TO CARE FOR JEWS
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT
Jewish Press Editor
Giving Jewishly means caring about others, and taking care of others the way we would want to be treated ourselves, were the need to arise. And even though dollars are needed to maintain buildings and ensure necessary work gets
done, ultimately, we give tzedakah because we want to make life better for others. Oftentimes, we don’t know those ‘others’ personally, but we care because we can see ourselves in them. “Caring for vulnerable Jews around the world, the same way we care for Jews in Omaha, is a privilege and a blessing,”
JFO CEO Bob Goldberg said.
See To care for Jews page 2
An amazing year at the Staenberg Omaha JCC Highlights from the General Assembly
As 2024 draws to a close, we can
look forward to 2025 being a very special year for the Jewish Community Center as we celebrate our 100 year anniversary. While much has changed over the last 100 years, our mission is the same: we strive to provide the community with social, cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities – all within one of the best facilities in Omaha.
The JCC remains an integral part of the community, and has since 1925. With our state-of-the-art facilities, See Staenberg Omaha JCC page 3
KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor
A few weeks ago, a group of volunteers and professionals from our Jewish Federation of Omaha attended the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington DC. “Unity” was the theme throughout.
For Mike Abrahamson, it was his first time attending the GA:
“I was not sure what to expect from the conference,” he said. “I found that the people I spoke with were united with Israel and united in the fight against antisemitism.
Also, we heard directly from families of the hostages. They were very clear that this war should end immediately, and their loved ones must be returned. In addition, antisemitism took a vacation after WWII. It’s back; it’s very real and dangerous. We need to combat it aggressively.”
“While still addressing the common topics that are usually covered at such a conference,” JFO CEO Bob Goldberg said, “this year’s gathering of 2,500 leaders of Jewish Federations around the country and other prominent Jewish organizations
See General Assembly page 3
ANNETTE VAN DE
TO CARE FOR JEWS
Continued from page 1
Each year, 20% of our Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Campaign funds are activated to provide care for people outside of this country. These funds go primarily to our historic partners at the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Joint Distribution Committee, who are direct service providers to those in need. Today, we want to highlight some of the work JDC does, and the important lifechanging work our collective generosity makes possible.
Take for instance Camp Szarvas, the JDC-Lauder International Jewish summer camp in Hungary. During the pandemic, it sat empty—no Kabbalat Shabbat, no Israeli dancing, no sports tournaments. Its educational coordinator Nikolett Novak took the forced pause as an opportunity to brainstorm how to improve the camp. With JDC’s help, nearly every corner of the camp was improved, and it was even winterized, allowing programming to happen year-round.
More than 1,000 Ukrainian Jewish participants experienced an oasis of calm and community, away from the war that continues to ravage their country.
Szarvas is just one among a host of JDC-supported initiatives that resumed in-person activities in Europe and Asia. Junction, the JDC pan-European initiative, gathered Jewish leaders from 28 countries in Berlin.
In India, a similar JDC initiative is called ‘Jewish Youth Pioneers (JYP); it provides leadership training and community to Jews from Mumbai and beyond.
Sharon Samuel, a Camp Szarvas alumnus, and also a JYP participant, serves as the youth program manager at JDC’s Jewish Community Center in Mumbai. He said:
“Being Jewish in India can sometimes be a challenge. There are no kosher restaurants, no Jewish holidays off, and JYP is a respite as one of the only places in India where I can forge connections with people like me. I feel seen, honored, and included. It really means something when we all gather.”
When, in February of 2023, a deadly earthquake struck in Turkey, JDC jumped into action and provided shelter for thousands, procured critical needed ambulances, supplied tens of thousands of hot meals and warm blankets, and more. Caught in the devastating earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people, Hakki and Yasemin Orhan thought it was Judgment Day.
Together with their three children, Yasemin moved in with
Important announcement
The Scholarship & Grants Booklet won’t be inserted into the Jewish Press until the Jan. 10, 2025 issue. The upcoming Scholarship deadline is March 3, 2025
distant relatives, packed into one small room shared with another family, while Hakki slept in the car to keep their belongings safe from looters.
Then they heard about how the JDC had created opportunities for short-term housing in a nearby hotel.
“I felt lucky for the first time in my life,” Yasmine said. “If it wasn’t for the JDC project, I don’t know where we would have gone. We no longer feel alone.”
In a different part of the world, Rusudan Voronina saw her home in Batumi, Georgia, destroyed in a natural gas explosion. It left her with severe burns to her hands and face.
The ripple effects of the accident, six years later, mean she cannot leave her home. Voronina is 87 years old, has high blood pressure, diabetes, and hearing and vision problems.
Enter JOINTECH, the JDC initiative in the Former Soviet Union, which leverages technology to care for elderly like Voronina. This includes special smartphones, that provide a way to connect with others, but also remote training and monitoring of homecare workers.
In Latin America, JDC relies on decades of expertise to partner with local Jewish communities, like Uruguay’s Fundacion Tzedaka, which cares for the most vulnerablet members among the country’s 20,000 Jews. In Uruguay, JDC works with the organization to review program priorities and address emerging needs, strengthen sustainability, train its Board of Directors and serve as consultants to the group’s executive team and welfare program leadership.
The JDC also recently collaborated with Centro Israelita de Bogota, in Colombia, on a strategic planning process. In Chile, what began with a narrow focus, transformed into a more robust process and partnership. “These are grown-up communities,” said Sergio Widder, JDC regional director in Latin America. “What JDC is accountable for is drawing a roadmap together, and make sure they can see the JDC not only as the 9-1-1 of the Jewish world, but as an ongoing partner.”
Thanks to JDC, which operates using Jewish Federation dollars, Voronina in Batumi is no longer isolated, the Orhan family in Turkey found shelter, a Hungarian summer camp is back in operation. There are countless other stories just like theirs. And by supporting our own local JFO, you helped make these, and many other initiatives, happen.
ORGANIZATIONS
B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS
The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch our email for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com
www.honeymanrentall.com
General Assembly
Continued from page 1
was largely focused on October 7th and its aftermath, the ever-present need to bring home those still held hostage in Gaza, antisemitism here and abroad, Jewish life on campus, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the work ahead for all of us.”
Also in attendance was Nancy Schlessinger, JFO Board Chair.
“This was my first GA,” Nancy said, “and I was excited and happy to attend. I expected a huge group of Jewish people from various communities coming together to learn how we can impact our own communities and take care of each other. Along with that, I anticipated feeling a sense of belonging and working together to secure our existence and the State of Israel. Did it deliver? You bet it did, and more! There was so much to cover, there were more breakout sessions than time. It could have used another full day!”
The need is always there to bring Jewish professionals and volunteers together, according to Jenn Tompkins, Executive Director of Philanthropy and Engagement. “Networking and hearing new ideas and trends is important for leaders, so they can adapt to changing needs and challenges. It helps us better serve our community.”
