Vol. LXXXVIII No. 4 Omaha, NE
Federation honors volunteers, service
At last month’s Volunteer Reception, Federation President Bob Lepp, right, recognized the contributions of volunteers, including Dorothy Spizman, the Jewish Press recipient. In addition, awards were presented for community service to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and to the Federation’s Partnership with Israel Performing Arts Series. Below: Jan Goldstein, Federation executive director, praised outgoing past president Norman H. Sheldon. More photos on page 5
Celebrating 88 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
4 Tishrei, 5768
October 3, 2008
Plenty of heat but little movement as Ahmadinejad caps U.S. visit by URIEL HEILMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -With speeches, fiery rhetoric and protestations of one sort of another, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his opponents in the United States faced off against each other during his latest visit to New York. And, by the end of the visit -- after Iran’s president used the bully pulpit of the U.N. General Assembly to tag Zionists as murderers and suggest they are responsible for the global economic turmoil, after a rally of thousands opposite the United Nations to protest Iran, after Ahmadinejad was feted with multiple media interviews and a Ramadan break the fast meal hosted by a leading U.S. Quaker group -- not much appeared Protesters gathered in New York City on Sept. 22 to draw attention to the threat of Iran’s purto have changed. Credit: Ben Harris Iran continued to assert its suit of nuclear weapons. intention to maintain its nuclear pursuits, international myriad platforms to showcase their views in a week inspectors continued to be barred from Iran’s nuclear heavy with media coverage, including rallies at the facilities, no new sanctions legislation was moving for- beginning and end of his trip. First came the gathering Sept. 22 of several thousand ward in the U.S. Congress or the United Nations, and Iran’s Jewish opponents continued to issue a steady at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza opposite the United stream of warnings about the Islamic Republic and con- Nations in a Jewish-sponsored event marred somewhat by the controversy that erupted the previous week over demnations of the Iranian president. What Ahmadinejad’s visit did do was give each side Continued on page 2
Refusenik: How it all began by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Sitting in front of the giant movie screen at Film Streams after the Omaha showing of Refusenik, a diminutive Shirley Goldstein listens to producer Stephanie Seldin Howard recall the documentary’s beginning. Friends with Laura Bialis, director of another documentary, Tak for Alt, about Holocaust survivor Judy Meisel, Howard turned to Bialis and said, “I’ve got an idea for your next film -- a documentary about a ‘housewife’ in Omaha.” The struggle to free Soviet Jews had “captured my imagination,” Howard said, recalling her USY days in Omaha and the protest marches originating from Beth El. True to her modest nature, however, Goldstein told Howard she would only “do the film” if Howard and Bialis interview the many other activists and refuseniks who helped bring down the Soviet regime. And so began the three-year project which culminated in the documentary Refusenik, a history celebrating the 40year struggle to free Soviet Jewry. Hundreds of interviews later, countless solicitations for funds, and hour upon hour searching archives for photos, film footage and documents, Howard proudly
Inside
points to the Buddy was out playing results: a chronicle golf,” she told the Press, “I with major players called Glenn Richter, my of the exodus of cousin Lenore’s husband, in New York.” Richter, head of more than 1.5 milthe fledgling Student lion Jews from the Struggle for Soviet Jewry, former Soviet gave Goldstein a private Union. tutorial, adding a chapter Among those each week of names, locawho were finally tions, history of “refusal” allowed to leave and more. (one of the last) He not only told her were Abe and Ida Taratuta, the “go what to bring (jeans, camto” couple all eras and other goods that activists visited could be sold on the black when they arrived market so refuseniks could in Leningrad (now support themselves and their known again as St. families), he warned her Petersberg). Not about the KGB, the Soviet only were they the spy organization that first refuseniks The day after the Omaha premiere of Refusenik, producer Stephanie Seldin Howard, watched refuseniks -- and Goldstein met, they left, visited with Soviet Jewry activist Shirley Goldstein and former refuseniks Abe and their visitors. were present at the Ida Taratuta, who began the Remember and Save organization in Haifa, dedicated to “I was given the Omaha premiere. saving memorabilia from the 40-year struggle to free Soviet Jewry. Taratuta’s phone number Goldstein had been taking a class at daughter, Julie. It was Shirley’s second and address,” Shirley noted, “but I didn’t Omaha University (now the University of trip to the USSR; the first, with her hus- tell my daughter anything until we were Nebraska-Omaha). Inspired by the class band Leonard, “was a disappointment,” ready to leave. I gave her the chance to and her desire to learn more about the she said, as the Intourist guides wouldn’t back out.” Gail laughed and said, “Why country of her parents and grandparents, give her any information about the histo- would I miss an adventure like that? Goldstein signed on to a university-led ry of the Jews or their current status. Besides, I was afraid for Mom to go out This trip, in 1973, however, was differ- after dark by herself.” trip with her daughter, Gail Raznick of Boulder, CO, and Miriam Simon and her ent. “Every Sunday morning, when Continued on page 4
This Week: Arts & Entertainment begins on Page 11
See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 16
Remembering Krisallnacht 70 years later: Page 3
Coming This Month: Camp Issue on Oct. 24; Elections, Oct. 31 Fast easy recipes to beat the Yom Kippur rush; Page 6
A tale of two sisters: former Omahans publish new books: Page 14
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 Visions Board Meeting, 9:30 a.m. Tot Shabbat & Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El
C L I P & S A V E
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5 Teen Class with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mishacha Mornings, 10:15 a.m. at Chabad Four Bs, 10:30 a.m. at Temple Israel MIT Meeting, 2 p.m. Arts in Adversity Performance, 3 p.m. Sunday Night Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth Israel Tashlich Service, 7:30 p.m. at Trendwood Park
C L I P & S A V E
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6 JSS Senior Luncheon, 9:30 a.m. Kabbalistic Insights for Women, noon at Chabad Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Friedel
C L I P & S A V E
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7 Parsha, Prayer and Prophets, 9 a.m. at Chabad ADL/CRC Board Meeting, noon Bedtime Storytime for Kids, 6 p.m. at Chabad BBYO Night, 6 p.m. NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8 Erev Yom Kippur THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 Yom Kippur, JCC and Federation are closed All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events.To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING,VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
This Space For Rent Call Robyn Belgrade 334-6559
port,” Ahmadinejad said. Iran’s president also said Israel Continued from page 1 the invitation and subsequent disinvitation of Republican was on the path to collapse and that its demise would be vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, as well as other a good thing for the world. Ahmadinejad echoed those sentiments in interviews U.S. elected officials. The week ended with a protest of a couple of hundred activists on Sept. 25 outside throughout the week, explaining patiently to a succesManhattan’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, where Ahmadinejad sion of American interviewers that his remarks constitute was being hosted at a Ramadan iftar meal sponsored by predictions of Israel’s demise, not threats by Iran to Mennonite, Quaker and other religious groups, includ- destroy it. He also said that his hostility is reserved for ing the American Friends Service Committee. Zionists, not Jews, and that Iran’s nuclear interests are “No feast with the beast,” read one banner at the peaceful, not belligerent. protest outside. Journalists challenged some of Ahmadinejad’s conIn the days between, Ahmadinejad delivered his speech tentions and questioned him about his denial of the at the United Nations, Israeli scope of the Holocaust, his President Shimon Peres regime’s human rights abusdelivered a rebuttal of sorts, es, the Islamic Republic’s news outlets from National support for terrorist groups Public Radio to CNN’s like Hamas and Hezbollah, Larry King sat down with and Iran’s refusal to cooperthe Iranian president, and ate with U.N. weapons Jewish organizations issued a inspectors. But the smiling torrent of news releases conpresident -- in his signature demning the Iranian presibeige jacket -- often seemed dent and, in some cases, the to outmaneuver his interorganizations and people locutors with his patient meeting with him. demeanor and the help of his “The American Jewish shrill, female translator. Committee was appalled to The most strident attacks learn that the President of the against Ahmadinejad came General Assembly, Miguel from Israel and its American D’Escoto Brockmann, has friends -- something some put the credibility of the opponents of the Iranian United Nations into question. regime found disheartening. He has agreed to speak at a “To their shame, U.N. dinner in honor of Mahmoud Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blames the member states’ pledges of Ahmadinejad,” AJC president world’s ills on ‘Zionists’ in his address to the United Nations ‘Never Again’ were betrayed Credit:UN Photo/Marco Castro by a singular lack of moral Richard Sideman and execu- on Sept. 23. tive director David A. Harris wrote in a letter of protest to outcry,” observed Eve Epstein, vice president of the U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon. National Committee on American Foreign Policy, in a “The presence of the President of the General column in the National Review. “Have they learned Assembly at an event in honor of Mr. Ahmadinejad,” the nothing from the multitude of Holocaust education and letter said, “would make a mockery of you, the United genocide prevention programs they sponsored?” Nations, and the nations and leaders who have made a Israeli and Jewish officials have taken pains to cast the point of rejecting Holocaust denial whenever, wherever, threat from Iran as a global issue, rather than a parochial and by whomever it is made.” issue. They hammered home that message throughout Brockmann, who hugged Ahmadinejad after his speech the week in private meetings with leaders of countries at the General Assembly, was not dissuaded from going. from around the globe who were in New York for the The Anti-Defamation League sent out an urgent letter opening of the U.N. General Assembly. of its own to Ban calling on him to condemn Despite their efforts, many Jewish organizational offiAhmadinejad’s U.N. speech. “We ask you to speak out cials acknowledge that the Iranian problem is being against his vile words and denounce his outrageous viewed, first and foremost, as a matter of Jewish concern. claims and abuse of the U.N. platform,” ADL National This is evident in the widespread assumption that no Director Abraham Foxman wrote to Ban. state other than Israel is likely to take the action of last In the address, Ahmadinejad’s most public stage of the resort -- i.e. a military strike -- to stop an Iranian nuclear week, the Iranian president delivered a scathing attack weapons program. on Zionists and sounded some classic anti-Semitic Still, with few outside the Jewish community picking motifs. He said Zionists are criminals and murderers, are up the torch, national Jewish communal leaders based in “acquisitive” and “deceitful,” and dominate global New York felt they needed to speak out. finance despite their “minuscule” number. “There is a growing sense that we had to abandon the “It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presiden- earlier concern about it being a wedge issue simply tial nominees have to visit these people, take part in their because of the growing alarm about the Iran nuclear gatherings and swear their allegiance and commitment program and the shortness of time,” the AJC’s Harris to their interests in order to win financial or media sup- told JTA.
Free concert for the community on Sunday
C L I P & S A V E
by SUSAN ROTHHOLZ Take a break from cooking for the holidays and come to the Jewish Community Center this Sunday, Oct. 5, 3 p.m. for a free concert, featuring Orchestra Omaha and presented by the Javitch Music Fund. The concert, entitled Eastern Influences, draws upon the music and experiences of the peoples of eastern Europe, particularly exemplified in Jewish music and mysticism. Prokofiev found a kindred voice in the music of the Russian Jewish community, a voice from which he drew directly for his “Overture on Hebrew Themes.” This style came to permeate many of his subsequent works, coloring his harmonic progressions and melodic ideas. It is a voice that has become popularized in an explosion of Klezmer ensembles which blend this folk art tradition with more contemporary jazz influences. Ernest Bloch, far from rejecting his Jewish heritage as had earlier composers, embraced it whole-heartedly. Much of his work is devoted to Jewish historical themes and figures. From the very center of his spiritual beliefs comes a further exploration of Jewish mysticism, as typified in works such as his “Baal Shem and the Trois Poemes Juifs” to be presented at this concert. The “poems” are abstract explorations of life, struggle and transcendence, certainly influenced by his need to express universality in musical terms. The suffering Bloch expresses musically was an artistic
reality for Czech composer Bohislav Martinu. He was persecuted by the Nazi authorities for his “subversive” musical style and fled first to Switzerland and France and eventually to the U.S. His “Rhapsody Concerto” contains themes from his Czech homeland, a homeland to which he was never to return, a fate shared by many in the aftermath of post-war eastern Europe under Soviet domination. The mission of Orchestra Omaha is to enrich the cultural life of Omaha through high quality orchestral concerts presented free to the public. The orchestra gives amateur musicians an opportunity to perform with a symphony orchestra and a professional conductor, trains local music students and gives all members of the community the chance to enjoy symphony concerts at no charge. Music Director Ken Meints has experience conducting orchestras in Illinois and California and is a doctoral candidate in Orchestra Conducting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He holds a Master of Music in trombone from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His teaching experience spans the entire musical spectrum from preschool general music to university courses in trombone, theory, and performing ensembles. He currently serves as Assitant Professor of Instrumental Music at Peru State College and Director of Orchestras at the Omaha Conservatory of Music.
