“Confetti Clown” Susan Claassen

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 Council Thanksgiving and Holiday Cookbook.”
This keepsake volume celebrates the 85-year history of the parade and provides over 80 festive recipes by the 13 top chefs on the council. Chef Michelle Bernstein shares Chanukah dinner fare, including updated classics such as butter lettuce and shaved fennel salad, French bean and pearl onion ragout, scallion potato pancakes, Mom’s brisket, and zeppole (an Italian version of sufganiyot — fried doughnuts).
On to a dozen years of clowning on the streets of New York …

Bat Mitzvah celebrant Rachel Richter

Bat Mitzvah on a boat

On land or at sea, the venue might be different but the tradition is the same.
On Monday, Dec. 19, Rachel Richter became a Bat Mitzvah aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas weeklong sail from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Martin and back. Thirteen (fitting number!) family members and friends were present for this significant rite of passage. Tucson attendees included Rachel’s parents Allison and Michael Richter, her brother Noah, grandparents Leah Richter and Sandra and Sid Lachter, aunt Suzanne Stadheim and cousins Abigail and Andrew, plus uncle Marty Lachter (N.Y.) and friends Jessica and Brian Nau (Seattle).
Online, using Skype, Cantor Glenn Sherman of southern Florida worked with Rachel for seven months to prepare her for this special day. Our celebrant, part of the B’nai Mitzvah class at Congregation Chaverim, led the entire service, chanted from the Torah, and gave a speech. Her parents also spoke. Following the blessings over the wine and challah, the family enjoyed lunch together on the ship.
Sherman officiated at two more B’nai Mitzvah celebrations that day and led the well-
attended shipboard Shabbat service and chanukiah lighting during the week. The cantor used a small, airplane carry-on-sized Torah, a 200-year-old scroll presumably rescued from Poland during a pogrom. He claimed that Rachel was one of the first girls to read from it.
Grandma Leah summed up this experience:  “Being the first grandchild on both sides of the family, this was a major milestone and a unique celebration.”

Tucson Birthright Israel participants (L-R) Carly Winetrobe, Brandon Hellman, Maraiah Shevchuk, Ryan Phillips, Mitchell Kessler and Melissa Kessler overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem

Winter Taglit-Birthright Israel 2012
“Grateful for the opportunity to travel …
appreciative of the philanthropists who made it possible … connected to Israel and my new group of friends formed on this life-changing journey.” These were some of the comments from 39 University of Arizona students who, from Dec. 27 through Jan. 6, partook in the winter Birthright free trip to Israel to see the land of their heritage. Sharon Glassberg, UA HillelNEXT Jewish educator and director of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Coalition for Jewish Education, and Shani Knaani, UA Hillel Israel Fellow, accompanied the group, which included six Tucsonans — Brandon Hellman, Melissa Kessler,

Sharon Glassberg, Jean Glassberg and Adam Bukani taste wine at the Adir Winery in the Upper Galilee.Sharon Glassberg, Jean Glassberg and Adam Bukani taste wine at the Adir Winery in the Upper Galilee.

Mit­chell Kessler, Ryan Phillips, Mariah Shevchuk and Carly Wine­trobe.
The busload of Wildcats followed a hectic schedule. From north to south, Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, they visited the major historical sites and, to use their words, “rode, hiked, climbed, floated, ate, shopped and napped.”
Some of the trip highlights included visiting Shani’s home, Kibbutz Hulata, in northern Israel. The students bonded with the eight Israeli soldiers who rode on their bus for five days to have their own Birthright experience. At the Mega Event in Jerusalem, joined by thousands of other young Jews from around the world, the group heard from primary philanthropists Charles Bronfman, Michael Steinhardt and Lynn Schusterman, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier in the trip, they listened to Avraham Infeld, Hillel President Emeritus, who was in Tucson in early December to address the Jewish Federation Leadership Summit. Carly and Mariah received Jewish names at a ceremony beside the Dan River in Tel Dan National Park. The two also became B’not Mitzvah on Shabbat at the Rimonim Jerusalem Hotel.
Here are some impressions from this adventure:
Carly, a senior: “I didn’t do much Jewishly growing up. My Bat Mitzvah was a big step in recognition of my being Jewish, made all the more special in Israel.”
Mariah, a junior: “Israel and its people inspire me; I can’t wait to return. Hopefully, I can make aliyah and attend grad school there.”
Ryan, a junior, was impacted by the Golan Heights, noting its strategic location of history and conflict. “Following this trip, I plan to become more involved in Hillel.”
Mitchell, a senior, referred to the 10 days as “appetizers to get the taste buds wet” and left Israel wanting to return as a Jew to his homeland. It was special for him to travel with his sister Melissa, a UA sophomore.
• • • • •
At the end of Birthright, Jean Glassberg, Sharon Glassberg’s mother, flew to Israel to join Sharon and Sharon’s son Adam Bukani, who was on semester break from Aardvark, the Masa Gap Year program in Israel. The three generations toured and spent quality family time together.

Forest memorial plaque honoring Sara Ross’ mother and family

Planting for the future
In October, during Succot, Sara and Bob Ross took their fourth trip to Israel. What made this journey “very special,” says Sara, was a one-day Jewish National Fund tour. Sara and Bob were moved by the work that this nonprofit organization has accomplished since its inception in 1901. “The work that JNF does goes way beyond planting trees. It has water conservation projects, teaches youth about the environment and
ecology, and has built a bomb shelter in Sderot,” says Sara.
Sara’s maternal grandparents perished in the Holocaust; her mother was a Holocaust survivor. With funds from her mother’s estate, Sara and her family planted a JNF forest in Israel, dedicating this posthumous gift in memory of her mother’s parents. In the same forest, says Sarah, they’ll have an opportunity to honor their grandchildren on JNF’s B’nai Mitzvah Remembrance Wall. The stone wall, designed to look like a Torah scroll, is embedded with glass tiles that link a child’s name to a young Holocaust victim who was denied the opportunity to become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Sara and Bob intend to link their grandchildren’s names to a great aunt and great uncle who were also victims of the Holocaust.

Time to share
Keep me posted — 319-1112. L’shalom.

Local jazz musicians Jeff Lewis (left) and Stu Mellan at the Nov. 19 concert

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, to perform here. This was Tamir’s first visit to the Old Pueblo. He led a master class earlier in the day for high school and university music students and other young musicians before his performance at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort that evening.

Hendelman and his trio teamed with vocalist and songwriter Kathy Kosins. The Heartbeat of Israel, a program of the Weintraub Israel Center, cosponsored the concert.

Among those seated cabaret-style in the Marriott ballroom were Jeff’s wife Linda, Sharon and Morris Barkan, Mike Jacobson, Carol and Dan Karsch, Nancy, Stu and Eric Mellan, Rhea and Arnie Merin, and Diane, Ron and Arlene Weintraub.

Jazz is not Jeff’s day job but it is his passion. He’s a saxophonist, and his quartet is a regular fixture at downtown clubs on Saturday nights. Also of note, Stu Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, will be honored and star in an “All That Jazz” evening on March 31 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center.

