Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
CDC welcomes Kelly Worner
August 12, 2011 12 Av 5771 Vol. 90 | No. 48
This Week
by LYNN BATTEN ful teachers and staff at the JFO Publicity Associate and CDC, we look forward to ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPmany years of joy and pride WRIGHT watching our children grow.” Editor of the Jewish Press He continued: “Our Jewish When parents dropped early childhood program is their children off at the one of the most significant Pennie Z. Davis Childhood offerings at the JCC. There is Development Center this past nothing more important than week, they saw a new face. On the social, educational, and August 8, Kelly Worner offiphysical development of our cially started in her position community’s children. The of Director of the CDC. community can be assured “On a scale of one to 10, I that the CDC will continue to am definitely a 10,” she said be a model of excellence in when asked how excited she Jewish early childhood educawas. “ This is such a wondertion, not only for Omaha, but ful opportunity for me, and I for the entire country.” have been eagerly looking for“I know the parents who ward to being here.” send their children to the Parents can expect “a lot of CDC have chosen to do so communication and access,” because of its warm and supshe said. “I plan to have a regportive atmosphere and its Kelly Worner with daughters Isabella, left, and Aubriana; both girls will attend the CDC. ular presence where the parcommitment to Jewish early ents can talk to me often and feel grams. She was recognized as one of Childhood excellence, while main- childhood excellence,” Kelly said. “As they are finding a listening ear with the emerging leaders of the year by taining a warm and supportive the Director, I aim to continue to run the administration of the college. atmosphere,” Carole said. any and all concerns.” a program enriched with Jewish valKelly is looking forward to workAaron Rosenfeld, JCC Director, ues and traditions, as well as developKelly and her husband are parents of Isabella, four, and Aubriana (four ing closely with Carole Greenberg, agreed: “Kelly has more than 10 mentally appropriate daily practices. months). She comes to the CDC CDC Assistant Director, and the years experience, is very dynamic, I also plan to work towards our with a wealth of experience; her ten- exceptional teaching staff to continue and is committed to maintaining the National Association for the plus years in early childhood educa- to propel the CDC to greater heights. programming excellence as well as Education of Young Children “We are excited to have a Director Jewish values that we all have come (NAEYC) status and achieve the tion include directorships of the Iowa Western Community College of Kelly’s caliber to continue the to expect from the CDC. On behalf highest standards in preschool and and Westside Early Childhood pro- CDC’s dedication to Early of Kelly, Carole, and all the wonder- child care.”
Temple Religious School introduces Flat Shlomo Page 6
BESTT kicks off year with revamped schedule Page 8
The 10th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival by MARY SUE GROSSMAN CJE Associate Executive Director A wonderful milestone is being reached this month when the Jewish Omaha Film Festival celebrates its
Film festivals abound throughout the country -- San Francisco, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Hartford, Austin, Miami -- the list goes on
tenth year. The popularity of this annual event has continued to grow annually and by early summer, community members begin to ask, “What are the films for this year’s festival?”
and on. And yes, the majority of these events feature many more films than Omaha, however it is unlikely that one can park, pay and be seated in the theater in five minutes in these cities. And just how many of these offer the option of a kosher deli dinner? Again, Omaha does it right! The members of the Film Festival Committee are to be commended on their work in selecting the films. Committee members Renee Kazor, Jill Erman, Gary Katz, Judy Rubin and Eunie Denenberg first suggest titles for which screeners are Continued on page 3
In California, a Latino congregation commits to Judaism Page 16
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
12 14 15
Next Month Rosh Hashanah See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
Omaha Chai School gets ready for second year by MIRAM GROSS the efforts of Beth El Synagogue, OJC Director Beth Israel Synagogue, Temple You may have heard groups of Israel, the Jewish Federation of Omaha teens referring to an Omaha and the Center for Jewish evening activity called the ‘OJC’. Education, the first year was a Before you grow concerned and great success. Our program conrun to urbandictionary.com, to check it out, rest assured OJC is a valid -- and great! -- happening right here in Omaha. OJC stands for the Omaha Jewish Chai School. And the “Chai” is not for tea. It’s the Hebrew “Chai” meaning “to life”. From the end of August through midMay on Wednesday evenings, between 5585 Jewish high school students gather at the JCC to study, explore, express themselves and question and debate Jewish issues and ideas. While the teachers include OCS students Sophie Goldberg and Ariel Kohll Omaha clergy mem- study Hagadah art with Daniel Christensen durbers and local educa- ing last school year. tors, much of the learning happens tinues to evolve in a way that is through the kids themselves and organic and responsive to the the amazing discussions that take needs of our students and commuplace each and every week. nity members. The second year Last year was the first year of will begin with some exciting this community-wide collabora- changes that will appeal to our tive endeavor. Developed through Continued on page 2
2 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Security experts: To prevent extremist violence, look at behavior, not ideology
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“We like our mom living at Remington Heights because the staff cares about her.” – Steve and Hugh Sons of Louise A., a happy resident of Remington Heights
by RON KAMPEAS It is also critical to train staff to know what to do in case WASHINGTON (JTA) In the United States, the attacks in of an attack, Goldenberg said. Norway are prompting government officials and those “Sending our children to camps and overseas and to Israel advising the Jewish community on security to look for les- -- that should never stop,” said Goldenberg, a former counsons that can be applied to America. terterrorism adviser to New Jersey’s state government, “but The Secure Community Network, we need to be more vigilant and train known as SCN and funded by the those who are responsible and accomJewish Federations of North panying our children.” America, set up a conference call So-called lone wolves are an increasrecently for Jewish summer camp ing concern for law-enforcement officials with a Homeland Security authorities because advance detection Department official. Most of the 77 of a plot through wiretapping and people killed in Norway died in a similar measures is not possible. shooting attack at a youth camp on “Some people recognize that based Utoya. on a lot of the plotters and conspiraAnders Behring Breivik has cies that have been foiled, it is more claimed responsibility for the likely you’re going to get caught if you Norway attacks but has pleaded not have conspirators,” said Oren Segal, guilty, saying the killings were justithe co-director of the Antified. Defamation League’s Center on Whether one is a right-wing or Extremism. “Lone wolf attacks are Islamic extremist, the telltale signs of most concerning, as they don’t fall a possible attack in the works may be into one or another movement.” the same, a senior Homeland Groups like the ADL track extremSecurity official told JTA. ism, particularly on the Internet, A poster campaign sponsored in part by the The likely attacker is “an individual which has facilitated the empowerJewish community’s Security Community becoming increasingly vocal and visment and exchange of extremist ideas. Network urges Jews to keep an eye out for ible in their rhetoric” -- whatever the “The fact that people are reading suspicious objects. provenance of their beliefs, said the ideologies and being influenced Credit: Security Community Network official. online poses a serious threat,” Segal Past and current U.S. government security officials laid said. “Extremist movements tend to ebb and flow. There out three interlocking strategies for prevention: Getting have been spikes by those motivated by militant Islam; at family and acquaintances to report such behavioral changes; other times we’ve seen spikes in anti-government types.” getting others in the community to note suspicious behavior Breivik’s anti-Muslim extremism “seems to represent a around likely targets; and making sure such reports are developing ideology,” he said. “It’s not isolated.” streamlined so that local and federal authorities are able to The Southern Poverty Law Center along with Daryl coordinate a response. Johnson, a former Homeland Security official, has accused The Homeland Security official said the department was the Obama and George W. Bush administrations of not examining the Norway attacks and assessing the informa- aggressively tracking right-wing extremism and instead tion, just as it had previous attacks. focusing more on Islamic extremists. Another element is educating the target community, said Johnson left Homeland Security after conservatives SCN director Paul Goldenberg. The Homeland Security assailed as an attack on free speech a 2009 report he Department’s recently launched “If You See Something, Say authored on the increased likelihood of attacks in the wake Something” campaign in the Jewish community is critical, of the election of the first black president. The department he said. squelched the report and shut down Johnson’s unit. Goldenberg said that potential assailants tend to look at Heidi Beirich, the research director of the Southern previous attacks for inspiration, which is what made Poverty Law Center, said Breivik was influenced by the Breivik’s assault on the Labor Party youth camp so excep- online writings of Americans such as Pam Geller and Robert tional. Some of his victims were as young as 14. Spencer, who see Islam generally, and not an extremist off“What’s remarkable is that this individual sought to kill shoot, as a threat to democracy and freedom. children, and that is a wake-up call for our community and “We’re concerned that as the Sept. 11 10th anniversary any other community to do all they can to ensure that wher- comes up, someone may attack government buildings or ever our children gather and congregate would be a potential Muslims,” Beirich said. “We understand the threat from location for someone who wants to cause direct harm to the Islamists, but there is also a threat from people motivated by hearts and souls of the Jewish community,” Goldenberg said. anti-government beliefs.” The Homeland Security official identified patterns of The Homeland Security official told JTA that the departbehavior around synagogues and other Jewish community ment had not dropped its tracking of right-wing extremists buildings that merit reporting to the authorities: “multiple in the wake of the shutdown of Johnson’s unit, and that such instances of appearances” by a stranger “in an entrance or monitoring had been incorporated into other departments. exit area, parked cars that are in places that are unusual -Michael German, the American Civil Liberties Union’s places that people walk past as they enter a JCC, an individ- counsel on security and a former FBI agent who infiltrated ual trying to monitor activities, maybe photographing secu- neo-Nazi and skinhead groups from 1988 to 2004, said that rity personnel, photographing the building in a way that Johnson’s report was useful in many respects, but committed doesn’t seem typical of someone who’s interested in archi- the flaw of tracking ideology instead of extremist activity. tecture.”
Omaha Chai School gets ready for second year
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Continued from page 1 busy over-scheduled teens. We understand the demands that are placed on our teens and we want to work with that and not against it. We want the students to feel comfortable with the material, even if they miss a week, and we designed the curriculum with that in mind. Each night features two periods with a snack and social time in between. During the first period the teens will take classes from a wide array of offerings from the local clergy. Classes will be interactive, stimulating and always engaging, broaching on such topics as the Jewish responses to current social issues, Jewish Art, along with ancient, modern and fascinating forms of Biblical and Talmudic analysis. With three trimesters rather than just two semesters, students will have the opportunity to engage in a larger selection of topics and teachers. During second period the entire school will come together for a presentation followed by breakouts into groups. Through a variety of interactive media -- music,
videos, Jewish films, literature, art and more -- a variety of topics will be explored throughout the year. In small groups, students will interact and learn in a fun and meaningful way with other students from across the denominational spectrum. At the OJC, all of students identify as Jewish, but what that means to each one varies from one student to the next. There are Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, unaffiliated, questioning, rebellious, atheist, cultural, and just Jewish Jews filling the classrooms. That certainly leads to a learning experience that is always interesting! OJC gives students the time and space that they need to find themselves in a 3000+-year-old family and tradition. It’s the much needed soul-time for our kids to discover what it means to be a Jew - living and breathing in the 21st century. The first day of class is Wednesday, August 31. For registration information, visit www.jewishomaha.org/ojc, email mgross@jewishomaha.org or call 402.590.2147.
August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 3
The 10th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival Continued from page 1 requested. They next watch the numerous screeners and share their thoughts -- very candid thoughts! -- on the many options. Finding films is tricky, particularly when coupled with the need of finding a good balance for the four-day run. The committee is always up to the task.
