In Focus

In Focus 5.29.15

(L-R): Cantorial soloist Marjorie Hochberg; Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon; b’not mitzvah Fran Haggerty, Margaret Lambert and Sharon Geiger; teacher Margaret Kendle
(L-R): Cantorial soloist Marjorie Hochberg; Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon; b’not mitzvah Fran Haggerty, Margaret Lambert and Sharon Geiger; teacher Margaret Kendle (Courtesy Temple Emanu-El)

Adult b’not mitzvah celebrate at Temple Emanu-El­

Temple Emanu-El’s yearlong adult b’nai mitzvah course culminated in a group b’not mitzvah ceremony on Saturday, May 2, with the class leading Shabbat morning services.

 

 

 

 

 

At one of the Tucson Hebrew Academy STEM festival’s student-run booths, students play Dance Dance Revolution by completing circuits with their feet. (Phillip McCauley/THA)
At one of the Tucson Hebrew Academy STEM festival’s student-run booths, students play Dance Dance Revolution by completing circuits with their feet. (Phillip McCauley/THA)

Tucson Hebrew Academy ­ festival celebrates STEM fields

More than 600 people attended Tucson Hebrew Academy’s first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) festival on Sunday, May 3, which featured 30 exhibitors from throughout the community, including rocket launches by the Southern Arizona Rocketry Association and animal encounters with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and University of Arizona Insect Discovery Center.

 

 

Back row (L-R): Isaac Zolot, Eli Soyfer, Simon Esbit, Jacob Kaufman, Ethan Manninen, Aodhan Lyons; middle row: Sharon Glassberg (Hebrew High Principal), Erica Tevere, Breanna Bregman, Sarah Cassius; front row: Cameron Busby, Adina Karp, Michaela Davenport, Bernard Silverman, Maya Collier (Martha Lochert)
Back row (L-R): Isaac Zolot, Eli Soyfer, Simon Esbit, Jacob Kaufman, Ethan Manninen, Aodhan Lyons; middle row: Sharon Glassberg (Hebrew High Principal), Erica Tevere, Breanna Bregman, Sarah Cassius; front row: Cameron Busby, Adina Karp, Michaela Davenport, Bernard Silverman, Maya Collier (Martha Lochert)

Hebrew High graduation

On Tuesday, May 12, 14 graduates of Tucson Hebrew High were recognized for their commitment to continuing their Jewish education through their high school years. The 37th annual graduation ceremony was held at Tucson Hebrew High’s host congregation, Congregation Anshei Israel, and was catered by the Tucson Hebrew High Jewish cooking class. The graduates chose “Keeping Up with the Jews” as their theme, reflecting the reality of the year with headline after headline of incidents involving Jews. Graduate Erica Tevere said, “It has been a busy year for Jews, and as a result we started off every Hebrew High class with a current event. Whether it be the controversy surrounding a piece of clothing H&M released, or the brutal attacks on innocent Israelis, these discussions led us to question the bigger issues surrounding our community in America, in Israel and all around the world.”

 

(L-R) Bradley Clark, Charley Foley, Tucson Hebrew Academy Head of School Jon Ben-Asher (Julee Dawson/THA)
(L-R) Bradley Clark, Charley Foley, Tucson Hebrew Academy Head of School Jon Ben-Asher (Julee Dawson/THA)

Flags for Tucson Hebrew Academy

Flags for the Flagless, a Tucson-based nonprofit organization, presented 17 American flags to Tucson Hebrew Academy to hang in classrooms on Friday, May 15. The flags were donated by Tucsonan Bonnie Kay. THA was the first school flag project for FFF, which has placed more than 100 flags on flagpoles throughout Tucson. FFF was founded by Tucson Police Department officers Charley Foley and Bradley Clark to foster patriotism and pride in the community. Foley comes from a line of veterans and Clark is a 20-year combat U.S. Army veteran.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(L-R) Tucson City Councilmember Paul Cunningham, cantorial soloist Marjorie Hochberg, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Micki Shulman, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
(L-R) Tucson City Councilmember Paul Cunningham, cantorial soloist Marjorie Hochberg, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Micki Shulman, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

Temple Emanu-El installs murals

During its Kurn Religious School siyyum on Sunday, May 17, Temple Emanu-El installed murals depicting the five books of the Torah in its Solot Biblical Garden. Students in grades 4-9 learned about the books of the Torah, designed and painted the murals in the yearlong project created by Micki Shulman and Temple Emanu-El’s youth education committee.

 

Sara and Robert Ross (Julie Lauterbach-Colby/JHM)
Sara and Robert Ross (Julie Lauterbach-Colby/JHM)

Jewish History Museum annual lunch

More than 70 members of the Jewish History Museum celebrated the past year with a luncheon on Sunday, May 17, at Skyline Country Club. Jon Ben-Asher, head of school at Tucson Hebrew Academy, moderated a discussion, “Sonoran Boychiks: Multigenerational Perspectives of Growing Up Jewish in Tucson,” featuring Bobby Present, Mark Levkowitz and Michael Ash. This year’s luncheon also provided members with a glimpse into next year’s ventures, as the Jewish History Museum prepares to expand its Holocaust History Center.