November 8, 2013

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

Remembered Voices

November 8, 2013 5 Kislev 5774 Vol. 94 | No. 08

This Week

Your mouth should be watering Page 6

NCJW Chocolate Festival Page 7

by SOLOMON KLEINSMITH Marketing Assistant, Institute for Holocaust Education Last fall, the Institute for Holocaust Education brought area youth together at KANEKO downtown to express their reactions to music through art and to learn about how people their age lived through a dark period in history. The Boston Symphony’s Hawthorne String Quartet played on the other side of the space, while students were spread out across blue tarps. Guided by an artist in residence, they put the emotions they felt in response to the live music to paper, using paint and brush.

The youth from Omaha’s Boys and Girls Clubs, Completely Kids, and Partnership 4 Kids were there as a part of the IHE’s Remembrance, Creativity and Transformation program.

Earlier, they visited the IHE’s Searching for Humanity: Veterans, Victims and Survivors of World War II exhibit at the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, participated in a writing workshop, and learned how art, music and other cultural pursuits helped people live their lives as best they could, while imprisoned at the Terezin concentration camp.

Students of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands Carter Lake chapter, inspired by the IHE’s program, proudly display their artwork.

A camera crew from NET filmed the youth as they went through the program. The gathered material has been made into a documentary, Remembered Voices, which explores

Boris Gulko on Jews and chess Vadim Rabinovich claims mantle of Jewish leader Page 12

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

This Month Celebrating Hanukkah See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

9 10 11

by RABBI JONATHAN GROSS Beth Israel Synagogue Boris Gulko will be in Omaha this Shabbos! Gulko is a living legend in the chess community; but more significantly, he is a significant figure in modern Jewish history.

In 1977 Gulko won the USSR Chess Championship at Leningrad. It is

hard for Americans to fully appreciate the significance of that achievement, so to put it in American terms – think of a celebrated athlete like Lebron James after winning the NBA championship – now multiply by a million.

That is what it was to be the chess champion of the entire Soviet Union in 1977. Now, imagine that Lebron James was Jewish. Gulko (and his wife Anna who is also a chess master) was a hero for the Russian Jewish community. So you can also imagine the impact it had on the Jewish community when he was subsequently barred from top level chess competitions because of his anti-communist views and because he was Jewish.

Gulko was finally allowed to immigrate to the United States in 1986 Continued on page 2

how art and culture at the Terezin concentration camp helped those imprisoned there survive.

The Remembered Voices NET documentary program will first air on

Monday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. on NET1.

Repeat airings on NET2 World Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 8 a.m. It repeats on NET1 Friday, Nov. 22 at 10 p.m.

The music the quartet played for the students was written by composers who perished during the Holocaust, some of whom were at Terezin. The students viewed drawings from people, some their age or younger, who were imprisoned at Terezin as well, and went through an exercise where they created art from a very limited selection of resources, as the children at Terezin had. Selections from underground newspapers, produced by boys at Terezin gave our local youth a window into what they had to go through, their lives, thoughts, fears and dreams.

During World War II, the Nazis used Terezin as a “model camp” to show the world that the Jews, though forced into ghettos, were treated “humanely”. Past the thin veil of staged propaganda, the camp saw tens of thousands of prisoners move through it to other death camps, if they didn’t perish from disease or malnutrition, before Soviet troops Continued on page 2

40th Annual Omaha Jewish Book Month

by MARK KIRCHHOFF Administrative Assistant, The Center for Jewish Life Successful print journalist, acclaimed author, entrepreneurial business development consultant, and loving mother of four, Lynne Meredith Golodner is dedicated to infusing a personal touch in all she does.

With her varied interests and accomplishments, she observes one consistent thread weaving itself throughout her life.

“I am renewed, refreshed, and inspired by observing that, in life, we find meaning in the mundane,” Golodner shares. “It is not the national award, the public acclaim, or the ‘splashy’ event that reveals who we are - it is what we think, do and say in our normal daily lives. People relate best with one another when they are doing so on common ground,” observed Golodner. On Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 11:45 a.m. in the JCC auditorium, Golodner will bring her perspective, observations, and stories as the featured speaker for this year’s Omaha Jew-

ish Book Month Luncheon.

During her 15 year career as a journalist for national media in New York, Washington, D.C., and Detroit, Golodner published articles on food, faith, and family in Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Saveur, Seventeen, Poets & Writers, Parenting, Parents, AARP, Midwest Living, Good Housekeeping, and more. Her book on Jewish women and hair covering, Hide and Seek, has gone through several printings to worldwide acclaim.

With a BA from the University of Michigan and an MFA from Goddard College, Lynne has two poetry books and six non-fiction books published, including Stand Out from the Crowd, A DIY business book.

The Flavors of Faith: Holy Breads, will be the foundation for her presentation. The book is the first of a planned 10-part series in which Golodner explores how faith andfood come together to create a community. “It is how we are all Continued on page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

It’s the Beat! with Karen Sokolof Javitch & Jody Vinci www.Itsthebeat.net

Karen@Itsthebeat.net

It’s the Beat!

On the Mighty 1290 KOIL (am) Saturdays Noon-1 p.m.

A Variety Show highlighting singers, actors, artists, authors & the music of Karen Sokolof Javitch.

Call 402-393-3893 for bookings.

When you invest in a charitable fund at the Foundation, you leave an enduring statement of what matters to you while strengthening Omaha’s Jewish community for future generations.

Contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466 | hepstein@jewishomaha.org | www.jfofoundation.org

Remembered Voices

Continued from page 1 The program reached 150 liberated the remaining students from non-profit survivors on May 8, 1945. after-school programs, and The local youth particiover a thousand students pants of the IHE program and community members learned that they share in total. much in common with the The NET documentary children caught in the goes into the history of the Holocaust, and how their Terezin concentration counterparts from that camp, with testimony from period in history defied Terezin survivors, and stotheir oppressors through ries of how music, art, creative outlets. The underground newspapers unique educational experiand other cultural pursuits ence was something the continued even under constudents won’t soon forget. stant threat of illness, The idea that grew into death and violence. It this project was born from The Hawthorne Quartet inspires students. shows Omaha students a conversation between Beth Dotan, former IHE executive learning about the Holocaust, talking about their lives, and director, and Ellen Scott, a manager at The Bookworm, a relating to the victims. local bookstore. Ms. Scott mentioned that she had a cousin, IHE’s Remembrance, Creativity and Transfor-mation was Sato Knudsen, who played with the Hawthorne Quartet, and made possible by the Terezin Music Foundation, Peter Kiewit planning began. Over two years later, the Institute for Foundation, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Arts Holocaust Education succeeded in its goal of inspiring and Council, Slosburg Family Charitable Trust, Sokolof-Javitch educating youth, and the wider public, on the lessons to be Music Fund, Holland Foundation, Murray & Sharee learned from the Holocaust - in creative and memorable Newman Supporting Foundation, Richard and Frances Juro ways.

Family Foundation, Howard and Gloria Kaslow Donor The IHE also arranged for the string quartet to play at Advised Fund, and The Jewish Federation of Omaha, as well other venues during their eight-day stay in Omaha, includ- as several individual and community donors. ing a concert in conjunction with the Omaha Symphony.

For questions or more information about this or any other This concert debuted a new piece of Holocaust-inspired of the IHE’s efforts, contact Liz Feldstern, Executive music, commissioned for the Remembrance, Creativity and Director, at LFeldstern@ihene.org or 402.334.6575 or visit Transformation program and composed by Clint Needham. www.ihene.org.

Boris Gulko Continued from page 1 and after moving to the U.S. he won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1994 and 1999. He is the only chess player ever to have held both the American and Soviet championship titles. Among his other significant chess achievements, Gulko is the only person alive to have a winning record against Gary Kasparov. Kasparov has the highest rating of any chess player in history – some contend that Kasparov is among the greatest to ever play the game. Yet Gulko has beaten Kasparov three times and Kasparov has only beaten Gulko once.

It is a great honor to host Boris Gulko Gulko in our city. An event like this does not occur often. Before the age of the internet, chess masters would travel around the world challenging the best players in every city they visited. There is a legend that in the 1920s the great chess master Alexander Akekhine was in Omaha and played our city’s top players. Today this is less common as the internet has made it so these titans of the Game of Kings no longer have to travel (although every year U.S. champion Patrick Wolf comes to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting and shows off his

skills by playing five amateur players blindfolded).

Gulko, however, is an Orthodox Jew, and I invited him to be a special guest on what will be a historic episode of Good Shabbos Nebraska – America’s favorite Shabbos morning talk show.

On Shabbos, Nov. 9, Gulko will speak about the history of Jews and chess, some of the notable players in history, and why Jews historically have been so proficient at the game. He will also tell us about the 2006 international chess championship in Libya. When Gulko learned that Israel would not be invited, he refused to play and organized a boycott of Jewish players in protest (try having a chess tournament without Jews – it is just not as exciting). This will happen at 10 a.m. on Shabbos morning when he will appear on Good Shabbos Nebraska. He will give a lecture following services as well.

On Sunday, Gulko will revive the tradition of the chess masters of old. At the same time that the Red Sox were playing in the World Series of baseball, the Spence Chess club – Omaha’s premier chess club – has been playing off their own championship. The top 20 players are going to compete at Beth Israel on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. in simultaneous games against Gulko. This is a historic event that you will not want to miss.