Gary Katz has been involved since the early days of the event. “I have always loved the concept of film festivals,” comments Katz. “The chance to see films not offered by the “regular” theaters is great.” He continues “As a staff member, the Film Festival was one of my favorite projects. When leaving the library, I immediately asked to be a part of this great committee and was warmly welcomed in this new role. I look forward to seeing many friends during the festival run.” All films will be shown in the Jewish Community Center Theater. Weeknight films begin at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday showing begins at 7 pm. The popular kosher deli dinner will precede the Sunday screening at 6 pm. The members of the Film Festival Committee have again done an outstanding job in choosing the titles. This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to see unique films that would likely not be seen elsewhere in Omaha. The Film Festival is one of our agency’s premier programs, kicking off our programming year. Tickets are $8 per person. The cost for the deli dinner on Sunday, August 28 is $12. Reservations are required for the dinner no later than August 24. For dinner reservations, please call 402.334.6462. 10th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival Schedule: Bride Flight Monday, August 22, 7:30 p.m. Three Dutch women escape the atmosphere of post-war Holland by immigrating to New Zealand, where they plan to marry fiancées that await them. En route, they meet a young man, Frank, also relocating for a better life. After each woman has a brief relationship with Frank, they lose touch with him -- and each other -- reuniting five years later at Frank’s funeral where they realize how much their lives have actually remained intertwined. Based upon a true story. The Matchmaker Thursday, August 25, 7:30 p.m. Arik, a teenage boy growing up in Haifa in 1968 gets a job
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working for Yankele Bride, a mysterious Holocaust survivor. Yankele has an office in back of a seedy movie theater, run by a family of seven Romanian dwarves. As Arik learns about life through his work with Yankele, he falls in love with Tamara, his friend’s cousin, just back from America and promoting “free love and rock and roll.” As Yankele
takes him on a dangerous coming-of-age ride into the urban underbelly of Haifa during the time of the Six-Day War, he lives through a summer that changes him forever. Salsa Tel Aviv Sunday, August 28, 7 p.m. -- (Deli dinner to precede film at 6 p.m.) Single mom Vicky, a poor salsa dance teacher in Mexico, leaves her son with her mom and travels to Israel dressed as a nun to find her estranged husband, Beto, who is an illegal salsa dancing teacher in Tel Aviv. On her way to the Holy Land, she meets Yoni, a taciturn Israeli scientist, engaged to the very rich Dalia. Yoni helps Vicky through Israeli customs, and a strange but amusing friendship commences. La Rafle Tuesday August 30, 7:30 p.m. Based on extensive, meticulous research and first-hand accounts, La Rafle follows the events of a Nazi raid through the eyes of three young children, oblivious to the darkness spreading over Nazi-occupied France. Their apathetic parents naively put their trust in the Vichy Government. As Hitler demands that the French government round up its Jews for trains headed east toward extermination camps, the collaborators start to put the plan into effect. By July 16th, 1942, 13,000 of Paris’s Jews -- including 4,000 children -- are collected and sent on a road with no return. In essence, this is a powerful, film about everyday bravery and also about those who collaborate with true evil. The Jewish Film Festival is presented by The Center for Jewish Education and generously sponsored by Todd and Betiana Simon with additional support from the Avy L. and Roberta L. Miller Foundation by Lindsey Miller-Lerman and The Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith. Tickets are $8 per person. The cost for the deli dinner on Sunday, August 28 is $12. Reservations are required for the dinner by August 24. For dinner reservations, please call 402.334.6462.
Understanding the new truancy laws and the impact on missing school by ALAN POTASH Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League Plains Region The 2011-2012 school year is upon us and in some districts classes have already started. Last session the Nebraska Unicameral passed a bill to monitor and address truancy. Legislators believe there is a direct correlation with student absence and juvenile crime. LB 463 builds upon LB 800 passed in 2009 requiring schools to share information with child welfare officials and the Nebraska Crime Commission regarding students who miss more than 10 days of school in a year. The new law requires the school district to notify the county attorney of the absences and if a student misses 20 or more days of school in the year the county attorney notifies the parents to discuss the reason for the absences then decides whether to dismiss, divert for counseling or prosecute the case. Last year if a student observed Rosh Hashanah (2 days), Sukkot (4 days), Passover (4 days) they would have missed 10 days of school. I received several phone calls from parents after they were notified by the school that they would have to report the absences to the county attorney. I spoke with Douglas county attorney Don Kleine to learn the process and the potential for students to be prosecuted. He explained that each case would be examined on an individual basis but that absences for religious holidays falls under the 20 days. This year a student could end up missing 8 days in observance of the Jewish holidays. Our recommendation for parents and students is to inform the school in advance if the student is going to be absent for the Jewish holidays (ADL notifies all of the school districts of the Jewish holidays), but it is best if families are proactive. Feel free to contact the ADL if you have questions or issues with religious absences or observances in the school. The ADL website www.adl.org/ main_Religious_Freedom/ contains numerous resources on addressing religious guidelines for the public school.
To order a gift subscription to the Press... Send a check for $25, made out to the Jewish Press and prorated for the year, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 402.334.6448.
International superstar Matisyahu returns to Omaha on August 13th at the MAHA Music Festival
Named the “most intriguing reggae artist in the world,” the last Omaha performance by the Grammynominated Matisyahu was a sellout. Don’t miss this return engagement as he performs outdoors at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village!
This y a d r u t Sa Tickets are only $30 ($35 day of show) and include access to a full day of music with 11 bands, including Guided By Voices, Cursive and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Buy your tickets now at www.mahamusicfestival.com
4 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Beth El hosts “The Tastes of the Season” by JILL BELMONT recipes,” said Margo Riekes, who serves as co-chairman of the Open Arms Initiative, along with Joanie Jacobson. “We’ll Beth El Publicity Coordinator The High Holidays are just around the corner, and what make recipes accessible and offer easy answers. It’s nice to better way to prepare for them than by learning how to pre- have a traditional meal, and we hope everyone will learn pare a traditional holiday meal? Beth El’s Open Arms some things that will be helpful around holiday time.” Shandell, who cooks as a Initiative – a group established hobby, said he encourages to grow the role of interfaith people to come and enjoy a families at the synagogue – is glass of wine and taste samsponsoring “The Tastes of the ples of his holiday fare. “With Season,” two cooking classes all religions, holidays revolve for everyone in the communiaround food. We invite everyty, whether new cooks or vetone who enjoys cooking or erans in the kitchen. eating to join us.” Cooking and baking enthuEveryone in the community siast Howard Shandell will is invited to participate. Cost present both cooking demonto attend the Aug. 23 session strations: the first will take is $12; the fee for Sept. 6 is place on Tuesday, Aug. 23, $10. Reservations are needed 6:30 p.m. at the synagogue, where he will prepare dishes Howard Shandell and Margo Riekes go over the menu list for and may be made by sending for Rosh Hashanah (brisket, the upcoming "Tastes of the Season" cooking class, spon- a check – made payable to Beth El – to “Open Arms bowtie kasha, sides and tradi- sored by Beth El's Open Arms Initiative group. Cooking Class,” Beth El tional desserts); the second, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m., will feature dishes for a Synagogue, 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154. For more information about these sessions, contact Beth El break-the-fast buffet after Yom Kippur. “This evening is for those who have never cooked a Rosh Program Director Margie Gutnik in the synagogue office, Hashanah dinner or those who are looking for some new 402.492.8550, or at programming@bethel-omaha.org.
Temple Youth Group invites Jewish teens by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator It’s not your average youth group rush event! Come along for the rides with Omaha Temple Youth Group (OTYG) on Sunday, Aug. 28 to Adventureland Amusement and the new Water Parks in Des Moines. Plunge 60 feet down the Gang Plank and Pirates Plummet, try the Sidewinder which combines the best of spinning and swinging, or how about the Himalaya? For the daring, there’s also the Falling Star, the Tornado, the Inverter, the Dragon, and the Space Shot. All Jewish High School students are welcome to attend. The cost is $35 for OTYG members and $45 for everyone else. The fee includes bus transportation, admission to the amusement and the water parks, lunch, and snacks. Please bring your swimsuit and a towel. Meet at Temple Israel, 7023 Cass Street at 6:45 a.m. The bus leaves promptly at 7 a.m. and returns at 6 p.m. Morissa Miller and Maddie Jensen, OTYG membership vice presidents, are chairs of the Rush event. Contact Amy Katz, OTYG advisor, at 402.397.8741 or 402.321.0515 or at amykatz9120@hotmail.com to make a reservation. All participants must have parent permission to attend.
When Omaha Hebrew Chai School begins its second year this fall, OTYG will host a lounge night in the Jewish Community Center youth lounge an hour prior to classes on Wednesday, the exact dats yet to be determined. . Lounge night will be open to OTYG members. Information about upcoming OTYG programs will be handed out at these informal gatherings.
Arts+Entertainment Try on those ruby slippers! On Aug. 21, the JCC will once again hold auditions for the Musical Theater Community Acting Group. Auditiond will take place from 3-4 p.m. for adults and 4-5 p.m. for kids from 8 to 18. If you are between age 8 and 108, and want a part in The Wizard of Oz, sign up now! Registration deadline is Aug. 19, and everyone who auditions gets a part. Play practice will take place every Sunday from 3-5 p.m. Cost is $125 for members and $155 for nonmembers. For more information, call Esther Katz, Director of Cultural Arts, at 402.334.6406 or send an email to ekatz@jccomaha.org.
Join us for Sunday Brunch! Please join us for Omaha’s newest Sunday Brunch. Our menu includes Chef Archie’s famous fluffy omelette, eggs benedict, and chicken and waffles, which is a huge hit on the east and west coasts. We open at 10 a.m. and serve brunch until 2 p.m. We want to thank the Jewish community for their support, and we look forward to serve all of you in the future. The first week of every month we serve Matzo Ball as our soup special. If you need Matzo Ball soup for a gathering or a party, it is available upon request in gallon size. We do ask for a few of days notice so we have time to prepare it. We hope to see you at brunch on Sunday.
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‘And you shall love your neighbor as yourself ’
A Guy’s view GUY MATALON, Jewish Federation of Omaha Scholar in Residence The commandment to love one another never ends. It is not like Shabbat, Yom Kippur or tzedaka. Most of the commandments in the Torah have a limit but loving one another does not. It is constant. What does it mean to love each person as myself? Maimonides provides us with a very useful definition. “It is a mitzvah for every person to love every Jew like his own body, as it says, ‘And you shall love your neighbor as yourself ’; therefore, we are required to praise each person, [and] to protect his property in the same way one would protect his own property...”(Mishne Torah, Deut 6:3) The expression of our love to fellow Jews is twofold: We should speak positively about people and we should make sure that they are well taken care of, including their possessions. Many of us know and practice the second part of the commandment of loving fellow Jews. We try to provide for the dignity of Jews locally and around the globe but do we do such a good job with the first requirement? Do we speak positively about our fellow Jews as individuals and as a group? On Tisha B’Av, Jews around the world commemorated the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as many other tragedies that befell our people in our long history. In the Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 9B), the rabbis teach us that the reason the first Temple was destroyed was because of three acts: idol worshipping, illicit sexual relations, and shedding of blood. The second Temple was destroyed on account of only one sin: baseless hatred. That generation did not follow the commandment to love one another. The rabbis teach us that hating one another is equivalent to the three sins that destroyed the First Temple. The remedy of baseless hatred is baseless love; the way to start loving our fellow Jews is by praising them and by saying nice things about them. In order to repair the world, we must repair the word first. Guy Matalon is the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Scholar in residence, and as such aims to educate and inform the community about matters pertaining to Judaism and Israeli politics. A Guy’s view can also be found online at www.jewishomaha.org. Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues. Questions? Call 402. 334.6448.
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August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 5
Judicial vacancies are now higher than at beginning of the year by TIPPI DENENBERG ating from Creighton Law School in 1974 Co-VP of Public Relations, NCJW-Omaha Section worked his way through just about every A multi-organization coalition inspired by governmental legal position one could hold, the Benchmark campaign of the NCJW, the gave informed and riveting testimony about Nebraska Coalition for Constitutional the choking backlog of cases due to the Values, met at Happy Hollow Country Club Senate’s unwillingness to confirm federal on July 21, 2011 to educate and motivate. judges in a timely manner. After the judge’s The issue of concern with groups as diverse lecture, the crowd of approximately 100 as the Latino American Commission, the people were able to ask questions via modNCLU, the ADL, Citizens for Equal erator David Jacobson, Chair of Kutak Rock. Protection, and many more was the delay in filling federal judiciary vacancies. The message: justice delayed is justice denied. The judicial vacancy crisis is worsening. There are more current and future vacancies today (115) than there were at the beginning of the year (114). That’s more than 1 in 7 seats on the federal bench. This problem impairs the ability of the federal courts to make decisions on matters Carol Bloch, left, co-chair NCCV & NCJW member; Becky that impact every aspect of Gould, co-chair NCCV & executive director Nebraska Appleseed; Judge Joseph Bataillon, Federal Judge for the our lives. Vacancies on the federal District of Nebraska; Jan Schneiderman, co-chair NCCV, courts -- and especially past national President of NCJW. vacancies that have become judicial emerClosing words by Nebraska Coalition for gencies -- are causing a backlog of cases that Constitutional Values (NCCV) co-chair Jan fundamentally undermine the American Schneiderman urged immediate action. In justice system. When people are forced to order to ensure that Americans have meanwait years for their cases to be heard, justice ingful access to justice, our Senators Nelson is not served and a shadow is cast on how and Johanns must hear from us. They have a fairly the law is applied in our nation. constitutional responsibility to “advise and At a dessert reception in Happy Hollow’s consent” on the President’s nominations to ballroom, Judge Joseph Bataillon explained the federal bench -- in a timely fashion. To the above crisis in great detail. Judge learn how to take action immediately, visit Bataillon, a Federal Judge who after gradu- www.NECCV.org.
