Endowed by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Remembering Lois Friedman
March 4, 2016 24 Adar 1 5776 Vol. 96 | No. 25
This Week
by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Lois Novitsky Friedman, who died on Feb. 19, will be remembered by many as a dedicated volunteer especially for the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and the National Council of Jewish Women - Omaha Section. Lois was preceded in death by husband Lloyd Friedman. She is survived by son and daughter-in-law Scott and Debbie Friedman, grandaughters Jennifer (Robert) Friedman Roth and Angela Friedman, and great-granddaughter Leah Roth. She was born in Omaha on June 30, 1923, to Sol Novitsky and Diana Gross Novitsky. She had a younger sister, Gloria Rosenblum, who resides in Los Angeles. The family moved to Sioux City in 1935, where Lois’ father and his brother Ben were in the cattle business. While in Sioux City, Lois met local Jewish Federation’s Director Dorothy Merlin Wagman, who introduced her to volunteerism. Lois’ first office: President of a girl’s club, which served meals at all Jewish functions. Fast forward to 1946, when Lois found herself in Omaha to attend a wedding. It was there that she met Lloyd Friedman, and they began to date. Lois and Lloyd married Feb. 8, 1947, and she moved to Omaha. That same year, Lois joined the National Council of Jewish Women--Omaha Section, and it was, by all accounts, a
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match made in heaven. “Lil Goldman became President of Council that year,” Lois said in a 1989 interview. “She had formerly lived in Sioux
City and she asked me to be on the Board of the NCJW. Lillian Farber, who was very active, also knew my parents. I went on the of Board of NCJW that June and I’ve never been
off the board since. Eventually, I worked my way up. I took every job there was on the Council. I started out as Corresponding Secretary, then Recording Secretary, and then I was Treasurer two, three, or four times. I became Vice-President of Ways and Means, and then I became President of Council, I think in 1954.” Lois eventually went on to the North Central regional of the NCJW. She worked her way up to President of the region, which included eight states. On that basis, she went on to the national Board. She served for two years, and called it a wonderful and enlightening experience. “It was so important to her to always be active in the community,” said her son Scott. “She epitomized the role of the professional volunteer, and performing volunteer work to both the Jewish and the secular communities was what she lived for.” Jan Schneiderman, past NCJW National President, added: “In 1979, while I was President of NCJW-Omaha Section, Lois along with her mentor and friend Lillian Farber, became the first recipents in Omaha of the Hannnah G. Solomon Award. “This award is presented by National NCJW to an individual who has changed the lives of others through leadership efforts and service; who has helped to change and Continued on page 11
Sigma Alpha Mu UNL Hillel: Traditional Fraternity re-colonizes Kabbalat Shabbat dinner Emerging voices: Where there’s a wall, there’s a way Page 7
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
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Alumni sponsored tailgate party for prospective pledges last fall. by DAVID AND CAROL ALLOY chapter kicked off our recruitment The Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣAM) Fra- drive on Sept. 26, 2015, prior to the ternity, Sigma Omicron (ΣO) Chap- homecoming football game against ter at the University of Nebraska in Southern Miss. The alumni sponLincoln is back! sored a tailgate party for the prospecThe brothers of Sigma Omicron tive pledges. About 35 alumni attended, along with some of their spouses and friends. A good time was had by all. On Oct. 10, 2015, prior to the Wisconsin football game, we had a recolonization ceremony which took place at the Multicultural Center Building. We are starting to rebuild on the heritage that began with the founding of our chapter on Dec. 11, 1926. The event was well attended by Continued on page 3
by AVIVA ATRI UNL Hillel Vice President Friday, Feb. 13, we celebrated a traditional Kabbalat Shabbat dinner. We began the endeavor with lots of planning, researching traditional Yiddish recipes and drafting a menu that catered to all of our members. The menu included meatballs, kugel, matzoh ball soup, and a variety of salads. In addition, our members joined in the challah baking process and got to take their own challah home. About fifteen people helped with the cooking and baking, and more than twenty-five members attended the dinner. We recited Kiddush and said the blessing over the challah, and after much anticipation we enjoyed our
well-deserved meal. Activities like this allow our members to get to know each other, learn about Judaism and Jewish culture, and have a good time. The efforts we put into the cooking were well worth it, and the food turned out delicious. After the dinner, some of our members stayed to play card games and talk. We had a fun time planning the event and carrying it out, and we can’t wait to do everything all over again! We have many more activities and events planned for the rest of the year, including a Purim party and a Passover Seder. If you or someone you know is interested in getting involved at Hillel, don’t hesitate to contact us at nebraskahillel @gmail.com.
2 | The Jewish Press | March 4, 2016
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Accolades for Rabbi Azriel by SHERRIE SAAG for Beth El Synagogue Beth El Synagogue is pleased to honor Rabbi Aryeh Azriel for 28 years of service to Temple Israel and the Omaha Jewish community at a Kabbalat Shabbat dinner on Friday, March 18 at 6 p.m. Beth El welcomes the entire community to this very special evening. This event is co-chaired by Sandy and Jeff Passer and Sherry and Jeff Taxman. Rabbi Azriel is set to retire as Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel in Rabbi Azriel June, 2016. “He has made a lasting impact on Temple Israel, the Omaha Jewish community and the city of Omaha,” commented Beth El Rabbi Steven Abraham. “Actually, we are honored that Rabbi Azriel is letting us honor him! I think it says a lot about a rabbi when another congregation wants to pay its respects and honor him for commitment to our community.” Friday night services begin at 6 p.m., followed by remarks from Rabbi Abraham, the evening’s co-chairs and Rabbi Azriel. The evening concludes with a Shabbat dinner in Rabbi Azriel’s honor. For Shabbat dinner reservations, call the Beth El office, 402.492.8550. The two rabbis are both colleagues and personal friends. Rabbi Abraham says he’s learned a great deal from Rabbi Azriel. “Most of all, that passion is a good thing. People may not always agree with the cause you are supporting, but if you do so with a full heart and an open mind, you will be respected for your convictions.” Rabbi Abraham recollects his first interaction with Rabbi Azriel and its impression upon him. “When Beth El hired me, before I graduated from rabbinical school, I got a call from Rabbi Azriel to welcome me to the Omaha community. He was so welcoming and thoughtful. I returned home that night and said to my wife Shira, “I know of no community where the Senior Rabbi at the Reform Congregation would call to welcome the new Assistant Rabbi at the
Conservative Synagogue. Omaha is a special Jewish community and we owe a huge thanks to Rabbi Azriel for his part in making it this way.” Both Rabbi Abraham and Beth El President Joel Rich work with Rabbi Azriel on the Omaha Jewish Federation’s Rabbis and Presidents’ Committee. They meet monthly, together with other Jewish Omaha clergy and Synagogue presidents to help set agenda items for Jewish Omaha. Rich, a past president of Friedel Jewish Academy, has worked with Rabbi Azriel on this committee for the past two years. He says the Rabbi is always concerned with the community as a whole and he advocates beyond his synagogue
“Omaha is a special Jewish community and we owe a huge thanks to Rabbi Azriel for his part in making it this way.” – Rabbi Steven Abraham and congregants for the greater good. Rich offered as an example Rabbi Azriel advocating the need for JCC Saturday programming to also be offered on weekdays so that “even the most observant in our community have equal access to everything offered at the JCC.” Rabbi Azriel was also always outspoken about the need to promote day school enrollment, Israel trips and Jewish summer camps for Omaha youth, Rich said. “His ability to bring people together for consensus and to make people feel welcome and included is second to none.” He added, “Rabbi Azriel’s impact will be felt long after his tenure as Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel ends.” Referring to collaborating on the JFO committee, Rabbi Abraham said, “When I needed to know the history of a policy or if something was worth questioning, I would always call him first to get his thoughts. He has a great deal of institutional knowledge and insight. He is a great friend and leader.” With Rabbi Azriel’s retirement this June, Temple Israel begins a new phase in the life of its congregation. According to the synagogue’s website, the congregation welcomes Rabbi Darryl Crystal to serve as their interim Rabbi for one year, beginning July 1, 2016. The Senior Rabbi search committee is co-chaired by Dan Gilbert and Andie Gordman. Please join the congregation of Beth El Synagogue and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel on Friday evening, March 18.
