February 4, 2022

A N AG E N C Y O F T H E J E W I S H F E D E R AT I O N O F O M A H A

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FEBRUARY 4, 2022 | 3 A DA R I 578 2 | VO L. 1 02 | NO. 1 6 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 5:26 P.M.

Kindness and Communication in Ezra’s Invisible Backpack Purim is just around the corner Page 2

Volunteer spotlight: Margie Gutnik MAREN ANGUS JFO Israel Engagement & Outreach Coordinator Friday nights are for family in the Gutnik home. Margie takes out her cinnamon and brown sugar filled challah and prepares to welcome the Sabbath on FaceTime with kids and grandkids. Shabbat has become her peaceful time when she has a moment to just be in the moment and celebrate the end of the week.

The city of Acco Page 5

The craft that was key to her survival Page 7

JENNIE GATES BECKMAN JFO Director of Community Engagement & Education PJ Library Omaha is partnering with Jewish Family Service on a series of programs for parents and educators in the Jewish community, the focus being Dina Rock and Hannah Cohen’s new picture book.

Ezra’s Invisible Backpack provides a wonderful metaphor to teach skills that can initiate a discussion about the weights of our feelings and life events, both heavy and light, that we carry with us. Our local JFS team has created a physical backpack each participant will receive prior to the workshop,

which includes a book and 10 stress-relieving foam bricks, all contained in a clear backpack for a visual representation of the “load” the child is carrying on any particular day. The metaphor of the bricks allows the child to name each one and identify the number of bricks that they are carrying with them each day; it gives us all a common language to help the child express their feelings and the seriousness of those feelings.

Our initial collaborative program is being held via Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 27, from 12:30-2 p.m. The webinar will begin with Dina Rock and Hannah Cohen, authors of See Ezra’s Invisible Backpack page 3

Beit Midrash: It’s never too late to learn

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

6 8 10 11

MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement & Education On Sept. 3, 2021, when the first article about the 2021-2022 Omaha Beit Midrash series appeared in the Jewish Press, this third season of presentations and discussions promised to build on previous years and make this “third time a charm.” The presenters have kept their promise and the participants have been impressed with the breadth of topics and the quality of instruction and facilitation of dis-

cussion that the clergy have been providing.

The clergy participating in this sea-

gagement and Education Jennie Gates Beckman has been the moderator for the evenings of panel discus-

son’s “house of study” are, from Beth El Synagogue, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman; from Beth Israel Synagogue, Rabbi Ari Dembitzer and Rabbi Yoni Dryer; from Temple Israel, Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Berezin, Rabbi Emeritus Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Joanna Alexander; from Chabad of Nebraska, Rabbi Mendel Katzman and Rabbi Eli Tenenbaum.

JFO’s Director of Community En-

sion. Jennie said, “I’m still impressed that we as a community of Jewish Communal Professionals can pull this off. I imagine there are few other cities where clergy from all denominations come together, offering varying perspectives on Jewish topics in such a manner.

The program works best when the nuances of topics are explored and the participants experience the See Beit Midrash page 2

Margie Gutnik

Gutnik currently volunteers for three different boards within the Jewish community in Omaha. She is president of the Jewish Press, which gives her a spot on the Jewish Federation board, and she is a board member for Friedel Jewish Academy.

“I knew a few people (when we moved here),” she said, “but what better way to meet other parents than to hang out at the pool and have your kid take another kid’s toy and you have to go over and say, ‘I’m sorry. Hi, my name’s Margie.’”

Gutnik and her husband, Dr. Bruce Gutnik, moved to Omaha from Durham, NC after Bruce finished his residency at Duke. At the time, they had a two-year-old daughter and Margie was pregnant with their second (they went on to have three daughters).

They enrolled their youngest in what is now the Pennie Z. Davis Early Learning Center before they actually moved because they heard it was one of the best in the city.

Margie immediately volunteered for the preschool committee.

“My daughter was in preschool and I thought, okay, the only people who can be on this committee are the parents,” she said. “I can’t set up a play date if I don’t know the parents.”

For Gutnik, being involved in the Jewish community runs in the family. Her brother has served as President of Shaare Emeth Temple and the JCC in St. Louis. Her daughters were board members both locally and See Margie Gutnik page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022

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Beit Midrash

Continued from page 1 wealth of knowledge and wisdom each clergy has to offer. It is a joy to see this done in an environment of mutual respect, often with a bit of humor.”

Each session begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and ends at 8 p.m. The series continues through May 25. To join, go to the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s webpage at www.jewish omaha.org and locate the Beit Midrash banner among the sliding banners at the top of the page. By clicking on that, you will be taken to a page that provides you with current information about the series and the method to register.

The series will again be presented in hybrid form – on Zoom and in-person – in the Wiesman Family Reception Room on the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus from Feb. 2 forward.

Those who have not been attending can view recordings of the sessions by going to the YouTube playlist of the series: tinyurl.com/ HouseofStudy. As an incentive for you to participate, here is a sampling of topics being discussed: Revelation, Be Fruitful and Multiply (Pru u’rvu) - But What if We Can’t?; Halakhah: Religious Observances & Daily Life; Anti-Semitism: Historically and Today. Many of these topics are presented in two parts with representation from all the places of worship adding richness to the discussion.

Make plans to attend the remaining sessions of Beit Midrash. Find out why so many people are talking about this tremendous learning opportunity.

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Purim is just around the corner ROBBY ERLICH Beth El Engagement Coordinator Purim is just around the corner, and the time has come to give some thought to how you are going to fulfill the mitzvah of Mishloach Manot. Beth El Synagogue can help you with that!

Beth El’s Mishloach Manot drive will benefit the “Building for the Future” Campaign at the synagogue. Because the building has approached its thirty-year benchmark, funds raised will be used to make improvements to the sanctuary, chapel, social hall, offices and the physical structure. This will offer the congregation a beautiful and meaningful environment that will enhance learning and community. “This is a great COVID-safe activity for our community to take part in. For $18 you can send a warm greeting to a loved one or friend, filled with

tasty treats and fun surprises! Not only does this fulfill the mitzvah, you will also be supporting our building campaign at the same time,” says Executive Director Allison Newfeld.

Please consider the following options for ordering your Mishloach Manot: • Send a Mishloach Manot greeting to the entire Beth El community for $136. Your name will be published in the Beth El Kol. • Send a Mishloach Manot bag to individuals at a cost of $18 per entry.

Don’t miss out on this easy and gracious way to give Mishloach Manot and to celebrate Purim. The deadline for all orders is March 7, 2022.

To order, please visit www.bethel-oma ha.org. Questions can be directed to Robby Erlich, Engagement Coordinator at rerlich@ bethel-omaha.org or at 402.492.8550.

Margie Gutnik Continued from page 1 regionally for USY, and her husband was President of Jewish Family Service.

“In a large city, you have to pay to play. You don’t get to be on a board if you don’t write a large check,” Gutnik said. “Omaha isn’t like that. In Omaha, anyone who wants to be involved can be involved, and I embrace that wholeheartedly. You name it, I was on it. I felt like if you can and they allow you, how cool is that?”

In addition to volunteering in the community, Gutnik also worked at Beth El as the Program Director for a little over a decadeand chaired other events and committees.

“I think ten is a good number,” Gutnik answered when asked how many committees she thinks she has been on. “That also in-

cludes Chairman of the Jewish Cultural Arts Council (currently the performing arts department) which doesn’t exist anymore.”

