Rabbi Shalom Hammer Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will host Rabbi Shalom Hammer, who will speak on “Finding Inner Peace,” on Friday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. The presentation will include a video about Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest living Holocaust survivor. Hammer will explore Jewish perspectives on maintaining a positive emotional… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El will host a Jewish Camp Fair on Sunday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Representatives from at least 16 Jewish overnight camps from across the country will be available to meet with children and parents. Overnight camps from as close as Prescott, Ariz., and California,… Read more »
Shaol and Evie Pozez The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona announced last week that the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund has received a multi-million dollar bequest from the Pozez estate. Thirty-six nonprofit organizations have been named as beneficiaries and will receive an initial distribution in early 2013. These beneficiaries, which provide… Read more »
Elliott Abrams, former deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush, will be the keynote speaker at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s 2012 Tucson Annual Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Abrams is senior fellow for Middle Eastern… Read more »
Carol Karsch The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will honor Executive Director Carol Karsch at its 20th anniversary celebration of the Endowment Book of Life signing event, which will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Karsch is retiring after 23 years at the Foundation,… Read more »
Meryl Press represented the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation at Super Sunday in 2011. Make a few phone calls in the annual Jewish Federation phone-a-thon to support the 2012 Community Campaign. Donate blood. Swab your cheek for the Gift of Life bone marrow registry. Make a card for a military service member. These are a few of the ways volunteers will help change… Read more »
David Sattinger What are the origins of our seven-day week? Why do the Jewish holidays move around from year to year? Why are there 12 tribes of Israel, as well as 12 apostles and 12 stations of the cross? David Sattinger will offer answers to these questions in a presentation on… Read more »
Rabbi Shais Taub Chabad of Tucson is launching its 2012 lecture series with Rabbi Shais Taub, a scholar, author and blogger on Jewish mysticism, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. at the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Dubbed “an expert in Jewish mysticism and the 12 steps” by National Public Radio… Read more »
The Weintraub Israel Center will screen “Faces of Israel: A Discussion about Marriage, State & Religion in the Jewish Homeland,” a documentary film by director Amy Beth Oppenheimer, on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Oppenheimer will facilitate the interactive program, which includes presentations and dynamic… Read more »
Mayim Bialik Mayim Bialik may be known as the brainy Amy Farrah Fowler on the popular TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” but she’s also an observant Jewish mother, writer and neuroscientist. Bialik will be the speaker at this year’s Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on Feb.… Read more »
On Wednesday, Dec. 28, I was one of the 500-plus people who attended the U.S. Postal Service’s meeting about the proposed closure of Tucson’s mail-processing center. I was proud of our community spirit, with so many turning out at 6 p.m. during a holiday week that the Leo Rich… Read more »
The Tucson chapter of Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual book sale at the Foothills Mall from Jan. 13 to 22. The sale will feature more than 50,000 books, including collectibles and first editions. “Someone said it takes a village,” says Meg Sivitz, Brandeis book sale chair, “but… Read more »
It’s not just the free popcorn that draws hundreds of moviegoers to the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run for its 21st year at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Jan. 12-22. It’s the lineup of films, from dramas to comedies to animated shorts, with themes that are… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum will hold the grand opening of its fourth annual ketubah exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will be on display Jan. 4 through Feb. 5 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Fridays from… Read more »
Transportation programs for local Jewish seniors are increasing, thanks to grants from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Senior Task Force. This grant program is a major expansion of services for the Jewish elderly that began last year when the Federation funded Jewish Elder Access, which is administered by… Read more »
Janet Lang and Jim Peebles Tucsonans Barry and Janet Lang have teamed up with Jim and Sandy Peebles to launch the “Lang/Peebles $60,000 Fill the Shelves Challenge” to benefit the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. One in four children in Pima County is at risk of hunger. Increased demand, coupled with decreased government… Read more »
Donald and Joan Diamond To recognize the continuing leadership of Joan and Donald Diamond in supporting the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s philanthropic efforts, JFSA has named one of its annual campaign events the Joan and Donald Diamond Lead Gifts Event. Thirteen years ago, Joan and Donald Diamond hosted what would become the… Read more »
Michael Wexler (left) and Andrew Isaac Drive ATVs across the Golan Heights. Take a segway tour of Jerusalem. Climb Masada. Take speed boats near Caesarea. Float in the Dead Sea. Spurred by the success of the Young Women’s Mission to Israel in 2010, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona created the first Young Men’s Mission… Read more »
The Women’s Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is accepting nominations for the Sixth Annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish girl who is currently a high school junior or senior. The award, named for the late community leader, will honor a teen… Read more »
Rabbi Pamela Wax Mussar is making a comeback, at least here in Tucson. Traditionally an Orthodox approach to daily life that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, the introspective spiritual practice adds another layer of participation to Judaism. “There are many ways that Judaism brings fulfillment to our lives through Torah, mitzvot… Read more »
