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Tzedek Teens Make An Impact

Standing On Their Shoulders: Rediscovering Federation Presidents — Henry Sidman (1967-1969) Page 3

ZANE ROBINSON Jewish Press Chesed Intern zedek teens gathered at the Food Bank for the Heartland, where they worked together to pack food bags for the organization’s Backpack Program. By the end of the service project, the group had packed 1,376 individual bags of food. By giving a few hours of their time, Tzedek Teens helped put the Jewish value of tikkun olam into action while making a tangible difference for local youth experiencing food insecurity. The Backpack Program provides food to children and youth experiencing food insecurity throughout the region. The bags are designed to help supplement

More Than A Game, Part 1 Page 5

Mazel Moments: RBJH’s Fashion Week Was a Runway of Smiles Page 12

meals for children who may not have reliable access to enough food outside of school. For Tzedek Teens, the project was an opportunity to turn the idea of tikkun olam, repairing the world, into hands-on action. Tikkun olam is not just something we talk about, it’s about actually doing something to help other people, and that’s what made this project so impactful and meaningful. We worked together to assemble the individual food bags, with each participant contributing to the larger effort. While one bag may seem like a small contribution, the final total demonstrated the impact that can come from See Tzedek Teens page 2

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home: A Legacy We Proudly Carry Forward, Part 3

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

LYNN BATTEN JFO Content Coordinator/Gallery Manager As we prepare to open the new addition to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, we are running a series of articles reflecting on our community’s history of senior care. To help us fully understand the significance of where we are today, this series will look back at the journey that brought us here and the previous generations who made this moment possible. Special thanks to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society archives and Jewish Press archives for providing source materials for this article. Parts 1 and 2 can be found in the previous editions of The Jewish Press. Part 3: 1990 – 2010 “To be the best. That is our goal,”

said Eugene Brandt, Executive Director of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home in 1994. Since its opening in 1982, RBJH had set the standard for quality care. The Home built a superior reputation throughout the medical community, earning the praise See RBJH page 4

Tri-Faith Legacy Luncheon ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor The community is invited to the Tri-Faith Initiative Legacy Luncheon and speaker at noon on Oct 13 at the CHI Center. We hope you will join us as we honor the three original founders of Tri-Faith: Rabbi Emeritus Aryeh Azriel, Bob Freeman, and Sayed Mohiuddin z’l. The featured speaker at the luncheon is John Kasich, former Governor of Ohio, and CEO of The Kasich Company. John Kasich was a FOX television commentator, in addition to being a stand-in host for both Bill O’Reilly and Chris Matthews. In January of 2019, Kasich made his debut as a Senior Political Commentator for CNN, where he appeared across a variety of programs. In 2022, he and comedian Jordan Klepper launched the Kasich & Klepper podcast and in 2023, Kasich joined MSNBC/ NBC News as a Political Analyst. Kasich is the author of four New York Times best- sellers: Courage is Contagious; Stand for Something: The Battle for America’s Soul; Every Other Monday; and most recently, Two Paths: America Divided or United, which reflects on his 2016 run as Republican Primary Presidential candidate and his hopes for America’s future. Another book, titled It’s Up To Us: Ten Little Ways We Can Bring About Big Change, was released on Oct. 15, 2019. Kasich is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where he also served as a Presidential Fellow. His latest book, Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future, offers a series of stories that positions religion as the antidote to cynicism and despair in America. The book contains a chapter titled Have a Little Interfaith, and it’s inspired by conversations Kasich had with Bob Freeman. It’s chapter five, and it starts like this: “This story found me in the unlikeliest place, in the unlikeliest way—but I guess this is only fitting because it’s just about the unlikeliest story (…)” Kasich describes hearing about Bob See Tri-Faith page 2