Vol. LXXXVI No. 9 Omaha, NE
Jewish Democrats Win Big, Lieberman Returns to Senate by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA)--Jewish Democrats increased their numbers in the U.S. Congress, joining their party in winning the House of Representatives on a wave of public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war and th economy. At least five Jews were among the new Democrats sweeping into the House. In the Senate, which is still up for grabs, Jewish senators increased their numbers from 11 to 13--a record high. U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who votes with Democrats, and U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin, a Democrat running in Maryland, added to the incumbent minyan plus one. Sen. Joseph Lieberman retained his seat after a bruising battle that followed his loss in the Democratic primary and his run as an independent. The pro-Israel community played a key role in his victory. Pro-Israel donors were not so successful in Pennsylvania, where Republican Sen. Rick Santorum lost his re-election bid--and most of the Pennsylvania Jewish vote--to his Democratic opponent, Bob Casey. Indeed, the traditional Jewish affinity for Democrats appeared reinforced by a CNN exit poll showing support from 87 percent of Jewish voters nationwide. Only 10 percent favored Republicans. The poll canvassed 200 Jewish voters, a sample usually considered too small to be determinative.
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Storyteller to Tell His Tales as Temple Israel Scholar-in-Residence by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator “I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember,” said Joel Ben Izzy, a professional storyteller, “to my brother, to my friends, and especially to my mother to whom I used to tell stories when she put me to bed.” Ben Izzy will be in Omaha as a scholar-in-residence telling “Our Stories, Ourselves,” Friday-Sunday, Dec. 1-3, at Temple Israel. “I had the pleasure of seeing Joel Ben Izzy perform in 1992, and his book is on my list of ‘top ten favorites’ of all time. I’m excited that we can bring this very talented artist to our community,” said Temple Israel Program Director Rosie Zweiback.
Joel Ben Izzy
Fourth Annual “Chanu-Kids”Features Joel Ben Izzy
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT.) celebrates his victory in Hartford, CT, on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Credit: Ben Harris/JTA Continued on page 2
Expert in Group Homes Shares Ideas for Families with Special Needs by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Becca Hornstein’s son lives in a group home in Phoenix. Once an art teacher, Hornstein not only made herself an expert in the field of children and adults with special needs, she and Joyce Berk created a new organization--Council For Jews With Special Needs in Becca Hornstein Scottsdale, AZ. The nonprofit human services agency provides assistance to children and adults who have developmental, cognitive and physical disabilities, attention and learning disabilities, sensory and mobility impairments, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Hornstein will be in Omaha on Wednesday, Nov. 15, to give the community an overview on how to establish a group home. Two sessions are scheduled at the Jewish Community Center: 9:30 a.m.-noon and 1-3:30 p.m. Continued on page 2
Inside Opinion Page see page 12
by GARY KATZ Library Administrator Enjoy Hanukkah and eat lots of latkes at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library’s Fourth Annual “Chanu-Kids” party on Sunday Dec. 3, 3:30-5:30 p.m., in the Kripke Library. Kids of all ages will be entertained by renowned storyteller Joel Ben Izzy, a magician, face painting, and more. Parents and grandparents (aunts, uncles and friends, too) will have the opportunity to see the wide selection of children’s books for sale. “Every year this program gets bigger and better. This year we are pleased to have Joel Ben Izzy come. I’m looking forward to hearing his incredible Hanukkah stories,” said Lena Bogomolni, Kripke Library Chairman. While the party is for younger children, books for older children and adults will also be available for purchase. Enrich a child’s personal Jewish library collection, while the kids have a fun afternoon in the Library. This program is free, fun, and everyone is invited. “Chanu-Kids” has been partially funded by a grant from the Ruth Frisch and Oscar S. Belzer Endowment Fund. For more information, contact me at 334-6462 or gkatz@jewishomaha.org.
“I made stories up for quite a long time,” Ben Izzy, recalled. “Then I discovered the stories of the fools of Chelm, and these became favorites of mine.” Chelm is the mythical Jewish town of fools located on the road from Warsaw to Chotznplotz, Ben Izzy explained. “It is the place where people are so foolish, they consider themselves the wisest of the wise. They spend their days pondering great philosophical questions such as ‘Why is the ocean so salty?’ After weeks of arguing, the matter may be solved by the very wisest of the Chelmites who will point out that the ocean is full of herring. Herring are salty, and thus the ocean is salty,” related the storyteller. “My love of stories comes, in part, from my Grandpa Izzy, of Cleveland, Ohio, from whom I take my name. Life in the suburbs of L.A., which seemed to be a land lacking in stories, left me hungry for more,” Ben Izzy said. In 1983, after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in English, creative writing, and storytelling, Ben Izzy began his professional career. He performed in and around San Francisco and then set off to travel the world, gathering and telling stories. Continued on page 2
Jerusalem Post Reporter to Provide Israel Update by GARY JAVITCH and CINDY SHER Special to the Jewish Press Born and raised in Chicago, Gil Hoffman is living his dream. Since graduating magna cum laude from Northwestern University’s School of Journalism sevenyears ago, he has combined his two loves in life--Israel and journalism--in his work as the chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post in Israel’s capital city. The reporter will come to Omaha on Wednesday, Nov. 15, under the auspices of the B’nai B’rith Monsky Lodge and will speak at their Breadbreakers lunch program at noon at Regency Lodge. If you eat lunch, the cost is $11. Hoffman will also give a presentation that same evening at the JCC at 7 p.m. Both presentations are free and open to the public. They are co-sponsored by the ADL, the Center for Jewish Education, and the National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha Section. Well-connected to Israeli and Palestinian political leaders, Hoffman has interviewed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former prime ministers Sharon, Peres, Barak and Netanyahu and every major figure across the Israeli political spectrum. He, in turn, has been interviewed by top media outlets on six continents and is a regular analyst on CNN, BBC and other foreign news outlets.
This Week: Literary Supplement: Second Section See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Native Son Tells How to Do God’s Work: Page 3
“I have the best job in the world,” he said. “I am paid to sit in the cafeteria of the Knesset for hours on end and talk to politicians over lunch and other politicians over more lunch and more lunch until I’ve had my fill of good food, gossip, and a healthy diet of political spin.” Although Jewish, Hoffman said he remains Gil Hoffman an impartial journalist. “When you get onto the battlefield of reporting, you report the facts,” he said. “Suddenly you’re not telling your buddies back home what happened. You’re reporting the news as an objective observer, knowing that ‘The Jerusalem Post’ is read by many more non-Jews than Jews.” Hoffman also wrote for the Miami Herald and the Arizona Republic before moving to Israel. A corporal in the IDF’s Spokesman’s Unit (Dover Tzahal), he has given lectures in 18 American states, Washington, D.C., Canada, England and Australia on five successful international speaking tours. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and new baby daughter.
Coming Next Month: Hanukkah Issue on Dec. 8 “Call Me Ima” An Adoption Story: Page 6
JFS, Temple Israel Join Refuge Resettlement: Page 16
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
Jewish Democrats Win Big
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Continued from page 1 If accurate, those returns--the highest favoring Democrats in 14 years--appeared to repudiate a barrage of pre-election Republican Jewish Coalition ads saying Democratic support for Israel was eroding. In gubernatorial races, there were three Jewish winners, including Democrat Eliot Spitzer of New York, making him the first Jewish governor in decades. Gov. Ed Rendell, Democrat in Pennsylvania and Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican in Hawaii, also won their re-election bids. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) also won their re-election bids. All but one of the Jews elected or re-elected to the House and to the Senate on Tuesday were Democrats or pledged to vote with the Democrats. U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican from Virginia, remains the only Jewish Republican in the House. In Connecticut, Lieberman’s defeat of his Democratic opponent, Ned Lamont, marked a major political comeback. Lamont is a cable TV magnate who used anti-Iraq war sentiment to best Lieberman in the Democratic primary. Lieberman backed the Iraq war, but it was his solid pro-Israel record and iconic status as the first Jew to feature on a viable presidential ticket in 2000 that drew strong support from segments of the pro-Israel community. Lieberman garnered about $2 million from Jewish and pro-Israel supporters. David Greenfield, the executive director of the Sephardic Community Federation in Brooklyn, was one of many Jews from the Northeast who came out to support Lieberman on Election Day. “The moral, emotional and financial support” Lieberman had from the Jewish community helped him come through this election,” Greenfield said at the Lieberman victory party in Connecticut on Tuesday night. “A far as the American Jewish community is concerned, he is a hero.” Still, he was not universally supported among Connecticut Jews. According to one exit poll, Lieberman garnered 60 percent of the Jewish vote to Lamont’s 40 percent. Pro-Israel money was also a factor in Rhode Island, where Sen. Lincoln Chafee, the Republican chairman of the Senate’s Middle East subcommittee, was projected
to lose to Sheldon Whitehouse. Chafee was a tough critic of Israel’s settlement policy, and blocked the nomination of John Bolton--who is very friendly to Israel--as ambassador to the United Nations to protest a planned settlement expansion. ProIsrael contributors boosted Whitehouse’s bid. They also helped Brad Ellsworth, a Democrat, defeat U.S. Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN). Hostettler was social conservative who was cool on Israel. However, Jewish donors who made Israel their primary consideration failed in Pennsylvania, where Santorum lost to Casey, the state treasurer. Santorum’s solid pro-Israel record earned him $2 million in contributions, but his rock-hard conservatism on social issues like abortion and gay marriage drove Jews to Casey, who drew more Jewish money overall. One exit poll suggested Casey also drew more than 80 percent of the Jewish vote. Of the at least 25 new Democrats set to serve in the 110th Congress, six will be Jewish. That brings to three the total number of Jewish representatives. The six Jewish pickups included three state legislators who ascended to Congress: Gabrielle Giffords, in Arizona, handily won a Tucson-area seat vacated by a Republican; Ron Klein in Florida ousted longtime Republican incumbent Clay Shaw; and Steve Cohen in Tennessee won the Memphis seat vacated by Harold Ford. The other three Jewish winners are: Paul Hodes of New Hampshire, John Yarmuth of Kentucky and Steve Kagen of Wisconsin. Questions of Jewishness often played a quirky role in the race. There was U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) the unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate who said she was a “wannabe” Jew. And there was U.S. Sen. George Allen (RVA) who said he didn’t wannabe any kind of Jew. Allen, whose race is still a toss-up, at first denied and then acknowledged his mother’s Jewishness-quickly adding, however, that he favored pork chops and ham sandwiches. In a year in which candidates ran and voters voted overwhelmingly on national issues, Jewish voters and candidates were no different. JTA staff writer Ben Harris contributed reporting from Connecticut.
