Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon Can a land require a Sabbath, too? The Jewish answer is yes. This calendar year of 5775 is a special time in our tradition: it marks the sabbatical year, the shmittah. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy we are commanded to harvest crops only for the first six years of… Read more »
Stanley Feldman (Athol Cline) Stanley G. Feldman, 82, retired as an Arizona Supreme Court justice in 2002, but he hasn’t retired from the legal profession. Now in his sixth decade of fighting for the rights of all, Feldman will receive the Jewish Heritage Award at the Tucson Jewish History Museum’s annual benefit on… Read more »
The small cardboard box in Elyashiv Drori’s palm looks like it’s full of black pebbles. Closing the box quickly, he explains that it cannot be open for long. The pebble-like pieces, which were uncovered in an archaeological dig near Jerusalem’s Old City, are in fact remains of a kilo… Read more »
Ingredients are set out for a mega challah bake. (Courtesy Chabad Tucson) The Shabbos Project, a global movement to celebrate the Jewish day of rest on the weekend of Oct. 24-25, will be marked in Tucson with a Mega Challah Bake for women and girls (ages 9 and up) at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 7… Read more »
Tucson’s 6th annual multifaith pride service in support of Southern Arizona’s LGBTQ community, “Weaving a Common Sacredness,” will be held Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 7-9 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. Rev. Debra Peevey, faith outreach director from Why Marriage Matters Arizona, will be one of the key speakers. Rabbi Batsheva… Read more »
The local BBYO chapters of Abba Godol AZA and Kadimah BBG are participating in “Can-Tribute,” a food drive partnership between BBYO and DoSome thing.org. The local chapters are working with chapters from around the world to help fight poverty by collecting canned food to donate to local food banks.… Read more »
Shirley Christie (Photo: Gloria Christie-Bishop) Healing from the trauma of domestic violence and sexual assault can be elusive. For Shirley Christie, bicycling from Boston to Seattle, then South to her hometown of Pasadena, Calif. — covering 4,000 miles over 105 days — was the right route. Christie will discuss her journey, “Cycling to End… Read more »
Rabbi Gary Zola Rabbi Gary Phillip Zola, Ph.D. will be the Mitch Dorson scholar-in-residence at Congregation Or Chadash on Oct. 24 and 25. Zola is executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in… Read more »
Pinchas (Paul) and Rita Zohav Deciding to leave their home in Seattle, Pinchas (Paul) and Rita Zohav narrowed their search to Albuquerque or Tucson. “Without a doubt,” Rita says, “it was the Jewish community in Tucson which made our decision so easy.” After 10 years in Seattle, the couple agreed it was “too grey,… Read more »
“Zero Motivation,” a new film by Israeli filmmaker Talya Lavie, will have its Southwest premiere at the Loft Cinema on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2:15 p.m. The film is described as a “zany, dark comedic portrait of everyday life for a unit of young, female Israeli soldiers” who work… Read more »
Auguste Rodin's "Adam" The Tucson Museum of Art will host one of its most prestigious exhibitions, “The Figure Examined: Masterworks from the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation,” Oct. 18 through Feb. 22, 2015. The exhibit will include some 120 works of art by more than 70 noted artists from the 19th and 20th… Read more »
At Camp Be’chol Lashon, which provides a space for racially and ethnically diverse Jews, discussion about appearance is the norm. (Courtesy of Be'chol Lashon) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Earlier this year, the Jewish overnight camp Eden Village garnered a great deal of attention for its “no body talk” policy, which camp leaders described as providing a “break from mentioning physical appearance, including clothing.” The policy, which aims to lessen the stress children feel about appearance, certainly has merit. But… Read more »
Rabbi Israel Becker claps to the music as Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild carries Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s newly written Torah scroll to be welcomed by men holding the congregation’s existing Torah scrolls. (Rogelio Garcia) “We are all here today to witness the birth of a new sefer Torah,” said scribe Rabbi Zvi Chaim Pincus of New York, to 150 men, women and children gathered in the courtyard of Congregation Chofetz Chayim on Sunday, Sept. 14 to celebrate the completion and dedication of the… Read more »
Lora Stern Druker wrote this essay in August 2014. I live in Israel. I’ve lived here for over 30 years. I first set foot in Israel when, as a teenager, I joined with a group of Jewish youth from all over the United States to visit Israel. Our journey of… Read more »
Michael Hewitt, Ph.D. What we can do to “live younger longer” will be discussed in “Optimal Aging, Rewinding the Clock,” a University of Arizona Arthritis Center presentation by Michael Hewitt, Ph.D., Canyon Ranch Health Resort research director for exercise science, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 6 to 7:15 p.m., at the University of… Read more »
GARY BACHMAN, a program manager in the Pima County community development and neighborhood conservation department, received a 2014 Housing Hero Award from the Arizona Department of Housing. Bachman has been an advocate for affordable housing and community development planning in Southern Arizona for nearly 30 years, including the last… Read more »
ARIZONA PUBLIC MEDIA has received 23 Emmy nominations from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Rocky Mountain chapter. The nominations, more than any other public broadcaster in the region, include 36 staff members and mark the best performance in AZPM’s history. The winners will be announced on… Read more »
Lori and Harvey Meislin announce the engagement of their daughter, Megan Anne Meislin, to Michael Conti Mica, son of Sal and Rosalie Conti Mica of Chicago and Jupiter Beach, Fla. Megan attended the University of Washington and received an undergraduate degree in molecular biology. She attended the University of… Read more »
A son, ISAAC REUVEN GOODMAN, was born May 27, 2014 to Rebecca and Ted Goodman of West Lafayette, Ind. Grandparents are Andrew and Linda Kunsberg of Tucson, Beanie and Markus Rohtbart of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Don and Gloria Goodman of West Bloomfield, Mich. Isaac joins his sister, Emma.… Read more »
Eliana Eden Webber Rosenzweig, daughter of Yvonne Webber and Ephron Rosenzweig of San Diego, became a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 at Congregation Beth Am in San Diego. Eliana was born in Tucson. She is the granddaughter of Nancy Webber of Richmond, Calif., and the late Jerry… Read more »
