Update from Mike Siegel

I would like to wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year! 2023 will be an exciting time for the Jewish Federation of Omaha as we welcome our new CEO, Bob Goldberg. You may have seen Bob on campus recently as he prepares for his first official day on January 16th. Phil and I have been working “behind the scenes” with Bob over the last few months so he can hit the ground running. I have been very impressed with Bob’s knowledge and energy. I can’t wait for you to experience the wonderful ideas he will bring to our community.

Just over a year ago, the JFO Board decided to split the Interim CEO role between three people while searching for a permanent CEO. The Board’s appointment of Phil Malcom, Jan Goldstein and Marty Ricks to fill these roles was one of the best decisions the Board has made. All three of these leaders have exceeded my expectations and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication to our organization.

Phil has been an outstanding leader on our campus. From the beginning, he understood the importance of having a strong leadership team behind him. Over the last year, Phil has strengthened the leadership team by having weekly team discussions about the strategic plan and campus issues. He set objectives so the leadership team could evaluate their success and built a spirit of common purpose among them. Our leadership team is a more cohesive and effective group as a result. Phil also navigated the transition of the ADL/CRC to the JCRC. He listened to community members, staff, and the ADL to formulate the best method for our community to establish the JCRC, headed by Sharon Brodkey. While Phil’s leadership skills are impressive, his demeanor has taught me the most. During this period of transition, I have watched Phil handle difficult decisions with a calm, informed and conscientious approach. He is always prepared to discuss the issue at hand and offer thoughtful solutions. Phil has made improvements to our Federation and is handing it over to Bob in a strong position. We are fortunate that Phil will continue to be a leader on campus.

Jan Goldstein has truly been a blessing for the Federation. As a valued community member and a past Executive Director, Jan wholeheartedly took on the role as a programming and campaign consultant to our Philanthropy and Engagement department. She inspired and supported the team to establish new, relevant programming for our community. One of my favorites was the men’s Cars, Conversation and Cocktails event held at Bentley and Barnato. Jan helped organize and promote a mission to Israel with the goal of inspiring our community members who have never been to Israel to make the trip. I am pleased to say that over 25 community members will be going to Israel in March, including a visit to our partnership region. Jan brought institutional knowledge to help guide the JFO through many decisions. Knowing the history of our community was an invaluable asset and helped the leadership team make some difficult decisions. Personally, Jan helped me better understand my role and how to be an effective leader. I am grateful for the time I have spent with Jan during this transition.

When I first spoke to Marty about filling this interim role, his response was, “When do I start?” Marty has contributed to our Philanthropy and Engagement department immensely. With the retirement of our accomplished team of Steve Levinger and Louri Sullivan, the Board realized it would take some time for our new development team to establish themselves in our community. Marty coming on board as a fundraising consultant allowed the progression of the team to get a tremendous jumpstart. He worked with Jenn Tompkins and Rachel Ring to establish best practices, make donor introductions, and help them achieve their goals for the year. Marty’s endorsement of the new team gave our community members confidence in this change. I can’t thank Marty enough for the confidence and support he provided throughout 2022.

With Bob coming on board soon, along with the amazing staff we already have in place, 2023 is going to be a fantastic year for the Jewish Federation of Omaha. This is possible as a result of the Board’s decision to fill the Interim CEO position with three capable individuals. Not only was the approach effective, the people who accepted the challenge made it a productive success. Phil, Jan and Marty have helped the JFO grow and mature into a better, more effective organization for our community. Please join me in thanking all three of them.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mike Siegel
JFO President

Update from Phil Malcom

What do we mean when we talk about legacy?

We use this word frequently, especially in nonprofits. It’s a quick way to grab at the heartstrings, a simple way to connect with people as they consider their mark on the world. In the Jewish community, we talk about l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation), and we ask people to consider—

How do you want to be remembered?

How will you pass on your traditions and beliefs to the next generation?

There’s a reason we keep coming back to these ideas: they resonate with people, and there is deep, universal truth in them, a collective longing from all of us to continue on in some capacity, to bring consistency and continuity to the world.

But there’s another side of legacy, one that I’ve been thinking on a lot recently: each legacy contains within it the seeds of growth and change. We think of our legacies as static, as deep, fixed impressions on the world that outlive us. But people change. The world evolves. Neuroscience tells us that even memories are elastic, slightly changing each time we access them. Nothing on Earth is permanent. And yet, every change begins with a seed. You can’t have evolution without the germination of an original idea or trait that grows in its environment and adapts to external forces. In this way, leaving a legacy isn’t about preserving some fixed point in time into the future or some idealized memory of yourself—it’s about allowing something new to grow from the seed you’ve left behind.

Our traditions are littered with examples of this. Abraham trusting G-d that his descendants would inherit a land beyond anything he could have hoped for. Moses getting right to the edge of the promised land before being told that someone else would lead the Israelites home. Even the Maccabees, when reclaiming Judah and restoring their people’s legacy, ultimately set the stage for their own people’s growth and change over time. In each instance, the idea of legacy was mixed with the idea of surprise, and the legacy grew to become something that each person never could have imagined.

