October 18, 2019

Page 1

thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

this week

Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus Transformation Project Page a12

Artist feature: Benjamin Kushner Page B1

Visiting artist brings Jewish Pop Art to Omaha Page C1

inside Spotlight Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

A6 A8 A10 A11

WWW.JEWISHOMAHA.ORG

SPonSoRED By THE BEnJaMIn anD anna E. WIESMan FaMILy EnDoWMEnT FunD

Symposium on Jews and Gender

O CT O BER 1 8 , 2 0 1 9 | 1 2 T ISH REI 5 7 8 0 | V O L. 1 0 0 | NO . 2 | 3 SECT IO NS | C a nD LELI G H TI nG | FRID AY , O CT O BER 1 8 , 6 : 2 1 P. M.

T

LEonaRD GREEnSPoon Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization, Creighton University his year’s Symposium presenters come from as far away as Israel and as close as Omaha. They teach at a variety of academic institutions from large public universities to small liberal arts colleges. Some are graduate students; others senior professors. What brings them all together is their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the topic of this fall’s 32nd Annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization, Jews and Gender: Tradition and Change. This event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27, and Monday, Oct. 28. With three venues—University of Nebraska at Omaha on Sunday morning, the Jewish Community Center of Omaha Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus on Sunday afternoon and evening, and Creighton University on Monday morning and afternoon—there are ample opportunities for members of the Jewish community to hear and interact with scholars from throughout the world. (A complete program of Symposium activities will appear as an insert in next week’s Jewish Press.) Two of the presentations place primary emphasis on the Hebrew Bible and the ancient world. Jay Caballero, University of Texas at Austin, will speak about An Ironic, Subversively Feminist Reading of the Daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27 and 36. The biblical book of Numbers, in chapters 27 and 36, recounts the request by Zelophehad’s daughter to receive his inheritance, since he left no sons. In Caballero’s view, the priestly author of this material intended these two accounts as an ironic commentary on male leadership. Such an interpretation constitutes a new feminist reading. The title of the presentation by Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, William Jessup University, is The Heroines of Every Day Life: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. Schafer-Elliott begins by observing that the Hebrew Bible often ignores the average ancient Israelite woman. Her presentation illustrates how archaeology can provide a glimpse into the lives of such women. Moreover, she explores how learning about the physical reality of ancient Israelite women helps us to hear their voices within the biblical text. See Klutznick Symposium page a3

Telling the story

SHIRa aBRaHaM One thing was clear to me when I moved here eight years ago: everyone has a story of how they ended up in Omaha. People were - and are - so welcoming, and were eager to share

Roni Bar Iev

Lawrence Baron

Emmanuel Bloch

Matthew Brittingham

Jay Caballero

Mara Cohen Ioannides

Jeannette Gabriel

Joel Gereboff

David Guillota

Joseph Hodes

Hannah Kehat

Gail Labovitz

Susan Marks

Samantha Pickette

their story. Stories from “native” Omahans telling their history of tradesmen and butchers who established the Jewish Community, stories of David Rosenberg who sponsored so many people and saved them from the fate of the Holocaust, to Shirley Goldstein and how she made this community a beacon for Russian Jewry. I even found comfort in that first year, talking to many young families who had grown up or lived elsewhere but had found their way home to Omaha. It seemed that no matter where we were in our own journeys, the common thread we shared was that we all came here. See Telling the story page a2

Cynthia Shafer-Elliot Margaret Gurewitz-Smith

Bemis Center Artist-in-Residence Guy Goldstein

Guy Goldstein; Freigendank (Free Thinker), 2017; Multichannel sound and video installation; 20 custom made chairs, 20 radio sets; Dimensions variable Credit: Guy Goldstein cial support, technical/administrative asGaBBy BLaIR Staff Writer, Jewish Press sistance, and opportunities for intellecFor more than three decades, Bemis tual discourse about contemporary art Center for Contemporary Arts has prothrough free public programs, such as vided artists from around the world with panel discussions, lectures, and knowldedicated time, space, and resources to edge-sharing workshops. Nearly 900 conduct research and to create new work. artists have participated in Bemis resiAccording to Davina Schrier, Bemis dency programs.” Communications Director, Bemis Center One of this year’s newest fall resiis “frequently cited as one of the top indents is Tel Aviv based Artist and Musiternational residency programs, offering cian, Guy Goldstein. Goldstein is talking artists private live/work studios, finanSee Guy Goldstein page a4


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.