Vol. LXXXVIX No. 4 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
28 Tishrei 5770
October 16, 2009
Iran expert addresses threats to U.S., Israel
Shalit video ignites debate, pressure for deal to soften any public by LESLIE SUSSER opposition in Israel to the JERUSALEM (JTA) -idea of trading hundreds The release of the video of Palestinian prisoners -showing captive Israeli many involved in the soldier Gilad Shalit alive worst terrorist attacks of and apparently healthy is the past decade -- for a likely to raise the pressure single Israeli soldier. on the Netanyahu govIt could help Hamas get ernment to secure his the kind of deal it wants release. and the Netanyahu govThe Shalit family and ernment sell such a deal advocates for the soldier’s to the Israeli public. release say they intend to The video has revived an launch an intensive public intense debate in Israel campaign to parlay public over what price it should sympathy roused by the pay for Shalit's release. video to press the governOpponents of a large ment to go the extra mile prisoner exchange argue for his release. that surrendering to terBut they’re not getting rorist blackmail will only their hopes up just yet. More than three years A video made on Sept. 14, 2009 shows captive Israeli soldier Gilad encourage more kidnappings, and that if Shalit is have passed since Shalit Shalit alive and apparently uninjured. Credit: Nati Shohat/Flash 90/JTA released, terrorists with was captured in a Palestinian attack along the Gaza-Israel border, and the blood on their hands who will be set free from Israeli Shalit family is worried that the momentum created by prisons could kill more innocent Israelis. Thirty-three heads of pre-military training academies the video will fizzle and the soldier’s plight again will across Israel wrote recently to Defense Minister Ehud recede from the headlines. In the video, which can be seen at: http://jta.org/ Barak strongly urging him not to allow the release of terreleased Oct. 2, Shalit looks fit in a well-pressed uniform rorists with blood on their hands. They argued that all as he holds an Arabic newspaper dated Sept. 14, 2009. young recruits should know that army service is designed Besides dispelling any lingering doubts about his phys- to defend the state and there are no “insurance policies.” ical well-being, the video’s public release was intended Continued on page 2
by THERESE VAUGHN for the Anti-Defamation League According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran presently has the knowledge to construct a nuclear weapon, the ballistic missile range to reach Israel and Europe and more than a ton of low-enriched uranium -enough for a nuclear bomb. Yaakov Katz, the military correspondent and defense analyst for The Post, the Jerusalem Yaakov Katz Middle East’s leading English daily newspaper, writes extensively on Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s options in the face of a mounting existential threat. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Plains States Region will feature Katz who will address this timely matter on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., at the Jewish Community Center . “Considering these precarious times, we are pleased to have Mr. Katz share his analysis and expertise on an issue that impacts the global community.” ADL Plains States Regional Director Alan Potash said. “A nuclear-armed Iran has grave implications for the entire world.” Yet, as Katz recently noted, even if Iran ceases all enrichment activities, consents to international inspection of all its nuclear facilities and transfers its uranium stockpiles for processing overseas, the Islamic Republic may still be advancing its nuclear weaponization. “While the Americans, Russians and Europeans would Continued on page 2
Max and Betty Falk Charitable Trust details announced Beneficiaries include Blumkin Home, Federation, Beth El and UNO by OZZIE NOGG Betty Geifman and Max Falk, both teenagers in the mid-1930s, fell in love at first sight. She had red hair and freckles. He was full of life and curiosity. They married in 1945, right after Max returned from World War II. In their 60 years as husband and wife, Max and Betty devoted themselves to family, hard work, and giving back to the community. They valued education, appreciated Jewish tradition, and respected everyone -- white, black, Jewish, non-Jewish, old, young, the haves, the have-nots. Betty Falk died in 2005; Max Falk in 2008. Together, they left a legacy of love, compassion, fierce independence and quiet generosity. In announcing the Falk Charitable Trust, Marty Ricks, Omaha Jewish Federation Foundation executive director said, “Max and Betty epitomize the strong bonds that develop in our Jewish community. We will be forever grateful for their gifts.” According to Ricks, each of three funds, under the umbrella of the Max and Betty Falk Endowment Fund, serve a unique purpose. One is earmarked for the general support of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and another will underwrite scholarships and grants to the Jewish community through the Federation’s Center for
Inside
Max and Betty Falk Jewish Education. A third endowment is designated for general operations and activities of Beth El Synagogue. And an additional gift to the University of Nebraska at Omaha from the Falks will provide financial assistance and scholarships for local minority and underprivileged youth who would otherwise not be able to afford such an education. “Even before they established this
Trust, my folks helped people in the Jewish community and outside it,” said Max and Betty’s daughter, Jeri Falk Fitz of Baltimore, MD. “We’ll never know who or how many.” She is the proud keeper of her parents’ story. “My dad was born in Rock Island, Illinois, one of nine children. His father, a Russian immigrant, drove a horse and wagon, collecting scrap metal from alleyways and reselling it. Max was 12 when his father died,” she explained. “Sam and Ida Geifman, my mother’s parents, lived in Omaha and were friends of my dad’s folks. The Geifmans owned the Bedford Market and they wanted to help my widowed Bubbe Tamara in Rock Island. So, when my dad was 16, they asked if he could come live with them, which he did. Max stayed and worked for the Geifmans in the store so he could send money back home to his mother.” Odds are good that Betty Geifman’s considerable charms also played a part in Max’s decision to stay in Omaha. Falk Fitz describes the young man,
This Week: Klutznick-Harris academics highlight Jews and Humor: Page 11
See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 12
Original cast member of Brundibar to tell students about Terezin: Page 3
Max, a member of the Greatest Generation, handsome in uniform, setting off to serve his country in 1942, eyes open wide to a world larger than he ever dreamed. She speaks of Max and Betty’s post-war honeymoon in Denver with $75 to cover travel and expenses for the whole week. How rich they felt. Soon, Max and Betty welcomed Jeri’s birth and that of her late brother, Stephen. Whatever the challenges, Max and Betty always discovered opportunities. Eventually, they took over the Bedford Market. Both worked hard. She was the bookkeeper and sometimes manager while he grew the business, bought a walk-in freezer, and kept expanding the operation until what began as a Mom and Pop corner store became the best meat market in town. “My parents were good and thoughtful neighborhood business owners, always donating to the black community, the Catholic community,” Falk Fitz added. Whenever Holy Name Church had a picnic, grocery bags full of food and door prizes for their raffle arrived from the Bedford Market.” A proud WWII veteran, Max once drove past a VFW Post in North Omaha and noticed its broken sign. “My dad said to the head guy, ‘You need a new sign’ Continued on page 2
Coming Next Week: Jewish Camping
Mayor explains plans to balance city budget: Page 5
Documentary “Out of Faith” premiers at Beth Israel: Page 6
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
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Continued from page 1 and the fellow said, ‘Yes, but we can’t afford it.’ So my dad said, ‘Go get the sign made and send me the bill.’ That was my dad’s style. My mother’s too. When they had little, they gave a little. When they had a lot, they gave a lot.” Self-motivated, self-educated, Max Falk was a colorful teller of stories and jokes. “He was so engaging, not loud or egotistical. He sincerely wanted to know about your life, your world. ‘How’s it going with the family?’ he’d ask, and he always remembered what you told him. He rejoiced in other people’s successes. If things worked out for you, he was happy.” In addition to his 40-year association with the Bedford Market, Falk was also the co-owner of the Cubby’s convenience store chain, Louis’ Market and Phil’s Foodway at 30th and Ames. “Dad did retire once, for about a week. Golf? Never. He always came back to work. That was what he knew. Work. That’s what he did. That’s what he loved,” Falk Fitz said. Beneficiaries of the Falk’s endowments, Jeri says, reflect their lifelong concerns. “Education was crucial to both my parents. They sent me to Washington University in St. Louis and I still wonder how they did it. At the time, it couldn’t have been easy. And though neither of them attended college, both my parents took Continuing Ed classes at UNO when they were older. My dad read the Omaha World Herald and the Wall Street Journal everyday. He’d cut out articles and send them to people he knew would be interested. He was so inquisitive, always wanting to learn.” She added, “As for Beth El, my mom and dad believed strongly in the Conservative Movement. Beth El was their house of worship and the synagogue was a meaningful part of their lives even though they weren’t regular attenders. When the congregation moved from 49th Street to the building out west, my folks said they had no idea a synagogue could look like that, so peaceful and beautiful. They were so proud of it. I try to come back to Beth El for the High Holidays. It’s still my spiritual home. I got that from my parents.” The Falk’s gift to the Blumkin Home was another natural. “Both my folks had great respect for the elderly. They believed in caring for our own and had strong feel-
ings for the aged in our Jewish community who needed help. Still, they both always wanted to remain independent. They never wanted to go to an old people’s home, and my mother never did.” She added, “After she died, three-and-a-half years ago, daddy stayed in their house, but there came a time when he needed rehabilitative care after a long hospitalization. He was afraid, and the Blumkin Home staff recognized that. Shelly Cash, Shelly Fox, Shane Kotok, everyone, was fabulous. They scooped him up and wrapped their arms around him for the three weeks he was there. I’ve been in a lot of nursing homes and never seen anything like the Blumkin Home and its staff.” Max Falk died on July 9, 2008, just two months before his 90th birthday. He had planned to celebrate, on July 13th, his newest business venture at the grand opening of a strip mall on the Mormon Bridge Road which he coowned with Phil Morrison, a savvy young businessman from North Omaha whom Max had mentored for years. Instead, family and friends gathered at Max’s grave to celebrate, in the words of the eulogy, ‘Max’s nine decades and his continuing presence in our lives.’ During the week of shiva, Jeri, her husband, Peter, and their children, Samuel and Rachel Fitz, both of Washington, D.C., remembered both Max and Betty as two people in love, always and forever. They described the couple sitting close to one another, holding hands, a few days after their son Steve’s funeral in 1997, pulling each other through their tunnel of grief. Jeri explained how, after her mother died, Max refused to move in with her family in Baltimore. “He wasn’t born in Omaha, but he was an Omaha guy with an enduring, strong Omaha connection.” Betty and Max were also hands-on, loving grandparents whom the kids loved in return and respected. “When I was seven and my sister, Rachel was four, Zayde taught us how to play poker,” Sam Fitz said. “Year by year, he continued to teach us, but the lessons were about integrity, authenticity, a strong work ethic, and intense loyalty.” Rachel added, “To this day, I can see Zayde Max reaching into his pocket when he thought no one was watching, helping anyone in true need, no questions asked. My zayde and bubbe didn’t know how to be any different.”
Shalit video Continued on page 2 Barak and the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff, Lt.Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, counter that to boost motivation on the battlefield, soldiers should know that the state will do all it can to free those who are captured. Larger issues are at stake, too. A major prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas could help create conditions for a new and different kind of IsraeliPalestinian dialogue in which Hamas plays a pivotal role. On the table would be the opening of the border crossing points into Gaza in return for a long-term cease-fire of 10 years or more. That, in turn, could pave the way for serious negotiations on Palestinian statehood with a unified Palestinian leadership. For now, all this seems a far cry, with virtually everything on the Israeli-Palestinian agenda deadlocked. Releasing Shalit could help break the log jam. Hamas officials hint that a deal could happen quickly. They are portraying the video -- traded for the release of 20 Palestinian women in Israeli prisons last week -- as the first phase of a larger deal. They say an exchange of Shalit for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners could happen in as little as six weeks. Among those Hamas wants released are hundreds who actively participated in terrorist attacks against Israelis. That is the main stumbling block for Israel, which is
loath to free prisoners it defines as terrorists with blood on their hands. “If Israel wants to wrap up this affair, it could be concluded quickly,” Mahmoud a-Zahar, a Hamas official in Gaza, told Israel’s daily Ha’aretz, hinting that Hamas might show some flexibility. “Not everything is written in stone.” Hamas clearly wants to deal, mainly to improve its image among Palestinians in the run-up to elections scheduled for early next year. The suffering and deprivation in Gaza following Israel’s 22-day military operation last December and January has hurt Hamas politically. A major prisoner release would greatly boost its public standing. As to the contours of a possible deal, there is no argument about the majority of the prisoners Israel would release. The sticking point is some 450 prisoners Hamas wants -- and insists upon without exception. The London-based Arabic daily Ashark al-Awsat reports that there are two other major obstacles: Israel’s reluctance to release Israeli and eastern Jerusalem Arabs on the Hamas list. The paper also claims that Israel knows where Shalit is being held, but will not storm the hiding place for fear that Shalit would be killed by his captors before a rescue could be affected.