Washington DC trip for Temple 10th grade by SCOTT LITTKY Memorial Museum and the Martin Luther King Jr. Program Director, Temple Israel Memorial. This was followed by a walk through Georgetown Since 1961, the Religious Action Center has been a voice and dinner at a burger joint called Good Stuff Eatery. After for Reform Jewish values in Washington, DC. The RAC dinner, a Havdallah service was held at the Jefferson educates and mobilizes Memorial where participants teens, clergy and everyone held a candle as they read the in between. In all, they quotes from Jefferson up on advocate for public policy the walls. that reflects the Jewish comOn Sunday, our teens had mitment to social justice. the opportunity to learn Every year nearly 2,000 about how to lobby their high school students descend Representatives and Senators. upon Washington, D.C. for The group then divided into the L’Taken Social Justice two smaller groups to write Seminars, a four-day Jewish up the points that they would public policy conference raise on Monday when they hosted by the Religious visited Capitol Hill. Next Action Center of Reform came a little sightseeing in Judaism (RAC). On Feb. 21, D.C. where they went to the Adam Cooper-Kahn, left, Eliana (Ellie) Reiss, Aleia Budwig, Aliyah Lasky, Director of Smithsonian Museums -Kathleen Kirshenbaum and Ben Brodkey. Youth and Young Adult including the Natural Engagement at Temple Israel, and Ben Brodkey, Aleia History, Air and Space and American History Museums. Budwig, Adam Cooper-Kahn, Kathleen Kirshenbaum and Later, when they returned to the hotel, the teens met with Ellie Reiss of our 10th Grade Confirmation Class left Omaha RAC staff to discuss their chosen topics for lobbying. to attend one of this year’s L’Taken Social Justice Seminars. On Monday, participants had the opportunity to focus The seminar is packed full of activities, and not a on a single specific issue about which they were particularmoment of time is wasted. On Friday and Saturday, partic- ly passionate when they visited on the Hill. The seminar ipants have the opportunity to attend interactive programs then culminated with students presenting a speech to their on Israel, climate change, racial justice, campaign finance Members of Congress on the topic of their choice. Our reform, economic justice, reproductive rights, LGBTQ civil group had the opportunity to meet and speak with rights, church/state separation, international relations and Nebraska United States Senator Deb Fischer and to visit more. The group commented that one of the highlights of with the staff of Representative Brad Ashford. the programming was on Friday evening after dinner when It was an exhausting weekend full of fun, learning and they participated in “The Hunger Games: An Economic making new friends. For more information about our Justice Program” where a guest speaker came in, to discuss Confirmation program and class trips, please contact his experience as a homeless man. Sharon Comisar-Langdon, Interim Religious School Saturday’s highlights included a visit to the Holocaust Director at 402.556.6536
March 4, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 3
Kids Campaign Hillel update: What we’ve been up to by UNL HILLEL Over the past year, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Hillel chapter has been staying active. Our most recent event was a celebration of Tu B’shevat, the New Year of the Trees. Members came to participate in our craft night where we painted miniature ceramic pots and planted seeds in them. We had a lot of fun painting and eating dried fruits and chocolate. We also made goodie bags that our members were able to take home after the event. Members of Hillel who graduated from Lincoln and Omaha high schools reconnected with Rabbi Azriel and the youth director, Aliyah Lasky, from Temple Israel for dinner. We met in Lincoln’s Haymarket and had a fun night of Jewish learning and seeing old friends. Since the beginning of school, our activities have included Shabbat dinners, celebrating Rosh Hashanah, building a Sukkah for Sukkot, and our annual Hanukkah party. This year for Hanukkah, Hillel and Sigma Alpha Mu, a traditionally Jewish fraternity on campus, co-hosted a Latke Feed philanthropy. Kosher, gluten-free latkes were catered from the Star Deli catering services in Omaha. Over one hundred people came, including members of the Lincoln and Omaha communities, and all the money raised was donated to Feeding America. For our next event we are having a traditional Shabbat dinner where members will be able to braid challah and help make traditional dishes before the meal, such as matzo ball soup, kugel, meatballs, and babka! At Hillel, we try our best to have a welcoming environment and be the “home away from home” for Jewish students on campus. One of Hillel’s most important commitments is to the community. We organize carpools to synagogues in both Omaha and Lincoln. We often attend reform, conservative, and orthodox services. Hillel advertises community activities and volunteering opportunities and collaborates on projects with other registered student organizations on campus, such as student government campaigns. Hillel plans to continue being active and involved both on campus and in the community. If you are a student, or know of a student who would like to get involved, do not hesitate to contact us via Facebook UNL Hillel or email nebraska hillel@gmail.com.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, March 9, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.
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Max and Chloe Ruback are filling a pushka (Tzedakah can) for the Jewish Federation of Omaha Kids Campaign. Do you have yours? Pushkas are available through the Pennie Z. Davis Childhood Development Center, Friedel Jewish Academy, the JCC front door, all three synagogues and the Chabad House. Giving coins to help others is easy, and it’s fun! The younger members of our community will be able to donate their Tzedakah during the Jewish Federation of Omaha Purim Carnival at the JCC March 20. More details will be announced in the March 11 edition of the Jewish Press. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Louri Sullivan at 402.334.6485 or lsullivan@jewishomaha.org.
Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity recolonizes
Pledges and alumni at re-colonization ceremony Continued from page 1 the pledges and some of their parents, as well as approximately 30 alumni and several spouses of alumni. Also in attendance were two representatives from our National Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Some of the alumni came from as far away as Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, and Sioux Falls to attend this historic event. A highlight of the ceremony was the attendance of retired Judge Ben Novicoff from Lincoln (class of 1938). We literally had eight decades of Sigma Alpha Mu representatives. Following the ceremony, the pledges, alumni and family members went on a tour of the David and Carol Alloy Strength Complex conducted by Boyd Epley, Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning at the University. After the tour, attendees went to the football game. Sigma Alpha Mu celebrates inclusivity. At our 1953 Sigma Alpha Mu National Convention, we opened our doors to non-Jewish members. Nationally, 50 percent of our members are Jewish. We have a strong and very supportive alumni advisory corps composed of both Lincoln and Omaha based alumni as well as other locations throughout the country. The Sigma
Omicron Chapter has initiated 670 men since its inception in 1926. Our alumni members include business and political leaders, entrepreneurs, judges and attorneys, military leaders, athletes (including a Heisman trophy winner), and a host of other accomplished professionals. Our chapter has won two Founders Cups, an award which is presented annually to the best overall Sammy chapter. Bounce for Beats, our national fundraising event, was a contributor to the American Heart Fund for decades and now contributes significantly to the Alzheimer’s Research Fund. Our new service activities in Lincoln are clean-up and maintenance at the Nebraska Holocaust Memorial, located in Wyuka Cemetery, and participation in blood donations at the American Red Cross. These activities represent an enduring commitment to our values and to our local community. For more information about our Fraternity please contact Tanner Crable, Chapter Secretary, 402.796.1060, recorder. sammysigmaomicron@gmail.com; David Alloy, Alumni President, 402.334.0609, alloyent@cox.net; or Sigma Alpha Mu National Headquarters Recruitment Hotline, 888.369.9361, Editor@sam.org.
