May 10, 2013

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

Extraordinary role models

May 10, 2013 1 Sivan 5773 Vol. 93 | No. 34

This Week

Come support Friedel Page 5

Evening of music and laughs benefit Beth El’s youth Page 7

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha In the Omaha Jewish community, the name Riekes is synonymous with time, energy, passion and leadership.

It brings to mind a multi-generational family dedicated to the preservation and growth of the place we call home.

From serving on boards (both the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation) and chairing committees (Partnership2Gether and the Annual Campaign are just two) to helping build the Jewish Community Center, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and the Henry and Dorothy Riekes Museum, the spirit of giving is ingrained in multiple generations of this family.

This year, the Jewish Federation of Omaha (JFO) honors Carl and Zoë Riekes with the Phil and Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation awards for their commitment and dedication to the Federation and its agencies.

Carl and Zoë chaired the 2009 and 2010 Federation Annual Campaigns and, together with their children Stacey and Brett, chaired the 2013 Annual Campaign.

Carl’s parents, Henry and Dorothy, were the 1989 Humanitarians of the

Brett and Stacey Atlas, left, with Zoe and Carl Riekes at the 2012 Beatles Campaign event.

Year, daughter Stacey Atlas is the 2013 Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership award recipient and son-in-law Brett Atlas is the Jewish Federation of Omaha Volunteer

Bagel Boys Music Fest: A tribute to our friend Jay Parsow

of the Year this year.

Steve Nogg said of his friends, “I had the privilege of sharing Shabbat dinners with Carl and Zoë at Henry and Dorothy’s home and saw first-

hand the examples set for them. It makes perfect sense that they are carrying on the family legacy. I know they are personally fulfilled by all Continued on page 2

Community Service Award Jewish Book Month Children’s Event

A lovely case of glamour Page 12

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

This Month Salute to Graduates See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

9 10 11 Alex Kugler, left, and Evan Kugler at the Children’s Museum

The Bagel Boys 2012

by MICHAEL MUSKIN thing very special coming out of I believe that friendships should be something terrible. On June 15 the cherished and all of us who have Bagel Boys Music Fest will be held at good friends are very lucky. This One Pacific Place Clubhouse, 1365 S story is about friendship and some- 101 St, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and will be a celebration of music and friendship in tribute to our good friend Dr. Jay Parsow who passed away suddenly in 2001.

Jay’s unexpected death was a terrible shock to his family, friends and the community. Jay was a loving husband, father, son and brother, a great friend, and a physician who was very gifted in alternative medicine techniques. Many of Jay’s friends and Continued on page 3

by BETH COHEN Executive Director, Center for Jewish Life Editors note: The CJL and the Jewish Book Month Children’s Event is the recipient of this year’s Community Service award and will be recognized at the Federation’s Annual Meeting on Monday, June 3 at 7 p.m. in the JCC theater.

In January of 2012, a Task Force was charged with conceptualizing changes for the Center for Jewish Education (before that, Jewish Education and Library Services, before that the Bureau of Jewish Education). As if the number of name changes doesn’t say it clearly enough, community-based agencies charged with Jewish education

struggle to stay relevant. Looking beyond a primary function of “traditional” education, the Task Force worked to re-imagine our services and programming in an effort to engage as many members of our community as possible. We always kept in mind that education happens at any age, at any time, in any situation, so every idea was on the table.

To say we were “thinking outside the box” sounds so cliché, but it is exactly what we had the opportunity to do. From the Task Force meetings, our new agency name and mission evolved: The mission of the Center for Jewish Life is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community Continued on page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | May 10, 2013

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Extraordinary role models Continued from page 1 they give back to the community. I can’t thank them enough.�

Howard Epstein and Carl Riekes have been members of the Stock Jocks Investment Club for the last 15 years. “Our friendship goes back decades; and for as long as I have known them, Carl and ZoĂŤ have always wanted the best for our community. Carl considers it a real honor to serve and takes the idea of stewardship very seriously. He is one of the most actively engaged Board members I know.â€?

While chairing the 2009 Annual Campaign, ZoĂŤ described her commitment to the Federation in this way: “We know the community is not about one particular thing but about many things. The fabric of our Jewish community is composed of all the agencies, institutions and organizations and the Federation’s Annual Campaign is the thread that ties it all together.â€?

ZoĂŤ recalls her parents, Edith and Nat Meltzer, instilling the values she still holds dear. “My parents made sure I loved Jewish tradition and heritage. They made me proud to be Jewish. My in-laws, Henry and Dorothy, inspired me to expand that love into community activism and volunteerism.

It is a joy and privilege to be a part of Jewish Omaha.�

There are many in our community, more than I had time to speak with, who admire and respect the commitment, dedication and leadership the Riekeses provide to the JFO. Suzanne Richards Singer, a member of the JFO Foundation Board, said: “I am so pleased that ZoĂŤ and Carl are receiving this honor as they truly embody the spirit of our Federation through their philanthropic generosity, their leadership, and their deep commitment to our community and Israel. I know that my aunt and uncle, Dorothy and

Henry Riekes, would be so proud that Carl and ZoÍ are not only carrying on the Riekes legacy, but have passed it on to what is now the fourth generation of the Riekes family -their daughter Stacey and her husband Brett Atlas.�

Stacey believes the examples set by her parents are the reason she and her sisters strive to enrich the lives of others. “I can only hope that we have the same impact on our own children as they have on us,� she said. Her husband Brett concurs and added, “You would expect people with strong dedication to Jewish causes around the world to ask or even demand their family carry the torch, but they never have. It is their passion alone that inspires us the most.�

I have seen firsthand how ZoĂŤ offers support and guidance and takes action on behalf of Omaha, Israel or wherever Jews are in need,â€? explained friend Jan Goldstein. “I recall one of our many Federation trips. We were standing together in what was once a vital synagogue in preWWII Prague and which today is a state-run museum housing Jewish artifacts and documents beneath glass display cases. Visiting places where Jews once thrived is emotional and ZoĂŤ was clearly upset.â€? “She turned to me and said, ‘Seeing this makes me understand why I do what I do. I know that I never want our Jewish community to end up forgotten and under glass in some museum.’ Vital, alive and thriving are the words that best sum up what the Riekes spirit is really all about.â€?

The couple’s message as 2009 Campaign Chairmen holds true today: “Continue to live, learn and love your Jewish Federation and your Jewish lives.� To which they added, “Get involved and keep the momentum of our community going full speed ahead.�

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Continued from page 1 in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.

As plans for the annual Jewish Book Month programming started taking shape, we realized we had our first opportunity, in a big way, to create an imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experience for families.

Rarely does one event bring together such a variety of exciting components.

Chaired by Shira Abraham, Carrie Brown and Miriam Gross, the Children’s Jewish Book Month Event, in December of 2012, was an intergenerational family event held at the Omaha Children’s Museum. We played together and we celebrated Hanukkah together as a community. Along with parents and grandparents, children lit menorahs, leaving them to glow in the windows of the Children’s Museum. The Children’s Jewish Book Month event was made possible through the generosity of the Ann Goldstein Memorial Fund.

In conjunction with Jewish Book Month, we re-launched PJ Library in Omaha. PJ Library is a family engagement program giving the opportunity for Jewish children to receive free Jewish content books and music mailed directly to them each month. PJ Library is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, locally administered by the Center for Jewish Life and generously funded by the Dorothy and Myer S. Kripke Institute for Jewish Family Literacy.

The success of the program exceeded our expectations.

Over 300 people attended, but that is only one benchmark of our success. Hearing a father say, “My son said he didn’t know he could be Jewish at the Children’s Museum. How great to give kids the opportunity to have a Jewish event in such a familiar venue to help teach they are Jewish everywhere, not just at home or at synagogue or at the J.� In addi-

tion to this amazing “feel-good� vibe of celebrating as a community, PJ Library increased enrollment from 50 children to 120, far exceeding our goal. The uniqueness of this program was beyond bringing young families from the Jewish community together to celebrate a holiday. We are building Jewish memories for children, opening gateways into the community for parents, and developing a constituency group for future communal engagement.

