Heshvan/Kislev/Tevet 5773 November/December 2012 thE GREatER DES moinES Published as a CommunityJewish Service by the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines online atPress jewishdesmoines.org • volume 29 number 2 HANUKKAH Y HAPP Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines Non-Profit Organization 33158 Ute Avenue U.S. Postage [inside] Waukee, IA 50263-7538 PAID Des Moines, IA RABBI’S CORNER: RABBI EDELMAN-BLANK Address Service Requested Permit No. 2506 5 7 TORAH TALK BY DAVID FRIEDGOOD 8 IN PROFILE: JANELLE JASKOLKA 12 THE PESKY DINER: JARAD BERNSTEIN 13 CHEF DU JOUR BY KAREN ENGMAN IF WE DON’T TEACH OUR CHILDREN WHO THEY ARE, OTHERS WILL. As they grow up, young Jews will face challenges to their beliefs and identity. We believe the best way to protect our children against ignorance and hate is to educate them. From the pride of a preschooler learning his first Hebrew words to the confidence of a college student prepared to grapple with anti-Israel sentiment on campus, we’re strengthening Jewish identity and inspiring a life-long connection to Jewish values. But we need your help. THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. www.JewishDesMoines.org THE POWER OF COMMUNITY. facebook.com/JewishDesMoines 2 The Greater Des Moines Jewish Press november/december 12 Message from the President the greater des moines The Absolute Of Freedom: Hanukkah Lessons For Today’s World Jewish I want to picture all of you at this moment sitting down to read your recently arrived edition of the Jewish Press. I see you at the end of a long, chilly day, in your hand a cup Press of tea (or perhaps a cocktail—go ahead, it’s fine!). You are opening the first page and, voila, here we are together, you and me. You begin reading: yup, yet another message Published 6 times annually by about Hanukkah. You think: OY! Is it yet another Hanukkah/Christmas dilemma the Jewish Federation of Greater dissertation? I respond with an emphatic no! This is about serious stuff. It is not about Des Moines under the auspices menorahs versus trees; it is about the very clear moral of the story of Hanukkah. of the Jewish Community Nearly lost in the extravagant display of all things December is the distant memory Relations Committee Barb Hirsch-Giller of the Hasmoneans, the family of Mattathias, also known as the Maccabees. In 164 JEWISH PRESS CHAIR President BCE, the local ruler, Antiochus, sent a small force to quell a rebellion by Jewish Heidi Moskowitz resistance fighters who refused to be forced to sacrifice to pagan gods. In fighting for liberation from religious oppression, Mattathias and his five sons murdered a Greek EditoRiaL BoaRD official and subsequently annihilated both the small force sent to suppress the rebellion Debbie Gitchell and the powerful Greek army that arrived to assist. We know the famous part of the Harlan Hockenberg story, that Jerusalem was retaken by the Maccabees, the Temple purified, and with the Sheldon Rabinowitz oil that burned far longer than expected, Hanukkah was born. But the most important part of this story, its lasting and potent lesson, should be Mark S. Finkelstein, Editor that the Maccabeean event is but one courageous fight for freedom in the history that Thomas Wolff, Art/Marketing Director is Judaism. From these ancient hills surrounding Jerusalem to the ghettos of Warsaw to •••••••••••• the borders between Sderot and Gaza, we fight and die for the right simply to be Jews, JEWISH FEDERATION to survive, to worship and live in our own way. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE This imperative and experience has caused us to empathize with the plight of other Barb Hirsch-Giller, President disenfranchised, persecuted populations throughout our history. The populations may change but the reality for them and for us remains the same: freedom of religion, the Don Blumenthal, Vice President right to safe haven and adequate sustenance are basic human rights that all humans Stuart Oxer, President-Elect deserve and for which we must labor, forever. In the Nuba Mountains, in the new country of South Sudan, a horrific tragedy Bruce Sherman, Treasurer against innocent Sudanese civilians is taking place. The rogue government of the Jule Goldstein, Recording Secretary National Congress Party (NCP), led by President Omar Bashir, has brought new Judy Deutch, Immediate Past President meaning to the term war crimes. The indigenous people of the region experience daily aerial bombings, murders, rapes, and village raids. The families, stricken by starvation Members at Large: and poverty because of the policies of this jihad-driven Arab government, watch as Tracy Engman-Finkelshteyn their crops are torched. They watch as their babies’ stomachs swell. They wait for the Beth Ohringer humanitarian supplies that never arrive because they are blockaded by the Bashir Kent Rosenberg government. This genocide is waged against a