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4 | The Jewish Press | March 4, 2016
Opera Omaha at RBJH by OZZIE NOGG Taxman, a board member of the Opera Omaha Guild. Opera Omaha brings Voices in the Community to the Rose According to Conti, the Blumkin Home’s Director of Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium on Wednesday, March Activities and Outreach Programs, that meeting initiated the 16 at 1:30 p.m. This engaging performance, featuring Voices in the Community performance at the RBJH. “I invitMezzo-soprano Nikola Printz ed Dimitri to have lunch with accompanied by Opera Sherry and me at a Friday Star Omaha’s Resident Music Deli,” Conti said, “and he was Director J. Gawf, offers a proso impressed with the deli and gram of beloved melodies the Campus that he agreed a from opera and musical theprogram at the Home was a ater along with popular stanwonderful idea. Hopefully, dards. The Voices in the this concert will be the start of Community concert will be a beautiful relationship to followed by a lively Q&A sesbring outstanding Opera sion and an ice cream social. Omaha talent to community Ms. Printz makes her Opera seniors throughout the year.” Omaha debut later this season Mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz, left, brings her talent to Opera Mr. Kontos is committed to covering the role of Ino/Juno Omaha’s Voices in the Community. J. Gawf, right, Resident expanding Opera Omaha’s in Handel’s Semele on Friday, Music Director with Opera Omaha, will be at the keyboard civic outreach programs to all April 8 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, during the March 16 concert. demographic groups, includApril 10 at 2 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater. The San ing seniors. “In a society obsessed with youth, we too often Francisco native’s recent engagements include the title role forget the beauty that comes with age, both wisdom and of Carmen with Shreveport Opera and Giovanna (Rigoletto) humbleness,” he said. “I’m passionate about keeping our senwith Opera San José. Equally at home in musical theater, she iors as an active part of our world. The Rose Blumkin Jewish appeared as Velma Louise Cole in the immersive musical- Home is a huge asset to the community and does the ‘good drama Speakeasy with San Francisco’s Boxcar Theatre in work’ that makes a difference in peoples’ lives. I’m honored 2014. Upcoming engagements include The Fox (The that through my role at Opera Omaha I am able to produce Cunning Little Vixen) with West Edge Opera in the Bay Area. an event that helps RBJH residents celebrate life and rejoice Ms. Printz holds a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco through music.” Conservatory of Music and will join Opera Memphis’s Before joining Opera Omaha in July 2015, Mr. Kontos was Artist-in-Residence program starting in fall 2016. Manager of Public Programs at the Metropolitan Opera J. Gawf has been Resident Music Director with Opera Guild in New York. While at the Met, he produced events Omaha since 2004 and Chorus Master since 2008, having honoring Maestro James Levine and soprano Jessye Norman. prepared more than 35 productions for the company, During his time with New York City Opera, he was charged including the world premieres of Anthony Davis’s with developing new audiences. A summa cum laude graduWakonda’s Dream and Paul Morevec’s The Blizzard Voices. A ate of the Hartt School of Music with a Bachelors of Music in native of Oklahoma, Mr. Gawf served as an assistant conductor, chorus master and pianist for Opera Saratoga and worked regularly with Augusta Opera and New Jersey Opera Theater. Other opera credits include assisting in the world premieres of Ned Rorem’s Our Town at Lake George The 14th Annual Nebraska American String Teachers Opera and David DiChiera’s Cyrano at Michigan Opera Association Fiddle Tune Composition Contest inspires fidTheater. This season, Mr. Gawf conducted Opera Omaha’s dlers everywhere to compose their own tunes, and supports Opera Outdoors concert in Turner Park and accompanied the cause of string education throughout the state of Nebraska. soprano Mary Carrick in Poulenc’s monodrama La Voix Entries must be postmarked by March 31. The winners Humaine for National Opera Week. will be announced on May 28, during the Tallgrass Prairie Dimitri Kontos, Opera Omaha Engagement Programs Fiddle Festival. For the 2016 contest rules and guidelines, eManager, was introduced to Maggie Conti by Sherry mail debby@greenblattandseay.com.
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Voice Performance, Mr. Kontos has seen with his own two eyes the power of music and its positive effects on a person. “Music keeps us going,” he says. “It runs through us and helps us rejoice and cope with life. The elderly in our community are too often forgotten and neglected. I’m grateful to Sherry Taxman for introducing me to Maggie Conti and the Home. It’s so important to me that we bring live performances to the residents. Outreach to seniors is near and dear to my heart.” The March 16 Voices in the Community is sponsored by the Ruth Riekes Richards Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. For more information on Opera Omaha, please visit www.operaomaha.org or call the office at 402.346.4398. Upcoming performances of Handel’s Semele are scheduled for April 8 at 7 p.m. and April 10 at 2 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater.
Spring arts and crafts by TOM CALLAHAN Make plans now to attend the annual Spring Arts and Crafts Show that will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The show is billed as one of Iowa’s largest shows, with over 200 exhibitors presenting and selling thousands of unique handmade products. Among the various products being sold at the show are oak and wine barrel furniture, paintings and prints, ceramics, kids’ teepees, wall hangings, toys, blankets, jewelry, metal art sculptures, pet products, etched and stained glass, yard and garden art, pottery, candles, clothing, quilts, aprons, pillows, doll clothes, baskets, rugs, place mats, table runners, purses, floral arrangements and wreaths, wood and metal signs, soap and lotions, emu oils and many more original products. Exhibitors will also be selling homemade breads, coffee cakes, dips, salsa, soups, jams, jellies, cheese and sausage, wines, fudge, honey, food mixes and roasted nuts. All items offered for sale to the public are handmade by the exhibitor at the show. Hours of the show are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 and children 10 and younger are free. Parking is free throughout the show. All patrons who attend the show on Saturday will receive a two-day re-entry stamp. For more information on the show, please call 563.652.4529. PAID ADVERTISEMENT
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Voices of Beth El: Sara and Ari Kohen by SHERRIE SAAG for Beth El Synagogue Sara Kohen, attorney, wife, and mom to three young children shares her Voices story by stating, “Beth El felt like home to us.” Sara and husband Ari met in Sara’s home state of Virginia. Ari is from Michigan, was a Spartan at Michigan State and earned his Ph.D in Political Science from Duke University. The Kohens moved to Lincoln where Ari is Schlesinger Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska. He teaches courses in the history of political thought along with an annual course on Israel. He is also Director of UNL’s Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. While Ari continued his teaching career, Sara enrolled in law school, graduating from UNL’s College of Law in 2011. They moved to Omaha when Sara accepted a prestigious two-year federal judicial clerkship. Sara explains their next steps, “We had intended to stay in Omaha for those two years and then move back to Lincoln, where we had a lot of friends and were very happy, but we loved Omaha so much that we decided to stay!” Sara is Claims Counsel/Assistant Vice President at Fidelity National Title Group where her work involves insurance contract and real estate law issues. “I have been at Fidelity for about two and a half years and have really been enjoying the work I do and the people I work with.” Ari grew up attending a Conservative synagogue, so Beth El felt most comfortable, but Sara says that while they have friends at all three area synagogues and enjoy attending a variety of events, Beth El is home. “We met a lot of fantastic people at the synagogue right away and have enjoyed spending a lot of time there over the past few years,” Sara said. Spending time at Beth El means all five Kohens. Oldest son Judah is in kindergarten at Friedel Jewish Academy, and Talia, age 3 and Micah, 16 months are enrolled at the JCC’s Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center. Judah is a student in BESTT and Talia and Micah attend Torah Tots. They love to sing songs and see their friends. That counts for the adults too: Sara and Ari both feel as though their Beth El friends have become like family. Beth El holds special meaning for this young, dynamic family committed to living a modern Jewish life. Sara describes how the importance they
place on a Jewish life is put into practice. “We go to Shabbat morning services every week. It helps give structure to our week and provides a much-needed chance to stop and reflect in our otherwise very busy lives. Another favorite event is the Megillah reading on Purim: it’s noisy, chaotic, and a lot of fun.”
