October 13, 2017 by Jewish Press

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Kaplan Book Group investigates Invisible City Page 5

A B’nai B’rith Sukkot Page 8

annette van de kamP-Wright Editor, Jewish Press he question that was asked often when Temple Israel moved to its new Sterling Ridge location in 2013: what’s happening to the old

How a Norwegian-American immigrant helps calm Israeli’s nerves Page 12

inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

12 14 15

Temple? Who is going to use it, and how? We now know that the Omaha Conservatory of Music made the building on Cass Street its new home. During the weekend of Oct. 27, the community will have a unique chance to experience first-hand how it has all

Beth El women to celebrate at Blue Barn Theater ozzie nogg The lobby of the Blue Barn Theater in the Old Market will be the scene for ‘Opening Night’ -- a party to kick off The Miriam Initiative, a new concept in women’s programming at Beth El Synagogue. The event is scheduled for thursday, nov. 2, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bus transportation from the Beth El parking lot will be available. “It’s 2017, and the old model for women’s auxiliary groups is dated,” explained Joanie Jacobson, a member of the Initiative’s Design Team. “For years now, women have been working outside the home, transporting children to daily afterschool activities and weekend sporting events, traveling, exercising, and still trying to get dinner on the table -- all at record-

breaking speed -- while texting, emailing and answering voicemails. So, who has time for volunteering?

“Assuming a leadership role, serving on a board, being a member of a working committee, attending monthly meetings -- especially for a year or more -- are commitments fewer and fewer women are willing to make. So, what can an organization do to attract volunteers? As we say at Beth El... ‘embrace change.’” Enter The Miriam Initiative, a series of ongoing projects and programs created and presented by the women of Beth El Synagogue. No president. No board. No executive committee. No two-year terms. No by-laws. No monthly meetings. Just a chairperson or cochairs for each project working in partnership with a designated synagogue staff person. See beth el women page 3

worked out and what the building looks like these days. The Hermene Zweiback Center for Jewish Lifelong Learning, sponsored by Speedy and Debbi Zweiback, will generously present the In Harmony Event, See in harmony page 2

Omaha Jewish Film Festival collaborates with Film Streams

mark kirChhoFF Program and Communications Assistant, JFO On Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m., Film Streams and the Jewish Federation of Omaha (JFO) will present a one-time screening of The Women’s Balcony at the Ruth Sokolof Theater (1340 Mike Fahey St.) as part of the annual Omaha Jewish Film Festival. The presentation of this film at Film Streams is the result of an exciting collaborative effort between the JFO, and the Institute for Holocaust Education (IHE) with Film Streams, Omaha’s own nonprofit cinema. Standard ticket pricing for Film Streams will apply, $10 general,

$7.50 for students, seniors, teachers and military, and $5 for Film Streams Members. The Women’s Balcony is an Israeli comedy released in 2017 presented in Hebrew with English subtitles. This box office Israeli hit film runs 97 min. It was written by Shlomit Nehama, and directed by Emil Ben-Shimon. The Women’s Balcony is an eccentric portrait of an already devout community suddenly under pressure from a super Orthodox rabbi to observe their faith in a more rigid way. When they talk, they don’t say “I,” they say “We.” They are not just a community, they are a “congregation,” See omaha jewish Film Festival page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017

community

Friday Learning Series: The Law of Return

MARk kiRchhoff mother is Jewish, or if he or she converts to Judaism. Program and Communications Assistant, JFO Orthodox Jews do not recognize conversions perOn two consecutive fridays, oct. 20 and 27 be- formed by Reform or Conservative Judaism. However, ginning at 11:15 a.m. in the Kripke the Law provides that any Jewish Federation Library, Rabbi Jew, regardless of affiliation, Shlomo Abramovich will present, may migrate to Israel and Aliyah: The Law of Return. “Aliyah claim citizenship. These topics is a topic that on the surface seems will be part of the discussion very clear and without controversy. in the two sessions of the FriBut as with many aspects of life in day Learning Series. “I am also Israel – it is complicated,” said going to talk about Rabbi Abramovich. In these classes, YomHaAliya, a modern holiday Rabbi Abramovich will examine this celebration that began in 2012 topic from various perspectives. as a grassroots community iniThe Law of Return was enacted tiative and young olim moveby the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, ment in Tel Aviv. Some people on July 5, 1950. The law declares might not know that on June the right of Jews to come to Israel: 21, 2016 the Twentieth Knes“Every Jew has the right to come to set voted in favor of adding Rabbi Shlomo Abramovich this country as an oleh [new immiYom HaAliyah to the Israeli nagrant].” The Law of Return was modified in 1970 to tional calendar,” Rabbi Shlomo remarked. “As I said, extend the right of return to anyone with at least one it is complicated.” Jewish grandparent, and their spouses. In the Law of The Friday Learning Series is open free of charge Return, the State of Israel put into practice the Zion- to the community and funded through the Ann Goldist movement’s “credo” which called for the estab- stein Education Programming Endowment Fund. It is lishment of Israel as a Jewish state. presented through the cooperative effort of the ComBut with the Law of Return, “the devil is in the de- munity Engagement and Education arm of the Jewish tails.” Differences of opinion have arisen as to Federation of Omaha and Beth Israel Synagogue. You whether a person who claims citizenship under the are encouraged to attend both sessions of the series, Law of Return should be automatically registered as but Rabbi Shlomo prepares the material in such a way “Jewish” for census purposes. According to the ha- that you may obtain full value from any one session lakhic definition, a person is Jewish if his or her without relying on another.

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continued from page 1 a collaboration between Temple Israel and the Omaha Conservatory of Music. The Conservatory will offer a performance at Temple Israel, Friday, Oct. 27 during the 6 p.m. service. Pauline Lee, a ten-year-old violin student will play Fantasie-Recitative from Israeli Concertino by George Perlman, OCM faculty member Jessie Griggs will perform Rapsodie from Suite Hebraique by Ernest Bloch on the viola and OCM faculty member Yulia Kalashnikova will join both musicians as the collaborative pianist. Ruth Meints, the Executive Director of the Omaha Conservatory of Music, will discuss the Cass Street building renovations during the Shabbat service. Then, on Sunday, Oct. 29, the community is invited for an exclusive tour of the building, as well as a special performance and desserts, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Come and see what parts of the building you recognize and which parts are completely new; how the chapel looks these days and how it’s being utilized. “Speedy and I visited the Omaha Conservatory of Music together,” Debbi Zweiback said, “and it is our intent to, through the In Harmony program, bring people together. We have a unique opportunity here to collaborate; besides, it is extremely gratifying that something so wonderful has happened to our former home where we all have so many memories, that it’s been given new life by people who really respect the integrity of the building.” Under the guidance of OCM Executive Director Ruth Meints, the Conservatory’s faculty and students have made the 40,000

square ft. a true home. The building has been renovated to include soundproof music studios and a 500-seat music hall. “We can continue to have a connection to this building,” Debbi said, “and it’s an important one. When Speedy and I decided to visit, after being told they serve the best grilled cheese in town, a faculty member, Bryce Dentzler, approached us. He sponta-

neously offered us a tour. Of course, we had to reciprocate, especially after he told us he’d never visited an actual synagogue. We invited him to our current Temple and showed him around. It proved a phenomenal opportunity to learn from each other!” The Omaha Conservatory of Music is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) school that builds musical community through education and performance to enrich lives. It provides private lessons in violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, guitar, voice, winds, brass, and percussion, as well as conducting, music composition, and theory. The Conservatory’s outstanding artist-faculty challenges and inspires a student body of nearly 700 students through private lessons and touches the lives of thousands of others through programs such as String Sprouts, Summer Institute (OCMI), the Inside the Mind of the Artist series, and off-campus classes.

