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in harmony O CT O BER 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 | 2 3 T ISH REI 5 7 7 8 | V O L. 9 8 | NO . 1 | C a nd leli g h ti ng | FRID AY , O CT O BER 6 , 6 : 2 8 P. M.
Kaplan Book Group investigates Invisible City Page 5
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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
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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