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At senior communities, residents play part in maintaining Jewish connections

At Villa Hermosa, a Tucson senior living community, Bill Kugelman listens as Cantor Janece Cohen of Congregation Or Chadash plays Hanukkah songs on Dec. 13. (Courtesy Congregation Or Chadash)At Villa Hermosa, a Tucson senior living community, Bill Kugelman listens as Cantor Janece Cohen of Congregation Or Chadash plays Hanukkah songs on Dec. 13. (Courtesy Congregation Or Chadash)

Sharing ideas and family recipes enables Jewish residents of senior living communities to keep up family connections and traditions. Staff members appreciate their input, saying that coordinating Shabbat and other Jewish holiday celebrations is part of how they help residents to be happier and healthier. Villa Hermosa Aimee Pichardo,… Read more »

Local woman’s pet proves its dedication as Handi-Dog

Talya Fanger-Vexler trained Sapphire to be a service dog with the help of Handi-Dogs, a Tucson nonprofit organization. (Debe Campbell)Talya Fanger-Vexler trained Sapphire to be a service dog with the help of Handi-Dogs, a Tucson nonprofit organization. (Debe Campbell)

Talya Simha Fanger-Vexler fell in love one day with a fluffy puppy in a pet shop window. It had sparkling blue eyes and a calm, composed demeanor. Talya pictured long hikes and active adventures with the bouncy sable Sheltie at her side. Five years later, the lovable fur ball… Read more »

Dining Out Guide

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Cafe Poca Cosa 110 E. Pennington St., 622-6400, www.cafepocacosatucson.com Claire’s Cafe & Art Gallery 16140 N. Oracle Rd., Catalina, 825-2525, www.clairescafe.net Coffee X Change 6841 E. Camino Principal, 751-4739 8501 E. Broadway Blvd., 885-2024 www.coffee-x-change.com dedicated a gluten free bakery and coffee shop 4500 E. Speedway Blvd., Ste. 41,… Read more »

OP-ED Ms. Diagnoses: Women’s Lives Are at Risk

EllenHershkinEllen Hershkin

A national call to action for National Women’s Health Week (May 13–19) Women’s health is on life support. Inequities in insurance premiums, gender bias, treatment and care must end. Women’s health doesn’t advance itself, so it’s up to women to be their own healthcare advocates. Women have always been… Read more »

Five books even crazy busy moms will want to read

So many people tell me that they don’t have time to read. I understand the dilemma. Reading is often portrayed as an immersive experience, one that you can’t do without a full-fledged commitment of an event-free day and a deck chair. Well, would-be reader, I’d say that is wrong.… Read more »

Jewish meditation practice can help expand the spirit

Brian Yosef Schacter-Brooks, right, leads a recent meditation in Sedona, Arizona.Brian Yosef Schacter-Brooks, right, leads a recent meditation in Sedona, Arizona.

Integral Jewish Meditation is a synthesis of the best traditional meditation modalities, brought together into a simple practice that is easy to learn, yet radical in its effectiveness, says Tucsonan Reb Brian Yosef Schacter-Brooks, who developed the program. It includes chanting, focused intention, contemplation of sacred text, body movement,… Read more »

Honoring our veterans via the gift of hospice

Pinchas Paul ZohavPinchas Paul Zohav

Before becoming a hospice chaplain, I did not know that one the highest honors of this role would be attending and serving our veterans, the men and women who have served us. The places they’ve gone, the people they’ve seen, the history they have made, astounds me each and… Read more »

Super volunteer takes community’s health to heart

Rhina GerhauserRhina Gerhauser

A familiar face at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Rhina Gerhauser in March marked a quarter-century there as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. Her motto is, “It’s never too late to start living healthier. And always too soon to stop.” In 2015, she was voted Tucson’s Top… Read more »

Local businesses can apply for program to save energy

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A coalition of local businesses and nonprofits throughout the state are collaborating to develop and launch a new pilot program that will make it easier for local businesses to save energy and money by implementing sustainable practices. The Sustainable Communities Accessing Lending and Expertise Upon Performance (SCALE UP) program… Read more »

Israel at 70: What women in Israel and the West learned from each other

Hamutal Gouri, a founding leader of Women Wage Peace, says the feminist movement in Israel “learned a tremendous amount from American Jewish activists.” (Courtesy of Gouri)Hamutal Gouri, a founding leader of Women Wage Peace, says the feminist movement in Israel "learned a tremendous amount from American Jewish activists.” (Courtesy of Gouri)

NEW YORK (JTA) — American Jewish women have idealized Israeli women as feminist role models since the days of prestate Israel, when women were photographed plowing fields alongside men. Post-independence posters featured images of female soldiers fighting alongside men. A chain-smoking Golda Meir served as Israel’s prime minister nearly… Read more »

Camp builds character, resilience says new Camp J director

OUR_TOWN_Josh Shenkerb- our town

The Tucson Jewish Community Center’s Camp J — the only day camp in town accredited by the American Camping Association — is gearing up for summer with a new director, Josh Shenker; 11 specialty camps, including a new junior robotics camp; traditional camps that cater to four age groups;… Read more »

At summer day camps, ‘fun’ Hebrew immersion program catches on

The organizers of Kayitz Kef, a Hebrew language immersion program running at 10 Jewish day camps across America, want to expand it to 48 camps over the next decade. (Next Exit Photography)The organizers of Kayitz Kef, a Hebrew language immersion program running at 10 Jewish day camps across America, want to expand it to 48 camps over the next decade. (Next Exit Photography)

On a warm summer day at a Jewish day camp east of Cleveland, an Israeli counselor instructs his charges in Hebrew to get their water bottles. The kids, none of them fluent Hebrew speakers, strain to comprehend. One of them, misunderstanding the instruction entirely, returns with a container of… Read more »

Camp weekend for adults coming to Southern California

Trybal Gatherings include classic camp activities.Trybal Gatherings include classic camp activities.

Last year, Trybal Gatherings (trybalgatherings.com) launched a series of four-day all-inclusive getaways at Jewish summer camps across the country for young Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s (see azjewishpost.com/2017/finally-jewish-camp-for-adults). For 2018, Trybal Gatherings plans three new camps for young adults, including one Sept. 21-24 in Malibu, California, at… Read more »

ISRAEL AT 70: An American Holocaust survivor recalls fighting in Israel’s War of Independence

Mordechai Schachter at his home in Teaneck, N.J. (Josefin Dolsten)Mordechai Schachter at his home in Teaneck, N.J. (Josefin Dolsten)

TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) — Mordechai Schachter didn’t know he would soon be a soldier when he traveled from his native Romania to prestate Israel in 1948. He was a 17-year-old with a passion for Zionism, leaving behind a country that was becoming increasingly anti-Semitic a few short years after… Read more »

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