Vol. LXXXV No. 49 Omaha, NE
Author Rochel Berman Delves into Tahara: The Final Act of Loving Kindness by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue For many of us, the topic of “death” can make us uncomfortable. For some, such a topic may be considered taboo. However, as Rochel Berman explains it, death and burial are a natural part of life and, therefore, should be discussed. She is the author of Dignity Beyond Death: The Jewish Preparation for Burial, a highly acclaimed Rochel Berman and uplifting illumination of the path the Jewish deceased are taken in their final journey prior to burial. Told through the voices of Chevra Kadisha members, Berman’s book includes a wealth of knowledge associated with one of the final life cycle events, known as tahara. Berman will be in Omaha to present a public lecture at Beth Israel on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m. The topic of her talk will be “Tahara: The Final Act of Loving Kindness.” Dignity Beyond Death describes the work of the Chevra Kadisha, a society of volunteers who prepare the deceased for burial and perform tahara, the ritual purification of a body. As explained in the book jacket, “The volunteers of the Sacred Society quietly and privately wash, purify and dress the deceased. They simultaneously recite lyrical prayers from Psalms, thereby bearing witness to death as the last of life’s important passages.” Berman spent over two years to research and write the book. Dignity Beyond Death was named as a 2005 selection by the Association of Jewish Libraries and a finalist in the 2005 National Jewish Book Council Awards. Berman was a Chevra Kadisha member in Westchester, NY, for 17 years and is currently a member of a Boca Continued on page 7
Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
24 Av, 5766 August 18, 2006
Omaha Couple Gets First Hand Look at Israeli War Zone quently changed, with safety as the absolute top prioriby LISA LIEB Federation Communications Specialist ty. I never once felt scared.” Thirty-seven days ago Stacey Rockman, chairman of The inside access given to mission participants was Omaha’s Partnership with Israel, was preparing for a trip nothing short of remarkable. The Rockmans were able to the Western Galilee in northern Israel for a to attend briefings from: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Partnership meeting. Then two Israeli soldiers were kid- Major General Benjamin Gantz, Commander of IDF napped, northern Israel became a war zone, and the Ground Forces; Stanley Fischer, Governor of the bank Partnership meeting was canceled. But the urge to go to of Israel; Ze’ev Bielski, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Israel was overwhelming, so Stacey and Jonathan for Israel (JAFI); and Arnon Mantver, Director of JDCRockman got on that plane. Israel to name just a few. “My heart was in Israel,” explained Stacey. “I feel like In addition, the group spent time in the Partnership I’m home when I’m in Israel and I needed to be home.” area, at summer camps established as safe havens for “It was important for us to go,” added Jonathan. “We children from the North, and Tel Nof Air Force Base. wanted to help in any way we could. We wanted to send This was a major coup as the UJC Group was the only Continued on page 3 a message that we weren’t afraid.” Two days after arriving in Israel, Stacey and Jonathan joined up with the United Jewish Communities (UJC) National Solidarity Mission. Most mission participants were top leaders and donors from large communities. It would be easy to feel out of place in such company. But Stacey and Jonathan were told, “You’re the future. If people like you don’t care about what happens in Israel, Israel won’t survive.” The Rockmans were very impressed with the way UJC handled safety concerns. “Our guides received frequent updates regarding the hostilities, to ensure we were never put in harm’s way,” The Ben Yakir Youth Aliyah Village has been turned into a summer camp for Ethiopian chilexplained Stacey. “As a dren who have been evacuated from northern Israeli absorption centers. Stacey Rockman, result, our itinerary fre- above, visits with children who have been in Israel just for a year or less.
Joint School Helps Bond Lincoln Jewish Community by JOAN K. MARCUS A combined religious school of Lincoln’s two congregations, Tifereth Israel and B’nai Jeshurun, has not only cemented friendships between the children, but it has solidified friendships in the whole community. Barb Straus, President of B’nai Jeshurun (South Street Temple) spoke of the history of the merger into one religious school. “Each of the congregations have traditionally had their own religious schools. We would often do one joint program during the year,” she said, “but, otherwise we would have no contact between the congregations or the kids during the year.” Straus added, “Both of our religious school populations were diminishing. For instance, when my older daughter, Julia Stanfield, who’s now 21, was in religious school, there were 45 kids in our school. But, by the time my younger daughter, Emily--a 16-year-old--was in school, there were 21 kids enrolled. The same thing was happening at Tifereth Israel and, in general, there wasn’t a whole lot of communication between the two.” Lincoln residents all agree that there had never been a whole lot of connection between the two congregations. They agree that there was a “coolness” that
Inside Opinion Page see page 24
gram for the teenagers. At that time, Beth Evnen, the director of Tifereth’s religious school and I were friends and we spoke periodically about getting the high school kids together but we just couldn’t see a clear path.” In 2003, a committee of six--three people from each of the congregations-- spearheaded by Rabbi Stiel and assisted by Rabbi Stanley Rosenbaum of Tifereth Israel, began a study on the Four of the six members of the Joint Religious School merger of the two high Committee in Lincoln are: Barb Straus, left, Tracy Gordon, school groups. The first Shoshana Shaffin, and Kim Earl. meeting began nine months existed. The South Street Temple didn’t of planning. have much of a religious school program “Because of our long-term lack of comfor teenagers who were post b’nai mitz- munications between the two congregavah, but things began to change when tions, there were some who were uncerRabbi Debbie Stiel came to Lincoln and tain about the process,” Straus said. took her post as rabbi of South Street. “Some said that because of the philoRabbi Stiel--who moved to Overland sophical difference between the Park, KS, several years ago, wanted a class Conservative and Reform congregations, for eighth graders at the Temple. it might not work.” “Tifereth Israel had a program for kids Some of the concerns of the committee that age but very few kids came,” Straus were about the lineage of the Jewish parsaid. “It became increasingly important ents. According to Shoshana Schechterto Rabbi Stiel that we have a thriving pro- Shaffin, programming director for the
This Week: Back-to-School Issue Starts on Page 13 See Front Page Stories at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Federation Honors Volunteers, Names Community Sevice Award: Pages 4-5
school and wife of Tifereth Israel’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Royi Shaffin, “That’s just a reality of the difference between the Conservative and Reform movements. The Reform recognizes paternal descent and at this point, Conservative does not.” Both congregational boards met and gave approval for the plans for a joint high school program. The planning committee, which included Strauss, Kim Earl, Tracy Gordon and others, agreed that the process would be engaging, interesting, fun and a learning experience. They hoped the kids would enter into discussions and have joint social activities. Instead of a rigorous academic program, it would be a chance for teenagers to talk about ethics and values. It was hoped that the students would become engaged-intellectually and emotionally. The committee agreed that they didn’t want to turn the kids off because they weren’t stimulated. Other issues that took time to iron out were those of kashrut and the wearing of kipot. Another of the issues was that the group wanted to use both synagogues so the youngsters would feel comfortable. They agreed that all snacks would have a kosher symbol and that they would be pre-packaged. Continued on page 15
Coming Next Month: Jewish New Year’s Issue on Sept. 22 Part I of Series-Reforming Europe: Pages 12-13
Center for Jewish Education Announces Scholarships: Pages 22-23
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August 18, 2006
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 Shabbat Tunes and Tales, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El C L I P & S A V E
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20 Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Beth El Visions Brownville Series Concert, 11:30 a.m. Yachad at the Zoo: Education Center & Guided Tour, 12:30 p.m. ARTZA Reunion, 5 p.m. at the JCC Beth El Synagogue College Student BBQ, 6 p.m. at Lake Zorinsky (156th & Center) Shelter #4
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MONDAY, AUGUST 21 Hadassah Board Meeting, 1p.m.
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 22 BBYO Council Kickoff, 6 p.m. at the JCC Pool THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Beth El Synagogue Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, 7 p.m. Rosh Hodesh Elul All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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Federation Board Votes to Mobilize for Israel by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press In an overhwlemingly positive vote following an emergency meeting of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, Jewish community leadership decided to undertake an additional challenge to raise funds for Israel. The Federation’s initial cash-only Israel Crisis Campaign already has capped out at $100,000 and now the board is poised to raise an additional $1.4 million with payments made over a two-year period. According to Patty and Steve Nogg, Co-chairmen of the 2007 Federation Annual Campaign, Stacey and Jonathan Rockman will be spearheading this additional fundraising effort, with 100% of the funds going directly to Israel. These critical funds will be used specifically for those areas hard hit by a month of Hezbollah and Hamas missile attacks. In addition to the highest priority of humanitarian needs, the funds also will be directed towards reconstruction and combating the inaccurate and misleading stories that seem to appear in Western media, such as the deliberately altered Reuters’ photo of an Israeli missile hitting Beirut. More than 120 Israeli civilians and soldiers have died and more than 1000 have been injured since the Iranian and Syrian supported terrorist group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July
Patty Nogg, center, announces that Jonathan and Stacey Rockman will chair the $1.4 million Israel Crisis Campaign, Omaha’s fair share of a $330 million national goal.
Workshop to Promote Israel Advocacy by GARY JAVITCH Special to the Jewish Press For those who have wanted to do something to help Israel but didn’t know how, a number of Jewish organizations have banded together to provide just those opportunities. A workshop, free and open to the public, has been planned for Sunday, Aug. 27, 1 p.m., at the Jewish Community Center, according to Alan Potash, the new Executive Director of the Anti-Defamation League. The workshop will cover a number of important topics relating to the Mullahs Terror War on Israel, 2006 and other current events. In addition, opportunities will be presented for participants to get involved in a letter-writing campaign and a speakers bureau. The workshop is expected to last between 60 and 90 minutes. The focus will be on things that you can do now. Training sessions will be set up. At press time, other activities were being planned. Besides the ADL, other Jewish Federation of Omaha agencies involved include the Center for Jewish Education, B’nai B’rith and the National Council of Jewish Women. Other organizations are invited to co-sponsor this workshop. To sign up in advance to co-sponsor or to participate in the program, please call Alan Potash at 334.6574. If you are unable to attend, please call that number to leave your name or to volunteer.
12 and began firing katyusha rockets and Iranian-made missiles at Nahariya, Kiryat Shemona, Metulla, and Haifa, with some landing as far south as Afula and Hadera. “What Stacey and Jonathan did is such a mitzvah because they have put a face to true partnership with Israel,” said Jan Goldstein, Executive Director of the JFO. “Getting on a plane and going when Israelis need the support of North American Jew is so meaningful.” In addition to the $1.4 million campaign, other suggestions were discussed of how ordinary Omahans can help. Alan Potash, the new ADL Director, noted that he already had spoken to a number of community groups and churches and offered his help to others. He and Gary Javitch also are working on a letter-writing campaign. Javitch noted that letters thanking members of the congressional delegation and the media for support of Israel are as important as writing to those in opposition. Those who are interested in these efforts, can call the ADL at 330.1303. Goldstein also urged Omahans to consider joining the mission to Israel, Oct. 22-29, and to purchase Israeli goods sold locally in Omaha--through synagogue gift shops, grocery stores and other locales. For additional information on the mission, call Lisa Lieb at 334.6431.
The View of the Middle East War Against Israel from an Old Friend by CAROL KATZMAN sneak supplies through Editor of the Jewish Press enemy lines.” Services oper“Every Jew is responsible ated efficiently during the for one another.” This longSIx Day War in 1967 and held dictum of Jewish belief the Yom Kippur War in was repeated by Omaha’s 1973, though Fleischer Israeli guide Alex Fleischer agreed that those wars were, at last Thursday’s emergency indeed, much shorter. meeting of the Jewish “We speak of the ‘oref’-Federation of Omaha. literally, the back of the “I’ve never been out of my neck--in Israel,” Fleischer country during a crisis,” added. The oref refers to all Fleischer said. “Your activity the services and command structure that takes care of here is so important; it Israeli civilians during times shows that we in Israel are not alone.” Israeli guide Alex Fleischer was here last week to promote of crisis. “Where was the Like many other Israelis, missions to Israel and spoke at the JFO emergency meeting. ‘oref’ in the last month?” he asked plaintively. “Somehow Fleischer is upset by what he sees on the 24-hour news cycles. The people who have we managed to send field hospitals, tents, and health remained behind in Israel’s north--other than those in workers to Turkey after an earthquake, to Thailand after critical positions, like hospital staff and city managers-- the tsunami. And we Israelis are proud of the oref.” But it appears to Fleischer that this time, the volunrepresent the weakest part of the population. “The elderly, the poor, single mothers, people who can’t afford teers are the ones who stepped forward, opening their the cost of transportation and a stay in even the cheap- homes in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beersheva to strangers from the north. Those same volunteers also have travest hotel are the ones who are suffering,” he said. And in what he described as a domino effect, this same elled to the war-torn north to visit families in bomb shelgroup--who lives from paycheck to paycheck--also is ters and victims of attacks in hospitals. They’ve brought dependent on the regular delivery of supplies to the toys, games, supplies, water and food with them, too. north. They can’t get baby food or milk or diapers or “And maybe this is a good thing,” Fleischer said. medicines, he asserted, because many of the drivers are “Maybe it’s a sign we can depend on one another.” Noting how impressed he was by the Jewish commuunable to get to work--or stores are closed. “It’s never been like this,” Fleischer said. “Even in nity’s quick mobilization, Fleischer admitted that “we 1948 during the seige of Jerusalem, we managed to know we’re going to win this; the fear is the day after.”
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Omaha Couple Gets First Hand Look Continued from page 1 the hostilities and relief efforts, the Rockmans were able to see some tradione allowed on any base tional sites as well. Arriving in Jerusalem since the war broke out. was a surreal experience for the “All of the pilots and Rockmans. They went to the Wall, where Israeli Air force personnel they were among thousands of other look young enough to be Jews welcoming Shabbat. my children,” said Stacey. They were given a presentation of the current situNorman M. Sheldon, President of ation, and watched three the Jewish Federation of Omaha, planes take off – not on a has announced Patty and Steve training mission, but on a Nogg will serve as Co-Chairmen seven-minute flight that would take them across of the 2007 Annual Campaign. the border to join the “Our community is so fortunate fight in Lebanon. to have such dedicated and One of the most passionate leaders as Patty and poignant moments for Steve,” Sheldon said. “They have Stacey and Jonathan was meeting Karnit, wife of stepped forward at a very critical kidnapped soldier Udi Stacey Rockman, right, was very moved after meeting Karnit, wife time to provide us with vision and Goldwasser. “My heart of kidnapped soldier Udi Goldwasser. Udi’s kidnapping took place leadership.” hurts so much for her,” the day before he would have completed his military service. said Stacey. “The group Udi was kidnapped on what was meant of people to be his last day of reserve duty. As sang Am Karnit was preparing his welcome home Yisrael Chai,” celebration with all of his favorite foods, recalled she received word that his unit had been Stacey. “The attacked and he had been taken hostage. sky was so It was this kidnapping that ignited the clear you recent hostilities. could see all On behalf of the Omaha Jewish of the stars. It Community and the other communities was beautiful, in our Partnership, Stacey and Jonathan absolutely presented Karnit with a bracelet, a small perfect, and reminder that she is never alone and can so hard to depend on the love and support from her believe that friends in the United States. this country People are welcome to send their thoughts and prayers to Karnit via e-mail Ben Gurion Airport, usually bustling with activity, now remains empty day is at war.” The needs at karnitgold@jmail.com. after day. The lost tourist dollars will have a significant impact on the Israeli in Israel are Although the focus of their trip was on economy.
tremendous, and the job ahead is daunting. In recognition of this, UJC is calling on Jewish communities nationwide to raise funds for the Israel Emergency Campaign. “People don’t yet grasp how significant the issues are,” said Jonathan. “The task is enormous, and we must dig deep and put our dollars to work in support of the relief effort.” Steve and Patty Nogg, Campaign CoChairmen have announced that Jonathan and Stacey Rockman have been named Co-Chairmen of the Israel Emergency Campaign. “Who better to ask to be the face of the Israel Emergency Campaign than this young couple who went to Israel to represent the Omaha Jewish community,” explained Patty. “Stacey and Jonathan have been there; they’ve seen first-hand the devastation this war has left behind. They have a real understanding of what our Israeli friends need to survive,” added Steve. Jonathan knows they made the right decision to go to Israel. “There are two things people can do to show their support of Israel,” he said. “The first is to show your financial support. The second is to go.” “Israel is our history and our future,” added Stacey. “We are one people. I hope our October Solidarity Mission and June Family Mission are the biggest ones yet. And I know the Omaha Jewish community will once again come through for Israel in this time of tremendous need.” Part II of the Rockman’s trip to Israel will be shared in next week’s Press. For the latest news and information about the Crisis in Israel, go to Jewish Federation of Omaha website at: www.jewishomaha.org.
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August 18, 2006
Jewish Federation Honors Volunteers of the Year by FEDERATION STAFF They’re supportive, committed and energetic...dependable, resourceful, and enthusiastic about their work. They’re our community volunteers--the heart and soul of what we do. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m., at the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Omaha will honor the 2005 Humanitarian and Volunteers of the Year. The community is invited to attend the Volunteer Recognition Reception honoring Humanitarian of the Year Suzanne Richards Singer, and Volunteers of the Year Sean Bernstein, Kathie Pieper, Nancy Rips, Stacey Rockman, Dottie Rosenblum, Matt and Melissa Shapiro and Judi Yoo. The young leadership award winners will be honored on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the Peter Himmelman concert. As one of the youngest volunteers to be honored by an agency, Sean Bernstein has demonstrated leadership qualities beyond his years. Sean’s accomplishments on behalf of the ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) include participation in the Youth Leadership Mission to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, serving as mentor for the Manhigim Program, and developing a Darfur advocacy youth campaign. Sean helped promote and implement the “No Place for Hate” campaign, and he assisted with “Prejudice is Foul Play” activities at O m a h a Sean Bernstein Royals baseball games. He was also an enthusiastic volunteer for the Omaha Jewish War Veteran Exhibit, personally interviewing many of the featured veterans. Sean is an outgoing teenager who is a role model for his peers. He’s committed to learning and is a passionate leader who has involved himself in nearly every agency program in support of diversity and tolerance.