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Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Stephen Arnoff visits Beth El

OzziE NOgg

r. Stephen Arnoff, Executive Director of the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), will be the Scholar-In-Residence at Beth El Synagogue on Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28. A leading writer, teacher, and thought leader in the Jewish world for nearly two decades, Dr. Arnoff lectures on topics spanning religion, popular music, spirituality, and Jewish life and learning at universities and cultural venues in North America, Europe and Israel, and publishes in Huffington Post, Forward and Ha’aretz. Dr. Arnoff is a presenter at the Thirtieth Annual Klutznick Symposium on Jewish Civilization scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 29 and Monday, Oct. 30 in Omaha. “Dr. Arnoff mentors many of Jerusalem’s most dynamic arts and theater organizations through Jerusalem Culture Unlimited for which he serves as Board Chair,” added Beth El’s Rabbi Steven Abraham. “He also serves as a senior strategic advisor to the Institute of Jewish Spirituality and Society, which leverages the great ideas of Jewish spiritual wisdom for social transformation. Our congregation, and the entire Omaha Jewish community, look forward to learning with him.” On Friday, Oct. 27, during Kabbalat Shabbat evening services, Dr. Arnoff will discuss: Leonard Cohen’s Jewish Vision of Exile and Home. Like all great sages and mystics, Leonard Cohen used Jewish text and tradition to reflect upon love, art, politics, belief and more. In this special preview of his Klutnick lecture, Dr. Arnoff will explore Cohen’s understanding of concepts of exile and home. Services begin at 6 p.m. During Saturday morning services on Oct. 28, Dr. Arnoff will share: From the Heart of Jerusalem to You. Since Janu-

Omaha Jewish Film Festival

Continued from page 1 with all that implies to the faithful. While the mood is that of a gentle and affectionate comedy, the film makes some extremely sharp points about fanaticism and sexism masked as holiness, and tolerance among the faithful. In her 4 ½ star review of the film, Sheila O’Malley, film critic for RogerEbert.com, writes, “The Women’s Balcony takes on some extremely hot topics, and in doing so makes the point powerfully that true faith does not depend on a head-scarf. True faith is alive, coursing through human relationships, made manifest in how we treat one another. The Women’s Balcony has its cake and eats it too. It is funny and profound.” Yoni Doran, Community Shaliach for Omaha and a member of this year’s film selection committee remarked, “This movie portrays how women, living in their own small communities in Israel, maintain their commitment to their own traditions even when pressured to submit to the ways the new young rabbi is attempting to impose.” Following the film Yoni will join in a panel discussion with Beth Katz, consultant and speaker on issues of religious and cultural diversity and inclusion, and Cantor Wendy Shermet, clergy member at Omaha’s Temple Israel. The screening and discussion of The Women’s Balcony are part of Film Streams’ Community Development Program, which facilitates partnerships with other nonprofits and community groups on film-related events that speak to their missions and programming. Each quarter, Film Streams’ Community Development Committee reviews proposals for special screenings and programs. The first film in this year’s Omaha Jewish Film Festival will be The Pickle Recipe, a US comedy released in 2016 in English, with a running time 1 hr. 37 min. The film will be screened on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in the JCC Theater. A special “pickle-tasting” event will take place prior to the showing of the movie. A synopsis of this year’s films in the series may

ary 2017, Dr Arnoff has been responsible for overseeing all operations and programming at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, a thriving hub of Jewish study and culture which includes the Conservative Yeshiva, Nativ, and an array of programs serving thousands of young people in Israel each year. Dr. Arnoff ’s Saturday morning presentation introduces the thought leaders and innovators who make meaning for the Jewish world at Conservative Judaism’s home in the heart Dr. Stephen Arnoff, lecturer on re- of Jerusalem. ligion, popular music, spirituality Stephen Arnoff earned and Jewish life, speaks at Beth El a doctorate in Midrash on Oct. 27 and 28. and Scriptural Interpretation from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and has been a Tikvah Scholar at the New York University School of Law, a Mandel Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute, and a Revson Fellow at JTS. A former member of the IDF, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and four children. “Dr. Arnoff is one of sixteen presenters, including five from Israel, who will be participating in this fall’s Annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization,” said Leonard Greenspoon, Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton. “I think it’s wonderful that members of our community will be able to hear him several times while he is in Omaha.”

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be found on the home page of jewishomaha.org by navigating from the “Upcoming Events” section on the left side of the page. The additional films in the series are: Nov. 5, There are Jews Here, a US documentary released in 2016 in English, 90 min. Nov. 12, Dirty Wolves, a Spanish drama released in 2015 in French/German/Spanish with English subtitles, 105 min. Nov. 19, Rock in the Red Zone, an Israeli documentary released in 2015 in English/Hebrew with English subtitles, 87 min. We extend our thanks to the generous sponsors of this year’s film festival. They are the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, and the following Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation funds: Klutznick/Creighton Custodial Fund, Frederick J. Simon Memorial Endowment Fund, Samuel & Bess Rothenberg Memorial Endowment Fund, Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund, Kenneth Ray Tretiak Memorial Fund, Ruth Frisch & Oscar S. Belzer Endowment Fund and the Avy L. & Roberta L. Miller Film Fund. Because of the generosity of the sponsors, tickets for films screened in the JCC Theater are only $5 per show. No movie night is complete without something to munch on. Popcorn, snacks, and beverages will be available each evening. Mark your calendars and attend as many of the nights – all of the nights – that are possible for you.

Beth El women

Continued from page 1 “From social justice to social gatherings -- from the kitchen to the classroom -- from repairing the world to repairing yourself, the possibilities for exciting, informative, timely, provocative and entertaining programming are endless,” said Jacobson.”The Blue Barn is a great venue and ‘Opening Night’ is just for fun -- a chance to enjoy a glass of wine, some nosh, and great conversation.” The Nov. 2 ‘Opening Night’ party for The Miriam Initiative and bus transportation to the Blue Barn are free of charge. However, reservations are needed for both and may be made by contacting Sibby Wolfson at 402.305.8445 or sibby.wolfson@gmail.com by Monday, Oct. 30. Other members of the Initiative’s Design Team are Laurie Epstein, Linda Fischer, Pam Friedlander, Margie Gutnik, Patty Nogg, Shiri Phillips, Caryn Scheer, and Melissa Shapiro.

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Temple Israel announces themes for adult education Wendy GoldBerG hanks to the legacy of the late Hermene Zweiback and the generosity of her family, Temple Israel once again offers an engaging curriculum for adult learners. This year’s curriculum centers on two themes: Guiding Principles for the Synagogue Community and Jewish Heroes, Heroines, and Personalities. “Adult education is a particular passion for me. I am excited about the learning that is going on at Temple,” Rabbi Brian Stoller shared. “These classes are great opportunities for newcomers and veteran learners alike to do meaningful and challenging learning with our clergy, with other great Jewish teachers in the Omaha community, and with our Tri-Faith clergy partners.” After Mitzi Friedman attended the introduction to the Guiding Principles session with Rabbi Stoller she said, “I mostly want to get to know Rabbi Stoller as an educator and to share interesting discussion with fellow Temple members who also wish to learn. The benefits of attending are self-evident: Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of Judaism, get to know other Temple members, and share in the joy of studying together and learning from each other under the guidance of a gifted teacher. So far I find Rabbi Stoller’s teaching well-organized, knowledgeable and engaging. What’s not to like?” On Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8 p.m., the Temple Israel clergy will explore the meaning of community committed to the principles of holiness, courage, kindness, compassion, respect for human dignity and reverence for God. Each week will focus on a specific tool or principles such as G’vurot: Believe that We Can Achieve Greatness, Mishpat: Be Fair, Compassionate, Shome’a T’filah: Listen Intentionally and Hoda’ah: Show Gratitude. During the course of the year, clergy will lead an in-depth exploration and engage us in honest conversation

about who we are and who we want to be – as a congregation, as Jews and as human beings. “As a synagogue, we must strive to be a holy community, rooted in and driven by the values of Jewish tradition,” Rabbi Stoller offered. “Our goal is to deepen our understanding of these values so we can bring them to life in our relationships, in worship and social action, in our school and youth groups, and in our governance. It’s about nurturing a culture of compassion, respect, courage and holiness in everything we do as a Temple community.” “I value the series on Guiding Principles because it shows how Jewish values apply to all parts of life, not just what happens in the sanctuary,” shared Sarah Gilbert. “The clergy/teachers are connecting the classes to how we can build a stronger community, especially among our own congregation.” On Thursdays at 10-11:30 a.m. adult education will focus on Jewish Heroes, Heroines, and Personalities. “This course is an opportunity for our students to get to know some of the most fascinating, influential, and controversial figures who have shaped the Jewish experience throughout history,”