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Clockwise: Judah, left, Ari, Sara, Micha and Talia Kohen Through their kids’ schools, they have met and become friends with people from across the Omaha Jewish community. Their engagement doesn’t stop there. Ari is Vice President of Friedel Jewish Academy’s Board of Directors and is also on the Board of the Institute for Holocaust Education. Sara helps plan community events for Friedel. “We also love going to the family-friendly events put on by the Federation’s Center for Jewish Life, like the annual PJ Library Hanukkah party.” They both say that what they love about living in Omaha is the sense of community. Sara recalls that after Talia and Micah were born, people brought over meals “for a couple of weeks, which made the transition to two and then three children much easier, especially since we don’t have family in town. The sense of community is amazing.” “There are also a lot of fun things to do with kids, like the Zoo and the Children’s Museum, and, as we tell our friends and relatives in other places to try to convince them to move here, the cost of living is much lower than in a lot of other cities,” Sara said. The Kohens describe Beth El as a place where people from diverse backgrounds have formed a real community and they are happy to use their “Voices” to share their story.
Women in Israel by ELIAD ELIYAHU BEN SHUSHAN nies, and the average financial gap between “More women fly F-16’s in Israel than the women and men in Israel in 2016. As the next session of Eye on Israel takes drive cars in Saudi Arabia.” This is one of place on March 8, please the most viral posts on join me at Noon in the Facebook and it presents the Kripke Jewish Federation image of the proud and Library and learn about the heroic Israeli women. As interesting issue of women with many other issues in in Israel. Since the establishIsrael, the topic of the role of ment of the State of Israel in women in Israeli society is 1948, women in Israel have full of controversy. The been officially guaranteed Facebook post referenced gender equality. This has above portrays the strong enabled women to actively and heroic women who participate in all spheres of work alongside men in the Israeli life. The Israeli same positions in the IDF. Shiran Cohen Declaration of IndependHowever, there are some segments of society in Israel that continue ence states: “The State of Israel... will to be criticized for their unequal attitude ensure complete equality of social and towards women and for their gender-based political rights to all its inhabitants irrediscrimination. spective of religion, race or sex.” However, March 8 marks International Women’s we will learn about the challenges for Day. On that day the issue of the Israeli women in Israel in 2016 in several areas women will likely be discussed over and such as the IDF and in Israel political life. over in various groups throughout Israel. In We will be joined, via Skype, by special the newspapers and on many TV channels, guest Shiran Cohen an IDF officer. Shiran we will probably hear new statistics about joined the IDF in 2008. She served 3 1/2 the number of female pilots in the IDF, the years in Moran, special artillery unit in number of women CEO’s of major compa- Continued on page 8
High School Seniors and Parents
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6 | The Jewish Press | March 4, 2016
The Blumkin Home Souper Bowl
Food Issue The
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by OZZIE NOGG The Denver Broncos bested the Carolina Panthers in the 2016 Super Bowl, but Star Deli at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is still in the game. They’ll hold their Second Annual Souper Bowl on Tuesday, March 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the RBJH Auditorium. “Just like last year, this dinner will be quirky, wacky and fun,” said Mike Aparo, Director of Food Services at the Blumkin Home. “We’ll set up buffet tables on Main Street with servers dishing out 16 different soups. And there will be plenty of options - traditional Matzoh Ball with Chicken, Mushroom Barley, Potato Leek Soup -plus Lentil Quinoa Kale Soup, Caribbean Black Bean Soup and Mango Gazpacho as well as several surprise soups that I’m still developing. The Souper Bowl salad bar will also be featured on March 15, with healthy salad choices and lots of toppings including grilled chicken. We now offer the salad bar every day in our RBJH dining rooms, and the residents really appreciate this new
menu item." Colin Heskin, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Operations Intern, and Jenn Addison, RBJH Food Services Supervisor, are helping Aparo with Souper Bowl arrangements. “You can sample each soup, run back for more, and then vote for your favorite,” Addison said. “Once everyone has gotten their fill and all the votes are in, we’ll announce the Second Annual Souper Bowl Champion.” The Souper Bowl was originally designed with RBJH residents and their families in mind, but this year the entire community is invited to join the fun. The cost is $12.99 per guest and $6.99 for children 12 and under. The hours were extended to accommodate as many people as possible. “ESPN won’t be carrying the event,” Heskins said. “So don’t fumble this opportunity or sit on the sidelines. If you want some hot soup in your belly along with some good laughs, you’ll have to show up in person at the Blumkin Home on Tuesday, March 15.
Successful ending to Klutznick Learning Series by MARK KIRCHHOFF without the hard work and effort of the many Center for Jewish Life presenters. We both acknowledge and thank The 2016 Klutznick Leaning Series con- the following people for their participation cluded on Monday, Feb. 22, as Rabbi Yaakov this year: Cantor Hazzan Krausman, Beth El Weiss and Jeremy Wright discussed Pirkei Synagogue; Dr. Adrian Epstein, UNMC; Avot 1.14 “If I am not for myself, who is for Rabbi Mendel Katzman, Chabad-Lubavitch; me...” and Dr.Leonard Greenspoon and Jacob Kahn, Health Educator for Planned Richard (Dick) Fellman concluded the evening and this year’s series with Pirkei Avot 1.10 “...Love work. Hate authority. Don’t get friendly with the Government...” This year’s series was titled Pirkei Avot: Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World. The series is a collaborative effort between Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, Klutznick Chair at Creighton University, and the Center for Jewish Life of the Jewish Federation of Rabbi Mendel Katzman, left, Leonard Greenspoon and Omaha. During the series, Jacob Kahn two topics are presented each evening with each topic addressed by a Parenthood; Rabbi Aryeh Azrel, Temple member of the clergy and a lay person. Q&A Israel; Dr. Joan Latchaw, UNO; Rabbi Steven sessions follow the presentations. Abraham, Beth El Synagogue; Dan Gilbert, In explaining this year’s focus, Dr. Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance; Rabbi Yaakov Greenspoon said, “Pirkei Avot is among the Weiss, Beth Israel; Jeremy Wright, LHCP; most accessible writings of Classical Judaism Richard Fellman, Attorney (retired) and and speaks to people today much as it did to Political Science Instructor, UNO. its original audience two thousand years ago.” The Klutznick Learning Series is presentHe went on to point out that the topic fol- ed free of charge due to the generous finanlowed logically and chronologically from the cial support from the fund of the Klutznick biblical commands of the previous two years. Chair of Jewish Civilization at Creighton The Klutznick Learning Series has received University. It is a program of the Center for many positive comments from participants Jewish Life whose mission is to maximize who enjoy the challenge to their thinking involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community and an opportunity to engage in learned dis- in imaginative, compelling and meaningful cussions. The series would not be possible Jewish experiences.
