Right now, in March, we can enjoy our gardens in the daytime, but by June — not so much! The problem with this is that you need to water and care for your garden all year long, so it’s a real shame you can’t enjoy it all year long.… Read more »
Special Sections
Ramah camps a bright spot for Conservative movement, but 9 of 10 kids don’t go
WINGDALE, N.Y. (JTA) – The sky is clearing after a damp morning at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, and kids are emerging from their cluttered bunks. An impromptu Frisbee game breaks out on the lawn, while down by the lake a counselor prepares the water trampoline and surf kayaks. On… Read more »
In Europe, a summer camp creates the next generation of Jewish leaders — and babies
SZARVAS, Hungary (JTA) — Escaping a sudden downpour in the summer of 2012, Andras Paszternak and Barbi Szendy ran to find cover inside an empty cabin at their Jewish summer camp, Szarvas, 100 miles east of Budapest. The two senior counselors, then 31 and 36, respectively, chatted as rain drenched the sprawling compound, where… Read more »
Should we get hammered on Purim — and Election Day?
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Purim parties are just around the corner — as is the presidential election. This got me thinking: What does the holiday’s operative phrase, “ad lo yada,” “until one no longer knows,” really mean? Traditionally, this rabbinic license to party, derived from the Talmud, has been taken… Read more »
Cannoli Hamantaschen for Purim
(The Nosher via JTA) — My love of Italian cuisine was honed at a very early age — there was no lack of Italian restaurants, pizzerias and bakeries. If I had to pick my favorite Italian pastry, it would be no contest – I am #teamcannoli all the way.… Read more »
Milk and Cereal Hamantaschen Recipe for Purim
(The Nosher via JTA) — It’s that time of year, when bloggers and crazy Jewish women everywhere scramble to come up with unique variations of hamantaschen. And I am nothing if not a crazy Jewish woman. As I mulled over what kind of Purim treats to whip up this year, I wanted to… Read more »
Through bravery and hardship: losing a leg, gaining a new home in Tucson
My whole body trembled as I tried to fight back the tears that were streaming down my face. “Wait!” I screamed. “One more, just one more photo … please?” I said meekly as I tried my best to swallow through a dry and swollen throat. The pre-op nurses nodded… Read more »
‘Thirteeners’ celebrate, commemorate b’nai mitzvah
When Mike Lex turned 13 he did not celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah. He grew up in a remote part of Wyoming, a place where he says as a Jew he was in a tiny minority and because his parents did not practice, his 13th birthday came and went.… Read more »
Employee from the ’60s recalls almost seven decades of Post, community
It was a combination of dry desert air and the Arizona Jewish Post that brought Marcie Sutland’s family to Tucson more than 60 years ago. “When we were deciding to come out West” in the late 1940s, “I wrote to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and somehow I got… Read more »
Falkow, Strauss families carry cantor’s legacy of tradition into 21st century
During holiday musaf services at Congregation Anshei Israel, Jack, Alan and Ian Strauss ascend the bimah to recite the priestly blessing. As the son-in-law, grandson and great-grandson of the late Cantor Maurice Falkow carry on their patriarch’s legacy, they cover their heads with their prayer shawls, raise their arms… Read more »
‘Community doesn’t just happen, it has to be created,’ says Federation chief
Seventy years! My how the world has changed! While we are always trying to keep up with these changes, we remain very much rooted in our values and our mission. Underlying our Federation’s work is the adage that “community doesn’t just happen, it has to be created,” which begs… Read more »
Valentine’s Day: An ideal date for Jewish weddings?
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In December, around the time my wife and I were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary, we received an invitation to an outdoor Jewish wedding to be held on Valentine’s Day 2016. Printed on a red postcard affixed with a heart postage stamp, the couple, Lena Silver… Read more »
Senior Olympics now beckon Tucson man who started tai chi for pain
John Messing, a practicing local attorney, will compete in tai chi at the Senior Olympics in Phoenix next month. Messing, 72, started doing tai chi about four years ago, primarily in response to a painful condition that suddenly developed in his left hip due to an IT-band injury, which… Read more »
Candy-making Holocaust survivor believed to be world’s oldest man
(JTA) — A Holocaust survivor in Haifa many now be the oldest man in the world. Yisrael Kristal, 112, achieved that status after Yasutaro Koide of Japan, also 112, died on Jan. 12, Haaretz reported. Kristal’s grandson, Oren, received an email from the Gerontology Research Group, an international organization… Read more »
More herbs, less salt: Healthful ‘Holy Land’ herbs grow well in Tucson
The American Medical Association cautions that many Americans consume too much salt. The AMA encourages us to reduce our salt intake because excess sodium boosts blood pressure, leading to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. The problem is that we like flavor in our food, and most of us… Read more »
Tips to help make ‘organize my closet’ resolution a reality
(Family Features) — It’s the time of year when many of us think about getting organized for a fresh new start. “Most of us put cleaning out and organizing our closets at the top of our New Year’s resolutions list every single year,” says Barbara Reich, professional organizer. “But… Read more »
Ramah is beloved tradition for Tucson family
Tucsonan Lisa Goldberg’s connections to Camp Ramah in Ojai, Calif., run deep. She’s been a Ramahnik since she first attended camp when she was 8 years old, having “inherited” Ramah from her mother, Mimi Dinin Sisk, who was one of the first campers at the California location, and her… Read more »
Scholarships from local fund can help send kids to camp
The Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is accepting applications for scholarships to Jewish overnight summer camps for the summer of 2016. The need-based scholarship assistance is funded by the Mo and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern… Read more »
Yiddish links local man to roots — and Tucson community
So what’s your Yiddish IQ, bubbeleh? Don’t be too quick with your answer because truth is, lots of the mamaloshen (mother tongue) has entered into common English usage; think kibbitz, bagel, klutz, kosher and chutzpah. But should you want to think of more than the commonly known terms, then… Read more »
Elder Rehab at the J
Elder Rehab at the Tucson Jewish Community Center couples memory-impaired seniors with University of Arizona students who supervise them in physical exercise and memory and language stimulation activities. The research-tested program, developed by psychologist Sharon Arkin, is now enrolling participants for its third semester, which begins Jan. 25. The… Read more »