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Tasty Food Series for Children closes with an Israeli-style picnic There will be no paper next week, July 4. The next Jewish Press will be published on July 11.

The Untested Cookbook Page 5

Anything Grants continue to uplift the Jewish community Page 12

HEIDI HEILBRUNN NEEDLEMAN JFO Assistant Director, Community Engagement & Education PJ Library’s Taste of Jewish Omaha, which introduced a series of parent-child cooking classes and social opportunities around the topic of food, comes to a close with a family picnic at Zorinsky Park on July 27 from 4 p.m. to 6 pm. The series was designed to foster a love of Jewish traditional foods while connecting families in the Jewish community through interactive culinary activities. The finale will be no different, offering families an opportunity to celebrate and sample Israeli children’s cuisine. The food will be curated by Omaha’s community schlicha Mika Mizrahi and PJ Library parent Ayelet Geiger. Children will also have an opportunity to create their own herb garden to take home. Gathering 64 families to programs over the past 11 months, the series has provided 6 different delicious and educational opportunities, including: learning where food comes from, making traditional Jewish foods, giving back to the Omaha community through baking and encouraging children to eat a variety of foods. The September kickoff at Pam Nelson Produce Farm encouraged families who gathered at the farm’s Front Porch Café to meet up with friends and learn about PJ Library’s food initiative. The social event provided families with a small taste of farm life See Tasty Food Series page 3

Temple’s Civil Rights Trip, Introducing Sofia Part II

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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RABBI DEANA BEREZIN Temple Israel Thursday, April 24, 2025 Shalom Friends, Today we spent immersing ourselves in the spaces of key moments in thy history of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis. We began our day with some important learning with one of our trip educators, Pastor Rondell. What started out as a debrief on the history of juke joints soon turned into an important conversation about the place that music occupies in African American culture. In a world that consistently and systemically degrades black and brown people, music has been a much-needed outlet for communal and individual expression; a place where you can “lay it [your troubles] all out on the track.” Or, as I often like to say from the bima on Shabbat, an opportunity to leave your schmutz at the door. See Temple trip page 3

SOFIA SOKOLOVSKA Jewish Press Intern Dear readers, Everyone says you start somewhere with your career, and lucky for me that “somewhere” is the Jewish Community Center. Hi, my name is Sofia Sokolovska, and I am the 2025 Jewish Press Chesed Fund Summer Intern. Starting this school year, I am going to be a senior at Westside High School. However, I haven’t always been able to call Westside and Omaha my home. Originally, I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and I moved to the United States when I was about eight years old, after war forced my family to leave our home behind. I wish I could talk about that experience, but truthfully, I was so young that many details are blurred, and my eight-year-old self didn’t exactly take notes of that time. Don’t get emotional while reading that part, I’m grateful for that experience; it has shaped me into who I am today. Almost ten years later I am proud of who I have become. In my community I participate in many cul-

tural events to not only help people understand my culture but also help them feel confident and proud of their own heritage. I’m a firm believer that knowing and embracing your culture is something everyone should carry with pride. I also really enjoy working with kids and besides babysitting every now and then, I’ve worked as a camp counselor at J-Camp last year. It was an incredibly fun and memorable experience to work with the kids. However, working as a See Introducing Sofia page 2