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Saul Aaron Kripke

MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement and Education The Jewish Federation of Omaha announces the opening of the 20th Annual Omaha Jewish Film Festival to begin Nov. 8 in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater in the Staenberg Jewish Community Center. This is the second year for screenings in the new theater, and with the impact of Covid reduced this year, we are anticipating record-breaking attendance. Following the opening, films will be shown on Nov. 22, 29, and Dec. 6. All films begin at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased through an online link on the JFO website (go to www.jewishomaha.org and click on the sliding banner for the Film Festival.) Tickets may also be purchased at the door. Admission price has remained $10. New this year is the selection of films sharing a central theme, Views of the World Through Israeli Eyes. The films offer beautiful scenery, deeply personal stories, diversity of ethnicities, ages, religious affiliations, and various family constellations. Along the way, audiences will undoubtedly experience a range of emotions, with joy and laughter at one end – tears and sorrow at the other. The festival is a mirror on life – a mirror with an Israeli prism. Film titles and descriptions will be presented in subsequent articles in the Jewish Press and through the JFO ENews. As if the films were not enough, the festival will also present accompanying moderated short videos for two of the films. These videos

feature discussions with film actors, writers, and directors. We extend a special thanks to Menemsha Films, source of this year’s showings, for their price concessions in making these incredible additions possible. The impact of films in our lives is undeniable. They inspire, entertain, inform, provide a bit of a respite from daily life, and with the Omaha Jewish Film Festival, the opportunity for the community to share a common experience and nosh a bit. This year after each film is over and the house lights come up, you will most likely be applauding in appreciation and taking a great experience home with you. The 20th Annual Omaha Jewish Film Festival is made possible through the generosity of the Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund; Samuel & Bess Rothenberg Endowment Fund; Ann Woskoff Schulman Memorial Fund; Ruth Frisch & Oscar S. Belzer Endowment Fund; Lindsey Miller-Lerman (Avy L. & Roberta L. Miller Foundation); Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation IMPACT Grant; B’nai B’rith – Henry Monsky Lodge. Address questions about the Omaha Jewish Film Festival to Mark Kirchhoff at mkirch hoff@jewishomaha.org or 402.334.6463. Preceding this year’s festival, the Institute for Holocaust Education (IHE) will present Escape from Treblinka: The Joseph Polonski Story on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. This movie chronicles the life of Joseph Polonski from a young child in Silvaki, Poland, to the Jewish Ghetto and ultimately to Treblinka, the most rigorous death camp created under See Omaha Jewish Film Festival page 2

Temple Israel Racial Justice Initiative

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

STEFANIE BAGUIAN Temple Israel Director of Communications Temple Israel of Omaha begins their next steps with their Racial Justice Initiative, our own Tikkun Olam, and we need you. In the last year, a group of 12 members partnered with Deitra Reiser, Ph.D., founder of Transform for Equality. Their workshop aimed to dismantle racism by building racial stamina, which includes the opportu-

nity to “engage and persist in conversations and work that furthers racial justice – especially when the work causes discomfort.”

We are looking for new participants to join this eight-week workshop that asks you to look internally to create everlasting change. Topics include intersectional identity, privilege, systems of oppression, the work of

antiracism, and how and why these conversations must take place in our Jewish communities. If you are interested in learning more about this cause, you can gather more information at our Shabbat Service on Oct. 28. Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin will be giving a sermon that encompasses these themes. You will be able to hear from those who completed the first workshop. From the bimah, they will give a brief synopsis of their thoughts, why they chose to participate, and their biggest takeaways. They will all be available for questions at the Shabbat Oneg following service. Following the service, we will reach out to those interested in participating to set dates. Join us for Shabbat Service on Oct. 28, 2022, 6-7 p.m. in person or on Zoom at Temple Israel with Oneg to follow.

STEVE RIEKES Saul Aaron Kripke passed away in New Jersey on Sept. 15, 2022, at age 81. Romina Padro, Director of the Kripke Center at the City University of New York (C.U.N.Y.) said that Saul Kripke died of pancreatic cancer. The Kripke Center is an academic institution devoted to collecting, preserving, and studying Saul’s lectures and thinking.

Saul Aaron Kripke

According to an obituary in the New York Times, by Sam Roberts, Saul was a “pioneering logician whose revolutionary theories on language qualified him as one of the 20th Century’s greatest philosophers.” This world acclaimed scholar had many and deep roots in Omaha, and in its Jewish community. Saul was the eldest child of Rabbi Myer S. Kripke who moved to Omaha in 1946 to become the senior rabbi of Beth El Synagogue, a conservative congregation, and served for almost thirty years. In later life, he was also an important philanthropist. For example, he endowed the Kripke Library at the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Kripke Center at Creighton University. Saul’s mother was Dorothy Karp Kripke, who was the author of many books for Jewish children. During Saul’s formative years, the Kripke home was on Happy Hollow Boulevard, only a few blocks from Dundee Elementary School. In second grade, Saul discovered, for himself, certain principles of algebra. Most teachers recognized and respected Saul’s genius. Among them was Mrs. Croft, an eighth-grade science teacher. She had worldwide experiences. She was a brilliant educator. She immediately recognized Saul’s unique genius status and worked with him. She gave Saul books on mathematics and logic. She let Saul read them on his own, while the rest of the class pursued more conventional study. Later in life, Saul acknowledged Mrs. Croft’s importance to him and his career. On a lighter side, Saul was at Dundee during the presidential election campaign between Stevenson, the Democrat, and Eisenhower, the Republican. Most students wore manufactured See Saul Kripke page 3