Jewish Federation of Omaha

Tzedek Teens - JSERVE
2025-04-06 12:15 - 15:30 UTC
J-Serve: The International Day of Jewish Youth Service
Schedule of the afternoon:
12:15 p.m. Kosher Lunch at the Staenberg Omaha JCC
12:40 p.m. Bus ride and volunteer project at Town and Country Animal Rescue
Our time volunteering during the spring clean up will include: painting, folding and storing blankets and towels, organizing donations, creating enrichment activities for the animals, and socialization with dogs and cats.
3:30 p.m. Arrive by bus to the Staenberg Omaha JCC for pickup
Participants will receive a specially designed J-Serve Omaha sweatshirt and service learning hours for participating!
Do you have donations for the animal rescue like towels, blankets, dog or cat food, treats and animal toys?
Please bring any donations to the Staenberg Omaha JCC Main Entrance starting March 24th until the day of the project!

Beit Midrash
2025-04-02 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-05 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-05 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-01-08 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-12-04 12:00 - 13:00 | Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Embracing our desire to be together and learn together, this exciting Beit Midrash (house of study) gives all of Jewish Omaha the opportunity to engage in spirited and challenging cross-denominational study with local rabbis and cantors. During each Beit Midrash, a different clergy member from our community synagogues will select and present a pertinent topic of their choice. Classes will be held in-person at the Staenberg Omaha JCC.
Drop in for one session or become a regular attendee – everyone is welcome.
Light Kosher refreshments served at each session. No cost to attend.

JFO NOSH
2025-03-30 15:00 - 17:00 | Champions Run, 13800 Eagle Run Drive, United States
The Jewish Federation of Omaha Women’s Philanthropy and Jewish Author Spring events are uniting this year for a lively, large-scale celebration of food, community, and connection. Featured author Micah Siva will showcase delicious Passover-inspired recipes from her cookbook, NOSH: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine. Learn more
Cost: $18
Enjoy cocktails, appetizers, and tastes from the food demo. Kosher options will be served.
RSVP NOW!

REGISTER Film & Friends - Programming for 55+
2025-03-21 13:00 - 15:30 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Jewish Family Service invites you to free monthly movie showings at the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the JCC.

March 21: “Field of Dreams” | 1 pm

Concessions will be available for purchase.
Register here!

Ritchie Boys: Aaron Parsow talks about his grandfather Warner B. Frohman
2025-03-02 13:00 - 15:00 | Temple Israel Synagogue, 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive, Omaha, NE, 68144
The Institute for Holocaust Education is honored to partner with the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society to present the final event highlighting the Ritchie Boys. The community is invited to hear Aaron Parsow, son of Margo and Jay Parsow, z”l, speak about his grandfather, Warner B. Frohman.

Tzedek Teens - Cooking Up Hope
2025-02-23 15:30 - 17:30 | The Hope Lodge, 8030 Farnam Drive, Omaha, Ne, 68114
Join other Tzedek Teens as we spend some time volunteering at The Hope Lodge, which is part of The American Cancer Society. We will prepare and serve dinner for patients, enjoy games and fun activities together, and create art projects with patients and their families.

PJ Library - Super Science Sunday
2025-02-09 10:00 - 11:30 | Jewish Community Center, 333 S. 132nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68154, United States
Ready, set, blow some bubbles! Join PJ Library Omaha and Friedel Jewish Academy as they host the Omaha Children’s Museum and The Amazing Bubble Show at the J. (The exact location provided to those who register.)
FREE and open to families with children ages 5 and under in the Jewish community, families attending the ELC and Friedel Jewish Academy.
Grandparents welcome!
Questions? Contact Sara Kohen, Friedel Jewish Academy, skohen@fjaomaha.com, or Heidi Heilbrunn Needleman, Jewish Federation of Omaha, hheilbrunn@jewishomaha.org

Film & Friends - Programming for 55+
2025-02-07 13:00 - 15:30 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Jewish Family Service invites you to free monthly movie showings at the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the JCC.
All movies start at 1:00 P.M.

February 7: “When Harry Met Sally”
March 21: “Field of Dreams”

Concessions will be available for purchase.
Register here!