Christian and Islamic civilian population, AGENCY CHAIRS which just happens to sit on a rich reserve of oil. Caspe Terrace Facilities Yet as we sit together on this chilly, early winter evening, we know that, even if the Alan Givant, Chair rest of the world stands by in silence, the Jewish world will raise its voice in protest. Caspe Terrace and This past August, the United Sudanese and South Sudanese Communities Association Special Programming (USASSCA) was formed at a meeting in Des Moines. This umbrella organization Jule Goldstein, Chair combines the efforts of these Diaspora populations under the local leadership of Rabbi David Kaufman, your Jewish Federation, and leaders from numerous Christian Education congregations. It is with pride and gratitude for the wisdom and courage of this Brian Pearl, Chair leadership that we recall the true moral of the story of Hanukkah. (see page 9) Jewish Community Relations The brilliant and courageous theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr issued this warning: Steve Schoenebaum, Chair “Evil is not to be traced back to the individual but to the collective behavior of Jewish Family Services humanity.” As we light every candle in our menorahs this year, may we pray from the Krista Pearl, Chair depth of our hearts with purpose and bravery: that WE will be today’s Maccabees, that we will never forget our past, that we will be that collective voice for the people of Darfur, •••••••••••• the Nuba Mountains, and wherever justice has hidden its face. Opinions expressed in The Greater Des Moines Jewish Press are not Happy Hanukkah! necessarily those of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines, its committees, or its staff. Inserts to the Jewish Press may not necessarily bear endorsement of the KEEP IN TOUCH! Jewish Federation. If you are not yet receiving program information from us by Paid advertising supporting political e-mail, or you have updated your e-mail address, let us know! CALLING ALL COOKS!! candidates holding or seeking elective Send us a message at [email protected] We Need Your Recipes!! office does not constitute endorsement by the Jewish Federation of Greater UpDATE ON SEARCH FOR Des Moines or any of its affiliated EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Iowa Jewish Historical agencies. At the time of printing, the Federation Search Committee is We are always happy to consider pleased to share that the process of identifying the new Society Cookbook articles and information for publication. Jewish Federation & Foundation Executive Director is in We reserve the right to edit motion. We have reviewed a large number of applications Honoring the 100th Anniversary submissions. and have narrowed the pool of candidates through a series of the Des Moines Jewish Federation The Greater Des Moines Jewish Press of phone discussions and Skype interviews. We will be 33158 Ute Avenue bringing in a handful of candidates for interviews after the High We need recipes from you that have been passed down by your Waukee, IA 50263-7538 Holidays. Should you have any questions about the search family, special holiday recipes, or those that are simply family 515-987-0899 [email protected] process, please contact President of the Federation Board, favorites that you’d like to share with the community. Send your Volume 29, No. 2 Barb Hirsch-Giller. recipe to Karen Engman at [email protected] or mail it November/December 2012 – Federation Visioning and Search Committee to the Jewish Federation at 33158 Ute Avenue, Waukee IA 50263 november/december 12 The Greater Des Moines Jewish Press 3 [education] JEWISH FEDERATION COMMUNITY SCHOOL First Day of School NOVEMBER IS JEWISH BOOK MONTH A BRIEF HISTORY OF JEWISH BOOK MONTH In 1925, Fanny Goldstein, a librarian at the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library, set up an exhibit of Judaic books and used it as a focus for what she called Jewish Book Week. In 1927, with the assistance of Rabbi S. Felix Mendelsohn of Chicago, the event was adopted by communities around the country. During its first fifteen years, the annual date of the program coincided with the holiday of Lag B’Omer, traditionally regarded as a scholars’ festival. In 1940, the event was moved to the days and weeks preceding Chanukah in order to promote the purchase of books of Jewish content as holiday gifts. Over the years, Jewish Book Week became so popular and so filled with activities that it was extended to a one-month period in 1943. This year, National Jewish Book Month runs from November 7 – December 7, 2012 If you are interested in searching for books with Jewish content, please visit the Federation website, www.jewishdesmoines.org/jfcs to find links. Make Celebrating Jewish Book Month a Family Tradition Parents today can give themselves a pat on the back if their children’s fingers are curled around the edges of a paperback instead of a game system controller.