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Why do you Give? Cooking with Chabad Page 3

Hebrew University launches new English-taught undergrad program to attract Jewish students from the U.S. Page 6

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor he Rose Blumkin Jewish Home renovations are well underway, bringing needed updates and improvements. It’s something that cannot be done without donors who care deeply about continuing the level of care the Blumkin Home is known for. This week, we hear from members of the L.O.V.E. board. Over the past 50-plus years, the sole purpose of the L.O.V.E. organization has been to raise funds to purchase specific items that

improve and enhance the lives of Blumkin Home residents. The funds raised by L.O.V.E. support many special projects that benefit residents of the Home and their caregivers. Now, that support also comes in the form of a monetary donation from the L.O.V.E. board to the Home. I have had family members and dear friends become residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. It is an honor to serve on the L.O.V.E. board and, in a small way, repay the staff for the quality of care they provide. I have spent a great deal See Why do you Give? page 2

A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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Meet our intern MELANIE SCHWARZ Jewish Press Intern Hi, I’m Melanie Schwarz! If that name sounds familiar, it may be because I’ve been going to the Staenberg Jewish Community Center, since I was a kid. I started coming to the J at about six months old, as I attend the Pennie Z. Davis Childhood Development Center, now known as the Early Learning Center for preschool. After graduating

Back row: Les Kay, left, M’Lee Hasslinger, Jay Durmaskin and Larry DeBruin; and front row: Ricki Skogg, left, Renee Corcoran, Gretchen Radler and Gary Lerner. Not pictured: Stephanie Cohen.

T The Jewish Federation of Omaha Mission to Israel Page 12

SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND

PAM MONSKY JCRC Assistant Director In partnership with HBO and the Secure Community Network, the Omaha Jewish community has been chosen for a screening of the HBO documentary A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting on Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Alan J. Levine Theater at the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus of the Jewish Community Center. The film will be followed by a Q&A with survivors of the attack – the deadliest assault on the American Jewish community in U.S. history. The following day, Aug. 21, from

Credit: HBO

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. the community is invited to a security training hosted by SCN and the Jewish Federation of Omaha in the Goldstein Engagement Venue. Lunch is included

at no cost. Registration is required for both events using the QR code or emailing pmonsky@ jewishomaha.org. ABOUT THE FILM On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman opened fire inside a Pittsburgh synagogue, murdering 11 people as they prayed, in what would become the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting is a deeply personal portrait of the survivors, victims, and family members, who share their harrowing first-hand accounts of the impact of the shooting on the community. The film is rooted in a community working to rebuild and heal in the aftermath of a violent attack. Despite core differences, they come together to determine what justice looks like and See A Tree of Life page 3

Melanie Schwarz

from the ELC, I attended Friedel Jewish Academy for kindergarten and first grade. I then went on to attend Westside for the rest of my elementary, middle, and high school educcation. However, that didn’t mean that I stopped coming to the J. Throughout my childhood I participated in six plays at the J, starting with Wizard of Oz and ending with Bye Bye Birdie. I then started attending J camp. I was a Leader in Training for two summers in 2017 and 2018. The leader in training is a program done in conjunction with J camp. High school-aged kids get hands-on experience working with kids while also getting trained and having their own fun. I loved it because I sort of got to be both a camper and a counselor. If we skip ahead a couple summers I began working at the J in the summer of 2021 at the ELC and as a Lifeguard. I no longer work at the ELC, but I am still a Lifeguard, and you can still see me at the pool this summer. I am a member of Beth El Synagogue, I went to Hebrew School all throughout my childhood up until I graduated high school three years ago. I was Bat Mitzvahed at 13 in 2016. I also participated in United Synagogue Youth all throughout high school and got to go to a lot of conventions. From ages eight to 15 I attended Herzl Camp as a camper, and it’s still, to this day, one of my favorite places in the world. I love camp for so many reasons, one being that it’s a place where I thought I could completely be myself. I didn’t have a lot of Jewish friends in school, but camp was See Meet our intern page 3