Rabbi Robert Eisen has created a new tzedakah box program at Congregation Anshei Israel. Collapsible cardboard boxes imprinted with the synagogue’s name and logo, some general information and a quote from the Talmud were mailed recently to all congregants. “I remember a tzedakah box near my mother’s Shabbat candlesticks.… Read more »
Local
Shalom Tucson event to highlight synagogues
Shalom Tucson will present its 8th annual “Gateway to our Synagogues” free bagel brunch on Sunday, Aug. 15, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The program provides an opportunity for newcomers and anyone newly interested to chat with representatives of Tucson’s synagogues, including many… Read more »
Inaugural LGBT Jewish movement conference inspires Tucson delegates
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Who are we? Where did we come from? How do we get started? Where do we want to go and how are we a part of our Jewish community? While these questions ring true for everyone, they’re especially true for members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community looking… Read more »
Young women cement bonds with Israel, affirm JFSA goals on mission
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Sixteen Jewish women, ages 32 to 45, plus group leader Amy Hirshberg Lederman, departed from Tucson in June on a 10-day Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona mission that many say changed their lives. “It was a pretty emotional trip. If the personal is political then this was a political… Read more »
Diamondbacks to hold Jewish Heritage Day
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The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will take baseball fans out to the ballgame for the inaugural Jewish Heritage Day at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sunday, Aug. 22. The Colorado Rockies will play the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m. and fans will celebrate Arizona’s Jewish heritage with special… Read more »
Lightman grants available through May 11
The Steven A. Lightman Family Foundation, a supporting organization of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, is reiterating its call for grants. Areas of interest include children, education, the needy, the elderly, the environment and the arts. It is suggested that funding requests be between $500 and $5,000.… Read more »
On 100th birthday, Temple Emanu-El volunteer gets a blessing and a laugh
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Elsa Leibovitz celebrated her 100th birthday on June 25 in grand style by receiving a blessing from Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon at Temple Emanu-El’s Friday night service and sponsoring the evening’s Oneg Shabbat. “It’s wonderful to reach this age,” Leibovitz told the AJP by phone on the morning of… Read more »
Chofetz Chayim summer ‘Spirit’ study program returns
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This summer, Tucson’s Jewish men can experience one-on-one or intimate group learning, yeshiva-style, without leaving town. Congregation Chofetz Chayim is offering up to 100 men two weeks of free Torah study through its Spirit program. Spirit participants will study with students from Rabbi Israel Becker’s alma mater, The Rabbinical… Read more »
Borders, boycotts heat up Jewish press conference in AZ
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From blogs to social media to e-blasts, modern journalism is about more than just getting the story. Jewish newspaper editors and publishers from around the United States gathered to discuss those topics and our niche’s future direction at the American Jewish Press Association conference at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort… Read more »
Books that made a difference – Eileen Warshaw
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To submit your “Books that made a difference” entry, mouse over “Contact” and select “Books that made a difference” from the drop-down menu.. Submissions will be posted online and selected entries will appear in the AJP Rosh Hashanah issue on Sept. 3. The book that changed my life: “This… Read more »
Dog therapy contributes to local senior’s post-op recovery
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If “Jagger” evokes an image of the frenzied gyrations of the Rolling Stones lead singer, the Tucson dog bearing his name had an opposite, calming effect on 90-year-old Irving Silverman, who participated in dog therapy with Jagger at Tucson’s St. Joseph’s Hospital. Following surgery for a benign brain tumor… Read more »
Interfaith agency holding annual food drive
Interfaith Community Services, a volunteer-based nonprofit founded in 1985, is holding its second annual “Freedom from Hunger” food drive through June 27. “The shelves of ICS’s food bank get barer in the summer,” says ICS Executive Director Bonnie Kampa, who notes that the agency provided food to 25 percent… Read more »
Commencement marks new beginnings for Hebrew High, Melton grads
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The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Coalition for Jewish Education held two graduation ceremonies last month, for Hebrew High and the Tucson Melton Adult Mini School.… Read more »
JCC art gallery goes abstract with Ginny Tompkins exhibit
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Paintings by Ginny Tompkins will be featured in the Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Arts Gallery through Aug. 24. Specializing in very large abstract art in acrylic, Tompkins was the subject of “Ginny Tompkins: A Retrospective” by France-Marie Haeger, Ph.D., published in 2005 with 101 color plates. Haeger’s descriptions… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El welcomes new assistant rabbi, Jason Holtz
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Temple Emanu-El’s new assistant rabbi, Jason Holtz, will take up his duties June 21. Holtz received his rabbinic ordination earlier this month from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 2006, he has served as a student rabbi at Congregation B’nai Abraham in Portsmouth, Ohio; Temple… Read more »
Modern Jewish pioneers flock to Patagonia
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Whether engaged in traditional religious practices or celebrating the High Holy days at the “temple of nature,” for the dozen or so Jewish residents of Patagonia, Ariz., identification with Judaism runs deep.… Read more »
Yizhar Hess with Rahm Emanuel
Zach Emanuel, the son of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem. The ceremony took place May 30 at the Davidson Center, located near the Western Wall. About 50 people, mostly family members, participated. Security was heavy for the family and guests; there… Read more »
Musician Sam Glaser will hail fathers at Congregation Anshei Israel
Singer/songwriter Sam Glaser will be in Tucson to celebrate a local friend, his own father, and fathers everywhere this Father’s Day. The acclaimed Jewish pop musician will perform at a fundraiser suggested by his friend Michael Deitch on Sunday, June 20 at 1 p.m. at Congregation Anshei Israel. Deitch,… Read more »
Israeli teens to perform at JCC
The Israel Scouts (Tzofim) Friendship Caravan will return to Tucson on Tuesday, June 15, with a free song and dance performance at the Tucson Jewish Community Center at 6 p.m. Four performing groups, consisting of five male and five female 17-year-old Israeli Scouts, travel across North America each summer.… Read more »
‘Win at Work!’ reflects conflict resolution guru’s lifelong quest for peace
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The key to changing an organization or workplace is not to ascribe blame, says Diane Katz, organizational psychologist and author of the newly published “Win at Work! The Everybody Wins Approach to Conflict Resolution.” Katz founded her consulting company, The Working Circle, in 1995, the same year she moved… Read more »