November 25, 2016 by Jewish Press

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Hanukkah Walk/Run

BReann LundBLad JCC Fitness Center Director he American Heart Association, Center for Disease Control, and the trainers at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) all recommend that you aim for 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise each week. Walking and running are among the most common and most basic ways to ac-

inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

complish this heart-healthy task. To help you out and keep you going during the winter months, the JCC is teaming up with B’nai B’rith, BBYO, and YJO to offer the 3rd Annual Hanukkah Walk/Run. The Hanukkah Walk/Run will be held on Dec. 4 at 8:30 a.m.; and new this year is an indoor family fun walk. Participants can register by contacting member services at See Hanukkah Walk/Run page 3

Mainstreeters plans delightful December doings

Open pulpit: A question of character page 12

9 10 11

Rabbi Weinrib at Beth Israel

Temple Israel’s adult game night at Spielbound page 5

Sing-along honors Florence Brody page 7

SponSoRed BY tHe BenJamin and anna e. WieSman FamiLY endoWment Fund

maggie conti RBJH Director of Activities and Outreach Programs December brings eight nights of Hanukkah. But for participants in Mainstreeters events, the entire month will be a festival of fun. Come join the activities. The days may be cold, but the atmosphere is always warm when you’re with friends. A Free Afternoon at the Movies: Race. Friday, Dec. 2, 1 p.m.in the JCC Theater. Complimentary popcorn, warm and delicious, will be served. No reservations necessary. Invite a pal. Race is based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest

track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and language, the running time is two hours and 14 minutes. If you would like to enjoy a Star Deli lunch in the Blumkin Home Auditorium before the movie, call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 to reserve a table. Lunch is on your own. The Star Deli opens for business at 11:30 a.m. Bill Chrastil in a Community Concert: Wednesday, Dec. 14 at

1:30 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium. No admission fee. Back by popular demand, Bill has been a full-time musician and entertainer since 1983. His highenergy performances are a salute to music legends Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Tom Jones and more. Bill holds the #1 spot on Branson’s Top 20 Artist Countdown. Come enjoy this award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist, entertainer, songwriter and producer! Bring a friend. Everyone is welcome. Join us for an ice cream social following the show. Sunday, Dec. 18, 2 p.m. in the Jewish Community Center Theater. See mainstreeters page 2

JoRdana KuRtzman for Beth Israel Synagogue The weekend of dec. 9-10, Beth Israel Synagogue will welcome its next Scholarin-Residence, Rabbi Yonah Weinrib. Rabbi Weinrib specializes in elaborate manuscript illumination, combining a wide array of art techniques and media to enhance his exacting calligraphy. An accomplished

Rabbi Yonah Weinrib

author as well as an artist and calligrapher, he has published volumes on many Jewish holiday and lifecycle events. Rabbi Weinrib’s manuscript illuminations, designs and writings contain a fascinating interplay of artistic imagery and profound research based on traditional texts and sources, creating a “visual midrash.” Rabbi Weinrib has exhibited and lectured internationally and has been commissioned to design presentation awards for numerous Jewish organizations, as well as heads of state, including the King of Jordan. His work is found in prestigious museums, galleries, and private collections around the world. Beth Israel’s Rabbi Ari Dembitzer has known Rabbi Weinrib for over ten years through their work with Camp Simcha in upstate New York and from when they both lived in Brooklyn. Rabbi Dembitzer describes Rabbi Weinrib’s Judaic art and music as interconnected. “He has a very deep soul and involves all of the senses in the connection to Judaism with a connection to G-d. He’s just awesome” shared Rabbi Dembitzer. Sherry and Jeff Taxman are chairing Rabbi Weinrib’s visit. “This will be a fascinating opportunity to hear Rabbi Weinrib share his thoughts on spirituality, Torah and art,” reports Sherry. “In learning more about his background and talent, we are truly looking forward to welcoming Rabbi Weinrib to Omaha.” The weekend begins on Friday, dec. 9 with services at 4:47 p.m., which will include a special Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat. Following the style of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, the service will feature the melodies Rabbi Carlebach composed for many prayers. Shabbat dinner begins at 6 p.m. following services. Dinner will include soup, Marbella Chicken, rice, vegetable, challah and dessert. The cost is $14 for adults, $7 for children ages 4-12 and free for those under 3. Reservations for Shabbat dinner are needed by dec. 5 and can be made by calling the Beth Israel See Rabbi Weinrib page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016

community

Tzedakah, Friedel style

Every year in November, Friedel students donate tzedakah money to purchase books for Jewish Family Service’s Project Dreidel. During Hanukkah, Jewish Family Service helps support families with children age 18 and under who need extra assistance to provide holiday gifts. Pictured here are the 1st and 2nd grade students at Friedel Jewish Academy who, as a class, raised over $50 toward the purchase of books.

Rabbi Weinrib

Continued from page 1 office at 402.556.6288, emailing bethisrael@orthodoxomaha.org, or through the synagogue website at www.orthodoxomaha.org. Following dinner, Rabbi Weinrib will speak about Letters of Eternity: Secrets of the Hebrew Alphabet. Shabbat services continue Saturday morning, Dec. 10, beginning with Shacharit at 9 a.m. Services will be followed by the December Simcha Kiddush. Immediately after kiddush, Rabbi Weinrib will speak on Visual Perceptions/Spiritual Reality. The Scholar-in-Residence

events conclude on Saturday night with a Musical Havdalah in the Jewish Community Center Gallery, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Dembitzer is looking forward to a great evening of song and inspiration, commenting that he and Rabbi Weinrib will be singing together. Rabbi Weinrib’s artwork will be on display and available for purchase throughout the evening. He will also speak briefly on his work. To preview Rabbi Weinrib’s work, visit www.judaicailluminations.com. All events are open to the community. For additional information, please call 402.556.6288.