Of all the events and committees that she has been a part of, there is one event that stands out to Gutnik. It was an adults-only Purim Spiel at Beth El for the synagogue’s 75th anniversary.

“We had belly dancers, we had an open bar, we had food. It was fabulous,” she said. “It was awesome. We had 130 people show up.”

While the memories are fulfilling for Gutnik, the present and future also look busy. Friedel is expanding to include seventh and eighth grades, the Federation is searching for a new CEO, and the Press is hosting a gala this spring.

There is a never a dull moment, even if she is retired.

The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022 | 3

Ezra’s Invisible Backpack

Continued from page 1 Ezra’s Invisible Backpack, sharing how and why they created this book, with an open Q & A session to follow.

After our virtual visit with the book’s authors, participants will split into three break out groups, each with a licensed therapist from Jewish Family Service, to facilitate a discussion and to generate ideas for the use of this tool in the home and classroom. As a wrap-up, Dina Rock each group will share their ideas with the larger group in order to expand the knowledge and generate excitement about this creative book and tool kit.

The target audiences for this initial program are Jewish parents as well as educators from the community’s religious schools. The book is geared toward children in elementary school, but this program will also benefit adults who engage children of ALL ages. The author’s talk portion of the program will be recorded so that JFS can collaborate with other community organizations to bring this training model to additional groups in the future, including ELC teachers, Friedel teachers, and more.

Karen Gustafson, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service, said: “This is a MUST program for every family with children in our community. It’s about teach-

ing ALL OF US how to talk about mental health from a young age and normalize the discussion in a concrete way. Collaborating with PJ Library also dovetails so beautifully with the JFO’s new strategic direction – any way we can strengthen the ties between families with young children and the resources on our campus is a win-win!”

This picture book shows us that kindness and comHannah Cohen munication with those around us can go a long way in making our classmates, friends, or family feel accepted. The cost for parents to participate is $10 per household, and those who RSVP by Feb. 14 (tinyurl.com/ EzraBackpack) will receive a $15 gift card to their choice of Bagel Bin, Panera or Starbucks to ensure they are well nourished before jumping on the call.

Special thanks must go out to the Jewish Book Council, as well as the following sponsors who have made this series possible AND subsidized the cost for all Jewish educators to attend: Lazier L. and Harriet B. Singer Memorial Fund for Youth, Richard “Pete” Lee Memorial Fund, Jennifer Beth Kay Memorial Fund, Herbert Goldsten Trust, and the Dennis Schuman Charitable Foundation.

Talking with your health care provider CDC Don’t wait for your health care provider (HCP) to ask about your mental health. Start the conversation. Here are five tips to help prepare and guide you on how to talk to your health care provider about your mental health and get the most out of your visit.

1. DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START FOR HELP? 1. TALK TO YOUR HCP. If you’re going to your primary care provider (PCP) for other health concerns, remember to bring up your mental health concerns. Mental health is an integral part of health.

People with mental disorders can be at risk for other medical conditions. You may be asked if you’re feeling anxious or depressed, or had thoughts of suicide. Take this opportunity to talk to your PCP, who can help refer you to a mental health specialist.

2. PREPARE AHEAD OF YOUR VISIT. HCP’s have a limited time for each appointment. Think of your questions or concerns beforehand, and write them down.

• Prepare your questions. Make a list of what you want • to discuss and any questions or concerns you might have.

• Prepare a list of your medications. It’s important to • tell your HCP about all the medications you’re taking, • including over-the-counter (nonprescription) drugs, • herbal remedies, vitamins, and supplements.

• Review your family history. Certain mental illnesses • tend to run in families, and knowing family mental health • history can help determine whether you are at a higher • risk for certain disorders. It can help your PCP • recommend actions for reducing your risk and look for • early warning signs.

3. CONSIDER BRINGING A FRIEND OR RELATIVE. Bring a close friend or relative to your appointment. Your companion can be there for support, help you take notes, and remember what you and the provider discussed. They might be able to offer input to your provider about how they think you are doing.

4. BE HONEST. Your HCP can help you get better only if you have clear

and honest communication. Communications between you and a health care provider are private and confidential and cannot be shared with anyone without your expressed permission. Describe all your symptoms, and be specific about when they started, how severe they are, and how often they occur. Share any major stresses or recent life changes that could be triggering symptoms.

Examples of symptoms include: • Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism • Irritability • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness • Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities • Decreased energy or fatigue • Moving or talking more slowly • Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making • decisions • Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or • oversleeping • Appetite or weight changes • Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts • Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems • without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease • even with treatment 5. ASK QUESTIONS. If you have questions or even doubts about a diagnosis or treatment your HCP gives, ask for more information. If your provider suggests a treatment you’re not comfortable or familiar with, express your concerns and ask if there are other options. It’s okay to disagree with your provider on treatment.

You may decide to try a combination of approaches. You also may want to get another opinion. It’s important to remember that there is no “one-size-fits-all” treatment. You may need to try a few different HCPs and several different treatments, or a combination of treatments, before finding one that works best for you.

The Mental Health Series is presented by The Jewish Press and the Jennifer Beth Kay Memorial Fund.

Omaha Community Playhouse presents Outside Mullingar Outside Mullingar is opening Feb. 17 at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Written by Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright John Patrick Shanley, this charming romantic comedy follows Anthony and Rosemary, two introverts who grew up on neighboring farms in rural Ireland. Rosemary secretly fell in love with Anthony at age six, but after a bout with heartbreak, Anthony swore off women forever. The now middle-aged pair must overcome

their own aloofness — as well as a family property dispute — to finally find their way to one another.

This production runs from Feb. 17 through March 13 in the Howard Drew Theatre at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at OmahaPlayhouse.com or by calling the OCP Box Office at 402.553.0800. Reserve your seats early for the best pricing and seating options.

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4 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022

Critics said the BBC blamed the victims of an antisemitic attack CNAAN LIPSHIZ JTA The BBC has slightly revised a hotly contested article that had infuriated British Jews by seeming to blame the victims of an antisemitic incident.

In addition to adding a clarifying note to the article, the BBC apologized in a statement that said: “We apologise for not doing more to highlight that these details were contested — we should have reflected this and acted sooner.”

The initial report on a Nov. 29 incident in London, in which several young men were filmed intimidating Jews celebrating Hanukkah, indicated that “racial slurs about Muslims could be heard inside the bus.” The line was later changed from “slurs” to “slur.”

A note appended to the online article on Wednesday adds that the claim about an anti-Muslim slur “has been disputed by Hebrew speakers and others.” A BBC spokesperson in a statement called this change a “clarification.”

The report, which critics said was lacking evidence, prompted indignation by British Jewish groups and individuals, some of whom said it encapsulated a bigger problem in the BBC’s coverage of antisemitism, Jews and Israel.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews in a statement said it was “dismayed” that the BBC “continues to justify certain erroneous editorial decisions that continue to cloud the issue.”

The Office of Communications, a government regulator of media, has decided to launch its own review of the BBC’s reporting, the Board said. “We trust that justice will prevail.”

Following the uproar over the article — including a demonstration in December by 200 people outside BBC headquarters organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism — the BBC had its executive complaints unit examine the complaints.

The unit said the article “did not meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy,” but it largely vindicated the original report, stating that there was “an ‘overriding focus’ on those who directed abuse at the passengers on the bus and there was no evidence to support any claims of victim-blaming in our reporting,” the unit wrote in its conclusions.

