Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA December 5, 2014 | 13 Kislev 5775 | Vol. 95 | No. 12 | 2 Sections
CELEBRATING
Hanukkah
A2 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
Inside story (Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Jessie Wees Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Bookkeeper
Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President-Elect; Sarah Edelstein, Scott Farkas, Sandy Friedman, Paul Gerber, Sarah Grossman-Lopez, Debbie Kricsfeld, David Kotok, Noah Priluck, Paul Rabinovitz, and Nancy Wolf. 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, 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: www jewishoma ha.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: a v a n d e k a m p @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.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 singlespaced 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, but it should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. 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 e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
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Hanukkah light anukkah is almost here, and that means the annual hunt for blue and silver things in the sea of red and green is on. Never mind the end cap display at Target that’s offered as a sort of afterthought. You can keep your made-in-China menorahs; we have synagogue gift shops that leave those in the dust. The onslaught of Christmas in our surrounding culture never ceases to amaze me: Americans really, really love to decorate. This holiday brings out the Martha Stewart in everyone. And when you think about it, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, rather than getting annoyed (10,000 options for reindeer wrapping paper and nothing blue to wrap our presents in!) we could learn from it. After all, celebrating -- really celebrating -- any
holiday does not begin and end with the amount of shopping you do. It’s the thought behind it: the enthusiasm and total embrace of that holiday, the excitement you feel at the thought of sharing a special time with friends and family. It’s the ability to stretch this one holiday into months of preparation and planning and wonder. So let’s put the consumer trappings aside and think about what it is we are really doing at Hanukkah. Stop worrying for one second about which presents to buy, how many bottles of oil you will need, and when to pre-order your Krispy Kremes. Hanukkah is about bringing light to an otherwise dark world. It’s a world that seems to get darker by the day, and, in case we didn’t notice, sends us regular reminders that life is as precious as it is fleeting. We do not simply have that light for eight nights; we have it always. It’s not in presents or on the menu; it’s in us.
The thing is, like all flames, that light needs fuel if we want it to keep burning. That fuel can come from many sources: Torah study, prayer, synagogue services and mitzvot. But it also comes from the community; as Jews, we are always stronger together than when we are alone. So join in, sign up, show your face and come together. Between our synagogues and the Jewish Community Center, there is plenty to see and do and participate in. One arm of the Hanukkiah is just a lonely candlestick; put them together and you have a symbol of light, strength and joy. The Jewish Press Board and staff wish all of you a happy and healthy Hanukkah!
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor
December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | A3
Give the never ending gift by MARK KIRCHHOFF Center for Jewish Life Is this you? You would like to give something special to your child or grandchild but think this world is becoming too materialistic. You want to give something that means something – a gift that doesn’t wear out, break, or become obsolete. What if other people shared your thoughts and were eager to join with you in giving that gift and would help you pay for it? What if you could give something for which your child would say, “I never thought it would mean that much to me? It changed my life. I feel so close to my Jewish heritage”? That might just be the perfect gift to give. Such a gift is easy to find and there is an unlimited supply. Give the gift of Israel. “Passport to Israel” is a special gift for your child or grandchild. The program is for children in kindergarten through the 8th grade who are participating in a Jewish school or Jewish study program. The program provides significant financial support that allows children to take part in an Israel peer experience as a meaningful part of their Jewish education. The program works in partnership with families, synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Once several qualifying conditions are met, the savings program may begin. The requirements are basic. The family must be members in good standing with one of the Omaha area synagogues and have continued residency in the metropolitan area. The family must be in good standing with an on-going commitment to the Annual Campaign with the Jewish Federation of Omaha. The child must have continued enrollment in a program of Jewish studies approved by the senior rabbi of the family’s congregation. The family must make continued annual payments to the program. That’s it. Beginning with the first deposit to an individual account, the trip to Israel becomes more attainable each year. Does a trip to Israel really make a difference in the lives of young people today? Here’s what some of them had to say about their recent trips. “I felt that my connection to Israel was the strongest it had ever been in my life, and I wanted to remember that feeling because it’s something that I never want lose.” Mika Caplan “I connected to my Judaism through the touch of the Kotel, the tune of elated prayer and song filling each shul and the unity of the Israeli community fighting for peace. I will always remember walking with my Camelback filled, sunscreen applied and heart dedicated to the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) for their utter fearlessness in protecting my home.” Lauren Kirshenbaum “I had a great experience in Israel and I hope many other people have the same amazing experience that I had. I will never forget this trip because it was a trip of a lifetime.” Rachel Stoneking To participate in “Passport to Israel” simply contact the Center for Jewish Life, complete two forms, obtain the rabbi’s signature, provide a check for a minimum $150 to establish the account and it’s done. Providing the requirements are
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met each year of a family contribution, the Jewish Federation will match up to $250 per year to a program maximum of $2,000. Each participant will have his or her own account through the Signature Bank of New York. All funds contributed by the family remain the property of the family. Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, and Temple Israel currently provide matching funds for their congregants, following the same formula as outlined by the Federation. As with all programs, the specific conditions are subject to change. The first trip to Israel is always that special first trip to Israel. If your family has a dream of making the experience happen for your children or grandchildren, take your first step in transforming that dream to a goal and then to a reality. You will be well on your way by making “Passport to Israel” a part of that effort. You may obtain a complete program description and participation forms by contacting Mark Kirchhoff at 402.334.6463, mkirchhoff@jewish omaha.org, or by visiting the Jewish Federation website, www.jewishomaha.org. Navigate to the Center for Jewish Life/Scholarships and Grants. “Passport to Israel” is administered by The Center for Jewish Life whose mission it is to maximize the involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.
Gifts that keep on giving by RUSS KAPLAN Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc. Hanukkah is rapidly approaching along with its gift-buying season. Reflecting our philosophy at Russ Kaplan Investments, consider giving the gift of stock as one of your Hanukkah gifts. For those who want to give more money to their children as a gift consider setting up a specific trust. This is easily done by creating a Uniform Gift to Minors Trust since you don’t have to use the services of an attorney to create this type of trust. Although the younger ones may not appreciate this type of gift now, it will be very meaningful when it comes time to go to college or enter the workforce. For those who have working children, a good gift idea is to put money into their IRAs. For anyone under the age of fifty you can contribute up to $6,500. They will certainly appreciate it come retirement time. However, before setting up these types of gifts, I would recommend checking with your CPA because the tax laws can be complex. In the spirit of the season, all of us at Russ Kaplan Investments: Russ, Beth, James, Nikki, Phyllis, Sharon, and Tim would like to take this time to wish you a Happy Hanukkah from Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc.
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A4 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
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by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel After the excitement of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving being at the same time last year, I’m not sure how we can top that this year, but at Temple Israel, we are going to try! As we all know Hanukkah is a time dedicated to family and friends. A chance to come together to light the candles for Hanukkah and to retell the story of our victory over an enemy who wanted to destroy us. It is a time of celebration and a time to gather as a community to celebrate the festival of lights! This year at Temple Israel we will have two wonderful opportunities to spend time together during Hanukkah. First is our annual Hanukkah Dinner to be held Friday, Dec. 19. Our evening will begin with the lighting of candles for Hanukkah and Shabbat. Next we will welcome in Shabbat with services at 6 p.m. This will be followed by dinner, singing and fun. The dinner menu is brisket, vegetables, homemade latkes and dessert! The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children in 2nd-6th grade. To RSVP, please call 402.556.6536 or email us at rsvp@templeisraelomaha.com
by Tuesday, Dec. 16. We are also asking that those who attend bring non-food items such as laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, deodorant, shaving cream,
razors, shampoo, conditioner, feminine hygiene products, tissues, paper towels and dish towels that we will be donating to the Jewish Family Services Pantry. Another tradition we have is to light candles each night of Hanukkah at Remington Heights. Families from the congregation along with our staff and youth group will be there to light candles, sing songs and even play a little dreidel. So, even though we do not have the excitement of last year we will still have an amazing Hanukkah here in Omaha. The Temple Israel Family would like to wish all in the Omaha community a wonderful Hanukkah 5775!
“Eye on Israel� plus evening panel discussion focus on Diversity in Israel by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Center for Jewish Life In her 2013 article in the Huffington Post titled Diversity Makes Life Rich: An Ordinary Day in Israel, Western Galilee based author Diana Bletter commented she has lived in New York City, London and Paris. She cited each of these cities has unique ethnic neighborhoods and then posed the question, “On an average day in your town or city, how many people of other religions and races do you meet?� Throughout her article, Diana shared how her daily interactions in the Western Galilee encompasses relationships and friendships with Muslims, Jews, Christians and Druze. This diversity will be the focus when Diana visits Omaha next week as one of a four-member “Visionaries Delegation� through Omaha’s Partnership2GETHER program. Dr. Janan Farraj-Falah, Kineret Hadar and Galit Aviram-Cohen join her in the delegation. The four women group will share their experiences of living in Israel’s Western Galilee on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The first event is the monthly “Eye on Israel� session with Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan, Omaha’s Community Shaliach, which begins at noon in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. “The situation in Jerusalem, the Holy City, the capital of the State of the Jewish people, is very challenging. The Temple Mount is again in the center of the interest, and there is no week with no terror attack in Jerusalem� reports Eliad. “The death of the five Israelis in the terror attack in the Har Nof synagogue, during the silent prayer, was such a horrible and hurting example for the life in a mixed city like Jerusalem. One image that did not leave the Israeli television screen was the picture of Sayef Zidan, the Druze policeman who sacrificed his own life to protect others in the neighborhood by killing the terrorists and preventing them from their goal to kill more Jews.� The Haredi society honored Zidan, saying how brave he was in protecting their community. This was a surprising picture for many people to see this recognition of the Druze by the ultra-Orthodox. “This sur-
prise was based on a lack of knowledge of Druze society in Israel� reports Eliad. “The Druze are very respected in Israeli society and the Eye on Israel session will talk about this special minority in Israel. Janan, the first Druze woman to earn a Ph.D in Israel, will join me during ‘Eye’ and will share her story, the story of Druze society in Israel. The life in mixed neighborhoods and the challenges of coexistence in Akko are at focus for Janan.� The sharing of life in Israel will continue the evening of the 20th with a panel discussion, “The Rich Tapestry of Israel’s Western Galilee.� Diana and Janan plus Kineret, the legal advisor for the Akko Municipality and Akko Economic Corporation and Galit, the manager of the Western Galilee village of Gita and a tour company owner will each speak during the panel. Beginning at 7 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, each delegate will share insights about day to day life in the region and talk about her area of expertise. Sharing the unique and creative ways in which she is involved in helping to develop opportunities for the diverse populace will provide a fascinating opportunity for the community to learn more about daily life, out of the headlines.� Both “Eye on Israel� and the panel discussion are open to the community, free of charge. A dessert reception will follow the panel, with funding provided the Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Partnership2GETHER, a program of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish Federations of North America, is an extraordinary global platform connecting some 550 communities around the world in 47 partnerships. Omaha is one of 12 U.S. Jewish communities partnering with the city of Akko and the Matte Asher area in the Western Galilee through cultural, educational, social, medical and economic programs. “Eye on Israel,� the Community Shaliach program and Omaha’s Partnership2GETHER programs are coordinated by the Center for Jewish Life. For more information, call 402.334.6445.