October 3, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Remembering Kristallnacht after 70 Years Local photographers reflect through Dec. 15. by BOB COHEN The program will also feature music in Images of Faith exhibit The pogrom occurring on Nov. 9 and
10, 1938 in Nazi Germany that we composed during the Holocaust perremember by the names Kristallnacht, or formed by members of the Omaha “Night of Broken Glass,” marked a great Symphony and a multimedia presentation leap forward into a new and completely entitled “A Flicker of Hope,” narrated by different form of Jewish persecution. Omahan Dick Holland. The presentation The violent events of the few hours of recounts the experiences of several Kristallnacht, resulting in the simultane- Omaha survivor families after the war in ous destruction of thousands of syna- the words of the survivors as well as their gogues and Jewish businesses and homes, children and grandchildren. the mass imprisonment of Jewish men in This program will not only tell the story concentration camps for the first time and of survival of those who experienced the the murder of 100 German Jews, fore- atrocities of the Holocaust, and comshadowed what we know now as years of memorate those who were lost, but help unprecedented evil directed against the Jews of Europe. We remember and study these events so that our generation and future generations can absorb the meaning of the Holocaust. Unless we seek this awareness, we risk that mankind will not be aware of the full potentiality of evil, as clearly demonstrated by the Final Solution, and that other “Final Solutions” will darken the earth. To commemorate this anniv- Germans pass by the broken shop window of a Jewish ersary of Kristallnacht, The owned business that was destroyed during Kristallnacht. Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Institute for Holocaust Education is sponsoring a program of music, us understand the importance of the lesart, testimony and reflection on Kristal- sons of the Holocaust through the eyes of lnacht’s 70th anniversary date: Sunday, our own survivors, their children and the Nov. 9, 5-6:15 p.m. at the Witherspoon third generation. Concert Hall in Joslyn Art Museum. The Institute for Holocaust Education “Omaha: Portraits of Survival,” a pho- is a resource in the Omaha community. Its tographic exhibit of Omaha Holocaust objective is to teach students, teachers and survivors by nationally renowned photog- all people the lessons of the Holocaust, rapher David Radler will be displayed for while offering avenues to apply these lesthe first time in the Joslyn Fountain sons to life and society in order to make Court outside of Witherspoon Hall as the world a better place. For mroe inforpart of the program. The exhibit will be mation, call Beth Seldin Dotan, director of displayed thereafter in the JCC Gallery the IHE, at 402.334.6574.
by HANNA WANZENRIED Project Interfaith and the Cathedral Arts Project are jointly sponsoring the “Images of Faith: Public and Private Rituals” interfaith exhibit, a sacred object and interfaith photography display. It opens this Sunday, Oct. 5, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 16. This exhibit showcases a selection of photographs by local photographers of different religions and sacred ritual objects from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Exhibit attendees will learn about the role that ritual plays in personal and communal expressions of faith by viewing a unique blend of art, pictures and ritual objects. “This exhibit delivers a lesson not only about how members of various religious traditions utilize ritual in the practice of their faith, but also highlights the wonderful religious diversity present in our community and the incredible diversity in belief and practice that one can find within each of these religions,” said Beth Katz, Executive Director of Project Interfaith, one of the co-sponsoring organizations. Included in this exhibit are more than 70 photographs taken by local amateur and professional photographers. These works reflect the personal and public role rituals plays in a religious community’s
life and worship. A discussion guide will accompany the exhibit for individuals, educators, students, and community groups to use to better understand the context in which the ritual objects are used and how they illustrate some of the core beliefs and practices of the featured religions. Organizers also will be inviting community members from any religion or belief system to submit their own photographs demonstrating the role that ritual plays in their faith expressions. These photographs will be shown in a community webbased interfaith photography exhibit that will be featured on the Project Interfaith website once the physical exhibit closes. “This virtual exhibit hopefully will be a catalyst for community members to continue these important explorations of faith, religion, religious diversity, and interfaith relations well after the exhibit at the Cathedral Cultural Center ends,” said Katz. Images of Faith is being shown at the Cathedral Cultural Center, at 701 No. 40 St. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays, 1-4 p.m. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Project Interfaith by calling 402.933.4647 or email info@projectinterfaithus.org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Refusenik: How it all began Continued from page 1 According to a May, 2006 article in the Jewish Press, Taratuta told author Leo Adam Biga, “She was interested in our life, financial situation, the possibility to leave the country and what to do and how to help,” he said. “She was ready to do everything to help us. And from that visit there was just a constant contact between our families. She wrote a lot of letters describing what she did to help us and other refuseniks. She became very active in the struggle on our behalf.” He added, “Shirley brought many items--books, records, tape recorders--that helped us in studying Hebrew or in supporting Zionist activities. The same with cameras, watches and jeans, which we sold. And every time she would bring something personally for us, for our family.” Stephanie Howard said Ida Taratuta recounted how once Shirley “came with a suitcase full of embroidered towels, fine soaps and things, and Ida told her, ‘I can’t accept this,’ to which Shirley said, ‘But for a twist of fate, I could have been in your place and you could have been in mine. Wouldn’t you do the same for me?’ And Ida replied, ‘How can I argue with that? Of course.’” Shirley called the Taratutas the first day they arrived in Leningrad and were told to come that night. “But when we arrived, we noticed lots of cars and men watching the building, so we left.” They returned the next night after Abe assured Shirley that the “watchers” were there all the time. “We had only been in ‘refusal’ for five months,” Ida Taratuta recalled, “we were too young and inexperienced to be afraid.” Arriving at the small two-room flat, Shirley instructed her daughter to “give the Taratutas the Jewish books.” Digging into her wide leg boots, Gail withdrew a number of small books that Shirley had literally smuggled into the USSR. The two women were the first Americans to visit the Taratutas; many, many others would follow. In order to get an exit visa, a refusenik had to have an invitation from someone in America or Israel. But it was a Catch-22; without getting the names and vital statistics of a refusenik to the outside, the refusenik could not get the invitation. “We wrote up a list and gave it to a friend who was actually getting out in 1973,” Abe recalled. “Ida opened up the back of his jacket and sewed the list into the lining.” Then they waited. They became refuseniks in April 1973 and started the process. By August they had received an invitation. And then they watched as one refusenik after another was tried and sentenced to prison. While they waited, Abe Taratuta was reduced to becoming “a lift operator,” a job held by more Ph.D.s in the USSR than most major universities in the 1970s and ’80s. Later Ida would teach English, using a picture method developed by an educator in California.
“Shirley visited us in Leningrad several times and she was interested in seeing more people, more refuseniks. And for a foreigner in Russia it was not so easy to do,” Aba Taratuta said in the May 2006 article in the Press. “So we tried to gather as many people in our apartment as possible. She was interested in every one and taped the story of everyone and smuggled the tapes out on her person. And it was really dangerous.” In turn, Goldstein said Aba “was one of the main figures in Leningrad. Gail and I were the first Americans to ever visit him, but he was already well known in the West.” She said he’d “have so many activists come to his apartment ... they crowded to get into the rooms. I kept coming back to hear their stories. I made tapes.”
Shirley Goldstein meets the Taratuta family on her 1973 visit to Leningrad: Ida, left, son Misha, and Abe. She smuggled out the tapes in her bra, she said, because they always searched suitcases and purses. The Taratutas were classic refuseniks-turned-activists. Their situation symbolized the problem, Goldstein told Biga. “They’d applied to emigrate and were released from their jobs. They were well-educated people. Both spoke good English. He had been a professor. She was a translator. I think maybe they were receiving some packages from the West and selling things on the black market. Mail and phone service was compromised. That’s the way it was.” And throughout the 15 years of their “refusal”, the Taratutas welcomed activists from America, the United Kingdom, France and elsewhere into their home, each one offered tea and information to disseminate to the Western media, and government officials. Fortunately for the Taratutas, the KGB never banished them to the Gulag, as they did their famed colleague Natan Sharasnky, but they were one of the last couples allowed to leave, in 1988. Today, the couple lives in Haifa, where Abe is the executive director of the Save and Remember Association. Not only does he have the daunting job of organizing the massive archives left to his group by Shirley
Goldstein and other activists, he was instrumental in launching last spring’s exhibit at the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv of the 40-year struggle. The documentary, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The phrase, “left on the cutting room floor”, certainly applies here, as the documentary originally spanned nine hours. But, responded Howard to a question at the film’s premiere here last month about curriculum, there is hope that the transcripts of interviews and archives of photos and film footage might someday become a book. “Someday,” she added, noting that it would need additional funding -- and someone to actually write the curicullum, much like Yad Vashem and the AntiDefamation League teamed up to write, Echoes and Reflection, a curriculum for teaching the Holocaust. Though Taratuta does point to the catalog of the Diaspora Museum exhibit with pride, he agrees with Stephanie Howard that the next step Ida and Abe Taratuta are finally should probably be allowed to leave the USSR in 1988; a book and a curShirley Goldstein visits them in Haifa riculum. In the later that year. meantime, he continues to unpack and sort through boxes. The organization is also seeking financial assistance to support its work. U.S. tax deductible contributions of at least $25 may be sent (and must be made payable) to: P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, NY 10017, with a recommendation it be used for the archive’s preservation purposes. For more information, check out the ‘Remember and Save’ website at www.soviet-jews-exodus.com. Richter told Biga for the May 2006 series on Goldstein that she and Buddy were well-positioned to serve the cause. “One of the great strengths of Jews in smaller Jewish communities, such as Omaha or Denver, is the longterm friendships they may have with people who get into political power,” Richter said. “Shirley and Buddy were excellent examples. Their Congressmen and Senators became their advocates. Shirley knew which political buttons to press, and did so on behalf of individual refuseniks and prisoners and of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment--the landmark legislation linking Jewish emigration with trade credits for the USSR.”
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October 3, 2008
Center for Jewish Education offers intensive courses for beginners by MARY BORT for the Center for Jewish Education Are you someone who would like an introduction to Judaism? Or perhaps you are a “beginner” in Judaic studies and would like to learn about Jewish texts? Fortunately, the Center for Jewish Education offers courses that will meet your needs. The two classes are entitled Derech Torah: Judaism 101 and Judaism 102: Using Jewish Texts. The instructor for both courses is Dr. Guy Matalon, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Education. Classes, which begin on Monday, Oct. 27, are intended for adult learners. In addition to his work with the Center for Jewish Education, Matalon is the Jewish Federation Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of NebraskaOmaha. Born in Israel, Matalon and his family immigrated to the United States in 1981. He received a BA in political science from California State University. Matalon earned an MA in Medieval Jewish Thought from New York University, and was awarded his doctorate in 2006 from there as well. “The Derech Torah class is for the beginner,” explains Matalon. “I think of this as our ‘gateway’ course, since it is ideal for someone who doesn’t know much about Judaism.” He continues “This course was developed with the area rabbis to provide a single basic Judaism class for our community. We have had 48 students take Derech Torah in the past three years.” Derech Torah: Judaism 101 is designed to introduce students to the vast richness of Judaism as a religious culture. Topics include: Jewish history; yearly cycle events such as holidays and fasts; life cycle events including birth, mitzvah age, marriage and death; conversion; Shabbat; Jewish law; Kashrut; the Holocaust; Israel; and more. The class will meet on Monday evenings, Oct. 27-April 20, 8-
9:15 p.m. in the agency classroom at the JCC. Jeff Gates was a Derech Torah student last year and has also taken courses from Dr. Matalon at UNO. “Guy is an excellent teacher,” says Gates. “He makes things understandable but doesn’t ‘dumb down’ the topics. He talks about the differences between the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox views, treating each with respect.” Gates continues “No matter what anyone’s background was who took the class, everyone came away with something. Derech Torah is an excellent way to learn the basics of Judaism.” The second class, Judaism 102: Using Jewish Texts, is a new class designed to provide some of the tools necessary for textual study of Jewish texts. According to Mary Sue Grossman, CJE’s director of programming and operations, “We have had such a positive response to ‘Judaism 101.’ It became evident that there were students seeking to learn more, beyond what ‘Judaism 101’ offers, so ‘Judaism 102’ was developed.” Jewish texts encompass Tanakh, rabbinic literature, theology and philosophy. Students will be introduced to these categories of Jewish textual tradition through select passages and class discussions pertaining to different methods of interpretation. Sessions will include an examination of the Bible, Mishna, Midrash, Talmud, Biblical commentaries, philosophy, Kabbalah, and the prayer book. Classes will meet Mondays, Oct. 27Dec. 22, 6:30-7:45 p.m. Pre-registration is required for both and the deadline is Oct. 13. Cost for Judaism 101 is $200 per person or $350 for a couple. Two texts are also required for the course. Tuition for Judaism 102 is $80 per person, with one text required. To register, for more information, or to inquire about financial assistance, call 334.6445 or email mgrossman@jewishomaha.org.
Federation honors volunteers, service
Above: Recipients of Volunteer of the Year awards included, front row: Bonnie Bloch (who also accepted a community service award for Partnership with Israel’s Performing Arts Series), left, Danielle Gordman, Nancy Rips, Dorothy Spizman,
Gloria Kaslow; back row: Gary Kudym and Steve Riekes. Below left: Marcia Pitlor displays her Campaign Award, while Renee Corcoran, director of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, received one for the exhibit of photos by the late Gary Gerelick.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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COMING 10.31.08
Election GENERAL
ISSUE Information
Publishing Date » 10.31.08 Space Reservation » 10.20.08 Camera Ready Deadline » 10.23.08 Contact your advertising representative to advertise in these very special editions. Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 ALLAN Handleman Call or email:ahandleman@jewishomaha.org ROBYN Belgrade
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Fast, easy recipes to beat the Yom Kippur rush
by LINDA MOREL NEW YORK (JTA) -- It’s a scramble every year, but Jews somehow manage to beat the clock getting dinner to the table on Yom Kippur eve -- the most hurried meal on the holiday calendar. It isn’t easy to conclude the evening meal with enough leeway to arrive at synagogue for the Kol Nidre service, which ushers in this most solemn holiday. The challenge is finding the time to pull together a meal that is nourishing and light, exalted but not extravagant, yet effortless. It’s even more difficult when Yom Kippur lands in the middle of the work week, as it does this year. “One Yom Kippur I left the office early, raced home and hurled dinner on the table for my daughter and a couple of friends,” recalls Pamela Vassil, the director of marketing and communications at Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. “I inhaled my food in order to arrive at my shul for the 6 o’clock service and get a seat up front. “But I ate so quickly, everything sat in my esophagus. It never had a chance to digest. I spent the entire night worried that I’d get sick.” Wendy Moss, a style and wardrobe consultant in Manhattan, says she used to invite other families who belong to her synagogue. “But by the time I got to services, I was out of breath and couldn’t relax,” she says. Moss now cooks only for her immediate family. Reducing the rush is part of the pre-Yom Kippur experience. Some plan the menu the day after Rosh Hashanah. It’s advisable to select uncomplicated recipes requiring few steps. Plain fare is in line with the serious nature of this holiday. The pre-fast menu requires special attention. For example, recipes should be low in salt to avoid causing undue thirst on Yom Kippur when drinking anything, including water, is forbidden. “I do a lot of cooking and freezing in advance,” says Rita Paszamant, a travel agent in Little Silver, N.J. “Since my family expects the same menu every year, preparing for this meal is like falling off a log.” As an appetizer, Paszamant offers a choice of chopped liver or gefilte fish, which she buys pre-made. “The dessert is certainly store-bought, too,” she says. “I always serve cinnamon babka, which they all love.” While purchasing prepared foods is convenient, it can have its down side with the long lines, short tempers, incorrect orders and high prices. Often it’s less stressful to make your family’s favorites at home. Nothing is more nurturing before fasting than the smell of chicken soup and baking apples wafting from the kitchen. “I do all the cooking myself,” Moss says. “I find it better that way, especially if I plan ahead and stay organized.” She roasts a chicken -- it’s traditional and easy to make. “I gave up on Cornish hens,” Moss says. “They have to be stuffed. It’s an extra step.” She suggests that one place to cut corners is serving fresh fruit for dessert. Hours before the sun sets on Yom Kippur eve, Paszamant defrosts the chicken soup and the potted beef she prepared days earlier. Before serving she adds finishing touches such as freshly chopped vegetables. To save time, Paszamant sets the dining-room table the night before and washes pots and utensils before dinner time. “Having a warming drawer has been a blessing,” she says, explaining that the feature in her oven maintains the temperature of hot foods without drying them out. “My family knows we start eating at 5 o’clock on erev Yom Kippur,” she says. As in most households, her kitchen clean-up is the final hurdle. “Everyone helps clear the table, course by course,” Paszamant says. Observant families refrain from performing any manual labor after sunset, when the holiday begins. Many Jews eat dinner extra early so they can quickly wrap leftovers and wash the dishes before leaving for synagogue. “In past years, I’ve run out and left the dishes in the sink,” Moss says. “If at all possible, I recommend hiring help to clean up the kitchen. That’s the most important thing I’ve figured out.” Guests have their own stress. “I keep looking at my watch, wondering if we’ll get out on time,” Vassil says.