CLIP & SAVE
in Group Homes CALENDAR OF EVENTS Expert Continued from page 1 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10 CDC Parent Teacher Conferences, 9 a.m. BBYO New Member Weekend, 4 p.m. at JCC Junior Congregation Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Richard A. Freund, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 BBYO New Member Weekend, 9 a.m. at JCC Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Hazak Lunch ‘n’ Learn, noon with Paul Cohen at Beth El Out of Sight Saturday Night, 6:30 at JCC
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 ADL Bearing Witness Conference, 8 a.m. at Catholic Retreat BBYO New Member Weekend, 8:45 a.m. at JCC Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Mishpacha University, 10 a.m. at the Chabad House Nashir Community Jewish Choir, 11 a.m. at Beth El BESTT Chaverim Trip to SAC Museum, 12:30 p.m. NCJW Fundraiser “Mavrik Jewelry Show,” 6 p.m. at Patty Nogg’s
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 ADL Bearing Witness Conference, 8 a.m. at JCC JSS Senior Luncheon, noon Jewish Ethical Wills Class, 11 a.m. at Kripke Library NCJW Book Club, 7 p.m. JCC Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m. at JCC
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 ADL Bearing Witness Conference, 8 a.m. at Creighton University ADL/CRC Executive Committee Meeting, noon at JCC Eye on Israel, noon at Kripke Library Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing, 5 p.m. at Kripke Library Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel BBYO Night, 6 p.m. JFO Annual Campaign Calls & Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m. at Friedel Women’s Book Group, 7 p.m. at Beth El Big Love Class, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 Abba, Eema and ME, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Meeting, 4:30 p.m. What’s Jewish on the Web?, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel NCJW Membership event, 7 p.m. Gil Hoffman Community Lecture, 7 p.m. at JCC
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Walk-in Drop-in, 10 a.m. Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Insights into the Siddur, noon at Beth El Yiddush Group, 1 p.m. Library Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. at Kripke Library Shiputznick Dinner, 4:30 p.m. Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Family Night, 5:30 p.m. USY “Shorts” Night, 6 p.m. at Beth El JFO Annual Campaign Calls & Dinner, 6:30 p.m. NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. The Art of Jewish Paper Cutting, 7 p.m. at Beth El JFO Annual Campaign Calls, 7 p.m. Advanced Parshah Study, 9 p.m. with Rabbi Gross
S A V E All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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Vodec (a staffing organization) will give a brief presentation at each session on how the staffing can work in a group home. The sessions also will be videotaped for viewing by those unable to attend on Nov. 15. According to one of the event’s organizers, Doug Wolfson, Hornstein created the first Jewish group home in Arizona for Jewish adults who have developmental disabilities. The Council offers unique programs that were created to meet the special needs of individuals and families. Additionally, the agency maintains the only North American database of all Jewish programs, schools, camps, residences and more for Jewish children and adults who have disabilities. Hornstein, now the Council’s Executive Director, has won numerous awards for her work in this field, including Phoenix Community Kollel’s 2006 “Am Echad Award” for contributions to the Jewish community in Scottsdale, 2004 Woman of the Year from Na’amat USA-Rina Chapter, and the Liheyot National Award from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now known as Union for Reform Judaism) for Outstanding Program for the Disabled in 1995. She’s the author of numerous articles about the subject in such wide-ranging publications as Moment, American Association on Mental Retardation, Impact and JewishFamily.com, to name a few. And she has lectured across the country, assisting other Jewish communities who want to bring a Jewish atmosphere into group home settings. Hornstein designed and taught courses on disability related topics in the Maricopa County Community College system and was a guest lecturer at Arizona State University for 20 years. “Anyone who might be involved in helping our family members in this persuit should attend one of Wednesday’s sessions,” said Wolfson. “We hope Becca’s visit will lead not only to a home in the future, but also help expand the wonderful things Duane and Kathy Pieper have done with Yachad.” Yachad, the group for young adults with special needs in the Jewish community here, is staffed by the Piepers through Jewish Family Service. “I forsee involving the whole community in this process,” Wolfson added.
Temple Israel Scholar-in-Residence Continued from page 1 His first job as a storyteller took him to a little village outside Rome where he worked in a camp that turned out to be haunted. He created a story from the experience which he entitled, “The Green Hand.” Just as one story leads to another, so one trip led to another. Joel found himself traveling, teaching, and telling stories in England, Wales, Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. “I’ve often found English speaking audiences and communities in my travels,” he said. “I’ve learned other languages as well, to varying degrees, and have given performances in Spanish, French, Italian, and Hebrew.” In 1991, Ben Izzy produced his first recording, “Stories From Far Away,” which won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was chosen as an American Library Association Notable Recording. He has produced six recordings since then, all of which have won awards, including his most recent, “Lights & Laughter--Joel Ben Izzy Spins Hanukkah Tales,” recipient of a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, National Association of Parenting Publications Gold Award, and a starred review from Booklist Magazine. In addition to his geographic travels, Ben Izzy’s stories have taken him to many places rarely frequented by a storyteller. He has worked as a consultant coaching and teaching storytelling skills in fields ranging from film to high-tech, from banking to advertising, and from medicine to law. He demonstrates to clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Kaiser Permanante, Wachovia Bank, and the United States Attorney’s Office how to harness the power of stories for more compelling communication. Fifty copies of “The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness” will be available for sale at Temple Israel along with an assortment of story tapes and CDs. Twenty percent of the sales will be donated to Temple Israel. Ben Izzy’s residency at Temple Israel is supported by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning. The entire community is invited to spend the weekend at Temple listening to and learning from his tales.
November 10, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Doing God’s Work Is As Easy As Reading a Book by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Dr. Ronald Wolfson has written seven books, plus a score of children’s books. But who’s counting? Well, his mother and father for sure-Bernice and Alan Wolfson. And maybe his brothers, Bob and Doug Wolfson, and the rest of the huge mishpocha in Omaha and beyond. And possibly fellow students from Central High’s Class of 1968. Most of them will probably be on hand when Wolfson returns to Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m., to talk about his latest books as part of the Kripke Jewish Federation Library’s Jewish Book Month. While he was in Omaha in August for a farewell dinner for younger brother Bob after 18 years at the helm of the Anti-Defamation League here, Wolfson sat down with the Jewish Press to talk about spirituality, leadership, connections, and growth. “In ‘What You Will See Inside a Synagogue,’ a book I wrote with Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, my partner in the Synagogue 2000 research project, we discovered three practical items,” Wolfson explained. “This is what it takes to be a successful institution: a welcoming ambiance, welcoming worship experience and a welcoming membership.” Wolfson said there’s a lot at stake--the future of the Jewish community. “We looked at whether or not Jewish people depend more on spiritual or physical growth. And we discovered that 75% of the Jews in this country will belong to a synagogue at some point in their
lives...preschool classes, Hebrew school, a wedding or funeral. It’s higher in the Midwest--Omaha is a great example--and in some East Coast communities and among the Orthodox.” But he mentioned that the Reform movement has also had a major growth spurt and has high hopes for the Conservative movement now that Dr. Arnold Eisen is in charge. Wolfson noted that before 1948, Israel-or Palestine as it was known--only had 650,000 Jews. After statehood, the leaders put out a call for aliyah and created economic incentives to move there. Today, nearly six million Jews live in
Meet Dr. Ronald Wolfson, author of God’s To Do List, at a book signing on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. in the Kripke Library A reception follows, sponsored by Rabbi Myer S. Kripke and the Alan Wolfson Family Israel, and will soon surpass the Jewish population in the United States. So what’s the challenge for the Jewish community in the U.S.? “Synagogues should rethink their entire membership rules,” Wolfson continued, calling for a “new aliyah--going up to the Torah--for others to join the Jewish people. “We were the ‘chavurah’ generation,” he said, “the ones who wrote creative services and introduced contemporary music.” Now Synagogue 3000, the initiatives of the last decade proposed by Wolfson and
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Dr. Ron Wolfson Hoffman have been put in place in many synagogues, including Temple Israel in Omaha. In fact, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel is part of a leadership network group that meets four times a year to plan its work. “There’s an emerging Jewish community,” Wolfson said, “ like the founders of ‘Heeb’ magazine, the young actors in ‘Storahtelling,’ the observant rapper Matisyahu. They’ve energized synagogues like B’nai Jeshurun in New York City, where 1500 people show up for Kaballat Shabbat! We shouldn’t be afraid of young people hosting services in their apartments, rooftops and homes. Or meeting in bars or clubs for Jewish-oriented events. If we’re failing to connect adults to this sacred community, we need to make changes.” Part of those changes--on an individual basis--can come through Wolfson’s other new book, God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth.
Yes, it’s actually a “to-do” list, with suggestions for emulating God in the actions described in the Torah: from creating and blessing to calling and forgiving. There are 10 “steps”, divided by how-to’s and stories. So, yes, you need a pen or pencil when you read this book-but you also need a box of tissues. The stories are powerful and Omahans will recognize many of the people in them. From Iz Bogdanoff ’s weekly phone calls even when he was homebound and gravely ill to the story of Don Greenberg’s “peach giveaway,” the stories are inspiring and uplifting. And that’s the point, according to Wolfson. It’s the Jewish answer to Rick Warren’s A Purpose Driven Life, aimed at Christian or general audiences. Warren asks “Why on earth are we here?” And Wolfson answers, “To do God’s work.” In order to do that, he explained in his book, “Just remember that we’re created in the image of God. The book is about what God does, not what He says.” Tzedakah guru Danny Siegel is in God’s To-Do List, along with Wolfson’s cousin, Joanie Rosen, who donated a kidney to her brother--and Wolfson’s own heartbreaking story about the loss of his and his wife Susie’s first child. But lest readers think the book is one sad story after another, it’s so much more. It really is a practical guide to making life purposeful, bringing meaning to the one who’s performing these acts of kindness and to the recipients as well. Wolfson, who probably does the best “dog and pony show” of any speaker on the circuit, still can be counted as one of Omaha’s shining stars. Even if we’re not keeping count of his books!
Join us as children from throughout the Midwest raise their voices in song during the first-ever
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Sunday, November 19, 2006 4 p.m. Beth El Synagogue 14506 California Street
For reservations or more information call 516-3617
For tickets, contact: Beth El Synagogue - 492-8550 • Temple Israel - 556-6536 Beth Israel Synagogue - 556-6288 • Child Saving Institute - 553-6000 Adults: $10 in advance ($12 at the door) Students: $5 in advance ($7 at the door) Children 4-12: $2 in advance ($4 at the door) Children under 4: Free
10220 Regency Circle, Omaha, NE 68114-3766
Patron Packages 2 adult,student or child tickets: $50 4 adult,student or child tickets: $100 8 adult,student or child tickets: $200
Open to the public, this event is sponsored by the Omaha Jewish community.
Page 4
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
Beth Israel to Host Rabbinic Conference by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue In many professional fields, it is customary to participate in continuing education. Teachers participate in workshops to consider new trends in education and doctors attend meetings to learn about the newest discoveries in medicine. In a similar vein, it is customary for rabbis to participate in professional development. These events are a way for rabbis to share ideas and meet with mentors. Beth Israel will be the site of the Nebras-Kallah Rabbinic Conference, Nov. 12-14. In addition to a series of meetings and workshops for participating rabbis, the community is invited to attend two open sessions: Lunch and Learn on Monday, Nov. 13, noon, and Dinner and Discussion, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. The Rabbinic Conference began in 2004, when Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross was an assistant rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills. While Gross and other young rabbis had attended large, national rabbinic conferences, they felt they weren’t getting the opportunity for one-on-one time with mentors and other young rabbis. Beth Jacob’s Rabbi Steven Weil, Gross and others created the conference. The conference is designed to provide a forum for young rabbis to learn from and support each other, while cultivating relationships with mentor rabbis. Keeping the conference small was another important component. “It’s a small group, with eight to ten rabbis,” noted Rabbi Weil, during a phone interview. “With this small size, participants can openly and honestly share advice and the mistakes they’ve made.” The first was held at Beth Jacob. “I’m pleased to have been involved with this since the beginning,” said Gross. “The focus is on congregational rabbis--pulpit rabbis. We have two mentors who share their experiences and provide guidance in our professional development.” “First, we’re fortunate to have Rabbi Weil, who was my mentor and who helped create the conference in the first place,” explained Gross. “He’s doing exciting things at Beth Jacob, which has significantly grown and prospered since he arrived. More than 300 families have joined Beth Jacob since Rabbi Weil started there. But most importantly, Rabbi Weil is a fantastic pulpit rabbi.” Weil graduated from Yeshiva University (YU) with a degree in health sciences. He continued his studies at YU, where he received his smicha. Rabbi Weil also earned his MBA in finance from New York University. After serving as a youth director in New Jersey, he became the rabbi at Young Israel in Oak Park, MI, where he initiated many new programs. In 2000, Weil became Beth Jacobs rabbi, the largest Orthodox synagogue west of the Mississippi. “Our other senior rabbi for the conference is Rabbi
Jonathan Rosenblatt, who could be called the ‘mentor’s mentor’ since he is a mentor to Rabbi Weil,” continued Gross. “It’s such an honor for Rabbi Rosenblatt to be a part of the conference, and we’re so grateful for his continued participation and support. He was here last spring for the ‘Jew and the Zoo’ program, sharing his amazing expertise about zoos and culture, and we’re excited that he’s returning to Omaha for the conference.”
Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt
Rabbi Steven Weil
Rosenblatt holds a BA and MA from Johns Hopkins in Comparative Literature, a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Modern British Literature, and was ordained at Y.U.’s Theological Seminary. He has lectured widely in the U.S., the United Kingdom, South Africa and Israel. Rosenblatt is the senior rabbi at the Riverdale Jewish Center in New York. He also has authored a soon-to-be-published book on the sociology of zoos throughout history. Rosenblatt also is known for his involvement with mentoring young rabbis, serving as an instructor in a number of training programs. “Everyone had great things to say about Rabbi Rosenblatt, who is one of the top pulpit rabbis,” noted Weil. “He has one of the largest congregations in the country. His support and work in professional development will greatly benefit the rabbis attending the conference.” During the conference, Rosenblatt will lead a Lunch and Learn on Monday at noon. The soup and sandwich lunch, at a cost of $5 per person, is open to the community. “This is a good opportunity for people to meet Rabbi Rosenblatt and hear what he has to say,” said Gross. “Lunch and Learn isn’t just for the rabbis attending the conference; it is definitely designed for everyone in the community.” Contact the office for reservations. In addition to senior Rabbis Rosenblatt and Weil, Rabbi Gross has also arranged for Rabbi Zevulun Charlop to attend the conference. Gross explained, “As host, I really want to make this, the Omaha conference, very special. So I invited Rabbi Charlop to be our guest. He is the Dean of YU’s Theological Seminary and is a very beloved man. Interestingly, Rabbi Charlop has an ‘Omaha connection.’ Decades ago, his father was a
rabbi, here in Omaha. The first meeting of AZA was held in his living room, with Henry Monsky in attendance. Given this connection, Rabbi Charlop has always expressed an interest in coming here, and the conference seemed like a perfect opportunity to invite him.” During the conference, the rabbis will meet to discuss issues and share experiences. “It’s as much about networking as it is formal education,” stated Weil. “Just like you have career development and continuing education in the fields of medicine, law and education, we rabbis continue our education with conferences like this.” According to Gross, “The conference will include a mixture of very intense and open discussion with each other, facilitated by the mentor rabbis. Rather than one of those big conferences where there are 1,000 rabbis, this conference allows the younger rabbis to feel comfortable discussing issues and concerns, coming up with new ways to better serve our congregations. This gives younger rabbis a voice, as well as an opportunity for professional development.” While a conference can clearly benefit the rabbis who attend, how does a community benefit? According to Weil, when the conference was held at his synagogue, “It’s the opportunity to have various communal leaders in our four walls. The community can see how others address religious, social and education issues. That was the benefit.” The community will be able to meet the rabbis attending the conference at the Dinner and Discussion on Tuesday. The meal will begin at 6 p.m., followed by an open discussion at 7 p.m. Everyone in the community is invited. The topic will be, “What Have You Done for Me Lately? An Open Discussion on What Congregants Want in a Rabbi and What Rabbis Want in Congregants.” The discussion will be led by Rabbi Rosenblatt and Rabbi Weil. The cost for the stuffed chicken breast meal is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages four to 12 and free for children ages three and younger. Babysitting will be provided. Please RSVP to the synagogue office. Following the conference, one of the visiting rabbis will stay at Beth Israel for the remainder of the week to participate in a Rabbinic Exchange Program. Rabbi Daniel Friedman will lead the weekly “Women of the Torah” class on Thursday, Nov. 16, 9:30 a.m., present a public lecture at 7:30 p.m. that night, and will provide the sermon during Shabbat services on Nov. 18. Friedman is the rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), with a congregation of 235 families. In March of 2007, Rabbi Gross will travel to Edmonton to teach and provide the sermon at Friedman’s synagogue. For more information or to RSVP for the lunch or dinner, please call the office at 556.6288.
33rd Annual Jewish Book Month
Purses! Jewelry!
got books?
Isabella Paris Accessories
November
December
Elisa Albert How This Night is Different Wednesday, Nov. 8 7 pm Kripke Library
Dr. Ronald Wolfson God’s To Do List Tuesday, Dec. 5 7 pm Kripke Library
Jewish holidays, rites, and gatherings are the glue that binds these stories together and, at the same time, unbinds each protagonist. Passover preparations, bar/bat mitzvahs, and tours of concentration camps form the settings for characters who feel emptiness in their observance.
Native Omahan Dr. Wolfson has created a practical guidebook to repairing the world - often in simple everyday ways - details the biblical accounts of what God does, not what God says: God creates, blesses, rests, calls, comforts, cares, repairs, wrestles, gives and forgives.
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner Kabbala: A Love Story Monday, Nov. 20 7 pm JCC Theater
Perri and Sheila Klass Every Mother is a Daughter Wednesday, Dec. 6 11:30 am JCC Auditorium
The answer to the heart’s eter$15 Luncheon Reservation nal questions has been passed Required down through the ages to lonely intellectual Rabbi Kalman Stern. Looking deep into the lives they Through Kalman's relationship lived separately and together, with his girlfriend, the wisdom of Perri and Sheila tell their mothKabbalah is revealed and we er - daughter story with honesty, discover that when we choose humor, zest and mutual admirato give away the precious part of tion. Every Mother is a Daughter ourselves, we are ready to is a duet that resonates with the receive love. experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
featuring
Other Jewish Book Month Events Chanu-Kids Sunday, Dec. 3 3:30 - 5:30 pm Kripke Library
Call Cali at 203-7929 for locations and information.
Motivation fuels your dreams, but what drives you to success?
It’s Chanukah! Pre-schoolers through third graders will be entertained by renowned story teller Joel Ben Izzy, face-painting, and a magician.
Book Discussion Group Thursday, Dec. 21 1 pm Kripke Library
For more information on Jewish Book Month, contact Gary Katz at 334-6462 or gkatz@jewishomaha.org. Jewish Book Month is generously sponsored by the Special Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.
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November 10, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 5
Who Is That Young Israeli Woman? by ANNE MUSKIN but there’s a lot happening here.” Jewish Press Intern She has many responsibilities dealing with kids of all She hails from a kibbutz in the northern part of Israel ages. She teaches Hebrew to four-year-olds at the JCC’s called Bethashitta. She’s feisty and fresh and she’s Child Development Center, offers Jewish and Israeli Omaha’s latest import. programming to BBYO teens, does Israeli programming Zohar Winer has been to with Kidz Inn, and helps in the local Hebrew schools as the States before. In high well. With such a busy schedule, Winer said, “I come school, she was a foreign home almost every night after 8 o’clock.” exchange student in When Winer found out she was coming to Omaha, Connecticut, and she spent she asked her dad to look on a map and tell her where it her 2005 summer at a Young is. Her dad replied, “Omaha, Nebraska is, take your finJudaea summer camp in ger and put it right in the middle of the United States North Carolina as a counand...that’s Omaha!” selor. After the east coast and Before coming to here, she spent a month in the south, how did she end Jerusalem training with other shlichim. “We were in shock,” she said. However, this training period set up in Omaha? Zohar Winer Winer up with many con“It was intense,” she comtacts in the U.S. “We use mented about her road to each others’ material, and Omaha. A shaliach at camp have an internet web comintroduced Winer to this munity,” Winer said. position. They talked exten“The first night I got here sively about the nature of by ZOHAR WINER was the farewell to Uri, so I the job, and what kind of JCC Shlicha As far as I know, what we call Jewish food here consists of can’t remember a lot from challenges and opportunities gefilte fish, kugel, matza balls and chicken soup. Well, that’s that evening. Right now it is being a shaliach--or in her not what I think of when I say Jewish food. I grew up in half one big blur of people smilcase, a shlicha--offered. After finishing her army service in Askenazi and half Sephardic home, where as the cooking ing!” Winer recalled. She said it was surreal, “looking 2005, she made the decision part was dealt by the Sephardic side. not to go to school, but to So join my mom and me in an Israeli cooking session in at 200 people, and thinking apply for this position. which we will make Sephardic Jewish food: stuffed vegeta- Oh My G-d!” Winer has setThe interview process was bles, a deep fried dough and cheese dish and different sal- tled into a routine now though, and is really enjoyquite extensive and lengthy. ads that can freshen up your Jewish recipes. She said that she started the It will be held on Monday, Nov. 20, 7-9 p.m. at the ing the community. What are some distinctions process in December 2005, Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center. To register for and didn’t hear about her the class, please contact Cindy Reed at 334-6419 or between Zohar and Uri? “I acceptance until May 2006. creed@jccomaha.org. For more information about the am a girl,” she replied jokingly. But she insisted that it “They give you different class, contact me at 334.6403 or zwiner@jccomaha.org. actually does make a differoptions,” she explained. “A coordinator in Jerusalem called me up, and told me that ence. She said her approach is different, but “I’m going I had five suitable options: Gainsville, FL; Torino, Italy; to keep up with the projects he did, because they are good ones.” somewhere in Alabama, Cleveland...and Omaha.” Her energy and bubbly attitude make her very Winer said that she had the opportunity to speak with Uri Levin about the Omaha community. “Everything approachable. The kids really enjoy her enthusiasm and Uri told me they were doing here was like, ‘oh so cool!’” in return, she sees Omaha as a community in which she Winer said. She also commented that, “It’s not too big, can accomplish a lot.
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Amy Cotton Joins Temple Staff as Youth Group Advisor by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Temple Israel has announced that Amy Cotton, a May graduate of Brandeis University, will be the new advisor of Omaha Temple Youth Group (OTYG). She began her position Nov. 1. While earning her bachelor’s degree in Health: Science, Society, and Policy with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies, Cotton worked as a community resident advisor at Brandeis for three years organizing programs and serving as a resource to students in variAmy Cotton ous campus residence halls. During the summer of 2005, she interned in Cape Town, South Africa, with UMAC (U Managing Conflict), an organization built on a culture of human rights that works to create a transformed, participatory, democratic, and egalitarian civil society in South Africa. As an ethics and co-existence student fellow from the Brandeis International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, Cotton helped “jump start” an assessment process of a consortium of non-governmental organizations to which UMAC belongs. Being in South Africa “was an amazing learning experience emotionally, culturally, and academically,” she said. Recently, Cotton was a staff assistant on Child Health
Policy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Currently, she is a fulltime intern at Senator Ben Nelson’s Omaha office. She is interested in a career in public health and plans to pursue a master’s degree in that field. In 2003, Cotton was recognized by the National Conference for Community and Justice with the Liz Karnes Youth Humanitarian Award, for her efforts while a student at Westside High School, in founding Common Ground, a student diversity club. By working with OTYG, Cotton, who has lived in Omaha since she was 11, hopes to help the students develop leadership skills, implement successful programming, and learn new perspectives on working effectively together. She added that having fun will also be part of her role with the high school students. “I already feel invested in them having gone as a chaperon to St. Louis” for a NFTY (National Federation of Temple Youth) Leadership Training Institute. “I’m interested in helping them reach their goals and come up with some new ones.” She added that she “is always open to concerns and guidance from the youth group and from congregants of Temple Israel.” Temple’s Rabbi Eric Linder commented, “We are very excited that Amy is going to be working with our senior youth group. Her extensive experience in conflict management, leadership development, and programming will help to foster friendships and the feelings of group cohesiveness. We are thrilled that she is part of Temple Israel’s team!”
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Award-winning journalist Ted Koppel was allowed three weeks of rare access to examine the roots of 27 years of distrust between Americans and Iranians. In Koppel on Discovery: Iran--the Most Dangerous Nation, Koppel talks to Iranians in all parts of the country about the harsh rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and about his determination to pursue nuclear technology. The two-hour world premiere special airs Sunday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. (CST) on Discovery Channel.