But, the unit also wrote, ”the anti-Muslim slur claim has itself become controversial” and “it also lacks due impartiality in failing to reflect alternative views.”

BBC had four experts listen to recordings of the incident, with three of them saying they heard the phrase they translated as “dirty Muslims” uttered in the bus, the unit’s report

said. It did not specify the Hebrew-language phrase that the three experts thought they heard. The fourth heard a phrase that the unit translated as meaning “call someone, it’s urgent,” its report said.

In an analysis commissioned by the Board of Deputies of British Jews of the same recording, an expert said the phrase interpreted by BBC to be an anti-Muslim slur was actually “tikrah l’mishehu, ze dachuf,” which means “call someone, it’s urgent.”

The BBC has declined to answer requests by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to specify the Hebrew-language words they had interpreted as an anti-Muslim slur.

IN THE NEWS Debby Greenblatt is offering a Practical Practicing Workshop online for musicians who want to accomplish as much as possible during their private practice sessions. The workshops, streamed from The Old Avoca, NE, Schoolhouse, will be on Friday, Feb. 25, from 7-8 p.m., US Central Time. It will be repeated on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., US Central Time.

During the workshop, many different practice techniques will be discussed and demonstrated. By the end of the session, each musician will have a better idea of what to do and how to do it.

Pre-registration is required. The cost for each workshop is $10. For more information and to register: https://www. greenblattandseay.com/workshops_practicing.shtml.

Functional medicine with Dr. Stephanie Velez Functional medicine is looking at the body as a whole and treating it accordingly instead of patching things up. The way that we live today, leaves little time to take care of ourselves let alone have a “me” time. We are facing constant stress and we are always on the go. As professionals, we may not have time to eat a proper meal or even go to the gym.

As a full time pharmacist and as a full time mother, I was constantly depriving my body of sleep and proper nutrition while trying to keep up with twelve hour shifts and the demands of a newborn baby. I was constantly short-tempered with my patients and baby because I was tired, and depleted.

I didn’t have a great quality of life.

I learned to regain my health and vitality through a different way of living: by treating the body as a whole. I created

rx4vida to apply everything I have learned throughout the years: it is a place where I can guide you to become your healthiest self through the four pillars of health: gut health, sleep, nutrition, and fitness.

Gut health plays a significant role since it is 60 to 70% of our immune system. This is important to have especially when facing the COVID-19 virus. It is also the door to many vitamins and minerals needed for optimal living. We need sleep as well as exercise to make the necessary hormones that mandate how our body will function. Lastly, proper nutrition is needed to be able to feel energized, clear-minded and to perform our best at work and/or our everyday living.

Schedule a 15 minute consultation for free at rx4vida.com or email me at info@rx4vida.com.

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The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022 | 5

Giving Goodness JAY KATELMAN JFO Foundation Director of Community Development and Life & Legacy/OJAA Coordinator Throughout December of 2021, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation and the Omaha Jewish Alumni Association partnered with eCreamery for the benefit of our Jewish community. The Foundation and the Omaha Jewish Alumni

Association created a “flavor of the month,” Giving Goodness. It was sold throughout December with a percentage of proceeds going to the Institute for Holocaust Education. We are very happy to report the results of this very generous and free collaboration with eCreamery. eCreamery sold and shipped 25 specialized 4-packs and 121 individual pints of our customized flavor, generating almost $200 on our “Scoops of Support” day, donating 10% of all sales to the Institute for Holocaust Education. We are so thankful to have such a great community partner in eCreamery and we cannot wait to collaborate with them again to benefit another worthy organization on the Jewish Federation of Omaha campus. A special shout-out goes out to Becky App, co-founder of eCreamery, for making this such a wonderful process for everyone involved!

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch the Press for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com.

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The city of Acco

SIVAN COHEN Omaha Community Shlicha The only city in the world with two UNESCO World Heritage Sites is Acco.

Located in the Western Galilee, Acco is a diverse city with the coexistence of four religions that found a home there and left their mark on it, which led to cultural, economic, community and social pluralism.

The old city of Acco attracts thousands of tourists every year. The city hosts festivals, theaters, shows, performances, tours and other activities.

Ancient Acco has many faces, and it’s built on layers that have been preserved almost in their entirety.

So many stories and treasures are hidden under its walls that are reflected in every corner, stone or alley. Starting from the fishing port, Turkish Bazaar, the municipal market, the museums, the Turkish bath (Hamam), the beautiful beaches, the ancient eastern wall, the Baha’i Gardens and more.

And that’s not all, according to archival maps found in the Vatican, more than 90% of the city is still hidden. The percentage that has been cleared is spectacularly arranged and reveals a tiny part of the long history of the city of Acco.

In the picture, one of the main dishes of Acco.: Hummus, chips and salad.

Director of Development job opportunity Although it may not seem that way, the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s donor development department has not been fully staffed since the summer of 2021. We will be posting a full-time position soon.

Are you (or is someone you know) looking for a career change?

Do you enjoy developing relationships?

Omaha is built on a culture of giving. People who support the Jewish Federation of Omaha have done so year after year, and they do so with enthusiasm and passion. They do it because they know this is how they make a difference in others’ lives, gaining a benefit for themselves and for our families.

Our Jewish community would not exist today without this history and culture of giving. We enjoy our extraordinary campus facilities and outreach social services that take care of all ages.

Come and join us! We are looking for someone to lead in

the following areas: • Donor development • Campaign events and programming Those of us who already work at the Jewish Federation of Omaha understand how special this community is. Our next JFO professional will ensure we continue to provide resources to carry on to the future.

How would it feel if your next job was much more than a job? What if it were a passion, a calling? Join us, build a career and give back to our community while working with different pockets of our community. Engage with our community members and experience substance and meaning in your job!

If you are interested in the Director of Development full time position at the Jewish Federation of Omaha, please contact Jenn Tompkins at jtompkins@jewishomaha.org or at 402.334.6435 to apply.

6 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022

Above, left and below: Happy Tu B’Shvat! Beth Israel celebrated Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot, New Year of the Trees, with learning, singing and eating in honor of Eretz Israel!

Above: Chana Tenenbaum invites anyone who is interested to join her and mom, Mushka Tenenbaum, Sundays, beginning Feb. 6, for free play, books and music. She will also share her stuffed Torahs with you!

Above, right and below: RBJH is in the process of having a permanent art gallery for Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) in the Silverman Family Auditorium. We thank The Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) for our OMA grant to be able to provide art for our Residents and a place to showcase their masterpieces. Artist Annette Fettman will showcase one large piece that she just completed and this will be displayed with other smaller OMA pieces from various residents. More pictures to come as our installation comes to fruition.

Above: ELC Mentor teacher Sarah Piper shows off a large Apple shaped Pop-it.

SP O TLIGHT

Below: Who needs a regular snowman when you can turn the mailbox into a dinosaur? Walter and Sadie Beckman show off their ‘snow-Rex.’

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.

Above: Friedel Jewish Academy students mimic throwing a ball during performing arts lessons.

The craft that was key to her survival

Hongkou, the poorest part of Shanghai. Girone’s family moved TANYA SINGER into a tiny room under a staircase that once served as a bathNew York Jewish Week via JTA A recent fall meant Rose Girone spent her 110th birthday room. There was a single bed for the three of them; the matin a Long Island rehab facility. But nothing could stop her tress was infested with roaches and bed bugs. Rats would friends and family from giving her exactly the right gift: red gnaw their way through the hardwood floors and climb over wool and brand-new knitting needles. the family while they slept.

