clear that the final choice would come down to Beaufort and the Austrian entry, The Counterfeiters.

The movie by Austrian filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky is based on one of the odder footnotes of World War II. Some 100 Jews, all skilled engravers, photographers and one-time counterfeiters, were culled for “Operation Bernard” and given excellent treatment as long as they succeeded in turning out massive amounts of perfect imitation pounds and dollar bills to undermine the economies of Britain and the United States and to pay for the German war effort.

The tension in The Counterfeiters comes from the prisoners’ moral struggle on whether to collaborate with the Nazi scheme and gain at least temporary survival, or try to sabotage the operation at the cost of immediate death.

Even pro-Israel partisans who had seen The Counterfeiters acknowledged it was first class. In his short acceptance speech, Ruzowitzky paid graceful tribute to the great Jewish movie directors of his country’s past.

“There have been some great Austrian filmmakers working here, thinking of Billy Wilder, Fred Zinnemann, Otto Preminger,” he said. “Most of them had to leave my country because of the Nazis, so it sort of makes sense that the first Austrian movie to win an Oscar is about the Nazis’ crimes.”

In an earlier interview with JTA, Ruzowitzky went further. “My grandparents on both sides were Nazis, or Nazi sympathizers, so I felt a special responsibility to deal with the Holocaust era,” he said. “I felt an equal responsibility not to exercise moral judgment on the Jews who collaborated in Operation Bernard.”

There was some solace in the success of Jewish creative talent at the Academy Awards. Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen - who have signed on to bring Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union to the silver screen -- were the big winners of the evening, capturing three Oscars for best picture, directing and adapted screenplay for their gritty contemporary Western, No Country for Old Men. Britain’s Daniel Day-Lewis took acting honors as the greedy oil prospector in There Will Be Blood. He is the son of Jewish actress Jill Balcon and in his acceptance speech he thanked his grandfather, British film pioneer Sir Michael Balcon, as well as his wife, Rebecca, the daughter of the late playwright Arthur Miller.

Producer Eva Orner, an Australian native and Jewish day school graduate who now lives in New York, took home best-documentary honors for Taxi to the Dark Side. Filmed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, the documentary investigates the death in custody of Dilawar, an Afghan taxi driver who was found to have been abused while he was chained to the ceiling of his U.S. cell in 2002.

On a lighter note, the host of this year’s ceremony, Jon Stewart, characteristically opened the event with a Jewish gag, noting that the Oscar contending film Atonement caught “the raw passion and sexuality of Yom Kippur.” When the remark was greeted with applause, Stewart quipped, “Now we know where the Jews are in the audience.”

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Like mother, like daughter: Temple family making a difference in social action

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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Saturday night, Jewish comedians provided a fun social Temple Israel Communications Coordinator aspect of the weekend.”

Molly Goldberg, 16, says, “My interest in social action At this point, Molly confides that “there are many comes from my mom.” Her mom is Wendy Goldberg, issues concerning social action that I don’t know much immediate past president of the Temple Israel Board of about.” But she has “a growing interest in social justice.

Trustees, whose interest in social issues and policy often I’m trying to gather information so I can become an becomes fare for discussion at the family dinner table. advocate. To further this process, I am going to L’Taken Wendy’s passion lies in topics such as women’s rights, in Washington, D.C. in March with my confirmation immigration policy, tri-faith matters, and OTOC class.”

(Omaha Together One Community).

L’Taken is a weekend which the Religious Action Following her mother’s path, Molly, a 10th grader at Center of Reform Judaism hosts to inform youth about Westside High School, attended a North American pressing issues in social action.

Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) Social Action According to Kevin Proffitt, senior archivist for Weekend (SAW) in February in Overland Park, Kansas. research and collections at the Jacob Rader Marcus Molly is the programming vice president of the Omaha Center of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, Temple Youth Group (OTYG) Board which she repre- Ohio, statements of ideological belief of the American sented at SAW. Reform Movement “reveal a continuum of thought and A member of OTYG for belief ... Nowhere is this bettwo years, Molly joined the ter shown than in the youth group after participatReform community’s ongoing in the NFTY ing commitment to social Convention last year with justice. American Reform her friends from camp. “I Judaism has always been a love the community in leader in advocating for NFTY,” she said, and “I social justice for all persons.” enjoy the song sessions and Sarah Bleicher, president of havdalah.”

OTYG, said, the Board is She decided to go to SAW selling “Save Darfur” tee“to expand my knowledge shirts to lend support to the of NFTY’s 2007-08 action campaign to end the viotheme: “Fear and lence there and plans to Oppression” and, of course, donate money to fight the “I went to see friends from AIDS epidemic in Africa. other Temple youth The Board is also discussing groups.” Although she had the possibility of a city-wide previously attended youth youth group event on behalf group chavurot, “I have of Habitat for Humanity. never attended anything like Molly Goldberg, working at the OTYG spaghetti dinner, is Molly shared her ideas from (SAW) before,” she added. learning about social action at the dinner table at home. SAW with the Board.

Among the 78 youth group members who attended She’s excited to develop and debate NFTY’s 2008-09 SAW were high school students from across NFTY’s action theme: “War: What Is It Good For?” Wendy Missouri Valley Region which includes Colorado, Goldberg is “excited about Molly’s interest in social Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois (except action. NFTY has provided her a venue to rub shoulders Chicago), and North and South Dakota. During the with some very interesting and smart kids who are motiweekend, “we had several presentations dealing with fear vated to make their world a better place. Molly has done and oppression,” Molly explained. “We studied dating a ton of reading and had hours of conversation with violence, poverty, and behavioral disorders. Also, we peers to educate herself on current issues and how to ventured out into the community and hung out at the effectively make a difference.”

Village Shalom Jewish Home for the elderly. On

UNL professor headlines annual Brooks lecture

by KATHY SCHWARTZ Dr. Alan E. Steinweis will be the presenter for the 15th Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Lecture on Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m., at UNOs William H. Thompson Alumni Center, 67th and Dodge. His topic will be “Diagnosing and Combating Holocaust Fatigue.”

Steinweis is Hyman Rosenberg Professor of Modern European History and Judaic Studies in the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He joined the Department of History at UNL in August 1993. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he worked under the distinguished historian Gerhard L. Weinberg. He specializes in the history of the Holocaust Dr. Alan E. Steinweis and Nazi Germany, and teaches courses on those subjects in addition to courses on European history, Jewish history, and historical methodology.

He is the author of Art, Ideology, and Economics in Nazi Germany: The Reich Chambers of Music, Theater, and the Visual Arts (University of North Carolina Press, 1993; paperback 1996), and Studying the Jew: Scholarly Antisemitism in Nazi Germany (Harvard University Press, 2006; paperback 2008.) The latter book was designated a Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category.

He has co-edited two further volumes: The Impact of Nazism: New Perspectives on the Third Reich and Its

Legacy, (University of Nebraska Press, 2003), and Coping with the Nazi Past: West German Debates about Nazism and Generational Conflict, 1955-1975, (Berghahn Books, 2006, paperback 2007).

He has also published several articles addressing the resonance of the Holocaust in American society and culture. He is editor of the American edition of the Comprehensive History of the Holocaust, a monograph series published by the University of Nebraska Press in cooperation with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust research and commemoration authority of the state of Israel. He is currently writing a book on the November 1938 “Kristallnacht” pogrom in Germany, which will be published by Harvard University Press.

Steinweis has received fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Fulbright Commission, and the Skirball Foundation. He has held visiting positions at the Universities of Hannover and Heidelberg in Germany, and at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, and has been a visiting fellow at the Free University of Berlin and at the Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

He is the recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, a “People Who Inspire” award from the Mortar Board National Honor Society, and several teaching recognitions from the University of Nebraska Parents’ Association.

The lecture, sponsored by the Religious Studies program, the College of Arts and Sciences and Temple Israel in conjunction with the Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation, is open and free to the public.

DEADLINE NOTICE Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues. Early deadlines will be announced in advance. Questions? Call 334.6448.

March 14, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A place of fun, laughter and excitement Just ahead of the kickoff of Israel’s 60th anniversary, The History Channel will air a segment on a clandestine bullet factory that helped win the War of Independence in 1948. As part two in this season’s “Cities of the Underworld” series, an entire segment is devoted to the Ayalon Institute on Monday, March 24, 9 p.m., for “Prophecies from Below.”

In this segment, the show’s host, Don Wildman, is guided by Shlomo Hillel, one of the founders of the secret factory in 1945, who later became a minister and chairman of the Israeli Knesset.

The Ayalon Institute’s fascinating story is about a topsecret operation that took place during the years between the end of WWII and Israel’s War of Independence. Under the vigilant eyes of the British who ruled the area, a clandestine plant for the production of much-needed bullets was built underground in anticipation of the armed struggle for independence that came with the termination of the British Mandate.

The Institute, located on Kibbutz Hill in the middle of the city of Rehovot, was declared a historic site in 1987, and includes a museum operated by a Jewish National Fund (JNF) partner agency, the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS).