Iran expert
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Continued on page 2 likely be thrilled at their apparent diplomatic success, Israel would be left with a decision -- can it live with Iran as a threshold nuclear country?” Katz asked in the Jerusalem Post on Oct. 6. “The debate within Israel is whether such a deal is something the country can accept.” While Israel’s position on Iran has been the latest focal point of his popular weekly column, “Security and Defense,” Katz offers a comprehensive, yet incisive look at Israeli defense strategy from multiple fronts. The veteran correspondent has covered the 2009 Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon and the 2005
Gaza Strip disengagement. Originally from Chicago, Katz moved to Israel 13 years ago and served in the IDF in the Armored Corps. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and their daughter and is completing a law degree at Bar Ilan University. To learn more about the Katz event, contact the ADL at 402.333.1303 or visit www.regions.adl.org/plainsstates. As the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency, the ADL stands strong against anti-Semitism and all forms of prejudice, defends democratic ideals and religious freedom, builds bridges of respect across differences and protects civil rights for all.
October 16, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Original cast member of Brundibár tells her story to local students and at public performance
by KELLY BLICE Director of Marketing & Public Relations Opera Omaha The Institute for Holocaust Education and Opera Omaha are collaborating to produce the children’s opera Brundibár. Composed in 1938 by Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, children in a Jewish orphanage first performed Brundibár in 1942. It was then performed 55 times in 1943 by the inmates of the Terezín concentration camp. Holocaust survivor and the original “Cat” in the performances of Brundibár in Terezín, Ela Weissberger will speak at each of the 10 student performances (Nov. 2-6) and at the public performance on Saturday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m. at the Rose Theater for the Performing Arts. Weissberger was born on June 30, 1939, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. At the age of 11, Ela, her sister Ilona and their mother were sent to Terezín in one of the first transports. Ela was first placed in a cramped barrack with her mother, sister, and many other women and girls who were suffering from hunger and disease. Later, Ela and Ilona were separated from their mother and forced to live in a separate barrack for children. While much was forbidden in Terezín, many art forms were allowed to be produced, and Ela created several drawings depicting life that she lived in Terezín. In 1943, it was declared that a children’s opera entitled Brundibár was to be performed in Terezín. Ela was requested to be a part of the show and was cast as the “Cat.” The first performance took
place in September 1943, and was repeated each week. As time went on, cast members continually needed to be replaced as children were transported out of Terezín, most often to their death in Auschwitz.
and her husband and their mother. Today, she lives in New York and works as an interior designer. She has dedicated her life to traveling across the United States and abroad to tell her story and honor the victims of the Holocaust. She is
Ela Weissberger Ela, however, was permitted to stay with her mother and sister, playing the role of the “cat” in all 55 of the Brundibár performances. After years of watching many of her friends transported out of Terezín to their death, Ela and her sister were finally freed on May 5, 1945. Her mother followed later. Of the 64 members of her family, only four survived the war. In 1949, Ela moved to Israel along with her mother and sister. There, she served in the army and met Leopold Weissberger, another Holocaust survivor and Israeli soldier. The two married and immigrated to America where Ela took care of their two children. They were followed by Ilona
In the the original Brundibar production, Ela Weissberger is the cat, to the right of the boy with the fake mustache, in this propaganda photo taken by the Nazis. the focus of the book, The Cat with the unique opportunity to hear stories from Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezín by Terezín first hand. Tickets for the public performance are Susan Goldman Rubin. Brundibár is a children’s fable and fea- $25 for adults and $10 for students (ages tures a young brother and sister, Pepicek 13 and younger) and are available online operaomaha.org, by calling and Aninku, who are trying to help their at sick mother. The themes that infuse this 402.346.7372 or visiting the Opera charming score are the importance of Omaha box office at 17th and Farnam. courage and of uniting together against Tickets can also be purchased through tyranny. The character Brundibár is a Ticket Omaha at ticketomaha.org or bully who brutally monopolizes life in the 402.345.0606.
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town, a parody on Hitler’s dominance and dictatorship during this time period. He is sarcastic and oppressive. Together the children overcome his dominance and defeat him. Weissberger’s participation provides a
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Who put the rush in Rosh Hashanah at Beth Israel Sisterhood focuses Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh meeting on ‘you’ at donor event
by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator The Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group continues its stellar “Year of the Moon and the Stars” celebration with a get-together on Monday, Oct. 19 to welcome the month of Chesvan. All women in the Jewish community are invited to join together at the home of this month’s guest star, book maven Nancy Rips, 1302 So. 102 St., to add their two cents to the converNancy Rips sation, “Who Put the Rush in Rosh Hashanah?” Social time begins at 7 p.m.; the formal meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Rips, author of Seder Stories: Passover Thoughts on Food, Family, and Freedom, said the theme of the evening is a chapter title from her upcoming book, High Holidays Stories, which will offer contributors’ reminiscences about the High Holidays -- and she’s hoping attendees will come ready to share their own stories. “After ‘Seder Stories’ about people’s Passover memories, I realized how important shared stories were to everyone,” she said. “Now I’m working on a second book -- this one about peoples’ memories
of the High Holidays. I have great stories so far from men and women all over the world -- from Rosh Hashanah outdoors in the Colorado Rockies to Yom Kippur on an Army base in Iraq, even on-line services in L.A. Who knew?” About the evening’s theme, she explained that, “We all get rushed during these fall holidays and forget about what’s really important. I plan to read some of the stories I already have for the new book, but the most important part of the evening will be listening to the group tell their stories. I hope they’ll think about them before they come, and be ready to share them.” What’s your story? A favorite holiday meal? Crazy relatives? Welcoming the stranger? A renewed sense of spirituality? For Rips, the High Holidays are about “connecting with people I love and making amends to those I may have hurt. It’s an opportunity to think about how I can become a better person in the coming year. And oh yeah -- it’s also a major time for family and food and itchy new clothes and seeing friends. And did I mention food? Lots of food!” Those who are unable to attend the meeting are encouraged by Rips to send her their story for possible inclusion in the new book; she also noted that a portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit the Jewish Federation’s Kripke Library. For those who plan to join in the festivities, please RSVP to Rips at 397.7977, or nrips@cox.net.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
by BETH COHEN Executive Director of Beth Israel Fabulous food, the newest styles and the opportunity to go home with a gift certificate or other prize. Enjoy all of that and more when Beth Israel’s Sisterhood holds their Annual Donor event on Sunday, Nov. 1, 11:30 a.m. This year’s event, “It’s All About YOU!” will feature a luncheon, fashion show and silent auction. The annual donor, the main fundraising event of the year for Sisterhood, is chaired this year by Zoë Riekes. The committee includes Julee Katzman, Bette Kozlen, Debbie Kricsfeld and Andreea Shnayder. “I’m very excited to be this year’s Beth Israel Sisterhood donor chair,” says Riekes. “It’s a great opportunity for the ladies of our community to come together and celebrate! This year we are having a fashion show from two local Omaha stores, Christel’s and Carol Fosse’ Contemporary Apparel. Both Becky Carrico and Carol Fosse have been long standing members of the Omaha community and have made their mark in the fashion world. I think the ladies of our community will enjoy seeing what’s ‘in’ this season and then get some hints on how to ‘freshen’ up what’s already in your closet.” Enjoy appetizers while you shop and participate in a silent auction. “All of the items from Sisterhood’s Gift Shop will be available for purchase, including items made in Israel,” explained Bette Kozlen, Sisterhood’s Gift Shop Chairman. “There will be some great new items to choose from, too, such as jewelry and Hanukkah gifts. It’s never too early to start your Hanukkah shopping!” The committee has been hard at work
finalizing items for the silent auction including certificates, jewelry, Judaica, and housewares. Lunch will be served at noon. “People look forward to our catered luncheon because it’s always lovely and delicious,” noted Kozlen. “The meal will be a buffet, so there will be something for everyone.” Attendees may select to be a donor, choosing a category that includes lunch, or just lunch for $15. Donor categories include $100, $72, $54 or $36. “I love standing in the social hall each year at our Sisterhood Donor event and observing the different generations of women who attend,” says Shnayder. “Sisterhood does so much for our synagogue and the community, and it has something to offer women of all ages.” Since the event is on a Sunday morning, it is the perfect opportunity to invite older girls to experience what Sisterhood is all about. Attendees are encouraged to invite junior high or high school-aged girls to “It’s All About YOU!” so they can be introduced to the Sisterhood community. “Fashion shows have been part of Sisterhood for decades,” explains Debbie Kricsfeld, President. “It has proved to be an event that mothers, daughters and grandmothers can enjoy together. Who wouldn’t enjoy great shopping, visiting over a lovely lunch and watching the latest in fashion on a fall Sunday morning?” Invitations have been sent out to all Sisterhood and synagogue members, but the event is open to the community. “Everyone is invited to attend Sisterhood’s Donor,” said Riekes. Reservations can be made with the office at 556.6288 by Thursday, Oct. 22.