Taste of Jewish Omaha
2025-01-26 15:00 - 16:30
Shabbat Favorites – Baking for Tots with Ayelet Geiger
Experience the warmth of Jewish community and cuisine with PJ Library’s Taste of Jewish Omaha cooking series, a heartwarming parent-child journey. Share your treasured family recipes and help craft a PJ Library Taste of Omaha family-friendly cookbook that celebrates our shared heritage and traditions.
PJ Library’s Taste of Jewish Omaha continues with Shabbat Favorites with Ayelet Geiger at 3 p.m. Ayelet, who is known for her delectable kosher meals and catering, is welcoming children of all ages into her home. She will share a few of her family’s favorite Shabbat staples. PJ Library families will practice rolling matzo balls and create an easy puff-pastry dessert.

Film & Friends - Programming for 55+
2025-01-17 13:00 - 15:30 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Jewish Family Service invites you to free monthly movie showings at the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the JCC.
All movies start at 1:00 P.M.

January 17: “Singing in the Rain”
February 7: “When Harry Met Sally”
March 21: “Field of Dreams”

Concessions will be available for purchase.
Register here!

Youth Challah Bake
2025-01-12 15:00 - 16:30
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 by clicking the button below.
The Youth Challah Bake is supported by The Chesed Fund, the Foundation IMPACT Grant and the Morton A Richards Youth Program Fund.

Israeli Snacks with Mika
2025-01-09 17:00 - 18:15 | Jewish Federation of Omaha, 333 S 132nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68154, United States
Join Community Shlichah Mika Mizrahi for a fun evening of tasting some of the most popular snacks from Israel!
All of the snacks are kosher.
Please register!Cost: $5 Individual | $10 Family

Hanukkah Extravaganza
2024-12-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Hanukkah Extravaganza Celebrates Israel
Sunday, December 29
2:00-4:00 pm
Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus – 333 South 132nd Street
Join us for an afternoon of family fun to celebrate HANUKKAH!
Activities Include:
Bounce houses, Carnival Games, Israeli “Archeological Dig”, The Latke Truck, customize your own Sufganiyot, and more!
Register Now! https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/FqpDuw?vid=1d5yk5

PJ Library: Operation Grateful Goodies
2024-12-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Jewish Community Center, 333 S. 132nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68154, United States
Taste of Jewish Omaha
Every year the Jewish community gathers for Operation Grateful Goodies, a program that makes and delivers treats to first responders working on Christmas.

For the first time, PJ Library, as part of our Taste of Jewish Omaha Series, will host a special parent-child baking day. Learn a traditional Jewish cookie recipe, while giving back to the greater Omaha community.

Taste of Jewish Omaha is sponsored by the PJ Library Engagement Grant for Implementing Partners.

NextGen Hanukkah Party
2024-12-21 17:30 - 21:00 | Cham Pang Lanes, 910 Harney Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Get ready for an unforgettable evening at the NextGen Hanukkah Party, co-chaired by Hailey Krueger and Alex Ronen. This festive event promises fun, food, friends, and duckpin bowling, all accompanied by delicious cocktails!
Join us at Châm Pang Lanes, located at 910 Harney Street, on Saturday, December 21 at 5:30 PM (after Shabbat) to celebrate Hanukkah with some sparkle! NextGen welcomes attendees aged 21-45.
Cost: $18
RSVP Now! https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/YcUrBg?vid=1d547b

JBL Hall of Fame
2024-12-20 07:30 - 09:00 | Happy Hollow Club, 1701 S 105th St, Omaha, NE, 68124
Tom Fellman and Howard Kooper have dedicated their careers to changing the area’s rental housing landscape, through the belief their residents deserved something more. That shared belief brought them together in 1968 to create Broadmoor Development.

Born in Omaha, Tom Fellman attended Central High School and then the University of Oklahoma where he graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Real Estate and Accounting. He began his career as a staff accountant at Alexander Grant, spending his day breaking Frank Goldberg’s pencils. After a year, Tom started his journey as the Tom Fellman Company which built single family homes and duplexes and operated a property management company that included his personal investments along with retail strip centers of the Newman family. Howard Kooper, also an Omaha native, attended Central High School and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Howard entered Creighton Law, but after a successful first year, Howard decided to switch his career to real estate. Since partnering with Tom in 1978, Howard has been the man in the office at least six days a week, overseeing daily operations, putting together the framework of the next deal, and strategies and foresight for the company’s growth.