Adding to the power and timeliness of this story, the Koppel team was the last group of journalists allowed into the country before the Iranian government stopped granting journalist visas. This was a direct response to claims that the U.S. blocked Iranian journalists from coming to the U.S. to cover President Ahmadinejad’s trip to the UN. It is unlikely that, in the near future, U.S. journalists will be given the access to Iran or its people that Ted Koppel had while making this film.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
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An Adoption Story: “Call Me Ima” by JOAN K. MARCUS Attachment Disorder by ordering every book that she On Friday, Aug. 18, at 8:55 a.m., in Douglas County could find and talking to experts about how to overDistrict Court, Abigayle Shira Schondelmeyer was given come the lack of emotion and the arm’s length at which a new name and a new life. She was adopted and became these children put others. the daughter of an amazing woman, Sarah “I just knew that Abby would eventually be mine. Schondelmeyer. Sarah admits to 18 months of “hard Then, one day in 2005, my sister called me and said labor” before the adoption took place. Abby was having problems and would have to be placed When Sarah converted to Judaism in 2002, she repeat- in a long-term psychiatric treatment center in Missouri. ed the pledge that is made by every Jew by choice. While Children from the center just move into adult facilities,” holding the Torah, she pledged to Rabbi Aryeh Azriel she says. Schondelmeyer vowed that Abby would not go and the congregation, “I promise to establish a Jewish there and went ahead with the necessary paperwork to home and to participate actively in the life of the syna- have her come to live with her. gogue and of the Jewish community. I commit myself to “When the state came to pick her up, I showed them the pursuit of Torah and Jewish knowledge. If I should the papers and told them that she was mine!” be blessed with children, I promise to raise them as Schondelmeyer adds, “I was so not prepared to be a Jews.” mother. But, I already felt a connection with her. I knew Sarah remembers making the vow and saying to her- from my studies that Abby may never love me and that self, “Having children isn’t in my plan. However, if G-d we might never make a connection as mother and wants me to have them, they will be placed on my daughter. Even though I knew all that, I believed I doorstep. A daughter was nowhere on my radar screen. could help her. Even if she could never love me, her life I wanted to go to school to become a veterinarian. I was would still be a whole lot better.” working four jobs--at the Humane Society, taught You can read all of the books in the world, according Hebrew school and yoga and I was a nanny during the to Schondelmeyer, but until you’ve lived through somenights.” thing, you can’t understand. “The first two weeks were Her plans changed abruptly when she was walking a great but the disorder got really bad after that,” she says. dog on her job and she fell. She smashed her wrist and “We began seeing a therapist every single day for the damaged the nerves. Because she lost the use of her arm, first six months. The disorder is a result of all the years she was forced to quit her jobs. Many surgeries and ther- of abuse. All my little girl had ever known was pain and apy removed the pain, hurt. In order for her to but didn’t restore the use grow up and get better, of the arm. we had to go back and Schondelmeyer contintalk about all the things ued to run her own anishe had missed.” mal rescue business-Schondelmeyer says Bottle Baby Rescue. She she never thought about takes care of puppies, kitgiving up. “It was a chaltens, squirrels and other lenge but I never thought animals. She nurses and of going back. If one feeds the orphaned and thing didn’t work, I tried abandoned animals and something else. There has then adopts them out never been any doubt in after they are spayed and my mind that Abby neutered. Her compasbelongs to me and you sion for anything that don’t give up on your lives is overwhelming. child!” In May of 2004, Sarah Over the last 18 met Abby, a then eightmonths, Abby and Sarah year-old-girl who was the have learned to be mothAbby and Sarah Schondelmeyer foster child of her sister. er and daughter. Since “I knew the minute that I saw her that she was mine!” Abby was always abused by her other “mothers,” she Schondelmeyer said. “I knew in my heart that she was calls Sarah “Ima” or “mother” in Hebrew. Sarah insists going to be coming to live with me.” that the word “mother” suggests to Abby someone who Abby was behaviorally challenged and had been throws you away. “When she first came to me, she didn’t want to be abused since birth. She had been removed from her parents when she was 18-months-old. However, authorities touched or held. I began, gradually, to see changes. I returned her to those same parents and they abused thought I had brought home a monster and now I’m her...again. finally seeing a beautiful little girl. But we still have a lot When she was three, police found her wandering, of work to do,” Schondelmeyer says. “The biggest change in her personality was at her connaked, through the streets looking for food in garbage cans. She was suffering from the results of the crack and version to Judaism in October of 2005. In her mind, she cocaine that her parents had used. At that time, she was was sure I was going to get rid of her. When I told her removed from the home and placed in foster care--along that because of her behaviors, she couldn’t be Jewish, with her biological sister. Abby was later placed in an she decided that she did want to be Jewish. She loved orphanage type residential facility where she awaited going to Temple Israel and would behave when she adoption. went. Now, she keeps kosher; she knows about G-d and She was adopted but she had developed a psychologi- things are really good. She isn’t taking any chances!” cal condition known as Reactive Attachment Disorder. Schondelmeyer says, “I’ve always loved Abby. I loved It is caused by severe abuse and neglect that causes chil- her before I got her and now I think she loves me. She dren to be unable to form relationships. Her adoptive began showing signs of forming an attachment last parents returned her to the agency and successive adop- January. That is contrary to many of the doctors who tions ended in the same way. said that she might never show this love and attachment It was by luck and coincidence that Abby was placed to me. Everyone is amazed at how well she has done at with Schondelmeyer’s sister. The two sisters had been home and in school.” raised and taught by their mother, Gayle Masserant, to Schondelmeyer says she may not be able to give her a help orphaned children. It wasn’t uncommon for Gayle completely normal life because of all that has happened. to have had a house full of foster children. She, herself, But, she can at least give her happy childhood experiences. had been adopted and believes that it is important to “A year ago, I would have said that I didn’t know what help all children. would happen to Abby. Now, she has goals. She wants Schondelmeyer began her research on Reactive to go to college and she’s planning her bat mitzvah. She never made plans for anything before!” In a letter about her life and new mother, Abby wrote, EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE “I’m still sad that I can’t see my sister. But, since I’ve Due to the closing of the Jewish Press office on moved in with Ima, I care for her because she even looks Thanksgiving, the deadline for all ads, articles and like a kid! She will not let me go like the rest of the famphotos for the Nov. 24 issue will be Wednesday, ilies. Even though I am bad, (sometimes) she won’t let me go. I am so thankful for Ima. She will keep me forNov. 15, 9 a.m., and the deadline for the Dec. 1 ever and I am safe now. My Ima taught me that G-d is issue will be Tuesday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. one. I am cared for now. Ima, I love you so much. Questions? Call 334.6448. Thank you for all you have done for me!”
November 10, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
World War II Jewish Chaplain Fought Hard for his Religion, Soldiers fighting barbarism and paganism,” he mitted such an atrocity to exist in front of and say a prayer with him. by MICHAEL FELDBERG “I knelt down on my knee and whishis church eight months after the town NEW YORK (JTA)--After the Japanese wrote. His eloquence apparently worked. A was liberated, he could not give me a rea- pered in his ear the 23rd Psalm. He bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Herbert Eskin of Detroit wanted nothing more few months later, the committee sonable answer. I took him to the mayor repeated it after me word for word, and I than to serve his nation as a Jewish mili- endorsed Eskin’s application. The army and ordered both of them to have the concluded the psalm with, ‘Through tary chaplain. However, the Committee trained him and, in late August 1944, tombstones removed to the Jewish ceme- Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.’” Eskin concluded, “Carl could not for Army and Navy Religious Affairs of Eskin joined the 100th Infantry Division tery within 24 hours,” Eskin wrote, or he would come back with “a truckload of recover from his injuries, they were too the Jewish Welfare Board, the body that in the battle for France. In January 1945, in an unspecified soldiers” and “blast the town with hand severe. He fought for his life to the very endorsed Jewish clergy for the military, end. He died, still holding on to my French village, Eskin discovered a syna- grenades.” thought Eskin lacked the right stuff. According to Eskin, “the tombstones, hand.” He was a Russian immigrant, spoke gogue that the Germans had used as a Eskin describes himself as deeply with a bit of an accent, lacked a college prison. He found the sacrilege unbearable. including the fragments, were placed in the moved by his experience. degree, had no permanent “Here was a devout congregation and, above all, Christian who knew me as was Orthodox. Military the Jewish chaplain in the chaplaincy requires rabbis to division and asked me to say conduct services for Reform, his last prayer with him, and Conservative and Orthodox by the same token I, a Jewish Jews alike; in some circumrabbi, said the last rites with a stances, they must minister Christian, in accordance with to all personnel regardless of his faith. At that moment their religion. neither of us felt having difIn the committee’s view, ferences nor barriers. In rabbis in uniform had to action and in spirit, I sensed make a good impression on our comradeship and non-Jews, and Orthodox immigrants like Eskin made Last November, 2005, the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society co-sponsored an exhibit honoring Nebraska’s veterans. The demonstrated it in my capacity of an army chaplain.’’ committee leaders apprehen- exhibit, co-sponsored by Omaha’s synagogues and the ADL, won the Federation’s Community Service Award. Eskin received his discharge from active “I requested the Burgomeister, in no Jewish cemetery by the specified time.” sive. Eskin’s report for May 1945 recognizes duty in August 1945. He returned to Port uncertain terms,” Eskin reported, “that But Eskin would prove them wrong. For two years, the committee rejected the synagogue be thoroughly cleaned, that his chaplaincy extended well beyond Huron, Mich., where he was hired permanently by a Conservative congregation. Eskin’s appeals for endorsement. Finally washed and locked in order to safeguard the division’s Jewish spiritual needs. The military asked him to stay on as a “I visited the field hospitals daily, and it he wore them down with a heartfelt it from any further demolition and desewas in one of those hospitals where a stateside chaplain working with wounded cration.” appeal. By spring, Eskin’s rage at German treat- Protestant lad from Iowa by the name of GI’s at three hospitals in the Detroit area. “When human blood runs in streams, when our form of government is endan- ment of Jewish sacred spaces boiled over. Carl C. Denhartog was confined with a Eskin later served at the Dearborn “At Fenetrage, France, the local Nazis very serious chest wound,” he wrote. “As Veterans’ Hospital and Selfridge Air gered, and when tens of million Jews are fighting for their very existence, I as a used Jewish tombstones for a sidewalk in I approached him, he recognized me and Force Base until he reached mandatory retirement age. Jewish spiritual leader with competent front of the Catholic church,” he wrote. smiled. I took hold of his hand. The Jewish community center in “Carl kept on holding my hand, and ability, single, young, and physically fit, “I drove all the way from Heilbron, although his forehead was wet with per- Stuttgart, Germany is named in his memmust take the initiative” in “maintaining Germany to Fenetrage. “When I asked the priest why he per- spiration, he asked me to cover him up ory. the high morale of the men who are
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
IN THE NEWS Claire Fredricks recently received her BSBA degree from Creighton University. She graduated summa cum laude. During her undergraduate studies, Claire was actively involved with the Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Scholars Program. She was also a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, a Jesuit Honor Society, and Beta Gamma Sigma, a Business Honor Society. In addition, Claire was on the College of Business Administration Dean’s List and the Dean’s Honor Roll for Social Responsibility. She is pursuing her Juris Doctor degree at Creighton University School of Law. She is the daughter of Sally Fredricks and the late Terry L. Fredricks and the granddaughter of David and Arlene Fredricks. Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group has added Nancy Klauschie, as a Market Consultant. As a licensed commercial real estate agent, Klauschie will provide sales and leasing brokerage services for retail, office and industrial properties. Klauschie was most recently a real estate agent for another Omahabased commercial real estate firm, Nancy Klauschie where she provided broad-based brokerage services. Prior to entering the real estate field, Klauschie spent 25 years in the insurance business, most recently serving as an Underwriting Manager for Zurich North America in Omaha. The company specializes in sales, leasing and property management in Nebraska and Iowa. Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group leases and manages approximately two million square feet of commercial property. Scholarship applications are now available for the 2007-2008 academic year for those planning to spend the year studying in Israel. The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by the family of the late Alisa Flatow who was killed in a terrorist attack in Kfar Darom, Israel on April 9, 1995. She was spending the year studying Judaism in Israel. Applications are available only from our website: www.alisafund.org Applications should be submitted online. If the application is downloaded it must be typed or completed in a word processor format before it is submitted. Deadline for receipt of all completed applications is Feb. 15, 2007. It is not necessary for a student to be accepted to a school in order to apply. Questions may be directed to: Dr. Wallace Greene, Executive Secretary, from the website. The Nebraska Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will honor Hal and Mary Daub at its sixth annual Dinner of Champions on Thursday, Nov. 30, 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel. FOX News host,
Neil Cavuto will be the featured keynote speaker. The Daub’s were selected because of their long-standing dedication to professional excellence and civic involvement. The Dinner of Champions is projected to raise $125,000 for the Nebraska Chapter of the National MS Society to fund research, programs and services for the 22,000 people affected by MS in Nebraska and Southwest Iowa. Individual tickets can be purchased for $175 and corporate tables are also available. The dinner is open to the public. To purchase tickets, please call the Chapter office at 402.572.3190. For more information, visit www.nationalmssociety. org/nen. Up to three prizes, totaling $1000, are being offered in the 18th annual David Dornstein Memorial Creative Writing Contest for Young Adult Writers, sponsored by the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). Authors aged 18-35 years by Dec. 31, are invited to submit a short story on a Jewish theme or topic. Up to three winners will be selected. A first prize of $700, a second prize of $200, and a third prize of $100 will be awarded by the jury; prize money will be allocated proportionally if fewer than three winners are selected. CAJE will have the right to publish prize-winning submissions and to disseminate them to the CAJE membership at any time; credit will be given to the author. Authors should submit a typed, double-spaced manuscript of no more than 5000 words; the submission must be an original short story that has never received an award or been published. Only one entry per author per year is permitted. All stories must be accompanied by a cover sheet listing the author’s name, address, phone number, and title of the story. To verify submission requirements, a copy of a driver’s license or another document to confirm the author’s age must be submitted, along with a signed statement attesting that the story has not been published. CAJE membership is welcome but not required for participation. All entries must be postmarked no later than Dec. 30. Judging will take place from Feb. 1-May 31, 2007. Winner(s) will be notified by June 30, 2007. All stories must be sent to CAJE-Dornstein Contest, 520 Eighth Ave., Floor 2 North Tower, New York, NY 10018. Areyvut, the New Jersey based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting charity, kindness and social justice announces its annual Bnai Mitzvah Essay Contest to students all over the United States. Created for children ages 12-15, this contest was established to encourage others to “Put the Mitzvah back into the Bar/Bat Mitzvah” and elevate the coming of age celebrations (Bar/Bat Mitzvah) with projects to help others. Students are invited to write a 250-750 word essay describing how and why they have incorporated the val-
ues of kindness, charity and social justice into their personal celebrations. Essays should include why a service project was chosen and how the project has affected the celebration. The winner will be invited to participate on a panel to discuss their project; will receive a $180 Giving Certificate to be redeemed through Tzedakah, Inc., in addition to other prizes. The second prize winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to The Jewish Publication Society, while the third prize winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Judaica Press, Free Spirit Publishing or the Jewish Publication Society. All winning essays will be placed on the Areyvut website to serve as models for younger students beginning to plan their Bar/Bat Mitzvah service projects. Another resource available at the Areyvut website is the online Bnai Mitzvah Project Database. Serving as an effective resource for educators, students and parents planning Bnai Mitzvah projects, this comprehensive database categorizes hundreds of projects by organization or theme. For more information, visit www.areyvut.org/ Action/bmec07.asp.
