This morning, we put the Food back in our virtual Food for Thought series with popular cooking star Jamie Geller. Jamie is a Today Show regular, 7-time bestselling cookbook author and mother of 6—known as the “Jewish Rachael Ray” (New York Times) and “Queen of Kosher” (CBS).

Thanks, Jamie, for getting us in the Chanukah mood! Follow Jamie on Instagram and YouTube or subscribe via her website JamieGeller.com for more kosher inspiration, with over 10,000 recipes and how-to videos..

Show your support for Federation this week by posting an #Unselfie! You can post anytime from now until next Friday, Dec. 4 (not on Shabbat please). Here's how to do it:

1. Download our printable posters and print out your favorite. Or you can print a blank version to write in your own reason to support Federation.
2. Hold the sign up in front of your face(s). If you're posing together with a family member, put your heads close together.
3. Snap a selfie - holding your phone out far enough to get the whole sign in the picture. Vertical is best for Instagram, horizontal is best for Facebook. It's nice if we can still see the top of your head so we know it's you.
4. Create a new post in your Instagram or Facebook feed and upload the image.
5. Tag the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana in the photo. On Instagram, we're @JewishNWIndiana; on Facebook, @federationonline.
6. Add text to your post with the hashtags: #Unselfie #GivingTuesday #JFNWI
7. Hit "Post" and feel good about helping spread the word for Federation!

Come together and laugh with us! The Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana cordially invites you to a 2020 Annual Campaign Event featuring comedian Benji Lovitt, live from Israel via Zoom. Join us virtually on Sunday, November 15, 2020 at 4:00pm CT. Visit federationonline.org/campaign2020 to RSVP.

The Illiana News recently caught up with Benji over WhatsApp to ask a few questions.

IN: I understand you are a native Texan. What was your Jewish upbringing like?
BL: As far as I could tell, I was an average Jewish kid. New Yorker parents, public school and Hebrew school in the evenings, summer camp beginning in 5th grade....that’s really what led me here. Camp turned into to my summer Israel trip, then to my gap year in Israel, and the rest is history. We went to a Conservative synagogue, celebrated the holidays, and of course, had a family with “eccentric” characters.

IN: What was the moment you knew you were going to make aliyah?
BL: There wasn’t a single moment that I recall. It was a process of realizing I wasn’t happy living where I was, wanted to move, was interested in spending at least a year in Israel, and then understanding that going through the official aliyah process made the most logical sense. Like all major life changes—marriage, parenthood, etc.—it’s hard to really know what you’re getting into beforehand!

IN: Some of our readers may remember you performing for us here in Munster once before, several years back. What's changed for you since then?
BL: Wow—so much. It’s been almost 10 years, I think. I got my own place, a car, and a puppy (the latter two in recent months). I was just starting to do standup full-time back then, so I’ve come a long way. Not only figuring out the business side of things, but becoming so much more comfortable in my own creative skin. My material back then was probably in the voice of a new, kvetching immigrant, whereas now I really get this place a lot more and can make native Israelis laugh with my insights. I enjoy making fun of myself and Americans as much as, if not more than, Israelis.

IN: Tell us more about the new puppy!
BL: He’s giving me lots of material! Every new experience is ripe for jokes, and as an immigrant, even more so. I’m definitely learning lots of new Hebrew words (how surprising I never learned “neutered” in my previous 14 years.)

IN: What's your must-see recommendation in Tel Aviv? (ignoring Covid for the moment)
BL: So much. The beach is obvious. The food scene is blowing up. As far as tourist attractions, I’d say the Nahalat Binyamin artist market. I still go there to get great stuff.

IN: What do you love about performing for Federation audiences?
BL: They’re usually people who are affiliated Jewishly, have been to Israel, and get the jokes! 

Our program began with an introduction by our own Rosalie Levinson, drawing on her decades of personal acquaintance with the late Justice Ginsburg. Next, we watched a video presentation in which exhibit curator Arielle Weininger discussed RBG's life and toured the exhibition, complete with embedded audio, video, and photographs of artifacts. After the video, we enjoyed a live Q&A session with a Museum docent.

