Local

Mark S. Smith, a professor at New York University, will present the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ Raphael Patai Memorial Lecture, “The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1,” on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The first words of creation have inspired and intrigued people… Read more »

Lori Sumberg

When Lori Sumberg sings her original composition of “Esa Eynai” at the Fourth International Jewish Music Festival on Dec. 5 in New York City, she will take a bit of Tucson with her. Out of more than 350 pieces submitted by composers around the world, Sumberg’s piece was one… Read more »

Barbara Ribakove Gordon with some of the Ethiopian children she has helped.

Barbara Ribakove Gordon, founder of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, will receive the Rabbi Samuel S. and Irma Cohon Foundation Award for 2010. Rabbis Baruch J. Cohon and Samuel M. Cohon will present the award, which includes a cash prize of $25,000, at Temple Emanu-El’s Shabbat Chanukah… Read more »

Rabbi Harold Kushner

Everyone knows people who are less happy than they might be. Rabbi Harold Kushner doesn’t have the all-purpose antidote, but “Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World,” his new book, suggests ways to live more fully. Kushner, author of the international best-seller “When Bad Things Happen to Good… Read more »

(L-R) UA students Meryl Press, Rachel Pergamit and Karin Finkelstein study ‘shmirat haguf’ (protecting the body) with Hillel Program Director Laura Etter.

In classrooms, auditoriums, restaurants, libraries and conference rooms, more than 600 Tucsonans marked the first Global Week of Jewish Learning as they studied a variety of Jewish texts on everything from miracles to Kristallnacht. This community-wide program, held Nov. 4-11, was based around the Global Day of Jewish Learning… Read more »

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

More than 600 people attended Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s talk — and laughed at his perfectly delivered jokes — at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s 2011 Campaign kickoff at Congregation Anshei Israel on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Not only is Telushkin an Orthodox, observant Jew, said JFSA Vice Chair Larry… Read more »

There is something about small lights glowing in the vast darkness that renews our childlike wonder: sparklers, flashlights, birthday candles. And we all remember “Lite-Brite,” the little black box of our childhood with the multicolored plastic pegs that, once plugged in, illuminated our designs. For Jews, there are the… Read more »

Gila Silverman’s husband, David, created this 10-foot dreidel the third year that the family lived in Winterhaven.

I live in a neighborhood known for its Christmas displays. No one is more surprised about this than I am. And, to my even greater surprise, I have found living here to be a moving experience. The one thing I have known for certain my entire life is that… Read more »

Janet (Maedell Dixon) and Josh (David Alexander Johnston) prove opposites do attract in “2 Across.”

In the romantic comedy “2 Across,” now playing at the Invisible Theatre, two strangers meet on a San Francisco BART train. They’re opposites: she’s a pragmatist, he’s a dreamer. She’s Catholic, he’s Jewish. And she does the New York Times crossword in pen, while he does it in pencil… Read more »

Nancy Kumble Fenn (left) and her daughter Melissa, 22, pause about halfway on their ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Nancy Kumble Fenn’s first outdoor adventure was biking up the coast of Maine in 1976 at age 16. Now the mother of three grown children, Kumble Fenn has traveled all over the world with her husband, Richmond Fenn, a mining engineer. In July, with nine members of her family… Read more »

Why read memoirs about terrible persecution? This provocative question was the focus of “Teaching the Holocaust: Diaries, Personal Correspondence and Memoir,” an in-service workshop for teachers held at the University of Arizona Poetry Center on Oct. 28. The workshop was organized by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Coalition… Read more »

Walk into most synagogue gift shops this time of year and you’ll find all manner of dreidels and menorahs, from traditional to whimsical, in materials ranging from glass and porcelain to metal and wood. But Tucson’s synagogue gift shops also contain unexpected items, hidden treasures tucked amid the essentials… Read more »

Arlene Weintraub

The quest for the fountain of youth has become a fountain of profit for the anti-aging industry and a waste of money for the youth-seekers, says award-winning investigative reporter Arlene Weintraub, who will discuss her findings at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10:30 a.m. Weintraub, a Tucson… Read more »

At Tucson Hebrew Academy’s Tikkun Olam Award Celebration on Oct. 24, guest speaker Rabbi Daniel Gordis, author of “Saving Israel,” drew a direct connection between Jewish education and the Jewish future. “There are challenges facing the Jewish people across the world … and Jewish education is so critical in… Read more »

Menahem Pressler

Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, a two-time Grammy Award winner, rejoices in the power of music written by the world’s greatest composers, “taking my turn to take those notes and turn them into life.” Stoltzman intends do just that when he performs with pianist Menahem Pressler and the New York Chamber… Read more »

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, named by Talk magazine as one of the 50 best speakers in the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Campaign Kickoff event on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at Congregation Anshei Israel at 7:15 p.m. The author of “Jewish Literacy:… Read more »

The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival will present a sneak preview of “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story” on Sunday, Nov. 28 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The festival runs Jan. 20-30, 2011. “Jews and Baseball” explores the contributions of Jewish major… Read more »

Through a new community-wide partnership, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona is leading a program that will help local Jewish agencies and synagogues work together to build endowment funding. The Foundation is one of five organizations chosen nationally to participate in the new Areivim Legacy Community Project. This… Read more »

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will offer a second annual Israel Scholarship Grant, providing up to $2,500 for one trip to Israel. Any non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status that is sponsoring an individual or group trip to Israel may apply for the Goldman Family Israel Scholarship Grant.… Read more »

A Guinness Book of World Records attempt at the world’s largest matzah ball will be a highlight of the third annual Jewish Food Festival & Family Fun Fair on Sunday, Nov. 7. The event will be held at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road, from 11 a.m.… Read more »