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October 16, 2009
Suttle celebrates 100+ days as mayor
by JOAN K. MARCUS Sarpy County, but with the world. “And we need to be Last April, when he a was candidate for mayor of the city of choice for investors and we need to do it well. Omaha, Jim Suttle addressed B’nai Brith Breadbreakers. The quicker we get a building in place, whether it’s an He was frustrated with what he had seen at City Hall. apartment, a garage or whatever, the sooner we begin During his speech, he said, “I’m an engineer and a busi- creating wealth and jobs.â€? ness person. I’ve been trained to solve problems! Suttle told of “a day of reckoningâ€? with Standard and However, I need to be in the mayor’s office in order to Poors and Moody’s, bond rating agencies. He traveled do just that.â€? Suttle is now more than 100 days into his to Chicago in order to meet with a representative who opportunity to change Omaha. had threatened to drop Omaha from it’s AA1 to A ratA former Public Works Director for the City of ing. (Last year, Omaha fell from its AAA rating.) Omaha, Suttle has held transportation planning posi“However,â€? says Suttle, “We headed it off because we tions with the cities of made some firm decisions Albuquerque and Wichita. here about the balanced He was also vice chairman of budget and the 2.4¢ addithe board of directors of tion on the property tax that HDR, Inc., the nation’s will go into the debt service 17th largest architecture fund. A year ago, they said engineering firm. that Omaha does not have Recently, at another the political will to solve its address to the same group, financial problems. I think Chairman Gary Javitch they know now that we do.â€? introduced Suttle by saying, The mayor spoke of the “He is now 115 days into his $500 million shortfall in the term and you can say that, fire-police pensions. “I want on occasion, he has already to look more at solving the ‘stepped in it’ and ‘stepped pension dilemma for the on it!’â€? The newly elected next 100 years -- rather than mayor came into office with the next five, 10 or 30 years. high hopes of quickly gain- Mayor Jim Suttle and former City Councilwoman Sylvia We’ve had tough meetings ing momentum to move Wagner discuss Omaha politics. with the unions that, I hope, Omaha forward during these challenging times. His set the tone for making this pension plan solvent,â€? he promise is to make Omaha an even greater city. explained. Even though Suttle came from the City Council, he “If we stay on course, we will get a ‘twofer’ when we admits that he is relatively new at taking over as mayor. Of announce the terms of the fire and police union conthe seven Council members and the mayor, at least four tracts and the conditions associated with solving the penof them are new and they have spent a lot of time trying sion problems. We’ll have a plan that works and we’ll get to balance Omaha’s budget. Suttle’s proposals of an our AAA credit rating back.â€? entertainment tax or a tax on satellite dishes to improve He announced that the unions are “behind the eight the revenue stream back up were rejected by the Council. ballâ€? to come up with $13-14 million changes in their Suttle said that he has spent time in Council Bluffs benefits. As soon as the unions come up with their plan, because he has promoted “hands across the river.â€? He the city will then need to kick in the recommendations joked and said that he is doing the same thing with that were made by the task force.â€? “hands across Harrison Streetâ€? and “hands across the According to Suttle, “We are going to have to come Elkhorn.â€? up with $15 million that has to be new money. Some of He calls Omahans “the investorsâ€? in our city. “I’ve been the recommendations include increased sales tax, a fee elected your mayor and I’ve inherited a mess. It has been for garbage pickup and an increase in property taxes. We brewing itself over the past 12 years or so and it’s here and also need a new tax policy on the years 2020-30. We’ve it’s real. I didn’t create it but I did take an oath of office put so many exemptions into the tax code that aren’t to solve it. And that I will -- and I’ll do it in an open man- working. We have 15 pages of exemptions; three out of ner. Omaha is a major corporation -- a six million-dollar five potential taxpayers are paying because of those corporation and we are going to start giving you a return exemptions. There’s an issue of fairness for the future.â€? on your investments,â€? Suttle told Breadbreakers. Suttle thinks that if with tax reform, including all gov“We have a balanced budget. We’ve cut $11 million ernment, Nebraska would be a better state that is going and four more for a total of $15 million. We still have a to fund the right things with its citizens’ tax dollars. nine million dollar problem that we’re going to be deal- And, he thinks that Omaha will be better positioned to ing with. We didn’t come to an agreement on my pro- compete in the marketplace. posal of the entertainment tax to get our revenue stream “Here in Nebraska, we have too few people and lots of back up,â€? he explained. cattle,â€? he laughed. “But, the cattle aren’t paying taxes! “The charter, which was written back in the fifties, has survived the test of time and many challenges and, when we couldn’t come to an agreement on what the revenue stream was going to be, the charter says that you shall raise the property tax in order to balance the budget. We MANVITZ-ARBEITER have to do that.â€? Alissa Manvitz and Matthew Arbeiter were married on The balanced budget will allow the libraries, senior centers and swimming pools to stay open. “Those are Aug. 8 at Champions Run. The ceremony was perthe things that we should be doing to provide the serv- formed by Judge Lawrence Gendler. The bride graduated from ices you expect. We got a taste during July and August when reality finally began to soak in and we got away University of NebraskaOmaha (UNO) with a from the denial that there is no problem.â€? The mayor feels that 2010 will still be a challenge. Bachelor of Science in However, he says, “As we work together, the plan is that Accounting. Her attendents were Diana the services are going to be there. I must be candid when I tell you that we have a balanced budget but we have Manvitz, sister of the bride, absolutely no ‘wiggle’ room. It is so tight that we have Becky Boyer, Naomi Fox, cousin of the bride, and to hit all the numbers.â€? He added, “I’m going to look at what I said during Megan Hoberman. She is the daughter of the campaign. I’m going to trim waste and see how we can streamline and modernize the things inside the city Wendy and Todd Manvitz and the granddaughter of operations. We’ve already started on this, and I will con- Doris and Harry Alloy and Marilyn and Justin Manvitz. The groom also is a graduate of UNO, where he tinue to hire people that know what the heck they’re doing. That’s why I searched and brought back Rick earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance. His attendents were Bob Ludwig, Jay Ludwig, Seth Cunningham from Virginia so that he could bring his business principles and time management to the Ondracek and Pat O’Toole. He is the son of Phyllis and Randy Arbeiter of Planning Department.â€? Suttle said that when someone comes in for a building Bellevue. The couple too a wedding trip to Hawaii. or zoning permit, Omaha is in competition not just with
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Page 6
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Documentary premiers at Beth Israel
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by BETH COHEN Executive Director of Beth Israel Out of Faith, a feature-length documentary by director Lisa Leeman and producer L. Mark DeAngelis, follows three generations of a family torn apart by conflicts over interfaith marriage. The family’s matriarch, Leah Welbel, and her husband Eliezer, both survived nearly three years in Auschwitz; however, in their minds, their grandchildren marrying non-Jews represents a posthumous victory for Hitler. Beth Israel will host the Omaha premier of the documentary, Out of Faith, on Sunday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m. Prior to the movie, Beth Israel will hold one of its monthly Sunday Night Dinners. Following the movie, producer L. Mark DeAngelis will speak. When Holocaust survivor L. Mark DeAngelis and longtime friend Leah Welbel invited Mark DeAngelis to return to Auschwitz with her, he immediately agreed. Initially, DeAngelis informed Welbel that he would bring his camcorder on their trip and record her telling her story. However, he quickly realized that Welbel’s story deserved more professional handling. In a few short weeks, DeAngelis had hired a film crew from Warsaw and his production company was born -- even if he did not quite know it yet. “Leah appreciated that we were going to memorialize her return to the camps as a victor over ‘those damn Nazis,’ as she so often said,” DeAngelis explained how the movie unfolded. “While filming at Auschwitz, Leah recounted the incomprehensible evil she had faced every day. I watched her as she struggled to relive the memories, but Leah dedicated much of her life to making certain that the world would not forget those whom the Nazis had murdered -- so she persevered.” In her director’s statement, Leeman explains how the film became so much more than they expected, “When we began this film, we thought it would be a straightforward documentary on Leah’s remarkable experiences as a survivor. However, as we began filming, I learned that her family situation was causing her great pain -- her first grandchild had married out of faith, and Leah had not
spoken to him in six years. Just months earlier, her second grandchild had ‘married out.’ The family was wrestling with a classic immigrant dilemma, i.e., how to honor, preserve, and pass on one’s own ethnicity while integrating into today’s multicultural society.” At first, she didn’t understand why interfaith marriage had caused such a deep rift in Leah’s family. “Then I began to learn some sobering statistics -- over 50% of non-Orthodox American Jews marry out of faith, and less than a third of those couples raise their kids to be Jewish. If those statistics continue, the Jewish population could drop drastically, to less than a million by 2076. Leah’s rigidity, which I had chalked up to closemindedness, took on a new dimension -- a deep grief and concern over the possible end of her people. I began to better understand her, and yet, I felt for her grandkids—they’d married for love. Besides, who is to say that individuals must carry the weight of their heritage on their shoulders?” Leeman asked. “It is undeniable that the modern attitude towards intermarriage is drastically different than the attitude of the generation that witnessed the Holocaust,” says Rabbi Jonathan Gross. “The subject of intermarriage is perhaps the most sensitive of all Jewish topics as it affects the most intimate aspects of a person’s life. My hope is that this film will prompt respectful debate and challenging intergenerational dialogue so that rather than avoid a difficult topic, we can come together and discuss it as a community and learn from each other.” The 6 p.m. dinner prior to the movie showing is part of Beth Israel’s monthly Sunday Night Dinner series. This month’s, “How Could THAT be Kosher?” features items that are not what they appear to be: “shrimp” cocktail, “crab” cakes, “B”LT Salad, “Chicken” Parmigiana and “Beef” Stroganoff. The dairy dinner costs $8 for adults and $4 for children ages four to 12. There is no cost for children under the age of four. Sponsorships are also available for $36 (includes one dinner), $54 (includes 2 dinners), $72 (includes 3 dinners), or $90 (includes 4 dinners). The showing of Out of Faith and appearance of producer L. Mark DeAngelis are made possible through a grant from the Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation Foundation. The documentary is appropriate for teens and adults.
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Omaha Performing Arts will open the 2009-10 First National Bank Popular Entertainers Series with a performance by Herb Alpert and Lani Hall in the Holland Performing Arts Center’s Kiewit Concert Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. Recognized individually as Grammy Award-winning artists in jazz, the critically acclaimed duo of Herb Alpert and Lani Hall have been decades in the making. The pair, who has been married more than 35 years, recently released their first recording together -- “Anything Goes” -- a live collection of beautifully reinterpreted standards, pulled from a wide treasury of jazz, both American and Brazilian, as well as American popular standards. Tickets, priced from $19-$55 may be purchased through Ticket Omaha online at TicketOmaha.com, by phone at 402.345.0606 or in person at the box office inside the Holland Center, 13th and Douglas. Opera Omaha is holding musical theater auditions from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Orpheum, 409 So. 16 St. The company is seeking college and adult singers to participate in the spring concert
So in Love with Broadway which runs April 16 and 18 at the Orpheum and will also feature Broadway artists Ron Raines, Jo Sullivan Loesser, Emily Loesser, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley. Auditions are open to individuals college age and older. Two American musical theater songs of contrasting styles are required to audition. An accompanist will be provided or you may bring your own. Please contact Blythe Watkins at blythew@operaomaha.org by Oct. 15 to schedule an audition. No phone calls please. For additional information, please visit www.operaomaha.org.
Tamar Katz, three-time Israeli national champion, joins other champion figure skaters, including Nancy Kerrigan, Todd Eldredge and Elvis Stojko, and musical guests Mannheim Steamroller for a Halloween outing on Sunday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m., at the Qwest Center. Tickets, $97 (rink side), $57, $47, $27, are available through Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), 1.800.745.300, outlets and the Qwest Center box office.
Visions enjoys a magical mystery tour The first mystery stop was at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum on the University of NebraskaLincoln campus. Members enjoyed a docent led tour of the wide selections of quilts. The second stop was at UNL Dairy Store, which is part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Varsity Dairy, as it was once called, has been selling dairy products since 1917. At one time, the Dairy Store/Plant provided all the dairy products for the UNL dorms. Members enjoyed a hearty lunch and tour of the store while workers were busy making cheese. All were treated to homemade ice cream for an added bonus. The third stop was to the Nebraska Holocaust
Memorial at Wyuka State Cemetery in Lincoln. The memorial provides a place of reflection, but also serves to educate visitors. Gary Hill, Chairman of the Nebraska State Holocaust Memorial, gave Visions members a synopsis of the memorial. The forth and final stop, pictured above, was a sweet treat at Baker’s Candies in Greenwood, NE. Baker’s remains the Midwest’s premier chocolate manufacturer. The family-owned company, which operates in a 25,000-square-foot plant, still pursues that same passion for world-class chocolates.