No. 5 enjoy House of Style

cod. Both entrees come with Matzoh ball soup, potato Latkes, seasoned mixed vegetables, challah and Hanukkah cookies for dessert with a beverage of your choice. Cost is $10 a plate. Make checks payable to Jewish Social Services and send full payment to: Mainstreeters c/o Maggie Conti, Continued from page 1 323 So. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. The JCC Musical: A Kidsummer Night’s Reservations are appreciated by Monday, Dream. A Kidsummer Night’s Dream, a mu- Dec. 12. sical adaptation of Shakespeare’s A MidHanukkah Tea: Wednesday, Dec. 28, summer Night’s Dream, is a marvelous 1:45 p.m. in the Silverman Auditorium at musical that explodes in a joyous celebrathe Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. No tion of Shakespeare’s classic charge. As the song says, “Oh comedy. Kidsummer is full of Hanukkah, oh, Hanukkah, mischief and mayhem, miscome light the menorah. Let’s understandings and magic have a party; we’ll all dance the potion mix-ups, as kings and hora.” Anna Mosenkis at the queens, humble workers and piano will provide the musical fairies all chase their dreams. inspiration for this joyous This show is simply... Hanukkah sing-along. Join us MAGIC! There will be no asfor an ice cream social followsigned seating, so come early ing the performance. Everyone John Worsham to get the best seat. Cost: $5 is invited, so bring a friend. If per person, a saving of 50% to Mainyou have questions, call Maggie Conti at streeters. This special discount is spon402.334.6521. sored in part by the Ruth Riekes Richards It’s Communications Fee Time: 2017 is Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha shaping up to be an exciting year with Foundation. Deadline for reservations is luncheons, movies, trips, great speakers, Monday, Dec. 12 (no reservations will be classes and more. This year’s Communicaaccepted after Dec. 12). Pick up your ticktion Fee -- $5 per person or $10 per couple ets the day of the show at Will Call. Make -- is good from Jan to Dec. 2017. Please check payable to Jewish Social Services and make your check payable to Jewish Social send reservation with full payment to: Jew- Services and mail to Mainstreeters c/o Dr. ish Social Services, c/o Maggie Conti, 323 Jim Wax, 1103 No. 93rd Street, #350, S. 132nd Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For Omaha, NE 68114. questions call Maggie at 402.334.6521 Mainstreeters welcomes all Jewish resiMonday, Dec. 19. Hanukkah Lunch and dents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. The music by John Worsham. 12:30 p.m. in group offers a mixed bag of learning opthe Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditoportunities plus social and cultural events. rium. Join us for a Hanukkah Celebration There are no membership dues, but we with a performance of Legends of the very much appreciate everyone who helps Golden Oldies - Frank Sinatra, Tony Benus offset Mainstreeters’ communication nett, Nat King Cole and more. For your en- costs for printing, postage, and mailing. trees, select beef brisket or panko crusted Thanks in advance for your support.

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Home Technology Tutor

Rabbi Abraham participates in Interfaith Families and Jewish Engagement program Ozzie NOGG his past August, Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue went back to school, albeit virtually. “Over the summer I read about a new online MA and Certificate program at Hebrew College on the topic of Interfaith Families and Jewish Engagement - IFJE - and was immediately interested in learning more,” Abraham explained. “While the rabbinate does not require continuing education credits, they are a ‘must’ if you want to keep up with the most recent data, trends and innovative programming across the Jewish world.” The director of the IFJE Rabbi Steven Abraham program at Hebrew College is Dr. Keren McGinity, an expert in the field of interfaith engagement and author of Still Jewish and Marrying Out. The course curriculum, which McGinity created in collaboration with Michael Shire, Dean of the Shoolman Graduate School, focuses on how intermarriage and conversion have changed over Jewish history; what rabbinic texts can teach us and how branches of Judaism have responded: the ways in which case studies of intermarried Jews and their loved ones can be used to debunk popular culture and stereotypes; and the skills needed for clergy, educators, community leaders and outreach practitioners to best support the growing population of interfaith families, engaging them in Jewish life. Dr. McGinity created the Ten Principles of the IFJE program that inform all the courses. One of these principles concludes that ‘Interfaith’ is understood to have multiple meanings and interpretations. Some families include Jews and people of other faiths; some families are composed of Jews and extended families of other faiths; and some include Jews and people without any religious faith. “Dr. McGinity speaks eloquently about how intermarriage affects families differently, depending on which spouse is Jewish, whether it be the husband or the wife,” Rabbi Abraham continued. “Put aside for the moment the question of matrilineal descent. Dr. McGinity’s argument, which I have witnessed first hand, is that if a Jewish man calls me and asks if I will officiate at his wedding to a non-Jewish woman and I - per the Rabbinical Assembly standard - say no, odds are the husband will become upset and say forget about it. On the other hand, if the soon-to-be wife of a Jewish man calls and asks if I can do the wedding and I decline, her reaction is quite different. She will not walk away, but ask if I know of someone who can perform the service. She will look for other options. This may seem like a subtle difference, but it was not until Dr. McGinity began her research that anyone had looked into how gender played a role in interfaith families.” Dr. McGinity’s findings highlight the fact that intermarried fathers raising Jewish children need communal support to become more involved parents.

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Because of this data on gender, Beth El plans to run a program called Raising Jewish Children -- a class geared specifically for dads. “We’ll gather at different participants’ homes each week to chat about the commonality of raising Jewish children, whether the dads themselves are Jewish or not,” Rabbi Abraham said. “Jewish texts have a wealth of wisdom to teach us about intermarriage, as well as a sea of controversy over how best to address this social reality and interact with interfaith families. Data on such topics as intermarriage and conversion allows Beth El to make effective and impactful decisions about programing, instead of simply throwing ideas up Dr. Keren McGinity against the wall to see what sticks. I want to use what I learn in the IFJE program to work towards changing the conversation -- to show that, Beth El welcomes interfaith families and that we are creating a synagogue built for the Jewish family of 2020. Families where both parents are Jewish, interfaith, multi-ethnic. I’m so thankful to Hebrew College for developing a certificate program that delves into the current landscape of American Jewry. To not understand the history of intermarriage and conversion in the United States, is to not understand the Jews that make up our congregations in 2016.” Rabbi Abraham’s participation in the Interfaith Families Jewish Engagement program -- where he was accepted as a Fellow -- was funded through generous support from the Crown Family and the Sy Syms Foundation.

Hanukkah Walk/Run

Continued from page 1 the JCC. All who register (young and old alike) by Nov. 23 will receive a t-shirt. The cost for the event is just $10 per runner or $30 for the entire family. Following the walk/run, the JCC staff will host a kosher breakfast in the canteen area at the J. Participants will have the option to register for the onemile family fun walk to be held on our new indoor track (strollers are welcome) or a 2, 4 and 6-mile outdoor run. These runs are not a race, but a fun run for all to enjoy. Hanukkah Walk/Run Details Sunday, Dec. 4, check-in begins at 8 a.m. with the walk/runs beginning at 8:30 a.m. Check-in and the outdoor run starting and ending points will be at the upstairs Canteen entrance of the J. In the event of bad weather, the walk/run will be held on the indoor track and the family walk moved to the gym. Registration will be taken up until the start of the event, but to receive the t-shirt you must register by Nov. 23. Contact Breann Lundblad, JCC Fitness Director, at 402.334.6580 or blundblad@jccomaha.org for more details. Breakfast will be served from 8:45-10 a.m. in the canteen area. This year we will be serving bagels, fruit, juice, coffee, water, and mini egg cups (all kosher). So, grab your friends and family, lace up your shoes and join the JCC staff for a little heart-healthy cardio and a social breakfast!

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FriDAy, NovEmbEr 25 YJO NU/Iowa Football Game, 9 a.m. Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m at RBJH Beth El Serves Lunch at NE AIDS Coalition, 11:30 a.m., 2723 Q Street SAturDAy, NovEmbEr 26 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El

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All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Pat Anson at 402.334.8200. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the events.

