Twins return to the Egyptian desert in Kimmel's time travel adventure "Scarlet and Sam." (Courtesy of Kar-Ben Publishing)
BOSTON (JTA) — When Deborah Bodin Cohen immersed herself in rabbinical school in the early 1990s, she expected to spend a year in Israel as part of her studies with Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. What she didn’t know was that a decade later, the experience of living… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz Did you know that there is no word for charity in Hebrew? The word most commonly used is tzedakah, but it doesn’t mean charity, it means justice. Think about it for a moment and it makes sense. So many of the commandments are about doing what is right and… Read more »
Seder plates, kiddish cups and Elijah cups are among the Passover wares at Congregation Anshei Israel’s gift shop. (Korean Charnofsky Cohen)
Passover surrounds us with beauty. The spiritual concepts of struggle, freedom and renewal are timeless and universal. Our wishes for freedom include all people and not just Jews. Our family traditions keep the spirit alive and connect us to all the generations that have come before us. The cleaning… Read more »
A burbling fountain can be soothing and mask other background noises. (Jacqueline A. Soule)
Nothing sets the mood quite like water in the garden. The faint sound of trickling water can draw one to a private oasis where flashes of light shimmer over the arching flanks of koi. Sunlight dancing on the spray of a waterfall or fountain releases diamond-like glitters of light.… Read more »
Eating disorders are associated with a higher rate of mortality than any other mental illness, a fact that may not be widely known among the general population. As many as 20 percent of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their disorder, according to a… Read more »
Ari Ne'eman When Ari Ne’eman was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at age 12, his life changed. Administrators at the Conservative Jewish day school that Ne’eman had attended for years said they were not comfortable serving an autistic student, so he ended up transferring to a “segregated special-ed school.” Later, instead of… Read more »
Bari Ross Continuing strife in the Middle East, the worldwide growth of terrorism, economic struggles from a complex global marketplace … there is no shortage of stress inducers in today’s world. We can dwell on the dark side, or focus our thoughts and actions on what’s good in the world and… Read more »
Mindy Bernstein, executive director of the Coyote Task Force, at Café 54 in downtown Tucson, a work training project for people with mental illness (Scott Greissel/Creatista)
Mindy Bernstein, executive director of the Coyote Task Force, a local behavioral health agency, landed in Tucson in 1976. She wasn’t sure then what her path would be, but she never imagined a career in mental health advocacy. “I’ve been working in public behavioral health since 1986,” Bernstein told… Read more »
Two Faces of Haman: Why do we like trying them on? (Masks and photo by Edmon J. Rodman) LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Who is the Haman in your life? The person, who like the bad guy in the Megillah Esther that we read on Purim, schemes to bring you down. When we get to the place in the Megillah where Haman is forced to lead Mordechai though… Read more »
Campers create a brochure for their proposed startup company at Camp Inc. (Courtesy Camp Inc.) When his new camp opened last summer, Greg Kellner suspected he needed a morning ritual different from the traditional flagpole gathering at many Jewish overnight camps. Kellner, the director of URJ Six Points Sci-Tech Academy in Byfield, Mass., a Jewish science-themed camp in the Reform movement’s network, knew his… Read more »
Omri Margalit, an Israeli serving as a counselor at Tucson’s Camp J, with Tucsonan and fellow counselor Rachel Fox in 2009 (Courtesy Rachel Margalit) For the Margalit family, the Tucson Jewish Community Center was the setting for a true camp love story: a Tucson camp counselor meets and falls for a visiting Israeli. Rachel Fox and Omri Margalit met at the JCC’s summer camp as teenagers serving as counselors. Rachel, a University of… Read more »
Bonnie Golden, Temple Emanu-El president and yoga teacher, and Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon lead a yoga routine at the Old Stone House on the David Yetman Trail during Temple’s Wandering Jews Shabbat hike on Nov. 1. There’s a passage in the Talmud that asks “Why didn’t you take advantage of all the beauty I’ve provided for you in the world?” says Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash, one of several local synagogues that includes hikes and other opportunities for congregants to worship in the… Read more »
Golf has long been considered a sport of luxury and expense, but a local organization has turned the game into a tool to teach children how to live life with specific ethical values. The First Tee of Tucson, the local branch of a national organization, provides children ages 5-17… Read more »
The Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is accepting scholarship applications for a Jewish camp experience this summer. Any student currently attending Tucson Hebrew Academy or a religious school program in Southern Arizona is eligible to apply for this need-based scholarship. Funded by the… Read more »
Sara, Katie and Dylan Bluth (Courtesy Jeff Bluth) For two local families, the Bluths and the Smiths, the summer camps at Tucson’s Jewish Community Center, fondly known as Camp J, mean much more than just fun for the kids. Their stories reveal the profound impact camp can make. For Jeff Bluth, it is exciting to see the… Read more »
Handi-Dogs will hold two informational meetings on Thursday, Jan. 15 for people who may want to volunteer with their dog as a pet therapy team, visiting in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, libraries or schools. The one-hour sessions will be held at 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at… Read more »
For most pups, the best part of a car ride is feeling the breeze in their furry faces as they stick their head out the window. Despite the feel-good nature of this pleasurable experience, it’s actually a very dangerous habit. In the early days of automobiles, most cars did… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz Community foundations are the coolest thing ever … well, you would think so, too, if you had the greatest job in the world. The first community foundation was created in Cleveland in 1914 by Frederick Goff, a local banker, who understood the need for a centralized philanthropic vehicle to… Read more »
President Obama speaking at the first of two White House Chanukah parties in Washington, D.C., dec. 17, 2014. (Steve Sheffey) WASHINGTON (JTA) — I’ve been JTA’s Washington bureau chief for 11 years, but this was the first time I scored a coveted invitation to the annual White House Chanukah party. A Washington tradition started by President George W. Bush, the party has actually expanded (to meet demand) to two:… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch, the son of an immigrant Russian Jewish ragman, marked his 98th birthday on Dec. 9 by launching his 11th book. The legendary star of 87 movies (who can forget “Spartacus”?) can look back, in happiness and grief, on countless one-night… Read more »