October 16, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
IN THE NEWS
Hy-Vee, Inc. joined 40 of the nation’s leading retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and non-profit organizations today in announcing the launch of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, an unprecedented effort to reduce obesity in the United States. Ric Jurgens, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, was on hand at the National Press Club for the announcement of the initiative, along with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other key food industry leaders. Jurgens, current chairman of the Food Marketing Institute, is serving as vice chairman of the board of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. The goal of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is to reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity, by 2015 by promoting an “energy balance”
approach that emphasizes healthy eating and regular physical activity. The initiative will focus in three critical areas: • Connecting with Consumers in the Marketplace: Participating companies have pledged to make changes to products, packaging, labeling and promotional materials to help consumers manage their caloric intake and choose healthier foods. These efforts will be independently evaluated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which will publish results of that evaluation. • Empowering Employees in the Workplace: Together, the member companies of the HWCF represent more than one million employees. These companies will develop new programs or enhance existing programs to help employees achieve and maintain a
healthy weight. • Creating Healthy Habits in Schools: The HWCF is supporting the expansion of the Healthy Weight Partnership, a program that has achieved promising results in its Kansas City pilot schools. This program -- which helps children ages six to 11 develop lifelong healthy habits through a school-based curriculum – will be introduced in additional schools in Kansas City, Des Moines, Chicago and Washington DC and in a tribal community in Iowa. The 2009 GreatNonprofits Jewish Choice Awards will recognize the toprated Jewish nonprofits. In the month of October, the small, medium, and large organizations with the most positive reviews will be featured on GreatNonprofits and Guidestar, the pre-
mier site for philanthropic research on the Web. The contest, launched in partnership with the Jewish Funders Network, JTA, Natan, Slingshot Fund, Upstart Bay Area, and Jewish Jumpstart, asks clients, donors, volunteers, and board members to write reviews of these nonprofits. All reviews will be automatically visible on GuideStar.org. Nonprofits with the most positive reviews in their category will be announced as winners and receive promotion on GuideStar.org. Awards will be given out of 10 categories (six geographic US regions, one international, and three budget size -- small, medium and large). Contest deadline is Oct. 31. To enter, visit: http://www.greatnonprofits.org/jewish.
Pharmacist to discuss generic drugs at Temple lunch program
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator L’Chaim! To Life, a new lunchtime discussion opportunity, sponsored by Temple Israel’s Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning, will feature Registered Pharmacist Bruce Goldberg who will talk about “Generic Drugs: Are They For You?” He’ll lead the conversation at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Temple. “Generic drugs play a huge piece in the cost containment of the prescription drug program,” Goldberg explained. “Five years ago, generics accounted for less than 45 percent of all prescriptions filled. Today, it’s about 70 percent. As
that number grows, it impacts not only the price you pay for your drugs but also ultimately the price of branded products as well.” A 1984 graduate of pharmacy school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Goldberg worked in the family pharmacy business, Keystone Medicine Chest Pharmacies, after he graduated. “We operated 15 pharmacies including a special site which served nursing homes. I worked for about 12 years with my dad (Manny Goldberg) and then decided to go out on my own,” said Goldberg. “In late 1997, I launched Pharmacy Express using the experiences I learned
over the years. We leased pharmacy space from area supermarkets filling a need in the community,” he added. Pharmacy Express Services now operates as Pharmacy Benefit Advisors, a completely different but related business. “Our model has changed,” Goldberg added. “Today, the focus is all about value and results. Using a system developed called ‘1 to 1 Prescription for Savings,’ my firm can suggest lower cost therapeutic alternatives to provide significant savings to plan sponsors, employees, and family members while maintaining excellent health outcomes.” Goldberg said he’ll discuss changes
that have occurred within the pharmacy business over the past five years such as Medicare-D 2006, four-buck generics, how to be a better pharmacy consumer, which pharmacies are surviving and how in today’s market, big box stores, supermarkets, traditional chain pharmacies, independent and small chain pharmacies. He added that he’ll take questions on why pricing is such a variable in the industry today. Please register with Program Director Wendy Goldberg at wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com or at 556.6536. The lunch hour presentation is open to the community. Please bring your own lunch.
FREE LECTURE at Holland Performing Arts Center
Hanukkah
DR. JAMES K. GALBRAITH. Economist and author of The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too
GIFTS+MORE Discussing “The Great Crisis and the Predator State” Like his father, John Kenneth Galbraith, James K. Galbraith is a renowned economist. He says that American capitalism has become a system wherein the rich feast on the decaying systems built for the middle class and its agents are in full control of the government.
COMING 11.20.09 SPACE RESERVATION 11.09.09 CAMERA READY DEADLINE 11.12.09 Contact your advertising representative to advertise in this very special edition. ALLAN Handleman Call Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 or email: ahandleman@jewishomaha.org
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Call Ticket Omaha at 402-345-0606 or visit the Ticket Omaha box office, 13th & Douglas
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF OMAHA
Page 8
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Sukkot around the Heartland
Photos from top left: Lincoln's South Street Temple, Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, celebrated Sukkot at the home of John Mosow and Ellin Siegel. Rabbi Ilan Emanuel and Elaine Monnier led Sukkot services, followed by a potluck dinner. Organizers of Chabad’s Soup in the Sukkah were: Marsha Kleinberg, left, Nancy Wolf and Shani Katzman, who told those gathered a Sukkot story. Top Right: A little elbow grease, construction know-how and creativity all contributed to the building of Beth El’s sukkah, which transformed the synagogue’s front courtyard into
a colorful holiday mecca for congregants. Beth El Men’s Club members gathered several weeks ago to build the framework; using his toy tools, Peyton Kelln contributed to the building effort; USY members Lilly Phillips, Noam Margalit and Brad Kutler were among teens helping to decorate the canopy; Rabbi Mordechai Levin, left, joined Education Director Judy Rubin, standing center, and teacher Margo Riekes, right, as the BESTT fifth graders enjoyed a sukkah visit. The estrog and lulav marketplace in Jerusalem Credit: ISRANET was busy before Sukkot.
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Coach Dana Altman, Creighton basketball coach and the Dean of basketball for the Missouri Valley, will talk about the 2009-10 basketball season on Wednesday, Oct. 21, noon, at Ironwood Country Club. Reservations are required and can be made by calling Jenny at 334.6443 or e-mailing her at bnaibrith@jewishomaha. org. All men and women in the community are invited. The program is free. An optional lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday, with a musical program, “Sentimental Journey” with Mark T. Nelson. The Flu Shot Clinic, sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Association, will be Monday, 10-noon, in the auditorium of the JCC. Bring your Medicare B
Card and the shot is free. Without it, the price is $25. Persons 65 and older are eligible. Lunch is at noon and the program will begin at 12:30 p.m. Play bingo at 10 a.m. Call Theresa for transportation at 330.4272. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots! Join us every Thursday, 1-3 p.m., at the JCC. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. VISIONS Luncheon meeting is Friday, Oct.16 at 12:30 p.m., at Caniglia’s Venice Inn. Come celebrate Visions 17th Birthday. Send reservation form to Tootie Simon, 8725 Izard St., Omaha, NE 68114. Call Harry Alloy for information or concerns at 697.8709.
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The Coen brothers’ new movie is a masterful meditation on Judaism
tion, empty praise and repeated exhortations to soldier on with life even as it makes less and less sense. The exhorters include not only rabbis but also lawyers, colby LIEL LEIBOVITZ leagues, neighbors, family members and friends, all of whom offer Gopnik a measure of assurance -- some fake, NEW YORK (Tablet) -- As the Coen brothers chose some sincere -- taken largely from modern society’s infito open their monumental new film, A Serious Man, nite supply of certainty. with a lengthy fable, I’ll begin this review with a fable of A real estate-minded esquire, for example, promises to my own. resolve a dispute over yardage with precise measureOnce there was a Jew who felt his life was spiraling out ments, and a fellow professor blurts out awkward reasof control. He had done some things he was certain were surances about Gopnik’s ongoing quest for tenure. Even sinful and found it increasingly difficult to quell his con- the sultry next-door neighbor, who tans in the nude and science. After a few sleepless nights he decided to see the speaks with that deflated, matter-of-fact voice common rabbi and ask for his advice. On his way to the rabbi’s to the incurably bored, sounds more like a physician study, however, the man’s stomach began turning: There than a temptress when she offers Gopnik a touch of sex, was no way, he realized, that he could bring himself to drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. confess all of his shameful deeds to the pious, aged reb. All these individuals fail the film’s sweet, suffering hero And so, just a few yards from the rabbi’s door, the man because their very outlook -- the outlook of the upwardfinally found a solution. He went in, shook the rabbi’s ly mobile middle class that trusts that everything can be hand and began talking. measured and understood -- is “Rabbi,” he said, “I’m here on behalf of inherently ill suited to explora close friend of mine. You see, this friend ing the far more elusive and is a terrible sinner, and he’s done many infinitely more profound terawful things, but he couldn’t bring himself rain with which Gopnik is conto come and confess to you and he asked cerned. They may know the me to go in his stead.” law or the science or the culFeeling secure in his ruse, the man then ture, but he’s interested in the proceeded to speak at length and in detail Meaning of Life. In many about all of his questionable behaviors. ways, Gopnik is like the cat in A few minutes later, when the man was Schrödinger’s box, whose finally done talking, the rabbi nodded his condition is entirely unknowhead gently and smiled. able for the duration of the “What a fool is your friend!” he cried out. experiment. “All he needed to do was come see me and Lesser artists might have used tell me he was speaking on your behalf.” this weighty premise as the The rabbi wasn’t being cute. He underbackdrop for a modest characstood that the man, by way of his concepter study or, at the very best, tual trickery, had found a way to live both engaged in Charlie Kauffmaninside and outside the boundaries of his style metaphysical mindbenown consciousness, to be himself and not ders. But the Coens, serious himself at the same time. A few centuries men, came into this film curilater, quantum physicists would give a simous about the very same quesilar principle the name complementarity, The film poster for the Coen brothers’ new tions Gopnik hurls at his conand acknowledge that it was entirely possi- movie, A Serious Man. versationalists. They want to ble for things that intuitively seem antithetical to each know why. And, like Gopnik, they’re not afraid to ask. other to coexist without much conflict. This intellectual ferocity makes A Serious Man a very In theory, Larry Gopnik, the Coens’ new protagonist, rare film. More than the tale of Gopnik and his petty portrayed with rare gentility by Michael Stuhlbarg, woes, it tells another, far more universal story. should understand such principles well. When we see In short, here it is: Once upon a time there was a peohim at work, teaching physics at a Midwestern college in ple, the Jews, whose faithful sons and daughters lived in the late 1960s, he is scribbling interminable equations small shtetls and spoke Yiddish and realized that certain on an enormous blackboard and droning on about phenomena lay past the realms of their understanding Schrödinger’s Cat, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and accepted that God moved about in the world in and other staples of quantum mechanics. But when his ways they couldn’t possibly know. marriage collapses, his career begins to careen out of When members of this nation immigrated to the New control and a swarm of other niggling concerns descend World, however, and shaved off their beards and shook on him with alarming proximity, Gopnik has little use for off their mamaloshen, their mother tongue, they quickly modern abstractions. What he needs is an answer, clear became besotted with the promises of modernity. They and definitive, to the question “why me.” were urged to replace the yearnings for Olam Ha-ba, the Looking at Stuhlbarg’s restless brown eyes -- they messianic and redemptive world to come, with lust for the press themselves against the thick lenses of his glasses like trappings of Olam Ha-ze, the earthly realm in which we fish contemplating an escape from their tank -- one live. They exchanged the Talmud for the law book, the could easily be tempted to believe it’s the only question medical text, the tax code. Even when they pursued thethat has ever truly mattered to mankind. ological studies, they did so with deference to the princiAs is the case with existential conundrums of this mag- ples of the Enlightenment that had emancipated them. nitude, the very act of pondering could get tricky, for And, like other sons and daughters of the character and audience alike. If drama, as Alfred Enlightenment, they embarked on the pursuit of the Hitchcock neatly put it, is life with the dull bits left out, precise, devoting their lives to erecting strict systems of metaphysical musings -- the