Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Boys got groove
December 12, 2014 20 Kislev 5775 Vol. 95 | No. 13
This Week
by SHERRIE SAAG Communications, Jewish Federation of Omaha Steve Levinger has joined the Federation Campaign Department as Senior Development Director. Reporting to Marty Ricks, Chief Development Officer, Levinger will be supporting the donor development and Campaign activities of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.
Omaha teens “Volunteer as Can-Tribute” Page 3
How to eat sufganiyot without guilt Page 6
Challenging ideas about the face of Federation Page 12
Next Week Senior Living See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
by GABBY BLAIR While a majority of dancers who walk through the door at the JCC Dance Department are female, it is important to remember that all classes are open to boys. In fact, boys are encouraged and needed in dance, to help fill important roles in various performances. “We have always had a few boys dedicated to learning dance over the years,” says Esther Katz, JCC Dance & Cultural Arts Director. “Attendance seems to come in phases, based on interest. Typically, boys begin dancing young but give it up once they progress in elementary
school.” She goes on to say that “Many male athletes often choose dance as a way to improve agility and coordination in order to improve in their respective sports.” Indeed, it has long been documented that many a football player, including Herschel Walker, who once performed with the Fort Worth Ballet during his time as a Dallas Cowboy, Pittsburgh Steeler and 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Lynn Swann, Steeler teammate Steve McLendon, and former NY Jets wide receiver Al Toon, has benefitted by using ballet as part of their regular workout. “It is harder
than anything else I do,” says 320pound nose tackle McClendon, in a 2013 interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Here at the JCC, Katz has seen many boys come in for a variety of reasons, from an authentic love of dancing, to a desire for improvement in physical abilities. More recently, she has had requests for private lessons from parents who wanted to help their sons have more confidence on the dance floor at middle and high school dances. This semester, after being approached by interested families, Katz put together Continued on page 3
The Kaplan Book Discussion Group
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
Levinger joins Campaign Team
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by MARK KIRCHHOFF Center for Jewish Life Thursday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, Dr. Moshe Gershovich will lead the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group as they examine the work of Andrée Aelion Brooks in the book, The Woman Who Defied Kings: The Life and Times of Doña Gracia Nasi. Dr. Gershovich is Professor of History at UNO, specializing in Middle East History, and serves as the Director of the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies. The Woman Who Defied Kings was first published in June of 2002. It has been described in “goodreads” as “the first modern, comprehensive biography of Doña Gracia Nasi, an out-
Dr. Moshe Gershovich standing Jewish international banker during the Renaissance.” As a woman of considerable wealth and connections, she operated an underground railroad that saved hundreds of her fellow Spanish and Portuguese “conversos” (Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism) from the horrors of the Inquisition. The book relates her continuing negotiations with kings and emperors for better conditions for her people. She led a boycott of the Italian port of Ancona in retaliation for the burning of 23 of her people through the Inquisition.
She spearheaded one of the earliest attempts to start an independent state for Jews. Her life is one that shatters the stereotype of how women, and most especially Jewish women, conducted their lives during the Renaissance period. The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group debuted Nov. 15, 1979 as the “Jewish Federation Library Book Discussion Group” to be later renamed in honor of Dorothy Kaplan, recognized for her devotion to the library and in engaging people in discussing interesting Jewish books, poetry and videos. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month from 1-2 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. All sessions are open to the community free of charge. Contact Library Specialist Shirly Banner at 402.334.6462 or sbanner@jewishomaha.org with questions, including information regarding upcoming book selections. The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group is supported by the Center for Jewish Life, whose mission is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.
Steve Levinger Levinger commented: “After working in the corporate/for-profit world for 33 years, I am truly honored and privileged to transition to this role at the Jewish Federation. The Omaha Jewish community is widely known as an extremely giving and caring community.” Ricks says Levinger is a welcome addition to his Campaign team. “Steve is invested in our community as evidenced by his depth of involvement as a volunteer in multiple community organizations. His corporate experience will be an asset to our departmental operations and I am looking forward to his contributions.” Born and raised in Yankton, South Dakota, in a town with just a handful of Jewish families, Levinger said his parents continually emphasized the importance of living Jewishly “We embraced Jewish traditions in our home, were involved in the community and understood the importance of Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam.” Levinger graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Marketing, began a career with Procter and Gamble in Detroit and met his wife Bonnie while she was a student at Michigan. They eventually relocated to Omaha in 1989 because it was important to them to live closer to family. “My grandfather (Iz Weiner) and aunt and uncle (Janey and Jerry Dann) helped us quickly assimilate and get acclimated Continued on page 2