The resourceful find a comfortable solution to the dilemma. “One year I went to a restaurant a block from my shul,” Vassil recalls. “At first I felt guilty about the decision, but I got over that when I saw people from my synagogue sitting at other tables.” Now she makes a reservation for every Yom Kippur eve. “I have a leisurely dinner, including a cup of coffee, something I never had time for when I prepared dinner at home,” Vassil says. But Moss, like many, prefers a traditional homecooked meal before starting the 24-hour fast. While she calls herself a perfectionist at heart, Moss has become more realistic. “I keep the menu simple,” she says. “I don’t prepare anything elaborate. Entertaining in my usual style just got too crazy on Yom Kippur eve.” “It’s liberating to know on this one night a year, you don’t have to prepare a fancy meal,” Vassil says. “The point is to eat without pressure, to arrive at shul in a peaceful state of mind, in time to get a good seat.” The following menu by Linda Morel can be prepared in 90 minutes. Three of the recipes can share the oven, maximizing time. Start with the squash, which takes the longest time, followed by the apples and the chicken. While those three items are baking, prepare the potatoes. All four dishes should be ready about the same time. Better still, prepare the recipes a day or two ahead. They can be reheated in 15 minutes. The recipes are low sodium in deference to the fast. MAPLE GLAZED ACORN SQUASH Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 75 minutes Ingredients: No-stick, vegetable spray 4 small butternut squash 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably Grade A Preparation: Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 10- by 15-inch ovenproof pan with no-stick spray. Cut squash in half lengthwise, parallel to its ridges. With a spoon, scrape out pits and fibers; discard. Place the 8 halves in the prepared baking pan. Drizzle each half with maple syrup. Bake for 75 minutes, or until edges brown and flesh is soft when pierced with a fork. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings. CRANBERRY BAKED APPLES Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 60 minutes Ingredients: No-stick, vegetable spray 8 small baking apples (Cortland, Gala, Fuji or any apple recommended for baking -except Granny Smith) 2 cups cranberry juice, or more if needed 2/3 cup golden raisins Preparation: Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- by 13-inch ovenproof casserole with no-stick spray. Rinse apples under cold water and dry with paper towels. Core apples with a knife by cutting a wide circle around their stems. Continue to cut in a circular motion. In a funnel shape, the opening will narrow the deeper you go. Remove the seeds and as much core as possible. Place apples in prepared pan. Pour cranberry juice over the apples. Juice should be about 1/4-inch deep in bottom of pan. Add more juice, if needed. Bake apples for 55 minutes, basting with pan juice occasionally. (If juice dries up, add more to keep apples in a juice bath.) Remove pan from oven and fill apple cavities with raisins. Baste with pan juice. Continue baking for 5 minutes. Apples should be soft but not falling apart. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature.Yield: 8 servings. LEMON CHICKEN WITH DIJON MUSTARD Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 45-50 minutes Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts (8 halves), with bones and skin Juice from 2 fresh lemons 1 1/2 cups white wine 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard No-stick vegetable spray Disposable broiler pans, optional Salt to taste, optional Paprika for coloring, optional Preparation: Rinse chicken breasts under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, white wine and mustard until well incorporated. Place chicken in bowl and coat evenly with lemon juice mixture; reserve. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a roasting pan with a rack with no-stick spray. (For a fast clean-up, use disposable broiler pans, coating them with no-stick spray.) Remove chicken from lemon juice mixture and shake off liquid. Lightly salt and sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Place chicken skin side down on prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes and turn over breasts. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until juices from the thickest part of the breasts run clean when pierced with a knife. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.
Yachad cooks! by OZZIE NOGG
As part of a new collaborative program between Jewish Family Service and the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, RBJH dietician Mitzi Klimek, left, helps Yachad member Grace Isler cut fruit to be served for brunch at the home of JFS director, Karen Gustafson (Marilyn Zevitz is pictured in the background). The brunch preparation, was led by Mike Aparo, Director of Food Service at the Blumkin Home. Yachad members in attendance included Josh Parsow, Michael Parsow, Jeff Steinberg, Sam Weiss, Ben Friedman, Alan Friedman, Ben Kravitz, Lisa Solomon, Jillian Solomon and Nancy Isler. “We want to give a special thanks to all of our community volunteers who helped cook and/or serve the meal,” said Gustafson. “Karen Lepp, Josh Gurock and Jonathon Rockman plus all the parents, caregivers and our wonderful leaders, Janet McCarthy and Mark Kazor, make sure our Yachad programs are successful and fun.”
MARRIAGE
SOPHIR/WESTERVELT Penny and Jim Sophir announce the marriage of their daughter, Lindsey Sophir, to Blaine Westervelt, son of Diane and Jim Westervelt of Council Bluffs. The couple were married on the mountainside at Snow Mountain Ranch outside Winterpark, CO, on Aug. 9. Matron of Honor was Jessi Sophir Graunke, sister of the bride, and bridesmaids were Laura Langan, friend of the bride, and Jenny Hansen, cousin of the groom. Best man and groomsmen were Clay and Dan Westervelt, brothers of the groom and Jim Westervelt, father of the groom. Ring bearers were Austin Westervelt, nephew of the groom and Leia Sophir-Westervelt, family dog of the bride and groom. The bride attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, and Bellevue University. She is currently employed with Overland Sheepskin. She is the granddaughter of the late Audrey and Al Sophir, and the late May and George Wilson. The groom graduated from Abraham Lincoln in Council Bluffs and is the co-owner and manager of Xtreme Wheels in Council Bluffs. He is the grandson of Dorothy and Lyie Christofferson of Audubon, IA, and the late Joseph and Helen Westervelt of Cliffton, NJ. After a honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the couple will make their home in Omaha.
October 3, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
Teens urged to enter essay contest Beth El Cantor formally installed by GARY KATZ Kripke Jewish Federation Library Administrator The Kripke Jewish Federation Library will again sponsor the “Lt. Irving Cohen Profiles in Jewish Courage” essay contest. The essay contest is open to Jewish students in the Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, metropolitan area in seventh through 12th grades The essay should identify a Jewish person who has demonstrated exceptional courage in his or her life. The person can be well known, a community leader, a family member, or a friend. By identifying ordinary people who became extraordinary through their great acts of courage, we underscore the importance of a shared commitment to Jewish values. All entries should be submitted to the Kripke Library no later than Monday, Oct. 13. Cohen was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on July 12, 1921, the son of Anne and Harry Cohen. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in
Council Bluffs and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He left the university early in 1942 to enlist in the United States Army Air Corp during World War II. In 1944, Cohen became a B-17 bomber pilot and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. He was attached to the Eighth Air Force and flew 14 bombing missions over Germany. On Nov. 25, 1944, he was killed when his plane was shot down while on a mission over Mersberg, Germany, and the essay contest is dedicated to his memory An award ceremony will held on Veteran’s Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 6-7 p.m., in the JCC Auditorium. The essay contest is sponsored by the Lt. Irving Cohen Memorial Endowment Fund, the Center for Jewish Education, the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’Nai B’rith, and the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. For more information about the contest, call the Kripke Library at 334.6462 or email gkatz@jewishomaha.org.
during Selihot services by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator During a special Selihot program several weeks ago, congregants of Beth El formally installed their new cantor, Beth Schlossberg, as the sixth cantor -and the first woman clergy member -- in the synagogue’s history. The evening opened with Havdalah, followed by a musical program featuring High Holidays music and liturgy, performed by Cantor Schlossberg and a group of congregants. Presentations were made by Howard and Gloria Kaslow, who
chaired the evening’s reception, Rabbi Mordechai Levin, and Board of Trustees President Steve Pitlor, who presided over the installation. Pitlor welcomed Cantor Schlossberg into the Beth El family and presented her with a baseball cap from her alma mater, the University of Michigan, as well as a Nebraska baseball cap, signifying her new status as a Cornhusker. Following the installation and a special recitation of the Shehecheyanu prayer, Rabbi Levin and Cantor Schlossberg led congregants through the poignant Selihot service.
Upbeat day as students return to Temple
B’nai B’rith to decorate Federation campus in annual Sukkah building
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Hillary Fletcher, at right, looks over Gady Tene’s expansive display of jewelry for sale at Temple Israel. Tene, owner of ShirTal Jewelry, was one of the vendors at Temple on the first day of Religious School. After meeting their teachers and classmates in their classrooms, Religious School students and their families were treated to a concert by Jon Simon, a Jewish musical artist who has previously performed at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., Jewish community centers and synagogues across the country, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Reform Judaism’s Biennial Conferences, and
by MARY BORT for Henry Monsky Lodge Henry Monsky Lodge B’nai B’rith members will team up with the youth group teens from the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) to build and decorate Sukkahs on the Federation campus for the upcoming Sukkkot holiday. “Members of the community are also invited,” Gary Javitch, Lodge president noted. “We will build Sukkahs for the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the Child Development Center and the Friedel Academy. And afterwards, we will all enjoy a pizza and pop lunch.” This annual event will take place on
the United States Senate. “It was exhilarating and a great way to start the year on a positive note!” said Elyce Azriel, director of Religious Education at Temple.
Not Your Father’s Hebrew School!
A
nnouncing WebYeshiva’s New High School Program. A fully interactive virtual community for motivated Jewish youngsters who wish to cultivate skills in learning while enriching their general Jewish knowledge. Join other high school students from around the country and enjoy exposure to outstanding Jewish educators, meet interesting Jewish teens, and explore the world of traditional Torah study in a completely new way. Matmidim track for those who want M to learn Torah and prepare for serious Jewish study after High School Makdimim track for students who M may be newer to Jewish study and want to explore Jewish History and Culture through primary sources A reading knowledge of Hebrew with a minimal vocabulary is preferred Optional two week Hebrew O crash course
Registration R i t ti open now! Classes begin October 27 Tuition: $750/semester (10% discount for registration by October 10)
Check out WebYeshiva.org/highschool highschool@webyeshiva.org for more info
Sunday, Oct. 12, 11:30 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Youth Lounge in the Jewish Community Center. Monsky Lodge will supply the building materials and decorations. Since participants will be handling tree branches as they build the Sukkahs, they are encouraged to bring a pair of gloves to wear. For more information, please call the B’nai B’rith office, 334.6443 or Anne Muskin at 334.6404. “It’s a great chance to meet some new people, perform a mitzvah and have some fun. And don’t forget the free lunch,” Javitch concluded.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Potluck congregational dinner to precede Sukkot service at Temple Israel
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator As Jews decorate their sukkahs at home and at community gatherings, there are four mandatory plants used to celebrate this harvest festival. Without them, your Sukkot celebration is incomplete. Now, in Nebraska, it might be hard to find a citron, a date palm, and a myrtle, but willow branches are plentiful. Ask your rabbi for the other three. Whether you’re like the citron which symbolizes those who are learned in Torah and righteous in deed, or the date palm which represents the learned person deficient in good acts, or the myrtle which typifies those whose conduct is exemplary but lack knowledge of the Torah, or the willow which signifies someone deficient both in learning and in virtue, on Sukkot, they’re all bound together in fellowship like a well-tied bouquet. The merits of each are then able to enhance the other three. To build your own sukkah at home, these websites can lend some help: www.sfjcf.org/resources/jholidays/ holidaypages/sukkot.asp and http://www.chelm. org/jewish/chags/sukkot/build.html. At Temple Israel, you and your entire family are invited to celebrate Sukkot together on Monday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m., to share a potluck dinner. The first congregational dinner of the year will be casual and festive. Those whose last name begins with letters A to K, are requested to bring a dessert. Please bring a side dish, if your last name starts with letters L through Z. The Women of Reform Judaism will provide salad and beverages. After dinner, holiday worship services begin at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary where congregants can feast their eyes on the sukkah decorated by Tom and Amber Baker in honor of their daughter Olivia’s Bat Mitzvah the following Shabbat. Those celebrating birthdays during October will be blessed by the clergy during the service. An ice cream and cookie Oneg will follow the service which concludes in the outdoor sukkah. Call the Temple office at 556.6536 by Oct. 7, to make a reservation for the number in your party attending dinner. There is no charge. On Sukkot, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 9:30 a.m., breakfast will be served in the sukkah, followed by the worship service at 10:30 a.m.
Take a new look at women in the Bible by SHERRIE SAAG Administrative Assistant for Center for Jewish Education Sarah, Leah, Rachel and Rebecca are the names of our revered matriarchs. We’ve heard their stories our whole lives. Their heroism, strength and wisdom are well documented and taught to us in the earliest of religious school classes. But what about the lesser known women in the Bible? According to Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, “There are many more than we may realize. The matriarchs Deborah, Esther, and Ruth are among those whom we know pretty well. As for the women we know little about, their study may lead us to much larger insights about the role of women in ancient Israel and perhaps the role of women in today’s world.” Join Dr. Greenspoon during “Abigail and Abishag to Zebidah and Zeresh: A Lively Look at some of the Lesser Known Women of the Bible.” The four-part class begins Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7-8:15 p.m. and runs through Nov. 18. Each class will feature a specific group of women. The first class will be devoted to women in the Torah. The second will focus on women in the Prophets and the third class looks at women in the Writings. The concluding class will look at women, including Judith and Susanna, who were well known to early Jews, but whose
Celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah at Beth Israel by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Celebrate the fall season with the joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah! The community is invited to attend the observances of both holidays, as well as Shemini Atzeret, at Beth Israel Synagogue. There will be activities, services and dinners that you won’t want to miss! In preparation for Sukkot, come to Beth Israel to help put up the synagogue’s sukkah on Sunday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. This annual event will begin immediately following the morning minyan. The first day of Sukkot is Tuesday, Oct. 14, 9 a.m, beginning with morning services, followed by a lunch in the synagogue’s sukkah. Cost for the roasted turkey meal is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages four to 12 and free for children ages three and under. Morning services on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 9 a.m., the second day Sukkot will be followed by a Kiddush. Shemini Atzeret is on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and will
Jewish Omaha Teens Can Win Big $$$ $600 • $350 • $250 • $125 Enter the 23rd Annual Edward Zorinsky B’nai B’rith
Bible Quiz Contest Q. Who is eligible? A. Jewish Omaha high school students in A. grades 9-12. Q. What Bible subjects? A. All quiz questions will be based on Leviticus: A. Chapters 11, 19, 23, 25; Numbers: A. Chapters 11-25, 27, 32, 35-36 and the A. entire Book of Esther. Q. What are the prizes? A. $600, 1st prize; $350, 2nd prize; $250, A. 3rd prize; $125, 4th prize. Applicable to A. college tuition, an approved trip to Israel or A. an approved camp or educational program A. sponsored by a Jewish organization. A. Extra cash prizes paid at the quiz: $50, A. 1st place; $10 to all contestants who A. correctly answer three questions. Given at A. the end of the program.
stories are not contained in the Hebrew Bible. “Where possible, we will expand the biblical pictures of these women with material from elsewhere in the ancient near east and with more modern material from the Jewish tradition,” said Greenspoon. “Where appropriate, we will investigate the kind of role model we think these women may project,” he added. Greenspoon holds a PhD from Harvard and he is the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University and Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. A prolific writer, he is well known for his work on topics relating to Bible translation. He lectures, writes and edits scholarly articles and books. Class participants should expect lots of thought-provoking discussion and student participation. Greenspoon hopes that all the students will inter-mix biblical text with their own experiences and he’ll show how that is easier than one might think. “Don’t worry about how much you know. The only requirements are a willingness to read, be creative and interact,” said Greenspoon. The class will meet in the CJE classroom at the Jewish Community Center. Tuition is $35, discounted to $27 for donors to the Federation Campaign. Pre-registration is required no later than Oct. 13. To register, please call 334.6445 or email mgrossman@jewishomaha.org.