kind involving God, the uni- thought that sought to explain life in all of its infinitesiverse and our reasons for being -- can too often seem like mal detail. This transformation came with its rich the dull bits with the rest of life left out. What unfurls on rewards, but it also exacted a devastating price, chief the screen lacks a particularly defined plot, any sem- among which was the loss of the ability -- to paraphrase blance of character development or any of the other a quote by Rashi the Coens use as an epigraph -- to tropes that constitute cinema as we know it. Which, of receive with simplicity everything that happens. course, has sent some critics reeling: The film, they Simplicity is the enemy of modernity. So is doubt. argued, was too bleak, the protagonists too stereotypi- Modernity -- in its American strand, at least -- requires cal, the narrative too lackluster. of its practitioners a growing specialization, an increased A viewer about to see A Serious Man would do well to sophistication, a never-ending striving toward certainty. ignore these voices and, like Gopnik, get ready for some It is, in other words, the very opposite of the Talmudic serious grappling. And grappling is what the film, which undertaking in which the argument itself is the central opened in some cities over the weekend, is about. pursuit and a finite truth, should it ever materialize, is of The plot, or whatever little of it matters, is concerned little concern. less with Gopnik’s questions and more with those he When Jews rid themselves of the Talmud, the ars graentrusts with answering it. The hapless physicist seeks tia artis, the scholarly license to see the world for all of the advice of several rabbis. It would betray much of the its competing and contrasting strands, and when they film’s considerable charm and dramatic tension to dis- immerse themselves instead in the target-oriented, close just what each one says, but it comes as no surprise painfully concrete and intolerably specific modern world, that a definitive, convincing, elegant explanation of then, the Coens tell us, they’re in deep spiritual trouble. God’s plan for the universe fails to materialize. Wherein, then, lies salvation? For that, the Coens sug What Gopnik gets instead are platitudes about percep- Continued on page 10
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
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by BETH COHEN Executive Director of Beth Israel Learning opportunities for adults at Beth Israel are expanding as a new schedule of classes begins. “Just as we are commanded to set aside money for tzedakah, so too every one of us is charged to set aside time and dedicate it for Torah study,” explains Rabbi Jonathan Gross. “Regular Torah study is so valuable that the Mishnah equates its worth to the performance of all other mitzvot.” The new class schedule offers something for adults every day of the week. “Whether Chumash, Mishnah, Gemara, Halachah, philosophy, or prayer,” says Gross, “choose the areas that meet your preferences and your schedule, and make an effort to set it as a fixture in Rabbi Jonathan Gross your routine.” On Mondays, join with the rabbis at “M&M: Minchah/Ma’ariv and Mishnah.” Before Day Light Savings Time ends, M&M will be at 5:15 p.m. and will be followed by Minchah. Following the time change on Nov. 1, Ma’ariv will be at 5:15 p.m. followed by the Mishnah class. Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi teaches on Tuesday evenings, 7 p.m., “Torah Revelations.” The class will be based on the text of Pirkei Avot, Ethics of our Fathers. Explains Mizrahi, “This delightful work of our sages explores from many angles and perspectives, the values, character and qualities necessary to be a ‘perfect’ person.” On Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., Rabbi Yaakov Weiss will teach, “Wrestling with Rashi.” This interactive class will begin on Nov. 4, and will focus on unlocking the hidden mysteries behind each word and concept in the Torah. Rashi’s encyclopedic mastery of biblical and talmudic texts will come to life as participants uncover the lessons within. Flex your brain’s muscles while reading between the lines of our most sacred text. Rabbi Weiss recently completed a residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in pastoral care and is currently the Pastoral Services Coordinator at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. The next day brings two different learning opportunities led by Rabbi Gross. On Thursdays, 9:30 a.m., he teaches the Women of the Torah class. This long-running class is on a quest to complete the entire Tanach. “We are the people of the book,” explains Rabbi Gross, “but unfortunately most of us have never read it all. We learn with commentary and we have discussions about the moral lessons learned from the texts. We are just beginning Trei Assar, the book consisting of 12 prophets who wrote books too short to be their own books. Yonah is among them as well as Malachai, Zachariah, Amos and other favorites.” Rabbi Gross added, “Most people have never read their timeless words and therefore are unaware of how
these lessons have effected western civilization. It is a perfect time to begin coming to class because every week we are starting a new topic.” At 7:30 p.m., Rabbi Gross will teach, “Learning the Newspaper: A Torah Perspective on Current Global Issues.” This class is a Jewish perspective on contemporary issues. The class will discuss whatever hot topics are being discussed in major news sources that week and provide a survey of Halachic responses to the current events. Any topic is fair game ranging from serious issues like healthcare reform and terrorist exchanges to pop culture issues like the celebrity scandals or the significance of a current blockbuster movie. The topic will be discussed Rabbi Yaakov Weiss and analyzed through the lens of ancient and contemporary Jewish sources. An e-mail will go out on Wednesday with the week’s topic. Contact the synagogue office to be added to the e-mail list. Every Kabbalat Shabbat, Beth Israel opens the pulpit to our congregants, giving them a chance to develop their d’var Torah skills. Giving a d’var Torah is a great way to honor a birthday, anniversary, yahrzeit, graduation, or other special occasion. D’vrei Torah are scheduled in advance. Contact Rabbi Gross if you are interested in participating. Once a month on Shabbat morning, Rabbi Mizrahi leads “Understanding the Prayer Book,” at 9 a.m. This class focuses on different aspects of the Shabbat service and will meet again on Saturday, Oct. 31. Every Shabbat morning, Rabbi Gross leads an interactive parshah study prior to the week’s Torah reading. One hour before Minchah each Shabbat afternoon, a variety of classes are offered for teens and adults. The Shabbat afternoon classes culminate with a festive Seuda Shlishit, the third meal of Shabbat, and a beautiful youth-led Havdalah service. Bagels and Beit Midrash expands the options for learning. The morning begins with minyan on Sundays, 9 a.m. and breakfast at 9:40 a.m. Following bagels and schmoozing, classes begin at 10 a.m. Rabbi Brett Oxman continues his popular Sunday morning class, “Reading the Rambam.” This class is learning the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides. Beginning in October, the class will start the third book -- the Laws of Torah Study. Rabbi Oxman is a United States Air Force Colonel and the USSTRATCOM Command Chaplain. Now that the school year is underway and the holidays are behind us, Rabbi Gross will begin his Sunday morning teen class, “Sacred Text Messages.” This class is open to all seventh to 12th graders. This class in Jewish pride allows teens to explore and discuss important Jewish texts that demonstrate how their Jewish heritage is unique. Teens are encouraged to attend minyan prior to class. Continued on page 11
Coen brothers’ new movie Continued from page 9 gest, we should turn to Danny, Gopnik’s teenage son, whose bar mitzvah is one of the film’s funniest and most poignant narrative threads. A stoner who is obsessed with trashy television shows and rock music, he, too, is searching for enlightenment. But whereas the father looks up to the guardians of an ossified religious establishment, thoughtless and irrelevant, the son looks to popular culture, as whirling and as potent as a tornado. When, in the film’s final scene, Danny finds himself face to face with an actual storm, with Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” screaming on the soundtrack, one feels an odd sense of purity: The tremendous spirit of the Jews won’t die, but will be reborn in a new generation of seekers, far less traditional than their ancestors but equally as capable of transcendence. That the film is a vaguely autobiographical account of the Coens’ own childhood, and that Danny -- celebrating his 13th birthday in 1967 -- is the exact age as Joel Coen was that year, is no coincidence. Even as they remain as reticent as ever to talk about the meaning of their work, it is hard not to see the film as the brothers’ cri de coeur. The movie’s eponymous serious man, after all, isn’t Gopnik but the tartly named Sy Ableman, the lover of Gopnik’s wife and a man whose every becalmed baritone
pronouncement betrays the lust and greed lurking just below the surface. For his pretense, Ableman is revered by his community and enjoys the kind of virile and accomplished life Gopnik père is too timorous to imagine. But in the Coens’ moral and intellectual universe, it’s the junior Gopnik who shall inherit the earth, even if, for the time being, he experiences it through eyes reddened by marijuana smoke and ears cracked by Grace Slick’s howling. That the reefer mad youths grew up to be filmmakers, and that they produced a masterpiece as profound as A Serious Man should surprise no one who’s been paying attention to the film. If there’s anything that quantum mechanics and Judaism both teach us, it’s that the exact path of anything can never be exactly determined. With some luck, the same would apply to the film itself, and this philosophical and theological gem -- unadorned by famous actors and strongly rooted in the fertile soil of American Jewish communal and religious life -- will receive the consideration and admiration it so richly deserves. As for us Jews, all we need in order to renew our spiritual thrust, to reconcile the ancient and the modern, and to understand our place in the world are a few serious men. Reprinted from Tabletmag.com, a new read on Jewish life.
October 16, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
What’s so funny about this year’s Klutznick-Harris Symposium?
by LEONARD GREENSPOON Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University Why ain’t they makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore? Why did the widow have a goat in her bed? And, What’s Karl got to do with Groucho, Harpo, and Chico? These are among the questions that will be asked -- and answered -- during this fall’s 22nd Annual KlutznickHarris Symposium on “Jews and Humor.” The entire community is invited to learn and laugh at the presentations that will take place on Sunday and Monday, Oct. 25-26. The first session at the Jewish Community Center begins on Sunday, 10:30 a.m., with two papers. The first, by musicoloTheodore Albrecht gist and popular culture expert Theodore Albrecht (Kent State University), is titled, “‘They Ain’t Makin’ Jews like Jesus Anymore’: The Musical Humor of Kinky Friedman and His Texas Jewboys in Historical and Geographical Perspective.” The second presentation, by Joanna Sliwa (Clark Univer-sity), takes listeners to a place half way around the world from Texas, “The Creation of Polish Public David Gillota Perception of Jews Through Jewish Humor.” After lunch, which begins at noon, the second session runs from 1:05--3:35 p.m. The three papers in this session all deal with aspects of rabbinic and Talmudic humor: David Brodsky (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College), “Why Did the Widow Have a Goat in Her Bed? Midrash and the Making of Jewish Humor”; Eliezer Jason Kalman Diamond (Jewish Theological Seminary), “You Had to Be There: A Preliminary Taxonomy of Narrative Humor in Rabbinic Literature”; and Peter Haas (Case Western Reserve), “Massechet Purim.” As with all of the sessions, there will be plenty of time for questions and comments by the audience. Following a break in the Kripke Library, a third session is scheduled from 3:35-5 p.m. Leonard Helfgott (Western Washington University) leads off with “Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Karl: Immigrant Humor
and the Depression.” Rounding out this session, and the morning and afternoon presentations, is Michael Rubinoff (Arizona State University), “Nuances and Subtleties in Jewish Film Humor.” As is traditional at the Symposium, Sunday is capped
David Brodsky
Giovanna Del Negro
Peter Haas
Leonard Helfgott
David Peterson Michael Rubinoff off with a keynote address. This year, Joyce Antler of Brandeis University will talk on “‘One Clove Away From a Pomander Ball’: The Subversive Tradition of Jewish Female Humor.” Monday’s presentations take place at the Skutt Student Center Ballroom on the Creighton University campus. Visitor parking is available at the Lied Center, 24th & Cass. The first session, with two presentations, begins at 8:30 a.m. Charles Isbell (Louisiana State University),
who has been a participant in two previous symposia, will speak about “Humor in the Bible.” Two professors from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, David Peterson and Joan Latchaw, will follow. Their topic is “Jewish Humor, Comedy, and Collaborative Resistance in Mel Brooks’ ‘To Be or Not To Be.’” As is the case with most of this year’s presentations, their talk will be accompanied by film clips. The second Monday session will run from 10:05-11:30 a.m. The first presentation of this session, by Jason Kalman (Hebrew Union College), is titled “Heckling the Divine: Woody Allen, the Book of Job, and Jewish Theology.” Eliezer Diamond Kalman will be followed by David Gillota (University of Wisconsin, Platteville), who will speak on “The New Jewish Blackface: African American Tropes in Contemporary Jewish Humor.” At 11:30, participants and audience members will join together for a kosher deli luncheon. At the conclusion of the luncheon (at 12:20 p.m.), Giovanna Del Negro (Texas A&M University), will Charles Isbell make the last presentation of this year’s Symposium, “The Bad Girls of Jewish Comedy: Gender, Class, Assimilation, and Whiteness in Post WWII America.” Co-hosts are the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University and the Norman & Bernice Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of NebraskaJoanna Sliwa Lincoln, with Creighton’s Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society and the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Additional foundations, organizations, and individuals also provide generous support. For more information, please contact Fran Minear, Klutznick Chair office 402.280.2303 or fminear@ creighton.edu. Copies of abstracts of all presentations, as well as programs, are available on the Internet at www.creighton.edu/ccas/Klutznick.
