Vol. LXXXVIII No. 15 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 88 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
22 Kislev, 5769
December 19, 2008
Livingston Foundation celebrates 60 years of giving generously by SUZANNE RICHARDS SINGER As the Trustees of the Milton S. and Corinne Livingston Foundation look back on its 60-year history, another 60th year observance comes to mind. On the occasion of a testimonial dinner for Milton Livingston’s 60th birthday in 1951, the businessman/civic leader/ philanthropist told a story that had inspired him. It was a tale of the Klondike gold rush and the prospectors who trudged through Alaska’s biting cold and blinding snowstorms in search of the elusive “yellow dust.” Cabins were built at strategic points for their refuge, and outside the cabin was a wood pile to provide logs so the travelers could keep the cabin warm during their stay. There was one unwritten obligation -- each man was expected to replace the logs he had used and then to build the wood pile a little higher than he had found it. Livingston went on to say that “during my life I have tried to emulate those hardy pioneers and build the wood pile just a little higher than it was when I found it.” And indeed he did. Ensures Legacy Continues His generosity during his lifetime was legendary, and to be certain that it would continue into the future he created the Milton S. and Corrine Livingston Foundation in 1948. When he died in
Coming on board the Livingston Foundation earlier this year were Bob Belgrade, seated left, as a trustee, and attorney Howard Epstein, executive director. Other trustees include Jerry Hoberman, standing, Suzanne Richards Singer, Murray Newman and Bob Kully. The Foundation’s newest member is Jennifer Meyerson. 1969, he left the bulk of his estate, approximately four million dollars, to his Foundation. According to Robert Kully, the Livingstons’ great-nephew and President of the Livingston Board of Trustees since 1991, the Foundation has an amazing
Teens win big in Bible Quiz by LOIS EPSTEIN The first place winner in the 23rd Annual Senator Edward Zorinsky B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz Contest was Effie Tsabari, daughter of Eitan and Eadie Tsabari. Held last week in the Jewish Community Center auditorium, it was filled with excited teenagers and adults. Effie, a senior at Westside High School, won a $600 scholarship that can be used for college tuition or an approved trip to Israel or an approved camp or educational program sponsored by a Jewish organization. Coming in second place and winning a $350 scholarship, was Ygal Schuller, son of Dan and Yaffa Schuller. A third place scholarship of $250 was won by Aaron Prulick, son of Ira and Sheila Prulick. Adeev Potash, son of Alan and Amy Potash, came in fourth, winning a $125 scholarship. Continued on page 2
Winners of the 2008 Bible Quiz are: Adeev Potash, left, Effie Tsabari, Ygal Schuller, and Aaron Priluck.
Inside Opinion Page see page 8
history. Well over 12 million dollars has been contributed to philanthropic causes since 1970, the earliest year for which records are available. Livingston was a visionary who saw the need for the Jewish Community Center, located at 20th and Dodge, to move “out
west.” Along with his Foundation, he personally made available to the Jewish Federation a site on 96th and Western. However, in 1971, several years after his death, the JCC building committee felt that the site was too small for the future needs of Omaha’s Jewish community. Knowing how important this move was to Livingston, and wishing to see the project come to fruition, the Foundation then purchased the property on 132nd Street. Creates Challenge Grant In addition to the land, David E. Beber, executive director, announced that “The Livingston Foundation will give a sum equal to 25 percent of all monies contributed by the community at large to construct the JCC building and equip it ... the Trustees make the pledge as a challenge to the community ... we hope this offer will be an incentive to Omaha Jewry ... to prove it wants a new Center.” That challenge resulted in the community reaching its goal, and a gift from the Foundation of $795,500 for the new JCC, in addition to the $317,000 it paid for the land. When an appeal was made in 1998 for the Jewish Community Center’s Campus Building Fund, the Livingston Foundation announced a pledge of $1.5 million for the creation of a permanent endowment fund for the maintenance Continued on page 2
Madoff scandal rocks Jewish philanthropic world by JACOB BERKMAN Madoff as a benefactor, NEW YORK (JTA) -- Tthe announced on its website securities fraud of Bernard Sunday that it would immediMadoff has rocked the Jewish ately need to raise $1.8 million nonprofit world and the to make up for recent losses. worst may be yet to come. Editor’s note: The Jewish Madoff, the founder of Federation Foundation has no Bernard L. Madoff exposure, it was announced at Investment Securities LLC, Monday night’s Federation was arrested Dec. 11 after meeting. admitting to his board that a According to Marty Ricks, hedge fund he ran was essenexecutive director, “Our tially a $50 billion Ponzi Foundation has never invested scheme. any funds with the Madoff At least two foundations firm. Similarly, our investment have been forced to close advisor, Fund Evaluation because they had invested Group of Cincinnati, assures their funds with Madoff. us that none of the 50+ funds The Robert I. Lappin in which our fund managers Foundation in Salem, MA, have invested have any assets announced it would shut with or any other connection down after losing $8 million to Madoff.” - all of its money. The foun- The New York Post did not mince words with its Dec. 16 Madoff served as treasurer of dation’s four staff members cover shot of Bernard Madoff. Yeshiva University and chairwere terminated Dec. 12 and all programs were sus- man of its Sy Syms School of Business until he resigned pended. And the Chais Family Foundation, which gives last week. Another trustee -- philanthropist and investor out some $12.5 million each year to Jewish causes in J. Ezra Merkin, who played a role in managing Y.U. Israel, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, funds -- also stepped down. Though Y.U. chancellor announced its closing Dec. 14. Richard Joel declined to comment, sources close to the At least one nonprofit is calling out for help in the institution say $100 million of Y.U.’s endowment was wake of Madoff’s collapse. The Gift of Life Foundation, invested with Merkin in Madoff funds. a Jewish bone marrow registry that relied heavily on Continued on page 4
This Week: Omahans support Gilad Shalit: Page 3 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Press announces holiday closings, new editorial calendar: Page 2
Coming Next Week: Senior Living Figuring out how to celebrate Hanukkah: Page 6
JFS, Temple send delegate to Jewish Deaf Congress: Page 12
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 39 Forever Hanukkah Party, 6 p.m. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Beth El Teen Class with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing, 1 p.m. Senior NCSY Hanukkah Dinner, 6:30 p.m. MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 Hanukkah Party, 5 p.m. at Chabad House Judaism 101, 8 p.m.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23 JSS/RBJH Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m. Mishnah Club, 3:45 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24 Chinese Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth Israel 20’s & 30’s Event, 7 p.m. at Beth El THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25 NCSY Winter Conclave Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Jewish Ideals and Ethics, noon at Beth El Parsha Club for Kids, 3:40 p.m. at Chabad Class with Rabbi Gross, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel
S A V All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not E responsible for the accuracy of events.To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING,VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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Livingston Foundation celebrates 60
various Jewish organizations in Israel and the Omaha Continued from page 1 and operation of the JCC’s physical plant. As had been area, such as the Mount Sinai Cemetery and the Council done when the new ‘J’ was built, this gift was presented Bluffs Bikur Cholim Cemetery, Beth El and Beth Israel, as a challenge to the community--a matching fund -- one Yachad and the Jewish Historical Society, millions have been given over the years to the Federation annual camdollar for each three dollars raised. up to $4.5 million. According to Kully, “The trustees felt that a fund to paign. According to Jan Goldstein, executive director of the assure that the building will not become a burden on future generations seemed just as important as funds for Jewish Federation of Omaha, “The Livingston construction.” Once again the community was success- Foundation’s enormous financial investment in our community has enabled us to develop leaders, engage ful in meeting the challenge. young people and build 50 Years, One Million in Grants Jewish identity through proThe year 1998 marked 50 years since the grams and missions to Israel. founding of the Livingston Foundation. The They have been our critical trustees made the decision to observe that partner in helping the milestone by making grants totaling one milFederation and its agencies lion dollars, starting with its first payment of fulfill our shared mission of $125,000 for its commitment to the JCC. building community and Then, the Yale Richards Professional ensuring the future of Jewish Education Endowment Fund was created. Omaha.” Richards had been the legal counsel and Temple Israel, a Major executive director of the Livington Beneficiary Foundation for almost 25 years, and it was The other major beneficihis 75th birthday. What a perfect way to ary of the Foundation has honor him, and at the same time benefit the been Temple Israel. During Federation Foundation and other non-profit his lifetime, Livingston organizations. donated $75,000 to spearThe income from the endowment enables head a drive for the addition the Jewish Federation Foundation to hold of the religious school wing. seminars for professionals such as attorneys, accountants, investment advisers and insur- Jennifer Meyerson is the newest trustee of In 1966 he offered the congregation the complete gift ance counselors to inform them of current the Livingston Foundation. of an enlarged chapel (previously a nondescript multiestate and tax planning strategies for charitable giving. purpose room) as a memorial to his late wife Corinne. Federation, Agencies Benefit The Jewish Federation and its agencies have been the Only after insistent persuasion by Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks, did he allow the name to be the Milton and largest beneficiaries of Livingston grants. Livingston Scholarships, administered by the Center Corinne Livingston Chapel. for Jewish Education, have provided tuition aid for hunSince his death, the Livingston Foundation has given dreds of college students. Missions to Israel and Artza Temple Israel over two million dollars in funds for synatrips for teens have been subvented and funds were given gogue improvements, endowment gifts and matching for compensation packages for Jewish professionals. Seed funds, programming, staff salaries, chapel repairs, cememoney made possible the study and formation of new tery improvements, landscaping and the building fund. programs; an initial gift of $75,000, plus subsequent In addition, through the years smaller grants have grants, were instrumental in the development of the been made to local colleges, universities, community Jewish Federation Foundation. social service organizations, medical and art facilities. Following a grant for the study of needs for “The Today’s Trustees of the Livingston Foundation Center for the Aging”, as it was called, the Foundation include Bob Belgrade (2008), Jerry Hoberman (1991), gave $500,000 for what became the Rose Blumkin Bob Kully (1983), Murray Newman (1984), Suzanne Jewish Home. A similar amount was pledged for the cur- Richards Singer (1989), and its newest member, Jennifer rent rebuilding project of the Blumkin Home. Meyerson. Executive Director of the Foundation is When the ADL was considering closing its Omaha attorney Howard Epstein. office following Bob Wolfson’s promotion to the nationThe trustees feel the honor and responsibility of carryal office in New York, the Livingston Foundation made ing on Milton Livingston’s legacy. When grants are disa grant that convinced the ADL to keep an office in cussed, they try to think how he would approach it. Omaha. What he would want to do. They do know that the While many thousands of dollars have been given to wood pile needs to be a little higher.
