Vol. LXXXIX No. 10 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
3 Kislev 5770
November 20 2009 2 Sections
Obama shifts to Israel’s For 2009 Cantor’s Scholarship Concert Local thespians take center stage as Beth El corner, but tries not to show it presents Broadway’s “Children of Eden” by URIEL HEILMAN WASHINGTON (JTA) -- When the White House chief of staff took to the podium at the federations’ General Assembly to call for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without preconditions, he sounded almost exactly like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier. “All issues should be resolved through negotiations,” Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday to delegates at the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual meeting. “No one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the overarching goal of lasting peace.” On Nov. 9, Netanyahu used the GA podium to appeal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table. Continued on page 3
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama, met at the White House in May 2009. They met again in private prior to the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. White House Photo by Lawrence
Cohen, Jim Fried, Lisa Senal, Dacia Jabenis, Andy by JILL BELMONT Greenberg, Jason Rich, Lisa Lieb, Holly Weill, Sarah Beth El Publicity Coordinator A bit of Broadway will visit Beth El next month, as the Kutler, Matan Shapiro, Macklin Emas, Eliana Schuller, synagogue presents a rousing production of the popular Alex Pichik, Geordi Gonzales, Sugar Kronick, Chloe musical, “Children of Eden,” as its 2009 Cantor’s Ray, Aliyah Jabenis, Elissa Wiener, Jessica Shandell, Scholarship Concert. The performances, scheduled for Maxine Noodell, Jack Cohen, Eleanor Dunning, Lillian Saturday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13, 1 Cohen, David Kay, Dina Saltzman, Grant Jabenis, Ben p.m., will transform the sanctuary into a colorful stage. Snyder, Daisy Friedman and Joey Hoffman. Talented members of the Jewish community will be “Members and non-members alike have joined to showcased, singing and dancing their way through selec- bring this timeless and powerful story to the greater tions featuring pop-rock, gospel, jazz and Caribbean- Omaha community,” she noted, adding that, style music. “Children of Eden” is an entertaining musical, highlighted by songs composed by the creator of “Wicked” -- Stephen Schwartz. The show’s storyline is based on the Book of Genesis, from Creation through the Book of Noah. “It’s a wonderfully entertaining play for audiences of all ages,” said Beth El Cantor Beth Schlossberg, the show’s director. “The decision to bring ‘Children of Eden’ to Beth El was a very easy one,” explained the Can- Cantor Beth Schlossberg ( with her back to camera), leads a rehearsal of her cast members, tor.“It has proven as they prepare for next month’s performances of the Broadway musical, “Children of Eden.” extremely popular with audiences everywhere, and is “‘Children of Eden’ is upbeat and humorous, yet is being presented following the recent successful visit of poignant enough to remind us of the wonders of our the touring show, ‘Wicked,’ at the Orpheum Theater. biblical heritage. So come join us on the 12th or 13th But more than that, the story we have here has its roots to re-live some of humanity’s most famous stories in tales we all know well: creation, Adam and Eve, Cain through this beautiful musical.” and Abel, and Noah and his family.” A dessert reception will follow each performance. Adding that “A show such as this really brings out the The show’s ticket prices and categories follow*: best in a community and that is exactly what has hap- Executive Director, $5,000 and above (eight tickets); pened here at Beth El.” Cantor Schlossberg applauded Executive Producer, $2,500-4,999 (six tickets); the many people who have come together to make this Director, $1,000-2,400 (four tickets); Producer, $500production a reality, including cast members Jeff 999 (four tickets); Benefactor, $250-499 (two tickets); Taxman, Jordan B. Feinstein, Michael Uehling, Karen Continued on page 2
Author of ‘Girls from Ames’ wraps up Jewish Book Month Chanu-kids celebration means fun for the kids, too by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education Jeffrey Zaslow, best-selling author and award winning columnist, makes a first time stop in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m. in the JCC Auditorium as part of the Kripke Jewish Federation Library’s 36th Annual Jewish Book Month. Zaslow currently writes a column for the Wall Street Journal called “Moving On”, focusing on major life transitions. “Moving On” was named best general interest column by The National Society of Newspaper Columnists. His popularity and national exposure really took off as each of his last three books spent multiple weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. His second national bestseller and the focus of his Jewish Book Month visit is
Inside
The Girls from Ames, a tribute to the extraordinary bonds of women and the power and value of female friendships. “I’ve always written stories about what’s in people’s hearts. That’s what fascinates me and, I think, that’s what touches other people,” said Zaslow. His climb to literary success occurred in a most remarkable way. As a young writer at the Journal in the mid-80’s, Zaslow wrote a front-page feature about a competition to replace Ann Landers, the celebrated advice columnist, at the Chicago Sun-Times. He entered the contest to get a great angle for his story and won the job, beating out more than 12,000 other applicants! As the new “Ann Landers”, Zaslow became a popular fixture in Chicago during the next 14 years. He received
This Week: Hanukkah Special Section starts on Page 21
See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 16
B’nai B’rith hosts climate expert: Page 2
numerous awards, including the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, for using his column to support non-profit programs benefitting over 47,000 disadvantaged children. He raised millions of dollars for Chicago charities and his annual charity singles party, “Zazz Bash”, drew 7,000 readers a year, resulting in 78 marriages! His latest book, Highest Duty, written with Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger, is now number six on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list. It chronicles the events surrounding Captain Sullenberger’s successful emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in New York’s Hudson River in January, 2009, saving the lives of 155 passengers and crew. Continued on page 2
Coming Next Month: Business Guide on Dec. 4 UNO professor writes home about Ukraine experience: Pages 8-9
Recipes for Thanksgiving: Page 23 and for Hanukkah: Page 24
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
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Jewish Book Month Continued on page 2 “I always look for the pieces of people’s lives that are not public. In Capt. Sullenberger’s case, it’s all about the moments of his life that led him to have the integrity, character and smarts to land a plane in the Hudson. So, even though the flight was only five minutes, his story is a lot more than that because of who he is,” said Zaslow. Zaslow is perhaps most well known for co-writing the international bestseller The Last Lecture. He had the good fortune to attend the late Professor Randy Pautsch’s now legendary lecture and was so moved, he wrote a column that helped fuel worldwide interest in it. The 2008 book spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The lecture’s inspirational messages hit home with the author himself. “I try to remember that the most important things are not the awards, the TV appearances, or the books sold, it’s the relationship with your family. I try to keep that in mind,” he said. “Mr. Zaslow’s popularity is completely understandable. He has the unique ability to write about the best in human nature in a heartwarming way,” said Annette VandeKamp, Kripke Library Committee Chairman. “His books showcase people with true strength of character --possessing courage, wisdom, perseverance and compassion. His appearance is sure to make for an inspirational evening,” A book signing session will begin immediately following Zaslow’s talk. He will be available to sign personal copies of The Last Lecture, Highest Duty and The Girls from Ames, the latter of which is available for purchase in the Kripke Library. All would make great Hanukkah gifts! For more information on any Jewish Book Month event, please call 334.6462.
“Chanu-Kids” means fun for kids, too by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education Enjoy Hanukkah fun at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library’s Fourth Annual “Chanu-Kids” party on Sunday Dec. 6, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Chanu-Kids is a free event just for kids, preschool through third grade. Afternoon activities include a balloon artist, a Chanukah sing-a-long with Emily Meyers, crafts, and of course, yummy treats! Parents and grandparents (aunts, uncles and friends, too!) will have the opportunity to browse the incredible selection of used books for sale. That Sunday is also Kripke Library Day at area Barnes and Noble Bookstores. Pick up a Book Fair voucher at the Kripke Library and when you shop at Barnes & Noble on Dec. 6, the library will receive 20% of your total sale. (Correction: An earlier article in the Press and the Jewish Book Month brochure that states Barnes and Noble patrons will receive a discount that day. The Library staff apologizes for this error). Jewish Book Month is presented by the Center for Jewish Education through the Kripke Library and is sponsored in part by the Special Donor Advised Fund. For information on any Jewish Book Month event, please call 334.6462 or email gkatz@jewishomaha.org.
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“Children of Eden” Continued from page 1 Sponsor, $100-249 (two tickets); Patron, $50-99 (two tickets); adult, $18; children, $10. (*All donors of $500 or more will also receive a complimentary CD from the show.) Order forms are available at www.bethel-omaha.org, or in the office; Tickets may also be reserved by calling 492.8550, or by e-mailing programming@bethelomaha.org or reception@bethel-omaha.org; or at the door. The event is being chaired by Alan and Carol Parsow; Shane Kotok serves as the scholarship chairman. The annual concert benefits Beth El’s Youth Scholarship Program, which provides opportunities to attend Jewish summer camps, visit Israel or attend Jewish youth conventions. It has been made possible in part with funding from the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation, the Special Donor Advised Fund of the Federation Foundation and Beth El Sisterhood.
B’nai B’rith hosts climate expert
by GARY JAVITCH Special to the Jewish Press Dr. Henry Pollack, world-renowned scientist and expert on climate change, will present a public lecture, “A World Without Ice: the Human Impact on Climate Change.” The free lecture coincides with the publication of Pollack’s new book of the same name and deals with the meaning and consequences of the rapid melting of the polar caps, glaciers, and mountain snow packs, which have global impact. The program is sponsored by the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, on Tuesday evening, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center. “Dr. Pollack has a unique ability to make the very serious issue of climate change understandable to lay persons who may not have any scientific background on the subject,” according to Steve Riekes, Lodge trustee. The native Omahan was recently inducted into the Central High School Alumni Hall of Fame and several years ago appeared in Omaha as the guest lecturer in the annual series established by Richard Holland. About his book, the president of the National Academy of Sciences remarked, “To write a book as educational, insightful, and readable as ‘A World Without Ice’ required someone with a 40-year record of leading research on the physics of Earth, its climate, and its ice -- and the literary talent of Henry Pollack.” Former Vice President Al Gore wrote the introDr. Henry Pollack duction to the book, which will be available for sale and autographs on Tuesday. A professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan. Dr. Pollack participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. “This climate lecture is part of our series of public information programs,” stated Jenny Gordon, B’nai B’rith secretary. “Like our weekly Wednesday Breadbreakers lunch series, the presentation is free and covers a serious issue in the news and ways to deal with it.” For additional information, please call 334.6443.
Winners of Press Hanukkah art contest announced
by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press This year’s first place winner of the annual Hanukkah art contest, sponsored by the Jewish Press, wins a pair of tickets to Little House on the Prarie, the Musical, a new musical based on the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder series of classic American books, Jan. 12-17, 2010, at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater, presented by Omaha Performing Arts and Broadway Across America. Isaac Ferber, the 11-year-old son of Dr. Jenni Schlossman and Jeff Ferber, is the winner; his color artwork is on the cover of the Hanukkah section, page 21. He is a sixth-grader at Hillside Elementary School. The second and third place winners will receive annual memberships to the Omaha Children’s Museum. They are Harper Gordman, a second-grader at Friedel Jewish Academy, the daughter of Jeff and Danielle Gordman, and Gabrielle Hoberman, age 7, a student at Ezra Elementary school, the daughter of Tiffany Hoberman. Submissions were received from students at area synagogues and Friedel.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. The Press will also will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 1 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment.
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Obama shifts to Israel’s corner
Continuedfrom page 1 “Let us seize the moment to reach an historic agreement; let us begin talks immediately,” Netanyahu said. Palestinian Authority leaders say they will not negotiate unless Israel commits to a full settlement freeze. To some extent, the Obama administration is to blame for the intransigence; the Palestinians adopted that position only once the Obama administration insisted earlier this year that Israel commit to a full freeze. U.S. administration officials have since tempered their position, praising the concessions Netanyahu is willing to make on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank. During a visit to Jerusalem a week and a half ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Israel’s concessions “unprecedented.” Speaking at a joint news conference with Netanyahu, Clinton said, “What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements which he has just described - no new starts for example -- is unprecedented in the context of prior to negotiations.” The U.S. position shift, while pleasing Israel, has angered many in the Arab world and left the Palestinian leadership in a difficult spot. If Palestinian leaders give up their insistence for a full settlement freeze before returning to negotiations, they will be seen as betraying the cause. If they hold firm, peace talks will remain stalled. The convergence of the Israeli and U.S. positions on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations comes amid some concern about the Obama-Netanyahu relationship. Their meeting Nov. 9 was under unusual circumstances, taking place well past
the time Netanyahu could exploit a hand- Israel -- a high-profile meeting with the shake with Obama for Israel’s evening Israeli leader followed by a joint news news back home -- and there wasn’t even conference could only do harm. a public handshake. In a rare move, the Thus, in his GA speech, Emanuel at White House skipped both the standard once tried to assure the Jewish audience quick photo op before the meeting and that the bond between the U.S. and the post-meeting Q & A session with Israeli administrations remained strong reporters. while still making clear that the United Few specifics emerged from the meet- States is pressing Israel to make concesing. Obama and Netanyahu spoke alone sions to the Palestinians. for an hour of the 100-minute meeting, Emanuel went to great lengths to make and afterward the case for Netanyahu Obama’s uncharacteristisupport of cally canceled Israel, nothis traditional ing the briefing for the “unbr eakIsraeli press able” U.S.corps. Emanuel I s r a e l i called the meetbond. But ing “positive” both he and but offered litAlan Solow, tle elaboration. the chairThe unusual man of the circumstances White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel addressed dele- Conference of the meeting gates at the annual General Assembly of the Jewish of Presireflect the pre- Federations of North America in Washington, Nov. 10. He dents of dicament faced stood in for President Barack Obama, who flew to Ft. Hood, M a j o r by both sides. TX, instead to speak at the memorial service for 13 soldiers A m e r i c a n It would have killed and 41 wounded. A Muslim psychiatrist reportedly J e w i s h been unseemly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before unloading two semi-automat- O rg a n i z a for Netanyahu, ics on the soldiers being processed at the base. He was tions and a who was going brought down by an army policewoman. backer of Credit: Robert A. Cumins/Jewish Federations O b a m a to be in of North America from Washington for the the General Assembly, to swing through launch of his political career in the midtown without having an audience with 1990s, also spoke of natural “differences the U.S. president. But with the Obama and discussions” between the two govadministration trying to downplay its ernments. shift toward the Israeli position on Israeli“Unilateral actions should be avoided Palestinian peace talks -- Clinton was and cannot dictate the outcome,” forced to make an unscheduled trip to Emanuel said. He added that “negotiaCairo last week to allay Arab fears that tions must address permanent-status Washington was easing the pressure on issues: borders, refugees and Jerusalem.”
Israeli officials do not want to negotiate over Jerusalem and the right of return to Israel of Palestinian refugees. The cancellation of Obama’s planned GA speech on Nov. 10 did not appear to be part of any calculated strategy; the president changed his plans to attend a memorial service in Texas for victims of the Fort Hood shooting rampage. Once the scheduling change was made, the White House put together a reception for Jewish leaders on Monday evening. Obama came but he did not talk foreign policy. Instead, he gave a 20-minute discussion on Jewish values of charity and the importance of health care reform. In his New York Times column over the prior weekend, Thomas Friedman suggested that the president withdraw from Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking until the parties themselves are ready to come to the negotiating table. But in a broad-ranging interview on Nov. 10 on “The Charlie Rose Show” on PBS, Clinton made it clear the Obama administration intends to stay involved. “They want us to be engaged, to be leading, both by example and through engagement,” she said of the Israelis and Palestinians. “As complicated and as difficult as they might be, we have to be there, we have to be working. “Now we may be more engaged or less engaged, depending upon our assessment. We may leave the parties to themselves for periods of time and stand on the sidelines, or we may be intensely working with them. That’s a calibration. But the overall fact is the United States must be present.”
Bureau chief Ron Kampeas and staff writer Eric Fingerhut contributed to this report from Washington.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
During new monthly program Beth El youngsters say Shalom! to Shabbat
about Say Shalom to Shabbat was the glow sticks, by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator because it was fun to say the blessings with the lights A new, creative program at Beth El is offering children off.” His mom, Linda, says she likes “how the kids could the chance to welcome Shabbat in kid-friendly fashion, express concepts that reflect the thoughts of elementary school children. The kids could participate in the service once a month at the synagogue. “Say Shalom! to Shabbat” was introduced to the com- by reading, answering more complex questions and munity earlier this fall, and has garnered rave reviews. enjoying a quieter, more age-appropriate experience The program is geared to children in first grade and with their peers.” With this new program, Beth Slovut said she is pleased older, and takes place at 6 p.m., the same time as the synagogue’s Tot Shabbat service as well as the adult Kabbalat that each of her three children has an age-appropriate way Shabbat service, allowing family members of all ages the to celebrate Shabbat at Beth El. “Once a month,” she said, opportunity to celebrate “our family heads to Beth El Shabbat in a variety of meanon a Friday night, then we ingful ways. “Say Shalom,” split up in three directions: open to all children in the Simon, 3, goes with either Jewish community, is faciliMom or Dad to Tot Shabbat; tated by Susi Frydman-Levin, Heather, 8, goes to Say who enjoys connecting with Shalom! to Shabbat; and the young attendees. Josie, 10, goes to half an hour “I was a Judaic Studies of the regular service with teacher in a Jewish day either Mom or Dad. school in Buenos Aires for “We had been regular Tot more than 12 years,” she Shabbat attendees since Josie said. “Leading this program started walking,” Slovut is a great opportunity to be explained, “and it wouldn’t around sweet, funny and Susi Frydman-Levin, seated center, creates a warm, inviting have been right to not concharming kids again. I enjoy atmosphere for her Say Shalom! to Shabbat youngsters and tinue this tradition for doing it and letting them their parents by gathering in a cozy little nook of the religious Simon; however, since Josie school hallway. The next get-together will be on Friday, Dec. 4. and Heather are so much challenge my creativity.” Each “Say Shalom” session will be new and different, older, they were starting to complain that it was embarFrydman-Levin noted, saying, “We enrich the Shabbat rassing for them to be seen at Tot Shabbat. Say Shalom! experience in a different way every time that we get togeth- to Shabbat makes it okay for Heather to go with our er. The children and I need to feel that each time that they family to synagogue on these nights and participate in come to Say Shalom! to Shabbat, something new will hap- group Shabbat activities without having to endure the pen. It can be by wearing their favorite hat, a red T-shirt, grown-up services. Say Shalom to Shabbat is very kidor being surprised with glow-in-the-dark bracelets.” friendly without being too babyish.” Parents and participants are singing praises of the new At the end of the program, the older children join Tot program, among them, Melissa Schop, whose daughter, Shabbat families for dinner in the West Court. Cost is $5 Sarah attends. Sarah, 9, says she likes it because, “I don’t for reservations made by the Wednesday prior to the have to do all the baby stuff with the little kids, and I get program; after that, it’s $10. There is no charge for chilto learn new things that are interesting for the big kids. dren ages six and younger. The next dinner is scheduled Also, it makes Shabbat special because Mrs. Levin always for Friday, Dec. 4; reservations may be made by conhas a surprise for us and I look forward to that.” Melissa tacting Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, added that, “I like it because it is a great way to keep or at programming@beth el-omaha.org. Frydman-Levin encouraged families to make plans to both my kids engaged and enthusiastic about Shabbat services, even with the age and developmental disparity. join in the monthly Shabbat festivities, saying, “Judaism Sarah used to complain about coming to Tot Shabbat sanctifies the time, not space. Shabbat can be a day like with us because she said she already knew all the answers. any other or we can make it different and meaningful for Now she looks forward to coming on Friday nights. It is ourselves and our families. At Beth El, parents and kids get together: we sing, we laugh, we learn new prayers, a perfect way to spend Shabbat together as a family.” Second grader Ari Saltzman is also a fan of Say learn the Shabbat blessings and we enjoy welcoming the Shalom! to Shabbat. He shared that, “What I liked most Shabbat in wonderfully meaningful ways.”
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IN THE NEWS
Yonah Meir Emanuel, grandson of Judge Sam and Judy Cooper, completed the New York Marathon on Nov. 1, with a time of three hours, 49 minutes. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the son of former Omahan Ronna Cooper Emanuel and Mark Emanuel, also of Johannesburg.
In the fall of 2007, Barb Widman organized a handful of caregivers to support each other during their journeys through Alzheimer’s disease. She realized the need for continued support when the Midlands Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association could no longer continue to be of assistance to them. By obtaining professional speakers and doing research, she gathered information to help guide the primary supporting family member through the maze of issues that are thrust upon the caregiver. (Issues pertaining to financial, insurance, legal, medical, in-home care and nursing home care are unlike that of a deceased spouse.) The group shared their experiences and soon became an avenue for others to share their concerns about living with a loved one affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Two years later, the group of 22 continues to meet weekly and this year decided to enter the Annual Alzheimer’s Memory Walk naming themselves “The 4Get Me Nots” The team raised $12,000, far exceeding their expectations. The funds go toward support, care, programming and training, education and research, and increased awareness of this insidious disease. Alzheimer’s patients need advocates. For more information or to make a donation, call Widman at 697.8569 or the Alzheimer’s Assocation at 502.4300.
Since 1983, more than 1,500 retirees from the U.S. and Canada have skipped the classic ritual of heading to Florida for the winter, choosing instead to spend the season in Israel on Canadian/American Active Retirees in Israel (CAARI) volunteer trip, sponsored by the Jewish National Fund. JNF is currently seeking people 50 and older with a love for the land of Israel to be part of the 27th annual trip. A unique work, study, and touring program, CAARI lets participants experience Israel while giving back to their homeland, immersing themselves in local culture, and connecting with Israel’s vibrant people. The trip ranges from two to seven weeks between Jan. 10 and March 1, 2010, depending on how long participants choose to stay in Israel. Flexible dates allow participants to customize their experience to include volunteer work, educational touring or both. For more information or to register, please contact Hannah Schwartz at 212.879.9305 ext. 254 or visit http://www.caarivolunteers.com/.