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Q. Who wins? A. Everybody who learns more about the bible A. and our heritage. Q. Where and when? A. At the JCC, Tuesday, A. December 9, 2008, 7 p.m. Q. How to enter? A. Submit entry to the B’nai B’rith office A. at the JCC by November 3, 2008. Q. Can you practice before the quiz? A. Practice sessions will be scheduled and A. sample questions will be given. Q. Do you have any more questions? A. Call Steven Riekes, 333-8498 or A. Lois Epstein, 334-6443.
Sponsored by Henry Monsky Lodge B’nai B’rith This contest is designed for all Jewish high school students. The only requirement is to read the assigned passages in Leviticus, Numbers and the Book of Esther.
Entry Form Name of Contestant ______________________________________________________________________ Parents Name __________________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________ Zip _________ Phone ____________________ School ____________________________________________________________ Grade ______________ Return form to: B’nai B’rith Office, 333 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154
include services at 9 a.m. and Yizkor at 10:30 a.m. Enjoy a dairy dinner on Erev Simchat Torah on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The cost for the dairy meal is the same as the lunch during Sukkot. Simchat Torah morning services, celebrating the completion of the yearly Torah reading cycle, will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 9 a.m. To make reservations for meals, or for more information about Beth Israel’s service schedule, please call the office at 556.6288.
To order a gift subscription to the Press... Send a check for $40, made out to the Jewish Press to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. You’ll get the rest of 2008 and all of 2009!! For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 402.334.6448.
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October 3, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 9
How Jewish tradition helps mourners walk the path from grief to healing
by OZZIE NOGG “Mourning can be a strange and foreign land,” writes Rabbi Anne Brener. “It helps to have a map. The best map available is the one provided by the rituals of Jewish mourning.” On Thursday, Oct. 16, 7-8:30 p.m., Rabbi Brener will help us navigate that map when she speaks of Transforming the Wilderness of Grief in the Jewish Community Center Social Hall; it is free and open to the community. A Los Angeles-based spiritual director, psychotherapist, writer and teacher, Rabbi Brener is an authority on the relationship between psychotherapy and spirituality and assists institutions in creating caring communities. In the foreword to Brener’s book, Mourning & Mitzvah: Walking the Mourner’s Path -- Rabbi Jack Riemer writes, “Anne Brener is a human being who has been through all the anguish and heartache and confusions that are an inherent part of the mourning process and who wants to reach out a hand to those who are now experiencing what she has gone through. Anne Brener has paid her dues to life. She knows what it means to love and lose. But she has also learned how to begin over again. She helps the mourner of our time walk the lonely road that no one can detour for long.” During a recent telephone interview, Rabbi Brener described her own journey through the wilderness of grief. “I was 24 when my mother and younger sister -- my only sibling -- died within three months of one another. My father was in such pain. He grieved differently than I did. We couldn’t help one another. I thought I could outrun my grief, so I grabbed my backpack and fled. I became a lonely sojourner with no map.” Brener’s attempts at self-healing took her on a rollercoaster ride through the human potential movement. “I learned yoga, gestalt and transactional analysis. I wrote in my journal. I spoke to almost no one. I attended consciousness-raising groups. Each experience taught me a lot, but I felt alone. No one seemed to want to hear about the pain of my loss. My friends certainly had no experience comparable to mine and were confused by my constantly changing moods. Even I didn’t understand my own feelings. Sometimes I thought I was crazy. Was I the only one who had ever taken this tumultuous journey? My behavior, I later learned, was that of a mourner.” In 1981, Brener began her studies at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. “I had the sense at the time that the Jewish injunction to choose life and to heal the world would give me a more profound understanding of the nature of healing. My search for healing has led me to the path of my ancestors and their ancient Jewish wisdom, which can be as effective today as it was 2,000 years ago. These mourning rituals are embedded with universal truths about the needs of people in transition and can be helpful whether or not one is part of a ritually observant community.” Raised in the 1950s and ’60s by an Orthodox father and a Zionist/intellectual mother, Brener says, “I got
the political action influence of the Reform movement of those years along with the heart and calendar of an Orthodox Jew. I came from a family of Jewish activists. Building Jewish community was their central concern. The belief that a mourner is sustained by the community is at the core of my work.” According to Brener, modern mourners often don’t know how to behave. “People who have suffered the loss of someone close may think their feelings are inappropriate or abnormal or that mourning should be easier than it is. They may try to hide this rupture rather than heal it. From my own pain I’ve learned that one principle applies. The only feelings that don’t change are those that are ignored. Only by facing our feelings do we learn and grow. Pain has a size and shape, a beginning and an end. It takes over only when not allowed its voice. Mourners must experience their mourning fully and let their feelings surface.” In her workshops, Brener tries to help participants eliminate the idea that grief is an illness. “We need to recognize that everyone is in the midst of change. We’re in this together. Even positive life changes come with challenging emotions and deserve our reverence and respect. In Judaism we say that God makes it all. Some of what God makes is good and some is bad. We can’t deny the reality of the shadows which are part of the whole.” The words of the Shema have profoundly influenced Brener. “Everything I know about helping I learned from the Shema, Judaism’s central prayer. It asks us to listen -- the most basic directive for the work of comforting. Mourners need witnesses. When they are ready -when it feels safe enough -- they must tell their stories. In a caring community held together by the reciprocity between people -- held in oneness -- we recognize ourselves in others. And as the Talmud reminds us, “Like the pea, sorrow rolls. Today’s mourner is tomorrow’s comforter and today’s comforter is tomorrow’s mourner.” In her work to heal grief, Brener advocates movement. “Anything we do to move -- write in a journal, pray, ask questions -- in those actions the experience of mourning begins to change. We shift from a static state to an active, creative process that brings the possibility of change. Where you are now is different from where you’ll be. When something inside moves -- intellectually, spiritually, physically -- that’s transformative. In the movement, something happens. The movement energizes us. It’s a kind of dance. A dance of healing” On Friday, Oct. 17, Rabbi Brener will hold an inservice workshop designed specifically for clinicians, social workers and mental health professionals. The session runs from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the JCC Social Hall, and includes a Continental Breakfast sponsored by the Jewish Funeral Home. No reservations are needed for Rabbi Brener’s presentation on Thursday evening, Oct. 16. RSVPs are requested from professionals for the Friday morning inservice workshop. For more details, call Jewish Family Service at 330.2024.
Kabbalah-based tools part of course on emotional happiness: Nebraska to join worldwide debut of ‘Soul Maps’
by SHEVI KATZMAN for Chabad of Nebraska Let’s face it: People are complicated. We have a warm, sensitive side and a wild, primitive side. We can act caring and nurturing one moment, and self-centered and aggressive the next. Making sense of our thoughts and emotions is not easy, and people often feel conflicted and overwhelmed. “People struggle every day to understand themselves and find inner peace,” says Rabbi Mendel Katzman of Chabad House. “They’ve been through every book in the self-help aisle and they visit their therapist or confide in friends to sort through their feelings. What people really need is a guide to help them navigate their own complexity, and the Kabbalah has provided these tools for centuries.” This November, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) will launch Soul Maps, an ancient yet innovative approach to human psychology. Soul Maps is structured as a six-step program, utilizing tools from the Kabbalah to help participants understand themselves and find inner contentment. The course is based on Tanya, an 18th-century book that made the previously esoteric teachings of Kabbalah practical, relevant, and accessible. Soul Maps is designed for people at all levels of Jewish
knowledge, and participants don’t have to have any prior experience or background in Jewish learning to attend and enjoy this course. Additionally, all JLI courses are open to the entire Jewish community and people do not need to be a member of any particular synagogue or temple in order to attend. This new course will be offered at Chabad House for six weeks, beginning Monday, Nov. 10. “The course costs $79, says Shani Katzman, member of the JLI committee. “But we are so sure that people will enjoy it, that we invite them to attend the first lesson free, with no obligation.” Soul Maps is no quick-fix. Participants won’t learn how to become a perfect person in ten easy lessons,” explains Rabbi Katzman. “We won’t wave a magic wand and make people’s troubles disappear. However, students will walk away with concrete tools they can utilize every day to resolve guilt, conflict, and confusion, and find their inner nucleus of joy, purpose, and direction.” JLI is the adult education arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. JLI’s classes and programs are offered at over 300 locations in more than 200 cities nationwide, as well as in international locations. For more information, please contact Rabbi Katzman at chabad@aol.com or 330.1800, or visit www.myJLI.com.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE
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Fun-filled activities, camaraderie draw children and teens to Beth El
al Leadership Training Institute (LTI), a regional convention for all chapter executive boards to network, share programming ideas. Beth El Youth Director Robert Mosenkis applauded the group’s leadership, saying, “I am really excited for this year because the USYers on board have some really great ideas and lots of enthusiasm to accomplish whatever they want done. Five out of eight of our executive board members are brand new to the USY board, and they bring a lot of unique, fresh input. It will be exciting to see where their ideas will take our programming for the year. USY is primarily youth-led, and that’s what the USYers like!” USY participants in last month’s Brush Up Nebraska activity Kadima, Beth El’s youth included Robert Mosenkis, left, Jaime Abramson (partially hid- group for middle school den), Abby Ginsburg, an unidentified participant, Alec Lerner, students, began its new Scott Sussman, Ryan Kirshenbaum, Ezra Potash, Yonatan year of activities several Dotan, Adeev Potash, Dayna Cohen, Colin Belmont, Brianna weeks ago with an afterSadofsky, Molly Kudym, Lilly Phillips, and Noam Margalit. noon of miniature golf at BILU-USY, the synagogue’s group for high school students, offers teens a great way to connect with others socially, and provides them avenues to become involved in the synagogue; it also helps the teens to become engaged in volunteer opportunities throughout the community. Among their community efforts, USYers have helped out at City Sprouts, a community garden tended by volunteers around Omaha; they also recently participated in Brush Up Nebraska, where they helped to paint homes of low-income elderly people in town. USY members also participate in organ- Teen helper Ari Brodkey assists Tomer izing and running Beth El’s always-popu- Palmon during last spring’s BESTT Chaverim lar Purim carnival; each Sukkot, they also outing to the Lincoln Children’s Museum. help decorate the sukkah in front of the Boulder Creek. Kadima offers a variety of synagogue, and throughout the year, vol- social, cultural and religious activities unteer in a variety of capacities during throughout the year, as well as special programs and special events. events such as next February’s Emtza USY kicked off its new year last week- Region Kadima Kinnus, and the annual end with an apple-picking rendezvous at Kadima Shabbaton, taking place in the the Pioneer Trail Orchard and Pumpkin spring. The group’s activities during the Patch near Council Bluffs. Attendees past year included canoeing at a lake in were also treated to pumpkin picking, Papillion, an outing to a gymnastics cenhayrack rides and a haunted house. All ter, and an afternoon at the CoCo Key the apples picked will be put to good use, Water Park. according to new USY president Dayna BESTT Chaverim, the synagogue’s Cohen, as the teens will join together this youth group for fourth through sixth Sunday to make apple pies for donation graders, has offered delightful social getto the Siena-Francis House. togethers for its members, from ice skatExpressing enthusiasm about taking the ing, bowling and swimming, to special helm of the popular synagogue group, trips to the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Cohen said, “It is an amazing opportuni- Lincoln Children’s Museum. ty, and there are ways I think I can conChaverim resumed its activities last tribute to make USY an exciting part of weekend with an afternoon of roller-skatevery Jewish teen’s life. It’s really reward- ing and Playdaze fun at Skatedaze. ing and all of my friends make it all Attendees at Chaverim events do not worthwhile. have to be Beth El members: all Jewish “In the upcoming year, we’re trying to fourth through sixth graders are welbring back some old ideas from many come. years ago but we’re also coming up with For more information about all of Beth new ones, as well,” she continued. “My El’s youth group programming, contact board and I have been searching through Mosenkis in the office. old fliers, binders, and pictures to find programs that people will really be interested in. Our ideas range from paintball, sledding and scavenger hunts around Omaha, to the traditional lock-ins at Beth El. I’m so excited to get started with the Valerie and Alex Cooper of Rochester, year and carry out all of these incredible MN announce the Aug. 4 birth of son, plans. It will definitely be a year to Owen Asher. remember.” Grandparents are Cheryl and Ron Members of USY’s executive board, Cooper; and Judi and Alan Jackson of made up of Cohen, Yonatan Dotan, Ezra Kalamazoo, MI. and Adeev Potash, Noam Margalit, Ryan Great-grandparents ae Jerry Milder, the Kirshenbaum, Shir Palmon, and Brad late Fran Milder, the late Faye and Ben Kutler, plus Ygal Schuller, who serves on Cooper, Lowell Patterson of Whitehall, the USY regional board, recently traveled WI, the late Clara Mae Patterson, and Jim to St. Louis, for the organization’s annu- and Sarah Jackson, Mt. Pulaski, IL. by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator When it comes to lively, fun-filled youth groups, Beth El fills the ticket: with its offerings of BESTT Chaverim, Kadima and BILU-USY, there’s a place for every young person to join in.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
Former Omahan lured back to produce a film
by WENDY WEINER RUNGE I’ve heard that the most often quoted movie line is the one that comes at the very end of The Wizard of Oz, uttered by the newly enlightened Dorothy, played by Judy Garland. One of my earliest memories involves nodding my head in agreement, even though I had never been farther than my own back yard. Even then I recognized the importance of Dorothy’s life lesson. When I graduated from Central High School (Class of ’83), preppy was cool; mastering the English language was an essential tool for success, and the only wrinkles we had were in our clothes. At this time, my sisters and I began to practice our Judaism according to the Orthodox perspective because being grateful to G-d elevated everything that we did, having the respect for ourselves that we deserved as Daughters of Israel felt right, and it made our parents a bit crazy. When you’re a teenage girl, what could be better than that?
