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November 1, 2013 28 Cheshvan 5774 Vol. 94 | No. 07
This Week
Rabbi Steven Abraham
Israeli jeweler Michal Negrin eyes U.S. Page 3
2014 Federation Campaign Event Pages 8 & 9
by BETH COHEN Executive Director, the Center for Jewish Life The Op-Ed pages of not only Jewish newspapers but the likes of the New York Times and the Washington Post have been abuzz discussing the results of the Pew Research Center’s survey, A Portrait of Jewish Americans, released in early October. Quotes with language including “a grim portrait,” “very stark,” “a wake-up call,” and “devastating,” paint a dismal picture of the vitality and sustainability of the American Jewish community. Who better to comment on the health of our Jewish community than our rabbinic leadership? The Center
Rabbi Aryeh Azriel
Rabbi Josh Brown
for Jewish Life will present a Rabbinic Panel to discuss the Pew survey on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel, 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive. The panel will include Rabbis Steven Abraham, Aryeh Azriel, Josh Brown, Jonathan Gross and Mendel Katzman, and will be moderated by Joel Alperson with additional insights by Mike Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Bonnie Bloch, president of the Center for Jewish Life, expressed her excitement in organizing the panel discussion. “American Jewry is clearly facing big issues that need to be addressed. I’m so proud to be in Omaha where we are coming together to seek
Rabbi Jonathan Gross
solutions in a forum uniting the entire Jewish community.” According to the Pew Research Center, the survey was conducted February 20 through June 13, 2013. This is the most comprehensive national survey of the Jewish population since the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey. More than 70,000 screening interviews were conducted to identify Jewish respondents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Longer interviews were completed with 3,475 Jews, and those results are presented as “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.” “As in one’s physical health, getting a good diagnosis is the first step to
Rabbi Mendel Katzman
healing an ailment. So, too, for matters of the spirit,” explains Rabbi Mendel Katzman. He continued, “Whether this research is totally accurate or somewhat skewed, it has definitely made the Jewish community think. This ruffling of feathers takes us out of our complacency and forces us to take a good, hard look at what we are doing well and the areas that need improvement. I look forward to exciting, lively and productive dialogue in our community!” For the many rabbis and community leaders around the country who are evaluating the survey results, the changing nature of Jewish identity, as Continued on page 2
Feeding Syrian refugees Beth El’s Young Adult Committee plans exciting year Liberal Jews laying claim to Jewish burial rituals Page 16
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
Next Week Shopping Guide See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
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by BEN SALES MAFRAQ, Jordan (JTA) -- The purple plastic sacks fill two rooms in the otherwise sparsely furnished headquarters of a Jordanian NGO, awaiting distribution to Syrian refugees already lined up on the sidewalk. They contain an array of staple dry goods -- lentils, pasta, powdered milk, tea -- as well as a range of hygiene products like soap and detergent, enough for 250 refugee families. But before the goods were handed out, one thing will be removed -- the word “Jewish.”
Going sack by sack with a pair of scissors, an aid worker begins to cut. “We don’t announce with trumpets that we’re Israeli,” the worker says. “There’s no need for that. Once you let that cat out of the bag, everything starts to blow up.” The sacks are paid for by IsraAid, an Israeli nonprofit that provides disaster relief and humanitarian aid across the world. The group has provided medical care and psychological services following earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, and supplies food and other materials to refugees at two camps in Kenya. IsraAid began working in Jordan early this year. Since then, the organization says it has provided approximately $100,000 worth of supplies to refugees who have escaped Syria’s brutal civil war. But because Syria and Israel technically have been at war for four decades, discretion and security are paramount in IsraAid’s Jordanian Continued on page 2
Sonia Tipp, left, Caryn Scheer and Holly Weill. Adults and kids alike had a great time at the recent Beth El YAC outing at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. The group’s next get together is planned for Saturday, Nov. 23. by JILL BELMONT Nealon’s 9:30 p.m. performance at Beth El Publicity the Funny Bone comedy club. An evening of laughs at a comedy Heidi and Jeremy Friedman are club, an afternoon ice skating, and serving as the evening’s hosts. “This should be a great evening a cooking class are just a few of the activities planned for the year by - a chance to relax before enjoying Beth El’s Young Adult Committee. one of the funniest comedians HolAll YAC events are geared to con- lywood has to offer,” Jeremy said, gregants in their 20s and 30s (mar- noting that YAC’s comedy club ried and single); some are for adults event last year drew rave reviews from many participants. only, others for the entire family. For the upcoming show, everyThe next get-together is planned for Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m., one will be responsible for ordering when the group meets at Brix at their own tickets through the Village Pointe, and then heads up Funny Bone, and then are asked to the street to enjoy comic Kevin Continued on page 3
2 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
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On the brighter side, according to the study, American Jews overwhelmingly say they are proud to be Jewish (94%) and have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people (75%). Six in ten say they have a special responsibility to care for Jews in need around the world. The moderator for the panel discussion will be Joel Alperson. Joel, an Omaha native, is involved not only in our local Jewish community but has taken on national leadership roles including chairing the United Jewish Communities National Campaign in 2007, serving on the Young Leadership Cabinet as both a member and as cochair, and currently serving on the Jewish Federations of North America Board of Trustees. Joel’s exposure to local and national trends in the Jewish community gives him a unique perspective for moderating the discussion. He commented, “The issue for me is not as much about the numbers of the Pew study as the kind of action we choose to take in response to those numbers. We have a remarkable community filled with incredibly committed and generous individuals. But even in Omaha, we are not immune to the trends which were reported. I’m not only looking forward to having a meaningful discussion on Nov. 5 about the study, but also to having a conversation about how we build and maintain the best Jewish community possible for the coming generations.” Mike Silverman, CEO of Omaha’s Jewish Federation, said he was honored to be asked to participate in the panel discussion. “With the recent changes at the Jewish Federation of Omaha to include the One Campus/One Community Initiative, we have made a concerted effort to engage Jews of all denominations to be active members of our community,” he added. “Though we offer many programs and services, participation is key. There is and will always be work to be done to engage people Jewishly.” Community members may submit questions in advance for consideration to be included in the discussion. Send via email to bcohen@jewishomaha.org by Monday, Nov. 4. The Rabbinic Panel is organized by the Center for Jewish Life, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, as part of the mission to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences. The summary document and the full results of the Pew Research Center’s A Portrait of Jewish Americans can be found at www.pewresearch.org and click on the “religion” tab.
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Continued from page 1 noted by generation, stands out sharply. Fully 93% of Jews in the Greatest Generation (born between 1914 and 1927) identify as Jewish on the basis of religion (called “Jews by religion” in this report); just 7% describe themselves as having no religion (“Jews of no religion”). By contrast, 68% of Jewish Millennials (those born after 1980) identify as Jews by religion, while 32% describe themselves as having no religion yet identify as Jewish on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity or culture. According to the survey, more “Jews of religion” identify as “no denomination” than as Conservative and Orthodox combined. Cited as one of the more startling statistics of the survey, many question how American Jewry can survive if the second largest affiliation grouping of Jews, after Reform, is “none.” Of this statistic, Rabbi Josh Brown commented, “One researcher from the study shared in a conference call for Reform rabbis that secular Israelis often tell us that the synagogue they don’t go to is an Orthodox synagogue.” The Pew study, he reported, is a sign that for secular American Jews, the synagogue they don’t go to is Reform. Rabbi Brown continued, “For me, both are signs that secular Jews probably have a stronger Jewish identity than they are willing to admit.” “The Pew study is a status report for the North American Jewish community,” says Rabbi Steven Abraham. He continues, “I was struck by how many people consider themselves to be religious yet are not affiliated with a denomination. It shows there’s a lot of work to be done.” The intermarriage rate has risen from 17% before 1970 to 58% in 2013, with the 2013 intermarriage rate topping over 70% when those who identify as Orthodox are statistically removed. Jewish adults ages 40-59 report having had an average of 1.9 children, compared with an average of 2.2 children per adult in the same age cohort of the general public. Beyond the astonishingly high intermarriage rate and the lower-thanAmerican-average birth rate, only 20 percent of children of intermarriages are being raised exclusively as Jewish. With statistics like this, it begs the question what the American Jewish population will look like ten or twenty years from now. “In the 1960’s, Look magazine predicted there would be no more Jews in America by the year 2000,” says Rabbi Jonathan Gross. “Y2K has come and gone. We are still here and there is no more Look magazine. The Pew study was shocking, but if Jewish communities use it as a catalyst for improvement we can turn the situation around.”
Continued from page 1 operation. Most aid workers interviewed requested anonymity, as did the Jordanian nongovernmental organization that is IsraAid’s partner on the ground. Working with Israelis, they say, could endanger their work and the lives of the refugees they help. Israelis may travel freely to Jordan, but when the IsraAid delegation crossed the border on Friday, it brought a letter from the Jordanian NGO that would facilitate the distribution as well as a list of individuals in its party. A police escort joined the group’s bumpy ride through northern Jordan, past small villages of flat-roofed houses, lemon groves and vegetable fields. In the distance were the mountains of southern Syria. “We try to work by the book and not go under the radar,” says Shachar Zahavi, IsraAid’s founding director, who explains that other countries also require extended security checks. “The Jordanians are open to it.” After 90 minutes, the delegation arrives at the Jordanian NGO’s headquarters, next to an empty lot filled with trash on a side street in this city. The capital city of a region of the same name, half of Mafraq’s 100,000 residents are refugees from the conflict next door. In total, half a million Syrians have taken refuge in Jordan. Most of them are here, in the border region, and most arrived this year. Directed by a soft-spoken, gray-haired retiree working without pay, the Jordanian NGO focuses on aiding the 200,000 local refugees not living in Zaatri, the massive United Nations refugee camp nearby. The director keeps meticulous records of the constantly growing number of aid recipients, registering every new arrival, noting the size of their family and when they last received aid. Seventy volunteers help purchase and package supplies with funds from groups like IsraAid. With the word “Jewish” removed, the purple bags begin to travel in a human chain down a tight stairwell to the refugees below, almost all of them women wearing long black dresses and matching hijabs. Bags are loaded onto trucks or carried in hand back to wherever they are staying. One woman approaches a volunteer to explain, through basic Arabic and hand motions, that a relative has cancer.