North Park (117th & Blondo) M-Th: 11-9:30 • Fri & Sat. 11-10:30 • Sun. Noon-9:30

SuNDAy, NovEmbEr 27 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Musical Theater Rehearsal, 3 p.m. moNDAy, NovEmbEr 28 Federation Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH

tuESDAy, NovEmbEr 29 Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life with Rabbi Abraham, Noon at Whole Foods Yachad Personal Training with Steve, 5:30 p.m. Young Jewish Giving - High School Education Event, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAy, NovEmbEr 30 Breadbreakers, Noon at RBJH Religious School, 4 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew School, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El Adult Education Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El thurSDAy, DECEmbEr 1 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Planning and Community Engagement, 4 p.m. at RBJH

FriDAy, DECEmbEr 2 UNO Teacher Training, 8 a.m. Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Mainstreeters Movie, 1 p.m. Scholar-in-Residence, Chef Laura Frankel, 6 p.m. at Beth El First Friday Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SAturDAy, DECEmbEr 3 Temple Tots Shabbat, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Shabbat’s Cool, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Scholar-in-Residence, Chef Laura Frankel, 1 p.m. at Beth El Temple Israel Adult Game Night, 7 p.m. at Spielbound

SuNDAy, DECEmbEr 4 BESTT Sunday School, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Religious School, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Scholar-in-Residence Chef Laura Frankel, 11 a.m. at Beth El OTYG Meeting, Noon at Temple Israel BESTT Kibbutz Chaverim, 12:15 p.m. at Beth El BBYO, 12:30 p.m. Musical Theater Rehearsal, 3 p.m. Panel Discussion on technology in elementary education, 7 p.m. at FJA moNDAy, DECEmbEr 5 Exploring Judaism Class, 7 p.m.

tuESDAy, DECEmbEr 6 Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life with Rabbi Abraham, Noon at Whole Foods

WEDNESDAy, DECEmbEr 7 Breadbreakers, Noon at RBJH Rabbis & Presidents, Noon at RBJH Monthly Kids Learning Chabura, 3:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Religious School, 4 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew School, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Hebrew High Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El Musical Theater Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. Adult Education Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El thurSDAy, DECEmbEr 8 ADL Educator Speaker Series, 7:30 a.m. Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FriDAy, DECEmbEr 9 Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m at RBJH Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Shabbat Services, 7:30 p.m. at B’nai Israel-Council Bluffs

SAturDAy, DECEmbEr 10 Temple Israel OTYG Lock in Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Kids Night Out, 5:30 p.m.

SuNDAy, DECEmbEr 11 Babies, Bigger Kids ‘n Bagels, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Synagogue BESTT Sunday School, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Book Club, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Religious School, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Temple Tots Sunday, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel 31st Annual B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz, 1:30 p.m. Bellevue Artist Association Reception, 2 p.m. Musical Theater Rehearsal, 3 p.m.

moNDAy, DECEmbEr 12 Jewish Press Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Exploring Judaism Class, 7 p.m. FJA Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m. at FJA

tuESDAy, DECEmbEr 13 ADL Board Meeting, Noon Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life with Rabbi Abraham, Noon at Whole Foods WEDNESDAy, DECEmbEr 14 Breadbreakers, Noon at RBJH Religious School, 4 p.m. at Temple Israel Musical Theater Tech Rehearsal 4-9 p.m. BESTT Hebrew School, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El Adult Education Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El thurSDAy, DECEmbEr 15 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Musical Theater Dress Rehearsal 4-9 p.m. Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel

FriDAy, DECEmbEr 16 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Beth El Our Shabbat Tables, 6 p.m. SAturDAy, DECEmbEr 17 Musical Theater Performance 7 p.m. Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El

SuNDAy, DECEmbEr 18 Yachad Hanukkah Party Musical Theater Performance, 2 p.m. BESTT Sunday School, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Religious School, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El TED Talk, 11 a.m. at Temple Israel OTYG Meeting, Noon at Temple Israel

moNDAy, DECEmbEr 19 Mainstreeters Lunch, 11 a.m at RBJH ADL Meeting, Noon Hanukkah Extravaganza Kids Campaign, 5 p.m. Exploring Judaism Class, 7 p.m.

tuESDAy, DECEmbEr 20 Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life with Rabbi Abraham, Noon at Whole Foods Annual Hanukkah Play and Reception, 6:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel WEDNESDAy, DECEmbEr 21 Breadbreakers, Noon at RBJH BESTT Hebrew School, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Ethics and Values-A Jewish Guide to Life, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El Musical Theater Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El thurSDAy, DECEmbEr 22 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel

FriDAy, DECEmbEr 23 Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m at RBJH Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH

SAturDAy, DECEmbEr 24 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El SuNDAy, DECEmbEr 25 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Chinese and Movie, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel Temple Israel Serve Dinner at Stephen Center, 5 p.m.

tuESDAy, DECEmbEr 27 JSS Board, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH

WEDNESDAy, DECEmbEr 28 Breadbreakers, Noon at RBJH Musical Theater Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. thurSDAy, DECEmbEr 29 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel

FriDAy, DECEmbEr 30 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Hanukkah Service and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel

SAturDAy, DECEmbEr 31 Temple Tots Shabbat, 9 a.m at Temple Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Kids Night Out, 5:30 p.m. Temple Israel TiYPE Program, 7 p.m.

Your insurance and The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home

SheLLy Fox, MSW, cSW Director of Admissions and Community Outreach, Jewish Social Services “Mipnei Seivah Takem – You shall rise and show respect to the aged.” These are the words that guide our work every day at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home (RBJH) and through Jewish Senior Outreach. We are dedicated to being responsive to and meeting the needs of our Jewish Community. For some, the Blumkin Home is a temporary home where they come for short-term rehabilitation ranging from a few weeks to a few months (depending on their need) or respite care to provide a caregiver a needed break. Others make RBJH their long-term home. For our short term Residents, the therapy suite is a pleasant, lightfilled space that offers a full range of rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapies. Using a holistic approach, the team works together to achieve maximum results with the goal of making it possible for the Resident to return home and safely perform daily tasks and activities. A rehabilitation stay is most often covered by Medicare A. However, we have found that some people have, instead opted out of classic Medicare and have chosen to partake in a Medicare Advantage plan instead of Medicare A for their insurance coverage. Although RBJH is out of network for all Medicare Advantage plans at this time, in order to meet the needs of our community members we will put forth full effort to work with insurance companies to request an exception -- allowing coverage for a rehabilitative stay in order to meet our community members’ religious, spiritual and/or cultural needs. to our community members: Please do not assume that you do not have insurance benefits that will cover your care at the Rose Blumkin Home. If you need us, please make contact and allow us to do our very best to help. RBJH is not your typical skilled nursing facility. Come see it for yourself. If you would like to tour RBJH or have any questions about the facility, please feel free to contact Erika Lucoff, Admissions Coordinator, at 402.334.6529 or elucoff@rbjh.com.