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Until We Meet Again
From our intern EMILY GILLER Another year has passed and I find myself, yet again, in a familiar spot. The summer is slowly drawing to an end and I’m once again writing my farewell column for the Jewish Press. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was working for the Jewish Press covering the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games. Fortunately, I must have done something right last year because the Press hired me back as its intern for a second summer. They must like me or something. This summer, however, is more bittersweet than last summer. See, last summer in my goodbye column I talked about how I was leaving but I wasn’t truly leaving because I’d always be able to come back, and so on and so-forth. This time things are a little different. Shortly I’ll be moving back to Lincoln and finishing up my fourth and final year of college. It’s all very exciting and scary at the same time. It’s exciting because I won’t have to deal with tests, projects and homework anymore. However, the closer I get to graduation the closer I get to becoming a “real person.” I have to start looking for a job, for a place to live, and the scariest part of all, figuring out what state I’m going to live in. That’s why this column is so bittersweet, I’m excited to move on, but the fact is, I’m
moving on, which is strange. Last summer I was so sure that I was going to be coming back to Omaha this summer. There was no doubt that I was coming home. Now though, I can’t tell you that I’ll be coming back, or that I’ll be around the Jewish Community Center again next summer because I don’t know. Somehow this goodbye seems more definite than it did last summer. I’ve sadly come to the realization that I can’t live in the past. My friends from home are moving on, looking for jobs, and it’s scary to think, I don’t know when I’ll see them again. As sad and depressing as it might be though, my fondest memories of childhood are with my friends here at the JCC. I attended camp here, I was in BBYO here and I worked here. So, I can’t promise you that you’ll once again see me here next summer. Maybe you’ll see my name in The Omaha WorldHerald, or in The New York Times instead. The point is, I may be leaving but my memories and my home are here in Nebraska, and no matter where I end up in life, I could never replace something that has impacted my life so much. So I won’t say goodbye because I don’t know if this is truly goodbye for me or not. Instead I’ll just say thank you to the Jewish community for everything it has offered me throughout the years. I also want to say thank you to the Sharee and Murray Newman Supporting Foundation, which made this internship possible. I will miss all of you, that is, until we meet again.
If you have questions about any part of our Jewish Community, please email us at askmike@jewishomaha.org. Mike will do his best to answer each and every question.
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6 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Temple Religious School introduces Flat Shlomo
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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN graders’ names will be drawn from a hat to determine their Temple Israel Communications Coordinator roles in the mock bridal party. Some members of the class You never know when or where you might be inspired will be in the wedding party while others will be guests. with an innovative concept to teach children about Judaism. “Everyone will have a part to play,” emphasized Bennett. For Temple Israel Religious School Coordinator Lori “They’ll all dress up for the wedding, and we’ll go through Bennett, it happened at the Holland Performing Arts Center the Jewish rituals such as designing a ketubah, listening to when she was attending an Omaha Symphony concert. Jewish music associated with weddings, breaking the glass, “I was sitting next to someone who had a Flat Stanley and standing under the chupah. cutout with her. She said it was her nephew’s who had sent An example of “a multitude of life cycle events that hapit to her for a night out on the town,” Bennett explained. pen after Bar and Bat Mitzvah and other occasions for the Just in case you’re not familiar with the character Flat young,” the mock wedding is scheduled for April 1. Parents Stanley, he is the central character in a book with the same will be invited to the ceremony and a brief wedding recepname written by Jeff Brown. tion. “I think that many chilIt’s actually the first in a series dren haven’t experienced a of books featuring Stanley Jewish wedding,” Bennett Lampchop and his younger remarked, “and this is an brother Arthur. Their father opportunity for them to see hangs a big bulletin board that there are distinct differover Stanley’s bed. During the ences between a Jewish and a night, the board falls on non-Jewish wedding.” Stanley, flattening him. He Another curriculum addisurvives and makes the best tion this year will be of the situation when he realExperience Shabbat! for third izes he can enter locked through sixth graders. On rooms by sliding under the Saturdays, Oct. 29, Dec. 3, door and even play with his Feb. 25, and April 21, minibrother by impersonating a sessions will be introduced on kite. One especially unique topics not necessarily covered advantage is his new-found during the Sunday School ability to visit friends by curriculum. The students will Jordan Jensen displays Flat Shlomo which she designed for being mailed in an envelope. gather as a large group for a second graders at Temple Israel’s Religious School. He even helps catch thieves community breakfast and a by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually, Arthur song session followed by an hour of age-appropriate study in restores Stanley to his original form by inflating him up with small groups. At 10:30 a.m., the children will walk together a football air pump. to the sanctuary to join the congregation for the morning Bennett renamed Stanley Flat Shlomo and assigned him Shabbat worship service. to Temple Israel’s second grade. Similar to the Flat Stanley “Experience Shabbat! will offer students the opportunity Project started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade teacher to relate their studies to a larger Jewish experience,” said in Canada, the second graders will take turns bringing Flat Bennett. “The topics chosen will add dimension to their Shlomo home to celebrate Shabbat and Jewish holidays. connection to the Torah, their Jewish identity, ethical Jewish He’ll also attend all second grade events such as the Very thought, and understanding the concept of God.” Special Persons Seder and the field trip to the Humane Mini sessions for third and fourth graders will include Society. “He may even show up on the bima,” according to subjects such as De-mystifying the Torah, What’s in a Name?, Bennett. Talk about God and Stories We Pray. The children will be “Primarily” she added, “I hope Flat Shlomo will celebrate shown a yad, talk about how the Torah is made and who Shabbat and other holidays with our second graders and writes it, play I Spy with Hebrew letters, and make a Torah. their families. I’m trying to get the kids to bring in pictures Instructor Rita Paskowitz will lead What’s in a Name? as she of their family celebrations and to share with their class- helps each child discover the meaning of his or her Hebrew mates the Jewish things they do in their lives. I hope Flat name and shares a story about their names. Shlomo will get them excited!” Bennett will teach a fifth and sixth grade session on Mah As a result of discussions that Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and La’Asot - What Should I Do? as she leads the students in a Bennett have had about introducing new ideas and reviving series of discussions on moral dilemmas and core Jewish old ones to bring into the classroom, second graders also values. In the process, they’ll address the legal principles will be learning about baby namings this year. “We’re work- surrounding questions such as abortion, suicide, AIDS, ing toward each grade level studying a different life cycle euthanasia, and use of animals in medical research. event. In third grade, the teachers start using the children’s When she introduces Stories We Pray to the fifth and sixth Hebrew names instead of their English names so second graders, Paskowitz will explain that each prayer has a story. grade is a good time to learn how they received their Hebrew By rooting each prayer in the spiritual history of major names. We want the students to experience the uniqueness Jewish figures and getting a sense of what each prayer of having two names. They’re reading a great book called means, the students will get to consider their own relationThe First Gift they receive from their parents: their names. ships with God. “We’re hoping that someone in the community will be Bennett pointed out that each time the children attend a willing to have a mock baby naming that the second graders Shabbat worship service, they will be meeting a service can attend, “Bennett said. attendance requirement for their B’nai Mitzvah. She also Fifth graders will be studying a unit on life cycle events noted that when they attend Experience Shabbat! there will and customs culminating in a mock wedding. All the fifth not be class on Sunday that weekend.
Rachel and Ruthie debuts in New York City by NORMA JOHNSON Ruthie Sokolof died of cancer before her granddaughter, Rachel Javitch was born. Rachel is now 27, and Karen Sokolof Javitch decided that she was going to write an imaginary story about the two of them meeting. The result: a 30 minute short story (with one song) about their chance meeting at college. Titled Rachel and Ruthie, this play made its debut in New York City the week of July 19 in the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Ruthie time warps to the future (from 1947) and is a college student who ‘runs into’ her granddaughter (although they’re the same age) at
Rachel’s sorority house. It is very touching and comedic as they discover they are related and she will marry her sweetheart ‘Phil’ from back home in Omaha. The New York City three-person cast included Dani Burr from Omaha - daughter of Maralyn Burr and Jay Burr. Dani is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and I gave her the script and she put together the whole thing,” Karen said. “The one song they sing is called You Look Familiar. Dani is phenomenal and I can’t wait to bring the show to Omaha next year with the same cast! I know Mom would have loved it, and it is my way of keeping her wonderful memory alive!” says Karen.
August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 7
There’s always more to learn
Bert’s eye view BERT LEWIS Every year at this time, the war cry is the same: Back To School! The kids moan and groan, the parents sigh and say “it’s about time” and the educators scurry to make things ready for another year in the same place, same time, new faces. But wait a minute - it isn’t only children who are expected to learn. Sometimes adults look around and say “I always wanted to learn to do that”. So education is for everybody, from the adult who decides to take piano lessons to the crying kindergartener who doesn’t want to leave his mom. And age has nothing to do with the adult who says “Why can’t I learn to tap dance just because I’m 83?” Indeed, why not? Following that line of thinking, I ask you, why can’t I learn to play mah jongg now, even though I’m half past 80? If you know me well, you might be surprised at my new found interest. I’m not the card playing lady your mother was. Or my mother, for that matter. I didn’t play any game that required a set number of hours at a card table, with three or more other women, all engaged in a game. Bridge was the all time favorite, followed by various other card games such as Canasta, Gin Rummy, Pan, Poker and heaven only knows what else. Oh yes, there was the noisy Oriental game played with tiles, called Mah Jongg. Now listen up, because this is where it gets interesting. At a party recently, I ran into an old friend who wanted to know how I spend all my free time these days. I found myself babbling and trying to sound like a grown up, when she suddenly suggested I join a few “girls” (don’t laugh!) who she was teaching to play mah jongg. I tried my best to extricate myself, but then it occurred to me, I really wanted to learn, and that was when I heard myself say, “Ok. Yes, I will”. Oy. Little did I realize this would entail learning to identify some 144 tiles, some umpteen rules that seemed to change with every game, the use of a card with suggested patterns of
“hands” to be played, and heaven only knows what else, but there was more. There’s always more. Just when I thought I had one little part down pat, somebody would say no no... that’s wrong. Do it this way, not that way. As the kids say, OMG. Now the chair starts getting harder, and the time moves slowly, and the other “pupils” seem to be catching on to things you’d swear nobody mentioned before. Then the noise starts to get to the player, especially if she listens and mindlessly hears “one Bam, 2 Crack, a red Dragon,” then maybe a shriek “Oh wait a minute, what is this tile and maybe I think I’ve got mah jongg.” False alarm... ground rules were misunderstood. This is a small sample of some of my experience. So far. Wait a minute. Who’s cell is ringing? OH geez, where’s my purse? No no, that’s my phone! Take a break, quiet down, answer the cell and yes thank you, I’d love a cold drink. Then suddenly, somebody says ok, lets stop now. It’s after 5 and I’ve got to get home. Then comes discussion about what has transpired, why it happened like that, and how it might have been better. Plus, and only once in a while, maybe a tiny little shred of gossip creeps in between building the walls again and starting a new game. If you play, you know what that means. If not, forget it. You don’t need to know. All of this, and plenty I’m not mentioning, is only a sample of what happens when you sit me down at a card table and tell me that ‘of course I can learn.’ I talk about remembering new things and all I hear back is NONSENSE. Of course you can learn new things. Is it ok to say oy? Oy. I know this much. It’s understood that as seniors learn something new, whether a language or a game, it’s very good for the brain. I don’t believe it can stave off Alzheimer’s alone, but it’s known to be good for the gray matter. For no other reason am I convinced I can ever learn enough to play that game without training wheels! Just like I get a flu shot because it’s good for me, I’ll hang in with it. But I know, just like I know Friday follows Thursday, nobody will ever ask me to join their game. I’d bet my best earrings on that one! So it’s back to school time, as I said at the start of this. Well, so be it. I’ll be there when they set up the table next week, but will I know what I’m doing? Who knows? I wouldn’t make a serious bet on it. Bert Lewis can be reached at BertLewis39@aol.com.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Dr. John Calvert, Creighton University’s Egypt expert, will discuss The Arab Spring: Is the revolution a success? on Wednesday, Aug. 17, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $10; beverage service is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish teaches an optimistic vision that allows us to view the world with joy and hope. Come join us at the Blumkin Home, every Thursday in the board room, at 1 p.m., to reap “The Joys of Yiddish!” For information call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638. MAINSTREETERS Baseball Night at the new stadium at Werner Park in Papillion on Thursday, Sept. 1. Cost is $7 per person for game admission. Jewish Social Services will sponsor the transportation. Depart from the JCC at 5:30 p.m. to return back to the JCC by approximately 10 p.m. Dinner is on your own at stadium. Send reservation to: Mainstreeters, c/o Maggie Conti, 323 S. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. Make check payable to Jewish Social Services. For questions call Harry Alloy at 402.697.8709.
