TribeFest 2014 From March 16-18, six Tucsonans — Pamela Epstein, Dave Hausler, Marina Kandova, Ari Magill, and Amy and Ben Pozez, accompanied by Sarah Langert, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona leadership development and public relations director, traveled to New Orleans for TribeFest 2014. This biennial national event, organized by… Read more »
What does my mother-in-law have to do with my married life, columnist Edmon J. Rodman recalls foolishly asking soon after he was married 32 years ago. (Edmon J. Rodman) LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells us to “Honor your father and your mother,” but on mothers-in-law, it’s mum. That is until we come to the two-day holiday of Shavuot and read the Book of Ruth, which records the relationship between Ruth and her… Read more »
Gabrielle Selz SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (JTA) — Four years ago, I applied to re-obtain German citizenship on behalf of my son and myself. Neither of us was born in Germany. I was born in sunny California and my son on Long Island. But I had learned that under the German Constitution, “Former… Read more »
From Commemoration to Celebration The uniqueness and in a way, also the beauty, of Israel’s Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaut) is that it doesn’t stand on its own. Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah) and the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror (Yom Hazikaron) serve as the buildup,… Read more »
Lara and Kim Gould Troop appreciation On Jan. 8, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Women’s Cabinet hosted its second annual Mahj and Mitzvahs event at the Tucson Hebrew Academy. With 55 in attendance, including YWC co-chairs Dana Goldstein and Sarah Singer, the group played the Chinese tile game and assembled care… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Artem Zaptotski, from Lutsk, in western Ukraine, sits in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, sharing his room with a French Hasid. Seeing that I speak Hebrew and wear a kippah, the Hasid asks if he should encourage Zaptotski to put on tefillin. No, I tell him. Zaptotski… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — During shiva for my mother, my father gathered my brothers and me to share a letter in which she expressed some musings and last wishes. The letter also said that as the sole daughter, I had inherited her jewelry box. In the room in which… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Line between life and death/ good and evil Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu likes to draw lines, especially red ones, as he claimed at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee national conference earlier this month. What caught me in his speech, to a very welcoming audience, wasn’t the Iranian… Read more »
Besides blotting out the name of Haman, would these groggers also wake one to the needs of the hungry? (Edmon J. Rodman) LOS ANGELES (JTA) — On Purim, can we really blot out the memory of an evil like Haman, who threatened our very existence, with a noisemaker? When in a popular Purim song we sing “Hava narishah-rash, rash, rash,” “Wind your noisemakers,” all that “rashing” does momentarily make the darkness… Read more »
Roxy (left) and Clio Cartin love to help their mother make recipes from PJ Library’s “The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen.” Another Taglit-Birthright Israel milestone Now in its 15th year, Birthright has sent over 360,000 young adults from 64 countries to Israel. More participants traveled this winter than in any other single season. From Jan. 2-14, the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation sent 30 students on the program, accompanied by… Read more »
Suzanne Levy (JTA) — On Valentine’s Day, I’d like to sing the praises of American Jewish men. I’m aware it’s a rather large group, but that’s the point: The United States is a sea of plenty for Jewish men. Whereas in Britain, where I grew up, there are only about 300,000… Read more »
Barbara Levkowitz with her youngest great-granddaughter, Halle Jewish Cuba From Dec. 9 to 18, Barbara Esmond traveled on Road Scholar’s “Shalom Cuba” bus tour. Sixteen participants explored the Jewish heritage of this island nation. The group carried donations of school, medical and religious goods to augment government rationing and short supplies. The American Jewish Joint Distribution… Read more »
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to pass.” That was not the answer I wanted to give. It certainly was not the answer my friend expected to hear. You see, my friend’s son attends a local Jewish day school. My son does not. But the… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — During the height of the recession, I moved to Switzerland. I had already lived in France, Japan, India and Israel, and traveled much of the rest of the world. I’d gone global for work, love, spirituality and cultural infatuation, but this last time was for… Read more »
(JTA) — The call came one evening in August. I was in Jerusalem staying with my oldest sister, Goldy, for the summer. “It’s for you,” Goldy shouted from the kitchen. “Aunt Fraidy!” Aunt Fraidy had been my host in my last year of high school. My parents, concerned about… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Pluralism in Israel Israel is known for its pluralism, yet there is still room for improvement. Lately, two different events made me realize that Israel is making progress even more rapidly. First, a national monument that honors 15,000 Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust who were persecuted by… Read more »
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — As I stood as one of the few Americans among the masses of protesters at Kiev’s Independence Square, the frigid cold reminded me that this was my fourth year trying to survive a harsh Ukrainian winter. The crowd seemed be warming up thanks to the… Read more »
Major League Baseball's official historian, John Thorn, pictured holding a royal decree knighting his great-grandfather, says the past enhances the present in sports as well as family matters. (Hillel Kuttler). CATSKILL, N.Y. (JTA) – The past escorts John Thorn home from the moment he greets a visitor at a 139-year-old railroad station, crosses the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and arrives at his residence, a county historical landmark. Clad in a facsimile jacket of the defunct Negro Leagues’ Kansas City… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) – Last spring, I found myself averting my eyes when my 4-year-old mentioned something about the Easter bunny in front of my dad. We were at my parents’ home in Michigan for Passover and my son said, “When I get back to Brooklyn, the Easter bunny… Read more »
Andra Karnofsky and Chuck Gannon with Andra’s Chanukah dessert creation. Making history come alive On the crisp morning of Sunday, Nov. 17, Barry Friedman led a Jewish pioneers tour of Tucson’s Evergreen Cemetery. Friedman, board president of the Jewish History Museum, began by making a disclaimer. He is not a historian, but rather a retired doctor who finds history… Read more »