The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016 | 5

community

Temple Israel’s game night for adults at Spielbound

Scott Littky through designing board Program Director, Temple Israel games; to promote and rehe second annual ward positive gamesmanship game night for and to spread joy and critical adults will be held thinking through increased this year at Spielgame playing by all. Anyone bound Board who has visited Spielbound Game Café. Located at 3229 will tell you that they have exHarney St, Spielbound is a ceeded their goals and that café that strives to educate, Spielbound is a must-visit engage, and create commuplace in Omaha. nity through board games. On their Facebook page, Their library has over 1500 reviews have also been very donated games that people favorable. The first reviewer can play. Further, as a part of wrote, “Very friendly atmostheir mission, they provide phere! Great unique games resources to teachers, seniors and beverages!” Another and others about the benefits wrote, “as a ‘first timer’ – of board game play and de(Spielbound was a) very comsign and sponsor-related profortable place. I felt very welgrams and charity events come and was impressed by regularly; but most importhe size and attitude of the tantly, Spielbound is a fun clientele.” Finally, “If you like place to play old and new games, you will LOVE this games and to visit with place, and if you think you friends. Last year’s game don’t like games, they will night was so successful that find you one to prove you we have reserved two rooms wrong. A very helpful, at Spielbound this year. friendly staff.” From last year’s game night Since its opening, SpielCost for the evening is $5 bound’s goals have been to collect and maintain a comprewhich includes your admission to play board games. Food hensive collection of board games from around the world; and drink at the café are extra. Temple Israel will be using a to provide a comfortable space for the community to come private room at Spielbound, so please RSVP to Program Ditogether and play board games; to encourage creativity rector, Scott Littky at slittky @templeisraelomaha.com.

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OTYG Chavurah

6 | The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016

community

Get ready for Hanukkah extravaganza!

how our Jewish Federation helps our community.” anneTTe van de kamP here is no better way to welcome the festival of Jamie’s daughter Ainsley said: "I'm glad that I get to give lights than to join the Jewish Federation of back to the community and I'm excited to be with my Omaha, the Jewish Community Center and friends and have fun." Friedel Jewish Academy during the Kids’ Camere is no cost to attend, and RSVPs are not necessary. paign Hanukkah Extravaganza. Mark the date in During the celebration, which comes with all the bells and your calendar: Monday, whistles, you might get Dec. 19, from 5 to 7 hungry. In that case, you p.m., the front entrance can purchase latkes at of the Jewish Community Friedel’s annual latke Center welcomes kids sale, FJA Head of School from the entire commuBeth Cohen said. nity to celebrate “Kids’ meals are only $5 Hanukkah and Tzedakah. and include two latkes PJ Library is participatwith applesauce and sour ing, and will provide cream, two donut holes Hanukkah story tellers in and a juice box,” she the Kripke Library. ere added. Adult meals will will be dreidel games, have three latkes; a bottle cras, a jumpy castle and of water replaces the balloon animals as well juice box. To-go orders as face painting. are $15 for ten latkes, apaiden, left, Troy, audrey, Jamie and ainsley meyerson Jamie Meyerson, who plesauce and sour cream is one of the co-Chairs of the event, is ready: included. Donuts are for sale as well. Pre-orders are appreci“is event is an exciting and fun way for kids to learn ated, and can be placed by contacting friedelacademy@ the importance of giving back to the community and helpaomaha.com by Dec. 14 at the latest. ing those in need. We light the candles at home as a family e 2017 Kids’ Campaign Chairs are Stephanie, Matthew, but we are still part of something so much bigger.” Shalom, Judah and Eliana Beneda; Crystal, Aryeh, Nina and Part of that “something bigger” is, of course, the Kids’ Josie Epstein; Lisa, Chuck, Makayla and Kori Lucoﬀ; Jamie, Campaign itself. If your child does not yet have the oﬃcial Troy, Ainsley, Aiden and Audrey Meyerson; Melissa, Matt, Kids’ Campaign 2017 Tzedakah box, you can pick one up at Joshua, Evan and Lea Shapiro and Sonia, Alan, Adria and the JCC front desk as well as membership services, or at any Asher Tipp. of the three synagogues and the Chabad House. For more information, please email Louri Sullivan at lsul“We are teaching kids and families about the community livan@jewishomaha.org or contact any of the Kids’ Camand how they can play a role in supporting the Jewish World,” paign Chairs. JFO CEO Alan Potash said. “e Hanukah Extravaganza is a great way to accomplish both: to have fun and learn about To submiT announcemenTs

organizations

b’nai b’riTH breadbreakers

speaker to be announced for Wednesday, nov. 30, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press at jpress@jewish omaha.org; or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Readers can also submit announcements -- births, b’nai mitzvahs, engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.

Western fall chavurah in overland Park, ks, was held the weekend of nov. 11 and attended by oTyG members - elijah marburg, kassandra kizlin, alex kraft, ben brodkey and brooklyn armstrong.

NCJW denounces Bannon appointment

nancy kaufman The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) today strongly criticized the appointment of Stephen Bannon as the chief strategist in the Trump White House. NCJW CEO Nancy K. Kaufman released the following statement: “NCJW is utterly appalled by President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Stephen Bannon as chief strategist in his administration. As former chairman of the ‘alt-right’ web outlet Breitbart News, Bannon has made his white-supremacist, racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim views widely known. Upon joining the Trump campaign, Bannon roused a large portion of Trump’s base with a hateful mix of conspiracy theories, bigotry, misogyny, racism, and homophobia. “If President-elect Trump truly wants to bring together his supporters with the majority of the country that voted against him -- by a margin that is nearing two million people, Bannon and his ilk must be barred from his administration. This appointment requires no Senate confirmation. It is up to the president-elect to show leadership for all Americans by reversing this dreadful decision immediately.” The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. More information on Facebook and on Twitter at @NCJW.

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The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016 | 7

Sing-along honors Florence Brody

Jan once entertained the residents with her JoAniE BErnStEin favorite song, Ragtime Cowboy Joe. She Florence Brody symbolized the true compiled a book of country songs including meaning of the word volunteer. The Rose those by Hank Blumkin Jewish Williams and other Home chose to well-known artists. honor her dedication She was always at the sing-a-long on ready for fun! Nov. 8 with her Dressing in cosdaughter Jan Goldtumes for a Love stein in attendance. Boat skit, Purim or My first memory County Fair was one of Florence was of her greatest joys. when she and Lorrie She shared that joy Bernstein chaired a with RBJH for over fundraiser starring 30 years. Shecky Greene at the Florence Brody Orpheum theater. Stan Widman and Florence at a sing-along will be missed. Her Gene Brandt was the beauty - inside and out - kindness and care administrator and really didn’t approve of for others will always be seen as a wonderful Shecky’s brand of humor. example for all to follow. Florence loved country music. She and

Changes at LOVE

LES KAY Mazel tov to Linda Cogen on her new position at Jewish Family Services. Linda was the go-to person to purchase LOVE tribute cards. Need to send a LOVE card to someone in honor of something they have done or a sympathy card but don’t know how or whom to contact? Well; worry no more. All you have to do is call Eileen Remer at 402.397.2349. There are three card price points, $5, $10 and $18. So now you know how, just call Eileen. It’s that easy! L.O.V.E. is a 501c3 public charity whose sole purpose is to “serve the residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.” Thank you for your support.