Many thanks to Shirley Goldstein and family, as well as Hannah and Natan Schwab, and Fran and Rich Juro for making this great event possible and for bringing such a prestigious guest to our shul and to our city.

Omaha Jewish Book Month Continued from page 1 similar,” she says. “Jews, Christians, Muslims – all have that connection of food and faith.” The book is a collection of stories and recipes that bridges cultural and religious groups as they are able to sit and break bread together. Golodner begins Chapter 1 of the book by writing, “SLANG FOR MONEY, a Divine symbol, a basic staple made from the commonest of ingredients, bread is both simple and profound. While politics and religion can tear people apart, bread brings people together.”

The buffet luncheon will feature a mushroom barley and broccoli cheese soup served in a bread bowl plus a salad bar with a variety of toppings. Each table will feature samples of three varieties of breads from the book – challah, a Muslim bread and soft pretzels. Desserts and beverages will also be included with the meal. Cost for the luncheon is $12.

Reservations are needed by Nov. 7 by calling 402.334.6463 or via email to mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org.

Jewish Book Month is a well-established event nationwide.

In 1925, Fanny Goldstein, a librarian at the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library, set up an exhibit of Judaic

books and used it as a focus for what she called Jewish Book Week. In 1927, with the assistance of Rabbi S. Felix Mendelsohn of Chicago, the event was adopted by communities around the country. During its first fifteen years, the annual date of the program coincided with the holiday of Lag B’Omer, traditionally regarded as a scholars’ festival. In 1940, the event was moved to the days and weeks preceding Hanukkah in order to promote the purchase of books of Jewish content as holiday gifts. Over the years, Jewish Book Week became so popular and so filled with activities that it was extended to a one-month period in 1943. Today, Jewish Book Month remains an annual event coordinated by the Jewish Book Council, dedicated to the celebration of Jewish books. Because it is observed during the month preceding Hanukkah, the exact date changes each year.

Make sure you reserve your seat at the table for this event which is presented by the Kripke Jewish Federation Library.

The Library is one of the many programs of the Center for Jewish Life whose mission it is to maximize Omaha’s Jewish Community in imaginative, compelling, and meaningful Jewish experiences.

November 8, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 3

Global Day of Jewish Learning is truly global

by MARK KIRCHHOFF Administrative Assistant, The Center for Jewish Life Ninety-one communities in countries around the world – Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, France, Georgia, India, Israel, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, Tunisia, and Uruguay – plus 219 communities in the United States will celebrate this year’s Global Day of Jewish Learning with events on Nov. 17. The structure of each event will be unique to each community with a wide variety of happenings. One wonders if the Alef Society anticipated such world-wide participation when they conceived this project that brings the Jewish people together once a year to celebrate shared Jewish text through community-based learning. The guiding values associated with this day are fostering Jewish unity, empowering individuals through increased Jewish knowledge, and creating meaningful shared experiences.

Omaha’s Global Day of Jewish Learning event will be held on Nov. 17 from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the Jewish Federation of Omaha campus. Focusing on the talents of scholars in different disciplines from Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of NebraskaOmaha, there will be a variety of sessions of interest for community members.

Event chair, Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, will begin the event with short opening remarks at 9:30 a.m. There will then be three, 50-minute sessions with concurrent presentations in each time period. Ten-minute break with refreshments will take place between sessions.

Each presenter brings a depth of knowledge from his or her area of expertise and will tailor the presentation to fit the topic. Attendees will choose one presentation in each session.

Session One – 9:45-10:35 a.m.

Dr. Curtis Hutt - “Changing Attitudes Toward the Temple Mount: Har HaBayt/Harom al-Sharif in Jerusalem”. Dr. Hutt is Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies and Special Projects Coordinator with the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO.

Dr. Joan Latchow –”Will Eisner’s Legacy: Jewish Graphic Novels from Brooklyn-Spawned Mafiosos to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv”. Dr. Latchow is Associate Professor with the Department of English at UNO. Dr. Gerald Steinacher – “The Red Cross, the Swiss and the Nazis: How Humanitarians Faced the Holocaust”. Dr. Steinacher is Assistant Professor of History and Hymen Rosenberg Professor of Judaic Studies at UNL and a faculty member for the Harris Center for Judiac Studies.

Session Two – 10:45-11:35 a.m.

Dr. Anat Gilboa – “The Zionist Photographer Helmar Lerski and the Portrayal of the Sabra”. Dr. Gilboa is the Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor with the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO. Dr. Leonard Greenspoon – “Creating a Translation ‘Out of Nothing’”. Dr. Greenspoon is the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University.

Dr. Moshe Gershovich – “Sultan Muhammad V and Moroccan Jews Under Vichy Rule”.

Dr. Gershovich is the Martin Professor of History and Director of the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO. Mikal Brotnov Eckstrom – “Jewish Traders and Native Americans: Creating Economic Networks on the Great Plains”. Brotnov Eckstrom is a history Ph.D. student at UNL and is a Center for Great Plains Studies Fellow and a Jack Kent Cooke Continuing Graduate Scholar.

Session Three – 11:45 a.m.-12:35 p.m.

Dr. Ari Kohen – “Human Rights: Their Origins and Their Status Today”. Dr. Kohen is the Schlesinger Associate Professor and Director of UNL’s Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Program.

Dr. Rami Arav – “Nihil Humani a Me Alienum - Puto’ Nothing Human is Alien to Me - I Think” Dr. Arav is Associate Professor teaching in UNO’s Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Department of History. He is also the Director of the Bethsaida Project.

Dr. Halla Kim - “Jerusalem, Jerusalem: Moses Mendelssohn on Reason and Faith”. Dr. Kim is Associate

Professor of Philosophy and a faculty member of the Schwalb Center at UNO. Dr. Sidnie White Crawford – “What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Teach Us About the Bible?” Dr. Crawford is a Professor with the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at UNL. A brief wrap up session will conclude the day’s events.

In keeping with the spirit of the event, you will be intellectually stimulated and challenged throughout the day.

Study and learning are integral to the Jewish community, and this day underscores that concept. “When your views on the world and your intellect are being challenged and you begin to feel uncomfortable because of a contradiction you’ve detected that is threatening your current model of the world... pay attention. You are about to learn something.” –William H. Drury, Jr. (1921-1992).

Omaha’s Global Day of Jewish Learning is presented by the Center for Jewish Life; funding is provided by the fund of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization. Global Day is open to the community; registration is not needed. For more information, contact Mark Kirchhoff at 402.334.6463 or mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org.

Who am I? The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society needs your help in identifying this photo, which we found in our files.

Please contact the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society via email at kweiner@jew ishomaha.org or by phone at 402.334.6441.

4 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

Outdoor play area takes shape for Beth El students

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Playing around at the synagogue has just become easier for Beth El’s religious-school students.

Thanks to the generosity of several congregants and the creativity of the school director, a new play area behind the building has begun to take shape.

“The whole idea behind this activities area came from one of our shabbatons, when we were playBESTT students enjoy playing hopscotch in the new outdoor ing outside,” said Eadie play area at the synagogue.

Tsabari, Director of Congregational Learning and the school’s principal. “The kids loved being outside,

Weekend Food Program

by ADRIELLE GRIFFIN Communications Manager, Completely KIDS The Weekend Food Program at Completely KIDS was created to combat childhood hunger in our community and is driven by dedicated volunteers.

Completely KIDS provides food to elementary children who receive little or no food on the weekends. Volunteers fill bags each week with food that is both nutritious and childfriendly. The backpacks are handed out on Fridays to sustain the children through the weekend.

Staff and teachers at four Completely KIDS locations have identified 385 children as being in need of food for the weekend. These children are eligible to receive weekend food because of their involvement with our Out-ofSchool Time programs; however, there is a waiting list of children who need the program.

The majority of the children to which we provide weekend food come from families whose incomes are 200 percent below the poverty level. Many of our parents are

overemployed (families who work multiple jobs but still do not break the poverty line), which creates circumstances that produce hunger and child care issues because children may be self-supervised.

Childhood hunger affects many children in our community and because they are hungry when they come to school, these children have a difficult time concentrating on their work and, consequently, cannot perform well.

In order to continue the Weekend Food Program, Completely KIDS needs your help!

A contribution of $7 funds one child’s backpack for one weekend. A donation of $364 sponsors one child for an entire year.

Food drives through businesses, churches, and schools provide the program with the opportunity to bring that cost down.

Completely KIDS will work with you toward a successful drive, whatever your goal!

For more information about the Weekend Food Program at Completely KIDS, please contact Ann Lawless at 402.397.5809, ext.

207, or alawless@completelykids.org.

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and we had the space but no equipment.”

When congregants Sharon and Howard Kooper heard that the synagogue’s kids wanted a basketball hoop, “voila – we had a basketball hoop! We’re very appreciative of their generosity,” Tsabari said. “And once we had the hoop, my imagination moved to a hopscotch board. I figured that it might be educational also, so I designed it with Hebrew letters in each of the spaces. The gorgeous field behind the building is perfect for

kickball and/or soccer so we bought some bases. The final venue will be a four-square court that I am still working on.”

Kids are welcome to use the equipment before or after school or on Shabbat after services, she added.