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Go to www.win529.com for your chance at an extra $529 and more details. The College Savings Plan of Nebraska is a state-sponsored 529 plan and is part of the Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust.The Nebraska StateTreasurer serves asTrustee,the Nebraska Investment Council oversees the investments,and Union Bank &Trust Company serves as Program Manager.Investments in the College Savings Plan of Nebraska are not guaranteed or insured by the State of Nebraska,the Nebraska StateTreasurer,Union Bank &Trust Company,the FDIC,or any other entity. To learn about the College Savings Plan of Nebraska, its investment objectives, risks, fees, and expenses, read the Enrollment Handbook (issuer’s official statement), which is available by calling 888-993-3746 or by downloading it at www.PlanForCollegeNow.com. Check with your home state to learn whether it offers tax or other benefits for investing in its own 529 plan. 888-993-3746
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 5
Tzedakah event gets teens thinking about philanthropy
by MARY BORT for Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation “The simplest things make the biggest difference�; “Even if you give a little it helps a lot�; “I didn’t know there was so much going on in the JCC building� and “It only takes one person to help many.� These were just some of the thoughts the more than 70 teen participants shared at the end of the Jewish Federation Foundation’s B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program. The goal of the event was to get the teens thinking about what causes they are passionate about, how they share common concerns with other teens, and how they need to make thoughtful, informed decisions on how to donate money. Gail Lansky, national director of the B’nai Tzedek program facilitated the evening. “We were fortunate to have Gail in Omaha during the event,� said Janie Murow, B’nai Tzedek director. “She offered insight into activities other cities are doing, and gave the teens some terrific information about making contributions to the Omaha community.� B’nai Tzedek, is a program founded by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that now exists in more than 40 locations across the U.S. and Canada. “The Grinspoon Foundation has been around for more than 10 years,� said Lansky. “Our goal is to produce quality programming and provide funding to launch new B’nai Tzedek teen programs. Providing dollars is an incentive to communities to establish the program locally.� “I think working with teens helps produce a generation of young people who care about the world and they become a generation that is concerned with giving back,� continued Lansky. “It’s important to increase their awareness of the non-profit world.� Lansky added, “It’s not just about giving money. Giving back can also be through community service projects. And that is the type of programming we offer through B’nai Tzedek.� The event was held for teens in seventh through 12th grades. The teens brought non-food items, such as toothpaste and shampoo, to donate to the Jewish Family Service. To start the evening, the teens formed a circle and indicated their concern for others in need by stepping into the circle if, for example, they ever donated to the homeless or if they cared about others going hungry. After several areas of need were mentioned, it became evident that they all had things in common and could join together for different causes. The teens participated in a scavenger-type hunt, visiting and learning about the different agencies of the Jewish Federation. “The kids went to the offices and met with representatives of the agencies,� explained Murow. “They asked questions, learned about the missions of the agencies, found out who was served by the agencies and learned how they could help.� “I’m really excited about Omaha’s Teen Tzedakah program,� noted Lansky. “The rate of teen participation, since the inception of Omaha’s program, is great and exceeds that of some of the other programs around the country. I think it holds great promise of what’s to
come.� She added, “B’nai Tzedek is a way for teens to get involved in causes that they care about. It doesn’t take a lot of money; it requires some time, but teens have the power as individuals and as a group to really have an impact to help repair the world. Involvement in B’nai Tzedek is an investment that pays back in many ways for years to come.�
For those in 10th-12th grades, teens can participate in a youth philanthropy foundation that Murow is forming. Participants will come together to raise money that will be matched by the Foundation. They’ll ask for grant requests from local Jewish non-profits and then, as a group, decide where the money should go. “We’re grateful to the area synagogues for allowing all of the teens to attend our event that night during
Gail Lansky facilitates an activity for more than 70 teens. Students can get involved in Omaha’s B’nai Tzedek Program in a couple of different ways. For teens in seventh through ninth grades, they can establish an individual endowment fund. They donate $125, the Foundation matches it with $375, and then they have $500 to allocate until they graduate high school.
Students visit the ADL office. Hebrew high school hours.� said Murow. “It was terrific how the teens participated and really came together. I think the evening was beneficial for everyone.� For more information about Omaha’s B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program, please contact Murow at 334.6566.
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MARRIAGE
BUTCHER-ROITSTEIN Stephanie Butcher and Steve Roitstein of Portland, OR were married Aug. 30 at Congregation Beth Israel. The ceremony was followed by a dinner and dance at the Pazzo Cellar of the Hotel Vintage Plaza. Rabbi Michael Cahana and Cantor Judith Blanc Schiff officiated. The bride works as a Loan Officer for Sunset Science Park FCU. Her attendents were Lisa Gottfried (maid of honor), Carrie Roitstein, Jeanette Johnston and Shanon Lena. She is the granddaugther of Betty Cooper of Portland, OR, and late Donald Cooper. The groom, son of Debbie and Lloyd Roitstein, is a Regional Sales Manager with Forest River, Inc. serving the Pacific Northwest and regions of Canada. His attendents were his father as best man, Lloyd Pollard and Michael Goodrich. He is the grandson of Ann Roitstein and the late Dr. Morris Roitstein. Following a wedding trip to Maui, Hawaii the couple returned to their home in Portland.
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Page 6
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
A tale of two synagogues Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Hanukkah
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would pack the sanctuary on Yom Kippur simply to by RUTH ELLEN GRUBER BUDAPEST, Hungary (JTA) -- This year marks a make a statement of identity in the face of the regime’s number of momentous anniversaries: the 70th anniver- religious suppression. In 1996, it was officially reopened following a five-year sary of the outbreak of World War II; the 40th anniversary of Woodstock; the 20th anniversary of the fall of restoration that was financed largely by the newly democratic Hungarian state. communism. “This building symbolizes the survival and the contiWe use anniversaries like these to stop, step back and evaluate not just the event that’s being commemorated, nuity of the Jewish people,” Gusztav Zoltai, chairman of but also the passage of time since it happened and the the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, declared at the time. changes wrought with that passage. The Sofia synagogue was inaugurated in September In this context, two significant Jewish anniversaries 1909, nearly 50 years to the took place this fall. day after the Dohany, and The Dohany Street fulfilled a similar role. Synagogue in Budapest -Czar Ferdinand himself cut the largest synagogue in a ribbon to formally inauguEurope -- turned 150 years rate the building, whose old. And the Great huge dome, slim turrets and Synagogue in the Bulgarian lavish, Byzantine-Moorish capital of Sofia turned 100. style fit in with many other OK, they are buildings, grand buildings in downnot earth-shaking events. town Sofia. The prime minBut given the impact that ister, other government VIPs some of the other “big” and local bishops were in the anniversaries had on these crowd, too, and a procession synagogues and on what of rabbis bore Torah scrolls they represent, it’s only fitinto the sanctuary and ting to highlight their birthplaced them in the ark. days on the roster of celebra“This synagogue will contions. nect us with the past generaFor one, both are magnifitions and will tell of us to the cent buildings that stand out future ones,” the chief rabbi architecturally as important proudly told the congregacity landmarks. Partly tion 100 years ago. “May because of this, both have God bless this land which we undergone recent renovalove dearly, for the good of tions that restored them to Above: the Dohany St. Synagogue in Budapest; below: the all Bulgarians, in whose sufopulent glory after decades dome of the Great Synagogue in Sofia, which a co-chair of its ferings and joys we take an of postwar neglect. centenary celebration says “awed me with its magnificence active part.” Both also are flagships of Credit: Ruth Ellen Gruber each time I stepped inside.” faith, or at least of Jewish identity, and are survivors, too. Witnesses to the pendulum swing of tragedy and triumph that has marked Jewish history in the region, they are potent physical symbols of a proud and enduring Jewish presence. “The Dohany Synagogue is still the main synagogue of all the Jews of Hungary, the main identity place where we gather, whether we are religious or not,” said architectural historian Rudolf Klein, author of the 2008 book about the synagogue, The Great Synagogue of Budapest. As many as 90,000 Jews are believed to live in Budapest, but most are unaffiliated or totally secular. With its red-and-yellow striped facade, sumptuous decor and two tall spires topped by gilded onion domes, the Dohany is, in fact, one of the most distinctive buildings in the city and was recognized as Bulgaria’s 50,000 Jews were saved during World War such from the outset. II by the heroic action of some of the country’s leaders, Designed by the Viennese architect Ludwig von and most of them moved to Israel. Forster, it was inaugurated on Sept. 6, 1859. Old The Great Synagogue, damaged in 1944 by Allied engravings show dignitaries in shiny top hats gathered in bombing, stood neglected for decades, as Communist front of its enormous ark, a domed and gilded structure authorities unsuccessfully tried to turn it into a concert that itself is the size of a small chapel. hall. At the time, Jews had not yet achieved full civil rights Still, recalled Robert Djerassi, one of the chairmen of in Austro-Hungary. Yet the synagogue was the largest the synagogue centenary celebrations, “It was an enorhouse of worship in Budapest and probably the biggest mous domed building that awed me with its magnifisynagogue in the world. One local newspaper called it “a cence each time I stepped inside. Such a huge void: feargorgeous piece of architecture.” some, lofty, dark and mysterious!” “I like it as a Jew and as an architect,” Klein told JTA. Only a few thousand Jews live in Bulgaria today, but as “In both areas it was a breakthrough.” in Budapest, restoration of the synagogue was a priority The synagogue’s Moorish style launched a genre and after the fall of communism as a public demonstration of set the pattern for hundreds of synagogues built in later both Jewish renewal and Jewish presence in the city. years throughout Central Europe and beyond. The first stage of work was completed in 1996, the The building’s monumental scale, its prominent loca- final one this year, just in time for September’s five-day tion and its opulent ornamentation, Klein said, epito- birthday bash. mized “the optimism of 19th-century Jewry and the tolBulgarian President Georgi Parvanov served as honerant attitude of the gentile world which prevailed in the orary chairman of the gala events, echoing the high-procapital” at the time. file participation in the synagogue’s original dedication a Things, of course, changed later. During World War II century ago. I’m not sure if I found this moving or ironthe synagogue was used as a concentration camp, where ic, but I’m rather glad he chose to do so. Jews were massed before their deportation to Auschwitz. Ruth Ellen Gruber’s books include “National The graves of Holocaust victims fill the courtyard. Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern After the war, under communism, the building lan- Europe,” “Letters from Europe (and Elsewhere),” and guished for decades in a sorry state of disrepair. I vividly “Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in remember how its ceiling, held up by cables and plastic Europe.” She blogs on Jewish heritage issues at jewishsheeting, sagged perilously over the congregation that heritage-travel.blogspot.com.
November 20, 2009
Jewish Book Month: Libraries at your fingertips PEOPLE OF THE
BYTE
by MARK MIETKIEWICZ
Shhh! Can’t you see you’re in a library? It’s Jewish Book Month and you’re invited to enter some of the most wonderful Jewish libraries in the world. From Princeton to Jerusalem to cyberspace, many Jewish libraries offer online highlights of their permanent collections, usually free of charge. Today, we’ll tour some of the best libraries and find out how to visit dozens more. The Jewish National & University Library at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University has a bilingual Web site that is home to several special collections. You can examine over 250 Ancient Maps of Jerusalem from 1486 to the early 20th century. At the Songs We Love to Hear Web site, you can listen to recordings of Hebrew songs produced before the creation of the State of Israel. And there is Albert Einstein Online, over 900 digitized manuscripts from the Hebrew University’s Albert Einstein Archives which includes scans of his scientific materials, writings and travel diaries. [bit.ly/jlib01] Although most historic texts are in Hebrew, Latin or German, you can pore over several English-language books in their entirety including Pisgah-sight of Palestine by John Williams, 1650, William Francis Lynch’s Narrative of the United States’ expedition to the river Jordan and the Dead Sea, 1849 and Nat
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Kostakowsk’s International Hebrew wedding music, 1916. [bit.ly/jlib02] In order to view these books, you will need to download and install the DjVu (Get it? Déjà vu?) plug-in. I had more luck viewing these pages on a PC than a Mac. The Online Books Page lists links to 35,000 free books on the Web. I should point out that most of these works are in the public domain and won’t replace your next visit to the bookstore. If you do a search, you can narrow things down to Jewish fiction (Hungry Hearts by Anzia Yezierska, 1920) to poetry (Selected Religious Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol translated by Israel Zangwill, 1923) to mysticism (Flowing Light: Kabbalistic Mysticism and the Art of Elliot R. Wolfson by Marcia Bennan, 2008) [bit.ly/jlib03] Unlike most of the libraries mentioned above, the Jewish Virtual Library exists only in cyberspace. The library boasts 8,000 articles and 4,000 photographs and is divided into 13 “wings” including History, Women, the Holocaust, Maps and Biography. The Peace section includes documents such as the Balfour Declaration, United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and the IsraeliPalestinian Interim Agreement (“Oslo 2). [bit.ly/jlib05] The library’s “Essential Texts” contains quite an eclectic mix. Where else can you find the full text of the of Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State alongside a full English translation of the Tanach? [bit.ly/jlib06] Once you are done with those libraries, there are plenty others waiting for you.
Nancy Pressman Levy of Princeton University Library [bit.ly/jlib07] and Ethan Starr [bit.ly/jlib08] have done an incredible job amassing links to over one hundred other Jewish libraries and Archives/Research Centers throughout North America, Israel, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Finally, take a look at Wikisource for original texts like The War of the Jews by Josephus [bit.ly/jlib10] and Henry Ford’s The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem. [bit.ly/ jlib11] And there’s Mark Twain’s oftquoted essay, Concerning the Jews. First published by Harper’s Magazine in their September 1899 issue, you can read the entire 7,000-word article online. I will leave you with one of the more memorable passages. [bit.ly/jlib09] “The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; …other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based website producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be contacted at highway@rogers. com.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Little House on the Prarie, the Musical, a new musical based on the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder series of classic American books, will be presented Jan. 12-17, 2010, at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater by Omaha Performing Arts and Broadway Across America. Melissa Gilbert, who rose to fame as a child playing ‘Laura’ in the hugely successful NBC television series “Little House on the Prairie” during the 1970’s, now continues her legacy ‘on the prairie’ by taking on the role of Ma. The musical will also star Steve Blanchard as Pa and Kara Lindsay as Laura. Tickets for the Omaha engagement are now on sale and may be purchased at the Ticket Omaha Box Office in the Holland Performing Arts Center, 13th and Douglas; online at TicketOmaha.com or by calling 402.345.0606. Ticket prices range from $28 to $58. For group sales call 402.661.8516 or toll-free 866.434.8587.
The Omaha Symphony presents a “Patriotic Celebration” with conductor Michael Krajewski at the Holland Center, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m. Celebrate America at this patriotic program directed by Erich Kunzel, conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Tickets may be purchased online at TicketOmaha.com or www.omahaperby phone at formingarts.org, 866.434.8587; 402.345.0606 or in person at the Ticket Omaha Box Office at 13th and Douglas.
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Page 8
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Dinner at the Philharmonia
by RICHARD FELLMAN Editor’s note: the author, who teaches American politics at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, was granted a Fulbright award, to spend fall semester at Uzhhorod National University in western Ukraine. The Press is publishing two of his columns about his experience there and will publish an interview with his daughter, Susan Witkowski, who traveled there earlier this month. Just off the center of the downtown square in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, stands a grand hundred year old building now primarily used for concerts but once the proud synagogue of the early 20th century Jewish community of more than 17,000, which now counts less than a thousand, and only a few hundred regular participants. From a distance, in the center of the square, the old synagogue of 1906 looks much like the Great Synagogue of Budapest, though much smaller than that grand hall which can still seat some 3,000. Both buildings share the bright colors of Hungary, for Uzhhorod, located on the western slopes of the Carpathian mountains, once constituted the farthest reach of the AustroHungarian Empire and was called, by that trans-national Hapsburg government, Ungvar. Posters advertising the present city usually include photos of the old building and explain that it was once “the Jewish Synagogue” but is now a concert hall. And Menachem Mendel Taichman, Lubavitch rebbe of Uzhhorod and Transcarpathia, holds dinners there on the “simchas” he leads the Hasidic congegation in celebrating. So, after the Memorial Service preceding Rosh Hashanah he arranged a grand banquet, for all the townsfolk, visitors from far and near, traveling Hasids, and leading clergy from the former Soviet Union, among whom were Beryl Lazar, chief rabbi of Russia, and Shlomo Wilhelm, chief rabbi of Western Ukraine. Yonah Metzger, chief rabbi of Israel, planned to attend but sent a video in his place. Tables were placed in long lines and small circles in the concert hall, with a semi-circle head table for the “rabbannim.” As is the custom in Ukraine, each table was set and included bottles of water, wine, and soft drinks, and during the meal bottles of vodka were circulated for toasts. After a few introductions, and some not-so-short speeches in both Russian and Yiddish, and the mandatory toasts, a dance line formed circling the head table, while those not dancing sang and clapped. All the rebbes, including the chief rabbis, danced and sang, and danced and sang some more. The meal came in courses, bread for the motzi, salmon and red caviar, soup, fresh tomatos and cucumbers, then the main dish, a kabob of chicken and eggplant. Each course was preceded by either dancing or a speech, or both, since there was no formal program. By the time the dinner was over, and the dancing and speeches con-
cluded, everyone was ready to call the evening a success. Moti Early in the evening a man in his late 40s approached me, speaking English with an accent that sounded like home, and after introducing ourselves Moti explained he was from Israel today, where he has practiced law for over 20 years specializing in bankruptcy, but he was born and raised in Philadelphia, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and belonged to a Masorti congregation in Israel since he attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and a Jewish Day school in Philadelphia while growing up there. He made aliyah after college, spent three years in the Israeli Army (and is now a military judge) and then attended law school in Israel. His American girlfriend came to Israel to visit, “and bring me home,” he said, “but I convinced her to stay and marry me.” A small village near Uzhhorod was the shtetl home of his grandparents, and with the assistance of Rabbi Taichman he was able to find his family’s graves which he visited this year before Rosh Hashanah. And though he remains what in America is still called a Conservative Jew he thanked Chabad Rabbi Taichman for their help to him.
The former synagogue in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, now is used as a theater, concert hall and event space. Credit: Alex Zelenko. David About 60 or a little older, with a full head of beautiful white hair, David sat alone, often turning around to see who came to the dinner and where they were sitting. He looked well-to-do, as if he might have underwritten the cost of the affair. Since we had a small table for the two of us and a new young friend, Lev Livshitz, an Israeli who was part of the
Soviet immigration but has now returned to the old Soviet Union on business, we had room for him. Lev is now working on a city parking meter project for an Israeli firm doing business in Ukraine. David was born and raised in Uzhhorod, moved to Israel, and then decided to return, as did some few hundred thousand of the two and a half million Soviet immigrants to Israel. He was “in business” here, and when we told him the address of the flat we had rented, he smiled. “Just across the street from the old KGB headquarters, which is still there but with a new name,” he said. He was correct, and the Ministry of Internal Security is just around the corner from us to make sure these two Americans don’t cause trouble. The Hasids After the Memorial Service at the cemetery Rebbe Taichman and his wife, Rebbitzen Moosie, who has an American-born mother but who grew up in Israel and speaks English well with an American accent, served many in the group who returned to their home and shul an afternoon spread of vegetables and fruit, sweets and cakes, wine and vodka, ending with cabbage rolls filled with rice. There we met the Hasids. Foremost, of course, was the chief rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Beryl Lazar, a friend from their student days in New York of Rabbi Mendel Katzman of Omaha, director of Chabad of Nebraska. Also attending was Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm of Zhitomer, Ukraine, chief rabbi of Western Ukraine; two visiting Satmar rebbes, both from the States; and assorted men dressed in the black kaftans of the 1800s in Eastern Europe, now the uniform of Hasids throughout the world. Rabbi Lazar of Moscow spoke English well from his years studying in America and wanted to be remembered to Rabbi Mendel and Shani Katzman (of Chabad of Nebraska), whom he called “good friends.” The Satmars included a sophistacted American retired businessman, who spoke openly on any subject except what he did before he retired, were traveling to the graves of their ancestors and returning to the States. The Man from Rehovet Sixtyish, nicely dressed in a dark suit, able to converse easily in English and, we learned, both Ukrainian and Russian, Hungarian, and Hebrew as a sabra (native), was the man from Rehovet who grew up in Uzhhorod with parents who were both survivors. Before World War II Uzhhorod was part of Hungary and called Ungvar. Briefly during the war period, it became part of Poland, and then the USSR annexed it and after the war incorporated it into Ukraine, then one of the Soviet Socialist Republics. This man knew the history. During the 30s, Admiral Horty, president of Hungary, became a Nazi and allied Continued on page 9
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November 20, 2009
The notorious ravine of Babi Yar
Page 9
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Dinner at the Philharmonia
Continued from page 8 himself with Hitler’s Germany, but retained independence for Hungary. In doing this, he approved of anti-Semitic sanctions but refused to allow the Nazis to move Jews into ghettos or send them to the concentration camps. Late in the war, during 1944, Horty surrendered to Germany, as he wanted to end up with the victors. But the Germans entered Hungary, Eichmann was put in command, and hundreds of thousand of Hungarian Jews were sent to the camps and to their deaths. Uzhhorod was occupied by Germany. Jews were moved to a small ghetto area; smaller synagogues were closed, and Jews were killed here and also sent to the camps. One small shul, now used by Chabad, was left alone. The Gestapo guarded the passageway leading to a short dark alley and the entrance, but Jews walked from the other side of the block, through the property of a friendly non-Jew. The KGB did the same, again allowing Jews to enter and leave through the back
alleyway. No one knows why. The Old Men Tables in the old synagogue, now the Philhar-monia, were filled with older men sitting in groups of four and five, eating and drinking and obviously enjoying their time together. One man, good looking and easily in his 70s, showed me his business card. “Chief Defense Counsel, Legal Aid Bureau” it read, and he told me of his brother in Long Island, New York. “Have you been there?” he asked “I have. My brother does very well. Maybe I should have tried to stay.” Another was the president of the city’s Jewish community, a man who davened mincha on Erev Shabbat when I attended services a few days before. His Hebrew had a strong Askenasic accent to it. He carried himself with great but gentle dignity. A retired doctor, I thought. No, I found out, a retired bus driver from Soviet days. Must have been a good job for Jews during those hard years of Soviet rule when everyone’s income was pretty much the same.
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by RICHARD FELLMAN Today Babi Yar is quiet again. Mothers Today the Metro in Kyiv runs right to stroll with baby carriages. Elderly men and Babi Yar, and past it, on one of the three women sit on the benches quietly visiting. major subway routes in this capitol of Young men and women do what young Ukraine, but in 1941 Babi Yar was on the men and women do in every park wherevoutskirts of this city of some 150,000 er it might be in the world. Busy men and Jews. Local lore claims that Jews consti- women dash through the park after work, tuted some 20% of the from the bustling street city’s population. with the Metro stop By late summer, 1941, through the trails in the the German army had park to the many large conquered the western apartment buildings half of Ukraine. Nearly which stretch block after two-thirds of the Jews of block in the Soviet style. Kyiv (or Kiev in Russian), Derisively called had left and moved east, Kruschevkas, after the across the Ural mountains USSR premier who led the creation of housing for the and to the safety of the masses, these five to 10industrial area of the story, two to three block Soviet Union. There, war long buildings are falling goods and materiel were The Babi Yar memorial. Credit: Alan Potash apart, crowded, and as being produced and the advancing German war machine captured cramped to live in as they were when they were designed. Few who pass by seem to and occupied Kyiv. In September the Nazis issued orders give much attention to the deep ravine, its directing all Jews to take their personal haunting memory, or the monuments possessions and gather at Babi Yar. Then memorializing the Nazi horrors. Developers recently asked the city of as now it was a heavily wooded park some three or four blocks square, with walking Kyiv for a permit to build a motel at Babi paths and benches and play areas and, Yar, in anticipation of an international most importantly, a large and deep ravine sports tournament coming in a few years. running in a “V” shaped diagonal The City Council approved the permit. through its length. The sides of the ravine Opposition formed around the world and were steep. The long ledge-like crest of Jewish groups protested. The mayor each side of the ravine formed a sharp vetoed the council’s approval. No motel will be built. drop to a depth of some 30 or 40 feet. Two massive monuments stand today In the highly efficient manner of the Nazi military, the forces known as in Babi Yar. One, a menorah, a seven branched canEinsatz-gruppen, the units of the German Army were charged with the responsibili- delabra, stands at one side of Babi Yar, ty of the mobile killing forces which dec- and the other, a massive statue depicting imated the Jewish population of Eastern those who were killed, with a mother holding a child in her arms at the top, Europe. That was nearly unknown in the west stands at the vortex of the deep ravine. before the end of 1942, and the creation There are inscriptions in three languages, of the “more efficient” killing operations including Hebrew, at its base, and long of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and the like. A rows of steps, each tilted and at an angle, roster of the Jews was assembled at Babi making it difficult to climb to the top Yar, and today we know that exactly from the foot of the monument. Visitors place bundles of flowers here 33,771 men, women and children were killed that 29th day of September, 1941. and there about the monument, and Jews They were told to bring with them their follow an ancient custom and place small personal possessions, which were later rocks along the steps leading to the top, confiscated. They were ordered to form a giving proof that those who died have not been forgotten. line immediately in front of the ravine. We stood in silence. I began to silently And then they were shot: men, women, and children -- gunned down by the Nazi whisper the memorial prayer, the firing squad. Bodies fell backwards into the Kaddish, but even silently I found myself ravine. One wonders today what Ukrainians shocked and unable to complete the first sentence. in the neighborhood thought then. Dusk came. We walked to the street. Later, others were killed at the same place in the same manner: dissidents, Among the crowds we found a cab. We Communists, Romas or Gypsies, and drove away and the ravine remained, graves to the innocents, who might have been us. then more Jews.
