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CAI rabbi in residence to focus on heart of Torah

Rabbi Shai Held, Ph. D.

Rabbi Shai Held, Ph.D. — one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America, according to Newsweek — will be the scholar-in-residence at Congregation Anshei Israel on Jan. 11 and 12. His overall theme for the weekend will be “The Heart of Jewish Spirituality.” A theologian, scholar and educator,… Read more »

Free screening of true crime ‘The Driver is Red’ planned

German journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder will hold a discussion after a free screening of Randall Christopher’s ‘The Driver is Red’ animated short film on Jan. 8.

An exclusive, free screening of the documentary film “The Driver is Red” is set for Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The award-winning, animated short by Randall Christopher depicts the Mossad raid that brought Adolf Eichmann to justice. It was shown at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and almost… Read more »

Explore relationships, change while discovering clay

Joan-e Rapine, MS, LAC, NCC, a clinical therapist at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, will present  “Self-Discovery Through Clay” at the Jan. 13 meeting of CHAI Circle, a support group for women with cancer in the Jewish community. “One of my favorite things about modeling clay is its pliability,… Read more »

Make mitzvahs with mah jongg, mojitos and fun

Join the Young Women’s Cabinet of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona for an evening of mah jongg, mojitos and mitzvahs to benefit Jewish Family & Children’s Services. There will be teachers on site to teach or help you refine your game. First-timers, mah jongg mavens and non-players are… Read more »

All-female talent to show display entertainment variety

Sara Lopez

Sara Lopez, a local wife, mother and opera singer, is curating a Jewish women’s performance showcase, by and for women, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. Having an all-female audience “allows women across the spectrum of Jewish practice and belief to participate,”… Read more »

Chanukah Cantata will bring together voices from across the Jewish community

Robert Lopez-Hanshaw is the organizer of the Chanukah Cantata (Debe Campbell)

The Tucson Jewish Community Center is hosting a Chanukah Cantata on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. that will feature cantors and other vocalists from multiple congregations across Tucson and the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra in a special telling of the Hanukkah story. Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, musical director at Temple Emanu-El,… Read more »

New photo exhibit at JHM examines plight of Rohingya

Rohingya men wait in line for food dispersal from aid agencies. (Andrew Stanbridge)

The Jewish History Museum is currently showing “Call Me Rohingya,” an exhibition that illuminates the persecution of Rohingya people, an ethnic minority in Burma, through the photographic works of Andrew Stanbridge. Staged in the Allen and Marianne Langer Contemporary Human Rights Gallery in the Gould Family Holocaust History Center… Read more »

Jewish thrift store plans ‘Best Of’ sales event

The 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, Southern Arizona’s only Jewish thrift store, will hold its “Best Of” event on Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-8 p.m. The event will feature select merchandise, snacks and wine, and music by Birks Works. Held twice a year, the “Best Of” events are a… Read more »

Hadassah to host regional speaker at installation lunch

Ian Merles

Hadassah Southern Arizona will honor its 2018 Woman of the Year, install officers for 2019 and recognize its annual supporters at a luncheon on Dec. 9. Ian Merles, the annual giving officer for Hadassah West Coast Region, will be the guest speaker. Honey Manson will install the new slate… Read more »

Tucson’s two oldest synagogues plan Kristallnacht anniversary pulpit exchange

Rabbi Robert Eisen, left, and Rabbi Batsheva Appel

Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel and Rabbi Batsheva Appel of Temple Emanu-El will exchange pulpits this weekend for “Unity in the Faceof Brokenness,” a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht, which is German for “Crystal Night,” is also known as “The Night of Broken Glass.”… Read more »

Hadassah brunch to focus on nursing history

Hadassah Southern Arizona will present “Glimpses from 100 years of the Henrietta Szold – Hadassah School of Nursing Through the Eyes of Nursing Graduates” at a brunch on Sunday, Nov. 11. Gilat Yihye, a graduate of the Henrietta Szold Hadassah Hebrew University School of Nursing, will speak and screen… Read more »

JFSA women plan Mystery Mitzvah Morning

Updated 11.12.18: This event has been cancelled. Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will host a Mystery Mitzvah Morning for newcomers and longtime residents on Sunday, Nov. 18, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The event will begin with a light breakfast at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish… Read more »

Brandeis plans luncheon, new book sale venue

Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter kicks off its new year with a fall luncheon and annual book sale in October. The lunch features speaker Billy Russo, managing director of the Arizona Theatre Company. The event, Sunday, Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, is $39… Read more »

Former Eagle to share journey from football to faith

Calvin ‘Yosef’ Murray and his wife, Emunah, on a Judean Desert Jeep tour in Israel December 2017.

Legendary all-star Rose Bowl running back Calvin Murray played football for the Philadelphia Eagles in the early ’80s. Yet he says his greatest touchdown was converting to Orthodox Judaism five years ago, and with his wife, Emunah, preparing to make aliyah. Murray, who now goes by the name Yosef,… Read more »

Mitzvah Magic celebrating 10th anniversary

Mitzvah Magic circle captains and co-chairs celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary, Aug. 5. Standing (L-R): Fran Katz (Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona senior vice president), Andra Karnofsky (co-chair), Linda Tumarkin, Wendy Weiss, Claudia Oreck-Teplitsky, Donna Moser, Iris Posin (co-chair); seated, Elena Boskoff, Trudy Haggard, Anne Lowe (JFSA)

Mitzvah Magic, a program that provides baskets of Jewish holiday goods and everyday basics three times a year for local Jewish families in need, is a win-win, says longtime volunteer Iris Posin, who is co-chairing the program this year with Andra Karnofsky. Not only do families receive items that… Read more »

People in the news 6.15.18

Steven Meckler

Tucson photographer STEVEN MECKLER will receive the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award at the Tucson Advertising Hall of Achievement event on Sept. 6 at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. The Silver Medal is a nationally recognized award that honors men and women who have made significant contributions… Read more »

CCC program aims to bolster ‘The Connection’

Students at the Bais Medrash of the Foxman Torah Institute in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, study with Rabbi Shimon Max. (Foxman Torah Institute)

Two rabbis and 12 yeshiva students from New Jersey will join forces with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute later this month for a multifaceted program called “The Connection.” The goal of the free, three-week program is “to help the Jewish… Read more »