“We want to give the kids an opportunity to build relationships not only in the classroom but through sports and athletics – and we just want them to have a fun place to hang out at Beth El.”

Gift honors two extraordinary women

by JENNIFER ARNOLD The Kahn Family Foundation recently made a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to create the Sophie and Feodora Kahn Professorship in Biology.

The amount of the gift is not being disclosed at the request of the donor.

Sophie and Feodora Kahn are the mother and aunt, respectively, of Guinter Kahn, M.D., who graduated from Omaha University (now UNO) in 1954. He is known for revolutionizing the hair-growth industry with his discovery that the drug Minoxidil is an effective hair-growth stimulant. The drug eventually was manufactured and sold by Upjohn as Rogaine.

This professorship is the fifth endowed faculty position created during the Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska in the STEM disciplines at UNO. Sophie and Feodora Kahn both immigrated to the United States from Germany during World War II. Feodora and her husband, Isidor, arrived first in 1936 through the help of Grand Island, Neb., resident David Kaufman. Kaufman was responsible for helping more than 80 families immigrate to the U.S. during the Holocaust, many of whom settled in Nebraska.

Among these families were Feodora’s sister-in-law, Sophie, her husband and sons, Guinter and Marcel.

“By establishing this chair in biology, we wish to honor my grandmother, Sophie Kahn, and my great-aunt, Feodora Kahn,” said Michelle Kahn, a trustee of the Kahn Family Foundation and Guinter Kahn’s daughter. “It was because of their heroism and foresight that our family escaped Nazi Germany and came to Omaha. Thanks to these women with merely Eighth grade educations, my father had the opportunity to graduate from high school, college and medical school. That level of education was something which the previous generations of Kahns could only dream of attaining.

“In college, his interests lay in the areas now known as the STEM subjects, and when my father decided to major in biology and go to medical school, my grandmother had only one request, ‘Be a good doctor.’ He not only became a good doctor, but he exceeded her expectations tenfold, and our hope is that this professorship will pave the way for many more good doctors, researchers, inventors and teachers, like my father, for years to come.”

Guinter Kahn was a lead donor to the UNO library expansion and renovation project on the occasion of his 50th class reunion. To recognize his generous support the university named the library addition in his honor, the Dr. Guinter Kahn Addition, in 2006.

THE 2013

BATCHELDER CONFERENCE FOR BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY World-renowned researchers reveal their latest discoveries from archaeological digs in the Holy Land.

Cleopatra

Marc Anthony

Thursday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Gabriel Barkay “Secrets from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem” Milo Bail Student Center: Ballroom Friday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Danel Kahn “Pharaoh’s Footsteps in Israel” Thompson Alumni Center

More presentations 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 to 16. at the Thompson Alumni Center All sessions open to the public. $10 entrance, STUDENTS FREE.

world.unomaha.edu/bethsaida Equal opportunity educator and employer. For special needs or assistance: 402.554.3108 or TTY 402.554.3799.

Photo by Hanan Shafir

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November 8, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 5

Consider year end gifts of appreciated stocks and securities

From the desk of the Director HOWARD EPSTEIN, Executive Director, JFO Foundation The end of the calendar year is an ideal time to review financial affairs and investment portfolios. Many publiclytraded stocks have increased significantly in value this year.

These gains present an opportunity to take advantage of tax laws that encourage charitable gifts of appreciated assets. Current Fair Market Gifting appreciated stock Value of Securities directly to a donor-advised Capital Gains and 2013 fund or an endowment fund at Medicare surtax (23.8%) the Jewish Federation of Amount available for Omaha Foundation — rather Charitable Contribution than selling the assets and Tax Savings donating the after-tax cash pro- (contribution x 39.6% tax rate) ceeds — can significantly increase the amount of funds that you have available for charitable giving while providing you with a larger tax benefit.

Charitable contributions of long-term appreciated securities (those held for more than one year), including stocks, bonds, and mutual fund shares, remain one of the most tax-efficient ways to benefit a charity such as the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. You are entitled to a tax deduction for the full fair market value of such gifts, up to 30% of the your adjusted gross income in the current tax year, and you pay no capital gains tax on any appreciation. In effect, this tax savings goes directly to the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation in the form of a larger contribution and your lower tax bill leaves you with additional assets that could fund other charitable gifts!

Here’s an example of the increased contribution and tax savings generated by donating stock directly to a donoradvised fund at the Jewish Federation of Omaha

Foundation: Alan and Betty, a couple with an adjusted gross income of $500,000, filing jointly, donate appreciated securities worth $100,000 which they owned for more than one year. They originally paid $20,000 for the stock and they pay federal taxes at the highest marginal rates.

As the above example shows, Alan and Betty gifted the stock rather than the cash, so the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation received an additional $23,800 in value to fund services to Omaha’s Jewish community and Alan and Betty saved almost $11,000 on their tax bill.

If you have not already done so, you might want to consider establishing a donor advised Sell Stock & Donate Stock fund (“DAF”) that can work in Donate Cash tandem with financial and tax savings strategies discussed $100,000 $100,000 above. A DAF operates as a sort of permanent charitable plan$0 $23,800 ning tool as you benefit from an up-front deduction for the con$100,000 $72,800 tribution of assets to the account and you can choose $39,600 $28,829 which qualifying charities receive distributions at a later date. Next time you consider rebalancing your investment portfolio, the DAF can be the repository for some or all of the appreciated securities. Another gifting strategy to consider is the creation of a charitable remainder trust (“CRT”) funded by appreciated stock. In addition to avoiding the capital gains tax, the CRT could provide you with a current charitable deduction as well as an income stream for a period of years.

For more information about gifts of appreciated property or other Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation giving opportunities such as establishing a donor advised fund or charitable remainder trust, please contact me at the Foundation office, at 402.334.6466 or hepstein@jewishomaha.org.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax or financial advice. When considering gift planning strategies, you should always consult with your own legal and tax advisors.

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Gift to NJHS honors Eli and Sara Zalkin ed burlap from India for sale to North American furniture and car manufacturers. In 1970, Eli was president of the National Association of Wiping Cloth Manufacturers.

Marcia describes her father as a good provider who “was president of everything he ever did.” He was president of the Highland Country Club, where he loved golfing with lifelong friends. Eli installed a conference table in the basement of the Zalkin family home where he presided over board meetings for Beth El Synagogue and the Henry Monsky lodge of B’nai B’rith, among others. He was a 32nd degree Mason and on the board of the Conservative Synagogues of America.

Zalkin enjoyed sharing the latest technology with his family. He bought one of the first television sets. His daughters’ birthday parties were preserved with photos, slides and home movies. He had a darkroom and movie projector in the basement of the family home.

Cohen said her father would be pleased to know how much his grandchildren absorbed his fascination with all things technical and with “how things work.”

“His 10 grandchildren were his greatest source of pride,” she said. Taking three grandsons to Beth El services was a Saturday ritual. Services were followed by haircuts at the Blackstone Hotel, then lunch.

“My father and his friends were a wonderful group of men,” Cohen said. “They were proud of what they’d done and loved to share with their families.”

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, Nov. 13, noon, at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish is now presented in transliterated form using the Roman alphabet; everyone can become a maven instantly.

One word in Yiddish has more meaning than a dozen words in any other language. So be a mentsh and zog a por verter, (say a few words). We meet every Thursday from 1-3 p.m., in the boardroom of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. For information, please call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

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by RITA SHELLEY for the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Arriving in Omaha from Minsk as a seven-year-old in 1914, Eli Zalkin went to work selling newspapers to help his father, a bakery truck driver, support the family. When Eli died in 1980, Omaha lost a leader who never said “no” to a Jewish cause. Zalkin’s unstinting service to the cause of Israel was recognized by none other than Yitzhak Rabin.

The former prime minister presented a medal of honor to Zalkin in a ceremony at Peony Park in 1977.

Zalkin built a life around the values instilled in him when he was young, values that he later shared with his wife Sara, a native of Poland. The Zalkins believed in judging people by what they give in service and their intentions, not by their worldly goods. Marcia Zalkin Cohen recalls that Sara played an active role in Eli’s career and philanthropy.

“Mother was an elegant hostess whether at home or at conventions. She graciously entertained Prime Minister Rabin when he was in Omaha and stayed at the Zalkin home,” Marcia said. “My father was very proud of his wife and his home.”

In 2005, a donor-advised fund was established at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation by several Zalkin family members. A gift was made from this donor-advised fund to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society to honor Sara and Eli. The Zalkin brothers, Eli and Allen, literally turned rags to riches. They started Peerless Wiping Cloth Company in downtown Omaha with a $1,000 loan in 1926. Allen was president; Eli was secretary-treasurer. In a 1969 interview with the Omaha World Herald, Zalkin described the series of events that led to the brothers’ success converting cast-off clothing into a useful product that could be sold for a profit--wiping cloths for American industry.

“I had a job cutting glass for a fellow named Meyer Friedman who had an interest in a little rag company. He had bought surplus glass from the Ford Motor Company when Ford switched from the Model T to the Model A. He asked me if I wanted to go to Chicago with him to sell it.

Well, we opened a place in Chicago and sold the glass.

Meyer decided he wanted to stay in Chicago so he sold us his little rag company at 10th and Davenport.”

