Local

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 »

Nancy Lefkowitz

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona has coordinated Matza & More, a volunteer-driven program to collect and deliver Passover items to more than 200 local Jewish families and individuals in need, for more than 40 years. Local businesses, syna­gogues and Jewish organizations support the effort. JFCS is… Read more »

The Edwards twins, who studied the arts at Tucson’s Rincon High School, surrounded by some of their characters (Courtesy Anthony Edwards)

“We were put on this earth to entertain people!” Anthony Edwards exclaims. Twins Anthony and Eddie Edwards, who spent some of their formative years in the Old Pueblo, will return next month for two shows at the Fox Tucson Theatre (Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), featuring… Read more »

Leonard Hammer

As an Israeli lawyer and legal scholar for more than two decades, Leonard Hammer, Ph.D., is well-equipped to discuss Israel’s complex juncture of religion and democracy. Hammer, the David and Andrea Stein visiting professor of modern Israel studies at the University of Arizona, will speak on “Israel’s Proposed National… Read more »

"Cereusly" by Dot Kret

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will host an artists’ reception featuring the work of Mendocino photographer Julie Masterson and Tucson photographer Dot Kret on Monday, Feb. 16 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the JCF office, 3567 E. Sunrise Dr., Suite 143. Masterson’s passion for photography has… Read more »

Omri Margalit, an Israeli serving as a counselor at Tucson’s Camp J, with Tucsonan and fellow counselor Rachel Fox in 2009 (Courtesy Rachel Margalit)

For the Margalit family, the Tucson Jewish Community Center was the setting for a true camp love story: a Tucson camp counselor meets and falls for a visiting Israeli. Rachel Fox and Omri Margalit met at the JCC’s summer camp as teenagers serving as counselors. Rachel, a University of… Read more »

Bonnie Golden, Temple Emanu-El president and yoga teacher, and Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon lead a yoga routine at the Old Stone House on the David Yetman Trail during Temple’s Wandering Jews Shabbat hike on Nov. 1.

There’s a passage in the Talmud that asks “Why didn’t you take advantage of all the beauty I’ve provided for you in the world?” says Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash, one of several local synagogues that includes hikes and other opportunities for congregants to worship in the… Read more »

Kevin, Stacy and Ethan Goldstein take a break while walking the Loop. (Damion Alexander)

For more than two decades, Pima County has been building a multi-use trail system along the washes in Southern Arizona, officially known as “The Loop.” When completed, The Loop will total 131 miles and connect the Rillito River Park, Santa Cruz River Park and Pantano River Park with the… Read more »

Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva

Religious ideas can be used both constructively and destructively, says Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva, Ph.D., the upcoming Rabbi Albert T. Bilgray scholar-in-residence at Temple Emanu-El. Mikva aims to encourage critical thinking about “Dangerous Religious Ideas” in the 29th Bilgray Memorial Lectureship series from Feb. 5 to 7, in collaboration… Read more »

The Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture at the University of Arizona College of Humanities will present the first of a series of conversations entitled “The Abrahamic Family Reunion: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Perspectives on Moses, Jesus and Muhammad”on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 4 to 6 p.m.… Read more »

Hadassah Southern Arizona will sponsor a mah jongg tournament on Sunday, Feb. 15, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Skyline Country Club, 5200 E. St. Andrews Drive. The entry fee of $40 includes lunch. There will be cash prizes for the top three scorers, plus each round winner will receive… Read more »

Limmud, a day of learning for the Jewish community, will be held at Arizona State University in Tempe on Sunday, Feb. 8. Limmud (Hebrew for “to learn”) is part of a worldwide movement that began in Great Britain in 1980. The Arizona program will feature over 40 presenters with… Read more »

‘Carlo Giantomassi, Lead Curator of the 1997 San Xavier Del Bac Mission Restoration,’ platinum photograph by Gary Auerbach

The Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Art Gallery is showing “A Retrospective of Photography by Gary Auerbach” through Feb. 9. More than 60 prints spanning 25 years are on display. Auerbach, a doctor of chiropractic, is most widely known for his photographs of Native American. His works are in… Read more »

Avraham Infeld

“Together: A Community Event” is an appropriate title for Avraham Infeld’s presentation next month at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s free event. Infeld, president emeritus of Hillel International, will focus on “connecting the Jewish people in Israel to the Jewish people in America” in his talk on Tuesday,… Read more »

Daniel Katzen

Daniel Katzen blows a mean shofar. As a professional French horn player, you might expect he’d be a natural on the ram’s horn. But that’s not the case, says Katzen, associate professor of horn at the University of Arizona. “Brass players find it particularly challenging to play the shofar,”… Read more »

Yaakov Lehman

A former Tucsonan is the mastermind behind a multimedia Israeli tour book app (see www.theisraelapp.com). Yaakov Lehman, 29, made aliyah in 2008, after a spiritual, philosophical and physical journey that took him from California to Europe to yeshiva. Lehman grew up as Jake in Tucson and graduated from Catalina… Read more »