The Institute was built in just three weeks as a cooperative effort between members of Hatzofim Aleph, a pioneer group, members of the local Jewish clandestine military, and Haganah trainees. Using the laundry room of the kibbutz as their cover -- the noise of the machines and the exhaust camouflaged the subterranean machines -- the group of chosen kibbutzniks worked day in and day out in a 300-square-yard space 26 feet underground and produced nearly three million bullets in three years and helped win Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

The munitions makers daily risked their lives. If caught they could be killed. At any time, the gun powder, that was handled by hand, could explode, and great pains were taken to enter and exit without being seen by moving a heavy piece of machinery under which a steep staircase was revealed. Their clothes and hair were inspected at each day’s end to remove bullet shavings and stains.

by SHEVI KATZMAN for Chabad of Nebraska Gan Israel camp reunion generated much excitement among past Gan Israel campers and their friends for the upcoming summer camp session beginning July 7.

The sunny Sunday event began at the Chabad House with a ‘pass the parcel’ game complete with lots of prizes and silly games for everyone. The main prize unwrapped after much speculating what was buried beneath the countless layers of grey newspaper was the Shabbat Box of

munity and runs from July 7-18, 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. for children ages four-12. Tuition includes healthful, kosher snacks and lunches, trips, transportation, craft material and activity instruction. Mini Gan Izzy (ages 45) costs $220 for both weeks and $118 for one. Gan Israel (ages 5-10) costs $265 for both weeks and $140 for one. The pioneer program for girls ages 11-13 costs $140 for both weeks and $75 for one.

Please inquire for scholarship availability. To receive a brochure, please contact Carol at the Chabad House at

The Kutlers and their friend enjoy the fun and games at Gan Israel Camp reunion recently.

Questions, a game selected based on last camp session’s Shabbat theme. As anticipated, the game was followed by a spirited line up highlighted by singing favorite camp songs.

The fun continued as the children munched on snacks after reciting the blessing to G-d for the food He gives us.

The children then selected photos of themselves doing various activities during the past camp sessions for their memory pages. Many talented and artistic children created collages to take home and show off to their family.

Eliana Schuller, daughter of Drs. Dan and Yaffa Schuller, noted that she “loves doing this” and was “having fun!”

Taking advantage of the pleasant weather, the children raced outside to collect Hebrew letters with which to write a Megillah for the upcoming Purim holiday.

“We won! We won!” announced O’Bryen Edwards as she jumped up and down indicating that her team completed their “megillah” first by gluing together the letters they found outside.

Camp Gan Israel is open to all members of the com-

Benjamin Kutler passes the parcel to O’Bryen Edwards in one of the many games played at the reunion.

Campers and counselors get down on their hands to do “crazy eights,” an exercise favorite during their line-up.

330.1800. Registration closes on May 29. To receive a 5% discount, register by March 18. For more information contact camp@ochabad.com or visit www. ochabad.com/camp.

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Questions? Call Carol Hutchison at 330-1800 or visit www.ochabad.com/gala

Page 8

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Women of Reform Judaism join campaign to sell six million t-shirts Danielle Gordman, president of the

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Women of Reform Judaism-Omaha, met Debra and Howard Solomon of the Solomons and browsed their display of California visited a relative, who is a tee-shirts at the Union for Reform Holocaust survivor, in France last year. Judaism Biennial in San Diego in Dora, who was 20-years-old and living in December. Gordman said she was “moved Nazi-occupied Paris when her mother, by the mission and meaning of the shirts.”

WRJ is now selling the t-shirts through father, and brother were arrested, was saved by a gentile family who hid her and March. They cost $18 each. “One third of the proceeds stay at 16 other people in the Temple Israel,” she basement of their bakery. explained. “Another According to The Sun 10 percent will go Chronicle of Attleboro, towards providing Massachusetts, the humanitarian aid, Solomons toured the relief, and resettlehistoric Jewish section of ment to refugees and Paris where Dora once other victims of lived. She described her oppression or violent ordeal and the years in conflict” through The hiding. Now in her 80s, Dora learned that her Zev, four, and Harper, five, children of International Rescue entire family had per- Jeff and Danielle Gordman, are wearing Committee. “Direct ished after she emerged the "Never Forget" t-shirts being sold by financial assistance, in a caring and dignified from hiding at the end Women of Reform Judaism. of World War II. Debra told the Chronicle manner, will be used to help needy Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.” that we “just had to do something.”

Gordman added that the shirts come in San Diego’s Amen Clothing, co-founded by the Solomons, makes fashionable youth, men’s, and women’s sizes and are shirts with a message. That’s where Peter available to try on at Temple Israel on Koutrouba comes in. A former resident Sunday mornings. 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 of North Attleboro, he designed a p.m. and on Wednesdays, 6-6:30 p.m.

She offered to set up more convenient “Never Forget” t-shirt.

“It’s important that the shirts are times if requested by those who call her at appropriate for all ages and at the same 343.1435. “Our last order will be placed time bold and eye catching,” said on April 7,” she added, “so there’s still Koutrouba, who now lives on the West plenty of time to purchase!”

By May 1, Holocaust Remembrance Coast. “The dove (design on the t-shirt) represents something both peaceful and Day, the Solomons and Koutrouba hope positive.” The Solomons hope to sell one to sell six million tee-shirts to people t-shirt for each of the six million who around the world who will wear them in a show of unity that day. died in the Holocaust.

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by SHEVI KATZMAN for Chabad House The sleet turned into snow made wintry weather dismal and disheartening for some on the first Sunday of March.

Conversely, the time meant actively warming up to the upcoming widelyobserved Purim holiday March 20-21.

Children and their parents gathered in pajamas and blankets to change the atmosphere to love, joy and celebration of life. The food was prepared by Sarah Wiseman and Devra Bram, who chaired the March 2 Bedtime Storytime event at the Chabad House.

Cute Purim character masks were created by those in attendance to wear while listening to A Very Special Gift, a delightful Purim story published by Hachai, read by enchant-ing local storyteller Nancy Rips.

Rips came clad in her own polka dotted pajamas to captivate her listeners as she invited them to join her in Gali’s world where she did her best to buy a Purim gift for her mom. When the gift shattered, Gali found a clever way to use the millions of broken pieces as a gragger! “I was scared when the plate broke,” noted Zalman Katzman,

age four, at the conclusion of the story.

Bedtime Storytime is another educational program by Mishpacha University.

For more information, visit www. ochabad.com/MishpachaU or call Carol at the Chabad House at 330.1800.

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Photos from top: Destiny Wiseman works to complete her Queen Esther mask to wear during the Purim story.

Natasha Kraft assists her son, Alexander, in creating his clown mask during the Storytime in early March.

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All dressed up with somewhere to go: Purim at Beth El

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator According to Benjamin Franklin, nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. With all due respect, Mr. Franklin, you never experienced Purim at Beth El, a sure thing which, year after year, delivers a rollicking good time filled with food, fun, costumes and prizes ... the whole Megillah!

A great celebration for folks of all ages, the synagogue’s always festive Shushan shenanigans will begin on Thursday, March 20, 5:45 p.m., with ma’ariv (evening service), followed by the entertaining Family Megillah Reading. Get ready to be dazzled by colorful, creative

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

THE GREEK ISLANDS 3821 CENTER • 346-1528

programming@bethel-omaha.org; or Education Director Judy Rubin at 4980904, or eddir@bethel-omaha.org. Be sure to include the number of adults and children in your party. The full Megillah reading will take place following dinner at 7:45 p.m.

BILU USY Purim Carnival Fun galore is also on tap for all attending the annual BILU USY Purim Carnival, Sunday, March 23, 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature a variety of great game booths, a silent auction and raffle, plus lunch, served once again by the dedicated Men’s Club members. This year’s carnival theme is “Israel@60,” so in addition to Purim festivities, attendees will have

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The 2007 USY Purim Carnival offered an afternoon of fun and games for families fun celebrating this milestone birthday.

The Purim carnival serves as USY’s biggest fund-raiser of the year; proceeds are used for convention travel expenses and scholarships, and a portion is donated to two charities selected by USY members. The community is invited to support Beth El’s teens and have a great time in the process. Game tickets are five for $1; four for $1 the day of the carnival; individual meal tickets are $6, and raffle tickets are $1 each; buy 10 and get one free. Patrons may also take advantage of the combo packages being offered: a combo pack (one meal and 10 game tickets) is $7 in advance, $8.50 the day of the carnival; or the Family Pack (including four meals, 50 game tickets and 11 raffle tickets) is $40.

Tickets orders are being taken now: checks -- made payable to Beth El USY may be sent to Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154. For more information, contact Youth Director Robert Mosenkis at 492.8550, or at youthdir@ bethel-omaha.org.

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Parents of the bride are Groomsmen were Steve Lou and Deb Kully of Well, and Jeff Kully. Ring Hastings, NE. Parents of the bearers were Jace Kully, Alex groom are Howard and Skarperud, Jacob Skarperud, Brenda Nelson of Sun and Carson Skarperud.

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Beth Seldin Dotan, in full fortune-telling regalia, shared her wisdom with youngsters and parents at last year’s carnival. costumes, an entertaining Purim Shpiel performed by USY teens, and of course, the Megillah reading, complete with cheers and boos (the latter for Haman, of course!).

As an added treat, everyone who comes in costume, children and adults alike, will be rewarded with three game tickets for the Purim carnival, scheduled for Sunday, March 23. (Tickets may be picked up the day of the carnival.) At the end of the service, revelers will have a chance to strut their stuff during a costume parade and costume contest; prizes will be awarded for “Most Creative,” “Most Well-Known Person,” “Funniest,” and “Most Purim-like.” No attire will be too wacky during this holiday hoopla.