Where, she asks, can she find medicine? “We’re still at this beginning stage,” the aid worker later tells JTA. “You’re still being inundated with refugees. They’re always going to need food until the situation is stable.” The next stop for the IsraAid workers is Hamra, an impromptu refugee camp set up a month ago outside Mafraq. Situated under power lines, surrounded by desert and about to be clouded by a suffocating sandstorm, the camp is home to 25 families from a Damascus suburb who had walked 60 miles to the Jordanian border to escape the fighting. Now they share space in 10 tents with dirty, beige flaps featuring the block letters U.N.H.C.R. -- for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees -- in faded blue. Inside one, seven thin mattresses sit in a square on a tattered rug. A second room, with a small burner and piles of pots and pans, serves as the tent kitchen. Although they eagerly crowd the distribution truck, most refugees appear healthy, if needy. While the distribution goes on, one resident insists that the workers sit for some coffee. But an elderly woman shakes as she pulls a deformed hand out of her robe, her two fingers wrapped backwards and melded into what was left of her palm. After the bombing that caused her injury, she joined her children and grandchildren on the 60-mile trek. Now she says nothing, her wrinkled face and sunken eyes conveying a resigned helplessness. Zahavi hopes that within a month, IsraAid can bring social workers to Mafraq to help refugees cope with the psychological trauma. Israelis, Zahavi says, are experts in trauma care after decades of dealing with terror attacks. “My main agenda is to put Israelis on the ground around the world and show the world that Israel cares about them,” he says. IsraAid receives support from several foundations, but the organization says some of its donors initially were reluctant to fund its work in Jordan for fear of becoming involved in the Syria-Israel conflict. But the aid worker says that when refugees discover the Israeli connection, they are still grateful for the help -- no matter its political implications. “You’re talking about hungry people,” she says. “These people are in a dire situation. If I hand someone a can of tuna, do they really care where it’s coming from?”
November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 3
Israeli jeweler Michal Negrin, opening flagship store in SoHo, eyes U.S. expansion by MAXINE DOVERE industry that was widely known as a world-class center of (JNS.org) Iconic Israeli costume jeweler Michal Negrin, diamond cutting has become the domain of female designwho for more than 25 years has been bringing romantic and ers. In addition to the pioneering work of Negrin, Aya vintage-inspired designs to the global fashion scene, is Azrielant has been creating Mediterranean Sea-themed expanding her brand to a new pieces and has gained level in the U.S. this summer. retail placements in such Negrin plans to open more than prominent stores as Saks two-dozen U.S. boutique locaFifth Avenue. tions over the next few years. “I consider it very good June 21 marked the opening of a that women have taken the location at the Westfield Garden lead in the industry and State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, and can express their creativiNegrin’s New York City flagship ty,” Negrin said. “Everyone shop, in the fashion-focused can follow her own design. SoHo area, launched Aug. 15. Israeli women are creating Asked what has inspired her a new language of beauty.” designs, Negrin -- a native of Negrin’s company now Kibbutz Na’an, a large manufacincludes 60 stores in twoturing-focused kibbutz about 20 Above: Inside the new Michal Negrin store at the Westfield dozen countries worldminutes away from Tel Aviv -- Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ. The store opened June 21. wide, including Japan, said she was encouraged by her Below: Michal Negrin costume jewelry at the Israeli compa- Israel, Italy, Russia, France, Credit: Michal Negrin Austria, Mexico, China, mother to “create her own world.” ny’s new store in Paramus, NJ. “The Victorian design [of my and the U.S. (Paramus and jewelry] comes from many inspiAtlantic City, NJ, Boston, rations, especially childhood Los Angeles, and on Aug. memories that are a part of my 15, SoHo). All of Negrin’s roots,” Negrin said in an intershops use the same conview with JNS.org. ceptual design. Negrin said she “always want“She creates her own ed to think differently.” world of beauty and “I preferred to stay at home, do design,” Ifat Pasternak, the things I loved, and follow my marketing manager at own directions,” she said. Michal Negrin, told In 1988, with the encourageJNS.org. “People just fall in ment of her husband Meir, love with Michal -- the Negrin launched her first official reaction is universal.” jewelry collection. Negrin’s first retail store, on Shenkin Negrin credits her initial worldwide success to the suggesStreet in Tel Aviv, was designed as a reflection of her child- tion of an Israeli man who visited her shop after traveling in hood home, using that home’s furnishings, clothing, pic- Japan. The man carried her designs to Japan, where they tures, and flowers to create a complete, recognizable pack- were an immediate success -- today there are 13 Michal age. The design of the first piece she sold was based on her Negrin shops in that country. Russian grandmother’s jewelry. But despite the company’s global expansion, all the manuNegrin began designing jewelry as a child. Her first mar- facturing at Michal Negrin is still performed in Israel. keting was at street stands, as she sold her wearable art pieces “Everything is designed in Israel and handmade in the factoone by one. Her personal life and her business career were ry,” Noam Hanuka, Michal Negrin’s CEO, told JNS.org. “Even changed forever when she met and married Meir, who took the packaging, which is very special, is all made in Israel.” his wife’s designs from street sales to a larger commercial At the Michal Negrin Visitor Center in Bat Yam, items scale. About 15 years ago, amid the growing success of the Tel ranging from linens to shoes to yarmulkes -- and, of course, Aviv store, Michal and Meir opened their factory in Bat Yam. her signature jewelry and clothing lines -- are on display. Now Negrin is at the forefront of a dramatic change in the The facility is part of the company’s manufacturing complex, Israeli jewelry industry. In 30 years, a once male-dominated Continued on page 4
Beth El’s Young Adult Committee Continued from page 1 RSVP to the Friedmans at Jeremy.friedman@gmail .com, for planning purposes. Ticket cost is $25 if purchased with cash at the club, or $28 online. YAC events planned for this year include a Dec. 24 program (to be announced), ice skating in January, ‘Mexican & Margarita Night’ in February, a cooking class in April, a field day/Bagel Bin picnic in June, plus a symphony/theater night and a fundraiser for a synagogue playground. “The Young Adult Committee is especially strong this year with 17 committee members,” said chairman Caryn Scheer. “We work together to create exciting events which give young Jewish adults many opportunities to make connections in a comfortable atmosphere.” The group’s programming is mainly social in nature, she said, adding, “We want to create more opportunities for singles and couples to meet others within their age group. This is especially important for newer members of the community, or people who have recently returned to Omaha. People tend to feel more comfortable attending social and religious events at their synagogue if they feel a bond with others around them.” Participants of YAC programming, including Jeremy Friedman, say they’re pleased with the group and its activities. “YAC programs are a fantastic way to network and get to know other Jewish young adults in a less formal setting and create stronger ties to each other within our community,” he said. “I think YAC has come up with some really creative ideas for getting people together,” said Sonia Tipp, who co-chaired the group’s recent trip to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, and is also coordinating the April cooking class. “I enjoy the time getting to know young adults in the synagogue, and doing something non-synagogue-related together is a lot of fun. Whether it is the comedy club, a cooking class, salsa dancing, a baseball game, or a brewery tour... there’s something for everyone. YAC is beneficial to the congregation as it builds and strengthens the relationships in our community.” Tipp also applauded Scheer for organizing the group and its activities. “Caryn has worked so hard to pull together valuable programming for this age group. She is full of enthusiasm and her energy is infectious. Kudos to Caryn for putting together another year of great programming for the young adults of Beth El!”
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4 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
Temple Israel students in New York City
Michal Negrin
by DAVID GOLBITZ cussions about topics that would enrich the minds of our Temple Israel Staff Writer youth and tie in the activities we had done to that point.� Temple Israel ninth graders recently visited New York City Goodman, who visited New York City with her seventh with Rabbi Josh Brown and Director of Youth Engagement grade class a year and a half ago, enjoyed the time spent in Nikki Flatowicz. Like last year’s trip, the visit is meant to Central Park the most. connect Temple Israel’s youth to their Jewish heritage in one of the most historically Jewish cities in the United States. “One of the goals of the trip is to broaden the perspective of our kids, showing them aspects of Jewish life in the largest Jewish community in the country, and showing them where American Judaism, in large part, originated.� On Friday, Oct. 18, the group visited New York’s Museum of Tolerance, part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where they learned Temple Israel ninth graders met with Holocaust survivor Hanna Slome at the Museum of about bigotry toward the Tolerance during their trip to New York City. Jewish people, not only historically, but the anti-Semitism “I enjoyed seeing all the people and it was very different that goes on today. from parks in Nebraska,� she said. The teens, including Hannah Goodman, Emily Kazor, “It was one of the best things we did,� added Mikayla Mikayla Langdon, Olivia Nogg, Lindsay Osborne, Josie Platt Langdon,� just hanging out in the park and talking.� and Bella Radler, also learned about sweatshops where their Rabbi Brown hopes the time spent together, not just in clothes might have been made, and about various forms of Central Park, but during the trip as a whole, will “create a bigotry, including bullying and hate crimes. bond that will be the foundation of their Jewish community At the Museum of Tolerance, the group also had lunch moving forward.� with a Holocaust survivor named Hanna Slome, who was a Sunday morning, before lunch, the group visited the child in Czechoslovakia at the start of World War II. She was Tenement Museum to learn about Jewish immigrant life on saved by a British man, Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized the Lower East Side of New York City. a train transport for hundreds of Czechoslovak Jews in 1939. “We wanted to show the kids some of the history of Jews “Her story was really interesting and the museum showed as an immigrant population, coming to America, getting how you should treat everybody as equals,� Hannah settled here, the beginnings that led to the community we Goodman said. “It didn’t really focus on Jewish things. It have today,� Rabbi Brown said. was more about equality for all and why that’s important.� Not everything the group did over their weekend in New Friday evening, the group attended Shabbat services at York was centered on Jewish life, however. They visited B’nai Jeshurun, the second synagogue ever founded in New Rockefeller Center on their first night in town and dropped York City. Built in 1825, the synagogue is part of a thriving by the Today Show Friday morning. Shopping at Times community. Square was a big highlight as well. “It was a vibrant Shabbat service on the Upper West Side They also made their way to Broadway, where they saw a that was packed to the brim, standing room only, much like performance of STOMP, which everyone seemed to enjoy. the High Holidays would be here, but it’s just a regular “STOMP was really cool,� Goodman said. “It was the secFriday night for them,� Rabbi Brown said. ond time I’d seen it and it was just as good as the first time.� “It was a lot different from the services we have here,� Added Mikayla Langdon, “It was really fun.� Goodman said. “The melodies were different. The atmosThe group closed out their New York City experience with phere was different, because it was a lot more of a tradition- a visit to historic Katz’s Deli, where they enjoyed an authenal synagogue. But I enjoyed it.� tically Jewish meal. Instead of attending services the next morning, the group The pastrami “was really good,� Mikayla said. planned to spend much of Saturday in Central Park, on one Flatowicz hopes the kids learned about themselves and condition. each other and thinks the trip was a success. “Rabbi Brown set the rule that there was to be no shop“The trip was a great balance between sightseeing and ping during Shabbat and that we had to find a way to still learning,� she said. “And while the trip will continue to be make the day special and reflective of Shabbat,� Nikki modified each year, I hope it continues to allow for the Flatowicz said. “We did this by taking time to enjoy nature, youth who go on it to have this sense of balance between fun do activities that were mostly in the park, and having dis- and learning.�
Continued from page 3 employing more than 400 people. Within her workforce, Michal makes a concerted effort to employ individuals with special needs and disabilities.