Rabbi Stoller noted. “Our 90-minute format enables us to look in-depth at their writings, teachings, speeches and music to gain a greater understanding of who these people were and how they still have much to teach us today.” The Jewish heroes, heroines, and personalities on the syllabus include: David Ellenson, Hagar and Ishmael, Jesus, Theodor Herzl, Joseph Soloveitchik, Paul, Yehudah Amichai, Joseph, Moses and David, Rabbi Akiva, Leonard Bernstein and Arnold Schoenberg, Amos Oz, Roy Cohn, Rachel Adler and Maimonides. This symposium will be taught by Temple Israel clergy, with guest sessions led by our Tri-Faith clergy partners and other outstanding teachers in the Omaha Jewish community. “Learning is essential to being Jewish,” Temple member Bonni Leiserowitz said. “Every time I am present in the building or with other Temple congregants every one of those people encourages me to attend, share, and learn.” Adult Education classes meet at Temple Israel and are open to the entire community. Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday mornings at 10 a.m.

Friedel builds community

Beth Cohen Head of School, Friedel Jewish Academy Friedel’s first and second grade students have been community builders! they have learned what makes communities special places to play, live and work. they enjoyed the opportunity to become the architects, construction workers, and city planners for this educational experience. As city planners, they have discussed the important elements in a community and each student had to justify the placement of their building to their peers. As in any community, debates ensued but working together toward a common goal brought about compromise and understanding.

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Kaplan Book Group investigates Invisible City Mark kirChhoff Program and Communications Assistant, JFO Journalist Julia Dahl introduces a compelling new character in search of the truth about a murder in her mystery novel, Invisible City. In the process she develops an understanding of her own heritage. The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion group has chosen this murder mystery for discussion at their Oct. 19 meeting at 1 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. New members are always welcome to join. In the book, just months after Rebekah Roberts was born, her mother, a Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn, abandoned her Christian boyfriend and newborn baby to return to her religion. Neither Rebekah nor her father have heard from her since. Now a recent college graduate, Rebekah has moved to New York City to follow her dream of becoming a big-city reporter. But she’s also drawn to the idea of being closer to her mother, who might still be living in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn. Then Rebekah is called to cover the story of a murdered Hasidic woman. Rebekah is shocked to learn that, because of the NYPD’s habit of kowtowing to the powerful ultra-Orthodox community, not only

will the woman be buried without an autopsy, her killer may get away with murder. Rebekah can’t let the story end there. But getting to the truth won’t be easy—even as she immerses herself in the cloistered world where her mother grew up, it’s clear that she’s not welcome, and everyone she meets has a secret to keep from an outsider. Julia Dahl is a journalist specializing in crime and criminal justice. Invisible City, her first novel, was named one of the Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2014 and was a finalist for an Edgar Award and a Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. and writes for CBSNews.com. The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion group receives administrative support from the Community Engagement & Education arm of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. For information about the group, contact Shirly Banner at 402.334.6462 or sbanner@ jewishomaha.org. To view books discussed by the group over the past several years, go to www.jewishomaha.org, click on the “Community & Education” pulldown tab and navigate to “Kripke Jewish Federation Library,” then to “Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group.”

The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017 | 5

community The concept of Tzedakah Linda a Cogen Assistance Coordinator, Jewish Family Service Tzedakah: the Hebrew word for charity, giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or to worthwhile causes. A collaborative effort with local synagogues and Jewish Family Service provided Tzedakah to 94 individuals and 53 families in the community to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Omaha synagogues provided the following items: Beth El: honey and matzah

meal; Beth Israel: apples; and Temple Israel: honey cake and fagels. Although JFS organized the project through grant writing, grocery shopping, updating recipient lists and scheduling community members to deliver... this holiday was one of the most collaborative in recent years. Many thanks to everyone for their participation! JFS was able to connect the strengths of our community to enrich Jewish Omaha.

arts & Crafts Show coming to Mid-america Center in Council Bluffs

Make plans now to attend the annual Arts and Exhibitors will also be selling coffee cakes, dips, Crafts Show that will be held Saturday and Sun- salsa, soups, jams, jellies, cheese and sausage, day, oct. 14-15 at the Mid-America Center in wines, fudge, honey, food mixes and roasted nuts. Council Bluffs, Iowa. All items offered for sale to the public are handmade The show is billed as one of Iowa’s largest by the exhibitor. shows, with over 150 exhibitors presenting and sellHours of the show are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on ing thousands of unique, handmade products. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. AdAmong the various products being sold at the mission is $5 and children 10 and younger are free. show are oak and pine furniture, paintings and Parking is free throughout the show. All patrons who prints, ceramics, kids tepees, wall hangings, blan- attend the show on Saturday will receive a two-day kets, jewelry, pet products, etched and stained re-entry stamp. glass, yard and garden art, pottery, candles, clothFor a chance to win one of four $50 gift certifiing, quilts, aprons, pillows, doll clothes, rugs, place cates to the show, like us on facebook under Callamats, table runners, purses, floral arrangements and han Promotions, Inc. and for exhibitor information wreaths, wood and metal signs, soap and lotions, on the show, please call us at 563.652.4529. and many more original products. PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Sunday, October 29 University of Nebraska at Omaha 6001 Dodge Street College of Public Aﬀairs and Community Service Room 132D 9–11:30 a.m. | Presentations

Jewish Community Center 333 S. 132nd Street Noon–5 p.m. | Presentations

7:30 p.m. | Keynote Musical Performance Marina Krupoves, Vilnius, Lithuania, and Gerard Edery, Warsaw, Poland Exile and Return: A Musical Journey

Monday, October 30 The Klutznick Chair, the Kripke Center, the Harris Center and the Schwalb Center present:

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Jerusalem Exile and Return in Jewish History

Creighton University 2500 California Plaza V.J. and Angela Skutt Student Center Mutual of Omaha Ballroom 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. | Presentations Events are free and open to the public. For additional information, email colleenhastings@creighton.edu or call 402.280.2303. creighton.edu/ccas/klutznick

6 | The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017

community simchat torah: Don’t stop dancing!

As we close the holiday season, we take our Torah scrolls and dance at synagogue. At Beth Israel, we even dance into the streets with our Torahs. We dance with the Torah that we receive on Yom Kippur. First we receive it, but we are not cleansed or pure enough to truly identify with it. After we cleanse ourselves of sin and ego, we can now truly appreciate the ways of the Torah. We now identify with our global responsibility and embrace it. We dance raBBi ari with our Torah because it gives us life. This demBitzer year may we learn and understand more so we Beth Israel Synagogue can truly appreciate and never stop dancing.