After the Megillah reading, everyone is invited to stay for a free pizza and salad dinner, which will also feature hamantaschen made by Beth El Sisterhood’s baking brigade. While there is no charge, reservations are requested by March 17, and may be made by contacting Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Blumkin Home new addition: a moving experience Continued from page 1 On moving day, that’s exactly what happened.

According to Natalie Osborne, RBJH Nurse Manager, “We divided the staff into three teams led by Bert Benson -- our Director of Social Services, Shelley Cash -Director of Nursing, and Maureen Neumann -RN/MDS Coordinator.

Bert really orchestrated everything. It was almost a dance.”

Osborne explained how team members used

Above: Natalie Osborne, Blumkin Home Nurse Manager, gets ready for moving day. Right: Laura Bair, Blumkin Home Food Service Manager, assists residents Jim and Selma Shamberg during the first lunchtime in the new addition.

The sunroom in the new unit is the greatest room. The colors are wonderful. Everything was done perfectly. Even when it’s cloudy outside it’s bright in the sunroom. It’s like my office. I keep the doors open but people still knock if they want to come in. Usually I just sit there and think.

-- Bernie Meyers, Blumkin Home resident clothing racks, carts and flat beds to move resident’s clothing, furniture, pictures and other personal items from their rooms in various wings of the Home into their rooms in the new addition. Once a room was completely emptied, housekeeping deep-cleaned it, allowing the teams to then move residents from the Northwest wing -- the area marked for renovation in Phase Two --

Nursing Director Shelly Cash, left, and Shelly Spencer, New Unit Charge Nurse, inspect their new nursing station in the Credit: Bob Belgrade and Ozzie Nogg new addition.

into those recently vacated rooms.

“Many residents and families said they couldn’t believe how easy we made the move look,” Osborne said.

Selma Shamberg was one of those residents. “I went to breakfast and when I came back, everything was in place in my new room. Of course, I had a wonderful engineer.”

Selma was referring to her daughter, Sally Zipursky, who assumed responsibility for moving both her mother and father, Jim, to the new unit. “We had already drawn up floor plans of their rooms,” Sally said. “We’d measured their furniture so we knew everything would fit and where it would go. It was hard work, but the Blumkin staff had 25 residents to move and I thought it would be helpful if they didn’t have to worry about my parents.”

Sally, along with Marie Koley and Judy Josephson, were cited by Blumkin staff for their tremendous help.

“We owe them and other family members and friends a big thank you,” Osborne said.

Bert Benson agreed that “moving day went amazingly well. The residents were transitioned from their previous rooms to the new ones with very little worry or fuss,” she said. ”Our teams were well organized and helped residents set up their new surroundings as they chose.

The new addition is very comfortable. It’s also beautiful and functional.”

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Blumkin Home new addition: a moving experience Continued from page 10 Part of that functionality includes nurses’ stations that allow easy visual supervision of residents by staff, and clear signage that makes spaces easy to find, identify and use. Evidence of comfort and beauty include generous seating in the many common areas, a reduced noise level, Judaic art on every wall and custom-made wood boxes with living green plants that residents are encouraged to care for.

According to tradition, each Jewish home is considered a little sanctuary. A place of beauty, hospitality, safety and peace, where human needs are expressed and met, and where young and old gather to celebrate. By every measure, the Phase One new addition to the Blumkin Home reflects those values.

The Psalms tell us, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when people live together as one.’

It’s even more pleasant when the surroundings are beautiful.

The space is so haimish. The art in the hallways. The hanukkiot they have in their rooms. The mezuzot they were able to choose themselves. It feels like they’ve been transplanted and their Jewish home has come with them. Here they can maintain their identity -- Sally Zipursky, daughter of RBJH residents, Jim and Selma Shamberg How did I get so lucky? I hit the jackpot here -- a Blumkin Home resident Right outside each resident’s door is the dining room, the TV lounge, the library, the sunroom. Why, residents can even play Wii with any kid who walks into the building, even if the kid is just four years old. It’s so uplifting -- Joanie Bernstein, past president, Jewish Senior Services We may be old, but we’re still modern!

Roz Zoob, Blumkin Home resident

Photos from top: At the recent open house, Irv Forbes, a resident of the Blumkin Home, tours the new addition. Kim Noddle and Nancy Noddle, members of the Interior Design Committee, are pleased with the results of their hard work.

Three Omaha rabbis: Rabbi Mordechai Levin, left, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, and Rabbi Jonathan Gross prepare to affix the mezuzah to the entrance of the new addition.

Credit: Ozzie Nogg and Bob Belgrade

Whoa!!love Wouldn't you

Color. Texture.

Movement. Emotion.

So much more than a row of shrubs!

Art bridges generations between Friedel Academy and Blumkin Home

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT During the month of February, artist-in-residence Dottie Seymour visited with both the students at Friedel and several residents of the Rose Blumkin Home. A resident of Woodbine, Iowa, Seymour is passionate about mask making, using paper as well as recycled materials.

When she met Blumkin’s Maggie Conti, Director of Activities and Outreach, things fell into place.

“Maggie is the brain behind this collaboration,” Seymour said. “She is passionate about the children and the Blumkin residents getting to know one another and spending time together. Working together allowed the students and residents to bond.”

Seymour added, “I met Maggie while on a bus tour last summer. She invited me to do an intergenerational mask-making class. I though it was a wonderful idea and ended up spending four weeks at Friedel.”

Blumkin residents paired up with the students, and exchanged information about each other. They then used that information to create masks that represented the other person, illustrating what they had learned.

Dottie Seymour worked closely with Julie Phillips, Friedel’s art teacher. “Julie has introduced the Friedel students to so many forms of art, and really encourages them to be creative. She has tremendous energy and I was impressed with her level of enthusiasm and talent.

Working with her was a rewarding ex- Blumkin resident Sarah Lohrman and perience,” said Friedel fifth-grader Sarah Kutler show off Seymour. “I their work. Sarah Kutler is the daughter of was equally Nancy and Howard Kutler. impressed with the students’ efforts; they were happy, enthusiastic, respectful, and eager to explore. Seeing them in action with the residents of the Blumkin Home was heart warming, and exceeded my expectations.”

Blumkin residents were invited to the Friedel commons room to show off their work. Together with their young partners, they explained the creative process, posed for pictures, and enjoyed some well-deserved hamantaschen. The masks, combined with photographs of residents and students, have been hung in the hallway at the Rose Blumkin Home and will remain on display through Purim.

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Please forward a BBGH job application, resume and cover letter to the address below. In your cover letter please describe your experience and qualifications in designing and administering competitive benefits and compensation packages that sustain effective hospital recruitment and retention programs. Also describe your experience in providing performance management coaching and counseling to managers and supervisors at all levels of an organization.

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March 14, 2008

U.S. elections grab attention, spark debate in Europe frosty attitude toward America, FrancoU.S. relations warmed as conservative Nicolas Sarkozy took power last May. While French Jewish voters consider ties with the United States, they are focused primarily on an issue beyond Europe’s borders, according to Richard Prasquier, the president of the CRIF, the French Jewish umbrella group.

“The single most important issue is Iran and its nuclear ambitions,” he said.

But which French Jews? Ashkenazim, who are the minority, tend to be more liberal while the majority Sephardim, or North African Jews, are conservative, according to Serge Cwajgenbaum, the secretary-general of the European Jewish Congress.

France has some 600,000 Jews, the largest number living in any European country outside of Russia.

“The e-mails circulating making various charges against Obama, such as that he refused to swear on a Bible when he became a senator, did nothing to boost his reputation, even if they were false,” Cwajgenbaum said.

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SOURCE: JTA Staff In Germany, some Jews are not confident that “Obama takes the security of Israel seriously,” said Kramer, the secretary-general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

British Jews, Gross added, are thinking as much about their internal situation as they are of Israel, hoping for a U.S. president who will counter Islamic extremism.

“Remember the U.S. is our closest ally and, like the U.S., we had a terrorist attack on our own soil,” Gross said. “So clearly that is something that we want to be on the mind of the new president.”

Meanwhile, liberal European Jews find Obama as inspirational as the Americans helping him to edge ahead of Clinton in the U.S. primaries.

“There has been mounting excitement about Obama among the people I speak to,” said Tony Lerman, the director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research in London.

“I thought Clinton was more experienced, but Obama represents an important shift to something new and fresh.

Quite a few of my friends are moving in that direction, if they are not already there.”

Further east, Europeans living in societies that were closed for decades to outsiders and ideologies like feminism and multiculturalism, are sometimes fixated on the reality of an African-American and female candidate.

Media reports in the region routinely express excitement and sometimes shock that a woman and a dark-skinned minority have made it so far.

“My friends think Obama is all right, but they are very skeptical,” said Adam Schonberger, the director of the Marom Jewish organization in Budapest, Hungary. “They think its impossible a black or a woman can be elected.”

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by DINAH SPRITZER PARIS (JTA) -- Stephen Kramer cannot believe he is watching Barack Obama’s step-grandmother Sarah get emotional in a Kenyan village for the second time last week.

“She is on television telling a reporter, ‘Oh, Barack can come here anytime,’” referring to her grandson, a front-runner in the race to be the Democratic candidate in the November U.S. presidential elections. “Then they showed her feeding pigeons,” Kramer added. “Twice.”