Writer/Director Zach LeBeau and Construction Foreman Tony Swansey inspect the building of the set for The Scientist As I recall, at the time there were many running jokes with a punch line alluding to the “metropolis” across the river, Council Bluffs. Twenty-five years later, in the long shadow of that high school on the hill, I am the Executive Producer of a cutting edge full length feature film, The Scientist, which we are shooting in the very welcoming community Executive Producer Wendy of Council Bluffs. My career? Somewhere Weiner Runge over the rainbow. Marketing and development projects of all shapes, sizes, and flavors were my stock in trade. When I met Zach LeBeau, it was just like the striking of a match, we were “partners at first sight”. Immediately I knew that he would write and direct commercially successful films that uplift, inspire and entertain, and he knew that I would tirelessly gather the necessary components to finance and manage our film projects. Tenacious as we both are, Zach easily adjusted to the fact that I do not work on Shabbos. As a matter of fact, our filming schedule has been set so that Shabbos is the set day off for the entire cast and crew. The non-Jewish cast and crew are planning to recharge their batteries on the Sabbath day in their own way, but it’s my honor to keep the Sabbath Holy. Zach will often call me on Friday to ask what time “lock down” (candle lighting) is for that day, so we can plan accordingly. We have several film projects in development, but the first on the slate is The Scientist, written by Zach LeBeau and Chase Brandau. Our production company, Polynation Pictures LLC, is producing The Scientist for domestic and international distribution, DVD and Cable television sales and we have a producer’s representative in Los Angeles to make that happen. The Scientist is the story of Dr. Marcus Ryan, a brilliant physicist obsessed with the study of other dimensions. Marcus is determined to tap into the energy of other dimensions in order to provide the world with a source of pure, clean and limitless fuel. The Machine that he builds turns into something much more ... and the positive energy that flows affects everyone around Marcus as well. Our company is based in Iowa because of an exceptional economic development program that provides film makers with rebates that are awarded through a contract. This program provides Polynation Pictures with sellable Iowa State tax credits, and we use that money to repay our investors. Continued on page 12
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Glenn Miller Orchestra will make its Lied Center for Performing Arts debut on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. Originally formed in 1937, The Glenn Miller Orchestra earned a loyal following of fans. Famous tunes such as “In the Mood,� “Body and Soul,� and his signature theme, “Moonlight Serenade,� made Miller a legendary bandleader of the 1930s and ‘40s Swing Era. Miller joined the Army Air Force in 1942 and disbanded his orchestra at the height of its popularity. The disappearance of his plane in 1944 seemed to signal the end of the famed orchestra forever. Twelve years later, however, due in part to the success of the movie The Glenn Miller Story, Miller’s estate authorized the formation of the present orchestra. Now under the direction of Larry O’Brien, the brilliance of Glenn Miller lives on with his namesake orchestra. Playing an average of 300 live dates a year around the world, the 19-member orchestra continues to play original Miller arrangements, but also performing newer, carefully selected tunes that follow the Miller style. Joining the orchestra for their Lied Center performance will be vocalists Julia Rich and Ryan Garfi. Tickets for this event are $28/$23/$18. University of Nebraska–Lincoln students (and other participating colleges) with a valid I.D., as well as youth age 18 and younger, may purchase tickets for half price. Tickets may be purchased online at www.liedcenter.org or by calling the Lied ticket office at 402.472.4747 or 800.432.3231 for tickets. As part of the Lied Center’s ongoing education programming, a pre-performance talk will be held in the Lied Center’s Steinhart Room. Seating is limited and the pre-talk will begin a half hour before curtain or when the room is full. The Lied Center is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln at 301 No. 12 St.
Summer’s over Peggy and Jay Chasen enjoyed a beautiful day at Chalco Hills Recreations Area with delicious food and enter tainment by Johnny Ray Gomez, during a last-of-summer picnic sponsored by Visions and 39 Forever.
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Omaha Performing Arts welcomes “Capitol Steps Productions� to Slosburg Hall at the Orpheum Theater on Thursday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. One-time congressional staffers who have since turned comedians, members of Capitol Steps Productions now travel the country satirizing the very people and places that once employed them. As equal opportunity satirists, The Capitol Steps take aim at issues that are in the news right now -- picking on Republicans, Democrats and anyone else who deserves it. The production is continually updated with new costumes, props and music helping to create a rip-roaring, one-of-a-kind evening of political fun. In no way mean-spirited, their hilarious musical satire takes potshots at the outrageous goings-on in Washington, unafraid to say what most of the general public are thinking. Tickets may be purchased through Ticket Omaha online at TicketOmaha.org, by phone at 402.345.0606 or in person at the Ticket Omaha box office at the Holland Center, 13th and Douglas. Tickets for Capitol Steps Productions start at $19. “The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands� is the hottest and coolest party in town and it’s coming to Omaha’s Orpheum Theater Nov. 7-9. After four unprecedented years on London’s West End, this acclaimed production vividly recreates a legendary evening at the Sands Hotel with the most famous performers of our time: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. Omaha will re-live the excitement of those nights with the Rat Pack, back on stage, presented by Omaha Performing Arts and Broadway Across America at the Orpheum Theater, for five performances only. Tickets are now on sale at Ticket Omaha, www.ticketomaha.com.
Former Omahan lured back Continued from page 11 This business model is sound, and our investors and partners are excited about making money while we make magic. We might not have considered Iowa for the location if it were not for these tax credits, but this has turned out to be a Field of Dreams. “If you build it ... they will come.� They built it and we’re here.. The Iowa Film Commission, the city of Council Bluffs, and a broad range of local investors, actors, and supporters have made coming here to produce The Scientist the most natural decision I’ve ever made. Polynation Pictures LLC has proven that our business model is sound, our investors are getting in on a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a healthy return on this fun investment with very little risk and my entire cast and crew has a permanent reservation at the best kosher bed and breakfast in the world. (Thank you, Mom and Dad.) You were right, Dorothy ... there is no place like home.
Parents and children sure to enjoy Beth El’s annual “Bring Your Parents to School Day� by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Jewish education will be a family affair at Beth El on Sunday, Oct. 12, as the synagogue’s Talmud Torah (BESTT) sponsors its fourth annual “Bring Your Parents to School Day� from 10 a.m. to noon. All families with students in pre-kindergarten through seventh grade are invited to participate in this special open house, which offers parents the opportunity to become familiarized with their children’s Sunday school classes and participate in a fun-filled morning of learning alongside their children.
Fifth graders and their parents practiced their skills as Torah scribes during last year’s ‘Bring Your Parents to School’ event at Beth El. The morning will begin with an open assembly in the chapel, where Education Director Judy Rubin, Rabbi Mordechai Levin and a member of the BESTT school board will discuss goals for the year. During the rest of the morning, parents may attend their children’s classes and enjoy refreshments in the West Court, courtesy of Beth El Men’s Club. In addition, Mary Sue Grossman, director of operations and programming for the Center for Jewish Education, will speak to all parents at 11:30 a.m., to introduce the Passport to Israel Program. Passport to Israel is a savings incentive program in partnership with the Federation and synagogues to enable students to travel to Israel on approved programs when they are in high school. A directory of classrooms and teachers’ names will be posted in the canteen area, Rubin said, adding that parents are welcome to stay for either the entire open house, or just a portion of the morning. She also noted that in addition to the interactive open house, parents are always welcome to visit mid-week religious school classes and may set a date and time by contacting her at 498.0904, or eddir@bethel-omaha.org. In addition, several mid-week faculty members have already designated dates for parents to visit their classrooms.
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Symphony highlights achievements of Horatio Alger scholars
by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Opera fans might remember a handsome young tenor who was the first Greek to perform at LaScala in 2000. Or perhaps some might recall him singing arias and duets in Athens in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games. Either way, Nebraskans will get the chance to see Mario Frangoulis in Omaha when he appears with the Omaha Symphony Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7-8 at the Holland Center. This series of concerts, however, is not just another headline performance for the Omaha Symphony. It’s also a chance to honor two important local contribuMario Frangoulis tors: Walter Scott and David Sokol -- and introduce recipients of scholarships from the Horatio Alger Association. Both Scott and Sokol serve on the Horatio Alger Association’s executive board. Steven H. Durham and his family will sponsor the Friday evening concert. The tribute will feature 36 current and previous recipients from all over the state, as well as state scholars of the Ak-Sar-Ben Scholarship, which is the first Horatio Alger state scholarship, created in 2001. According to Lex Poppens, Vice President of Marketing for the Omaha Symphony, Omaha is only “the fourth city to create this kind of partnership, following Boston, Chicago and Dallas” which puts Omaha in a “unique category.” Frangoulis, whose career began when he was only 17, was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and moved with his family to Greece when he was a child. He is known as a “classical crossover tenor” which enables him to perform a wide range of musical genres from hard rock to operatic arias. He has performed in films
such as Kiss Me Kate and De Lovely, on CD live performances, such as “Music of the Night,” and in compilation with other artists like Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Merchant and Jon Bon Jovi in a 2007 CD called “Give Us Your Poor.” But his life encompasses more than just his performances, film credits and recordings. He is recognized worldwide for his philanthropic work and commitment to humanitarian causes, which is why, says Poppens, “he is a natural for this first ever Horatio Alger” concert. Adds David Slosburg, a member of the Omaha Symphony Board of Directors, “On behalf of the Board, we are delighted to open the Omaha Symphony Pops Series season with Mario Frangoulis. The story of his youth is a compelling example of his following a dream and succeeding.” Frangoulis has been active with the Horatio Alger Association since 2006. In March of this year, he was invited by Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams to be her official Global Ambassador for Peace for the World Centers of Compassion for Children International. He will be part of a global education campaign to take children and their families out of refugee camps and wartorn countries to “Cities of Peace” to be established as violence-free zones. The Horatio Alger Society, founded in 1947, honors the achievements of outstanding individuals who have succeeded in society, despite adversity. The organization encourages young people to pursue their dreams by awarding scholarships for higher education. Last year’s recipients included former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz, and Chairman and CEO of Bank of America Richard M. Rosenberg. Past winners include former Dolphins football coach Don Shula, record producer Quincy Jones, and Bernard Marcus, founder of Home Depot. Tickets to the Frangoulis concert on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7-8, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m., can be purchased online at: www.omahasymphony.org or at the Symphony ticket office, 1605 Howard St., or by calling 402.342.3560. To learn more about the Horatio Alger Scholarship Program, visit www.horatioalger.org/schochalrships/index.cfm.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
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ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RTIH BREADBREAKERS Gary and Mark Javitch, who recently returned from a trip to Cuba sponsored by B’nai B’rith, will discuss their experiences on Wednesday, Oct. 8, noon at the Regency Lodge, according to chairman for the month, Marty Ricks. All men and women in the community are invited to attend; the program is free. An optional lunch buffet is $13; beverage service only is $3.
VISIONS Reminder: The Visions Board Meeting is Friday, Oct. 3, 9:30 a.m. in the social hall of the JCC. Visions Luncheon Meeting is Friday, Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m. at the Venice Inn. The cost of $11 includes lunch, beverage, tax, and gratuity. David Kotok, Managing Editor of the Omaha World Herald, will speak on hot topics of today’s news. Send reservations to Tootie Simon, 8725 Izard St., Omaha, NE 68114. For information, call Harry Alloy at 697.8709. If you need transportation to the Venice Inn, call Florence Hauss at 571.4583. Deadline is Oct. 10. Capture the excitement with the Capitol Steps at the Orpheum Theater on Thursday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Cost is $40. Send reservations to Betty Sanford, 9205 Western Ave. #127, Omaha, NE 68114. Make check payable to Visions.
JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES JSS presents “As Far as the Eyes Can See”, performed by Pippa White on Thursday, Oct. 16, 1:30 p.m. at the JCC auditorium. There is no admission fee and all are welcome. White is in her 14th year as a solo performer. She calls her One’s Company Productions “part theatre, part storytelling, part history.” Before doing solo work, she had an extensive background in theatre and television on the West Coast, including five years hosting a daily morning television show on ABC in San Francisco. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. THE YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday at the JCC with a dance performance with the Omaha Country Kickers. Lunch is served
at noon for $7 per person. The program will begin at 12:30 p.m. Join us for Bingo with Miles Remer at 10 a.m. Call Teresa at 330-4272 for transportation. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334-6521. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots! Come join us every Thursday, 1-3 p.m., in the social hall of the JCC. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. LIVINGSTON FOUNDATION The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Milton S. & Corinne N. Livingston Foundation, Inc. will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 2; the deadline for grant requests will be Friday, Oct. 31. All grant requests should be submitted in writing using the Livingston Foundation grant application form to Howard N. Epstein at 11605 Miracle Hills Dr., Suite 300, PO Box 542005, Omaha, NE 68154-8005. The primary interest of the Milton S. & 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. The guidelines for all grant applications are as follows: Grants will be limited to organizations located within the Omaha metropolitan area and the State of Israel; and no grants will be given for capital or endowment campaigns. JEWISH WOMEN INTERNATIONAL The Mah Jongg tournament will be on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Jewish Community Center. Registration will start at noon, and play will be from 12:30-4:30 p.m. The entrance fee will be $18 and there will be tournament prizes and door prizes. Refreshments will be served. To register, send check (payable to Jewish Women International) by Tuesday, Oct. 14 to Rosalie Greenspan, 1808 Howard St., 68114, 391.1954 or Esther Wax, 118 So. 88 St., 68114, 392.4442. Your place will be reserved upon receipt of your check.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
A tale of two sisters ...
by MICKY GREENBERG Sisters are special and share many things. Shelley Lewis and Lisa Lewis are sisters. They grew up in Omaha and shared similar lives through their teenage years. They share the same parents, Bert and Leonard Lewis and the same older brothers, Steve, an attorney now living in Florida and Joel, a medical doctor living in California. Shelley was the first girl. Twenty one months later, Lisa joined the family. According to their parents, the age difference kept them worlds apart as children. That gap closed as they got older. Bert recalls that “Shelley knew who she was
from the time she began talking, which was very early -about nine months. Nothing scared her. She was outgoing, never really bashful and from the earliest age was able to express herself and articulate her thoughts with ease. In contrast, Lisa was the baby of the four kids and her personality was totally different. “She was timid, cried easily and stuck to me like glue,” said her mother. It’s hard to believe that this shy little girl became the tough, independent woman she is today; a recognized authority and speaker in the field of autism who speaks around the world about her work in the field of dietary interven-
tion in the treatment of autism. As young women in college, Shelley and Lisa shared secrets and dreams of their future. They had different dreams for their future; different goals. Their dreams took some unexpected detours and the roads led to undreamed adult challenges. The challenges were different for each of them, but resulted in each of the Lewis sisters becoming successful authors of important books. Mickey Greenberg is a former editor of the JEwish Press, from 1965-74. She lives in Scottsdale, AZ, with her husband Mort, where she is a blogger for the Phoenix Jewish News.
