A scene from 'The MeshugaNutrcracker!' (Betsy Kershner)
“The MeshugaNutcracker!,” featuring a Klezmer-ized orchestration of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” debuts in movie theatres nationwide for one night, on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Called an “enchanting festival of light-hearted glee and meaningful warmth” (Los Angeles Times), this Hanukkah-themed musical comedy arrives on the last night of the holiday, presented by… Read more »
A scene from 'Fanny's Journey,' coming to the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival
Movies about Jews evading the Holocaust are, frankly, irresistible. We never tire of these celluloid beacons of hope, not least because we can never forget that the victims greatly outnumbered the escapees. The challenge that filmmakers face in this area is keeping the rays of light in proportion to… Read more »
A view from the second floor of the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
When the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona began designing its new building, not only did Federation leaders want to modernize their workspace, they wanted to create a sacred landmark, says President and CEO Stuart Mellan. “We really wanted the building to be a place of meaning,” says Mellan. “We… Read more »
Contributions to the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Community Campaign help support the JDC — and a variety of other causes in Tucson, Israel, and around the world.… Read more »
A handful of Tucson’s restaurateurs are working through the holidays, but instead of dreading their blistering schedule they’re welcoming in the busy season. Filling your plates and bowls warms their souls. Jason McCarty, a managing partner at Eclectic Cafe, says he sees the 37-year-old eatery as an unofficial anchor… Read more »
Tovah Feldshuh
Broadway comes to Tucson on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., when six-time Tony and Emmy-nominated actor Tovah Feldshuh takes the stage at Congregation Anshei Israel for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s free event, Together: A Night of Song, presenting her acclaimed show, “Tovah: Out of Her Mind!”… Read more »
The Weintraub Israel Center is planning its biggest Israel trip for October 2018. A focus on people-to-people connections will make the trip unique, says Oshrat Barel, director of the Israel Center, emphasizing that this reflects the Israel Center’s mission, “building living bridges between Tucson and Israel.” Each day, participants… Read more »
Bryce Megdal Cantorial candidate Bryce Megdal will present a musical program at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s lunch on Sunday, Dec. 3. Carolynn Scherer Katz, Desert Mountain Hadassah regional vice-president, will install the 2018 officers of Hadassah Southern Arizona and the Woman of the Year Award will be presented. Megdal, a Tucson… Read more »
(L-R) Mark Zimmerman, Rabbi Israel Becker, Esther Becker, Lyn Lewis and Sue Ross at the Western Wall on Oct. 22
Traveling to Israel is like entering a time machine, where you connect to the past amidst advanced technology. Rabbi Israel Becker and his wife Esther of Congregation Chofetz Chayim led five people on a spiritual journey to Israel Oct. 15-26 with the theme of “Where the Past Shapes Your… Read more »
The Arizona Repertory Singers will perform the world premiere of ‘Festival of Lights’ next month. (David Sanders)
The Arizona Repertory Singers will feature several pieces of Jewish music during its 2017-2018 season. In its winter concert series, the 47-member ensemble directed by Elliot Jones, Ph.D., will perform the world premiere of “Festival of Lights” by New York composer Karen Siegel, as well as the Ladino Hanukkah… Read more »
Neta Riskin (left) and Golshifteh Farahani in ‘Shelter’ (Beta Cinema)
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” These words of Jimi Hendrix could well be the introduction to the 27th annual Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run Jan. 11-21 with 20 films, says Anne Lowe, film festival committee member.… Read more »
(L-R): Rachel Rivera (Women’s Philanthropy summit co-host), Grace Rodnitzki, Batel Marsha and Peggy Langert (Women’s Philanthropy summit co-host) at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Nov. 8. (Danielle Larcom/JFSA)
Batel Marsha, an 18-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli, says the Ethiopian National Project’s SPACE (School Performance and Community Empowerment) program “saved me — maybe not literally saved my life, but totally helped me get to where I am today.” Batel will join the Israeli Air Force next month, where she will train… Read more »
Flam Chen’s performances merge daredevil acrobatics and pyrotechnics. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)
The Sculpture Garden at the Tucson Jewish Community Center will take on a “Big Top” atmosphere for the Tucson J early childhood education program’s new winter fundraiser, Cirque D’Arte. The event, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m., will begin in the Sculpture Garden with characters… Read more »
Leonard Bernstein was renowned worldwide for his flamboyant conducting style as well as his talent as a composer, pianist and educator. (Paul de Hueck, courtesy of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc.)
Tucson will be marking the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein in a very big way. “Bernstein at 100 — A Celebration of the Life and Music of Leonard Bernstein” will take place from Jan. 16 through Feb. 4, 2018. The Tucson Desert Song Festival, under the direction of George… Read more »
Yael Aronoff, Ph.D. Yael Aronoff, Ph.D., director of Jewish studies at Michigan State University, will present “The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers” on Monday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, continuing the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ 20th anniversary Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series… Read more »
Art by students of Tucson Hebrew Academy is on display at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley. (Courtesy Amy Pozez)
The art gallery at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present “A Visual Exploration of Jewish Values: The Art of Jewish Youth,” featuring art by students at Tucson Hebrew Academy, through Dec. 21. “Values are the mainstay of our belief. Thoughts often swim in my head about… Read more »
‘Picasso Revisited,’ stained glass by Bob Samson
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present “Spiritual Voices,” a juried art show, Nov. 30-Jan. 10. The exhibit will include 20 Jewish artists from Southern Arizona. Local artists Aimee Smythe and Lisa Mishler are the curators of “Spiritual Voices.” Both women have participated in numerous art shows throughout the… Read more »
Hartley Lachter, Ph.D.
When medieval Christians claimed that Jewish history and religious practice was in decline, the Kabbalah, a mystical school of thought in Judaism, provided a powerful reimagining of Judaism, says Hartley Lachter, Ph.D., associate professor of religion studies at Lehigh University. “Kabbalah argues that there is this secret way in… Read more »
Richard Carmona Richard Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, the 17th surgeon general of the United States, will speak on “The Challenge of Brain Health in War and Peace” as part of the 2017 Mel Sherman Institute on Mental Health lecture series presented by Jewish Family & Children’s Services. Carmona will discuss the… Read more »
Dan Ben-David The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series with six lectures on “Israel: 20th Century Ideal to 21st Century Reality.” “Since 1997 the Pozez families’ generosity has made this series one of the intellectual and social staples… Read more »