emerging voices
March 4, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 7
Where there’s a wall, there’s a way
The drops gradually began to feel familiar, and each footfall on the ancient cobblestone steps was less apprehensive than the last. The hat-turnedblindfold began to slide again. As I was leading the way, my hands did not rest on the shoulders of another, so I was free to slide it back over my face. I can’t breathe. Butterflies should’ve been well into their acrobatic routine in my gut by now, both due to my perilous journey and my extraordinary destination. This hat is too small for my face. My face is too big for this hat. Get this hat off my face. Our tour guide interrupted my thoughts. “Okay guys, a little quicker now.” Easy for you to say, I thought bitterly. This is your job. Plus, you can see. I felt the hands pull back on my shoulders, and then slowly begin to lose grip. “It’s not happening. I’m not going any faster than this.” I felt bad for snapping. I had only known our tour guide for the duration of our visit, but he seemed like a nice guy. Still, God himself could come down from the heavens and command me to step lively, and I wasn’t likely to go any faster. This place has been awaiting our arrival for over two thousand years, it’s not like an extra 30 seconds makes a difference. My red Converse finally met with even ground. Another pair of hands grasped at my shoulders, more firmly than the first. I was turned one-quarter turn with the care one might turn a combination lock that guarded their most prized possessions. “One by one, I am going to tap you on the back. When I do, you may remove your blindfolds. I’ll start with you.” Good. “You” wants to get this damn hat off his face. My muscles tensed that way that they used to up on the starting block, with 50 meters of water stretching before me. I waited for the buzzer. I waited, and just when I started to think “you” meant someone else, it came. Two gentle pats on the back,
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congratulating me on the milestone I was about to reach. Suddenly, I felt I was in no hurry to get rid of the hat. One. Two. Three. The hat fell away. It’s not that big. I was expecting bigger, followed immediately by Okay, it’s not exactly SOL MARBURG small. It has to be at least 50 feet tall. That would’ve sucked to build without a crane or something. This thought buzzed around my head like a fly, but was promptly swatted by a new thought. This is the holiest place in the world. This is our Vatican, our Mecca. Short of dying, I’m not going to get any closer to God than this.
I was not speechless. Those who know me know that I never am, but any sound seemed inappropriate right then, still surrounded by those whose countenances were shrouded in darkness, or at the very least Aeropostale hoodies. I existed, in that very brief period, as straight, as silent, and as still as the wall staring back at me. I could feel the presence of my ancestors, their incredible devotion to their faith and the protection of this wall so that I might someday stand before it. In that moment, I was overcome with gratitude, not just for where I was, or for who I was with, or any one thing. Every event, going back thousands of years, somehow impacted who I am today, and every piece of good fortune that I have, of which there are many, was made possible by what came before me. I remembered every High Holiday service as a child, where I, along with millions of other Jews, prayed facing something we couldn’t see, thousands of miles away. That something was this wall. Once
the west of four walls surrounding the old temple, the Kotel is now a site for education, prayer, and reflection. The stone appeared to glow white before me. The cracks between the stones were full of scraps of paper, shoved in so tightly they looked like grout. Each scrap contained a prayer, a person’s unfiltered thoughts, dreams, desires, and thanks. For years I’ve been told that someday I’ll get to put a prayer in the wall. Now I’m here. I can’t believe this. I’m actually standing here. My eyes held their transfixed gaze on the wall, which looked back at me and indeed at my friends, who by now had also removed their blindfold and, like me, stood and stared in utter peace. Inhaling deeply brought a welcome wave of briny, crisp Mediterranean air into my lungs. The smile that had emerged from behind the hat finally moved to utter one word. “Wow.” Had I gone to the wall purely as a tourist, I would’ve been treated to a stunning view, straight off of a postcard. I would’ve been able to say I’d been, and that would be that. Had I gone to the wall as a historian, I could’ve learned all about the time period when the wall was built, how it was constructed and what various purposes it served. Truth be told, part of me did go to the wall as a tourist and a historian. But all of me went as a Jewish person, unsuspecting of the deep thought that would be forced upon me when I arrived at the wall. My thoughts at the wall helped me put my life in perspective, and made me realize how lucky I am to be who I am, and how deliberately I must consider my choices and the legacy I want to leave. I will never visit the wall for the first time again, but it’s nice to know that if I ever need a reminder of who I am and why it matters, that reminder is just a short 15 hour flight away. Sol Marburg is a senior at Westside High School and the son of Deb and Dan Marburg. He was among 35 Omaha teens who participated in the recent Mega Teen Trip to Israel. He shares his story as part of the Emerging Voices series. Emerging Voices invites writers between the ages of 13 and 25 to share their thoughts and opinions. If you are interested in writing for this series, please email the editor at avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.
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8 | The Jewish Press | March 4, 2016
War Reporter to speak at Beth El by SHERRIE SAAG for Beth El Synagogue Martin Fletcher, one of the most respected and honored foreign correspondents in American broadcast news visits Omaha’s Beth El Synagogue Tuesday, March 8. His talk begins at 7 p.m. and is open to the entire community. A book sale, signing and dessert reception immediately follows. Fletcher is a former NBC News Middle East correspondent, Tel Aviv Bureau Chief and Five-time Emmy award winning news correspondent. CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper has called him the gold standard of war correspondents. He arrives in Omaha for his speaking engagement on the heels of the publication of his latest book, The War Reporter. In the fictional account of a television reporter in Sarajevo in the 1990’s, Fletcher captures a sense of nostalgia about how reporting used to be. The novel is called a “painfully authentic” account of a war reporter chasing down the scoop of a lifetime. It’s also a love story! Fletcher draws from his own experiences reporting on wars in Bosnia and Sarajevo. Martin Fletcher covered world events for over 35 years, mostly for NBC News. For 26 years he was NBC correspon-
dent and bureau chief for 15 years, in Israel. Shortly after ABC’s war reporter, Bob Woodruff, was gravely injured in Iraq in 2006, Fletcher was interviewed about his experience covering war zones. “I love the adrenaline,” he said. “If I believed at any moment that I could get wounded or killed, I wouldn’t go. What story is worth that? None. However, it rarely occurs to me that I could get hurt. I feel impervious to danger, which of course is nonsense, but that’s really the only way one can operate in a dangerous job. “I began as a cameraman in Africa and the Middle East and so I believe in going as close to the action as possible. My working philosophy is ‘Get in, get the story, get out.’” Fletcher diffuses the perceived stress of his job description with some subtle humor. “I should add that I only go to these places because that is where NBC sends me. I would much prefer to cover the Paris fashion show – but I was never asked!”
Fabulous fringes
Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER The Bible records God’s commandment to Moses concerning tzitzit (fringes) as follows: “Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages” (Numbers 15.38). While the Torah may be timeless, fashion styles are not: most Jewish people gave up wearing four-cornered garments long ago. However, the Jews were loathe to forsake the mitzvah of tzitzit, and so the custom developed of adding a special four-cornered garment to one’s attire -upon each corner of which would be placed tzitzit. Tzitzit-wearers in Israel are often easily identified. While it is true that one fulfills the obligation of tzitzit even if the fringes are all tucked in, many pious Jewish boys and men intentionally leave their fringes outside of their pants. In doing so, they follow the scriptural injunction of “Look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them” (Numbers 15.39). Significantly, the end of this verse reads: “so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge” -- looking at one’s tzitzit can serve to maintain sexual morality. [Side point for the halachically curious: Women are exempt from time-bound mitzvot, and the phrase “Look at it” technically makes the mitzvah of tzitzit time-bound to daylight hours -- electricity after all had a millennium or two to go when the custom developed.] In America, I always felt very embarrassed about my tzitzit. How was it possible to explain tzitzit to a non-Jew, for example? Yes, I could always pull out my trusty Bible and point to those last verses of Numbers 15, but because tzitizit (unlike kippot) were so completely unkown to the general culture, they just felt so uncool to me. Not only was I therefore not the type to wear
Now, he is devoting himself to books. His first, Breaking News, tells the story of his career and explains the many dilemmas he faced while reporting from just about every bad place in the world. His book, Walking Israel: A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation, won the Jewish National Book Award 2011. His first novel, The List, was published in October 2011. He has won almost every award it is possible for a TV journalist to win, including the du Pont, the TV Pulitzer, several Overseas Press Club awards, the Edward R. Murrow award for excellence several times, and five Emmys. Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to spend an evening with a celebrated journalist and master storyteller! Fletcher’s visit is co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Life and the Jewish Federation of Omaha through its membership with the Jewish Book Council. Beth El Synagogue is a welcoming and vibrant conservative Synagogue that empowers, engages and inspires its congregants through God, Torah and Acts of Living Kindness. To find out more check out www.bethel-omaha.org.