Beth Israel adds classes
Continued from page 10 New to the Sunday schedule is “Living in Season” taught by Miriam Gross. This class will explore Judaism by following the unique Jewish holiday cycle. “This is a great course to catch up on some missed or forgotten Jewish knowledge or to just deepen your current understanding of the holiday cycle,” she explains. “The class will explore the philosophy, liturgy, history and culture of the Jewish holMiriam Gross idays while practicing a bit of Hebrew and engaging in text study as well. No prior
Hebrew knowledge required!” She has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education, and is also the wife of Rabbi Gross. Sunday mornings will also bring special educational
Rabbi Brett Oxman Rabbi Yizchak Mizrahi opportunities. Throughout the year, Rabbi Mizrahi will
organize special children’s programs around the theme of the weekly parshah. On Sunday, Oct. 18, Rabbi Mirzahi will lead the first of these programs as the children of the congregation prepare for Parshat Noach. Rabbi Mizrahi will teach about Parshat Noach, and will have materials for the children to create animals to hang in the social hall. Children in preschool through elementary school are encouraged to come help decorate the synagogue. “We are excited to provide a venue wherein the children can learn to relate, on their level, to the Parshah and incorporate its themes into their shul experience,” Rabbi Mizrahi elaborates. “This year,” says Rabbi Gross, “let’s all make a commitment to increase the time we set aside each week to study Torah, thereby drawing ourselves closer to God, to each other, and adding more meaning to our lives.”
Page 12
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Passover’s right around the corner! Okay, we know it’s really more than five months away. But here at the Jewish Press, we’ve already begun planning for our Passover issue. In fact, we’ve known for at least a year that we would again focus on Jews and sports in preparation for the JCC Maccabi Games in Omaha, Aug. 1-6, 2010. And so, on March 26, 2010, the theme of the Passover issue is “Jews and Sports II: the JCC Maccabi Games Return to Omaha!” Once again, we’ll feature profiles of all the Omaha participants, as well as interviews with Jewish athletes past and present. If you’d like to suggest someone for us to interview (including yourself!), please send an e-mail to ckatzman@jewishomaha.org or call us 402.334.6450. (Note: if you were featured in the Passover issue prior to the 2002 JCC Maccabi Games, please allow us to concentrate first on those we have not profiled. However, even if you’ve been profiled, we’d love to have some of your sports photos; athletes in uniform and action shots are especially welcomed!) As to Omaha-area athletes: you’ll be getting an announcement from the Maccabi staff at the Jewish Community Center, alerting you to deadlines for the information needed for your profile. But we’ll give you a heads-up now: please send a head shot (your school photo is fine or drop by the Press office and we’ll take your picture), your name, grade and where you go to school, the name(s) of your parent(s) and the sport in which you’ll be participating. If you’re a member of any JCC or school sports team, send us that information, as well. Please send all of the above to us by Feb. 24, 2010, at: 2010 Passover issue, Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; or, if it’s
all in digital form, you can send it directly to jpress@jewishomaha.org. Mark 2010 Passover issue in the subject line and make sure your head shot is at least 100kb. If you’re new to Omaha or did not participate in the 2002 Games, don’t miss out this time. Seven years ago, the Games created a magical feeling of community camaraderie. The Games reached into every corner of Jewish Omaha, regardless of synagogue affiliation or social circles. If you offer to house Maccabi athletes, you’ll get the opportunity to meet teens from around North America. Or you can volunteer for one of the many committees and perform such valuable services as packing up goodie bags for the athletes, coaches and families who attend the Games. Yes, it’s a lot of work to prepare for and host this monumental event, and yes, it takes a lot of resources, both human and financial. But the end result is worth it, leaving participants, volunteers, out-of-towners, parents and coaches with the knowledge that our teens are terrific, the Jewish world has a bright future, and boyoboy! -- Jewish Omaha really knows how to pull off a spectacular event! Not bad for two years of planning!
One more thing: there’s a long list of eligible teens, ages 13-16, in our community. But not all of them are athletes. So the JCC has created a category of “Star Reporters.” Equipped with digital still cameras and video cameras, these teens will help “cover” the Games. They’ll be supervised by (we hope) a College Editorial Intern from the Jewish Press, and their daily reports will be posted to the Press’ website. So even teens who are not interested in playing sports, can still find a spot in the 2010 Games. In 2002, the JCC’s theme was “Get your Game on!” The theme for the 2010 Games is: 2010maha -- Get in the Game!” So mark your calendar: Aug. 1-6, 2010, for the JCC Maccabi Games -- and the deadline for the March 26, 2010, Passover issue -- Feb. 24, 2010. Got game? We do!
FOCUS ON IbySSUES JERRY SILVERMAN
NEW YORK (JTA) -- In these most challenging of times, there is great cause for hope. Some of the best and the brightest young people in our community are issuing a serious challenge to the UJC/Jewish Federations of North America, and I applaud their courage for speaking out. Their call emerges from the 2009 Kivun Institute, a professional development program of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Center for Leadership Initiatives. These young people, among those who participated in this inspiring program, declare their desire to help the Jewish Federations of North America navigate a new Jewish landscape. But rather than simply issuing rhetoric or occupying the barricades, these activists seek to engage our system in a meaningful way, through dialogue. Now is the time for us to harness this energy by fostering dialogue and taking action. Fortunately we have made some, though not enough, progress in engaging younger Jews. UJC’s National Young Leadership Cabinet, for example, includes more than 375 men and women in their 30s and 40s, a number of whom are board members of federations. First envisioned in 1958 by the late Herbert Friedman, a former UJA executive, as a way to develop younger communal and philanthropic leaders, the National Young Leadership Cabinet has produced leaders of our system, including chair-designate of the UJC/Jewish Federations of North America, Kathy
It is clear that younger Jews want to help shape our system and our communal future. They have many ideas but often feel our system doesn’t let them in, or their input is not taken seriously. In March, our young leaders brought more than 600 people to New Orleans to help renovate a community center. Even as participants dug trenches for foundations and painted murals, they discussed how to help their communities once they returned home. Next year we envision a major volunteer event as well. We are also working to support Jewish startups and leverage the spirit of young social entrepreneurs. UJC and the Kaminer family funds Bikkurim, which is housed at UJC, and helps grow innovative Jewish startups. Since its founding, Bikkurim has provided more than $500,000 to at least 24 ventures, from JDub Records to Hazon, the Jewish environmental group. In recent years, our annual General Assembly also has seen a change, with young
Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Michael Sigmond, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Daphne Pollak Alperson, Marc Brodkey; Eric Dunning; Jason Epstein; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press . Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, 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. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency 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.
Let’s engage with young Jews at Federation Manning of Greensboro, N.C. And UJC’s National Women’s Philanthropy is leading the first Heart to Heart Mission to Israel in January to provide women new to federation a soul-searing experience. But we must do more to engage younger people, no matter their giving levels. This summer, our board heard about our new Jewish Service Initiative, which focuses on experiential, hands-on philanthropy and volunteerism. The effort comes at a time when volunteerism is striking the deepest chord in younger people since the days of John F. Kennedy -- echoed last month by President Obama and his call to service.
(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
people speaking at plenary events, holding forums and increasingly visible throughout. However, UJC and the federation system need to further harness the creativity, commitment and care of our young people. Many are not involved in the organized Jewish community, yet are contributing invaluably with new ideas and hard work. As I’ve talked with many young people across North America, it has become abundantly clear that we as a system have an opportunity to further engage and empower them, and support their efforts to break paradigms and set the course for the future. It is clear that younger Jews want to help shape our system and our communal future. They have many ideas but often feel our system doesn’t let them in, or their input is not taken seriously. Before all else, we need to reframe the terms so that young people never feel as though they are outsiders. Let’s work together closely as we move forward. We need to welcome our young adult Jews, listen to what they have to say and invite them to be valued partners. We need to encourage young people to become involved with their federations by volunteering, by contributing and by becoming lay leaders. Opportunity cannot be open only to those individuals who have means. Creativity, community service and insight are critical success factors for our future. Effective communication also needs to be a cornerstone of our continued efforts. There is no one-size-fits-all platform for connecting with our entire community. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and new media such as blogs are critical for thoughtful interaction, and are places younger people gather. With the help of young leaders we recently revamped the National Young Leadership Web site, Nextgenjews.org, to more fully reflect Continued on page 13
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October 16, 2009
Time for straight talk about assimilation
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by JACK WERTHEIMER NEW YORK (JTA) -- From now on, Jewish groups will likely think twice before using any variation on the word “assimilation.” That’s one lesson learned from the recent brouhaha over a 34-second commercial on Israeli television promoting the Jewish Agency’s Masa program, which brings young Jews to Israel for sustained periods of work, study and volunteering. The advertisement, which paired photos of young Jews on posters of missing persons with the statement that “over 50% of Jews abroad are assimilating,” drew a firestorm of criticism on blogs and in news reports. Facing mounting international controversy, the Jewish Agency quickly killed the ad. The issues raised by the ad, though, will not go away so easily. While the ad may have been clumsy in its execution, its central point is essentially correct: Large numbers of Jews around the world are disconnected from any Jewish communal activities. Is there any reason to doubt that the Jewish people are suffering an erosion of their engaged membership? In the case of American Jews, we now lack an up-todate national survey with precise numbers (or a national leadership sufficiently interested in basing its policies on hard data to produce one), but there is ample evidence of large declines in the numbers of Jews who participate in organized Jewish life in recent decades. Most established organizations have seen their membership numbers and donor base implode. And the many new initiatives that are rightly generating much excitement tend to attract only relatively small proportions of the Jewish population. When we add up all the activities of synagogues, federations, service programs, national organizations, cultural providers, educational institutions and the myriad start-ups, it is clear that vast populations of American Jews are steering clear of organized Jewish life. Describing the world in which he works daily, a rabbi of my acquaintance talks about how, of necessity, he must focus only on the present. Why? Because the Jews he encounters have no connection to a Jewish past, and judging from the absence of any Jewish education among their grandchildren, they have no Jewish future. So why, then, if there is a large kernel of truth to its claims, did the Masa ad elicit such a sharp reaction? In large part, it is because it was inferred that the 50 percent assimilation figure the ad cited refers to intermarriage rates, which in the United States reached that level in the late 1990s. Critics contend that the ad, though it does not actually mention the word “intermarriage,” gives offense to the children of Jews who intermarry by implying that they are somehow “lost.” Many children of intermarriage, these
critics note, are raised as Jews and go on to identify strongly with the Jewish people. This is, of course, true -- but only up to a point. Unfortunately, this optimistic reading describes only a minority of intermarried families. The majority of intermarried families raise their children in a faith other than Judaism or in two faiths or no faith at all. Not surprisingly, when they reach adulthood, most of those offspring do not identify as Jews. Few would dispute that the Jewish community has a far better chance of retaining the allegiance of individuals raised in homes in which both parents are Jewish than in those where one parent identifies with a different religion. Indeed, wherever Jews are a minority community, intermarriage is a major factor in the contraction of the Jewish population. How, then, does it serve Jewish group interests to silence all discussion about the relationship between intermarriage and assimilation? This hesitance to grapple seriously with the issue of intermarriage is part of a broader phenomenon: Speaking of threats to Jewish survival has become passe. Many argue that such discussions no longer serve to rally Jews; if anything, they turn off people. Moreover, advocates of this point of view tend to argue that if Jews are disengaged, it is because of failings in our institutions. If only we had more compelling programs and wiser leaders, if only we would cater more to the desires and preferences of younger generations, we would retain larger numbers of Jews, they say. These are serious arguments, but the reality is that while creative leaders and innovative programs aimed at young Jews have brought in some people from the periphery, large numbers of American Jews -- in some age groups, the majority -- still do not participate in any form of Jewish public life. Those who reject the language of crisis when describing this state of affairs in favor of an appeal to individual preferences must explain how they propose to re-create a culture of Jewish responsibility on that basis. If we want to strengthen our community amid the prevailing individualistic culture, we had better start with straight talk about our current condition. The reactions to the Masa ad have exposed a series of complex issues worthy of extended conversation within our community. Rather than view the ad solely as a dragon successfully slain, we would do well to see it as an opportunity to ask ourselves some tough questions about the best ways to build Jewish social capital and draw in disengaged Jews -- as a chance to converse about what we expect ourselves and our fellow Jews to contribute to Jewish life. In this season of introspection, what could be more timely for us as a community? Jack Wertheimer is a professor of American Jewish history at the Jewish Theological Seminary. This Op-Ed originally appeared in the Forward.
