Columns

Newly-minted septuagenarian When Andy Kunsberg turned 70 in mid-December, his wife, Linda, planned a late December celebration. The party wasn’t a surprise but the guest list was. Relatives — daughter Rebecca Goodman, her husband Ted and their three children, plus Andy’s brother, brothers-in-law, nieces, great niece and nephews, from… Read more »

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

It was the greatest moment in our people’s entire history. But what the heck actually happened? This week we read the Torah portion of Yitro, including the revelation at Mount Sinai. This climactic section includes the enormous experience of receiving the Ten Commandments through the theophany at Sinai, the… Read more »

A mojito toast from Young Women’s Cabinet members (L-R) Simone Krame, Jennifer Selco, Kathy Gerst, Jenny Rothschild, Katie Stellitano-Rosen, Rachel Jarrett

Mah jongg, the centuries-old tile game of Chinese origin, is a favorite pastime for American Jewish women. A fad in the United States in the 1920s, it regained popularity in 1937 when a group of Jewish women formed the National Mah Jongg League based in New York City. Each… Read more »

NEW ORLEANS (JTA) — Ela Weissberger, though tiny and elderly when I met her, was the strongest woman I have ever known. Her energy was indefatigable, her personality vibrant and sunny, her wit sharp and charming. Her magical rapport with children was undeniable. Ela was a Holocaust survivor, sent… Read more »

Many years ago, after serving in the Israel Defense Forces, I moved to live on a kibbutz in the beautiful Israel Valley. My father, who lived as a teen in the 1950s in Hulata, a kibbutz in the shadow of the Golan Heights, inspired me (a city boy) to… Read more »

Amir Eden

Some of our community members and lay leaders are involved in the Nov. 6 elections. As an American citizen, I plan to cast my ballot, as voting, in my eyes, is one of our important civic duties. I had my first political experience in the Israeli general elections campaign… Read more »

A special Israel visitor From Aug. 9-Sept. 3, Linda and Shelby Silverman traveled to Europe and Israel. They saved the best for last, spending two weeks with their four Israeli grandchildren and their parents. Three generations of the Silverman-Levin family enjoyed a delightful surprise when they visited Rishon LeZion,… Read more »

Some people believe we live in a world where everything can be seen and touched. They buy into scientific explanations and find it hard to believe we live in a complex world where there’s much we can’t explain. Here is a true story of divine providence or in Hebrew,… Read more »

This summer my son Boaz and I traveled to Poland for the great pleasure and privilege of participating in the Ride for the Living, a 55-mile bicycle ride from Auschwitz-Birkenau to the Jewish Community Center of Krakow, Poland, from the scene of the greatest destruction of our people to… Read more »

In 1966, when I was just 13 years old, my parents surprised me by taking me to New York City to see Zero Mostel star as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.” I was enchanted by Shalom Aleichem’s inspiration, “Tevye the Dairyman,” which was written in Yiddish in 1894.… Read more »

A couple of years ago I was standing in the lobby of a Jewish Community Center in California, admiring the artwork of Shlomo Katz. The JCC had just opened an unusual display of hand-knotted Persian rugs featuring Jewish and biblical themes, and I found myself entirely lost in the… Read more »

This summer season marked the 18th anniversary of Birthright Israel, the program that brings Diaspora Jews, ages 18-26, on a free trip to Israel. From May 24-June 4, Bus #1545 carried University of Arizona students along with participants from the University of Southern California, Arizona State University, and San… Read more »

Each year, the Jewish Federations of North America invites professionals and lay leaders to participate in a mission that highlights the unique challenges, programs and impact of federations’ overseas funding. In mid-July, Melissa Goldfinger, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 2019 Campaign chair; Leslie Glaze, JFSA Women’s Philanthropy Campaign chair;… Read more »

The drive from Bozeman, Montana to Yellowstone National Park is literally through Paradise — Paradise Valley, that is. The Absaroka Mountain Range rises nearly 6,000 feet above the Yellowstone River as it weaves its way through Montana and Wyoming for over 670 miles. The sky is a deep blue… Read more »

According to Jewish law, children are not obligated to observe the Torah’s commandments until they reach the “age of accountability.” At the age of 13, a boy will study with a mentor and then participate in a service where he reads from the Torah in Hebrew and delivers a… Read more »

Amir Eden

In 2014, after having moved to the States from Israel, my wife, Sharon, and I took our sons, Gahl and Neev, 14 and 10 at the time, to Israel for a visit. We were in a park in Kfar Saba having a picnic and playing soccer with friends. Suddenly,… Read more »

My mother died a day before Shavuot, two years ago. Three months later, at Yom Kippur services, I knew that I was finally an adult (at age 49) because, for the first time ever, I stayed in the sanctuary for the Yizkor memorial service. A year ago, at Passover,… Read more »

Building Bridges spring break Sarah Cassius, finishing her junior year at George Washington University with a dual major in international affairs and geography with a concentration in sustainability, traveled on a Building Bridges trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories over spring break. The trip was sponsored by GWU’s… Read more »

Amir Eden

On Sunday, April 22, our community celebrated Israel’s 70th Anniversary of its Independence. I would like to take a moment and thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the lay leaders, volunteers, and professionals who were a part of Tucson’s communal celebration. A special thank you goes to… Read more »

Tucsonan Charlotte Low with "the Boss" who oversaw her volunteer job on an Israel Defense Forces base.

This is not your worried bubbe’s idea of a tourist tour of the Holy Land. For that you get one picture on a camel (careful!) and stay in four-star hotels. If you crave an insider’s view, being a Volunteer For Israel is adventurous and transformational. Serious fun. My own… Read more »