December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | A5
Friedel Hanukkah play Next steps in UWM evolution: Community investment process now open
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN for Friedel Jewish Academy All the students of Friedel Jewish Academy, from kindergarten through sixth grade, will perform in the annual school Hanukkah play on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Jewish Community Center Theater. The entire Jewish community is invited to attend. Naama Artzi, Jewish studies teacher at Friedel, explained that the various grade levels each have their own song, story, or routine to present. Kindergartners, dressed as savganiot (jelly donuts) and first graders (attired as chefs who make the donuts) will entertain the audience with a song. Second and third graders plan to tell the Hanukkah story about how the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, forbade the Jews to practice their religion and instead demanded that they follow the ways of the Greeks. Fighting broke out between the Syrians and a small army of Maccabees who eventually triumphed and rededicated the holy Temple. Fourth graders will examine the debate in the Mishnah over how to light the Hanukkah candles followed by the fifth graders who will sing Chana Zelda, who was too lazy to make latkes and the aftermath of her lethargy. Performing a play, sixth graders will portray how the Jews in Russia had to practice Judaism in secret, comparing them to the Maccabees in overcoming adversity. Student string musicians, led by Jim Misner, will also perform. Gabby Blair, a Friedel parent and PTO co-chair, has instructed the children in designing props and backdrops for the Hanukkah play. There’s also a Hanukkah drawing competition at the school to select a cover for the front of the Hanukkah play program. All other drawings are mounted on the wall in the JCC auditorium for the reception following the play. Refreshments will be served. Entirely in Hebrew except for some English explanation, the Hanukkah play “celebrates everything the students have been learning,” said Artzi. She and the other Jewish studies teacher, Sara Ben Shushan, organized and rehearsed with the students at school with the support of the general studies teachers. “The children learned their lines at home, but we practice some at school to boost their confidence,” Artzi said. In addition to celebrating all that they’ve learned, the students are “celebrating Hebrew as a living, viable language -- not only a language for prayer,” Artzi added. She also pointed out that Israel “can survive, thrive, and be a nation again just like the Maccabees. The Hanukkah performance is another connection to Israel.” Artzi emphasized that the “Omaha Jewish community should be very proud of having a successful Jewish day school that is teaching Hebrew, Jewish values, and Jewish history, and the students are able to perform in Hebrew and share their joy of the Hanukkah miracle.”
Happy Hanukkah
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by KATHY O’HARA In its ongoing work to serve our community’s most vulnerable members, United Way of the Midlands invites nonprofit 501c(3) organizations to submit a Letter of Intent to participate in its community investment process for 20152016 United Way funding. Specifically, eligible agencies are those working to eradicate poverty through programs that address basic needs, classroom readiness and workforce readiness. Throughout a three-year process of gathering community feedback, the call was loud and clear for UWM to fund programs that serve individuals in the greater Omaha, Bellevue and Council Bluffs area who are at risk for or live in poverty; these are individuals or families with limited or no access to food, housing, safety or health because of unmet needs or crisis situations, or those with barriers to academic success, employability or self-sufficiency. Support for Basic Needs, including food, housing, health and safety will remain a priority for United Way funding. In addition, United Way will invest in programs that support children during their academic years and prepare people for productive careers – Classroom Ready and Workforce Ready initiatives that aim to increase the number of residents who achieve financial stability and independence. United Way is particularly interested in programs that enhance efficiencies, foster collaboration, measure success, address prevention, apply an integrated approach and
remove barriers to service access. As in previous years, a diverse group of approximately 130 community volunteers will review funding proposals and conduct site visits. The review process ensures accountability to those who make contributions to UWM, including donors participating in the fall fundraising drive currently underway. The programs selected for investment will receive quarterly funding from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. Letters of Intent must be submitted by December 16, 2014. Organizations must submit a separate letter for each program for which they seek funding. The process must be completed online at www.UnitedWayMidlands.org/2015-2016-letterofintent. Only organizations that submit the Letter of Intent will be eligible to respond to the “request for proposal” process that will begin in mid-December. Thanks to donors, volunteers and community partners, United Way of the Midlands is not only focused on addressing our community’s human needs today; it is focused on what can be, and what should be. It is building on today’s strong partnerships to create even more comprehensive human service efforts tomorrow, so our community can solve some of the root causes of poverty. United Way is community-based, community-focused. Thanks to those who share their strength, United Way is COMMUNITY STRONG. Please visit www.UnitedWayMidlands.org for more information.
South Street Temple news by SARAH KELEN At its Annual Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 16, members of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, Lincoln’s South Street Temple elected its new Board of Trustees for 2015. Newly-elected Board Members are Michael Boekstal, Nathaniel Kaup, Julie Moore, John Mosow, Anne Rickover, and Art Zygielbaum. Members of the congregation heard reports from the different committees, including an overview of the building’s structural needs. The annual Mitzvah Award was presented to Past President Marc Shkolnick, who continues to serve as the Chair of the Development and Fundraising Committee. Those gathered expressed their appreciation for the leadership of outgoing Board member and Congregational President Eleanor Shirley.
Congregational President Eleanor Shirley and Rabbi Craig Lewis congratulate Marc Shkolnick, who was awarded the South Street Temple’s Mitzvah Award at the Temple’s 2014 Annual Meeting.
A6 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
Friedel PTO raises the potato bar for Latke Lunch by CLAUDIA SHERMAN for Friedel Jewish Academy When it comes to Hanukkah, your nose should start wiggling and your mouth should start salivating at the thought of the holiday’s most renowned repast -- latkes, of course! As in the past, Friedel Jewish Academy’s PTO will sponsor its annual Latke Lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, in the Jewish Community Center Auditorium. Can’t you just sniff those frying frisbees right now? “Last year, we served close to 1200 latkes,” said Danni Christensen, co-chair of the PTO. The Latke Lunch has grown every year in the past, so she expects that parents and volunteers will be at the JCC at sunrise getting ready for the event which is expected to draw an ever increasing crowd. The Friedel students also help make the latkes by peeling potatoes and onions. Adults handle the fry pans. As in the past for many years, ingredients for the lunch are donated by Jack and Helene Shrago and their son Michael and his wife Melissa. Michael’s son Ethan is a Friedel graduate. Younger brother Noah is a fourth grader at Friedel. Ben Shapiro is chair of the Latke Lunch, and Christensen is grateful to him, because “This is a huge undertaking.” A fun day for the students, they wear work clothes and sing Hanukkah songs as they skin the potatoes creating a mountain out of the peelings as well as goggles to avoid the onion vapors tearing up their eyes. Jewish studies teacher Naama Artzi added that the students might also go swimming that day or watch a Hanukkah movie. Reservations to attend the Latke Lunch can be made by filling out a short form available at the school or at the JCC.
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To-go orders, due by Friday, Dec. 12, can be made by filling out the same form. Walk-ins for lunch are also welcome. Three latkes with sides of applesauce and sour cream and a drink cost $7. To-go orders are $12 for ten latkes, applesauce and sour cream. Kosher jelly donuts from Krispy Kreme will
also be available to purchase. Vouchers for the donuts will be for sale, too. Proceeds from the Latke Lunch are used by the PTO to celebrate various holidays at the school by supplying snacks and other needed items, for quarterly teacher appreciation gifts, the school Passover seder, challa and Shabbat symbols, havdalah supplies, school spirit wear, a reception after the Hanukkah play, and more. So if you notice the scent of frying latkes on Dec. 18, just follow your nose into the JCC auditorium. “The whole JCC smells like latkes!” said Artzi, Jewish studies teacher. “I haven’t heard any complaints so far.”
by MIRIAM KATZMAN As the fall leaves soften and our days shorten, winter sneaks up with a chilly breeze. But the start of winter also heralds the most fun and most gratifying expiriences. Kids have the opportunity to have the most incredible experience ever at Camp Gan Israel’s winter session. Gan Israel had served Omaha’s children faithfully for decades. It is renowned for its warm counselors and thematic programming. The children get to enjoy field trips, cooking, and great crafts, too. But most importantly, they gain life lessons. “I love Chabad camp because they always send me back smarter, nicer, more Jewishly educated kids.” says Tippi Denenberg, mom of five. Calling all kiddies ages 4 - 9 years old to join Camp Gan Israel. Hosted at the Chabad Center, on 120th St. This year’s winter session will be Dec. 29-31 and will start at 10 a.m. -- giving everyone lazy time in the morning -and will go until 2 p.m. Cost of camp is $108 for the whole session, with an available 10% discount for each additional sibling. Let your children get creative, stay active and experience the dynamic Chabad Gan Israel spirit and flavor. For more information, call Shani at 402.330.1800 or email her at shani@ochabad.com. Visit www.ochabad. com/camp to reserve your spot as space is limited.
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | A7
Pasta Amore
Star Catering offers another chance to sample their Taste of KC BBQ by OZZIE NOGG At Star Catering, success is spelled B.B.Q. For purposes of this article, an alternate spelling to success is S-O-R-R-Y. Here’s the deal. After the Star Catering BBQ entries won rave reviews from judges at the Kosher BBQ Competition in Kansas City last August, Mike Aparo, Director of Food Services at the Blumkin Home decided to feature a Taste of Our KC BBQ this past Oct. 14 at a special Sukkot Deli Dinner for home town foodies. “The article that ran in the Press promoting our Sukkot BBQ Deli Dinner must have been read by the entire community,” Aparo said, “because we had an overwhelming attendance. We prepared 40 of our Taste of KC BBQ specials -- sampler platters with servings of Smoked Turkey, Smoked Chicken Thigh, Smoked Brisket and Smoked BBQ Ribs -- plus an additional 40 Brisket specials. Lo and behold, in under an hour we sold all 80 specials, which left many Deli patrons highly disappointed. We didn’t expect such a crowd, and were caught totally off guard. I want to personally apologize to the disappointed patrons who didn’t receive the BBQ they were looking forward to. I, and my entire Star Catering crew, feel really bad about what happened.” According to Josh Gurock, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Director of Operations, “Many people came over to me during and after the Sukkot Deli dinner and told me they were really bummed that we ran out of BBQ before they got a chance to sample it. Our regular Deli menu was available that night, too -- sandwiches and stuff -- but our patrons apparently weren’t hungry for pastrami, corned beef or egg salad. So Aparo and I sat down and decided to dedicate another dinner just to BBQ to meet the community’s demands. It’s scheduled during Hanukkah on Tuesday, Dec. 23, from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. We really appreciate the community’s support of the Star Deli,
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advance to make sure that if you want BBQ you’ll get BBQ.” A sneak-peek at the Dec. 23 dinner menu reveals these choices: • A Taste of Our Star Catering KC BBQ Competition entries: one chicken thigh, one short rib, 4 oz. Smoked Turkey Breast, 4 oz. Brisket and 4 oz. Baked Beans with Burnt Ends • Smoked Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich served with Potato Latke and Applesauce • Mike’s Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread • Child’s Plate of Smoked Chicken Legs with Potato Latke and Applesauce • Latkes and Applesauce ala Carte • Sufganiyot Jelly Donuts. “We’d like to receive RSVP responses as early as possible. Like today,” Aparo said. Aparo led the Star Catering BBQ team in Kansas City. Gurock, along with Marco Martinez and Andy Kudlacz of the Star Deli culinary staff, rounded out the foursome that prepped, marinated, brined, rubbed, basted and grilled their way to headlines at the nation’s only kosher BBQ festival sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society. The celebrity judges were blown away by the Star Catering entries, and visitors to the Competition swarmed their tent and ate every shred of their samples. Here’s a second chance to get in on the deliciousness. To make your reservation for the Dec. 23 Taste of Our KC BBQ Hanukkah Dinner, call 402.330.4272 right now.
Enjoy Hanukkah at Beth Israel Synagogue by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Publicity Chairman, Beth Israel Synagogue There will be food, family, friends, festivities and fun as Beth Israel Synagogue becomes the place to be for two special Hanukkah events, both taking place Saturday, Dec. 20. The first happening is the annual Hanukkah Luncheon which will be served immediately after Shabbat services on the 20th. Enjoy a traditional Hanukkah menu prepared by Nancy Mattly and the crew of Culinary Services with brisket and latkes, plus other side dishes and, of course, desserts. The cost is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4-12 with no charge for those under 3 years of age. Reservations are needed by Dec. 16 by calling the synagogue office at 402.556.6288 or emailing bethisrael@ orthodoxomaha.org. That evening, the popular Beth Israel annual Hanukkah Carnival will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. It’s fun for kids of all ages with a bounce house, games, prizes and
& Italian Food
music. And, of course, there will also be food, including hot dogs and cotton candy. The carnival draws families from the entire Omaha Jewish community to enjoy the fun. Thanks to the generosity of many sponsors, the carnival is free of charge. Reservations are requested to assure sufficient food and prizes will be prepared. Email registrations to bethisrael @orthodoxoma ha.org or call 402.556.6288. The mission of Beth Israel Synagogue is to perpetuate the legacy of Torah Judaism in the modern world and provide a home for those who wish to learn about and observe halacha, Jewish law. Beth Israel Synagogue welcomes all persons of the Jewish faith to join, and accepts the diversity of practice and thought among its members and offers a variety of religious, cultural and social programs throughout the year. For more information, please contact Beth Israel Synagogue’s office at 402.556.6288, or e-mail Beth Israel@OrthodoxOmaha.org.