Let’s engage with young Jews
Continued from page 8 their interests. But we must go further. The first step is to convene a group of young people to begin a dialogue on how to create systemic readiness to embrace and engage and listen as we move forward. We must create an opportunity for both dialogue and action, locally and nationally. We truly appreciate this challenge, which is a serious first step, and we thank Kivun and the Schusterman Family
Foundation for helping to generate this energy. It is essential that young Jews take a seat at the Federation table because ultimately, the UJC/Jewish Federations of North America belongs to them. Working together, as partners, we can forge a new Jewish landscape. Jerry Silverman is the president and CEO of United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations of North America.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Where the blogosphere meets the boardroom
FOCUS ON IbySSUES JORDAN NAMEROW, JOELLE ASARO BERMAN, JOANNA KABAT AND JEREMY MOSKOWITZ
REISTERSTOWN, MD. (JTA) -It’s no secret that the mention of Federation is often met with blank stares among 20-something Jews. You’re far less likely to find young Jewish adults today who consider the North American Jewish Federation system an energizer of Jewish life than those who associate it with bureaucracy and irrelevance. Dishing out banter on Federation is a pastime for Jewish communal professionals, both young and seasoned. But as part of a generation hoping to effect change in the Jewish community, we’d like to offer a shift in discourse. Back in February, we were among 25 young Jewish communal professionals who gathered for the initial retreat of the Kivun Intensive, a professional development program of the Center for Leadership Initiatives funded by Lynn Schusterman. In person and online, a conversation developed about the relationship between Federation and young Jews. Our personal frustrations with Federation aside, we all agreed that there is potential for Federation and Jews of our generation to work collaboratively to ensure a viable Jewish future. One participant acknowledged her challenge in “thinking about what it would take to move beyond ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ or, ‘They don’t get it; we do.’ ” Another participant reported, “I’m realizing that if we don’t insert ourselves in the Federation structure, we lose the opportunity to adapt what could be an extremely useful vehicle for us.” We found ourselves willing to wrestle with how to become partners in helping this established structure meet the needs of a diverse Jewish landscape -- one the Kivun cohort itself reflects. We are religious, secular, queer, straight, Israel supporters and Israel critics (often simultaneously); artists, writers, activists and entrepreneurs. We share an understanding that the Jewish communal voice is actually many voices -- a notion Federation seems reluctant to recognize and embrace. Without including younger voices, Federation risks its own survival. Without a channel to the most organized fund raising and community-building Jewish infrastructure in North America, we will see many of our initiatives fall by the wayside, particularly in these challenging economic times. If Federation is ready to capitalize on the opportunity to re-think itself at this critical juncture, the question becomes how, and in partnership with whom. The key to real change is not to make young Jews an agenda item; it’s to allow us to help shape the agenda itself. Why not let young Jews help make Federations relevant again? We’re willing to address critical issues of buy-in, and financial contributions to earn ourselves a seat at the table, and we have some recommendations for Federation leaders: Invest in startups. If Federations are not creators of new programs but rather enablers of Jewish life, they should support Jewish startups that need infrastructure assistance. Create seats for young Jews on
Federation boards. Instead of reserving a symbolic seat for a young board member, Federations should embrace y o u n g e r recruits and give them full voting privileges. Current board members might “sponsor” young adult board members’ seats, or younger board members might be allowed to make what is, for them, a meaningful gift rather than a minimum donation. Alternatively, Federations could cultivate a future fund-raising force through young adult board membership. A board whose voting members reflect varied experience only enriches conversations and nurtures lay leaders who will advance Federation for decades to come. Involve younger Jews as members of planning and allocations committees. Let these committees oversee allocations for programs that are spearheaded by young Jews to serve young Jewish demographics. Many Federations are now redefining their priorities, and young Jewish leaders should be among the first people consulted. Bridging the generational divide by inviting Gen-X Jews to join the conversation -- as opposed to being talked about or allocated for -- is exactly the role that Federation should play. Meet young Jews where they are. Find us! We’re in independent minyanim, nonreligious community centers, activist circles, and in arts and culture movements. We move frequently but, no matter where we are, most of us are on Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. Many of us read blogs or are blogging ourselves, often about Jewish identity and innovation. Federation leaders could benefit from plugging into these worlds. If these recommendations seem lofty, consider Combined Jewish Philanthropies; the Boston Federation convened its Young Jewish Leaders Council for the first time last winter. The council brings together professionals and lay leaders from more than 40 young-oriented local Jewish organizations for skill building and leadership training. CJP also established a Young Adult Planning Committee to decide how resources should be allocated for initiatives to engage 20- and 30-something Jews. CJP is partnering with PresenTense to launch change-making initiatives and soon will pilot the Boston Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship to support young Jewish projects in the Boston Jewish community. Many believe that moments of crisis and change are best met with creative risk-taking. Federation could take some creative risks of its own by engaging the leadership that younger Jews can offer. We’re ready to do our part. A post on the Kivun listserv captures this spirit: “I would be comfortable working in a crunchy feminist world where I feel at home. But my sense is that real change -- for the community I believe in -- will only happen if I work in partnership with those who are not like me. I could probably learn a few things from them, too.” So let’s get to work. If not now, when? Namerow, Berman, Kabat and Moskowitz are graduates of The Kivun Intensive 2009, in their mid-20s, they reside in New York, Washington, D.C., and Oakland, CA.
Page 14
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Candlelighting Friday, October 16, 6:23 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
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.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 323 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 Prayer Group 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.tiferethisraellincoln.org
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B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Julie Potash, in honor of her son, Ethan, becoming a Bar Mitzvah; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:30 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. NITZANIM: for three and four year olds and their favorite adult, on Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to noon, in the West Court. To RSVP, contact Judy Rubin or eddir@ bethel-omaha.org. SUNDAY: You’re ‘Kid’-ing Me, 10 a.m. with Andy Greenberg; Meet Yourself in the Torah, 10 a.m. with Susi Frydman-Levin; Beginning Hebrew, with Eadie Tsabari, 10 a.m., prerequisite for Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah class; and Jewish Images on the Big Screen, 11 a.m. with Frydman-Levin. Call Margie in the office to register. Classes open to all adults in the Jewish community. Cost is $36, members, $45, non-members. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Monday, Oct. 19, at the home of Nancy Rips, 1302 So. 101 St. for “Who Put the Rush in Rosh Hashanah?” Social time, 7 p.m.; meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. RSVP to Rips at 397.7977 or nrips@cox.net. TOT SHABBAT & SAY ‘SHALOM’ TO SHABBAT: Shabbat celebrations for toddlers, children, parents and grandparents each led at the same time by Patty Nogg and Susi FrydmanLevin. Service is followed kidfriendly dinner. Dinner cost: $5 if RSVPd by Wednesday, Oct. 28; after that, $10. No charge for children six and younger. Contact Margie in the office or at programming@bethel-omaha.org.
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
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.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. MiniMensch title will be awarded; Kiddush lunch follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:15 p.m. and Ushpizin movie will begin at 7:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings Remix, 10:15 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 9:15 a.m. THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com. All events
and programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gam Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teacher, 12:30 p.m.; LJCS Board, 2 p.m. TUESDAY: Women’s Lunch Group, noon at Wilderness Ridge. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, Oct. 18 and 25, 7 p.m. Taste of Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel. For more information or to sign up for the class, please call the office. A $5 dollar donation per session is requested for non-members. TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. Ethics of Self-Destructive Behavior, led by Rabbi Emanuel.
Katelin Zetzman, daughter of Amee and Ted Zetzman, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Religious School (Pre-K-6), 10 a.m.; Children’s Choir Rehearsal, noon. Lunch for choir members and younger siblings; Women of Valor Concert, 5 p.m. (See full story on page 16.) TUESDAY: Generic Drugs: Are they for you? at noon with Pharmacist, Bruce Goldberg. Bring a bag lunch; Executive Meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Board of Trustees, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; All School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12 B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Kickoff, 6 p.m. at the JCC. Bring a non-food item for JFS; Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. with Mor Sheinbein. Nurturing the Nurturer: Stress Management, Judaism and the Arts, 6:30 p.m. Cost is $18 for members; $25 for non-members; no charge for Family School parents for each class. THURSDAY: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m.; Religious School Steering Committee, noon.
NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Chef’s Demo by Temple Israel, 1 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by David Herzog and Jim Polack.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Wendy Shermet. SATURDAY: Yoga at Temple, A Shabbat Alternative, 9 a.m. Six week session: $30 for members, $50 for non-members. Contact Wendy Goldberg, wgoldberg@ templeisraelomaha.com, to participate; Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.
Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY:Morning service, 9 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teacher, 12:30 p.m.; LJCS Board, 2 p.m. TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. Ethics of Self-Destructive Behavior, led by Rabbi Emanuel and Nancy Coren. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m.
B’NOT MITZVAH Hannah and Leah Miller, daughters of Lori and Michael Miller, will become B’not Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Temple Israel.