The strength of our Jewish Community is built from generation to generation, and we planned this amazing event with an eye to developing the strength of communal commitment among our young families. Program opportunities for Jewish families are an important aspect in connecting children and parents with others in the Omaha Jewish community. Events designed specifically for families with young children give participants the chance to socialize and build a foundation for friendships throughout the community and promote continued interactions. In our planning meetings, we had no doubt that the kids would think having the run of the whole Children’s Museum for a night would be a blast. It was gratifying to hear comments from parents about how much they enjoyed getting to spend the evening connecting with other parents. We didn’t expect, but loved to hear, the comments from grandparents of how fun it was to see the children of the kids their kids grew up with. “This program epitomized our new mission,� explains CJL President Bonnie Bloch. “We want to create Jewish experiences. Sometimes, those experiences will be in a classroom or lecture hall. But sometimes we will go on a fantastic journey to a place you wouldn’t think of as a location for a Jewish experience. We were so fortunate to have the resources from the Ann Goldstein Memorial Fund to be able to secure the venue for what was such an amazing event.�

It’s the Beat! showcases Omaha’s talent

by NORMA JOHNSON Spring is finally here! Karen Javitch and Jody Vinci encourage you to take your radios outside, keep the dial on 1290 KOIL AM and spend an hour each Saturday at noon with them. “We continue to bring interesting people and topics to you weekly,� says Karen Sokolof Javitch, songwriter and co-host of It’s the Beat!

This Saturday, May 11, meet Pastor Ty Schenzel, Founder of Omaha’s “Hope Center for Kids� and author of A Thousand Screaming Mules. Learn of his passion to bring love and hope to youth in North Omaha and his life commitment to make a difference. Hear Felicia Webster share her talent with the “Spoken Word,� a uniquely African American art form, which has for decades been part of the historic oral tradition of African people.

Meet Richard Ness, who balances his business life with his beloved violin. He has performed with Dave Brubeck, The Moody

Blues and symphony groups. Learn how musical performances help patients experiencing pain or suffering from Alzheimers. “If you missed a Saturday show, go to www.Itsthebeat.net and you will find it,� says co-host Jody Vinci. “The May 4 show is a “must hear� as our community’s own Rachel Shukert talks about her most recent book Starstruck. Rachel will hold a book signing this Sat. May 11 at the Bookworm at 2:30 p.m.

Other recent guests were executive director of Girls Inc. – Roberta Wilhelm, who spoke about the May 10 luncheon with featured guest, Chelsea Clinton. Jazz musicians, Paul Serrato and George Walker were featured. Designer and costumer Carole Zacek “saved the Taylor Swift tour!� with her creativity.

Summer interviews are being scheduled. Want to be a guest or know someone we should interview? Call Norma at 402.393.3893 or e-mail Norma@itsthebeat.net.

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May 10, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 3

Continuing to give a voice to history Bagel Boys Music Fest

by SHIRLY BANNER survivors who were illegally attempting to What happens when the strong commit- immigrate into Palestine. It was her husted voice of history can no longer be heard? band, Shmuel Schuller, who was aboard that Perhaps one turns to another voice to con- ship; Esther has become the voice telling her tinue the living history testimony. As our husband’s courageous story when he post-World War II generation ages, the task became physically unable to do it himself. of relating first-hand the historic events that Although Esther has told her husband’s occurred are at serious risk. This is true story many times in various languages from bearing witness to the atrocities of the Spanish, Yiddish, and Hebrew - this was one Holocaust to relating the historic escapades that have risen to the founding of the fledgling Jewish state of Israel.

In a recent Jewish Press interview, the new Institute for Holocaust Education Director Liz Feldstern stressed the importance of second generation survivors continuing to bear witness about the experiences of the previous generation’s parents and of themselves. On Sunday April 28, a multigenerational group joined together at Beth Israel Synagogue Adina, left, Esther and Dan Schuller to hear Esther Schuller tell the inspirational story of the events sur- of the first times she was doing so in English. rounding the journey of “Exodus 1947” and On this occasion she had the help of her her passengers and the subsequent impact it family currently living here in Omaha: had upon changing public opinion regarding Adina Schuller, grandchildren Aviva and the establishment of Palestine as the Jewish David Atri, and Dan and Yaffa Schuller.

State of Israel, a land which they hoped As powerful as Shmuel’s message delivwould openly welcome, attempt to heal, and ered through Esther was, it only further give refuge to a lost nation of DP’s and attests to the fact that history continues to Holocaust survivors. live from one generation to the next, No, Esther Schuller was not aboard the because of the acceptance of a mantle of Exodus 1947 ship as it made its way from responsibility passed on in the family to the United States to Palestine via France continue to tell the story that is not only laden with over 4,500 displaced persons and their personal history but History itself.

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Continued from page 1 family came from around the country to attend his funeral. He was truly loved.

At Jay’s funeral, Bob Meyerson and I reconnected with many people from our childhood who we had lost touch with over the years. A few of us decided to plan a ski trip to Colorado the following year, so in 2002 David Kutler (Omaha), Mark Kutler (Dallas), Keith Wagner (Omaha), Bob Meyerson (Austin), Steve Gotsdiner (Denver) and I (Loveland,), met at Copper Mountain for the first Jay Parsow Memorial Ski Trip. (According to Keith Wagner, this group originally met at Beth El Synagague Nursery School in 1959). We had a great time skiing and reconnecting and remembering Jay through stories and a toast to our friend who is deeply missed.

Two additional friends joined us the following year: Mark Sanford (Omaha), and Barry Engel (Denver). The ski trip has continued every year and in 2013 we celebrated the 11th year of getting together with over 25 of us. Through the years many more friends have joined and now wives and kids are part of the trip. Starting in 2006, Mark Sanford, Tom Friedman, and David Kutler added music to the festivities by bringing their guitars and keyboard. The trip now consists of great skiing during the day, and sharing a meal and playing music and singing until late in the evening. And as always, on the first night, we start the evening by toasting our good friend Jay. For a bunch of old guys we have some

very talented musicians. Barry Engel, Mark Sanford, Ross and Jay Margolin (San Diego) have all played in bands; and David Kutler, Mark Kutler and Tom Friedman are all accomplished guitar players. I also play the guitar and write songs (Bagel Boys Over 50 and The Getting Older Blues). Tom Friedman’s son JJ is also a very accomplished musician. And this past year, Keith Wagner wowed the group with his eloquently presented poem Ode to the Bagel Boys.

We have decided to share our musical talents with the community in tribute to Jay who, through his tragic death, brought us all back together. Many of these renewed friendships would not have happened if we did not reconnect at Jay’s funeral.

“The Bagel Boys Music Fest, A Tribute to our Friend Jay Parsow,” will be an evening of music, videos, and stories. There is no charge for the event but donations will be accepted to benefit the Dr. Jay Parsow Youth Basketball Scholarship Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarships based on need for JCC members who are under the age of 18 and need assistance in order to participate in the basketball program sponsored at the JCC. Please join the Bagel Boys, Margo Parsow, her sons Aaron and Charles, and Jay’s brothers Alan and David, and help us celebrate friendship through a tribute to Dr. Jay Parsow. For more information or to RSVP, please contact either Michael Muskin at dimi@lpbroadband.net, Margo Parsow at mparsow@aol.com, or David Parsow at dparsow1@ aol.com.

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Temple Israel’s last school year at Cass Street ends

by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer As difficult as it may be to believe, yet another school year has come and gone. Temple Israel wrapped up the last Religious School classes at its Cass Street building this week.

Teachers have been sorting their classrooms for the past few weeks, deciding what they want to bring with them to the new building at Sterling Ridge and what can be left behind, while students, most oblivious to the fact that these have been their last classes on Cass Street, are simply excited for summer vacation to begin.

“I can’t believe the end of the school year is already here,” Religious School teacher Natasha Kraft said.

“The kids this year have been wonderful. They really learned a lot.”

The school year began with a lot of change, as both Rabbi Josh Brown and Principal Ariella Lowensohn settled into their roles and worked with the returning faculty and staff to craft a curriculum that was both innovative and challenging.

“Coming to Temple Israel, I was really impressed with the teachers and their love for the students,” Rabbi Brown said.

“It was great to see their excitement and enthusiasm remain strong over the course of the year. And I was moved by how much our kids love our synagogue and how tied they are, even at a young age, to this building.”

Lowensohn enjoyed getting to know all the students and their families throughout the year, and the kids quickly came to see her as not only their principal, but as someone they could really talk to and be comfortable around.

“My office became sort of a hang out for some of the kids,” Lowensohn said, “which was great. I’m glad they felt like they could talk to me about anything, that they could ask my advice about whatever was going on in their lives.”

In addition to being the Principal, Lowensohn also spent time with the Temple Israel youth groups and chaperoned student trips to Denver and Washington D.C. “We’re grateful for Ariella’s work getting everything organized,” Rabbi Brown said. “It was wonderful to see her really connect with our kids and to see her commitment to traveling all over the state and country with them.”