BIRTHS Becca and Derek Groothuis of Chicago, IL announce the Oct. 4 birth of their son, David Lustig Groothuis. Grandparents are Donald and Ann Goldstein, Jessie Groothuis and Steven Lustig of La Jolla, CA, Dennis and Judy Groothuis of Evanston, IL, and Jim Lustig and Joan Shepard Lustig of Kenosha, WI. Great-grandparents are Leonard and Shirley Goldstein, Natalie Lustig of Denver, CO, and Bob and Nancy Greenebaum of Highland Park, IL. Amy and Andrew Raffel announce the Sept. 30 birth of their son, Brandon Hale, named for his great-great aunt Bettie Fedman, and his great-grandmother, Helen Gerber. He has a sister, Julia, six-years-old, and a brother, Michael, four-years-old. Grandparents are Dr. Steve and Marilyn Tipp, Francine Raffel of Kalamazoo, MI, and the late Jerrold Raffel. Shawna and David Schwalb of Chicago, IL announce the Sept. 20 birth of their daughter, Gabrielle Ruthie. Grandparents are Natan and Hannah Schwalb, and Daniel and Nancy Gooze of Highland Park, IL. Great-grandparents are Harry and Betty Allswang of Northbrook, IL, and the late David and Paula Schwalb.
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November 10, 2006
My Cousin Ralph Celebrates his 70th Birthday
THE HISTORIAN’S F OOTPRINT by OLIVER B. POLLAK Our family is not large enough for a cousins club. I have only one first cousin on my mother’s side, Ralph. Our November birthdays are 2 days apart but he was born in 1936 and I was born in 1943. So he is my older cousin Ralph which difference we both use for our own friendly humorous competitive edge. I married Karen in 1966. He married Donna in 1967 and they live in San Francisco. He has three lovely daughters, Lisa, Laura and Kari and three has young grandchildren. We see each other more frequently benow cause our children and two grandchildren also live in the Bay area. When we get together we trade stories about our grandparents and our mothers, Renee and Ruth, who were sisters. We pull each others legs and test our rusty German. Ralph was born in Dortmund, Germany and left Europe for America in 1939. We both like to eat, and as diabetics, when we get together we mutually go into carbohydrate excess and slip off the healthy eating wagon to the almost scowling indulgent displeasure of our wives. Since Ralph was older he could write earlier than I and picked up American sports. When he came over to the house in the 1950s I would play catch with my older cousin. He took me to Gilmore Field to see the Hollywood Angels before the Dodgers arrived. He took
me to a Rams game in the Coliseum. He was my big cousin. He went to Berkeley and studied journalism and turned his public relations training into a travel agency, Holiday Tours. His motto is “its been a business doing pleasure with you.” A couple of weeks ago Ralph shared some of his pictures dating from as early as 1911 with my mother Ruth. The 70 year old escorted his 85 year old aunt, my mother, to the San Francisco Opera production of Mozart’s Die Fledermaus. From his cache he handed me a letter that he wrote me, a copy of which is below: This letter presents a historical conundrum. How could it be in his possession? Obviously, he never mailed it. When did he write it? The clues provided by the mention of Joe Louis, television, and Churchill’s election are almost transparent. Joe Louis, the “Black Bomber,” lost to Rocky Marciano in Madison Square Garden on Oct. 26, 1951. Ralph had a acquired round screen television from the proceeds of his paper route. Tory Churchill commenced his second term as Prime Minister on Oct. 27, 1951. Why didn’t Ralph send the card? And, why did he keep it for 55 years? Who knows. Ralph is a party animal. But he specifically asked for a subdued 70th. Keep it simple, keep it to the bevy of daughters and grandchildren. To my kind and thoughtful cousin who gave me a birthday card half a century late, I wish him “bis hundert zwantzig jahr,” Happy Birthday! The writer can be contacted at OBPOMNI@aol.com.
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ORGANIZATIONS NCJW Mark your calendar for the NCJW Jewelry Boutique on Sunday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. at the home of Patty and Steve Nogg, 1425 No. 135th St. The boutique will feature Israeli jewelry from Mavrik, a popular St. Louis boutique. Members of the community are invited to a special patron party at 6 p.m. to meet Mavrik’s owner, Igal Alon, and to shop before the event opens. A minimum donation of $18 is required to attend the patron party. Gil Hoffman will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Nov. 15, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. Hoffman, a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, comes to America to update us on what’s happening in the Jewish state. All men and women in the community are invited to attend Breadbreakers. Cost is $11 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only. YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Members will meet Monday at the JCC. The program “My America” with Kathryn Bakke begins at 12:30 p.m. She will share patriotic music, thoughts and memories. Bakke is a riveting and inspirational speaker and performer who combine her talents with her life experience as a courageous woman with a profound hearing loss. Try your luck with bingo at 10 a.m. with Miles and Eileen Remer. For transportation call Dee Dee at 330.4272. Call Maggie Conti for reservations to the Ameristar Casino on Nov. 30. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. VISIONS Reminder: Visions Luncheon meeting is at Westside Community Conference Center (3534 So. 108 St.) on Friday, Nov. 17, 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10. Reporters
interrupted work histories. As a result, the
from the KETV 7 News Team, Mike Sigmond and Ben Gray, will bring us up-to-date on recent political developments and events. Send reservations to Tootie Simon, 8725 Izard St. Omaha, NE 68114. Please bring your donation to Jewish Family Service’s Project Dreidel to the luncheon or send a check to: Betty Kolnick, 1031 Hillcrest Dr., Omaha, NE 68132. Make check payable to JFS. Visions “Senior Conditioning” will be held at the JCC on Wednesday, Dec. 13, noon. Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. and at 1:15 p.m. the Dancing Grannies will perform. The cost is $10. Make all checks payable, in advance, to Visions.
need to plan ahead and invest is crucial. We can teach you more about: • Basic investment concepts • The importance of personal investment goals and objectives • Managing your investments in volatile markets • The impact of changing tax policies • Strategies for estate accumulation and retirement planning
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME Reminder: Family Night Dinner is on Thursday, Nov. 16 at the JCC auditorium with entertainment by Jonathan Rathsam with accompanist Esther Wax. Cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $10.25 and $5 for children under five years of age. No charge for the residents. Send reservation to Cathy Carroll, 323 So. 132 St, Omaha, NE 68154 by Nov. 13. Call the Activity Department at 334.6520 for information. Make check payable to the RBJH. SPECIAL “EYE ON ISRAEL” Renowned columnist, author, and political activist, Einat Wilf will discuss the recent conflict in Lebanon and the political aftermath at a special “Eye on Israel” on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m., in the JCC auditorium. Her presentation will be accompanied by a striking video by imbedded Israeli journalist, Itai Anghel, who documented a fierce battle in the Hezbollah controlled village of Houleh. Wilf served as foreign policy advisor to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and is a frequent contributor to The Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz, and Ynet. This program is sponsored by the Center for Jewish Education and the National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha Section, with the support of the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Endowment Fund.
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November 10, 2006
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“No Easy Answers” to Israel’s Survival, Explains Temple Israel Scholar Sometimes there’s no moral answer, no easy answers.” by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator But he believes that “other countries can’t hold a candle Wrapping up his three-day weekend residency at to Israel” when it comes to civil rights issues. “Our surTemple Israel, Rabbi David Forman, an American-born vival depends on a sense of moral integrity. “We Jews have sustained the longest living national libIsraeli, said he feels “obligated to struggle with the question of our own moral behavior. We cannot guarantee eration movement in human history,” he continued. “It is the moral standards of others, but we must be steadfast precisely because no one could suppress our will to gain our national expression in our own land, against virtually in maintaining our own moral integrity.” After the Shabbat worship service on Dec. 1, Debbi all odds, that we must not suppress the will of another people to do the same. To do so Zweiback described Rabbi would be to subvert the lesForman as “persuasive and sons of our history.” Speaking challenging in the way he of Palestinians, Rabbi Forman teaches and informs. He added. “They have to live free stimulates debate and confrom occupation. We have to versation. His commitment live free from fear.” to our principles of social In the discussion that folequality and justice is unconlowed, Rabbi Forman sugditional.” She added that she gested that American Jews learns more from a speaker support Israel with “unconlike Rabbi Forman whose ditional love but not uncriti“insights, analysis, observacal love.” tions, and wisdom are “Rabbi Forman offered an infused with charm, wit, senextremely interesting, edusitivity and personal stories.” “I thought Rabbi Forman Rabbi David Forman, left, with Debbi and Speedy Zweiback cational, thought provoking was excellent,” commented spoke about “Israel in the Eyes of American Jews” at Temple message,” according to Bob Kully. “The discussions that Harry Alloy. He compli- Israel throughout the weekend of Oct. 27-29. mented Rabbi Forman, who has lived in Jerusalem since followed (Rabbi Forman’s talks) were obviously gener1972, for not “talking over my head to just a select few.” ated by his message, and the stimulation for the audiOn Saturday at Sparks Beneath the Surface preceding ence was extremely meaningful.” “He elevated our understanding of the relationship Shabbat worship services, “He had everybody talking between the Diaspora and Israel to a new level. Our and involved,” Alloy said. “Nationalism and religion are fused in Israel,” Rabbi community commitment to the state of Israel is morally Forman pointed out. Balancing security and humanity clear and personally uplifting,” concluded Speedy presents “very complex challenges in Israel.” This is Zweiback. Rabbi Forman’s residency was sponsored by the especially true in fighting terror groups like Hamas that use civilians “for human fodder and human shields. Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning.
Contributions for Auction are Setting the Stage for a Successful Sisterhood Donor Event by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue With Beth Israel Sisterhood’s annual donor event just around the corner, volunteers have been keeping busy with preparations. The event, “Abracadabra,” will be held on Saturday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m. and is co-chaired by Julee Katzman and Sharon Kirshenbaum. One of the main attractions will be a unique auction of prizes. Volunteers have been contacting local businesses to donate prizes, and attendees will not be disappointed by the choices available. “In addition to desserts, drinks, the Amazing Arthur’s performance and Sisterhood’s Gift Shop, there will be a ‘Chinese auction’ to raise funds for Sisterhood projects,” explained Executive Director Beth Cohen. “This ‘auction’ is actually a type of raffle. People will purchase raffle tickets and enter the tickets for prizes. But, what’s neat is that they get to choose the specific prizes they would like to win.” “So far, volunteers have gotten a terrific selection of items,” continued Cohen. “Businesses have been very generous. For example, one of our volunteers, Cynthia Follick, has received a wide variety of donations including gift certificates, baskets, and professional services. Other volunteers have been given certificates for pedicures and manicures. Our office is overflowing with all of the great prizes. We’ve gotten men’s and women’s clothes, gift baskets, a stocked wine bottle rack, services and more. Would you like a professional painter to paint a room in your home? That’s something you could win during the donor.”
“We’re grateful to all of the companies and individuals who made donations,” said Bette Kozlen, Sisterhood Fundraising Vice President. “Thanks to their contributions, people who come to this year’s donor event will have the chance to win some fabulous prizes.” If you plan to attend, RSVP to the office by calling 556.6288. For those who need a ride to the event, call Charlotte Kaplan at 551.5658.