On the rocks

John and Kathy Winterburn, owners of J&K On The Rocks, personally dig some of the stones used in their one-of-a-kind jewelry. Kathy grew up in Omaha and graduated from Burke High School and John is a native of Elkhorn. They moved to the O’Neill area in the early 1970s and continued to farm and ranch until 2008. At that time they moved into O’Neill and started on the road to their present work. Kathy is a lapidary artist that cuts, grinds and polishes the stones using diamond grade wheels. She designs each stone following the lead of where the stone’s natural color and movement shows. This past winter, Kathy worked with a master opal cutter learning the art of working with opals. No templates are used; she free-hands the design of the stone. John is the metal smith who wire wraps each piece in solid silver and 14k gold wire. He uses silver, copper, bronze and brass in the pieces. He and Kathy also do commission work designing pieces for their customers who sometimes bring them rocks and minerals that they have collected themselves. Some of these stones have come from Scotland, Greece and Australia. All pieces are unique and made with a personal touch. Their winters include time in the Southwest collecting rocks and minerals, and connecting with other rock lovers while they build their collection of rare and unique stones. The couple travels through 17 states, selling and showing at art shows. They cut rocks from around the world including Africa, South America, Australia and the United States. What rocks they don’t dig themselves they trade or purchase from mine owners and geologists. PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Cupdate #6: Dusty Friedman will be checking for KeHIPAA Cupliance

GaBBy Blair Staff Writer, Jewish Press xpect a call from Dusty Friedman, leader of Team KeHIPAA Cupliance, and be ready to talk tzedakah! This learned team is taking a scholarly approach on the path to winning this year’s coveted Kehilla Cup. “The Talmud describes different levels of tzedakah and Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon organized them into a list from least to most meritorious,” explains Friedman. “Based on Maimonides’ list, more merit dusty Friedman goes to those who donate cheerfully, willingly and before being asked;” Friedman hopes those who receive his team’s calls consider the wis-

dom of the Rambam and are generous of both charity and spirit! While the Kehilla Cup is a fun and interactive way to volunteer time and effort while forging networks and relationships with each other, and the wider community, as they fill needs, Friedman imagines a time where we ascend to the highest level of merit. “I would encourage anyone who is moved to do so, to be proactive and call me, or my team members, to make a pledge today!” As of the time of writing, Kehilla Cup Teams have raised over $76,000 with nearly half of all pledge cards called in! Kehilla Cup Team Scores are as follows: In 1st place, with 7760 points, Don Gerber and the Kehilla Monsters! In a close 2nd place, with 7190 points, is Team Friedel, led by Jeff Zacharia. Sarah Linn’s Team Haozerim, is in 3rd place with 3820 points. A battle is brewing for fourth place between Eric and The Shap-Heroes (3540 points) and Emily Epstein Ray’s Team Mashugana (3340 points), currently in 5th place. Geoff Silverstein’s Team Shofar is in 6th with 420 points and Dusty Friedman’s team, KeHIPAA Cupliance, is in 7th with 310 points — Dusty needs your help — Call him today!

Wendy GOldBerG Please join us for this important community conversation on Thursday, Oct. 26, 1-4 p.m. at Temple Israel, 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Have you witnessed false or ugly comments in your organization’s social media feed? How does your organization react? Do you respond directly? Delete comments? Have you ever had to report an incident to the police? If you manage the voice of your nonprofit brand on social media platforms in Omaha, please join us to share

your experiences and concerns while you gain some practical tips for responding. Learn more and register for this FREE event at https://goo. gl/LXD3oa. This event is hosted by the The Tri-Faith Initiative in collaboration with the Anti-Defamation League of Omaha, Omaha Public Library, Omaha Community Foundation, Inclusive Communities and Nonprofit Association of the Midlands. Stuart Chittenden and Dan Gilbert will facilitate this community conversation. Questions? Contact info@trifaith.org.

Addressing untrue and ugly online: A community conversation for Omaha nonprofit communication teams

Organizations

B’nai B’rith BreadBreakers

B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers meets weekly on Wednesdays at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium from noon to 1 p.m. For specific speaker information, please email Gary.Javitch@Gmail.com, Breadbreakers chairman. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

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The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017 | 7

Sigma Alpha Mu update

Andy HuSton dergraduates to re-charter his National Executive Director chapter. He serves as a chapter Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity advisor, always being a phone held its national convention call away. For the chapter’s rein Naples, Florida on Aug. 11chartering ceremony, David 13. In attendance were Timo and his wife Carol went above Uiterwaal and Chaney Bernt and beyond to make the rerepresenting the Sigma Omichartering ceremony somecron from our Lincoln, Nething special that the braska chapter. undergraduates and alumni On Saturday evening Aug. will never forget. 12 during our awards cereis award presentation has mony, David special meaning to Alloy, an alumni the national fraof the University ternity. In this of Nebraska chapcase it is extra speter (Sigma Omicial in that the cron ’70) was award is named nominated and seaer Harry B. lected as the winCohen, who was ner of the “Harry one of the original B. Cohen Fraterfounding fathers nal Service of our Sigma Award.” e award Omicron Chapter is presented to fraat UNL. ternity members I, and the entire who have perfraternity, would formed exceplike to recognize tional service in and congratulate the promotion of David Alloy for Harry B. Cohen Fraternal Service Award the growth and being the recipient development of the fraternity. David has been a driven alumnus mentoring the un-

of this prestigious award for the year of 2017.

WARSAW, Poland | JTA The Polish Institute of National Remembrance has distanced itself from one of its historians who wrote in an op-ed that the situation of the Jews “did not look very bad” after the Nazis entered Poland. The piece by Tomasz Panfil, the historian responsible for education at the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, or IPN, appeared Monday in the Gazeta Polska, a weekly newspaper. “After the aggression of Germany into Poland, the situation of the Jews did not look very bad,” Panfil wrote. “Although the [Nazi] occupation authorities took over, they ordered the wearing of armbands with the star of David, charged them heavy taxes, began to designate Jews-only zones only for the Jews, but at the same time permitted the creation of Judenrat, that is, organs of self-government. “

Institute leaders in a statement sent to the media said the statement “is in no way consistent with the position of the IPN.” “In connection with the thesis in the article by Tomasz Panfil in the Gazeta Polska, the Institute of National Remembrance declares that position presented there is in no way compatible with the historical knowledge about the situation of the Jewish population in Poland after Sept. 1, 1939.” The statement added that the IPN management “expects that Tomasz Panfil will, in his scientific and journalistic activities, show diligence and respect to the principles of historical and research reliability.” Other Polish historians criticized the op-ed. “This is a complete absurdity. This ignorance is frightening,” Dariusz Libionka, head of research at the State Museum at Majdanek, told the Polishj-language Kurier Lubelski newspaper.

Polish institute rebuffs historian’s Holocaust denial

the 29th Annual Fall Home & Garden Expo The 29th Annual Fall Home & Garden Expo is Friday, oct. 20 and Saturday, oct. 21 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha, 10th & Capitol Avenue. Fall is the time to plan your home improvement projects and get your home ready for old man winter. Area homeowners love the opportunity to find innovative ideas and the latest improvements for their home and helping them save time and money, all at one time and one place — at the CenturyLink Center. The Fall Home & Garden Expo has become the largest and most complete fall showcase of the latest products and services for the home, inside and out. Trading Spaces is coming back on TLC Network and the Expo will be your chance to meet National Designer Doug Wilson. Omaha homeowners can apply now to participate at tradingspacescast ing.com. The Fall Home & Garden Expo will also offer those that attend a chance to shop while helping raise money for those affected by the Hurricanes. The show will host a Charity Garage Sale to support the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief sponsored by the NKBA - Kansas, Nebraska Chapter.

This year’s Expo will feature The Ultimate Garage, showcasing everything from garage construction to great storage. Another popular attraction is the Hint of the Holidays with an Arts & Craft Showcase for home accents, decorations and unique gifts. The Santa Lucia Italian Food Court will be serving your favorite Italian specialties. For kids, there will be the Exotic Animals Show by Wildlife Encounters, where they can see and touch animals from around the world. Many new innovations and green ideas that help conserve, recycle and be more Eco-friendly to the University of Nebraska Extension “Ask the Master Gardeners” and other experts. The Show will also have a return of the “Ask the Experts” with remodelers, and city personnel available to answer your questions. The Fall Home & Garden Expo is open to the public on Friday, oct. 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the CenturyLink Center Omaha. For additional information please call 402.346.8003, email info@show officeonline.com or visit our website at www. showofficeonline.com.

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8 | The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017

A B’nai B’rith Sukkot

Sunday Oct. 1, a team of Volunteers joined B’nai B’rith in erecting sukkahs on the JCC Campus.