Nancy Rips has served on the Kripke J e w i s h Federation L i b r a r y Committee for many years, and still gives the committee ever ything Nancy Rips she has. During the past year, Rips has planned and participated in numerous events. She is often the “face” of the library, using her vibrant personality to speak at many events including the Elinor Whitman Book Appreciation Contest, Friend’s Appreciation Night, and Jewish Book Month events. Even when speaking at events, Rips will come early to set up and stay late to clean up. She even arranged for a story time program at her place of work, The Bookworm. Much of the library’s recent successes are due in part, to her tireless energy to make sure things are done right. Rips has a great passion for books and libraries and the community is fortunate to have her as a volunteer.
Matt and Melissa Shapiro Matt and Melissa Shapiro have been named Jewish Community Center Volunteers of the Year for their role as advisors for BBYO. Not only do they assist and observe the teen leadership during their weekly meetings, they also support and guide the chapter as a whole. The couple spends additional hours chaperoning chapter weekend events such as the Sweetheart and Beau dances, mitzvah programs, and BBYO regional
conventions. Almost two years ago when the newlyweds were just settling into their new lives and careers in Omaha, it would have been so easy and understandable for them to have “passed” on this volunteer opportunity. But when asked, they didn’t say no. They embraced the opportunity to give back to the community and specifically to the 120 teens of BBYO. These young people and the entire community are grateful for their commitment. The Jewish Press named Dottie Rosenblum as Volunteer of the Year. Though she works parttime as the secretary for the Nebraska J e w i s h Historical Society, Rosenblum is Dottie Rosenblum never too busy to lend a hand proofreading weekly issues of the Jewish Press. In fact, she often takes pages home over the weekend or stays late after her workday at the NJHS is through. Her eye for detail and her willingness to call synagogues and organizations when she has questions about articles makes her a superb proofreader--and a valuable volunteer at the Press. For someone who has served in leadership capacities, such as President of NCJW, Rosenblum’s willingness to perform what some may see as a “small” job is a mark of leadership in itself. For her, no volunteer job is ever too small! Stacey Rockman undertook her first Federation leadership role several years ago as a participant in JOLT, Jewish Omaha Leadership Training. Already a community and synagogue volunteer, Rockman was identified by the Federation as a young woman with outstanding skills and abilities. Following a mission to Israel, she assumed the position of Partnership with Israel Chair and has expanded the program to reach out to our entire community bridging the synagogues, schools,
and agencies to our partners in Israel. Her passion and commitment to the Israeli people is boundless. Rockman has helped the Federation focus on its Israel/Overseas mission. She has used her talents to advocate for Israel and has served as a role model to p e o p l e throughout the community--as someone whose actions speak louder than words. She truly exempliStacey Rockman fies the idea that one person can make a difference. Kathie Pieper has been named Jewish Family Service Volunteer of the Year. Kathie has been extensively involved in Yachad, a program for members of the Jewish Community with developmental disabilities. According to Karen Gustafson, JFS Director, Pieper has demonstrated her commitment by volunteering for every Yachad event in 2005. “She has also provided emotional and physical support, encouragement, guidance and direction to Yachad members. Through her devotion to this organization a close relationship of trust and caring has developed between Kathie and each participant.” Karen added. Pieper has Kathie Pieper been very supportive and has provided a great deal of assistance to her husband, Duane Pieper, the Yachad Coordinator. The board and staff of Jewish Family Service are proud to honor Kathie Pieper for her outstanding contribution to their agency and the Omaha Jewish community. Continued on page 5
NJHS Veteran’s Exhibit Wins Community Service Award by LISA LIEB meaningful the project was Federation Communications for them.” Specialist All of the interviews were Last year American Jews filmed and copies were sent celebrated a milestone--350 to the U.S. Library of years of Jews living in Congress archives. “One of America. To mark this auspiour veterans, Bernie Fisher, cious occasion, men and passed away just three weeks women from the Omaha after he was interviewed and photographed,” Zweiback Jewish community who have said. “What a treasure for his served with distinction in family and for us to have his the United States Armed story on film!” Forces were recognized in a Internationally known traveling gallery exhibit. commercial photographer The Jewish Omaha’s David Radler was enlisted to Service to the U.S. Armed photograph the veterans feaForces gallery exhibit has The NJHS Exhibit also was displayed at area synagogues and the Strategic Air and Space Museum. tured in the exhibit. In addibeen selected as the recipient of the 2005 Community Service Award. Thanks to eral weeks on display at the Strategic Air and Space tion to the 31 veterans who were interviewed for the exhibit, more than one hundred photos and historical this exceptional exhibit sponsored by the Anti- Museum. Not only was this project an inter-congregational artifacts were included from the Nebraska Jewish Defamation League, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, and Beth El, Beth Israel & Temple Israel Synagogues, effort, it was inter-generational as well. More than a Historical Society archives. This exhibit was made possithe entire community has had an opportunity to cele- dozen teens conducted interviews with the veterans. ble by support of the special Donor Advised Fund of the brate the lives of these local heroes--residents whose These interviews were used to create the text for the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. The Community Service Award recognizes creative service to our country makes us proud to be Jewish museum panels. “The way we involved our youth and connected them programs sponsored by Federation agencies or Jewish Americans. Quite appropriately, the U.S. Armed Forces gallery to other generations was unique and very powerful,” organizations that have made a significant impact on the exhibit opened just two days after Veterans Day on Nov. explained Rosie Zwieback, committee member. “It was community. Committee members of the U.S. Armed 13, 2005, at the JCC. In addition to the JCC, the a terrific experience for the teens,” agreed fellow com- Forces gallery exhibit will be recognized on Tuesday, exhibit was displayed for a month at Beth El, Beth Israel mittee member Renee Corcoran. “We received quite a Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m. at the JCC, at a reception honoring and Temple Israel synagogues. This was followed by sev- few phone calls from kids and their parents sharing how Federation and Agency Volunteers of the Year.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Solidarity at Home and with Israel
Volunteers of the Year Continued from page 4 For the past two years Judi Yoo has been a friend and helpmate to many residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. A former nurse and elder care specialist, Judi devotes at least four days a week accompanying residents to doctor’s appointments, assisting with Shabbat and Jewish holiday celebrations, and spending precious time with her “special” friends. Judy also sews hospice quilts for the current LOVE project, once again lending her talents to help others. Judi Yoo Yoo has made her friends at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home her adopted family. She knows why she volunteers--she feels it helps her as much as it helps others. The staff and residents all agree that the day Judy entered the Home, two years ago, was a blessing for everyone who lives and works there. Gary Katz, Carol Katzman, Jordana Glazer, Karen Gustafson, Lisa Shkolnick and Lois Wine contributed to this article.
and support the continued growth of this program. The October Solidarity Mission promises to be an unforgettable experience, and I’m pleased to see such anticipation for the upcoming June Family Mission. My experience with the Federation began many years ago with the Budget and Allocations committee. Over the years, I have seen the many benefits of our campaign to the Omaha Jewish Community. It is my goal to continue to focus on our financial resource development. I also plan to increase Federation Board and Agency involvement in this area, as well as the annual campaign. One thing about the Federation remains constant throughout the years. Collaboration and cooperation with the synagogues, community agencies and organizations is absolutely critical to our success. We’re incredibly lucky to have volunteers like those we are honoring on Sept. 5, in addition to the countless others who devote themselves to the betterment of the entire Omaha Jewish community. I look forward to us all working together to keep Omaha on the path of growth, inclusiveness and community spirit. Again, mazel tov to our honorees, may you go from strength to strength.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT by NORMAN M. SHELDON President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha As we continue to watch the events unfold in Israel I am reminded of how fortunate we are to have a strong, vibrant and committed Jewish community in Omaha. I am excited and honored to begin my tenure as President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha at this critical time. While we work together with Jews throughout North America to help our Israeli brethren, we have much to do at home to ensure the strength of our own community. There are many things I’d like to accomplish over the next two years: First, we will continue to strengthen Omaha’s ties to Israel. In addition to educating our community on Israel’s needs, we will work with our Partnership in the Western Galilee as closely as possible to assist them in their efforts to rebuild. Our missions program has never been stronger, and I will recommend
Jewish Federation of Omaha 2006 Annual Report Israel-UJC ............................................................. $1,241,730 Israel Teen Trips ........................................................ $19,000 National Agencies ......................................................... $4400 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Grants ............................................. $16,000 Needy Funeral Fund ...................................................... $1000 Birthright Israel ............................................................ $7500 Jewish Federation Programs, Services, Missions and the Campaign .................................................... $596,215 Central Services ....................................................... $407,006 Campus Capital Funds ............................................... $10,200 Campus Maintenance Fund ....................................... $35,000 Campus Asset Replacement Fund .............................. $75,000 Campaign Shrinkage .................................................. $40,000 Contingency Fund ...................................................... $33,000 Total Dollars Allocated: $3,511,650
Allocations to our Centers of Excellence ADL/CRC ................................................................. $168,010 Jewish Community Center ......................................... $46,250 Center for Jewish Education ..................................... $220,210 Kripke Federation Library ......................................... $114,706 Jewish Family Service .............................................. $156,205 Jewish Senior Services ............................................... $52,512 Community Services and Programs Funded by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Va’ad HaKashrut ........................................................... $1186 Community Development ........................................... $53,120 Children’s Needs Scholarships ................................... $45,000 Child Care Financial Assistance ................................. $34,500 Jewish Press .............................................................. $41,100 Friedel Jewish Academy ............................................. $49,000 Heritage Fund............................................................ $44,000
In honor of our volunteers’ commitment to Tikkun Olam, we invite you to bring a non-perishable donation to the Volunteer Recognition Reception. All donated items will go to the Jewish Family Service Food Pantry. JFS is especially in need of canned foods (fruits, vegetables, tuna and soup), laundry soap, and toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste and soap).
Their dedication is indescribable; their contributions -- immeasurable. Their generosity has no bounds.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Schusterman Fund Initiates ‘Leading Up North’ New Project to Bring 500 Young Jews to Help Repair Northern Israel by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Lynn Schusterman is no stranger to the Jewish community. Along with her husband, the late Charles Schusterman, she was first a leader in the Jewish community of Tulsa, OK, and then on the national scene. Eventually, the couple established a family foundation to provide the funding for the projects in which they expressed such interest, among them leadership and young Jewish adults. Currently President of STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal), President of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and Co-chair of the International Board of Governors of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, this creative passionate woman is launching a new project-Leading Up North--the first from her newly-created Center for Leadership Initiatives. CLI, a new foundation headed by Rabbi Yonatan Gordis of Vancouver, BC, will provide the seed money--some $1.5 million--to bring 500 Jewish college students and young adults in their 20s and 30s to Israel this winter to help repair the damage done to northern Israel during the recent war with Hezbollah. The cost to participants is only $180 (plus domestic airfare to a gateway city). Leading Up North will place these 500 Jewish young adults from North America in kibbutz guest houses in the Northern and Western Galilee to work on projects ranging from rebuilding walls to painting houses to refurbishing bomb shelters. With more than two million trees
end of December, 2006, and beginning of January, 2007, to coincide with winter break for college students. Schusterman is, in fact, hoping this volunteer experience will encourage some of these young Jewish adults to either consider careers in Jewish communal service--or to take leadership roles in their Jewish communities. “This has to be about real work,” noted Lisa An estimated 7,000 Israelis have taken up residence in a huge Eisen, National Program tent city set up along the beach at Nitzanim, near Ashdod. Director of the SchusterThey are all residents of northern towns and villages who have man Fund. “We need come south to escape the constant barrage of rockets being Israelis involved with this, fired on northern Israel by Hezbollah. The tent city has been to work side-by-side with dubbed ‘Gaydamak City’, after the billionaire Russian-born Jews from the Diaspora.” businessman Arcadi Gaydamak, who has funded the cost of In initial discussions creating the temporary city, as well as providing money for with agencies in Israel, the basic meals and extras, such as free soft drinks, laundry serv- response has been overices, films and entertainment for children. Telephone and inter- whelmingly positive, net sites have also been set up and professional help and med- according to Eisen. Credit: ISRANET “They’re enthusiastic ical assistance is also readily available. destroyed by fires caused by Hezbollah and grateful,” she said. “Their message to rockets, the volunteers also will work with her about the solidarity this kind of projthe Jewish National Fund to clear forests ect brings is ‘You can send your dollars and trails and replant trees. here, but it means so much more to bring “Young people made such an impact on volunteers over to work with us.’” the people they helped” in the aftermath In fact, Schusterman hopes Federations of Hurricane Katrina, said Schusterman will consider similar trips as part of their to the Jewish Press in a conference call on missions’ programs. Depending on the Tuesday. They understand that a project success of the first Leading Up North, such as this has “an impact on others and she seems ready to fund more trips like teaches leadership.” this one. Leadership is a key component in this 7“To those who hear of our regular 10 day trip tentatively scheduled for the communal squabbling, it may be surpris-
g i n y o j En ard w e r e h t . e m i t e f i l a of
ing how quickly world Jewry still rallies and joins together in a time of crisis,” Schusterman said in a July 28 op-ed in The Forward. “Those unfamiliar with the strength of our community, and the remarkable individuals who constitute the Jewish people, may have taken our internal discord as a sign of weakness. They were wrong, and now they know it.” As to the young people who will participate in this first-time project, Eisen said the project will help reinforce the connection with Israel many of these young Jews have already formed. CLI will be using Hillel and Jewish Student Union groups on college campuses to recruit those who already have participated in birthright, and organizations like the Jewish Coalition for Service and American Jewish World Service, to recruit the 20- and 30-somethings. Israeli organizations, such as JAFI, JDC, JNF and others will be used for placements on the ground in northern Israel. While CLI is still completing plans for Leading Up North, those interested can visit www.leadingup.org; additional information will be added when available. College students (including graduate students, law and medical students) will be able to apply via Hillel and the Israel on Campus Coalition, although information is not up on the groups’ websites yet. Inquiries in the meantime can be directed to: dharris@israelcc.org. “While this is not a quick fix,” added Rabbi Gordis, “healing is not just about fixing walls, but to have people up north (in Israel) know that they have partners in the Diaspora.”
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August 18, 2006
The Final Act of Loving Kindness Continued from page 1 Raton Synagogue Chevra Kadisha. She also serves as a consultant for another Boca Raton Chevra Kadisha. Berman earned a Master’s degree in group work and community organization from Hunter College of Social Work. She directed national public relations campaigns for corporate and not-for-profit accounts, and was a senior account executive for Lubicom, a New York communications agency. Her extensive experience also includes positions as Director of Community Affairs at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, Director of the Judaica Museum, and Director of Public Affairs for the United Synagogue of America. Berman has written and lectured extensively, with her articles appearing in The New Times, Hadassah York Magazine, Voluntary Action Leadership, The Gerontologist, and Religious Education. Berman also served as the Executive Director of the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem and currently co-directs the activities of the Society’s Florida chapter. In a recent phone interview about her upcoming lecture at Beth Israel, Berman acknowledged the positive response she has received for Dignity Beyond Death. “One is truly gratified by critical acclaim, certainly,” she said. However, it is the individual responses as to how her book has made a personal impact that she finds most moving. As an example, she said, “Yesterday I received an e-mail from a woman who went to one of my lectures. After the lecture, she decided to go out and get my book and read it. This led to her speaking with her rabbi about joining the Chevra Kadisha. The impact of her email was so profound and so gratifying.” Dignity Beyond Death incorporated a multitude of personal stories of Chevra Kadisha members’ experiences, feelings and thoughts about the tahara process. These stories illuminated Berman’s descriptions of the process and members’ relationships with each other. To accomplish her task, Berman interviewed members of many different Chevra Kadishas around the United States. “They represent all streams of Judiasm, from Orthodox to Reform,” stated Berman. Berman believes that Jews should know about the Chevra Kadisha and tahara rituals. In her book she wrote, “Most Jews know that brit milah is a circumcision ... that a Jewish couple is married under a canopy [chuppah], and that after a funeral, mourners sit shiva. While they are usually familiar with some of the customs marking these lifecycle events, the work of the Chevra Kadisha is rarely, if ever, mentioned.” Recognizing that people are often uncomfortable reading and talking about the tahara, Berman still contends that by learning about it may ultimately provide comfort. “To know that it isn't strangers who are doing this, and
that it isn't little mysterious ‘gnomes’ who take care of this--that should be such a great comfort,” stated Berman. “I’ve been doing taharas for more than 20 years. Only 15 to 20 percent of Jewish burials are accompanied by tahara,” she added. “This is due to ignorance. If you knew what the tahara was, of course you would want it. A tahara means it isn’t being done by a stranger who doesn’t care.” The idea of “comfort” frequently appears in Berman’s book. She wrote, “A Manhattan doctor who became involved in the Chevra Kadisha many years after his father died said, ‘I knew he had a tahara, but I had no idea about the process. Now that I know, it is a great source of comfort to me to realize that he was treated with such dignity.’” Another interviewee told Berman, “Imagining the grace and respect my mother was afforded in death is an ongoing source of comfort. Her tahara affirms her abiding presence even though she has passed from this life.” Another point made by Berman is that when she writes and presents lectures, her focus isn't about death--it’s about spirituality. “This isn’t about the mourning,” explained Berman. “Rather, it’s uplifting. And to know we did our very best is very uplifting. It’s simple, gentle and moving.” From her research, she found that Chevra Kadisha members can be greatly impacted by performing the tahara ritual. According to Berman, “Members are the best that they can possibly be. It’s a very self-enhancing experience.” When she started her interviews, she said, “I had done about 300 taharas and thought I knew all the things there were to know. But through the interviews, I learned a lot. There are such differences in the way people are experiencing the tahara.” For example, Berman mentioned members who viewed their service as a great mitzvah and others who emphasized the bond felt between members performing tahara. “On the other hand, the tahara is done everywhere,” stated Berman. “In small communities and large communities, members all have the same profound and spiritual experience.” The public is invited to attend Berman’s lecture at Beth Israel on Aug. 30. For those who would like to read Dignity Beyond Death before the lecture, the book is available for purchase at the synagogue and the Kripke Library for $20. Copies will also be available the night of Berman’s lecture, and the author has offered to sign individual copies. Berman’s lecture is the first of two special events aimed at educating the community and providing in-service training to members of Omaha’s Chevra Kadisha. On Sunday, Nov. 5, Rabbi Elchonon Zohn will meet with the Chevra Kadisha in the afternoon and present a community lecture in the evening. Zohn is internationally recognized as one of the foremost experts in halacha surrounding death and burial practices. Both events are sponsored by the Jewish Funeral Home and will be held at Beth Israel. For more information on these events, contact Rabbi Gross at 556.6288.