Peerless moved to a larger building at 5th and Pacific in 1936. By the 1970s, it was a wholesale supplier to other wiping cloth companies and in the top 20 percent of the industry. Its output filled 1,300 freight cars each year. Peerless also exported “processed” cloth to Asia and Africa, and import-

Out

Dining

6 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

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by OZZIE NOGG Food, glorious food, is the Star Deli theme song for November and December. Check out these lunch specials offered on upcoming Fridays.

Nov. 8: Ginger Glazed Salmon and chocolate layer cake; Nov. 15: In honor of Veterans’ Day, the Deli will dish up Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy plus pecan pie for dessert; Nov. 22 is Turkey Deli. In anticipation of Thanksgiving, the star of the show at the Star Deli is a Hot Turkey Sandwich with pumpkin pie for dessert. Deli waiters in turkey and pilgrim getups may also be part of the ambience; Nov. 29 the Deli is closed. And be aware that during November, all tzedakah money will benefit Jewish Senior Outreach (JSO).

The Friday Deli resumes operation on Dec. 6 with its Hanukah menu of the Famous Latke Reuben and traditional jelly donuts; Dec. 13 features Lamb Burgers and baklava; Dec. 20 brings the pre-New Year celebratory Turkey Shwarma plus our very tasty and popular caramelized peach dessert, served warm with parve ice cream in a martini glass. The peaches will be dressed to the nines to ring in the

New Year, so patrons are encouraged to glam it up, too. Dec. 27 the Deli is closed. December Tzedakah will benefit Yachad.

According to Mike Schop, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Assistant Administrator, “On Nov. 1, the Deli featured our latest delicious creation -- the PLT (Pastrami Lettuce and Tomato). Who wouldn’t like pastrami fried to crispy perfection on top of juicy tomatoes and lettuce? The reviews were terrific!”

Launched in July of 2010, The Star Deli on Main Street -with its garlicky aromas and the raucous atmosphere of a Lower East Side eatery -- is a favorite Friday lunch destination for local chow hounds.

Open for business Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Star Deli is happy to host special occasions and will reserve private dining spaces in the RBJH for large groups. And Star Catering can add spice to your meetings, parties, and life cycle events. For more information about Star Catering please contact Mike Aparo, 402-334-6522 or visit the web page -- http://www.rbjh.com/index.php/starcatering/ home. And you can LIKE the Star Deli on their Facebook page -- https://www.facebook.com/star.deli.rbjh.

Interfaith Thanksgiving

by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer The Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, held on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, rotates its home each year among the participating congregations. First held at Temple Israel in 1995, the service provides an opportunity for members of different faiths to come together as a community and celebrate the similarities between the religions.

This year’s service, themed “Seasons of Change,” is being held at the new Temple Israel.

“It’s the beginning of a new tradition for us, because we’re in a new neighborhood, so now we have to think about what that means, especially this year,” Rabbi Josh Brown said. “We have so much to be thankful for. To be in this new space and welcome people in, it will be very exciting.”

Lee Needleman and her family have enjoyed attending past Interfaith Thanksgiving services and are looking forward to this year’s for a variety of reasons.

“We enjoy the feeling of community expressing the feelings of thankfulness from their personal religious traditions,” Needleman said. “Those traditions give deep roots to the feelings of gratitude expressed. It gives us grounding to get into the spirit of the holiday. And we also get to see friends from the greater community there for the same thing.”

The service will include music and songs from a combined choir made up of members of the various participating congregations, including Temple Israel’s Kol Rina.

Music includes Thanks Be to Thee, by George Frideric Handel, and handbells performed by the First United Methodist Church members. Temple Israel members will also blow the shofar and the sermon will be delivered by

Rev. Rene Jensen from First Christian Church.

Other parts of the service will be led by clergy from the various congregations, including Rev. Becky Balestri, Underwood Hills Presbyterian Church; Rev. Dr. Jane Florence, First United Methodist Church; Deacon Marty Smith, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church; and, of course, Temple Israel Rabbis Aryeh Azriel and Josh Brown.

Scripture from the Koran will be chanted by Nizam Qassem of the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture and Cantor Wendy Shermet will sing Hebrew verses. Rev. Zach Anderson of Hanscom Park United Methodist Church will also read from some Christian liturgy.

The Interfaith Thanksgiving Service has previously been held at Dundee Presbyterian Church, First Christian Church, St. Margaret Mary’s Parish and last year’s host and former Temple Israel neighbor, First United Methodist Church.

“We’re really excited to be able to come and worship in your new space,” said Rev. Florence, the senior pastor at First United Methodist. “It’s one of the favorite opportunities for worship for some of our parishioners of the entire year. It’s really a great chance to be in solidarity and community with our brothers and sisters from the other Abrahamic traditions. It’s very special and very meaningful to recognize we don’t have to be divided by lines.”

Future Tri-Faith Initiative neighbors from the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Culture and Studies are also invited to attend the service.

Monetary donations and non-perishable food will also be collected for Together, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing homelessness and assisting those in need.

Friedel students take the lead

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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN responsibility for their own for Friedel Jewish Academy learning” and believes leading their own conferences helps Friedel Jewish Academy achieve that goal. Former students were at the table principal at R. M. Marrs with their parents and teachMagnet Center, Cohn impleers during conferences in mented student-led conferOctober. In fact, the students ences there in 2000 “and led the conferences by shownever went back to the other ing samples of their work to way” of conferences without their parents. After teachers kids. Student-led conferences presented report cards to the promote student awareness parents, they and their chil“of their progress and what dren set goals for the next they need to do to get to the quarter of the school year.

Kindergarten student Lillyana Shtroback shows her school next level.” Students learn to “The thing I loved about it is work to her mother, Britanny Shtroback, as Friedel Jewish be “goal oriented, organized, how it showed leadership for Academy teacher Diana Zeman looks on. and proud of their accomthe kids to present their own work,” said Rebecca Ruetsch-Finkelstein, mother of fourth- plishments,” she added.

Reaction from both parents and students has “all been grade twins, Ari and Ethan Finkelstein. “They were proud of their work. I love the fact it was about them talking about their positive so far,” Cohn said. goals. It really involves the kids in their learning.” She added In fact, Julian Witkowski, a third grader at Friedel, that the teacher “steps in if needed” during the conference. “thought it was cool. I think it’s a great way to do the conPam Cohn, Friedel’s principal, wants her students “to take ferences,” he said. “And then the teachers aren’t stressed out.”

November 8, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 7

Why don’t they serve in the Army of the Jewish State?

NCJW Chocolate Festival

by ELIAD ELIYAHU BEN SHUSHAN Omaha Community Shaliach David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, was the first one to allow yeshiva students -Haredim - who study Torah full-time as a vocation (TORATO - OMANUTO) to postpone their military service in the Israel Defense Force (IDF). The reason he gave was that because of the horrible Holocaust, almost all the yeshivas in Europe were extinct and the new State of Israel must allow these yeshiva students to postpone their military service in order to revive the Torah and the Israeli heritage. At that time only 400 postponed their IDF military service. The number rose from one year to the next.

This is a very controversial issue in Israel and key to religious relations. Several attempts were made to change the practice, notably the establishment of the Tal Committee in 1999. Based on the committee’s recommendation, the Tal Law was passed in 2002. The law continued the exemption to yeshiva students; however, at age 22, students are to choose between one year of national service alongside a paying job or a shortened 16-month military service. The Tal Law was later declared unconstitutional in its current form, and a new law is needed.

The question of serving in the army has gained a greater focus recently due to the death last month of Rabbi Ovadia Yossef. Rabbi Yossef, who served as the Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel and founder of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political party, had a huge influence on Israeli political life.

He used all of his power to keep the law of postponing the military service for Haredim intact. His death could usher in a new period in the political-religious relationship in Israel.

While large numbers of Haredim do not serve in the IDF, other groups of Haredim have begun to serve in unique units. These groups try to combine their religious life with the mitzvah of serving the country. Groups like “Hachal Haredim,” “Shachar Kachol,” or “Netzach Yehuda” are a few examples of these new units. For me as someone who was raised in Akko – which I like to call “the microcosm of Israel” – I often remember from my childhood how important it is to have a meaningful army service. I learned and

Over 5000 local people visited the Great Omaha Chocolate Festival to taste the wonderful treats from almost 40 vendors. Next year plans to be larger with more vendors. Save the date: October 12, 2014!

got excited about many stories of soldiers and commanders in the IDF. Many became heroes of Israel and represent with pride the Israeli heritage. But still the Haredim groups can sit with you over dinner and give their reasons why it is so important for them and for Israel to learn Torah instead of serving.

Three weeks ago the Center for Jewish Life created a project, “We Are Family,” to express support for Lone Soldiers.

Lone Soldiers are those whose families live abroad and who chose to leave their countries of origin to serve the State of Israel. These soldiers know that as the Jewish State, Israel is their home and thus theirs to protect. In this project, Omaha families are pictured holding a sign “We Are Family” which will be sent to support the Lone Soldiers who serve in the Western Galilee, Omaha’s Partnership2Gether region in Israel. This event generated great interest and a desire to participate from other communities of our Partnership Consortium. They are going to do the same activity which emphasizes how the action of serving the land of Israel is so important to all the Jews around the world.