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November 20, 2008
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November 20, 2009
‘From Hell to Hope’: Inside Berlin’s postwar Jewish DP camps for Jews,â€? Heim said of then-Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, work with survivors.â€? by TOBY AXELROD Among the things Rabbi Abramowitz did was create a BERLIN (JTA) -- All its physical traces are gone, but following clashes in camps shared between survivors and the Jewish DP camp in Schlachtensee is not forgotten. those they recognized as murderers. “The situation was school and summer camp for the 2,300 children in the Sixty-one years since this and the other two such unbearable.â€? DP camp. camps here were shut down, a filmmaker has gathered The separate camps ushered in “a period of hope and As in Jewish DP camps across Germany, the refugees stories of those who passed through on their way from of getting into life again,â€? Heim said. had Yiddish newspapers, radio stations and theaters. destruction to a new life. “It was a magnificent rebirth, a re-creation of people “Nazis in Hell,â€? a cabaret revue put on at the Duppel Called “Jewish Transit Berlin: From Hell to Hope,â€? who were so down and came to life,â€? recalled Rachel camp, “may be the very first such parody on German soil the 52-minute documentary, which premiered Monday Abramowitz, 81, whose father had been deported by after the war,â€? Heim noted. at the Berlin Jewish Museum, relates the unusual and Stalin to Siberia from Poland before the war. Afterward, There were many marriages and many new babies. brief history of the Displaced Persons camps set up in with no one left in Poland, her family made its way to Job training “was all organized with a clear view postwar Berlin. Germany. towards immigration to Israel,â€? Heim said. Filmmaker Gabriel Heim David Ben-Gurion, calls them “last Jewish then head of the Jewish shtetls on German soil.â€? Agency, visited SchlachBorn in 1950 in tensee while making his Switzerland to Jewish parrounds of DP camps in ents, Heim says he was very Germany. lucky to find several people With his rabbinic and -- all now age 80 and above military credentials, -- who were willing to share Abramowitz helped their memories. members of the Bricha Rich with archival footage underground acquire the and contemporary interchocolate, cigarettes and views, the film goes a long coffee they needed to way toward painting a picprocure gasoline, food Left: Rachel and Mayer Abramowitz at a train station in ture of their odyssey, which and false identity papers Berlin, 1947, and right, today. Courtesy Abramowitz family begins with the migration of at a time when the some 350,000 exhausted Jewish German mark was worthrefugees and survivors from Eastern less and Germans were An unidentified young man standing outside the DĂźppel DP not allowed to have U.S. Europe. About 100,000 made their Camp at Schlachtensee in Berlin, 1946/47. way to bombed-out Berlin, according dollars. Courtesy Ariane Joachim to Heim. Most landed in other German “It was a mission that cities and later emigrated. They arrived by truck in probably God blessed me with,â€? Abramowitz said. “There were thousands of people who Berlin in the middle of the In 1948, with tensions high between the Russians and were liberated and were displaced in night. As children jumped the Western allies in Berlin, Gen. Lucius Clay ordered Berlin,â€? said Rabbi Andreas Nachama, a out of the truck, they were the closing of the DP camps in Berlin. By the time the historian who directs the Topography met by a U.S. Army chap- Soviets blockaded the city in June 1948, most of the of Terror archive and heads the lain, Rabbi Mayer Jews left on the same “candy bombersâ€? that had just Department of Holocaust Studies at Abramowitz, who also had unloaded emergency food and supplies. Touro College in Berlin. “You had Jews arrived in Berlin that day. “They were flown out with the airlift,â€? Nachama said. and non-Jews, slave workers and those Filmmaker Gabriel Heim at his apartment in The rabbi pressed candy into Most went on to the United States, Israel, Canada or Credit: Toby Axelrod the children’s hands, Rachel South Africa, but some 500 remained in Berlin. Berlin. who were repatriated.â€? By January 1946, the American Jewish Joint Abramowitz recalled in a telephone interview. Rachel Abramowitz, who taught Hebrew at the camp, Distribution Committee estimated that 6,000 Jews were “When I jumped out and put out my hand, he said, went on to become a sculptor and professor of history, still homeless in Berlin, where tensions were high ‘You are no longer a child.’ “ Russian and Hebrew at the University of Miami. between the Soviet Union and other Allies. Rachel and the rabbi later married, on Nov. 23, 1947, “The DP camp was a unique episode of Jewish histo“Doors westward closed; please urge solution in in Berlin. Today they live in Florida and have three chil- ry,â€? Rabbi Abramowitz said. “On one hand, you are not Washington,â€? reads a JDC telegram cited in the film. dren, 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. at home. You are living in barracks, you line up for food. The answer was the establishment of three Jewish DP Back then Abramowitz -- now rabbi emeritus of But on the other hand, it is a beehive of cultural and relicamps: in Tempelhof, Wittenau and Schlachtensee (the Temple Menorah in Miami Beach -- was a lieutenant gious activity.â€? Duppel camp), where survivors could safely stay without with six weeks of chaplaincy training. Given the choice Heim hopes his documentary will awaken interest in fear of encountering perpetrators in their midst. of where to go, he chose Germany, telling his com- this chapter of history. The film was co-produced by “It was Eisenhower who decided to create DP camps mander, “We heard some Jews survived, and I want to ARD and Yad Vashem, and co-directed by Ronnie Golz.
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November 20, 2009
Project documents stories of Jewish refugees from Arab countries about this history. In the United States, by SUE FISHKOFF SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- Joseph where the Jewish community is overSamuels, born Yosef Sasson in Baghdad, whelmingly Ashkenazi, it is even less was 18 when he fled Iraq for the new known. “We want to get people like yourselves state of Israel. It was 1949, and life was becoming to share your personal stories,” he told increasingly difficult for Jews in Iraq, as it the group. “We have to get the word out was throughout the Arab world. The that Palestinians were not the only people Sasson family’s good relations with their displaced by the conflict.” It’s not about denying Palestinian sufMuslim neighbors changed with Israel’s creation in 1948, and Yosef’s parents fering, Goldwasser said, but about preurged him to leave, promising they would senting all sides of the history as a precursor to real peace and reconciliation. follow when they could. Unable to secure an exit visa, Yosef escaped Iraq with his younger brother in tow, taking the train to Basra, then cramming into a smuggler’s boat with 16 other young Jews, rowing to Iran and finally making his way to Tehran. There he joined a massive airlift to Israel, landing in time for Purim that year. “That Passover was the first time I celebrated as a Joseph Samuels of Los Angeles tells the story of his 1949 free man,” says Samuels, escape from Baghdad to an interviewer for Jimena's Visual Credit: Sue Fishkoff who served in the Israeli History Project in San Francisco. Rachel Wahba of San Raphael, Calif., navy and now lives near Los Angeles. Like many Holocaust survivors, nods her head. The child of an Iraqi Samuels only shared bits and pieces of his mother and Egyptian father, Wahba was born in 1946 in India, where her mothstory with his children. “I didn’t want to seem like a victim, so er’s family had fled after Iraq’s June 1941 pogroms. I didn’t tell them,” he explains. “My mother heard the screams for 48 Unlike Holocaust survivors, however, his story -- as well as those of more than hours until the British finally put a stop to 800,000 other Jewish refugees from it,” she recalls. Expelled from India, as they had no North Africa and the Middle East -- is not widely known. These Jews, part of large, papers, the family ended up in Japan as ancient communities in nine Arab coun- stateless refugees. They finally reached tries, were victimized and persecuted, California in 1968 and rebuilt their lives. Wahba used to lecture about her famistripped of their rights and property, and in some cases forcibly expelled from the ly’s history, but she tired of the hostility lands of their birth from the 1940s and ignorance she encountered. “I’d tell my story, and people would through the 1970s. Finding refuge mainly in Israel, France say, ‘so, your grandmother spoke and North America, they became the for- Yiddish.’ As if they hadn’t heard me,” she gotten refugees of the Middle East con- said. “I said no, we spoke Judeo-Arabic. The non-Jews would listen more openly flict. Jimena, a San Francisco-based organi- than the Jews -- they just couldn’t get it.” Wahba and Samuels are two of the first zation for Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, is trying to change interviews Jimena is taping. A third is Egypt native Soliman Elgazzar, 61, who that. As part of an international consortium, left his homeland in 1970 after three led by Hebrew University and the years of imprisonment. When the Six-Day War broke out in University of Miami that is collecting and documenting testimony from these June 1967, he told his interviewer, miliMizrahim, or Jews from Arabic-speaking tary-age Jewish men were rounded up countries, Jimena has launched a visual and sent to concentration camps. He was history project to interview those now liv- interned with 350 other Egyptian Jews in a camp outside Cairo. ing on the West Coast. “We lived 70 to a room, sleeping on the Jimena’s East Coast partner, the American Sephardi Federation in New floor like sardines, overlapping each York, began its interviews of New York- other,” he related. “The scariest part was area Sephardim in September, while part- not knowing when we’d be released. ners in several other countries are work- They gave us the impression they’d never ing to collect oral testimonies in their let us go until Egypt won the war.” As part of the international initiative, regions. Each project is responsible for its Hebrew University in Jerusalem is setting own funding. The goal, organizers say, is to do for up an archive of the recorded testimonies, Jewish refugees from Arab lands what including nearly 700 made by the Jewish Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation Agency for Israel in the late 1940s and Institute has done for Holocaust sur- early ‘50s on reel-to-reel tapes. Jimena is not sure whether its intervivors: preserve their stories and dignify views will join that archive or be used their heritage. “Their stories have not been document- another way. But time is of the essence, as ed,” says Sarah Levin, Jimena’s program this population ages. And, slowly, Jews director. “We want to collect as many sto- from Arab lands who never spoke of their ries as we can. These people are getting past are beginning to open up. “These people only wanted to look forolder, and soon it will be too late.” On Oct. 18, a dozen Jews born in Syria, ward, not back,” Levin says, adding that Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and other lands of Jimena is sponsoring Mizrahi Month in the Maghreb gathered at the Jewish fed- March to encourage greater focus on eration offices in San Francisco to learn Sephardic history and culture. “Maybe how they could become a part of the that’s why there have not been efforts to document their stories. project. “But there’s pain that has never been Filmmaker Avi Goldwasser, director of The Forgotten Refugees, says that when he addressed. We hope this will be cathartic grew up in Israel, he learned nothing for some of them.”
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Innovators beat swords into green plowshares in Israel
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BURT COUNTY REAL ESTATE TAX LOTS AUCTION Saturday, December 5, 2009 π 10:00 a.m. Location: Tekamah City Auditorium, 1315 K St. Tekamah, Nebr. Auctioneer’s Note: All the following properties offered at this auction have been foreclosed upon to enforce the collection of delinquent taxes by the Burt County Board of Supervisors. For inspection of all properties call the auctioneer at 402-374-2792.
by DINA KRAFT spoke on condition of anonymity because of the securiTEL AVIV (JTA) -- It’s a new way of beating swords ty-related nature of the work. “We are trying to identify into plowshares. what assets we can bring and provide on the market Israel, which long has been a global leader in military end.” technology, is adapting its technologies to develop green IAI also is working to help create what is being called advances. “clean, green aircraft” as part of a European initiative, Technology borrowed from building helicopter pro- joining forces with Airbus to develop an environmentalpellers is being used to produce more efficient wind tur- ly friendly system for airplanes taxiing at airports aimed bines. Israeli know-how constructing satellites is being at saving fuel and decreasing noise levels and air polluapplied to improve solar power. tion. The technology would use a system that allows “We definitely leverage a lot of know-how in a variety planes to taxi to and from the gate without using their of disciplines -- including materials, chemistry, thermal jet engines. dynamics -- accumulated from our experience with milIn addition to technologies being transferred from the itary and homeland security technology for developing military world to the clean-tech sector, there is also manrenewable energy technologies,” said Meni Maor, vice power transfer. A growing number of retired army offipresident of business development for Rotem, a cers and scientists are playing leading roles in Israel’s Dimona-based company clean-tech industry. that commercializes techYom-Tov Samia, a nologies first used in retired general and forIsrael’s defense industry. mer head of the Israel The company is someDefense Forces’ Southern thing of a case study on Command, handles the the subject. In the past investment firm Israel three years, Rotem has Corp’s clean-tech investbegun to focus on renewments. Moshe Kaplinsky, able energy technology a former IDF deputy with projects on solar and chief of staff, is now CEO hydrogen power, wind of Better Place’s Israel energy and bio-fuel. operation. BrightSource Energy, Samia spoke recently which is developing the at a gathering of industry world's largest solar therprofessionals sponsored mal plant in Southern by the investment firm California, is piloting its Israel Cleantech Ventures technology at Rotem. as part of a panel of for“The whole world is Wind turbines in Israel, such as these seen near Kibbutz Ein Zivan mer IDF officials now highly motivated to invest in the Golan Heights, are being improved by technology created for working in clean tech. in the clean-tech sector as military helicopter propellers. Credit: Haim Azulay/Flash90/JTA “It’s a lot of fun to people search for interesting technologies for more work in this field. I’m driven by the sense of curiosity it effective energy generation because of the threat of fosters,” he told an overflow crowd. “There is also a global warming and cost of oil prices,” said Maor, not- sense of national responsibility to what we are doing.” ing Israel's special security-motivated reasons to reduce Elad Frankel, CEO of Aqwise, an advanced wastewater the global dependence on oil, much of which comes treatment solutions company and veteran of a prestifrom Arab states. gious intelligence unit called 8200, spoke of how expeAs part of that goal, Israel recently signed on to be one rience gained in the army is good preparation for the of the first countries to pilot the driving of environmen- industry. tally clean electric cars on a large scale as part of a projHe said it was in the army that he learned to analyze ect sponsored by the company Better Place, in partner- complex problems and come up with solutions with limship with automakers Renault and Nissan. The robotics ited resources. for charging the batteries in the cars is based in part on “In the army we learn how to follow through on a aerospace technology. mission,” Frankel said. Another example of the transfer of military technolo“And now we have the clean-tech revolution, which is gy to clean tech is work being done by Israel Aeronautics doing good things not just when it comes to water and Industries, one of the country's most prominent defense energy. It’s also giving Israel a name in a more positive companies. Its researchers are tapping into their experi- industry.” ence in aeronautics to develop wind energy and wind turbines. Editor’s note: to learn more about Israel’s high tech One way is by using software used to calculate the innovation, read Start-Up Nation, a new book by Dan optimization of the aerodynamic profile of an airplane Senor and Saul Singer. In addition to attention paid to wing to make a better turbine blade. The company Unit 8200 (which has produced quite a few entreprehopes other research-and-development experience will neurs and CEOs) the book also follows Shai Agassi’s lead to the creation of a higher-performance, lower- Better Place and computer chip development with Intel. Senor, is a professional investor and an adjunct senior weight wind turbine that costs less. “We are identifying the potential of IAI engineering to fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Singer is a provide added value to the clean-tech sector in general columnist for the Jerusalem Post. The book is available at and wind turbines in particular," said an IAI official who the Kripke Library and local bookstores.
Friedel uses Red Ribbon Week as a “teachable moment”
PARCEL #1 π FORMER TEKAMAH ONE STOP MINI MART Approx. 900 S 13th St., Tekamah, Nebr. Former One Stop Mini Mart & Laundromat with 500' of Highway 75 frontage. Zoned highway commercial. For more information contact the auctioneer.
This property can be viewed by appointment or Open House to be held Saturday, November 21 • 1-3 p.m.
PARCEL #5 π SUBLOT 1 PARCEL #2 & #3 π LOT 14 & 15 OF LOT 2 & PART OF LOT 11 ROBERTS LANDING 614 N. Oakland Ave. SUBDIVISION 1025 Co. Rd. 47, Tekamah, Nebr. Improved recreational lot with Missouri River access.
PARCEL #4 π LOT 5 BLOCK 17 CITY OF TEKAMAH Southwest corner of 19th & R
PARCEL #6 π LOT 10 & Lot 11 Block 40 215 Grant St., Lyons, Nebr.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: The successful bidder will be required to enter into a legally binding purchase agreement and make an earnest deposit of 20% of the total purchase price the day of the auction payable to Lee Valley Auction & Realty trust account and pay the balance in full with certified funds at closing to be held on or before December 18, Burt County Courthouse. All property sells AS IS WHERE IS with ownership acknowledged by Quitclaim Deed only. The county will not furnish an abstract of title or title insurance. Any announcements made day of auction take precedence over any printed material. Lee Valley Auction & Realty and their associates are representing the sellers only as their agent.
Sale Conducted By:
LEE VALLEY AUCTION & REALTY 402-374-2792 • Tekamah, NE
PARCEL #7 π LOT 17 Block 7
RANDY L. OLSON, Broker, (402) 870-1145
1423 E St., Tekamah, Nebr.
Scott, Susan & Patricia Olson, Salespersons
Students at Friedel Jewish Academy used art to create an idea of what drugs do to human brains, during Red Ribbon Week. Among the “artists’ are: third graders Eylon Caplan, left, and Lillian Cohen, and kindergartner Zev Gordman.
November 20, 2009
President • BUENOS AIRES (JTA) -- Israeli Shimon Peres and Argentinean President Christina Fernández de Kirchner met in Buenos Aires. “Argentina does not allow anybody to choose its friends, and it doesn’t choose the friends of others,” said the Argentine president during a news conference following Monday’s meeting. Kirchner was referring to the influence of the Venezuelan leader and close friend of the Iranian regime, Hugo Chavez, in the Latin American region. Kirchner reportedly postponed a planned visit by Chavez, who broke off relations with Israel last winter during the Gaza war and is known for his anti-Israel views, in the wake of the Peres visit. The Israeli president arrived in Argentina Sunday fol-
Page 15
L’dor v’dor
JTA NEWS BRIEFS • JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An alleged U.S.-born Jewish terrorist was indicted for two murders and three attempted murders. Yaakov (Jack) Teitel appeared in Jerusalem District court Nov. 12, where he was charged with the murders of two Palestinians and attempted murders of Jews. He was also indicted on several other charges, including smuggling firearms into Israel, and violence against Arabs, gays and lesbians, leftists, police officers and messianic Jews. The court also agreed to hold Teitel in prison until the end of legal proceedings against him. Teitel, 37, was arrested Oct. 7 in a joint police-Shin Bet operation. Along with allegedly killing the two Palestinians, he also allegedly assembled a package bomb that seriously injured the son of a messianic Jew and set up a pipe bomb near the home of prominent professor Ze’ev Sternhell. A Florida native, Teitel made aliyah in 2000 and is a resident of the Shvut Rachel outpost in the northern West Bank. He has four young children. Teitel is reported to have confessed to the two murders. A court-appointed psychiatrist has found Teitel fit to stand trial, according to reports. Several families of victims hurt by Teitel said they would file a civil suit of about $1 million against him, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
lowing a warm reception in Brazil. Peres’ visit, coordinated under strict security measures, is scheduled to include a rally at the Luna Park Stadium, meetings with Argentine politicians, a meeting of the Argentine-Israeli Commerce Chamber, a visit to the Scholem Aleijem Jewish School and tributes to the AMIA and Israeli Embassy terrorist attacks. His arrival was met with a protest against Israel opposite the Argentinean Congress in Buenos Aires that drew hundreds of demonstrators. This is Peres’ second trip to Argentina; he visited in 1994 when he served in the government of Yitzhak Rabin. The last Israeli president to visit Argentina was Chaim Herzog in 1989. • JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A monument to the victims of 9/11 was dedicated in Jerusalem on Nov. 12 in Arazim Park. The monument, commissioned and built by the Jewish National Fund-USA/Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, depicts the World Trade Center and Pentagon through sculpture and landscape architecture. Designed by award-winning Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff, the 30-foot high bronze sculpture is composed of a waving American flag transformed into a memorial flame. It rests on a gray granite base, part of which is from the original Twin Towers. The sculpture is surrounded by a circular, crater-like plaza and reflection area tiled in stone. The Jerusalem monument is the only site outside of New York to recognize the names of every victim of the attack, engraved on bronze plaques surrounding the sculpture. • JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A journalist who accused Israeli soldiers of harvesting Palestinian organs in a popular Swedish newspaper is reconsidering his position. Donald Bostrom cancelled a scheduled appearance at a conference in Beirut after a visit to Israel in which he participated in dialogue on the issue, according to Army Radio. Bostrom was in Israel last month for a media conference in Dimona. The Beirut conference was set to be an anti-Israel hate fest, according to reports.
Storyteller Rita Paskowitz, captivated the residents, including her mother, Lucille Paskowitz, at the Rose B l u m k i n Jewish Home with her storytelling. Many residents said they had never seen such animated stories and that they really enjoyed her presentation.
Visions goes Hollywood
Visions members explored the Hollywood Candy Store in the Old Market recently. Members enjoyed movie clips from the “I Love Lucy” show and learned the latest in candy fads while viewing candy of yesteryear. Hollywood Candy is all about fun and nostalgia -- the store specializes in hard-to-find retro and nostalgic candies of the past, as well as the biggest and best candies of today -- including the largest collection of PEZ dispensers.