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Temple Golf Outing Features Above Par Prizes, Dining, and Fun by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator You might win a 2006 Acura, or one of two new bikes, or free bagels from the Bagel Bin for a year, a $200 gift certificate from Mulhall’s, a $400 bleaching system from a dentist, a gift certificate from Parsow’s, or free nachos for a year from Julio’s. Those are just some of the prizes that will be raffled at the annual Temple Israel Golf Outing on Monday, Aug. 28, at Ironwood Country Club, 127th and Pacific. “And new prizes continue to be added everyday,” reported John Glazer, who along with Michael Miller, is chairing the golf outing which they expect to raise approximately $40,000. Preceded by lunch at noon at Ironwood, the 18-hole yearly golf event raises funds to support Temple’s religious school, youth groups, adult education, and worship services. The shotgun start for the event is scheduled for 1 p.m. and features opportunities “to improve your game (and your chances to win prizes) while on the course,” according to Glazer. Included in the $350 (or $800 for a foursome) hole sponsorship is the opportunity to play 18 holes of golf, eat lunch, use of the driving range, a steak dinner at Ironwood at 6 p.m., signage on the tee/green, and your name printed on all golf outing material. Otherwise, single participants can play for $125 or foursomes for $500. Playing spots are filled on a first-come,
first-served basis. The Golf Outing Committee will pair single players with a group. “Bring lots of money for the raffle and wagering events, mulligans, and surprises,” recommended Glazer. Prizes will be awarded for holes-in-one, first place, and random placers. He also pointed out that the golf outing is “a good chance to visit with the clergy, fellow congregants, and community members in a fun, social environment.” The golf outing attracts participants affiliated as well as many not associated with Temple Israel. As opposed to previous golf outing days, Glazer mentioned that “we’re hoping it won’t be the hottest day of the year,” noting that “we’ve already gotten that out of the way!” Spouses and friends who do not golf are welcome to attend the dinner and awards banquet which begin at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails. Cost for the dinner alone is $30. Other members of the Golf Outing Committee are Dennis DePorte, Jim Farber, Rick Fox, Bruce Goldberg, Adam Kirshenbaum, Steve Levinger, Jay Matz, Joe Meyers, Jon Meyers, Steve Redler, Scott Schneiderman, Jeff Smedlund, and Adam Yale. On Sunday, Sept. 10, noon, the first day of religious school at Temple Israel, there will be a barbeque at Temple and a continuation of the golf raffle. To play in the golf event, call Temple Israel at 556.6536 or contact any of the committee members.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
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by LOIS WINE JCC Volunteer Coordinator Taste, listen, touch and play with the residents of the Rose Blumkin Home and your family. LOVE (League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly) is again sponsoring a Grandparents’ Day celebration on Sunday, Aug. 27, noon-3:30 p.m at the Jewish Community Center. Join the Pancake Man as he tosses his pancakes at noon. Have you ever heard of the “Instrument Petting Zoo”? The Omaha Symphony invites children of all ages to “come to the zoo” and touch all the instruments and even play some of them from noon until 2:30 p.m. The JCC will come alive at 1:30 p.m. when the Bob Woody Quartet provides the great sounds of Dixieland Jazz and Ragtime. As the Deborah Greene (front row left),and music fades, there Eitan Rosenquist, Julie Rosenquist will be root beer (back row left), and Silvia Roffman floats for everyone at 2:30 p.m. All of these activities are being provided by the following endowment funds administered by the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha: Sheldon A. and Lorrie Bernstein fund, Betty A. Studna and Seymour T. Lee fund, Chester and Phyllis Lustgarten fund and the LOVE organization.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Due to the Post Office now sending the Jewish Press to Des Moines, IA, for sorting before returning the newspapers to Omaha for delivery, we have been forced to move up our our deadline. Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues (early deadlines for special issues and to accommodate office closings for holidays will be announced in advance). Questions? Call 334.6448.
OMAHA JEWISH SINGLES 40+ Enjoy dinner, drinks and comedy at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in its new location at Village Point on Sunday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m. for dinner and conversation, to meet and mingle with other singles; then stay for the comedy show at 7:30 p.m. Please call the FunnyBone at 493.8036 and make your reservation as soon as possible. Tell them you are with the Jewish Singles Group. The cost is just $7 for a ticket to the comedy show (Dinner and drinks on your own.) Any questions? Call Sandi at 895.1815 or email at srcomaha@aol. com. WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going to the Ameristar Casino on Thursday, please meet at the JCC by 8:45 a.m. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.
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by GLORIA SHUKERT JONES Hadassah Publicity Coordinator Now that the “dog days” of summer are practically over, what better way to celebrate the coming of fall and the new year than by gathering for an evening of social mah jongg.
Nancy Wolf and Patti Adler The Omaha Chapter of Hadassah cordially invites current, new and prospective members to see old friends and reconnect after summer vacations, and for newcomers to meet and learn about Hadassah, on Monday evening, Aug. 28, 7-9 p.m., at the JCC. The organizers of the event, Nancy Wolf and Patti Adler, have been busy planning the evening. Don’t know how to play mah jongg? Not to worry! There will be a “learning table” for those of you who have always wanted to play, but never quite mastered the intricacies of the game. Just let us know when you call. Bring your mah jongg sets and gather your groups of friends with whom you regularly play. If cracks, bams and dots are not your speed, feel free to bring a deck of cards or board games instead. The only thing you don’t need to bring is money. These are designated as social games, and the only “stakes” will be fun get-togethers. Light refreshments will be available for “noshing”. The evening events are free. The only thing we ask is to call for reservations, letting us know how many in your party, so we’ll know the correct amount of tables to set. RSVP to Nancy Wolf at 330.6736, or Patti Adler, 333.4047.
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VISIONS Reminder: For those members going on the Brownville trip, please meet at the JCC by 11:30 a.m. Come to see, learn and do this ancient Chinese Art of Tai Chi on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m., at the Parkwood Terrace Apartment Club House (93rd and Western Ave). We will be led by an experienced local
instructor who will help us with better balance, posture, movement and over-all well-being followed by lunch at the China Buffet (114th and Dodge in Miracle Hills Plaza). Cost is $10. Send reservations to Sissy Silber, 311 Oakridge Ct., Bellevue, NE 68005 by Sept. 6. For information, call Roasalie Meiches at 556.5507 and Doris Alloy at 697.8709. Visions Luncheon is at the Westside Community Conference Center at 3534 So. 108 St. (108 and Grover) on Friday, Sept. 15, 12:30 p.m. Join us for a musical program with Cantor Gaston Bogomolni accompanied by Esther Wax. Cost is $9.50. Send reservations to Tootie Simon, 8725 Izard St. Omaha, NE 68114 by Sept. 8. Visions is on the road again to picturesque Iowa to visit Hotel Pattee in Perry and the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Cost is $68. Send reservations with deposit to Anne Skolkin, 1010 Regency Parkway #302, Omaha, NE 68114. Make all checks payable to Visions. B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Jim Esch, candidate for the Second Congressional seat in the House of Representatives, will talk to Breadbreakers Wednesday, Aug. 23, noon, at Regency Lodge. Breadbreakers is open to everyone in the community. A full lunch is $11; beverage service is $2.
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COREN/REYHLE Julie Ann Coren and Daniel Paul Reyhle were married July 29 at Hayhurst’s on Sea Rose Beach, south of Yachats, OR. The matron of honor was the bride’s sister, Lisa Coren Green from Yorktown, VA. The best man was a friend of the groom, Bret Wiedner from Lawrence, KS. The bride is the daughter of Meyer (Mickey) and Fran Coren of Omaha and the granddaughter of Paul Grossman and the late Joy Grossman and the late Henry and Sylvia Coren. She graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence with a BS in journalism. She is the Director of Development and Marketing for Arts Umbrella in Eugene, OR. The groom is the son of Steve and Judy Reyhle of Overland Park, KS, and the grandson of Walt and Virginia Reyhle and the late Paul and Mary O’Connell. He also graduated from the University of Kansas and earned a BA in communication studies. He then earned a certificate of completion of Master Recording Program II from the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, AZ. He is employed at Pro Sound and Video in Eugene, OR. The couple makes their home in Eugene, OR. FRIEDKIN/POLIKOV Sara Beth Friedkin and Lance Bradley Polikov, both of Atlanta GA, were married on July 1. Rabbi Frederick Reeves officiated at the ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Atlanta. The bride, daughter of Carol and Alan Friedkin of Girard, OH, earned a BS in Education from Indiana University. She is a prekindergarten teacher at the Temple Early Learning Center. She is the granddaughter of the late Laura and Saul Friedkin, and the late Helen and Albert Wagner. The Matron of Honor was Renee Friedkin of Ann Arbor MI. Bridesmaids were Jamie Kessler and Emily Sonenshine, both of Atlanta, Jodi Polikov of Chicago, Arica Kinast of New York, and Maryn Schwebel of Youngstown, OH. The groom, son of Sheila and Marvin Polikov, is the
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WRJ to Welcome Temple’s New Rabbi at Opening Luncheon
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grandson of Ethel Goldston and the late Seymour Goldston, and the late Bemice and Abe Polikov. He is a graduate of the University of WisconsinMadison, where he earned a BS in journalism. He is the director of sales for the C. J. Walsh Group, an executive recruiting firm in Atlanta. Best men were Ken Polikov of Chicago, and Chad Polikov of Atlanta. Groomsmen were Michael Cohn of Chicago, Aaron Friedkin of Ann Arbor, MI, Nathan Friedkin of Girard, OH, and Jarred Kest of New York. Ushers were Adam Frank of Atlanta, Matt Fried of New York, Jason Krause of Minneapolis, Brian Nogg and Jeff Nogg, and Jeff Panzer of Austin, TX. Rylan Polikov was the ring bearer, and Shayley Polikov was the flower girl. Following a honeymoon at the Riviera in Maya, Mexico, the couple will make their home in Atlanta. FROST/RATNER Marcy Roslyn Frost and Mark Allen Ratner of St. Paul, MN, were married on July 16. Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman officiated at the ceremony at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. The bride, daughter of Marlen Frost and the late Dr. Murry Frost, earned a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. She practices employment law in Minneapolis. The groom, son of Barbara Ratner of St. Louis Park, MN, and the late Harvey Ratner, graduated from Carlton College with a BS in Business. He earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. The couple resides in St. Paul.
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator If you haven’t yet met Rabbi Eric Linder, an accomplished musician and amateur rhyme writer, you’ll have an opportunity next Wednesday, Aug. 23. Rabbi Linder will be welcomed by the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) that day at the group’s opening event of the upcoming new year at Temple in the Milder Center. Rabbi Linder, who plays saxophone, piano, and guitar, will “do something involving music” to introduce himself to the community. “Expect to see a whole new side of our newest member of Rabbi Eric Linder the clergy team. It isn’t often that a rabbi arrives with such diverse and intriguing talents,” commented Rosie Zweiback, WRJ co-vice president of programming. The noon luncheon, featuring a menu of gazpacho, mandarin orange and almond salad, and quiches, costs $9 to attend. Reservations can be made through the Temple office. WRJ is selling raffle tickets, $2 each or six for $10, to win two tickets to The Full Monty, playing at the Omaha Community Playhouse from Aug. 25 through Sept. 24, or for a beauty basket created especially to pamper the busy woman. Winners will be announced at the luncheon. All proceeds support summer camp scholarships. In addition, everyone who brings a new school supply item to be donated to Castelar School will receive a free raffle ticket. Sitter service is available for $3. Children should bring a sack lunch.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Omaha Community Playhouse is presenting King o’ the Moon from Oct. 13-Nov. 5. Auditions for this production will be held Monday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 22, 7 p.m. The Playhouse seeks six individuals from the community to fill the roles. Auditions are open to the public. Actors will be asked to read from the script at auditions. Sides will be available at the audition site. King o’ the Moon will be performed on the Playhouse’s Mainstage and will be directed by Judy Hart. For more information, call the OCP at 553.4890
The Omaha Theater Ballet will cast 110 to 120 children and young adults to perform its holiday spectacular, The Nutcracker, at the Orpheum. Community auditions will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, 1-4:30 p.m. at the Omaha Theater Ballet dance studio at 2665 Farnam St. Children must be at least six-years-old to audition. Everyone chosen to participate is expected to be available for rehearsals Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesday evenings. For more information, call 402.502.4633.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
T.A.G. You’re It! at Temple Israel’s “New” Middle/High School Barry Grossman will introduce “Jewish Comics.” He by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator pointed out that “most of the main characters in the “We believe that there are many doorways into comics were created by Jews.” In fact, Superman was Temple Israel’s Middle/High School and that not invented by two young Jewish immigrants. “Some of the everyone enters into their Jewish education through the creators’ Judaism rubs off on their characters--somesame doorway,” believes Elyce Azriel, director of educa- times intentionally and sometimes unintentionally.” Preparing eleventh and twelfth graders for life after tion at Temple Israel. Director of the Middle/High School since 1996, high school, Rosie Zweiback will discuss, “Packing for Azriel wants “religious school to be more on target with College: Where Does Judaism Fit?” with her class. kids today,” she said. So starting with a new name for There’s more to cuisine than food preparation as Lisa the Middle/High School Religious School, she has Epstein and Toby Fellman will explain in “Jewish made significant changes in the curriculum for seventh Cooking/Karing Kids.” Food prepared by this class will be used by Temple’s Caring Community to distribute through 12th graders. In step with Temple Israel’s mission statement to be a balanced meals to those in need. Linda Marcoe, Cantor holy congregation and be committed to the precepts of Wendy Shermet, and Reform Judaism (Torah, Avodah, and Gemuilut Rabbi Eric Linder will Chasadim), the Middle/High School is now called, team teach “What is “T.A.G. -- You’re It!” Students will have new and novel opportunities to grow spiritually, educationally, and Klezmer?” for students ethically (through Torah); to be involved in worship interested in a new (avodah); and to improve their own world as well as “old” kind of music. their community (gemilut chasadim). “Making Jewish Prayer Divided into three “minimesters,” the school year Part of Us: Mastering gives students opportunities to choose from a different Hebrew Prayer Reading track each trimester. Tracks include Social Justice; and Comprehension” Jewish Art; Lessons for Life such as the Union for will be led by Katherine Reform Judaism program, “Packing for College;” Finnegan as she continAhavat Yisrael, fostering a sense of commitment to the ues the study of prayer State of Israel and improving Hebrew skills; for B’nai Mizvah stuPerspectives on Self and Others which explores aspects dents. Orly Gilat will of Jewish identity; Gaining Jewish Insights which offers teach “Ulpan Hebrew,” an in-depth exploration of Jewish texts; and Creative for those who wish to Thinking, Experience, and Expression which provides The cover of Temple Israel’s learn basic modern opportunities for original interpretation, association, Middle/High School T.A.G. course- Hebrew vocabulary and book suggests multiple doorways simple sentence strucand creative experimentation of their Judaism. Classes range from the classic to the contemporary, into Jewish education. ture. “And this is just a from serious thought to lighthearted fun. Some are taste of the fall minimester!” said Elyce Azriel. interactive, others are hands-on, discussion-based, or A student/parent orientation and class sign-up for fall revolve around texts, food, or art. Most classes are lim- minimester classes are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. ited to 10 students, and they are required to choose 20, 6:30 p.m. preceded by dinner at 6 p.m. Fall minfrom a different track each minimester. imester dates are Sept. 27, Oct. 4, 11, 25, Nov. 8, and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel will lead “Bible Quiz Study” for 15. Dinner will be available for the entire education students who wish to enter the Dec. 13 B’nai B’rith community which includes third through sixth graders, Bible Quiz. Lee Needelman and Steve Danon will facil- middle/high school students, and Family School on all itate “God Concept,” and Rita Paskowitz will explore Wednesdays. Throughout the year, Elyce Azriel said, students will “The Holocaust and Beyond” through discussion, guest step outside the classroom to participate in opportunispeakers, and film. A class on “Jewish Literature,” taught by Gary Katz, ties centered around tikkum olam and supporting the will take a look at the work of contemporary authors community. During regular class hours on Wednesday, Nov. 1, who have shaped and altered Jewish consciousness and identity. “I’m going to use various stories, writers, and grades seven, eight, and nine will party the night away writing techniques to make the class a little different,” with Rose Blumkin Home residents at a Homecoming he said. He plans to use stories “with generational Dance. At the same time, grades ten, 11 and 12 will go themes that will appeal to both younger and older learn- with Yachad members to the VSP (Very Special People) Club where teenagers and adults who have cognitive and ers.”