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A8 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
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Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER Following is a free translation of a Hanukkah insight from my friend and teacher Rabbi Lior Engelman. The choice of publicizing the Hanukkah miracle through candles seems very strange. Publicity by its very nature aims to capture attention. It would be only natural, therefore, to publicize the Hanukkah miracle with gigantic menorahs, lit up with huge torches, placed along main thoroughfares. Each Jewish community could try to build the largest Hanukiyah in the world and to make the largest jelly donut ever fried up on this planet. A giant Hanukiyah in the public square, ablaze with big colorful torches, could not be ignored. Add a bit of pyrotechnics through fireworks and fire-juggling and such a Hanukkah advertising campaign would be perfect. The way that our Sages commanded us to publicize the miracle of Hanukkah goes completely against basic marketing principles. Rather than mandating that Hanukiyot be placed in public intersections, our Sages said that they should be placed by the entry way to our homes (with the basic injunction being a modest “one light for each person and his household”). The Hanukiyah is to sit at the entrance of every home at a normal spot—not too high and not too low. Our Sages decided that a giant Hanukiyah placed above 10 meters high would not be part of this advertising campaign. Similarly, a Hanukiyah that is placed on a street and not in front of a home is not a legitimate advertising tool and does not allow the person lighting it to fulfil the mitzvah of Hanukkah lights or of spreading the Hanukkah miracle. [Asked to comment on the Chabad practice of placing large menorahs in public spaces, Rabbi Engelman said: “I’m not against this practice, but it does not have halachic value: that is, the traditional way of publicizing the Hanukkah miracle is as I indicated.”]
Register now for the B’nai B’rith Hanukkah Torch Walk/Run by GABBY BLAIR After spending a few days spinning dreidels, frying latkes and indulging in chocolate gelt and sweet sufganiyot, why not join the Henry Monsky Lodge chapter of B’nai B’rith and the Omaha JCC for the annual Hanukkah Torch Walk/Run on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Registration for this event will be accepted up until the start time, however, those who register before Dec. 5 will receive a custom designed, long sleeve T-shirt as part of their $18 registration fee. Also included in your registration is a post race nosh of bagels and refreshments. Donations without registration are greatly appreciated by those who do not wish to participate, and all donors of $18 or more will receive a Torch Run T-shirt as a thank you! This event is available to all members of the Jewish Community and active JCC members and is open to walkers and runners with 2, 4, or 6 mile route options available. All routes start and end at the Omaha JCC and participants should check in upstairs, at the JCC canteen entrance. To register, please complete an entry form/ waiver and submit the $18 registration fee to the JCC Member Services desk or to Ed
Heller, JCC Director of Health & Fitness. Forms may also be downloaded online from http://www.jewish omaha.org JCC Omaha Fitness & Wellness Fitness Classes & Clubs 2014 B’nai B’rith Torch Run. We hope to see you there! Checks should be made payable to B’nai B’rith. Please contact Ed Heller, JCC Director of Health & Fitness, with any questions or comments at 402.334.6580 or eheller@jccomaha.org.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS UNO political science lecturer, David Muchlinski, will speak on Wednesday, Dec. 10, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or email bnai brith@jewishomaha.org. At the Dec. 11 AIPAC event at Beth El, Iran expert, Rhea Siers, will discuss the nuclear negotiations. RSVP to Rachel rbaum@aipac.org or Gary at gjavitch@cox.net.
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Why did our Sages not choose to publicize the Hanukkah miracle with a sensory extravaganza? When we publicize the Jewish spirit that valiantly stood against the spirit of the Greeks, when we advertise the victory of the world of faith over the world ruled by gods and the laws of nature, we need to advertise in a precise way. Jewish gentleness was victorious; the spirit of the Jewish family triumphed over all the decrees that sought to defile the underpinnings of the Jewish family. The Torah and the faith that deals with the inner spirit of life won over the blind rush after colorful brilliance, which so stimulates sense and desire. The few were victorious over the many, the weak (in body) over the mighty, the internal inner voice was victorious over the outer senses. It is not possible to advertise gentleness and purity with shouts; one cannot market pure values of home in the middle of a noisy street. Not by chance were candles chosen: A gentle light that does not blind, that does not try to force the eye to look at it. “The light of God is the soul of man” (Proverbs 20.27). A gentle light, internal, a light of truth. We put the candle in the entrance to the home to show that the special light of the Jewish home succeeded in lighting up the darkness more than the brilliance and blasting of Greek culture. We position the candle so that it faces the public sphere because we are trying to say that the Jewish home does not live for itself, that we care about what happens in the world. The light faces outwards, trying to light those who are outside with its gentle light. When an advertiser knows that he has a product that the world doesn’t really need, he has to invest huge amounts of resources in aggressive advertising that will make grand claims and entice the senses. When an advertiser has to market a product that is truly necessary to the consumer he does not have to deceive or to paint the advertisement in thousands of colors. One sentence is sufficient. One word on a large page. An advertisement of a quiet shout, of a large truth. These are the lights of Hanukkah. Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest four, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie and Ezra are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@net vision.net.il.
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | A9
Point of view
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
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A surprising force new organizations that offer a different approach to addressing a persistent problem that has been difficult to solve.” What sets religiously affiliated donors apart from others less willing to fund such innovation? Maybe because they are involved in Jewish life they know what they find most valuable in Judaism and want to find ways to share it with
values of welcoming and applying the principle that all are created in the divine image (b’tzelem Elohim) by creating a more inclusive community with InterfaithFamily and DARA WEINERMAN STEINBERG Keshet (which works with and for LGBT Jews), or expandAKRON, Ohio (JTA) -- Five years ago, when I began to ing opportunities for learning for its own sake (Torah work for Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation, I met with a Lishma) with innovative educational experiences such as colleague who worked with early-stage nonKevah (which creates lay-led religious learnprofit organizations that are creating new ing circles) or project-based learning in ways of involving people in Jewish commuJewish day schools, or implementing the nity life. principle of reducing waste (bal tashchit) by How wonderful, I gushed, that there are all supporting environmental activism and these people who felt outside of Jewish life farming with Hazon (which advances and who are now trying out new approaches healthy and sustainable communities) and to Jewish engagement. “Dara,” my colleague the Jewish Farm School. stopped me to say, “these entrepreneurs Supporting innovation itself embodies aren’t outsiders. They are day school gradulearning from practice: we do and then we ates and rabbis’ kids, and many are rabbis understand (na’aseh v’nishma). When we themselves.” experiment, success often doesn’t look It was a surprising moment for me. exactly like what we anticipated. For both Having spent several years disengaged from the donors and the organizations, experiorganized Jewish life myself, and seeing all menting is about exploring and learning sorts of opportunities to learn, engage and together what is relevant for people, what contribute that were often targeting the makes their lives more meaningful, what “unaffiliated,” I assumed that their creators helps to repair the world. were also communal outsiders. Stepping With religious affiliation as the engine that back, though, it’s not surprising that Jewish drives support for new ideas and approaches, social entrepreneurs are connected to their we who work with innovators should be religious communities. After all, why would turning more often and more directly to someone innovate to enhance something Participants gathered in Dec. 2010 for a Jewish food conference organized by the Jewish envi- those most deeply involved with Jewish Credit: Hazon organizations and causes. We should listen ronmental organization Hazon, in Sonoma County, Calif. they don’t strongly value? So too, it turns out, are financial supporters others. They experience gaps themselves, see where the gaps to how they talk about the gaps, opportunities and possibiliof innovation -- and the lesson applies to all kinds of religious exist for their families and friends, and therefore provide ties that call for important and promising innovations. communities, not just Jewish ones. Jumpstart’s new study, support for promising responses. Affiliated donors are, per- Continuing to enlist more active partners in funding innova“Connected to Give: Risk and Relevance,” co-funded by the haps, more willing to take risks because they can imagine, tive endeavors will open new pathways for the connected and Lippman Kanfer Foundation, finds that “[t]he donors most and sometimes experience firsthand, the reward. not-yet-connected alike, and will enrich Jewish life for all. willing to support an unproven organization generally are For such donors, today’s group of innovative Jewish venDara Weinerman Steinberg is executive director of those who are most engaged in their religious communities. tures can indeed provide myriad ways to enact and extend Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation and Lippman Kanfer Highly connected donors generally are willing to contribute to their Jewish values and sensibilities. Whether it’s practicing Foundation for Living Torah.
Focus on issues
The reckless sponsorship of anti-Israelism Not everyone at Harvard thinks so. Former Harvard president and current professor Lawrence Summers spoke out in 2002 against calls for Harvard to divest from Israel. When I asked him about last week’s panel, he told me that “promoting BDS is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind when I warned years ago about actions that were anti-Semitic in effect, if not intent.” “Avoiding censorship, which is right, should not equal sponsorship, which is wrong,” Summers explained. “I am sorry that Harvard, not for the first time, has allowed its
cized BDS tactics; actually I have strongly advocated for BDS.” Chomsky also encouraged anti-Israel activists to take a SARA K. GREENBERG phased approach toward the annihilation of Israel as a CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (JTA) -- I never imagined that a day Jewish state. would come when some of the world’s leading corporations “The one-state option is a good idea in the long run,” he would fund calls for Israel’s destruction, let alone at one of said,” but there’s only one way that I can imagine we can the world’s most prestigious universities. But that is exactly reach it, and that’s in stages.” what happened recently at Harvard. The panel discussion left me with an overwhelming sense My invitation to Harvard Arab Weekend promised to proof sadness. I was sad to see firsthand how BDS encourages vide a “mosaic of perspectives and insights on the Palestinians to reject compromise in pursuit of the most pressing issues in the Arab world.” Many of destruction of Israel; sad that the student organizers the panels appeared worthy of the conference’s corof the conference were unwilling to create a panel of porate support from McKinsey & Co, The Boston diverse, honest views that would have led to true Consulting Group, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bank dialogue; sad that Harvard administrators allowed Audi, Strategy& and the energy giant Shell. Yet feaan event promoting an end to the national existence tured prominently on the conference agenda was a of the Jewish people to take place under Harvard’s panel devoted to the destruction of Israel: The auspices; and sad that the names and institutional Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) prestige of major corporations were used to give Movement: Accomplishments, Tactics and Lessons. legitimacy to the BDS campaign. The panel’s moderator, Ahmed Alkhateeb, began I sent inquiries to senior executives at every sponby noting that a primary goal of the BDS movement sor company before the conference, but the panel is “promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to went on. After the conference, a senior McKinsey return to their homes and properties” in what today spokesman wrote to me to apologize for the firm’s is Israel. As President Obama pointed out in 2008, involvement with the conference: “The firm does this goal stands in opposition to a “two-state solunot knowingly associate its name with political tion” and “would extinguish Israel as a Jewish state.” issues and debates.” And in an Op-Ed published in Al Akhbar newspaI believe it is likely that the other corporate sponper, Cal State professor As’ad AbuKhalil, an outsposors also did not intend to have their funds used to ken advocate of the BDS movement, affirmed that At “Harvard Arab Weekend,” one prominently featured session promoted the promote the BDS movement. Credit: Wikimedia Commons “the real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of BDS movement. Corporations and universities should not lend Israel.” This is the “unambiguous goal... [and] there should good name to be associated with calls to delegitimize Israel.” mainstream legitimacy to such a radical and odious movenot be an equivocation on the subject.” The panel at Harvard was not a debate about the goals and ment, nor should they provide funding or resources to He’s right. While Jews are the majority in the democratic merits of BDS -- it was an endorsement. Panelists included a events that demonize Israel as this one did. state of Israel today, the BDS movement imagines and seeks vocal supporter of BDS who frequently accuses Israel of I hope Harvard and the corporations that sponsored a state in which Jews would ultimately become the minority, “apartheid,” a professor who initiated the American Studies Harvard Arab Weekend -- and in doing so sponsored the implying the end of the Jewish people’s right to self-deter- Association academic and cultural boycott and a BDS panel -- will publicly pledge to be more vigilant in the mination. Presbyterian minister who led the church’s boycott of Israel, future and never again associate their names or provide Of course, students have a right to speak their minds as well as MIT professor Noam Chomsky. funding to any movement that seeks to destroy Israel. freely, and corporate sponsors have a right to donate their Student organizers of the panel told me that Chomsky Sara K. Greenberg is a joint master’s degree student at money and institutional backing to any political view. But is would provide the “anti-BDS” perspective, and he was intro- the Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy it appropriate for Harvard University to lend its facilities to duced as the only voice on the panel to be critical of BDS School. This piece first appeared in the Harvard Crimson. a group of activists who are working to eradicate the one “tactics.” But Chomsky would have none of it, saying: “It’s You can listen to the full audio of the BDS panel here. Jewish state? interesting that I’m introduced as someone that has criti-
Focus on issues
10 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
CHABAD HOUSE
618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m. with guest speakers, Julianne Dunn and David Herzog on The Jewish Life of a Nice Catholic Girl: The Blessings of Intermarriage. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Katelman Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.