Since the exhibition tour is proprietary, we can't offer you a recording of the program. However, we recorded a version of Rosalie's introduction to share with the community.  

The talkback is available now to view on our VIrtual Programming page or on our YouTube channel.

Tamar exhibits a rare combination of the deeply spiritual and deeply practical, and it was a treat to get to know her. We look forward to collaborating with her in the future - and to witnessing her rabbinic ordination on December 12!

Our 2020–2021 Virtual Film Series is generously sponsored by Carol Culberg. The series will include 4 more virtual film selections starting in January 2021. Watch for upcoming schedule information at federationonline.org/film.

In the course of her talk, Ms. Rada highlighted a few specific influential Israeli women as role models.

• First and foremost of course was Golda Meir, the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
• ​Next was Lucy Aharish, notable as the first Muslim Arab news presenter on mainstream Israeli television.
• Third, she mentioned MK Penina Tamanu-Shata, the first female Ethopian Member of Knesset.

The complete program is now available for viewing on Federation's Virtual Programming page or on our YouTube channel.

Mr. Eric D. Fingerhut, President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), addressed our major donors yesterday in a private Zoom conversation by invitation only. 

Prior to his appointment at JFNA, Mr. Fingerhut served as the President and CEO of Hillel International from 2013-19. At Hillel, he led the organization’s Drive to Excellence, which doubled the number of students engaged by Hillel each year to over 130,000.
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​Mr. Fingerhut has also had a varied and distinguished career in public service and higher education. He served as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents from early 2007 to 2011, leading Ohio’s system of public universities and colleges; as Ohio state senator from 1997 to 2006; and represented Ohio’s 19th congressional district in the U.S. Congress from 1993 to 1994.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but my early life was shaped by Federation. I went to preschool at the JCC. I vividly remember carrying signs in the walkathons standing up for Israel during the 1967 and 1973 wars,” Fingerhut recounts. “Never did I imagine that nearly a half century later, I would have the opportunity to lead a Movement that has impacted my life and so many others. It has a rich history, and I believe it can have an even more impactful future.”
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JFNA represents 147 Jewish Federations and over 300 Network communities, raising and distributing more than $2 billion annually and through planned giving and endowment programs. In support of social welfare, social services and educational needs, JFNA protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide, and leads in the fields of caregiving, aging, philanthropy, disability, foreign policy, homeland security and health care. 

Federation is kicking off a 12-week email-based walking program called Get WalkIN’, offered through Purdue Extension Lake County. Get WalkIN’ aims to promote increased physical activity through walking while also providing reliable information about the health benefits of walking.

This program is unique in that it is entirely email-based. Our program will begin Monday, August 3, 2020, and enrolled participants will receive 16 email messages over a 12-week time period (twice weekly for the first 4 weeks, then weekly for the next 8 weeks). These messages focus on self-efficacy, social support, and goal setting, as well as resource guides and strategies to help you start or maintain a walking routine of your choice.

For more information on the program, please contact Linda Curley, HHS Extension Educator, at lcurley@purdue.edu or call the Federation office at (219) 301-0960.

For Berlin-based American writer-producer Anna Winger, creating the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox offered a unique opportunity to tell a Jewish story in Germany. The show, which premiered March 26 on Netflix, follows a young woman who leaves her husband and her ultra-Orthodox Satmar community in Williamsburg, NY, for a new life in Berlin. 

This past Sunday morning, Ms. Winger joined the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana (live from Berlin via Zoom) for an exclusive conversation moderated by Carol Culberg. Over 70 participants tuned in for this exciting program!

The recording is now available to watch on Federation's YouTube channel:

Ms. Winger was raised by anthropologists in Massachusetts and in Mexico, and educated at Columbia University. She co-created and co-wrote the four-episode Netflix series along with documentarian Alexa Karolinski, and also served as executive producer. She is also the founder of Studio Airlift, a production company based in Berlin. She lives in Berlin with her family.

Carol Culberg is a board member and past president of the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana. She chairs Federation's Education committee. In 2019, Carol launched Federation's popular evening book club, which meets every 6 weeks; the most recent discussion selection (also via Zoom) was Deborah Feldman's 2012 memoir Unorthodox, which inspired the Netflix series.