Kramer is not in Ohio or Texas, where primaries are set to be held next week.

He is a Jewish communal leader in Germany, which like other European countries has come down with a case of U.S. election fever.

“There is an unbelievable fascination with U.S. elections in Britain,” said Gavin Gross, the director of public affairs for the Zionist Federation in London.

“The lead story on EuroNews,” he said of the cable television station, “was Obama winning the Wisconsin primary.”

Gross, an American who has lived in Britain for 15 years, said the elections have captivated audiences there because the candidates are “intriguing personalities who engage in a long contest with debates, in contrast to the short, usually colorless races in Europe.”

But do Europeans, and specifically European Jews, really care who will be the next U.S. president?

“Like all Europeans, we want a U.S. president who cares more about environmentalism than the current president,” said Jose Carp, the president of Portugal’s Jewish community, in an interview at the recent general assembly of the European Jewish Congress in Paris. “As Jews, we want to make sure the U.S. is led by someone who can press European governments to be firm with Iran.”

A slew of interviews conducted by JTA suggest that the same differences of opinion can be found within the American and European Jewish communities.

Europeans who think first about which candidate will be best for Israel tend to view Republican Sen. John McCain (RAriz.) and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) as the most reliable, given their better-known records of support for the Jewish state.

Obama is a question mark for those with Israel as a priority, some European Jewish leaders told JTA. But others, even those with Israel as a top priority, want to know which candidate will do more to repair the transAtlantic relations so badly damaged by the war in Iraq, and by the general perception in Europe of President Bush as a leader who has been bad for the world.

According to a poll last September by the German Marshall Fund, 77 percent of Europeans surveyed in 12 countries expressed disapproval of Bush and the war in Iraq.

“European anti-Americanism is on the rise due to Bush policies, and that’s not good for Jews, Israel or the world,” said Ariel Muzicant, the president of the Austrian Jewish community.

Then there is the history of each country’s delicate political dance with the United States.

After many years of tension, due in part to French President Jacques Chirac’s

How is this publication thinking about the future?

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 14

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

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IN THE NEWS Tim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien has been hailed as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the best American writer of his generationâ&#x20AC;? (San Francisco Chronicle). The author of eight books, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien received the National Book Award in Fiction in 1979 for his novel Going After Cacciato. In 2005, The Things They Carried was named by the New York Times as one of the 20 best books of the last quarter century. It received the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award in fiction and was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The French edition of The Things They Carried received the prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, and the title story was selected by John Updike for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories of the Century.

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien is giving a public reading from his work on Thursday, March 27, 7:30 p.m., in the Union Auditorium, in the Student Union of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After the reading there will be a booksigning and reception. This reading is a part of Tim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brienâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-week residency at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, funded by support from the office of the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs. For more information call Gerry Shapiro, 472.1871.

Sharing daily life with a teenager from another country and culture is a rich and rewarding experience, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wonderful way to bring more understanding into the world. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever thought about welcoming an exchange student into your home and family, nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the time to learn more. American Friends Service (AFS), the leading international high school student exchange program, needs families in our community to host high school students for an academic year or six months.

Students arrive in August.

AFS students come from more than 40 countries and represent many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Local AFS Volunteers enroll students in high school and support students and their families to help both gain the most from their experience. In addition to host families, AFS needs people who are interested in becoming volunteer liaisons to work locally with families and their hosted students.

Anyone interested in learning more about hosting or volunteering with AFS should visit www.afs.org/usa/ hostfamily or call 1.800.AFS-INFO. Hague Quality Water of Nebraska received the #1 Dealer award for the Great Plains Region, which includes six states in the Midwest, for 2007, and Dave Bonicatto ranked #8 nationally for salespeople. Hague Quality Water International has over 300 dealers and more than 1000 sales people across the country.

Hague Quality Water of NE was started in May of 2001 by Jeff and Kris White. Hague provides service and sales of residential and commercial water conditioning equipment; water softeners, reverse osmosis drinking systems, bottleless water coolers and office coffee as well as air purification systems for Southeast Nebraska, including Omaha and Lincoln.

For more information, please call 466.6800 (Lincoln) or 991.1414 (Omaha) or visit them online at www.HagueWaterNE.com.

Alexa Newman has been designated an Honor Student at Rhode Island School of Design for her excellent performance during Fall Semester, 2007. The 2006 graduate of Westside High school is the daughter of Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman.

Can your Grandmotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quilt be saved if it is showing wear from too much love and too many washings?

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Nancy Kirk, an expert quilt restorer in Omaha, says yes, and has dedicated part of her life to teaching others to restore quilts. There are over five million antique quilts in need of restoration estimates Nancy Kirk of The Kirk Collection, www.kirkcollection.com. But there are less than three dozen quilt restorers working professionally around the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On April 9 and 10, we offer a Beginning Quilt Restoration Workshop where people learn to repair patchwork and appliquĂŠ quilts,â&#x20AC;? said Kirk. Each person who takes the workshop gets to bring an antique quilt they are planning to restore and goes home with a plan for its restoration.

The workshop also covers dating fabrics, so restorers can identify the age of the quilts they are working on and the vintage fabrics they collect to use in restoration.

Students learn how to wash antique quilts and ways to display and store them safely.

The April session also includes an optional field trip to see antique quilts at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, and a two-day advanced workshop focusing on restoring crazy quilts and other Victorian silk quilts.

Tuition for the full five days is $400, but people can register for the individual workshops for $175 each and the field trip for $50. To register for the workshops or get more information go to www.quiltrestoration.com or call The Kirk Collection at 800.398.2542.

For those who canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t travel to study, the workshops are available on DVD at www.kirkcollection.com.

The Luzzatto Group and the Israeli branch of Dunn & Bradstreet have recognized excellence in the management of technological innovation by honoring a local IP-based company with the first D&B-Luzzatto Award.

The award was presented at the Dunn 100 event at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art. The Luzzatto Group is a group of companies built around the Israeli law firm Luzzatto & Luzzatto, which provides an array of patent and trademark services to clients around the globe.

The winning company, Environmental Energy Resources Ltd. (EER) of Ramat-Gan, developed a technology with far-reaching international meaning and it is our goal to encourage and promote that kind of progress in this industry. The development from EER that spurred the honor is Plasma Gasification Melting (PGM) technology, a new approach to the treatment and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste, one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest environmental problems.

For information about EER, visit www.eer-pgm.com.

The Omaha Jaycees in partnership with Village Pointe Shopping Center are accepting applications for the fourth annual Ten Outstanding Young Omaha Teens (TOYO Teens) Awards until March 15.

The TOYO Teens Awards are based on the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Omahans (TOYO) Awards that were started 75 years ago by the Omaha Jaycees. The TOYO Awards are intended to honor young Omaha professionals who are making a difference in the community. The Omaha Jaycees wanted to expand the effort with the launch of TOYO Teens. In order to be eligible, you must meet the following requirements: â&#x20AC;˘ be 13 to 19 years of age of before March 15, 2008 â&#x20AC;˘ live in the Omaha Metro area â&#x20AC;˘ have made significant contributions to the Omaha community through volunteerism and community action The Ten Outstanding Young Omaha Teens will receive $100 scholarships. The recipients will be honored at a ceremony held at Village Pointe on May 4.

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THE YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday at the JCC with music by Jill Anderson, Acoustic Folk Music sung with passion and expression. Anderson was the star at the Omaha Community Playhouse in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Lunch is served at noon for $7 per person. Join us for bingo with Miles Remer at 10 a.m. Call Dee Dee at 330.4272 for transportation. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;NAI Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RITH BREADBREAKERS Michele Aizenberg will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, March 19, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. An Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at UNMC, she will speak about her special interest in tumors of the brain and spine and how they affect the central nervous system. All men and women in the community are invited

to attend. Cost is $12 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC in the Social Hall on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. If you have any Yiddish books to donate, please call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

VISIONS Reminder: Visions Luncheon Meeting is Friday, March 14, 12:30 p.m., at the Venice Inn. The cost is $11 per person. For information call Harry Alloy at 697.8709.

JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES Reminder: The Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha will perform on Sunday, March 16, 1:30 p.m. at the JCC. There is no admission fee and all are welcome. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

March 14, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 15

Eco-tips for spring cleaning

by LINDSEY PAIGE SAVOIE “The Holy Blessed One said to the people of Israel: ‘Even though you will find the land bountiful, do not decide to sit and not sow. Rather, be very diligent in planting. Just as you found planting done by others when you arrived, so, too, you are to plant for future generations.’” (Midrash Tanchuma, Kedoshim 8) Judaism and the environment are intertwined. From the opening lines of the Torah, God has commanded the Jewish people to care for the land, for the animals, for ourselves. We can continue to repair the world (tikkun olam) by caring for our land starting in our own backyard. As we welcome the spring weather, please refer to the following list of seven tips and ideas to green your home and your garden.

• Natural Cleaning Products. If you don’t have time to make your own natural cleaning products, check out natural alternatives. Find these products at local stores.

“Chemicals in cleaning products can cause asthma, respiratory illness, skin irritations, even some types of cancer,” said Emily Main, senior editor of “The Green Guide,” a resource published by the National Geographic Society for consumers of green products.

• Landscaping. When hiring landscapers, ask what kind of chemicals they use. The fewer chemicals, the better.