Joan Cooper, who teaches both third and eighth grades, was pleased with both her classes this year.

“I was really impressed with the responses and comments the kids had about including God in their lives,” she said of her third grade students. “They developed a sense of being a partner with God and understanding that they have a responsibility to make the world around them a better place for those who will come after them.”

But it was the progress of Cooper’s eighth graders that was particularly heartwarming.

“In the beginning of the year, they were not a cohesive group,” Cooper said. “But by the end of the year they were a community.

I even had a student thank me for not giving up on them. I loved that class by the end of the year.”

Natasha Kraft’s fourth graders also made great strides this year, she said.

“A lot of the kids started off the year timid and unsure,” Kraft said. “They started off knowing the aleph bet and being able to recite the blessings, but now they actually know what the blessings mean. They can tell me what’s important about each prayer. I really get chills from that, that they understand the meaning.”

In addition to the school year being over, so too is the slate of activities for OTYG. The Temple Youth Group is in the midst of electing a new board and will soon welcome a new Youth Advisor, as longtime Advisor Amy Katz is stepping down from the position.

Katz, who will be honored at the Temple Israel Board of Trustees Annual Meeting on May 21, leaves big shoes to fill, according to outgoing OTYG President Hannah Perry.

“Amy has been great,” Perry said. “Just great. She’s been here for quite a while, so she knows what she’s doing with regards to the youth group, but it’s not just that. She brings life experience to the position. She gives me advice. She’s like a mom for us, always there for us. Even though I’m not going to be around (Perry is attending George Washington University in the Fall), I’m still going to miss her.”

Perry ended her Temple Israel Religious School experience with a revamped high school program, Temple Teen Night, in which she “had lots of great discussions with [her] class.”

Next year will bring some changes to Temple Teen Night, as well as Temple Israel’s Religious School in general, as the congregation prepares to move into its new building this summer.

“I’m excited for next year in the new building,” Rabbi

Brown said. “I can’t wait to see what we can do with a bigger, better space, and with the upgraded technology. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The teachers are also looking forward to working in the new building, with its spacious, sun-drenched classrooms.

“I can’t wait to see what we can do in these new classrooms,” Kraft said. “We’re going to be able to utilize the space in a lot of different ways for our educational purposes.

I’m also looking forward to seeing how the kids have grown over the summer. Sometimes when they come back as fifth graders, I don’t even recognize them.”

The first day of Religious School next year is Sunday, Aug. 25. The day will begin with a prayer service and activities at the Cass Street building, followed by the Torah parade to Sterling Ridge. There will be a picnic lunch and teachers will be available to meet with students, new and old and their parents.

“I’m looking forward to doing some of the old and some of the new in the new space,” Cooper said. “It’s kind of sad to be leaving here, but it’s exciting, too.”

Registration for Religious School is now open. To register your child, visit templeisraelomaha.com and click on the “Registration Time!” link.

To ensure your child’s Hebrew skills don’t disappear before next year’s classes begin, Eileen Clignett will be mentoring students at both Beth El and Temple Israel over the summer. The cost is $80 for eight weeks of 30-minute individual sessions.

Space is limited, so parents are asked to register by May 15.

Contact Temple Israel at 402.556.6536 for more information.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Omaha World-Herald reporter Erin Grace will introduce herself and discuss the feature column that she is now writing for Nebraska’s largest newspaper on Wednesday, May 15, noon, at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnai brith@jewishomaha.org.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish has been called the Robin Hood of languages. The vocabulary of Yiddish is drawn from German (mostly), Hebrew, Slavic Tongues, Romance languages, and English.

Yiddish bears the marks of our expulsions from land to land, it has absorbed the laments of generations, the poisons and the bitterness of history, the language whose precious jewels are undried Jewish tears. Yiddish stresses the humor in every situation because the reality for Jews is most often too difficult to bear. That is what we offer: fun and laughter.

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Join us for dinner, and support Friedel

by DEBBIE DENENBERG campaign to ensure a secure financial foundation. for Friedel Jewish Academy Jerry Gordman put his extensive real estate experience to On Sunday, May 19, Friedel Jewish Academy will honor its work on Friedel’s behalf. First, he brought together a capital campaign donors at the Sixth Annual Tribute Building Committee led by Co-Chairs Nate Schwab and Celebration Dinner. The entire community is invited for hors Jerry Kohll. Joshua Gurock, Ron Giller and Pam Cohen d’ouevres, silent auction, joined him. surprise themed dinner, The committee selected program including musical Mark Sanford as architect. selections by the students, Jerry credits Mark, saying, and dessert reception.

“He did a very good job.

First-look tours of the new People might not realize Friedel renovation and the that Mark was also Riekes Museum will be involved in the design and conducted by students. construction of the new How does a school reach Riekes Museum.” Friedel this milestone? Yaffa leadership worked closely Schuller, Vice Chair of with the JCC, efficiently Recruiting for ten years, picking up two classrooms and Jerry Gordman, twice by moving the Friedel President and long-time library into the existing Board Member, look back.

Kripke Library, and by “When I moved to moving the Riekes Omaha eleven years ago, I Museum to the front of the discovered this small JCC for all to enjoy.

Jewish Day School of 17 Clockwise: Friedel principal Pam Cohn surrounded by Shiloh, Moe, The Gordman history kids. Diane Baum would Jacob, Liora, Sasha, Max and Brandon of nurturing Friedel began call me to ask “Have you come? Have you come, yet?” over 25 years ago when Margo Riekes called and asked Jerry “I did come, and I fell in love immediately. I fell in love to demonstrate his (unparalleled) shofar blowing at Friedel. with the school’s homey feel and the way students felt “I came to the school, and I demonstrated, and I fell in love engaged. I fell in love with the sense of joy from the teachers with the kids. I offered to serve on the board”. and their students, a quality unique to Friedel.”

The building is named for its donors, Jerry’s parents, Dan “From the beginning I knew I needed to bring more kids and Esther Gordman of blessed memory. “I’d had conversainto the school building and into the classrooms. I also tions with my dad about Friedel’s old facility and the shape needed to bring this treasure, this gem, out to the commu- it was in”, Jerry reminisced. “Dad was a forward-looking guy. nity.” Friedel developed tours, a new brochure and brand, President of Beth Israel, and involved with their historic and an annual open house touting panels of teachers, stu- humanitarian awards when Harry Truman, Al Jolson, Jonas dents and alumni telling first-hand about what the school Salk and others came to Omaha.” meant to them. Yaffa chaired a 40th Anniversary Gala to One day my dad called and said, “Look, I’ve never been in raise funds and awareness. the building. May I come and see for myself?” Jerry Internally, the school developed its programs in art, music unlocked the facility for a father-son tour on a Sunday afterand physical education. Friedel invested in the internationally noon. “He understood that we needed a new facility for the recognized TaL AM curriculum for Hebrew and Judaic stud- school to prosper.” His parents did not live to see the comies. Former Principal Cookie Katskee established connections pleted structure, but Jerry handled the original building and with area educators so Friedel teachers enjoy the many learn- construction. Marty Shukert was the original architect. ing opportunities offered to Omaha Public School teachers.

Now the building is again poised for growth. “I’m pretty “I thought it was awesome when we got to 20”, glowed proud of it,” Jerry said. “Friedel has become an important Yaffa. “Then 34 was a huge milestone, doubling the size of part of this community. It attracts Jewish professionals to the student body. Then we reached 40 students. Today, we Omaha. If you have a growing Jewish community, a successconsistently have over 50 students, and we have 40 students ful day school is a pretty important part of the package.” of pre-school age on our waiting list.”

Come see and celebrate at the Sixth Annual Tribute With growth came a demand for more space as class- Celebration Dinner. Tickets are $118 for dinner and prorooms were full and even the commons (the courtyard) was gram, or $36 for dessert reception and program only. Please small for all-school gatherings. The search for new space make reservations by contacting Debbie Kricsfeld at began. Jeff and Danielle Gordman led a successful capital 402.393.2714 or kricsfeld4@aol.com.

Donald Gerber to receive Beth Israel Teacher of the Year Award

by ILANA WEISS When you come to Beth Israel on a Shabbat morning, you can look around into every crevice of the synagogue and see amazing learning taking place by children of all ages.

Everything from toddlers learning songs and stories about Shabbat to in-depth discussions for high schoolers based on the Torah, Midrash, Talmud and more are all part of what makes “every shabbat a Shabbaton” at Beth Israel. The top-notch education that is given at Beth Israel is all thanks to the many volunteer teachers who Donald Gerber lead classes every week. On the second day of Shavuot, Thursday, May 16, Beth Israel will honor its teachers at a Kiddush Lunch after services.