For Pam Monsky, assistant Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, it was not her first time, but it had been a while: “It was a wonderful experience. There were many worthwhile breakout sessions and I wish I could have attended more! I would like to see more lay leaders attend the GA. I think they really benefit from the experience and those who attended this year were very energized. I also came away with the knowledge that, whether your community is big or small, our issues are universally similar.”
“This GA really emphasized how important it is to connect our heart and soul to the state of Israel,” Jenn Tompkins added, “as well as our commitment to the safety and security of our communities, including physical security and civic engagement to fight antisemitism. We spoke about having relationships with city councils, school boards, state governments and the media, as well as strengthening our PR team. We need to invest in Jewish life. That means supporting camps, day schools, birthright, and volunteer missions to Israel. We need to inspire and motivate everyone jewishly.
Jewish families are hungry for community.”
See General Assembly page 5
Staenberg Omaha JCC
Continued from page 1 outstanding programs, and dedicated staff, the Staenberg Omaha JCC continues to serve each and every one of you. Let us reflect on some of the JCC’s recent accomplishments.
We enrolled 174 students at our Early Learning Center, 40% of whom are Jewish. Our ELC is fully accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Only 10% of youth child care centers in the country share this title. Our accreditation is due in large part to the variety of enrichment classes we offer, both for ELC students and other young members, along with our preschool sports, performing arts, and aquatic programming.
Our JCC Summer Camp is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). Only 10% of camps nationwide achieve this honor. Throughout the 2024 summer, there were more than 300 campers present per day. Campers ages K - 7th grade could be found in a variety of classic camp activities, athletic programs, technology classes, leadership training, and just plain fun.
The JCC Sharks, our summer swim team, includes 180 kids competing against other metro area swim clubs over an eight-week period. We also have a yearround swim team with 55 participants. There are more than 500 children en-
rolled in our Performing Arts Department registered for dance, musical theater, piano lessons, or, a combination of all three. Our basketball programs are popular for all ages. K - 2nd graders make up more than 60 teams. The adult mens’ league plays three mornings each week. We also offer coed adult volleyball on Sunday mornings.
Spend an afternoon around the JCC and check out our after-school program, Kidz Inn. We also host Kidz Night Out and Dance Parties every other month. If your family is interested, act fast as these programs often sell out in advance! The Youth Department hosts more than 80 School Break Specials annually, serving families from all local school districts. We also host private birthday parties in our building with a variety of themes.
More than 3,500 memberships were registered in 2024, double compared to just one decade ago. The percentage of Jewish members has remained consistent over the last 10 years.
New in 2024, we are proud to have 350 members in our JCC Pickleball Club.
The annual Backyard Concert Series remains popular year after year drawing spectators from all over the city. All are welcome to attend this end of summer celebration.
The Omaha BBYO chapter is part of the Mid-America Region and currently has more than 50 members. In a few weeks, teens from the Omaha chapter will travel to BBYO’s International Convention among 3,000 other Jewish teens from around the world; the largest See Staenberg Omaha JCC page 4
HAPPY
Hanukkah
THE JEWISH PRESS BOARD
David Finkelstein, President
Margie Gutnik, Ex-Officio
Helen Epstein | Andrea Erlich | Ally Freeman
Dana Gonzales | Mary Sue Grossman | Hailey Krueger
Chuck Lucoff | Larry Ring | Melissa Schrago
Suzy Sheldon | Stewart Winograd
Staenberg Omaha JCC
Continued from page 3 gathering of its kind in North America.
Our Fitness Center is state-of-the-art, open 102 hours per week, and offers 70 weekly classes at no extra charge—including multiple Yoga and Tai Chi sessions. We have group exercise classes for every age and ability, as well as spin classes, personal training, Pilates by certified instructors, J Fit, and a myriad of strength training machines, cardio equipment, and free weights.
Take a stroll through the Eisenberg Gallery, where new artwork is displayed monthly, or enjoy Jazz at the J, held quarterly in the Alan
J. Levine Performing Arts Theater.
Recently, we installed a new operating system to improve online registration, and we have a new app coming in 2025. To help you stay informed, we send two weekly emails packed with updates: This Week at the J, sent on Sundays and This Weekend at the J, every Thursday. The information is also available on our website.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please visit www.jccomaha.org. We look forward to serving you in the coming year and beyond.
Community helping community
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor
Overseeing the day-to-day condition of our Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus, Director of Facilities Jason Epsenhart has his hands full. Yet, ask him for anything above and beyond what he is already doing, and the answer is, most likely, ‘yes.’
On Nov. 22, Jason received a request from JFO CEO Bob Goldberg; he shared an email from a man named Bakheit Shata. Bakheit represents the Sudanese Foundation in Omaha, and he had a question. His organization recently came into ownership of a plot of land, on which they hope to build their future community center. But, Bakheit told Jason, the property was incredibly overgrown. Could he help?
Jason’s next move was to call one of the many vendors he has relationships with. In this case, he reached out to Ann Wicken-
hauser, who is in charge of design, sales and project management at Jensen Gardens.
“Ann then approached her management team to do this for charitable reasons,” Jason said. “Jensen Gardens graciously approved the work to be done, and on Dec. 2, it was completed. This included commercial mowing and trash removal. They did it in one day!”
It’s an example of how the Jewish community helps the greater Omaha community when the need arises, Jason believes.
“We work very hard to establish good relationships with our vendors,” he said, “and because of that hard work this happened. All I did was reach out, coordinate the service and help with the plot lines of the lot for Jensen. They took it from there.”
In appreciation to Jensen Gardens, and to honor them for their assistance, the Jewish Federation of Omaha will plant a tree in Israel.
BEYOND KUGEL
Bakheit Shata, left, and a member of the Sudanese community stopped by to thank Bob Goldberg and JFO staff for assistance in clearing their property.
Child-friendly Jewish cooking classes
HEIDI HEILBRUNN NEEDLEMAN
JFO Assistant Director, Community Engagement and Education
This January, Omaha children will have two fun-filled opportunities to get messy and practice traditional Jewish cooking with the Youth Challah Bake on Sunday, Jan. 12 and Shabbat Cooking for Tots on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Chabad of Nebraska and PJ Library are excited to partner for the annual Youth Challah Bake on Jan. 12 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. This family favorite draws children ages 4-12 to create a challah from start to finish. Last year’s popular hot chocolate bar is also returning with a variety of sweet and tasty kosher toppings such as peppermint sticks, cookie crumble, and caramel sauce. After everyone picks their challah toppings and sips their hot chocolate, Mushka Tenenbaum will lead the group in an interactive Shabbat table demonstration.
Families that bring their aprons from the previous year will receive a collectible pin to decorate their aprons. Aprons will be available for families new to the event. The program is $10 per child and can be paid upon registration through Chabad
of Nebraska’s website: https:// www.ochabad.com/templates/ articlecco_cdo/aid/5729742/ jewish/Youth-Challah-Bake. htm or through the QR code.