Special Briefing
2024-12-17 19:00 - 20:30
You’re invited to a Special Omaha Community Briefing with
Yinam Cohen, Israel Consul General to the Midwest on
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
7:30-8:30 pm
Kosher dessert reception to follow.
Registration is required.
https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/NgT7bA?vid=1bn870

Local Author Event featuring Bob Yaffe
2024-12-15 14:00 | Jewish Federation of Omaha, 333 S 132nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68154, United States
Join us at the Author Event for Omaha’s own Bob Yaffe’s book, Relinquished.
It was 1950 when Robert J. (Bob) Yaffe was adopted by Dorothy and Sol Yaffe. Decades later, in 1985, Bob embarked on a search for his birth parents. In his book, Relinquished, he details that journey, and its results.
Read more

Please let us know if you plan to attend by registering.

Giving Tuesday!
2024-12-03
We’re celebrating Giving Tuesday, a global celebration of grassroots philanthropy, with a 24-hour community giving challenge to support our 2025 Annual Campaign!
The overall goal of our Annual Campaign is 3.4 million, but our Giving Tuesday goal is $100,000+ in 24 hours!
YOU can help us reach that goal! Donate online at JewishOmaha.org or ShareOmaha.org!
Make Giving Extra Rewarding!
Pledge or donate at any time on December 3rd to the Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Campaign, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Kindle Softcolor! Sponsored by CRESA
Double Your Donation
For every $100+ gift or pledge made throughout the day, Cresa will match your donation (up to $1,000 total match).
Click here to view more GIVING INCENTIVES sponsored by CRESA!

JBL Hall of Fame
2024-11-22 07:30 - 09:00 | Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
The Jewish Federation of Omaha invites the community to honor and celebrate the legacy of John Lehr & Arnold Joffe (Grace/Mayer) at their induction into the Jewish Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Arnold Joffe was born 6 weeks early in Omaha in February of 1939. The doctor who delivered him said he was so small that his mother would never see him alive. Fortunately, Arnold proved the doctor wrong.
He graduated from Central High School in 1957 and continued on to University Nebraska Lincoln where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. Arnold graduated with a BS in 1961, majoring in insurance.
After an extensive European cruise, lasting from Saturday to Monday of the same week, he started work at HA Wolf Company in the insurance division 2 days after graduating college.
Arnold worked for HA Wolf until 1977, at which time he started his own insurance agency with two partners, Bill Kully and Paul Grossman. They operated Joffe Kully Grossman insurance agency from 1977 through 1982. At that time, he merged with the Grace Mayer Insurance Agency and partnered with Marty Lehr and Gary Kaplan. The company became Grace Mayer Joffe Kully Grossman Insurance. They quickly realized that the name was too long (and the only way to get your name on the door was to die) so they reverted back to Grace Mayer.
The firm grew from approximately 30 employees to an eventual 85. They handled commercial and personal insurance, eventually adding livestock. This was one of the key contributions to Grace Mayer’s growth. In 2012 Grace Mayer was purchased by the Arthur J Gallagher Insurance Company. Arnold continued to work as a consultant until 2015, at which time he retired, culminating a 54-year career.
As a community leader, Arnold served as president of Beth El Synagogue, Highland Country Club, and the Omaha Insurance Association.
He is the patriarch of his family, having been married to his wife, Sheryn, for 57 years. The couple have two daughters and sons-in-law who all live in Omaha. Arnold is the proud grandfather of six grandchildren, Tyler (Stephanie), Monica, Josh, Lily, Lucy, and Knox.
Arnold and Sheryn split their time between Omaha and Scottsdale.

John Lehr followed his grandfather Alfred Mayer and father Martin Lehr as the third generation of his family to work for and ultimately lead Grace/Mayer Insurance (est. 1917), prior to its 2012 merger with Arthur J. Gallagher and Co. He did part time projects there while at Westside High School and internships as an undergraduate at Duke University, and ultimately joined the firm full time after working 2 years for Chubb and then earning his MBA at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
At Grace/Mayer, in concert with his father Marty, and friend, mentor, and co-inductee Arnold Joffe, they started and grew a Life Insurance and Financial Planning Division, an Employee Benefits Division, and a Safety and Loss Control Services Consultancy to round out its core Commercial Property and Casualty specialty. Along the way they broadened their real estate, food, logistics, and construction expertise to include technology, livestock, and financial services, using tools inside and outside its walls to grow together with its amazing clients.
After more than tripling its employee count, raising its revenues seven-fold, and welcoming 3 new non-family partners, John led the successful merger with Gallagher, the world’s 3rd largest insurance broker, where he stayed 3 years to lead the Grace/Mayer integration and transition to Gallagher.
While working and attending to his family, he also spent many years on the boards of The Jewish Federation, The Jewish Community Center, Jewish Social Services (RBJH and JFS), and 20 years on the Temple Israel board, culminating with the fund raising, planning, and construction of its new Sterling Ridge home as President. John was the fourth Temple President of his family, following his grandfather and both parents.
John is happily spending more time with his Denver attorney daughter Avery and her new husband Alex and dog Phil, his Seattle data-scientist son Jacob and longtime girlfriend Natalie, and his beautiful wife of 37 years Sandy, in both Omaha and Frisco Colorado.