Births Lisa and Chuck Lucoff announce the July 26 birth of their daughter, Kori Danielle. She is named after her late great-uncle Kenny Lucoff and her late great-grandfather Daniel Kraus. She has a sister, Makayla Lynn. Grandparents are Suzy and Norm Sheldon, and Dena Lucoff of Milwaukee. Andrea and Brian Lewis announce the March 9 birth of their daughter, Harper Jillian. She is named for her late maternal great-grandmother Helen Lipp and late paternal great-grandfather Julius Apter. She has a sister, Paulina Madeline, three and half. Grandparents are Rocky Lewis and Barbara and Michael Apter of Plantation, FL. Great-grandparents are the late Morrie Lipp and Elizabeth and Harry Lewis.
8 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
BESTT kicks off year with revamped schedule by JILL BELMONT Wertheimer; and Profiting from the Profits, taught by Susan Beth El Publicity Coordinator Paley. “New” seems to be the million-dollar word around Beth Children enrolled in Beth El’s religious school may attend El Synagogue Talmud Torah (BESTT) this year. When the Monday Moadon at no cost (except for materials); all others religious-school doors swing open on Sunday, Aug. 28, stu- will be charged a one-time fee of $25, plus materials and dents will be welcomed with a new school schedule, and will supplies. be treated to the exciting, new Monday Moadon afternoon “We are very excited about Monday Moadon,” Rubin said. program of optional enrichment classes. “These classes will afford us the opportunity to teach Judaic Monday Moadon (pronounced “moe-ah-doan” and subjects that we were not able to teach before.” meaning “club” in Hebrew) is open to all second- through BESTT School Committee Chairman Joel Rich also seventh graders in the Jewish community, regardless of syn- expressed enthusiasm with the new Monday afternoon agogue affiliation, said BESTT Education Director Judy courses, saying, “Each trimester will give students more Rubin. She also noted that opportunities to explore a the program is designed variety of elective topics in for those families who a more concentrated time. want their children to Using the excellent group delve a little deeper into of teachers we have, we’re Judaism, along with those allowing children to learn who enjoy the arts. beyond the core curricuThe program will be lum and giving them divided into three 10-week another opportunity to sessions; students may interact with other Jewish select any or all trimesters children.” in which to participate. Schedule-wise, the During the first trimester school has modified the (Aug. 29 - Nov. 7), courses days of religious school to for grades 2-5 will include: accommodate families’ Celebrations and More, an hectic schedules. Students exploration of the cycles of BESTT students, seen here during a fun-filled baking session last this year will attend classes the Jewish calendar spring, will enjoy more cooking, art and creative activities during on Wednesdays and through song, dance, the religious school’s new Monday Moadon program. Sundays, as opposed to cooking, storytelling and other fun interactive activities and the past three-day-a-week schedule. This twice-a-week led by Eadie Tsabari; and Tzedakah Club, led by Margo model reflects a 10-year-trend among Conservative synaRiekes, in which students will focus on why tzedakah is such gogues around the country, said Rubin, who also noted that an important Jewish value. The curriculum will also include BESTT parents “were overwhelmingly in favor” of making a field trip, guest speakers and special projects, which show the change. how tzedakah is more than giving money – it is also giving The start and end times for each day will also change: on of oneself. Wednesdays, sessions will run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For grades 6-7, course offerings will include Text Messages (a change necessitated by OPS’s later dismissal time); and from the Talmud, led by Andy Greenberg, who will lead stu- Sunday classes will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. dents in an investigation of the Talmud’s answers to mod- Rubin pointed out that each Sunday morning will begin ern-day puzzles, as well as help them to make connections with a special family assembly, complete with a morning that rabbis made many years ago; and Celebrations and More service, and alternating song sessions with Cantor Beth (see above), led by Eadie Tsabari. Schlossberg, and story times with Rabbi Mordechai Levin or Second-trimester (Nov. 14 - Feb. 13) classes will include Rabbi Steven Abraham. You, Too, Can be a Jewish Artist, led by Daniel Christensen; “We’re planning another dynamite school year with a The Alef Bet of Jewish Values, taught by Deborah Kronick; superior teaching staff, offering our students the opportuniGod, Are You There? led by Rabbi Steven Abraham; and ty to learn on multiple levels,” she said, adding that the Hebrew Tutoring, led by Eadie Tsabari. school staff is geared up for an exciting and fulfilling year for Finally, the third trimester (Feb. 27 - May 14) will offer a students. multi-media (collage, painting, sculpture, etc.) art elective For more information about the new BESTT schedule, based on photos from our Partnership area in Israel, enti- course offerings, and to receive a Moadon pamphlet, contact tled, I Saw It in the Western Galilee, taught by Daniel Rubin in the school office, 402.498.0994, or at eddir@ Christensen; Stories for Jewish Living, led by Maya bethel-omaha.org.
Back to the Pool by SAM BOGDAN The JCC is fortunate to have experienced, dedicated coaches working to develop our children into better swimmers and, more importantly, teaching and instilling important life skills. These skills include time management, self-discipline, and sportsmanship. Your child will carry these skills and experiences with them for years to come.
Many different age groups enjoy the JCC pool. Here, a group of early swimmers meet for water aerobics. The JCC is excited to inaugurate the Hurricanes swim team this fall. The Hurricanes provide participants a year-round swimming experience with highly qualified coaches who have acquired over ten years of combined experience. These coaches will be available for practice five days a week and anyone under the age of 18 is welcome to join. The inaugural Hurricanes season will commence on Sept. 11 and will run through May. There will be two recreation meets in the Fall and a competitive meet in the spring. The practice times during the season will be different for each age group. The 10 and under swimmers must attend at least two practices a week, these practices occur MondayThursday 5-6 p.m. (choose one or more). The 11 and over swimmers must attend three practices a week, these practices occur Monday-Thursday 5:30-7 p.m. (choose two or more). There will also be a practice on Sunday 24 p.m. for all team members. Swimmers will need goggles and a swim cap. Boys will use Jammer/Speedo with drag suit and girls will use a one piece suit. Coaches have planned out the entire season to help maximize your swimmers accomplishments and ensure a fun, successful season for everyone. There will always be at least two coaches on deck working with the swimmers to ensure maximum development. We look forward to starting a strong tradition of excellence this season and hope your child can be a part the team.
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August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 9
Changes at the JCC Cultural Arts Department by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Visitors to the Dance area at the Jewish Community Center may have noticed the hallway looks a little different these days: on August 1, the noise level (temporarily) went up, and the walls of Esther Katz’ and Tiffany Gray’s office came tumbling down.
with Matt Chadek, Campus Manager, we realized that the walls were not structural and could be taken down without affecting the integrity of the facility. Within just a few short days, we are creating a lounge so parents can relax and enjoy their children participating in dance, theater and art programs. We want everyone who participates in programs, or uses services on the campus, to be comfortable at all times. Kudos to Esther for bringing the issue to our attention.” This great change is made possible through the hard work of Matt Chadek and his crew, Jim McCrey, Bill Sullivan, and Mark Geselschap; in addition, Kurt and Joe come in at night and clean up after them. The rubble on day one; for additional pictures, check out the “They are all fabulous,” Jewish Press on facebook. Esther says, “and I’ll real“We’d had this plan before,” Esther says, ly miss them when this is all completed.” “but it didn’t come to fruition. We always The new lounge will be completed in knew we needed more space for parents time for the new Cultural Arts semester, and caregivers of dancers, and for the which starts on August 21. Visitors will dancers themselves. The alternative plan to find comfortable seating arrangements, make a lounge area in the green room was- which cubbies for the dancers and the n’t ideal, because it would put the area Television screen re-installed, so parents behind a door. I wanted something light, can watch their children while they dance. open, and welcoming.” In addition, there will be outlets, so people Enter Matt Chadek and Mike Silverman. can plug in their laptops. “Matt recommended we start thinking “Nobody will have to sit in the cramped about this again,” Esther says, “and Mike hallway anymore,” Esther says. “It means was receptive.” an end to traffic jams, and we are very “When Esther explained that guests in excited about that. This year, our departour facility are uncomfortable and ment celebrates its 35th anniversary, and cramped, we decided that something had we couldn’t think of a better present!” to be done,” Mike says. “Working closely
Music fills the air in Campus “Backyard” by SHERRIE SAAG Jewish Federation of Omaha It’s a warm summer night, the stars are out, and you are sitting on a picnic blanket with delicious food and maybe a glass of wine or a cold beer. A band plays on a stage nearby, but not so loud that you can’t enjoy great conversation with friends sitting next to you. You might think I am describing the summertime concert at Memorial Park or Jazz on the Green at Midtown Crossing, but, happily, I am not. This description belongs to the latest program taking place on the Federation campus grounds. The brand new Backyard Concert Series. As part of the One Campus, One Community initiative, finding ways to make great use of all the green space east of the building became a priority. A sand volleyball court and a Gaga court were quickly put in place. But, according to Bob Goldberg, Communications and YJO Director, “We wanted a way to engage the entire community in enjoying the campus to its fullest. What a great way to utilize our space and bring our community together.” The green space on the southern side of the campus, just west of our camp pavilion, is a perfect spot for a stage and picnic area,” he added. And so, with all this in place, the Backyard Concert Series was conceived and made a reality. Beginning Sunday, Sept. 11 and continuing on Sept. 18 and 25, gather with friends, family and neighbors in the Campus backyard. Local bands will be onstage from 5–8 p.m. The concerts are free and open to the entire community.
“To enhance the community atmosphere, we are having a Tzedakah project and ask that everyone bring an item to donate to Jewish Family Service (JFS),” said Goldberg. According to JFS, they are especially in need of items that many of us take for granted, such as laundry detergent, dishwashing liq-
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ROSH HaShanah Greetings This year you can send your greetings through these very special ads that will run in our annual Rosh Hashanah issue. Each ad can be personalized withyourname,thenamesofyourchildrenoryour grandchildren. Just fill out the form below and send or bring it to theJewishPressoffice. Buthurrytheseadswillonly be accepted through August 23, 2011. For other sizes and prices, contact Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 or email at ahandleman@jewish omaha.org.
