Ever since he can remember, Kenneth Cohn, DVM, wanted to work with animals. “As a child, right from the beginning, I knew that being a veterinarian was exactly what I wanted to do,” says Cohn. Drawing from his 38-year career in St. Louis and Tucson, Cohn has written a… Read more »
Local
At UA, new Chabad house adding space for students, family
It was under the direction of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (commonly and lovingly referred to as “The Rebbe” by practitioners of the Chabad-Lubavitch philosophy of Judaism) in the 1950s that Chabad began setting up permanent educational and resource centers for Jewish students on university campuses… Read more »
Taste of Judaism class to feature sign language interpretation
Temple Emanu-El will offer its 16th year of A Taste of Judaism, a free, interactive exploration of Jewish spirituality, values, and community in three two-hour sessions. The classes are led by Rabbis Samuel M. Cohon and Batsheva Appel. Over the past 15 years in Tucson, the free sereis has… Read more »
JCC gallery to exhibit Judaic stitchery, paper art
The Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Art Gallery will exhibit “Stitching Jewishly,” handcrafted Jewish ritual and cultural needlework by the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework, Tucson Chapter, along with “Jewish Touches of Whimsy in Paper Art and Calligraphy” by Anne Lowe from July 31 through Sept. 15. An artists’… Read more »
Chaplain reminds patients to notify hospital
Pinchas Zohav, M.Ed., M.A.J.S., a certified counselor, has been hired by the Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona to provide chaplaincy services to hospitals, retirement communities and the homebound. Zohav notes that hospital patients must notify the hospital that they are Jewish in order to be… Read more »
Tucson J community garden to plant seeds of commemoration, good health
It is forbidden to live in a town that does not have a green garden. — Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12 Sustainability, growing local and urban gardens are trending. But growing your own food has been a staple of a healthy lifestyle over the last century, from the early Zionists… Read more »
Chaplain’s work brings comfort to sick, joy to retired rabbi
The saddest event in Rabbi Richard Safran’s life was probably the death of his wife of 60 years, Lois, two years ago. “I shared everything with my life partner. Sometimes it’s overwhelming” to be alone,” says Safran, but that hasn’t stopped him from helping others navigate difficult times, or… Read more »
STI will include women in Spirit program
Women’s learning has been added to the Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, which returns to Tucson Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, Aug. 2. This year’s program, entitled “Torah By Appointment,” allows participants to schedule individual and group appointments with four rabbinic students from the… Read more »
Jewish community leader Irene Sarver dies
Irene M. Sarver, a longtime Jewish community and civic leader, died July 6, 2015. She was 95. Mrs. Sarver served on the boards and was a member of countless organizations, including Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona,… Read more »
B’nai B’rith volunteers put markers on unmarked graves; service will commemorate completion of project
B’nai B’rith Sahauro Lodge, which has been putting gravestones on 21 previously unmarked graves in the B’nai B’rith section of Evergreen Cemetery, will hold a service there on Friday, July 10 at 9:30 a.m., to honor the dead. Cantor Avraham Alpert of Congregation Bet Shalom will lead the service… Read more »
Jewish Community Foundation grants more than $360K to aid programs in Tucson, Israel
The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona recently awarded 24 grants totaling $369,817 through its community grants program. These grants are made in three impact areas: Tucson Jewish community, Israel and global Jewry, and Tucson general community. The local Jewish and Israel grants are administered in alignment with the… Read more »
AHCCCS changes are opportunity for JFCS growth
Upcoming changes in the way the state of Arizona will manage behavioral health services funded by Medicaid present an opportunity for Jewish Family & Children’s Services to expand its services, along with a challenge to “improve and enhance our infrastructure” to meet compliance requirements, says JFCS President and CEO… Read more »
Counselors bring Israeli fun, culture to Camp J
As Camp J shlichot (Israeli emissaries), Shachaf Shahar and Dar Katz are here to share their love and knowledge of Israel and Jewish culture with the campers at the Tucson Jewish Community Center this summer. Shahar, 22, is from Yad Mordechai, a kibbutz in Tucson’s Partnership2Gether region in southern… Read more »
On Migrant Trail, connecting Jewish history with modern desert crossers
When I joined the Migrant Trail for the last day of its 12th annual week-long solidarity walk from El Sásabe, Sonora, Mexico, to Tucson, we stepped single-file along Ajo Highway in a walking meditation. Periodically, we called out names of those who had died crossing our Sonoran Desert. Some… Read more »
Growing Jewish presence supports Oro Valley businesses
The Town of Oro Valley is running two campaigns to bolster local spending and keep dollars in the community. The first, Shop Oro Valley Summer Campaign, which runs through July 3, is open to anyone who shops at an Oro Valley business and spends at least $25. Participants are… Read more »
Rabbi touts holistic, kabalistic path to health
Good health and happiness can be achieved, says Rabbi Manis Friedman. During his talk, “A Healthy, Joyous and Fulfilling Life, A Holistic and Kabalistic Perspective,” attended by about 50 people on May 26 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Friedman highlighted ways for people to look at life and… Read more »
Author of ‘Living the Secular Life’ to give Tucson talks
Phil Zuckerman, author of “Living the Secular Life,” will give two free lectures on Sunday, June 21 at the DuVal Auditorium at Banner-University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. He will present “The Rise of the Nones: Causes and Consequences of Rising Irreligion in the USA,” sponsored by Free… Read more »
Israel trip offer expands on ‘people to people’ connections
The Weintraub Israel Center has embraced the mission of creating a “living bridge” between Southern Arizona and Israel since it was founded in 1997. At the forefront of this mission are the Israeli shlichim — Hebrew for “messengers” or “emissaries” — who serve as directors of the WIC during… Read more »
Expansion of local Holocaust museum garners broad support
Many local schoolchildren may never get the opportunity to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., or the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. But Tucson’s Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum can put that kind of learning within reach, Bryan… Read more »
AJP writer wins second ‘Jewish Pulitzer’
For the second year in a row, the Arizona Jewish Post has won a first place Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism from the American Jewish Press Association. The award is also a repeat for AJP freelance writer Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, who took home last year’s first… Read more »