“Rose cannot imagine her life without knitting,” Girone’s There was a bright spot of ghetto life: At one of the Heims, daughter, Reha Bennicasa, 83, told the New York Jewish Week. or community homes set up for refugees, a rabbi would give Dina Mor, who owns The Knitting Place in Port Washing- inspirational sermons to the community. “He was a fabulous ton, New York, was among speaker and I would always the guests to join Girone for stand in line to hear him,” the birthday celebration Girone said in the Shoah Jan. 13 that turned her dear Foundation interview. friend, mentor and former The final years of the employee into a superwar were filled with frecentenarian — the official quent bombings. “It was reterm for someone who lives ally horrible,” Girone to 110 and beyond. continued. “I was panic“When Rose turned 105, stricken.” Bennicasa reshe turned to me and said, members playing with hot ‘I need to retire,” Mor reshrapnel in the streets once called. At 110 and even after air raids ended. a COVID-19 scare, Mor Fortunately, another said, Girone still “had it.” voyage would provide Girone’s passion for knit- Above: Rose Girone’s family was forced by Japanese occupiers into refuge. In 1947, the family ting has made her well the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto, seen above circa 1943. Credit: Wikime- was granted a visa for the known in the New York- dia Commons; below: Rose Girone, center, flanked by knitting friends United States. Girone inarea knitting community in Pam Sapienza, left, and Dina Mor, Dec. 30, 2019. Courtesy sisted on completing her recent decades, but it also knitting commissions beplayed a critical role in her fore they set sail. “I had to family’s survival earlier in finish what I promised,” she her life. said.

Girone (née Raubvogel) Again, there were limitawas born in 1912 in Janov, tions on what the family Poland. After a brief move could take. Each person to Vienna, the family settled was only permitted to leave in Hamburg, Germany, China with $10, but Girone where they ran a theatrical hid $80 cash inside buttons costume shop. She loved on her hand-knit sweaters, playing there — especially according to a Patch article sliding down the banisters about her 99th birthday. of the two-story building. In They traveled by ship to Hamburg, Girone learned San Francisco, ultimately to knit from an aunt, acending up in New York via cording to Bennicasa, and she enjoyed it immediately. train where they were reunited with Girone’s mother, brother Rose married Julius Mannheim in an arranged marriage in and grandmother, who had all survived the war.

1938; later that year, the couple moved to Breslau, Germany The couple and Bennicasa, then 9, moved into a hotel as (now Wroclaw, Poland), just as the Nazi-run pogrom known part of a refugee settlement program. Girone was determined as Kristallnacht initiated waves of violence against Germany’s to help provide for her family. She found work as a knitting inJews. Mannheim was arrested and transported to the Buchen- structor — but her husband did not muster the same motiwald concentration camp and Girone, eight months pregnant, vation. After years of Girone urging him to find his footing in briefly fled the city with her mother and uncle to stay out of America, they divorced. harm’s way.

In 1968, she met and married Jack Girone and they moved Alone and afraid, Girone was determined to get out of Nazi to Whitestone, Queens. Rose Girone was thriving as a knitting Germany. She found a brief window of opportunity when, in teacher and was cultivating her own knitting community. She 1939, her cousin, Richard Tand, sent her a paper he said was soon opened a knitting shop in Rego Park, Queens, with ana visa, written in Chinese. Shanghai was one of the last open other knitter; after a short while they expanded to a second ports in the world and Girone presented the visas to the Nazi location in Forest Hills. After a year or two, the partners split authorities and was able to get her husband released from and they each kept a store — Girone’s design expertise made Buchenwald. her store on Austin Street stand apart.

As Bennicasa recalls, “They let my father out with the pro“Mother was pretty proud of all her designs,” Bennicasa said. viso that we pay them and get out of the country within six “People would bring ads from Vogue and the like and say they weeks, and so we did.” wanted something just like this particular picture. Some with They were allowed to leave with 10 reichsmarks — roughly intricate patterns, Mother would sit, figure it out, lots of times $40 today — and no valuables or jewelry. After a month-long with graph paper. She loved it.” voyage aboard a German liner — which required Jews to dine When Girone turned 68 in 1980, she sold her business. But and swim separately from non-Jewish Germans — the young she never stopped knitting. She began volunteering at a notfamily arrived in Shanghai. for-profit knitting shop in Great Neck — which is where Conditions in the Chinese city were difficult. The family Girone first met Mor. traded whatever linens and trinkets they brought with them One day, according to The Knitting Place podcast, Mor arand then needed to depend on aid from relief agencies. Even- rived at the shop; she was struggling with a sweater she was tually, Mannheim found work as a taxi driver. Girone recalls knitting for her husband, Erez. Girone offered to rip out the living on “oodles of noodles,” according to her 1996 interview back panel and urged her to go distract herself at an adjacent cafe so “it would hurt less” to see her stitches unfurled. with The USC Shoah Foundation.

Girone took great care to help Mor improve her knitting Still, Girone was able to find wool, and she knit clothes for her baby girl. An entrepreneurial Viennese Jewish man saw technique, and the two became close. “Mother saw that Dina her creations and thought she could put her talent to use, had a knack for knitting, so that when Dina voiced that she earning them both money. He invited her to sell her work, say- would love to open her own store, she was happy to help,” Bening he would teach her about business. Together, they brought nicasa said. “‘If you go, I go,’ Rose said to me,” Mor said — and subseher sample knits to an upscale store in Shanghai where the boutique’s owner suggested ways to make the pieces more el- quently Girone worked at Dina’s shop in Port Washington for egant. Girone took the feedback and began to design and knit nearly 15 years.

Even after Girone’s retirement five years ago, the two resweaters, with help from Chinese women, as a way to make a mained close. During a visit last fall, Mor recalled, the first living.

Knitting was more than a source of much-needed income: thing Girone said was: “How’s business?”

Mor’s affection for Girone runs deep. For her 100th birthday, She credited her colleagues with giving her the strength she needed to survive. Girone, according to Bennicasa, “lived a she commissioned a surprise painting of Girone at the center sheltered life in Germany. The other women in Shanghai of a table in The Knitting Place, surrounded by her knitting friends and students. made her stronger.”

“Looking at it gives [my mother] memories and makes her In 1941, Nazi-allied Japan, which occupied parts of China, forced the Jewish refugees into a one-square-mile ghetto in feel good,” said Bennicasa.

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Can this dark history be rectified?

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor “Beneath a sprawling 14th-century building with moss-furrowed terrace walls and interiors painted in garish strokes of purple and yellow,” Orge Castellano wrote for JTA, “lie what could be the remains of Spain’s second-largest synagogue from the medieval era. The 7,500-square-foot estate [is] currently being explored by researchers and archeologists.

“The property has had a lengthy and multifaceted history as a hospital, in the 17th century; a Catholic chapel; an orphanage, and most recently, in the 20th century, as a school, a restaurant and a cocktail bar. But the city council bought the now abandoned property in 2018 and launched an archaeological excavation project last February, with the hope of uncovering a synagogue that was pushed underground over the centuries.”

Castellano goes on to explore how abandoned, excavated and renovated synagogues are a great draw for tourists. Also, the aim is “to preserve and foster Jewish history and culture — something the country’s government has prioritized in recent years in order to rectify its dark Inquisition history.”

And there’s the catch.