Design
A 41 $
Design uid, deodorant, soap, shaving cream, disposable razors, toilet paper, and facial tissues. Many are surprised to learn that these basic necessities are the most often requested. “Our goal is to collect a year’s supply of these items and fill the pantry’s shelves. There will be collection boxes available throughout campus in the coming weeks in addition to collections taking place during the concerts,” added Goldberg. The Backyard Concert Series is presented by the Jewish Federation of Omaha and generously sponsored by the Javitch Music Fund at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. So grab your lawn chairs. Pack a cooler and pack a bag for JFS. Bring the family and bring a friend. Listen to some great music and relax for a few hours in our backyard. For more information, call 402.334.6431 or check out the link on www.jewishomaha .com.
B 56 $
Greetings
ROSH HASHANAH from
Your names go here
Rosh Hashanah Greetings from Your names go here
Rosh Hashanah Greetings Form Name_________________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City ___________________________________________________ State ___________ Zip _____________ Check the size of ad you would like: ❍ A ❍ B Use the lines below to list your family members names you would like on your Rosh Hashanah ad. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Please send a check for the amount listed along side the different sized ads or you can drop the form and payment off at the Jewish Press office in the JCC. The Jewish Press, 333 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154
10 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Inside Empire’s slaughterhouse: The life of a kosher chicken
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by URIEL HEILMAN Since 2008, Empire’s chickens have been MIFFLINTOWN, Pa. (JTA) - The end antibiotic free, and the company now has an came swiftly for the chicken I’ll call Bob. organic line available at retailers such as Propelled into a trough of sorts by a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Empire’s machine that tips a crate’s worth of birds workers are unionized -- a rarity in the onto the assembly line -- “They’re like chil- kosher business -- with salaries ranging from dren, sliding down,� the head kosher super- $8 to $11.40 per hour, and health, vision and visor said -- chicken Bob was seized by a dental plans. Empire is a graduate of the U.S. worker’s practiced hands and guided toward Department of Labor’s OSHA Challenge the shochet, or ritual slaughterer, along a program -- the Occupational Safety & Health stainless steel panel meant for calming the birds. While a second worker held down his legs and body, the shochet gently grasped Bob’s head and, in what seemed like a split second, made his cut before the lifeless chicken was deposited into a funnel for the blood to drip out. Every six seconds or so, another chicken followed. The shochet, clad in a bloodstained yellow rain slicker and with a transparent plastic cap covering The assembly line at Empire Kosher Poultry’s plant in central his hair and beard, swayed Pennsylvania is the largest kosher one of its kind in America, rhythmically as he worked, with 240,000 chickens and 27,000 turkeys passing through Credit: Uriel Heilman almost as if he were daven- every week. ing. Alongside him, 11 other teams of three, Administration’s initiative to improve workeach led by its own shochet, labored place safety and health management -- and methodically. the company employs an on-site nurse. Over In all, 60,000 chickens would be killed by the past 10 years, the company has invested late afternoon. It’s all in a day’s work at more than $2.5 million in a wastewater treatEmpire Kosher Poultry, the largest kosher ment facility that recycles its effluents. chicken company in the United States. “There is a better standard in that plant in Empire churns out 240,000 chickens and terms of the conditions of the workers and 27,000 turkeys a week, from quartered broil- the way they’re treated -- not just physical ers to turkey salami. With a staff of 750, a conditions -- compared to other chicken fleet of two dozen trucks and a vertically poultry processors,� said Wendell Young, integrated operation in central Pennsylvania president of UFCW Local 1776, the union where hatcheries, feed mills, farms and pro- that represents Empire’s employees. cessing all come together, Empire says it In an interview with JTA, Rabbi Morris produces a healthier, cleaner, more reliably Allen, the program director of the kosher chicken than available anywhere else Conservative-backed seal of ethical kosher in America -- and in a socially and environ- food production that will be rolled out this mentally responsible way. fall, said that Empire’s practices appear to To back up its claims, Empire agreed to make it a good fit for the Magen Tzedek seal, give JTA a first-ever camera tour of its facil- which guarantees certain standards for ities, providing unfettered access to every- treatment of workers, animals and the envithing from the kill room to the farms to the ronment. Allen visited the Empire plant sevassembly line where chickens and turkey are eral months ago. sliced, processed and packaged into all manWhat has enabled Empire to be profitable, ner of raw poultry, nuggets, cold cuts and company officials say, is its vertically intehot dogs. The only restriction was that JTA grated operation. From conception to was not permitted to photograph the kill supermarket, Empire approaches its chicken room or certain proprietary methods. operation with scientific precision. The recent tour had two ostensible pur“We hatch our own eggs, feed them with poses. One was to draw an implicit contrast our own blend of feed from our feed mill with other kosher food companies in the and keep close watch as they grow. We have news. While managers declined to get spe- control from conception until packaging -cific, the most infamous industry example is no third parties,� said Greg Rosenbaum, the Agriprocessers, the Iowa-based kosher meat company’s CEO. “We can say to the world giant that was felled in 2008 amid a host of that humane standards had been applied at financial crimes and labor and safety viola- every stage.� tions following years of negative media It all starts with breeding. While compareports. Agriprocessors’ former CEO, nies like Purdue may breed chickens for Sholom Rubashkin, is serving a 27-year large breasts because breast meat is in highprison sentence for financial fraud and est demand, Empire’s chickens are bred for money laundering. (He has appealed for a kashrut. That means large breasts could add new trial, arguing that the judge was biased.) weight that damages the chicken’s tendons, Second, and perhaps not unrelated, rendering the chickens treif, or unkosher, Empire officials say they are considering when slaughtered. No growth hormones are expanding into the kosher meat market -- administered; hormone use for poultry is something the company once did, albeit illegal in the United States. without great success. With plans on the “We worked over the years to get the drawing board to go back into beef within a breed just right,� said Jeff Brown, Empire’s year -- Empire would buy already slaugh- chief operating officer, told JTA over a tered cuts of meat and build a business chicken lunch. “It was developed specificalaround processing -- the company is launch- ly for kosher processing.� ing a public relations campaign to tout its At Empire’s hatchery, the temperature, approach to chicken production, including humidity and duration of incubation is advertisements in the Jewish media. strictly calibrated to ensure maximum yield. A private company with annual revenues Eggs are turned every hour on the hour to over $100 million, Empire says the ways it keep the chicks inside from sticking to the raises its chickens and treats its workers are eggshells. Once the eggs hatch -- 82 percent Continued on page 11 the keys to the company’s success.
August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 11
Summer of discontent The life of a kosher chicken by EDGAR ASHER The social unrest in Israel continues to gather momentum with the teachers joining the protest movements. Doctors are still bogged down in negotiation with the finance ministry, although there was some progress reported that would bring more physicians into the hospitals. The housing protests are still gathering momentum in towns and cities the length and breadth of the country. With record low unemployment, and a very strong shekel against nearly all major currencies, the protests are now taking on a distinct political agenda.
Teachers and their supporters in a protest rally in front of the teachers’ union headquarters in Jerusalem. Credit: Edgar Asher/ISRANET The pressure is from the left to discredit Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition. There is no doubt that more has to be done to improve conditions and salaries of professionals such as doctors and teachers, but each professional body has different requirements and expectations. The doctors, particularly those newly qualified, certainly have a persuasive argument to improve conditions and pay. The case for the teachers is different. Many teachers are against private education, which they say give a distinct advantage for children of better-off parents. Under the slogan, ‘Private education, no social justice’, the teachers are trying to get the government to invest more in public education. Three weeks ago the teachers union signed an agreement with the government for more money for longer hours. However many teachers do not agree with the settlement made by their union. About half of the teachers think that the agreement will have no effect on their present position. The teachers themselves will in all probability get a salary increase, but this will be at a price. The teachers will have to agree to work a forty-hour week, like most office workers. The average teacher works today only twenty-four hours. Another argument that the teachers have, that resonates well with the average Israeli parent, is the high cost of books and peripheral education, such as educational outings, that parents have to bear. It has become a long hot summer of discontent that shows no signs of abating.
Continued from page 10 worked at the plant since 1989. “It’s not like doing any other will -- the chicks are inoculated against avian sicknesses physical job. You have to have a lot of concentration.” such as Marek’s disease and coccidian before being trucked Approximately every five minutes, a light goes on signaling to farms spread out over five Pennsylvania counties, all the shochets to stop their work and check their knives for within 90 miles of the Mifflintown plant. nicks. If a shochet finds an imperfection, all the chickens Area farmers raise the from the last few minutes are chickens, but Empire dictates discarded. That goes not just and remotely monitors how for his work but for all the the chickens are housed and hundreds of chickens killed by provides all the feed. It takes the shochets during that periapproximately 1.8 pounds of od because the birds are feed -- mostly corn, but also mixed in together. The reason some soy meal and other is kashrut: If a single shochet’s ingredients -- to grow a pound work could be singled out, he of chicken. The birds’ diet is theoretically could come strictly vegetarian and kosher under pressure to comprofor Passover all year round. mise his standards to achieve When the chickens are 38 a better pass rate. That’s a conto 48 days old, they are loaded flict of interest. In the contest onto crates and trucked to the between efficiency and plant for slaughter. kashrut, kashrut always wins. Jeff Brown, Empire’s chief operating officer, holds a packThe workforce at Empire’s As the chickens move along age of boneless chicken breasts that has reached the end of plant is full of incongruities. the assembly line, a mashgiach the assembly line. Credit: Uriel Heilman More than a third of the inspects every yolk sack and farmers who raise the kosher chickens are Mennonites. tray of intestines for treif characteristics. When a mashgiach Rosenbaum, the CEO, is a Reform Jew who does not keep finds a slaughtered chicken that has a suspicious bulge on its kosher. Rabbi Israel Weiss, the head mashgiach, or kosher yolk sack, he pulls it off the line for further scrutiny. Another inspector, writes Hebrew science fiction novels in his spare rabbi making rounds takes a closer look, sometimes slicing time under a pen name. The staff is filled with Methodists, open tumor-like lumps to look for telltale signs of treif. Birds Presbyterians and Episcopalians whose familiarity with that are disqualified are sold to companies that make dog food. kashrut -- and the Yiddish terminology that surrounds it -There are USDA inspectors on-site, too, but the rabbis exceeds that of some religious Jews. remove about five times as much poultry from the assembly “For the first year-and-a-half it was a total learning expe- line as the government inspectors. rience,” said Neenah Glenn Lauver, a Mifflintown native On the assembly line, the birds are soaked for 30 minutes who works as Empire’s director of product marketing. “Even in tap water before they are salted for an hour and then still, I’m learning things about the culture we serve.” triple rinsed. A machine pulls open the necks to drain the A phalanx of rabbis works at the plant, living on-site in dor- blood. Another cuts open the wingtips so water can get in. mitories during the week and spending weekends at home As the chickens move along, a steel rod dislodges the windwith their families in New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia or pipe and eviscerates the bird. A machine with rapidly spinLakewood, N.J. The plant has its own mikvah, or ritual bath, ning, finger-like protrusions removes the feathers. Plucking where the shochets immerse before beginning their workday, a kosher chicken is more difficult for kosher producers and a shul with multiple morning minyans and evening class- because the warm water used by producers of treif chicken to es. The father of Leiby Kletzky, the 8-year-old Chasidic boy remove feathers cannot be used in the kosher process. from Borough Park, Brooklyn, who was abducted and murEventually. the finished products are wrapped whole, cut dered last month, used to work at the plant as a mashgiach. up or processed into foods like turkey pastrami, all-breast In deference to the shochets and mashgiachs, the assem- chicken nuggets or Empire’s seasoned chicken in a bag, bly line does not run on Fridays so they can get home for which cooks in a microwave in 20 minutes. Shabbat. In deference to the assembly floor workers, the With a limited shelf life, the chickens are rushed onto refrigplant also closes on the first day of buck hunting season. erated trucks to delivery points across the country on the A typical day starts in the kill room at 4 a.m., but it same day they are killed. Some long-haul trucks have tandem involves frequent breaks for the shochets so they can stay drivers so they can drive nonstop all the way to California. A fresh; no shochet works more than five hours in a given day. chicken slaughtered in Pennsylvania on a Tuesday can make “Shechitah is a very complex job, you have to be rested,” it to a supermarket shelf in Los Angeles by Thursday. said Rabbi Aron Taub, a shochet from Baltimore who has Just in time for chicken Bob to end up on your Shabbat table.