Page 16
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
The cost of the Pelosi health care bill to this community From House Bill 3962, pages 271-73, passed at midnight on Nov. 7: “The minimum employer contribution described in this subsection for coverage of a full-time employee (and, if any, the employee’s spouse and qualifying children as defined in section 152(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 22 of 1986) under a qualified health benefits plan (or current employment-based health plan) is equal to (A) in case of individual coverage, not less than 72.5 percent of the applicable premium (as defined in section 4980B(f)(4) of such Code, subject to paragraph (2) of the lowest cost plan offered by the employer that is a qualified health benefits plan (or is such current employment-based health plan); and (B) in the case of family coverage which includes coverage of such spouse and children, not less than 65 percent of such applicable premium...” Huh? Those businesses who elect not to participate, will be fined $100 per day per employee, up to “10 percent of the aggregate amount paid or incurred by the employer (or predecessor employer) during the preceding taxable year for group health plans, or $500,000.” Whoa! While small businesses (those with payrolls from half a million to $750,000), are fined less, there is no exception for non-profits. (And, by the way, the employer must offer “proportionate” coverage to part-time employees as well, based on number of hours worked per week and number of weeks per year.) Well, there go the part-time jobs, too. Remember: it’s only after the bill is passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by the President that the rules and regs are written -- by the Internal Revenue and Health and Human Services departments! While there is no assurance that this bill -- in this form, no less -- will pass the Senate and reconciliation with the House -- just what would the effect of this one section alone have on the Jewish Federation of Omaha, not to mention the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and other large non-profits in this community and around the country? The direct result is an increase of health care
costs of 40%. Currently the Federation and its agencies cover approximately half of the cost of health care premiums for employees who elect to participate in the JFO plan. That would rise, according to HB 3962 to 72.5%. That means the current coverage for an employee and spouse, would rise on an annualized basis, about $3500 a year at today’s rates. (Coverage for an employee-only would cost about $1800 more a year on average for the JFO; its share of family coverage would go up about 30% -- about $3000 a year more.) It’s certainly good news for the employee -like getting a raise of more than three grand a year! But now every agency (as of the 2011-12 budget year) would have to find an additional $2800 a year -- per employee on average -within already tight budgets. Using this newspaper as an example, that’s an additional $5600 a year at current health insurance premium rates; multiply the $2800 average for the Jewish Community Center, for example, and it’s a ‘break-the-bank’ figure. But let’s assume a best case scenario -- that the JFO forgoes raises that year because employees who have previously signed up for health care coverage suddenly find more in their paychecks each week. Sounds like a pretty good deal -- no raise, but less to pay for health insurance premiums. But wait... that “raise” is subject to payroll taxes (FICA and Medicare). Still nice, but what about those employees who are not currently enrolled in the JFO health care plan? Too bad ... no “raise” for them? And the employer is not allowed to lower this “additional” compensation against the higher cost of paying 72.5% of health care premiums, as it’s stated in Section 4 on page 273 of the bill. So if you’re a worker in the Federation’s 2012 Annual Campaign, how would you like to be “selling” an increase in campaign contributions to donors using this scenario? “Please
increase your pledge 30-45% just to pay for the Federation’s health care costs.” Not exactly a great sales pitch -- especially to business owners who will face the same situation in their own companies! The only alternative, for both business owners and non-profits is to fire some current employees, or not fill vacancies (which, of course, will not help lower the current 10.2% unemployment rate). It’s understood that to cover somewhere between five million and 36 million (we can’t keep the changing figures straight), there will be a cost. But wouldn’t it just be cheaper to pay the premiums for each of the uninsured? Even at $9000 per premium, that’s only $45 million to $3,240,000,000 -- far less than the $1.4 trillion the CBO estimates this will cost. This is only one small section in this bill -imagine the costly mandates in the other 1897 pages! We’re all in favor of health care reform, but we’re not giving thanks for this bill!
FOCUS ON ISSUES by DANNY DANON
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- In the year since President Obama visited Jerusalem as Candidate Obama, much has changed. Running for president, he of course leveraged his presence here to mobilize his supporters in America. Obama’s visit undoubtedly helped demonstrate his international savvy and further endeared him to the American voter. He spoke from the heart with his legendary eloquence of the dangers posed by terror from Gaza and Israel’s right to defend itself at all costs. When Candidate Obama, then a U.S. senator, kissed the stones of our revered Western Wall and shed tears at the sobering Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, we were confident that were he elected, Israel again would have a true and trusted friend in the Oval Office. Israelis therefore looked on with the same pride and admiration shared by untold millions of Americans as President Obama was inaugurated and assumed leadership of the world’s most powerful nation. Israel, like many in the global community of nations, was eager to witness the positive change heralded by his administration. On both the domestic and foreign policy agendas, the president’s pledge for
The American administration must understand that such an existential challenge commands our focus and resources. extremism, they sought to decide for us how and where our families could build and develop their towns. We have no doubt that these statements and positions were motivated by a legitimate desire for progress, but they ignored realities and created obstacles between us and the Palestinians rather than removing them. Israel is facing a genuine, grave threat. The American administration must understand that
Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Michael Sigmond, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Daphne Pollak Alperson, Marc Brodkey; Eric Dunning; Jason Epstein; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press . Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.
President Obama needs to revisit Israel a new direction gave hope that a new era was upon us. Regrettably it quickly became clear that our good will and hopes were likely misplaced. Rather than looking to accommodate and truly understand Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, we began feeling new pressures within mere weeks of the Obama presidency. Regularly overlooking or ignoring the realities of a decades-old war with our Arab neighbors, the main issue for President Obama seemed to become the growth of our settlements. Rather than address the real sources of distrust, the Obama administration focused on limiting the legitimate growth of Jewish communities. Ignoring these outposts’ role in our common struggle against terrorism and
(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
such an existential challenge commands our focus and resources. I refer to the very real threats of an Iranian despot who repeatedly has declared his commitment to our destruction. Dismissing historical truths of the Jewish people’s past tragedies and our legitimate rights to our own hard-earned homeland, this madman rants and rails and seeks to call into question -- with classic anti-Semitic chutzpah -- our very existence. As a man of peace who will soon hold the title of Nobel Peace laureate, President Obama surely knows that the land of Israel and the Jewish people always have and always will be committed to true peace. Yet true peace requires concessions by all sides. And it must come with real commitments and sacrifices by those bodies who today bitterly oppose us. As the president’s predecessors and hundreds of equally well-intentioned diplomats who have come before you can attest, most of our day-to-day realities cannot be appreciated from afar. The land of Israel and the tensions in our cities and on our borders are not easily understood from intelligence reports or maps or briefings alone. This is a region that needs to be seen and felt. One needs to hear the sounds and speak with the people to genuinely comprehend the challenges -- and opportunities -- inherent in this volatile area. So I appeal to the president to revisit this land and see just how much has changed in the past 12 months. President Obama agreed to Continued on page 17
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 it 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. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. 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 information, call the Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $35 per calendar year U.S.; $72 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.
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008
November 20, 2009
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor: As I approach my 60th birthday, I’m discovering how rich and wonderful my past is. My family stories, events, and memories are a rich heritage I want to pass on to my grandchildren and their children. Some of the homes I lived in are gone, the most memorable characters have passed on, the photos are fading ... if only I had the foresight to have preserved those photos and family treasures. There is a wonderful testament to preserving heritage, artifacts, buildings and a rich life in Council Bluffs, Iowa. There sits 105-year-old B’nai Israel Synagogue. It’s a wonderful old shul. There is no longer a rabbi or cantor; services are still held, and if the walls could talk you would hear of the many simchas, tears of happiness, tears of woe and stories of Jews struggling to make their way into this great heartland. B’nai Israel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, a wonderful honor and reward for this beautiful old synagogue. Without the Jewish community’s contributions, this never could have happened. It takes time and great care for this endeavor. But money to maintain the building and its museum of rich articles, photos and history of the Council Bluffs Jewish community that first began in the 1850s ... is a legacy that must be preserved for future generations. With today’s ever increasing mixed marriages, our children moving away and quite often leaving our religion, it is imperative that we hold dear our stories, our history. As a people, we learn from the past and we grow. Without the safely and carefully preserved artifacts of our past, how will future generations ever understand our struggles, our trials, the poverty and often death and destruction that we have overcome? I am making a public plea on behalf of B’nai Israel Synagogue ... contributions are badly needed to maintain this vital piece of history. Please find it in your hearts to help. Every contribution will ensure the life of this wonderful heritage and the future generations to come. Toni Goodman Editor’s note: To send donations, see page 19, the synagogue page.
To the Editor: I am a writer who lives in Denver and recently completed a book, Made Here, Baby! The book is a guide for parents and grandparents to find safe, high quality, American-made products for their children. My website for the book is: www.madeherebaby.com. Many of the men in my family (and one woman) and their Jewish friends were also veterans. Indeed, I have a faded photograph of my Uncle Morris dating to WWI, which shows him posing next to his cavalry horse! I am active in the Denver Jewish community and I am a long time member of the JCC. It is my dream and my passion to interview as many Jewish WWII Army Air Corps veterans and WWII Jewish Naval aviators as possible. I want to take these interviews and turn them into a book. It is the way I can honor my uncles who fought in the war. However, I don't just want to write about war stories, but rather to interweave their Jewish experiences. I am very willing to interview in the Omaha area. I am appealing to any network I can find to advise WWII Air Corp and Naval aviation veterans of my intent. I know full well that my window of opportunity is narrowing with every passing day. If the book is worthy of publication and does get published, I want to donate some of the proceeds to the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. If you have information or contacts with veterans, please call me at 303-725-5864 or e-mail: bhwolk@q.com. Bruce Wolk
Revisit Israel Continued from page 16 attend a major American Jewish gathering in Washington [but had to bow out to attend a memorial for the victims of the shooting at Fort Hood] but this cannot and must not be a substitute to speaking to the people of Israel directly in Jerusalem. I am confident that such an experience will deepen his understanding immeasurably. Certainly it will help him better formulate America’s vital positions concerning Israel and our neighbors. But most of all, it will help us renew our faith that the White House and the American people truly understand our plight and are committed to helping us overcome it. Danny Danon is deputy speaker of the Israeli Parliament and chairman of World Likud.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 17
Sudden jihad or inordinate stress at Ft. Hood?
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by DANIEL PIPES When a Muslim in the West for no apparent reason violently attacks non-Muslims, a predictable argument ensues about motives. The establishment -- law enforcement, politicians, the media, and the academy -- stands on one side of this debate, insisting that some kind of oppression caused Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, to kill 13 and wound 38 at Ft. Hood on Nov. 5. It disagrees on the specifics, however, presenting Hasan as the victim alternatively of “racism”, “harassment he had received as a Muslim”, “a sense of not belonging”, “pre-traumatic stress disorder”, “mental problems”, “emotional problems”, “an inordinate amount of stress”, or being deployed to Afghanistan as his “worst nightmare.” Accordingly, a typical newspaper headline reads “Mindset of Rogue Major a Mystery”. Instances of Muslim-on-unbeliever violence inspire the victim school to dig up new and imaginative excuses. Colorful examples (drawing on my article and weblog entry about denying Islamist terrorism) include: 1990: “A prescription drug for … depression” (to explain the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane); 1991: “A robbery gone wrong” (the murder of Makin Morcos in Sydney); 1994: “Road rage” (the killing of a random Jew on the Brooklyn Bridge); 1997: “Many, many enemies in his mind” (the shooting murder atop the Empire State Building); 2000: A traffic incident (the attack on a bus of Jewish schoolchildren near Paris); 2002: “A work dispute” (the double murder at LAX); 2002: A “stormy [family] relationship” (the Beltway snipers); 2003: An “attitude problem” (Hasan Karim Akbar’s attack on fellow soldiers, killing two); 2003: Mental illness (the mutilation murder of Sebastian Sellam); 2004: “Loneliness and depression” (an explosion in Brescia, Italy outside a McDonald’s restaurant); 2005: “A disagreement between the suspect and another staff member” (a rampage at a retirement center in Virginia); 2006: “An animus toward women” (a murderous rampage at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle in 2006); 2006: “His recent, arranged marriage may have made him stressed” (killing with an SUV in northern
California in 2006). Additionally, when an Osama bin Laden-admiring Arab-American crashed his plane into a Tampa high-rise, blame fell on the acne drug Accutane. As a charter member of the jihad school of interpretation, I reject these explanations as weak, obfuscatory, and apologetic. The jihadi school, still in the minority, perceives Hasan’s attack as one of many Muslim efforts to vanquish infidels and impose Islamic law. We recall a prior episode of sudden jihad syndrome in the U.S. military, as well as the numerous cases of non-lethal Pentagon jihadis and the history of Muslim violence on American soil. We are not mystified by Hasan but see overwhelming evidence of his jihadi intentions. He handed out Korans to neighbors just before going on his rampage and yelled “Allahu Akbar,” the jihadi’s cry, as he fired off over 100 rounds from two pistols. His superiors reportedly put him on probation for inappropriately proselytizing about Islam. We note what former associates say about him: one, Val Finnell, quotes Hasan saying, “I’m a Muslim first and an American second” and recalls Hasan justifying suicide terrorism; another, Col Terry Lee, recalls that Hasan “claimed Muslims had the right to rise up and attack Americans”; the third, a psychiatrist who worked very closely with Hasan, described him as “almost belligerent about being Muslim.” Finally, the jihad school of thought attributes importance to the Islamic authorities’ urging American Muslim soldiers to refuse to fight their co-religionists, thereby providing a basis for sudden jihad. In 2001, for example, responding to the U.S. attack on the Taliban, the mufti of Egypt, Ali Gum’a, issued a fatwa stating that “The Muslim soldier in the American army must refrain [from participating] in this war.” Hasan himself, echoing that message, advised a young Muslim disciple, Duane Reasoner Jr., not to join the U.S. army because “Muslims shouldn’t kill Muslims.” If the jihad explanation is overwhelmingly more persuasive than the victim one, it’s also far more awkward to articulate. Everyone finds blaming road rage, Accutane, or an arranged marriage easier than discussing Islamic doctrines. And so, a prediction: what Ralph Peters calls the army’s “unforgivable political correctness” will officially ascribe Hasan’s assault to his victimization and will leave jihad unmentioned. And thus will the army blind itself and not prepare for its next jihadi attack.
Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. © 2009 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved. Read more at: www.DanielPipes.org.
It is no longer unthinkable
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by SHOSHANA BRYEN Two early thoughts about the murderous rampage at Ft. Hood: First, American law enforcement has become very good at identifying people who lean toward violent, jihadist ideology; arrests in September and October almost surely prevented large numbers of deaths in this country. They cannot prevent every act of terrorism conceived, but clearly they must have the tools and resources provided for in the Patriot Act to monitor suspicious and potentially dangerous behavior. And equally clearly, the American public must accept that there is a threat that lives among us -- not only one imported from abroad. Second, early reports about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opined that “PTSD” (post-traumatic stress disorder) was a possible contributing factor. His cousin told The New York Times that “after counseling soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with [PTSD], Hasan knew war firsthand. He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy. He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there.” It is entirely unacceptable to appropriate someone else’s experience; Hasan did NOT know war firsthand. PTSD is the most pressing, under-diagnosed problem of our returning service men and women. Treating it is difficult in a military culture that has trouble with the very notion of emotional rather than physical wounds. To suggest that confiding their experiences to military medical personnel might make the doctor a homicidal
maniac is a huge disservice to our combat veterans -both those who have and those who do not have symptoms of PTSD -- and to the dedicated professionals who listen to, counsel and treat them. JINSA has long followed stories about attacks planned and executed against American military personnel. After the conviction in April of three Muslim men charged with conspiring to kill American soldiers at Ft. Dix (JINSA Reports #661, 840 and 882), the father of one asked for leniency. “What was their intention? Nothing happened,” he said. A defense attorney called the sentence “unusually lengthy” in a case where “no one was harmed.” The Deputy U.S. Attorney replied, “These men do not deserve leniency because of the good work of the FBI. They should not receive some benefit because there are not some dead soldiers lying on the ground.” We agreed, and wrote: “There is some space between the intention to commit terrorism and the act itself. The jury got it right by convicting the five for conspiracy, not attempted murder -- they hadn’t yet attempted it. But the American public --and those who would do our people, civilians or soldiers, harm -- should know that law enforcement will do its best to put conspirators out of business before they become terrorists.” Since then, jihadists waging war in our country killed American soldiers in Arkansas and in Texas. Motivated by religious ideology to believe Americans in general and soldiers in particular, are the enemies of Muslims and of Islam, jihadists are arming, training and conspiring -and now doing -- what had been unthinkable in the United States. They have to be stopped. Bryen is National Security Director of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs in washington, D.C. Read more at www.jinsa.org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Candlelighting Friday, November 20, 4:43 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Prayer Group 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
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B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Beth El; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:45 p.m. Yad Awards will be given to congregants who read Torah and Haftarah during the past year. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Meet Yourself in the Torah, with Susi Frydman-Levin, Beginning Hebrew, with Eadie Tsabari, and Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Jewish Images on the Big Screen, 11 a.m. with Frydman-Levin. THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Understanding and Living Jewish Values, noon. KADIMA: Youth group will go bowling on Sunday, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Western Bowl, 4725 S. 131st St. Drop off and pick up is at the bowling alley. Cost is $8. For more information or to RSVP, contact Jason Rich at the office or at youthdir@bethelomaha.org. BESTT CHAVERIM: FourthSixth grade youth group will enjoy an afternoon at the Family Fun Center on Sunday, 4-5:30 p.m. Cost is $10. All Jewish children in the community are invited. Drop off & pick up at the Fun Center, 71st and Dodge. For more information or to register, contact Jason Rich at the office, or at youthdir@bethel-omaha.org. BETH EL BRINGS SHABBAT TO THE BLUMKIN HOME: Join Rabbi Levin on Friday, Nov. 27, 2:15 p.m., as he joins residents in a joyous and musical early welcome to Shabbat. HANNUKAH AT REMINGTON: Join Rabbi Levin and Cantor Schlossberg on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2:30 p.m., as they lead the residents in an early celebration of Hanukkah. TOT SHABBAT & SAY SHALOM! TO SHABBAT: Friday Dec. 4, with 6 p.m. services and 6:30 p.m. dinner. Geared to children in first grade and above and open to all families in the Jewish community. For reservations made by Dec. 2, cost is $5 per person for members;
$7.50, non-members. After that date, cost is $10 for members; $15 for non-members. No charge for children sixand younger. To RSVP, call the office, or email programming@bethelomaha.org.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:43 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue”, “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up) one hour prior to every Shabbat; Mincha, 4:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shilisht; Havdalah, 5:45 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels & Beit Midrash begins with breakfast, 9:40 a.m.; Sacred Text Messages (for teens) with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m.; Living in Season with Miriam Gross, 10 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha, 5:15 p.m. MONDAY: Mincha & Mishna, 5:15 p.m., Mishna study with the rabbis along with Mincha/ Ma’ariv services. TUESDAY: Scholar’s Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Rabbi’s Weiss’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Annual Touch Football game; Rabbi Gross’s weekly classes at, 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. are canceled for Thanksgiving. The synagogue office will be closed Wednesday-Sunday for Thanksgiving weekend.
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.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. MiniMensch title will be awarded; Kiddush lunch follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings Remix, 10:15 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Soul Quest: The Journey through Life, Death and Beyond, 7 p.m. To enroll, visit
To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Federation website: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press,’ scroll down to ‘Submit Announcements, complete form and click on “submit” twice.
www.myJLI.com/SoulQuest or call the office. Contact Shevi@ ochabad.com with any questions. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 9:15 a.m. FRIDAY, Nov. 27: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 56; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, noon. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com. All events and programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. All ages welcome. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teachers, 12:30 p.m. at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: No Hebrew classes. THURSDAY: Temple office closed for Thanksgiving. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. The Ethics of Consumerism, led by Rabbi Emanuel and Nancy Coren.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Chef Demo, 1 p.m. in the West Wing by Howard Shandell. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg and assisted by Zack Bram.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Eric Linder, and Cantor Wendy Shermet. SATURDAY: Yoga at Temple, A Shabbat Alternative, 9 a.m. Six week session: $30 for members, $50 for non-members. E-mail wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com, to participate; Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30
a.m. Hannah Budwig, daughter of Larry Budwig and the late Kirsten Budwig, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: WRJ Meeting, 10 a.m.; Religious School (K-6), 10 a.m.; Grade 3 students at Kripke Federation Library, 10:15 a.m.; Worship Meeting, noon; Bible Quiz Practice, 12:15 p.m.; OTYG Tri-Faith Event, 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church; Thanksgiving Interfaith Service, 5:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church. TUESDAY: Grandparents Circle, 7 p.m. Rabbi Linder and Program Director Wendy Goldberg will facilitate the course. Contact Temple or wgoldberg@ templeisraelomaha.com, to register. WEDNESDAY: No Religious School; No Family School; No Middle/High School.
NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 4:43 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Friday, 8-11 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teachers, 12:30 p.m. at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; No Hebrew classes. FREEDOM BREAKFAST Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, 7:30 a.m. at Embassy Suites (1040 “P” St.); reservations are due by Nov. 30. Tickets are $15 per person and the form for ordering tickets is available at the synagogue or by calling Nancy Knapp at 472.1663. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. The Ethics of Consumerism, led by Rabbi Emanuel and Nancy Coren.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. The office also will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 1 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment.
Large print living will available Jewish Heritage for the Blind announced the availability of the large print “Jewish Halachic Living Will”, produced by the Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union. Forward your request on your formal stationery by fax to: 718.338.0653 or send an e-mail to jewishheritage@gmail.com. Requests must include a phone number to confirm delivery.
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November 20, 2009
DEATH ROSE GARBER Funeral services for Rose Garber were held Nov 15 at Golden Hill Cemetery. She was preceded in death by husband, Albert Garber, and a son, R. David Garber. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Barb and Cliff Levitan; grandchildren, Deborah and Michael Block, Jennifer Levitan, Michael and Kimberly Levitan, Carla Garber, Cheryl and Tom Vacek, Elizabeth Garber, Mark and Christine Garber, and Lynn and Robert Kirkman; and four great-grandchildren. Memorial donations to Beth Israel, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or VNA Hospice.
Yachad learns the moves
Yachad members participated in the first of three selfdefense classes at Steiner Academy of Martial Arts, thanks to a grant by the Special Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Above: Instructor Wes Ferrel teaches Grace Islar some selfdefense moves. The next class will be held on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2-3 p.m. For more information, call 330.3024.
Therapist to address sleep disorders at Temple’s “L’Chaim! to Life” series by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator A registered respiratory therapist with Heartland Health Therapy, Cheri Connell has been working with people who have sleep disorders since 1987. She’ll address the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders at a lunchtime discussion on Tuesday, Dec. 1, noon, at Temple Israel. “Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder,” she said, but she recommends that everyone attend the discussion whether or not they’re experiencing sleep problems. She’ll also talk about screening people who are uncertain about whether to have a sleep study. “Everyone knows someone who is tired, fatigued, or just has a loss of energy.” Connell worked at Nebraska Methodist Hospital for 23 years, then in private practice pulmonary/critical care for four years, and has been at Heartland Health Therapy for two years. At the session, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel will take a look at Jewish sources on the topics of sleep, rest, and their relationship to Shabbat. This “L’Chaim! To Life” adult learning opportunity is presented by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning at no charge. Please bring your lunch. Register with Program Director Wendy Goldberg at 556.6536 or at wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. The office also will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 1 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
The hero of Genesis
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Toldot One might have expected that our Sidra would tell us about the children of Jacob, but it focuses its attention on Joseph, whom I have called elsewhere the “hero of Genesis.” The story of Joseph is a masterwork of short story writing. It is not from rags to riches, but from prison to the governor’s palace. On a false charge, Joseph is railroaded off to prison. There, after interpreting dreams for two other inmates, he is hustled off to be dressed in proper clothing to be presented to Pharaoh. This Pharaoh, whose name is not given, had troubling dreams; Joseph interprets them and the Pharaoh acts with alacrity and great success. The great famine that ensued did not affect Egypt, for it alone among the nations of the Mediterranean basin, was well prepared for the drought and famine. So now we learn how our ancestors came down to Egypt from the land that later was to be called Israel. When the rapidly spreading rumors had it that there was food in Egypt, Jacob sent his sons down to buy provisions for his family. There, his sons were brought before Joseph, who recognized his brothers. But they did not recognize him, as he was decked out as a noble and he spoke only Egyptian with a translator between them. Joseph played cat and mouse with his brothers, accusing them of being spies. The brothers pleaded with him that they had only come to buy food and had indeed come with the necessary silver to pay for what they were taking, as well as additional funds for future purchases Joseph puts all the money in a sack belonging to Benjamin, but later sends his guards after the brothers, accusing them now of stealing. And the money is found. The brothers are hustled back to appear before Joseph, who says that he is a just man. Therefore they would not all be executed -- only the actual thief -- Benjamin. In an eloquent speech, Judah tells Joseph that he has promised his aged father that he will bring Benjamin back from the long journey. He offers himself as a substitute and pleads with Joseph to let Benjamin return with the rest of the brothers to Canaan. Joseph is overwhelmed by Judah’s willingness to sacrifice himself for Benjamin. He orders all the Egyptians to leave, but they are reluctant to leave their master alone. The guards stay close enough to attempt to hear what Joseph tells the ruffians and protect him from attack. And now the surprise: Joseph sends away his translator and speaking in Hebrew, says: I am Joseph, Joseph your brother. And the Good Lord has sent me before you to Egypt -- not for evil, but so that the lives of many would be saved from famine. To make a long story short, we will conclude here. This is sometimes called a “cliffhanger” and the reader is expected to wait breathlessly for the next chapter. You probably have read this story many times and know what the denouement is. But if you don’t you will be, as the brothers were, astonished. Just wait until next week...!