Let’s be honest: you can’t ‘rectify’ anything by creating museums out of what was left behind. Growing up in Europe, I know there are places like that everywhere, serving as constant reminders of what used to be.There are few things that drive the point home as much as seeing everything from Jewish quarters, stores, businesses, synagogues and

mikvehs having become tourist attractions. I want viewed through very different glasses than the to scream: none of this belongs in a museum! It’s present. It’s easy to be sympathetic to Jews who real life and it should still be here! were tortured and persecuted hunderds of years But it isn’t. And that is probably why, when I see ago. But extending that same empathy to Jews stories about happy Spaniards who proudly display today, who are real people and not faded images in excavated Jewish memories, I get a little testy. a history book, is hard.

Of course, these buildings must be preserved. I Or perhaps I am just really, really overthinking am not advocating to pave them over and forget all about it. But at the same time, it strikes me how much more comfortable the world seems to be when they have Jewish life in the rearview mirror, rather than here, among them, in the present. And who wants their trauma to be a tourist attraction?

I have questions about those tourists, whoever they are. Are they being educated? Do they come away from these archeo- A view of the interior of the Synagogue of Lorca in Murcia, Spain. Credit: logical sites appropriately Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Lorca schooled on how Spain treated its Jews? Do they this. Here’s a thought: what if, instead of museums, know the gory details of the Inquisition, the stories the local governments turn some of these excaof torture? And once they do learn all that, do they vated shuls into housing for Jews? Like that turn around and continue to support BDS because Moshav that is being constructed in California—a they deem Israel an Apartheid State? Do they still modern-day Jewish communal space. I know, no believe in antisemitic tropes? plumbing, but that can be fixed. Or maybe turn I know I’m making all kinds of big jumps and as- them into Jewish community centers of sorts. Or sumptions here, but it is possible that people can Jewish student housing, or yeshivas. Because you pay lip service to antisemitism, while not seeing know what’s even better than Jewish museums? what’s right in front of them. Again, the past is Real living and breathing Jewish people.

Jewish women are leaders on abortion rights. But they can’t do it alone.

BARBARA DOBKIN JTA In 1966, I was a student at Boston University’s School of Social Work when I received a phone call from a college friend. She explained in hushed tones that she needed an abortion and thought I could help her.

At that time, I didn’t know anyone who had terminated a pregnancy; all I knew was that abortion was illegal. I quietly asked some classmates if they knew how to end a pregnancy safely. One of them had an answer.

It didn’t take long before I received the phone number for a doctor who performed abortions in a kitchen that functioned as an underground health clinic. “He won’t call you back unless you say the right word,” my classmate instructed me. I nervously left the doctor a message with the code word, knowing that my friend’s fate hung in the balance. When the doctor called me back, I booked my friend an appointment. For $500, she terminated her pregnancy, regained her independence and moved on with her life. We never spoke of her abortion again.

My friend was lucky to have had a small community of resourceful people during an era when accessing an abortion was illegal and shrouded in fear, intimidation and shame. She was also lucky to be able to pay $500 (about $4,300 in today’s dollars) for a risky procedure and not suffer health complications.

According to a report published by the Guttmacher Institute in 2018, more than 22,000 women and girls worldwide die each year after having an unsafe abortion. Now, all signs suggest that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn or substantially erode Roe v. Wade, its landmark decision that legalized abortion in 1973.

If it does, at least 24 U.S. states would deem it illegal to receive or perform abortions. Consider the number of people who will die or suffer long-term health problems as a result of unsafe abortions if we return to a pre-Roe world.

I am a Jewish philanthropist who has supported many initiatives for the dignity of women in the American Jewish community, Israel and the broader

world. I never thought I would live to see the day right to make decisions about our own bodies? when abortion would become illegal once again. Where is the communal outcry about that?

But here we are. I look around and wonder: Why There are, no doubt, thousands of people in the are so few Jewish leaders speaking out?

Jewish community — rabbis and educators; Most Jews — 83% according to the Pew Research donors and congregants; friends and neighbors — Center favor abortion rights, making the Jewish who have had abortions or will need them in thecommunity among the most progressive religious groups in the nation that support reproductive justice. Given that percentage, I would expect Jewish groups to use their influence to protect abortion access at this urgent moment in our history. And yet the vast majority of American Jewish organizations have been chillingly silent.

Jewish women have an enduring legacy in advancing reproductive justice. The Jewish Women’s Archive documents that history in its digital collection Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution as well as in a National Council of Jewish Women leaders and advocates recent podcast episode about The Jane Col- rallied on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court to show suplective – an underground abortion counsel- port for abortion access, Dec. 1, 2021. Credit: NCJW ing service in Chicago founded by Jewish activist future. Their reasons may vary, but one thing reHeather Booth that operated from 1969 to 1973, mains true: Keeping abortion safe and legal reflects when abortion was illegal. our most cherished Jewish values: pikuach nefesh Since its founding in 1893, NCJW has been a (saving a life), briyut (health and safety), kavod leader in the reproductive health and rights move- (human dignity) and tzedek (justice). ment. Recently, it launched the “Rabbis for Repro” So I call on every Jewish leader and institution — campaign and convened a Jewish Abortion Access not just the ones run by and for women — to speak Coalition with partners inside and outside of the out boldly in defense of abortion access and safety.

Jewish community. NCJW organized Repro Shabbat, Our lives, our families, and our futures depend on it. an opportunity for congregations, organizations and When my friend who needed an abortion called me communities to celebrate the critical importance of for help nearly 50 years ago, I know she felt profoundly reproductive health and justice, and to learn more afraid of what her future would look like if she were about Judaism’s approach to these issues. forced to become a mother before she was ready. I I am grateful for all of these efforts. But the bur- never want another to experience that same fear. den to mobilize Jews around abortion access The Jewish community knows how to stand up should not fall to women and LGBTQ+ people for dignity, justice and the health of those we love, alone. Leaders of the organized Jewish community including those who are strangers among us. We’ve dominated by men have never been shy in voicing done it before, and we must do it again. The time outrage about crises that undermine our basic hu- is now. manity, such as antisemitism and violence in Israel.

Barbara Dobkin is a feminist philanthropist.

Nor have they been shy in expressing anxiety about The views and opinions expressed in this article are assimilation, intermarriage, infertility and Jewish those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the continuity. But what about the crisis of losing the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022 | 9

TikTok Talmud commentary isn’t profane. It’s Torah.

DAVID SVI KALMAN JTA Is it appropriate to call an ancient rabbi a “legendary hottie”? To use “thirst” in the online sense? To translate one Talmudic voice replying to another as, “Oh my God, what the actual f–k is wrong with you, you misogynistic ageist dips–t”?

Miriam Anzovin, an ex-Orthodox artist in Boston, ignited debate over those questions this week after making headlines in both North America and Israel for her series of TikTok videos responding to passages in the Talmud, the central text of rabbinic Judaism.

Anzovin’s way of talking about Talmud has been shocking for some. “This is a particularly provocative and crude use of texts sacred to Judaism to rake in likes,” tweeted Avishai Grinzaig, a prominent Orthodox activist and writer in Israel. “This is not traditional, this is not religious continuity, this is not accessibility. It’s just a disgrace.”

Even among fans, Anzovin’s work is frequently praised as a pedagogical tool, useful to get more people engaged in Talmud study but still a sideshow or stepping stone to the more serious study that takes place in study halls and yeshivas.