Abraham Foxman withdraws from ZOA dinner NEW YORK | JTA Abraham Foxman, the former longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he will not be attending a Zionist Organization of America dinner. Foxman had planned to attend the dinner, which will feature a speech by Stephen Bannon, a senior adviser to Donald Trump, whose appointment has stirred controversy. Foxman said in a statement that he would not be going to the gala, a decision he said came aer the ZOA publicized the former ADL leader’s intention to attend. “ZOA manipulated and abused my trust when they announced my decision to attend without my permission because they have politicized this event,” the statement said. “My intention was solely to be in atten-

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dance to honor Bernie Marcus, and not to make any political statement.” Bannon has come under fire from a number of Jewish groups, including the ADL, which for years was nearly synonymous with Foxman’s name. Recently, ZOA President Mort Klein accused Foxman of lying in his statement. ZOA has attacked ADL a number of times in recent years for its stance on laws prohibiting Israel boycotts and over accusations that ADL supports the Black Lives Matter movement, parts of which have endorsed an Israel boycott. e ADL last week decried Trump’s appointment of Bannon as a top White House adviser, saying Bannon’s association with “unabashed anti-Semites and racists” is disqualifying.

8 | The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016

What itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like being a Jewish family who lives in Montana

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Francine Green roston strengthen those who are hesitant to speak Kveller via JTA out. I hope that every teenager and adult My family is not unfamiliar with being vig- who is able will see the movie and share its ilant. We are always aware that we live in a lessons with friends and family. country in which we are a minority as Jews -Aî&#x201A;?er the surprising results of this presiespecially where we live, in Whitefish, Mondential election, we are all opening our eyes tana. We are always listening to voices in the to a new reality. î ˘e future will be moving classroom, the news and on the streets. in a diďŹ&#x20AC;erent direction than some of us had Our family moved from New Jersey for a change in lifestyle and surroundings. We welcomed the opportunity for our kids to learn how to maintain their Jewish identity when they are not surrounded by Jews. I enjoy being a part-time rabbi focused on outreach and engaging Jews in meaningful gatherings and learning. I am also a rabbi in a town that is home to one of the leaders of the Whitefish, Montana alt-right movement and Credit: Royalbroil via wikimedia commons white nationalism, and a county that brought a man to trial for hoped. We also realize that our understandtweeting threats to put two bullets in the ing of the past was not necessarily as clear head of a rabbi and shoot up a school. as we thought. î ˘ere were voices and stories Every day we are learning how to speak out there that were not being heard by the up and face down hatred. Last year, my sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other side. î ˘is is still happening, and it middle school learned what happened on must stop if we are ever going to truly be April 20 -- Hitlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday. î ˘e sevenththe United States of America. grade boys sang â&#x20AC;&#x153;Happy Birthdayâ&#x20AC;? to Hitler What I do know about the future is that I during lunchtime. We learned from my son will continue to speak out and encourage that the song leaders had been making anti- my children to do the same. If you hear Semitic comments and telling â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holocaust something hateful, say something. Not jokesâ&#x20AC;? in my sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence. something angry. Something that questions, My son is one of four Jewish-identified challenges respectfully, and something that kids in his school. While the principal imbegins dialogue. Like my daughter asked: mediately disciplined the students who â&#x20AC;&#x153;What makes you say that?â&#x20AC;?; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why do you sang, I met with the principal to make it think that?â&#x20AC;? And if our children are unable clear how we interpreted these incidents. to say something in the moment, they must î ˘is was not merely bullying. When a group be encouraged to tell a trusted guidance of students tells another that his community counselor, teacher and their parents. My should have been wiped out in the Holoson could continue going to school because caust, that is terrorizing. he felt the strong support of his principal, Last year, my daughter had to defend the teachers and classmates. veracity of the Holocaust to a classmate. In Teenagers do not like to be singled out. their AP European history class, a student î ˘ey do not like to report inappropriate besaid the Holocaust wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really that bad, havior or speech to adults because they do the Jews had just blown it out of proportion not want to continue to be singled out. It is for sympathy. up to us to instill in our teenagers that Rather than unleash her teenage-girl speaking out is their duty as a citizen. If power, my daughter patiently asked her felsomeone is speaking hateful words, terrorlow student why he thought this. What led izing a minority or oppressing an â&#x20AC;&#x153;other,â&#x20AC;? we him to this conclusion? In the back of her cannot allow it. If we want to live in healthy mind she imagined that he could not have communities that represent the best of our arrived at this conclusion by himself. She democracy, we must speak up and open up refuted his statements calmly and put her conversations as much as possible. faith in her teachers to help this student Now is not the time to retreat. Now is not learn the truth. the time to withdraw to insular communiWhen we hear something, we must say ties. Now is the time to listen to our neighsomething. If our children are unable to say bors. Now is the time to hold each other something to the speaker, then we must accountable. Now is the time to make sure consistently remind them that they can say that our communities will be led and filled something to us. My son had not told us with people who respect each other and about the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holocaust jokesâ&#x20AC;? because he did- care for each other. nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to repeat them and he said â&#x20AC;&#x153;I could Francine Green Roston lives in Whitehandle it.â&#x20AC;? We told him that he never has to fish, Montana, with her family and is a cohandle such things. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holocaustâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;jokeâ&#x20AC;? founder and rabbi of Glacier Jewish should never go together. One â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holocaust Community/B'nai Shalom. She previously jokeâ&#x20AC;? is one too many. served congregations in New Jersey for 16 î ˘e movie Denial is showing around the years and was the first Conservative country and I am advocating for it to be woman rabbi to serve a congregation shown in our neighborhood. It is the story larger than 500 member units. of Deborah Lipstadt, who spoke out and Kveller is a thriving community of fought in Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s courts and the world women and parents who convene online to press against all those who would deny the share, celebrate and commiserate their exHolocaust. We not only need to refute periences of raising kids through a Jewish Holocaust deniers; we also need to lens.Visit Kveller.com.

The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016 | 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 thierry ndjike Accounting Jewish press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Sandy Friedman, Treasurer; Andrew Boehm; Paul Gerber; Alex Grossman; Jill Idelman; Mike Kaufman; David Kotok; Debbie Kricsfeld; Abby Kutler; Pam Monsky; Paul Rabinovitz 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@jewish omaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha. org.

Letters to the editor guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@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

The elephant in the room

Annette vAn de KAMp-WrIgHt Editor of the Jewish Press ast week, I spent several days in Washington DC. Thanks to the generosity of the Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Supporting Foundation, I was able to attend both the Jewish Federation’s General Assembly and the annual conference of the American Jewish Press Association. Being in DC, so close after the Presidential election was interesting, to say the least. Being there with other Jewish journalists made it even more fascinating. Let’s address the elephant in the room: America elected a President who was not the first choice of the majority of Jews. It did so against a changing landscape, where trust in traditional media was at an all time low, and social media spread a massive amount of questionable news faster that you can say: “check your sources.” Add to that the dominance of click bait. The more lurid the headline, the faster people will click and share, after which it spreads like a virus. When people have the choice between a headline about sexual assault by a candidate or potential jail time, versus a neatly laid out list of policy points, they will avoid the policy story nine out of ten times. On social media, it has become fashionable to loudly complain about hidden mainstream media bias, while spreading stories that are embracing that bias without apology. To make matters even worse, we have to take into consideration the President Elect’s campaign promise to tighten libel laws. So where does that leave us, and what questions should we be asking?