The Blessing Project

Joan Elder in front of one of the Blessing Project exhibits

On Nov. 29, the Jewish Federation’s Northwest Division sponsored a bus trip to Phoenix for the exhibit, “A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People.” The exhibition drew its name from the papal appeal on the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: “As Christians and Jews, following the example of the faith of Abraham, we are called to be a blessing to the world. … It is therefore necessary for us … to first be a blessing to one another.”

The 43 attendees were enlightened and moved by the interactive exhibit. The displays were divided into four sections. The first followed the early life of Karol Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, and his childhood friendship with Jerzy Kluger. The second covered the Holocaust and WWII, as Karol trained in a clandestine seminary and Jerzy and his family were sent to concentration camps. The third followed the future pope’s rise through the ranks of the church and his reunion with Jerzy after the war. The final section celebrated the papacy of John Paul II. Jerzy became the pope’s personal emissary to the State of Israel, paving the way for the recognition of Israel by the Vatican and the pope’s official visit to the Holy Land in 2000. He was the first pope to visit, pray, and insert a written prayer between the bricks at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. A replica of the Wall was erected so that exhibit-goers could write prayers that were later collected and sent to Jerusalem to be put in the Wall.

Ann and Mal Eisenberg co-chaired the Phoenix trip and Holocaust survivor Klara Swimmer was among the bus riders on this worthwhile excursion. Eliot Barron, who was there with his wife, Vida, commented: “What a wonderful event. Imagine: The venue for this exhibit, the George Washington Carver Museum, the former Phoenix Unified Colored High School, is a reminder of Arizona’s segregated past and disrespect of Black people. This contrasted with this moving display of the love and mutual respect between the late pope and his lifelong childhood friend and his family — a model for esteem and not mere tolerance of differing belief systems.”

Making a difference every day

Homer Davis Elementary School Principal Chad Miller, center, with volunteers Carol and Howard Ball, at the school

The principal at Homer Davis Elementary School has changed but the school’s needs haven’t. Chad Miller has replaced Brett Bonner in the leadership position and is grateful for the continued support of the Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council in making a difference in the lives of his students. For the third straight year, Tucson’s Jewish community has adopted this award-winning, Title I school that serves mostly low-income at-risk youth.

Carol and Howard Ball, winter residents from Vermont, volunteer weekly as math and reading tutors. Carol is a former math teacher and Howard is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Vermont. Howard recently spoke at a Hadassah of Southern Arizona meeting on “Saving the Sarajevo Haggadah throughout History” and at a Northwest Men’s Group event on “How Bulgaria Saved Jews during WWII.”

Besides tutoring, volunteers provide daily kindergarten snacks and assemble Friday Food Packs for students to take home on the weekends. Two years ago, the JCRC provided 20 packs. Today they provide 56, given to the neediest students. Also, in cooperation with Community Gardens of Tucson, the JCRC helps involve families in growing their own food on the school grounds.

Brenda Landau, JCRC director, stresses the sustainability factor — hoping to get the local community to continue these programs and to help achieve a solution for hunger in the Homer Davis neighborhood.

Time to share

A happy, healthy secular New Year to all. Keep me posted in 2012 — 319-1112. L’shalom.

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 quarters of Jews as they crossed the desert — in which to eat and sometimes sleep.

In our community, members flocked to synagogues and the Tucson Jewish Community Center for festive Sukkot gatherings. Others built sukkahs for home use and to entertain ushpizin (guests). Two such happenings are highlighted here.

Under the stars, Mordecai Colodner, Marlene Burns and Gloria Schaffer lead the Havdallah ceremony in the Feldman sukkah.

Chavurah Chesed Northwest, led by Marlene Burns, held a Sukkot potluck dinner and Havdallah service at the home and sukkah of Judy and Sheldon Feldman in Dove Mountain.  This chavurah, with 20 permanent and six snowbird members, meets twice monthly in members’ homes for services, holiday celebrations and learning opportunities.  They also collect tzedakah for the Marana Food Bank and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s LEAF (Local Emergency Assistance Fund) campaign.

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

Six years ago, at his wife’s urging, Phil Bregman decided to build a sukkah. Rabbi Robert Eisen recommended contacting the vendor booth salesman at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, who provided Bregman with the needed supplies. Online instructions were also a useful resource for making the sukkah “kosher,” conforming to halachah, Jewish law. Their outdoor booth has evolved over the years, withimproved ventilation, lighting and decorations. In fulfilling the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah, they have expanded its use to include Dani’s book club meetings, Federation Young Women’s Cabinet meetings, USY visits as part of their progressive Sukkah dinner, mah jongg games and an annual Sukkot party. This festival has become the favorite family Jewish holiday in the Bregman household.

UA senior Dan Canfield shakes the lulav and etrog, symbols of Sukkot, with Rabbi Yossi Winner near the UA Student Union.

A fun-filled Sukkot week was kicked off with a Sushi in the Sukkah event at Chabad House. Students had the weeklongopportunity to shake the lulav, enjoy services and free meals in the sukkah, and celebrate the holiday away from home. Rabbi Yossi and Naomi Winner also constructed a mini-sukkah on the UA Mall, giving hundreds of students the chance to shake the lulav and make a blessing between classes.

UA students Ethan Widdes, Jessie Schulman, Rachel Twersky, Aimee Kanter, Marissa Feiwus and Alex Tichauer at the Hillel sukkah for its B.A.S. H.

Over the course of Sukkot, students entered the Hillel sukkah to eat, study and just hang out.The two largest events held in the temporary hut were the annual Shabbat in the Sukkah and B.A.S.H. (Big Awesome Sukkot Happening).  While at Hillel, students who had not yet toured the renovations/expansion of the building were able to do so.  The dedication of Hillel’s new digs will take place on Dec. 11.

Rabbi Yitzchak and Elle Lieblich of JAC hosted students for holiday meals during the first two days of Sukkot.  They also held a class in the sukkah as part of their weekly Maimonides program.  This 10-week leadership program is designed to give Jewish students the tools to make a difference in the Jewish community.  The couple was pleased with the success of their Sukkot programming and the excellent student turnout.

Time to share
Let’s schmooze about your news.  Keep me posted — 319-1112.  L’shalom.

Marlyne Freedman with centenarian Ruth Protas

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. 5, 1911 in Poland; her family came to America in 1920 to escape the pogroms. Now a widow, and blind for more than 35 years, Ruth moved to Tucson in 2003 to be near her former daughter-in-law Marlyne Freedman.

Our proud great-grandmother keeps her mind alert and her sense of humor sharp, and walks a mile a day. Her interests include plays, poetry and books on tape, dancing, knitting, current events, Hadassah, Congregation M’Kor Hayim, and participating in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure. Centennial party guests were treated to a poster displaying Ruth’s accolades — she’s been highlighted in publications from the Arizona Jewish Post to the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Ruth was honored at Tucson Medical Center’s 24th annual Salute to Centenarians, where they homed in on her longevity, dancing skills and fashion sense. “I’d rather dance than eat” was her quote in an Arizona Daily Star article about a dance at Atria Campana del Rio, where she lives. In summer 2010, on KGUN’s Morning Blend, Ruth spoke as a former Interfaith Community Services volunteer. In December 2008, Ruth was especially proud to be chosen by StoryCorps and interviewed for the taping by her grandson Brandon Protas and his wife, Stacey Forsyth.

