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The Jewish Press

(Founded in 1920)

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Annette van de Kamp-Wright

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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.

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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.

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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 worri On 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 se We 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 super- He 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

TZVI SINENSKY

JTA With Superman and Lois, the newest TV series involving the character, premiering last week on the CW network, it’s a good time to recall that Superman was the 1938 brainchild of Jewish creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Many have suggested that the pair were inspired by their own Jewish backgrounds to create Superman as the paradigm of a hero who defended vulnerable populations from their enemies. But there is reason to suspect that a more specific encounter may have inspired them to craft the Superman persona. The years 1923 and 1924 saw a phenomenon in the United States: tours by Siegmund Breitbart, known as “The Jewish Superman,” across North America. Breitbart performed in Cleveland and Toronto, Siegel and Schuster’s respective hometowns. While it is nearly impossible to prove — there are no records of Siegel or Shuster mentioning Breitbart — there is reason to surmise that the strongman may have served as something of an inspiration. He wore a cape and was advertised as capable of stopping speeding locomotives. Who was this man Breitbart, lauded during his lifetime as the strongest man in the world, The Iron King, Jewish Hercules and a modern-day Samson? Siegmund “Zishe” Breitbart was born to a family of locksmiths in Lodz (now Poland, then Russia) in 1893. In his autobiography, he reports that his family discovered his unusual strength when, at age three, he extricated himself from beneath an iron bar that had fallen on him in his father’s store. By four he was casting iron in his family shop. His early years were difficult. Expelled from a number of religious schools for using force against fellow students, Breitbart was captured by the Germans while serving in the Russian army during World War I. After the war he remained in Germany, subsisting on the money he earned by performing feats of strength at local markets. It was at one such 1919 performance that the German Circus Busch, famed for featuring Harry Houdini and other top performers, spotted Breitbart and brought him on board to perform its opening act. Breitbart’s strongman routine, which had him dressed in hypermasculine costumes such as a Roman centurion, skyrocketed in popularity, and he quickly was moved from sideshow to main event. Notwithstanding the fast-rising tide of antiSemitism in Germany and Austria, Breitbart, who often wore the Star of David while entering the circus ring, achieved a mass Jewish and non-Jewish following in Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Warsaw. Breitbart’s act was based on his early experience working with iron. He bent rods into horseshoes, bit through chains and pounded nails into boards with his fist. He could draw chariots with his teeth. And his image undercut racial stereotypes about Jews. As musclemen were seen as representing the proud, strong German male throughout the opening decades of the 20th century, Breitbart was in effect also embodying quintessential images of German masculinity. As Breitbart’s legend grew, he increasingly became the talk of each town in which he performed. One reporter noted that “Not only do gymnasia students and high school girls talk about him; even first graders know how strong Breitbart is.”

A tavern proprietor complained, “My tables are studded with holes because my customers test their strength by hammering nails into them with their open hands. All Viennese women are in love with this new Samson. Racial hatred, pride or prudishness — all of it is useless here.” Capitalizing on his popularity in Europe, Breitbart spent much of 1923 touring the United States. Ultimately the Breitbart craze resulted in product endorsements, a starring role in the 1923 film The Iron King and a Breitbart physical health correspondence course in which subscribers received guides detailing Breitbart’s muscle-building and nutritional eating routines. Breitbart’s career came to an abrupt end in 1925 when a stage accident involving a rusty nail led to a fatal case of blood poisoning. He was buried in Berlin. Unfortunately, the Nazi destruction of Polish Jewry largely extinguished the rich oral legends that perpetuated Breitbart’s memory. But his legend has not fully disappeared. A 2001 movie, Invincible, featured a fictional account of his life. A children’s book titled Zishe the Strongman appeared in 2010. What do we make of this seeming paradox: a Jewish superhero who at a time of rising anti-Semitism, and during an era when Jewish men were derided as sissies, became a folk hero of able-bodied masculinity? Some saw Breitbart as a sort of vindication of the then-German and Austrian embrace of male bravado. In this view, that he was also Jewish rendered him something of a freak to the average German, making him all the more compelling as entertainment on the vaudeville circuit. Others saw Breitbart as a model for the new Zionist Muscular Judaism. A popular Yiddish saying went, “If a thousand Breitbarts were to arise among the Jews, the Jewish people would cease being persecuted.” Breitbart himself was a proud Jew and often performed while flanked by the Zionist flag. He refused to return to a Warsaw restaurant that declined to play Hatikvah to greet him. He supported Zeev Jabotinsky’s idea of a Jewish army. Legend has it that Jabotinsky and Breitbart hatched a plan in which Breitbart would become the general of a one-day Jewish army in Palestine. But neither of these fully captures the story of Breitbart, who was more than just a proud Jewish strongman. He highly esteemed rabbis and Jewish intellectuals, and according to one report, he amassed a substantial personal library that contained 2,000 books on Roman history. He performed for a group of Yiddish thinkers and wrote a personal letter of support on their behalf. He met and performed personally on behalf of the Radzhiner Hasidic rebbe and donated 30 pounds of Passover flour to the rebbe’s followers following the meeting. Even more remarkable, “Zishe” (literally sweet) was eulogized by numerous individuals as exceptionally sweet, highly emotional and filled with “edelkeit” (Yiddish for a sweet, caring person). One reporter who met with Breitbart expected a tough guy. Instead, he subsequently characterized The Iron King as “the embodiment of edelkeit.” Similarly, the chief rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish Community (Adass Yisroel) in Berlin, Dr. Esra Monk, saw Breitbart as a “modern Samson the hero” who also possessed a tender demeanor. “It is greatly symbolic,” Monk declared in his 1925 eulogy, “that for a man who broke chains, it was enough for one person’s good word to render his heart soft as butter.” Like Clark Kent, Breitbart’s persona was far richer and more well-rounded than his stage persona allowed. He was a mixture of elements — brains, brawn, a gentle nature and fierce Jewish pride. And he’s still inspiring nearly 100 years after his untimely death.

Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky serves as Rosh Yeshiva of the Gur Aryeh program at Main Line Classical Academy, director of the Lamm Heritage Archives and editor of The Lehrhaus. He is writing a dissertation on rabbinics and masculinity.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

Siegmund Breitbart, who could pull heavy weights with his teeth, was considered one of the strongest men in the world.

Credit: U.S. Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

Israel’s ‘vaccine diplomacy’ is a scandal, not Michael Che’s SNL joke

ADI ADAMIT-GORSTEIN meeting the needs of those they occupy. JTA Under international law, as an occupying power Israel is Michael Che of Saturday Night Live made a joke last week fully obligated in “ensuring and maintaining... the medical and during the show’s Weekend Update segment saying that “Israel hospital establishments and services, public health and hyis reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population, giene in the occupied territory,” especially regarding “prevenand I’m gonna guess it’s the Jewish half.” tive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious The joke struck a nerve diseases and epidemics.” This among some Jews, who rushed includes supplying vaccinato condemn the satirical show tions to the Palestinians living for anti-Semitism and de- in the West Bank. manded that Che and SNL Israel doesn’t seem to find apologize for using “dangerous” this obligation on the top of its and “anti-Semitic” tropes priority list. Although it has against Israel, according to a successfully managed to vaccipetition released by the Ameri- nate nearly half of its populacan Jewish Committee. Others, tion, it has only passed a few like the Anti-Defamation thousand vaccine doses to the League and the pro-Israel Palestinian Authority. group StandWithUs, released Despite those facts, organizatheir own dismayed statements Health workers carry a box of 5,000 doses of COVID vaccine tions like AJC not only deor shared AJC’s petition on their donated by Israel arriving at the Air Force base in Guatemala manded an SNL apology but platforms. Some liberal Jewish City, Feb. 25, 2021. Credit: Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images decided to start a campaign and groups, on the other hand, celebrated the joke for pointing out mobilize its supporters around Israel’s systematic discrimination against the Palestinians. the issue by spreading a petition on social media, calling on NBC According to the AJC statement, the joke is anti-Semitic and to “retract its outrageous claim” and apologize immediately. false, since “every Israeli, regardless of religion or ethnicity, is It is truly a mystery why these organizations choose to focus eligible for the COVID vaccine, and more than two-thirds of their attention on a comedian who has nothing to do with the Israel’s Arab citizens over 60 have already been vaccinated.” very real and very deadly epidemic of anti-Semitism unfolding The problem with this statement is that it erases the Pales- in the United States. tinians under Israel’s occupying control in the West Bank — It is not anti-Semitic to note that Jewish settlers living in the and misses the actual vaccine scandal unfolding. West Bank are full and equal citizens of Israel, while Palestini Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza may not be ans living there are deprived of basic rights; it is the plain truth. Israeli citizens, but they certainly qualify as part of the popu- Instead of issuing disingenuous statements against TV colation under Israel’s control. Instead of working to distribute medians, organizations like AJC should use their full power to vaccines to these noncitizens living in the West Bank and combat deadly anti-Semitism, and call on Israel to fulfill its Gaza, which the Fourth Geneva Conventions legally obligates legal and moral obligation to vaccinate everyone living under Israel to do, Israel has been caught engaging in “vaccine diplo- their control. macy,” promising doses to far-off foreign governments before Adi Adamit-Gorstein is a graduate student in the dual

degree of MPA Nonprofit Management and MA in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. She started her professional career as a journalist in Israel and later worked as a public relations strategist focusing on communication strategies for NGOs and political candidates. She is currently interning with the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York City.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

Pandemic despair

Continued from page 8

won’t come from mindless activities but from determined pursuit of our goals. A life lived daily with a sense of purpose, with the firm belief that your actions and the values you exemplify and transmit make a difference, can ennoble and elevate you and those around you. It is this persistence that has made the Jewish contribution to the world so significant, in fields from science and law to philosophy and social justice. Now, particularly when times are tough, our role in helping improve society must not be neglected. Whatever the circumstances, we can proudly uphold that tradition.

Dr. Alan Kadish is the president of the Touro College and University System. Dr. Michael Shmidman is the dean of Touro’s Graduate School of Jewish Studies.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

This story was sponsored by the Touro College and University System, which supports Jewish continuity and community while serving a diverse population of over 19,000 students across 30 schools. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.