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Omaha Jewish Film Festival returns in November

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MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement and Education Mark your calendars. The much-anticipated Omaha Jewish Film Festival is back this fall, running Nov. 9 through 12 in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the Staenberg Omaha Jewish Community Center. Community members have recommended a lineup of entertaining, enlightening and educational films with a one-time showing for each film at 6 p.m. Community hosts will welcome attendees, introduce each film and guide a post-screening discussion. A quick and convenient way to share feedback on the film will be provided as well. In keeping with tradition, free popcorn and bottled water are included with every ticket purchase. Whether you come to laugh, learn, or reflect, the four films will make your attendance worthwhile. This year’s lineup is:

Grand Times at RBJH: A September to Remember Page 7

Sunday, Nov. 9, Bad Shabbos, a farce hosted by Rachel and Daniel Grossman. What happens when a picture-perfect Shabbat dinner goes completely off the rails? Bad Shabbos is a wild comedy where family secrets spill faster than the wine, and every polite smile hides a new disaster. You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, and you’ll wonder how anyone will make it to dessert. Monday, Nov. 10, Swedishkyte: Yidlife Crisis in Stockholm, a documentary with a comedic twist hosted by David Finkelstein. Armed with quick wit, deep curiosity, and plenty of chutzpah, Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman travel to Stockholm to uncover the hidden stories of Jewish life in Sweden. From 250 years of history to the surprising recognition of Yiddish as an official minority language, they discover a community full of resilience, creativity, and unexpected laughter. See Jewish Film Festival page 2

The Kaplan Book Group looks at the road not taken Page 12

Ensuring a thriving Jewish future — One gift at a time: Join Life & Legacy

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

"We made a Life & Legacy gift because we care deeply about the Omaha Jewish community. We want future generations to have the same incredible opportunities and programs that we have today. If our community comes together to ensure this, we will thrive for many years to come. Our children will give generously to their children. And the cycle will no doubt go on." — CARYN & MARC SCHEER

A strong Jewish community doesn’t happen by chance—it is built by those who care enough to secure its future. Caryn and Marc Scheer’s commitment to Life & Legacy is a testament to the belief that when we give today, we pave the way for generations to come. By making a Life & Legacy commitment, you can help ensure that local Jewish programs, services, and institutions remain strong—without impacting your current finances. The first step is simple: complete a Letter of Intent, which can be updated anytime as your circumstances change. Join Caryn and Marc in securing a vibrant Jewish future. Your See Life & Legacy page 2

B’nai Israel: A Legacy of Reinvention MS WULFGAR What encapsulates the essence of a building? Its architecture? The practical function it served or the one it currently serves? Those who inhabit it? Beth El and B’nai Israel synagogues recently collaborated on a “Jewish History Tour,” exploring the evolution of the Jewish community in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro Area. The fully-booked tour in August was a joyful, casual, and illuminating celebration of this past, but B’nai Israel has been wrestling with a more profound question on an existential level for the past 50 years: How does our history inform who we are today?

The tour began at Beth El in West Omaha, wound its way downtown, crossed the bridge to Council Bluffs, and concluded just off Broadway with a tour of B’nai Israel’s Living History Musuem. Here, attendees were given a first-hand look at the saga of Jewish evolution in our area. Interestingly enough, while the tour led from west to east, the story it tells tracks, geographically, in reverse. B’nai Israel has been a fixed point, not only in Council Bluffs, but in the Jewish community for more than 120 years. Opening its doors as Chevra B’nai Yisroel in 1904, the little shul on Mynster distinguishes itself to this day as the oldest Jewish institution in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa still standing (and active) in the same spot it was built. In Omaha and Council Bluffs eight synagogues were established prior to WWII. On the Council Bluffs side B’nai Israel (1904) stood alone. On the Omaha side stood: Congregation of Temple Israel (1883); B’nai Jacob Anshe Sholom, a.k.a. “The Kapulier Shul” (1909); Congregation of Israel (1909); B'nai Israel Adas Russia, a.k.a. “The Kippler Shul” (1910); Beth Hamidrash Hagadol, a.k.a. “The Litvsche Shul” (1911); Beit Hamedrosh Adas Yeshuron (1922); and Beth El (1929). All these synagogues despite being orthodox, conservative, or reform, were tightly established within 5 miles of each other. The intimate radius of these original spaces (and structures) can be attributed to many things. Limitations See B’nai Israel page 2