An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. All programs are open to the entire community.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Our Shabbat Tables, in congregants homes. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 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: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Torah Tots, 10:15 a.m.; Adult Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m.; Sunday Scholar Series, 11 a.m., featuring Asaf Gavron on Research, Writing and Reactions to Gavron’s Novel, The Hilltop; BESTT Family Program for 5th-6th Grade, 11:15 a.m.; USY Interfaith Program and Dinner, 6 p.m. TUESDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Shanghai Class, 1 p.m. taught by Phylliss Wasserman. WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Hebrew High School, 6:45 p.m. THURSDAY: AIPAC Community Event, 7 p.m. Tot Shabbat/Got Shabbat and Dinner, Friday, Dec. 12, 6 p.m. Sunday Scholar Series, Sunday, Dec. 14, 11 a.m., featuring Dr. Waitman W. Beorn, PhD on Ruthlessly and Mercilessly: The German Army and the Holocaust. Congregational Hanukkah Dinner, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 6:15 p.m. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:37 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 4:20 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:41 p.m. SUNDAY: Talmud Brachot, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Midrash: Understanding Our Prayers, 9:45 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 8 p.m.
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 Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin. SATURDAY: Saturday Morning Boker Bash, 9:30 a.m. beginning with a family breakfast followed by a familyfriendly service; Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Vayishlach; Jewish Movie Night, 7 p.m. with Havdalah Service and dessert potluck. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Confirmation Class, 10:15 a.m.-noon at Meadowlark; Jewish Book Club, 1 p.m. at Zoya Zeman’s home and will discuss The Orientalist by Tom Reiss. Please RSVP to Zoya. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Board of Trustees, 6-7:30 p.m. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY: Intro to Judaism, 6:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Lewis. THURSDAY: Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 7 p.m. Hanukkah Celebration, Friday, Dec. 19, Potluck Dinner with Latkes, 6 p.m., Family Shabbat Service with lighting of Chanukiot, 7 p.m., Oneg, 8 p.m. Please bring a side dish or your famous applesauce for the meal or a dessert to share for the oneg! Please RSVP by Friday, Dec. 12, with the number in your party as well as what dish you are bringing, to Jean in the Temple office, 402.435.8004 or office@southstreettemple.org. Bakers Needed as part of the Temple’s celebration of its 130th anniversary as a congregation and the 90th anniversary of our beautiful building, we are having monthly events culminating in the anniversary gala in May. For many of these events, we would like to serve cookies or other easy to handle dessert items. We are looking to volunteers to supply home-baked goodies. If you are willing to contribute in this way, please let Alan Frank know at afrank2@unl.edu. We’ll have you bring
B’nai Israel programs by NANCY WOLF B’nai Israel, “the little synagogue off Broadway”, is pleased to announce some upcoming programs. On Sunday, Dec. 7, noon - 4 p.m., the synagogue will be one of seven buildings ticket-holders will be able to visit as part of the Historic Buildings Tour, sponsored by Preserve Council Bluffs. Tickets are $15, and are available at each location. Other buildings on the tour include St. Peters Church, The Bregant House, Three Points Lofts, Bebbington House, Martin-Hughes House and The Clinton House. The funds raised by this tour go to further Preserve Council Bluffs’ work in educating about and advocating for the preservation of historic buildings and residences. Our Second Friday Speaker Series continues on Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Julianne Dunn Herzog will share thoughts on The Jewish Life of a Nice Catholic Girl, and will be joined by her husband David Herzog. Together they will share the blessings of intermarriage, and the opportunities they find to affirm and support each other in their respective reli-
gious faiths, describing ways they exhibit respect for the religious traditions of the partner.
Candlelighting Friday, December 5, 4:37 p.m. your treats to the Temple and store them in the freezer.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. with Eliad. SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: First Friday Shabbat Service, Friday, Dec. 5. Candle lighting and Kiddush in the Community Court, 5:30 p.m. and Service at 6 p.m., dinner immediately following. Cost is $5/person, max of $20 per family. Please RSVP to 402.556.6536 or RSVP@templeisraelomaha.com. Reservations required. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; Temple TED Talks, 11 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; Family Night, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Torah from the Beginning: Why Torah? Who wrote it? What is my Torah?, 6:30 p.m. with Rabbi Brown and Dan Gilbert. THURSDAY: Music in Transition, 10 a.m. with Cantor Shermet; OTYG Lounge Night, 6 p.m. Scholar-in-Residence: Rabbi Josh (Yoshi) Zweiback and Mah Tovu, Friday, Dec. 12 - Sunday, Dec. 14. Teacher-in-Service, Sunday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m. Temple Israel Blood Drive, Sunday, Dec. 14, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Call the Temple Israel office, 402.556.6536, to make an appointment. You can also visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code 009113. Hanukkah Service and Dinner, Friday, Dec. 19, 6 p.m. Shabbat Service followed immediately by dinner. The cost of the meal is $10 for adults, $5 for children in 2nd-6th grade and no charge for kids under 2nd grade. Please RSVP, 402.556.6536 or rsvp@templeisraelomaha.com, by Tuesday, Dec. 16.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Jewish Book Club, 1 p.m. at Zoya Zeman’s home and will discuss The Orientalist by Tom Reiss. Please contact Stephanie Dohner with any questions.. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Annual Hanukkah/Latke Party, Sunday, Dec. 21, 12:15 p.m. TI has talent will be returning for a second year as well!
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David and Julianne Dunn Herzog on their wedding day. As always, everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Please join us!
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 11
In Eilat, tourism decline drives economic woes by BEN SALES one who has lived here nearly all his life. “If there’s a bar EILAT, Israel (JTA) -- Zili Grossman did public relations mitzvah or a wedding, there are a thousand people there. for “half the hotels” in Eilat, she says. She was the mayor’s The funerals are giant. Eilat is essentially a kibbutz.” press adviser. Her job took her to festivals, bowling alleys, Indeed, there is a small-town mentality in which everyone theaters and miniature golf courses -- the gamut of tourist seems to know each other by name. Grossman gets a free slice attractions in Israel’s best-known resort town. After a career at the pizza place down the street from her office. She is friendshift, she opened up a fashion boutique in the city center. ly with the cab driver who picks her up at a busy intersection. But now Grossman sits in a small office of a radio station Residents worry, however, that young people won't stay in here, splitting her time between taking calls from needy the city. Four satellite college campuses have opened in the people and directing a small staff of aid workers. She is the city, and socioeconomically, Eilat ranks above-average overexecutive director of Eilat Gives, an aid organization she all among Israeli towns. However, being so far away from founded in 2000. With an Israel's big cities means Eilat annual budget of $650,000, doesn’t offer the same educathe organization provides tional and employment food and medical assistance opportunities as Israel’s center. to the city’s underprivileged. In the meantime, signs of The transition had started distress are visible in Eilat. A earlier in 2000, when she was large, crumbling housing working at the women’s clothproject nicknamed “Singing shop she owned a few Sing” towers over one of the blocks from Eilat’s promemain streets crowded with nade and saw a man in poor migrants from Eritrea and health laying beside its Sudan, as well as poor Israelis. entrance. She called City Hall The town center, only a few to get help, but the man died streets behind the strip, looks before it came. Within weeks faded -- wiry neon signs are Grossman had turned her the outstanding feature on an business from a store selling Volunteers in a soup kitchen early one weekday morning otherwise unremarkable trafdresses to what she called a packing lunches for schoolchildren in Eilat. fic circle. Grossman says her Credit: Ben Sales hands are full with requests “welfare office.” Eilat -- located on Israel’s southern tip, hundreds of miles from the city’s poor. and a metaphorical world away from the busy streets of Tel “There’s economic difficulty, and because most of the city Aviv and the tense political climate of Jerusalem -- is known is built on tourism, if there aren’t enough tourists, the shops as a destination with swanky hotels, swimming, snorkeling and restaurants are hurt,” said Nora Bitton, a social service and suntanning. But residents of the city say that behind the worker in Eilat. promenade, a faltering tourist economy and rising cost of To address the economic woes, the Eilat municipality living have made its atmosphere increasingly uncertain -- wants to make the city a commercial and industrial center as and are driving some people to leave. well as a tourist hotspot. A large international airport near“There are many who make a lot, and there are the young by that would offer more than the current small airfield is people who make 4,000 [shekels, about $1,000] and pay set to open next year. And plans are underway for a high2,000 [shekels] in rent and become poor,” Grossman said. speed train from central Israel and an expanded port. She added, "Eilat is a special case because it looks like a “It’s a huge infrastructure project that gives Eilat land, air sparkling city, but how much does a cashier at a hotel make?” and sea connections to Africa, Asia and Europe,” said Eilat Nearly 8 percent of residents left Eilat in 2011 and the city Mayor Meir Halevi. “The most challenging project is to saw a decline of 73 percent in direct foreign flights in build infrastructure to create professional workplaces.” October as compared to October 2013, according to the The mayor’s constituents say such projects are essential. Israeli business publication The Marker. With an increasing “We’re very doubtful,” Bitton said. “We’ve been talking number of low-cost flights available from Tel Aviv to about a train since Eilat was founded. But if you don’t build Europe, Israelis are also choosing other vacation destina- it, you don’t attract people.” tions. Eilat is far from the poorest of Israel's municipalities, but Eilat is home to nearly 50,000 year-round residents. It was some data point to its challenges. As of 2010, one-quarter of founded in 1950 as a outpost on the borders with Egypt and Eilat families have a single parent as the head of household, Jordan. It was declared a city in 1959, and at the time was the highest percentage among cities with more than 5,000 populated mostly by fishermen and employees of the local families. And the average monthly salary per employee in port. Today the city looks like an average peripheral Israeli the city in 2012 was the equivalent of $1,763 -- 23 percent town with a tourist strip tacked on. It has the same faded lower than the overall Israeli average. stucco houses, the same red-pitched roofs, the same runStill, Eilatis say, even with the distance from Israel’s center, down housing projects, the same new developments lined the limited jobs and a growing sense of uneasiness, they with McMansions. remain committed to their city. Drawn in by the hot days and But living a five-hour drive from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem a warm community, the residents say what Eilat really needs comes with its differences. Residents don’t pay sales tax as an is for the rest of Israel to see the city beyond the hotels. incentive for living here. They rarely mention addresses “When I leave Eilat, I’m like a fish out of water,” said Alona when giving directions: Just ask around, they say, and some- Yosef, who runs the Eilat Gives soup kitchen. one will show you where to go. "Most people don’t know there’s a city here. They know “The isolation makes us feel like we’re in the same boat,” there’s the hotels, but they don’t know there’s a city here, said Oren Zadok, the city’s sole X-ray technician and some- there are people here.”