Israeli jeweler Michal Negrin at the opening of her company’s new store in Paramus, NJ, on June 21. Credit: Michael Negrin The Michal Negrin jewelry collection is about 90 percent costume jewelry, made with materials not considered to be “precious.â€? “The shiny parts are Swarovski crystal,â€? Hanuka said. “Negrin is the second-largest buyer of Swarovski crystal in the world.â€? A small percentage of the Michal Negrin designs are more traditional. Those are created in gold and use real or semi-precious stones. Overall, the Michal Negrin designs “intend to evoke images of a fantastic world filled with optimism and happiness,â€? Hanuka said. “The home dĂŠcor items designed by Michal celebrate romance and spirituality,â€? he said. Looking forward to the opening of her flagship store in Manhattan’s SoHo district this month, Negrin said, “New York is a dream come true.â€? “New York is a city of great love,â€? she said. “It has an attitude of excitement with many surprises. The shop has the attitude of holiday all year round. Its creativity is unique.â€? The Michal Negrin boutique will join several other Israeli-originated businesses in Soho. “The Israeli shops [in SoHo] are kind of a symbol of Israeli-Jewish entrepreneurs doing business in the city,â€? Hanuka said. “We are trying to bring the same giving Israeli spirit to the United States. Everything is done according to the ideas of the brand: open-mindedness, love, tolerance and respect for other cultures. They say that there is no household in Israel without some piece of Negrin jewelry or some household items -- a menorah, earrings, linens -- something.â€? Negrin said that in the future, she would not limit her business to material goods -- she is planning to launch a new line of cafĂŠs. “I want to create gallery-coffeehouses, places where people can meet, enjoy cultural events, and come together in the common language of beauty, art and culture,â€? she said. “I am proud to be a woman able to express my art and happy to see my co-designers showing the world a side of Israel that is positive and colorful.â€?
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November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 5
Good Shabbos Nebraska by RABBI JONATHAN GROSS guished scholar Rabbi Dr. Moshe Goldfeder, Beth Israel Synagogue a professor of law at Emory University. He The Nov. 2 episode of Good Shabbos was ordained a Rabbi at Yeshiva University, Nebraska will feature the first annual Norm he received his law degree from New York and Dorothy Zevitz Memorial Lecture. University Law School, his LLM from Emory Norm Zevitz was an amazUniversity, and his Doctorate ing man. He was a celebrated in Law and religion from war veteran in World War II, Emory. He has authored having fought in the famous dozens of articles and has battle of Iwo Jima. Like many given lectures around the of his peers of the greatest world on law, religion, and the generation, circumstances intersection between them. prevented Norm from receivHis doctoral dissertation, ing an extensive formal eduabout which he will be speakcation, but Norm’s entire life ing, is titled Chains of Love in was a constant quest towards Law; Re-Imagining American knowledge and truth. Polygamy in Light of Recent In all the years that I knew Developments in Family Law. Norm I cannot think of a sin- Rabbi Dr. Moshe Goldfeder Polygamy features promigle community lecture for which Norm was nently in the Torah portions that we are curnot present, and whenever the floor was rently reading. Abraham, Jacob, and a host open for questions Norm was always the of other biblical characters had more than first one to ask. His questions were always one wife. We tend to think of polygamy as pointed and challenging, and without regard an antiquated practice, or something that for political correctness he probed deeply only occurs today in fringe communities or into the most controversial issues of our day. undeveloped cultures. Many of us are not Most of all, his passion for learning and aware that there is a growing movement his sincerity won over everyone he met. He here in this country to gain legitimacy for was an inspiration to everyone in our shul, polygamous or polyamorous relationships. from the oldest members to the youngest of Rabbi Goldfeder will talk about some our children. He is missed by everyone at myths and facts about polygamy in Jewish Beth Israel, but in many ways his presence is law and history, as well as tell us about difstill felt every Shabbos. We are grateful to his ferent trends in America and how American children Michael and Marilyn for sponsor- law is responding. ing this annual memorial lecture in honor of So join us and bring your spouse(s) for their parents. There could not be a more what will be an unforgettable episode of appropriate way to honor Norm and Good Shabbos Nebraska. Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. Dorothy’s memory. ONLY at Beth Israel Synagogue - where This year the lecture will feature distin- every shabbos is a shabbaton.
For Home, Holidays, Gifts Beth El’s Judaica Shop sale will fulfill every wish list by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity For an entire week – and just in time for Hanukkah – all of the wares in Beth El’s Judaica Shop are being offered at great discount prices during its annual sale, scheduled for Nov. 10 – 18. Everyone in the community is invited to visit the synagogue at 14506 California Street, and take advantage of the great savings. According to shop chairman Caryn Rifkin, everything in the shop will be discounted from 10 percent to 75 percent, including 30 percent off for dreidels, yads, Shabbat candlesticks and jewelry, and 20 percent off for kippot and mezzuzot. Other sale items include books, menorahs and unique Judaica items for all occasions, fulfilling every wish list for home, gift or holiday needs. New offerings this year will include brightly-colored Mah Jongg dishes decorated with bams, dragons, dots and cracks; memorial/yarzheit candles; and Go Big Red kippot in both red and black. “We’re so pleased to be able to offer this
sale to anyone looking for all sorts of beautiful, one-of-a-kind Judaic items for Hanukkah gifts, plus presents for Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrants, new babies, anniversaries... you name it, we have it,” Rifkin said. “Over the years, proceeds from the shop have underwritten a variety of synagogue programs, benefited our religious school, and helped the synagogue in countless other ways,” she added. “Stop in and take advantage of this great sale – you’ll be supporting Beth El and treating yourself, all at the same time!” To check out all of the Judaica Shop’s merchandise, visit the sale on Mondays, Nov. 11 and 18, 5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sundays, Nov. 10 and 17, 9:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Other times are available by appointment. Regular gift shop hours are Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and Wednesdays, 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. For more information or to set up an appointment, call the synagogue office, 402.492.8550.
Bagels and finance by RUSS KAPLAN Russ Kaplan Investments The Stock Market can be a ponderous mystery to most of us. Yet, it does not have to be that way. Would you like to find out what is happening in the financial world, without having to pay for the advice? Do you enjoy discussing the happenings in the world of investing? This can be done when you stop by Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc. Bagels and Finance, held monthly on Friday, at the Bagel Bin, at 3:30 pm. Enjoy your late Friday after-
noon, kibitzing, enjoying a delicious bagel, being with like-minded individuals, and keep up-to-date on the Stock Market. I am an independent financial adviser with thirty years of experience in the field. We always have current and interesting topics to discuss. We are happy to answer any of your financial questions. Bagels and Finance is an open discussion group to the public. Be sure to check the dates on the Russ Kaplan Investments Facebook Page or call Russ at 402.614.1321. We hope to see you there.
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6 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
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Daisy James, Donor Sabbath and Pikuach Nefesh by JOEY HOFFMAN On Feb. 8, 2003, I gave birth to my grandmother. Daisy, my daughter, is a clone of Mama Paula, my stoic, dazzling, cancer-thriving love who, sadly, did not meet her great granddaughter. Yet the two are inextricably linked by one particular characteristic: Their phoenix-like ability to rise under critical circumstances. In 2006, we up-rooted from New York and moved to Omaha where, on July 20, Daisy endured an 8-hour transplant surgery in which she received a life-saving small bowel, a liver and a pancreas at The Nebraska Medical Center. She was 31/2. Now 10, she says, “I really would have liked to move to Paris because I could speak Daisy James French, eat baguettes, ride on one of those motorcycle thingies and meet cute French boys.” Baguettes and boys, thank God, are Daisy’s biggest concerns these days (and dancing and Rainbow Loom and Instagram and...), but it wasn’t always so. We chose the Nebraska Medical Center over a Paris transplant center because, after extensive research, it proved to be the best in the country, perhaps the world, for her needs. Daisy received her organs merely six weeks after being listed for transplant. 18 people die every day waiting for an organ. Since Daisy’s surgery, the number of candidates on the national transplant list awaiting an organ (or multiple organs) has grown exponentially. Today, there are 120,324 people on the list - that’s more than Madison Square Garden’s seating capacity. Many won’t make it to transplant. Why? A lack of donors. The good news: According to UNOS, the United Network of Organ Sharing, a private, non-profit organization that manages the nation’s organ transplant system, “In response to the shortage of organs for transplantation, relatives, loved ones, friends and even individuals with no prior relationship are serving as living donors for the growing number of people on the national organ transplant waiting list.” Simply put, one may donate an organ - a kidney, for instance - while he or she is alive. http://www.unos.org/docs/Living_Donation.pdf. Nov. 15-17 is National Donor Sabbath, an organ donation initiative launched in 1997 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services with the intention of consolidating individual efforts of various faith communities into one national campaign. Every year, that weekend reinforces the concept of Pikuach Nefesh, which describes the principle in Jewish Law that we have an obligation to save a human life in jeopardy. Says Temple Israel’s Rabbi Azriel: “Preserving life in Judaism has been always at the top of the Mitzvah list. The
“Ubacharta Bchaim” verse in Torah speaks of the importance in choosing life. Every attempt to assist the one whose life is threatened by serious health challenges must be practiced.” Indeed, in each moment, Daisy’s donor family honors Pikuach Nefesh in the most profound, humbling way. To them, to every donor - past, present and future - to every soul awaiting their gift of life and to Mama Paula, I dedicate the following ancient Jewish healing prayer which I have gently recited to my sweet girl every night since she was 11-months-old: El Na Refa Na La El na refa na la, please God heal her El na refa na li, please God heal me El na refa na lo, please God heal him We are loved by an un-ending love We are embraced by arms that find us, even when we are hidden from ourselves We are touched by fingers that soothe us, even when we’re too proud for soothing We are counseled by voices that guide us, even when we’re too embittered to hear We are loved by an un-ending love We are supported by hands that uplift us, even in the midst of a fall We are urged on by eyes that meet us, even when we’re too weak for meeting We are loved by an un-ending love Embraced, touched, soothed and counseled Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices Ours are the hands, the eyes and the smiles We are loved by an un-ending love To register as an organ donor, please visit http://www. donatelifenebraska.com or for more information call 402.559.3788.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Former head coach and now top assistant to Greg McDermott at Creighton University, Coach Steve Merfeld will highlight CU’s upcoming basketball season in their new league on Wednesday, Nov. 6, noon, at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information, call 402.334.6443 or email bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish is now presented in transliterated form using the Roman alphabet; everyone can become a maven instantly. One word in Yiddish has more meaning than a dozen words in any other language. So be a mentsh and zog a por verter, (say a few words). We meet every Thursday from 1-3 p.m., in the RBJH boardroom. For more information, please call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.