I think of this often when I consider the incredible foresight of the people who went before us to establish what would later become the Jewish Federation of Omaha or to purchase the land on 132nd Street that we now call home. Could they have imagined how fantastic this community would become? Certainly it looks differently than many would have pictured, and yet that change—that growth—is what makes a community a living, beautiful thing. We’re also living out the legacy of those who began an ambitious project to purchase the lots just north of our campus approximately 20 years ago. I’m thrilled to announce that just last month we closed on the purchase of the final house on this parcel, and we have convened a committee to begin planning out the vision for our next phase of physical growth. What an exciting time to be involved at the JFO!

Of course, this is also presently on my mind as I think of the legacy of my own family. My father and grandmother recently passed away, and I find myself struck not just by the ways in which I remember them, but more importantly by the ways in which those characteristics have grown into new and unexpected things in my own life. I see these fleeting impressions of Dad and Grandma in my daughters—in Amelia’s smile and in Lily’s unique sense of humor—and for a moment I am brought back to my memories of them before being amazed at how that same DNA has turned into a new thing altogether. L’dor v’dor – we pass along our traditions and our truths and ourselves from generation to generation. In this way, we continue to grow, even after we are gone.

We leave a legacy through the things we’ve taught those younger than us and through the seeds we leave behind. But we also leave a legacy through each interaction we have with those around us every day. Each of these impressions carries with it the potential to contribute to the ongoing story of this community, growing and changing with each contribution.

Of course, this is the end of 2022, and it would be a shame for me to miss the opportunity to remind you of some practical ways you can leave a legacy to the Jewish community. Our development team has put together a very handy list of ways to maximize your end of year giving, and I’ve included them below. But whether your contribution is financial, relational, or anything else, you are part of creating this community, of writing a story that will outlive us all.

It is my sincere wish that during this Hanukkah season you each find yourself surrounded by light and transformed by the legacy of those who’ve gone before you and those who walk along with you.

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom,
Phillip Malcom
JFO Interim CEO

Update from Jan Goldstein

These past 11 months of participating on the Federation Professional Interim CEO team have reminded me of just why our Federation and this Jewish community remains strong, vibrant, and special, year after year. The lay and professional leaders here work daily to plan programs and activities and to implement guidelines, procedures and measurable outcomes with dedication and tireless service.

This doesn’t happen by accident, and our Federation has invested considerable time and resources over decades to ensure this success. The JFO and its agencies have grown tremendously, especially over this past decade, and with this growth comes many new challenges, including some that our leadership team could have never imagined. COVID and the post-pandemic world have introduced new norms which have changed everything in both our work and personal lives. But what do I see? Performing arts in the Alan J. Levine Theater, basketball tournaments at the Staenberg Omaha JCC, children learning at the Pennie Z. Davis ELC and Friedel Jewish Academy, senior programming at our exceptional Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, clergy and community members coming together for Beit Midrash, local Jewish authors discussing their latest publications, and the list goes on and on. Stop by any day of the week, and you can tell from the activity on the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus that nothing can stop our community from moving forward.

Since my departure in 2012 as JFO Executive Director, I’ve had the opportunity in my continuing work with other Jewish Federations, to hear about challenges much like those we are facing here in Omaha. In this respect we are not unique. What’s important, however, is how we face these challenges. I can tell you that being back in our community, I have clearly seen an atmosphere, under the leadership of our JFO President Mike Siegel and this Federation Board, of responsibility and cooperation, using creativity to find answers, and a constant motivation not only to meet those challenges, but to do so with an overarching goal of uniting the community – bringing everyone to the table, both literally and metaphorically.

Speaking of challenges and creating the “big table” where everyone feels comfortable, included, and welcomed, I’d like to touch on the subject of kashrut. It’s been talked about the past few months, and it’s an important issue for many of our community members, whether kashrut is one’s practice or not.

Why? For several reasons.

First, so many of us speak continually today about inclusiveness. Our cultural and political climate and just about everything today focuses on the important issues centered around diversity, equity, and respecting others’ beliefs, traditions, and rights, even though they may not be our own. While we as Jews are a diverse group of people and hold many different beliefs and practices, we are united by core values. As we continue building upon the successes of Jewish Omaha, we look for opportunities to build inclusivity.

The ability to share a meal is essential to the Jewish experience. In the Torah, great and important things happen over meals. When we come together at a community-wide event, we want everyone to feel comfortable eating together.

I have heard it said that kosher is too expensive and that we don’t have the resources or the ability in Omaha to make it happen. These are challenges that we are discussing, and we are actively exploring workable ideas for how we can become more inclusive with food at community-wide events. Why? Because kashrut is part of our Jewish tradition and for many it is still very important. Kashrut is part of our legacy and it is a symbol of respect for each other and Judaism.

We are proud of our small midwestern Jewish community because we support diverse populations in every corner of the Jewish world – locally, nationally and worldwide. At the end of the day, isn’t it all about respect for one another?
We are and always have been the community that cares about all people… This is Jewish Omaha.

Shabbat Shalom,
Jan Goldstein
Programming and Campaign Consultant