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developmental disabilities enjoy recreational activities in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere. Following dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 29, the entire school will gather and learn about Camps CoHoLo and Rainbow and about how the money raised at the Dec. 3 Omaha Temple Youth Group Spaghetti Dinner benefits children who have cancer and other life threatening illnesses. “Nov. 29 is going to be fun. We’ll show the video from Camp Rainbow and learn more about both camps,” said Lynne Jensen, director of informal education and youth at Temple Israel. “We’re also planning to make a gift to give to the campers that day,” she mentioned. Other special workshop nights will incorporate events with storyteller, Noa Baum; Danny Siegel, the Mitzvah Man; and attending Yom HaShoah services at Temple Israel in the spring. Azriel said she knows of just a few other congregations in which students have the chance to choose their own paths. “Our program is fluid and constantly changing to meet the needs and interests of our students,” a change whose time has come, she enthusiastically believes. “This school will put us at the front cutting edge of Jewish education in America,” added Rabbi Azriel, “and will help us instill in our students and adults a Jewish value system that will strengthen the future of our Jewish community.”
Seniors Win!
Young Jewish Omaha hosted its second annual Casino Night for residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home last week. The slot machines were very popular, with people lined up for their turns. The seniors also enjoyed blackjack, craps and roulette. Above, Jill Simon works the tables with Blumkin Home resident Mollie Franklin.
Out
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August 18, 2006
IN THE NEWS Women are invited to attend the ninth annual Omaha Women’s Health and Wellness Conference, on Friday, Oct. 13, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Convention Centre, 72nd and Grover Streets. “Making the Most of Your Future” will offer educational health and wellness speakers, exhibits, continental breakfast and lunch, and free and low cost health screenings, will be included. The conference is sponsored by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Olson Center for Women’s Health, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, The Nebraska Medical Center and Wellness Council of the Midlands. The cost of the conference is $40. For an additional $30, nurses can receive 5.2 continuing education credits. Limited scholarships are available for women with financial restrictions. Breakfast keynote speaker will be Marie Micheletto, psychotherapist and lecturer, Archdiocesan Consultation Service, whose talk will be titled, “How to be a Star! Sara Nollette, certified nurse practitioner, UNMC Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, will make a presentation during a general session titled, “Health Promotion Through Prevention: Recommended Screening Tests for Women.” The luncheon keynote speaker will be Amy Schmid of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council of Nebraska. Her presentation titled, “Be a Successful Loser,” will focus on what it takes to maintain a healthy weight for life. Health screenings will include balance testing, blood pressure, body composition, flexibility, massage, postural screening for osteoporosis, yoga and Pilates. Information will be available about a variety of topics, including acupuncture, Alzheimer’s disease, aromatherapy, relaxation, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain management, elder care, exercise, incontinence, osteoporosis, sleep disorders, and stress and coping. Registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 6. For more information or a conference brochure, call 559.6345 or make your reservation online at www.unmc.edu/ olson. Click on “Omaha Women’s Health & Wellness Conference.” According to recent studies, identity thieves have a new target--the MTV generation. The Better Business Bureau recently released their 2006 survey on the topic and said the one new and surprising finding is that 2534 year-olds have the highest rate of identity fraud--not seniors. While the overall number of adult victims of identity fraud has declined only marginally in the past three years, identity thieves are spending more of their victims’ money and victims are spending more time trying to get it back.
One way to protect your identity before it gets stolen is to destroy sensitive documents containing personal data. Great Western Bank is holding its second-annual Shred-All Saturday, Aug. 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at all of its bank locations. Consumers may bring personal papers they want to dispose of to any of the branch locations where Shred-All bins will be located. A Shred-All truck will be on hand at American Plaza in Bellevue. In addition, Great Western Bank employees will be on hand to answer any questions consumers have regarding the problem of identity theft and what consumers can do to protect themselves. The 2006 Omaha Guts and Glory Walk will be held Aug. 26 at Elmwood Park, 60th and Dodge. The noncompetitive two-mile walk is a benefit for CCFA, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which together are known as inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, affect nearly 1.5 million people in the United States--8,000 of them in Nebraska. Some are as young as age seven. Though the exact cause of IBD is not known, a genetic basis may play a part. Research has indicated that American Jews of eastern European descent are four to five times more likely to develop IBD than are other individuals in the general population. Registration is 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event. The walk begins at 9 a.m. Registration is free. To pre-register, visit www.gutsandglory.org or call the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CCFA toll-free at 866.768.2232. For more information about how you can help, call event co-chair Howard K. Marcus at 598.9229. Tess Mandell, daughter of Paula Mandell and Steve Christensen has enrolled for fall 2006 admission at Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology. Mandell will major in software engineering in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences and is a May 2006 Omaha Central High School graduate. Internationally recognized as a leader in computing, imaging, technology, fine and applied arts, and education of the deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology enrolls 15,500 students in more than 340 undergraduate and graduate programs. Its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation. For the past decade, U.S. News and World Report has ranked RIT as one of the nation's leading comprehensive universities. RIT is also included in The Fiske Guide to Colleges, as well as Barren's Best Buys in Education.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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by DINAH SPRITZER mine the future of Judaism in Europe. HANOVER, Germany (JTA) -- Sarah Rubenstein, an “The Czech situation is a laboratory,” he says. “What American fashion designer living in Florence, recalls we are here dealing with on a very small scale, every with bemusement an incident she feels conveys the per- community is dealing with on a larger scale. By making ception of Reform Judaism in Italy. the conditions not so strict, more Czech Jews will idenA rabbi from her adopted synagogue, Shir Hadash, tify as Jews.” one of only three Reform congregations in Italy, was • UP FROM THE BASEMENT attending a Chanukah party incognito at the Great Bejt Simcha, which survives in part on grants from varSynagogue of Florence last year. The 19th-century land- ious organizations, has been led since 1980 by Sylvie mark, like all synagogues in the country, must be Wittmann, 49, who helps fund the congregation Orthodox in order to be recognized by a state-sanc- through proceeds from her well-known firm, which books tours of Jewish sites in the Czech Republic and tioned body as a legitimate religious organization. “The people at the party told our rabbi we were hold- elsewhere in Central Europe. As a practical matter, official recognition of the coning Catholic mass on Sunday,” recounts Rubenstein, an effervescent 32-year-old from Oklahoma who laughs gregation means Bejt Simcha can afford a part-time without apparent bitterness at the obvious misrepresen- rabbi and move from the basement of an apartment building to one of Prague’s tation. majestic synagogues that “This is the message they were built as far back as the were getting from their leadMiddle Ages. ers. And secular Jews in Morever, the Bejt Simcha Italy, they think we’re doing decision, Wittmann says, will who knows what, something help decentralize and really strange; they have no democratize rabbinical overidea what progressive sight in the country. Judaism is in the first place.” “This position of an That mindset appears to Orthodox chief rabbi who be the norm throughout decides everything for everymuch of Europe, which one is something right out ironically is the birthplace of of the shtetl that Eastern the Reform movement. Europeans brought to Unlike in America, where Central Europe after World Reform Judaism now preWar II,” she says. “If the dominates, the progressive religious streams in much of The German government signs a historic contract with federation wants a chief Europe have long been vir- Germany’s Jewish community in 2003. The Central Council rabbi to eat dinners at the tual non-entities. of Jews in Germany recognized that country’s progressive Parliament and speak to Their proponents contend congregations in 2004, making them eligible for govern- politicians on television, they have been institutional- ment funding. At left sits Paul Spiegel, late leader of the fine, but when it comes to ly marginalized to the point council, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, cen- recognizing our converof disenfranchisement. Their ter, and Otto Schily, right, then head of the Interior Ministry. sions, he should keep his critics argue that they are a Credit: Toby Axelrod/JTA opinions to himself.” It remains to be seen U.S.-style import without mass appeal that goes too far in welcoming non-Jews whether a Czech- or German-style endorsement of pluralism will be replicated in other European countries into the fold. “We are the largest international group of Jews, but such as Italy, Austria or Hungary, where Reform is still we seldom get a seat at the table in Europe,” Steve not recognized as a religious movement. Riccardo Di Segni certainly hopes not. The chief rabbi Bauman, chairman of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, lamented during a recent speech here before a of Rome and one of Europe’s most respected religious gathering of Reform Jews from across Europe. “We leaders, Di Segni says the Czech scenario is exactly what Italy does not need, because, he says, Reform Judaism remain the best-kept secret in the world.” As it turns out, however, that cloak of obscurity may condones intermarriage and other practices that do be lifting if recent developments in Europe are a harbin- “damage to the life of our community,” In contrast to America, progressive Judaism in contiger of things to come. In early June, for example, one of two progressive nental Europe, like Orthodoxy, abides by the halachic rule congregations in the Czech Republic, 120-member Bejt recognizing matrilineal descent as a proof of Jewish idenSimcha, was tentatively recognized as a legitimate organ- tity. But its more inclusive stance regarding non-Jewish ization by that country’s Jewish umbrella group, the spouses, the ordination of female rabbis and the stringency of conversion practices places it beyond the norm Czech Federation of Jewish Communities. That watershed decision, to be finalized in September, even among those mostly secular 1.6 million European followed an even more significant development -- the Jews who reside outside the former Soviet Union. As exemplified in Italy, the prevailing European wholesale legitimization of Reform Judaism in Germany, where the movement originated in the 19th century. approach to Judaism, Di Segni says, is governed by a The Czech ruling effectively ends a decade of con- longstanding informal compromise that says regardless tention during which Prague-based Bejt Simcha, of an individual Jew’s level of religiosity, “the formal because of its non-Orthodox orientation, was denied the institution has to be Orthodox.” • A THROWBACK political and financial advantages that are critical to the Europe today has an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 prolong-term survival of some European congregations. In contrast to the United States, where self-funded gressive Jews associated with some 130 congregations congregations are the building blocks of Jewish life, scattered through 15 countries located outside the forEuropean Judaism has for centuries been controlled by mer Soviet Union. The progressives account for roughgovernment-recognized bodies known as “communities” ly 3.6 percent of the total European Jewish population. that determine what form of Jewish practice is considered In comparison, approximately 38 percent of America’s legitimate. These communities, which attempt to speak estimated 5.2 million to 6 million Jews identify as on behalf of all Jews in a given country, are often allotted Reform, the country’s chief liberal denomination. The vast majority of Europe’s progressive Jews live in money by the state that helps pay for everything from the United Kingdom. The Netherlands, France and synagogue construction to care for the elderly. Bejt Simcha will now have access to that funding and Germany also have well-established congregations. Like the political clout that comes with it. The ruling clearing the British model, they originated in response to conthe way for official recognition of the small congregation gregants’ requests for shorter services, the inclusion of is an acknowledgment that some of the Czech Republic’s an organ or choir and the recitation of prayers -- in part, disaffected Jews might now find non-Orthodoxy a at least--in the country’s native language. Progressive Judaism was growing in popularity in Europe preferable route for embracing their faith, according to Tomas Kraus, the federation’s executive director. “After in the early 20th century, but the Holocaust and its afterthe end of communism, we needed to get back to basics, math promptly short-circuited that trend. The Continent’s and followed the Orthodox model, but we have matured Holocaust survivors, seeing unity as the key to communal survival, chose Orthodoxy as the guiding principle in their enough to offer something more,” he says. The battle over the status of progressive congregations re-emerging communities--if it wasn’t already. like Bejt Simcha, according to Kraus, could in fact deter- Continued on page 13
August 18, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Progressive Judaism Sees Rebirth on Continent Continued from page 12 Today that means that although European Jews like Rubenstein can earmark a percentage of their income tax to support the Jewish community, none of that money will find its way to the progressive congregations to which they belong. The two progressive congregations in Hungary face similar barriers to acceptance. One of them, Szim Salom in Budapest, has a full-time Hungarian-born rabbi and about 200 members in a country of an estimated 100,000 to 130,000 Jews, most of them unaffiliated. Szim Salom’s congregants meet in a rented apartment bloc where neighbors’ complaints about their activities are sometimes tinged with anti-Semitism. The congregation does not have access to the estimated $15 million the government gives each year to the Association of Jewish Communities in Hungary, the country’s main religious umbrella group, which last year rejected the congregation’s membership application. “They are excluded, it’s true,” acknowledges Peter Feldmajer, president of the Hungarian association. “That is the decision of the rabbinate.” The rabbinate’s decision, according to Feldmajer, was based on the supposition that “a Reform Jew is not a Jew.” This exclusion prevents Szim Salom from funding programs that might attract some of the area’s many disenfranchised Jews, according to Rabbi Joel Oseran, a vice president of the World Union. Outreach is critical in Hungary and other former Eastern bloc countries, where the Jewish population has been decimated due to the Holocaust, Communist repression of religion and intermarriage rates that now reach 90
percent. • THE FRENCH PARADOX France, with the largest number of Jews on the continent, roughly 600,000 to 700,000, has a lively progressive presence in Paris, although outside the capital, attracting members to progressive congregations has been a challenge. Stephane Beder, president of the Federation of French Liberal Jews, acknowledges that the progressive approach is alien to most French Jews, many of whom are Sephardim with traditional backgrounds. “If you go to city authorities and ask for land for a synagogue, it’s not uncommon for the city to say, ‘We were told by the Consistoire that you are not real Jews,’ “ says Beder, referring to the nearly 200year-old organization that governs all aspects of religious life in France. But complaints about exclusion ring false to Manek Weintraub, a Polish-born member of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, or CRIF, the largest social and political Jewish organization in France. Progressive groups, Weintraub says, now hold prominent positions in his group and otherwise “play a leading role in French Jewry.” He notes, for example, that a progressive-initiated Holocaust Memorial Day ritual involving the public reading of the names of French concentration camp deportees has become widely accepted, despite initial opposition from “the Jewish establishment.” Discussing his own views on religion, the secular Weintraub typifies many Europeans. “I hadn’t been to synagogue for about a decade, and I went to a liberal service in Paris,” he says. “Hearing all that French, I felt like I was in a church.” • THE STATUS SWEEPSTAKES As progressive congregations in Europe seek equitable treatment in the form of enhanced political clout and public fund-
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ing, the World Union is considering adopting aggressive legal and public awareness tactics, an approach that has proven fruitful in Germany. A longstanding impasse was resolved recently when the Central Council of Jews in Germany recognized that country’s progressive congregations. Following that decision, victorious World Union leaders officially greeted German Chancellor Angela Merkel, marking the first time representaReform congregants in Hameln, Germany. tives of the organization Credit: Dinah A. Spritzer/JTA had met with a German chancellor. Merkel pledged her govern- benefit from a more symbiotic relationment’s commitment to nurturing the ship with its American denominational growth of a pluralistic and diverse Jewish counterpart. American Reform congregacommunity that represents all denomina- tions gave $6.9 million to projects worldwide last year. In contrast, though, tions. Jonathan Joseph, a progressive Jew Chabad last year gave $69 million to from the United Kingdom and president Jewish causes in the former Soviet Union of the European Council of Jewish alone, where the money is being used for Communities, says if progressive Jews on health facilities, education and cultural the Continent want legitimacy, they programs for Jews. On a much smaller financial scale, conshould take a page from the American playbook and actively engage politicians. sider the experience of Rubenstein in He noted that the progressive move- Florence, whose congregation adopted ment has no foothold in Brussels, head- the self-help model in its search for quarters of the European Union, but at money to pay for a rabbi. One of Shir least two Orthodox groups have set up Hadash’s members wrote to an uncle in lobbying offices there, including the America “who she had never been close to, not expecting to hear anything,” Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Comparing Chabad’s fundraising suc- Rubenstein says, breaking into a grin. cess with the progressive movement’s, “The uncle sent a big check, and when Joseph asks pointedly, “Why aren’t secu- we found out, we all nearly cried.” Visit the Jewish Federation of Omaha lar Jewish business people supporting the website at: www.jewishomaha.org, and Reform movement’s growth?” In addition, Joseph and others believe click on ‘Jewish Press’ to read the rest of that progressive Judaism in Europe will the articles in this series.
