WISH PRESS Vol. LXXXI
No. 33
Omaha, NE
15lyar,5762
April 26,2002
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR 81 YEARS
JDC Experts Brief Leadership on Crisis ir§ Argentina^ Israel
We Stand With Israel Solidarity Walk and Rally Gaining Momentum
by CAROL KATZMAN, Editor — — — — .
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In an emergency meeting called by Forrest Krutter, President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, Omaha's leadership made a commitment to raise one million dollars for victims of Palestinian terror in Israel and for poverty-stricken Jews in Argentina. Two experts from the Joint Distribution Committee put a human face on today's headlines, with graphic explanations of the crisis in those countries, as well as mounting antiSemitism in Europe. Michael Novick, Executive Director of Strategic Planning for the American JDC, who was in Argentina just seven weeks ago, described the situation of one man, a 52-year-old architect. "His parents, survivors of the Holocaust, came from Poland after the war," Novick explained. "Bernardo Siekira, once a successful builder, now has no health insurance to cover the daily medicines he needs following heart bypass surgery. He can't afford to send his daughters to Jewish day school any longer and the family has dropped their membership to both the JCC and their synagogue. Novick added. "The Jewish Agency will help those who want to make aliyah to Israel—and 5000 are expected to do so this year-and JDC's job is to help them get back on their feet in the Jewish communities of Argentina. One ironic note—4000 Argentinian Jews have.applied for Polish visas!" (Continued on page 2)
Mayor's Office to Proclaim April 28 Israel Solidarity Day in Omaha by PAM MONSKY, Federation Communications D i r e c t o r . ~ — —
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Israel Solidarity Day will be proclaimed by the Omaha Mayor's office at Sunday's We Stand With Israel Solidarity Walk and Rally. The rally, April 28, 3 pan. in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center (in case of rain, it will move inside to the JCC lobby), features speakers, ranging from clergy to elected officials. "We Stand With Israel" signs and placards will be available for people to carry and blue Israel Solidarity ribbons will be distributed. In addition, Left photo, Joel Tauber, former president of United Jewish Appeal participants will have the (now United Jewish Communities) reviewed Israel's history and refutopportunity to make a e<* inaccurate news stories at a kick-off of the Terror Relief Campaign; pledge to the Israel Terror he was applauded when he emphatically stated, "With our help, Israel Relief Fund to help the vie- will remain strong...with Jerusalem, as its undivided capital." Right, tims of terror and their Shirley Goldstein, co-chair of the emergency fundraising campaign families in Israel. with Tom Fellman, showed photos of victims of terror. Goldstein After the rally, the announced that more than $330,000 has already been raised. Solidarity Walk will proceed east on the West to the JCC. The entire walk is about two miles and Dodge frontage road to 120th Street and then back is expected to last until 5 p.m.
Rabbi Harold Kushner Returns to Omaha to Introduce New Bible Translation by OZZIE NOGG — — — •
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Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of the international best seller, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, will speak at Beth El Synagogue on Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. He will deliver an up-close and personal inside-look at the creation of Etz Hayim--the new Conservative Torah Commentary for synagogue use that he co-authored with novelist Chaim Potok. Etz Hayim is dedicated as a memorial to Rabbi Kushner's parents and to his in-laws, the late Sylvia and Dave Estrada, long-time Beth El members. The chumashim in use at Beth El were purchased out of a memorial fund in the Estrada's memory and are a gift to the synagogue from the Estrada's daughters—Barbara Mishael, Suzette Kushner and Suzanne Sobel. Rabbi Kushner's wife, Suzette, and her two sisters will be with Rabbi Kushner during his Omaha visit. "Beth El was very important to Sylvia and Dave during their more than 60 years of living in Omaha," Rabbi Kushner said, "and my wife, Suzette, and her sisters see this as a way of honoring their parents' memory and perpetuating their values." Long anticipated, Etz Hayim is winning accolades across the Jewish world. This exciting 21st century Torah commentary is the first such publication produced for Conservative synagogues since the 1929 Hertz Chumash, and it promises to become a landmark modern work. The new commentary is considered to be a monumental achievement, incorporating recent archaeological findings, textual interpretations and-for the first time—the opinions of female rabbis. The volume also contains more than 40 topical essays which address every subject from the academic and archeological to the spiritual and mystical—each written by a rabbi or scholar affiliated with the Conservative Movement. In the words of Publishers Weekly, Etz Hayim.
Rabbi Harold Kushner "boasts an all-star editorial cast." In additkn to Rabbi Kushner and Chaim Potok, contributors include Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rabbi Susan Grossman, and biblical scholar Michael Fishbane. Rabbi Jules Harlow—often a guest scholar at Beth El Synagogue-served as literary editor of Etz Hayim. Rabbi Kushner's contribution to Etz Hayim, the d'rash (commentaries) include selections from the expanse of Jewish spiritual literature, from classical midrashim to medieval commentators, from Hasidic masters to contemporary theologians. When talking about this interpretive section of the chumash, Rabbi Kushner reminds us that "Jews do not read the Torah as one reads a newspaper, skimming it in search of something interesting. Neither do we read it as one reads a novel, to see how the story comes out. Jews read the Torah the way a person reads a love letter, eager to squeeze every last drop of meaning out of each word and phrase. To do that, we needed a commentary to guide us through the text."
Rabbi Kushner is Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in the Boston suburb of Natick, MA, after serving that congregation for 24 years. When Bad Things Happen to Good People was first published in 1981. The book has been transcribed into 14 languages and was recently selected by members of the Book of the Month Club as one of the 10 most influential books of recent years. Rabbi Kushner has also written When All You Ever Wanted Wasn't Enough, which was awarded the Christopher Medal for his contribution to the exaltation of the human spirit. In 1995, he was honored by the Christophers-a Roman Catholic organization-as one of 50 people who have made the world a better place in the last 50 years. He is also the author of When Children Ask About God; Who Needs God; To Life; How Good Do We Have To Be? and the recentlyreleased, Living A Life That Matters. Rabbi Kushner was born in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from Columbia University. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in 1960 and awarded a doctoral degree in Bible by the Seminary in 1972. He has six honorary doctorates, has studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and taught at Clark University, Worcester, MA, and the Rabbinical School of the JTS. For four years, he edited the magazine Conservative Judaism. In 1999, the national organization—Religion in American Life-honored him as their clergyman of the year. (Continued on page 9)
INSIDE: Monthly calendar
pages 8-7
Yom HaAtzmaut photos
page 10
Riekes' Family Tree at NVJHSL
page IS