Continued health and happiness to our “three-digit” birthday girl!

 Golden celebration

Golden anniversary celebrants Jacques and Vivien Gerstenfeld

On Sept. 3, Jacques and Vivien Gerstenfeld celebrated their 50th anniversary at Congregation Bet Shalom. In their honor, their friend Rabbi Sandy Seltzer delivered a thought

provoking d’var Torah (commentary) on the weekly parsha (portion), Shoftim (Judges) in Deuteronomy 16: 18-20. It contains the words, “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” The rabbi enumerated the many reasons this portion is noteworthy, concluding that this special anniversary for this just, community-minded couple was yet one more reason for the parsha’s importance. The rabbi called the chassan (groom) and kallah (bride) to the bimah and had each repeat the phrase, Ani L’Dodi v’Dodi Li. (“I am my beloved’s] and my beloved is mine.”) It was a poignant moment for the couple and congregation alike.

The beautiful service was followed by a kiddish/luncheon for these special Tucsonans. Mazel tov!

 Melanoma Walk ’11

Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson at Melanoma Walk ’11

When the first Walk Against Melanoma was held in October 2009, Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson formed a team, Made in the Shade, with the intent of educating friends and family about the deadly skin cancer. She had been diagnosed almost five years before when her friend and hairdresser, Sharon Walton, noticed a new and unusual spot on her scalp. Two surgeries, a year of challenging treatments, and countless specialist appointments and scans later, Bonnie felt she was almost “out of the woods.” Bonnie, husband Randy Emerson, and son and daughter-in-law Jordan and Miriam Emerson were joined that year by 25 friends and many canine walkers to raise awareness and funds for the Tucson-based Skin Cancer Institute. Just weeks after that walk, new scans showed activity in a lung and surgery confirmed stage IV metastatic melanoma. Bonnie is continuing aggressive treatments at the Arizona Cancer Center.

Bonnie feels fortunate for the love of her CHAI Circle support group, a collaborative program of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Women’s Philanthropy and Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona. She is also grateful for a community full of friends (including Jan Wezelman and David Bartlett, who deliver a homemade challah every Shabbat) whose support, prayers and hope have been a source of strength.

Melanoma Walk ’11, the second such event, was held on Oct. 1 at the Arizona Cancer Center. Bonnie’s Made in the Shade team fielded about 50 walkers and raised over $6,000 for the cause. They walked in support of melanoma research, patient care, outreach and education, highlighting the importance of frequent skin screenings, consistent use of sunscreen and other types of sun protection and early detection. It is no secret that Southern Arizona has among the highest skin cancer rates in the world.

To help in the crusade against melanoma, knowing that all donations stay in Arizona, visit fightmelanomatoday.org.

 Octogenarians making a difference

Crossing Guard of the Year Merrill Broad

Phyllis and Merrill Broad and Shiffy and Bob Cohen don’t need a Make a Difference Day to show their stripes. The couples have much in common. In the past,

Bob Cohen in his garden at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona

these longtime Tucsonans have been recognized for service to their synagogue, Congregation Anshei Israel, and our Tucson community, promoting Jewish education and continuity. Both couples married in 1951 — the Broads in July and the Cohens in January, and each celebrated their 60th wedding anniversaries in shul and with family and friends over their respective “diamond” anniversary weekends.

More recently, Merrill has gone “back to school” — literally. Just as “the mailman delivers the mail come rain or shine,” so is Merrill out on the corner of Chantilly Drive and 5th Street as a crossing guard for Tucson Unified School District’s Sewell Elementary School. In May, he was honored as AAA Arizona’s Crossing Guard of the Year for Pima County, in recognition of his dedication, friendliness, safety and professionalism. With this title, he received a glass plaque and a $100 gift card. Our star was also recognized by the school and appeared in a local TV spot and newspaper clip.

This summer, Bob cultivated a cactus garden in front of the Federation building. He planted several varieties of cacti and is watering and maintaining them, as well as the nearby trees, to make the desert bloom. Bob has always been available where there is a need; his previous venture was as pioneer of the Jewish Community Library housed at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, which he continues to administer.

We are fortunate to have such gems in our community. May they go from strength to strength.

Time to share

Keep me posted — 319-1112. L’shalom.

• • • • •

THA student Vlad Hightower at the Western Wall

Another year, another Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth-grade Israel Discovery trip before middle school graduation. This was the school’s 10th trip to Israel, with a total of 150 pupils taking this rite-of-passage journey.

The 18 pupils were Austin Anderson, Abigail Ben Shabat, Jacob Bernstein, Joshua Blinkoff, Alexandra Block, Ilan Davidowitz, Anthony Estrella, Rachel Freund, Vlad Hightower, Adina Karp, Jacob Kaufman, Daniel Lester, Ethan Manninen, Bernard Silverman, Eli Soyfer, Molly Stack, Calli Townsend, and Adina Weiner-Bogielski. Chaperones were Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz, THA Judaics director, and Ronnie Sebold, THA admissions director, who was affectionately referred to as the students’ “mom away from mom.” The group was joined by Yoni Shtern, an Israeli tour guide.

On May 18, the class embarked on a 10-day itinerary organized by tour operator Oranim. Whether visiting the usual tourist sites or hiking in Gilabun Canyon, kayaking on the Jordan River, ascending and descending Masada, swimming (floating) in the Dead Sea or riding a camel at a Bedouin encampment, the travelers explored a multi-faceted Israel.

On their first night in Jerusalem, the group strolled, shopped and enjoyed the delicious Israeli ice cream on Ben Yehuda Street. They were joined by Emily Singer, a THA graduate who made aliyah in 2009, just completed her M.A. in political science from Hebrew University, and is working as a development associate at the Israel Religious Action Center. Walking en masse, they met Bryce Megdal, another THA alumna who was finishing her spring semester abroad at Hebrew University before returning to the University of Arizona this fall as a senior majoring in Judaic studies. Bryce recognized Calli Townsend in the group. When Bryce was in the eighth grade and Calli in first grade, Bryce was Calli’s “eighth-grade buddy” at THA. As Ronnie proclaimed, “This is a wonderful example of the THA family in action!”

At the end of the trip, hours before Shabbat, the entourage visited Mount Herzl. A strapping Israel Defense Forces commander, wearing an eye patch and arm brace, approached the group and brought them to the gravesite of Roi Klein. Klein was the officer who, during the second Lebanon War in 2006, sacrificed his life for his fellow soldiers when he threw his body on a Hezbollah hand-thrown grenade. The students had learned this story during a THA current affairs lesson on Israel. The teary-eyed commander was flabbergasted when Roi’s father joined them graveside. He visits the cemetery every Friday to wish his son “Shabbat Shalom.” The father was so impressed and grateful that the students knew his son’s heroic story that he warmly embraced and kissed each student. As Rabbi Billy tells it: “The amazing revelation dawned upon the students that, yes, they are students from Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A., but here in Israel, we are all one family.”