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August 18, 2006
Beth El’s Adult Education Classes Offer Spiritual Fare for the Jewish Soul
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tory has a direct impact on our lives.” by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator The synagogue’s year-round Bible The excitement surrounding ‘back to study discussion group will continue to school’ is not reserved only for children meet at 10 a.m. on Sundays, with class in the community: following a summer- regulars sharing facilitating duties. time hiatus, Beth El Synagogue is once Offering dynamic conversation and inagain ready to enrich minds and nourish depth explorations of the Hebrew Bible Jewish souls with its outstanding year- and how it relates to contemporary life, the class is open to everyone in the comlong adult-education offerings. “We take great pride in doing all that is munity--newcomers are always welcome required to provide our adults with cre- and an extensive knowledge of the Bible ative, meaningful learning experiences,” is not a prerequisite to attend. “Jewish study is about participation-Rabbi Mordechai Levin said. “It is a mitzvah to pursue Jewish education, and involving yourself in our history, in our story, the story of the Jewish people,” we’ve made it a major commitment.” For the past several years, Sunday mornings at the synagogue have been jampacked with a variety of interesting adult-ed courses, and this year promises more of the same, with both new and returning courses. Beginning Sunday, Aug. 27, several crowd-pleasing classes will resume: “Living Hebrew,” at 10 a.m. and “Jewish Pot Pourri” at 11 Susi Levin, standing, at right, will reprise her popular a.m., both led by Susi Sunday morning "Jewish Pot Pourri" class at Beth El Synagogue, beginning Aug. 27. Frydman-Levin. ‘Living Hebrew,’ Frydman-Levin says Steve Riekes, one of the discussion explained, is an intermediate-level Hebrew group’s coordinators. “We learn from class geared to those who wish to enhance each other, and the intellectual discourse their conversational skills and improve is very high and very fulfilling.” “What is their reading abilities; ‘Jewish Pot Pourri’ so interesting,” he continued, “is that will once again offer a smorgasbord of even though we’re studying Bible, peoJewish delights, from history and literature ple’s own life experiences and happenings to traditions and music. “This class has a around the world come into play. free style. All the participants help to Participants weave relevancy into the determine the subject matter we discuss study.” and the direction we take,” she said, On Thursday, Oct. 19 at noon, Rabbi adding that, “Once again, ‘Pot Pourri’ will Levin’s always-popular and thought-prooffer weekly surprises, exploring the end- voking adult-ed class will resume: this less richness of Jewish culture.” year’s focus will be “Getting More Out of Aug. 27 will also mark the beginning Prayer: Insights into the Siddur.” The of a new Sunday morning class, taught by year-long course will involve an explocongregant Andy Greenberg. Carrying ration of the daily prayer book, including the tantalizing title, “The Weekly its structure, its themes and timeless mesParasha: It’s All About Me!?” this 10 sages, he said. “The Siddur is the most important a.m. class will offer attendees an opportunity to examine the connection book Jews read regularly, yet it is often a between their lives and the weekly Torah ‘closed book’ to the understanding of readings. many,” Rabbi Levin explained. According to Greenberg, “This class “Questions we will address include ‘What has been designed to help participants do the prayers really say?’ and ‘Where do develop their own insights and personal they come from?’ relationships with the weekly parasha. My “In this class, we will discuss the meangoal is for everyone to be able to relate in ing of individual prayers, as well as the some way to each character, event, entire idea of what prayer is all about; insight, meaning and impact of the Torah we’ll also look at the ways in which prayer readings, and together we’ll see how his- Continued on page 16
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performance. by ROSALEE A. ROBERTS “The Pilates method is not just exercise,” APR, Fellow PRSA Pilates Advantage, one of the few studios in Vesely said. “It is a series of controlled movethe city to offer fit ball, mat and reformer ments engaging the body and mind, performed equipment sessions, has opened at 643 North on specifically designed exercise apparatus 114th St, in the Miracle Hills Shopping Center. and supervised by extensively trained instrucCall 402-408-3320 for an appointment. Private tors to improve core strength, coordination and and semi-private sessions are available balance while flattening and firming the Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and abdominal area and offering relief from back 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. An initial private pain and joint stress. Clients will see and feel session includes evaluation for personal fitness the health benefits within the first 10 sesgoals and introduction to some basic exercise sions.” and equipment. Pilates was initially developed by Joseph Charles Vesely, owner/instructor, is an Pilates, the legendary physical trainer and American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified founder of The New York Pilates Studio®, who personal trainer, who also received STOTT pioneered therapeutic exercises to help PILATES training. He has 20 years’ experience dancers recover from injuries and improve in the fitness industry, beginning as a compet- their performance. Today it is considered one itive bodybuilder and then applying different of the most effective systems for rehabilitation training principles and nutrition to achieve suc- from injuries. It is recommended by many cess. He also instructed aerobic, stretch and health care professionals as an effective exerjazzercise classes and has been training indi- cise program for building “core” abdominal viduals, at several companies and at Offutt Air and lower back strength. The Pilates method Force Base. Vesely also provides Pilates train- strengthens, tones and builds flexibility for the ing for rehabilitation and enhanced athletic entire body without building bulk. PAID ADVERTISMENT
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 15
Judaic Studies Fall 2006 Classes
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Nebraska’s Book Maven
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by NOMI SCHWARTZ BookWeb Senior Writer (Editors Note: This article is reprinted with permission from Bookselling This Week, a publication of the American Booksellers Association, a trade organization representing independent booksellers nationwide, on the web at www.BookWeb.org.) Warren Buffett may be the Oracle of Omaha, but Nancy Rips is Omaha’s very own Book Maven. Over the past few decades, Rips has discovered and developed unique ways to bring books to people and people to books. Rips sells books in the conventional ways--currently she is on the staff of The Bookworm in Omaha--but she also advocates passionately for libraries; reviews books regularly on radio and television; speaks extensively in schools, to various groups, and at fundraisers; and organNancy Rips izes an annual book-themed New York City tour for Nebraskans. At this year’s BookExpo America, Rips participated in a panel on Bookstore Tourism, where she explained how she partnered with a local travel agent to create memorable tours for book lovers. This fall will mark the third trip and will include bookstore browsing, a literary landmarks walking tour, a special tour of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, tickets to a Broadway show, a dinner cruise around Manhattan, and an author brunch sponsored by The New York Times. The tours are the most recent addition to the rich book culture fostered by Rips, since she began selling books about 30 years ago when her children were small. She was hired by B. Dalton, she told BTW, in the days when job applicants “had to take a three-page test, matching titles with authors.” She passed with flying colors, worked there for 15 years, and then moved to Read All About It, an Omaha independent. When that store closed in May 2001, she joined the staff of The Bookworm, which is owned by Phil and Beth Black.
The Bookworm, Rips said, “is a great full-service bookstore. People on the staff are very experienced. We know books, and we service our customers.” Rips’ handselling extends beyond the store’s four walls. She regularly reviews books for a weekly book feature on KMTV, Omaha’s CBS affiliate, and she has talked about books up and down the radio dial, including segments on Radio Disney and a monthly hour-long call-in book program on KKAR-AM. In addition, Rips teaches adult education classes at the local community college, appears often as a storyteller, and leads book discussions for many organizations. Her involvement with the Omaha Public Library is the stuff of legend: Long an active member of several library boards, in 2004 she spearheaded efforts to save the Swanson Library, which was threatened with complete closure for budgetary reasons. Rips recruited volunteers and organized rallies and a public relations campaign that resulted in complete victory. The city reversed its decision, appropriated funds to keep Swanson open, and eventually restored reduced hours at all library branches. When the Omaha library director fielded a call from an Omaha juvenile judge four years ago, she immediately put Rips in touch with him. Judge Douglas Johnson, Rips told BTW, believes that reading books will help children stay out of trouble. He requires that each child who appears before him in court sign up for a library card. Johnson wanted help from the public library to keep his courtroom filled with books. Thus Rips developed the book giveaway program for Omaha’s Juvenile Court system. Like the judge, Rips believes that books are at the core of a successful life. “If children learn how to read, they can be anything they want to be,” she told BTW. While accomplishing all of the above, Rips is also working on a book of her own about the celebration of Passover, a major holiday for many Jewish families. Rivkah Sass, Executive Director of the Omaha Public Library, told the Jewish Press, “Nancy Rips is more than a woman who loves books and reading. She is a force of nature. If we could bottle Nancy’s essence, the literacy rate in the country would be 110 percent.”
Beth El Adult Education Classes Continued from page 14 attempts to extract various emotions from people,” he said, adding that “we’ll also spend time studying the structure of the siddur and the beauty of its language. During our year-long journey through this book, we will learn more about this treasure of Jewish wisdom and find deeper meaning in prayer along the way!” Beth El’s learning opportunities extend beyond weekly classes to a variety of fascinating mini-courses that will pique widespread interest and offer something for everyone. A Jewish Film Series, complete with lively discussions moderated by Stephen Rabbi Levin Skulsky, is scheduled to begin Sept. 18 at 7 p.m., and will run the third Monday of each month, including Oct. 16, Nov. 20, Dec. 18, Jan. 15, Feb. 19, March 19, April 16 and May 21. A new, innovative art class entitled “Creating Your Own Book of Life,” will be offered from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday in September. Led by Daniel Christensen, the class will allow participants to craft their own Jewish memories. No prior art experience is necessary to attend. Other mini-courses include “Reading Women of the Bible,” taught by Susan Paley and scheduled for the following Tuesdays: Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31, at 7 p.m.; “Biblical Archeology,” offered at 7 p.m. on Mondays, Jan. 8, 15, 22 and 29; led by UNO History Professor Dr. Rami Arav, who is also director of the Consortium of
the Bethsaida Excavations project at the UNO; “Bible Translation for Jews,” on Thursdays April 12, 19, 26 and May 3 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., led by Professor Leonard Greenspoon, who holds the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University and serves as Professor of Classical & Near Eastern Studies and of Theology; “The Afterlife,” Wednesdays, March 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 7 p.m., taught by Professor Guy Matalon, Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religion at University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Executive Director of the Jewish Federation’s Center for Jewish Andy Greenberg Education. The registration fee for each Sunday adult-education class (with the exception of Bible study) and Rabbi Levin’s Thursday class is $36 for the year; cost of each mini-course is $18. To register or for more information about all adult programming, contact Beth El Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550 or programming@bethel-omaha.org. Expressing enthusiasm for the myriad of educational offerings this year at the synagogue, Rabbi Levin encouraged all Jewish adults to take advantage of them, saying, “If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of Judaism, explore personal beliefs and spirituality, or just enjoy some creative and thought-provoking classes with your fellow Jewish community members, come to Beth El and join our classes!”
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School Helps to Bond Lincoln Community Continued from page 1 Schecter-Shaffin said, “The issue of kipot became simple. Depending upon whatever building the children are in, they follow that tradition. The tradition of Reform Judaism is choice so that really wasn’t a problem.� Something that the group hadn’t thought about was the fact that the members of both synagogues would be brought together at a joint kickoff for the new school, Hallah High. (Students named their school to signify the “braiding or intertwining� of the two schools.) The high school combinaShoshana tion has now completed its Schecter-Shaffin second year. Committee members recall that the first year was just a complete joy because the kids loved getting to know each other. They liked their teachers, Sarah Trainin and Brian Schur, who were enthusiastic and interesting. Parents were amazed that their children who had never wanted to attend religious school, but now can’t wait to get there. Also, parents began travelling to each building and talking to one another. They describe the process as “stunning� because it brought two congregations together. According to the committee members these two congregations hadn’t talked much over their 120-year history. It felt so good, natural and easy that they began to
think about combining the two religious school programs into one. Tracy Gordon added, “We hit the subject of combining the whole schools hard and fast. We decided that we could spend a long time in the planning process--or take what we had learned with Hallah High, make quick, easy decisions and begin the following school year. We worked very, very hard over a short period of time to propose a complete merger.� Everything came together when Schecter-Shaffin moved to Lincoln with her husband. “I hoped to find something in the area of Jewish education and this worked out perfectly for me.� Rabbi Ilan Emanuel arrived at B’nai Jeshurun at the same time as Rabbi Shaffin became the new rabbi at Tifereth Israel. Committee members noted that they went through all of the planning during a time of rabbinic transition in Lincoln. They took care of all of the nuts and bolts before the new rabbinic leadership had arrived. And now the committee, with the help of their new young rabbis, have created a recommended reading and outcome goals and objectives for each grade. The program includes about 70 students in the entire school. There were times when the committee had to endure long meetings, but they managed to plan a program that has benefited not only the children, but the entire Lincoln Jewish community. For more information about Hallah High or the combined religious schools, call B’nai Jeshurun at: 402.435.8004 or Tifereth Israel at: 402.423.8569.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 17
Educational Assessments by COLLEEN RAMM Lynne M. Popp Educational Therapy, Inc., specializes in helping children and adults with learning disabilities. As the owner, Popp offers educational therapy and assessments, teacher training and learning disability workshops and presentations. After an educational assessment, she prescribes a scientifically researched program of remediation tailored for ech student. Then certified teachers provide educational therapy in a one-to-one setting. Popp also teaches parents how to advocate for their children and teaches students how to advocate for themselves. In addition, Popp offers phonemic awareness training for teachers and parents in her practice or at the teacher’s school. This workshop provides information about the sensory and cognitive processes in written language development and speech. Each participant learns about his or her own phonemic processing. She also offers a workshop based on the five areas of reading instruction which are: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Popp makes presentations to schools, parent groups, and professionals about learning disabilities. The presentation is a hands-on lesson where the audience will experience what it feels like to have a learning disability. There is a discussion about what strategies will help the student become a more effective learner based upon his/her strengths and weaknesses. Popp is the only Board Certified Educational Therapist within a five state area and the only one in Nebraska. She is a consultant and trainer for Omaha Home For Boys, Children’s Hospital and School in Sioux Falls, SD, and Learning Solutions in Rapid City, SD. She can be reached at: 498.8708 or via email at: slpopp1@cox.net. PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Chabad Camp Focuses on Israel “During past conflicts in the Land of by ESTIE KATZMAN Israel, and during times of danger for the Is there is a single one Jewish people, the Lubavitcher Rebbe of us who does not, upon made practical suggestions of mitzvot that opening a newspaper or would elicit G-d’s blessings and protection. listening to the news and “Let us not underestimate the power of hearing what is going on good! With a single good deed on our in Israel, immediately part, here and now, we can each conthink, “How can I help? tribute toward the victory and safety of What can I do?� our fellow Jews in Israel.� The Campers of Gan Gan Israel campers wrote “Mitzvah Israel knew what to do. notes,� committing to do a good deed in The Chabad website at: honor of the safety of the children in w w w. O C h a b a d . c o m explains, “A mitzvah, a Resting after activity are: Sarah Cohen, back Israel. “I will try to help my little brother G-dly deed, has the row left, Samantha Sullivan, counselor Mushka with his math,� wrote Sara, daughter of power to reach deep into Shemtov, Zoe Cohen; middle: Emily Kutler, Emily Marla and Bob Cohen. the core of our being-- Kirk, Rebecca Novak, Elizabeth Kazor, Feigie The counselors inspired the children to where we are all one, and Katzman and Lauren Kirk; front: Sarah Kutler. choose mitzvahs that were important to the physical distance between us is of no consequence. them. In fact, critics say, counselors are the most integral At this core, a positive deed on our part will help bring part of the Camp Gan Izzy experience. salvation to a brother and sister in distress.� Aside from helping our brothers and sisters in the
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Holy Land, Gan Izzy campers had a wonderful time. “The children had an incredible experience,� wrote one mother. “They returned each day exhausted and thrilled.� However CGI was more than just a day camp complete with sports, trips and activities of all sorts. There was an added “Jewish touch.� Through innovative programs such as musical Shabbat parties, a Tzedakah Hunt or the Kosher Food Fair, children gained an appreciation and interest in traditional Jewish ideas. “My daughter spends a lot of time now after camp singing Hebrew songs,� said Kelly Kirk. “She has really begun asking a lot of questions�. “First I didn’t want to come, but I then I came and had so much fun,� said Tommy Sullivan, son of Louri and Charlie Sullivan after the first day. “I really like this camp!� In honor of our people in Israel, Max, the son of Cindy and Bruce Goldberg, pledged to wash dishes on Wednesday nights, while Sarah, the daughter of Nancy and Howard Kutler, promised to help her grandmas and pray for her grandpas.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Help Your Child Kick-off Kindergarten with Confidence by SHARON DUKE ESTROFF Preparing our child for the first day of kindergarten-it’s among the most bittersweet tasks of our parental career. But wistfully tracking down the coolest Batman or Barbie backpack on the market is only a fraction of the job description. The following suggestions will help ensure your little slugger enjoys a successful start to his rookie school year. Visit the school. A summertime sneak preview of the school, kindergarten classrooms and playground will help minimize fear of the unknown and make your child more comfortable during her first days of school. Get into the Kindergarten Swing. A week or so before the start of school, begin easing your child into the school-year schedule. That way he’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on his first day. Play down your own mixed emotions. Rather than rambling on about how you can’t believe your baby is growing up, emphasize how excited you are that she’s going to kindergarten. Send a security object. The promise of being able to bring a favorite blanket or stuffed animal--albeit stashed safely out of sight in his backpack--will be worth its weight in lunch money in building your rising kindergartener’s courage. Celebrate. Boost your child’s excitement about school with a special celebratory dinner the night before he starts kindergarten. Use colorful school supplies to decorate the table or the occasion. (Just don’t go overboard on the sugar!) Talk about your first-day-of-school experiences. Psychologists believe that sharing family stories is one of the most effective ways for parents to emotionally strengthen their children. During your celebratory dinner, take turns sharing first day of kindergarten stories. Ease into aftercare. Many children’s after school situations change with their entrance to kindergarten. If your child will be attending a Jewish Community Center or other daycare program after school, see if the facility offers a camp and enroll her there for a week or so over the summer; that way she’ll be settled when school kicks
off in the fall. If you’ll be utilizing the school’s aftercare program, talk to your child about where she should go, who’s in charge and what to expect there. Make sure she has a familiar face at school. Having at least one friend on the first day of kindergarten can make all the difference to a child; so call the school over the summer, ask for the names of a few of your child’s future classmates, and arrange a playdate or two. Read all about it. There’s nothing like an uplifting story about another kid in the same boat to help build a rising kindergartener’s confidence. Here are some worthy choices. Annabelle Swift, Kindergartener by Amy Schwartz; Kindergarten Rocks by Katie Davis; Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate; The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing, Julie Durrell; Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson; The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn; Find Your Place in the Kindergarten Circle: Truth be told, even after our child is primed and ready for his elementary debut, our work is not done. To the contrary, it’s just begun. Researchers have identified that the one factor constant in students who do well in school is parent involvement. So volunteer in your kindergartener’s classroom; make sure he’s geared and ready for school each day; and make a Yom Kippur caliber promise--right now when your child is still cute and baby-faced--to provide him with steady educational guidance, unwavering moral support and occasional kicks in the tuchas every single school day for the next thirteen years. Sharon Duke Estroff is an internationally-syndicated Jewish parenting columnist with graduate degrees in education and child psychology, an award-winning Jewish educator, and mother of four. Her first book Jewish parenting book will be released by Broadway Books, a division of Random House, in 2007.