Can cyber technology solve the Anne Frank and Raoul Wallenberg mysteries? CnAAn LiphShiz more than nine consecutive months at a time. To Makinen, this sugJTA gested a prisoner or prisoners had been kept there but were not listed After 70 years of studying the Holocaust, historians still don’t know on the registry. He and Kaplan believe Wallenberg was kept in the cell the exact circumstances of the tragic fate that befell two of the best- listed as empty. known victims of the Holocaust era: Anne Frank and Raoul Wallenberg. Moscow denied their request for more prison records, Makinen said. Frank, the teenager whose journal of her days in hiding from the Nazis Last year, Makinen and Kaplan visited Moscow to present officials with in Amsterdam has sensitized millions to the suffering of 6 million victims, a 57-page report requesting specific documents, ranging from the Sovidied in 1945 in Bergen-Belsen after ets’ wartime intelligence files on the Nazis caught her. But nobody Wallenberg to papers dealing with knows who, if anyone, betrayed the return in 1999 of Wallenberg’s her and her family to the Nazis. personal items, Tablet reported this Meanwhile, Wallenberg, the week in an interview with Kaplan. Swedish diplomat who saved The research suggests that recountless Hungarian Jews by issuceiving “just a handful” of the docing them visas to Sweden, disapuments from the Russian state peared without a trace in the archives “would have solved the 1940s. Subsequent evidence case or at least shed light,” Kaplan emerged proving that the Soviet told Tablet. Union lied when it said he had died He insists that Wallenberg’s fate in 1947 in one of its prisons. eventually “will be revealed.” These mysteries separately Anne Frank and Raoul Wallenberg Credit: Wikimedia Commons “It is just a matter of when, and have caught the eye of two American experts who both believe they I want it to happen soon — for the closure of his family and those he can use the power of computation to make progress in the cold cases. rescued,” Kaplan said. “That is what keeps me upbeat.” On the Frank case is a retired FBI agent, Vince Pankoke, who last Despite the impasse they have reached, Kaplan and Makinen may week told the Volkskrant daily in the Netherlands that he has assem- be on firmer ground than Pankoke. After all, they know the Russians bled a team of more than a dozen forensics and computer experts. They took Wallenberg, whereas Pankoke may be barking up the wrong tree will use their expertise to scan archives with greater efficiency and altogether, according to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. speed than ever possible using orthodox methods of historical research. Last year that institution, which runs the Anne Frank museum at And on Wallenberg’s trail is a mathematician from Baltimore, Ari Ka- the Amsterdam address where she hid before her capture and murder, plan, whose specialty is to quantify baseball players’ performances to published a report suggesting that Anne Frank and her family were identify patterns over time, which can then be translated into effective never betrayed, but were caught by chance in a German raid aimed at strategies. suspected counterfeiters of food stamps. In both cases, any success will beat the odds. The issue is controversial in the Netherlands. For decades, the abDutch police have launched two rather thorough investigations to sence of a traitor in Anne Frank’s story has helped it become a tale discover whether Frank was betrayed and if so by whom. The first celebrating the heroism of resistance activists who helped the family probe in 1948 was unsuccessful; one mounted in 1963 was to no avail. hide from the Nazis. But the discovery of a traitor could change the Since then, writers and historians have offered various theories, story dramatically, giving a face and a name to the massive collaboranone of which were proven, including one centered on the sister of a tion that went on in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation – a typist working for Otto Frank, Anne’s father. key reason for the murder of 75 percent of Dutch Jewry, which is the But Pankoke, 59, says that’s not where the case needs to end. highest per capita death rate in occupied Western Europe. “There is so much information available these days, from archives, Thijs Bayens and Pieter Van Twisk, respectively a filmmaker and jourold studies,” he told the Volkskrant. “For individual people it is impos- nalist from the Netherlands, recruited Pankoke and initiated his investisible to overview in its entirety, but with the right software it’s achiev- gation. (Last month they published in the media and online an appeal able. That way you can connect the dots through analysis.” for information from anyone with knowledge of Anne Frank’s arrest). Analysis is also the name of the game for Kaplan, the baseball fan They are working with Xomnia, an Amsterdam-based company speand math whiz looking into the Wallenberg case. cializing in processing and analyzing large amounts of information, to His algorithms helped pinpoint Wallenberg’s exact cell in Lubyanka bring closure to her story, they said. The group, which has more than prison, according to Marvin Makinen, a professor of biochemistry at a dozen investigators, is documenting its efforts on a website called the University of Chicago who says he heard from inmates who saw coldcasediary.com. Wallenberg alive long after the bogus death announcement. Makinen, “The amount of data is overwhelming,” Bayens told The Guardian. Kaplan and several others are part of an unofficial task force to find “It is at least 20 to 25 kilometers of files at this moment and we have out what really happened to Wallenberg. just started. To try and make all this data relevant is quite complex, so The algorithm helped Kaplan and Makinen put together a complex we started to work on artificial intelligence algorithms to rule the data, database analysis of the cell occupancy at the prison from 1947 to as they say.” 1972 based on partial Russian prison records. Bayens said that most of the people who were around the Frank In the analysis, Kaplan and Makinen show that some rooms in the family and were still alive after the war “are in the police files of the overpopulated prison had remained empty — on paper, at least — for previous investigations.”

The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017 | 9

viewpoint thejewishpress

(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 Gabby Blair Staff Writer Thierry Ndjike Accounting Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Sandy Friedman, Treasurer; Alex Grossman; Jill Idelman; Andy Isaacson, Mike Kaufman; David Kotok; Debbie Kricsfeld; Abby Kutler; Pam Monsky; Eric Shapiro 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 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@jew ishomaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishom aha.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. 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 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.

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press As- National Newspaper sociation Association Award winner 2008

Standing still

ANNETTE vAN DE KAmP Editor, Jewish Press ecause, apparently, it wasn’t enough fun back in August, Richard Spencer and his neo-Nazi friends held another torch rally in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend. What else is there to do on a random Saturday night, correct? People need hobbies. The revelers marched through Emancipation Park, bearing torches and yelling slogans. It was a march-lite: 40 to 50 people dressed in matching white t-shirts and wearing sunglasses who, once the party was over, got on a tour bus and left town. “You will not replace us,” they chanted, and: “You will not erase us.” Is this sad, or is this terrifying? And why, oh why, did they choose to spend their Saturday night walking around the park? According to Spencer, who was the featured speaker, “Charlottesville 3.0 was a success.” He also said: “We’ve been planning this for a long time. We wanted to prove that we came in peace in May, we came in peace in August, and we come again in peace.” According to the Washington Post, they have vowed to continue to return. The Mayor of Charlottesville continues to look for the city’s legal options, but right now doesn’t have much recourse besides ordering a police presence and following the tour bus out of town to make sure the neo-Nazis really leave afterwards. CNN reported: “Spencer and his supporters alleged that Charlottesville was suppressing their speech and said that its residents should "get used to the alt-right. You're going to have to get used to white identity." What, exactly, does that mean, “Get used to white identity?” And for that matter, what is “white identity?” The removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from the park as well as the park’s name change is, of course, a lightning rod for neo-Nazis. But so-called white identity has to be more and run deeper than this old and tired flirtation with the

American Civil War and all its antiquated symbols. The underlying notion that, once upon a time, white people were on top and now are under attack is bizarre and faulty. It certainly wasn’t what the Civil war was about. At the same time, white privilege is alive and well in the United States.

