P.S. « AZ Jewish Post

See galleries for more images from the Israel 64 Festival.

P.S.

(L-R) Birthday celebrant Ellis Friedman, Steven Stiglitz, Marnie Friedman and Irene Friedman

Local people, places, travels and simchas

Posted under P.S. on April 24th, 2012. Leave a Comment »

70th in shul The day before his 70th birthday on Feb. 12, Ellis Friedman led the Shacharit and Musaf services and chanted the Maftir (Torah reading before the Haftorah) at Congregation Anshei Israel’s Shabbat morning service. His wife, Irene, gave the D’var Torah. Members of their havurah — Vivien and Jacques Gerstenfeld, Barbara and Martin [...]

Jenna Kloosterman with project apparatus during testing in Antarctica

Local people, places, travels and simchas

Posted under P.S. on February 23rd, 2012. Leave a Comment »

A Super Sunday Years ago, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Super Sunday consisted of a phone-a-thon only. On Jan. 29, not only did volunteers exceed the day’s projected fundraising goal but they performed acts of loving kindness. Activities on this expanded Mitzvah Day included an American Red Cross blood drive, Gift of Life bone [...]

“Confetti Clown” Susan Claassen

P.S.: Clowning around, Bat Mitzvah on a boat, Birthright 2012, Planting for the future

Posted under P.S. on January 31st, 2012. Leave a Comment »

Clowning around Susan Claassen, managing artistic director of the Invisible Theatre, has been a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the past 11 years. She’s honored to have a photo of her and the other 2010 “Confetti Clowns” encircling the parade’s executive producer, Amy Kule, as part of the recently published “Macy’s Culinary [...]

Joan Elder in front of one of the Blessing Project exhibits

P.S.: Jazz in Tucson, a Phoenix exhibit on the pope, helping kids at Homer Davis

Posted under P.S. on December 22nd, 2011. Leave a Comment »

And all that jazz Jeff Lewis, past president of the Tucson Jazz Society, was responsible for bringing world-renowned Israeli jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman to Tucson on Nov. 19. The previous month, Jeff was watching a PBS airing of Barbra Streisand’s “One Night Only at the Village Vanguard” and knew he wanted Tamir, Streisand’s incredible accompanist, [...]

The Bregmans — Phil, Charlotte, Breanna, Emily, Lady and Dani — in their family sukkah

P.S.: Sukkah hopping in the Old Pueblo

Posted under P.S. on November 11th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

Sukkot 5772 Sukkot, Judaism’s weeklong season of rejoicing, celebrates life, community and autumn’s bounty. Originally an agricultural holiday, this festival also commemorates the 40-year trek of the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. One builds a sukkah (plural, sukkot) — a temporary dwelling with a roof made of branches representing the hastily constructed [...]

Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson at Melanoma Walk ’11

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 10.14.11

Posted under P.S. on October 14th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

Aged to perfection This title describes newly minted centenarian Ruth Protas. Over Labor Day weekend, Ruth’s family and friends from near and far feted her on this milestone occasion. Official greetings from the White House congratulated her for a century of memories representing an important part of the American story. Ruth was born on Oct. [...]

THA student Vlad Hightower at the Western Wall

P.S. : Local people, places, travels and simchas – 9.16.11

Posted under P.S. on September 19th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

In my 20 years of writing this monthly column from September through May, the Rosh Hashanah issue has traditionally highlighted Israel summer travel. This article is no exception. Enjoy! • • • • • Another year, another Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth-grade Israel Discovery trip before middle school graduation. This was the school’s 10th trip to [...]

Friends at 100: Evelyn Bersh and Solomon Steinfeld

Local people, palces, travels and simchas – 5.6.11

Posted under P.S. on May 6th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

Destination Bar Mitzvah Just as there are destination weddings, so are there destination Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations. At the end of March, MSNBC.com had an article entitled “Mazel tov! Traditional Jewish ceremonies take to the road.” The writer mentioned Tucsonan Sam Gordon’s December 2010 Bar Mitzvah during a Caribbean cruise. Sam’s parents, Amy Krauss and Richard [...]

Stuart and Marianne Taussig aboard “Kosherica” cruise

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 3.25.11

Posted under P.S. on March 25th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

Cantorial cruise For a week in January, it was smooth sailing for Marianne and Stuart Taussig aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. The couple celebrated their 17th anniversary on Jan. 16 on board their Western Caribbean-bound ship. Their itinerary was billed as “Kosherica: Glatt Kosher Jewish Music Festival At Sea.” Their group, 400 of the 2,500 total [...]

Abby, Jordan, Joel and Jane Herz at Independence Hall in Tel Aviv

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 2.11.11

Posted under P.S. on February 11th, 2011. Leave a Comment »

“This year in Jerusalem” When Joel Herz recently visited Israel after a long hiatus, he was astounded by the growth and progress of this small country. In 1988, as a recent law school graduate, Joel spent three months in Israel, living and working on a kibbutz, studying Hebrew, and traversing the land. Fast forward to [...]