Hanukkah comes alive for my family
One of the problems with living through your country’s longest war is that it’s hard to complain about something that’s not a life-or-death issue. But just between me and you, Dear Reader, here goes: At the beginning of Hanukkah, on the night between Dec. 25 and 26, my son Nathan (37) and his wife Avia (35) are taking my precious grandsons Noam (6) and Lavi (3) on a one-way trip to Boston. Yes, if Hanukkah is in large part a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees over a majority culture (Hellenism), this year on the first day of Hanukkah, my son Nathan is setting the stage for my family’s re-entry into a Hanukkah-type battle.
A few months ago, when Nathan and Avia dropped their bomb on us, they couched it as follows: “You two began your married life with an adventure in Atlanta (a new city and region for both of you); seven years later you had a new adventure when you moved to Miami; and 6 years after that came the adventure of aliyah. We want an adventure.” It was hard for me to argue with this. There is indeed something thrilling about moving to a completely new place. There is an incredible amount of learning that needs to happen before one succeeds in acclimatizing to a new area: the right schools to send one’s children, the best ways to navigate the city, which stores to shop at—and what an incredible feeling of satisfaction when one succeeds. Then there is the simple pleasure of an area’s sheer newness: buildings, malls, parks, nearby trails and towns; it’s all new and there is joy in that.
Nathan and Avia have a number of reasons for moving to Boston in particular, and to the extent that I can be said to be grateful (i.e., not at all) for one of them, it is the fact that Sarah’s parents reside in a Jewish independent-living facility in Dedham, a suburb of Boston. Dedham is also close to
General Assembly
Continued from page 3
Jan Goldstein has attended the General Assembly more than 20 times.
“This one was definitely different,” she said. “And rightfully so. It focused on what the GA was designed to do, on the major issues facing our Jewish world currently: the aftermath of Oct. 7, and the rising antisemitism that has been unleashed like never before in our lifetime. We of course heard the pleas from the families to do whatever we could, and to raise our voices to help bring the hostages home. What I hope the audience heard beyond those pleas was the depth of grief, sacrifices and desperation of what Israelis are living through on a day-to-day basis.”
As a lay leader in our Omaha Jewish Community, Nancy Schlessinger plans to attend next year, even though she will be finished with her JFO Chair position. “It was a wonderful way to meet others in communities larger and smaller than ours,” she said, “and see what they’re doing. I’m also in year five of JFNA’s National Women’s Philanthropy, and other women from my class attended from other communities as well as women from the other cohorts (there are eight). We
Newton, home to Sarah’s sister Charlotte (with whom Sarah speaks every day and who is very hospitable) and her husband Matt, and where Nathan and Avia aim to live. There are a bunch of other secondary reasons for the family’s move, but they need not concern us here because I don’t even accept the couple’s primary reason. Adventure, shmadventure: poor old me has absolutely nothing to be gained from Nathan’s move to Boston. My life will now have a gaping hole in it; overnight, my thrice-weekly short bicycle trips to see my grandchildren will cease to exist.
Many people upon hearing my tale of woe about Nathan tell me: “Oh, but you’ll visit them.” These people have no idea of the huge difference between the visit of a grandparent who lives nearby and the visit of a grandparent who has to fly in. Since Sarah and I lived in the U.S. for almost a decade with both sets of grandparents a flight away from our kids, we know that that kind of visit is not optimal. For one thing, it often requires the grandparents to stay with their children and grandchildren during the course of the whole visit, which can prove taxing to everyone’s different daily schedules (and nerves). Also, there are typically going to be a lot of rough patches during several consecutive days of a small child’s life. If you live nearby, as soon as the crying starts, you can skedaddle home. But most difficult about a distant grandparent’s visits are the goodbyes, which are heartwrenching. When I say goodbye to my other Israeli grandchildren, I know that I will see them again within a few weeks or even within a few days. To say goodbye to Noam and Lavi and know that I won’t see them again for a few months? That makes me cry even now! But I guess I’ll survive—somehow. Happy Hanukkah.
Teddy Weinberger, Ph.D., made aliyah with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Jane Ross, and their five children, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie, Ezra, and Elie, all of whom are veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@gmail.com.
had our year-five dinner together on one of the nights, and reconnecting with my fellow classmates is always so positive for me. We hung out at some of the sessions together as well, so we continue to bond over many shared experiences and philosophies. It is quite a special sisterhood!”
Jay Katelman, JFO Director of Community Development, expected the GA to offer opportunities to network and learn from speakers as well as other Jewish professionals during the breakout sessions.
“The networking and plenaries were great,” he said. “I wish we had time for more breakout sessions, because often that is where the specific learning happens. I really enjoyed connecting more with others in the Jewish professional world, and learned some great new ideas to help with our philanthropy here at home.”
“Gatherings like the General Assembly,” Bob Goldberg added, “are opportunities for both volunteers and professionals to reconnect with old friends and be energized by new ideas. To learn and grow from hearing what other communities are doing, to take pride in all that our community achieves, and to gear up to bring this energy home to build a stronger and more united Jewish Omaha.”
TEDDY WEINBERGER
Recent additions to the Kripke-Veret Collection
SHIRLY BANNER
JFO Library Specialist
JUVENILE HEBREW LANGUAGE:
Marak Kaftorim = Bone Button Borscht by Aubrey Davis
On a dark winter’s night, a ragged beggar dreams of a warm hearth and a delicious meal --- and sets out to find just that. In this retelling of the classic folk tale Stone Soup, a stranger teaches the poor villagers what can be accomplished with a few buttons and a little cooperation.
ADULT:
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs an active senior community in southern Florida she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.
As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.
As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt,
all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.
Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?
The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman
Two women from different worlds, Grace and Anh, are indelibly changed when a runaway boy is found on a street in their small Long Island town. Brought together by the love of this child displaced by war, the women find friendship and healing from their own painful pasts when their lives intersect with a mysterious wounded Vietnam vet. The vet, Jack, works at the Golden Hours, a watch store that mends timepieces— and might even mend damaged souls.
Richman interweaves the journeys of these wonderfully diverse characters who will grip, fill, and break your heart—only to bring them together with the care and precision of an expert watchmaker, one piece at a time. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee who entrusted the dramatic account of her escape from Vietnam to the author, and also that of a wounded veteran, Richman sheds light on those whose lives were forever impacted by the devastation of that war.
Welcome to our Campus
Our 315,000 sq. ft. Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus is truly a “one-stop-shop.” From pre-school to pickleball, from a stateof-the-art theater to author events, we have it all. All this programming happens against a backdrop that is filled with art.
In addition to our Eisenberg Gallery, where work by contemporary artists changes out monthly, we have an impressive permanent collection. This series is meant to tell you more about some of the artworks in our building, as well as the different ways in which we use the space.
Artwork by Brent Witters, from his Chemical Reactions series, can be found in the upper-level spa hallway, and the men’s health spa. The paints and fluids he uses are primarily discarded materials. These create a link between the work and the culture at large in a uniquely current and timespecific way. The colors were chosen by someone prior, using the majority to decorate their home before discarding the rest.