“Our readers are a community,” one of our presenters said. True, but when it comes to post-election coverage, we cannot assume that community is made up of likeminded individuals. So we must tread lightly and try our best to be inclusive and not offend anyone, especially when those who

voted for our next President are in the minority. For Jewish newspapers in particular, this poses a whole new set of problems. And we thought we’d seen the worst with the financial crisis, when making ends meet was our biggest hurdle. Now, the matter of survival has taken on an entirely different tone, and we face different threats. There are two schools of thought. On the one hand, we should wait and see. The sky isn’t falling, yet. On the other hand, there are signs the free press is in deep trouble.

Whichever side of the debate any newspaper falls, we still must ask ourselves: what is our next step? Do we discuss Steve Bannon? Do we pluck apart the Breitbart effect? Do we take a hard look at why the Anti Defamation League is receiving so much criticism? Should we be worried? Because one of the problems we’ve all had during this election cycle is that, no matter who you are, no matter how big or small your media outlet is, for a member of the media criticism is a given. So, if we decide to take a stand, it means we are biased. If we print the truth, but it’s an unpopular truth, we are biased. If we avoid the whole ugly mess, we show bias -- and maybe even cowardice. If we notice and print the warning signs, we are not only biased but alarmist as well. The myth of unbiased reporting stubbornly continues to exist, but show me truly unbiased reporting, and I’ll have a bridge to sell you. The conference wasn’t all doom and gloom. We had the privilege of seeing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Natan Sharansky. We visited Ira Forman at the State Department and he gave us almost an hour and a half of his time. Most of all, we spent time together, which is a pleasant luxury when you’re the editor of a Jewish newspaper. It also always reminds me that, no matter how dire things can get, I have a micro-community out there, made up of people just like me. People to rely on, to source for solutions, to kick problems with until we figure this out. Because figure this out we must, now more than ever. But I won’t lie: this election has been hard on all of us. Being impartial is something to always aim for, but it doesn’t outweigh our responsibility to report the truth.

Jews and Muslims ramp up alliances in wake of election Ben SALeS JTA For years, whenever Jews and Muslims engaged in dialogue and activism, it usually concerned one issue: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency, that appears to be changing. Regardless of what’s happening across the ocean, Jews and Muslims in the United States are joining together to fight for shared domestic concerns. “It is a perhaps growing recognition that [the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] cannot define how American Jews and American Muslims relate to one another,” said Rabbi David Fox Sandmel, the Anti-Defamation League’s director of interreligious engagement. “The shared concerns we have about prejudice, about bias, about threats of violence, about disenfranchisement -- these are the kinds of things that can bring us together.” Last week, the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America launched the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, a group of religious and business leaders from both communities who will help draft domestic policy legislation and advocate on issues of shared concern. The ADL is planning to increase its efforts to provide support for legal and legislative efforts in the fight against anti-Muslim bigotry. And the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative, which educates young Muslim leaders about Judaism and Israel, held a retreat titled “Living in Trump’s America: Muslim Vulnerability and Jewish Echoes.” “What’s happened as a result of the poisonous atmosphere that Trump has created is that American Muslims are desperate for allies,” said Yossi Klein Halevi, the Muslim Leadership Initiative’s co-director. “And the argument that MLI has made to the Muslim community -which is that the Jews are, at least in theory, nat-

ural allies for embattled Muslims -- now has become compelling.” Both Jewish and Muslim groups have expressed worry about Trump’s rhetoric, and his supporters’ actions, over the course of the presidential campaign. Muslims have protested

Yossi Klein Halevi, left, and Abdullah Antepli are codirectors of the Muslim Leadership Initiative. Credit: Netanel Tobias/Shalom Hartman Institute Trump’s 2015 call for a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States, as well as his insinuations that Muslims celebrated the 9/11 attacks and have withheld information from law enforcement about terrorism. Anti-Muslim attacks rose during his campaign, and a string of attacks has followed his election. And while Trump has not explicitly targeted Jews, Jewish groups raised alarm over his endorsements by white nationalists and online attacks on Jews by his supporters, along with his remarks late in the campaign that echoed antiSemitic tropes. Jewish groups have protested his naming Stephen Bannon, a white nationalist, as his chief strategist. In addition, the ADL decried “a wave of anti-Semitic vandalism” following the election. In the past, differing stances and sensitivities

regarding Islamic extremism or Israeli military action drove groups apart. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he hopes Jewish groups will be more willing to work with his organization following Trump’s election. Jewish groups, including the ADL, have resisted working with CAIR due to its anti-Israel stances. “It’s always been our position that we’re open to shared and cooperative action with the Jewish community,” Hooper said. "It doesn’t really take Donald Trump to spur that. I think it’s created an urgent need for mutual cooperation between all like-minded organizations and communities.” The newly formed Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, which has 31 members from both communities, formed shortly before Trump was elected last week. The council will focus on protecting the right to wear religious head coverings, prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, recording hate crimes, and advocating for immigrants and refugees, according to Robert Silverman, the American Jewish Committee's director of Muslim-Jewish relations. Jewish activists who have long championed Jewish-Muslim collaboration believe their community is finally coming around. Rabbi Marc Schneier, co-founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which brings together leaders from the two religions, says he hopes Jews will come to the defense of Muslims if Trump follows through on his proposals to ban Muslims from entering the country, or to create a registry of American Muslims. “We have the obstacle of greater Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric,” Schneier said. “The opportunity is that this is another test for the American Jewish community. Will it step up to the plate, and will it perform as it has done in the past?”

10 | The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016

synagogues b’nai iSrael Synagogue

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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

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Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244

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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

Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Donna Walter, Education Coordinator, Institute for Holocaust Education on My Journey with Holocaust Education. 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: 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: Synagogue Office Closed for Thanksgiving Break; Morning Service, 9 a.m.; Lunch at Nebraska AIDS Coalition, 11:30 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SaTurday: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:45 p.m. weekday ServiceS: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. Sunday: No BESTT Classes; No Torah Study wedneSday: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; BESTT Meet the Teachers Night, 6 p.m.; Rabbi Abraham’s Ethics & Values -- A Jewish Guide to Life’s Most Difficult Questions, 6:15 p.m.; BESTT Hebrew High Classes, 6:45 p.m. Teen Global Shabbat, friday, dec. 2, 6 p.m. Congregational Gourmet Shabbat Dinner with Chef Laura Frankel, friday, dec. 2, 7 p.m. Shabbat’s Cool (Grades 3-7), Saturday, dec. 3, 10 a.m. Cooking Class with Chef Laura Frankel, Sunday, dec. 4, 11 a.m. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

beTh iSrael Synagogue

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, closed. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. friday: Office Closed; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:40 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 4:40 p.m. SaTurday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Insights in the Weekly Portion, 3:35 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 4:20 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:43 p.m. Sunday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m. monday-wedneSday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. monday: Lunch and Learn, noon with Rabbi Shlomo. ThurSday: Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Ethics Class with Rabbi Ari, 7:45 a.m.; Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m.; Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, noon at UNMC; Scholar’s Club for 6th Grade, 3:30 p.m.; Rosh Chodesh Group, 7:30 p.m.