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Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:23 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Becky Kozlen, Amy and Joel Barnum in honor of the birthdays of their parents, Jack and Betty Kozlen; Mincha, 6 p.m. followed by Seuda Shilisht; Havdalah, 7:22 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels & Beit Midrash begins with breakfast, 9:40 a.m.; Reading the Rambam, 10 a.m.; Sacred Text Messages (for teens) with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m.; Living in Season with Miriam Gross, 10 a.m.; Parshat Noach Children’s Program with Rabbi Mizrahi, 10 a.m.; Sunday Night Dinner, 6 p.m.; Out of Faith, 7:30 p.m., followed by discussion with producer Mark DeAngelis; Ma’ariv will follow. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha, 5:45 p.m. MONDAY: Mincha & Mishna, 5:15 p.m., Mishna study with the rabbis along with Mincha. TUESDAY: Scholar’s Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbi’s Gross’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m.
Hannah is a eighth-grade student at Westside Middle School. Her interests include swimming
and snow skiing. Leah is a seventh grade student at Westside Middle School. Her interests include soccer, and snow skiing. For their mitzvah project, Hannah and Leah are involved with Arts for All. They have a sister, Emma. Grandparents are Jill and Mike Erman, the late Eileen Erman, Marnie Miller, and the late Jerald Miller. Alyssa Renee Cohen daughter of Karla and David Cohen, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Beth El.
Alyssa is an eighth-grade distinguished honor roll student at Russell Middle School. She was selected as a school peer tutor, and has recently received a school recommendation to participate as an International Student Ambassador through the People to People Program. Her interests include playing select basketball, USTA competitive tennis, softball, and trampo-
line; she also enjoys reading, and spending time with friends and family. She attends Hertzl Camp, and is currently the Kadima youth group president. For her mitzvah project, Alyssa volunteered at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. She has an older brother, Marc, and an older sister, Dayna. Grandparents are Marian and Jim Dunn. Great-grandparents are the late Fritzi and Emil Alter, the late Rae and Sidney Cohen, the late Gladys and Edward Dunn, and the late Bernice and James Pavlik.
October 16, 2009
Beginnings lead to ...?
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Bereishit Beginnings are always interesting, sometimes even fascinating. It is interesting to try to see into the future and see what the beginnings will lead to. This, of course, is not the case with the opening chapters of Genesis. For any of us of mature age, we’ve been through the Humash many times. We are not surprised by what we already know. Nonetheless, it is always intriguing to begin at the beginning. No matter how many times we read the Sacred Text, there is always a new insight, a new interpretation, a new feeling about what the text is trying to tell us. We already know that the hero of Genesis is Joseph, the next to last of the 12 sons of Jacob. In the United States, we have the annals of one man, from nothingness to the White House. In Genesis, we have a story about Joseph, who hated by his brothers, was very close to death and then became the executive officer of all of Egypt, subject only to the Pharaoh himself. I remember as a young student in high school that I was surprised and delighted to find that when we studied narrative, the prime example was the story of Joseph. The Horatio Alter stories, largely on the theme of rags-to-riches, had nothing more exciting to compare to than the story of the young Joseph becoming so important that his brothers, not recognizing him, dutifully bowed and entreated him to release the young Benjamin, lest his absence be the cause of the death of their father, Jacob. The story has what narrative requires: fascinating characters, places of importance, and development of the narrative, until the denouement at the end: “I am Joseph, Joseph your brother!” One wonders how the writer (or writers) of this story, without ever taking English 101 or 161, had the end of the composition so excellently thought out! Genesis, whether or not literally depicting the events described, is a remarkable example of the power of the Hebrew language and of the English (even though something is always lost in translation). If you haven’t really read the opening chapters of the Bible carefully, do so now. Read it again. And again. And again ... !
UNVEILING of the gravestone for the late Lois Epstein Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m. Temple Israel Cemetery, 6412 No. 42 St.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
Large print living will available Jewish Heritage for the Blind announced the availability of the large print “Jewish Halachic Living Will”, produced by the Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union. Forward your request on your formal stationery to fax #: 718.338.0653 or send an e-mail to jewishheritage@gmail.com. Requests must include a phone number to confirm delivery. The supply is limited.
To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: 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 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers 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. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.
DEATHS RUTH KATZMAN Former Omahan Ruth Katzman died in Sarasota, FL, on Oct. 8 after a short illness. A longtime supporter of the arts in Omaha, she was instrumental in the creation of the theater and visual arts spaces when the JCC was built in 1974. An active volunteer in the Women’s Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, she and her late husband Daniel also led Israel Bond drives. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Sharon Katzman of Sarasota, FL; daughter, Saragail Benjamin of New York; grandsons, Justin Katzman of Alabama, Joshua and Frances Benjamin of South Dakota, and Aaron Benjamin of Oregon; sister-in-law, Sylvia Jess; and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Charlotte and Morley Zipursky. Memorials to the Jewish Theological Seminary or Beth El Synagogue. EDITH STEIN Edith Stein died at the age of 94. Services were held Oct. 14 at Golden Hill Cemetery. Born here in 1915, she lived for many years in the heart of Omaha’s Jewish community on North 20th St. She retired as an executive secretary from Service Life Insurance Company, and is survived by many friends and neighbors. Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Home, the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, or the Kripke Jewish Federation Library.
To submit obituaries: E-mail to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; fax to 402.334.5422, or mail to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154, or online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. The Press does not “pick up” obituaries from other publications. For more information, call 402.334.6448.
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Temple Social Justice Committee to host health care forum
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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator With health care reform constantly in the news, Temple Israel's Social Justice Committee will present “Health Care Financing Reform: Straight Facts and Jewish Perspectives,” open to all in the community, on Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m., at Temple. Video clips of experts including Washington Post correspondent T. R. Reid, author of The Healing of America, A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care, and Richard Epstein, Columbia University Professor of Law, will be shown. Topics such as Jewish teaching that pertains to health care, resolutions passed by the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and an analysis by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism will be discussed. Key issues, such as current legislation, will also be part of the conversation. Reid is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and has traveled the world exploring how British, Canadian, French, and Third World systems provide health care compared to America. Epstein, who is also associated with the University of Chicago Law School, will discuss issues in legal theory and give his arguments against anti-discrimination laws among other positions. Gary Kaplan, a member of the Social Justice Committee, said, “The Talmud is clear about the obligation of a community to make medical care available. URJ has adopted numerous resolutions over the past decades in support of reforming our current system. Now Congress is trying to act. We will try to get the facts in what should be a very informative and helpful session.” Temple’s Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning is sponsoring the forum as part of this year’s adult education curriculum. Please register with Program Director Wendy Goldberg by email at wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com or by calling 556.6536.
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Page 16
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
October 16, 2009
Memory to be honored Sunday at Temple benefit concert
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Music was Florence Eisenberg’s life -- a life which will be commemorated at the “Women of Valor Concert” this Sunday, Oct. 18, 5 p.m., at Temple Israel. She started playing the piano when she was three, according to her brother, William Nerenberg. “Florence was 12 years older than me,” he said. “So by the time I was born, she was already quite accomplished. We were very close. My mother was a big organization lady so Florence was like my second mom.” Nerenberg, who now lives in Baltimore, recalled “as a little boy lying under the grand piano in our living room and listening to Florence practice. I was always a critic as well, telling her when I didn’t like what or how she was playing.” Nerenberg met Jonathan Leshnoff, associate professor of music at Towson University in Maryland, three years ago and is now his manager. Leshnoff composed the music, “A Righteous Soul”, which will be premiered at the concert. Nerenberg and George Eisenberg, Florence’s husband, are the major commissioners of Leshnoff’s composition for the concert. The words are from Ashet Chayil (a woman of valor) from Proverbs, Chapter 31. “This text is traditionally sung at the Friday night Sabbath table ... or sung by a groom to his bride at weddings,” said Leshnoff. The Aeon Trio will perform at the concert with Temple’s Cantor Wendy Shermet and an ensemble which includes Beth El Cantor Beth Schlossberg, Tamara Field, a member of Temple’s choir, and Jerry Brabec, music minister at St. Paul Methodist Church, which is also a cocommissioner of Leshnoff’s music along
with Temple Israel. “Florence was an angel. She was extremely intelligent, caring, warm, generous, and had a phenomenal sense of humor, and constantly introduced me to new things in life,” said Nerenberg. “What a talent she had -- playing piano and organ, dancing, singing, acting, painting, directing choral music. She could have made a living at any of these! She was a Renaissance woman through and through. She was no goody goody who let anyone walk all over her. She could be a tough negotiator. These were the qualities I greatly admired and tried to emulate.”
Florence and George Eisenberg She studied with Eddie Butler, master of the Orpheum Theater’s Wurlitzer organ. Practicing on the massive organ, “she could barely reach the pedals,” said George Eisenberg, Florence’s husband. She practiced in other theaters, churches, and even a Catholic Convent. “This little Jewish girl would ride her bicycle to the convent to practice the organ,” George Eisenberg revealed. “The nuns welcomed
her with open arms.” Florence was accepted by Juilliard School of Music in her teens and studied piano, organ, cello, and ballet. However, she became ill in New York, and her mother insisted that she return home to recuperate. She studied later at the University of Nebraska, and after her children, Cece Belrose (of Windsor, CA), Joseph (of Lincoln), and Steve (Omaha) were born, she earned a bachelor’s degree in music and fine arts from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Later she taught choral music at Benson High School, accompanied people in recitals at UNO, and was the accompanist for Beth El’s Cantor Aaron Edgar for 20 years. Music was not Florence Eisenberg’s only talent. She performed at the Omaha Community Playhouse and at Chanticleer in Council Bluffs. She played the part of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at both theaters. She also appeared on stage in Roman Candle, Strange Bedfellows, and Mrs. McThing at the Playhouse. She worked out front in the box office and backstage on more than 20 shows at the Playhouse which honored her with its President’s Award and other tributes for her technical work. In a newspaper review, the writer described Florence as having “Adelaide tucked coolly in her pocket ... the voice, the strut, the mugging, the sneezing ... Adelaide is delightful.” In addition, she was an accomplished artist, and her petit point, some of which she designed herself, decorate the walls of the home she shared with her husband for more than three decades before she died in 2001 from breast cancer. “Some of her work has been on display at Joslyn,” noted George proudly. He still
has the antique organ, harpsichord, and baby grand piano that Florence once played. “In loving memory of Florence Eisenberg,” Temple Israel, where the Eisenbergs later became members, will donate the proceeds from the concert to support breast cancer awareness. One out of eight women will get breast cancer during their lifetimes, confirmed Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Eppley Cancer Center and the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer. “There’s been a one to two percent rise in survival rates each and every year for the last decade,” Dr. Cowan said. “If you go back to 1975, there’s been over a 25 percent increase in survival in the United States. We’ve gone from 70 percent to over 90 percent.” Dr. Cowan, who has been at UNMC since 1999, said he attributes screening such as mammograms and being much more aware of the symptoms have led to “a significant improvement and earlier diagnosis resulting in better outcomes.” At the concert, Dr. Cowan will talk about breast cancer treatments he sees on the horizon. “We’re hoping therapies in the future will be less toxic and more effective,” he added. “Every woman has been touched by this disease” in some way whether she, a relative, or a friend was affected. “Every event like this concert raises money and raises awareness providing hope for women today and in the future.” A reception sponsored by Women of Reform Judaism will follow the concert. General admission is $18; students, $10, available at the door or by calling 556.6536. Patron tickets starting at $50 are also available.
Hanukkah ART CONTEST WHAT TO DO If you are 12 or younger, create an original work of art with crayons, marker, colored pencils or paint with a Hanukkah theme on 8.5x11” white paper -- or use your photos, computer art, etc. to create a collage. Submit your original work by Nov. 6, 2009, and include your name, age, grade and school and parent(s)’ name(s), address and phone to:
The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 Tickets to an Omaha Performing Arts production will be awarded to the winner!