Women in Israel my tzitzit out, but I was always in a panic lest one of the 32 strings (8 per corner) poke its way out of my pants. For me having my tzitzit out was equivalent to having my underwear on view. Life in Israel has changed the way I feel about tzitzit. Why? Because a certain cool element from the national-religious camp has embraced tzitzit and made it funky. Much the way long hair for men was once considered effeminate until certain cool guys began sporting ponytails, it’s hard to think of tzitzit as nerdy when they are being worn by a hunky tank commander or by a soldier in one of the IDF’s special forces. I know because my youngest child Elie is in one of these units. And believe it or not, he gets his tzitzit from the IDF! Indeed, the garment of his tzitzit is IDF-green and comes in either cotton or dri-fit. When Elie and other religious soldiers are on active duty and in uniform, they keep their tzitzit in check, but during their leisure time and on Shabbat, it’s let ‘em fly. Many of the guys even prefer extra-long fringes that are down to their knees. And the addition of the blue techelet fringes (a contemporary innovation that has roots in the biblical “Let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner,” Numbers 15.38), adds color and personality to the tzitzit. When you come right down to it, there is no reason to be embarrassed by tzitzit. People wear all sorts of clothing and accessories. Beads, strings, laces, and yes, fringes, routinely dangle from the bodies of many people. Why should tzitzit be a priori embarrassing? Because they have something to do with the Jewish religion? Here, in tzitzit, we meet up again with a very Israeli lesson: if you project shame and embarrassment about your culture and traditions, you will be treated with condescension, contempt, and scorn; if you project strength and self-confidence about your culture and traditions you will be treated with respect. Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest four, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie and Ezra are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@net vision.net.il.
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Continued from page 5 Mitzpe Ramon, first as an instructor and later an officer. Today, she is an officer in a specialized reserve unit in northern Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Shiran is currently working as the Community Shlicha in Kansas City. She will share her experiences and insights regarding the progress of women’s participation in all areas of the IDF. We will also examine the circumstances surrounding the sad plight of three innocent Israeli women, Dafna Meir, Hadar Cohen and Shlomit Krigman, who were recently murdered by Palestinian terrorists. We will observe how their tragic deaths were reported by different media sources throughout the world. As always, the session will start with a short Israel update, in which we will compare different media sources from Israel and the world related to the latest news in Israel. Eye on Israel is sponsored by the Henry and Dorothy Riekes Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation and is administered by the Center for Jewish Life whose mission is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.
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Point of view
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008
Welcoming the stranger by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor In late 2014, President Barack Obama introduced his plan to add parents to a 2012 program that indefinitely defers deportation of illegal immigrants who arrived in the US as children. Since then, no fewer than 26 states have filed lawsuits against the administration, Nebraska among them. The administration subsequently asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the states have standing to bring such a suit. (source: JTA.com) Of course, there’s a bit of a problem: after the death of Judge Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court is currently incomplete, and it doesn’t look as if that will change anytime soon. If the Court comes to a 4-4 split, the case goes back to the lower courts, and those 26 states will get their day in court. Why should we care? We should care, because the vast majority of us either came from immigrants, or are immigrants ourselves. And if we make a sharp distinction between illegal and legal, we should first check our personal history for any illegal immigrants in our own family tree. You’d be surprised. Never mind the economic argument that deportation will hurt this country more than we think; it is about our humanity. We should never treat other human beings as if they are somehow less valuable, based on a piece of paper. The other day I read an article in the Brooklyn Jewish Press, in which a rabbi admonished Reform Jews for ignoring the Torah, only to then pull it out when discussing immigration reform. I thought he was going to discuss our collective Jewish responsibility of welcoming the stranger, which is why I clicked the link. Instead, I was treated to a long tirade about how very wrong the Reform movement is on the topic of who the stranger is:
“What is most disturbing about these selective “Jewish” moralists is that in quoting Jewish morality they distort it to justify their desired position,” he wrote. “Specifically many refer to the issue of the Ger, invoking such passages as Leviticus 19:33, “When a stranger dwells among you in your land do no taunt him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be as a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself for you were aliens in the land of
Egypt,” to support their view that illegal immigrants in the United States should be given amnesty and allowed a path toward citizenship. “When the Torah speaks of a Ger it can refer to two distinct categories – a Ger Zedek, one who fully embraces the Jewish religion and who as Ruth becomes a full member of the Jewish community, a Jew, among Jews, or a Ger Tashuv, an individual, a non-Jew, who lives in the theocracy of the ancient Jewish Commonwealth accepting upon him/herself
specific Jewish moral laws, societal laws, so as to enjoy this privilege. There is no category in Jewish tradition for a nonJew to reside in the Jewish Commonwealth devoid of acceptance of specific laws of conduct.” (Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz, Immigration and Judaism, The JewishPress.com) It’s fine; he can argue that. I don’t think it should be a surprise that certain non-Reform rabbis strongly disapprove of any Reform interpretation of that, or any other, Torah passage. I also think disagreement and argument can be healthy and keep us on our toes. Having said that, I am not a rabbi or a Torah scholar, so including any Torah passages creates a bit of a slippery slope for me. Yet, I struggle with the idea that the word “stranger” is open to interpretation; that we as Jews can argue who those strangers are, and who they aren’t. It opens the door to exclusion and intolerance. This person falls within the parameters, but that person doesn’t. This person deserves our sympathy and assistance, and that person doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be much better to err on the side of caution and be inclusive? What are we so afraid of? We often talk about how welcoming Omaha is, and how our Jewish community is a unique place, where Jews of all backgrounds mingle with ease. One of the reasons that our Jewish community as well as the Omaha community in general works so well, I think, is because one doesn’t have to be from here to be embraced. Many of us come from places far away, and have found a home in Omaha. That doesn’t just happen; it’s a consequence of locals making an effort to welcome everyone. So let’s make sure that everyone really means everyone. The State of Nebraska may be suing the Federal government, but that doesn’t mean we have to follow its lead.
