Growing up in Los Angeles, Lev Metz preferred hands-on activities such as building the family sukkah to sitting in synagogue. Always a good student, he came to appreciate traditional text study alongside experiential education. He earned master’s degrees in Jewish education and Jewish communal service from Hebrew Union College-Jewish… Read more »
The late Felicia Cutler was the inspiration for Felicia’s Farm in Tucson. (Courtesy Felicia’s Farm.)
Showing kindness to others is the best feeling in the world. So says David Cutler, founder of Felicia’s Farm in central Tucson. All of the farm’s fresh produce and eggs are donated to organizations that provide for people who might otherwise go hungry. Staff and volunteers regularly reap the benefits… Read more »
Monica Barker of Tiger Lily Table (Facebook)
While sheltering in place due to the coronavirus, we may not be able to dine at our favorite restaurants, but we can still make our meals, whether they are home-cooked or takeout, look special, says Monica Barker of Tiger Lily Table Rentals in Tucson. “Don’t save Granny’s china for… Read more »
To cut down on pollution created by gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has created the “Cut Down Pollution” program. “Our region exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health standard for ground-level ozone on… Read more »
Volunteers pitch in with chores at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival Feb. 9. (Courtesy Cong. Bet Shalom)
Congregation Bet Shalom’s first Tu B’shevat Farm Festival brought about 80 community members of all ages together, including congregants, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation students, youngsters, and young adults connected to local farms and outdoor education programs. “The Midbar Project is a way for our people to connect with… Read more »
Leafy greens being grown under red and blue light wavelengths, which supports efficient chlorophyll absorption.
(Photo courtesy University of Arizona)
A rapidly growing global population, ecosystem degradation, changing climate conditions, and water and land scarcity all contribute to the need for integrated and innovative food production technologies. Researchers at the University of Arizona are testing a vertical farming approach. Fueled in part by a $2.7 million grant from the… Read more »
Tucsonan Marty Getraer has entered these examples of folded book art in a local Judaica contest.
Tucsonan Marty Getraer taught himself bookbinding years ago when he lived in Baldwin, New York, repairing more than 600 prayer books for his synagogue in gratitude to the daily minyan where he said Kaddish for his father. He revived the hobby a decade ago after moving to Tucson, where… Read more »
(L-R) Garden of Hope founder Randy Emerson, London Emerson, Bonnie-Sedlmayr Emerson, Jordan Emerson, Sasha Emerson, Miriam Emerson, and Jane Sedlmayr with artwork by Lynn Rae Lowe at the dedication of the Garden of Hope at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Nov. 3. (Damion Alexander)
Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, was officially dedicated Nov. 3 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Cancer survivor Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson was the inspiration for the garden. Her husband, Randy Emerson, oversaw the project. “The garden celebrates the arts, which is important to the JCC spiritually, emotionally, and cognitively,”… Read more »
Tucsonan Bertí Brodsky began collecting nutcrackers 34 years ago in Germany. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
With a collector’s heart, Arizona Jewish Post advertising manager Bertí Brodsky surrounds herself with things that have meaning. A collection of crystal balls that began when her mother gave her an antique glass paperweight; charming David Winter cottages; teddy bears from the early ’80s; shoes in every color, to… Read more »
Traditional apples and honey dish on Rosh Hashanah table; apples and honey are traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah to symbolize wishes and prayers for sweetness in the new Jewish year, San Ramon, California, September 9, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
I can’t help but wonder why Hallmark and the retail world at large haven’t co-opted the Jewish New Year. True, while there may “only” be some 5 million to 7 million Jews in the U.S. (depending on who’s counting), Rosh Hashanah is a particularly important holiday on the Jewish… Read more »
he ‘Garden of Hope’ at the Tucson Jewish Community Center will be a multipurpose healing space. (Photo: Barbara Grygutis Sculpture LLC) Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, is nearing completion at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. It will have a fluid connection to the current Sculpture Garden and provide a shady and tranquil pocket park for all seasons. It will offer an outdoor venue for classes, programming, and, with dramatic… Read more »
This very tropical looking plant survives in a desert garden with afternoon shade. Its flowers are visited by hummingbirds. (Photo: Pixabay.com)
Behaviorists have stacks of data highlighting the fact that getting out in nature can calm and restore the human spirit. This applies to all humans, even if you never lived in the country, even if you hate to hike, and no matter what age. Five, 35, or 85, we… Read more »
Heliconius sara longwing at Tucson Botanical Gardens Butterfly Magic exhibit. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
The time to get all aflutter is approaching at Tucson Botanical Gardens, with the annual Butterfly Magic exhibit. Beginning each October, the Cox Butterfly and Orchid Pavilion exhibit offers an exclusive opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most beautiful and exotic butterflies imported… Read more »
Tucson, AZ (June 4, 2019) Every summer thousands of Tucsonans visit the gardens at Tohono Chul to catch a glimpse of the majesty and beauty of the Queen of the Night, the night-blooming cereus Peniocereus greggii. The gardens have the world’s largest collection of this plant. When the summer… Read more »
Fresh herbs have more flavor than dried, and can be easy to keep once you find their “Goldilocks zone.”
Full disclosure: you can grow herbs indoors, but it is not easy. There are two “Goldilocks situations” that must be dealt with. These two situations are water and light. Too much or too little of either is bad — you need to get it just right. To add another… Read more »
Celebrating the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s pomegranate tree, now bearing fruit on its first anniversary, are Early Childhood Education students with (L-R): ECE teacher Kristina Li, Dale Green and Tammy Lewis from the J’s building services department, Lipowich, and Adi Olshansky, Weintraub Israel Center P2G school twinning coordinator. WIC is a joint project of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the J, dedicated to bringing the cultural richness of Israel to Tucson. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
The pomegranate, said to have 613 seeds corresponding to the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah, frequently is a symbol of Israel. It is one of the seven species of Israel listed in the Torah, along with wheat, barley, grapes, figs, olives, and dates. As part of building living… Read more »
Once in about 50,000 plants, a saguaro grows an odd cristate crown. No one knows what causes this fascinating deformity. (Photo: National Park Service)
A sage survivor in the Sonoran desert, the stately saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) reigns over Tucson’s Southwestern landscape. The largest known cactus is symbolic of Arizona (the state flower) and iconic in classic Western films. Casting eerie, human-like shadows across the desert floor, they evoke images of solitude, expansive… Read more »
Many members of the bromeliad family do well as house plants. (Photos courtesy: Pixbay.com)
Houseplants are trendy once more — which is “groovy” or “cool beans” or maybe just plain super. Not only do plants make oxygen for us to breathe, they bring nature indoors and can help us relax. And there are so many pretty ones to choose from. BUT! Here in… Read more »
Looking to stretch your dollar a little further this year? If you live in a city where you paid less rent than the average American and get to keep more of your paycheck — you’re essentially earning more than you would in a city where rent was steeper. The… Read more »
We tend to think of the bathroom strictly as a utilitarian space, and therefore not worthy of the same energy and expense put into designing spaces like the living room or kitchen. We spend a lot of time in the bathroom, however. It’s the room where we start and… Read more »
