Endowed by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Where are they now:
June 19, 2015 2 Tammuz 5775 Vol. 95 | No. 40
Saragail Benjamin
This Week
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN for Friedel Jewish Academy Daniel Denenberg, 12, was the Nebraska state champion last year in the Modern Woodmen of America School Speech Contest and went on to place as one of the top nine contestants in the national contest. He has again won the state competition after participating in the Friedel Jewish Academy, county/district, and state/regional contests. Now it’s on to nationals once again. Danny said, “I got interested because it was an assignment to participate last year in the speech
Life & Legacy event Page 5
Beating the Rainy Day Blues Page 6
Open Pulpit: A journey towards independence Page 12
by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Saragail Benjamin was born and raised in Omaha. Her parents are the late Ruth and Daniel Katzman. Her dad’s two sisters, aunts Charlotte Zipursky and Sylvia Jess and uncle Morley Zipursky are still in Omaha, as are her cousin, Jim Zipursky and his wife, Sally, and cousin Linda Jess, who is one of Sylvia’s children. What’s your theater background? I loved doing theater at the Omaha JCC, mostly at the old JCC in downtown Omaha -- by the time the current JCC was built, I was away at college. My biggest role, when I was 14, was Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank. This was such an important experience for me. I was the same age then that Anne was when she wrote her famous diary. What if I had been born in another time, another place? I wondered. What might have happened to me? I felt a weighty responsibility; bringing Anne’s courageous, loving spirit to the stage. I learned so much about theater, working as a team, and about Jewish history. I was in many other productions at the JCC. It was a
fantastic outlet for me -- I was never cast in anything at the Omaha Playhouse or at Central High School. Without the JCC, I would have felt left out, disappointed, and frustrated. With it, I was nurtured. How did that shape what you have done since then? With the confidence I gained at the JCC, I left home my junior year of high school, 1969, to study theater at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. I interned for a summer at the Magic Theater in Omaha’s Old Market, performing alongside young professionals. Where did you go after high school? On graduating from Omaha Central High School in 1971, I went to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, and majored in theater and literature. A highlight -- I was the only freshman in a school-sponsored musical in a commercial run at La Mama ETC, an Off-Broadway theater in NYC. I seriously doubt that I would have had the chutzpah to seek out and get all these early opportunities had I not been given the chance to spread my wings at the JCC. I’m very grateful. Continued on page 3
Volunteers needed at RBJH chapel
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
Next Month Real Estate See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
Danny goes national
8 10 11
by OZZIE NOGG Keeping the Sabbath and observing holidays and festivals is a staple of Jewish life, and celebrating the richness of our traditions and the Jewish calendar are integral parts of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home experience. The Simon Family Chapel, with its Erman Family Ark, is the sacred space where Blumkin residents and their family and friends gather for religious services. “Every Saturday morning the Simon Chapel is filled with residents for Shabbat services led by volunteers from the community,” said Renee Kazor. “As one of those volunteers, it’s my privilege to share the sacred rituals and texts of our tradition with this special community of elders.” According to Linda Cogen, Volunteer Coordinator at the Blumkin Home, “We’re always on the lookout for volunteer Shabbat service leaders who are willing to give a few hours of their time on Saturday morning. By leading Shabbat services, these volunteers provide Rose Blumkin Jewish Home residents with spiritual and re-
ligious enrichment and keep them connected to their Jewish heritage.” Shabbat morning volunteer leaders conduct services at the Blumkin Home from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Saturday morning. “Leaders pick their own schedule and volunteer as often as they want,” Kazor said. The leader should be familiar with the service structure and have knowledge of both Torah and Haftarah trope. The ability to read the Hebrew prayers in the siddur is preferred but not required. The leader also delivers a short sermon based on the weekly Torah portion. “Volunteer religious service leaders help make the residents feel comfortable and keep them engaged in life,” Kazor added. “The spiritual experience of being together in community touches a place of familiarity and comfort and reinforces a sense of belonging, to the residents as well as to the volunteers. I encourage others to join our ranks.” For more information on how you can participate as a volunteer religious service leader, please contact Linda Cogen at 402.334.6519 or email lcogen@rbjh.com.
Danny Denenberg contest. Winning last year may have increased my desire to participate again.” He also mentioned that there are many good speakers in his family, including his grandparents, Bernie and Carolyn Magid and Eunice and Norman Denenberg; his parents, Steven and Tippi Denenberg; and other relatives including his cousin Becca Denenberg who placed third at the district level in the speech contest. Like Danny, Becca is a recent sixth grade graduate of Friedel Jewish Academy. Danny added that Shabbat dinners at his house “are very talky.” Modern Woodmen developed the speech contest in 1948 to offer students an opportunity to develop skills in clear thinking and public speaking. By preparing and giving a three-to-five-minute speech, according to Modern Woodmen, students learn skills that help with school projects, job interviews, and even careers. This year, the topic for the speech contest is “An Interesting Landmark.” Students can consider a landmark of local, national, or worldwide prominence, though it does not have to be officially declared a landmark. National parks, capitol buildings, homes of famous people, museums, prominent buildings of business and industry, or important sports arenas Continued on page 2