• • • • •

May 2011 was Birthright Israel Month. The foundation celebrated sending nearly 300,000 Jewish young adults to Israel and announced the goal of sending 51,000 participants to the Jewish homeland annually by 2013. This means that one in every two young Jewish adults worldwide would participate in a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.

Lt. Lipaz Ela, Shelly Silverman and 1st Sgt. Tomer Bucher at the Birthright Israel reception

On May 17, in our own community, Shelly Silverman chaired a dessert reception held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Two IDF soldiers, 1st Sgt. Tomer Bucher and Lt. Lipaz Ela, spoke of what they reaped from their Birthright experiences. Joining the North American groups on their Birthright buses, they made lasting friendships, taught about Israeli life, and became role models to inspire their American peers.

Among the speakers that evening was Laura Wilson Etter, UA Hillel director of engagement. A 2001 University of Washington student and Birthright Israel participant, Laura spoke of how, upon her return, she related the Birthright experience to her peers, felt a stronger Jewish identity, studied Hebrew, took part in Shabbat dinners, married in the faith, and now staffs these trips as a Hillel professional. In short, she carries the Birthright gift with her and passes it on to others.

Tucson young adults who partook in this free, 10-day Israel trip this past spring/summer included Alexander Avigdor, Rebecca Beckmann, Moriah Flagler, Alexsey Kashtelyan, Samantha Lehrman, Heide Markzon, Adam Oseran, Alexa Peckham, Caitlin Rowan, Peter Ruiz and Lily Wool.

• • • • •

From June 19 to 22, the joint steering committee of our TIPS Partnership, made up of representatives from Tucson, Phoenix, Seattle, our sister city of Kiryat Malachi and the Hof Ashkelon region, met in Israel. Tucson committee members included Guy Gelbart, community shaliach; Diane Weintraub, TIPS committee member/founder and co-founder of the Israel Center; and Ken Brandis, TIPS people-to-people committee chair.

Lt. Lipaz Ela, Shelly Silverman and 1st Sgt. Tomer Bucher at the Birthright Israel reception

TIPS is funded by the Federation campaigns in Tucson, Phoenix and Seattle. The meetings focused on the ongoing projects that we support, determining if past goals were met, considering continued funding, and implementing new projects. The committee decided to continue funding the award-winning Art City, Youth Council, Sports-for-All and Young Adults Council in Kiryat Malachi, and the Youth Club, Sports-for-All, and Young Adults Council in Hof Ashkelon. Target age groups are youth 12-18 and young adults 18-35, with the hope of empowering the next generation. We take great pride that Kiryat Malachi schools won the Israel Education Prize this year for demonstrating the most impressive improvement in education. The Women’s Ethnic Cooking Project members, who created the delicious “Israel Ethnic Epicurean Gala” at the JCC last November, prepared two dinners for the committee during their meetings.

The people-to-people program’s mission is to connect our youth, teens, young adults and adults with their Israeli counterparts for lifelong relationships. Possible future people-to-people projects include reciprocity with an Israeli papier-maché sculptor and Art City dancers/bandsmen, traveling to our respective communities to share their talents.

Home hospitality was provided by Israeli committee members. On Shabbat at a synagogue in Kiryat Malachi, Ken had the opportunity to meet Moshe Katsav, the former president of Israel. Ken noted, “This ‘one-on-one’ is the ultimate meaning of gaining perspective and knowledge of Israelis.”

• • • • •

Ken Miller on the dig at Tel Gezer

From June 8 to July 18, Ken Miller, an archaeologist and UA graduate student, spent six weeks on the staff of the archaeological excavations at Tel Gezer in Israel. This was the fifth year that he has worked at this site and the sixth consecutive on an Israeli excavation. Tel Gezer, one of the fortified Solomonic cities, is mentioned in the book of Chronicles, having been given to King Solomon by Pharoah for marrying Pharoah’s daughter. This year’s goals were to excavate and display a major 10th century BCE city. The digs were successful, also reaching areas that dated to the Egyptian, Canaanite and Philistine periods.

Ken had time to travel around Israel with friends and associates, and had access to archaeological sites not yet open to the public. He also visited Kibbutz Be’eri in the Negev, where he’d lived as a volunteer during and after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Last fall, Ken, an America-Israel Friendship League board member, chaperoned seven high school juniors to Washington, D.C., New York, and Israel through AIFL. He plans to accompany six high school students on a similar trip this fall.

• • • • •

Rina Liebeskind, right, receives her certificate from Tova Perlmutter, Mofet Institute seminar coordinator

From June 17 to July 12, Rina Liebeskind, a sabra and education director at Congregation Or Chadash, traveled to Israel, where in addition to visiting family, she attended a two-and-a-half week educational seminar hosted by Israel’s famed Mofet Institute, a nonprofit institute established for educators and funded by Israel’s Ministry of Education. Rina secured funding for the trip with a grant from the Federation’s CEDS committee (Coalition of Jewish Educators) and assistance from Congregation Or Chadash.

“Leadership for the Ages,” the theme of the conference for Jewish community leaders and teachers in the Diaspora, was woven into all aspects of the program. In Jerusalem, the educators explored the City of David, the Davidson Center with its archaeological dig, the Kotel with its tunnels, and the Knesset. In the Negev, they participated in a workshop at Midrashat Sde Boker about David Ben Gurion’s leadership dilemmas during Israel’s tumultuous beginning. They visited Yerucham, a development town that has grown over the years and is a living testament to Ben Gurion’s dream to populate the Negev. In Tel Aviv, they visited the Palmach and Hall of Independence museums. They walked the streets of beautiful Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s first neighborhood, attended a moving Shabbat service on the beach, and took part in a three-day Hebrew course. North to Zichron Yaakov wine country, the Atlit deportation camp, and the Golan Heights where they visited a Talmudic village in Katzrin as well as battlefields and strategic points along the Syrian border. Spiritual Safed was their last stop before heading back to Tel Aviv for summation and the closing ceremony for this treasured experience.

• • • • •

Ital Ironstone in an IDF kitchen during her Gadna training

Ital Ironstone, 16, a junior at City High School, traveled on BBYO’s Israel Journey Plus from June 28 to July 25. Before she left, our traveler participated in the Israel Center’s Beth Weintraub Schoenfeld Memorial Israel Experience, a two-day teen retreat on Mount Lemmon. She received a subsidy toward her trip through this program.

Journeying from the Galilee in the north to the tropical Red Sea in the south, Ital experienced kibbutz life and took part in a Gadna elective. Gadna is an Israeli military program that prepares youth for mandatory military service. Ital cited this week of discipline and military training as one of the highlights of her trip — “amazing, hard, eye-opening, life-changing, and affecting my everyday experiences.” She recommends this unforgettable month of travel, peer encounters and service to Israel to anyone who has the chance to participate.