Only a handful of common pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers have been fully tested for human safety (even fewer for children’s safety). Local nurseries carry a large variety of organic seeds, plants, fertilizers and more.

• Recycle, Reduce, Reuse. Return

containers to plant stores after you transplant your new plants into your garden.

Most nurseries will be happy to reuse the containers.

Visit www.recyclenebraska.org to receive the latest information on what and where to recycle glass, plastics, paper, and more.

require less watering is becoming more important than ever. To use less water: • Select plants that are adapted to your site (consider climate, soils, sunlight, and exposure).

• Cluster plants together and mulch them with compost to conserve moisture.

The new three-meter diameter water pipes being laid to connect the new Hadera desalination plant to the National Water Carrier (NWC) is to open shortly.

Credit: ISRANET Reduce waste in landfills by composting in your backyard. Composting is a vital part of sustainability -- it diverts organic waste from the waste-stream (landfills or incineration), and converts it into healthy soil.

• Water Conservation.

With droughts and water restrictions becoming more common, creating gardens that

• Avoid planting or transplanting during the summer.

• Water in the early morning instead of mid-day so that less water evaporates.

• Water once deeply rather then several times lightly to promote deep roots.

• Use a rain gauge and timers to avoid over watering.

• Lawn Equipment. Reduce use of

power tools, mowers, and leaf blowers.

Small gas-powered engines, such as those used in lawn and garden equipment, are less efficient and contribute significantly more air pollution per hour of operation than do the engines in cars.

Electric equipment, while still contributing to pollution problems (at generating plants) is significantly more efficient than those with gas engines. The most environmentally friendly type of lawn equipment is human-powered.

And, it’s good exercise, too.

• Community Garden Project. Is your green thumb too big to be satisfied with just your own backyard? Get involved at your congregation or school to start a community garden project.

• Farmer’s Markets and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).

Buy local, organic produce, eggs, dairy, and baked goods. Since local Farmer’s Markets are held on Saturdays, check out www.localharvest.org to find information on how to join a CSA this season.

When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: Look at my works! See how beautiful they are, how excellent!

For your sake I created them all. Take care not to spoil or destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you. (Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13) Lindsey Paige Savoie is a Jewish environmental educator. She serves as an ongoing guest speaker and consultant for the Omaha Jewish community, thanks to a grant from the Klutznick chair of Creighton University. For more tips, please visit www.shomreiadamah.org or call 408.6451 to arrange a time to meet with her to ‘green’ your space.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

A hiddur mitzvah at the Blumkin Home When the new addition of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home opened last month, a few (and only a few) people commented that the Home seemed to be “more luxurious than necessary” and “over-the-top” with extra features that “may have cost our community too much.”

Hmmm. Could that be true? Or is there another side to this issue on which we should focus?

Here’s the emes (that’s “truth” in Hebrew): the planners of the Blumkin Home’s “New Beginning” really did know what they were doing. Following a long-held belief of hiddur mitzvah -- making a commandment even more beautiful, these community leaders wanted to provide a beautiful, safe, accessible home-away-from-home for our elders. Since this particular commandment -- honor your father and mother -- is a biggie (it’s listed in the Ten Commandments after all!), it’s even more important to follow with extra kavanah (devotion).

Not only do many of the residents at the Home come from beautiful homes themselves, they’ve also given millions of dollars to our Jewish community throughout their long years of living here. They’ve not only donated to the Federation Campaign, but to their synagogues, agencies like the Jewish Community Center, and some have even established endowments at the Foundation. That doesn’t even include donations they’ve made to Omaha and Nebraska organizations, from United Way to Girls and Boys Clubs.

Based on that alone, don’t they deserve to live in beautiful surroundings?

But here’s another reason: while we don’t like to admit this, for many of the residents at

the Home, this will be their last home. After a lifetime of giving to the Jewish community, isn’t it our turn to give back to them?

And just what are these so-called “extras” that these few people saw in the new addition?

One might be the higher ceilings, another the extra-wide hallways or bigger windows which let in more natural light. Maybe it was the comfortable new furniture or the large screen televisions, or the up-scale residential-style kitchen with stainless-steel appliances. Or maybe it was the laminated wood flooring in the dining area and the entrance to each resident’s room or the carpeting in the hallways, lounges and rooms.

Does it make a difference?

Well, yes, actually it does. There are logical reasons for providing all these features and more (like the lower portion of the door frames which can be removed, fixed and repainted if scratched by a wheelchair or walker or the hidden space for the nurses’ latex gloves so residents aren’t constantly reminded they live in a skilled-care nursing home).

The carpeting, for example, has a rose embedded every 10 feet; any staff member can quickly “eyeball” a resident and know exactly how far away he or she is. And the carpeting is composed of the latest advances in carpet fibers; liquids “sit” on top of the

carpet and can be easily wiped off without being absorbed into or staining the carpet.

And the kitchen? Though it looks residential, it has some very special features: the oven, cooktop and microwave can only be turned on after a staff member has used his or her key and punched in a code. The island is lower than the countertop in the back of the kitchen, so residents in wheelchairs can roll right up, and the space between the island and the rest of the kitchen accommodates the food cart from the main kitchen so Blumkin Home staff can serve the meals in individual portions.

A beautiful new addition? You bet! Because when the Torah stated “Honor your father and mother,” this community took it seriously and then went a step beyond. That’s why it’s a hiddur mitzvah and that’s a beautiful thing to behold!

What counts (and doesn’t) in a candidate

FOCUS ON ISSUES

by RABBI AVI SHAFRAN Barack Obama is black. Hillary Clinton is a woman. John McCain has hair and is clean shaven. So who’s a balding, bearded Jew like me supposed to support?

If the question strikes you as silly, or worse, you haven’t been paying attention to the media and pollsters. They inform us, and with ample evidence to support the claim, that large numbers of black Americans support Mr. Obama simply because of his color; many women, Mrs. Clinton because of her gender; and many Caucasians Mr. McCain, because of his -- well, both.

A recent CNN headline was typical.

“Gender or Race,” it reads, “Black women voters face tough choices...” One of the “story highlights” of the featured article amplified: “Women are torn between voting their race or voting their gender.”

Now, it’s certainly understandable that blacks -- and, for that matter, we persons of pallor -- take pride in the fact that someone of African ancestry is a viable candidate for the highest office in the land; or that women -and men -- feel similarly impressed by the fact that a female is the other candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

Many Jews, of course, felt no differently about a Jewish candidate -- an observant one, no less -- when he was a vice presidential candidate in 2000.

Such pride, though, is properly felt not over the candidates themselves but rather over our country and its citizens -- for the distance traveled since the days of segregation, disenfranchisement and religious quotas.

Maybe there were Jews who voted for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman in 2000 simply

because of the latter’s ethnicity. If so, though, they weren’t exactly examples of legendary Jewish intelligence.

I actually know more than a few members of the tribe who, embracing the time-honored and never unjustified Jewish trait of nervousness, pointedly voted Republican that year, out of concern that a Jew in high office would become a magnet for Jew-hatred. Most Jews, I hope, simply voted for the candidates they felt were best suited to lead the country -- or, at least, the ticket they thought would best address the issues important to them.

Needless to say, that is how it should be.

... voting on the exclusive basis of a candidate’s skin color or gender? We have words for that: racism and sexism.

When it comes to charitable giving, of course, it is perfectly proper to favor causes or institutions that benefit one’s family, race, gender or religious compatriots. Even supporting a candidate for office at least partly because one feels that his or her election will benefit one’s particular community is fine.

But voting on the exclusive basis of a candidate’s skin color or gender? We have words for that: racism and sexism.

Among the Jewish religious tradition’s sources for priorities in selecting public servants are the guidelines provided by the Shulchan Aruch, the authoritative Code of Jewish Law, for choosing the person to lead the prayer service on special occasions.

Jewish religious law assigns specific gender roles, and, while there have been women prophetesses and judges, women do not traditionally lead Orthodox prayer services.

Among men, though, who do, the first and foremost qualification is familiarity with the service and with Scripture. Then come some

interesting secondary preferences: someone who has young children at home; and someone living in poverty.

The children engender a sense of personal responsibility; the impoverishment helps ensure that the candidate’s prayers will be heartfelt. Then, as the list continues, we find personal piety, a good reputation among peers, modesty; and a pleasant personality.

Finally, at the very end of the list, pointedly, comes “a pleasant voice.”

Clearly, what counts most in a prayer leader is the knowledge and ability to do the job professionally. Then come experiences that mold sensitivity and character. It might be a leap to parallel Jewish tradition’s take on prayer leaders with political candidates. But perhaps there is nevertheless some worth in the comparison.

What it would lead us voters to do would be, first and foremost, to consider the candidates’ knowledge and aptitudes. Then, we would be guided to focus on “second tier” concerns.

In the current campaign season, that might mean looking at Obama’s background as a child of mixed race whose parents divorced, who was raised for a while by grandparents and then by a single parent; Clinton’s weathering of the brutal world of politics and a challenging marriage; and McCain’s experience of imprisonment and torture in North Vietnam.

Then there would be the equivalent of a prayer leader’s “pleasant voice.” I’d suggest that it might translate into something similar in a candidate: eloquence in oratory. Nice, but not the most important thing.

But, just like shoe size and eye color aren’t on the list of qualifications for a prayer leader, no one’s list of presidential qualifications should include factors -- much less as decisive ones -- like race or gender.

