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The Jewish Press AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA | WWW. JE WISHOMAHA.ORG
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JORDANA KURTZMAN uarantining at home during a pandemic is hard enough for most of us, whether we have young children to home school, jobs where we need to transition to telecommuting, or homes that suddenly seem a lot smaller to us, some of those who need the most support are those who live alone. People who live by themselves or with
just one other person can suddenly feel even more isolated than the rest of us do. These people, because of being at a greater risk of catching COVID-19, whether due to age or health reasons, feel the loneliness that comes with isolation more acutely. The simple freedoms and pleasures that many of us can still enjoy—taking a walk around the block or even running to the grocery store— have suddenly become obstacles for those of See A Taste of Shabbos page 3
JCC Premiere Dance Camp
REGULARS
Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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B’nai Israel to open for services CAROLE LAINOF On Friday evening July 10 B’nai Israel Synagogue will reopen with our traditional Friday Shabbat Service led by Larry Blass. Followed by a presentation on Cannibalism, COVID-19 and Tisha B’Av by Dr. Marvin Bittner.
There will be NO Jewish Press next week. The Jewish Press will return July 10.
Summer special: Brisket tacos Page 7
SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND
JUNE 26, 2020 | 4 TAMMUZ 5780 | VO L. 1 00 | NO. 36 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 8:43 P.M.
A Taste of Shabbos
Coast-to-Coast Book Club top picks Page 2
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SAM KRICSFELD Jewish Press Intern The Jewish Community Center’s Premiere Dance Camps are unique opportunities for children in K-3rd grade to experience a taste of JCC dance programs. Participants enjoy a morning of dance instruction, art projects, prepackaged snacks and learning about the featured ballet of the week. Camp takes place from 9 a.m. until noon. The week of June 8 focused on the Igor Stravinsky ballet Petrouchka. As proud as I am about my breadth of knowledge, it fails to extend to, well, most things – but especially ballet. Upon researching the ballet, I found that Houston Public Media called Petrouchka, “The Unhappiest Puppet Story Ever,” about the “less fortunate,
Performing Arts Assistant Director Jessica Westerlin and a camper create Petrouchka dolls.
more tragic cousin of Pinocchio.” The ballet focuses on three puppets who are brought to life by a magician. The puppets deal with love, jealousy and rage (who doesn’t?). Of course, this heavy topic was simplified for children – the focus was on the dancing and the puppetry. By the end of the week, campers were experts on the story and created their very own Petrouchka doll and dance. Petrouchka was chosen because of
its whimsy and its array of characters. The dance camps rotate a list of ballets, some of which are well-known and some that are just fun. Performing Arts Director Esther Katz and Assistant Director Jessica Westerlin lead the camp and pick the ballets. Dance camps are now held upstairs in the new Staenberg Arts & Education Corridor dance studios. These new studios include fully sprung See JCC Dance Camp page 2
Marvin Bittner
Marvin Bittner MD is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska. After earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and medical degree at Harvard, he went on to complete training in the specialty of internal medicine at the University of Michigan and the subspecialty of infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. He moved back into his old medical school dormitory 22 years after graduation to complete the course work for his master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is Professor of Medicine at Creighton University, where he is director of the infectious diseases fellowship training program. He is past president of the Metro Omaha Medical Society and past governor of the Nebraska chapter of the American College of Physicians. He has accompanied medical students on 21 service trips to the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Colombia, and he has received the Voluntarism and Community Service Award from the Nebraska chapter of the American College of Physicians as well as its Laureate Award and the Metro Omaha Medical Society’s award for distinguished service to medicine. His major clinical activities are at the VA Medical Center in Omaha, where he is Deputy Chief of Staff, hospital epidemiologist, and Chief of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Bittner is a member of the COVID-19 task force planning the response of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System to the pandemic. In addition, Dr. Bittner serves as its hospital epidemiologist and caring for COVID-19 patients. This should be a timely and See B’nai Israel reopens page 2