Retire in Elegance by REED DAVIS Director of Marketing at Elk Ridge Village On The Lake Elk Ridge Village On The Lake is Omaha’s newest senior living community. Located at 194th & Blondo in Elkhorn, NE, the community will provide a multitude of housing options for senior residents that are interested in an upscale appeal with a small town feel. Elk Ridge Village will feature Assisted Living, Memory Care, Independent Living, Villa Homes, and a majestic 20,000 square foot clubhouse. The entire campus is situated on a 100 acre lake development. The Assisted Living, which is scheduled to open in midSeptember, will feature 52 apartments with six different floor plans. The apartments range from a 533 square foot, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom to a 930 square foot 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom floor plan. The Assisted Living will feature four different levels of care and many other amenities. Located within the Assisted Living building will be a separate area of 16 private memory care suites for those individuals who experience Alzheimer’s and Dementia related health issues. The Independent Living apartments and Clubhouse will open in May of 2007. The Clubhouse will be centrally located within the Independent Living and Villa Homes. It will provide fine and casual dining, a movie theatre, bakery, bar/lounge, billiards, salon services, massage and banking services, health, wellness and social activities, as well as many other services and amenities. Elk Ridge Village has been designed to provide a beautiful home for residents, while offering an elegant environment to maintain an active lifestyle. Our vision is to provide an atmosphere that allows the enjoyment of community living without compromising individuality, privacy, and choice. We are now taking reservations for all community living options. Please call 402-216-8835 to speak with a representative or visit us at www.ElkRidgeSenior Living.com to learn more information. Special introductory rates available for a limited time! PAID ADVERTISMENT EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Due to the Labot Day holiday, the Jewish Press office will be closed Monday, Sept. 4. The deadline for the Sept. 8 issue is Wednesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m.
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August 18, 2006
Faculty Receives ‘Perfect’ Score as Friedel Year Gets Underway by DIANE AXLER BAUM pal, Katskee learned about the State grant from her OPS for Friedel Jewish Academy contacts. Then she sought their help in permitting her Recognition for “perfect attendance� might seem pre- teachers to participate. mature at the start of a new school year, but principal Jewish Studies teachers Na’ama Arzi and Eadie Tsabari Cookie Katskee said it’s a fitting tribute right now at took part in particularly in-depth “summer school.� Arzi Friedel Jewish Academy. spent six weeks in full-day sessions in Chicago, where Katskee has encouraged her teachers to attend “sum- she is studying toward a Masters Degree in Educational mer school� since she became principal three and a half Administration and Supervision in a program made posyears ago. The faculty has been responsive, but this past sible by Loyola University in cooperation with the summer--for the first time--every one of the Friedel Jewish Education Leadership Institute. Last summer her teachers pursued continuing education. (“Perfect atten- courses concentrated on performing supervision and dance,� and the boss is beaming!) administration in a school. This summer, she explored “In the field of teaching and learning, new techniques the history of education in the United States in addition and innovative technologies develop all the time. It’s to such issues as finance and law within schools. gratifying to me that our teachers share my determinaOne purpose of the JELI program is to train young tion to keep up with the new trends and perfect the old Jewish professionals and new leaders in Jewish day ones,� Katskee said. schools throughout North Programs pursued this America. “Everything I’ve past summer encompassed a learned will help me be a wide range of subjects--from better teacher in the U.S.,� early childhood literacy to said Arzi, who was born and advances in teaching matheeducated in Israel. matics, science, and Hebrew Tsabari, who just joined language. Now, the teachers the Friedel faculty, traveled have returned to Friedel fulin the summer to Los filled and excited, prepared Angeles, to become trained with new means of impleand certified in TaL AM. menting the Academy’s outThe TaL AM method of standing curriculum of chalteaching Hebrew language lenging academics fully inteby “immersion� calls for cregrated with Jewish studies. ation of a Hebrew environThe “summer school� Diane Zeman works on an oceans’ unit with her K-1 students. ment in which no English is activities, Katskee added, heard or spoken. “meet expectations of proTaL AM introduces fessional staff development, Hebrew as both a living lanand of content, as demanded guage and the language of by Nebraska State Education Judaism. Starting with the Standards.� second year of the program, Diana Zeman, Friedel’s the Hebrew of Jewish Prayer Kindergarten and Grade becomes an additional focus. One teacher, said she felt As students continue to “privileged to attend a major advance from grade to conference on early childgrade, they build on their hood reading and writing,� Hebrew language arts and thanks to a grant Katskee their Judaic Hebrew. The Naama Arzi Eadie Tsabari helped her obtain. program was created under The conference, “Planting the auspices of the Seeds for Success,� brought Bronfman Jewish Education teachers from across the Centre and the Jewish state to Kearney, NE, to hear Education Council of nationally recognized speMontreal, Canada. cialists in the field of early A number of TaL AM childhood development and institutes in the U.S. and literacy, and to share ideas Canada offer training and on the newest methods and certification in the method, materials related to reading which is embraced by many and writing. Another feature Jewish day schools in North was a series of valuable small America. Friedel began Denise Bennett Barb Sather group sessions on such topteaching Hebrew according ics as “using children’s literature to teach reading and to TaL AM in 2001, with the result of unqualified praise writing� and “incorporating one-on-one student assess- from teachers, parents, and students. ment into the regular school day.� Tsabari, who lived for years in Israel and speaks Denise Bennett and Barbara Sather, longtime General Hebrew fluently, is a recognized educator in Omaha’s Studies teachers at Friedel, did their “summer school� at Jewish community. She is a longtime faculty member at KICKS, a symposium sponsored by the Department of Beth El Synagogue, where she will continue to serve as Curriculum and Learning of the Omaha Public Schools. an educator. She will spend “the majority of the day at Its aim: to “Keep Improving Content, Knowledge and Friedel, but will be able to continue her important conSkills,� in the fields of mathematics and science. tribution to Beth El’s religious school, which requires The opportunity to attend KICKS reflects on the afternoon availability,� Katskee explained. influence enjoyed by Friedel’s principal within the edu- Continued on page 20 cation community. A former award-winning OPS princi-
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 19
Keep learning
Learn more throughout your life by keeping your mind, body and soul enriched.
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Considering the skyrocketing costs of higher education, now may be a good time to talk with a Financial Advisor about 529 College Savings Plans. Our Financial Advisors can work with you to help you develop an education funding strategy and introduce you to the features of 529 College Savings Plans: • Federally tax-free earnings while contributions remain in the Plan. • Substantial contributions allowed (over $200,000 in most cases). • Federally tax-exempt distributions for qualified education expenses. State tax treatment varies depending on your state of residence and the Plan you select. Should a 529 Plan be part of your education funding strategy? Give us a call today. For more information, call: Alan Unger, Financial Advisor 402-963-2999 800-666-0632 alan.unger@ubs.com One Valmont Plaza, Suite 300 Omaha, NE 68154 www.ubs.com/financialservicesinc Neither UBS Financial Services Inc. nor any of its employees provide legal or tax advice. You must consult with your legal and/or tax advisors regarding your personal circumstances. Assets from a 529 Plan must be used for qualified higher education expenses; otherwise, the distribution will be subject to a 10% penalty and treated as ordinary income. The tax implications of a 529 Plan should be discussed with your legal and/or tax advisors, as features may vary significantly from state to state. Please note that most states offer their own tuition programs that may provide advantages and benefits exclusively for their residents and taxpayers. Please read the appropriate Plan Program Description before investing, as it includes details about the Plan’s risks, charges and tax treatment. The tax law, which includes 529 provisions, sunsets on December 31, 2010. This means that unless Congress enacts legislation that extends or makes the new provisions permanent, the changes will terminate after that date.
Page 20
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Keeplearning Learn more throughout your life by keeping your mind, body and soul enriched. Adult Retreat Adult Study with the Clergy Basic Judaism Club 56 Cradle Roll Family Services & Teaching Sermons Family School Family Workshops Grade 10 Trip to New York Grade 12 L’Taken Washington, D.C. Grades K-12 The Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning Jewish Journey Groups Junior Youth Group Kesher Kol Rina Mentor Program Middle/High School Clubs • Art • Hebrew • Social Justice Omaha Temple Youth Group Scholars-in-Residence Social Justice Education Opportunities for all ages Sparks Beneath the Surface Torah Tots Tot Shabbat
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Friedel Year Continued from page 19 Another “summer school” pupil this year was Julie Phillips, the Academy’s innovative art teacher. An accomplished artist and a Friedel mom, Phillips accompanied Katskee and Arzi on a visit to Ma’ayanot Elementary, Friedel’s twinning school in Kabri, Israel. There they spent four days Cookie Katskee Julie Phillips with the staff and principal, writing shared curriculum to “By availing themselves of summer be incorporated into the coming school training, by regenerating themselves and year. Arzi described the twinning experi- their interests, our teachers are helping to ence as valuable “global learning,” which insure continued success and productiviwill offer Friedel students a unique ty,” she summed up. “This is one of the chance to develop a “real and personal many ways Friedel is moving toward its connection with the land and people of ultimate goal of offering the best educaIsrael.” tional practices, as well as the best educaCooperating sponsors of the summer tion, in Omaha.” visit were Partnership with Israel, the Jewish Federation of Omaha, and the Center for Jewish Education. Arzi and Katskee expressed their gratitude to the Federation for making Friedel part of the partnership. “Through the shared curriculum, our students will learn a great deal from each other,” Katskee promised. Friedel’s principal identified the past few years at the Academy as “productive and successful,” as she exclaimed, “We’ve added so much to this Naama Arz, left, Diana Zeman, i and Anna Besser lead Friedel students in a commemoration of Sept. 11. school!”
Kids Back at School Means Time for Moms to Take Care of Themselves by BETH HURD With summer coming to an end, it means that kids will soon be back in school. Don’t put away your swimsuit just yet, as now you’ll have a little quiet time to evaluate your physical appearance, even that not-so-smooth skin, known by all as cellulite. There are many factors that contribute to the development of cellulite including poor diet, hormonal fluctuations and the normal aging process. In the past, it was assumed that only cosmetic surgery would “cure” those dimpled thighs. Now there is a new patented non-invasive technology, called LPG Endermologie, available at Beth’s Body Shop. In the 1980s, a French doctor developed a device to be used to increase collagen and soften scar tissue for burn victims. Louis Paul Gutiere (LPG), was driven to help others because he, too, had burn scars on his arms. His research led to the development of a handheld, computerized, massage head known as the LPG technique. As therapists used his technique they began to recognize another value--a
noticeable improvement in skin texture and decrease in the appearance of cellulite. The machine used at Beth’s Body Shop is a “CelluM6” model and is considered a class one medical device. The process does have clearance from the FDA, and we consider it to be a healthy cosmetic procedure. Endermologie targets exercise resistant fat deposits and detoxifies the lymphatic system while stretching and restoring the connective tissue during a pleasurable “massage-like” treatment. Frequently asked questions include: How many treatments will I need? Will I notice a difference after just one treatment? Is this for everyone? How often should I go? All the answers depend on how long a woman has had the unsightly dimples and what type of cellulite it is. (There are four types of cellulite.) So give me a call at 679.2977 to get more information or set up an appointment. And wait until you see the difference when you slip into that bathing suit during that tropical vacation this winter and then again next summer!
No Time to Type? by SHARI REYNOLDS It’s back-to-school time and that means you’ll soon be overloaded with school reports, research papers, spreadsheets, essays, term papers, book reports, and internet research projects. How will you get all of it done? Do you need help with the research and organization of your papers? Do you have the time to spend on the important tasks of correctly typing, editing and checking the grammar of your work? Would you like to improve your grade by handing in an accurate and professional looking project? Let me help with the workload. I have over 25 years of professional administrative experience, including word processing, typing, editing, grammar, spelling and proper punctuation. I can turn your average papers into ‘works
of art’ that are accurate and complete. I also provide the following services: graphics; scanning artwork, photos or text; typing and editing manuscripts; organizing and set-up of proposals; data transcription from tape or digital media; data entry; mailings including labels; flyers promoting an upcoming event; completed resumes for job searches; color brochures advertising services; newsletters for school or church or special activities clubs; PowerPoint presentations; and Excel spreadsheets. I guarantee professional, accurate documents completed within your timeframe and with reasonable rates. Give me a call for an estimate on your project. I can be reached at: 402.660.1210 or via email at: www.sharissolutions.com.
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August 18, 2006
College, Spending and Credit by ROB RANDELS CFPÂŽ, MBA, ChFC, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network More than 50% of college-age adults agree with this statement: “I have experienced repeated, unsuccessful, attempts to control, cut back, or stop excessive money use.â€? The statement comes from the 2002 Money Abuse survey by Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer education organization that helps people rid themselves of debt. By year’s end of 2003, Myvesta reported that college-age adults had increased credit card debt by 42% in a single year. In The State of Financial Literacy in America, covering 20012003, the Center reports: • 45% of college students are in credit card debt, the average being $3,066; • Only 21% of students between the ages of 16 and 22 have taken a personal finance course in high school; • Only 26% of 13–21 year olds report their parents actively taught them how to manage money. Myvesta’s survey also found that college-age students show more signs of money abuse than any other age group. Is it any wonder? College students are flooded with credit card offers. Our culture likes to tell us to “shop ‘til we dropâ€? and then invites us to “charge it,â€? often deferring payments for months on end. Some parents of youthful spenders may say, “Cut up those charge cards and we’ll solve the problem.â€? That’s the wrong approach, and by then it’s too late anyway--taking a scissors to plastic doesn’t improve judgment. What’s more, each week brings students yet another tantalizing credit card offer . The better solution lies in altering the last fact in the list above: only 26% of our youth say their parents taught them how to handle money. Parents need to spend more time talking to their children--to prevent the spending habit from forming in the first place. Yet ironically, Northwestern Mutual’s 2003 Perfectcents Kids & Money Survey finds that parents shy away from the “Mâ€? word, in part, because 44% feel that they do not set a good financial example themselves. That may well be true: Myvesta reports that half of the country is “strugglingâ€? to control excessive spending and debt. College kids may indeed be mirroring their parents’ buying patterns. Perhaps in guiding our children to adopt better financial habits, we may improve our own. Where to start? Northwestern Mutual has taken a keen interest in teaching youth about managing money--both before and during those impressionable teen years. The Northwestern Mutual Foundation, charitable arm of Northwestern Mutual, has developed a website, www.themint.org as a resource for families. The website features games, interactive challenges, and fun tips to teach money management. Rob A. Randels is a Financial Representative with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network based in Omaha, for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI. Please call him at 402.390.8271 or e-mail rob.randels@nmfn.com. PAID ADVERTISMENT
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Page 21
Family School at Temple Israel Gets a New Night and a New Look by CLAUDIA SHERMAN for Hamilton College and an adjunct instructor at Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Creighton University School of Law who has been an There are a number of changes in store for students at avid comic book collector for 40 years. He’s currently Temple Israel when they return for religious school in attorney member of the Comic Book Legal Defense September. Not only has the Middle/High School been Fund that protects first amendment rights. renamed and revised, Family School, which begins on Gary Katz, a former adjunct professor of world literaWednesday, Sept. 13, will meet on a new night. Instead ture at Creighton University and an adjunct professor of of Tuesday nights as in the past, Family School will meet English at Metropolitan Community College, who is the on Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m. at the same time as mid- library administrator at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, will teach “Jewish Literature.� dle/high school classes. “Preparation for the Days of Awe,“ with Rabbi Aryeh This will allow Family School participants to connect with the appropriate grade level teachers, said Elyce Azriel, and other adult learning opportunities are interAzriel, director of education at Temple Israel. Family generational and include 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. School families will have dinner with the other Wednesday Rabbi Eric Linder will teach a two-session class focusnight students before begining on various texts, beliefs, ning their classes. and interpretations regardFamily School is an opporing the coming of the tunity for parents to share in Messiah. “We Really Believe their children’s Jewish learnin a Messiah?� will address ing experiences on many levquestions such as: “What is els. It is an obvious chance the Messianic Age? Do we to model the importance of have anything to do with it? a continuing, lifelong Jewish And do I believe in the reseducation. Family School urrection of the dead?� also gives parents and chil“Does everything happen dren a greater likelihood of for a reason?� will be one of sharing experiences outside the issues in a class Rabbi the classroom. In addition, Linder will teach about coinparents are able to more cidences. Through movies, deeply understand their chil- Children and adults interact in Temple Israel’s Family School discussion, and Jewish text, dren’s learning accomplish- classes last year. he’ll bring up topics that ments and reinforce them at home. inquire about whether coincidences are God’s way of Family School also offers a time for families to connect seeming anonymous and if there is a destiny to one’s life. with each other while strengthening the foundations of During the second half of the evening, children and learning and growing within a community. Experience parents study Hebrew together. has shown that families who have shared the Family “We went (to Family School), because one of the funSchool experience have forged bonds and friendships damentals of Judaism is that parents are supposed to that have endured after “graduating� from the program. teach their children Torah,� said Wendy Vann, who Families who have children in grades three through five attended last year with her husband John and their son are eligible to participate in Family School. Kindergartners, Jacob, who will be in fourth grade. “What better way to first, and second graders can participate in arts and crafts do that than with a bunch of parents on the same page? activities and music while their older siblings are at Family It was very nurturing and fun, especially being a Jew-bySchool. There will also be babysitting for preschoolers. A choice. I was able to meet others and learn about 5:30 p.m. trope session taught by Kimberly Robinson is Judaism at the same time,� she added. The Vann family intended for all sixth graders, including those in Family will be in Family School again this year along with their School and who attend afternoon religious school, in second grader Cecelia. preparation for their B’nai Mitzvah. Family School faculty members are Tereza Wigodsky, After dinner, children are involved in Judaic studies third grade; Sarah Schondelmeyer, fourth grade; Patsy while their parents attend adult learning opportunities Wallace, fifth grade; Maya Wertheimer, sixth grade; and including “Jewish Comics� taught by Barry Grossman, pre-kindergarten through second grade sibling classes a paralegal studies program coordinator and instructor will be taught by Deb Alpert and Ann Noodell.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Center for Jewish Education Announces 2006-07 College Scholarship Awards by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Administrator Center for Jewish Education The Financial Aid Committee of the Center for Jewish Education announces the scholarships awarded for undergraduate and graduate studies for the 2006-07 academic year. After considering many factors including: academic achievement, financial need and involvement in Jewish activities, awards were made from 25 funds to 33 undergraduate students and eight graduate students. Aveva Shukert, Chairman of the Financial Aid
Committee expressed appreciation to the many generous individuals in the community who make it possible to support so many young adults in the community in continuing their education. All funds are managed by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. In addition to college scholarships, assistance is also available for Jewish summer camps, the Child Development Center preschool, Friedel Jewish Academy, Israel trips, and youth group activities. A Financial Aid Guide which outlines
opportunities is distributed each December as an insert in the Jewish Press. For more information, please call 402.334.6445 or e-mail inquiries to scholarships@jewishomaha.org. Information is also available on the CJE page on the Jewish Federation website at www.jewish omaha.org. Those interested in contributing to existing funds or endowing new scholarship funds or grants should contact Marty Ricks, Director, Jewish Federation Foundation, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 or call 402.334.6440.
