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It’s time for Super Sunday
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Discovering Jewish women in the midwest
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Annette vAn de kAmp-WriGht Chuck’s wife Lisa recently went to Israel when she participated in the Jewish Editor Jewish Press arch 4, from 1 p.m. to 3 Women’s Renaissance Project’s MOMentum p.m., marks the long trip. While there, she “was fortunate to see awaited return of the Jewish how our own Jewish Federation’s dollars are Federation of Omaha An- used in Israel,” she said. “When we visited the Galilee Medical nual Campaign’s Super SunCenter, where Muslims, day. Lay leaders Lisa and Jews, Christians and Chuck Lucoff, Mindi Druze are treated and Armstrong and Dan Maremployed, it was very burg will chair the event. clear how much impact Volunteers will help them the Omaha community make the final push for has had on the hospital. the 2018 Campaign by We heard the hospital making phone calls. staff speak about Zoe Volunteering in this Riekes’s influence on role is something Chuck making the children’s Lucoff embraces as a way play area happen, as well to give back: as Stacey Rockman’s con“This community has tribution to the “Friendly given our family so Room,” which provides much; I am passionate Chuck and Lisa Lucoff necessary services to vicabout both my family and this community, so co-chairing Super tims of sexual assault. It really hit home that Sunday makes sense,” he said. “Besides, it is we have a community to take pride in. It never too late to support the Jewish Com- had an impact on all trip participants and munity. A successful Campaign paves the made us even more proud to be from way for greater community engagement Omaha.” See Super Sunday page 2 and support for and from all members.”
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Annette vAn de kAmp Editor, Jewish Press Anna Wiesman’s early volunteer work began with the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism at Beth El Synagogue. She held various offices, including president; she continued to become president of the Central Regional States Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. But that was not all she did. Years ago, as a voracious reader, Anna Wiesman found it difficult to imagine not being able to read. Add that trait to her volunteer work with “projects that helped people,” and you have discovered the drive behind the woman who led Omaha Volunteer Braille Services, Inc. She was president of the group and its driving force; she spent many years transcribing books into Braille, the language that permits blind people to read by passing their fingers over raised dots.
Much of OVBS, Inc.’s time was devoted to transcribing textbooks for blind children who were mainstreamed into classrooms with sighted children — as well as college students. In addition, a number of restaurants asked the group to create menus in Braille. “Braille is kind of a shorthand,” Anna said. “There are many contractions and you have to learn the rules, because sometimes a contraction looks like a punctuation mark. You also need to learn the formats for poetry, tables, recipes, plays and general literature.” Anna said years ago that the organization’s roots went back to 1955, when a call for help went out through the Women’s League for Conservative
Judaism in New York. The Omaha Volunteer Braille group never charged for its work, but did accept donations. Contributors included the Omaha Community Foundation, the Robert D. Wilson and U.S. West Foundations in Omaha, the Theodore Baldwin Foundation in Kearney, NE, and the Nebraska Lions Foundation. Requests for Braille transcription sometimes came from beyond the Midwest and included appeals for help from the National Braille Association in Rochester, NY, and the Jewish Braille Institute of America in New York City. For that last one, Anna Wiesman transcribed Kiddish Hashem:Jewish Religious and Cultural Life in Poland During the Holocaust by the late Rabbi Shimon Huberband. Anna Wiesman said it took approximately nine months to complete the 650-page book, which at the time was on 11 computer discs and had over 1,000 pages once transcribed into Braille. She used to transcribe and proofread pages for three to four hours every day, six days a week. Volunteer Braille Services gave priority to requests from within Nebraska. Members assembled a calculus book for a student at Creighton University as well as textbooks for a school district in Virginia. Once completed, they See Anna Wiesman page 3
kASey de Goey Schwalb Center Staff Assistant How did Jewish women in the past, and in the present, experience life in the Midwest? Answering this question is difficult due to the limited amount of published material on the subject. To find and review unpublished historical sources, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Schwalb Center for Israel & Jewish Studies is pleased to sponsor a course entitled Jewish Women in the Midwest taught by Jeannette Gabriel in the Summer of 2018.
Jeannette Gabriel
Students in the course will examine alternative primary sources to broaden the understanding of the Jewish immigrant experiences and highlight challenges Jewish women have faced. To quote Jeannette: “I am looking forward to bringing the momentum begun in the Jewish Women in Iowa Project to Omaha. Women’s stories greatly enrich the historical record and help us tell a more complex history of our communities.” The course is open to UNO Students and members of the community through UNO’s auditor and senior passport program. The Senior Passport Program is available to those 65 and older. For a fee of $25, Senior Passport Members may take up to two UNO undergraduate courses per semester with the instructor’s approval. To audit a course or to sign up for the Senior Passport Program, contact Patsy Stradling in the UNO Registrar’s Office at 402.554.3042 or by email at pstradling@unomaha.edu. Registration forms may be picked up from Mark Kirchhoff at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Kripke Library. The class will meet at the Jewish Community Center Library on Tuesday evenings beginning may 15 to Aug. 7 from 6–8:40 p.m. Registration begins march 5. We hope you will join us. As explained by Curtis Hutt, UNO’s Judaic Studies professor, “This course offers an opportunity for UNO students to form new relationships with the community and learn how similarities in immigrant experiences connect us all. Jeannette and her students will be collecting oral histories, from people who still remember. It doesn’t get any better than this.” For more information about the Schwalb Center, please contact Kasey De Goey at unoschwalbcenter@unom aha.edu or 402.554.2788.