I believe that the words we put on the sign express everything. “We are family.” All of Israeli society, with all of its diversity, is one family. Sometimes family members can disagree with one another and do not talk with one another because of different opinions and points of view. But still we are family. I would like to invite you to participate in this month’s session of “Eye on Israel.” It is a great opportunity to sit together as a family to agree and disagree on ways Israel has addressed the question of military service over the past 66 years. In reflecting on this issue, there is much to learn about other dilemmas in the Israeli society.

On Nov. 12, two sessions of “Eye on Israel” with the same content will be presented. The first will be at noon and the second at 7:30 p.m. Both sessions will be in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, are presented at no charge, and are open to the community.

Eye on Israel is presented as part of the Shaliach Program of the Center for Jewish Life, whose mission it is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.

Janet Rosenstein, left, Marty Rosenstein, and Jerry Dillon stock the SMEJ’S Snacks and More booth at the Great Omaha Chocolate Festival.

Credit Cynthia J. Kohll Photography

NCJW – Omaha Section members standing: Nikki Kirshenbaum, left, Kate Kirshenbaum, Sandy Nogg, and Sue Meyers; sitting: Lois Friedman, left, and Shelly Stern sell the Section’s cookbook, The Kitchen Connection, and Omaha Jewish history book. They were also eager to discuss what NCJW does and how people can get involved.

Credit Cynthia J. Kohll Photography

Hanukkah Celebrating

Coming late November

Publishing Date | 11.22.13 Space Reservation | 11.11.13 Camera Ready Deadline | 11.15.13 Contact your advertising representative to advertise in this very special edition.

Jessie Wees | 402.334.6559 | jwees@jewishomaha.org

8 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

Mainstreeters say “Yes” to November

by OZZIE NOGG This month (as always), Mainstreeters offers a variety of educational and entertaining events. Sign up for one or all.

• Have Questions about Medicare, Prescription Drug Plans, and the Affordable Care Act? Get the answers on Monday, Nov. 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Chapel. If you’re on Medicare and would like some free and unbiased information and assistance, come to this informative meeting lead

by Larry Kronick of Volunteers Assisting Seniors (VAS). This organization assists individuals in determining if there is a more affordable drug plan available to them. Volunteers are not affiliated with any company. Larry will answer your questions, including: • What will be different about Medicare in 2014?

• Can I save money by switching to a different Medicare Prescription Drug Plan in 2014?

• What impact will the Affordable Health Care Act have on Medicare?

Remember, annual enrollment for Medicare Prescription Drug Plans for 2014 runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

Furthermore, prescription drug plans change from year to year, so it’s important to stay informed. This session is free and no reservations are needed. And be sure to attend the Mainstreeters luncheon immediately following the Medicare discussion.

Lunch with Singer/Saxophonist Tim Javorsky: Monday, Nov. 18 at 12:30 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium. Tim performed at the Mainstreeters Summer Picnic in August and was such a big hit, the audience begged for more.

He dances, does impersonations and is such fun to watch as he shakes, rattles, and rolls. You can’t help but smile.

Come celebrate Thanksgiving and Hanukkah with talented Tim and his music from the Great Jewish Songbook. Tim has a passion for entertaining people. To fulfill this passion, he began a DJ service and started a pep band. His wife encouraged his involvement in the Pinewood Bowl Pit Orchestra, the Lincoln Civic Orchestra, the Lincoln Community Concert Band, and his own jazz group, Sarabande Jazz. Tim entertains audiences hundreds of times a year, emulating the styles of his many jazz influences such as Louie Armstrong, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, David Sanborn, Gerry Mulligan, and others. For your entrée, choose either Hot Turkey Sandwich over mashed potatoes or Baked Tilapia over rice. Both entrées include green beans with sautéed onions, challah, chocolate chip cookies, and a beverage of your choice. Cost: $11.50 per plate. Make checks payable to Jewish Social Services and send full payment to: Mainstreeters c/o Maggie Conti, 323 So. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. Reservations are appreciated by Monday, Nov. 11. For information, call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521.

A Free Afternoon at the Movies: Hava Nagila (The Movie): Friday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. in the JCC Theater. No

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No reservations necessary. Invite a friend. Hava Nagila is instantly recognizable musical shorthand for anything Jewish. A happy party tune that you dance to at weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and even at Major League Baseball games. But as audiences will discover in the documentary Hava Nagila (The Movie), the song encapsulates the Jewish journey over the past 150 years. Featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, Leonard Nimoy and more, Hava Nagila (The Movie) follows the song from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the kibbutzim of Palestine to the cul-de-sacs of America. It stops at key places – Ukraine, Israel, the Catskills and Greenwich Village, where Belafonte performed a hopeful version in the late 1950s, only to be countered by Bob Dylan, who butchers the song in his version Talkin’ Hava Nageilan Blues. The film covers Allan Sherman’s parody Harvey and Sheila, and Lena Horne’s civil rights anthem Now – both set to the tune of Hava Nagila. It also dissects the proliferation of pop culture references to Hava Nagila in film and TV and brings the song up to the present, where it’s a rallying tune at sports games, a hot dance number in nightclubs and a global hit online. The resulting film not only entertains us and makes us laugh; but it reminds us of the power of melody to go deep and to bring a celebration to life – offering delightful moments of discovery, one after another, on the song’s fascinating journey from Ukraine to YouTube.

Don’t miss it. If you’d like to have lunch at the Star Deli in the Rose Blumkin Home Auditorium before the show, call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 to reserve a table. Lunch is on your own. The Star Deli starts serving at 11:30 a.m.

Interim HealthCare Maintenance Clinics: 1st and 2nd Monday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the RBJH Clinic Room. Kathy O’Connell, RN, staffs the clinic. For $10, you can have your toenails trimmed and get your weight and vital signs checked. For an additional $5, Nurse Kathy will fill your medication set and/or give a doctor referral. Interim HealthCare has been in the Omaha area since 1975. Interim also provides companion and homemaker services, home health aides, medication aides, skilled nursing and therapy services, which include physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Mainstreeters welcomes all Jewish residents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. The group offers a mixed-bag of social events and learning opportunities that give participants the chance to meet new people, exercise their brains, take part in new activities and continue enjoying life to the fullest. No dues are required to be part of Mainstreeters, but a $5 per person communication fee is needed to keep your name on the mailing list. Jim Wax, 402.393.4442, is the guy to call.

Mainstreeters programs are supported in part by grants from the United Way of the Midlands and the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE & OFFICE CLOSING The Jewish Press office is closed Thursday, Nov. 28, for Thanksgiving; the deadline for the Dec. 6 issue is Tuesday, Nov. 26, noon. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

Temple TED Talks

by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer In an effort to bolster community interaction, Temple Israel has created Temple TED Talks, a group that comes together once a month to watch and discuss a congregant’s favorite TED Talk.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and is a nonprofit dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” according to its website. The organization hosts two annual conferences that bring together “the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).” These TED Talks cover a wide range of ideas, from improving education to architecture to mental health. Now, Temple Israel congregants are going to have an opportunity to share a TED Talk they enjoy with their fellow members.

Paul Rabinovitz, who came up with the idea for Temple TED Talks, hopes the monthly gathering will lead to interesting conversations and allow congregants to get to know one another better.

“I enjoy two aspects of the way the Talks work,” he said.

“First, it is congregant-led. This means that we get to have different points of view and different ideas presented.

Having a different presenter each month keeps the conversation fresh. Second, it is a comfortable way for all of us to get to know each other better. By sharing ideas on what are, on the surface, ‘non-religious,’ non-Jewish ideas, the group seems free to express opinions and concerns and folks are not hung up on not being knowledgeable or schooled on the subject.”

Dr. Lance Kugler, who shared his favorite TED Talk at the October meeting, has long been a fan of the Talks.

“The breadth of knowledge, on virtually any conceivable topic, is tremendous,” he said. “The videos are concisely presented and a very efficient way to learn about new ideas.”

The TED Talk that Kugler presented is one from 2009, in which author Simon Sinek gave a talk about His book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. It popularized the idea of what Sinek calls “the golden circle,” a theory that states that consumers, for example, purchase certain brands not because of what the product is, but why the company makes that product.

His book says this is a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision-making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages and organizations over others.

“I’m interested in why certain things are successful over others,” Kugler said.

While the Temple Israel group has met only twice so far, Kugler thinks it’s “a great way to spend a Sunday morning while [his] kids are in Sunday school” and hopes the group continues to grow.

“People from diverse backgrounds bring unique perspectives to the talks and topics,” Kugler said. “And there is no shortage of interesting TED topics so I suspect it will continue to be stimulating.”

Temple TED Talks are held on the last Sunday of each month when there is Religious School. The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. and anyone who is interested is welcome to attend. Ellen Platt will be sharing one of her favorite TED Talks.

A multitude of TED Talks can also be found online at TED.com.

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November 8, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 9

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Window dressing

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor While handing out candy for Halloween, and admiring the parade of princesses, superheroes, angry birds and one lone werewolf, I started wondering: why do we like dressing up so much? Whether it is for Purim, Mardi Gras, football games or birthday parties: we, as a society, tend to relish the opportunity to make believe. We enjoy temporarily being someone else, even if it is only on the outside.