Press announces holiday closings, editorial calendar by JEWISH PRESS STAFF To accomodate staff vacations and the need for computer upgrades, the Jewish Press will not publish on Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, or on Friday, July 3, 2009, in a decision made by the Press Board at its Dec. 8 meeting. Also the new editorial calendar has been updated, with the addition of two new special issues: a summer camp issue focusing on local activities for Omaha and Lincoln children and youth, scheduled for Feb. 20, and a new Real Estate Guide featuring local residential and commercial realtors, attorneys, mortgage brokers and the like in the Jewish community, set for May 15, 2009. The 2009 special issues include: Women’s Health on Jan. 9, Simchas & Celebrations on Feb. 6, Local Camping on Feb. 20, Spring Home & Garden on March 13, the Passover issue on April 3, Mother’s Day Gift Guide on 1, Real Estate guide on May 15, Father’s Day/High School Graduation Gift Guide on June 5, Senior Living on June 26, Health & Wellness on July 10, Sports & Recreation on July 31, The Learning Curve education issue on Aug. 21, Jewish New Year’s issue on Sept. 8, Arts & Entertainment on Oct. 2, Jewish Camping on Oct. 23, Hanukkah Gift Guide on Nov. 2, Tax and Financial Planning on Dec. 4, and Senior Living on Dec. 25. For more information, call 402.334.6448. HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Dec. 25 and Thursday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is 9 a.m. is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 9 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 2 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment.
Teens win big in Bible Quiz Continued from page 1
Steve Riekes, a trustee of the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, explains the rules, while Mark Javitch handles scoring. Cash awards were also paid to all of the scholarship winners, plus Hal Emas, Susan Freeman, and Lev Nachman. As he has often stated, Steve Riekes, Trustee of the Lodge and a founder of the Bible Quiz, “All of the participants are winners.” Serving as Quiz Master was Gloria Kaslow. Mark Javitch did the computerized scoring. Ari Riekes served as Time Keeper. The Judges were Dr. Guy Matalon, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Cantor Beth Schlossberg, and Rabbi Yaakov Weiss. Karen Javitch was the Chaperone. Anne Muskin, the Director of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, served dinner which preceded the Contest. Riekes also thanked Stan Mitchell, Lois Epstein and the directors and staff of the religious schools of Beth El, Beth Israel and Temple Israel.
December 19, 2008
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Omahans say: Gilad Shalit is still alive!
by TAMAR HALEVY JCC Community Shlicha In the last few weeks, Hamas, the Palestinian terror organization, have renewed its Qasam shooting and the attack on the area of the city Sderot. The main reason for the hesitation of the Israeli government and the army to take a military action in the Gaza Strip is the fact that Gilad Shalit is still alive. While Israel is getting busy with the upcoming elections, beginning of an economic crisis, and the situation in Gaza, Omaha’s Jewish community took action and gave a hand to the campaign for the release of Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity in Gaza Strip. Gilad Shalit, now 22, was born on Aug. 28, 1986. He is the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit of Mitzpe Hilla in the Western Galilee and the brother of Yoel (25) and Hadas (18). Like every other “good” Israeli boy, Gilad joined the armored forces of the Israel Army when he was 18. On June 25 2006, Hamas terrorists from Gaza Strip snuck into Israel’s territory through a tunnel, and attacked a military force of four soldiers that were stationed in Kerem Shalom, “the vineyard of peace” on the border with Gaza. Three of the soldiers were killed and one survived -- that was Shalit. Wounded and defenseless, 19-year-old Gilad was dragged into Gaza Strip and is being held in captivity since then. Gilad’s abduction, along with the abduction of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in the northern border with Lebanon July 2006, was the primary reason for Israel to start the 2nd war of Lebanon. Although Israel was not able to return the sons home at the end of the
war, the bodies of Regev and Goldwasser had been returned to Israel by the Hezbollah in August 2008. In June 2007, Egyptian mediators received a letter written by Gilad in which he stated that he was alive and well. In June 2008, Israel received an audiotape proving that Shalit is still alive. Major ef for ts a r e being done in Israel and all o v e r t h e world to release Gilad as soon as possible. During the last couple weeks, the Omaha Jewish community contributed to Above: Gilad Shalit; above right: efforts to BBYO and below right, USY disr e l e a s e play banners in support of the Gilad in so kidnapped solider. many ways: The girls of MZ Yoshannah BBG have participated in a photography project, and took photos with a sign that reads: “Gilad Shalit is still alive!” The students and the teachers of Beth El Talmud Torah School, led by education director Judy Rubin, have also participated in the photography project, taking it one step further. The children and
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teachers made Gilad Shalit masks and took pictures saying: “We are all Gilad Shalit”, to express the solidarity they feel for him. “The photos we sent to Israel show our solidarity as Jews and our obligation to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim, redeeming the captives,” says Rubin. At Temple Israel Hebrew School, the children learned about Gilad’s story through a children’s book he wrote about
peace when he was 11 years old. The book, called When the Shark and the Fish First Met, is a wonderful allegory to the situation in the Middle East, telling the story of “born enemies” -- the shark and the fish – which become best friends and live peacefully together. The book was illustrated by various Israeli artists and children from all over the world, and by Temple’s fourth grade class with Leora Azriel. The illustrations, including “Omaha made” ones sent to Israel, are displayed in different galleries in Israel, currently in Rishon LeZion.
“My fourth grade students really enjoyed learning about Gilad and felt that they were making a large contribution to the cause. I know that it made such an impact on them that they even went home and discussed the situation with their families afterwards,” says Azriel, teacher in Temple’s Hebrew School. The illustration project was also done by the students of Beth El Talmud Torah School, and last year by the students of Friedel Jewish Academy, which are participating in the Partnership with Israel photo project also. The book about the shark and the fish also created a wonderful opportunity for the students of the JCC’s Pennie Z. Davis Child Developm e n t Center to learn about peace and friendship. After reading the story, the children created “an ocean of peace”, filled with their glittery fish. The ocean artwork is on display in the JCC lobby. “We shall remember our sons who are being held in captivity by evil oppressors. We shall raise a holy prayer from the depths of our hearts, for their immediate rescue and return to their homes and families, in good health and peace,” said Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, Chief Rabbi of Israel. For more information, please call me at 334.6403 or e-mail thalevy@jccomaha. org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
Madoff scandal rocks Jewish world
Continued from page 1 Just as the reverberations of the subprime mortgage collapse are still seen as contributing to the nation's wider economic meltdown, philanthropic insiders say the fallout from Madoff’s scheme could be even greater. The insiders note that Madoff and others heavily invested in his fraudulent fund were major supporters of a plethora of nonprofit organizations, served on their boards or advised those organizations on how to invest their money -- in some cases placing large sums of the groups’ capital in Madoff’s hands. Reflecting this sense that the full extent of the damage is still unclear, the executive vice president and CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York said that even though its endowments were not exposed, the organization still could be hurt if donors lost money in the scheme. “We do not yet know the full extent of the losses that supporters of UJA-Federation and other Jewish institutions have had,” John Ruskay said. “But we have already heard that many major institutions had substantial funds invested, as did foundations. Already in the context of a very challenging economic environment this will present another significant difficulty. We don’t know yet the extent of the wreckage.” Reports are trickling out in the national media about prominent businessmen from across the country who lost money in Madoff's scheme. New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon, GMAC Financial Services chairman J. Ezra Merkin and former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman all were reported to have taken significant hits due to their dealings with Madoff, who reportedly would not accept any investment in his fund below $10 million. Reports have surfaced also that media magnate Mortimer Zuckerman was significantly hurt by investing with Madoff. In Los Angeles, the Jewish Community Foundation’s $238 million Common Investment Pool lost $18 million it had invested with Madoff, according to a letter sent out by the foundation. Among other Jewish institutions and foundations believed to be hit by the Madoff scandal: the American Jewish Congress, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation, Elie Wiesel’s Foundation for Humanity and Carl Shapiro’s charitable foundation. An official at one major Jewish foundation told JTA that it had been advised to invest with Madoff, but decided against it after concluding that his return-oninvestment forecasts seemed too good to be true. Certainly the extent of the damage to the philanthropic world could become clearer as details emerge in coming days and weeks of just who was invested with Madoff. The endowment fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington had more than $10 million invested
with Bernard Madoff's scam fund. In a letter to donors, The United Jewish Endowment Fund said the Madoff investments represented less than the 10 percent maximum for any single fund manager in the fund’s active portfolio, in keeping with the organization's investment policy. The endowment fund’s holdings as of Nov. 30 -- including the Madoff-invested funds -- had totaled $125 million, meaning Madoff’s firm managed approximately 8 percent. The money under Madoff management came from a variety of UJEF funds, including the federation's general endowment, donor-advised funds and funds the Greater Washington federation manages as a custodian for other Washington-area Jewish institutions. The letter says the fund has “engaged legal counsel” to “pursue recovery” of the lost funds. One philanthropic official said there is a lesson to be learned here for the philanthropy world, where Jewish businessmen and philanthropists directed their own private funds and the funds of institutions that they help oversee toward Madoff. “What really emerges out of this,” said Jeffrey Solomon, the president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, is that “people sometimes forget to conduct the due diligence when dealing with others with social prominence -- and especially in the hedgefund area where people think you have to be really smart to be in hedge funds. In many ways for all investments something like this is tragic, but for nonprofits where boards have the fiduciary responsibility of acting with great prudence, it is even more tragic.”
Concert is out of this world
Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra performed recently for seniors in the community and residents of the Blumkin Home with the musical theme Sci-Fi Night at the JCC. The audience enjoyed favorites featuring: Jupiter from W.A. Mozart: Stars from Kenton Bales; Mars, Venus, and Jupiter from "Planets" by Gustav Holst and The Empire Strikes Back medley by John Williams. The concert concluded with an energetic encore of works by Gioacchino Rossini conducted by Barry Ford.
Happy 65th Anniversary ALFRED W. AND SHIRLEY BRODY
Chabad seeks to transform tragedy into opportunity
by JACOB BERKMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- Chabad-Lubavitch leaders are working overtime to transform the Mumbai attacks into an unparalleled opportunity for spreading the movement’s message. Chabad has received unprecedented media exposure since terrorists struck its center in Mumbai, killing its two emissaries in the Indian city -- Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah -- along with four other Jews. To capitalize on the wave of attention, the movement has conducted an orchestrated marketing and public relations campaign. Chabad officials in New York and emissaries around the world are conducting media interviews, and constituents who have been touched by the movement are reaching out in droves to local and international publications to extol its praises. The Chabad media operation, which is run from the office of the movement’s official Web site, Chabad.org, kicked into high gear when news started to filter in Nov. 26 that the Mumbai Chabad house was among the institutions besieged by gunmen in terrorist raids that ultimately saw the deaths of 172 people, including nine terrorists. By the time the deaths in the Chabad house had been confirmed, the movement’s media liaisons had spent several consecutive days in their New York offices, working on little or no sleep, as hundreds of calls poured in from the international media seeking interviews about the Holtzberg family and Chabad in general. With the interview requests mounting, according to one spokesman, Chabad handpicked emissaries to speak with the media that officials believed would best represent the movement to a general public that may have had little or no knowledge about it. The message was twofold: Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg would have wanted their deaths used as inspiration to help bring Jews closer to Chabad and Judaism, and the movement’s late spiritual leader, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, taught that it was a religious obligation to take a dark moment and turn it into a positive. The strategy is to help the audience to “become a continuum of the holy world of Gavi and Rivkah so that they have a way to channel their own personal grief in a manner that makes this world a better place,” a spokesman for Chabad, Zalman Shmotkin, told JTA. The emissaries are trying to “sensitively and articulately convey the basic messages of urging people to increase their own acts of goodness and kindness” in response to tragedy. Within a week of the attacks, Chabad had also raised about $1 million through mailboxes it had opened on Continued on page 5
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Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, head of Chabad’s outreach department, addresses a crowd of international media at a news conference, shortly after the deaths of Gavriel and Rivkah Credit: Jacob Berkman Holzberg became official. Rabbi Yosef Kantor, the director of the Chabad of Thailand and the emissary who helped establish the movement’s presence in Mumbai prior to the Holtzbergs’ arrival. “I see this as being a big package or opportunity to be able to inspire and direct Jews on how they can channel their outpouring of support and sympathy, their emotion, rage, outrage and frustration,” he said. Even within the context of mass executions, the story of the Holtzbergs is compelling. A young couple from New York in their early 20s set off for an exotic land to fulfill a benevolent, religious mission to provide a home away from home to traveling Jews and Israelis. After establishing themselves and building a community, they were struck down in a horrific terrorist attack -- apparently targeted specifically because of their Jewish mission -- leaving behind their toddler son, who was heroically rescued by his Indian housekeeper the day before his second birthday. It is difficult to quantify exactly how much press Chabad has received as the result of the Mumbai massacre, but a few days after the attacks a Google news search of “Chabad and Mumbai” turned up more than 3,000 entries, compared to about 5,000 in a search only containing “Mumbai.” Many major newspapers published features on Chabad’s local and global efforts. CNN.com posted at least 10 video segments featuring Chabad and the Holtzbergs, including a four-minute segment dedicated exclusively to describing the movement’s activities. In addition to the straight news coverage, major newspapers around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, published opinion pieces lauding Chabad from writers who have been personally affected or touched by the movement. Dozens of print journalists, as well as camera crews form major news networks, covered a Chabad-organized news conference on Nov. 28 at the movement’s Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn, shortly after the Chabad house deaths had been confirmed. Footage from the conference, which featured emotional announcements from top Chabad leaders, was broadcast throughout the world. The news conference became the platform for the chairman of Chabad’s education and social services arm, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, who oversees the movement’s emissaries, to announce that Chabad was starting a fund to pay for Moshe’s upbringing. While the immediate fund raising was geared toward helping the toddler and rebuilding in Mumbai, the publicity may also prove to be a boon for Chabad houses. Emissaries usually receive minimal seed money to start their outposts, but each house is responsible for raising its own budget each year. Though Chabad does not keep a formal database on how much each outpost raises, officials estimate that the emissaries combined take in more than $1 billion per year. Fund raising in the aftermath of Mumbai is more than a necessary evil, Chabad officials say -- it is part and parcel of their mission to bring Jews closer to their Judaism. Ideally, say the Chabad rabbis interviewed by JTA, that
Page 5
Beth El’s ‘Gimlets & Gelt’ get-together for 20/30s
Tragedy into opportunity
Continued from page 4 Chabad.org -- one for helping to raise Moshe, the Holtzbergs’ two-year-old son who escaped the attack on the Chabad house, and one to help rebuild the Chabad of Mumbai, which was damaged badly by explosions and gunfire during the terrorists’ siege and attempted rescue by Indian Special Forces. Such publicity and fund-raising efforts in the wake of tragedy may strike some as crass, if not inappropriate and offensive. But the approach can just as well be understood as a natural reaction for a movement that prides itself on Schneerson’s success in helping to rebuild Jewish life around the globe after the Holocaust and push ahead to unexpected and unprecedented heights after his death in 1994. Chabad officials have spoken openly about their strategic response to the attacks. “It is an opportunity to connect more and more Jews to the mission, and to the rebbe’s mission of getting every Jew involved. And part of that is channeling the empathy people are now feeling,” said
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
would mean greater religious observance and Torah study. But since not every Jew can be drawn into a synagogue, the first goal is to have Jews become more involved in the Jewish community, even if it means only convincing them to help fund Jewish causes -- in this case aiding an orphan or rebuilding a religious institution severly damaged in a terrorist attack. The approach is not only in keeping with the movement’s theology, but has the added benefit of potentially providing a needed boost to Chabad houses. Movement insiders say the houses, like many other nonprofits, have struggled in their fundraising efforts in recent months. “What I see from my colleagues is that they are using this to inspire Jews and to channel this into a positive Jewish experience,” said Kantor, the Chabad rabbi in Thailand. “I believe that fund raising in this case is a mitzvah, trying to elicit the maximum response from everyone who was glued to CNN, who was totally affected, to help them in channeling that resolve.” “There are a lot of people who are on the front line who won’t be motivated to do a mitzvah in the ritual sense,” he said, “but for them the way to express it is through their checkbook.” People are responding to the message in the immediate aftermath of the massacres, said one of the rabbis handpicked to represent Chabad to the world. “I see this tragedy as an opportunity of waking up the Jewish soul for millions of Jews,” Rabbi Shalom Paltiel, the director of the Chabad of Port Washington, N.Y., told JTA. Paltiel appeared on both CNN and on NBC’s “The Today Show” to talk about his friends, the Holtzbergs, and the “miraculous” rescue of their son. Shmotkin, the Chabad spokesman, stressed, however, that Chabad emissaries are engaged in honest, genuine work and are not simply seeking to cash in on a situation. “The issue here is not about involving people in Chabad. It is about doing another mitzvah, about ensuring that we each keep adding light in our homes and communities, not about affiliation,” he said. “I think that in addition to all of the learning and conditioning we’ve had over the years, one can say that on a very deep, raw, visceral level, many shluchim are driven to simply ensure that Gabi and Rivkah’s deaths will not have been in vain.”
by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator If you’re a young adult who is fretting that there’s nothing to do on Dec. 24, 8 p.m., then Beth El has come to your rescue. The synagogue is sponsoring “Gimlets & Gelt!” a casual and fun evening at the Myth Martini Bar, 1105 Howard St., in the Old Market; all Jewish adults (married and single) in their 20s and 30s are invited to join in the celebration The get-together is being organized by Cantor Beth Schlossberg, who says of the Hanukkah soiree, “Because there are limited social options open in Omaha on Dec. 24, we’re very fortunate to be able to host this event at Myth Martini Bar. What a great way to get together for a fun social event in a safe, relaxed, and upscale atmosphere. “Plus,” she added, “since it is during Hanukkah, we have another great reason to celebrate together! We will watch the candles in the menorah twinkle through the evening, share some drinks and edible Hanukkah delights, and enjoy spending the evening together as friends!” Cost to attend is $10 in advance, $15 at the door; to make reservations, send a check -- made payable to Beth El -- to the synagogue at ‘Gimlets & Gelt,” 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154. and, as a bonus, your first drink will be free! For more information, call the office.
ORGANIZATIONS
B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Shervin Ansari will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Dec. 24, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. Ansari, a PersianAmerican, will talk about his Iranian homeland. All men and women in the community are invited. The program is free. An optional buffet lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. VISIONS Membership dues for 2009 are due. Please mail your check payable to Visions for $7.50 to: Phyllis Schwartz, 1212 So. 137 Ave., Omaha, NE 68144 by Jan. 31.
Made possible by JNF. This is Israel today. And JNF will make sure it’s Israel tomorrow. In the face of the worst water crisis in Israel’s history, over 1.5 million Israelis receive water from 200 reservoirs, dams and water recycling centers created by JNF. We’re currently building 5 new reservoirs to help Israel avert a water catastrophe. This is JNF. We’ve evolved into a worldwide environmental leader dedicated to the growth, prosperity and security of Israel. Support us now by visiting www.jnf.org or calling 1.888.JNF.0099 today.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
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Figuring out how to celebrate Hanukkah
by LISA KEYS always been.” NEW YORK (JTA) -- I’ll admit it: Hanukkah is a holHirschfield pooh-poohed my hang-ups, starting with iday I’ve approached with diminishing enthusiasm over concerns about lighting candles on Hanukkah while the years. I’m not into latkes; I prefer egg rolls. Dreidel’s often skipping the ritual on Shabbat. not nearly as fun as Scrabble. And as the holiday “To be able to perform one mitzvah is a tremendousapproaches, so, too, does our loaded debate: Are we giv- ly exciting thing,” he told me. ing gifts this year or what? So, too, did he wave away the argument that presents It wasn’t always this way. Growing up in a nonobser- have no place in a so-called “minor” holiday? vant-but-you-have-to-go-to-Sunday-school household, “Ever look at a kid’s face when he or she opens a presHanukkah was a pretty awesome holiday that was on par ent?” he asked. “It’s a real problem that we’re taught -- scratch that, better -- than Christmas. I remember the that gift-giving is unspiritual.” excitement building in the air as my mom hung a My cousin, Karen Stern, hasn’t done much celebrating “Happy Hanukkah” banner in the window next to the of Hanukkah since she was a kid. But now that she’s blue “helping hand” sign that signified crazy people do mom to her year-old daughter, Lillian, she’s had a not live within. (Anyone remember those?) change of heart. We lit the menorah every night. The extended family “I remember it being a warm memory,” recalled would have a party at my grandparents’ place. And then Karen, who lives near me in Astoria, in the New York there were the presents: 16 blue-wrapped boxes, divided City borough of Queens. “It wasn’t about the gifts; it into two piles -- eight gifts for me, eight for my sister, was about the menorah, the song, the gelt.” Amy. Every night we made an exciting choice: Which gift Karen is somewhat surprised herself by going all out should we open tonight? Sometimes the boxes contained for Hanukkah this year: latkes, a party, Hanukkah CDs the practical, like pajamas or slippers, two great passions and dreidels galore. of my mom. Sometimes they “Now it seems like fun and were just pure fun, like games family-oriented in a way it didor stuffed animals. n’t before,” she said. “It’s dark As we got older, things and cold outside, and inside is changed, of course. Multiple totally warm, and you’ve got gifts were rolled into a single music and food and candlelight one. The family Hanukkah and family.” gathering dissolved. Once I She was right, I realized. was living on my own, I’d What’s not to love about that? probably find my way to a Meredith Jacobs, the Jewish menorah once or twice over mama maven and founder of the holiday. Hanukkah was the Web site ModernJewish more or less uneventful -- it Mom.com, has some excellent became downright complicat- Should lighting the menorah or exchanging presents be ideas, too. In the Jacobs houseed when my husband, Julian, more of the focus on Hanukkah? hold in Potomac, Md., each Credit: Chaim Zvi/Creative Commons night of Hanukkah has a differentered the picture. His family didn’t exchange gifts during the holiday; to ent theme. One night is game night; the kids (Sofie, 12, him, presents weren’t part of the Hanukkah equation. and Jules, 10) receive board games and the family plays But I’d feel slighted because I thought it was meaning- them together. One night is all about homemade presful for spouses to exchange a gift or two. He’d be insis- ents, another is tzedakah night, when in lieu of receiving tent that we light the menorah; I’d feel weird because we gifts, her kids give one to those in need. One night she declares as “old-fashioned Hanukkah rarely, if ever, lit Shabbat candles -- and Judaism considnight” in which her kids receive the kinds of “little, ers that a much more significant holiday. Over the years, as married couples do, we’ve whittled yucky presents” that Jacobs received when she was groweach other down. I’m pretty certain Julian now knows to ing up, like socks or pajamas. (Perhaps her mom and buy me a present (or he will after reading this -- right, mine are related?) Jacobs says she also heeds her mother’s advice to dear?) and I am committed to lighting the menorah. Still, I felt there had to be a better way to connect with “make the house smell like yontif.” For Jacobs, that Hanukkah. And now that we’re parents, the situation means latkes and brisket -- even though, she concedes, seems more pressing, as I’d like for our young son, brisket is not considered a “traditional” Hanukkah food. “I try and make the house feel and smell a little differLeon, to look forward to Hanukkah the same way I did. Or do I? Am I just teaching him to love Hanukkah ent,” she told me, “so it feels exciting and like a holibecause, hey, who doesn’t love getting presents? And if day.” That got me thinking. I typically make rugelach this we’re strict about the menorah but totally (read: completely) lax about Shabbat candles, are we sending the time of year -- they’re fun to make, they’re a perfect wrong message? How exactly should we be celebrating party food and, packed into a Chinese takeout container, they make great gifts. Inadvertently, I realized, Hanukkah, anyway? Of course, we’re not the only ones confused. Even rugelach had evolved into my family’s Hanukkah food. the story of Hanukkah has its variations: The book of It may not be a canonical choice, but it’s a tradition 1 Maccabees portrays Hanukkah as a military victory that’s become as real in my household as a Passover over an evil king; 2 Maccabees sees it as a victory of seder and Friday-night pizza. The more I thought about it, the more I understood pious Jews over the assimilationists. It wasn’t until rabbinic times that the whole miracle-of-oil thing that we were forging a family Hanukkah, after all. I startcame to light (so to speak). Given that we Jews can’t ed thinking about all the moments of triumph this year even agree on a spelling for the holiday -- Hanukkah? -- from watching Leon take his first steps to Barack Hanukah? Hanukkah -- it’s no wonder that a shroud Obama’s inspiring victory -- and how they were worthy of celebration. of mystery surrounds its celebration. “There are more ways of celebrating Hanukkah than I’ve come to realize, however, that my approach is all people who want to [celebrate it],” Hirschfield told me. wrong. “The interesting thing about Hanukkah is that it’s had “The only wrong way to celebrate this holiday is effecdifferent definitions in different years,” said Rabbi Brad tively not to celebrate it at all.” And so, my rocky relationship with Hanukkah is on Hirschfield, the president of CLAL, a pluralistic Jewish think tank. “In every generation Hanukkah has been a the mend. We’re still not sure exactly how we’ll celebrate celebration of overcoming whatever the biggest chal- this year, but I can tell you this: There will be love and gifts and rugelach. We’ll light the menorah, we’ll eat lenge the Jewish people were facing.” In fact, the rabbi said my questioning was appropriate. some egg rolls and we’ll take it from there. Lisa Keys, aka JewMama, is JTA’s family living “It’s in the spirit of the day,” he told me. “Asking new questions, celebrating new answers, knowing how that’s columnist.
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Page 7
Beth El teens infused with ‘ruach’ during Kinnus convention by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Thanksgiving didn’t just mean turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie for a group of teens from Beth El Synagogue. Instead, the 15 United Synagogue Youth members traveled to Denver for the annual USY Emtza (Midwest) Region Kinnus Convention, a weekend filled with camaraderie, ruach (spirit), learning and fun. Festively themed “KinnuStock,” the convention, held every year over the Thanksgiving weekend, brought together around 200 teens from the region, made up of 10 American states and two Canadian provinces. United Syna-gogue Youth is a branch of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism. Programming included an in-depth look at Israeli culture; a discussion about the environment, complete with tips to help the teens “go green”; and study groups held to teach attendees more about the Conservative Movement. The teens were also treated to a trip to the Denver Art Museum, as well as the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. The local contingent included Macklin Emas, Ygal Schuller, Alex Solomon, Ali Cohen, Dayna Cohen, Shir Palmon, Ari Brodkey, Yonatan Dotan, Ryan Kirshenbaum, Cameron Stern, Hal Emas, Brad Kutler, Adeev Potash, Max Saferstein-Hansen and Ezra Potash. Several USYers recently shared their
observations about this special gathering; while they all expressed excitement about reconnecting with friends from other cities, each teen offered a different perspective of the weekend’s impact on him or her. Dayna Cohen, Omaha’s USY president and a veteran convention-goer, said that her favorite part of the weekend was attending services and praying with some of her closest friends. “It’s quite an experience and something you can only witness at conventions like these,” noted the Millard West junior. “At each and every con-
for years. It’s great to always be learning something new, even when you're doing something as traditional as praying.” Dotan, enjoying his third Kinnus experience, listed among his convention highlights seeing Denver and participating in the weekend’s programs. He also shared what USY means to him. “I think the most important part of USY is the connection it has with Israel, and the way it promotes trips to Israel through USY’s pilgrimage program,” he remarked. “I’m thinking about going on the pilgrimage this summer that goes to Italy and Israel; if I had not been in-volved with USY, I would not have this great opportunity.”
For the “KinnuStock” dance BILU-USY members Ygal Schuller, front, Dayna Cohen, secduring the convention, Youth ond to right, and Yonatan Dotan, far right, enjoyed hanging Director Robert Mosenkis strut- out with friends from other chapters. ted his stuff as Elvis Presley. vention I The Westside High School sophomore learn something new from a service. Many continued: “I also think that USY prestimes it’s a new prayer. Sometimes I learn ents great opportunities for Jewish teens a lesson from the D’var Torah or I learn a to meet other Jewish kids their age; it also new way to do something I’ve been doing helps us to develop our own identity as
Jews. These conventions and USY in general are really great in helping me become the person I want to be.” Palmon, a junior at Ralston High, was moved by the convention’s social action/tikkun olam program, which involved raising funds to aid the Jews in India who are dealing with the aftermath of the recent Mumbai attacks. She also said the weekend provided her with an opportunity to “learn more about the Conservative Movement and to learn some new ruach songs.” The teens weren’t the only ones enjoying the fun-filled atmosphere: Beth El’s Youth Group Director Robert Mosenkis said he had a great time at the Saturday night dance, dressing up as Elvis “and marrying people in ‘the chapel of love’ all night long. It was a lot of fun!” For Mosenkis, Kinnus conventions offer all attendees the opportunity to strengthen their connection with Judaism. “I think whenever you put together a couple hundred Jewish high school students and an energetic staff for a weekend, it’s a very unique experience,” he said. “Everybody loves getting together and celebrating Shabbat with their new and old friends from throughout the region. “After their experience at Kinnus, I hope the teens came away with a stronger Jewish identity and a stronger understanding of what it means to be a Conservative Jew.”
December DecaDance. A Jewish Singles Soirée featuring a dessert buffet with dark chocolate fountain and other treats (including surgarfree selections) and a cash bar. The dance is sponsored by B’nai El Congregation, jewishinstlouis.org and the Fox Family Foundation in partnership with Sparks Matchmaking Service and the Jewish Community Center Wednesday, Dec.
24, 8 p.m.-midnight at the Marriott St. Louis Airport Hotel (10700 Pear Tree Lane 63134), 314.423.9700. Overnight accommodations are available at a special room rate of $79 a night. To make a reservation, call 1.800.228.9290 on online at www. bnaibrithstl.org. For more information, call 314.569.4122 or email BBD2 WRO@aol.com.
IN THE NEWS
To celebrate the completion of its 90th year and march toward its centennial, Boys Town is releasing a new biographical book on its legendary founder, Father Edward Flanagan. Father Flanagan of Boys Town: A Man of Vision by Hugh Reilly and Kevin Warneke profiles the life of Boys Town's founder, who started the organization with a $90 loan on Dec. 12, 1917. A young Irish shepherd turned Catholic priest, Father Flanagan became guardian to thousands of abused, neglected and abandoned boys, an advisor to presidents, and the charismatic leader of a national movement to rehabilitate children instead of
institutionalizing or imprisoning them. Today Boys Town, the nonprofit, nonsectarian organization founded by Father Flanagan, is a national leader in youth care and health care, working with families in their homes or providing a homelike setting for children. To learn how the organization’s family-focused programs work to help children succeed, visit www.boystown.org. The book is available through the Boys Town Press at www.boystownpress.org or by calling 800.282.6657. B’nai B’rith St. Louis and the St. Louis Jewish Light present the fourth annual
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
Small change can make a big difference At this time of year, many holders of appreciated stocks consider donating them to our favorite charitable organizations. In that way, capital gains taxes are avoided and the organization receives a gift that is often worth more than the donor originally intended to give. But doesn’t look like that’s going to happen this year. With the stock market down 40% from its value a year ago, hardly anyone is still sitting on stocks that have increased. That puts both donors and charities in an awkward position -donors want to give, but they’re concerned about the chances of a quick economic recovery, and organizations that always need funding don’t want to appear as though they’re begging. So here are some alternate ideas: • Consider purchasing whole life insurance and naming one (or more) of your favorite organizations as the beneficiary. That way the payments made for the annual premium are taxdeductible, and upon your death, the organization(s) named get the full face value of the policy. (Plus, you’ll make some life insurance agent happy as a new policy means unexpected income in a not-too-rosy economy.) • If you already have all the life insurance you need -- and your children are grown and don’t need additional support, think about changing the beneficiary. You won’t need to purchase a new policy (an advantage if you’re already 70+ when the premiums can become onerous) and your favorite charity will still benefit. • Finally, why not just name several charities in your will? Making a bequest from the assets that remain in your estate after your death (from the sale of your home, for example) is another way of insuring (pun intended!) that the programs and projects you support now can
continue to live on, and maybe even with your name attached. Our sages note that “Tzedakah saves one from death.” Of course, that’s not literally true. But think about our front page story this week. Milton S. and Corrine Livingston were already generous donors to this community. When they established their multi-million dollar foundation in 1948, little did they know that 60 years later their names would still be mentioned in connection with their deeds. Over the years, this foundation, which started with four million dollars, has given away more than $12 million. How was that possible? Obviously, the funds were very well managed by each successive board over its 60-year history. These dedicated trustees made (and continue to make) thoughtful investments (and thank G-d, not with that goniff Bernie Madoff, who has bankrupted the Lappin Foundation and lost $100 million of Yeshiva University’s endowment!). While the fund has decreased, it’s only because of the largesse of the foundation and the intent of the original donors. Think about how many places you’ve seen the Livingston name -from the chapel at Temple Israel to the JCC grounds to the annual scholarships for college students listed in these pages. Not all of us can create multi-million dollar trusts. While the Livingstons had one daughter (who died young), Herbert Goldsten, (another thoughtful and gracious
donor whose trust has benefitted every organization and institution in Omaha, including this newspaper) had no children. Most of us want to leave money for our children and grandchildren to make their lives easier and help them pay for homes, college educations and the like. But surely, the vast majority of the Jewish community here can afford a small life insurance policy. Even in times of returns of only two percent, a $5000 policy can generate $100 -- and a $1000 for a $50,000 policy. We can’t all be Livingstons, but today nothing can be considered small change.
ment is working to bring relief to the millions of African refugees who face not only the threats of continuing violence and hunger, but also the threat of malaria that rages in refugee camps. Around the world, malaria infects nearly 500 million people each year, kills more than 1 million of those and is the leading killer of children in Africa. The economic impact of this illness -- $12 billion annually -- undermines the capacity of impoverished nations to climb out of debt and over-
movement has made a commitment to provide 50,000 nets to save 50,000 families from the anguish of malaria. Soon we will make our first delivery of nets to a refugee camp in Uganda, completely “covering” the camp of 18,000 victims from Sudan, Rwanda and, most recently, victims of the current crisis in Congo. This is a critical time, as the rainy season makes malaria-infested mosquitoes insidious. The sad truth is that there would be no nets delivered to this camp if it were not for the Reform movement’s Nothing But Nets fund-raising efforts. Much attention has been devoted to malaria in recent years, with billionaire philanthropists such as Bill Gates and the World Bank pouring funds into the cause. They are focusing on combating this particular disease because it is an achievable goal. We actually CAN eliminate malaria deaths around the world -- we’ve already done so in this country and in most other western nations. In Zambia, Ethiopia and Rwanda, when they instituted a comprehensive plan that included the use of insecticide-treated bed nets and both indoor and outdoor spraying, they reduced malaria rates by 50 percent in just two years. In Sri Lanka, malaria rates were reduced from 400,000 cases per year to fewer than 200 cases that resulted in no deaths last year. A great miracle really can happen there. Cynics may claim that one individual cannot save the world, yet Judaism obligates us to try, reminding us that saving a single life is the equivalent of saving the entire world. At the bargain price of just $10, every one of us has the capacity to save a life. There is no better gift to give this Chanukah season than the gift of a miracle. Send a net; save a life.
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Each year at Chanukah we spin the dreidel, reminding ourselves that “a great miracle happened there.” With faith and activism the Maccabees led our people to a great victory and assured the survival of the Jewish people in ancient days. With faith and activism, we too can make miracles happen in our own time. We can assure the survival of millions of children in Africa who unnecessarily fall prey to the deadly bite of malaria-infested mosquitoes. We can make a great miracle happen there for the cost of a $10 bed net. The global challenges we face are staggering. Around the world, more than 800 million people go hungry every day -- 300 million of them children. More than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without Malaria rates in some African nations have been reduced significantly Credit: Mike Dubose/UMC decent sanitation. And every with the help of bed nets. 30 seconds a child in Africa dies of malaria. whelms their medical infrastructure. Yet malarIn an age of unprecedented prosperity, sci- ia is entirely preventable. The use of insectience and technology, there is no excuse for the cide-treated bed nets alone can reduce malaria ongoing plagues of starvation and famine, illit- rates by 90 percent in areas with high covereracy and diseases borne of ignorance. And age. One bed net can keep an entire family safe yet, the amount of aid flowing to Africa from from malaria for up to four years. all the nations of the world totaled less than So in partnership with the U.N. the amount of annual bonuses Wall Street gave Foundation’s Nothing But Nets to itself this year. <http://jta.org/?URL=http%3A%2F%2F Determined to do better, the Reform move- www.urj.org%2Fnets> campaign, the Reform
Jewish Press Board Michael Sigmond, Vice President; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Marc Brodkey; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; Andy Ruback; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press . Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.
The gift of a miracle
FOCUS ON ISSUES by MARLA FELDMAN
(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Robyn Belgrade Sales Associate Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
Rabbi Marla Feldman is the director of the Joint Commission on Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $33 per calendar year U.S.; $72 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.
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December 19, 2008
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Page 9
Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster? If Likud wins in Israel, how badly will the two new leaders of the alliance clash?
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by JONATHAN S. TOBIN
Barack Obama spent the first week after being elected president of the United States planning the next four years. Yet, even though the office is occupied by somebody else until January, the pundits are already predicting the next administration’s trouble spots. At the top of the list is the outcome of the Israeli elections scheduled for this winter. If Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu is sent back to the prime minister’s office, we are told, a major conflict with the Obama White House is inevitable. The assumption is that an Obama administration will regard “Bibi” Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace and that he will personally blow up the U.S.Israel alliance. History of Conflict The Israeli left has promoted the myth that Netanyahu destroyed the peace process after the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. But the true story is that the Oslo Accords were doomed from the start because of Yasser Arafat’s insincerity and the continuation of Palestinian terror after the peace was signed. Though Clinton did just about everything to prevent the Likud leader from winning the 1996 Israeli election except moving to Israel and voting himself, the two managed to co-exist warily for three years. Despite his “hard-line” reputation, Netanyahu wound up signing supplements to the Oslo treaties: the 1996 Hebron agreement and the 1998 Wye Plantation accord. He also sent an emissary to Damascus to discuss Syria’s willingness to make peace in exchange for the Golan Heights. However, his bellicose rhetoric is remembered more than his diplomacy. Contrary to Theodore Roosevelt’s advice, Netanyahu always spoke loudly while carrying a very small stick.
Even if we assume, for the sake of arguBut there was no mistaking the fact that the Clinton ment, that Obama and his people are administration despised the inherently hostile to Netanyahu, why Israeli. Bibi’s warm relations would it make sense for the next presiwith Clinton antagonist, dent to try to force Israel into a corner Republican House Speaker when the prospects for peace are so bleak? Newt Gingrich, and With the Palestinians hopelessly split Christian Evangelical sup- between the weak Abbas and his Hamas porters of Israel deepened the distrust rivals who control Gaza, there is no way between the two governments. When that any Israeli government, even the curNetanyahu was bounced out of office by rent Kadima-led coalition that is desperLabor’s Ehud Barak in 1999, the White ate to achieve an agreement, could do so. After all, the reason why Bibi may be House did little to disguise its jubilation. Now, almost a decade later, Netanyahu headed back to the prime ministership is is on the verge of a remarkable comeback. the failure, not only of the Oslo process, A combination of Likud and other right- but also of Kadima’s unilateral withdrawwing parties has a better chance of put- al concept. Ariel Sharon left the Likud and formed ting together a governing coalition next year than does current foreign minister the centrist Kadima Party in 2005 because Tzipi Livni of Kadima and its potential Netanyahu and his followers wouldn’t support the allies. The test for Obama may not be so much withdrawal With the from Gaza. O b a m a whether he and Bibi disagree on policy, but His attempt f o r e i g n - whether the president allows some of his Jewish to end the old p o l i c y supporters to maneuver him into a superfluous left-right split team likely dispute that has nothing to do with the vital in Israeli polito be com- interests of either country. tics was iniprised of either retreads from the last Democratic tially successful, but the the pullout was a administration or others equally commit- disaster. It led directly to the creation of a ted to pushing hard for Israeli-Palestinian Hamasistan that bombarded Israeli towns peace, trouble with the Likudniks is on like Sederot. A similar retreat in the West Bank under the current circumstances is the horizon. But, despite predictions of doom and unthinkable. This failure of unilateralism gloom, is an Obama-Bibi blowup has left many Israelis looking back to Likud for leadership. inevitable? Not necessarily. There may be disagreements between Though the idea that the new president will prioritize the comatose peace process Obama and Netanyahu, but the top forand seek to bludgeon Netanyahu into eign-policy item in the Middle East, outsubmission may be a fantasy of some of side of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama’s fans on the Jewish left, it disre- is not the dead-in-the-water talks with the Palestinians, but something on which gards his innate pragmatism. Clinton committed himself, without Obama and Netanyahu may well agree: reservation, to the concept that Yasser the threat from Iran’s nuclear weapons Arafat was a peacemaker rather than a program. While the Republicans made much of two-faced terrorist. On the other hand, Obama arrives in the Oval Office with no candidate Obama’s ill-considered offer of such loyalty to the powerless Palestinian talks with Iran, Obama also pledged never Authority head Mahmoud Abbas. To to allow the Iranians to achieve nuclear suggest that, rather than concentrate on capability. If Obama doesn’t keep that more-urgent issues, Obama would risk promise, he will have far-bigger problems any of his hard-won political capital on in the region than not liking Netanyahu. A chastened Bibi -- who won’t want a such a slender reed as Abbas is absurd.
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repeat of his difficulties with Clinton -and Obama will both have good domestic political reasons to avoid unnecessary conflicts with each other. Eager For Confrontation Rather than the White House being the one spoiling for a fight with Israel, the trouble may instead come from those American Jews who despise Netanyahu and are eager for a confrontation. The left-wing J Street lobby is committed to pushing Israel hard to revive negotiations, even though anybody who’s paying attention to the facts on the ground there knows that both Fatah and Hamas are uninterested in peace. But the lobby’s agenda has little to do with the realities of the Middle East and everything to do with American Jewish politics. J Street’s real goal is to undercut the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and, if possible, to supplant it as the voice of American Jewry on Israel. J Street’s financial backers were strong supporters of Obama and hope to have a voice in the administration. A Netanyahu victory in Israel will give them an opening, since they will seek to deprive a Likud government of the sort of support Israelis expect here. Since AIPAC will have to stand up for Netanyahu -- an Israeli who has been routinely and wrongly depicted in the American press as an extremist -- as it has for every past prime minister, J Street hopes to profit from the comparison. The test for Obama may not be so much whether he and Bibi disagree on policy, but whether the president allows some of his Jewish supporters to maneuver him into a superfluous dispute that has nothing to do with the vital interests of either country. The fate of the U.S.-Israel relationship in the next four years may rest on the question of whether Obama will let the gadflies of J Street start a battle that serves neither the cause of peace nor that of his administration’s political agenda. Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. He can be contacted via e-mail at: jtobin@jewishexponent.com.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
Candlelighting Friday, December 19, 4:40 p.m Light first candle for Hanukkah on Sunday
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
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B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. Join us for a service featuring jazz musician Mark Bloom. Congregational pre-Hanukkah dinner follows. Cost: adults, $15; children 4–12, $8; no charge for children 3 and younger. To RSVP, send check to the office; indicate the number attending and entrée choice. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Shabbat Tunes & Tales, 11:15 a.m. Shabbat singalong, led by Patty Nogg, offers Shabbat music, custom made for children up to age five and their parents. All families in the Jewish community are welcome. Kiddush sponsored by Toby Schonfeld and James Blasingame, in honor of their recent marriage; Minha/ Ma’ariv, 4:45 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. BESTT: Winter break from Dec. 20-Jan. 4. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Study Discussion Group; and Navigating our Services with Joy led by Susi Frydman-Levin, 10 a.m.; learn about Hanukkah at Nitzanim, 10 a.m., No charge to attend; for information or to register, contact Judy Rubin at 498.0904, or eddir@bethel-omaha.org. Men’s Club breakfast, 10 a.m., features prize drawing for Hanukkah raffle. All new club members will also be welcomed. To RSVP, contact Scott Simon at simonsz@cox. net, or 616.4089. The Mitzvah Club, also led by Frydman-Levin; and Synagogue Skills, led by Cantor Schlossberg, 11 a.m. GIMLETS & GELT: Those in their 20s or 30s (married or single), who want to share a Hanukkah party with other Jewish
adults, are invited to on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 8 p.m. at Myth, 1105 Howard St. Cost is $10. For more information, call the office. (See full story on page 5.) COLLEGE STUDENTS’ LUNCH: Tuesday, Dec. 30, from 2-4 p.m., all Jewish college students in the metro area are invited to a late-lunch get-together at Bagel Bin. An afternoon of fun, food and friends is planned, at no charge. To RSVP, contact Robert Mosenkis in the synagogue office, or at youthdir@ bethel-omaha.org.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:40 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue” and “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 & up)” are one hour prior to Mincha, 4:30 p.m., followed by Seudah Shlishit; Havdalah, 5:45 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Reading the Rambam, 9:45 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Teen Class, 10 a.m.; Senior NCSY Dreidel Tournament, 6:30 p.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. TUESDAY: Mishnah Club for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, is on winter break; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. Wednesday: Annual Chinese Dinner, 6 p.m., by reservation only. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Synagogue office is closed; Women of the Torah class and Rabbi’s Gross’s classes are cancelled for this week and next week.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.
It’s Game Night on New Year’s Eve at Beth Israel by MARY BORT Beth Israel Synagogue What will you do to bring in the New Year? If you are looking for a family-friendly way to spend the evening and celebrate with your family and friends, then make plans to attend Beth Israel’s New Year’s Eve Game Night. The event is Wednesday, Dec. 31, 7 p.m., and the community is invited to attend. This event has become an important tradition at Beth Israel. According to Beth Cohen, executive director, “People look forward to our annual New Year’s Eve Game Night. We’ll start with dinner and then people will play a wide variety of board and card
games, including games appropriate for adults and children. People are welcome to stay until midnight to ring in the New Year.” The dinner costs only $5 per person and will feature bagels, tuna and egg salad and a crowd favorite, cheese balls. You are welcome to attend at no charge if you don’t want dinner. The event is B.Y.O.B.G. -bring your own board games to add to the selection of games that Beth Israel has in house, including Monopoly, Scrabble, Candy Land and many more. People are welcome to bring their poker and Mah Jonng sets, or other games. For more information or to RSVP, please call 556.6288.
SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. MiniMensch title will be awarded; Kiddush lunch follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Von Maur Memorial Menorah Lighting and Celebration, 4:45 a.m. RSVP’s are appreciated to Shevi@ochabad.com. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Soul Maps, Kabbalah to navigate your inner world, 7 p.m.; Hanukkah Party, 8:30 p.m. RSVP to rsvp@ochabad.com. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer, Prophets, and Prayer, 9:15 a.m.; The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II for ages 7-9, 3:40 p.m. Please contact shevi@ochabad. com for a pass. WEDNESDAY: Hanukkah at the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. All events and programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following hosted by Christine Emler and Brian Bornstein. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes. WEDNESDAY: No Hebrew classes; Christmas Oy’ve Party, 6 p.m. at the home of Tommy and Alisa Murray, 8111 Bancroft Ave. Join other members of Lincoln’s Jewish community at this new annual social and family-friendly event, and light a candle for the fourth night of Hanukkah. Suggested donation of $10 per adult and $5 per child, and the Murrays will provide beverages. Payment in advance to the Murrays, or pay the evening of the event. RSVP by no later than Dec. 20, to Marc Shkolnick at marc_shkolnick@ msn.com or 402.314.4119.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz. SUNDAY: Resident Hanukkah Party Concert by Dik Weiner followed by festive Tea Time.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Hanukkah Celebration and Dinner, 6 p.m. with Kol Rina and new Children’s Choir. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. Nathaniel Teetzel, son of Sarah Teetzel and Eric Teetzel, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. SUNDAY: No Religious School. SITTER SERVICE: Available Wednesday evenings during Family School hours, Friday evenings service except when there is a Tot Shabbat, Saturday mornings when there is a B’nai mitzvah, and Sunday mornings during Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation appreciated. Young children, including infants, are welcome. TUESDAY: Executive Meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Board of Trustees, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: No Religious or Family School; No Middle/ High School.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 4:37 p.m. SATURDAY: Srvices, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. and Talmud study. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; No Hebrew classes.
U.S. calls Israeli woman, 55, for duty -- in Afghanistan by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Orli Avior is 55 with a grown daughter and sells homemade jewelry to keep herself busy -- not the usual Israeli candidate for a sudden stint in the U.S. military reserves. But her U.S. passport lists her as Gigi Banjak, and when papers came to her Netanya home calling up Command Sgt. Maj. Banjak to a 400day stint in the Army Reserves, Avior did what has been instilled in her through more than 30 years of service: She made her way to a training camp in Georgia to train for deployment to Iraq. Avior, works in the Quartermaster Corps, deployed to Afghanistan on Dec. 5, according to her husband, formerly known as Ron Banjak. “She’s a soldier at heart, she’s had people under her go to Iraq and Afghanistan,” he told JTA. “I Credit: Avior family don’t think her heart is in not doing this duty.”
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December 19, 2008
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Vayeshev Our Sidra opens with a word about Jacob. But actually, the Sacred text displays eagerness to get to the hero of Genesis, that is to say: Joseph. Joseph is the Dreamer and the interpreter of dreams. But he is also the practical man, whose advice saved Egypt and all the nations of the known world at the time (the Mediterranean Basin, its northern, southern and eastern coastlands). It was by chance that Joseph was brought before Pharaoh to offer sage advice. His suggestion was to store up all the food that could be saved in “stored cities� so that when drought followed and the field would become bare, there would be food in Egypt, not only for Egyptians, but for all the nations that experience the famine. Joseph, under his Egyptian name, became master of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. When Jacob sends his sons off to Egypt to purchase food, they do not recognize the “Man� but Egypt’s Viceroy surely knows them. There follows a bit of cat-and-mouse, where finally, the play finishes when the Viceroy accuses the brothers of stealing his magic cup by which he was able to foretell events yet to happen. The brothers, aghast at such a charge, are horrified when they find the cup concealed in the sack held by Benjamin, where it had been hidden away by Joseph’s agents without the knowledge of the youngest of Jacob’s sons -- and Joseph’s brother. Here is one of those “cliffhangers� which make this story so interesting that even readers who know these chapters from years of Bible study still hang on the words to see how it all proceeds and comes to a conclusion. Read all of this over again. Only after it has been well digested mentally are we ready to come to the denouement when Judah, the fourth of the brothers, in an eloquent but low key address, convinces the “Man� that there is no reason for harsh judgments nor death penalties. I remember how surprised and pleased I was when in high school I found that the study of narrative in English classes used these very stories of Joseph and his brothers as a prime example of how good narrative is composed. There should be interesting time, fascinating place and compelling characters. How did our ancestors learn composition to write with such skill that these chapters are still used as examples for creative writing of good narrative. Read it all again I say: it will help the reader to become a good writer!
To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press� and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.
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Living life in the fast lane by SHEVI KATZMAN Have you ever felt that you have no time to press on the brakes, to stop and figure out where you’re going? Thirty bright individuals slow down on Monday nights to take stock of their life’s direction, at the Jewish Learning Institute’s Soul Maps “self-discovery� course given by Rabbi Mendel Katzman at the Chabad House. The fascinating course is being met with much enthusiasm amongst the students. Nancy Schlessinger notes, “I enjoyed the first class and found it very interesting and insightful.� Nancy is attending the class with her husband, Dr. Joel Schlessinger. She adds, “I look forward to exploring the Tanya through the remaining classes with Rabbi Katzman.�
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About 35 people are enrolled in the Soul Maps course at Chabad House. The course is essentially an overview of the Tanya, an 18th century book of Kabbalah and wisdom authored by Rabbi Schneur Zalmen of Liadi. A precursor of the modern self-help genre, Rabbi Schneur Zalmen authored the Tanya as a substitute for his personal mentorship. Course participants will experience a total of six sessions of spiritual counseling from a master of Kabbalah and the nature of the soul. Students will explore the source of guilt and conflict and confusion and find useful strategies for developing joy, purpose, and direction in everyday life. Rabbi Katzman is enthusiastic about the course as well. “I am thrilled that we were able to renew our affiliation with the Jewish Learning Institute to present this compelling course,� he said. “I am personally invigorated and rejuvenated by the positive energy generated by the study of the Tanya, which I have been doing to some extent since childhood.� He is also very gratified to see “how the ideas were received.� Students of all ages questioned, discovered and absorbed the first tier of dynamic concepts upon which the course is based. “The first class covered concrete foundational concepts in a concise manner,� said Philip Wolf who studies with Rabbi Katzman on occasion. The Soul Maps course is designed for regular and infrequent students alike. Dr. Dan Schuller likes the “pragmatic approach� presented at the course and finds the first class “basic in many aspects but still inspiring.� First time JLI student Robert Mosenkis muses, “I grew up at Chabad and have always felt that Rabbi Katzman does a great job of keeping his ‘talks’ intellectually stimulating while at the same time easily graspable by all. I am looking forward to the rest of the course.� Soul Maps, a project of the International Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, is a powerful program being taught in hundreds of cities across seven continents. Locations include Singapore, Athens, and Malibu, California. Wolf is impressed with the course materials which are “very clear and professionally presented.� Philip Wolf is a JLI student with his wife, Nancy. He echoes his fellow students by adding, “I look forward to the next class.� If you are interested in this or other adult education, visit www.ochabad.com or call Carol at 330.1800.
HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Dec. 25 and Thursday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is 9 a.m. is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 9 issue. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 2 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
December 19, 2008
Temple Israel, JFS subsidize trip to Jewish Deaf Congress for a grateful recipient
part-time assistant at the Kripke Jewish Federation by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Library for a summer. After high school graduation, she In 1989, Gregory and Galina Kogan made a bold volunteered to work with deaf children during the summove. They quit their jobs in Belarus and on the advice mer. Then she worked at Borders book store as a partof their cousin, Leah Kosinovsky, who was already here, time stocker and as an office assistant at a tax office. moved to Omaha. They wanted to give their daughter, In 2001, Lina started classes at Gallaudet University in nine-year-old Lina, who was born profoundly deaf, Washington, D.C. and attended her first Jewish Deaf opportunities for a better education. Congress (JDC) in Washington with her mother. She Gregory and Galina realwasn’t able to attend ized that something was again until 2005 when the amiss when Lina was two conference was in Florida. years old. After taking her Her father helped her pay for audiological testing, the the expenses. This year, Kogans were eventually she was able to attend advised by the doctor to JDC in New Jersey thanks send her to a school for deaf to a grant from the children where Lina would Discretionary Fund of live in a dorm all week and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel of see her parents only on Temple Israel and Jewish weekends. This was a diffiFamily Service (JFS). cult choice for her parents to Lina found out about accept, and so they decided the conference on the to take a chance on America. Lina Kogan, center, was able to attend the Jewish Deaf internet and through a After the move to Omaha, Congress this year with help from Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Sandy friend who had emailed Lina attended the Nebraska Nogg, Jewish Family Service assistance coordinator. her. “I wanted to attend, School for the Deaf, where she learned American Sign because I need some deaf Jewish friends.” She was loneLanguage (ASL) and math. However, she didn’t learn to ly and wanted “to find a nice deaf Jewish guy. It’s hard read or write until she was in the sixth grade when her to find Mr. Right nice guy,” she admitted. parents sent her to Omaha Public Schools’ Washington Established in New York City in 1956, the JDC School, a deaf and hard-of-hearing magnet serving brings together individuals who are deaf or hard of numerous districts. She went on to Lewis and Clark hearing to study and learn about Judaism. Americans, Junior High School and Burke High School from where Canadians, and Israelis attended the first convention she graduated in 2000. exploring various facets of Jewish life and heritage and She became a Bat Mitzvah at Temple Israel and joined worshipped at a Shabbat service conducted in sign lanBBYO where she communicated through an interpreter guage. For many, it was the first time they had experiand met young Jews from all the local synagogues. But enced a service led in ASL. she was always the only deaf person. She longed to "fit A four-day conference, JDC offers workshops on topin and move to the east coast where I would be able to ics such as Creating and Learning from Jewish Websites, fit in to the deaf world" where she would have friends How Can We Connect With Our Heritage? Mapping who are deaf or who know ASL. Your Spiritual Journey, Israeli Dancing, An Introduction Lina, now 28, got her first job at 16 when she was a to Judaism for Interpreters as well as an evening comedy
show. Lina was impressed when she met a Jewish male interpreter. She's met Jewish women interpreters but never a man who interprets. “I can see a big difference in my soul belonging to a deaf community,” Lina added. She would like to see sponsorships set up to help other people attend deaf conferences. From 2003 to 2006, Lina lived in Rochester, NY, and was a student at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. “I was hungry to be in a deaf world, and I was happy to meet many deaf people and Jews who are deaf,” she indicated. Compared to Nebraska, Lina’s social life blossomed in the larger community and within the deaf culture. She was even able to go to Israel for two weeks with a Hillel deaf group. Lina returned to Omaha in 2006. She worked at Metropolitan Community College as an assistant in an ASL class. Recently, she moved into her own apartment and says, “I’m doing well in my life.” She belongs to a deaf scrapbooking group and is a member of the Omaha Association of the Deaf and the Nebraska Association of the Deaf. In 2007, she competed for Miss Deaf Nebraska. Cheryl Lerner and Mary Waugh Taylor, dance instructors at the Jewish Community Center, taught Lina a dance for the competition. The JCC was Lina’s sponsor in the pageant. “That was really neat,” she indicated. Her goal now is “to get into a healing arts college to study to be a holistic doctor and work as a counselor in deaf education.” She’d also like to set up a deaf foundation to provide opportunities for deaf Jewish singles and families to travel to conferences like the JDC and to see the Midwest Deaf Jewish Conference held in Omaha or Des Moines, Iowa. Finally, she’d like to be involved in teaching Jews sign language to encourage the community to support and welcome deaf Jews into the Jewish community. She is grateful for the support she has received in the community from Rabbi Azriel, Sandy Nogg, JFS assistance coordinator, and Rosie Zweiback, Temple Israel’s former program director.