Children enjoy the pool at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Larry Haas) Hearing about the rising incidence of obesity in children makes Mary Burns cringe. Burns, the group fitness coordinator at the Tucson Jewish Community Center is working with other JCC staffers, including children, youth and camping services director Scott Zorn; sports and wellness coordinator/ aquatics supervisor Mindy Grodzki; and sports… Read more »
Whether it’s Northern Italian, spicy Southwestern dishes, or gluten-free pizza, Tucson restaurants are concocting adventurous, affordable cuisine this spring. “We’re introducing Northern Italian dishes that are light and fresh, like pappardelle pasta with green beans and basil-dominated pesto,” says Larissa Capizzano, Tavolino Ristorante Italiano event coordinator. “Our pasta is… Read more »
Ellie and Si Schorr [Julie Glaser Ray) The idea that mental illness is a shanda (shame) or horrific secret has changed significantly — but not enough, say Si and Ellie Schorr. In the 1970s, when they were raising a child who showed signs of mental illness, people didn’t talk about such things. “The stigma was not… Read more »
NEW YORK (Forward) — On a Tuesday night in April, millions of people will gather together for the tale of four Jewish children, each of whom embodies contemporary Jewish consciousness in a different way. The evening is filled with song, multiple narratives and insights into Jewish identity. I’m talking,… Read more »
What woman has changed your life? My toddler intuited his answer when he said to me, “Thank you ima for making me.” That’s right folks, mothers, hands down, have probably had the single biggest impact on our lives. Giving birth to children is probably one of the most courageous… Read more »
For decades, Helen Zegerman Schwimmer has recorded Seder menus, guests and more inside the covers of her family’s Haggadot. As night falls and we begin to recount the story of our ancestors’ exodus from Egypt another more personal story unfolds between the covers of my Passover Haggadah. Some years ago I purchased a dozen copies of the KTAV edition so that we would all be on the same… Read more »
MADISON, N.J. (JTA) — There are two things you need to know about “Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families,” one of the many new Passover haggadahs hitting the shelves this spring. The first is it’s not quite a haggadah. The second is that it’s by Cokie and Steve… Read more »
Arthur Szyk's magnificently illustrated Haggadah is being released this spring in its first widely available format since 1940. (Courtesy Abrams) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Nearing its 80th birthday, perhaps it was time the most printed Passover Haggadah in history had a major facelift. The Maxwell House Passover Haggadah, which has had more than 50 million copies published, hits the shelves — and supermarkets — this spring featuring its first… Read more »
Paula Shoyers "The Kosher Baker" features a chapter on Passover baking that excludes the taboos of flour and yeast. [Michael Bennett Kress] NEW YORK (JTA) — With all the restrictions, are decent desserts even possible during Passover? “My particular talent is working around restriction,” says Paula Shoyer, author of “The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy” (Brandeis University Press, 2010). Her cookbook contains a… Read more »
(NewsUSA) — Buying a home is the largest investment most people will ever make, so it’s no surprise that such a big decision may seem daunting. There are, however, some simple guidelines that can help you find a home that you will be happy with for a very long… Read more »
Dichroic glass mezuzot cases by Tucson artist Daryl Cohen (www.glassdesignbydarylcohen.com) Surfing the Internet you find the darndest things, including a mezuzah and scroll “box” you can download to your computer screen. According to the eMezuzah sales pitch (at http://download.cnet.com/ eMezuzahh/3000-2135_4-10170822.html) the scroll is available in both English and Hebrew. When you think about it — since the Internet has… Read more »
SCARSDALE, N.Y. (JTA) — You can find the secret to creating lively Passover Seders in a surprising place — an 1,800-year-old law code called the Mishnah. For starters, the Mishnah did not envision reciting a Haggadah at the Seder. Instead, it designed a careful balance between aspects of the… Read more »
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish camp alumni — and their parents — have long known that those halcyon weeks spent at Jewish summer camp don’t just cement lifelong friendships, they strengthen Jewish identity. Now they have it in writing. A new study on the long-term impact of Jewish overnight… Read more »
Philanthropist Harold Grinspoon, right, visits one of the camps his founddation is helping. Photo: Harold Grinspoon Foundation) When Frank Silberlicht became the executive director of Camp Young Judaea in Wimberley, Texas, in 1998, he had no idea that his job eventually would change from getting a camp up and running to being the CEO of a midsized nonprofit. But over the past decade or so, as… Read more »
The 6th Annual Gootter Grand Slam weekend will take place March 26 and 27. The event has raised more than $1.5 million to endow the Steven M. Gootter Research Chair for the Prevention and Treatment of Sudden Cardiac Death at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center. In 2010,… Read more »
The American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter will offer free CPR and first aid training on Saturday, March 19, as part of Gabrielle Giffords Honorary Save-a-Life Saturday. Red Cross chapters will hold classes at more than 100 locations across the country to honor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and all those… Read more »
After the January shootings in Arizona and the calls for greater civility and moderation in the national discourse; after an acrimonious back-and-forth over the Jewish legal approach to death and organ donation; and after still more calls for a gentler, more civil public discourse, Rabbi Moshe Tendler stood up… Read more »
It was probably not what Dr. Lynn Polonski had in mind for his 15 minutes of fame. It must have been a bittersweet moment when he found himself at the bedside of America’s most famous Congresswoman, ready to operate and relieve some of the damage caused by the Jan.… Read more »
Shari Gootter with her retired guide dog, Harper Tucsonan Shari Gootter recently sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues promoting Harper Appreciation Day — a celebration of her retired guide dog on his 14th birthday on March 8. Gootter, whose sight is limited due to uveitis and secondary glaucoma, works as a clinician at Emerge! Center Against… Read more »
Leonard Joffe, M.D. Dr. Leonard Joffe, ophthalmologist and retina specialist, will present “Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Recent Advances in the Management of this Condition” at a Hadassah education meeting and brunch later this month. Macular degeneration is one of the hottest research topics in ophthalmology and many advances in its treatment have… Read more »