Credit: 3268 Zauber via Wikimedia Commons

The statistics prove it: if you are white, you are more likely to be college educated, earn above poverty level or stay out of prison. For starters. So what, really, are white supremacists marching for? Don’t they have exactly what they want? Perhaps, it is the very acknowledgement of white privi-

lege, the idea that there is something morally wrong when the color of one’s (white) skin means at the very least an economic advantage. White people should have more advantages, a neo-Nazi would say, and how dare you suggest otherwise? Then, every case of affirmative action, every program that brings relief to non-white populations, every defense of DACA and every multi-cultural initiative is a slap in the face of the white supremacist. The removal of Lee’s statue is interpreted as an attack, not because Spencer and co. are worried about history; it is the future they fear. A future in which one person’s opportunities are no longer defined by skin color of national origin. A future in which we are all human beings first, equal, judged by our characters and our actions rather than by the circumstances of our birth. While for many of us this is a distant ideal worth fighting for, for neo-Nazis it is something to fear and to fight against. And so they march. Torches lit, speeches at the ready, they aim to reaffirm what they already have: an unequal, racist society. A society that’s better than it was 150 years ago, but that still has a long way to go. A society where it is fashionable to discuss racism and white privilege, where public debates more often than not attempt to answer the question: how can we become fairer and more equal? How do we move forward? How do we erase racism once and for all? When one is convinced racism is just, that is not a comfortable debate at all. Neo-Nazis are not interested in moving forward. They want to go back, or, at the very least, stay right where they are. They have no interest in growth; they do not want to evolve and become better versions of themselves. Fair debates in and of themselves offend them, chanting slogans and waving flames is all they have to offer each other and the rest of us. They may march and say crazy stuff and every once in a while make the news; they certainly can aggravate us, but underneath it all they will, like that statue of Robert E. Lee, forever stand frozen in time.

Intersectionality excludes and includes. Jews must learn the difference. DAviD BERNSTEiN JTA Last year, I wrote an opinion piece for JTA about a term and a trend few Jews over the age of 30 had ever heard of: intersectionality. Coined in the late 1980s, intersectionality posits that various forms of oppression — racism, sexism, classism, ableism and homophobia — are all interconnected. According to the theory, a black female is doubly marginalized by racism and sexism, for example. As a result, it is necessary for activists to connect these multiple forms of oppression in their advocacy. Rising in popularity in the wake of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the fatal shooting of a black man by a white officer, intersectionality, I pointed out, made it easier for Israel’s detractors to connect the dots between their cause and other causes -- to blame, somehow, the behavior of Missouri police on the example of the Israeli military, or to reduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a clash between whites and “people of color.” I argued that to counter this growing problem, supporters of Israel must do more to join the conversation and engage other groups susceptible to outreach from anti-Israel groups. The op-ed generated a firestorm. Numerous proponents of intersectionality spoke out against the article, arguing that I simplified an important theoretical framework for understanding prejudice and exploited it for advocacy purposes. Others were shocked by what they considered yet another manifestation of anti-Israelism. Since that time, I’ve delved deeper into the doctrine and observed its various manifestations. In its original form, intersectionality is a perfectly legitimate way to understand discrimination and power, and can bring people together. I call this “inclusionary intersectionality.” In its more malevolent form, however, it is used to purge social justice causes of anyone who doesn’t agree with the entire package of ideologically extreme views. I call this “exclusionary intersectionality.”

It’s critical that we know the difference. Many college students, including young Jews, embrace inclusionary intersectionality. Think not of a raucous rally but of a dorm room discussion. The intersectional conversation allows students to map themselves with other students

Credit: JTA collage onto a Venn diagram reflecting their multiple identities. In their discussions, they recognize both overlapping and divergent experiences. A college student intern in my office told me that “thinking intersectionally means appreciating our association with diverse identities. It allows us to recognize the potential for empathy beneath surface-level differences and develop greater opportunities for cooperation.” These concepts should not be all that alien to us. The Jewish community relations field, which for decades has been building bridges to other minority communities in order to create a more just society, operates under what could be considered a form of inclusionary intersectionality. Increasingly, however, a more exclusionary discourse has been used to divide people and target, in particular, Jews and supporters of Israel. The detractors use the same framework of interconnected identities to limit, not expand, the scope of human empathy. Earlier this year, three Jewish women were ejected from the Chicago Dyke March because they were carrying a rainbow flag with a Jewish

star on it. One of the women said she was told by a march organizer “your flag looks too much like Israeli flags because of the star, and that it is triggering to people and it makes them feel unsafe.” Organizers of the Chicago Dyke March themselves tweeted, “QUEER AND TRANS ANTIZIONIST JEWISH FOLKS ARE WELCOME HERE,” a clear example of exclusionary intersectionality. The tweet makes it explicit that you can only be part of the cause if you agree with the organizers on every issue. Those with a different perspective need not apply. On too many college campuses, political activists embrace exclusionary intersectionality. Jewish students have reported feeling unwelcome in certain social justice coalitions. In such instances, anti-Israel students have become gatekeepers for campus coalitions, citing intersectionality in excluding Jewish students. Faced with such hostile exclusion, some in the Jewish community would just as soon condemn all intersectionality and be done with it. But not all uses of intersectionality are equal: The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ rights organization, responded to the incident at the Chicago Dyke March by tweeting, “Marches should be safe spaces to celebrate our diversity and our pride. This is not right.” Indeed, the LGBTQ rights group took aim at the march organizers for excluding the Jewish marchers, thereby practicing inclusionary intersectionality. Diaspora Jews must learn, not shun, intersectional discourse in all its forms and be part of the discussion while not being afraid to challenge instances of exclusionary intersectionality. Condemning all intersectionality won’t make it go away. We — and the larger society — have a major stake in the more inclusionary form winning out. David Bernstein is president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the representative voice of the Jewish community relations movement. Follow him on Twitter @DavidLBernstein.

10 | The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017

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

beth el synagogue

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

beth isRael synagogue

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

Chabad house

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

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

offutt aiR foRCe base

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244

Rose bluMKin Jewish hoMe

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

teMple isRael

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

tifeReth isRael

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

b’nai isRael synagogue

Please join us for our upcoming events: Annual Membership Meeting, sunday, oct. 15, 11 a.m. Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker Alan Potash, Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Federation of Omaha on the recent population study done for the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Our services are led by lay leader Larry Blass. For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

beth el synagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. fRiday: Simchat Torah Morning Services, 9:30 a.m. when we will be honoring Steve Riekes and Bob Wolfson; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. satuRday: Shabbat Morning Services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Minha/Ma’ariv, 6:30 p.m. bar Mitzvah of isaac Clarke. weeKday seRViCes: Sundays, 9:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. sunday: BESTT Classes, 9:30 a.m.-noon; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Women’s Book Group with Temple Israel, 10 a.m.; Sunday Scholar Series: Wagner-Evil Genius, 11 a.m., with Bob Yaffe; BESTT Habonim Grades K-2 goes bowling, 12:15 p.m.2 p.m. wednesday: Chesed Committee visits Sterling Ridge, 2 p.m.; BESTT Hebrew School, 4:15 p.m.; USY General Membership Meeting and Lounge Night, 5:15 p.m.; BESTT Hebrew High, 6:30 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat, friday, oct. 20, 6 p.m. with guest speaker, Dr. Stephen Arnof, Expert in Jewish Leadership and Community Outreach. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

beth isRael synagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. fRiday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Candle Lighting, 6:29 p.m. satuRday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Insights into the Weekly Torah, 5:25 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 6:10 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:27 p.m. sunday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m. Monday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Talmudic Tales with Rabbi Shlomo, noon. tuesday-wednesday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. thuRsday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ethics with Rabbi Ari, 7:45 a.m.; Woman’s Class with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m.; Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, noon.

and clean-up are needed! We will serve our next meal at 2:30 p.m. For more information, email Sarah Beringer at sarah.m. beringer@gmail.com. tuesday: Ladies’ Lunch Group, noon at La Paz Mexican Restaurant, 321 North Cotner Blvd. Please contact Deborah Swearingen at 402.475.7528 with any questions. wednesday: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI.