But for many others, including me, Anzovin’s work is a natural outgrowth of something much larger: a new way of talking about Jewish texts and holy scripture that has come of age with the internet. Despite flying under the radar for many traditionalists, this form of communication about Torah is already fully developed, and it is time for it to be taken seriously as a genuinely new way of engaging with Jewish ideas.

The method of engagement is widespread but does not yet have a name. It draws on “shitposting,” a term that originally referred to insincere and intentionally inflammatory remarks but has since been adopted by many affinity groups of urban transportation, of Star Trek and of Torah to refer to a method of discussing ideas that oscillates rapidly between sarcasm and sincerity and doesn’t treat foul language or off-color humor as out of bounds. Though I have participated in such groups for years, Facebook’s “Shitpost the Beit Midrash” group is a personal favorite. Until seeing Anzovin’s videos I had never put much thought into how these conversations were supposed to fit into the grander narrative of Jewish discourse.

This kind of discourse is easy to find if you know where to look.

On both Facebook and Twitter there are an endless number of

well-populated groups and accounts dedicated to Torah memes; tradition also communicates a confidence that it is impervias Anzovin’s viral fame makes clear, TikTok, too, is an emerging ous to our barbs. Conversely, tone-policing the expression of frontier for this content. Content in these groups is irreverent Jewish ideas — especially when it comes from a gender that by default; it frequently contains profanity and sexual innuendo hasn’t been in a position to write centuries worth of commenand is not afraid to criticize even the most respected rabbis. taries — telegraphs an underserved fragility, one that ensures Someone unfamiliar with the tone of these groups might think that contributors are disdainful of Judaism or even on the verge of leaving it behind entirely. But this could not be further from the truth: Many contributors are rabbis and Jewish educators, and they are extending one of the oldest components of Jewish discourse: criticism.

Criticism of Jewish texts is nothing new; the first critic of the Bible is other parts of the Bible. The Talmud itself actively encourages interrogation of even the most sacred texts; one well-known story relates that the sage Rabbi Yochanan was deeply saddened that his study partner kept agreeing with his interpretations.

Medieval commentators put each other down with invective that still seems harsh today; decode a page of Miriam Anzovin has captured widespread attention for her irreverent Tikthe Talmud and you will quickly discover a war zone. Tok Talmud commentaries. Credit: Screenshot Today, students of Jewish texts are still taught to question a generation of “approved” Jewish ideas that are removed from everything they study, and these questions are frequently the the concerns of actual people. seeds from which additional insights into the Torah grow. It On the internet, this sharper form of criticism has flouris not a stretch to say that the entire edifice of Torah study ished. Until now, both contributors to and observers of the would crumble if criticism were forbidden. It is foundational. genre have spent little time theorizing about their own work, In the modern era, this tradition of criticism has taken on a but it is time to acknowledge that meme-ified Torah is a gennew urgency because it is, for many people, what allows them uinely new form of expressing Jewish ideas, one whose reach to maintain a relationship with texts that can feel in turns is already massive and is likely to grow further. misogynistic, homophobic and obsessed with ritual minutiae.

This form of Jewish discourse one that allows for both caustic When Leviticus says that it is an abomination for two men to and innocent humor, the one that treats absolutely nothing as have sex, I could meet the moment with pensive laments that, off-limits has allowed for a far wider variety of relationships to yes, some parts of Torah are difficult, but we must try our best the tradition, and it allows people to contribute to that tradition to understand. Or, I could say to the text: I love you very much, even if they do not personally have the wherewithal to write a but this is ridiculous. That the first form is better received monograph or give a sermon. It is not marginal; it is the future. does not make it more legitimate. Though it has its place, reDavid Zvi Kalman is the scholar in residence and direcstricting critique to only the softer form can have the effect of tor of new media at the Shalom Hartman Institute of intellectualizing concerns that are felt viscerally, effectively North America and the owner of Print-o-Craft Press. He minimizing those concerns in the process. holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.

The appeal of sharp-tongued critiques is about more than The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of just the ability to let loose. It’s about being able to bring one’s the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its whole self to religious conversations. Playing rough with the parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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Synagogues

10 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

CHABAD HOUSE

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN

South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154 rbjh.com

TEMPLE ISRAEL

Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org

B’NAI ISRAEL Join us In-Person on Friday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. for evening services with a guest speaker. The service will be led by the members of the congregation. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber.

Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9:30 a.m.; Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Jr. Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El; Havdalah, 6:20 p.m. Zoom only.

SUNDAY: Siddur 101 with Hazzan Krausman, 9:30 a.m.; BESTT (Grades K-7), 9:30 a.m.; World Wide Wrap, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Tots (Ages 3-5), 10 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; USY Board Meeting, 12:15 p.m.

TUESDAY: Mussar, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham at Beth El & Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:15 p.m.; USY/ Kadima Kinnus Hype-Up, 5 p.m.; Hebrew High (Grades 8-12), 6 p.m.; A View from the Neighbors, 6 p.m. with Dr. Rami Arav; Community Beit Midrash, 7 p.m. via In-person at the JCC or on Zoom.

THURSDAY: Zoom Movie Day: If These Knishes Could Talk, 2 p.m.; USY Convention Prep, 4:45 p.m.; Revisting the Classics, 7 p.m. with Hazzan Krausman.

FRIDAY-Feb. 11: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

SATURDAY-Feb. 12: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Jr. Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El; Havdalah, 6:30 p.m. Zoom only.

Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.

BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

Classes, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah on Zoom, WhatsApp or Facebook Live. On site services held outside in pergola, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required.

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 5:27 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Class/Kids Class, 10:30 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush, 11:30 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 4:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha, 5:30 p.m.; Shalosh Seudos/ Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity, 6 p.m.; Ma’ariv/Havdalah, 6:29 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:40 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deep-

ing Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Kids Class, 3:45 p.m.; Daf Yomi, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Wednesday School, 4:15 p.m.; Daf Yomi, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 5:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 am. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:40 p.m.

FRIDAY-Feb. 11: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 5:35 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 12: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Class/Kids Class, 10:30 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush, 11:30 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 4:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha, 5:30 p.m.; Shalosh Seudos/Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity, 5:50 p.m.; Ma’ariv/Havdalah, 6:37 p.m.

Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.

CHABAD HOUSE All services are in-person. All classes are being offered in-person/Zoom hybrid (Ochabad.com/classroom). For more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/Lech ayim; Candlelighting, 5:26 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 6:28 p.m.

SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps, 9 a.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha Class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Virtual Pirkei Avot Women’s Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Mystical Thinking (Tanya), 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introduction to Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study (Sanhedrin 18 — No advance experience necessary), noon with Rabbi Katzman.

FRIDAY-Feb. 11: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad. com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 5:35 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 12: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 6:36 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch.

Note: Some of our services, but not all, are now being offered in person.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Shabbat Candlelighting, 5:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.

with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Terumah, noon; Havdalah, 6:32 p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS Classes, 9:30 a.m. (remote only); Men's Jewish Bike Group of Lincoln meets Sundays at 10 a.m., rain or shine, to ride to one of The Mill locations from Hanson Ct. (except we drive if it’s too wet, cold, cloudy, windy, hot or humid) followed by coffee and spirited discussions. If interested, please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com to find out where to meet each week; Tifereth Israel Board Meeting, 5 p.m.; We will put pickleball on hiatus while we are not holding in-person services. When we start up again, remember that everyone is welcome; just wear comfortable clothes and tennis or gym shoes. If you need a paddle, contact Miriam Wallick by email at Miriam57@aol.com or by text at 402.470.2393 before Sunday.