A successful producer discovers lessons in facing cancer
A child with challenges leads to a mother’s books
by MICKY GREENBERG like it or not, when you’re in, you are in. Shelley Lewis had it all. This former I wasn’t interested in cancer’s lessons; I Omahan earned a degree in film and tel- just wanted to get through it and get evision from the NYU School of the Arts back to my old life.” Lewis pays tribute to her parents in the and began her 30 year successful career in broadcast news. As the news director for acknowledgments at the beginning of the NBC Radio’s youth network in 1981, she book, “I am blessed,” she writes, “with had the opportunity to cover many excit- wonderful parents -- a mother whom I ing stories, including a Reagan trip to can always count on to be my most Japan, huge rock concerts and the 1984 enthusiastic cheerleader and a father Presidential campaign. She worked with whose influence can’t be overstated. I am many prominent personalities like Jane very proud to be his daughter.” In the opening pages, Lewis explains Pauley, Aaron Brown, Lisa McCree, Dana “This is a book for women who don’t have Reeves, and Deborah Roberts. She had a loving husband Dennis and don’t want a spiritual makeover after Kardon, and a beautiful daughter, Julia. breast cancer. We like who we are and we She was successful and happy in her pro- like our lives. This is not a book filled with fessional and private lives. She had it all ‘look on the bright side’ advice.” With and then in that caveat, June 2004 she weaves she made an the reader addition to through interthe list: She views with had breast other women cancer. with breast In her book, cancer, advice Five lessons I on how to didn’t learn choose a docfrom breast tor, how to cancer and Shelley Lewis and her book, Five Lessons handle quesOne Big One I Did, Lewis describes her feelings when an tions people ask. In chapter six, she tackannual routine mammogram revealed she les the subject of “Sex and the Single had breast cancer. When faced with a per- (Breasted) Girl.” In good taste with sonal crisis, she said every one goes through humor, she discusses the problem of a at least two of the five stages of grief: denial, shrinking libido, and coming to terms with a changed body: less hair, more anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. “When I discovered I had breast cancer, weight and a damaged breast. With extraordinary skill, Lewis is able to I was no exception,” she says. “I started with the usual step of denial: there must impart important information to her readbe some mistake. There wasn’t. I then ers about serious subjects with the comic moved to the next lie, ‘If I do have it, it relief rarely found in a discussion of cancer. She lets us live her experience with her won’t be so bad.’” A gifted writer with a keen sense of without preaching and with extraordinary humor, Lewis takes the reader on her jour- honesty and humor. Sounds strange, but ney. Her first book, Naked Republicans: A this is a book about breast cancer that can full frontal exposure of right wing hypocrisy truly be enjoyed by the reader. Lewis waited three years to write the and greed, established her credentials as a writer with unique talents. If you think book. “I just wasn’t sure I wanted to be humor is not possible in the discussion of identified in any sense with that nasty part of my life. In the end, I wrote the book breast cancer, read her book. Tired of the clichés that claim “cancer is because I felt nobody was speaking for a gift that changed my life,” Lewis says. those of us who weren’t looking for a rea“Cancer didn’t teach me lessons that son why it happened, who weren’t lookchanged my life. My life taught me les- ing for cancer to be a transformative sons that changed my cancer experience. experience, who just wanted to get the If you think cancer is a gift,” she quips, hell over it and back to our lives. There “you can’t come to my birthday party.” are many women who feel the way I do.” She couldn’t relate to the way we so She takes the statistical information often see women describing breast cancer about the risks of getting breast cancer in the media. “Why was it supposed to be and explains it in simple terms. “If you a disease that came with a profound les- want to have the best chance of avoiding son to make it all worth it” she asked? breast cancer, don’t be born a woman. If She could not identify with the pink you are, have a lot of babies, breast feed ribbons and paraphernalia -- the October them till they’re old enough to drive, “pinkapalooza” as she calls it -- and she don’t have a mother or sister who had it didn’t want to be a member of the breast and don’t get old.” cancer club. The concluding chapter, “Life after “I felt about the Cancer Club the same Cancer” reveals the one big lesson way I did when I got my first invitation to learned from cancer and the simple conjoin AARP. Yikes, no way am I doing this. clusion. “I had cancer and now I don’t. Throw that thing out before someone Back to my life.” sees you with it.” Unfortunately, she Shelley Lewis has it all -- except the breast notes, “Cancer Club is only slightly less cancer -- erased from the list and replaced persistent that AARP and whether you with an important, memorable book.
She is the author of two books: Special by MICKY GREENBERG In June, 1988 Lisa Lewis and her hus- Diets for Special Kids and Special Diets for band, Serge Goldstein, were blessed with Kids Two and a regular contributor to the birth of their first child, a boy named several publications. She has become a Sam. They were filled with love and won- recognized authority on the subject of derful dreams for their beautiful child. Dietary Intervention and has published They were not prepared for the dramatic more than 200 gluten-free recipes. “I changes and challenges that he brought. have never claimed that a gluten-free diet “For the first year of his life Sam blos- will cure autism. However there is no somed: a sweet, blue eyed child who loved doubt that the diet has had a significant, to cuddle, sing and play with us and the beneficial effect on Sam. I have heard other children at his day care. He reached from hundreds of parents who have had all his early developmental milestones right similar results,” she added. on schedule and we felt we were the luckThirteen years, countess conferences iest people in the whole world,” she says. and over 50,000 emails after the two There were unexpected changes during women created the international parent the next years. A repetitive series of upper network that has educated thousands respiratory infections appeared each win- about dietary and biomedical interventer. Behavior changes began -- tantrums, tion for autism they decided to put it all biting, language difficulties and serious together. The sum of their knowledge is aggressive behavior. Their dreams for in one easy to use reference guide. their little boy began to crumble. Lisa and The Encyclopedia of Dietary Serge went through the pattern of denial Interventions for the treatment of Autism echoed by many parents. They believed it and Related Disorders was published this was something he would outgrow or year and is recognized as the essential refcould be “fixed.” They did the routine of erence guide for parents and physicians. The book took three years to write and testing and consultations with “experts.” They tried various schools and psychia- incorporates vital information for undertrists and read everything they could standing and implementing dietary intervention. In easy to use alphabetized encyabout Sam’s symptoms. When Sam was 3 1/2, his brother Jacob was born. Their concern about Sam’s troubling behavior was increasing. Shortly thereafter, Serge spent a day in the Princeton University psychology library studying the manual for diagnosing mental illness. When he read the section on autism, he realized it was a chillingly accurate description of Sam. He shared his findings with Dr. Lisa Lewis and her Encyclopedia of Dietary Interventions Lisa who agreed. It confirmed what they clopedia style format, it offers important suspected for a long time. “In a way we information about nutrition. There are were both relieved to finally have a name meal suggestions, food lists and recipes, for Sam’s problems.” Then a doctor in the as well as success stories from parents who New Jersey University of Medicine gave have used dietary intervention. It is a the official diagnosis that Sam was autistic. scholarly book but hidden in the pages is “At that time the internet was fairly the story of a parent who wouldn’t give new. People didn’t have home comput- up on her autistic child. ers,” Lewis said. “Fortunately, I was conLewis notes that when Sam was diagnected because I worked at the nosed in early 1992, the estimated inciComputing Center at Princeton. dence of autism was 3-5 kids in 10,000, Through an electronic friend, I learned Now those numbers are one in 150. For about dietary research.” boys, the numbers are even worse: one in She learned that autism results from an 95. “As parents, we never know what sort immune system dysfunction that affects of child we are going to get.” She urges the body’s ability to break down certain parents, “Don’t spend too much time on proteins and combat yeasts and bacteria. grief for the child you dreamed of raising; “I started Sam on a gluten and casein free make room for the child you have.” diet. I adapted a diet for those allergic to It is hard to predict how Sam’s story wheat and with celiac disease to Sam’s will end. Lisa notes that Sam is now 20, needs. He responded well.” That begin- living at a residential school in nearby ning brought new hope to countless par- Langhorne, PA. “Next year, he will tranents of autistic children. sition from school to some sort of vocaWith her relentless search for answers tional work. He is unlikely to ever live for her son, supported by her doctorate independently, but is a happy young man from NYU, Lewis and Karyn Seroussi who looks forward to trying new things became the co-founders of ANDI: the and meeting new people.” Autism Network for Dietary Sam is blessed to have caring, dedicated Intervention. For six years Lisa co- parents. Countless other autistic children authored a quarterly newsletter for sub- also live better because of Lisa’s determiscribers worldwide, including doctors and nation and research which resulted in her therapists who shared them with clients. encyclopedic book.
October 3, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 15
Sukkot and Simchat Torah at Beth El offer joyous festivities
by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El Synagogue has joyous, funfilled festivities on tap for Sukkot and Simchat Torah, and Jewish community members of all ages are invited to join in the celebration. Once again, Men’s Club will prepare for Sukkot by building and decorating a beautiful sukkah in the synagogue’s front courtyard on Sundays, Oct. 5 and 12, 8 a.m. All those interested in helping out are encouraged to join in; extra hands are always welcome. Members of the USY youth group will let their creative sides shine during their annual sukkah-decorating and pizza party Oct. 12, 7-8:30 p.m.; all teens are invited to join in the fun. The synagogue’s Sukkot festivities will commence on Monday, Oct. 13, 5:30 p.m. with services; holiday services will be held daily through Monday, Oct. 20. Our High Holidays will be capped off with a spirited Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing in the Torah”) celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 21. This festive holiday celebrates the love of Torah, and is observed with instrumental music, singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls throughout the community court. Minha/Ma’ariv services begin at 5:50 p.m., followed by Hakafot at 6:15 p.m. The evening’s merriment will continue with a free spaghetti dinner. Please note: while there is no charge to attend, RSVPs are needed. To make a reservation, contact Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, 9:30 a.m., dedicated Beth El congregants Stan Mitchell and Gloria Kaslow will be honored as Hatan Torah and Kalla Bereshit respectively, during services.
Both honorees are longtime synagogue members who have contributed countless hours of service to the congregation. Kaslow recently stepped down as chairman of the Beth El Synagogue Talmud Torah (BESTT) education committee, after serving in that position for the past five years. Her involvement included shaping the religious school curriculum, as well as teaching Holocaust education both at Beth El and throughout the community. She has also served on the synagogue’s board and executive committee. “Gloria has been a phenomenal school board chair,” said Beth El Education Director Judy Bisman Rubin. “She has been a mentor to me and a sounding board for new ideas and projects. From the moment that I interviewed for the Education Director position at BESTT, I realized that Gloria was a calm and rational leader with the best interests of Beth El, BESTT and the families of the synagogue at heart. She is a great teacher who is knowledgeable and passionate about her subjects and her students.” Mitchell, a past director of Beth El’s religious school and a former board member, was instrumental in constructing the synagogue’s bylaws. He currently serves on the Religious Life committee, reads Torah and Haftarah, and coordinates and trains the gabbaim to help out during Shabbat services. Both honorees have also been active with the annual B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz, and have helped to organize the event, write questions and offer review sessions for the teenage participants. Synagogue President Steve Pitlor applauded the honorees, saying, “I can’t think of two more more deserving individuals to be this year’s Simchat Torah honorees.
The 21st Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium “Rites of Passage: How Today’s Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate” Keynote Address Dr. Vanessa L. Ochs, University of Virginia
“New Jewish Traditions: The Ones That Stick and the Ones That Don’t” Sunday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. The Jewish Community Center Theatre 333 S. 132nd Street, Omaha
Sunday, October 26 additional events at The Jewish Community Center
Monday, October 27 events at the Skutt Student Center, Creighton University
10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
8:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public. For further information, please contact Fran Minear at the Klutznick Office (402) 280-2303 or fminear@creighton.edu or visit our website: www2.creighton.edu/ccas/klutznick
“Gloria has been involved with Beth El for so many years and in a multitude of capacities. Working with our professionals, Gloria has been responsible for taking BESTT to great heights over the past years. She has served on numerous committees, the Beth El Board of Trustees, and recently with her husband Howard, chaired the installation event of our new cantor. Gloria’s passion and dedication to Beth El have been immeasurable.” Of Mitchell, Pitlor commented that, “Stanley has made his presence known around Beth El as far back “as I can remember. Working as a professional as the head of our United Talmud Torah a number of years ago, every person in their mid 20s to early 30s remembers ‘Mr. Mitchell’ -- I know my kids do.” “Stanley instituted a level of excellence
in our education system that remains today in our congregation. After serving in a professional capacity, he has contributed greatly as a volunteer over the years. His presence on the Board of Trustees has been an invaluable asset as well. Both Gloria and Stanley care deeply about Beth El and we have benefited in so many ways because of their dedication.” Rabbi Mordechai Levin echoed Pitlor’s thoughts, remarking that, “We are honoring two wonderful, active, dedicated, knowledgeable members of Beth El, who attend religious services regularly, and have always shown a deep commitment to Jewish education.” Everyone in the Jewish community is invited to celebrate at Beth El: both holidays offer opportunities to enjoy the festivities and observe this holy season.
IN THE NEWS Jeremy Fink joins CB Richard Ellis|MEGA as a Senior Associate. Jeremy specializes in office brokerage, as well as real estate investment sales. Prior to joining CB Richard Ellis|MEGA, Fink spent seven years at another commercial real estate firm in Omaha. For the second consecutive year PAMIDA LLC awarded Douglas Finnicum the Vendor of the Year for his outstanding work as a manufacturer’s representative
for Haier America. Finnicum was recognized by the local retailer with over 200 stores for dedicated service, creative promotions and an annual increase in sales.
On Thursday, Oct. 16, 4-9 p.m., enjoy an event featuring 10 manufacturer representatives, including Meridian, Esoteric, Runco, Transparent and Wilson Audio at The Sound Environment. There will be six ongoing presentations in different rooms with sessions scheduled about every half hour. Opportunities to preview the latest advances in home theater technology will be available and refreshments will be served. Sound Environment is localed at 11021 Elm St. in Rockbrook Village. For more information, call 402.391.3842.
