A N AG E N C Y O F T H E J E W I S H F E D E R AT I O N O F O M A H A
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MAY 1 4 , 2 02 1 | 3 S IVA N 578 1 | VO L. 1 01 | NO. 30 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, MAY 14, 8:17 P.M.
Malashock Award for Professional Excellence A Shavuot Taste of Treasures Page 4
BBB awards high school students Page 6
Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience Page 12
GABBY BLAIR Jewish Press Staff Writer he Jody and Neal Malashock Award for Professional Excellence is presented annually to a professional in the Omaha Jewish Community who has shown exemplary performance in advancing the mission of their organization. The Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors is pleased to announce Chris Ulven, Executive Director of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, as this year’s award recipient. The community is invited to the Federation’s Awards Night & Annual Meeting on Monday, June 7 at 7 p.m. in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater. Face masks will be required. All state and local COVID guidelines will be observed. If you are not able to join us in person, please join us virtually. This event will also be available via live stream. “Chris led his staff through one of the most challenging times in the history of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home,” shares Alan Potash, Executive Director of The Jewish Federation of Omaha. “From the very beginning of the pandemic he had the health and safety of the Residents and staff on his mind every day. As the virus spread towards Omaha, I supported Chris’ decision to proactively close the Home to visitors and implement protocols to mitigate the potential for the pandemic to spread to the Home before there was any official guidance to do so. He also requested all staff to begin wearing PPE and take precautions early on to avoid potentially bring-
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Kaplan Book Group update SHIRLY BANNER Library Specialist On May 20 the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will continue their Zoom meetings as they discuss Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua’s book, The Extra. This novel explores the combined worlds of family obligations and classical music.
Chris Ulven
ing the virus in to the Home.” Potash continues. “The staff personally committed to altering their life styles to do what ever they could to not be exposed to the virus. Chris also found ways, such as organizing meals and fun, to make the staff at the Home feel appreciated for their personal sacrifices. When testing became available, he required all staff to be tested regularly based on the guidance by the CDC and local health officials. He also communicated with families and created meaningful ways for relatives to communicate and see the Residents through window visits and virtually. The professionalism and leadership of Chris and the entire RBJH staff at the Home as managed through the pandemic was beyond See Malashock Award page 3
JFO Community Service Award
Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND
Jewish Press Staff Writer Since 1979, The Jewish Federation of Omaha Community Service Award has recognized a creative program that has made significant impacts on our community. Over the past year, Omaha’s Jewish organizations and institutions have found many innovative ways to keep our community connected despite the Covid pandemic. The Jewish Federation of Omaha Executive Committee is pleased to anSolomon and Danny Denenberg paused for a quick photo as they helped to fill cups full of charoset and other Seder plate ingredients for Seder-to-Go kits.
nounce that Chabad’s Seder -to- Go has been selected as the 2020 Community Service Award recipient. The community is invited to the Federation’s Awards Night & Annual Meeting on Monday, June 7 at 7 p.m. in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater. A recording of the event will
be available for those unable to attend. Seder-to-Go was designed to address the challenges faced by the Jewish community in celebrating the holiday of Passover amid the lockdown. Launched in 2020 with much success, Seder-to-Go was again offered See Community Service page 2
Following her divorce several years prior, Noga, a classically trained harpist, moved from her home in Israel to join an orchestra in the Netherlands. Upon the sudden death of her father, Noga is convinced to move back to Jerusalem. She, her mother Ima, and her brother Honi must make decisions for Ima’s life. Ultimately, it is Ima who must decide if she should move from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv so she can be closer to her son and his family. They begin a three-month experiment in which Noga will maintain her mother’s rent-controlled apartment while Ima moves to an assisted-living facility in Tel Aviv to decide where she will live in the future. Noga is dealing with several issues of her own: a confrontation with her ex-husband, a lost opportunity for a featured harp solo in Mozart’s Second Piano Concerto with the Netherland’s orchestra, and working as an extra in movies, television, and an opera performance to occupy her time and make a bit of money. Noga is forced to confront many skeletons from her past; her decision to not have children, an old Haredi neighbor whose son and nephew are intent on invading her mother’s apartment to watch television which is forbidden to their culture, her fleeing Israel in pursuit of a career as a harpist, and questions about her current obligation to her family. Noga is constantly being manipulated by her family (especially her brother Honi) and Elazar, one of her fellow extras who See Kaplan Book Group page 2