• • • • •

Shlichim Shiran Geffen and Yael Weizner soared through the summer as the two Israeli counselors at the JCC summer camp, Camp ‘J.’ During the 10-week period, one interacted with Camp Shalom campers, kindergarten through second grade, while the other served as the Israel culture specialist. Halfway through, they reversed roles.

Shlichim Shiran Geffen and Yael Weizner at Camp J

Shiran, from Holon, has served in the Israeli army as an education officer and worked in the Haganah Museum in Tel Aviv. Yael, from Kiryat Tivon, worked with the reserves during her compulsory service. After camp, both 22-year olds traveled together in the United States before returning to Israel. They added Israeli ruach (spirit) during the week of the camp’s Maccabiah Games 2011 and helped build a cultural bridge to their native land.

Tucsonans who opened their homes and hearts as host families included Tami and Mark Ballis, Robin and Art Cohen, Melissa Oberman-Hall and Garrett Hall, and Suzanne Baron Helming and Bruce Helming.

• • • • •

An Abraham family update:

Jeffrey Abraham, 28, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminay in May and become a pulpit rabbi at Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, N.Y.

David Abraham, 25, headed the special needs program at Camp Ramah in Ojai, Calif., this summer. David, a UA grad, made aliyah in 2008, spent two years in the IDF as a tank commander, and launched a website for Diaspora Jews contemplating joining or volunteering with the Israeli army (see http://azjewishpost.com/ ?p=6673).

Allison Abraham, 21, who made Israel her home earlier this year, was a first-responder volunteer with Magen David Adom before receiving her draft notice. On Sept. 1, she began Sherut Leumi (National Service), the IDF’s alternative volunteer program.

• • • • •

Noah, Max and Maddison Gan

On June 15, atop Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, IDF soldier Max Gan’s family — parents Jami and Scott, sister Maddison and brother Noah — watched as Max finished his final 75-kilometer march, then witnessed the ceremony making him a paratrooper in an elite combat unit.

Max, 20, a graduate of Catalina Foothills High School, Hebrew High, United Synagogue Youth and the Nativ program, made aliyah last year. He went through Garin Tzabar, a program that facilitates IDF service for children of Israelis and Diaspora Jews not living in Israel. The program acts as a support system for these “lone soldiers” who have no immediate family in Israel. Jami says that out of 400 soldiers inducted in Max’s particular draft, a record number, 63, are lone soldiers who receive housing and extra benefits. Max feels that Israel is his birthright and needs defending, which is his obligation.

One of Max’s best buddies, Yoni Twena, also 20, joined the Gan family for this momentous occasion. Yoni was born in Israel but grew up in Tucson, made aliyah in January of this year and will be inducted into the IDF in the near future. He has taken a path similar to Max and we wish them both continued health, happiness and safety.

• • • • •

Three Tucsonans are embarking on gap-year programs in Israel. Adam Bukani, a Sabino High School grad, will participate in the Aardvark Israel Immersion Program. Kayleigh Rulney, a Catalina Foothills High School grad, will join him on this program. Abbey Roberts, a Sahuaro High School grad, will travel on the Young Judaea Year Course in Israel. We look forward to learning about these academic and life experiences when they return.

Time to share

Keep me posted — 319-1112. L’shana tova and l’shalom.

Amy Krauss, Richard Gordon and their son Sam at his Bar Mitzvah on St. Thomas

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 Gordon, who honeymooned in Israel in 1993 and have a strong attachment to our homeland, thought of Israel as the logical site for their eldest son’s simcha. Sam, however, had fond memories of his grandfather Allen Krauss’ multi-generational 70th birthday cruise a few years back and wanted a similar meaningful experience for his rite of passage. Tucsonans Amy, Richard, Sam, his brother, Jake, Allen Krauss, cousins Randi and John Steiner, and friend Gayle Siegel and her son, Josh, plus family and friends from Cincinnati and Los Angeles boarded the Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas for the weeklong sail.

Upon learning of the Krauss family objective, their neighbor Asher Amar suggested the historic St. Thomas synagogue as their destination. Located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, it is the oldest synagogue in continuous use under the American flag. Amy googled “St. Thomas Bar Mitzvah” and up popped the name of a travel agent and the synagogue. The agent arranged the cruise, island transportation and excursions, and photographer. Rabbi Stephen F. Moch of the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas communicated with Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon and Cantorial Soloist Marjorie Hochberg, who were supportive of the idea and prepared Sam well.

For local family and friends, Sam led the Friday night service at Temple Emanu-El on Dec. 3. Then, on Monday, Dec. 20, following a one-hour rehearsal at the St. Thomas house of worship, Sam led the two-hour traditional Reform service, chanting from the Torah and giving a speech, as did his parents. They used the same prayer book and familiar melodies as at home. Besides the assembled minyan, 50 tourists arrived who stayed, sang and prayed with them. It felt like a true Jewish worldwide community. Following the ceremony, the family hosted a lunch and chartered a private snorkel sail before re-boarding the ship.

A perfect day filled with lifetime memories! As Amy summed it up, “I don’t think a Bar Mitzvah has to be one-size-fits-all. It’s all about making a treasured experience for the child.”

Celebrated centenarians

Friends at 100: Evelyn Bersh and Solomon Steinfeld

Tucsonans Solomon Steinfeld and Evelyn Bersh were born in 1911 — the year Chevrolet officially entered the auto market, the New York Public Library opened, and the Philadelphia Athletics won the World Series. They have outlived noted contemporaries born in the same year — Lucille Ball, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Roy Rogers and Ronald Reagan. Friends for more than 35 years, Sol and Evelyn recently celebrated their milestone birthdays. We wish these young spirits continued health and happiness. Here are their stories/celebrations:

• • • • •

Solomon C. Steinfeld celebrated his 100th birthday on March 26. Born in New York City in 1911, he led a busy life during the Depression, working his way through City College of New York, graduating with a degree in accounting and business education, followed by a master’s degree from Columbia University. He was a well-known business educator and author of accounting and record-keeping textbooks that he revised well into retirement in Tucson in 1982. Sol credits his longevity to a positive attitude, staying active in both mind and body, singing and dancing every day, and especially, complimenting everyone he comes in contact with daily.

Sol marked the beginning of his 100th year, on his 99th birthday, with a family celebration at Skyline Country Club in March 2010. In attendance were his children Joel and Alice Steinfeld and Judy and Gerald Fleischner; grandchildren Amy and Ben Small, Jacob and Mercedes Steinfeld, Cindy Fleischner, and Jeff and Jamie Fleischner; and four great-grandchildren. Numerous family members from both coasts traveled here for the festivities. For his 100th, Sol sailed on a two-week cruise to Hawaii with his companion, Frances Cohen, who celebrated her 90th birthday in January.

• • • • •

“Diminutive in stature but large in talent and energy” are the words Linda Tumarkin uses to describe her mother, Evelyn Bersh. Born Evelyn Schenkel in Newark, N. J., on April 6, 1911, she married her high school sweetheart, Nathan Barbarosh, a pharmacist, raised a family in South Orange, N.J., and moved to Tucson in 1972 to join Linda, her husband Gerry, and their family who had recently re-located here.