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The Nebraska Department of Insurance is in the process of implementing several rate review enhancements with an overall goal of improving the review, approval and transparency of health insurance rate filings by insurers in Nebraska and promoting consumer awareness and education of the rate review process. As part of the rate review enhancements, the Nebraska Department of Insurance announces the launch of its Health Rate Filings and Public Comments website. In an effort to provide greater public insight and input into the health insurance rate review process, we are providing the opportunity for Nebraska consumers to view rate adjustment requests. The website also has contact information for health insurance carriers in Nebraska and links to their company websites, answers to common questions about insurance rates, and a link to healthcare.gov. The website will also notify consumers by e-mail when their insurance company files a rate adjustment request. Additionally, consumers will be able to offer comments which will be compiled in a report and submitted to appropriate carriers for their consideration.
To access the Health Rate Filings and Public Comments website visit: https://doi-ratechanges.ne.gov/DOIRateChange/faces/welcome.xhtml This publication is funded wholly through support of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, under the terms of Grant Number 1 IPRPR100022-01-00. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
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12 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Point of view
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008
Arguing with myself
by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Full disclosure: I don’t watch “the Bachelor.” Not because I don’t approve; I watch enough fluff-TV to consider myself a bit of a small screen dependent. However, this whole “findyour-soul-mate-on-TV” business has never seemed very attractive to watch. It’s nothing personal; I just don’t think TV executives make good matchmakers. Of course there are plenty of people who disagree with me. Case in point: the JTA’s recent giddy announcement that some guy named J.P. Rosenbaum received the rose at the end of the current season. Allow me to explain the show to those of you who share my aversion: “The Bachelor” (or Bachelorette, as it was this time) dates a pre-selected group of people, votes are cast, and the last man or woman standing “gets the rose,” meaning, they end up dating, or even marrying, the bachelor/ bachelorette. Oh, I know; it’s a pretty train wreck. The question is, is this really newsworthy? Are we so eager to assimilate that we have to tally how many Jews show up in various reality shows? Does it make us feel mainstream, are we suffering from the type of neurotic insecurity that will only be cured once the Jewish presence on Entertainment Tonight hits critical mass? Will we feel accepted once one of the Kardashians starts dating some Jewish playboy? The truth is, if we get excited about the fact that it was a Jewish man who received that rose (she picked him!!) we’ve got bigger issues. Assimilation isn’t really the topic here; that ship has sailed. It’s bought the condo and moved in. Some of us fight it; some of us embrace it, and some of us (but very few) don’t really care one way or the other. The thing is, assimilation is often presented as an either-or deal, we either choose all of Judaism or we’ll eventually have none of it.
It doesn’t really matter what side of the debate you’re on; what matters is that we continue to have this discussion, and that we continue to question our choices. Isn’t it when we avoid basic beliefs, customs, Mitzvot, and we don’t even notice it, that we are truly in trouble? Is the Jew who works his shift on Saturday without thinking about the fact that he is violating Shabbat in a very different place than the one who does it and feels guilty about it? Maybe, maybe not; to get a real answer, you’d have to ask a Rabbi, which I so obviously am not. There was another silly little news bit I read this week; about a man named Andrew Charon who has adapted the Sudoku game by substituting Jewish symbols for the numbers. He called it ‘Judoku,’ and it is now available as an app for the iPad. “My whole life people have asked me questions about Judaism, and then it occurred to me, here’s the opportunity to merge both into one fun user experience,” he said. “I wanted a captivating tool I could use to teach my own children about Judaism. Learning the Torah was competing for their attention against Angry Birds and Justin Bieber tweets. I figured if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! That, and frankly, I really just wanted to create something called Judoku.” (JTA.com) Of course, Charon is being facetious; the Torah isn’t really in competition with Angry Birds. Why? Because as flip as he may sound, his main motivation for designing this silly app is that his children learn
about Judaism. Clearly, Charon lives on the guilty side of the debate: he’s aware that he is not giving his children what they need, but he’s decided to do something about it. True, what he’s doing is wildly insufficient. Really. However, at the end of the day, I still think it makes him a better role model and more newsworthy than J.P Rosenbaum, even if Bachelor-boy did get the girl and won that weird reality show. The question remains: what are we supposed to do with these types of stories? Ignore them, because we have bigger fish to fry? Or should we pay attention, because the devil really is in the details? I have to admit, I don’t know. I’m hoping someone else can give me an explanation, one of these days. You know where to find me.
Mr. Netanyahu should go to Ramallah to bring peace
Behind the headlines by SAMUEL BRONFMAN and ADAM R. BRONFMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- For the Arab Spring, Israel represents the hope that in the Middle East, a nation can be both a national homeland and a free society. Israel is a modern, thriving democracy amid a region dominated by despotic regimes that brutally oppress their people and rape their land’s resources. Freedom enables Israel’s advancing economy, robust educational system, unique culture, prolific media and independent judiciary to thrive. Yet Israel and its neighbors remain in a perpetual state of war, and the majority of the world’s nations regularly condemn the Jewish state. Unable to beat Israel on the battlefield in 1956, ‘67, ‘73 and the ‘80s, Israel’s Arab neighbors resorted to terrorism, the perpetuation of Palestinian suffering and endless propaganda. In this context, Israel has struggled for peace. For decades Israel has been a willing and reliable partner in peace with Jordan and Egypt. However, a lasting peace with the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s surrounding enemies has remained elusive. Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, all active surrogates of the Iranian regime, are sworn to Israel’s destruction, oppose peace at every turn and promise not to be bound by any agreement. Nevertheless, the Jewish state must regain the moral high ground. Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu are vilified as obstacles to Palestinian self-determination. So strong is the impression that Israel perpetuates Palestinian suffering that a majority of United Nations members may vote to support a unilateral Palestinian state at this September’s General Assembly.
(Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Emily Giller Intern
Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, Vice President; Jason Epstein, Treasurer; Bobbi Leibowitz, Past President; Marc Brodkey; Phyllis Brown; Daniel Christensen; Mel Epstein; Scott Farkas; Michael Kaufman; Paul Rabinowitz; Caryn Scheer; Mark Senal; Nancy Wolf. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior 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-
In America, perception is fast becoming reality, and a growing number of people are questioning support for Israel. Worrisome for the longer term, even among younger Jews, support for Israel is now a debatable question instead of an undisputed fact. Through Hillel, Birthright Israel, the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel and many other initiatives, we work tirelessly to educate Jewish youth and expose them to the wonders of their heritage and to the blessing that is the Jewish state. But when this generation is bombarded constantly by images and descriptions of Israel’s villainy, it becomes increasingly difficult to combat negative impressions. Through action and inaction, Israel is fast losing ground in this battle. Misguided ideologues advance Israeli construction in parts of the West Bank hoping for the realization of a Greater Israel that encompasses the entire biblical homeland. However romantic the notion, facts on the ground preclude such an eventuality. Annexation of the entire West Bank would require the displacement or repression of millions of Palestinians and is not something a moral and just Israel could or should do. It is in neither the long-term nor short-term interests of the Jewish state to govern burgeoning Palestinian populations. Ariel Sharon recognized this when he withdrew Israel from the Gaza Strip, and many recognize this now in the West Bank. Short of unilateral action, there is little anyone believes that Israel can do to truly alter the situation on the ground. But there is a way for Israel to create conditions conducive to a just and lasting peace by completely changing the conversation and breaking the cycle that serves only the status quo. As popular dissent spreads throughout the Middle East and old norms are tossed aside, Prime Minister Netanyahu
can speak directly to the Palestinian people and by extension the greater Arab world. Like Sadat to Jerusalem or former President Nixon to China, Mr. Netanyahu can go to Ramallah and extend a hand in building a Palestinian future. He can describe a free and democratic Palestinian nation living peacefully side by side with Israel where children carry books instead of guns; hearts are filled with hope instead of hate, and pockets with money instead of rocks; and family members grow to be doctors, lawyers and engineers instead of suicide bombers and purveyors of destruction. Mr. Netanyahu can pledge his best intentions and most diligent efforts to realize this vision and invite any leader of good will to meet him, without precondition, to negotiate a just, secure and lasting peace. Mr. Netanyahu will be trusted by Israelis and Jews the world over to protect their interests and guarantee the unity, security and vitality of the Jewish state. The rest of the world will recognize him as a pragmatic and visionary leader ready to seize the moment and change history. The burden then will be on Israel’s enemies to prove that they possess the good will and strength of character to recognize the Jewish state and allow it to remain thus. Jews are a people of hope. We are the students of Moses’ brother Aaron who love peace and pursue peace. We need a leader who will do the same, thereby restoring our hope and bringing our nation peace. Mr. Netanyahu can be such a leader. Samuel Bronfman is a leading philanthropist and president of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation. Adam R. Bronfman is managing director of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation.
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August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 13
Judaism is more than ‘tikkun olam’
Focus on issues JOEL ALPERSON OMAHA (JTA) -- At least a portion of my hometown of Omaha, may well be under water in the coming days. Pumps are in place at various locations, including at a nuclear power plant located not far from town. The Missouri River, which borders our city, has risen to potentially dangerous levels. Some Omaha residents have taken to sandbagging to help reinforce critical locations along the river. This potential disaster mirrors the serious challenge facing the non-Orthodox Jewish world. Non-Orthodox Judaism is confronted by rising levels of secularism that almost always lead to assimilation -- a trend that within a generation or two could render Reform and Conservative Judaism largely irrelevant in North America (and abroad as well). Non-Orthodox Jews’ general discontent with and resulting departure from Jewish life, left alone, stands to bring Reform and Conservative Judaism to a state of obsolescence. This prediction is neither original nor new. From studies about very high interfaith marriage rates to growing assimilation percentages, we should know by now that the nonOrthodox way of life is failing by just about every metric we have at our disposal. (I am not Orthodox, by the way.) Some may not like reading these words and others may be angered by them, but like the flood facing Omaha, it’s hard to ignore what one sees. This distancing from Jewish religious (i.e., God-based)
teachings and ritual experiences inevitably leads to a distancing from Jewish purpose. So Jews increasingly try to find their Judaic meaning in social/political causes (immigration reform, Supreme Court appointments, environmentalism, women’s rights, etc.). Putting aside the merit of the positions taken, let’s be honest: These “tikkun olam” pursuits might feel good and even do some good, but they do little to build Jewish communities. We’re losing Jews and the commitment of Jews far too quickly to think that we can afford to continue on as we are. If Jews continue to prioritize these social/political efforts over proven religious practices, we must have the courage to acknowledge that we have substituted all these secular causes for Judaism. We can’t have it both ways. We might insist that tikkun olam and social justice are central to our Jewish way of life, but they are increasingly taking the place of serious Jewish education and Jewish practice. Those are the water pumps and sandbags employed by the Orthodox movement against the rising tides of assimilation. I watch with sadness as the seminaries of our nonOrthodox movements lay off employees and close programs. National non-Orthodox day school attendance represents only a small percentage of Jewish children in the United States. And it’s not because the economy started spiraling downward -- the trends leading to this point were in place long before. Orthodox Jews, for whatever disagreements many nonOrthodox Jews have with them, have grown in number, and not only by sheltering themselves in haredi Orthodox com-
munities. In contrast to the haredi Orthodox, the Modern Orthodox largely swim in the same secular waters as other Jews: They own televisions, use the Internet, attend secular universities, and work and vacation in the secular world. But they also hold to a religious discipline that they believe is life-improving. They observe Shabbat and the Jewish holidays, and they study Jewish texts in far greater numbers than non-Orthodox Jews. They are more likely to have children, and their children are far more likely to marry Jews and make Jewish homes. Judaism teaches us how to be better friends, businesspeople, husbands, wives and philanthropists. It tells us how to help the weak and when to fight evil. In short, Judaism done right makes us better human beings. It is the discipline of leading a traditional Jewish life that also reminds us how best to engage in repairing the world. Ironically, by overemphasizing tikkun olam we could ultimately, through lack of Jewish knowledge and experience, lose the very impetus that put us in the tikkun olam business in the first place. Must every Jew become Orthodox to live a committed and meaningful Jewish life? Clearly not. There are, of course, great numbers of highly committed non-Orthodox Jews. But as a community, at least for now, we’ll be severely weakened if we don’t acknowledge that we must repair ourselves far more urgently than we must repair the world. Joel Alperson is a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities. His views do not necessarily represent those of the Jewish Federations of North America, formerly known as United Jewish Communities.
