Jewish Press
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR NEARLY 80 YEARS Vol. LXXIX
No. 52
8 Elul, 5760
Omaha, NE
September 8, 2000
Danny Maseng Presenters from around the world join three Omahans at Symposium here returns to Omaha by Iris Ricks Program Director, Temple Israel
by Diane Axler Baum
Three noted Omahans will join a line-up of engaging presenters from England, Israel and across the U.S. at the 13th annual KlutznickHarris Symposium, scheduled for Sept. 17 at the JCC, and Sept. 18 at Creighton University. They will collaborate to explore a wide-ranging array of topics related to this year's stimulating theme, "Spiritual Dimensions of Judaism," said Leonard J. Greenspoon, Symposium coordinator. The Symposium will open Sunday at the JCC with three afternoon sessions, 12:30 to 5 p.m., followed by an evening keynote, starting at 7:30 p.m. Five additional sessions will take place Monday at 9:30 a.m. at Creighton's Student Center, 2500 California. Sessions are free and open to the public. Local presenters include Jenni Schlossman, artist and art historian; Karin Levine, Instructor in Education at Creighton University; and Thomas A. Kuhlman, a member of Creighton's English Department who also teaches in the American Studies Program. Joining them will be Avrum Ehrlich of Cambridge University, England; Yehuda Gellman, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; Morris Faierstein, University of Maryland; Rena Mintz Geffen, Gratz College in suburban Philadelphia, PA. Also, Charles D. Isbell, Louisiana State University; Steven D. Sacks, University of Chicago; Zion Zohar, University of Miami; and Hava TiroshSamuelson, Arizona State University, who will keynote the Symposium with a talk Sunday evening at the JCC. Tirosh-Samuelson's remarks on "Jewish Spirituality: Past Models, Present Quest" will be followed by a dessert reception. Schlossman, who teaches at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the College of St. Mary, has served as a curator at the Joslyn Art Museum. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History, with concentrations in American and Twentieth Century Art from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She and her husband, Avrum Ehrlich
Charles D. Isbell
Yehuda Gellman
Jeff Ferber, are members of Omaha's Beyt Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation. Her Symposium presentation, "Visual Art as a Pathway to Prayer and Meditation," is scheduled for Sunday's third session, 3:40 to 5 p.m., at the JCC. The talk, she said, will concentrate on the illustrations created by Betsy Platkin Teutsch for inclusion in the 1995 second edition of the Reconstructionist prayer book, Kol Haneshaah. According to Schlossman, by looking at "the unusual inclusion of works of art in a siddur," she will focus on "the role of visual art as an accompaniment to Hebrew prayer." Symposium presenter Levine is active at Beth El Synagogue with her husband, Michael, and involved with the Parent Teacher Organization of Friedel Jewish Academy, where their daughter attends school. Her presentation, "It's Developmental, My Dear Chazal: Uncovering Modern Theories of Spirituality in Ancient Texts," is slated for 10:30 a.m. Monday at Creighton. Levine will ask the question, "How do children and adults grow in their theologies and moral understanding?" To answer, she will explore the teachings of the Talmudic rabbis through the lenses of contemporary educational philosophers, including Piaget, Kohlberg and Fowler. ~-— "For Twentieth Century philosophers, psychologists and theologians, the stages and processes of moral and spiritual development were mysteries to be revealed," said Levine. "For the rabbis of the Talmudic period, chazal (chachamim aikron livracha, the wise ones of blessed memory), these .-.- • were areas to be experienced and studied," she added. "The rabbis did not consider themselves educational philosophers; however, in their striving to expand on the teachings that they received for the enhancement of spiritual life, they did create many works that express their underMorris Faierstein (Continued on page 2)
Thomas A. Kuhlman
Karin Levine
Playwright, singer, actor and composer Danny Maseng will return to Omaha Sept. 22-24 at Temple Israel, adding spirit and meaning to the High Holy Days. He is a "veteran of the stage and screen both in the United States and abroad and has served as an evaluator of new American plays and opera/theater for the National Endowment for the Arts. Maseng was born in Israel to American parents and currently makes his home in New York, where he is the lay rabbi of Congregation Agudat Achim. He has also served as the Director of Theater Arts Programming and Jewish Arts for Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, WI, and chairs Hava Hashira, the national workshop for song leaders. A popular scholar-in-residence, Maseng is a frequent member of the Wexner Heritage Foundation faculty and was featured on a CD entitled, "Israel's Greatest Male Vocalists." On Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m., Maseng will join with Cantor Jennifer Blum for a Shabbat musical experience. "Soul on Fire-Jewish Music for the Millennium" will be performed on S a t u r d a y , Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. This theatrical concert of spirit anddevotional music brings a message of hope and tikkun olam (repairing the world). Havdalah, a chocolate dessert reception and slichot services will follow Maseng's show. Joining Maseng will be Jessica Steinman, Jennifer Frost, Mark Bloom, Gary Raynor and Uri Merzhevsky, a talented and versatile group of singers. They will perform ancient Yemenite hymns, hassidic niggunim, Sephardic songs, original compositions and a blend of Bernstein, Vivaldi and Verdi. The weekend is sponsored by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning and is free and open to the community. For information, call the Temple office at 556-6536.
INSIDE: Friedel offers first kindergarten-only L.O.V.E. honors memory of Parsow and Shukert
t Stephen D. Sacks
Jenni Schlossman
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Zion Zohar
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J-ROK, a new club at the JCC for Jewish youth in grades 5-8 Page 11