Reminder: JCRC Bootcamp
The Jewish Community Relations Council is preparing for the 2025 Nebraska Legislative Session and invites all Jewish community members to be part of an informative and spirited Community Conversation: our second Advocacy Bootcamp, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue at the Staenberg Omaha JCC.
Designed to prepare community members for Jewish Day of Action on Feb. 4, 2025, Advocacy Bootcamp aims to help them understand the Jewish community's key issues, build advocacy skills, and become more confident and effective when engaging in the democratic process. Whether you're new to advocacy or
“My painting method,” Witters said, “is an exploration of the material properties of paint. These paintings explore the various patterns created by the paint, with particular interest in reaction-diffusion and morphogenesis patterns. The biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape, provides a link between the primordial soup and life. These concerns with chemical reactions combine with painterly notions, such as color, material, depth, perspective and surface. After I find an interesting material reaction on paper, I test the reaction on small wood blocks. If I feel in control of the reaction and am pleased with the results, I will use the technique in a larger painting. Brent Witters has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. After living in Omaha for a number of years, he now resides in California.
a seasoned veteran, this boot camp will provide valuable tools, insights, and strategies to ensure our diverse Jewish voices are heard in the State Capitol on Jewish Day of Action and all year. "We are excited about our third Jewish Day of Action," said JCRC Executive Director Sharon Brodkey. "We have developed some very valuable relationships in the Unicameral over the past two years, and we look forward to building new relationships with the 17 incoming representatives and continuing conversations with the 36 incumbent members of the Nebraska Legislature in 2025." Please register for this event at www.jewishomaha.org
SP O TLIGHT
PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS
SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org
GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY
Above: Ezra Simon Wilson plays with his Torah from Shalom Baby! Ezra is the son of Rachael and Logan Wilson and the grandson of Pam and Henry Monsky and Holly and Bob Wilson.
Above, below and bottom: RBJH residents and guests enjoyed a chili supper and accordion music with Barry Boyce. The event was sponsored by the Julius Froom and Phil & Minnie Freeman Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.
Above, left and below: December 3 was Giving Tuesday! Volunteers manned the various stations around our campus to meet the donors.
Above: Making ice cream from scratch in kindergarten is a beloved tradition of Mrs. Shelburne, and this was the day! Everyone was VERY excited!
Above and right: The Ben Gurion Society’s Mixology event!
Voices
The Jewish Press
(Founded in 1920)
David Finkelstein
President
Annette van de Kamp-Wright
Editor
Richard Busse
Creative Director
Claire Endelman
Sales Director
Lori Kooper-Schwarz
Assistant Editor
Melanie Schwarz
Intern
Sam Kricsfeld
Digital support
Mary Bachteler
Accounting
Jewish Press Board
David Finkelstein, President; Margie Gutnik, Ex-Officio; Helen Epstein, Andrea Erlich, Ally Freeman, Dana Gonzales, Mary Sue Grossman, Hailey Krueger, Chuck Lucoff, Larry Ring, Melissa Schrago, Suzy Sheldon and Stewart Winograd.
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 JFO are: Institute for Holocaust Education, Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Social Services, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Press Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www.jewishomaha.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.
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The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer. 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.
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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.
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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.
Eight Not-so-Silent Nights
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT
Jewish Press Editor
Heads up: I’m feeling preachy. When 25 Kislev coincides with Dec. 25, we have a problem. Not a big problem, but it’s a tricky situation nonetheless when the first night of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas. Case in point: Children’s books with titles like Gingerbread Dreidels and Let It Glow appeared in bookstores. Do the authors intend to clarify, or to confuse? But then I realized, this is probably nice for intermarried families and I could be a little less judgmental.
Judgement, it’s front and center when it comes to the holidays. I recently read a joke on Instagram: somebody created a ‘Christmas Survival Guide for Jews.’ It included such highlights as playing dreidel to win everybody’s white elephant gifts, and carrying around a jar labeled ‘Jewish Christmas jar’ in which anyone who refers to Hanukkah as ‘Jewish Christmas’ has to pay $5. I thought it was kind of hilarious, but apparently the comment section did not. Whoever posted it was blasted with angry replies, ranging from “don’t make the Christians angry” to “don’t alienate others over something trivial.” Wait; did they just call Hanukkah ‘trivial?’
And then I read this comment: “If a Christian made a post like this getting upset because a Jewish person said happy Hanukkah to them, they would get canceled faster than the speed of light.” And it went kind of downhill from there. Well.
Now that Hanukkah is here, and Christmas is behind us, can we experience our holiday without getting into petty arguments over how to navigate the
season? Because when one lives in the diaspora, it is a season: starting with Halloween, through Thanksgiving and Christmas, the world that surrounds us is filled with constant reminders that we are a minority. In many cases, we’ve responded to it by creating our own decorations in blue and white, adding bowls of gelt and dreidels on the mantel, not to speak of the gifts. If you can’t beat them, join them? I think that can be okay, as long as we remember the essence of Hanukkah.
It is to bring light. And yes, that means understanding others who have no idea what this holiday is about. Why would they? Whose responsibility is it anyway, for everybody to know everything? It’s okay. Use it as an opportunity to teach. Of course, we’re all a little crispy right now. After more than a year of rising antisemitism, protests, riots, lots of white people in kefiyahs (for only $11 you too can buy righteous indignation on Amazon) and online hate, we’re all a little sick of it. All the more reason to celebrate our Judaism the way Hashem intended it. Also, this is my last op-ed of 2024, and I want to end it on a positive note.
days, seriousness, grief, and fear.”
While another year has passed since the events of Oct. 7 rocked our world, many of us don’t feel very different this year. It continues to affect us, and the need for light is ever-present. Rabbi Appel refers to the “transgressive, rebellious nature of joy,” that
One year ago, Rabbi Julia Appel wrote: “I’ve been telling people this week that I don’t remember a year when I needed Hanukkah more than this year. I always enjoy Hanukkah, but this year I felt a deep and urgent commitment to celebrating Jewishly, after over two months of sleepless nights, hard
is evident in the lighting of the candles. It’s not the kind of light we need to work, or cook, or read by; the light’s only purpose is to spread joy. In doing so, we spread the miracle.
May we all feel joy, spread joy, and have a 2025 filled with endless opportunities to bring more light to the entire world (I told you I was feeling preachy).
On a mission to Auschwitz, I found hope amid the ashes
WILLIAM C. DAROFF
JTA
Last month, I returned to Poland for my fifth visit, this time as part of the European Jewish Association’s annual mission to Auschwitz. The gathering brought together Jewish and non-Jewish leaders from across Europe and beyond, united by the urgency to confront rising antisemitism and the shared challenges of our time.
I laid a wreath at Birkenau — a somber reminder of the atrocities our people endured and a call to action against the resurgence of hatred today — and I was honored to give the keynote address.