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November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 7
Family Treasures by SANDRA MARTIN A few months ago, I wrote an article for this publication about my mother, Lucille Katelman, who had recently passed away. The article was titled, Balloons for Lucille, which described my family’s first mother’s day without her, when we released a bunch of balloons in her memory as we shared our favorite stories about her. I wrote that our little ritual really helped to lift my spirits that day, because bringing balloons to her was something I did often. It felt familiar, and later I realized it was a way to connect with her. That simple act was a reminder that she was still in our lives, and in our hearts. Another important way I connect with my mother is to watch the DVD my videographer and I made of her about a year before she died, when she was 98 years old. I had just started a new video recording business, called “Family Treasures,” to preserve people’s life stories, and realized I didn’t have to look any further for my first client than my own mother! I knew she had amassed a wealth of stories and anecdotes throughout her long life, and with just a little prompting from me, could remember and recite most of them. So one cold winter afternoon, we sat her down in a private area of the Blumkin Home and I interviewed her. Although she slept through some of my questions, (which I’m sure isn’t the first time I have put someone to sleep during a conversation), she would immediately perk up and begin talking when I jogged her memory about a well-loved family member, or a much-told story, and even some of the jokes, word-for-word, that her mother passed down to her... jokes that all of us have heard all our lives, and that are now immortalized. Years from now, her great grandchildren and their great grandchildren will see her and hear her as she shares those stories, told in her own words and her own voice! They will be able to connect with her, to see who came before them, to possibly identify with her, and ultimately, to better understand themselves. Those stories, in fact, which will be shared and passed down through the years, are indeed some of my family’s greatest treasures!
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Central High Hall of Fame inductees On October 3, Central High School inducted the following people into their Hall of Fame: Henry Monsky, Class of 1907 After his graduation from Central, followed by his completion of a law degree from Creighton, Monsky dedicated his work, and his life, to social justice issues. At the local level, Monsky established a lifelong relationship with Boys Town. From its beginning, Father Flanagan relied heavily on Monsky’s legal expertise and personal counsel. On the national level, Monsky served on many boards and spoke to many groups, including interfaith groups, on issues of juvenile justice. As a child welfare Henry Monsky advocate, he established AZA, the world’s largest Jewish youth organization. Monsky also traveled internationally, focusing on Jewish causes in the world, including serving as international president of B’nai B’rith, the world’s largest Jewish service club; helping to form the National Jewish Conference; serving as editor of the National Jewish Monthly; and consulting with the U.S. delegation at the formation of the United Nations. Allan Noddle, Class of 1958 Allan Noddle’s career in the food distribution industry saw him reach the industry’s pinnacle. After his graduation from the University of Nebraska and following his military service as a 1st lieutenant in the Army, Noddle returned to Omaha. He joined Hinky Dinky Supermarkets, where he became executive vice president and chief operating officer, then moved to Giant Foods in Carlisle, Pa., where he became president/ Allan Noddle CEO. That was followed by his
selection by Royal Ahold, the world’s most successful food provider, located in the Netherlands, as president and CEO of its Support Division, he became the first American to be selected for that board in Ahold’s 114-year history. Noddle moved to the Netherlands and was responsible for the management of all of Ahold’s Latin America and Asian companies. Noddle served as a board member and president of Daymon Worldwide, and chairman of Topco. He has served on the Boards of Junior Achievement, the Better Business Bureau and the Jewish Community Center, and has also been a guest speaker and teacher working with consumer products companies and universities. Ann (Kennedy) Goldstein, Class of 1964 Goldstein’s understanding of the need for a strong, supportive Omaha community is clearly seen in the leadership that she provided in her work with the Omaha Chamber of Commerce and in the many community organizations that she supported and participated in. After a five-year teaching career with Omaha Public Schools, Goldstein joined the Omaha Chamber of Commerce where she directed leadership development initiatives, including Leadership Omaha, Youth Leadership Omaha, the Omaha Ann Goldstein Executive Institute and Neighborhood Builders. Goldstein’s volunteer work also had a great impact on the greater Omaha community. She took a special interest in anti-discrimination issues and served as the president of the Midwest Region of the Anti-Defamation League. She had a seat on the Omaha Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Board. Her community service work included being a past president of the Junior League of Omaha and one of the founders of the Omaha Children’s Museum, and she received the museum’s Founder’s Award. She also received the Omaha Education Association’s Human Relations Award, and was honored by the YWCA for her career achievement, community service and work against discrimination.
8 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 9
On Sunday, Oct. 20, community members came together at Dave and Buster’s for the 2014 Jewish Federation Campaign Event. There were free games for young and old and a Mexican buffet from Star Catering, complete with tortillas, fajitas and quesadillas and all the trimmings. It was a night to remember and a festive kick-off for the Annual Campaign.
10 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
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The track record of Susie Cohn by DAVID GOLBITZ vide incentives, encourage children, help Temple Israel Staff Writer wherever necessary to instill that sense of During a 2012 meeting at Chandler View hope,” Principal Eversoll said. “We have a Elementary School, Susie Cohn asked high rate of poverty across the board, and Principal Greg Eversoll what the school’s we do all we can for our students and staff dream project was. with the funds allotted, but those funds only “Our P.E. teacher has been an amazing go so far.” advocate for healthy living,” Principal Rabbi Aryeh Azriel has known Susie for Eversoll said, “and that began the conversa- many years and knows just how important tion about a walking track. And Susie, with- her generosity is. out hesitation, said, ‘I want to do that. Let’s make that become a reality. If I help pay for this, can you get this done?’” A year later, Chandler View has an outdoor track that is used not only by its students and staff, but by the entire neighborhood. “I often work late nights and come in early in the morning and people are on the track almost constantly,” said Eversoll, who has Susie Cohn was honored for helping build a walking track by been principal of Chandler View Elementary School students and staff. Chandler View for the last six years. “The very first night it was “She likes to help schools because we completed, people were using the track.” know about the tight budget in OPS,” Rabbi On Oct. 16, Chandler View held a dedica- Azriel said, “and Susie allows for the stution ceremony for its new walking track. dents and the teachers to go the extra mile The entire school, about 750 students and with her contributions.” staff members, paraded around the track Tammy Freeburg is Chandler View’s with banners and thank you cards for Susie. aforementioned physical education teacher “It was one of the most heartwarming and has long dreamed of having an outdoor events I’ve seen,” Principal Eversoll said. track and exercise area for the students. “The kids love what we’ve received. They’re “I can’t even tell you how much it means,” excited by it. Every day before recess, the she said. “It has been my dream since I’ve students have to run two laps around the been here, and I’ve been here 18 years, to track, and they enjoy doing it. Some of them have something like that out back for our want to run even more laps, which is just school and for our community to use.” wonderful to see.” Like many elementary schools, Chandler Susie Cohn has long been turning dreams View has a yearly fitness test for its fourth, into reality, either through the Ike and Roz fifth and sixth graders, and one of the criteFriedman Foundation of which she is presi- ria is for the students to run a mile. dent, or through other avenues. When her “This year, every kid improved his/her good friend Shari Hess was a teacher at mile time by at least 30 seconds,” Freeburg Lothrop Elementary School, Susie helped to said, “and on average, they increased their create not only an incentive program for time by two minutes, just having that track.” students’ grades, but a health and wellness Freeburg also mentioned that some stuprogram as well. And when Shari moved dents have taken to walking the track during over to Chandler View, the incentive pro- recess, not realizing the benefits they’re gram was instituted there, too. receiving. Susie’s generosity is not limited only to the “They walk and talk at recess and they schoolyard either. When a student’s family’s don’t even recognize that they’re exercising,” refrigerator broke, Susie made sure they got she said. “It’s amazing. I can’t ever thank Susie a new one. If a student needed glasses, Susie enough. Words cannot thank her enough. made sure they got them. Every time I talk about the track, it makes me “She is always finding unique ways to pro- cry, because I am so thankful.”
Outlook Nebraska by RACHEL CARVER Since its beginning in 2000, Outlook Nebraska, Inc. (ONI), a 501(c)3 organization, has positively impacted the lives of the blind and visually impaired through employment at our tissue converting facility. The opportunities they are given here allow them to live meaningful, productive, and independent lives. ONI’s successes are many, but none more impressive than its number one ranking for employing the blind. Outlook Nebraska, Inc. is a private, nonprofit agency qualified as a 501(c)3 organization under the Internal Revenue Code and registered as a charitable corporation in the State of Nebraska. The organization operates under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Act and the AbilityOne Program, which mandates
the Federal government to provide preferred vendor status to agencies such as ONI who employ persons who are blind or have other significant disabilities. As a result, in addition to empowering the blind and visually impaired to achieve independence and the increased quality of life, ONI is an economic engine that brings valuable government business to the Omaha metro area. In addition to product sales, Outlook Nebraska, Inc. is supported by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by state and federal law. To make a donation, to sign up for one of our scheduled tours or to join our mailing list, visit us online at www.outlooknebraska. org.