Page 16
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Stop, watch and listen Ever notice how conservatives deride CNN and the New York Times? And how liberals scoff at those who watch Fox News or listen to Sean Hannity on radio? Are we so afraid of “the other” that we automatically dismiss the opposition without even listening to what they have to say? Given the contentiousness of this year’s presidential election, maybe, just maybe we should all take a collective breath and pay attention. This is still, after all, a free country, with the right to speak or write what’s on our minds. So, we have a few suggestions for this new year of 5769: • If you’re an avowed liberal, consider watching Fox News and Bill O’Reilly. Listen to Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham; read Cal Thomas, and both Bills: Kristol and Safire. You might want to read all the opinion pieces in the Wall Street Journal, too. While it might appear that these pundits are angry, try to read between the lines (or listen more carefully); it’s stunning how many of their positions are not out of line with the thinking of average Americans. And, if you don’t have high blood pressure, check out the online blogs of Michelle Malkin and the “Ace of Spades” for what the far right is really thinking! • If you’re a confirmed conservative, subscribe to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times or the Washington Post and read all the op-eds. Try to understand the focus and direction of op-ed writers like Dan Froomkin, Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, and Nicholas Kristof. Watch Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, and the View on ABC, and tune in to National Public Radio. Conservatives might be surprised, for exam-
ple, how distressed Dowd was when Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign was still pursuing the presidency. Liberal columnists can be just as hard on Democrats as they are on Republicans; in some cases (like Dowd on Clinton), these opinion writers are more critical of their own than of the opposition. If you can do this (without gagging), you’re ready for the next step: actually having a conversation with someone who doesn’t think the way you do! In order to accomplish this, however, you must reign in your emotions. Using internet rumors as the basis of your arguments against Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain or their running mates is not allowed. Of course, you can be passionate about your candidate or your cause, but calling the other side “stupid” or worse isn’t going to win them over. Stick to the facts -about the economy, the War in Iraq, terrorism, the security (financial and otherwise) of our nation. Don’t squander the opportunity to convince an opponent with name-calling, innuendo or gossip. Not only won’t it work, it brings you down as well. This election is like
no other in modern history. For those of us who thought it would be similar to 1952 when an intellectual (Adlai Stevenson II, former Democratic governor of Illinois) ran against a war hero (Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican nominee), we forgot how 56 years have changed the political landscape: 24/7 cable news, the internet and blogs, toxic rumors and viral videos, and false advertising by 527s -- political action groups uncontrolled by either candidate. It’s not easy to separate fact from fiction these days, so if you’re in doubt, check those rumors with www.FactCheck.org or www.politifact.com, and remember, regardless of who wins, we still have to live together.
on a Thursday night, and by Saturday the Jewish Agency evacuated the 200 Jews of Gori to the safety of Tbilisi, the capital. Three days later, on Tuesday night, some of those same Jews who were evacuated from the war zone arrived at Ben Gurion airport as new immigrants, beginning a new life in the State of Israel. They were among the 200 Jews from Georgia who the Jewish Agency will have brought to Israel since the start of the crisis.
For the Jewish Agency this means becoming more involved in North America by providing greater and more meaningful Israel content through education and opportunities in Israel. It means bringing over 120 Israeli teachers to teach Hebrew in day schools; having (a record) 1,500 Israeli youth come for the summer to serve as counselors in Jewish camps; and bringing dozens of young Israeli shlichim to serve in communities and on college campuses all across North America. It continues after high school, by getting young adults to go to Israel for a semester or a year of studying, volunteering or working. It continues with offering Jewish youth, before during or after college opportunities to study and live in Israel -- from two week volunteer programs to semester and year-long study or work programs in the framework of MASA, a joint project of the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency to give Jewish youth abroad a significant life-experience in Israel. On the community level, it comes in the form of nearly 50 partnerships between Jewish communities in North America and towns and local councils in Israel or by communities which want Israel integrated into their synagogues, schools, and/or community centers through the Makom program. It also comes through the financial support we give to the birthright israel program. It is these efforts, aimed mostly at people during their formative years, which lead some North American Jews to culminate their Zionist connection with aliyah. For this very important group we want to make sure they get the highest level of service and help possible to make their ultimate Zionist dream a reality. That is why we recently announced our new partnership with Nefesh B’Nefesh so that, together, we can achieve the best possible results in helping olim from North America. Continued on page 17
Vazha and Irina Mamisashvili and their sons Nikoloz, 8, and David, 5, celebrated this Rosh Hashanah in their new home at Kibbutz Masada in the Jordan Valley. Just eight weeks ago they were living in Georgia when the fighting broke out. They decided it was time to move to Israel. “We wanted to do what is best for our children,” Irina said. Today she is working at the kibbutz guest house and is in ulpan with her husband learning Hebrew; their children are starting school. As we begin a New Year we can be proud that we, the Jewish people, are as united together through hard times as when it’s good; that Israel is there for the Jewish people wherever they are, and the Jewish people are there for Israel. If we have learned one thing from these recent years when Israel has gone through difficulties, it is how deeply and how viscerally the fate of the State of Israel is intertwined with Jewish people all over the world. When the bodies of the two missing soldiers -- abducted by Hezbollah in an attack that sparked the Second Lebanon War -- were finally brought home, the sense of closure, disappointment and acceptance of their fate was felt not only throughout Israel, but was shared among Jews in communities everywhere. And when Jews are in crisis -- wherever in the world they are -- Israel and the Jewish People are there at their side. When the fighting broke out in Georgia, the State of Israel and the Jewish people were at hand for the Jews in danger. Hostilities in the Georgian province of South Ossetia broke out
... we need to establish and strengthen an inalienable link between the next generation of Jews and Israel, so like their grandparents and parents, they will love Israel ... But for this connection to last for generations to come we must recognize that our underlying challenge is to keep the flame of Zionism burning in the hearts of Jews around the world, the vast majority of whom live in peace and relative prosperity. It is in these places that we need to establish and strengthen an inalienable link between the next generation of Jews and Israel, so like their grandparents and parents, they will love Israel and view it also as their home. Our growing involvement in Zionist education among Jews abroad is in keeping with the important recent declaration by Prime Minister Olmert that the government of Israel would take a more active role in forging the Zionist identity and connection to the state of Israel among Jews in communities abroad; the Jewish Agency, in Olmert’s view, would serve as a platform for this strengthened connection and relationship between Israelis with Jews abroad.
Jewish Press Board Michael Sigmond, Vice President; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Marc Brodkey; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; Andy Ruback; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. 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.
Revitalizing the dream
IbySRAEL @ 60 by ZEEV BIELSKI
(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Robyn Belgrade Sales Associate Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
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American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008
October 3, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 17
Too much focus on religion in this election season
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The political campaign season is now in high gear as the curtain falls on the Democrats in Denver and the Republicans in Minneapolis-St. Paul. While much of the media’s focus has been on handicapping the candidates and their chances in November, we would like to call attention to one less-publicized aspect of the U.S. political scene in 2008, which we find troubling. This year, there have been increasing signs that the presidential race will present the American public with a profoundly unsettling infusion of religion and religiosity. The trend toward this growing insertion of faith into the presidential race was first evident in Denver, and then equally so in the Twin Cities. At the Democratic National Convention, the program included panels on “How an Obama Administration will Engage People of Faith,” “Moral Values Issues Abroad,” “Getting Out the Faith Vote” and “Common Ground on Common Good.” Members of the clergy from across the religious spectrum had a significant presence, conducting Scripture readings at a multifaith “kickoff event” and offering invocations and benedictions. There was a clear effort to be interdenominational, but it was also apparent that the Democrats felt compelled to infuse religion into their convention in order to be politically viable. At the Republican convention, religiously themed events played a prominent role as well. Members of the clergy led the convention in prayer each day, and there was considerable time devoted to discussing subjects such as “faithbased initiatives and family values,” which one Republican spokeswoman recently identified as being “at the heart of our party.” There was less focus on religious diversity and less of an effort to call public attention to the convention’s religious content, probably because it was less of a departure from past Republican programs. In raising our concerns, we mean no disrespect to religion or to family values. But there comes a point when being open about
faith crosses a subtle line into pandering. Some of what we have been seeing in this campaign is excessive and aggressive. It goes beyond a candidate’s discussing how religion shapes his or her worldview. Rather, it’s saying, “Vote for me because I’m a person of faith” -- and that is directly contrary to the constitutional principle that there shall be no religious test for public office. Both parties seem to have reached the conclusion that appealing to religious voters is good politics. But what kind of message does it send, in our religiously diverse society, when the two major presidential candidates sit in a church and forthrightly answer Pastor Rick Warren’s questions about their personal relationship with Jesus?
... appealing to voters along religious lines can be divisive, and it is certainly contrary to the American ideal of including all Americans in the political process. Renewed faith-based initiatives, religious outreach teams and religious programming at the conventions all work to curry favor with those who care which party is most favorable toward the religious. This may be good politics, but it is not healthy for our nation. This is not to say that Americans should oppose candidates who are religious, or that candidates shouldn’t feel free to discuss their religious beliefs with the body politic. It is understandable that candidates, from time to time, will want to express their religious beliefs -- and how their faith will inform and influence their policymaking. And there’s nothing wrong with a candidate expressing his or her religious perspective -- especially when confronted with misinformation, innuendo and rumor. However, appealing to voters along religious lines can be divisive, and it is certainly contrary to the American ideal of including all Americans in the political process. It is deeply troubling when religion is no longer just an element in understanding the character of a candidate but becomes a central part of a party’s efforts to win votes or to pander to a certain religious group or constituency. Government should not endorse, promote, or subsidize religious views -- and particular religious views should not be the determining factor in public-policy
decision making. Anyone who legitimately aspires to public office in the United States must be prepared to set an example and to be a leader for all Americans, no matter his or her faith, or whether he or she even has a faith. When candidates campaign, they should be encouraging voters to make decisions based on an assessment of their qualifications, their integrity and their political positions, not on how religious they are. The next time a debate moderator asks the candidates to discuss their personal relationship with God, it would be refreshing to hear an answer similar to the one President Kennedy gave nearly 48 years ago, when he confronted questions about his Catholicism: “I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic.” Religion, he was saying, is part of him, but it does not define him, and it should not be the primary lens through which Americans view him. In this season, it is important to remind all political players that in this religiously diverse nation, there is a point at which an emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling. Abraham H. Foxman is national director of the Anti-Defamation League and the author of “The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control.”
Revitalizing the dream
Continued from page 16 When the Jewish Agency was awarded the Israel Prize, our country’s most prestigious honor to organizations and individuals, on Israel’s 60th Independence Day in May, we were cited as the “organization which helped realize the vision of the return to Zion.” In sixty years that vision has not been eclipsed; it has not dulled. With our partners in the Federations in North America and in Jewish communities all over the world, we will work to see the next sixty years as bright and vital fulfillment of the Zionist ideal as the last sixty. With that mission in hand, with the unity of the Jewish People with a strong Israel at its heart as our goal -- we cannot but succeed. If we diligently work toward a united, mutually responsible and viscerally connected Am Yisrael, it most certainly will be a wonderful New Year. Zeev Bielski is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor: Thanks for the interesting article about the Council Bluffs cemetery -- a real treasure to any community. While the article noted only my immediate family, it was amiss not to have included the entire Katelman clan, since they all contributed greatly in so many ways to the community. My grandparents emigrated in the early 1890s. To this union, 10 children were born and raised proudly in CB. Each and every one excelled in their own way -contributing to the city's business, political and social lives -- while still observing Jewish tradition. All but one sister is interred in our cemetery along with some spouses and children (20 in all). This story can be said for many other families as well: Passers, Krasnes, Meyersons, Sacks’, Cohens -- and yours! They all contributed to Council Bluffs’ rich history. Any student of Jewish life should take an afternoon stroll through the Oak Hills/Bikhor Cholim premises. Our past reads like an open book. Each and every person added a page to our colorful history while contributing to the growth and spirit of our Jewish presence. Here lies a community that was (and is) rich in tradition, whose members raised their families with love and good values. They worked hard to ensure a better life for themselves and their fellow man. It's up to us to never forget. So, let’s all take the time to pay our respects to those who sacrificed for us, nurtured us and instilled the beauty of
Judaism unto us. And may we all have a blessed New Year. Sissy Silber P. S. I know John O’Connor plans to retire in a few years. His knowledge of the cemetery and the families represented is unmatched. John and his dad before him have been great personal friends. I wish him well. He’ll be missed. To the Editor: If my memory serves me correctly it was the musical South Pacific that gave us that wonderful song, “I’m a cockeyed optimist.” As another Rosh Hashanah passes, it is hard to echo that wonderful sentiment and yet echo it we must. The year we are ending has been a turbulent one -- personally and collectively. Our family has rejoiced in the birth of children, thus adding new links to the continuity of our people and our family. We continue to enjoy the quiet satisfaction of our children’s achievements -- all of our children and all of their achievements. It is a year that has been marked as well by sadness in the death of Annie’s sister, Mary Fellman and by the discomfort of personal illnesses. As it so happens this year Rosh Hashanah fell on my 86th birthday and I am grateful for all of these years and for the 63 years during which I have been blessed by having at my side my beloved Annie -- who on Yom Kippur will celebrate her 87th birthday.
The year ended on a minor (musical) note. The United States teeters on the knife edge of financial collapse -- if it happens, the world economy will spiral down into a universal financial depression. John McCain and Barak Obama continue to argue trivialities instead of engaging in thoughtful debate. Here in Israel the enormous problems seem no closer to solution -- at least on the surface. The Orthodox world continues its obstructionist policy of milking the state, which they do not recognize, for unconscionable amounts of money, which because of political instability they always receive. The threat of a nuclear Iran haunts us all and we struggle with a governmental system that is broken. And yet we do have cause for a modicum of optimism. The vast majority of Israelis have come to realize that “greater Israel” does not need to mean retaining the West Bank, but rather will be achieved by peace and better education and a renewal of our knowledge of Jewish history and values. This kind of greatness will not be achieved easily or with harmony, but my “cockeyed optimism” leads me to believe that it will be achieved. And so as we approach a new year, and as we repeat the awesome “UneSana Tokef” prayer, who shall live and who shall die we optimistically focus on the end of the prayer which offers us hopes of averting the severe decrees. This coming year will hopefully see Israel with new political leadership; I truly believe that the Palestinians and Israelis will begin to take the small tentative steps
toward the peace and accommodation we both so desperately need. We will continue to be plagued by an enormous array of difficulties -- but it has been forever thus with the Jewish State. Harry Allen Jerusalem, Israel
To the Editor: We commend the Rabbinical Council of America for its new ethical initiative to produce a comprehensive guide to ethical business practice, with special attention to the kosher industry. At a time when there are so many allegations of infractions at the Postville, Iowa, glatt kosher slaughterhouse, their initiative is very important and deserves much praise. It is essential that our rabbis and other Jewish leaders recognize that a major shift toward plant-based diets is essential to avoid the unparalleled disaster that the world is rapidly approaching and to move our precious, but imperiled, planet to a sustainable path. JVNA would very much welcome respectful dialogues/debates with RCA rabbis and, indeed, all rabbis and other Jewish leaders on “Should Jews be Vegetarians?” Such discussions would constitute a kiddush Hashem (a sanctification of G-d’s Name) because it would show the applicability of eternal Jewish teachings to dietary issues. Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) www.JewishVeg.com
Page 18
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Candlelighting Friday, October 3, 6:43 p.m Wednesday, October 8, 6:36 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 Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
If you’re looking at this space, so are others!