When Nathan passed away, Evelyn was blessed to find another love in her life, Victor Bersh. Upon his passing, she lived on her own until age 95, when she moved to Atria Campana Del Rio.

Evelyn is motivated by three driving forces: family, the piano, and the love of friends and community. She raised four children and boasts six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, who lovingly call her “GG.” Playing piano by ear since age eight, our centenarian still plays once a week for residents at Handmaker and entertains twice a week at Atria. Organizationally, our volunteer has been an active and honored member of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Hadassah and Congregation Anshei Israel, and has worked the polls in every election. Our subject always has time to be a great friend, play cards and Rummikub, and tell a plethora of jokes and stories. When asked to reveal the secret to a good life, she replied, “Savor every moment — look to the future — smile — laugh — enjoy every day! Involve yourself with your community and the world, and BE YOU!”

At Evelyn’s joyous 100th birthday party at Finisterra Clubhouse on April 2, our celebrant was surrounded by the love of family and friends from near and far. Earlier in the day, she conducted a “sing-a-long” for 40 of her guests at Atria.

Time to share

Keep me posted at 319-1112 about your summer travels, especially those to Israel, for my column in the Sept. 16 Rosh Hashanah issue of the AJP. Stay cool. L’shalom.

Stuart and Marianne Taussig aboard “Kosherica” 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 passengers, enjoyed up to three concerts per day along with lectures, minyanim (Shachrit, mincha and maariv services), fun programming and gourmet cuisine.

Some of the world-renowned cantors and singers included Chaim Adler, Dudu Fisher, Avraham Fried, Daniel Gildar, Lipa Schmeltzer and Yaakov Stark. Other up-and-coming cantors were Tsodik Greenwald, Netanel Hershtik, Yaakov Lemmer and Aaron Shifman.

The concerts, performed in the main theater, were scheduled around the ship’s regular programming, so that cruisers could partake in all of the activities offered. Passengers embarked and disembarked in Miami and the ports of call included Honduras, Belize, Mexico, and Key West. On Shabbat, the cantors and singers became a choir; one cantor led the service while the others sang in unison.

For the Taussigs, the “Ask the Chazzan” lecture was a highlight, as the cantors were very approachable, with many of the younger cantors traveling with their families. Stuart commented, “There was a lovely camaraderie amongst the cantors on this international, intergenerational voyage.”

This trip was the Taussigs’ second cantorial cruise, following one they took a few years ago with the Miami Chabad. Would they travel on another one? “Absolutely!”

Teaching tzedakah

Super Sunday co-chair Andy Shatken with Geva Ozeri

Geva Ozeri, a fourth grader at Tucson Hebrew Academy, was playing in the Tucson Jewish Community Center All-Stars Basketball League championship game on Jan. 30, which coincided with Super Sunday, also being held at the JCC. His team came in second, winning all but two games in the league’s season playoffs. His family planned to celebrate over dinner; however, when his father, Tidhar, explained what the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Super Sunday Campaign was all about, Geva decided to donate the money they would have spent on dinner. While waiting to make his pledge, Geva and his sister Eshed, a THA sixth grader, made get-well cards for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a Federation Super Sunday outreach activity. Their older sister Shoham, a Tucson High Magnet School senior and B’nai Tzedek teen philanthropy volunteer, had already spent her afternoon writing thank-you notes to Campaign donors.

Proud mother, Nancy, admitted no coaxing on her part. “I wish I could take credit,” she said, “but the pledge was Tidi’s idea. Our kids amazed us by stepping up and putting the community’s needs before their own wants.”

• • • • •

Ethan, Riley and Bennett Silvyn with their Homer Davis Elementary School food donation

The Silvyn children, Bennett, 9, and twins Ethan and Riley, 6, students at Canyon View Elementary School, recently celebrated their February birthdays. Instead of receiving presents, they asked party guests to bring food donations for the JFSA Jewish Community Relations Council’s Homer Davis Project. The project supports children at Homer Davis Elementary School, many of whom receive subsidized school breakfasts and weekend food packs. Last year, the Silvyn children made a similar request for school supplies. Congregation Or Chadash’s Sunday School Director, Rina Liebeskind, has heeded the call from the JCRC to support this worthwhile project. Congregants Keri and Jeffrey consider this mitzvah of tzedakah a valuable lesson for their kids about giving to the less fortunate. Other parents have said they plan to emulate this good deed with their own children.

• • • • •

Shira Steinberg with a furry friend from Project Huggables

Shira Steinberg, a Catalina Foothills High School senior, organized a stuffed animal drive, Project Huggables, to benefit Homer Davis students. The children received the stuffed animals during the last week of school before winter break.

“Teenagers like me, who don’t have lots of time or money to give, can help others in our community,” said Shira, who was inspired by the character Andy in the movie “Toy Story 3.” Like Andy, she and her classmates will be heading to college soon, so they donated their stuffed animals to a good cause. Personal notes accompanied many of the stuffed animals. These messages mentioned the animal’s name and the original owner’s hope that the recipient would love and treat it well; in return, the stuffed animal would love him/her back. Steinberg donated 20 of the 302 stuffed treasures. Besides her friends, the Catalina Foothills Key Club donated almost half of the total collected, and its affiliated Kiwanis Club contributed funds to buy extra stuffed animals and materials.

Shira summed up this undertaking, “The thank-you notes that the kids wrote back made all of our effort worth it!”

Time to share

Spring has sprung, and before we know it, summer hiatus will be upon us. So keep me posted on your latest happenings — 319-1112. L’shalom.

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

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 this Dec. 21 through Jan. 2, when he returned with his family — his wife, Jane, their two children, Jordan, 17, and Abby, 14, plus Jane’s mother, Barbara Lebovitz, and their nephew Michael Schwartz, both of New Jersey. Their bus tour stopped at the usual tourist sites; however, Joel said, “It was our recommended Israeli tour guide who made the 4,000-year history come alive, putting it into perspective, revealing what a miracle the current state of Israel is and how it has survived.”

The following are some of Joel’s impressions of Israel today compared to 1988:

• High-tech industry: “Extraordinary.” In 1988, Tel Aviv had one high-rise building; today, there are about 50. High-tech parks housing big-name companies in the computer, medical and biomedical fields abound and are a positive, driving force of the Israeli economy.

• The Carmel Forest fire: It reminded our traveler of the Mount Lemmon fire, with trees planted too close together and never thinned by logging. He was optimistic that Israel will learn from this, recover, and in time, the forest will grow back.

• Archaeological ruins: The unearthed ruins of ancient cities in Israel were second-rate back in the ‘80s compared to other ruins Herz had seen, such as Ephesus in Turkey. Today, that has totally changed, with the “monstrous” archaeological digs at Caesarea, Megiddo, Beit Shean, Beit Alpha, and the tunnels underneath the Western Wall.

• Security: In 1988, Israeli troops with high-powered weapons were everywhere. Today, while there are troops in some areas, they are generally not found in the big cities and are far fewer. The whole country seems much safer and more at ease.

