8 | The Jewish Press | March 12, 2021
Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Abby Kutler President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Mary Bachteler Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp. 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 stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha.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. 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@jewishomaha.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@jewishomaha. 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. 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. 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 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 KampWright, 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.
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press Association Award winner 2008
National Newspaper Association
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.
Seed of the serpent? ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor At Ferris State University a few weeks ago, a public research school in Big Rapids, Michigan, a professor was fired for using anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic and other inflammatory language on social media. “Thomas Brennan, a physical sciences professor, had tweeted about a “Jewish mafia” and called the COVID-19 pandemic a “Jewish revolution,” according to an article last fall in the university’s newspaper and further reported on by USA Today, the Detroit Free Press and other outlets,” Gabe Friedman wrote. Brennan also referred to prominent Black physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson by using the ‘N-’word. “My defense is that I was acting out and speaking out of despair caused by a personal crisis involving extremely painful migraines, emf sensitivity and a series of repeated break-ins into my home,” Brennan tweeted in response. I won’t dignify that excuse, and neither should the college. Meanwhile, CPAC canceled the appearance of speaker Young Pharaoh who has made several derogatory comments about Jews on social media. The speaker in question called Judaism a “complete lie,” referred to “thieving Jews” and said Israeli Jews commit pedophilia online. We can talk all day about ‘cancel culture,’ and whether it’s helpful or hurtful, but it still seems getting fired for expressing racist, anti-Semitic, or otherwise intolerant views is not unexpected. They kind of had it coming, no? All the more surprising
that Fritz Berggren (at the moment of this writing) you off in traffic, your insurance agent, you name it. still has his job--at the U.S. State Department, no Add to that list someone who has worked at the less. State Department for 12 years. Even more worriOn Feb. 26, the news broke that Berggren had some is the fact that Berggren didn’t think anything been “moonlighting as a blogger devoted to attack- of it to espouse his views publicly. What was it that ing Jews and promoting white Christian national- I wrote about the armband? Blogging your anti-Seism,” according to Asaf Shalev (JTA.com). Here’s some of what Berggren wrote: “Jesus Christ came to save the whole world from the Jews — the founders of the original Anti-Christ religion, they who are the seed of the Serpent, that brood of vipers,” Berggren wrote in an Oct. 4, 2020, post on his website titled “Jews are Not God’s Chosen People. Judeo-Christian is Anti-Christ. Jewish ideas poison people.” According to Shalev, Politico also reported that “Berggren works for a State Department unit that handles Fritz Berggren appears in a holiday video shared by the U.S. special immigrant visas for Afghans. Department of Defense in 2018. Credit: Department of Defense He has been identified as a Foreign Service worker mitic views, out in the open, for anyone to see, is since 2009.” not exactly hiding in the shadows. This is not seWe always wonder: we know anti-Semites are out cretive, backroom, dark-web stuff. This is being there, but who are they? Until it becomes fashion- open and proud of your hateful views. That’s asable to wear a swastika armband, it is a troublesome suming people will read your words and agree with conclusion that there are people who look just like them. That’s not being afraid of the backlash, you or me who have these kinds of views. The idea maybe not even anticipating the backlash. that it could be the cashier at your favorite superHe calls us ‘the seed of the serpent.’ It seems the market, your hairdresser, your dentist, is chilling. It only serpent in the story is him. The faster the State could be the person at the DMV who took that awful Department gets rid of him, the better it will be for photo for your driver’s license or the one who cut all of us. And maybe, we can stop treating ‘cancel
Here’s a (Jewish) way to redirect your pandemic despair into purposeful living ALAN KADISH AND MICHAEL SHMIDMAN This last year of pandemic living has not been easy. Over 500,000 Americans have died, including countless members of our own Jewish communities, and a return to normalcy still feels distant. In these difficult times, we would like to propose an alternative to despair and suggest a path forward that offers not just hope for the distant future, but strength and a sense of purpose for today and tomorrow. This plague is hardly the first time we have been challenged as a people. Consider this story from the period of expulsions of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula between 1492 and 1497. Rabbi Abraham Saba, a scholar and preacher who lived in Spain’s Castilian region, was among those forced to leave his lifelong home. He fled on foot to neighboring Portugal, where he continued writing his rabbinic and biblical commentaries. But several years later Portugal’s Jews were subject to an expulsion decree. Saba again attempted to flee. Nearing Lisbon, he became aware of the decree issued against possession of Hebrew books. Saba buried his trove of manuscripts, but he was thrown into prison and never recovered them. Eventually Saba escaped to Morocco, where after struggling with an illness he resumed his life’s work, rewriting his lost manuscripts from memory. His commentaries on the Pentateuch and the books of Ruth and Esther are still studied today, five centuries later. Determination and dedication had defeated disruption and despair. Saba’s dogged persistence in studying and writing despite the obstacles he faced was remarkable. But in the annals of Jewish history, it was not extraordinary. Jewish history is filled with figures, from Maimonides to Albert Einstein, who achieved outstanding levels of intellectual accomplishment despite challenging circumstances, from plagues and expulsions to pogroms and Nazi persecution. The challenge of our current period is different, but trying in its own ways. We are isolated from other people, stalked by an invisible threat that has sapped our energy and many of the joys of daily life. We struggle to find purpose and motivation.
