Rina Paz, left, with Hazel Rappeport at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging (Nanci Levy)
Rina Paz has been visiting Hazel Rappeport, a resident at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, for three months. Once in a while Paz says something in English and Rappeport is quick to remind her that they are supposed to be speaking only Hebrew. Nanci Levy, community outreach coordinator… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) in her office on April 13, 2016. (L-R): Samantha Ybarra, Sayanna Molino (chaperone), Emma Galligan, Slaughter, Zoe Holtzman, Michael Artzi, Sophie Gootter, Joshua Cohen, Aaron Gomez, Shari Gootter (program coordinator), Alexander Senti, Daniel Vogel, David Bracamonte (Courtesy Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona)
Tucsonan Shari Gootter spends her time changing the lives of others in a wide variety of ways. Self-employed as a therapist and yoga instructor, she works daily to help people as they improve themselves emotionally and physically; however, her work as a volunteer for several organizations in Tucson is… Read more »
Maple Glazed Rack of Ribs (Miriam Pascal)
(The Nosher via JTA) — As a personal chef, I always like to up the ante of my presentation and creativity of my food. Why should Passover food be boring? The one easy way to take Passover food up a notch is by using fresh ingredients – fresh lemons,… Read more »
(Kveller via JTA) — My grandmother was a super shopper even before the advent of supermarkets and coupons. In those days, each food group had its own store, so that every neighborhood had a butcher shop, fish market, dairy, deli and grocery. Shopping with Grandma was an all-day experience.… Read more »
A scene from the “Transparent” episode “Elizah” (Screenshot from Amazon)
(JTA) — Everyone has their own way of celebrating Passover, from silly seder customs (Ten Plagues finger puppets, anyone?) to enjoying the same meal year after year, to, yes, commemorating the festival alongside beloved TV characters. The eight-day remembrance of Moses leading the Jews out of slavery in… Read more »
Politics and seders don’t always mix well. (Lior Zaltzman)
NEW YORK (JTA) — After Donald Trump won the presidential election, Sheila Katz wasn’t sure she wanted to come home for Thanksgiving. As the politically liberal member of a conservative family, she had been comfortable sparring with her relatives during the Obama administration. But as Thanksgiving approached, she found… Read more »
(JTA) — From the wizardry of Harry Potter that echoes with Passover’s themes to a cartoon frog who wisecracks his way through the seder, this year’s new crop of Passover books for kids offers something for all ages and interests. The selection of fresh reads, including two family-friendly… Read more »
(L-R) Patty Vallance, Jennifer Cassius and Anita Feder (Courtesy Family Friends, LLC)
Jennifer Cassius, Anita Feder and Patty Vallance recently formed Family Friends, LLC, an estate sales company. Family Friends aims to help families with the distribution and disposition of personal property, whether due to downsizing, a transition to alternative living arrangements or the loss of a loved one, “with an… Read more »
(Lior Zaltzman)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — What kind of leadership style works best for a seder? During a period when we are experiencing a shake-up in national leadership, you may want to re-examine the relationship that exists between leader and participants at the Passover meal. Though seder leaders and participants are… Read more »
Fred Klein (right) with Lievin Niyongabo at the Tucson's International Rescue Committee office. An immigrant from Burundi, Niyongabo is an Americorps VISTA volunteer at the IRC and also works as a caregiver. He was a university student in Namibia when his family got permission to resettle in the United States and plans to resume his studies. (Courtesy Fred Klein)
Passover is the time of freedom. We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, we eat bitter herbs and dip karpas (vegetables) in salt water to recall our suffering and tears. We eat charoset, made with ground almonds, cinnamon and wine to recall the mortar used by Jewish slaves to… Read more »
A new organization hopes to lure young adults in their 20s and 30s back to camp. (Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — The campers wake up in their cabins on Friday morning, dress and go to breakfast. Next comes a range of activities — arts and crafts, archery, kickball. Then, after an hour of primping and preening for Shabbat, they gather as the sun sets and head… Read more »
The Serenity Prayer in Hebrew ( Photo courtesy Irit Noy, etsy.com/shop/woodbyirit)
The Jewish sobriety support group just entered in its third year as a regular weekly group. Although we are quite eclectic, with participants from all ages and backgrounds, we do have a few things in common. We are all Jewish, we are all in recovery and we all love… Read more »
Lemon Salmon (Megan Wolf)
(JTA) — I love serving light foods that are naturally kosher for Passover. With so much matzah, vegetable and fish dishes are often a welcome addition in my home. In this holiday menu, my Coconut Carrot Soup is a creamy soup at its finest. The combination of carrots, ginger… Read more »
A Jewish family re-enacts the oppression that Jewish slaves felt as part of a Passover seder in Encino, Calif., April 14, 2014. (Photo: Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(Kveller via JTA) — If your Passover seder is anything like mine, it can resemble the world’s most difficult classroom: different ages, ranging from 3 to 93, and varying levels of interest. Some want to read and discuss every word in the Haggadah, some just want to get to… Read more »
Eric Smith is Tech Launch Arizona's commercialization network manager. (Courtesy Tech Launch Arizona)
How does an invention get from “there” to “here”? The University of Arizona is at the cutting edge in science, medicine, optical sciences, engineering, agriculture and other areas — but bringing inventions from the lab to the marketplace is a complex process, calling for talented experts with extensive technical,… Read more »
Shir Yorkevitz, right, and two other teachers dressed as Rosie the Riveter flexing at a middle school in Herzliya, Israel, March 8, 2017. (Courtesy of Yorkevitz)
TEL AVIV (JTA) – Wonder Woman, Rosie the Riveter and a female Israeli fighter pilot walked into a bar. They were just a few of the heroines out in Tel Aviv Saturday for the night of Purim. With International Women’s Day falling a day before the holiday weekend this… Read more »
Sophie Golden, in striped shirt and headband, uses social media to coordinate meet-ups with her camp friends. (Davina Golden)
(JTA) — For 12-year-old Sophie Golden, camp is “kind of like a different world,” where electronics are a no-go and her bunkmates feel more like sisters than friends. When she misses that feeling during the year, there’s an easy way to get it back, even if just for a… Read more »
Staff and campers at Camp Modin. (Courtesy of Camp Modin)
(JTA) — Wondering if your child is ready for overnight camp? A sure sign, according to Karen Alford, a sleepaway camp consultant, is that he or she has grown tired of day camp. “At 9 , you’ve probably been doing day camp for several years,… Read more »
Rice Krispie Treat Hamantaschen (Rebecca Pliner)
(The Nosher via JTA) — As a former chef and pastry chef, I had many delicious sweet and savory treats in mind to turn into hamantaschen for this year. But I wanted to keep it simple enough to re-create in a home kitchen, yet something different to also get… Read more »
Campers from the Tucson Jewish Community Center's Camp J enjoy a field trip at Breakers Water Park in 2016. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)
At the Tucson J Summer Camp, this year’s theme is “Lights, Camera, Camp J.” Each camp week will celebrate a different genre of movie history, from the silent film era to fantasy and sci-fi, and everything in between. Programming will connect campers to the energy of the world of… Read more »