offutt aiR foRCe base

fRiday: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

Rose bluMKin Jewish hoMe

satuRday: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Stan Edelstein. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

teMple isRael

fRiday: Shabbat Comes to You at Heritage Sterling Ridge, 4 p.m.; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. satuRday: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. bar Mitzvah of Max Vitek, son of edye Roffman; Tri-Faith Teen Youth Program, 2 p.m. Join teens from AMI, Temple Israel, and Countryside at the Sozo Coffeehouse downtown, from 2-4 p.m. for Minute to Win It and an Un-Talent show. Make sure to bring money for food and drinks! We hope to see you there with us. Please RSVP by Oct. 1 to benleathers arnold@yahoo.com. sunday: Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Temple Israel Book Club, 10:30 a.m. Belonging to a book club gives you an opportunity to discuss your feelings about a book or author with others. We will discuss the book Hummingbirds Don’t Fly in the Rain by Kim Klein a recent Temple member; Temple Tots Sunday, 10:30 a.m. All children and their families are invited to participate! Enjoy stories, songs, crafts (and bagels, of course!) with your child, while connecting with our Temple Israel community; Bless the Pets, 11:30 a.m.; Take this opportunity to bless the furry and not so furry creatures that fill our lives with joy. You are welcome to bring your caged and/or leashed pet to the entrance plaza at 11:30 a.m. We will take this opportunity to engage in the mitzvah of Tsar Ba’alei Chayim – the responsibility to the living creatures on earth. We will bless our pets and thank God for the joy they bring to our lives. For more information, contact Religious School Director Sharon Comisar-Langdon,

Ask Rabbi Katzman

402.556.6536. tuesday: Executive Meeting, 6 p.m.; Youth Committee, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.; thuRsday: Jewish Heroes, Heroines, and Personalities: David Ellenson by Rabbi Brian Stoller, 10-11:30 a.m. Through study of their writings, speeches, and music, along with biblical and historical sources, we will learn about some of the most fascinating personalities who have shaped the Jewish experience from ancient times to the modern day.

tifeReth isRael

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. fRiday: Synagogue office closed; Services, 6:30 p.m. satuRday: Shabbat Morning service, 10 a.m.; Youth Service, 11 a.m.; Please join us after services for a light Kiddush lunch. sunday: No LJCS Classes. Monday: Second Half of the DVD Course Beginnings of Judaism, 7:30-9 p.m. This is week two of a six week course. If you are interested in participating in this course, please contact Nava. If you have any questions about this course, please contact Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com. tuesday: Ladies’ Lunch Group, noon at La Paz Mexican Restaurant, 321 North Cotner Blvd. Please contact Deborah Swearingen with any questions. wednesday: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. Bless the Animals Havdalah and Dinner, saturday, oct. 21 at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. We’ll gather at entrance at 4:45 p.m. and enter as group at 5 p.m. Touring followed by light dinner and havdallah service. This is a multi-generational event! RSVP to the office let us know you are coming by Oct. 15. Esti Sheinberg offers Hebrew classes for adults on thursday evenings, 6:30-7:30 p.m., starting on oct. 26. The classes should continue until mid-December, and then resume in mid-January, depending on demand. Each meeting will include listening, speaking and a little reading. Conversational Hebrew will be our starting point. If you are interested please RSVP to Esti at esti sheinberg@gmail.com. Our annual UNL Hillel/Tifereth Israel potluck dinner and Friday evening service will be held on oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. If traveling downtown to campus is a deterrent to anyone, then please make sure the office has your name and we will arrange a ride for that evening. In the past, those of us who have joined with the Hillel group have found the connection to be rewarding.

Chabad house

Dear Rabbi, I hear it is customary to request a piece of honey cake from parents or mentors before Yom Kippur and on the day of Hoshana Rabba. What is the meaning of this custom? Craving cake

CongRegation b’nai JeshuRun

Sukkah torn apart in vandalism at Kansas State University

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. fRiday: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush & Hakafot; Light Shabbat Candles before 6:29 p.m. satuRday: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m. weeKdays: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. Monday: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. wednesday: Mystical Thinking with Rabbi, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. thuRsday: Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. All programs are open to the entire community. Services conducted by Rabbi Teri Appleby. fRiday: Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 6:30 p.m.; Oneg, 7:30 p.m. satuRday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study on Parashat Bereshit, 10:30 a.m.; Havdalah (72 Minutes), 7:58 p.m. sunday: No LJCS Classes; South Street Temple is partnering with "We Can Do This" to provide weekend meals to the children of the F Street Community Center. Join us as we provide lunch on the third Sunday of every month. Food/monetary donations, meal preparation and assistance with setting up, serving,

Dear Craving, Rabbi Mendel The custom of “asking KatzMan for ‘lekach’” dates back Chabad of Nebraska hundreds of years. ‘Lekach’, yiddish for honey cake is etymologically related to the Hebrew ‘take’. As he distributed ‘lekach’ to his followers, the Baal Shem Tov used to say: ‘I am giving you sweet cake — and may G-d give you a good year!’ At Yom Kippur, G-d seals, on Hoshana Rabba

JTA A sukkah erected on the campus of Kansas State University was vandalized and destroyed. The sukkah erected near the main dining hall on the Manhattan campus was carried away from its place on Friday night and broken apart, the Mercury newspaper reported Sunday. The pieces were left around the car of organizer Glen Buickerood, a graduate student who works on diversity initiatives at the school. The campus Hillel had purchased the sukkah.

G-d completes the seal, for what He inscribed on Rosh Hashanah. If for some reason, it has been decreed that someone experience “need”, that we should have to ask for something from another, we hope to “get it over and done with” before Yom Kippur or at the very latest, on Hoshana Rabba. If we have to go through “the ask” to receive the help, we want to receive it from a benevolent parent or mentor and move on to better times. The asking for lekach also serves as a reminder to us that everything we have, we receive from G-d. This request for a piece of sweet cake from a parent or a parent figure and given to us with heartfelt good wishes, is a tangible message that G-d gives us what we need. And that all we have comes from Him. No matter how hard we work, or the extent of our own effort or investment, His blessings are the cause of our success and resources.

Gregory Newmark, a co-adviser for Hillel and an assistant professor at Kansas State, told the newspaper that he thought the vandalism was an anti-Semitic act. “This was meant to be a place where everyone was welcome, and someone just ripped it down,” he said. There are no suspects in the case. In April, an anti-Semitic poster was hung on the Kansas State campus on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017 | 11

PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE

lifecycles BAr MitzvAh

MichAel jAcoB denenBerg

Michael Jacob Denenberg, son of Tippi and Steve Denenberg, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 21, at Beth El Synagogue. Michael is an eighth grade student at Beveridge Magnet Middle School. He has won awards in poetry and chess. Michael is a crack problem solver and sneak reader, loves all things computer, plays piano beautifully, works out regularly, enjoys Anime' and loves the out-of-doors. Has a voice as beautiful as his older brother, but saves it for the shower. He has two sisters, Sasha and Sima, and two brothers, Daniel and Solomon. Grandparents are Norman and the late Eunice Denenberg, and Carolyn and Bernard Magid.

AlexAnder MichAel kugler

Alexander Michael Kugler, son of Traci and Lance Kugler, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 21, at Temple Israel. Alex is a seventh grade student at Westside Middle School. In 2017 Alex was selected by camp Sabra staff and campers to receive the Tomahawk award, given to the outstanding camper of the year. Alex enjoys tennis, spending time with family and friends, and attending Camp Sabra. For his mitzvah project, Alex volunteered at the Special Olympics where he helped with swimming, track and field events, and played basketball with the athletes. He has two sisters, Lauren and Megan and two brothers, Ryan and Evan. Grandparents are Sandy and Stuart Kutler, and Cyndi and John Kugler. Great-grandparents are Harriet and the late Lazier Singer, the late Louise Blohm and the late Dale Kugler, the late Robert and Frances Koehler, and the late Phil and Marian Kutler.

in MeMoriAM

shirleY jeAn liPseY

Shirley Jean Lipsey passed away on Sept. 30 at age 90 in Tucson, AZ. There will be a Celebration of Life on Oct. 20, 3:30 p.m. at The Forum, 2500 N. Rosemont Blvd, in Tucson, AZ. She is survived by son, Robert of Flagstaff, AZ, and son and daughter-inlaw, Joseph and Heather of Tucson; daughter, Sally Scott of Tucson; five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Shirley was born in Omaha in 1926, the sixth of eleven children of Jack and

Ruth Lincoln. She was a graduate of Omaha Central High School and attended UCLA and University of Omaha. She married James L. Lipsey in Omaha in 1947. Over the course of her long life, she exhibited her commitment to civil rights, social justice, and her community in many ways. While in Omaha, she was a pioneer in the development of the Head Start education program and served as a Head Start teacher in the inner city. She was instrumental in the formation of the Panel of American Women in Omaha and served as a panelist for several years. She also served on the Omaha Human Relations Board Citizens Advisory Committee on Education. She participated in the Wednesdays in Mississippi civil rights program and demonstrated her strong commitment to desegregation by working in Mississippi, at great personal risk, in 1965. She was a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, a member of Beth El Synagogue, and Temple Israel. She and Jim retired to Tucson in 1975. In Tucson, she was a member of Temple Emanu-El, Congregation Or Chadash, the National Council of Jewish Women, and the Saguaro Horsemen’s Association. She was an enthusiastic supporter of Tucson Centers for Women and Children and its successor, Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse. Memorials may be made to Planned Parenthood.