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A12 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B1
Mimosas without menorahs: Brunch jazzes up ho-hum Hanukkah by SHANNON SARNA NEW YORK (JTA) -- One of my favorite ways to celebrate Hanukkah is over brunch. Yes, it’s nontraditional -- and you can’t enjoy the experience of lighting the menorah together or singing. But it’s a great way to change up the routine, especially if you have young kids and want to work around nap and bedtime schedules. Serve Dill Potato Latkes with Caper and Lemon Creme Fraiche and a seasonal winter Blood Orange and Goat Cheese Salad, and add tradition with sufganiyot. Sufganiyot are much more popular in Israel, where an array of flavors is featured at bakeries beginning as early as October. In the United States, the flavors are more limited to jam and perhaps chocolate. But these round, fried doughnuts aren’t so difficult to make and lend themselves to any combination of flavors that you fancy. I love peanut butter and jelly with baked goods, and so I decided to combine an Israeli-style sufganiya with the classic American pairing of PB&J. Whether it’s Hanukkah or not, doughnuts really are a perfect brunch food. So are the latkes when they are topped with lox. Serve these dishes with mimosas and a strong pot of coffee. You might miss the sparkling lights of the menorah, but you won’t think twice about that applesauce or sour cream. BLOOD ORANGE AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD Ingredients: 3 blood oranges, peel removed and cut into sections 1 naval orange, peel removed and cut into sections 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. honey 1/2 lemon, zest and juice Salt and pepper to taste Preparation: Alternate the blood orange and naval orange slices decoratively on a platter. Sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts and goat cheese on top. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, honey, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Continued on page B2
PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY SUFGANIYOT Have a peanut allergy? Swap out the peanut butter in the glaze for cashew or almond butter. Substitute the peanuts for the corresponding nuts, or exclude them completely if you prefer. Ingredients: For the sufganiyot: 1 1/2 tbsp. dry yeast 1 tsp. sugar 1/2 cup lukewarm water 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg Israeli-style doughnuts with the classic American pairing. Credit: Shannon Sarna 2 tsp. salt Vegetable oil for frying Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a round For the glaze: biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut rounds. Place on a large 2 tbsp. milk plate, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise another 20 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter minutes. 1 cup powdered sugar While doughnuts are rising again, whisk the milk, peanut 1/4 cup chopped, salted peanuts butter, powdered sugar and chopped peanuts together to For the filling: make the glaze. 1 1/2 cups raspberry jam In a large skillet, heat generous amount of vegetable oil Preparation: over medium heat until a thermometer reads about 370F Combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar and water in a small degrees. Fry each round for 30 to 40 seconds on each side. bowl. Mix gently and allow to sit until top gets foamy, around Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking 5 to 10 minutes. sheet. Immediately spoon peanut butter glaze over the top. In a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add flour, sugar, Fill a pastry bag with jam and cut tip. Using a wooden skeweggs, butter, nutmeg and salt. Add yeast mixture and mix on er or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each doughnut. low for 2 minutes. Increase speed and mix another 5 minutes. Wiggle the toothpick around a bit to open up the inside of the You can also do this by hand with a wooden spoon, which doughnut. Fit the pastry bag into the hole, pipe about 2 teawill take slightly longer. spoons jam into doughnut. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel Add an extra dot of jam on top if desired. Makes 10-12 and allow to rise 2 1/2 to 3 hours. sufganiyot.
HAPPY HANUKKAH and a Happy & Joyous New Year!
Sincerely
B2 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
What makes Hanukkah great in America by DIANNE ASHTON CHERRY HILL, N.J. (JTA) – As Hanukkah nears, let the grousing begin. Too much is made of a holiday that Judaism ranks as a minor festival -- one whose rite takes no more than five minutes to complete each night -- some American Jews will say. Some will complain about the season’s excessive commercialism or materialism. Yet most Jews will also participate in at least one of the many customs developed by American Jews to augment the holiday’s simple rite and express the enhanced place of Hanukkah, which this year falls on Dec. 16, on the American Jewish liturgical calendar. In addition to exchanging gifts (or giving them to children), they will decorate their homes, eat fried foods, sing songs, listen to holiday music and attend one or more of the many holiday festivities held at Jewish community centers, synagogues, Jewish-themed museums and Jewish schools. At these and other venues, they will join in more elaborate versions of the domestic customs. They will light holiday candles or watch them be kindled, sing more songs than they do at home, snack on potato pancakes or jelly donuts, chat with their friends and neighbors, watch or participate in amateur theatricals on the holiday’s theme -- generally have a good time. Beneath the lighthearted celebrating, however, more serious meanings are often conveyed through the holiday’s songs. The word Hanukkah means dedication, and the holiday has always highlighted occasions when Jews overcame challenges to their continued religious commitment. Hanukkah commemorates the rededicating of the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BCE after a band of Jews led by the Maccabees retook it from the Syrians, who had conquered Judea. Generations of Jews retold that story at Hanukkah and thanked God for helping their ancestors to prevail. American Jews found additional reasons to reaffirm their dedication at Hanukkah and often voiced those reasons in original songs. Since 1842, American Jews have been singing Hanukkah songs that expressed the complicated experience of being Jewish in the United States. That year, a new hymnal for Congregation Beth Elohim in Charleston, S.C., included a special hymn for Hanukkah that reassured congregants that
the God to whom they prayed forgave their sins and continued to stand by them. The hymn countered the energetic effort by local Christian evangelicals to convince them to worship Jesus. Yet because it reassured Jews living anywhere in a largely Protestant America, the song appeared in hymnals used by both the Reform and Conservative movements as late as 1959. In the 1890s, two American Reform rabbis, in New York City and Philadelphia, wrote a new English version of Maoz Tsur, a song that Jews have sung at Hanukkah since the 13th century. Titled Rock of Ages, the new song kept the melody of its predecessor, which thanked God for saving Jews in the past, but in its shortened version substituted a homey image of domesticity bright with lights and joy and promised a future that would see “tyrants disappearing.” Rock of Ages offered Jews an emotional link to past traditions through its melody while reminding them of the tyranny currently besetting their coreligionists in Eastern Europe. As 2.3 million new Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe came to America over the next 30 years, the song grew popular. It became a fixture at American Hanukkah celebrations following the rise of Nazism in 1933, when the hope for a world free of tyranny seemed even more desperate. Rewrites of older prayers or songs often appeared in the first half of the 20th century. One Hanukkah rewrite published during World War II offered a new version of an older prayer that described God’s saving power. The rewrite, offered in Hebrew as Mi Yimalel? and in English as Who Can Retell?, has a lively melody that fits its lyric, which aims to rouse Jews to act politically, militarily and philanthropically. Although a “hero or sage” always came to the aid of needy Jews in the past, it says, the current problems facing Jewry require more. Now “all Israel must arise” and “redeem itself through deed and sacrifice.” The crises facing Jews during those years influenced the ideas and emotions that they expressed in this Hanukkah song. The experience of unity and strength that is felt in group singing may have assuaged Jews’ fears during those decades of disorientation and anguish. Hanukkah provided an occasion for singing songs that voiced old and new hopes while building new communal alliances and bonds. And that, perhaps, helps explain the broad and continuing appeal of Hanukkah for American Jews. Hanukkah allows Jews to join in the national merrymaking occasioned by Christmas, but also to rededicate ourselves to Judaism. In homes, synagogues, museums, community centers and schools, it provides us with an occasion for gathering, singing, eating, lighting candles in the evenings of the shortest days of the year, exchanging gifts, voicing religious commitments and values, and enjoying being Jews. Dianne Ashton is the author of Hanukkah in America: A History, which was published last year by NYU Press, and a professor of religion studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J.
Mimosas without menorahs Continued from page B1 DILL POTATO LATKES WITH CAPER & LEMON CREME FRAICHE Can’t find creme fraiche? Substitute sour cream or Greek yogurt for an easy fix. Ingredients: 6 medium-large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks 2 small onions, or 1 medium-large onion, cut into large chunks 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill 2 teaspoons salt 1 tsp. pepper Vegetable oil for frying 8 to 10 ounces fresh smoked salmon 1 cup creme fraiche 1 to 2 tbsp. chopped capers 1/2 lemon, juice and zest Pinch salt Preparation: Using the shredding attachment of a food processor or a hand grater, coarsely great potatoes, onions and garlic. Place in a large bowl. Add flour, eggs, dill, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until completely combined. Allow to sit 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid. Heat generous amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Using your hands, make a small latke patty and squeeze out excess liquid. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from pan and place on wire cooling rack placed on a baking sheet, which you can place in a warm oven until ready to serve. Mix together the creme fraiche, capers, lemon juice, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Place piece of smoked salmon on each latke. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of creme fraiche mixture on top of salmon. Garnish with more dill, if desired. Makes 2 dozen latkes. Shannon Sarna is editor of The Nosher blog on MyJewishLearning.com.
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B3
What in the name of assimilation is going on here? by HILLEL KUTTLER As if to underscore the point, the society’s PHILADELPHIA (JTA) – In text accom- website describes the CD set as the first panying a new exhibition at this city’s effort at presenting 20th-century American National Museum of American Jewish music that’s most closely identified with the History, Sammy Davis Jr. is quoted on why two holidays’ dual role. he converted to Judaism. “I became a Jew because I was ready and willing to understand the plight of a people who fought for thousands of years for a homeland,” the late entertainer said. What immediately follows is a curator’s observation: “Davis knew that becoming a Jew also meant recording Christmas songs.” The comment, while somewhat facetious, has a ring of truth to it: Some of the most popular Christmas tunes were written and/or sung by American Jews – notably the children of immigrants, like Irving Berlin, who composed the iconic White Christmas, or in Davis’ case, new to Judaism. It also encapsulates the theme of the exhibition, which carries the provocative title of Twas the Night Before Hanukkah. The exhibition, which highlights the music of Hanukkah and Christmas, and the people behind some of the holidays’ songs, is audi- A CD set of Christmas and Hanukkah music provided tory rather than visual, homey rather the inspiration and title for the new exhibition at than museumy. No documents or Philadelphia's National Museum of American Jewish objects are displayed. Words are History in Philadelphia. Credit: Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation mostly absent from the walls. Standing is implicitly discouraged. The CD’s cover, also displayed on an exhiThe atmosphere in the small exhibition bition wall, shows a circa-1940s photograph area better resembles one’s family room: of a teenage girl lighting a hanukkiyah while comfy couches, upholstered chairs, carpet- her presumed sister and mother exchange ing and floor-to-ceiling windows; shelves wrapped gifts beside a Christmas tree containing books about the holidays (like on topped by a star – a Star of David. how Jewish teenagers can cope with The exhibition’s goal is “to raise the big Christmas pressures); record players for questions of Jewish American pop culture: adults and children along with holiday questions of identity and of assimilation,” albums; Legos from a hanukkiyah kit. Kun said by telephone from Los Angeles. “It’s more of an experience than a tradi- “Hanukkah grew in power alongside the tional museum exhibit that’s artifact-heavy,” dominance of Christmas.” co-curator Ivy Weingram said. “I like to To Kun, the Jews putting their musical talthink of the songs as the artifacts.” ents to work in this manner were neither surIndeed, the main attractions are the iPads rendering to nor fighting America’s overresting on the blue plastic-block end tables. whelming Christmas tide but rather riding it. Visitors can get cozy on the sofas and select In so doing, he said, they were embracing their a song to lose themselves in through the new American identities. To them, Christmas provided earphones. was a national holiday, not a Christian one. Enjoying the music while watching snow That’s why, Kun said, their songs tended to fall on Independence Hall this winter – all a celebrate the seasonal nature of Christmas: visitor would seem to lack to complete the the chestnuts, reindeer and snow, but not indoor Americana ideal is a mug of hot cocoa. the manger. That approach echoed The iPads offer the Jewishly numerically Hollywood’s Jewish moguls churning out significant 18 Hanukkah songs and 18 films high on mainstream and not ethnic -Christmas songs; nearly all the singers and and certainly not Jewish -- America. songwriters featured were Jews. “One of the great Jewish tactics in Debbie Friedman’s The Latke Song and Sol American life,” Kun said, “is that Jews do Zim’s Maoz Tsur are among the 36, but far America better than anyone: ‘You want more fascinating are the crossovers. Christmas? We’ll give you Christmas.’ “ Eddie Cantor (born Edward Israel Iskowitz) Along with the musical offerings and the sings The Only Thing I Want for Christmas. CDs’ liner notes, from whence the Davis Benny Goodman performs Santa Claus Came quotation comes, the iPads provide holidayin the Spring. Opera great Richard Tucker, centric YouTube clips like Adam Sandler trained as a cantor at a Brooklyn synagogue, performing The Hanukkah Song, Joel has O Little Town of Bethlehem. Fleischman bringing home a Christmas tree And the non-Jews doing Hanukkah? Try in the television series Northern Exposure Woody Guthrie (Hanukkah Dance), The and the Ramones onstage belting out Merry Indigo Girls (Happy Joyous Hanukkah) and Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight). Don McLean (Dreidel). Not that the museum’s traditional offerWhat in the name of assimilation is going ings are ignored in the exhibition, which on here? runs until March 1. Printed pamphlets and “All holidays, in many ways, are cultural the iPads offer a guided tour of all constructions,” explained Josh Kun, a Hanukkah-related artifacts elsewhere in the University of Southern California professor building, like a hanukkiyah brought to and co-curator of the exhibition with America in 1881 by an immigrant from Weingram. Lodz, Poland; a 1948 photograph showing The exhibition grew out of the 2012 Rabbi Chaim Lipschitz teaching release by the Jewish organization Kun Philadelphia children the Hanukkah blesscofounded, the Idelsohn Society for Musical ings; a 1962 letter explaining Saks Fifth Preservation, of a two-CD set from which Avenue’s lack of Hanukkah decorations. the museum exhibition takes its name. The Naturally, too, visitors can see Irving CD is subtitled The Musical Battle Between Berlin’s piano -- and the sheet music for Christmas and the Festival of Lights. White Christmas.