Judaism is always ‘tikkun olam’ -- and more
Focus on issues RABBI ERIC YOFFIE NEW YORK (JTA) -- I have no patience for survival Judaism. Whenever I hear someone talk about what Jews must do in order to “survive,” I head for the door. Joel Alperson has joined the long list of Jewish communal leaders offering a formula for Jewish survival. Along the way, he informs us that Modern Orthodoxy has all the answers and Reform and Conservative Judaism are on the road to extinction -- a point with which I strongly disagree but that I will not argue here. What does need to be said, however, is that he shows a total misunderstanding of what Judaism is about and fails to comprehend that a Judaism obsessed with survival is a Judaism that will not survive. Anyone who has urged college students to care about Jewish survival knows that they will respond with indifference, incomprehension and contempt. They are not interested in being Jewish so that we can survive. They need to hear
Ask Mike MIKE SILVERMAN, CEO, Jewish Federation of Omaha Dear Mike, We have one of the finest Jewish community libraries, professionally staffed for decades. Why are we not seeking the services of a professional Library Director, as opposed to an Administrative Assistant and Library Clerk? Stan Mitchell Dear Stan, For some time, the Kripke Library advertised for an individual with library experience to provide service to our community. Unfortunately the responses we received would not meet our community’s expectations. After careful consideration, the Center for Jewish Education (CJE) decided the Associate Executive Director would assume many of the duties of the Library Administrator with support from a Library Clerk and Administrative Assistant. Gary Katz also continues to work as a consultant for the library. Additionally, the members of the Library Committee will be more involved with materials selection and program planning. In the future there are plans underway to relocate the CJE professional staff closer to the library so there will be increased interaction and oversight of the library - thus providing enhanced service to our community. The Kripke Library is a very special place and a destination for all who seek knowledge and because of the staff and lay leadership of CJE, it will remain that way. Mike Silverman
the opposite message: Jews do not observe Torah in order to survive; they survive in order to observe Torah. And -- this is the key for such students, and for most North American Jews -- observing Torah means much more than worrying only about our own souls. Observing Torah involves fulfilling a grander purpose. It means taking to heart the words of R. Hayyim of Brisk, the greatest Talmudist of the late 19th century, who defined the rabbi’s task as follows: “To redress the grievances of those who are abandoned and alone, to protect the dignity of the poor, and to save the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor.” Social justice, in short, is required by our religious texts and is inseparable from our religious mission. There is no such thing as a morality that is selectively indignant -- that looks within but fails to look without. And Judaism without ethics, both personal and societal, is a contradiction in terms. Do we need to study Torah, embrace Jewish ritual and observe Shabbat? Absolutely, although Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews will interpret these obligations differently. The work of social justice, absent text study and ritual practice as a foundation, is inauthentic and will not sustain itself. Indeed, I have found that the work of “tikkun olam,” for all its rewards, is lonely and discouraging work, and only by absorbing the light of the Shabbat candles and by studying and worshiping with a strong, dynamic Jewish community can I immunize myself against the cynicism and alienation that surround me. But the point that Mr. Alperson misses is that social justice is not, as he claims, a secular pursuit meant to compensate for the absence of “God-based” Jewish experience. Social justice is God-mandated in precisely the same way
that Shabbat observance and Torah study are God-mandated. In the book of Jeremiah (9:24), we find these words: “I am the Eternal, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” Serious Jews know that in the Jewish tradition, healing the sick, clothing the naked, helping the poor, pursuing peace, loving my people and my neighbors -- these are the attributes of God, and we testify to God’s existence by emulating God behavior. And in fact, Mr. Alperson can’t seem to decide if Jewish education and Jewish practice are “God-based” or are instruments of survival. Ultimately he appears to choose the latter, referring to them as “the water pumps and sandbags employed by the Orthodox movement against the rising tides of assimilation.” Orthodox leaders can speak for themselves on this point, but I will share with you the reaction of my daughter Adina, who is a social activist, belongs to an Orthodox congregation and was incensed by this article. “We don’t observe Shabbat because it is a sandbag against assimilation,” she said, “but because it is part of the eternal covenant between God and the Jews that evokes the miracle of Creation and the Exodus from Egypt and links me to Jews throughout the centuries.” Exactly so. The essence of Mr. Alperson’s argument, and the height of his folly, is that “we can’t have it both ways”; we cannot, he says, both insist that tikkun olam and social justice are central and also embrace serious Jewish education and Jewish practice. But we can, and in fact, we must. To do one without the other is to retreat from the world and distort Judaism’s very essence. Rabbi Eric Yoffie is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Why Clinton skirted the Anti-Semitism issue at the OIC by RON KAMPEAS I blogged about ten days ago about how, on July 15, Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to the Organization of the Islamic Conference and brought up anti-Semitism -- as strictly a European problem. I wondered why, considering the mission to Muslim lands the secretary of state's own envoy to combat antiSemitism, Hannah Rosenthal, had just completed. Robert C. Blitt, an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law was in touch today -- and he is an expert on the very issue that framed Clinton's speech: The effort (squelched, for now) to include “defamation of religion” (in most cases, Islam) as a “rights” violation. This is something the Jewish community has pushed back hard against, along with most western nations -- Clinton, in fact, was thanking the OIC for helping out in the most recent effort to temove “defamation of religion” from the agenda in a U.N. forum. The bottom line argument against such a designation: It places the “evil” committed by the Danish cartoonists behind the Muhammad cartoons on par with the likes of bloody-handed despots like Bashar Assad. Blitt pointed me to a passage in his forthcoming paper
on this issue that might explain why Clinton, in her speech, was so ginger about Muslim anti-Semitism. In a 1997 report, the U.N. special rapporteur on racism quoted a Tel Aviv University study of anti-Semitism in the Muslim world that noted the European provenance of such anti-Semitism -- but also noted that some Muslims were now quoting Muslim sources, including the Koran, to justify their anti-Jewish biases. That set off something of a firestorm, and here's where it gets interesting: Instead of arguing that the bigots the TAU folks were quoting were unrepresentative and had distorted the texts; or that the Koranic passages might once have been used to uphold bigotry but were now shown to mean something quite different, officials from Muslim nations simply decried the reference as an “insult to Islam.” What has evolved, according to Blitt, is a culture in international fora that will not countenance criticism of how Islam is used or abused, even when the point is allowing people to criticize how Islam is used or abused. The upshot, apparently, is a U.S. posture that seeks to slay the beast -- religious hegemony -- without quite saying so. The war against bias that dares not speak its name.
14 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com FRIDAY: There will be no services held.
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 Mordechai Levin, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Join Rabbi Levin for lunch, noon at the Blumkin Home’s Star Deli for a delicious meal and some casual conversation. Walk-ins are welcome, but RSVPs are appreciated so the rabbi can reserve seats. Contact him at rabbilevin@bethel-omaha.org; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush given by Jenni Schlossman and Jeff Ferber in honor of their son, Isaac becoming a Bar Mitzvah; Evening Services, 8:20 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Men’s Club Softball game, 10 a.m., at the JCC ball fields. All are welcome to play – Men’s Club membership not necessary. For more information, contact Scott Simon at simonsz@cox.net, or 402.616.4089; Parsha & Pizza, 12:30 p.m., at Bagel Bin, join Cantor Schlossberg for a slice (or two) of pizza and a lively discussion about the week's Torah portion. THURSDAY: Jews & Brews, Beth El’s Men’s Club is sponsoring a Men’s Night Out dinner event, 7 p.m. at the synagogue. No charge to attend; to RSVP, contact Mike Schop at 402.618.0189. S’MORES & SONGS: On Sunday, Aug. 21, at 6:30 p.m., join us in the synagogue’s backyard area, where we’ll have a campfire, delicious munchies and a spirited sing-along for the whole family. No charge to attend, but for planning purposes RSVPs are requested. Contact Margie in the office or email her at programming@bethel-omaha.org. 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: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.
B’nai Mitzvah Brooke Shulewitz, daughter of Alan and Cindy Shulewitz, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Beth El. Brooke is an eighth-grade Cum Laude Honor Roll student at Alice Buffet Magnet Middle School. Her interests include dancing and hanging out with friends. For her mitzvah project, Brooke volunteered at the Blumkin Home by visiting with and distributing Shabbat flyers to the residents. She has a brother, Chad. Grandparents are Phyllis Roffman and the late Normand Roffman, and the late Anne and Norman Shulewitz. Naomi S. Teetzel, daughter of Sarah J. Teetzel and Erik J. Teetzel, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Temple Israel. Naomi is an eighth-grade Honor Roll student at Beveridge Magnet Middle School. She is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, and Beveridge’s leadership team. She received the Modern Woodman of America Speech Contest One and Bulldog Pride awards. Her interests include reading, writing, music and theatre. For her mitzvah project, Naomi volunteered at HETRA in Valley, NE as a toy assistant. She has a brother, Nathaniel E. Teetzel. Grandparents are Sharon and Timothy Brandt of Rochester, MN, and Frances and Phillip Teetzel of Ramsey, MN.
SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Understanding the Prayer Book class, 9 a.m. with Rabbi Mizrahi; Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Navigating the Transliterated Siddur class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Mizrahi; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by in honor of Joey Shyken's aufruf by ALL the Shykens, from California to New York and by Lynne Saltzman in honor of her 60th birthday; Veshinantam, 5:30 p.m., a learning program for families followed by a kid-friendly dinner; The Laws of Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 7 p.m.; Mincha, 8 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 9:11 p.m. SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m. followed by breakfast. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Contact the office for information on how to call-in to the conference call. TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross.
Candlelighting Friday, August 12, 8:09 p.m.
Thank you for helping the children in our neighborhood!
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP 1317 North 57 Street | Omaha, NE 68132 | 402.551.6609 FRIDAY: Minyan, 8:09 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Mainstreeters Members; Shabbat Singing, 6 p.m. with Lisa Lieb and Nancy Rips. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by David Herzog and Jim Polack. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
CHABAD HOUSE
TEMPLE ISRAEL
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: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Mini Mensch title will be awarded. Kiddush luncheon follows. Join Rabbi Katzman, noon-1 p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets and Prayer, 12:45 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. All programs are open to the entire community.
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m. led by Rabbi Linder; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; D’var: Jordan Jensen - Oh The Places You’ll Go! SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. MONDAY: Temple Israel Annual Golf Outing, noon at Shadow Ridge Country Club (188 and Pacific Street). Shabbat Service, Friday, Aug. 19, 6 p.m. D’var: Most Reverend George J. Lucas. Temple Israel Dad’s Day at the Ball Park, Sunday, Aug. 21, 1 p.m. Call Temple Israel Office, 402.556.6536, to make reservations.
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 Elaine Monnier. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Va’etchanan. TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Red Lobster, 6540 “O” Street. Questions? Contact Stephanie Dohner. THURSDAY: Choir rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m. Back to School Picnic & Outdoor Shabbat, Friday, Aug 19, 6 p.m. at the Prescott Elementary School Garden, 1930 South 20th Street. For more information and to RSVP please contact the Temple office at 402.435.8004 or stemple@neb.rr.com. Annual Back-to-School Supplies Drive: From now through the month of August, the Social Action Committee is collecting school supplies to donate to Saratoga Elementary School. Bring your items to the stage area of the Social Hall.
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, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Study Session on Pirkei Avot, 9:30 a.m.; Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Red Lobster, 6540 “O” Street. Questions? Contact Stephanie Dohner at dohners@windstream.net with any questions. Annual Back-to-School Supplies Drive: From now through the month of August, the Social Action Committee at South Street Temple invites you to join them in collecting school supplies to donate to Saratoga Elementary School. You may bring your items to either the Temple or the Synagogue. Thank you for helping the children in our neighborhood!
81 House members touring Israel by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A total of 81 members of the U.S. House of Representatives will be touring Israel this month. Rep. Steny Hoyer (DMd.), the minority whip, is leading a trip of 26 Democrats that landed Monday in Israel. “I look forward to returning to Israel to continue learning firsthand about the evolving security situation in the Middle East, the deep challenges facing Israel, and the role the United States Rep. Steny Hoyer can play in the region during this time of uncertainty,” said Hoyer, who has led multiple such trips in the past. The delegation will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The trip is paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, the nonprofit educational affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The foundation is similarly funding two separate trips by 55 Republican House members in the subsequent two weeks led by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader. The GOP delegation is reportedly top heavy with freshmen brought to office by the Tea Party sweep in the 2010 election. Pro-Israel groups have stepped up their outreach to such lawmakers, who favor heavy budget cuts, in a bid to maintain across-the-board support for the $3 billion Israel receives in annual defense assistance. Both groups will meet with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Separately, The Israel Project is bringing to Israel 19 Washington-based ambassadors from an array of small to midsize nations in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Far East. The ambassadors will meet with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as with some of the U.S. Congress members and officials invested in Palestinian economic development. The Israel Project has launched a campaign against the expected bid for Palestinian statehood recognition at the United Nations next month. The group is emphasizing that economic development serves Palestinian needs better than the U.N. bid.
Pulverent e
August 12, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 15
Truth, Justice and Liberty London riots spread to Jewish community
Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Va’etchanan The very title of our Sidrah arouses feelings of sympathy and empathy for Moses, who is pictured as asking, begging, pleading with the KBH (Kodesh Baruch Hu) for the right to enter the Promised Land. Perhaps we should say the much-promised, or even overpromised land. The Lord, however, was not willing to hear this pleading. He ordered Moses to cut it off sharply, and not to mention it again. The very most that was permitted Moses, was to climb a high mountain from which he could see the whole of this tiny Promised Land, from North to South and from East to West, as it hugged the eastern shores of the Great Sea. To us, the great oceans of the Atlantic and the Pacific make the Mediterranean, which Moses knew, to be a rather small area. Even, however, as late as the time of Christopher Columbus, as I have mentioned elsewhere, it was thought that the Mediterranean at its western border was the end of the world. We are left solely to understand how Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land, to see its beauty, and to taste the production that Nature gave it. Later generations of Rabbis suggested that if a hundred measures of beauty and productivity were given to the earth, 99 were given to the Land of Israel, and 1 to the rest of the world. This blatant exaggeration is perhaps justified by a whole generation and more going from place to place, and from place to place before the Israelites were permitted to enter the Promised Land. Moses, however, who had borne the problems of leadership for a generation and more was permitted only to view the land from a high mountain, but not to enter it. He was to die at the age of 120 on the eastern side of this tiny land. It is actually about the size (for Americans) of New Jersey! And yet, in it came the Prophets of the North (Israel) and South (Judah) who opened the eyes and the hopes of humankind to a world of truth and justice and “the pursuit of happiness.” The Bible reader is told now to finish the book of “Devarim” and to continue with the books of the first Prophets and the later Prophets. Here, in glorious poetic expression, the visionaries of ancient Israel opened the eyes and ears of humankind to the world that could be and should be, a word of liberty, justice, and happiness.
New US ambassador to Israel
New United States Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, left, and President Shimon Peres drinking a toast to Shapiro’s new appointment. Credit: ISRANET by EDGAR ASHER The new United States Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, presented his letter of credentials to President Shimon Peres at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem. Shapiro, 42, was previously the senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the United States National Security Council. Shapiro is active in the Washington Jewish community and speaks fluent Hebrew and some Arabic. He holds an MA degree in Middle Eastern Politics from Harvard University. He was a regular visitor to Israel when he accompanied U.S. special Middle East Peace envoy George Mitchell to the region, taking a central role in talks.
CORRECTION In our July 29 edition, Barbara Taxman Rips' age was stated incorrectly. The Jewish Press regrets the error.
by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Rioting in London spread to the Jewish community. Stores in Stamford Hill and Golders Green were urged to close Monday night as unrest that began Saturday night in Tottenham spread throughout London. Residents of Tottenham’s Chasidic Orthodox community reportedly gathered on the street to heckle police over Shabbat, The Guardian reported. But following warnings from local rabbis and the Shomrim Orthodox security service, most members of the Jewish community stayed away from the riots, according to the Jewish Chronicle. They were advised that they could go to synagogue, however. No synagogues have been reported damaged in the riots, though some Jewish-owned stores have been ransacked, according to the newspaper. A YouTube video showed some Orthodox young men handing out challah to passing residents from a cardboard box. The rioting began Aug. 6 following the shooting of an alleged drug dealer, Mark Duggan. The violence spread first to youth in poorer neighborhoods.
Reform movement backs Israeli protests by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Reform movement’s international arm is supporting social justice protesters in Israel. The World Union for Progressive Judaism in a statement Monday said it “stands with all in the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and every tent city established to say that the Israel for which we have all fought and sacrificed must be an Israel that treats its citizens with dignity and respect, and offers the most basic of needs: housing, food, child-care and education, to all in an affordable way.” Reform becomes the largest Diaspora movement to back the protesters. Its statement marked the eve of the 9th of Av, the fast day commemorating numerous Jewish tragedies. The protest movement, dubbed J14 for demonstrations that started July 14, brought some 300,000 people into the streets of Israel on Saturday night, the biggest turnout so far. “Jews are supportive of social justice everywhere in the world including israel, and this is one of the great social justice events in israel’s history,” said Rabbi David Saperstein, who directs the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set up a commission to consider protesters’ demands. Other U.S. groups to express support for the movement include the New Israel Fund, Americans for Peace Now and Ameinu. Meanwhile, Israelis in the United States are pitching tents in public spaces, taking up the protests crisscrossing Israel. Small tent cities have sprung up in New York’s Times Square, across the street from the White House and at a park in Los Angeles, Ynet reported. About 200 ex-Israelis and supporters of Israel’s housing protesters demonstrated Sunday in Los Angeles’ Woodley Park in a protest organized on Facebook, according to Ynet. The Israeli protesters said they would return to the country of their birth if the cost of living was less and the financial pressures were not as great. Katana Summit, a leading supplier of wind towers in North America, is now hiring for all positions at the Columbus, NE location. A large contract, beginning in Sept. 2011, requires additional staff in all areas of production. Key positions include: Weld Engineer: Establish weld process & quality parameters for MIG, flux core and Submerged arc weld operations. Production Supervisor (Night Shift): Staff Accountant: 2 Years Experience Maintenance (Night Shift); Welders: MIG, FCAW and Sub arc. NDE: Certified UT (Shear wave) Level II: Industrial Painters & Blast: Assemblers: Mechanically inclined. Material Handlers: heavy equipment. For a full list of positions/requirements and benefits check us out online at www.katana-summit.com Apply at 1600 E. 29th Ave. Columbus, NE 68601 or at Workforce Development. EOE
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16 | The Jewish Press | August 12, 2011
In California farming town, a Latino congregation commits to Judaism by ROBERTO LOIEDERMAN LOS ANGELES (The Jewish Journal) -- Located in the northern part of Santa Barbara County, but as distant from chic Santa Barbara as one can imagine, Santa Maria is a blue-collar town dotted with fast-food and barbecue joints. In recent years its population, at least half of which is Latino, has mushroomed to 100,000 fueled by agribusiness -including vineyards and wineries -- and the city’s other growing industries. On a Friday afternoon, the local radio stations play mostly Christian music or gospel chants in English and Spanish. The city’s main drags are lined with churches of all denominations. But one church in particular stands out. Out front, a large banner reads in all capital letters Congregacion Beth Shalom. The spelling of Congregacion isn’t a mistake; it’s Spanish. Edgar de la Pena, 36, a Mexican-born graphic artist who grew up in Santa Maria, is the founder and leader of Beth Shalom, a devout community with a dozen families -approximately 60 people -- including many children. On Shabbat and Jewish holidays, as well as other occasions, they gather in the sanctuary and meeting hall they rent from the church or at people’s homes. Though fairly new to the religion, they worship, study and live their Judaism wholeheartedly, and they do it communally. Like many Latinos who were raised Christian and later became Jews by choice, de la Pena has family memories that connect him to Judaism. He recalls that at 7 years old, while still living in Michoacan, Mexico, he traveled to Jalisco to see relatives. He and his family arrived on a Friday. Before sundown, his grandmother told him to put on good clothes and turn off the TV. The table for Friday night dinner was set elegantly, and the family didn’t go out in the public square until after sundown on Saturday evening. At 11, de la Pena’s family moved to the United States, and he attended a Pentecostal church. He married his high school sweetheart, Irene -- of Filipino background -- and they had children soon thereafter. In his early 20s, already a father of two young daughters, de la Pena became a lay minister in his church. “But as I began to search the Bible for its essential meaning,” de la Pena said, “I felt more and more that I wasn’t getting
Children from Congregacion Beth Shalom in Santa Maria, Calif., celebrating Purim. Credit: Edgar de la Pena what I needed from the church, what I needed spiritually. I felt I was being told what to think and not to question things.” De la Pena heard some in the church speak badly of Judaism. “So on my own, I started to study Torah,” he said. He visited a synagogue and heard a sound that struck him at his core: the blowing of a shofar. The bleating of the ram’s horn not only moved him deeply, it also brought back other memories of his grandmother -- and of certain behaviors he suddenly realized were based on family traditions that indicated possible Jewish roots. If he did, indeed, have Jewish ancestors, de la Pena was determined to learn what the religion meant, so he became more and more involved with Judaism. “I put Jewish holy objects in my house -- a menorah, holiday decorations,” he said. “I stopped eating pork. I started to light candles on Friday night. I was still in the Pentecostal church at the time, so there were those in the church that made my life miserable.” Finally, de la Pena wrote a letter to the elders telling them that he wanted to leave the church for good. In response, some threw eggs at his home, secretly fed his kids sandwiches with pork and prohibited their children from playing with his children. De la Pena apologized to his family for what they had to endure, but he felt he had to stop hiding who he was. Once he was away from the Pentecostal church, de la Pena became involved with Messianic Judaism, a growing movement whose adherents observe elements of Judaism: They
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pray in Hebrew, observe Shabbat, maintain kashrut, adore Israel and celebrate Jewish holidays. But they also venerate Yeshua -- Jesus Christ. Messianic Judaism, especially when practiced by Latinos, seems to grow out of a desire to live the life that Yeshua and his disciples lived, which was that of observant Jews. De la Pena is very much aware that others might suspect his group of being Messianic Jews. He says emphatically they are not. “Once I began studying Judaism seriously, I realized that it’s very different than the Judaism presented by the Messianic groups.” The next step was to attend what at the time was the one shul in Santa Maria, a Reform congregation. De la Pena and those with him felt uncomfortable, largely because the service was in English. Eventually, with the support of his family and friends, de la Pena founded the Beth Shalom minyan. The congregation is far from wealthy, but all the families contribute. Spanish-speaking Rabbi Daniel Mehlman, who officiates at Studio City’s Congregation Beth Meier, occasionally visits Santa Maria and offers guidance to those in the community who have embarked on the conversion process. Mehlman says the group’s members “come from an observant [Christian] tradition,” which may account for their “genuine spiritual yearnings.” On Friday nights, the Beth Shalom community gathers for Shabbat services. De la Pena’s oldest daughter, 17-year-old Erandy, chants the biblical portions -- in Hebrew -- with skill and beauty. It’s hard to listen to Erandy, to experience the community’s earnestness, and not be touched. Mehlman is moved by the group, too. “They’re thoroughly committed to their Judaism,” the rabbi said. “The amount they invest in their religious institution, proportionally, is astounding. They do everything possible to create a comfortable home for themselves as Jews, which is hard to do in a place like Santa Maria.” Mehlman listened as Erandy chanted. “Amazing, isn’t she? Her father’s Mexican, her mother’s Filipina... and she’s 100 percent Jewish,” he said. “It brings up the question, what do Jews look like?” Mehlman opened his arms, palms up, indicating the entire Beth Shalom community. “The answer is, they look like this,” he said.
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Allan Handleman 402/334-6451 | ahandleman@jewishomaha.org