While Beth Israel will be recognizing all of its educators on Shavuot, a top honor of Teacher of the Year will go to Donald Gerber, veteran educator who serves as a teacher for Beth Israel’s Shabbat classes as well as a private Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah tutor. Gerber started his teaching about 15 years ago and has prepared nearly 20 students not only for their “big day” but also to successfully participate as active congregants with the ability to chant from the Torah, lead services and pray on a regular basis. He typically volunteers 50 hours privately tutoring each student with an innovative

method of instruction that he developed on his own. This year, Gerber taught his one-thousandth verse and in total has helped his students prepare 1,192 verses.

In addition to his tutoring sessions, he teaches two classes for children on Shabbat. His Parsha class focuses on an understanding of the “Who, What, When and Where” of the weekly Torah portion as well as the lessons that can be learned from each one. Gerber’s Tefillah class prepares students to be comfortable participating in all services, including Shabbat Shacharit and Mussaf, Hallel for Rosh Chodesh and holidays and weekday prayers. Not only do the students gain a tremendous amount of knowledge from attending his classes, they are impressed by his love for Judaism and his dedication to transmitting the Torah’s values to our next generation.

Other teachers being recognized at the Shavuot Lunch are Beth Cohen, Aryeh Epstein, Crystal Epstein, Miriam Gross, Patricia Newman, Judy Rosenfeld, Leon Shrago, Gary Shyken, Rivka Shyken, Kathy Weiner and Yaakov Weiss. The Kiddush Lunch, open to the congregation, is being sponsored by families and individuals to show appreciation and support for Beth Israel’s teachers. Contact the Beth Israel office at 402.556.6288 to participate as a sponsor for $25.

“Beth Israel is so fortunate to have a wonderful group of teachers who want nothing more than to enrich the lives of our children through the gift of Jewish literacy,” commented Aviva Segall, Beth Israel’s Youth and Education Committee Chair. “That they take nothing in return for their services is such a gift, and we wish to honor them for their time and commitment.”

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6 | The Jewish Press | May 10, 2013

Naomi Zipursky awarded for integrity by the BBB Foundation

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by MARGO RIEKES The Better Business Bureau, Communications Director The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Foundation serving Nebraska, South Dakota, the Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa has announced that Naomi Fay Zipursky, a senior at Harry A. Burke High School, has been named a 2013 Scott Mecham BBB Student of Integrity for metro Omaha and Southwest Iowa.

She will receive a $2,000 scholarship to attend Emory University in Atlanta, GA where she plans to study political science and international studies.

BBB Student of Integrity Naomi Zipursky Awards are presented annually to eight senior high school students for demonstrated ethical behavior and character: two from metro Omaha/Southwest Iowa, two from metro Lincoln/greater Nebraska, two from South Dakota and two from the Kansas Plains - the geographic area served by the BBB. “Unlike many other scholarships, grades, financial need and ethnicity are not major factors in selecting a ‘Student of Integrity.’ Their purpose is to award personal integrity and to nurture future ethical business leaders. Naomi won this prestigious award because of her commitment to honesty and accountability inside and outside of the classroom,” said BBB President and CEO Jim Hegarty.

An independent panel of judges, consisting of teachers, school administrators and guidance counselors selected Naomi from a pool of approximately 80 applicants. Letters of recommendation, school and community activities and an essay that addressed an ethical dilemma were required for submission. Naomi wrote about the “Ethics of Coolness”.

She explained her feelings and disappointment in herself when she made the choice of looking “cool” rather than doing the right thing and “forget about being cool.”

Hegarty stated, “We hear all too often that there is an ethics crisis among our youth. That may be true for some, but there are also many that are doing wonderful things in their schools and in their communities, and this gives me great hope for the future. In fact, this year the BBB Foundation received over 400 applications from students all over our service area.”

Naomi will be formally recognized at her school’s Honor Assembly on May 15th, in the BBB’s newsletter distributed to 10,000 Accredited Businesses, at the BBB Integrity Awards Luncheon in the Fall and on the BBB’s website at bbb.org.

Better Business Bureau, Inc. (BBB) has been serving U.S consumers and businesses since 1912 and is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing trust in the marketplace. Accountability, education and recognition of business role models are key components to the BBB’s mission.

Today BBB serving Nebraska, South Dakota the Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa is supported by approximately 10,000 Accredited Businesses that have voluntarily committed to adhere to BBB’s Standards of Trust. Consumers are encouraged to visit bbb.org for Business Reviews on over 4 million companies or to report complaints and possible scams.

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by JEANNIE NICKELS Beth Israel Synagogue will be hosting an informational meeting on Sunday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m. for parents and students to learn more about the exciting new program JconnecT. JconnecT is an online supplemental Hebrew School for grades 6th – 12th that uses technology to provide opportunities for both Jewish education and Jewish socialization.

They offer live weekly study sessions with experienced teachers in Jerusalem via a web based platform that provides full audio and video conferencing.

JconnecT engages teens both socially and academically, and enables kids to connect with other Jewish kids around the world. It was created for small Jewish communities around North America as well as for military families and others who live in places without Jewish communities throughout the world.

The JconnecT program will run 32 weeks a year, from September through May, excluding Jewish and American holidays. Each student is required to have either a laptop or iPad and a headset. All classes will take place at Beth Israel Synagogue with a social activity following the class.

However, students can login anywhere in the world where there is internet, including the comfort of their home.

6th through 9th graders will attend Hip-Hop Hebraics.

This program aims to engage students with Hebrew language and culture to encourage them to value Hebrew as the unifying language of the Jewish people, and as a code that provides access simultaneously to modern Israeli culture and to their rich Jewish heritage. Hip Hop Hebraics is designed to serve as an intriguing bridge between contem-

porary Jewish youth and Hebrew, Israeli culture, and Jewish identity. Students encounter authentic modern Hebrew by becoming familiar with Israeli music, literature, art, cuisine, and sports. As students build and expand a current and relevant Hebrew vocabulary bank and develop their facility with the language, they simultaneously strengthen their connection to the global Jewish community and to their Jewish roots.

10th through 12th graders will attend Contemporary Jewish Issues. This program provides an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of events and trends in current Jewish society and in the world at large.

In addition to familiarizing students with these issues, the course injects them into a multi-generational discussion that includes the opinions of modern thinkers as well as Biblical and Rabbinic perspectives. New topics are added as issues arise in real life circumstances.

Contemporary Jewish Issues aims to engage students with subjects that are of concern to the Jewish community.

The course doesn’t provide “answers” but presents knowledge and tools that enable the students to connect to subjects that are relevant to Jews throughout the world The cost of the program is $475 for Beth Israel members and $575 for non-members. This includes a year of classes and an optional Shabbaton in Memphis, TN. For every ten classes the student attends, a rebate of $100 will be awarded.

Please join other parents and students at Beth Israel Synagogue on May 19 at 10:30 a.m. to learn more about this inspiring new program, using the JconnecT technology. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the instructor and current students.

Murder Mystery at the Omaha Press Club

by RANDY NOGG Theatre-To-Go, a division of Actors Etc. Limited has been supplying entertainment for corporate events and private parties since 1987. It was started by Manya Nogg and is currently managed by her son, Randy. Theatre-To-Go began offering open-tothe-public shows in 2008.

On Friday, May 17, for the first time, there will be an opento-the-public show at the Omaha Press Club. Normally, the Press Club is only open to members for dining, but for this event, nonmembers are invited to attend and enjoy the delicious food, spectacular view and a fun evening of entertainment. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Nebraska Humane Society.

The show for that evening will be one of Theatre-To-Go’s very popular interactive mysteries, Murder at the Calumet Social Club. It’s 1925 in Chicago, and prohibition is the law of the land.

You are having a night of fun at a local “speakeasy.” Bad timing, because someone gets killed and the cops expect you to help them solve the crime. Was it the mob boss - the too-friendly club manager - the sultry singer - the sexy dancer - the slimy politician? Hey, it’s Chicago... it could be anyone!

The cast includes Angela Frey, Bill Wassem, Don Noel, Janet Helms, Jim Shaul, Ron Chvala, and Courtney Stein. The production is written and directed by Randy Nogg.

If you are looking for an evening of great food and entertainment, don’t miss this special event on May 17 at The Omaha Press Club, located on the 22nd floor of the First National Bank - 1620 Dodge Street. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for cocktails.

Dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. For reservations and information call the Omaha Press Club at 402.345.8008.

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May 10, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 7

Evening of music and laughs benefits Beth El’s youth

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El’s sanctuary was filled with music and laughter on April 28, as approximately 400 people enjoyed “A Comedian, a Choir and a Cantor!” the synagogue’s Youth Scholarship Fund Concert.

Comedian Joel Chasnoff, top left, had audience members rolling in the aisles as he shared comical idiosyncrasies of contemporary Jewish life; Beth El’s choir, top right, led by Hazzan Michael Krausman, entertained with several musical selections; Chasnoff enjoys some post-performance time with the evening’s chairmen, Wayne Schwarz and Lori Kooper-Schwarz, along with Hazzan

Krausman, bottom right. Proceeds from the evening will support Jewish summer experiences, including summer camps and Israel trips, for Beth El youth.

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Jewish Women to be honored

by LEIBEL BAUMGARTEN experiences,” says Shani Katzman. for Chabad Community members have been invited to The unique status of mothers and daugh- share thoughts, memories and anecdotes ters in Jewish life will be on display at about their own mothers or daughters, and Mothers, Daughters and Beyond, an event enhance the discussion with their experiences. marking the culmination of Chabad’s Bat Mitzvah Club on Sunday, May 19 at 11 a.m. The brunch is open to all women and girls, and will feature a special musical presentation, alongside an enlightening, moving and amusing look at the tie between generations of Jewish women.

The Bat Mitzvah Club is a group of young women in their 12th year who meet each month for afternoons of fun and education.

Under the tutelage of Rochi Katzman, the girls examined the meaning of being Jewish women in today’s modern world. “We engaged all of our senses,” says Rochi. “We used role playing, culinary experiments, artistic expression and more to delve into histoEmily Kutler, left, Feigy Katzman, and Amanda Simon ry and look to the future.”

“I loved it!” said Amanda Simon, one of “These young women are extending a the club members. “It was fun being with long chain of proud, pioneering, progressive my friends and it was nice to hear so many Jewish women stretching back thousands of interesting things about Jewish life.” Emily years,” says Shani. “We’re here to guide them Kutler said she most prefered the baking. along as a community and remind them that “Actually, it was the painting. or maybe the we, like our mothers, bubbes and nanas, are games. I enjoyed hanging out with all the always watching and sharing a helping girls. I don’t know, I really liked everything.” hand.”

The brunch promises to celebrate the The Mothers, Daughters and Beyond girls’ accomplishments, while giving all local brunch will take place at the Chabad Center, women a glimpse into Judaism’s traditional 1866 S. 120th Street, on May 19 at 11 a.m., take on the stature of its mothers and and is open to all women and girls. For more daughters. “We also wish to help give added information about the Bat Mitzvah Club or meaning to the relationship with tips and the brunch, please contact Rochi at advice at how to enhance it through Jewish 402.330.1800 or rochi@ochabad.com.

8 | The Jewish Press | May 10, 2013

Temple youth visit Kansas University

by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer Cantor Wendy Shermet and a group of high school juniors and seniors visited the Kansas University to learn about its campus Hillel group in what Cantor Shermet hopes will be the first of an annual, or at least bi-annual, trip.

Michael Militzer, left, Justin Norton, Jacob Arnold, Hannah Radler and Hannah Budwig.

“The idea was to introduce them to an active and creative Hillel on a college campus,” Cantor Shermet said. “And I’m glad we did it, because there were misconceptions that Hillel is just for Orthodox kids. Hillel is, of course, for all Jewish students. And it’s another welcoming place to gather and meet other students.”

The Temple Israel students were greeted warmly by their collegiate counterparts during their visit. They attended Friday evening services and enjoyed a Shabbat meal.

“Once a month they hold services and have a meal, and approximately 40 college students showed up, which is great,” Cantor Shermet said. “They were very welcoming to our students.”

Cantor Shermet touted the creativity of the KU Hillel in particular, explaining that their Rabbi, Neal Schuster, “meets kids where they are. He doesn’t necessarily expect them to come to him.”

The Temple Israel students also walked the campus, though Cantor Shermet stresses that the goal of the trip is not to sell the kids on attending KU. “We’re trying to sell Hillel,” she said.

Limited by campuses within driving distance, Cantor Shermet says KU will become part of a rotation of colleges that includes the University of Iowa, Iowa State and Missouri.

“It was a good group of kids and we had fun,” Cantor Shermet said.

In the news Joseph R. Hack, son of Rosie Zweiback and Mace Hack, is a recipient of this year's National Merit Scholarship.

National Merit Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Hack’s probable career field is Conservation.

Rachel Rosenberg, author of The Holocaust Scream, and co-author Robert Urban will speak at Millard Branch, 13214 Westwood Ln., on Sunday, May 19, 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Participants will have the opportunity to meet the author, purchase her book and have it signed.

JFO’s Reach extends to Israeli health programs

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha Through the generosity of our Annual Campaign, the Jewish Federation of Omaha funds a wide array of initiatives locally, nationally and globally. One way we enrich the lives of Jews worldwide is through support of our global partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

In the 10 years since its inception, JDC’s Nutrition Enrichment and Healthy Living Program has expanded into 22 cities across Israel, reaching over 160,000 children, parents, and professionals.

Through programs promoting proper nutrition, dental care, and regular exercise, children and parents acquire necessary tools to assume responsibility for their own health.

Along the way, they strengthen bonds with family, peers and the community at large.

The following story is an example of the power of our collective action to transform Jewish lives for the better. Two years ago, Anat, 19, was in the midst of a crisis. Raised in a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in Jerusalem, she was finishing school and contemplating her future -- one that would imminently lead to marriage and children.

“I was feeling insecure, lonely, and weak. I did not know who I was, where I belonged, and what I wanted to do next with my life,” she recalls. She turned to food and overeating for comfort.

Anat gained weight rapidly, while her spirits and self-confidence plummeted. Her mom spotted an ad in the local Haredi paper, promoting a health course with a volunteer component to empower young women to become agents of change in their community. Anat signed on.

Implemented through a multitude of groups across Israel, including the ultra-Orthodox, Russian-speaking and Ethiopian immigrant community, JDC’s program offers three complementary tracks: Personal Empowerment and Volunteerism, Education and Awareness, and Community Empowerment.

Anat soon joined a classroom full of Haredi girls learning about health and nutrition; training to become community “Health Ambassadors.” Like Anat, these young women had grown up in poor communities and were trying to correct a lifetime of bad nutrition habits, lack of health awareness,

and a stark shortage of physical activity.

Their classroom included a composite of issues this program is tackling across Israel. Over 25% of Israeli children are overweight. Health issues are critical for an estimated 15% of Israeli children who are considered “at-risk”—children in Israel’s social and geographic periphery, including religious and ethnic minorities, immigrant populations, children from impoverished homes, and those with special needs.

As a trained “agent” of health and change in their communities—in daycares, kindergartens, camps, community centers, and old age homes, Anat and her classmates have the knowledge to adopt a healthy lifestyle, the power to take control of their physical and emotional well-being, and the strength to share this information as leaders in their communities.

“The lessons enabled me to deal with my feelings, experiences, and difficulties in a safe and supportive group. I felt openness, acceptance, and familiarity. I learned a lot and started to feel personally empowered. I was eager to share the teaching methods as a ‘health ambassador” to peers and my friends,” Anat explains.

Anat has since married and now implements her new skills as a volunteer at a local school, a summer camp for Bukharan children in need, and adult classes in the Romema community. Her volunteering led to a job as an aide in a kindergarten for children with special needs.

“I am proud to be a married woman who brings home an income and has financial independence,” Anat said proudly.

“When I was applying for this job, I was competing against women with degrees in special education, but I got it because of the unique knowledge and skills I learned through the JDC program.

“My home also changed since my participation in the program. I make sure the food we eat is nutritious, and I feel healthy and alive! This program changed me in so many ways and on so many levels. I am very grateful.”

Today, JDC’s Nutrition Enrichment and Healthy Living Program in Israel includes approximately 350 teens and 250 adult volunteers. Together, we should take great pride in knowing our contributions are helping support our global Jewish community. For more information on the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, go to www.jdc.org.

Seldin Company holds “Save the Stairs” Contest

by DANIELLE HAGEMEIER Seldin Company Seldin Company and its employees are holding a “Save the Stairs” contest at their corporate office to promote health and wellness throughout the company. The contest is a friendly competition between two teams led by company executives to decorate the stairwells at the Seldin corporate office.