Krakow has always been a city of profound historical and personal significance to me. Nearly 30 summers ago, between my undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S., I first walked its streets as a student at Jagiellonian University, delving into the history of Eastern European Jewry and the Holocaust. Living just down the hall from me in the dormitory was Heidi, a graduate student at NYU I did not yet know but who would soon become my wife. Our shared experiences in Krakow formed the foundation of our life together. Returning to this city now, decades later — having raised two daughters who for me symbolize Jewish resilience and continuity — reminds me of the miracle of our survival.
I visited Krakow again to work on Jewish-Polish reconciliation and yet again in 2022, in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when the shadow of war once again loomed over Europe. But this time, my return was marked by a different crisis: the resurgence of antisemitism, fueled by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel and violent acts like the recent attacks on Jews in Amsterdam after a soccer match.
The parallels between the past and present are stark and chilling. Standing in Krakow, just weeks after Jews were hunted in the streets of Amsterdam, I could not help but reflect on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Then, as now, hatred unchecked has spiraled into violence. That history has left us with scars, but also with lessons to be learned — first and
foremost that we cannot remain passive in the face of such threats. There are other lessons as well:
From mourning to mobilization: Oct. 7 marked the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The slaughter of 1,200 Israelis — most of them civilians engaged in mundane, life-affirming acts — was a shattering moment for our community. Yet the horror did not end there.
The massacre was celebrated in Western capitals, with protests erupting in support of Hamas’s barbarity. Social media amplified the vitriol, emboldening antisemites to bring their hatred into the public square.
Amidst this darkness, however, we have witnessed extraordinary resilience. Across the Diaspora, Jewish communities are rising to meet this moment. In the United States, synagogues are fuller, Jewish symbols are more visible, and advocacy has reached unprecedented levels. These are not mere reactions to trauma but acts of defiance and pride.
of Oct. 7, history has shown that Jewish survival depends on our ability to stand together.
Hope amid the ashes: To return to Krakow, a place steeped in Jewish history and scarred by unspeakable horrors, is to confront both the depths
I’ve seen this firsthand in the mobilization of Jewish advocacy groups at school boards, city councils, and Congress. This grassroots activism is making a tangible difference, from securing protections for Jewish students on campuses to advancing the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in state legislatures. These efforts demonstrate that enduring is not a passive act — it is a proactive, determined stance against those who seek to harm us.
Unity and self-defense: The Holocaust and Oct. 7 remind us of the perils of statelessness and the necessity of a strong, secure Israel. The State of Israel is an indispensable guarantor of Jewish safety. Its ability to defend itself and to serve as a refuge for Jews worldwide is central to our collective strength.
But this moment also demands unity. The divisions that occasionally splinter Jewish communities must be set aside in the face of existential threats. From the exiles of antiquity to the pogroms of the shtetl, from the Holocaust to the atrocities
of our suffering and the heights of our resilience. As I stood at Birkenau, I was reminded of the enduring spirit of our people. We are here. We endure. And we will not be cowed.
But hope alone is not enough. It must be paired with action — political advocacy, education and the relentless pursuit of justice. Our history is one of perseverance and progress. We have faced darker days and emerged stronger. As I reflect on the mission to Krakow and the work that still lies ahead, I am inspired by the unity and determination of our community. Let us ensure that this moment of reckoning becomes a turning point for global Jewry — a moment when we not only endured but rose to build a stronger, safer future.
William C. Daroff is CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Follow him @Daroff
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
The author, right, and Dumisani Washington, CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, lay a wreath in memory of the Jewish victims at Birkenau, Nov. 26, 2024. Courtesy
Credit: Silar, licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 Unported license.
When I fell behind in public school, it was time to think small
LEV GOTTSCHALK
This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives | JTA I’ve never been very good at math. Or science. During the pandemic, I was online for most of my seventh grade year at my public middle school in Olney, Maryland. My grades in math and science (and English, history, etc.) worsened. Because we didn’t have Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot and other Jewish holidays off from school, I also had a lot of absences and fell behind in my schoolwork.
In eighth grade, we were back in the classroom, but I still had a lot of absences for the holidays. Despite what my parents and teachers had hoped, being back in person didn’t make my grades better. I needed a change in education, it seemed. In public school, there wasn’t a lot of support for me in my classes. It was easy for some students to get lost academically and socially in a big school. I don’t think every student was a high priority for their teachers, especially if they were quiet kids. This isn’t meant to say that all public schools are bad, or that the schools I went to were bad — I mean, they were, but that’s not my main point.
My sister went to our local public high school and did very well, but my parents thought that I would fall behind. Toward the end of eighth grade, my mom and I discussed switching to Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Maryland. Berman is a smaller school (much, much smaller), with roughly 700 kids across 13 grades. The average grade size is 50 compared to 500 at my former public school. At first, I felt negatively about the change. I wasn’t sure how I felt about going to the same school where my mom teaches. Even though I was ambivalent about the decision, I spent the summer trying to catch up on my Hebrew and math to prepare for my freshman year. I was nervous to start over at a new school with new people, and also a little sad about leaving my friends behind. Other parents told my mom that my old friends looked for me during the freshmen orientation. I didn’t keep in touch afterwards.
The new school would be a brand new beginning for me. I had two goals as I went into 9th grade: socialize more and get better grades. It turns out, I would also learn things about Ju-
daism and myself that I don’t think I would have if I had stayed at public school.
One thing I recently learned about myself is that I am autistic. Around April or May of this year, I was diagnosed, much to my surprise. The rest of my family didn’t seem as surprised. The smallness of the school, I think, made it easier for the teachers and faculty to notice, leading my parents to get me tested a lot in my freshmen and sophomore years. I personally don’t think that I am autistic, even if the people around me do. I also do
not think it makes a huge difference to me or to my personality. Not every small school or Jewish day school is right for kids with learning disabilities. Some large public schools have more funding and resources available for kids with special needs than private schools, and the dual Hebrew-English curriculum can be challenging, as well. It can also be easier to feel left out. In my case, however, it did work.
Early on in ninth grade, I started doing better in English and history, but I was still behind in science and math. And Hebrew and Gemara (a component of the Talmud). I was put in the grade level classes for Hebrew and math, but switched to different teachers a few times at the beginning of the year. In math I started out in grade-level, then moved to the special education math class, then went on to a one-on-one class.
Freshman year, it was difficult to follow along due to my lack of Gemara knowledge and being behind in most of my secular classes. There were points where I felt like I should’ve prepared better before entering ninth grade. Then some of my teachers
noticed and began giving me more resources. This took a while to happen, but starting in tenth grade I received the resources I needed including an instructional assistant who takes notes for me during class, reads my tests and administers modified tests.
Learning Gemara and Chumash (Torah) and getting better at Hebrew have made me more observant in my Judaism. I wear my kippah in public more often and have learned how to put my tefillin on better.
But I was glad to be going to a Jewish school and not public school. Especially, when the upper school went on a 10-day trip to Israel during my freshman year in November 2022. The type of camaraderie and general closeness seemed unique. I learned people’s names quicker than I did in middle school, and I also think that more people know who I am at Berman than at the other schools I have been to. Or at least they try talking to me more.