11th winter Taglit-Birthright Israel

UA students Bradley Shane and Jenna Kusek on Birthright Israel trip

“The Birthright trip was absolutely fantastic once we actually made it out of New York City!” exclaimed Laura Wilson Etter, University of Arizona Hillel director of engagement. She and Israel fellow Max Rusinov accompanied the Taglit-Birthright Israel group over winter break. Due to the East Coast blizzard, numerous flights were cancelled. Many of the Israel-bound students scrambled to find other ways (train/bus/ limo) to reach JFK airport in time for their El Al flight, which was delayed several hours, giving them extra time to catch the flight.

From Dec. 28 to Jan. 7, 35 UA students (five of the scheduled 40 didn’t make it to New York), plus one each from the University of Southern California and Wesleyan University, traversed Israel by bus. The entourage included four Tucsonans — Adam Gold, Sarah Kats, Lacy Padilla and Gelya Tepelboym.

For five of the days, eight Israeli soldiers joined their group. The soldiers, who were the same age as the students, had a strong impact on the American travelers, making life in Israel very tangible for them. On Mt. Herzl, the soldiers told personal stories at gravesites. Max, who had served in the Israeli army, visited his commander’s grave and shared his own story. The soldiers led military activities, teaching the group krav maga (Israeli martial arts), how to don an army uniform correctly, and different positions for holding a gun (but without the gun).

Other highlights of this free trip included visiting the Western Wall, hiking Masada, swimming in the Dead Sea, spending a night in a Bedouin tent, taking camel rides, and checking out falafel stands at every stop. Lacy was one of five students who celebrated a Bar/Bat Mitzvah at the Shalom Hotel in Jerusalem. In Kiryat Milachi, part of Tucson’s TIPS region, the students interacted with elementary school children, playing track-and-field games and doing face-painting and crafts. Finally, doing their bit for the Israeli economy, the busload of shoppers made stops at the Ahava cosmetics and Naot shoe factories.

Today, this Birthright opportunity is considered a significant rite of passage for Jewish young adults. On to the summer Taglit-Birthright Israel …

Benefits of membership

Corinne Forti with Hadassah membership certificate

When Corinne Forti converted to Judaism in June 2009, she received a free one-year membership to Hadassah Southern Arizona, donated anonymously by one of its members. Because of this unique program, she has become an active volunteer, not only in Hadassah, but in other Jewish organizations around town, fulfilling the mission of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

Forti stated, “I was searching and always felt Jewish — like Judaism was in my DNA.” She took Temple Emanu-El’s “Taste of Judaism” class and studied for conversion with Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon. Anne Lowe attended Corinne’s conversion ceremony and presented her with the Hadassah membership certificate.

Forti is currently Hadassah’s chairperson for Jews by Choice, as well as its representative for Shalom Baby, a Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Shalom Tucson project. For both of these, Corinne contacts the synagogues monthly, seeking the names of new women converts for Hadassah membership and new babies to receive bags filled with handmade items and other newborn essentials. At Passover, she participated in Jewish Family & Children’s Services’ “Matzah and More” project. During this past year, she represented Hadassah at the Saul Tobin Jewish Community Leadership Institute and attended the Desert Mountain Region fall board meeting hosted by Hadassah Southern Arizona.

Time to share

It’s your turn — keep me posted — 319-1112. L’shalom.

(L-R) Ryan, Gabriel and Aaron Green with their grandmother Fay Green, underwriter of a new mural at the JCC

Local artist Julie Szerina Stein created the beautiful new mosaic-and-painted mural in the Tucson Jewish Community Center preschool area. Jonathan and Rachel Green conceived of the idea, and Jonathan’s mother, Fay Green, of Texas, underwrote the project in honor of her grandsons — Ryan, 13; Aaron, 10; and Gabriel, 6.

Jonathan and Rachel are active members of the “J.” All three boys attended the early childhood education program. During their preschool years, the Green family frequented the pool on Sundays and met many of their close friends there. Ryan, Aaron, and Gabriel participate in the basketball program (Dad too), youth tennis, and summer camp.

The mural was completed in time for Ryan’s Nov. 20 Bar Mitzvah, and guests had the opportunity to view it during the reception. The abstract piece, a six-month project, contains two trees bearing eight pomegranates. Within each of the fruits are symbols denoting eight Jewish holidays — Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim and Passover. This artwork adds to the beautification of the building and serves as an informative teaching tool as well.

A touching love story

Lynn and Kurt Strauss during ring “ceremony” in Jerusalem

When Lynn Strauss fell in early August, crushing the bones in her wrist and requiring surgery, it was necessary for the surgical staff to cut off her wedding ring — a ring that had been on her hand for nearly 48 years.

Since she and her husband, Kurt, were planning a trip to Israel between November and December, they decided to purchase a new ring there, with an informal ceremony for placing it on her finger. They contacted their friend, Rabbi Tzvi Graetz, former rabbi of Congregation Anshei Israel’s sister congregation, Kehilat Shevet Achim in Gilo, and currently executive director of Masorti Olami and MERCAZ Olami. He agreed to perform the honors. Graetz and the couple’s tour guide arranged for them to meet on the morning of Nov. 23 on the Tayelet (Haas Promenade), a vantage point overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, for this meaningful experience.

Afterward, the Strausses and their guide drove to Haifa to visit one of their granddaughters, who is spending her junior year at Haifa University. This occurred just days before the beautiful forests they drove through on Mt. Carmel were totally destroyed. Their guide, a sabra, spoke of previous fires that had wiped out all of the trees. Lynn told the AJP, “There is some comfort in knowing that the trees, with all of our help, will return.”

Synagogue to the south

Beth Shalom Temple Center’s Tobey Gitelle with the stained glass window she designed (Photo: Gary Friedman)

Marilyn Forstot, newsletter editor for Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley, submitted the following synagogue happenings:

Last summer, a beautiful stained-glass window was installed in the sanctuary. Two stained-glass panels were also placed beside a door and a Star of David was hung above the front entry. The window was designed by BSTC member Tobey Gitelle. The design combines biblical and ritual references. A serpent and apple symbolize the Garden of Eden; a dove is remininiscent of Noah’s Ark. Ritual aspects are represented by a flowing tallis, Kiddish cup and chai. Gitelle calls the installation a collaborative effort of the BSTC aesthetics committee and the artist who fabricated the windows, Fred Wray.

In November, BSTC held its first community-wide rummage sale chaired by Gail Norton, who was assisted by many volunteers. In December, 100 guests sang, danced, played the dreidel game and devoured 400 fried latkes at the annual Chanukah party headed by Merle Sobol. Music was provided by the in-house klezmer band, made up of Mike Finkelstein on cornet, Sig Friedman on accordion, Lanny Klein on guitar, Steve Maron on violin, and Sam Miller on clarinet.

On Jan. 23, BSTC will present “Art in the Temple,” a celebration of the Judaica housed in their building. Grateful for the many donors of precious art pieces, members will learn firsthand about these treasures, including stained glass, needlepoint, lithographs, mosaics and a bronze statue.