Remembering Rabin Yitzhak Rabin’s daughter, Dalia Rabin Pelesoff, right, and Rabin’s sister, Rachel Rabin Yaacov spend a few moments of contemplation by the slain leader’s graveside at Israel’s national cemetery, Mount Herzl Cemetery, in Jerusalem on the Nov. 4 yahrzeit of his assassination . Credit: ISRANET
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Mission Returns with Memories Temple Seventh Graders Explore Jewish Literature by LISA LIEB Federation Communications Director
Inna Goldman, left, and Marina Libov enjoy the wonders of the Dead Sea. In addition to seeing the sites of Israel, the young women were able to reconnect with Israeli family members while on the Solidarity Mission.
Stacey Rockman, right, Chairman of Omaha's Partnership with Israel, and Kim Goldberg, Chairman of Omaha’s Partnership Arts Task Force, at Beit Shean, walk through the world’s largest Byzantine excavation.
Through Stories, Poetry, Skits by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator A group of seventh graders who attend Temple Israel’s T.A.G.--You’re It Middle/High School on Wednesday nights is learning about Literature with Jewish instructor Gary Katz, administrator of the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Katz has introduced the youngsters to Isaac Bashevis Singer’s stories for children; “Sedra Scenes, Skits for Every Torah Portion” by Stan J. Beiner; Jewish folk tales for Gary Katz children; “Does God Have a Big Toe?” stories about stories in the Bible by Rabbi Marc Gellman; and “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” a collection of verses written by children interred at Terezin during the Holocaust. As they take turns reading out loud, trying their hand at creative writing, and taking parts in skits, the students are learning about “Jewish identity, family, historical time periods, and Holocaust poetry,” said Katz, who has a master’s degree in English. A former adjunct professor of world literature at Creighton University and of English at Metropolitan Community College, he has taught several classes for the Center for Jewish Education. One night, Katz presented ten Jewish objects about which each student wrote an original story. He also showed them a picture from the book, “Diaspora” by
Frederic Brenner who wrote about immigrants prior to and after moving to Israel. Each student wrote about his or her thoughts regarding the people in the picture. Katz pointed out that the students “take the literature very seriously, and they try to empathize with the Holocaust victims.” He noted that poetry provided “a good bridge” as his students attempted to understand the plight of the young Jews caught up in the catastrophic events of World War II. According to Katz, the class’s “seminar-like setting” promotes discussion. “There’s no place to hide” when it comes time to participate in conversation. “They seem to like it,” he observed. “I think the class is really fun,” said Libby Slosburg. “We learn a bunch of different things about Jewish history. I think it’s very creative how (Katz) teaches the class.” Libby’s “favorite thing is acting out the plays.” “I applaud Gary for his selection of texts that he uses,” said Elyce Azriel, director of education at Temple Israel, “and his innovative approach for making Bible and history come alive.” In the winter T.A.G. session, Katz will teach Contemporary Jewish Fiction: A Survey which will explore the works of several major contemporary Jewish fiction writers. Following the path of Jewish-American fiction through the twentieth century, the class will focus on literary tradition and modern cultural themes such as heritage and identity. The class, which begins Jan. 10, will be open to tenth, 11th and 12th graders. This fall, however, Katz finds the seventh graders to be “very enjoyable kids, and they’re very creative.”
Fall Fun in the Forest
Regional Partnership with Israel Chairman Zoë Riekes makes new friends at an Ethiopian Absorption Center. Solidarity Mission participants played with the children and then observed the adults taking their first lesson on how to use computers.
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Picture-perfect weather greeted members of Beth El Synagogue Talmud Torah’s (BESTT) Chaverim youth group during their recent field trip to Fontenelle Forest. Enjoying the fall outing were, top row: Beth El Education Director Judy Rubin, left, Ethan Potash, Aaron Zipursky, Samantha Wiener, Chad Shuelwitz and Jenny Libov; middle row: Maddie Skolkin, Aaron Kurtzman, Jacob Levy, Max Weiner, Elissa Wiener, Sarah Kutler and Alex Pichik; bottom row: Chaverim advisor Annelise Ocanto, Beth El Youth Director Robert Mosenkis, Kylie Kirshenbaum, Halle Unger and Melissa Epstein. BESTT Chaverim is open to all Jewish children in grades four-six. For more information about membership or programs, contact Robert Mosenkis, 492.8550 or youthdir@bethelomaha.org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
A Book Is A Friend If we are “The People of the Book,” then we had better act like it. The term, by the way, was given to us by early converts to Islam and appears in the Quran, the Muslim holy book. But as Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz states in his opinion piece below, “No other group of people would say that they read a language fluently without understanding a word of what they read. Yet this phenomenon continues. We train people to ‘read the Torah,’ but not always to understand what they are reading. We train people to ‘lead’ the service, but not really to understand the service. “We have Jewish leaders who speak about the importance of Jewish education, but who themselves are not educated, or on the path to being educated.” This week is the traditional start of Jewish Book Month, and Omaha, like Jewish communities across North America, is host to a variety of authors and events celebrating “The People of the Book.” To be sure, not all the authors being featured by the Kripke Federation Library are writers of serious Jewish texts. But that doesn’t mean to say that lessons can’t be learned, nor that there is no value in an English book that just happens to be written by a Jew. There are lessons everywhere...and each book read is a stop on the road of a lifetime journey. In fact, many rabbis stress the importance of the journey itself, more than the “arrival” point. If you’re wondering why that is, think about where this journey of learning might take the traveller--into new territory of Jewish history and philosophy, into novels with a Jewish theme, into “how-to” books, like Ron Wolfson’s latest, God’s To-Do List. Though Wolfson’s book is not a Jewish text in
the traditional sense of the word, it does use our holiest text--the Torah--as a base from which to emulate God’s actions in our behavior towards our fellow human beings. For readers, the journey into a new book is magical, opening new possibilities, widening the imagination, revealing secrets of a time past, or a seemingly unknowable present. Imagine, if you will, Elisa Albert’s funny, but dark description of young Jews, disconnected from the mainstream. The author of How is This Night Different, kicked off Jewish Book Month here this week, but without hearing her speak--or better--reading her book, how is a middle-aged Jewish member of the Jewish establishment going to know what (some) young Jews are thinking? And while Rabbi Lawrence Kushner has written a number of non-fiction, text-based books in the past, in Kaballah: a Love Story, he tracks a lonely rabbi through his studies until he finds love. (Ah--if we could only realize that wish for all the unmarried Jewish young people out there!) Then there’s David Brog’s book: Standing with Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State--which navigates the fundamentalist Christian world. This young author (and former staff member for Sen. Arlen Specter) discovers that Christian support for Israel is genuine and not aimed at a mass conversion of the Jews--yet the majority of Jews are scared witless at the mention of Christian fundamentalism, fearing them more than radical Islamic terrorists (who really do want to convert us all--or kill us if we don’t!).
Open a book. Discover the riches in the Kripke Library. Attend one--or more--Jewish Book Month events (including the annual Book Fair Luncheon with mother-daughter authors, Perri and Sheila Klass, authors of Every Mother Is a Daughter--and when longtime Library Assistant Dorothy Kaplan will be honored!). And when you’re done reading (are we ever “done” reading?), sign up for one of the many classes on our Jewish heritage offered by our synagogues and the Center for Jewish Education. And then you, too, can join “The People of the Book.”
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by RABBI YOSEF LEIBOWITZ KFAR SABA (JTA)--The American Jewish community is one of the most learned and sophisticated communities in Jewish history, in everything except Jewish texts. As Jews, we are illiterate. This phenomenon has its roots in our history over the last 150 years. During that time the Jewish people underwent five events, each one of which can be counted as a major upheaval. These are the emergence of the Jews from the ghetto into the modern world, the mass movement of Jews from Europe to the United States, the systematic suppression of religion in the Soviet Union, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. These events went far in determining the nature of the Jewish world today and led to the fact that, in the United States, we remain comfortable and sophisticated in the Western world and immature in our Jewish knowledge. The Jewish educational establishment has tried to remedy this problem and, to some extent, has succeeded. The number of day schools certainly has grown. Still, as a community, we remain undertaught and illiterate. Consequently, when youngsters go off to university armed with the Jewish education they received in religious schools, or even many of our day schools, they are unable, by and large, to integrate their Jewish knowledge into their much more sophisticated secular knowledge. Even more so, are unable to have them in equal dialogue with one another. The basis of good education does not rest on supplying you with facts, but on teaching you how to read. In university, you do not learn science as much as how to function within science, or how to read literature or how to
Jewish Press Committee Bobbi Leibowitz, Vice-Chairman; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Treasurer; Michael Siegel, Finance Chairman; Joanie Jacobson, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Melissa Schop; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Jewish the Committee, Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.
American Jews Are Learned in Everything but Jewish Texts write poetry or solve a mathematical problem. In Jewish texts, by those criteria, we are illiterate. We do not learn how to read Bible, but only learn the stories in the Bible. Rabbinic texts that are central in classical Jewish literature remain foreign to most of us. We celebrate holidays, but know nothing of the theology behind them. We pray, sometimes, but know nothing about the theology of the prayer book. Jewish survival relies on loyalty and nostalgia, and not on meaning and value. How can we proceed? I think the first step is an acknowledged awareness of the problem. The American Jewish community does not have literacy as a central focal point. It is spoken about, but the hard truth is not reall expressed. I will give a number of examples. Many years ago I spoke at an Orthodox congregation on the West Coast. Most of the 200 people there were elderly and many of them were European-born. I asked them how many of them read Hebrew fluently and almost all of them raised their hands. I then asked how many understand what they are reading and almost none raised their hand. No other group of people would say that they read a language fluently without understanding a word of what they read. Yet this phenomenon continues. We train people to “read the Torah,” but not always to understand what they are reading. We train people to “lead” the service, but not really to understand the service. We have Jewish leaders who speak about the importance of Jewish education, but who themselves are not educated, or on the path to being educated. We have teachers who are underqualified. Our expectations are low. If children enjoy going to religious school, that is enough, even though they are learning nothing. We would never tolerate those same
(Founded in 1920) Howard K. Marcus Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Terri Greenwood Advertising Executive Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Anne Muskin Editorial Intern
criteria for our secular education. Imagine a high school student who loves going to school, but cannot read basic texts. The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education is one of the educational organizations that is trying to change this. Their recent conference at Duke University was dedicated to the theme of “Jewish Literacy.” This is the necessary beginning. CAJE must define the question and press the individual schools and teachers to address the problem. At the same time, it must provide them with programs that will bring literacy to their teaching staff. How can this be done? First, we have to set our goals higher. Teachers must know how to read the text. For example, Bible has its own style, as do rabbinic and medieval texts. These styles must be taught and mastered. We should be cautious about separating between biblical story and midrash, or rabbinical explanation. We must also understand that the rabbis wrote in a very particular nonlinear style. Information was not given from beginning to end; their style was coded. The prayer book, which they composed, is a master composition, but in order to understand it you have to know how biblical sections are chosen and put in different contexts and how the rabbis established specific forms of prayer. The Jewish calendar is a complex theological statement and should be taught as such. Unlike the secular American calendar, all of the holidays are connected one to another. All of this must be taught in connection to the other, secular education that these students are receiving. They should know the tremendous impact of the Bible on Western civilization and how the concept of history Continued on page 13
Imagine a high school student who loves going to school, but cannot read basic texts.
Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $36 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.
