Rabbi Helen T. Cohn Jewish teaching makes it clear in the Torah and later writings that we have a special obligation to take care of the weakest members of society, referred to in Torah as “the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.” Thus in a sense the Torah recognizes that not all people… Read more »
Abigail Rose Hanley Abigail Rose Hanley celebrated becoming a Bat Mitzvah on May 22, 2021 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the daughter of Todd and Rebecca Hanley and granddaughter of Richard and Shana Oseran and Pat Dale, all of whom live in Tucson. Abigail attends the Gregory School, where she is… Read more »
John Gellman Jack “John” Marvin Gellman passed away on December 24, 2020, after a brief battle with COVID-19. A tireless champion for synagogues throughout his life, his many years of devotion to the Jewish community in general and Congregation Anshei Israel in particular were well-known. Having joined the congregation in 1977,… Read more »
Eliana (Ellie) Kate Boling and Daniel (Danny) Abraham Anderson will be married at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort on Sunday, May 23, 2021, a week after their graduation from the University of Arizona. Ellie is majoring in Early Childhood Education, and is pursuing a teaching position for the 21-22 school… Read more »
We are delighted to introduce Arizona Jewish Post-Its, a hub for stories from Arizona Jewish life. From lifecycle events to local happenings, this content is submitted and written by community members like you. Share and be heard on our community bulletin board! Check out the first edition of Post-Its.… Read more »
Late last year, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging began a partnership with the ongoing Chabad of Tucson Kosher Meals on Wheels program to provide affordable Kosher Meals to those in need in our community. We are excited to announce an additional partnership between Handmaker, Chabad and Mobile Meals… Read more »
Suzi Weiss-Fischmann The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s signature Women’s Philanthropy event, Connections, will be headlined this year by Suzi Weiss-Fischmann. Born in communist Hungary to Holocaust survivors, Weiss-Fischmann learned Hebrew in secret as a child. After promising her mother she’d keep kosher and observe Shabbat each week, she immigrated first… Read more »
The Arizona Jewish Post (AJP), like the Southern Arizona Jewish community, grew, blossomed, and transformed over the past 75 years. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona (JFSA) honors and celebrates the rich history of the AJP and its special place in our community. Timeline A powerful team Over the… Read more »
Barbara Janoff "BJ" Kaplan Barbara Janoff “BJ” Kaplan passed away on Jan. 30, 2021 at age 90. BJ was a beautiful, gracious, genteel and dynamic presence in her communities in New York, Tucson, Washington, D.C., and Florida. She brought wit and humor, creativity and spontaneity to her family, friends and colleagues. She was… Read more »
Should a child go to bed hungry in this country of abundance? Should working parents with two children have to go to a food bank to supplement their ability to provide meals? Should an elderly person have to choose between filling a needed prescription or buying food for the… Read more »
(JTA) — The Arizona Jewish Post, a 75-year-old community publication covering the Jewish population of Tucson and southern Arizona, announced it would cease operations effective March 1. The Jewish Community Federation of Southern Arizona, which owns and operates the Post, announced the closure in an email to subscribers this week. The… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman Human beings are born into relationship. It is our natural way of being – a state of need coupled with desire – without which we languish physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In the Jewish tradition, being in relationship is regarded as one of the highest and most sacred of… Read more »
Aaron Zeldin celebrated becoming a Bar Mitzvah on January 30 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the son of Jean Lee and Martin Zeldin and attends Orange Grove Middle School, where he plays tuba in the band. He enjoys various sports, hanging out with friends and is an avid… Read more »
Harold Basser at his favorite restaurant in Tucson, Vivace Long-time Tucson resident, Harold Basser, age 94, died of complications from COVID-19 on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021 at Tucson Medical Center. Earlier in his life, as a real estate developer in Boston, Harold helped pioneer the restoration and renovation of abandoned Industrial Revolution era factories and commercial buildings in… Read more »
Benjamin Miles Glaser born February 1, 2021 son of Karen and Peter Glaser of Washington DC, grandson of Judy and Chuck Schultz of Tucson AZ and Roni and Steve Glaser of Port Washington NY.… Read more »
Abbe Goncharsky Calista Morrison, daughter of Christopher and Abbe Morrison, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, February 6, 2021 via Facebook Live from Congregation Or Chadash. Cali is the granddaughter of Sharon and the late Robert Goncharsky of Tucson, Arizona, and Joan O’Connell and Brian O’Connell of West Palm… Read more »
Geraldine Brooks Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks has just finished writing a new novel, inspired by the story of a racehorse during the 1850s and ’60s. It is the first of her novels in which religion is not a dominant theme, which made it the hardest to write, because religion is… Read more »
Rabbi Dr. Scott Saulson Included in the gracious invitation from the Arizona Jewish Post to offer approximately 500 words to appear in the “Rabbi’s Corner” on a Jewish topic of my choice was the addendum that my words “may or may not be related to the weekly Torah portion.” In other words, no… Read more »
Melayna Rachel Matheson, daughter of Teresa and Brandon Matheson, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Feb. 20, 2021 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Debra and Landon Matheson of Chicago, Illinois; Darlene and Robert Moen of Sartell, Minnesota; and the late Susan Matheson. Melayna is… Read more »
Richard Louis Stein, aka Cactus Dick, 85, died Jan. 10, 2021. Born in Detroit, Dick spent close to 80 years in Tucson. A Tucson High School Badger, class of 1953, Dick served in the United States Army before returning home to work in the family businesses, Campbell Avenue Hardware… Read more »