With Berman came a new start with new people. There were more cliques than I expected, based on how my mom described the school, so I mostly hung around the kids who also hadn’t joined any of the cliques.
Being in a special education program can make it harder to talk to kids who aren’t in one. This can make me feel left out sometimes, since I’m not in the same classes as other people, and I am not in any advanced classes. I haven’t been made fun of (at least not that I know of), but other kids have been laughed at during class or mocked. Usually, the teachers don’t do a lot to stop this, which makes it more difficult. Also, the quieter kids don’t usually like participating in some of the social activities, such as the kumzits (a musical gathering Jews participate in).
The smallness and safeness of Berman has made me think more of where I want to go to college. I plan on going to a school where a lot of Berman alumni go so that I won’t start over again with new people.
I enjoy celebrating the holidays without being worried that I’ll be marked absent and will have missing work to complete. It’s nice not to spend the end of Sukkot or Rosh Hashanah catching up on classroom assignments I missed while I was out.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
On a roots journey from NYC to Poland, I packed my great-grandfather’s tallis
STUART SCHEAR
New York Jewish News via JTA
Like Dave and Benji, the oddly matched cousins in Jesse Eisenberg’s new feature film, A Real Pain, I recently embarked with five of my American Jewish cousins on an unusual family heritage journey to Poland. We had never traveled together, but we were inspired by a powerful idea: bringing back to Poland a beautiful family heirloom — a Jewish prayer shawl, or tallis, that one of our ancestors brought to the United States nearly a century ago.
That ancestor was Max Lang, my great-grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. My older cousins had known Max as their grandfather. But like my younger cousins, I had never met him, as he had died before I was born in 1957. Even so, Max’s life story is a thread that binds us together as a family, because it was his initiative that created the basis for our family life in the United States.
Max was born in 1884 into a Hasidic family of bakers in Nowy Zmigrod, a small town now located in southeast Poland. At the age of 17, he emigrated to the United States and settled on the Lower East Side. When he first arrived in New York, he worked for two full years as a beker yingl, an apprentice baker, earning no pay. Instead, he was fed by the baker’s wife and allowed to sleep on a large sack of flour, using empty burlap bags for bedding.
In due time, Max found work that paid $4 a month and then went into business for himself. From the 1910s through the 1950s, he established successful bakeries across New York City, including one on Brooke Avenue in the Bronx and another on West 117th Street, just off Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Prosperous by the late 1920s, Max could afford to travel to his hometown in Poland to visit his large religious family. By that time, Max was no longer an observant Jew. In a photo from that trip, he appears clean-shaven and dressed like a “Yankee” in a fashionable suit and hat.
Max’s non-religiosity aside, during that visit his observant brother Pinkhas presented him with a gift — a magnificent tallis, which boasted a neckband, or atarah, embroidered with silver thread. Max returned to New York with the tallis, where it was seldom used, as synagogue worship was not part of his or his children’s lives.
When Max returned to New York, with the tallis in his luggage, he had no idea that he would never see his family again. In 1939, German forces occupied Nowy Zmigrod. On July 7, 1942, they murdered nearly all the town’s Jews, including Max’s cousins, in a nearby forest. After this terrible massacre, almost every physical remnant of Jewish life in Nowy Zmigrod was
pillaged or destroyed. Max’s tallis, stowed safely in a dresser drawer in New York, suddenly became one of the few surviving relics from centuries of Jewish life in this town.
In 2023, I “friended” on Facebook some young Poles from Nowy Zmigrod who were interested in their town’s Jewish history. They helped me research my family history and encouraged me to visit the town in July, when local Christians hold an annual ceremony honoring the memory of the town’s Jews,
gathering in the forest where the massacre had taken place. When I decided to attend, I remembered that my cousins had Max’s tallis, and I asked them if I could bring it with me to Nowy Zmigrod.
Even though I am not religious, I wore the tallis while speaking at the memorial, so that its beauty could represent the members of our large family who had been killed in the forest where we stood, including Jozef Lang and Raizele Lang. I also read from a description of the massacre, taken from testimony given to the Israeli Holocaust museum Yad Vashem by one of Max’s cousins, Szymon Lang, who had survived this atrocity and the Holocaust.
Upon my return from Poland, I organized a family Zoom to share the details of my visit. My cousins were moved by my renewed connection to our family history, especially after they read Szymon’s Yad Vashem testimony. I told them that the director of the local museum in Nowy Zmigrod had asked me to donate Max’s tallis to the town museum. My cousins found
the idea intriguing, but, as I had seen how poorly this modest, under-resourced museum cared for its collection, we decided it was too risky to donate it there.
Still, the idea of returning Max’s tallis to Poland inspired us, and we decided to offer it to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Located in Warsaw, the museum is dedicated to telling the 1,000-year-history of the Jews of Poland in all its complexity. For centuries, Jews had thrived there, but they also faced brutal pogroms, blood libels, annual antisemitic pageants and, finally, mass murder.
Given this mixed history, we decided that donating Max’s tallis to POLIN made all the more sense, as the museum believes that sharing the history of Polish Jews makes Poland a more inclusive, multicultural society. Despite intolerant voices in Poland speaking against Jews, gay people, Roma, Muslims and Ukrainians, a significant and growing number of Poles have, for decades, taken a powerful interest in understanding their country’s Jewish past, which they view as a key to Poland’s future as an inclusive, multiethnic democracy. Given our family’s deeply felt commitment to Jewish dignity, to human rights for all people and to multiethnic democracies, my cousins and I concluded that POLIN was the perfect home for Max’s tallis.
Understandably, historians, journalists and a broad swath of American Jews have focused on Poles’ complicity in the Holocaust and their postwar antisemitism. However, we understand that these Poles’ anti-Jewish attitudes and actions are not the full story. That’s why we decided that, rather than leave Max’s tallis sitting in a drawer in the United States, we should make it available to the Poles who are curious about the millions of Jews who had once been their neighbors.
We are delighted that Max’s tallis will connect our family history with a new surge of interest in Jewish history among Poles. By sharing this tallis, we are playing a small role in healing some of the harsh history experienced by Polish Jews over the centuries and bridging the divide with contemporary Poles of good will, who are drawn to understanding this complex history. Stuart Schear is a writer who is currently at work on a memoir about his New York family, rich with generations of bakers and political activists. Schear worked as a reporter for the PBS NewsHour and on documentary films for public TV, including the series Heritage: Civilization and the Jews and the documentary A Different World: Poland’s Jews 1919-1943.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NYJW or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
Lang family cousins hold Max Lang’s tallis in front of the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, on the day that they donated the prayer shawl to the museum. On the left, Stuart Schear (at rear), Jessie Lang and Jon Hanford. On the right, Theodore Hautin (holding the tallis), Annie Lang and Raphael Hautin. Credit: Maciek Jazwiecki for POLIN Museum
Credit: P Deliss
Synagogues
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766
712.322.4705 www.cblhs.org
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE
Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980
402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org
BETH ISRAEL
SYNAGOGUE
Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154
402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
CHABAD HOUSE
An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646
402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY:
B’NAI JESHURUN
South Street Temple
Union for Reform Judaism
2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797
402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org
OFFUTT AIR
FORCE BASE
Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123
402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206
402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY:
TIFERETH ISRAEL
Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org
Monthly Speaker Series Service, Friday, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. with our guest speaker. Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!