WOMAN’S RAINCOAT FOUND Mine is still missing. Do you have it? Call Judy at 498.6491.
To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.
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Jewish Federation of Omaha has an immediate opening for Editor/Business Manager of the Jewish Press, a weekly Jewish community newspaper and web edition in Omaha. This is not an entry-level position. This position requires a hands-on leader with newspaper or related experience. Additional qualifications include but are not limited to; writing, editing, budget and content management, and knowledge of the Jewish communal organizations and religion. The Editor/Business Manager is a full-time position with full-time benefits. Please send resume with cover letter and non-returnable work samples in PDF or text format to: Tina Story, Human Resources Specialist at tstory@jewishomaha.org. Please no phone calls.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Mural offers quiet time for residents Treasure trove of crusader marble and visitors at the Blumkin Home found north of Akko Mimi, the wife of RBJH Executive by OZZIE NOGG The bright mural on the exterior wall of Director Mike Silverman, watched what the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s went on around her, even while she paintSchrager Cafe invites residents and their ed. “I was really impressed with the guests to come in and have a private meal Blumkin Home staff, “ she said. “I saw a or visit. Located on the North end of nurse pick up some tissue that was on the Main Street, between the Northeast and floor, and that’s just one example of the Northwest nurse’s stations, the space is a pride the staff takes in the Home. I also gift from the Schrager family in honor of saw a male aide stop in the hallway and Jack and Sonia Schrager. According to Josh Gurock, RBJH administrative intern, “We encourage family members to bring in a resident’s favorite food, relax and enjoy some quiet time together in this cozy room.” The mural on the Schrager Cafe is the work of Mimi Silverman. “I found the image on the cover of a cookbook and then altered it to fit the Blumkin Home environment,” she said. Working Mimi Silverman painted the mural for the Schrager Cafe. only a few hours at a time, the painting comb a resident’s hair. It was quite touchtook Silverman eight weeks to complete. ing. During the time I spent at the The entire process was done in full view Home, I observed many acts of kindness of residents, visitors and staff. and caring.” “I generally listen to music while I Clearly, the Blumkin Home is a special work,” Silverman explained, “and even place for both the Silvermans. “I’m though I had a very visible neon pink wire thrilled to have a chance to add some connected to my headset and going down beauty to Main Street,” Mimi said. “The my back, people always stopped to talk new Blumkin Home is Michael’s vision. with me and ask questions about the proj- This project means a lot to him and to ect. My favorite visitors were Paul Epstein our family. I’m very proud of Mike and of and his mom, Etta. She looked great, and the facility. I’m really happy that I could we had a good time talking about the contribute, too.” images in the mural.”
by EDGAR ASHER In an excavation recently conducted just north of the Old City wall of Akko, a unique find was discovered from the Crusader period (13th century CE) -- a hoard of 350 marble items collected from buildings that had been destroyed. The hoard was found within the framework of an archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority before the Akko Municipality began building a new structure to house classrooms. Akko is located in the Western Galilee and is part of Omaha’s Partnership with Israel region. According to Dr. Edna Stern, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), “We have here a unique find, the likes of which have never been discovered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Crusader period (the capital of which was Akko). During the excavations, we came upon a cellar sealed by building stones and charred beams. Beneath the cellar floor, about 350 marble items and colored stones were discovered, including two broken marble tombstones with Latin inscriptions , flat marble slabs and marble tiles of various sizes and colors. The quality of the marble is excellent and it was undoubtedly imported from abroad.” Dr. Stern added, “Everyone knows that Crusader Akko was an important center for international trade and the marble hoard reflects the magnificent buildings that were erected here but have not survived, as well as the commerce and the wealth of its residents. Just as there is a trend today to incorporate wooden doors from India, or roof tiles from old buildings
in Italy in modern villas, at that time they used to integrate ancient architectural items from the Roman and Byzantine periods in their construction. And just like today, people at that time also yearned for the classic and the exotic.”
A member of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s archeaological team brushes sand and dirt off a marble find in the excavation north of Akko. Credit: ISRANET She added, “We can assume that the owner of the hoard, whether he was a merchant or collector, was aware of impending danger and therefore buried the valuable stones until such time as the tension abated.” However, the cache of stones was not sold in the end. According to Stern, “We can reasonably assume that the collapse that was found above the hoard is evidence of the building’s destruction in 1291 CE, when Crusader Akko was conquered by the Mamluks.”
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
May you find joy and happiness during the festival of lights. Happy Hanukkah. The Jewish Press Staff+Board
Light
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
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Roundup of recent books for young readers BOOK REVIEWS by SYBIL KAPLAN Zvuvi’s Israel by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, Kar-Ben Publishing, $16.95 hardcover, $7.95 paperback, 32 pp. Have you met Zvuvi? Zvuvi is Hebrew for fly and he is really fast. He takes us, and a cousin, Zahava, on a tour of Israel beginning in Jerusalem at the “wailing” wall (oops, no one has called it that since 1967 when Israel was reunited!). The tour goes on to places on the way to Tel Aviv, up the coast, into Haifa then the Galilee, upper Galilee, north, down to the Kinneret, south, the Dead Sea and Eilat. Along the way, the three to seven-year olds can play a game looking in 11 places to find Zvuvi and Zahava. American-born Tami Lehman-Wilzig, who lives in Petach Tikvah, has written a number of children’s books. Moscow-born artist, Ksenia Topaz, who lives in Jerusalem, and has illustrated more than 20 children’s books, provides clever illustrations. This is a great way to introduce young readers to the sights of Israel with age-appropriate descriptions of the places. Boker Tov! Good Morning by Rabbi Joe Black, Kar-Ben Publishing, $16.95 hardcover with CD, $8.95 paperback with CD, 24 pp. Congregational rabbi Joe Black is also a songwriter and guitarist. In this book for 1 to 4 year olds, one can learn a new Hebrew expression from the ways to welcome a new day, which are colorfully illustrated by Rick Brown, a children’s book illustrator. Then one can play the CD with the original song and sing along. Preschoolers should find this a really fun book to read and CD to hear. The Secret Shofar of Barcelona by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, Kar-Ben Publishing, $17.95 hardcover, $7.95 paperback, 32 pp. Many children do not know that besides Columbus discovering America in 1492 and having come from Spain, prior to his departure, the same king and queen who sent him issued a decree declaring everyone in Spain must be Catholic. Convert or leave. Jews who remained, “conversos” or “marranos” or “anusim,” led dangerous lives, pretending to be Catholic and yet practicing Judaism and passing it on to their children in secret. In this work for five to nine-year olds, Don Fernando is a composer and conductor of the Royal Orchestra of Barcelona. His son is Rafael. They are preparing for a concert to celebrate Spain’s colonies in the new world. But the concert falls on Rosh Hashanah. Rafael suggests putting the shofar as one of the instruments, and he will blow it for the secret Jews. While it is known that there was a composer/conductor named Don Fernando Aguilar, the story about the shofar being blown at the concert appears to be a legend. Jacqueline Dembar Greene is the author of more than 30 young readers’ books. She has traveled in Spain. Distinctive illustrations are by Doug Chayka, painter, illustrator and illustration teacher. Even if the basis of this story is legend, it is a truly lovely story and a great way for Ashkenazi children to learn about other Jews. Sukkot Treasure Hunt by Allison Ofanansky, Kar-Ben Publishing, $15.95 hardcover, 32 pp. Allison Ofanansky is an American-Israeli who lives with her husband, Shmuel, and their daughter, Aravah, in the village of Kaditah near Safed, Israel. Like her previous book, this one shows her family life and how they relate to nature and a Jewish holiday. In this book, the family build their own sukkah, then
decide to look for the four species in nature rather than buy them. The building and their “treasure hunt” are represented in the color photographs by Eliyahu Alpern, former American, who lives in the Upper Galilee. The Ofanansky family is involved in environmental and “eco-peace” projects including hiking and gathering local fruits. At the end of the book are fun facts about the species and about Sukkot. The best part of this book is that the color photographs depict an interesting family in contemporary Israel, connecting to the land, and there is no other agenda. Families with children 3 to 8 years of age should find this a bit different than typical holiday books. When I First Held You by Mirik Snir, Kar-Ben Publishing, $8.95 paperback, 32 pp. Subtitled, A Lullaby from Israel, in rhyming text, a mother describes the day her daughter was born. The author, Mirik Snir, is an Israeli-born children’s book author of more than 80 books in Hebrew. She has nine children and 10 grandchildren; is a writer and poet, elementary school teacher and special education teacher. Eleyor Snir, Mirik’s daughter, was born and raised on a kibbutz, studied graphic design and illustration and illustrates for children’s magazines in Israel. She has illustrated five children’s books. This would be a delightful book to read to 3 to 8 year olds because it is very simple yet emotional. At the end of the book, there is a place to put a child’s photo and describe the day the child was born. Illustrated Children’s Bible retold by Ellen Frankel, Jewish Publication Society, $35 hardcover, 256 pp. How many editions are there for children of the Old Testament? Barnes and Noble lists 1,680, but no matter. When you have a scholar and storyteller like Ellen Frankel, another edition is always welcome. Ellen Frankel is best known as CEO and editorin-chief of the Jewish Publication Society. Her areas of interest have been folklore and she has authored The Classic Tales: 4000 Years of Jewish Lore; The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols; Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah; The Jewish Spirit: A Celebration in Stories and Art; The Illustrated Children’s Bible; plus two young people’s books -- Choosing to be Chosen (stories for preteens); and a sequel, Tell It Like It Is, Tough Choices for Today’s Teens. Avi Katz, the Jerusalem Report magazine’s illustrator, and illustrator of more than 150 books in Israel, has added his artistic talent to this work. The full-page color illustrations capture the essence of each story through color and realistic depiction of a key element in the story. Why is this Bible different from others? Frankel says she chose 53 stories to acquaint American children with the language and rhythms of the bible, according to the 1985 JPS translation, as close to the original Hebrew text as possible. She wanted these stories to have appeal for children because they “represent the legacy of Jewish history and legend as well as the source of the Jewish literary and legal traditions.” This would make a lovely gift for any family to use for children from age 5 and up. Sybil Kaplan is a book reviewer, food and feature writer and cookbook author who lives in Jerusalem.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
November 20, 2009
ORGANIZATIONS NEBRASKA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY The NJHS would like to hear from families with stories, photographs and memorabilia from grocery stores in Omaha and Council Bluffs for a project in the future. Please call at 334.6442 or email njhs@jewishomaha.org for more information. B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Dr. Peter Gordon will address issues like “Will you be ready when the special moment arrives?” and answer questions about prostate cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 25, noon at Regency Lodge at 107th and Pacific. All men and women in the community are invited. The program is free. An optional buffet lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to get on the email list, contact Jenny at 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN NCJW-Omaha Section will host a jewelry and gift show, just in time for Hanukkah, this Sunday, Nov. 22, 4 p.m. Hosts are Patty and Steve Nogg, who will open their home at 3 p.m. for a Patron Preview Party, at 1425 No.135 St. Co-Chairmen are Jaime Nogg and Wendy Raffel. Proceeds of the fundraising event will benefit Omaha Section’s many community service projects: Mini-Grants for Teachers, R.A.F.T. (Resources Avalable for Teens Guide), the Jackson School Project, Reading Pups, and Dictionary Day. For information, call Jamie Nogg at 991.6753 or Wendy Raffel at 504.3366.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Pumpkin -- not in the pie! by SYBIL KAPLAN Pumpkin pie is one of my favorites and over the years I developed a great pareve, sugarfree recipe. Then the other day it occurred to me that pumpkin is great in cakes. Here are some recipes to try in addition to or instead of pie. Pumpkin is a member of the summer squash and gourd family. The word comes from Greek pepon meaning cooked in the sun; was called poumpon in French and poumpion in English and then they added kin to poumpion. For those on sugar-free diets, pumpkin has a natural sweetness. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, a fair source of iron and not high in calories. For fun, try using fresh pumpkin rather than canned. One pound of raw, peeled pumpkin equals four cups chunked or packed and grated; one pound raw, peeled equals two cups cooked, pureed, drained flesh. PAREVE PUMPKIN CAKE cup unsalted margarine cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 1 cup pumpkin 2 cups flour 1 T. baking powder 1/2 t. baking soda 1/2 t. ground ginger 1 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. ground cloves 3/4 cup non-dairy creamer or pareve whipping cream 1/2 1/4
t. ginger t. cinnamon 1 t. baking soda Preheat oven to 325º. Grease a Bundt pan. Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs and pumpkin. Add flour, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and baking soda. Blend well. Spoon into greased Bundt pan. Bake in 325º oven for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 1/2 1/2
PUMPKIN-APPLE LOAF margarine
5/8 cup unsalted 1 1/2 cups sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a rectangular baking pan. 2. Cream margarine and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. 3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nondairy creamer or whipping cream. Blend. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake in 350º oven 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For a nice variation, instead of nondairy creamer or whipping cream, use apple juice. SPICED PUMPKIN CAKE cups sugar cup vegetable oil eggs cups pumpkin cups flour 1/2 t. cloves 2 1 3 2 3
2 eggs 1 cup pumpkin 7/8 cup Granny Smith apple pieces 1/4 t. ginger 1/4 t. cloves 1/2 t. nutmeg 1/2 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. baking soda 1 T. baking powder 2 cups flour Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a loaf pan. Cream sugar and eggs. Add pumpkin, apple, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add baking soda, baking powder and flour. Blend well. Place batter in greased loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350º oven 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
A former resident of Overland Park, KS, Sybil Kaplan made aliyah to Israel last year. She is a food writer and compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks. She lives in Jerusalem and can be reached at syb1023@aol.com.
Featured artwork by the Yachad group.
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Best wishes from our family to yours for a holiday filled with love and light!
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
For success on the festival of oil, fry, fry again by LINDA MOREL NEW YORK (JTA) -- Several Hanukkahs ago my husband came home with an electric deep fryer large enough to accommodate a 12-pound turkey. I’d heard of suburban folks frying turkeys in their garages, but because we live in a Manhattan apartment I was less than thrilled with the gigantic appliance -- which I had no room to store. That first Hanukkah, however, I acquiesced to deep frying a turkey, which turned out to be more delicious than you can imagine. The bird was moist on the inside and crisp on the outside, an achievement that anyone who has roasted a turkey can tell you is no easy feat. Surprisingly the bird didn’t taste greasy. Better yet, the preparation time was reduced from several hours to 45 minutes. Since then, fried turkey has become one of our most treasured holiday traditions. Of course on the first night of Hanukkah, we fill four skillets with latkes. Nothing is crunchier than grated potatoes browned in spattering oil. But on another night of this eight-day holiday, we invite a crowd and deep fry a turkey. As we light colorful Hanukkah candles, our apartment fills with the scent of serious searing. Watching the candles twinkle, our family and friends can’t wait to gobble the turkey. Deep fried turkey is a fitting way to celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of oil, because its preparation requires several gallons of oil. But how did fried foods become entwined with Hanukkah’s culinary history? It started more than 2,100 years ago when the Greek king of Syria, Antiochus, occupied Israel. During his reign, the Jews and their customs faired poorly. When one of his officers arrived in a town outside of Jerusalem, he demanded the Jews take part in a Greek ceremony that entailed bowing to an idol and eating pork, both of which are forbidden by Jewish law. Outraged by such disrespect, the Maccabee family led a revolt to overthrow the occupiers. After defeating the Greek army, Judah Maccabee and his men began restoring the great Temple in Jerusalem, which lay in ruin. Candles had not yet been invented, so specially prepared olive oil was used to light the Temple’s menorah. Finding only a one-day supply of the oil to keep the menorah burning, the Maccabees were awestruck that it lasted eight days, long enough for a new batch to be made. This spawned the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah and the custom of observing the holiday by frying foods in oil. During the Maccabees’ time, cheese pancakes were a popular fried food. Latkes weren’t added to the Hanukkah repertoire until centuries later. Jews from various countries now fry many kinds of foods, including donuts, fritters and pancakes.
My husband’s family hailed from the Jewish community of Trieste, Italy, so every Hanukkah we also deep fry rice balls. An Italian delicacy, these crunchy balls, held together with ricotta cheese, are a sensational hors d’oeuvres or side dish. While fooling around in my kitchen, I’ve successfully fried some unexpected foods from Jewish cuisine into a whole new identity. Slices of sour pickles undergo a crusty transformation when they hit hot oil. Chopped fish, eggs and matzah meal are usually mixed together to form patties that are simmered in broth to produce gefilte fish. But instead of boiling these large oval patties, I roll the batter into small balls and deep fry them. After one taste, you’ll never settle for bland gefilte fish again. Frightened by the thought of dealing with raw fish? Forget the stories about your bubbe who tackled a live karp in her bathtub every time she cooked gefilte fish. Instead, ask your fishmonger to grind the haddock, whitefish or pike you order. From there, handling the fish batter is as easy as forming hamburger patties. On the theory that you can fry anything, I suggest widening your Hanukkah repertoire. Here are some ideas: • Submerge any kind of pitted black or green olives (but not bottled or canned) into hot oil, where they will develop a delicious pucker within a minute or two. • If pressed for time, slide thinly sliced potatoes or florets of broccoli and cauliflower into a pot of hot oil until they turn delightfully brown. After placing them on paper towels and sprinkling with kosher salt, you’ll savor every crisp mouthful. • Canned chickpeas can be fried into a sensational hors d’oeuvre or snack. Dry them on paper towels. Put a mixture of curry powder, cumin, flour, paprika, and a dash of cayenne pepper into a plastic storage bag. Place the chickpeas into the bag in batches, seal, and shake them until they’re coated. Deep fry them in oil, drain on paper towels, sprinkle with kosher salt, and serve them immediately. In spite of these other delicacies, I have to admit that I wait all year for Hanukkah because of the crackling texture of potato pancakes. But I find I can eat latkes for only so many days in a row before seeking other foods to fry. SAFETY TIPS FOR STOVETOP DEEP FRYING 1. Use a deep pot or saucepan, not a skillet or frying pan. A pot that comes with a basket insert is preferable. 2. Face the pot’s handle away from the edge of the stove to reduce the chances of knocking over a pot of hot oil. If possible, place the pot of oil on a back burner. 3. To reduce the chances of spatters or oil bubbling over, do not fill the pot or saucepan with oil more than halfway. 4. Heat the oil on a medium flame. Do not raise the
flame. 5. Always use a long-handled, slotted utensil to submerge or retrieve food from hot oil. Wear pot mitts when touching this utensil. 6. Never submerge frozen, ice cold or wet foods into hot oil as they may cause flare-ups. 7. To drain fried foods, lay down paper towels a reasonable distance from the flame so they do not catch fire. 8. Keep small children away from the stove when you are deep frying foods. 9. If the oil in the pot sputters or boils up, turn off the flame. Do not use that oil again. 10. When you are finished deep frying, turn off the flame and let the oil cool to room temperature before discarding it, preferably in a bottle or can with a top.
DEEP FRYING TURKEYS Getting started: 1. While some people fry turkeys by rigging up garbage cans on barbecue grills or above open fires, this is a dangerous practice. A safer route is to purchase a deep fryer from a reputable company, such as Masterbuilt. You can contact Masterbuilt online at http://www.masterbuilt.com or by phone in Columbus, GA, at 800.489.1581. 2. For safety sake, it is imperative to follow all instructions that accompany a deep fryer. 3. When deep frying, you must use fresh (not frozen) turkeys. 4. Use an oil with a high smoking point (preferably 450º). Aficionados recommend peanut oil as it imparts the most marvelous flavor. However, corn oil, safflower oil and canola oil are also safe choices. With the quantity of oil required, about 2 to 4 gallons, I suggest purchasing the oil at Costco or another of the big box stores. The brine: Non-kosher turkeys must be brined before deep frying them. However, because kosher turkeys have already been salted, they should not be brined. Ingredients: 1/2 pound kosher salt 1 pound dark brown sugar 6 quarts of hot water 24 ice cubes 12-pound turkey Brining bag (available at Williams Sonoma) or unused tall kitchen trash bag Preparation: 1. In a large bowl, stir salt and sugar in hot water until dissolved. Add ice cubes to cool down the brine. If it’s still warm, chill it in the refrigerator. When cooled, pour the brine into a brining bag or line a pot deep enough to hold a turkey with an unused tall kitchen trash bag. While the brining bag is stiff enough to hold its shape, the trash bag is flimsy so it must be kept inside the large pot during brining. Continued on page 26
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Finding the light by ELYA WILSON Community Schlicha How did Hanukkah come to be? From a series of terrible events, we made it into a joyous festival of lights. In a thousand years, how will we remember our hardest hours: The Edict of Expulsion or the Holocaust? Would we commemorate them as a series of events that eventually led up to our triumph? The series of events leading up to that small miracle of Hanukkah, the oil tin that lasted for eight days in the Temple, were terrible acts of violence towards the Jewish people. In celebrating this holiday, we’re actually celebrating the fact that we overcame persecution, and there was still light in the Temple, a symbol for the triumph of light over darkness. This raises an interesting question -- is our existence today as a Jewish people, having our own State, a triumph over modern days’ persecution? We commemo-
rate the Holocaust with memorial ceremonies, and our fallen soldiers are remembered every year during Yom HaZikaron. During these sad commemoration days, there is a sense of unity throughout Israel, more so than on the festive holidays we celebrate together as a nation. And so, I ask myself: “Where can that same ‘light’ be found today?” Living as an Israeli here in Omaha gives me a whole new perspective on these questions. I now realize that Israel’s unity isn’t restricted to the country’s physical borders. Commemorating our history as a people, both in Israel and around the world, alongside the celebrations of our holidays that have existed for thousands of years is what makes us stronger. That fine balance of grief and celebration is what unites us, and has united us thus far. I want to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah. May we always find the light to show us the way.
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An Israeli soldier lights the third light of Hanukkah in 5769, Credit: ISRANET during Operation Cast Lead.