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Snowbirds B4 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
Getting gelt was good as gold by EDMON J. RODMAN LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- What can a buck get you on Hanukkah? Maybe a gold mesh bag of chocolate coins or a lighter for your menorah. But Jewish continuity? At Hanukkah time, when we get so wrapped up in gift giving, I propose that it’s a single dollar of gelt (Yiddish for money) that has the power to keep on giving beyond eight nights. Hanukkah gelt referred originally in Europe and later America to coins given as gifts to children and adults. Today, gelt
uncles seated. One by one, with the oldest going first, the name of each grandchild was called, and each came forward to pass down the “gelt line.” My future mother-in-law, Shirley, knowing everyone’s birthday, kept the chronology straight, and when the time came for Brenda, I was surprised to be included with her. In my late 20s, I thought myself beyond getting gelt. But as I passed down the line, each uncle pressed a crisp $1 bill into my hand (Stanley Berko, my future father-inlaw, gave me a $2 bill), and as I shook their
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Happy Hanukkah from Dan & Usha Sherman
Holding fistfuls of dollars for the family gelt line in the early 2000s are, from left, Lou Hasson, Gene Levey, Stanley Berko and the late Julius Karabel. Credit: Randie Laine K
happy
Hanukkah May the warmth and glow of each candle you light, make your heart and home happy and your Hanukkah
brings to mind the chocolate coins wrapped in gold and silver foil that come in a small mesh bag. But lately, gelt-wise, I’ve been thinking outside the bag and wondering why of all the Hanukkah gifts that I received as a child, it is the shiny silver dollars given by my parents that I remember best. I never even spent them. Was something more than a dollar being given? When I was a teenager, and the silver dollars stopped and were replaced by clothes and books, I was surprised by how much I missed the holiday ritual of being handed a dollar. It wasn’t until I was engaged that someone gave me one again. I had been invited to a family Hanukkah party at the home of my fiance Brenda’s Sephardic grandmother, Grace Hasson, or as everyone called her, “Vava.” Some three dozen relatives -- aunts and uncles, cousins and their spouses -- crowded into a small living room. We said blessings for the candle lighting and sang songs before moving on to dinner. The feeling was nice, warm; nothing unusual. After dinner and some bunuelos -- sugarpowdered fried balls of dough -- someone said it was time for “gelt.” Gelt? For whom? I watched as four dining room chairs were lined up at one end of the room and four
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hands and wished each a “Happy Hanukkah,” I felt like a million bucks. When Brenda reached the end of the line, her grandmother handed her a white envelope. At Hanukkah, “You got a dollar from each uncle, two from your own parents and two from Vava, plus a birthday bond,” explained Joe Hasson, my wife’s brother. Hasson recalls using the $7 to buy record albums or gas for his car. “We also used the bills to play liar’s poker,” he added. “I would bring girlfriends, and they would get a big kick out of it. It made you feel good to continue the tradition,” said Hasson, who is married and has two children who also went through the line. He remembers the line as a kind of roll call. “It was the only time you would see all the cousins,” he said. However, I soon realized, one didn’t even need to be present to be counted. If for some reason you couldn’t make it, someone would be designated to go through the line for you. One of the uncles, Lou Hasson, remembers the tradition beginning in the mid1960s. “There are four branches of our family. It was wonderful to have them together,” he said. Continued on page B5
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B5
Chocolate gelt meets chocolate guilt by OZZIE NOGG I love chocolate. Fine Belgian truffles or M&Ms, makes no never mind. Long as it’s dark, I’m happy. Therefore, each Hanukkah brings my personal December Dilemma: tasteless milk chocolate Hanukkah gelt. An article in Bon Appetit likened the bland discs to half-melted candles with flavor akin to a chew toy. Ditto and amen. There’s gotta be something better than this. And there is. My on-line search for dark chocolate Hanukkah gelt uncovered what I craved -64% cacao gelt with sea salt, to boot. This up-scale Kosher product is molded to resemble Judean coins minted circa 40 B.C.E., and instead of almost impossible to remove foil wrapping, each little darling is dusted with gold or silver. A box of eighteen sets you back sixteen bucks. Pricey, for sure. Come to find out, the cost is more dear than I realized. In her book, On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao, Rabbi Deborah Prinz describes the role Jewish traders played from the time of Columbus in the spread of cocoa to Spain and, after the Inquisition, to the rest of Europe and eventually to England and America. Prinz spotlights the Jewish chocolate-making center of Bayonne, France, where (so they say) Jewish settlers convinced church authorities that chocolate was ‘kosher’ for Lent. She cites examples of chocolate use in Jewish ritual (since wine was scarce in ‘New Spain,’ Mexican Crypto-Jews used chocolate to welcome the Sabbath), and describes the impromptu creation in 1832 of Vienna’s famous Sachertorte by a sixteenyear-old Jewish apprentice baker named Franz Sacher. On the Chocolate Trail acknowledges Barton’s Almond Kisses (of blessed memory) along with the Israeli café offering Chocolate Chunks Pizza and Warm Chocolate Soup. (FYI. In 2013, Belgium issued a limited edition of chocolate flavored stamps.) After the fun facts, Rabbi Prinz switches gears to raise serious moral questions re: modern chocolate production, the treatment of cacao growers and the policies of major candy manufacturers. “Given the themes of Hanukkah around freedom of religion,” she writes, “and given the experiences Jews have had over centuries asserting ourselves as a minority culture, it seems appropriate that at this time of year we should think about finding ethically produced chocolate. There are religious choices that we make about our chocolate. Is it fair trade, is it organic, who made this, is it a ‘green’ chocolate, a ‘happy’ chocolate as some people would say?” Uh-oh. Here’s a new December Dilemma. Do I care if the fancy-shmancy Hanukkah gelt I’m drooling to buy is made from cocoa harvested by child slaves? You bet I do. So I sat me down to watch the award-winning 2010 documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate on YouTube. The film,
produced by Danish journalist Miki Mistrati, is an undercover investigation of child labor and trafficked children in chocolate production, particularly in the Ivory Coast. These boys and girls, ranging in age from 9 to 15, are sold into slavery, work 12-hour days, are regularly beaten, starved and never paid. Most of these kids stay with the plantation until they die, never learn to read and write, never see their families again. Corporate representatives, when confronted,
denied all use of child labor and trafficking, even though evidence was captured on film. When word of the abuse surfaced, the Harkin-Engel Protocol -- aka the Cocoa Protocol -- was created in 2001 to eliminate child trafficking and slave labor in the cocoa industry. The heads of eight major chocolate companies signed and witnessed the Protocol, pledging its implementation by 2005. Today, trafficking and slavery continue in Western Africa, nearly ten years after the cocoa industry pledged to end it. So how can we consumers ensure that those who produce Hanukkah gelt are paid properly for their work? Start by
finding out where fair trade chocolate is sold and then use the power of your purse. (Helpful websites are below.) Under fair trade principles, workers enjoy safe working conditions, earn a living wage, and forced child labor is strictly prohibited. Fair trade supports a key tenet of Judaism: Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof. Justice, justice shall you pursue. Deuteronomy teaches, “You shall not exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or a stranger living in your land.” Rabbi Prinz says, “Our tradition has sensitivity about humane treatment of workers and human beings. We Jews are committed to fairness to the laborer. It’s about economic justice.” To which Rabbi David Baum of Boca Raton, FL adds, “There are ethics and laws regarding our food and our consumption of food. Fair trade brings us closer to our food because we know who is growing it, that they are treated fairly. Fair treatment of workers conforms to values and laws of Torah.” Legend has it that Hanukkah gelt is linked to the Maccabees’ miraculous victory over the ancient Greeks. To celebrate their freedom, King Matityahu (the last Hasmonean king of Judea) minted national coins. This Hanukkah, after you’ve lit the candles and handed out some (hopefully) guiltfree gelt, recite this prayer by outspoken social activist Rabbi Menachem Creditor. “I hold more than chocolate in my hand. This product I have purchased is a mixture of bitter and sweet flavors; the sweetness represents the dignity and respect of cocoa farmers who own their own company. As Hanukkah is an eight-day reminder that light can penetrate darkness, may this experience of tasting sweet freedom, the bounty of free people’s work, inspire me to add more light to the world.” Ditto and amen. To watch The Dark Side of Chocolate go to: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vfbv6hNeng. For information on fair trade practices and Jewish values, visit: T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights at http://www. truah.org/ and Fair Trade Judaica at http://www.fair tradejudaica.org. Lists of fair trade cocoa products are found at http://fairtradeusa.org/products-partners/cocoa and http://www. foodispower.org/chocolate-list/.
Getting gelt was good as gold Continued from page B4 Another of the uncles, Gene Levey, said that “before we gave gelt, each family would pick another family and give them gifts, but it was hard to know what to buy.” As the cousins married and had children, the number of gelt getters doubled to approximately 40. Berko, who remembers going to the bank to get about $75, recalled that his first gelt line was also the year he married into the family. “I didn’t even know everyone’s name, but I wanted to be part of it, too,” he said, as did the next generation. “It didn’t matter to me if it was $100 bill or a dollar, I really wouldn’t have cared,” wrote Beau Karabel, one of the great-grandchildren, in a text. “I just loved these guys and wanted to be them one day.” Rachel Petruzzi, another great-grandchild, said she remembers “getting together as this humungous unit” at Hanukkah.