This is where the Jewish intellectual tradition can serve as an invaluable guide. For centuries, Jews have clung to a few basic principles that have helped us lead purposeful lives even in times of political, social and economic distress. This tradition of learning and achievement initially was derived from Torah study, but it has become more universal. Transmitted overtly or inadvertently by a system of education and by a cultural milieu, it has been effective at fostering achievement and offers guidance to Jews and non-Jews alike.
When life sometimes can seem like one long slog, the Jewish intellectual tradition offers an alternative that can bring with it happiness and a sense of accomplishment. Credit: PaulCalbar/Getty
Especially these days, when life sometimes can seem like one long slog — each day bleeding into the other, with real life replaced by a simulacrum of screens and social media and endless binge-watching that somehow never seems to satisfy; the Jewish intellectual tradition offers an alternative that can bring with it happiness and a sense of accomplishment. In our study of some 3,000 years of Jewish history, we have discerned a few guiding principles, which we outline in our new book, The Jewish Intellectual Tradition: A History of Learning and Achievement. These principles include respect for tradition combined with creativity and innovation; the primacy of education for young and old; logic and intellectual honesty in pursuit of truth; and living a purposeful life. We extracted from these principles specific recommendations for the circumstances of our age. Surround yourself with the written word. Reading is enriching like no other medium. Just because
you’re no longer in school doesn’t mean you should stop learning. Self-development through learning should be a lifelong pursuit. Set goals for yourself and don’t be distracted from your determination to accomplish those goals, whether it’s learning something new, mastering a particular skill, creating something in the woodshop or at the writing table, helping your children achieve their goals, or tackling Shakespeare, the Talmud or quantum physics. Assume that impediments, major or minor, will crop up along the way. Push through. Find a mentor who can help you toward your goal. Seek out experts as your companions, whether online, in person or in books. One silver lining of the pandemic has been the unprecedented access to learning opportunities. It’s possible to log onto Zoom classes happening anywhere around the world, to find a study partner through any one of a number of matching services, to connect remotely to Jewish events and services. Bring your family along for the ride. Talk to them about your goals and why they’re important. Your children will pick up the values you exemplify. Don’t just leave their education to school. Show them what’s important in life by modeling that behavior. Learn collaboratively. Find peers who share your goals with whom you can consult, partner and even argue. This is the classic Jewish mode of “chavruta” learning: one-on-one study and argumentation with a friend. Studies have shown that cooperative learning not only advances educational achievement but promotes self-esteem, healthy relationships and more positive attitudes toward learning. And don’t be afraid of argument or intellectual challenges, so long as your argumentation is conducted in good faith, with respect and in pursuit of truth. Judaism embraces analytical and even disruptive thinking. The unique feature of Jewish intellectual achievement is that it continues even at times of great challenge. That’s because striving for a higher purpose actually helps us overcome day-to-day stresses rather than adding to them. Our salvation See Pandemic dispair page 9
