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The Jewish Press AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA | WWW. JE WISHOMAHA.ORG
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N OV E MB E R 2 0, 2 02 0 | 4 KIS LE V 578 1 | VO L. 1 01 | NO. 6 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 4:42 P.M.
Art on our campus: Connection Point
European synagogues keep on their lights to mark 1938 Kristallnacht Page 7
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor ocated in the green space near the JCC Membership entrance stands a sculpture in steel and bronze, titled Connection Point. Created by internationally renowned artist Jennyfer Stratman, it was placed on our campus by Michael Staenberg as part of the building renovation. Jennyfer is originally from Phoenix, but splits her time between Arizona and Melbourne, Australia. About Connection Point, she said: “It is a three-dimensional line drawing capturing a quiet moment of reflection. The work considers the relationship of oneself to greater humanity. The internal figure represents the self or individual, while the outer molecular structure represents the infinite connections we share with each other and the universe.” These ideas have been consistent themes in Jennyfer’s work over the last 20 years as a full-time artist. “Now, more than ever,” she said, “the need for us to ‘connect’ is relevant and necessary. I hope this sculpture can help cultivate this awareness.” How do you split your time between Australia and the US? What’s your story? I have studios in both countries and usually make three trips back and forth from Melbourne to Phoenix every year, spending approximately half my time in See Art on our campus page 2
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Jewish Jeopardy! moments Page 10
Officials predicted violence. It hasn’t happened — yet. Page 12
JFS presents Middlescence: The beauty of the Ofrenda, A second adolescence, with the wisdom of the Kaddish wisdom
Middlescence
A second adolescence, with wisdom HOSTED BY
REST & RENEWAL
REGULARS
Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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EXERCISE & NUTRITION
JOY & PASSION FOCUS & GROWTH
GABBY BLAIR Jewish Press Staff Writer Jewish Family Service will be offer-
TIME & ENERGY
Program funded by a grant from The Dennis Schuman Charitable Foundation
ing a Zoom program on Middlescence, a life stage created by longevity patterns of the 21st century, presented by leading expert Barbara Waxman on Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 7-8 p.m. Middlescence, a term which comes from the combination of the words “middle” and “adolescence,” seeks to change the way middle age has become negatively stereotyped. Waxman refers to Middlescence as a new way of looking at middle age and likens it to a second adolescence but See Middlescence page 2
Credit: J Mndz, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
ANJELICA N. RUIZ When I came out of the mikvah over seven years ago, I joked to someone that I was now a ‘superminority,’ Hispanic-Filipino Jewish woman. As naïve as it seems, at the time I didn’t think about how I would juggle my ethnic identity with my new religion; I simply thought everything would fall into
place. That was very much not the case and to this day, one of the things I continuously struggle with is how to honor my ethnic identity and background with the religion that I chose and love. I began teaching religious school about a year after my conversion and was assigned to fourth grade. I See Beauty of the Ofrenda page 3