The Stairwell Contest is part of a wellness initiative to improve the health culture of the corporate office. Seldin Company is one of more than 350 organizations that have made a policy change through Partners for a Healthy City, a public-private collaboration of Douglas County Health Department and Live Well Omaha.

For more information about Partners for a Healthy City, visit www.partnersforahealthycity.org.

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May 10, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 9

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Expelliarmus

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Two odd stories came across my desk this past week. They had little to do with each other, but each one deserved a healthy eye roll.

First, an Iranian official has accused us of engaging in sorcery. Yes, sorcery. Mehdi Taeb, a close associate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and head of the Ammar Base think tank, said: “The Jews are the most powerful sorcerers in the world today, and they have used their powers to attack Iran.” Apparently, that includes influencing the US government to impose sanctions on Iran, and trying to influence Iran’s 2009 election, albeit unsuccessfully. So far, Iran has fought us off, but according to Taeb, we haven’t used our full powers yet.

If that’s true, well, hand me my wand. I’d like to cure all disease, fix the national debt, erase racism and poverty and make Bibi Netanyahu’s hair grow back.

The second story is possibly even more pathetic.

Gail Horalek is the mother of a seventh grader in Northville, Michigan. Two weeks ago, she filed a formal complaint with the Northville Public School district.

The issue: her daughter’s class is reading The Diary of Anne Frank for her language arts curriculum at Meads Mill Middle School. It’s the definitive version; the book includes passages that describe Anne exploring her own anatomy.

Ms. Horalek considers it pornographic. I guess it’s okay for seventh graders to learn about the atrocities of the Holocaust, as long as Anne Frank doesn’t have any questions about her vagina.

I wonder, when we are confronted with these types of sto-

ries, is it okay to simply shrug and move on? How can we respond? Shouldn’t we spend our time discussing real issues, rather than this nonsense?

Maybe. Sometimes we are tempted to ignore ridiculous accusations, because why should we have to defend ourselves against accusations of sorcery? Why should we speak out against someone who accuses Anne Frank of writing pornography?

Wouldn’t that give these people too much credit?

Surely, we cannot take these stories seriously.

Much easier to look the other way.

And yet, I have the sneaking suspicion that sometimes we ignore things not because we are too dignified for a response, but because we don’t really know where to begin. What do you say to someone like Gail Horalek? How do you explain that Anne being curious about her body should be the least of our worries? That, in the face of what the Nazis

did to her and six million others, it’s really is not appropriate to censure any part of her diary? And that, by questioning the validity of even a small part of what Anne wrote, you question all of her experience?

The question of how we respond to the accusation of sorcery is equally difficult. The real problem we face is: we don’t know if Mehdi Taeb truly believes we are wizards. We don’t know if Ms. Horalek truly thinks parts of Anne Frank’s diary are unsavory. So, would we enter this debate, we’d have to make a decision. Do we argue against claims of sorcery and pornography, or against the antiSemitism that feeds those claims? And what if people accuse us of playing the anti-Semitism card?

You see why it is easier just to ignore these stories. That’s the comfortable choice, and it saves a lot of time and aggravation.

It leaves us with only one problem: if we don’t listen, and if we don’t respond, someone else most certainly will. That someone else may respond quite differently, perhaps with enthusiasm, with an eager ear. That someone else may say: I knew it; I never trusted those Jews. While we shirk our responsibility, we leave the door open for the Taebs and Horaleks of this world to say whatever they want and find a more sympathetic audience than us. Their ideas and accusations will fester and grow.

And that, we cannot allow.

How shmitta can help us kick the consumerist habit

Focus on issues SARAH CHANDLER FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. (JTA) -- Judaism is designed to be a person’s operating system, the platform on which other areas of one’s life functions. But for many Jews, religious practice sits on a shelf alongside theater subscriptions, gym memberships and soccer practice, relegated to one of many offerings from which we can pick and choose.

For Jewish educators like myself, this mindset poses particular challenges, forcing us to adopt the tactics of public relations agencies to induce Jews to participate in Jewish life.

Why can't these opportunities speak for themselves? Why do people have to be convinced to take a Hebrew class, attend Shabbat services or drop in on a lecture?

Partly, of course, it's an issue of time. Lots of people might want more Jewishness in their lives, but work, family and other commitments end up taking precedence. Even in the best-case scenario, when people do show up for Hebrew school, committee meetings or worship services, many are unable to leave their consumerist addictions at the door.

They may sincerely want to achieve something -- learn a new skill, be inspired by a rabbi’s talk or approve next year’s budget -- yet they instinctively rely on “experts” to package Judaism for them. The cult of achievement seeps into everything. Leaders steeped in the ethos of corporate America expect flawless execution at meetings. Parents pushing their kids on the fast track are never satisfied with the rate of their children’s Hebrew acquisition.

What if, instead of being just one more place to look for “more” and “better,” Jewish life could be an escape from this compulsion? What if, instead of being just one more place to “get it done,” Jewish life could be the place Jews awoke to gratitude for what they have in each moment?

The ancient Jewish practice of shmitta, the biblically man-

(Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Jessie Wees Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, Caryn Scheer, Bobbi Leibowitz, Past President; Phyllis Brown; Daniel Christensen; Mel Epstein; Scott Farkas; Sandy Friedman; Noah Priluck; Paul Rabinowitz; Mark Senal; Nancy Wolf.

The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world.

Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press.

Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishoma

dated sabbatical year of rest and release that begins in September 2014, offers one way to roll back this trend.

At its core, shmitta is a chance to show contemporary Jews that ancient Jewish texts have the potential to serve as a sophisticated map for many areas of their lives, not just occasional events in particular buildings. But it is also a way to induce individual Jews to take more responsibility both for their personal consumption habits and shaping the contours of their spiritual lives.

Traditionally, shmitta was a time when farmers did not cultivate their lands, debts were forgiven and slaves were set free. In a contemporary context, when most of us are neither farmers nor slaves, we can see this year not only as a chance to restore balance and share more equitably, but to release ourselves from the mentality that sees everything in the world -- from natural resources to Jewish communal ones - as one more set of things to be consumed. Anyone looking to revive their communities, spend more time with family and friends or even live more simply can take inspiration from the concept of shmitta.

Hazon, a national Jewish organization promoting sustainability, is part of a coalition of eco-minded Jewish projects planning a series of initiatives in anticipation of the next shmitta year. Taking our cues from the transition town movement, a social experiment that focuses on economic localization and sustainable agriculture, the Shmitta Project seeks to revive the ancient teachings of the sabbatical cycle and apply them to our times. Bringing these principles alive is our next best shot to counter the consumerist impulse from within the Jewish tradition, all the while supporting the environment, our communities and ourselves.

Jewish texts explain that during the shmitta year, land owners would take down their fences so that the poor and animals could take freely from the crops. Today we might consider which resources from our “fields” we can offer to others. We could literally feed the hungry, or give of our-

selves in other ways, through volunteering, pro bono work or other collaborative community projects.

Shmitta also calls upon us to release debts and take time off from work. Today, communities might consider setting up a “degrowth” plan in recognition of the fact that we are living beyond the capacities of the ecosystem. The Worldwatch Institute cites studies in Europe that indicate cutting back from a work week of more than 50 hours actually would create jobs.

My hope is that such efforts will result not only in people taking a closer look at how economic sustainability might work in their communities, but also in individuals taking greater responsibility for personal consumption habits and relieving themselves of the expectation that others will perform Jewish practice on their behalf. Rather than criticizing the failings of our institutional leaders, we can take active roles in revitalizing Jewish life -- and local economic and environmental systems -- as co-creators. In turn, we can begin to discharge the consumerist tendency from our communal life.

Parshat Behar, the Torah portion that contains the injunction to observe shmitta, fell this year on May 3-4. It was a wonderful opportunity to share shmitta educational and experiential offerings in your local synagogue, school, community center, community garden.

Imagine the Jewish community digging into these ancient texts about shmitta and renewing them for modern times.

Imagine disaffected Jews igniting change through community organizing inspired by Torah.

How will you integrate shmitta principles into your personal and communal life by September 2014? Join us on the journey.

Sarah Chandler, the director of earth-based spiritual practice for Hazon's Adamah Farm at Isabella Freedman, is a Jewish experiential educator, community activist and spiritual leader.

