Local

The Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will sponsor a bus trip to the Scottsdale Celebration of Fine Art on Wednesday, March 18. Participants can watch as 100 artists from around the world, including three Jewish artists, work in a variety of media, from painting and… Read more »

Daniel James Brown

Joe Rantz was dying. He was north of 90 years old, completely dependent on oxygen, and living in hospice care at his daughter Judy Willman’s house near Seattle when he met award-winning author Daniel James Brown. Brown, a neighbor of Willman’s, wasn’t looking for a book topic when he… Read more »

Eating disorders are associated with a higher rate of mortality than any other mental illness, a fact that may not be widely known among the general population. As many as 20 percent of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their disorder, according to a… Read more »

"Beshert" by Lisa Mishler

“L’Chayim — To Life,” an exhibit of new mixed-media work by local artist Lisa Mishler, is on display at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Art Gallery through March 26. Rabbi Stephanie Aaron asked Mishler to paint this series inspired by the stories of Mishler’s parents, Holocaust survivors and… Read more »

A weekly Jewish sobriety group will start on Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 7:30-9 p.m. at Congregation Bet Shalom, 3881 E. River Road. Group facilitator David Mack, who’s Jewish, notes that the group isn’t part of Alcoholics Anonymous, but will act as a similar support group for Jewish participants with… Read more »

Steve Solomon in “Cannoli, Latkes & Guilt ... the therapy continues”

Invisible Theatre is bringing award-winning author/actor Steve Solomon back to Tucson in a new comedy, “Cannoli, Latkes & Guilt … the therapy continues.” The new show features such characters as Uncle Willie, stuttering Cousin Bob, demented Cousin Kenny, Steve’s new therapist Cousin Sal (and Sal’s parole officer). It combines… Read more »

Hadassah Southern Arizona will hold a Hamantashen High Tea for men, women and children on Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. at Congregation Bet Shalom. Costumes are optional. Entertainment will be provided by The Gatekeepers, a musical family from Ironwood Hill Church. One of the group leaders is John… Read more »

Norm Marini

Congregation Chofetz Chayim will hold a Magical Purim Party II on Thursday, March 5 at 5 p.m., featuring award-winning magician and comedian Norm Marini. He is a past president of the Society of American Magicians. His honors include Close-Up Magician of the Year and three-time winner of Stage Magician… Read more »

Jane Lynch

Fresh from her Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Sue Sylvester on “Glee” and her 2013 Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in “Annie,” Jane Lynch will bring her comedic skills and musical talent to the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall on Sunday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The evening, “See Jane… Read more »

Masha Gessen

Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen is intent on exposing injustice, whether in her three talks in Tucson on Feb. 2, her books or articles in the New York Times, Slate and other publications. Her personal family history has run head-on into conflict with both the former Soviet Union and the… Read more »

Mindy Bernstein, executive director of the Coyote Task Force, a local behavioral health agency, landed in Tucson in 1976. She wasn’t sure then what her path would be, but she never imagined a career in mental health advocacy. “I’ve been working in public behavioral health since 1986,” Bernstein told… Read more »

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona is accepting applications for the 2015 Goldman Family Israel Scholarship through March 11. The Elliot S. Goldman Family Israel Scholarship Fund and the Goldman Family Israel Scholarship Fund, both endowment funds held at JCF, together provide an annual Goldman Family Israel Scholarship… Read more »

At the Ethiopian Cultural Center in Beit Shean, Israel, Nina Isaac (left) and Sandi Henderson watch as Lyana Rotstein, tour guide for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy mission, and Chava Alamo display traditional breads. (Courtesy Melissa Goldfinger)

For Nina Isaac, the impact of spending 10 days in Israel with Jewish women from Tucson and around the United States was brought into sharp contrast after she spent the next three days in Dubai, training Muslim nurses. “It was a huge shift, being in Israel, the land of… Read more »

Sarri Singer

Sarri Singer has always been closely connected to her Jewish community, whe­ther in New Jersey, New York or Israel. On Sept. 11, 2001, at age 28, she was director of recruitment for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth summer programs, two blocks from Ground Zero. Since that date surviving… Read more »

Molly Rothschild and Lutheran Volunteer Corps colleague Torrance Winder

Both Lonnie Kleinman and Molly Rothschild grew up immersed in Tucson’s Jewish community. But like many college graduates in their 20s, each felt compelled to broaden her life experience by leaving home, working with Jewish nonprofits in other parts of the country. Kleinman, 23, who attended Tucson Hebrew Academy… Read more »

The Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual used book sale Feb. 13-22 at the Foothills Mall. Admission is free except for a special preview to be held Thursday, Feb. 12, from 5-9 p.m., which requires a $10 tax-deductible donation to the BNC. Proceeds of… Read more »

On Feb. 10-11, the University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will bring master sofer (scribe) Rabbi Gedaliah Druin to campus to resume work on the restoration of its 200-year-old Torah scroll. The scroll was donated anonymously; the center’s Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., acquired it in 2009. The scroll… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El is holding a series of classes to honor the Shmita, or Sabbatical year. In biblical times the seventh year was a time to let the land lie fallow, for debts to be forgiven and for all who worked the land to rest and rejuvenate. If the Sabbatical… Read more »

Melissa Goldfinger, a volunteer with the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, has launched a new club for children in grades 4-7 called Many Mitzvah Makers – 3M for short. The mission of 3M is to engage kids in the mitzvot of tzedakah, tikkun olam and chesed (charity, repairing the… Read more »

Tucsonan Arlene Brody’s pearl, rhinestone and lace tiara, also worn by her sisters and sister-in-law (Athol Cline)

The Jewish History Museum’s seventh annual ketubah and wedding gown exhibit will open on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. with a champagne and chocolate reception. Models will wear several gowns from the permanent collection, including new acquisitions, as well as gowns on loan. Some of the local brides… Read more »