Our community looking forward
From the desk of the CEO ALAN POTASH, CEO, Jewish Federation of Omaha Every ten years, the United States conducts a census to learn how the demographics of our country have changed. The census is mandated by the Constitution and was first conducted in 1790. It has been completed every ten years since. Counting people has a connection to biblical history as well. In Parshat Bamidbar, Moses is commanded to conduct a census of the male population and in Sefer Shemot, Moses is commanded to collect a coin from every male over the age of 20. The population counted in these two censuses totaled 603550. So at the time of the Exodus from Egypt there were over 600,000 adult Israelite men. Knowing how many people are in our midst is important for many reasons, besides just knowing the number. In the case of the U.S. Census, it helps determine decisions based on sociological, political and economic needs. For example, the U.S. Census tracks age, sex, geographic location, race, and home ownership to determine what governmental programs need to be created or changed. Much like the U.S. Census and the biblical census, the American Jewish community has tried to count its population. I have found statistics dating back to 1905 by the American Jewish Year Book estimating that there were 3,800 Jews in Nebraska. There were as many as 14,000 in 1937. The most recent estimate for Nebraska is approximately 6,850. This number has been used regularly since the Omaha Jewish community did the first demographic study
(Founded in 1920) Eric Dunning President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Accounting
Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Andrew Boehm, Scott Farkas, Sandy Friedman, Paul Gerber, Alex Grossman, David Kotok, Debbie Kricsfeld, Abby Kutler, Pam Monsky, Paul Rabinovitz, Nancy Wolf and Barry Zoob. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page sto-
in 1975. In 2013, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey titled, Portrait of Jewish Americans. From this study we learned a great deal about the national face of the Jewish people in America. If you have been reading my comments in previous Jewish Federation of Omaha e-newsletters, you know that I am regularly asked about the current demographics and wants and needs of our Jewish community. I frequently reference the study that Murray Frost did in 1975 as a way to describe what we knew of our community in the 1970s. For example, 26.3% of the Jewish community lived in the zip code 68132, 17.8% lived in 68114, 9.4% lived in 68154 and 8.5% lived in 68124. When we do our next demographic study, we will find very different numbers. Frost also estimated that 21% of the Jewish community was over 60 -- and there were more women than men: 51.5% of the Jewish population of Omaha were women. What do you think the percentages are today? Many communities budget for a community study every 10 years. The studies are invaluable for leadership to anticipate community needs. We have not done a comprehensive study since Murray Frost’s in 1975. It may be time for one. So what does it take to do a study? Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) describes a local Jewish community study as a research, community-building and policy-oriented project. It is designed to understand the demographic, social and Jewish characteristics and needs of the Jewish population in our community. More specifically, a community study provides a solid foundation for communal planning and policymaking. A community study typically
includes data on non-Jews sharing households with Jews. What kinds of questions do Jewish community studies ask? Jewish community studies tend to ask questions in three main areas: 1. Social and demographic characteristics – for example: age, geography, gender, presence of children, education and income. 2. Jewish connections – for example: organizational memberships, attitudes toward the Jewish community, donations to Jewish causes, and travel to Israel.
ries and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishoma ha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.
News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the
Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos
is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jew ishomaha.org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events.
3. Social and human service needs – for example: needs for counseling, employment training, transportation, and financial assistance. More targeted studies might focus on one area and collect minimal data in others. If you are interested in reading the study that Murray Frost conducted in 1975, you can find it at the Berman Jewish Data Bank: http://www.jewishdatabank.org/ Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=460 Stay tuned for more developments regarding plans for a Jewish Omaha community study. Please feel free to contact me with questions about our community you would like to have answered.
Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de Kamp-Wright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
10 | The Jewish Press | March 4, 2016
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com Join us for our Monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on March 11, at 7:30 p.m. with the guest speaker Joey Hoffman shares bits and pieces of her life, as well as the Council Bluffs interviews she is conducting for the NJHS. Oneg to follow the service. Please join us! Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Larry Blass will officiate the Speaker Series Service. For information on our historic synagogue, or to arrange a visit, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf. Tribute cards for any occasion are available. Contact Sissy at 311 Oak Ridge Ct., Bellevue, NE 68005 or 402.292.8062.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m. Bar Mitzvah of David Kay, son of Jennifer Kay; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; BESTT Kevah Kindergarten, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Learn to Read Hebrew with the Hazzan, 10 a.m.; Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m.; BESTT Habonim (Grades K-2) Lunch & Activity, 12:15 p.m. TUESDAY: Martin Fletcher, Scholar-in-Residence, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Who Wrote the Bible? Minyan & More, 6:15 p.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. THURSDAY: Shanghai, 1 p.m. Shabbat Services/Minyan in the Round, Saturday, March 12, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. Shabbat’s Cool (Grades K-7), Saturday, March 12, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. All programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Lori Arthur. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Vayakhel. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; LJCS Teacher Professional Day, 8:30 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 3 p.m. WEDNESDAY: No LJCS Classes. THURSDAY: Intro to Yoga, 6:30 p.m. led by Barbara Barron. Please RSVP to the Temple office. A TOTALLY ‘80’S PURIM SPIEL! on Sunday, March 20. Carnival at 1 p.m. and Purim Spiel at 3 p.m. at the Temple. Lincoln Jewish Community School CAMP ISRAEL, July 11–July 22, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Kosher lunch and snack provided. LJCS enrolled students entering Kindergarten through 7th grade are eligible to attend Camp Israel. Those in 8th grade and up can participate as Counselors in Training. Contact Andrea Halpern or Tracy Gordon if you are interested! President’s Office Hours, Sunday Mornings, 10 a.m.–noon at SST. If you have any Temple business you would like to bring before the Board of Trustees, potential programs, or new ideas, please let us know! Call for an appointment at the Temple or just to chat any time at 402.513.7697. Or if you prefer, just email David Weisser at president@southstreet temple.org.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:02 p.m.; Shabbat Dinner for Project Dreamland, 7 p.m. Cost: $18 for adults with special family pricing available. Dinner reservations needed. SATURDAY: Members of the Project Dreamland group will help lead services and give the sermon. Saturday evening will feature a special seudah shlishit and musical Havdalah; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Insights in the Weekly Torah Portion, 5 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv and Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:45 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:02 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Special Study Session with Project Dreamland guests, 10 a.m.; Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m.; Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: RSVP’S due for Friday night Project Dreamland dinner. WEDNESDAY: Board of Commissioners Meeting, 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m.; Scholar’s Club for 6th Grade, 3:30 p.m.; Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m.; Talmud Learning, 8 p.m.
CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with
Candlelighting Friday, March 4, 6:02 p.m. Scholar in Residence Rabbi Uri Regev, Friday, March 11 – Saturday, March 12. Rabbi Uri Regev is an internationally renowned leader and advocate of religious liberty and the liberal movements of Judaism in his native Israel and around the world. Religious Freedom & Rights in Israel Schedule: Why American Jewry Should Care!, Shabbat Evening Services, Friday, March 11, 6 p.m. In religion unlike in politics, united we fall divided we stand! Torah Study with Rabbi Uri Regev, Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m. Parsha Pekudei. Shabbat Morning Services, Saturday, March 12, 10:30 a.m. Kiddush Lunch Talk After Services, Saturday, March 12, noon. Advancing religious pluralism in Israel - how important is it really, and why aren’t we serious about it?
TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat with Mrs. Nancy, 6 p.m. Children ages 0-6 and their families are encouraged to join as we will welcome Shabbat through, song story and snack!; Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Simcha Shel Shabbat celebration sponsored by Marcia Kushner’s family in honor of Tifereth Israel’s March birthday’s. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; LJCS Teacher Professional Day, 8:30 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: LNo LJCS Classes. Tot Shabbat with Mrs. Nancy, Friday, March 4, 6 p.m. Children ages 0-6 and their families are encouraged to join as We will welcome Shabbat through, song story and snack! LJCS Summer Camp Israel 2016 is coming! Save the dates: Monday, July 11 through Friday, July 22 (9 a.m.-2 p.m.) Any questions, please email Andrea at Ahalpern1386@ gmail.com. Purim Extravaganza, Wednesday Evening, March 23 at the Coren Home. Join us for a light dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by a reading of the Megillah for adults and pre-teens/teens and entertainment for the younger children (starting at approx. 6:30 p.m.) The evening will end with a special guest entertainer joining us all from 7:30-7:50 p.m. Let us know you’ll join us by calling the office 402.423.8569 or e-mailing Nancy at corenancy@gmail.com by Wednesday, March 16 so we can plan on the amount of food needed.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Jim Polack and David Herzog. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: March First Friday: Candle lighting and kiddush in the Simon Community Court, 5:30 p.m., Service, 6 p.m., dinner following services. Cost is $5 per person, max of $20 per family. Reservations required. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Torah Reader: Susie Norton and Ann Osborne and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer. SUNDAY: Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Madrichim Meeting, 10 a.m.; Toddler & Parent Program, 10:30 a.m., for children ages 2-3. Dani Howell will facilitate; Introduction to Hebrew Class with Eliad, 11 a.m.; Religious School Steering Committee Meeting, noon; OTYG Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m.; Under the Sea with OTYG Spaghetti Dinner and Auction, 5 p.m. Join us in celebration of our Temple Israel youth at this year’s Spaghetti Dinner and Auction. There will be food, silent auction items and friends and family to share this wonderful event with. Proceeds will be going to support Camp Rainbow, a camp for kids with cancer and other blood-related diseases, along with funding youth activities. The cost is $10 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-12 and no charge for children five and younger. Reservations required. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; Chapel for School Service, 4:30 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Consider the Alternative -- Screening and Discussion, 6:30 p.m. Humanizing the conversation about charter schools, public schools and closing the achievement gap. How does this issue relate to our Jewish community? THURSDAY: Diversity in Israel: A Real Reality Show, 10 a.m. with Eliad Eliyahu.