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10 | The Jewish Press | May 10, 2013

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, call 712.323.8885.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; BESTT graduation ceremony will take place during the service; seventh graders and high school seniors will be honored. Dinner follows at 7 p.m.; the entire congregation is invited.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Sally and Jim Zipursky, in honor of Naomi and Aaron’s graduation from Hebrew High School and public high school; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:15 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: Last Day of school for BESTT, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., will feature a waffle breakfast and the annual Rose Fine Last Day of BESTT Talent Show, which begins at 11 a.m. Families and friends are invited to enjoy the entertainment.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m., with Hazzan Krausman.

MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham.

TUESDAY: Shavuot services, 5:30 p.m., followed by dairy dinner at 6 p.m. and tikkun leil (study sessions). Dinner cost, $10 for Beth El members, and $15 for non-members; $5 for children 7–12; free for children 6 and under. Sign up online at www.bethel-omaha.org; Tot Shavuot & Oh Say Shalom to Shavuot, 5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Shavuot morning services, 9:30 a.m.

Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Shavuot morning services, 9:30 a.m., Yizkor is said and dedication of new memorial plaques; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:15 p.m.

Shabbat at Remington Heights, Friday, May 17, 3:30 p.m., Rabbi Abraham and Hazzan Krausman will offer a Shabbat program to Remington residents.

All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross.

FRIDAY: Rosh Chodesh, 6:45 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; The Laws of Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 7 p.m.; Mincha/Seuda Shlishit, 8 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:20 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mother’s Day Pizza Dinner, 5 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.

TUESDAY-Tikkun Leyl Shavuot: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.; Mincha, 8:15 p.m.; Session One: The Taking Away of the Torah: Censorship in Jewish History, 8:30 p.m.; Ma’ariv, 9:30 p.m.; Dinner, 10 p.m.; Session Two: Let them Eat Cheesecake: Vegetarianism and Animal Rights in Judaism, 10:15 p.m.; Session Three: Massechet Tamid: From Beginning to End, 11:15 p.m. Siyum to follow.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Yizkor, 10:15 a.m.; A dairy Kiddush lunch honoring our voluteer teachers will follow morning services; Mincha, 8 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:25 p.m.

CHABAD CENTER An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush lunch will follow.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.; Breakfast Bonanza, 9:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. Please reserve by calling 402.330.1800; Midnight Madness Challenge - “A tale of two Women” Women’s Torah Study on Shavuos, Midnight-1 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Torah Study - “Receiving the Torah each day anew,” Midnight-Dawn, with Rabbi Katzman.

WEDNESDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.; Come hear the Ten Commandments, 11 a.m. and join us for a garden and ice cream party at noon.

THURSDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.; Yizkor, 11 a.m.

All programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Linda and Don Glaser.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parsahat Bemidbar.

TUESDAY: Shavuot Dairy Potluck supper, 6:30 p.m. followed by two study sessions: The Joha and other Jewish tales of North Africa, led by Rabbi Lewis and Rabbi Akiva, The Mast of Midrash, led by Nancy Coren at South Street Temple.

WEDNESDAY: Temple officed closed for Shavuot.

Wacky Mac Dinner and Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, Friday, May 17, 5:45 p.m., at Tifereth Israel.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

B’nai Mitzvah Bennett Lincoln Ray, son of Shayna and Matthew Ray, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 18, at Temple Israel.

Bennett is an eighth-grade Gold Honor Roll student at McMillan Magnet Middle School. He is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. He was volunteer of the year for the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home in 2012 where he volunteers weekly.

Also, he is an assistant teacher at Temple Israel’s religious school.

His interests include being in Boy Scouts, camping and hiking, and he competes in math and engineering contests.

Chloe Madison Ray, daughter of Shayna and Matthew Ray, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, May 18, at Temple Israel.

Chloe is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Beveridge Magnet Middle School. She is a member of the National

Junior Honor Society. She is on the track team and set production crew at Beveridge. She volunteers at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home every week. Also, she is an assistant teacher at Temple Israel’s religious school.

Her interests include painting and drawing.

For their mitzvah project, Bennett and Chloe worked on the Santa Cop event where Omaha Police Officers take children from the Open Door Mission shopping during the holiday season.

They designed flyers, tracked volunteers, shopped, decorated, set-up, served dinner and cleaned up after the event.

They have a brother, Leo, age 10.

Grandparents are Jennine and Marvin Goldberg, Linda Ray, Carol and Harlan Rimmerman of Kansas City, and Janell and Michael Ray of Reno, NV. Great-grandmother is Reva Oruch.

Candlelighting Friday, May 10, 8:13 p.m.

Tuesday, May 14, 8:18 p.m. | Wednesday, May 15, 9:24 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the RBJH, 2:30 p.m. led by 39 Forever Members.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Jim Polack.

WEDNESDAY: Shavuot Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

THURSDAY: Shavuot Services with Yizkor, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: Senior Send Off Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Temple Israel high school seniors will be given a celebratory blessing by the clergy as they prepare to begin the next phase of their lives.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

TUESDAY: Erev Shavuot Service and Confirmation Service, 6 p.m. Temple Israel’s tenth graders will participate in the Erev Shavuot service, where they will share a private moment on the bimah with Rabbi Azriel. Everyone is invited to this poignant passage of the Confirmation Class.

WEDNESDAY: Shavuot Morning Service and Yizkor, 10:30 a.m. Please contact the Temple Israel office, 402.556.6536, by Monday, May 13, with the names of your loves ones to be read.

THURSDAY: Dilemmas of Faith: God and Spirituality in the Modern World, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel.

Temple Israel Annual Meeting, Tuesday, May 21, 7 p.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Services, 7:45 p.m. followed by cake, coffee and a discussion of timely news topics pertaining to the Jewish world.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon.

TUESDAY: Shavuot Dairy Potluck supper, 6:30 p.m. followed by two study sessions: The Joha and other Jewish tales of North Africa, led by Rabbi Lewis and Rabbi Akiva, The Mast of Midrash, led by Nancy Coren at South Street Temple; Mincha services, 6:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit at 8:30 a.m.; Yizkor at 10:30 a.m.

Wacky Mac Dinner and Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, Friday, May 17, 5:45 p.m., at Tifereth Israel.

Tifereth Israel Board Meeting, Sunday, May 19, 2 p.m.

Giffords accepts JFK award

by JTA NEWS STAFF BOSTON (JTA) -- Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Giffords, who has become an advocate for stricter gun control after being shot in the head in 2011, was recognized for the courage she has demonstrated in pushing for policy changes aimed at reducing gun violence. Earlier this year, Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, founded Americans for Responsible Gun Ownership, an organization that is lobbying for stricter gun control laws.

“Today we honor a woman who inspires the entire world,” said Caroline Kennedy, president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, which gives the award.

“When others would have withdrawn from public life, she has challenged us all to reengage in the political process,” Kennedy said.

“I believe we all have courage inside,” Giffords said at the ceremony. “I just wish there was more courage in Congress,” she added, alluding to the defeat by the U.S. Senate in April of a gun control bill that would have toughened background checks for gun purchasers.

“It’s been a hard two years for me,” Giffords said, “but I want to make the world a better place more than ever.”

The award, which is presented annually, is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage.

Pulverent e

May 10, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 11

Where to meet God

In memoriam RUTH E. GOLDENBERG

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Bamidbar Our Sidrah reminds us that it was in the wilderness of Sinai that God spoke to Moses and pronounced the socalled Ten Commandments.

A colleague of mine(unfortunately, a late colleague) said that this was “the right place to meet God.” The place where God spoke to Israel belonged to no one.

No one could say: God chose my country; no one could say: my city, my neighborhood.

Thus we are reminded that God’s words are not for Israel alone, but for all mankind. And when we say “wilderness,” we do not mean a desert where every footstep fills our shoes with sand. Wilderness means, as one self-proclaimed humorist put it: a place where the hand of God has never set foot.

We are emphatically taught that the word of God is for everyone--that is, everyone who is willing to listen. If you listen, you will hear it.

Ruth E. Goldenberg of Omaha, formerly of Lincoln passed away on May 1 at age 85. Services were held May 3 at the Congregation Tifereth Israel Synagogue, in Lincoln followed by burial in Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Hyman and Blanche (Schwartz) Horwitz; her first husband, Arthur E. Hill and brothers, Marvin and Robert Horwitz.

She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Irwin Goldenberg; daughters and sons-in-law, Martha and Richard Lerner, Robin and Richard Karr of Northbrook, IL and JoAnn and Steve Gold; grandchildren: Ali Doyle, Brad and Jon Lerner, Rachel, Aaron and Sarah Zivic; and greatgrandchildren: Yael and Ari Peltz and Havah Doyle.