Rabbi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America. This op-ed is courtesy of Am Echad Resources. Rabbi Shfran can be reached at: shafran@amechad.com.

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Page 17

Give me a break, please

BEHIND THE H EADLINES

by DAVID A. HARRIS Not a day passes that I don’t encounter another Israel-directed lecture on the imperative of peace.

Sometimes it comes from diplomats. Or from editorial writers. Or from columnists.

Or from scholars. Or from human-rights groups.

Frankly, it makes my blood boil.

First, it assumes that Israel wants peace for itself less than others do.

Second, it displays an arrogance that what may not be immediately apparent to Israel is abundantly obvious to those on the outside sitting in their ministries, offices, ivory towers, or vacation spots.

And third, it reveals a lack of humility insofar as Israel, and Israel alone, will bear the consequences—and they could be calamitous—of any misguided actions.

Strikingly, many of these commentators have never been to Israel, or have visited infrequently, or visit, but only in the company of those who share the same ideological predisposition. For instance, an individual appointed to head up a U.S.-based Arab-Israeli peace group had never set foot in Israel before assuming the position.

I know of no people on earth that has prayed for peace longer than the Jewish people. Turning “swords into plowshares” and “spears into pruning hooks,” and visualizing a day when the lion and lamb would lie down - and wake up -- together weren’t conceived as slogans on Madison Avenue; they’re the Jewish people’s ageold contribution to civilization.

I know of no nation on earth that yearns for peace more than Israel, no nation, victorious in unsought wars, that has been more generous in yielding to its vanquished foes’ terms in pursuit of peace, and no nation that has taken more demonstrated -- and tangible -- risks for the sake of

peace than Israel.

To think otherwise is to assume that Israel would prefer a state of permanent conflict, and that, quite frankly, would be preposterous.

Of course, there are debates within Israel about the best way to arrive at peace. How could it be otherwise? There is no surefire plan for getting from here to there in the topsyturvy Middle East. Six decades of Israel’s existence have amply demonstrated the challenges.

... those armchair commentators too often fail to grasp Israel’s objective challenges in finding trustworthy partners. Instead, they’ve made a cottage industry out of ignoring, denying, minimizing, rationalizing, contextualizing, or trivializing the obstacles Israel has faced.

But can any well-intentioned person truly believe that the Jewish people, resettled in the land of their ancestors after centuries of violence, persecution, and stigmatization, would seek anything other than a long-denied tranquility and peaceful coexistence with its neighbors?

Or that survivors of the Holocaust who were able to reach the shores of Israel, despite innumerable obstacles, would welcome decade after decade of ever-present conflict and danger?

Or that Israel’s residents, whether settled in the country for generations or newcomers fleeing the intolerance of the Arab world or the oppression of Communist regimes, would seek a state of endless war?

Or that Israeli parents would wish to see their children, and then their grandchildren, and then their great-grandchildren go off to war, perhaps never to return?

Or that Israelis would welcome the daily barrage of rocket and mortar attacks raining down on Sderot and creating havoc in

the daily lives of those trying to do nothing other than ride the roller coaster of everyday life? Or derive joy from the fact that all the children of this working-class town suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder?

Or that Israelis in the north would eagerly anticipate another barrage of Hezbollahfired missiles from Lebanon targeted at anyone and everyone?

Or that Israelis would luxuriate in the knowledge that there is risk of a terrorist attack even in the simple act of riding a public bus, dancing in a discotheque, eating in a pizzeria, or attending a university?

Or that Israelis would relish the honor of being among the world’s most highly taxed people because of the sustained burden of defense spending to ensure a qualitative edge over the forces of its adversaries?

Or that Israelis would derive pride from being shunted off to the far corners of international airports, where they’re surrounded by heavily armed guards, for the simple pleasure of boarding planes destined for Tel Aviv?

Or that Israelis would take their cue from Hamas and Hezbollah leaders who propagate a culture of death and mayhem, when, in reality, Israel and the Jewish people have made an art form of celebrating life and seeking its enhancement?

No, the Israel I know desperately seeks peace.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence expressed it. The Israeli concessions for the Egyptian and Jordanian peace accords showed it. The withdrawals from Gaza and Southern Lebanon proved it. The efforts by successive Israeli governments to reach a viable two-state settlement with the Palestinians continue to underscore it.

The polls consistently demonstrate it.

But those armchair commentators too often fail to grasp Israel’s objective challenges in finding trustworthy partners.

Instead, they’ve made a cottage industry out of ignoring, denying, minimizing, rationalizing, contextualizing, or trivializing the obstacles Israel has faced.

It’s almost as if Hezbollah’s blood-curdling cries to destroy Israel and the Jews, Hamas’s aim of replacing all of Israel with an Islamic state, Iran’s objective of a world without Israel, Syria’s hospitality to all the leading terrorist groups in the region, and the teaching of incitement and contempt in Palestinian textbooks don’t count for anything. Instead, they’re simply seen as pesky, off-subject debating points by proIsrael supporters.

We live in a half-cocked world.

For many, it’s business as usual with Iran, while its leaders unabashedly call for an incitement to genocide.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, controlled by a reflexively antiIsrael numerical majority, routinely rewrites history by labeling Israel as an aggressor state, while blithely ignoring the threats and attacks it endures for no reason other than its very existence.

The media can’t bring itself to call the Hamas and Hezbollah murderers of innocent civilians “terrorists,” but instead more gently refers to them as “militants.”

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is too often referred to antiseptically as a “cycle of violence,” when it’s anything but.

After all, isn’t there a clear moral difference between those who aim to murder and those whose objective it is to stop the murderers?

And the BBC took the rare step of apologizing after one of its reporters, reflecting the same mindset, lumped together in one sentence assassinated Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who sought to rebuild his country, and Imad Mugniyeh, the Hezbollah terrorist mastermind recently killed in Damascus.

Peace has been at the heart of the Jewish journey for more than 3000 years. It has been at the heart of Israel’s journey for six decades. We may need lessons in many things, but the imperative of seeking peace isn’t one of them.

David A. Harris is the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.

Bush must join activists and press Olympics’ host China on Sudan ties

FOCUS ON ISSUES

by RABBI OR N. ROSE NEWTON, Mass. (JTA) -- Steven Spielberg announced recently that he had resigned as the artistic director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, writing in a public statement, “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual.”

Later the Hollywood mogul would add, “At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur.

Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes but the international community, particularly China, should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there.”

Spielberg joined two other groups of prominent figures that issued public statements this month condemning the Chinese government for its support of Sudan.

On Feb. 12, 120 members of the House of Representatives called on President Hu Jintao of China to use his influence with Khartoum to help advance peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts in Darfur. In a separate letter to the Chinese president, a coalition of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Olympic athletes, celebrities and other notables criticized Beijing for its defense of Sudan in the United Nations and for continuing to engage in a vigorous trade relationship -- oil being the key commodity -with President Omar al-Bashir and his

despotic regime.

In the past five years the Sudanese government and its proxy militia, the Janjaweed, have slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent people and displaced millions more. Despite these atrocities, China continues to serve as Sudan's most significant political, military and economic ally, repeatedly using its veto power as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to prevent the passage of strong measures against the Sudanese government.

While China did support a Security Council resolution last year calling for the deployment of a hybrid United NationsAfrican Union peacekeeping force to Darfur, the Asian giant sought to weaken that resolution before it was passed. China also doubled its trade with Sudan in 2007 and continues to supply Khartoum with weapons used to torture, rape and kill innocent Darfuris.

As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, one hopes that Chinese leaders will recognize the absurdity of welcoming athletes from around the globe for a sporting competition based on the principles of good will and fair play while aiding and abetting a genocidal government. As actress and activist Mia Farrow said recently, “China hopes these games will be its post-Tiananmen Square coming-out party.

But how can Beijing host the Olympic Games at home and underwrite genocide in Darfur?”

Ironically, the theme for the Summer Games is “One World, One Dream.” Does this dream include the nightmares of the

people of western Sudan?

As an American citizen, I would like to see President Bush demonstrate some of the courage and resolve exemplified by the celebrity activists, using his power to try to persuade China to change its behavior. If China does not cooperate, the president should reconsider his plans to attend the Olympics.

In so doing, Bush could rededicate himself to the cause. His record on Darfur is inconsistent at best, and he has done nothing constructive since pledging, ever so briefly, to tackle the issue in his last State of the Union address. What better way for a

president to spend his last months in office than to help bring an end to the first genocide of the 21st century?

In a culture where celebrities often gain attention for poor judgment and bad behavior, Spielberg, Farrow and the other high-profile activists -- Don Cheadle and George Clooney -- should be applauded for their justice efforts. We must join them in the struggle to save Darfur and to create a permanent anti-genocide movement.

Rabbi Or N. Rose is associate dean of the rabbinical school of Hebrew College and coeditor of Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice (Jewish Lights Publishing).

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Candlelighting Friday, March 14, 7:12 p.m.

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 www.beytshalomomaha.org

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

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

The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609

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

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Gastón Bogomolni.

FRIDAY: Musical Shabbat services, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m., led

by Patty Nogg. Dinner follows; cost is $5 for adults, free for children ages six and younger. Open to families in the community. For information or to RSVP, call the office.

SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; During services, members of the recent Federation mission to Israel will share their experiences; Minha/Ma’ariv, 7:20 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAY, Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.

THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Insights and Values from the Torah, noon; Women’s Book Club, 1:15 p.m.

POUR-‘EM WINE TASTING PARTY: Saturday, March 15, 8:15 p.m. For all adults in their 20s and 30s in the Jewish community (married or single).

Cost, $5. To RSVP, send a check -- made payable to Beth El -- to Wine Tasting, Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154.

PURIM FAMILY MEGILLAH READING & DINNER: Thursday, March 20. Ma’ariv at 5:45 p.m., followed by family reading, Purim shpiel and costume contest. Reservations requested by March 17 to Margie Gutnik at Beth El or programming@bethelomaha.org; or Judy Rubin at 498.0904, or eddir@bethelomaha.org. Include number of adults and children. Full Megillah reading, 7:45 p.m.

HAZAK LUNCH ‘N’ LEARN: Saturday, March 22, Rabbi following services.

Mordechai and Susi Levin, and Cantor Gastón Bogomolni will speak about growing up Jewish in Argentina, Dominican Republic and Spain. Cost: $9.50 for adults, $6.50 for children 6-12, free for children five and under. RSVP by March 18 to Tootie Simon, 397.3616. For more information, call Gloria Goodman, 333.3351.

USY PURIM CARNIVAL: Sunday, March 23, 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

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Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451 or Robyn Belgrade 402.334.6559

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30

a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored

by Hugo and Lis Kahn and Joseph and Eleahn Kahn in honor of the 63rd anniversary of Joseph and Hugo’s B’nai Mitzvah; Mincha, 6:45 p.m., followed by Suedat Shlishit; Havdalah, 8:13 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Oxman, 9:45 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s teen class, 10 a.m.; Congregational Purim Project and Kids’ Crafts, 3-5 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Minchah, 7 p.m.; Purim Costume Parade, 7:15 p.m.; Ma’ariv & Megillah Reading, 7:45 p.m., followed by dinner and ice cream sundaes; “The Late Show with the Amazing Arthur,” 9:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shacharit and Megillah Reading, 6:45 a.m.; Megillah Readings, 9 a.m. and then 10:30 a.m. at Remington Heights, community is welcome), and again at 5:30 p.m. at Beth Israel; A Purim Seuda will follow the 5:30 p.m. reading; Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m., followed by Shabbat dinner.

BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Sam Munzesheimer’s Bar Mitzvah, 7:30 p.m. at the synagogue.

SATURDAY: Sam Munzesheimer’s Bar Mitzvah, 4 p.m. at the synagogue.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings, 10:15 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Maamar Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Parsha class for pre-schoolers, 12:30 p.m.; Halacha class, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer, Prophets, and Prayer, 9 a.m.; Parshah Roundup: Weekly Torah Portion Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. Hamentash Bake-Off

B’NAI MITZVAH Hugo and Joseph Kahn will celebrate the 63rd anniversary of their B’nai Mitzvah on Saturday, March 15, at Beth Israel Synagogue.

The photo at left appeared in the Jewish Press in 1945 on the occation of the B’nai Mitzvah of the twin boys of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Kahn.

and Megillah Reading, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, Mar. 21: Services, 7 a.m.; Purim in the Deli, 12:30 p.m.; Shabbat-Purim Dinner, 7 p.m. RSVP to www.ochabad. com/reserve.

All events and programs are open to the community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. provided by Ellen and David Feingold.

SATURDAY: Bar Mitzvah of Avi Knecht, 9:30 a.m. at Tifereth Israel; Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. led by Stephanie Dohner; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. led by Larry Rosenfield; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS, 9:30 a.m.noon all students at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Temple.

TUESDAY: Women’s Lunch Group, noon at the Salad Company.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel.

THURSDAY: Jews and the News, 12:30 p.m. Contact the Temple office if you want lunch.

TUESDAY, March 25: The Songs of Songs, 7 p.m. led by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by members of Hadassah.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Understanding Jewish Mysticism, noon, with Dr. Guy To register, contact Rosie Zweiback at Temple or rzweiback@templeisraelomaha.com; Shabbat Comes to You, 4 p.m. at Remington Heights; Purim Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m.

Dinner is $5 for adults; no charge for children. Contact the office or mkube@templeisraelomaha.co m to make a reservation; Cantor

Speakers, programs create camaraderie at B’nai Israel Photos from top: Zohar Winer spoke Feb. 8 at B’nai Israel Synagogue in Council Bluffs. Her topic “An Eye to Israel” was very infomative to all in attendence.

Everybody won at the B’nai Israel Synagogue Chili Cook-off.

Members and guests brought homemade creations of chili to share. Each tasty entry won the approval. Pictured is Andrea Carter, left, Myllee Katelman, and Sissy Silber.

Wendy Shermet will lead the service; Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m.

Rabbi Eric Linder and Cantor Shermet will lead the service.

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. Noah Placzek, son of Kimberly and Matthew Placzek, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah.

SUNDAY: Teacher Learning Coffee, 9 a.m.; Book Club, 10 a.m.; Grades K-6, 10 a.m.-noon; Prayer Assembly and Costume Parade, 11:15 a.m.; Purim Carnival sneak preview for Kindergartners with their parents, 11:30 a.m.

TUESDAY: Hebrew Lunch & Learn, 12:15 p.m.; Executive Committee meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: No Family or Religious School; No Middle/High School.

THURSDAY: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Cantor Shermet, 10 a.m.; Purim Spiel and Dinner, Thursday, March 20, 6 p.m. Contact the office to make a reservation. Cost after March 13 is $10 for adults, $7 for children five to 12; no charge for children younger than five.

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 7:12 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. Contact the office to arrange for a minyan.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Services, 7 p.m. with Bar Mitzvah of Avi Knecht.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. Bar Mitzvah of Avi Knecht, followed by kiddush lunch and Talmud study.

SUNDAY: LJCS, 9:30 a.m.noon all students at South Street; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at South Street; USY Purim Carnival, noon.

TUESDAY: Ladies’ Lunch will meet at Salad Company, noon.

WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

THURSDAY: Megillah reading, and a costume parade, 6:45 p.m.

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

March 14, 2008

Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s formal worship begins

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat VaYikra As we open the Book of Leviticus, we are immediately aware of the sharp contrasts with Exodus, which we have just completed. Exodus is largely narrative, including such signal narratives as the assembly at Sinai to receive the Ten Utterances. (The Bible does not use the phrase, Ten Commandments.)

Another of the famous narratives, of course, is the parting of the waters of the Sea of Reeds so that Israel could pass through on dry land, and the pursuing Egyptians drowned in the receding waters. Pharaohâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best war horses and best three-man chariots were overcome by the walls of water through which they had sought passage.

The story is so brilliantly told that it was chosen to be included in Jewish daily prayer services, so that millions of our daily daveners know the exciting passage by heart.

But VaYikra takes us to an entirely different dimension of Jewish sanctities. Not narrative, but formal worship.

Here, there is no central event of history to which attention is drawn, but the central relationship between the Israelite people and Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s God. The contemporary reader is not impressed by the account of ancient Israelite worship. Indeed, he may be put off by it. But he must understand that ancient worship in general, not only Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, was illustrated and dominated by â&#x20AC;&#x153;sacrifice, by the offering of animal life and grain,â&#x20AC;? the most precious things they had. not all was burnt on the altar, for some was kept as payment for the priests, who officiated at the ceremonies and then had designated parts for food themselves and their families.

The reader of Leviticus, chapter after chapter, finds himself in an unfamiliar world. He may be helped to understand if he remembers how unusual it was in the ancient world for people to have meat to eat. Our ancestors were generally vegetarians. Thus it was natural for them to eat meat only when it was first offered on the altar to God. Only then were the parts not reduced to smoke available for human consumption.

Again and again, we must remind ourselves of this as we make our way through Leviticus. It would be well to remember that the sacrifices were thought to â&#x20AC;&#x153;purifyâ&#x20AC;? flesh items for humans to eat, and that childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education traditionally began with Leviticus, so that the pure and sinless might also began with the pure.

(Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: this column originally appeared in the March 11, 2005, Jewish Press.)

DEATH MOLLYE RIMERMAN Mollye Rimmerman died at the age of 94. A graveside service was held March 12 at Temple Israel Cemetery.

She was preceded in death by husband, Elmer â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alâ&#x20AC;?

Rimerman; sisters, Marilyn Glazer and Jeanne Dvorkin; and brother, Mike Glazer.

She is survived by her son, Ron Rimerman; daughter, Merilee Rimerman; grandsons, Doug and Jeff Rimerman; and brother-in-law, Dave Dvorkin.

Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

To submit obituaries: E-mail to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; fax to 402.334.5422, or mail to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154, or online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jewish Pressâ&#x20AC;? and go to Submit Announcements.

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;greenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Torah

PEOPLE OF THE

BYTE

by MARK MIETKIEWICZ You can hardly pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without finding out about some initiative to save the environment and care for the planet. Valuable advice but hardly new to our religion.

Peek into a Torah and you can read what Judaism has known for thousands of years.

Having trouble coming up with some examples of that connection? Here are some from the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life: â&#x20AC;˘ Bal tashchit (do not waste) teaches us to conserve resources. â&#x20AC;˘ Shiluach ha-keyn (chasing away the mother bird) teaches us to safeguard all species. â&#x20AC;˘ Shmita (sabbatical year) teaches us that economic justice and ecological sustainability are intimately related. â&#x20AC;˘ And Shabbat reminds us that we are but one strand in the web of creation.