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Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. SaTurday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. followed by a kiddush luncheon. Sunday: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m. followed by Sunday Secrets: Jewish Fun Facts class at 9:15 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: New Tanya Series -- The Anatomy of Your Soul: Who Are You?, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. ThurSday: Advanced Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. All programs are open to the entire community.

congregaTion b’nai JeShurun

Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. friday: Pre-neg, 6 p.m. hosted by Sara Friedman; Candlelighting, 4:43 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m. SaTurday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Chaye Sarah; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:12 p.m. Sunday: No LJCS Classes; Jewish Book Group, 2 p.m. at Scooter’s (84th & Van Dorn) to discuss Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman. wedneSday: LJCS Hebrew classes, 4 p.m. at Tifereth

Israel.

adulT educaTion TueSday: Intro to Judaism, Session #4, 6:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Lewis. wedneSday: Intro to Prayer Hebrew, Session #6, 6 p.m. ThurSday: Beginning Conversational Hebrew, Session #5, 6:30 p.m. LJCS Hat and Mitten Drive: Every child deserves a warm and cozy Winter season! Join the LJCS as we collect hats and mittens for the children of the Friendship Home. Donations will be collected through Sunday, dec. 4. Donations can be dropped either building. Congregation Annual Meeting, Sunday, dec. 11, 1 p.m. President’s Office Hours, Sunday mornings, 10 a.m.– noon at SST. If you have any Temple business you would like to bring before the Board of Trustees, potential programs, or new ideas, please let us know! Call for an appointment at the Temple at 402.513.7697. Or if you prefer, email David Weisser at president@southstreettemple.org.

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

roSe blumkin JewiSh home

friday: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. with Temple Israel. SaTurday: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Scott Weiler. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

Temple iSrael

friday: Shabbat Comes to You at Rose Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m.; Shabbat Services, 6 p.m. SaTurday: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Torah and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer. Sunday: No Religious School wedneSday: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6:30 p.m.; Family School, 6:30 p.m.; The Lost Art of Jewish Cooking, 6:30 p.m.; A Taste of Talmud: The Most Important Rarely Studied Text in Reform Synagogues, 6:30 p.m. ThurSday: The Magic of Rituals, 10 a.m. with Rabbi (Sussman) Berezin Temple Tots Shabbat, Saturday, dec. 3, 9 a.m. All children and their families are invited to participate! Enjoy stories, songs, crafts (and bagels, of course!) with your child, while con-

necting with our Temple Israel community. Adult Game Night, Saturday, dec. 3, 7-10 p.m. at Spielbound, 3229 Harney St. Come enjoy a night of board games and good company at Spielbound. Cost is $5. Adults of all ages are invited. RSVP to Program Director Scott Littky, 402.556.6536. Temple Israel Annual Blood Drive, Sunday, dec. 4, 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Make an appointment online by visiting www.red crossblood.org and search sponsor code “TempleIsrael” or contact Executive Director Dennis DePorte, 402.556.6536.

TifereTh iSrael

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. friday: Synagogue Office Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday; Services, 6:30 p.m. SaTurday: Shabbat Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush Luncheon. Sunday: No LJCS Classes; Jewish Book Group, 2 p.m. at Scooter’s (84th & Van Dorn) to discuss Love and Trasure by Ayelet Waldman. Please contact Zoya Zemen with any questions. wedneSday: LJCS Hebrew classes, 4 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. LJCS Hat and Mitten Drive: Every child deserves a warm and cozy Winter season! Join the LJCS as we collect hats and mittens for the children of the Friendship Home. Donations will be collected through Sunday, dec. 4. Donations can be dropped either building. Join Us for our Intergenerational Shabbat Celebration on Saturday, dec. 3 Honoring our Octogenarians and Nonagenarians who are part of Tifereth Israel. A special Kiddush lunch will follow services. TI Has Talent 4 & Our Annual Hanukkah Latke Party, dec. 25, 4 p.m. We're looking for congregants who will sing, dance, play an instrument, tell jokes, do martial arts, recite poetry, etc. Sign up by e-mailing Nancy Coren at corenancy@gmail.com or ncoren@tiferethisraaellincoln.org.

To SubmiT b’nai miTzvah announcemenTS

Announcements should be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 two weeks in advance of the B’nai Mitzvah. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avande kamp@jewishomaha.org or online at: www.jewish omaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Steve bannon denies anti-Semitism charges

JTA NEWS STAFF Steve Bannon, in his first interviews since Donald Trump named him chief strategist at the White House, denied being anti-Semitic or a white supremacist. Bannon served as chairman of Breitbart news before joining the Trump campaign as its CEO. Bannon has called Breitbart a “platform for the alt-right,” a far-right movement whose followers traﬃc variously in white nationalism, antiimmigration sentiment, anti-Semitism and a disdain for “political correctness.” “Breitbart is the most pro-Israel site in the United States of America,” Bannon told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday. I have Breitbart Jerusalem, which I have Aaron Klein run with about 10 reporters there. We’ve been leaders in stopping this BDS movement in the United States; we’re a leader in the reporting of young Jewish students being harassed on American campuses; we’ve been a leader on reporting on the terrible plight of the Jews in Europe.” In the same interview, Bannon praised the alt-right movement and said he believes the less savory elements of the movement will one day fall away. “Our definition of the alt-right is younger people who are anti-globalists, very nationalist, terribly anti-establishment,” he said. He asserted that Breitbart represents more than just the alt-right. “We provide an outlet for 10 or 12 or 15 lines of thought,” Bannon said.

“We set it up that way.” He denied charges of white supremacism. “I’m an economic nationalist. I am an America first guy. And I have admired nationalist movements throughout the world, have said repeatedly strong nations make great neighbors. I’ve also said repeatedly that the ethno-nationalist movement, prominent in Europe, will change over time. I’ve never been a supporter of ethnonationalism.” “America First” was a World War II-era isolationist movement that decried mounting calls for America’s involvement in the war as Jewish manipulation. Bannon said in a second interview published Friday by e Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist. I’m an economic nationalist.” He said that the new Trump administration is going “to build an entirely new political movement. It’s everything related to jobs. e conservatives are going to go crazy.” He said that liberals and the media are “blind to who we are and what we’re doing.” Bannon, according to Hollywood Reporter writer Michael Wolﬀ, is “the man with the idea. If Trumpism is to represent something intellectually and historically coherent, it’s Bannon’s job to make it so. In this, he could not be a less reassuring or more confusing figure for liberals -- fiercely intelligent and yet reflexively drawn to the inverse of every liberal assumption and shibboleth.”

The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016 | 11

Pulverent e

lifecycles baT miTzvah

roSe ellen friedland

Rose Ellen Friedland, daughter of Jamie and Ted Friedland, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 3, at Temple Israel. Rosie is a seventh-grade student at Westside Middle School. She plays clarinet in the Middle School band, ran cross country this fall, is playing Warriors basketball, loves Camp Sabra, likes to travel and enjoys spending time with friends and family. For her mitzvah project, Rosie volunteered her time at Camp Munroe working with special needs children as a junior counselor. She has two brothers, Alex and Sam. Grandparents are Nancy and the late David Friedland, and Terri and Dick Zacharia.