Ashley Corcoran University of NebraskaOmaha Philip & Terri Schrager Grants
Olga Elkin Wichita State University Philip & Terri Schrager Grants
Nathaniel Joseph Yeshiva Ohr David Jerusalem, Israel Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund Harris Family Endowment Fund
Robert Mosenkis University of NebraskaOmaha Maxine & Joe Kirshenbaum Scholarship Fund
Naama Arzi Loyola University of Chicago Ruth Sokolof Special Education Scholarship Fund
Yevgeniy Ayol University of NebraskaLincoln Philip & Terri Schrager Grants Carl Frohm Educational Fund
Sean Bernstein University of Minnesota Carl Frohm Educational Fund
Claire Fredericks Creighton University Law School Leo & Aileen Eisenstatt Scholarship Fund
Timothy Fredricks University of NebraskaOmaha The Livingston Scholarships
Igor Ginzburg Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sandra L. Feldman Scholarship Fund
Benjamin Goldstrom Illinois Institute of Technology Carl Frohm Educational Fund
Kseniya Kilishek Rhode Island School of Design Edward Zorinksy Endowment Fund
Roman Kilishek University of Nebraska Omaha The Livingston Scholarships
Alex Krutik Creighton University Philip & Terri Schrager Grants
Shayna Kurland Iowa State University Ruth Sokolof Special Education Scholarship Fund
Samantha Long University of NebraskaOmaha Lois Jeanne Shrager Memorial Fund Ruth Sokolof Special Education Scholarship Fund Lenore Simon Aronson Educational Fund Albert M. & Jeanette T. Nepomnick Education Fund
Michelle Simon Dana College Burton L. Robinson Student Athletic Scholarship Fund
Jamie Skog Jewish Theological Seminary Ruth Sokolof Special Education Scholarship Fund
Shiri Tene University of KansasLawrence Joe & Ruth Rice Scholarship Fund
Adam Trubnikov Iowa Western Community College Phillip & Terri Schrager Grants
Irina Usherenko Grinnell College Alan & Annie Fleishman Scholarship Fund The Livingston Scholarships
August 18, 2006
CJE Scholarship Awards Continued from previous page NOT PICTURED: Aaron Fredricks, Creighton University School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, Nate H. & Beatrice Sherman Scholarship Fund; Vlada Ginzburg, Bellevue University, Jerold I. & Sheila E. Rosen Endowment Fund, The Livingston Scholarships; Betsy Goodman, Northern Arizona University, Nancy The Livingston Scholarships; Mark Linsky, Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies, Rebecca Friedman Scholarship Fund; Victoria Mashinson, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Lois Jeanne Shrager Memorial Fund, The Livingston Scholarships; Yuri Paskar, University of Nebraska Omaha, David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Educational Endowment Fund, Phillip & Terri Schrager Grants; Ilya Poluektov, University of Nebraska-Omaha, David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Educational Endowment Fund; Ruth
Radloff, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Educational Endowment Fund, Phillip & Terri Schrager Grants, The Livingston Scholarships; Emily Sternberg, University of MissouriColumbia, David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Education Endowment Fund, Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund, David W. & Minnie Frank Memorial Fund, Albert M. & Jeanette T. Nepomnick Education Fund; Rebecca Sternberg, University of MissouriColumbia, Jewish War Veterans Epstein Morgan Post #260 Nathan Marcus Memorial Scholarship Fund, Phillip & Terri Schrager Grants, The Livingston Scholarships, Albert M. & Jeanette T. Nepomnick Education Fund; Lidiya Tsedrik, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Lillian Keiser Stoms Educaitonal Fund, The Livingston Scholarships, Albert M. & Jeanette T. Nepomnick Education Fund.
New Books Published by Former Omahans by JEWISH PRESS STAFF Families, parents, congregational leaders and synagogue staff should run to purchase two books hot off the press-written by former Omahas. Joel Stern recently wrote and designed. Entitled Jewish Holiday Origami, it contains instructions for making 24 Jewishthemed origami models with explanations about the holidays. He’s the son of the late Henry and Ann Stern. It’s available at www.amazon.com and Stern also donated a copy to the Kripke Library. Through the National Jewish Book Council, in recognition of Jewish Book Month, he’s been invited to present workshops and demonstrations in five cities around the country this winter.
Dr. Ron Wolfson, another name familiar to Omahas, recently wrote The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation Into a Sacred Community. The author of a number of Jewish “how-to” books on Shabbat, Passover and Hanukkah, Wolfson uses his experience and research from the Synagogue 2000 project to address the challenges facing congregations today. “The new synagogue is a spitirual center,” Wolfson said, “where relationships are paramount, everywhere there is learning, repair of the world is a moral imperative, healing is offered and personal and institutional transformation is embraced.” It’s also available at the Kripke Library.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Caroline Terry Selected as Recipient of Academic Excellence Scholarship by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Administrator Center for Jewish Education The Financial Aid Committee of the Center for Jewish Education has awarded the David Keiser and Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Education Endowment Fund for Academic Excellence to college freshman Caroline Terry. This award is based strictly on scholarship, with high school grade point averages and SAT/ACT Aveva Shukert, Financial Aid Committee Chairman, scores used as the primary measure presents Caroline Terry with the Keiser Stoms Award for Academic Excellence. to determine the recipient. Caroline is the daughter of Drs. John Lillian Keiser Stoms. The Lillian Keiser Stoms Educational Terry and Michelle Marsh. She is a 2006 graduate of Brownell-Talbot and will be Fund was established to benefit and assist attending the University of Chicago. in the education of Jewish youth living in Caroline was a National Merit Finalist, an a single parent family or Jewish single Omaha World-Herald Distinguished parents who have custody of their chilScholar, and a 2005 Advanced Placement dren. The David Keiser and Lillian Keiser Scholar with Distinction. She also was a Foundation Education member of the National Honor Society Stoms Endowment Fund was created to provide and a representative to Girls’ State. A member of Temple Israel, Caroline funding for university scholarships to has been active in OTYG--Temple’s Jewish youth who have earned a miniyouth group, serving as President, mum 3.0 GPA. These two funds are Secretary, and special projects coordina- awarded based on financial need. For information on any scholarship tor. Caroline, who has yet to decide on a major, is very excited about moving to program, please call the Center for Jewish Chicago. Her older sister, Margaret, also Education office at 334.6445. Those interested in contributing to or attends this prestigious univesity. Lillian Keiser Stoms and her brother, endowing scholarship and loan funds David Keiser, were native Omahans and should contact Marty Ricks, Executive this fund was established in their memo- Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation office at ry by their niece, Sally Clayman. Two other scholarships were also estab- 402.334.6440. lished in memory of David Keiser and
Send Rosh Hashanah A 36 Greetings $
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
The Day After the Day After Unless you’ve been living in a cave (Osama?)or on Mars, you know that the warbetween Israel and Hezbollah seems to have come to a halt. We say “seems to” because Hezbollah terrorists have continued sniping at Israeli soldiers (who have shot back and killed six just in one day) and lobbing rockets towards the south (thankfully from far enough north that they’ve actually fallen in Lebanese territory). We truly hope the cease fire holds. Truly. We don’t want to see any more Israeli soldiers put in harm’s way, nor civilians (Israelis or Lebanese) killed. But given Hezbollah’s track record, we don’t have much hope. It’s apparent the terrorist group has used the past six years since Israel withdrew from Lebanon to build up their arsenal of rockets and missiles and recruit more martyrs to their ignoble cause. Despite the promise of thousands of French and Italian troops set to arrive in less than two weeks, and Turkish and Indonesian troops to follow, we would be fooling ourselves if we thought their presence will restrain the “Army of Allah.” But we can’t sit around and moan about political and military issues over which we have no control. Instead, let’s concentrate on what we can do--as individuals and as a community--to help. • Give money. Pick a fund--whether it’s the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s--or Lincoln’s-Israel Crisis Fund, the Jewish National Fund, the Friends of the IDF, American Friends of Magen David Adam, or any number of other worthwhile organizations that reacted quickly to solicit and send much needed cash to Israel.
These groups will spend your donations in areas hard-hit by the recent violence--whether it’s up north in our Partnership for Israel area or in communities near Gaza. (The conflict with Hamas and the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25 was overshadowed by Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two soldiers on July 12 and subsequent shelling of Israel’s north. Let’s not forget the residents of Sderot and Ashkelon which have been bombarded by persistent rocket attacks.) • Go to Israel. Whether you sign up for the Federation’s Mission scheduled for Oct. 22-29 (and only a few spaces are left), or with another group, or go on your own, the importance here is to demonstrate your solidarity with the people of Israel. If you’re a college student--or the parent of one--or a 20- or 30-something, you may want to consider a new program: “Leading Up North,” which will bring 500 young Jewish adults to northern Israel over winter break to repair, rebuild and replant northern Israel. (See page 6 for more details.) If you’re 18-26 and you haven’t been to Israel, you can get there through birthright israel--a free 10-day trip. • Become educated about Israel, her history and her neighbors. Bookmark the following sites to learn how you can talk to your neighbors and co-workers about what’s going on now in the Middle East--and what’s happened in the past: www.HonestReporting.com; www.MEMRI.org,
www.imra.org, and www.mfa.gov.il to learn more. Once educated, you’ll be able to... • Write letters to the media and your congressional delegation. Express your thanks to those who support Israel and educate those who are misinformed. And finally... • Pray for the peace of Israel, for the safe return of the kidnapped soldiers, and for the triumph of good over evil. Oseh Shalom bimromov; who ya-aseh shalom aleinu. V’al kol Yisrael, v’imru Amen.
Jewish Press Committee Bobbi Leibowitz, Vice-Chairman; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Treasurer; Michael Siegel, Finance Chairman; Joanie Jacobson, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Melissa Schop; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.
Two (or Three) Graduations
JOURNAL ENTRY FROM ISRAEL by TEDDY WEINBERGER This is a big graduation year for my children in Israel: my oldest, Nathan (18) will be graduating from high school, and my youngest, Elie (11) will be graduating from primary school. My son Ezra (13) would be a candidate for graduation in some school settings in Israel, but in his case when he finishes eighth grade this year he will continue on at his school through 12th grade. Besides letting me know that I (at age 44) am middle-aged, these graduations also tell me that Sarah and I have left the world of parenting young children and have completely entered the world of parenting teenagers and young adults. Gone are the days of my children walking to school (there is no high school in Givat Ze’ev nor is there any religious middle school), and of seeing one of my children playing at recess or serving as a crossing guard. Instead there are driving lessons, flirtations, being a counselor for a youth movement, coming home at 1 a.m. on a school night, matriculation exams, and army service. It seems to me that parents in Israel have a more difficult challenge in motivating their high schoolers to study than do their American counterparts. I can distinctly remember my 11th grade math teacher saying the following to our class: “Why do you have to study for the test next week? Because you want to get a good grade on the test. Why do you want to get a good grade on the test? Because this will help you get a good grade in the course. Why do you want to get a good grade in the course? Because this will improve your position on the class-standing list. Why do you want to place high on the list? Because this will help you get
into a good college. Why do you want to get into a good college? Because this will help you get into a good graduate school. Why do you want to get into a good graduate school? Because this will help you get a good job, earn a nice living, and be happy.” In Israel this whole process is interrupted by army service. And it turns out that entry into the most elite units has almost nothing to do with how good a student you were in high school. As a result, thousands of young Israelis upon completing their national service find that they must take a year or two to improve on their high school matriculation work before they are able to begin their higher education.
United States any more than he did here. The big practical difference is that whatever his high school record in the States, Nathan would be entering college this fall, whereas he was inducted into the Israel Defense Forces on Aug. 10. Teddy Weinberger made aliyah a decade ago with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. They live in Givat Ze’ev, across the green line, near Jerusalem. He can be reached at weinross@netvision.net.il.
In Israel, this process is interrupted by army service...entry into the most elite units has almost nothing to do with how good a student you were in high school.
To the Editor: New Orleans is not all better. Whenever I’m asked about how things are, I want to say, “We’re doin’ fine. We’re all better now.” But I can’t. When a city is so completely destroyed that everything needs repair, when even the houses that didn’t flood had trees through the roof, when the streetcar rails were washed away and every major city building needs hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars of work, when the infrastructure, including electricity, water, and waste disposal systems, are so backlogged that the city can’t replace streetlights or fill potholes, or plug leaks in the deteriorated water system, and everywhere you look is a soggy mess of debris which never seems to get carted away, and when the wind blows in from the east the whole city reeks of “Eau de Rotten Refrigerator”--where do you begin? When the subject of New Orleans arises, I see people rolling their eyes. They’re thinking, “We’ve heard enough already; let’s move on; old news; boring. There are rockets being fired on cities in Israel and the Northeast had its own flood, and there are a million other stories to attend to.” Continued on page 25
There are certainly a number of Israeli high school students who reason that since they are in fact in high school then now is probably the appropriate time to do high school studies. However, if you find that you are a parent of a high schooler who feels that four or five years is way too long a period of time to wait before being rewarded for school work (delayed gratification not being a favorite of adolescents), you either resign yourself to the situation, or you make your life and your child’s life miserable for a while, and then you resign yourself to the situation. To be sure, for various personal reasons I probably would have been a study-hound here in Israel just as I was in America; or, in contemporary Israeli slang I would have been a “chnoon” (female: chnoona). And I’m not all that sure that my son, Nathan, would have buckled down in the
(Founded in 1920) Howard K. Marcus Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Terri Greenwood Advertising Executive Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Anne Muskin Editorial Intern
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EDITOR
Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $36 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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What Do You Know and How Do You Know It?
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL There are two stories I tell about the lows and highs of Jewish education. The first is about a rabbi who led a beginning Torah class for young professionals. This was in Washington, D.C., more than a dozen years ago. The rabbi, slight and bearded, sat in a circle of clean-shaven men and hiply dressed women and led them in a discussion of that week’s Torah portion. The topic was Abraham and the famous incident when he tries to pass off his wife Sarah as his sister. The rabbi asked his students why they thought a figure as iconic as Abraham would imperil his wife’s life and virtue in order to save his own skin. As each of the students assayed an answer, the rabbi shook his head. “No, that’s not it,” he said. “Next? No, that’s not right either.” Second story: I was fresh out of college, backpacking in Israel, when I stumbled into a yeshiva for beginners. The avuncular rosh yeshiva--head of school--asked us to read a line of Jewish text and provide an explanation. “Could be, could be,” he said, as we offered our answers. “Sforno said something similar, although Rashi disagrees. The main thing is, on what are you basing your answer?” And then he asked the question that rocked my world: “How do you know what you know?” The irony here is that both rabbis represented the same institution, an Orthodox outreach group that has made
a specialty of turning secular young people into ba’alei teshuva, or newly observant Jews. They also represent the twin poles of religious education. One seeks a single answer to difficult questions. The other encourages an open-ended discussion, rooted in Jewish texts, that leads students to clarify their own world view. I thought about the two rabbis when a reader confronted me about a small item that appeared on, of all places, our sports pages. Yeshiva University had prepared a curriculum for high school kids based on baseball’s steroids controversy. The 30page curriculum was intended, according to the introduction, to engage kids in “discussing a...most contemporary matter, and which is rooted in the timeless arguments of our great sages from throughout the generations.” The reader wanted to know, in essence, why the steroids controversy was Judaism’s business. And when he heard that I had actually used the curriculum as a trigger for a discussion with my sons and their friends, he wanted to know what purpose it served. “You’re basically teaching them that ‘God said not to use steroids,’” he said. “And that’s just coercive. It’s saying that you can’t make up your mind unless you check with the rule book.” I wanted to say back, “It’s not like that at all.” But I remembered that, according to some teachers, it is exactly like that.
