Hosting the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson this summer will be a true community effort. More than 1,000 volunteers, 350 host families, and up to 100 local athletes ages 12-17 will be recruited to join staff members of the Tucson Jewish Community Center in creating a… Read more »
This summer, ten teen athletes from Tucson made their way to Detroit for an unforgettable week of competition at the JCC Maccabi Games®—an Olympic-style event that blends high-energy sports with personal growth and community building. These young athletes didn’t just represent Tucson; they left their mark, returning home with… Read more »
In August 2023, six young rabbis, recent graduates of the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens, New York, moved to Tucson with their wives and children to start the Tucson Torah Center (TTC). The TTC offers one-on-one and group Torah study for men and daily minyanim, plus classes and… Read more »
Yuval Malka, Southern Arizona community Shalicha The Weintraub Israel Center, a partnership between the Tucson J and Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, is thrilled to share some exciting news: Tucson is once again bringing back a community Shalicha to foster a strong bond between our community and Israel. For those who may not be familiar… Read more »
San Francisco, CA – The Jews of Color Initiative aims to have 1,000 Jews of Color (JoC) complete a survey at JoCsurvey.org, part of the first-ever study to understand the lived experiences and perspectives of Jews of Color in the United States. Led by a multi-racial research team housed… Read more »
Members of the Tucson Maccabees semi-pro soccer team pause during a recent practice for a team meeting. (Courtesy Tucson Maccabees)
A new local semi-professional soccer team has its roots not only in the Old Pueblo, but also in “the old country.” “My first experience with soccer was as a young child in Romania when my father took me to a game,” recalls Meir Segal, the team’s founder and coach.… Read more »
Ilana Kaufman Ilana Kaufman, the executive director of the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, will hold a lunch and learn discussion on Jews of Color and Jewish community diversity on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at noon via Zoom, as part of the Amplifying Voices series presented by the Tucson Jewish Community… Read more »
On Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11:11 a.m. Pacific Time (12:11 p.m. Mountain Standard Time), JWB Jewish Chaplains Council®, a signature program of JCC Association of North America, will host the Facebook Live premier of “The National Jewish Community Celebration of Veterans Day.” The event will honor Jewish veterans,… Read more »
Janice Kaplan
What began as an ambitious idea — to spend a full year living gratefully — became a life-changing experience for author Janice Kaplan. Her inspirational memoir, “The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life” (Dutton, 2015) was a New York Times bestseller.… Read more »
(Photo: Korene Charnofsky Cohen)
The Chabad Oro Valley Sukkah Mobile arrived at the Dove Mountain Walgreens on Tuesday morning, Oct. 6. “When you are inside the sukkah, the walls surround you like a hug from G-d, reminding us of G-d’s love, protection, and the themes of Sukkot – joy and Jewish unity,” says… Read more »
Participants in the S.A.H.I. program for at-risk youth give out hand sanitizer in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. (Courtesy Adi Shacham, director of P2G Kiryat Malachi-Hof Ashkelon)
In early June, Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida, Ph.D., vice president for planning and engagement at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, visited Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon in Israel for what she calls a “deep dive” into the Weintraub Israel Center’s Partnership2Gether program. Zeltzer-Zubida met with representatives of social service programs… Read more »
A photo of George Floyd is pictured on a fence alongside other victims of police brutality in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — From the coronavirus pandemic to the fires that have ravaged California to the anxiety of our politically polarized moment, there was no shortage of current events for rabbis to mine in their High Holiday sermons this year. But the topic that stood out this year on Yom… Read more »
(JTA) — The first time 6-year-old Bibi Shapiro found out just how widely viewed the video of him singing “Avinu Malkeinu” had been, he was sitting on his mother’s lap in Australia being beamed into Yom Kippur services at one of the largest synagogues in the United States. Like so… Read more »
This Sunday evening, Jews around the world will chant the Kol Nidre, the ancient Aramaic incantation repeated three times at the Yom Kippur evening ceremony. Hillel International, embracing the diversity of Jewish tradition, is sharing three distinct versions as part of its Higher Holidays program: A dramatized reading in… Read more »
Mitch Tarica is the streaming platform’s director of North American sales. (Courtesy of Tarica)
(JTA) — When Rosh Hashanah begins on Friday night, some 300 synagogues across North America streaming their High Holidays services via Zoom will be able to set it and forget it thanks largely to one man: Mitch Tarica. Tarica is the streaming platform’s director of North American sales. He’s… Read more »
A socially distanced outdoor service at the Green Road Synagogue in suburban Cleveland, June 2020. (Courtesy of Rabbi Binyamin Blau)
(JTA) – At the Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, this year’s High Holidays will be anything but normal. With eight services happening in various spaces throughout the building, on the roof and in the street (closed off to facilitate services), approximately 400 people will gather for socially distanced… Read more »
Southern Arizona’s Mega Challah Bake will be held in your own kitchen this year — with Chabad providing live instructions and entertainment via Zoom, plus ingredients for those who want them. “It has been a delight to organize and host the Mega Challah Bake of Tucson over the past… Read more »
(JTA) — Dean Kremer, the first Israeli baseball player to be drafted into the Major Leagues, was called up to the Baltimore Orioles and earned a victory in his debut — all in less than 24 hours. Kremer led the Orioles to a 5-1 win over the New York… Read more »
Chabad of Oro Valley will hold three socially-distanced Shofar blowing events outside its premises at 1171 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. #131 on Sunday, Sept. 20. The times are 9:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. Each will include a 10-minute service in the parking lot. No registration is required.… Read more »
Congregation Anshei Israel will give Tucsonans an opportunity to hear the Rabbi Sara Metz sound the Shofar live on Friday, Aug. 21 at 8:30 a.m., in the northwest parking lot (facing the sanctuary doors). Members also can pick up thei High Holy Days packages. Other LIVE Shofar blast opportunities… Read more »