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8: Kol Nidre services, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Dr. Leonard Greenspoon. THURSDAY, OCT. 9: Services, 10:30 a.m. with guest speaker Dr. Oliver Pollak; concluding service and Break-the-fast potluck, 5:30 p.m. There will be no services on Friday, Oct. 10.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Beth El; Minha/Ma’ariv, 6:50 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. Bible Study SUNDAY: Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Memorial Service, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Cemetery; No BESTT classes for grades 3-5. THIRD-FIFTH GRADE SHABBATON: Saturday, Oct. 4, 10a.m., through Sunday, Oct. 5 at 9:45 a.m., students are invited to “Transform Yourselves” by learning about a variety of middot, or Jewish virtues. Children will attend Shabbat services and will play Israeli games and sports. Attendees will also be treated to a post-Shabbat trip to Thunder Alley for bowling, and a special art activity on Sunday morning. Cost to attend is $25; for more information, contact Robert Mosenkis in the synagogue office or at youthdir@bethel-omaha.org. WEDNESDAY: Kol Nidre, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Morning service, 9 a.m.; Alternative service, 9:45 a.m.; Study session, 4:40 p.m. with Rabbi Jules Harlow; Ne’ilah service, 5:40 p.m.; Children’s procession, 7:10 p.m.; Sounding of the Shofar, 7:20 p.m.
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, 6:43 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue” and “The Great Midrash” are one hour before Mincha; Mincha, 6:15 p.m., followed by Seudah Shlishit; Havdalah, 7:42 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Teen Class, 10 a.m.; Sunday Night Dinner, 6 p.m.; Tashlich Service, 7:30 p.m. at Trendwood Park (132nd & Pacific); Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha, 5 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 6:36 p.m.; Kol Nidre, 7:15 p.m. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Reading, 10 a.m.; Sermon, 10:30 a.m. followed by Yizkor; Class on the book of Yonah, 4:15 p.m. with Rabbi Gross; Mincha, 5:15 p.m.; Neilah, 6:15 p.m.; Fast Ends, 7:34 p.m., followed by break-the-fast dinner.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Service, 9 a.m.; Youth Minyan, where the MiniMensch title will be awarded, 11 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings, 10:15 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Kol Nidre, 6 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 6:36 p.m. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Yizkor, 11 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 11 a.m.; Mincha & Neilah services, 5:30 p.m. followed by light refreshments to break the fast. All events and programs are open to the community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Snacks, 6 p.m.; Early Family Shabbat Service, 6:15 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gam Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; Memorial Service, 3 p.m. at Wyuka Cemetery. WEDNESDAY: No LJCS Hebrew classes; Yom Kippur Evening Service, 8 p.m. THURSDAY: Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Yom Kippur Afternoon Service, 3:30 p.m. with Yizkor and Neilah; Babysitting will be available; Yom Kippur Children’s Service, 4 p.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Breakthe-Fast Potluck, 6 p.m.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
B’s: Behaving, Belonging, Believing and Bagels, 10:30 a.m. “Ethical Wills: Transmitting Your Personal Inventory and Legacy to Your Children”; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 1 p.m.; Memorial Service, 1 p.m. at Temple Israel Cemetery (1642 N. 42nd St.) WEDNESDAY-Kol Nidre: First service, 6 p.m.; Second service, 8:15 p.m.: No Religious, Family School or Middle/High School; THURSDAY-Yom Kippur: Children’s service, 9 a.m.; Tot Service, 9 a.m.; Morning Service, 10:15 a.m.; panel discussion immediately following; Musical Interlude, 1:45 p.m.; Moments of Remembrance, 2:30 p.m.; Youth Service, 2:30 p.m.; Afternon service, 3:30 p.m.; Yizkor &Neilah, 5 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:45 p.m. Religious School students in attendence will be called to the bimah. Rehearsals for the Children’s Choir are directly after school and ends at 1 p.m. Choir is open to students Grades 1-6 and is under the direction of Emily Meyer. Extended sitter service and lunch for choir members and siblings is available.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN
FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. led by Nancy Rips and Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg and assisted by Naomi and Aaron Zipursky. WEDNESDAY: Kol Nidre, 7 p.m. led by Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY: Yom Kippur Services & Yizkor, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg; Mincha & Neilah, 5 p.m. led by Phyllis Hoffman.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Shuva Service, 6 p.m., led by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Eric Linder, and Cantor Wendy Shermet. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m.; Tashlich Service, immediately following the morning Shabbat service at Elmwood Park. SUNDAY: Teacher meeting, 9 a.m.; Classes PreK-6, 10 a.m.; Prayer Assembly, 10 a.m.; Four
No services will be held in October.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. Contact the office to arrange for a minyan. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gam Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: Mincha, 6:30 p.m.; Kol Nidre, 6:50 p.m. THURSDAY: Yom Kippur with Yizkor, 9 a.m.; Babysitting, 9 a.m.1:30 p.m.; Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m.-noon; Mincha/Neila/ Ma’ariv/Havdalah/Final Shofar, 5 p.m; Break-the-fast, 7:45 p.m.
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MEMORIAL SERVICES Sunday, Oct. 5 Beth El Cemetery, 84th and ‘L’ Sts., 10:30 a.m. Oak Hills/Bikhor Cholim, Council Bluffs, 11 a.m. Temple Israel Cemetery, 6412 No. 42 St., 1 p.m. Mount Carmel Cemetery in Lincoln, 3 p.m.
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October 3, 2008 Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
What is atonement?
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE YOM KIPPUR One of my helpers often asks me questions about Judaism. Recently he asked if we have heaven and hell. We do. Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden) is also known as “everlasting joy” but we know that the Holy One does not relish eternal perdition for anyone. Atonement, in its very name, carries its meaning: that is to say -- being “at one” with God. How is this “at one”-ment attained? By asking forgiveness for all past sins and taking upon oneself the resolve to seek only justice and righteousness. All of that is easily said, but hard to achieve. For we are only human and part of the human make-up includes aggressiveness, jealousy and self-aggrandizement. All of us remember going through this mental process year after year and recognizing we have failed in our resolve. Perhaps it is not failure in our resolve, but failure to set the bar low enough so we can get over it. We must keep struggling against our inner selves to hold back our natural impulses, and to try to attain characteristics that are more God-like than human. The problems can easily be solved by ethicists -- and each of us must declare himself to be one and work on these issues. One solution that Judaism has recommended is fasting. This control of a natural need for physical sustenance is meant to spill over into control on mental demands on ourselves as well. If all this seems to make demands on us, including me, so be it. Fast, fast, fast and be happy!
Cantor Gilat stirs memories and hearts on S’lichot at Temple by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Cantor Karen Webber Gilat returned to her first home as a cantor for S’lichot on Sept. 20. After the hugs and fond smiles and waves as she entered the crowded Livingston Chapel at Temple Israel, Cantor Gilat led congregants in Israeli, folk, and popular songs as well as liturgy and poetic text to prepare for the upcoming High Holy Days.
DEATHS MINNIE BRESLOW Former Lincolnite Minnie Yaffe Breslow, died Sept. 21 in Cincinnati, OH. Services were held Sept. 25 at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. She was preceded in death by her husband, David. She is survived by sons and daughters-in-law, Arieh and Anne Breslow of Efrat, Israel, and John and Sonia Breslow of Scottsdale, AZ; daughter and son-in-law, Marilyn and Larry Schneider of Cincinnati; brothers and sisters-in-law, Sol and Dorothy Yaffe and Irv and Annette Yaffe; grandchilden, Leah, Amira and Merav Breslow, Ann and Adam Walter, Brandon and Rebecca Schneider, Laura Breslow, Melissa Breslow and Danielle and Jeremy Richter, and two great-grandchildren. Memorials to Congreation Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502. ESTHER RAE CHESNIN Esther Rae Chesnin died Sept. 24 at the age of 88. Services were held Sept. 25 at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. She is survived by her husband of nearly 68 years, Leon Chesnin; sons, Sidney Chesnin of Dallas and Harold Chesnin of Seattle; son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Miriam Chesnin of Israel; daughter and sonin-law, Nancy and Charles Coren of Lincoln; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Memorials to Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502. MARJORIE BRODKEY KIRSHENBAUM Former Omahan Marjorie Brodkey Kirshenbaum died in Bellevue, WA, on Sept. 25 at the age of 79. Services were held Sept. 28 At Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue. She was involved with the Nebraska Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association where she was honored with an award for her efforts. She had previously cared for her husband Morris, who battled the disease for more than 12 years before he died. She is survived by her and sons and daughters-in-law, Robert and Flynne Kirshenbaumof Bellevue, Stephen and Pattie Kirshenbaum of Oak Park, IL, Michael J. and Xanthea Kirshenbaum of Federal Way, WA, and David and Kathleen Kirshenbaum of Kent, WA; grandchildren Aynsley Ross, Rachel, Mark, Brent, Mikhail, Kory, Kaden, and Alinea Kirshenbaum; and sister and brotherin-law, Shirley and Les Davis of Healdsburg, CA. Memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association.
PERSONAL To my dear, dear friends and family: thank you for all the donations, gifts, flowers, visits, but most of all thank you for caring. My cup runeth over; I’m a lucky lady! Beverly Gilinsky CORRECTION In the Jewish Federation of Omaha board list in last week’s New Year’s issue, the following was incorrectly submitted: David Gilinsky should be listed as Vice President, not Vice President/President Elect; Zoë Riekes is 2009 Annual Campaign Co-chairman, and not Past President.
Temple Israel congregants Mike Makoid, Bette Evans, and Sandy Passer reminisce with Cantor Karen Webber Gilat, second from right, who returned recently for S’lichot to her first cantorial congregation. “I really enjoyed it,” emphasized Debbi Josephson. “I had never been to a S’lichot service before, and I came because I wanted to see and hear Karen again. It was everything I thought it would be. I was really moved by it.” Joining Cantor Gilat in singing “Morning Has Broken,” “Time in a Bottle,” and “Let Me Be a Little Kinder,” the congregation listened as the cantor spoke and sang of opening the gates to forgiveness. Then everyone proceeded into the sanctuary where the Torahs were dressed in their holiday white mantels. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel led havdalah, and then a chocolate oneg, a Temple S’lichot tradition, put a sweet ending to the harbinger of the approaching holidays. “It was a delight to have Karen back in the Temple for a little bit,” remarked Judy Marburg who attended with her husband Jerry. “I think she brought a breath of fresh air.” On Sunday morning, Cantor Gilat spoke at an informal discussion about diverse populations within the Jewish community and inviting in those who have disabilities. “To have a holy community,” she said, “you have to educate (referring to the larger community) -and you have to educate here,” she added as she put her hands over her heart.
HIGH HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Oct. 9 for Yom Kippur; and Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 14-15 for Sukkot and Oct. 21-22 for Shemini Azeret and Simchat Torah. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is 9 a.m. as follows: Issue Deadline Oct. 17 Wednesday, Oct. 8 Oct. 24 Monday, Oct. 13 Photos from last April’s Passover issue and last week’s New Year’s issue may be picked up in the Press office during regualr business hours. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.
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Page 20
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2008
Temple kids are rising stage stars
Spencer, and Zoey Newman, is also into immigrant in Ragtime. by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator “I think the next thing I’ll audition for entertaining -- as actors. Bailey, at 14, was Cleo Rogers, 14-years-old, hopes to be cast as a street girl in “A Christmas Carol” is “‘Gypsy,’” added the aspiring actress. a professional dancer when she grows up. at the Omaha Community Playhouse Spencer considers himself a soccer playShe’s well on her way. She takes about 16 when she was eight years old. She’s also er first, then an actor. At 11 years old, he classes a week at the Omaha Theater been in Violet at Dana College, Ragtime, performed Freddie in Will Rogers Follies Ballet School of Dance after class at Peter Annie, Peter Pan, and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s and was also Michael in Peter Pan at the Kiewit Middle School. Playhouse. On Saturdays, she takes He’s been time out to attend her Tiny Tim in A classmates’ B’nai Mitzvah Christmas at Temple Israel where Carol four she is in the eighth grade. times. Cleo started taking “I saw dance lessons about 11 my sister years ago at the Jewish do it, and I Community Center. Now thought it her classes are at The Rose Theater. Photos from top left: Spencer Newman was Michael in Peter Pan; Bailey Newman (in the middle) would be a “I do mostly ballet and in her role in Ragtime; Zoey Newman (on the right) on stage in South Pacific; and Cleo Rogers. lot of fun. I liked Pointe, some jazz and making all lyrical (contemporary the friends. dancing). I’m pretty sure I liked actmy first performance was ing in front in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ of all the at the Jewish Community people Center,” she recalled. Her e v e n repertoire now includes though I “The Nutcracker” in was scared which she has danced the just a litparts of a daisy, a ginger, a tle,” said party girl, a lollipop, a shoe child, and a teacup. This year, “I’m Wild Christmas Binge, and toured with A the Boyd Elementary sixth grader. “I’m a teacup and a mouse” at the annual pro- Christmas Carol four times, all Playhouse going to audition for ‘Gypsy’ next sumduction at the Orpheum Theater. “There productions. While on tour from just mer.” prior to Thanksgiving until winter break, But Spencer doesn’t plan to make actare a lot of rehearsals,” she added. Taking after her brothers who used to she’d take all her homework with her to ing a career. “I want to invent things. Like cars,” he mentioned. be dancers, Cleo remains the only mem- stay abreast of her studies. “I really like to portray someone who Youngest member of the Newman famber of the family still involved in the art of dance. “It’s fun,” she said, “and it’s chal- I’m not and live their life for a little bit,” ily, eight-year-old Zoey, describes herself lenging. I’ve met a lot of nice people and explained Bailey, a Central High School as “a gymnast who likes to act.” freshman. She has had one Jewish role in Gymnastics is also a family tradition. Her made a few friends.” Another Temple Israel family, Bailey, her unfolding career. She was a Jewish dad, Jody, owns Premier Gymnastics.
Zoey’s acting career began last year when she was “a little girl who hid under the desk” in A Christmas Carol at the Playhouse. “It was fun,” Zoey acknowledged. She tried acting after “I saw my brother and sister do it. I thought I would like it. I like all the people that I act with.” Zoey, a third grader at Boyd Elementary, was also “a little Polynesian girl” in South Pacific at the Playhouse. Like her big sister, Zoey would like to be an actress when she grows up. Karli Newman, mother of Bailey, Spencer, and Zoey, has also been in some performances at the Playhouse as a dancer. She’s been the director of sales at the Playhouse for three years.
Casey at bat at the Blumkin Home
Casey, legendary batsman for the Mudville Nine, paid a visit to the Blumkin Home to the surprise of the residents and the Sing-a-long volunteers at the regular Tuesday festivities. Administrative intern Josh Gurock performed pantomime to the refrains of Ernest L. Thayer’s famous poem, “Casey at the Bat.”
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