For information about our historic synagogue, please visit our website at www.cblhs.org or contact any of our other board members: Renee Corcoran, Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Howard Kutler, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Ann Moshman, MaryBeth Muskin, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber. Handicap Accessible.
Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.
IN-PERSON AND ZOOM MINYAN SCHEDULE:
Mornings on Sundays, 9:30 a.m.; Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream
SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El and Live Stream; New Year’s Toast, following Shabbat Morning Services; Havdalah, 5:40 p.m. Beth El and Zoom.
SUNDAY: No BESTT Classes; Morning Minyan, 9 a.m. Zoom Only; Dinner at the Stephen Center, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Office Closed; No BESTT Classes or Hebrew High.
FRIDAY-Jan. 3: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream
SATURDAY-Jan. 4: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El and Live Stream; Kiddush sponsored by the Shukerts following services; Havdalah, 5:45 p.m. Beth El and Zoom.
SUNDAY: BESTT (Grades K-7), 9:30 a.m.
TUESDAY: Ethics of Our Fighters Preview, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Ruach Group goes to Clue, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4 p.m.; Hebrew High (Grades 8-12), 6 p.m.
THURSDAY: Gesher Lounge Night (Grades 6-8), 6 p.m.
FRIDAY-Jan. 10: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Our Shabbat Tables in homes.
SATURDAY-Jan. 11: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El and Live Stream; Jr. Congregation (Grades K-12), 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 5:55 p.m. Beth El and Zoom. Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.
FRIDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 4:45 p.m.
SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class 10:45 a.m.; Soulful Torah, 3:45 p.m. with Rabbi Geiger; Mincha 4:30 p.m.; Kids Activity/Laws of Shabbos 5 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:50 p.m.
SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kinyan, 9:40 a.m.; Men’s Spin & Torah, 11 a.m. at the JCC; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.
MONDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 4:50 p.m.
TUESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 4:50 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Office Closed; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.; Beth Israel Hanukkah Carnival, 5:30 p.m.
THURSDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Character Development, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.; Kinyan 5:25 p.m.
FRIDAY-Jan. 3: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 4:50 p.m.
SATURDAY-Jan. 4: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class, 10:45 a.m.; Soulful Torah, 3:55 p.m. with Rabbi Geiger; Mincha, 4:40 p.m.; Kids Activity/Laws of Shabbos 5:10 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:55 p.m.
SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kinyan, 9:40 a.m.; Men’s Spin & Torah, 11 a.m. at the JCC; Duties of the Heart 3 p.m. with Rabbi Geiger; Mincha/Ma’ariv 4:50 p.m.
MONDAY: Nach Yomi 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.
TUESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 4:50 p.m.; Kinyan 5:25 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.
THURSDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Character Development, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 4:50 p.m.; Kinyan 5:25 p.m.
FRIDAY-Jan. 10: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 4:57 p.m.
SATURDAY-Jan. 11: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class 10:45 a.m.; Soulful Torah, 4:05 p.m. with Rabbi Geiger; Mincha, 4:50 p.m.; Kids Activity/Laws of Shabbos 5:20 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:01 p.m. Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.
All services are in-person. All classes are being offered in-person and via Zoom (ochabad.com/academy). For more information on Hanukkah, go to ocha bad.com/chanukah85; For more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.
FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Menorah Lighting with the Governor at the State Capitol; Candlelighting, 4:44 p.m.
SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 5:48 p.m.
SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps, 9 a.m.; Latke Truck at the Heritage Community; Latke Truck at the JCC Extravaganza.
MONDAY: Hanukkah in Sioux City; Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Translating Words of Prayer, 7 p.m. with David Cohen.
TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Translating Words of Prayer, 11 a.m. with David Cohen; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 7 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.
WEDNESDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.
THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 10 a.m.; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY-Jan. 3: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Lechayim, 4:30 p.m. go to ochabad.com/Lechayim to join; OYP Shabbat Dinner, contact Mushka at mushka@ocha bad.com for more info; Candlelighting, 4:49 p.m.
SATURDAY-Jan. 4: Shacharit 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 5:54 p.m.
SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps, 9 a.m.
MONDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha 9:30 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Translating Words of Prayer, 7 p.m. with David Cohen.
TUESDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Translating Words of Prayer, 11 a.m. with David Cohen; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 7 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.
WEDNESDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Mystical Thinking (Tanya), 9:30 a.m.; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.
THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 10 a.m.; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study, noon; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 6 p.m.; Code of Jewish Law Class, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY-Jan. 10: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Lechayim, 4:30 p.m. go to ochabad.com/Lechayim to join; Candlelighting, 4:56 p.m.
SATURDAY-Jan. 11: Shacharit 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 6:01 p.m.
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL
Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch. All services offered in-person with live-stream or teleconferencing options.
FRIDAY: Shabbat Candlelighting, 4:48 p.m.; Hanukkah — Light Three candles, 4:48 p.m.; Shabbat Haunkkah Service, 6:30-7:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Alex with a Board sponsored Oneg to follow at SST. Bring your own Hanukkiyah and Candles.
SATURDAY: Shabbat Service, 9:30-11 a.m. led by Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parshat Miketz led by TBD via Zoom; Havdalah, 5:53 p.m.; Hanukkah — Light Four candles, 5:53 p.m.
SUNDAY: LJCS Classes, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at TI; Men’s Bike/Coffee Group, 10:30 a.m. at The Mill on the Innovation Campus. For more information or questions please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com; Hanukkah — Light Five candles, 5:32 p.m.
MONDAY: Hanukkah — Light Six candles, 5:32 p.m.
TUESDAY: Ladies' Lunch, 1 p.m. at Barbara Barron's home, 1145 Mockingbird Ln N. If you'd like more information or to be added to the group please contact at oohhmmm.barb@gmail.com; Hanukkah — Light Seven candles, 5:33 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Offices Closed; Men’s Lunch Group, 12:15 p.m. at HoriSun, 8055 O St. We meet every other Wednesday. Please contact albertw801@ gmail.com to join and receive updates. Bring your own lunch and beverage.
FRIDAY-Jan. 3: Shabbat Candlelighting; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:30-7:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Alex at SST.
SATURDAY-Jan. 4: Shabbat Service, 9:30-11 a.m. led by Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parshat Vayigash led by TBD via Zoom; Havdalah.
SUNDAY: LJCS Classes, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at TI; Men’s Bike/Coffee Group, 10:30 a.m. at The Mill on the Innovation Campus. For more information or questions please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY: LJCS Hebrew School, 4:30-6 p.m. at TI.
