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SERVING NEBRASKA AND IOWA Sf^CE 1920 Vol. LXIII No. 24
Omaha, Neb., Fri., March 1, 1985
The Jewish Federation of Omaha's Super Sunday Telethon has obtained a 20.72 per cent increase in pledges as compared with last year, according to Suzy Sheldon and Robert Yaffe, co-chairmen.
Art Grossman, Isaac Dloogoff, Dr. Milton Margolin, Ann Margolin, George Schapiro, Meyer Green, Nate Cooper, Dr. Ira Priluck, Walter Woskoff, Jack Duitch, Steve Nogg, Milt Bloom, Rabbi Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Howard Kaslow.
The 1985 Telethon raised $64,815 with $51,210 pledged by the men and $13,G05 pledged by the women.
Mr. Grossman, Mr. and Mrs. Polikov, and Mr. and Mrs. Katzman served as shift chairmen.
In 1984, $42,430 was pledged by the men and $11,260 by the women.
In behalf of the entire community, Mr. Yaffe and Mrs. Sheldon expressed thanks to the Pacesetter Corporation for the use of its building and telephones for the Super Sunday Program. Photo coverage on page 2.
. Follow-up calls will be made to contact those members of the Jewish community who were not reachable1 by telephone during the Super Sunday effort. Art Grossman, Dr. Carl Greenberg and Denise Greenberg handled the training sessions for the volunteers and those making the calls were listed as follows: Mike and Carol Katznian, Dave Goldstein, Toby and George Kagan, Lynn Saunders, Shirley Trachtenbarg, Elly Gordman, Harold and Phyllis Zabin, Oliver Pollak, Sherry Taxman, Marti Forman, and Bob Zuber. - Norman Sheldon, Terri Zacharia, Debbie Friedman, Janie ICulakofsky, Gloria Bassik, Marsha and Steve Pitlor, Bob Shitzlty, Sheila and Marv Polikov, Linda and Joel Patton, Marilyn and Mike Blatt, Howard Epstein, Ellie Penner, Steve Riekes, Ray sGoldstein, Bob Hurwitz, and Allan Gonsher.
atza Ba! The hours of the Jewish Cultural Arts Council's Matza Bakery are: Sunday, March 24—10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, March 25—10 a.m.-8 p.m.. Tuesday, March 26—10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 27—-10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, March 28—10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, March 29—10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 30—CLOSED Sunday, March 31—10 a.m.-5 p.m.
it! The Shykens credited the Dr. Paul and Susan Shyken, co-chairmen of the Kallah Tliio is really not Queen Esther celebrating Purim. Committee' of the Jewish Cultural Arts Council have an- members of the Kallah In the face epace is Jennifer Patton from the JCC Pre Cel:scl. GI:o is the (V r^jtsr or Jool aiiti Linela" nounced that Dr. Allasl Gould," Canadian author, journalist, '" Committee for their labors tand humorist, will be the 1985 Kallah Scholar in residence, in coordinating this proPatton. To celebrate Puritn, the Jor/icli CommuMarch 22-24. Dr. Gould's topics include Jewish humor, Jew, gram. Sandra and Allen nity Center io planning a day of fees festivities for ish men and women in literature, and the ethical insights Kurland, Martha and Richtto rniiiEUunifcy on Tuarcilay. Gpscial happening of rabbinic tales. ard Lerner, and Debbie and l\cvv L_^ -'"rsned throusfcout tho day. Make your Dr. Gould, who teaches humanities at the University of Aaron Hostyk, along with own tarjCiLL.!.' "> and I:crj"ntccbon-ianlsing demonciirationa wlil-lis lvS.-l m tho Gallery from 55:30 Toronto, has-a long list of publications to his credit, in- Rabbi Isaac Nadoff, Rabbi to 11 a.m. and 2:30 to <J p.ta. Ao a nictiGonto,'-Parim cluding articles in the magazines Heoponcs, SEi'ma and Paul Drazen, and Rabbi the Jawiolx Bisect...He co-authored the Unorthodox Stephan Barack planned ptoics will bo taken infckocantcsn £rom 9 to. 10:30 Dr. Allan Gould a.a. nnd S:30 to G p.ia. A cicryJinia for children* B o o t of JevfcJi Socorlo and Lints with Danny Siegel. the Kallah Weekend under The KaUab iveekcnd cchcdule will consist of n Friday the auspices of the Jewish Cultural Arts Council. "We seb placncfl for 0:30 to 7 p.n. in tto Gallery; Bel-. Ico^3 ceil barnanfcosLo:: wiEI tio available to'csgla-?' ••qveninglpctul'2 ot:Beth El Synagogue, a Saturday evening lected Dr. Gould because of his wide range of topics and lecture at Bsth Inrcal Synogogue and a Sunday morning the interesting mis of humor and scholarship," said Mrs. Day. Shyken. .... .• , ; ... lecture at Temple loraol. . ...