The COEJL site suggests that finding God in nature is a deeply Jewish experience and not some â&#x20AC;&#x153;new age fad â&#x20AC;Ś Jewish liturgy is infused with descriptions and images of nature as an expression and embodiment of the Divine. Yet for more than a thousand years, Jews -- even Judaism itself -- have been distant from nature.â&#x20AC;? The site has many suggestions about creating a â&#x20AC;&#x153;reconciliationâ&#x20AC;? between Jews and nature. [www.coejl.org/jewviro. php] Jewish tradition has continued to valued nature and the environment.

Here are some post-Biblical sources: â&#x20AC;˘ Look at My creations! See how beautiful and perfect they are! For your sake I created them all. Do not desolate and corrupt My world, for if you corrupt it there is no one to set it right after you. (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:1) â&#x20AC;˘ If a man kills a tree before its time, it is as though he has murdered a soul. (Nahman of Bratslav) [http:// tinyurl.com/2x8oqx] â&#x20AC;˘ This prohibition does not apply to trees only.

Rather, anyone who breaks utensils, tears garments, destroys buildings, stops up a stream, or ruins food with destructive intent transgresses the command â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do not destroy.â&#x20AC;? (Maimonidesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Laws of Kings 6:10) [http:// tinyurl.com/yq5oum] Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at one sign of the environmental times in a bit more depth. Although the ubiquity of blue boxes

may be a relatively new phenomenon, Rabbi Binyomin Adilman explains that recycling has a basis in Jewish tradition. Rather than throw away articles that were used to perform mitzvot, Judaism has always encouraged their reuse.

For example, a lulav isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just thrown away but is kept to be used to sweep up chametz and as 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 chuppah from a wedding ceremony becomes the groomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;thank the Creator with an appropriate blessing!â&#x20AC;? [http://tinyurl.com/25ayes] I was very impressed by MyJewishLearning.comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s section on Nature & The Environment. To see how much you know, start off with the deceptively difficult quiz, and then read up on why the story of Genesis is â&#x20AC;&#x153;often blamed for the Western worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rapacious attitude toward the natural world.â&#x20AC;? The Guided Learning section takes you through traditional teachings on nature and the environment and then looks at contemporary concerns. [http://tinyurl.com/2fbv6b] Now that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re motivated, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb has suggestions for Living an Environmentally Conscious Jewish Life. [http://tinyurl.com/2f7pet] For more stimulating readings, check out â&#x20AC;&#x153;How Green is Judaismâ&#x20AC;? [http://tinyurl.com/28lcan] and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jewish Environmental Values: The Dynamic Tension Between Nature and Human Needs.â&#x20AC;? [http://tinyurl. com/yqfrbc] Despite all these examples, Rabbi Yossi Ives points out a problem. He says that in the minds of many people environmentalism has been hijacked by â&#x20AC;&#x153;eco-fascistsâ&#x20AC;? and that animal welfare has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;discredited in the eyes of many Jews for its hostility to shechita â&#x20AC;Ś But these objections, while correct in my view, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t delegitimize the fundamental morality of environmental responsibility and compassion towards animals respectively.â&#x20AC;?

Some solutions: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rabbis can raise the issue in sermons, communal organization could adopt environmentally friendly policies, Jewish charities can invest ethically and individual Jews can buy with a social and ecological conscience.â&#x20AC;? [http://tinyurl.com/2f2r9l] 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.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 14, 2008

Campaign Mission pairs emerging and seasoned leaders

by JANIE MUROW ence, in so many different ways.

Community Development Director For example, Amy Nachman explained, A month ago, 22 Omahans arrived in “I have lived and experienced Israel for Israel, a little tired but ready to see the many years and was not prepared for the country. The itinerary kept the group very intensity on this trip. Yad Vashem, a place busy from morning to night.

I have visited several times was seen in a Each participant had made a commit- much different way. The opportunity to ment to become leaders in the step into the shoes of a former Holocaust Federation’s Annual Campaign; this mis- survivor, Eliezer Ayalon was an unbelievsion was an opportunity to see first-hand able one. Eliezer described with emotion campaign dollars at work. leaving his mother and father to become It was a touring trip; it was a working trip and most of all, it was a learning trip. The experiences of this group are too numerous to share, but here are a few thoughts and feelings from some of the blog entries from mission participants.

Firstimer Pam Friedlander said, “Israel is amazing! I feel so fortunate to be able to be here. This is my first trip to Israel and I feel like a blank David Gilinsky stands outside the Crusaders Restaurant in piece of paper getting filled Caesarea. Jody Malashock, left, Pam Friedlander, Bob up every day. We are actually Goldberg, Bruce Friedlander and Janie Murow spend time visiting the people and places that our the only survivor of his family. He shared monies go to and the recipients are so painful stories of his years in six different grateful for our help. The time here is camps. He told us of his liberation by going by too fast.” allied forces. Only because of his courage She added, “Our guide, Alex, is so and determination was he able to keep on knowledgeable about the history of Israel and survive. Because of this he is here -- what a treasure he is. If you haven’t today to share his story. Eliezer is nearly been to Israel, you must make it a goal for 80-years-old and I feel forever blessed to you and your family. The feeling of being have experienced through his eyes the in our homeland cannot be described in horrible inequities of our people.” words.”

It was Jody Malashock’s first trip to Many participants have been to Israel Israel that motivated her to take on the numerous times and some have even lived Operation Promise Campaign for there. You’d think that certain sites would Omaha’s Jewish community. Now, several feel like a repeat performance, but it isn’t years later, she was able to see how some so. There’s so much to learn and experi- of the funds she helped raise is being used:

“Operation Promise (OP) funds are designated for aiding the elderly in the Former Soviet Union and for bringing Ethiopians to Israel. Ethiopians continue to come to Israel and money raised from the Operation Promise Campaign is used for their absorption into Israeli society.

Nothing is etched in my memory as much as when I first saw the Ethiopians arrive in Tel Aviv,” she noted.

“Today I saw first hand how some of

took time to tell us his personal story about the growth of this industrial conglomerate based in the Western Galilee.

Not only did we have time to discuss his business and exciting new partnership with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, but Eitan also described his passion for philanthropy.”

Gilisnky added, “Ironically, Eitan was integral to the creation of the Atadim program which our Partnership directly supports in the Western Galiliee region. This program helps many of the young female Olim from Ethiopia not only survive, but thrive in their adopted homeland. Eitan is busy stirring many pots, and there seems to be no limit to the initiatives he will take on.

It was a true honor for each of us to meet and spend time with him.”

The group returned to with girls from the Segula School, part of the Atidim Omaha excited, impasProgram funded through the Operation Promise Campaign sioned, and ready to take of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. their places as the next genour OP funds are being used. This gener- eration of leaders. Even Marty Ricks, ation of Ethiopians will be productive executive director of the Federation members of Israeli society. We can all be Foundation had this to say: “What an proud that the Omaha Jewish community amazing group of ‘young leaders’ I am through Operation Promise has made and traveling with. I am by far the oldest in the will continue to make an impact on so group; however, the excitement of this many lives,” she added. trip makes me feel the age of the ‘youngAfter seeing sites and meeting recipients sters.’ Omaha, the future of the Jewish of campaign dollars, it was motivating to community will be in good hands when see that the Israel economy is strong and this group takes over as our leaders. Their thriving and individuals such as Iscar CEO hearts are huge, their commitment is off Eitan Wertheimer feel as strongly about the charts, and after this trip their passion philanthropy as Jews in Omaha. for Israel overflows.”

David Gilinsky noted that, “one of the This is just a sampling shared in the highlights of our trip was our visit to Iscar. Mission blog. To access it, visit www.jewEitan Wertheimer, founder and chairman, ishomaha.org/travel.

2008 Request for Photos n past years, the Home has been very successful receiving photos from the community for enlargement and placement around the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. This year we are once again requesting photos from the community as we continue on our New Beginning journey and create significantly more wall space to hang beautiful works of art. There are currently over 100 photos hanging throughout the Home and they have been extremely wellreceived by our Residents, staff, visitors and volunteers.

As a reminder, the program is based on the submissions of community members, families, staff, and even Residents. The format for submission should be either 3” x 5”, 4” x 6”, slides or digital photos. Photos that will be considered will be of Judaic themes, flowers, wildlife, children at play, and vacation spots. Please do not send pho-

I

tos of family members for consideration. Whenever possible, include the negative for the submitted photo and all submissions will be returned after consideration.

After reviewing the photographs, we will choose an array of photographs to be reproduced in a larger format

– approximately 24” x 30” for display on the nursing units and throughout the Home. In addition, each photograph will recognize the photographer as well as a title for the piece they will choose.

This innovative program will continue to allow the Residents to enjoy exciting new artwork throughout the Home. There will also be a consistency in the framing and size of these pieces, which will allow for easy shifting and relocation as necessary.

I welcome your submissions and participation in this ongoing program. Please feel free to contact Josh Gurock at 402-3346537. Submissions for our 2008 Request for Photos will be due by April 14, 2008.

Stop by the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home when you have a chance and see the beautiful photos. Perhaps your personal experiences and memories will help brighten the days for our Residents.

Jewish Senior Services THE ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME