Vol. LXXXIX No. 49 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
17 Elul 5770
August 27, 2010
Norm Sheldon and Ellie Batt to lead David Meyers loved to help others 2011 Federation Campaign by GARY JAVITCH Federation of Omaha 2011 Campaign. “The Omaha Ellie Batt has often asked herself: “What would life Jewish community is so vibrant and so important to be like without the Jewish Federation of Omaha?” In Jewish life. My late grandmother Rose Blumkin, and other words, what my family as a if there were no whole, have been Jewish Comand are deeply munity Center, to committed to susoffer great activitaining and ties that nourish improving our the Jewish mind, Jewish communibody and soul? ty. I want to conWhat if there were tinue that tradino Rose Blumkin tion and commitJewish Home to ment, and so I care for our loved volunteered to ones? What if co-chair the there were no J e w i s h Center for Jewish Federation’s Education to fosannual camter programs that paign”, Ellie said. help us explore So, too, has Dr. our Jewish culture Norm Sheldon. Ellie Batt and Norm Sheldon and heritage? They both want For those of you reading this newspaper, what if our to draw attention to the “Jewish Federation of Omaha Jewish community did not have a exciting weekly paper 2011 Annual Campaign: the gift you get back.” like this one, that provides all sorts of information, “Federation services do much more than serve those news, opinions, features, and ads that described events in need,” Ellie explains. “The Jewish Federation is the and opportunities? hub of Jewish Omaha, where everything comes togethIt is those “what ifs” that compelled Ellie Batt to er. Whether you visit the library, the gym, sign up for accept a leadership role in the upcoming Jewish Continued on page 2
A dream and a privilege by OZZIE NOGG For a woman who considers herself more of a creator/producer than a writer, Nancy Rips is making a noticeable dent in the publishing world. Her first book -- Seder Stories -- debuted in 2008 under the Cumberland House imprint. Her second effort -- High Holiday Stories: Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Thoughts on Family, Faith and Food -- hit the bookstores in late July. The publisher is Frederick Fell. “What I am is a killer worker with lots of energy who reads all the time,” Rips said. “I search for material in books, magazines, on the internet. I find stories in my own collection of Jewish literature, spend hours in the library, and then track down the writers to ask if they’ll be part of my project. I never give up. I never stop.” Consequently, contributors to both Rips’ anthologies are a mixed bag of household names plus people known only to their families and friends. “Granted, each section of High Holiday Stories contains a recollection of my own,” Rips said, “but I think my strength is acting as a conduit through which others can share their personal experiences.” In her new book, 101 people recall memorable Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur observances, and though the narratives are as varied as the authors themselves, all address what Rips considers the core values of Judaism: “Family, faith and, yes, food.” Examples, family-wise. One contributor describes growing up as part of the only Jewish family in a small town, her painful exposure to anti-Semitism, and the
Inside Op-Ed Page: see page 12
subsequent realization that her ‘Jewish identity and love of the holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah when my entire family gathers, became stronger because of those abusive incidents.’ Other New Year reminiscences include an anecdote featuring a grandfather’s false teeth, and a sweet tale from a mom who helped her daughters create an intergenerational family tradition by literally turning over a new leaf. You’ll also meet the widower whose grief is transformed into ‘productive happiness’ when he finds his late wife’s recipe box. Some memories are serious, others amusing. All are true, human and heartfelt. Want stories with faith as the central theme? Rips includes a young rabbi’s take on Tashlich by the stream in Elmwood Park, where bread crumbs nourish the ducks while the writer learns how an individual, a community, and the world can change. Readers who find the High Holiday liturgy boring and repetitive will applaud philanthropist Edgar Bronfman (yes, the Seagram’s man) who overcame a sense of ‘disengagement at services’ by creating a hottest-ticket-in-town New Year observance in his Manhattan apartment. For a candid telling of one woman’s journey toward faith, look for the story that begins, “It took a priest to make me a Jew.” More than that I will not tell you. Finally, food. Except for a reference to southwestern chili peppers and Moroccan eggplant with sugar, this anthology shows that we Jews share a lockstep cuisine. Rosh Hashanah dinners of chicken soup, kreplach, Continued on page 2
Next Week: Rosh Hashanah Issue See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press’
by JOAN K. MARCUS Omaha businessman and philanthropist, David Meyers, 80, has died. Memorial services were held Aug. 20 at Temple Israel. He loved to do volunteer work but prided himself on being a “hands on” guy who drew the line when it came to attending meetings. He always said that he loved to help others but that he would quit if people tried to organize him into a committee. There was almost nothing that he wouldn’t do as long as he was “direct line” to the people in need. For most of his life, Meyers headed Nebraska Warehouse Company, a real estate and warehouse business. He was born in Minneapolis in 1930 and came to Omaha when he was 26 because his uncle owned a warehouse and needed someone to help. Since he was qualified, David volunteered to move to Omaha and assume the position. Meyers always said that David Meyers he was in the right place at the right time because his uncle died shortly thereafter. Since he was already working there, Meyers bought the business which warehouses products for other people and acts as a shipping agent and an over-supply house. Dave was always saddened because, as a young man, he wasn’t able to do volunteer work. He used to say, “As my business grew, I had time to serve on The Federation Board and one or two other boards. However, I always begged the presidents to give me a job and not make me come to meetings. They are a waste of time because people are always trying to prove that they are intelligent.” He started the Red Cross Blood Drive at Temple Israel by calling people and asking them to donate. He prided himself on being at the drive when donors came. Since the drive was only held once a year, he greeted many of the same donors each year. When former Omahan Harriet Sperling started The Caring Committee at Temple Israel, Dave was the first person that she called. Among other duties, he delivered audio phones to people who were “shut ins” and wanted to hear High Holy Day services. Later, he became involved with VIE, (Volunteers In Equity) where he answered phones when elderly people called in with problems. He was appointed by the court and acted as a conservator for people with disabilities. He said that he enjoyed the work until they wanted him to come to meetings! His next job was volunteering at The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging as a driver. He took people to their doctor’s appointments, stopped at the pharmacy to fill their prescriptions and then took them home. He quit that job when he found a woman picking up her prescription in the liquor department! He retired from Nebraska Warehouse Company in 1985 and went to “work” for Radio Talking Book, an organization that furnishes programs for people who are blind. He read newspapers, books and other periodicals for folks so that they can keep up with current events. After his retirement, Dave volunteered for SCORE (Senior Corp of Retired Engineers), an organization that helps new businesses. He enjoyed that work and admitted that, sometimes, he discouraged people from going into business if he didn’t think they would succeed. Later, as a hospice volunteer, he would go and sit with terminally ill people so that their families could get away for a few hours. Although the work was gratifying, he admitted that he could only do it for a little while. Continued on page 15
Coming Next Month: Arts & Entertainment The real Martin Eisenstadt Page 3
Omaha Jewish Community High School announces class offerings Page 4
Cookies come to the ‘Pumpkin Home’ Page 9
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
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2011 Jewish Federation campaign Continued from page 1 adult education or take your children swimming in the JCC pool, you are enjoying the benefits of a vibrant community. There is not a single Jewish organization that the Federation does not touch in some way”. Norm Sheldon, a native Californian, came to Omaha to study dentistry at Creighton University in the early 70’s. Like Ellie, he is very devoted to Omaha. The longtime volunteer has taken on the top leadership positions in our community, heading the Federation, the Jewish Community Center, and the BBYO Advisory Board, among other activities. “When I served as president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha,” Dr. Sheldon said, “I saw first hand how Jewish Social Services and Jewish Family Service helped those in need. In these difficult economic times, our community helps bridge the gap between hope and despair for many Jews. Our community is close-knit, and has come together on many occasions, demonstrating our generosity as one of the top philanthropic Jewish communities, per capita, in the country,” he remarked. Ellie Batt takes inspiration from the previous generation: “My father was very helpful along with many others in building the Jewish Community Center,” she said. Especially because of her family tradition of giving and commitment, Ellie wants everyone to become a part of this year’s campaign. “Everyone can contribute something,” she said. “When you make a contribution, whether it’s your time, a certain skill set, or money, you belong. You are a part of something. And this is great community to be a part of”. “The Jewish community of Omaha has done some wonderful things,” Norm stated. “Just look at our campus. Individual members of our community have stepped forward to fulfill community needs. What makes this community great is that the larger gifts help us construct buildings, and the smaller gifts sustain what we have. Every gift, no matter the size, is important to us, as is every person.” “That is a point we want to emphasize,” Ellie said, “and we want the entire community involved in this campaign. We can’t say often enough that every member counts, and all gifts are essential to our community.” “We want to go back to having more personal meetings with donors,” Norm said. “Personal meetings allow us to engage community members, and will give everybody a voice. When we meet face-to-face, we can
explain the needs that have to be addressed. Our gifts go a long way to better our community”. Newcomers to Omaha, home to approximately 6000 Jews, are often impressed with the vibrancy of the Jewish community. “This is a community that has banded together many times, and can continue to do so,” Ellie said. “This campaign is not about ‘us’ taking care of ‘them’, it is about us taking care of us. We are all connected, not just locally in Omaha, but globally.” “By talking to our donors in person,” Norm explained, “we can better explain how our gifts help those in need. Ellie and I recently visited Budapest and Tel Aviv on a special trip for the chairs of Jewish campaigns, and I saw the rekindling of Jewish life in Hungary’s capital. To better understand this emerging Jewish population, we visited Szarvas, an international Jewish summer camp. Every summer, kids from around the world come to reconnect with their Jewish roots. For the first time, many of these kids had a chance to learn and experience Jewish holidays and experience Jewish community. This year the total attendance was cut back from 2000 to only 1000 kids. That was a real shame, because these kids may very well become the future leaders of East European Jewry or beyond due to the decline in North American Federation campaign dollars.” “The survival of the Jewish people is very important to me,” Ellie explained. “We are two generations removed from the Holocaust. The further we get from that era, the more tenuous the connection to Jewish identity becomes for some. I remember my grandmother giving jobs at the Nebraska Furniture Mart to any Holocaust survivor who needed work. She wanted them to know that Jews are a family and we take care of one another. I want to carry forward that feeling”. Ellie has lived in New York City for quite a while, and has traveled a great deal. She is hoping “to help bring awareness to what we as Jews do for the entire Jewish community here and abroad.” Both Norm and Ellie agreed: “The bottom line for Omaha is that there are many tasks and challenges awaiting us. Even in hard times, we cannot let down. There are too many people depending on us. We need to reenergize the campaign and engage everybody. We want everyone to feel a part of the community; we will need to reach out to as many people as we can”. “Your campaign gift, after all, is “the gift you get back.”
A dream and a privilege Continued from page 1 brisket, roasted chicken, chopped liver, gefilte fish, tzimmis, noodle kugel and ‘worth-every-minute-of-it’ challah. Break-the-fast orgies of egg salad, tuna salad, pickled herring, smoked whitefish, lox, bagels, onion bialys, cream cheese, strudel, rugelach and honey cake -- all seasoned with magic, arrayed on baronial dining room tables set with gleaming silverware, china and crystal, served by adoring mothers and aproned Bubbies determined to up our cholesterol count. This good-old-days scenario is turned on its head by a delightful story recounting a Rosh Hashanah dinner of prime rib and spaghetti at Ross’s Steakhouse. From a halachic standpoint, the author’s gastronomic choice is clearly a nono, but I found the underlying circumstances totally understandable. An aside. Why Nancy Rips left Fashion out of her Family, Faith and Food word list is beyond me, since clothes are in her DNA. But worry not. Several stories take stereotypical Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur finery -mink coats, beady-eyed fox stoles, ‘major jewels’ and new Mary Jane shoes -- out of mothballs. You’ll also learn what designer Michael Kors did, as a kid, with kippot he pilfered from shul, and travel back with Nancy to the days of training bras. On a more introspective note, a story that opens with, “I was pious once” introduces an author who dares (with edgy humor) to bare her human shortcomings. How does this revelation connect to fashion? Don’t ask. Read. Like Rips herself, this book is petite and stylish. The contents -- like conversations with Nancy -- leave you slightly breathless as topics ricochet from sober observations by Elie Wiesel, Maimonides and Spinoza, to borsht-belt jokes and one-liners from popular Jewish comedians. A few High Holiday Stories ramble a bit, but that’s because Ms. Rips is a good listener. She’d never cut people off in mid-reverie -- not her elderly friends at the nursing home where she volunteers, the kids whom she delights by wearing zany costumes to storytelling gigs, or contributors to this book. Nancy hurtles through life at warp speed, but while putting this anthology together she managed to really hear -- and
show genuine excitement toward -- others’ New Year memories of happy times, simple pleasures and (to paraphrase one story) of lost loved ones who leave a vacant hole that can never be filled. Rips can claim her own allotment of joy and sadness. “We all have to work through it,” she said. “At Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur I see my late parents. It makes me wonder what’s next. Who am I praying for this year. What can I do to make things better. I think no matter where you are in life, you can come back. No matter what you’ve done, we’ll wait for you. I want to fix everything, but I know I can’t. Still, I always have hope.” “In the universe, we’re insignificant,” Rips continued, “but to borrow from Rabbi Harold Kushner, everyone wants to live a life that matters. One of the contributors to this book, Rabbi Denise L. Eger, feels that the message of the Days of Awe is that each of us does matter, that our personal stories share common themes with many other people. Perhaps I’m a vessel that carries these stories, these values, to the next generation. I have two of the finest daughters anyone could wish for -- Amy Levine and Wendy Katzman. Maybe this book is a nudge to them -a not so subtle nudge, actually, -- that will encourage them to create their own High Holiday stories.” “It’s a dream come true to be published,” Rips said. “I’m thankful to be well and have the freedom to choose the work I do every day. It’s a privilege. And I’m at the beginning stages of my next book -- Hanukkah Stories.” While you wait for the third volume in this charming series, pick up a copy of High Holiday Stories, open it to any page, and let the words inspire your own yontif memories. You might discover stories penned by folks who live next door or sit near you at services. Sort of an Omaha version of ‘Where’s Waldo.’ One more thought. If you’ve been invited to a holiday meal, this book makes a dandy hostess gift. It definitely ain’t chopped liver. High Holiday Stories is available at the Bookworm in Countryside Village, 87th and Pacific, where a signing is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m. You’ll also find Nancy’s book at stores nationwide and at www. amazon.com. A portion of the profits from all sales are being donated to the Kripke Federation Jewish Library.
August 27, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
The real Martin Eisenstadt by HAL SENAL I have no intention of losing this game. Marty Eisenstadt is a fighter, a winner. I’ve worked on seven political campaigns. I have a drink named after me at the Dubai Hilton. I am a sought-after strategist and consultant. So don’t think I won’t recover from this slander. I will. Martin Eisenstadt
just a little defensive when called on it, as displayed, quite memorably, in his lively faux “memoir,” I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (wildly inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: Nov., 2009, priced around $15), written by Mirvish and Gorlin—their It started out as a joke. names slyly And then it became, removed from well, something a little the cover, yet more—how should we “thanked” in the say it?—larger than life. acknowledgeHis name, ladies and ments section of germs, is Martin Thomas the satirical Eisenstadt. And he is novel, in fine absolutely, positively, a print, natch— living, breathing, funcunder the pseutioning, flesh-and-blood donym of their human being. vivid, completely Or so he thinks. idiotic, but on Dan Mirvish His online blog was a occasion, pointgoldmine of usable, explosive, sometimes edly intuitive—creation. off-color, soundbites and quotes for cable Mr. Gorlin, by the way, for the sake of news networks and reporters from vari- added (read: dubious) authenticity, is the ous publications, all with a worldwide “face” of Mr. Eisenstadt, appearing on reach. the cover of the book, as well as several See, there’s just one teeny-weeny prob- YouTube videos that were made as a lem: Martin Eisenstadt isn’t a real person. springboard for a proposed TV pilot, The He does not exist. Bitter Valet, prior to the 2007-2008 He is, however, the product of two Writers’ Guild strike. filmmakers’/authors’ imaginations. The In a recent interview with Mirvish, a two wild and crazy guys in question, the 1985 Central High graduate and former culprits behind this elaborate hoax, are speechwriter for U.S. Senator, Tom Dan Mirvish, an Omaha native and fim- Harkin (D), was both playful and open maker, along with his bosom buddy, actor when asked about his imaginary mystery Eitan Gorlin. man. Just don’t tell Marty that. “Well, he’s a ‘fundit,’ as I like to say, He still thinks he’s real, and gets not which stands for a faux pundit, I sup-
pose,” Mirvish explained. “He’s a man who wears a lot of different hats. (He’s) a satire of a lot of those guys you see on cable TV who are identified as Republican strategists, Democratic operatives, a Senior Fellow at some think tank you’ve heard of, or a CEO of a consulting company that’s named after themselves. I came up with one of this character [to satirize] one of those guys.” Eisenstadt, himself, is a Sr. Fellow of the great, grand, and very fictional think tank, The Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. The joke here, is that former President Warren G. Harding is considered to be one of the worst heads of state in U.S. history. Eisenstadt, who has been more than happy to raise his political voice over the years with commentary on public officials, such as Sarah Palin (Eisenstadt claims to have worked very closely with her during McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign), as imagined by Mirvish and Gorlin, was to be a sort of Jack of all Trades, a political answer to Forrest Gump. “He’s a little bit of this, and a little bit off that,” said Mirvish. “And he’s just not really good at anything.” For instance, did you know that Eisenstadt was in charge of Ms. Palin’s wardrobe during the campaign? Of course, the real controversy lies in the fact that, prior to being checked as fact, the media gobbled everything up, using Eisenstadt’s name, his quotes, his soundbites, as factual news. No research necessary. That alone, whether it’s a fictional memoir or not, makes this book both a fascinating account of news gone crazy and a sort of condemnation of the media’s penchant for heated hyperbole,
looking for news where there really isn’t any to be found. It’s also a portrait, albeit through a fictional character’s eyes, of the sensationalists, the alarmists—the people we now refer to as journalists who, in reality, are no better than a bunch of bums on cardboard boxes in the middle of Times Square. Speaking of soapboxes—ACHEM—we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. It was only later on that the story was proven to be actually true. As Mirvish explains it, “The fake news was becoming the real news!” The audacity, the sheer preposterousness, and altogether wackiness of Eisenstadt’s claims, in general, are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The guy definitely likes putting himself at the center of attention, especially when it comes to A- through Z-List celebrities, such as The Jonas Brothers, Ashton Kutcher, and Paris Hilton. Heck, in one drunken night of Vegas debauchery, the man bumps into and/or hangs out with America Ferrera (TV’s Ugly Betty), 50 Cent, Billy Joel, Scarlett Johansson, and, yes, even Chelsea Clinton. Yet another hilarious highlight in the book involves Marty getting involved with a CEO for an American management firm and an Iraqi investor, when they request his services as a business strategist. Their goal? Getting casinos built in the Green Zone (one memorable line: “You can’t go wrong with waterfront!”). As expected, he quickly blows the deal, and after numerous unreturned phone calls is asked to return the money he was paid, as well as being threatened Continued on page 8
ur PJs? o y n i p o h s nline, can you o e s s i l e p o e r h e S h a W c “ l’s Judai E h easy – t e s i B s t y a a h d t i l o w o H “N he High t r o f y d a way!” e a r k c i l c a “getting y l ) nt is on a w l and Danny I e a g h n ic i M h s t n y o (with s “ever i Denenberg -- Tipp
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Like Tippi, you can shop for the High Holidays at Beth El’s Judaica Shop without ever leaving the comfort of your home. Just visit the Judaica Beautiful web site, and with the click of a mouse, you can shop online for anything and everything from the synagogue's fabulous gift shop: jewelry, books, mezuzot, menorahs, Kiddush cups, and much, much more! The site also lets you set up gift registries and purchase gift certificates from the shop. Gift giving has never been easier - shop to your heart’s delight by visiting http://bethelomaha.judaicabeautiful.com.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
Omaha Jewish Community High School announces class offerings by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education High school pre-registration began August 15. Classes begin Oct. 6 and continue each Wednesday evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center. Community interest and excitement is building, along with the list of course offerings available to Omaha teens this fall. “As you can see by our class descriptions below, this is truly a community–wide effort. We have been able to build a teacher roster and course load that crosses all denominations and Judaic areas of study,” said Miriam Gross, High School Director. She added, “We are certain our new students will be as excited by these class options as we are!” Registration information was emailed in early August. Registration is also available online through the Jewish Federation of Omaha website, www.jewishomaha.org. Simply click on the Community High School banner on the home page. Print the three documents needed to register and mail them to The Center for Jewish Education, 333 S. 132 Street, Omaha NE 68154. The fall classes from which the students will choose include: 1. Who Has Time for Religion? In these times of Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Wikipedia, information is everywhere. How does Judaism fit into your iPhone lifestyle? Explore the relevancy of Judaism to modern lives through film clips, web videos and other modern media. Rabbi Eric Linder, Instructor. 2. What Do You Mean I’m Not Jewish?!?! Defining a Jew. This workshop exposes students to ancient texts, modern literature and current events relating to the question of “Who is a Jew?” Discuss the relevance and importance of identity and develop criteria for what it means to be a member of the tribe. Rabbi Jonathan Gross, Instructor. 3. Jews in the American Military. Jewish soldiers have made enormous contributions and taken many heroic measures in many of the famous wars that we have all studied in American history. This class explores the personal and historical accounts of American Jews serving in the military from the Civil War to modern conflict. Cantor Beth Schlossberg, Instructor. 4. Rhyme, Rite & Reason. Why do Jews say gezuntheit after someone sneezes? Why is LeChaim said over a drink? Learn sources and reasons for these and many other mitzvoth and rituals in our tradition. Rabbi
Yitzhak Mizrahi, Instructor. 5. Omaha Jewish History and Geneology Workshop. Discover your roots when you delve into the archives of our own Jewish Historical Society. Learn how your family arrived and thrived in this small but wonderful Midwestern city. Prepare to hone your research skillsones that will serve you well during high school and into college! Helen Epstein, Instructor. 6. The Jewish Graphic Novel. Examine the graphic novel in Jewish culture and its historical and aesthetic development of comic art. Study the ways Jewish artists have utilized the graphic novel to explore Jewish identity and experience. Readings include: A Contract With God by Will Eisner, Maus by Art Spiegelman, The Quitter by Harvey Pekar and more! Gary Katz, Instructor 7. Judaism and Christianity: How Do They Differ? What Do They Have in Common? What is the Jewish perspective on Jesus? Was he a preacher, a teacher or a rebel who founded another religion? Who killed him and why? Study the origin and development of Christian anti-Semitism and the misleading tactics of Christian missionaries who call themselves “Jews for Jesus” or “messianic Jews.” Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Instructor. 8. The Lively Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls-and Why They Matter To Us. Using the methodologies found in archeology, sociology, history, religious studies and language, the student will understand and fully appreciate these 2000 year old treasures and what they may tell us about our future. Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, Instructor. 9. Jewish Prayer for the Modern Day Teen. Gone are the days of “repeat after me” payer lessons! Welcome to “I never knew what this meant. At least now I know what I have been praying about.” Andy Greenberg, Instructor. 10. How We Give: Text Seminars and Workshop on Jewish Philanthropy. A hands-on course in conjunction with the Teen Tzedek program. Get involved in developing an actual youth foundation. Both a Torah class and a business course where you will learn fundraising fundamentals. Mark Javitch, Instructor. 11. The Evolution of a Mentsch: Self Development in Jewish Tradition. Examine yourself and your habits through a Jewish lens. Glen Fineman, Instructor. 12. Bereshit/Genesis in a Semester: Prep for the B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz. Daniel Christensen, Instructor. 13. Reform Legal Responsa. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. For more information, call the Jewish Community High School at 334.6445.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press office is closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day and Thursday and Friday, Sept. 9 and 10, for Rosh Hashanah; the deadline for the Sept. 17 issue is Tuesday, Sept. 7, 9 a.m. Questions? Call 334.6448.
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by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beginning Sunday, Sept. 12, Beth El will present a new once-a-month adult-education class, “The Mystique of Judaism,” led by Andy Greenberg. According to the teacher, the interactive class will explore angels, ghosts, potions, witchcraft, golems and other psychic phenomena about Judaism. During his own Judaic studies several months ago, Greenberg said he came across a book that dealt with Andy Greenberg potions, magic, angels, and ghosts, and he realized that “the Torah covers some of these same issues, including witches, snake charmers and mind readers.” Saying he was looking for a unique topic for an adult-education class that would “surprise everyone and at the same time, teach,” Greenberg said this subject matter fit the bill perfectly, and he welcomes adults of all ages to enjoy this interesting and unusual course. Class will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Registration fee is $36 for Beth El members; $45 for non-members. To register or for more information, contact Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or at programming@bethel-omaha.org.
We LOVE Grandparents’ Day by LOIS WINE Save the date – Sunday, Sept. 12. Yes, that is Grandparents’ Day. League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly, LOVE, will honor the grandparents in Omaha with a fun program and delicious Tea Time. The Dancing Grannies will perform at 1:45 p.m. in the Blumkin Home Malashock Auditorium, followed by a wonderful Tea Time. Root beer floats and sugar cookies will delight everyone at 2:30 p.m. during Tea Time. The afternoon program and Tea Time are being provided by the following endowment funds administered by the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha: Sheldon & Lorrie Bernstein fund, Betty A Studna and Seymour T. Lee fund, Chester and Phyllis Lustgarten fund, and the LOVE Auxiliary. Parents and grandparents and the kids are all invited to this entertaining afternoon.
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August 27, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 5
Hero or Villain? Killing Kasztner at the 9th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival by GARY KATZ AND GAYLEN ROSS Eckstein, and a chilling meeting between the killer and True stories rarely contain a historic mystery, a court- Kasztner’s daughter, Zsuzsi, audiences finally can decide room drama, a political murder, and a family saga, but the legacy of this forgotten man. all can be found in the contentious story of Rezso “The Kasztner story is like the greatest of Greek or Kasztner. In Nazi-occupied Hungary, Kasztner, a Jew, Shakespearian tragedies and like all tragedies, its appeal dared to negotiate face to face with the architect of the is universal and timeless. This was a drama of passion on Final Solution, Adolf Eichmann. While the Nazi killing both sides,” says Ross, who spent eight years filming. machine was at its peak –12,000 a day were dying in What is unknown is what, if anything, else Kasztner had Auschwitz – Kasztner to promise to assure the secured a rescue train for heart-stopping rescue. The 1684 Jews from Budapest, “Kasztner Train,” as it was and bargained for tens of called, was held hostage for thousands more lives. Yet, a time in the Bergen Belsen he was accused of the concentration camp, evendeaths of hundreds of thoutually arriving in Switzersands of other Jews for land. “Whether one believes withholding crucial inforKasztner acted in the right mation about the or the wrong, the accounts Auschwitz death camp. in the film show that histoKilling Kasztner will be ry should not erase him. shown on Thursday, Sept. Thousands of Jews survived 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the JCC because of his rescue efforts Children aboard the Kasztner train Theater. Afterwards, there – even more than Schindler will be a short discussion of the film. –and time is running out for the few remaining to share After receiving critical acclaim at the 2008 Toronto their incredible stories. Their voices need to be heard.” International Film Festival and an unprecedented theThe Jewish Film Festival is presented by The Center atrical release in Israel to sold out houses, American for Jewish Education and generously sponsored by Todd director Gaylen Ross’s Killing Kasztner: the Jew Who and Betiana Simon with additional support from the Avy Dealt with Nazis now poses the question to L. and Roberta L. Miller Foundation by Lindsey MillerU.S.audiences: Was Rezso Kasztner a heroic rescuer of Lerman and The Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith. Jews or a villain colluding with the Nazis? Through For more information please call 334.6462. The Jewish accounts of the inflammatory political trial, startling rev- Community Center of Omaha is located at 333 S. elations after 50 years by Kasztner’s assassin, Ze’ev 132nd Street.
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Livingston Foundation grant applications by HOWARD EPSTEIN The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation, Inc. will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 30. “The primary interest of the Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation, Inc. is to support Jewish institutions and projects. The Foundation has a secondary interest in supporting health, education, cultural and social services in the Omaha metropolitan area,” according to its mission statement. Guidelines are as follows: 1. Grants will be limited to organizations located within the Omaha metropolitan area and the State of
Israel. 2. No grants will be given for capital or endowment campaigns. 3. Organization representatives may contact Howard Epstein at 402.492.9800 to request a grant application form. The deadline for grant requests will be Friday, Oct. 1. Grant requests should be submitted in writing, using the Livingston Foundation grant application form, to Howard N. Epstein at 11605 Miracle Hills Drive, Suite 300, P.O. Box 542005, Omaha, NE 68154-8005.
Plains States Region saw increase in anti-Semitic incidents, ADL audit reports by THERESE VAUGHN Anti-Defamation League Plains States While the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States remained at a “sustained and troubling” level, according to ADL’s annual audit, the Plains States region saw a disturbing increase. In 2009, there were 17 incidents of vandalism, harassment and physical assault against Jews in Nebraska, seven such incidents in Iowa and 32 in Kansas—accounting for 4.5% of total anti-Semitic occurrences in the country. Although the national number declined from 1,352 to 1,211 incidents, the drop was largely due to a change in reporting methodology. Cases involving swastikas that did not specifically target Jews were not tallied in the new audit because, as ADL National Director Abraham Foxman remarked, “the swastika has, for some, lost its meaning as the primary symbol of Nazism and instead become a more generalized symbol of hate.” The most serious threats to life and security included the shooting attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum by a longtime anti-Semite and white supremacist, a thwarted plot by four Muslim converts to bomb synagogues in Riverdale, NY, and the repeated picketing and harassment of Jewish institutions by the virulently anti-Semitic Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). “With WBC based in Kansas, the Plains States office has seen several Jewish institutions across our region targeted,” ADL Regional Director Alan Potash said. “This past year, the group protested outside area synagogues, Jewish community centers and our ADL office.” WBC displayed signs and sent volumes of faxes and emails with extremist anti-Semitic messages, such as “The Jews killed Jesus” and “God Hates Israel.”
The 2009 audit also reported an alarming spike in anti-Semitic rhetoric in cyberspace. While not figured in the total number of incidents, the audit noted a proliferation of hateful comments, postings and groups on the Internet. Online social networking sites such as Facebook were particularly used as platforms for bigots to connect discussions of Israel with anti-Semitic views. One Facebook group, “I Hate Israel,” boasted more than 1,000 members. To read the full report, visit www.adl.org.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Project Harmony Service League will host its seventh annual “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” fundraiser at the Firefighters Union Hall (60th and Grover) on Sept. 24 from 6–10:30 p.m. There will be a raffle with 6 packages including trips to Las Vegas, Kansas City, and to Chicago for a Cubs game. Other packages are Sports and Fitness, Family Matters and a Staycation. Door prizes will be distributed throughout the evening, tshirts given to the first 300 people at the event and traditional Irish food and brews will be served. Event tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door, and raffle tickets sell for $10 each or six for $50. Tickets go on sale Aug. 2. The proceeds of the event will help victims of child abuse and neglect. Project Harmony’s mission is to protect and support children, collaborate with professionals, and engage the community to end child abuse and neglect. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Amy Chisholm at 595.1326 or visit www.projectharmony. com.
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Page 6
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
High Holy Days at Temple Begin and End with Havdalah, from S’lichot to Yom Kippur
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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator It all begins with havdalah, normally the end of the week’s holiest day. But on S’lichot, which comes from the Hebrew word for “apology,” Temple Israel will start with the traditional havdalah blessings, wine, extinguishing the candle, and sniffing the spice box on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. Arriving just before the High Holidays, S’lichot reminds us to take action toward forgiveness, reconciliation, and growth. The worship service contains meditations and prayers that reflect Judaism’s constant call for tsuvah, meaning introspection and change, for moving from the person you are to the person you can become. A sweet traditional conclusion of this harbinger of the High Holy Days at Temple is observed with a chocolate Oneg. After munching on some apples dipped in honey at home, find your seat at the Erev Rosh Hashanah service on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 7:30 p.m. The next morning, a holiday service for families with pre-school age children in the Livingston Chapel, and a Children’s Service for families of kindergartners through third graders in the sanctuary begin at 9 a.m. These services, led by Temple’s clergy, include a story-sermon and blowing the shofar. Children, two to ten years old, can then attend sitter service so their parents can join the congregation for the 10:15 a.m. service in the sanctuary led by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Eric Linder, and Cantor Wendy Shermet accompanied by the Kol Rina Choir. Reservations for sitter service, at $10 per family per holiday, are due by Friday, Sept. 3, by calling the Temple office at 556.6536. Tashlich will be observed at Elmwood Park after the conclusion of the morning Rosh Hashanah service. Gathering at the pond in the park, congregants will symbolically cast their sins into the water, representing transgressions being swept away in the current so the new year can begin. Shabbat Shuvah, or the Sabbath of Return, at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and is a time for reflection leading up to the atonement of Yom Kippur. Temple’s Memorial Service at 1 p.m. at the Temple Israel Cemetery, 6412 North 42nd Street, provides an opportunity to remember and honor those who continue to inspire us.
Beth El joins USCJ’s “Come Home for the Holidays” initiative by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El has joined more than 300 Conservative congregations around the country to participate in “Come Home for the Holidays,” a United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism initiative which welcomes former congregants, as well as newcomers, to celebrate the High Holidays at participating synagogues. The initiative is part of USCJ’s Project Reconnect, and serves as a home hospitality vehicle to college students, 20- and 30-somethings, and alumni of Conservative programs (camps, youth groups, Solomon Schechter schools) in need and those away from home during the High Holidays. Bev Fellman, president of Beth El’s Board of Trustees, expressed enthusiasm about the project and the local synagogue’s participation, saying, “Whatever your connection to Beth El Synagogue, whether it be with our former location of nearly twenty years at 49th and Farnam or our present wonderful building at 145th and California, come back and see us. You will encounter many welcoming smiles and true interest in you and your life’s journey. I, myself, developed a love for Beth El in elementary school, even while my family belonged to a different congregation. It was with special joy that when I married, we joined Beth El. Come back, come back, come back to Beth El!” Rabbi Mordechai Levin noted that Beth El “is well known as a welcoming synagogue which opens its doors every day of the year to all members of the Jewish community – newcomers, current residents, interfaith families -- who wish to attend our religious services and programs. “We invite Jews from all over the metro area to experience the High Holy Days with us at Beth El.”
Kol Nidre, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 17, will be led by all three of Temple’s clergy members accompanied by Kol Rina. Sitter service will be available that evening. On Yom Kippur, Saturday, September 18, there will again be services for families with preschoolers and for families with kindergartners through third grade, both at 9 a.m. After that, children who have reservations can go to sitter service while the congregation attends the 10:15 a.m. service in the sanctuary or in the Livingston Chapel with Rabbi Linder. Along with members of Omaha Temple Youth Group, Rabbi Linder will conduct an alternative service emphasizing music, communal singing, and modern approaches to the theological themes of the holiest day of the year. Immediately following services in the sanctuary, there will be a panel discussion on the topic, “Should There Be a Reform Jewish Response to the Immigration Laws of Arizona and Fremont?” The Yom Kippur panel follows on the heels of an immigration panel set for Sunday, Aug. 29, and sponsored by the Temple Social Justice Committee, National Council of Jewish Women, the Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith, and the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law and the Public Policy, at the Jewish Community Center. At 1:45 p.m. on Yom Kippur, a musical interlude performed by the Nova String Quartet’s two violinists, a viola and a cello player, will provide an opportunity for reflection and introspection. At 2:30 p.m., there will be a choice between taking a quiet outdoor Walk of Reflection or attending Moments of Remembrance led by Temple member Marla Cohen, MS, in the Livingston Chapel. She will encourage sharing memories by those who have lost someone special in their lives. Participants are welcome to bring a photograph or another memento to help convey the essence of the people who are missed. At 3:30 p.m., the afternoon service will begin in the sanctuary followed by yizkor, neilah, and havdalah. Joining Reform congregations across the nation, Temple will participate again in the annual High Holy Day Hunger Project. Non-perishable food such as canned tuna, pinto beans, lentils, chili beans, and meat are especially needed by the Omaha Food Bank which will have trucks parked outside Temple, the Omaha Community Playhouse and First United Methodist Church parking lots on Yom Kippur. Volunteers will assist in loading the grocery bags, donated by Bag ‘n Save, that will be handed out on Rosh Hashanah.
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Steve Rosenblatt returns to Omaha to talk about his father for whom the “old” baseball stadium was named, his life in Arizona, and the final Blast at the Blatt on Wednesday, Sept. 1, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $13, beverage service is $3. The Blast will be Thursday evening, Sept. 2, at Rosenblatt stadium. There will be fireworks and 60 plus years of stadium history presented. For more information or to be placed on the e-mail list call 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish words have made their way into every phase of modern life, show biz, law, classrooms, etc. Come join us at our new meeting room (across from the beauty salon) at the Blumkin Home, every Thurdsay, 1-3 pm. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. BBYO - EDIAR BBG Our Local BBYO chapter, Ediar is having a chapter fundraiser. Please come support us at our car wash that will be held at Bag-n-Save on 144th and Center on Aug. 29 from 1-4 p.m. All the money that we raise will go directly to our chapter’s bank account for our operating budget. This fund helps us pay for programming supplies, give scholarships to those in need, and can help us bring in special speakers and activities that align with our six programming folds: Creativity, Sisterhood, Recreation, Jewish Heritage, Social Action, and Community Service. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you and your cars on Aug. 29!
To order a gift subscription to the Press... Send a check for $15, made out to the Jewish Press and prorated for the year, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. For more information call 334.6448.
August 27, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
Blumkin residents continue to learn and grow by OZZIE NOGG On Friday, July 30, several Rose Blumkin Jewish Home residents -- along with families and friends -marked the completion of their Bnei Mitzvah studies with a celebration in the Simon Chapel. The participants included Myrna Diamond, Marilyn Heller, Harriet Kutler, Lucille Nearenberg and Rabbi Myer S. Kripke. “I was honored that Rabbi Kripke attended the classes,” Weiss said in an earlier interview. “Of course, he is no stranger to Bar and Bat Mitzvah. But he loves to study and was an invaluable contributor to the group. Rabbi Kripke is a remarkable teacher, and we all learned so much from him.” Rabbi Weiss considers the Bnei Mitzvah class a way for residents to continue to learn and grow in their knowledge of Judaism, especially those women who never had an opportunity for formal Jewish education. “Of course, today most Jewish girls and boys become Bat or Bar Mitzvah when they’re twelve or thirteen,” Weiss continued. “But a real celebration of accomplishments comes after a lifetime of experience, which is the best way to learn. This event let us publicly recognize the residents’ accomplishments over the past nine months of study.” During the celebration, Bnei Mitzvah participants shared their thoughts and feelings. Lucille Nearenberg spoke of Torah and the importance it places on chesed - kindness. “In our group we discussed the extensions of kindness that go in every direction,” she said. “They play a role everywhere other people are involved in our lives.” In her Dvar Torah, Harriet Kutler referred to the positive rewards that come from God for learning and keeping the laws of Torah and the negative results that come from failing to do so. “We have learned so much together,” Harriet said. “One of the laws is that of making blessings before and after eating food. It is when we thank God for his gifts. It also keeps us aware of God’s constant presence and role in the world. We learned that blessings are ways of recognizing gifts, making requests, acknowledging favors and praising God.” Marilyn Heller led the group in saying the Shema, which she described as “the most famous prayer in Judaism. It is an important statement of belief in God.” Because Myrna Diamond was unable to attend the cere-
mony, Rabbi Weiss delivered her interpretation of the Modeh Ani Lefanecha, the morning prayer. “First thing in the morning is a time to thank God,” Diamond wrote. “When I wake up, I thank God every day for giving me a new day of life. I am the luckiest person alive, and there are so many things for which to thank
Rabbi Weiss, left, holds the microphone while Harriet Kutler delivers her Dvar Torah. God. Saying Modeh Ani is a great way for any person to start their busy day.” The closing Dvar Torah, given by ninety-six year old Rabbi Kripke, was his usual combination of wit and wisdom. “There are Jewish cowboys at the Blumkin Home,” he said, “and one of them lassoed me into doing this.” Kripke then picked up on the Torah portion’s theme. “We’re told to choose between blessings and curses, but
no one can force you to be a righteous man or a sinner. That decision depends on your own choice, and the freedom to choose is the real character of Judaism.” The occasion gave Rabbi Weiss the opportunity to explain the rationale behind this RBJH program. “When I started working at the Blumkin Home a year ago, I came into a new environment and spoke with staff and administration about where they saw an area of opportunity to create something new and exciting,” he said. “Through my role as the roaming rabbi, of visiting, providing support and educating, I often go from one resident’s room to another. A number of women lamented the fact that they never were afforded a Jewish education or the experience of a Bat Mitzvah. Those conversations were the impetus behind the Bnei Mitzvah program at the Blumkin Home. For me, this has been an incredible experience to teach, learn with and learn from this amazing group of people.” After extending a Mazel Tov to the Bnei Mitzvah class, Rabbi Weiss quoted from Pirkei Avot -- the Ethics of our Fathers -- which says, ‘I have learned a lot from my teachers. From my colleagues I have learned more than from my teachers. And from my students I have learned the greatest amount.’ Through the Bnei Mitzvah program, I have learned from the residents, who have become my students, colleagues and teachers.” Marty Ricks, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, attended the celebration. “It must take courage for the residents of the Home to become Bnei Mitzvah at this stage of their lives,” Ricks said. “I observed how Rabbi Weiss took them gently through the process, offering his sensitive assistance during the ceremony. On another note, the tables were turned as I watched the residents’ kids and grandkids kvelling for their mom or grandmother -- just as those same moms and grandmothers kvelled when their kids and grandkids reached age thirteen. Leave it to the Blumkin Home. They always offer a variety of creative programs and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents.” Each woman in the Bnei Mitzvah group was given a Mogen Dovid necklace, and Rabbi Kripke was presented with a kippah to mark the occasion. A festive reception followed the celebration.
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Page 8
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
Friedel starts new year
Nancy Rips to share High Holidays stories during special Beth El Selichot program by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Selichot (“prayers for forgiveness”) serves as the gateway to the High Holidays; it is a time of reflection, offering spiritual preparation for the holy season. Selichot is also the name of the service that takes place on the Saturday evening preceding Rosh Hashanah -- always a special night at Beth El. This year the synagogue welcomes the entire community for a unique Selichot program on Saturday, Sept. 4, featuring Omaha’s book maven Nancy Rips. Rips, an author, bookseller and book reviewer, will share stories from her Nancy Rips new book, High Holiday Stories: Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Thoughts on Family, Faith and Food (Frederick Fell Publishers, July 2010). High Holidays Stories is filled with a variety of
heartfelt holiday remembrances both from famous people as well as some only known in their own circle of family and friends. The contributors recount personal Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur experiences, from observing the holidays in the Colorado Rockies to Army bases in Iraq, even online in L.A. Stories have been shared by people of all ages and all professions, from throughout the United States to New Zealand and England. “This book is a new way to discover and recall our personal High Holiday stories through the years,” she said. “It's a reminder of the importance of our tradition, and how we must continue to tell our stories to future generations.” The evening will begin at 9 p.m. with Havdalah, led by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg, followed by Rips’s presentation. Afterward, during a dessert reception, she will participate in a book-signing, where her books will also be available for purchase. Following the reception, Rabbi Levin will offer a short presentation about the congregation’s new mahzor; then Cantor Schlossberg will present a special musical program to set the mood for the poignant Selichot service. The entire Jewish community is invited to attend.
by RON GILLER Principal of Friedel Jewish Academy On Aug. 18, the staff at Friedel Jewish Academy (FJA) welcomed 57 students back to school. They were eager to share their summer experiences with their friends and teachers. The current student body represents the largest enrollment in the 46 year history of the school. We are all excited to get the year started, and have many new learning experiences planned for the students. This year FJA will offer violin/strings instruction, as well as instrumental band instruction for students. The school will also introduce a new ‘Fine Arts’ and drama/theater program for everyone.
The real Martin Eisenstadt Continued from page 3 with legal action. His take: “Now youunderstand why I always cash checks the minute I receive them. Clients can befickle.” Hey, the man may be a dummy, but he speaks the truth. When asked what their ultimate goal was, in the creation of the Marty Eisenstadt character, Mirvish explained that while the Writers Strike was happening, they took the time to play around with and create their fundit. “At first, honestly, we didn’t know, exactly, where he would go or what we would do with him,” admits Mirvish. “We just thought, as a character, this was something that could come in handy … we were playing with
the idea of using the Internet to develop fictional characters and make it more of an interactive thing. Later, we would come to discover what we were doing actually has a name, which is called transmedia... At the root of it, though, it was about social satire and kind of making fun of the chattering cable TV classes, making fun of the pundit talkers.” What’s next for the Eisenstadt character? After being exposed as a hoax by, of all people, a Brazillian-based golf blogger, William Wolfrum (see? Someone did their homework!), where can you go from here? Well, where there’s a Mel Gibson, there’s a way. That’s currently the subject of interest on Eisenstadt’s blog, at eisenstadtgroup.com. For the dynamic duo, Mirvish and Gorlin, there have been talks of movie and TV deals in relation to their creation, but nothing’s solid as of yet. Mirvish, a co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival, will be attempting to raise money for his next film while in Omaha next month. The film is an adaptation of a hit Off-Broadway play, Between Us. In addition to raising money for his next film Dan Mirvish will be appearing at The Bookworm, at 8702 Pacific St., for a signing, on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. I am Martin Eisenstadt is available for check out at the Kripke Library.
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Top: Angie Gormley welcomed this year’s first graders; bottom: On the second day of school, Beth Dotan welcomed in the new school year by sounding the shofar in front of students and staff . At Friedel, students explore their Jewish culture every day. This year, they will also connect with other cultures through innovative programs, such as our partner program with the ADL, St. Augustine Elementary School on the Winnebago Reservation, and Omaha Skutt High School. Students from all three schools will read and discuss the Holocaust story The Daughter we had Always Wanted: the Story of Marta.
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August 27, 2010
Cookies come to the ‘Pumpkin Home’ by OZZIE NOGG to having Joshua continue with his Mitzvah cookie proJoshua Shapiro, 2 1/2, knows who the Cookie gram.” Monster is. He also knows what a cookie mitzvah is. By now, Joshua knows everyone at the RBJH and Here’s the story. everyone knows him -- staff and residents alike. “They This little bright-eyed son of Melissa and Matt Shapiro welcome him with open arms,” Sherry Shapiro said. “If spends two days a week at the home of his grandparents, the residents aren’t in their rooms when we get there, Sherry and Larry Shapiro. “Joshua has watched and we leave the paper plate with cookies and a note that helped me bake since he was just 1 1/2 years old,” says, ‘Enjoy your cookies. Have a nice day. Joshua Sherry explained. “We started baking sugar cookies Shapiro.’ As part of our visit, Joshua usually plays on the because he loves sprinkles, particularly yellow ones. We indoor playground equipment and enjoys watching the use a recipe from the Shaare Zion cookbook in Sioux birds, especially the yellow ones. He feels very comfortCity, where Joshua’s able, very much at home, great-grandparents live. at the Home.” The recipe is very kidJoshua’s mom, Melissa, friendly. It doesn’t need knows that ‘Nanny’ to be refrigerated or Sherry is building a rolled and Joshua could strong personal bond easily flatten each cookie with Joshua, while also with a spoon and then teaching him a valuable put on the sprinkles. lesson. “We’re so thankEventually we accumuful that my mom came lated a lot of cookies.” up with this idea. Even So what did ‘Nanny’ though he’s young, Sherry suggest she and Joshua already knows Joshua do with all those that what he’s doing is cookies? called a mitzvah. We “About a year ago we hope as he gets older he began taking a plate of can create new mitzvahs Melissa Shapiro, left, Joshua Shapiro and his ‘Nanny’ Sherry sugar cookies to the to make other people’s Shapiro perform a weekly cookie mitzvah for residents of the Blumkin Home on a lives better. We hope the Blumkin Home. weekly basis. At first, we Blumkin Home residents gave them to residents I knew or to friends of ours who enjoy his visits as much as he enjoys going to see them.” were at the Home for rehab or to recuperate after an illWhat began with a simple plate of sugar cookies has ness. We made sure that the people who got the cookies turned into something far more meaningful for all concould eat sugar. Joshua really looked forward to our cerned. “You see,” Sherry Shapiro said, “cookies aren’t trips to what he calls the ‘Pumpkin Home.’” the only things Joshua brings to the Blumkin Home. He It didn’t take long before Joshua’s visits were noticed also brings smiles. And every time he sees a resident by Lois Wine, RBJH Director of Volunteers, who smile I tell him, ‘Joshua, you’ve done another mitzvah.’ encouraged the young chef to bake a batch of cookies He gets lots of smiles. Who can help but smile when you with some of the residents in the Blumkin Home see a two-year old?” kitchen. “Joshua brings a sweet innocence with his For the record: Joshua Shapiro’s culinary skills have weekly visits and is like a breath of fresh air,” Wine said. advanced to the point where he now adds the vanilla to “When he and Sherry walk in with their weekly plate of the cookie batter, all by himself. cookies, our residents’ faces light up. We look forward
A mesmerizing performance Friedman Philips, was “Dear Abby.” Talk about sibling rivalry! Capturing that energy, edginess, and wit, Wheeldon by HAL SENAL gives an unforgettable—and unprecedented, as this is the Playhouse’s first one-person show—performance, Sometimes it just takes one person’s opinion and imbuing Ann with humor, poignancy, and genuine and advice to make a difference in another’s life; one voice, heartbreaking honesty. whether it be loving and gentle, or rough and tough. This could have been a grating and showy performFor millions of people, from all walks of life, and over ance, but under Collins’ direction, Wheeldon manages the course of 50-plus years, that voice of guidance was to keep it real. She never overplays her hand, and gives Ann Landers (real name: the character of Ann a Esther Pauline Friedman lived-in quality while Lederer, who died in bringing great fun to the 2002), the Jewish, outrole. She even goes so far spoken syndicated advice as to break the fourth columnist, and the subwall and poll the audiject of The Omaha ence. Community Playhouse’s The topic of toilet bravura production of paper has never been so David Rambo’s The Lady funny (then again, has With All the Answers. toilet paper ever been This one-woman show, funny to begin with? starring Kathy Wheeldon, Answer: No, especially if in a towering, mesmerizit sports the Scott brand ing performance, and name on its outer-wrapdirected by Playhouse staping. But we won’t get ple, Susan Baer Collins, is into that)!! The Lady With All The Answers played by actress Kathy Wheeldon. probably one of the best I digress. stage productions that I’ve seen in quite some time. Kudos should be given to the production crew, led by The play, set in 1975, only a mere few days following Stage Manager Suzanne Withem. The show’s warm and an earth shattering event that occurred in Ann’s private inviting yet elegant set design, depicting a room in life, leaving the lady with all of the answers scratching Landers’ home, made this theatergoing experience all her head about what to write in her next column— the more intimate. which, ironically enough, is about herself, for once. All If this terrific show is any indication of the Playhouse’s the while, she reads and reminisces about various letters season to come, then it looks like this last summer won’t from readers, most of which show us why she was the be the hottest ticket in The Big O, after all. world’s leading lady when it came to sharp, sometimes More importantly, I think Ann would have been sassy advice about, well, you name it. proud. Having been, admittedly, fairly unfamiliar (gasp!) with The Lady With All the Answers will be performing its Landers’ work—aside from knowing that she was a run at The Omaha Community Playhouse, located at famous advice columnist—especially that of her philan- 6915 Cass St., from Aug. 20-Sept. 19. Tickets prices for thropic and humanitarian efforts around the world—I adults are $35, $21 for students, and $23 for groups of must say, that it was nice going in as a blank slate. I was 15 or more. They can be purchased at the box office, or by fascinated to learn that her twin sister, Pauline Esther calling 402.553.0800.
THEATER REVIEW
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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August 27, 2010
It’s all relative: You say Einstein is ‘Jewish science,’ I say ‘liberal conspiracy’ by JOEL N. SHURKIN Germany until after World War II. BALTIMORE (JTA) -- More than a half-century ago, Now, a new generation of Einstein deniers, including the Nazis dismissed Albert Einstein’s groundbreaking some Holocaust revisionists, are launching their own theories as “Jewish science”; in recent years Holocaust attacks, simultaneously rejecting Einstein’s science and revisionists have taken up the anti-Einstein cause. Now, accusing him of stealing his ideas from others. the legendary physicist is facing a new wave of attacks — They point to the published work of French physicist this time from conservative bloggers who say that his Jules Henri Poincaré, and Dutch physicist Hendrik theory of relativity and its iconic formula, E=mc2, are Antoon Lorentz, which preceded Einstein’s publication part of a “liberal conspiracy.” by several years. These men were superb physicists The latest debate erupted when a Web site, (Lorentz won a Nobel Prize) and they had thought Conservapedia [http://conservapedia.com], posted a about relativity, but neither made the huge leap in imagdefinition of relativity making the charge that it was part ination Einstein did, although Poincaré came close and of an ideological plot, and then added a list of counter probably did influence him. examples it says disprove Einstein’s theories. The postAnother claim is that the theories originated with ings were picked up by the liberal blog TPMMuckracker Einstein’s first wife, the Serbian physics student Mileva [http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoints.com] and then Maric. She may well have served as a sounding board, went viral. but respected physicists and historians say no serious eviConservapedia is the creation of Andrew Schlafly, the dence exists that she made any substantive contribution. 49-year-old lawyer son of Phyllis Schlafly, the anti-aborWhile there is no overt anti-Semitism in the tion activist. He has a degree in engineering physics Conservapedia entries on Einstein, the ones on relativifrom Princeton University and a law degree from ty are redolent with the old arguments. For instance, Harvard Law School. Schlafly, who did not respond to Schlafly writes: “The theory... is heavily promoted by repeated attempts to interview him for this article, liberals who like its encouragement of relativism and its founded Conservapedia three years ago — reportedly tendency to mislead people in how they view the because he feels that Wikipedia [http://www.wiki world.” pedia.org], the dominant online encyclopedia and one Greg Gbur, assistant professor of physics at the of the most visited Web sites in the world, has a liberal, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, argued in his anti-Christian, anti-American blog, Skulls in the Stars, that if bias. you “replace ‘liberals’ with ‘Jews’ How Einstein and his theories in [that] sentence,” the words got embroiled in America’s culmight as well have been written tural wars is not clear. That his by a Nazi circa 1930s-era theories represent one of the Germany. great leaps in scientific history is. In an effort to discredit From 1666 until Einstein’s day, Einstein’s theories, Schlafly prophysics -- the way humans look at vides a list of about two dozen the mechanics of nature -- was “counterexamples.” Scientists dominated by the work of Isaac looking at the list say many are Newton. Then, in 1905, the 26irrelevant, some misinterpret the year-old Einstein published a science, and many are flat wrong. paper on what he called the speThe latter category, they say, cial theory of relativity. The includes Schlafly’s claim that no famous formula is in that paper: useful devices have been “develEnergy equals mass times the oped based on any insights prospeed of light squared. While vided by the theory; no lives have physicists can give complex, been saved or helped, and the sometimes poetic explanations for theory has not led to other useful this formula, it essentially means theories and may have interfered that the mass of any object can be with scientific progress.” converted into energy. Almost everyone who has had a Ten years later, Einstein added PET (positron emission tomogragravity to the mix in his general Conservative blogger Andrew Schlafly says phy) scan in a hospital, or who theory of relativity, which states Albert Einstein's scientific theories are bad sci- has undergone radiation therapy that time and space are intricately ence and part of a "liberal conspiracy." for cancer or who has turned on a entwined. Every time you feel Credit: JTA graphic/Library of Congress particle accelerator has used the heavier when an elevator you are theory of special relativity, says riding in accelerates upward, you are feeling the effects historian and physicist Michael Riordan, adjunct profesdescribed in Einstein’s general theory. sor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Initially, many scientists disbelieved these theories, but If you have a GPS navigation system in your car, gradually, they came around. Experimenters from Einstein is guiding you, Riordan said. That E=mc2 is around the world set about trying to prove — or better wrong surely would have surprised the physicists at the yet, disprove — Einstein’s theories. Now, a century later, Manhattan Project who used it to develop the atomic his theories are universally accepted in the scientific bombs that destroyed two Japanese cities. community. “There is no controversy,” Riordan said. “The theory Schlafly’s argument against Einstein appears to con- isn’t wrong; it’s incomplete and has refinements that flate relativity, a theory in physics about time, space and might or might not be true.” gravity, with relativism, a philosophical argument about Gbur says that Schlafly uses a technique known in morality and human experience having nothing to do rhetoric as the “Gish Gallop” (named for biochemist with physics. He points to a 1989 article by liberal law Duane Tolbert Gish, a creationist debater who professor Lawrence Tribe in the Harvard Law Review. employed it), which Gbur defines as “throw as many Now widely disseminated on the Internet, Tribe’s article claims out there as possible, regardless of the validity, uses relativity as a metaphor for understanding constitu- with the realization that most people will be swayed by tional law. In the footnotes, Tribe thanks the man who the amount of evidence and not look too closely at the was then the editor of the review: a law student named details.” Schlafly piles on statement after statement, Barack Obama. footnote after footnote, and even stacks impressive Hence, a liberal conspiracy. mathematical formulas and jargon to support his claims. Schlafly goes further, claiming that “virtually no one Some of the references are simply self-references, and who is taught and believes relativity continues to read some have nothing to do with the argument. the Bible,” but he doesn’t say how he knows that. He Meanwhile, physicists are expressing mixed feelings also cites passages in the Christian Bible in an effort to about how to react. Several refused to comment for this disprove Einstein’s theories. story because they did not want to give Schlafly crediAttacks on relativity have a long and sleazy history. bility. But Clifford Will, professor of physics at After much of the physics community came to accept the Washington University in St. Louis, did weigh in. theories, attacks continued from less admirable sources, “The Internet world is full of kooks and crackpots including anti-Semites who were apparently upset that a who put out all kinds of drivel. It is pointless to attempt Jew was being credited with producing something that to refute these people with evidence, because they don't important. They called it “Jewish science.” Nazis, believe in evidence,” Will wrote in an email from Paris. believing that Germans should do better, came up with “…People may not like relativity,” he wrote, “but the an alternative — totally incoherent — concept they experimental and observational evidence that supports it called Deutsche Physik, which set back physics in is so overwhelming that it is now a fact of the universe.”
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August 27, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
September FRIDAY, AUGUST 27 Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel Birthday Blessings, 6 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, AUGUST 28 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 Bagels & Beit Midrash, 9 a.m. at Beth Israel ADL Civil Rights Immigration Discussion & Coalition Building, 2 p.m. Temple Israel Mythbusting: The Path to Becoming a Legal Citizen, 2 p.m. Wine, Cheese & Book Talk for 20’s and 30’s with Rachel Shukert, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El 9th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival Deli Dinner, 6 p.m. MONDAY, AUGUST 30 Mid-Week Classes Begin, grades 3-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Back to School Bash, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 JFS Project Tzedakah - Rosh Hashanah, 8 a.m. Parsha Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. at Chabad BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 YJO Meeting, 6:30 p.m. Community High School, 6:30 p.m. 8th Grade Begins at Beth El, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El Schindler’s List Speaker, 7 p.m. Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Henry Monsky Lodge, 6 p.m. “Blast at the Blatt” Federation Meeting with Rob Mann, 7 p.m. Rabbis Around the World, 7:30 p.m. 9th Annual Jewish Omaha Film Festival, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 The Teachings of Reb Nachman of Breslav - Session III, noon SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Selichot High Holiday Stories with Nancy Rips, 9 p.m. at at Beth El SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Kever Avot Services, 11 a.m. at the Cemeteries Sunday Night Dinner, 5 p.m. at Beth Israel MONDAY, SEPTMEBER 6 Friedel Jewish Academy No School Labor Day Labor Day Holiday TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Parsha Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. Eye on Israel, noon with Dr. Guy Matalon BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Federation Campaign Training with Debbie Denenberg, 7 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Friedel 2:30 p.m. dismissal for Erev Rosh Hashanah Women’s Book Group, 3:30 p.m. at Beth El JCC Closes at 6 p.m. for Erev Rosh Hashanah Community High School, 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 Friedel No School Rosh Hashanah JCC CLOSED FOR ROSH HASHANAH Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Rabbis Around the World, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 Friedel No School Rosh Hashanah JCC CLOSED FOR ROSH HASHANAH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Tzom Gedaliah - Fast of Gedaliah Holiday Mystique of Judaism Class led by Andy Greenberg, 10 a.m. at Beth El OTYG Board Meeting, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel WRJ Book Sorting Day, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Tashlich, 10:30 a.m. at Trendwood Park JYG Tie Dye Party, noon at Temple Israel RBJH Grandparents Day Celebration, 1 p.m. BBYO Chapter Board Training, 3 p.m. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 B’nai B’rith Men’s Lodge & APAC Luncheon, 11:45 a.m. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 Parsha Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. at Chabad Eye on Israel with Dr. Guy Matalon, noon ADL/CRC Executive Committee Meeting, noon BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Community High School Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. JCC Board Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 Yom Kippur Preperation with Rabbi Azriel, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Community High School, 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Center for Jewish Education Board Meeting, noon Federation Campaign Training with Joel Alperson, 7 p.m. Rabbis Around the World, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 Friedel 2:30 p.m. dismissal for Kol Nidre
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 B’nai B’rith Men’s Lodge Sukkah Decorating Help Put Up the Sukkah, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Chaverim, Kadima & USY Sukkah Decorating, 1 p.m. at Beth El Mainstreeters Theatre & Dinner, 2 p.m. Agency Presidents & Directors Meeting, noon
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Curriculum Night Grade 1-6, 7 p.m. at Friedel TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Picture Day K-6, 8 a.m. at Friedel Parsha Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. at Chabad Main Streeters Committee Meeting, 10 a.m. Foundation Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m. Eye on Israel with Dr. Guy Matalon, noon Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m. at Friedel BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Board of Trustees, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel JOLT Session, 7p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Federation Training with Deb Friedman, 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, 3:30 p.m. at Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Erev Sukkot JCC Closes at 6 p.m. Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Parsha Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. at Chabad Eye on Israel, noon with Dr. Guy Matalon JFO Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. JFO Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
8 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 Yom Kippur JCC Closed Break-the-Fast Dinner, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel
All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El Shabbat Tunes and Tales, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El
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Page 12
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
Stories
by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Several authors with Omaha roots are featured in the Jewish Press this month. In this issue, we have Nancy Rips, whose new book, High Holiday Stories, is hitting the shelf, and Dan Mirvish, who co-authored I am Eisenstadt. Meanwhile, Rachel Shukert continues to storm the Jewish literary world with her second memoir, titled Everything is Going to be Great, about which we ran a story last week. For a relatively small paper in a relatively small community, three in a row is a lot; we realized that as we were placing stories on our pages. However, it’s mostly a luxury problem: Jewish identity has long thrived within the context of stories told from one generation to the next. The big question with stories told by others is often: Are we reading about those others, or about ourselves? When we finish a book, reluctantly turning over that last page after having lived in somebody else’s world for a few hours, do we go back to where we came from, or does every story change us a little bit? I like to think the latter, and here’s why. When we lose ourselves in the lives of others, we learn something every time. We imagine, perhaps without really wanting to, ourselves in the heroine’s shoes, seeing what she sees, and following the protagonist’s footsteps, going where he goes. No, we don’t want to end up in a French hospital after a continental binge, like Shukert’s main character; we don’t necessarily want to pull off a stunt like Mirvish and get away with it (or maybe we do). Perhaps we secretly fantasize about living in the pages of Rips’ writing, wishing she would describe our own lives in her unique and elegant way, for we, too, have a story to tell. Storytelling is essential to Judaism. From a very young age, ever since starting Sunday
(Founded in 1920)
school lessons, we’ve been hardwired to learn through narrative. We hear about King David, and we are told about his heroic as well as his less heroic acts. We wander the desert for 40 years and imagine the taste of Manna. We envision the beauty of Sarah and see the golden calf in our minds; we throw the rock that kills Goliath and gather the animals before the flood. When we read Torah, we are not meant to be bystanders. Much more than simple consumerism is expected from us. We have to insert ourselves into the story; I think it’s why the Parshas are shaped the way they are, full of adventure, trouble, happiness, and danger. We don’t just read, we partake, hurt, feel, and learn right alongside all the people who crowd the pages. It’s what we are hardwired to do. Nowadays, we constantly hear about the ‘paperless society,’ publishers are supposedly on their way out, and so is the newspaper. We worry about the next generation’s ability to read and write, and the demise of the written word. But our very essence can be found in the written word, in Torah, and to a lesser extent, in the stories we have told each other since. Those stories are
important, and we need to continue to hear them, read them, and tell them. Next week, you will find the New Year’s edition of the Jewish press in your mailbox. It will be filled with Jewish stories, and we hope you will read it cover to cover and maybe learn a little bit about others as well as yourself. Yes, I love the Internet, too. It’s easy, it’s accessible, and it’s insanely addictive. But at the end of the day, there is nothing, nothing, that compares to holding a new book in your hands and disappearing in its pages. The smell and feel of an actual book and all the promises it holds? The Internet can’t hold a candle to it. I strongly urge you to visit your local library or your favorite bookstore and look up these three authors, and anything else that strikes your fancy. After all, it will be winter soon (sorry!). Time to curl up on the couch and lose yourself.
FOCUS ON ISSUES by SANFORD R. CARDIN TULSA, Okla. (JTA) -- “Another leadership development program? Don’t we already have enough of them in the Jewish world? What I think we need are some ‘followership’ programs. Go find me some of those to fund.” When Charles Schusterman spoke those words to me in 1999, he had a good point: Back then, most Jewish organizations and foundations seemed more interested in producing leaders than in building inspired communities. Were Charles alive today, I think he would feel otherwise. The past decade has witnessed the emergence of a new generation of programs in which the primary focus is on those who participate, not on those who lead. While Taglit/Birthright Israel, Moishe House, Hillel and Limmud are among the most obvious examples of this shift, a host of other organizations also have embraced the concept of “followership” by making engagement of the many a higher priority than the empowerment of the few. Some of these organizations have had greater success than others. Why? First and foremost, successful followership programs place the participant at the center of the experience. For example, a recent marketing study of a music festival showed that its peer-to-peer recruitment approach, where the consumers shaped much of the message, was far more effective in reaching the target audience than the more traditional, top-down campaign. Interactivity and openness to new ideas are two other keys to effective followership programs. One of the most profound impacts of the Internet is the degree to which it has
Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Eric Dunning, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Past President; Daphne Pollak Alperson, Marc Brodkey; Phyllis Brown; Jason Epstein; Mel Epstein; Scott Farkas; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman; 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 jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.
The need for ‘followership’ programs “democratized” the flow of information. As a result, program providers must now be prepared to listen as much as they speak, and learn as much as they teach. Participants want to play an integral part in shaping their own experiences and building their own communities. The best followership programs encourage these behaviors, while recognizing that it is their responsibility to sell rather than the obligation of their potential participants to buy. All too often, we in the Jewish community bemoan the fact that our young people just don’t get it. We assume their inability to recognize the wisdom of our position is a shortcoming on their part, rather than a reflection of our failure to communicate effectively. We must remember, it’s not about us, it’s about what is happening. Ultimately, the best followership programs are those that take all of the above and sophisticatedly integrate them with one other principle: leadership. I strongly believe that one of the best places to witness the effective use of the principles of followership is within the ROI Community, a leadership development program established by our foundation five years ago in partnership with Taglit/Birthright Israel in order to introduce young Jewish adults from around the world to the crucial issues of the day and to encourage their involvement in the building of vibrant Jewish communities. ROI recently celebrated its fifth anniversary by convening 120 young Jewish innovators and activists, each of whom has a personal vision about how to make the Jewish world a better place. I listened as these young leaders explained how they have helped hundreds of thousands of their peers and contemporaries throughout the world broaden their Jewish activities, all for the purpose of reaching them with a powerful message: That in their search for meaning, for relevance, for spirituality,
Bobbi Leibowitz President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
actively engaging in Jewish life is a path worth pursuing. ROI isn’t alone in its quest to empower leaders to engage participants. American organizations like the Center for Leadership Initiatives, Bikkurim, Joshua Venture Group, Jumpstart and Upstart; European efforts such as Paideia and J-Hub; Israeli groups like ROI and PresenTense; and, of course, Taglit itself have helped hundreds of Jewish social entrepreneurs educate and inspire their peers through collaborative and cooperative programs and projects. I see enormous potential for impact at the global intersection of followership and leadership, some of which is already being realized with the Jewish Salons network and the web portal Jewcology.com. Jewish Salons, which aims to promote Jewish identity through arts and culture, connects young Jews from different communities by co-producing events that provide an alternative mind-set to formal community institutions. Young activists in Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna and Mexico City have established local salons since the international network’s launch in Tel Aviv in 2006. In 2009, some 1,500 people participated in 14 salon events. Jewcology.com, a collaboration of 19 ROI members, is being launched to create a platform for Jewish environmental activists to network and share program resources. The longterm goal of the web portal is to build a multidenominational, multi-generational, regionally diverse community of Jewish environmental activists who are learning from one another how to educate their communities. The structures, the people and the resources are ready to go; all we need is the will. Sanford R. Cardin is president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
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August 27, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Couple behind Ground Zero mosque model of tolerance
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by WALTER RUBY NEW YORK (JTA) -- Over the last few months, I have had a front-row seat to history. Last May, I spoke at a public hearing of Manhattan’s Community Board No. 1 in support of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan, the husband-and-wife team who initiated plans to build a 13-story Islamic community center two blocks north of Ground Zero. I was there on behalf of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which has worked with the group Rauf and Khan lead, the American Society for Muslim Advancement, in ongoing efforts to strengthen MuslimJewish relations in the United States and around the world. In my testimony at the hearing, I said that since our organizations began cooperating three years ago, I have consistently found both Feisal and Khan to be unequivocally opposed to violence and terrorism and deeply committed to the American values of democracy and pluralism. These are values, Feisal argues in his book,
“What’s Right with Islam,” that are intrinsic to Islam as well. For this reason, our foundation has consistently supported Feisal’s effort to create an Islamic community center in New York that will serve as a high-profile platform from which to articulate that vision of peaceful and pluralistic Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Months ago, he and his wife told the president of our foundation, Rabbi Marc Schneier, that they hope to create a center for Muslim-Jewish dialogue at the Islamic community center in cooperation with our foundation and the larger Jewish community. Over the past three years, Rauf and Khan have taken part in an annual event sponsored by our foundation known as The Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues Across North America, during which mosques and synagogues offer one-on-one programs focusing on and celebrating commonalities in our two faith traditions. From what I have learned, when Feisal set out during the past few years to bring to fruition his decades-old dream of creating an Islamic community center with a strong interfaith component in New York City, he was never much concerned about where the center would be located. Yet, when a space large enough to fulfill his
vision became available two blocks north of Ground Zero, he saw special significance in the site. He argued that the building of an Islamic community center there dedicated to non-violence and mutual understanding among faiths would represent a deeply felt gesture of compassion and healing by the Muslims of New York to the entire New York community, including those who lost loved ones on 9/11. In retrospect, Feisal can justly be accused of naiveté for not perceiving that building an Islamic community center so close to Ground Zero would unleash the kind of firestorm of fear, loathing and anti-Muslim rhetoric that has erupted in recent weeks. From my conversations with him and his wife on the subject of the proposed center going back almost a year, it is clear to me that they never anticipated the kind of political backlash that has occurred. Together with the American Society for Muslim Advancement and other moderate Muslim organizations, our foundation will continue to nurture a movement of Muslims and Jews committed to communication, reconciliation and cooperation. Walter Ruby is the Muslim-Jewish relations program officer at the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
The words behind the man behind the mosque
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by JEFFREY K. SALKIN COLUMBUS, Ga. (JTA) -- I admire my colleagues and friends who have shown themselves to be courageous enough to speak out against the anti-Islam hysteria that tends to surround conversations about the Islamic center that is being planned for a property that for many is uncomfortably close to Ground Zero. They have shown themselves to be paragons of religious tolerance, and for this I commend them. But in the general category of “Is this good for the Jews?,” we might want to examine the words of the man who is the imam of the Masjid al-Farah -- Feisal Abdul Rauf. Luckily we have no shortage of those words. A brief perusing of his book “What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America” (HarperOne, 2005) might prove both instructive and sobering. What does Rauf believe about Israel? Rauf states that the creation of Israel was an unfortunate byproduct of the nation-state idea. Jews, he said, lived completely peacefully in the Muslim world for centuries. “They looked, spoke and ate -- even sang -- like the rest of the people around them,” he wrote, adding that the creation of Israel began a most unfortunate schism between Jews and Muslims, who had previously experienced “a deeply intimate kinship with each other” (page 169). Rauf would have us imagine that life in the Middle East was Woodstock until the creation of the nasty State of Israel, which comes to ruin everyone’s good time. We might rightly wonder aloud whether the historic dhimmi status of the Jew in Muslim cultures actually implies the deep intimacy that Rauf imagines. And a subtle but telling point: Is the nation-state as a concept to be con-
demned (an arguable point), or only if that nation-state happens to be Jewish? In his imagined history of the Middle East, Rauf continues to say that because of the Israeli-Arab conflict, Sephardic Jews became “unfortunately victimized” in many Muslim societies. He goes on to say that the worst thing about this is that it deprived those societies of their rich, deep pluralism. Rauf lists notable dates in Islamic history -- among them 1924, when the Ottoman Caliphate ended; 1947, when India was split into Pakistan and India; and 1948, when Israel was “created as a homogenous Jewish nation-state within the geographical envelope of the Muslim world” (page 243). I realize that we Jews carry our own historic losses with our souls; the wound of the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem is still memory-resident. But Rauf is mourning the loss of the power of the Caliphate and simply repeating the Palestinian narrative, and saying that the Muslim world is a restricted neighborhood into which a Jewish sovereign nation-state need not apply. Rauf acknowledges that a number of conflicts exist today in the Muslim world, including Pakistan-India over Kashmir and Russia-Chechnya, “but the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is viewed in the Muslim world as being sustained by America” (page 161). He not only drastically understates the number of conflicts that exist today in the Muslim world (how about Darfur, the Balkans, etc.), but he clearly believes that America is at the root of the problem in the Middle East -- and not, for example, the fact that the Arab leaders themselves cheated the Palestinians out of their land (see “Palestine Betrayed,” by Ephraim Karsh). For the record: I believe that a Palestinian state is necessary -- not out of any sentimental admiration of Palestinian nationalism, but because of a belief in Zionism, the idea that we might truly be “a free people in our land,” a people free to continue to craft our own
national narrative, complete with our national values. Is there room for that narrative in Rauf’s worldview? On Sept. 12, 2001, I heard the baristas at the Starbucks in Manhasset, N.Y., whispering about the cars that remained overnight in the railroad station parking lot -- cars that would never be claimed because their drivers had disappeared. That moment will be with me forever. Since that moment I have worked at combating Islamophobia and criticizing those who are ready to brand all manifestations of Islam as a dangerous religion. I have urged Jews to reject the anti-intellectual temptation of essentializing Islam and writing off an entire religion as a terrorist operation. Maimonides, a victim of Muslim radicalism, had every reason to hate Islam and didn’t. But if Rauf is the man who is the religious leader of the controversial mosque, then you might understand why Jews are permitted to worry. This says nothing about the rights of that institution to exist. It says nothing about privileging the feelings of the bereaved families of 9/11 over other American values of pluralism, which itself is debatable. I am merely saying that we should not expect a “kumbaya-fest” with this gentleman. Of course, I would rejoice at the possibility that I will be wrong. I would rejoice in hearing, from his lips, an affirmation of the right of the Jewish state to exist, even in what he believes to be his Middle Eastern ‘hood. And so I would hope that as the board of the Islamic center starts to prepare the guest list for the inevitable opening event that they might invite Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, to speak. Now that would be a grand gesture that would help many Jews, and many Americans, sleep better at night. Jeffrey K. Salkin is the rabbi of Temple Israel in Columbus, Ga., and the president of Kol Echad: Making Judaism Matter. He is the editor of “A Dream Of Zion: American Jews Reflect On Why Israel Matters To Them.”
Florida campaign stands behind ‘Gestapo’ reference WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A Republican challenging a Florida Jewish Democrat in a congressional race stood by his use of “Gestapo” to describe a videographer. Josh Grodin, Allen West’s campaign manager, told JTA on Monday afternoon that the term aptly described how operatives for the Florida Democratic Party and Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) constantly trailed West with cameras. “We’re not apologizing for it, what they’re doing, what the Democratic party is doing, they are engaging in intimidation and fear tactics,” said Grodin, who said West fears going out with his family because of the videography. Grodin, who is Jewish and who said his grandfather helped liberate concentration camps, said the controversy would not hurt his candidate, who has worked hard to establish a pro-Israel profile in the heavily Jewish district. “The Gestapo tactics were fear and intimidation, although they used other means than a video camera,” Grodin said, The Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, beat, imprisoned and murdered opponents in the early years of Nazi
Germany. It also set up the first concentration camps. It was eventually absorbed into the SS, which administered the Final Solution, the attempt to wipe out the Jews. At a campaign event Thursday, West compared the videographer filming his speech to the Gestapo. The videographer is reportedly the grandson of Holocaust survivors. “I know here today we have a representative from the Florida Democratic Party and he is here to film me and his whole purpose of filming me is to take what I say and allow other people to distort it so they can misrepresent me,” West said. “You know if we allow those Gestapotype intimidation tactics to prevail in the United States of America what happens to our liberties? What happens to our freedoms?” It has in recent years become standard procedure on the campaign trail for a candidate to photograph or video an opponent. Klein called for an apology. “Allen West has shown reckless disregard and appalling disrespect to Holocaust victims and survivors,” Klein said in a statement. “By peppering his speeches with references to the Gestapo and Nazis, Allen West
demonstrates how despite his claim to be a student of history, he fails to comprehend the enormity of the crimes committed by the Nazi regime.” According to Klein’s campaign, West in 2008 compared an Obama rally to a Nazi rally, and has since compared mainstream media to Nazi propaganda and the potential revocation of the Second Amendment to Hitler banning gun ownership.
get history buff. It’s fun to know history.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010
Candlelighting Friday, August 27, 7:47 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Prayer Group 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
UNVEILING A stone setting for the grave of Bella Eisenberg will be on Sunday, Sept. 12, 11 a.m., at Beth El Cemetery, 84th & L Streets, followed by a reception at the Rose Blumkin Home.
PERSONAL Harold and I would like to thank all of the nurses, aides, and staff who helped me heal while at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. I absolutely cannot thank my friends and family enough for all the cards, donations, flowers, and gifts. Special thank you to all of the Rabbis for their Mi Sheberach prayers. Etta Epstein
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. During the service, all August birthday celebrants will be honored with a special blessing and reception. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Rachel and Michael Pichik in honor of their daughter Alexandra becoming a Bat Mitzvah; Minha/ Ma’ariv, 7:55 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m. BESTT: Classes for grades preK-7 begin Sunday, 10 a.m.– noon. Parents’ orientation, 10 a.m. in the chapel. BESTT Eighth grade classes begin on Wednesday, Sept. 1, from 6:45-8:30 p.m. The first two sessions will be held at Beth El; classes will then convene at the JCC, beginning Oct. 6. RACHEL SHUKERT BOOK EVENT: On Sunday, 4:30-6 p.m., Beth El will sponsor a special event for 20s, 30s and 40s, featuring author Rachel Shukert who will share stories from her new book, Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Under-funded and Overexposed European Grand Tour. No charge to attend, but please RSVP to chairmen Jaime and Brian Nogg, 991.6753; or to Melissa and Matt Shapiro, 614.6571. BESTT BACK-TOSCHOOL: All families (pre-K12) are invited to a special Back-
to-School Bash on Monday, 6:15-8:30 p.m. Dinner is complimentary but reservations are required by Aug. 25. Food, fun, games and camaraderie for all. THURSDAY: CSA pick-up for shareholders, 4:30 p.m. at the synagogue. SELICHOT: On Saturday, Sept. 4, 9 p.m., a special Selichot program and service for the entire Jewish community. Havdalah will be observed, followed by a presentation by Nancy Rips, author of High Holiday Stories: Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Thoughts on Family, Faith and Food. Following a dessert reception, Rabbi Levin will make a short presentation about the new mahzor and Cantor Schlossberg will perform several musical selections leading into the Selilchot service. All Beth El classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 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. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush by Rabbi Jonathan and Miriam Gross in honor of the birth of their duaghter, Raya Liba; “Guard Your Tongue,” “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up), one hour prior to Mincha every Shabbat; Mincha, 7:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 8:47 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.
BAT MITZVAH Grant Gordon, son of Tracy and Randy Gordon, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 4, at Congregation B’Nai Jeshurun in Lincoln. Grant is an eighth-grade student at Lefler Middle School. He is a Patrol Leader for his Boy Scout troop and has earned the rank of First Class Scout. His interests include football, basketball, skateboarding and BMX. For his mitzvah project, Grant is an assistant camp leader with Camp Israel through Lincoln Jewish Community School, is collecting Tzedakah to support the Israeli Defense Forces and creating a plan to help make the Temple’s Bima accessible to elderly or disabled individuals. He has a sister, Maggie, and a brother, Calvin. Grandparents are Linda and Alan Muskin, Marilyn and Charles
Gordon of Fremont, and Jean and Jerry Jordan of Lincoln. Great-grandparents are Bettie and Stuart Muskin and Margaret Wiemann. Sara Lily Greene, daughter of Julie and Joey Greene became a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 1 at B i k u r CholimMachzikay H a d a t h Congregation in Seattle, WA. Sara is a sixth-grade student at Torah Day School of Seattle. Her interests include hanging out with friends, attending Jr. NCSY events, soccer and other sports, animals, babysitting, and computer games. She has a sister, Rena, and a brother, Binyomin. Grandparents are Ina and Dik Weiner, and Bernard and the late Irene Greene of Seattle.
WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class is cancelled this week. WEDNESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.; Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. Follow the Kollel at www.omaha kollel.blogspot.com. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbis Around the World, 7:30 p.m.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME habbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Beth Israel members. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.
TEMPLE ISRAEL CHABAD HOUSE 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 lunch follows. Join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 12:45 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com with any questions or to receive a guest pass. All programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Peaceful Shabbat Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: Board of Trustees meeting, 1-3 p.m. THURSDAY: Choir Rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m. Annual Back-to-School Supplies Drive: During 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. Thank you for helping the children in our neighborhood!
FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, Preparing for Elul, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Linder and Tami Field; Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m. A service for young children and their parents, grandparents led by Cantor Shermet followed by a dinner. Hosted by Michael & Dana Kaufman and Andy & Teresa Ruback. Sponsored by Women of Reform Judaism. Contact the Temple Israel office, 556.6536 or mkube@templeisraelomaha. com, to make a dinner reservation. The cost is $5 for adults and no charge for children. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Rachel Stoneking, daughter of Cynthia and Brian Stoneking, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Kol Rina Rehearsal, 1 p.m. TUESDAY: Kol Rina Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY: CSA delivery for shareholders, 4:30 p.m. at South entrance. S’lichot Service, Saturday, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m. Havdalah begins the evening which ends with a chocolate Oneg.
NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAY: Shabbat on the Green: Dinner, 6 p.m. and Kabbalat services begin outside at 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush luncheon and Talmud study.
Eye On Israel to resume in September by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education After a brief hiatus in August, the weekly series Eye on Israel resumes for four consecutive weeks in September. The popular discussion group led by Dr. Guy Matalon, Executive Director, Center for Jewish Education, will meet on Tuesdays, Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at noon in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Regular attendees enjoy the current events Dr. Matalon chooses to bring to the discussion each week. Whether poli-
tics, education, Israel’s judicial system, or even social commentary, no topic is off limits. Brown bag lunches are welcome and coffee will be available. Eye on Israel is an interactive forum to debate current Israeli and Middle East political issues and American foreign policy. The program is open to the public and is provided free of charge by the Center for Jewish Education. For more information, call 334.6445 or email mgrossman@jewishomaha.org.
August 27, 2010
Archeologists attention!
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Ki Tavo The Torah directs the Israelites as they come into the land that was to become the Land of Israel, to set up large stones. I would imagine that they meant pillars of stone, because they are then told to write upon them “all the words of this Torah.” We can’t tell what “all the words of the Torah” were meant to be. Perhaps only the words of this small section, or the words of the entire Torah. It could be that somewhere at the place where Israelites entered the land that was to be the Holy Land they set up these huge “stones,” which must have been like “rolls of stone,” for on them they were to write all the words of this Torah. By “writing” they meant chiseling the words into the stone, for that is the only way to mark words into stone. Somewhere, therefore, at a place close to the entrance to the Land of Israel, there are these huge tablets of stone with “writing” chiseled into them by the ancient Israelites. Attention, archeologists! Perhaps on the surface, but more likely buried under several generations of earth, are these ancient stone tablets with instructions to the Israelites. Fame, fame, fame awaits the archeologist who finds where these stone tablets are and informs the world what the Israelites were told as they entered the land.
MARRIAGE WALDON/ITKIN Jason Aron Itkin and Kisha Nicole Waldon were married on July 17 in a moonlit ceremony at the Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica. Rabbi David Gruber of Dallas officiated. The bride, daughter of Lisa Soderberg and Michael Bell, is a graduate of Northwestern State University and currenty works for Fidelity Exploration and Production while earning a second undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical engineering with concentrations in petroleum engineering and geology. The groom, son of Marsha and Philip Itkin, graduated from the University of Texas and the University of Texas Law School and is a partner at Arnold & Itkin LLP in Houston. He is the grandson Gertrude Brody and the late Gerald Brody and the late Idell and David Itkin. After a honeymoon in the Napa Valley, the couple returned to their home in Houston.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press office is closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day. Questions? Call 334.6448.
DEATHS DAVID MEYERS Continued from page 1 Meyers readily admitted that The Homestead Exemption Program in Omaha was probably his greatest volunteer program. Even though people who are 65 years-old or have disabilities may have significant income, they may have medical, dental and other expenses that may cause them to have a hardship when paying their property taxes. Dave began helping with the program and expanded it by drafting friends and neighbors to help with the applications. He even went to people's homes, figured their income tax, and made out their Homestead Exemption applications. He worried because some people who genuinely qualify didn't know about the program. Because of his efforts, a hot line was set up and probably 1000 calls a year came in with people asking for help. When he suggested that a notice be put on tax bills, the hot line received over 3000 calls. As a result of those calls, 2000 people qualified. At one point, Meyers even lobbied senators in The Nebraska Unicameral to make the application less cumbersome. He worried that older people would be intimidated by the application and wouldn’t apply. In 2007, Dave and Sue established a leadership fund at Temple Israel to honor their son Jon upon his election as president of the board. In 2008 he was awarded the Hannah G Solomon (check spelling) award, an honor bestowed upon him by the Omaha Section of the National Council of Jewish Women for his collection of philanthropic work and service to those who are unable to help themselves. Dave was the first male life member of the Omaha Section. Meyers is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sue Wolkoff Meyers; sons and daughter-in-laws, Jon and Denise Meyers, and Joe and Tina Meyers; and son, Bill; grandchildren, James and Beth Meyers, Tamara and Jared Draeger, Shaina Meyers, Sheila and Clarence Brown, and Stacy Swanger; 2 great-grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law, Bernie and Roie Meyers; sister, Pat Sacks of Safety Harbour, FL.; nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to National Council of Jewish Women or the Charity of your choice. FRANCES GOTTLIEB Frances Gottlieb, 1934-2010. Services were held Aug. 24 at Beth El Cemetery, 84th and L Streets. She was preceded in death by husband, Harold. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Zevie Gottlieb and Bruce Salad; daughter, Miriam Gottlieb; and granddaughters Tovah, Marissa and Andrea. Memorials may be made to Beth El Synagogue, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, Henry Doorly Zoo, American Cancer Society, or charity of your choice. ALAN KULAKOFSKY Alan Kulakofsky, passed away Aug. 23 at age 62. Services were held Aug. 26 at Beth El Synagogue, fol-
lowed by interment at Beth El Cemetery. He was preceded in death by parents, Leonard and Anita Kulakofsky. Survived by wife of 39 years, Janie Kulakofsky; son and daughter-in-law, David and Elizabeth Kulakofsky of Chicago; son, Jay Kulakofsky of North Carolina; grandson, Joshua Kulakofsky of Chicago; brother and sisterin-law, Edgar and Debbie Kully; sister and brother-inlaw, Gail and Alan Ruderman; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Dr. Jonathan and Renee Fox, and Daniel and Mary Beth Fox; aunts and uncles, Shirley Kulakofsky, Stanley Katelman, Harold Fox, Helen Kranther, Richard and Joan Rosenblatt, and Mollye Marcus; special cousins, Sally and Michael Berk, Gary and Lorrie Katelman, and Debbie Salomon. Memorials may be made to the Sienna Frances House or UNMC’s Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer. LOLA REINGLAS Reinglas, Lola, passed away on Aug. 20 at age 85. Services were held Aug 22 at Beth El Cemetery. She was preceded in death by husband, Irving Reinglas. She is survived by daughters and sons-in-law, Jeanatte and Stephen Baker, and Ann and Bob Brand; grand children, Allison Baker, and Matt and Stephanie Brand; great grand children, Coleman and Camryn Brand. A Holocaust Survivor, Lola settled in Omaha in 1949 with her husband Irving and made this city her home for over 60 years. She was an active member of Beth El Synagogue and Sisterhood and did volunteer work at Methodist Hospital. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Memorials to Odyssey Hospice, 444 Regency Parkway Dr., Suite 200, Omaha, NE 68114 NATALIE COMEN RUBIN Natalie Comen Rubin, 79, passed away on Aug. 16 at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. She was interred on Aug. 18 at Loyalty Cemetery in Fairfield, CT. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Herman Rubin. She is survived by her children, William Rubin of Eagan, MN, Joel Rubin of Bloomington, IN, and Lori Nacht of Millburn, NJ; grandchildren, Jacob, Samuel and Daniella Nacht; and brother, Alvin Comen of Stratford, CT. In 1977, the family moved to Omaha. where she served as the Russian Resettlement Coordinator at Jewish Family Service. She served on the boards of Hazak, the Jewish Community Center of Omaha, and L.O.V.E. She also served on the Vaad Hakashrut of Omaha, transcribed both English and Hebrew texts into Braille, was active in Beth El sisterhood and Hadassah, and was a Beth El minyanaire. Memorials to Beth El Synagogue, the Midlands Chapter of the Alzheimers Association, or charity of choice.
Pulverent e
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Statewide Classified ADOPT: WARM, loving, financially secure woman longs to adopt newborn. Promises lifetime of unconditional love, happiness, financial security. Expenses paid. Barbara, 1888-908-9078, www.barbara-adopt.com. ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! For $210/25 word classified you can advertise in over 170 Nebraska newspapers. For more information contact The Jewish Press at 402334-6448 or call 1-800-369-2850. BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-8728327. www.steffenslaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. ATTENTION ANIMAL workers. Do you work with swine, turkeys, geese, or ducks? Are you age 18 or over? If so, you may be eligible to enroll in the University of Florida's Prospective Study of US Animal Agricultural Workers for Emerging Influenza Virus Infections. The purpose of the research study is to follow ag workers and their household members for influenza (flu) infections from both animal and humans. Compensation available. For more information, view our study website at http://gpl.phhp.ufl.edu/AgWorker or contact Whitney Baker at 352-273-9569, email: wsbaker@phhp.ufl.edu. ALL NEW Happy Jack® Xylecide® anti-fungal shampoo treats ringworm and hot spots on dogs & horses without steroids. Orscheln Farm & Home stores. (www.happyjackinc.com). RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT Outlet; new & used restaurant equipment. See www.Chillmasters.biz for more info; Sioux City, IA, 1-800-526-7105. EASY AND Quick. Your deed is what you need for land/home. 3, 4, 5 bedroom singlewides, doublewides, modulars. 800-375-3115. First time homebuyers program, 785862-0321. FISH CREEK Farm canoe-able farm. 5 acres. Canoe from property, $39,995. Beautiful woods, tons of wildlife. Very limited opportunity. Call today! 800-229-7843. www.LandandCamps.com. TRAVEL, WORK, Party Play! Now hiring 18-24 guys/gals to travel with fun young group. NY, LA, Miami. Paid training. Hotel/transportation provided. Return guaranteed. 1-800-245-1892. FULL-TIME FILLMORE County Highway Superintendent position available with Class A or B license, responsible charge experience is preferred but not required. Contact County Clerk, Amy Nelson, for more information by September 30, 2010, 402-759-4931 or Amy.Nelson@Fillmore.nacone.org. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR wanted. Franklin County Memorial Hospital, a critical access hospital with 4 rural health clinics is seeking applicants for vacancy. Education and experience a consideration. New executives urged to apply. Send resumes in confidence to Hospital Administrator Position, Franklin County Memorial Hospital, PO Box 315, Franklin, NE 68939 or e-mail to jfgerdes@fcmh.biz. POLICE OFFICER Testing, City of Columbus, NE. Immediate opening. Testing is Friday, 9/17/10. See details at www.columbusne.us. Beginning rate about $35,000 plus competitive benefits. CALLING NEBRASKA 3rd District Conservatives. Tired of partisan politics? Volunteer petition circulators needed for Dan Hill Congressional Campaign in 3rd District counties. Go to www.VoteDanHill.com or call 308-675-1377. AFLAC SEEKING sales associates. Needed: Desire to succeed and motivation to make it happen. Excellent training provided, unlimited income potential. Call 308-284-4026. HVAC INSTALLERS: Experienced. Commercial and residential. EPA certified. Spring applicants please reapply due to website problem and call to verify receipt. Apply in person or online www.callgreens.com. Green Furnace & Plumbing, since 1921. 402-4674444, 4200 N. 48th, Lincoln, NE 68504. Trane, Bryant & Lennox dealer.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 27, 2010