By Biacs (WZPS) — Purim i3 a day for Roasting, mcrrymaliitis and nwsrniaradins. K com-, mcraorat?z tho .triumph of Esther and Mordccai ovor Hainan, the v/icked chief minister of King Ahasuerua, who. Bought to dastroy• oil the Jevid oftfas Persian Empire. Theos events are related in the Book or Megillah of Esther which, ia read every year on the eve and morning of the festival. The story of Esther was only reluctantly included in the Biblical canon and from medieval times has emerged as a day when anything and everything goes . . . In fact the excesses of eating, drinking and frivolity are sanctioned by Halachah and \ centuries of Jewish tradition. Masks and Costumes Purim is a time when both children and adults masquerade in a variety of masks and costumes — sometimes in imitation of WZPS photo by Richard Nou-ttz the characters of the Megillah. An old print from Hol: Celebrating Purim in Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda pe' land shows us that three destrian mall. hundred years ago people would masquer- • communities would disguise themselves in ade as kitchen utensils! various costumes and masks and wander From the middle ages people in some through the streets visiting homes singing
and playing and mshinir P2op!e laugh. A Moritz Opponhoim oil painting,"Purim at Home," shows strolling mashed Purimshpiters entertaining a.family. Even in Orthodos communities, the : taboo on acting j«id the use of moskovvoslifted-on Purim. Woodcuts from,the Ssfer Minhagim-(book of customs) shov; merrymakers dressed as ' harleqiiinD andean: etching from 1780 byCaspar Jocobz Philip sho\v;s an elegant ball-: room in Amsterdam, where beautiful masked couples are dancing to the music of an orchestra. In western Europe and the United States the masks and costumes of the Purim j shpil assumed the form of masked balls held on Purim, with the income derived from them given to communal charities. How did the custom of wearing masks and disguises first originate? One possible connection is with our forefather Jacob. In order to receive his father's blessing Jacob disguised himself in his brother Esau's clothes. A more appealing explanation is the link with the verse in the Bible, "And I shall surely hide My face on that day." The Hebrew word to hide, "hester," is very similar to the name "Esther," having the same root. So from this the custom developed of hiding or masking one's face on Purim. Nevertheless the custom of donning masks and masquerading on Purim was the subject of many Halachic disputes. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries famous rabbinic authorities in Poland and Italy came out in favor of masks but other equally learned authorities banned them. Those for masks saw it as a means of adding to the
•gaiety of the holiday whilst those opposing -it felt it was violating tha law if men and . women wore each others clothes. It also transgressed the'prohibition against fashioning graven images. • "Puriitj .Celebrations Masks; and merriment reached new heights when Purim was celebrated in Tel Aviv in the twenties and thirties The car- nival or Adloyada consisted of a procession of magnificent, floats accompanied by bands. The streets were decorated with flags and banners and the festivities came to a climax with colorful masked balls and breathtaking fireworks displays. Today Purim is celebrated throughout the whole country. Besides the traditional reading of the Megillah, which is broadcast live from Tel Aviv's Great Synagogue, there are broadcasts on the radio of different Megillah readings so that everyone can hear the familiar chants and melodies. Every city, village, settlement, kibbutz, army unit, institution and school has a Purim celebration. Jerusalem's Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall is a center of festivities on Purim, when most of the city's population, young and old, dress up. in fancy dress, don masks and take to the streets in joyous abandon. The theaters and other places of entertainment perform special Purim programs, radio and television have skits and satires and musical shows in honor of the day, and the newspapers and magazines print funny stories and jokes. Once a year on Purim the world is turned upside down and no one knows who is who in a glorious day of exuberant celebration.