TUESDAY: Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom; Jewish Ethical Teachings Class, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Alex.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Classes, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY: LJCS Committee Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-Feb. 11: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Shabbat Candlelighting, 5:38 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 12: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Tetzaveh, noon; Havdalah, 6:40 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

FRIDAY: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s service is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat Shirah, 6 p.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or InPerson; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

SUNDAY: Youth Learning Programs, 10 a.m.; Sunday Class, 10:15 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel In-Person.

MONDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, 11 a.m. via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: Youth Learning Programs — In-Person: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; T’filah, 4:45 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6:30-8 p.m.; Grade 12 Confirmation Class, 6:30 p.m.; Community Beit Midrash, 7 p.m. via In-person at the JCC or on Zoom.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom or In-Person.

FRIDAY-Feb. 11: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat B’yachad: Voices of the Congregation, 6 p.m. with Joan Shapiro via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY-Feb. 12: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person; OTYG Program: Local Teen Social Justice Seminar, 4 p.m.

Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

ADL and six other Jewish orgs denounce ‘ongoing terrorism’ SHIRA HANAU JTA Seven American Jewish organizations released an open letter calling on Israel’s top leaders to take “unequivocal action” to stop “ongoing terrorism and political violence committed by Jewish Israeli extremists in the West Bank against Palestinians, Israeli civilians, and IDF soldiers.”

“We urge the entire Israeli government to unite in strong condemnation against these acts, to work decisively to hold those responsible accountable, and to confront the growing threats posed by these extremists with the determination and seriousness that this grave situation requires,” they wrote.

The letter was signed by the Anti-Defamation League, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Israel Policy Forum, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Rabbinical Assembly, the

Union for Reform Judaism, and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. It was addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as well as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The letter, which does not use the word “settler,” noted the damage done by such incidents to Israel’s “ image and relations with the United States government, American people, and American Jewry” as well as to Israel’s status as a democracy. Palestinians extinguish a fire in a field around the village of Violent acts by Israeli settlers against Burin, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli Palestinians in the West Bank have be- settlers from the settlement of Yitzhar set it ablaze, according come increasingly common over the past to eyewitnesses from the village council, Jun. 29, 2021. Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images year.

Violent attacks perpetrated by settlers ceeding the previous year’s attacks by nearly 50%, against Palestinians in the West Bank in 2021 ex- according to a report by The Times of Israel.

Life cycles IN MEMORIAM MANNY GOLDBERG Manny Goldberg passed away on Jan. 27, 2022, at age 87 in Boca Raton, Florida. Services were held on Feb. 1, 2022, at Golden Hill Cemetery and were officiated by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

He is survived by his wife, Carol Goldberg, daughters and sonsin-law, Marla and Bob Cohen of Omaha and Bracha and Gideon Garland of Jerusalem, Israel; sons and daughters-in-law, Bruce and Cindy Goldberg of Omaha, David and Wendy Goldberg of Omaha, and Matt and Suzie Goldberg of Northbrook, IL; grandchildren: Josh, Zoe, Sara, Charlie, Adam and Jennifer, Scott, Max, Joe, Molly, Sophie, Stephanie, Jennifer, Jordan, Izzy, Devorah, and Ruth; and great-granddaughter Hila.

Manny was born in Omaha on Aug. 2, 1934, to Morris and Frances Goldberg, He graduated from Creighton University College of Pharmacy. Manny was a devoted husband, father, mentor, golfer, conversationalist and Rotarian. He was the founder of Keystone and Medicine Chest Pharmacies, Goldberg received the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Service Citation from the Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Goldberg opened his first pharmacy in 1956 followed by Keystone Pharmacy the following year. The business eventually grew to 15 pharmacies across Nebraska and Iowa. Goldberg helped found and served as president of the Nebraska Pharmacy Network; he also served on the board of directors for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the advisory boards for Creighton’s School of Pharmacy and the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy.

Memorials may be made in Manny's honor to Beth Israel, Temple Israel, or the Creighton School of Pharmacy and Health Professions.

ELINORE R. KUTLER Elinore R. Kutler passed away on Jan. 28, 2022. Services were held on Jan. 31, 2022, at Kehilath Israel Cemetery in Independence, Missouri and were officiated by Rabbi Moshe Grussgott.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Ben (Dov Ber Shlomo Zev); parents, Ben and Etta Robinson, brother, Marvin Robinson; sister, Louise Goodman; son-in-law, Steve Klugman and grandson, Kenny Klugman.

She is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Stephen Kutler and Phyllis Needelman; daughter, Elaine Klugman of Lenexa, KS; grandchildren: Seth and Kutler, Josh and Hannah Kutler, Michelle and Richard Kamalich, Kory Klugman, Kasey Klugman; greatgrandchildren: Breckon, Dagon, Aliya, Canton, Wesley, Katie, Kourtney Klugman and Lila and Ezra Kutler.

Elinore Kutler was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1923. Her parents along with some of her cousins owned a department store.

When the depression came they lost everything. Her mother passed away when she was eleven, so she helped raise her brother and sister. After graduating from high school and being an excellent typist she began her career. Since there wasn’t a young Jewish male population in Lincoln she would often travel by bus to Omaha. During one of those trips she met my dad at a get together at Mrs B., who was know as Rose Blumkin of Nebraska Furniture Mart fame, who often would have get togethers for young women and men in Omaha. They married in 1942 settled in Omaha until 1958, when they relocated to Kansas City, MO. In Kansas City she worked for the Department of Agriculture

and raised her family.

They were members of B’nai Israel Synagogue in Omaha for 15 years and 64 years at Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Kansas City.

In addition, she had numerous friends and her regular mahjong group. She enjoyed doing her cross word puzzles and was an ardent Kansas City Chiefs fan.

My mother never said a bad word about anyone, including relatives and friends. The only time when she would say something was when someone was making a turn and not using their turn signal, including me. She was a kind and loving person.

SUZANNE "SUE" MILLER Suzanne “Sue” Miller passed away on Jan. 23, 2022, in Olathe, Kansas. Services were held Jan. 26, 2022, at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Raytown, Missouri and were officiated by Rabbi David Glickman.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ben and Evelyn Simons and her husband, Neil F. Miller.

She is survived by son and daugther-in-law, Marc and Susan Miller of Olathe, KS, and daughter and son-in-law, Shari and Mitchell Blank of Overland Park, KS; six grandsons: Neil (Alexis) Miller, Evan Miller, Seth Miller, Noah Blank, Eric Blank and Ryan Blank; three great-granddaughters: Adley Miller, Emmy Miller and Zoey Miller; brother Ron Simons of Omaha; sister, Linda Gepford of Stanley; and brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Donna Simons of Kennesaw, GA. Sue was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 22, 1937, to Ben and Evelyn Simons. She was a graduate of Central High School in Omaha and attended the University of Nebraska, where she was a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority, and she met the love of her life, Neil F. Miller. Sue and Neil enjoyed 26 years of marriage prior to his death in 1983.

Sue and Neil started their married life spending two years in the United States Air Force stationed at Offutt Air Force Base outside Omaha. After the Air Force, they returned to Kansas City building a life with their children and many lifelong friends. They traveled, attended Royals, Chiefs and Kings games and were very active at Beth Shalom Synagogue. Sue truly enjoyed attending Friday Shabbat services, never minding that Neil sat on the Bimah and not with her.