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November 20, 2009
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Fry, fry again Continued from page 24 2. Place the turkey into the bag and seal it. To keep the turkey submerged, cover the outside of the bag with weights, such as unopened cans of food. Do not brine the turkey in the deep fryer. Refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours. 3. Thoroughly rinse off the brine before deep frying the turkey. Pat the turkey dry completely with paper towels because water can cause a flare up when exposed to hot oil. 4. Before deep frying the turkey, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for technique, timing, and amount of oil needed. DEEP FRIED GEFILTE FISH BALLS Ingredients: 1 cup breadcrumbs, or more, if needed 1 pound haddock, ground 1 egg beaten 1 small onion, chopped fine 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon dill, chopped 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 quart corn oil, or more if needed Kosher salt for sprinkling Red horseradish, optional, as an accompaniment Preparation: 1. Place breadcrumbs on a plate and reserve. 2. In a large bowl, mix together until well incorporated haddock, egg, onion, granulated salt, white pepper, flour, dill, and sugar. If mixture is too liquid to hold together, slowly add more flour until mixture is pasty. 3. Because mixture is sticky, you should wet hands with water often while forming balls or else mixture will be difficult to handle. Place a clump of the mixture in your wet palms and roll it into a ball 1-inch in diameter. Roll well to form a tight ball that won't fall apart while frying. 4. Roll ball in breadcrumbs until coated all around. Shake off excess breadcrumbs and place on a clean platter. Continue until all batter has been rolled into balls and covered with breadcrumbs. 5. Pour corn oil to a depth of 3 inches in a medium-sized deep saucepan. Heat corn oil on a medium flame to 375º on an oil and candy thermometer, or until a drop of water sizzles in the oil. 6. Using a long handled slotted spoon, place a few balls at a time in the oil. Fry for 3 minutes, rolling balls occasionally, until they are dark brown on all sides. Move balls to a plate covered with paper towels and drain them momentarily. Serve immediately with horseradish, if desired. BEER BATTER DEEP FRIED SOUR PICKLES Ingredients: 2 or 3 sour or half sour pickles, sliced 1/8-inch thick. Discard ends and tiny pieces. 1/4 cup flour 1 egg 1 cup beer
2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup panko, Japanese-style bread crumbs. (Can be purchased in most supermarkets, many gourmet food stores, and Asian groceries.) 1 quart corn oil, or more, if needed Preparation: 1. Drain pickle slices on both sides on paper towels. Place flour on a plate and roll slices in flour. 2. Place corn oil to a depth of 3 inches in a medium sized deep saucepan. Heat oil on a medium flame to 375º on an oil and candy thermometer, or until a drop of water sizzles in oil. 3. Using an electric mixer, whisk together egg, beer, and baking powder. Add panko and blend until well incorporated. 4. Immediately dip floured pickle slices into batter. Let excess drip off. Using a long handled slotted utensil, submerge a few slices into the oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until batter puffs and turns crunchy. Remove slices with long-handled utensil and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately. Yield: Approximately 30-40 pickle slices FRIED RICE BALLS ITALIAN-STYLE Ingredients: 1 egg 2 cups of cooked rice of any kind 1 tablespoon flour 3 tablespoons ricotta cheese 3 tablespoons olive oil, or more, if needed
Preparation: 1. Beat egg in a large bowl. Add the cooked rice. Stir to blend. Add the flour and ricotta cheese. Blend until well combined. 2. With your fingers, form rice mixture into balls 1 inch in diameter. Your hands will be sticky, but manipulate rice mixture until you form perfect tight spheres or they will fall apart while frying. 3. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place balls on the foil. Cover balls with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for 1 hour, or until they are firm. 4. Place olive oil in a large skillet, rolling it around until bottom surface is well oiled. Place as many rice balls as will fit comfortably in the skillet, leaving room to turn the balls with a wooden or plastic spoon. When bottom of balls brown, roll them around until another surface browns. Continue frying until balls are completely brown all around. With a long-handled slotted spoon, move balls to a plate lined with paper towels. Continue frying until all balls are crunchy and brown. Serve immediately. Yield: 20 rice balls
Hadassah Hanukkah party theme will be “Bits and Snacks” by GLORIA SHUKERT JONES Hadassah Publicity Coordinator On Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1 p.m., the Omaha Chapter of Hadassah will have a jump-start on the forthcoming Hanukkah week by hosting a party to commemorate the holiday. The event will take place at the Jewish Community Center and will highlight the talents of Miriam Gross, as she demonstrates delicious and easy “cool snacks” appropriate for cocktail parties or family gatherings. Refreshments will be served
following the program. There is no charge to attend the festivities, however, this year, Hadassah is again participating in “Adopt-A-Family”, sponsored by Jewish Family Services as part of their Project Dreidel. Cash donations of any amount are welcome, and will be accepted at the door, or, if you prefer, you can mail them to: Esther Wax at 118 So. 88 St., Omaha, NE 68114. Reservations are required, and can be made by calling Sandy Kohll, 391.5603, no later than Nov. 25.
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 27
Eat fresh, eat kosher:
Subway the largest U.S. kosher restaurant chain
by SUE FISHKOFF the hundreds of halal Subways in England and the Arab SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- What’s the largest kosher world. But it’s more than anyone else is offering. restaurant chain? And it’s a creative solution for Jewish community cenMendy’s? Six branches, seven if you count the meat ters that want to offer kosher food but don’t want to and dairy counters at New York City’s Grand Central take the financial risk themselves. Some would rather Station. offer no food than violate kosher law. Dougie’s? Five branches in New York and New Jersey. “There are very few JCCs that run successful food Don’t even bring up Nathan’s Famous -- it stopped establishments,” says Eric Koehler, director of the JCC making kosher hot dogs altogether. of Northern Virginia, which has never provided food The dark-horse winner is Subway, the made-to-order services in its building. “In this economy, it doesn’t sandwich giant which opened its ninth kosher franchise make sense to have something that loses $20,000 to in late summer inside the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish $30,000 a year.” Community Center in North Miami Beach, FL. New That’s why the Mandel JCC in Cleveland rented space Subways opening in Indianapolis and Skokie, IL, (which to the country’s first kosher Subway in May 2006. The debuted last week) will center had make it 11 by the end of offered only the year. kosher dining Five more are planned options since it for next year. The closest opened in one to Omaha opened in 1986, but none 2007 in Overland Park, lasted very long. KS, a suburb of Kansas When Michael City. Located across the Hyman arrived street from the convenin 2004 as the tion center, on College center’s new and Lamar, Subway draws director, he lunchtime business from closed the nearby offices, but also building’s last does a brisk business with struggling cafe local rabbis and teachers without knowfor Lunch ’n Learns. ing whether he (Omahan Joe Shyken could replace it. even drove down there In stepped last year to bring back Ghazi Faddoul, enough deli and buns for Customers lined up at the Subway inside the Jewish Community Center in a Lebanese 150 sandwiches at a Beth Cleveland, Ohio, the only kosher one in the world when it opened in 2006. Christian who Courtesy Doctor’s Associates had opened 100 Israel Synagogue Sunday night dinner!) Subways in Cleveland and was willing to give kosher a Subway is not the only fast-food chain with kosher try with the clout of a global chain behind him. branches. Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest coffee Ham and bacon were removed from the menu, the and baked goods chain, has 33 kosher franchises, most- “cheese” is made of soy, and the Seafood Sensation ly in New York, according to company spokesman sandwich is filled with imitation crab. Two microwaves Andrew Mastrangelo. They serve dairy breakfast sand- and toaster ovens ensure that fish and meat are kept sepwiches, but not full meals. arate, a consideration for more observant Jews. There is Subway, the second largest fast-food franchise in the a full-time mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, and the world, didn’t set out to be No. 1 in the kosher market. restaurant is closed on Shabbat. Staffers at company headquarters in Milford, CT, “It’s been wildly successful,” Hyman says. In June, the seemed bemused by the news. JCC of Greater Washington in Rockville, MD, picked “Really?” laughed Kevin Kane in the marketing up on Cleveland’s experience, opening a kosher Subway department. in a space formerly filled by a kosher Dunkin’ Donuts. Sure, 11 kosher stores pales in comparison to the Executive director Michael Feinstein says the center has 22,000 non-kosher Subways in the United States, or to been getting much more foot traffic since it opened,
particularly from Orthodox Jews. “There aren’t that many kosher restaurants in the D.C. area, so it’s nice for the community to have this option,” Feinstein says. “And it’s great for us because it gets people into our building who might not otherwise be there.” The Miami Beach JCC also looked to Cleveland’s example. The center’s director, Gary Bomzer, notes that the building already has an in-house kosher caterer, but no sit-down restaurant. “Bringing in a national chain gives us real credibility,” he explains. “A brand name like Subway provides more than a cup of coffee.” The remaining kosher Subways are freestanding stores: two in New York City, in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as one in Cedarhurst in the city’s Long Island suburbs; and one each in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Kansas City. The U.S. stores are the only kosher Subways. Israel opened the world’s first kosher Subway in 1992 but the operation, which reached 23 stores at its peak, shut down in 2004 after the original manager died. Subway spokesman Les Winograd says the company used its experience with halal, the Muslim standard, to learn how to deal with kashrut challenges such as sourcing specific meat and following strict dietary laws. The first halal Subway opened in Bahrain in 1984, followed by branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Zambia and other countries with large Muslim communities. England alone has nearly 60 halal branches. Kosher Subways are more difficult to keep open, Winograd says. Some open and shut, like one that lasted for about a year in Livingston, N.J., and a Wall Street branch that closed last winter when the economy collapsed. While Winograd receives lots of inquiries from potential franchise owners in other countries who are interested in the kosher option, none have panned out. “The population has not always been there to support the business,” he says. Subway serves meat, so a kosher store requires fulltime kosher supervision -- an extra expense added to ingredients that already cost more than their non-kosher equivalents. Maurice Lichy, owner of the new Miami JCC Subway, says he’s trying to keep his prices “competitive” and hopes to charge no more than $1.50 extra per sandwich. Will he offer a kosher $5 Footlong? Lichy hesitates. “No,” he says, “but I’ll try to manage a $6 Footlong. Probably tuna or turkey; not the corned beef.”
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Jewish American Food Culture
by Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Bantam, $35)
by Jonathan Deutsch and Rachel D. Saks (University of Nebraska Press, Bison Book, 2009, $17.97)
READ IT AND E AT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN
A revised and updated edition of Jenkins’ 1994 cookbook, of the 250 recipes, 92 are new additions and all are of the healthy food of the Mediterranean area including Spain, Italy, France, Greece to North Africa. Read the latest nutritional information. Following the detailed introduction the nine chapters are from “The Small Dishes of the Mediterranean” to “A Few Sweets.” Chapter notes, essays and headnotes cover the history and use of ingredients, methods, techniques, the meze table and all things Mediterranean and are fascinating to read. Many recipes are familiar: Tapenade (black olive paste), Hummus (chickpea), Tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber), Falafel, Couscous, Tabbouleh (bulgar) or be adventurous and try Samak Tajen (baked fish), La Pomarola (tomato sauce), Farro (hard durum wheat) or Jewish dishes like Chakchouka (a Moroccan salad) and Sephardic Spinach with Chickpeas from Greece. Instructions are clear and detailed. The lack of nutritional data accompanying
each recipe reflects the author’s concern that this information “can lead to misguided conclusions.” Join the generations of Mediterranean people who have nourished themselves for generations with good food prepared simply. For garlic lovers, this recipe: ANISSA’S GARLIC SAUCE (Toum bi Zeit) Makes 1/4 to 1 cup 6 plump fresh garlic cloves, crushed with the flat blade of a knife 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 to 4 tablespoons strained yogurt Chop the garlic cloves coarsely, then combine them with the salt in a small bowl or a mortar. Using the pestle or, in the case of a small bowl, the back of a spoon, crush the garlic and salt together until you have a smooth paste. The garlic should be thoroughly crushed, almost to a cream. Slowly beat in the olive oil, stirring constantly, as if you were making a mayonnaise. Add at least 1/3 cup of oil but if you can do so without the sauce breaking, add as much as 1/2 cup. At the end, gently stir in the yogurt, incorporating it fully into the sauce. Lois Friedman can be reached at ReadItAndEat@yaho.com.
THE HISTORIAN’S F OOTPRINT by OLIVER B. POLLAK Food is hot. Cookbooks, the food channel and movies have raised our interests and piqued our appetite. Locavore (eating foods produced within a hundred miles or so) recently joined herbivore and omnivore in the food lexicon. Food excites all our senses of taste, touch, smell, sight and even sound. This informative book, the 14th title in the University of Nebraska Press “A Table Series”, though directed more to a general eating rather than a Jewish audience, still reveals valuable facets to Jewish eaters about the diversity of Jewish food America. Italian, French and German Jews, in Europe, ate poultry including doves, geese, capon, ducks, pheasants, and quail. Much of this culinary habit unfortunately did not cross the Atlantic. The ubiquitously praised Shabbat chicken is boiled by the Ashkenazi (Eastern European), while Ethiopians prepare dora wat, Moroccans, tangine and Persian Jews fesenjan. Signature Israeli dishes, falafel, tabbouleh salad, and babbah ghanoush, adopted by many American Jews, available at street vendors, deli cases and frozen, is also eaten by Palestinians, Egyptians, and in Iran, and Iraq. Although there are no kosher restaurants for hundreds of miles, in America’s major metropolises Jews can dine on
kosher Japanese, Mexican, French, Indian, Italian, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Thai and South American food. Many Muslims frequent kosher restaurants and supermarket kosher food aisles because the probation of pork satisfies the requirements of Halal. Birth, bris, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, weddings and the meal of consolation evoke special foods. Holidays including Rosh Hashona, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Purim, Hanukkah, and Passover have ritual and traditional dishes. For Yom Kippur meat kreplach is a traditional Ashkenazi food. Sephardi Jews make almond milk before the fast. Ashkenazi and Sephardi kitchens at Pesach have slightly different prohibitions and traditions. Apparently wine is kosher, even if handled by non-Jews, if it is boiled before bottling. Jonathan Deutsch who teaches at Kingsborough Community College in New York and is the coeditor of Gastropolis: Food and New York City, and Rachel Saks, a nutritionist, personal chef and cooking teacher, have contributed a useful overview and a few Jewish recipes (including kugel, gefilte fish, challah, matzah balls, cholent) to the prodigiously growing library on Jewish foodways. Jewish American Food Culture is available at local bookstores.
Oliver B. Pollak is Professor of History at UNO and an attorney, with an interest in food history. He can be reached at OBPOmni@aol.com.
happy
Hanukkah May the warmth and glow of each candle you light, make your heart and home happy and your Hanukkah
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Craig Taubman releases “Holy Ground,” Another deeply personal touch to Holy Ground comes from Rabbi Ed Feinstein, a close friend of Taubman’s and the Senior Rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, who contributed the liner notes for the album. “Craig is part of a renaissance of Jewish creativity, vitality, and renewal among America’s Jews … (He) is the first voice of 21st century Judaism,” writes Feinstein. Throughout the package, the Rabbi provides an anecdotal translation of Taubman’s music, song by song. On “L’Chu N’Ran’na,” Feinstein writes, “And what is the opposite of religion? Not doubt, skepticism, secularity or atheism. The opposite of religion is boredom.” Something you will not find on this CD. “My family, my friends, my fellow musicians … they make me want to make music. And the more I do it, the more I appreciate those who make music and who support the arts.” Indeed, many of Taubman’s friends appear throughout “Holy Ground.” Text for several songs comes from contributions by Rabbi Elyse Frishman and Stuart K Robinson, and music for “L’Cha Dodi” comes from Taubman and frequent collaborator, Alberto Mizrahi. “Holy Ground” is available nationwide at www.craignco.com, iTunes, and in Jewish gift stores and synagogue gift shops across the country. Taubman will be a musical guest on “A Hanukkah Celebration” on Thursday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m. and he hosts “Lights! Celebrate Hanukkah Live in Concert.” on Thursday, Dec. 17, 10 p.m. Both programs will air on NET1 and NET-HD.
Page 29
Have a Happy & Healthy Hanukkah!
First album in five years, follow-up to “Friday Night Live”
by RACHEL LEAH COHEN LOS ANGELES -- Craig Taubman is set to release “Holy Ground,” the follow-up album to his groundbreaking Friday Night Live, which revolutionized the Friday evening Shabbat service. Featuring 14 new songs, the CD was released on Nov. 3 via Craig ’N Co., Taubman’s production company. Back in the studio for the first time in nearly five years to record an album of entirely new music, Taubman looked to build upon the elements that made “Friday Night Live” so successful while incorporating new inspirations that he’s gathered over the years. The songs on the album, including the title track, the rousing “L’Cha Dodi,” and the sweetly pensive “Love Your God,” reflect much of what has made Taubman’s musical Shabbat services a worldwide phenomenon -- drawing the congregation in close and bringing them to their feet, often within the same melody. One particular new inspiration that Taubman brings to “Holy Ground” is the involvement of the community. “As a musician, you know that you wouldn’t exist without your audience. So, why not put that inspiration into the actual album?” he asked. He did just that by bringing in over 150 individual sponsors: members of communities from coast to coast who have been supporting Taubman’s music for years. These “Holy Ground Sponsors” are recognized in the album’s packaging.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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At Hanukkah, lighting up the tzedakah stairway
by EDMON J. RODMAN LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- What lights the Festival of Lights? What really ignites the eight days, turning them into a hot winter glow? Is it the oil, the candles, the songs, the latkes, the gifts? What would you give for an answer? It’s dark and I am walking to Canter’s, a famous Los Angeles delicatessen, to buy a half-dozen bagels. I see by the blue and white cookies in their bakery window that it’s Hanukkah. Near the entrance, seated on a crate, is a guy who appears to be homeless. Is this his home? As I pass he holds out a paper cup and shakes it. Coins jingle. “Any spare change?” he asks. It’s an exchange that happens daily in big cities and small, at the Mobil station, outside the Piggly Wiggly, in the mall parking lot, outside the restaurant. No matter where or how high up you live, it happens. It’s happened to me in Beverly Hills. The question is always same: “Do you have any change?” Yet our responses vary. At Hanukkah time or anytime -- on the street, at your door, in the mail or online -- there are many ways you can respond to requests for tzedakah. Maimonides, the influential 12th century Jewish philosopher, wrote that there are “eight degrees of tzedakah, each higher than the next.” That is, eight distinct, clarifying ways you can respond to human need. The degrees are like steps progressively rising; kind of an early stairway to heaven. Proverbs tell us that a “mitzvah is a lamp.” On Hanukkah we can light up the nights with giving. Consider each step of the tzedakah stairway a candle that is lit each night; each light is an act of giving tzedakah, of doing justice in the world. The lowest level is giving like a Grinch, too little and with a cheapster attitude, as when a panhandler is in your face and you feel put out. “Do I look like a sucker?” you wonder. “Isn’t there an agency for this?” you think. So you flip him a dime. The countering Jewish idea in play here is from Devarim, Deuteronomy: “Give to him readily,” it says, “and have no regrets.” The second step is the sunny side of the first -- still giving too little, but with a smile. Like when a condolence card comes around at work and you pull a five out of your wallet when it’s full of twenties. Devarim also tells us when considering the needy, “do not harden your heart and shut your hand …” How much is too little? Hey, this isn’t a seasonal piece on tipping but on doing justice. Do you need an
accountant to paint you a picture? The third step is giving as much as is needed, but waiting until someone asks. A tough standard, as most of us don’t give until we are approached. The idea here is to cut down on the humiliation for the asker. Today, when institutions do much of the asking, the concept updates to-what if Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters has to ask ‘X’ number of times in letters or e-mail before we respond? Each letter costs, ultimately diminishing your contribution. The fourth step flips the third: Giving as much as is needed ‘before’ being asked. Think about it. This puts the giver on the lookout for tzedakah opportunities. It gets you twittering with finds and on the street, taking note of Jewish social service storefronts. People put their entire energies into looking for investments, why not tzedakah? Isn’t breaking the poverty cycle the best investment? The fifth step includes the previous elements and adds one more; giving tzedakah when you don’t know the recipient but the recipient knows you. It's like having your tzedekah labeled “This gift brought to you by ...” This uneven equation allows for corporate boasting about its contributions: Remember those ads that ran after Katrina? Still, it’s tzedakah. Sixth step: The recipient is known to the giver, the giver is unknown to the recipient. Talk about randomness. Imagine leaving a box of groceries at some unknown yet needful person’s doorstep. Food pantries like Sova in Los Angeles or the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry in St. Louis, where “confidentiality is strictly enforced,” illustrate this concept. As a giver, you know the items are going to someone in need, but they never know you. No. 7: Anonymous giving and receiving. Anonymity is a tough sell today; we are trained from birth to put our names on everything. Historically, in the Temple in Jerusalem there was a darkened room, called “lishkat chasha’im,” literally a “chamber of secrets,” where the giver could leave money and the poor would receive it without shame. A tzedakah box, or pushke, is a related idea. Pick up a box from your favorite Jewish charity, or make one yourself, and join the righteous ranks of the famous unknown. The highest level, “exceeded by none,” Maimonides tells us, is self-sufficiency as a result of outright gifts, loans, partnerships or “finding employment.” At a time when every dollar for the poor is debated, Maimonides reminds us to “strengthen” the poor. In many cities, Jewish free loan societies, Jewish vocational service agencies and international agencies such as ORT help move people toward self-sufficiency. Handicraft workshops for the needy elderly and disabled such as Yad Lakish in Jerusalem (www.lifeline.org.il), beautifully keep this concept alive. Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
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episode will feature a visit with a family whose menorah has remained in the family for generations. The Rosh Hashanah episode opens with a discussion about new beginnings as the audience sees an Israeli girl start her first day at school and her brother learn how to blow a shofar. In an exclusive interview with JTA, Grover discussed why he was excited about the project. “My home is ‘Sesame Street,’ but I love meeting people from all over the world, and one of those places is Israel, where I have been able to make new friends and learn,” he said in his trademark high-pitched tone. “I have learned a few words in Hebrew, like ‘toda’ [thank you] and ‘boker tov’ [good morning], and that pretty much gets me by.” Eric Jacobson, the puppeteer who assumed the voice and actions of Grover about 10 years ago after the legendary Frank Oz retired, said Grover seems to connect with audiences young and old both in Israel and around the world. “Let’s start with that Grover is blue,” Jacobson said during a break from filming. “No one I know is blue, and therefore he can be anybody.” Three other puppets join Grover in the cast, including a floppy-haired Arab Israeli named Mahboub. Shahar Sorek plays another human character, an archeologist who is religiously observant and wears a kipah. Often he is the one to explain some of the Jewish rituals and Bible stories. “I think it’s important to protect and present our Jewish heritage, and this is a tool for helping to do that,” Sorek said. The Sesame Workshop has co-productions with some 18 countries, including an Israeli version called “Rehov Sumsum” and a Palestinian Grover mulls his selections at the open-air market Machane Yehuda with the help version called “Shara’a Simsim.” of an Israeli girl during the filming of “Shalom Sesame” in Jerusalem. “Shalom Sesame” is the first series Credit: Koby Gideon/Flash 90/JTA intended to reach out specifically to an More than 20 years later, it was time to update and overhaul the content. “The needs of the Jewish community have changed,” said Danny Labin, the project’s executive director, speaking at the studio outside of Tel Aviv where segments are being filmed. Labin noted shifting demographic realities such as intermarriage and Israel’s large immigrant populations from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Two of the new human characters reflect this diversity in Israel: One is an Ethiopian Israeli woman, the other a Russian immigrant. Scripts and concepts have been reviewed with the help of a team of senior experts in Jewish education representing the religious streams and a range of backgrounds, from Chabad to Reform. “We are trying to make something that is accessible to those not ensconced in a formal Jewish framework to help parents feel more comfortable and get them interested Grover chats with an Israeli boy at an overlook of the Western Wall in in a search for identity themselves,” Labin Jerusalem’s Old City during the filming of “Shalom Sesame”. Credit: Koby Gideon/Flash 90/JTA said. The project also intends to supplement the TV show American Diaspora audience, but similar programs are with an interactive Web site and other media platforms, planned for children of Arab Americans and of Indian including plans to use joint online projects to help con- Americans based on “Sesame nect Jewish Israeli and American children with the show Street”rodmanchanukah.jpg-style programs in Egypt as a vehicle. and India. In the first episode of “Shalom Sesame,” the character During a scene shot last week from the final episodes played by van der Pol -- a Jewish-American actress who of “Shalom Sesame,” at a farewell party for Grover and was named after Anne Frank -- is seen on a plane flying van der Pol, a wistful van der Pol looks around at her to Israel for her first visit. new friends and says, “I can’t believe my Israel adventure After hearing Grover, cast as a flight attendant, shout is over. It’s been the most amazing experience of my life out “Kosher meal! Aisle 10!,” they strike up a friendship -- the friends, the fun.” and decide to travel together throughout the country. “The falafel!” pipes in Grover, prompting a round of Throughout the series the pair remain in Israel -- a laughs. device that lets children see various landscapes, meet Shoshana, who plays an Israeli family friend of van der Israeli children and even learn a little Hebrew. Pol’s character, turns to her and says, “You will always There are episodes on the Jewish holidays, mitzvah have a home here. You are our mishpocha now, part of themes such as loving animals and treating others kind- our family.” ly, animation segments and interviews. The Hanukkah The director calls out, “OK everyone, get a little by DINA KRAFT HERZLIYA, Israel (JTA) -- Grover has been getting to know Israel. The furry, blue “Sesame Street” character has visited the Dead Sea, Caesarea, the Western Wall and even Jerusalem’s shouk to sample the produce. Along with Disney Channel star Annelise van der Pol, Grover has been exploring the Jewish state as part of a Sesame Workshop production called “Shalom Sesame.” The 12-part series is geared toward North American Jewish children and their families to forge a sense of Jewish identity by providing a taste of Israel, Jewish traditions and culture. It will include celebrity appearances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Debra Messing and possibly Ben Stiller, among others, and is scheduled for a Hanukkah 2010 release. A 1986 production of the same name sold 1 million copies and is considered the top-selling Jewish educational title.
