Post-Its

Isaac Irving Senor, 86, died April 1, 2011. Mr. Senor was born in Salonika, Greece. When he was 16, the Nazis took the town’s young men to build a rail line and sent the rest of the Jewish population to concentration camps. He spent time in five different camps… Read more »

HUNTER AARON BYRD, son of Susan Byrd, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 7 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Linda and the late Alan Dym of Apache Junction, Ariz., and Emily Prim of Tucson. Hunter attends Tucson Hebrew Academy where he is… Read more »

MAX JACOB BYRD, son of Susan Byrd, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 7 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Linda and the late Alan Dym of Apache Junction, Ariz., and Emily Prim of Tucson. Max attends Tucson Hebrew Academy where he is… Read more »

ANNIKA MIRIAM ANDERSON, daughter of Mila Vasser Anderson and Wayne Anderson, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, May 7 at Temple Emanu-El. She is the granddaughter of Rimma and Richard Felty of Monterey, Calif., and Jane Anderson of Twining, Mich. Annika attends Basis Tucson School where she… Read more »

JOSH ROBINSON LEVINE, son of Melissa and Terry Levine, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 16 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Lois and Bernie Levine of Scottsdale, Ariz., and the great-nephew of Phyllis and George Cohen of Falls Church, Va. Josh attends… Read more »

Lillian (Lilly) Weich, 94, died March 24, 2011. Born in Poland/Austria, Mrs. Weich immigrated to the United States in 1935 as a young bride. She became a U.S. citizen in January 1943. Mrs. Weich raised her family in New Jersey, where she owned a women’s store, The Sample Shop.… Read more »

Eileen F. Starr, 84, died March 15, 2011. Born in Chicago, Ill., Mrs. Starr attended the University of Miami, where she met her husband, M. Lee Starr. After graduating, they moved to Tucson. Mrs. Starr taught in the Tucson Unified School District; the last 15 years of her teaching… Read more »

Rabbi Yossie Shemtov

On Wednesday, March 30, we went to the 2nd Annual Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar on Humanism in Medicine, held in memory of our dear friend, at the Marriott University Park in Tucson. The speaker, Rachel Naomi Remen, bestselling author of “Kitchen Table Wisdom,” recalled her grandfather telling her that… Read more »

NICHOLAS SHANE MILLER, son of Yolanda Kelly Miller and Phillip Miller, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 9 at Congregation Chaverim. He is the grandson of Roslyn and George Miller and the late Ruth Miller, all of Tucson, and Sheila and Oscar Kelly of Sahuarita, Ariz.… Read more »

DANIEL LEWIS STEIN, son of Candis and Bill Stein, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Friday, April 8 with Congregation Or Chadash at Handmaker. He is the grandson of Marvel and the late Isadore Stein of Tucson and Joan and Joseph Poorman of Humboldt, Ill. Daniel attends Kino… Read more »

CALEB JOSEPH GROFF, son of Amy Kublin and Steven Groff, celebrated becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Irving and the late Rita Kublin of Sharon, Mass., and Lee and the late Berde Groff of Houston, Texas. Caleb… Read more »

REBECCA ELIZABETH GROFF, daughter of Amy Kublin and Steven Groff, celebrated becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Irving and the late Rita Kublin of Sharon, Mass., and Lee and the late Berde Groff of Houston, Texas. Rebecca… Read more »

Joyce Oresman, 79, died March 10, 2011 in San Francisco. Raised in the Bronx, New York, she married her husband, Edward Oresman, in 1953 and they moved to Tucson and raised four children before moving to San Francisco in 1980. Mrs. Oresman was office manager at Peter Wells Press,… Read more »

Betty Zunin, 95, died Feb. 27, 2011 in Napa, Calif. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Zunin lived most of her life in Tucson. Mrs. Zunin was preceded in death by her husband, Louis Zunin. Graveside services were held in the Congregation Anshei Israel section of Evergreen Cemetery with Rabbi… Read more »

Elaine Judith Smelkinson, 71, died Feb. 23, 2011. Born in Baltimore, Md., Mrs. Smelkinson graduated high school at age 16 and was a registered nurse. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1985, she moved into psychiatric nursing. After retiring, Mrs. Smelkinson did volunteer work chairing community events for organizations… Read more »

Rabbi Helen T. Cohn

Impenetrable, irrelevant, boring. These are some of the descriptions I’ve heard about the Book of Leviticus, which we begin reading this week during the annual Torah cycle. Even the great Israeli teacher Nehama Leibowitz called the laws of Leviticus a “closed book to us” — which did not prevent… Read more »

JACOB MARSHALL MEYER, son of Deborah Baker and Matthew Meyer, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 12 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Alice and Paul Baker of Tucson, and Lynn and Henry Meyer of Yuma, Ariz. Jacob attends Tucson Hebrew Academy where… Read more »

GABRIEL ALGAZI LEHRER, son of Mimi Algazi and Matt Lehrer, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 5 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Sheila and Cy Lehrer of Tucson, and Liliane and Albert Algazi of La Jolla, Calif. Gabriel attends Esperero Canyon Middle… Read more »

NOAH AARON PENSAK, son of Michael Pensak and Catherine Pensak, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 5 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Ruth and the late Aaron Pensak of Fairfield, Conn., and Betty Henning and the late Leo Churchfield of Scottsdale, Ariz.… Read more »

Jerry Sorkin, 77, died Feb. 10, 2011. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mr. Sorkin grew up in Passaic, N.J. , where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Cohen. Mr. Sorkin was a captain in the U.S. Air Force before beginning his career in engineering and aerospace… Read more »