We don’t just do it on special occasions, either. We buy pants that make us look slimmer, shoes that make us taller, and comb our hair over that bald spot; we put on make-up and jewelry and when we purchase a winter coat, the way it makes us look is as important as how warm it is. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but in general, it’s how we as human beings operate. We like to pretend to be just a little bit better/prettier/skinnier than we think we are. And that’s true for the clothes we wear and for how we approach those around us.

I have a hypothesis (feel free to disagree).

We tell ourselves -- and each other -- it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but we don’t really believe that. We know, deep down, how judgmental we are of each other (“Did you see that skirt she was wearing? Who does she think she is, Lady Gaga?”) and we assume everyone else looks at us just as critically. We internalize the way we treat others, much more than we realize. Which is why, when you think of it, criticizing others for superficial reasons ultimately means we criticize ourselves and harm our self-image.

And so we dress up, in many different ways. But while the causes may seem reasonably innocent and maybe a little vain, it wasn’t and isn’t always so.

“From Yentl hiding in a man’s vestments to Conversos of Spain hiding their faith behind Catholicism, Jews through the ages have mastered the art of concealment,” said Dan Pine in Brilliant Disguise, his 2010 article for JWeekly.com.

In it, he described a Bay Area art exhibit, “Who’s Who: The Jew and the Mask.” He quoted two people, and what they had to say should give us pause. First, curator Elayne Grossbard, the organizer of the exhibit, who cited the following examples:

“Elijah disguised as a town beggar. Twentieth-century Jews changing their surnames or getting nose jobs. Comic book superheroes (created by Jewish graphic artists) with “secret identities.”

And participating artist Susan Felix had this to say: “Our Jewishness is always a bit concealed. We don’t always have it out there. Unless you’re really observant, for those of us who function in a more integrated society, part of our Jewishness is masked.”

With the recent Pew-induced firestorm, which painted a bleak picture of assimilation to the point of disappearance, we have to ask ourselves: are our masks always self-imposed?

If so, is that because we actually want to be someone else or

because we feel we have to? And does that mean we really haven’t assimilated at all, but are simply pretending?

I’m not sure I have the answers. What I do know is that there is a difference between being in a room filled with other Jews, and being in a room where I am one of the few, or even the only one. Even though we have many different ways of living Jewishly, we have a very essential identity in common. Many of us assimilate, but only to a point.

I realize there is some built-in hypocrisy in my editorial: I don’t doubt my Jewish identity, yet I celebrate Halloween without wondering why that is. I have no emotional attachment to it; I didn’t grow up with it, since Halloween doesn’t exist in my home country, but it’s fun.

All the neighbors are doing it, why shouldn’t we? Of course, if I’m really honest with myself, I could use that same logic and put up a Christmas tree. Why is Halloween okay in my mind, but a tree goes too far? I am not sure.

It’s a complicated and thorny issue, and we probably won’t solve it in my lifetime. That’s okay; as long as we keep talking, and as long as we keep coming together, I think we have a long way to go before the dire Pew-inspired predictions come true, no matter what masks we wear.

Editor’s note: I realize that last week’s back page article on the Chavra Kedisha may have caused more questions than it answered, especially since it didn’t have much to do with how the Chavra Kedisha operates here in Omaha.

That is why we plan on publishing a follow-up article that explains some of the lesser-known facts about this practice in our own Jewish community. You’ll have to have some patience, because we want to make sure to get it right, but keep an eye out for it. It should be very interesting, and, we hope, enlightening; most of all, we want to make absolutely sure we present the topic in as respectful a way as possible, which is why I’m getting plenty of help from those who know more than I do.

Saudi Arabia woes play well for Israel

Focus on issues BEN COHEN (JNS.org) Ah, Saudi Arabia! The country that spawned 15 of the 19 terrorists that executed the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001. The country we in America are told is an ally, even though, when it comes to values, we have virtually nothing in common with the reactionary oil billionaires running the place. The country whose oil supplies us, for the moment, with about 13 per cent of our annual energy needs. The country with one of the most abysmal human rights records in the world, which bans any religion other than Islam, which imports slave labor from the Indian subcontinent, and which subjects women to what can only be described as gender apartheid.

That’s why it’s hard to feel any sympathy with the Saudis when it comes to their current spat with the Obama Administration. Sadly, however, the continued threat posed

by Iran and its Syrian and Hezbollah allies, and the absence of any coherent Middle East strategy on Washington’s part, compels us to hold our noses and pay due attention to the Saudi complaints.

Earlier this month, the Saudis refused to take up one of the ten seats on the U.N. Security Council reserved for non-permanent members. There was a rare agreement among regional analysts that this was an odd move to make, but most of the attention focused on the explanation the Saudis offered as to why.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi intelligence chief, said that frustration with the U.S., and not the U.N., was the rea-

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son for the Saudi decision. Two justifications were given: firstly, the tiresome ritual objection that the Palestinian question remains unresolved, something the Saudis feel duty-bound to cite in order to underline their Arab credentials. Secondly -- and now we’re getting somewhere -- a profound frustration with Obama’s Syria policy, which the Saudis correctly feel will simply empower the Iranians at a time when our Administration is being seduced by the overtures of the new President, Hassan Rouhani.

Ultimately, there is nothing remotely attractive about either the Saudi or Iranian models of Islamic government.

The Saudis impose the fanatical Islamist doctrines of Wahhabism, while the Shi’a Islamist revolution of the Iranians has been a recipe for domestic oppression and regional aggression, carried out by the Assad regime in Damascus and Hezbollah. Yet it is too easy to say, “a plague on both their houses.”

In the icy moral universe of geostrategic considerations, there is a clear advantage for Israel built into these Saudi objections. Nearly all the Arab states live in perpetual fear of an Iranian nuclear bomb. Like the Israelis, they don’t trust Rouhani or Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But if Arab governments are the ones nagging the U.S. about Iran’s malicious intentions, it takes the spotlight off Israel and reminds the world that the Iranian threat is a real, ongoing concern for Iran’s immediate neighbors.

Additionally, the current situation rather forces the Arabs to acknowledge that they have common interests with Israel.

That’s always been the case -- Israel’s decision to strike Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981 resulted in private praise and public condemnation in Arab capitals -- but this point is driven

home even more explicitly in the Iranian case. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has already hinted in the Knesset that secret talks have been taking place between the Israelis and the conservative Arab regimes, adding that there is renewed appreciation for Israel’s role in maintaining regional security.

What’s telling is that the assumption that Israel and these Arab regimes would eventually realize their common purpose under American auspices has been exploded.

Incredibly, it now looks as if Israel and its Arab neighbors could come together over Iran not just without the U.S., but in spite of it!

All the same, let’s not count the Americans out just yet.

Obama hasn’t reached a deal with the Iranians, and chances are that the current round of making nice with Tehran will go the same way as his previous overtures in 2010, because any agreement would likely collapse through Iranian reluctance to accept a strict monitoring arrangement of their nuclear facilities.

The democratization of the Middle East, and the acceptance of Israel as part of the region, remains a long way off.

Absent that outcome, hardheaded calculations based on immediate interests will rule the day. That’s why it’s helpful that a chorus of Arab voices, led by the Saudis, are telling Obama that Iran under its current regime was, is, and remains the greatest threat to this part of the world.

Ben Cohen is the Shillman Analyst for JNS.org. His writings on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Ha’aretz, Jewish Ideas Daily and many other publications.

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10 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

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

FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by an oneg with guest speaker, Gary Javitch, President of Javitch Mediation on the Israel: Are Settlements the Real Problem? The community is invited. Note: This service will be officiated by Larry Blass.

Miles Remer will officiate at all of the Speaker Series Services.

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

FRIDAY: Family Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Family-friendly service with Shabbat dinner to follow. Reservations and information online.

SATURDAY: Shabbat services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; Mini Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 4:45 p.m.; Husker Game Night, 5:45 p.m.

Havdalah, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and games from 710:30 p.m. Evening of games, camaraderie and noshes.

Cost, $10 per person, $18 a couple, $5 for children ages seven to 12, and free for children six and younger. Register online at www.bethel-omaha.org.

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

SUNDAY: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; The Secrets of Jews, led by Andy Greenberg, 10 a.m.

Cost is $36 for members, $45 for non-members. Register online at www.bethel-omaha.org; Cemetery Discussion First Class, 10 a.m. Rabbi Abraham will discuss the three papers approved by the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Everyone is welcome; Torah Tots, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.; B’nai Mitzvah Parents Meeting, 11:30 a.m. Parents of 4th and 5th graders are invited to this informational meeting; Kibbutz Chaverim: We’ll meet for lunch at 12:15 p.m., and then from 12:45–3 p.m., go to SkateDaze, 3616 S. 132nd St. Transportation will be provided. Cost to attend, $10. Contact Eadie at etsabari@bethel-omaha.org, for more information.

TUESDAY: Wrestling with the Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. weekly adult-education class led by Rabbi Abraham.

No charge to attend; everyone is welcome.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; USY Board Meeting, 5:45 p.m.; Masters in Judaism, Adult-education series offered through Nov. 20, from 6:45 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Sessions will be led by Rabbi Abraham and Andy Greenberg.

Cost, $36 for Beth El members, $45 for non-members.

Register online at www.bethel-omaha.org; for more information, contact Eadie Tsabari at etsabari@bethel-omaha. org. It is not too late to register.