November 20, 2009
Chabad’s gift shop overstocked for Hanukkah
by SHEVI KATZMAN If Rosh Chodesh is a holiday for women, then Hanukkah is the holiday for children. If Rosh Chodesh recognizes the centrality of the role of Jewish women, then Hanukkah is the time to nurture, to educate, to inspire and to celebrate how Jewish children are at the epicenter of Judaism. For eight full days, children have many opportunities to express their Jewish pride, learn the holiday’s meaning, taste the foods, kindle the lights, and play the games. Hence, Hanukkah marks a time when the Chabad Judaica Boutique is overstocked with games, prizes, activities, books and ritual items for Hanukkah. Many items are deeply discounted for the holiday. A suggested gift list at www.OChabad.com/JudaicaBoutique can help you with your selections or you can stop by the shop in person. CJB will adorn your purchase with its signature gift wrap free of charge. Chabad Judaica Boutique was established in 1990 at the Chabad House. In 2006, it expanded significantly thanks to a generous donation by James Skinner. Today, the boutique sells a variety of Judaica goods, services, books, music and fine art. Exclusive artwork and jewelry sold at the shop include products from Jillery, Michal Golan, and Quest. Menorah scrolls handwritten by a scribe are imported from New York and Israel. The boutique staff will check your mezuzah scroll at home for inaccuracies which occur over time and can repair or replace your scroll. Every item is hand picked and imported for you with care. “The main thrust of our shop is education,” explained Shani Katzman, education director at Chabad House. “Education is experience. Jewish music for the children, Jewish art for the home, books for everyone and ritual items for all to enjoy- this is how Judaism becomes the learned, acquired, relevant behavior.” Chabad Judaica Boutique is located at the Chabad House, 1866 So 120 St, and is open Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and by appointment. If you don’t have time to stop in, visit www.ochabad. com/judaica for a huge selection of online Judaica shipped straight to your home.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 31
Artists’ “show and tell” adds to shopping experience at Temple gift shop
Stained glass art with Judaic themes by artist Susan by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Fullenbaum commemorates joyous life cycle events, If you’re looking for meaningful gifts to give as illustrates Jewish customs, or is used in ceremonial life. Hanukkah presents, the Temple Israel Gift Shop is Her boxes, figurines, and large window panels are creatstocked with assorted styles of tzedakah boxes, Shabbat ed through the interplay of colored glass with ambient candlestick holders in numerous designs and sizes, tradi- light and are displayed in galleries, synagogues, and pritional and contemporary menorahs, colorful dreidels vate homes across the United States and abroad. large and small, chocolate gelt, candles, and decorations. From right here in Omaha, Stephanie Grossman is creBesides items you’d ating unique menorah expect for Hanukkah, Gift necklaces in her home. Shop maven Sandy Nogg Last summer when her is selling silk hangings, son, Noah, got sick in challah plates and covers, Denver, “I got stranded jewelry, yads and mezuzot there for two weeks,” she some of which are crafted explained. After she got of pewter and decorated tired of reading, she purwith butterflies, stars of chased beads and started David, dragonflies, and making necklaces to pass birds; Seder plates, and the time. dozens of educational and “It’s very addictive,” she fun Judaica toys, such as a admitted. Wanting to try Hanukkah counting something new and recbook, bibs, menorahs, ognizing that it's difficult soft dreidels, Hanukkah to find Judaic jewelry musical yoyos, and stuffed which “tends to be expenSandy Nogg, manager of the Temple Israel Gift Shop, displays sive” if you do find it, “I animals. Nogg doesn’t just sell some of the Judaica necklaces designed by Stephanie Grossman challenged myself to make her inventory. She enjoys who has started a jewelry business called Chai Lights. menorah necklaces.” She telling stories about the artists, from Israel to Omaha, who are represented in the shop. Gifts by Yair Emanuel from Israel include colorful, painted wood tzedakah boxes, as well as modern and classical Judaica-themed silk hangings, and challah covers. Gary Rosenthal’s contemporary fused glass yads, tzedakah boxes, mezuzot, and dreidels are rooted in tradition. His inspiration comes from the history of the Jewish people. His work has been presented to American presidents from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton and to celebrities like Bette Midler, John Travolta, and Tony Randall. It also shows up in galleries and private collections around the world.
found a source of Jewish beads and decided “to test the market” by selling the jewelry, strung in multiples of 18, at a place familiar to her -- the Temple Gift Shop. She’s also made a set of earrings and a couple of bracelets. Her daughter, Hannah, wears one of the bracelets which Stephanie took apart some six times until she got it just right for Hannah. Proceeds from the Temple Gift Shop support Women of Reform Judaism projects. Holiday hours are Wednesdays, Dec. 2-16, 5:30 to 8 p.m.; Sundays, Dec. 6 and 13, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and by appointment by calling Temple at 556.6536.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Into the woods we go TIME OUT by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT
Most of my friends know I’m not a big Thanksgiving fan. If it were up to me, I’d just celebrate Halloween twice and call it good. However, I have American children, and they need to know these things: time to make up the balance, and see what they actually know about this holiday. Mendel’s answer is quick: you eat turkey. Since I have weaseled my way out of cooking a Thanksgiving bird as long as he’s been alive, this is somewhat surprising: I ask him where he is going to get this turkey. “You go into the woods and find one,” he says. “Then what?” “You catch it.” “How do you plan on doing that?” “You catch it with a net, bring it home, and eat it.” “Shouldn’t we cook it first?” “Yes. Before you eat it.” (Oh, good) I question whether it wouldn’t be easier to just buy one at the store, but he is adamant: a Thanksgiving turkey needs to be caught in the woods. Which woods, I don’t know: we live in Millard. I don’t think there are any wild turkeys available. Raccoons, yes, but I wasn’t planning on serving those for Thanksgiving. Of course, there is much more to this Holiday than food; this is a time to remember the things we are grateful for. For many Americans, this is harder than ever, and our family is no different. It is, after all, much easier to focus on the
hardships than it is on the good stuff. Yet, in this economic climate, remembering the things that are good is extremely important, lest we lose sight of what matters. We have a great family, our health, and even though it’s leaky, we have a roof over our heads. It sounds preachy, doesn’t it? Who would have thought we would be repeating our grandparents’ clichés so adamantly: “At least you have your health!” Yikes. My children don’t care about bills and mortgages, lost bonuses and high taxes. They are eternally hopeful, and able to focus on the small pleasures. A nice lunch, an extra story before bedtime, not forgetting your swimming bag on Wednesday, and finishing your homework in under an hour. They, unlike us, live in the now, where nothing is impossible, as long as you can imagine it. Maybe this Thanksgiving, we can take a page out of their book, and forget about yesterday and tomorrow, and just treasure the moment. Take a break, and just breathe. And if the price of turkey at the store throws us into a tailspin, well: we can always take Mendel’s advice, and catch one in the woods. Does anybody have a net we can borrow? Annette van de Kamp-Wright is a freelance writer and member of the American Jewish Press Association. Read more of her work at: http://www.examiner.com/x-5645Parenting-Humor-Examiner. She can be reached at: avandekamp@ tconl.com.
ADL offers sound solutions to December Dilemma
by THERESE VAUGHN-WEINER for Public Schools available at the ADL Anti-Defamation League website: www. adl.org. Potash adds, “There are proactive ways Communications Associate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, for parents to help teachers and adminisWinter Solstice -- the month of trators become more sensitive to chilDecember is alight with holidays from dren who don’t practice Christian holinumerous religious and secular tradi- days. Our office is happy to assist.” The ADL also offers these additional tions. Yet, while the season can present our tips for parents: 1) In advance of Jewish holidays, notipublic schools with multicultural educational opportunities, it can also pose a fy your child’s teacher(s) when he/she will be absent. In some challenge for many nonclasses where credit is given Christian students and famifor daily participation, make lies. The Anti-Defamation sure your child will not be League (ADL) has some penalized for missing school helpful tips for addressing for religious observances. this “December Dilemma.” Request that no tests be “Parents can feel frustratgiven at a time that would ed when their child’s public prejudice your child’s perschool puts up a Christmas formance. Request that tree in the classroom or peryour child be given approforms a religious-themed priate time to make up play,” said ADL Regional his/her homework from Director Alan Potash. “We ADL Regional Director those days. believe, however, that the Alan Potash 2) Meet with your school best way to address these issues is to deal with them before they principal to ask about school policies regarding religious issues (materials in become conflicts.” Potash suggests that parents begin by the schools, presentations by teachers, educating themselves about what is per- music programs, religious decorations) missible when it comes to religious dis- and share with him/her any concerns you may have. plays, education and events in school. 3) Meet with your school music “The most important guidepost for public institutions is that while it’s okay teacher to discuss the musical selections to teach students about diverse religions, that will be performed at the winter it’s unconstitutional for schools to cele- music program, as well as at other varibrate or practice religion,” he said, rec- ous programs. For more information on religion-state ommending that parents check out the ADL’s online resource, The December issues, contact the ADL Plains States Dilemma: December Holiday Guidelines office at 402.333.1303.
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DOWN 1. Moses’ lieutenant in leading the Israelites, shortened 2. International indexing system intended to unify taxonomic names for flora and fauna 3. Senora synonym in Segovia 4. Latin love 5. HAND-TO-____ ________ , WHAT THE MACCABEES ENGAGED IN, UP CLOSE (2 words) 6. Skin break-outs 7. Ordinary 8. For Catholics, Anne, Cecilia, et al 9. “Man, he was fast! He did ___ ____ in 4 min, 10 sec” 10. Jet or turbo-prop 11. Ardent 12. Attachment to sole of a sports shoe 13. Small mountain lake or pool 22. “ ___ ______ ___” – START OF A COUNTING RHYME, COULD BE USED FOR LATKE MAKING 24. Very large shoe width 26. Residue of grain harvests, abbr. 27. “Oh, now I see!” 28. ____ Lenape, Native Americans of New Jersey 29. Shellac, in Spain 30. Not a one left out 32. Poetic contraction 33. Someone doing garden work 34. Fice starter, for a clever trick or strategem 35. Govt. drug agent 36. You, in Old English 38. Another poetic contraction 41. BIRTHPLACE OF MATTATHIAS AND THE PRESENT-DAY CITY NEAR ITS SITE 42. A Gabor sister 44. Towards the rear of a ship 45. THE LAND IN WHICH THE TEMPLE LAMPS WHERE RELIT IS NOW THE _____ OF ISRAEL 46. Variations of a color 47. Concerning, in Old English 48. “HAVE _ ____ AND DIG INTO MY LATKES!” 49. Bridge section 50. Emend a text 52. AN INSTRUMENT THE MACCEBEES PLAYED 53. ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS OF MACCABEAN AND OUR TIMES IN ISRAEL’S FIELDS 54. “Hold your cards close to your ____” 55. Villa d’____, grand Italian estate
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ACROSS 1. SON OF MATTATHIAS WHO LED THE STRUGGLE TO OVERTHROW THE SELEUCID GREEKS 6. Hasten 10. Plant compound used as a gelling agent 14. Barack 15. ____ Spumante 16. “Oh, that nut? He’s in ____ land!” 17. A BROTHER OF 1–ACROSS, BECAME FIRST 21–ACROSS RULER OF LIBERATED JUDAH 18. Litigates 19. That which makes something or some one older 20. Build a cache, selfishly 21. MACCABEAN 23. Sense 25. Without movement 26. ________ FORTH, AS A MACCABEE UNIT MUST FROM ITS HIDDEN POSITION 30. Like beer, but richer in hops and zing 31. “___ ___ of Aquarius” 32. PACHYDERM, USED AS A MOUNT BY THE SELEUCID GREEKS 37. “Meanwhile, back at the _____” 38. Electric or moray 39. It was founded in 1980 to awaken Jewish children, families to their heritage 40. Growers of the principal grain for bread? – 2 words 42. “And to be” in Paris 43. Noun ending 44. Greed 45. MATTATHIAS TOOK A COURAGEOUS _____ AGAINST THE SYRIAN COMMANDER 48. Two-word comparative term used in referring to places 49. Most miserly 51. TREE (OR FRUIT) THAT SUPPLIED THE OIL FOR THE TEMPLE’S REDEDICATION 56. Window section 57. Idea, in Québec 58. The British mount them on car wheels 59. Letter or memo abbreviation 60. Paper, in Petach Tikvah 61. PART OF THE ARM THAT NEEDED TO FLEX AS THE MACCABEES WIELDED THEIR SWORDS 62. WHAT THE HOOPOE (NOW ISRAEL’S NATIONAL BIRD) LAID ITS EGGS IN, IN THOSE DAYS AND OURS 63. Cholesterol-controlling compound, abbr. 64. West, in Spain or Portugal
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Hanging out with tween boys ARTS & NTERTAINMENT E by JEANETTE FRIEDMAN
Teenage boys have ways of hanging out. So, the best thing to do is be ready when they show up at your house in bunches, and set the ground rules for hanging out. Pizza boxes and other take-out packaging go in the trash, soda cans and bottles get recycled, paper goods get dumped, and if dishes and glassware are involved, the kids have to wash up after themselves. After all, if they are old enough to make a mess, they are old enough to clean up after themselves, even if you are lucky enough to have your own housekeeper! A word of advice: While tweens think they are adults, their parties require adult supervision. You know there’s trouble when things get too quiet, so ears and eyes need to be on the alert at all times, because sometimes tweens are worse than toddlers. For some reason, boys love movie marathons, so for a special occasion you can pile a group in the van and catch the
flicks at a local movie house, where parties can be arranged. Your home is spared from wear and tear and cleaning up becomes someone else’s job. But, if that’s not in your budget, be prepared for tween sprawl. Stock the family room with extra floor pillows, a huge TV set (if possible) and plenty of action DVDs to keep the youngsters busy, from dawn to dusk. There are a plethora of “film festivals” you can arrange: Star Wars, Star Trek, Die Hard, Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns, Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, to name a few. And, those mouths need to be fed. If you can, stay away from feeding them sugar, which will make them hyper. Ultimately, however, you may have to cave into a certain amount of junk food, like popcorn or soda pop. If the party isn’t planned, be prepared for the spontaneous. You never know when your sons will come home with 15 kids after playing tackle football at the local schoolyard, or going ice skating at the rink. They will be looking for pizza or chicken fingers, to order from neighborhood restaurants. If it’s left up to you, entice the tweens with soup and bowls of
chips, pretzels and crackers. If it’s cold enough, leave the sodas on the back porch and let the great outdoors be your fridge. Better yet, let the boys hang outdoors. There’s a tween outdoor party for every season. Summer pool parties are fun, but do require adult supervision. The boys will be sure to create their own amusements, but you can add to the fun by providing toys for pool volleyball or basketball or any number of games. Your pool store should carry age-appropriate accessories. In the fall, take your van or SUV, a portable grill and show the boys how to create a tail-gate feast in your own backyard or driveway. Provide meat, buns and all the trimmings to fill their bellies. Keep an eye on their shenanigans and let them train to be the Food Network’s next grilling geniuses. All the while, they can be watching the game on a portable TV, plugged into the vehicle’s cigarette lighter. They can make believe they are at the stadium, and you have them under your watchful eye. Winter is a snap. With snowfall, the sleds come out, as do the skis and skates. If you want to keep the kids on the premises, challenge them to build a real snow fort, have a real snowball fight, and build a fire in a safe pit, where they can toast
their own marshmallows on twigs from trees in your yard. Keep an extra supply of hats, gloves and warm socks available in case of “emergency” losses. Have the hot cocoa and cookies ready when they come indoors to warm up, and follow up with a hearty, thick, winter soup. Spring is baseball season, so taking the boys out to the ballgame is always a treat. Find out if the local team has a hat or glove day -- there’s always something geared to tweens -- and you can coordinate your event, accordingly. The traditional menu: roasted peanuts in their shells, caramel-coated popcorn, hot dogs and ice pops for dessert. Stadium too expensive? Set your boys up in front of a flatscreen TV and tell them to make believe it’s a skybox. Above all, be prepared when the boys show up. Whenever they bring over their friends, they will be hungry and eat whatever isn’t nailed down. Stock every nosh you can think of in your pantry, from chips, nuts and sweets to healthy treats. Be sure to have lots on hand, because growing boys are like vacuum cleaners, who will make a clean sweep of your kitchen pantry. Jeanette Friedman is a freelance writer in New Jersey and a member of AJPA.
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by LARRY L. KUBERT Programs focusing on Jerusalem and Hanukkah will be featured on NET Television during December. For more than 40 centuries, untold numbers of Jews, Christians and Muslims have gone to Jerusalem to look for God, while billions more have worshiped from afar. “Jerusalem: Center of the World,” airing Wednesday, Dec. 9, 9 p.m. on NET1 and in high-def on NET-HD, delves into the historical facts and religious beliefs that have led so many thousands to live and die for this city. Actress Fran Drescher hosts a fun-filled hour celebrating Hanukkah. Airing Thursday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m., on NET1 and NET-HD, “A Hanukkah Celebration” is filled with stories, ideas and information to bring new meaning to the holiday season. The program features a delicious dessert from chef, author and television host Jeff Nathan (New Jewish Cuisine); home celebration and decorating tips from TLC’s Teresa Strasser (While You Were Out); musical performances from popular recording artist Craig Taubman and some very special guest artists; a contemporary telling of the “Eight Lights of Hanukkah” by Irwin Kula, leading teacher of Jewish learning and host of Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula. “A Hanukkah Celebration” will be repeated on Thursday, Dec. 17, 9 p.m. on NET1 and NET-HD. Hosted by internationally renowned Jewish musician Craig Taubman, “Lights! Celebrate Hanukkah Live in Concert” celebrates the holiday by bringing together an eclectic group of performers, many of them well-known in the Jewish music scene. The hour-long program airs Thursday, Dec. 17, 10 p.m., on NET1 and NET-HD. With high energy and old-country charm, the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics share songs from their hit Hanukkah album, while Cantor Alberto Mizrahi -- the “Jewish Pavarotti” -- wows the audience with his Middle-Eastern rendition of “Ocho Kandelikas.” Michelle Citrin, whose YouTube videos “Rosh Hashanah Girl” and “Twenty Things to Do With Matzah” have received millions of views, gets the crowd singing along to Peter Yarrow’s “Light One Candle.” Emmy Award-winner Mare Winningham, a recent convert to Judaism, tells her unique story through “A Convert Jig,” while Grammy Award-nominee and topselling saxophonist Dave Koz transforms “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” into a song about hope -- and a potential new Hanukkah classic. Multi-instrumentalist Josh Nelson leads a children’s choir in the moving ballad “L’Dor Vador.” Host Taubman performs a number of songs, including his original compositions “Shehechianu” (with his sister, Cantor Caren Glasser), “Holy Ground” (with dance troupe BodyTraffic) and the traditional melody “Maoz Tzur” (a duet with multi-Grammy Award-winner Laurence Juber). For a complete program schedule, visit NET’s website (netNebraska.org/television).
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 35
Friedel gears up for annual Hanukkah program and latke sale
by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT “and we are hoping for a full house. You don’t have to In December 2008, students and staff at Friedel be a Friedel parent, or alumni; this play is a great way Jewish Academy were busy rehearsing their lines for the to get into the spirit of Hanukkah, regardless of who you are. And then, of course, we would like everybody annual Hanukkah play. to stop by for lunch the next As every year, Hebrew and day.” Judaic studies teachers ‘Lunch’ refers to the annuNa’ama Arzi and Eadie al Hanukkah fundraiser Tsabari put a great performFriedel’s PTO organizes the ance together, giving their day after the show. students a chance to show off Staff, students and an army their Hebrew speaking skills. of volunteers benefit from Sets were built, costumes the Bag ’n Save supermarwere ready, and pounds and ket’s generosity and spend pounds of potatoes and the morning cutting, peelonions were waiting for the ing, mashing, and frying. annual latke sale the followThe Shrago family donates ing day. endless potatoes, onions, Except -- none of this came and anything else Friedel to pass: because of a very needs to make latkes. unwelcome snowstorm, “Making our own latkes everything was canceled. and serving them is such a Instead of shining on stage, fantastic tradition, but one I kids got to stay home, and haven’t yet experienced first watch their parents shovel hand, due to the weather their driveways. putting a cramp in things “The disappointment was immense,” Friedel Principal Isabella Wright will be among Friedel students selling last year,” Giller says. Ron Giller says, “and I can’t latkes next month during the school’s annual Hanukkah He added, “I can’t wait to see the kids in action, and wait for the chance to invite celebration. the whole community to the JCC Theater again. I sin- I’m sure they feel the same way. This is not only a good cerely hope that this year, the weather will cooperate, fundraiser, but also a great opportunity for our kids to and we don’t have to cancel or reschedule. To stack the really experience all the aspects of Hanukkah. We are deck in our favor, we have scheduled our play two delighted to welcome members of the community to weeks earlier.” Just in case the unspeakable happens -- our school.” Take-out orders of 10 latkes with applesauce and after all, this is Nebraska -- Friedel staff has included a sour cream are $10, and can be called in to Mary Jane second date on the calendar. “We are prepared, but we nonetheless are hopeful Tweedy at 334.0517; please have your orders in by Dec. 7 at the latest. For those who choose to enjoy our play, as well as our latke sale, will go as planned.” The play will take place on the evening of Thursday, their latkes at the school, in the company of staff and students: the cost per lunch is $5; this includes two Dec. 10, 7 p.m. “The entire community is welcome,” Giller says, latkes, condiments, and a drink.
