Wasting Food in the Name of Science

Jewish Press 2/6/2009

 

Late in December, my family suddenly informs me that I have to come home. Although I normally welcome holiday travel like a hefty attack of the stomach flu, this time I have no choice. Flying by myself under the circumstances is a very bad idea, so I decide to take my daughter Isabella along. As soon as I share my plans with her, the panic sets in. “What about the Science Fair?” she asks, and I quickly check the calendar. Late February, so I think we’ll be okay. Once she hears there is very little chance we’ll be gone that long, she relaxes.  “Besides,” I say, “you can do your experiments in Holland, can’t you? I’m sure it’ll be very inspiring.”  When I introduce the topic to my family, they are more than game to play their part. My brother knows a great science museum, and my sister immediately starts making plans. In spite of the fact that our list of famous painters is roughly three times as long, there have been some great scientists in the lowlands. From Huygens to Leeghwater to Van Leeuwenhoek, there are plenty of good role models to choose from. Didn’t Descartes live in Leiden for over twenty years? Maybe she can build her own microscope, or a hydraulic dam, or dissect a tulip bulb. Maybe she can build a miniature (working) windmill. With popsicle sticks.

“No,” she says,  “I want to watch green beans rot.”

Fantastic. Why is it that science experiments always involve all things gross and disgusting? I envision a filthy decomposing pile of rubbish on my mother’s kitchen counter, and sigh. “I’m sure grandma will be delighted,” I say, and hope for the best. My mother, when I give her the good news, doesn’t seem fazed. This is probably because she doesn’t remember anything about children and the messes they make. No worries, she will find out soon enough.

Over the next few days, while we anxiously await our departure, my sister prepares several dishes with raw and partially cooked beans. My brother offers us a forgotten piece of bell pepper that he discovered in the back of his fridge. “No, thanks,” I tell him, “we’re only doing beans.”  Soon, photographs of said beans start to arrive on my email, and discussions about my father’s illness are interspersed with comments about mold and questions about whether the outside experiment will be eaten by those famous Amsterdam pigeons. Once we arrive in Holland, we take daily photographs of beans that rot, beans that freeze, beans that get covered in snow, and beans that dry out. Not to be outdone in the nastiness-department, our son busies himself with a few experiments of his own: he throws about eight farm fresh eggs down the stairs at an uncle’s house, then quickly follows this up with a “stick your finger in the bunny cage and see what happens” investigation. That’s okay; this trip, everybody gets a chance to shine. Besides, it’s handy to know that eggs, when thrown down the stairs onto a concrete floor, will break every time, and that bunnies don’t know the difference between a juicy carrot and a finger.

It occurs to me that we were all ready to be a little distracted from the situation we found ourselves in; we just didn’t know how until the Friedel Science Fair threw us a lifeline. 

Friedel Gala 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Garden of Eden, by Friedel students.

On the evening of June first, more than 200 community members came together at Beth Israel for an Israeli themed dinner, Friedel style. Honorees were retiring Principal Cookie Katskee, Dr. Eric Phillips and his wife, Friedel art teacher Julie Phillips, and board member Donald Gerber. Emcees of the evening were Debbie Denenberg and Lloyd Roitstein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

f.l.t.r.:honoree Cookie Katskee, Rabbi Jonathan Gross, honorees Donald Gerber, Dr. Eric Phillips, Julie Phillips

Board member Bruce Potash, who was the driving force behind organizing the event, said: “The committee, consisting of Jeff and Sherry Taxman, Jeff and Danielle Gordman, Bob and Kim Goldberg, and my wife Linda Potash, did a fantastic job pulling it all together. Also, we are very grateful to the honorary chair, Phyllis Friedel. We were very pleased to see so many friends of Friedel together in one room. We are already thinking about next year, and we are planning to make the Friedel Tribute Celebration an annual event.”

Rabbi Jonathan Gross, who was one of the presenters, introduced honoree Donald Gerber, who has devoted much time and energy towards Friedel. “I believe it is important for a community to have a heart beat,” Gerber said in his speech, “and a healthy, robust day school, supported by this many people, is certainly evidence Omaha has that heart beat.” Rabbi Gross added that, since he made a quip about emptying his pockets during graduation, he had come to the conclusion “$1.36 was not enough to start a trust fund. We’ll need quite a bit more than that, and I hope this dinner will be the first of many. Friedel Jewish Academy is teaching the future of our community, and we can all be very proud of the school for the quality education and wonderful atmosphere they provide.”

                                                 Donald Gerber, Gaston Bogomolni, Jeff Taxman

Retiring Principal Cookie Katskee had the honor of introducing Dr. Eric and Julie Phillips, and the guests were given a first-hand look at what the Friedel students learn in art class. Bob Goldberg coordinated a short film, showing students eloquently explaining what Miss Julie and her art instruction means to them. The children said, “Art is art”, and art can be anything you want it to be. One student explained that even when something goes “wrong” it can be turned into something else, an idea that is very important to Julie Phillips: “It is good for children to see that when things don’t turn out exactly the way you expected, it doesn’t automatically mean you throw it away and start anew. You can keep working with the same materials, but in a different direction. This is a notion that can be used for life, relationships, all sorts of problems we run into; art can be a great metaphor for life in general.”