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Betty Ruth Goldstrom passed away on Sept. 8 at age 97. Services were held Sept. 14 at Bikhor Cholim (Oak Hill) Cemetery in Council Bluffs. She was preceded in death by husband, Bernard; parents, Morris and Regina Schlanger, four siblings; and daughter-in-law, Kathi Goldstrom. She is survived by three sons and daughters-in-law, Jerry Goldstrom and Rona Weiss, Mark Goldstrom and June Richards, and Larry and Carol Goldstrom, all of Omaha; grandchildren: Jeffrey and Donna Goldstrom, Stephanie Roger Edheimer, Bradley and Yesenia Goldstrom, Benjamin Goldstrom and Erica Paulsen-Goldstrom, Jory Goldstrom, and Nikolai Maly; and ten greatgrandchildren. She was loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Memorials may be made to The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, 333 So. 132nd St., Omaha NE 68154.

Bonnie Ann weinstein

Bonnie Ann Weinstein passed away on Oct. 4 at home in Apache Junction, AZ. The family marked her passing privately. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Harold Weinstein of Apache Junction, AZ; daughters and sons-in-law, Tammy and Scott Takao of Litchfield Park, AZ, and Stefanie and Scott Peloquin of Queen Creek, AZ, daughter, Natalie Weinstein of Austin, TX, and son, Jason Weinstein of Mesa, AZ; grandchildren: Jacob, Jordan, and Justin Peloquin of Queen Creek and Shoshana and Miriam Kaim of Austin; and siblings, Joan and Gary Roos of Worthington, MN, Darlene and Russ Wright of Rochester, MN, and Bill Rogers of Reading, MN. She and her family were members of Temple Israel in Omaha for three decades. Memorials may be made in her memory can be made to Banner Hospice, 275 E. Germann Road, Suite 110, Gilbert, Arizona, 85297.

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12 | The Jewish Press | October 13, 2017

worldnews

How a Norwegian-American immigrant helps calm Israelis’ nerves

ReNee GHeRt-ZAND JERUSALEM | JTA ike many Israelis, David Ross starts his morning with a strong cup of Turkish coffee with cardamom. But then the rest of his day is all about tea. Though his company, ShalvaTea, is technically a startup, Ross isn’t your typical Israeli entrepreneur. He’s originally Norwegian, once spent two years living in a yurt and practices outdoor survivalism for fun. He’s also a Yale graduate. His life changed as soon as he moved to Jerusalem in the summer of 2014. The day he arrived, Ross, then 32, met the woman who has been his girlfriend ever since, enrolled in a six-month Hebrew course and set right to launching his business -- sourcing ingredients, printing packaging and securing permits. Each of the six tea blends Ross uses represents a different ecological region of Israel, and the tea contains dried herbs indigenous to the Israeli landscape. Because he uses only local suppliers, from herb growers to packaging printers, his tea carries official Made in Israel certification. Ross also employs people with disabilities to package some of the product. “Selling herbs grown here is a way to give a pure taste of Israel,” Ross said. “I started my herbal tea company at a stressful time, following a war with Gaza. It was my way of trying to calm things down a bit.” Ross came up with the idea of making Zionist-inspired herbal tea during two extended visits to Israel to research the aftermath of the devastating 2010 Carmel Forest wildfire. The blaze destroyed over 12,000 acres and was Israel’s deadliest fire on record, responsible for 44 deaths. On his first trip, in the summer of 2011 while pursuing a master's degree in forestry at Yale, Ross measured the density of Carmel areas that did not burn as a means of gauging the forest’s overall health. He wrote a report recommending thinning the forest and letting the land naturally regenerate. A year later he returned to Israel on a Fulbright Scholarship to research market-based solutions to overforestation in the Carmel region. Each ShalvaTea blend is associated with the ecology of a different area of Israel. What Ross did discover during his time in northern Israel was many of the indigenous plants that would inspire him to create his

herbal tea company. training, Ross experimented for his tea with an array of Israeli herbs and The son of a Norwegian father and a Jewish-American mother, Ross plants. ShalvaTea's blends include herbs not commonly found in teas, has always been interested in nature. He was born in Oslo and moved to such as zaatar (hyssop), zootah (White Micromeria), olive leaf, sumac, Helsinki, Finland, as an infant, and spent plenty of time outdoors. The carob pod and cactus flower. Each blend is meant to reflect the distinct family moved to Bethesda, Maryland, when he was 6. flavor of a geographical region in Israel. For instance, in his Arava Calm, “I was always a very outdoorsy person. I got that from my Dad. He Ross only uses plants that grow in the Arava Desert of southern Israel. would always take my brother, sister and The teas are all caffeine free and kosher certime out into nature. It was just the Norwefied, and now can be bought overseas online at gian way,” Ross said. ShalvaTea’s website. He lived in a yurt for two years in Santa “Shalva” is the Hebrew word for tranquility, Barbara, California, while working for the and ShalvaTea in Hebrew means “my serenity.” American Red Cross, where he helped comThe tea blend names are also cute: Carmel Immunities do natural disaster preparedness muniTea, Arava Calm, Jerusalem Harmony, Ein and cope with recovery. More recently, Gedi Digestif, Cleansing Galil and Soothing Elah Ross completed a yearlong survival and Valley. wilderness skills course in Israel. For the On a recent afternoon, Ross stops by Shekel, culminating exercise, participants had to the community services center in Jerusalem survive in the wild for three days with nothwhere individuals with disabilities are packaging ing but the clothes on their backs. some of his tea products. Ross was inspired to He decided to make the move to Israel partner with Shekel by a cousin who has Down from New Haven, Connecticut, after feeling syndrome and works in a similar facility. a real calling and connection to Israel while Ross takes his tea very seriously. He’s adamant spending a year in the Jewish state, includthat his blends be produced exclusively with local ing six months on an ecological kibbutz in After moving from Maryland to Israel three ingredients – meaning, for example, no ginger or years ago, David Ross launched his locally cinnamon. But his girlfriend has convinced him the southern Negev Desert. By all accounts, Ross has had a very suc- sourced herbal tea made of dried herbs indige- to bend the rules a little and include cardamom Credit: Ross in his Jerusalem Harmony blend. cessful aliyah. On the day he made aliyah nous to the Holy Land. through Nefesh B’Nefesh, he met his girlfriend, Sarke Alon, after wan“Cardamom isn’t indigenous to the Jerusalem hills, but it’s been traded dering by chance into the café she owned in the souk at Mahane Yehuda. in the Holy City for centuries, so I agreed to give it a pass,” Ross said. He was in search of somewhere to watch the World Cup on TV, and she This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with Nefesh greeted him warmly. B’Nefesh, which in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah, The JewAfter settling in, Ross took a free online marketing course offered by ish Agency, KKL and JNF-USA is minimizing the professional, logistical Nefesh B’Nefesh, which in turn helped him secure a business loan from and social obstacles of aliyah, and has brought over 50,000 olim from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. North America and the United Kingdom over the last 15 years. This arAn amateur herbalist who learned about plants during his academic ticle was produced by JTA’s native content team.