Special Sections

Arbor Day Foundation tree booklet available

For a $3 donation, the Arbor Day Foundation is offering a booklet, “Conservation Trees,” designed to help people plant and care for trees. “Conservation Trees” features illustrations, color photos and simple descriptions. “This is an ideal resource for tree planters throughout the country,” said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. [...]

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Book spins yarns on fabric crafts

The world of Jewish fabric crafts is explored in a new book, “Jewish Threads: A Hands-On Guide to Stitching Spiritual Intention into Jewish Fabric Crafts” (Jewish Lights Publishing). The book presents 30 projects created by artisans from the United States and Israel. Some of the crafts presented, such as Torah mantles and challah covers, are [...]

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Afikomen bag
Afikomen bag

Craft devotee bringing Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework to Tucson

Photographs can’t do justice to the exquisite stitchery on the table linens, wall hangings and other objects Tucsonan Barbara Esmond has created over the years as a member of The Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework. The group is named for the fruit that is one of the “seven species” in the Bible. The pomegranate, said [...]

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JWI Flower Project to aid battered women

Washington, D.C. — Through its annual Flower Project, Jewish Women International will honor 30,000 women and children spending Mother’s Day in battered women’s shelters. In partnership with ProFlowers and OPI Products, Inc., JWI will send bouquets and beauty products to 150 shelters across the United States, including one in Tucson, on Mother’s Day. For each [...]

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Smaller portions spice up Tucson restaurants for spring and summer dining

  As Tucson temperatures soar to a sizzle point, local restaurants are marking the change in seasons by offering menus with lighter fare. Pizza is perennially popular but Rocco’s Little Chicago Pizza on Broadway has added gazpacho and lighter beers to its menu specials. “We make everything from scratch,” says Rocco DiGrazia, owner and current [...]

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Tucsonan Paul Rubin with journals written by his mother, Roz Kaufmann, and a copy of his compilation, “In Her Own Words: A Life Well Lived” (Photo: Brenda Stosberg-Rubin)
Tucsonan Paul Rubin with journals written by his mother, Roz Kaufmann, and a copy of his compilation, “In Her Own Words: A Life Well Lived” (Photo: Brenda Stosberg-Rubin)

From WWII to refuseniks, mom’s journals reveal active life

Imagine Paul Rubin’s surprise when he found a suitcase full of journals penned by his mother, Roz Kaufmann, dating back to 1944. Kaufmann was 79 and suffered from dementia when her son found the journals in 2004. She died two years later at age 81. “All of a sudden my mother came alive again with [...]

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Joy Ladin

For Jewish transsexual, no easy path to being a daughter

If your mother has never seen your face — if you have never had a face to be seen — if, in a sense, you have never been born — do you have a mother? If your mother has always called you “son,” can you ever really become her daughter? For most of my life, [...]

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Help for Jewish addicts, problem drinkers can begin with a mouse click

Purim and Passover, which both encourage drinking, may be behind us, but every Kiddush, every simcha is another opportunity to raise a glass and say l’chaim. And to seriously overdo things. In reality, abuse doesn’t need an excuse. And the problem doesn’t stop at alcohol. For a long time, there has been a perception that [...]

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Abraham Verghese, M.D.
Abraham Verghese, M.D.

Listen to patients, doctor/novelist Abraham Verghese says at Cindy Wool seminar

In this age of high-tech medicine compassion can often be neglected, but the annual Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar helps provide a remedy for healthcare professionals in Tucson. The third seminar and dinner on humanism in medicine, held March 28 at the Marriott University Park Hotel, sought to support physicians in practicing empathy while embracing cutting-edge [...]

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Mental illness focus of faith leaders’ conference

Interfaith Community Services will host a conference, “Faith Communities and Mental Illness: Tools for Response and Care,” on Friday, April 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Philips in the Hills Episcopal Church. Created in response to the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting tragedy in Tucson, this “first time in Arizona” educational event will [...]

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