ADL to provide candidates info on extremists by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- The Anti-Defamation League said it will provide all presidential candidates with information on extremists and hate groups following Donald Trump’s admission that he didn’t know anything about former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The ADL said its Center on Extremism, which monitors and exposes extremists and hate groups, is providing information about extremists, “so that all candidates can be fully aware of these individuals and have a more complete picture when determining whose endorsements they should accept or reject.” In a recent interview on CNN’s State of the Union, Trump told host Jake Tapper: “Just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists.” Duke had told his radio listeners they should vote and volunteer for Trump. The Republican presidential front-runner disavowed the endorsement hours after the “State of the Union” after refusing to do so on the program. Duke is a former KKK grand wizard and white supremacist who has publicly asserted that Jews control the Federal Reserve Bank, the U.S. government and the media. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said: “The last thing we want is for white supremacists to use this campaign to mainstream their bigotry. It is imperative for elected leaders and political candidates to disavow haters such as Duke and the other white supremacists. “By not disavowing their racism and hatred, Trump gives them and their views a degree of legitimacy. Even if it is unintentional on his part, he allows them to feel that they are reaching mainstream America with their message of intolerance.”
Pulverente MONUMENT CO.
March 4, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 11
In memoriam LOIS NOVITSKY FRIEDMAN Continued from page 1 expand the role of women and men in vital areas of community life; and whose leadership in areas of NCJW concern -improving the quality of life for people of all ages and backgrounds -- has motivated others to fight for change and has resulted in progress and enlightenment in the community.” Lois inspired and influenced many women through her work with the Council. Sandy Nogg, who worked with Lois for many years at the Council Thrift shop, said: “I usually saw Lois at least twice to three times a week. We often talked about the Jewish communities of Sioux City and Omaha. She was a great historian and could connect families back 3-4 generations. She was always the one I turned to when I needed to connect names and faces or families. She also kept me up to date on births, deaths, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other events that I might want to remember with a donation to the NCJW fund for RBJH that she had handled for years. She loved NCJW, her family, sports, Sinatra, traveling, dancing, Democratic politics and Sandy Koufax. She loved especially her friends, of which she had many. Being a good friend was of utmost importance to her. Those of us who were lucky enough to know, work with, and love Lois were truly blessed. May her memory be as a blessing.” “The entire history of NCJW -- Omaha Section was stored in Lois’ head, and in her heart,” Carol Katzman, former editor of the Jewish Press and a past President of NCJW -Omaha Section, said. “She loved “Council,” as she and many others in her generation called it. Not only did she know the names and positions of leaders and volunteers throughout many decades, she trained many of them herself. Her knowledge of NCJW will be missed but, more importantly, her love for the organization stands as her shining legacy.” Sue Meyers volunteered side by side with Lois for many years, both at Temple Israel and at Council. “She was such a force,” Sue said, “and we always had such fun together. Lois could run any organization. I first met her during a Temple Sisterhood meeting, when she came up to me and asked to help her with something. It just grew from there. We both loved the warmth of Council, and I am going to miss talking with her about this community.” In addition to Council, Lois was, as Sandy Nogg mentioned, a great historian. She was able to put that passion to good use when she, with Mary Fellman and Oliver Pollak,
Netanyahu schools Cameron by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his British counterpart forgot basic facts when he criticized Israel’s construction in eastern Jerusalem. “My friend David Cameron, who is without a doubt a friend of Israel, apparently forgot a few basic facts about Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said in a speech in Ofakim on Feb. 25 following statements by Cameron the previous day in which he condemned Israeli construction in the eastern part of Israel’s capital city. “Only Israeli sovereignty,” Netanyahu said, prevents the Islamic State terrorist group and Hamas “from burning the holy sites.” Netanyahu’s didactic approach, which is a departure from the measured tone he usually uses when speaking about relations with an important EU ally of Israel, followed Cameron’s own unusual statement on Feb. 24 in the House of Commons. “I am well known for being a strong friend of Israel, but I have to say the first time I visited Jerusalem and had a proper tour around that wonderful city and saw what had happened with the effective encirclement of east Jerusalem, occupied east Jerusalem, it is genuinely shocking,” Cameron said during a weekly question-and-answer session. Israel annexed eastern Jerusalem, which it took over from Jordan in 1967, and considers its territory part of Israel proper, though this position is not internationally accepted. The Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas aims to establish the capital of a future Palestinian state in east Jerusalem. The issue remains one of the main obstacles to reaching a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
became founding members of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. Renee Corcoran, Executive Director of the NJHS, said: “As a past president of NJHS, Lois continued to serve as a trusted advisor of the organization. She believed in the importance of the work we do for the community and told me often. Every time we held an event, mailed a newsletter or journal, Lois would call with a compliment. I welcomed her comments and suggestions because she was such a positive person. I learned a great deal from her and will miss her dearly.” “My father-in-law belonged to Temple Israel when it was still down on Harney Street,” Lois said. “My in-laws were always very staunch, dedicated, devoted members of Temple. Of course, we always belonged to Temple and in addition to being on the Council Board forever, I think I’ve been on the Sisterhood Board off and on for 30-plus years.” Lillian Farber and Lois were the Budget Chairs for about 20 years, which was not allowed. They solved that problem by simply switching roles: one year Lois would be Chair, the next year it would be Lillian, then Lois again -- and so forth. In addition to WRJ, she was active on the Temple Israel Board as well. “I always had a deep affection for Temple Israel,” Lois said. She was also very involved with the Jewish Federation of Omaha, joining when there was still a Jewish Federation of Women’s Clubs. Lois started as Treasurer, became Secretary, then the Second Vice President, First Vice President, and eventually President. Lois herself probably summarized it best when she said: “I don’t care how much time I’ve given to Council, the Jewish Federation, the Historical Society or Temple. I’ve gotten so much more back than I ever gave.”
SUSAN SANFORD SCOTT Susan Sanford Scott passed away on Feb. 15 in Houston, TX. She was preceded in death by her parents, Theodore J. Sanford Sr. and Betty C. Sanford. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Adam, and Andrea of New Bern, NC; granddaughter, Mary Evelyn of New Bern, NC; brothers and sisters-in-law, Theodore Sanford Jr. and Mary of Ann Arbor, MI, and Mark and Kelly Sanford of Omaha. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.
Palestinian child, 5, killed in Gaza explosion by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- A 5-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in an explosion in Gaza. Suhayb Saqir was killed Feb. 25 and his brother Musab, 6, was seriously injured in an explosion caused by ammunition they found in the Jabaliya area north of Gaza City, the Maan news agency reported. The report did not say whether the ammunition belonged to Israel or Hamas, the militant group that controls the coastal strip. Over 7,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance were left throughout the Gaza Strip following the 2014 round of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, according to officials of the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories. Last year, an explosion near Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip ended with the death of four men from one extended family.
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