Special Sections

Bringing a bit of veggie heaven into the sukkah

NEW YORK (JTA) — Sukkot is a wonderful time of year to incorporate seasonal ingredients into your cooking. One of my most important rules for cooking and eating is to use what is best and freshest in the market — fish, vegetables, fruit and meat. The better your ingredients,… Read more »

At Sukkot, turning oy into the season of joy

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In open opposition to Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), which tells us on Sukkot “there is nothing new under the sun,” I decided to build a solar sukkah this fall. To energize my plan, I went to the 99 Cent Store to buy some solar yard lights to… Read more »

At Rosh Hashanah, learning from children’s simplicity

A deep spiritual life is hard to find. While opportunities abound for spiritual connections (yoga, meditation, retreats and the like), for most of us it doesn’t come easy. The noise, unfinished to-do lists and the distractions of everyday life interfere with quieting our minds, letting go of our egos… Read more »

Op-Ed: High Holidays liturgy sends message of women’s empowerment

Ruth Messinger

NEW YORK (JTA) — Each year when I sit in synagogue during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I’m struck by the complex stories we read about biblical women and by the wisdom these stories offer about ensuring the dignity of women and girls today. The past year was one… Read more »

Fruits and spices put spin on holiday recipes

Yemenite Cabbage Salad (Lori Riegel)

When I was growing up our go-to cookbook for Jewish holidays was “Tradition in the Kitchen,” published in 1976 by the sisterhood of our synagogue, North Suburban Beth El in Highland Park, Ill. My mom had a few copies and gave me one when I moved into my first… Read more »

A heads-up on Yom Kippur chest thumping

On Yom Kippur, when we beat our chests during the confession, maybe we should be knocking instead on our heads. After all, isn’t that where all the trouble starts? On this most physically demanding of Jewish days, Jewish tradition has us beat the heart side of our chests, as… Read more »

During Days of Awe, reflect in more than 140 characters

The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a traditional period of reflection. But that ritual is often lost in an era where much reflection happens publicly in 140 characters or less. Reboot’s 10Q, a national project that asks people to answer a question a day online… Read more »

What should rabbis be saying about Israel this Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah is traditionally a time for rabbis to weigh in about the Jewish and American issues closest to their heart — and many also devote one of their High Holiday sermons to Israel. It’s an opportunity to speak to a sanctuary packed full of people, most of whom… Read more »

While you celebrate the New Year, think as you dip

(JTNews) — I  have a bush outside of my house that blooms brilliant flowers each spring. With those flowers come honeybees. Lots and lots of bees. When the bush starts growing out of control and I have this urge to break out my clippers and start trimming, something stops… Read more »

Going to the source of Rosh Hashanah sweetness

 LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Here’s the buzz about Rosh Hashanah: Beyond a congregation or family, it takes a hive to have a holiday. You may have your tickets, new dress or suit and High Holidays app, but without the honey in which to dip a slice of apple, where… Read more »

Ahead of High Holidays, Bennett unveils new platform for egalitarian prayer

Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman gestures toward a new platform built for egalitarian prayer at Robinson's Arch. (JTA/Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s religious services minister, Naftali Bennett, has unveiled a temporary platform for non-Orthodox prayer at Robinson’s Arch, the archaeological site adjacent to the Western Wall plaza used by egalitarian groups. The platform, which will include Torah scrolls, prayer books and prayer shawls and be open… Read more »

I am buying homeless signs for Sukkot this year

LOS ANGELES (Jewish Journal) — I started building my sukkah in December. To those of you who are sukkah DIYers, you know how ridiculous this sounds. A sukkah is the ritual hut that Jews build each year on the holiday of Sukkot, which begins this year on the evening… Read more »

Dallas teen’s Bar Mitzvah video sparks debate over culture of excess

Sam Horowitz dancing at his Bar Mitzvah party in Dallas, November 2012. (You Tube)

(JTA) — For some boys reaching the age of Bar Mitzvah, donning a prayer shawl and reading from the Torah is exciting enough. But Sam Horowitz knew he wanted more. The Dallas teen is the star of a Bar Mitzvah video that has gone viral in the past two… Read more »

Local Jewish schools change it up for back-to-school

A new school year is beginning and innovative plans are on the agenda for Tucson’s Jewish schools. Congregation Bet Shalom’s religious school is adding a seventh and eighth grade Sunday program that will combine text study with “inspirational informal learning.” It will include a class on the Mishnah, which… Read more »

Emergency planning is vital — even in sunny Tucson

September is National Preparedness Month. It’s a great time to plan for an emergency or disaster. It is a myth that “nothing ever happens in Tucson!” We are fortunate to live where few natural disasters occur. Earthquakes are very rare, hurricanes don’t come our way and a tsunami just… Read more »

Local woman’s doll collection fills home and heart

Arlene Barth with a few of the thousands of dolls in her collection (Renee Claire)

Walk around Arlene Barth’s eastside Tucson home and you will find over 2,300 pairs of eyes looking your way. Barth, RN, MSN and captain (retired) from the U.S. Public Health Service began collecting dolls in 1996. They are present in every room of her home; organized on tables, spilling… Read more »

Traditional and modern tastes have a place at New Year’s tables

Chicken Rolls with Orange Sauce, which adds some sweetness to the poultry -- perfect for Rosh Hashanah. ("Helen Nash's New Kosher Cuisine," Overlook Press)

  NEW YORK (JTA) — Nearly 30 years ago, when my first cookbook was published, I wrote that kosher cooking wasn’t just about traditional recipes like gefilte fish and chopped liver, that you could make gourmet meals and international dishes using kosher ingredients.  Since then, many new kosher ingredients… Read more »

For the New Year, children’s books opening new worlds

An illustration from "Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook," which offers recipes along with its collection of Jewish folk tales. (Courtesy Interlink Publishing Group)

(JTA) — Shofars, apples and honey, make room for pomegranates, couscous and pumpkins. The new crop of children’s books for the High Holidays opens a world beyond the beloved traditional symbols of the New Year (Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sept. 4). From ancient times to today, the savory,… Read more »

Tucson rabbi’s spiritual path rooted in arts

Rabbi Sandra Wortzel

It was easy for Sandra Wortzel to identify as Jewish growing up in New York City. It took years for her spiritual journey to sway her into becoming a rabbi. “I grew up completely secular,” Wortzel, 58, told the AJP. “My brother became a Bar Mitzvah but that’s it”… Read more »