Party on

(L-R): Nina Isaac, Randi Levin, Cheryl Wortzel, Shaun Kozolchyk and David Plotkin at JFSA’s Hava Tequila Young Leadership Bash

Between November and December each year, federation young leadership groups in various cities plan similar gatherings for young Jewish singles and couples. Young Jewish Phoenix hosts Mazalpalooza; Detroit’s Young Leadership calls their event Latke and Vodka; Minneapolis Young Leadership holds the Jewlicious Bat Mitzvah Party. On Dec. 18, Tucson’s Young Leadership kicked off its inaugural Hava Tequila bash.

Eighty-four attendees danced the night away from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. at the JCC. The evening, which included a bar, nachos and dips, and a DJ, ended with a lively hora.

Staffed by Rebecca Goodman, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona leadership development and public relations director, and Julie Gal-Or, JCC development associate, the event was co-chaired by Dani and Phil Bregman and Nina and Andrew Isaac. Proceeds benefit the Federation Campaign’s Local Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF). According to Nina, “During the past year, young leadership committees have planned community service, outreach and philanthropic events, culminating with this bash, a great social event connected to a great cause.” The co-chairs are already planning to make next year’s party bigger and better, building on this first-time success.

Time to share

Keep me posted on your activities — 319-1112. L’shalom.

Jake Levine and the Vilnius Bagel Project

Native Tucsonan Jacob (“Jake”) Levine can be credited with bringing the bagel back to Vilnius after 70 years.

Levine, 25, a Catalina Foothills High School graduate who holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Arizona, is living in the Lithuanian capital for a year as a Fulbright Fellow. Since his family emigrated from Lithuania to the United States, he proposed in his Fulbright application that he return to explore his history and heritage. A Birthright Israel trip had ignited his interest in world travel and the exploration of his cultural past.

Jake, his roommate Menachem Kaiser, of Washington, D.C. (also a Fulbright Fellow and fellow teacher at the University of Vilnius), and some local artists devised the idea of reintroducing bagels to the city. The Vilnius Bagel Project began with a recipe from Wikipedia. Posters and fliers announced the event that in mid-October attracted “200 curious, hungry, slightly mystified Vilniusites” from all walks of life, according to Kaiser. Made with rudimentary equipment, the pre-boiled and baked plain, sesame, and poppy bagels were served with cream cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lox and capers at a restaurant outside of Vilnius’ Old Town. Jake and Menachem demonstrated to the crowd how to build a bagel sandwich.

Before the Holocaust, Vilnius — once known as the Jerusalem of the North — boasted over 100,000 Jews. Ninety-five percent of them were murdered by the local population and the Nazis. For the past 20 years, Lithuania has been an independent parliamentary democracy. Despite intermittent anti-Semitism, Jewish life freely exists, having re-emerged in this Eastern European city.

Egyptian highlights

From Oct. 4 to 18, Elaine Marcus and Bert Landau sailed on the Oceania “Ancient Legacies” cruise through the Mediterranean, with stops in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt.

Elaine Marcus and Bert Landau on the bimah of the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt

In Cairo, Bert joked about the “fast” bumper-to-bumper traffic, with cars separated by inches. (I covered my eyes on our cab ride from the airport to the hotel back in 1982.) The city of Alexandria caught their attention far more than Cairo and the pyramids — namely, the Library of Alexandria and the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue.

The pair found the library magnificent. It was built in the shape of a disc, facing the Mediterranean and evoking the image of the Egyptian sun illuminating the world. When someone requests a book, a copy is printed and bound especially for the patron within about 10 minutes.

The Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue was most memorable. One needs an appointment to visit this Sephardic house of worship; the compound is guarded by the Egyptian government. According to our travelers, the synagogue and grounds are huge and well-maintained. The interior boasts Italian marble columns, stained-glass windows, giant menorahs, and a collection of Torah scrolls from bygone neighborhood synagogues that once served a Jewish community of 70,000. The building is essentially empty except for 17 elderly Jews known to live in the city, three of them males. There are no younger Jews to replace them. The Jewish gentleman who showed Elaine and Bert around was employed as the Alexandria agent for Air France; however, taking care of the synagogue was his real love. The compound formerly housed a large Jewish school, but today, it is home to a public school and other rented space, providing essential funds for maintaining the 150-year old structure. The synagogue receives financial support from donations, and matzah, for example, is imported from Israel for Passover.

Jewish Germany and Italy

Margo and Ron Gray spent most of October touring Germany and Italy. The title of their historical bus tour of Germany, “Worlds of Our Fathers,” hit home, as Ron’s parents and Margo’s father emigrated from Germany to the United States. This trip afforded Ron some closure, seeing where his parents spent critical years living in Berlin before being allowed to leave in May 1941. Margo and Ron witnessed places of persecution, yet saw how Jewish suffering has been memorialized, Jewish culture has been preserved, and the new German-Jewish community, mainly from the former Soviet Union, is thriving.

Margo and Ron Gray at the Roman Coliseum

The Jewish Museum Berlin exhibited the social, political and cultural history of German Jewry from the 4th century to the present. The Berlin Shoah Memorial, an above-and-below ground exhibit, memorializes European Jews who were exterminated. The couple viewed “Stumbling Stones” — brass plates on sidewalks in front of houses where Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and political dissidents lived before deportation to concentration camps. Each marker names the person, birth date, date and destination of deportation, if known.

The Grays toured the remains of the glorious Oranienbergerstrasse Synagogue, where his parents were married. Ruined during World War II and rebuilt as a Jewish community center, the former sanctuary has been transformed into a museum, with another room used for Shabbat services. On Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, they prayed at Berlin’s Rykestrasse Synagogue, Germany’s largest Jewish place of worship that was also restored after the war, with Ron accepting the fourth aliyah during the Torah service.

In Rome and Florence, as in Berlin, the 19th century synagogues stand proudly above the neighborhood buldings. The pair viewed the Great Synagogue of Rome with its fascinating museum containing gorgeous tapestries. Other exhibits included papal edicts restricting Jewish life, and items depicting the culture and integration of Libyan Jews who immigrated to Rome after Israel’s Six-Day War. “A trip to the ghetto in Rome would not be complete without a lunch of crispy, fried artichoke hearts and anchovies rolled in pumpkin flowers, both authentic Jewish delicacies,” said Ron. They also attended Shabbat services in the Great Synagogue of Florence with its breathtaking Byzantine-style interior, and dined after Havdalah at Ruth’s kosher vegetarian restaurant.

In its heyday, the original ghetto in Venice supported six synagogues. Today Jews pray in only two sanctuaries: the Schola Levantina in winter, which has the best heat; and the Schola Spagnola in summer, which has enough capacity for Rosh Hashanah. Margo and Ron ate at Gam Gam Kosher Restaurant where the cuisine ranged from Italian pumpkin soup to Israeli hummus. “You know you are in Venice when the gondolier goes table to table, serenading for some euros,” the couple agreed.

So many highlights: a boat trip on Lake Como, a soccer game, an opera at La Scala … and so little space.

Time to share

Happy secular New Year. Keep me posted — 319-1112. L’shalom.