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EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE AND OFFICE CLOSING The Jewish Press office is closed Thursday, Nov. 28, for Thanksgiving; the deadline for the Dec. 6 issue is Tuesday, Nov. 26, noon. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 11
Mainstreeters Mystery Trip by OZZIE NOGG On the morning of Oct. 16, an intrepid band of twenty-five participants hopped on a bus at the JCC and set out on the Annual Mainstreeters Mystery Trip. “Before we arrived at our first destination, there was lots of guessing as to where we were going,” said Harry Alloy who coordinated the adven-
potato salad, dessert and beverage. Lunch was delicious, with such lovely service. The owners and staff catered to our every need.” The well-fed Mainstreeters headed next to the Hitchcock Nature Center. “A couple of days before our Mystery Trip, it rained cats and dogs, so I was a bit worried that our outdoor
Clockwise from above: Celia Barron, left, Anne Skolkin and Tootie Simon enjoying the Mormon Trail Center; Shelley Stern, left, Linda Abrams Tederman, Roger Tederman, Doris Alloy and Harry Alloy enjoying a feast at Castle Unicorn; Bill Dreyfus, left, and Roger Tederman enjoying the autumn vistas at Hitchcock Nature Center. ture. “But all the guesses were wrong.” As it turned out, the Mystery Trip included a tour of the Mormon Trail Museum and Historic Winters Quarters, followed by a visit to Castle Unicorn in Iowa’s Loess Hills and the Hitchcock Nature Center. “All the locations are only about twenty minutes or a half-hour drive from Omaha,” Alloy said. “You don’t have to travel far to enjoy something new.” At the Mormon Trail Museum, the Mainstreeters got a glimpse of the great Mormon Migration. “We all knew the Museum existed,” said Maggie Conti, Director of Activities and Outreach Programs at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, “but most of us had never been inside the building. It was fascinating to see the covered wagons, the hand carts, and to imagine the journey across Iowa.” The visit to Castle Unicorn was like finding “a bit of Bavaria in the Heartland,” Alloy said. He and Conti made a dry run of the facility before the day of the actual Mystery Trip. “We wanted to make sure that the bus could make it up the narrow, winding road to the Castle,” Alloy said. “Also, the stone and brick Castle has many steps that lead to vantage points on various levels, and we needed to make sure that the building itself was easily accessible to our Mainstreeters participants. We managed just fine, and the views of the surrounding hills, hiking trails, a real moat and fountains are breathtaking.” The group was served lunch in the Castle’s elegant Dining Hall. “The room is fit for royalty,” said Conti. “The menu offered a choice of the proprietor’s famous chicken salad on croissant or trout, both served with fresh fruit compote,
plans would be ruined,” Alloy admitted. “But the afternoon turned out to be perfect, so we were able to really enjoy the Nature Center, its observation tower and the surrounding sights. The view from the Nature Center of the Missouri valley hills and prairies is spectacular and a must-see in the area.” The location of next year’s Mainstreeters Mystery Trip remains (obviously) a mystery. “It can be a challenge to discover off-beat places for us to visit,” Alloy said. “I got the original idea for Castle Unicorn from Linda Abrams Tederman, and when I saw an article in the Jewish Press about a couple who got married there we decided that having lunch at the Castle would be fun. It’s a good feeling when people get off the bus and say, ‘The trip was wonderful. How did you come up with this idea?’ Those positive comments make it all worthwhile.” Alloy is also proud of the operational precision of the trip. “We promised the group that we’d return to the JCC by 3:30 p.m. to accommodate their personal schedules, and we pulled into the parking lot at 3:31 p.m. Everything went off like clockwork.” Mainstreeters programs are supported in part by grants from the United Way of the Midlands and the Jewish Federation of Omaha.
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by OZZIE NOGG L.O.V.E. (League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly) recently purchased two sewing machines, a serger, cutting tables plus other related equipment, and donated them to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home for use by L.O.V.E. Quilters -- a group whose purpose is to create various items that benefit residents of the RBJH. “We make fabric bags for the walkers and wheel chairs,” said Marge Bresel, a volunteer who coordinates the quilting group, “as well as fleece shawls and lap quilts that the residents really appreciate.” L.O.V.E. Quilters have also An example of the fabric made full-sized quilts for bags for walkers and hospice use at the Home. wheelchairs made for resiAccording to Lois Wine, dents of the Blumkin RBJH Director of Volunteer Home by the L.O.V.E. Services, the sewing Quilters. machines were paid for by funds raised from L.O.V.E. Tribute Cards, Gift Shop sales and general donations. “I can’t say enough about the generosity of L.O.V.E.,” Bresel added. “Everything they’ve accomplished over the years is done with the residents’ welfare in mind.” The L.O.V.E. Quilters have been together for six years, and consider themselves a havurah -- a small group of like-minded women, representing all the local synagogues, who assemble to share a communal experience. “We meet in the RBJH Board Room,” Bresel explained, “and often a resident or two will come in and watch what we’re doing and stay around and visit. When you get right down to it, our goal -- in addition to making the quilts, of course -- is to bring people together.” If you Google ‘quilting bee’ you’ll find a definition that perfectly fits Bresel’s description of the L.O.V.E. Quilters: a social gathering of friends and neighbors who come together to carry out some communal task. The L.O.V.E. Quilters represent all skill levels. “Some members are novices and others have been sewing for ages,” Bresel said. “We encourage anyone in the community who enjoys sewing -- or who wants to acquire more skill -- to join us. The time we spend together is very special. As are the projects we provide to the very special men and women who live at the Blumkin Home.” To learn more about the L.O.V.E. Quilters and how you can become part of the group, email Marge Bresel at breselms@cox.net.
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A complicated mess by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor On October 17, the United Nations Security Council voted Saudi Arabia in as its newest member. It’s a position Saudi Arabia has been trying to get for years, and initial reaction was positive. But the next day, in an unprecedented move, the House of Saud turned down the offer. “Allowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill and burn its people by the chemical weapons, while the world stands idly, without applying deterrent sanctions against the Damascus regime, is irrefutable evidence and proof of the inability of the Security Council to carry out its duties and responsibilities,” the official Saudi statement said. Also, the regime isn’t happy with the fact that the Council has not yet found a just and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, or made the Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction. The Council was surprised, and an official reaction didn’t immediately follow the snub. It’s funny. While Saudi Arabia accuses the Council of standing idle, and looking the other way, the announcement didn’t get much of a reaction on the international stage. Some articles were written, some government officials muttered under their breath, but it seems no one really knows how to respond. And that’s a pity, because there is plenty to talk about. “Could the move be a show to grab the world’s attention?” the Jerusalem Post asked. If that were the case, it didn’t work very well. Which will only add to the Saudis’ frustration over the concessions that were made to Syria’s ruling class following the chemical weapons debacle. Saudi Arabia pushed
hard for air strikes against Syria’s government, and sees the change in strategy as a victory for both Syrian president Bashar Assad and Iran. And next to Assad, Iran is Saudi Arabia’s biggest enemy in the region. As for the Saudis’ opinions on Israel, they haven’t changed much over the years; the House of Saud does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Israel, has pushed hard for a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian problem, and has made anti-Semitism part of its educational curriculum. At the same time, the regime has shown to be much more worried about Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities. Stories about allowing Israeli planes in Saudi airspace in order to attack Iran keep popping up. Saudi Arabia may not like Israel, but they hate Iran much, much more. And so they put up a good show, but if it ever gets to the point where they’ll need a partner to fight Tehran, my money is on Israel. You can call it a bit of a stretch, but I think Saudi Arabia’s refusal to join the Security Council would have been a great opportunity to address some additional issues that rarely get attention. Considering that both the Palestinian question in Israel and letting Assad get away with murder are brought up as reasons to not join, why not tie the two together and discuss the Palestinian people as a whole? Why stop at Gaza and the West Bank; why not go further? The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has registered 425,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. They are spread over 12 refugee camps, and are denied basic rights. They have no access to public social services, are banned from about 20 professions, and have only limited
access to health and educational services. Approximately 427,000 Palestinian refugees live in Syria, in 9 official and three unofficial camps. They do not have citizenship, but otherwise have the same “rights” as other Syrians. There are 50,000 Palestinian refugees in Egypt; they cannot register as refugees, and do not have permanent residency. In Iraq, the United Nations has registered 11,544 Palestinians, down from 34,000 in 2006. They have been targeted and killed by militant groups, causing them to flee again. Many of those have ended up in Syria, adding to the already existing Palestinian population there. Of course, fleeing to Syria means exchanging one evil for another. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, a total of 549,575 Syrians have fled to Jordan (as of 10-27-13); for Lebanon, that number is estimated to be close to 800,000. According to the Daily Beast, “for the half million Palestinian refugees who have lived in Syria since 1948, the situation is even more dire. Jordan denies them refuge as a matter of policy, and Lebanon restricts entry by a visa fee that Syrian refugees are not required to pay. Palestinians are running out of places to go.” It’s easy to point your finger at Israel, and tell its government to fix the “Palestinian problem.” But if the Saudis care so much about the Palestinian cause, why is it only Israel who is under scrutiny? Why is nobody talking about the refugee camps elsewhere? And why is the Western media by and large a co-conspirator in propagating the myth that only Israel has a “Palestinian problem,” when they have no basic rights anywhere else? You can call me paranoid. But as long as “pro-Palestinian” means “anti-Israel,” and nothing else is said about the people in those refugee camps, I’m going to question where the priorities lie.
How about shiva for the divorced?