Board member and Treasurer Jerry Gordman introduced Cookie Katskee, who was celebrated for spending the past five-and-a-half years at the helm, and helping Friedel grow and flourish. Bob Goldberg coordinated a film for Cookie as well, giving the staff and teachers at Friedel a chance to speak out on everything she has done for the school. Cookie was given a standing ovation, as well as a surprise, when several older students showed up carrying in one of Cookie’s most beloved art projects. Several years ago, Friedel students created a painting, “The Garden of Eden”, which Julie Phillips had framed in order to present it to Cookie upon her retirement. “This is such a wonderful gift,” Cookie said, “I’ve always loved this piece so much. I noticed it was missing from the school, and have been wondering all this time what happened to it!”

Nancy Mattly provided guests with an absolutely fabulous menu, which, in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, included many Israeli themed dishes. “The food was great,” guest Tippi Denenberg said. Denenberg attended with her husband Steve, sister-in-law Debbie, as well as Steve and Debbie’s parents Norm and Eunice Denenberg. “It was such a haimische experience, and it was a wonderful opportunity to get pumped for next year.” Tippi and Steve’s son Danny will be starting Kindergarten at Friedel come Fall, as will Debbie’s son Levi and daughter Rebecca, which gave the whole family plenty of reason to support Friedel whole heartedly.

Susan Fellman-Witkowski, who attended with husband Isaac, and is the current President of the school board, was equally impressed: “This was a wonderful warm gathering of around 200 extended “family” members, all coming together to celebrate a few of their own who have worked countless hours to help FJA grow into the successful thriving school that it has become.  The planning committee for this tribute dinner did an outstanding job making the evening memorable and elegant; yet somehow, it felt like having a night out with a few of your closest friends.  We couldn’t have asked for a better event!”

The evening ended on a musical note, as Donald Gerber, Gaston Bogomolni, and Jeffrey Taxman treated the audience to an inspirational and very entertaining concert. Rabbi Gross gave a short speech in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, and many attendees lingered long beyond the official end time of 8:30 to enjoy the music, the great company, and maybe the last few bites of that delectable chocolate dessert.

Hanukkah 2006

Friedel Creates Latkemania

 

On December 20^th, it was once again time for staff and students at Friedel Jewish Academy to get their hands dirty.  The annual latke fry-and-sale was a big success. Parents and teachers started setting things up early in the morning, and at 9 am it was time for the students to jump in and help out. Spread out over several tables, The Kindergartners peeled, and the older students diced and sliced, while the adults made batter and controlled the fryers. The first band-aid was handed out at 9:05 am. This questionable honor went to Kindergartner Lily Goldberg, and she wasn’t the only one. It didn’t dampen anybody’s enthusiasm.

Many visitors came to either help out and fry latkes, or just to enjoy lunch and each other’s company. One of the visitors was Rabbi Yonathan Gross, who said that “it is wonderful to be here helping out, since together we are raising funds for the most important Jewish organization in Nebraska.”  Rabbi Gross is an experienced potato peeler, as he proved last year. This year he found himself packaging applesauce, accompanied by some members of the PTO.  When asked whether he had any experience in the food industry that would qualify him for such an important task, he mentioned that he had once worked as an industrial chef at a summer camp in the Catskills.  “ If you ever need me to cook for 700 people, I’m there”, he said.

Also helping out was Rabbi Seth Nadel, who went from table to table to chat with the students individually. “It is great to be here at the school”, Rabbi Nadel said, “Friedel and the Jewish Community in general have been very welcoming to my wife Na’ama and me. “ Rabbi Nadel has some culinary talents of his own, and told us that, had he not chosen to be a Rabbi, he could have been the next “Pickle King of New Jersey”, since his father is in the pickle industry.  Lucky for us, Rabbi Nadel was at Friedel cutting potatoes instead.

The success of Latke-day depends heavily on parents’ involvement.  Many fathers and mothers come and spend part of their day working with their children, and this shows the students exactly what working together can accomplish. One such parent is Sarah Teetzel, whose son Nathaniel and daughter Naomi both attend Friedel. “Any community involvement is good for the children”, Sarah said, “because it teaches them to focus on the needs of others, rather than themselves.  Helping out their school is also a great practice for them. It sets the standard by which they will hopefully live when they are adults.” Sarah also mentioned that this is a day for parents to get more involved, not only with the school, but with each other. “New relationships within the community are formed, and old ones are strengthened.” 

Students decorated the boxes that were used for take-out. Gabby Witkowski, who is a kindergartner, helped her mother Susan pack up the orders, and looked very proud of her contribution while making some nice memories with her mom.

Another enthusiastic parent is Dr. Michael Cohen. His face lights up when asked how he feels about Friedel. His daughter Lillian started Kindergarten in the Fall, and her progress, according to her father has “exceeded expectations. She has grown and blossomed so much, and we feel very blessed to be part of the Friedel Community”.

Everyone who helped out also learned that, in order to get something done, you sometimes have to get a little smelly.  Hopefully we’ll get the perfume-du-Latke out of our hair and clothes before 2007.