Tagged Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz

Last month, Tucson Hebrew Academy graduate Davis Yalen had the kind of Israel experience every Jewish parent and educator dreams of. He enjoyed floating in the Dead Sea: “It was such a cool experience, because I’ve heard about it, and learned about it in school.” Riding on the world’s… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth graders enjoyed the annual graduation trip to Israel, May 6-17. Highlights included an archeological dig at Beit Guvrin and Bar Kochva Caves, and a Bedouin experience with a drum circle and desert tent sleepover in Kfar HaNokdim, along with the requisite camel ride. Unique on… Read more »

The Café at the J will be open Monday, April 2 through Thursday, April 5, during the chol hamoed (intermediate days) of Passover, with a special menu of kosher-for-Passover meals. This the first time the café at the Tucson Jewish Community Center will be open during Passover. The café… Read more »

Back row (L-R): Shira Barel; Weintraub Israel Center Director Oshrat Barel; Jim Liebeskind of Congregation Or Chadash, which had a separate tree planting project with THA; Tucson Fire Dept. Capt. Bruce Avram; Greater Tucson Fire Foundation volunteer Patty Vallance; Nogales Fire Dept. Capt. Pete Ashcraft; Mt. Lemmon Fire District Chief Randy Ogden (Ret.); Nogales Fire District firefighter Marcela Donavan Hammond; front row: Weintraub Israel Center Co-Chair Steve Weintraub; THA Director of Judaics Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz; THA Head of School Jon Ben-Asher

Trees for THA on Tu B’Shevat On Friday, Feb. 10, local firefighters who’d visited Israel joined Tucson Hebrew Academy for a Tu B’Shevat seder and tree planting. The firefighters gave a brief talk before joining the students and staff for Shabbat lunch.… Read more »

As Louisa (Lulu) Youngerman waded effortlessly in the Dead Sea, making playful attempts to reach its bed, she was awestruck by the experience. “This is everything that I heard about and more,” says Lulu. “This is magical.” Lulu attended the Tucson Hebrew Academy from kindergarten through eighth grade, and… Read more »

The Jewish Culture Shuk, a one night smorgasbord of adult education classes, brings the community together through learning. Teaching from a Jewish perspective, instructors strive to help us understand and respect ourselves and others, and to deal with difficult situations at home and in the world. On Sunday, Nov.… Read more »

What makes someone a mensch (a person of integ­rity)? Students at Tucson Hebrew High and the Tucson Jewish Community Center will join others worldwide in exploring that question as part of the second annual Character Day, a concept created by filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. Known for her 2005 short film… Read more »

Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz (left) and David Cutler

David Cutler wanted to do something special with his Catalina Foothills home after his wife, Felicia, passed away in 2009, so he approached Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz and his wife, Ada, about using the home as a synagogue. Lewkowicz, director of Judaic studies at the Tucson Hebrew Academy, jumped at… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth grade students partcipate in a team-building activity on the beach in the Hof Ashkelon region, recording their thoughts on the trip. Back, (L-R): Rafe Centuori, Jacob Anderson, Max Silverman, Adrian Lehrman, Benjamin Manninen, Avin Kreisler (obscured); front: Rochelle Felix, Dreo Polonski, Sapir Curiel, Alexis McKinstry, Emily Youngerman, Heidi Sexton, Alyssa Lee (Courtesy Tucson Hebrew Academy)

When Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth grad­ers Emily Young­erman and Alyssa Lee first spotted the Western Wall in Jerusalem, they squealed to each other, “Look! It isn’t just a picture anymore!” While most Tucson eighth graders finished up their year with paperwork and exams, the THA eighth grade class spent… Read more »

Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz

Congregation Bet Shalom will celebrate its 30th year by honoring Rabbi Philip (“Billy”) Lewkowicz and his wife, Ada, at a gala dinner on March 3. “Rabbi Billy has been associated with our congregation as a guest speaker, participant in study groups and panel discussions and especially as our religious… Read more »

An innovative figure emerged in my youth who inspired me in a way that was so different from many others — a rabbi with a guitar and amazing stories who reached into the inner depths of my soul. It was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who became known as the “sweet… Read more »