THURSDAY: Cemetery Discussion second class, 7 p.m.

Rabbi Abraham will discuss the three papers approved by the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Everyone is welcome. This class will be repeated on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m.

Beth El Chef ’s Demo, Friday, Nov. 15, 1 pm. at the Blumkin Home.

Family Shabbaton, Nov. 15-17, Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. For more information call the synagogue office.

No BESTT Classes on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Sisterhood Hanukkah Gift Wrapping, Nov. 20, 4–6 p.m., and Nov. 24, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Shop at the Beth El Judaica Shop or bring gifts in and Sisterhood members will do your gift wrapping for you. For more information or to volunteer, contact Cheryl Lerner, cldancer@aol.com.

Bat Mitzvah

Dames ‘n’ Drinks, Thursday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. Hosts are Beth Friedman and Lisa Lieb.

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

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

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 4:53 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Good Shabbos Nebraska: International Chess Master-Boris Gulko, 10 a.m.; Mincha, 4:35 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:55 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

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

TUESDAY: Women’s Study Group, 6:30 p.m. at the home of Kathy Weiner.

WEDNESDAY: Coffee and Your Jewish News, 7:45 a.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m.

THURSDAY: Sacred Grounds: Great Torah and Great Coffee, 9:30 a.m.

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

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. followed

by Kiddush lunch.

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

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office.

WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 10 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak.

THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu.

All programs are open to the entire community.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Jayne Draper and Julie Moore.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; LTYG meet to deliver Meals on Wheels, 10 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Vayetze; LTYG Ice Cream Social Fundraiser and Variety Show, 7 p.m. Cost for this family event is $5 per person, and free for the little ones.

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LTYG lunch and rehearsal for Hanukkah Service, 12:15 p.m.; Board of Trustees, 1 p.m.

MONDAY: Temple office closed for Veterans Day. WEDNESDAY: LJCS classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

ADULT EDUCATION THURSDAYS, Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Isabella Seina, daughter of Tanya and Craig Seina, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Temple Israel.

Isabella is a seventh-grade student at Lewis and Clark Middle School.

She received the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence.

Her interests include swimming, art, photography, violin and spending time with friends.

For her mitzvah project, Isabella volunteered with Italian Greyhound Rescue Association.

She has a brother, Armon.

Grandparents are Maya and Gene Beckerman.

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

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

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

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

Candlelighting Friday, November 8, 4:53 p.m.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m. led by Rabbi Brown; Camp-Style Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. We will be offering a camp-style Shabbat service, with camp music and inspiring camp moments will be shared by clergy and camp alumni. Chance to win 1 of 3 $1,000 scholarships – Must be present to win.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Isabella Seina, daughter of Tanya and Craig Seina, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah; Camp Alumni Havdalah, 7 p.m. at Rabbi Brown’s home. Celebrate Jewish camp life with s’mores and songs around a campfire, weather permitting. Bring chairs and blankets and get ready to share your favorite camp stories. If the weather does not cooperate, the evening will be moved indoors. RSVPs required.

SUNDAY: Second Sundays, 9:30 a.m. Breakfast will be served (at a minimal charge). While our children engage in learning in their classrooms, adults can join us at Prayer Assembly, schmooze with friends, or engage in learning opportunities; Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Camp Day, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. While students have a regular day of classes, their parents are invited to speak with representatives from various Jewish summer camps. Information about financial aid options will also be available; Social Justice Meeting, 12:30 p.m.

TUESDAY: Adult B’nai Mitzvah: Hebrew Study, 6:30 p.m. with Na’ama.

WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; Tools to engage in a conversation about Israel as an American Jew, 6:30 p.m. with Director of Lifelong Learning, Debbie Massarano.

THURSDAY: Dilemmas of Faith: God and Spirituality in the Modern World, 10-11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel. Class Fee: $45 for members, and $55 for non-members.

Hanukkah Service, Dinner and Game Night, Friday, Nov. 29, 6 p.m. Please bring non-food items for Jewish Family Services. The cost of the meal is $9 for adults; $5 for children in sixth grade or younger; and no charge for second graders and younger kids. Please RSVP to rsvp@templeisraelomaha.com by Nov. 26.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat Services, 6:30 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LTYG lunch and rehearsal for Hanukkah Service, 12:15 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

Global Day of Jewish Learning, Sunday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.noon with guest speaker, Charley Friedman on Rest as a Creative Act -- How are we all connected with the process of Creation facilitated by Nancy Coren and Rabbi Craig Lewis at Tifereth Israel.

Annual Hanukkah Latke Party and Talent Show, Sunday, Dec. 1, 12:15 p.m. If you would like to have an act in the talent show please contact Cindi Kornbluh at cdkornbluh@ gmail.com. All ages welcome to participate.

Beth El’s ‘Our Shabbat Tables’ kicks off new season

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity There’s a special sense of community that comes with sharing Shabbat dinners with friends and family. Over the past year, Beth El Synagogue has established that sense of community with “Our Shabbat Tables,” an initiative which promotes home-based Shabbat celebrations.

OST has brought together over 100 congregants of all different ages and background, to enjoy Shabbat dinner at one another’s homes.

Based on shared demographics and interests, the synagogue matches people to meet for three dinners during a three-month time frame. Three to four couples or families Continued on page 11

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

November 8, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 11

Every Man’s Ladder

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Vayetze Our Sidrah includes the famous story of Jacob and the ladder reaching into the heavens, with angels ascending and descending. Involved, of course, is the religious insistence that man can be in touch with God. The Midrash turned to something else. By an ingenious, anachronistic word play, the rabbis saw the introduction to the story implying a religious setting. The opening words mean little more than “He came upon a place.” But in their word play the rabbis read it as though it said: “Jacob prayed to God.” And from here, the Midrash goes off into a delightfully anachronistic insistence that the three statutory prayer services of the day, Shaharit, Minhah, and Maariv, go back to the very beginning of Judaism. Historically speaking there is, of course, no basis for this. But the rabbis were not impeded by

their lack of historical sense; they were bent on making a point: The required daily services inhere in the very structure of Judaism, and they were present from the very beginning.

They use well-chosen “proof-texts,” verses taken from the life stories of Abraham and Isaac, to show that Abraham instituted Shaharit, the morning service, and that Isaac instituted Minhah, the afternoon service.

And now, Jacob, in his vision of the ladder and in his “prayer to God,” as the rabbis interpreted the text, instituted Maariv, the evening service.

What is to be noted is that the rabbis could not abide the thought that the Patriarchs had a religious life different from theirs. Just as the Bible insists that the Sabbath is as old as creation, part of the very nature of the universe; and just as the Bible assures us that circumcision begins with Abraham, so, too, the rabbis assure us that the three obligatory services each day came from the very beginning of our ancestry.

There is something of the special nature of religion revealed here: religion tends to be conservative. It accepts innovation slowly, reluctantly. It tends to preserve practices from earlier generations. And even when something is really new, like prayer services, there is a tendency to deny their newness and find their beginnings in ancient times and with ancient worthies.

60 Years Experience With Jewish Lettering and Memorials

1439 So. 13th 402-341-2452

Frank L. Ciciulla, Jr.

In memoriam JULIUS S. SCHREIBER Julius S. Schreiber passed away on Oct. 21 at age 98.

Services were held on Oct. 23 at Mt. Sinai Cemetery.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Eva Kagin; loving wife of 72 years, Sarah; and brothers, Bernard, Al, and Arthur.

He is survived by daughters, Diane Dempsey and Marlene Parilman; grandchildren: Todd Kenyon, Joshua Parilman, and Lindsay Parilman; great-grandchild, Eli Kenyon; broth-

er, Paul Kagin; sister-in-law, Lucille Epstein; and brother-inlaw and sister-in-law, Harold and Etta Epstein; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Julius was a numismatist and a salesman. He loved people and will be remembered by all for his wonderful sense of humor. The family thanks the loving staff of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home for their great care.

Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or organization of the donor’s choice.

Beth El’s ‘Our Shabbat Tables’ kicks off new season Continued from page 10 need to have a clean house and be ready for your guests. lies, or six to eight individuals are matched up, and groups “We really enjoy attending these – while we know many of are mixed up from month to month, to allow everyone to the congregants, we got to meet some people that we have not become acquainted with as many participants as possible. met before,” she continued. “Even those that we know, we got All meals are kosher, prepared at Beth El, and each partic- to ‘meet’ or get acquainted with in a different environment or ipant is responsible for one item, such as juice, wine, challah, situation. We may not chat with them as much or know fruit, salad -- whatever the host requests. much about them. Having these dinners together allows us to Congregant Caryn Scheer, who spearheaded the initiative get to know members of our congregation on a different and and serves as its organizer, is more personal level, which is pleased with the enthusiastic wonderful.” participation by fellow Beth For Melissa and Matt El members.

Shapiro, getting involved with “I am amazed at how the OST was a way to get to know congregation has responded other young families who so positively to Our Shabbat belong to Beth El. Tables,” she said. “I have “We really enjoyed the first received a great deal of posifew dinners we attended and tive feedback about how much hosted, and now look forward fun everyone has had at meals, to each one,” Melissa said. meeting new people, and espe“Our kids have had fun meetcially in regard to how seaming and playing with kids they less the program is --basically, didn't know previously. It's an ‘Our Shabbat Tables’ has drawn many enthusiastic particiyou show up and eat!” easy and fun way to strengthpants from throughout Beth El’s congregation.