...there are also the teachers, and I’ve been lucky to have met plenty, who teach text not to impart rules, but to teach students how to think.
the Constitution when ruling on 21stcentury dilemmas). And it asks probing questions. What is the distinction between artificial and natural? We accept medicine to make a sick person well, so why not a drug that can make a healthy man stronger? The author, Rabbi Joshua Flug, clearly reaches his own conclusions and believes it is possible to know what God does and doesn’t want. But he also includes disagreements among the rabbis themselves to demonstrate that in Judaism, there is rarely such thing as a single correct answer. I didn’t stick with the Jerusalem yeshiva, partly because most of the teachers taught that there was a single correct answer. They taught Judaism as a catechism, not a method. It’s a lot easier to teach students the rules than to teach them to think. And I suspect that a lot of the young adults attracted to the yeshiva were looking for clear-cut answers, not open-ended discussions, at least in the early stage of their religious journeys. But the yeshiva did change my life in a lot of ways. I learned to struggle against what I began to call the “default,” or the kinds of things I thought I knew but never bothered to test against the conclusions and methods of others who struggled with the same questions. It didn’t make me a better person, just one who was less likely to be stumped when someone would ask, “How do you know?” And when I was stumped, it made me confident that I could find out--and possibly learn something that could change my mind. Andrew Silow-Carroll is the Editorin-Chief of the New Jersey Jewish News.
Touching the Future
Letter to the Editor Continued from page 24 But if the rest of the country is sick of it, imagine how we feel, driving through a massive graveyard of houses and rubble every day. It’s almost the only thing people living in New Orleans talk about, still. If you were a fly on the wall of a restaurant, no matter how plain or posh, you could flit from table to table and hear the same conversations: who is having disputes with their insurer; who is replacing; who has left or is leaving town; who is selling/buying a house; who has been fired because their business is moving, ad nauseum. We need to get on with our lives? But how? New Orleans is like San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. It will take years--five, 10, maybe more, to rebuild. The good news in the Jewish community is that, if I may use a dangerous phrase, the national Jewish community-led by United Jewish Communities--is keeping us afloat. It has been and continues to be generous, compassionate, and yet demands results and accountability. The dollars you donated are keeping our synagogues from losing mortgages and paying salaries of important Jewish community employees, from rabbis to social workers. You have and continue to maintain this Jewish community where every institution suffered damage. Once an active community of almost 10,000 Jews, the number of New Orleans Jews now hovers in the 6,000+ range.
Like the rabbi in Washington, they teach the Jewish tradition as if it is a set of declarations, unchanging and inviolate, and that our role as students is to take them to heart. But there are also the teachers, and I’ve been lucky to have met plenty, who teach text not to impart rules, but to teach students how to think. That’s not to say that they don’t regard the Torah as Truth, but rather that there is a method for discovering its Truth. The method is not exclusive to Judaism. Lawyers use it when they argue over case law, lit majors use it when they read criticism, philosophy majors use it when they read Plato’s Dialogues. Each examines the premises employed by their predecessors, sees how they came to a conclusion, tests both the logic and morality of their arguments. (Whose logic? Whose morality? Well, that’s the point of the exercise.) The method can confirm what students already believed, or, even better, bring them to a new understanding. Either way, the student has some basis with which to answer, “How do you know what you know?” YU’s steroids curriculum admits that the rabbis never dealt with performanceenhancing drugs per se. It explains the legal categories in the rabbinic literature that can be applied to the discussion (a method of analogy that also allows us to refer to an 18th-century document like
Those who remain continue to be “survivors” in a daily struggle. We feel vulnerable to the next big storm, the whims of local, state and national governments, and the insurance industry. We do not know where to live or whether we will be able to support ourselves in the future. Worst of all, we hear the grumbling of our neighbors. “Why rebuild New Orleans?” they say, and we can only defensively snap back, “Why rebuild Florida and the rest of the Gulf Coast after its hurricanes? Why help out when tornadoes hit?” The national Jewish community never asked the “why” question about New Orleans, just as it does not ask the “why” question when helping Jews in Argentina, Ethiopia, Israel or other parts of the world. Instead, it sent a clear message to the Jews of New Orleans that we are one and the same people: Am Yisrael, the Nation of Israel. New Orleans Jews do not like being needy. We know that it truly is “better to give than to receive,” and we are looking forward to the time when we can give more and receive less. In the meantime, however, we gratefully receive and give our thanks to a national community that has come through for us in our darkest hour. We will not be “all better” for years to come, but you give us the strength we need to go forward every day. Todah Rabah. Julie Schwarz New Orleans, LA
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Due to the closing of the Jewish Press office on Monday, Sept. 4 for Labor Day, the deadline for the Sept. 8 issue is Wednesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m. All Jewish organizations and Centers of Excellence who have not yet submitted a board list for the New Year’s issue must do so by Monday, Aug. 22; in addition, Rabbis’ Rosh Hashanah messages are due by that date. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by RABBI SHEA HECHT In today’s day and age, electronic mail makes it simple to send people different things of interest. People send each other inspiring articles to read, important issues to vote on, touching photos of interest and of course, inevitably, jokes. One joke that passed through my inbox recently was this one: A very self-important college freshman at a recent football game, took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his own. “You grew up in a different, actually almost primitive, world,” the student said loud enough for the whole crowd to hear. “We young people today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars...We even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light speed processing and uh.” Taking advantage of a pause for breath in the student’s litany, the “wizened” one said, “You’re right, Son. We didn’t have those things when we were young...so we invented them! Now...what are you doing for the next generation?” After a small smile at the cute joke and the smart senior retort, I started thinking. Who said this is only a joke? Maybe there is something so honest and true in this communication that it’s worth taking a second look at it and learning something from it. We all have an obligation to future generations. We have a duty to leave the world a better place than the one we came into. We have a responsibility to take care of the earth for those who are
following us. There are times that we may look smugly at what we have and what we have accomplished in our generation, spiritually and physically, and feel superior to those who have lived in the past. We can count our different free-loan funds and show that we make helping people a priority. We can read the advertisements for the benefits for charity and boast that we give it a front seat. We can see all the houses of worship that have been set up and all those that attend prayer services and feel we are superior in our spirituality. All this can lead us to think that we have mastered what previous generations have not. We may not have the same chutzpah that the college student in the joke did to say it to someone’s face, but we may think it to ourselves nonetheless. But with all this good that we have to show off, we must ask ourselves these questions: Are we living a sanctified life that our children can learn from? Do we live a life that our children can be proud of? Are we creating a moral world for the future generations? We must always remember that the previous generation is pointing a finger at us and asking the same question that the elderly gentleman asked the college graduate. “We paved the way for you to grow the way you did, what are you doing for the next generation?”
Rabbi Shea Hecht was a member of Mayor Giuliani’s task force on police/community relations and received the Community Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee for his leadership of the Crown Heights Coalition. For seven years, Hecht was a Commissioner of Human Rights for New York City. He is Dean of Hadar Hatorah School for College Youth, a lecturer at the Ivy League Torah Study Program, and cofounder of the Ari Program, an innovative school for at-risk kids. He can be reached at rabbishea@aol.com.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006
Candlelighting Friday, August 18, 8:01 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethlincoln.org
A special occasion or one just for fun? If you can think it, We can write it Even under the gun!
Poems for all occasions
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Candle Lighting a specialty
402-932-8289 poetic.license@cox.net
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE No services this Friday, Aug. 18.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Beth El; Evening Service, 8:10 p.m. Shabbat Tunes and Tales: New pre-school program for toddlers and their parents, featuring sing-alongs with “Miss Patty” Nogg, will begin this Shabbat, 11:15-11:45 a.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Weekdays, 6:55 a.m./5:30 p.m. K’TANTAN PLUS: Our summer program, led by Daniel Christensen, meets in the chapel Aug. 26, 10:45-11:45 a.m. The program is open to children in K6. For information, call Judy Rubin at 498.0904. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion, 10 a.m. LIVING HEBREW: Begins Sunday, Sunday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m., taught by Susi-FrydmanLevin. “THE WEEKLY PARASHA: IT’S ALL ABOUT ME?!”: New class led by Andy Greenberg, begins Sunday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. JEWISH POT POURRI: Class begins Sunday, August 27, 11 a.m., led by FrydmanLevin. All year-long classes are $36 (with the exception of Bible study); to register or for more information, contact Margie Gutnik in the synagogue office, or at programming@bethel-omaha .org. SISTERHOOD ANNUAL HONEY SALE: Now through Aug. 21, orders are being taken for Rosh Hashanah honey and holiday greetings. For more information, call 301.7321 or e-mail chai.honey@cox.net. USY: Candidate Membership Training (CMT) is Aug. 18-20, at Camp Eagle (near Fremont). For information, contact Robert Mosenkis at 492.8550 or youthdir@bethel-omaha.org. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Thursday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m., to discuss “20th Century Women of Valor,”
at the home of Ruth Goldenberg, 2307 No. 133 Cir. RSVP to Goldenberg at 505.9877, or Martha Lerner at lerner@cox.net. BESTT: Classes begin Sunday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 10 a.m. (contact the office for class schedule); Kiddush is sponsored in honor of Paul & Susie Shyken’s 35th wedding anniversary by their family; Mincha, 7:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:02 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Contact the office for Mincha/ Ma’ariv service time. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m; Contact the office for Mincha/Ma’ariv time. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. Babysitting is provided at no charge; Advanced Parshah Study, 9 p.m.
BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Services, 8:30 a.m.; Torah Studies-Journeys exploring the Book of B’midbar (Numbers), 10 a.m.; Aleph Champ for Adults, 10 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Halacha class, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Women of Worth Prayer Circle, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. All events and programs are open to the community. For information or to register, call 330.1800 or visit www. Ochabad.com.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Potluck Dinner and Outdoor Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel at Pioneers Park in Shelter #1. Bring a dish to share labeled as vegetarian/ pareve, dairy, or meat. (Remember: Do not mix meat and dairy in the same dish.) We will be honoring our long-time members. If you can help, contact Barbara Barron at 420.6990 or poppybarron@hotmail.com. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m., all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Game Night, 6 p.m. THURSDAY: Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m.; LJCS Teacher Training, 7 p.m. at South Street Temple. During the month of August, the Social Action Committee is collecting school supplies to donate to Saratoga School. Place them in one of the boxes in the Social Hall. Thank you from the Social Action Committee and especially from the students!
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY, 11 a.m.: Historical Marker Dedication at the site of the original Congregation of Israel synagogue, 23rd and Harney Streets; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Eric Linder, and Cantor Wendy Shermet will officate. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Rachel Scheet, daughter of Lisa Scheet and Gordon Scheet, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah.
SITTER SERVICE: Available each Friday evening for the 7:30 p.m. service, Saturday mornings when there is a bar or bat mitzvah, and Sunday mornings when there is Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation are appreciated. Sorry, there are no facilities for infants. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SUNDAY, AUG. 20, 12:30-4 p.m. at 4221 Himebaugh Ave. TUESDAY, Aug. 22: Life Long Learning, Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30–8 p.m. in the Temple Israel Library.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. & Minyan, MONDAY, THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by a light oneg. SATURDAY: Parashat Hashavu’a class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. TUESDAY, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m.: T.I. Women’s Group Meeting. Come prepared to discus the book The Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066. THURSDAY: Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m.; LJCS Teacher Training, 7 p.m. at South Street Temple. CONGREGATIONAL PICNIC Sunday, Aug. 27, noon-4 pm. at the Brockman’s home for a Kosher lunch, swimming, and fun. Bring a swimsuit and towel. If you can help, contact Julie Brockman.
To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. You can also submit other announcements--births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements.
B’NAI MITZVAH Marissa Nicole Kahn, daughter of Becki and Tom Kahn, will become Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 26, at Beth El. Marissa is an eighth-grade S u p e r i o r Honor Roll student at Kiewit Middle School. Her interests include swimming, reading, pet sitting, travel-
ling and being with the family. For her mitzvah project, Marissa donated funds to the Nebraska Humane Society and the Susan B. Komen Foundation. She has two sisters, Megan and Miranda. Grandparents are Marlene and Stewart Kahn, and Sandra and Louis Goldberg.
Samuel Robert Noddle, son of Kim and Jay Noddle, will become Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 26, at Temple Israel. Samuel is a eighthgrade Honor Roll student at Westside Middle School. His interests include architectural drawing, playing paintball with friends, and soccer. For his mitzvah project, Samuel
volunteered at the University of Nebraska Medical Center by working in the gift shop. He put his artistic talents to use by painting windows in the pediatric wing. He has a sister, Rebecca and a brother, Aaron. Grandparents are Barb and Mike Platt, and Nancy and the late Harlan Noddle. Great-grandmother is Dorothy Platt.
August 18, 2006
In All the Clatter--the Voice! SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Eikev Over the centuries, Jews have prided themselves on following ancient advice to put their faith not in horses and chariots, but in decency, morality and the goodness of humankind. But the lesson of history is constant and bitter. The moral advice, which we still cherish, is the kind of advice that should be told to Sweeney. Jews would have long ago been obliterated from the scene of history as the gentle dictator of Iran would now wish, had they followed such advice. In the hard world which humanity has created for itself, it is not morality and idealism that triumph alone. They triumph only, when the sword, that is to say, the missile, has triumphed first. That great American Abraham Lincoln said, “We are
now engaged in a great civil war...” We ourselves in the contemporary world are engaged in a great world war in which morality and idealism will triumph only if peace has been restored by a terrible expenditure of blood, sweat and tears against forces that we identify as evil. After World War I, and after World War II, I had not expected in my old age to live in a world of such turmoil. I mourn for the young men and women who must put their lives in danger to establish again a world of decency and morality. One hears the echo of God’s ancient lament that He had created humankind, whose thoughts are evil all day long. Is there not enough land on this earth of ours? Is there not enough food? Must there be this demand for power, an inevitable demand for power, that results in so much hatred and so much bloodthirstyness? Can we not do better? Where are the prophets to teach us and inspire us? In all of this clatter and explosions, where is the Voice? We are desperately in need of the Voice that shatters the Cedars of Lebanon and the missiles of Hezbollah, (the Army of God!?). How can we learn, and how can we teach the world to listen for the Voice?
DEATH brother, Arthur, moved to HELEN KULAKOFSKY Omaha in 1902, and were by ANNE MUSKIN Jewish Press Editorial Intern members of the “Honey was quite independent all Congregation of Israel (later through her life,” Art Davidson told me Temple Israel) at its Park when asked about his aunt. Helen Avenue location. She marKulakofsky, or as she was more fondly ried Louis Kulakofsky in referred to as Honey, was, “very prim and 1919 and they had three proper. Always very pretty, I thought. Warm children: Leonard, Arthur and giving. An undeniable matriarch.” and Anna Jane (Katelman). The centenarian-plus died Aug. 9 at 107. Art Davidson said that to Helen and Louis Kulakofsky Services were held at Temple Israel understand what kind of Cemetery on Aug. 11. She was most recently a resident woman she was, it’s important to understand the times in of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, but in earlier years which she lived. “My mother and Aunt Honey took all three served as an active volunteer and leader in the Jewish of us kids and Honey’s three kids and drove to Colorado for community. One of the founders of the Women’s the summers,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible that these two Campaign of the Jewish Federation (known in its early women drove out to a cabin in the mountains with six kids years as the Women’s Philanthropies), Kulakofsky also by themselves, let alone in the late 1920s.” was active with the National Council of Jewish WomenShe was a liberated woman of her time. With sharp Omaha Section and Planned Parenthood. wit, a dry penetrating sense of humor, and a commandHer family, however, always came first. ing independent presence, Honey kept her family “Very accepting, active in the community, busy, and together until her final days. always organized,” said her daughter-in-law, Shirley She is said to have been extremely supportive of her Kulakofsky, who also shared with me Honey’s involve- grandchildren, as they were equally supportive of her. ment with WWII troops. “She struggled with one son in “She was constantly at our house, and sometimes I didEurope-- Leonard--and one in the South Pacific, my hus- n’t know who was boss, mother or grandma!” Gary band, Artie,” Shirley said. “That was a very agonizing Katelman said. time for her. She used to make sandwiches and take them “When I was 16, I went to visit them, by myself, in down to Union Station, and when the train loads of sol- Florida, where they rented a condo,” he added. diers rolled in, she would hand the sandwiches up into the “Grandma was pretty strict, and Louis used to tease her train. Also, she made it known that her home was always about that all the time. She was the head of the houseopen to any soldier that needed somewhere to go.” hold, and a great caretaker, but when she let her guard Honey was instrumental in helping with the Dr. down, there wasn’t much she would say no to! They Phillip Sher Home, a precursor to the Blumkin Home. showed me a real good time.” She was involved in organizing and fundraising to Her great grandson, Christopher Katleman, shared his ensure the success of the Sher Home, as it was known. admiration and anecdotes at her funeral. Numerous When you live to be 107, you acquire many memories. extended family, friends, and Blumkin Home employI spoke with some of her family to understand just what ees--whom she inspired during her 107 years--attended kind of woman garners 107 years worth of respect, love, the funeral. and honor. Honey Kulakofsky is survived by her son, Leonard, She was “a major part of my life,” said Gary and his wife Anita Kulakofsky; daughter-in-law, Shirley Katelman. She treated us kids as individuals. She made Kulakofsky; son-in-law, Stan Katelman; grandchildren, you feel special and was generous with her time.” Alan and Janie Kulakofsky, Eddie and Debbie Kully, Gail “Grandma Honey loved dogs, and hated cats!” added and Alan Ruderman, Gary and Lorrie Katelman, Jay Kulakofsky. “She used to have a little white poodle who Gretchen Katelman, Debbie Salomon, Marty and Rob would sit in her lap. When we got our dog Max, a little Kulakofsky, great-grandchildren, David, Jay, Jackie, white Bischon, she was so excited. Her face lit up and she Christopher, Ashley, Brett, Stacy and Mike, Meghan, would try to get him to sit in her lap just like her old dog. Michael, Lisa, Jillian, Nathan, and Gennifer; and a greatShe kept treats for Max in her room at the Home.” great granddaughter, Madison. Helen was born in 1899 to Sol and Bessie Levy, in Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or Leavenworth, KS. She, her sister, Miriam, and her Temple Israel.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
August 18, 2006