FRIDAY-Jan. 10: Shabbat Candlelighting; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:30-7:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Alex at SST.
SATURDAY-Jan. 11: Shabbat Service, 9:30-11 a.m. led by Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parshat Vayechi led by TBD via Zoom; Havdalah.
FRIDAYS: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.
In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Benjamin Sharff, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander.
FRIDAY: Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.
SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom.
SUNDAY: No Youth Learning; Office Closed; Fifth Sunday Breakfast Service, 9 a.m. at Stephen Center. MONDAY & TUESDAY: Office Closed
WEDNESDAY: Office Closed; No Youth Learning
FRIDAY-Jan. 3: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.
SATURDAY-Jan. 4: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom.
SUNDAY: No Youth Learning.
TUESDAY: Prayer Preparation: Chanting and Reading Prayers, 6 p.m. In-Person.
WEDNESDAY: Yarn It, 9 a.m. In-Person; Grades 36, 4:30 p.m. In-Person; Hebrew High: Grades 8-12, 6 p.m. In-Person.
THURSDAY: The Zohar: Thursday Morning Class, 11 a.m. with Rabbi Sharff and Rabbi Azriel — In-Person & Zoom.
FRIDAY-Jan. 10: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Tot Shabbat, 5:45 p.m. In-Person; Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.
SATURDAY-Jan. 11: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom. Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.
B’NAI ISRAEL
BETH EL
BETH ISRAEL
CHABAD HOUSE
GILBERTO CONTI
Life cycles
Gilberto Miguel Conti passed away on Dec. 8 at age 59. A memorial service was held on Dec. 16 at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, followed by interment at the Resurrection Mausoleum.
He was preceded in death by his father, Antonio Conti Rostello; mother, Silas Esther Roldán de Conti; sister, Laura Conti Roldán de Romaguera (Antonio); brother, Alberto Conti Roldán ( Aurora); father in-law, John Brosnihan.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret; children John, Maria and Anna; siblings Tony Conti Roldán (Hilda), Franca Conti Roldán, Alessandra Conti Roldán de Galavís (Felix), Miguel Conti Roldán, José Conti Roldán, Roberto Conti Roldán (Gabriela), Carmen Elena Conti de Cardenas ( Juan Andres); in-laws, Jim Brosnihan (Terri), Mark Brosnihan (Chrissy), Jack Brosnihan (Kim), Theresa Cardiello, Matt Brosnihan and Chris Brosnihan; mother-in-law, Josephine Brosnihan; many nieces, nephews and dear friends. Gilberto was born on Sept. 29, 1965 in Caracas, Venezuela. After graduating high school at San Ignacio de Loyola he joined the Venezuelan navy. After his time in the navy, a Venezuelan oil manufacturing company paid for him to study and learn English at the University of Nebraska Omaha.After graduating with a degree in computer science he started his first job at First Data company then Thrivent Financial kickstarting a 30 plus year career as a software engineer.
In 1990, Gilberto met Margaret Brosnihan in Omaha. Margaret was challenged by her uncles to ask Gilberto to dance. She did, and they were together ever since. They went on to have three children: Anna Grace, Maria Theresa and John Anthony. Memorials may be made to Saint Leo’s Parish and Omaha Welcomes the Stranger.
MARC G. KRAFT
Marc G. Kraft passed away on Dec. 14, 2024. A memorial service was held on Dec. 18, 2024 at Temple Israel.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Frances Kraft. He is survived by his wife of 54 1/2 years, Joan; his children, Natasha Kraft, Chris (Jolene) Kraft, Alicia (Justin) Mathews, all of Omaha, and Erika (Tom) Scheele of Lincoln; grandchildren: Alex Kraft, Caleb and Rylinn Kraft, Remy Mathews, Rori and Ti’ana Scheele; and his sisters, Leanne (Don) Smith of Des Moines, Dorene (Arnie) Manvitz of Colorado Springs, and Cheryl Kraft of Omaha. Memorials may be made to the Autism Center Of Nebraska, The Omaha Public Library Foundation or the Siena Francis House.
BERNARD MICHAEL TOMPKINS
Bernard Michael Tompkins passed away on Dec. 14, 2024. Services were held on Dec. 20, 2024, at the Chapel at Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 11802 Pacific Street, Omaha. There was a private interment at Omaha National Cemetery with Military Honors. He was preceded in death by his parents Bernard and Johanna Tompkins; and siblings, Fabian Tompkins, Miles Tompkins, Sonny Tompkins and Colleen Tompkins. He is survived by his wife Kathy, daughters: Jennifer Tompkins and Tracy Weiss (Dustin); grandchildren: Kathleen and Laura Kirshenbaum and Audrey, Zeke and Ike Weiss; siblings, Thelma Giglia, Virginia Hemsworth, Joanne Tompkins, Maureen MacDonald, Ricky Tompkins, Gerard Tompkins, and Carmel Staley (Billy); and brothers-in-law, Al Sutko (JoAnn), Phil Sutko and Mark Sutko. Memorials may be made to PKD Foundation or The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.
BIRTH
ALTHEA ESTHER NEWMAN
Nicholas “Nick” Newman and Natalie Merz of Salt Lake City, UT announce the Dec. 4, 2024 birth of their daughter, Althea Esther. Grandparents are Sharee and Murray Newman and Susan (z”l) and Patrick Merz.
Rabbi Geiger’s Weekly Torah Expedition
PARSHAT MIKETZ
RABBI MORDECHAI
GEIGER
Beth Israel
Not long ago, Rabbi Gibber took 25 of his congregants to Israel to the war front to help in any way they could. One of the stops they made on the trip was to Tel Hashomer Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the world. Unfortunately, this hospital now has a whole floor for amputees. While they were walking and visiting, they encountered a 70-year-old man with an amputated leg. So one of Rabbi Gibber’s group members asked why he was here; he certainly was not serving on the frontline. So the man explained that he lost his leg in the Yom Kippur war. And every day, he comes to this wing in the hospital to show the soldiers that even though they lost a limb, their life is not over. He tells them they can pick up their lives and have children and grandchildren and a meaningful life just as he did.
JEWISH PRESS NOTICE
The Jewish Press will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. The deadline for the Jan 10, 2025 issue is Tuesday, Dec. 31, 9 a.m. There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 3, 2025 Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
In this week’s parsha, Joseph tests his brothers. They had sold him out of jealousy, and he needed to know if they now had unity. Joseph has money, and his silver goblet hidden in their sacks and then accuses them of being thieves. The brother’s response was extreme! If any one of us stole, he will die, and the rest of us shall all be your slaves! How were the brothers so certain that they were all innocent? I remember growing up; my father would explain that the answer was profound. They took full responsibility for each other. Their unity was so strong it was impossible that they would not know of such a flaw. This is the legacy that the 70-year-old veteran lives today. It is the beautiful attitude we must all have towards every single jew. Happy Hanukkah, Shabbat Shalom.
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