Congregation Chaverim is creating a brick patio in memory of Karla Ember, former cantorial soloist, who was stabbed to death in September 2010. A former boyfriend was convicted of first-degree murder in the case on Dec. 6. “Karla was one of the bright lights of our congregation and there… Read more »
Local
At Chanukah, communities help needy families in Tucson and across U.S.
In August, in the heat of the summer, a Boston-area mother of three began to worry about how she would pay for Chanukah gifts. Across the country in San Francisco, a 33-year-old Russian-born mother of six said that thinking about this Chanukah made her cry. Both women — Lauren… Read more »
Handmaker, TMC to build $4.5 million dementia care center
Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging and Tucson Medical Center announced Wednesday that they have received a $3 million challenge grant to create a center for dementia care. Handmaker, a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, secured the $3 million grant from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation… Read more »
“Together We Thrive” launched as fundraiser for The Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding and YWCA Tucson
The angst of the tragic shootings on Jan.8 that killed six people and wounded 13 others, and the heartfelt responses of Tucsonans,were both present at the book launch of “Together We Thrive” at the YWCA Tucson on Nov. 30. The new book pairs the words of President Barack Obama… Read more »
ATC offers tours of Temple of Music and Art
David Ira Goldstein has been artistic director of the Arizona Theatre Company for 20 years. But the ATC’s Jewish legacy in Tucson goes back much further — all the way to the founding of the ATC’s Tucson home, the Temple of Music and Art, by Madeline Dreyfus Heineman Berger,… Read more »
Solomon brings new one-man show to Invisible Theatre
Steve Solomon, star and creator of one of the longest running one-man comedy shows in history, “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy,” presents a new show next month at the Invisible Theatre. In “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m Home for the Holidays:… Read more »
Cohon award to go to ‘Jews for Judaism’ chief
The Rabbi Samuel S. and A. Irma Cohon Memorial Foundation will award the Cohon Foundation Award for 2011 to Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, founder of Jews for Judaism International, which has helped young people resist the pull of cults and missionaries and has reunited more than a thousand young Jews… Read more »
New UA Hillel center set for dedication, tours
The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will formally dedicate the Meyer Agron Center for Jewish Life on the Harvey & Deanna Evenchik Campus at the University of Arizona on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3:30 p.m. A capital campaign that began in the fall of 2010 raised funds to renovate… Read more »
Meeting Rabbi Shlomo, Neshama Carlebach inspired Tucsonans
An innovative figure emerged in my youth who inspired me in a way that was so different from many others — a rabbi with a guitar and amazing stories who reached into the inner depths of my soul. It was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who became known as the “sweet… Read more »
JCF accepting Israel scholarship applications
The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations for the Goldman Family Israel Scholarship Grant, which provides up to $2,500 for one trip to Israel. Previously, the Jewish Federation’s Coalition for Jewish Education and Tucson Hebrew Academy were awarded this grant and each used… Read more »
Park Place to host Hanukkah Mall Madness
Children of all ages and their parents are invited to celebrate at Shalom Tucson’s Hanukkah Mall Madness on Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Park Place, near the food court. Local synagogues, organizations, and Jewish agencies will present arts and crafts activities, including holiday cards and… Read more »
UA symposium delves into U.S.-Israel ties
Middle East experts from the East Coast to the West Coast landed in Tucson to air their views at a “Symposium on the U.S.-Israel Relationship: On the Verge of a Paradigmatic Shift?” on Nov. 9, sponsored by the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona. “There’s… Read more »
Adult ed series to probe many facets of Israel
The Weintraub Israel Center and Congregation Or Chadash will hold an adult education series, “Israel and Our Jewish Roots,” with nine sessions from Nov. 30 through March 22, 2012. The series will present different aspects of the Jewish connection to the land and country of Israel. J. Edward Wright,… Read more »
Sun City havurah dishes up kosher cookbook
A new kosher cookbook, “Havurah Cooks! A Collection of Recipes by Sun City Vistoso Havurah Club” was conceived by board members Ester Leutenberg and Bebe Lewis as a way to fight “activity fatigue” in the club, which was founded in 1993 and now boasts some 160 members. The club’s… Read more »
Carlebach aims to lift audience at Fox ‘Higher and Higher’
Neshama Carlebach sings so that people can feel. “I want people to feel — that’s when healing begins,” says Carlebach, 37, the daughter of the legendary Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who also used music to teach and inspire, recording more than 25 albums. Carlebach will take the concert stage at… Read more »
Israeli pianist, Detroit songstress to jazz it up
World-renowned Israeli jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman and Detroit jazz singer Kathy Kosins will present a concert sponsored by The Heartbeat of Israel and the Tucson Jazz Society on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort. Hendelman has performed with Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole… Read more »
Rabbi, chorale to sing Bloch’s ‘Sacred Service’
Tucson Masterworks Chorale will feature Jewish works during its fall concert, which will be held Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. “Sacred Service,” by the Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch, will be the showcase piece of the concert, with Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon as baritone soloist. Bloch… Read more »
Giffords vows return in forthcoming memoir
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is determined to return to Congress. “I will get stronger. I will return,” Giffords writes in a memoir she co-authored with her husband, Mark Kelly, and Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow, according to the Associated Press, which got an advance copy. “Gabby: A Story of… Read more »
Local week of Jewish learning to probe Shema prayer, unity
Southern Arizona congregations and organizations will offer a Global Week of Jewish Learning Nov. 11-17, again expanding on the Global Day of Jewish Learning inaugurated last year in celebration of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s completion of his multi-volume Talmud translation. This year’s theme is the unity of the Jewish people… Read more »
Food Stamp Challenge raises Tucsonans’ consciousness
Jose Miranda, 23, was one of 90 people attending the Jewish Community Relations Council Annual Meeting and Food Stamp Challenge Kick-Off on Oct. 27 at Temple Emanu-El. While listening to stories and statistics on hunger in the United States, “I decided to put myself in the shoes of young… Read more »