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Social Action Month is a Chance to Engage Young Generation of Jews
FOCUS ON ISSUES by RABBI SID SCHWARZ WASHINGTON (JTA) -- For the second year in a row, the Israeli Parliament has declared the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, which began Oct. 24, as Jewish Social Action Month. Living in the United States, a country that declares honorary weeks and months for everything from stamps to dairy farmers, it’s tempting to dismiss the strategy as empty hype. Yet there is cause for Jews to take serious notice: There’s tremendous energy in the American Jewish community around social action that has all the markings of a renaissance about it. The ritualistic naming of a month devoted to social action is a good time to assess the phenomenon and encourage its development. Cheshvan comes right after the High Holidays, so it’s as good a time as any to call upon Jews to behave in accordance with Jewish principles that go back to our origins. In one of Abraham’s first encounters with God (Genesis 18:19), he is told that his mandate was “to extend the boundaries of righteousness and justice in the world” (la’asot tzedakah u’mishpat). In the next chapter, Abraham demonstrates why he deserves his status as the father of the Jewish people (also embraced by Muslims as the father of Islam) when he goes out on a limb with God to plead for the people of Sodom and Gemorrah. Rabbinic commentators admire the fact that Abraham’s compassion was never limited by tribal ties or blood lines. They hold him up as a model for ethical behavior in the world. At Sinai the Jewish people would embrace a covenant that set forth a way of life to ensure that Jews would remain a distinct and discreet people in the world. It included rituals regulating festivals, life cycle, diet and sexual mores. Yet no less an authority than Rav Joseph Soloveitchik, considered one of the greatest Orthodox rabbis ever to have lived in America, taught that the covenant that drove Abraham’s universal behavior (brit avot) was more
Learned in Everything but Jewish Texts Continued from page 12 comes from it. They should understand Jewish theology in its many facets. The impact of science and technology should be taught along with their limitations. Jewish concepts of death, soul, responsibility and government should be studied. Most important, by the time they finish high school, they should be able to examine concepts of knowledge and truth, beginning with the story of the Garden of Eden and working through modern theories of logical positivism, existentialism, chaos and theories of complexity. Why not? I was once speaking to a principal of a community Jewish high school. He said that attracting students was very competitive. He had to assure the parents that their child would get a secular education that would enable them to get into Harvard, Yale or Princeton and, at the same time, would get a Jewish education. I said to him, “Why not tell them that here your child will master two alternative systems of truth, Jewish and Greek, upon which Western civilization was built. They will master both Aristotelian linear knowledge and rabbinic nonlinear knowledge and be all the wiser for it.” It is not only possible to do both, but for Jews living in the modern world, it is necessary to do both. They will become literate Jews. Yosef Leibowitz, director and founder of the Yad Yaakov Fund, received ordination from Yeshiva University and a doctorate from Berkeley. He served as a rabbi in Berkeley before moving to Israel. Leibowitz was the keynote speaker on the subject of Jewish texts at the recent CAJE conference focusing on Jewish literacy.
important than the covenant at Sinai (brit Sinai), which provided most of what we recognize today as Jewish customs and practices. This is a message for our time. Surveys tell us that with each generation of American Jews, ties to the collective enterprises of the Jewish people-- Israel, the Federation system, Jewish membership organizations and synagogues--are getting progressively weaker. Those who care about the future of the Jewish community will have to find a way to speak to and to program for a post-tribal generation. Because those same surveys tell us that the most important component of Jewish identity to Jews is the mandate to make the world a more just and compassionate place, Jewish institutions will have to find ways to make social justice a more central part of their message and program.
...surveys tell us that the most important component of Jewish identity to Jews is the mandate to make the world a more just and compassionate place, Jewish institutions will have to find ways to make social justice a more central part of their message and program. This is not an experiment any more. For more than the last two decades, Jewish organizations devoted to “extending the boundaries of righteousness and justice in the world” are flourishing. The American Jewish World Service has provided a way for Jews not only to contribute money to some of the poorest countries in the world, but to go on service missions to those countries. MAZON is a remarkable Jewish fundraising success story based on the simple idea that there should be a Jewish response to hunger. My own organization, PANIM, sponsors a dozen different programs for close to 10,000 young people a year, training future leaders of
the Jewish community in political activism, community service and social justice, all framed in the context of Jewish values. There’s more. Last year, Hillel invited college students to spend their winter and/or spring breaks helping rebuild flood ravaged areas in Louisiana and Mississippi. More than 800 students signed up, and more are expected this year. The Center for Leadership Initiatives, a new entity created by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, is making it possible for 500 young adults to go to northern Israel to help that region rebuild after the summer war with Hezbollah, and more than four times that number have applied. (Editor’s note: The Jewish Press was one of only two newspapers on a conference call in August about this new program; the story first appeared in the Aug. 18 issue.) Rallies for Darfur, Sudan, in Washington and New York were overwhelmingly attended by Jews, and the number of synagogues that have “Save Darfur’’ signs on their lawns reminds us of the heyday of the Soviet Jewry movement, when similar signs made political activism part of the civil religion of American Jews. (Editor’s note: See this week’s back page story about the new partnership among Temple Israel, Jewish Family Service and the Heartland Refugee Resettlement agency to assist new refugees from Sudan.) Today, Jews don’t need the Jewish community to engage in social action. With fewer Jews predisposed to joining Jewish organizations, one can find Jews active in, even predominating in, the leadership of a host of secular groups advancing human rights, fighting poverty, promoting peace and the like. Yet if the Jewish community made social action a signature part of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century--not in lieu of Jewish learning and practice, but as a complementary part of it--we have a good chance to capture a new generation of Jews with a legacy that traces back to our biblical ancestors. Rabbi Sid Schwarz is founder and president of PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values. He is the author of Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World (Jewish Lights).
Decision Time on Iran
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by DANIEL PIPES As the Iranian government announced a doubling of its uranium enrichment program, the United Nations Security Council bickered over a feeble European draft resolution. It would do no more than prohibit Iranian students from studying nuclear physics abroad, deny visas for Iranians working in the nuclear area, and end foreign assistance for Iran’s nuclear program, oh, except from Russia. Where, one wonders, will the desultory, perpetual efforts to avert a crisis with Iran end? With a dramatic calling of the vote at the Security Council in New York? Around-the-clock negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna? A special envoy from the European Union hammering out a compromise in Tehran? None of the above, I predict, for all these scenarios presume that Tehran will ultimately forego its dream of nuclear weaponry. Recent evidence suggests otherwise: • Hostile statements provoking the West. Perhaps the most notable of these was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s warning to Europe not to support Israel: “We have advised the Europeans that the [Muslim] nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt.” Yet more outrageously, the chief of the judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, threatened the United States that it stands “on the threshold of annihilation.”
• A mood of messianism in the upper reaches of the government. In addition to the general enthusiasm for mahdaviat (belief in and efforts to prepare for the mahdi, a figure to appear in the End of Days), reliable sources report that Ahmadinejad believes he is in direct contact with the Hidden Imam, another key figure of Shi’ite eschatology. • The urgent nuclear program. Bolstered by the economic windfall from oil and gas sales, the regime since mid2005 has at almost every turn adopted the most aggressive steps to join the nuclear club, notably by beginning nuclear enrichment in February. A focused, defiant, and determined Tehran contrasts with the muddled, feckless Russians, Arabs, Europeans, and Americans. A half year ago, a concerted external effort could still have prompted effective pressure from within Iranian society to halt the nuclear program, but that possibility now appears defunct. As the powers have mumbled, shuffled, and procrastinated, Iranians see their leadership effectively permitted to barrel ahead. Nonetheless, new ideas keep being floated to finesse war with Iran. Los Angeles Times columnist Max Boot, for example, dismisses an American invasion of Iran as “out of the question” and proffers three alternatives: threatening an economic embargo, rewarding Tehran for suspending its nuclear program, or helping Iranian anti-regime militias invade the country. Admittedly, these no-war, no-nukes scenarios are creative. But they no longer offer a prospect of success, for the situation has become crude and binary: either the U.S. government deploys force to
prevent Tehran from acquiring nukes, or Tehran acquires them. This key decision--war or acquiescence --will take place in Washington, not in New York, Vienna, or Tehran. (Or Tel Aviv.) The critical moment will arrive when the President of the United States confronts the choice whether or not to permit the Islamic Republic of Iran to acquire the Bomb. The timetable of the Iranian nuclear program being murky, that might be either George W. Bush or his successor. It will be a remarkable moment. The United States glories in the full flower of public opinion with regard to taxes, schools, and property zoning. Activists organize voluntary associations, citizens turn up at town hall meetings, associations lobby elected representatives. But when it comes to the fateful decision of going to war, the American apparatus of participation fades away, leaving the president on his own to make this difficult call, driven by his temperament, inspired by his vision, surrounded only by a close circle of advisors, insulated from the vicissitudes of politics. His decision will be so intensely personal, which way he will go depends mostly on his character and psychology. Should he allow a malevolently mystical leadership to build a doomsday weapon that it might well deploy? Or should he take out Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, despite the resulting economic, military, and diplomatic costs. Until the U.S. president decides, everything amounts to a mere re-arranging of deck chairs on the Titanic, acts of futility and of little relevance. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and author of Miniatures (Transaction Publishers). Visit his website at: www.DanielPipes.org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
Candlelighting Friday, November 10, 4:51 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethlincoln.org
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Allan Handleman, 334.6451, or Terri Greenwood, 334.6559.
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. with guest ALHS’s principal, speaker, Melanie Shellberg. The community is invited. The first of 2006-07 Monthly Speakers series begins on Nov. 10 with a celebration of the Abraham Lincoln Jewish Hall of Fame honorees: Jan Lund, Maynard Telpner, Shirley Goldstein, Leo Meyerson, Dr. Sol Kutler, the late Norman A. Cherniss, Eugene L. Telpner, and Jack Edward Brown.
Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:51 p.m. Reservations are due today for the Sisterhood Donor Event scheduled for Nov. 18. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 10 a.m. (call the office for schedule); Kiddush is sponsored by Ira and Sheila Priluck to honor and thank everyone who has provided hospitality to and who has studied with their son, Jacob; Mincha, 12:34 p.m.; Suedat Shlishit, 5 p.m. with Gemara class; Havdalah, 5:52 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Nebras-Kallah Rabbinic Conference runs through Tuesday; Travelin’ Toddlers KinderMusik program, 5 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6 p.m.; Reservations needed; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. MONDAY: Nebras-Kallah Lunch and Learn, noon with Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, is open to the community. Reservations needed for the $5 lunch. TUESDAY: Nebras-Kallah Dinner, 6 p.m., followed by discussion, “What Have You Done for Me Lately? A Discussion of What Congregants Want in a Rabbi and What Rabbis Want in Congregants,” 7 p.m. Reservations needed for the $12 adult/$6 child dinner. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbi Dan Friedman, participant in this year’s Rabbinic Exchange Program, will speak at 7:30 p.m., “Like a Cabalist: The Meeting of Kabbalah and Christianity Through the Ages.”
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; K’tantan (K-2), 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Beth El; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:55 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Living Hebrew, 10 a.m., with Susi FrydmanLevin; “The Weekly Parasha: It’s All About Me?!,” 10 a.m., led by Andy Greenberg; “Jewish Pot Pourri,” 11 a.m., led by Frydman-Levin. NASHIR CHOIR: On Sundays, 11 a.m. to noon, led by Emily Meyer. Open to the community ages 14 and up. THURSDAYS, noon: Rabbi Levin leads “Getting More Out of Prayer: Insights Into the Siddur.” Open to the community. WOMEN’S BOOK GROUP: Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., at the synagogue; all women in the Jewish community are welcome and may join at any time. MOTHERS CIRCLE: Monthly class for non-Jewish mothers raising Jewish children, continues Tuesday, Dec. 5, 78:30 p.m. and is open to the community, free of charge, For information, contact Judy Rubin, 498.0904 or eddir@bethelomaha.org. THE ART OF JEWISH PAPER CUTTING: Continues Thursday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m., and continues every Thursday night during Nov. except Thanksgiving. HAZAK LUNCH 'N' LEARN: Saturday, Nov. 11, following services. Paul Cohen, retired Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force, is the featured speaker. For more information, call Natalie Rubin at 334.5893, or Gloria Goodman, 333.3351. GREAT PLAINS HANUKKAH CONCERT: Sunday, Nov. 19, 4 p.m., at Beth El.
BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha University presents Mishpacha Mornings, 10 a.m. – Noon. A wholesome, fun family breakfast and interactive learning experience for parents and chil-
dren up to age five. For more information contact 391.7640, email TippiM@aol.com or visit www.ochabad.com. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Women of Worth Prayer Circle-Tehillim & More, 9 a.m. Kabbalah WEDNESDAY: Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. Chabad Women of Worth Auxiliary Celebrates Shabbat, Friday, Nov. 17, 4:40 p.m. Join us for an evening of joy, camaraderie and a Shabbat feast. All events and programs are open to the community. For information or to register, call 330.1800 or visit www. Ochabad.com.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 2-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; K-1, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; LJCS Board, 1 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; In celebration of Jewish Book Month, come for an Evening of Jewish Poetry, 7 p.m. read by Hilda Raz and Jehanne Dubrow at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: LJCS Hebrew class (grades 2-8), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m., led by Marti Nerenstone and Beyt Shalom Congregation.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, and Cantor Wendy Shermet will lead the service; D’var Torah by Dr. Richard Freund, “Did the Exodus Happen? Observations form Archaeology.” SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9-10:15 a.m. Four week study on The Life of David by Robert Pinsky; Shabbat
Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Anna Eirinberg, daughter of Teresa and Lewis Eirinberg, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Teacher Learning Coffee, 9 a.m.; Religious School (K-6), 10 a.m.-noon.; Grade 6 Parents’ Meeting, 11 a.m. Rabbi Azriel, Cantor Shermet, and Elyce Azriel will share issues vital to a meaningful B’nai Mitzvah experience for the whole family. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 46 p.m.; Scrapbook Club, 5 p.m.; Family School, 6-8 p.m.; All School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Grades 712, 6-8 p.m. LIFELONG LEARNING SUNDAY: Your Story...Many Stories...One Congregational Tapestry, 10 a.m. This workshop explores art materials and the possibilities of creating the Temple tapestry one block at a time. TUESDAY: Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30–8 p.m.; “Big Love,” 7 p.m. with Rabbi Azriel. THURSDAY, Nov. 16: Adult Study with the Clergy with Rabbi Azriel, 10-11:30 a.m.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 5 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY and THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by a light oneg. SATURDAY: Weekly Parashah class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 2-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; K-1, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; USY meeting, 12:15 p.m. at the synagogue; Congregation B’Nai Jeshurun will present An Evening of Jewish Poetry, 7 p.m. read by Hilda Raz and Jehanne Dubrow. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; LJCS Hebrew class (grades 2-8), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Professor Jean Cahan will teach an adult education class entitled “Maimonides’ 13 Principles (of Faith)” on Sunday Nov. 19 and 26, 3-4 p.m. in the synagogue lounge.
B’NAI MITZVAH David Glazer, son of Jordana and Jim Glazer, will become Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Temple Israel. David is a seventhgrade student at Westside Middle School. His interests include soccer, basketball, golf, music and mult-media.
For his mitzvah project, David assisted with various Jewish Family Services projects. He has a sister, Emily. Grandparents are Phyllis and Dick Glazer, and Fern and Arie Eisner of Columbia, MD.
Noam Margalit, daughter of Eyal and Ruti Margalit, will become Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Beth El. Noam is an eighthgrade Principal’s Honor Roll student at Beveridge Middle School. She is in the Gifted/ Talented Program.
Her interests include tennis, volleyball, astronomy, cooking, and reading. She has two sisters, Tal and Doron. Grandparents are Israel Margalit of Haifa, Israel, and the late Sara Margalit, and Tzila and Israel Stashefsky of Kibbutz Sasa, Israel.
Pulverente MONUMENT CO.
November 10, 2006
How God Appears to Man
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Vayera Our Sidra has a number of striking stories. One of them probably had its origin in an ancient earthquake or some other geologic event near the Dead Sea. It resulted in the story in our Sidra of two visitors bringing to Abraham the news that the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah was near at hand. And it gave the Bible the opportunity to tell of the negotiation by Abraham to redeem the cities from destruction--if only a limited number of righteous people were there. Included is the famous story of the pillar of salt to which Lot’s curious wife was convicted because she dared to disobey the command not to look back on the destruction. We have also the story of Abraham’s wife Sarah and
DEATHS HAROLD GOODMAN Harold Goodman died Oct. 31 at the age of 78. Services were held Nov. 3 at Beth El Cemetery. He is survived by his sons, Tom, Mike and Bruce Goodman; daughter-in-law, Denise Novak; brother, Danny Goodman; granddaughters, Betsy and Sydney Goodman. Memorials to the Nebraska Humane Society. DR. ARTHUR A. SPAR Former Omahan Dr. Arthur A. Spar died Nov. 4 of a brain aneurysm in Palo Alto, CA. He was 92. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska College of Medicine, he practiced as an ear, nose and throat physician in Palo Alto, after a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He is survived by his wife, Alice; son, Dr. Jon Spar of Albuquerque, NM; son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Camille Spar; grandchildren, Ben and Malena Spar, all of Woodside, CA; sisters, Bess Brodkey, Esther Graetz, Rae Gimpel of Camarillo, CA, and Shirley Greenberger of Northfield, IL. Memorials to charity of choice.
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Abimelch, a local chieftain. But Sarah is returned to Abraham unharmed. The story also is included of Hagar and Ishmael, an adjunct to the story of the birth of Isaac. Muslim tradition has it the other way--that the birth of Ishmael was important and the birth of Isaac an incidental accompaniment. This carries, too, to the Muslim version of what is a most important Biblical story--the Akedah. Here the point is made that there is no limitation to the demand that God may make on His worshippers. It may even require the offer of one’s own son. I remember once discussing this with a group of Protestant women. They said that there is no way they could be persuaded to offer a son. I reminded them that they did it with open heart. This was shortly after the time of World War II. I said that every woman who sent her son off to war and the possibility of mortal harm was doing the same thing. The explanation was, “For God and country.” The Akedah has reverberated in Jewish life and history as an example of God’s demands and man’s willingness to sacrifice his most precious things, including life.
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Bearing Witness Program Slated for This Weekend by BETH SELDIN DOTAN Director, ADL Institute for Holocaust Education The Plains States Region office of Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Institute for Holocaust Education have partnered with the Archdiocese of Omaha and its Catholic Schools Office for the second time to host the nationally acclaimed Holocaust education program “Bearing Witness: Anti-Semitism, The Holocaust and Contemporary Issues,” Nov. 11-14. Bearing Witness focuses on the history of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, addressing issues of diversity, prejudice, and bigotry in contemporary society and how to teach these topics in a Catholic school setting. Since its inception in 1997, the program has touched the lives of hundreds of educators around the country and was cited by the Vatican. This year, 28 Archdiocesan Catholic educator participants from Omaha, Norfolk and surrounding areas will learn techniques that bring Catholics and Jews together. Father James Gilg, superintendent of the Catholic Schools, added, “The goals of the conference are very important, particularly to the teachers of middle and high school students. The experiences they will encounter will provide them with a better understanding of the Holocaust. This will, in turn, greatly enhance their instruction to their students.”
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CORRECTION Charlotte Bernstein’s name was inadvertantly omitted from the caption under the photo, The Women of Offutt, on page 12 of last week’s Jewish Press. The Press regrets the error.
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Extra! Extra! Beth El Enjoys Some Good ‘Babaganewz’
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A group of Jewish religious-school teachers from the metro area was recently treated to a visit by Lisa Mickley, Director of Education for Babaganewz, a national Jewish children’s magazine geared for students in grades four through seven. During a faculty workshop at Beth El Synagogue, Mickley explained to teachers how they could best utilize the magazine in their classrooms. According to Beth El Education Director Judy Rubin, each issue of Babaganewz is centered on a Jewish value; the magazine also offers information about current events, Jewish celebrities and Israel, as well as games, puzzles, quizzes and Torah verses. Taking part in the teacher-training session were, front row: Judy Rubin, left, Lisa Mickley, Friedel Jewish Academy Principal Cookie Katskee, Eve Randone, and Deborah Kronick; back row: Naama Arzi, Maya Wertheimer, Susan Paley, Margo Riekes, Eadie Tsabari, and Annelise Ocanto. Not pictured: Beyt Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation’s Principal Jenni Shlossman.
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by HOWARD SILBER for VIsions Visionnaires found familiar faces during their tour of Girls and Boys Town. Both Louise Abrahamson, volunteer manager of the Clothesline, a shop for residents of the celebrated institution, and Betty Rubin, her volunteer assistant, are Visions members. The shop offers brand new clothing---no hand-me-downs---and sundries to the youngsters who make their home on the large campus directly west of the Jewish Community Center. Louise stocks the well-appointed shop with merchandise she obtains free of charge from manufacturers and distributors. Harry Alloy, left, Peggy Chasen, Sandy Fuder (Abrahamson’s helper), Sally Masnek, Louise Abrahamson, Betty Rubin, Rosalie and Maurice Meiches were among those who visited.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 10, 2006
JFS Partners with Local Agency on Behalf of Darfur Refugees by SHARON BARGAS JFS Program Coordinator Caring for Jewish individuals and families in need is a tradition of Jewish Family Service (JFS) and has been so for 95 years. In keeping with its mission, the agency has partnered with Heartland Refugee Resettlement and Temple Israel to provide aid to refugees in Omaha. Mimi Silverman, chairman of the refugee task force for Temple Israel, approached JFS, realizing a partnership would be a win-win situation for everyone involved. Temple Israel recently established a relationship with Heartland Refugee Resettlement in an attempt to provide assistance for refugees. According to Laura Green, MSW, Heartland Refugee Resettlement, there are 10,000 refugees from Sudan now living in Omaha. Many come with few personal belongings and without a strong understanding of the language. They have difficulties supporting themselves and their families. “I know people contact JFS and wish to donate furniture because I did it myself with our old bedroom set,” says Silverman. “I became aware that JFS does not have the space to store furniture or clothing; therefore they
trition and disease, and a new famine is feared. advised that I donate it to another organization.” According to Silverman, “there is always a need for According to reports by the World Food Program, essential household items such as furniture for the United Nations, and the Coalition for International kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom for resettled Justice, 400,000 people have died in Darfur to date. “I am hoping that an open dialogue among these refugees.” As a result of this new partnership, donations three organizations can lead from the Jewish community to further relationship buildon behalf of refugees can be picked up by Heartland ing,” says Silverman. “How Refugee Resettlement. proud would our grandpar“JFS has a role to play in ents be to know that we made a difference in the lives providing support to these of new immigrants? I am refugees,” says Karen sure many of them could Gustafson, JFS Director. “It just makes good sense to have have used help when they JFS assist in providing aid by came to this country!” facilitating donations from For information on donatthe Jewish community.” ing to refugees from Africa, According to Silverman, contact JFS at 330.2024. the humanitarian, security To join the task force or for and political situation in Working together to help new refugees from Sudan are: information, contact Mimi Darfur continues to deterio- Mimi Silverman, left, Jeff Vandenberg, Program Manager, Silverman at 932.6626 or rate; people are dying in Laura Green, Volunteer Coordinator, and Abukar Madimba, via e-mail: Mimitaffet@ cox.net. large numbers from malnu- case worker for Heartland Refugee Resettlement.
Avi8ors Fly High at Jewish Senior Services’ Community Concert by ANDREA BARTMAN The Avi8ors Ensemble was foundfor JSS/RBJH ed in 1999 by its director, Bob Patriotism and flags were Moser, born of his love for the histounfurled last month when ry, the people and the music of the Jewish Senior Services and the World War II era. In his own words, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home “We owe so much to the patriotic hosted a concert by the and unselfish people of this era. At Avi8ors, a local ensemble the very least, we need to preserve group made up of five vocalthis wonderful music and remember ists and a backup trio. The the sacrifices they made for us, both AVI8ORS blended choreogon the frontlines and in the support raphy, humor, and dialog with effort on the home front.” the music to give the perThis concert was sponsored by formance a “USO Show” feel Deborah Greene, Silvia and Larry for the enjoyment of RBJH RBJH Resident Sue Serlin, left, enjoys meeting Roffman and grandchildren in memresidents and members of the Diane Emanuel, a member of the Avi8ors group. ory of Dr. Arthur M. Greene (1910community. The singers performed in authentic WWII uni- 2002), a flight surgeon for the Army Air Corp from forms and stay as true to the period as possible. May, 1941-Nov.,1945. Silvia Roffman says of her father,
“He was always so proud of serving in the military and very proud of this country. He was very patriotic, and he certainly passed that on to all of us.” Community concerts are part of the outreach services offered by JSS and the Blumkin Home. Adds Roffman, “We love to do it because the music is great, and the people really enjoy it. The music always is stirring, and it’s a wonderful evening.” Interest in the Blumkin Home goes back many years for the Greene and Roffman families. “Mother and Dad… have been interested in assisting the Home with anything that will increase knowledge or education or assist the nursing staff, among other things.” The Avi8ors mission is to keep alive musical memories and to honor the sacrifices made by the men and women of this great country in the WWII era. The group provides live performances of a wide range of songs from the 30s and 40s to entertain and inspire a diverse audience.
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Your color drawing could be on the front of our Hanukkah Gift Guide! Use color markers or crayons to create your drawing on an 8.5X11 piece of white paper. Fill out the form below, attach it to the back and send or bring it to the Jewish Press, 333 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. The deadline is November 28, 2006. This drawing by Julia Edelstein won her a gift certificate last year.
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