Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, also known as the Festival of Booths, takes place this year from sundown on Friday, Sept. 25, until nightfall on Friday, Oct. 2. Sukkot is a holiday of joy and thanksgiving. It commemorates both the autumn harvest and the memory of the Israelites taking shelter in temporary huts while wandering in the desert following the Exodus. The Hebrew word “sukkot” is the plural of “sukkah,” meaning “hut” or “booth.” Families and congregations build sukkot, temporary dwellings with at least two… Read more »
High Holiday Memories
The dedication of Tifereth Israel in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Sept. 14, 1924. Tifereth Israel continues to serve New Bedford’s Jewish community, albeit in a new location. In August, I received a phone call from Tucson friends who were visiting my hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, on their way to Cape Cod. They had just discovered an old synagogue on South Sixth Street not far from the harbor. It was a red brick building, they said,… Read more »
Of Blessed Memory: Felice Capin
Felice Lehr Capin passed away on August 27, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Felice was born in New York, New York, on October 27, 1933. She met her late husband Harlan Capin while working as a bookkeeper in the garment district and raising her two daughters. After she… Read more »
Jewish Early Childhood Centers as a Gateway into Jewish Life
Early Childhood Education students at the Tucson Jewish Community Center learn about Hanukkah This article is part of a series around Jewish early childhood education at the Tucson J. It has been over 30 years, and my parents still recall meeting the parents of a child in my brother’s class, who ultimately became dear friends. Their shared experience as… Read more »
UA Hillel Kicks Off Fall Semester
Students are back on campus, and there is an incredible energy at UA Hillel. The start of a new academic year always brings a sense of possibility, but this year feels especially exciting as we welcome new students, reconnect with returning students, and begin a new chapter for Hillel.… Read more »
Annual Project Isaiah Food and Fund Drive Begins on Sept. 4
The Southern Arizona Jewish community’s annual High Holidays food and fund drive benefiting the Community Food Bank, Project Isaiah, will run from Sept. 4 through Oct. 17. The need is great, with a 22 percent increase in the number of people seeking food assistance compared with last year.… Read more »
Handmaker and Congregation Eshel Avraham – a Timeless Collaboration
If you go to the website for Congregation Eshel Avraham in Tucson, you will find a slightly outdated High Holiday calendar along with a slightly outdated description of the congregation as “a tiny, egalitarian, Conservative congregation. A synagogue-without-walls serving Tucson, Arizona and other nearby communities.” This tiny… Read more »
Of Blessed Memory: Carla Hinton
Carla (Weitzman) Hinton, 74, passed away peacefully at her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 20, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Carla’s life was defined by her strong belief in social justice, commitment to community as well as artistic talent, demonstrated through creating beautiful art and wearing… Read more »
Youth Group Scene Thriving in Tucson
BBYO held a “Global Shabbat” event at the Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center in December 2025, its third annual event at the museum. (Photo courtesy Davis Hubbell) Jewish youth groups foster a sense of belonging, giving teens a safe place to explore their identity through shared cultural traditions, social activities, and leadership opportunities. Teens in the Tucson area have several youth group options. Long-established groups such as BBYO and USY have local roots going back to… Read more »
MORE HEADLINES
- Remembering Marcia*
- Local Eighth Grader Shines at Invention Convention
- Bar Mitzvah: Amrit Levi Gibbons
- Birth: Luca Isaac Blitzer
- TJMHC Gives Educators the Tools to Teach the Holocaust and Other Genocides
- How the Sheva Framework Shapes Early Childhood at the Tucson J
- 88 Years Old and Counting
- Reimagined Hebrew High Returns to Southern Arizona This Fall
- Birth: Charles Douglas Smith