“Going through the gelt line, you would get a special moment with each uncle and my grandfather,” she said. After some 40 years, however, when she was 25, those moments stopped with Vava’s passing in 2008 at 104. “I miss it so much,” Petruzzi said. For Rachel’s mother, Ellen Petruzzi, the line was a means of family continuity. Even with the untimely deaths of several of the aunts and uncles, including her mother’s, she noted that the family carried on with its Hanukkah tradition. “We have strong feelings for each other,” Ellen Petruzzi said of her extended family, who continue to get together at Passover and Rosh Hashanah -- a dinner that Brenda and I now host that is flavored with a dish from each family. “We are strongly connected.” Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles. Contact him at edmo jace@gmail.com.
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B6 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
‘Top your own’ party gives latkes a lift by SHANNON SARNA NEW YORK (JTA) -- There’s nothing quite like that first night of Hanukkah: a platter full of hot, crispy latkes and the accompanying applesauce and sour cream. It’s classic, delicious and a beloved comfort food for so many American Jews. But by the third or fourth night, I need a change of pace for my latkes. Or to be more specific, I crave some other toppings. While I love dipping my latkes into a healthy serving of rich sour cream, I also relish serving meat with latkes, specifically pulled brisket. You can use any beloved recipe of choice. After the brisket has finished cooking and cooled, shred it with two forks. Throw a “top your own” latkes party and make an array of creative toppings -- like the brisket or spicy cranberry applesauce recipes offered below -- or tell your guests to bring their favorites. It’s fun to see how creative people can get. Some other potential latke toppings: grilled pastrami and mustard, sauerkraut, salsa, pickled jalapenos, beef chili and caramelized onions. The sky’s the limit.
SPICY CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE Like it really spicy? Add more chilies or 1 tablespoon of Sriracha hot sauce for more heat. Ingredients: 6 apples, peeled and diced 12 ounces fresh cranberries 1 cup water 2 tbsp. orange juice 2 tbsp. orange zest 1/3 cup sugar 2-3 small dried chilies Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until cranberries have softened and released juices. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes covered. Allow to cool slightly. Place applesauce in a food processor fitted with blade attachment. Process until desired consistency. Serve chilled. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts. Shannon Sarna is editor of The Nosher blog on MyJewishLearning.com.
PULLED BRISKET TOPPED LATKES CLASSIC POTATO LATKES Ingredients: 12 medium-large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks 4 small onions, or 1 medium-large onion, cut into large chunks 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 3/4 to 1 cup flour 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1 1/2 tbsp. salt 1/2 tbsp. pepper Vegetable oil for frying Preparation: Using the shredding attachment of a food processor or a hand grater, coarsely great potatoes, onions and garlic. Place in a large bowl. Add flour, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until Credit: Shannon Sarna completely combined. Allow Brisket-topped latkes: not your ordinary meat and potatoes. evenly. Preheat the oven to 300F degrees. to sit 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or pot on medium Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Using your hands, make a small latke patty and squeeze out high heat. Sear the brisket on both sides “until the smoke excess liquid again. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until detector goes off.” Remove meat and set aside. Using the remaining oil and “good bits” on the bottom of golden brown. Remove from pan and place on wire cooling rack placed on a baking sheet, which you can place in a the pan, sauté carrots and onions, scraping the bottom until the veggies are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato warm oven until ready to serve. Makes 4 dozen latkes. paste and stir until thoroughly mixed. PULLED BRISKET Put the brisket back in the pan, and cover with the bottle This pulled brisket also makes for an amazing sandwich of red wine, beer and ginger ale. Place the entire pot with on a challah roll. You can cut the proportions in half, too. brisket into the oven, and cook for at least 3 to 4 hours, until Ingredients: meat is completely tender. 2- to 3-pound brisket When the meat is fork tender, remove the meat and set 1 tbsp. salt aside on a large cutting board. 1/2 tbsp. freshly grated black pepper Let the sludge rise to the top of the pot liquid and skim it 2 tsp. garlic powder off. Strain out the carrots and onions and using a food 2 tsp. onion powder processor, blend them with 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid, 1 tsp. dried parsley then return the blended mixture to the rest of the liquid and 3 to 4 tbsp. olive oil simmer to reduce slightly. 1 can beer On the cutting board using two forks, carefully shred the 1 can ginger ale brisket into small strands. Add 1 to 2 cups of the pureed 1 bottle red wine cooking liquid to the pulled brisket for additional moisture 4 ounces tomato paste and flavor. 4 medium carrots, cut into medium size pieces Serve in a large bowl and allow guests to top latkes, or 2 onions, cut into quarters spoon small amounts of brisket on each latke for a more elePreparation: In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion gant presentation. powder and parsley. Spread dry rub on both sides of brisket
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B7
Celebrating Eric Kimmel’s Hershel, meeting new characters by PENNY SCHWARTZ BOSTON (JTA) -- Back in 1984, when Eric Kimmel was an up-and-coming children’s book author, he tried his hand at a Hanukkah story, one featuring goblins. Overly cautious Jewish editors rejected the manuscript, not knowing what to make of it, Kimmel recalled. “It was strange. It didn’t look like any other Hanukkah books and didn’t fit into any neat category. It wasn’t a folk tale and it was kind of creepy,” he told JTA with his signature sense of humor and tellit-like-it-is manner. Kimmel tucked the story away in a drawer for a while. Years later, some keen-eyed editors, first at Cricket magazine and later at Holiday House, took a chance on Kimmel’s offbeat tale, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, illustrated by the late acclaimed artist Trina Schart Hyman. The book was recognized with a 1989 Caldecott Honor and went on to win a place in the hearts and homes of Jewish and non-Jewish families, schoolteachers and librarians across the country. Hershel has been in print ever since. Now, in time for Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Lights that begins this year on the evening of Dec. 16, Holiday House has issued its 25th anniversary edition of Hershel and Hanukkah Goblins, with a new afterword by Kimmel and Holiday House publisher John Briggs, who brought the book to light. And Kimmel has a new Hanukkah tale out this year, Simon and the Bear. As Hershel and Hanukkah Goblins opens, a wandering poor Jewish man named Hershel arrives in a Jewish village on a snowy day at the start of the holiday. For years, the townsfolk have been scared off by goblins from celebrating Hanukkah, they tell him. The evil doers blow out the Hanukkah candles, break the dreidels and throw the latkes on the floor, they bemoan. But Hershel tells the rabbi he is not afraid. “If I can’t outwit a few goblins, then my name isn’t Hershel of Ostropol,” Hershel says. Each of the eight Hanukkah nights, Hershel outwits the goblins, one more menacing than the next. In the end, with clever maneuvers and quick thinking, he breaks their evil spell and returns the Festival of Lights back to the townsfolk with a triumph to match the holiday’s own miracle. Growing up, Kimmel enjoyed hearing stories of Hershel of Ostropol from his storytelling grandmother. He sees the folk character as a hero among the people, the opposite of the fools of Chelm. Hershel has street smarts, is practical and takes on the mighty and powerful. “He’s surviving day to day and using his wits,” Kimmel says.
The book was hailed as a perfect match between the master storyteller and Schart Hyman, whose vibrant paintings set the tone with darkened scenes illuminated by the golden glow of the Hanukkah candles and shiny gelt coins. In addition to the strong pairing between art and story, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is considered a classic because of Kimmel’s ability to tell a mesmerizing story, says Anita Silvey, the author of 100 Best Books for Children and Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Children’s Book. “Readers from different backgrounds learn about Jewish culture, but what pulls them along is a story,” Silvey wrote in an email. Kimmel, 68, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., has gone on to win two National Jewish Book Awards and the Sydney Taylor Award for Jewish children’s books. He recalls a letter from a young reader with a Latino background who said Hershel was his favorite Halloween story. Kimmel says he receives many requests for permission to turn the story into theatrical productions. “I am always flattered,” he says. Kimmel says Simon and the Bear (Disney Hyperion; ages 3-6) may be his best work. It’s a charming, witty, feel-good adventure based on a sad story that Kimmel read about the sinking of the Titanic. The book was illustrated by Matthew Trueman. Here are some other new Hanukkah books for children: Beautiful Yetta’s Hanukkah Kitten Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater Macmillan ($17.99), ages 3-8 A fun-filled collaboration between the Pinkwaters -- the humorist Daniel and his artist wife, Jill -- will enliven Hanukkah in this new Yetta the Yiddish-speaking chicken tale. Yetta’s flown the coop from a Brooklyn poultry market and takes up with a cast of nest mates who jest in English and Yiddish translations. A lost kitten in need of care leads them to celebrate Hanukkah with a warmhearted grandmother. The large-format pages sparkle with brilliant and entertaining color illustrations. The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin Martha Seif Simpson; illustrated by Durga Yael Benhard Wisdom Tales ($16.95); ages 5 and up In this beautifully illustrated tale set in the old world, the keeper of a toy shop offers a mysterious dreidel to a young boy from a poor family. The boy’s humility emits a small miracle from the special dreidel. An author’s note explains the holiday, dreidels and how to play the dreidel game. Continued on page B10
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B8 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
How to eat Hanukkah sufganiyot without guilt by JAIME GELLER (JNS.org) The average Hanukkah sufganiya (jelly donut) has between 300 and 400 calories of nearly pure oil and fat. In honor of the miracle God bestowed on the Maccabees, making oil meant for just a day last eight days, the delicious donut and other traditionally oily Hanukkah foods become annual killers for your diet. For those who are health conscious but do not want to be deprived of the annual treat, here is a recipe selected from Joyofkosher.com. Consider substituting or reducing ingredients further as needed for your diet. Jamie Geller is the only bestselling cookbook author who wants to get you out of the kitchen -- not because she doesn’t love food -- but because she has tons to do. As “The Bride Who Knew Nothing,” Jamie found her niche specializing in fast, fresh, family recipes. Now hailed as the “Queen of Kosher” (CBS) and the “Jewish Rachael Ray” (New York Times), she’s the creative force behind Joyofkosher.com and Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller magazine. Jamie and her hubby live in Israel with their five busy kids who give her plenty of reasons to get out of the kitchen -- quickly. Check out her new book, Joy of Kosher: Fast, Fresh Family Recipes.
BAKED WHOLE WHEAT CRANBERRY ORANGE DONUTS 1 tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice From Tamar Genger MA, RD on Joyofkosher.com. These baked donuts taste more like cake since they are not 1/4 tsp. vanilla fried, but they are still very tasty. In addition, they use the 3/4 cup powdered sugar healthier option of whole wheat flour. Preparation: Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nonstick mini donut Ready Time: 30 minutes pan with cooking spray and set aside. Ingredients: 2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, corn1 cup white whole wheat flour meal, orange zest, sugar, baking powder, 3 tbsp. corn meal and salt together. 1 tsp. orange zest 3. In a small bowl whisk the coconut oil, 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp. sugar the coconut milk mixture, egg white, and 1 tsp. baking powder vanilla together. Add the wet and dry 1/2 tsp. salt ingredients and fold in until just mixed, 3 tbsp. liquid coconut oil and add chopped cranberries. Stir until 6 tbsp. coconut milk mixed with just mixed. Spoon into donut pan. 1 tsp. lemon or vinegar 4. Bake for 12-14 minutes. 1 egg white 5. Make glaze. While donuts cool, in a 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract small saucepan heat the cranberries and Credit: Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller orange juice until they burst about 5 min1/2 cups Chopped Fresh Cranberries utes. Remove from heat, mash berries with fork, add powdered For the Glaze: sugar and vanilla stir well. Dip donut into glaze and serve. 1/4 cup fresh cranberries Makes 12 mini donuts.
