Rabbi Moshe Peretz Gilden
“Tucson Mezuzah Week’ is the first community-wide opportunity, offered by Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute, to have every Jewish home in Tucson protected by the mitzvah of placing mezuzot on every doorpost,” says the congregation’s Rabbi Israel Becker. Often called the “Jewish security system,” the mezuzah is… Read more »
(L-R) Rabbinic student Avrohom Luban talks with Tucsonans Max Lazar and Al Gordon during a ‘Spirit’ study session in 2014. (Courtesy Southwest Torah Institute)
The 2019 Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, a free Jewish learning opportunity for men and boys from the Southwest Torah Institute’s Naomi Adir Center for Torah Education, begins July 28 and runs through Aug. 11. In morning or evening sessions, individuals or groups can study the topic of… Read more »
Rabbi Menachem Nissel Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute will host author, educator and historian Rabbi Menachem Nissel at a fundraiser Sunday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m. Nissel will present “Messiah: What We Believe, Why We Believe.” “This topic holds so much meaning for me,” says Rabbi Israel Becker, explaining… Read more »
Students at the Bais Medrash of the Foxman Torah Institute in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, study with Rabbi Shimon Max. (Foxman Torah Institute)
Two rabbis and 12 yeshiva students from New Jersey will join forces with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute later this month for a multifaceted program called “The Connection.” The goal of the free, three-week program is “to help the Jewish… Read more »
Rabbinical student Harry Kleinerman, left, and Robert Nye of Green Valley study together at Congregation Chofetz Chayim in 2016. (Courtesy Southwest Torah Institute)
“In the Driver’s Seat” is this year’s theme for the Southwest Torah Institute’s Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, which begins Wednesday, July 26 and runs through Tuesday, Aug. 8. Begun in 2000, the program offers two weeks of free learning for Jewish men and boys ages eight and… Read more »
Bernadette Donfeld (left) and Esther Becker on a hill overlooking Shilo, where the Tabernacle was located for 369 years until destroyed by the Philistines. The photo was taken on a 2011 Southwest Torah Institute Israel trip. (Bob Donfeld).
Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker will hold an informational meeting about Southwest Torah Institute’s “Israel: Where the Past Shapes Your Soul” trip planned for October on Sunday, July 23 at 11 a.m. An Israeli-style brunch will be served. “Even if you have been to Israel before, every trip presents… Read more »
Rabbi Eliezer Eidlitz, left, and Rabbi Israel Becker (Courtesy Rabbi Israel Becker)
The kosher consumer is both blessed and inundated by the multitude of kosher certification labels and symbols available today, says Rabbi Israel Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute. Even more intriguing, there are hundreds of food products that are kosher even without a kosher label.… Read more »
“Incredible! From the Bronx to Bnei Brak: The Amazing True Story of Rabbi Yossi Wallis” by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer is the title for this year’s Women’s Academy for Jewish Studies community-wide book brunch, which will be presented by Southwest Torah Institute at Congregation Chofetz Chayim on Sunday, Sept. 25… Read more »
Rabbinical student Asher Shechtman (left) and Menachem Sosonov study together during the Southwest Torah Insitute’s 2015 Spirit program. (Courtesy Rabbi Israel Becker)
The Southwest Torah Institute’s Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program begins Monday, July 25. The two-week free learning program, “A Tree of Life for Those Who Grasp It,” which takes its title from Proverbs, runs through Sunday, Aug. 7. Now in its 16th year, the program is for Jewish… Read more »
Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Southwest Torah Institute and Congregation Chofetz Chayim will host a “Love of the Land” orientation meeting Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. to introduce their third Tucson Jewish community Israel trip, which is slated for May 22 through June 5, 2016. Refreshments will… Read more »
Rachel Leah Mittleman Women’s learning has been added to the Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, which returns to Tucson Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, Aug. 2. This year’s program, entitled “Torah By Appointment,” allows participants to schedule individual and group appointments with four rabbinic students from the… Read more »
(L-R) Rabbinic student Avrohom Luban talks with Tucsonans Max Lazar and Al Gordon during a “Spirit” study session. (Courtesy Southwest Torah Institute) The Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program returns to Tucson Sunday, Aug. 10 through Friday, Aug. 22. The Spirit program offers two weeks of yeshiva-style learning, open to all Jewish men and boys ages 8 and up. Participants can study virtually any topic of Jewish… Read more »
Trip members on the promenade at the port at Tel Aviv. Back row (L-R): Howard Peck, Meir Eisenman, Claire Peck, Carolyn Crowder, Esther Becker, Rabbi Israel Becker; front row: Howard Toff, Cheryl Toff, Renee Geffen, Carol Zuckert, Marcia Winick, Alayne Greenberg, Bruce Greenberg; seated: Lyn Lewis, Clifford Altfeld, Ruth Swedarsky My wife, Lyn, and I recently returned from the Congregation Chofetz Chayim/Southwest Torah Institute 2014 Israel Experience, filled with enthusiasm for the trip and the many unique experiences we shared with a group of 13 led by… Read more »
Southwest Torah Institute’s Women’s Academy for Jewish Studies will hold a free brunch and presentation, “Where is G-d leading me?” with Esther Becker on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. Becker’s talk is based on “The Map Seeker: One Woman’s Quest” by Leah Kotkes, the… Read more »
The Southwest Torah Institute, the educational and outreach arm of Congregation Chofetz Chayim, has been awarded the Goldman Family Israel Scholarship by the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Elliot S. Goldman and Goldman Family Israel Scholarship Funds. The $2,500 grant will support a scholarship for one… Read more »
Bernadette Donfeld (left) and Esther Becker on a hill overlooking Shilo, where the Tabernacle was located for 369 years until destroyed by the Philistines. The photo was taken on a 2011 Southwest Torah Institute Israel trip. (Bob Donfeld). Rabbi Israel Becker and his wife, Esther, who have led Congregation Chofetz Chayim since 1979, have visited Israel dozens of times and lived there for extended periods in the ’60s and ’70s. But until last month, the Beckers had never led a group of their fellow… Read more »