Polish man sentenced for burning effigy of haredi Jew

WARSWA, POLAND | JTA A Polish man was sentenced to prison for burning an effigy of a haredi Orthodox Jew at a demonstration against Muslim refugees in western Poland. Piotr Rybak received a 10-month jail sentence on Monday for burning the effigy in the Wroclaw central market in November 2015. e decision by the Wroclaw municipal court will be reviewed by a second court. “For everyone living in Poland aer World War II it is a clear statement of the terms ‘burning’ and ‘a Jew.’ is gesture should be read as a threat of annihilation, eg. by burning,” said prosecutor Katarzyna Zagwojska. Rybak’s defense attorney reminded the court that the effigy -- which included a black hat, beard, side curls and black clothing -- was burnt during a demonstration against the taking in of Muslim refugees and not against the Jewish community. Rybak had previously told the court that the effigy was meant to represent philanthropist George Soros, an American Jewish billionaire. “e effigy was prepared by the National Radical Camp,” Rybak told the court last week, according to reports. “It was to be an effigy of George Soros. I have not seen him. I did not know how Soros looks. I feel manipulated by the whole situation. I was, and I am, a patriot.” “I acted for the nation and on behalf of the country,” said Rybak on Monday. e trial has lasted for several weeks. Rybak was accused of “public incitement to hatred on the grounds of religion and nationality to an unspecified group of Jews by burning an effigy.”

MONUMENT CO.

Frank L. Ciciulla Jr.

Protesting hate at Adam Yauch Park

JTA NEWS STAFF Hundreds of people gathered for an anti-hate rally at a vandalized Brooklyn park named in memory of the late Beastie Boys singer Adam Yauch. e rally Sunday at the Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn came aer the park was defaced with swastikas and the message “Go Trump.” Yauch, known as MCA, died in 2012 at age 47 of cancer of the salivary gland. All three original members of the Beastie Boys were Jewish. e graﬃti were painted over by city workers prior to the rally. e playground equipment that had been vandalized was covered with paper flowers and hearts by local children over the weekend. Fellow band member Adam Horovitz, known as AdRock, was joined on stage by local politicians and by Jewish actor Ben Stiller. “We’re all here today because we’re thinking the same thing: Painting swastikas on a children’s playground is a messed-up thing to do,” Horovitz told the crowd. “And for many of us, it has special meaning, because this park is named for Adam Yauch, who was my friend and band mate for over 30 years, but he was also someone who taught nonviolence in his music, in his life, to all of us and to me. But, this is more about someone in New York City linking Nazi Germany to Donald Trump in a ‘hell yeah’ kind of way.” Stiller also spoke: “As a New Yorker and a parent and an American, I thought it was really important to stand up and say this isn’t OK,” Stiller reportedly said. “Hate crimes aren’t OK, and especially this happening in Adam Yauch Park when Adam Yauch was so about peace and non-violence.” e New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. Following the discovery of the vandalism, the Beastie Boys Twitter account posted a message Saturday that read: “Hate has no place in Brooklyn, NYC, or America. Join us on Sunday to stand against hate messages.” Several swastikas have been scrawled in New York City and around the state since Election Day on Nov. 8, including on the doors of several dormitory rooms at the New School and on the apartment building of a gay Jewish state lawmaker in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

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12 | The Jewish Press | November 25, 2016

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A question of character n the wake of the Presidential election (for the record, I am typing this before any results are in), many of us may be thinking these words

from Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where will my help come?” We are probably thinking this regardless of how we feel about the outcome. The months leading up to the election were wrought with tension which deepened ideological rifts. In this atmosphere, we witnessed some of the worst parts of human behavior. Grownups, while our children looked on, acted in ways we would condemn in them. Thus, we have a significant challenge -- to demonstrate how we as a nation recover and rebuild after the highly contentious campaigns. They have seen adults raise their voices, argue, cast insults, make false assertions, and ridicule others in the name of politics. Now it is over. The people have spoken. It is time to show our children the best of America and what makes our states united. Despite the remnants of genuine dislike and bitterness, we have to find ways to model cooperation. It is not merely an election question. It is a question of character. When we have strong disagreements, when things are hotly contested, whether we win

or lose, we do not have the luxury of staying mired in bitterness. If we do, we teach the next generation that this is normative, acceptable behavior, and we will be perpetuating a rAbbi crAig lewis cycle of recalcitrance Congregation B’nai and enmity. That Jeshurun/The South must not be our Street Temple legacy. Like the Psalmist, we look to the mountains and wonder from where our help comes. It comes from the sacred teachings of Torah. If Ishmael, who had been cast out of the family home, can re-unite with the favored son Isaac to honor their father (Gen 25:9), then we can unite to move our nation forward. If Jacob and Esau, who felt mortal hatred toward each other, can later fall upon each other in a brotherly embrace (Gen 33:4), then we can look across the proverbial aisle and see, even in our former adversaries, “the face of God.” Our biblical patriarchs model for us the healing our nation needs. They had genuine, legitimate grievances; but when it mattered most, they recognized their greater duty. The things which made possible these rapprochements are the very things which can help us heal the wounds in our country.

It is no real secret what we require. We tion is possible. Some might dismiss these have to build trust, and building trust begins basic projects as low-hanging fruit; but if with stripping away labels, the Ds, the Rs, you begin by harvesting the low-hanging the blues, the reds, those things which difruits, bit by bit trust can grow, until we can vide us and lead us to see our neighbor as comfortably stand on each other’s shoulders opposition. At times when it mattered most, to reach the highest apple on the tree. Isaac looked at IshThis was the pattern mael, and Jacob set by Isaac and Ishlooked at Esau, and mael, then repeated the only thing these by Jacob in his enmen saw was their counter with Esau. brother. We have to After all the hatred challenge ourselves to and bitterness, they do the same, so we were forced to meet can then take the next face to face, showing step in building trust respect, putting aside - collaboration. any airs of superiorNothing builds ity, extending humble trust like shared expegifts of peace. And rience and shared Esau did the same, success. In no way am running ahead of his I suggesting that we army of protectors, Credit: Bob Jones via wikimedia making himself vulhave to let go of the very important, very real issues, but before nerable before Jacob. After their famous we can tackle those issues, we need to build embrace, Esau spoke these very important trust. Trust begins when we discover points words: “Let us start on our journey, and I of agreement. Isaac and Ishmael agreed the will proceed at your pace (Gen 33:12).” respect for their father after his death superAfter all of the years of hatred, the two seded their rightful hard feelings. They did brothers put their differences aside, built what needed to be done. trust, and were willing to walk together. For So, instead of yelling and screaming accu- the sake of our country, for our world, and, sations, let us engage in dialogues that help most importantly, for the future of our chilus discover the values we share. Then let us dren, may we be able to do the same, findtackle projects together proving to each ing our help in lessons of Torah to walk other, proving to ourselves that collaboratogether on darchei shalom, paths of peace.