Period Product Packing Party
2024-11-11 17:30 - 19:30 | Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Tzedek Teens Volunteer Project with Access Period
Monday, November 11th in the Goldstein Community Engagement Venue at the JCC
All Jewish girls ages 12-18 are invited to combat period poverty with Access Period.
We will be creating period supply kits together for people in the Omaha and the surrounding community.
You can also earn volunteer hours for school requirements.
Dinner will be provided at 5:30 p.m.
Tzedek Project fro m 6:00-7:30 p.m.

JFS Book Club Discussion
2024-11-03 11:00 - 2024-11-24 12:00 | Jewish Federation of Omaha, 333 S 132nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68154, United States
Jewish Family Service hosts Book Club Discussion
Sundays | 11:00 am-12:00 pm
November 3, 10, 17 & 24
Jewish Federation of Omaha, Conference Room A – 333 S. 132nd St.
The community is invited to join Rabbi Mordechai Geiger of Beth Israel Synagogue and Jewish Family staff Teresa Drelicharz and Annie Rifkin for a 4-part book club discussion on Thriving With Anxiety by David H. Rosmarin.
Register Here

Omaha Jewish Film Festival | Avenue of the Giants
2024-10-30 18:00 - 21:00 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Whether you’re a film enthusiast or someone who enjoys viewing some of the latest and best Jewish-themed films, the Omaha Jewish Film Festival promises to provide you with a fulfilling cinematic experience. You can always count on a reasonable ticket price and a little nosh for the night.
Each night will be hosted by a different community member with a special interest in that evening’s film. In addition to introducing the film, your host invites you to join a short discussion and socialization after the film.
Host: Gloria Kaslow
Learn more and purchase ticket passes: www.jewishomaha.org/community-engagement/film-festival

Omaha Jewish Film Festival | Running on Sand
2024-10-29 18:00 - 21:00 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Whether you’re a film enthusiast or someone who enjoys viewing some of the latest and best Jewish-themed films, the Omaha Jewish Film Festival promises to provide you with a fulfilling cinematic experience. You can always count on a reasonable ticket price and a little nosh for the night.
Each night will be hosted by a different community member with a special interest in that evening’s film. In addition to introducing the film, your host invites you to join a short discussion and socialization after the film.
Hosts: Ilana Linthicum and Francisco Guzman Jimenez
Learn more and purchase ticket passes: www.jewishomaha.org/community-engagement/film-festival

Omaha Jewish Film Festival | Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story
2024-10-28 18:00 - 21:00 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Whether you’re a film enthusiast or someone who enjoys viewing some of the latest and best Jewish-themed films, the Omaha Jewish Film Festival promises to provide you with a fulfilling cinematic experience. You can always count on a reasonable ticket price and a little nosh for the night.
Each night will be hosted by a different community member with a special interest in that evening’s film. In addition to introducing the film, your host invites you to join a short discussion and socialization after the film.
Host: Sarah Abrahamson
Learn more and purchase ticket passes: www.jewishomaha.org/community-engagement/film-festival

Omaha Jewish Film Festival | Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
2024-10-27 18:00 - 21:00 | Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE, 68154
Whether you’re a film enthusiast or someone who enjoys viewing some of the latest and best Jewish-themed films, the Omaha Jewish Film Festival promises to provide you with a fulfilling cinematic experience. You can always count on a reasonable ticket price and a little nosh for the night.
Each night will be hosted by a different community member with a special interest in that evening’s film. In addition to introducing the film, your host invites you to join a short discussion and socialization after the film.
Host: Marty Shukert
Learn more and purchase ticket passes: www.jewishomaha.org/community-engagement/film-festival