Reservations for the in-school lunch are not needed. Lunch will take place at the school on Dec. 11, 11:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Friedel Jewish Academy. And for those who want to make latkes, here’s a traditional recipe from Eileen Goltz, a freelance kosher food writer and author of the Perfectly Pareve Cookbook (Feldheim), courtesy of the Orthodox Union. Find more latke recipes at www.ou.org. LATKES (pareve) “I have no idea where this recipe came from but it’s really, really good,” said Goltz. 4 to 5 medium to large Yukon gold potatoes 1 large onion, shredded (you can use a food processor) 2 eggs 1 1/2 tablespoons flour or matzo meal 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Oil for frying Peel and cut 2 of the potatoes into one-inch chunks. Boil the chunks in salted water until tender (15 to 20 minutes). Drain and mash the potatoes slightly. Sprinkle the flour or matzo meal on top of the mashed potatoes and set the mixture aside. Shred the remaining potatoes and mix them, in a large bowl with the shredded onions (this mixing is to keep the potato from turning brown). Squeeze and drain as much liquid as possible from onion/potato mixture. Add the eggs, pepper, and salt to the onion mixture and mix to combine. Add the mashed potatoes to the shredded potatoes and mix to combine. Make 3 inch patties. Heat oil and fry the patties in 1/4 to 1/2 inches of oil. Cook for about 5 minutes on the first side and then turn them over with a spatula and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Makes approx 8 to 12 latkes depending on size.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
Defining our identity: the 2009 GA Assembly
by HANNAH ROBINOW Identity holds great power over our lives: that’s what people my generation have been taught since the minute we were born, when our wrists were tagged to proclaim to the world our names, weights, and dates of birth. Identities are what allow us to stand up and declare that we know who we are and where we come from, and allow us to unite with other individuals who share our values. At the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, this was the common theme that united the myriad of speakers, panel discussions, and workshops I attended. As a member of “Do the Write Thing”, I was part of a group consisting of student journalists interested in honing their writing skills for the sake of Israel advocacy while working on the sidelines of the GA. Thanks to the World Zionist Organization, the main entity sponsoring my group, I connected with my fellow collegians on this topic, as our main goal of strengthening hasbara efforts on our college campuses wouldn’t be possible unless our Jewish identities were strong and informed. Our conference began on Nov. 8 with the first plenary session of the 2009 GA. The keynote speaker, Ambassador Michael Oren, drew upon his experiences as the current Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and as a noted scholar of Middle East history in his address to the 3,000-plus attendees packed into the ballroom at the Wardman Park Marriott. During his speech, he made the point that one of the main tenets of Jewish identity is faith in G-d, which “began when an obscure tribe of nomads living 3,000 years ago suddenly devised the notion of a single G-d … these nomads became a people who conveyed these concepts to other faiths that today account for more than half of humanity.” Oren went on to discuss the historical legitimacy of Israel and international Jewry’s efforts to combat the threat Israel faces from worldwide denigration. However, it was this point, that Jews are at their strongest and can be the greatest force for change in the world only when they determine a set of common principles to unite around. Thus, it was this idea that resounded in my ears, and those of my fellow student journalists, as we returned to
our rooms after the plenary. The next day began with a whirlwind of speakers, presentations, and panel discussions; we heard from a panel of Israeli journalists about the process of reporting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within Israel, and listened to Yuli Edelstein, Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy and the Diaspora as he talked about the necessity of a strong relationship between Diaspora and Israeli Jewry. In addition, we interviewed a group of American students who had just completed a course of study in Israel thanks to a program called MASA, funded by the Jewish
Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, addressing the organization’s General Assembly in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10. Robert A. Cumins/Jewish Federations of North America Agency and the Federations of North America. The entire day’s activities were designed to teach us what comprises a Jewish identity: a connection with our fellow Jews, a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel’s historical legitimacy, as well as an affinity for the culture of Israel and its people. However, the moment that infused our activities with a sense of purpose occurred during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in the afternoon. He addressed the plenary on his vision for the future of Israel’s place in the world, as well as how world Jewry can help the state face down existential threats and assure her role as a paragon of free enterprise and peace for the world. His entire speech was eloquent, and very effective in articulating his ideas for what has made Israel great and
what will make her even better in the future. However, one line in his speech especially stood out: “Only an Israel that can defend itself is an Israel that can take further risks for peace.” After spending the hours leading up to this speech learning about how to use the power of communication to defend Israel, this echoed the lessons we learned that day. Though Netanyahu’s intended meaning of “defense” was to communicate the need to guarantee Israeli safety against physical threats from terrorists, this could also imply the same message my fellow students and I learned in the hours leading up to this speech: Israel must be able to defend itself in every regard, including through hasbara efforts in the international media. This speech added a new layer of meaning to the lessons we learned during our prior sessions -- not only was a strong Jewish identity vital for reinforcing the connections between every Jew, but also gave Jews the background knowledge necessary for defending Israel against her detractors. On Tuesday, we welcomed Galia Albin, an Israeli news personality and entrepreneur. She offered a spin on hasbara efforts that was completely different from the other perspectives discussed by the experts throughout the conference: where other experts discussed the need to emphasize the liberal values Israel brought to the world, she proposed that we can justify Israel’s existence by emphasizing the practical ways it benefits the world. For instance, Israel is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and a leader in promulgating new technologies, as well as host of high-tech corporations like IBM, Motorola, Intel, and GE Healthcare. The country boasts more scientists and engineers in proportion to its population than any other nation on earth, as it has 145 such professionals for every 10,000 people. Furthermore, Israel is a nascent venture capital market, attracting $1.7 billion worth of local and foreign investment in 2007, which was spread throughout 462 Israeli companies. In comparison, it took 1,169 California companies to raise $10.8 billion in financing. Though investment in Israel paralleled only seven percent of American financing, Continued on page 37
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Celebrating theJewish FestivalCommunity of Lights. Wishing the Entire We wish theProsperous entire Jewish Community a Peaceful and New Year a Happy Hanukkah.
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For latkes, ya’ gotta have oil!
BERT’S EYE VIEW by BERT LEWIS I admit when Hanukkah rolls around each year, I don’t think so much about what the holiday represents as what it means to little kids. I remember so well what a big event it was in our house when my kids were young. It wasn’t just that Jewish kids had their own gift season, but the commotion the season caused in the weeks prior to the day a match touched the first candle was unreal! Sunday school added the proper attitude and I’m sure the teachers tried to take some of the spotlight off the gift part of it, but little kids knew what it was all about. Of course they knew about that small amount of oil burned, way back at the start of it all, but they also knew they finally had an answer when their non Jewish friends started hocking about Christmas! Maybe the word revenge wasn’t understood by the very young, but they knew what it meant to be able to say, “Yeah, but we got eight days and lots of kids get a gift every day!” Hand made stars and construction paper chains began to appear, and arguments soon came up about using “real candles” in the windows -- yada yada yada as the comic says. It was probably the same in most Jewish houses where there were little kids, but we had one major difference that complicated things, in a way. One of my brood had a birthday in December, that sometimes turned out to be just before, in the middle or at the end of Hanukkah. This was looked upon by the birthday boy, as a very mixed blessing. The old chil-
Rare coins, artifacts on display in Jerusalem
dren’s phrase “no fair” rang often in my house, along with “yabbut.”. You know yabbut? That was the word used in rebuttal or in defense, as in “yabbut it isn’t fair for him to get extra prsents just because it’s his birthday!” Of course it was great fun when our holiday happened to fall close to the big Dec. 25 event. How could it not be a time for extra pleasure if a kid could announce “yes but we’ve still got seven more days.” Of course we all know how cruel our precious children can be, and if we forgot, well there was always the Hanukkah/Christmas season to help us remember. Plus, there were always admonitions by our elders to remember the story and why there was the holiday, but kids don’t worry about such stuff. That’s for us to think about and make sure greed doesn’t erase ancient history. All of that notwithstanding, it’s time again to take out the Hannukiah (the one everyone calls the menorah), polish it up and start looking for those fancy/shmancy candles that appear close to the greeting cards that say “Happy Hanukkah”. And what’s that about cards anyway? When I was a little kid I sure don’t remember any such thing, but oh well, everyone has to make a living. It’s also time to rethink the warnings about too much fried food, since the very best potato latkes are made in a frypan, with oil. Yes, I know all about that spray stuff - I use it all the time. But for latkes, you gotta have oil. And while I can’t give you a guarantee, I’m pretty sure a couple of times a year isn’t going to kill us. That’s all I’ve got on the subject this year. As usual, I’ve taken the frivolous approach, but hey, that’s my style. Sue me. But before you call the lawyer, remember to lay in a supply of potatoes and plenty of oil. The kind without cholesterol. And have a happy Hanukkah. Bert Lewis can be reached at BertLewis39@aol.com.
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Defining our identity from on page 36 the fact that so much money was raised in Israel despite its smaller number of companies suggests a great deal of untapped potential in Israeli tech companies. Also, Albin explained to us that “the only way we can … explain our existence is through hasbara and quantitative, cost-benefit analysis.” Albin concluded her presentation by exhorting us to learn all that we could about the practical benefits of Israel and her economy, so we could present a solid, well-argued defense of Israel on our college campuses.
Happy Hanukkah
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Above: Last week, an exhibition at the Davidson Archaeological Center in Jerusalem’s Old City displayed for the first time the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) finds of a rare collection of coins and other artifacts from excavations at the foot of the Temple Mount. Some of the coins are over 2,000 years old. The explanations next to each exhibit also are shown in three languages: Hebrew, English and Arabic. Below: Also displayed is the lid of a 2,000 year old sarcophagus inscribed with the name ‘Ben Hacohen Hagadol’ – (son of the high priest). Various building programs in the capital, including the preparation of the new light railway project, have revealed many of these artifacts. When such archaeological sites have been discovered the IAA is permitted, under the law, to excavate the area for historical treasures before building construction can resume. In a few cases, the proposed building program is scrapped so that the discovered building can be kept in situ. In other cases, the historic remains will be built over so as to allow visitor access in the future. In recent years the diversity of ancient buildings and treasures found in Israel, and in particular Jerusalem, have placed the country as one of the most outstanding places in the world to visit from an historic Credit: ISRANET and archaeological point of view.
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky addresses the GA in Washington, D.C. Credit: ISRANET When the General Assembly ended, my fellow participants and I returned to our respective universities with a wide range of knowledge about Israel gleaned from the expert panels over the conference. When we finished the last session of the Hagshama program, we left the conference room infused with a renewed sense of connection to our fellow Jews in both Israel and the Diaspora. Though this conference only lasted from Sunday morning until Tuesday afternoon, I know that the lessons I learned alongside my friends will always be relevant as I grow into my role as an adult advocate for Israel in the world community. Hannah Robinow is a junior at Stern College of Yeshiva University in New York City. An English lit major, she hopes to attend law school after graduation.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. The office also will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 1 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
Senior LIVING COMING 12.25.09 SPACE RESERVATION 12.14.09 CAMERA READY DEADLINE 12.16.09 Contact your advertising representative to advertise in this very special edition. ALLAN Handleman Call Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 or email: ahandleman@jewishomaha.org
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
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Israeli-born filmmaker dispatches ‘Messenger’ of war FILM REVIEW by MICHAEL FOX
for the family. Many, many Israeli films, especially in the 1970s and ’80s, centered on the army, and a few include a notification scene. “I grew up watching all those movies,” Moverman remembers, “and for a while Israeli cinema was just stuck in the army experience, which makes perfect sense because that was central to Israeli life. Everyone was connected through the army. It took a different generation to start developing other stories. But I had those movies in my mind. In approaching this [film], I remembered the pitfalls and what happened when a movie was political and how easily dismissed it was.” Some viewers will view The Messenger as antiwar simply by virtue of its acknowledgement of combat deaths. But Moverman worked and reworked the screenplay (with Alessandro Camon) to provoke a more complex and thoughtful reaction. “What we wanted to do was make a film that’s not political, that’s not prowar or antiwar but in war,” Moverman explains. “If the movie becomes political, then it’s part of an argument. And being Israeli, I’ve had my healthy share of experience in arguments.” Moverman’s parents were born in British-mandate Palestine. His grandparents had left Poland in 1935 and their entire family was subsequently wiped out.
Not one of the many American movies about the Iraq War has been made by a former soldier -- until now. The Israeliborn, U.S.-based writer-director Oren Moverman earns that distinction with his powerhouse debut feature, The Messenger. The quietly riveting independent film stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as casualty notification officers whose job entails delivering the news to the next of kin that a loved one has died. The script offers no hint that the director and cowriter served in the Israel Defense Forces, although that experience helped Moverman immeasurably on the set. “These are different countries, different wars, different eras, different types of terrorism, everything’s different but fundamentally I felt that I could communicate to the actors what it meant to be a soldier,” Moverman says, “and to communicate with the film the emotional landscape of fear and anger and guilt and the inability to express a lot of the experiences you go through in combat. That stuff I felt very comfortable with.” Moverman lived in the U.S. from the age of 13 to 18, when his family moved back to Israel and he entered the army. (“There’s nothing in the movie that’s per se my own personal experience,” he says. “And even if there is, it’s probably stuff that I don’t notice or I’m too afraid to talk about.”) He returned to New York four years later, after he completed his service, to pursue a career in film and has now lived more than half his life in the States. Moverman’s credits include collaborating on the screenplay for I’m Woody Harrelson, left, stars with Ben Foster, right, as officers Not There, which explored who deliver the message that a family's soldier has died in The the life and myth of Bob Messenger. It opens Dec. 4 in Omaha. Credit: Oscilloscope Productions Dylan. A good deal of The Messenger was shot “The first thing that I knew in my conat Fort Dix with a military advisor and scious life was the Holocaust—the war photographer on the set, as well as extras and what the war did,” Moverman says. supplied by the U.S. Army. Moverman “At least, that was the beginning of my was surprised at the reaction he received. search for what the war did.” “I got a lot of respect for being an His fascination with the world of his Israeli soldier,” the soft-spoken, hyper- grandparents led to his immersion in the articulate filmmaker recalls with a wry great Yiddish writers, such as Jacob smile. “Much more than I deserved. Glatstein (whom he reads in Hebrew). There’s definitely a feeling of camaraderie And it has more than a little to do with and a feeling of ‘You’re an ally, and your his next assignment, adapting Daniel experiences are real.’ I didn’t expect that, Mendelsohn’s nonfiction epic The Lost: A but I only benefited from it.” Search For Six of Six Million for the Moverman was received with parallel screen. good will when he returned to Israel to Although he doesn’t say so, one disshow The Messenger at the Jerusalem Film cerns that his new project shares an Festival. underlying theme with The Messenger. “Partially they see me as a representa“Life has pain, there’s grief, there’s loss, tive of Israel, because that’s what happens and the question is how do you get back with anyone Israeli who works outside to being alive,” Moverman muses. “You the country and does OK,” he says, do it through very, very simple mechalaughing. “But partially they identified nisms, such as love and friendship and with what the movie was about and they shared emotions and shared experiences.” felt it was very much about them.” The Messenger opens Dec. 4 in Omaha. While the U.S. Army sends two men to break the news to the soldier’s parents or Michael Fox is a film critic, journalist, spouse and then leave, the Israeli team and instructor in San Francisco. He can consists of four people, including a doctor be reached at foxonfilm@yahoo.com. and a psychologist, who stay and provide
November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 39
My Jewish family
by JOE CHEREK Editor’s note: Joe Cherek, who is not Jewish, has volunteered at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home since 1997. My association with the Jewish people of Omaha began in 1949 when I was
Joe Cherek, who is not Jewish, is a long time volunteer at the Blumkin Home, here shown playing the clavinova for residents.
nine-years-old. Stanley Silverman’s parents owned a grocery store at 16th an Vinton. My mother would take us there on Sundays and once during weekdays. We walked a mile-and-a-half each way. The smell of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with homemade kosher pickles in a big crock, would greet us. As we rang the bell on the store’s screen door, Mrs. Silverman would come out from the back room to greet us with a smile. “Hello, missus and children,” she would say to us.” As she totaled the groceries on her hand-crank adding machine, she noticed that my mother did not have enough money to pay for them all. Mrs. Silverman would look behind her, over both shoulders and say quietly, “Pa Pa’s not looking; you go ahead missus.” Then, she would gently push the groceries towards my mother. Occasionally, her husband would do the same thing, saying, “Mama’s not looking; go ahead, missus.” This was the beginning of what I call “My Jewish family by Divine appointment -and journey to the present day!” My next blessing came from my seventhgrade teacher at Bancroft School -Frieda Fredkin. She signed papers so I could be promoted to eighth grade with my twin sister in 1954. Four years later, I got my first paying job from Paul and Sam Steinberg at the Omaha Potato Market. In 1960, my mother died at the age of 57. I
was 18-years-old and on my own -homeless and an orphan. But who did Gd send next? Ramona Slosburg Pepper, who owned an apartment building at 20th and Capital. She told me that when the dust settled, I should go to see Mr. Yentes, the resident custodian and work out details of room and board. However, my relatives descended on my mother’s home like vultures on road kill. They arrived with lists and shopping bags. But I happened to mention this new chain of events to businessman Hal Snyder, who told me, “I know just the man who can help you.” Hal sent me to attorney Hy Shrier, who, in my opinion, may have been short in stature, but was a giant. He showed me how to avoid probate, taught me the value of a dollar and how to get out and stay out of debt. He never sent me a bill. Years later, I had the opportunity to repay him by playing my music for his wife, Miriam Shrier, who lived at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, and by escorting her to doctors’ appointments. In 1997, I had walked into the office of Lois Wine, Director of Volunteer Services for the Blumkin Home. I offered my services as a volunteer to the residents of the Home. But the one thing I was missing was an electronic keyboard on which to play my music and entertain the residents. I looked across the desk at Mrs. Wine and said, “I believe in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I don’t know how or where, but we’re going to get us a keyboard!” She stood up, reached across the desk and shook my hand. “If you say so!” she smiled. It wasn’t long after that she learned that
Joe Cherek, his mother and sister used to walk a mile-and-a-half each way to buy groceries from Stanley Silverman’s parents (shown here), which they would discount, depending on the amount of money Mrs. Cherek had with her. Courtesy: Silverman family and the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Barbara Gottlieb, the Home’s director “Joe,’ she told me, “You tell me you’re then, and Dean Frankel, trustee of the doing this for G-d’s people -- you’d make Frohm Foundation at that time, had been a good p.r. man!” meeting in the auditorium at the Jewish I consider every Jewish person to be Community Center to discuss that very part of my family and am grateful for all idea! We soon had a new clavinova for the the help I’ve received over the years. Home. Since I’m half German and half Polish, I I believe that Ms. Gottlieb reached say “shalomski” and bless the Jewish down and lifted me up with that action. community. Happy Hanukkah!
Solution to Hanukkah crossword puzzle on page 33
Index of Advertisers Advertiser Page Abacus Consulting ....................................................... 28 Alegent Health ................................................................. 5 All Makes Office Equipment ......................................... 34 Associated Counseling Professionals ............................. 4 Backyard Adventures .................................................... 33 Bag ’N Save .................................................................. 20 Bernina Sewing Centers ............................................... 13 Body Basics ................................................................ 25 Boys Town ..................................................................... 36 Broadmoor Market ....................................................... 26 Care Consultants .......................................................... 14 CBRE|Mega ................................................................. 38 CBSHOME-The Cohens ................................................. 2 CBSHOME-Toni Rosen ................................................. 14 Crowne Plaza ................................................................ 34 Custom Care ................................................................... 4 Dance Shoppe .............................................................. 29 DiMartino & Associates ................................................... 9 Enterprise Bank ............................................................ 32 Eye Essentials ................................................................. 6
Advertiser Page Gordmans ..................................................................... 28 Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Inc. ........................... 8 Greek Islands ................................................................ 30 Hadassah Upper Midwest Region ............................... 13 Hairitage ........................................................................ 2 Heritage Pointe Retirement Community ........................ 7 Hy-Vee ......................................................................... 40 Janine McClintock Photography .................................. 33 JetLinx ........................................................................... 12 Jewish Federation of Omaha .................................. 10, 11 Jewish Press ........................................................... 19, 21 Jewish Social Services .................................................. 23 Johanns, Senator Mike ................................................. 33 Kidwell Companies ....................................................... 23 Kohll’s Pharmacy & Healthcare ................................... 26 Kopecky Builders .......................................................... 14 LaKota Lodge Counseling Clinic L.L.C. .......................... 7 Leisure Life Sports .......................................................... 8 Louie M’s Burger Lust .................................................. 30 Malashock Jewelry ....................................................... 22
Advertiser Page Malbar Vision Centers ..................................................... 2 Market Basket ............................................................... 30 Marriott .......................................................................... 13 MDK & Associates .......................................................... 6 Mid-City Jewelry & Loan ............................................... 38 Nan C. ........................................................................... 37 Nebraska Educational Television .................................... 2 Nebraska Jewish Historical Society .............................. 37 Nebraska Statewide Classifieds .................................... 19 Nelson, Senator Ben ....................................................... 7 No Frills Fresh .................................................................. 3 Nobbies ......................................................................... 29 Noddle Companies ...................................................... 28 Omaha Children’s Museum ........................................ 26 Omaha Community Playhouse ................................... 22 Omaha Performing Arts Society ................................... 24 Omaha Steaks .............................................................. 38 Omaha Surgical Center ................................................ 29 Omaha Symphony ....................................................... 32 Omaha Trans Video ...................................................... 27
Advertiser Page One Drake Place ............................................................. 9 Parsow’s ........................................................................ 35 Pasta Amore ................................................................. 25 Pulverente ..................................................................... 19 Regency Court .............................................................. 35 Remington Heights ....................................................... 31 Rockbrook Floors ............................................................ 9 Rockbrook Village ........................................................ 25 Russell’s ........................................................................ 22 Sarah’s .......................................................................... 24 Scott Conference Center .............................................. 32 Security National Bank ................................................. 25 Sol’s Jewelry & Loan ..................................................... 27 St. Joseph Villa .............................................................. 27 Suburban Newspapers Inc. ............................................ 6 The Tea Trove ................................................................ 22 University of Nebraska Medical Center ........................ 15 Valentino’s ..................................................................... 30 Zio’s ............................................................................... 30
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
November 20, 2009
EMPLOYEE OWNED
Happy Hanukkah!
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