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B9
Hanukkah menorahs of Israel shed light on past, present, future by DEBORAH FINEBLUM SCHABB (JNS.org) As winter arrives and the days grow shorter, outdoor lighting is needed more during the Hanukkah season than at any other time of year. This need is taken particularly seriously in Israel, where outdoor menorahs make a nocturnal stroll through city streets a treat for the eyes -and for the spirit. The outdoor Hanukkah menorah was one Israeli tradition that painters Israel Hershberg and Yael Scalia Hershberg embraced when they made aliyah from Baltimore more than three decades ago. Each year, they place nine shot glasses filled with olive oil (and each topped with a wick) in a simple box fashioned of brass and tin. The box has glass windows and little chimneys. “It’s something of a Yerushalmi (Jerusalemite) artifact since it seems they don’t make them anymore,” Yael says of the box, which was purchased from a craftsman in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim. “It’s very old world, and in its authenticity and its simplicity it has real charm.” The term menorah itself can be cause for confusion, even in Israel. The one used thousands of years ago in the Jewish Temple, which was adopted as a symbol of the nascent state of Israel, has seven branches. But the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches -- one for each day the scarce oil burned in the reclaimed temple more than 2,000 years ago, as well as a “shamash” to light the Rabbi rest of the candles and stand guard over them as they Wall. burn. In an effort to stem the confusion, in the late 1800s Eliezer ben Yehuda, the father of the modern Hebrew language, coined the term “hanukkiah,” which is how today’s Israelis tend to refer to Hanukkah menorahs. But not all hanukkiahs are outdoor affairs. Many of the 70-plus hanukkiahs in the home of Tel Aviv collector Bill Gross and his wife Lisa are just too gorgeous -- and too valuable -- to expose to the elements. Gross, however, is intent on “seeing them returned to their original use,” which is why he uses a different hanukkiah each year. The rotation includes the 1950 Israeli specimen he used growing up in Minneapolis. “I believe that as soon as you look at them as art objects, it rips them up by their roots. These are objects made for performing a mitzvah and it’s
only right to let them do that,” he says. Old hanukkiahs also serve as a reminder of those years when the act of lighting them was a risky undertaking. One hanukkiah, dating back to pre-World War II times, is on display in the Holocaust History Museum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem, where visitors can find it in the section dealing with the Nazi rise to power. Every year, members of the family who donated it -- the Mansbachs -- take it home to Haifa to light it for the holiday.
like the one Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky used in a Soviet internment camp 34 years ago, remain only in the memory of those touched by their light. Back in 1980, Sharansky was one of a group of political prisoners and the only Jew. “But when I told them Hanukkah was coming, everyone was very enthusiastic,” he says. One friend who worked in the wood shop fashioned a crude menorah of pressed wood from a box for Sharansky. He lit it in the barracks on the first night of Hanukkah and on several subsequent nights, until a KGB collaborator turned him in and the menorah was confiscated. “The head of the camp called me in and told me, ‘This is not a synagogue; you were brought here for punishment, not for praying,’” recalls Sharansky, who promptly embarked on a hunger strike. The hunger strike made the camp leaders nervous because a commission from Moscow was expected to arrive shortly. On the last night of Hanukkah, Sharansky told the head of the camp, “You want me to stop the hunger strike? You give me back my menorah and bring me nine candles. I’ll say the prayers and you say, ‘Amen.’” Which is exactly what happened. “I prayed the day would come when we will celebrate our freedom in Jerusalem and that all our enemies will hear our prayer and say, ‘Amen,’” says Sharansky. Since the prayer was in Hebrew, the head of the camp didn’t understand a Shmuel Rabinowitz lights the Hanukkah menorah at the Western word but just kept saying “Amen.” The next day, after Credit: Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz the commission had come and gone, Sharansky was “The thousands of personal items in Yad Vashem’s collec- sent back to the camp’s prison. tions help us connect with the experience of Jewish men, The light from all the menorahs throughout time continwomen, and children during the Shoah,” says Yad Vashem ues to shine down through Jewish history, says Rabbi Chairman Avner Shalev. Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall Member of Knesset Rabbi Dov Lipman (Yesh Atid) and and other Israeli holy sites. Every year, after lighting the offihis family also use a hanukkiah that reminds them of this cial Western Wall hanukkiah, Rabinowitz returns home to dark time in Jewish history -- a replica of one constructed of light the small silver one his in-laws gave him for his wednails in a concentration camp. “It was a gift for my bar mitz- ding 25 years ago. “A little bit of light takes away all the darkvah,” says Lipman, a Maryland native who now lives in Beit ness,” the rabbi says through a translator. “And this year, Shemesh. “As a people we have always used any means at our more than ever, we need the light. As a people we need to be disposal to survive and to stay strong, and every year when united and together, with no fighting or disagreement. We we light this hanukkiah we and our children are reminded of Jews need to connect through this light to the spirit of that.” Hanukkah and to each other.” But not all menorahs have survived tough times. Many, Continued on page B10
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Happy Chanukah from your friends at Boys Town! 14057 Flanagan Blvd. | Boystown.org/discover | 1-800-625-1400 | info@boystown.org 1401-015-05e
B10 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
Continued from page B9 Rabinowitz adds, “At a time of so much darkness, we need to also connect to the power of our Jewish tradition. The light has
rebuilding and hope,” says Fass. “And now that it has been passed down to the fourth generation in our family, it also reminds us that Jewish history is still being written and
One of the 70-plus hanukkiahs amassed by Tel Aviv collector Bill Gross. the power to bring us back to it and to unify us.” The hanukkiah at the home of Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah agency, came with his wife Batsheva’s grandfather all the way to America from Germany, where he purchased it after the war. “He had lost everything but gathered whatever he could to buy a semblance of Judaism which for him was a sign of
Credit: Bill Gross
Israel is the homeland for tomorrow’s generations of our people.” “Each night when we add a candle and the light grows steadily stronger, we realize once again the importance of being here in Israel, the only place in the world that is truly ours,” Fass adds. “Like the miracle of Hanukkah, this mini miracle of our ability to return home to Israel is something that we want to publicize to the entire Jewish world.”
Children’s Hanukkah books Continued from B7 Here is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays Leslea Newman; illustrated by Susan Gal Abrams Books for Young Readers ($18.95); ages 4-7 A lavish and brightly illustrated book by the award-winning writer Leslea Newman lyrically rhymes its way through the Jewish holidays, including Hanukkah. End pages explain Jewish customs and holidays and recipes, including fried potato latkes for Hanukkah. A p e r f e c t Hanukkah gift for young readers. Latke, the Lucky Dog Ellen Fischer; illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke Kar-Ben ($17. 95 hardcover; $7.95 paperback); ages 2-7 A newly adopted dog from a shelter is a family Hanukkah gift that delights a young brother and sister. Latke, the dog, feels very lucky to be living with the loving family, but in innocence he gets into mischief and threatens to spoil the Hanukkah celebrations. The story, told from Latke’s perspective, will delight
dog-loving kids. The Night Before Hanukkah Natasha Wing; illustrated by Amy Wummer Grosset & Dunlap ($3.99); ages 2-5 This rhyming Hanukkah story for young kids is Natasha Wing’s newest entry in her best-selling series of “night-before” books. Rhymes and illustrations are lively as the story follows a family celebrating Hanukkah and retelling a simple version of the holiday story. Miracle for Shira: a Chanukah Story Galia Sabbag; illustrated by Erin Taylor Available on www.shiraseries.com ($12; also as ebook through Amazon.com); ages 4-8 This entry in a series by Galia Sabbag, a longtime Jewish educator, features the spunky and curious Shira searching for her new unusual dreidel, sent by her aunt in Israel, that is lost at school. Hebrew words, written also in English, are sprinkled throughout the text. Erin Taylor’s large format, animation-like illustrations enliven the story that’s a good read for kids in Jewish and religious schools.
Happy Hanukkah
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December 5, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B11
Sephardic and other sweets for Hanukkah by SYBIL KAPLAN It is in the Talmud where the so-called miracle of the oil burning for eight days is written, which was inserted to deemphasize the miracle of military triumph and replace it with a more palatable idea, that of the intervention of G-d, which somehow would seem more a miracle of man against man, according to the sages of the time. From this idea, practically every ethnic group created a form of food prepared in oil as a reminder of the so-called miracle of the jar of oil. Jews of Morocco eat sfenj, an air light yeast doughnut in a ring shape, glazed with sugar syrup, flavored with cinnamon and orange. Sfenj are also a popular breakfast street food. Moroccans may also precede sfenj with a meal of stuffed vegetables suchas grape leaves, eggplant, green peppers, tomatoes, zucchini or onions; lentils, vegetable soups and couscous, the semolina pellets steamed over soup. Jews of Tunisia make yoyos with a dough enriched with eggs and baking powder rather than yeast. Sephardic Jews descended from the Jews of Spain make bimuelos, also called burmelos or bimwelos, a yeast fried fritter or puff pancake often served with a citrus-scented sugar syrup. According to Matthew Goodman, the former Food Maven of The Forward, Italian Jews prepare frittelle, diamondshaped fritters made from a yeast dough with raisins and anise seeds, finished with warm honey. Greek Jews make loukomades, a deep fried puff made with yeast with a honey topping and dusted with cinnamon or sometimes topped with crushed nuts and sugar syrup. Turkish Jews make zvingous, like a fried doughnut hole with honey and sugar syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon. Semolina filled turnovers called singra or kushli are eaten by Jews of India. Z’labia are the Yemenite deep fried pastries, also eaten by some Jews of Algeria, Libya, Iranian Jews make zelebi, snail-like curls fried in oil then dipped in honey. Iraqi Jews make zangoole or zingzoola, oil fried pancakes with a lacey look then dropped into syrup. Zingole is similar to a fried pancake made by Syrian Jews. Atiyef, the sweet stuffed with pistachio nuts and doused in syrup, are also a Syrian favorite for Chanukah. Jews of Tripoli, Libya served spanzas, a Chanukah pancake; Jews from northwestern Africa make makrud, a datefilled cookie whose filling is rolled in semolina dough. Jews of Kurdistan make deep-fried pancakes for Chanukah by tossing pieces of dough into oil to deep fry then sprinkling them with confectioners’ sugar made from regular sugar with a mortar and pestle. Jews from Bukharia serve a Chanukah pancake called dushpire. For a special treat this Chanukah, why not make a sweet that is made by another ethnic group. MOROCCAN SHVINZE Ingredients: 1/4 cup lukewarm water 5 tsp. dry yeast 4 cups flour pinch salt oil honey or confectioners’ sugar Preparation: Place yeast in water. After it swells, add to flour and salt. This should make an elastic dough. Heat oil in a deep pot. Wet hands. Take a piece of dough and
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shape it into a circle, punching a hole in the center. Drop into oil and repeat with more dough. Brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve with honey or confectioners sugar. BURMUELOS Ingredients: 3/4 cup honey 2 tbsp. water 2 tsp. dry yeast 2 tbsp. water 1 egg 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. oil 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup water oil Preparation: Combine honey and 2 tsp. water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside. Dissolve yeast in a dish with 2 tbsp. water. Add egg, salt and oil and blend. Add flour and 1/2 cup water and stir. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Heat oil in a deep pot. Drop batter by tablespoon into hot oil. Burmuelos puff up and turn over by themselves. Cook until brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip in warm syrup. If making ahead, wait to dip. Makes 2 dozen.
GREEK LOUKOUMADES
Ingredients: 4 cups flour 2 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 oz. yeast 2 1/2 tbsp. sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. salt honey oil Preparation: Place flour, water, yeast, sugar, egg and salt in a mixer and mix for 20 minutes. Let stand 1 hour in a warm place. Heat oil in a deep pot. Using a melon scoop, take scoops of dough and drop into hot oil. Fry until brown. drain on paper towels, Repeat until all batter is used. Serve with honey on top.
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Advertiser Page Omaha Trans Video .......................................... A11 Pasta Amore ....................................................... A7 Pulverente ......................................................... A11 Remington Heights ........................................... B10 Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc. ........................... A7 Russell’s .............................................................. B8 Senior Moving Services .................................... B11 Sol’s Jewelry & Loan .......................................... A8 St. Joseph Villa .................................................... A5 Suburban Newspapers Inc. ............................... A3 The American Israel Public Affairs Committee ... A4 The Green Spot ................................................... B6 Thomas Pet & House Sitting .............................. A8 Tritz Plumbing Inc. .............................................. A3 Visiting Nurse Association .................................. B2 Zio’s Pizzaria ........................................................ B4
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B12 | The Jewish Press | December 5, 2014
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