Ruth was a member of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Lincoln and Beth El Synagogue in Omaha.

Memorials may be made to Congregation Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502, Beth El Synagogue, 14506 California St, Omaha, NE 68154 or The Ark Agency, 6950 N. California, Chicago, IL 60645 Condolences may be left at www.bmlfh.com.

by BEN SALES that they would take action should Syria transport unconTEL AVIV (JTA) – Twice in three days, Israeli warplanes ventional weapons to Hezbollah. In January, Israel bombed entered Syrian airspace and fired on suspected weapons a Syrian weapons convoy near the Syria-Lebanon border. In caches bound for Hezbollah -- without immediate response. 2007, Israel allegedly bombed a Syrian nuclear reactor.

Some experts are predicting that will Syria and Hezbollah didn’t respond continue to be the case following to those attacks, either. But Hezbollah airstrikes near Damascus that are wideexpert Eyal Zisser said Israel still ly believed to be the work of the Israel needs to remain cautious.

Defense Forces. According to reports, “Don’t play with your luck,” said the strikes targeted shipments of longZisser, also from the Begin-Sadat range, Iranian-made Fateh-110 misCenter. “There might be a response. siles capable of striking deep into Israel.

Eventually something will happen.”

Israel hasn’t commented on the Shlomo Brom, a senior research strikes, but the IDF has moved two associate at Tel Aviv University’s Iron Dome missile defense batteries to Institute for National Security Studies, its northern border and Prime said the attack sent a message that Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed Israel will act unilaterally if deemed his departure to China for several necessary -- in this case, the transfer hours to convene his security cabinet. of long-range weaponry to Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Syria’s foreign minister Brom said that Hezbollah may An Iron Dome anti-missile battery was told CNN on Sunday that the strikes avenge the recent attacks several years moved near the northern Israeli town of amounted to a “declaration of war.” from now.

Haifa in the hours following a second Torn by a civil, the regime of Syrian Israel reportedly did not notify the airstrike on Syrian targets, May 5, 2013.

President Bashar Assad is too beleaUnited States before the strikes. On Credit: Avishag Shaar Yashuv/Flash90/JTA guered to fight back. And Hezbollah is Saturday, President Obama said that too preoccupied propping up its Syrian patron to respond.

Israel has the right to defend itself and he will “let the Israeli “Today Israel can act with impunity in Syria,” said Hillel government confirm or deny whatever steps they’ve taken.”

Frisch, an expert on Arab politics at Bar-Ilan University’s “What I have said in the past and I continue to believe is Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. “The [Syrian] air that the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of force isn’t functioning and there’s no defense system. It’s advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah,” very exposed and weak.” he told the Spanish-language network Telemundo. “We coorThe two countries have technically been in a state of war dinate closely with the Israelis recognizing they are very close since the Yom Kippur War ended in 1973. And though the to Syria, they are very close to Lebanon.” border since then has been largely quiet, Syria was Israel’s The attacks, according to Frisch, also showed Iran that only neighbor to pose a threat of conventional attack.

Israel could bomb the Islamic Republic’s suspected nuclear The weakening of the Syrian regime has raised the weapons program -- a possibility Netanyahu frequently prospect that its stocks of chemical weapons may fall into raises. But Brom called an attack on Iran “a totally different the hands of Hezbollah. Israeli officials have said for months story -- a lot harder and a lot more complicated.”

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A lovely case of glamour ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Quite often, when I’m supposed to review a book, there’s a temptation to sort of skim it. I’m a busy woman, and no one would notice. I usually end up reading the whole thing anyway, but I only have my own neuroses to blame for that.

With Rachel Shukert’s new novel, Starstruck (Random House, 2013), skimming wasn’t really an option. I’ve read Shukert’s previous books, Have You no Shame, and Everything is Going to be Great. I couldn’t wait to read her latest. Especially since this technically qualified as Real Work (but only barely).

Starstruck is set in 1930s Hollywood, during the Golden Age, when the studios ruled supreme. Reading it is a little like watching an old Andy Hardy movie; it’s comfortable, entertaining, and it’s easy to forget that the stars were deeply unhappy in their private lives.

Shukert’s main characters are three very different girls.

Child star Gabby is both experienced and immature; she has the stage mom from hell and a career that’s going nowhere fast. Margaret transitions from a sheltered high school girl to a silver screen diva in the space of a year.

Finally, the gorgeous Amanda is trying to make it while battling some very serious demons from the past. Shukert is masterful in describing the ugly underbelly of Hollywood, and yet she leaves the glamour completely intact. She knows: no matter how harsh the truth, the audience will always come back for more. Anyone who’s ever stood in front of the bathroom mirror, muttering an Oscar-type ‘thank you’ speech, will love this book.

How much fun did you have writing this book?

Honestly? I think about as much fun as you can possibly have. As I’m sure you know, writing can often be the oppo-

site of fun, so I’m not going to pretend the whole thing was a barrel of laughs. It’s a big undertaking to write a novel, and at times I felt scared and frustrated, which I think is the basic reaction to the blank page for pretty much everyone. But writing this novel was such an exercise in wish-fulfillment for me, and the world of it is one I’d always fantasized about getting to experience, that more than anything I’ve ever written I really couldn’t wait to dive in at the beginning of every writing day. It was just such a treat to be with these characters, living their lives with them, and through them.

When can I read the next one?

Great question! Book #2 in the series (it’s a trilogy) is called Love Me, and it will be out in February of 2014. Also, I’m planning to do a little prequel novella that will be downloadable in the Fall, about events in a few of the characters lives before Starstruck unfolds. So that should hold people!

Why did you decide to switch to this type of fiction?

I never thought about it in terms of making a conscious switch. In my experience, ideas kind of find you, they sort of swim into your head one day and root themselves there until you have no choice but to write them--it’s not an entirely conscious process, and you often don’t understand why, say, that one stuck around and this one didn’t until much, much later. So that’s kind of what happened with this. I had always wanted to write fiction, and it felt like it was time.

As much as I loved writing my autobiographical work, there comes a time where you sort of run out of stories about yourself, and also, where you stop wanting to subject your life and the people in it to that kind of scrutiny, from yourself and from your audience. I wanted to just live for a while, without having to construct a narrative about it, you know?

I’ve always loved stories about this period of Hollywood, and it always strikes me how incredibly young the actresses were.

Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow were 18 when they made their first films at MGM, and Lana Turner was 17. And they weren’t playing teenage roles, either. They were made out to be these sophisticated femme fatales. I wanted to explore that, the idea of being really still a girl and having to navigate this incredibly adult world.

Why does the character of Amanda seem so much older than Margo and Gabby?

Amanda is a couple of years older than they are, but she’s also been through so much more. Margo was raised in this

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incredibly sheltered, upper class, finishing-school environment; she’s been purposely kept in the dark about how the world works. Gabby may be a show biz veteran at 16, but that’s also kept her young--it’s always been about her career, she’s always pretty much had to do whatever her mother or director or the studio told her to.

Amanda’s story is totally different. She grew up very poor, her mother died when she was young, her stepfather was abusive. She ran away from home, and she’s been on her own since she was 13, basically doing whatever she had to do to get by. And that changes you. She knows how things work, and she doesn’t have a lot of illusions about what people are like, or what they’re capable of doing. But the thing I love about her is that even with everything she’s been through, she still has dreams, she still believes in love. She’s still a hopeful character who truly believes things can change for the better.

On page 139, you write: “Except this is my own movie, Margaret thought. She could barely wait to see how it would turn out.” How do you hope the reader will read that sentiment?

I think everyone has that feeling, don’t they? That you’re the star of your own movie? Margaret certainly does, especially since she’s watched so many of them. I wanted to show here that she’s aware that she’s embarking on this adventure, but at the same time, she isn’t totally in control of it. It’s like she’s watching it as a viewer, but it’s also happening to her.

Any special reason why studio boss Leo Karp has a chip on his shoulder about Gone with the Wind? What does it say about him?

Gone with the Wind was THE buzzed-about production at this time in Hollywood. It had been this huge bestseller, but none of the major studios wanted to take a chance on something so big and expensive except for David O. Selznick, who produced it independently (at least, he tried to.) And everyone thought he was crazy, and they were sort of hoping to be proven right, so that they would feel like they did the right thing, passing on it. And of course, it turned out to be the biggest hit in Hollywood history so far.

Starstruck is available from the Bookworm and on Amazon; Rachel Shukert will read from her novel and sign copies at the Bookworm in Countryside Village on Saturday, May 11 at 2:30 p.m.

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