Nina Abrahams and Amit Bigler are married after completely changing their wedding plans due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Nadav C.J.)
Nina Abrahams and Amit Bigler knew the coronavirus pandemic would have an impact on their wedding, which was already taking place in Israel, far from their home in New York. But they didn’t expect to have their guest list whittle down from 330 to about 20 — and for those… Read more »
Marc Tanne and Bryce Megdal head back from the chuppah. (Photos: Chris Jorda Photography)
Cantor Bryce Megdal and Marc Tanne were married on Sept. 1, 2019, at Maple Country Club in Maplewood, New Jersey, with Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz officiating. Megdal is the daughter of Ronald and Sharon Megdal, Ph.D., of Tucson. Tanne is the son of Robert Tanne, D.M.D., of Scotch Plains, New… Read more »
The b’nai mitzvah project has become an important part of the traditional coming of age ritual for many Jewish teens. Whether they volunteer in the local community or raise funds for a worthy cause, it’s a chance to exercise compassion and responsibility. Sometimes, it’s also a lesson in flexibility,… Read more »
Hundreds of women and girls gathered at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Thursday, Sept. 26, for the sixth annual Mega Challah Bake, co-sponsored by Chabad Tucson. Participants learned how to make and shape dough for round challahs in advance of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, enjoyed a buffet of… Read more »
Interfaith minister Grace Hartman blesses pets (Courtesy Grace Hartman)
Growing up in a Conservative Jewish home in Newton, Massachusetts, with her parents and brother, Lois Gail Esterman did all the right things. She attended Hebrew school through eighth grade, became a bat mitzvah, went to Hebrew high school and a Hebrew teacher’s college. She started her career as… Read more »
Tammy Strobel stands before colorful gift items on display at Congregation Anshei Israel’s gift shop. (Yvonne Ethier)
A few years back, my good friend Fran was giving me details on her upcoming adult bat mitzvah. “No gifts,” she said emphatically. As I smiled and nodded, inwardly my mind was abuzz — where could I find the perfect present? I didn’t have to look far. In what… Read more »
(L-R): Bruce and Donna Beyer, Amy and Thomas Allen Brannock, and Billie and Thomas Brannock at Skyline
Country Club, Oct. 20, 2018 (Steven Palm Photography)
Amy Rebecca Beyer, daughter of Bruce and Donna Beyer of Tucson, and Thomas Allen Brannock, son of Thomas and Billie Brannock of St. David, Arizona, were married on Oct. 20, 2018, at Skyline Country Club with Rabbi Batsheva Appel officiating. Attendants included Lisa Beyer of San Francisco, sister of… Read more »
Newlyweds Grace Kolack and Daniel Louchheim (Steven Palm)
Grace Kolack, daughter of Marque Kolack of Naples, Florida, and Janice Wilson of Tucson, and Daniel Louchheim, son of Thomas and Marcia Louchheim of Tucson, were married April 29, 2018, at La Mariposa Resort with Rabbi Thomas Louchheim and Cantor Janece Cohen officiating. The maid of honor was Bailey… Read more »
Cake decorating is Lauren Berger’s forte.
A recent trip to Israel and India inspired cake decorator Lauren Berger, of Cayley’s Cakes, to bake pastries from around the world. “If I got my way in this world, for 10 years I would just travel and learn how to bake things from all over,” Berger says. “Then… Read more »
Ellie Chestnut and David Abram take a stroll during their wedding in Brooklyn, New York. (Lorie Kleiner Eckert)
At the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony, there is the dramatic moment in which a wine glass (wrapped in a napkin) is placed on the ground. The groom stomps on and shatters the wine glass as the assembled guests shout their congratulations, “Mazel tov!” There are many interpretations… Read more »
Harriet and Jerry Belenker
Communication. Give and take. Love. These are some the themes that emerged when the AJP spoke recently with nine couples in the Jewish community who have been married more than 50 years – six, remarkably, in the 60-plus range — about the secrets to a long marriage. Here, without… Read more »
Shani and Ran Maaman embrace under the huppah at their wedding in the Judean Desert, May 11, 2017. (Dana Bar-On)
TEL AVIV (JTA) – In this tiny country, there are only so many places to have a wedding. Or so you would think. But a growing number of Israelis are creating one-of-a-kind outdoor weddings from the ground up. In some cases, they even start with the ground. “We brought in bulldozers for one couple,” said Ori Fuks, an Israeli… Read more »
David Jurkowitz plays piano for residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Sept. 22. [Courtesy Lisa Jurkowitz)
For Jewish teens, a bar or bat mitzvah project is an opportunity to learn more about their responsibilities as Jewish adults. It’s a hands-on way to learn the meaning of tikkun olam (repairing the world), and serve the community in personally meaningful ways. Several Tucson Jewish teens shared with… Read more »
Joshua Mussman and his bride, Tiffany Eldredge (Jen Bee Photography)
Tiffany Marie Eldredge, daughter of Lori and Steven Eldredge, and Joshua Kaiser Mussman, son of Suzanne Kaiser and Michael Mussman, were married on Oct. 9, 2016 at their ranch on the east side of Tucson. The groom’s father, Michael, officiated, with his wife, Sara, singing alongside him. The bride… Read more »
Planning a wedding, bar or bat mitzvah party, or another big occasion? Experts suggest you start by determining your budget, dates and the number of guests you plan to invite. That may sound fairly obvious, but Marci Rogers, director of sales at the Tucson Hilton East, says all too… Read more »
Yisrael Kristal (Screenshot from YouTube)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The world’s oldest man, 113-year-old Yisrael Kristal, a Holocaust survivor living in Israel, celebrated his bar mitzvah a century late. Kristal, of Haifa, celebrated the rite over the weekend with his two children, grandchildren and nearly 30 great-grandchildren, The Associated Press reported. He was recognized as… Read more »
The writer, right, watching her daughter during her bat mitzvah. (Courtesy of Julie Wiener)
(Kveller via JTA) — At my daughter’s bat mitzvah last month, hundreds of people spread out to form a large circle and, together, carefully hold a completely unrolled Torah scroll. With the scroll spread out so that its entire contents were visible, my daughter found the spot on the… Read more »
(L-R): Congregation Chaverim cantorial soloist Diana Povolotskaya, Cynthia Busby, Ellie Maas, Bill Kugelman, Barbara Holtzman, Michael Lex and Rabbi Stephanie Aaron. The first and second time b’nai mitzvah celebrants, dubbed ‘Thirteeners,’ range in age from Maas, 26, to Kugelman, 91. (Michael Miklofsky)
When Mike Lex turned 13 he did not celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah. He grew up in a remote part of Wyoming, a place where he says as a Jew he was in a tiny minority and because his parents did not practice, his 13th birthday came and went.… Read more »
This kippah will be distributed at the wedding of Lena Silver and Aaron Wolfson. (Courtesy of Silver and Wolfson)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In December, around the time my wife and I were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary, we received an invitation to an outdoor Jewish wedding to be held on Valentine’s Day 2016. Printed on a red postcard affixed with a heart postage stamp, the couple, Lena Silver… Read more »
Roxanne Frankenberg Young teenagers at Tucson synagogues work hard to prepare for their b’nai mitzvah ceremonies. In addition to learning to chant Torah and Haftorah, and prepare and deliver a sermon, these motivated young people commit hours and energy to charitable causes in their community and beyond. In a spirit of… Read more »