Over 110 people have en the community feeling at signed up for the fall season’s dinners, Scheer added, and Beth El. I really love the fact that I don't even have to cook registrations are still coming in. when I'm the host since Beth El provides the food for you!”

“Each season we have new families join the program, Our Shabbat Tables is of great value to the synagogue, she which is so wonderful,” she said, noting that during the added, because “it provides just one more way we can conmatching process, numerous people request to be matched nect with other members of our community while also up with new people. teaching our children the values and traditions of Judaism.”

For longtime congregants Helen and Tuffy Epstein, signThe program “has really brought our congregation closer ing up to participate in OST appealed because, “we thought together as a family,” Scheer said. “Being invited to each it might be fun and interesting to broaden our horizons and other’s homes and sharing a personal Shabbat experience be with people who we don't know very well or at all. We creates strong bonds within the community. I've seen new have met some very interesting people, not of our genera- friendships that have formed as a result of this program, and tion, who we like a lot and who we might not have gotten to it makes me so proud and happy!” know otherwise.”

Upcoming OST celebrations are planned for Friday, Nov. Matt Blodgett, a newer Beth El member, said, “I joined 22 (dinner); Saturday, Dec. 14 (lunch); and Friday, Jan. 24 Beth El Synagogue a few years ago. I don't have kids and did (dinner). To sign up or for more information, visit www. not grow up at Beth El. Joining Our Shabbat Tables has bethel-omaha.org, or contact Scheer at caryn scheer@ given me a great chance to meet people I would not other- yahoo.com. wise get to meet. I think Shabbat is so beautiful, and the Our Shabbat Tables” has been made possible by a generchance to share it with people is invaluable. Our Shabbat ous grant from the Herbert Goldsten Trust of the Jewish Tables really helps Beth El feel like a family, and I am grate- Federation of Omaha. ful to be a part of it.”

Roni Reiter-Palmon and her husband Ophir have also To Submit obituaries to the Jewish Press: participated since the program’s inception.

Email to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; “We really did not think much about getting involved,” fax to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154, or online at the Jewish Federation Reiter-Palmon said. “What is not to like about having dinner of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on being cooked for you and sharing it with others? Even when Jewish Press and go to Submit Announcements. hosting, it is very easy, all the work is done for you – you just

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PROTEC BUILDINGS, division of Sioux Steel Company, is looking for Dealers/Erectors with a background in concrete/building sales. Call Monte James: 605-359-6657, www.protecbuildings.com. $1,000 SIGN On Bonus - For Journeyman Plumbing Technician. Top wages, benefits. Anderson Bros. Electric, Plumbing & Heating, Inc., 2600 E. Hwy. 30, Kearney, 308236-6437.

AMBITIOUS LABORERS, drivers, lead men, for small aggressive company to travel throughout the country. CDL, welding, mechanical, concrete experience a plus, with eye for detail. Valid driver’s license and drug screen necessary. Farabee Mechanical 402792-2612.

EXPERIENCED HEAVY Equipment Operators needed. Gana Trucking now hiring for work minutes south of Lincoln. Call Brandon at 402-794-5000 for interview. ganatrucking.com.

DO YOU live on the I-80 Corridors? Run Midwest to West Coast, excellent miles, competitive pay, scheduled home time. Call Chuck or Tim, 800-645-3748.

GANA TRUCKING now hiring experienced diesel technician, CDL driver, concrete crusher operator for work minutes south of Lincoln. Call Brandon at 402-794-5000 for interview. ganatrucking.com.

OWNER OPERATORS Needed. 48 state carrier, van or flat division, mileage contract, Pre-Pass, EZ-Pass, weekly settlements. Ameri-Co Carriers, Inc., Scottsbluff, NE, 800445-5400.

“PARTNERS IN Excellence” OTR Drivers APU equipped Pre-Pass EZ-pass passenger policy. 2012 & newer equipment. 100% No touch. Butler Transport, 1-800-528-7825.

12 | The Jewish Press | November 8, 2013

Vadim Rabinovich claims mantle of Jewish leader

by CNAAN LIPHSHIZ KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) -- The explosion that ripped through Vadim Rabinovich’s luxury SUV in central Kiev was strong enough to send a shock wave from the parking lot up to his third-floor office in the heart of the Ukrainian capital.

“It was a shock for a day or two,” Rabinovich said, “and then I moved on.”

The 60-year-old media mogul and Jewish philanthropist views the March 4 explosion as an attack on his life. He has accused Andrey Derkach, a businessman and former politician, of being responsible, telling the Ukrainian media that Derkach had tried to bully him into selling JN1, the Kievbased television station specializing in Jewish news that Rabinovich launched a couple of years ago.

Derkach has denied the accusation and threatened to sue for libel. The police are still investigating.

“Now I have an armored car,” Rabinovich said. “And that’s the only thing that has changed.”

If a brush with death isn’t enough to cow Rabinovich, it’s hard to see what will. Over the years, the feisty oligarch has battled Ukrainian authorities, business rivals and Jewish community leaders, some of whom have expressed resentment about his ongoing efforts to challenge the old guard of European Jewish institutional life.

But the relentless criticism, like the explosion, has not had its intended effect.

“You can’t please everyone,” Rabinovich said. “That’s life.”

In an interview with JTA this month, he was clad in his typical uniform of jeans and sneakers, a get-up he has been known to wear to occasions where everyone else is in business attire. Rabinovich has a limited appreciation for formalities and, as he puts it, “little patience for nonsense.”

In the 1980s, Rabinovich was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison for black market ventures, but wound up serving only seven years, according to Korrespondent, a Ukrainian weekly. Rabinovich says he was jailed on “trumped-up charges,” but the United States to this day has barred his entry as a result, he confirmed to JTA. “You will find accusations against me in the U.S. In Israel, some say I am connected to the mafia. In Ukraine, they say I am Mossad agent, if you find this kind of nonsense interesting,” Rabinovich said. “I don’t.”

Following his release in 1991, Rabinovich began to amass

Vadim Rabinovich a fortune as a metals dealer operating in the economic freefor-all after the collapse of the Soviet Union. By 1995, he began pouring millions into Jewish causes.

“After I turned 40, I made a discovery that there is such a thing called Torah,” he said. “It led me in all kinds of new directions.”

Rabinovich says he puts on tefillin and prays every morning. He also hosts friends at his house every Friday, where he leads a discussion on the weekly Torah portion.

In 1997 he founded the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, which has an annual budget of $3 million, and still serves as its president. He has sponsored Limmud Jewish learning conferences, provided security services to Jewish schools in Ukraine and started JN1, the world’s first 24-hour Jewish news network.

In 2010, Rabinovich and Igor Kolomoisky, a friend and business partner, tried to take over the helm of a long-running Jewish organization, the European Council of Jewish Communities but were stymied when board members staged a walkout after Kolomoisky was appointed president outside traditional nominating procedures. Detractors said Rabinovich played a key role in what they described as a “hostile takeover” of the organization.

So Rabinovich started his own organization the following year, calling it the European Jewish Parliament and setting up offices in Kiev and Brussels and a board of 120 members.

Critics laughed it off as a farce, noting that the group’s initial nominees included celebrities such as soccer star David

Beckham, filmmaker Roman Polanski and actor Sacha Baron Cohen -- who didn’t even know they were candidates.

“Clearly, the principle of representation is lacking from this organization -- which, like other groups, is no more than a vehicle for the ego of its creator,” Edwin Shuker, the London-based vice president of the European Jewish Congress, told JTA. But Rabinovich, whose organization has lobbied European governments on Jewish issues, is unfazed by such criticism. In fact, he doles it out just as readily.

Rabinovich on Moshe Kantor, the European Jewish Congress president: He “just sits behind a desk and does nothing and will do everything the Kremlin tells him.”

On Yaakov Dov Bleich, the U.S.-born chief rabbi of Ukraine: “Speaks no Russian and comes to Ukraine twice a year.”

And of American Jewish organizational leaders, Rabinovich says they “only want to be interviewed on television.”

Bleich told JTA he spends most of his time in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Kantor’s European Jewish Congress told JTA that Rabinovich’s statements are “unfounded and spurious allegations unworthy of comment.”

“This is a desperate attempt by Rabinovich to remain on the agenda one last time before his organization ceases to exist in the same way as many other fleeting organizations which come and go, causing confusion and embarrassment to the Jewish community and its relationship with European leaders,” the spokesperson said.

Joel Rubinfeld, a former leader of Belgian Jewry and current co-chair of the European Jewish Parliament, counts some successes of Rabinovich’s organization, notably securing the construction of Montenegro’s first modern synagogue and co-organizing the first European Jewish choir festival in Vienna.

Rubinfeld says Rabinovich’s contributions, his prickly style notwithstanding, are deeply appreciated by Jewish communities, particularly in locales with limited resources that had suffered for decades under communist rule.

“Vadim is both a builder and a bulldozer,” Rubinfeld said, “and as such I think he sees life in a rather geometric manner. He always takes the shortest distance between two points. Some cherish him for it, others resent him.”

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