Sue enjoyed her volunteer work, whether with Beth Shalom Sisterhood or at Menorah Medical Center. She enjoyed working at the switchboard and in the surgical waiting room keeping family members company during their loved one’s surgery. She was also a lifetime member of Hadassah. After Neil’s death, she worked with Marc at the family business when she was not playing Pan or Mah Jongg. Her family also knew not to disturb her when she was watching Bold and the Beautiful or Jeopardy!

Two things gave Sue true joy: her six grandsons and watching all of them in their various sports and music endeavors. She truly loved being a Grandmother! She attended every game, concert and even judged debate tournaments. The only thing that made her happier was cooking holiday meals for her family and enjoying watching everyone enjoying each other’s company.

Memorials may be made to Neil F. and Suzanne J. Miller Endowment Fund at Beth Shalom Synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas or the organization of your choice.

Job openings at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Come help make a difference in our community by joining our team!

Check out our open positions at www.jewishomaha. org/about/careers/ or contact Brenda at 402.334.6460.

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home: Director of Social Services, Housekeeper Part-time, RN (Registered Nurse), LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), Dietary Aide, Receptionist (Part-time,) Food Services Cook, Cook Assistant/Storage Receiving Clerk.

Jewish Community Center: Opening Lifeguard, Lifeguard, Swim Instructor, Piano Instructor, Summer Camp Counselor, Assistant Camp Counselor, Receptionist (Parttime) weekends.

Early Learning Center: Toddler Teacher, Lead Preschool Teacher, Infant Assistant Teacher, Assistant Teacher (Full and Part-time).

Philanthropy and Engagement: Director of Development, Israel Engagement & Outreach Coordinator.

Nazis rally in Orlando

SHIRA HANAU JTA In Orlando, neo-Nazis yelled antisemitic slurs from a highway overpass. In Chicago, a Jewish school and a synagogue were vandalized. In Washington, D.C., a man was arrested and charged with spray painting swastikas on a train station.

The weekend also included a rally in Ottawa against COVID19 vaccine mandates that featured swastikas.

A video of the Orlando rally that spread on social media on Monday showed protesters standing on a highway overpass in front of banners of swastikas. One audibly yells “Heil Hitler.”

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the group shouted other antisemitic slurs, and an array of Florida officials, including Republican Sen. Rick Scott and Democratic House Rep. Val Demings, condemned the gathering.

The highway overpass location resembled similar demonstrations in Austin, Texas, in October in which a group called the Goyim Defense League hung a sign that said “Vax the Jews” from an overpass.

On Sunday afternoon, a Jewish school and synagogue in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood were vandalized. Graffiti was sprayed on the F.R.E.E. Synagogue, and a window was smashed at Yeshivas Meor Hatorah Of Chicago, where a cargo container was also painted on. The suspect also apparently tackled someone to the ground before running away, according to the local ABC news station.

In Washington, D.C., police arrested a 34-year-old man who was suspected of spray painting several swastikas around the entrance to Union Station, an Amtrak station near Capitol Hill, early Friday morning.

The Jewish Press | February 4, 2022 | 11

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News LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D

Explosive new Israeli documentary raises questions

ANDREW LAPIN JTA What really happened near a beach in Israel in 1948?

The question, once debated in a 20-year-old libel suit that served as a microcosm for the battle over Israel’s historical record, reentered the public consciousness this week. Entities including the Palestinian Authority and the editorial board of Haaretz have begun calling for a commission to excavate land near Mount Carmel in search of an alleged mass grave site in which perhaps 300 Palestinians may be buried.

The renewed attention is due to an explosive new documentary, Tantura, directed by Israeli filmmaker Alon Schwarz, which premiered virtually Jan. 20 at the Sundance Film Festival. In the film, Schwarz interviews several Israeli veterans who, in the country’s 1948 war for independence, served in the Alexandroni Brigade, a regiment that forcibly displaced Arab residents of the village of Tantura following the formal conclusion of the war in order to build Dor Beach and the neighboring Kibbutz Nahsholim.

On camera, many of these former soldiers tell a disturbing story: They had participated in a massacre, one the Israeli government subsequently covered up.

These elderly Israelis, many of them nonagenarians and four of whom have lived on Kibbutz Nahsholim since 1948, had told their stories at least once before: to the film’s protagonist, onetime historian Theodore Katz. In 1998, for his graduate thesis at Haifa University, Katz amassed more than 140 hours of tape interviewing witnesses and survivors of Tantura (half of them Israeli, the other half Arab) to compile an oral history of the events, for which no paper documentation exists or has yet been made public by the Israeli Defense Forces archives.

Two years after Katz submitted his thesis, its claim of a massacre was picked up by Israeli media and ignited a firestorm of controversy. Soon after, many of his interview

subjects recanted their testimony and sued Katz for libel.

Katz signed an apology recanting his research, only to immediately claim the apology was coerced. The university pulled his thesis from its shelves, and to this day his findings are questioned by the government and some Israeli academics (one of whom, IDF historian Yoav Gelber, criticizes Katz’s sole reliance on oral testimony by remarking in the film, “I don’t believe witnesses”).

In the film, Katz’s defense attorney says his libel case was the first Israeli trial to deal directly with claims of Israeli war crimes during the 1948 war, known by Palestinians as the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe.”

Tantura joined a small but potent group of allegations of Israeli violence against Palestinians in 1948 that have been hotly debated in Israeli society ever since, including incidents at Deir Yassin and Lydda/Lod. A similar documentary on Deir Yassin, in which Israeli director Neta Shoshani collected eyewitness

and archival accounts from soldiers, premiered in 2017.

The film never explores exactly why Katz’s subjects are now suddenly willing to come forward again and verify that their testimonies are true. In his director’s statement, Schwarz theorizes they opened up “as if they wanted to share a truth deep inside their soul.” Whichever the reason, Schwarz’s relitigation of the case, which includes playing Katz’s original audiotapes, produces shocking results. Subjects offer a steady drip-drip of half-remembered firsthand details: soldiers chasing villagers with flamethrowers; a mule-drawn cart carrying corpses to a mass grave.

Schwarz builds his interviews to a finale in which he uses historical mapping software to pinpoint a specific parking lot near the beach. Excavate the lot, the film’s participants essentially dare, and you may find the truth.

This article was edited for length. To read more, please visit www.omahajewishpress.com.

Fiddler on the Roof is coming to Omaha Fiddler on the Roof holds a special place in the hearts of the Jewish community. The beloved story of Tevye and his strongwilled daughters celebrates the timeless traditions of faith, family, and life itself.

The original 1964 production won ten Tony Awards, including a special Tony for becoming the longest-running Broadway musical of all time. It is abundant with classics, including Tradition, Sunrise, Sunset, If I Were a Rich Man, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, and To Life (L’Chaim!).

The production, headed to Omaha’s Orpheum Theater Feb 8-13, brings a bright look and incredible new dancing, designed by acclaimed Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter.

Schecter began his professional career with Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company. The talented cast also features several

Jewish actors, plus Randa Meierhenry – a Nebraska native.

Last June, Ariel Sobel wrote in Jewish Journal about the Fiddler revival, saying the timing is a good thing: Fiddler on the Roof’s depiction of European Yiddish villages is a way for many of us to connect with our history.” Especially since, as she points out, those villages no longer exist. She also celebrates the musical’s ability to transcend cultures and generations.

Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher has crafted a fresh and authentic version of the theatrical masterpiece created by Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.

Fiddler on the Roof will introduce a new generation to the uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy. To love! To life!

Tickets are available at TicketOmaha.com.

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