Focus on issues ANNETTE POWERS NEW YORK (JTA) -- For months leading up to my wedding, I was a bundle of nerves. Sure, I was worried about whether or not my dress would fit and if the swing band would be able to pull off the hora, but that wasn’t it. I was petrified that my fiance would die. I pictured him being killed by a bus while crossing the street or being blown up on the train by a dirty bomb. I envisioned him in a hospital bed, slowly succumbing to a gruesome terminal illness, or being struck in the head by a fastball at Yankee Stadium. Every morning when he kissed me goodbye, a wave of panic would wash over me as I imagined it would be our last kiss. I saw myself at the cemetery and then sitting shiva, my friends and family dropping by with kugels, offering their condolences and support. It was ironic. Here I was planning our wedding, but in my head I was planning his funeral. My anxieties eased a bit the day after the wedding. We had made it through the big event without a major tragedy. I really started to relax the next week as we wandered along isolated stretches of the Portuguese beach and drank sangria in Seville. Over the next few years, we drifted from the honeymoon stage to the new-parent stage, and the fears I once had about my partner were now replaced with typical maternal anxieties about sleep training and teething. The waltz of worry about my husband slowed until it was merely a quiet background murmur. At some point, I’m not even sure when, I stopped kissing him goodbye as if it were the last time. A few weeks after we celebrated our third wedding anniversary, it happened. The thing I had feared most came
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true when the man I knew and loved disappeared. It just didn’t happen in a way I thought was possible. In one moment my husband was my best friend, my confidante, my emergency contact. Then, like something out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” he became a stranger. Sitting there on the cappuccino-colored ottoman in our living room, he told me he was having an affair and wanted a divorce. This guy looked like my husband and sounded like my husband, but what he was saying could not be coming out of my husband’s mouth. I had imagined losing him so many times, but never by choice. Though my husband wasn’t killed by a bus or a bomb, he was gone. That night he went to her house and never returned to our marital bed. Thankfully, I had a cadre of family and friends who took care of me during this critical time. My mom flew out to New York and stayed with me for a week. She accompanied me to the lawyer’s office to iron out the details of our separation and helped me sort through bills to figure out what my new monthly budget should be. These were tasks that required a presence of mind I did not have at the time. One of my best childhood friends, Missy, who lived in Mexico, was attending a wedding in Colorado when I emailed her with the news. Within hours she had rerouted her flight home to stop in New York. “I couldn’t let you go through this alone,” Missy said. She stayed with me for two weeks, nurturing me with delicious and healthy cooking, trips to the gym and constant pep talks. Peri and Sara came over every day to help me care for my 16-month-old, entertaining him, changing diapers and giving him baths, and plying me with nourishing meals. On a weeklong trip to my parents in Michigan, my friend Amy drove an extra three hours to take my son and me to
join her in Chicago for a weekend. Friends living all over the world gave me a sympathetic ear at any time of day. At midnight, I could call Jenny in California. At 4 a.m., I could call Hadass in Tel Aviv. When I look back, I realize just how much my friends and family sustained me then and keep me going even now, three years later. Not everyone has that kind of built-in support. For a people who tend to apply ritual to almost every aspect of life, I wonder why we Jews haven’t yet prescribed a set of shivalike rituals for divorce. When a separation happens, the community should spring into action just like they would after a death. Neighbors should drop over with babkas, and there should be tea and sympathy always at the ready. For the newly separated, it’s critical to stay busy, healthy and surrounded by supportive friends and family. Due to stress and depression, many newly separated are at risk for developing unhealthy habits and getting sick. Like mine did for me, friends can help keep the newly separated person healthy by cooking for them, going on walks together, inviting them to the gym or taking them to a yoga class. They can arrange fun outings for Saturday nights, when everyone else seems to be on “date night” and the newly single feel especially lonely. They could extend invitations for the holidays, and understand if the invitation is declined because sometimes celebrating with someone else’s family is harder than not celebrating at all. Most importantly, friends and family can listen to the painful, angry, sad and often very repetitive monologues of those who going through a separation. As with a death, the grieving doesn’t end with shiva; it can take years. I still have my moments. Continued on page 13
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November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 13
Jews have special reasons to remember JFK on 50th anniversary of assassination
Behind the headlines IRA STOLL NEW YORK (JTA) -- As the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination approaches, we Jews have our own special reasons to mourn. The conventional community memory of Kennedy would be enough by itself. JFK overcame the legacy of his father, President Franklin Roosevelt’s notoriously appeasementminded ambassador to Britain on the eve of World War II, Joseph Kennedy, to build a warm relationship with American Jews. As Warren Bass recounted a decade ago in his book “Support Any Friend,” the U.S.-Israel alliance advanced significantly with JFK’s approval of the sale of HAWK -- short for Homing All the Way Killer -- missiles to Israel. President Kennedy appointed Arthur Goldberg as labor secretary and then to the Supreme Court, Abraham Ribicoff as secretary of health, education and welfare, and Mortimer Caplin as internal revenue commissioner. Even a strangely large number of the gentiles in his administration had Jewish roots: Speechwriter Ted Sorensen was a self-described “Danish Russian Jewish Unitarian,” while Treasury secretary Douglas Dillon and White House aide Arthur Schlesinger Jr. both had Jewish immigrant grandfathers. In the closing days of the 1960 campaign, Kennedy held separate rallies in New York’s garment district with David Dubinsky’s International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and with the rival Amalgamated Clothing Workers, which also was heavily Jewish. In conducting research for my new book, “JFK, Conservative,” I came across two lesser-known pieces of evidence that shed new light on Kennedy’s positive views about the American Jewish community and the warmth of his relationship with it. The first was a tape recording of a meeting between Kennedy and American civil rights leaders following the March on Washington in 1963. The Oval Office recording system became famous under Nixon, but it was active in the Kennedy years as well, and it captured some fascinating interactions. With the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the White House following his “I Have a Dream Speech,” Kennedy launched into a discussion not of the need for federal civil rights legis-
lation, but rather of what blacks could do to help themselves. “Now, isn’t it possible for the Negro community to take the lead in committing major emphasis upon the responsibility of these families, even if they’re split and all the rest of the problems they have, on educating their children?” Kennedy asked/lectured. “Now, in my opinion, the Jewish community, which suffered a good deal under discrimination, and what a great effort they made, which I think has made their role influential, was in education: education of their children. And therefore they’ve been able to establish a pretty strong position for themselves.” Kennedy added, “With all the influence that all you gentlemen have in the Negro community … [you] really have to concentrate on what I think the Jewish community has done on educating their children, on making them stay in school, and all the rest.” For blacks, the president’s advice might have been good, patronizing, beside the point or all of the above. But for Jews, it encapsulated the way Kennedy admired them and saw them as a success story of American immigrant upward mobility. An example of that trajectory was the Jewish attorney Lewis Weinstein, who built a close relationship with Kennedy and is the source of the second piece of evidence. Weinstein had been born in Lithuania in 1905. He had come to America when he was 15 months old, graduated from Harvard and its law school, served in the army on Eisenhower’s staff during World War II, and had returned to become a partner at the Boston law firm of Foley, Hoag, and Eliot. One day in the summer of 1946, Weinstein’s partner Thomas Eliot, whose grandfather Charles had been president of Harvard, walked into Weinstein’s office and said, “Lou, meet Jack Kennedy.” From this classic Boston political moment -- the Brahmin lawyer introducing the Irish Catholic politician to a Jewish partner who could help him raise campaign contributions -- an enduring relationship began. The relationship came into play later when the plight of Soviet Jewry was starting to emerge as a concern for American Jews. And this particular anecdote is at least a partial corrective to the claim in Gal Beckerman’s well-received 2010 history “When They Come for Us We’ll Be Gone” that Soviet Jewry “was an issue that John F. Kennedy ignored.” It is true that American Jewish organizations were
rebuffed when they tried the usual route -- having friendly members of Congress contact the State Department. The assistant secretary of state for congressional relations, Frederick Dutton, sent Senator Keating of New York a long letter acknowledging that Russian synagogues had been closed and Jewish cemeteries desecrated as part of “the longterm Soviet campaign against religion generally,” but fretting that the American government could not do much about it. “It is doubtful if further protestations would be helpful to the Jews in the Soviet Union,” the letter concluded. But that was not the end of the story. Weinstein, as he later recounted in a little-noticed 1985 article for the journal American Jewish History, went to Robert Kennedy and succeeded in having a mention of the Soviet closing of synagogues included in President Kennedy’s September 1963 speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Weinstein persuaded the president to have Averell Harriman raise the matter with Khrushchev during Harriman’s negotiating mission to Moscow on arms control. And in a White House meeting with President Kennedy in November 1963, Weinstein, who was soon to take over as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, launched into a plea on the issue. “You know, it’s getting pretty bad,” Weinstein said. “There are murder trials going on. They call them economic trials, but the defendant is always a Jew. He’s charged with black market [trading] or something else like that, he’s always convicted and executed. They’re murder trials, in which the defendant is murdered and not the murderer.” Weinstein told Kennedy that Soviet authorities had closed the gates, slowing the flow of Jewish refugees out of Russia to a trickle. And he said no American president had intervened with the Russian authorities on behalf of the Jews since President Theodore Roosevelt had protested to Czar Nicholas II after the Kishinev massacre. Kennedy replied: “Well, here’s one president who’s ready to do something.” Kennedy told Weinstein to organize a conference in Washington about the Soviet Jewry issue. The president told Weinstein to schedule the meeting for sometime soon after Kennedy returned from an upcoming political trip to Dallas. Ira Stoll is the author of JFK, Conservative, to be published Oct. 15 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post.
How to stop killing in the name of God
Focus on issues AVI WEISS NEW YORK (JTA) -- Belief in God is at the core of my very being. But that belief is sometimes challenged by the scores of innocents killed over the millennia in God’s name, from biblical times to the present day. Last month, dozens were killed at a shopping mall in Kenya by terrorists demanding to know if those they were confronting were Muslim. If Muslim, they were spared; if not, they were murdered. One man who claimed to be Muslim was asked to name Muhammad’s mother. When he could not, he was summarily shot in the head. The day after the mall attack began, dozens of Christians were murdered at a prayer service in Pakistan. And yes, though they are aberrations, it must be said there have been Jews who have murdered in the name of God, like the perpetrator of the Hebron massacre 20 years ago. The late writer Christopher Hitchens cited horrors like these to argue that we are better off without God. It is an understandable reaction. But ethics derived completely from human civilization also have their weaknesses. If ethics comes solely from the human being, from the human mind, from human reason -- it is relative. As Freud is purported to have said, when it comes to self-deception, human beings are geniuses. If Hitler were asked whether the murder of 6 million Jews was ethical, he would say it was. The same is true of the godless communist regimes that murdered millions during the course of the 20th century. But even if ethics without God has its flaws, Hitchens’ challenge still must be addressed. Ethics with God often doesn’t seem much better. There are, I believe, some necessary ingredients for a belief in an ethical God, a God whose ethics are critical to a just and better world, a God whose presence I always feel. The first ingredient is that a true God must make room for believers in other gods. This is the position of Rabbi Menachem ben Shlomo Ha-Me’iri, who believed that all human beings demand equal protection, regardless of their
faith, as long as they are “members of a society based on laws and morality.” In contemporary terms, Me’iri is saying that we are obligated to treat every person, whatever the person’s belief or non-belief, as we would a fellow Jew. The second criterion is that God must welcome, and even demand, to be challenged. God’s covenantal relationship with human beings means that there are times when we are encouraged to question and even protest God’s mandates. This goes back to the time of Abraham, who challenged God’s decision to destroy the city of Sodom. The Midrash teaches that God rewarded Abraham with direct revelation of prophecy because of his commitment to fight for the rights of the righteous. Another example is Moses, who is commanded to go to war against Sihon, but attempts to first make peace. God, the Midrash tells us, accedes to Moses’ initiative. As my son, Dov Weiss, observed in his doctoral dissertation on man’s challenges to God, “God’s response to Moses is striking as God concedes to Moses’s ethical sensibilities and ratifies this less militant approach into law.” Given this relationship between humans and God, it is important not to overstep -- that is, it is important to confront God with reverence and humility. But it is equally important not to silence our inner ethical voices. Such give and take is not an expression of defiance but of mutual love. As the Midrash says, “Any love that does not include challenging each other is not true love.” While this Midrash deals with interpersonal relationships, it can be extended to apply to our relationship with God. In simple terms this would mean, if God commands us to kill an innocent, we have the responsibility to question, to challenge, to confront God. This is the dynamic of our covenantal relationship. This is what God wants from us. Indeed, the God I believe in categorically rejects the targeted killing of innocents. From this perspective, the Jewish doctrine of belief is a hybrid. It is not the ethics of the human being alone, nor is it derived from God alone. It is an interfacing of the two, with each demanding proper behavior from the other. This is the synthesis of the Written Law, which comes
from God, and the Oral Law, centered on human input which -- with divine mandate -- explicates the written one. From this synthesis -- from the Talmud, the commentaries, the codes of law, the rabbinic responsa -- emerges an unequivocal and absolute conclusion: Murder in the name of God is obscene, a desecration of God’s name. A story is told about Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, two prominent 20th century philosophers. After eight years of writing to each other, Rosenzweig, who was a bit younger, wrote a poem in which he asked Buber if he could address him using the word du, the German intimate expression of friendship. Buber agreed. Rosenzweig then said: Thank you. I’ll always say du, but in my heart I will continue to say sie -- the more formal German term for the other -- reflective of my deep respect for you. Rosenzweig’s concept is an accurate reflection of our relationship with an ethical God. Questioning with respect. Challenging with reverence. Confronting with humility. And holding each other mutually accountable. Rabbi Avi Weiss is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat, and senior rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York. His new book, Holistic Prayer, will soon be published by Maggid Press.
Shiva for the divorced? Continued from page 12 Recently, as I sat on the subway, I felt the hot sting of tears when I realized it was the 10th anniversary of the day I met my ex. It still hurts to think of those happier times and the loss I feel. But that morning on the train, I heard my father’s voice reciting one of his favorite Solomonic proverbs: “This, too, shall pass.” In that moment, I sensed his loving embrace from afar and felt a little better. Annette Powers is a marketing and communications professional. In her free time, she writes about a variety of topics from co-parenting to Yom Kippur to compulsive texting.
14 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, call 712.323.8885. FRIDAY, Nov. 8: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by an oneg with guest speaker, Gary Javitch, President of Javitch Mediation on the Israel: Are Settlement the Real Problem? The community is invited. Note: This service will be officiated by Larry Blass. Miles Remer will officiate at all of the Speaker Series Services.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; Our Shabbat Tables kick-off dinner for the season is tonight. There’s still time to sign up for future dinners. For more information or to register, visit www.bethel-omaha.org. SATURDAY: Join us for a totally unique Shabbat service, ‘Have a Cup of Coffee with God,’ at 9:30 a.m. Join Hazzan Krausman and Rabbi Abraham for this interactive service, as they discuss various elements of the Shabbat morning service as it happens. We’ll sit in a circle with coffee and snacks as we daven. Everyone is welcome; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; Mini Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 5:45 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. with Hazzan Krausman; Scholar-in-Residence, 7 p.m., Rabbi Joel Levy, Dean of the Conservative Yeshivah in Jerusalem will address “How to Live with People Whose Ideas You Loathe: Medieval Jewish Models for Extreme Co-Existence, and What Maimonides Can Teach Us about Easing the Worsening Relations Between Republicans and Democrats.” No charge to attend; Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, 7 p.m. at the syagogue to hear scholar-in-residence Rabbi Joel Levy. TUESDAY: Wrestling with the Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. weekly adult-education class led by Rabbi Abraham. No charge to attend; everyone is welcome. WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Masters in Judaism, Adult-education series offered through Nov. 20, from 6:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sessions will be led by Rabbi Abraham and Andy Greenberg. Cost, $36 for Beth El members, $45 for non-members. Register online at www.bethelomaha.org; for more information, contact Eadie Tsabari at etsabari@bethel-omaha.org. It is not too late to register. USY Lunch, Friday, Nov. 8, noon, meet for lunch at the Star Deli at the Blumkin Home, for teens who are off school that day. No RSVPs or advance ordering are necessary; parents are welcome to join us! Family Shabbat Service, Nov. 8, 6 p.m. Family-friendly service with Shabbat dinner to follow. Reservations and information online. Husker Game Night, Saturday, Nov. 9. The evening begins will 5:45 p.m. Havdalah, followed by 6 p.m. dinner and games from 7-10:30 pm. Everyone welcome to enjoy an evening of games, camaraderie and noshes. Cost, $10 per person, $18 a couple, $5 for children ages seven to 12, and free for children six and younger. Register online at www.bethel-omaha.org. B’nai Mitzvah Parents Meeting, Sunday, Nov. 10, 11:15 a.m. All parents of 4th and 5th graders are invited to attend this informational meeting. The Secrets of Jews, monthly, adult-education class led by
Bar Mitzvah Caleb Horner, son of Angela and Paul Horner, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Temple Israel. Caleb is a seventh-grade student at McMillian Magnet School. His interests include baseball, animals, ping pong and hanging out with friends. For his mitzvah project, Caleb volunteered at the Towne and Country Humane Society. He has a sister, Camille, and a brother, Cole. Grandparents are Sandi Martin, Inky and Howard Martin, and Gail and Bill Horner.
Andy Greenberg, on Sunday, Nov. 10, 10 a.m. Cost is $36 for members, $45 for non-members. Register online at www.bethel-omaha.org. Torah Tots, Sundays, Nov. 10 and 24, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Kibbutz Chaverim, Sunday, Nov. 10. We’ll meet for lunch at 12:15 p.m., and then from 12:45–3 p.m., we’ll have fun at SkateDaze, 3616 S. 132nd St. Transportation will be provided. Cost to attend, $10. Contact Eadie at etsabari@bethelomaha.org, for more information. Family Shabbaton, Nov. 15-17, Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. All families in the Jewish community with children in seventh grade and younger, are welcome. Register online at Beth El’s website. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 6:01 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Good Shabbos Nebraska: The First Annual Norm and Dorothy Zevitz lecture featuring Rabbi Dr. Moshe Goldfeder, 10 a.m.; Mincha, 5:45 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:01 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m. TUESDAY: Women’s Study Group, 6:30 p.m. at the home of Kathy Weiner. WEDNESDAY: Coffee and Your Jewish News, 7:45 a.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. THURSDAY: Sacred Grounds: Great Torah and Great Coffee, 9:30 a.m.
CHABAD CENTER An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.; Breakfast Bonanza, 9:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 10 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. All programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Family Dinner and Early Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. hosted by Alison O’Toole. Please RSVP to the Temple office; Classical Reform Shabbat Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Toldot. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; South Street Temple Annual Festival Summit, 12:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: LJCS classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Premiere Screening of “Remembered Voices”, 7 p.m. at Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 N. 13th St, followed by a Q&A session, admission is free and no RSVP is needed. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 6:30-8 p.m. Intro to Judaism, Session, led by Rabbi Lewis.
Candlelighting Friday, November 1, 6:01 p.m.
THURSDAYS, Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m. led by Marty Shukert. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: First Friday Shabbat Service: Candle lighting, 5:30 p.m., Service, 6 p.m. followed by a dinner. Services will be led by Rabbi Azriel, Rabbi Brown and Cantor Shermet along with Grade 5. Please RSVP by contacting Temple Israel, 402.556.6536 or RSVP@templeisraelomaha.com. Adults are invited to stay after for Shabbat Lounge featuring live music. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Caleb Horner, son of Angela and Paul Horner, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Grade 2 Education Day, 10 a.m. TUESDAY: Adult B’nai Mitzvah: Hebrew Study, 6:30 p.m. with Na’ama. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; Tools to engage in a conversation about Israel as an American Jew, 6:30 p.m. with Director of Lifelong Learning, Debbie Massarano. THURSDAY: Dilemmas of Faith: God and Spirituality in the Modern World, 10-11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel. Class Fee: $45 for members, and $55 for non-members.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: International Shabbat Service and Dinner in honor of Shabbat Toldot, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush Luncheon. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, 10:30-11:45 a.m. for a learning session on Women in the Bible. WEDNESDAY: LJCS classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Premiere Screening of “Remembered Voices”, 7 p.m. at Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 N. 13th St, followed by a Q&A session, admission is free and no RSVP is needed. Global Day of Jewish Learning, Sunday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.noon with guest speaker, Charley Friedman on Rest as a Creative Act -- How are we all connected with the process of Creation facilitated by Nancy Coren and Rabbi Craig Lewis at Tifereth Israel.
To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ and go to Submit Announcements. 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.
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November 1, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 15
Tangled relationships
In memoriam JUNE GOODBINDER
Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Toledot Our Sidrah gives us the news of the birth of twin sons to Isaac and Rebecca. For a number of chapters the narrative takes us through the tangled relationships between Esau and Jacob. The Esau-Jacob story affords us an entry into understanding at least something about a major problem that perseveres in contemporary Jewish-Christian relations. We are often unhappy about the slanderous image of the Jew in Medieval Christian mythology--an image that I am certain had a major influence on the latent, boiling hostility that exploded into the Holocaust. Worse, that slanderous image begins in what Christians consider holy documents, the “New Testament.” Jacob and Esau will help us understand this problem a little better. We read the Bible through the eyes of rabbinic interpretation, through Talmud and Midrash. We then sometimes overlook the fact that the Bible itself (not the rabbinic interpretation) sees Jacob as wily and deceptive, until in later, more mature years, he becomes Israel, the Champion of God. And the Bible itself (again, not the rabbinic interpretation) sees Esau as a simple, rugged, impulsive man, not given to deep thought and contemplation, but essentially a decent and trusting person. Rabbinic interpretation goes out of its way to heap sinfulness of many kinds on Esau, and to whitewash Jacob all down the line. And that is how we think of them. The rabbis used “Edom,” the name of the nation who sprang from Esau, as code for everything evil. What did Edomites say about Israelites? That is lost to history and its literature. But what did Israelites say about Edomites? See the evil image in Obadiah and many other references. Our Christian-Jewish problem is not reduced, but this will help us understand how the image of the evil Jew, unrefuted and unchallenged, entered Christian scriptures.
IHE featured on Nebraska Stories by LARRY L. KUBERT NET Television, Senior Publicist LINCOLN, Neb. (Oct. 11, 2013) -- The November installment of NET Television’s Nebraska Stories travels to the communities of Axtell, Pierce, Lincoln and Omaha to chronicle a variety of Nebraska activities and tales. This episode of the monthly series that tells compelling, personal tales of Nebraskans and Nebraska life airs Friday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. CT, repeating Monday, Nov. 4, at 10 p.m. CT on NET1. While candles, incense, marigolds and sugar skulls are part of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday celebrated around the world is above all a commemoration of life. In the opening segment of Nebraska Stories, travel to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Sheldon Museum of Art and the Bancroft Gallery in South Omaha to look death in the eye with humor, music, dancing and art. Who would expect a Nazi concentration camp to inspire today’s youth? In another segment, The Institute for Holocaust Education resurrects the music and art of an infamous Czechoslovakian fortress called Terezin. A century ago children and adults with intellectual disabilities often endured abuse and abandonment in large institutions. Nebraska Stories examines the small community of Axtell and a visionary Lutheran pastor who in 1913 wanted to change that practice. Viewers can watch the above segments and more by visiting the Nebraska Stories website at www.netnebraska.org/ nebraskastories/. Watch us on-line at netnebraska.org/ nebraskastories and join us on Facebook to be a part of the Nebraska Stories conversation. Nebraska Stories -- funded in part by the H. Lee and Carol Gendler Charitable Fund, the Nebraska Arts Council and Nebraska Cultural Endowment and the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety -- is a production of NET Television. NET1, NET2 World and NET-HD are part of NET Television, a service of NET. For a complete television program schedule, visit NET’s website (netNebraska.org/television).
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June Goodbinder passed away on Oct. 25 at age 86. Services were held Oct. 27 at Golden Hill Cemetery. She was preceded in death by husband, Harry Goodbinder, parents, Katie and Louis London, sisters and brothers, Edith, Adalynn, Marcia, Esther, Eugene, Nathan, and Leslie. She is survived by sons and daughters-in-law, Richard and Barbara, Larry and Debbi, Keith and Judy Josephson, and daughter, Stephanie Josephson; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Bonnie London; and beloved nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.
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Front: Bathsheva Shyken, Eliezer Shyken, Aviva Chana Shyken, Eva Cohen; Back: Shmuel Aaron Shyken, Brianan Frank from the Millard Branch, Noah Blair, Jack Cohen by PAM COHN Principal of Friedel Jewish Academy Friedel students are winners of Omaha Public Library’s “Scamper Award”. Along with ribbons that recognize individual students for their participation in the annual Summer Reading Program, a stuffed toy “Scamper” is awarded to schools who completed either reading 25 books or 10 hours during the 2013 “Dig Into Reading” Summer Reading Program. Friedel had a completion rate of 15.09% which was higher than the other Scamper Award winners. Other Scamper winners included Cottonwood Elementary, Hitchcock Elementary, St. Wenceslaus, St. Stephen the Martyr, and Cather Elementary.
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Nebraska STATEWIDE CLASSIFIEDS ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! For $225/25 word classified you can advertise in over 170 Nebraska newspapers. For more information contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6448 or call 1-800-369-2850. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING works! Place your 25 word ad into thousands of Nebraska homes for $225. Contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6448 or call 1-800-369-2850. FINANCING THE Good Life...Taxing Issues for the State of Nebraska. November 7th, Lancaster Event Center, Lincoln, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Register: www.neagrelations.org or 800-535-3456. BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. steffensbankruptcylaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. AFFORDABLE PRESS Release service. Send your message to 175 newspapers across Nebraska for one low price! Call 1-800-369-2850 or www.nebpress.com for more details. VINTAGE VILLAGE Antique Mall, 2425 O Street, Lincoln. 402-742-0063. 4th Anniversary Sale! Nov. 1-30, 10-7 Daily. 60+ Dealers. New items arriving daily! Antiques, collectibles, Christmas gifts. LOOKING FOR the classic car, truck or motorcycle of your dreams? It’s your Midwest connection to classic vehicles for sale. Need to sell a classic vehicle? For only $25, your ad with photos will run until sold! Call this newspaper today for more information or call 800-369-2850. WALK-IN TUBS Lowest price guaranteed. 100’s sold in Nebraska. For more information, call 402-896-2966. www.showersplumbing.com. HELP WANTED: Securitas Security immediate full-time openings in Aurora area. Must have clean background. Benefits, paid training, 401(k), national vendor discounts, free uniforms, more. Apply at www.securitasjobs.com, select Lincoln location. EOE M/F/D/V
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HORSCH PRODUCES premium agricultural seeding/tillage equipment and is searching for an ag product specialist to assist in product development, improvement, sales and service efforts in Nebraska. Call: 855-446-7724 or online: tom.bonau@horsch.com. EARN $500 a day. Insurance Agents needed; leads, no cold calls; commissions paid daily; lifetime renewals; complete training; health/dental insurance; life license required. 1-888-713-6020. PROTEC BUILDINGS, division of Sioux Steel Company, is looking for Dealers/Erectors with a background in concrete/building sales. Call Monte James: 605-359-6657, www.protecbuildings.com. AMBITIOUS LABORERS, drivers, lead men, for small aggressive company to travel throughout the country. CDL, welding, mechanical, concrete experience a plus, with eye for detail. Valid driver’s license and drug screen necessary. Farabee Mechanical 402-792-2612. EXPERIENCED HEAVY Equipment Operators needed. Gana Trucking now hiring for work minutes south of Lincoln. Call Brandon at 402-794-5000 for interview. ganatrucking.com. STARTING AT $18-26 hour for experienced HVAC and Plumbing installation and service techs, and HVAC sales engineer. Green Furnace and Plumbing, Lincoln, NE, 402-467-4444. GANA TRUCKING now hiring experienced diesel technician, CDL driver, concrete crusher operator for work minutes south of Lincoln. Call Brandon at 402794-5000 for interview. ganatrucking.com. “PARTNERS IN Excellence” OTR Drivers APU equipped Pre-Pass EZ-pass passenger policy. 2012 & newer equipment. 100% No touch. Butler Transport, 1-800-528-7825.
16 | The Jewish Press | November 1, 2013
Liberal Jews laying claim to Jewish burial rituals by JULIE WIENER the religious world is. And I’m hoping to create a large cadre est things in the world, but it’s new for us -- and that’s exciting.” NEW YORK (JTA) -- When his cousin died unexpectedly of individuals around the country who will be able to deal with The Gamliel Institute is a project of Kavod v’Nichum, lita few years ago, Hal Miller-Jacobs was recruited to oversee those questions and help guide the aging baby boomer popu- erally “honor and comfort,” a 13-year-old nonprofit that the funeral arrangements and wound up helping with the lation into settings -- ideally synagogues -- where these ques- sponsors annual conferences for chevra kadisha groups and tahara -- the traditional preparation of the body for burial. offers a variety of training and resource materials, includFor the first time in his life, the 76-year-old computer proing a how-to manual outlining tahara procedures. fessional joined with other volunteers in carefully washing, The group was recognized this year in Slingshot’s Jewish cleaning and dressing the body in a simple white shroud. innovation guide -- no small coup for an organization “It was probably the most moving Jewish experience I focused on death and dying. Slingshot is a nine-year-old ever had in my life,” Miller-Jacobs said. group best known for promoting innovative new proBut when he tried to volunteer with his local chevra grams that target Jews in their 20s and 30s. kadisha, or Jewish burial society, he was turned away. MillerJulie Finkelstein, Slingshot’s program director, said Jacobs said he believes it’s because he is not Orthodox. Kavod v’Nichum helps communities offer Jews a So Miller-Jacobs teamed up with Judith Himber, a friend “moment for really deep, meaningful, substantive Jewish and fellow congregant at his Conservative synagogue in connection” at a time of loss when “they often seek out Lexington, Mass., to launch Community Hevra Kadisha of religious ritual.” Greater Boston, an inclusive Jewish burial society. David Zinner, Kavod v’Nichum’s founding president and “We have no dissatisfaction with the work they do,” executive director, got involved in Jewish end-of-life issues Miller-Jacobs said of the society that declined his memberin the mid-1990s when his Reconstructionist synagogue in Baruch Bloom, in white shirt, a former board member of Kavod ship. “We’re just looking to open this up to more people.” Maryland was approached about buying a section in a new v’Nichum, demonstrates how to prepare a body for burial at the (Henry Feuerstein, the coordinator for the Boston-area cemetery. While researching the issue, he discovered the organization’s 2012 conference in Los Angeles. chevra kadisha Miller-Jacobs sought to join, did not Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington, respond to a call for comment.) tions will be talked about openly, respectfully and Jewishly.” a volunteer-run organization that helps arrange for affordable Often shrouded in secrecy, Jewish burial societies and traKelman says many Orthodox burial societies will only use funerals. Before long, he was doing a tahara for the first time. ditional Jewish funeral rituals are largely unfamiliar to most Orthodox chevra kadisha members because they believe that No one knows how many non-Orthodox chevra kadisha non-Orthodox American Jews, who generally outsource the those participating in the mitzvah of preparing the dead for groups exist in North America, but Zinner said he is seeing a details of preparation and burial to funeral homes. Many burial must be Sabbath observant. Kelman’s institute seeks to steady growth. He says he personally has led training sessions American Jews increasingly are opting for cremation, long a broaden chevra kadisha societies beyond the Orthodox world. for groups seeking to get off the ground in 100 different locaJewish taboo. In Boston, Community Hevra Kadisha has recruited more tions over the past decade, including Los Angeles and Boston. But now a growing network of liberal and pluralistic bur- than 20 partner synagogues and obtained permission to “We’re sort of unique in that we’re more than an educaial societies like the fledgling Boston one are hoping to pop- perform pre-burial rituals in a Jewish funeral home. It tional organization,” Zinner said. “We’re also a communityularize traditions that they believe offer powerful spiritual recently hosted a two-day training session attended by 100 organizing group.” experiences and comfort in the face of death and loss. would-be volunteers and recruited a board that includes Michael Slater, a member of Chicago’s Progressive Chevra “I see this as a major educational opportunity for the bestselling author Anita Diamant. Kadisha and Kavod v’Nichum’s president, said the national American Jewish community and frankly as a way for servDiamant is hoping to do for Jewish burial something akin group is in the process of transforming from a startup into ing aging baby boomers,” said Stuart Kelman, a to what she did for Jewish ritual baths with the founding a an established organization. Conservative rabbi who is the dean of the Gamliel Institute, decade ago of Mayyim Hayyim, a “pluralist mikvah” in the “We think we’re doing something important, that addressa training center that provides online courses addressing the Boston suburbs: Taking an ancient and often intimidating rit- ing death openly and through the lens of Jewish tradition how-tos of chevra kadisha work. ual traditionally the sole domain of the Orthodox and making and practice counters the trend toward death denial in our “They’re beginning to realize they’re going to die, and it accessible, if not mainstream, for modern liberal Jews. culture,” said Slater, a 47-year-old emergency room doctor. they’re going to come to the question of what is that all about, “It feels like part of the same wonderful movement of liber- “When you don’t think about death and don’t approach it in what do I do, what happens, how do I talk about this?” Kelman al Jews owning the tradition and feeling authentic in their an intentional, focused way, then when it happens it’s all the said. “The secular world is not prepared to deal with that, but understanding and practice,” Diamant said. “It’s one of the old- more scary and painful.”
Hear the response from Omaha’s rabbinic leadership to the first major survey of American Jewry in more than 10 years that reports the intermarriage rate is 58%, two-thirds of Jews do not belong to a synagogue, one-fourth do not believe in God, and more Jews identify as “no denomination” than as Orthodox and Conservative combined. Community members may submit questions in advance for consideration to be included in the discussion. Send via email to bcohen@jewishomaha.org by Monday, November 4. The summary document and the full results of the Pew Research Center’s “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” can be found at www.pewresearch.org and click on the “religion” tab.
A Portrait of
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TUESDAY
Jewish Americans 2013 - A RABBINIC PANEL DISCUSSION Moderated by Joel Alperson
NOVEMBER 5th
7 p.m. | Temple Israel Dessert reception to follow
Rabbi Steven Abraham
Rabbi Aryeh Azriel
Rabbi Josh Brown
Rabbi Jonathan Gross
Rabbi Mendel Katzman
Beth El Synagogue
Temple Israel
Temple Israel
Beth Israel Synagogue
Chabad House
The Center for Jewish Life has organized this Rabbinic Panel as part of their mission to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.